RTHK: Georgia approves heart-beat abortion law

Bucking intense opposition from abortion rights groups, citizens, physicians groups and even Hollywood celebrities, Georgia lawmakers gave final approval on Friday to a "heartbeat" abortion ban that would outlaw most abortions in the state.

The proposal now heads to the desk of Republican governor Brian Kemp, who backs it. If enacted, it would be among the strictest abortion bans in the US.

The measure was approved by 92 votes, just one vote more than the majority needed to pass out of the 180-member House.

Just after the vote, a tense situation erupted when law enforcement confronted several Democratic lawmakers and protesters speaking against the bill in the halls of the Capitol. Officers threatened to arrest people if a crowd didn't disperse and stop chanting "shame".

Georgia joins a string of GOP-controlled states moving to enact strict abortion bans, with the ultimate goal of getting a case in front of the US Supreme Court to challenge its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalised abortion nationwide. The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. A heartbeat can be detected in an embryo as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

The bill would make exceptions in the case of rape and incest  but only when the woman files a police report first  and to save the life of the mother. It also would allow for abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable because of serious medical issues.

Republican representative Ed Setzler, the bill's author, said it was a "commonsense" measure that seeks to balance "the difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child."

Democratic representative Dar'shun Kendrick called the legislation a "death warrant" for women in Georgia, noting that the state already has one of the nation's worst maternal mortality rates.

The ACLU of Georgia said it will challenge the law in court if it's signed by Kemp.

"Under 50 years of Supreme Court precedent, this bill is blatantly unconstitutional," Sean Young, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, said in an interview on Friday. "That is why every single federal court that has considered such bans has struck them down."

The legislation faced a groundswell of opposition, including Democratic lawmakers and protesters saying on social media and in person that lawmakers who voted in favour of the bill would be targeted in 2020 elections.

A group of women at the Georgia Capitol protested against the bill dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," which depicts a dystopian future where women are controlled by the government and forced to reproduce. The activists in red cloaks and white bonnets have been an almost daily presence since the House first passed the measure earlier this month.

Two influential groups, the Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, sent letters to lawmakers opposing the legislation.

The legislation also was opposed by the Writers Guild of America, which represents TV and film writers, and several Hollywood celebrities, who signed an open letter to Kemp in opposition. The letter, spearheaded by actress Alyssa Milano, includes signatures from Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer, Gabrielle Union, Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow and others.

That's significant because Georgia is a burgeoning production hub for TV and film, with 455 productions shot in Georgia in fiscal year 2018, representing US$2.7 billion in direct spending in the state.

GOP lawmakers in Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Ohio are pursuing similar legislation, while Republican governors in Mississippi and Kentucky have recently signed heartbeat abortion bans.

Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a heartbeat abortion ban on March 21, despite a federal judge's ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions there. Kentucky's law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge shortly after Republican governor Matt Bevin signed it March 14, in response to a challenge by the ACLU. A state judge found Iowa's heartbeat abortion ban unconstitutional in January.

If signed and not blocked in court, the Georgia law would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Kemp applauded the legislature in a statement on Friday.

"Georgia values life," Kemp said. "The legislature's bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state." (AP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.RTHK: Huge Gaza rally stays - relatively - peacefull

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered at the border between Gaza and Israel to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, two of them 17-year-olds. Another 316 people were wounded.

But there was no a repeat of similar clashes that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections.

Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence. Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm.

East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire. The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.

An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar.

Israel's army said around 40,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered in spots along the border. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.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.

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Edit CloseChristians, mostly sub-Saharan migrants, take part in a Sunday Mass in a cathedral in Rabat, Morocco, on March 10. Pope Francis is forging ahead with his promotion of moderate Islam during a weekend trip to Morocco, seeking to build on warming ties with the Sunni world while also ministering to a tiny Catholic community and offering solidarity with migrants.The crash of two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in a span of less than six months has pushed the aviation industry to the edge. Airplane automation systems have been found to be involved in the events leading to the crashes.

Similarity in crashes

In the first Boeing 737 crash in Indonesia, the pilots are believed to have wrestled against the automated system before losing to it. The planes sensor systems apparently generated a reading that made the automated system push down the nose of the plane.

Though pilots counteracted it and moved the nose up, the automated system overrode the manual action and pushed down the nose again. This kept happening several times, eventually leading to the airplane crash.

As far as the latest Ethiopian crash is concerned, publicly available data once again points to the involvement of the automated system. The plane apparently oscillated repeatedly in intervals of 15 to 20 seconds.

Even from the available data, there are similarities between the Lion Air case (Indonesian crash) and this case in terms of this 15 second periodicity. That would point toward a similar phenomenon. Well know more when we get the flight data recorder, John Hansman Jr., a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said to The New York Times.

Airplane automation issues

Airplane automation poses several problems. For one, both the aircraft manufacturers and airlines struggle with educating the pilots about properly using the automation system. On top of this lack of knowledge, automation systems are becoming so complex that many pilots are unable to keep up with the advancing technology. The pilots who do get a good grasp on automation eventually end up depending too much on the systems. This makes the pilots complacent and degrades their manual flying skills.

In fact, a report commissioned by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearly stated that many American pilots were struggling with automation and lacked the ability to control planes in abnormal situations. When it comes to the Max 8 planes, almost half a dozen pilots have filed complaints of being caught off guard by sudden descent triggered by the automation system. However, experts do not see the crashes impeding automation in any way.

Commercial aviation is going to become more and more automated These crashes, in my opinion, simply arent going to change that in the short term, Clint Balog, a former test pilot who researches human performance, cognition, and error at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said to The Verge.

Meanwhile, Boeing has declared that it has developed a software patch that will address the issues with the 737 aircraft. In addition, a new pilot training program has also been developed. The FAA has reviewed the patch and given approval for its implementation. The changes are expected to be rolled out by April next month.

The FAA is aware that Boeing is developing a Service Bulletin that would specify the installation of new flight control computer operational program software Boeing has also developed flightcrew training related to this software The FAAs ongoing review of this software installation and training is an agency priority, as will be the roll-out of any software, training, or other measures to operators of the 737 MAX, the organization said in a statement (CNN).

Given the crash of two aircraft and the eventual grounding of the 737 planes, Boeing has temporarily paused delivery of the Max 8 to its customers. In 2018, Boeing had sold 806 planes, with 560 of them being 737 Max models.

Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly emailThe center of our galaxy is a frenzy of activity. A behemoth black hole  4 million times as massive as the Sun  blasts out energy as it chows down on interstellar detritus while neighboring stars burst to life and subsequently explode. Now, an international team of astronomers has discovered two exhaust channels  dubbed galactic center chimneys  that appear to funnel matter and energy away from the cosmic fireworks in the Milky Ways center, about 28,000 light-years from Earth.

Mark Morris, a UCLA professor of astronomy and astrophysics who contributed to the research, which was published in the journal Nature, said:

We hypothesize that these chimneys are exhaust vents for all the energy released at the center of the galaxy.

All galaxies are giant star-forming factories, but their productivity can vary widely  from one galaxy to the next and even over the course of each galaxys lifetime. One mechanism for throttling the rate of star production is the fountain of matter and energy whipped up by the heavyweight black hole that lurks at a galaxys center. Morris said:

Star formation determines the character of a galaxy and thats something we care about because stars produce the heavy elements out of which planets  and life  are made.

To better understand what becomes of that outflow of energy, Morris and his colleagues pointed the European Space Agencys XMM-Newton satellite, which detects cosmic X-rays, toward the center of the Milky Way. Because X-rays are emitted by extremely hot gas, they are especially useful for mapping energetic environments in space.

In images they collected from 2016 to 2018 and in 2012, the researchers found two plumes of X-rays  the galactic center chimneys  stretching in opposite directions from the central hub of the galaxy. Each plume originates within about 160 light-years of the supermassive black hole and spans over 500 light-years.

The chimneys hook up to two gargantuan structures known as the Fermi bubbles, cavities carved out of the gas that envelops the galaxy. The bubbles, which are filled with high-speed particles, straddle the center of the galaxy and stretch for 25,000 light-years in either direction. Some astronomers suspect that the Fermi bubbles are relics of massive eruptions from the supermassive black hole, while others think the bubbles are blown out by hordes of newly born stars.

Either way, the chimneys could be the conduits through which high-speed particles get there. Understanding how energy makes its way from a galaxys center to its outer limits could provide insights into why some galaxies are bursting with star formation whereas others are dormant. Morris said:

In extreme cases, that fountain of energy can either trigger or shut off star formation in the galaxy.

Our galaxy isnt quite that extreme  other galaxies have fountains powered by central black holes weighing a thousand times more than ours  but the Milky Ways center provides an up-close look at what might be happening in galaxies that are more energetic. Lead author Gabriele Ponti of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, said:

We know that outflows and winds of material and energy emanating from a galaxy are crucial in sculpting and altering that galaxys shape over time  theyre key players in how galaxies, and other structures, form and evolve throughout the cosmos. Luckily, our galaxy gives us a nearby laboratory to explore this in detail, and probe how material flows out into the space around us.

Morris said the centers of the nearest galaxies are hundreds to thousands of times farther away than our own, adding:

The amount of energy coming out of the center of our galaxy is limited, but its a really good example of a galactic center that we can observe and try to understand.

Provided by: Christopher Crockett, University of California, Los Angeles [Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.]

Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly email for more!Vasilios Zoupounidis was born in Greece and moved to Sweden with his parents when he was 3 years old. In the process of growing up, both Eastern and Western philosophy inspired him. He found many similarities between the Eastern and Western cultures, and both Buddhism and Christianity are about inner kindness and share many commonalities. The commonality of both religions can be further validated by the many discoveries of Buddhist Srivatsa in the Acropolis of Athens, Greece.

At the age of five, Vasilioss brother brought him a Chinese Kung Fu magazine that contained superb martial arts and eastern philosophy, of which the latter attracted him most. He began to search for Kung Fu masters and learned martial arts as well as karate; however, deep inside him, he believed there were more profound things worth pursuing.

Entering an Eastern practice

In the spring of 1998, Vasilios discovered Falun Dafa online. He felt that he had found access to the most essential and profound part of Chinese culture when he began practicing Falun Dafa. The practice is targeted at cultivating ones mind and body. It made him understand the meaning of life and also changed his way of life.

Vasilios felt it was a true change and that it came from deep down. He began to read Zhuan Falun and all other Falun Dafa books. Within a short period of time, he had completed quite a number of Falun Dafa lectures. He said he persistently practiced the Falun Dafa exercises every morning, which left him energetic all day long, feeling relaxed and at peace in his mind. In this state, Vasilios could face any challenges at work.

In addition, he became more considerate toward others; his family became more harmonious; his allergy symptoms, back pain, and stomach problem were all gone; and he was able to cope with work despite a busy working schedule. As an entrepreneur and in any other field of his daily life, he would follow the characteristics of Falun Dafa  to be sincere, kind, and tolerant toward people. Vasilioss life was so deeply impacted by his new spiritual practice that he incorporated the qualities of truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance into the corporate culture of his company.

Vasilios runs a telecom sales company and in the beginning, in 2003 when he started to build the company, he had to face all sorts of difficulties and the strong driving force came from his cultivation in Falun Dafa.

His company was eventually able to establish good telecom partnerships with many small and medium-sized companies in Sweden and has won the trust of its customers. Currently, he has opened six branches and his annual income has already exceeded US$10 million.

Way back in July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution against Falun Dafa, at which time Vasilios had only been practicing for one year. After that time, he wanted to validate and share the message that Falun Dafa is good and expose the CCPs slandering propaganda. He wanted others to know that Falun Dafa is good by sharing his personal experience. He noticed things would change for the better whenever he eliminated one of his attachments and if he was only able to change on a superficial level, the problem would not be resolved in the way he hoped.

On the morning of October 17, 2011, in the Swedish Palace, an award ceremony was held and Vasilios received the Entrepreneurship Award from King Carl XVI Gustaf. He was selected from thousands of entrepreneurs with an immigration background and he was recognized as the most successful one. Vasilios attributed his achievement to Falun Dafa. He said: His Majesty, as well as all the juries, knew I was a Falun Dafa practitioner. I did what an entrepreneur could do, but more so I let the world know the truth about the CCP and its persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners.

A unique business path

Vasilios shared his view regarding profit: Many people believe the key to happiness is to earn a large profit. I think a bit differentThe key to happiness is to eliminate attachments, including the attachment to money. But that does not mean to give up your profit. When greed and desire are eliminated, you can still make your profit without the anxiety and burden.

Vasilios believes that besides working hard, learning continuously, and building a team, the most important thing is to dare to face your true self, know the meaning of what you are doing, and never forget your original intention under any circumstances. He smiled and said to reporters: I never put myself first. I live happily and during the time when I feel happy the most, it is in the moment when I have put in a lot of hard work and overcome difficulties.

Translated by Chua BC

Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly emailChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and one of the top generals in the country, Joseph Dunford has accused Googles AI program in China of benefiting Beijings military. The comments have set off a storm and Google executives are reportedly planning to meet the general to allay his fears. He was speaking at a recent budgetary hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Benefiting China

Ive been very public on this issue as well; in fact, the way I described it to our industry partners is, look were the good guys in the values that we represent and the system that we represent is the one that will allow and has allowed you to thrive, and thats the way Ive characterized it We watch with great concern when industry partners work in China knowing there is that indirect benefit, and frankly indirect may be not a full characterization of the way it really is. Its more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military, Dunford said in a statement (Gizmodo).

He pointed out that businesses operating in China usually require one of their employees to be someone from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This potentially allows the Chinese government to have access to the companys intellectual property. Dunford believes that Googles operations in China will eventually allow the CCP to take advantage of American technology to exert greater control over its citizens. He gave the example of the ongoing surveillance and repression of the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang.

What makes Googles China-based operations worse from an American security viewpoint is that the company has actually opted out from working on U.S. military contracts. By doing so, the company has essentially refused to help the armed forces that protect the country. Some have pointed this out to be a double-standard.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has also admitted that Google has shown a lack of willingness in collaborating on DOD projects. Given the grave suspicions raised by top officials in the defense administration, it is no wonder Google has quickly set up a meeting with Dunford. After all, Google definitely does not want to create an anti-America image.

Dragonfly concerns

Meanwhile, Googles scandalous Dragonfly project, which aimed to provide China with a censored search engine, is rumored to still be active. Media reports suggest that the company has been allocating part of its budget for the program and has a few employees tasked to work on the project. This has alarmed Internet activists.

The lack of transparency around the development of Dragonfly is very disturbing. We continue to call on Googles CEO Sundar Pichai to publicly confirm that it has dropped Dragonfly for good, not just for now If Google is still developing Project Dragonfly, its not only failing on its human rights responsibilities but ignoring the hundreds of Google employees, 70+ human rights organisations and hundreds of thousands of campaign supporters around the world who have all called on the company to respect human rights and drop Dragonfly, Anna Bacciarelli, AI and Big Data Researcher and Adviser at Amnesty Tech, said in a statement (Amnesty USA).

Dragonfly was expected to be operational by April. But due to the public uproar last year, Google was forced to withdraw the plan. Critics speculate that the company is waiting for the controversy to die down before it launches a censored search engine in communist China.

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Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.Two Sisters in the Parlor, an oil painting by Chinese artist Chang Shuhong, is on show at Pioneering: Chinese Artists Abroad in France and Chinese Modern Art (1911-1949) at the Long Museum in Shanghai.[Photo provided to China Daily]

An ongoing exhibition at the Long Museum (West Bund) in Shanghai reflects how 20th-century Chinese artists who studied abroad have had a strong influence on modern Chinese art.

The exhibition, Pioneering: Chinese Artists Abroad in France and Chinese Modern Art (1911-1949), opened on March 16 and will run through June 9 at the museum located in the West Bund cultural hub on the western bank of the Huangpu River.

Supported by the China National Arts Fund of 2018 and jointly hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the CAFA Art Museum and the Long Museum in Shanghai, the event showcases over 160 works by more than 40 artists.

According to the organizers, more than 40 of the exhibits came directly from the collection of the Long Museum, while the other 120 artworks were borrowed from nearly 40 public and private institutions and individuals.

The exhibition first opened at the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing from Jan 12 to March 3. After the showcase in Shanghai, the exhibition will be held in the Chongqing and Wuhan branches of the Long Museum.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, around 100 artists from China have traveled to France in pursuit of their dreams, says Zhang Zikang, director of the CAFA.

"The impact they had was unparalleled in Chinese art history. They brought back systematic methods for art education and, more importantly, ignited a passion and idealism for revitalizing Chinese art," he says.

Guo Hongmei, the executive curator of the show, says the first Chinese students to study art in Europe registered at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, or the National High School of Fine Arts, in 1911.

"Of the 100 Chinese artists who studied in France, we picked the most important ones who made the greatest impact on Chinese art history during the 20th century, and inspired more people to take an interest in the study of Chinese art in the early 20th century," she says.

Artists such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian and Liu Haisu learned about classical, realism and naturalism at art academies in Europe. They later introduced artistic genres such as oil painting, sculpture and drawing as well as other new ideas to Chinese art that were then still limited to calligraphy and painting. It was also this group of artists who founded, developed, changed and enriched Chinese art during the first half of the 20th century.

Guo says the early 20th century was a time of exploration in the global art scene and these Chinese artists were inspired by the modernist ideas which fueled their pursuit of the classical, realist and traditional methodologies of the Western art world.

She says in search of artistic direction, many artists revisited their connections with Chinese philosophy, aesthetics and art.

Wang Wei, the director and co-founder of the Long Museum, says oil paintings by Chinese artists from the early 20th century are one of the earliest and most important works in the museum's collection.

"It was because of them that China's art scene went through unprecedented changes, and stepped into an open and diverse modern period," Wang says.

[Photo/thelongmuseum.org]

(Source: China Daily)Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin co-hosted the eighth round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing from March 28 to 29. The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress. [Xinhua/Shen Hong]

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin co-hosted the eighth round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing from Thursday to Friday.

The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress.

Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, was invited to visit the United States next week for the ninth round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington D.C.

(Source: Xinhua)Betsi Cadwaladr University Heath Board in danger of being fined 1m over lengthy waiting lists

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Mar 30th, 2019

Betsi Cadwaladr University Heath Board is in danger of being fined around 1m for leaving patients waiting too long for treatment.

Estimates revealed by the health board shows there are currently more than 6,100 people who have waited over eight months for hospital treatment.

It comes despite NHS Wales guidelines stating that all patients should have started to receive medical care within 36 weeks of being referred by their GP or another health professional.

The Welsh Government has injected almost 20m to try and improve performance against referral to treatment (RTT) figures in North Wales.

However, the chair of Betsi Cadwaladr, which has been in special measures for almost four years, has warned it could be hit by a large financial penalty with the number of people left waiting standing at 400 above the level expected.

Speaking at a board meeting in Wrexham last week, former North Wales Police chief constable Mark Polin said he was concerned that the organisation had not yet grasped the reason for the delays.

He said: Weve spent many months if not over a year supported by the delivery unit in trying to understand our RTT numbers and weve still not got to the point where were confident we can understand it.

To improve our confidence levels as a board and also our relationship with the Welsh Government, we have got to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later.

First of all, Welsh Government were expecting us to come in at least around or below the end of last years figure, which was between 5,700 and 5,800 (patients).

If we come in at 6,100, were over that and that comes with a financial risk of clawback because theyve given us in the region of 19m to underpin our RTT performance.

If there is a clawback because we go over that figure then weve got to consume that within our finances.

A report shows that the most significant concerns are around the waiting times for dermatology in north east Wales.

Meanwhile, almost 1,800 patients have been waiting over eight weeks for diagnostic endoscopies.

The delays in carrying out the nonsurgical procedure to examine a persons digestive tract have also contributed to more people waiting beyond the 62 day threshold for cancer treatment.

Officials said everything possible was being done to prioritise urgent suspected cancer cases.

A possible penalty of 1m has been prepared for in the event that the Welsh Government chooses to take action, although Russell Favager, executive director of finance, said the actual amount it is forced to return could differ.

He said: It is difficult to calculate what the potential clawback is as theres a number of methodologies that could be used.

Weve used a unit price of 2,500 for everyone we miss, so 1m is our best estimate at the moment.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).



(Click for large)Business Rates bills hit doormats across Wrexham as more business eligible for relief will get awards next month

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Mar 30th, 2019

Contrary to the belief of some on social media Wrexham Council do not set business rates, but collect them.

We asked the council for pointers for reliefs that are in place for those getting bills.

Mark Owen, Head of Finance at Wrexham Council, said: The key relief this year is the new High Street Retail Relief which will be introduced from 01/04/2019 and provides up to 2,500 relief to occupied retail properties which meet a certain criteria.

We have already identified approximately 250 eligible businesses and this relief will be showing on their annual business rates bills and further awards will be made by the end of April 2019. The Welsh Governments guidance booklet for this relief is attached.

Previously there had been issues with rates bills, and had been made aware of some bills with relief already applied, but others potentially eligible for relief having to claim back, and asked if there had been any issues.

The council told us, Regarding delays to updated bills, we are aware of software issues which affected updates last year  however, we are not aware of any issues in respect of this years bills.

We asked Wrexhams Assembly Member for comment as Welsh Government sets the business rates multiplier and have offered several relief packages for some business rate payers over the years.

Lesley Griffiths AM said: Challenging economic conditions and competition from internet and out-of-town shopping centres are undoubtedly having an impact on traditional high street retailers in Wrexham and across the country.

The Welsh Government does not set or calculate business rates but every year it provides more than 210m to help businesses pay their rates bills.

After inviting Mark Drakeford AM, the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance, to meet with local business representatives last November, the following month an additional 26m was announced to enhance and extend the high street rates relief scheme. Around 15,000 businesses across Wales will receive support to pay their rates bills from next month and further information can be found on the Business Wales website.

As well as providing short to mid-term relief, the Welsh Government is currently considering wider and longer-term questions about business rates, including whether different approaches to property valuation in Wales are viable. It is important ratepayers are supported and public services are strengthened and I will continue to make representations and monitor the situation.

As always with any type of bill, it is worth double checking the amounts and if you are eligible for any relief, and if so, is that possible to be backdated as well.

Rates bills came with the below FAQ, and Wrexham Council also sent us a PDF copy of this guidance: High_Street_and_Retail_Rates_Relief_in_Wales_2019-20_-_Guidance, as well as sign posting people to this page on the Welsh Government website.



(Click for large)Stay Vigilant in Gatewen Village after mystery man seen

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Mar 30th, 2019

Police have issued a warning tonight, although highlighting no offences have occurred.

North Wales Police said just after 9pm, Weve had reports of suspicious activity in the area of Gatewen Village.

An unknown male was seen by a resident in the area of little mountain court at about 8pm this evening.

If anyone has any CCTV covering this area please let us know.

They added Stay vigilant.



(Click for large)Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-29 20:39:48|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Palestinian Walid al-Shawa and his fiancee Naila al-Jalis sit over the rubbles of their house that was knocked down in an Israeli raid earlier this week, in Gaza city, on March 28, 2019. In the Palestinian Gaza Strip, wedding plans of a Palestinian couple were torn apart after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the residential building that housed their future "nest."(Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- In the Palestinian Gaza Strip, wedding plans of a Palestinian couple were torn apart after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the residential building that housed their future "nest."

The financial conditions of 26-year-old Walid al-Shawa, a taxi driver from Gaza city, are so difficult and cannot help him rent an apartment ahead of his wedding. That is why he rented a room at his sister's apartment, who lives in a residential building of several floors in Gaza City.

However, the whole building was knocked down in an Israeli raid during a round of violence between Israeli army and Gaza militant groups earlier this week.

"Our happiness turned into a nightmare...we became homeless," Shawa said as he checked his destroyed furniture. "I have prepared the room and supplied it with everything, but it was destroyed in a fraction."

Over the past weeks, the young man was busy preparing for his wedding as he painted the room, placed the furniture and even booked the wedding hall.

Monday overnight, Egypt and the United Nations brokered a new ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian factions and Israel after an exchange of fire that lasted for several hours.

During the short round of violence, Israeli warplanes and helicopters carried out dozens of airstrikes overnight between Monday and Tuesday, targeting 15 militant sites.

Israel hit the apartment building which it said was used by the Islamic Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli propaganda is not correct and what was targeted is a residential building that includes helpless civilians who are homeless now," Shawa told Xinhua as he struggled to hold his tear.

Shawa's fiancee Naila al-Jalis sat next to her future husband and inspected the destruction with deep sadness.

"I'm very frustrated, the day that all girls wait for has become a nightmare...I do not know if we will be able to get married after we lost our room," al-Jalis told Xinhua.

The destruction of the residential building has caused much sufferings to the residents of the building who have been turned homeless.

"We were in the house but suddenly we heard a noise in the building and the neighbors told us to evacuate the home quickly because Israeli jets would bomb it," Hiba al-Masri, one of the residents, told Xinhua.

Al-Masri, who is a mother of five children, said she could not take any of their belongings or furniture as they only had 10 minutes to get out of the building.

Israel usually sends warnings before targeting homes, buildings or stores in residential areas to avoid civilian casualty.

In the wake of Israel's raids on Monday evening, dozens of Palestinians were forced to evacuate their homes in cold weather as 13 families, including 44 children and 14 women, were left homeless for one night.

The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said Israel's latest airstrikes on Gaza have been the fiercest in recent months and have displaced scores of Palestinian civilians.

The center said in a statement that "two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have lived for 12 hours in an atmosphere of terror and fear with the continuation of raids targeting multiple sites, some of which are located in densely populated areas."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 01:41:26|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have selected the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2018, the list of which was released here on Friday by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage:

1. Remains dating back 10,000 to 25,000 years were found in caves in Qingtang Town in southern China's Guangdong Province, including fossils of human bones and cooking sites.

2. Archeologists in central China's Hubei Province discovered 212 ancient tombs dating back around 5,000 years to the Neolithic Age. The site was discovered in 1983, and excavation started in March 2018 led to the discovery of the tombs.

3. An archaeological excavation discovered housing and cooking sites and city walls, as well as cultural items including pottery, stoneware, boneware and jadeware at Lushanmao Site in Yan'an City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, meaning the history of the city can be traced back 4,500 years, 2,300 years earlier than the previous estimate.

4. Archeologists found evidence of coal use, which is considered the world's earliest use so far, at the Jartai Pass Site in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The findings pushed back the beginning of human coal use by over 1,000 years.

5. An archaeological team discovered a complex of royal tombs in northern China's Shanxi Province, including 12 tombs and six sacrificial pins from the late Shang Dynasty (around 1600-1046 BC), which provides new clues for the research of the Shang Dynasty's capital Yin, known for its large discovery of oracle bone script.

6. An archaeological excavation in Shaanxi Province discovered remains of an ancient city, which included relics such as pottery fragments as well as four graveyards and a number of tombs. The city has been confirmed by archeologists to be the capital of an unfamous vassal state in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC).

7. Archeologists in eastern China's Jiangsu Province discovered remains of ancient river channels and buildings as well as a series of relics at the Huangsipu Site, which used to be an important port during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). This is expected to promote research concerning the journey of Jianzhen, a Chinese monk living in the Tang Dynasty that traveled across the sea to Japan to spread Chinese culture.

8. Archaeologists unearthed relics dating back 1,800 years from a site for the Olympic village in Zhangjiakou City in northern China's Hebei Province. The site is believed to have been a summer palace for emperors in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234).

9. Archaeologists discovered 35 relics of different parts of a city such as roads, drainage ditches and houses at the Fanjiayan Site in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. At the site dating back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), they also found the remains of two pools, including a large number of plant seeds and specimens.

10. Archeologists found a shipwreck, confirmed to be the warship Jingyuan sunk by the Japanese navy during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), in northeast China's Liaoning Province. They also discovered more than 500 relics made of iron, glass, porcelain, leather and other materials.

China has listed its top 10 archaeological findings every year since 1990.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 01:56:29|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of five Islamic State (IS) militants, including a group leader, were killed in an operation by the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units in Iraq's central province of Salahudin on Friday.

The operation was carried out "at dawn against an IS position on the edges of al-Mu'tasim area, some 60 km south of the provincial capital Tikrit," said a statement by Saraya al-Salam, a militia affiliated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and part of Hashd Shaabi.

The killed IS leader, identified as Mohammed Mukhtar, is responsible for coordinating IS activities in Salahudin and northern Baghdad, the statement added.

According to the statement, the other four killed IS militants were Mukhtar's associates, and three members of Saraya al-Salam were wounded in the operation.

Mukhtar was behind many terrorist attacks against civilians, government officials and security forces in the area, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the international coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike on an IS position in the desert of Iraq's western province of Anbar, killing all militants inside, according to a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out guerilla attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 03:11:44|Editor: yan

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VALLETTA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Malta government's Consolidated Fund on Friday reported a deficit of 70.2 million euros (78.8 million U.S. dollars) in 2018, compared to a surplus of 182.7 million euros registered in 2017.

According to figures released by the National Statistics Office(NSO) on Friday,the total expenditure of the government amounted to 4,630 million euros in 2018, a 12.7 percent increase from 2017.

Between January and December 2018, Malta's recurrent expenditure stood at 3,821.4 million euros, an increase of 278.2 million euros in comparison to the 3,543.3 million euros spent in 2017.

According to the government, The main contributor was a 114.7 million euro-rise reported under programmes and initiatives. Higher expenditure was also recorded on contributions to government entities and personal emolument.

Malta's recurrent revenue totaled 4,559.8 million euros in 2018, 6.3 percent higher than the 4,291.2 million euros registered in 2017. The increase was primarily the result of a 106.8 million euros rise in value added tax, followed by a 92.8 million euros increase reported under social security.

The opposition party called on the Finance Ministry to explain how it was going to solve the serious shortfall in government finances.

Reacting to the financial results, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said that government invested more money in capital projects last year.

He explained that if the government kept capital expenditure to the same level as that of 2017, the consolidated fund would have registered an even higher surplus of 185 million euros in 2018. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars)Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 03:16:45|Editor: yan

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STOCKHOLM, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Statistics published on Friday by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) showed that the annual average temperature in Sweden is increasing almost twice as fast as the global average.

"This development is in line with what we can expect based on the climate scenarios that exist and calculations of how global warming can affect us, something we thus see happening today," says Erik Kjellstrom, professor of climatology at SMHI.

According to SMHI, the global annual average temperature has increased by 0.73 degrees compared to the pre-industrial benchmark. The modern time average is calculated using data from 1991-2018 and the pre-industrial time average is calculated using data from 1861-1890.

Using the same periods for comparison, SMHI's measurements showed that Sweden's annual average temperature has increased by 1.7 degrees - more than twice as much as the global average.

In an interview with Swedish News SVT, Kjellstrom explained why temperatures are increasing faster in Sweden.

"Sweden lies near the Arctic and the snow and ice that we usually have during winters means that incoming solar radiation reflects back towards space. The snow cover insulates the ground and prevents the air above from being heated," Kjellstrom told SVT. "When we get less snow and ice, the ground and air are heated up more and the heating rate is faster than elsewhere."

"One might think that it doesn't sound like that much with half a degree here or there," Kjellstrom told SVT, "but the warming is associated with major changes in our climate with many often negative consequences for society and the natural environment."

To follow climate change in Sweden, SMHI annually updates a number of climate indicators. These climate indicators are based on SMHI's measurements around the country which in some places began in 1860, more than 150 years ago.

In Sweden, only two of the last thirty years have been colder than normal. 2018 was the eighth-hottest year since records began in 1860.

SMHI's report comes a day after the World Meteorological Organization published the WMO Statement on the state of the global climate in 2018.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 03:46:50|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, on Friday appealed for 41.4 million U.S. dollars for emergency assistance to Iraq, IOM said in a press release.

The IOM funding appeal aims to help alleviate the crisis created by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and the resulting internal displacement.

Although the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has gradually declined since 2015, there are still around 1.75 million Iraqis living in displacement by February because of the obstacles to return to their damaged houses, according to IOM's Iraq office.

The funding appeal is aligned with the 2019 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq, which estimates that about 6.7 million people are in critical need of support.

Nearly 65 percent of those are concentrated in the provinces of Ninewa, Anbar and Salah al-Din, all severely affected by the recent conflict.

"Funding for humanitarian assistance is crucial to uphold the basic needs and dignity of vulnerable Iraqis in displacement," said Gerard Waite, IOM Iraq Chief of Mission.

"We highly appreciate IOM's efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to displaced families in and out of camps as well as support them to return their communities of origin," said Naseer Abdel-Sattar, executive director of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Center of the Iraqi government.

"We look forward to our continued cooperation in 2019," the Iraqi official added.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 05:02:06|Editor: yan

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh will never exceed the average per capita emission of the developing world, a senior official from the South Asian country reiterated here Friday, noting that tackling climate change is directly linked with sustainable development and resilience building,

"Bangladesh is of the firm view that climate change and sustainable development are interlinked and addressing climate change should be at the heart of the international development discourse," Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told a UN high-level meeting on the Protection of the Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Humankind.

As one of the 10 most climate vulnerable countries in the world, the impacts of climate change will put severe stress on the limited land of Bangladesh, Alam said, adding that the rapid meltdown of the glaciers will dry up his country's rivers which are basically the catchments of the Himalayan glaciers.

Just 1-degree centigrade increase of global temperature and further sea level rise will result in inundation of a large area of Bangladesh and thus displacement of 40 million people by the end of this century, he said.

Climate change, hence, poses an existential threat to Bangladesh's population of over 160 million, he said, although his country had hardly contributed to the deterioration of the environment, he said.

The findings of the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degree Celsius about the dangerous consequences of global warming in the areas of poverty eradication, food security and public health are alarming, the Bangladeshi official said, adding that his conviction is reinforced that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is contingent upon success in halting global climate change and reducing disaster risks.

"It is high time that we renew our efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework to their true letter and spirit," Alam said.

Amrith Rohan Perera, permanent representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, expressed similar sentiment on the same occasion Friday.

"We have strongly supported and committed to global efforts in addressing climate change by being a signatory to several environment-related international treaties and conventions including the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster [Risk Reduction]," he said, adding that, Sri Lanka needs to continue utilizing these global mechanisms, for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 05:12:07|Editor: Xiaoxia

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(From L to R) Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hold hands during a quadrilateral meeting in Bucharest, Romania, on March 29, 2019. A Romania-Bulgaria-Greece-Serbia quadrilateral meeting ended late Friday with a joint statement, saying that the future of Europe and the goal of strengthening the role of the European Union (EU) as a global actor are closely linked to its ability to promote stability and prosperity in its immediate neighborhood. (Xinhua/Agerpres)

BUCHAREST, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A new Romania-Bulgaria-Greece-Serbia quadrilateral meeting ended late Friday with a joint statement, saying that the future of Europe and the goal of strengthening the role of the European Union (EU) as a global actor are closely linked to its ability to promote stability and prosperity in its immediate neighborhood.

"The four states agree that the enlargement process, a prominent priority of the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council as well as the previous Presidencies of Bulgaria and Greece, remains an opportunity to once again demonstrate the power of transformation of the EU, a time when the Union is facing difficult challenges," the statement said.

"A strong, united and cohesive Europe is in the interest of current and future Member States. In the current debate on the future of the Union, we are supporting a constructive future-oriented and a continuous commitment to the enlargement process," the statement said.

"One year after the publication of the Enlargement Package of 2018, which reiterated the EU's increased commitment to the Western Balkans and a credible enlargement perspective, our joint efforts are focused on turning the year 2019 into one of the concrete results."

"Romania, the Republic of Bulgaria and the Hellenic Republic welcome the efforts and progress made by the Serbian government in the EU accession process and encourage Serbia to maintain the pace of reforms and ensure their sustainability and irreversibility," it said.

They reaffirmed their support for regional projects of common interest, particularly in transport, energy, information and communication technology, as well as youth and sport, to promote the overall development and connectivity of the region.

The four countries said that they firmly believed that energy security needs to be strengthened both at European and regional level as a major priority for the concerned countries and for the EU.

Prime ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the quadrilateral meeting in Romania.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 07:02:28|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The crisis group set up to run Iraq's northern province of Nineveh said on Friday that two people responsible for the deadly sinking of a ferryboat in Tigris River were arrested.

Obeid Ibrhim Ali and his son Ryyan Obeid Ibrahim, owners of a tourist island that the ferryboat headed to, were arrested in the city of Erbil, capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, in coordination with the Kurdish regional authorities, Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Nineveh's Operations Command, told Xinhua.

The crisis group, comprised of a university professor and two military commanders, was formed a week ago by Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to temporarily run Nineveh following the ferry sinking incident, after the parliament sacked the governor and his two deputies.

The ferryboat carrying dozens of people capsized on March 21 when crossing from the bank of the river to the Um al Rabeein island in the north of Mosul, provincial capital of Nineveh.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 07:27:41|Editor: Xiang Bo

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking government officials or representatives from countries attending a UN high-level meeting pledged on Friday that their governments will continue to take more practical actions to cope with the fast-paced climate change.

New Zealand "has identified climate change as one of the defining issues of this generation," Stephanie Lee, climate change ambassador at foreign affairs ministry of New Zealand, said at the United Nations High-level Meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development for All.

To combat climate change, New Zealand has already banned new offshore oil and gas exploration. It has pledged transition to "100 percent renewable energy by 2035," she added.

"We will plant 1 billion trees over the next decade," she said, adding the island country in the South Pacific Ocean is cooperating with others to create conditions that enable all countries to prosper.

Noting that at the current emission pace the world will surpass the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius around the year 2040, Eva Svedling, state secretary to minister for environment and climate of Sweden, said that "we must act based on what science tells us and make more efficient use of energy, increase the use of renewable sources and phase out the use of fossil fuels."

As for African countries, climate change is also a matter of great concern.

Patricia Appiagyei, deputy minister for environment, science, technology and innovation of Ghana, said that her country "is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The challenge of climate change in Ghana is real. Rainfall patterns have changed and become less predictable. The warming of the sea is also affecting fishing."

To cope with the dire situation, 11 programs covering seven priority economic sectors are being proposed for implementation in the next 10 years, she said.

"We are already implementing climate change programs on the ground, aimed at promoting renewable energy, supporting adoption of clean cooking, and sharing sustainable consumption and production, and pursuing a low carbon electricity supply," she said.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, said that around 90 percent of all natural disasters that have hit Pakistan have been triggered by climate change, "putting enormous burden on our development capabilities and our ability to achieve sustainable development."

"In this backdrop, we have developed a comprehensive strategy to address climate change," she said.

Noting that finance remains a burden for the country, the ambassador said that "our adaptation needs are around 14 billion U.S. dollars per annum. We therefore urge our partners to fulfill their pledges of mobilizing 100 billion dollars a year by 2020."

Dang Dinh Quy, Vietnam's permanent representative to the UN, while recognizing the real threat of climate change like all other speakers, urged efforts be made to reinforce its national capacity "by enhancing effective cooperation with all relevant stakeholders."

"International cooperation in terms of capacity building, transfer of technologies for climate adaptation, etc. will play a critical role in this endeavor," he said.

Patrick Suckling, Australian Ambassador for the Environment, brought some good news to the meeting.

"While the Australian economy has experienced 27 years of economic growth, we have driven our emissions per unit of GDP to its lowest level in 29 years," Suckling said.

"Emissions in our electricity sector are falling, driven by unprecedented investment in renewable energy -- Australia has one of the highest rates of uptake of residential solar in the world," he said.

"In February, our government announced a 3.5 billion Australian dollars (2.48 billion U.S. dollars) Climate Solutions Package to tackle climate change in Australia and to build momentum toward achieving our target under the Paris Agreement," he added.

The objectives of the two-day high-level meeting, which kicked off Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York, include highlighting the interlinkage between climate and economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development for present and future generations.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 07:37:46|Editor: Xiang Bo

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is expected to announce in the coming days a new flash appeal to help people affected by Cyclone Idai in southern Africa, a UN spokesman said Friday.

The death toll in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi is described by various official sources as more than 700. On Tuesday, an appeal for 282 million U.S. dollars was launched.

"An updated flash appeal, including new needs, is expected in the coming days," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The cumulative impact on food security will be significant. The maize crop harvest, which will begin in May, will be 60 percent of the average production, with a further risk of deterioration in food security."

Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, UN's deputy humanitarian coordinator for Mozambique, said the situation is appalling.

"I have aerial reconnaissance out now just to see if we contact anyone who needs assistance," he said. "The area was absolutely devastated. They are getting what they need but we're not getting everybody yet," he told reporters in New York via telephone.

While Stampa had no specific data on casualties, he said deaths in Mozambique were in the "high 400s." The Mozambican government's latest tally was 468 dead with the figure expected to rise.

Haq, the spokesman, said 181 deaths were reported by humanitarian colleagues in Zimbabwe with 175 injured, and 59 dead in Malawi where another 672 were reported injured.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 09:17:58|Editor: Xiaoxia

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TRIPOLI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Libyan authorities on Friday said they rescued 117 illegal immigrants off the coast of the western city of Al-Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"Coast guards patrol rescued 117 immigrants of different African nationalities on a rubber boat," the Libyan coast and seaport security said in a statement.

The rescued immigrants include 84 men, 15 women and 18 children, the statement said.

The migrants have been provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and taken to a reception center in Tripoli, the statement added.

Following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been plagued by insecurity and chaos, and has become a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 09:22:59|Editor: Xiaoxia

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GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army tanks stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel struck on Friday night two military posts of the Islamic Hamas movement in southern and northern Gaza Strip, causing no injuries, according to local media reports.

The Gaza-based Al-Quds Radio reported that the Israeli army tanks fired a tank shell at a lookout post that belongs to Hamas militants east of central Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Another Israeli army tank fired a second shell at another Hamas military post east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, near the border with Israel. The two Hamas military posts were destroyed.

The attacks were in response some 500 homemade sound bombs thrown at Israeli army forces stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, Israeli media reports said.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that the Israeli army forces targeted posts that belong to Hamas militants in eastern Gaza Strip in response to night protests and demonstrations close to the fence on the border with Israel.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 09:58:05|Editor: Xiaoxia

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WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Attorney General (AG) William Barr told Congress on Friday to expect a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation by mid-April, "if not sooner."

"We are preparing the report for release, making redactions that are required," Barr said in a letter to top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees. "Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own."

The attorney general also said Mueller is assisting the process, while offering to appear before both committees to testify about the report on May 1 and May 2.

The special counsel wrapped up his nearly two-year investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election by submitting a report to Barr last week.

Barr later sent Congress and made public a four-page summary of the report's "principal conclusions," saying that there was no evidence of collusion between U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government.

The special counsel did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice, according to Barr's synopsis. The attorney general said Mueller's findings are "not sufficient" to support a charge.

Democrats are pushing for a complete release of Mueller's report as well as Barr's appearance before Congress to get a clearer picture of the special counsel's investigation.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report, nearly 400 pages long, is released.

He also said there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for "a privilege review."

Trump told reporters on Friday he has "great confidence" in Barr.

"And if that's what he'd like to do, I have nothing to hide," the president, who's at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, state of Florida, added.

Mueller took over the Russia investigation in May 2017 after Trump abruptly fired former FBI Director James Comey, a move that raised questions about his potential obstruction of justice.

The investigation led to felony charges against 34 people, including six Trump associates and advisers, and three entities. Russia has denied any meddling.

Trump has touted Barr's summary as a "complete exoneration."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 10:03:06|Editor: mingmei

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday urged intensified efforts to advance the peace and reconciliation process in Mali three years after a deal was signed between the government and some northern armed groups.

Ma Zhaoxu, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, praised Mali for its efforts in implementing the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

"China hopes that all parties to the Malian peace agreement will consolidate the current positive political momentum, continuously strengthen mutual trust, put the interests of the country and people first, and make joint commitment to development and construction of the country," he said.

Ma called on the international community to help improve Mali's capacity in development and governance.

He also stressed the Security Council's sanction regime for Mali "should aim to support the political process and strictly abide by its mandate."

Since 2012, northern Mali has faced attacks by Tuareg rebels and al-Qaida-linked extremists.

In 2015, the Malian government and some groups in the north signed the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. However, attacks by extremists have intensified and moved southward.

As the security situation in central Mali continues to deteriorate, some important steps have been taken in the past few months to accelerate the implementation of the 2015 deal.

Interim administrations have been established in all five northern regions, and the Malian government has launched a comprehensive political and administrative reform process.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 10:48:14|Editor: Xiaoxia

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DHAKA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A fire gutted some 300 shops in a kitchen market located at Bangladesh capital Dhaka's Gulshan on Saturday, destroying goods and property, said a firefighter.

The firefighter who preferred to be unnamed said the fire, which originated at around 6:00 a.m. local time, raged on till 8:00 a.m. local time.

He said 21 units of firefighters have been trying to douse the fire.

No casualties have so far been reported.

The exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

On Jan. 3, 2017, a devastating fire razed much of the market to rubble.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:03:24|Editor: Xiang Bo

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A senior Norwegian official on Friday reaffirmed her country's intention to double its contribution to a climate fund to help developing countries.

"Public climate finance is clearly critical to meeting the 100 billion U.S. dollars goal by 2020. An ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund this year is part of that effort. Norway has already announced that we intend to double our contribution to the Fund," Mona Juul, permanent representative of Norway to the United Nations (UN), told a UN high-level meeting on the Protection of the Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Humankind.

The Green Climate Fund is a fund established in 2010 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.

Increased support and climate finance to developing countries are necessary for the effective implementation of the Paris agreement, Juul said.

"For many years, Norway has supported climate action in developing countries," she said, adding that Norway has a particular engagement in renewable energy, oceans and promoting reduced emissions from the forest and land use sector.

"Through our partnerships, we have shown that reduced deforestation can be combined with increased agricultural productivity," she said.

Evidence of global warming is also obvious in the Arctic region, she said, and the impact of Arctic climate change will have profound local, regional and global implications.

"Natural disasters are occurring more frequently, as we have recently seen in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe," said Juul, adding that the existence of small island developing states is threatened.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:03:25|Editor: xuxin

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Volunteers help firefighters to douse flame after a fire broke out at a kitchen market in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 30, 2019. A fire gutted hundreds of shops in a kitchen market in Dhaka's Gulshan area on Saturday, destroying goods and property, said a firefighter. No casualties have so far been reported. The market was not open for business at the time when the fire broke out. (Xinhua/Stringer)

DHAKA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A fire gutted hundreds of shops in a kitchen market at Bangladesh capital Dhaka's Gulshan area on Saturday, destroying goods and property, said a firefighter.

A total of 20 fire units battled hard for about two hours to bring the fire under control at about 8:35 a.m. local time.

Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy personnel and shopkeepers joined the efforts to bring the fire under control.

The fire originated at about 5:00 a.m. local time in the one-story kitchen market called "DNCC market," housing some 350 shops, a fire service official told Xinhua.

According to the official, the blaze gutted at least 300 shops in the market complex where groceries and other kitchen goods are sold.

No casualty has so far been reported. The market was not open for business at the time of the fire broke out.

Firefighters have not determined the cause of the blaze.

On Jan. 3, 2017, a devastating fire razed much of this market to rubble.

The market fire erupted one day after a devastating fire at a high-rise building in Dhaka on Thursday left at least 25 people dead and scores of others injured.

The high-rise building fire tragedy was the second deadly fire striking Dhaka this year after a blaze ripped through several buildings in old Dhaka, killing at least 81 people on Feb. 21.

TV footage showed the affected shop owners were seen lamenting in open sky as most of them left behind all valuables at the time of the gruesome fire.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:13:28|Editor: Xiang Bo

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the international community to help the Malian government improve its capacity building in security and counter-terrorism.

Ma Zhaoxu, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council that such help should be given to the Malian government so that it can "gradually acquire the capacity to assume security responsibilities throughout its territory."

He stressed that peace and security in Mali are closely related to the overall situation in surrounding areas, which calls for an integrated approach to the fight against terrorism in Mali and its neighboring areas.

"China acknowledges the progress made by the Malian government and its security forces in assuming security responsibilities on the ground, and welcomes the initiative of the G5 Sahel joint force in tackling security threats such as terrorism in the region," Ma said, referring to a regional force comprising troops from five Sahel nations.

Since 2012, northern Mali has faced attacks by Tuareg rebels and al-Qaida-linked extremists.

In 2015, the Malian government and some groups in the north signed the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. However, attacks by extremists have intensified and moved southward.

At the same Security Council meeting on Mali Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscored the deterioration of the security situation in the central part of the country.

According to Guterres, more than 240 attacks were carried out against civilians, Malian government officials and members of national and international forces in 2018, compared with 183 in 2016.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:28:29|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to pay an official visit to China from Sunday to Monday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The following is a profile of Ardern.

Ardern was born in Hamilton, New Zealand on July 26, 1980. She graduated from the University of Waikato in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in politics and public relations.

She became a list MP in 2008 and became the leader of the Labour Party in August 2017.

Ardern assumed the office of New Zealand's prime minister in October 2017. She also serves as minister of national security and intelligence, minister of arts, culture and heritage, as well as minister of child poverty reduction.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:48:34|Editor: Yamei

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Demonstrators protest during the "Put it to the People" march in central London, Britain, on March 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

by Xinhua writer Jin Jing

LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- On March 29, the date on which Britain was originally due to leave the European Union (EU), a picture went viral on the British social media.

In an apparent sarcastic tone, Britain's Royal Mail apologized in its iconic red letter notice: "Sorry, we tried to deliver your Brexit. You were lied to and your Brexit could not be delivered to you."

In the latest turn of events, the British parliament on Friday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's hard-brokered withdrawal agreement, for a third time since January, prompting speculation that Britain will have to request a lengthy delay of Brexit to avoid a catastrophic no-deal.

But analysts warn that much harm has already been done to both sides of the English Channel as uncertainty drags on.

A CHALLENGED BRITAIN

The City of London, one of the world's top financial hubs and also a powerhouse of the British economy, stands at the forefront to suffer.

According to New Financial, a London-based capital markets think tank, a total of 275 financial firms are known to have moved or are moving part of their business from Britain to the EU continent to prepare for Brexit.

"These moves are the inevitable consequence of Brexit ... This shift will reduce Britain's influence in the banking and finance industry both in Europe and in the world," said the report entitled "Brexit & the City -- the impact so far" released earlier this month.

Peter Estlin, Lord Mayor of the City of London, told Xinhua that uncertainty is indeed causing serious concerns to the City even though the relocation is still a small percentage at the moment considering the 2.2 million people employed by the financial services in Britain.

"The whole process of Brexit has been frustrating from a business perspective and if there's one thing that business hates, it's uncertainty," Estlin said.

Meanwhile, manufacturing businesses in Britain, unsure of the trade relations with the EU and the rest of the world, started pulling out of the country.

In February, Japanese carmaker Honda announced the planned closure of its Swindon plant by 2021, threatening at least 7,000 jobs. Many believe Brexit was one of the key factors behind the decision.

In late February, the British government warned of disastrous consequences in case of a no-deal Brexit amid rising food prices and a weakened British economy.

Adding to the pains will be the diminished role of Britain after Brexit.

UNA-UK, a pro-UN group said in a recent report that Britain's standing at the UN will be weakened after Brexit because British diplomats "are less able to align their campaigns in the Security Council and the General Assembly with the influence of their colleagues in Brussels."

Martin Albrow, a pioneer British scholar in the study of globalization, told Xinhua that the role of Britain on the global stage will be "much diminished" after Brexit.

May's idea of a "Global Britain" is "so limited" and focused much on trade rather than leading global efforts to tackle global challenges like climate change and nuclear disarmament as a major part of multilateral institutions, Albrow said.

"A global Britain would handle global issues," Albrow said, adding that Britain has yet to figure out what a "Global Britain" looks like.

A TROUBLED EU

With the exit of Britain, EU's second largest economy, a key diplomatic and military power, Europe's global clout and the future of the European integration project have been plunged into doubt.

Former German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel wrote in a recent article that not only the British population, but Europe as a whole, will suffer the consequences of Brexit.

"After Brexit, we may find ourselves in a more perilous state, because the world will look at Europeans as even greater weaklings. Unable to get our own act together and frame our interests, our efforts to convince others of our worldview appears quixotic," he wrote.

As the world's political and economic balance of power is shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Europe is facing risks of being further sidelined, he said.

"With the possible exception of climate policies, Europe is already a spectator on most global conflicts and issues," he added.

Kristin Archick, author of the book "After Brexit, A Diminished or Enhanced EU," said the departure of Britain will weaken EU's ability to tackle more persistent challenges such as a sluggish economy and high unemployment, immigration and terrorism threat.

Archick argues that Brexit may seriously undermine the EU project. Even though most EU countries may be too small to contemplate departure, Brexit could prompt others to demand special memberships or policy opt-outs.

The rise of anti-EU parties in France and the Netherlands would also put EU under further risk of being less integrated as member states would have little appetite for ceding right to "EU institutions and Brussels bureaucracy viewed as out of touch with ordinary citizens," he added.

Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) group, called on the Europeans to "keep the EU together" which he considers among the biggest challenges for the bloc.

The EU must understand that only a united Europe, together with one voice, can have critical mass of power to bring European points of view on the global stage, said Weber, who is also the EPP's candidate for European Commission presidency in the upcoming European Parliament elections this May.

"We have to keep the EU together. We see Brexit happening. That's why we strive for the fundamental principle that compromise is good thing for Europe," said Weber.

TESTY BRITAIN-EU TIES

On the side of a residential facade in the British port town of Dover, a mural by Banksys, a famed anonymous street artist, shows a glistening star being chipped off the EU flag by a metal worker teetering on the top of a ladder.

Observers say Brexit did not come as a surprise. Britain has remained one of the EU's most skeptical members since it joined the European Economic Community (as it then was) on Jan. 1, 1973. A referendum was held in 1975 on whether Britain should remain part of the Community with a 67-percent vote in favor of continued membership.

Even today, Britain is not a member of the eurozone and Schengen area of free movement, showing its serious reservations about the EU project.

"One should stress that the tension with Europe is not a new thing at all, it has existed all the way back," said British scholar Albrow.

Adding fuel to the anti-EU sentiment was unbalanced globalization, and immigration from eastern Europe, said Albrow, adding that free market capitalism since the 1980s has led to a soaring gap of inequality and people working in the declining industries are feeling left behind.

The Brexit referendum was largely driven by the rise of populism rooted in a wave of anti-establishment anger and the desire to regain control of immigration, and reclaim national sovereignty from international institutions, he said.

However, Albrow pointed out the exit of Britain may not necessarily mean a weakening of the EU but an opportunity to strengthen Europe.

"I think it's fair to say that the British government wants the European Union to be strong. It's in no one's interest for the Union to be weak," he said.

"It (Brexit) could encourage the EU to become stronger, more integrated, and recognize that it does have weaknesses and that it needs to coordinate itself better," he said.

(Gu Zhenqiu, Gui Tao, Wang Huihui, Yang Xiaojing, Zhang Dailei, Liang Xizhi in London, Zhai Wei, Tian Dongdong in Brussels, Ren Ke in Berlin contributed to this story)

(Video editor: Zhang Yucheng)Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 12:53:35|Editor: mingmei

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- An international forum on cooperation and development among major global bay areas was held here Friday to focus on their future growth strategies, regional integration and sustainable development.

The Global Bay Areas Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF), organized by People's Daily Online West U.S.A, brought together prominent leaders, entrepreneurs and scholars from academic institutions, think tanks and major metropolitan and bay areas worldwide, including San Francisco, New York, Tokyo and China's several southern cities, to discuss opportunities, economic globalization, cooperation and challenges with an aim to drive the growth of the world's major bay areas.

Under the theme "Connection, Cooperation, Development," the forum is dedicated to exchanges and cooperation between China's recently established Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and bay areas in other countries, namely San Francisco Bay Area, New York Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area.

The attendees of the one-day event touched upon a wide range of topics that are vital to cooperation and development among the major bay areas across the world, such as government policy, smart cities, urban development, climate change, technology innovation and investment.

China's Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua said the forum was held in line with China's development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"The three world-class bay areas, which are the New York Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area, feature openness, innovation, livable environment and global vision," Wang said.

"They serve as the primary growth poles for the economy and the bellwether of technological advancement, thanks to their open economy, efficient distribution of resources, strong accumulation and spillover effect, and developed networks for international exchanges," he added.

Amid the wave of globalization that meets emerging trends in regional development, the global bay areas are now facing a new historical era of development, said Steven Rockefeller, Jr., chairman of PFC & SRJ Culture LLC..

He noted that the forum aims to build a world-class economic cooperation platform, which will lay a solid foundation for the coordinated development and mutual benefit of the bay areas in the future.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 13:18:39|Editor: mingmei

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WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Smithsonian's National Zoo here announced Friday giant panda Mei Xiang, in her breeding season, has been artificially inseminated.

The zoo said in a press release that a team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed the artificial insemination on Mei Xiang, aged 20, Thursday evening.

The operation was approved by the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which monitors giant panda research programs in the United States, according to the zoo.

Scientists and keepers had been closely monitoring Mei Xiang's behavior and hormones since she began displaying behavioral changes earlier this month, indicating she was entering her breeding season.

Daily hormone reports showed Mei Xiang's estrogen levels peaked Wednesday evening, which means she was ovulating and able to become pregnant. Female giant pandas are only in estrus, or able to become pregnant, for 24 to 72 hours each year.

Since the window when a giant panda can conceive a cub is so short, the zoo's panda team performed an artificial insemination on Mei Xiang. They artificially inseminated her with fresh semen from Tian Tian, whom Mei Xiang arrived in the U.S. capital in late 2000 with, for the procedure.

"Every giant panda breeding season is slightly different, but Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have been displaying very clear and strong behaviors this year," Steven Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, said in a statement.

"They made it extremely obvious to us that they were preparing for breeding, and in turn we have been tracking Mei Xiang's hormones to make sure we didn't miss the optimal window for an artificial insemination. It's time to wait and see if we were successful."

The panda team will not know if the artificial insemination was successful for several months, said the zoo.

Giant panda pregnancies and pseudopregnancies generally last three to six months. Veterinarians will conduct ultrasound to track changes in Mei Xiang's reproductive tract and determine if she is pregnant during the next several months.

Scientists will also monitor her hormones to determine when she is near the end of a pseudopregnancy or pregnancy. There is no way to determine if a female is pregnant by hormone analysis and behavior alone.

During their stay in the United States, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the zoo's second pair of giant pandas, have given birth to several cubs, three of which survived.

The latest census in 2014 found there were 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild, up from 1,114 decades ago. The number of pandas bred in captivity reached 548 globally as of last November, according to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 13:28:41|Editor: Yamei

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Members of the Chinese rescue team spray disinfectants at Amilcar Cabral Elementary School, a temporary shelter for victims of the Cyclone Idai, in Beira, Mozambique, March 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)

BEIRA, Mozambique, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen days have passed since Cyclone Idai made landfall near the coastal city of Beira in central Mozambique.

The sky has been clear in the past full week without rain, which is a good omen for a city ravaged by storms and flooding rains for so long.

In the densely populated neighborhood Munhava, if you ask a local child how he or she has been doing, the most likely answer you would get is: I'm doing okay.

When a group of Chinese medical staff sprayed the facilities at June 25 Elementary School, kids were running around over an open gutterway, romping after one another.

Everything looked fine for most of the local children, but ten-year-old schoolgirl Yolanda Sousa was worried.

Sousa lived with her mother, her sister and aunt. She feared that her aunt, who has been in bed and suffered from diarrhea for days, was going to die.

"I know the Chinese are here to protect us from this kind of disease. I have the habit to wash my hands before eating or after toilet," said Sousa, adding that she was told to wash her hands with soap or plant ash.

It's easy even for a 10-year-old to keep personal hygiene habits if she has her own place to stay, but things will get much more difficult if too many people huddle together in one single room, under the same roof.

Sousa's school has been the shelter for 318 victims of the Cyclone Idai, and its deputy director Joaquim Joao said the spraying is important, because "many victims live in one classroom separated by sex. Many are children and women; they deserve to be at some place cleaner."

In Sousa's neighborhood, the Chinese rescue team also provided sanitizing services at Amilcar Cabral Elementary School, which functioned as a temporary shelter for almost 600 victims.

"The conditions are not good for everyone who lives here. They sleep in the classroom on the ground, side by side," said Alberto Muanido, a local research assistant of the Health Alliance International who assisted the government in identifying the places in need of sanitizing.

"Many cases of diarrhea came from the neighborhood of Munhava. Right now in the school nobody has the symptoms. We only asked the team to come here to prevent it from happening," Muanido told Xinhua.

Laurinda Fael, a peasant, moved to the school with her three children since the dawn of March 15 after their house was destroyed by the storm. She said they didn't expect to stay here for long.

"The help from the Chinese is good, but if I got any help to rebuild my house, I will move out," said Fael.

National Director of Medical Care Hussen Issa said the local newspaper "The Country" reported Thursday that five people have died from severe diarrhea over the last two days in Munhava, but it cannot be confirmed whether the deaths were caused by cholera.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said on Thursday that the government intends to ensure the vaccination of 800,000 people against cholera to prevent outbreaks of the disease.

Zhu Wei, head of the medical staff of the Chinese rescue team, whose team sanitized three temporary shelters on Friday morning in Beira, said their work was very important for the recovery of normal life and the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas at this crucial stage.

"If the epidemics make the disaster area into an infected area, the subsequent relief work will increase exponentially," said Zhu.

Asked if there was going be an outbreak, Muanido said: "It can be contained, we have worse situation before and we managed to contain it."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 13:33:42|Editor: Xiaoxia

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QALAT, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Insider attack in a police checkpoint in Shahr-e-Safa district of the southern Zabul province left nine police personnel dead on Saturday, an official said on condition of anonymity.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 13:58:46|Editor: mingmei

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At 8 a.m., Qin Peng puts on a white coat and stands in front of a machine that blows dust off of him, preparing to start work.

Qin, 45, said the dust on the human body may contain pest eggs, so it has to be blown off.

Qin is a vegetable planter. Instead of toiling in fields, he works in a "plant factory" in the southeastern suburb of Beijing, where eight types of vegetables including lettuce and spinach are growing on planting beds.

The factory, with an area of over 10,000 square meters, is a project of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.

Last December, the company's fresh food brand JD Fresh partnered with Japanese chemical manufacturing giant Mitsubishi Chemical to open the factory featuring Japanese hydroponic technology.

To enhance livability, seeds are isolated in a sealed seedling box for around one week. The temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide concentration inside the box are adjustable to keep seeds growing in the best condition. LED lights are also equipped to accelerate the growth of vegetables.

After maturing, the seeds are taken out of the box and plugged into the holes on the plant beds, where their roots can be soaked in a nutrient solution.

The adoption of the recycled nutrient solution enables the factory to consume 90 percent less water than a traditional plantation, and the standard growing process is much more efficient, said Zhao Lei, head of the plant factory project.

"For instance, the growing season of spinach is only 19 days, which allows 19 harvests in one year, while the traditional cultivation of spinach on a farmland plot has only four harvests each year at most," he said.

Zhao said the factory-grown vegetables are sold both online and offline at four to five times the market price of ordinary vegetables, but still sell out every day.

Zhou Wenjuan, a customer in Changping District, Beijing, has been ordering hydroponic vegetables online for more than a month.

"They are so clean that I don't even need to wash them. The vegetables are grown in a fully enclosed room without pests, and thus pesticide is not used," she said.

With rising incomes and a growing demand for a better life, an increasing number of Chinese consumers are willing to spend more on high-quality food that is nutritious and free of pesticides.

Besides the hydroponic plant factory in Beijing, similar soilless cultivation projects are seen in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Dalian, Changchun and other cities across the country.

Many enterprises, including China's largest food trade company COFCO, and scientific research institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have been engaged in the sector.

Zhao did not disclose the profits of the plant factory but said they are planning to expand.

"The factory does not need pesticides and can avoid soil pollution. Our 10,000-square-meter factory only needs eight workers. These advantages ensure the profitability prospect of the plant factory," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 14:08:48|Editor: mingmei

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have given the title "Model of the Times" to a group of forest farm workers in a remote northwestern county for their unswerving desert-fighting and afforestation efforts since the early 1980s.

The three generations of workers at the Babusha Forest Farm in Gulang County, Gansu Province have managed to turn their hometown on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert into livable green land from an inhospitable place where farmland and villages were long plagued by sand erosion, according to a statement by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Over the past 38 years, the farm workers have taken 14,467 hectares of desert under control through afforestation and kept 25,000 hectares of land off limits to allow trees and grass to regenerate, the statement said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 14:18:49|Editor: zh

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China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang addresses the opening ceremony of the 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 30, 2019. The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism was launched here Saturday with an aim to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

WELLINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism was launched here Saturday with an aim to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

An official ceremony was held at Wellington's Te Papa Tongawera, Museum of New Zealand, and attended by high-level officials and hundreds of representatives from the tourism industry in both countries.

China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang read the welcoming message by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for the opening ceremony.

"Tourism is an important area of our cooperation and a driving force for our peoples' mutual understanding and friendly ties. Chinese tourists are attracted by scenic beauty and cultural diversity of New Zealand, and visitors from New Zealand marvel at China's natural wonders and rich heritage as an ancient civilization," Li said in the message.

"Last year, around 600,000 visits were exchanged between the two countries. China remains the second largest overseas tourist market of New Zealand," Li said.

"The China-New Zealand Year of Tourism presents an opportunity for our two countries to enhance tourism cooperation through people-to-people contact. More people-to-people contact between China and New Zealand will increase our mutual knowledge and awareness, which are central to more popular support for our bilateral relations and cooperation," the Chinese premier said.

New Zealand Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis read the welcoming message by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the opening ceremony.

Ardern said "Tourism is a crucial strand in our bilateral relationship, and is a particularly important driver of economic growth. There was an 8.8 percent increase in Chinese holidaymakers to New Zealand from 2017 to 2018, and China is New Zealand's second-largest tourism market. The number of New Zealanders visiting China has also reached a new high."

"The recent Christchurch terrorist attacks brought into sharp relief the importance of building interactions and understanding across peoples, cultures and borders. Initiatives during the Year of Tourism reflect China and New Zealand's shared commitment to doing just that," Ardern said.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi said "New Zealand is a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Zealand in 2017, the two sides signed Belt and Road cooperation documents. The connection between facilities and people's hearts is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative."

Wu said "Sino-New Zealand's Belt and Road cooperation will not only help to enhance New Zealand's tourism infrastructure, but also further strengthen New Zealand's advantage as an ideal tourist destination for Chinese tourists and attract more Chinese tourists."

Richard Davies, manager of tourism policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said the Year of Tourism gives New Zealand an opportunity to showcase the things that makes it a world class destination.

Tourism New Zealand General Manager -- New Zealand & Government Relations, Rebecca Ingram said "Tourism New Zealand's focus is on ensuring New Zealand remains a desirable destination and top of mind as an option for Chinese travelers."

"China is New Zealand's most valuable visitor market. With the highest daily spend of all our visitors and a highly seasonal profile, our Chinese visitors help to spread the benefits of tourism throughout the year."

During the 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, New Zealand's tourism sector and beyond is encouraged to think about what they can do to get their China business ready.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 14:53:54|Editor: mingmei

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HEFEI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Though too old to walk, Rusty, a black Labrador, hobbles over to George James, crouches down and pants while enjoying the scratches from the Englishman.

With an ill-fitting white coat and dirty apron, it's hard to believe that the scruffy man surrounded by dogs was dressed in a suit teaching college students just a few hours ago.

The former British emergency physician came to China two years ago. He teaches at a university in Hefei, Anhui Province. But he is better known as the city's stray dog keeper, adopting more than 100 stray dogs in the shelter he established, George's Shelter.

Living in the shelter, Rusty has avoided the ill fate of starving on the street after his owner passed away. He now lives out his final days in comfort and safety.

"Stray dogs, just like people, also feel scared, lonely and hungry. We have a responsibility to protect and love them," said James.

James named the first dog he adopted Rosemary. One freezing night two years ago, he found the one-month-old white terrier puppy shivering on the street, begging for shelter.

As he continued to adopt more and more animals, the small apartment offered by the university was too small to support them. James now rents an old house in the suburban district of Hefei, providing the space he needed to set up George's Shelter. Many of his students and volunteers have joined him in taking care of dogs.

"I want to build a home for these unwanted babies where they can feel safe," he said.

George's Shelter has rules: all dogs must receive disease checks before entering the shelter; they must be regularly vaccinated; sick dogs and aggressive ones should be quarantined; donations of dog food and vaccines are more preferred than money.

"More importantly, stray dogs must be sterilized. Otherwise, 100 will soon become 200, or even 500," James said.

He said many western countries also have a stray dog problem. Some animal clinics sterilize stray dogs free of charge. The cost of animal sterilization surgery is still very high in China.

"I wouldn't have been able to stick to the work without the support of so many kind Chinese people," James said.

The owner of the house rents the place to him for free after learning James wanted to use the house to help stray dogs. Over the past week, an animal vaccine manufacturer in Shanghai donated vaccines worth 10,000 yuan (1,494 U.S. dollars).

Zhang Xiaojing, a retired doctor in Beijing, called James a "madman" after he visited George's Shelter.

He found James has very simple personal items in the house. During the winter, he places all the heating equipment in the kennel and provides bedding and blankets for the dogs.

Raising the big family of dogs keeps James busy. He gets up at 5 a.m. to hurry to the shelter, which is 15 km away from the university.

After cleaning and feeding, he heads off to teach at 8 a.m., and returns to the shelter after class and stays until evening.

James remembers the name of every dog and often jokes that he couldn't even remember his patients' names when he was in England.

He said his biggest concern is who would take over his work to take care of the dogs when he eventually leaves China.

To his relief, a veterinary school in Hefei has contacted him, discussing the possibility of taking over the stray dog shelter as an extracurricular base.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 14:53:54|Editor: Xiaoxia

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RIO DE JANEIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian judge ruled on Friday that the government cannot carry on celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the 1964 military coup.

A commemorative message praising the role of the military in 1964 should not be published or read, Judge Ivani Silva said, although such a message had already been read at least in the military command in the capital Brasilia.

Earlier this month, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ordered the country's military to carry out "proper celebrations" of the 1964 coup, which he qualified as a "democratic revolution." The coup inaugurated a military dictatorship which lasted two decades in Brazil and made thousands of victims.

Bolsonaro's order to celebrate the coup has aroused much criticism from the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Office, the Bar Association, and the victims' associations.

Earlier on Friday, Fabian Salvioli, special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, called Bolsonaro's orders "immoral and inadmissible" and an attempt of revisionism.

The president then backpedaled, saying that he meant that the event should be remembered and observed, not praised.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:14:09|Editor: zh

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SHENZHEN, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A new air route will be launched between China's tech hub Shenzhen and Japan's Nagoya on May 5.

The route will be operated by China's low-cost carrier Spring Airlines using an Airbus A320 aircraft. One round-trip flight is scheduled every day.

The outbound flight leaves Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport at 5:55 a.m. Beijing time and arrives at Nagoya's Central Japan International Airport at 10:10 a.m. local time.

The return flight departs Nagoya at 10:40 p.m. local time and arrives in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong Province, at 2 a.m. Beijing time the next day.

Last year, over 8 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, up 13.9 percent year on year.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:14:09|Editor: zh

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UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese lieutenant general said here Friday that China is prepared to play a bigger role in global peace and security efforts.

"China stands ready to work with all parties to enable UN peacekeeping operations to progress with the times and play a bigger role in the peace and security sector," Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, told a United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference.

"The United Nations has played an important role in the maintenance of world peace and enhancing common development," said Shao.

At present, the international community is undergoing profound changes at an ever-faster pace. With the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, the international multilateral order and global governance are being challenged, he noted.

China has all long played its part in promoting world peace and development as well as in maintaining the international order, Shao added.

"As a firm supporter of UN peacekeeping operations, China faithfully fulfills UN peacekeeping mandates and actively contributes to the UN peacekeeping cause," said the lieutenant general.

Shao said China's first peacekeeping helicopter squad has been deployed to Africa, and China has trained more than 1,800 peacekeepers from other countries.

"China has worked hard to build the capacity of its peacekeeping standby force, and it's ready to send more engineering, transport and medical capacity to serve peacekeeping operations at the request of the UN," he said.

The lieutenant general added that China is steadily pressing ahead with military assistance to the Africa Union.

"The 1-billion-U.S. dollar China UN Peacekeeping Fund has identified peacekeeping capacity building as a priority. The fund will be used to assist the UN in enhancing safety and security of peacekeepers and support developing countries, especially African countries" he added.

"With his earnest commitment to the reform of the UN peace and security sector, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed this peacekeeping initiative," he said. "China supports this."

The lieutenant general also called on efforts in capacity building, adding that "it is very important to rapidly deploy well-trained peacekeeping troops."

The Chinese military is willing and ready to engage with all other parties to strengthen the building of peacekeeping standby forces and improve the capacity of UN peacekeeping missions, Shao said.

He called for more efforts to extend pragmatic cooperation and share experiences in peacekeeping operations, noting that the Chinese military has carried out peacekeeping exchanges with more than 80 countries and a dozen international and regional organizations.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:19:11|Editor: xuxin

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NEW DELHI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A powerful blast took place Saturday inside a moving car on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in India-controlled Kashmir, very near to a convoy of buses carrying security personnel affiliated to the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The footage showed the car was completely damaged and charred, but the driver of the car was reportedly missing.

One of the buses of the convoy was also damaged in the blast, though there was no human injury or loss of life.

The incident occurred in the Banihal area of Ramban district.

According to local media, this might be a cylinder blast and might not be a terror attack on the CRPF security personnel.

In a similar incident on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district on Feb. 14, as many as 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide terror attack on a convoy of buses carrying hundreds of CRPF personnel.

The proscribed militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) immediately claimed responsibility for the terror attack.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:39:18|Editor: zh

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SAO PAULO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese company Hanergy announced Friday that its photovoltaic roof tiles would be installed on a building in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"It will be a great demonstration project for pioneering photovoltaic systems by Hanergy in Brazil and Latin America," Han Rui, CEO of Hanergy's Brazilian subsidiary, told Xinhua following the signing of a contract.

It is the first time that Hanergy will use building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).

Equipment imported from China and from Hanergy's German plant will be used in the building's renovation, which will be designed in a Chinese architectural style.

The building will offer services to Chinese private companies in Brazil.

Brazilian company Ecohome, specializing in sustainable energy solutions, was contracted to install 100 Hanergy photovoltaic roof tiles on the terrace in order to turn it into an intelligent building with a capacity of generating 48 kilowatt-peak (kWp) of power, said Bruno Batista, partner of Ecohome.

"We estimate that the energy savings with these Hanergy photovoltaic roof tiles will be 50 percent," Batista said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:49:21|Editor: xuxin

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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants overrun the Arghanchkhaw district in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province on Saturday, a member of the provincial council Mahboub Rahman Talat told Xinhua.

"The armed militants following 24 hours of fierce fighting overrun Arghanchkhaw district early Saturday," Talat said.

According to Talat, 12 security personnel were killed, six injured and five others arrested.

However, provincial officials in Faizabad, capital city of Badakhshan, told Xinhua that "fighting has been continuing" in the Arghanchkhaw district and the Taliban insurgents have suffered huge casualties. He didn't confirm whether the district had fallen to Taliban's hand or not.

Nevertheless, locals have confirmed the fall of the restive district to the Taliban fighters.

Meantime, Zabihullah Majahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit said they have overrun the Arghanchkhaw district, claiming several soldiers have been killed and injured.

Majahid added that three Taliban fighters had been killed and three others injured during the fight.

This is the third district in Badakhshan that has been fallen to the Taliban militants. The militant group established control over Yamgan and Wardoch districts a couple of years ago.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 16:54:23|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's key cultural news from the past week:

-- Books on Chinese classics boom in 2018

China saw a surge in the sales of books on the Chinese classics last year, especially those designed for children.

Chinese online retailer giant JD said that compared with 2017, 131 percent more such books were sold in 2018. The sales volume of Chinese classic photocopies rocketed by nearly 200 percent.

-- After eight years, Mai Jia unveils new book deciphering codes of human nature

Chinese writer Mai Jia has said his new book, initially titled "Rensheng Haihai" (life is ocean-wide), tells of a struggling man's "friendship" with his own fate.

More than eight years after the publication of his last novel, Mai Jia's new work is ready. In the past, his spy thrillers have swept up major literary awards in China, and he has been referred to by some Western critics as China's answer to John le Carre.

-- Palace Museum enhances cooperation with the capital airport in cultural promotion

The Palace Museum and the Beijing Capital International Airport have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in promoting the museum and its cultural relics.

The agreement focuses on cooperation in various aspects including digital exhibitions, promotion of cultural products and training of cultural relic restoration, among others.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 17:29:32|Editor: Yurou

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SANAA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and five others injured when a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a house in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah on Saturday morning, an official of the local council said.

The airstrike hit the house in the village of Dhahr Bani Hasan in Abs district, killing the two men and injured five others, including women and children.

The victims are members of the same family, the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa.

Entering its fifth year, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 3 million others and pushed over 20 million Yemenis into the brink of famine.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 17:39:33|Editor: Yurou

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RAMALLAH, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday said that "a free and independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is inevitable."

Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA marking the 43rd anniversary of Land Day, stressing "Palestine will only be for the Palestinians," and "the suffering of our people over 100 years and the enormous sacrifices made by this great people will not go to waste."

"The Land Day anniversary is a time for our people to renew their commitment and uphold the accomplishments. With the steadfastness of our people, we are able to thwart all plots," he added.

Abbas saluted those who died on Land Day and all those who died for Palestine, as well as the wounded and prisoners, stressing that no one is going to give up on demanding freedom of the prisoners.

Land Day was first commemorated on March 30, 1976, when Israeli soldiers killed six unarmed Palestinians during demonstrations in protest of an Israeli decision to confiscate thousands of acres of land in the Galilee and the Negev areas.

Since then, Palestinians have designated this day to mark the sacrifices of the Palestinian people's lives in defending their land.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 17:39:33|Editor: Yurou

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NEW DELHI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- President of India's main ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah filed his nomination papers on Saturday from the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency in India's western state of Gujarat.

The constituency is presently represented by BJP's founding member and stalwart leader Lal Krishna Advani, who was denied nomination in this election. Advani, 91, represented the parliamentary constituency since 1998, winning six times consecutively from there.

Addressing his party workers on the occasion, Shah said that the BJP had already emerged as the world's biggest political party in terms of membership. He appealed to his party members to vote in large numbers for the BJP candidates in order to ensure a second stint for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Before filing his nomination papers, the BJP chief carried out a four-km long road show from the adjoining city of Ahmedabad, where thousands of his party workers greeted him while standing by road sides.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 18:44:45|Editor: xuxin

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GHAZNI, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Over a dozen students and teachers were killed or injured as a mortar mine struck a school in the troubled Andar district of the eastern Ghazni province on Saturday, provincial government official said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 18:49:46|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, sent congratulatory messages respectively to the opening ceremony of 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, which was held Saturday in Wellington.

In his message, Li said tourism is an important area of China-New Zealand cooperation and a driving force for the two peoples' mutual understanding and friendly ties.

Last year, there were around 600,000 visits between the two countries, Li said, adding that China remains New Zealand's second largest overseas tourist market.

The China-New Zealand Year of Tourism presents a new opportunity for the two countries to deepen tourism cooperation and enhance people-to-people communication, he said.

The two governments and their respective tourism authorities should enhance services to ensure better experiences for tourists from China and New Zealand, Li said.

More people-to-people contact between China and New Zealand will increase their mutual understanding, which are central to growing popular support for bilateral relations, the Chinese premier said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 19:14:51|Editor: xuxin

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LILONGWE, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Malawian government and the UN Humanitarian Country Team released a joint appeal on Friday, calling for adequate aid to support 869,000 people affected by floods following Cyclone Idai, which has killed 60 people since early March.

Among the affected, about 87,000 people are completely displaced and in need of immediate assistance, including 10,000 children and 45,000 women who stayed in over 170 displacement sites, according to the three-month Response Plan Appeal.

Out of a total of 45.2 million U.S. dollars that the country requires to contain the situation, only 14.6 million dollars has been received, leaving a gap of more than 30 million dollars, the appeal said.

"This is a three-month Response Plan Appeal (March-May) and it is targeting 162,240 households, including the 87,000 displaced people who are camped in the various sites," the appeal read.

The assessments conducted by inter-agencies established needs in the areas of agriculture, food security, shelter and camp management, health, nutrition, education and water, hygiene and sanitation, among others.

Food security and agriculture are among the needs that have been hit most by the funding shortage, according to the appeal.

The floods have also disrupted education as 80 percent of the camps accommodating the displaced people are schools.

"There is need to move the camps to decongest the areas and to enable classes to resume," reads the appeal.

The UN team and the Malawian government have expressed fear that failure to adequately respond to the current humanitarian needs in Malawi "is likely to have far-reaching consequences."

Cyclone Idai hit southern Africa early this month. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday described the cyclone as one of the worst storms that hit Africa. The storm also hit Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

As of Tuesday, the death toll in the three countries exceeded 700, with hundreds still missing, according to various official sources. On Tuesday, Guterres urged countries to donate to a 281.7-million-dollar flash appeal.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 19:14:52|Editor: xuxin

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GHAZNI, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At least four students were killed and 17 others including two teachers sustained injuries as a mortar mine struck a school in Andar district of eastern Ghazni province on Saturday, provincial government spokesman Aref Nuri said.

According to the official, the mortar mine struck Mullah Noh Baba school during class in Andar district on Saturday, which left four students dead on the spot and 17 others including two teachers wounded.

The mortar mine struck the school when fierce fighting was going on between government forces and the Taliban militants, according to villagers, saying no one knows which side fired the deadly mortar.

Civilians mostly bear the brunt of war in the war-battered Afghanistan as 3,804 civilians including 927 children were killed and more than 7,100 others injured in 2018, according to a report of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released here last month.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 19:24:54|Editor: xuxin

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GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh and a senior Egyptian security intelligence delegation visited on Saturday the area of the eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, to observe the implementation of an Egyptian-brokered calm understanding, security sources and eyewitnesses said.

They said that the Egyptian delegation, which has been in the Gaza Strip since Thursday, headed to eastern Gaza city together with Haniyeh "to follow up and observe the situation on the border as part of their mission to reinforce the calm agreement reached between the Palestinian factions and Israel."

The eyewitnesses said that dozens of police and security forces officers and members redeployed on Saturday at main streets' crossroads, mainly the roads that lead to eastern Gaza Strip areas, to manage traffic and back the demonstrators who join one-year anniversary of the Great March of Return.

The eyewitnesses also said that members of the High Commission of the Great March of Return wearing orange jackets were seen moving among the masses of demonstrators in eastern Gaza Strip, trying to keep the crowds away from the fence of the border with Israel.

On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators marched toward the eastern area of the Gaza Strip, close to the fence of the border with Israel, to mark one year of the start of the Great March of Return and also the 43rd anniversary of the Palestinian "Land Day."

Clashes broke out between hundreds of demonstrators and the Israeli soldiers stationed on the border in eastern Gaza Strip, said eyewitnesses, adding that the soldiers fired tear gas and live gunfire at the demonstrators to keep them away from approaching the fence.

Medical sources said that several young men were shot and wounded by gunfire in the clashes with the soldiers, adding that the injured were taken to hospitals for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the Israeli media reported that Israeli army officials called on the demonstrators to keep a distance of 300 meters away from the fence.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations expressed hope that the protests in eastern Gaza would be peaceful without casualties among Gaza Strip's civilians, mainly among children.

A general strike dominated the Gaza Strip, while the ministries of health and interior, which are run by Hamas movement, declared a status of emergency.

The official governmental and private sector's institutions closed on Saturday, including schools, universities and stores all over the Gaza Strip, except medical institutions, clinics and hospitals.A train runs on the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway during an operational test near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Oct. 3, 2016. Africa's first modern electrified railway -- the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway built by Chinese firms, is set to become fully operational on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

ADDIS ABABA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has hailed his country's strong economic ties with China.

At a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday evening, Ahmed said strong institutionalized economic ties with China has helped Ethiopia achieve double digit growth for more than a decade.

"The Ethiopia-China ties will continue to grow stronger," he said.

Ahmed said China has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Ethiopia.

"The Chinese government is our biggest supporter in the Addis Ababa city beautification scheme, with China providing generous grant for the project," he said.

"The Chinese government was our strongest development partner yesterday and continues to be our strongest development partner today," Ahmed said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 19:39:58|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Kenya rose 6.2 percent in the last quarter of 2018 to clock 49.5 million from 46.6 million, a new industry report showed on Saturday.

This translated to a mobile penetration level of 106.2 percent, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) report, which attributed the situation to multiple SIM card ownership.

"The penetration level of more than 100 percent is due to the multiple SIM cards ownership in the country," said CA.

A report published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) last year indicated that at least 30 percent of Kenyans owned more than one SIM card.

During the period, there were over 2.9 million net additions in mobile subscription, with the authority attributing the substantial increase to the three telecommunication firms' promotions.

Mobile money subscriptions and agents rose to 31.6 million and 223,931 respectively during the October to December quarter, said the report.

"A total of 787.8 million transactions (person-to-person and withdrawals), valued at 2.1 trillion shillings (21 billion U.S. dollars) were made in the quarter," said CA.

There were 586.9 million mobile commerce transactions registered in the three months, valued at 18 billion dollars while the value of person-to-person transfers amounted to 7.3 billion dollars.

During the quarter, the total voice traffic stood at 14.7 billion minutes, up from 14.4 billion minutes as Kenyans spend more time talking on phone.

Kenya's telecom firm, Safaricom recorded the largest share of mobile voice traffic at 9.5 billion minutes from 8.9 billion reported in the previous quarter. The other minutes were shared by Telkom, Airtel, Finserve and Mobile Pay.

The number of SMS sent during the period ending December 2018 rose by 17.6 percent to stand at 18.1 billion from 15.4 billion recorded during the period ending September 2018.

"The increase is attributed to the busy festive season and the national examination period during which friends and relatives exchanged messages of goodwill," said the CA.

Like the other sectors, Kenya's internet market remained vibrant during the period under review.

As of Dec. 3, 2018, the total number of active data and internet subscriptions stood at 45.7 million, of which 45.3 million accessed internet via their mobile phones.

"Demand for data services in Kenya is driven by increased need to access government services online, e-commerce services and enhanced interest in social media platforms and high definition video streaming," noted CA.

There was an increase in the number of cyber threats targeted at Kenya's cyberspace, with over 10.2 million threats detected during the quarter as compared to 3.8 million in the previous one.

The regulator observed that the Kenyan mobile market has experienced significant growth over the years, but it is yet to reach its saturation point.

Bernard Mwaso of Edell IT Solutions in Nairobi pointed out that Kenya's mobile industry is soaring at a faster rate due to inter-linkages of various services.

"The fact that people can buy airtime, pay for various services or buy goods and buy internet data via mobile money means the segments support the other. This is what is driving the growth of the sector in Kenya, from subscriptions to usage," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 19:55:02|Editor: zh

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by Zhang Xiaoqing

WELLINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The strong relationship between China and New Zealand is the most important thing, New Zealand's Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis told Xinhua Saturday in an exclusive interview.

The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism was launched at the country's capital Wellington on Saturday with an aim to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

The official ceremony, held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongawera, was attended by high-level officials and hundreds of representatives from the tourism industry in both countries. Davis read the welcoming message by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the opening ceremony.

"The relationship between China and New Zealand is the most important thing," Davis said to Xinhua. "I think if we get the relationship right on, we continue on our strong, respectful ways, everything else will fall into place."

"The most important thing for me is that we have a strong relationship, not just with the New Zealand government and the Chinese government, but our people, and we can do that by having more Chinese visitors come to New Zealand, but also more New Zealanders go and visit China."

Last year, around 600,000 visits were exchanged between the two countries. There was an 8.8 percent increase in Chinese holidaymakers visiting New Zealand from 2017 to 2018, and China is New Zealand's second-largest tourism market.

"There are many beautiful places all around New Zealand and part of our desire is to see more people visit the smaller and least known places but is equally beautiful and experience our landscapes in our culture."

When asked about Christchurch's terror attacks on March 15, Davis said, "In Christchurch isn't what New Zealand's about ... We really welcome everybody with open arms. We value diversity, we value our differences, different cultures, different people. That's something we hope never happens again, and it shouldn't define who we are as New Zealanders. We're a welcoming country to people from all nations."

Davis predicted that there will be more New Zealanders visiting China this year. "I've just seen the wonderful landscapes, the culture and the colors of China. It's very exciting and I'm sure New Zealanders would love to go and see and experience more of that."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:15:08|Editor: xuxin

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VALLETTA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Three African teenagers rescued at sea have been charged with hijacking a commercial tanker to force it to change course to Malta.

The Turkish tanker, the El Hiblu 1 was seized by a group of migrants of a larger group of 108 whom it rescued at the sea within Libya's search and rescue zone on Wednesday.

The migrants reportedly threatened the crew and forced it to change direction once they realized that they were going to be returned to Libya.

The three youths, aged 15, 16 and 19 appeared in court on Saturday to face charges of having unlawfully seized control of the ship, a crime which under Maltese law is punishable by a jail term between seven and 30 years.

Two of the teenagers are from Guinea and a third from Cote d'Ivoire. All three said in court that they were students.

Bail was denied as they have no ties to the island.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:20:10|Editor: zh

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by Xinhua writer Xia Lin and Wu Xiaoling

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A joint institute between Tsinghua University in China and UC Berkeley in the United States has bolstered the exchange of ideas between the two countries, an education administrator said.

"We want to be a bridge that crosses nations, societies, universities and the Pacific," said Connie Chang-Hasnain, co-director of Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), which is jointly established by University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and Tsinghua University under the support of the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

"This is a bridge that brings people from all walks of life together, exchange views and change the world," Chang-Hasnain said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday, referring to TBSI.

The admission for TBSI is organized by Tsinghua University, with faculty from UC Berkeley involved in the selection process. The institute provides master and doctoral degrees, while students are given the chance to study at UC Berkeley for one or two years. Some students are qualified to receive master's degrees both from Tsinghua and UC Berkeley upon graduation.

Chang-Hasnain, who also serves as Associate Dean for Strategic Alliances at College of Engineering at UC Berkeley, said the institute originated from the long-term exchanges between the professors from the two universities.

Chang-Hasnain used to hold a summer school in Tsinghua University in 2007, and two years later she spent a whole year at the university during her sabbatical leave from UC Berkeley. Those experiences have enabled her to find lots of similarities between the two universities, such as adhering to the principle of seeking truth from facts, pragmatic attitudes and a strong sense of mission.

"I was thinking, why not systematize our fragmented cooperation and get the impact reaching out to more people? When I brought this idea to my colleagues at UC Berkeley, 40 professors expressed strong interest," she said.

After rounds of discussions, the idea was turned into reality. Although UC Berkeley cooperates with many other universities, TBSI is the only one that exists as a joint institute, with 23 professors from more than 10 departments participating in the program.

TBSI has three trans-discipline research centers in Environmental Science and New Energy Technology, Data Science and Information Technology, as well as Precision Medicine and Healthcare. The areas were chosen based on the consideration of bringing scholars from different backgrounds to participate in as many centers as possible, and solving world-class problems in technology and societal development.

Chang-Hasnain said UC Berkeley has benefited a lot through its partnership with Tsinghua University over the past several years that extends far beyond research and education.

"It's like we are an atom at the beginning, then it became molecules," said Chang-Hasnain. "With multiple molecules, we became various substances, which means we are able to do lots of things."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:25:13|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's science news from the past week:

-- Chinese researchers have built an open database on Circular RNAs, laying the groundwork for studies on the novel class of RNAs with important biological implications.

-- A group of scientists have discovered a fossil bird dating back about 110 million years, which is the first ever found to have an unlaid egg in its abdomen.

-- Researchers from China and Germany have developed a way to improve microalgae's tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide, offering new perspectives on cutting carbon emissions and even future exploration of Mars.

-- China has released 11.25 million spectra of celestial objects acquired by the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) to astronomers worldwide.

-- Researchers from Tianjin University said that they had developed ultra-high-energy fluorinated carbon materials, the key technology to realizing ultra-energy storage.

-- Chinese scientists have discovered a certain protein that is essential in mammals' sperm development.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:25:14|Editor: xuxin

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A paramilitary trooper was wounded Saturday in a grenade attack in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The grenade was hurled towards paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Pulwama town, 32 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A CRPF person was wounded today after militants hurled a grenade towards their camp in a bank here," a police official told Xinhua. "The CRPF person was hit by splinters."

Following the attack police and paramilitary troopers cordoned off the area to carry out search for the suspected persons, police said.

The attack triggered panic in the area, eyewitnesses said.

So far no militant outfit has claimed responsibility of the attack.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:30:14|Editor: zh

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XINING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Five snow leopards were captured in rare video footage in Qilian Mountain National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province, according to the park administration.

The video clip was recorded in May 2018 on a monitoring camera used for an investigation on the species in the park and was only discovered by the park staff recently.

"It is rare to see five snow leopards together in a video," said Han Qiang, an official with the park administration.

Experts say the footage is proof that the leopards have formed a relatively stable population in the national park.

The leopard investigation was launched in May 2017. A total of 735 cameras were set up in an area of around 4,000 square kilometers, and have captured 1,200 pictures and videos of snow leopards over a period of more than 600 days.

Apart from snow leopards, researchers also found other rare wild animals including lynxes, manuls and Chinese mountain cats.

China has been continuously strengthening wildlife protection efforts in recent years. The snow leopard is a class-A protected animal in China and the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as endangered-to-vulnerable.

The Qilian Mountain National Park, one of the pilot national parks, runs 50,200 square kilometers, including 34,400 square kilometers in Gansu Province and 15,800 square kilometers in Qinghai.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 20:55:22|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China is moving to promote a package of breast cancer prevention and treatment standards across the country, hoping to further prolong patients' survival time and narrow the diagnosis and treatment gap between urban and rural areas.

A series of guidelines covering breast cancer screening, early diagnosis and treatment and rational drug use to follow-up treatment and management of concomitant diseases were released Saturday at an ongoing cancer and health conference jointly held by the National Cancer Center (NCC), Cancer Foundation of China, Beijing Breast Disease Society and other related institutions.

Data released by the NCC in March 2018 showed that the mortality rate of breast cancer in China accounted for 16.5 percent of all cancers in females. As breast cancer continues to lay claim to top incidence rates both at home and abroad, its cure rate has been improving steadily in China, with the five-year survival rate reaching 83.2 percent between 2010 and 2014, up by 7.3 percent since 2000.

As survival time has been significantly prolonged, more patients have entered a chronic disease period, according to the guidelines for breast cancer follow-up and overall management of concomitant diseases, the first situation of its kind in China, by the NCC.

Common concomitant diseases of breast cancer include cardiovascular diseases, abnormal bone metabolism and depression. "Among elder patients, cardiovascular diseases have caused even more deaths than cancer itself," said Ma Fei, executive chairman of the conference and expert from the NCC.

Under the dual effects of ovarian dysfunction and drugs, postmenopausal patients suffer a distinct drop in estrogen levels, which often results in an abnormal lipid amount in the blood and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, Ma explained.

In addition, a large number of patients will continue to receive endocrine therapy for five to 10 years after cancer treatment, which is often accompanied by abnormal bone metabolism, osteoporosis and even fractures.

The guidelines clearly require doctors, through interdisciplinary collaborations, to take into consideration a patient's blood lipid level and bone density before giving endocrine therapy. It also suggests that doctors intervene to help patients quit smoking and drinking alcohol as well as avoid tumbles and serious body impacts according to the evaluation of their overall health conditions.

Xu Binghe, a professor at the NCC who has been focusing on breast cancer treatment for more than three decades, noted that the guidelines, by standardizing the follow-up visits and examinations, would bring the prevention of possible concomitant diseases earlier than before and extend health care to survivors over their entire lifetime.

"It will certainly assist the patients in returning to their family and society in a better state," Xu said.

Ma Fei regarded the guidelines as an important step to change the disease-centered diagnosis and treatment model into a patient-centered one. "The patients should not only live longer but also live well," he said.

China issued the blueprint for health care development "Healthy China 2030" in 2016, aiming to raise the whole five-year cancer survival rate by 15 percentage points by 2030.

As for breast cancer, the five-year survival rate varies a lot among different areas. The eastern coastal cities report a survival rate of 90 percent, roughly the same level as in developed Western countries, while the inland and rural area rates are lower at 70 to 80 percent.

Moreover, the incidence of breast cancer in China is still growing by 3 to 4 percent annually, which is higher than the global average.

"To further improve the cure rate of breast cancer in China, early diagnosis and treatment are very important. So far, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are detected at an early stage, and less than 5 percent are found by screening," Ma said.

China has started to promote free breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings among rural women since 2009. But how to select among different screening techniques, especially when targeting different age groups, there are yet no unified standards. The lack of screening professionals has also resulted in high rates of false or missed diagnosis.

The NCC also released the guidelines for screening and early diagnosis and treatment at the conference, which defines the screening targets and methods as well as early diagnosis and treatment paths.

While European and American countries recommend mammography as the major screening method, these guidelines suggest the best option for Chinese patients is to combine mammography with ultrasound examination.

"We cannot just copy the international guidelines. For example, Western women usually have larger breasts with more fat, very suitable for mammography, but Chinese women often have smaller breasts with higher density, better for ultrasound equipment," Ma explained.

"Covering healthy people and paying particular attention to high-risk groups, the guidelines will help increase early detection of breast cancer," he said.

A consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of young patients who want to retain normal fertility was also issued during the conference.

According to Ma, the peak incidence age of breast cancer in China is 10 to 15 years earlier than that in western countries, with many patients younger than 35 years old. Most of these patients do not give birth yet and desire to have babies.

It is almost impossible for young patients to avoid chemotherapy, which usually contains cyclophosphamide (CTX) that is harmful to the reproductive system. The endocrine therapy is also likely to cause sterility due to its impact on the uterus and ovary, Ma said.

A research reveals that although more than half of the patients in China are worried about the procreation problem, very few ask to adjust their treatment plans.

The consensus suggests that young patients should all receive genetic counseling regardless of their family history and doctors think over the CTX adverse effects for young patients who desire pregnancy.

"The consensus fills in the gap in helping protect the reproductive health of cancer patients and provides practical operational instructions for medical institutions at all levels, marking a new step toward establishing an overall management system for breast cancer in China," Ma said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:15:26|Editor: zh

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VIENTIANE, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Lao China Bank (LCNB), a Chinese joint venture in Laos, has provided a scholarship worth 150 million Lao kip (some 17,500 U.S. dollars) to Confucius Institute in National University of Laos for supporting underprivileged students to learn Chinese language.

A ceremony was held on Friday at the university, the top education institution in Lao capital Vientiane, participated by the university's vice president, Phout Simmalavong, deputy general director of LCNB, Bounlath Soutisack, director of the university's Confucius Institute, Yonvilay Xayyalerd, among others.

The bank, with the 150 million Lao kip, will support 300 Lao students in the coming three years to learn Chinese free of charge.

Also on the ceremony, both sides reached consensus that the Confucius Institute will help LCNB to teach its local staff Chinese language, while the LCNB will offer internships to students of the institute.

The Confucius Institute in National University of Laos was established in March, 2010.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:15:28|Editor: zh

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XIANGSHUI, Jiangsu, March 30 (Xinhua) -- About 18,000 cubic meters of polluted water from the site of a deadly blast in eastern China's Jiangsu Province had been transported to sewage treatment facilities of two nearby chemical factories for temporary storage by Saturday noon, according to the rescue headquarters.

The acidic wastewater was from a pit formed after the explosion, which measures about 120 meters in diameter and 1.7 meters in depth.

The polluted water was first neutralized with alkaline substances and then transported through pipelines to the said facilities, before being treated later, said the rescue headquarters.

The headquarters said it would use lime to neutralize and solidify the acidic pollutants at the bottom of the pit. They will be treated as dangerous waste together with polluted soil.

The deadly explosion happened at about 2:48 p.m. last Thursday, following a fire that broke out in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. in a chemical park in Xiangshui County, Yancheng City.

The explosion killed 78 people and wounded hundreds as of Monday afternoon.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:30:32|Editor: xuxin

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a 35-year-old civilian Saturday in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The victim was fired upon in Baramulla town, about 70 km west of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Unidentified gunmen this evening shot dead a youth namely Arjumand Majid Bhat in the main town," a police official posted in Baramulla said. "He was shot at his shop. Though he was removed to hospital but doctors there declared him brought dead."

Soon after the incident a joint contingent of army and police launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area to nab the attackers.

Police suspect involvement of militants in the killing.

Militants in the region usually target families and individuals for their possible links with police and defense agencies. Even people having associations with pro-India political parties and police are targeted at times.

A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:35:33|Editor: ZX

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Gao Yan (L), chairwoman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), speaks during the China Lebanon Investment Forum in Beirut, Lebanon, March 30, 2019. Gao Yan, chairwoman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), announced on Saturday the opening of an office for CCPIT in Lebanon. "CCPIT in Lebanon will cooperate with Lebanese chambers to improve commercial and trade ties between Lebanon and China," Gao said. She added that China is Lebanon's largest trade partner and her country is keen on maintaining this position in the coming years. Gao's remarks came during the China Lebanon Investment Forum which aimed at drawing a roadmap for the future of cooperation between Lebanon and China on various levels. The event, which took place at Adnan Kassar Edifice for Arab Economy in Beirut, saw the participation of Lebanese officials, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian and representatives of the economic sectors in Lebanon and China. Gao also signed two memorandums of understanding with Lebanese officials for promotion of Chinese investment and collaboration on Lebanon's industrial zones and the creation of the China Arab Arbitration Center. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

BEIRUT, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Gao Yan, chairwoman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), announced on Saturday the opening of an office for CCPIT in Lebanon.

"CCPIT in Lebanon will cooperate with Lebanese chambers to improve commercial and trade ties between Lebanon and China," Gao said.

She added that China is Lebanon's largest trade partner and her country is keen on maintaining this position in the coming years.

Gao's remarks came during the China Lebanon Investment Forum which aimed at drawing a roadmap for the future of cooperation between Lebanon and China on various levels.

The event, which took place at Adnan Kassar Edifice for Arab Economy in Beirut, saw the participation of Lebanese officials, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian and representatives of the economic sectors in Lebanon and China.

Gao also signed two memorandums of understanding with Lebanese officials for promotion of Chinese investment and collaboration on Lebanon's industrial zones and the creation of the China Arab Arbitration Center.

Rayan Kouatly, secretary general of the Lebanese Arbitration Center, emphasized the importance of the establishment of an arbitration center to solve legal disputes to boost business cooperation.

Union of Arab Chambers Honorary Chairman Adnan Kassar described the initiatives taken during the event as a new official beginning for building strong Lebanese-Chinese relations.

"CCPIT chairwoman chose Lebanon as the first official visit's destination in the Arab world which is a great honor for our country ... Lebanon plays an important and strategic role in the Belt and Road Initiative," Kassar said.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa through the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

Lebanese and Chinese officials emphasized during the event the importance of boosting ties between the two countries in various areas.

"We have to be committed to increasing ties between the two countries in different areas which will have a positive impact on the peoples of China and Lebanon," Gao said.

Gao emphasized the need to increase mutual investments while inviting Lebanese companies to take part in exhibitions in China.

She also called upon Chinese companies to invest in Lebanon's industrial zones which will increase the country's exports while expanding Middle East markets.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Choucair, representing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said that Lebanon hopes to create trade balance with China.

Choucair added that Lebanon is preparing to launch a set of new projects within the framework of CEDRE, an international conference supporting Lebanon with 11 U.S. billion dollars in loans and donations to revamp the country's ailing infrastructure and bolster its economy.

"We call upon Chinese companies to partner with Lebanese businesses to implement these projects. We, from our side, promise to offer all the needed facilities for this purpose," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:50:38|Editor: xuxin

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Militancy and counter-militancy have left 26 fighters dead including 13 militants in Kandahar and Zabul provinces since Saturday morning, officials said.

At least five militants and three police constable were confirmed dead as clash erupted between government forces and the Taliban fighters in Band-e-Timor area of Miwand district in Kandahar province early Saturday and lasted for a while, provincial police chief Tawdin Khan has confirmed.

Several trenches of the militants have also been destroyed, the official asserted.

Similarly, the government stormed Taliban hideouts in Darazab area of Khakriz district, Kandahar province in the wee hours of Saturday, killing eight militants and injuring nine others, Tawdin Khan said.

The official also confirmed the death of a police personnel in the firefight.

In the meantime, the militants in a deadly insider attack on a checkpoint in Jald area of Shahr-e-Safa district in the neighboring Zabul province early Saturday killed nine police personnel on the spot, a member of provincial council, Ata Jan Haqbayan, has confirmed.

Taliban militants who have intensified activities against government interests in the war-battered country, in a statement sent to media outlets confirmed the attack against police in Shahr-e-Safa district and claimed that eight security personnel were killed and those who conducted the deadly offensive had joined the Taliban fighters.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 21:55:40|Editor: zh

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SHANGHAI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A 5G network in Shanghai's Hongkou District, backed by Chinese telecom giant China Mobile, started trial runs on Saturday.

Wu Qing, Shanghai's vice mayor, made the network's first video call using a Huawei Mate X, a foldable 5G smartphone, at the launch ceremony.

A total of 228 5G base stations have been deployed in Hongkou, making it the first district in Shanghai fully covered by a 5G network and a gigabit broadband network.

Zhang Jianming, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said the city aims to build over 10,000 5G base stations by the end of the year, and the number is expected to exceed 30,000 by 2021.

Zhang added that the 5G network would provide solutions to industrial manufacturing, internet-connected cars, healthcare and city management.

Shanghai's latest move adds to a recent trend of Chinese cities adopting the 5G network to meet public demands.

In late January, an airport in south China's Guangdong Province launched a 5G base station. An indoor 5G network will be installed in the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station by the end of this year.

Test data showed that 5G network is able to provide a peak single-user download speed of 1.6 Gbps, nearly 16 times faster than that of 4G service.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 22:00:42|Editor: xuxin

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CANBERRA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of international tourists who chose Australia as their holiday destination hit a record high last year, reaching 8.5 million, according to the latest international visitor survey results released on Saturday.

Overseas tourists pumped in a total of 44 billion Australian dollars (about 31 billion U.S. dollars), the survey suggested.

"In the last year we have seen, what is equivalent to, an extra 1,000 jumbos arrive in our airports, full of tourists from around the globe, keen to experience an Australian holiday," said Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham.

China continues to be the top market, with 1.3 million visitors spending 11.7 billion Australian dollars, an increase of five percent and 13 percent respectively.

"Within the Chinese market... we are also seeing a noticeable shift towards Free and Independent Travelers (FIT), who are more likely to stay longer, spend more and disperse more widely across regional Australia," said Birmingham.

He said that Asia presents an enormous tourism opportunity for Australia thanks to the region's huge emerging middle class, ever improving aviation capacity and increasingly competitive airfares.

With one in 13 Australians already employed in the tourism industry, these strong results could help to further strengthen the economy and create more jobs for Australians, he said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 22:05:43|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Municipality has set up an investment fund worth billions of dollars for developing its sub-center of Tongzhou District, according to the fund's major investor.

Beijing Investment Group Co. Ltd. (BIG), a cornerstone investor of the fund, said the fund is going to reach no less than 100 billion yuan (14.88 billion U.S. dollars).

BIG said it raised 14.41 billion yuan during the first round, which is 44 percent more than planned.

The fund will be used in fields including environmental protection, smart city construction, underground space development, infrastructure and high-end industries in the sub-center, according to Li Changli, chairman of BIG.

Beijing is shifting some of its administrative functions out of the city center into Tongzhou to help address problems including traffic congestion and air pollution. Sitting in the east of the capital, the sub-center aims to accommodate 1.3 million permanent residents by 2035.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 22:40:54|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi raised on Saturday the minimum wage of state employees to 2,000 Egyptian pounds (115.74 U.S. dollars) per month from 1,200 pounds, state Nile TV reported.

"The increase will be applied to all Egyptian workers," the president said in a ceremony for honoring Egyptian women and mothers.

The move came to ease the effects of austerity measures on Egyptians, the president said.

He added difficult time hasn't finished yet, but the conditions in Egypt are improving.

In late 2016, the Egyptian government started to liberalize the exchange rate of its local currency, the Egyptian pound, to contain shortage of dollars as an initial step of an economic reform program based on strict austerity measures, tax hikes and subsidy cuts.

Egypt's reform plan is encouraged by the International Monetary Fund, which offered the Arab country a 12-billion-dollar loan to support the reform, two thirds already delivered.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 22:51:02|Editor: yan

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BRATISLAVA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Slovak parliament has rejected the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention.

The decision was made on Friday by the parliament, which also asked the government to halt the process of ratification.

The resolution argues that suspicions arise when interpreting several provisions of the convention that it could violate the Constitution.

"It's in conflict with the constitutional definition of marriage, which is worded as a union between a man and a woman. One of the main shortcomings of the text is its definition of gender," stated the resolution.

The Istanbul Convention was opened for signature in May 2011 in Istanbul.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 23:51:21|Editor: yan

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VALLETTA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Presidential nominee and former Labour minister George Vella has resigned from Malta's ruling Labour Party, the party said in a statement on Saturday.

Vella will take over from the current President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca when he is sworn in on April 4.

Vella was Malta's foreign minister during the last legislature between 2013 and 2017. He was first elected to parliament in 1976 and was deputy prime minister between 1996 and 1998.

The Labour Party said in the statement that Vella, together with his wife Miriam, had formally resigned as members and delegates of the party for correctness sake. His resignation was accepted on Thursday.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-30 23:56:23|Editor: yan

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JOHANNESBURG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will soon convene an urgent meeting with African ambassadors over recent attacks on foreign nationals in Durban and Polokwane.

The minister is concerned about a spate of attacks directed at foreigners and their properties, said a statement released by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Saturday.

Sisulu has urged law enforcement agencies to clamp down on the perpetrators of violence, it said.

"South African companies and our citizens are welcomed and loved across the continent: here at home, we should do the same, we must embrace our neighbors," Sisulu said in the statement.

Sisulu said that South Africans should not forget the role that other African nations played to assist the country to attain its freedom and democracy.

She said the attacks should not be happening, especially at a time when regional and continental bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) are looking at South Africa to provide it leadership to issues confronting the continent.

"South Africa has been supported by all African countries and many countries in the world to have a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council; it is currently the Vice Chairperson of the African Union (AU) and the Chair of AU in 2020," she said.

The date of the meeting set to focus on finding fostering integration is yet to be announced.

Foreigners in Durban were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in community halls after being attacked on Tuesday night.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 00:06:24|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural Bank of China, one of the "Big Four" banks in the country, will issue 132 billion yuan (19.6 billion U.S. dollars) of loans to private businesses in 2019, bank officials said Friday.

The bank's outstanding loans to private businesses stood at 1.67 trillion yuan as of the end of 2018, accounting for 25.6 percent of the total, Wang Wei, vice president of the bank, said at a press conference on its performance in 2018.

In 2019, the bank plans to issue loans to another 14,500 private businesses, Wang said.

The bank has drawn 22 new measures to increase loans to private businesses while curbing risks, he added.

Amid the pressure of economic slowdown, the Chinese government has vowed to extend greater support to the private sector, which contributes 60 percent of the country's GDP and 80 percent of urban jobs.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 00:26:27|Editor: yan

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MOGADISHU, March 30 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed George Conway of Canada as acting deputy special representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

UNSOM said in a statement on Saturday that Conway succeeds Peter de Clercq of the Netherlands, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and outstanding service in Somalia.

The 49-year-old Conway holds two Master of Arts degrees, from the Carleton University and the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg.

The Canadian brings a wealth of experience and has many years of distinguished service within the United Nations system, having served in various positions in South Sudan, according to the statement.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 00:51:29|Editor: yan

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MOGADISHU, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Saturday moved four top military commanders in a mini-reshuffle as part of measures to curb rising insecurity in the Horn of Africa nation.

Under the changes, Abdi Mohamed Hassan who has been military attache in Somali embassy in Saudi Arabia was appointed as the new deputy commander of the Somali National Army (SNA).

Hassan replaces Odawaa Yusuf Rageh who was appointed as new commander of the infantry forces.

Abdirashid Abdullahi Shire was named as deputy commander of the infantry forces while Admiral Abbas Amin Ali was appointed as the new commander of the navy, replacing Admiral Hassan Nur who was sacked in December 2018 after being in office for only four months.

The changes come amid increased terror attacks in the Horn of African nation which were blamed on al-Qaida allied terrorist group al-Shabab.

The mini-reshuffle also comes barely a week after President Farmajo blamed top military commanders for failure to flush out the militant group within two years as he had promised when he ascended to power in February in 2017.Ethan Miller/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A former Nevada lawmaker claims former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately kissed her while helping her campaign for lieutenant governor in 2014. The allegation comes as Biden is publicly weighing a run for president in 2020.



Lucy Flores, a social justice advocate who served as a Nevada assemblywoman, claims she endured an uninvited touch on her shoulders and a kiss on the back of her head, she wrote on Friday in an article for New York magazine's The Cut, titled, An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden.



Flores was the 35-year-old Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada when the alleged incident occurred at a campaign event on Nov. 1, 2014. Biden was then the vice president of the United States.



"As I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. 'Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?' Flores wrote.



"I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, 'I didnt wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual f---? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?' Flores' account continued.



"He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldnt process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused," she wrote. "I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience."



Flores wrote that she had considered Biden to be attending the event in a professional capacity.



"Biden came to Nevada to speak to my leadership and my potential to be second-in-command -- an important role he knew firsthand. But he stopped treating me like a peer the moment he touched me. Even if his behavior wasnt violent or sexual, it was demeaning and disrespectful. I wasnt attending the rally as his mentee or even his friend; I was there as the most qualified person for the job."



A Biden spokesperson issued a statement to ABC News saying that the potential 2020 candidate did not remember the incident.



Vice President Biden was pleased to support Lucy Floress candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event. Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes," the Biden spokesperson wrote.



"Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best, the statement continued.



On Friday, Flores tweeted about the story, "This was an incredibly difficult thing to do, but something that felt necessary. It took awhile before I found the words and the support that made me feel like this was finally a story I could tell."



Although Biden has not definitively indicated whether he will run, his past actions are being scrutinized as that of a would-be candidate. Earlier this week, he drew ire from women's groups after he referenced his oft-criticized treatment of Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court hearings in 1991. During the hearings, Hill was dismissed in her testimony about Thomas's alleged sexual harassment by members of the Senate. At the time, Biden was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.



Biden has apologized frequently in public remarks to Hill, whose testimony has been seen in a new light since the #MeToo movement has grown.



On Tuesday, Biden renewed the conversation about his treatment of Hill when he spoke at the Biden Courage Awards to honor those who have worked to combat sexual assault on college campuses.



"To this day, I regret I couldnt come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved given the courage she showed by reaching out to us, Biden said at the event, which took place in New York.



In an interview with Elle magazine last September, Hill said, "There are more important things to me now than hearing an apology from Joe Biden. Im okay with where I am."



The former vice president's remarks have renewed calls for an in-person apology to Hill. In January 2018, he was asked on PBS if he would apologize in person and he said that he hadnt planned on it.



Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Ma Zhaoxu (3rd L), Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses the Triangular Formula Meeting on Training, Capacity Building, Safety and Security, and Performance of UN Peacekeeping, at the UN headquarters in New York, March 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- High priority should be placed on the safety and security of the United Nations peacekeepers, a Chinese UN envoy said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Triangular Formula Meeting on Training, Capacity Building, Safety and Security, and Performance of UN Peacekeeping, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that their safety and security concerns the result and reputation of peacekeeping operations.

The Chinese envoy also called on the UN Secretariat and missions to provide quality support to peacekeepers, ensure provision of security and medical materials, strengthen early warning and response to emergencies, and improve the ability of tackling complex conditions.

"Training should be strengthened throughout the process," he added.

Noting that sufficient and targeted pre-deployment training and necessary equipment should be made available to peacekeeping personnel, Ma said that UN missions should also carry out training according to the situations on the ground during deployment.

Ma said that a holistic approach is needed to improve performance of peacekeeping.

The performance assessment system needs to be optimized and the troop contributing countries should be fully involved, he added.

Ma highlighted that China, as a major contributor of troops and funds, firmly supports and actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations.

"As we speak, more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in eight missions around the world, undertaking tasks including demining, medical treatment, engineering, transportation and security guard," he said.

According to Ma, China has established an 8,000-member peacekeeping standby force and two standby formed police units, which have completed the registration with the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS). Some are capable of rapid deployment within 60 days.

China will continue to work with UN Secretariat and the member states to further improve UN peacekeeping to honor its commitment to multilateralism and world peace, he added.

The Triangular Formula Meeting was a panel discussion forum organized by the UN troop and police contributing countries to discuss the mandates of operations and strategic and thematic issues such as training, capacity building, safety and security, and performance.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 01:21:33|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Saturday 30 defendants up to 25 years in prisons over terrorist charges and affiliation with the Islamic State (IS) militant group, official MENA news agency reported.

Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 18 defendants to 25 years, eight to 15 years and four others to 10 years for being convicted of joining the IS, possessing explosives and attempting to blow up a church in the seaside province of Alexandria.

The prosecution also charged the defendants with targeting vital state institutions and receiving military training with IS members in war-torn Syria and Libya.

Terror operations in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen, soldiers and civilians since the military toppled former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year controversial rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

The IS Sinai-based branch claimed responsibility for most of the terror operations in Egypt over the past few years.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian security forces killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared in Egypt following Morsi's ouster.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 01:21:33|Editor: ZX

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NEW YORK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Authentic Chinese cuisines will be up for grabs during a food festival next month in New York City's Queens borough, which aims to showcase the diverse regional culinary culture of China as well as boost local small businesses.

Scheduled for April 13, the 2019 Flushing Food Festival will see about 15 restaurants offering over 1,000 sample dishes, which range from spicy Sichuan entrees, Yunnan's rice noodle soup to sweet red-bean cookies, according to the Flushing Business Improvement District, organizer of the event.

More than 400 tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to visitors, who can choose and enjoy up to three dishes free of charge on that day. People can also book for a ticket online as of April 1.

A number of Southeast Asian food vendors will also participate in the event to share their specialties, such as Vietnam's pho, or rice noodle soup. The festival will also feature a live jazz band and other performances for all attendees and visitors.

Located in eastern Queens, Flushing is home to the fastest expanding Chinatown in New York City due to a large influx of Chinese immigrants in the past decades. It's also been considered the "mecca" for regional Chinese food as people from various parts of China have settled here.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 02:56:46|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli troops on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, March 30, 2019. At least three Palestinians were killed and 316 injured on Saturday during a day-long clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said. The fierce clashes marked the first anniversary of the rallies, better known as the "Great March of Return," and also 43 years for the Palestinian "Land Day." (Xinhua)

GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At least three Palestinians were killed and 316 injured on Saturday during a day-long clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said that Tammer Abu Al-Kheir, 17, was killed by Israeli soldiers' gunfire that hit him in his chest east of Khan Younis town in southern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel.

"Three were killed and 316 injured, including 64 injured by live gunshots, 16 by rubber bullets and the rest by tear gas," said al-Qedra, adding that nine paramedics and four journalists were among the injuries.

The fierce clashes marked the first anniversary of the rallies, better known as the "Great March of Return," and also 43 years for the Palestinian "Land Day."

They waved Palestinian flags, chanted slogans against Israel and clashed with the Israeli soldiers, who were stationed on the border to prevent the masses of demonstrators from approaching the fence.

The event's goal, according to the members of the High Commission of the "Great March of Return," is to end an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas' violent takeover of the enclave in 2007.

Although there is an Egyptian-brokered understanding for clam on the border between Gaza Strip and Israel, the Palestinians insisted that the protests will go on for the second year.

Yehya Sinwar, Hamas chief in Gaza who joined the rallies, told reporters that "our people are sticking to the right of return and the legitimate rights and we will carry on with these marches."

He said "we are negotiating with the Egyptians on the issue of the prisoners, Jerusalem and then the issues in the Gaza Strip," adding that "the Israeli occupation is standing today before a new exam."

Jamal Abu Lasheen, a Palestinian political analyst and a think-tank from Gaza, said that the main goal of the marches was to remind the world of the Palestinians' legitimate right of return back to their homes which they were forced to leave in 1948.

"This was the major goal for the marches in the beginning, but unfortunately, it was neglected and the marches were used to exert pressure on Israel for improving the hard living situation and economy," he added.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 04:17:02|Editor: yan

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JERUSALEM, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Some 40,000 Palestinians gathered in several locations on the Gaza Strip border on Saturday afternoon for the "Great March of Return" protests, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Protesters threw rocks and set tires on fire along the Gaza Strip security fence and they also hurled grenades and explosive devices at the fence, said the IDF.

IDF troops dealt with "riot dispersal means" and fired in accordance with "standard operating procedures," added the Israeli army.

At least three Palestinians were killed and 316 injured during the clashes with Israeli soldiers on the Gaza Strip border, according to Gaza-run health ministry.

The protests were held by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to mark one year of the "Great March of Return" and 43 years for the Palestinian "Land Day."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening expressed appreciation to Southern Command ground forces, the Air Force and the other security branches for their "resolute activity and massive deployment" which helped bring about the calm, according to a statement issued by the prime minster's office.

The IDF spokesman unit said Hamas operated "with restraint not seen in the past year."Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 04:37:05|Editor: xuxin

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Palestinian protesters from Gaza strip clash with Israeli soldiers at the security fence next to Nahal Oz, on March 30, 2019, as Palestinian demonstrators mark the first anniversary of the "Great March of Return" and the Palestinian "Land Day". (Xinhua/JINI)

GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At least four Palestinians were killed and 316 injured on Saturday during day-long clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said.

Gaza's health ministry said in a statement that Bilal al-Najjar, 17, was critically wounded earlier on Saturday and succumbed to his sustained wounds later at night.

Al-Najjar joined the protests and rallies in the east of Kahn Younis town, close to the border with Israel in southern Gaza Strip.

Ashraf al-Qedra, health ministry spokesman in Gaza, said earlier said that Tammer Abu Al-Kheir, 17, was killed by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in his chest east of Khan Younis town in southern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel.

"Four were killed and 316 injured, including 64 injured by live gunshots, 16 by rubber bullets and the rest by tear gas," said al-Qedra, adding that nine paramedics and four journalists were among the injuries.

The fierce clashes marked the first anniversary of the rallies, better known as the "Great March of Return," and also 43 years for the Palestinian "Land Day."

They waved Palestinian flags, chanted slogans against Israel and clashed with the Israeli soldiers, who were stationed on the border to prevent the masses of demonstrators from approaching the fence.

The event's goal, according to the members of the High Commission of the "Great March of Return," is to end an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas' violent takeover of the enclave in 2007.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 04:47:06|Editor: ZX

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Mostafa Mohamed (2nd L, front) reacts at the awarding ceremony of a Chinese language competition held by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo, Egypt, March 30, 2019. Mostafa Mohamed, one of 20 Egyptian students of the Chinese language, won the first place in a storytelling competition dubbed "Language from the Heart on the Silk Road". The competition was held in the Chinese Cultural Center Saturday. The contesting students came from Confucius institutes and language colleges of several universities nationwide, including the universities of Cairo, Ain Shams, Helwan, Fayoum, Suez Canal, Beni Suef, Benha, Aswan, Luxor, Minya and others. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)

by Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian young man was dressed in red Chinese traditional outfit, imitating a Chinese historical character, ascended the stage and spoke fluent Chinese to narrate a story of an Egyptian interacting with the Chinese culture.

Mostafa Mohamed, one of 20 Egyptian students of the Chinese language, won the first place in a storytelling competition dubbed "Language from the Heart on the Silk Road" held on Saturday by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo.

"I am very excited. I worked hard for this moment. I have been preparing for this competition for a year and I have been practicing my five-minute Chinese storytelling on stage for a month," the top winner, who came from the Chinese department of the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, told Xinhua after the competition.

"Chinese language is the future now for it provides many job opportunities. It's time for me to work hard to help my father who struggled a lot to help me with my education," Mohamed added with a tone full of confidence and determination.

The contesting students came from Confucius institutes and language colleges of several universities nationwide, including the universities of Cairo, Ain Shams, Helwan, Fayoum, Suez Canal, Beni Suef, Benha, Aswan, Luxor, Minya and others.

Another student, Hossam Bakry from Ain Shams University, was dressed in ancient Egyptian pharaonic clothing when he narrated on stage his love story with a Chinese girl and their exchanged visits to China and Egypt, with their pictures together at famous sites in both countries displayed on the monitor in the background.

Bakry, whose Chinese friend appeared on stage at the last minute of his presentation, amid cheers and applause, won the second place of the competition.

"I have been studying Chinese only for two years. With the help of my professors and my Chinese friends, I managed to reach a good command of the language in a short time," the young man told Xinhua.

He said that such competitions encourage students to study harder in learning Chinese. "For instance, without the competition I wouldn't have learned a five-minute story by heart to tell it in Chinese."

The jury of the competition consisted of counselors from the Chinese embassy in Cairo, chiefs of Chinese official media bureaus in Egypt, directors of Confucius institutes as well as Egyptian and Chinese university professors of Chinese language.

One of the judges, Professor Hassan Ragab, dean of the Faculty of Alsun (Languages) and director of Confucius Institute at the Suez Canal University, said that he came from the province of Ismailia to take part in the annual Chinese storytelling competition.

"The Chinese language is the language of the future, and so is the Chinese culture. We encourage our students through these activities to excel spoken and written Chinese," Ragab told Xinhua at the end of the contest.

He added that the students demonstrated an amazing level and showed persistance to realize their dream of learning Chinese language very well and learning more about the Chinese culture.

"Some Chinese showed up on stage to take part in the presentations of their Egyptian friends, which is an example of cultural interaction," said the professor.

The theatre hall was crowded with more than 400 Egyptian and Chinese students and visitors who filled the room until many others had to watch the competition while standing.

Youssef Zakaria and his wife Mona, parents of contestor Sandy, came to the Chinese Cultural Center to support their daughter during her Chinese storytelling performance.

Zakaria said that he wanted his daughter to study English instead of Chinese in the beginning, "but I learned that I was wrong due to the growing development and rising economic power of China."

One winner got the first place of the competition, three got the second place and five got the third place, while the rest of the 20 competitors got honorary places for encouragement.

Shi Yuewen, cultural counselor of the Chinese embassy in Cairo and head of the Chinese Cultural Center, said that the Chinese storytelling competition is getting more popular in Egypt, noting that five new universities joined it this year.

He added in a concluding statement that such cultural activities enhance the friendship between the Egyptian and the Chinese peoples.

"This friendship is reflected in the competition, as some of the students told stories about China's Belt and Road Initiative for multinational development and others congratulated the Chinese on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China," Shi said.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 05:07:09|Editor: ZX

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People visit the Chinese booth at the 2019 Ottawa Travel and Vacation Show in Ottawa, Canada, March 30, 2019. Bright and colorful pictures depicting Chinese landscapes and cultural activities like lion dancing and paper-cutting are attracting hundreds of visitors at the opening of 2019 Ottawa Travel and Vacation Show on Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Baodong)

OTTAWA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Bright and colorful pictures depicting Chinese landscapes and cultural activities like lion dancing and paper-cutting are attracting hundreds of visitors at the opening of 2019 Ottawa Travel and Vacation Show on Saturday.

The Chinese booth is the largest exhibition area of 200 square meters at the Shaw Center in Ottawa. The beautifully-decorated booth, established by the Toronto Office of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is eye-catching at the two-day show, which has brought together nearly 300 exhibitors from more than 100 countries and regions across Asia, Africa, America and Europe.

Director Yang Wenting of the Toronto Office of the Chinese ministry told Xinhua that it is necessary to introduce to the Canadian people China's high-quality cultural and tourism resources as tourism has become a new highlight of cooperation between China and Canada in recent years.

2018 was the year of tourism between China and Canada, with nearly 1.6 million visits between the two countries. At present, there are nearly 200 flights a week between China and Canada, flying to 15 cities in China.

Yang said the China booth is designed to promote "Beautiful China Beyond Imagination" with the introduction of rich Chinese traditional culture, folk performance, folk music, Chinese food and interactive experience.

Some Canadians at the show told Xinhua that travel to China was their most favorable tour experience in a lifetime because of amazing natural scenery and profound cultural resources as well as brilliant historical sites and relics.

The annual Ottawa Travel and Vacation Show is a platform for travel agencies and industries to interact and network. Its primary objective is to bring into lime light the importance and value of different types of products and services related to travel and tourism industry in the recent times.

The event is considered one of the largest travel and leisure events in the world. During the show, tour professionals, agents and operators also hold seminars to share their knowledge and experience.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 05:57:17|Editor: yan

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TUNIS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported Saturday.

Guterres said his visit to Tunisia will be an opportunity to support Tunisia's efforts in its democratic transition.

According to TAP, the UN secretary-general called on the international community to support Tunisia through the promotion of local economic development, youth development and the creation of jobs.

"The economic difficulties and security challenges currently facing Tunisia are due to the direct impact of the Libyan crisis on Tunisia," said Guterres.

Tunisia will host a quadripartite meeting as part of the Arab League Summit, in the presence of the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the Arab League, to discuss ways of implementing the roadmap and organizing free elections in Libya before the end of the year.Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-31 06:52:22|Editor: yan

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ANN ARBOR, the United States, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of experts from a diverse range of fields gathered at the Michigan China Forum on Saturday to share thoughts on China-U.S. relations and probe into cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

The two-day forum, titled "Empower the Transformation," consists of five-panel discussions ranging in topics from business and education to environment and sports. The event, which is being held at the University of Michigan (UM) in the Midwestern U.S. state of Michigan, is aimed at providing a platform for professionals and students to gain insights, dispel biases and engage in inspiring dialogues.

"Actually, the UM was the first place that the Chinese Ping-Pang delegation visited in the United States in 1972," said Brian Wu, Associate Professor of Strategy at the Ross School of Business of the UM.

Ronald Inglehart, Political Scientist and Professor Emeritus at the UM, and also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, told Xinhua that "China's rise creates opportunities for both countries, so the emotional perception that if China rises, the United States will suffer should not be true."

Delivering a keynoted speech, Chinese Consul-General in Chicago Zhao Jian said that over the past 40 years, bilateral, regional and global cooperation between China and the United States have been very fruitful.

"From regional hot-spots to counter-terrorism and nonproliferation, from global financial crisis to environment protection, and from disease control to moon exploration, the list of areas of China-U.S. cooperation is growing longer and longer," said Zhao.

Founded in 2017, the Michigan China Forum is a non-profit organization with an aim to tap bilateral cooperation and mutually beneficial development opportunities between China and the United States.South Korean President Moon Jae-in will travel to the United States in two weeks for a summit with President Donald Trump on the stalemated North Korean nuclear diplomacy.

It would be their first meeting since Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi last month collapsed because of disputes on U.S.-led sanctions. The breakdown of that summit put Moon, a liberal who has shuttled between Washington and Pyongyang, in a difficult position on how to further engage North Korea and facilitate the nuclear diplomacy.

Moon's office said he will visit the United States April 10-11 discuss how to strengthen their countries' alliance and achieve North Korea's complete denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The White House said Trump and first lady Melania Trump will welcome Moon and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, to the White House April 11. It said in a statement the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea "remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region."Bilant provizoriu Covid: Numarul de infectari, sub pragul de 500

Conform datelor existente luni la CNCCI, in intervalul de 24 de ore, au fost inregistrate 494 cazuri de persoane pozitive cu SARS-COV-2. De asemenea, au fost raportate 45 de decese, dintre care opt anterioare. Informatiile vor fi detaliate in buletinul informativ de [citeste mai departe]The victory of Zuzana Caputova, lawyer and eco-activist with liberal views, was quite unexpected for everyone, as she defeated 12 strong candidates for the presidency in the first round

Slovakia is going through changes. About two weeks ago, liberal oppositionist Zuzana Caputova, unexpectedly won in the first round of the presidential election. She became a politician last year. Zuzana Caputova is expected to win in the second round of the presidential race, which is about to start. In 2016, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her relentless campaigning against the opening of a landfill in the town of Pezinok, which, if opened, would further aggravate potential health hazards and would contribute to urban pollution.

Who are you, Mrs. Caputova?

Zuzana Caputova is 45 years old. She was born on June 21, 1973, in Bratislava. She graduated from the law faculty of the Comenius University. Most of her life she has spent working as a lawyer in the public sector, including the Soros Open Society Foundation, and this was one of the most common reasons for her criticism during the election campaign.

Interestingly, Caputova presents this fact as an advantage:

"I have dedicated my entire professional life to justice. As a student, I initiated a number of projects to help the poor, including children who have been subjected to domestic violence. As a lawyer, I was on the side of those who did not have the money to protect their rights. As a civilian activist, I defended public interests from the interests of political parties or business groups. As president, I want to give all my strength to fight lawlessness."

Political views

Caputova joined the big politics at the end of 2017: she joined the newly created Progressive Slovakia party (not represented in the parliament) and after a short time she became its vice-president. This political force supports liberal values and received broad support after anti-government protests last year. Context:

After the murder of Jan Kuciak, the 27-year-old investigative journalist, and his girlfriend in Slovakia in February 2018, mass protests began in Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico tried to resist them but still resigned on condition that early parliamentary elections would not be held in the country.

Instead, he was replaced by Peter Pellegrini, who had previously been deputy prime minister in the Fico government and also belonged to the ruling party.

However, the traditional political elite lost the trust of voters, so Caputovas lack of political experience and criticism of the authorities became its advantage. When the current president of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska, announced that he would not go for a second term, Caputova decided to run for office.

She went to the polls with just three points in the program:

- Justice for all  reform the law enforcement and judicial systems and fight corruption at the highest level;

- A decent life for older people  increase spending on the social sphere;

- Protection of the environment - will bring the environmental issue to the state level and take up the fight against deforestation, protection of national reserves, etc.

Although Caputova has very unusual views for conservative Slovakia. For example, she advocates allowing the adoption of children by same-sex couples and in defense of the rights of women to abortion.

Predictions for the second round

The victory of Zuzana Caputova, lawyer and eco-activist with liberal views, was quite unexpected for everyone, as she defeated 12 strong candidates for the presidency.

Despite the attacks of the clergy, opponents of Soros, and supporters of the current political regime, the young politician was able to enlist the support of 40.6% of voters.

In the second round of the presidential race, scheduled for March 30, Caputovas victory already seems to be irreversible.

Ukraines position

Ukraine, like the rest of the international community, is closely monitoring the elections in Slovakia, although the president does not form the states foreign policy in this country.

Acting head of Slovakia, Andrei Kiska, proved that even with the rule of government, the president in the country still has the opportunity to influence the general course of the state. In this regard, the position of candidates for this post in relation to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as on the issue of sanctions, is extremely important to us.

At the moment, both Maros Sefcovic, currently standing for the office in the 2019 Slovak presidential election, and Caputova are considered pro-European candidates and generally friendly to Ukraine, but the latters victory is more preferable for Kyiv.

As shown by Dennik N express polls about the attitude of leading candidates to anti-Russian sanctions and Ukraine, Caputova is more fundamental in this matter:

"Sanctions were imposed because of foreign aggression and violation of international law. I consider them appropriate measures and agree with them."

This gives hope that during the presidency of the oppositionist Slovakia would be a consistent supporter of Ukraines European integration and the restoration of its territorial integrity. Especially considering that the presidential election is considered by many to be a rehearsal for the parliamentary elections that will take place this year.

Read the original text at 112.ua.Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko Open source

Petro Poroshenko is going to initiate the Normandy format summit after the presidential elections. He said this in an interview to Ukrayina TV channel.



Immediately after the presidential election, as I said, I will initiate the holding of the summit in the Normandy format with the coordination of our foreign American partners. I firmly believe that we must start by agreeing on a draft decision on the introduction of UN blue helmets and peacekeepers. Nothing is more important for us in order to end the war as soon as possible and begin a peaceful restoration of sovereignty, Poroshenko said.

Earlier BBC apologized and agreed to pay the compensation to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. The apology concerns the incorrect material, which stated that Petro Poroshenkos side paid money to continue meeting with Donald Trump as BBC reported.

This article was published in May 2017 but later it was deleted. The article stated that $400,000 were transferred to Michael Cohen, the lawyer of Donald Trump. This information was also announced at BBC TV program.

According to TheBabel, BBC will compensate $209,872 to President Poroshenko. He promises to pass this money to the Ukrainian army as Poroshenko stated during the closed meeting with bloggers on March 26.

Earlier British BBC reported citing its own sources that Trumps personal lawyer Michael Cohen received the secret payment in the sum of $400,000 or $600,000 for the organization of the first meeting between Petro Poroshenko and Donald Trump in June 2017.

BBC noted that it contacted Michael Cohen and two Ukrainian officials, who supposedly organized the payment. All of them denied that it took place.

The Administration of the President of Ukraine demanded the retraction of the published information by BBC.Negotiations on the supply of anti-tank missile systems are being completed in Ukraine

Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine at Dragon Capital conference Presidential Administration press office

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated that Ukraine will buy the latest Javelin weapons from the United States. He said this in an interview to the ICTV and Ukrayina TV channels.



"... the negotiations on the supply of Javelin anti-tank missile systems from the USA were being completed in the situational center of the Presidential Administration," the report said.

Earlier BBC apologized and agreed to pay the compensation to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. The apology concerns the incorrect material, which stated that Petro Poroshenkos side paid money to continue meeting with Donald Trump as BBC reported.

This article was published in May 2017 but later it was deleted. The article stated that $400,000 were transferred to Michael Cohen, the lawyer of Donald Trump. This information was also announced at BBC TV program.

According to TheBabel, BBC will compensate $209,872 to President Poroshenko. He promises to pass this money to the Ukrainian army as Poroshenko stated during the closed meeting with bloggers on March 26.

Earlier British BBC reported citing its own sources that Trumps personal lawyer Michael Cohen received the secret payment in the sum of $400,000 or $600,000 for the organization of the first meeting between Petro Poroshenko and Donald Trump in June 2017.

BBC noted that it contacted Michael Cohen and two Ukrainian officials, who supposedly organized the payment. All of them denied that it took place.

The Administration of the President of Ukraine demanded the retraction of the published information by BBC.Five journalists who planned to cover the presidential elections in Ukraine in their publications were not allowed to enter Ukraine in March. This is reported by the speaker of the State Border Service Oleg Slobodyan in his commentary to RBC-Ukraine.



In general, since the beginning of March, there are several non-admissions. These are three citizens of the Russian Federation who did not confirm their accreditation and, accordingly, we prohibited them crossing the border. They simply were not allowed through the checkpoint, but without prohibiting entry to Ukraine, Slobodyan said.



In addition, according to the speaker, two Czech citizens who did not have appropriate accreditation to work during the elections were also not allowed into the country.

Earlier soldiers of the Unit A Special Forces began patrolling streets, train stations, bus stations and airports throughout Ukraine. This was reported in the Security Service of Ukraine press center.



"The state order and the peace of citizens of Ukraine are important elements for ensuring the proper electoral process. Our special forces, which defended Ukraine from the first minutes of the operation in Donbas, understand this very well. We also used combat vehicles and unmanned aircraft for patrolling. All of this is a demonstration of our determination to immediately stop any possible provocations in order to destabilize the situation in Ukraine", said the head of the Security Service Vasyl Grytsak.



He expressed confidence that "elections in Ukraine will be held in a civilized and calm manner." The Security Service of Ukraine, within its competence, is doing everything necessary for this, noted Grytsak.Open source

Three national guardsmen, who patrolled streets on the eve of the elections, were knocked down by car in Odesa. This was announced by the head of the National Police Serhiy Knyazev on his Twitter page.

"Odesa city. A few minutes ago Opel with EU number plate, knocked down three guardsmen who went on patrol on the eve of the elections. One serviceman died on the spot, two were hospitalized. Three passengers in Opel are injured. The driver was detained," Knyazev wrote.



The head of the National Police expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished recovery to the injured.

Earlier a terrible road accident took place in Odesa, southern Ukraine. As a result of the crash, the car caught fire and its passengers died. This is reported by "7 TV channel."



Last night, the BMW X6 was moving in the direction of Gagarin Avenue. However, at some point, the driver lost control and crashed into a power line pole, while colliding with a parked Hyundai Sonata.



The blow was so strong that the details of the car scattered in different directions, and the car instantly caught fire. Another driver who witnessed the incident tried to extinguish the fire before the arrival of rescuers and the law enforcement officers.



At the time of the accident, there were two people in the car - a 22-year-old driver and a 33-year-old passenger. The woman died on the spot, and the doctors tried to save the man, but he died in intensive care.The European Union called on the Russian Federation to stop illegal actions against Crimean Tatars in the occupied peninsula. This is stated by the EU spokesperson on Foreign policy Maja Kocijancic, Yevropeyska Pravda reports.



"The Crimean peninsula court ruled that all 23 Crimean Tatars, detained on March 27 and March 28, will stay in the remand center until May 15.



They are accused of belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is banned in Russia, but not in Ukraine. The EU does not recognize the observance of Russian legislation in Crimea and Sevastopol and expects that all illegally detained Ukrainians will be released without delay, "the statement said.



The EU emphasizes that recent arrests and preliminary searches of private property are an attack on Crimean Tatars, human rights activists and people who have peacefully opposed the annexation of Crimea.The U.S. border with Mexico could be ordered closed within days, President Donald Trump told reporters Friday. "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, expressing frustration with continued illegal immigration into the United States.

Earlier in the day, Trump accused Mexico of not doing enough to halt migration from Central American countries, warning that if Mexico did not "stop them, we're closing the border. And we'll keep it closed for a long time. I'm not playing games."

Trump referred to caravans of migrants -- including one with hundreds of people intent on the reaching the United States -- as the reason Mexican officials needed to take immediate action. "Mexico does not act on the basis of threats," the country's secretary of foreign affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, quickly replied on Twitter. "We're a great neighbor."

Although Trump, on Twitter and in remarks on Friday, asserted Mexico was "doing nothing" to halt the migrant flow, officials in that country say they are trying to break up the caravans, are increasingly detaining and deporting migrants, and have stopped issuing humanitarian visas at the border with Guatemala.

It was not clear whether Trump's border closing threat would also apply to air travel. Shutting down trade across the border would have significant economic ramifications. Mexico is the United States' third-largest trading partner, with more than $600 billion worth of products going one way or the other across the border in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A closing of the U.S.-Mexico border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle," according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which says such an action would threaten 5 million jobs in the United States. The Trump administration, however, appears more focused on the problems associated with the one-way uncontrolled flow of people.The traffic will be blocked on Sofia Square for holding an opening performance of French theatre group Transe Express from 19:00 to 23:00

French Spring festival Social networks

French Spring festival in Kyiv will be opened with the performance of French theatre group Transe Express on Sofia Square on March 30 at 20:30.

The traffic will be blocked on Sofia Square and a number of nearby streets for holding an opening event from 19:00 to 23:00. The main street of Kyiv  Khreshchatyk  will be open for cars at this time. This was stated in the directive of Kyiv City State Administration.

From 20:00 on March 28 to 01:00 on March 29 and from 20:00 to 23:00 on March 30, the outdoor lighting on Sofia Square and Volodymyrska Street will be partially switched off.

As it was reported earlier, Kharkiv-based groundhog Timka II, who lives at the biological station of Kharkiv National University, predicted a late spring in Ukraine. He did not see his shadow when he was woken on February 2.

Frosts are waiting for us in March. Warm and sunny weather will come in April, explains Nadiya.

The Groundhog Day has been celebrated at the biological station of Kharkiv University for 15 years. The forerunner of the current groundhog - Timka II predicted the weather 7 times, after which he went on a well-deserved rest. Two years ago, he accurately predicted the arrival of spring, and even predicted that the European Union would grant Ukraine visa-free regime in the same year.Russian side claims that prison management explained to him the possible consequences of the strike

Pavlo Gryb, the Ukrainian political prisoner Hromadske

Ukrainian political prisoner Pavlo Gryb, sentenced in Russia to 6 years in colony for allegedly inciting a terrorist attack, stopped the hunger strike. This is reported by Interfax, referring to the head of the Public Observation Commission of the Rostov region Leonid Petrasis.



"On March 29, Pavlo Gryb wrote a statement on the end of the hunger strike. Before that, the prison management explained to him the possible consequences of it. Apparently, he had already partially felt them for several days without food," he said.



According to Petrasis, now Gryb feels good, does not need inpatient medical care and surgical intervention.



Earlier it became known that the Ukrainian ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova sent to the Russian ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova medical certificates confirming the difficult state of health of political prisoner.

Earlier Ukrainian political prisoner Pavlo Gryb delivered his last plea in North Caucasus military court in Rostov-on Don, Russia. Hromadske reported this, quoting Gryb as he spoke during the court debates Thursday.

'For the first time, I get this chance to say my word. My final plea, in which I'd like to finally tell how it actually happened', the young man said.

Gryb denied all charges from the Russian FSB, calling them 'bandits and murderers'. He also claimed that no one had reasons to believe that neutral Belarus would actually 'appear to be dangerous'.

Pavlo wished all fellow political prisoners to endure the captivity with dignity, 'standing for truth and conscience'. He concluded his speech with the words 'Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Ukrainian nation!'

Russian special service detained the 19-year-old boy on August 25, 2017, when he went to Gomel (Belarus) to meet his friend. Later, he was convoyed to Russia. The Russian law enforcers suspect Pavlo Gryb of preparing a terrorist attack at a school in Sochi (a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Black Sea coast, - 112 International).

Russia did not provide the European Court of Human Rights with information about the Ukrainian political prisoner Pavlo Gryb's health status.

Pavlo Gryb was not allowed to see his mother and the Ukrainian consul. Russia promises to give permission to the meeting with the consul, but only after the verdict. Yet, the consular convention signed between Ukraine and Russia does not provide for such refusal.The rockets belonged to the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related products and services

The Security Service of Ukraine commented on the situation with Russian rockets found in one of the ports in Odesa region.

The law enforcement officers seized the grenade launchers RPG-7, RPG-18, RPG-22, anti-tank shells TM-62M, anti-personnel mines MOH-100, and TNT blocks at the amount of 200 kilograms. The grenades for RPG-7, powder charge packages to PG7PM, boxes with electric detonators and MCH-62 blowers were detected as well, - the report said.

The rockets belonged to the JSC Rosoboronexport, the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual-use products, technologies and services.

The military cargo has not been stored in accordance with its name, but only with the number of containers and estimated weight.

According to the report, the Russian Federation used Ukrainian Sea ports as the transit point for supplying ammunition to the third countries.

"This weapon arsenal could be used by the Russian Special Forces in order to create the so-called ammunition depot on Eastern Ukraine. The purpose of this was to destabilize the situation in the region by the Russia-baked diversion groups, - the report said.

As we reported earlier, Law enforcers found 36 Russian surface-to-air missiles for man-portable air defense systems Pechora in Odesa region, southern Ukraine, as Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraines Prosecutor General, said at the session of Ukraines Government, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine.The colony is located more than 1 500 km from the house of Balukh in Crimea

Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh Krym.Realii

On March 29, Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh was convoyed to the penal colony number 4 in Torzhok town, Tver region. This is reported by lawyer of Balukh, Taras Omelchenko.



In this colony, Balukh will stay during his further term according to the illegal verdict of the Crimean "court".



Balukh was arrested on December 8, 2016, nine days after he nailed a plaque renaming his home No. 18 to Heroes of Nebesna Sotnya St in memory of the over 100 Maidan activists who were killed during Euromaidan protests in Ukraine.

He had rejected the demands of the head of the local council to remove it. During an irregular search of his home, 90 bullets and several TNT explosive devices were allegedly found in his attic.

The implausibility of the charges was just one of several compelling reasons why the renowned Memorial Human Rights Centre declared him a political prisoner well before the trial.

Earlier Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh could not receive delivery from Nataliya Balukh in Simferopol remand center, as Crimean human rights group reported.

The workers of the prison explained that Balukhs documents were not printed. This is why Nataliya was denied to pass the delivery.

Since Wednesday, over three working days, people responsible for deliveries did not receive required documents, and the chiefs do not work on Saturday and Sunday, Nataliya Balukh said.Copyright & Permissions

Unless otherwise noted all written material on this blog is copyrighted by the blog owner. All rights are reserved except as stated below.



I generally have no problem with someone quoting Ad Orientem unless it's for commercial purposes or something that's copyrighted other than by me (in either which case kindly ask first). In all cases please be polite and include attribution and a link. Remember good netiquette.



A conscientious effort is made to respect the rights of others when quoting or displaying their work on this blog. As a general rule only excerpts are posted with a link to the original source. Common sense exceptions may include instances where it is believed in good faith that the content falls within the public domain or where the quoted content is so brief that excerpting is not practical.Stranded in the wilderness for days, your stomach audibly groans from hunger. Foraging on plants or berries isn't an option because you don't know what's safe to eat. Instead, you hunt.

Drawing on your dwindling energy, you manage to kill a rabbit. Now, the only thing that matters is getting that sustenance into your body fast. Building a fire and cooking could take more than an hour, so you contemplate eating it raw. What's the harm?

Advertisement

Not so fast. Sure -- in the wilderness, some normal rules of civilization don't apply. But when it comes to meat, you need heat. If you want to maximize your chance of survival, the U.S. Armed ForcesSurvival Guide recommends cooking all wild game and freshwater fish because of the threat of bacteria or parasites.

Bacteria thrive and multiply between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 and 60 degrees Celsius). That's why you should cook meat until the internal temperature measures at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius) to effectively break down the bacteria cells and prevent them from reproducing [source: USDA].

You're probably thinking: If that's true, then how have Eskimos and other indigenous groups survived eating raw fish meat over the years? And what about eating raw fish in dishes such as sushi?

The difference is the salt water and the temperature of the meat. Saltwater fish are safer to eat raw because the water actually helps to kill parasites and bacteria. The salt in the water creates a hypertonic solution, where a higher concentration of salute (salt) exists outside of the bacteria cells than inside those cells. To correct that imbalance, the bacteria cells release their water content through osmosis. When they lose that water, they shrivel up and die. In addition, when Eskimos eat raw whale and seal meat fresh, it hasn't had time to breed more bacteria.

Cold temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) also stop bacteria reproduction. Sushi-grade fish, called sashimi, that people commonly eat raw has been frozen before use to help destroy any remaining bacteria. In case of any lingering invaders, food safety guides do recommend heating all saltwater fish to more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).

Are these cooking precautions merely empty threats? Next up, we'll take the microscope to the meat and see what potential dangers exist.U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is in Beijing, posted on Twitter Friday that he has held "constructive" talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

A new deal could possibly end hefty tariffs both countries have imposed on each other during the last eight months. The United States has taxed $250 billion of Chinese imports while China has imposed levies on about $110 billion of U.S. goods.A faulty angle-of-attack sensor appears to have incorrectly activated the MCAS stall-protection system on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed in Ethiopia on March 10, according to sources briefed on the flight data recorder readout. If confirmed in the final report, that would make the accident a repeat of the October 2018 crash of Lion Airs MAX 8 in Indonesia.

Sources briefed on the FDR readout told The New York Times and other outlets that the finding confirms a systemic design flaw in Boeings execution of MCAS. Last week, the company revealed that it has recast the MAX software to incorporate AoA data from the airplanes two sensors, not just the single sensor that previously fed the system.

Boeing added MCASManeuvering Characteristics Augmentation Systemto the MAX because the airplanes forward-mounted engines tend to create a pitch-up moment when the aircraft is flown at high angles of attack and load factors. MCAS is an automatic background envelope-protection system that rolls in nose-down stabilizer trim when the aircraft is flown at high AoA with the autopilot off and the flaps up. Its intended as an anti-stall system.

The Lion Air preliminary accident report revealed that MCAS was active during the crash sequence and trimmed more than 20 times as the pilots struggled to counter the nose-down force. The flight data from that crash revealed repeated pitch and altitude excursions and based on ADS-B data, the same pattern occurred in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Generally speaking, aviation components are highly reliable, Mel McIntyre, a retired Boeing engineer who worked with sensor systems told the Times. But everything can fail. Nothing is invincible, he added.

The FAA allowed Boeing to certify the system with single AoA input because it evidently believed a sensor failure would not be a catastrophic event. Boeing has been widely criticized for not making pilots and operators of the MAX aware of MCAS. Failure of the system presents as an intermittent runaway trim abnormal, which pilots are trained to counter by using the aircrafts stab trim cutout switches. Its not known if the Ethiopian crew did this, but the airline said both pilots had been briefed in detail following the Lion Air crash.

Meanwhile, more than 350 MAX series aircraft remain grounded throughout the world. Southwest Airlines, which operates 34 MAX 8 airplanes, has planned its schedules at least through May without using the airplanes..       20-   ,         1 .  .  60-                  .          ,        100-      19-   ...Wild Ride

Ann Arbor's automotive journalists chase the mobility revolution.

by Jan Schlain

From the March, 2019 issue

"As I write this letter, reciprocating saws and nail guns are cacophonating in the background, making the sweet, dirty music of expansion." That's Eddie Alterman, describing the scene at Car and Driver in the magazine's August 2017 issue.



Ann Arbor has been an unlikely center of automotive media ever since the late David E. Davis Jr. moved Car and Driver here from Manhattan forty-two years ago. Alterman, then a nineteen-year-old U-M English major, started as an intern in 1991 and returned in 2009 as editor-in-chief.



By then, C/D wasn't the only national car magazine in town. After a rift with the magazine's owner, Davis launched a competitor, Automobile, in 1986.



In 2012, Road & Track arrived from California to join corporate cousin C/D--by then, both were owned by Hearst Magazines. Larry Webster, hired to revive R&T, had told his bosses to "move it to Ann Arbor, because Detroit is the hotbed of automotive journalism."



In a "Top 10" list of automotive publishers the next year, Ann Arbor magazines took three of the top five slots. Car and Driver alone had a circulation of 1.2 million. But like newspapers, magazines were under pressure from the Internet.



The car magazines were online too, of course, but even when they built large audiences, advertising revenue was paltry. Yet price-and-feature guides like Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com were thriving. Unlike the magazine sites, they had links that connected buyers who did research there to dealerships for price quotes--each of which generated a referral fee.



In 2014, Automobile left town after the magazine distributor that owned it went bankrupt. (It's now based in Los Angeles, with a much smaller circulation.) Hearst has just announced that R&T is also leaving, for New York City.



If Ann Arbor is such a great spot for covering the industry, why is Road & Track moving? "Well, half of it was in New York," Alterman says: The web staff was already

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there, and "it was the right time and the right change to bring the digital and print sides together."Larry Webster, who persuaded Hearst to movehere, might be expected to question the decision. But told about the move and the rationale, he says, "I think combining digital and print staff is a good idea. There are a lot of things we do digitally that don't work in the printed magazine. It helps to have that communication."s circulation is still strong, as iss. In fact, Hearst has just promoted Alterman to "chief brand officer." It's "a more strategic position," he says, "that gets me out of the sort of day-to-day running of the magazine, but thinking about where the brand should move, in terms of what it delivers to the customer, what are new business opportunities."---One of those opportunities will be on display at South by Southwest this month. On March 9,s documentary about the future of self-driving cars, will premiere at the Austin media fest.grew out of aspecial section in 2017. It was edited by New Yorker staff writer Malcolm Gladwell, who Alterman calls "one of the greatest social critics and lateral thinkers in the world." It turns out he's also a car nut. He and Alterman are both executive producers and share screen time.Alterman says he's "ready to ride a different ride at theamusement park." While the movie is its showiest new ride, the most important one was heralded by the cacophony in its office off Eisenhower Pkwy. The expansion made room to nearly double the staff and quadruple the number of cars reviewed.The added reviews weren't for the magazine but fors own online buyers guide. Hearst is counting on it to wrestle some of those active shoppers--and their referral fees--away from Edmunds and Kelley.As Hearst was expandingLarry Webster was pulling up to the junction of journalism and commerce from the opposite direction. He leftin 2016 to work at Hagerty, the world's largest seller of classic car insurance.Hagerty is based in Traverse City, but Webster worked mainly from an Ypsilanti warehouse where local collectors store their cars. (Davis used the same office until his death in 2011). There he produceda superbly written and produced bimonthly. Though initially offered only to Hagerty clients, it already has a circulation of 600,000--and has just been made available to anyone who joins the Hagerty Drivers Club (dues $45 a year).Webster now leads a group of about a dozen Hagerty staffers in the Riverfront Building on N. Main. They just took more space to host drivers club events.---"Hearst is usually the Goliath when it comes to media," Hearst Autos president Nick Matarazzo said last year. "But when you think about autos, Hearst Autos is really David."Formereditor-in-chief Jean Jennings agrees. Hearst is "trying to recreate Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book-- those are the models," she says. "They're just strictly buyers guides, and that's what people want. That's where the money is."Building something on that scale isn't cheap, and Hearst isn't writing blank checks. Last summer, jalopnik.com reported thathad laid off of a dozen editorial staffers, primarily from the digital side. Yet even after the layoffs, the staff is 50 percent bigger than a few years ago.Whileremains the dominant car brand in print, Alterman concedes that it's the challenger in online guides. Its edge, he says, is "objective testing capabilities that really nobody else has.really invented automotive testing." Only now, in addition to in-motion tests like zero-to-sixty acceleration, it's also measuring more than 200 "static attributes"--"like where are the cup holders, and what size do they fit?" he says. "Where are the USB ports? Are they hidden?" They're even calculating how well a baby stroller fits."Before the Internet,was really used as a pretty crude shopping tool for people who were in the market for a car," Alterman says. "It was almost like a bridal magazine, in the sense that people picked it up when they were looking for a car."They would read the preview" when a new model came out. "Then they'd read the road test of a car. Then they might read a comparison test. And that would inform their decision."Now, he says, "because of the time compression afforded by the Internet, we're able to do that all at once. And because of the unlimited space of the Internet, we're able to go so much deeper and really present a shopper-focused experience."Being more shopper-focused doesn't mean abandoning the verve and character that keeps car nuts coming back to the magazine every month. "We actually call it more of a shopping experience," says Nathan Christopher, executive director of PR at Hearst Magazines. Along with facts and figures, they want to communicate the intangible experiences that make people want to drive in the first place."We've taken on the challenge of guiding the person from inspiration into the seat of the car," Matarazzo says--"and not handing them off to our competitors" for the purchase.Alterman thinks emotion will always matter. "People have these very, very strong attachments to their cars," he says. "It's like a pet. This is a very emotional purchase. The car says a lot about who you are to the outside world. It's your avatar."We always like to say if cars were solely a rational purchase, everyone would drive a tan minivan. But people want to express themselves through their cars. I don't think that's going to change."---While Hearst had strong magazines scrambling to find new revenue, when Webster arrived two years ago, Hagerty had the opposite problem: the business was flourishing but lacked the car magazines' emotional connection to its clients. At the time, CEO McKeel Hagerty told the Observer that he wanted Webster to build a sense of community among the company's nearly one million clients in North America--"to help create the magic."As Hagerty's vice president of content, Webster says, "I'm editor-in-chief of the magazine." He also oversees video and digital content, "and sometimes I do spokesman duties and stuff like that."Why does Hagerty care, since he already has a thriving business? "McKeel believes very strongly in serving the community," Webster adds. "First and foremost is maintaining automotive enthusiasm. We see our mission as 'never stop driving.' We want to ensure that there are autonomous and driven cars" in the future.That mission statement is about to be embodied in a book.which Hagerty will publish this spring, is a collection of smart, moving essays on everything from how people fall in love with cars to what road they'd choose if they knew their next drive would be their last. McKeel Hagerty wrote the afterword."The pleasure of driving cars is one part of it," Webster says, "but one of the things I wrote about [in the book] was a lot of the mechanical aspects. Fixing, tinkering, working on your car turns out to have some very positive benefits."A psychologist he talked to at the U-M "calls it incubation. What a lot of people are discovering is you need to deprogram from the digital world and be present. And a lot of times when you have a cantankerous problem ... and you do something very physical and repetitive--like working on a car--it sort of lets things work in the background. They're finding more and more that's an important part of creativity."So the car is just one aspect of it. You can talk about it like an Amish barn building, but it's just one of those gathering points for humans. A car--it's an exciting object, it's a physics lesson, it's big enough for a lot of people to contribute and it forces you to be present. Driving forces you to be present. Working on it forces you to be present. And it brings people together."Webster lives in Ann Arbor and, as he did withhe pitched his new bosses on locating here for its proximity to the industry. "And that's why Hagerty is setting up operations here," he says. "Or partly why ... they realized that there's a lot of other talent beyond content that we can leverage here." That includes techies working on various Hagerty projects. "I think we have about ten," he says. "They come and go and sometimes work from home."The downstairs clubhouse, meanwhile, will be a gathering place for Hagerty's growing automotive community--another plum for everyone who signs up for the driving club."We want people to be members," Webster says. "We're trying to make sure we have that recipe of goods, services, and products that make it a worthwhile addition to their lives."If we do it right, this can be the hub of the automotive world around here," he says. "We could watch the Formula One race together, or bring in an expert to explain a VW engine. We can have webinars with valuation experts."We really want to be not just a resource, but a fun connection to the community."---The automotive community is understandably ambivalent about the prospect of driverless cars."Initially I took a very contrarian point of view on the driverless car, and Malcolm [Gladwell] did, too," Alterman says. "And the world has sort of come around to the way we see it. And that's been pretty gratifying, and it also shows the great power of his brand and the great power ofand the two of us working together. Because we really have been beating this drum very hard."We're really believers in a couple of things. The human-piloted car, or human-driven car, will continue to exist; the human-owned, human-driven car is not going away. And we really do believe that the so-called Level Five purely driverless, purely autonomous car is more of a substitute for public transportation than it is a substitute for a personal-use vehicle."There are a lot of reasons for that. But they are not technical. The reasons are primarily psychological--the way people think about and approach the act of driving."In a car, Alterman explains, "you do feel like you're in control. What you're talking about [with driverless cars] is going from a voluntary risk--where you feel like you're in control and you're actually steering the car and braking and going as fast as you want--wherever you want, to an involuntary risk, where something else is in control. It is almost akin to getting on an airplane. And in that scenario, it really does matter who is doing the crashing."We tend to accept a high level of crashes and fatalities when humans are driving, but when the machines are at the wheel, and their motivations and their moves are opaque to us, it's a far scarier thing ..."So I think you're talking about a much, much higher standard of safety than we have with human-driven vehicles. And that's going to lead to all sorts of different solutions for the driverless car."The technological challenges and philosophical complexities only feed Alterman's enthusiasm. "It's the greatest time to be an automotive journalist," he says. "There is so much happening. The car's been stable since the Model T, kind of, until now--it's all been hardware. But now the car is software, too."Becauseunderstands both, he says, "we have an advantage over the tech bloggers and the people who are approaching the cars solely as a piece of consumer tech."We understand the context. So I think we are really well-placed to comment on this revolution." [Originally published in March, 2019.]September 20, 2004

Barbarians at the Digital Gate

By TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN and SAUL HANSELL



Jeff Crosby Dan Krauss for The New York Times Jeffrey McFadden, Claria's chief executive, says, "Consumers find value in relevant advertising." KARSTEN M. SELF, who oversees a children's computer lab at a youth center in Napa, Calif., spends about a half-hour each morning electronically scanning 10 PC's. He is searching for files and traces of code that threaten to hijack the computers by silently monitoring the children's online activities or by plastering their screens with dizzying - and nearly unstoppable - onslaughts of pop-up advertisements. To safeguard the children's computers, Mr. Self has installed a battery of protective software products and new Web browsers. That has kept some - but by no means all - of the youth center's digital intruders at bay. "You would expect that you could use these systems in a safe and sane way, but the fact of the matter is that you can't unless you have a fair amount of knowledge, time to fix the problems and paranoia," he said. The parasitic files that have beset Mr. Self and other frustrated computer users are known, in tech argot, as spyware and adware. The rapid proliferation of such programs has brought Internet use to a stark crossroads, as many consumers now see the Web as a battlefield strewn with land mines. At the same time, major advertisers and big Internet sites are increasingly tempted by adware's singular ability to display pop-up ads exactly when a user has shown interest in a particular service or product. "Adware has its place, but to grab market share I think a lot of companies are doing things that make consumers feel betrayed," said Wayne Porter, co-founder of Spyware-Guide.com, a Web site that tracks adware and spyware abuses. "I think we're at a very important inflection point that is going to decide how the Internet operates." The exact definitions of spyware and adware, like many things in the ever-changing world of the Internet, remain open to debate. But spyware generally refers to programs that reside in hidden corners of a computer's hard drive and record confidential information like keystrokes, passwords and the user's history of Web site visits. Some of the most insidious versions have to be installed on a computer by someone other than the user - maybe a jealous spouse or lover. Adware, for its part, marries old-fashioned highway billboard pitches to online distribution and the possibility of immediate response. Adware vendors range from fly-by-night operators who hawk pornography and gambling, wherever they can, to more legitimate companies like the Claria Corporation, which tries to aim its ads at the consumers deemed most likely to respond, based on their surfing habits. Claria alone has about 29 million users running its adware products on their computers, according to comScore MediaMetrix, an Internet research firm. That compares with 1.5 million users in early 2000, according to the company. Some spyware creeps onto a computer's hard drive unannounced, often by piggybacking onto other software programs that people download or by sneaking through backdoor security gaps in Web browsers when consumers visit certain sites. In other cases, consumers technically agree to download the software, but critics say that the disclosures are hard to find. FOR all the differences between spyware and adware, their impact on computers is pretty much the same: screens transformed into digital versions of Times Square, and overburdened PC's that operate much more slowly as they struggle with random and uncontrollable processes prompted by the hard drive. Small wonder that consumers are throwing up their hands in despair. "From what consumers are telling us, they feel like their computers are being taken away from them," Mr. Porter said. "We have some consumers saying it makes them hesitant to use the Internet at all because of what an annoyance it has become." Reliable data about the booming adware market is scant, but consumer complaints have become frequent and vociferous. Privacy watchdogs like the Center for Technology and Democracy in Washington have called for closer regulatory scrutiny of the industry. Legislation seeking to protect consumers from abusive adware and spyware has been introduced in Congress. One state, Utah, has even outlawed the installation of any software without users' consent. Consumers can use some tools to fight adware and spyware themselves. Software products like Spybot-Search & Destroy, Spy Sweeper and Adaware can zap some intrusive programs on a hard drive and block attempts to trespass onto a PC. And many analysts like Mr. Porter recommend that consumers switch from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla Firefox, a free browser that they say has fewer security vulnerabilities. (Microsoft has issued software patches for Explorer and released an update to Windows XP that makes it harder for consumers to download software unknowingly.) But critics of the adware industry say solutions to the problems ultimately must come from vendors themselves. Against this landscape, companies that still hope to mine the lucrative promises of adware have choices to make: to abandon the pop-up promotions that consumers find so annoying or to overhaul their practices so thoroughly that they are seen as responsible online citizens. Some companies seem unlikely to follow the second path. Perhaps the most infamous adware purveyor is an elusive enterprise alternately known as CoolWWWSearch or CoolWebSearch. The company operates from computer servers in the United States as well as far-flung places like Russia, Britain, the Virgin Islands and Spain. It has developed adware that can change its name and its location on a hijacked computer several times a day - making it virtually impossible to track. The company did not reply to an e-mail message seeking comment. Spyware Labs Inc., a Hawaiian company, promotes itself as a vendor of anti-spyware tools but peddles a product called Virtual Bouncer that experts like Mr. Porter say functions as spyware and adware once it is installed on a computer. Spyware Labs also did not answer an e-mail message seeking comment. Spyware companies are considered some of the most disreputable players in the industry, because their products can be used for illicit purposes. While many adware companies engage in some of the same practices as spyware companies - both track users' browsing habits, for example - adware tends to occupy a less nefarious position. In the realm of more mainstream adware vendors stands Claria, based in Redwood City, Calif. The company, founded as Gator in 1998, is trying to recast adware as a more consumer-friendly addition to computers. Smart minds and smart money surrounded Claria from the beginning. It was founded by Denis Coleman, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who was a co-founder of the company that became Symantec. Among Claria's earliest investors were Scott D. Cook, founder of Intuit Inc. ; Andy Bechtolsheim, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems ; and Philip M. Young, an investor with U.S. Venture Partners, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, Calif. Claria piggybacks its adware on popular programs like Kazaa, the music file-sharing service, and has a lucrative partnership with Yahoo , one of the Internet's busiest sites. Claria's investors and executives say the company has been unfairly grouped with shadier operators and that its goal was never to spy on computer users or to gather personal information surreptitiously. Instead, they say, the aim is to offer useful ads tailored to consumers' real interests and needs, derived from careful monitoring of their Web use. "A technique that provided much more relevant information and advertising to a computer user seemed like a powerful concept," Mr. Young said. "Claria has demonstrated how much more powerful a message is when it's delivered to the right user, and Claria's only scratched the surface of what they're capable of doing when they deploy their software." CLARIA recently canceled plans to take itself public, citing changing business circumstances; it declined to offer a more detailed explanation. But the company's public filings offer evidence of its financial potential. After a few years of losses, the company earned $91,000 in 2002 on $40.5 million in revenue. Last year, it earned about $35 million on $90.5 million in revenue - an enviable profit margin. "At the end of the day it's real simple," said Jeffrey McFadden, a former executive at the Internet portal Excite who is now Claria's chief executive. "Consumers find value in relevant advertising." Advertisers find value in the model, too. Mainstream companies like Verizon , Panasonic and Priceline rely on adware programs because of their power to address people's individual interests. Claria said 425 advertisers - including Cendant , FTD , Netflix and Orbitz - use its adware. Nonetheless, Claria has drawn its share of barbs. Several companies, including The New York Times , have sued Claria, arguing that its pop-up ads violate trademark protections when they appear on the companies' Web sites. Claria has settled most of those suits, including with The Times, but declined to discuss the terms. Claria has also drawn the ire of advocacy groups, partly because of its ubiquity and its role as an industry pioneer. Critics also denounce some of its business practices, particularly the way it bundles its software with other programs and the stealth it has used to land on users' hard drives. "They were very aggressive for a long time, and they turned off a lot of people," said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "That said, they seem now to be moving in the direction of trying to take steps to make their business more legitimate." It won't be easy, he added: "They still have a long way to go to make their product something people want to have rather than something they're stuck with." Mr. Schwartz said that he believed that Claria's products were not easy to remove from a computer. Claria executives dispute that computer users are "stuck with" their products. They say they have worked closely with Mr. Schwartz and other critics to make their ad programs more visible and palatable to computer users. Scott Eagle, Claria's chief marketing officer, said the company downloads its adware to a user's hard drive only with permission, makes the adware easy to remove and clearly identifies its products. He also says Claria does not collect personal information like last names, phone numbers or e-mail, Internet and home addresses. "We would rather not show you an ad that's not going to be relevant to you, because that doesn't add any value to you or the advertiser," Mr. Eagle said. "The big question is, 'Where does this all go?' Pop-ups and pop-unders are not wildly accepted by consumers." As a result, Mr. Eagle said, Claria will move away from providing pop-ups and will offer more static banner ads on some Web sites. Others in the Internet advertising industry also say that negative reaction has persuaded them to forgo the pop-up route. "Everyone is searching for the magic bullet where the consumer will say yes to pop-ups," said David J. Moore, the chief executive of 24/7 Real Media, a large Internet advertising company. "The average consumer will end up with a few of these adware programs, and it sours them on the entire experience." Mr. Moore said 24/7 had considered buying an adware company but had passed. "We were nervous about the long-term business prospects," he said. "There seems to be a fairly strong groundswell to limit how they do business." WhenU.com, another prominent adware company, began as a comparison-shopping service founded by consultants at the Boston Consulting Group. But the company, based in New York, discovered that comparison-shopping was an unprofitable service, and it, like Claria, began bundling adware with a number of file-sharing companies including, briefly, Kazaa. WhenU, like Claria, uses display ads called sliders - because they slide up from the bottom of the screen. The ads are generated by WhenU's software and can be launched even when a browser is not open - meaning they cannot be stopped by software that blocks pop-up ads. Other WhenU ads appear in front of an open application, interrupting the user, while others hide behind the application until the user closes it. Avi Naider, WhenU's chief executive, says he believes that pop-ups and related intrusive advertising will continue to be viable even if some consumers try to avoid them. "The business spent four years educating advertisers about the performance you can get from these type of ads, and we didn't spend much time educating consumers," Mr. Naider said. "We never talked to consumers about the benefits of software-based advertising." Mr. Naider says WhenU does not keep user information. Instead, he says, the software his company installs on users' machines tracks the Web sites that users have visited and displays relevant advertising. "This is a healthy direction for advertising to go, with a strong set of standards," he said. But he conceded it would be "a battle to transcend the simplistic perception that most consumers have about adware." THE question remains whether a legitimate business can be built on the back of an industry that has annoyed consumers so deeply and has been linked to truly illegitimate practices. "The adware industry has grown so quickly because it works," said Gary A. Kibel, a lawyer in New York who specializes in new media and advertising law. "I'm sure 80 percent of consumers don't want advertising on television, but if you get rid of advertising on television there'd be no more free TV." Mr. Kibel said federal legislation could help formalize and sanitize the business. But some computer users remain unswayed. "Adware and spyware and all the other malwares that are out there just waste a lot of time and make the whole Internet experience a lot less enjoyable," said Orion E. Hill, president of the Napa Valley Personal Computer Users Group, a nonprofit group that educates consumers about PC's. "It's intrusive into your life, and I don't think that's going to change. "The current Internet model is just too wide open, and I don't have any confidence that any of the new models are going to be any better," Mr. Hill added. "The Internet is just too accessible, and it's too easy for people to make anything they want out of it."



YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today met with Austrias Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of he Prime Minister of Armenia.

The parties discussed a number of issues related to cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats. Nikol Pashinyan and Sebastian Kurz noted the importance of developing multifaceted relations, including the political and economic components. They deemed it necessary for the two governments to uphold the ongoing active dialogue in order to give fresh impetus to economic cooperation and boost trade turnover.

Welcoming the democratic developments taking place in Armenia, Sebastian Kurz assured of his governments readiness to assist Armenia with the implementation of its ambitious reform program. In this context, both sides stressed the importance of implementing the programs envisaged in the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the soonest possible ratification of CEPA by EU-member States.

The interlocutors took the opportunity to talk about the Vienna meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan.YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I anointed Church of Holy Forty Children in Aleppo. ARMENPRESS reports Catholicos Aram I delivered remarks during the ceremony, noting that the anointing of the church has historical and symbolic significance.

Others tried to kill the belief in our people, but we jointly said that no one can defeat us in our belief. We said no to injustice and struggled and have to struggle for justice.

Others committed genocide against our people, but they did not succeed. Today our people have resurrected. Today we have free and independent Armenia, even if it is on the small part of our historical Motherland. But we have to aspire for seeing Armenia in the way we dream'', Catholicos Aram I said.

He emphasized that the Armenian people should support the restoration of the Syrian-Armwnian community under the guidance of te Great House of Cilicia.

His Holiness Aram I departed for Syria's Alepo on March 29.

In 2015 the Church of Holy Forty Children in Aleppo was seriously damaged as a result of the bombing by the terorist organization ''Islamic State''.

The church was restored through the donations of the Syrian-Armenian community. At least 150 thousand people have contributed to the restoration.

Edited and translated by Tigran SirekanyanYEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Davit Tonoyan met with the representatives of the Armenian community in New York on March 29. ARMENPRESS reports issues related to the Armenian army were discussed at the meeting.

I, as the Defense Minister, say that the format territories for peace will no longer exist, and I have re-formulated it into ''new territories in case of new war'', Tonoyan announced.

He rulled out unilateral consessions.

The Defense Minister underlined that Armenia will add its assault capacities.

Edited and translated by Tigran SirekanyanYEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to the USA Varujan Nersesyan assesses March 29 meeting between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev as positive, ARMENPRESS reports he told Fox News.

''The Vienna meeting took place in an atmosphere of constructive gialogue. Both leaders reaffirmed the committment over Dushanbe agreement. The leaders of the two contries exchanged views. Our overall assessment of the meeting is positive'', he said.

Ambassador Nersesyan noted that since the first contacts between the Armenian PM and Azerbaijani president in autumn the ceasefire regime has been mainly respected, thank to which relatively the most traquil period of the last decade has been recorded. ''Despite the continious hostile announcments of the Azerbaijani side, the current relatively calm situation on the contact line has created the necessary atmosphere for organizing an official meeting under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. Armenia has always supported the proposals of the mediators to establish a peace-oriented atmosphere, apply mechanisms aimed at risk reduction and prevention of incidents, initiate confidence-building measures, which will allow to continue the negotiations.

For the Armenian side the security of Nagorno Karabakh people and the status of Nagorno Karabakh remain the key priorities'', the Ambassador of Armenia to the USA told Fox News.

Pashinyan-Aliyev Vienna meeting was the first one held under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. Before that the two leaders have had 3 unofficial meetings.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had a brief meeting in Dushanbe on September 28, 2018, during which they reached an agreement to reduce tension and prevent incidents in the border. An operative connection was established between the sides since the meeting of the two leaders.

Thereafter, they held another informal meeting in St. Petersburg in December in the sidelines of the informal meeting of the heads of CIS states.

Pashinal and Aliyev also met on January 22, 2019 in Davos in the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Edited and translated by Tigran SirekanyanYEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime nearly 170 times on Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line during the period of March 24-30, firing over 1000 bullets in the direction of Armenian border guards.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh, the front line units of the Defense Army have full control of the situation and effecively carry out their military duty.

Edited and translated by Tigran SirekanyanYEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Healthcare Arsen Davtyan has been detained by the National Security Service, Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan confirmed via Facebook.

I am not in Armenia at the moment and I was just notified that the [national security service] has carried out tactical-intelligence actions and my deputy Arsen Davtyan has been detained. I dont possess other details at the moment. I think the [National Security Service] will provide details later, Torosyan wrote on Facebook.

According to unconfirmed reports the deputy minister was arrested in suspicion of bribery.

Davtyan is serving in the position since May 2018.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan23 Dickens St, Richmond. (Yahoo Finance screenshot from Domain)

An advertisement for a Melbourne studio flat has caused outrage for having its kitchen located in the garage while demanding $450 rent per week.

The apartment, in the inner city neighbourhood of Richmond, was spotted this week listed on real estate classifieds site Domain.com.au for $450 per week and the website of the real estate agent Hocking Stuart for $495 per week.

The layout posted on Domain clearly shows the kitchen placed within the garage, complete with a picture of how a car would be parked in front of the sink.

The Hocking Stuart advertisement showed the agent describing the layout as too good to refuse with the kitchenette in a space large enough to entertain or use as off-street parking for one car.

Ad for 23 Dickens St, Richmond. (Yahoo Finance screenshot)

The advertisements have since been removed from both platforms, but not before social media users reacted to both the odd layout and the high rent.

Is this for real? Kitchen in the garage? Walk in the front door and THROUGH the toilet living situation in Melbourne is grim, grim I tell ya! said Cory Gale on Twitter.

The federal member for Melbourne, the Greens Adam Bandt, also expressed his concern on social media.

23 Dickens St, Richmond. (Yahoo Finance screenshot from Domain)

Housing in this country is cooked. Time to stop treating it as a way for developers to make millions & instead make affordable housing a basic human right.

Fairfax Media reported that Bandt had written to Consumer Affairs Victoria to ask if the ad met consumer protection requirements.

Yarra City Council reportedly visited the studio on Thursday afternoon, when the owner claimed that the ads were old and should not have been posted.

Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, property and tech news.Taliban fighters on Saturday attacked a convoy carrying Afghanistan's vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum, in an assault that left the former warlord unscathed but killed one of his bodyguards, an official told AFP. Enayatullah Babur, Dostum's former chief of staff, said the hour-long attack also left several others in the convoy wounded. The attack occurred in the northern province of Balkh, where Dostum had held a rally earlier in the day. On Twitter, a Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group had carried out the attack and claimed four of Dostum's bodyguards had been killed. Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflict. Despite a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name and accusations of organising the rape and torture of a political rival, Dostum became Afghanistan's first vice president in 2014. At the rally in Balkh, Dostum had claimed he could clear northern Afghanistan of the Taliban within six months -- if only the government would let him. In delayed elections now slated for September, President Ashraf Ghani has chosen to run with Amrullah Saleh, an ethnic Tajik, instead of Dostum. Dostum has survived several other attempts on his life, including one claimed by the Islamic State group last July in Kabul that killed 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflictThe bodies of two Japanese teenagers reported missing from a school tour have been found at Lake McKenzie on Queenslands Fraser Island.

The boys, both aged 16, drowned at the popular tourist destination some time after they were reported missing about 5pm on Friday.

A search and rescue operation started shortly after, with water police, rangers and helicopters called in to help.

The bodies of two boys were discovered in the lake at 8:20am on Saturday.

The bodies were found on Fraser Island. Source: Getty/File

Police said they would prepare a report for the Coroner and are currently in contact with the Japanese consulate.

Inspector Tony Clowes said all the details surrounding how the children were supervised would be investigated.

He said the boys were not with their families on the tour.

Insp Clowes said it was understood the teens had not been left behind at the lake and their group reported them missing from an area nearby.

Insp Clowes said he would not confirm which tour group the boys were on, and he did not know if the boys could swim.

Two 16-year-old boys have sadly drowned on Fraser Island overnight. Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.

More details: https://t.co/nnpMvnmBCl pic.twitter.com/YAWOKmbFai  Queensland Police (@QldPolice) March 30, 2019

He told media the deaths were extremely unfortunate.

This is a tragic event, there is not doubt about that, Insp Clowes said.

He warned there was alway a risk when entering waterways.

Know your abilities, be aware that if you are entering water there is some inherent risk entering waterways in this country, he said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here.British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday mulled a possible fourth attempt to get her Brexit agreement through parliament, faced with the growing risk of a chaotic no-deal exit in less than two weeks' time. MPs on Friday resoundingly rejected May's deal, although by a substantially lower margin than on two previous occasions in January and March. "We believe the best way to respect the referendum is to deliver the deal," Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis told BBC radio on Saturday. Noting the growing support for her deal despite the defeat, May's spokesman told reporters on Friday: "We are at least going in the right direction." MPs are due to gather again on Monday to consider possible changes to the deal that could ensure it is adopted, including support for closer economic ties with the European Union after Britain leaves. The government is opposed to revisions of its Brexit strategy and May pointed out on Friday that any options would still require first that parliament approve her withdrawal agreement -- the document spelling out the terms of the divorce. The withdrawal agreement allows for a long transition period which would temporarily maintain the status quo to give individuals and businesses time to adapt to the future UK-EU relationship. - National unity government? - Three years after Britain voted to leave the EU in a historic referendum, the process is deadlocked by a stand-off between the government and parliament. Thousands of flag-waving protesters rallied outside parliament on Friday to accuse MPs of betraying Brexit by delaying it, holding up signs saying "Give Our kingdom Back" and "Free Britain now". "Brexiteers" in May's party oppose the deal because they believe it does not go far enough in severing ties with Brussels, while "Remainers" want closer ties with the EU, like Norway or Switzerland. Some would prefer Brexit is stopped altogether. Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, a former cabinet minister, told BBC radio that a government of national unity may be required to break the impasse. "There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue," she said. - No-deal 'a growing possibility' - Britain had been due to leave the EU on Friday, the long-heralded March 29 "Independence Day", but with paralysis in parliament May asked European leaders last week for a little more time. She now faces having to explain what happens next, after EU Council President Donald Tusk called a Brussels summit for April 10. The EU has set a deadline of April 12 for a decision, with two likely options: Britain leaves with no deal at all, or agrees a lengthy extension to allow time for a new approach. The prime minister has said it would be "unacceptable" to ask voters to take part in European Parliament elections in May. MPs have repeatedly rejected a "no-deal" outcome, fearing catastrophe if Britain severs ties with its closest trading partner with no plan. However, this remains the default legal option. Following the vote, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was "a growing possibility". MPs are due to gather again on Monday to consider possible changes to the deal that could ensure it is adopted Thousands of protesters rallied outside parliament to accuse MPs of betraying Brexit by delaying it Theresa May warned that Friday's vote had 'grave' implications MPs resoundingly rejected May's deal, although by a substantially lower margin than on two previous occasionsFive people were injured and seven arrested on Saturday as members of Spain's far-right Vox party demonstrating in Barcelona against Catalan independence clashed with separatist activists there, police said. The violence came amid rising tension in the run-up to parliamentary elections next month and the continuing trial of 12 Catalan leaders for their part in the failed 2017 independence bid. Police estimated that around 5,000 members of Vox demonstrated in the Catalan capital, in the words of their leader Santiago Abascal to "defend to the very end a united Spain". "Spain will not resign itself to being destroyed," Abascal told the crowd. Several groups of radical Catalan separatists, many of them masked, had organised counter-demonstrations around the Vox rally, which took place in the Plaza de Espana. Carrying banners denouncing fascism about 300 of them set up barricades, burning rubbish bins, and throwing bottles and stones at officers, said police. Vox made its electoral breakthrough when it won seats in the Andalusia regional assembly last December. It is expected to pick up more nationally in the April 28 parliamentary elections. In the trial of the Catalan nationalists, it has taken the position of a "popular prosecutor", a role particular to the Spanish justice system, which allows it to be an accuser alongside state prosecutors. Spain's socialist government has rejected suggestions that prosecution of the Catalan separatists has been unfair. 'This is Spain, and those who don't like it can go'. The far-right Vox party is fiercely opposed to Catalan independence The 'No pasaran' banner of the Catalan separatists echoes the anti-fascist slogan used during the Spanish Civil war Catalan separatists set up barricades, burned rubbish bins and clashed with both police and some members of the far-right Vox party attending a rallyTens of thousands of French "yellow vest" demonstrators on Saturday staged their 20th week of anti-government protests despite hotspot bans and a plea from bank chiefs to end damage to branches. Police in Paris fired teargas to disperse a crowd of hardcore demonstrators at the Trocadero square, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, though most of the marches in the capital were peaceful. Banners held aloft throughout the country demanded change. "Enough of capitalism which crushes people and destroys the planet," was a slogan seen in Montpellier in the south. "The youth are angry, the old are in misery, let's change the system," said another in the northern city of Lille. According to interior ministry figures there were 33.700 protesters on the streets nationwide, including 4,000 in the capital. Those figures were down from the official estimate of 40,500 a week earlier, and a fraction of the numbers who took part when the protests began last November. The official turnout figures are challenged by the protest organisers each week. Police had been surprised by a jump in the numbers two weeks ago when they struggled to curb violence by highly-organised demonstrators who smashed shop windows and set fire to newspaper kiosks and a bank in the capital. This time around, local authorities declared iconic sites such as the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris and the centres of Avignon, Bordeaux and Toulouse in southern France off limits to demonstrations. The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were also cordoned off by police. - 'They don't give a damn' - The protests began in rural France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion. President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the weekly demonstrations with a cross-country tour as part of a "Great National Debate" aimed at encouraging disgruntled citizens to express themselves through a structured dialogue. A 62-year-old demonstrator in Paris Saturday, who gave her first name as Monique, vowed to continue protesting "as long as they (the government) have not given in to our demands, the RIC (citizen initiated referendum), increased purchasing power and pensions. "Petrol prices fell when the demonstrations began, and have now risen higher than before," she noted. "So they don't give a damn about us." - 'Unbridled, unjustified violence' - The French banking federation called for an end to attacks on branches during the "yellow vest" protests, saying more than 760 banks had suffered damage since the movement began. "We must quickly put a stop to this unbridled and unjustified violence," the federation said in comments published in the daily Le Monde. In Montpellier, southern France, two police officers were slightly injured by projectiles during a protest by about two thousand people. Five demonstrators were detained. In Lille, officials closed off the city centre, but offered demonstrators an alternative route. In Bordeaux, where violent clashes broke out during previous protests, Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city centre, saying he was "very concerned about what could happen." Residents were urged to stay indoors. About 5,000 people, double the previous week's figure, turned out. Teargas was fired at the popular Trocadero tourist site, where some protesters hurled projectiles. Police made 25 arrests in the capital, according to local officials. A demonstration was also held in the Mediterranean city of Nice, where a 73-year-old activist was injured last week after she was pushed by police and hit her head in the fall. Police initially insisted that no officer had pushed the woman, but rectified that position following an internal investigation. Last week, Macron continued to meet with mayors as part of regional tours linked to the national debate. He is scheduled to end the tour Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The 'yellow vest' protests have been held each Saturday since November Genevieve Legay was injured during a fall after being shoved by police in Nice Bordeaux Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city centre after authorities warned of the possible arrival of "hundreds of thugs" Teargas at the TrocaderoA Brazilian judge barred President Jair Bolsonaro's government Friday from commemorating the 55th anniversary of the coup that established the military dictatorship -- an initiative that had sparked widespread anger. Judge Ivani Silva da Luz said Sunday's planned celebration of the 1964 coup was not "compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction" promoted by the 1988 constitution and that commemorative dates must be approved by Congress. Bolsonaro's order to the armed forces to mark the March 31 overthrow of President Joao Goulart has been widely criticized, with the attorney general's office on Wednesday calling on personnel to "abstain" from paying tribute to a regime that committed "serious human rights violations." The far-right leader, whose approval rating plunged in March after a series of political scandals marred his first three months in office, had received little support outside his own ultraconservative Social Liberal Party (PSL) for his controversial idea. Bolsonaro, an ex-paratrooper and unabashed admirer of Brazils former dictators, is the country's first president since democracy was restored in 1985 to publicly exalt the military regime, though he argues its rise to power was not a "coup." At least 434 people were killed or disappeared in Brazil during the 21-year dictatorship, far fewer than the 30,000 deaths in Argentina and more than 3,200 in Chile during their respective periods of right-wing military rule. - 'Folklore' - But unlike its South American neighbors, Brazil has not prosecuted military officials for regime-era crimes under a 1979 amnesty law, ratified in 2010, leaving the events of the dark period unresolved. As controversy grew Wednesday over his order to the defense forces, Bolsonaro issued a clarification, saying they should "remember" the coup, rather than commemorate it. Friday's ruling may have little practical effect since several military units have already held events this week commemorating the coup. Opposition to the celebrations among ordinary citizens has been growing, with calls on social media for street protests in several major cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, against the military dictatorship and to remember its victims on Sunday. Since taking office, Bolsonaro has had fond words for military dictators in 1970s and 80s Latin America, such as Paraguayan Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) and Chile's Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). Scholars, however, have dismissed his and others attempts to legitimize the 1964 overthrow and the decades of military rule that followed. "This always falls in the camp of folklore, the ridiculous, because the scientific evidence is indisputable," said Carlos Fico, a history professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, pictured in 2018 talking to army general Luiz Eduardo Ramos Baptista Pereira, is an unabashed admirer of Brazil's former dictatorsMembers of the Saudi team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi received training in the United States, the Washington Post has reported, revealing other new elements in the death of the newspaper's former contributor. A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has never been recovered. After having denied the murder, Saudi Arabia said the operation was carried out by agents who were out of control. A trial of 11 suspects opened earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. But much of the case remains shrouded, beginning with the role of Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. The US Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, adopted a resolution naming the crown prince as "responsible" for the murder, while President Donald Trump has refused to publicly take a stand. According to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a Saudi who closely read the transcript of a recording from a bug placed in the consulate by Turkish intelligence said it indicates the plan was to kidnap Khashoggi and bring him back to Saudi Arabia for detention and interrogation. A note in the transcript says an injection was administered to Khashoggi, which the Saudi source said was probably a powerful sedative. A bag was then placed over his head, and Khashoggi screamed: "I can't breathe, I have asthma. Don't do this." According to the Post, he died soon after. The transcript describes a buzzing noise, perhaps an electric saw used to dismember the journalist. According to Ignatius, who said he interviewed more than a dozen American and Saudi sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, some members of the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group received training in the United States. "The CIA has cautioned other government agencies that some of this special-operations training might have been conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company, under a State Department license," he said. "The training occurred before the Khashoggi incident, as part of ongoing liaison with the Saudis, and it hasn?t been resumed." He said several other US-Saudi security exchange programs also have been suspended. Dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team sent from Riyadh

A Victorian fisherman has been fined almost $500 for catching an oversized fish measuring almost a metre, after he admitted to knowing it was illegal to take it from the river.

Officers from the Victorian Fisheries Authority received an anonymous tip Friday night and headed out to Swan Hill in northwest Victoria the following morning.

Upon arrival, they found two vehicles at the riverbank with boats in tow, pulled up beside one another.

Victorian Fisheries Authority fined a man (not pictured) after he admitted to knowing it was illegal to take fish. Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority/Facebook

While officers were speaking to one man at the back of a boat, they noticed another person moving quickly behind the second boat, the Victorian Fisheries Authority said in a statement.

Officers saw man carry a large fish from his boat and heave it into the river. One officer approached the man and saw a Murray cod floating in the water.

The man was questioned and admitted hed caught the cod earlier that morning, and knew it was oversize.

The cod measured 93cm long, and weighed a whopping 17kgs, the fishing authority reported.

The angler was slapped with a $484 fine for possessing Murray cod larger than the maximum size.

Murray cod are an iconic Australian native species particularly valued by recreational fishers.

Catch limits apply to anglers fishing Victorian waters in a bid to improve sustainability of the species.

A picture of the huge fish on the fishing authoritys Facebook page on Saturday received support from anglers agreeing the fisherman deserved to be punished.

However, one woman jokingly asked: Who seriously would kiss and release. Its a monster.

Murray cod are an iconic Australian native species particularly valued by recreational fishers, however catch limits apply in Victoria. Source: Getty, file

What is the size limit for Murray Cod?

Murray cod have the potential to grow to large sizes, but need to be between 55 and 75cm to be harvested, according to the Victorian Fisheries Authority.

Fisheries surveys show the numbers of large fish in many of Victorias river systems are relatively low and Murray cod populations in many locations is impacted by recreational fishing.

The changes to Murray cod regulations, which came into effect on December 1, 2014, are expected to improve the species sustainability and fishing opportunities for anglers in the long-term, as larger fish are used as breeding stock.

Story continues

Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing us encouraged to call 13FISH (13 3474).

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You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here.The US attorney general said Friday that he will release a redacted version by mid-April of the report on the two-year Russia election meddling probe, which had cast a cloud over Donald Trump's presidency. Attorney General Bill Barr, in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, said he was currently redacting sensitive material from the eagerly awaited report, which Trump has hailed as completely clearing him of allegations of collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who headed the probe, was assisting with the task, he said. "Our progress is such that I anticipate that we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner," Barr said. The attorney general said the report was nearly 400 pages long excluding tables and appendices and "sets forth the Special Counsel's findings, his analysis and the reasons for his conclusions." Barr, who released the "principal conclusions" of the report last week, has been under heavy pressure from Democrats to release the full report. "I share your desire to ensure that Congress and the public have the opportunity to read the Special Counsel's report," the attorney general told the Senate and House judiciary committee chairmen. "Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr said. "I do not believe it would be in the public's interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or to release it in a serial or piecemeal fashion." Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat who heads the House Judiciary Committee, responded to Barr's letter by saying he wanted the "full and complete Mueller report, without redactions" by April 2. - Redactions - Barr said the redactions underway included material "the intelligence community identifies as potentially compromising sensitive sources and methods." Redactions also concern matters that the special counsel has referred to other Justice Department offices for investigation and information that would compromise the privacy of "peripheral third parties." Barr said the report would not be submitted to the White House for review and Trump had deferred to him to deal with any parts over which he could invoke executive privilege. Barr, citing the "principal conclusions" of the report last week, said the special counsel did not find that the Trump presidential campaign had conspired with the Russian government to win the 2016 election. The "investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," Barr quoted the report as saying. Mueller also left the decision on whether Trump obstructed justice up to the attorney general, who determined that he had not "committed an obstruction-of-justice offense." Regarding obstruction, Mueller stated that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Trump has welcomed the Mueller report as a "total exoneration" and blamed the media for pushing what he called the "Russian Collusion Delusion." In his letter, Barr said he would be prepared to testify before the Senate and House judiciary committees on May 1 and May 2 respectively. US Attorney General Bill Barr said special prosecutor Robert Mueller's report should be released by mid-AprilThe Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have sought the blacklisting of an Omani national who allegedly deceived two Pinays to travel and meet him abroad for paid sexual acts.

The statement released on BIs website today said that BI port operations chief Grifton Medina recommended the inclusion of Khalid Khalaf Gharib Al Shuraiqi in the immigration blacklist after two of his would-be victims were barred from leaving for their flight to Bangkok, Thailand at NAIA Terminal 2 on Sunday.

Medina said that operatives of the BIs Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) intercepted the Filipinas before they could board the plane.

The Filipinas  whose names were not given  reportedly admitted that they agreed to meet up with Al Shuraiqi who allegedly wanted to have sex with both women.

One of the victims said she was promised PHP5,000 (US$94.67) a day if she and her companion would stay and engage in sexual relations with said Omani for eight days, Medina said in the statement.

When asked why she took the offer, one of the victims allegedly said that she needed money because shes the breadwinner of her family.

Meanwhile, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that foreigners enticing Filipinos to engage in prostitution are considered undesirable aliens.

These predators are preying on the vulnerabilities of our people, and do not deserve the privilege of entering our country. They pose a serious threat to our kababayan (fellow countrymen), especially the poor, who may be swayed by false promises of money, the BI Chief said.

The women were eventually turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and assistance.

This article, PH Bureau of Immigration bans Omani sex-predator from entering country, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!Pope Francis joined Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Saturday in declaring Jerusalem the "common patrimony" of Christians, Jews and Muslims, on the first day of a visit to the North African country. The spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI for the sake of "interreligious dialogue", according to Moroccan authorities. In a joint statement, the two leaders said Jerusalem was "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions," during the pontiff's visit to Rabat. "The specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in the declaration released by the Vatican. Their statement came after US President Donald Trump's landmark recognition of the disputed city as capital of Israel, sparking anger across the Muslim world, especially from Palestinians who see Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by a wave of child sex abuse allegations against clergy. Addressing thousands of Moroccans who had braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was "essential to oppose fanaticism". He stressed the need for "appropriate preparation of future religious guides", ahead of meeting trainee imams later on Saturday. Catholics are a tiny minority in the country where 99 percent of the population is Muslim. The king is revered across West Africa as "commander of the faithful". Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, Francis defended "freedom of conscience" and "religious freedom". "Live as brothers," he told a crowd of around 25,000, after arriving from the airport in his Popemobile, passing rows of Moroccan and Vatican City flags. An estimated 12,000 well-wishers packed the esplanade outside the partly-finished 12th century mosque, some in traditional dress, according to Moroccan officials. Some 130,000 people across Rabat watched the first stage of the pope's visit, which was beamed onto giant screens, officials said. Francis will also visit an institute where around 1,300 students are studying to become imams and preachers, teaching "moderate Islam" and backed by the king. "It's a very significant event, the first time that a pope is welcomed to an institute for the training of imams," said Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti. Rabat has stepped up security ahead of the first papal visit to the North African country since John Paul II in 1985. Buildings have been repainted, streets decorated and lawns manicured for the pope's two-day visit. - Meeting migrants - Last month Francis visited the United Arab Emirates, where he met with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's prestigious seat of learning. The two signed a document which called for "freedom of belief" and "full citizenship" rights for minorities, a text which Gisotti said the pontiff will give to heads of state. In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country's "religious tolerance" which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely. But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim if they are not born into the Jewish community, apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is a criminal offence. Those who try to "rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion" risk a prison term of up to three years. After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live "without persecution" and "without discrimination". Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa. The pope is due to finish his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas. The charity runs day centres for migrants who are trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, as well as helping them access services. The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has recently surged as it has become harder for them to pass through Libya. In 2017, Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers welcomed 7,551 new arrivals, according to the charity. Rabat claims to have a "humanistic" approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of "brutal arrest campaigns" and "forced displacement" to the country's southern border. Francis has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees, calling on Catholics as well as politicians to show solidarity with those in need. On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending. meet Muslim leaders and migrants ahead of a mass with the minority Catholic community Pope Francis, who is being hosted by King Mohammed VI, is the first pontiff to visit the North African country since John Paul II in 1985 Francis' visit to Morocco is the first by a pope since John Paul II in 1985Their embrace is long and warm. Pascal Shyirahwamaboko and Jean-Bosco Gakwenzire have known each other since they were in school together, well over half a century ago. It was a hard-won hug after a long path to forgiveness. In 1994, Shyirahwamaboko was part of the gang who hacked Gakwenzire's father to death as Rwanda spiralled into the horrific violence of genocide. Today the two men chat with brotherly smiles after prayers in their local church. Both are elderly farmers, who till the lush fields of cassava, sorghum and sweet potatoes outside the small town of Mutete, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Rwanda's capital Kigali. "I hurt him so much, but he forgave me," says Shyirahwamaboko, 68. "Now he is my best friend." - 'Wild animals' - Twenty-five years ago this April, the town of Mutete was the scene of unimaginable violence, when neighbour turned on neighbour. More than a thousand residents of the town were massacred in the days following the outbreak of inter-ethnic violence, a genocide in which over 800,000 mostly Tutsi people were slaughtered between April to July 1994, according to the UN. Gakwenzire, a slender 65-year-old dressed in an orange cowboy hat, remembers the arrival of the teams of machete-wielding men, members of a militia gang from the Hutu majority known as the "Interahamwe". They came to hunt down and kill Tutsi people they called "cockroaches." "They went to each and every house that they knew had Tutsis," Gakwenzire said wearily, his eyes filled with sadness as he remembers the traumatic events. "They were cutting them with machetes." Gakwenzire managed to hide from the killers. But his wife and four of his six children were discovered by the gangs. They were all massacred. His father fled to the forest with his cattle but an Interahamwe gang -- which Shyirahwamboko said he had been forced to join -- found him there. Shyirahwamaboko said he at first tried to protect his friend's father. But the militia gave him a stark choice, he said, either he give up the man to be killed, or be killed himself. "I saved myself," he said quietly, and later he took part in the killing of several others. After the genocide, Shyirahwamaboko was arrested and put on trial in a community court known as "Gacaca", a special system introduced to deal with the overwhelming number of people who had to face justice. As a means of promoting reconciliation, many who confessed to even the most terrible crimes were condemned only to carry out simple public works. But Shyirahwamaboko, at first, refused to confess his crimes, so he was handed a much harsher sentence. "It was hard," he said, adding that he envied those who came forward immediately to confess what they had done. "I was confused. How could I explain to people that I had killed someone who was innocent?" For a long time, he did not believe he could ever be forgiven. "At first, we thought it was impossible, because we committed acts worthy of wild animals," Shyirahwamaboko added, but after a long introspection "we came to understand that it could not continue as it was." - 'An unspeakable shame' - Things changed. While Shyirahwamaboko was inside jail, he heard that people in the village were still treating his wife Rose with respect, despite the crimes he had committed. In the end, he summoned the courage and asked for forgiveness from his old classmate. When he was released from prison, he came to meet Gakwenzire face-to-face. "It was an unspeakable shame," Shyirahwamaboko said. "It was very shameful to stand in front of someone you had done so much harm when you had previously shared everything." Confessing in public helped reset their relationship. "I do not know if it is because I have become wiser with age, but the reality is that I feel better than before," said Shyirahwamaboko. Gakwenzire slowly found space in his heart to accept that his old friend was truly sorry for what he had done. "I did not feel able to speak or share anything with those responsible for what had happened," Gakwenzire said. "But with time, with prayer, little by little, we began to forgive, to speak of forgiveness and to teach it." After the genocide, Gakwenzire took a long time to rebuild. He eventually remarried and has had five more children. "I forgave many people, who are all my neighbours. I know that those who are dead will never come back, that what we have lost will never come back. But it allowed me to go forward, not to go back down". Jean-Bosco Gakwenzire, 65, of Tutsi ethnicity, embraces his old school mate Pascal Shyirahwamaboko (R), 68 with his wife Rose (hidden), both Hutu Villagers attend mass at Mutete in Rwanda's Byumba where 25 years ago more than a thousand lives were taken by ethnic Hutu attackers on Tutsi their neighbours, but reconcilation is gradually finding a footing among people who once turned on each other. Jean-Bosco Gakwenzire(L), 65, of Tutsi ethnicity, managed to escape the killers during the genocide, but his wife and four of his six children were massacred Pascal Shyirahwamaboko (R), 68, next to his wife Rose, 72, both Hutus, says he finally got up the courage to ask forgiveness for his "unspeakable shame" from his old Tutsi classmate, Jean-Bosco Gakwenzire (L)Vocal government critic and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova will become Slovakia's first female president after provisional results showed her winning Saturday's run-off election. Environmental lawyer Caputova got 58.40 percent of the ballot while EU energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic garnered 41.59, the Slovak Statistics Office said. Official results are due Sunday at noon. "Let us look for what connects us. Let us promote cooperation above personal interests," Caputova said after her victory. The 45-year-old added that the outcome was a sign that "you can win without attacking your opponents." "I believe this trend will also be confirmed in the elections to the European Parliament and the Slovak parliamentary elections next year." Sefcovic, the 52-year-old ruling party candidate, called Caputova to congratulate her and planned to also send flowers. "The first female president of Slovakia deserves a bouquet," he told reporters. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who belongs to the governing Smer-SD party, said he expected "constructive cooperation". Outgoing President Andrej Kiska told reporters that "Slovakia is in a moral crisis and needs a president like Zuzana Caputova." "Many countries probably envy us for we have chosen a president who symbolises values like decency." - Justice for all - Political novice Caputova, who ran on a slogan of "Stand up to evil" had earlier called the last few weeks "extremely challenging" and "an intense journey". No stranger to tough battles, Caputova won a 2016 award for successfully blocking a planned landfill in her hometown of Pezinok. More recently, she took to the streets of the central European country of 5.4 million along with tens of thousands of other anti-government protesters after investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was gunned down alongside his fiancee in February 2018. He had been preparing to publish a story on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia. The killings forced then prime minister Robert Fico to resign but he remains leader of the populist-left Smer-SD and is a close ally of the current premier. Five people have been charged, including a millionaire businessman with alleged Smer-SD ties who is suspected of ordering the murders. The European Parliament has urged Slovakia to look into "any possible political links to the crimes." MEPs voiced "concern about the allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest, impunity and revolving doors in Slovakia's circles of power." Speaking to AFP on the campaign trail, Caputova said she would "initiate systematic changes that would deprive prosecutors and the police of political influence." In addition to fighting for justice for all, Caputova has promised better care for the elderly and environmental protection. - 'Protest vote' - Earlier this week, she won an endorsement from Jozef Kuciak, the slain journalist's brother, who denounced Sefcovic for his ties to the political establishment. "I will not vote for someone supported by oligarchs and their people who have deprived me of my brother and sister-in-law," he said. Observers have compared Caputova to French President Emmanuel Macron, an outsider who swept to power on a reformist agenda. "A similar story unfolded during the last presidential election in France, where the representative of the new political trend and a new political movement prevailed," analyst Aneta Vilagi told AFP. But analyst Juraj Marusiak cautioned that both "their programmes were formulated within vague contours, so they can also bring great disappointment." "Caputova, like Macron, is a symbol of a very hazily defined hope." IT technician Oliver Strycek said Caputova's lack of political experience was refreshing. "I don't see anyone among our politicians who'd be trustworthy, not even within the opposition parties," said the 55-year-old Bratislava voter. Data analyst Viliam Gregus, 28, in the southern town of Komarno, said his choice of Caputova was "a protest vote against Sefcovic and the ruling coalition." Artist Andrej Petrovic, 37, applauded Caputova's landfill battle, adding: "She will be good for this country." Though the office is largely ceremonial, the president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament. Caputova, who has no experience in political office and ran on a slogan of "Stand up to evil" Outgoing President Andrej Kiska congratulates Zuzana Caputova, who is set to become Slovakia's first female head of state No stranger to tough battles, Caputova won a 2016 award for successfully blocking a planned landfill in her home town of PezinokArmenians in Syria's war-torn Aleppo packed their Forty Martyrs Cathedral Saturday for the first mass in the centuries-old church since its restoration began more than a year ago. Established in the 14th century, it is among the oldest active Armenian churches in Aleppo, a northern Syrian city battered by four years of fighting between rebels and government forces. After rebels first overran the city in mid-2012, its Christian quarter, housing the church, became one of the city's most notorious front lines. In April 2015, parts of the church's walls, its courtyards, and its entrance were damaged during shelling. However, it has been gradually restored since Damascus reasserted its control over Syria's second city in 2016. State news agency SANA says the main entrance, the facade of the church, its bell tower and its courtyards have been renovated over the past year. By Saturday, the church's interior left no trace of the war. Large chandeliers glittered under the arched stone ceiling as a procession of priests carried incense burners into the cathedral, flanked on both sides by crowds of worshippers. People pressed up against the walls of the church and filled its wooden benches, their heads turned towards the alter. Aram Keshishian, the Beirut-based patriarch of the Armenian church, delivered a sermon in Armenian. After mass, he told reporters that Saturday's ceremony sent a strong message. It was a sign "that the Armenian community will continue to reconstruct Syria," he said. Syrian Armenian religious leader Harutyun Selimian said the ceremony sparked hopes for a better future for Syria's Armenian community. "Our future is bright and in this future we will rebuild a new Syria," he told AFP. Jirair Reisian, an Armenian member of the Syrian parliament, said it was a sign that Syria's Armenian community "is here to stay." Christians made up 10 percent of Aleppo's pre-war population. Out of the 250,000 that lived in the city before the war, thousands have fled the city since the onset of the conflict in 2011. Many of the Armenians among them fled to Armenia itself, while others headed to Lebanon. Few have returned, according to demographic expert Fabrice Balanche. The old quarter of Aleppo is home to several other churches, including those of the Melkite and Maronite sects. They too were damaged by the four years of fighting in the former rebel stronghold. Tens of thousands of Armenians fled to Syria and neighbouring Lebanon in the early 20th century after hundreds of thousands of their kin were massacred by Ottoman forces in 1915. The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it started in 2011. The Forty Martyrs Armenian cathedral in Aleppo's old city, seen here before it was restored, was heavily damaged in Syria's warThe UN Security Council agreed Friday to extend the huge peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo until December to allow time for a withdrawal plan to be drawn up. The council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution that asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present a strategic review no later than October on a "phased, progressive and comprehensive exit strategy." The move to draw down the mission known as MONUSCO followed presidential elections that ended Joseph Kabila's rule and raised prospects for stability in the vast mineral-rich country. The 16,000-strong MONUSCO mission -- the UN's biggest and costliest with an annual budget of over $1 billion -- has been present in the DR Congo for 20 years, with a particular focus on the conflict-riven east. The council extended MONUSCO's mandate to December 20 and kept the troop ceiling unchanged, even though Guterres had proposed cuts in a report to the council earlier this month. Kabila had repeatedly called for the peacekeepers to leave and relations with the UN had soured by the end of his term, but his successor, Felix Tshisekedi, has offered to cooperate with the United Nations. While Tshisekedi has also called for a withdrawal plan, he has said the peacekeeping force must be "reduced and better armed and prepared" to fight the rebel and militia groups that wreak havoc in many parts of the country. Negotiations on an exit strategy come as the United States, the number one financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, is seeking to reduce its share of the UN budget for peace operations. US national security advisor John Bolton in December said the United States will seek to wind down long-running UN peacekeeping missions that do not bring long-term peace. The United States in December announced that it would cap its contribution to the peacekeeping budget to 25 percent, down from the current level of 28.5 percent. In the resolution, the council welcomed the peaceful holding of elections in the DR Congo but said it remained "deeply concerned by the persistent high levels of violence" and human rights violations. It also expressed "grave concern" at the recent outbreak of Ebola that has killed more than 600 people, and the growing number of Congolese displaced by conflict including 2.1 million in 2018 alone. A UN peacekeeper patrols outside an Ebola treatment centre in Butembo in northeastern Democratic Republic of CongoTRAVERSE CITY, Mich.  President Donald Trump tried repeatedly to gut funding for a wide-ranging Great Lakes cleanup, only to be stymied by Congress. Suddenly, he did an about-face.

It happened Thursday during a campaign-style speech in the battleground state of Michigan. For years, the program the Obama administration established in 2010 enjoyed bipartisan support, and Trump  who proposed a 90 percent cut just three weeks ago  toyed with the crowd before revealing his belated advocacy.

"We have some breaking news," Trump told cheering supporters in Grand Rapids. "You ready? I don't know. Can you handle it? I don't think you can handle it.

"I support the Great Lakes. Always have. They are beautiful. They are big, very deep, record deepness, right? And I'm going to get, in honor of my friends, full funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative."

Trump's apparent change of heart occurred the same day he reversed his budget's call to slash $17.6 million in funding for the Special Olympics, roughly 10 percent of the organization's revenue, in the face of withering criticism on Capitol Hill.

The moves illustrate that, even as his annual spending plans seek draconian reductions in many areas, Trump is uncomfortable as a budget cutter and readily backtracks when popular programs are at stake. Such concessions might annoy fiscal conservatives, but they deprive the president's foes of ammunition as he gears up for his re-election bid.

Democrats and environmentalists in the Great Lakes region, which includes fiercely contested states such as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that Trump carried in 2016, were skeptical that his conversion on the restoration initiative was more than a momentary gesture to draw applause at his rally.

"President Trump's actions need to speak louder than words," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat who co-chairs the Senate Great Lakes Task Force. "I call on him to work across the aisle to restore every penny of funding he proposed to cut."

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the reasons for Trump's new-found support of the program, which has paid for thousands of projects to clean up toxic pollution, fight invasive species, prevent harmful algae blooms and restore wetlands and other wildlife habitat.

But as he prepared to announce his backing for the funds during the speech, Trump called the names of the GOP lawmakers who had lobbied for the program during a roughly 20-minute car ride with Trump from the Grand Rapids airport to the rally: Reps. Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar and Jack Bergman of Michigan.

In a phone interview Friday, Huizenga told The Associated Press the trio had pushed hard.

"It was a good, old-fashioned ganging up on," Huizenga said. "People who aren't from the Great Lakes don't have an understanding of what the entire system is about. It can be hard to get them to wrap their heads around it. We sort of laid out the case, both the economy and the ecology of it."

Trump asked questions about some of the projects, including a battle to prevent invasive Asian carp from reaching the lakes. Huizenga said he pitched the program as in keeping with the president's desire to restore U.S. manufacturing and the Midwestern economy.

At one point, Bergman said, "Mr. President, if you want to make news, this is one of the ways to make news in Michigan," according to Huizenga.

He said Trump made no commitment during the ride. But the message obviously had gotten through.

Does this mean the Great Lakes program is no longer in danger?

"I think you take it year by year," Huizenga said. "But it certainly makes it harder for them to go back and remove it out of the budget in future years."

The Great Lakes initiative is the biggest of nearly a dozen regional water restorations that Trump has sought to strip of funding. Among them are programs benefiting Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay.

The president's announcement Thursday offered them no reprieve, to the chagrin of William Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. His group supports a program that has funded research and cleanups in the nation's biggest estuary. Trump's budget requested $7.3 million for 2020, a 90 percent cut from $73 million this year.

"For the president to fund one national treasure's future and not the other makes no sense to us," Baker said. "We invite the president to come see the Chesapeake Bay first-hand and hopefully make the same decision for clean water here as he did for the Great Lakes."

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0Fewer than 10 days ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the acting superintendent of the state police held a press conference to announce the arrest of a Saugerties man who was accused of anti-Semitic harassment.

The defendant, a 21-year-old named William Sullivan, is facing a misdemeanor charge of second-degree aggravated harassment after he was accused of calling a Jewish co-worker at a store an "f-ing Jew" and telling her she was "in the gas chamber now" because she was inside a refrigerated cooler. The governor's office rushed out a transcript, photos and video of the event, saying New York state will not tolerate hate crimes such as the one Sullivan was accused of committing. A mug shot of Sullivan was provided by state police, along with the key details of his arrest.

In a vacuum, it made sense for the governor to single out a high-profile arrest and use it as opportunity to disavow hate crimes. But in this case, the timing of Cuomo's public announcement of a misdemeanor criminal charge was interesting because of what's been going on inside the secretive state budget meetings back in Albany. That's where Cuomo and state legislative leaders came to an agreement to include a ban on the public release of criminal arrest mugshots and booking information. With the exception of public arrest information that would "serve a specific law enforcement purpose," the law now puts details about arrests under the category of personal privacy information that is exempt from New York's Freedom of Information Law.

The idea behind the law is to protect people from having their reputation ruined simply because they were arrested. But there's little practicality to such law in a society that values transparency in its justice system. And there's an important public safety reason for letting the public know about arrests.

The language of this proposed law sure makes it seem like the case of William Sullivan of Saugerties would not be made public unless and until it got into the court system. Would the governor still be able to announce arrests such as this?

Perhaps this is a case that would fall under the vague "law enforcement purpose" standard for releasing information, but even if that's the argument, it points to a deeper problem with this proposed legislation. It's remarkably generic and it's inviting the government to decide which people accused of crimes get this privacy protection. That's a dangerous idea.

It's also worth noting that this proposal was buried inside the thousands of pages of budget bills that were just getting printed at the end of last week and will likely start getting votes on Sunday. This measure has no impact on New York spending. There's only one reason to put it in a bigger budget bill, and that's to ensure it will get passed because lawmakers don't want to shoot down the entire public safety budget over a couple of sentences.

Our hope is that there's enough state legislators out there who won't stand for this cynical approach. Reject the budget bill that has this government transparency-killing language. Vote no and tell the leaders to remove the mugshot and arrest booking information ban from the budget, make it a standalone bill that gets a full public debate and allow lawmakers to vote on the merits.

The Citizen editorial board includes interim publisher Thomas Salvo, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0State Sen. Pam Helming has called for public hearings to support the New York Farm Bureau efforts to stop passage of a bill that would allow farmworkers equal labor rights, afforded to all other workers in New York.

I have owned three businesses in my career with the much appreciated support of this community, employing about 400 members of our communities. I could not envision not paying them for overtime work, not allowing them paid days off or vacation, not allowing them to bargain collectively or decide for themselves whether to unionize. I cannot imagine living in a system that did not demand that they have drinking water supplied at their place of work or have adequate bathroom facilities within easy access. I cannot even think about allowing them to work in dangerous conditions. And yet as a result of New Yorks antiquated labor laws, farmworkers are not afforded these protections.

Senator Helming claims that what would be unfair for my employees would be fair for those agricultural workers who do the work that most Americans would not even consider. The Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act would correct this egregious error in the annals of New York state politics, allowing farmworkers the same basic rights as all other workers. She was elected to represent all the people in her community, not just those who have money in their pockets, not just those who are members in the New York Farm Bureau. She cites reference to the loss of small dairy farms as the lasting impact of removing historically racist barriers to equal employment. She conveniently does not mention that milk production has increased 10.7 percent over the last five years and that gross income per dairy farmer has increased by 12.8 percent as reported by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in its most recent report (https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/di/NYSAnnStat2017.pdf).

I recognize that economic pressure on our farmer neighbors is a long, hard battle caused by such factors as decreasing consumption of liquid milk, low milk prices and the Trump administrations trade wars. But we must recognize that all workers in New York state should have equitable labor rights. Anything less is not only unethical, it is immoral. Senator Helmings pandering to the farm bureau is just not fair to our more invisible and less vocal neighbors, the farmworkers who literally put the food on the table.

John Ghertner

Sodus

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0Monday, the Department of City Planning is expected to formally kick off the land-use review process for building four new borough jails to replace Rikers Island. So excited are card-carrying progressives about shuttering the miserable, out-of-the-way complex, they've made a host of unforced errors that are rapidly piling up.

First, what happened to Mayor de Blasio's initial idea that each borough would house its own pretrial prisoners to keep them close to home and courts? Staten Island got off scot-free.

The Bronx, meanwhile, gets hurt due to a plan de Blasio glommed onto with little to no community consultation (oh, that). Unlike Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn jails, whose proximity to courthouses make for easy transport of defendants, lawyers and family, 320 Concord Ave. in Mott Haven, currently a NYPD tow pound, sits in a residential area fully two miles from the Bronx justice center.

Worse, the jail would swallow up a site long-promised for hundreds of affordable units for the Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association. Diego Beekman has a proven track record restoring the struggling area; residents have clawed back against what was rampant drug and gang activity.

Dropping into this neighborhood a 26-story jail risks introducing a destabilizing force at the worst time.

So why was it picked last summer, when there were far better options? Probably because back then, it seemed to present the path of least political resistance.

No more. The neighborhood feels stepped on by a big boot, and who can blame them?

 The Daily News, New York

The mysteries of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative afflictions have been notoriously difficult to solve. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars worth of research, little progress has been made in finding a treatment for these diseases, which Harvard researchers predict will affect as many as 1 in 5 Americans by 2030.

But recently, two research teams, one from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the other from the Salk Institute in San Diego, published findings that have opened a window for advancements in treating these horrific diseases.

The team from Cedars-Sinai found that "transplanting the bone marrow of young laboratory mice into old mice prevented cognitive decline in the old mice, preserving their memory and learning abilities." According to the report, the research supports "an emerging model that attributes cognitive decline, in part, to aging of blood cells, which are produced in bone marrow."

At the Salk Institute, meanwhile, researchers found that the Californian herb Yerba santa produces a natural compound, sterubin, that has "neuroprotective" qualities. Like the bone marrow transplant procedure, sterubin was tested on mice, and it was found that the mice's nerve cells, a vulnerable target of neurodegenerative illness, were protected from damage.

There are reasons to be skeptical of the findings. Perhaps the most significant hang-up is that mice are, of course, not human. And oftentimes treatments that work on mice in the lab do not translate to humans. So there is a long way to go before either of these discoveries can be seen as a bonafide treatment for neurodegenerative disease.

But the progress on finding any treatments for these devastating afflictions has been so slow that any step forward should be applauded. It remains to be seen if the findings from Cedars-Sinai and the Salk Institute will help humans stem the tide of neurodegeneration, but one thing is for sure: We will never find the key to treating these diseases unless researchers remain persistent, working to help humanity and tackle our most vexing challenges.

 The Sentinel, Rome

The stakes for American interests keep rising in Venezuela, as Vladimir Putin is now moving his little green men to keep dictator Nicolas Maduro in power. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called his Russian counterpart Monday after Russian air force planes carrying about 100 troops arrived in Caracas Saturday.

"The continued insertion of Russian military personnel" risks "prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support" interim President Juan Guaido, the State Department said in a statement. It added that Mr. Pompeo called on Russia to "cease its unconstructive behavior and join other nations" that want a better future for Venezuela.

This isn't Ukraine next to Russia, or Syria in the Middle East. This Russian military provocation is in America's backyard, and the Trump Administration will have to do more in response than issue statements or phone calls of disapproval. The Maduro regime's fortress socialism is spreading millions of refugees and havoc throughout the region. President Trump needs to decide if he is going to let Mr. Putin get away with it.

 The Wall Street Journal

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0Ahram Online

Paris joined in the fascination with the treasures of the ancient Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamen last weekend with the opening of a major exhibition in the French capital

Half a century after the success of the last exhibition of the treasures of the ancient Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamun to hit the French capital, a new exhibition, this time at the Grande Halle de la Villette rather than the Petit Palais, is displaying more than 150 treasured pieces from the tomb of the young Pharaoh to thousands of appreciative visitors to the exhibition in Paris.

Paris was seized by Egyptomania this week when the Tutankhamun, the Treasures of the Pharaoh exhibition opened for its second stop after opening in Los Angeles in the US last year.

Streets, shops, buses, the metro, the facade of buildings, hotels and restaurants were all plastered with posters of the symbolic golden coffin of the boy-king, one of the pieces in the exhibition, or of a gilded wooden statuette depicting the king riding a black leopard, or of the Ka, a wooden guardian statue with gilded head-dress and skirt and gold jewellery studded with coloured precious stones.

The mystery of the golden king has stirred up worldwide curiosity since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, and now the Tutankhamun, the Treasures of the Pharaoh exhibition in Paris is fascinating visitors yet again. It features 150 pieces, 60 of which have never before been seen outside Egypt, and its theatrical design and exhibition scenario helps to reconstruct the path of the king into the afterlife.

The gate of the Villette exhibition ground was glittering with the name of Tutankhamun this week, while the Grande Halles galleries were transformed into an ancient Egyptian necropolis with dark walls and soft lighting. Giant screens showed films documenting the work of British archaeologist Howard Carter in discovering the intact tomb of Tutankhamun and its treasures, taking visitors back in time to the early 20th century, with strains of oriental music filling the air in the display areas.

Before going into the exhibition, visitors enter an immersive environment that begins with an introductory film on a 180-degree screen meant to transport them to the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor where Tutankhamuns tomb was discovered.

The camera sweeps across the mountainous and desert landscape. Groups of men studying maps, digging rocks, or sifting sand are shown. Visitors then enter the first room of the exhibition proper, where images, lighting and sound are used to create the impression of the imminent finds.





During the nine-gallery exhibition that follows, guests pass through the six gates of the underworld as they travel with the king on his journey to eternity. Along the way, they encounter good-luck amulets, weapons meant to fight off demons, alabaster containers of oils that the ancient Egyptians believed enabled the king to see and hear in the underworld, and figurines of gods meant to guide and protect him.

The second gallery is dedicated to the gods. It is here that one finds the most impressive pieces, including the kings guardian, a powerful black-and-gold statue that has watched over the kings sleep for nearly three millennia, and a delicate miniature sarcophagus that contained his embalmed viscera.

Then comes the kings rebirth, illustrated by an arch of light evoking the journey of the god Re from sunrise to zenith. This room presents the fabulous treasures found in the boy-kings burial chamber, including bracelets, tiaras, amulets and ornaments in which gold and precious stones mingle.

The penultimate part, using video and digital images, evokes the discovery and study of the mummy. The last room leaves visitors facing a colossus in stone representing the boy-king.





TECHNOLOGY

3D scans of objects are shown on video screens on top of the display cases, so viewers can zoom in and spin objects on screen for an interactive experience.

Theres a lot more technology in this exhibition when it comes to being able to help tell the story. With these videos, visitors really get to see these objects in a way they have never seen them before, John Norman, director of exhibitions of the IMG company that organised the show, told Al-Ahram Weekly.

For the next six months, the Grande Halle de la Villette will display 150 magnificent objects from the collection that has captivated French audiences since its first tour there in the 1967, he said. Dramatically laid out in nine galleries, it relates the story of one of the most interesting and perplexing kings in ancient Egyptian history almost 3,300 years ago. Each section showcases the dazzling craftsmanship of ancient artisans that characterised the earlier Tutankhamun exhibition.

Norman said the exhibition used multimedia displays to stimulate interest in the science related to archaeology. Visitors also learn how the scientific analysis of the boy-kings 3,000-year-old mummy had revealed new information about his health and lineage, as well as how cutting-edge archaeological tools were assisting in discovering tombs and analysing existing ones in ways never before imagined.

The last galleries in the show focus on the discovery of the tomb itself and the history of Egyptian archaeology, along with new scientific analyses of the mummy. These are provided through a video table showing scan data of Tutankhamuns mummy. The scans are from 2005, but advances in technology have made it possible to glean more information from them, including that Tutankhamun had a club foot and an impacted wisdom tooth.

New DNA testing shows that the young king also suffered from malaria and had a badly broken left leg above the knee that pierced his skin. This likely resulted in the infection that caused his death.

The exhibition takes visitors through the afterlife, visualising it through objects from the tomb. It combines technology, music and animation in novel ways. We have used a lot of technology in the exhibition, Norman added, describing it as a very theatrical experience. He said that each gallery space had its own music to ground viewers in ancient Egypt and provide context for the exhibition.

Egypts Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany, who officially inaugurated the exhibition along with French Minister of Culture Franck Riester, described the exhibition as an appetiser for French audiences to encourage them to travel to Egypt to admire the rest of the kings collection in its final resting place at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to open in 2020.

It is a message of peace and security from Egypt to the whole world, El-Enany said.

He also highlighted the strong friendship between Egypt and France, adding that archaeology had always had a special place in the hearts of the French, who had contributed a lot to it over the last two centuries since French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs in 1822.

During his speech, El-Enany highlighted the recent discoveries and inaugurations of archaeological projects carried out by the ministry last year. He also invited the French public to witness the announcement of three new discoveries within the next few months and to visit Egypt to see the transportation of the royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the new Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in the Cairo district of Fustat.

Some 200,000 tickets have already been sold for the Paris exhibition, with 5,000 people visiting the exhibition on its first day and queuing outside la Villette. It is expected that the number of visitors to the Paris exhibition will reach one million people before it travels to its third stop in London.

The exhibition is soothing and most moving, whispered Severine, one of the first-day visitors to the exhibition. She said the darkness of the exhibition design provided a beautiful atmosphere which brings out the gilding.

What is impressive in this exhibition is seeing that almost everything is intact, Severine continued, fascinated, like fellow visitor Sylvain, with the figurine of Horus, one of the oldest Egyptian deities, and amazed by the details and materials used. To know the techniques that they had at that time is just incredible, he said.

Sylvain had anticipated the crowds, and like his friends he had bought a ticket in November for the exhibition. Jean-Marie, at the exhibition with his children, had also bought tickets three months ago to be sure to be able to get in. He had good reason to be present on the first day, as he had also been half a century ago at the first Tutankhamun exhibition in Paris at the Petit Palais.

I visited the exhibition 50 years ago when I was ten years old, which is the current age of my daughter, he said. In 1967, the exhibition of the century attracted more than 1.2 million visitors, a record never equalled. I absolutely wanted to pass this on to my children because it is a great moment of emotion for me. It is of an absolute and timeless beauty, Jean-Marie told the Weekly.

Tutankhamun seduces all generations, however. What is amazing is that there is gold everywhere. It is a precious material, and you get the impression that the ancient Egyptians had lots of it, said one 13-year-old visitor.

Janette, an 80-year-old visitor on the second day along with her two friends, was found in a corner of the exhibition crying. We are very sad, Janette told the Weekly.

Fifty-two years ago when the Tutankhamun exhibition was first in Paris we came to visit it. We were then four friends, and now we are only three as our fourth friend passed away a few months ago. We were hesitant whether to buy tickets and go to the exhibition, but we decided to do so in order to make our fourth friend happy. But upon our arrival we could not stop crying as we see her all around us, Janette concluded.The Senate has overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 86 , which could make high-quality, affordable health care insurance available to tens of thousands of North Carolina residents lacking coverage.The bill enables the growth of Association Health Plans, designed for small businesses and individuals unable to afford insurance. The plans allow individuals and business owners to cluster under one plan as if they were a single employer. With increased size the associations can negotiate discounted insurance rates. The National Conference of State Legislatures issued a report showing small businesses pay between 8 and 18 percent more than large businesses for the same health plan.The plans face criticism from backers of the Affordable Care Act. They see AHPs as a political ploy to undermine the subsidy-reliant federal insurance law, even if AHPs make private insurance a better option for many independent contractors, entrepreneurs, and employees in small businesses.The Senate passed the Small Business Healthcare Act 38-8 without debate Thursday, March 14. Eleven Democrats voted with Republicans. The measure heads to the House.Sens. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell; Dan Bishop, R-Mecklenburg; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; and Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson, are primary sponsors of the bill, which modifies current laws and sections of the state insurance code to align with new federal guidelines.A 2018 U.S. Department of Labor rule change peeled away layers of insurance regulation hindering AHPs. Expansion of AHPs could enable up to 11 million workers nationwide to purchase lower-cost, higher-quality health insurance. Some research suggests the federal rule change makes it possible for 110,000 sole proprietors, self-employed workers, and small shop employees in North Carolina to join AHPs.North Carolina has five Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements, the state's name for AHPs. They incorporate 2,139 businesses employing 14,840 workers, and provide health coverage to 28,781 people, according to the N.C. Department of Insurance.Insurance Department attorney Bobby Croom said North Carolina businesses are showing heightened interest in creating AHPs since the federal rule change and President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order easing restrictions.An AHP can be a regional or multi-state operation. It can be self-insured, meaning the member employers assume payment risk for all medical claims, or they can be fully insured through a third-party insurance company.But opening the playing field to AHPs has become a donnybrook. The Trump administration rule change chips away at some of Obamacare's costliest, most restrictive provisions. Many Obamacare supporters and those who benefit from its heavily subsidized health insurance exchanges view Trump's rule as a political act rather than reform in the public interest, one expert says.says health care expert Kev Coleman. As AHPs become more popular, Obamacare supporters fear the government insurance program could collapse.Coleman, founder and president of Nashville, Tennessee-based AssociationHealthPlans.com , an online resource, said states have more than 1,000 rules governing AHPs. Some might trump the federal rule change and need to be changed.Krawiec said when the bill was introduced.Insurers worry about the financial stability of AHPs, and disruption they might cause to other insurance markets.Croom said North Carolina requires self-funded AHPs to be licensed. They are subject to department regulation similar to insurance companies. Fully insured AHPs are not licensed or regulated by the department, but the insurers who provide their member benefits are.Regulators and insurance companies urge a cautious approach to expanding AHPs, citing their checkered past.Croom said.Coleman thinks the state's experience with AHPs has led to better regulation, making the time ripe to expand them. He said modest estimates project enrollee premiums as high as $14 billion to $18 billion by 2022.Coleman says that experience should attract insurance companies, brokers, benefits consultants, third-party administrators, actuarial experts, and others to the emerging market. His research shows 28 AHPs recently opened in 13 states, and six more are poised to launch. Most of them were regional plans, and four out of five of those were sponsored by chambers of commerce.said Gary Salamido, acting president and chief operating officer of the N.C. Chamber, which supports growth of the alternative insurance plans.

Yahoo! JAPAN



Yahoo! JAPANIntended as a discussion group, the blog has evolved to be more of a reading list of current issues affecting our county, its government and people. All reasonable comments and submissions welcomed. Email us at: bill.pysson@gmail.com REMEMBER: To view our sister blog for education issues: www.district100watchdog.blogspot.comSouth Africa has been known to have excellent getaways. Weekend getaways for couples in Johannesburg are a sight to behold. Many love birds from all over the world travel here to spend a good time and unwind. The beauty of these destinations is pleasing to the eye, and the silence and serenity of natural beauty draw people away from their day-to-day lives. Trust me, Johannesburg does not disappoint. A visit to these amazing places will keep you coming back. In addition, they are affordable and easily accessible.

Image: pixabay.com, @stocksnap

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: How safe is Airbnb South Africa 2019?

Are you looking to surprise your partner with a fabulous getaway destination this weekend or in the near future? Relax, we got you covered. Johannesburg is one of the most spectacular places on earth. Its beautiful sceneries and landscapes will charm you to visit it over and over again. The serene and peaceful environment in these destinations will leave you energized to face a new week. Listed below are some of the top 5 destinations goals you might be interested in while in Johannesburg and its environs.

Is Johannesburg safe for tourists?

Due to the big gap between the rich and the poor, which is caused by the unequal distribution of resources, the rate of crime is a little higher in Johannesburg. This does not necessarily mean there are no safe destinations to visit. Thus, most targets require tourists to adhere to specific regulations to keep safe. Some of those regulations include not displaying highly valued items to the public. It is advisable that you carry what you need only when visiting the parks. You should also make use of your GPS so that you are aware of your location at all time and avoid areas such as Hillbrow, Berea, and Alexandra.

Weekend getaways Gauteng specials

Gauteng which means place of gold is known to be the smallest but richest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is one of the main cities in this province. Visitors can enjoy weekend getaway Gauteng specials if they visit this province. Visiting this place is stimulating since clients get to enjoy the same high standards of services like those offered to tourists. Let us look at some of the destinations offering weekend getaway specials in Gauteng.

1.Bastille De Blignaut

This is one of the cheapest weekend getaways for couples with a tight budget. Their current price is R239. They give a special offer to their customers. Their standard rates are R265. The special offer is 10%, and the current price for sleeping and breakfast is down to R738 instead of R820.

Image: unspalsh.com, @diekmann

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Crowdfund started to get Irishman home after heading to SA for love

2.House Sandrock Guest Apartment

The special offer for this fully furnished flat is R744 down from the previous R930 (20% off). House Sandrock Guest Apartment is an ideal destination for romantic getaways since it can host only two guests in one unit. It is located in the Pretoria region.

3.House Of Pharaohs

The House Of Pharaohs has 14 rooms that can host up to 32 people. It allows clients a 20% off offer with their prices currently at R1396 instead of R1745. It is located in Bryanston, which is close to Tambo and Lanseria airports.

4. Marion Guest House

This calm and relaxed romantic getaway is a private entity located in a green leafy suburb around Pretoria. It has a 15% off offer. Its current price per person is R919 instead of R1081. Marion Guest House has 8 units which host up to 18 guests.

5. Soenie Studio Cottage

This is one of the cheapest weekend getaways for couples with a tight budget. Their current price is R239.They give a special offer to their customers. Their standard rates are R265. Soenie studio cottage is in Pretoria, and it has 3 units which can host up to 5 guests. The cottage is equipped with the necessary items in the kitchen to allow the guests to prepare their meals.

Romantic Getaways Gauteng

Gauteng hosts a variety of romantic getaways that vary in prices to fit different clients. Romantic getaways in Gauteng are unique and ensure a fulfilling stay for couples that visit. Lets take a look at some of the cheap or rather pocket-friendly getaways in Gauteng.

1. Aquanzi lodge

Aquanzi lodge is a romantic getaway near Johannesburg but in a spacious rural setup. Their different chalets are spaced to offer privacy hence ideal for couples on a romantic getaway. Their prices are friendly for couples planning a romantic getaway that is cheap yet fantastic. For bed and breakfast, the couple is required to pay R490 per person.

2. The Rabbit Hole Hotel

It is located north of Krugersdorp in a serene setting. The Rabbit Hole Hotel offers 12 en-suite units that are up to standards and excellent delicacies. The price per unit here is from R820, which is very affordable to most of us.

READ ALSO: 5 of South Africa's most destructive natural disasters

3. Cruise-N-Snooze

Are you looking for a mind-blowing romantic experience on a houseboat? This destination is definitely the place to be. The boat can accommodate up to 4 people and is equipped for self-catering. Cruise-N-Snooze is situated in the peninsula on a section on Vaal River. The exciting thing about this place is that it is dammed. They charge R1600 per unit.

4. Haywards Game Lodge

It is located in the Pride of Africa Nature Reserve which is in Dinokeng Game Reserve. Haywards Game reserve is a very romantic getaway with 6 units. Each of the units contains fire pits outside. Their rates are quite fare with each unit going for about R700.

5. Casa Flora

The interiors of Casa Flora are so modern and classy. This honeymoon destination is located in the Silver Lakes. Privacy is enhanced for the honeymoon en-suites. Casa Floras prices are quite cheap compared to the unforgettable experience one gets here. They charge from R625 per person.

NOTE: Prices are subject to change. So, it is always better to book a place first before you decide to go.

Image: pixabay.com

Source: UGC

What is there to do on Friday nights in Johannesburg?

Johannesburg is a vibrant city with friendly people. It is home to many exciting fun activities. I bet you are likely to take part in some of these activities at a very affordable cost. You can visit the local market in Soweto, which is free to enter, and you can enjoy events like live music and poetry readings, craft beer, and tasting of different delicacies from various vendors in the market. You could take a trip by the red bus and tour the town at the cost of R200 per person. James Hall Museum of transport is another exciting and insightful place to visit. The museum has a varied collection of ancient cars.

Weekend getaways for couples in Johannesburg are among the top romantic getaway destinations you cannot miss to enjoy. This is because of their fantastic landscape and serene romantic environment. They offer high standard accommodation with interesting decor and excellent food. Most of these destinations are easily accessible and offer privacy much needed for a romantic getaway. A visit to the featured destinations will leave you relaxed and looking forward to many more visits.

READ ALSO: Top 10 things to do in Durban in 2019

Source: Briefly.co.zaNews / International

by Don Pinnock

As the Botswana government rumbles towards the lifting of the ban on hunting its famous wildlife, an authoritative poll in the United States, from which the second greatest number of foreign tourists come, has found overwhelming public disapproval of the plan.As tourism is a mainstay of Botswana's economy, lifting the hunting ban could, the poll suggests, have severe economic consequences and damage Botswana's international reputation.The US poll was conducted by the Remington Research Group for Humane Society International. Three in four respondents considered it important to protect elephants from trophy hunting, 78% did not support the proposed culling and 73% believed that if trophy hunting and elephants culls were started, Botswana's image as a leader in wildlife conservation would be harmed.The poll follows a Botswana cabinet committee recommendation in February to lift the hunting ban and start culling surplus' elephants, despite the country's known transboundary elephant population.The tourism industry and communities benefitting from photographic tourism have yet to be consulted despite claims of extensive consultation. Tourism operators are expecting to be consulted. However it seems that the decision has already been made as at a meeting in Gabarone, Botswana's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism, Kitso Mokaila, insisted that his country would go ahead with its decision on hunting. We will not back off and change our minds in terms of what we are going to do. As HATAB (Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana) you must remember where your bread is buttered and support us"Botswana banned trophy hunting in 2014. After the ban went into effect, the country became an increasingly popular tourist destination for travelers who want to support ecotourism and the country's iconic wildlife.In 2018, travel and tourism in Botswana experienced 3.4% growth, contributing US$2.52 billion or 13.4% to the country's economy and supporting 84 000 jobs or 8.9% of the country's total employment. Three quarters of tourist spend came from international travelers.According to HSI, with tourism now the second largest contributor to the country's GDP and a significant employer, reinstating trophy hunting and starting elephant culls could hurt the country's economy.'In conjunction with the release of the poll results, more than 87 000 people worldwide signed HSI's petition to Masisi asking him to keep the trophy hunting ban in place and to reject plans to cull the country's elephants. HSI also led a sign-on letter from 33 animal welfare and wildlife conservation organizations from around the world with similar appeals, acknowledging human-wildlife conflict but citing non-lethal mitigation strategies as being far more effective in the long-term.Millions of foreign tourists travel to Botswana to shoot majestic wild animals, not with guns, but with their cameras,' said Iris Ho, HSI's specialist for wildlife programmes and policy. Wildlife watching and photographic tourism is on the rise around the world, outstripping the revenue from trophy hunting and the number of trophy hunters by a wide margin.The current ban on trophy hunting is a win-win policy for Botswana's economy, for the local community and for the animals. There cannot be a more drastic shift for a country known as a safe haven for elephants to become an elephant canning factory for pet food.With poaching of elephants across Africa on the rise, legalized hunting and culling would be a severe blow to Africa's rapidly declining elephant population.'A local community NGO, the Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO), countered this view. It sent a letter to Masisi in support of hunting, saying it would boost tourism.The re-introduction of hunting,' it said, will go a long way in alleviating rural poverty by re-introducing tourism benefits lost in 2014 when the hunting moratorium was initiated.It added that as communities, we do not take kindly to those who are attacking our Government and initiatives meant to re-introduce hunting and uplift our livelihoods and reduce human-wildlife conflicts in our local areas.' It did not provide data to support its claims.Surveys show that many visitors choose Botswana as their safari destination specifically because of its firm anti-hunting stance. Leading tour operators have stated that the proposal goes against everything the country stands for and its implementation would be regressive and could harm ecotourism.News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

National Patriotic Front Spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire has cautioned the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa against abusing a disaster relief fund from South Africa by hiring expensive jets for himself and his Vice Presidents.Mawarire was reacting to a statement by the South African government that International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu had arrived in the country on Thursday to deliver a disaster relief fund."South African Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, is in Zimbabwe carrying some US$10million aid for the Cyclone Idai disaster recovery efforts," Mawarire said. "Hope this money won't be veramented towards chartering private jets for Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputies."However, ZANU PF Secretary for Youth Affairs on Thursday said Mnangagwa does not use state resources to pay for the expensive jets that he is known to travel in.The South African government reported that "Minister Sisulu is expected to visit the city of Beira in Mozambique and the Chimanimani District in eastern Zimbabwe to hand over the donations made by South African citizens, companies and members of the Diplomatic Corps, who heeded the earlier call for assistance by the Minister. The donations include financial aid, clothes, water purifiers, non-perishable food items and blankets."Minister Sisulu will also meet rescue teams, including the South African National Defence Force, South African NGOs, United Nations Agencies and volunteers."News / National

by Methuseli Ncube

A 20-YEAR-OLD man pleaded extreme hunger in court after he was caught on CCTV stealing a knife and a teaspoon from Pick n Pay supermarket in Gweru.Obert Sibanda of Mkoba 6 suburb told Magistrate Ms Beaulity Dube that he had bread and peanut butter but did not have a knife to cut the bread and a spoon to spread the butter."I was extremely hungry and was actually feeling dizzy with hunger. That is why I stole the knife and teaspoon. May the court have mercy on me," said Sibanda as he pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting.The magistrate fined Sibanda $84 or one month in prison.She said if he was a wise man he would count the cost of his silly crime.The items that he stole were worth $5 and he was paying a fine that was about 17 times more.The prosecutor, Ms Gracious Rongai, said on March 25 Sibanda was captured on CCTV stashing a kitchen knife and teaspoon into his pants at Pick n Pay Gweru.He went past the till points without paying and security guards apprehended him outside was arrested after going out of the supermarket.News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

A Zimbabwe Republic Police accident evaluator Shackmore Chitate has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after taking a bribe from a negligent driver who was accused of culpable homicide.Police papers seen by this publication reveal that the accused person Shackmore Chitate attended an accident scene on 7 December 2016 and produced a report to the effect that the driver of a vehicle involved Reward Katomha was negligent leading to him being charged for culpable homicide.The case took a new twist on 18 August 2017 when Chitate appeared as a state witness during the trial. The papers say Chitate defended Katomha and said the driver was not negligent and therefore not guilty of culpable homicide.Katomha was subsequently discharged.On 8 October 2018 an informant Joyce Ngwenya reported the bribery deal to the police which led to the arrest of Chitate.After a meticulous investigation, Bulawayo Magistrate Gladmore Mushowe found Chitate guilty of defeating or obstructing the course of justice as enshrined in Section 184 (1) (c) of the Criminal Law Reform and Codification Act.He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment of which 3 were suspended for 5 years on condition of good behaviour leaving him to serve an effective 9 months.News / National

by ZimLive

Journalists at Alpha Media Holdings, owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's adviser Trevor Ncube, have gone on a go-slow, demanding a salary adjustment to match a recent re-pegging of the local currency to the United States dollar.In February, the government abandoned its discredited 1:1 peg of the bond note to the US dollar by floating the transitional currency, now called the RTGS dollar, which was approaching 1:3 to the greenback on Thursday on the interbank market.The industrial action, which began on Monday, has seen journalists at the media house submitting a single story per day against a contractual diary expectation of four.AMH are publishers of NewsDay, the weekly Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard.Sources at the media house told ZimLive a meeting with management was lined up for Friday."Our salaries were devalued when the government our publisher works for decided in February that it was devaluing our salaries by some 250 percent, while the cost of goods shot up," one journalist said.The mini-strike has exerted pressure on editors who are having to work extra-hard to maintain quality and continue producing newspapers.Zimbabwean newspapers face foreign currency challenges. While they sell in RTGS dollars, they must source newsprint abroad and foreign currency is not easily accessible to newspapers at the official rate.News / National

by Staff reporter

BULAWAYO's Egodini Mall developer - Terracotta Private Limited - has triggered a storm after reportedly shutting down ablution facilities without notifying vendors operating within the site vicinity.Residents yesterday raised fears of a possible spread of diseases following this development.Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) blasted the authorities for closing down toilets and water taps, leaving hundreds of vendors stranded."Our information officer was on the ground and spoke to some vendors who said they no longer have nearby places to get water to wash their fruits."This screams a health scare such as cholera," noted the BPRA.Vendors pleaded with the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to find an urgent solution, noting that the local authority should have seen this coming when the project finally set off.They argued it was relatively unfair to expect Terracotta to halt the project due to the issue of ablution facilities.The city fathers responded to the accusations on social media, noting that prior arrangements for alternative ablution facilities had been made."BCC made all relevant relocation plans which stakeholders are aware of. Alternative sites were designated as well as alternative ablution facilities were identified for which BCC went to the extent of leasing some from the private sector," noted the local authority."We held several meetings with the representatives of the associations which were part of the relocation process."They asked that they be given temporary relief to use the toilets plus the current Mutize and Sons before its demolition."The city fathers have reaffirmed that the first phase of the Egodini Mall, a project which has suffered many false starts, will open in November this year.Last month, Terracotta Private Limited indicated that so far, the company had recruited 65 people to work on the initial stages of the multi-million-dollar project.BCC awarded the tender to Terracotta in 2016 for the reconstruction of Basch Street Terminus, popularly known as Egodini, into a modern structure after the company made a $60 million bid.This saw kombis and vendors that were operating from the site being removed last year to pave way for construction works.News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

South African president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa has opened up on the recent wave of xenophobic attacks that have happened mainly in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces.In a speech on Friday Ramaphosa condemned the attacks against foreigners and said it is not the culture of South Africans to fight their African brothers and sisters.He further said South Africans spent a long time in neighbouring countries where they were kept safe and offered bases to train for the war of liberation.He said there are many foreigners who are in the country legally who respect and observe the South African laws.Ramaphosa recently came under fire when he sent warning shots to foreigners who are habiting in the country without permits and operating businesses without licenses that he is coming after them.Three people have been reported dead while hundreds displaced in the recent attacks by xenophobes.Watch the video below:News / National

by Staff reporter

Reforms being implemented by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led Government are positive and a reflection of great urgency to transform the country economically and politically, United States of America Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols has said.In an interview on the sidelines of the US' Women's History Month commemoration film screening in Harare last week, Ambassador Nichols said Harare was on the right path."This Government has been working towards reform. I have been impressed and I have always said so . . . I know that the Cabinet has approved the principles for the repeal of Posa (Public Order and Security Act) and has been discussing repeal of AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act) and those are all very positive things," he said."I think that there is great urgency both politically and economically to continue down the road of reform as this administration has laid out, and we encourage them to pursue those reforms as well as to address the outstanding recommendations . . . All of this is very positive and I believe that if this Government pursues them, the international community will respond."Government is currently working on sweeping political and economic reforms, some of which are feeding off from recommendations made by the various election observer missions during last year's harmonised elections, the Motlanthe post-election violence report and input that will be generated from the ongoing inter-party dialogue.A lot of American investors, Ambassador Nichols said, are interested in doing business with Zimbabwe.He said: "I think there is a lot of interest. I was in South Africa a couple of weeks ago and met with a number of US companies interested in doing business in Zimbabwe. One of the key challenges (they cited) was with the exchange rate. I encourage the Government to continue the process of liberalising the exchange rate and allow the allocation of forex-based market principles. I think that will deepen the ability of companies to do business here."Washington was particularly interested in the rule of law and economic transparency."The (ease) of doing business legislation that Government has put forward is a positive step and should be adopted rapidly," he said.Government was also commended for its determined efforts to promote women empowerment. The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, has provided more than US$100 000 to respond to emergency needs following the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai.It is believed that the money will be used to support interventions to deliver safe water, shelter, sanitation and hygiene in some of the worst-affected areas in Manicaland province.- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."Payday ringed on a calendar

Dividend stocks are an excellent source of additional income on top of your job or rental income. Reinvesting the dividends can further boost your returns as well. In time, dividend growth can increase your income generation power many folds over. However, not every dividend stock deserves a spot in long-haul portfolios.

Find out why we think the following dividend stocks are fitting for forever-style portfolios.

Growing plant shoots on coins

A recession-resistant industry Goliath

Using gas or electricity every day is as natural as breathing for Fortiss (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) customers. About 92% of its business is transmission and distribution. Even when a recession hits, there will still be the usual demand for gas and electricity. This makes Fortis a recession-resistant business.

Fortis stands at the top of the pack as the largest utility in Canada by market cap and is among the top 15 utilities in North America. Fortiss low-risk business is diversified across 10 utility operations. It generates about 60% of earnings from the United States, a big piece of which comes from its subsidiary, ITC Holdings, the largest independent electricity transmission company in the U.S. Fortis also has operations in Arizona and New York.

Since about 97% of its assets are regulated, Fortiss earnings are highly predictable. Its one of the top two Canadian dividend stocks with a dividend-growth streak of 45 consecutive years. Last month, it reaffirmed an average dividend-growth target of 6% per year through 2023.

As of writing, Fortis offers a safe yield of 3.6%.

Quality real estate with proven management team for peace of mind

Choice Properties REIT (TSX:CHP.UN) is the combination of two quality real estate investment trusts (REITs). It already had a solid portfolio to begin with; Loblaw was the REITs primary tenant and the REIT achieved high occupancies of about 99% with a long-weighted average remaining term of roughly 10 years.

In May 2018, Choice Properties merged with Canadian REIT to form Canadas largest REIT. Prior to the transaction, Canadian REIT was one of two Canadian REITs with the longest dividend-growth streak that spanned more than a decade. Canadian REIT was a very well managed company with diversified office, retail, and industrial assets.

Story continues

The trustworthy management team from Canadian REIT, CEO Stephen E. Johnson, COO Rael L. Diamond, and CFO Mario Barrafato continue to lead Choice Properties in the same roles.

As of writing, Choice Properties is good for a yield of 5.2% thats paid in the form of a monthly cash distribution. Choice Propertiess 2018 funds-from-operations payout ratio was under 72%. So, its cash distribution remains sustainable.

Investor takeaway

Dividends can be a key component of total returns. So, investors should take advantage of dividends in their long-term portfolios. We think Fortis and Choice Properties will pay dividends for a very long time, and itd be in investors best interests to add to the stable companies on meaningful dips in their stocks.

More reading

Fool contributor Kay Ng has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019(Bloomberg) -- Governments in the Asia Pacific region are accelerating efforts to fight malicious use of online media, unveiling laws that make it easier to target websites which enable distribution of criminal or fraudulent content.

Australia said it will legislate tough new laws to prevent social-media platforms from being weaponized by terrorists and extremists who may use them to live-stream violent crimes, such as this months terror attack in New Zealand. Singapore said it will introduce a law to halt the spread of fake news.

Facebook Inc. came under sharp criticism for not taking down a video in which the alleged gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch fast enough, and for allowing it be circulated across the internet and uploaded to platforms like YouTube. The social-media company was considering placing restrictions on who could post live videos in the wake of the shooting that was filmed and disseminated in real time.

Social media companies, like Facebook, which met with the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, myself and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton earlier this week did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch, Australias Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said in a statement Saturday.

The new legislation would be introduced into parliament next week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in the press release. New offences will incur penalties of up 10 percent of a companys annual turnover and potential prison sentences for executives of social-media companies that fail to act to remove abhorrent violent material from their platforms, Attorney-General Christian Porter said in the statement.

Read more: Facebook Considers Restricting Some Live Video After NZ Attack

Singapore, meanwhile, said its new law will give more power to the government to hold online outlets accountable if theyre deemed to have deliberately delivered false news.The measures will include requiring them to show corrections or display warnings about online falsehoods, and even removing articles in extreme cases, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech.

Story continues

The city-state lashed out at Facebook last year, calling the company unreliable after it declined a request to remove a post that linked the premier and Singapore with allegations related to embattled Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The government said then that Facebooks decision to not remove malicious information on the country shows the need for legislation.

The amendments to the Australian legislation would be modeled on existing offences in the Criminal Code, which require platforms to notify police if their service is being used to access child pornography, the attorney general said.

Mainstream media that broadcast such material would be putting their licence at risk and there is no reason why social media platforms should be treated any differently, Porter said.

The bill will include new provisions to deal with the showing of abhorrent violent material produced by a perpetrator, and which plays or live-streams the worst types of offences, according to the statement. It will cover the playing or streaming of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping on social media.

It will include two new sets of offences:

It will be a criminal offence for social-media platforms not to remove abhorrent violent material expeditiously. This will be punishable by three years imprisonment or fines that can reach up to 10 percent of the platforms annual turnover.Platforms anywhere in the world must notify the Australian Federal Police if they become aware their service is streaming abhorrent violent conduct that is happening in Australia. Failure to do this will be punishable by fines of up to A$168,000 ($119,213) for an individual or A$840,000 for a corporation.

A new task force bringing the government and social-media companies together will work to deny terrorists the opportunity to use social media to foment hatred and violence, the prime minister said.

These responses will form the basis of a model approach that Australia can take to the G20 to get our global partners on board to bring social media companies into our collective net of responsibility and accountability, Morrison said. We are already working to this end with our G20 and other partners, including New Zealand.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.net;Sharon Cho in Singapore at ccho28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Stanley James

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.TIMER SAYING TIME FOR ACTION

Just when you thought the end of 2018 was the worst of it and that we had escaped unscathed, recession has started to become an all-too-popular word to start using right about now.

Its time like this when investors need to start look at blue-chip stocks, and usually that means banks. You want to do this for two reasons: to find out what to sell and when to buy.

Honestly, right now is probably a good time to cash out on most blue-chip stocks before waiting to pick them up at a discount in the (fairly near) future. But if theres one stock Id do that with right now, its Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY).

Recession risks

To be fair, all banks are at risk if and when a recession hits. Thats obvious. But Royal Bank, one of the two largest banks in Canada and among the Big Six banks, is at a very high risk of losing quite a bit. Thats because the bank has the largest out of the Big Six banks invested in the housing market.

The housing bubble throughout Canada is definitely about to burst. When it does, Royal Bank will be hit extremely hard, with lending to Canadian consumers becoming nearly nil, making it very hard for Royal Bank to keep up its growth.

On top of that is the recent report from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service of an inverted yield curve. This is the first since before the Great Recession of 2008 and usually signals a recession in about a year. Thats been the case every time its popped up over the last 60 years, all but once.

If a recession hits in the U.S. as well, Royal Bank will be in for serious trouble given its expansion into the U.S. market. Right now, its been a lifesaver with a mild recession being reported in the not-too-distant future for Canada. But being hit by two at once would be a double whammy this bank will struggle with.

But  why buy?

As Ive said, all banks will be hit hard by a recession if and when it hits and no matter which country thats in. Royal Bank, while it wont be an exception, is still in a position to come out all right afterwards.

Story continues

While it has expanded into the U.S. marketplace, it has also expanded internationally. This should help dampen a blow in a North America-wide recession. The bank also has a cash-filled cushion to lie back on, with about $5 trillion in assets under administration, $650 billion under management, and a dominant share of domestic banking operations. This should keep it in one of the top banking spots well past any potential recession.

Bottom line

Its also a hard pill to swallow, but recessions are actually full of opportunity. Imagine you were back in the late 2000s and sold everything in September of 2008? Then after some time you took a look at the landscape and bought something like Dollarama after its initial public offering?

While that example is on the more extreme side, you could also be making bank with something like Royal Bank. Lets look at before and after the Great Recession for it. If you sold 100 shares in September 2008 at $50.50, then bought them back in December at $30.41, you would still be saving about $2,000 from what you sold earlier. On top of that, today you would have more than $10,000!

So, while a recession can seem scary, if you take the opportunity to sell high and buy a blue-chip stock like Royal Bank when its chips are down, youll feel a bit more at ease.

More reading

Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019Hundreds of people marched in southwest Calgary Thursday in support of gay-straight alliances, and to oppose a plan that they say could see LGBT kids outed without their consent.

The school groups, which are typically student-run and teacher-supervised, offer a place where LGBT youth can socialize and meet other supportive students.

Legislation came into effect under the NDP in 2017 that protects the establishment of gay-straight alliances, or GSAs. The law also prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins the group.

With an election scheduled for April 16, advocates are getting anxious to oppose an effort to change that legislation.

United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney has said he intends, if elected, to give Alberta schools the discretion to inform parents of their child's participation in a GSA. That announcement has been criticized by LGBT advocates, school administrators and teachers across Alberta.

"For a lot of people in the queer community, coming out is very important and special moment for us, and it's the one thing that we get to control  how it's done and who we come out to," Myles Nahal, 18, said at the rally.

"So in Jason Kenney's new policy, if it happens, he's taking away the one thing that we do get to control."

James Young/CBC

The protesters started at the Marda Loop Safeway parking lot and headed to the campaign office of Calgary-Elbow's UCP candidate, Doug Schweitzer.

Members of other major political parties, including the NDP, Alberta Party and Alberta Liberals, attended the march to show support for GSAs.

Schweitzer did not attend but sent a statement to media outlets when the protest began.

In the statement, he said he was "proud that all major political parties support gay-straight alliances and categorically reject mandatory notification of parents."

Scared of home life

Giving teachers and principals any discretion to notify parents would put kids at risk, protesters said. Some Albertans believe parents should have a right to know what their kids do at school.

Story continues

One marcher, Sister Donatella, said that as a teen, her parents allowed her friends to stay overnight after they had fights with parents over their sexuality.

"It's terrible to think of someone going and finding a support network finally, only to be scared of using that support network for fear of what might happen with their home life," said Donatella, who volunteers for HIV awareness.

James Young/CBC

There have been multiple studies that have shown LGBT people face higher rates of violence, homelessness and suicide than the heterosexual population. Many at the rally offered stories of when coming out as gay or trans resulted in negative family reactions.

GSA 'lightened my world'

Nahal, who identifies as queer and transgender, smiled when describing how being part of a high school GSA in Calgary helped him get to know himself without being outed to his parents.

"It's like I stepped out of a fog and just understood everything. That really did save my life because I was at a really low point before being in a GSA," Nahal said. "Just meeting more people who were queer and trans lightened my world for me and just really saved me."

It also meant that he felt empowered enough to tell his own parents. Other GSA members explained their experience coming out, and shared tips. They were there to support him the whole way through, he said.

"For a lot of parents, GSAs don't teach their kids to hide this from them," Nahal said. "In fact, it empowers kids to grow in their own identity so they're comfortable to come out to their parents."

James Young/CBC

Kenney announced the UCP education platform on Monday, which included proclaiming the former Progressive Conservative government's Education Act (2014) to replace the NDP's amended School Act.

Facing criticism, Kenney said his party's proposal would offer the strongest legal protections for GSAs in Canada.

He said it would be up to teachers to decide whether it is in the best interest of a child to tell their parents that they are involved with a GSA. Such notification would not be common  likely only in cases where the child is very young or has unique emotional and mental health challenge, he said.

Critics marched Wednesday in Edmonton in protest. One advocate said he knew people who were considering moving out of Alberta should the UCP get elected, due to the party's position on this issue.A Chinese-Canadian professor of economics at the University of New Brunswick is critical of how education minister Dominic Cardy has handled the Confucius Institute issue.

Weiqiu Yu has lived in Canada for 35 years, mostly in New Brunswick, but travels to China frequently. She is concerned how the minister's actions have already negatively impacted Chinese-Canadian relations and New Brunswick business interests in China.

"If the issue does not get resolved soon that it will turn a lot of people away."

The Confucius Institute, which has operated in at least 28 schools in the province, teaches students about Chinese language and culture, but avoids discussions of the country's authoritarian one-party system and its human rights record.

Cardy has criticized the program's "one-dimensional" approach to teaching about China and plans to get rid of the program, although Premier Blaine Higgs has said the government would abide by the contract with the Confucius Institute and not do anything that might jeopardize it's relationship with China.

CBC

Yu said she feels the minister is using his platform to impose his personal views, rather than making a decision in consultation with others.

"I don't think that is very thoughtful, certainly not very diplomatic," she said.

Human rights concerns

Yu said she understands human rights are an issue for China, but said it's the jurisdiction of the federal government to deal with those concerns.

"It's a much more global stage than a small province like New Brunswick could do by cutting out one small program."

Gilles Landry/Radio-Canada

Yu also said she is personally offended by Cardy's portrayal of the issue, which she says is misleading to those who may have never been to China.

"China is nowadays very open. It's not like government is monitoring everyone 24 hours and so on."

Impact on students and business

Yu said she meets lots of teachers from New Brunswick in China, and there's value in the program for students in both countries.

Story continues

She said students in China who take the New Brunswick curriculum are better prepared to come to the province to attend university, and New Brunswick students who take the Chinese curriculum have the experience they need to work in China.

"There are so many people that have been working over decades, building the relationships."

She said the way the issue has played out publicly is also a concern for Chinese people looking to immigrate to New Brunswick.P.E.I. getting IHOP some time in next 6 years

P.E.I. will be getting an IHOP restaurant within six years, but the company does not know when or where.

Dine Brands International owns IHOP, which is short for International House of Pancakes. It announced today it plans to build five restaurants in Atlantic Canada.

"It has always been our dream to be from sea to shining sea as they say," said Craig Hoffman, director of communications for Dine, in an interview with CBC News.

Hoffman noted that IHOP first opened in Canada 50 years ago, and that Canada is IHOP's oldest and first international market.

First IHOP in Moncton

The company said it has reached an agreement in principal with the Corey Craig Group, a Moncton, N.B.-based developer, to hold the IHOP franchise for the region.

Hoffman said he expects the first restaurant in the region to open in Moncton later this year.

"Most of our deals are structured over several years, but we don't usually commit all locations within those six years  we start with one and then we build," he said. "I will keep you posted as soon as we know."

In a news release Dine noted it is also actively seeking qualified franchisees to bring IHOP to the Greater Toronto Area and Quebec.

The chain has been serving up its famous pancakes and other offerings for 60 years.

More P.E.I. newsThe Nova Scotia government says it doesn't have enough information about the potential environmental impact of a new effluent treatment facility for the Northern Pulp mill to allow the project to proceed at this time.

"I did not make this decision lightly," Environment Minister Margaret Miller told a news conference Friday.

"It was very clear that, in the end, there only was one decision to make."

The province will give the company terms of reference for a focus report by April 24, and the company will have up to a year to respond.

The decision means the company cannot yet begin work on the project, which is intended to replace the Boat Harbour treatment facility.

19 items need more detail: province

The government has asked the company for more information on 19 items before a decision can be made on whether the controversial project can proceed. Among other things, the government wants more information on:

Characteristics of the wastewater after treatment.

A realignment of the portion of the pipeline that would travel along Highway 106.

A receiving water study for Caribou Harbour, where the pipeline would end.

How pipeline leaks would be detected and addressed.

Effects on fish and fish habitat, including lobster.

Potential contaminants in the air and air quality monitoring efforts.

Potential risks to the town of Pictou's water supply.

Effects on human health in terms of consumption of seafood.

The government's chief engineer, Peter Hackett, said Northern Pulp was made aware the Transportation Department did not want the pipeline along Highway 106 before the company made its submission to the province.

Hackett said with controlled-access highways, the department tries to keep utilities out of the right of way so potential maintenance does not interfere with the movement of traffic.

"It's not just the shoulder of the road, it's the entire right of way," said Hackett.

He said the preference is for such equipment to be run along secondary roads.

Story continues

Mill calls for extension of Boat Harbour Act

Brian Baarda, CEO of mill owner Paper Excellence Canada, said the company is disappointed. At the very least, the mill thought it had met the province's requirements to get approval with conditions to do more fisheries studies, he said.

He told reporters it feels like the government's requirements have been changing throughout the process  a suggestion Premier Stephen McNeil denied Friday.

Baarda also disputed the suggestion the company was told ahead of time about concerns related to the pipeline location.

"I was not aware of that," he said.

Baarda renewed the company's call to extend the legislated closure date of Boat Harbour beyond Jan. 31, 2020.

Jill English/CBC

He said the company will comply with everything the government wants, but time is necessary to do the work while preserving jobs at the mill and within the forestry industry.

Before Friday's decision, Baarda said the company thought it would take until the summer of 2020 to complete work on the project.

"This now is going to push it at least another year in my opinion," he said. "Not what we were looking for."

In a news release, Baarda said the mill would shut down without an extension.

"We don't want to walk away," he told reporters. "We're committed to this province, we're committed to not only the province but the employees we have and also the people that are supported by this industry."

Premier tells company to focus

McNeil said the company has been provided with a path to meet the requirements of an environmental assessment and "we'll wait for them to do the work."

He said the government is working with industry to diversify and making contingency plans should the mill shut down.

The government passed the Boat Harbour Act in 2015, triggering a five-year countdown to the closure of the mill's treatment site. McNeil has repeatedly rejected calls to extend that deadline.

"At this point there's no reason for me to even consider [changing the date]," McNeil told reporters Friday.

"The company needs to focus on whether or not it can actually meet the environmental standards of the province. At this point they haven't."

'It's too risky'

Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul said she was pleased with the environment minister's announcement.

"I felt like she took the time and she heard and listened to the concerns of not just Pictou Landing First Nation, but the greater general public," Paul said in a telephone interview.

There is zero interest within the community to entertain revisiting the date to close Boat Harbour and Paul said she recently rejected overtures from Paper Excellence to discuss the matter.

"We've worked way too hard to get to where we are right now," said Paul. "We're 307 days away from this closure date. It would be ridiculous to start negotiating some type of date [when] really there's no definitive date to a timeline they need. It's too risky."

A community divided

The subject has been a lightning rod in Pictou County, pitting mill workers and thousands of people who work in the woods or are connected to the forestry industry against fishermen, environmentalists and the people of Pictou Landing.

The most controversial aspect of the proposal is the 15.5-kilometre pipe, which would transport treated effluent from the mill site and empty into the Northumberland Strait.

The company has noted treated effluent already goes into the Strait without issue, while opponents argue too little is known about what would come from the new pipe.

CBC

The environment minister said she read all of the more than 900 submissions from the public on the project and was struck by how many spoke to the lack of information in Northern Pulp's proposal. Miller said she believes all the province's requests of the company are achievable.

"We expect when industry comes to Nova Scotia and they want to do business in Nova Scotia, that they're going to abide by the regulation of Nova Scotia Environment. It's what Nova Scotians expect of me as environment minister," said Miller.

Opposition leaders weigh in

Both opposition leaders said Friday's decision could increase tensions in a community already bitterly divided on the issue. It's something they say could have been avoided if the government had ensured Northern Pulp's application was tabled sooner.

"If we would have had a timeline from the very beginning, we wouldn't be here," said Tory Leader Tim Houston, who represents a Pictou County district, as do two of his caucus colleagues.

He said it feels as though "the ball is being dragged" by the government.

Houston said based on what he's seen so far, he would not support a call to extend the closure date of Boat Harbour as a treatment site.

NDP Leader Gary Burrill said Northern Pulp has "come up short again."

"The Department of Environment has said they have failed to provide adequate information about human health impacts, about fish habitat, about chemical composition of the effluent," he said.

"Well what is this about, if it's not about fish habitat, human health impacts and the chemical composition of the effluent? So what in the world have they provided here?"

Both sides react

Other reaction to the news ranged from dismay to relief.

In an emailed statement, Kent Dykeman, president of Forest Nova Scotia, pledged his group's support for the mill in its efforts to complete the focus report. He said the industry relies on Northern Pulp's continued operation, and Forest Nova Scotia is in favour of extending the closure deadline for Boat Harbour.

The union that represents workers at the mill also expressed disappointment in the decision, saying it puts thousands of jobs at risk.

"This will be devastating for our members and their families, but also for so many other Nova Scotia families who depend on the forest sector for employment and this doesn't need to be the outcome," said Lana Payne, Unifor's Atlantic regional director.

The union's statement said national president Jerry Dias and local representatives will meet next week with McNeil and Houston to discuss the matter.

The Canadian Press

Jill Graham-Scanlan, president of Friends of the Northumberland Strait, said the outcome was what her group expected and hoped for.

"My initial reaction was relief," she said in an interview. "We were very pleased that the minister saw what we saw in that proposal and that she recognized there was a lack of science presented by Northern Pulp in their proposal."

Allan MacCarthy, a fisherman in Caribou Island and member of the Northumberland Fishermen's Association, said he felt the decision vindicated the concerns people in the community have been expressing.

He said fishermen would be very happy with the decision.

MORE TOP STORIESSask. asks Ottawa for financial help to tide over canola producers facing China trade uncertainty

The Saskatchewan government is asking Ottawa to give financial aid to the province's canola farmers affected by recent import restrictions imposed by China, the world's largest consumer of the product.

The province wants the federal government to increase the amount of interest-free money available to producers under a loan program to help tide them over during a time of trade uncertainty.

Some 43,000 canola producers across Canada currently face market challenges and dropping prices after China, their largest seed buyer, barred shipments from two major Canadian canola companies  Richardson International and Viterra  saying they had found pests in some shipments.

Viterra is based in Regina.

Under the terms of a proposal the Saskatchewan government has made to Ottawa, the federal government would increase the amount of money available under the Advance Payments Program  a federal program that provides agricultural businesses with easy access to low-interest cash advances.

The province wants the federal government to lift the ceiling for interest-free cash advances under the program to $1 million, at least until the trade conflagration is resolved. The current interest-free limit is $100,000.

The proposal would also give businesses more time to pay off their arrears.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said after meeting with Saskatchewan ministers Friday that her government will have to take time to evaluate whether Saskatchewan's proposal is the best option.

"I'm very open to this request but I want to take the time to look at the various risk management programs that we have , including this advance payment mechanism," said Bibeau. "So I'm really looking into reviewing all these mechanisms to see which one would be the most appropriate because our intention is to support our farmers."

Saskatchewan's own agriculture minister, Dave Marit, said he hopes to hear back within a few weeks.

Story continues

"We think it's a good one and something that is doable," Marit said of Saskatchewan's suggestion. "Obviously she [Bibeau] has to look at the cost implications and look at the program and deliver it back to us so we can get it out to the producers as quick as possible. She fully understands that it is an urgency thing."

What led to this

The unexpected trade complication comes against the backdrop of a roiling diplomatic dispute between China and Canada, sparked by the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last year at the request of American authorities.

China has strongly objected to Meng's arrest, and ratcheted up pressure on Canada to undo that move. The country has detained two Canadian businessmen, alleging espionage, and now seems to be picking a fight over canola  a crop literally named after Canada.

Canola is a type of rapeseed that has a distinctive yellow flower and was invented by Canadian researchers in the 1970s. The seeds can be crushed into an edible oil, and discarded husks also make for excellent animal feed.

Canada exports more canola than anyone else in the world. Last year, about 40 per cent of its seed exports went to China, worth roughly $2.7 billion.A Facebook post has sparked a debate in Inuvik over who should be able to sell traditional crafts at the Arctic Market, and now the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation says it will only sell items made by Indigenous artists.

Submitted by Fatima Tin

Fatima Tin has lived in Inuvik for about five years and has been a familiar face at the community marketplace, where she sells traditional style craftwork such as slippers, seal skin gloves and mukluks.

But earlier this month, Tin was the subject of a Facebook post that questioned whether it was appropriate for her to sell these items, given that she's neither Gwich'in' nor Inuvialuit.

The post's author says Tin is taking business away from Inuvialuit and Gwich'in artisans.

The post, which has since been deleted, spread quickly across the Beaufort Delta region.

"[The writer] messaged me saying you are exploiting our culture. You are not Inuvialuit," said Tin.

Tin, who originally came to Canada as a refugee from Burma, said this was the first she's heard anyone complain about her products.

"Nobody ever told me, 'Oh, why are you doing our stuff?' Like never," she said.

Question of cultural appropriation

In comments on the original Facebook post, people accused Tin of cultural appropriation.

Tin said since the post, she has gotten both messages of support, and comments from people telling her to stop selling her products.

"I am not copying anybody. I draw my own stuff," she said. "And I do help a lot of crafters with their embroidery  and I've bought other people's stuff."

Tin said she comes from an artistic background. She said she makes flower arrangements and gives henna demonstrations.

Tin said she started making her craftwork after people noticed her henna designs and asked her to make uppers for slippers and mukluks.

It's out of love ... if people don't want to buy it, that's fine. - Fatima Tin, Inuvik artisan

She said she has sold other artisan's items at her table when they couldn't make it to the market.

Story continues

"I am not doing anything to disrespect anybody," said Tin. "It's out of love ... if people don't want to buy it, that's fine."

IRC to sell only Indigenous works

Submitted by Fatima Tin

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) has sold Tin's crafts in its store in the past, but says now it will sell only items made by Indigenous artists.

"We are being more specific in terms of purchases," said Lucy Kuptana, IRC's director of operations. "We have to look at it to make sure, is it Inuvialuit art? Is it Indigenous art?"

Kuptana said the argument that only Inuvialuit and Indigenous people should be able to sell their traditional crafts is legitimate, but that "Fatima's appreciation is legitimate" as well.

Kuptana said the Inuvialuit love to share their patterns and show people how to do things, "but for financial gain? That's the question."

'We don't feel comfortable being the judge'

This isn't the first time cultural appropriation has been raised in relation to the Arctic Market.

"Certainly the concept of what can be allowed [and] not allowed to be sold at the Arctic Market has come up, as has particular the issue of cultural appropriation," said Jackie Challis, Inuvik's director of tourism and economic development.

She said though no one has ever filed a formal complaint, the town is now consulting with both the IRC and the Gwich'in Tribal Council.

"We don't feel comfortable being the judge or jury about what is authentically indigenous and what is culturally appropriate."Christopher Whiteside MBE is Conservative County Councillor for the Egremont North and St Bees Division of Cumbria County Council. The division includes St Bees, Bigrigg, Wood End, Moor Row, part of the Mirehouse area of Whitehaven, and surrounding countryside. He is also Chairman of the North-West region of the voluntary wing of the Conservative party. Chris lives and works in Copeland with his wife and family.



1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.Share this: Twitter

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New York, March 30, 2019Unidentified men today arrested Jones Abiri, the editor and publisher of the Weekly Source newspaper, in the Bayelsa state capital, Yenagoa, according to news reports, as well as a local activist with whom CPJ spoke and posts on social media.

According to the independent news website Sahara Reporters, Abiri, who was meeting publishing colleagues in Yenagoa, was accosted by unidentified armed menreported by Sahara Reporters to be members of Nigerias Department of State Services (DSS)and told that he was under arrest. Abiri was then forced into a vehicle at gunpoint; his whereabouts are currently unknown, according to Sahara Reporters. Bayelsa environmental activist and contributor to the Weekly Source Alagoa Morris told CPJ that he had received reports of Abiris arrest from colleagues and community members from Abiris home village. DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya did not answer his cellphone or respond to a WhatsApp message when CPJ contacted him for comment.

Given that Jones Abiri was previously detained by intelligence officers without access to a lawyer or his family for two years, we are deeply worried that he has once again been arrested and that his whereabouts are not known, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. We call on federal and state authorities in Nigeria to disclose where Abiri is being detained and the reasons for his arrest, and urge that they ensure that his rights are not violated yet again and that due process is respected.

Abiri was released in August 2018 after two years in detention following a campaign by local and international rights organizations including CPJ who documented his case during that period. In two separate cases last year, one court threw out the case against Abiri, saying it did not have jurisdiction, and another ordered the DSS to pay damages for the journalists illegal detention and violating his human rights.

Editors note: The second paragraph and the photo caption were updated to correct the name of the Department of State Services.Eden Hazardhas been heavily linked with a move to Real Madridthis summer after failing to renegotiate a new deal with ChelseaThe Belgian winger is months away from entering the final year of his current contract at Stamford Bridge and the Blues will likely cash in on Hazard should he decide not to renew this summer.However, according to Marca, the move needs to be given the green light by Real manager Zinedine Zidaneas he looks to turn the club's fortunes around following an underwhelming campaign this season.Since Zidane's return to the club, Real have been linked with a host of big names with club president Florentino Perez keen to give the Frenchman what he needs to succeed.Perez is a big admirer of Hazard's and has been wanting to bring the 28-year-old to the Bernabeu since his Lille days.However, Zidane will be given time to assess his current squad before deciding what he needs in the summer transfer window.Reports in Spain even suggest that Real may be forced into selling players like Gareth Bale to fund their summer spending spree but Zidane is yet to confirm any departures.Zidane has already signed Eder Militao from Porto  who will arrive in the summer  along with Brazilian wonderkid Rodrygo Goes.Real have also been linked with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Raheem Sterling but it appears Hazard is in pole position to join Los Blancos.Teenager Moise Kean scored three minutes after coming on as a substitute to give Juventusa 1-0 win over lowly Empoli after the runaway Serie Aleaders had been jeered off at half-time on Saturday.Juventus, missing Cristiano Ronaldoafter he suffered a thigh injury in Portugal's 1-1 draw with Serbia on Monday and Paulo Dybalaafter he pulled up during the warm-up, struggled to break down the visitors until Kean struck in the 72nd minute.Giorgio Chiellini played a long ball out of his own half and Mario Mandzukic headed it into the path of Kean, 19, who fired past Bartlomiej Dragowski.Empoli had enjoyed the better of the first half, angering the home crowd, and Rade Krunic was twice close to giving them a shock lead.Juventus have 78 points, 18 clear of second-placed Napoli who visit AS Roma on Sunday.Empoli are 17th with 25 points, one point and one place above the relegation zone.Liverpoolwinger Sadio Mane is 'ready' to play for Real Madrid, according to his former Southampton team-mate Oriol Romeu.Mane has been the standout player for the Reds in attack this season with Jurgen Klopp's side fighting for the Premier Leagueand Champions LeagueHe has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and Romeu has no doubt that the Senegal international would have what it takes to cut it at the Bernabeu.SADIO MANE STATS FOR SEASONAppearances:38Goals:20Assists:'He is ready. Madrid are a little weak in attack and he's the type of player that does a lot of damage in open spaces,' he told The Sun'He could help them reverse their current situation.'He brings variation in attack, but he's not a prolific goalscorer like Cristiano Ronaldo, who goes well above [other forwards].'Mane has scored 11 goals in his last 11 games, netting 20 times in all competitions this season.Romeu added: 'What I would highlight, above all, is his speed. He is a very electric and dizzying player. He has exceptional physical and technical qualities.'I think he's acquired calmness and composure when finishing moves, either scoring or assisting. That is key.'Whether Liverpool would allow one of their most potent weapons to leave is another matter and Mane signed a five-year deal with the Reds last year.



RELATED | Alabama executes Domineque Ray Why did the Supreme Court halt Patrick Henry Murphys execution and not Domineque Rays? On Thursday night, the justices barred Texas from killing Murphy, a Buddhist, because the state refused to let a Buddhist spiritual adviser accompany him in the execution chamber. Yet just last month, a majority of the court let Alabama kill Ray, a Muslim, even though the state would not let his imam accompany him during the lethal injection. At least one conservative justice, Brett Kavanaugh, intervened to help Murphy but let Ray die alone . Why?





Kavanaughs explanation for his change of heartthat Murphy brought his claim earlier than Rayis dubious if not outright wrong. Perhaps, in truth, they feel duly shamed by the bipartisan public backlash to their callous treatment of Ray. Maybe they were stung by Justice Elena Kagans fierce dissent in the Ray case. Or maybe a white Buddhist inmate like Murphy is simply more sympathetic to the conservative justices than a black Muslim inmate like Ray. Whatever the reason, Thursdays decision marked an overdue embrace of the basic respect for religious liberty that the Constitution affords religious minorities.





Murphy and Rays cases are, legally, nearly indistinguishable. Both men wanted a spiritual adviser present when the state was due to execute them. But Alabama would not allow an imam to accompany Ray, and Texas would not allow a Buddhist adviser to accompany Murphy. Both states, however, were willing to provide a Christian chaplain to death row inmates at execution. (Texas, unlike Alabama, also allows a Muslim spiritual adviser to attend executions, which would be of no benefit to Murphy.) Ray and Murphy sued, noting that this discriminatory treatment of religious minorities clearly violates the First Amendments Establishment Clause by favoring one religion over another.





RELATED | Appeals court blocks Alabama execution of Muslim inmate





In February, by a 54 vote, the Supreme Court turned Ray away and let Alabama kill him, over Kagans scathing dissent . The majority claimed that Ray made his request too late. On Thursday, the court blocked Texas from killing Murphy. The majority believed that Murphy, unlike Ray, made his request in what Kavanaugh called a sufficiently timely manner. And so it forbade the execution unless Texas permits Murphys Buddhist spiritual adviser or another Buddhist reverend of the States choosing to accompany Murphy in the execution chamber during the execution.





On the surface, the courts belief that Murphys request was timelier than Rays might seem plausible. Murphy asked for a spiritual adviser one month before his execution date, while Ray asked for one less than two weeks prior to his execution on Feb. 7. But Ray did not discover that he could not have his imam present until Jan. 23. Thats because Alabama statute states that an inmates spiritual adviser of choice may be present at an execution, and Ray understandably assumed that law authorized his imam to be present at his execution. It wasnt until Jan. 23 that the state provided Ray with confidential regulations that only allow a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber. After Ray discovered this secret rule, he filed his federal lawsuit in five days, seeking a stay of execution until he could secure his imams presence. As Cassy Stubbs, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Capital Punishment Project, told Slate, there is no evidence that Ray sat on the claim or was dilatory in any way.









RELATED | Opinion | Alabama executions: strictly a Christian affair Murphy, by contrast, has had notice of Texas death chamber regulations for years. Since 2012, the states official policy has excluded all but prison employees from the chamber during executions. And there are no Buddhist spiritual advisers who work for the prison. This rule, unlike Alabamas, is public. Moreover, when the state confirmed that it would not allow a Buddhist spiritual adviser to attend his execution, Murphy waited more than two weeks to file a lawsuit. In all pertinent details, Murphys claim was less timely than Raysas both the federal district and appeals court explained in denying his suit. And when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Murphys claim, one justice wrote separately to chastise his longtime attorney, David Dow, for his alleged history of attempting to thwart executions through frivolous last-minute suits.





So why did the Supreme Court spare Murphy but not Ray? In his brief concurring opinion, Kavanaugh wrote cryptically that under all the circumstances of this case, I conclude that Murphy made his request to the State in a sufficiently timely mannerwhich, again, is highly debatable. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito did not note their votes, so it is unclear if they agreed to halt the execution or dissented silently. (Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented.) Thus, we know with certainty only that Kavanaugh flipped.





public The most generous explanation of Kavanaughs vote is that Kagan persuaded him that he failed to honor Rays constitutional rights. Her dissent in that case was so devastating, so comprehensive and meticulous, that it may have opened Kavanaughs eyes to the bigotry on display. Kagan described the courts treatment of Ray as profoundly wrong, a direct affront to the Constitutions core principle of denominational neutrality. Alabamas justification for its flagrant religious discrimination was laughably pretextual . Perhaps Kavanaugh absorbed this dissent, along with widespread, bipartisan backlash , and changed his mind. He may have also realized the horrible optics of the courts insensitivity to the religious liberty of Muslims as it bends over backward to appease conservative Christians. Or he might just be more solicitous to the religious freedom of a white Buddhist than to that of a black Muslim.





Whatever the reason Kavanaugh flipped, it is gratifying that a majority of the court finally grasps the grave constitutional harms inflicted by discriminatory execution policies. Texas and Alabama seek to favor compel religious minorities to die without spiritual comfort. The Constitution obviously forbids such intentional religious inequality. And despite the best efforts of Texas, Alabama, and several conservative justices, executioners cannot suspend the First Amendment in their death chambers.





Source: slate.com , Mark Joseph Stern, March 29, 2019









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To find trees in the desert, we often have to go up in the mountains. I grew up in the Midwest, so every once in awhile I get a yearning to ...Governor Andrew Cuomo has said it early and often: the pressure from the April 1st budget deadline helps focus the mind and resolve complicated and controversial issueseven when they have little or nothing to do with dollars and fiscal discipline.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have pushed back on the idea that all of the major issues that Cuomo set out to accomplish in his "2019 Justice Agenda" needed to be sewn up in the budget.

In the end, some big-ticket items have gotten folded into the budgetor appear to be closewhile others have been deferred.

Legalizing marijuana and renewing and reforming rent regulations are out of the budget and are expected to absorb much of the lawmaking energy between April and June.

Those issues could be joined by some of the following proposals, if they're not finalized early next week. The odds are fluctuating almost hourly up in Albany, which for the first time in a decade is completely controlled by Democrats.

Criminal justice reform

This is perhaps the single biggest sticking point. For days, insiders have been saying that two big reforms are largely settledso-called "speedy discovery" and "speedy trial" measures that would accelerate defendants' trials, reduce their time in pre-trial detention and force prosecutors to share more evidence with defense attorneys. The thorniest of all is cash bail reform.

The governor and legislative leaders want to largely abolish bail, letting almost all people accused of crimes out on their own recognizance prior to trial. But that's a big "almost."

What's stalling negotiators is the list of exceptionswhich, if any, violent felonies, felonies and misdemeanors could keep defendants in jail pending trialand how much leeway judges should have. There is an immense amount of pressure to pass the entire reform package in the budget, to chalk up a big win for progressive Democrats. Odds are, they'll pass something, rather than hold up the whole budgetbut the inability so far to close the loop on bail has many people wondering if it could get postponed until afterwards.

Cuomo: "Speedy trial and discovery we've basically worked out .Cash bail is the most difficult."



Cuomo declined to say whether cash bail will remain to some degree. Sources tell me that cash bail will remain for more serious charges.  Dan Clark (@DanClarkReports) March 29, 2019

Congestion pricing

The Assembly and Senate appear close to reaching a deal, although the specific details have yet to be announced. The plan as the governor has described it is roughly based on last years Fix NYC report, in which charging drivers $10 to $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street (with the FDR exempt) would generate $1 billion a year, which the state could use to generate $15 billion in bonds to use for repairs.

The tolling infrastructure would be similar to the states E-Z Pass in which youre either charged on your E-Z pass account, or a camera takes a picture and mails you a ticket. If it passes, congestion pricing could be up and running by December 2020.

Governor Cuomo said the plan would account for drivers that paid other tolls getting into the citylike those on the George Washington Bridgealthough its unclear what discounts drivers might get. Transportation economist Charles Komanoff, who advised the governors congestion pricing panel, warned that even a 10 percent carveout for some drivers could result in a loss of up to $3 billion.

Cuomo has promised that any money generated for the MTA would go into a lockbox that could only be used for capital projects; the initial plan wouldve gone toward subway and bus improvements outlined in New York City Transit President Andy Byfords $40 billion Fast Forward plan.

Now, Senator Tim Kennedy, the transportation committee chair, verified the outlines of the deal: 80 percent of the toll revenue would go to New York City Transit Authority for subway and bus improvements, with 10 percent each going to Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road.

Kennedy said the $1 billion-to-$15 billion numbers were "fluid"and it could fall to a future commission to set the total revenue target and toll levels, as well as which bridges and tunnels would be exempt. Letting an unnamed blue-ribbon panel make the hard decisions is a time-honored tradition in Albany. So is the budget-time mantra, uttered repeatedly by Kennedy and others: "Everything is in flux."

MTA brass have warned that if congestion pricing doesnt pass, they would be forced to raise tolls and fares by as much as 30 percent in the coming years. The agency is facing a $1 billion operating deficit in three years.

Curiously, when Cuomo released a 10 point plan to transform the MTA in February, he swore up and down that no new money would go the MTA, which he called a disgrace, until reforms to the organization were made, and one person could be held accountable. It's not clear if these proposals are still happening. (The governor used to be in charge of the MTA. He still is. But he used to, too.)

Capitol insider says the number to reach for @MTA Capital plan in budget is $40 Billion. that includes Congestion pricing, real estate tax, internet sales tax and the remainder a 50-50 split between the City and State.  Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) March 29, 2019

Pied-a-terre tax

The idea of a pied-a-terre taxwhich would levy annual fees on second homes in New York City worth $5 million or morehas been kicking around for at least five years, but got a major boost when Governor Cuomo signaled his support for it earlier this month as a way to raise more revenue for transportation. After all, if hedge-fund billionaire and serial real estate collector Ken Griffin could buy a $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South, couldnt he afford a comparatively modest tax on that record-setting purchase?

But there has been significant backlash from the citys real estate industry, which argued the tax would severely hurt the luxury market, and state legislators, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, began moving away from the proposal and instead were considering a one-time transfer tax on high-priced sales.

A source in Albany close to the negotiations also told Gothamist that there are some technical issues that might make the tax difficult to implement.

Its less complicated, Heastie said of a real estate transfer tax instead of a pied-a-terre tax.  Josefa Velasquez (@J__Velasquez) March 27, 2019

Manhattan State Senator Brad Hoylman, who has sponsored a pied-a-terre tax every year since 2014, has refused to back down. Hoylman has argued that the revenue from the tax would help the city repair and maintain critical infrastructure like the subway and schools. Annual revenue estimates have ranged from $372 million to $650 million.



"Im not going to believe its dead until I see the body, Hoylman told Gothamist on Friday afternoon, adding that no one in the legislature had approached him about revising his plan. Hoylman said reports he had read about a one-time transfer tax on real estate purchases concerned him because the revenues would be more subject to the real estate market's cycles. It was also not clear whether such a tax might affect a broader swath of buyers, such as those in the $1 million to $2 million range.



Education funding

Robert Jackson has staked his career on expanding educational fundingas an activist, City Councilman and now freshman Senator. On Thursday, he and a half-dozen Senate newcomers from around the state led a rally with hundreds of activists chanting outside Cuomo's chambers. They're seeking a $1.2 billion bump in so-called "foundation aid" for under-financed schools; tentative reports suggest the number is closer to $600 million.

Some legislators say that given the state's current financial strains, even getting that much would be a small victory. Assemblyman Charles Barron was having none of it.

"We can't come in with a budget that in many ways is worse than last year, when we had Republicans in charge of the Senate," he said, openly criticizing Heastie and Stewart-Cousins. "They say they can't find the money. Well, the governor's got his pet projects, let's stand up to him, and tell him we don't care about being on time or getting our raisesif we don't get more foundation aid, there's no budget." He acknowledged his voice is often a lonely one, and said though he'll try to steel his fellow Assembly members to stand up to the three leaders calling the shots, he wasn't sure how many he could get to follow his lead.

Public financing for candidates in state elections

New York City's revamped campaign finance system rewards candidates who garner small-dollar contributions by providing $8 to every $1 they receive (under certain caps). Meanwhile, Albany's campaign finance system is awash in dark money.

"New York State still has sky-high campaign contribution limits, still allows unlimited donations to party and legislative leadership 'soft money' housekeeping accounts, still permits unfettered campaign fundraising during the legislative session, and still lacks adequate independent enforcement," New York Public Interest Research Group's executive director, Blair Horner, wrote earlier this week.

Governor Cuomo, who recently held a $25,000-per-couple fundraiser (minimum contribution) at the St. Regis Hotel that featured his own budget director, said on Friday morning that he supports the push to create public financing on the state level, and that he thought he could get it into the budget. But would the prolific fundraiser use a matching system if one were available to him?

Cuomo tells @sarbetter he doesn't know if he would partake in a public financing system, if approved. "It depends what the system is," he says.  David Lombardo (@poozer87) March 29, 2019



Asked if it's in or out of the budget, Bronx State Senator Alessandra Biaggi said, "I hope it is, but I just don't know."

Other items that appear to be finished, at least for the time being:

Permanent 2 percent property tax cap

Despite objections from many members in the Assembly and their backers in the education unions, Cuomo has invested heavy symbolic weight in this measure, so it is difficult to imagine him backing down. Still, as of Friday morning, it was not formally inked into budget bills.

The state already has a renewable 2-percent property tax capthough localities can vote to override itbut Cuomo has said making it permanent will add some "stability," at a time when Albany is facing a state income tax revenue shortfall and Washington has steeply curtailed the deductability of state and local taxes, or SALT.

Plastic bag ban

Almost purely a policy item, this seems to be as completely resolved as possiblewith the usual caveat that anything could change at the last minute. Most plastic shopping bags are to be outlawed, state-wide, as of next March, with a few exceptions, including dry-cleaning and restaurant take-out bags. Legislators and their allies in the environmentalist community wanted a shorter list of exceptions, and they also wanted a 5-cent fee on paper bags, to force people to carry reusable bags, but they lost to Cuomo. Instead, the nickel charge will be optional for counties and municipalities, which will have to opt to impose them.

With reporting from Fred Mogul in Albany, as well as Stephen Nessen, Elizabeth Kim, Jake Offenhartz, and Christopher Robbins.I am a retired newspaperman. I live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 44 years, Lou Ann. I grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.



Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.comOil Can Harry by Nancy Ohanian



Earlier today we looked at one of Trump's lies that he's been spewing all week about wind energy which he repeated at his Michigan hate rally Thursday night. But I didn't want to leave anyone with the impression that the wind energy lie was the only lie he was spouting in Granbd Rapids. Oh no-- feeling vindicated by William Barr's silly press release and the media's buy in, he was feisty and crazed and eager to lie his way into the hearts of his jackass followers. It wasn't hard for him to do. Nor was it hard for fact checkers to fill pages and pages correcting his cascade of bold lies. The Associated Press catalogued them for newspapers and broadcast media across the country.





Some of the lies weren't that big a deal. Like when he started boasting about his electoral college win over Hillary almost two-and-a-half years ago. "We won 306 to 223." He did win-- with Putin's help-- but the score was 304 to 227. His numbers aren't true but I'd chalk it up to senility more than purposeful obfuscation. He also claimed "we did really well with women." I'm not sure what metric he's using but he lost among women, 54-41%. He did win, narrowly, among white women.





But the lies really started kicking in once he began rambling about health care. On Wednesday he told reporters that "If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we will have a plan thats far better than Obamacare" and at the rally he told his drooling fans that "The Republican Party will become the party of great health care... Republicans want you to have an affordable plan thats just right for you" and "We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, always." AP:

Republicans may aspire to great health care but they dont have a comprehensive plan for it. And theres no indication that the White House, executive branch agencies like Health and Human Services, and Republicans in Congress are working on one.



Trumps recent budget called for repealing Obamacare and setting hard limits on federal spending for Medicaid, which covers low-income people. Some Republicans argue that would be better, because the federal government would create a new program of health care grants to states. But when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed similar proposals a couple of years ago, it estimated such changes would result in deep coverage losses, not to mention weaker insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.



Trumps budget also called for hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare cuts to hospitals and other service providers, a nonstarter with lawmakers in Congress worried about re-election next year.



The Supreme Court has upheld the health care law twice in previous challenges. The five justices who first upheld it in 2012 are still on the court.



Congressional Republicans are generally trying to steer away from Obamacare spats. Some are trying to focus on areas where they might find common ground with Democrats and the president, such as reducing prescription drug costs.



...Hes not protecting health coverage for patients with pre-existing medical conditions. In fact, the Trump administration is pressing in court for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act-- including provisions that protect people with pre-existing conditions from health insurance discrimination.



Trump and other Republicans say theyll have a plan to preserve those safeguards, but the White House has provided no details. And its a stretch to think they could get a Republicans-only plan passed through Congress with the House under Democratic control.



Meanwhile House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled her own plan to shore up and expand the ACA, which would make many more middle-class people eligible for subsidies to help pay their premiums, and also make the subsidy amounts more generous.



Former President Barack Obamas health care law requires insurers to take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and patients with health problems pay the same standard premiums as healthy ones. Bills supported in 2017 by Trump and congressional Republicans to repeal the law could have pushed up costs for people with pre-existing conditions.









Since he was in Michigan, he had to spin some tall tales about the auto industry, which he's destroying. The big lie was "Were bringing a lot of those car companies back. Theyre pouring back in." They're not and after the rally he doubled down for reporters: "Were opening up car plants in Michigan again for the first time in decades. Theyre coming in, really pouring in... And this has been happening pretty much since Ive been president. Its really amazing whats going on... Weve brought back so much industry, so many car companies to Michigan, so were very happy.

The only automaker announcing plans to reopen a plant in Michigan is Fiat Chrysler, which is restarting an old engine plant to build three-row SUVs. Its been planning to do so since before Trump was elected. GM is even closing two Detroit-area factories: one that builds cars and another that builds transmissions.



Automakers have made announcements about new models being built in the state, but no other factories have been reopened. Ford stopped building the Focus compact car in the Detroit suburb of Wayne last year, but its being replaced by the manufacture of a small pickup and a new SUV. That announcement was made in December 2016, before Trump took office.



GM, meantime, is closing factories in Ohio and Maryland.



Trump can plausibly claim that his policies have encouraged some activity in the domestic auto industry. Corporate tax cuts freed more money for investment and potential tariff increases on imported vehicles are an incentive to build in the U.S.



But automakers have not been pouring in at all, as he persistently claims, and when expansion does happen, its not all because of him.



Fiat Chrysler has been planning the SUVs for several years and has been looking at expansion in the Detroit area, where it has unused building space and an abundant, trainable automotive labor force.



Normally it takes at least three years for an automaker to plan a new vehicle, which is the case with the three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee and the larger Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs that will fill the restarting Detroit-area plant and an existing one. Several years ago then-CEO Sergio Marchionne said the Wagoneer would be built in the Detroit area.



Detroit automakers usually build larger vehicles in the U.S. because the profit margins are high enough to cover the higher wages paid there versus Mexico or another lower-cost country.

Of course, he couldn't wait to start crowing about Putin-Gate and the Mueller Report he refuses to let anyone see. "After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over. The special counsel completed its report and found no collusion and no obstruction...Total exoneration, complete vindication." Polls show no one believes that but his dead-end supporters. He also said, referring to the charges in the Steele dossier, that "It came out after the election and everybody had a big fat yawn... All of a sudden I heard, 'Were you involved with Russia?' I said, 'Russia? What the hell does Russia have to do with my campaign?'" OK, let's get to the facts:

Mueller did not vindicate Trump in total in the Russia probe.



Muellers exact words in the report, as quoted by Attorney General William Barr, say: While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.



The four-page summary by Barr released Sunday notes Mueller did not draw a conclusion-- one way or the other-- as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction, but rather set out evidence for both sides, leaving the question unanswered of whether Trump obstructed justice. Barr wrote in the summary that ultimately he decided as attorney general that the evidence developed by Mueller was not sufficient to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction.



Barrs summary also notes that Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 presidential election in Trumps favor. To establish a crime, Mueller must generally meet a standard of proving an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The summary did not clear the president of improper behavior regarding Russia but did not establish that he was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference, Mueller said in a passage from the report quoted by Barr.



The summary signed by Barr gave the bottom line only as he and his deputy saw it. Democrats are pushing for release of Muellers full report, which is more than 300 pages. Barr is expected to release a public version of the document in the coming weeks.



There actually was plenty that Russia had to do with Trumps campaign.



According to U.S. intelligence agencies and lengthy indictments brought by Muellers team, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a multipart influence campaign aimed at hurting Democrat Hillary Clintons candidacy, undermining American democracy and helping Trump get elected.



That effort included the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, Clintons campaign and other Democratic groups. Russian intelligence officers then coordinated the release of stolen emails and internal documents.



There were also plenty of people around Trump receptive to Russias help, though Muellers report ultimately did not find that those contacts amounted to a criminal conspiracy, according to Barrs summary.



In the middle of the campaign, Donald Trump Jr. met at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer thinking he would be getting dirt on Clinton. Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting, which included Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, despite it being described to him as part of a Russian government effort to help his father.

There's never a Trump rally where he doesn't throwin for a little racism for the Republican Party base. Bringing up diversity visas, he used the old refrain: "Theyre giving us their worst people." AP explains why that is flat out false.

The diversity visa lottery program is run by the U.S. government, not foreign governments. Other countries do not get to sort through their populations looking for bad apples to put in for export to the U.S. Citizens of qualifying countries are the ones who decide to bid for visas under the program. Trump repeatedly blames foreign states.



The program requires applicants to have completed a high school education or have at least two years of experience in the last five years in a selection of fields. Out of that pool of people from certain countries who meet those conditions, the State Department randomly selects a much smaller pool of winners. Not all winners will have visas ultimately approved, because they still must compete for a smaller number of slots by getting their applications in quickly. Those who are ultimately offered visas still need to go through background checks, like other immigrants.



The lottery is extended to citizens of most countries, except about 20. The primary goal is to diversify the immigrant population by creating slots for underrepresented parts of the world.

Sensitive about his shirking of his own military duties, President Bone Spurs always spends some time gaslighting about veterans. Two big lies: "Theyve been trying to get VA Choice for over 40 years. Couldnt do it. I got it. We signed it six months ago." And "Instead of waiting online for 1 day, 1 week, 2 months, ...they now go outside, they see a private doctor, we pay the bill, they get better quickly."





Private Bone Spurs, America's biggest victim ever, has grievances galore





Hes not the first president in 40 years to get Congress to pass a private-sector health program for veterans; he expanded it. Congress first approved the program in 2014 during the Obama administration. The program currently allows veterans to see doctors outside the VA system if they must wait more than 30 days for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) to a VA facility.



Now they are to have that option for a private doctor if their VA wait is only 20 days (28 for specialty care) or their drive is only 30 minutes.



...Veterans still must wait for weeks before they can get private care outside the VA system.



The program currently allows veterans to see doctors outside VA if they must wait more than 30 days for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) to a VA facility. Under new rules to take effect in June, veterans are to have that option for a private doctor if their VA wait is only 20 days (28 for specialty care) or their drive is only 30 minutes.



But the expanded Choice eligibility may do little to provide immediate help. Thats because veterans often must wait even longer for an appointment in the private sector. Last year, then-Secretary David Shulkin said VA care is often 40 percent better in terms of wait times compared with the private sector. In 2018, 34 percent of all VA appointments were with outside physicians, down from 36 percent in 2017.



At a hearing Tuesday, the top health official at VA, Dr. Richard Stone, described the start of the expanded Choice program to almost be a non-event, in part because wait times in the private sector are typically longer than at VA.



The VA also must resolve long-term financing because of congressional budget caps after the White House opposed new money to pay for the program. As a result, lawmakers could be forced later this year to limit the program or slash core VA or other domestic programs.

Democratic Hopefuls by Nancy OhanianLast week, we looked at a video message from Abigail Disney from the Patriotic Millionaires, talking about-- though not by name-- some extremely bad Democrats in New York: Governor Cuomo and Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, of course + The Long Island 6: legislators Todd Kaminsky, Monica Martinez, Kevin Thomas, James Gaughran, John Brooks and Anna Kaplan. Like the clip above, it's part of their campaign to pass a small tax on the super rich-- just people whose annual income is over $5 million. The purpose was to help bail out cash-strapped public schools that are facing further budget cuts, and the long-neglected subway system which just continues to decline. The 45 second clip above is Morris Pearl, the founder of Patriotic Millionaires, talking about a pervasive culture of corruption that defines Andrew Cuomo's political life. "Who says the acorn doesnt fall far from the tree? Andrew," my friend Skip Kaltenheuser quipped, "apparently fell during a tornado." Cuomo should be listening to his constituents and not just his rich donors. If he did, he wouldn't be blocking this common-sense legislation to make the lives of everyone in his state better.

Last month, no one even knew who Cheri Bustos is. Then this week, for no particular reason other than she could, she took an old DCCC nod-and-wink policy and formalized it into a rule, a rule that is meant to made it harder for Democratic challengers to primary Democratic incumbents. So now her name is well-known-- as an enemy of the netroots, just like her guru, Rahm Emanuel. Now there will be people digging around in her dirt and finding reasons to drive her out of Democratic politics-- or at least make her a pariah the way her buddy Wasserman Schultz is. This week author and former health insurance industry executive Wendell Potter exposed more of her corruption: Democrats On The Take: New DCCC Chair Is A Bets Friend Of Health Insurers-- How Health Insurance Cash Forms Opinions On Medicare-For-All . This is a very important piece for several reasons, not least of which is that as DCCC chair, she has a great deal of say over continuing to disadvantage progressives who favor Medicare-For-All, while pushing Blue Dogs and New Dems like herself, who are in politics to enrich themselves and to build a career-- not to serve; to self-serve. "Heres a headline," wrote Potter, "you can bet my former colleagues in the health insurance business were thrilled to see last week:But it's part of a big picture with Bustos at the center since she is, explained Potter "a real pro when it comes to shaking down special interests, health insurers in particular, for the Dems."

That headline topped the lead story in the March 6 edition of The Hill, a newspaper widely read by Congressional staff and lobbyists and others in the influence-peddling business in Washington. Youll see ads in The Hill by big corporations and special interests you wont see anywhere else-- like the full-page were-not-a-bad-guy ad on page 2 by opioid maker Purdue Pharma and the two full-page were-part-of the-solution ads a bit deeper inside by Eli Lilly.





...I mentioned Bustos in a story I wrote on June 25, the day before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned party honchos with her upset victory over longtime incumbent Joe Crowley in the New York Democratic primary. Crowley, as I pointed out, was one of a handful of House Democrats who received campaign contributions from the political action committees of all five of the biggest for-profit health insurersAetna, Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group. But Crowley wasnt those PACs favorite Democrat in Congress. That distinction at the time went to none other than Cheri Bustos.













So it came as no surprise to see Bustos pouring a big bucket of ice-cold water on the very idea that Congress would give serious consideration to improving and expanding the Medicare program to cover every American, which polls show a big majority of Democratic voters-- and even a sizable percentage of Republican voters-- favor. When Medicare covers all of us, there will be no need for health insurers as we know them-- and we know them increasingly as barriers to getting the care we need. To delay for as long as possible the day Medicare covers everybody, the insurance industry and its allies are showering Democrats with campaign cash and providing their friends in high places-- including Cheri Bustos-- with talking points designed to scare the daylights out of people.





Bustos and I have a lot in common. We both were journalists in our first career: She was a reporter for the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa; I was a reporter for Scripps-Howard newspapers in Tennessee and Washington. She left journalism to go work for a big hospital system in Iowa; I went to work for a big hospital system in Tennessee (and from there to Humana and Cigna). She and I even had the same title at the end of our corporate careers-- Vice President of Corporate Communications-- and we both were paid handsomely. The Quad City Times reported that Bustos was making north of $300,000 when she quit to run for Congress. She took a sizable pay cut when she was sworn into office to represent Illinois 17th congressional district in 2013. I took an even deeper pay cut when I left my corporate job and blew the whistle on my former employers. I have written about politicians on the take; she is one of those politicians.













Bustos was a proven fundraiser from the start. Since 2011, when she launched her first campaign, she has raised nearly $13 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Even though she was widely favored to win reelection last year (she beat her Republican opponent by more than 24 points), she still raised $4.5 million, much of which she didnt need or spend. That big pile of Benjamins was considerably more than the average raised by other House members.





And theres this: Nearly 85 percent of what her campaign took in came from corporate and special interest PACs and large individual contributions. Less than 13 percent came from small individual contributions.





Most of Bustos campaign cash last year came from people who couldnt even vote for her. Nearly 80 percent came from outside of her district and more than half from out of state. None of the big five for-profit insurers that wrote big checks to her campaign are based in Illinois.





Bustos comments in the Hill story came a week after Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced The Medicare for All Act of 2019 with 107 cosponsors, and they tracked with talking points now flooding Washington by the health care industrys new front group, the Partnership for Americas Health Care Future, which comprises health insurers, drug companies and big hospital systems like the one Bustos used to work for. It was created for the explicit purpose of scaring Democrats away from any Medicare for All legislation.





What do we have-- 130 million-something Americans who get their health insurance through their work? Bustos was quoted as saying in the Hill article. The transition from what we have now to Medicare for all, its just hard to conceive how that would work. You have so many jobs attached to the health care industry. I think the $33 trillion price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary.





Now compare that to the messaging in the Partnerships first digital ad last month attacking Medicare for All proposals. And note, too, that that scary $33 trillion figure-- which, by the way, covers a ten-year-period-- came from a study produced by a think tank funded by the Koch Brothers, two rich guys no one would mistake for Democrats. What Bustos didnt mention is that even that study, biased as it was, concluded that sticking with our current private insurance driven-system would cost $2 trillion more than Medicare for All. Bottom line: Medicare for All would be a bargain compared to the status quo Bustos, who thrives in the swamp that is Washington, is defending.A woman goes past the FPT's headquarters in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters

Vietnamese tech giant FPT and Singaporean ride-hailing firm Grab will work together on smart city solutions, AI and smart payments.

The two companies signed a strategic partnership agreement to this effect Friday. Specifically, they will cooperate on piloting a traffic signal monitoring system in Ho Chi Minh City. FPT will provide the traffic light monitoring software, while Grab will provide data and traffic analysis from its ecosystem.

Based on data transferred from GrabCar and GrabBike vehicles, the two sides will jointly develop a real-time traffic monitoring portal to be used in several major cities.

Grab and FPT also plan to develop electric vehicle charging stations in Vietnam and explore multimodal transport solutions that can integrate FPT's digital public transport schedule with Grabs network.

"We hope the application of 4.0 technology by the partnership will bring new experiences and conveniences to the Vietnamese people. The two sides will share data and solutions to solve traffic challenges in big cities," said Le Hong Viet, technology director of FPT.

Jerry Lim, Grab Vietnam director, said that with available traffic data, analysis capacity and experience of public transport in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries, Grab will work closely with FPT to develop smart city solutions, thereby making commuting easier, more convenient and safer for Vietnamese people.

FPT has also committed to integrate the GrabPay by Moca e-wallet platform into its e-payment ecosystem in 2019, while Grab will cooperate with its international financial partners to provide suitable financial services to Vietnamese users.

Grabs loyalty programme, called GrabRewards, will also be available across FPTs network. Users will be able to accumulate points by purchasing FPT products.

Grab and FPT will also develop AI technologies in areas such as facial recognition, authentication and real-time communication in order to increase safety and security for drivers, passengers and business partners.

FPT is currently the first and only enterprise in Vietnam to own a comprehensive artificial intelligence platform - FPT.AI.

This platform allows programmers to create interactive language interfaces, such as chatbots, which help with customer engagement; voice recognition used in automatic switchboards; and image recognition used for processing ID documents along with face recognition.

FPT is the largest information technology service group in Vietnam with its core business focusing on the provision of IT-related services.

Grab, a Singaporean transport network company, provides ride-hailing services in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. It is Southeast Asias first "decacorn", a startup with a valuation of over $10 billion.Japans J Trust has expressed interest in acquiring a stake in Vietnam Construction Bank, one of three weakest state-owned banks in the country.

Nobiru Adachi, senior managing director and executive officer of finance firm J Trust, told Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue Friday that he wanted to restructure the Vietnam Construction Bank (CB).

J Trust will also support CB in terms of technology and financial operations, he added.

Hue responded that J Trusts proposal was in line with the governments wish for local or foreign investors to buy weak banks. The government wants to sell CB to an investor to restructure it, he added.

J Trust should discuss its proposal with the State Bank of Vietnam so that the deal could be presented to the Prime Minister for consideration, he added.

Hue said last year that the government would allow foreign investors to fully acquire weak banks that it had bought for zero dong. These banks are CB, Oceanbank and Global Petro Commercial Jsc Bank.

CB, formerly Trust Bank, was acquired by the government in 2015 and was given the new name. By 2017, it managed to recover over VND5.7 trillion ($245.73 million) of its bad debt.

J Trust engages in commercial banking services, retail financial services and debt collection services throughout Asia. It has experience in assisting struggling financial institutions and has successfully restructured weak banks in South Korea and Indonesia.

Vietnam has nine wholly-owned foreign banks, four state-owned banks and 31 joint-stock banks.Pham Van Dong Boulevard, one of the projects built under the public-private partnership model in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Cong

Top HCMC officials reiterate that public-private partnership (PPP) is the best way to implement key infrastructure projects.

Municipal Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a recent conference that for a city with high demand for investment in infrastructure and services like Ho Chi Minh City, PPP will help deal with the lack of funds.

To achieve its socio-economic development targets for the 2016-2020 period, HCMC needs roughly VND330 trillion ($14 billion) but the city and the states budget can only meet half this need, officials said.

Since 2000 to date, just 22 public projects with a total investment of $3 billion in the city have been developed under the PPP format: 16 in transport, three involving technical infrastructure, two in environment and one in culture.

"The city urges foreign organizations and companies to be patient and continue their investment and cooperation with the city.

"We promise to create the best conditions for investors and make changes to make the city a long-term destination for investors," Phong said.

Experts and insiders at the conference identified several weaknesses and offered solutions for the city to make itself more attractive to PPP investors.

Victoria Rigby Delmon, senior counsel at the Water Supply and Sanitation Global Practice with the World Bank, said the city has limited experience in investment and development and thus many of its projects have had inconsistent results.

In addition, most of its projects are either chosen from particular sources or proposed by investors, most of them build-transfer (BT) projects, in which all agreements are made between the investor and the city, which leads to a lack of transparency and competition.

Private investors are very sensitive to national risks, especially corruption, Delmon said.

Ousmane Dione, World Bank country director for Vietnam, said HCMC is a big city that is in dire need for more investments in infrastructure, especially in traffic, health care, education and environment to catch up with its fast urbanization speed.

He also noted that the model will not always succeed and failures had been seen in several nations.

In order for PPP projects to work, both the private and public sectors have to share benefits and risks, he said.

Dione suggested that HCMC comes up with specific and coherent legal frameworks and institutions so that investors can accept long-term risks in the long term with a certain degree of certainty.

Some of the PPP models that have been applied so far in HCMC include build-operate-transfer (BOT), build and transfer (BT), and build-own-operate project (BOO).

BOT is an agreement between a private company and a governmental body that commits the private company to build and operate a facility for a period of time then transfer ownership to the government.

BT is a deal whereby a private company undertakes the financing and construction of an infrastructure project and after its completion hands it over to the government agency.

BOO is an agreement in which a private organization builds, owns and operates some facility or structure with some degree of encouragement from the government such as tax-exemption.

With a population of 13 million including migrants, HCMC, the biggest city in Vietnam, has been struggling for years to deal with heavy traffic jams, lack of public transportation, overloaded healthcare services and regular urban flooding.Ho Chi Minh City police seize 300 kilos of heroin on the city's outskirts on March 27, 2019. Photo courtesy of HCMC police

HCMC is growing into a transit point for drugs thanks to its logistics infrastructure, a top city police officer has said.

"I used to talk about the risk of Vietnam becoming a drug transit hub, and it looks like it has finally happened, in Ho Chi Minh City," Major General Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the HCMC Police, said at a meeting Thursday.

He was referencing three drug seizures in the last two weeks in Vietnams biggest city.

In all cases the drugs originated from the Golden Triangle, and in two of those cases they were on the way from HCMC to Taiwan and the Philippines.

On March 20 a raid by hundreds of police officers and border guards netted a pickup truck with around 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of meth.

It was the largest drug haul ever in HCMC, and the drugs were on the way to Taiwan. Police have detained seven suspects, including the Chinese gang leader Wu Heshan, 57.

The police said the ring operated nationwide and was linked to two seizures of around 300 kilos each in central Vietnam last October and February.

As they expanded the investigation, the police discovered that Wus gang transported meth to the Philippines.

On March 22 Vietnamese customs and the Philippine police joined hands to seize 270 kilos of meth the gang had transported to the Philippines by sea.

On Wednesday the city police arrested two Taiwanese men and a Vietnamese driver who were transporting more than 300 kilos of heroin in a truck in Hoc Mon District on the outskirts.

The police found the drug was produced in Myanmar, and they are looking for another Taiwanese man who managed to escape.

Investigators said this gang, led by Taiwanese Chen Wei, 31, had no ties to Wus gang, but the two took drugs from the same source in the Golden Triangle.

They also found that more than a month ago Chens gang successfully hid heroin in tea bags and sent it to Taiwan.

Minh said HCMC has become a drug transit hub thanks to its logistics infrastructure.

Road, marine and air transport services in the city are "well connected," while its transport infrastructure is "more developed and convenient" than in northern cities and provinces.

"Hanoi does not have any seaports while the port service in HCMC is better than in Hai Phong," he said, referring to the north's biggest port city.

To Lam, Minister of Public Security, said at a meeting Friday that the latest bust of 300 kilos of heroin is just the tip of the iceberg, as HCMC has a lot of conditions to facilitate drug operations.

"Its an economic center with convenient air, road and maritime transport, and therere a very large number of addicts," Lam said. Ho Chi Minh City has some 22,000 registered drug addicts, accounting for around 10 percent of the national number.

Vietnam has become a key trafficking hub for narcotics around the Golden Triangle, an intersection of China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar and the world's second-largest drug producing region.

The country 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 death.People line up in front of the Da Nang Center for Disease Control for their children's vaccination on March 28, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Tan Viet

Pandemonium ensued at a Da Nang health center when parents were asked to return home without getting their kids vaccinated.

Well before daybreak, Thursday, Tan Viet got to the Da Nang Center for Disease Control.

He was not alone. Many other city residents as well as those from the nearby provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai were also waiting for their turn to collect numbered tokens for getting the 6-in-1 vaccine shot for their kids.

The 6-in-one vaccine shot is for protection against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B and polio.

Apart from those present at the center, there were others who had signed up for their shots online even earlier.

"When I came here at 3 a.m., there were already around 300 others waiting for their turn. Many had slept on mats right on the sidewalk," Viet said.

When the centers gates opened at 6 a.m., more than 200 had had their numbers in hand. What followed was sheer chaos, with parents climbing the fences to get inside and take new tickets for themselves.

In the end, however, there was simply not enough vaccine for everybody. With only 180 shots left out of the 500 reserved for the day, people with tickets numbers 181 and above were asked to leave, said Ton That Thanh, director of the center. The parents, of course, had taken a lot of trouble to get to the center and were not willing to budge. Police had to be called to the scene to restore order.

At 8 a.m., the center announced that it would cease all vaccinations for the morning. People who had already signed up for their shots online or had tickets numbered up to 180 could return in the afternoon, the center said.

The rest of the parents would have to wait for the next batch of vaccines to arrive, at which point the center would contact them by phone, it added.

Thursdays scenes of chaos are not uncommon at the center each time it runs out of 6-in-1 vaccines, said Thanh.

"We were caught offguard a bit this morning, so we werent able to deal with the situation this time," he added.

The centers supply of vaccine is reliant on how the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) distributes vaccines imported from foreign countries.

The government first places requests for the number of doses with companies making the vaccine, and the DAV distributes these to provinces and cities based on their vaccination schedules.

However, this does not mean that each city and province can get the exact number of doses they wanted, Thanh explained.

"Sometimes we register for thousands of shots beforehand, but if the supplier gives us only 100 shots, theres nothing we can do," he said.

Vaccine shortage, specifically of doses-on-demand, is a recurring problem that the Ministry of Health has yet to deal with properly, said Nguyen Tien Hong, deputy director of Da Nangs Department of Health.

One reason for it is some peoples misconception that vaccination-on-demand is "better than government subsidized vaccination."

"Government subsidized vaccinations are preplanned, maintain surplus stocks to tide over shortages and have clear schedules [...] Parents should bring their children to such medical institutions instead of rushing for vaccination-on-demand, which could make their children miss their proper vaccination schedule," he said.

The Da Nang center should also devise a plan to develop its own vaccine supply and communicate better with people, he added.

"Right now, the center only announces the number of vaccine shots it has, not the number of people who have already registered for their shots online or the number of shots left available. Thats why it could not handle the situation when too many people arrived," he said.

Vietnam already has the ComBE Five vaccine imported from India, which was put to use since last December. The vaccine protects against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B. In Da Nang, 3,200 shots have been given within the first quarter this year with zero adverse effect. 5 million shots are given to about 1.7 Vietnamese children every year.A federal judge in New York has deemed a state ban on gravity knives to be unconstitutional  but stopped short of striking down the controversial statute entirely.

Citing the "high risk of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement," Judge Paul Crotty ruled on Thursday that police officers and prosecutors had too much discretion in enforcing the 1950s-era law. Specifically, the judge mentioned the unreliability of the so-called "wrist-flick test"  an imprecise standard used in the past by both the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to see whether the folding knives require force to open.

"Criminal culpability here is tied to a vague definition and functional test that could have outcomes depending on who is performing it and when," wrote Crotty. "People should be able to tell whether their conduct is lawful or unlawful."

Criminal justice advocates have long argued that the ban unfairly targets chefs and other service employees who use folding knives for work. In one high-profile case, police arrested chef Nate Appleman, who was at the time in charge of the kitchen at Keith McNally's now-defunct Bowery pizza restaurant Pulino's.

Analyses from both the Legal Aid Society and the Village Voice found that the vast majority of people charged with gravity knife possession in New York are black and Hispanic.

The state legislature has passed legislation to decriminalize certain gravity knives in recent years, but Governor Andrew Cuomo has twice vetoed the measure.

As advocates celebrated the judge's decision, they were also quick to note that the opinion does not necessarily invalidate the law. For now, the decision only applies to the plaintiff in the case: Joseph Cracco, a sous chef who was arrested in Grand Central Terminal in 2013 for carrying a folding knife that he used for work. Though the law will likely be used to argue against gravity knife charges in future cases, it is merely a "step toward [the] ultimate goal" of repeal, according to public defenders.

With that aim in mind, the Appeal reports that State Assemblymember Dan Quart introduced a bill last month to strike the term gravity knife from the penal code altogether. The Manhattan assemblyman expects the bill to move easily through the Democratic-controlled legislature, ending up on Cuomo's desk by the end of the year.

The Governor's Office did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries about whether he would sign the legislation, or his reaction to the federal judge's ruling. A spokesperson for the Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance  one of the law's most vocal defenders  said in a statement that the office was "reviewing the decision."Joint Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries

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International Court of Justice will deliver its decision on the request for provisional measures in the case of ARMENIA v AZERBAIJAN

Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia

OPEC Fund Partners Ameriabank to Address Problems and Help to Improve the Life of People in Armenia. T. Alnassar.

Generation A: Edition 14. Exclusive Chance to Begin Your Professional Career with Ameriabank

Katna Armenian cheeses enter the market: the new project of Galaxy Group of Companies

US$30m OPEC Fund loan to Ameriabank to promote sustainable energy and support small businesses in Armenia

Black Friday at ucom: up to 70% discount for smart home devices, gadgets and smartphones

116 million AMD assistance to minors with disabilities in Shirak Province from Mikayel Vardanyan

Discussion on the topic IT infrastructure as the basis of the digital economy with the participation of the heads of telecommunication companies in Armenia

Statement nn the ongoing Aggression by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia

"We condemn any attempts at borderisation, as observed since the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into Armenian territory on 12 May" Joint statement

The United States is deeply concerned about reports of intensive fighting today between Armenia and Azerbaijan.ANTONY J. BLINKEN

Statement of the MFA of Armenia

Ookla has awarded Ucom with The fastest fixedline network in Armenia award

UCOM keeps on supporting the 42 YEREVAN programming school

Google Ad

Recognizing the One-Year Anniversary of the Ceasefire Declaration Between Armenia and Azerbaijan

They should not be positioned near civilian communities neither in Armenia nor in Artsakh

Humanitarian and human rights protection needed following the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh

Galaxy Group of Companies expands its activities in Belarus: a new TIME and Pandora store launched

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Ameriabank has Raised USD 17.5M Tier 2 Capital

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Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees

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Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition

S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to PositiveJoint Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries

LIVE

International Court of Justice will deliver its decision on the request for provisional measures in the case of ARMENIA v AZERBAIJAN

Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia

OPEC Fund Partners Ameriabank to Address Problems and Help to Improve the Life of People in Armenia. T. Alnassar.

Google Ad

Generation A: Edition 14. Exclusive Chance to Begin Your Professional Career with Ameriabank

Katna Armenian cheeses enter the market: the new project of Galaxy Group of Companies

US$30m OPEC Fund loan to Ameriabank to promote sustainable energy and support small businesses in Armenia

Black Friday at ucom: up to 70% discount for smart home devices, gadgets and smartphones

116 million AMD assistance to minors with disabilities in Shirak Province from Mikayel Vardanyan

Discussion on the topic IT infrastructure as the basis of the digital economy with the participation of the heads of telecommunication companies in Armenia

Statement nn the ongoing Aggression by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia

"We condemn any attempts at borderisation, as observed since the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into Armenian territory on 12 May" Joint statement

The United States is deeply concerned about reports of intensive fighting today between Armenia and Azerbaijan.ANTONY J. BLINKEN

Statement of the MFA of Armenia

Ookla has awarded Ucom with The fastest fixedline network in Armenia award

UCOM keeps on supporting the 42 YEREVAN programming school

Google Ad

Recognizing the One-Year Anniversary of the Ceasefire Declaration Between Armenia and Azerbaijan

They should not be positioned near civilian communities neither in Armenia nor in Artsakh

Humanitarian and human rights protection needed following the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh

Galaxy Group of Companies expands its activities in Belarus: a new TIME and Pandora store launched

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Ameriabank has Raised USD 17.5M Tier 2 Capital

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Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees

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UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13

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S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to PositiveOne Ukrainian soldier killed in action, another four wounded in Donbas on March 29  JFO HQ

One Ukrainian soldier was killed in action, another four were wounded in action amid 19 attacks by illegal armed formations in the east of Ukraine, the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters has reported.

"Compared to the previous day, on March 29, the situation in the JFO area significantly worsened. Within 24 hours, the enemy violated the ceasefire 19 times, using 16 times the weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, firing 100 152 mm, 122 mm 120 mm and 82 mm artillery shells. Russian-led forces fired at the positions of the JFO from artillery systems, mortars, weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms... Due to shelling one Joint Forces soldier was killed and four were injured," JFO HQ said in a statement on the official page in the Facebook social network on Saturday morning.

Militants used weapons banned by the Minsk agreements.

"In the action zone of the operational-tactical group Vostok (East), the enemy shelled the positions of our defenders seven times: twice using 120 mm mortars, heavy antitank grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms near the village of Shyrokyne; 82 mm mortars, near Avdiyivka and Vodiane; mounted anti-tank grenade launchers near Lebedynske; automatic mounted and handheld anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms near Verkhniotoretske; automatic grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Pavlopil," JFO HQ said.

The following localities were also shelled: Troitske, Novoleksandrivka, Krymske, Popasna, Vilny small village and Zolote-4.

"Since the beginning of the current day, the shelling of the positions of our troops has not been recorded," JFO HQ said.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, four militants of the illegal armed groups were killed and six were injured. Also, the fire destroyed the Osa-AKM anti-aircraft missile system and the R-330Zh radio warfare station of the militants.Four trucks carrying animal feed from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have crossed into the Donbas territories uncontrolled by Kyiv via the Novotroitske checkpoint, the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Service said in a statement on Saturday morning.

"Four trucks of the ICRC crossed into the Donbas territories uncontrolled by Kyiv via the Novotroitske checkpoint. The trucks were carrying humanitarian aid (animal feed) for residents of temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine with a total weight of almost 82 tonnes," the press service said.Ukrainian citizens are complaining on the human rights commissioner's hotline about the dissemination of election campaigning materials in the media and on the Internet on Saturday, which is "the day of silence" before the presidential election.

"Numerous complaints from citizens on the dissemination of election campaigning materials in the media and on the Internet are being made to the Ukrainian human rights commissioner's hotline today. It is a violation of the Ukrainian law On the Presidential Elections in Ukraine because 'the day of silence' has begun," Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Liudmila Denisova said on Facebook.

Denisova called on all subjects of the electoral process not to publish in the media political advertising, speeches, interviews, videos, audio recordings, and other reports on the candidates.

March 30 is "the day of silence" in Ukraine before the presidential election, which will take place in the country on March 31. Election campaigning ended at 00:00 of the last Friday before the election day.

Under the law, "the publication of election campaigning materials in the mass media, dissemination of election campaigning leaflets, election campaigning posters, public calls to vote for or against presidential candidates and dissemination of political advertising" are prohibited on the "day of silence."Police in Ukraine have so far received 159 reports of election law violation on the "silence day," the eve of the presidential election, half of them involve illegal campaigning, First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy said on Saturday.

These numbered 79, and there were also eight reports of voter bribing, two of disruptive behavior, one of a physical threat, and 69 others, he said.

In all, 4,891 such reports have been registered since the campaign began. "These facts resulted in 250 criminal inquiries and 655 administrative protocols," Yarovy was quoted by the ministry's communications department as saying.

Police continue working amid tight security, he said. "National Police is providing security for 29,866 [election] commissions. Over 39,000 police officers will provide safety and order at polling stations proper and there will be 518 law enforcers at district electoral commissions," Yarovy said.

The Interior Ministry's task force is recording and verifying all cases reported to the 102 phone line or found in open data sources (mass media outlets, social-networking sites, and so on), he said.The European Union expects all 23 Crimean Tatars detained under a ruling of a court in the Crimean peninsula illegally annexed by Russia to be released without delay to ensure that human rights can be exercised by all in the peninsula, according to a statement of by the spokesperson of the European Union External Action Service spread on Saturday in Brussels.

A court in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia, has ruled that all 23 Crimean Tatars detained on 27 March and 28 March will be held in pre-trial detention until 15 May. They are accused of belonging to the organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia but not in Ukraine.

The spokesperson said that "the European Union does not recognise the enforcement of Russian legislation in Crimea and Sevastopol and expects all illegally detained Ukrainians to be released without delay."

"Such acts corroborate the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which states that "Crimean Tatars continue to be disproportionately affected by police raids and prosecuted under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings falling short of human rights standards." The European Union expects the Russian Federation to end these practices and to take all necessary steps to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms can be exercised by all in Crimea, without discrimination on any grounds," the spokesperson said.The presidential election is to be held in Ukraine on Sunday, March 31.

A record number of candidates are on the ballot  39. There were 44 candidates initially, but the Central Election Commission (CEC) removed five candidates at their request during the last week before the deadline for leaving the race.

The first candidate to drop out of the race was First Deputy Commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhiy Kryvonos, who withdrew his candidacy in favor of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and was subsequently appointed Deputy Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). Lviv Mayor, Samopomich Party leader and Member of Parliament Andriy Sadovy, MP Dmytro Dobrodomov and journalist Dmytro Gnap withdrew their candidacies in favor of Civil Position Party leader Anatoliy Hrytsenko. Nashi (Ours) Party leader Yevhen Murayev withdrew in favor of Opposition Bloc leader Oleksandr Vilkul.

On March 18, Osnova Party leader Serhiy Taruta withdrew from the race in favor of Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko. And on March 27, ex-Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz announced his withdrawal from the race. The names of both ex-candidates, however, will be included in the voting ballot.

Some 199 election districts (approximately 29,888 polling places) have been created for conducting the election. As of March 30, voting lists included 29,789,643 voters. The Ukraina Printing House printed 30,441,372 ballots for the March 31, 2019 election at the CEC's direction.

There could have been 223 election districts, but none was created in Russia-occupied Crimea and Russia-occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In Donetsk region's Ukrainian-controlled areas, there are 12 elections districts (for approximately 1,435,688 voters), and in Luhansk region there are six election districts (for approximately 534,951 voters).

Voters through March 25 were able to change their permanent place of voting without changing their voting address. In addition to requesting same, voters were required to present to state voting registrars documents confirming the necessity of changing their place of voting. Some 315,725 Ukrainians (compared to 171,078 in the 2014 presidential election) availed themselves of the opportunity.

Residents of Crimea, Sevastopol and Russia-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions could have motivated requests to change their voting address because of Russia-led military aggression resulting in the temporary occupation of areas of Ukraine. They were not required to present documents confirming the necessity of changing their place of voting.

Some 101 polling places have been created abroad. They are located in Ukraine's embassies and consulates. Most are in Germany  5, there are four polling places are in the United States, Poland, Italy each and three in Canada, Spain and Turkey. The CEC has sent 424,341 voting ballots to the polling places outside of Ukraine.

Citizens of Ukraine will not be able to vote in Russia because the CEC at the end of 2018 closed all five foreign polling stations in Russia which had been created in 2012 to function on a permanent basis. These polling places have been moved to Ukrainian embassies in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Finland.

The CEC, at the request of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, has created a special list of 80 polling stations located at military units: 65 in Donetsk region, 14 in Luhansk region, and one in Lviv region. It is expected that about 47,000 Ukrainian military servicemen serving in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area will be able to vote at special polling stations.

According to the law, presidential elections are conducted in two rounds. If in the first round of voting on March 31 one of the candidates garners more than 50% of votes cast in the election, he or she is declared the winner. If that does not happen, a second round of voting on April 21 will take place between the two candidates receiving the most votes in the first round.

Some 2,344 official international observers have been registered from 19 international organizations (2,157) and 17 countries (187) to monitor the election. The CEC refused to allow observers from the Russian Federation.

The largest contingent of international election observers is from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)  808, with another 373 from the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), 219 from the Ukrainian World Congress, 164 from the nongovernmental organization CANADEM, 118 from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and 83 from the National Democratic Institute. Among delegations from foreign governments, 63 are from the United States, 40 from Poland, 16 from Slovakia, 15 from France, and 13 from Germany.

There are 89,622 observers from nongovernment organizations. The largest group is from the Ukrainian Center of Democratic Society (founded by Ivan Dobrovolsky and Yuriy Hoida)  30,264, Ze!Team will be represented by 14,426 observers, all-Ukrainian public organization Solidarna Molod by 8,576, and NGO Leading Legal Initiatives by 6,015.

Some 4,140 observers are registered from the Civil Network OPORA, 2,952 from Vitali Klitschko's UDAR, 2,399 from the Women of Batkivshchyna, 1,853  Committee of Voters of Ukraine, 867 from all-Ukrainian association Ours, 853 from the Servant of People organization, and 369 from the National Druzhynas.

The elections will be observed by 53,917 official observers from presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko, 36,483 observers from Yulia Tymoshenko, 23,505 from Oleh Liashko, 20,862 from Anatoliy Hrytsenko, 13,454 from Yuriy Boiko, 12,097 from Oleksandr Vilkul, 10,193 from Ruslan Koshulynsky, 2,969 from Yulia Lytvynenko, 2,286 from Oleksandr Shevchenko. There will be 1,607 observers from Volodymyr Zelensky.

In addition, registered were 19,779 official observers from the Batkivschyna Party, 1,199 from the Opposition Bloc  the Peace and Development Party, 645 from the Radical Party, 629 from the Civil Position Party, and 292 from the Svoboda Party.

The CEC has accredited 1,149 journalists from 192 media organizations for the elections. Some 24 are from print publications, 21 from information agencies, 20  television channels, 7  television and radio companies and two Ukrainian radio stations, and 10 Ukrainian Internet media outlets, which will be represented by 804 journalists.

According to polling results by sociological companies, showman and head of the Studio Kvartal 95 Volodymyr Zelensky, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko have the best chances of reaching the second round of voting. They are followed by Civil Position Party leader Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Opposition Platform  For Life leader Yuriy Boiko.

The National Exit Poll  2019 consortium of Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Razumkov Centre of Economic and Political Research will conduct at national exit poll on the day of elections.

112 Ukraine and NewsOne will conduct an all-Ukrainian exit poll with the SORA Institute of Social Research and Consulting (Austria) and the Ukrainian Social Monitoring center.

Their results will be released after the close of polling stations at 18.00 (Kyiv time).

District territorial commissions must, by April 5, inclusively, establish the results of voting within territorial election districts.

Within 10 days from the voting day (until April 10, inclusive), the CEC must establish the election results and draw up a corresponding protocol. If none of the candidates gains more than 50% of the votes, the CEC applies to the Verkhovna Rada with the proposal for holding a second round of presidential elections on the third Sunday after election day (April 21).Irans president Hassan Rouhani in a speech on Friday harshly attacked the Trump administration, calling it racist, law-breaker and warmonger.

On a visit to deal with flood emergency in the oil-rich Khuzestan province Rouhani said that the country faces a year of sanctions and hardship, but he added that with peoples sacrifice and resistance these can be overcome.

The economic situation in Iran has sharply deteriorated in the past one year, partly due to new U.S. sanctions. Islamic Republic officials often call on people to endure the hardship but many blame the leadership for their problems.

In mass protests last year angry demonstrators were shouting slogans against Irans involvement in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, accusing the government of sending their money to foreigners.

The U.S. and to an extent Europe have been accusing Iran of meddling in other regional countries and spending resources to develop ballistic missiles.

Rouhani also accused the United States of engaging in illegal acts, such as recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital and Washingtons recent decision to consider the Golan Heights, occupied during wars with Syria, as Israeli territory.

The Iranian president said these actions are non-peaceful and breach international law.

Rouhani also voiced satisfaction about Irans victorys at the International Court in the Hague and a recent legal victory in a Luxembourg court regarding frozen or disputed Iranian assets.President Hassan Rouhani and IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari have been trading accusations and counter-accusations regarding each other's ability to solve the problems caused by floods across the country.

Iranian state TV's news channel on March 29 several times aired a video that showed Rouhani criticizing the IRGC Commander in Chief, albeit without naming him, for ordering demolition of a railway in norther Iran to let flood water run from one side to another.

He said it was useless as it made no difference in the situation of flood hit areas in Aq Qala and Gomishan on both sides of the track in Golestan Province.

Engineered explosions were carried out at three points along the track on March 24. IRGC's former commander, Mohsen Rezai called it "The explosion of hope." Three days later, IRGC's current commander Jafari ordered other explosions to demolish a road near Gomishan to let flood water pour into the Caspian Sea.

The two operations have been portrayed by IRGC affiliated media outlets as an evidence of IRGC commanders' "Jihadist-Style Management." Ironically, the railways between the two towns was constructed by IRGC mindless of the fact that it might block the flow of occasional floods in the region.

An excavator left in flood water after railway was demolished by IRGC

The railway project became controversial as it was inaugurated twice, once in 2013 by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and again in 2013 by Rouhani after he got elected. The two presidents did not even agree on the length of the track. One said it was 80 kilometers long, and the other said it was 150 kilometers. Ironically, the actual length of the track is 129 kilometers!

IRGC's financial conglomerate Khatam Ol-Anbia, took pride in having completed the project within a year. IRGC Public Relations manager Ramezan Sharif, called the project "a turning point in relations between IRGC and the government." In fact, the project had taken some 6 year to be completed and IRGC was involved in it for two and a half years.

The sketch in the tweet below shows the points where IRGC used explosives to open an outlet for flood waters. As can be seen, the railroad simply stood between urban areas and the Caspian Sea.

The IRGC officially took pride for constructing the problematic railway, and also for demolishing it. This comes while, MP for Gorgan, Noormohammad Torbatinejad, has criticized the project for not leaving outlets for flood water to run underneath the tracks.

Criticizing the demolition by IRGC, Rouhani said at a crisis management meeting on March 29 that he flew over the region and found out that "The explosions did not make any difference in the situation. It was like taking water from one bowl and pouring it into another."

In a video released on Twitter on March 30, IRGC Commander Jafari called Rouhani's comment "an accusation," and charged that government bodies have failed to help as much as the IRGC, adding that further explosions are under way and IRGC has been trying to help.

The video in the tweet below shows one of the points where IRGC demolished the railroad, and water flowing out.

Another railway projects constructed in collaboration with IRGC is the one that links Iran to Turkmenistan in the same region. It has turned out to be problematic too, because of technical reasons that dramatically slows down traffic along the tracks and has caused dissatisfaction among businessmen who use the track for import-export purposes. So, the government had to appropriate another 220 billion rials ($50 million based on official rate) to sort out the problems. However, corrections on the route have not started yet.

Problems on this route has caused losses particularly to Iranian fruit exporters.

Meanwhile, the railroad to Kazakhstan has not become operational as negotiations about tariffs with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have failed.

The track was supposed to facilitate transiting 10 million tons of goods per year between the three countries. During the past year, Iran has shipped 50 thousand tons, equal to half a percent of the projected figure.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce in Gorgan told reporters that the failure has prompted Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to look for alternative routes.

However, using usual Islamic Republic official jargon, the official attributed the problem to "hidden foreign hands," a cliche' popular among Iranian officials when they cannot explain their own incapability in solving the country's ordinary problems.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

Trend:

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova has sent an appeal to Elena Ajmone Sessera, the head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan in connection with Elvin Ibrahimov, who was taken hostage by Armenians, Trend reports with reference to the ombudsmans office.

The appeal reads that a citizen of Azerbaijan, a resident of the Yukhary Salakhly village of Gazakh district Elvin Ibrahimov, born in 1986, left his home March 15 and went to work. It is noted that on his way he got lost on the border between Azerbaijans Gazakh district and Armenias Noyemberyan district and crossed the border. Ibrahimov was injured as the result of firing by Armenian servicemen, and is being held hostage, reads the appeal.

Considering that Ibrahimov is a disabled person of group II, and that he was wounded by the Armenian servicemen when crossing the border by mistake, according to Article 16 of the Geneva Convention, he needs to be rendered special care and released as soon as possible, according to the appeal.

However, unfortunately, the Armenian side once again violated the norms and principles of international law and took him hostage, Suleymanova said in her appeal. Despite his disability, no measures were taken for his soonest return.

The appeal was sent taking into account the above-mentioned international standards and the letter addressed by Ibrahimovs mother to the Azerbaijani ombudsman.

The appeal contains request not to allow Ibrahimov undergo any physical and moral violence while being held hostage, control his state of health and general condition through the offices operating in Armenia, and, if possible, assist in his soonest return to Azerbaijan.

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, March 30

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 22 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said March 30, Trend reports.

The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns.

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, March 30

By Jeyhun Alakbarov - Trend:

Indias interest in Azerbaijan is growing every day, Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bawitlung Vanlalvawna said, Trend reports.

He made the remarks during a seminar on medical tourism held with the organizational support of the Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The ambassador touched upon the relations between the two countries and said that Azerbaijan is becoming an attractive tourist destination.

Interest in Azerbaijan is growing, and because this beautiful country has become an attractive tourist destination, many tourists from India also come to Azerbaijan, he added.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the first meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, held in Vienna on 29 March 2019, under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, Trend reports citing the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General welcomes the emphasis the leaders placed on creating an environment conducive to peace and on taking further steps towards successful negotiations. He also welcomes their recommitment to strengthening the ceasefire and addressing humanitarian issues, as well as continuing dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, reads the statement.

The Secretary-General commends the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for their important mediation role and reiterates the full support of the United Nations for their continued efforts.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_ZeynBaku, Azerbaijan, March 30

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has issued a statement on March 31 - Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Trend reports referring to the ministry.

The statement reads:

"March 31 is the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, commemorating the victims of the bloody massacre perpetrated by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in March 1918.

March massacres of 1918 were well prepared and ruthlessly implemented act by nationalist Armenians against Azerbaijanis on the grounds of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.

In March-April 1918, massacres were committed in the city of Baku and other towns and districts of the Baku Province by the Armenian dashnak - bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the Baku Council (Baku Soviet), and tens of thousands of civilians were killed only for their ethnic and religious affiliation. Stepan Shaumian, an ethnic Armenian appointed as the Commissar Extraordinary for the Caucasus by the head of the Russian Bolsheviks - Vladimir Lenin, admitted that 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku Soviet and 4,000 from the Dashnaksutyun party participated in the massacres against the Azerbaijani people.[1]

The genocide carried out against Azerbaijanis along with Baku covered also Shamakhi, Guba, Iravan, Zangezur, Garabagh, Nakhchivan and Kars regions. During the first five months of 1918, more than 16,000 people were murdered with utmost cruelty in Guba province alone. The Armenians also slaughtered local Jews and Lezghis living in Guba. Mass graves discovered in Guba region in 2007 constitute a clear evidence of the inhumane acts committed by Armenians.

The Government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established in 1918 the Extraordinary Investigation Commission in order to investigate the serious crimes perpetrated by Armenians and has taken a number of measures to preserve the true facts revealed by the Commission in the memory of the people and to inform the world community about these atrocities. The Extraordinary Investigation Commission which was comprised of the best lawyers of that time representing different nationalities  Russians, Jewish, Polish, Georgians and even Armenians, based on the evidences launched criminal cases against 194 individuals accused of different crimes against the peaceful population; 24 individuals in Baku and about 100 individuals in Shamakhy had been arrested for perpetrated crimes.

However, this process had been suspended after the demise of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, full investigation of the tragic events and its political-legal assessment had been prevented. Only after 80 years  on March 26, 1998 the adequate political assessment was given to these horrific events by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis", signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and 31 March was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

The commemoration of the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis raises the awareness of the world community to the facts of the massacre and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis in the past and present.

Since late 1980s, unleashing the war against Azerbaijan and occupying its territories, Armenia continued the policy reminiscent of March Massacre by carrying out ethnic cleansing of more than million Azerbaijanis in Armenia and in the seized lands of Azerbaijan and committing numerous war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide, including Khojaly Genocide of February 1992.

While remembering the innocent victims of March tragedy, we strongly condemn the deliberate and continued policy of genocide, crimes against humanity, racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing of Armenia against the people of Azerbaijan and reiterate the importance of ceasing impunity of Armenia to prevent occurrence of such inhumane crimes."Baku, Azerbaijan, March 31

Trend:

March 31 is marked as the Day of Genocide of the Azerbaijanis.

After the Republic of Azerbaijan regained its independence, it has become possible to renew the objective picture of the past history of Azerbaijani people. The truth, which for many years was kept back, is getting disclosed and misinterpreted events are getting their real assessment.

Numerous acts of genocide committed against Azerbaijani people, which for many years did not receive their deserved political and legal assessment, are one of the lesser known pages of the country's history.

The Gulustan and Turkmenchay agreements signed in 1813 and 1828 provided the legal ground for the partition of the nation of Azerbaijan and division of its historical lands. The occupation of the lands continued the national tragedy of Azerbaijan people. Within a short period of time, mass settlement of Armenians began on Azerbaijan's territories. The occupation of Azerbaijani territories became an integral part of the genocide.

Armenians moved to Irevan, Nakhchivan and Karabakh khanates and achieved establishing their administrative territorial unit of "Armenian region", despite their minority as compared to Azerbaijanis residing in the same area. This artificial separation provided political reasons for removal and annihilation of Azerbaijanis in their native lands.

This was followed by propaganda of the establishment of the "Greater Armenia".

In order to ensure the exculpation of the idea to establish this fictitious state in the territory of Azerbaijan, a wide-scale program, aimed at the falsification of the national history of Armenians, was started. The distortion of Azerbaijan's history and the whole Caucasus formed an integral part of this program.

Inspired by the idea of the establishment of "Greater Armenia", Armenian invaders, in 1905-1907, started to openly conduct hostile actions against the nation of Azerbaijan on a mass scale.

Armenians started their atrocious acts in Baku and further spread them through the rest of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani settlements in the current territory of Armenia. Hundreds of settlements were razed to the ground and thousands of Azerbaijanis were savagely killed. The organizers of this savagery were creating an unfavorable image of Azerbaijani people, to hide the truth and prevent these happenings from correct political and legal evaluation.

Armenians got use of the World War I, Russian revolutions in February and October of 1917, and managed to accomplish their ideas under the plea of the Bolshevism.

The implementation of a cruel plan of cleansing the population of Azerbaijani provinces started with the Baku commune under the plea of fighting against counter-revolutionary elements in March of 1918.

Armenian crimes have secured themselves an everlasting place in the memory of Azerbaijani people. Thousands of civilians were murdered for the only reason of being Azerbaijanis.

Armenians destroyed dwelling houses and burnt people alive. Most of Baku was turned into ruins with national architectural sights, schools, hospitals, mosques and other monuments destroyed.

The genocide of Azerbaijanis was particularly cruel in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran and other regions. Many civilians in those areas were killed, the villages were burned to ashes and national monuments were razed to the ground.

After the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), the closest attention was paid to the March 1918 events. The Council of Ministers issued a decree on July 15, 1918, to establish an extraordinary committee for the investigation of those tragic events. The committee investigated the first stage of the March 1918 genocide; the brutal acts in Shamakhi and the cruel crimes in Irevan province.

A special department was established under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify the community about the truth. The ADR declared March 31 a mourning day twice - in 1919 and 1920. It was the first attempt in the history to give a political assessment to genocide against the people of Azerbaijan and to the occupation of the country's lands, which went on for over a century.

But the fall of the ADR did not allow this process to end.

In 1920, Armenians got use of the coming of the Soviet power into the South Caucasus, and declared the annexation of Zangazur and other regions of Azerbaijan to the Armenian Soviet Republic.

Armenians later started to utilize newer means to strengthen their policy, aimed at the deportation of Azerbaijani people from these territories. For this purpose, Armenians used the December 23, 1947 decree of the Soviet Council of Ministers "On removal of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian Soviet Republic to the Kura-Araz lowlands of the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic". During 1948-1953, they finally achieved the purpose of mass deportation of Azerbaijani people from their historical lands, at the state level.

In early 1950s, Armenian nationalists with the help of their defenders began to conduct a cruel aggressive campaign against the nation of Azerbaijan.

In regular published books, magazines and newspapers in former Soviet Union, the attempts were made to prove that Azerbaijani national culture, classic heritage and architectural monuments belong to Armenians.

At the same time, Armenians strengthened their efforts to create a negative image about Azerbaijani people worldwide. In order to create the image of "a long-suffering oppressed Armenian nation", the Armenians deliberately distorted the events which took part in this region in the beginning of the 20th century. They called themselves the victims of the genocide, which they in reality conducted against Azerbaijani people.

Persecution of Azerbaijanis in Irevan, where the main population consisted of Azerbaijanis and from the other parts of Armenian SSR, led to their mass proscription.

Armenians violated the rights of Azerbaijani people, created the obstacles to get the education in native language and exerted a strong pressure upon them. The historical names of Azerbaijani villages were changed within a previously unforeseen process in the history of toponymy, when ancient names were replaced with the modern ones.

The trumped-up Armenian history was raised at the state political level in order to bring up younger generations of Armenians in the spirit of chauvinism.

Brought up in the manner of Azerbaijani literature and culture, which served to great humanism ideals, the young generation of Azerbaijanis was persecuted by the followers of Armenia's extremist ideology.

The claims against the Azerbaijani national spirit, honor and dignity, created an ideological platform for the political and military aggression. Azerbaijani genocide, which was not given a correct political and legal evaluation, led to distortion of historical facts in the Soviet media and misleading of the communities by Armenians. The leadership of Azerbaijan did not pay the sufficient attention to anti-Azerbaijani propaganda, which raised and intensified among the Soviet regime in mid-80s.

The deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands at the first stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988, also did not receive a correct political assessment in Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh was taken from Azerbaijan's control and annexed to the Armenian SSR at the basis of an unconstitutional decree of Armenian Republic and under assistance of the Moscow-led Special Administration Committee. This fact caused a serious dissatisfaction in Azerbaijan and forced it to begin important political activities. Even though the aggressive policy aimed at the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, was strongly criticized at numerous rallies held in Azerbaijan, the political leadership still did not give up its passive and contemplative position.

In January, 1990 the Soviet troops were brought to Baku in order to prevent further development of the national liberation movement. Hundreds of Azerbaijani people were killed and injured, as the result.

In February, 1992 Armenians accomplished unforeseen brutalities in Azerbaijan's small town of Khojaly. The Khojaly genocide saw thousands of Azerbaijanis murdered and taken as war prisoners. Khojaly itself was razed to the ground.

The adventurous policy of Armenian nationalists and separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, forced over one million of Azerbaijani nationals from their homelands. Today, they live in tent camps. Roughly 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied by Armenian armed forces, and thousands of Azerbaijani citizens got injured and became martyrs.

The tragedies, which took place in Azerbaijan in the 19th-20th centuries and resulted in occupation of Azerbaijani lands, formed the consecutive stages of Armenia's purposeful policy against the Azerbaijani people. Efforts were made to give a political assessment to only one of those events - the March 1918 massacre. The successor of the ADR  the Republic of Azerbaijan - considers it a historical duty to ensure a logical continuation to unfulfilled political decrees and political evaluation to the genocide.Azerbaijan takes measures to exempt import of hybrid and electric cars from customs duties and VAT in 2022Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The meeting held between Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on March 29 in Vienna is an excellent step to be back to a direct dialogue on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nathalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senates Foreign Affairs Committee, told Trend March 30.

She believes it is also very important that the OSCE Minsk group plays its role and try to move towards a fair solution to the conflict.

The recent meeting showed a political will [for resolving the conflict]. But taking into account the occupation lasting more than decades, we need a clear act, not only talks, she said, adding that at least, it is necessary firstly achieve liberation of the surrounding districts.

Goulet expressed hope that the direct talks between the leaders of the two countries will give some results, however, she believes that at the same time, civil societies of the two countries must start a dialogue maybe by meeting between women of both countries.

Also there is a room for parliamentary diplomacy. And for sure, there is more courage to make peace than to start a war, she concluded.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met on March 29 in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America).

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting.

The statement issued on the results of the meeting reads that the two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field, said the statement.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_ZeynBaku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Vienna stands ready to host further talks between Azerbaijans president and Armenian prime minister, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.

Austria and Vienna stand ready to host further talks between Azerbaijan's President and the PM of Armenia. It was an honour to meet with both of them after today's important meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh, he wrote.

Van der Bellen pointed out that Azerbaijan is Austria's most important trading partner in the South Caucasus region and there are several successful cooperations between universities in the two countries.

"On these good bilateral relations Ilham Aliyev and I were able to build our fruitful meeting," he added.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met on March 29 in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America).

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting.

The statement issued on the results of the meeting reads that the two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field, said the statement.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_ZeynDetails added (first version posted at 1:43).

Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna.

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen greeted President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen posed together for photographs.

Saying he is pleased to visit Austria, the head of state thanked the Austrian side for the hospitality and for hosting a meeting with the Armenian prime minister. President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to the development of bilateral relations with Austria. Underlining that Azerbaijan and Austria enjoy strong friendly ties, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen stressed the significance of this visit in terms of developing the bilateral relations.

President Ilham Aliyev said that the Joint Cooperation Council was established to develop economic and trade relations between the two countries, adding that its first meeting was held in Vienna. The head of state expressed hope that cooperation in this format will increase the trade turnover and create opportunities for Austrian companies to operate more actively in Azerbaijan. Highlighting Azerbaijan-initiated transport projects, which are being implemented in the region, the head of state pointed out that Austrian companies can also use these transport infrastructure opportunities.

They also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:

The second meeting of the heads of international organizations and the ministerial conference will be held in Baku as part of the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The decision was made at a meeting of the international working group Baku Process held at the UNESCO headquarters.

The program and documents of the concept of the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue were discussed at the meeting with the participation of officials of the UNESCO Secretariat, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the EU, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and other members of the working group.

Azerbaijani Culture Minister Abulfas Garayev reminded that the Baku Process was launched in 2008 at the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and as part of this process, the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue has been held four times, adding that the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, ministerial conferences and other international events have been held 6 times over the past 10 years.

UNESCOs Director of Partnerships and Outreach at the Social and Human Sciences Sector Magnus Magnusson noted that UNESCO will hold five events as part of this forum.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue will be held May 2-3 in Baku.

The forum aims to be an international platform to enable and encourage people, countries and organizations to advance concrete actions to support diversity, dialogue and mutual understanding as foundations for sustainable peace and inclusive development.

Expected participants include heads of governments, ministers, heads of various international organizations, senior policy makers, cultural professionals, goodwill ambassadors, experts, journalists, practitioners, prominent intellectuals and activists.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The national airline Uzbekistan Airways has introduced the third frequency of regular passenger flights to New York from April 2, 2019, Trend reports via Uzbek media.

Aircraft will be flying according to the following schedule (GMT +5):

HY 101 Tashkent (07:05) - New York (10:55)

HY 102 New York (12:55) - Tashkent (09:55 on Wednesday).

Moreover, Uzbekistan Airways plans to increase the frequency of flights to Jeddah three times.

The national airline launched flights Tashkent - Jeddah with a frequency of twice a week since October 28 last year. To attract potential tourists in the direction of Ziyorat tourism, they are docked with Kuala Lumpur - Tashkent flights.

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Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxriAshgabat, Turkmenistan, March 30

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

Turkmenistan will buy earthmoving equipment of the Japanese brand Komatsu, Trend reports via Turkmen TV channel Altyn Asyr.

The purchase is based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Tokyo.

It was earlier reported that Komatsu will provide special equipment for major projects implemented in Turkmenistan in the energy and transport sectors, in water management, particularly in the construction of an artificial lake in the Central Karakum Desert.

The Turkmen delegation got acquainted with ten production facilities in Japan. Factories of Nissan, Toyota and Komatsu were among them.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) plans to make investments in various types of real estate in a number of developed countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific region, the Fund told Trend.

As SOFAZ noted, its investments priorities depend on tendencies in the world economy, which are studied before approving the Investment Policy.

"The Funds investment policy saw new changes in late 2018, which resulted in the share of gold to rise from 5 percent to 10 percent in portfolio. SOFAZ will continue to make investments in accordance with the investment policy, making investments in fixed income financial instruments and the instruments of the short-term capital market, stocks, real estate and gold," said SOFAZ.

The Fund said that fixed income financial instruments and instruments of the short-term capital market, as before, have the significant share in SOFAZ portfolio.

"In accordance with the Funds asset management rules, SOFAZ invests in debt bonds of countries, government agencies, international financial organizations, commercial and other organizations with an investment grade credit rating. After conducting another comprehensive analysis of the markets of abovementioned instruments, which included the assessment of many factors affecting the risk level and profitability of this type of assets, the strategy for 2019 was approved. It does not envisage any substantial changes in connection with investments in fixed income instruments and instruments of the short-term capital market, but depending on the macroeconomic situation, various types of tactical actions can be carried out in the portfolio , subject to the observance of the "Rules on the management of the assets of the Fund," noted SOFAZ.

As the Fund noted, the strategy of SOFAZ regarding investment in stocks is to passively invest in world indices, both through direct investment and with the help of external managers.

The maximum weight of shares in the SOFAZ investment portfolio, as it was in 2018, will be 25 percent. SOFAZ also invests in shares of mutual funds, and in accordance with the strategy approved for 2019, it is planned to continue investing in mutual funds of North America and Europe. Regarding real estate investments, we would like to bring to the attention that after studying the general state of the world real estate market, as well as the latest trends and innovations in this sphere, the SOFAZ investment strategy for 2019 was approved. In accordance with the real estate strategy, SOFAZ plans to invest in various types of real estate in a number of developed countries in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through direct, joint and equity investments, "said SOFAZ.

SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million.

Based on SOFAZ's regulations, its funds may be used for the construction and reconstruction of strategically important infrastructure facilities, as well as solving important national problems.

The main goals of the State Oil Fund include accumulation of resources and placement of assets abroad in order to minimize the negative effect to the economy, prevention of "Dutch disease" to some extent, promotion of resource accumulation for future generations and support of current social and economic processes in Azerbaijan.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_ZeynBaku, Azerbaijan, March 30

Trend:

President of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto have reached a preliminary agreement on energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Hungary, Trend reports with reference to SOCAR.

During the meeting, it was noted that cooperation between Azerbaijan and Hungary is developing at a high level in various areas.

During the meeting, it was also said that the Southern Gas Corridor project being implemented by Azerbaijan is of particular importance. With the help of this project, which connects two continents, natural gas produced in the Caspian basin will reach the gas network in Europe, and this will enable gas transportation to many countries, including Hungary.

At the meeting, the Hungarian side expressed interest in getting Azerbaijani gas through this corridor.Kyrgyzstan national operator Kyrgyztelecom and the mobile operator Megacom have signed an agreement on a strategic partnership with Russia company Sitronics to cooperate on launching and exploiting a data centre in Kyrgyzstan, reports Trend citing Telecompaper.com

The companies will carry out an audit of the Kyrgyzstan telecommunications infrastructure. The audit will lead to a road-map for the deployment of the data centre and ICT systems and services for state institutions.Tajikistan's embassy on Friday marked the country's spring festival at a reception in the Turkish capital of Ankara, reports Trend citing to Aa.com.tr

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nevruz celebrations, Ambassador Mahmadali Rajabiyon said it was a part of the country's "spiritual legacy" as well as a unique example of cultural heritage belonging to the whole of humanity.

Rajabiyon said Nevruz was celebrated by people of different religions and cultures across countries along the Silk Road, to mark the new year and welcome the spring season.

"The return of the spring was seen to have great spiritual significance, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil and joy over sorrow," he said.

He noted that Nevruz is an occasion for traditional activities combining common and local customs with such practices as poetry festivals, music and folk songs.

"Our forefathers welcomed this holiday in ancient times by singing songs and reciting pieces of poetry during the spring celebrations," the envoy said.

He stressed that Nevruz had been officially added to the UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In his speech, Rajabiyon also called for the preservation and enhancement of the ideals of the "wonderful holiday", for the sake of future generations.

Cultural performances, folk dances, traditional cuisine and poetry recitations were also held at a reception.

Diplomatic representatives from other missions, ministries and government offices also attended the event.

Nevruz falls on March 21 and has been celebrated for more than 18 centuries across Anatolia and Asia.

The spring festival is celebrated mainly in Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Albania and Macedonia.Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 30

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has approved the composition of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Turkish commission for economic cooperation from the Turkmen side, Trend reports with reference to the Turkmen presidential decree.

The document was signed for further development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Turkey.

Turkey is one of the largest trade partners of Turkmenistan: about 600 Turkish companies operating in trade, investment, construction, energy, transport, communications, textile and processing industries are registered in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan exports the products of textile, energy, chemical, agricultural industries. Metals and products made of metals, household goods, equipment, building materials, electrical goods, products of chemical and light industries, food products, vehicles, and medicines are imported from Turkey.

Ashgabat and Ankara expressed readiness to develop energy cooperation. Turkey declared its readiness to promote the transportation of the Caspian energy resources to Europe through Turkish territory, one of the options being the transportation along the bottom of the Caspian Sea and further across the territory of Azerbaijan.Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 30

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a meeting in Ashgabat with the leadership of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIET), Trend reports with reference to the UIET.

Particular emphasis was placed on the international contacts of the UIET, the development of import-substituting and export-oriented industries, the creation of foreign trade missions and joint ventures, the report said.

The activity of the Joint-Stock Commercial Bank Rysgal on financial support for business projects became a separate topic of conversation. The relevance of the participation of private entities in the implementation of the Concept of digital economy development for 2019-2025 was emphasized.

Representatives of the IMF discussed the achievements of the non-state sector of the Turkmen economy, noting the positive dynamics of its development. It was noted at the meeting that the projects being implemented by the UIET include the construction of a potash plant, the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat high-speed highway, the development of export opportunities for private greenhouses, poultry farms and fish industry facilities.

Turkmenistan holds one of the key positions in the region in terms of the supply of natural gas - China and Iran are importers. At the same time, Russia - the traditional buyer - stopped buying Turkmen gas in 2016. Against this background, the Turkmen entrepreneurs began to experience difficulties due to currency conversion restrictions.

In March 2018, the IMF recommended Turkmenistan to ease foreign exchange regulations on imports and other current international payments.

In the IMF staffs view, the main near-term policy challenge remains taking action to reduce external imbalances, the IMF noted. The recent reduction in public investments as a share of the economy is welcomed. However, given the size of the external deficit, additional measures should be considered, including exchange rate correction and further fiscal and monetary tightening.

Real sector reforms should focus on significantly simplifying administrative procedures and regulations, accelerating reforms and privatization of the state-owned enterprises, and attracting foreign direct investment, according to the IMF.

The simplified framework for the free economic zones holds the promise of attracting new private investments, including from abroad, and any positive lessons should be applied across Turkmenistan more broadly, said the IMF.

Turkmenistan headed for gradual transition to market economy, which was reflected in the Constitution.

At this stage, a number of activities were carried out: the denomination of the national currency was implemented, the country moved to international accounting standards in 2014. At the beginning of 2015, the Central Bank of Turkmenistan set the official exchange rate of the national currency at 3.5 manats per US dollar, which is still preserved.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

Potato and onion exports will be banned in Iran from April 4, with the aim of regulating the local market, Deputy Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran Abbas Ghobadi said, Trend reports via IRNA.

Ghobadi noted that in the past weeks, exports, especially onion exports to Iraq, have turned to be a reason of increasing prices of this products in Iran.

Therefore, Iran's market regulation committee decided to ban exporting potatoes and onions from the country, he added.

Gobadi further noted that tomato exports have been freed from restrictions in Iran's southern provinces.

In the last few days, the price for a kilogram of onions exceeded 140,000 rials (roughly $3.33).

Another reason for price increase was heavy rainfall which hindered harvesting in the country's Khuzestan and Kerman provinces.Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

First official talks at the highest level between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are the main outcome of the meeting in Vienna, Grigory Trofimchuk, a well-known Russian expert in foreign policy, defense and security, told Trend.

Someone, as always, expected sensations from the meeting, but I didnt expect them, he said. It is clear that Baku doesnt accept either changing the format of the negotiation process or their very essence and purpose. The Azerbaijani side is aimed at returning the territories without any conditions and according to all previously adopted documents. This, in fact, was confirmed by the Azerbaijani president following the summit.

Nevertheless, the Armenian side isnt going to abandon its fresh statements, either, including the requirement of the Karabakh people themselves to participate in the negotiations, Trofimchuk noted. Im confident that President Ilham Aliyev tried to attract the attention of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to these innovations. For the same reason, he said after the meeting that he is waiting for a statement by the mediators.

As for the position of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, it is still the same, the Russian expert added.

For now, they tried not to notice the obvious attempts by new Yerevan to undermine the format of the negotiation process, Trofimchuk said. At the same time, as usual, they confirmed their adherence to the entire set of formal documents on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, beginning from the 90s of the last century. I dont think that the Azerbaijani authorities will be drawn into another fruitless decade of multilateral dialogues against this background, which is obvious for everyone. The Azerbaijani authorities simply drew conclusions, they simply had to see what Pashinyans negotiating style is like compared to that of Ter-Petrosyan, Kocharyan and Sargsyan.

Trofimchuk noted that it is worth welcoming the fact that President Ilham Aliyev, as an experienced politician, didnt make any harsh statements and steps after the meeting, and expressed readiness for political consultations, that is, non-military resolution of the conflict.

But, in any case, Prime Minister Pashinyans projects on changing the format of the negotiation process, including those with a chair abruptly pulled up to the table for representatives of separatist Karabakh, wont be implemented, as this may start a war, the Russian expert said.

If this chair was fixed by negotiation documents, as Pashinyan himself emphasizes, the co-chairs for more than two decades of discussions would probably have noticed its absence long ago. The co-chairs themselves, as I think, need nothing more than making a formal report to the world community that they were able to prepare and hold the first meeting on this topic after the political upheavals in Armenia in 2018 and return the negotiations to the old, meaningless direction.

On March 29, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Vienna. The meeting lasted for more than two hours, and then the negotiations continued in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

As a result, a joint statement was made by the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the new 3+2 format, and this statement highlights the main issues of the negotiation process, as well as a broad exchange of views on substantive points. It also stresses the need to create acceptable and favorable conditions for the progress in the peace process, and such points as the importance of taking concrete and result-oriented steps in the negotiation process are mentioned.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibovaAs stated by the Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan in an interview with journalists, the extradition procedure of Narek Sargsyan, the nephew of ex-President Serzh Sargsyan, is ongoing.

The Armenian side has forwarded relevant documents and is awaiting a response, Trend reports referring to the Armenian media.

When asked about the reason of the delays in the procedure, Davtyan said: "The practice of such procedures shows that there is nothing to worry about yet." According to him, the issue of extradition has many nuances.

The authorities of the respective country should make a decision, then the person has the right to appeal the decision, said Davtyan, adding that the extradition procedure may take a year. "As a rule, no one gives up easily," the attorney general remarked.

The internationally wanted Narek Sargsyan was located in December 2018 in Prague. At the time of the arrest, he submitted fake documents as a Guatemalan citizen named Franklin Gonzalez.Tunisia Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said Palestine issue is still a priority for Arab joint efforts to support Palestinians to retake their legitimate rights, Trend reported with reference to IRNA.

According to Tunisian media, Jhinaoui made the remarks addressing the inauguration of Arab League foreign ministers meeting.

He stressed the fact that Tunisia rejects US President decision to recognize Israels sovereignty on Golan Heights.

He added that Tunisia is trying to prevent possible consequences of Trumps choice in international community.

Referring to humanitarian losses and destructions in Syria which had thousands of victims, Jhinaoui said the country needs an urgent political solution in line with maintaining unity.

Commenting on Yemeni crisis, he said ending conflicts and establishing stability and security and finding a political solution would be the best way in this regard.

Trump tweeted on Thursday that after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Syrian Foreign Ministry earlier said that in a flagrant aggression on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, the US President has recognized the annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan to the Zionist occupation entity.

The US decision indicates US hostility against Arab world, the statement said, adding that Washington proved that it is the most important enemy of the Arab world.Two security members and an Islamic State (IS) militant were killed Saturday in two incidents in central and western Iraq, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

In Iraq's central province of Salahudin, IS militants attacked a joint patrol for federal police and paramilitary tribal fighters in Yathrib area, some 80 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving a police officer and a tribal fighter killed and a policeman wounded, Col. Mohammed al-Bazi, from Salahudin's provincial police, told Xinhua.

Reinforcement troops arrived at the scene and launched a search campaign to track the attackers, al-Bazi said.

In Iraq's western province of Anbar, an army brigade, backed by police commando regiment, carried out an operation against a group of IS militants in al-Hareijiah area, in northeast of the provincial capital city of Ramadi, which is located some 110 km west of Baghdad, Col. Malik Obeid, leader of the commando regiment, told Xinhua.

A fierce clash erupted between the two sides, killing an IS militant and capturing another after wounding him, Obeid said.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out guerrilla attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.Pope Francis arrived in Morocco on Saturday to start a two-day trip centered on inter-faith relations, Trend reports Reuters.

The Alitalia plane carrying the pope, his entourage and journalists arrived at the Moroccan capitals airport, where King Mohammed VI greeted him.Estonia's current ruling coalition, consisting of the Estonian Center Party and Pro Patria (Isamaa), is expected to form a new coalition with the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), Trend reports referring to local media.

The Center, EKRE and Isamaa had won 26, 19 and 12 seats in the second, third and fourth place respectively, after the Estonian Reform Party's 34 seats out of the total 101 seats in the Estonian parliamentary election held on March 3.

In a joint statement, the extended boards of the three runner-up parties said they supported the formation of a coalition and negotiations were underway, the Estonian Public Broadcasting Corporation reported.

"Estonia must be a country with an increasing population, one that is protected, developing, secure, and with a competitive economy, where the Estonian language and culture are preserved," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Center Party chairman and the incumbent prime minister Juri Ratas admitted that the three parties have severe ideological differences and talks have been difficult, but the parties to the proceedings have the will to find common ground.

Meanwhile, chairwoman of the Estonian Reform Party Kaja Kallas called on the Center Party to reconsider the possibility of cooperating with the Reform party in forming a coalition government after her first offer was rejected.German police arrested six terror suspects on suspicion of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and of planning an attack, but released them later, Trend reported referring to the German Press Agency (DPA).

According to the DPA, police have conducted massive raids across western Germany since Friday as part of anti-terror operation. A total of 11 suspects were arrested during the raids and later released as no weapons or explosives were discovered.

The raids were carried out in 10 cities across the German state of North Rhine Westphalia and in the city of Ulm in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the DPA reported.

The 11 suspects, all males aged between 22 and 35, are mostly Tajikistan nationals.

At least six of them have been suspected of planning a "threatening act of violence against the state" and of being affiliated with the IS group, said the report.

There are no concrete targets or acts of terror, the DPA reported, citing local prosecutors.A total of five Islamic State (IS) militants, including a group leader, were killed in an operation by the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units in Iraq's central province of Salahudin on Friday, Trend reports referring to Xinhua.

The operation was carried out "at dawn against an IS position on the edges of al-Mu'tasim area, some 60 km south of the provincial capital Tikrit," said a statement by Saraya al-Salam, a militia affiliated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and part of Hashd Shaabi.

The killed IS leader, identified as Mohammed Mukhtar, is responsible for coordinating IS activities in Salahudin and northern Baghdad, the statement added.

According to the statement, the other four killed IS militants were Mukhtar's associates, and three members of Saraya al-Salam were wounded in the operation.

Mukhtar was behind many terrorist attacks against civilians, government officials and security forces in the area, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the international coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike on an IS position in the desert of Iraq's western province of Anbar, killing all militants inside, according to a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out guerilla attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.Australias budget for the 2019/20 fiscal year will include an additional A$570 million ($404.36 million) for national security to boost counter-terrorism and anti-espionage operations, The Weekend Australian newspaper reported on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The extra spending package for domestic spy agency the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) will fund programs such as anti-drone technology for the police and intelligence gathering in offshore conflict zones.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil a budget on Tuesday that is expected to feature an avalanche of spending in an effort to arrest his conservative governments slide in popularity.

The delivery of the budget for the year beginning July 1 will be a launching pad for a general election due in May.

The killing of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15 has sparked debate about Australias readiness to fight extremism.

An Australian man, a suspected white supremacist, has been charged with one count of murder and is expected to face more charges at his next court appearance on Friday.

Morrison said the extra money for security was not a response to concerns Australia had let extremists slip through its net.

No, no. What this is is a recognition of the growing threat of extremist terrorism in so many different terms, he said in televised remarks.

The Weekend Australian reported that the majority of the new spending would go to the AFP. The agency was expected to receive a A$512 million increase over the next five years to cope with a seven-fold increase in counter-terrorism operations and an eight-fold increase in the number of people being monitored under a security watch list, it said.Taliban insurgents attacked the motorcade of Afghanistan's First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum on Saturday, killing his bodyguard, Trend reports referring to TOLOnews.

Dostum was not hurt, according to his close aide, Kanishka Turkistani, who spoke to TOLOnews. Sources told the news channel two other bodyguards were injured.

The senior Afghan official was travelling from the northwestern province of Balkh to Jowzjan bordering Turkmenistan. His motorcade has been attacked several times before.

During his appearance in Balkh, he reportedly vowed to "eliminate" the Taliban* movement within half a year if given the chance.

The day before, Taliban militants reportedly captured the Arghanj Khwa district of the Badakhshan Province in northwestern Afghanistan. As a result of the clashes between the militants and Afghan servicemen, at least 14 were killed, and over 10 others were injured. The Taliban also seized a number of weapons and equipment after the retreat of the Afghan forces.

Recently the United States and Taliban officials met in Doha and agreed to a preliminary framework that calls for the United States to withdraw troops in exchange for counterterrorism assurances from the insurgents. Reacting to the talks, Afghan president's national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib lashed at Washington, accusing them of "delegitimising the Afghan government", while granting legitimacy to the Taliban and holding negotiations with them on issues officially regulated by Kabul.US President Donald Trump has announced his intent to nominate former US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert as Member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the White House announced in a press release, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for the remainder of a three-year term: Paul Winfree of Virginia, expiring September 22, 2021, Heather Nauert of New York, expiring September 22, 2021, Kevin R. Hanrahan of Texas, expiring September 22, 2020", the release said on Friday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Nauert for her service at the State Department for what he characterized have been two years of unequaled excellence.

"You will represent America well on the Fulbright board", Pompeo said via Twitter.

The Trump administration has picked Fox News contributor and former anchor Morgan Ortagus to replace Nauert at the State Department, according to media reports.

Nauert was Trumps pick for US ambassador to the United Nations until she withdrew her name from consideration in February.By Tanyalux Watanapalin, KYODO NEWS - Mar 22, 2019 - 12:28 | World, All

Thailand is among the many countries that faced Communist insurgency in the post-World War II era. The outlawed Communist Party of Thailand, which launched an insurgent campaign in 1965, based its headquarters in the mountains of northern Thailand.

Today, the area is a historical tourist attraction within the Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park and one of the most concrete pieces of evidence showing the existence of Communist insurgency in the country.

The headquarters, in the mountain range in Phitsanulok Province, served as a school for party cadres on military training, politics and medicine until 1982.

Little by little, national park authorities are renovating 31 square cabins at what is now called Political and Military School, while bigger sleeping quarters all fell into ruin as time passed.

Each with the capacity to hold four to five people, the buildings housed the party's committees, quartermasters, infirmary and military.

A dilapidated bulldozer sits in the middle of the compound. Students stole it from the foothill where it had been used to build a highway, said Manus See-suea, 61, a national park officer and former member of the Thai military.

A number of university students had fled Bangkok and other cities to seek refuge at the party headquarters in the forest after violent government crackdowns on student protesters in the 1970s.

"The Communists did not want any development or comfort around the area, not even a road. They were afraid that the government would reach and defeat them easier if there were an accessible route," Manus said.

Some parts were removed from the tractor to be used for a waterwheel opposite the school. The waterwheel, said to be installed by engineering students from Chulalongkorn University, was used to pound steamed rice.

It was going to be attached to a motor to generate electricity, but the students left the ground before it was done, Manus said.

Many pieces of equipment and educational tools from the era are displayed at the park's tourist information center. They include medical equipment and a surgical technique manual written in Chinese, suggesting the party' strong connection with Communist-run China to the north.

The historical site attracts tourists from both home and abroad, especially during the beginning of the year, when leaves turn red.

"Coming to this place is like going on a time machine. I'm struck by what happened before and sad about it at the same time," said Kanitta Janarsa, 49, a government worker in Phitsanulok, on a recent visit with her colleagues.

When the camp was set up, party members were mostly ethnic Hmong. They were sent to China and North Vietnam with Mao Zedong's sponsorship, to be educated on politics, military and medicine, according to Manus. They returned to spread their knowledge and urge others to join their activities.

Many medical appliances from various fields such as traditional Chinese acupuncture, modern medicine and textbooks were brought to the base. Moreover, insurgents smuggled many weapons from China and Laos to fight against Thai troops.

The stronghold's population grew after a student uprising in October 1973, and grew even more after a student massacre in October 1976 -- in which at least 46 people were killed as government troops attacked student protestors in Bangkok -- prompted students to flee to the forest to join the Communists.

The influx of new party members resulted in the establishment of the Political and Military School. However, the Communist insurgency ended in 1982 after Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda promised amnesty to the Communists and former student protesters if they defected.

"While I was clearing off the area, I admit that I was extremely scared (for) my life, my friends' lives and those of the enemies whom we might have to shoot," Manus said, recalling his involvement in the military's counterinsurgency operation four decades ago.

Besides the insurgents, many children had been living there as well. Their shoes and belongings were abandoned in the cabins as they left. Some were carrying pigs and walking their ponies down the mountain, he recalled.

"Little kids walking away from the forest reminded me of my siblings," the park officer said, adding that others around him were in tears as they thought of their own children.

He said Phitsanulok's former Communist stronghold is a reminder that neither the Thai soldiers nor the Communists they fought really emerged "victorious" after the decades-long clashes between them.London: On Friday, Britain complained after China failed to provide figures on the number of North Korean labourers it had sent home, in line with a UN sanctions resolution. A resolution adopted in December 2017 barred countries from hiring North Korean workers and gave governments two years to repatriate all North Korean nationals already working on their territories. The guest workers are considered an important source of hard currency for Pyongyang. Marzuki Darusman, a UN expert on North Korea, estimated in 2015 that more than 50,000 North Koreans had been sent to work abroad, mainly to Russia and China, working in slave-like conditions.

also read Nirav Modi will remain in jail for another 6 weeks, the US court rejected bail application

Here it is to be noted that china this month told a UN sanctions committee that it had repatriated more than half of the total North Korean nationals earning income within its borders, but it did not give figures, diplomats said. Russia said the number of work permits for North Korean workers had dropped from 30,023 to 11,490 between December 2017 and December 2018. Under the UN resolution, all countries were obliged to report to the sanctions committee on the number of North Korean labourers they were hosting, but fewer than 20 countries have provided that information

British Ambassador Karen Pierce told reporters "These are overseas workers that bring in some 800 million dollars a year to the North Korean economy so naturally, they are a challenge to the sanctions regime,". She added "We want the maximum amount of information so that we can take this forward and get a proper rhythm of reporting and implementation by the end of the year,". She added Britain will raise the issue with council members in the coming days.The ban on North Korean guest workers was part of a package of sweeping sanctions adopted by the council in response to North Korea's sixth nuclear test and ballistic missile tests.

also read India and US jointly urged Pakistan To take meaningful action against TerroristsShamli: Attacking on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress candidate from Saharanpur Imran Masood called him dramebaz pradhan mantri.

Addressing a gathering in Shamli, Congess leader Masood accused the PM of building a narrative around Muslims and Pakistan before every election.He said while the country is asking questions on unemployment, youth and farmers the PM keeps on talking about Pakistan.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wants to direct a film one day

Masood further said that India should not worry about Pakistan as the country is already on the path of self-destruction. Masood also slammed the saffron party for promoting its own version of nationalism and said that they dont need certificates on nationalism from them as their founders wrote letters to the British. He further adde, Bharat Mata is not patented by the BJPand urged his supporters to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai whenever someone questions their faith in the country.

Neeraj Pandey to make Hindi remake of Nayanthara & Mammoottys film Puthiya Niyamam

Hitting out at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati for turning down Congress support, Imran said: "Mayawati says she will not talk to Congress. If that is so, then has she spoken to BJP (for an alliance)? ANI quoted him as saying. He also said that the fate of BSP supremo will be decided in Saharanpur when the results are declared on May 23.

Divyendu Sharma starrer Fatafat trailer released,check it out here

He also urged the voters to support the Congress and said that the only sure-shot way to defeat the BJP is through the congress .New Delhi: Indian and US officials met in Washington on March 29 for the sixteenth meeting of the US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and the second session of the US-India Designations Dialogue. In a major move, India and the United States have jointly urged Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from its soil. The Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group exchanged views on threats posed by international terrorist organisations as well as ongoing concerns over cross-border terrorism in the South Asia region.

A statement released by US state department read "Both sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible, and verifiable action against terrorists and terrorist groups. There was a discussion of strengthening cooperation on information sharing and other steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel, consistent with the important provisions and obligations outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2396,". Participants also highlighted their efforts on some of the world's most pressing counter-terrorism challenges, including countering the financing and operations of terrorist organisations, terrorist use of the internet, and prosecuting, rehabilitating, and reintegrating returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters, it added.

also read US will provide a potential alternative to S-400 air defence system to India

Recently, US brought a draft resolution in the UN Security Council, proposing to blacklist Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist after China held a proposal initiated by France under the 1267 Sanctions Committee. Global momentum against Pakistan sponsored terrorism has been building up ever since Pulwama attack for which Pakistan-based JeM took responsibility.

India lost over 40 CRPF personnel in Februray after a JeM operative attacked their convoy with an explosive-laden vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. The incident has been widely condemned, as countries threw their weight behind India in its fight against terrorism in the wake of the gruesome attack. India, US , France and Germany along with other partners are playing a key role in blacklisting and freezing properties linked to JeM and its chief globally . However, Pakistan continued to remain in denial mode and has asked for more evidence. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has admitted in TV interviews that JeM chief Masood Azahar is in Pakistan.

also read World cannot afford its shameful hypocrisy towards Muslims: US warns ChinaThank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.Indian Army has begun massive mobilisation of military tanks and deployment of troops along the International Border in Rajasthan and Punjab. The movement of tanks from Jhansi and Kanpur to forward post locations was witnessed over the last two days. Sources reported deployment of armoured formations from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to border outposts. A major reinforcement of the Army was noticed in Punjab's Abohar and Rajasthan's Bikaner and Barmer areas.

The development comes amid reports of Pakistan vacating civilians at border villages and moving large scale troops to the Indian front. Sources also claimed that the Pakistan Army moved troops opposite 'sensitive areas' in Amritsar and Samba sectors along the International Border.India also said that Pakistan should take immediate, credible, irreversible and verifiable actions against terrorists and terror organisations operating from territories under its control.

also read Two weeks after Pulwama attack, a mysterious blast happened in Santro Car near CRPF Convey in J&K

Tensions have been simmering between India and Pakistan since the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 that claimed the lives of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans. Eleven days after the attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on February 26 dropped laser-guided SPICE 2000 bombs at Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps deep inside Pakistan. The government later confirmed that it was a pre-emptive nonmilitary strike carried out following credible intelligence inputs.

Regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC have also continued in days afterwards.Meanwhile, Indian forces remain alert at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. A large deployment of armoured tanks and infantry continues in the border locations. India on Thursday expressed disappointment on Pakistan's response to JeM's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack. The documents added that identical scripts was followed by Islamabad in the past after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008 or in Pathankot in 2016.

also read BJP Chief Amit Shah to file nomination from Gandhinagar constituency to LokSabha election shortlyNew Delhi: On Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi added fuel to speculations about general secretary Priyanka Gandhi contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On being asked on Priyanka's candidature Rahul said that it was for Priyanka only to decide if she wants to contest the elections or not. Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi had said that it was for the party to decide if she'll fight the upcoming polls Priyanka was quoted I have not decided yet. If my party asks me to contest, I will definitely contest,. Priyanka has launched party's campaign in Uttar Pradesh and is currently on the second leg of her state tour where she has visited the party strongholds of Amethi and Rae Bareli and is set to hold a roadshow in Ayodhya.

also read Congress smearing Samjhuta Blast case as "political theory of Hindu terror": Arum Jaitley

Here it is to be noted that earlier in the day, Priyanka launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led NDA government terming it as dubbing it as "anti-farmers and anti-forces" party. However she the most stinging remark came in response to PM Modi's jibe in Meerut where he had accused the Congress of being popular in Pakistan. Responding to the swipe, Priyanka said that it was the PM who had gone to have "biryani" in Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Pakistan in 2015 on then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's birthday and to attend the latter's granddaughters wedding. Interestingly, Nawaz Sharif was present during PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony after the BJP's landslide victory in 2014.

However, earlier on Wednesday and Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi had addressed rallies in Amethi and Rae Bareli, attacking PM Modi over alleged "politics of lies." Asking party workers to reach out to each and every villager and expose the "jumlebazi" of BJP, Priyanka accused the PM of not fulfilling his promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh each into every Indian's account

also read Gujarat Congress leader wont be able to contest the electionBaghdad: On Friday, Iraq's parliament speaker voiced hope that the United States will keep waiving sanctions on energy purchases from Iran, saying his country will need to import electricity from its neighbour for three years. President Donald Trump's administration has sought to cut off all exports from Iran but has twice granted three-month exemptions to Iraq, mindful of chronic blackouts that have reignited unrest in the war-torn country.

"Hopefully this waiver will be extended until Iraq can stand on its feet economically," Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi said at the US Institute of Peace on a visit to Washington, where he met leaders including Vice President Mike Pence. Halbusi, a member of the Sunni minority whose bloc is nonetheless considered sympathetic to Shiite power Iran, said Iraq imported 30 percent of its power despite its plentiful oil reserves and needed about three years to develop its own capacity.

also read Britain complained after China failed figures on North Korean labourers

"After these three years, maybe we can see Iraq as economically independent and we won't need to import power or electricity from a foreign country. Maybe we can address this issue after three years," he said. Speaking afterwards to reporters, Halbusi warned the United States of the negative effect of "any hasty, uncalculated step to adopt policies and procedures against countries in this region."

Trump last year exited an international agreement on curbing Iran's nuclear program and reimposed punishing sanctions with hopes of curbing the clerical regime's influence around the Middle East. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meeting Thursday with Halbusi, said he supported an Iraq "open to the region and the world" and pledged US help for the country's development, according to a State Department statement that did not mention Iran.

also read No US assets were spying on Indias first test fire ASAT: US Defence DepartmentWhere is Vietnamese aspiration?

VietNamNet Bridge - After a long time of thinking about why Vietnam still has not become a powerful country, I have come to the conclusion that the lack of aspirations is a crucial cause, writes Huynh The Du, a respected scholar, for VietNamNet, which initiated the For a Powerful Vietnam Forum.

















The process of evolution and human genome change has been going very slowly. As such, the way we behave in the future is very much determined by the past. Therefore, it is useful to review what happened in the past to find the outstanding characteristics of Vietnamese and the factors that led them to success.



The moment when I had the deepest and most obvious perception about Vietnams history was in the winter of 2013 at Harvard. At that time I was sitting listening to a tape recording of interviews with Vietnamese veterans for the documentary film The Vietnam War by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, produced by Florentine Films.



The prideful voice of veteran Vietnamese soldiers made me understand that it is the aspiration to become independent, not to kneel to anyone, and the determination to do things, which have all contributed to incredible exploits. Vietnam won all the wars against powerful countries in the world.



I could also imagine the strong determination of the Vietnamese nation when Ly Thuong Kiet recited Nam Quoc Son Ha (Mountains and Rivers of the Southern Country, a famous 10th century Vietnamese poem, considered "Vietnam's first Declaration of Independence") which helped defeat the Song army.



I could hear elderly people vowing to fight against the Yuan invaders at the Dien Hong Conference. I understood why Le Loi  Nguyen Trai could defeat the Ming army and I took pride in the victory of the Vietnamese people led by Emperor Quang Trung over the Qing soldiers.



I understand why Vietnam won the the historic Dien Bien Phu battle and I have deeper understanding about what Vogel wrote in "Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China".



Deng said China aimed to "teach Vietnam a lesson" when launching the border war in 1979. But, in fact, Vietnam was the one who taught China a lesson.



War causes miserable pain. But during these wars, the Vietnamese people were able to do great things when they were in danger of losing territory and becoming slaves.



Doi moi (renovation) has been the most prosperous socio-economic development stage in Vietnams history. Vietnam has gained great achievements praised by the world. However, the achievements are still below the expectations of the Vietnamese people.



In the early 1990s, when setting the goal of becoming an industrialized country by 2020, Vietnam was inspired by the success stories of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, which turned into dragons just after three decades.



One of the important factors behind their success was the desire to rise. The nations were determined to do this and they were able to do it.



Meanwhile, some other regional countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have gained certain success, but they just remain small tigers.



As for Vietnam, 2020 is nearing and it is highly possible that the development goals are unattainable. The lack of aspiration and the pressure to reach the goals at any cost are the reasons behind this.



Vietnam has gained great achievements, but morals and beliefs are degrading. The public has a negative outlook about the current situation. The negative outlook is creating a shadow over society. Some individuals in important positions act for their own personal profit and squeeze the national resources.



Vietnam wont be able to develop with such a negative energy source. The most important thing that needs to be done now is to create Vietnamese aspiration, with the belief that Vietnam can do more and more things.



Where is Vietnamese aspiration and how can it be ignited?

Huynh The DuEven after investing lot of monies, customers face several problems while building their ideal investment portfolios, as they have to approach different companies for their different investment plans. The answer to these needs is Oxyzen Financial Advisory & Services (OFAS)  an online Family Investment Account Management (FIAM) company that controls all investments (mutual fund, equities, property, physical assets, loan, insurance and tax advisory) of each client under one login. Cliententire online investment portfolio is managed under Oxyzenfin (website/mobile application: Norton Secured Web pages). At OFAS, our goal is to make it easy for everyone to get access to best-in-class & user-friendly investment management platform without strict account minimums and high fee structures, thus saving them money, time and frustration, professes Madhu Menon, CEO, Oxyzen Financial Advisory & Services.Ahmedabad-based OFAS bestows automated goal-based investing services to people from beginners to professionals, wherein they entail to open account on Oxyzenfin with their personal & PAN/KYC details. Furthermore, users are asked six psychological questions (determine profile: conservative/moderate/

aggressive) which aid the company to understand their profile completely, set their bank mandate and showcase personalized investment plans/schemes according to their goals (via Artificial Intelligence), while easing them to initiate their investment in just a single click. Besides, the investors also get monthly reminders about their loan EMIs and insurance maturity (may/may not be taken on Oxyzenfin) by manually entering their other external investments on the app just for once.



"Our goal is to make it easy for everyone to get access to best-in-class & user-friendly investment management platform without strict account minimums and high fee structures"



Pitching mainly non-agricultural portfolios, this FIAM venture keeps connected everyone in the family with a single login, which is handled by group leader and if required transferred to other members, thereby allowing them to do/control investment without filling any new form under the same login. Apart from providing Online Diversified Financial Services ranging from investment till succession planning (car insurance, health insurance, KVP, NSC and others), OFAS guides budding investors towards the right investment path through paperless activity (Join Virtual; Invest Digital) in just five easy steps. It brings utmost customer delight through services par versatility comprises of 90 percent activities & 10 percent advisory with quick TAT (within five minutes) which differentiates OFAS from other bankers/wealth management companies.



Plug & Play

Understanding customers desire to test & experience the app beforeEFE Latam Videos

Ciudad de Mexico, 12 dic (EFE).- El director argentino Juan Jose Campanella no sabe hablar de otra cosa mas que de politica y religion, y es por eso que eligio lo segundo para hacer "Los enviados", una serie que navega en las contradicciones humanas y que cuestiona la fe, dijo en entrevista con Efe. "(La serie) todo el tiempo esta abriendo puertas, nunca terminas de entender hacia donde va el final y plantea muchas preguntas interesantes como que es la fe?, como podemos aprender de lo que es distinto a nosotros?", contesta en una entrevista con Efe Luis Gerardo Mendez, protagonista. Segun relata Campanella, a el le gusta abordar las ficciones de dos maneras. La primera, contando historias que buscan agradar y la segunda con temas que juegan con la polemica, "Los enviados" nace de su segunda inquietud. La serie sigue la historia de Simon y Pedro, dos sacerdotes, el primero espanol y el segundo mexicano, que viajaran a un pueblo de Mexico encomendados por el Vaticano para verificar si hay alguna explicacion cientifica detras de una serie de acontecimientos misteriosos. Mientras menos se lo esperan, los dos companeros se encontraran con la sospechosa desaparicion del responsable de los supuestos milagros y sin darse cuenta terminaran envueltos en una persecucion policiaca. Simon, interpretado por Miguel Angel Silvestre es un abogado, mientras que Pedro, a quien da vida Luis Gerardo Mendez es un medico. "No son sacerdotes tan atipicos, quiza en la ficcion si, siempre se les toma como el sacerdote perverso o el extremadamente conservador, pero una gran cantidad de sacerdotes no son ni lo uno ni lo otro", cuenta a Efe Campanella. Eso lo constato el acreedor al Oscar en el 2010 manteniendo conversaciones con una gran cantidad de curas para poder llevar a cabo de forma fidedigna a sus personajes, puesto que en la serie tambien explora dudas personales en torno a ellos como que es lo que los lleva a convertirse en personas dedicadas a la fe. "Me gusta la polemica que esta dentro de los mismos sacerdotes, ellos tambien se cuestionan hasta que punto creen en esto?, hasta que punto les sirve creer en esto? o hasta que punto pueden hacer determinados sacrificios?, como la prohibicion a tener su propia familia, que es una necesidad imperiosa", reflexiona el director y creador. La serie estrena sus primeros tres capitulos este domingo por Paramount Plus, en el Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, situacion que no fue decision de Campanella, pero a Luis Gerardo le parece interesante la coincidencia. "Somos un pais muy catolico y es interesante plantearnos estas preguntas", cuenta el actor de "Nosotros los nobles" (2013). UN CLAVADO A CIEGAS Cuando a Mendez le avisaron que habia una posibilidad de ser parte del proyecto de Campanella, el mexicano no lo dudo dos veces. "Es de las pocas veces en mi vida que me he aventado de cabeza sin haber leido (el guion). Tenia muchas ganas de trabajar con Juan Jose", recuerda. Despues, llegaron los capitulos y su emocion fue en crecimiento, pues asegura que nunca habia trabajado un "personaje tan articulado" como el que le presto el autor del "El secreto de tus ojos" (2009). "(Pedro) es un sacerdote que ademas es medico, de entrada me parecia interesante esta contradiccion (...) y por otro lado su nana le enseno tradiciones indigenas de estos dioses y de otras maneras de pensar y eso fue lo que mas me atrapo de la serie", confiesa. Ademas, el mexicano celebra la multiculturalidad que supuso esta serie gracias a la globalizacion. "Podemos tener un proyecto creado por argentinos, pero filmado en Mexico, con un actor espanol. Creo que estas maneras de abordar el trabajo y cosmovisiones generan una chispa especial", cuenta. MAS PAISES La segunda temporada de la serie ya comienza a escribirse y el plan es que Simon y Pedro, viajen a diversos paises para seguir resolviendo enigmas. "La idea es que cada temporada sea un caso y tambien jugar con el folclor y las creencias de cada lugar, empezamos por Mexico que es un lugar quizas el mas rico en su relacion con el mas alla", termina Campanella. (c) Agencia EFESouth Korea's biggest bitcoin exchange was hacked for the second time in less than a year, and this latest incident exposes a major threat to crypto exchanges. | Source: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

Bithumb, the largest bitcoin exchange in South Korea alongside Upbit, has been hacked for around $20 million. The company said that user funds stored in crypto cold storage wallets were not hacked, but corporate funds were moved.

Bithumb Hack Likely an Inside Job

Cold storage wallets refer to offline wallets that are not connected to the internet that major exchanges utilize to eliminate the vulnerability of user funds in potential security breaches.

In a surprising turn of events, Bithumb disclosed that it believes the hack was an inside job and funds might have been moved by individuals associated with the company.

The Bithumb hack comes in about a year since Coincheck, the biggest exchange in Japan, was hacked and less than nine months since Bithumb was last hacked in 2018.

New Threat to Crypto and Bitcoin Exchanges

In its official statement, Bithumb said that the company is conducting intensive investigations with cyber authorities in South Korea, acknowledging the incident as an inside job.Today, women have more choices than before -- from career and leadership opportunities to raising a family or pursuing passions. But, balancing daily life with planning for the future can be challenging, especially when the deck is slightly stacked against us.

Here are three retirement challenges facing women investors, and ways to address them.

1. Impact of pay gap and time away from work. It's important for everyone to invest early and often, but for women the need is even more so. This is due to two main factors: the pay gap and time spent away from the workforce. The pay gap still stands at 20 percent in 2017 according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research and will likely persist for some time. What's more, the pay gap is often magnified as women are pulled away from work to care for loved ones -- be it children, aging parents, an ill spouse or grandkids.

[See: 11 Great Investing Tips for Women]

Time away from work impacts earnings not just in real time, but throughout one's career. The Center for American Progress found that each year out of work can cost a family more than three times the parent's annual salary in lifetime income. Additionally, time out of the workforce often means giving up important retirement benefits like access to a 401(k) and the associated employer match.

What you can do: Start saving (and investing) early. It's important for women to take action -- and the good news is we're seeing it happen. The number of women participating in retirement plans at Nationwide grew 7.54 percent annually between 2012 and 2016, outpacing our overall growth rate of 5.64 percent during same period.

And even more so, it's important for women to start saving, and investing, early. On average, people don't start contributing to their retirement plan until the age of 31, according to 2018 research of the nearly 2.5 million defined contribution plan participants Nationwide serves. This means most are missing out on nearly a decade of savings, asset accumulation and greater compounded returns.

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Many women can benefit from guidance on how to prioritize retirement savings while managing day-to-day expenses and paying off debt. Often, women prioritize paying off student loans first before they start saving for retirement. However, starting to save earlier may help you reach long-term financial goals faster.

Consider a woman with a 10-year, $35,000 student loan that charges 6 percent annualized interest and requires a minimum payment of $390 per month. By repaying an additional $110 above the minimum, for a total of $500 per month, she could save $10,594 in interest payments and cut the payoff period by 1.80 years.

However, if she contributed that additional $110 per month to a retirement account, she can potentially accumulate $16,267 over the 10-year period, assuming a 6 percent investment return -- and would accumulate even more with an employer match.

2. Women face higher health care expenses over their lifetime. As mentioned, it's essential for women to start saving and investing early. One reason why? To help offset health care costs in retirement, which can take a toll on retirement income. According to NRI's 2018 Healthcare and Long-Term Care Survey conducted by Harris Poll, only 30 percent of women aged 50 or older are confident that they will be able to pay for health care expenses beyond what Medicare covers.

What's more, nearly half of recent women retirees (48 percent) also say they are not able to do the things they wanted in retirement, and more than three in five (61 percent) say health problems keep them from living the retirement they expected. Healthcare costs should be a major factor when estimating retirement expenses since they are often costly and unexpected. Women need to plan and understand the factors to prepare.

[See: 10 Long-Term Investing Strategies That Work.]

What you can do: Consider an HSA. The good news is our survey found that more than four in five future retirees (87 percent) are taking action to save for health care costs in retirement. Most commonly, affluent, older adults are building their savings account (59 percent), investing (56 percent), increasing their 401(k) contributions (46 percent) and paying off credit card debt and loans (36 percent).

Although many are saving for health care costs in retirement, few are planning based on specific, personalized cost estimates, and even fewer are using all the resources available to them. While half of employed affluent adults (50 percent) have access to a health savings account through their employer, only 30 percent participate in or contribute to one. Of those that do use HSAs, just 35 percent maximize the triple tax benefits by using their HSA as a long-term savings vehicle for future health care expenses in retirement.

3. Living longer means greater lifelong income needs. The need for a guaranteed income stream is one of the greatest challenges for women in retirement. Only 9 percent of women who are in or nearing retirement can depend on a pension as their primary source of income, according to NRI's 2018 Social Security survey.

In addition, more than half of women nearing retirement (55 percent) will rely on Social Security benefits as their primary source of retirement income, when in reality, it may not be enough. This reveals a major disconnect between what consumers think their Social Security benefit will be and cover.

When it comes to Social Security, it is important to decide when and how to claim retirement benefits. This is especially true for women, who are more likely to negatively impacted if they make the wrong choice.

The amount of your Social Security retirement benefits is largely based on the average of your highest 35 years of earnings. Women face a double threat -- earning less than men and spending more years out of the workforce to serve as caregivers. Consequently, women's Social Security benefits take a hit.

What you can do: Maximize Social Security. To maximize Social Security, wait until your full retirement age to claim benefits. You can begin taking Social Security at age 62 but waiting for your full retirement age (between 66 and 67 depending on the year you were born) helps ensure you will receive the full amount of your benefits. What's more, waiting to claim your benefits until age 70 increases your retirement income even more.

Future women retirees we surveyed expect to begin collecting Social Security at age 66; however, current women retirees told us they actually began taking Social Security at age 62. The gap between when women believe they will begin collecting and the reality of when they actually do highlights the importance of additional sources of retirement income and effective planning.

Preparing for retirement by talking with a financial advisor can help women overcome retirement challenges posed by lack of savings, planning obstacles, health care costs and other complexities. Women are asking for more guidance -- and not just the steps to take, but also the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. They want financial advisors to take the time to help them understand the various scenarios they may face so they can be fully prepared for what lies ahead.

[See: 8 Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor During Volatile Markets.]

Financial advisors can help you balance priorities such as paying down debt and saving for retirement. They can help you use tools like health care costs estimators to better prepare you for challenges you may face in retirement and a Social Security calculator to help you maximize your benefits. Lastly, financial advisors can help you create a balanced portfolio and tax-efficient income plan for retirement.

Disclosures: Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be achieved. This material is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, or rollover any asset, adopt an investment strategy, retain a specific investment manager or use a particular account type. It does not take into account the specific investment objectives, tax and financial condition or particular needs of any specific person. Investors should work with their financial professional to discuss their specific situation. This information is general in nature and is not intended to be tax, legal, accounting or other professional advice. The information provided is based on current laws, which are subject to change at any time, and has not been endorsed by any government agency.





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Announcement is highlight of community celebration of Avistas 130th birthday

SPOKANE, Wash., March 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nearly 200 community leaders joined Avista this week in celebrating the Companys 130th birthday at events in Washington and Idaho where Avista leadership announced a major philanthropic contribution that extends Avistas long, rich tradition of championing the communities it serves.



Our region and our company are human powered, said Scott Morris, chairman and CEO of Avista. To celebrate 130 years of working together to build strong, healthy and vibrant communities, Avista is pleased to announce an investment of more than $7 million that will fund initiatives in our local communities.

Were grateful for the hard work and collaboration of our communities over the years as weve worked side by side to make our communities what they are today. Were pleased to build on our legacy of community stewardship with this contribution that will serve to elevate the great work already being done and expand the possibilities for what we can accomplish together into the future, Morris said.

Working with the communities, Avista will focus on three initiatives:

Homelessness  working to help find solutions to this very complex issue facing communities both large and small Small Town Pride  strengthening communities by solving tough problems, building resilience and continuing to care for neighbors Youth Success  recognizing the many challenges faced by youth today, investing in initiatives to ensure youth can be safe and successful in the classroom and excited for their future

The funding for this $7 million investment does not come from utility rates, but instead comes from shareholders through the various philanthropy programs of Avista.

Through Avistas corporate and foundation giving, the Company infuses the communities across its five-state service area with more than $2.5 million annually.

Each birthday celebration included music provided by local students and a birthday cake, along with the opportunity for participants to mix and mingle, continuing to strengthen relationships that make communities strong.

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About Avista Utilities

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Avista: David Vowels 509-495-7956, david.vowels@avistacorp.com

Avista 24/7 Media Access 509-495-4174(Adds detail, quotes, context)

By Mateus Maia

BRASILIA, March 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's labor market burst back into life in February, adding a net 173,139 payroll jobs in February driven in large part by gains in civil construction and manufacturing of intermediary goods, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Monday.

That was more than double the same month last year, five times the previous month and twice as much as economists in a Reuters poll had forecast.

It will provide welcome relief for President Jair Bolsonaro, who has mostly faced negative economic indicators and seen the economy lose momentum since he took office in January.

"There are signs that the rebound in job growth will be consistent this year," Rogerio Marinho, secretary of social security and labor at the Economy Ministry, told reporters in Brasilia on Monday.

Official unemployment statistics for the month of February will be released on Friday. The last figures showed a rise in the unemployment rate to 12 percent in the three months to January, the first increase in almost a year.

The persistent high degree of slack in the labor market has reflected the wider economy's failure to recover significantly from the 2015-16 recession, economists say. Growing doubts about the progress of pension reform, seen as critical to reviving that recovery, have added to the downbeat sentiment lately.

But the 173,139 jobs created last month blew the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 82,000 jobs out of the water. It was the best result for the month of February since 2014, and the sixth-strongest level of formal job creation for any month since 1992, the Economy Ministry said. (Reporting by Mateus Maia Writing by Jamie McGeever Editing by Susan Thomas)(Adds details from call with analysts)

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, March 29 (Reuters) - JBS SA executives said on Friday the Brazilian meat company will deliver higher earnings in 2019 on strong demand for beef in the United States and Australia as well as growing Chinese demand for various proteins.

Still, first-quarter results will reflect lower cattle availability in the United States due to rains and a severe winter, which affected the company's beef and pork plants, they said.

"The good news is that the price of chicken has already started to climb in the U.S.," Guilherme Cavalcanti, chief financial officer, told analysts. This development should help JBS' Pilgrim's Pride Corp. division, which struggled in 2018.

Management also said that, while swine fever in China is another growth driver for the global company, Asian demand in general was already strong due to the strengthening of the local economies.

"Before speaking about rising demand due to swine fever, an increase of local income had already spurred the prospect for meat sales in the region, especially beef," Chief Executive Officer Gilberto Tomazoni said.

JBS has plants certified to sell meat to China in four Brazilian states and is now developing direct relationships with distributors in the Asian country to by-pass intermediaries, management said.

The company said it may also re-direct some pork production from the United States to China if demand warrants.

JBS shares rose almost 5 percent to 16.21 reais in late morning trading after the results, which could also be bolstered by plans to raise prices at its Seara processed foods division in Brazil to pass-through the higher cost of feed.

JBS on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings that largely missed analysts' estimates, reflecting challenges at its U.S. chicken and pork businesses that were partly offset by the strength of its beef businesses in Brazil and North America.

A sharp drop in financial expenses helped prop up results.

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After selling assets and paying billions of dollars in debt, JBS said it was well positioned to grow organically, citing the possibility of reopening idle plants.

It said it also expects to conclude an internal corruption investigation in the first half of the year, which in theory paves the way for a share listing in the United States.

"JBS continues to pursue a capital structure that best reflects the company's business," Tomazoni said. The company gets 75 percent of its sales from outside of Brazil, where it is currently listed. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by David Gregorio)SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's top market regulator on Friday demanded online platforms police advertisements more closely, marking another effort from the government to clean up "illegal" web content.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), a body under the State Council, issued a public notice calling on local authorities to "seriously investigate" advertisements involving political sensitivities and vulgar content.

Specifically, the body called for increased scrutiny toward advertisements making guarantees or exaggerations about health foods and medicinal products, or promoting "risk-free or guaranteed interest financial investments."

It also called for investigation into advertisements that "create vile impacts on society."

The regulator cited web portals, search engines, e-commerce sites, and small online media outlets as targets.

Online advertisements have been a sore subject for some of China's internet companies.

In 2016, search giant Baidu Inc faced a massive scandal when a student battling cancer died after seeking treatment from a hospital offering a false remedy it advertised on the site.

China's top internet regulator went on to claim that the company's search results "had an impact" on the student's death and demanded it reduce the numbers of paid promotions on its search listings.

Since then, false advertising has remained a perennial subject for China's regulators. In 2017, an editorial in China's People's Daily, a state-backed newspaper, called false advertising a "malignant tumour."

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)Daimler, the sales leader of Class 8 tractor-trailer semis, is taking a majority ownership stake in autonomous vehicle technology firm Torc Robotics.

German automaker Daimler(DAI-DE), the sales leader of Class 8 tractor-trailer semis, is taking a majority ownership stake in U.S. autonomous vehicle technology firm Torc Robotics, Daimler said Friday.

Neither company will disclose how much Daimler plans to invest or what percentage of Torc the German company will own.

"Torc takes a practical approach to commercialization and offers advanced, road-ready technology, plus years of experience in heavy vehicles," said Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, in a statement announcing the deal.

Torc Robotics is one of several firms developing and road testing technology for autonomous trucks. Embark and self-driving truck company TuSimple have drawn plenty of attention and venture capital money as they develop autonomous semis.

Torc, based in Blacksburg, Virginia, was co-founded in 2005 by CEO Michael Fleming who had entered robotic competitions while studying at Virginia Tech. Fourteen years later, Fleming's company is considered by many to be a leader in the rapidly growing field of autonomous vehicles.

In a statement announcing Daimler's investment, Fleming said the U.S. will be a primary target for putting self-driving semi's on highways.

"With the ever rising demand for road transportation, not the least through e-commerce, there is a strong business case for self-driving trucks in the U.S. market," he said. The trucking industry has become a focus of autonomous vehicle development due to several factors including the shortage of truck drivers.FILE PHOTO: A Telecom Italia's control unit for fiber optics is seen in Perugia, Italy, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy is pushing to create a single ultrafast broadband operator by merging Telecom Italia's copper and fiber network with smaller rival Open Fiber to avoid duplicating investments and narrow the digital divide with Europe.

But the future of Telecom Italia's (TIM) network has become a key bone of contention between the phone group's top shareholders, Vivendi and activist fund Elliott.

Elliott wants TIM to spin off its network and merge it with Open Fiber. Vivendi is not opposed to a merger but insists on TIM keeping control of its biggest asset.

Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which co-owns Open Fiber with utility Enel, recently became TIM's No. 2 shareholder to oversee Rome's interest in a company seen as strategic. CDP is keen on the single network project.

The idea to spin off TIM's network has been flirted with multiple times over the last decade and was last seriously attempted in 2013 before it was eventually abandoned.

TIM Chief Executive Luigi Gubitosi said in February all options on the network would be evaluated.

Below are some possible outcomes:

TYING THE KNOT

A merger between TIM's network and Open Fiber would create a near-monopoly for broadband rollout in Italy, but such a move could prove difficult to implement. TIM's network is valued at up to 15 billion euros ($17 billion), analysts say, versus a valuation for newcomer Open Fiber of more than 2 billion euros.

Each day that passes the value of the copper-part of TIM's network loses value as more customers migrate to fiber.

TIM is saddled with more than 25 billion euros of debt and employs around 50,000 people in Italy. Stripping out TIM's network would leave a services stub with a potentially bloated workforce and debt pile that would struggle to compete with leaner rivals.

Elliott said a network spin-off would unleash up to 7 billion euros in hidden value, attract new investors and drive a re-rating of shares -- estimates some critics called optimistic.

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Vivendi does not want TIM to lose control of the network because it is deemed strategic for deployment of fifth-generation (5G) mobile services. Industry regulator AGCOM last year said it was opposed to TIM keeping control of the network as it would still have "a significant competitive advantage".

THE RAB CONUNDRUM

Italy has said it could regulate a potential single network like an energy grid offering state-guaranteed investment returns on a regulated asset base (RAB) model to tempt players on board and create Europe's first RAB-rewarded broadband grid.

Proponents say that because of the massive costs involved in rolling out fiber across the country, operators will require a RAB-like system to guarantee investments and funding.

Critics say such a system is hard to implement since it requires a monopoly and convincing all network players to club assets. Broadband services, unlike energy, are not basic commodities, and customers may choose to opt for cheaper or alternative services, such as mobile Internet, if prices rise.

FIBER ONLY

An alternative could be a merger of Open Fiber with TIM's fiber-only assets which would be a cleaner and simpler fit. Former TIM CEO Amos Genish and Enel CEO Francesco Starace had discussed this option, sources have said.

FRIENDLY COEXISTENCE

Another option is for TIM and Open Fiber to cooperate commercially and carry out co-investments but without going to the altar. Talks in that regard have been ongoing.

One possibility is for Open Fiber to build its network in non-economically viable areas and then rent it to TIM who would channel clients on to the line. In return TIM would give Open Fiber access to its network in mainly urban areas.

($1 = 0.8909 euros)

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Keith Weir)A long-running Facebook bitcoin investment scam is using Australian celebrities to lure and con investors. | Source: Shutterstocl

Fraudsters and Facebook are profiting from scam ads featuring photos of popular Australian TV hosts that convince unwary Aussies to part with their cash and invest in bitcoin.

You might expect this scam on an obscure internet chat room, maybe on the darknet, but nope, con-artists are using the worlds most popular social media platform and one of its biggest ad platforms to do it  and as far as Facebook is concerned its OK by them.

The scammers doctored photos of TV presenters Karl Stefanovic and Waleed Aly in a fictional news segment on popular evening talk show The Project, where Stefanovic tells Aly how much he is making by using Bitcoin Trader.

Facebook profits as Bitcoin scammers

Source: Facebook / Outline

Maximizing the con

After creating fake Facebook pages the scammers pay the social media giant to promote their posts as widely as possible, to maximize views and rip-off as many people as they can.

One of the sponsored posts said:* Offers from Russia, Angola, Australia and Indonesia weigh

* Lower prices attract Indian demand

* Ports return to operations post cyclone in western Australia

By Jessica Jaganathan

SINGAPORE, March 29 (Reuters) - Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) this week fell to their lowest in nearly three years driven by excess supply and lack of buying interest in the region.

Spot prices for May delivery to Northeast Asia (LNG-AS) dropped to $4.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) this week, down 25 cents from the previous week and the lowest since April 22, 2016, Refinitiv data showed.

Offers were plenty with Russia's Sakhalin 2 and Angola LNG plants offering cargoes for April to May, traders said. Australia's new Ichthys project sold at least one cargo for April while Indonesia's Pertamina offered a spot cargo for May and 11 cargoes for May to December, they added.

Shell's Prelude floating LNG platform that recently shipped out its first condensate cargo is also expected to ship out LNG soon, though the specific timeline was not clear, traders said.

Buying interest from North Asia was scarce except for one recent purchase from South Korea's POSCO for a May cargo at about $4.40 per mmBtu, two trade sources said.

Gas inventories in Asia are high and buyers are shunning cargoes and re-directing them to Europe, sources said earlier this week.

Several Chinese companies were reselling cargoes they did not need due to high inventory, two traders said.

The Japan Korea Marker, the benchmark for Asian spot LNG cargoes, has fallen below the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price in the Netherlands, a European benchmark, in an unusual move that is driving cargoes west, traders said.

Gail India sold a U.S. cargo bound for Asia to northwest Europe, as part of optimisation and to take advantage of the price spread, sources said.

However, the low prices are attracting interest from buyers in India, trade sources said.

India's Reliance and Gail (India) were both seeking cargoes for May while Indian Oil Corp and Petronet were also seeking cargoes, they added. Still, limited import capacity in the country could curb their purchase volumes, a trader familiar with the market said.

Story continues

In Western Australia, Dampier and Ashburton ports have re-opened and LNG operations are slowly being ramped up at Woodside Petroleum's Pluto and North West Shelf LNG plants, industry sources said.

The company said earlier this week it had evacuated all personnel from offshore production platforms off Western Australia ahead of Cyclone Veronica, and was operating the North West Shelf LNG and Pluto LNG plants on skeleton staff.

Once the plants are back fully online, supply could further dampen prices, the sources said. (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)Hedge funds and other investment firms run by legendary investors like Israel Englander, Jeffrey Talpins and Ray Dalio are entrusted to manage billions of dollars of accredited investors' money because they are without peer in the resources they use to identify the best investments for their chosen investment horizon. Moreover, they are more willing to invest a greater amount of their resources in small-cap stocks than big brokerage houses, and this is often where they generate their outperformance, which is why we pay particular attention to their best ideas in this space.

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers recently. CLX was in 28 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of December. There were 22 hedge funds in our database with CLX holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that CLX isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.

In the 21st century investors toolkit there are a multitude of indicators investors put to use to size up publicly traded companies. A couple of the most useful indicators are hedge fund and insider trading signals. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a solid amount (see the details here).

Clint Carlson, Carlson Capital

We're going to take a glance at the recent hedge fund action regarding The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX).

Hedge fund activity in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Heading into the first quarter of 2019, a total of 28 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 27% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in CLX over the last 14 quarters. With hedge funds' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

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CLX_mar2019

According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, Cedar Rock Capital, managed by Andy Brown, holds the biggest position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX). Cedar Rock Capital has a $444.5 million position in the stock, comprising 11.9% of its 13F portfolio. On Cedar Rock Capital's heels is Renaissance Technologies, led by Jim Simons, holding a $359.5 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish encompass Cliff Asness's AQR Capital Management, Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson's Adage Capital Management.

Consequently, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, established the most valuable position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX). Carlson Capital had $18.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's Marshall Wace LLP also initiated a $2.8 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Claes Fornell's CSat Investment Advisory, Minhua Zhang's Weld Capital Management, and Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management.

Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX). These stocks are Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN), Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to CLX's market cap.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position WCN,28,677487,-2 TSN,38,1426064,-1 FE,39,3732180,1 KEP,9,44600,5 Average,28.5,1470083,0.75 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 28.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1470 million. That figure was $1027 million in CLX's case. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 15 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 19.7% through March 15th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 6.6 percentage points. Unfortunately CLX wasn't in this group. Hedge funds that bet on CLX were disappointed as the stock returned 4.9% and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks, you should check out the top 15 hedge fund stocks as 13 of these outperformed the market.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

Related ContentIf former Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz were president he would increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

"[I've] been very public from day one, when I said that I thought the president made a big mistake when he had a great opportunity for comprehensive tax reform. And what did he do? He lowered the corporate tax rate to 21%, Schultz said in a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo Finance.

I had CEOs calling me saying, 'Why would you say that as a CEO? We're all going to benefit from that.' And I said, 'Because the answer to that question is, 'Yeah, we may all be benefiting from that, but the American people need to benefit from that.

A life-long Democrat, Schultz no longer recognizes the party he grew up in and now is seriously considering a presidential run as a centrist Independent.

Schultz, who grew up in public housing in the Canarsie neighborhood in Brooklyn and today has an estimated net-worth of $3.7 billion, argues that the tax rate for corporations should be higher, but with an incentive built in for companies to do the right thing for their employees and communities. At the same time, the government needs to do its part.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

"The government in Washington and the president of the United States needs to demonstrate to the American people we're going to raise taxes on the wealthy," Schultz said, adding, "We're going to raise the corporate tax rate to 25%, 26%, whatever it might be. But in order to do that, we're going to demonstrate a level of fiscal responsibility. And one of things we're going to do is we're going to attack the national debt."

As for individual taxes on the wealthy, Schultz believes they should be higher, but didnt provide specific numbers.

"This is not a time in America to give more tax breaks and loopholes to the wealthy," Schultz said. "This is a time in America where the wealthy need to be paying more tax."



Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.Allschwil, Switzerland - March 29, 2019

Idorsia Ltd (IDIA.SW) today issued the formal invitation to the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders on behalf of the Board of Directors. The meeting to approve the Business Report of the year ending December 31, 2018 will be held on Friday May 3, 2019 at 11.00 CEST at the Congress Center, Messe Basel, Switzerland.

Notes to Shareholders

The invitation will be published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt) and distributed to Shareholders by post on April 10, 2019, and is available, together with the Company`s Annual Report and Compensation Report, on www.idorsia.com/agm.

In order to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting, shareholders must be registered in the company`s shareholder register by April 24, 2019 at the latest.

Notes to the editor

Letter from the Chairman

Dear Shareholders,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to Idorsia`s Annual General Meeting 2019 where we will review the progress made by your company in 2018.

In 2018, Idorsia saw advances on all fronts:

We advanced our pipeline, bringing four products into Phase 3 development.

We completed demerger activities, with all core systems now running independently of Actelion.

We appointed a leader to build our commercial organization, thus taking another step forward towards financial sustainability.

We strengthened our cash position so as to be able to run our Phase 3 clinical trials and then take strategic decisions on how best to commercialize our assets.

At the upcoming Annual General Meeting, you will have the opportunity to hear more about these achievements and put them into the context of our strategic priorities for building Idorsia into a one of Europe`s leading biopharmaceutical companies. You can also find a description of our activities in our Annual Report 2018 at: www.idorsia.com/annual-report.

In preparation for the AGM, I would like to give you some context and background on a few of the items we will be discussing and voting on.

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There are going to be some changes to the Board of Directors. David Stout will not be standing for re-election this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank David for his valuable contributions to Idorsia. In his place, the Board of Directors proposes Dr. Mathieu Simon for election to the Board. Dr. Simon is a Senior Advisor at Messier Maris & Associes, an advisory M&A firm and a Venture Partner at BB Pureos Bioventures. Dr. Simon has spent his career in the pharmaceuticals industry, serving increasingly senior roles up to CEO and Chairman of the Board. I am sure Dr. Simon will be an important addition to our Board, as we prepare the company for the successful conclusion of the late-stage clinical development of key assets and move closer to bringing our innovation to patients.

Of course, this preparation requires investment. For every Phase 3 program that is in clinical development there are activities on-going across the company to prepare the comprehensive dossier required by health authorities. Preclinical work, such as toxicology studies, clinical pharmacology work, pharmaceutical development and supply chain management to ensure market launch readiness, not to mention the preparation of the scientific material to explain the unique properties of each product to the prescribers.

We are very lucky to have a several assets worthy of our investment and a great team of professionals who know exactly what it takes to register a drug and market it successfully. We must also ensure financial and strategic flexibility, to this end we will be asking you to approve returning our authorized capital to the same level as before we raised additional capital in 2018.

You will also be voting on the 2018 Compensation Report and on the proposed aggregate maximum amounts of compensation for the Board and for Executive Management. More information on this topic is available in the Appendix to this invitation, where you will see that our approach is fully aligned with Idorsia`s business strategy and our established compensation principles.

Idorsia really did achieve a lot in 2018, and 2019 will be another exciting year as we move closer to the key results and creating long-term value.

I look forward to welcoming you to Idorsia`s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in May.

Best regards,

Jean-Pierre Garnier

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2019

1. Annual Report 2018, Consolidated Financial Statements 2018, Statutory Financial Statements 2018, and Compensation Report 2018

1.1 Approval of Annual Report 2018, Consolidated Financial Statements 2018, and Statutory Financial Statements 2018

1.2 Consultative vote on the Compensation Report 2018

2. Appropriation of available earnings

3. Discharge of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee

4. Extension and increase of existing authorized share capital

5. Board elections

5.1 Re-election of the Board of Directors

5.2 Election of a new Director

5.3 Election of the Chairperson of the Board of Directors

5.4 Election of the Nominating, Governance & Compensation Committee

6. Approval of Board compensation and Executive Committee compensation

6.1 Approval of Board compensation (Non-Executive Directors) for the 2019-2020 term of office

6.2 Approval of Executive Committee compensation 2020

7. Election of the Independent Proxy

8. Election of the statutory auditors

About Idorsia

Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into one of Europe`s leading biopharmaceutical companies, with a strong scientific core.

Headquartered in Switzerland - a biotech-hub of Europe - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery and development of small molecules, to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team, a fully-functional research center, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to bringing R&D efforts to business success.

Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 750 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets.

For further information, please contact

Andrew C. Weiss

Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil

+41 (0) 58 844 10 10

www.idorsia.com

The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company`s business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company`s investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company`s existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

Press Release PDF

AGM 2019







This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients.



The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2240004

The Huobi exchange is based in Singapore and aims to provide users with top customer service and independent crypto analysis. It was founded back in 2013 with a focus on the Asian market, and it currently has offices in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong in addition to the headquarters in Singapore. It also has an office situated in the US, but due to regulation laws in the country, it does state it cannot accept registrations from US citizens. The Huobi exchange is supported on multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS. Huobi exchange registration The registration process for the Huobi exchange is similar to registering with most crypto exchanges. Users are able to register via their mobile or email.

The Huobi exchange is based in Singapore and aims to provide users with top customer service and independent crypto analysis.

It was founded back in 2013 with a focus on the Asian market, and it currently has offices in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong in addition to the headquarters in Singapore.

It also has an office situated in the US, but due to regulation laws in the country, it does state it cannot accept registrations from US citizens.

The Huobi exchange is supported on multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS.

Huobi exchange registration

The registration process for the Huobi exchange is similar to registering with most crypto exchanges.

Users are able to register via their mobile or email. To do so, they will need to provide their country of citizenship and mobile phone number/email address alongside creating a username and password.

Afterwards, users will receive a verification email. Upon verifying their account, they can then purchase crypto using the Chinese yuan, Singapore dollars, or US dollars.

The Huobi exchange also requires users to complete Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering tests to access certain features or receive certain incentives.

These tests are commonplace and mandatory in compliance with relevant regulations. They are used to determine how likely a user is to commit illicit activities such as money laundering.

Trading

Once users are all set up on the site, they can begin trading. Huobi offers similar trading options to other popular exchanges.

To start trading, simply head over to the markets section. In this section, market information is displayed  users can click the star next to a particular cryptocurrency to favourite it.

One trading method users can utilise is limit orders. A limit order is when the trader wants to buy or sell an asset at a specific price. The order will be executed when the designated price has been met.

Story continues

Users also have the option of completing a market order. A market order is when a trader buys or sells at the market price by entering their desired amount.

Like with all exchanges, there is also an order book for users to see real-time trades. For example, if the order book has a wave of red orders flash up on the screen, this indicates many traders have decided to go short or sell that particular cryptocurrency.

Trades in green indicate that traders are going long or buying up a particular cryptocurrency.

There is also a market depth graph which illustrates the cumulative supply or demand at any given buy or sell price. The graph can provide a visual representation of price action which can be customised to show different time periods, for example all-time or the last seven days.

Huobi also gives users the option to draw their own trend lines on the graph. This is a particularly useful tool for traders who are seasoned in understanding support and resistance as well as moving averages.

Support and resistance indicate key levels where price action could hold or break, which ultimately signals long-term movement either upwards or downwards. For example, if the support line of an asset is broken, then it is likely that assets price will continue spiralling downwards.

A moving average can be viewed across 10, 30, or 100 days to name a few. This provides a generalised sense of price action across these designated time periods.

There is also the Huobi Autonomous Digital Asset Exchange option for professional traders which provides access to riskier crypto investments.

The Huobi exchange also facilitates over-the-counter (OTC) trades. OTC deals are exchanges of crypto through a middleman. Fundamentally, a friend selling you 20 worth of Bitcoin is an OTC deal.

As with many exchanges, Huobi does charge fees for trades. On most of the trading pairs offered, the fee for both the maker and the taker is 0.2%.

The Huobi token

The Huobi exchange also has its own native cryptocurrency  known as HT.

The HT token can be purchased through the exchange platform. It is also given to new users as part of reward and loyalty programs.

There is a total supply of 550 million HT, with Huobi buying back a certain percentage as part of its repurchase and destruction plan to help maintain the value of the token.

This is similar to how Binance burns its own native token in a similar process.

HT is an important part of the Huobi ecosystem because it is used in all types of applications in its global business endeavours.

It pays to do research

As an independent publication, we do not recommend any cryptocurrency, project, or exchange in particular, and as such it would be wise to conduct your own research. The crypto space is notoriously volatile and carries substantial risk, so you can never do too much.

Interested in reading more introductions to crypto exchanges? Discover more with our introduction to the Kraken exchange.

The post An introduction to Huobi and its exchange token appeared first on Coin Rivet.March 29 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says it plans to cut the third shift at its Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant where it builds minivans later this year, resulting in the loss of 1,500 jobs. https://tgam.ca/2OBQja4

** Hydro One Limited concluded its eight month search for a new leader on Thursday by announcing B.C. Hydro executive Mark Poweska as the utility's new president and CEO. https://tgam.ca/2Owx7uc

** AIG Insurance Co of Canada, part of American International Group Inc, is exiting the domestic property and casualty insurance business, the latest player to quit the domestic market amid a consolidation trend that's contributing to a rise in insurance rates. https://tgam.ca/2OxwBfl

NATIONAL POST

** Aimia Inc said on Thursday it will cut about one-quarter of its workforce as it charts a new course following the sale of the loyalty program to an Air Canada-led consortium. http://bit.ly/2OuXdh2

** Icelandic budget airline WOW Air said on Thursday it has ceased operations, stranding passengers across two continents. The airlines bankruptcy comes after six months of turbulent negotiations to sell the low-cost carrier. http://bit.ly/2FKCGCw (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is maintaining calls for further investigation into President Trump.

On Thursday, Rep. Schiff continued to berate meetings between Trump 2016 campaign associates and Russians, despite Barrs Mueller report summary.

I think its unethical, I think its unpatriotic, and yes, I think its corrupt and evidence of collusion, Schiff said to his committee colleagues during a hearing.

Former Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz (R) said Schiff should step down as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and his security clearance should be revoked.

I think what [Rep. Schiff] should do is lose his security clearance-- without a security clearance he can't serve on the committee. To lose the trust, albeit on the other side of the aisle, I have never seen, he said during an interview on Trish Regan Primetime Thursday.

Barrs report revealed that Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates conspired or coordinated with Russia.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP

Chaffetz went on to question Schiffs leadership of the House Intelligence Committee, saying, Look at the way the committee operated before, with [Democratic Congressman and former House Intel Committee Chair] Dutch Ruppersberger. We have never had this problem. And look in the Senatewith Mark Warner [Democrat and Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee]. We don't have these problems except with Adam Schiff. I dont think he should be the Chairman, and I dont think he should have a security clearance.

Related ArticlesWhy the U.S. oil sector could reward investors with both returns and yield

Picking winners is getting harder.

In his April issue of Profitable Investing, master income-investor, Neil George noted this market condition, but was quick to point out that good investments are still out there.

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Earnings growth is lower and forecast to remain lower in 2019 but rise for 2020. I see a lot of good prospects for specific industries. But there are some challenges to keeping the general market on the boil  Thats why I continue to recommend plenty of income and defensive investments.

 just like there were during the periods of market malaise or selloffs we saw last year, there are always segments and companies that are not just being successful but which also have stocks that are working.

Today, lets look at one of the sectors Neil is eyeing right now. Its offering investors the potential for growth tomorrow, while rewarding them with healthy dividends today.

Well then reveal one specific company Neil likes which could make a great addition to your portfolio.

***This growth story is happening in our own backyard

With all the excitement and buzz surrounding electric vehicles and solid-state batteries, it can be easy to forget the energy source thats gotten us here 

Oil.

While alternative energy sources will power our world in the decades to come, oil still rules today  and demand for it isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

A significant part of global oil production comes from the oil right here in our backyard  whats called WTI, or West Texas Intermediate crude. (This is different than Brent crude, which originates from oilfields in the North Sea.)

With that background, lets turn to Neil from his April issue:

As Ive been writing over the past year, there are some major developments that favor profitability for U.S. petroleum companies. To start, take a look at the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.

Story continues

Since 2016, the market for U.S. crude oil has gone from a low of $35.70 a barrel to a current level of $59.80 a barrel, for a gain of 67.51%.

Now, just to make sure were all on the same page, the price of WTI fell off a cliff in 2014 as you can see below.

When this happened, it was a dark time for U.S. oil producers. Many couldnt remain profitable at those basement oil prices. But there was a silver lining, which Neil explains:

The much lower crude oil prices in 2014 worked to drive U.S. producers and related companies to increase technology in the fields to drive down recovery costs for crude. This means U.S. companies can pump crude at lower costs now, so their margins are strong at lower market prices.

The thing is, now that U.S. producers can make more money on lower prices, U.S. production has soared by more than 33% since 2016.

Neil tells us that this U.S. production growth, combined with OPECs adherence to promised production cuts means oil prices are in a sweet spot at the moment.

(U.S. production growth and OPECs cuts) will help keep oil prices in a comfortable goldilocks range where petroleum companies can make good money and consumers wont be hit too hard at the pump.



***Even better, the macro situation suggests were going to continue seeing strong crude oil prices

In Neils issue, he points toward several reasons why this is the case.

First, U.S. stockpiles are down. Were at lows not seen since last June. Second, Iran remains under sanctions, with no negotiations in sight. Then theres the chaos in Venezuela. Plus, Saudi Arabia and Russia are past peak production, with the major oil fields in Saudi Arabia actually losing reserves.

At the same time, demand for oil is strong, as Neil explains:

Meanwhile, the globes demand for crude oil remains firmly on the ascent. Even with rising U.S. production and exports, there continue to be supply shortfalls relative to global consumption. The EIA tracks overall supply and consumption and, as the graph below shows, demand has outstripped supply consistently over the past many years. Add in the U.S. drop in stockpiles, and the supply and demand statistics favor strong crude oil prices.

***So, how do we play this goldilocks market?

In our February 27th Digest, we suggested you look at MLPs for broad exposure to this sector. From that issue:

After years of disappointing returns, MLPs appear to be carving out a bottom, potentially setting up for gains and big income distributions  Traditionally, MLPs have been an income investment, offering investors huge yields  often in the ranges of the 7%-9%  However, today, were looking at the potential for both income and significant price appreciation.

That issue referenced the Alerian MLP ETF, which was yielding nearly 8% at the time. As you can see below, AMLP pushed about 5% higher in the weeks after that Digest. Its now trading roughly 3% higher as I write.

Even though a broad ETF is a good way to play this sector, theres one specific company that Neil believes is in a great position to benefit from the additional U.S. oil production  Viper Energy.

From Neil:

Viper Energy is the leading landlord of the petroleum patch, primarily in the Permian Basin. This is the current epicenter of shale oil development in the U.S.

As a landlord, the company doesnt drill or operate a single well. Instead, it leases out its land for exploration and production (E&P) companies for fee income and royalties on the oil and gas that gets pumped out of its land.

This means little capital is needed beyond the land and that the company doesnt have to worry as much about the price fluctuations in oil and gas for its operations. But, of course, the higher the price of crude and natural gas, the higher the royalties it takes in and the higher the income it delivers to investors.

Viper has soared 45% since December 24 of last year. Yet, this doesnt mean the stock is overvalued at this level. Neil tells us that shares are reasonably valued with a price-to-book ratio of 3.2. This is down from over 4.5 times book last year.

Back to Neil:

More important, the underlying book value per share has climbed over the past year by 36.36%, meaning that the underlying value of the book of assets is up and growing  not just the stock price.

Meanwhile, Viper gives investors huge income with a 6.11% dividend yield. Plus, this yield has been climbing over the last three years by an average annual rate of over 37%.

Neil likes Viper up to $38, ideally in a tax-free account.



***The stock market is getting more challenging, but that doesnt mean great opportunities dont exist

If you like Neils take on Viper, he holds a collection of companies with exposure to the growing U.S. oil market  all with healthy dividend yields.You can click here to learn more.

Wrapping up, if you havent looked at U.S. oil producers in a while, take a few minutes to give this sector some attention. Picking winning stocks going forward isnt going to be as easy as its been over the last decade. But fundamental strength in the U.S. oil sector puts the odds more in our favor.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

Compare Brokers

The post The Sector Ripe for Winners appeared first on InvestorPlace.Screen shot from a video showing public defender Julie Chase punched by inmate William L. Green in bond court.

Screen shot from a video showing public defender Julie Chase punched by inmate William L. Green in bond court.



A Florida sheriff says all inmates will now be handcuffed during bond hearings after a public defender was punched in the head. The lawyer's boss calls that an overreaction, and blames the episode on deputies who failed to contain a clearly "psychotic" defendant.



Broward County's newly appointed Sheriff Gregory Tony said the blame lies with the public defender's office, which he said created "lax security" by arguing against the routine handcuffing of defendants who are presumed innocent under law.



Closed-circuit video of Wednesday's jailhouse bond court session shows William Green, 27, attacking public defender Julie Chase from behind in a room crowded with inmates. She was knocked to the ground, stunning almost everyone in the room as well as the judge, who was presiding remotely. Deputies quickly handcuffed Green and cleared the room.



Gordon Weeks, executive chief assistant at the public defender's office, said the attack was preventable. He said Green appeared to be in a "clear psychotic state" at the time, and had been brought for his first appearance before a judge on charges he battered a technician at a mental hospital.



"For our attorney to take the brunt of the failures of law enforcement  is unacceptable," Weeks told the Sun Sentinel. Public defenders have a tough enough job to do without having to worry about defending themselves in the courtroom, he added.



Chase said in a statement Thursday that she had recognized years ago that the criminal justice system is poorly suited to deal with the needs of the mentally ill.



"During the time I have worked as an assistant public defender, our office and Howard Finkelstein, our elected Public Defender, have placed great priority on improving the interaction between the criminal courts and the mentally ill," Chase said. "I know the criminal courts and many law enforcement agencies have followed our office's lead, yet there is still a long way to go."



Weeks said there is no indication Green knew either Chase or the other client. The video shows him sitting with other inmates, holding his chin in his left hand, before suddenly getting up and attacking the lawyer. He never should have been removed from a mental facility equipped to treat his conditions, Weeks said.



"There was a big push to have officers trained to deal with crises, trained to identify folks with mental illnesses, trained to make better decisions about who they were going to arrest, and it seems like going into a hospital to arrest someone who is acting out in a psychotic state, consistent with their psychosis, only seems to transfer the issue to jail," Weeks said.



Tony, who was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Sheriff Scott Israel, said he too is troubled that an inmate would attack an officer of the court, but the answer is more security.



"Although I understand their concern that having deputies standing close to the inmates or having them wear handcuffs or shackles could imply guilt, they must in turn understand that their requests made it possible for this unusual situation to occur," Tony said.FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A400M aircraft flies during a display on the first day of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African state arms company Denel is in talks with Airbus about winding down production of parts for the European planemaker's A400M military aircraft, Denel said on Saturday.

Denel, a cornerstone of South Africa's once mighty defense industry, is battling to emerge from a financial and operational crisis. In February it said it could sell stakes in some divisions as part of a strategy to return to profits within two years.

The company has also been trying to renegotiate onerous contracts and exit parts of its business which are no longer viable, after making a 1.7 billion rand ($117 million) loss in the 2017/18 financial year.

Denel said it was yet to finalize terms with Airbus for the winding down of production for the A400M.

"The two companies agreed that the continued manufacturing of aircraft parts by Denel is no longer sustainable in its current form," Denel said in a statement. "Alternative options are now being considered between the two parties."

Denel will try to minimize the impact on jobs at its Aeronautics division, it added.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by David Holmes)In addition to the fact that limousine travel is very glamorous, it is also the most comfortable trip you can...STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's financial markets minister on Thursday expressed outrage over how Swedbank had handled money laundering allegations against it, saying separately it could put confidence in the financial system at risk.

"I am outraged over how badly Swedbank has handled this matter," Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund told Swedish TV4 in an interview. Swedbank earlier on Thursday sacked its CEO Birgitte Bonnesen.

Bolund told DiTV in a separate interview that firing Bonnesen was not enough.

"They should have cooperated with authorities and instead they have done the complete opposite and that is completely unacceptable. It puts both confidence in Swedbank and the whole financial system at risk - and Sweden's reputation," he said.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)President Donald Trump is doubling down on his latest threats to close all or part of the US border with Mexico President Donald Trump is doubling down on his latest threats to close all or part of the US border with Mexico (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Friday again accused Mexico of failing to curb the flow of migrants illegally entering the US, and threatened to close the border "next week" unless something changes.

Trump's latest tweets ramp up the tension between the neighbors, putting a specific timeframe to his repeated threats to shut the border, one of the busiest in the world.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week," he said.

"This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and 'talk'," he added.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he did not want to be drawn into a confrontation on the issue.

"Donald Trump has his own way of seeing things," he told a crowd of supporters in the eastern city of Poza Rica, where he launched a series of new social programs.

"I want to make it clear that we are not going to fight with the United States government. Peace and love," he said.

But the leftist leader also added: "People in Central America don't have any options, so they set out looking for a way to earn a living. It's a human right. We shouldn't condemn migration."

Earlier, Lopez Obrador reiterated that Mexico is in fact working to fight illegal immigration.

"All this talk of migrant caravans and such is related to politics and the (US) election campaign -- that's why I'm not going to get into it," he told a news conference, prior to Trump's latest tweets on the closing the border.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard answered Trump's tweets with one of his own, saying his country "does not act based on threats."

"We are a great neighbor. Just ask the 1.5 million US citizens who have chosen to call our country home, the largest such community outside the United States," Ebrard said.

Story continues

- Trump's new Mexico-bashing -

Lopez Obrador, an anti-establishment leftist who took office in December, has sought to cultivate a cordial relationship with Trump.

And it appeared to be working -- until this week, when the Republican billionaire returned to the Mexico-bashing of his 2016 campaign, as he launches the run-up to his 2020 re-election bid.

Lopez Obrador wants the US to fund $10 billion in economic development programs for Mexico and Central America to attack the poverty and violence he says are the root causes of migration.

The White House appeared to be listening, sending top advisor and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet Lopez Obrador in Mexico City last week for talks on the subject.

But Trump himself has returned to classic campaign form as the 2020 presidential race heats up in America.

On Thursday, he told a frenzied crowd at a rally in Michigan that the US would "close the damn border" if Mexico did not do more to stem the flow of migrants crossing illegally into the United States.

Lopez Obrador, a folksy populist who knows how to work a crowd himself, responded with a humorous non-response.

"Do you want me to answer him?" he asked his supporters in Poza Rica, drawing a chorus of dissent in response.

"Look at that. The people are wise," he said with a grin.PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  Taking drastic action over illegal immigration, President Donald Trump moved Saturday to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, whose citizens are fleeing north and overwhelming U.S. resources at the southern border.

The State Department notified Congress that it would look to suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations, which have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

Amplified by conservative media, Trump has turned the caravans into the symbol of what he says are the dangers of illegal immigration  a central theme of his midterm campaigning last fall. With the special counsel's Russia probe seemingly behind him, Trump has revived his warnings of the caravans' presence.

Trump also has returned to a previous threat he never carried out  closing the border with Mexico. He brought up that possibility on Friday and revisited it in tweets Saturday, blaming Democrats and Mexico for problems at the border and beyond despite warnings that a closed border could create economic havoc on both sides.

"It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws," Trump tweeted Saturday. "In less than one hour, and then a vote, the problem would be solved. But the Dems don't care about the crime, they don't want any victory for Trump and the Republicans, even if good for USA!'

As far as Mexico's role, he tweeted: "Mexico must use its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA. Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border! This will also help us with stopping the Drug flow from Mexico!"

When reporters asked Trump on Friday what closing the border could entail, he said "it could mean all trade" with Mexico and added, "We will close it for a long time."

Story continues

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new group of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable and suggested a visit to the border within the next two weeks.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke out Saturday against cutting off aid to Central America, declaring that "foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens."

And a group of House Democrats visiting El Salvador denounced the administration's decision to cut aid to the region.

"As we visit El Salvador evaluating the importance of U.S. assistance to Central America to address the root causes of family and child migration, we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region," said the statement from five lawmakers, including Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The President's approach is entirely counterproductive."

The Trump administration has threatened before to scale back or cut off U.S. assistance to Central America. Congress has not approved most of those proposed cuts, however, and a report this year by the Congressional Research Service said any change in that funding would depend on what Congress does.

Short of a widespread border shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under U.S. law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Border officials are also planning to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the border to wait out their immigration cases, said an administration official. The official said right now about 60 migrants per day are returned and officials are hoping to send as many as 300 per day. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about internal plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said. He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way."

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesn't act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have.

Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce in San Diego, said the mere threat of border closures sends the wrong message to businesses in Mexico and may eventually scare companies into turning to Asia for their supply chains.

"I think the impact would be absolutely devastating on so many fronts," said Mier y Teran, whose members rely on the Otay Mesa crossing to bring televisions, medical devices and a wide range of products to the U.S. "In terms of a long-term effect, it's basically shooting yourself in your foot. It's sending out a message to other countries that, 'Don't come because our borders may not work at any time.' That is extremely scary and dangerous."

___

Merchant reported from Houston, Lucey from Washington. Associated Press writers Peter Orsi in Mexico City, Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Colleen Long, Catherine Lucey and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, March 31 (Reuters) - Turks go to the polls on Sunday in local elections that President Tayyip Erdogan has described as a matter of survival for the country.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than 16 years thanks to strong economic growth and supreme campaigning skills, has become the country's most popular, yet also most divisive, leader in modern history.

However, he could be dealt an electoral blow with polls indicating his ruling AK Party (AKP) may lose control of the capital Ankara, and even Istanbul, the country's largest city.

With the economy contracting following a currency crisis last year in which the lira lost more than 30 percent of its value, some voters appeared ready to punish Erdogan who has ruled with an increasingly uncompromising stance.

This week, as authorities again scrambled to shore up the lira, Erdogan cast the country's economic woes as resulting from attacks by the West, saying Turkey would overcome its troubles following Sunday's vote and adding he was "the boss" of the economy.

"The aim behind the increasing attacks towards our country ahead of the elections is to block the road of the big, strong Turkey," Erdogan told one of his six rallies in Istanbul on Saturday.

Sunday's elections, in which Turks will vote for mayors and other local officials across the country, will be the first since Erdogan assumed sweeping presidential powers last year and will be a reckoning for his government, which has come under fire for its economic policies and record on human rights.

Voting starts at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and polls close at 5 p.m., with a clear picture of the winners probably emerging around midnight.

SYMBOLIC BLOW

Defeat in either Ankara or Istanbul would bring to an end a nearly quarter century rule by Erdogan's AKP or its predecessors in those cities and deal a symbolic blow to Turkey's leader.

Ahead of the vote, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Iyi (Good) Party formed an electoral alliance to rival that of the AKP and its nationalist MHP partners.

Story continues

The pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), which Erdogan has accused of links to Kurdish militants, has not made an official alliance and is not fielding candidates for mayor in Istanbul or Ankara, which is likely to benefit the CHP.

The HDP denies links to the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In the days leading up to the vote, Erdogan has held around 100 rallies across the country, speaking 14 times in different districts of Istanbul over the past two days alone and more than four times in Ankara throughout his campaign.

He has described the elections as an existential choice for Turkey, blasting his rivals as terrorist supporters aiming to topple Turkey. He has warned that if the opposition candidate wins in Ankara, residents would "pay a price".

His opponents have denied the accusations and challenged his characterisation of the elections as a matter of survival, saying Erdogan had led the country to its current state.

"What matter of survival? We're electing mayors. What does this have anything to do with the country's survival?" Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the CHP, told a rally in Eskisehir.

With reference to Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu said: "If there is a survival issue in Turkey, it's because of you."

(Editing by Dominic Evans and David Holmes)How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend hours of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of capital and have to conduct due diligence while choosing their next pick. They don't always get it right, but, on average, their stock picks historically generated strong returns after adjusting for known risk factors. With this in mind, lets take a look at the recent hedge fund activity surrounding Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG).

Is Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) an outstanding stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund positions inched up by 3 lately. Our calculations also showed that PEG isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.

So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 32 percentage points since May 2014 through March 12, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.

Story continues

Steve Cohen SAC CAPITAL ADVISORS

We're going to take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG).

How are hedge funds trading Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)?

Heading into the first quarter of 2019, a total of 30 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 11% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards PEG over the last 14 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.

PEG_mar2019

Among these funds, AQR Capital Management held the most valuable stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), which was worth $244.2 million at the end of the third quarter. On the second spot was Millennium Management which amassed $164.1 million worth of shares. Moreover, Adage Capital Management, Zimmer Partners, and Renaissance Technologies were also bullish on Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.

Consequently, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. ExodusPoint Capital, managed by Michael Gelband, created the most valuable position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG). ExodusPoint Capital had $20.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital also made a $11.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PEG positions are Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management, Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group, and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold's LMR Partners.

Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG). These stocks are Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL), and Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (NYSE:TLK). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to PEG's market cap.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TAK,10,97263,10 LUV,40,3809426,-1 WELL,17,483630,-1 TLK,6,111079,2 Average,18.25,1125350,2.5 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1125 million. That figure was $1077 million in PEG's case. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Perusahaan Perseroan (Persero) PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (NYSE:TLK) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed that top 15 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 19.7% through March 15th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 6.6 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on PEG, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 15.7% and outperformed the market as well.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

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* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.FRIB Saturday Morning Physics talk - Is There an End to the Periodic Table of Elements?

Talk details

Talk Abstract

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the formulation of the periodic table created by Dmitry Mendeleev. Accordingly, the United Nations proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. At 150 years old, the table is still growing. In 2016, four new elements were added the periodic table: nihonium, moscovium, tennessine, and oganesson. These elements define the current upper limits of mass and atomic numbers. As such, they carry the potential to transform the way we currently understand nuclear and atomic physics, and chemistry.

All elements with atomic numbers greater than 103 are labeled as superheavy," and are part of a vast, totally unknown territory of these nuclei that scientists are trying to uncover. Questions motivating the search for these systems include: What are the heaviest nuclei and atoms that can exist? Are superheavy systems different from lighter nuclear species? Is there an island of very long-lived nuclei? Can superheavy nuclei be produced in stellar explosions? Questions such as these provide formidable challenges for science. This talk is a part of FRIB Saturday Morning Physics.

Presenter

Witek Nazarewicz

As FRIB Chief Scientist, Witold (Witek) Nazarewicz advises the project director on issues related to science, and articulates FRIBs capabilities to the national and international science community, including potential users. He also ensures that FRIB research programs remain at the cutting edge of the field, address important science questions, and are widely regarded as well-founded, appropriate, and of high scientific impact.

Dr. Nazarewicz is a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor at MSU and a Corporate Fellow Emeritus in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). From 1999-2012 he served as the scientific director of the ORNL Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. Until 2014, he was James McConnell Distinguished Professor in Physics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Professor of Physics, Warsaw University, Poland. He has held several visiting positions, including professorships at Lund University, the University of Cologne, Kyoto University, the University of Liverpool, and Peking University.

Dr. Nazarewicz is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the United Kingdom Institute of Physics, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was named a 2008 Carnegie Centenary Professor by the Carnegie Trust in Scotland, received an Honorary Doctorate from University of the West of Scotland in 2009, and was awarded the 2012 Tom W. Bonner Prize in nuclear physics from the American Physical Society and 2017 G.N. Flerov Prize from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Dr. Nazarewicz authored and edited seven books, is the author of ten review papers and more than 400 refereed publications in scientific journals, with more than 23,000 citations and an h-index of 82. He has given over 280 invited talks at major international conferences and more than 290 invited seminars and colloquia. He has helped organize over eighty meetings and conferences and presently serves on eleven professional national and international committees and editorial boards.Yes, I found a better job

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View ResultsDENVER  Mom loved, and loved is the right word, our Denver neighborhood dominated by 1930s Arts and Crafts bungalows.

Her 2,500-square-foot brick home, two blocks from sprawling Washington Park, reminded her of the house where she was born on the Texas prairie. Nearly every other house resembled our house, giving the neighborhood a consistent, understated, soothing feel.

Please imagine my mothers outrage when, in 1992, a developer ripped down a bungalow a block from her home and constructed a 7,261-square-foot mansion. On later walks through the neighborhood, mom always stopped for a long and scornful gaze at the invasive monster.

I despise that house, mom said, elongating each word in her West Texas drawl.

I was thinking about mom last month while walking through the old neighborhood, which has a decidedly 2019 feel. Every time I return to look at moms house, theres the startling sight of a new empty lot in the neighborhood. Developers buy a lot for a million, or two, rip down the dwelling and pollute the past with a brand-new mansion.

This is the trend in many Denver neighborhoods. For 16 seasons, I covered the Broncos for The Gazette and for each game drove the same route to Mile High. This season, I turned the corner at Irving and 20th and was certain I had somehow gotten lost. For years, the same modest, century-old homes greeted me on 20th Street. On this September day, a slew of freshly constructed condos performed the greeting.

I was on the right street. From January, when one Broncos season ended, to September, when another season began, 20th street had utterly transformed. The past was, yet again, gone.

This tearing down of the past, Im told, is progress. This tearing down has been the norm in Denver for 30 years.

Is the teardown trend heading our way? Is the past in peril in Colorado Springs?

I ate dinner last week with friends from Wisconsin, and they raved about Colorado Springs. The scenery. The Incline. The weather. (They escaped a few hours before Saturdays snowstorm.)

My friends said throngs of young people in Wisconsin all seek the same thing:

To live in Colorado. Some of the throng will arrive in our city.

The Springs has long served as the somewhat sleepy little sibling of Denver. If you think this is a knock on the Springs, please realize its not. Relaxing is superior to racing.

I believe were nearing the end of that era. The Front Range population explosion is ever more fully headed our way, and this wave will carry a long list of benefits for those fortunate enough to dwell here. Soaring prices for our homes. An expanding arts scene. A more diverse range of restaurants.

But theres peril, too. More traffic. More hassles. More racing. Less relaxation.

Venerable Springs neighborhoods blessed with a consistent feel will be threatened by the same teardowns that transformed my old Denver neighborhood, a transformation that left mom with a serious case of the blues.

Dont get me wrong. Denver was, and is, a great American city. My hometown blazes with energy, with a revived downtown and a light rail system that covers a vast expanse of the metro area.

Rough neighborhoods that seemed doomed to remain forever fallen are thriving (with mind-boggling housing prices.)

Leaders in Denver did much right.

But mistakes were mixed in there, too. Those leaders failed to show enough care. At times, they rampaged into the future with no mind for precious slices of the past.

Im with mom. Tearing down our heritage is a mistake, in Denver or the Springs. Old belongs beside old.Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

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Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.NEW YORK  The Rolling Stones are postponing their latest tour so Mick Jagger can receive medical treatment.

The band announced Saturday that Jagger was told by doctors "he cannot go on tour at this time." The band added that Jagger "is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible."

No more details about 75-year-old Jagger's condition were provided.

The band was scheduled to appear at Broncos Stadium in Denver on May 26. They last performed in Denver at the Pepsi Center in 2005.

The Stones' No Filter Tour was expected to start April 20 in Miami. Other stops included Jacksonville, Florida; Houston; the New Orleans Jazz Festival; Pasadena and Santa Clara in California; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Foxborough, Massachusetts; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Chicago; and Ontario, Canada.

Jagger says in the statement he hates letting the fans down but he's "looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can."

Tour promoters AEG Presents and Concerts West advise ticketholders to hold on to their existing tickets because will be valid for the rescheduled dates.Jake Fox is a Springs native and a graduate student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who studies the health effects of climate change.Colorado lawmakers, citing lower revenue forecasts and competing needs, have dramatically reduced proposed funding for the Colorado Water Plan and Colorado River drought work, providing roughly one-third of what Gov. Jared Polis had requested in his budget for this year.

This year, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the agency charged with overseeing the state water plan and developing the Colorado River drought contingency plan, said it would have $30 million to work with as a result of the governors request.

Of that, $20 million would be used to pursue work on a historic, multiyear initiative to find ways to reoperate reservoirs and voluntarily cut back water use to relieve pressure on the drought-stricken Colorado River. The rest would go toward grants to fund entities across the state that are working to implement the Colorado Water Plan.

But lawmakers arent required to honor all budget requests from governors, and Joint Budget Committee members said they would provide just $10 million.

That appropriation leaves intact the $1.7 million the Colorado Water Conservation Board had budgeted this year to do public outreach and technical studies for the drought contingency plan.

The rest, $8.3 million, will be used to fund water plan grants over the next three years and comes in addition to the annual funding toward water plan implementation that the Colorado Water Conservation Board has been providing from its budget.

Even with the reduction, state officials said they are pleased that, for the first time since it was finalized in 2015, general fund money is being dedicated to the water plan.

Polis office said the new general fund allocation is an important step forward.

There is always more work to do, but we are excited the JBC has provided unprecedented general funds to make progress toward the states water plan, the office said in a statement.

Rebecca Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, said the reduction in funds is manageable. The $1.7 million we had expected for this year is still there. And we have $8.3 million for the water plan. With that, we feel like we can still move forward.

Two weeks ago, the Colorado Water Conservation Board formally approved the drought contingency plan effort and expects to begin recruiting people to serve on several public drought work groups this week.

The budget action comes during a critical period in the Colorado River Basin. After several failed attempts, all seven states that share the river for the first time agreed recently to implement a basinwide drought plan in an effort to shore up lakes Powell and Mead, which are less than half full and in danger of reaching critical thresholds that would trigger cutbacks on water available from the river system.

Colorados effort is part of that basinwide initiative. Though this years snows have given some relief, the snow wont bring the reservoirs out of crisis mode, according to forecasts from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The river is critical to Colorados water supply, with roughly half of the supplies for the Denver metro area coming from its annual flows and even larger amounts fueling the states farms.

Colorado water leaders have been pleading with the state to move quickly on the drought contingency plan to ensure there is some protection should Colorado and its neighboring states in the Upper Colorado River Basin be unable to meet legal obligations to deliver water to Arizona, California and Nevada.

This years task is to determine if there is an equitable way to cut back on water use, where and how those cutbacks would occur, how to measure the reductions and how to protect the environment, local economies and the legal rights of water users while the drought plan is in effect. Up to 500,000 acre-feet of the water saved through such efforts, known as demand management, could be stored in Lake Powell via the new seven-state drought agreement.

Despite the need for action, Andy Mueller, general manager of the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District, said the enormity of crafting a statewide demand management plan requires that the state be prudent in data gathering and analysis.

If you do the math on voluntary, compensated demand management, you know it will cost tens of millions of dollars a year to run. That is a frightening concept, but in a complex situation like this, where there are so many multifaceted components, you have to plan.

Financing water projects in Colorado has rarely been easy, particularly in small, rural communities or when there is no clear connection to taxpayers. After finalizing the Colorado Water Plan in 2015, officials estimated the state would need roughly $100 million a year to fully fund it and help close the gap on water shortages the state is likely to face by 2030.

Four years later, though, little progress has been made on securing a permanent funding source, although several nonprofits, such as the Walton Family Foundation, together with the states Interbasin Compact Committee are exploring funding options, including a possible ballot initiative in coming years. The committee represents the states eight major river basins plus the Denver metro area and was involved in the Colorado Water Plans development.Thanks for visiting !

The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy.

We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here.

Thank you for your support!" " For people who have a water allergy, even a simple task like washing their hands is a serious pain point. Medioimages/Photodisc/Thinkstock

When Alexandra Allen was 12, she did what most kids do when they're on a family vacation: She went for a swim in the hotel pool. Unlike most kids, though, Alexandra had a severe reaction to her swim. Her skin broke out in angry, itchy welts just a few short hours after leaving the water.

What began as an ordinary summer day ended in an eventual diagnosis that would change Allen's life. She shelved her dreams of living on a sailboat and working as a marine biologist after discovering she was allergic to water [source: Neporent].

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An allergy to water seems like an improbable condition. After all, water is a chief chemical component in the human body, accounting for at least 60 percent of the average person's weight. Water whisks toxins out of critical organs, ferries nutrients to hungry cells and creates the humid conditions needed for ear, nose and throat health. In short, water is essential to life [source: Mayo Clinic].

In the case of water allergies, only the skin is affected. People with this condition can still safely drink water. It's only when water of any temperature or origin touches the skin that a hypersensitive allergic reaction occurs.

The condition, known as aquagenic urticaria, is called an "allergy" but isn't medically classified as a true allergy. It's actually an allergy-like reaction that belongs to a subset of physical urticaria, a group of conditions characterized by hives or welts that arise from stimulation of the skin.

In the case of aquagenic urticaria, red, swollen, itchy bumps form when water touches the skin. This histamine reaction isn't directed at the water itself, but is most likely a reaction to a water-soluble antigen that stimulates antibodies. Any type of water  distilled, tap or rain  will cause an outbreak almost immediately and can make bathing or getting caught outside in a rainstorm a torturous proposition.

Aquagenic urticaria is so rare that fewer than 100 occurrences have been recorded in medical literature since the first cases were described in 1964. It affects women more than men and most often begins in puberty. It's usually diagnosed by putting the skin into prolonged contact with water. In Allen's case, physicians asked her to soak in a tub of water to diagnose the condition.

The cause of water "allergies" still eludes experts. One theory is that sweat glands could be the culprit. It's possible that sweat glands in certain people produce a toxin that leads to an allergic reaction with water.

While researchers remain unsure of the root cause of the condition, most cases can be treated with antihistamines and controlled by avoiding contact with water as much as possible.

Learn more about allergies in "The Allergy Solution: Unlock the Surprising, Hidden Truth about Why You Are Sick and How to Get Well" by Leo Galland M.D. HowStuffWorks picks related titles based on books we think you'll like. Should you choose to buy one, we'll receive a portion of the sale." " Hospital staff rushes a patient to the emergency room. Sam Edwards/Getty Images

Say you've been in a car accident, or maybe one of your kids has some medical malady that requires a trip to the emergency room. While you're there, you or your child receives less-than-stellar treatment. Maybe you have to wait too long to see the doctor, and the injury or illness gets worse as a result. Maybe your child is given the wrong treatment for an injury, or maybe your symptoms are simply misdiagnosed.

What sort of recourse do you have? Is it the same as if you'd gone to your personal physician and received the same treatment? Can you sue the hospital, or do you just sue the doctor and the other medical personnel who treated you badly? Do you even have a case? Do you need an attorney? Is there anything else besides suing that you can do?

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These are all important questions, and the answers can be very complicated. But to get started, let's take a look first at what constitutes medical mistreatment, or as it's more commonly known, medical malpractice. According to the legal resource Nolo, medical malpractice is when a doctor or other medical professional fails to competently carry out his or her medical duties and harms the patient in the process. That last phrase, "harms the patient," is essential to proving medical malpractice, especially in an emergency room situation.

For example, say you go to the ER with a sore and swollen wrist. X-rays are taken, and the doctor looks at them, diagnoses a sprain, wraps your wrist and sends you home. After a couple of days, you're no better -- in fact, maybe you're a little worse. You go to your personal physician, who looks again at the x-rays and spots a hairline fracture that the ER doctor missed. The doctor puts you in a cast, and in a matter of weeks, you're healed -- good as new. While the ER doc may have been negligent in not seeing the fracture, the truth is that you haven't really suffered any damage. Your recovery may have taken a bit longer, but that's all. In all likelihood, you don't have a case.

Harm to the patient must exist for any medical malpractice allegation, but there are also other requirements. First, you must be able to show a formal doctor-patient relationship exists. You can't overhear some bit of medical advice given to another person in the ER, on the street or at a cocktail party and then sue the doctor after you apply the advice to yourself and something goes wrong. That doctor, whether encountered in an emergency room or at the gym, has no formal relationship with you. The fact that you followed his or her advice is all on you. The doctor may have been talking about ways to treat a completely different illness or injury.

Next, the doctor must have been negligent. Negligence is a legal standard that means your care was not "reasonably skillful and careful." In essence, it means that if another competent physician had looked at the medical facts of your case, he or she would have come to a different conclusion for diagnosis or treatment. This is most often proven with expert medical testimony [source: Boeschen].

Finally, the doctor's negligence must have caused damage -- which is closely related to the concept of harm mentioned earlier. However, damage can involve several other things beyond pain and suffering, including additional costs of treatment because of the additional injury, loss of earning capacity, loss of quality of life and even loss of life. Damages can be difficult to prove, however, if the person was already sick or injured when seeking help. This is another instance where expert medical witnesses are used -- on the patient's side -- to say that the doctor did, in fact, cause additional injury. But keep in mind that the doctor will also call experts to say that the underlying illness or injury caused the damage, rather than the doctor's negligence.

Those are the basics of medical malpractice. Now, let's take a look at how the standards can be different in the ER. Emergency rooms can be fairly chaotic places, with treatment decisions made quickly and often by doctors who aren't familiar with a patient's history. For these reasons, most states have laws granting a bit more leeway to ER doctors and nurses than to other medical professionals.

Patients must prove the same basis for malpractice in the ER as in other cases, such as the existence of a doctor-patient relationship, negligent treatment and harm or injury from the treatment.

The doctor-patient relationship can be established by a single encounter, such as what would occur in an ER. All that must be proven is that the injury or harm occurred during the ER visit with the doctor in question.

The second element, negligent treatment, is different from other claims of medical malpractice. In a medical malpractice suit, a patient must prove two things in order to win: what the accepted standard of care is, and that there was a breach of that standard. In an emergency room, where urgent treatment may have to be given to an unconscious or confused patient, the standard of care is more relaxed than it would be with a doctor who has time to get to know a patient, collect medical history and then consider and discuss with the patient all the available tests and possible ramifications of treatment.

The standard of care is generally presented by expert witnesses, often ER doctors themselves, who testify as to whether the treatment given was competent in the circumstances or if that standard was breached.

Another way that malpractice in the ER can differ from standard malpractice is in the area of informed consent. In general, doctors must inform you of possible complications that may arise from a surgical procedure or medical treatment, up to and including risk of death. Getting your signature on a document that spells out these risks before you have such treatment is called informed consent. And in a standard hospital setting, not getting your informed consent can constitute medical malpractice.

In an emergency, however, informed consent is not always possible. If you've been in an auto accident and arrive at the ER unconscious and with internal injuries, minutes matter. The doctors don't have time to explain the risks of the necessary surgery -- nor do you necessarily have the capacity to understand them. They haven't yet reached your next of kin, so they can't get informed consent. In this case, even if something goes wrong during the surgery, you or your family would not be able to use lack of informed consent as a basis for claiming malpractice.

If you do file suit for malpractice in an ER, the question now is who do you sue -- the doctors, nurses or the hospital itself? An attorney can help you decide. If a doctor or nurse is an employee of the hospital, you may be able to sue the hospital itself. If, however, the caregivers are contractors, you may not be able to recover any money from the hospital itself.

Another option if you're mistreated in the emergency room is mediation or arbitration. This is similar to going to court, but it essentially involves coming to a mutual agreement without having to endure prolonged legal proceedings. Because the hospital and/or the medical professionals who mistreated you or your family member will have attorneys, you'd best be served by talking to one yourself.

The bottom line: If you or a loved one was mistreated in an emergency room, you have legal options, just like you would in any medical malpractice situation. It's the standards, though, may be a bit different. Talk to a lawyer if you believe you have been mistreated and wonder if you have a strong case.A new system launched to keep record of accidents directly in the Nepal Police central database

Nepal Police, on Thursday, officially revealed the Road Accident Information Management System, in an attempt to make traffic police paperless and to keep regular documentation of the accidents in the central database of the Nepal Police headquarters." " A half-demolished house stands in the middle of a newly built road in Zhejiang province, China. Because the owners refused to sell their house, the provincial government built the road around it. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Spite might be one of the world's oldest emotions. For proof, read the "Iliad", the Greek poet Homer's story of the Trojan War, written around the 7th century B.C.E. In it, the Greek king Agamemnon compelled Achilles, his most able warrior, to give him a captured concubine named Briseis.

This angered Achilles so much that he not only refused to fight, he asked his mother, the sea-nymph Thetis, to convince Zeus to let the Trojans win the war for a while.

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But even after the humiliated king offered to give back Briseis, Achilles was unmoved, perhaps because he was enjoying Agamemnon's misery too much. That's when Achilles' spitefulness backfired on him, because his friend Patroklos was killed in battle by the Trojan warrior Hector. This ultimately led to Achilles taking revenge upon Hector, only for Hector's brother, Paris, to kill him with an arrow [source: Reed College].

But hey, even though it cost Achilles his life, he sure did show Agamemnon, didn't he? That's one of the problems with spite. It may feel deliciously satisfying to punish someone we feel has wronged us. But the urge can become so powerful that, if left unchecked by reason, it can spiral to self-destructive extremes.

In a study published in the journal Psychological Assessment in 2014, researchers questioned almost 300 adults about the degree of their desire to get back at others, and compared it to other data about their mental health. The researchers found that spitefulness was associated with a host of undesirable qualities, including aggression, narcissism, and psychopathy [source: Marcus, et al.].

But all the same, it's hard not to admire the sheer ingenuity and determination of the spiteful. And some of their targets probably deserve it. In that spirit, here are 10 noteworthy examples of things done completely out of spite.The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative honored two farm families as Producers of the Year and two families as Producer of the Year Finalists at its 99th Annual Meeting during the Member Recognition Luncheons held this week in Hickory, North Carolina, and York, Pennsylvania.

The Producer of the Year award is a new recognition for the cooperative. According to First Vice President Kevin Satterwhite, We have created this top honor to recognize members who not only achieve high quality milk, but who go above and beyond and demonstrate outstanding overall farm management, environmental sustainability and community engagement.

Producer of the Year for Federal Orders 1 & 33:

Red Sunset Farm, Dave and Marie Graybill

Mifflintown, Pennsylvania

Dave and Marie Graybill operate Red Sunset Farm in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. They milk 58 cows and farm 400 acres, 375 acres of which are crop land and the rest is pasture. The Graybills are first generation farmers and they started their dairying adventure 19 years ago on the rented farm.

One of the reasons I wanted to farm was the lifestyle, to introduce our children to hard work and responsibility, said Marie Graybill. The Graybills have two adult children, daughter Heidi and son Corey.

The Graybills give credit to their employees Brad Diffenderfer who works full time on the farm and part-time milker Kathy Burns, for maintaining a consistent milking routine and keeping the animals well-cared for.

We are about sustainability on our operation. We want healthy plants, healthy animals and we want clean water, said Dave. The Graybills implement all no-till farming, use cover crops and have a voluntary Act 38 nutrient management plan which has been in place since 2011. They installed a manure pit with a leak detection system, a compost facility and buffer strips. To improve groundwater, the Graybills also put in a barnyard runoff system. The Graybills also keep 16 honey bee colonies.

Daves passion for environmental stewardship goes beyond his farm gate. He is active with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and is the chair of the state Farm Bureaus Natural and Environment Resources Committee. This allows me to be at the forefront of understanding whats going on with keeping clean water clean in the Chesapeake Bay, said Dave.

Producer of the Year for Federal Orders 5 & 7:

Winding River Farms, Wes Kent

Weyers Cave, Virginia

Wes Kent, who is a first-generation dairy farmer, started his operation, Winding River Farms in Weyers Cave, Virginia, in 2000. His diversified farm consists of 110 dairy cows that are milked by Lely robotic milkers. Wes also has two poultry houses and raises about 100,000 turkeys each year and an Angus cow-calf herd along with a small feedlot. Wes farms 650 acres of owned and rented ground of corn, alfalfa and hay.

The robotic milkers allow us to have a very stress-free dairy herd and the cows are able to get milked on their own terms and have their own schedule, said Wes. Cows are housed in a composted bedded pack barn. I like the bedded pack for cow comfort reasons, the cows have more freedom and comfort where they lay down, said Wes.

He and his employees, Annie Cekada and Rob Abbot, all make animal care a top priority on the farm. I'm lucky enough to have the best employees Ive had in 18 years right now.

Wes farm is in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and caring for the land and water is very important. The farm has an enhanced nutrient management plan, and Wes uses mostly no-till and plants for cover crops. He makes sure waterways are fenced off and pastures have automatic waterers for the animals.

Ever since I was little, Ive always wanted to farm, said Wes. From routinely shipping quality milk, to focusing on cow care and environmental stewardship, Wes has found the perfect occupation.

Producer of the Year Finalist for Federal Orders 1 & 33:

Steam Valley Farms, The Steel Family

Dover, Ohio

John and Paula Steel of Dover, Ohio, operate Steam Valley Farms. They are the third generation to till the land since Johns grandfather purchased the farm in 1939.

Today John and Paula farm with their two adult sons, Nathan and Clinton. Nathan and Clinton are the fourth generation on the farm. Nathan and his wife Megan have three daughters and Clinton and his wife Kameron have two daughters.

There is nothing better than to get to work with your children and grandchildren. It makes it all worthwhile, Paula said.

The Steels milk 140 cows in a double seven parlor. They farm 250 acres of cropland on which they grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa and grass hay and some wheat for straw. Paula is the primary milker seven days a week. Nathan is the herdsman and oversees the herd health, vet checks, and genetic work. Clinton handles the feeding, crop management and mechanical maintenance.

One of the things Im proud of is the improvements we made in cow comfort, said John. The Steels took out the rubber mats and went to deep bedded sand and have found theyve improved production and cow health as a result from the cow bedding.

Farmers need to be transparent so that people who are consuming our products learn about what we do and why we do it. said John. We would like consumers to know we produce one of natures most healthy products and that we do a good job. We are caretakers of what we have been entrusted and we want to be good stewards, he added.

Producer of the Year Finalist for Federal Orders 5 & 7:

North Point Farm, The Phillips Family

Waynesboro, Virginia

The Phillips Family operate North Point Farm, which consists of three dairies, in Waynesboro, Virginia.

Today four generations are involved in the farm, which has been owned by the family since the 1800s. The Phillips have milked cows for 75 years and have shipped milk to Maryland & Virginia for 55 of those years.

Kevin Phillips along with his three brothers Daniel, Wilmer, Winston own the farm. Kevins niece cares for the calves and his nephew oversees the cow feeding, his son manages the crops and helps feed. Im proud that its still one family running the farm and we are lucky to have multiple working here together, said Kevin Phillips.

Caring for the environment is critical to ensuring the farms future, so the Phillips have a long history of implementing sustainable practices. Since the late 1960s, they have used no-till farming. They closely follow their nutrient management plan and have fenced off most streams.

North Point milks a total of 1,200 cows and farms 3,500 acres. To keep the herd management consistent, they have one manager to oversee all three farms. And the milking protocol is the exact same for all three operations to ensure milk quality.

A cow has no clue what the price of milk is, so if you take care of her, shell take care of you so make her happy at all times, said Kevin.

Congratulations to these outstanding dairy producers.

Each of these four farms has demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement and to advancing dairy sustainability, said Kevin Satterwhite during the award presentation.

Go to Maryland & Virginias website at www.mdvamilk.com to view videos featuring these award-winning farms.

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative is a community of dairy farm families passionate about cultivating dairy goodness and bottling fresh Maola brand milk and dairy products. Founded in 1920, the cooperatives farmers produce three billion pounds of milk a year for consumers and manufacturers worldwide. Our dairy farm families take pride in creating dairy products people crave, operating with passion and integrity, responsibly caring for our resources and providing a rewarding livelihood for our farmers and employees.



IceViking strongly condemns physical attacks and harassment directed towards them.





They are also often victims of the Islamic idea. This is true when it comes to the cruel and tragic treatment of Muslim women and children when it is in accord with the Koran, the example of Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia, which may be applied regardless of where a Muslim male may find himself in the world, whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country.





However, in no way, shape or form should one judge all Muslim men because of what is in Islamic scripture and what constitutes the Islamic law, Sharia.





"Race", ethnicity or basically anything that you are "merely" born with should never be a basis for bigotry and discrimination.





Apostates from Islam have been executed for 1400 years in accord with the Koran and the words and actions of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia.





They should be lovingly helped.





Furthermore, approximately as many as 11,000,000 Muslims may have been killed by other Muslims since 1948.





To quote the website The Religion of Peace (TROP), edited by Glen Roberts:





While it may be safe to say that a true Muslim would not intentionally kill another true Muslim ( 4:92-93 ), the Quran places no such value on the life of a Muslim who is not true. Consider verse 9:73 :

Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, their abode is Hell.

The Arabic for strive hard uses the same root as Jihad - and the context in this sura is holy war (see v. 86 and 91). Thus, there are two distinct classes of people that a true Muslim is to target with harshness: disbelievers and hypocrites.



A disbeliever obviously refers to a non-Muslim, so a "hypocrite" must be a Muslim of some sort. In fact, hypocrites are those who say they believe, but do not act as they should. In other words, they are "Muslims", but not true Muslims. They will go to hell just as unbelievers do, and so, according to the verse, their lives matter for naught.



The same sura says that a hypocrite can be recognized not just by lack of piety (reluctance to follow Sharia), but by fear of death ( 9:56 ), reluctance to fight ( 9:44-45 ) and even friendliness toward non-believers ( 9:67 ). A true Muslim would thus be a pious person who relishes martyrdom, is eager to fight, and shuns non-believers.



Even the Quranic passage that warns against killing "believers" ( 4:88-94 ) is more complicated than it first appears. It never says that a true Muslim is incapable of killing another Muslim, just that it should not be done. In fact, it makes exceptions for the unintentional killing of "believers" in war and mandates the killing of "hypocrites."



Verse 17:33 says, "Do not kill anyone which Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause" . The greatest cause of all is that Islam be superior ( 9:33 ), which is exactly what Islamic terrorists say is their goal. Thus believing Muslims are allowed to be collateral damage in the war on unbelievers.









There is sadly a phenomena that I`ve noticed in Sweden and elsewhere of people using true facts about Islamic doctrine and history as a cover for all sorts of irrational targeting of Muslims, ranging from xenophobia and racism to verbal abuse and physical attacks.





This is strongly condemned by this website and does not in any way serve serious criticism of orthodox Islam and other important work.





It`s also important that one tries to express oneself in a civilized way. Words matter.





In this bloggers humble opinion the root cause of the problem is the ancient doctrine of orthodox Islam.













In simple terms a non-Muslim is a Kafir.





" The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life."





An exact quote, as stated in the writings of Dr. Bill Warner in the article "Kafir" at http://www.politicalislam.com/kafir .





In the perfect Koran (Allah`s direct and literal word as revealed to Mohammed through the angel Jibril), Muslims are told 89 times to emulate Mohammed in all ways (see Koran 33:21 for instance).





Mohammed`s example, the Sunna, is found in the Hadith (stories of what Mohammed said and did) and the Sira (biographies of Mohammed).





Islamic law, Sharia , is directly derived from these unchanging scriptures. It is based on the Koran`s numerous commands to obey Allah and obey the Messenger, that is Mohammed (see Koran 4:59 for instance).









Islam is Sharia. Sharia is Islam.





It is a capital crime for Muslims to deny Sharia in any way.





A Muslim is someone who submits to Islam and submitting to Islam means obeying the Sharia of Allah.





Sharia law includes pronouncements for both Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs).









Islam is a "complete way of life", a "complete code of life", a "complete system of life".





Islam is not just a religion but also a comprehensive ideology.





Islam is a supremacist ideology.





Islam is a totalitarian and imperialistic ideology akin to Communism and Nazism.





Islam is a civilization.

Islamic law, Sharia, is a manual for a civilization.





Islamic law, Sharia, governs every aspect of life.

It has a say about every conceivable human act .





Non-Muslims are morally and legally inferior in Islam. Women are morally and legally inferior in Islam.

























The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS by Robert Spencer is the first one-volume history of jihad in the English language and a great book on the topic.





Allah guarantees Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for him (Koran 9:111).





A hadith depicts a Muslim asking Muhammad: "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." Muhammad replied, "I do not find such a deed." (Bukhari 4.52.44)





Muhammad himself said:

I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah. (Sahih Muslim 30)









Freedom of speech, human rights, democracy, science and human lives are all at stake in the fight against the Islamic Jihad.



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Labour Ministry to allow workers with calling visa to fly out to Malaysia

The labour departures to Malaysia has remained suspended since May last year when the government launched a massive crackdown on various agencies that levied hefty charges on various topics on Malaysia-bound workers.On February 25, 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the United Kingdom (UK) had not properly decolonized its holdings in the Indian Ocean and that it needed to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. This ICJ litigation is part of a larger campaign by a variety of groups including the UN General Assembly (UNGA), dispossessed islanders, island nations and others to wrestle control of the Chagos Archipelago  and the island of Diego Garcia (DGAR)  from the UKs legal control.





Even though the ruling puts the UKs colonial claims to the Chagos in doubt, it is the United States that has the most to lose since it relies upon a long term lease from the UK to support its continued occupation of DGAR  an important and geographically irreplaceable base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.





Virtually every media outlet that covered the case described it as a loss for the UK, although some seemed skeptical that the decision would change behavior since it was a non-binding advisory opinion. The UK Foreign Office asserted that the advisory opinion was not a decision and the defense facilities are vitally important to protect the British people, and others from terrorist threats, organized crime and piracy. Clearly, the British are putting up a stiff upper lip and not inclined to give the ICJ opinion much credence since ICJ advisory opinions are sometimes ignored by major powers





The 1965 ICJ advisory opinion which forbid the actual or threatened use of nuclear weapons, and the 2004 advisory ruling condemning Israels construction of barriers on the West Bank is illegal are examples where these opinions are discounted. And, in this case, the national security interests of two powerful countries would be affected by the loss of the strategic base of DGAR. Given this, is it likely that the current decision will be regarded as interesting but legally irrelevant? Or, is this case something different and where is the US? Lastly, now that the ICJ questioned the legitimacy of continued UK sovereignty over the Chagos, is there a path forward for the UK and the US to retain their operating rights to DGAR while at the same time address the legitimate concerns expressed in the ruling?





Where Does the Decision Put the UK (and US) Legally and Politically?





ICJ cases cannot be understood without historical context. The forced eviction of Chagossian Islanders in 1965-1972 to make way for the US base on Diego Garcia has made its way through courts in the UK  up to and including their Supreme Court  an International Law of the Sea Arbitration and the European Court of Human Rights. The UK governments right to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos has survived all of this litigation, including a formal Arbitral Decision (paragraphs 490-498) that ruled in favor of Mauritius in 2015 that the UKs establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Islands (including DGAR) was improper.





To reach the conclusion that the UK did not respect the reversionary rights of Mauritius to the Chagos, the Tribunal upheld the Landcaster Agreement that was concluded in 1965 between the UK and Colonial Administrators in Mauritius (the Chagos were part of colonial Mauritius) which carried forward once Mauritius became independent in 1968. For its part, the Tribunal criticized the UK for not living up its end of the Landcaster Agreement for not engaging in proper consultation (para 534) with Mauritius prior to establishing an MPA in 2010 and possibly for bad faith for even establishing the MPA (due to Wikkileaks cables). Fortunately for the UK, the decision by the Arbitration Panel never contested whether the UK was entitled to continued use of the Chagos (and DGAR in particular) so long as there was a valid defense purpose.





Incidentally, the Tribunal never cited the UK for bad faith in establishing the MPA but there was contemporaneous press reporting in the UK that the UK had really established the MPA to block/frustrate the Chagossians return rights.





Other cases in the UK Courts and the European Court of Human Rights never dealt with the sovereignty/decolonization decisions. These other actions assessed whether the former Chagossian were paid proper compensation when they were evicted and whether they had rights to resettle on the islands. The UNGA, however, was never satisfied that the UK had the right to detach the Chagos from colonial Mauritius and the UNGA (and the African Union) both issued resolutions in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1980 and 2010 condemning the detachment as contrary to the UKs obligation to fully decolonize. Given this ongoing concern with the UKs continued retention of the Chagos, the UNGA felt obliged to get an ICJ ruling whether the UK had completed the process of decolonization of Mauritius  to include the Chagos.





The fact remains that India has significant and enduring ties to Mauritius and would likely be very amenable to use its good offices to broker some sort of arrangement that could either breathe new life into the Landcaster Agreement or exact specific promises from the UK.





The ICJ could have followed the decision in the 2015 Arbitration and found that the UK had not fully complied with the Landcaster Agreement and then advised the UK that it had to work through the process with the UNGA and Mauritius. However, the ICJ ruled in a nearly unanimous decision that Landcaster Agreement was legally invalid in its entirety and ordered that the UK to bring its occupation to an end. This portion of the decision is interesting because it completely disregarded the findings of the UN Law of the Sea Arbitration Panel and also ignored the fact that successive Mauritian governments had ratified the Landcaster Agreement after gaining independence. The ICJ could have also ruled that the UK government needed to begin to resettle the former Chagos residents in Diego Garcia or some of the associated islands or offered them land somewhere else. But the court applied a meat cleaver to the matter and held that the UK needed to turn the Chagos over to Mauritius under the supervision of the UNGA.





Where Does the Ruling Leave the UK and US?





The ICJ judges are careful to say that their decision does not affect ultimate sovereignty over the Islands, although one must question how the ruling can be interpreted in any other way than an invalidation of the UKs rights to the Chagos Islands. Of course, since the United States basing rights are predicated on a long term lease through 2036, the massive US infrastructure investments in runways, hangers, tracking stations, port facilities, communications facilities, repair facilities, etc., and its ability to occupy DGAR are entirely derivative of the UKs ability to maintain its legal presence.





It is wrong for Washington to simply assume that the UK government will continue to carry the water for the US. Though technically termed a Permanent Joint Operating Base, the UKs complement aboard DGAR is 40-50 military personnel while the American presence is on the order of 2500 military and civilian personnel, although the actual number is higher if one takes into account civilian contractors. Because this base is not associated with a NATO mission, the UK will have a much more difficult time defending its actions internally, since it is based on a bilateral relationship with the US. Since most of the UK military personnel are present on DGAR to only administer the US lease, versus serve an important UK defense or treaty commitment, proponents for preserving the lease cant convincingly argue internally that retention of the territory is important to UK national security. This also makes it more difficult for proponents within the UK to argue for business as usual to keep things as they are, since the Landcaster Agreement states that the UK can only retain the Chagos so long as there is a valid defense purpose.





It is true that DGAR serves a critically important defense need; however, it is mostly a US need. Also, there is a great deal of internal sympathy for the plight of the Chaggosians who emigrated to the UK and there are a few reports that the government has been split on whether carrying the water for the US is worth alienating people at home. To be clear, neither the UNGA nor the ICJ in an advisory opinion can legally compel the UK to do anything. However, the ICJ advisory opinions are binding on other UN agencies (like the UNGA) and there is no doubt that if the UK did not take some action, that would create more political problems for the UK at home and abroad in which the colonial optics are not favorable to the UK. Also, the decision gives the UNGA plenty of fuel to constantly harass the UK with UNGA resolutions or find other ways to seek to hold the UK accountable within the UN system





US Course of Action





Since the US has the greatest amount of risk, the question becomes whether Washington should continue to hitch its wagon to London or strike out in a different direction. In July 2018, this author wrote that India is potentially a critical actor in this overall debate concerning DGAR. On the one hand, the US/India defense relationship continues to flourish. In September, at the so-called 2 plus 2 meetings involving Secretaries of State and Defense and their counterparts, the US and India reaffirmed their strategic partnership on both regional and global issues. There is also the recent designation of India as Major Defense Partner. On the other hand, India voted with UNGA to send the Chagos matter to the ICJ, knowing how important DGAR is to US defense needs.





There is reporting that India welcomes the US presence in the Indian Ocean; however, India probably had no practical political choice but to support the UNGA since the matter, after all, had to do with getting the UK to divest itself of colonial holdings. But the fact remains that India has significant and enduring ties to Mauritius and would likely be very amenable to use its good offices to broker some sort of arrangement that could either breathe new life into the Landcaster Agreement or exact specific promises from the UK.





A new Landcaster Agreement might (a) grant Mauritius access to lands and waters that are not in immediate use for defense purposes; (b) ensure that Mauritius receives either lease payments for the US use of Diego Garcia or some other form(s) of long term tangible economic benefits, such as base operating contracts set aside for Mauritian contractors. Alternatively, India could possibly play a role in helping broker a change in the status of the Chagos in which, perhaps, the UK cedes sovereignty but assumes the role as a Trustee of DGAR on behalf of the Mauritius  and the former Chagossians. That could be coupled with additional benchmarks on how the former Chagossians and Mauritius will be able to gain access to the fisheries, minerals, or to participate in some of the economic activities at DGAR.





There are an infinite number of formulations that could be attempted to pay respect to the ruling  and the anti-colonial aspirations of Mauritius and the dispossessed residents of the Chagos  while at the same time retain a key defense facility. However, pretending that the opinion is advisory and hunkering down seems to be unsustainable for the US and the UK in the long term, especially given the new Indo-Pacific Strategy in which the US is seeking to align itself with India and other Indian Ocean coastal and island nations to confront Chinese political and economic expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. There is no evidence that Mauritius wants the US to leave DGAR, so a process to engage Mauritius in some ways would be in Washingtons long term interests.





The views expressed in this paper are those of the author alone and do not reflect the views of CNA or any of its sponsors.



As of Wednesday, the Washington Post was reporting a death toll of 23, but this seemingly reflected older statements from Iranian government officials. The same day, Voice of America News reported updated figures, via the semi-official Iranian outlet Tasnim News Agency. This nearly doubled the account of civilian deaths, to 44. But even this figure was quickly disputed. In fact, it was disputed a day ahead of time by Iran Human Rights Monitor, which accused Iranian officials of moving quickly to downplay the impact of the flooding, in line with a broader effort to preserve the regimes own security instead of helping flood victims.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran corroborated this description of the regimes response on Wednesday, pointing to specific, early instances of local government officials announcing flood-related deaths as they were identified, only for these statements to later be disputed by the regime in Tehran. On a larger scale, the regimes official figures as of Wednesday had barely reached to one-third the number of victims who were separately identified in Shiraz alone.

Both IHRM and the NCRI agree that upwards of 120 people were killed in that city over the course of about a week. An editorial in Eurasia Review cites the same figure and uses it to illustrate the notion that the regime is preoccupied with concealing the impact of its own mismanagement of the environment and national resources, and with suppressing expressions of dissent or public outrage in the midst of a national crisis.

The NCRI goes further by saying that across the country, the death toll had exceeded 200 as of Wednesday and that government authorities were hiding the real statistics out of fear [of] the peoples anger. This fear is arguably amplified by the recent memory of popular protests, including the nationwide uprising that took place across more than 100 Iranian cities and towns at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. That movement resulted in a series of crackdowns by regime authorities including, notably, on environmental activists whose activities were evidently considered an unwelcome challenge to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Eurasia Review editorial accordingly called attention to the IRGCs role in the ecological degradation of the Iranian countryside, which almost certainly contributed to the severity of the flooding in recent days. Meanwhile, an IranWire video brief highlighted the seeming irony of Iran keeping experts on the environment in prison even as flood ravage the population and the landscape.

Nine such environmentalists were arrested in January and February of last year, and one of them, an Iranian-Canadian professor, Kavous Seyed-Emami, died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. Four of his would-be co-defendants are currently facing a charge of spreading corruption on Earth, which could carry the death penalty. Other arrests have followed, but this initial round also touched upon Kaveh Mandani, then the deputy head of Irans Department of the Environment, who was forced to resign his post upon being released after two days of interrogation. Mandani was reportedly targeted on the basis of his Western education and his former research position at Imperial College London, even though these were the very qualifications that prompted some pro-reform Iranians to invest much of their hope for Irans ecological future in him.

But on account of hardline efforts to purge the regime of persons with even the most casual connections to Western enemy nations, such expertise has been abandoned and a laundry list of environmental issues have remained largely ignored. Another report by Iran Human Rights Monitor explained this trend in the context of the flooding, stating for instance that the reason these natural disasters recur is that non-expert persons are hired to manage the resources of the region.

That same report highlights large-scale and ongoing deforestation as a major contributing factor to the severity of recent flooding, along with dam-building projects headed by the IRGC, which have generally proceeded without environmental impact assessments and have led to neglect of proper maintenance after the fact. The IHRM report also underscores the fact that flooding like that which has taken place over the past two weeks is to a great extent predicable, as well as being manageable and even preventable under the right circumstances.

Of course, one important aspect of those circumstances is proper funding for disaster relief and prevention, and this is sorely lacking in the Islamic Republic. In a testament to the regimes misplaced priorities, IranWire reports that the Iranian governments annual budget for religious propaganda and religious activities is more than 80 times its budget for disaster relief.

The countrys National Disaster Management Organization devotes almost half of its three million dollar budget to payment of employee salaries, leaving less than 700,000 dollars for social welfare and only slightly more for the purchase of relevant goods and services. Meanwhile, the shrine of the Islamic Republics founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, receives roughly twice the annual budget of the NDMO all on its own.

Such figures make a strong case for the conclusion that Tehran could prevent serious flooding or mitigate its effects if it committed the appropriate resources and know-how to doing so. While many reports on the current disaster underscore the sheer volume rain that led to the present conditions  a months worth of rain was dumped on some regions in two days  it bears mentioning that those figures are only unusual by the standards of Iran, most of which receives only about 10 inches of rain per year on average.

Sudden onslaughts of rainfall should be manageable by properly-staffed agencies, provided that they have come to expect the possibility of flooding. On one hand, much of Iran has been gripped by drought over the past several years, and this might have underscored the importance of managing and retaining water flows once rains return. On the other hand, floods are by no means unprecedented in the nations recent history, with 30 people having died just last year in the nations Azerbaijan province.

Yet in absence of preparedness, some Iranian officials have opted to respond to the current disaster by publicly arguing that the issue was simply unforeseeable. Voice of America quoted Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian as saying, These unprecedented floods in our country are because of climate change worldwide. But while it may be true that global warming is contributing to erratic weather patterns in Iran, including long droughts followed by heavy rains, this by no means makes it impossible to anticipate severe weather events, much less to plan for an effective government response when they occur.

In this sense, Ardekanians remarks can easily be judged as being motivated by a desire to absolve his own agency of responsibility, in light of the fact that it is responsible for dams and the nations water supply. Even prior to the latest flooding, public awareness of that departments failings has been high, with protests erupting in a number of regions over the past year to call attention to severe, local water shortages and a nationwide imbalance of national resources.Gender discrimination remains rampant in the legal practices and mainstream policies of the Islamic Republic, where unrelated women and men are barred from occupying the same public spaces, women are forced to cover their hair with traditional hijabs, mens testimony in a courtroom is afforded greater weight that womens, and men are granted almost unlimited authority over matters like divorce.

There has been substantial backlash against these elements of the Iranian system, as evidenced by the Stealthy Freedom social media protest and the Revolution Street demonstrations in which women publicly removed their headscarves and held them over their heads like flags. Meanwhile, the prevalence of womens rights activism has seemingly led certain Iranian politicians to pay lip service to the cause, although reform-minded citizens have rarely proven satisfied with those gestures.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani initially took office in 2013 amidst various promises of reform, some of which touched upon the issue of institutionalized gender discrimination. His commitment was immediately tested amidst international headlines concerning a mixed-gender group of Iranian students who had been arrested for posting a video of themselves dancing together to the Pharrell Williams song, Happy. Although the students were eventually released on bail, Rouhani took no recognizable action on their behalf, deferring to the hardline judiciary while publicly stating only that young Iranians shouldnt be punished too harshly for expressing joy.

Related issues of intermingling between women and men have emerged at various times over the ensuing six years, spanning the transition between Rouhanis first and second term. But his administrations response has never been notably different, even as hardline political rivals affiliated with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have made concerted efforts to reinforce the regimes Islamist identity, including its enforcement of female veiling and its general pattern of gender discrimination.

Rouhanis second electoral victory in 2017 was greeted by guarded optimism in some circles, as reformist supporters expressed hope that he would prove less restrained in the face of a renewed public mandate. Much of this optimism surrounding the matter of his second-term cabinet appointments, more specifically his promise to appoint female minsters, as has never been done in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic. But this promise was not fulfilled, and a handful of women were relegated to lower-level positions. Indeed, all of Rouhanis cabinet appointments were reportedly approved by the supreme leader himself.

The betrayal of this promise was prominently referenced in the NCRI Womens Committees article, which also described the successful hardline opposition to multiple bills that would have diminished certain legal imbalances that strongly favor men. The lack of female cabinet appointees is also a key to the broader point behind the Committees article: that larger numbers of women have assumed office in recent years, but most of them have served a ceremonial or cosmetic function, providing the superficial appearance of greater inclusiveness while doing little to actually affect change for the betterment of the female population.

According to the Committee, this situation was recently acknowledged by Didar News, one of the official websites of the mullahs regime. The article declared, The limited participation of women as parliamentarians or ministerial deputies in the political structure has little impact on changing the legal procedures in favor of women or on improving their social status. And the NCRI followed up on this observation by emphasizing that womens participation is further limited by the fact that most of those who are allowed to serve in government are drawn from very specific backgrounds, leading them to serve affiliated hardline interests to a greater extent than the voting public.

This is not to say that there are no women in Iranian politics who are earnestly focused on trying to secure a better future for their gender. But Irans theocratic system is tightly controlled and dissenting voices are rarely allowed to even seek high office, and even those who do so may be barred from serving at any time, for virtually any reason. In 2016 a woman named Minoo Khaleghi won a race to represent the city of Isfahan in the Iranian parliament. However, before being sworn in, photographs began to circulate purporting to show her not wearing a hijab while traveling abroad. This led the Guardian Council, which vets all candidates, to disqualify her from the seat she had won.

For this and other reasons, Iranian women may be more likely to try to affect change on the social level rather than through a political system that is stacked against them. This is evidenced by the aforementioned Stealthy Freedom and Revolution Street protests, and in a range of other movements and incidents that showcase open defiance of the regimes gender discrimination and its overall efforts to control Iranian culture while staving off anything that is deemed modern or Western.

EFE Agency published a profile of one such movement on Thursday, describing ongoing efforts by womens cultural groups to preserve and promote opera, ballet, and other art forms that do not comport with Tehrans ideological fixation on cultural practices that come only from post-Islamic Iran. As described in the article, these groups tend to operate within the law, which means that they can only present their works to an all-female audience, using an all-female cast, and cannot so much as advertise their performances.

But sometimes even these closely-controlled acts of dissent meet with repression and arbitrary additions to the regimes limitations on womens semi-public behavior. As one example, the EFE profile notes that a choreographed waltz was once censored because authorities took issue with the image of ballerinas spinning on stage.

Such incidents underscore the backlash that has been generated by efforts to test the limits of the regimes restrictions. And these competing tendencies lead to public clashes on a somewhat regular basis. IranWire reported upon one of the latest such incidents last week, noting that two cafes in the city of Bushehr had been shut down by security forces against the backdrop of a festival celebrating traditional, secular Iranian music.

The forced closures were justified by reports that female musicians had been permitted to sing and dance in front of a mixed-gender crowd. This defiance of religious norms also led to performers and organizers receiving threats from vigilante groups affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. But at the same time, the subsequent responses from some participants in the festival underscored the attitude of resistance that drives Iranian women to continue asserting what they see as their rights, even in absence of meaningful political reform.

Dancing is part of this genre of music and nobody has the right to censor it, said one traditional music artist interviewed by IranWire. It is us who are being censored. Why, as a woman, can I not dance and rejoice with my own native music?The latest purge of what Reuters called coordinated inauthentic behavior identified 2,632 pages across Facebook and the Facebook-owned photo-sharing site Instagram. As expected, the vast majority of these false or deceptive pages could be traced back to Russia, but 513 of them were reportedly rooted in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hundreds of Iranian government-backed accounts were removed by Facebook in January, and the ongoing struggle between the platform and its infiltrators underscores the familiar observation that Irans cyberespionage and cyberterrorism capabilities are steadily growing.

This was the message, for instance, of a report release by the web security firm Symantec on Wednesday. As Security Week explained, the firm has been tracking the activities of an Iran-linked cyber-spying group since 2016 and has observed a wide range of attacks on government and private sector entities particularly in the United States and Saudi Arabia but also touching upon a number of other countries. The report explains in some detail the ways in which a group known as APT 33 has sought to install malware and gain remote access to target systems.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg identifies a related group, APT 35, also known as Phosphorus, that has taken separate online actions on behalf of the Islamic Republic in recent months. Highlighting the fact that the fight against those activities is not just being waged by the major social media companies, the report notes that Microsoft recently took control of 99 entire websites that had been used by Phosphorus as part of the coordinated effort to deceive well-connected web users and steal confidential information.

Microsoft representatives explained that traffic to those sites has now been redirected to a security repository, where it will help to develop a more sophisticated understanding of this and other Iranian hacking groups operations. But Symantec and other security experts tend to agree that those operations are still developing as operatives acquire more skills and technical knowledge both through native learning and through the sharing of information with other anti-Western entities.

Meanwhile, national security and geopolitics authorities like Strafor have come to the conclusion that the Iranian regime is substantially committed to the ongoing support of these and other techniques of asymmetrical warfare. In an update to a previous analysis of Iran-US relations, Stratfor explained that Tehran is unlikely to take seriously provocative steps in its foreign policy, despite recent militarist bluster. Fearing the potential of a heavy American response to direct threats, the regime is apparently focused on asymmetrical methods and may be expected to remain so until there is another change of leadership in Washington.

While hacking stands out as one such asymmetrical methods, more traditional global propaganda efforts may serve a similar role. A prominent coalition of democratic opposition to the Iranian regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has suggested that this propaganda can be expected to proliferate unless actively opposed by the international community. This expectation stems not only from the aforementioned fears of Western retaliation but also from a situation of persistent unrest inside the Islamic Republic, which was rocked by the nationwide spread of anti-government protests at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018.

The NCRI issued a press release on Monday celebrating an apparent victory for its efforts to combat the spread of Iranian propaganda, specifically propaganda defaming the Iranian Resistance and the coalitions leading constituent group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran. The statement described the content of a judicial ruling handed down in Germany against Der Spiegel magazine for a February article that conveyed false information and unsubstantiated rumors about a PMOI compound in Albania, where roughly 3,000 of the groups activists settled after being relocated from their embattled residence in Iraq.

The judgment assessed a financial penalty on the magazine and ordered it to remove the offending content from its online publication. It also noted that proper journalistic principles had not been observed regarding the reporting of uncorroborated suspicions. In previous statements, the PMOI and NCRI have provided detailed arguments for those suspicions origin in the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, known agents of which have secured publication in international media over the years, or have been cited as experts in the same.

While the court ruling against Der Spiegel seems to represent a significant development in the area of direct opposition to Irans attempted spread of misinformation, another recent story may be seen as demonstrating similar resistance to the regimes efforts to suppress competing sources of information on a global scale. According to The National, a British broadcasting regulator has effectively rebuffed complaints by the Iranian embassy and other entities regarding a Persian-language television networks coverage of a terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps at a military parade.

The regulator, Ofcom, did not dispute objections to the commentary that had been provided by a spokesperson for a group linked to those who claimed responsibility for the attack. But Ofcom also noted that this commentary was challenged by the networks presenters and was counterbalanced by statements from those who had condemned the attack unreservedly, meaning that the objectionable comments were justified by the context.

The network in question, Iran International, began broadcasting less than a year ago but has already angered Iranian officials, according to The National. But Tehran has a long history of attacking foreign-based news outlets that focus on Iranian events and Iranian affairs, and this arguably supports the networks claim that criticism of its coverage has almost entirely emanated from the Iranian government or its publications or known supporters.

In 2017, the regime made international headlines by freezing the assets of more than 150 individuals who had worked for or contributed to the BBCs Persian service, which is officially banned in the Islamic Republic. The previous year, Iranian authorities arrested an Iranian-British dual national named Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and later sentenced her to five years in prison, apparently on the basis of her having previously been employed by the BBC, even though she did not serve a journalistic role.In 2010, the United States allegedly let Stuxnet loose on Iran. It is a malicious computer worm, or cyberweapon, that ended up causing quite substantial damage to the Iranian regimes nuclear program. The attack resulted in a number of centrifuges failing at its main enrichment facility in the country.

The Iranian regime did not let the attack lie and it launched retaliation attacks on a number of American financial institutions such as Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

At the time of the Stuxnet attack, many experts and analysts claimed that Irans cyber capabilities are significantly inferior compared to the likes of the United States, China and Russia. However, the tide has completely changed and Iran is growing increasingly capable.

U.S. President Donald Trump has cracked down hard on Iran and some of his critics believe that he is trying to force the United States into a war. If this is the case, it is thought that Trump may play the cyberattack card to persuade the sceptics that war is the only option in protecting U.S. national security.

This is what the Bush administration did 16 years ago with the Iraq war.

Whatever happens in this regard, it cannot be ignored that Iran is becoming increasingly sophisticated in several different areas including its ballistic missile and space program. Although it had two failed satellite launches in January and February this year, it is continuing to work on its program.

And it also cannot be ignored that there is the potential of a war in the region being unintentionally initiated. One of the U.S. governments biggest software contractors, Citrix, was hacked by the Iran-linked Iridium hacking group. This may be the start of a serious escalation in cyberattacks that Iran launches and it will be responsible for a further disintegration in relations between Iran and the United States.

The Iranian regimes hackers may also have the capability of gaining useful insight into government defence operations and this is of course something that the Department of Homeland Security cannot underestimate. This really is a threat to national security.

The Iranian regime is running out of options because it is under intense domestic pressure and substantial international pressure. The economic pressure that is being exerted by the United States is taking further options away. This is concerning.

The Iranian regime is already known to be fairly unpredictable and it is this pressure that could force the regime into further unpredictable actions.

Regime change is what the people of Iran want and it is the solution that would bring immediate relief to most in the region and beyond. It is very clear that the regime is not capable of reform or moderation and the international community should not just sit around waiting for something to force it into action.Pranaya SJB Rana is Features Editor for The Kathmandu Post. He was formerly Op-Ed Editor at the Post from 2012-2015. Rana is the author of a collection of short stories, City of Dreams: Stories, from Rupa Publications India.Chinese development agency to aid 15 northern Nepali districts

The Nepal government has permitted the China International Development Cooperation Agency to provide development assistance and create capitals in 15 northern districts of Nepal to meet their developmental needs The 15 districts share a common border with Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.Nepals honey and beekeeping industry is about more than profit

This phenomenon is not confined to Nepal--bees are dying all over the world. Colony collapse, a phenomenon where worker bees vacate a hive and leave behind the queen, has become more frequent. Climate change, destruction of ecosystems and pesticide use have all been cited as reasons but no clear consensus has emerged.

Archana Bhattarai, information and agricultural extension officer at the Beekeeping Development Section in Godavari, handles a hive. Post Photo: Prakash Chandra TimilsenaYour tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

With contributions from Leo Duran

Since 2003, more than 180 bicyclists were killed in collisions on Los Angeles streets-- and the 21 deaths reported last year are tied with 2016 for the most fatalities in that time period.

As the city revamps its Vision Zero street safety initiative, the City Council approved a program on Friday to memorialize some of those victims with new signs.

Once Mayor Eric Garcetti approves it, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation will create an application process for families to request a marker with their loved one's name on it.

The signs will also include "language that broadly promotes motorist-cyclist safety," according to LADOT officials.

(Concept art courtesy LADOT)

"The ideal reaction is to be more cautious, to be aware of the bikes that are in the lane next to them," said District 3 Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the motion.

"More often than not, a lot of these fatalities are caused by drivers being distracted, or drivers going too fast or drifting into the bike lane," he said. "This would be a reminder that they have to share the road, a reminder about bicycle safety, and a reminder that people's lives are at stake."

In an interview with KPCC's Take Two, Blumenfield explained how the idea for the signs was borne out of a tragedy in Woodland Hills last April. On Easter Sunday, 15-year-old Sebastian Montero was struck by a car and killed while riding his bike on Burbank Boulevard.

Blumenfield was in contact with the boy's family, as well as local police officers-- together, they discussed ways to prevent future tragedies.

"I've been to too many of those ghost bike ceremonies, and they're heartbreaking," Blumenfield said.

After one officer, Duke Dao, suggested the idea for the memorial signs, Blumenfield ran with it.

LADOT will post up to 20 signs per year, which the department said will have a lifespan of five to seven years. Family of victims who wish to keep the signs up after that will be required to pay for the new installation, according to LADOT.

READ MORE: In America's 'Worst Bike City,' Laws To Protect Cyclists Are Rarely Enforced

Blumenfield noted that while the signs are an easy, inexpensive attempt to improve street safety, they're no substitute for improving street infrastructure, including adding more bike lanes. More projects like that are planned as part of the city's mission to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries on L.A. streets by 2025.

"It's not an either/or," he said. "This whole initiative is really just a small part of Vision Zero."

Cyclist advocates and Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition members Zachary Rynew and Dana Variano said they're supportive of and encouraged by the program, especially given the muted community outreach from LADOT in recent months.

"The city actually taking a step to kind of build upon this program is a real positive step because it'll give people more of an idea of how our roadways are being used," Rynew said.

"We're very excited that (LADOT) seems to be taking a different approach in this version two of Vision Zero, where they're actually acknowledging the lives lost on the street, largely because of infrastructure that leads to speeding," Variano added. "We need constant reminders that this is an extremely important issue and one that we need to act on fast -- and can act on fast -- to save lives."

UPDATES:

April 1, 2 p.m.: This article was updated with the DMV manual instructions on maintaining 3 feet whkile passing bicycles.

This article was originally published on March 29.New legislation to split civil aviation body slows to crawl

The proposed Integrated Civil Aviation Bill to split the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal into two entitiesa regulatory body and service providerto facilitate stringent enforcement of safety measures has been thrown into uncertainty again.Aid Slow to Come to the Rescue of Mozambicans Adrift Since Idai

Since Cyclone Idai roared into the Mozambican port city of Beira on Mar. 14, devastating losses are mounting exponentially yet international aid has been slow to reach all survivors.

Severe flooding produced by Idais strong winds and heavy rains caused the rivers Pungwe and Buzi to break their banks. In the district of Buzi, thousands clung for their lives on trees and rooftops, as their villages turned into an ocean. Even as the rains have subsided and the waters are receding, the risk of flooding remains, as dams upstream reach full capacity.

At least 656 people have died across three countries, according to local estimates.

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Dire shortages of food, water and other necessities were reported by the head of a South African rescue operation. Around 15,000 people are still missing, Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia said just before last weekend.

But delays in the arrival of assistance were fueling anger and desperation, acknowledged Connor Hartnady, rescue operations task force leader for Rescue South Africa.

There have been three security incidents today, all food related, he told his team, without giving further details.

The U.N. has made an emergency appeal for $282 million for the next three months to help Mozambique start rebuilding their communities.

But help has been coming in dribs and drabs  especially from those with the most resources. U.S. military personnel, for example, were en route to Mozambique on Monday, over a week after the cyclone hit, to assess damage and plan a relief mission aided by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

The Pentagon has authorized AFRICOM to expend up to $6.5 million in relief funds to provide logistics support for up to 10 days. The militarys role will be to assist the U.S. Agency for International Development in the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

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Two Portuguese Airforce C130 transport planes were due to depart Thursday to the region. The first one was taking 35 soldiers, medical personnel and a disaster relief team from the National Republican Guard.

Mozambique is home to thousands of nationals from Portugal. Santos Silva said that 30 of the countrys citizens had not yet been contacted.

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said funds for cyclone victims are starting to come through, including 29 million dollars from the United Kingdom, but this is far exceeded by the need.

Finally, ExxonMobil, which earned $6 billion in quarterly profits from African oil, is donating $300,000 for disaster relief. The devastation has been widespread, the company tweeted, and this funding will help provide relief during a difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.Senior Malian Officers Removed from Posts After Massacre of Fulani Herdsmen

Jihadist groups dislodged from Middle East battlegrounds are reportedly regrouping in West Africa, exploiting longstanding grievances between the Dogon farmers and the Puelh-Fulani nomadic herdsmen of Mali over access to limited supplies of land and water.

This week, a militia in Dogon attire entered Ogossagou, a Fulani village and suspected jihadi hideout at about 4 a.m. and murdered over 100 men, women and children.

The mass killing took place as a delegation from the U.N. Security Council was visiting the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat there. The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, a security source told the French news agency AFP.

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The U.N. Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, Antonio Guterress spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement, late Saturday.

It was the deadliest attack since the end of the 2013 French-led military intervention that drove back jihadist groups who had taken control of northern Mali. But the militants have since regrouped and expanded their presence into central Mali and the neighboring countries.

Last year, hundreds of people died in clashes between Dogon and members of the Fulani group.

Some 4,500 French troops remain based in the wider Sahel, most of them in Mali. The U.S. also has hundreds of troops in the region.

Early this week, the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia was announced. Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that the militia  Dan Nan Ambassagou  which translates as hunters who trust in God, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

The Fulanis have also formed a self-defense group  the Alliance for the Salvation of the Sahel  for protection against armed groups, Human Rights Watch says.

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Malis Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond. Homes carved into the limestone rock and the architecture led to the escarpment being declared a World Heritage Site, 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, Malian President Maiga is due to visit Israel in April in a warming of relations boosted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last month, in a talk with Jewish leaders, the Israeli prime minister declared Israel is returning to Africa. Relations are already restored with Chad and Guinea. w/pix of Malian women protesting massacre of FulanisKenyan Science Teacher Scoops Million Dollar Education Prize

Wearing the plain, floor-length brown robe of a Franciscan brother, Kenyan science teacher Peter Mokaya Tabichi could barely contain his joy upon being named winner of the annual Global Teacher Prize of one million dollars for his work in a rural school with disadvantaged children.

He received the award at a lavish ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I feel great. I cant believe it, the village teacher said as he mounted the podium. He had been chosen from among 10,000 nominations from 179 countries.

Tabichi gives 80 percent of his monthly income to the poor and through dedicated teaching has driven his poorly-resourced school to emerge victorious in a nationwide science competition.

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By making students believe in themselves, enrollment has doubled to 400 over three years, and cases of misbehavior have fallen from 30 per week to just three.

Tabichi teaches science at the Keriko Secondary School in Pwani, in Nakuru County, the Rift Valley, where drought and famine are common.

The school has no library or laboratory and a teacher-student ratio of 58 to one. He plans to use the million dollars from his win to improve the school and feed the poor.

The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, established the for-profit GEMS Education company that runs 55 schools in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.

In March 2011, the foundation partnered with UNESCO for girls education in Lesotho and Kenya, and donated one million dollars to the effort. In September 2011, a further one million was pledged with UNESCO to train 10,000 school principals in India, Ghana, and Kenya. In 2014, the foundations Teacher Training Program committed to train 250,000 teachers within 10 years in under-served communities across the world.

In his acceptance speech, Tabichi told of losing his mother when he was just 11, leaving his father, a primary school teacher, with the job of raising him and his siblings alone.

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Tabichi thanked his father for instilling Christian values in him, then pointed to his dad in the audience, invited him up on stage and handed him the award as the room erupted in applause and cheers.

Now in its fifth year, the prize seeks to celebrate the contribution teachers make to society around the world.L.A. City Council Pres. Herb Wesson Honors Black Panther Oscar Winners Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson honored Academy Award historymakers Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler, who won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, respectively, for their work in Marvel Studios Black Panther and are the first African Americans to win in their categories. Both Carter and Beachler brought their Oscar statuettes to City Hall for the special council presentation.

Wednesdays council presentation continued a month of highlighting, recognizing and celebrating the achievements of women during Womens History Month and follows last months Blacks in Cinema exhibit that paid homage to movies and television shows from the 1970s that featured primarily black casts. In addition, in conjunction with Disney, a mini-art installation featuring 10 ft. images from Black Panther was on display for the public in the City Hall Rotunda.

Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler have not only cracked the glass ceilingtheyve shattered it, said Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson. They are every bit as groundbreaking and inspirational as the film Black Panther and Im proud to be able to honor these modern day vanguards. Even more exciting than their Oscar wins is their continued commitment to making sure that they pave the way for other aspiring blacks in film and television to be able to achieve the same height of success.

ADVERTISEMENTSaturday, March 30, 2019

New York Times (Mar. 28, 2019): Opinion: The Flood of Court Cases That Threaten Abortion, by Linda Greenhouse:

Within the next few weeks, Linda Greenhouse writes, a challenge to Louisianas abortion law will arrive at the Supreme Court as a formal appeal. Louisiana requires that doctors who perform abortions in the state "do the impossible by getting admitting privileges in local hospitals." The law, she writes, is substantially similar to the Texas law the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016, and yet the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit "implausibly upheld the Louisiana law nonetheless."

A majority of the Fifth Circuit is at war with the Supreme Courts abortion precedents, writes Greenhouse, and was even before the Trump administration filled five vacancies on the appeals court. The Trump-appointed judges "clearly understand their marching orders": one of those judges, James C. Ho, wrote in a published opinion on the moral tragedy of abortion, a gratuitous comment that Greenhouse says "served to make him stand out from the crowd."

Meanwhile, Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit began his opinion striking down an Alabama law that criminalizes the procedure most commonly used to terminate a pregnancy in the second trimester: Some Supreme Court justices have been of the view that there is constitutional law and then there is the aberration of constitutional law relating to abortion. If so, what we must apply here is the aberration. In a footnote to his 36-page opinion, Judge Carnes refused to call doctors who perform abortions either doctors or physicians, noting that some people regarded those designations as inapposite, if not oxymoronic in the abortion context. He called them practitioners. He also described the constitutional right to abortion as something the Supreme Court had decided to bestow on women.

Alabama has appealed the decision, Harris v. West Alabama Womens Center, to the Supreme Court, noting in its brief that eight other states have enacted the same law. The justices will consider in mid-April whether to hear the case.

Greenhouse, in her decades of reporting on the federal judiciary, says that she cannot "remember seeing such expressions of outright contempt for the Supreme Court. In this age of norm-collapse, something has been unleashed here."

In another appeal pending before the Supreme Court, this one from Indiana, the Seventh Circuit struck down a law that makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion if the patient wants to terminate her pregnancy because the fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome or any other disability.

In an opinion concurring with the majority decision, Judge Daniel Manion accused the Supreme Court of making abortion a more untouchable right than even the freedom of speech. While the outcome of this case was compelled, he said, it is at least time to downgrade abortion to the same status as actual constitutional rights.

Indianas appeal, Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, arrived at the Supreme Court in October. The justices have taken it up at their private conference eight times and will consider it again at the conference scheduled this Friday.

Greenhouse is most concerned by the recent Sixth Circuit decision, where that court upheld an Ohio law that bars state public health money from going to any organization that performs abortions, namely Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of H.I.V. testing in Cleveland, Akron and Canton. It performs abortions at three of its 27 clinics in the state.

Writing for the court, Judge Jeffrey Sutton found that Planned Parenthood had no right to invoke the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions because while women have a right to obtain abortions, neither Planned Parenthood nor any other abortion provider has the right to perform them.

Greenhouse concludes that she doesnt "know whether Planned Parenthood will appeal the Ohio decision, Planned Parenthood v. Hodges."

"Its received little attention  not surprisingly. As framed by the appeals court, its not the kind of issue that sends culture warriors to the barricades. But theres no chance that the justices will miss its significance. Is it the small-target case they have been waiting for? Could be."

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/reproductive_rights/2019/03/the-flood-of-court-cases-that-threaten-abortion.htmlEvery year, hundreds of pregnant Russian women travel to the United States to give birth.

The reason: The U.S. Constitution gives citizenship to any person born on American soil.

The women pay anywhere from $20,000 to as much as $50,000 to people who take care of their travel documents, hotels and hospital stays, often in Florida.

Their children will be receive rights not available to children born in Russia. The parents may also benefit someday as well.

The Russians are part of the new wave of birth tourists that includes large numbers of women from China and Nigeria.

President Donald Trump has spoken out against the part of the U.S. Constitution that permits birthright citizenship. The president has talked about ending it, but changing the constitution would be very difficult.

There have been few cases of officials arresting operators of birth tourism agencies for violating visa rules or other crimes. But coming to the United States to give birth is legal. Russians who talked to The Associated Press (AP) said they were honest when asking for visas and some showed signed documents with doctors and hospitals.

There are no numbers on how many women travel to the United States to give birth. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated that in 2012, more than 35,000 foreign women entered the U.S. to give birth and then left the country.

The Center for Immigration Studies works for stronger immigration laws.

The number of Russian women is relatively large. Anton Yachmenev sets up such trips for the Miami Care company. He told the AP that about 150 Russian families a year use his service. He added there are 30 similar companies in the area.

With $30,000, we would not be able to buy a (house) for our child or do anything, really. But we could give her freedom. Thats actually really cool, said Olga Zemlyanaya. She gave birth to a daughter three months ago. She was staying in South Florida until her child receives a U.S. passport.

An American passport can prove useful. After the child turns 21 years of age, he or she can ask for a green card for his parents. A green card gives a non-citizen the right to live in the United States.

A U.S. passport also gives the holder more travel possibilities than a Russian one. Americans can make short-term trips to more than 180 countries without a visa, while Russians can go only to about 80 visa-free.

Traveling to the United States on a Russian passport often requires a lot of work to get the visa. It can take months.

Some Russians fear that their ability to travel could be restricted as problems grow between Russia and the west.

 The country might well close its borders. And if that happens, one would at least have a passport of a different country and be able to leave, said Ilya Zhegulev. He works for the Latvia-based Russian website Meduza, which is critical of the Russian government.

Last year, Zhegulev sold two cars to pay for a trip to California for him and his wife so she could give birth to their son.

Trump opposes birthright citizenship, but mostly when it comes to those who cross the U.S. border with Mexico. Last year, the president said he wanted to end birthright citizenship. He has not taken any action to do so.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups say Trump cannot change the constitution with an executive order.

But others, like the Center for Immigration Studies, which wants less immigration, said birthright citizenship is harmful.

We should definitely do everything we can to end it, because it makes a mockery of citizenship, said Mark Krikorian. He is the head of the Center for Immigration Studies.

People from Florida have shown no problem with the arrivals of expectant mothers from Russia.

Zemlyanaya said that even her two nights in the hospital were a treat, like a stay in a good hotel.

She was able to work at home during her stay thanks to the internet, as were the husbands of other women. This way they do not lose any wages while visiting the United States.

Yachmenev said he expects that birth tourism rate among Russians will only grow.

I'm Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

benefit  n. a good or helpful result or effect

tourist  n. someone who travels to a place for pleasure, not for business

mockery  n. to make something, or someone, seem ridiculous or uselessMany years ago, the United States government started a project aimed at proving that nuclear waste can be safely left underground.

The government approved plans to set up a processing center, known as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in the New Mexico desert. The plant received its first shipment of radioactive waste in March of 1999.

Twenty years later, workers have stored more than 12,380 shipments of waste in the plants underground salt caverns.

What is WIPP?

WIPP is the U.S. government's only permanent underground storage area registered to take what is called transuranic waste. The term transuranic means waste made by the nations nuclear weapons program that has only radioactive elements heavier than uranium.

The nuclear waste repository was cut out of an ancient salt formation about eight-tenths of a kilometer below the desert. The idea was that the salt would eventually completely contain the waste.

Peter Swift is a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. He worked on the development of WIPP. He noted that it was "exciting" to work on "what was then going to be the world's first deep-geologic repository for that class of waste." Swift added that "nothing that radioactive had been put that deep underground before. And that's still true 20 years later."

J.R. Stroble is the head of business operations at the Department of Energy's Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. He told the Associated Press that the goal of WIPP is to prevent radioactive waste from reaching "people and the things people need in order to live life on Earth."

Stroble and others in the communities surrounding WIPP strongly believe that the plant is a success. They point to 22 areas around the nation that have been cleaned up because of WIPP's storage capabilities.

One example is Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver, Colorado. It had a history of leaks, spills and other violations.

Problems and Criticism of WIPP

For critics, the success of WIPP is not clear.

Don Hancock works with the Southwest Research and Information Center, a watchdog group. He notes that WIPP is "80 percent through its lifetime, and it has disposed of less than 40 percent of the waste and has cost more than twice as much as it was supposed to."

"How great of a success is that?" he asked.

A 2014 radiation leak at WIPP forced a costly, nearly three-year closure.

More recently, the Department of Energy said it would investigate reports that workers may have been exposed to dangerous chemicals last year.

Hancock says a large problem is that the federal government and nuclear power plants keep producing more waste.

"How much nuclear power waste are we going to create, how much nuclear weapons waste are we going to create?" Hancock asked. He noted the importance of knowing answers to those questions, "so that we can then put our arms around the problem."

I'm John Russell.

Susan Montoya Bryan reported on this story for AP. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

plant  n. the land and machinery needed for operating a business; a center available for service or production

cavern  n. a large opening underground; a cave

watchdog  adj. someone or something that guards against loss of waste

dispose  v. to put in place

repository  n. a place where a large amount of something is stored

expose  v. to make known; to make publicOfficials highlight investment prospects

Nepal has gained political stability and has been following a liberal economic policy by giving momentum to policy reform, so this is the right time for private investors to obtain the maximum possible benefit by investing in the country, government officials and stakeholders said at the third edition of the Nepal Investment Summit that kicked off in Kathmandu on FridayOli pitches Nepal as favourite investment destination

Expressing firm commitment to providing environment conducive to business and protection of foreign investment, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has pitched Nepal as a favourite investment destination.SEE exams in Province 2 suspended

The government has decided to suspend tests of the remaining subjects under the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) examination in Province 2 in the wake of back-to-back question paper leaks.

The agitated students organised protest rallies across the province and burnt tyres at various intersections on Friday in protest of the postponement of the examination. Post PhotoBen White, the chief economic correspondent for POLITICO, will deliver the annual Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Lecture, discussing the lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis.

The event will take place on Tuesday, April 9 at 5 p.m., in room 5C of the Kelly Commons. It is free and open to the general public.

The author of the Morning Money column covering finance and public policy, White joined POLITICO in the fall of 2009. Prior to his time at POLITICO, White served as a Wall Street reporter for The New York Times, where he shared a Society of Business Editors and Writers award for breaking news coverage of the financial crisis.

From 2005 to 2007, White was a Wall Street correspondent and U.S. banking editor at the Financial Times.

White worked at The Washington Post for nine years before joining the Financial Times. He served as national political researcher and research assistant to columnist David S. Broder and later as a Wall Street correspondent.

Ambassador Charles A. Gargano 79 was the United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, former chairman and commissioner of the Empire State Development Corporation, and vice chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was also a member of the Manhattan College board of trustees and in 2009 established the Ambassador Charles A. Gargano 79 Endowed Chair in Global Economics and Finance.

For more information about the Gargano Lecture, contact Donald Gibson, Ph.D., dean of the OMalley School of Business, at 718-862-7440 or dgibson01@manhattan.edu.

John Dove '18, '20MBAStudy: Monkey population threatens heritage sites

Several heritage sites in and outside Kathmandu are under threat due to growing number of monkey population, a study has said.Introducing The Main Index

There are now over 43,000 individual posts here on A Light In The Darkness. They have all been individually added into Main Index categories.



To get the full experience out of A Light In The Darkness and its very extensive library of items, covering virtually all things paranormal, supernatural etc ... we recommend that you flick down the Main Index, which runs down the right hand side of the blog page ... to find the indexed category in which the subject matter you seek is located.



Alternatively, why not use long search bar you will find towards the top of the blog page ...



ENJOY

@alextdaugherty

Donald Trump wants to stop sending disaster aid to Puerto Rico. Senate Democrats are threatening to vote down a $13.5 billion disaster aid bill unless Puerto Rico gets more money.

But Democrats and Republicans from Florida want the bill  which includes $600 million for Puerto Ricos bankrupt nutrition assistance program  to pass as is immediately.

Were talking about hungry kids here, said Rep. Darren Soto, a Puerto Rican Democrat from Central Florida who represents the states largest Puerto Rican community. I realize that in an ideal world we would have more, but I realize theres going to be interplay between the House and the Senate. Theres going to have to be some compromise about this stuff.

The latest Puerto Rico fight, over 18 months after Hurricane Maria made landfall and left tens of thousands without power for months, comes after the president told Republican senators during a private lunch that the U.S. territory was receiving too much disaster aid from the federal government.

Trump claimed Thursday that hes taken better care of Puerto Rico than any man ever.

Senate Democrats are pushing for more money for Puerto Rico and, after Trumps comments, have threatened to vote against a disaster relief bill that could make it to the floor next week. Ten Republicans voted against the bill during an earlier procedural vote and more of them could be spurred to vote against the proposal if they think thats what Trump would prefer.

Id love to have some additional money in the bill, but we dont have the support for it, the president wont sign it, said Sen. Marco Rubio. So we can least get the [nutrition] money taken care of.

More here.Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. If you own rights to any of the images or articles, and do not wish them to appear on this site, please contact Michael-in-Norfolk via e-mail and they will be promptly removed. Michael-in-Norfolk contains links to other Internet sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience and are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information or content in such site has been endorsed or approved by this blog.8 minute read

If you run a business, you might feel like you have a target on your back. Digital information theft is now a bigger threat than physical theft  its the most-reported fraud out there [source: FCC]. Hackers, scammers and identity thieves love to prey on businesses, whether theyre big ones that have lots of money and valuable information or small ones that are comparatively weak and defenseless. The average cost to a company that experienced a security breach in 2014 was $3.5 million, which would devastate most small and midsize businesses [source: Ponemon Institute].

Anyone who wants to do your company harm can infiltrate in a number of ways  through your computer network or your website, using phony emails or other scams to obtain account names, passwords and other sensitive information. It used to be enough to protect the data that existed within the physical walls of your business, but thats no longer sufficient. Many businesses dont even have physical walls anymore: They might exist entirely on the Internet, with employees working independently all over the globe. On top of protecting your own systems, you also have to protect your customers information. And the laptops and smartphones that make our lives easier also present new and challenging security issues.

Being a business owner can be pretty overwhelming in that respect, but there are plenty of steps you can take to protect yourself against ever-present security threats. Some are simple actions you can carry out on your own, and some might require professional help. But dont hesitate to improve your systems and fix weak spots  itll be well worth the time and effort. Here are some tips.

10. Realize That Youre a Target

It isnt possible to defend yourself completely against online attacks, but complacency is probably the No. 1 reason a business becomes a victim of a cybercrime. Many business owners make the mistake of assuming that their company is too puny for hackers to bother with. Hackers are very familiar with this way of thinking  they know that most small businesses arent helmed by information technology experts with an unlimited security budget. They know small usually equals weak and easily exploitable.

So get prepared. There should be one person, whether its a full-time job or not, in charge of network administration, setting up the security systems and staying current on potential threats. Creating a culture of awareness in the company is also important  all employees need to understand how to protect against a cyberattack and how to avoid inadvertently causing one. If youre not sure that everything is secure, hiring a security consultant is never a bad investment. No one is immune from security breaches.

9. Stay Updated and Backed Up

If your computer system has been operating with the same settings since day one, you need to change them. Figuring out default account names and passwords is one of the easiest steps a hacker can take to gain access to your system  its like handing them a free pass. But that has a simple fix.

Operating systems with yesterdays software and security safeguards are also an obvious way in. Its a no-brainer to install the latest browsers, antivirus protection, spam blockers and spyware detection systems, and they can all be set to update automatically. Make sure the operating systems firewall is enabled. Your WiFi network should be secure, encrypted and hidden. All of this provides major protection without much installation and maintenance effort.

Regularly backing up files is another simple but crucial precautionary measure. You need to make sure your business wont be totally devastated if someone or something does infiltrate your systems. This is another task that can (and should) be automated. A weekly update is recommended.

8. Secure Your Site

Your top priority when beefing up your security infrastructure is probably going to be protecting the business itself. You want to ensure that no one can destroy your systems, steal your data or otherwise compromise your business. But you also have to secure your website for the sake of your customers, who submit their personal information through it and trust you to keep it safe.

Hackers exploit flaws in your sites coding and scripting  any weakness can be a route into your system. Experts say that unless a site has been audited by a security team, chances are its rife with weaknesses. Credit card-payment processors are also common targets, so even if your site is ship-shape, your customers are still vulnerable from that angle. For that reason, sometimes its best for small businesses to use a service like PayPal to process payments and protect customer information.

An attack that directly or indirectly targets your customers would be disastrous not only for the customers but also for your company. The public relations catastrophe alone could be enough to ruin the business, not to mention the financial aspect. It could take years for people to trust you again, if ever.

7. Keep an Eye on Your Employees

Were not saying youve hired any shady characters, but employees are a common source of security breaches  60 percent of them occur within the company, according to a survey by the International Data Corporation [source: Staff Monitoring]. For that reason, employees should be given access to only as much sensitive information as they need to do their jobs, and no one person should be able to access all data systems. Employees should be required to get permission before they install any kind of software on their work computers. Lock up laptops when theyre not in use.

Even innocent employees can cause security breaches, so no matter how small your company is, its vital that everyone is trained on all security issues. Require them to have strong passwords. Using the Internet for personal matters can lead to breaks, so make sure to have a very clear email and Internet use policy. Everyone should know to never open attachments or links in unsolicited emails. Require strong passwords that must be changed at least every few months. Your employees should also be aware that an attack doesnt have to be web-based  hackers have been known to impersonate employees on the phone in order to get passwords and account information out of IT help desks.

6. Be Smart About Smartphones

A desktop computer and a landline used to be all we needed for a solid day of work  simple, effective and fairly straightforward in terms of security. But now its a completely different story. Sure, many people do sit at a desk all day, but most of us carry around laptops, tablets, USB drives and smartphones, all of which we might use for both professional and personal reasons. This, clearly, is a security nightmare.

Your company should have an official policy that advocates the separation of work and personal phones, as well as terms of use for business phones. Malware can enter at any point, and networked smartphones are a particularly weak point when theyre used for personal reasons. They might have better security than a purely personal phone, but when one is infected they can all go down.

And then theres the not-insignificant concern of lost smartphones. A lost business phone in the wrong hands could be a complete disaster. At the very least, all phones used to conduct business should have password protection, whole-disk encryption software and a remote lock-and-data-wipe app. That way, you can erase all the information on a lost phone and prevent anyone else from using it.

5. Do Remote Right

The rise of flexible work-from-home policies has been a major trend in recent years, which is generally great for employee morale but not so great in terms of security. Its tricky but obviously crucial to keep up security measures when employees are doing their jobs remotely. The guidelines about smartphones apply here, but you also need to ensure that strong safeguards are in place on all company computers and devices, no matter where the employee is working.

To that end, make sure that anyone who uses the company network from home has a strong firewall system. You should also utilize virtual private network (VPN) software to protect data, encrypt Internet traffic and ensure security on all remote computers. Itll also update software and check for viruses.You can require extra passwords for remote access. Warn employees to avoid connecting to public wireless networks and to never submit sensitive information or perform business transactions on public WiFi.

4. Consider the Cloud

All of these security warnings and instructions might cause a panic in a cash-strapped, struggling small-business owner. Good security is just as important to a 10-person business as it is to a huge corporation, but its a lot to take on. Thats where cloud-based services come in  theyre a godsend to anyone who doesnt have the the funds, time or staff to install and monitor security systems. To get this level of security, you used to have to invest in email and file servers and hire at least one IT staffer or consultant.

Subscribing to a cloud service lets you hand over data-security duties to a company that specializes in handling these things. Its also an easy way for employees to retrieve data remotely, although you should definitely control and limit access to the cloud account. Cloud services can monitor employee Internet use.

But also be aware that you cant just sit back and relax when you have a cloud service  they wont make you invincible. You have to cede a lot of control to a third party and trust them to be reliable, which can be an uneasy proposition. Most experts recommend backing up your data to both a hard drive and the cloud.

3. Manage Your Risk

You can decrease your vulnerability to cybercrime  or at least minimize the damage of an attack  with a few pretty low-tech precautions. They require some time and effort, but you should be able to do it without outside help. First, you need to be aware of all the information that your business contains, from the minor stuff to the valuable records whose loss would be devastating. Record where its stored, exactly who has access to it, if its connected to the Internet (which makes it more vulnerable) and what its value is to you.

Now you should be able to discern what information is in a secure place and what needs to be backed up, encrypted or moved to a safer spot. You might realize, for example, that you want a dedicated, stand-alone computer for your payroll program and banking activities. When youre done, youll have a better handle on the next steps to fully secure your systems.

2. Dispose of Data Safely

When outdated computers are phased out or an employee leaves the company, you cant just throw the equipment into the trash and call it a day. You have to make a concerted effort to completely destroy all the data on that hard drive, whether the computer will eventually be junked or repurposed for another employee. Otherwise, youll always wonder if that information could come back to haunt you someday.

Manually dragging files to the desktop recycling bin wont cut it, and bashing the thing with a hammer, a la Office Space, probably isnt the most professional option. Experts recommend a one-two punch: wiping or degaussing combined with physical destruction via a hard-drive shredder or crusher. Wiping software replaces all the information on the drive with gobbledygook characters. The degaussing process demagnetizes the hard drive, rendering it completely useless. Not as much fun as smashing it to smithereens but much more effective.

1. Respond and Report

In the event that your company does experience a cyberattack, waste no time responding. Quarantine the equipment that might have been infected, and clean it out. Notify business partners and contacts who might have been indirectly affected by the attack. Figure out if any of your customers payment information has been compromised. If you dont have IT staff, you should definitely hire a professional to analyze the problem and resecure your system.

You also need to report the incident immediately to local authorities, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and possibly the FBI. You might want to just forge ahead and put the whole ordeal behind you, but reporting the crime will protect you and other businesses from further attacks. Itll help law enforcement gain clues about the perpetrators and how they operate. They might not be brought to justice immediately  or ever  but its an important step.Tea with a twist

Time doesnt go from January to December or from noon to midnight You know we all just make it that way in our heads" " An Ikea employee displays the the company's vegetarian meatballs, during a worldwide launch at Ikea Anderlecht in Belgium, on April 8, 2015. EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

The cultural phenomenon that is Ikea can hardly be thought of as just another furniture store. In fact, furniture is just one part of the equation that draws people from far and wide to shop, at the uber-popular retailer. In this episode of Part-Time Genius, "Why is IKEA obsessed with building a better meatball?", hosts Will Pearson and Mangesh (Mango) Hattikudur share little-known tidbits of Ikea trivia bound to surprise even the most enthusiastic patron.

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1. The Meatballs Are So Cheap They'll Change Your Mind-set.

Those meatballs are more than just yummy in your tummy. In fact, they, along with the other super-cheap food options available in the cafe, are "framing devices" to clue you in on the store's value potential. "So, shoppers think, 'If Ikea's giving me this hot dog at cost, they've gotta be doing the same for the furniture,'" Mango says. The cafes are also great for giving indecisive couples time to figure out what to get. And since no one wants to shop hungry, having food on the spot gives you one less reason to leave the vast store. Meatballs are a metaphor for the Ikea philosophy: The company consistently tweaks its best-selling products to make them cheaper. If they can't do that, they often kill off the products. (Meatballs are in no danger there.)

2. The Store Is Like a Lazy River.

Ikea stores are designed to have shoppers walk through the entire space from start to check-out. "The whole store is intended to be this lazy river that pulls you along and every 50 feet or so there's a curve in the path because there's always supposed to be something enticing hiding right around the corner," Will notes. If you're crunched for time and just looking to scope out a couple of items, this can obviously be a deterrent. Thankfully, there are hidden shortcuts that allow you to skip through sections, a feature that Mango likens to one of those level-skipping pipes in Super Mario Bros. "Those passageways are mostly there to be helpful for workers, but they're also there in case of emergencies, and as long as the door doesn't say 'Employees Only,' Ikea won't really hassle you about poking around," Mango says.

3. Stores Have an "Open the Wallet" Section.

Shoppers might head to Ikea for a bookcase or couch, but they rarely leave with just those purchases. In fact, impulse buys are a major component of Ikea's success, and the last section of the store before checkout is known as the "Open the Wallet" section. "That's where all the things you need but would never come to Ikea specifically for, they're waiting for you right there," says Will -- like a plastic picnic plate. "It's at such steep discounts that you just can't resist," he adds.

4. Air Is the Enemy.

A thousand jokes have been launched about the difficulties of putting together Ikea furniture. But those flat pack boxes are partly why the company is so profitable. Ikea didn't always have them. Back in the 1950s, Gillis Lundgren, an industrial designer who worked at the company, was trying to send a leaf-shaped table to a photo shoot. It wouldn't fit in his car so he took off the legs and inspiration hit: Why not make all the furniture self-assembled? Those flat pack boxes (with little wasted air inside) do a lot for the bottom line. They transfer cost of assembly to buyer. They allow Ikea to keep a lot more furniture in stock, and they make this furniture much easier to transport. Ikea can ship 10 times more bookcases or desks as the competition for the same spend on gas, notes Will. Not to mention, one study showed you place a disproportionately higher value on furniture you've assembled yourself.

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5. The Brand Is Way, Way Bigger Than You Thought.

Ikea uses a whopping 1 percent of the world's wood to make its furniture, and 626 million people around the world "became environmentalists" when Ikea stopped carrying incandescent light bulbs. The store even helps to increase Europe's population. "People always mention how one out of every 10 Europeans was conceived on an Ikea bed," Will says. Indeed, Mango notes that Ikea beds have been referred to as the "literal cradle of humanity."

To learn more about Ikea  including its secretive founder Ingvar Kamprad  download "Why is IKEA obsessed with building a better meatball?".

Now That's Cool You don't even have to be physically in an Ikea to enjoy their meatballs. Buy them frozen, then try out this smorgasbord of recipes.MTN Group released its Integrated Report for the year ended 31 December 2018 this week, which included a remuneration section.

This part of the report contains information on how much MTNs executives get paid  including MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter.

Shuter took home a total package of R42.9 million in 2018, which was made up of a R15.2-million salary, a R25.2-million bonus, and other benefits.

Looking at South Africa, MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa was also well rewarded: taking home a R6.8-million salary, a R5.6-million bonus, and R10.1 million in other benefits.

Average South African

While many South Africans may complain about the high salaries of these executives, the responsibilities they hold and the targets put before them are exponentially more strenuous than a normal 9-to-5 job.

In MTN South Africa, for example, the companys EBITDA  earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization  was R15.6 billion.

MTN also spends billions of rand each year on upgrading its network infrastructure, and in 2018 it paid over R24 billion in taxes alone.

These numbers, and being responsible for the directions in which they move, put the large executive salaries into perspective.

However, it is nonetheless an interesting exercise to compare salaries of executives like Shuter and Motsa against those of the average South African.

According to StatsSAs Quarterly Employment Survey for Q4 2018, the average monthly earnings paid to employees in the formal non-agricultural sector was R21,190 per month. This works out to around to R255,000 per year.

When compared against Shuter and Motsas total packages for 2018, the following is found.

Average South African vs Shuter

South African Pay Person Total Annual Pay Time to Earn R42.9 million Rob Shuter R42.9 million 1 Year Average South African R255,000 168 Years

Average South African vs Motsa

South African Pay Person Total Annual Pay Time to Earn R23.4 million Godfrey Motsa R23.4 million 1 Year Average South African R255,000 91 Years

Now read: Workday looking for big growth in South AfricaGolden Gate Sothebys International Realty announced that agent Jeffrey Earl Warren has joined the San Francisco Bay Area real estate brokerage.

Besides selling major Napa Valley estates to glitterati like Carmen Policy and Adam Bronfman, Warren, a self-described dirt salesman, is known in Napa Valley for having sold and brokered some of the most significant vineyard sales in the regions history, said a news release.

Warren, who grew up on a ranch just five miles from downtown St. Helena, worked in advertising as a vice president and creative director of New York-based firm J. Walter Thompson before moving back to St. Helena with his growing family to focus on real estate.

From 1960 to 2014, his family brokerage James Warren & Son was a leading winery and vineyard real estate office in Napa Valley, said the release.

A former partner himself in Freemark Abbey Winery, his clients included the Mondavi Family, Warren Winiarski, Andy Beckstoffer, Joseph Phelps Winery, Charles Krug, Joel Gott Wines, Staglin and others.

Often people ask why weve sold more land for more dollars over the last 50 years than any other office, said Warren.

Well, it starts with the boots. Its about tromping around in the dirtacquiring an intimate understanding of the land which separates Napa Valley from anywhere else on Earth. Our competitive edge is knowledge. In fact, we dont sell landwe sell knowledge. We toss in the land for free, said Warren.

Warren, who is the grandson of the late California Governor and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, resides in St. Helena with his wife, Cindy Horn.

Admittedly, Warren wont be found behind a desk at one of the brokerages Napa Valley offices, but rather out in the field making connections and doing what he does best.

We have the dirtiest boots in the Valley, and were proud of it, he said.Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Some sun this morning with increasing clouds this afternoon. High 67F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 57F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.On Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors voted on the controversial Water Quality and Tree Protection Ordinance, an assault on both property rights and the family farm.

My husband Daniel Capps great great grandfather, David Hudson, and his brother, William, and sister Lucinda including brother in law John York, Davids wife to be Frances Griffith and her brothers, all came to Napa together in 1845 in the Grigsby Ides wagon train, the first wagon train to make it intact over the Sierra.

They settled this county assisting Dr. Bale in building the mill, fought in the Bear Flag Revolt, co-founded St. Helena, built a fine house where they helped raise surviving children from the Donner Party, as well as their own five children, after planting some of the first vineyards in Napa.

Our point here is that development and farming is in our DNA and weve been stewards of the land, and our family has loved this land for 174 years, since before California became a state. Dan and I planted our first vineyard here in lower Wooden Valley in 1973, and slowly expanded our farming interests over the years. While we never formally got the organic designation for our vineyards, we treated them as such. If farmers dont truly care for the land and environment, than nobody does.

This ordinance suggested that we farmers and property owners either do not care about the environment, are incapable of doing what is right, or an ugly mixture of both. As stewards of the land, a title we proudly own, please know that we do care about our property.

We also care about our future. We care about the future rights of property owners to develop, plant and harmonize with the land. If the supervisors want farming to remain viable for the small family farmers, they should more carefully consider their future decisions. Its already hard enough for a small family farm to make it financially when competing against corporate farming.

Corporate farmers have staff to deal with these requirements, plus deep pockets. Small family farmers will have to hire specialists they cant always afford. This onerous, judgmental and hideous travesty of an ordinance will only reward the wealthy and/or corporations in that future. Only the very rich will want to buy country property, and will no doubt be ready, willing, and able to offer us middle-class landowners offers of a sizable discount for our now made worthless properties.

If there was any specific need for this ordinance, we might not be as shocked that the supervisors considered it, but no such need was presented to us in any form. Napa County already had some of the most carefully thought out and limiting regulations in California. Why did we even need this?

And why was this taken into consideration when not a year ago a similar proposition was voted on throughout Napa County? Why did you go around the will of the people? Did you supervisors believe that were either too ignorant or too greedy to only want whats in our financial best interests and not whats good for the land? Or did you think that we dont care about what happens here in the future after weve died?

Did these environmentalists proposing these onerous regulations have a stake in what happens here in Napa? Are they landowners too? Or are they carpetbaggers here to educate us slower, backwards country folk as to the error of our ways? Why didnt they start this assault on property rights in Santa Clara or Marin County? Why a small, agricultural county like Napa and not a more developed county? Because thats what this is, an assault on property rights in the name of environmentalism.

Please remember that our forbears helped start the Bear Flag Revolt in Napa County when an overreaching demand came from a government to abandon land, plants, animals, personal belongings, and guns, and walk away from their future. That revolt changed everything in California. It could happen again today here.

Daniel and Marguerite Capp

NapaYou probably wont see a driver high on cannabis drifting out of their lane, speeding, trailing cars or taking risky decisions the way a drunk driver would, police say.

Theyre also arrested far less frequently  drivers high on cannabis comprise less than a tenth of the Napa Police Departments driving under the influence arrests, said Sgt. Kristofer Jenny of the departments traffic division at a presentation on DUI last Wednesday.

Drivers high on cannabis are more likely than drunk drivers to move within their lane, drive slowly and keep their distance from other cars. But like drunk drivers, high drivers are slower to react to unexpected events.

Cannabis users tend to compensate effectively for their deficits by driving more carefully, wrote researchers with the U.S. Veterans Affairs of Connecticut Healthcare and Yale University School of Medicine. Unexpected events are still difficult to handle under the influence of marijuana.

Public opinion does not condemn high driving in the same way that it does drunk driving, said Megan Dominici of the Napa County DUI Coalition. Anti-DUI advocates like Dominici hope to change your mind.

Weve done a lot of work to educate on the dangers of drinking and driving, she said. Now we have a whole new thing in the mix and we kind of have to do it all over again.

Officers dont check for drug impairment with a breathalyzer, like they might for alcohol impairment. They may check a drivers pulse, muscle tone or check to see whether there is a coating on their tongue caused by drug use, said Rachel Brockl, a DUI attorney with the Napa County District Attorneys Office, in a previous interview.

Six Napa police officers are trained experts in identifying drugged drivers, said Sgt. Jenny during his presentation. More than 60 have been trained to administer field sobriety tests and learn the basics of drugged driving.

Though California legalized the recreational use of cannabis for adults aged 21 and older, its still illegal to drive with the drug in your system, have an open container of cannabis in your vehicle or use it in a parked or moving car, according to information provided by Napa police.

It might take less cannabis than you think to get high. Parents: experts agree that the stuff is more potent now than it was in your youth, and V.A./Yale researchers found cannabis appears to impair driving skills with as much as a third of a joint smoked.

The dangers of drunk driving make sense to people because there has been so much education on the topic, said Dominici of the DUI coalition. People hail rides on ride-sharing apps and have moved past the stigma of returning to the restaurant for their car on a day after drinking. But some people she encounters feel that stoned driving isnt as bad as drunk driving.

Whatever people mean by that, it doesnt really matter, she said. Youre impaired and it is very dangerous.

So what might it take for people to take seriously the threats of driving under the influence of cannabis?

We have to (educate) our kids, and maybe through them, well hit the parents, she said.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.After serving the valley for more than two decades, Cal Fire-Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann is ready to retire.

Biermann, a Vintage High graduate, began his career as a volunteer firefighter in 1983, in Soda Canyon. He went to Chico State two years later and studied communications, then joined the Cal Fire branch in Butte County. He came to Napa County in 1996, after spending the first 10 years of his career there.

Looking back, Biermann said it would have been difficult for him to imagine as a young man that he would eventually be the top county fire official for Cal Fire, he said.

Its hard for me to leave this county, he said, later adding: I just thought I was going to be the person holding the hose all the time.

While Biermann, 53, was raised in Napa, he now lives in Chico with his wife, Betsy, 50. The Biermanns have two sons: Blake, 20, and Brandon, 22, who is in his third year with Cal Fire in Butte County and is finishing up his communications degree at Chico State  the same degree his father sought.

Biermann said hes looking to retire because hes gone as far as he would like to go within Cal Fires ranks and others are poised to take his place.

After being with this department since 1986, it was just the right time to go, he said.

When Biermann looks back on his career, the night of Oct. 8, 2017, stands out. Thats when the Atlas Fire began, and officials would later declare the blaze claimed six lives.

Biermann said he played a lead role in managing the response to the fire. He knew people were dying on his watch and expected that the fire would claim more lives than it ultimately did. That was hard to process, but fire and law enforcement officials did an amazing job in their response, he said.

He said he felt more at ease when the sun rose, knowing that the worst was past.

I was watching a valley that I was raised in and loved being destroyed by fire, he said.

Officials began describing deadly and destructive wildfires as unprecedented four or five years ago, Biermann said. But fires keep getting worse.

Its been some really long summers, theres no doubt, he said. The summers continue to drag on and on.

He said hes glad Cal Fire has started to focus on ways to prevent fires, but health and safety of first responders is still a concern.

It is wearing very hard on the first responders out there who are having to deal with this stuff, he said. People are getting burned out.

Biermann, whose last day in the office was Wednesday, said the interview process for his replacement has already begun. He expects a replacement should be selected in mid-April.

Hes uncertain about what lies ahead in his future. He might spend more time practicing his hobbies, living at the familys Lake Elsinore home, or even picking up a part-time job.

But one things for sure.

I will not sit around and get bored, he said.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.Flooding, the costliest and most common disaster in the United States, leaves no part of the country untouched: from nor'easters along the coast of Maine, to king tides in Florida, to overflowing rivers in Nebraska, to mudslides in California. After a "bomb cyclone" swamped the Midwest earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that this spring might be "an unprecedented flood season," putting 200 million Americans at risk. Images of entire cities underwater, boats floating down interstates and bridges washed away capture the public's attention. Despite the frequency of floods, dangerous myths persist, shaping how we prepare and respond to them. Here are five.

Myth No. 1: Floods are "natural" disasters.

Flood disasters are inevitably referred to as "natural." See, for example, this headline from the Atlantic, about the 2016 flooding in Louisiana: "America Is Ignoring Another Natural Disaster Near the Gulf." Or from the Los Angeles Times in 2017: "Harvey is likely to be the second-most costly natural disaster in U.S. history." And this month, Gov. Pete Ricketts called the flooding in Nebraska "the most widespread natural disaster in our state's history."

But disasters are created by the interaction of a hazard and our communities. It may be natural for heavy rainfall or snowmelt to cause rivers to overflow their banks, but the actual destruction that results - damaged infrastructure, destroyed homes, ruined crops, washed-away topsoil - is a result of human behavior. Human activities destroy natural flood protection and put more people in harm's way. When forests are cut down and bayous paved over to make way for development, it exacerbates a community's overall flood risk.

And our efforts to prevent flooding can actually worsen it: Analyses by geologists at the University of California at Davis found that new levees along the Mississippi River made floods more frequent and more severe - spurring the construction of even more protective levees, and leading to a "hydrologic spiral."

Myth No. 2: Homeowner's insurance covers flood damage.

Finding out your homeowner's insurance doesn't cover floods is an unwelcome surprise when you're standing in the middle of your inundated living room. After Hurricane Sandy, some New Yorkers discovered that their homeowner's insurance would not pay for flood damage: "They're covering five shingles and a piece of gutter, and that's it," one told a Reuter reporter. Similarly, after flooding hit Iowa in 2018, an employee with the state's insurance regulator told the Des Moines Register that he'd been fielding calls from residents with homeowner's insurance who had not realized it didn't cover sewer backups. "Now that they have reached out to their insurance company, they're finding no coverage was afforded for that," he said.

After Hurricane Irma, Robert W. Klein, a professor at Georgia State University, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "A lot of people just don't know their homeowners won't cover them for flood. Howard Mills, a former New York insurance commissioner,said in the Wall Street Journal: "Even financially literate people do not understand that the standard homeowners policy does not cover flood."

Nearly all home insurance policies exclude floods. When widespread flooding nationwide in the early 1900s overwhelmed private insurance agencies, they stopped offering flood coverage. In 1968, in an effort to fill the gap, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is now the primary source of flood coverage for the United States, with more than5 million policies issued in 2018. This covers only a fraction of people who might need it. In Southeast Texas, which has relatively high rates of NFIP enrollment, 80 percent of residents were uninsured during Hurricane Harvey.

Myth No. 3: A "100-year flood" is a historic, once-in-a-century disaster.

Describing floods in terms of "100-year," "500-year" and "1,000-year" often makes people think the disaster was the most severe to occur in that time frame - as encapsulated by President Trump's tweet calling Harvey a "once in 500 year flood!" He's not alone. When researchers from the University of California at Berkeley surveyed residents in Stockton, Calif., about their perceived flood risk, they found that although 34 percent claimed familiarity with the term "100-year flood," only 2.6 percent defined it correctly. The most common responses were some variation of "A major flood comes every 100 years - it's a worst-case scenario'' and ''According to history, every 100 years or so, major flooding has occurred in the area and through documented history, they can predict or hypothesize on what to expect and plan accordingly and hopefully correct."

In fact, the metric communicates the flood risk of a given area: A home in a 100-year flood plain has a 1 percent chance of flooding in a given year. In 2018, Ellicott City, Md., experienced its second 1,000-year flood in two years, and with Harvey, Houston faced its third 500-year flood in three years.

That risk constantly changes, because of factors such as the natural movement of rivers, the development of new parcels of land, and climate change's influence on rainfall, snowmelt, storm surges and sea level. "Because of all the uncertainty, a flood that has a 1 percent annual risk of happening has a high water mark that is best described as a range, not a single maximum point," according to FiveThirtyEight.

Myth No. 4: Looting is common after floods.

Perhaps one of the most persistent myths about flooding is that people often use the crisis as an opportunity to steal from empty homes and businesses. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie told CNN to expect lawlessness during Hurricane Harvey: "Looting is going to come next . . . the bad elements that exist in every society and every state will try to take advantage of it." As Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina, a local news outlet claimed that "looting is as common when hurricanes strike as high winds and flooding."

This myth partly stems from a misunderstanding of what "looting" means. There is a clear distinction between ransacking a jewelry store and taking emergency medical supplies from a pharmacy, and some reports of looting mistakenly describe the latter. "That's not looting; that's survival mode," a military official who oversaw the response to Hurricane Katrina told The Washington Post.

Decades of research has found that looting after disasters is extremely rare. In a study of 100 such events, Disaster Research Center experts found many stories and rumors about looting, but very few verified cases. Instead, people engage in pro-social behavior: They act rationally, even generously, to help one another.

This myth has dangerous consequences: It can deter people from evacuating their homes. In interviews with researchers, residents who refused to leave before Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Bonnie in 1998 cited the desire to protect their property as a reason.

Myth No. 5: Floods discourage people from building in risky areas.

A consultant in Florida who advises property owners on flood risks told Rolling Stone that "property buyers are getting smarter. They are moving to higher elevations, one foot at a time." In an interview with Yale Environment 360, marine scientist Orrin Pilkey predicted that "sinking prices will cause a dramatic reduction in new beachfront development nationwide." Commentator Ben Shapiro summed up attitudes held by many when he said, of sea-level rise: "You think people aren't just going to sell their homes and move?"

But our current approach to emergency management actually encourages people to rebuild rather than move. The Natural Resources Defense Council says that for every $100 the Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent to rebuild flooded homes, it has allocated only $1.72 to move people and buy out their properties. And residents aren't just staying put: People are moving to flood-prone areas. An analysis by the magazine Governing found that the population growth within 100-year floodplains was faster than in areas outside flood zones. And a report by Climate Central and Zillow found that in New Jersey, about 2,700 new homes, worth an estimated $2.6 billion rose in the flood-risk zone in 2009, "most likely driven by reconstruction following Sandy." This upward trend also held true in nine other coastal states: Construction growth in flood-risk zones outstripped growth in safer areas.

Samantha Montano is a visiting assistant professor in the department of emergency management at North Dakota State University. She studies disasters and writes at www.disaster-ology.com.Biden announces natural disaster in Kentucky

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Opposition 'Armenia' faction MPs Artur Sargsyan and Mkhitar Zakaryan released from penitentiary institution1. Yes. Patrol cars in the lot and armed officers inside would deter would-be criminals.

2. Yes. Police should announce their plans and be highly visible during store hours.

3. No. The citys police officers have other obligations. More private security is the answer.

4. No. Perhaps, but installing more surveillance cameras would be a better deterrent.

5. Unsure. More police might help, but it could also stretch KPDs resources too thin.

Vote

View ResultsFridays meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Vienna contains both positive and negativeor at least bewilderingrecords.

Arman Babajanyan, a member of the opposition Bright Armenia Faction at the National Assembly, wrote the aforesaid in a Facebook post.

In particular, he noted that, first and foremost, the positive thing is the fact of the holding of these actual talks under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

As per Babajanyan, the fact that the co-chairs have described this meeting as constructive and that the parties agreed to continue these talks also should be considered a positive result of the Vienna meeting.

As for the bewilderments with respect to this meeting and afterwards, the Armenian opposition MP noted that there was no word on returning Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to the negotiating table.

Also, as per Babajanyan, Prime Minister Pashinyan said nothing about the interpretation of the three Madrid principles and six elements that are included in the negotiation process. Thus, as maintained by the MP, we can record that either the Armenian agenda was not discussed at the Vienna meeting, or it was discussed in such a context that no record was made about it.

As per Arman Babajanyan, the only tangible record of this meeting is the arrangement on taking humanitarian steps.

According to the Armenian lawmaker, reaching agreements on maintaining the ceasefire should be considered a pivotal achievement of the Vienna meeting.

As maintained by the MP, this period is an opportunity for Armenia to get stronger and to bring its economy and public life to a qualitatively new level. But, according to Arman Babajanyan, we do not observe any respective visible changes yet.YEREVAN.  ARARAT Craft & Twist competition was held at Yerevan Brandy Company with the participation of 15 bartenders, who presented cocktails created special for the competition.

The winner of ARARAT Craft & Twist 2019 became Stepan Abrahamyan with his cocktail Le Cook-Tail. The winners of the second and third places were Davit Hovhannisyan and Gor Ghazaryan with cocktails ARARATOUR and Coupage N5 respectively.

ARARAT Craft & Twist is an initiative aimed at introducing new content into bar-cocktail culture as well as presenting new forms of serving of the legendary brandy.

Cocktail culture is having a great boom all over the world. Moreover, this is a sphere where the leading brands form around the world compete with more creative, innovative and unexpected solutions and, therefore, it was natural for ARARAT to be here. Today you can see cocktails on the base of ARARAT brandy in the best bars of 10 countries worlwide, says Vardges Hoveyan, Brand Delivery Manager of ARARAT.

As in any other creative field such competitions are very important in bartender life, since bartenders both professional skills and creativity are assessed here. Today other members of the jury and I were very impressed. I am sure that the ideas born during the competition will find their place on the cocktail map and why not represent Armenia at international competitions, states Tigran Avetisyan, President of jury of ARARAT Craft & Twist competition, Head of Armenian Bartenders Association.

Every bartender could have participated in the competition, which was symbolically launched on February 6th - International Bartender's Day, by passing the testing. In fact, every candidate could have tried to become either a participant, or an observer. According to the contest terms, the participant should have created a new cocktail and presented it as an integrity of a form and a content.

The prize awarded for the first place was a trip to Bar Convent Berlin for participating in one of the leading events of the industry, the price for the second place - ARARAT Charles Aznavour Signature Blend brandy and for the third place  ARARAT Vintage Collection, which includes Armenia and Yerevan brandies.A week after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary that details the main findings of special counsel Robert Muellers two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, some unanswered questions remain.

Chief among them is whether the full report will ever be released.

In his letter, Barr states: [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

A Justice Department official has said that a version of the report will be available for Congress and the public within weeks, an indication that Barr will miss House Democrats April 2 deadline to provide Congress the full report.

News@theU asked Frances R. Hill, professor of law and Deans Distinguished Scholar for the Profession at the University of Miami School of Law, to weigh in on some of the key issues surrounding the Mueller report and Attorney General Barrs letter.

How important is it that the full Mueller report be released publicly?

It is very important that the full Mueller report, together with the underlying evidence on which it was based, be released to the public as soon as reasonably possible. A four-page letter by Attorney General William Barr (the Barr Letter) is not a reasonable substitute for access to the actual Mueller report. It should be noted that some material, particularly highly classified national security evidence, may never be released. Material relating to the many ongoing investigations that appear to have been sent to various federal prosecutors in New York, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and perhaps other jurisdictions as well, will not be released while these investigations are in progress. Grand jury material can be unsealed and made available only with a decision by the chief judge of each United States District Court that unsealing material is in the public interest. The president, who has said he wouldnt mind if the full Mueller report were released, might change his mind and attempt to assert executive privilege once he and his advisers become fully aware of what is contained in the Mueller report. Any such effort to assert executive privilege would involve extensive and lengthy litigation ending only with U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

What steps can be taken to persuade or compel the Department of Justice to release the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence?

Chairs of the relevant committees in the House of Representatives have already sent a letter to Attorney General Barr demanding that he send them a full, unredacted copy of the Mueller report together with the underlying documents by Monday, April 2. This does not appear likely to happen. Whether this letter opens productive negotiations over this matter remains to be seen. The committee chairs could well seek to subpoena the Mueller report if the attorney general tries to stonewall or even to slow-walk the process. Seeking to persuade a court to issue a subpoena is, in some ways, the ultimate form of stonewalling because the issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court, and it is not at all clear that the Supreme Court would deal with this on an expedited basis or how it would decide a particular claim of executive privilege.

The public may have some political leverage in this matter. With an election looming in November 2020, the political costs to the president of not releasing the Mueller report may become greater than the costs of releasing the report. It remains unclear how voters will view this issue over time and it remains unclear how the president will weigh the political costs and benefits in terms of his re-election in 2020.

Why has the Barr Letter become so controversial in such a short period of time?

The Barr Letter has become controversial partly because it provides virtually no information about the Mueller reportits length, the topics addressed, the types of evidence referenced, the legal issues identified, or even the precise terms of the instructions to the special counsel, which remain classified. The Barr Letter provides very little information about what the special counsel decided and on what grounds he decided particular issues. The attorney general offers no insight into how he made particular decisions about what to include in his letter. It does appear, however, that the attorney general relied on his personal view that a president has unlimited authority to control investigations of matters relating to his own conduct, which became very controversial during his confirmation hearings before the Senate. The idea that a president is above the law is not widely shared.

The Barr Letter quotes the Mueller Report as saying with respect to the obstruction of justice issue that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him. If this is a correct quotation from the Mueller report, how can both things be true?

It is possible that the available evidence, including the publicly available evidence based on the presidents public statements while he was a candidate and since he has been in office, does not satisfy every element of obstruction of justice as a federal crime at a level of certainty that would be required to indict a sitting president but, at the same time, be sufficient to raise questions relevant to the presidents behavior, especially his behavior while in office. Whether this possibility is relevant to the particular obstruction of justice issue investigated by the special prosecutor can only be understood if the full Mueller report, together with the underlying evidence, is made available to the public.

Does the language quoted from the Mueller Report and included in the Barr Letter leave the conclusion relating to the obstruction of justice issue up to Attorney General William Barr?

Attorney General Barr made no claim at all about the authority under which he was acting. The language in the Barr Letter carefully skirts the issue of why the attorney general included his conclusion in his very short letter to Congress. The Barr Letter states that [t]he Special Counsels decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusion leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime. This language provides no indication of what authority the attorney general might claim for his action. Simply claiming that he could act because he is the attorney general might well not be entirely persuasive.

Why didnt Mueller interview the president in person instead of relying on written answers?

This is one of the important questions that might or might not be explained in the Mueller report. One can speculate that the Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted may have made the issue of an interview or grand jury testimony less urgent because the ultimate permissible action would not have included an indictment of the sitting president. This is only speculation. The next step should be to determine whether the Mueller report and the underlying evidence provide insight into this question.

What is the most unexpected topic addressed in the Barr Letter?

The Barr Letter devotes an entire section of the letter to what it labels as Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The president has never admitted this, stating that he believes President Putin when he denies this and never authorizing a substantial, well-coordinated effort to address such interference in future elections. The Barr Letter makes it difficult to deny Russian interference. At the same time, the Barr Letter carefully distances the Trump campaign from any involvement in this Russian interference.

The Trump administration is calling Attorney General Barrs letter regarding the principal findings of the Mueller report a political victory. How will it impact the 2020 election?

The Barr Letter does seem like a political victory for the president, but no one can say whether the Mueller report will be a victory for the president or whether it will present a more complex narrative of both the obstruction of justice issue and the conspiracy issue. Whatever the Mueller report says, it is likely that the president will make this claim that he has been fully exonerated the core theme of his 2020 campaign. No one can predict what factors will shape the voters decision.The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

Back to [RTHK News Homepage](Adds no finding of weapons, men released)

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Eleven men who were detained overnight on suspicion of planning major attacks with stockpiled weapons were released on Saturday after no evidence of a cache of weapons or explosives was found, a prosecution spokesman said.

The men, aged between 22 and 35, were held during raids conducted by police commandos in western and southern Germany on suspicion that they were supporters of the Islamic State militant group planning a "serious, state-endangering crime."

The spokesman said the men, most of whom were Tajikistan nationals, were released after investigators' suspicions proved unfounded.

Germany has been the scene of several Islamist militant attacks in recent years, including a 2016 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people.

Authorities across Europe are also on high alert for attacks from right-wing extremists after last week's New Zealand mosque attack that left 50 dead.

Austrian police are investigating links between the attacker and the far-right Identitarian Movement, which opposes Muslim immigration. (Reporting by Swantje Stein and Reuters TV Writing by Thomas Escritt Editing by Helen Popper and Edmund Blair)(Adds quotes, color from El Paso rally)

By Tim Reid

EL PASO, Texas, March 30 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke held a major rally in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, a city thrust to the center of America's immigration debate by President Donald Trump and the U.S government this week.

O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, kicked off a series of three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico as soon as next week.

Speaking in El Paso, a few hundred yards from the border with Mexico, O'Rourke decried the Trump administration's immigration policies and the president's call for a border wall.

"We'll find security not through walls," he declared to cheers from several hundred supporters as he officially launched his presidential campaign.

Before switching to Spanish to finish his speech, O'Rourke denounced what he called Trump's policies of "fear and division" and accused the president of seeking "to keep us apart and to make us afraid of one another."

"Let's remember, every single one of us are fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like fellow human beings," he said.

O'Rourke's rally in El Paso was long-planned, but the city became central to America's immigration debate this week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told reporters in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day.

Trump, who is still determined to build a barrier along parts of the southern border, said on Friday: "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me."

Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office. His latest threat had workers and students who frequently cross the border worried about the potential disruption to their lives.

Story continues

Trump and O'Rourke held dueling rallies in February in El Paso, which is already divided from Mexico by steel fencing.

Trump wants it reinforced and hundreds of miles of additional fencing built along the border. O'Rourke opposes any new border structures and opposition to Trump's border wall and immigration policies has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

"We are safe not despite the fact we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers - we are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers," O'Rourke said in El Paso on Saturday.

O'Rourke, who announced his White House campaign on March 14, shot to national prominence last year in an unexpectedly close race against incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

His Texas rallies will be watched via livestream at more than 1,000 locations across America, according to his campaign.

More than a dozen contenders are fighting to become the Democratic Party's candidate to take on Trump in 2020.

The O'Rourke campaign sent multiple requests to potential supporters for campaign donations before his rallies in El Paso, Houston and Austin on Saturday, a common practice among presidential hopefuls. The messages stressed the importance of donating before Sunday, the deadline for first quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.

O'Rourke, 46, smashed fundraising records as a Senate candidate and raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, the largest first-day haul of any announced candidate this year.

However, he has struggled to see a strong campaign work ethic translate into a significant boost in early polling.

O'Rourke trails former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by double digits, according to early polls among Democratic voters. Analysts warn that polls this early, before the first nominating votes are cast in Iowa in February 2020, are unreliable.

Biden has yet to join the race, although he is expected to announce his presidential candidacy soon. (Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by Paul Tait and Richard Chang)(Adds number of senators in first paragraph, company that makes F-35 in 2nd paragraph)

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Four U.S. senators on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to prohibit the transfer of F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey until the U.S. government certifies that Ankara will not take delivery of a Russian S-400 air defense system, a statement on the move said.

Turkey is a production partner in the trillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet program but Ankara also wants to purchase a Russian missile defense system, which the United States says would compromise the security of F-35 aircraft, which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp..

The senators - Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen and Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis - have all expressed alarm over Turkey's planned purchase of Russian S-400 missiles and said the NATO ally cannot have both.

"The prospect of Russia having access to U.S. aircraft and technology in a NATO country, Turkey, is a serious national and global security risk," Shaheen said.

Reuters last week reported that the United States could soon freeze preparations for delivering F-35s to Turkey. While no decision has been made, any such move would be a massive blow to already strained ties between Washington and Ankara.

"Turkey is an important NATO ally and willing partner in addressing a number of U.S. national security priorities, said Lankford. "Its concerning that Turkey would seek close defense cooperation with Russia, whose authoritarian ruler seeks to undermine NATO and U.S. interests at every turn."

So far Ankara has not shown any willingness to reverse the S-400 purchase, forcing the United States to explore a future for the F-35 program without Turkey, which makes parts of the fuselage, landing gear and cockpit displays. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by James Dalgleish)(Adds South Korean foreign minister meeting Pompeo)

By Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL, March 29 (Reuters) - Senior South Korean officials, including President Moon Jae-in, are launching a series of meetings with U.S. counterparts in a bid to jumpstart stalled denuclearisation talks with North Korea and mend fraying ties in their alliance.

Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled a summit in Washington on April 11 to discuss North Korea and other alliance issues, the White House said.

"The alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in the region," it said in a statement.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday, where they were expected to discuss Moon's visit and ways to move forward after a failed second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi last month.

The summit collapsed amid conflicting demands by North Korea for sanctions relief and U.S. insistence on its denuclearisation.

Trump's failure to seal a deal was a blow to Moon, who has been vocal in his conviction that Kim is willing to abandon his nuclear arsenal.

Washington and Seoul have also tussled over the cost of U.S. troops in South Korea, with Trump demanding that Seoul pay more toward maintaining some 28,500 of them.

The North has nearly completed work to rebuild its Sohae missile launch site in the northwestern town of Tongchang-ri that Kim, at his first summit with Trump last June, had vowed to dismantle, South Korean lawmakers said on Friday.

The lawmakers, briefed by Seoul's intelligence agency, added that a uranium enrichment facility at the North's Yongbyon main nuclear complex was operating normally, though a 5-megawatt reactor there has not been operational since late last year.

Ahead of the Trump-Moon summit, South Korea said it was sending its foreign and defense ministers, and other senior officials, to meetings in Washington.

Story continues

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo will meet the U.S. acting secretary of defense, Patrick Shanahan, on Monday, the ministry said.

The lack of progress with North Korea has become a domestic problem for Moon, who has staked much of his political capital on improving relations with Pyongyang.

A Gallup poll on Friday showed Moon's approval ratings at a record low of 43 percent as respondents complained about the stalemate with the North while the economy suffers.

The Hanoi summit's breakdown hit rapidly improving ties between the neighbors.

South Korea's defense ministry said it proposed military talks with the North last week but there was no response from Pyongyang.

Last week the North also pulled out of a liaison office with South Korea, only to reverse the move and send back some officials three days later.

On Friday, the Unification Ministry said the North's staffing at the office had returned to "normal levels," though a weekly meeting was not held as the North's chief representative was absent. (Reporting by Josh Smith, Hyonhee Shin, and Joyce Lee in Seoul; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Grant McCool)American actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate's imposition of the death penalty for gay sex and adultery.

"Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery," Clooney wrote on the website Deadline Hollywood.

"I've learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them. But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way," he added.

Brunei is an absolute monarchy which has been ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

The former British protectorate on Borneo island is surrounded by Malaysia. It has long depended on abundant, but declining, crude reserves and was plunged into recession when global prices fell about five years ago.

The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney are located in the US, Britain, France and Italy.

Brunei will implement the harsh new penal code -- which also mandates amputation of a hand and foot for theft -- starting next Wednesday.

Homosexuality is already illegal in the sultanate, but it will now become a capital offence. The law only applies to Muslims.

The government did not respond to AFP's request for comment but on Saturday the prime minister's office issued a statement saying the country has always practiced "a dual legal system," one based on Islamic Shariah law and another on Common Law.

"In fully implementing the Shariah Penal Code Order (SPCO) 2013 from 3rd April 2019, both systems will continue to run in parallel to maintain peace and order and preserve religion, life, family and individuals regardless of gender, nationality, race and faith," the statement said.

Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but implementation has been delayed as officials worked out the practical details, and in the face of opposition by rights groups.

In addition to his film-making work that has netted him two Oscars, Clooney is known for his globe-trotting political activism, especially his tireless campaigning to draw attention to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.By Abdul Matin Sahak MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, escaped unhurt from an attack that killed one of his bodyguards on Saturday, dodging death for the second time since returning from exile last year. Attackers ambushed Dostum's convoy on the way from Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in Balkh province, to Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, said Bashir Ahmad Tayenj, spokesman for Dostum's Junbish Party. Two other bodyguards were wounded. Dostum was aware of a planned attack but decided to travel anyway, the spokesman added. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt, which comes eight months after Dostum avoided injury in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport. In a tweet, the militant group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said four guards were killed and six wounded in the attack. Last summer's bombing, which was claimed by Islamic State, took place as Dostum returned home from more than a year in exile in Turkey over allegations of torturing and abusing a political rival. Dostum had left Afghanistan after heavy pressure from Western donors including the United States. Less than a year since his return, the general remains a significant, if polarizing, political figure. His Junbish Party is supported mainly by his fellow ethnic Uzbeks. Dostum has joined the election team of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, one of several contenders in a presidential election scheduled for Sept. 28. (Additional reporting and writing by Rod Nickel; Editing by Helen Popper and Marie-Louise Gumuchian)ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's army chief renewed a call for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit for office and told opponents not to seek to undermine the military, after weeks of protests demanding an end to the ailing leader's 20-year rule. Bouteflika, 82, who has rarely been seen in public in recent years, has faced mass demonstrations for more than a month. His announcement that he would not seek a fifth term but that he would not quit immediately has failed to assuage protesters. To break the stalemate, Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah made a proposal on Tuesday for the constitutional council declare Bouteflika unfit for office, a move provided for under article 102 of the charter. Salah said in a statement issued by the Defense Ministry on Saturday that most people supported the army's plan but some were resisting, without naming those opposed to the move. He said these opponents had met on Saturday to start a media campaign against the army claiming people were against Salah's proposals. He said trying to undermine the military, a revered institution in Algeria whose support has long been seen as vital to keeping Bouteflika and the ruling elite in power, was a "red line" that should not be crossed. He did not elaborate. "All that emerges from these suspicious meetings of proposals that do not conform to constitutional legitimacy or undermine the national army, which is a red line, is totally unacceptable," he said in the statement. Bouteflika established himself in the early 2000s by ending a civil war that had claimed 200,000 lives. But he has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, and now faces the biggest crisis of his two-decade rule. Under the constitution, the chairman of parliaments upper house, Abdelkader Bensalah, would serve as caretaker president for at least 45 days if Bouteflika stepped down. However, there is no obvious long-term successor to rule the nation which secured independence from France in 1962 after years of conflict and was embroiled in a bloody Islamist insurgency during the 1990s. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali, Lamine Chikhi, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Edmund Blair)ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  Algeria's army chief summoned top military brass for an emergency meeting Saturday as he pushes for declaring President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit for office.

Military chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah claimed Saturday that unnamed figures were plotting against the military, as tensions mount in Algeria's political crisis.

In a statement and remarks carried on Algerian television, Salah defended his proposal to launch a constitutional process to have Bouteflika declared too ill to serve. The president of this gas-rich North African country has largely been out of public sight since a 2013 stroke.

Protesters have been demanding Bouteflika's resignation, but many reject Salah's proposed constitutional process because they fear it would leave the shadowy political elite in place. Instead, protesters want a new slate of leaders untainted by allegations of corruption and responsive to problems of struggling youth.

Salah reiterated his proposal to activate Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution, under which the Constitutional Council could determine Bouteflika is too sick to rule and ask Parliament to approve. The army chief also proposed to activate other constitutional articles in response to protesters' demands.

He dismissed allegations that his proposal amounted to an attempted coup d'etat, insisting he was not seeking power himself but looking for a legal way out of the crisis.

Salah claimed a "secret meeting" was being held Saturday aimed at "leading a virulent campaign via different media and social networks against the army." Algerian media carried conflicting reports about who attended the secret meeting.

Algerians took to the streets by the millions Friday for the sixth straight week of nationwide protests. The protests have turned the tables on the elite power structure, but it is unclear what lies ahead.* NZ kept no comprehensive record of hate crimes

* UN, other agencies repeatedly asked NZ for record of such crimes

* Anecdotal rise in threats against Muslims reported

* PM Ardern called for a Royal Commission inquiry into attack

By Charlotte Greenfield and Praveen Menon

CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Weeks before a gunman killed 50 Muslims in Christchurch, a man had threatened to burn copies of the Koran outside New Zealand mosques, in what community leaders said was the latest in a long list of threatening behavior against religious minorities.

Police said they warned a 38-year-old man over the incident, which was unrelated to the Christchurch attack, but could not say if it was part of a pattern.

That's because, unlike many Western countries including the United Kingdom and the United States, New Zealand's government keeps no comprehensive record of hate crimes, failing to act on requests to do so from local and international agencies spanning more than a decade.

"For many years our view has consistently been that this needs to be prioritized and implemented urgently," said Janet Anderson-Bidois, Chief Legal Adviser at the Human Rights Commission, the independent government agency tasked with protecting human rights.

"It is imperative that we have good data."

A suspected white supremacist has been charged with murder over the Christchurch shootings and will appear in court again on April 5.

In the wake of New Zealand's worst mass shooting, questions are being asked about what signs agencies missed and where resources should have been allocated to protect vulnerable communities.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered a Royal Commission, a powerful form of inquiry, into the attack.

Anwar Ghani from the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, said anecdotal evidence suggested there had been a rise in anti-Muslim behavior in recent years.

"When there is a hot spot in global events and when Muslims are involvedwe do see the pulse of hate crime coming from certain members of the community, he said.

Story continues

"NOT A PRIORITY"

Joris De Bres, New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner between 2002 and 2013, said he was alarmed at signs of an uptick in threats against Muslims when he took up the role soon after the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

De Bres said he repeatedly asked the government and police to create a central system for recording details about crimes motivated by hatred and racism.

He raised the issue with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which in its 2007 review of New Zealand said the lack of records was a concern, and asked the government to collect data on complaints of racially motivated crimes.

"I listed it every yearI wrote at various points to government about it and it was simply said that it wasnt necessary and it wasn't a priority," De Bres said.

In its latest report on New Zealand in 2017, the UN committee repeated its concerns and requests and asked the government to provide the data for its next report as a priority.

When current Justice and Intelligence Serivces Minister Andrew Little took office in late 2017, the Human Rights Commission said in their incoming briefing the country needed a central system for recording details about crimes motivated by hatred and racism and steps currently taken by police were insufficient.

"Understanding the scale, extent, and location of hate crimes is essential and is a prerequisite to ensuring adequate resources are available to address the issue," the briefing said.

Little did not respond to Reuters' request for comment but told local media on Saturday that current hate speech laws were inadequate and he would work with officials to review the legislation, including considering whether a separate hate crime offense should be created.

Police said they took hate crimes seriously and were continually looking to improve the way they worked.

"We are engaged in ongoing conversations with community leaders and representatives about a range of issues, including how police record allegations of hate crime and crimes of prejudice," said a police spokesperson via email.

The National Party, in power from 2008 to 2017, said while in government, it introduced legislation to protect people from harmful communication online.

"There are hate speech laws in the Human Rights Act, but whether data should be collected is an operational matter for Police," a spokeswoman said by email.

NO ONE WAS LISTENING

New Zealand has had no previous extremist mass attacks, unlike neighboring Australia, but civil society members say an underbelly of racism has always existed and may have been escalating. Anjum Rahman from the Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand said the group had repeatedly alerted the government over the past five years about the rise of the extreme right and the growing threat Muslim women felt in New Zealand.

"Without the data, without the measurement it's really hard to push for change...I feel like it wasn't taken seriously because it wasn't hard data because we didn't have it," she said, adding she felt "a resistance to creating that data."

One in 10 New Zealand adults have experienced hate speech online according to a 2018 study by internet safety organization Netsafe, with people of Asian descent or who identified as 'other' ethnicity most affected.

Since 2002, a law has specified judges should take hostility towards a group of people with a "common characteristic," such as race or religion, into account when sentencing.

A Reuters review of sentencing records found 22 such cases since 2002, most with a racial motive.

Those included the murder of a Korean student, the hurling of a pipe bomb at a Sikh Temple, and threats to politicians by a non-Muslim posing as an Islamic extremist, which the judge described as a "deliberate attempt to tap into public fear about radicalized Muslims."

The likely number is far higher, say human rights experts, because acessible records encompass only cases that are appealed or the most severe charges that reach New Zealand's highest courts, not the tens of thousands of cases dealt with in lower District Courts each year.

One of those was a 2016 case, first reported by the New Zealand Herald, in which a Christchurch man delivered a bloodied pig's head to Al Noor mosque, which was attacked this month.

He was charged with "offensive behavior" and fined NZ$800 ($543), court records show.

In 2017, lawmakers asked police whether hate crime was increasing but were told it could not be measured because it was not recorded as a specific category, according to Parliamentary records.

The Human Rights Commission said it received 417 complaints relating to race in 2018, up from 350 in 2014. Those included 63 complaints of "racial disharmony," which includes hate speech, a 26 percent jump from four years earlier.

Lawmaker Golriz Ghahraman, a former human rights lawyer who was born in Iran and came to New Zealand as a child refugee, said she had received death threats and xenophobia including being called a "terrorist" and "Jihadist" online.

Before the Christchurch attacks, most of the public had felt safe, she said.

"Minorities didn't, but no one was listening to them." ($1 = 1.4732 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Praveen Menon. Editing by Lincoln Feast)The Daily Beast

Nuccio DiNuzzo/GettyA juror in the Jussie Smollett trial has explained several reasons why the jury felt there was no way they could acquit the star actor in his bombshell trial for staging a fake hate crime attack on himself.The female juror, who declined to be named, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the jury of six women and six men didnt have any major disagreements but took nine hours to deliberate because they wanted to properly consider all the evidence.Some doubted that prosecutors had prThis photo gallery highlights some of the top news images made by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean that were published in the past week.

Venezuelan jet-setters attended a recent destination wedding, while government supporters joined Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during an anti-imperialist rally in Caracas.

In Sao Paulo, thousands of unemployed people lined up to attend a job fair as Brazil's economy sputters. In Brasilia, President Jair Bolsonaro asked the Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the March 31st anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup.

In Mexico City, an event was held at the National Culture Museum in Mexico City in honor of World Puppetry Day.

In Chile, the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, was replaced by Pope Francis after being put under criminal investigation. Chilean sex abuse survivors have long accused Ezzati and his predecessor of protecting predator priests.

In Mexico, authorities gave a tour of the now-closed Islas Maria penal colony located off Mexico's Pacific coast. Islas Marias was the last of its kind, the final of a half dozen island penal colonies that were scattered around Latin America.

In Nahuala, Guatemala, a large truck slammed into a crowd gathered on a dark highway in western Guatemala, killing over a dozen people.

Bolivia's "Batallon Colorados" sang the national anthem during an event honoring national hero Eduardo Abaroa, who died in the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific, as part of Sea Day celebrations in La Paz.

In Havana, Britain's Prince Charles droves a vintage car with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a cultural event in Cuba.

___

Edited by photo editor Tomas Stargardter.EL PASO  Under a bridge connecting the U.S. with Mexico, dozens of migrant families cram into a makeshift camp set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The families are there because permanent processing facilities have run out of room.

Seven hundred miles east, busload after busload of weary, bedraggled migrants crowd into the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas. Organizers there are used to handling 200 to 300 migrants a day. Lately, the migrants have been arriving at a clip of around 800 a day, overflowing the respite center and straining city resources.

Its staggering, McAllen City Manager Roy Rodriguez said. Really, weve never seen anything like this before.

Along the Texas border with Mexico  from El Paso to Eagle Pass to the Rio Grande Valley  masses of migrants have been crossing the border in unprecedented numbers, overwhelming federal holding facilities and sending local leaders and volunteers scrambling to deal with the relentless waves of people.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said Wednesday during a visit to El Paso that the border had hit its "breaking point" and urged Congress to come up with legislative solutions to the problem.

Border Patrol officials were on pace in March for more than 100,000 apprehensions and encounters with migrants  the highest monthly tally in over a decade, he said. Around 90 percent of those  or 90,000  crossed the border between legal ports of entry.

The vast majority of those crossing between ports of entry turn themselves into Border Patrol agents, seeking asylum.

The surge numbers are just overwhelming the entire system," McAleenan said.

President Donald Trump recently declared a national emergency at the border to secure funding for a proposed wall, despite Congressional opposition. On Friday, the president in a tweet threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn't stop undocumented migrants from coming.

Story continues

But not even Trump's proposed wall could stop the wave of migrants overflowing shelters in the Rio Grande Valley, where the vast majority are turning themselves in to apply for asylum, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling said.

A wall would go up on levees about a mile from the winding Rio Grande, which is the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants will just have to cross the river to be in U.S. territory and seek asylum, he said.

"That's not a solution for asylum-seekers," Darling said.

Once in the U.S., the migrants  mostly families from Central America  are crowding into facilities designed to hold single adult men, said Theresa Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center and a former CBP policy adviser for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Increasingly, smugglers are bringing larger numbers of families together and delivering them across the Rio Grande, knowing theyll overrun facilities and be released until their immigration court date, she said. Under U.S. law, Border Patrol is not supposed to hold any migrant for longer than 72 hours.

Usually, Border Patrol hands them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which can detain families for up to 20 days. But all of those facilities are overcrowded, Brown said, leading Border Patrol to skip the transfer to ICE and release migrants to shelters en masse.

This is a system-wide collapse, she said.

In El Paso, migrant families pressed their faces against the chain-link fencing at the makeshift outdoor shelter under the Paso Del Norte International Bridge as they awaited their turn to seek asylum. Children covered their mouths with swaths of Mylar blankets and peeked through the fencing at passing Border Patrol guards.

On Wednesday, more than 850 migrants were released to local shelters, marking a new high for El Paso. The numbers are expected to keep rising, according to Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House, a nonprofit that provides services to migrants released by federal authorities.

"Its going to be very, very challenging, he said.

Garcia and other shelter organizers have relied on a growing number of volunteers to help with the increased migrants. Ande McArthy, a retired nurse, and her husband, Michael, a retired physician assistant, traveled from Lake Huron, Michigan, to El Paso last week after their church put out a call to help for the Annunciation House.

The McArthys are among 12 full-time volunteers who help to sort clothes, handle day-to-day donations and tend to the needs of hundreds of migrants arriving at the shelters each day.

Were here trying to show that (migrants) are fleeing conflict, McArthy said.

The El Paso City Council and County Commissioners voted recently to fund a position that would help coordinate volunteers. Mayor Dee Margo said the city will seek reimbursement from the federal government.

It allows us to frankly take more action than weve been able to do in the past and justify that for a humanitarian need  an emergency need, Margo said. If we are required to spend some funds, we will.

In McAllen, migrants deemed to have credible asylum cases are released to the Catholic Charities respite center, where theyre allowed to shower, given medical attention and helped with getting a bus or airplane ticket to their final U.S. destination.

Sister Norma Pimentel, who oversees the shelter, said she received a phone call two weekends ago from a Border Patrol official warning that the numbers were about to skyrocket. The next day, around 800 migrants showed up to the shelter, she said.

On Wednesday, clusters of migrants crowded the halls of the center. Lines stretched down long halls, as migrants waited to use the shower or pick up diapers. Teams of volunteers called migrants' relatives to get bus tickets. Every 20 minutes or so, a new tour bus would drive up and deliver another 50 migrants into the shelter.

Among the throngs were Fredy Escobar, 27, and his wife, Katherine Lopez, 23, and three-year-old daughter, Ayleen Escobar. The family fled Guatemala earlier this year when corrupt police officers threatened to take over his car wash business in Guatemala City and tried to kidnap him, Fredy Escobar said.

They crossed into the U.S. from nearby Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, waiting 10 days at the international bridge and sleeping in a nearby church, until they were allowed to cross and seek asylum. He said he was surprised by the throngs of other migrants joining him in U.S. processing centers but was excited to get to Houston to start a new life.

"It wont be easy. We're starting over," he said, "but we pray everything will turn out OK."

The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

Despite the crush, Pimentel said she will continue taking in the migrants. If you drop them off on the street, theyre not going to know what to do, she said. Were going to have chaos. Were going to have a terrible problem.

As the respite center started to overflow last week, city officials got involved, opening new shelters and contracting buses to take the migrants directly to shelters rather than have them cluster around the bus station downtown.

Rodriguez, the city manager, said hes dedicated several city officials to spearhead the problem and the citys spending thousands of taxpayer dollars a day on the buses and other services.

Hes lobbied the federal government for reimbursement, but hes not overly hopeful. In 2014, when a similar crush of Central American migrants strained city resources, local officials applied for $600,000 in federal disaster funds. After years of wrangling, they got just $140,000, he said.

This is very similar to what we saw then, Rodriguez said. Its real people and real time and real money.

Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Weve never seen anything like this': As Trump threatens to close border, migrants overwhelm Texas citiesSan Francisco (AFP) - Apple confirmed on Friday that it will not deliver on its promise of helping usher in a wireless future with an AirPower mat for charging its devices.

The project announced in late 2017 proved to be an engineering challenge, Apple senior vice president of hardware engineering Dan Riccio told AFP.

"After much effort, we've concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled the project," Riccio said.

"We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward."

He apologized to Apple fans who were looking forward to the AirPower.

AirPower was announced at the same time as the iPhone X, a premium model that marked the tenth anniversary of the company's flagship smartphone.

It was heralded as part of a shift to mobile lifestyles less entangled by wires, and images at the project's unveiling showed AirPower as a mat where Apple's phone, smart watch, and AirPod ear-bud case could be placed together to charge without being plugged in.

While Apple has delayed release of products in the past such as its AirPod ear buds and a HomePod smart speaker, it is not know to fail to deliver on innovations touted at events.

Other companies sell charging stands or pads that can be used to wirelessly power up iPhones or other devices compatible with the technology, which is based on an industry standard.

The broken hardware promise comes as Apple shifts its focus to digital content and services to break free of its reliance on iPhone sales.

With Hollywood stars galore, Apple this week unveiled its streaming video plans along with news and game subscription offerings.MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's budget for the 2019/20 fiscal year will include an additional A$570 million ($404.36 million) for national security to boost counter-terrorism and anti-espionage operations, The Weekend Australian newspaper reported on Saturday. The extra spending package for domestic spy agency the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) will fund programs such as anti-drone technology for the police and intelligence gathering in offshore conflict zones. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil a budget on Tuesday that is expected to feature an avalanche of spending in an effort to arrest his conservative government's slide in popularity. The delivery of the budget for the year beginning July 1 will be a launching pad for a general election due in May. The killing of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15 has sparked debate about Australia's readiness to fight extremism. An Australian man, a suspected white supremacist, has been charged with one count of murder and is expected to face more charges at his next court appearance on Friday. Morrison said the extra money for security was not a response to concerns Australia had let extremists slip through its net. "No, no. What this is is a recognition of the growing threat of extremist terrorism in so many different terms," he said in televised remarks. The Weekend Australian reported that the majority of the new spending would go to the AFP. The agency was expected to receive a A$512 million increase over the next five years to cope with a seven-fold increase in counter-terrorism operations and an eight-fold increase in the number of people being monitored under a security watch list, it said. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Paul Tait)At age 19, Oluale Kossola was preparing for marriage in his native West African village when he was captured by warriors from a rival tribe and sold into slavery.

It was 1860  a half-century after the U.S. had outlawed international trafficking of African peoples. But a wealthy Alabama ship operator and slaveholder named Timothy Meaher wanted to prove that he could still smuggle kidnapped Africans into the country and organized an expedition to do just that. Kossola was among more than 110 Africans captured and detained for weeks in a barracoon, or holding pen, in what is now Benin. They were put on the Clotilda to endure a harrowing six-week passage across the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship was burned upon arrival in Alabama to hide evidence of its illegal cargo. The Africans were taken to Plateau, just north of Mobile, and Kossola became Cudjo Lewis. He lived in slavery for five years.

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As the nation this year marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of 20 Africans in Virginia in 1619, Lewis story is of particular importance. It offers a firsthand account of the slave trade from the perspective of an enslaved person, the uncomfortable fact of Africans enslaving other Africans, and the dehumanizing treatment blacks suffered on U.S. soil.

Oluale Kossola (Cudjo Lewis), the last survivor of the last known slave ship, was interviewed in 1927 by writer Zora Neale Hurston. After the Civil War, Kossola and others from the slave ship Clotilda made a community for themselves in Plateau, Alabama, part of Mobile.

They were on the ship for 70 days, and they were in the hold for 13 days before they even got a chance to stretch their limbs, says Garry Lumbers, a descendant of Lewis. Can you imagine the things that they went through?

The late Harlem Renaissance writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston gives us a detailed account of Lewis torturous journey from Africa to Alabama in "Barracoon: The Story of the Last 'Black Cargo,'" published last year.

Story continues

Its a singular work. Its a treasure that represents so much of our national and international history, says Deborah G. Plant, editor of "Barracoon". Theres not much information when it comes to the lives and experiences of African peoples prior to their enslavement in America.  Rarely is there a first-person account of that part of our history. So Cudjos narrative is rare.

Resigned to the fact that he could not return to his African homeland, Lewis helped create a community in Plateau  homes, a church  with other former slaves. They called it Africatown.

Lewis married, had five children and survived as best he could in Africatown.

They came to Alabama with nothing but what was inside of them, Plant says. They came with the wisdom of Africa. Thats what got him through all the difficult times and challenges that he had to experience. His cultural traditions allowed him the vision to see a way out of that darkness that he was forced into.

In 1927, Hurston traveled from New York to Plateau to interview Lewis, at the time known as the last survivor of the Clotilda, and get an understanding of that darkness. I want to know who you are, Hurston told Lewis, how you came to be a slave  how you fared as a slave, and how you have managed as a free man.

And so over three months, Lewis told Hurston his story of capture, enslavement and freedom as he knew it. They bonded over peaches, watermelon and hams. Hurston took down Lewiss raw, broken African dialect, his unedited words.

Hurston, who died in 1960, finished the final draft of "Barracoon" in 1931. But publishers were not interested in the manuscript, and it languished in a collection at Howard University for decades. A few years ago, the Zora Neale Hurston Trust and HarperCollins decided to publish some of Hurstons material. "Barracoon" was released in May 2018.

Lumbers learned of his slave ancestor through his grandmother. Growing up, Lumbers remembers swinging from the bust of Lewis that was mounted across the street from Union Baptist Church, named after the union soldiers who in April 1965 told the slaves in Plateau that they were free.

All my life Ive been told the story, Lumbers says. Told how he came over on the Clotilda. Told about how there was so many slaves on the Clotilda. They were slaves from 1860 to 1865 and then came to be free. How they banded together and bought the land.

But there were some things his grandmother didnt tell him. From "Barracoon", Lumbers learned of Lewiss brutal capture. The warriors of the Dahomey tribe raided Lewiss village, decapitated those who tried to escape and wore the heads on their belts. The warriors then smoked the heads. Lumbers describes the slaves traumatic transport on the Clotilda, as told in "Barracoon", as horrendous.

Lumbers, who lives in Brookhaven, Pa., about 20 minutes outside Philadelphia, works for Mars Candy. He talks of returning to Plateau, where the population has dropped to a few thousand and industry has left. Theres one tree left on the familys land  Lewiss pecan tree.

After more than 50 years on American soil, Lewis still longed for Africa. He wanted to go home, Lumbers says.

This is the real 'Roots'. There (were) 110 people on the Clotilda. All of them made it. They took the burden of the nation and created a town and started their own rules. They adapted to the hand they were dealt, he says. They keep saying the last black cargo. The black cargo is still here. Its us."



Lottie Joiner is editor of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barracoon: The story of the last slave cargo, in the words of a survivorPolice swooped when the MSC Opera docked in Funchal - AFP

Two British nationals have been arrested on the holiday island of Madeira on suspicion of smuggling 2 million pounds worth of cocaine aboard a luxury cruise liner.

The pair, were amongst 12 people, who were detained when the cruise ship, the MSC Opera, docked at Funchal en route from the Caribbean on March 24.

Local police assisted by members of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) recovered around 18 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of 2 million.

The cocaine had been hidden in crisp packets and ceramic bowls which had been stashed in suitcases.

Six of those arrested had been passengers on board the vessel when it travelled from the West Indies to Madeira.

The other six, including the two Britons, and a Dutch national who lives in London, had recently travelled to Madeira, where it is suspected they were due to meet the ship when it docked.

The drugs had been stored in crisp packets

Those arrested were aged between 20 and 52 and included six men and six women.

All twelve have been detained pending prosecution in the Portuguese courts.

Allan Round, NCA operations manager at the Joint Border Intelligence Unit, said:We believe this operation will have seriously disrupted an organised crime group looking to traffic cocaine into the UK and Europe.

The drugs had been hidden in bowls

Working with our Portuguese colleagues we have been able to act on intelligence at speed and prevent this quantity of drugs from reaching its final destination.

Once in the UK we know cocaine generates huge profits for criminal networks who are also involved in street violence and exploitation, so stopping it will help reduce the harm caused by them.

The Joint Border Intelligence Unit combines staff from the NCA, Border Force and other law enforcement to share intelligence and pursue and disrupt those who attempt to evade UK border controls for criminal purposes.KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Brunei has defended its right to implement Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality against growing global criticism. Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty, including by stoning, and theft with amputation. The laws, elements of which were first adopted in 2014 and which have been rolled out in phases since then, will be fully implemented from next week, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Saturday. "The (Sharia) Law, apart from criminalizing and deterring acts that are against the teachings of Islam, also aims to educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race," the statement said. Some aspects of the laws will apply to non-Muslims. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world's second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world's wealthiest people. Brunei, which neighbors two Malaysian states on Borneo island, already enforces Islamic teachings more strictly than Malaysia and Indonesia, the other majority Muslim countries in southeast Asia. The sale of alcohol is banned and evangelism by other religions is forbidden. The country does not hold elections, but any discontent is assuaged with generous government polices including zero taxes, subsidized housing, and free healthcare and education. The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei. "Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral," former U.S. vice president Joe Biden said in a Twitter post on Friday. "There is no excuse - not culture, not tradition - for this kind of hate and inhumanity." Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by The Brunei Investment Company, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorchester in London and the Plaza Athenee in Paris. (Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by David Holmes)Barcelona (AFP) - Five people were injured and seven arrested on Saturday as members of Spain's far-right Vox party demonstrating in Barcelona against Catalan independence clashed with separatist activists there, police said.

The violence came amid rising tension in the run-up to parliamentary elections next month and the continuing trial of 12 Catalan leaders for their part in the failed 2017 independence bid.

Police estimated that around 5,000 members of Vox demonstrated in the Catalan capital, in the words of their leader Santiago Abascal to "defend to the very end a united Spain".

"Spain will not resign itself to being destroyed," Abascal told the crowd.

Several groups of radical Catalan separatists, many of them masked, had organised counter-demonstrations around the Vox rally, which took place in the Plaza de Espana.

Carrying banners denouncing fascism about 300 of them set up barricades, burning rubbish bins, and throwing bottles and stones at officers, said police.

Vox made its electoral breakthrough when it won seats in the Andalusia regional assembly last December. It is expected to pick up more nationally in the April 28 parliamentary elections.

In the trial of the Catalan nationalists, it has taken the position of a "popular prosecutor", a role particular to the Spanish justice system, which allows it to be an accuser alongside state prosecutors.

Spain's socialist government has rejected suggestions that prosecution of the Catalan separatists has been unfair.PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal had risen "very sharply" following parliament's rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement for a third time. "France is well prepared (for no deal) and will accelerate its preparations for such a scenario," the Elysee said in a statement. It said it was now up to Britain to present an alternative plan in the coming days -- whether new elections, a second referendum, or a proposal for a customs union -- otherwise the country would leave the EU with no deal. European Council President Donald Tusk has convened an emergency summit of EU leaders for April 10, ahead of Britain's possible no-deal exit from the union on April 12. (Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Sarah White)Former President Barack Obama and President Trump have divided America, according to popular radio host Charlamagne Tha God. Charlamagne, the lead voice of The Breakfast Club, a nationally syndicated morning radio show originating in New York City, says the reason you hear an increase of hate-filled stories and see more overt racism today is a direct result of the countrys current and immediate past president.

Donald Trump has a lot to do with that over the past couple years, but I also think Barack had a lot to do with that too, Charlamagne said in a sit-down interview with Yahoo News Marquise Francis. We fail to realize when youre on the other side. If you voted for Barack you were probably happy, so you were probably in your echo chamber and you were with your people who loved Barack too. But you didnt see the other side of America who was extremely pissed off that it was a black man in the White House.

The statistics support Charlamagnes theory. Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226% increase in hate crimes, according to a new Washington Post study. Charlamagne admits that the motivation behind Trump and Obama are vastly different, adding that Trump is dividing the country intentionally, while Obama did so unintentionally.

Charlamagne, author of a 2018 best-selling book on anxiety titled Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me, continued that he has parental anxiety in raising his two daughters in the current climate. I have a lot of fears and concerns and I dont even know if theyre justified, he said. My daughter is in the fifth grade right now, and shes one of the only minorities in her grade, so I often wonder if shes around enough of her own people and I wonder what those kids are being taught at home.

He went on to tell an anecdote of a recent encounter he had with an elementary school student while dropping off his daughter at her school for cheerleading practice. The student initially called Charlamagne a criminal because of the way he looked, but after the two shook hands, the childs attitude became more positive. Still, the initial assessment struck Charlamagne as ominous, evidence of racist stereotypes being foisted on young and impressionable minds.By Stephen Eisenhammer BEIRA, Mozambique (Reuters) - The number of confirmed cases of cholera in the cyclone-hit Mozambican port city of Beira jumped from five to 138 on Friday, as government and aid agencies battled to contain the spread of disease among the tens of thousands of victims of the storm. Cyclone Idai smashed into Beira on March 14, causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people across three countries in southeast Africa. Many badly affected areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are still inaccessible by road, complicating relief efforts and exacerbating the threat of infection. Although there have been no confirmed cholera deaths in medical centers in Mozambique yet, at least two people died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhea, the country's environment minister Celso Correia said. A Reuters reporter saw the body of a dead child being brought out of an emergency clinic in Beira on Wednesday. The child had suffered acute diarrhea, which can be a symptom of cholera. "We expected this, we were prepared for this, we've doctors in place," Correia told reporters. The government said for the first time that there had been confirmed cholera cases on Wednesday. Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute said the local death toll from the tropical storm had increased to 493 people, from 468 previously. That takes the total death toll across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to 738 people, with many more still missing. "Stranded communities are relying on heavily polluted water. This, combined with widespread flooding and poor sanitation, creates fertile grounds for disease outbreaks, including cholera," the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement. The World Health Organization's Tarik Jasarevic said 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine were expected to arrive on Monday. The U.S. Defense Department said on Friday it had authorized an additional $8.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Mozambique, bringing the total to $15 million. About 50 U.S. military personnel have been sent to Mozambique to assist with logistics, including transporting food and medical supplies. Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had regular outbreaks over the past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the last outbreak, which ended in February 2018, according to the WHO. But the scale of the damage to Beira's water and sanitation infrastructure, coupled with its dense population, have raised fears that another epidemic would be difficult to put down. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer in Beira and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Alison Williams and Rosalba O'Brien)Kiev (AFP) - When is a presidential campaign not a presidential campaign? When it's being fronted by Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian comedian who has a serious chance of becoming the country's leader going into a weekend vote.

As other candidates in the unpredictable race made last-ditch appeals to the electorate on Friday, Zelensky -- who is comfortably ahead in polls for Sunday's first-round of voting -- was performing with his sketch troupe at an arena in the Kiev suburbs.

"We're not doing any campaigning today," he said to laughter and applause from the audience of more than two thousand people.

Some were there as supporters of Zelensky's candidacy but many had simply come because they were fans of his television work and stand-up.

As often in the extraordinary election, the line between popular performer and presidential hopeful was blurred.

The show began with a large-screen advertisement for a new series of "Servant of the People" -- a television comedy in which the 41-year-old actor plays the president.

Until this year it was the closest he had come to politics.

The programme traces the journey of an everyman teacher who ends up winning the presidency after a video rant against Ukraine's endemic corruption goes viral.

Friday's arena spectacle -- made up of sketches, stand-up and upbeat musical numbers -- saw the candidate joined on stage by members of his Kvartal 95 comedy group.

Despite Zelensky's tongue-in-cheek insistence the two-hour performance would be free of politics, he used the platform to take shots at his rivals.

Incumbent Petro Poroshenko, who is neck-and-neck in polls with ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko to face Zelensky in a run-off vote next month, was a particular target.

"Why is Poroshenko going for a second term? So that he doesn't get a first," Zelensky said, with the implication of a jail term for a leader who has been accused of corruption.

Story continues

"That's not funny," his on-stage partner replied, despite a smattering of laughter from the crowd.

"Well, it wasn't a joke," Zelensky shot back.

- Song to the motherland -

Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, the diminutive comedian closed the show with a song about his love for his motherland as images of Ukraine landmarks played on a screen behind him.

"Everything will be fine for Ukraine in the end," he said, encouraging the audience to use the torches on their phones to make a sea of light.

"And if it's not fine, it's not the end."

Zelensky has come under fire from the start for the vagueness of his manifesto, the key pledges of which were chosen following a public vote on social media.

Critics say he has no serious suggestions for how to tackle graft or bring an end to a conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the east of Ukraine that has so far cost some 13,000 lives.

Some accuse Zelensky of acting as a front for the interests of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, who owns the channel that broadcasts his shows, though the entertainer denies any political links.

Supporters say only a fresh face can clear up Ukraine's murky politics.

He has steadily risen in the polls and now sits around 10 points clear of his nearest rivals, according to several surveys.

"I think he's funny," said Nadezhda, a Kiev office worker who was at the arena show with her husband and young daughter.

"I like him as a performer and a producer, not as a politician."

The 42-year-old said she would vote in Sunday's election but for a different candidate.

Asked how she imagined a Zelensky presidency, she laughed: "Not great. At least at the start."

But Yulia, a 49-year-old medical professional who had come to the show with a friend, was more optimistic.

"It's not just him. He has a team on stage and if he's elected, he will have a team there as well."In the fallout from the college admissions scandal, attention has turned to the college preparatory environment in Los Angeles, specifically the high school attended by YouTube blogger Olivia Jade, whose mother, actress Lori Loughlin, has been accused of spending $500,000 to get Olivia and her eldest daughter, Isabella, into USC. Last week high school senior Harlow Brooks, who briefly attended Olivia Jade's private high school, said she was "not surprised" by the scandal, describing an intense atmosphere at the school where she said parents had "insane" expectations for their children. Now, a former student of the same school, who graduated in 2001, shares her very different experience exclusively with USA TODAY.

In the wake of this college cheating scandal, were seeing young students abilities questioned. These students' own parents doubted them to such an extreme that they committed felonies so their already privileged kids could attend the schools they handpicked for them.

Through the fallout, Ive been disappointed to see blame placed on the environment of the schools these students attended rather than the parents who committed these crimes.

I, too, went to the same college preparatory school thats been grossly mischaracterized in these stories, including within this very paper. The same school that paved the way for me to become who I am today.

More: Olivia Jade's former classmate describes 'super-elite' school with 'insane' expectations

College admissions scandal: Education Department launches investigation into universities

Actress Lori Loughlin, seen here in 2017 with her daughters, Isabella Rose Giannulli, left, and Olivia Jade Giannulli, is due back in federal court on April 3.

I am not super elite. Or rich. Or white. I had no one to pay for my school, much less a guaranteed spot at an out-of-reach university. But none of that mattered when I was accepted to my high school on scholarship, where I was afforded the same opportunities as other students, despite coming from extremely limited means.

And my story is not unique. Many of my fellow classmates came from similar backgrounds and received the same level of support. Because providing an equal opportunity and quality education rooted in service was and still is at the heart of my alma maters mission.

Story continues

In the classroom every day, we were taught the importance of balance. The faculty and staff reached well beyond our textbooks to drive home the critical lessons of valuing our families and friends, working hard to succeed, making time for extracurriculars and always giving back to the community  no matter how much or little we had.

More: Olivia Jade, sister Isabella Giannulli are still enrolled at USC, college confirms

Also: Yale rescinds admission of student whose family allegedly paid $1.2M to bribe entry

Our schedules were carefully crafted to demonstrate what the world expected of us while still allowing enough time and space to simply be teenagers. The rigor of my education laid the foundation for me to thrive at an Ivy League, launch a successful career and become a double homeowner as a single woman, all because of the lessons I was taught throughout my formative years.

But the benefits I reaped from the four years I spent at my high school stretched far beyond academics. When one of my many amazing teachers learned of my fractured home life, they took it upon themselves to uproot their entire existence by taking me in as their adopted daughter.

Read more: Who is Olivia Jade, Lori Loughlin's daughter caught up in admissions scandal?

They didnt buy my way into a good life  they simply embodied the love and support I was promised when I first walked through my schools gates on orientation day. And theyre still embodying this open spirit as a teacher today, keeping me connected to how my alma mater has grown over the years to empower even more young students.

By my graduation in 2001, I had learned that it doesnt take fortune and fame to succeed. It takes being grounded and focused, in a day and age where a quick fix is the more sought-after solution rather than good, old-fashioned hard work.

My former classmates and I are now equipped to succeed in a world that  especially for young women  will never do us any favors. The real world is hard, but not impossible, because of the values we were surrounded by during the most important years of our youth.

My advice for all young people is to invest your time and energy into school as an investment in your future. Because that investment is worth more than any payout anyone could ever make on your behalf.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College admissions scandal: Graduate of Olivia Jade's L.A. prep school hits back



Why didnt Boeing do it right? Why isnt Facebook protecting user passwords? Why is Phillip Morris allowed to promote vaping? Why hasnt Wells Fargo reformed itself? Why hasnt Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) recalled its Roundup weedkiller?

Answer: corporate greed coupled with inept and corrupt regulators.

These are just a few of the examples in the news these days of corporate harms inflicted on innocent people.

To be sure, some began before the Trump administration. But Trump and his appointees have unambiguously signaled to corporations they can now do as they please.

Boeing wanted to get its 737 Max 8 out quickly because airlines want to pack in more passengers at lower fuel costs (hence the max). But neither Boeing nor the airlines shelled out money to adequately train pilots on the new software made necessary by the new design.

Related: Monsanto says its pesticides are safe. Now, a court wants to see the proof | Carey Gillam

Nonetheless, Trumps FAA certified the plane in March 2017. And after two subsequent deadly crashes, the US was slower to ground them than other countries.

Last week Facebook admitted to storing hundreds of millions of Facebook users passwords in plain text that could be searched by more than 20,000 Facebook employees. The admission came just a year after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that Facebook shared the personal data of as many as 87 million users with a political data firm.

In reality, Facebooks business model is based on giving personal data to advertisers so they can tailor their pitches precisely to potential customers. So despite repeated reassurances by Mark Zuckerberg, the firm will continue to do what it wants with personal information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to force Facebook to better guard users privacy. But so far Trumps FTC has done nothing  not even to enforce a 2011 agreement in which Facebook promised to do just that.

Altria (Phillip Morris) was losing ground on its sales of cigarettes, but the firm has recently found a future in vaping. Because inhaling nicotine in any form poses a health hazard, the FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb wanted to curb advertising of vaping products to teenagers.

Story continues

Gottlieb thought he had Altrias agreement, but then the firm bought the vaping company Juul. Its stock has already gained 14% this year. What happened to Gottlieb? Hes out at the FDA, after barely a year on the job.

Wells Fargo has publicly apologized for having deceived customers with fake bank accounts, unwarranted fees and unwanted products. Its top executives say they have eliminated the aggressive sales targets that were responsible for the fraud.

But Wells Fargo employees told the New York Times recently that theyre still under heavy pressure to squeeze extra money out of customers. Some have witnessed colleagues bending or breaking internal rules to meet ambitious performance goals.

What has Trumps Consumer Financial Protection Agency done about this? Nothing. Its been defanged.

This week, a federal jury awarded $80m in damages to a California man who blamed Monsantos (now Bayers) Roundup weedkiller for his cancer, after finding that Roundup was defectively designed, that Monsanto failed to warn of the herbicides cancer risk, and that the company acted negligently. It was the second jury in eight months to reach the same conclusion about Roundup.

Roundup contains glyphosate, a suspected carcinogen. Cases from more than 1,000 farmers and other agricultural workers stricken with non-Hodgkin lymphoma are already pending in federal and state courts.

What has Trumps Environmental Protection Agency done about glyphosate? In December 2017 its office of pesticide programs concluded that glyphosate wasnt likely to cause cancer  although eight of the 15 experts on whom the agency relied expressed significant concerns about that conclusion, and three more expressed concerns about the data.

Related: The US is on the edge of the economic precipice  and Trump may push it over | Robert Reich

These are just tips of a vast iceberg of regulatory neglect, frozen into place by Trumps appointees, of which at least 187 were lobbyists before they joined the administration.

This is trickle-down economics of a different sort than Trumps corporate tax cuts. The major beneficiaries of this are the same big corporations, including their top executives and major investors. But these burdens are trickling down as unsafe products, fraudulent services, loss of privacy, even loss of life.

Big money has had an inhibiting effect on regulators in several previous administrations. Whats unique under Trump is the blatancy of it all, and the shameless willingness of Trump appointees to turn a blind eye to corporate wrongdoing.

Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress yell socialism! at proposals for better balancing private greed with the common good. Yet unless a better balance is achieved, capitalism as we know it is in deep trouble.The founder of Omise torched a report that the crypto project had been acquired in a blockbuster $150 million deal. | Source: Shutterstock

The founder of Omise  the company behind the OmiseGo cryptocurrency  denied reports that his Ethereum-based payments platform was acquired for $150 million by Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailands largest private company.

Omise Founder Demands Retraction

Jun Hasegawa issued an angry denial on Twitter, where he accused the crypto news website The Block of pushing fake news.

Hasegawa also threatened to take legal action if a correction/retraction isnt issued. Hasegawa has not yet responded to CCNs requests for comment.

omisego denies acquisition twitter, crypto

Omise founder Hasegawa Jun denied that his company was acquired. (Twitter)

In response to Hasegawas volcanic denials, The Block reporter who broke the story says he stands by his reporting and his extensive sourcing.

the block omisego twitter crypto

The Block reporter says the website stands by its reporting on OmiseGo. (Twitter)

OmiseGo Recently Partnered With Korean Bank

The brouhaha erupted on March 29 after The Block reported that Charoen Pokphand Group had acquired Omise for $150 million, citing several sources close to the deal.

Read the full story on CCN.com.It's a classic investment conundrum: How comfortable do you feel buying a stock with some near-term earnings risk, but strong long-term growth prospects? That's the question facing potential investors in Deere (NYSE: DE) right now. Let's take a closer look at what's going on with the company in 2019 and the investment proposition overall.

The near-term risk facing Deere

Soybeans are one of the key battleground issues in the U.S./China trade conflict. That matters for Deere, because a loss of revenue from exports to China could cause U.S. farmers to buy less agricultural equipment. As such, Deere is seen as one of the companies under threat from a protracted trade dispute.

Indeed, there's evidence that Deere is already seeing some impact. For example, during the company's first-quarter earnings call in February the Manager of Investor Communications, Brent Norwood, noted that "uncertainty has weighed on farmer sentiment throughout the year" and "the market uncertainty has resulted in some U.S. farmers temporarily pausing equipment investment decisions." As such, early order "programs sales momentum observably shifted in reaction to external factors such as the rise of global trade tensions," according to Norwood.

A soybean field.

Soybeans are one of the key battlegrounds in the U.S./China trade dispute. Image source: Getty Images.

Guidance maintained, for now

While management's commentary is uninspiring, full-year guidance was maintained, with full-year U.S. & Canada sales still expected to grow in the 0%-5% range. The only change was that margin in the agriculture & turf segment is now expected to be 12% compared to a previous forecast of 12.5%. For reference, the agriculture & turf segment contributed 76% of total equipment operating profit in 2018 with operating margin of 12.1%.

The reason for the margin guidance cut? "Large agricultural equipment" comprises relatively high-margin products, and North American large agricultural equipment sales are now forecast to be flat.

Story continues

However, on the whole, full-year guidance was maintained, and total company net sales are still expected to increase 7%, with net income still expected to be around $3.6 billion, representing a 17% increase on last year. Deere is seeing improving trends in sales of smaller agricultural equipment and countries like Brazil.

Deere's net income.

Data source: Deere presentations. Chart by author.

That said, if Deere is seeing some hesitancy in large equipment orders from farmers due to the trade conflict and upheaval in the soybean market, then it's reasonable to fear more of an impact in the future if trade friction continues. In other words, don't be surprised if Deere has to lower near-term guidance.

The long view

The key question is whether the impact of the trade dispute is going to be a temporary or permanent one. If it's the former, then long-term investors are likely to simply brush off any lowering of guidance as a mere blemish on an attractive bigger picture. If the latter, then Deere could be challenged by a structural problem for years to come.

When answering a question on the matter during the earnings call, CFO Raj Kalathur expressed his belief that "trade flows will reroute," while Director of Investor Relations Josh Jepsen argued that " We've seen more of our soybeans go into places like Europe, like Egypt, former Brazilian trade partners."

In a nutshell, management's argument is that U.S. soybean exports will simply go elsewhere now that China has imposed sanctions on imports from the U.S.

For example, customers that were regular buyers of Brazilian soybeans, which now go to China in place of American exports, will now buy from the U.S. in order to fill the gap. It's just one of the reasons why fears over tariffs are overblown.

Why Deere's management is right

Fortunately, there's evidence to suggest that Deere's management is right. For example, when the tariff issue hit in the summer, the spread between Brazil and U.S. soybean export prices blew up to around $100 a ton from the normal spread of a few dollars. However, the latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that the spread has closed to normal levels since the end of the 2018. In fact, the latest USDA data indicates that U.S. export prices are now higher than Brazil's.

Moreover, the drop in demand from China has been partly offset by increased demand from other countries. For example, the USDA points out that U.S. soybean export commitments (defined as outstanding sales plus accumulated exports) to China at the end of February were just 9.4 million tons, compared to 27.7 million tons a year ago. However, total commitments to the world were 39 million tons, compared to 48 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, as Norwood pointed out, "three of the four major crops are expected to be higher in the 2018-2019 marketing year than in the previous year." For reference, he's referring to corn, wheat, and cotton. In fact, Deere is forecasting that U.S. farm cash receipts will increase by a few billion to around $390 billion.

Think long-term with Deere

There's strong evidence that U.S farmers are "filling the gap," and in the long-term Deere has good growth prospects thanks to its precision agriculture solutions -- the company is also an under-appreciated play on the Internet of Things.

Deere may well be forced to cut near-term guidance due to the upheaval caused by trade conflict, but that's probably not something that long-term investors should be worried about because U.S. farmers are already opening up new trade routes for soybeans. All told, Deere remains an attractive stock for long-term investors.

More From The Motley Fool

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Singapore. 28th March 2019  Digix, creator of the worlds first asset-backed digital gold token, will launch its DigixDAO platform, joining the ranks of some of the first Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAO) in the world. As of 30th March, those who own DGD tokens can now contribute and vote on proposals to grow and improve the Digix platform.

DigixDAO invites the community to expand the business strategy of increasing adoption in DGX gold backed tokens by submitting proposals to fund this vision. The DigixDAO governance platform enables DGD token holders to moderate, approve, reject and comment proposals to accelerate the growth of the DGX ecosystem.

Anthony Eufemio, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Digix, says: Over the last three years, Digix has worked to meet the growing demand for a more democratised way of owning and investing in gold. As we expand our offering to wider assets and markets, the DigixDAO platform will enable us to double down on these efforts and harness deep insights and ideas from the public, while introducing a more democratised future for corporate governance in Singapore.

Loi Luu, CEO, and Co-Founder of Kyber Network, says: The launch of DigixDAO adds to the momentum we are seeing for decentralised organisations in Singapore. Together with other DAOs, we are working towards a future where less traditional, less central ways of governing and growing organisations can flourish. This will collectively accelerate the adoption of blockchain technologies and make its benefits more tangible to people in Singapore and beyond.

The DigixDAO launch follows Digixs recent selection by Enterprise Singapores Tribe Accelerator programme, launched on 27th March. As part of the first batch of startups, Digix will participate in a series of global roadshows showcasing Singapore s ecosystem of blockchain technology and work to bolster its ability to encourage widespread adoption of owning and investing in hard assets among everyday users.

The post Digix joins ranks of pioneering DAOs in Singapore appeared first on Coin Rivet.Ottawa (AFP) - A political meddling scandal threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election bid was given fresh impetus Friday with the release of messages and a secret recording supplied by his former attorney general.

The House of Commons justice committee, looking into the explosive allegations that Trudeau officials pressured attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to shield engineering firm SNC-Lavalin from trial, released the materials from the now former official.

The controversy comes just months ahead of a re-election bid that looks increasingly uncertain for Trudeau, whose progressive, golden boy image had previously been unblemished.

In the 43 pages of documents, Wilson-Raybould seeks to link her demotion to another portfolio in January to her resistance to allegedly undue pressure to settle the SNC-Lavalin case -- which Trudeau and his staff have denied.

And she hints about why, a month later, she resigned from cabinet, saying she had decided "that I would immediately resign if the new attorney general decided to issue a directive in the SNC-Lavalin matter."

Her replacement as attorney general, David Lametti, has so far only said he is considering the issue.

Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin was charged in 2015 with corruption over alleged bribes paid to secure contracts in Libya.

Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first indigenous attorney general, refused to ask prosecutors to settle, and the trial is set to proceed.

But she later testified to lawmakers that she had faced "consistent and sustained" political pressure to intervene, including receiving "veiled threats" over her stance.

Trudeau recently addressed the allegations, telling reporters in Ottawa that he had learned "lessons" from the crisis -- but denying any wrongdoing.

Another minister quit in protest, and two senior officials in Trudeau's office accused of bullying Wilson-Raybould also resigned since the scandal erupted in February.

Story continues

- Secret recording -

The secret recording made by Wilson-Raybould of a 17-minute call in December with Canada's top bureaucrat, Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, supports her testimony to the justice committee last month.

On the tape, she says Trudeau's inner circle was on "dangerous ground" by attempting to interfere in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution.

She also explains that she is only trying to protect Trudeau from charges of political interference after the head of prosecutions had already decided to go ahead with the trial.

Wernick says the prime minister is "in a pretty firm frame of mind about this."

"I am a bit worried," he goes on to say. "It is not a good idea for the prime minister and his attorney general to be at loggerheads."

He highlights Trudeau's concerns about the possible loss of 9,000 jobs and "a signature Canadian firm" if SNC-Lavalin is found guilty at trial and sanctioned, coming soon after a GM plant closure and Canadian oil sector woes.

"The PM wants to be able to say that he has tried everything he can within a legitimate toolbox to try to head that off," he said. "He is quite determined."

"I think he's gonna find a way to get it done one way or another."

Divisions within the Liberal party have started to emerge as a result of the scandal, with several MPs publicly calling for Wilson-Raybould to be kicked out of caucus.

Opposition parties, meanwhile, renewed their demands for a public inquiry and for Trudeau to resign.

"The prime minister has lost the moral authority to govern and must resign," Tory leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement.

According to the latest poll by Angus Reid, the Liberals have fallen nine points behind the main opposition, to 28 percent, versus 37 percent for the Tories.

Smaller parties such as the New Democrats (17 percent), Greens (eight percent) and the upstart libertarian People's Party (four percent), however, have been the main beneficiaries of the Liberals' loss of support.President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida - AP

Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared Friday he is likely to shut down Americas southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration.

Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasized, "I am not kidding around."

"It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Mr Trump said when questioned by reporters in Florida. "We will close it for a long time."

President Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the US.

The US and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, "If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week."

The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

....through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

In Florida, he didnt qualify his threat with "or large sections," stating: "There is a very good likelihood Ill be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me."

Story continues

He said several times that it would be "so easy" for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the U.S. illegally, "but they just take our money and talk."

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Mr Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the US might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said. "So its on the table, but what were doing is a very structured process based on operational needs."

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trumps possible action would apply to air travel.

A US Customs and Border Patrol agent travels along the border wall between the US and Mexico near Tecate, California Credit: MIKE BLAKE/Reuters

Trumps latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said Friday. He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way."

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexicos foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesnt act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the US could have.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have fought over Trumps contention that there is a "crisis" at the border, particularly amid his push for a border wall, which he claims will solve immigration problems, though a wall wouldnt keep out families who cross at official points so they can surrender and be detained.

The president called on Congress to immediately change what he said were weak US immigration laws, which he blamed on Democrats. The Department of Homeland Security wants the authority to detain families for longer and more quickly deport children from Central America who arrive at the border on their own. The department argues those policy changes would stop families from trying to enter the US.The European Union said Saturday it would investigate allegations that its aid funds were being funnelled to Philippine communist guerrillas waging a decades-old insurgency that has killed thousands.

The Philippine government demanded the probe, alleging that aid supplied to a local non-profit by the EU was being diverted to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New People's Army (NPA), the bloc's office in Manila said.

"Should the allegations be established, the EU immediately would take full legal action," it said in a statement, adding that a financial audit by an external company would be conducted next month.

The statement said Manila had raised the claims with the EU in January, but that an initial audit "has so far not been able to verify the allegations".

Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General Edgard Arevalo said Saturday Manila had supplied "voluminous documents" in support of the allegation.

Arevalo said "millions of pesos" (tens of thousands of dollars) in foreign aid had been funnelled to the NPA for many years using its "front organisations", but did not elaborate further.

"We are confident that we will succeed in proving our case," he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte cancelled peace talks with the rebels in 2017 after they refused to sign a ceasefire and stop imposing a "revolutionary tax" on businesses in areas where the guerrillas operate.

The NPA launched its rebellion to create a Maoist state in 1969, emerging out the global communist movement and finding fertile soil in the impoverished country.

Its main stronghold is in the south, but the movement also boasts a scattered presence in the central Philippines and a few areas in the north.

According to the military, the insurgency has claimed 40,000 lives.Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

In December 2018, China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (HKG:3818) released its earnings update. Generally, analysts seem extremely confident, with earnings expected to grow by a high double-digit of 98% in the upcoming year, compared with the past 5-year average growth rate of 5.3%. With trailing-twelve-month net income at current levels of CN315m, we should see this rise to CN623m in 2020. Below is a brief commentary around China Dongxiang (Group)'s earnings outlook going forward, which may give you a sense of market sentiment for the company. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company should research its fundamentals here.

See our latest analysis for China Dongxiang (Group)

Exciting times ahead?

The 3 analysts covering 3818 view its longer term outlook with a positive sentiment. Generally, broker analysts tend to make predictions for up to three years given the lack of visibility beyond this point. To get an idea of the overall earnings growth trend for 3818, Ive plotted out each years earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to determine an annual rate of growth from the slope of this line.

SEHK:3818 Past and Future Earnings, March 30th 2019

This results in an annual growth rate of 24% based on the most recent earnings level of CN315m to the final forecast of CN713m by 2022. EPS reaches CN0.12 in the final year of forecast compared to the current CN0.054 EPS today. With a current profit margin of 18%, this movement will result in a margin of 32% by 2022.

Next Steps:

Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For China Dongxiang (Group), I've compiled three relevant aspects you should further examine:

Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does China Dongxiang (Group)'s growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of China Dongxiang (Group)? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.(Reuters) - Facebook Inc has removed a social media network in the Philippines for "coordinated inauthentic behavior", and took the unusual step of linking it to a businessman who said he had managed the president's online election campaign in 2016.

Facebook said its investigation found that the online activity was linked to a network organized by a former chief executive of Omnicom Media Group Philippines, who it identified as Nic Gabunada, and said it had removed 200 pages of groups and accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

"The individuals behind this activity used a combination of authentic and fake accounts to disseminate content across a variety of pages and groups", Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of Cybersecurity Policy, said in a statement, dated on Thursday.

"They frequently posted about local and political news, including topics like the upcoming elections, candidate updates and views, alleged misconduct of political opponents, and controversial events that were purported to occur during previous administrations," he said.

Facebook said it had taken down the pages and accounts "based on their behavior, not the content they posted".

Gabunada told ABS-CBN News that it was "unfortunate" that Facebook linked him to the questionable pages and accounts.

"If they will have to take down my account, it's their prerogative. On the other hand, they have to consider I'm not doing it for the sake of whatever it is that they're accusing me of," Gabunada said.

In an interview with the news site Rappler in May 2016, shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte had been elected, Gabunada said he had volunteered to help lead Duterte's social media team during his campaign.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said Duterte has only one communications group, the PCOO, and Gabunada is not part of it.

Duterte, a former city mayor from outside the political elite, tapped into social media to help him win the 2016 election by a big margin.

Story continues

The Philippines is due to hold mid-term elections in May that are seen as a referendum on Duterte's administration.

At least one of the pages taken down by Facebook was named "Duterte Warriors".

Another was named "Bong Go Supporters", referring to supporters of the president's longtime special assistant, Christopher "Bong" Go, who is running for the Senate.

"The president has nothing to do with those accounts," his spokesman, Salvador Panelo, told reporters.

Studies have shown the Philippines at times has led the world when it comes to sending text messages, using Facebook, and posting selfies.

Filipinos in 2017 spent on average nearly four hours a day on social media, more than any other country, according to a 2018 report by social media management firms, We Are Social and Hootsuite.

(Reporting by Gaurika Juneja and Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Robert Birsel)CHICAGO (AP)  The FBI was already investigating Jussie Smollett before President Donald Trump tweeted that the agency and the Department of Justice would review the case, which the president called "an embarrassment" to the nation.

Trump's tweet on Thursday came two days after a surprise decision by Cook County prosecutors to drop all charges against the "Empire" actor, who was accused of orchestrating a fake attack involving two men who beat him on a downtown Chicago street. The president did not specify what aspect of the case would be probed, and Department of Justice officials declined to comment.

Some former federal prosecutors say there are enough anomalies to justify a Justice Department review of why prosecutors dismissed all 16 felonies. Among the red flags they cited: the unusual level of secrecy around the proceedings, including sealed court documents; prosecutors' often muddled and contradictory explanations; and the absence of any requirement that the accused accept responsibility in exchange for dropping charges.

Investigators believe Smollett hired two brothers to stage the Jan. 29 attack and that Smollett hoped the attention would help advance his career. Police also allege that before the attack, Smollett sent a letter threatening himself to the Chicago television studio where "Empire" is shot. The FBI has been investigating that letter.

State prosecutors insisted that they could still prove Smollett concocted the entire assault. And even after charges were thrown out, the actor maintained that the attack was real.

Phil Turner, an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago before entering private practice, said federal prosecutors could, at minimum, seek an order for state prosecutors to preserve emails, texts and other documents that might shed light on why they acted as they did with Smollett.

Prosecutors' hasty calling of the Tuesday hearing with no prior public notice and their swift sealing of court records showed a highly unusual and suspicious level of secrecy, Turner said.

Story continues

"It makes it look like they were clearly trying to pull a fast one," he said. "It all smells funny."

Federal prosecutors could, in theory, bring charges under a law that requires public officials to provide honest services to citizens if evidence emerges that any decision was made at the behest of influential people outside the state's attorney's office, Turner said.

Justice Department investigators "could try to show that, if Cook County prosecutors did a favor for someone by dropping charges, that deprived people in Cook County of the honest services they deserve," he said.

The case, he theorized, could qualify as a federal matter if communications about the decision took place on the phone or internet, placing it within federal jurisdiction.

Another former federal prosecutor, Joel Bertocchi, sounded much more skeptical about the chances of a full-fledged investigation.

"You'd have to show the decision (to drop charges) was corrupt  not just bad or unexplainable," he said. "Traded favors is not enough for corruption. It has to be money. And there's no indication of that here."

While U.S. attorneys can in principle look into whatever they want, Bertocchi said, accepted practice is that they need some indication an actual crime was committed. "You can't just investigate someone willy-nilly."

The suspicions about the Smollett charges were shared by many in Chicago, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has led official voices of outrage, telling reporters that "something is rotten in Denmark." The city said Thursday it is seeking $130,000 from Smollett to cover the costs of the investigation into his reported beating.

The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association on Thursday issued a scathing critique of Cook County prosecutors. The group said State's Attorney Kim Foxx and her representatives "fundamentally misled the public on the law and circumstances surrounding the dismissal."

"The manner in which this case was dismissed was abnormal and unfamiliar to those who practice law in criminal courthouses across the State," it said.

The critique also highlighted what it called the "uncontested sealing" of the case, saying Cook County prosecutors had "falsely informed the public" that the action was mandatory under Illinois law.

The fact that Tuesday's hearing was not put on the public court schedule and other factors added to an "appearance of impropriety," according to the bar association, which said Cook County prosecutors had "fallen woefully short" of legal ethics.

The Arlington, Virginia-based National District Attorneys Association also weighed in, saying in a statement that aspects of the case may have run afoul of best practices, including the decision to abandon the charges without forcing Smollett to accept some degree of guilt.

The group alluded to Foxx's decision to recuse herself before Smollett was charged because she had discussed the case with a Smollett family member. If the chief prosecutor withdraws, it said, the best practice is for the whole office to step away from a case and to appoint a special prosecutor.

Foxx defended her office's decisions. Even if a trial had been held, Smollett would never have received a prison term because the 16 charges were the lowest form of felony. And if he pleaded guilty, it would have been to one count, not 16, she said.

"For all of the noise and all of the media attention, it's a step up from a misdemeanor," she told Chicago television station WGN. Most comparable cases are resolved with probation or an agreement such as Smollett's if the defendants "don't have a long rap sheet or a violence in their background."

___

Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

___

Check out the AP's complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.Baghdad (AFP) - A governor on the run, officials summoned to court and candidates accused of bribing councillors: the Mosul ferry disaster has brought renewed attention to the scourge of corruption in Iraq.

Nationwide horror over the March 21 capsizing of the overloaded riverboat in the northern city of Mosul, which claimed 100 lives, mostly of women and children, has given way to a clamour for provincial officials to be put on trial.

Graft is endemic across Iraq, not only in the city the Islamic State group controlled for three years before their expulsion in July 2017.

The country ranks among the world's worst offenders in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

Since 2004, a year after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, a total of $218 billion has vanished into the pockets of shady politicians and businessmen, according to parliament.

That is more than Iraq's GDP.

Few officials have been brought to account, and amnesties have allowed many to evade justice, only partially repaying the stolen funds.

For the past week, the cry of "corruption is killing us" has been ringing across Mosul.

A parliamentary report compiled by 43 deputies has warned that corruption risks re-igniting sectarian tensions long exploited by jihadists.

It could also impede the rebuilding of Mosul, much of which was reduced to rubble during the year-long battle to evict IS.

The report, seen by AFP, shows economic groups linked to units from the Hashed al-Shaabi, the Shiite paramilitary alliance which played a key role in defeating IS in mainly Sunni Mosul, taking over projects and lands.

- 'Profiteering' -

Figures close to Hashed are also accused of war profiteering.

Instead of reconstruction, such entrepreneurs have made millions of dollars from the resale of metallic structures and building materials from damaged apartment blocks, a local official says in the report.

He said such sales were being conducted by "armed groups and their frontmen through letters of authorisation from the government".

Story continues

At the same time, according to the report, Nawfel al-Akoub, the governor who has been fired and gone on the run, authorised the construction of two roads in violation of municipal regulations, for the benefit of oil smugglers.

The ferry's capsize in the swollen River Tigris, after operators ignored warnings of dangerous weather, proved a tipping point.

But Abdel Rahman al-Louizi, an MP who took part in the parliamentary inquiry, said the sacking of the provincial governor had already been expected.

"The governor's dismissal came after the ferry shock but it's based on evidence collected well before that," he said.

According to former defence minister Khaled al-Obeidi, on contender to succeed Mosul's disgraced governor is offering $200,000 each to provincial councillors to ensure his election.

Disenchanted Iraqis on social media expressed doubt the ferry drama will force authorities to tackle the issue of graft.

"The ferry's sinking revealed dozens of cases of corruption in Mosul," one Iraqi activist wrote on Twitter.

"How many more victims... will it take to uncover all the other corruption files in Iraq's other provinces?"Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 35 people in Afghanistan, washing away houses and cutting off access to remote villages across parts of the country, officials said Saturday.

Heavy flooding that started early Friday killed at least 12 people in the northern province of Faryab and 10 people in the western province of Herat, said Hashmat Bahaduri, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

Eight people were killed in Badghis province in the west and five in Balkh province in the north, Bahaduri told AFP, adding that more than 3,000 houses had been destroyed.

In Herat, 10 districts and some parts of Herat city were impacted, said Jailani Farhad, spokesman for the province's governor.

"Hundreds of houses have been destroyed and thousands displaced," he said.

Mir Gulabuddin Miri, director of the Afghan Red Crescent in Herat, said access to some areas had been cut off, preventing teams from reaching affected people.

"The destruction is huge. Over 12 areas in the province have been badly hit, people have lost their houses. We've only been able to provide them with some food and blankets so far," he said.

Aid workers in the northern provinces of Faryab and Balkh have also been struggling to deliver humanitarian assistance to affected families.

"We have dispatched our food and non-food assistance for the affected families, but the scale of the disaster is massive. We need more humanitarian assistance," an ANDMA spokesman in northern Afghanistan told AFP.

Rescue and aid delivery efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods -- which often hit as snow melts in the spring -- are frequently hampered by a lack of equipment in Afghanistan.

Poor infrastructure also makes it difficult for aid workers to reach isolated areas.

Earlier this month, at least 20 people were killed by flash floods caused by heavy rains that swept away thousands of homes and vehicles in southern Kandahar province.

strs-mam-emh/wat/qanParis (AFP) - Tens of thousands of French "yellow vest" demonstrators on Saturday staged their 20th week of anti-government protests despite hotspot bans and a plea from bank chiefs to end damage to branches.

Police in Paris fired teargas to disperse a crowd of hardcore demonstrators at the Trocadero square, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, though most of the marches in the capital were peaceful.

Banners held aloft throughout the country demanded change.

"Enough of capitalism which crushes people and destroys the planet," was a slogan seen in Montpellier in the south.

"The youth are angry, the old are in misery, let's change the system," said another in the northern city of Lille.

According to interior ministry figures there were 33.700 protesters on the streets nationwide, including 4,000 in the capital.

Those figures were down from the official estimate of 40,500 a week earlier, and a fraction of the numbers who took part when the protests began last November.

The official turnout figures are challenged by the protest organisers each week.

Police had been surprised by a jump in the numbers two weeks ago when they struggled to curb violence by highly-organised demonstrators who smashed shop windows and set fire to newspaper kiosks and a bank in the capital.

This time around, local authorities declared iconic sites such as the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris and the centres of Avignon, Bordeaux and Toulouse in southern France off limits to demonstrations.

The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were also cordoned off by police.

- 'They don't give a damn' -

The protests began in rural France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion.

President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the weekly demonstrations with a cross-country tour as part of a "Great National Debate" aimed at encouraging disgruntled citizens to express themselves through a structured dialogue.

Story continues

A 62-year-old demonstrator in Paris Saturday, who gave her first name as Monique, vowed to continue protesting "as long as they (the government) have not given in to our demands, the RIC (citizen initiated referendum), increased purchasing power and pensions.

"Petrol prices fell when the demonstrations began, and have now risen higher than before," she noted. "So they don't give a damn about us."

- 'Unbridled, unjustified violence' -

The French banking federation called for an end to attacks on branches during the "yellow vest" protests, saying more than 760 banks had suffered damage since the movement began.

"We must quickly put a stop to this unbridled and unjustified violence," the federation said in comments published in the daily Le Monde.

In Montpellier, southern France, two police officers were slightly injured by projectiles during a protest by about two thousand people. Five demonstrators were detained.

In Lille, officials closed off the city centre, but offered demonstrators an alternative route.

In Bordeaux, where violent clashes broke out during previous protests, Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city centre, saying he was "very concerned about what could happen."

Residents were urged to stay indoors. About 5,000 people, double the previous week's figure, turned out.

Teargas was fired at the popular Trocadero tourist site, where some protesters hurled projectiles.

Police made 25 arrests in the capital, according to local officials.

A demonstration was also held in the Mediterranean city of Nice, where a 73-year-old activist was injured last week after she was pushed by police and hit her head in the fall.

Police initially insisted that no officer had pushed the woman, but rectified that position following an internal investigation.

Last week, Macron continued to meet with mayors as part of regional tours linked to the national debate.

He is scheduled to end the tour Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.By Julio-Cesar Chavez EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - Workers and students who frequently cross the U.S. border with Mexico worried over the weekend about the impact on their lives if President Donald Trump follows through on a threat to shut entry points used by hundreds of thousands of people every day. Faced with a surge of asylum seekers from Central American countries who travel through Mexico, Trump said on Friday there was a "good likelihood" he would close the border this coming week if Mexico does not stop unauthorized immigrants from reaching the United States. Shutting the southern frontier completely would disrupt billions of dollars in trade and millions of legal border crossings, including those made by U.S. citizen Andrea Torres. The 22-year-old student spends weekdays with her aunt in El Paso, where she attends the local campus of the University of Texas, and weekends with her mother in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. On the border bridge linking the two cities, so many students cross every day that authorities have assigned them their own pedestrian lane. "Right now, it's better for me to stay in El Paso because I need to finish school," Torres, who is studying art history, said on Friday as she headed to Juarez for the weekend. That would mean missing her mom. "It would be really hard," Torres said. "I'm really close to her." Gerardo Pozas, a 38-year-old mechanic, moved to El Paso from Juarez in 1997 to attend high school and later became a U.S. citizen. He has always retained strong ties with his birthplace. He worried what he would do if Trump closed the border. "My family, my church and my girlfriend are (in Juarez). I wouldn't be able to go," Pozas said. "But if I stay there, in Ciudad Juarez, I wouldn't be able to come to my house." LONG LINES AT BORDER Department of Homeland Security officials had already warned traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers. Delays were already being felt on Friday, with waiting times longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Juarez and El Paso, and hours-long lines for trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States. Trade between the United States and its third-largest trading partner totaled $612 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Brandon Carlan, a 21-year-old waiter from Boston, Massachusetts, works in San Diego but lives in Tijuana, Mexico, because he cannot afford San Diego's high rents. He said he crosses the border every day. "(Closing it) would affect me economically because I wouldn't be able to pay for my bills," Carlan said. "There are people going back and forth every day and they are not going to be able to see their families or go to their houses." Construction worker Alejandro Villegas, 43, is from Tijuana, Mexico, but lives in San Diego. He said many of his colleagues live in Mexico and cross the border daily. "People have kids who study on this side and on the Mexican side and they have to cross to take them to school, to go shopping and to work so this is a big problem for us," he said. Trump, who launched his presidential campaign in 2015 with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, has repeatedly threatened to close the border during his two years in office but has not followed through. Mexico has played down the possibility of a border shutdown. On Friday its foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the country does not act on the basis of threats. (Graphic: Trump threatens to shut U.S.-Mexico border - https://tmsnrt.rs/2V59n2R) (Additional reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez, Julia Love in Mexico City, and Omar Younis in San Diego; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Daniel Wallis, James Dalgleish and Richard Chang)Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. We'll use ROE to examine GDI Property Group (ASX:GDI), by way of a worked example.

GDI Property Group has a ROE of 13%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each A$1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made A$0.13 in profit.

Check out our latest analysis for GDI Property Group

How Do I Calculate ROE?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit  Shareholders' Equity

Or for GDI Property Group:

13% = AU$2.1m  AU$709m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)

Most know that net profit is the total earnings after all expenses, but the concept of shareholders' equity is a little more complicated. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets.

What Does Return On Equity Mean?

ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal, investors should like a high ROE. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.

Does GDI Property Group Have A Good Return On Equity?

One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, GDI Property Group has a better ROE than the average (11%) in the REITs industry.

Story continues

ASX:GDI Past Revenue and Net Income, March 29th 2019

That's what I like to see. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. For example you might check if insiders are buying shares.

How Does Debt Impact ROE?

Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

GDI Property Group's Debt And Its 13% ROE

While GDI Property Group does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.13, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Its very respectable ROE, combined with only modest debt, suggests the business is in good shape. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.

The Key Takeaway

Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So you might want to check this FREE visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course GDI Property Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Textron Inc.'s (NYSE:TXT) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Textron has a price to earnings ratio of 10.37, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 9.6%.

View our latest analysis for Textron

How Do I Calculate Textron's Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Textron:

P/E of 10.37 = $50.66  $4.88 (Based on the year to December 2018.)

Is A High P/E Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.

Textron increased earnings per share by a whopping 320% last year. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 8.9%. With that performance, I would expect it to have an above average P/E ratio.

How Does Textron's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (21.8) for companies in the aerospace & defense industry is higher than Textron's P/E.

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NYSE:TXT Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 30th 2019

This suggests that market participants think Textron will underperform other companies in its industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future), by taking on debt (or spending its remaining cash).

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

How Does Textron's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Textron's net debt is 24% of its market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.

The Verdict On Textron's P/E Ratio

Textron's P/E is 10.4 which is below average (17.7) in the US market. The company hasn't stretched its balance sheet, and earnings growth was good last year. If it continues to grow, then the current low P/E may prove to be unjustified.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Textron. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.US prosecutors described the security breach as

A former US National Security Agency contractor, portrayed as an eccentric hoarder by his lawyers, pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing classified documents in a deal likely to put him in prison for nine years.

Harold Martin, 54, who worked for several private firms and had clearances to access top secret information, was arrested over two years ago for what may have been the biggest breach of classified information in history.

When Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided his home south of Baltimore in 2016 they found stacks of documents and electronic storage devices amounting to 50 terabytes of files, including classified ones, prosecutors said.

US Department of Justice prosecutors said in a statement that Mr Martin's actions risked the disclosure of top secret information to America's "enemies."

One of their allegations was that Mr Martin talked online with people in Russian and other languages but they never found proof he shared stolen information with anyone.

His lawyers said he was a hoarder who liked to take work home with him.

"His actions were the product of mental illness. Not treason," lawyers Deborah Boardman and James Wyda said in a statement.

Mr Martin and the government agreed that if the federal court in Baltimore accepted the plea agreement, he would be sentenced to nine years in prison on the charge of willful retention of national defense information, prosecutors said.Newry (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Hundreds of people gathered at the Irish border on Saturday to protest against Brexit, fearing that it could threaten the peace agreement between the British-ruled north and the republic.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and current leader Mary Lou McDonald were among around 300 people demonstrating on a bridge near the border town of Newry, above the motorway linking Northern Ireland capital Belfast to Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland.

"My commute which is currently an hour is now going to involve three border crossings each way -- that's six border crossings every day," environmental scientist and border resident Patricia McGenity, said at the protest, organised by "Border communities against Brexit".

Decades of unrest between Irish republicans, who want a united Ireland, and Northern Irish Protestants, who want the province to remain in British hands, ended in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

But Britain's vote for Brexit brought the agreement back into focus.

Many fear that departing the EU will result in the reimposition of a 'hard' or physical border with EU member Ireland that could become a target for violence.

The issue has been a key sticking point in getting a Brexit deal through Britain's parliament.

Some protesters dressed as customs officers, while one speaker decried the "circus of chaos" at Westminster that had left the whole process still mired in uncertainty.

"They jumped in on an issue that they didn't really think out," potato merchant and border resident Jimmy Myers, 58, told AFP.

"They didn't realise the border was going to cause a major problem to them."Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

Important news for shareholders and potential investors in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY): The dividend payment of US$0.41 per share will be distributed to shareholders on 01 May 2019, and the stock will begin trading ex-dividend at an earlier date, 04 April 2019. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I take a deeper dive into Bristol-Myers Squibb's latest financial data to analyse its dividend attributes.

Check out our latest analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb

How I analyze a dividend stock

When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:

Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?

Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?

Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?

NYSE:BMY Historical Dividend Yield, March 30th 2019

How well does Bristol-Myers Squibb fit our criteria?

The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 53%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting lower payout ratio of 36% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of around 3.6%. However, EPS should increase to $4, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it's dividend stocks and their constant income stream. In the case of BMY it has increased its DPS from $1.24 to $1.64 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. This is an impressive feat, which makes BMY a true dividend rockstar.

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In terms of its peers, Bristol-Myers Squibb produces a yield of 3.4%, which is high for Pharmaceuticals stocks but still below the market's top dividend payers.

Next Steps:

Considering the dividend attributes we analyzed above, Bristol-Myers Squibb is definitely worth keeping an eye on for someone looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. I've put together three pertinent factors you should further examine:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BMYs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BMYs outlook. Valuation: What is BMY worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether BMY is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iranians will "resist" the Trump administration's acceptance of Israeli control over the occupied Golan Heights, Iran's president said Friday, adding his voice to that of many Arab nations, including a number of U.S. allies, who have denounced the U.S. decision.

Hassan Rouhani said the U.S. move is "trampling on international regulations about the Golan." Iranians, too, "should resist and that way gain victory" over the U.S. and Israel, he said.

Israel seized the Golan in the 1967 Mideast War after Syria used the strategic plateau to shell northern Israel for years.

President Donald Trump's formal recognition last week of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan sparked widespread international condemnation. The announcement signaled a major shift in American policy and gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost ahead of April elections.

Syria and many other Arab states heavily criticized Trump's move.

The Saudi and Tunisian foreign ministers joined the outcry from Tunis, ahead of an Arab League summit in Tunisia's capital on Sunday, where Arab leaders are set to discuss a resolution on the Golan.

Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Assef said his country "categorically rejects" the U.S. decision on the Golan Heights. He called it a "vain attempt to impose a fait accompli" and warned that it would have "serious negative repercussions on security and stability for the region."

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemais Jhinaoui, whose country assumed the Arab League presidency this year from Saudi Arabia, called Trump's proclamation a "void decision with no legal foundation," adding, "we will work to fight against all the damage that could result from this."

The Arab League secretary-general, Ahmed Abu Ghaith, called the U.S. decision "disappointing," and warned that it would "encourage the occupation of territories by force and feed extremism."

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The speakers at the summit further pledged their support to the Palestinians' pursuit of an independent state as part of a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, in Jordan thousands of demonstrators poured through the streets of the capital on Friday, holding anti-Israel signs and chanting slogans to protest the U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty.

Meeting in the Turkish Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya on Friday, the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers also denounced the decision.

"I feel this is the conscious, deliberate demonstration of permissiveness," Russia's Sergei Lavrov told reporters at a joint news conference. "Such demonstration of permissiveness, along with intimidations, ultimatums, and sanctions, are basically the toolkit which the U.S. uses in foreign policy. It is sad."

Turkey's top diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the decision "does not add to the region's peace and stability, on the contrary, it creates unrest and chaos in the region."

He added: "It is out of the question for us to accept and recognize such a decision."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday the decision is a reminder to Arab and Muslim countries that U.S. and Israel "will steal your lands."

Iran doesn't recognize Israel and supports Syria and anti-Israeli militant groups like Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

____

Associated Press writers Bouazza ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia and Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo smile after their meeting in Washington D.C., March 29, the first minister-level bilateral diplomatic discussions since the second U.S.-North Korean summit held in Hanoi in February. Yonhap





South Korea and the United States are completely aligned on their end goal when it comes to diplomatic efforts with North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday after talks with her American counterpart.







Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington earlier in the day for her first meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since the failed summit last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.







At a press conference after the talks, Kang said the two sides discussed the current situation with North Korea and pending matters between the allies, including the issue of cost-sharing for U.S. troops in South Korea and Seoul's request to extend a waiver for oil imports from Iran.







"Through today's discussions we were able to reaffirm that South Korea and the U.S. are completely aligned on our end goal when it comes to our policy toward North Korea," the minister said.







"The most important thing at this stage, following the North-U.S. summit in Hanoi, is to resume negotiations between North Korea and the U.S.," she added.







The second summit between Trump and Kim broke down due to disagreements over U.S. demands for North Korea's complete denuclearization and North Korean position of a phased disarmament accompanied by significant sanctions relief.





Brasilia (AFP) - A Brazilian judge barred President Jair Bolsonaro's government Friday from commemorating the 55th anniversary of the coup that established the military dictatorship -- an initiative that had sparked widespread anger.

Judge Ivani Silva da Luz said Sunday's planned celebration of the 1964 coup was not "compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction" promoted by the 1988 constitution and that commemorative dates must be approved by Congress.

Bolsonaro's order to the armed forces to mark the March 31 overthrow of President Joao Goulart has been widely criticized, with the attorney general's office on Wednesday calling on personnel to "abstain" from paying tribute to a regime that committed "serious human rights violations."

The far-right leader, whose approval rating plunged in March after a series of political scandals marred his first three months in office, had received little support outside his own ultraconservative Social Liberal Party (PSL) for his controversial idea.

Bolsonaro, an ex-paratrooper and unabashed admirer of Brazils former dictators, is the country's first president since democracy was restored in 1985 to publicly exalt the military regime, though he argues its rise to power was not a "coup."

At least 434 people were killed or disappeared in Brazil during the 21-year dictatorship, far fewer than the 30,000 deaths in Argentina and more than 3,200 in Chile during their respective periods of right-wing military rule.

- 'Folklore' -

But unlike its South American neighbors, Brazil has not prosecuted military officials for regime-era crimes under a 1979 amnesty law, ratified in 2010, leaving the events of the dark period unresolved.

As controversy grew Wednesday over his order to the defense forces, Bolsonaro issued a clarification, saying they should "remember" the coup, rather than commemorate it.

Friday's ruling may have little practical effect since several military units have already held events this week commemorating the coup.

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Opposition to the celebrations among ordinary citizens has been growing, with calls on social media for street protests in several major cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, against the military dictatorship and to remember its victims on Sunday.

Since taking office, Bolsonaro has had fond words for military dictators in 1970s and 80s Latin America, such as Paraguayan Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) and Chile's Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

Scholars, however, have dismissed his and others attempts to legitimize the 1964 overthrow and the decades of military rule that followed.

"This always falls in the camp of folklore, the ridiculous, because the scientific evidence is indisputable," said Carlos Fico, a history professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.The Toledo Museum of Art is one of the nations best galleries. It has a superlative collection and does intelligent, topical shows. I saw its newest show, Frans Hals Portraits: A Family Reunion, not in Toledo, where I missed it, but in Brussels. This lovely, jewel-like show is now at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, which collaborated with Toledo in organizing it.

I see many shows and have watched standards and priorities evolve. I wont make judgments on the field of art history overall except to say that methodologies driven by Marxism, gender studies, white privilege, Orientalism, and the hodgepodge of approaches Ill call critical theory have dimmed but not extinguished the twin beacons of quality and connoisseurship. These together always lead us to the best art history. Close looking and archival research still exist, and its thrilling to me to see them deployed in a serious, fruitful way, as did Toledo and Brussels in the Hals show.

The show starts with paintings from the permanent collections of each museum, each presenting a mystery and a puzzle they solve in tandem. In 2011, Toledo bought a rare, important group portrait by Hals (15821666). Now called The Van Campen Family in a Landscape, its an unusual painting for many reasons. Hals revolutionized the group portrait, changing a genre from so many stiffs in a row looking directly at the viewer to a gesturing, animated, engaged gathering of people united by a common interest, often a civic group, and having a good time. Yes, theyre posing, but theyre far from stuffed heads on the wall. He conveyed snapshot immediacy as no one had done in a picture that wasnt religious.

Hals did fewer than a dozen official group portraits of members of militias or trustees of charities. Almost all of them are in Haarlem in the Netherlands, at the Frans Hals Museum, a must-stop for any discerning art lover. He did only four family groups, all together in the show for the first time. Family groups were rare in part because they were expensive but also because official group portraits of, say, militias, could find a spot in big, institutional spaces like town halls. Dutch homes were small, so a painting with lots of figures was unlikely to fit.

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The Toledo picture is now and was always a showpiece and a luxury product. The family is clearly prosperous. Its established enough to show itself with a measure of informality. Theyre in their Sunday best, but no drudge seems to police against creased taffeta. For years, no one knew for certain who the family was, and this isnt uncommon. Dutch archives are good but not complete. After a picture leaves the original sitters family, identities often disappear.

Starting in the 1920s and off and on into the 1980s, Hals scholars noted the stylistic similarities between the Toledo picture and a painting in Brussels called Three Children with a Goat Cart, owned by the Royal Museums. Scholars agreed it also was by Hals, also from the early 1620s, and starting in the 1970s some proposed it might have once been part of the group portrait owned after 2011 by the museum in Toledo.

Do paintings get cut into pieces? Of course! For many years, and for lots of people, a painting was like a piece of furniture or a wedding dress. The world wasnt thick with art historians or auction houses, Hals wasnt that famous, information was imperfect, space didnt get less tight, the market marched forward, and we like having a pair of scissors handy.

Museum time is like biblical time, or geological time. From the time of early conjectures on these two pictures, weeks and months floated by and turned into years, then many, many years. Urgency isnt the currency of museum life. Curators dont work in emergency rooms. The Toledo picture was in private hands, and scholars were working through photographs and guesses. People traveled less.

Left: Children of the Van Campen Family with a Goat-Cart (fragment), c. 162325, Frans Hals. Oil on canvas. (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels)

Right: Portrait of a Boy of the Van Campen Family, c. 1623-25, Frans Hals. Oil on canvas. (Private Collection)

Finally, bolts of serendipity occurred. Toledo, a museum with experienced curators, bought its painting. A Dutch scholar in 2013 firmly identified the family Hals depicted. It shows a Haarlem cloth merchant, Gijsbert Claesz van Campen (15851645), his wife, Maria (15821666), and seven of their children. The show neatly and clearly tells the ensuing detective story. Part of it is science, and the technology of dating paint surfaces and looking under surfaces is better than ever. In 2016, the Toledo and Brussels pictures were compared and studied side by side in Brussels.

Amid the excitement and speculation, and aided by a better flow of information occasioned by the Internet, yet a third fragment, showing a young boy, was discovered. Testing and connoisseurship established that these two bigger groups and the fragment of the boy were once part of an immense, splendid family portrait with the van Campen pater and mater, 13 children, and a goat. The picture probably stayed intact until the last van Campen sold it. Once it was out of the family, new owners felt freer to make it fit. Possibly dealers adjusted size for the marketplace. Conservators and art historians, looking at the three pieces and Halss other group portraits, have proposed a reconstruction worthy of CinemaScope. Halss groups all have a spatial rhythm and balance. Their suppositions now are not outrageous.

Proposed reconstruction of The Van Campen Family in a Landscape, c. 162325, by Frans Hals. Oil on canvas. (Toledo Museum of Art)

There are other twists and turns, carefully and clearly reported to tell a good story. Informed conjecture raises the prospect of another pair of figures out there somewhere showing two females, one a teenager and one a baby, that might have posed beneath the boy in the single-figure fragment. Adding more riches to the show are three other Hals-family group portraits from other museums painted in the 1630s and 1640s. Halss style evolves in all of his portraits through the end of his career. The other three differ from the van Campen portrait in many other respects. Theyre smaller and less complex but just as satisfying.

I love Hals for his brio. He takes what were likely dour, hard-working Dutch businessmen and their dowdy wives and invests them with joy, warmth, even a touch of abandon. Theyre mobile, breathing, and agile. Theyre sometimes forbidding, but usually theyre huggers and kissers, and looking at them makes me think of good food and music. Im always drawn to what I call zafdig, or juicy painting, in part because I learned about art at a museum with plenty of Renoirs and Sargents.

Hals is a zafdig painter and distinguished himself from many other Dutch artists in his style and in his preference for portraits. When the Nazis started bombing London in 1939, George VI wanted his bomb shelter decorated with paintings of cows at pasture by Aelbert Cuyp, also Dutch and Halss contemporary. If I were George VI, Cuyp, like plenty of Dutch art, would have bored me into stupefaction, if not outright submission to the Germans. Hals makes for joy. His work is a metaphor for life and promise.

Left: Marriage Portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, c. 1622, by Frans Hals. Oil on canvas. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)



Right: Family Group in a Landscape, c. 164548, Frans Hals. Oil on canvas. (Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza, Madrid)

Its a great show, focused, succinct, with gorgeous, important art, an international collaboration, and propelled by the permanent collection of two fine museums. The curators are good scholars and good teachers, which are two sides of the same coin. An astute researcher is useless unless he or she can communicate.

The very recent news from Toledo is the departure of Brian Kennedy, its director, to lead the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The Peabody Essex is another superb museum soon to be a national powerhouse. In September, it will open a vastly expanded campus in the old whaling town and port, also notorious for its 1692 witchcraft trials. Salem, like Toledo, once had tremendous wealth, which allowed both cities to build a cultural legacy for future generations.

Toledo today might not be Paris, but its a nice, friendly city. Salem was long ago eclipsed by Boston, but in recent decades, its museum has attracted great and deserved attention. Many Boston donors tired of the Museum of Fine Arts politics and found in the Peabody Essex a fine place not far away, with fewer complications, a great collection, especially in maritime and Asian art, and a good staff. Like Toledo, which has been exceptionally well managed, the Peabody Essex is financially stable. Kennedy takes the helm there soon and will do great things. We can only pray that his to-be-chosen successor in Toledo doesnt inflict happy-clappy museum fads on one of the Midwests cultural glories.

More from National ReviewWALTERBORO, S.C. (AP)  The Latest on an elementary school fight that killed a fifth grader (all times local):

4:25 p.m.

Authorities spoke privately to school board members for two hours about what happened when a fifth grader died from injuries suffered in a fight at a South Carolina elementary school.

But the Colleton County School Board gave out no additional information about the death of Raniya Wright after Thursday's meeting, citing student privacy laws and the ongoing criminal investigation.

Wright was knocked unconscious Monday at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro during a fight with another fifth grader. She died in the hospital two days later.

The other student involved in the fight has been suspended. The student's name, sex and age have not been released. No charges have been filed.

___

10:45 a.m.

School board members and parents are looking for answers after a fifth grader died from injuries suffered in a fight at a South Carolina elementary school.

Authorities have released few details about the Monday fight. They say it involved two students and Raniya Wright was knocked unconscious at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro. She died in the hospital two days later.

The Colleton County School District says the other student is also a fifth grader and has been suspended.

Colleton County School Board member William Bowman told WLTX-TV that he wants more answers and said the school board has been promised a briefing.

Colleton County deputies continue to investigate the fight. No charges have been filed.

___

Information from: WLTX-TV, http://www.wltx.comWASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on a ruling striking down the Trump administration's small-business health insurance plan (all times local):

11:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump's administration says it disagrees with a federal judge's ruling that a new type of health insurance plan for small businesses stretches federal law and must be set aside.

Signaling a possible appeal, Justice Department spokeswoman Kelly Laco says in a statement issued Friday the administration is "considering all available options."

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled in Washington late Thursday that a Trump administration regulation creating the new small-business plans was "clearly an end-run" around the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, often called "Obamacare." Bates says it also runs counter to longstanding federal laws that govern workplace benefits.

Trump has been touting the plans as a tremendous value for small businesses and sole proprietors, but the plans do not seem to have had a major impact.

___

6:25 a.m.

A federal judge is striking down the Trump administration's highly touted small-business health insurance plan, calling it an "end run" around consumer protections.

The ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., is the second setback in a week for the administration's health care initiatives. On Wednesday another federal judge blocked Medicaid work requirements for low-income people.

At issue in the latest ruling are so-called "association health plans," in which businesses and sole proprietors can band together to offer lower-cost coverage that doesn't provide all the benefits required under the Affordable Care Act.

President Donald Trump has hailed the small-business plans as a big success, but their impact is difficult to measure.

Unable to repeal the Obama health law in Congress, the Trump administration has tried to use its rule-making powers to create room for alternatives.MongoDB, a database software provider whose stock has been on a tear recently, just hired its first-ever chief information security officer. The appointment, which came Friday, signals that the company plans to take security more seriously even as it faces stiffened competition from the likes of Amazon and other tech giants.

The new boss is Lena Smart, a Glaswegian cybersecurity professional. Smart formerly held the same title at IPO-bound Tradeweb, a financial services firm that supplies the technology behind certain electronic trading markets. Prior to Tradeweb, she headed security at the New York Power Authority, where she worked for more than a decade. A cellist in her spare time, Smart told me in her Scottish brogue that her priority in the new job will be knowing what the crown jewels arethats our customer dataand making sure thats always protected.

People leaving MongoDB and other databases unsecured on the web has been a persistent source of data-leaks over the years. Just this month, a security researcher discovered one such sieve that exposed to public view a trove of sensitive information, including location data, on millions of people in China. The misconfigured repository appears to have originated from SenseNets, a Shenzhen-based company that is likely providing the Chinese government with crowd-surveilling, facial recognition technology to track the countrys muslim Uyghur population. This is just the latest leak example; there are innumerable others.

Despite the frequency of these leaks, the situation seems to be improving. Most of these inadvertent leaks have sprung, in fairness, from people using outdated instances of the companys so-called community edition software, a free, barer-bones version of the database product. Mark Wheeler, a MongoDB spokesperson, conceded that the 12-year-old company struggled in its early years to find the right balance with security. But he avers that updates to the default settings of MongoDBs software over the past few years, plus key security team hiresincluding guardians Davi Ottenheimer, Kenn White, and now Smartare changing the equation.

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As Smarts scope involves securing the totality of MongoDBs business, the data-spillage issue ultimately falls to her. She says shell continue educating customers in best practices when it comes to security. She says she will also aim to imbue the companys product development process with security, quality assurance, and testing from the earliest stages. If we can get in at the very start of the software development lifecycle, Smart says, it will save us time and money and make our products more reliable and secure.

The leaky database issue is one that extends well beyond MongoDB. Its also a problem for rivals such as Amazon, particularly its S3 buckets, Elastic, and others. Like so many companies, these database-makers are looking now to shore up their software in the hopes of turning a historical weaknesscybersecurityinto a competitive strength. As Dev Ittycheria, MongoDBs president and CEO, tells Fortune: making the companys products as secure as possible is critical to our business.

Indeed, its critical to MongoDB and, increasingly, every business.

A version of this article first appeared in Cyber Saturday, the weekend edition of Fortunes tech newsletter Data Sheet. Sign up here.In a 60 Minutes interview that aired shortly before Ronald Reagans inauguration, Morley Safer asked William F. Buckley Jr., Has there ever been a liberal Buckley? What would you do if one came along and openly proclaimed to be?

Buckleys response: Pray for him.

In so many ways, Buckley was a singularity. From sailing and playing the harpsichord to his expansive vocabulary, Buckleys uniqueness makes it difficult to discuss his legacy because so much of his influence was a function of his irrepressible spirit, energy, industriousness, and personality. Growing up in Sharon, Ct., one of ten children, he and his siblings put together an in-house family newspaper. He didnt stop writing until the day he died, February 27, 2008.

There were 55 books, thousands of columns, a television show that lasted for three decades, and countless personal letters. George Nash once told David Brooks that Buckley might have written more private correspondence than anyone in history. For any other man, that speculation might seem to be exaggerated. For Buckley, it makes sense.

When Buckley died, the conservative intellectual movement not only lost its founder, it lost one of its most outsized and appealing characters. Buckley was the paradigmatic opinion journalist: author, editor and publisher, columnist, television host, debater, and lecturer. Each medium he adopted became a platform to spread right reason. Through his work in print and, perhaps more importantly, television, he communicated that conservatism could be intellectual, respectable, and popular.

Buckleys personality and methods quickly became the templates for conservatives everywhere. He was erudite, well-mannered, civil (most of the time), and quick-witted, a match for the best the liberals could put up. His journalism, activism, mayoral campaign, social life, and hobbies were parts of a grand drama, a heightened, epic, and entertaining performance. No other actor on earth, wrote his friend Norman Mailer, can project simultaneous hints that he is in the act of playing Commodore of the Yacht Club, Joseph Goebbels, Robert Mitchum, Maverick, Savonarola, the nice prep-school kid next door, and the snows of yesteryear.

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This long-lasting show was delightful and enrapturing. It is no accident that Buckleys best books  The Unmaking of a Mayor (1966), Cruising Speed (1971), and Miles Gone By (2004)  feature the same protagonist: himself. Who wouldnt want to live like this wealthy, engaged, connected, impassioned, witty man of letters? To read Buckleys work is to become a participant in his madcap, contentious, and exciting life, and maybe pick up a few of his ideas as well.

James Panero of The New Criterion was a recent Dartmouth graduate when Buckley hired him as a research assistant for one of the books Buckley wrote during winters in Gstaad, Switzerland. In a tribute published by National Review Online, Panero described his life with the Buckleys. They worked in the morning as the Goldberg Variations played in the background, then broke for lunch, then skied, before resuming work in the afternoon.

Then, at 7 p.m., Panero wrote, Julian, his cook, brought a kir  white wine with a drop of creme de cassis  for each of us. Wed pull out Dutch cigars and discuss the days progress before dinner. He liked to be in bed by 10, said Panero. We repeated it all the next day.

Essential to Buckleys appeal was his sense of humor. We remember the classics: Asked what his first act would be if elected mayor of New York, Buckley replied, Demand a recount. Asked why Robert Kennedy would not appear on Firing Line, Buckley responded, Why does baloney resist the grinder?

There are so many other examples. Here are two I recently came across:

In 1978, during the question-and-answer period after a speech at Cornell, a young man asked Buckley whether he had ever gone hungry.

Why, yes, Buckley replied. My yacht experienced an unfortunate shortage of stuffed goose recently off Nassau in the Bahamas.

A few years later, asked what job hed like to have in the Reagan administration, Buckley said, Ventriloquist.

Buckleys skill at repartee not only stopped the opposition in its tracks. It won him converts. His comedic timing and drollery suggested that no matter how important political debate was  and Buckley thought it hugely important  one can never forget that there are aspects of life that should remain outside of politics.

As Buckley wrote: I like, roughly, in the order described: 1) God, 2) my family, 3) my country, 4) J. S. Bach, 5) peanut butter, and 6) good English prose. Should these biases be identified when I write about, say, Satan, divorce, Czechoslovakia, Chopin, marmalade, and New York Times editorials?

That expansive list of Buckleys loves tells us something about the capaciousness of his heart and mind. The size of his personality and impact is why there is not a single Buckley legacy but several.

The first is personal. I refer not only to Buckleys son, Christopher, I refer also to the countless acts of generosity and charity for which Buckley was famous. Buckley gave more than time to his friends, colleagues, and young people. His proteges run the gamut from Garry Wills and David Brooks to Charles Kesler and Ross Douthat. He also lent his friends financial support when they most needed it. His personal loyalty was ironclad. On occasion, it may have been more trouble than it was worth.

Then there is the institutional Buckley legacy. He was integral to the formation not only of National Review and the Human Life Review, but also of ISI, the Collegiate Network, and Young Americans for Freedom, whose manifesto was signed on the grounds of the Buckley family estate in Sharon. Buckley did not just criticize the world, but also sought to change it. Like any good conservative, he understood that institutions live on after their founders have passed. They are how one generation continues to shape the lives of its successors.

A third Buckley legacy is political. It was through him and the institutions he created that conservatism moved from the fringes of American life to the center of politics and political debate. He encouraged his friend Barry Goldwater to overcome whatever reluctance the Arizona senator had and run for the presidency in 1964. The publisher of National Review, William Rusher, was instrumental in securing Goldwater the GOP nomination. And of course, Buckley influenced another friend: actor and television host Ronald Reagan.

Buckley and Reagan met in the spring of 1961. In something of a historical irony, that evening Reagan was Buckleys warm-up act. When Reagan introduced himself to Buckley, he said he had just finished Up from Liberalism, published in 1959.

Almost 40 years later, Buckley described what happened next:

He distinguished himself that night  and dismayed Mrs. Reagan  by what he proceeded to do after discovering that the microphone hadnt been turned on. He had tried, raising his voice, to tell a few stories. But the audience was progressively impatient. Waiting in vain for the superintendent to unlock the door to the tight little office at the other end of the hall, in which the control box lay, he sized up the problem and, having surveyed all possible avenues of approach, climbed out the window at stage level and, one story above the busy traffic below, cat-walked, Cary Grant style, 20 or 30 yards to the window of the control room. This he penetrated by breaking the window with a thrust of his elbow; he climbed in, turned on the light, flipped on the microphone, unlocked the office door, and emerged with that competent relaxed smile of his, which we came to know after Grenada, Libya, Reykjavik, and Moscow; proceeding with the introduction of the speaker. And all that was 30 years before bringing peace in our time!

The results of that meeting were historic. The argument goes like this, George F. Will has said. Without Bill Buckley, no National Review. Without National Review, no Goldwater nomination. Without the Goldwater nomination, no conservative takeover of the Republican Party. Without that, no Reagan. Without Reagan, no victory in the Cold War. Therefore, Bill Buckley won the Cold War.

Finally, there is Buckleys ideological legacy. Now, as good conservatives, we are opposed to ideological thinking. What I mean by ideological legacy is that Buckley did more than any other individual to shape and promote the foundational beliefs of post-war American conservatism. He embodied what he called the philosophy of freedom and what others called fusionism: free-market economics, traditional values informed by religious belief, and hardline anti-Communism.

As James Nuechterlein wrote in Commentary some 30 years ago:

It seems clear that Buckleys ability to hold on to stable and traditional beliefs even while he indulges his instinct for change and variety traces to an unusually strong sense of self, which in turn finds its origin in childhood and family circumstances that were at once reassuringly secure and constantly stimulating. His father was the remarkable Will Buckley, a lawyer and businessman from Texas who made a fortune in oil in Mexico early in the century before getting embroiled in counterrevolutionary activities that finally (in 1921-22) resulted in his expulsion from the country and the confiscation of his property. Those events reinforced tendencies, already well developed, toward unyielding hatred of revolutionary politics and an equally intense devotion to the operations of the free market.

The fusion of social conservatism and economic laissez-faire may present an intellectual problem, a potential inconsistency or conflict with which analysts have wrestled for more than half a century. It may also be true, as early neoconservatives pointed out, that the very success of market economics undermines the non-voluntary associations of family, church, community, and nation that are the foundations of social order. Yet in the life and work of Buckley and countless other American conservatives, no such inconsistency, no such problem exists. As Irving Kristol once put it, For most of American history, the American people were quite comfortable with this dualism and saw nothing odd about it.

It was National Review where all these aspects of Buckleys legacy  the personal, the institutional, the political, and the ideological  came alive. The bible of American conservatism was a reflection of Buckleys lively, funny, theatrical, idea-oriented, and learned personality. But it was also the self-conscious institutional arbiter and keeper of the paradigm, the self-appointed guide to the political arm of the American conservative movement.

National Review raised the banner of the individual freedom and dignity of human beings against Leviathans at home and abroad. As Buckley put it in his remarks at National Reviews 30th anniversary, NR taught several generations of conservatives that it is this recognition of a higher order that enables the individual to stand against the massed power of the modern state and say: No, there is more to life than your budget and bureaus, your camps and constraints.

Of course, our world is not Buckleys world. When Buckley was at his apogee, the main rival to the United States was the USSR. Today, that rival is Communist China. When Buckley was at his apogee, print and television were the dominant media. Today, conservatives must prove themselves in social media, online, on YouTube and podcasts.

For Buckley, freedom was the paramount political value. Today, the centrality of individual freedom to conservatism is being challenged by those who say national sovereignty or communal solidarity is just as important. Buckley made his name when the major political issues were the economy and foreign policy. Today, the major political issues concern identity, citizenship, and culture.

The work, though, is ongoing. That is because conservatives, as anti-utopians, do not believe in either final victories or irrevocable defeats.

During that 60 Minutes interview a generation ago, Morley Safer asked Buckley if liberalism [is] finished now that Reagan was elected.

No, Buckley said. Neither is original sin.

This column is adapted from remarks prepared for the 2019 conference of the National Review Institute and was originally published in The Washington Free Beacon.

More from National ReviewAttorney General William Barr sought to reassure Congress and the public that the Mueller report will be released, promising in a new letter that everyone will soon be able to read it on their own. The letter also answers crucial questions about the process but highlights new battle lines in the escalating fight over who gets to see Muellers work.

Barrs letter comes as Democrats have become increasingly concerned that the attorney general wouldnt make the full text of Muellers report available, after he released a brief, four-page summary of the findings less than one week ago. Barrs March 29 missive expressly tries to alleviate some of those fears, but there is still wide latitude for large portions of the report to be hidden from Congress or the public.

I share your desire to ensure that Congress and the public have the opportunity to read the Special Counsels report, Barr wrote in a letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler. Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own.

Read More: Robert Muellers Work Is Done. What Happens Next Is Up to William Barr

Barrs letter revealed new details about the process of releasing the report (including revealing its length: nearly 400 pages, not including tables and appendices), but while some of Democrats concerns may have been allayed, theyre already gearing up for a new phase of the fight. The attorney general listed the four types of information he is working on redacting from the report: grand jury material, information that could compromise sensitive intelligence sources or methods, details related to ongoing investigations and information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.

Questions have lingered over what material to do with President Donald Trump that Barr might redact. The prevailing opinion in the Justice Department is that a sitting president cant be indicted, and its typical department practice not to reveal information gathered about people who arent going to be charged. That could mean that Barr would scrub any information about Trump from the report. By citing peripheral third parties, Barr seems to imply that Trump wont fall into that category. Still, depending on what Muellers report contains, its not clear how lengthy or significant the redacted sections will be.

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Congress is already pushing to see the full report with no redactions. Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2, Nadler said in a statement released shortly after the letter, establishing the push for access to redacted materials as the new front in the war.

If the Department fails to make the Mueller report public in its entirety and turn over the underlying evidence to Congress, it may be actively facilitating a cover-up, said a Democratic House staffer.

Another key question about transparency has been whether the White House would get access to the report before Congress to make executive privilege claims. This, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, tells TIME, is where the ideological views of the Attorney General may have the greatest potential to threaten the transparency of the report.

Many Democrats worried that Barrs strong views of executive power would make him deferential to broad assertions of privilege by the White House. But in this new letter, Barr says explicitly that he doesnt plan to go down that road at all. Although the President would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, Barr wrote, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

Responding to that news, Trump said Friday, I have great confidence in the Attorney General, if thats what hed like to do. I have nothing to hide.

That may be reassuring to Democrats, along with the fact that Barr could have sent another summary to Congress instead of the report itself. There was a change in regulations after independent counsel Ken Starrs investigation into President Bill Clinton: When Starr submitted his final report in 1998, he had to send it to Congress as well as to the attorney general. But when the special counsel regulations were written the following year, the notification to Congress requirement was removed.

That means that Barr has almost sole authority over what information to share with Congress and the public, and he does not have to provide the report to lawmakers. Democrats had begun to ramp up pressure on Barr to send them the report itself rather than another summary. We dont need you interpreting for us, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, referencing his March 24 letter. It was condescending, it was arrogant, and it wasnt the right thing to do.

In his new letter, Barr chastises those mischaracterizing his previous letter. My March 24 letter was not, and did not purport to be, an exhaustive recounting of the Special Counsels investigation or report I do not believe it would be in the publics interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or to release it in serial or piecemeal fashion, he wrote. Barr says he anticipates being able to release a redacted version of Muellers full report by mid-April.

Barrs latest letter removes some of the crucial questions about points in the process where large chunks of Muellers report could have been scrubbed. If Barr plans to release the report itselfnot a summary of it and doesnt plan to show it in the White House in advance, Congress and the American public should learn many new details about Muellers two-year-long investigation in a matter of weeks. And that wont be the end of Barrs input: he also said he would testify himself before both the House and Senate about the investigation. (Graham accepted his invitation to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1.)

Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, one of Trumps allies in Congress, said on Twitter that Democrats should be cheered by the process. Mueller report will be public, AG Barr going above and beyond to expedite it, WH wont review before, and Mueller even helping, he tweeted. Yet Chairman Nadler and Democrats still complain. It smells of pure desperation.

Mueller report will be public, AG Barr going above and beyond to expedite it, WH won't review before, and Mueller even helping. Yet Chairman Nadler and Democrats still complain.



It smells of pure desperation. They're determined to prop up the collusion delusionany way they can.  Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) March 29, 2019

Some congressional Democrats did express some relief at Barrs letter. Im pleased that he committed to a public release of Special Counsel Muellers report and wholeheartedly agreed that everyone should have a chance to read it, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. Though she also warned: even if parts of the report are redacted from the public, the committees should receive those portions, including any classified information, as is routine.

Until Congress is granted access to the report in its entirety, the fight will continue. We feel that it is critical for Attorney General Barr to come before Congress immediately to explain the rationale behind his letter, Nadler said, his rapid decision that the evidence developed was insufficient to establish an obstruction of justice offense, and his continued refusal to provide us with the full report.

-With reporting by Abby VesoulisPARIS (AP)  With Brexit looming and nationalism rising, French President Emmanuel Macron's pro-EU party has launched its campaign for the European Parliament elections.

The centrist Republic on the Move party and its allies held a rally Saturday in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. The group calls itself Renaissance.

Polls suggest Renaissance will be among France's top two vote-getters in the May election, which takes place in each European Union nation between May 23-26 and in France on May 26. The group appears slightly ahead of Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, far-right National Rally party.

Saturday's Renaissance rally was led by Nathalie Loiseau, who quit this week as France's European Affairs minister to lead the campaign. Loiseau notably handled France's Brexit preparations.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and several government officials attended the event.

"Some want to make us believe that the past was a better time, they want to come back to nationalism, to Europe's demons... don't let them win!", Loiseau said, expressing concerns about the rise of far-right parties in many EU countries.

She pointed to the situation in Britain, where she said "sorcerer's apprentices" pushed for the country's departure from the EU "with no vision, no project."

"Now the damage is done. Britain is leaving us without knowing where it goes. Confusion reigns, concerns are growing," she told the rally.

Loiseau said the EU should make fighting climate change and improving its responses to immigration issues the continent's top priorities.

"We must ensure a more efficient control of our (EU) external borders, by dedicating more personnel and more resources and further assisting countries that are on the front line," she said.

At the same time, she insisted EU must better welcome refugees who are fleeing wars.

"Europe has known crisis and needs a renaissance... don't wait for a better Europe. Change it!" she concluded to wide applause by supporters, who chanted "We will win! We will win!"

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French voters will fill 79 of the European legislature's 705 seats. Macron hopes his pro-EU vision can inspire voters beyond France's borders, too. In some EU countries, however, support is growing for nationalist politicians who want to reinstate borders and roll back the European cooperation built up since World War II.

Earlier this month, Macron called for a "European Renaissance" in an open letter published across the EU. He called on voters to choose a stronger EU and to reject nationalist parties.

The French leader's proposals included creating an agency to protect EU nations' elections from cyberattacks and other manipulations and a ban on foreign powers financing EU political parties.

___

Angela Charlton contributed to the storyGaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, prompting Israeli tanks to respond by firing on Hamas military posts early Sunday, hours after a massive Palestinian protest along the border between Israel and Gaza.

The rocket attack and Israeli response did not cause any casualties, according to the Israeli army and witnesses in Gaza.

The Israeli tanks fired at Hamas posts in the central Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City, witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of Gazans earlier gathered at the Israeli border to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during a demonstration ahead of the main rally and three 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded.

But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise.

Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections.

Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence.

Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm.

Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence.

East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire.

The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.

An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar.

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Israel's army said around 40,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered in spots throughout the border.

It said grenades and explosive devices were hurled at troops, who responded "in accordance with standard operating procedures".

- Negotiated calm -

Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

At least 50 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the protests began, charity Save the Children said.

In the run-up to the anniversary, long-time mediator Egypt had shuttled back and forth in a bid to avoid major bloodshed.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday's protest "a very important message" that thousands had gathered "peacefully to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza".

He confirmed that Egypt had made progress towards a deal that media reports said would see Israel allow more Qatari aid into the strip and ease some restrictions.

In exchange Hamas would maintain calm at the border protests.

Khalil al-Hayya, another senior figure in the Islamist movement, said they were expecting to receive a timetable from Israel on Sunday. There was no Israeli comment on the alleged agreement.

Israel goes to the polls in a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has faced accusations of being soft on Hamas, including from former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned in November the day after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was agreed.

The anniversary came only days after another severe flare-up between Israel and Hamas, sparked by a rare long-range rocket strike from Gaza that struck north of Tel Aviv. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm.

The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation.

Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border.

It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers' use of live fire has come under heavy criticism.

In February a United Nations probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes.

Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the protests.

Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza's only other gateway to the outside world.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and others.

Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers and clashed with soldiers.

Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float them over the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes and farmland.EL PASO, Texas  Nearly four months after Jakelin Caal Maquins death captured national attention and raised questions about the treatment of migrant families in federal custody, an autopsy report found that the 7-year-old died of a bacterial infection.

Testing found streptococcal sepsis, a bacterial infection, in the girl's major organs, including her lungs, adrenal gland, liver and spleen, El Paso's Chief Medical Examiner Mario Rascon wrote in the report released Friday.

"The clinical course and autopsy findings are those of a rapidly progressive infection, with prompt systemic bacterial spread and substantial clinical deterioration ... resulting in multiple organ dysfunction and death," the autopsy report reads.

Jakelin, whose family is from Guatemala, began vomiting and had a 105.7-degree fever while in U.S. custody after she and her father, Nery Caal Cuz, crossed into New Mexico with a group of 163 migrants.

More: 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant girl in Border Patrol custody dies from high fever, seizures; feds fault father

She was revived twice by U.S. Border Patrol medical personnel in New Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said. She later was airlifted to Providence Childrens Hospital in El Paso where she went into cardiac arrest. She was revived again but died a short time later on Dec. 8.

Guatemalan Consul Tekandi Paniagua, who has been calling for the release of the autopsy report, said his office in Del Rio notified the girls father Friday afternoon upon seeing the report. Caal Cuz remains in the United States while his asylum claim is considered.

The consulate also reached out the the lawyers who represent the family and who said they were analyzing the case and determining the next steps, Paniagua said. We will continue to offer the necessary assistance and support to the Caal family. For the moment, the case is in the hands of the lawyers, who will decide the path forward.

Story continues

More: Mexican immigrant dies in U.S. custody, the fourth such death in recent months

The Coyle Law Firm, which represents Jakelin's family, emailed a statement to the El Paso Times, saying that the autopsy report leaves many questions unanswered.

"Jakelins family appreciates the hard work of the El Paso County Medical Examiners office in preparing the autopsy report," the statement reads. "While the report sheds light on Jakelins cause of death, it still leaves many questions that require further review.

"The reports findings suggest that Jakelins chances of surviving would have been improved with earlier medical intervention. As we requested back in December of last year, the family seeks a thorough independent investigation of this matter to learn why medical intervention was delayed."

Jakelin and her father surrendered to Border Patrol agents at 9:15 p.m. Dec. 6 near the Antelope Wells port of entry in New Mexico's remote Bootheel region.

Border Patrol said the migrants had access to food, water and restrooms. But attorneys have argued that Caal Cuz said that they didn't get water and were given only cookies.

At 5 a.m. Dec. 7, Jakelin and her father, were loaded onto a transport bus. While in custody, she had trouble breathing and a fever. Jakelin died at 12:35 a.m. Dec. 8, five days after her 7th birthday.

More: Family of migrant girl who died in Border Patrol custody disputes agencys account of death

Federal authorities directed a series of actions to care for undocumented immigrants taken into custody after Jakelin and 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez died within weeks of each other in December. The moves included medical exams for all children in CBP custody.

Felipe died at 11:48 p.m. on Christmas Eve after being taken to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He and his father were detained in El Paso on Dec. 18, and were moved to Alamogordo because of capacity concerns at the El Paso Border Patrol Station.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Migrant girl who died in US custody had 'rapidly progressive infection,' autopsy findsDonald Trump is not expected to get an advance copy - Bloomberg

A full copy of Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 US election will be released by mid-April "if not sooner," the attorney general said.

William Barr said the report is "nearly 400 pages" long, without including appendices, and he hopes to make it public in its entirety with some redactions.

In a letter to Congress the attorney general said: "Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own."

Mr Barr said he was willing to appear before the Senate and House judiciary committees to give evidence about the report on May 1 and May 2.

The redactions will include material intelligence agencies consider could compromise sensitive sources and methods, and secret information given to a grand jury.

Mr Trump has the right to assert executive privilege over some material obtained from the White House.

William Barr was appointed by Donald Trump to the position of Attorney General Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

However, Mr Barr said the president had indicated he would "defer to me," and so there were no plans to submit the report to the White House in advance of its publication.

Following an investigation lasting nearly two years Mr Mueller, the special counsel, delivered his report to Mr Barr a week ago.

A few days later Mr Barr released a four-page summary, written by him after reading Mr Mueller's report.

That summary exonerated Mr Trump, and campaign officials of colluding with Russia.

The summary said Mr Mueller had left unresolved the question of whether Mr Trump obstructed justice during the inquiry.

Mr Barr concluded, based on the evidence presented by Mr Mueller, that it was not sufficient to charge the president with obstruction.

Mr Trump has turned the findings into a political weapon, calling the inquiry "the greatest hoax in the history of our country".

He has warned that those behind the probe "would be held accountable".

Mr Trump said: "This was nothing more than a sinister effort to undermine our historic election victory and to sabotage the will of the American people."United Nations (United States) (AFP) - About 24 percent of Venezuela's population -- seven million people -- are in dire need of humanitarian aid, according to an internal UN report that showed malnutrition and disease were on the rise as living conditions plummet.

The report obtained by AFP on Thursday was presented this week to President Nicolas Maduro's government, which has blamed US sanctions for Venezuela's economic crisis, and to opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The "Overview of Priority Humanitarian Needs" lays out detailed data on the scale of the humanitarian crisis that is rocking Venezuela as the United Nations seeks to enlist support to step up its response.

"Seven million people -- or about 24 percent of the total population currently living in the country -- are estimated to have urgent priority needs for assistance and protection," said the 45-page report.

More than 94 percent of the population lived in poverty in 2018 including 60 percent who lived in extreme poverty, according to a survey by three universities in Caracas quoted in the report.

One of the greatest impacts of the crisis has been on nutrition, with consumption of meat and vegetables dropping between 2014 and 2017. Milk, in particular, dropped by 77 percent.

Some 3.7 million people suffer from undernourishment in the country -- three times the rate from the 2010-2012 period, according to UN estimates.

At least 22 percent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles and malaria have resurfaced and are on the rise as is hepatitis A due to the lack of access to safe drinking water.

- Unprecedented challenges -

"Due to an increasingly contracted economy and political unrest, the Venezuelan population is facing unprecedented challenges in accessing essential services, including protection, health care, medicines, vaccinations, water, electricity, education and access to food," said the report.

Story continues

Average wages have collapsed, and the outflow of people including professionals and technicians from all sectors have exacerbated the drop in living conditions.

About 5,000 people leave the country every day, with some 10 percent of the population -- more than 3.4 million people -- now living as migrants or refugees in neighboring countries, it said.

About one third of the country's doctors -- 22,000 -- have migrated out of Venezuela.

Some 300,000 people are at risk because they are unable to access medicines or treatment for more than a year including Venezuelans on dialysis, afflicted by Parkinson's disease or living with HIV.

A study by UNICEF found that 48 percent of children and teenagers enrolled in schools were at risk of dropping out because they are unable to attend classes regularly.

The United Nations moved to scale up relief efforts in Venezuela late last year, launching a strategy to reach 3.6 million people, but the report indicated that effort was falling short.

"The limited scope and funding of the scale-up strategy, as well as continuing changes in the situation, including the impact of power outages in March 2019, have made clear that much more action is required to meet the growing needs of the Venezuelan people," it said.

Last month, deadly clashes broke out at Venezuela's border with Colombia and Brazil over opposition demands to let in humanitarian aid.

"The politicisation of humanitarian assistance in the context of the crisis makes delivery of assistance in accordance with the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence more difficult," said the report.There was absolutely no collusion!

Are you kidding? There was a boatload of collusion!

Ive been doing legal analysis in hotly contested cases, including political cases, for about 35 years. By now, I should be used to the insidious word games, as well as the confusion inherent when people imprecisely use ambiguous words because they dont know any better. Yet it seems like it has never been worse than it is now.

Thats because Im spoiled. I spent the first couple of decades in the confines of a top-tier judicial system. In legal proceedings, a judge is there to make sure no one plays fast and loose with language. As a young prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, I was very fortunate that my cases were assigned to exceptional judges, who made it their business to mind the court record.

At the time, I didnt appreciate how valuable that was  judges interrupting the testimony, even if there had been no objection, to clarify what a lawyer or witness meant by some loaded word planted in a question or uttered in an answer. But by the end of the trial, in the transcript that would ultimately be reviewed by appellate courts, there was no way a fuzzy term, such as collusion, would be permitted to muddy the waters. Everyone understood what it meant, and didnt mean, within the four corners of the case.

Politics doesnt have a judge.

What it has is our marketplace of ideas, so-called. Clarity and truth are supposed to emerge from the crucible of debate. But as any good economist will tell you, markets arent perfect; theyre just better than any alternative. Our reliance on robust debate in the political marketplace is better than any other approach, but that doesnt mean the market always works well. If the number of people seeking to exploit confusion overwhelms the number trying to clarify it, fake news always has a chance to become conventional wisdom.

So it remains with collusion.

Obviously, Attorney General William Barrs letter outlining Special Counsel Robert Muellers final report has not put an end to our confusion. There are still two camps relying on the ambiguity of the word collusion to argue their opposing positions, indignant that anyone could disagree.

Story continues

To repeat what weve stressed with only middling success for a couple of years: Collusion has two meanings. There is the general, overarching meaning: Collusion always denotes concerted activity, though not of any particular kind  it can be good or bad, benign or sinister, admirable or unsavory. Then there is what, in the context of a criminal investigation, is a very specific meaning: collusion as criminal conspiracy  an agreement between two or more people to engage in conduct that violates a criminal law (which, in the laws eyes, makes the agreement just as criminal as the crime that is the agreements objective).

It is this second, narrow sense that the special counsel is talking about when he reports finding no collusion. Indeed, Mueller (as reflected in the attorney generals letter) tries to avoid the confusion by not invoking collusion; he discusses whether the president or his campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia.

In addition, he undertakes to clarify that, by coordinated, he means an agreement  tacit or express  between the Trump campaign and the Russian government on election interference. To be sure, this clarification itself invites some confusion because election interference is yet another ambiguous term. As weve just pointed out, a conspiracy is an agreement to commit a crime. There is no crime called interference. The word just means to interrupt, influence, or somehow affect some activity. As with collusion, some interference is legal and some is criminal.

Nevertheless, Mueller is unmistakably referring to the criminal kind of interference. Barrs letter informs us that when the special counsel speaks of Russias election interference, he is referring to two schemes: the first to conduct disinformation and social media operations; and the second to conduct computer hacking operations. Mueller found that the objectives of both of these schemes violated federal criminal law. This finding is more convincing with respect to hacking, an obvious crime, than it is with respect to the propaganda activities  which the special counsel alleged to be a conspiracy to defraud the United States by impairing the ability of government agencies (the Federal Election Commission, the Justice Department, and the State Department) to administer federal regulations relating to foreign involvement in certain domestic activities.

It is not my purpose to quibble over this theory of fraud. (As explained before, I am not a fan  enough said.) I simply mean to clarify what Mueller found. When he concluded that the Trump campaign did not commit the crime of conspiracy, all he meant was that the campaign was not complicit in Russias hacking or its social-media propaganda operation. Period.

In their giddiness this week, Trump advocates have inflated this finding into a Mueller pronouncement that there was no collusion with Russia. That is not what he said. Mueller did not conclude that, apart from the two criminal schemes, Russia refrained from all activities that could influence an election. And he did not say that Trump-campaign officials had no meaningful associations and engaged in no concerted activity with operatives of the Kremlin.

Russia tries to influence elections in many ways. So, not coincidentally, does our government. Most foreign-government activities that could conceivably influence an election are legal (and, in the greater scheme of things, they are trivial). There is no doubt that some Trump-campaign officials engaged with Kremlin-connected actors. Some of these engagements  in particular, the Trump Tower meeting in which campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton was expected to be delivered  may have involved Russias hope to influence the election. Since the information provided was a dud, I am more inclined to think the Kremlin hoped to put Trump in a compromising position, or to open a dialogue with the potential future president on the Magnitsky Act that Putin so despises. But thats all speculation. So is the theory that Putin wanted Trump to win, as opposed to my surmise that Putin expected Trump to lose  since backing losing factions is the best way to alienate them against the winners and thus sow discord, Putins real aim.

Speculation about Russias motives aside, when we eventually get to see Muellers report, these facts of TrumpRussia interplay will certainly be recited. But before the there was a boatload of collusion crowd goes up in a balloon over that, a few points must be made.

First, just as Trump fans are inflating the special counsels no-conspiracy finding into a disingenuous no collusion talking point, Trumps detractors have, from the start, disingenuously inflated all TrumpRussia associations into not only crimes, which they are not, but into treason, which is a slander. Up until the night Trump won, Democrats and much of Washingtons political class were fine with Russia, belittling as quaint Cold Warriors any naysayers who saw Putin as more KGB than WTO.

Second, these episodes of TrumpRussia concerted activity were not illegal. If you find at least some of them unseemly, I do too. But it is not a crime for a U.S. candidate to be the preferred choice of a repulsive regime. (Again, I am not convinced that Putin actually wanted Trump to win, but he may have. I doubt neither that the Soviet Union preferred Democrats to Reagan, nor that the Iranian regime preferred Obama to Republicans. So what?) Moreover, it is not a crime for a campaign to seek compromising information on a political opponent  especially if it is truthful information  from reprehensible sources, including foreign ones. In a society committed to free expression and free association, it would be impossible to police such transactions  something to bear in mind when, inevitably, Washington overreacts to 2016 campaign improprieties by trying to ban information exchanges.

Third, the United States government is among the worlds most active meddlers in other countries political processes. We reason, as we should, that we are a force for liberty, so this is all to the good. But many lousy regimes in the world are threatened by our meddling, and some  like Russia  are in a position to retaliate. I am not suggesting we should stop being a beacon of freedom; just that we should stop shrieking as if it were shocking that governments interfere in each others elections. It is standard. We need to be on guard against foreign meddling, but lets also remember that our hands are not clean, even if we see virtue in the grime.

Fourth, if, under the guise of collusion, we are going to play this game of framing all non-criminal campaign-related contacts with a foreign power as an attack on our democracy, then we have to apply the new rules to everyone, not just Trump.

Hillary Clintons campaign retained a foreign spy to pry anti-Trump dirt from Kremlin-connected sources. Unlike Trumps ham-fisted and ultimately futile effort to obtain compromising information on his opponent, the ClintonBritainRussia collusion enterprise not only fed anti-Trump propaganda to the media. It also managed to transmit this sensational hearsay nonsense  some of which may have been Russian disinformation  to U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, which used it to get court warrants and rationalize spying on the opposition political campaign. That may just scratch the surface. There are indications that the Clinton campaign, through its Fusion GPS contractor (the same characters behind the Steele dossier), collaborated with Ukrainian government officials to secure information damaging to Trump  specifically, records of under-the-table payoffs from Kiev to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. (See the reports from the Daily Callers Chuck Ross and The Hills John Solomon.)

Collusion? I suppose.

Illegal? No . . . at least not on the Clinton campaigns part  Ukraine is investigating its own officials for meddling in the U.S. election; and with Muellers probe completed, congressional and Justice-Department examinations of potential investigative abuses are ramping up.

Mostly, this stuff is unsavory. I wouldnt appoint a special counsel to spend two years on it, but the Clinton campaign should be part of any Justice Department or congressional investigation of coordination between U.S. campaigns and foreign powers. No one is going to jail over these shenanigans, but we should be reinforcing norms against both politicized use of spying powers and foreign involvement in our elections.

Trey Gowdy is a perceptive former federal prosecutor and congressman. This week, Gowdy told Fox News he is in the minority of people opposed to disclosure of the Mueller report. In law enforcement, investigative subjects either get charged or they dont, and when they dont, the evidence in the case should not be disclosed. If it is released into the court of public opinion, there is no judge there to enforce standards of proof and police the lawyerly manipulation of ambiguous terms like collusion.

Gowdy is right. In this instance, alas, what is right is politically unrealistic: There is no way the Mueller report will be withheld. That is why, to my mind, there is no point fighting disclosure, even though we know it will be abused. Better to push for disclosure of everything that would be revealed in a judicial case  the full report spelling out the prosecutors evidence, plus all the relevant investigative documents that would tell us why and how the probe was conducted. If were going to have at it, lets have at all of it.

But lets not pretend there is anything edifying in further plumbing the depths of TrumpRussia collusion. When the Mueller report is published, well still be talking past each other, selectively mining the details so one side can say no collusion, and the other side can say boatload of collusion. No judge, no resolution . . . just fatigue.

More from National ReviewWant to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

Dah Sing Banking Group Limited (HKG:2356), operating in the financial services industry based in Hong Kong, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the SEHK, rising to highs of HK$15.38 and falling to the lows of HK$13.5. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Dah Sing Banking Group's current trading price of HK$14.74 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Dah Sing Banking Groups outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Dah Sing Banking Group

Is Dah Sing Banking Group still cheap?

The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to my relative valuation model. In this instance, Ive used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stocks cash flows. I find that Dah Sing Banking Groups ratio of 8.35x is trading slightly above its industry peers ratio of 6.07x, which means if you buy Dah Sing Banking Group today, youd be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Dah Sing Banking Group should be trading at this level in the long run, theres only an insignificant downside when the price falls to its real value. In addition to this, it seems like Dah Sing Banking Groups share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that its fairly valued. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

What does the future of Dah Sing Banking Group look like?

SEHK:2356 Past and Future Earnings, March 30th 2019

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. Dah Sing Banking Groups earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 36%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

Story continues

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in 2356s positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at 2356? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below its fair value?

Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on 2356, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for 2356, which means its worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters  the fundamentals  before you make a decision on Dah Sing Banking Group. You can find everything you need to know about Dah Sing Banking Group in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Dah Sing Banking Group, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Nutanix (NTNX). Shares have lost about 24.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Nutanix due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Nutanix Reports Q2 Results

Nutanix incurred second-quarter fiscal 2019 loss of 23 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents. However, the figure was wider than the year-ago quarters loss of 14 cents.



Revenues increased 17% from the year-earlier quarter to $335.4 million and also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $331 million. This top-line improvement can be attributed to large deal wins and a steady shift to a subscription-based business model. Strong performance in the EMEA region also contributed to this upside.





Quarterly Details



Product revenues climbed 6.14% year over year to $236.93 million. Support, entitlements & other services revenues soared 54.7% to $98.43 million.



Total software and support revenues surged 42% from the year-ago quarter to $280.7297 million.



Billings were up 16% year over year to $414 million. Software and Support billings rose 37% from the prior-year quarter to $375 million.



New customer bookings represented 25% of total bookings compared with 35% in the comparable quarter last year. Software related bookings from the companys international regions were 49% of the total software and support bookings compared with 46% in the year-earlier quarter.



The bill to revenue ratio in the quarter under review was 1.23, higher than the year-ago ratio of 1.22.



During the quarter under consideration, Nutanix sealed several large deals on the back of its consistent execution in product, customer support and enterprise selling, which also led to a deeper penetration into existing customers. 57 deals worth more than $1 million and six deals worth above $5 million were signed.



Nutanix now has 17 customers with a lifetime spend of more than $15 million and about 800 customers with a lifetime investment exceeding $1 million.



Subscription revenues were up 112% year over year to $157 million as a result of a continued shift of the business model.



In the reported quarter, the companys database service offering, Era, was named the Product of the Year by Salesforce.



The company continued to witness a strong adoption of its products including a worthy $5-million plus deal with the U.S. Department of Defense.



Notably, a $5-million deal was also inked in the fiscal second quarter between Nutanix and a major American for-profit operator for healthcare facilities. This win expands the existing customer deployment to bring a new workload, Splunk, on to the Nutanix platform.



Moreover, during the quarter under discussion, a $1-million deal was snapped up with a large Italy-based, Global 500 insurance company.



Nutanix also struck a major deal with a British multinational contract-based food service company. This Global 1000 company will use Nutanixs Xi IoT solution to power a machine-learning driven computer vision project.



Margin



In the fiscal second quarter, the company delivered non-GAAP gross profit of $257.5 million, up from $182.2 million year over year. Non-GAAP gross margin of 76.8% was higher than 63.5% of the same in the year-ago quarter.



Operating loss, however, widened to $39 million from a loss of $20.2 million in the year-ago period.



Balance Sheet & Cash Flow



As of Jan 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments were $966 million, slightly up from $965 million in the preceding quarter.



Cash flow from operations was $46.4 million compared with $49.8 million in the previous quarter.



Free cash flow was $32.4 million compared with a flow of $20 million in the prior quarter.



Deferred revenues jumped 63% year over year to $780 million in second-quarter fiscal 2019.



Guidance



For the third quarter of fiscal 2019, revenues are projected between $290 million and $300 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $347.3 million.



Nutanix anticipates billings to be in the range of $360-$370 million.



Non-GAAP gross margin is predicted between 75% and 76%. Moreover, management forecasts operating expenses in the $330-$340 million band.



Nutanix estimates non-GAAP loss per share to be 60 cents, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 28 cents.



Nutanix expects a significant impact on third-quarter fiscal 2019 results from imbalance and lead generation spending coupled with a slower-than-expected sales hiring.



The company remains positive about its transition to software-based revenues as the same is likely to expand its margins significantly, going forward.



Story continues

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. The consensus estimate has shifted -59.87% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Nutanix has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. Notably, Nutanix has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Nutanix Inc. (NTNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.By Harshith Aranya and Arijit Bose

(Reuters) - Analysts have turned cautiously optimistic on crude oil prices this year, predicting that production cuts by OPEC and its allies along with U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela will defy headwinds from robust U.S. output and a dampening global economy, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

A monthly survey of 32 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average $67.12 a barrel in 2019, about 1 percent higher than the previous poll's $66.44.

While this is the first time in five months that analysts have lifted their outlook, the 2019 price view is still below the $67.32 projected in January. Brent has averaged about $63.70 so far this year. [O/R]

"With slower global economic growth, oil demand will not be very dynamic this year," said Frank Schallenberger, head of commodity research at LBBW.

"But if OPEC sticks to its production cuts and the U.S. doesn't loosen sanctions against key producers Iran and Venezuela, higher prices are here to stay as we will head to a supply deficit in the second half of 2019."

Major producers, led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, will meet on June 25-26 in Vienna to review their supply cuts. Top exporter Saudi Arabia has advocated an extension of the curbs until the year-end.

OPEC compliance with the agreed cuts stood at 94 percent, while non-OPEC was at 51 percent in February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The reductions have pushed prices up more than 25 percent this year.

Analysts expect growth in global oil demand to be steady, at 1.21.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019.

The IEA, in its March outlook, kept its demand growth forecast unchanged at 1.4 million bpd this year. [IEA/M]

Brent is expected to rise to $68.85 in the third quarter from $67.55 the previous quarter, the poll showed, before higher U.S. output and economic woes bring prices down to $68.40 in the final quarter.

Story continues

"The end of 2019 is likely to see oil prices come under pressure as the U.S. exports greater volumes of its light shale oil supply to international markets and the global economy, in our view, experiences a synchronized slowdown," said Harry Tchilinguirian, strategist at BNP Paribas.

The 2019 average forecast for U.S. light crude was raised to $58.92 per barrel from February's $58.18 outlook.

Part of the U.S. growth will be due to new pipelines in the Permian Basin that come online in the second half of 2019, said Adria Morron Salmeron, economist at CaixaBank Research.

The spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is seen at $8.65 in the second quarter of 2019, narrowing to $8.04 and $6.85 over the next two quarters respectively.

"By the end of 2019, we expect the price differential between WTI and Brent to narrow substantially as growing U.S. exports of light oil come to compete in Atlantic Basin and Asian markets," Tchilinguirian said.

(Reporting by Harshith Aranya and Arijit Bose in Bengaluru; editing by Arpan Varghese, Noah Browning and Dale Hudson)EL PASO, Texas (AP)  In a story March 31 about a Beto O'Rourke campaign rally, The Associated Press reported erroneously that O'Rourke spoke to a rally in his native Spanish. O'Rourke is not a native Spanish speaker.

A corrected version of the story is below:

O'Rourke champions US-Mexico border during Texas kickoff

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke declares that immigrants make the country safer as he stages rallies across Texas to formally kick off his 2020 White House bid

By WILL WEISSERT

Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas (AP)  Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke declared that immigrants make the country safer as he staged rallies across Texas to formally kick off his 2020 White House bid, looking to shore up his deeply conservative home state and champion the U.S.-Mexico border at a time when President Donald Trump has threatened to shut it.

The former congressman, who represented El Paso for three House terms until last year, began the day Saturday addressing 1,000-plus supporters in his hometown, across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He later spoke at historically black Texas Southern University in Houston, before finishing with a late-night Austin event, addressing a large crowd a stone's throw from the pink-granite state Capitol.

Bounding onto a makeshift El Paso stage in a blue button-down shirt to The Clash's "Clampdown," O'Rourke declared: "We are safe, not despite the fact that we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers. We are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers."

"We have learned not to fear our differences, but to respect and embrace them," he told a crowd that waved small American flags and black-and-white signs reading "Viva Beto" while often interrupting their candidate to chant his first name. O'Rourke also spoke at length in Spanish, eliciting loud and sustained cheers.

Story continues

In a series of tweets Friday, Trump warned he could close the U.S. southern border next week "if Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States." In later comments to reporters he added: "We'll keep it closed for a long time. I'm not playing games."

O'Rourke has made promoting the border as culturally rich and economically powerful the centerpiece of his campaign and spoke on a downtown street corner a few blocks from it. He decried federal officials' recent decisions to hold people who crossed into the U.S. to seek asylum "in cages" under El Paso's international bridge, saying those detainees "are our fellow human beings and deserve to be treated as our fellow human beings."

O'Rourke entered the race March 14 and already has visited nine states, but had promised to return to El Paso for an official kickoff.

As he has previously, he renewed calls to work with Republicans and Democrats, saying "before anything else, we are Americans first" and prompting chants of "USA! USA!" But he also made bolder predictions than in the past, saying that if his campaign can bring people from across the ideological spectrum together he can top the rest of the crowded Democratic 2020 presidential field and "defeat Donald Trump."

A small but vocal group of El Paso Trump supporters had other ideas, gathering a few blocks away from the event to shout anti-O'Rourke sentiments for hours.

O'Rourke represented the city in Congress for six years, but gave up his seat while nearly upsetting Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in November. The Democrat who replaced him in the House, Rep. Veronica Escobar, welcomed those on hand to the "beautiful, magical, safe and secure U.S.-Mexico border," adding, "When the border sends America her people, we are sending them our best in Beto O'Rourke."

Amy O'Rourke, who has largely avoided the spotlight since her husband began running for president, gave a short speech too, telling the crowd, "Listening to people is what gives Beto strength. It fuels him and it gives him context (with) which he can think about policies and the things he wants to do for this great country."

Despite such nods to bipartisanism, however, O'Rourke offered many positions Saturday that were liberal enough to make moderates nervous. He vowed to legalize marijuana nationally, defend abortion rights, sign new sweeping voting rights legislation to end partisan gerrymandering and allow automatic and same-day voter registration, institute federally financed, universal pre-kindergarten programs, strengthen unions and bring home all troops from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also renewed his support for a House proposal called "Medicare for America," which he says will guarantee universal health care coverage while allowing people who like getting insurance through their employer to continue doing so.

O'Rourke hit many of the same points hours later in Houston, but recalled a school shooting near that city last year to advocate for nationwide federal background checks on firearms purchases. He added that assault weapons "sold to the United States military with the sole purpose of killing people as effectively, as efficiently and in as great a number as possible" should be "kept on the battlefield" and not "sold into our communities."

Addressing thousands and wearing a Texas Southern baseball cap, O'Rourke also recalled the devastation in Houston of 2017's Hurricane Harvey, saying the U.S. must do more to combat climate change and that the nation's fourth-largest city understands the phenomenon's dangers "better than just about anyone in this country."

Concluding in Austin, he called that city's liberal politics "the center and the source of so much of what is good for Texas and for the United States of America."

Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office in 25 years. But O'Rourke came within 3 percentage points of topping Cruz, and his party is hoping that a booming Hispanic population and large numbers of new residents moving in from other states could keep Texas close in 2020  potentially reshaping the electoral college. California Sen. Kamala Harris drew a large crowd last weekend when she too visited Texas Southern.

"This state and its 38 electoral votes count like they've never counted before," O'Rourke said in El Paso. "All of us matter."By Tim Reid

EL PASO, March 30 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will hold a major rally in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, a city thrust to the center of America's immigration debate by President Donald Trump and the U.S government this week.

O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, will kick off three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S border with Mexico as soon as next week.

His rally in El Paso, which sits on the border with Mexico, has been long-planned but the city became central to America's immigration debate this week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told a news conference in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day.

Trump, who says he is still determined to build a barrier along parts of the southern border, said on Friday: "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me."

He has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office but has not done so.

Trump and O'Rourke held dueling rallies in February in El Paso, which is already divided from Mexico by steel fencing.

Trump wants it reinforced and hundreds of miles of additional fencing built along the border. O'Rourke opposes any new border structures and opposition to Trump's border wall and immigration policies has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

They will again be a major part of his speeches in Texas on Saturday.

O'Rourke, who announced his White House campaign on March 14, shot to national prominence last year in an unexpectedly close race against incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

His Texas rallies will be watched via livestream at more than 1,000 locations across America, according to his campaign.

Story continues

O'Rourke, 46, competes in a large Democratic field. More than a dozen candidates have joined the fight to become the candidate to take on Trump in 2020.

The ORourke campaign sent multiple requests to potential supporters for campaign donations before his rallies in El Paso, Houston and Austin on Saturday, a common practice among presidential hopefuls. The messages stressed the importance of donating before Sunday, the deadline for first quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.

ORourke smashed fundraising records as a Senate candidate and raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, the largest first-day haul of any announced candidate this year.

However, he has struggled to see a strong campaign work ethic translate into a significant boost in early polling.

ORourke trails former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by double digits, according to early polls among Democratic voters. Analysts warn that polls this early, before the first nominating votes are cast in Iowa in February 2020, are unreliable.

Biden has yet to join the race, although he is expected to announce his presidential candidacy soon. (Reporting by Tim Reid Editing by Paul Tait)Username: Password: or Register

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Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 348173

03-30-2019 04:04 AM











Post: #1 Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def

Advertisement Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to defect



US national security advisor John Bolton has been flooding Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino with messages asking him to "do the right thing," playing the "Good Cop" to his own "Bad Cop."



Bolton's most recent "do the right thing" tweet implores Padrino and the army to "protect the Constitutional order from Maduro's usurpation of democracy" - though US special envoy Elliott Abrams admitted earlier this month that Juan Guaido's self-appointed presidency was technically in violation of Venezuela's constitution, until he unilaterally opted to change it.







Quote: "Mr. Bolton, I tell you that we are doing the right thing," Padrino responded in a televised address. "Doing the right thing is doing what's written in the constitution. ... Doing the right thing is respecting the will of the people."





Bolton has been tweeting at Padrino all week  and those are just the messages he's sent publicly. The Venezuelan military's refusal to throw its support behind Juan Guaido, the opposition leader turned self-appointed US-backed "interim president," is clearly a thorn in his side.



"We call on the Venezuelan military to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the citizens of Venezuela," Bolton tweeted in a statement in which he also "cautioned" "actors external to the Western Hemisphere"  i.e. Russia, mostly  to cease their "provocative actions" lest the US be forced to "defend and protect" its interests.



Padrino does not look interested in Bolton's love letters, however, denouncing Guaido as "a self-proclaimed outlaw."



"We, the soldiers of the Motherland, do not accept the president imposed in the shadow of dark interests," he said.



https://www.rt.com/news/455115-venezuela...es-bolton/ US national security advisor John Bolton has been flooding Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino with messages asking him to "do the right thing," playing the "Good Cop" to his own "Bad Cop."Bolton's most recent "do the right thing" tweet implores Padrino and the army to "protect the Constitutional order from Maduro's usurpation of democracy" - though US special envoy Elliott Abrams admitted earlier this month that Juan Guaido's self-appointed presidency was technically in violation of Venezuela's constitution, until he unilaterally opted to change it.Bolton has been tweeting at Padrino all week  and those are just the messages he's sent publicly. The Venezuelan military's refusal to throw its support behind Juan Guaido, the opposition leader turned self-appointed US-backed "interim president," is clearly a thorn in his side."We call on the Venezuelan military to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the citizens of Venezuela," Bolton tweeted in a statement in which he also "cautioned" "actors external to the Western Hemisphere"  i.e. Russia, mostly  to cease their "provocative actions" lest the US be forced to "defend and protect" its interests.Padrino does not look interested in Bolton's love letters, however, denouncing Guaido as "a self-proclaimed outlaw.""We, the soldiers of the Motherland, do not accept the president imposed in the shadow of dark interests," he said. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495491

03-30-2019 04:12 AM











Post: #2 RE: Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def

Bolton has long been a psychopath. In his later years

his mental condition and megalomania continue to

worsen.



Bolton is a danger to the world in any position of power. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 494835

03-30-2019 05:11 AM











Post: #3 RE: Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-30-2019 04:12 AM) Bolton has long been a psychopath. In his later years

his mental condition and megalomania continue to

worsen.



Bolton is a danger to the world in any position of power.

Correct Correct LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 445984

03-30-2019 05:17 AM











Post: #4 RE: Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def

Fuck Bolton with a crab leg. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495495

03-30-2019 06:26 AM











Post: #5 RE: Do the right thing? Venezuelan defense minister responds to Bolton's calls to def

Bolton needs to be arrested and ensconced in a psychiatric facility

as a danger to himself and Humanity. President Trump too, if he objects.

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By Tim Reid EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke held a major rally in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, a city thrust to the center of America's immigration debate by President Donald Trump and the U.S government this week. O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, kicked off a series of three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico as soon as next week. Speaking in El Paso, a few hundred yards from the border with Mexico, O'Rourke decried the Trump administration's immigration policies and the president's call for a border wall. "We'll find security not through walls," he declared to cheers from several hundred supporters as he officially launched his presidential campaign. Before switching to Spanish to finish his speech, O'Rourke denounced what he called Trump's policies of "fear and division" and accused the president of seeking "to keep us apart and to make us afraid of one another." "Let's remember, every single one of us are fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like fellow human beings," he said. O'Rourke's rally in El Paso was long-planned, but the city became central to America's immigration debate this week. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told reporters in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day. Trump, who is still determined to build a barrier along parts of the southern border, said on Friday: "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me." Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office. His latest threat had workers and students who frequently cross the border worried about the potential disruption to their lives. Trump and O'Rourke held dueling rallies in February in El Paso, which is already divided from Mexico by steel fencing. Trump wants it reinforced and hundreds of miles of additional fencing built along the border. O'Rourke opposes any new border structures and opposition to Trump's border wall and immigration policies has been a centerpiece of his campaign. "We are safe not despite the fact we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers - we are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers," O'Rourke said in El Paso on Saturday. O'Rourke, who announced his White House campaign on March 14, shot to national prominence last year in an unexpectedly close race against incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz. His Texas rallies will be watched via livestream at more than 1,000 locations across America, according to his campaign. More than a dozen contenders are fighting to become the Democratic Party's candidate to take on Trump in 2020. The O'Rourke campaign sent multiple requests to potential supporters for campaign donations before his rallies in El Paso, Houston and Austin on Saturday, a common practice among presidential hopefuls. The messages stressed the importance of donating before Sunday, the deadline for first quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission. O'Rourke, 46, smashed fundraising records as a Senate candidate and raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, the largest first-day haul of any announced candidate this year. However, he has struggled to see a strong campaign work ethic translate into a significant boost in early polling. O'Rourke trails former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by double digits, according to early polls among Democratic voters. Analysts warn that polls this early, before the first nominating votes are cast in Iowa in February 2020, are unreliable. Biden has yet to join the race, although he is expected to announce his presidential candidacy soon. (Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by Paul Tait and Richard Chang)El Paso (United States) (AFP) - Beto O'Rourke, the youthful Democrat who seized national attention last fall with an unexpectedly strong Senate campaign in conservative Texas, formally launched his presidential candidacy Saturday in his hometown of El Paso, vowing to bring a unifying dynamic, progressive values and generational change to American politics.

"This is our moment of truth, and we cannot be found wanting," he told an enthusiastic crowd of at least 1,000.

Speaking from a spot only blocks from the border with Mexico, he underscored some of his most vigorous differences with the man he hopes to succeed in the White House -- Donald Trump -- without ever naming the US president.

While Trump seeks to build a border wall and threatened just days ago to close the frontier if Mexico fails to stem the influx of undocumented immigrants, O'Rourke described America as "a country of immigrants and asylum seekers and refugees (who) are the very premise of our strength, of our success and, yes, our security."

In an implicit rebuke to Trump, O'Rourke said that his hometown was safer because of its immigrants, not more dangerous.

If elected he said he would pursue comprehensive immigration reform, reunite immigrant families separated at the border and "bring millions more (undocumented immigrants) out of the shadows."

Speaking energetically as he roamed about a stage with the sleeves of his Oxford shirt rolled, the 46-year-old listed his priorities: remaking an economy "that works too well for too few and not at all for too many"; moving toward "high-quality universal healthcare"; and seizing the nation's "last best hope of averting a (climate) catastrophe."

He called for the US to wind down its foreign wars, strengthen its alliances, and "end these love affairs with dictators and strongmen."

His message clearly was geared not just to El Pasoans but to Democrats nationwide as the party gears up for an extended campaign to see who will challenge Trump in 2020.

Story continues

O'Rourke pointed out that he helped boost voter turnout in Texas -- particularly among the young -- to some of its highest levels in years.

He had made his intention to run for the presidency known in mid-March, and in a single day raked in a huge $6.1 million in donations, giving himself instant relevance in the crowded Democratic field.

He since has been campaigning -- usually before large crowds -- in early-voting states including Iowa and New Hampshire.

And on Saturday, O'Rourke -- who during his Senate campaign visited every one of Texas's 254 counties -- continued his peripatetic ways, heading from his El Paso kickoff to rallies in Houston and Austin, the state capital.

The 46-year-old former congressman and onetime punk rocker was born Robert O'Rourke but widely known as "Beto." His nearly successful campaign in November against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz brought him national attention.

Some Democrats hope O'Rourke might even be able to turn reliably red Texas to Democratic blue, though first he would have to wade through the huge field of 16 Democrats now in the running -- including a popular fellow Texan, Julian Castro.

Other Democratic rivals include senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar.

The Democratic frontrunner, former vice president Joe Biden, is not even officially in the race, but polls show him as the leading contender for the party's nomination, with 29.2 percent support, according to the RealClearPolitics average of the six latest surveys.

Sanders is second at 21.8 percent, followed by Harris at 9.8 and O'Rourke at 9.2.

The newest rising star of the pack is Pete Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a military veteran, who would be the youngest and the first openly gay president should he win.

O'Rourke is an unorthodox candidate, with a comparatively thin political resume and with a seeming allergy to being labeled a liberal. During his six years in Congress, O'Rourke was more politically cautious, joining the House's centrist coalition.

But as the Democratic presidential field tilts leftward, he has hit on several progressive talking points.

In addition to supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, he backs marijuana legalization and champions the Green New Deal, a sweeping climate change mitigation framework.

He called Saturday for paid family leave, equal pay for women and an end to for-profit prisons.

On his first major campaign tour, which took him to eight states including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Ohio, he met people in coffee shops, school gyms and taquerias, offering a unifying vision packed with optimism but short on policy specifics.- AFP

Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli border on Saturday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, testing a fragile truce only 10 days ahead of an Israeli general election.

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during an overnight demonstration and two 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded.

Earlier, another Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in an overnight demonstration ahead of the main protest, the ministry said.

Egypt had sought to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence and avoid the sort of deadly response from the Israeli army that has accompanied past protests.

Clashes so far appeared limited, but warnings to stay far back from the heavily fortified fence that marks the border were not being heeded by all.

"We will move towards the borders even if we die," said Yusef Ziyada, 21, his face painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Israeli soldiers deploy on the Israel and Gaza border Credit: Tsafrir Abayov/ AP

"We are not leaving. We are returning to our land."

Dozens of Palestinians were seen approaching the border fence east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip at around midday (0900 GMT) before retreating as Israeli troops fired tear gas.

The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers and burnt tyres.

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl a rock towards Israeli forces Credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP

Further south, an Egyptian security delegation visited a protest site east of Gaza City. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya also visited the site.

The city's mosques used loudspeakers to call on people to attend, and buses shuttled protesters to sites in rainy weather.

Israel's army said most demonstrators were remaining away from the fence.

Tear gas canisters fall amongst Palestinian protesters during the demonstration Credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP

"Approximately 40,000 rioters and demonstrators are currently gathered in several locations along the Gaza Strip security fence," it said in a statement.

"The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tyres on fire. In addition, grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence in a number of different incidents."

Story continues

It said soldiers were "responding with riot dispersal means and are firing in accordance with standard operating procedures."

Israel's army had not commented on the death in the overnight demonstration, but late Friday said explosive devices were thrown at the fence "throughout the evening."

A tank "struck a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip" in response, it said.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday's protest "a very important message sent from Gaza today to all parties, mainly the Israelis and the international community".

"Gazans today are gathering here, thousands and thousands of people peacefully, to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza," he told AFP.

A Palestinian woman reacts after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli forces Credit: REUTERS

Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

The anniversary comes only days after another severe flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm.

The timing is especially sensitive for Israel, which holds a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has at the same time faced political pressure over accusations of being soft on Hamas.

The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation.

Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border.

It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers' use of live fire has come under heavy criticism.People gathered across Palestine on March 30 to mark a year of violent protests that began when 2018s Great Return March commemorations turned violent.

Protesters in Gaza have gathered at the border with Israel every Friday for a year, demanding the right to return to family lands. Clashes with Israeli security forces left 266 people dead and thousands injured during the year, Al Jazeera reported, citing health ministry officials.

A health ministry spokesman said that one person was killed by Israeli fire near the Gaza border with Israel early on March 30. Reuters said the Israeli military was unaware of the incident.

This video shows people near Qalandia in the West Bank marching towards an Israeli barrier wall. Quds Network news reported that the activists planted a tree close to the wall to mark land day. Credit: Quds Network via StoryfulBy Edward Taylor

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen has agreed to buy U.S. rival Wabco for over $7 billion, an acquisition it has long targeted to bolster its expertise in autonomous-driving technologies.

The all-cash deal, announced by the two companies on Thursday, is for $136.50 per share. That represents a 13 percent premium to Wabco's closing price on Feb. 26, the day before the American company said it had been approached by ZF.

ZF, which helps carmakers develop gearboxes and hybrid drivetrains, has been on the lookout for a strategic partner as it foresees semi-autonomous driving functions and vehicle connectivity developing into important new business areas.

"The combination of both businesses is expected to further accelerate the development of new technologies to enable autonomous commercial vehicle functions, making ZF less dependent on the economic cycle of the passenger car industry," ZF said in a statement.

Wabco's shares fell 10.3 percent to $130.93 on resuming trade after being suspended early on Thursday. However, they had risen by about 21 percent since Wabco confirmed last month that it had been approached by ZF about a potential takeover.

The two companies said on Thursday that the deal, which is expected to close in early 2020, had been unanimously approved by Wabco's board of directors. The deal is contingent on ZF clinching more than 50 percent of Wabco's shares.

ZF, which is unlisted, previously attempted to buy Wabco in 2017 but faltered amid opposition from ZF's controlling shareholder, the Zeppelinstiftung.

At the time, the foundation was concerned about ZF taking on too much debt by attempting to buy Wabco soon after its acquisition of TRW for $13.5 billion in 2015.

ZF said on Thursday it has received firm financing commitments for the acquisition from J.P.Morgan. It intends to partially refinance the facility via debt capital markets.

"The intended strategic acquisition of Wabco comes at a good time for ZF," ZF's Chief Financial Officer Konstantin Sauer said in a statement. "Following the successful integration of TRW, ZF has significantly reduced its debt levels."

Story continues

Wabco specialises in advanced driver assistance systems for trucks and trailers, key building blocks for developing autonomous driving technologies, a major growth area for ZF.

The acquisition will cut ZF's dependence on the passenger car market to around 70 percent of its business, from 80 percent currently, Chief Executive Wolf-Henning Scheider said.

The market for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles is expected to grow to $96 billion in 2025 and $290 billion in 2035, from about $3 billion in 2015, according to Goldman Sachs.

ZF and Wabco already jointly developed a so-called Evasive Manoeuvre Assist system, which combines Wabco's braking, stability and vehicle dynamics control systems for trucks with ZF's active steering technology.

Wabco has its headquarters in Europe but its executive offices are in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Wabco's Chief Executive Jacques Esculier said ZF provided the most suitable strategic fit for Wabco's portfolio of technologies in a sector that is rapidly consolidating.

Goldman Sachs advised Wabco on the deal, he said.

"The competitive environment will become a lot more complicated and busy," Esculier said, adding that he wanted Wabco to make a move before the good consolidation options ran out.

"You don't want to be the last person to pick your partner," Esculier said.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Susan Fenton)



The chickens are coming home to roost, as they say in farm country.

For the second time in less than eight months a US jury has found that decades of scientific evidence demonstrates a clear cancer connection to Monsantos line of top-selling Roundup herbicides, which are used widely by consumers and farmers. Twice now jurors have additionally determined that the companys own internal records show Monsanto has intentionally manipulated the public record to hide the cancer risks. Both juries found punitive damages were warranted because the companys cover-up of cancer risks was so egregious.

Related: What the pesticides in our urine tell us about organic food | Kendra Klein and Anna Lappe

The juries saw evidence that Monsanto has ghost-written scientific papers, tried to silence scientists, scuttled independent government testing and cozied up to regulators for favorable safety reviews of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

Even the US district judge Vince Chhabria, who oversaw the San Francisco trial that concluded Wednesday with an $80.2m damage award, had harsh words for Monsanto. Chhabria said there were large swaths of evidence showing that the companys herbicides could cause cancer. He also said there was a great deal of evidence that Monsanto has not taken a responsible, objective approach to the safety of its product  and does not particularly care whether its product is in fact giving people cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about the issue.

Monsantos new owner, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, asserts that the juries and judges are wrong; the evidence of a cancer risk is invalid; the evidence of bad corporate conduct is misunderstood and out of context; and that the company will ultimately prevail.

Meanwhile, Monsanto critics are celebrating the wins and counting on more as a third trial got underway this week and 11,000 additional plaintiffs await their turn. As well, a growing number of communities and businesses are backing away from use of Monsantos herbicides. And investors are punishing Bayer, pushing share prices to a seven-year low on Thursday.

Story continues

Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Tom Claps has warned shareholders to brace for a global settlement of between $2.5bn and $4.5bn.

We dont believe [Monsanto] will lose every single trial, but we do believe that they could lose a significant majority, he told the Guardian.

Following the recent courtroom victories, some have cheered the notion that Monsanto is finally being made to pay for alleged wrongdoing. But by selling to Bayer last summer for $63bn just before the Roundup cancer lawsuits started going to trial, Monsanto executives were able to walk away from the legal mess with riches. The Monsanto chairman Hugh Grants exit package allowed him to pocket $32m, for instance.

Amid the uproar of the courtroom scuffles, a larger issue looms: Monsantos push to make use of glyphosate herbicides so pervasive that traces are commonly found in our food and even our bodily fluids, is just one example of how several corporate giants are creating lasting human health and environmental woes around the world. Monsanto and its brethren have targeted farmers in particular as a critical market for their herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and now many farmers around the world believe they cannot farm without them.

Studies show that along with promoting illness and disease in people, these pesticides pushed by Bayer and Monsanto, DowDuPont and other corporate players, are endangering wildlife, soil health, water quality and the long-term sustainability of food production. Yet regulators have allowed these corporations to combine forces, making them ever more powerful and more able to direct public policies that favor their interests.

The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren this week called for taking back some of that power. She announced on Wednesday a plan to break up big agribusinesses and work against the type of corporate capture of Washington we have seen in recent years.

Its a solid step in the right direction. But it cannot undo the suffering of cancer victims, nor easily transform a deeply contaminated landscape to create a healthier future and unleash us from the chains of a pesticide-dependent agricultural system.

And while Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay?

We all are.A man has shot and killed his pet zebra after it escaped from his ranch in Callahan, a town in Florida.

The animal, reportedly named Shadow, broke free from Cottonwood Ranch and ran down a main road, chased by several vehicles.

Witnesses said the zebra was eventually cornered in a cul-de-sac around two miles from the ranch, where the owner shot and killed it.

Bill Leeper, the local sheriff, said he understood that Shadow was injured during the escape and that the owner chose to euthanise the zebra while police officers were at the scene.

Witnesses told WJXT-TV that the animal did not appear injured but the decision was made to kill it so that it could not hurt anyone.

I had to stop and think a minute, Jenee Watkins told the news outlet.

Its not every day you see a zebra trotting through your neighbourhood.

Officials have confirmed that the owner did not have a valid license to keep a zebra on his ranch.

A state permit is required to own and keep a zebra in Florida.

It is unclear whether he will face charges over the lack of permit.

Officials said the investigation into the animals escape and death was ongoing.The two world wars were catastrophic for countless families. Kids lost their fathers and mothers, or died themselves, in action or as collateral damage. Spouses were separated for years at a time, and, if they managed to reunite, often found their marriages irrevocably changed for the worse.

Director James Kents new film, The Aftermath  starring Keira Knightley, Jason Clarke, and Alexander Skarsgard  takes one such marriage as its subject. Set in 1946 Germany, it follows the failing union of a British couple, Lewis (Clarke) and Rachel (Knightley) Morgan, and the latters adulterous affair with a handsome German widower, Stefan (Skarsgard).

The movie begins with Rachel traveling to Hamburg, where Lewis, a British colonel, is stationed. The two are happy to be reunited, but there is clearly a great deal of unspoken tension between them. Rachel is uneasy in her new home  a stately country manor requisitioned by the British military  and is made all the more so when Lewis allows Stefan and his troubled teenage daughter Freda, who had owned the home before Germanys defeat, to stay with them.

As the characters are introduced, the story unfolds without surprise. Rachels suspicion of Stefan soon turns to curiosity, which then turns to lust. But of course, her attraction is about more than sex. She longs for companionship, excitement, meaning, and validation. Lewis is oblivious to the tensions in the house and neglectful of his wife. A passionate affair begins behind his back, while a subsidiary plotline follows Freda, neglected by her father, as she falls in love with a manipulative young Nazi.

Each character behaves with the most appalling selfishness, and yet each has mitigating reasons for doing so. The Morgans, we soon learn, lost their eleven-year-old son in a bombing raid. Lewis silently blames Rachel for the boys death, and Rachel resents him for blaming her. Stefan lost his wife in similar circumstances and is so consumed with his own grief that he barely thinks of Freda. Freda aids and abets her Nazi boyfriend, but were inclined to forgive her anyway, because she, too, has been left motherless by the war.

Story continues

The film is improved by profound aesthetic contrasts: the elegant gowns and period furniture of the Morgans country home are juxtaposed with the bomb-damaged buildings and starving bodies of the German city. If nothing else, this adds a layer of variety to an otherwise predictable story, as do token sex scenes and occasional violence.

To be fair, the story it isnt altogether boring. Generally, the dialogue and characterization are compelling. Knightley skillfully combines vulnerability and passion. When she bursts into tears, we believe her. But the scenes that explore the nature of war  which is perhaps the more interesting theme here  are lagging. It is never made clear, for instance, what it is that Lewis is doing in Hamburg. He may have PTSD from the war, but instead of having it brought to life in flashbacks or otherwise explained, were forced to make do with the occasional sidelong reference to his combat experiences. The threat of Fredas Nazi boyfriend is similarly ill-developed and proves little more than a catalyst for a narrative resolution that otherwise might not have arrived.

Despite these weaknesses, Kent manages to pull the film out of the fire at the end, as Rachel achieves a measure of redemption: Given the option of leaving Lewis, she returns to him instead, and he forgives her. Stefan is understanding and lets her go. Its not the most original conclusion in the world, but it works, tying a neat bow on an otherwise-average moviegoing experience.

More from National Review* Visit is first by a pope to Morocco in 34 years

* Moroccan king has open Imam school teach moderate Islam

* Morocco is departure point for African migrants

* King says education is only way to end religious radicalism

By Philip Pullella and Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT, March 30 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday that problems of migration would never be resolved by physical barriers but instead required social justice and correcting the world's economic imbalances.

Francis, starting a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialog and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name.

In recent months, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries and the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump, has vowed to fulfill his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico and on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States.

"The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families," Francis said at the welcoming ceremony.

"We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity," he said.

Morocco has become a key departure point for African migrants trying to reach Europe after crackdowns that closed or limited routes elsewhere. Italy's anti-immigrant interior minister has closed ports to rescue ships run by charity groups.

Francis, who has made defense of migrants and refugees a key part of his preaching, said he was concerned about their "frequently grim fate" and receiving countries must acknowledge that migrants are forced to leave their homes because of poverty and political upheaval.

Story continues

From the airport to the city center, Francis, 82, was driven in a white popemobile on a drizzly day as the 55-year-old king rode beside him standing in a separate vehicle, a vintage black 1969 open-top Mercedes 600 Pullman. At one point, a man rushed towards the king's car but was stopped by guards as the motorcade continued along the street lined with bystanders.

After the arrival ceremony Francis and the king were visiting an institute the monarch founded in 2015 for the training of imams and male and female preachers of Islam.

Morocco, which is nearly 100 percent Muslim, has marketed itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy. It has offered training to Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.

Francis, making the first papal visit to Morocco in 34 years, praised the monarch for providing "sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself."

The king said learning was the only way to combat religious extremism. "To tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military no financial; that solution has but one name: education," the king said. "What all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion." (Reporting By Philip PullellaEditing by Edmund Blair)Username: Password: or Register

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Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495499

03-30-2019 05:17 AM











Post: #1 Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

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Security house Blue Hexagon claims it discovered a version of the killer's manifesto doing the rounds online containing Windows malware that, when executed with the necessary privileges, reboots the system and leaves the user staring at an anti-racist message. The idea being to punish those who seek out the document, it appears.



The software nasty pulls this off by overwriting the boot drive's master boot record (MBR), a data structure needed to start up the operating system after power on or a reboot, to just display the text, and then restarts the machine for good measure.



While the manifesto  a meme-laden soup of troll-tastic nihilistic nonsense  has been outlawed in New Zealand for inciting murder and terrorism, the file continues to circulate in underground forums. Links to the MediaFire-hosted doctored rant, we're told, were first shared on Twitter, and 8chan  the LinkedIn-for-pedos forum site frequented by the Christchurch gunman whose name is not worth the bytes repeating here.



According to Blue Hexagon, the MBR-altering malware itself isn't embedded directly inside the poisoned manifesto, being sent around as a .docx, but rather it is downloaded and executed by an obfuscated Visual Basic script within the document that triggers when opened and run.



"The weaponized version of the document resembles content from the original manifesto but does have several distinguishing features," Blue Hexagon's Irfan Asrar explained this week.



sad_computer

Our amazing industry-leading AI was too dumb to detect the New Zealand massacre live vid, Facebook shrugs

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"The metadata from the original manifesto states the author as the name of the alleged suspect who has been arrested in connection with the terror attack, whereas the author info in the weaponized trojan says it was created by the author Maori (a name for the indigenous people of New Zealand). The biggest difference in the weaponized version is the presence of the obfuscated VBA script code that attempts to download a second stage payload."



The script in the document fetches a second file called haka.exe  the Haka being a traditional dance of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand  and here is where the real damage is done. The executable scribbles over the MBR on the host, and then forces a reboot.



As the machine restarts, the user is presented with a black screen and the message in red text: "This is not us!" That's a phrase shared by anti-racists, in an attempt to unite and heal, after attacks by white nationalists.



"Other than being disruptive, there is no motivation; such as a monetary one to be found in this attack," Asrar concluded. Consult your operating system's recovery and repair tools to rebuild the MBR if for some reason you're hit with this malware. Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter's Islamophobic rantings, in what is being described as an online "vigilante" operation.Security house Blue Hexagon claims it discovered a version of the killer's manifesto doing the rounds online containing Windows malware that, when executed with the necessary privileges, reboots the system and leaves the user staring at an anti-racist message. The idea being to punish those who seek out the document, it appears.The software nasty pulls this off by overwriting the boot drive's master boot record (MBR), a data structure needed to start up the operating system after power on or a reboot, to just display the text, and then restarts the machine for good measure.While the manifesto  a meme-laden soup of troll-tastic nihilistic nonsense  has been outlawed in New Zealand for inciting murder and terrorism, the file continues to circulate in underground forums. Links to the MediaFire-hosted doctored rant, we're told, were first shared on Twitter, and 8chan  the LinkedIn-for-pedos forum site frequented by the Christchurch gunman whose name is not worth the bytes repeating here.According to Blue Hexagon, the MBR-altering malware itself isn't embedded directly inside the poisoned manifesto, being sent around as a .docx, but rather it is downloaded and executed by an obfuscated Visual Basic script within the document that triggers when opened and run."The weaponized version of the document resembles content from the original manifesto but does have several distinguishing features," Blue Hexagon's Irfan Asrar explained this week.sad_computerOur amazing industry-leading AI was too dumb to detect the New Zealand massacre live vid, Facebook shrugsREAD MORE"The metadata from the original manifesto states the author as the name of the alleged suspect who has been arrested in connection with the terror attack, whereas the author info in the weaponized trojan says it was created by the author Maori (a name for the indigenous people of New Zealand). The biggest difference in the weaponized version is the presence of the obfuscated VBA script code that attempts to download a second stage payload."The script in the document fetches a second file called haka.exe  the Haka being a traditional dance of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand  and here is where the real damage is done. The executable scribbles over the MBR on the host, and then forces a reboot.As the machine restarts, the user is presented with a black screen and the message in red text: "This is not us!" That's a phrase shared by anti-racists, in an attempt to unite and heal, after attacks by white nationalists."Other than being disruptive, there is no motivation; such as a monetary one to be found in this attack," Asrar concluded. Consult your operating system's recovery and repair tools to rebuild the MBR if for some reason you're hit with this malware. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/03/28...o_malware/ LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495097

03-30-2019 05:20 AM











Post: #2 RE: Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

"Other than being disruptive, there is no motivation; such as a monetary one to be found in this attack,"



Yeah okay. Just like other politics, there's no money in it, ever. I've never heard of corrupt officials, false flags, lies, deceit and bullshit. Perfect world where truth and honesty, peace and happiness reigns.



Yeah. Then I go smoke all the drugs because that's what keeps me healthy. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495505

03-30-2019 05:46 AM











Post: #3 RE: Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

Maybe he should be cussing out the ones that have been hosting assymetric warfare on friendlies on behalf of the lower realms power struggle and your zombie virus host citizens. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 494875

03-30-2019 05:47 AM











Post: #4 RE: Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

so the hacker who made that malware is an ASS who ASSumes anybody interested in reading that thing is a "racist".



the hacker must have a guilty conscience.



people reading that might be looking for political, religious, militant, terror group connected, or even PSYCHOLOGY reasons looking at drug abuse or mental illness including social background ... they could be criminolgists or authors looking for a new story angle ... or armchair investigators or ...



anyway, my point is - people with ONE track minds should NOT judge another's intent LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 495505

03-30-2019 05:47 AM











Post: #5 RE: Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

Id buy him a rifle. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 458229

03-30-2019 06:00 AM











Post: #6 RE: Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-30-2019 05:17 AM) Hacktivists are spreading booby-trapped copies of the New Zealand mass shooter's Islamophobic rantings, in what is being described as an online "vigilante" operation.



Security house Blue Hexagon claims it discovered a version of the killer's manifesto doing the rounds online containing Windows malware that, when executed with the necessary privileges, reboots the system and leaves the user staring at an anti-racist message. The idea being to punish those who seek out the document, it appears.



The software nasty pulls this off by overwriting the boot drive's master boot record (MBR), a data structure needed to start up the operating system after power on or a reboot, to just display the text, and then restarts the machine for good measure.



While the manifesto  a meme-laden soup of troll-tastic nihilistic nonsense  has been outlawed in New Zealand for inciting murder and terrorism, the file continues to circulate in underground forums. Links to the MediaFire-hosted doctored rant, we're told, were first shared on Twitter, and 8chan  the LinkedIn-for-pedos forum site frequented by the Christchurch gunman whose name is not worth the bytes repeating here.



According to Blue Hexagon, the MBR-altering malware itself isn't embedded directly inside the poisoned manifesto, being sent around as a .docx, but rather it is downloaded and executed by an obfuscated Visual Basic script within the document that triggers when opened and run.



"The weaponized version of the document resembles content from the original manifesto but does have several distinguishing features," Blue Hexagon's Irfan Asrar explained this week.



sad_computer

Our amazing industry-leading AI was too dumb to detect the New Zealand massacre live vid, Facebook shrugs

READ MORE

"The metadata from the original manifesto states the author as the name of the alleged suspect who has been arrested in connection with the terror attack, whereas the author info in the weaponized trojan says it was created by the author Maori (a name for the indigenous people of New Zealand). The biggest difference in the weaponized version is the presence of the obfuscated VBA script code that attempts to download a second stage payload."



The script in the document fetches a second file called haka.exe  the Haka being a traditional dance of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand  and here is where the real damage is done. The executable scribbles over the MBR on the host, and then forces a reboot.



As the machine restarts, the user is presented with a black screen and the message in red text: "This is not us!" That's a phrase shared by anti-racists, in an attempt to unite and heal, after attacks by white nationalists.



"Other than being disruptive, there is no motivation; such as a monetary one to be found in this attack," Asrar concluded. Consult your operating system's recovery and repair tools to rebuild the MBR if for some reason you're hit with this malware. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/03/28...o_malware/

Obvious BS.



Hacktivists are Freedom Fighters not Government Stooges like the MSM is.



The only people distributing hacked malware tainted versions are the people who conducted the operation , MI6 and the CIA.



The Register is one of their outlets who prints what they want on demand.



This is MI6 and the CIA trying to stop people reading the bogus manifesto and discovering it is afraid for themselves.



NZ'ers and Aussies don't use American Spelling. The bogus Manifesto is full of it. Obvious BS.Hacktivists are Freedom Fighters, MI6 and the CIA.The Register is one of their outlets who prints what they want on demand.This is MI6 and the CIA trying to stop people reading the bogus manifesto and discovering it is afraid for themselves.NZ'ers and Aussies don't use American Spelling. The bogus Manifesto is full of it.

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By Philip Pullella and Ahmed Eljechtimi RABAT (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday the plight of migrants was "a wound that cries out to heaven" and could never be healed by physical barriers. Francis, starting a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects violence in God's name. In recent months, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to fulfill his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico and on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States. "The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families," Francis said at the welcoming ceremony. "We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity," he said. Morocco has become a key departure point for African migrants trying to reach Europe after crackdowns that closed or limited routes elsewhere. Italy's anti-immigrant interior minister has closed ports to rescue ships run by charity groups. Francis, who has made defense of migrants and refugees a key part of his preaching, said he was concerned about their "frequently grim fate" and receiving countries must acknowledge that migrants were forced to leave their homes because of poverty and political upheaval. From the airport to the city center, Francis, 82, was driven in a white popemobile on a drizzly day as the 55-year-old king rode beside him standing up in a separate vehicle, a vintage black 1969 open-top Mercedes 600 Pullman. In the afternoon, the pope spoke again of migration during a visit to a Church-run shelter. He called migration "a great and deep wound that continues to afflict our world at the beginning of this 21st century. A wound that cries out to heaven." He said migrants and refugees had rights and dignity "independent of their legal status" and that host communities should reject "all forms of discrimination and xenophobia". Francis and the king visited an institute the monarch founded to train imams and male and female preachers of Islam. Morocco, which is almost entirely Muslim, has promoted itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy. It has offered training to Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam. Francis, making the first papal visit to Morocco in 34 years, praised the monarch for providing "sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself". (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Edmund Blair and Marie-Louise Gumuchian)Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis tries to stop people kissing his ring because he fears it could spread germs, the Vatican said Thursday in response to a viral video showing the Argentinian repeatedly withdrawing his hand from worshippers.

The incident was captured Monday during a visit to the Italian hill town of Loreto where the 82-year-old greeted dozens of parishioners.

While some simply bowed their head and shook his hand, others leaned forward to kiss his ring.

The smiling pope can be seen pulling back his hand repeatedly.

"The pope told me the reason he did not allow people to kiss his ring was because of hygiene... to avoid contagion when there are long queues of people," Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Thursday.

"Personally, he likes to embrace people."

The video was shared online and had gained more than 11 million views on the Twitter social media platform by Thursday afternoon.

The scene in Loreto drew criticism from conservative Catholic observers who also frequently attack the pope over what they consider his too liberal approach to social issues.

However, it has since emerged that the video was only a short version of a longer clip, which shows the pontiff patiently letting people kiss his ring at first before the queues grew longer.

Nonetheless, the incident has sparked a public debate over decorum during a papal meet and greet.

The Vatican advises worshippers not to bend the knee in front of Francis who is said not to appreciate the practice.President Trump weighed in on the Jussie Smollett controversy Thursday and indicated that he wants the FBI and the Department of Justice to review the case.

Two days after prosecutors announced that they are dropping all charges against Smollett, who stands accused of faking a hate crime in Chicago this January, the President tweeted: FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!

FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019

On Wednesday, Chicagos ABC7 reported that the FBI is looking into the the dismissal of charges against Smollett. The FBI declined to confirm the investigation to TIME.

Meanwhile, Smolletts lawyer, Tina Glandian, said she is not at all concerned about an investigation of Smollett by the Department of Justice and FBI in an appearance on NBCs Today show Thursday. She added that Smollett has been further victimized by the investigation against him and by comments by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who criticized Chicago prosecutors for dropping the charges.

He, at this point, has been victimized much more by whats happened afterwards than what happened that night, said Glandian.

Prosecutors have said that they stand by the police investigation and the decision to file charges against Smollett.

Trump has previously shown an interest in the case. When Smollett described the alleged assault to the police, he said that his attackers had shouted this is MAGA country  a reference to the Presidents campaign slogan.

When news of the alleged attack emerged, Trump told reporters that the alleged assault was horrible. But once charges were filed against Smollett, Trump expressed anger that his supporters had been implicated in the assault, tweeting, what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?The governor of Puerto Rico did not mince his words this week when he learned that the Trump administration have doubled down on their refusal to grant the island funding for its recovery from Hurricane Maria.

Gov. Ricardo Ros Rossello said he will not let Puerto Rican officials be taunted and bullied by the White House.

If the bully gets close, Ill punch the bully in the mouth, Mr Rossello said on CNN on Thursday, referring to Donald Trump.

The Puerto Rican governors comments came in response to news that President Trump told Republican lawmakers at a closed-door congressional meeting on Tuesday that the island territory received too much money in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The amount of funding is way out of proportion to what Texas and Florida and others have gotten, Mr Trump said, according to Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

Mr Rossello is also receiving backlash from his constituents and colleagues for his recent hostile comments involving the president. Some critics question why he didnt use the same type of fervour in defending Puerto Rico when Mr Trump first visited the island in October 2017.

While visiting Puerto Rico, the president said the aftermath of the hurricane left the country was not a real catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Mr Trump also repeatedly refused to meet with Mr Rossello privately to discuss disaster relief about a year and a half after Hurricane Maria killed at least 2,975 people in 2017. The hurricane was the deadliest natural disaster in the US in the last century.

Mr Rossello attempted to defend himself by saying, it would be a mistake to confuse courtesy with courage.

San Juan Mayor Yulin Cruz, who has recently announcing she will be running for Puerto Rico governor against Mr Rossello in the 2020 election, called him out on Twitter.

The governor is desperate because he knows that history will remember him as a coward, Ms Cruz, tweeted. When he had to, the governor of Puerto Rico praised the President. Realising [now] that his complacent attitude towards Trump is hurting him politically, the governor pretends to be taking Trump on.

Story continues

Senior white House officials told Mr Rossellos top officials that the islands representatives were too aggressive and insisted too much on setting up a meeting with Mr Trump, CNN reported.

Mr Rossellos remarks were made on the same day he announced his support for new legislation that would make Puerto Rico the nations 51st state in the country. The bill was introduced on Thursday by Democratic Rep. Darren Soto of Florida.

Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, displacing nearly 200,000 people who left for the mainland and resulting in approximately $90bn in damages.Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Man who admitted role in Kansas 'swatting' death gets 20 years

A California man was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in federal prison for making hoax calls, including a so-called "swatting" incident where Kansas police responded to a false report and fatally shot an unarmed man, prosecutors said. Tyler Barriss, 26, of Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty last November in U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas, to charges stemming from the December 2017 incident as well as dozens of similar hoax calls in which no one was hurt.

Judge nixes Mexican holiday for executive charged in U.S. college admissions scandal

A federal judge on Friday nixed the international family vacation plans of a former senior executive at private equity firm TPG Capital charged in connection with the U.S. college admissions scandal, saying he posed a flight risk. Bill McGlashan, who prosecutors say was among the wealthy parents who engaged in fraud and bribery schemes to help get their children into colleges, had sought to go ahead with a planned family vacation to Mexico.

Prisoners not entitled to gender reassignment surgery: U.S. appeals court

A federal appeals court on Friday said Texas prison officials do not violate transgender inmates' constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide them with gender reassignment surgery. In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled against Scott Lynn Gibson, who was born male, but has lived as a female since age 15 and goes by Vanessa.

Republicans push easing U.S. Senate rules to help Trump nominations

Republicans in the U.S. Senate will attempt to alter its rules next week in order to accelerate the confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominees for some judgeships and sub-Cabinet level positions in his administration. Democrats, who control 47 of the Senate's 100 seats, have slowed the confirmation of scores of such appointees.

Story continues

Guatemalan migrant girl in U.S. custody died of sepsis: autopsy report

The death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl in U.S. federal custody in December was caused by strep-induced sepsis, a Texas medical examiner's autopsy report released on Friday showed. Jakelin Caal traveled with her father to a remote stretch of U.S. border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, where they turned themselves in to border agents on Dec. 6. They were among tens of thousands of Central American migrants who have attempted to cross the U.S. southern border in recent months in a bid to escape poverty or violence in their home countries.

Georgia lawmakers pass heartbeat abortion ban, joining four other U.S. states

Georgia's Republican-controlled legislature on Friday passed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States, outlawing abortion if a doctor is able to detect a heartbeat. The state's House of Representatives passed the bill with a 92-78 vote, sending it to Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who is expected to sign it into law. The state Senate previously passed the measure.

Honda says 16th U.S. death confirmed in air bag rupture

Honda Motor Co said on Friday it had confirmed a 16th U.S. death has been tied to a faulty Takata air bag inflator. The Japanese automaker said that after a joint inspection Friday with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it had confirmed a faulty air bag inflator was to blame for a June 2018 death of a driver after the crash of a 2002 Honda Civic in Buckeye, Arizona.

Exclusive: More than 1 million acres of U.S. cropland ravaged by floods

At least 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) of U.S. farmland were flooded after the "bomb cyclone" storm left wide swaths of nine major grain producing states under water this month, satellite data analyzed by Gro Intelligence for Reuters showed. Farms from the Dakotas to Missouri and beyond have been under water for a week or more, possibly impeding planting and damaging soil. The floods, which came just weeks before planting season starts in the Midwest, will likely reduce corn, wheat and soy production this year.

CACI International wins $810 million U.S. defense contract: Pentagon

CACI International Inc has been awarded an $810 million U.S. defense contract for mobile command and control systems, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Trump threatens closure of U.S.-Mexico border next week to stem asylum surge

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States. "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK's May under pressure to rule out long Brexit delay: report

British Prime Minister Theresa May is under growing pressure from within her Conservative Party to lead Britain out of the European Union in the next few months, even if it means a no-deal Brexit, The Sun newspaper reported. A letter signed by 170 of the 330 Conservative lawmakers in parliament, including 10 cabinet ministers, was sent to May after her Brexit deal was rejected for a third time by the House of Commons on Friday, the newspaper reported.

Erdogan says Turkey will solve Syria issue 'on the field' after Sunday's elections

Turkey will solve the Syria issue "on the field" after Sunday's local elections, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, as he sought to drum up support for his AK Party in the vote. Turkey has carried out two cross-border operations against Kurdish militants in northern Syria and has warned that it will launch further incursions if the threats along its borders are not eliminated.

Afghanistan floods kill 32, worsen already desperate situation

Flash floods have killed at least 32 people in western Afghanistan, destroyed homes and swept through makeshift shelters that housed displaced families, a government official said on Saturday. Flooding caused by heavy rains started spreading on Thursday and left a trail of devastation across seven provinces, said Hasibullah Shir Khani, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea: USGS

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea's New Britain island, 186 km (115 miles) east of Kandrian, on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake which, USGS said struck at 1120 GMT, the Center added. Earlier reports measured the magnitude at 6.4

Exclusive: With a piece of paper, Trump called on Kim to hand over nuclear weapons

Story continues

On the day that their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, U.S. President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to the document seen by Reuters. Trump gave Kim both Korean and English-language versions of the U.S. position at Hanoi's Metropole hotel on Feb. 28, according to a source familiar with the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first time that Trump himself had explicitly defined what he meant by denuclearization directly to Kim, the source said.

Kremlin: USA has not requested phone call on Venezuela with Putin - TASS

The United States has yet to request a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Venezuela, the Kremlin was quoted as saying by TASS news agency on Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will probably talk to Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela.

Thailand's king revokes royal decorations of ousted ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has revoked royal decorations that had been awarded to ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a document published on Saturday in the royal gazette showed. The king's order came less then a week after a disputed election in which a pro-Thaksin political party is seeking to form a "democratic front" against a party that wants to keep the leader of a 2014 military coup in power.

Teenage African migrants accused of hijacking tanker after sea rescue

Three teenage migrants were charged in a Maltese court on Saturday with hijacking a small commercial tanker that had rescued them and others off the coast of Libya. The three, who have pleaded not guilty, were among 108 Africans rescued by the El Hiblu 1 tanker this week. They are accused of threatening the crew on Wednesday to try to force the boat to go to Malta and not take them back to Libya.

Palestinians mass at Gaza border to mark protest anniversary

Thousands of Palestinians rallied at the Gaza-Israel border on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of a surge of protests, facing off against Israeli forces massed across the frontier. Troops fired tear gas across the border and the Israeli military said some of the estimated 20,000 demonstrators threw rocks, grenades and burning tires towards them.

Exclusive: Trump eyeing stepped-up Venezuela sanctions for foreign companies - Bolton

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering imposing sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela to cut off revenues to President Nicolas Maduro, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters TV on Friday. "We're moving exactly in that direction," Bolton said when asked whether Trump would consider what are known as "secondary sanctions."London (AFP) - British rock icon Mick Jagger said on Saturday he was "devastated" after his Rolling Stones were forced to cancel their United States and Canada tour dates so he could receive "medical treatment".

"I really hate letting you down like this," the 75-year-old wrote on his Twitter account, without specifying what treatment he was receiving.

"I'm devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can."

The rock legends earlier announced the cancellations, saying that they would reschedule the dates.

"Mick has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time, as he needs medical treatment," said the band's official statement.

"The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible."

Jagger has eight children, five grand children and a great-granddaughter, but has maintained his energetic stage performances well into his 70s, playing Britain's Glastonbury Festival in 2013.

The band, who formed in 1962, were due to play 17 shows in the US and Canada between April and June.Lunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of LunaticOutPost.Com. The owners or administration of this website can't be hold responsible for content hosted on sites that posters link to in; including, but not limited to, posts, signatures, private messages and such. This site may contain content not suitable for minors and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss (no more than 50% of the source material) provide a link back to the original articleIf you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright please contact [email protected] This website is owned by :Marco ZwaneveldDrijfriemstraat 522516 XR The HagueNetherlands.I will not rent, sell, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any third party.We might contact you from time to time regarding your purchases or the services (like forums and announcement lists) you have subscribed to.Some of the 3rd party advertisers on lunaticoutpost.com may use cookiesto track peformance and/or to serve relevant ads.If you wish to read more and/or opt out of such cookies, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/The death of a tourist from Hong Kong at Grand Canyon West on Thursday was the second fatality this week confirmed at the canyon, officials said.

The National Park Service confirmed a second person died at Grand Canyon National Park on Tuesday.

A park spokesperson said a body was found in a wooded area south of Grand Canyon Village away from the rim. Authorities were working to identify the person, who is believed to be a foreign national, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

"The NPS and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are conducting an investigation," NPS said in a news release.

More: Tourist falls hundreds of feet into Grand Canyon while taking photos

Park spokeswoman Vanessa Ceja-Cervantes said the cause of death is unclear. The incident was called in at about 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, the international tourist died after falling hundreds of feet into the Grand Canyon while trying to take photos, officials said. The man was part of a group taking photos very close to the rim at Grand Canyon West, which is outside of Grand Canyon National Park on the Hualapai Indian Reservation.

Follow Austin Westfall on Twitter: @WestfallAustin.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Second death this week confirmed at Grand CanyonKIEV, Ukraine (AP)  Five years after a deadly separatist conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine, the front line between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has become a de-facto border, cutting off a generation of first-time voters from Sunday's presidential election.

Only those who left their homes in the east to live in areas under government control will be able to cast ballots for Ukraine's new president.

Since 2014, a separatist war in Ukraine's industrial heartland of Donetsk and Luhansk has killed more than 13,000 people and has prompted many to seek the relative stability of government-controlled areas.

The mood on both sides has become increasingly entrenched. The people who stayed behind in Donetsk are often viewed in Kiev as Moscow supporters, while those who fled for the government-controlled areas are sometimes treated as traitors in their hometowns.

The residents of Donetsk and Luhansk were able to vote in Ukraine's last presidential election in May 2014, when Petro Poroshenko was elected president. Election officials and voters were intimidated by separatists who shut down some polling stations but many stayed open. This year, the Ukrainian government has no presence in the rebel region and anyone wanting to vote would have to cross the front line to do so, which could bring retaliation at home.

Ukraine says 35 million people will be able to vote in Sunday's election, but does not say how many of those voters are stuck in separatist regions or in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions were home to more than 6.5 million people before the war but their statistics agencies this year put their current population at 3.7 million. Crimea has about 2 million people. None of them can vote in their cities and towns.

On a recent morning in Donetsk, a lecturer was teaching a class about the current, chaotic situation in Venezuela, stressing how the United States picks and chooses the regimes they like in the Western hemisphere. The presidential campaign in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where the U.S. has a major footprint, seemed like it was happening in another country.

Story continues

Maxim Kaluga, who studies international relations at the Donetsk National University, toes the separatist line that the latest Ukrainian presidential election is not legitimate because Ukrainian authorities are oppressing people.

Kaluga was 16 when Russian and Russian-backed gunmen seized the administrative building in his native city of Donetsk, once a bustling commercial center. Several months later, the war was in full swing. One afternoon, his friend nearly died when a bus stop was shelled near Kaluga's house.

"That was the scariest thing," he says.

Speaking out in favor of re-uniting with Ukraine is risky in Donetsk, where activists have been detained, tortured and faced bogus charges on suspicion of being Ukrainian government sympathizers. But what is perceived as Ukraine's blockade of the east has also embittered many against the Ukrainian government.

After Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, Russia threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine but stopped short of annexing the region. There has been no indication from the Kremlin that Russia wants to annex Donetsk and Luhansk, which are too economically depressed and are nowhere near as predominantly Russian-speaking as Crimea.

Asked if he could see his region returning under the Ukrainian government's rule, the 21-year-old student says they are "not compatible anymore."

"We're hoping to join Russia or just keep our identity and become an independent state," Kaluga says.

Nearby, in muddy trenches that look like they are straight out of World War I, a 20-year-old soldier who goes by the nom de guerre of Bach patrols the front line, 700 meters (less than half a mile) away from Ukrainian government positions in the Donetsk region.

Hostilities here died down after a tentative peace accord in 2015 but never fully stopped, meaning that thousands of people like him have to man front-line positions on both sides of the unending conflict.

The fighter says many young people in the east are conflicted about the future of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"Young people are divided here," he says. "Some think that we have no prospects on our own or as part of Russia, only as part of Ukraine. Some support the Donetsk republic but are too afraid to fight."

In Kiev, 18-year-old Ivan, whose family left Luhansk in 2016, studies on a full scholarship at a private college. He hopes to eventually enroll in a university overseas to study waste management, something that is still an obscure concept in Ukraine. His parents have spent all their savings to move to Kiev.

Living in an unrecognized separatist republic "would close too many doors for us," says Ivan , who asked that his last name not be used for fear his relatives in Luhansk would face repercussions.

Ivan is eager to vote in the upcoming presidential election because he is convinced that an individual can make a difference.

"I do believe I can make a difference," he said. "Every citizen should have a position because if you don't come out, if you don't do anything, nothing will ever change."

Many natives of eastern Ukraine who left feel it is too dangerous for them to come back to the region even for a visit because of their pro-Western views.

Kateryna Savchenko works in radio in Kiev and acts in a theater collective mostly made up of internal exiles. She left her eastern hometown of Horlivka in 2014 but is optimistic about her future in Ukraine.

"I see no room for development there. Things are much better on the Ukrainian side," she says. "It's great that in this country we have an opportunity to choose."Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. Historically, Sichuan Expressway Company Limited (HKG:107) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 4.5%. Does Sichuan Expressway tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I'll take you through my analysis.

Check out our latest analysis for Sichuan Expressway

5 checks you should do on a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?

Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?

Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?

Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?

SEHK:107 Historical Dividend Yield, March 30th 2019

How well does Sichuan Expressway fit our criteria?

The company currently pays out 36% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect 107's payout to remain around the same level at 34% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of around 4.9%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to CN0.32.

If you want to dive deeper into the sustainability of a certain payout ratio, you may wish to consider the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock you're eyeing out is reliable in its payments. Not only have dividend payouts from Sichuan Expressway fallen over the past 10 years, it has also been highly volatile during this time, with drops of over 25% in some years. This means that dividend hunters should probably steer clear of the stock, at least for now until the track record improves.

Story continues

Relative to peers, Sichuan Expressway generates a yield of 4.5%, which is high for Infrastructure stocks but still below the market's top dividend payers.

Next Steps:

If Sichuan Expressway is in your portfolio for cash-generating reasons, there may be better alternatives out there. However, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still offer some interesting investment opportunities. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. There are three relevant aspects you should further examine:

Valuation: What is 107 worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 107 is currently mispriced by the market. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business  take a look at who sits on Sichuan Expressways board and the CEOs back ground. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.CHICAGO (AP)  When prosecutors dropped the charges that accused Jussie Smollett of orchestrating a fake attack, the outrage was swift and overwhelming. Smollett saw his record wiped clean without offering so much as an apology.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted the decision as a "whitewash of justice" and billed Smollett $130,000 for the cost of the police investigation. President Donald Trump called it a "national embarrassment" and promised a federal probe. The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said it was "an affront" to prosecutors across the state.

But for all of the public fury, the two agencies that handled the case  the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office  insist their relationship is strong, even if they didn't agree on the outcome.

"I've heard people saying the relationship is broken and fractured, but that is absolutely, patently false," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. "This is like a marriage, and these relationships need work. But at the end of the day, we all at heart are crime fighters."

The person who has taken the most heat for the decision is State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who was elected in 2016 on a promise to reform an office that many believed was too quick to help police put minorities in prison. She said she recused herself from Smollett's case before he was charged because she had spoken with a Smollett family member when he was still considered a victim.

Even so, she defended the decision of her top assistant to drop the charges in exchange for Smollett's agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bail payment.

She said Smollett never would have gone to prison because the 16 charges were the lowest possible form of felony, "a step up from a misdemeanor," and prosecutors needed to focus their resources on violent crime. She said Smollett was offered the same deal as many other defendants who don't have a criminal record.

Story continues

Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men who shouted slurs and yelled, "This is MAGA country," an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." Smollett also said the men doused him with a chemical and put a noose around his neck.

Police worked for weeks to unravel the case, eventually concluding that Smollett paid two brothers $3,500 to stage the Jan. 29 attack because he hoped it would promote his career.

Prosecutors "cannot be influenced by politics or celebrity," and cases should be decided on their merits and independent of police influence, Foxx told television station WGN.

Even though Smollett's case did not call for jail time, his alleged actions were "nothing short of despicable and shameful," said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago Law School professor who has long criticized what he calls the cozy relationship between the police department and previous state's attorneys.

Smollett should have been "made an example," including requiring him to admit his actions, said Futterman, who also praised Foxx for scrutinizing cases more closely.

The actor maintains his innocence and says he was unfairly treated by police.

Foxx's office also should have explained its decision to police before charges were dropped "as a common courtesy," Futterman said.

Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson learned of the decision shortly before it became public, while attending a police cadet graduation ceremony.

Foxx told WGN that she spoke to Johnson both during the investigation and after her office's decision to drop the charges.

"I think our relationship is one of mutual respect," she said. "We share a commitment to this city."

Guglielmi credited Foxx with changes that have improved the relationship between police and prosecutors and improved the chances of obtaining convictions, including teaching officers how to write better reports. He also said she put prosecutors inside police districts every day to "get involved on the front-line level" on cases such as gun offenses.

Even so, rank-and-file police officers were infuriated by the Smollett decision. The Fraternal Order of Police planned to protest the dismissal Monday outside the state's attorney's office, but said nobody was available Friday to comment.

Coincidentally, Foxx and Johnson likely owe their jobs to the same case.

Emanuel fired former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in 2015 following the release of dashcam footage showing a white police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who had only a small knife. He hired Johnson, a lifelong Chicagoan and career police officer, to lead the department in 2016, hoping he could help repair trust between the police and residents.

Foxx defeated two-term State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, whose loss was attributed to voter outrage following release of the video, which showed officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Alvarez did not charge Van Dyke with murder for 13 months, and the charges came just hours before the video was made public under a court order.

Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder in October and was sentenced in January to less than seven years in prison with the possibility of going free in three years with credit for good behavior. Three other officers who were charged with lying about the shooting to protect Van Dyke were acquitted by a judge in January.

Futterman questioned Emanuel's reaction to Smollett's case, saying the mayor did not address false arrests, civil rights violations and the police code of silence "until his hand was forced." He said blaming Smollett for harming the city's reputation is unfounded.

"I think this case says more about Smollett than it does about Chicago," Futterman said. "This as a solid investigation that the Chicago Police Department can stand behind. I don't see Smollett's own shameful actions as being a stain on Chicago."

Johnson, for his part, says he's ready to put the Smollett case behind him.

"Cops are resilient people," he told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday. "We go to court all the time and don't get the outcomes that we're looking for. We're accustomed to it. ... We move on."

___

Check out the AP's complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.Southwest Airlines passengers should brace for flight cancellations through May as the fallout from the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8 continues.

The airline, which has more Max 8s than any U.S. carrier, has decided to keep its 34 Max 8s out of its flight schedule through at least May, according to a memo sent to the airline's pilots late Friday.

Southwest had removed the planes from its schedule through April 20 but warned earlier this week that it was evaluating "future schedule restrictions.''

The Max 8s make up just a fraction of Southwest's fleet of 750 aircraft, but 34 fewer planes  which seat 175 passengers and make multiple flights a day  mean fewer flights. Southwest said earlier this week that, through March 31, it has already canceled 2,800 flights due to the Max 8 grounding on March 13.

Those cancellations are in addition to an additional 6,600 in the past six weeks due to winter weather and a labor dispute, all creating a mess for travelers.

Southwest said extending the schedule changes through May will reduce last-minute flight cancellations, which disrupt the plans of Southwest passengers and crew members. The airline's social media accounts have been filled with passengers complaining about last minute cancellations since the plane was grounded by the FAA March 13.

"Were publishing a revised schedule for April and May that is built around the currently available Southwest fleet and intends to reduce drastically last-minute trip disruptions and same-day cancellations which have affected our customers and employees since the grounding of the Max,'' the airline said in a statement.

It added, "Independent of the timeline for a return of service of Max aircraft, the flight schedule revision is about returning to a normal operation and restoring a reliability that our customers our crews deserve and expect from Southwest.''

Southwest passengers traveling through May should now get more notice about flight changes because the airline can better match its available planes with the volume of travelers.

Story continues

The memo to pilots, from Southwest Pilots Association President Jon Weaks and Southwest's vice president of flight operations, Alan Kasher, acknowledged the impact of the cancellations on passengers and pilots.

"Now that the decision has been made, we can construct our schedule without those (Max 8) flights well in advance in hopes to minimize the daily disruptions,'' the memo said.

More: You don't have to be on a Max 8 to be affected by the grounding. Here's why

American Airlines earlier this week extended its flight cancellations through April 24 due to the Max 8. It has 24 of the planes in its fleet. The airline said the move translates to about 90 daily flight cancellations.

n.

The decision has now been made to pull MAX flying from the schedule

through May. This will impact the lines in May, but, now that the decision has been made, we can

construct our schedule without those flights well in advance in hopes to minimize the daily

disruptions.

Thanks again for everything you are doing for each other and our Customers out there.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southwest flight cancellations to drag into May due to Boeing Max 8 groundingValletta (AFP) - Maltese authorities charged three young African migrants on Saturday with committing an act of terrorism for hijacking a vessel that rescued them off the coast of Libya.

The two teenagers from Guinea and one from Ivory Coast, aged 15, 16 and 19, are accused of forcing the Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu I towards Malta after it picked up 108 migrants, including women and children, on Wednesday and headed towards its destination in Libya.

A Maltese special operations unit boarded the ship a day later, arrested five men suspected of leading the hijacking. They handed control back to the captain who steered the ship to Valletta under a navy escort.

The three migrants, who were charged at a Maltese court with seizing control of the ship through the use or threat of force and intimidation, pleaded not guilty and were placed in preventive detention pending trial.

They face prison terms of between seven and 30 years if convicted.

The ship's captain told Maltese media the hijackers "were desperate and absolutely did not want to return to Libya.

"Panic and confusion erupted when the migrants understood that we were going back," to a country where migrants face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape according to the United Nations and aid groups.

Following Italy's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, vessels that pick up migrants crossing the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Boatloads of rescued migrants have in recent months refused to disembark there however, prompting local authorities to use force.WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump called for the Pulitzer Board to revoke the prizes awarded to The New York Times and The Washington Post for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and the links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

"So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt?" the president wrote on Twitter on Friday. "In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!"

The sentiment has been a talking point for Republicans since Attorney General William Barr said special counsel Robert Mueller did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it was the first time the president suggested that the media outlets have their Pulitzers  one of journalism's highest honors  stripped away.

The awards were given in 2018 for what the Pulitzer Board described as "deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration."

So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

More: AG William Barr plans to release Mueller report by mid-April. 'Everyone will soon be able to read it.'

More: Mueller report: Investigation found no evidence Trump conspired with Russia, leaves obstruction question open

Story continues

Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy said in a statement to USA TODAY that Trump's tweet was "fake marketing."

"This criticism is fake marketing. We stand behind the Pulitzer selection process, which has endured for 103 years. And the winning work speaks for itself," she said. "Beyond that, this simply doesnt deserve comment. Im focusing on our exciting upcoming 103rd awards announcement and invite everyone to tune in to the livestream on Monday April 15th at 3 p.m. on Pulitzer.org."

In a statement, The New York Times said the outlet's coverage stands and Barr's four-page letter summarizing the investigation only confirmed the work of its reporters.

"No report in our package of Pulitzer-prize winning work has been challenged," said Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the company. "In fact, what we know of the Mueller report from the Attorney Generals summary confirms our coverage. Russia actively worked to upend the American elections in 2016 and there were multiple instances of Trump Transition and Administration officials having contact with Russia."

The Washington Post, through a spokeswoman, said it did not plan on commenting on the president's tweet.

Throughout Mueller's investigation, dozens of individuals were charged, including members of Trump's inner circle, his campaign and his administration.

But no charges were filed specifically alleging a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to help him win the 2016 election, though Mueller and U.S. intelligence officials has concluded that the Kremlin was behind a massive campaign to interfere and influence the outcome of the election.

Mueller found, according to Barr's letter to members of Congress, that the Trump campaign did not conspire or coordinate with Russia "despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

Barr said Mueller declined to reach a conclusion on whether the president sought to obstruct the investigation, though Barr said his own judgment was that Trump had not.

Barr's letter included very little from Mueller's nearly 400-page report. The full report is expected to be released publicly in mid-April, Barr told Congress on Friday.

The award-winning work by the Times and Post chronicles issues and warnings about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn before he was charged as part of Mueller's investigation and Jared Kushner's Russian links.

Other stories revealed a meeting between top Trump campaign officials, including the president's eldest son, with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower before the election and conduct by the president that led to questions over whether he may have attempted to obstruct the investigation, including asking former FBI Director James Comey to let go of an investigation into Flynn.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump: Pulitzers awarded to NYT, Washington Post should be revoked for 'fake' Russia coverageBy Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the Department of Justice would "review" the uproar surrounding actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged with staging a fake hate-crime attack on himself in Chicago before prosecutors abruptly dropped the case this week.

Hours after Trump announced the review in a Twitter message calling the case a national embarrassment, the city sent the actor a letter demanding he reimburse police for $130,000 in overtime costs for the investigation.

Smollett, who is black and gay, said two men attacked him on the street at night in January, yelling homophobic and racist slurs, pouring a chemical on him and putting a noose around his neck while shouting support for Trump.

Investigators later charged Smollett with paying $3,500 to the men to stage the attack to garner public sympathy. Prosecutors dropped the charges on Tuesday, saying they stood by the accusation but that an agreement by Smollett to forfeit his $10,000 bond was a just outcome.

Smollett, 36, insists he is innocent and was the victim of a real attack.

Tina Glandian, one of his defence lawyers, told NBC News on Thursday that she was unconcerned by the review, saying, "To my knowledge, nothing improper was done."

The county prosecutors' decision stunned the city's police chief, prompted the police union to demand a federal investigation, and enraged Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, who called it a "whitewash" that made a fool of the city.

DEMAND FOR PAYMENT

Trump, a Republican, echoed those remarks on Thursday.

"FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago," Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice. "It is an embarrassment to our Nation!"

On Thursday, the mayor said he would seek to have Smollett reimburse Chicago for investigation costs, and rejected Trump's federal review, telling the president to "sit this one out."

Story continues

Chicago Corporation Counsel Edward Siskel, who heads the municipal Department of Law, sent Smollett a letter on Thursday demanding payment within seven days of more than $130,000 to cover police overtime expenses.

"If the amount is not timely paid, the Department of Law may prosecute you for making a false statement to the city" under city ordinances, Siskel warned Smollett in the letter.

Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said enforcement of the city's false statement code amounts to a civil action, not a criminal case, carrying a maximum fine of $1,000 plus up to three times the amount of damages to the city.

The city could also seek to recover court costs, collection costs and attorneys fees, but Smollett would face no jail time, McCaffrey said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

The FBI has already had some involvement in the case, with agents investigating a threatening letter Smollett said he received prior to the attack, according to the Chicago Police Department.

The initial reports of two Trump supporters attacking a gay, black celebrity drew widespread sympathy for Smollett, particularly from Democrats. That faded quickly after the actor's arrest, and the case was seized on by some as an example of what Trump likes to deride as "fake news."

Smollett is best known for playing a gay musician on the Fox drama "Empire." His lawyers said he hopes to move on with his career, but it remains unclear whether he will return to "Empire" after being written out of the last two episodes of the most recent season.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York and Steve Groman in Los Angeles; editing by Bill Tarrant and Richard Chang)Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's move to lift bans on drilling for oil and gas in offshore Arctic and Atlantic areas is illegal, a US judge has ruled.

Trump's effort to open more areas to drilling "is unlawful, as it exceeds the president's authority," Judge Sharon Gleason ruled.

As a result, bans on drilling in these areas "will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress," the Friday ruling said.

President Barack Obama's indefinite prohibition on new drilling in US waters in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska, including most of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and in 31 underwater canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, was enacted in December 2016 under a 1953 law.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act gives the president power to withdraw offshore areas from commercial use. Previous presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton also invoked the legislation.

Trump signed an executive order in April 2017 aimed at lifting the bans, saying it would pull in "billions of dollars" for America and create jobs.

"Our country's blessed with incredible natural resources, including abundant offshore oil and natural gas reserves, but the federal government has kept 94 percent of these offshore areas closed for exploration and production," the president said at the time.

"This deprives our country of potentially thousands and thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in wealth," he said.

Trump's 2017 order called for a review of the Obama-era bans with the goal of allowing "responsible development of offshore areas that will bring revenue to our treasury and jobs to our workers," but made no mention of the environmental rationale for the prohibitions.By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's secretive hearings for 11 suspects accused in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi violate international law and should be open to the public and trial observers, a U.N. human rights expert said on Thursday. Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions who is leading an international inquiry into Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October, denounced what she called the lack of transparency of the kingdom's investigation and legal proceedings. She called on Saudi authorities to reveal the defendants' names, the charges and the fate of 10 others initially arrested. "The current proceedings contravene international human rights law according to which the right to a fair trial involves the right to a public hearing," Callamard said in a statement. "The government of Saudi Arabia is grievously mistaken if it believes that these proceedings, as currently constituted, will satisfy the international community, either in terms of procedural fairness under international standards or in terms of the validity of their conclusions, she said. The U.N. human rights office and International Bar Association have requested access to the court, she added. The Saudi public prosecutor indicted 11 unidentified suspects in November, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of ordering and committing the crime. The CIA and some Western countries believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, ordered the killing, which Saudi officials deny. Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide to Prince Mohammed fired over the killing, is not among the 11 suspects on trial at hearings in Riyadh despite Saudi pledges to bring those responsible to justice, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. Senior Saudi officials were "criminally responsible" if they failed to investigate and prosecute those responsible for killing the Washington Post columnist, Callamard said. Referring to diplomats from world powers on the U.N. Security Council who have attended some hearings, she warned: "They risk being participants in a potential miscarriage of justice, possibly complicit should it be shown that the trials are marred by violations of human rights law". Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch, said the Saudi criminal justice system has "an abysmal record", marked by defendants being held for long periods without charge or trial, and often denied lawyers. Charbonneau added that Saudi authorities should open the Khashoggi murder trial to U.N. observers, international activists and media, and countries whose diplomats observe the trial should speak out publicly. "We cant enable the Saudi government to turn it into a kangaroo court that conveniently finds a bunch of people guilty while whitewashing the possible responsibility of top Saudi officials," he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich)By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday she was "very encouraged" by the Senate vote this week on the "Green New Deal," the sweeping climate policy resolution she introduced last month, even though the Senate defeated it. The non-binding resolution, which proposes to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade, lost 57-0 in the Senate, with 43 Democrats voting "present." "You had the Republicans voting 'no' and you had virtually the entire Democratic caucus voting 'present,' even those in tough states," Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday. "That is an extraordinary amount of unity within the Senate to actually vote in that cohesive of a bloc, so I'm very encouraged." The Green New Deal, unveiled last month by Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Senator Edward Markey, marks the first formal attempt by lawmakers to define potential legislation to create government-led investments in clean energy and infrastructure to transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels. The plan's name is an homage to the New Deal of the 1930s, a series of government-led programs and projects that President Franklin Roosevelt implemented to aid Americans during the Great Depression. CELEBRITY STATUS A rising political star and leader of the progressive left, Ocasio-Cortez defeated a longtime Democratic lawmaker in a 2018 primary to become the youngest woman in Congress at age 29, representing New York's 14th district in the House. Her bold stance on climate policy and her strong social media presence have launched her to celebrity status among progressives nationwide. Republicans have criticized the Green New Deal since its inception for being too radical, and have used the plan and Ocasio-Cortez herself, as rallying points to demonize the Democratic Party. "The Green New Deal is a wonderful illustration of just how extreme the Democrats have become," Republican Senator Ted Cruz tweeted on Tuesday, calling it "a radical socialist proposal." The Trump administration does not believe action on climate change is necessary and has instead focused on increasing production of oil, gas and coal on federal and private lands. At a Trump rally in Michigan on Thursday, crowds chanted "AOC sucks!" according to television coverage of the event. Ocasio-Cortez shrugged off Republicans' insults on Friday at a town hall hosted by MSNBC in her district in The Bronx. "I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves," she said of her critics. (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; editing by Bill Tarrant and G Crosse)GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas progressed Friday, the leader of the Islamic militant group said, as the Gaza Strip braced for renewed violence on the eve of the first anniversary of its weekly protests along the frontier with Israel.

The anniversary event could prove combustible, coming days before the Israeli elections and following a round of heavy cross-border fighting, ignited by a rocket launched from Gaza that slammed into a house in central Israel earlier this week.

Egyptian mediators shuttled between Gaza and Israel throughout the day, according to the main Gaza factions, relaying messages and proposing solutions to tamp down the scale and intensity of the expected rally.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the militant group is "at a crossroads" in the latest round of talks with Egyptian officials.

Haniyeh said Hamas is demanding the delivery of aid and goods to the blockaded Gaza Strip, an end to water and electricity shortages, and job creation programs to mitigate the territory's 50 percent unemployment rate.

Hamas launched the weekly march movement a year ago, initially to call for a return of Palestinian refugees to their ancestral lands in what is now Israel.

The focus of the demonstrations has been expanded to pressuring Israel into lifting its crippling blockade of the coastal enclave. The blockade, enforced also by Egypt, has created a worsening economic and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and stoked Hamas fears of internal dissent.

Egyptian and international mediators fear that if Hamas fails to restrain the anniversary protests, violence could escalate into a major conflagration between the bitter enemies. Since Hamas seized control of Gaza by force in 2007, it has fought three devastating wars with Israel.

Hamas has been mobilizing its resources and urging Palestinians to come out in force to five locations along the Israeli security fence on Saturday. Protest organizers installed tents near the border equipped with electricity and internet connection for demonstrators. The main Gaza City hospital has erected a triage tent in anticipation of a massive influx of casualties.

Story continues

Israel bolstered its forces around the enclave in advance. COGAT, the Israeli defense body that coordinates civil affairs for the Palestinian territories, shared a Facebook video addressing demonstrators in Arabic, warning Palestinians to stay at least 300 meters (328 yards) away from the security fence "for your own safety."

Although Hamas canceled its typical Friday protests in preparation for the anniversary, dozens of Palestinians still demonstrated at the Israeli frontier. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that seven people were injured by Israeli fire.

Earlier on Friday, a U.N. official urged both sides to avoid violence at the demonstration.

Jamie McGoldrick, the world body's humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, in a statement outlined the "staggering" human costs a year of demonstrations has inflicted, especially on Gaza's children.

He said 195 Palestinians, including some 40 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and nearly 29,000 Palestinians have been wounded, including 7,000 by live fire.

A large number of the casualties have been unarmed Palestinians and medics with clearly marked clothing, which has "raised concerns" about Israel's alleged use of excessive force.

The U.N. statement said the protests have deteriorated conditions in the Gaza Strip, overwhelming a health care system already stressed by 11 years of blockade.

___

DeBre reported from Jerusalem.By Janko Roettgers

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Google has removed a controversial app from Texas-based Living Hope Ministries that advocated for gay conversion therapy after coming under pressure from civil rights groups and the public. The app suggested that users could "pray away the gay," and disparaged homosexuality as a "destructive lifestyle."

"After consulting with outside advocacy groups, reviewing our policies, and making sure we had a thorough understanding of the app and its relation to conversion therapy, we've decided to remove it from the Play Store, consistent with other app stores," Google said in a statement provided to Axios, which first reported the removal.

The app had previously been hosted by Apple, Amazon and Microsoft as well, but the three companies responded swiftly to critics and removed it in December. However, it remained on Google's Play Store.

LGBTQ advocacy group Truth Wins Out upped the pressure on the company with a petition on Change.org, which was signed by 142,191 people. This week, the Human Rights Campaign also suspended the company from its annual Corporate Equality Index.

On Friday, Truth Wins Out celebrated the removal of the app as a victory for civil rights.

"We are delighted that Google finally backed down and deleted a dangerous app that targeted LGBTQ youth with toxic messages of guilt and shame," said Truth Wins Out executive director Wayne Besen in a statement. "We hope this sends a powerful message that 'pray away the gay' products are unacceptable and have no place in a decent and civilized society."Washington (AFP) - The United States cut off aid to several Central American countries President Donald Trump accuses of doing nothing to stop the outflow of US-bound migrants, the State Department announced Saturday.

At the instruction of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "we are carrying out the president's direction and ending FY 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle (of Central America)," a State Department spokesperson said.

"We will be engaging Congress as part of this process," the spokesperson said.

The 2018 budget year ended months ago, and the State Department did not say how much unspent money was involved in the step, which could be largely symbolic.

The "Northern Triangle" includes El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, where tens of thousands of migrants have fled poverty and violence in recent years to try to enter the United States.

Over the last two years, $1.3 billion was earmarked for Central America for US official development aid, most of it to these three countries.

Trump blames their governments for looking the other way as "caravans" of migrants head through Mexico to reach the United States.

Trump has also accused Mexico of failing to curb the flow of migrants illegally entering the US, and threatened to close the US-Mexican border "next week" unless something changes.

In December, the United States and Mexico agreed to make significant investments in the "Northern Triangle" and southern Mexico, in the hope of stemming the influx of migrants.WASHINGTON  The United States is halting humanitarian funding to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the State Department confirmed on Saturday.

The move comes just days after President Donald Trump warned of a new migrant caravan heading toward the southern U.S. border and issued warnings that he planned to close the U.S.-Mexico border next week if Mexico did not do more to stop caravans of migrants, many fleeing Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, from attempting to gain entry into the U.S.

"At the Secretarys instruction, we are carrying out the Presidents direction and ending FY 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson told USA TODAY. "We will be engaging Congress as part of this process."

Trump has long threatened to cut off humanitarian aid to the countries, including before the 2018 midterm elections when he held a slew of rallies and warned of an "invasion" of migrants from the countries. He recently declared a national emergency at the border to secure funding for a proposed wall, despite Congressional opposition.

More: Trump threatens to seal the border if Mexico doesn't 'immediately stop' immigrants

More: How US foreign policy in Central America may have fueled the migrant crisis

On Friday, the president threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn't stop undocumented migrants from coming.

"Theres a very good likelihood that Ill be closing the border next week," Trump told reporters gathered at his Florida resort. "I will close the border if Mexico doesnt get with it."

Historically, the United States has viewed foreign aid programs to Central American countries as a vital component of stabilizing the countries, potentially halting the flow of immigrants seeking to migrate to the United States. Under Trump, aid to the countries had already plummeted.

The U.S. provided about $131 million in aid to Guatemala, $98 million to Honduras, and $68 million to El Salvador in 2016, according to Reuters. The following year the funding fell to about $69 million for Guatemala, $66 million for Honduras and $46 million for El Salvador.

Story continues

In April, Trump also threatened to withdraw aid from Honduras a caravan of migrants fled the country. The group, which grew to as many as 1,600 migrants, grew smaller as it moved north. By the time they reached Tijuana, on the Mexican side of the southern U.S. border, only about 300 migrants remained.

Honduras' murder rate has declined in recent years but it still had the fourth-highest rate among Latin American nations in 2017 at 42.8 per 100,000 residents, according to Insight Crime. Only Venezuela, El Salvador and Jamaica suffered more murders in the region that year.

According to the World Bank, 66 percent of Hondurans live in poverty and about one out of five Hondurans in rural areas live on less than $1.90 a day.

More: 'Weve never seen anything like this': As Trump threatens to close border, migrants overwhelm Texas cities

Long before Trump took office, the United States had a checkered history of involvement in Central America  and some say American foreign policy in the region caused the instability and inequality at the root of the current crisis.

There was the CIAs covert operation to overthrow Guatemalas democratically elected president in 1954. And Americas intervention in El Salvadors civil war in the 1980s. And the Obama administrations refusal in 2009 to label the ouster of Honduras president a military coup  even though soldiers dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night and sent him into exile in his pajamas.

Jeff Faux, a distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, said the decades-long history of American intervention has left Central American governments weak and fragile while empowering oligarchs and drug cartels, which has, in turn, fueled the corruption and gang violence that drives residents to flee.

Contributing: John Fritze, Deirdre Shesgreen and William Cummings

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US cutting off humanitarian aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El SalvadorCARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader brushed off the measure and said it would not derail his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The announcement by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, a close Maduro ally, cited alleged irregularities in Guaido's financial records and reflected a tightening of government pressure on an opposition movement backed by the United States and its allies.

Guaido, who was elected to the assembly in 2015, has taken 90 international trips without accounting for the origin of the estimated $94,000 in expenses, Amoroso said. He also accused the opposition leader of harming Venezuela through his interactions with foreign governments, dozens of which support Guaido's claim that he is interim president of the country.

"We're going to continue in the streets," Guaido said soon after Amoroso's statements on state television. He dismissed the comptroller's announcement as irrelevant because, in his view, Maduro's government is illegitimate.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino described the ban on Guaido as "ridiculous."

Meeting in Ecuador, delegations from a group of European and Latin American countries also criticized the Venezuelan government's move.

"Such a political decision without regard to due process is yet another demonstration of the arbitrary nature of judicial procedures in the country," said the International Contact Group on Venezuela. The group says it seeks the peaceful restoration of democracy to the country.

The power struggle between Maduro and Guaido has intensified the sense of crisis in Venezuela, which suffered its worst blackouts earlier this month and then another round of power outages that paralyzed commerce this week.

Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said Thursday that electricity had been restored in most of the country, though some areas remained without power and experts have warned that the system is vulnerable to further disruptions.

Story continues

Schools and public offices were still closed, but there was more traffic in the streets of Caracas and many people were able to make electronic payments for the first time in days.

"It's a moment of happiness in the middle of this tragedy, to see that my card worked," Caracas resident Maria Isabel Vera said after buying medicine in a pharmacy.

Both the opposition and the government plan demonstrations on Saturday as they try to project resolve in a debilitating standoff in what was once one of Latin America's wealthiest countries. More than 3 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, escaping dire economic conditions that left many without adequate food or medicine.

Maduro, who is backed by Russia, says he is the target of a U.S.-led coup plot and has accused Washington and Guaido of sabotaging Venezuela's power grid. Both the U.S. and the Venezuelan opposition, as well as many electricity experts, believe neglect and mismanagement are the cause of the country's electricity woes.

Venezuelan authorities this month arrested Guaido's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, and accused him of involvement in a "terrorist" scheme to overthrow the government.

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaido as interim president, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was rigged. It has stepped up sanctions and other diplomatic measures in the hopes of forcing him to give up power.HOUSTON (AP)  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Houston next week to give a speech on the political turmoil and economic crisis in Venezuela.

The White House says in a statement that Pence will address students and members of the local Venezuelan community at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy on Friday, April 5.

Pence's visit comes as the political fight in Venezuela is intensifying. The government of President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that it barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

Houston is home to a large Venezuelan immigrant community, as well as the corporate headquarters of CITGO. Six executives with the oil company are jailed in Venezuela on what their families say are trumped-up corruption charges.A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Intrexon (XON). Shares have lost about 34% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Intrexon due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Intrexon Reports Narrower-Than-Expected Loss in Q4

Intrexon incurred a loss of 22 cents per share (excluding non-cash charge of $311 million) in fourth-quarter 2018, narrower than 23 cents recorded in the year-ago period and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents.

Total revenues came in at $43.2 million, reflecting a 44% decline from the year-ago quarter. The reported revenues also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $62 million.

Recent Business Highlights

Intrexons sales primarily consist of collaboration and licensing revenues, as well as product and service revenues.

Collaboration and licensing revenues decreased 55% from the prior-year quarter to $25.2 million.

Product revenues came in at $4.9 million, down 36.2% from the year-ago period. Service revenues totaled $12 million, down 5.4% year over year.

Intrexon follows a business model, under which the company commercializes its technologies through exclusive channel collaborations (ECC), licensing agreements and joint ventures that have market and product development expertise, as well as sales and marketing capabilities to bring new and improved products and processes to the market. Such agreements provide the company with funds in the form of technology access fees, along with milestones and other payments.

Meanwhile, the company is developing several candidates in partnership with other companies.

Intrexon structured its principal healthcare assets into two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries  Precigen, Inc., which is a gene and cell therapy company developing precision medicines and ActoBio Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused on therapeutic delivery of biologics to the site of disease via its proprietary ActoBiotics platform. Effective Jan 1, 2018, Precigen and ActoBio Therapeutics began operating as standalone entities. Both the companies are now wholly-owned subsidiaries of Intrexon.

Story continues

Precigen announced that the FDA has cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for PRGN-3006, an investigational drug for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Precigen also announced that the FDA has cleared the IND application for PRGN-3005 UltraCAR-T, an investigational drug using CAR-T cells to treat advanced-stage platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients and the first UltraCAR-T candidate targeting solid tumors to enter the clinic.

Following the previously reported reacquisition of oncology rights from Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. in October 2018, Precigen and Intrexon entered into an agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ares Trading, pursuant to which Intrexon assumed rights from Ares Trading under the existing agreement among Precigen, Ares Trading and Ziopharm relating to the development of CAR-T therapies.

2018 Results

Loss per share in 2018 was 69 cents, narrower than the year-ago figure of 98 cents and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.59.

Total revenues came in at $160.6 million, reflecting a 31% year-over-year decline and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $183.4 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Intrexon Corporation (XON) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment ResearchIt has been about a month since the last earnings report for J.C. Penney (JCP). Shares have lost about 2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Penney due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

J. C. Penney Surpasses Q4 Earnings, Sales Miss Estimate

J. C. Penney posted its fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results, wherein the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while the top line lagged the same. However, both the metrics declined year over year in the reported quarter.

The company didnt provide any guidance for fiscal 2019, except that free cash flow is likely to be positive in fiscal 2019. Industry experts believe that the company, in order to win back customers, may focus on bringing in demand products even faster than its competitors. J. C. Penney announced plans to close stores that are not performing up to the mark and focus on core categories.

Lets Delve Deeper

The company posted adjusted earnings per share of 18 cents, reflecting a sharp decline from 51 cents in the year-ago quarter. However, the figure exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents.

Total revenues in the quarter came in at $3,786 million, which declined 8.4% from the prior-year quarters figure and lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,836 million.

Further, total sales of $3,665 million fell 9.5% year over year, due to soft performance in major appliances, furniture, and women's accessories and handbags categories. This led management to stop selling appliances, going forward. Also, it has decided to sell furniture only via jcp.com and in few Puerto Rico stores.

Region wise, South East and Gold Coast regions didnt perform well, partly offset by improved performance in Midwest and Southwest regions. Looking at the monthly trend, sales in the month of November and December proved to be better, while January sales were the weakest.

Story continues

We note that credit income and other totaled $121 million, up 44% on a year-over-year basis, driven by functional improvement in the portfolio for credit customer.

Comparable sales (comps) during the quarter went down 6%, against a rise of 2.6% in the year-ago quarter. On a shifted basis, comps declined 4%, owing to lower transactions, which were partly mitigated by rise in average unit retail.

Gross margin during the quarter contracted roughly 220 basis points (bps) on account of liquidation of slow moving and old inventory. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $266 million from $394 million in the year-ago quarter, while adjusted EBITDA margin as percentage of total sales fell 250 bps to nearly 7%.

SG&A expenses dipped 3.8% to $1,007 million in the quarter, backed by lower incentive compensation. However, SG&A expenses as percent of sales expanded 150 bps to 27.5%, owing to comps decline in the reported quarter.

Other Financial Details

J. C. Penney ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $333 million compared with $458 million in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, long-term debt came in at $3,716 million, moderately down from $3,780 million in the year-ago period. Shareholders equity totaled $1,170 million at the end of the quarter. Merchandise inventory levels decreased 13.1% to $2,437 million.

The company generated free cash flow of $111 million for full year ending Feb 2, 2019, compared with $213 million in the prior-year period. Further, it incurred capital expenditures of $392 million during the fiscal year. The company anticipates capital expenditures of $300-$325 million for fiscal 2019.

Efforts to Achieve Turnaround

As part of its efforts to get back on track, the company plans to close 18 stores in fiscal 2019. Additionally, it will shut down 9 ancillary home and furniture stores. In doing so, the company will incur pretax cost of nearly $15 million related to this initiative during the first half of fiscal 2019.

This move comes after J. C. Penney noticed that comps at these stores were significantly low. Also, this step will help the company allocate capital resources in profitable businesses. Moving on, the employees affected by this store closure initiative will be compensated with separation benefits, including job assistance.

Apart from these, management is making efforts to boost growth in its womens apparel, active apparel, special sized apparel and fine jewelry. The company is focused on eliminating product categories with dismal margins and significantly lowering unsold inventory.

Also, J. C. Penney plans to utilize advanced technology tools, which will help store associates improve customers shopping experience. Apart from these, the company seeks to improve product mix. In a bid to strengthen its financial profile, the company is focusing on womens apparel and soft home categories, which are being viewed as profitable businesses.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Fresh estimates followed a downward path over the past two months. The consensus estimate has shifted -23.1% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

At this time, Penney has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Penney has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.Los Angeles (AFP) - The driver who killed British-based pop duo Her's in a head-on crash was traveling the wrong way on an interstate highway, US police said in a statement received Saturday.

Arizona's Department of Public Safety confirmed the deaths of Stephen Fitzpatrick, 24, and Audun Laading, 25, as well as the only other person in their van, Trevor Engelbrektson, 37, of Minneapolis. He was their tour manager and driver.

Officers were already responding at about 1:00 am on Wednesday after "a wrong-way driver was reported eastbound in the westbound lanes" of Interstate 10, west of Phoenix, the state troopers said in a statement sent to AFP.

A short time later, a Nissan pickup collided head-on with the passenger van in the westbound interstate, the troopers said.

"Both vehicles were engulfed in flames," their statement said.

"There was no roadway evidence to indicate braking by either vehicle prior to impact. An alcoholic beverage container was located in the debris field."

The Nissan driver, Francisco Edward Rebollar, 64, of Murrieta, California, also died.

Her's label Heist or Hit earlier said the band was travelling to Santa Ana, California, for the final gig of its US tour when the crash occurred.

The indie duo had played in Phoenix the previous night, as part of their second American tour to promote their debut album "Invitation to Her's".

Fitzpatrick, from northwest England, and Laading, from Norway, met while studying at university in Liverpool.

Their label called them "one of the UK's most loved up and coming bands."

On Monday the duo had posted a poignant final Facebook message: "It's almost home time for the lads, US tour has gone swimmingly so far. Got a hot sunset date with the Grand Canyon tonight."Username: Password: or Register

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Trump wrecked summit with Kim by suggesting N. Korea give all its nukes to US LoP Guest

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User ID: 348173

03-30-2019 02:03 PM











Post: #1 Trump wrecked summit with Kim by suggesting N. Korea give all its nukes to US

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The second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February wrapped up early, ending with a big question mark over the future of the talks and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the wake of the Vietnam meeting, Pyongyang and Washington offered different accounts of what actually transpired, with the White House alleging that North Korea demanded all sanctions be lifted from it. Pyongyang insisted that it was talking only about partial relief. The essence of the talks was kept under a veil of secrecy.



Reuters reported on Friday that it got access to a secretive plan that, in Washington's view, would potentially lead to a breakthrough in the stalled talks. The agency reported that the plan was similar to the one touted by US National Security Advisor John Bolton and was modelled after Libya.



Trump reportedly handed over copies of the plan, in English and in Korean, to Kim during their meeting on February 28. The North Korean side has never commented on the content of the bargain, but it apparently did not sit well with Kim, and the working lunch scheduled for the same day was cancelled.



The plan as outlined by Reuters envisions a complete dismantling of Pyongyang's "nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program" as well as "related dual-use capabilities." Had North Korea given in to the US' demands, it would also have to destroy "ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities." The US demanded that Pyongyang agree to give full account of its nuclear program and provide unimpeded access for international inspectors to the sites. Building new nuclear-related facilities would be prohibited and all scientists working at the old nuclear facilities would be assigned to the commercial sector.



https://www.rt.com/news/455120-korea-lib...arization/ US President Donald Trump reportedly proposed that North Korea transfer all its nuclear weapons to the US, a denuclearization template borrowed from Libya before the NATO intervention and brutal murder of its leader.The second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February wrapped up early, ending with a big question mark over the future of the talks and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the wake of the Vietnam meeting, Pyongyang and Washington offered different accounts of what actually transpired, with the White House alleging that North Korea demanded all sanctions be lifted from it. Pyongyang insisted that it was talking only about partial relief. The essence of the talks was kept under a veil of secrecy.Reuters reported on Friday that it got access to a secretive plan that, in Washington's view, would potentially lead to a breakthrough in the stalled talks. The agency reported that the plan was similar to the one touted by US National Security Advisor John Bolton and was modelled after Libya.Trump reportedly handed over copies of the plan, in English and in Korean, to Kim during their meeting on February 28. The North Korean side has never commented on the content of the bargain, but it apparently did not sit well with Kim, and the working lunch scheduled for the same day was cancelled.The plan as outlined by Reuters envisions a complete dismantling of Pyongyang's "nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program" as well as "related dual-use capabilities." Had North Korea given in to the US' demands, it would also have to destroy "ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities." The US demanded that Pyongyang agree to give full account of its nuclear program and provide unimpeded access for international inspectors to the sites. Building new nuclear-related facilities would be prohibited and all scientists working at the old nuclear facilities would be assigned to the commercial sector.

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The police in Port Harcourt on Friday dispersed both pro-APC/AAC and Pro-PDP supporters with teargas as both groups were marching towards the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway, Rivers State.

This is coming as Governor Nyesom Wike banned all forms of protest in the state.

The two protesting groups had earlier gathered at the Port Harcourt Polo club marching towards the INEC office when they were accosted at the popular GRA junction by officers of the Rivers State Police Command.

Protesters scamper to safety as police shot teargas canisters at them.

Sequel to persisted protests on the streets of Port Harcourt, since the suspension of the electoral process since March 9, INEC, the Rivers Government placed a ban on all public protests in state till further notice.

The ban, announced by Emma Okah, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications said security agencies had been directed to enforce the ban in the interest of public peace and order.

The protesters are divided into two opposite political divides; those asking for the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga and a stop on the collation of results, and those supporting that the REC should stay and complete his job of announcing the remaining results.

However, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has kicked against the ban on protests by the Rivers State Government, describing it as the height of absurdity by any government.

The APC said perhaps, Wike who authorised the ban was unaware that Rivers people and in deed Nigerians had inalienable right to peaceful protest.

Perhaps the governor should be reminded that Honourable Justice Adekeye J.S.C. (rtd) once stated that, A rally or placard carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state. It is a tread recognized and deeply entrenched in the system of governance in civilized countries. We must borrow a leaf from those who have trekked the rugged path of democracy and are now reaping the dividend of their experience.

The party said in a press statement signed by its Spokesman, Chris Finebone, that the reason for the ban could only be that those protesting on the opposite side were now providing Rivers people and Nigerians better perspectives on the happenings in Rivers State.

The opposition party argued that another reason for the ineffectual ban was to scuttle further exposure of the ills and atrocities of the Rivers State Government under Wike who believed that pensioners, civil servants, workers of RSSDA and Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority and others might soon protest their abandonment and suffering by the governor since he accidentally got to power in 2015.

The party warned that Wikes ban on protest was a simply waste of time and space, saying that the Nigeria Police could not enforce an illegal ban except the governor intended to deploy his usual gun-toting hoodlums.

He should remember that this is not 2015; this is 2019. If the governor tries it, he will not like the outcome and he knows it, APC said.

However, the Police had condoned off the INEC office on Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway diverting vehicles by GRA junction through Tombia Street causing serious gridlock.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised fresh alarm over an alleged attempt by the APC faction loyal to the Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi to scuttle the collation and announcement of the results of the March 9, 2019 Governorship and State Assembly elections.

The PDP urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Transportation Minister to order even as the party further called on the Inspector-General of Police to keep a close tab on the activities of Amaechi in the State.

The party said it was clear that the APC was kicking against the government ban on public protests as the ban would deflate their alleged plans to cause crisis in the State.

It is now obvious that APC is angry over the ban on public protests. They had intended to hide under public protests and use it as a weapon to unleash mayhem on the State which will in turn scuttle the collation and declaration of the governorship election results in the State, the PDP said while urging the APC to be law-abiding rather than taking the laws into their hands.

KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOWHome | News | General | Just in: DSS denies working against electoral process in Rivers

The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied that it was instructed to work against the completion of the electoral process in Rivers state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) had suspended the collation of the March 23 governorship elections in Rivers.

The commission has fixed April 2 and 5 for collation, announcement of the results already generated while there would be supplementary elections on April 15 in some areas in the state.

READ ALSO: Dogara mourns as another House of Reps member dies

Peter Afunanya, public relations officer of the service disclosed this in a statement on Friday, March 29, in Abuja.

He said that the service was not under any instruction from any quarter to work against the process as alleged.

As a professional agency, it will continue to adhere to the principles of justice and fairness, he said.

Afunanya said that this was in line with President Muhammadu Buharis stance on non interference in the electoral process.

The spokesman said the service would partner with sister security agencies and other stakeholders to ensure a level playing ground for all the contestants.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that at least 70 registered Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Rivers state in the evening of Thursday, March 28, alerted the government and security agencies to some alleged impersonators of their various organizations.

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According to the CSOs, the impersonators, who were politically motivated, engaged in protests against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the state government.

Legit.ng earlier reported that INEC released schedule of activities for the resumption of election in River state.

The electoral body had suspended electoral processes in the state on March 10, following reported violence.

Election not a do or die affair - Sanwoolu | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Lady rants on Twitter, says it is wrong for pastors to say 'you may kiss the bride' because the woman did not consent

A Nigerian lady who describes herself as a feminist has called out men of God who officiate weddings. The lady had advised that pastors or priests who officiate weddings should desist from saying the words 'you may kiss the bride'.

The lady identified as Samiral Simbi had shared her strong opinion on the issue on Twitter. The Twitter user had claimed that it is wrong for pastors or priests to order a groom to kiss the bride when she has not given consent.

According to the lady, pastors and priests should not say you may kiss the bride. She advised that they are expected to say you may now kiss each other.

Simbi noted that in any intimate relationship, a woman is supposed to give consent. She said the words should not be addressed only to the man.

READ ALSO: Traders protest at Dunamis church after their goods were burnt down, Daddy Freeze reacts

The lady argued that the woman might not to kiss her groom. She added that not desiring to kiss the groom does not mean the lady does not want to get married.

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She said: "let both of them to participate in that action. (you may kiss each other) I have the issue with the sentence "you may kiss the bride" which is only addressed to the man not the woman. what if she doesn't want to kiss him (which doesn't mean she doesn't want to marry him)."

READ ALSO: Exciting Details About The Casting Of The Long Nights, A Prequel To Game Of Thrones

PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group

It could be argued that the vows given by the bride and groom during the ceremony in presence of witnesses and God is all the consent that a married couple need to give to each other. They have already vowed to be one with each other in all ways.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian man has taken to social media to state reasons why men should use protection when they intend to have intercourse with any woman. The young man shared six reasons.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Top 5 reasons Nigerian women are special - on Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | How lawmakers threatened me for refusing to give them bribe - NAFDAC DG alleges

- NAFDAC DG, Mojisola Adeyeye, said she was once asked for bribe by some federal lawmakers

- Adeyeye said she was surprised and saddened by the lawmakers action, adding that she rejected their demand

- The NAFDAC boss added that she was threatened by the lawmakers for refusing to accept their demand

The director-general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has alleged she was once threatened by some federal lawmakers for rejecting their demand for 'bribe'.

Adeyeye made this known while featuring on programme on Channels TV on Friday, March 29.

The NAFDAC DG said the House of Representatives committee on healthcare services asked her for the bribe in the form of money for welfare when they visited her in December, 2017.

READ ALSO: Dogara mourns as another House of Reps member dies

Her words: When I came to NAFDAC, there were a lot of things that were wrong. Take oversight function or whatever that is done, I was shocked when I was told to give money, I said money for what?  money to the committee that visited us. The health care services committee of the House of Representatives.

This was 2017 December, not even a month to my resumption. We dont have another country, this is Nigeria. I was shocked first because, this was the same day I went for a powerpoint presentation we dont have equipment, about 70% of our equipment need to be upgraded.

We dont have vehicles and you use vehicles to go after the bad guys or to ensure compliance. Our directors didnt have computers, laptops, it was shortly after that, they then asked me (and said) we need welfare.

Adeyeye said she was surprised and saddened by the lawmakers action.

She said: I said I cannot. For just the visit? I couldnt believe my ears because it saddens me. Yes, it can be referred to as them asking for bribe. It saddens me. This is an organisation that was bleeding profusely.

The NAFDAC boss said her refusal to accede to the lawmakers demand did not go down well with them as they threatened her.

It wasnt taken well at all. I was threatened and I couldnt believe that too, you are threatening me? she said.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Adeyeye revoked the appointments of NAFDAC consultants over allegations of anomalies and irregularities.

The NAFDAC DG noted that the activities of the consultants were detrimental to the federal governments ease of doing business policy.

The operations of the NAFDAC Appointed Consultants in recent times have been fraught with a lot of challenges and irregularities, which militated against the very purpose of their appointment i.e. easing regulatory business of the industry with NAFDAC," she said.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!

Nigeria News Today: No Lawmaker is in the House of Assembly for the People | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Just in: MNJTF neutralises 5 terrorists, captures 3

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) says its troops neutralised five terrorists and captured three others in various offensives in the last few days.

It, however, said two out of the three captured terrorists died later when the vehicle conveying them went over a road side bomb planted by their members.

The spokesman of the task force, Col. Timothy Antigha confirmed the developments in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, March 29.

READ ALSO: Dogara mourns as another House of Reps member dies

According to him, tired of waiting for the unrealized Boko Haram Caliphate, three terrorists surrendered to troops of MNJTF Sector 1 in Balgaram, Cameroon.

Antigha said that during the period, troops destroyed a vehicle smuggling petrol and other logistics for the terrorists.

He explained that the offensive in which those successes were recorded were carried out in the MNJTFs areas of responsibilities in Chad, Nigeria and Niger Republic.

Antigha also said that a coalition of the MNJTF Air Forces conducted air interdictions in Madayi, Meri and Tchoukou-Bol and destroyed Boko Haram logistic equipment concealed in thickly forested areas during the period.

He added that troops operating in Mallam Fatori  Bosso axis discovered and neutralised three road side bombs planted by the terrorists.

Also recovered were a gun truck and assorted ammunition abandoned by fleeing Boko Haram fighters, he said.

Meanwhile, recall that Legit.ng had reported that some suspected members of Boko Haram terrorist group on Wednesday, March 27, evening invaded some parts of Miringa town in Biu local government area of Borno state.

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The terrorists shot sporadically at a military School which served as a state governments owned Girls Secondary School, GGSS in Miringa, a stone throw from Buratai - the hometown of the chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.

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Nigerian Air Force Operations Against Boko Haram - on Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Actress Ngozi Nwosu shows off her beauty in new photos as she rocks gorgeous dress

Nigerian actress Ngozi Nwosu has been spotted living her best life as she releases new photos on Instagram. The talented actress showed off the true meaning of black don't crack in the stunning photos.

55-year-old Nwosu was spotted rocking a beautiful glittering dress in the new photos. The actress looked stunning and breathtaking in the mini silver dress paired with silver heel sandals.

The beautiful dress showed off the actress' legs and the colour also complemented her fair skin-tone.

In the photos shared on her Instagram page, the actress also styled her hair like a bride. A video also showed the actress showing off her dance skills as she danced.

READ ALSO: Nollywood actress welcomes baby girl in the US (photo)

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READ ALSO: The Hottest Actresses On The Epic TV Game Of Thrones Series

Many people may not know this due to the fact that the veteran actress and movie producer is Igbo, but she had began her career as an actress in the Yoruba movie industry.

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She, however, made her debut in the English home-video Living in Bondage. The movie is considered to be the film that opened the cinema era in Nigeria.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Nigerian actress and mother of three Mercy Johnson-Okojie had showed off her curves in fitness wear. The actress had taken fit fam photos with her kids to celebrate Mothers Day.

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McDermott Interview: I Believe in Equity  Nigeria Actress Ufuoma McDermott on Feminism - on Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | 2019 polls: Bauchi election tribunal receives 16 petitions

The election tribunal in Bauchi state said on Friday, March 29 that it had so far received 16 petitions from individuals and political parties on the just concluded governorship, national and state assembly elections conducted in the state.

The secretary of the tribunal, Bello Abdullahi said this in Bauchi in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Abdullahi explained that seven petitions were for the senatorial elections while seven others were for the House of Representatives elections conduct on Saturday, February 23.

He further explained that the remaining two petitions were for the state assembly elections held on Saturday, March 9.

Abdullahi said that most of the petitioners were alleging that widespread irregularities were committed during the last general elections.

READ ALSO: Appeal court upholds judgment nullifying Omo-Ageges election

He said that other petitioners had complained over alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The secretary also explained that some petitioners had complained about falsification of educational qualifications by some elected candidates.

Meanwhile, the Kano state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the Buhari Media Organization (BMO) over the violence that marred the recently held supplementary governorship election in the state.

Kano PDP's chairman, Alhaji Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi distanced the PDP, Senator Musa Kwankwaso and its governorship candidate Abba Yusuf from any form of violence and act that compromised the electoral process in the state.

Speaking to journalists in Kano, Bichi while reacting to the statement, said it was unfortunate that BMO took sides with Ganduje and his cohorts, accusing the governor of sponsoring thugs, buying votes and rigging the election.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralPresident Muhammadu Buhari has said that he wants to leave the country better than he met it when he assumed office four years ago.

The President recently won a second term in office which will take effect from May 29 and run till 2023.

He spoke on Friday in Abuja when the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria paid him a visit at the State House.



The CAN delegation was led by its President, Rev Samson Ayokunle. The group was at the Villa to congratulate Buhari on his re-election for another term.

Buhari told the visitors that of particular interest to him was the unity of the country, which he promised to strengthen.

He stated, We will continue to strive for peaceful co-existence among all Nigerians irrespective of their religious beliefs.

In the area of allocation of political offices, our focus will be on merit and national spread such that every part of Nigeria will have a sense of belonging.

We remain resolute in the fight against terrorism and insurgency, and efforts to bring back all those in captivity and other victims of kidnapping will be intensified.

Buhari also assured the CAN leadership that he would promote inter-religious harmony, using the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, adding that he appreciated the support religious organisations had given to his administration so far.

Earlier, Ayokunle sought ethnic and religious balance in the choice of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly.

He urged the President to direct security agencies to intensify efforts to secure the release of Leah Sharibu from Boko Haram insurgents and contain the killings in some parts of the country.

CAN further advised Buhari to pick the best hands for inclusion in his next cabinet.

The CAN president further said, Your Excellency, our advice to you is to take your leadership beyond party politics. We were so happy listening to your speech after your re-election that you were going to run an all-inclusive government. Having been re-elected President, you have become the President of all.

In view of this, we urge you to see yourself as father to all by embracing all. We solicit inclusiveness and fairness as you constitute your cabinet and appoint worthy Nigerians to the headship and membership of critical agencies, boards and parastatals.

Your Excellency, there is no ethnic or religious group in Nigeria where you cannot find highly qualified men and women that you can engage to add value to your administration and help in moving the nation forward. This is the true and objective way in which you can give all in the country, a sense of belonging.

We, from the Christian Association of Nigeria, recognise the importance of the National Assembly to the stability and growth of our polity. It is in this regard that we call for ethnic and religious balance with depth in picking the leadership of that great institution of democracy.

Sir, to ensure that this happens is to remove any apprehension and suspicion harboured towards the leadership of this country. We equally solicit that the principle of separation of powers as it is enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria be allowed to thrive as an intrinsic aspect of modern day democracy.

Meanwhile, Buhari has explained why he opted to be observing the Friday Jumaat prayers at the Presidential Villa, as against going to the National Mosque.

He said this was to avoid causing unnecessary inconvenience to worshippers and other Nigerians, whose activities would have to be disrupted because of presidential movement.

KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOWThe troops of the Nigerian Army attached to the 143 Battalion and 115 Task Force Brigade later mobilised to the area, killing scores of the terrorists.

It was learnt that while some of the terrorists fled the scene, others were ambushed and shot dead by the Special Forces troops at Maikadiri Village in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

The troops were said to have recovered from the fleeing insurgents one Hilux van, two Toyota Starlet cars and some motorcycles.



The Defence Headquarters in Abuja confirmed the robbery incident on Friday, saying the terrorists also carted away food items from the area.

The Director, Defence Information, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, said at a press conference that the troops engaged the insurgents in a fierce combat, forcing some of them to flee.

He said, There was an operation to repel Boko Haram terrorists attack on Michika in Adamawa State. The insurgents attacked a bank and some shops in the area, damaging an Automated Teller Machine and carting away food items. However, the insurgents were out of luck when troops ambushed and neutralised them.

It was learnt that troops of Operation Whirl Stroke in the North-Central region also conducted a raid on a suspected bandits camp at Dogo Gawa, between Takum in Taraba State and Katsina-Ala in Benue State.

It was also gathered that in a shootout that ensued, the bandits fled while the troops recovered one locally made rifle, one laptop and two cell phones. The camp was said to have been destroyed by troops who are currently on the trail of the fleeing bandits.

KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOWHome | News | General | Adeleke doesn't have moral right to contest - NAC boss speaks on PDP's victory at Osun tribunal

- National Action Council chairman, Olapade Agoro, has blamed tension in Osun politics on the police, INEC and judicial system

- Agoro said Senator Adeleke has no legal and moral right to contest the 2018 Osun guber election

- The NAC boss, who vowed to take legal action against Adeleke, also faulted the verdict of Osun tribunal panel

Olapade Agoro, the national chairman of National Action Council (NAC), has blamed the present political situation in Osun state on ineffectiveness of the police, judiciary system and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking on the tension generated by recent declaration of the tribunal panel recognising Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of 2018 Osun governorship election, Agoro berated the police and judiciary for initially allowing Adeleke to contest, Daily Independent reports.

According to him, the PDP candidate was highly neck-deep in criminal cases, and thus lacked the legal right and moral rectitude to contest.

READ ALSO: Party discipline will be upheld in 9th NASS leadership - Tinubu vows

He, however, called for the review of the police system, adding that sanity can only be brought into the country's politics through the effectiveness of the police, judiciary and INEC.

He said: ''Under normal circumstances, Adeleke should not have moral and legal right to contest Osun governorship election because he has series of criminal cases leveled against him.

''He was also accused of making effort to obtain Secondary School certificate through dubious means.

''He that must come with equity must come with clean hands. The PDP has not done this country any good for presenting such people for election in the country.

Somebody who is supposed to be in detention for all the criminal charges against him is now claiming to have won the state governorship election. INEC is blind as a body because it must not have cleared him for the election if it had done it assignment properly.

Our judiciary and the police have failed to arraign, prosecute and pass judgment to bring Adeleke to justice. Is it because his family has money that INEC, police and judiciary have failed to do their job as expected?

Agoro, who vowed to take legal action against Adeleke, further said the judgment of the tribunal panel has set a bad precedence for Nigerian politics.

He based his premises on the grounds that with the development, criminals have been given a free will to openly contest political position, leaving the power in the hand of worst people.

He said: I am not against his person or the family. I love the family but what I am saying is that what lesson will his emergence as governor of a state portray for the country.

''The judgment of the tribunal is sending wrong signal to everyone that Adeleke with criminal cases on his neck now be in position of authority in Nigeria. Tomorrow, anybody can come with bad record to become President of this country.

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Meanwhile, APC and Osun governor, Gboyega Oyetola, had asked the Abuja Appeal Court to reverse the decision of tribunal panel recognising Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the state governorship election held in 2018.

Legit.ng had reported that Adeleke, the candidate PDP in the Osun gubernatorial election, was declared the authentic winner by Justice Peter Obiora-led tribunal panel. The panel also mandated the INEC to issue the certificate of return to Senator Adeleke.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!

Osun Election 2018: I will surely win this election - Senator Adeleke | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Do not give Tinubu's men the chance to take over NASS - Senators-elect warn Buhari

- Some senators-elect have expressed displeasure over the recommendation of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the position of Senate president

- The senators cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari against allowing the National Assembly to be taken by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu's foot-soldiers

- The senators-elect also frowned at the recommendation of Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila for speaker of the House of Representatives

Some senators-elect have cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari against allowing the National Assembly to be taken over by the foot-soldiers of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

According to Leadership, the senators said that the recommendation by the APC that Senator Ahmed Lawan for the Senate presidency was a plot to surrender the parliament to Tinubu.

Legit.ng gathers that the senators said the touting of Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila as the speaker of the House of Representatives was in the same direction.

READ ALSO: NNPC recruitment: NANS wants age limit removed, threatens mass protest

One of the senators said: Lawan and Gbajabiamila are the candidates of Tinubu. If they have their way, it means Tinubu has extended his hold to the parliament. Already, he has the vice president and the APC national chairman. What else is left for others?

He continued: People are just keeping quiet because of their respect for Buhari who believes that its payback time for Tinubu. It shouldnt be so because other people contributed and they should be rewarded, accordingly.

Another lawmaker from the north said: He deliberately brought his colloquium to Abuja as against Lagos, his usual venue, because he wants to conquer the country. He feels that its time for him to do so.

He has pocketed Lagos and he is leaving no stone unturned to pocket the country. Some of us are of the view that neutral candidates should be considered for the National Assembly leadership and not those whose allegiance will be to Tinubu and not the country."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) kicked against plans by the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to impose Senate majority leader, Ahmed Lawan, as the 9th National Assembly Senate president.

In a statement released on Tuesday, March 26, the PDP senators also warned APC to leave Bukola Saraki out of its plan to produce the Senate president.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better

What has changed in Nigeria since the last election? | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Despite petitions, INEC to give Bauchi governor-elect Mohammed, others, certificates of return

The Bauchi state governor-elect, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, and other elected representatives are to get their certificates of return today, Saturday, March 30.

The ceremony is billed to start at 11:00 am at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Bauchi state, Daily Trust reports.

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that the Bauchi state gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Bala Mohammed won the governorship election in the state.

READ ALSO: If elected as Senate president, I will not take anyone for granted - Lawan

Mohammed defeated incumbent Governor Muhammed Abubakar of the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

The pending result of Tafawa Balewa was regenerated, collated and announced at the INEC headquarters on Monday night, March 25.

Announcing the result, the new collation officer of Tafawa Balewa Local government area, Dr Musa Dahiru of the Federal University Kashere, said that PDP polled 39,225 votes as against 30, 055 votes scored by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and incumbent Governor Muhammed Abubakar.

Total registered voters at Tafawa Balewa LGA was 139,240 accredited voters 74,181, total votes cast was 73,779, total valid votes, 73041, rejected votes 738. Before the final announcement of the results of Tafawa Balewa LGA, PDP had polled 475,888 votes against 470,570 votes secured by the APC.

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Legit.ng also gathered that the election tribunal in Bauchi state said on Friday, March 29 that it had so far received

16 petitions from individuals and political parties on the just concluded governorship, national and state assembly elections conducted in the state.

The secretary of the tribunal, Bello Abdullahi said this in Bauchi in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Abdullahi explained that seven petitions were for the senatorial elections while seven others were for the House of Representatives elections conduct on Saturday, February 23.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have upgraded to serve you better 2019 elections:

Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | BBNaija Bisola shades Anto for claiming the reality show was scripted, says dont bite the finger that fed you

- BBNaija 2018 housemate, Anto Lecky, recently accused the show organisers of scripting the programme

- A BBNaija 2017 contestant, Bisola, has reacted to the allegations

- Bisola warned Anto not to bite the fingers that fed her

BBNaija show is one that is drama packed and fun-filled and it is no wonder that fans easily get addicted to the show.

The BBNaija 2018 show ended several months back and the housemates are now back together for the reunion show. During one of the reunion episodes, a former housemate, Anto Lecky, claimed that the organisers scripted the show.

Her allegations were seen as a huge one by some people and another former housemate, Abisola Aiyeola, made sure to comment on the issue.

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Dont bite the finger that fed you - BBNaija Bisola shades Anto for claiming the show was scripted

Source: Instagram

READ ALSO: Our Favorite Celebrities Opened Up About Their Regrets In Relationship

According to her, the housemates who made it to the finals deserved to be there and she also advised Anto not to bite the fingers that once fed her because she is not satisfied.

She wrote: So, are they trying to say that the finalists didnt deserve to make it too the finals??? I personally think they Did and majority of the audience voted Miracle. The Brand has its integrity to protect too and I dont believe they would tamper with voted etc. They should also not forget, that millions of people would maximize just one week in that house. DONT BITE THE FINGER THAT FED YOU JUST COS YOU NO BELLEFUL OOOO.

Hmm...This is an interesting standpoint.

Meanwhile Legit.ng previously reported that one of the former contestants, Dee-one dragged another housemate, Princess, for what he called her fake accent.

During the reunion episode, while Princess was trying to defend herself, Dee-one noted that she was still using the fake American accent.

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

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Thousands of Nigerian youths attend auditions for BBNaija | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Tinubu reacts to APC's endorsement of Lawan as 9th Senate president, says party discipline must hold

- APC national leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, said the party supremacy will hold in the selection of 9th Senate president

- Tinubu said the mistake made by APC on NASS leadership in 2015 will not be allowed again

- Asiwaju's declaration is a reaction to the APC's endorsement of Lawan and Gbajabiamila as 9th NASS leaders

The All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said that party discipline would be upheld in addressing the leadership tussle of the 9th National Assembly.

Tinubu said this while speaking with newsmen in Lagos on Friday, March 29, after a prayer programme organised by Islamic and Christian clerics to mark his 67th birthday.

He said: Party discipline is key, we must be discipline in the party. We were a little careless in 2015. We created the opportunity for serpent to get into our party and that did not allow Nigeria to make the desired progress.

READ ALSO: Senators-elect caution Buhari, say Tinubu men must not be allowed to take over NASS

You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip.

It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave. You have the freedom to choose but the freedom does not give you as a minority to go and collaborate and protrude our mandate given to you to another party who was our opposition and who is still our opposition.

We would not take that this time, no matter who you think you are. That is how it is built. Why do you want to deviate from what has been structured? We look at our reward system equally, zone by zone.''

Tinubu said that his life as a politician at 67 had been a fulfilling journey.

He added: When I joined politics, there were a lot of uncertainties because it was during the military regime. There were lots of struggles but my concern is about people and the future of my country.

My mother stood by me when I told her then that I was joining politics. She told me to be ready to take all sorts of insults whenever they cross my way. May her soul rest in peace.

The struggle was tough. It created a justice on June 12 election of MKO and some people deserted the camp, the struggle, the spirit.

We have stayed with this struggle. We know democracy is not easy but it is the only system of government that we chose.

Ever since, it has been a very fulfilling journey. There is always the twist and turns in politics.

Today, we endure, we persevere, we think, adjust, collaborate, merged and became single party just like yesterday.''

Tinubu said that the APC party was in government for the common man.

Tinubu said: You will think that APC had been on for twenty years but is not up to six years. We went through compromises because we know that if we form a good alliance of progressive thinkers and believers in the ideology of common man, we will be able to serve the people.

It is not by criticism alone. You have to have the opportunity to even change the life of the people and quality of their standard of living.

So, we stood by it, we persevered persistently, uttered our voice, offered our recommendations, and then we are here. And today I am extremely happy that we are in government for the common man.

The only way to change Nigeria from penury is to fashion out our own organic economic strategy and plan that will continue to cater for all.''

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume representing Borno South Senatorial District in the upper chamber had said that any attempt to impose people on the 9th senate would fail.

The former Senate leader made this known in an interview with the media, as he also warned his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be careful of not repeating its 2015 mistake.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!

Nigerians set 2nd term agenda for President Buhari | Legit TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralOn cyclone, preparedness is critical than response!!!

In one way or another, we must find each other. We are all Zimbabweans and we must be ready to accommodate each other. Sanctions will never affect Nelson Chamisa or Emmerson Mnangagwa, they will directly affect ordinary Zimbabweans, and this is how bad the situation can be. I was going through comments on social media each time, President Mnangagwa or any other senior official make a post and this shows people are not happy. It is key for leadership to engage people and consult on key decisions before making key decisions which deals with Governance affairs. Guess what, consulting will not take away presidency or any position but rather strengthens one's position. The ground is not happy, and this could be a signal of what we may face in future. Our politics is toxic and needs healing. Zimbabweans are heavily traumatized following many debacles such as gukurahundi episode, Murambatsvina, 2008 killings, August 1 shootings, January debacle where many disappeared and some were murdered in cold blood, and Zimbabweans have gone through a lot, its high time leadership from political parties, civic society, church, academics and policy makers must come together and provide leadership. Look at what happened in Chimanimani, over 500 were killed, more than 500 went missing, and imagine the trauma and I feel President Mnangagwa might do a good job for the nation by coming up with a national reconciliation and healing process involving everyone on board. The word sorry is key and it can build a lot of bridges, I see nothing wrong with Mnangagwa and Chamisa coming together, sitting together sharing the same table. It's critical for this country and it culminates into progressive imagination and provide necessary and expected leadership. There is a problem with our country, we have competitive politics when people are perishing.

Competitive politics

Honestly do we need that? I don't think so. We can't gamble with people's lives when people are dying in numbers. Whether X or P has gone to Chimanimani is not an issue, what matters most is, the necessary leadership must be provided. I expected Mnangagwa and Chamisa using the same plane to Chimanimani to go and serve their own people. We have Zanu PF supporters in Chimanimani and we have MDC A supporters in the same vicinity so leadership is critical at this juncture. One was in United Emirates of Arabs, and one was already on his way to Chimanimani, on such critical moments one cannot plan for a journey, this is where advisors must come in and give guidance, or human conscience must serve at its uttermost. We must always avoid the idea of competitive politics, overshadowing each other, when people are perishing. Do we need competitive politics in this era? At the end, Zimbabweans are on the receiving end.

On cyclone Idah, preparedness is key than response!!!

The events were regrettable and unfortunate, the Government of Zimbabwe, on its part did not do its best. The idea was preparations for evacuations and other prevention methods to avoid casualties. How long was it going to take to evacuate people from that area? Instead of spending much time, attacking each other and giving each other names, labeling and undermining each other, it was very important to talk less and be on the ground with people. All the resources and effort which is normally put in thank you rallies was supposed to be diverted on such occasions. Reports coming from Manicaland shows that most of the goods donated to those affected areas are being diverted for political use, and this shows that we need mature politicians who must desist from such actions and be level headed. Why would a whole some Government minister or deputy minister spend so much time on social media defending the Government's lack of preparedness instead of getting to the ground and respond to the needs of the people?

Sanctions must go period!!!

Whilst the call for sanctions to go is loud and clear, it is also very important, for Zanu PF Government to respond collectively to the human rights issues, brutal cases, so that the responsible countries can lift up the embargo on us. We are buffeted by lack of cohesion on our part, intolerance, indecisive politics, politics of hate, torture and all the misfortunes this country is facing because of greedy politicians. Some have gone in the public, making proclamations of how many people they have killed, bragging about the killings they have made previously. So honestly who would in his right sense, lift up the embargo imposed on us after such claims? The events leading to August 01, 2018 were regrettable, as if it's not enough, in Mid-January this year, we had so many human rights issues with over 800 cases recorded countrywide, so who would in his right sense call for the lifting of sanctions? Whilst I'm so sincere that sanctions must go, we also need to be introspective of the economic and political developments in our country.

Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as an academic, policy analyst and development practitioner and he is studying Doctor of Philosophy at Women's University of Africa and he can be contacted at tinamuzala@gmail.comHome | World | Africa | Hubby axed, wife arm fractured in love attack

ALMOST gone to his maker!

An angry man from Filabusi went berserk and attacked his neighbour with an axe on the head leaving him gasping for breath in blood.

After heartlessly attacking Venice Ndlovu, Nqobile Ncube who was armed with an axe, log and a knobkerrie turned on Ndlovu's wife Sithokozile Sibanda and axed her on the left arm. He left Sibanda wailing in agony.

Ncube was accusing Ndlovu of not stopping his nephew Wellington Bongani Ndlovu (23) from having a sexual relationship with his daughter Privilege Ncube (17).

"Ncube said he had warned (Venice) several times to tell his nephew to stop having sex with his daughter but he turned a deaf ear to his plea therefore he was angered by that," said a police source.

Ncube went a gear up, broke down the door to a bedroom hut and destroyed a wall with his axe. A police source said Ncube was heard declaring that he wanted to kill Wellington. Luckily Wellington was not at home at the time of the attack.

"He axed Wellington's bedroom door before ransacking the room and leaving property upside down. He left in a huff waving his axe and declaring that he wanted to kill him," said a source.

A report was made to the police leading to Ncube's arrest.

Ndlovu and his wife were rushed to Wanezi Hospital where they are receiving treatment.

Ncube appeared before Filabusi magistrate Mzingaye Moyo facing an assault charge.



CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: AfricaHome | World | Africa | Family demands 20 cows from 'killer' sangoma

THE family of a 20-year-old woman who died after allegedly drinking a concoction, is demanding 20 cows from an inyanga who gave her the concoction.

The woman Atalia Ndlovu and her husband Morgen Ndlovu (29), from Crispen Village under Chief Mkoka in Gokwe consulted the healer, whom they believed was able to cure barrenness.

She died two days after drinking the concoction which was meant to cure her barrenness.

Since her death, the traditional healer only known as Sigauke deserted his homestead and has been on the run.

Chief Mkoka, whose jurisdiction the area falls under, confirmed the incident. He said the Ndlovu family approached him, and notified him about their intentions.

"The woman died last year, and since her death, Sigauke fled from the area and his whereabouts are not known. The Ndlovu family is demanding 20 cows from Sigauke's family which he left behind. The matter will be heard soon in my traditional court," he said.

Chief Mkoka said it was believed that Sigauke fled to neighbouring South Africa.

"A certain man from our village said he saw him in South Africa, so we believe that is where he is holed up. But that will not stop the matter from being heard because l will summon his wife," he said.

Ndlovu, the deceased's husband, said they wanted compensation from Sigauke for putting them through a sad and tormenting time.

"What we went through as a family was heartbreaking and tormenting. We therefore believe that 20 cows are suitable for compensation. It's so painful because instead of sympathising with us, he ran away. He has to pay for what he put us through," he said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: AfricaHome | World | Africa | Mnangagwa rejects external mediator

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has scoffed at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa's attempts to rope in a foreign interlocutor to mediate in talks between them, the Daily News can report.

Chamisa is currently on a diplomatic offensive to regional countries, drumming up support for an internationally-backed mediator to break the country's political logjam.

This came after Mnangagwa initiated talks involving all the candidates that participated in the July 30 presidential polls in an attempt to end the political discord that many believe could be contributing to the crisis ravaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Yesterday, presidential spokesperson George Charamba dismissed Chamisa's effort, saying the MDC leader should see the light and join those who are already in talks.

"The solution is within the country and not outside. The problem is that he (Chamisa) is not part of the national dialogue. No solution will be found outside the country," said Charamba, who is also the deputy chief secretary to the president.

While Mnangagwa has been persistent with his version of national dialogue, the initiative has struggled to gain traction.

Chamisa was the first to throw spanners into the works after he declined an invitation to participate in the talks saying they were conditions which had to be met before dialoguing. One of the conditions was that Mnangagwa must accept that he does not have the legitimacy to govern following the disputed July 30, 2018 election results.

More people have since abandoned the national dialogue, accusing the Zanu-PF leader of being insincere.

On Tuesday, another losing presidential candidate also poured scorn on the talks saying they are just meant to hoodwink the world into believing that parties in Zimbabwe acquiesce to his contested legitimacy.

Violet Mariyacha, leader of the United Democracy Movement, said the talks were not inclusive as they have been snubbed by other key actors.

"There is no serious discussion of why the country is in this current economic meltdown; why has Zimbabwe failed to attract foreign investments and what or where are the billions (of dollars) that Zimbabweans were told so and so are bringing into the country from the Zimbabwe is Open for Business' mantra," reads part of her statement.

Mariyacha said there was an attempt by the conveners of the talks to frogmarch opposition party leaders to affirm Mnangagwa's constitutional legitimacy, ostensibly to resolve the political crisis issue, propel the re-engagement process and lead to the possible removal of sanctions.

"This shows that the president is more concerned about his legitimacy and removal of sanctions," she said.

Mnangagwa, who succeeded former president Robert Mugabe through a soft coup in November 2017, has been working around the clock to convince the world that he is a different leader to his mentor and has since engaged a reputable American lobby organisation in an attempt to have sanctions imposed on the country lifted.

After giving Mnangagwa a fresh start, western nations, appalled by his clampdown on protests in August last year and in January this year maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe and some individuals much to the chagrin of the ruling party which is seeking new lines of credit to jumpstart an otherwise comatose economy.

In a statement, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said Chamisa will not stop in his diplomatic offensive.

"The people's president has been engaging the international community in a bid to get a lasting solution to the plight of Zimbabweans. He will be travelling to most neighbouring countries including Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Chamisa has already met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among other African leaders.

One of the key issues Chamisa is dealing with is the need for dialogue in Zimbabwe based on the five key issues of reform," said Mafume.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: AfricaDiario digital con noticias de actualidad relacionadas con el mundo de la salud. Novedades, encuestas, estudios, informes, entrevistas. Con un sencillo lenguaje dirigido a todo el mundo. Y algunos consejos turisticos para pasarlo bienPresident Trump this week boldly proclaimed that the Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care. The president reportedly told lawmakers that he had come up with the new branding on his way from the White House to the Capitol.Turning that slogan into reality before the 2020 election will be close to impossible. Developments this week show whyand highlight how the administration, for now at least, is sowing disarray across broad swaths of the health care system.Eliminate Obamacare  Then What?Republican lawmakers were left scrambling when the Trump administration this week threw its support behind a legal ruling to invalidate the entire Obama health law. "If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we will have a plan that's far better than Obamacare," Trump told reporters Wednesday. On Thursday, he said that he has asked a small group of Republican senators, including John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rick Scott of Florida to craft a plan. They are going to work together, come up with something thats really spectacular, Trump told reporters. But while the White House was looking to Congress for a plan, some Republicans were looking to the White House. I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico on Thursday, adding, I am focusing on stopping the Democrats Medicare for none scheme. Other GOP lawmakers are unlikely to pull together behind a new proposal without knowing that Trump supports it, a situation that has stalled progress in the past.Republicans, as they did in 2017, could develop a plan that relies on block grants to the states. But, as the Associated Press notes, when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed similar proposals a couple of years ago, it estimated such changes would result in deep coverage losses, not to mention weaker insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Republicans, the AP adds, were divided in 2017 about how to develop a fair formula for providing federal money to each state.The party is in a similar bind over protections for patients with pre-existing medical conditions. While Trump and other Republicans have promised to maintain those protections, their legislative attempts to do so have fallen short of preserving current safeguards or could allow insurers to raise costs for patients based on their health status.Marc Short, a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, said Wednesday that Trump will submit a plan to Congress this year. Whoever is drafting the new effort, the GOPs 2017 efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare showed it wont be easy to come up with a proposal that can find consensus among Republicans, let alone one that can garner 60 votes in the Senate and pass the Democratic-led House  or gain widespread support among the American public. The problem for GOP lawmakers is the paucity of free-market policy ideas for health care that are politically popular, Bloombergs Sahil Kapur writes.Courts Strike a Blow to Trumps Health AgendaIn the meantime, a federal judge on Thursday struck down the Trump administrations rule letting small businesses and sole proprietorships join together to buy so-called association health plans, writing that those plans were clearly an end-run around the Affordable Care Acts benefit requirements means to protect consumers. That decision followed rulings this week by another federal judge invalidating the Trump administrations approval of work requirements for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas and Kentucky, saying that the government must consider the effects of the requirements on low-income people who stand to lose coverage.Those rulings may not deter the administration from continuing to pursue its policies, but they sure wont help Trumps nascent rebranding campaign. Neither will headlines about thousands of people losing their health coverage, or the administrations efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which has risen in popularity since before Trump was elected.A New Path?Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen suggests that, to truly be seen as the party of health care, Republicans will have to try a new approach: prioritizing patient care above controlling costs.Over time, growing health costs and an aging population are projected to drive up government expenditures dramatically. Paying for those added costs would require significant tax hikes, bringing U.S. tax levels much closer to those found in Canada or Britain. Preventing that rise is surely a good thing, but Americans have yet to be persuaded to care more about this than they do about the security of Medicare.  [D]esigning a plan so that the risk of failure falls on the federal budget rather than the patient is the right way to go.There is, however, no sign that Republicans are currently interested in making such a fundamental shift, and its likely that Olsens advice will fall on deaf ears, leaving Republicans right back where they started on health care.The bottom line: President Trump has made a promise Republicans will have a hard time keeping. Hes done so before  does anyone remember his sudden pledge just before the 2018 midterms to pass a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class? But in contrast to that earlier promise, Trump seems less likely to let go of this health care pledge, which means it could cause real trouble for him and the rest of the GOP heading into 2020.Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter.

President Trump this week boldly proclaimed that the Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care. The president reportedly told lawmakers that he had come up with the new branding on his way from the White House to the Capitol.

Turning that slogan into reality before the 2020 election will be close to impossible. Developments this week show whyand highlight how the administration, for now at least, is sowing disarray across broad swaths of the health care system.

Eliminate Obamacare  Then What?

Republican lawmakers were left scrambling when the Trump administration this week threw its support behind a legal ruling to invalidate the entire Obama health law. "If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we will have a plan that's far better than Obamacare," Trump told reporters Wednesday. On Thursday, he said that he has asked a small group of Republican senators, including John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rick Scott of Florida to craft a plan. They are going to work together, come up with something thats really spectacular, Trump told reporters.

But while the White House was looking to Congress for a plan, some Republicans were looking to the White House. I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico on Thursday, adding, I am focusing on stopping the Democrats Medicare for none scheme. Other GOP lawmakers are unlikely to pull together behind a new proposal without knowing that Trump supports it, a situation that has stalled progress in the past.

Republicans, as they did in 2017, could develop a plan that relies on block grants to the states. But, as the Associated Press notes, when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed similar proposals a couple of years ago, it estimated such changes would result in deep coverage losses, not to mention weaker insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Republicans, the AP adds, were divided in 2017 about how to develop a fair formula for providing federal money to each state.

Story continues

The party is in a similar bind over protections for patients with pre-existing medical conditions. While Trump and other Republicans have promised to maintain those protections, their legislative attempts to do so have fallen short of preserving current safeguards or could allow insurers to raise costs for patients based on their health status.

Marc Short, a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, said Wednesday that Trump will submit a plan to Congress this year. Whoever is drafting the new effort, the GOPs 2017 efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare showed it wont be easy to come up with a proposal that can find consensus among Republicans, let alone one that can garner 60 votes in the Senate and pass the Democratic-led House  or gain widespread support among the American public. The problem for GOP lawmakers is the paucity of free-market policy ideas for health care that are politically popular, Bloombergs Sahil Kapur writes.

Courts Strike a Blow to Trumps Health Agenda

In the meantime, a federal judge on Thursday struck down the Trump administrations rule letting small businesses and sole proprietorships join together to buy so-called association health plans, writing that those plans were clearly an end-run around the Affordable Care Acts benefit requirements means to protect consumers. That decision followed rulings this week by another federal judge invalidating the Trump administrations approval of work requirements for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas and Kentucky, saying that the government must consider the effects of the requirements on low-income people who stand to lose coverage.

Those rulings may not deter the administration from continuing to pursue its policies, but they sure wont help Trumps nascent rebranding campaign. Neither will headlines about thousands of people losing their health coverage, or the administrations efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which has risen in popularity since before Trump was elected.

A New Path?

Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen suggests that, to truly be seen as the party of health care, Republicans will have to try a new approach: prioritizing patient care above controlling costs.

Over time, growing health costs and an aging population are projected to drive up government expenditures dramatically. Paying for those added costs would require significant tax hikes, bringing U.S. tax levels much closer to those found in Canada or Britain. Preventing that rise is surely a good thing, but Americans have yet to be persuaded to care more about this than they do about the security of Medicare.  [D]esigning a plan so that the risk of failure falls on the federal budget rather than the patient is the right way to go.

There is, however, no sign that Republicans are currently interested in making such a fundamental shift, and its likely that Olsens advice will fall on deaf ears, leaving Republicans right back where they started on health care.

The bottom line: President Trump has made a promise Republicans will have a hard time keeping. Hes done so before  does anyone remember his sudden pledge just before the 2018 midterms to pass a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class? But in contrast to that earlier promise, Trump seems less likely to let go of this health care pledge, which means it could cause real trouble for him and the rest of the GOP heading into 2020.

Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter.Zaldy Gavica, one of the beneficiaries, shares his experience, aspirations and inspirational message to his fellow scholars during the ceremonial turnover of the Aboitiz Foundation scholarship for Dualtech Training Center scholars.

A blue-collar worker from the province is gearing up toward a brighter future for himself and his family, thanks to a recently-inked technical-vocational partnership between the Aboitiz Foundation and Dualtech Training Center in Calamba City in Laguna. I was a labor worker before I found out about Dualtech and its program. I would like to thank the Aboitiz Foundation because this [scholarship] will be a great help for me to finish my studies. With this assistance, I am about to change the course of my life, said Zaldy Gavica, a Camarines Sur native and a Dualtech Electromechanics Technology major at Dualtech. In his second month as a Dualtech scholar, Zaldy dreams of finishing his studies to help achieve a better life for his family. Because his parents do not earn enough to support his schooling, Zaldy works as a laborer and moonlights as a pedicab driver.Zaldy sees his studies as a stepping stone to lift himself from poverty. He urges his fellow scholars to work hard to finish the program with him. Like Zaldy, 19 other Dualtech tech-voc scholars were guaranteed full support for their education through a partnership between the Aboitiz Foundation and Dualtech Training Center in Calamba City. Selected based on academic excellence, skills and attitude toward completing a six-month training, the Aboitiz Foundation recently turned over Electromechanics Technology scholarships to 20 Dualtech students from various provinces in the country such as Aklan, Bohol, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes. The grant covers the tuition fee and training costs of the scholars. Lolito Baldones Jr., an assistant welder and painter of Cebu, also aims to finish an education despite not being able to go to college. The third among seven siblings, Lolito was raised by relatives due to his familys poverty. In his third month as a Dualtech scholar and working as a part-time ramen house cook, Lolito said the Aboitiz Foundations scholarship will now make it easier for him to make ends meet and achieve his goal.According to Lolito, he wants to inspire his fellow scholars so that to finish the educational program. A lot of people said that I would not be able to finish studying and that I would most likely become a drug addict. This is why I persevered. This is also for my sister who died; she hoped for us to graduate even if we didnt have our parents with us, said Lolito during the partnership turnover ceremony. Zaldy and Lolito are just two of the many inspiring scholars benefiting from this partnership. Today, through the Aboitiz Foundations partnership with Dualtech, the scholars are given an opportunity to discover a new skill and hone their abilities, but with that opportunity is also a responsibility to take part in our advocacy and brand promise of advancing business and communities, said Aboitiz Foundation first vice president and chief operating officer Maribeth Marasigan. As we turn over these scholarship grants, each scholar is now a part of a united effort to co-create safe, empowered, and sustainable communities, Marasigan said. As part of the groups effort to bridge education and employment, the Aboitiz Foundation supports Dualtech students through scholarship grants. Dualtech is a pioneer of the Dual-Training System in the Philippines, where schools and industries train students in real life-work experience in the technical and vocational fields. In the training program, Dualtechs mode of training delivery involves a combined learning experience for the students. They learn in Dualtechs classrooms through lectures and school-related activities and outside of school through actual industry work. The Aboitiz Foundation is the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group that was established in 1988. Its purpose is to drive change for a better world by advancing business and communities through programs in education, enterprise development and the environment.fuck this man, and also shane dawson

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And Pewdiepie

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lmao seems like the four horsemen

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Fuck him and anyone who enables him. This includes the likes of Joe Rogan who has made numerous appearances on Infowars.

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Hoe (Im keeping it) Rogan is more dangerous than Alex Jones. Alex Jones is visibly a raving lunatic, hes for the advanced level bigots, but Joe delivers the exact same hateful rhetoric in a calm, logical package that serves as a gateway to right-wing radicalization.

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Yea so many people seem to love Joe Rogan, I hear a lot of "I don't always agree with him but he's smart and makes a lot of good points".

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This exactly

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Yeah Joe will invite people spewing violent, racist or just factually wrong rhetoric onto his show and then just sit there nodding along to everything they have to say, he's such a dimwitted sycophant

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joe rogan plays the same plausible deniability game as jordan peterson and uses his celebrity access as a shield. your favorite sitcom actor wouldn't go on his show if he were really a hate monger like they say, right?



meanwhile the youtube algortihm takes you from his "innocuous" videos directly to hardcore white supremacy channels. its all setup that way by design and its disgustingly transparent.

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Im curious why no one ever talks about the fact that 99% of his guests are white men.

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Alex Jones, Joe Rogan and all the bros who cape for them:





FLUSH THE TOILET UNIVERSE

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the guy i sit next to at work watches joe rogan's podcast and i saw him playing an episode with alex jones earlier this year. he has said his cousin is nuts for believing the earth is flat but like.... why are you listening to those two men if you don't believe their shit? men and their both sides bullshit, i swear to god.

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Ok so my boyfriend listens to Joe Rogan and Ive heard snippets here and there. I really dont like him but I cant put into words why Id dont like him to effectively try and persuade my boyfriend to stop listening.

ONTD please help me debate this with him. Let me know why you dislike Joe Rogan.

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Fuck you Alex Jones!!!! Enjoy Hell while you are at it punk

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aye

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Too expensive to waste on him. Guillotine ha!!

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or draw and quarter ha. Guillotines work too quickly.

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looool this took me a minute.

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Fuck him

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This is so horrifyingly vile.

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strap him down and make him watch every hour of his own show Clockwork Orange Style

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Now, for trash like this, are they crazy, or do they know exactly what theyre doing? Does he really believe this shit, or is it all about money/power?

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He's claiming psychosis made him do this.



I haven't seen any reports that he was diagnosed, though. TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a little that he genuinely believes this and a little that it's money/power especially at the beginning.

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People like this aren't crazy, they just don't care about anyone else but themselves. They say whatever needs to be said to be seen as controversial because it makes them feel smart to see intellectuals stutter or have no idea how to approach what was just said. They'll lie so you can't argue against them and therefore they'll always win arguments. They only care about drowning out everyone but themselves so they'll be on top with nothing you can say against them because they'll always have an answer, they don't care if it's true, they only care about "winning".

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When it comes to someone like this, they just love to talk and think that they're "redpilling" people. That's all it really is. They're miserable people full of hate, jealously, and paranoia over losing what they believe to be theirs, whether it's control of land, their race, or their guns.



He also realized that there's a huuuuuuuuuuge market for this and that people will fiercely defend him no matter HOW much it hurts others. These people of course, being 4chan, where he himself spends a lot of time too. So it's money/power/admiration/loyal echo-chamber with endless amounts of asspats and xDD memes thing.

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Jones offered that a Sandy Hook father who was found dead of an apparent suicide was actually murdered in a plot to distract from special counsel Robert Muellers report on the Russia investigation.



What a piece of shit. That's low.

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i want this scumbag piece of shit to die miserable and broke. and i hope it's painful. and the worst part is there's no difference between alex jones and trump. what he's done to those families is just sickening. he should be held responsible for jeremy richman's death imo



although it was interesting to watch a competent person steamroll this asshole

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Yes. Just losing money isnt enough. There should be criminal charges for what hes done. Willfully spreading false info and harassing families.

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I just want him gone. Whatever that word might imply, I want it. He needs to be gone.

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Plus 1

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Yup. He needs to fuck off forever

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He doesn't deserve to breathe air.

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people were a mistake.



honestly though, the constant barrage of pure, unadulterated toxic garbage is so prevalent on basically every online platform. I woke up this morning and my phone refused to turn on (it's been on it's last legs and I guess it finally died) and for real even though I won't be able to get another phone til May or June I feel a little bit relieved that I'm gonna be forced to take a break from everything. It's disheartening that there's so many straight up awful people who have managed to get a large platform in the world rn

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we literally built the internet wrong and we're all paying for it now.

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LinkJosephine Kee Hong Yap, chief representative of Credit Suisse AG Representative Office Philippines

Credit Suisse announced the appointment of Josephine Kee Hong Yap as the chief representative of Credit Suisse AG Representative Office Philippines. She is based in Manila and reports to Christian Senn, market group head Philippines at Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific. The bank established the Representative Office in the Philippines for its wealth management business in April 2018, upon receiving the licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission and regulatory approval from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Yap is a seasoned banker with almost three decades of experience in the Philippines financial services industry.She joined Credit Suisse from Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company where she was most recently the head of private wealth countryside, financial market sector and led a team of senior relationship managers with respective regional coverage across the Philippines. Throughout her career at Metrobank, Yap had extensive experience in bank branch management and operations. I am delighted to head the Credit Suisse Representative Office for the private banking business in Manila. This set-up complements our existing footprint in the country across investment banking and capital markets and institutional brokerage businesses. Going forward, we will be able to forge closer ties with our clients, as we strive to support them across their entrepreneurial activities as well as their private investments and family wealth needs, Yap said.Senn said: The Philippines is an important part of Credit Suisses South Asia franchise and we are committed to continuing to expand our domestic footprint in the Philippines and across the region. I look forward to having Josephine spearhead our business development efforts in the Philippines market as we look to deepen our footprint there. Credit Suisse has been a leading financial advisor to the government and major corporates in the Philippines since1992, providing financing and advisory services spanning capital raising, liability management, merger and acquisition transactions as well as structured finance. Credit Suisse AG is one of the worlds leading financial services providers and is part of the Credit Suisse group of companies. Credit Suisse employs 45,680 people globally. Parent company Credit Suisse Group AG is listed in Switzerland.Slim Feriani, the minister of industry and small and medium-sized enterprises, announced in mid-January that the country was seeking to attract $2bn in foreign investment by launching international bids to develop a series of wind and solar power projects over the next three years.

These investments would create 1900 MW of generation capacity by 2022, which, by that time, would account for about 22 percent of installed capacity.

This target will also help meet Tunisias longer-term goal, as set out in the 2016 Renewable Energy Action Plan, of having 30 percent of power needs met by renewable resources by 2030.

At present, renewable energy accounts for around 3 percent of generation capacity  most of it is wind-powered  with fossil fuel-fired plants providing the rest. Current installed capacity is 5781 MW, with demand set to increase by between 2 percent and 5 percent per annum.

The push to boost renewable energy capacity is being fueled in part by pricing pressure. Energy imports account for around one-third of the trade deficit, which expanded from TD15.6bn (4.6bn) in 2017 to TD19bn (5.6bn) last year.

The trade gap may widen further this year, with a 26.6 percent year-on-year increase in energy imports posted in January, mainly the result of a jump in inbound gas shipments used to fire power stations.

Related: Morgan Stanley: Oil To Rise To $75 This Summer

While the country is ramping up its domestic hydrocarbons production, with gas output expected to increase from 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to 65,000 by the end of this year, Tunisias limited reserves will not be able to offset rising energy demand.

Renewables investment plan

The expansion of renewables in the energy mix is expected to lead to an increase in private investment in the sector, with independent power producers (IPPs) in particular to see a jump in activity.

In mid-January the Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises announced it had for the first time licensed foreign firms to install and operate wind energy plants in the country, with the four projects to have a combined capacity of 120 MW.

The operators  French companies Luca Holding and VSB Energies Nouvelles, German firm Abo Wind and the Tunisia subsidiary of international group UPC Renewables  will invest a total of TD400m (117.2m) in the projects.

The offtake from the four wind farms will be then sold to the state-owned Tunisian Company for Electricity and Gas (Societe Tunisienne de lElectricite et du Gaz, STEG).

These projects formed part of some 1000 MW of renewable capacity  consisting of solar and wind  that the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energies issued pre-qualification applications for in May last year.

Related: One Last Warning For The U.S. Shale Patch

The increased emphasis on renewable sources could also lead to a diversification away from STEGs dominance in the downstream generation market. Currently, the state power firm accounts for 90 percent of generation capacity, with IPPs meeting the balance.

With the government looking to implement its ambitious renewables target by 2030, IPPs should benefit from increased investment opportunities in the segment for years to come.

Strong regulatory foundations

While current production capacity is limited, Tunisias regulatory base should allow it to maximize returns on renewable energy projects and attract further investment, according to a recent report by the World Bank.

The Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy report, released in December, stated that despite being a lower-middle-income nation, Tunisia had established a strong renewable energy framework comparable to some high-income countries.

It performed well in regard to energy efficiency planning, along with incentives and mandates for the public and industrial sectors  factors that should offer solid support for renewables service providers.

The bank rated Tunisia as one of the three most improved countries in the report  along with Egypt and the UAE  in developing the regulatory, fiscal and infrastructure frameworks required for renewable energy deployment. This framework includes provisions for private sector ownership of energy resources and regulations to govern the segment.

However, the report noted that Tunisia continues to lag behind in developing policies that support network connections and use by third parties, and that more needs to be done to promote renewable energy outside of the electricity sector.

By Oxford Business Group

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:Venezuelas largest oil export terminal is has resumed operations and is now operating at 100 percent capacity after a blackout took it offline earlier in the week, according to Reuters sources, but chances are its problems are not over just yet.

The most recent blackout was the second such blackout in about as many weeks, straining an already strained oil industry that serves as the lifeblood of Venezuela. The first blackout in early March shuttered the Jose oil portVenezuelas largestafter the Guri dam hydropower plant, supposedly responsible for supplying nearly 80% of the country with power, went offline.

Some oil production, too, was shut in as a result of both blackouts, which the Maduro regime claims was an act of sabotage at the hands of the United States.

While the scale of the recent blackouts is profound, Venezuelas power blackouts are nothing new, and most experts agree that the blackouts are likely the result of the severe neglect of its infrastructure that has gone on for many years. Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro both were forced to take extreme measures to deal with its power problems, including altering time zones to get the most out of daylight hours, instituting bans on electricity-heavy appliances such as clothes and hair driers, and entire public-sector shutdowns.

The recent string of power blackouts not only choked off Venezuelas only real revenue streamcrude oilit plunged its citizenry into a whole new brand of horror as hospitals went without power and food supplies came up short.

It is unlikely with its oil revenue stream drying up that Venezuela will have the funds to invest in its failing critical infrastructure without the aid of a foreign entity with a large wallet. Even its foreign oil interests are no longer providing it with a revenue stream as new sanctions are restricting financial transactions from its partnerships in both Jamaica and Dominican Republic oil refineries.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads from Oilprice.com:" " Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, leaves the Prettyman Federal Courthouse on Dec. 1, 2017, in Washington, D.C., after pleading guilty to one count of making a false statements to the FBI. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The U.S. federal law known as the Logan Act has been on the books for more than 200 years. It was hatched when the union consisted of just 16 states, not even a decade after the formation of the State Department (originally, the Department of Foreign Affairs). So it would make sense that by now, the United States would have a pretty good handle on just what the Logan Act is and what it can do.

Well, apparently that's not really the case. There's been confusion surrounding the law since it was enacted. And that uncertainty is one reason that no one, ever, has been convicted of violating it.

Does that mean Michael Flynn, the one-time national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pled guilty to lying to the FBI and is now facing a possible violation of the Logan Act, can rest easy? Perhaps.

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What Is the Logan Act?

The Logan Act (18 U.S. Code  953) was passed into law in January 1799. Because it's short compared to a lot of federal laws, we'll quote it verbatim here:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.



This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

Basically, that means the Logan Act prohibits unauthorized American citizens from going behind the back of the U.S. government to deal with a foreign power (or "any officer or agent thereof") over "disputes or controversies with the United States."

The reason for the act is simple and completely understandable: The U.S. doesn't want John Q. Public messing around with sensitive foreign policy issues. That's the president's job, according to the Supreme Court, under something known as the "Sole Organ Doctrine." The president is "the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, and its sole representative with foreign nations."

But as with most everything in politics, it's not that simple.

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A Brief Logan Act History

Although no one's ever been convicted of a Logan Act violation  it's a felony punishable by up to three years in prison  many people in history have tiptoed around it.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was thought to be on the wrong side of the act on more than one occasion. Former President Jimmy Carter, as a civilian, has stood informally accused. Richard Nixon probably would have faced a Logan Act indictment for some of the things he did before he became president, if they'd been public information. Activist and actress Jane Fonda faced Logan Act questions back in the '60s. Just a couple years ago, 47 Republican senators got a bunch of Democrats all hot and bothered for sending a letter to Iran, a possible Logan Act offense.

All that statute shaking, for nothing.

The latest to have the Logan Act thrown in his face is Flynn. In the weeks leading up to Trump's inauguration and before Flynn was confirmed as national security adviser, the former general admittedly asked the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, to delay a United Nations vote condemning some Israeli settlements.

Whether Flynn's possible Logan Act dust-up is something either very serious or not serious at all depends on who you talk to. But if there's one thing that is certain about the Logan Act it's this: After all these years, it can still stir debate.

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How the Logan Act Works (or Doesn't)

A couple major problems arise when it comes to enforcing the Logan Act these days. One is free speech. It's hard to keep a U.S. citizen, whether authorized by the government to act in an official capacity or not, from exercising it.

"The Supreme Court has basically relegated content-based restrictions, or restrictions on what a person can say, to the dustbin of permissible legislation because it equates them with censorship," University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck tells the Atlantic.

Another sticking point is that, the way politics works today, it's virtually impossible to keep everybody away from the policy party. U.S. foreign policy, after all, doesn't happen in a vacuum. A lot of people have a lot of varying interests, be they economic, political, religious or whatever.

"Lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and J Street are routinely involved in disagreements between Israel and the United States. Sometimes they align with the policies of the administration of the day in Washington. Sometimes they oppose those policies as inimical to the well-being of Israel," Frank Bowman writes in Slate. "Regardless of the issue or the prevailing degree of comity between the U.S. and Israeli governments of any given moment, American Jewish groups are constantly in 'correspondence or intercourse' with official representatives of Israel." The same thinking could apply to other groups, like Latino associations that oppose the current U.S. immigration policy, and choose to meet with the Mexican ambassador.

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Where We Go From Here

At times, lawmakers have considered repealing the Logan Act. Some say it's useless because of the lack of convictions. To date, only two people ever have been indicted.

But, despite what happens with Flynn (or doesn't), the Logan Act probably will stick around as a political tool, at least, as it was when it was used against ...

Nixon and some of his minions may have come closest to what seems a slam-dunk Logan Act violation, if not much worse. In 1968, while he was running for president, Nixon ordered his people to undermine President Lyndon Johnson's peace talks aimed to end the Vietnam War. Nixon feared the talks would give his opponent, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, an edge in the election. The talks fell apart. Nixon won the presidency. The war continued. None of the skullduggery was uncovered until years later.

Now, more than two centuries after its adoption, the Logan Act still stands as one federal law that, legally speaking, has never been broken. Though, clearly, that's not for a lack of trying.

Now That's Interesting The Logan Act is named for George Logan, who traveled to France in 1798 at the urging of friend (and, at the time, vice president) Thomas Jefferson to try to stave off possible war between France and the U.S. The trip resulted in the lifting of a French embargo and the release of some American ships and sailors. Still, President John Adams was not happy, demanding that Congress pass a law to stop the "temerity and impertinence of individuals affecting to interfere in public affairs ..."" " What if you could vote from the comfort of your home? (c) 2016 HowStuffWorks

It seems so obvious that people should be able to vote online. After all, we bank, email and keep detailed employee profiles under virtual lock and key, and those endeavors are all going so well, right?

Uh, maybe not. Numerous big-ticket entities like Sony, the U.S. government and just about every bank in the world is all too familiar with the perils of cybercrime, as are the innocent bystanders whose hard-earned cash and identities are compromised. Still, in a society where people have grown accustomed to accomplishing every task electronically, from ordering pizza to renewing a driver's license, many are scratching their heads wondering what the deal is with an antiquated voting process that often feels like we're partying in 1999.

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One might argue that today's touch-screen precinct kiosks are still light-years ahead of the easily misread and misused paper ballots of yore (you know Al Gore still screams hanging chad! in his sleep), and they wouldn't be wrong. In a world where technology is constantly changing to make everything faster, it seems counterintuitive that most countries have yet to adopt online voting as a standard.

It seems even more incredible that many U.S. states have reverted back to paper ballots, thanks to electronic machines that have broken down or become unreliable, and have yet to be replaced. To some voting experts however, this trend is par for the course.

Voting technology tends to be behind the curve on most things, so I don't expect it to be ahead on this one, explains Andy Bernstein, executive director of HeadCount.org, an organization that promotes voter registration at rock concerts. He notes that online voter registration is just now starting to take off in America. The success of that will affect how quickly we move or don't move to online voting.

The Potential

The beauty of the Internet has always been that it makes most pursuits more convenient. Although the U.S. government has yet to embrace online voting, states like Oregon, Colorado and Washington have transitioned to universal vote-by-mail status, which burdens the government with providing ballots, rather than relying on busy Americans to seek them out. (Instead of going to a polling station, voters either mail the ballots back or drop them off at an official location like a post office). Colorado and Oregon are both in the top five states in terms of voter turnout, with the former jumping from No. 8 to No. 3 since enacting vote-by-mail.

These systems seem to encourage voter participation, and they're just better for people, Bernstein says. Nobody wants to give up an hour. Time is money! Voters in extremely busy precincts, where lines can snake on miserably for hours, are likely to agree.

This shift into convenience voting illustrates the potential for online alternatives, in terms of time saved at the polling place, reduced productivity losses from many people leaving work early to cast ballots and improved voter turnout.

In a nation where voter turnout is embarrassingly low compared with other developed countries (only 53.6 percent of the eligible voting population bothered to turn out in 2012, as opposed to Sweden's 82.6 percent), it's clear that something has to be done to encourage poll participation.

The Perils

Obviously, the main threat to online voting is presented by the aforementioned cyber-criminals who already do things like expose cheating spouse accounts and siphon off dollars from bank accounts. An election would be an obvious target for hacking, says Bernstein.

In fact, at least one test program has already been shot full of virtual holes by hackers, who rigged it so that the University of Michigan fight song played upon completion of every ballot cast. The hack was courtesy of a bunch of Michigan students (encouraged by a professor), who sought to prove that the system was flawed and insecure.

This concern was voiced by numerous experts, but was subsequently ignored by election officials until the rabid Wolverines made their point. Generally what we can all agree on is that technology is always going to be part of a long-term solution, but if we move too fast it can bring more problems than benefits, Bernstein says. The important thing is that changes be made without haste and in a way that is secure.

Critics of online voting also say that the process would make it too easy for people to vote under someone else's handle. However only 32 states require some form of identification (picture or otherwise) in order to cast an in-person ballot.

Some would argue that [online voting] could lead to more instances of voter fraud, says political operative Michael Embrich, who has worked on more than 30 state, local and federal campaigns. In reality, it is a lot more stringent than just letting someone walk in and sign their name with no form of identification to vote. In an email interview, Embrich says that in an Arizona primary, each online voter was assigned an identification number, and then required to correctly answer a number of personal security questions, much in the same way that banks ascertain online identity. Detractors point out, however, that it's actually very rare for people to vote in person under someone else's name.

Other critics insist that online voting disproportionately favors those with Internet access and computer savvy, putting lower income, less educated and older voters at a disadvantage. In-person voting also preserves the integrity of the experience, where people are able to vote free from intimidation and in secret, without someone possibly standing over them telling them how to cast their ballot.

The Future

Since the first attempt at online voting in Arizona's 2000 Democratic primary was met with much criticism, thanks to the candidates' concerns that constituency members might not be able to handle the online process, the movement appears to have stalled in political circles, even as corporations, certain government groups and unions have hopped on board.

Countries like Canada, Estonia, France and Switzerland are among those that have implemented online voting to various degrees, from testing to full-scale elections. Estonia is currently the only country where all voters can participate online, although it should be noted that Estonia is roughly the population of San Diego, and therefore a far cry from the entire U.S. However, the fact that a quarter of all Estonia's votes were cast online in a 2011 election and there was no serious voter fraud, helps to paint a picture of what could eventually be the reality.

Now Thats Cool Another serious beef with online voting is that its hard to guarantee delivery and legitimacy of such a vote. Block chain technology aims to cure that issue by creating a chain of validations for every vote, which are also extremely difficult for hackers to manipulate without flagging an error.There is a well-known manoeuvre in public relations in which a heavy news day is used to release controversial or damaging stories in the hope that nobody will notice. The most notorious example of the was the email sent by UK Government spin doctor , Jo Moore, as New York's twin towers burned, suggesting that 11 September was a good day to "bury" bad news.Yesterday, as hundreds of excitable and confrontational protestors surrounded Parliament to demand that the Government should respect the 2016 referendum result, and leave the EU as scheduled at 11pm that evening, and as MPs debated Theresa May's woefully inadequate deal for the third time, the Leave campaign used the opportunity to drop their own bombshell.As the Guardian reports , Vote Leave dropped its appeal against a 61,000 fine for electoral offences committed during the Brexit referendum. The fine was imposed on the group, which was the lead campaigner for a leave vote, last year after the Electoral Commission concluded that it broke legal spending limits by donating hundreds of thousands of pounds to another leave campaigner, the then 22-year-old fashion student Darren Grimes, founder of BeLeave.The fact that I could not easily find this story on the main paper's politics pages and had to google it, indicates that the tactic of hiding the organisation's climbdown has largely worked. Nevertheless, this is significant news.Effectively, Vote Leave have now conceded that they broke the law in campaigning for us to leave the EU. That is no small admission, and adds to the overwhelming sense that the result in June 2016 was illegitimate. I am not sure though whether the protestors outside Parliament yesterday would agree.China defends ban on Canadian canola, saying it reported pest problem on four occasions

Chinas embassy in Ottawa has defended Beijings ban on two Canadian canola exporters, saying it had found pests in shipments of the oilseed crop on four occasions since January.

In a statement published on its website on Saturday the embassy called the measures legitimate, reasonable and in compliance with Chinese laws and regulations as well as international practices, adding that they had been taken as a safety precaution.

The notice came after Ottawa on Thursday accused Beijing of failing to provide any scientific evidence for the ban, which it said defies science.

In response, the embassy said that Chinas General Administration of Customs notified the Canadian government on January 4, March 1, March 15 and March 26 that it had intercepted quarantine pests in imported Canadian canola.

The agency also asked its Canadian counterpart to warn the relevant companies of the problem, it said.

Unfortunately, the Chinese customs has continuously intercepted quarantine organisms in imported Canadian canola and has had to revoke the relevant Canadian companies permits to export canola to China, the statement said.

The two companies affected are Richardson International, whose licence was revoked at the start of the month, and Viterra Inc, which had its permit rescinded on Tuesday.

The latest exchanges between Ottawa and Beijing come amid a long-running dispute sparked by Canadas arrest of Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in December at the request of the United States.

Brian Innes, vice-president for public affairs at the Canola Council of Canada, was quoted by local media on Friday as saying the export ban could cost the industry C$2.7 billion (US$2 billion). Canada has 43,000 canola growers and the industry employs more than 250,000 people, according to the councils figures.

The ban also triggered an uproar among Canadian politicians and sparked calls for the government to re-examine its relationship with Beijing.

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According to reports by the The Canadian Press, the House of Commons agriculture committee is set to debate a motion to have senior officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, discuss the growing political crisis between the two countries.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that there was significant interest in sending a high-level delegation to China to defend the safety and quality of Canadian exports.

Days earlier he told the media that the country had overcome a similar situation in 2016 when China temporarily suspended imports of Canadian canola.

We worked very hard with the Chinese to settle this particular issue, he said. Were going to roll up our sleeves with the Chinese officials to demonstrate that canola should continue to flow safely from Canada to China  were optimistic that were going to be able to make headway this year.

Despite the obvious friction, Beijing has repeatedly denied that its dispute with Canada is politically motivated.

In response to questions whether the canola ban was linked to Mengs arrest and the strained relations between the two countries, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Wednesday it was scientifically sound and reasonable.

As for China-Canada relations, we hope that the Canadian side can work with us to promote the sound and steady development of bilateral ties. he said. The Canadian side should take some concrete measures to correct its previous mistakes.

This article China defends ban on Canadian canola, saying it reported pest problem on four occasions first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their

THE University of the Philippines Cebu community condemned the vandalism of the facade of the campus' Oblation Square on Friday, March 29.

In a statement, UP Cebu chancellor Liza Corro said the move to vandalize the facade of the Oblation Square was meant to intimidate their students and faculty members.

Such act is an attack to our institution as a liberal academic community that promotes critical thinking. It is a clear attempt to create fear and intimidation among our constituency and perpetuate baseless red-tagging to constrain free discourse of ideas. We do not tolerate this, Corro said in her statement sent to SunStar Cebu.

Corro has also instructed officials of the campus to conduct a thorough investigation on the incident.

On Friday, campus officials and students were shocked after finding graffiti with the words CPP NPA SALOT on the facade of the Oblation Square.

The vandalism occurred coincidentally on the 50th founding anniversary of the New Peoples Army.

The Police Regional Office 7, on its part, has already sent personnel to determine those responsible for the vandalism.

Police Brigadier Gen. Debold Sinas, PRO 7 director, said he has already ordered the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) to investigate the incident.

I have spoken to Col. Royima Garma concerning the investigation. I have ordered her to check all available CCTV cameras near the area to determine who conduct the vandalism. I believe that someone who is angry with the university is behind it, Sinas told reporters.

Solidarity

We are in solidarity with the rest of the UP Cebu community in ensuring that UP Cebu remains safe space for free academic discourse and assembly to further enrich knowledge and understanding about our countrys history, culture and politics. We maintain that the University of the Philippines Cebu as a national university will continue to promote academic freedom, nationalism and love of country among our iskolar ng bayan, Corro said.

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Corro also urged the police to investigate the matter and keep those responsible into account.

In a statement posted on their official Facebook page, members of the Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE) UP Cebu chapter also condemned the vandalism incident.

The group accused the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the Armed Forces of the Philippines which they believed to be behind the vandalism.

"Only cowards like Duterte and his AFP would involve themselves in baseless and malicious tactics like this. But we must not be discouraged for this only means that our ongoing fight for national liberation is effective in shaking the oppressive ruling elite in their seats," the group said, in their statement.

Come forward

Separately, Garma urged those who witnessed to come forward and provide them of what they know.

She also denied that members of the police were behind the vandalism.

Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, commander of the AFP Central Command (Centcom) based in Cebu City, denied allegations that military personnel may have been behind the act.

We dont do that. The people na lagi na peperwisyo sa mga gawain nila ang may kagagawan nyan. Fifty years of making peoples lives miserable, Clement told Superbalita Cebu. (With AYB of Superbalita Cebu/JKV)THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their

IN observance of Earth Hour, Malacanang urged the public on Saturday, March 30, to participate in the global effort to fight climate change.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said turning off the lights and reducing the use of plastic may be simple acts, but could help promote a "clean, safe and healthy" environment.

"March 30 tonight, we will join the rest of the world in switching off our lights for Earth Hour," he said.

"We therefore call on everyone to cut down on the rampant use of plastics as we continue to aspire for a clean, safe and healthy environment," the Palace official added.

Earth Hour, a global initiative that began in 2007, encourages people from all over the world to switch off their lights for an hour to raise awareness on environmental problems.

This year's Earth Hour will take place from 8:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The observance of Earth Hour 2019 focuses on the campaign against single-use plastics, which is a major problem in the country.

Panelo said the Philippines's participation was needed, noting that a United Nations report which showed that the country is "one of the top five contributors of plastic waste in the worlds oceans."

The Philippines has been an active participant of Earth Hour since 2009, and is consistently one of the movement's biggest advocates. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)PUV drivers lining up for PDEAs surprise drug test on March 29, 2019 | Courtesy PDEA Region VII

MANILA, Philippines  The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a surprise drug test on PUV drivers all across the country on Friday.

This is part of their natiomwide anti-illegal drug campaign, Oplan Harabas, Drug Test Muna Bago Pasada.

Oplan Harabas, according to PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino, was launched for the safety of passengers against drivers involved in illegal drugs.

Aquino said during an interview with reporters, that drivers who tested positive of illegal drugs will be stripped of their license. They will also undergo rehabilitation.

The important thing there is how he will obtain again his license after getting a certificate after graduating from the rehabilitation center. We are implementing this because we want to help the drivers and it is important also to have interventions with the conductors and drivers, Aquino said.

 Aileem Cerrudo

The post PUV drivers undergo surprise drug testing under PDEAs Oplan Harabas appeared first on UNTV News.The stages colorful electronic background at the ballroom of the Manila Diamond Hotel.

DoT USec. Art Boncato represented Tourism Secretary Romulo-Puyat in the well-attended event.

I always look forward to any event organized by our Department of Tourism because, not only does it keep me abreast with the latest in this industry that continues to fill my life with exciting moments, it is also bonding time with my colleagues who, just like me, are stakeholders. So when an invitation to another DoT event came my way not too long ago, I accepted it right away and looked forward to learn something new or, at the very least, have another fun get-together with friends. But this one turned out to be even more special than what I had anticipated. Awards were given out to outstanding players in the industry.The ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations decided to standardize the tourism services that they provide, and make it easy to market all 10 countries as a quality single destination. An ASEAN Tourism Task Force was created with the concurrence of the National Tourism Organizations of each of the 10 countries. Standards with specific criteria, requirements, and guidelines were established for seven identified areas: Green Hotel, Community-based Tourism, Homestay, Clean Tourist City, Spa Services, MICE Venue, and Public Toilet. Since 2008, it has been ASEANs practice to give recognition to industry stakeholders who meet the minimum requirements of these ASEAN Tourism Standards. For this purpose, a colorful and elegant awarding ceremony is held during the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) each year. The first one was convened in Thailand to honor the Green Hotel awardees. Since that time, these prestigious awards have been handed out to other industry players who excel in the other categories.Early this year, the ASEAN Tourism Competitive Committee hosted by Vietnam picked out from every member country three winners for Community Based Tourism, five for Homestays, five for Spa Services, and five for Public Toilets. Since not all winners from the Philippines had the means to travel to Vietnam to attend that auspicious occasion, our DoTs Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations organized another awarding ceremony for them here in Manila, thus the event. The mornings awarding ceremonies gave recognition to enterprises and associations from the private sector and local government units. Aside from those from the National Capital Region, other winners came to Manila from the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Central Visayas, and Davao Region.The number of awardees is a testimony that our tourism industry stakeholders are totally supportive of our countrys drive for sustainable tourism, the same goal other ASEAN member nations have. The direction which these outstanding enterprises and associations are taking is certainly in sync with our tourism industrys call to action for all its players to advocate responsible tourism, reduce resource consumption and waste generation, and adopt other sustainable tourism practices. These admirable practices of conservation, preservation, rehabilitation, and the maximum utilization of our countrys resources are the very essence of real sustainable tourism. Since we, definitely, are on the right path, I am looking forward to more enterprises on the awards list for next year. Surely, we will continue to rate high and even exceed the ASEANs Tourism Standards. For feedback, Im at [email protected] GETTING ANGRY WITH SOMEBODY? If the person is younger than you, count to 10, then talk. If the person is of the same age as you, count to 30, then talk. If the person is older than you, count to 50, then talk. If the person is your wife, keep counting...dont talk!In this March 11, 2019, file photo rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Investigators have determined that an anti-stall system automatically activated before the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet plunged into the ground, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, March 29. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)

Boeing is facing mounting pressure to roll out a software update on its best-selling plane in time for airlines to use the jets during the peak summer travel season.

Company engineers and test pilots are working to fix anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max that is suspected to have played a role in two deadly crashes in the last six months.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that investigators have determined that the flight-control system on an Ethiopian Airlines jet automatically activated before the aircraft plunged into the ground on March 10.

The preliminary conclusion was based on information from the aircraft's data and voice recorders and indicates a link between that accident and an earlier Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the newspaper said. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the report.

Also on Friday, The New York Times reported that the Ethiopian jet's data recorder yielded evidence that a sensor incorrectly triggered the anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Once activated, the MCAS forced the plane into a dive and ultimately a crash that killed everyone on board, the newspaper said.

The Max remains grounded worldwide and airlines are losing money by canceling flights.

Southwest, the largest operator of the Max with 34 of them and another 249 on order, said this week that the grounding caused it to cancel 2,800 flights so far, or 30 percent of all cancellations in the first quarter. It said canceled flights, including those not related to the Max, will cost it $150 million in revenue for the quarter and cut its planned capacity growth for the entire year.

German tour operator TUI Group said 2019 profit will drop about 200 million euros ($225 million) because of the Max grounding. That forecast assumes the planes are flying again no later than mid-July.

In this March 11, 2019, file photo airplane parts lie on the ground at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Investigators have determined that an anti-stall system automatically activated before the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet plunged into the ground, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, March 29. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)

United Airlines, which has 14 Max jets, said the grounding isn't hurting the airline yet, but the financial pain "is expected to increase if the grounding extends into the peak summer travel season."

Boeing is also seeing its own expenses rise, although it would not disclose how much it is costing the company to make the software fix and also train pilots how to use it.

Cowen Research analysts say a "very rough guess" is that Boeing will pay about $2 billion after insurance to fix the plane, pay crash victims' families and compensate airlines that had to cancel flights.

Most Wall Street analysts are betting that the planes will be flying again in less than three months, while noting that it could take longer in countries that plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's upgrade instead of taking the word of the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing has stopped Max deliveries during the grounding, which cuts into cash flowBoeing gets most of its money for a plane upon delivery. Outside estimates of the cash-flow drain range from $640 million to $1.8 billion a month, but Boeing will get that money eventually unless airlines cancel orders.

It is difficult and unusual for airlines to switch an order from one aircraft manufacturer to another. Boeing and European rival Airbus form a duopoly that dominates commercial airplane sales. Airlines that considering switching from the Max to the comparable Airbus model, called the neo for new engine option, would fall to the back of a yearslong backlog line.

"We believe a wholesale cancellation is unlikely if for no other reason than the inability of Airbus to deal with the influx," says Hunter Keay, an aviation analyst with Wolfe Research, but he adds there is "some risk" of additional cancellations, with the big Chinese market being the most serious.

If cancellations are limited to Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlinesthe two carriers involved in the crashesand Garuda Indonesia, which has announced plans to do so, they account for only about 300 orders. Boeing has about 4,600 unfilled Max orders, making up the bulk of a huge backlog that the company values at $490 billion.

In this March 11, 2019, file photo parts of the plane wreckage with rescue workers at the crash site at Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Investigators have determined that an anti-stall system automatically activated before the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet plunged into the ground, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, March 29. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)

Then there is the potential cost of lawsuits stemming from October's crash of a Lion Air Max 8 in Indonesia and the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 near Addis Ababa. In all, 346 people died.

Already one law firm alone has filed seven lawsuits against Boeing in federal district court in Chicago; six were filed on behalf of families of passengers on the Lion Air jet and one by the family of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger.

The lawsuits claim that the flight-control system on the plane was defective and that Boeing failed to warn airlines about it or train pilots how to respond if it caused the plane's nose to sink. The automated MCAS system was not on previous 737s.

The tragedy-filled introduction of the Max is reminiscent of troubled early histories of other planes. In 1979, for instance, the FAA grounded the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 following accidents involving a poorly designed cargo door that could spring open during flight and a crash in Chicagostill the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history with 273 lives lostthat ultimately was blamed on poor maintenance practices by American Airlines.

After changes approved by safety regulators, the three-engine DC-10 returned to the skies and sold several hundred more copies before production was stopped. The plane couldn't compete with more efficient twin-engine models.

Boeing's 787 "Dreamliner" was grounded by overheating batteries in 2013, but after Boeing fixed the problem it became a favorite among airlines and passengers. The same course could play out for the Max, which entered service just two years agoas long as there are no fresh accidents to stir passengers' fears.

"The public has an amazingly short memory," said Robert Mann, a former American Airlines and TWA executive. "Most of them don't even realize the kind of airplane they are flying on."

Explore further Ethiopian Airlines says pilots got appropriate training

 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Saxophonist Charlie Parker is considered by many to be the best musician in the history of jazz. He is one of the few jazz musicians who cou...Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport intercepted 30 undocumented overseas Filipino workers disguised as tourists bound for the Middle East. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the passengers, 18 women and 12 men, were about to board an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai when they were intercepted by personnel from the Bureaus Travel Control and Enforcement Unit. All of them initially claimed they were going to visit a friend or relative in Dubai for a vacation and presented as proof their tourist visas and return tickets, Medina said. But nconsistencies in their statements prompted the immigration officers to doubt their purpose, so they were referred to the TCEU for secondary inspection. The passengers later admitted that they were going to work abroad and that their travel documents were only given to them that day by their handler who met them outside the airport. All 30 were turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation to facilitate the filing of human trafficking charges against their recruiters.BI-TCEU Chief Erwin Ortanez disclosed that except for one passenger who presented a fake visa, all of the passengers had valid tourist visas duly issued by the United Arab Emirates Interior Ministry. Ortanez said that 29 of the passengers said that they were hired to work as waiters and waitresses in various Dubai hotels while one of them said his final destination is Baghdad, Iraq where he was recruited as kitchen supervisor. BI Commissioner Jaime Morente hailed the apprehension of the 30 passengers as a big leap in the Bureaus campaign against human trafficking. As a result of this incident, we were able to rescue our kababayans from the risk of being abused and exploited abroad, which they are prone to suffer due to their status as undocumented workers, Morente said. The BI chief exhorted the bureaus frontline immigration officers to always remain vigilant amid repeated attempts by trafficking syndicates to spirit their victims out of the country.5 hours ago

California may cut rooftop solar incentives as market booms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Californias 26-year-old program to get more people to put solar panels on their homes has been wildly successful, but state regulators may lower the incentives for people to go solar in a bid to reduce electricity bills for the rest of residents in the most populous U.S.

Read ArticleIn the first contest of its kind in the region, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and EU and UN agencies have teamed up to raise awareness about domestic violence in Georgia by inviting local filmmakers to submit short films on this difficult topic, which is often still taboo in Georgian society.

Film is a powerful means for prevention, Director of RFE/RLs Georgian Service and coordinator of the project Natela Zambakhidze told Lady Liberty.

RFE/RLs Georgian Service, known locally as Radio Tavisupleba, called on Georgian professional and amateur filmmakers to produce three-minute films on the issue of violence against women. A total of 77 short films were submitted for the contest, from which 17 finalists were selected by a jury of Georgian filmmakers.

Three winners were announced March 12 at a ceremony in Tbilisi. In first place was Petre Tomadzes animated film Night Session, which explores how neighbors sharing a courtyard are both shaped by domestic violence and also indifferent to it. In second place, Ketevan Kapanadzes Lala, The Car Mechanic, is a vignette of a young woman whose life was irrevocably changed by the violence she and her mother suffered at her fathers hands. In third place, Giorgi Kharadzes On The Circle, tells the story of a woman caught for years in a cycle of her husbands abuse before finally breaking free for good.

The winners, who will have the opportunity to produce feature length versions of their films in collaboration with Radio Tavisupleba, also received monetary prizes to support their future filmmaking endeavors. The first prize was 17,000 GEL ($6,300).

The films were watched and discussed by hundreds of thousands of people on RFE/RL platforms and across social media. The directors of the winning films were invited on Georgian national television to discuss their films and how the problem of domestic violence is treated by society.

The project not only motivated creative individuals to work on this issue, but also spread a very strong message that violence against women is unacceptable and that gender equality should be the norm, said Zambakhidze.

One in seven women in Georgia has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime, according to a 2018 UN Women study. Many of the contest submissions cited this figure, leading one in seven to become a trending phrase accompanying discussions of domestic violence on Georgian social media.

We want one in seven women to never experience violence again, we want transgender women to be accepted in society, we want to remove the gender pay gap, and we want family to be a union between equals, said Zambakhidze.

Following the success of this inaugural contest, Zambakhidze says there are plans underway to transform it into an international film festival.

A rare source of politically and financially independent, balanced journalism in Georgia, RFE/RLs Georgian Service considers it part of its mission to support vulnerable groups, including women, by collaborating and empowering them and offering platforms to make their voices are heard.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Amid the prevailing water crisis in some parts of the country, Senator Loren Legarda said authorities must take necessary measures to adapt to climate change impacts, such as increasing temperatures, sea level rise, and changes in rainfall pattern. She warned these could further intensify the effects of El Nino and jeopardize the long-term water supply in the country. On the other hand, Senator Grace Poe said it is critical at this point to provide immediate relief to the consumers. By undertaking their commitment to adjust its charges, Manila Water has shown good faith to the public, Poe said, but stressed that state regulator Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System must be vigilant in ensuring consumers are not shortchanged in the computation of the bill reduction. Manila Water can absorb ittheir income will not dry up. It is a drop in their bucket of profits. An apology is best expressed monetarily, Poe said. Manila Water should not be reaping profits even if the taps have run dry, she added.Legarda, for her part, renewed her call for households, offices, businesses, and industries to use water more wisely and recycle used water. We must treat this issue as a climate change concern and not just a water supply issue. The El Nino phenomenon is a natural process, but its varying effects are compounded by climate change, she said. The La Mesa Dam, Legarda said, has breached its critical levelthe lowest in yearsand the dry climate outlook in light of the weak El Nino and climate change should serve as a reminder on the need to use water resources more sustainably. Having safe water means we secure public health. With people dying due to unsafe water and poor sanitation, as well as being displaced or forced to relocate in areas with safe water, we must ensure we afford every human being their basic right to access safe water, the senator said.Malacanang on Saturday criticized Rappler chief Maria Ressa for hiding behind the issue of press freedom and using it attack the Duterte administration. In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Ressa cannot forever hide behind the freedom of the press every time she commits what probably is a transgression of law as determined by the investigating prosecutor and the judge handling her case. She cannot be using her arrest as a violation of the freedom of the press and make it as an excuse to attack the government. She wants a special treatment owing to her being a journalist, Panelo said. She wants her profession to shield her from accountability of a wrongdoing that she could be guilty of, he added. Ressa was arrested upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday but was released after posting P90,000 bail at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court. Ressa, executive director of Rappler, described the arrest as harassment and travesty of justice.The executive department respects the independence of the judiciary, including how it handles cases pending before its courts, Panelo said. The arrest warrant was issued against Ressa in connection with the Philippine Depository Receipts Rappler issued to Omidyar Network Fund, LLC in 2015, a year before President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, Panelo said. Once again Ressa is peddling her repudiated accusation that the administration is behind her criminal prosecution and arrest, he said. The fact alone that after she was criminally charged, a preliminary investigation was conducted, and after a finding of probable cause an information was filed in court, shows she was accorded her statutory right. The circumstance that a warrant of arrest was issued against her after the presiding judge determined the existence of a probable cause following the process outlined by the Constitution shows that the rule of law was followed, he added.The United States is on a path to financial ruin, and everyone can see what is happening, but nobody can seem to come up with a way to stop it. According to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government is currently 22 trillion dollars in debt, and that represents the single largest debt in the history of the planet. Over the past decade, we have been adding to that debt at a rate of about 1.1 trillion dollars a year, and we will add more than a trillion dollars to that total once again this year. But when you add in our unfunded liabilities, our long-term financial outlook as a nation looks downright apocalyptic. According to Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff, the U.S. is currently facing 200 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities, and when you add that number to our 22 trillion dollar debt, you get a grand total of 222 trillion dollars.

Of course we are never going to pay back all of this debt.

The truth is that we are just going to keep accumulating more debt until the system completely and utterly collapses.

And even though the federal government is the biggest offender, there are also others to blame for the mess that we find ourselves in. State and local governments are more than 3 trillion dollars in debt, corporate debt has more than doubled since the last financial crisis, and U.S. consumers are more than 13 trillion dollars in debt.

When you add it all together, the total amount of debt in our society is well above 300 percent of GDP, and it keeps rising with each passing year.

But for the moment, lets just focus on the giant mountain of debt that the federal government has piled up. The U.S. budget deficit for last month was 234 billion dollars, and that was an all-time record for a single month. Our exploding debt is an existential threat to our nation, and we are literally destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have.

And it isnt just a 22 trillion dollar debt that we are leaving them with. We have also made tens of trillions of dollars worth of future promises that we expect future generations to keep. These are called unfunded liabilities because we do not currently have the money to fulfill those obligations.

According to official government projections, the Social Security Administration is facing a 13 trillion dollar unfunded liability over the next 75 years, and Medicare is facing a 37 trillion dollar unfunded liability over the same time frame.

Adding those two numbers together, we get a grand total of 50 trillion dollars.

Where in the world would we ever be able to get so much money when we are already drowning in debt?

Unfortunately, as is so often the case with government projections, those unfunded liability numbers are actually wildly optimistic.

Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff has been studying our unfunded liability crisis for many years, and according to him the real number is 200 trillion dollars

Consumers will largely bear the brunt of the countrys financial ruin, according to Kotlikoff, which is why it is crucial to give them the power to make better financial decisions. Related: De Beers To Expand Worlds Most Profitable Diamond Mine While the United States official debt is $20 trillion, the fiscal gap is really 10 times larger  $200 trillion. That comes from adding in off-the-book liabilities, including debt thats in the Federal Reserves hands, Kotlikoff said.

If Kotlikoff is correct, that means that the true size of the financial obligation that we are imposing upon future generations is 222 trillion dollars, and that number just keeps rising month after month.

Many pundits speak of a day when America will be bankrupt in the future, but according to Kotlikoff we are bankrupt right now

But Kotlikoffs dire prognosis for the United States is enough to wake anyone out of even the deepest summer slumber. The evidence is in front of our eyes that were bankrupt, Kotlikoff said. Its not bankrupt in the future. Its bankrupt right now.

Unfortunately, there doesnt appear to be an easy way out. Any politician that would be foolish enough to even threaten to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits would be immediately voted out of office. Americas population is rapidly aging, and about half of Americas seniors dont have anything saved for retirement

The bad news is that almost half of Americans approaching retirement have nothing saved in a 401(k) or other individual account. The good news is that the new estimate, from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, is slightly better than a few years earlier. Of those 55 and older, 48 percent had nothing put away in a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan or an individual retirement account, according to a GAO estimate for 2016 that was released Tuesday.

Americas seniors are counting on us to keep the promises that we have made to them.

Sadly, it doesnt appear that we are going to be able to do that for too much longer.

In the end, we are going to have to make some very tough choices. One Democrat actually started a petition to sell the state of Montana to Canada for a trillion dollars, and so far it has over 18,000 signatures. Of course, we arent ever going to sell off pieces of our country, but we are going to have to find some way to come up with an enormous mountain of money.

When I ran for Congress last year, I made doing something about the national debt one of my top issues. Unfortunately, concern about the national debt is not a priority for either political party right now, and that is a huge mistake.

You can spend more money than you are bringing in for quite a while, but eventually, a day of reckoning arrives. Anyone that has ever gone into too much credit card debt knows exactly what I am talking about. We have been on the biggest debt binge in the history of the world, and it has allowed us to enjoy a standard of living that is far beyond what we actually deserve, but the price that we will pay for such utter foolishness will be extremely painful indeed.

By Zerohedge via Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:" " Sales of handguns and rifles for self-defense have surpassed sales of other guns for recreational purposes like hunting and target shooting. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Lynn K. of Franklin, Tennessee, had a pretty scary experience recently. "I was driving home at night from Lawrenceburg when there was a fake policeman attempting to pull cars over to rob and assault the drivers," she says. Inspired by this dangerous situation, she decided to take a concealed permit class to learn more about safely using a handgun, and now keeps one locked in her car's glove box at all times. "My two personal guns are a Ruger LC9 and a Smith & Wesson Shield. Both are compact 9-mm [pistols], so easier to carry."

According to data from a study published in the June 2017 issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Lynn is hardly alone in her decision to arm herself. Researchers from Boston University wanted to know why, and are among the first to look at scientific research behind gun and ammunition manufacturers, dealers and firearm trends.

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The study analyzes weapon type, caliber, and market share by firearm and company from data gathered between 1990 to 2015 via FBI National Instant Background Checks and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. What they found was production of pistols and rifles, typically associated with self-defense, went through the roof. "Our research suggests that guns are increasingly being viewed as having a primary role in self-defense, rather than in use for hunting or sport," the study's lead investigator Michael Siegel, MD, of Boston University School of Public Health, says in a statement.

"After declining from 1990 to 2005, annual pistol production increased by more than fourfold from 2005 to 2015 (from 0.8 million to 3.6 million), peaking in 2013 at 4.4 million," the study says. "Whereas the number of manufactured shotguns and revolvers remained stable throughout the study period, rifle production increased nearly threefold from 1.4 million in 2005 to a peak of 4 million in 2013." Overall, firearm manufacturing hit a high of 10.3 million in 2013, compared to a range of just 3 to 5 million during the period of 1990 to 2005.

The huge increase in production of large-caliber, deadly and compact handguns also is reflected by consumer demand. A 2013 Gallup poll found that 60 percent of people surveyed indicated personal safety/protection as their primary reason to own a gun. Gallup conducted comparable surveys in 2000 and 2005 with similar results.

Authors of the Boston study say their findings have important consequences to helping solve the problem of firearm violence that is plaguing the United States.

"Public health practitioners need to understand and accept the increasing view, among gun owners, of firearms as a means to security and freedom," Siegel says. "Only by acknowledging the value that firearms have in the lives of gun owners can public health practitioners develop programs and policies that respect the desire to own weapons for self-defense while at the same time mitigating the firearm violence that is ravishing our communities."

Now That's Scary Guns are the third leading cause of death among children (17 and younger) in the U.S., with 38 percent due to suicide." " Medical students peek at their cadaver after a dedication and blessing ceremony honoring those who have donated their bodies for medical education at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine. Scott Strazzante/ Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images

When it comes to death, things are changing in the United States. It used to be that traditional casket burials were the norm almost without exception. These days, about half of those in the United States are buried, while cremation rates have risen from 4 percent to the roughly 50 percent we see now.

But that's not the only change we're seeing about end-of-life decisions.

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Donating your body to science  or more specifically, research and education  is becoming a more popular option for many Americans, as the Associated Press reports. U.S. medical schools have reported significant increases in body donations. Science Care, the world's largest accredited body donation program, has seen donations double since 2010, according to the program's vice president of donor services, Melinda Ellsworth.

Brandi Schmitt, the director of anatomical services at the University of California, reports a 6 percent increase across their five-campus program during the last few years.

"I suspect that it correlates to population age demographics," she writes via email. "And perhaps to increasing awareness about whole body donation." As more of the population ages, there might be a growing interest in alternatives to traditional burials.

Ellsworth also attributes the rise to cultural shifts. There's the acceptance of organ donation as a norm, for one. "It lets people start thinking, 'well, yeah, I'm an organ donor  who wouldn't be an organ donor?'" she says. That opens the door to the accessibility of whole body donation.

And as people become more comfortable with cremation, Ellsworth says, "They're also willing to take the next step to say, if I'm interested in cremation, why not give back to body donation before cremation?" It doesn't hurt that the donation  and cremation  will present no cost to the families, either.

When funeral costs are rising nearly 29 percent in a decade, the prospect of a free burial is no small thing. With funerals running a whopping $7,181 to $10,000 on average, the cost of donating your body to science is virtually nothing. Schmitt says that they  like other donation programs  cremate the body afterward, at no cost to the family. Sometimes the ashes are returned to the family; at the University of California programs, they're scattered at sea.

There's also a growing understanding that there's very little religious objection to body donation. "I would say that most religions see organ and body donations as a gift, an act of charity for humankind," says Ellsworth. Science Care points out that a myriad of religions  from Catholicism to Mennonite, Hindu to the Latter Day Saints  either encourage or have no theological argument with body donation.

It's important to note that most programs aren't going to give you a lot of choice in what happens to your body. None will, for instance, guarantee that your body will be accepted for donation; exclusions might occur if your body has suffered severe trauma or burns or has a communicable disease. And while some places might try to accommodate requests for what type of research is conducted on your body, a lot of medical schools won't let you specify. (And in general, research is confidential  your family probably isn't going to get a "result" from any study or research conducted.)

Of course, nobody is going to make you donate your body to science. Should you change your mind at any time, you can rescind your offer of donation.

NOW THAT'S COOL It's not just future doctors who need to practice on cadavers. Nurses, dentists and even physical and occupational therapists can benefit from human-body study.The Duterte administration has committed to increase the countrys peacekeeping operations under the banner of the United Nations. Speaking at the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting on Uniformed Capabilities, Performance, and Protection in New York City, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has committed 90 military observers and staff, one force support unit, and one aero-medical evacuation team for the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System for 2019. The Philippines is ready to increase its engagement in peacekeeping operations, he said. The Philippine government has decided to allow the deployment of military and police area in any area, regardless of the security threat level, the defense chief added. The Philippines is among the 120 countries that have contributed military, police and civilian personnel to several conflict-torn areas through UN peacekeeping missions. The government has sent Filipino peacekeepers in several Asian nations, in the Middle East and some European countries.One of the critical missions Filipino peacekeepers had encountered took place at the border of Syria and Israel in August 2013 when the troops were trapped for five days in the desert after being surrounded by Syrian rebels during the Golan Heights conflict. The 73-man Filipino contingent, despite facing extreme danger, successfully escape unscathed. Lorenzana stressed the success of peacekeeping operations must be measured by how well peacekeepers are able to protect civilians, especially children, and prevent sexual exploitation abuse. The Philippines stands in solidarity with the community of nations in fostering shared responsibility for the success of peacekeeping operations, Lorenzana said.Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) sales subsidiary and its affiliates suffered a data breach that exposed personal information of millions of customers in Japan.

The week closes with the news of a data breach suffered by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) sales subsidiary and its affiliates that exposed personal information belonging to millions of customers in Japan.

The company confirmed that eight Toyota and Lexus sales firms were affected by the incident, the hack hit Toyota Sales Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Toyota Motor in Japan, and its affiliates.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but the car vendor said unauthorized access had been detected on March 21 on a server containing data belonging to 3.1 million customers.

Exposed records included names, addresses, dates of birth, occupation and other information, the good news is that no financial data was exposed in the incident.

The car manufacturer pointed out that there is no evidence that hackers have stolen the data.

Additionally, three other independent dealers in Japan are possibly involved. Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is monitoring the situation closely and is currently unaware of any compromise of TMNA systems associated with this incident or evidence that Toyota or Lexus dealers in the United States have been targeted, the company said in a statement.

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is monitoring the situation closely and is currently unaware of any compromise of TMNA systems associated with this incident or evidence that Toyota or Lexus dealers in the United States have been targeted, reads a statement sent by TMNA via email.

The company revealed that unauthorized access had also been detected at subsidiaries in Thailand and Vietnam on March 19.

This is the second time Toyota has disclosed a data breach this year, on February 21, 2019, Toyota Australia reported a security breach. At the time, the company said that the security breach didnt impact user or customer data, but the attack caused disruptions to IT systems.

Some experts argued the attack against Toyota Australia was carried out by the Vietnamese APT32 group.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  data breach, hacking)A new cyber heist made the headlines, the victim is Bithumb,

the South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange and hackers stole $19 Million.

Hackers have stolen nearly $19 million worth of cryptocurrency from Bithumb, the South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange.

The news was first reported by the Primitive Ventures Dovey Wan, hackers compromised a number of Bithumbs hot EOS and XRP wallets and transferred around 3 million EOS (roughly $13 million) and 20 million XRP (~ $6 million) to accounts under their control.

BREAKING 



Bithumb is being hacked, at its EOS cold storage level!!! Over 3million EOS has been transferred out 



Detail to be reported, confirmed by security firm whos auditing for Bithumb  Dovey Wan  (@DoveyWan) March 30, 2019

Then crooks transferred the stolen funds to multiple accounts they operated on other cryptocurrency exchanges, including Huobi, HitBTC, WB, and EXmo, via ChangeNow, a non-custodial crypto swap platform that

has no maximum amount for crypto exchange.

Once the attack was discovered, Bithumb quickly halted its deposits and withdrawals process, the company also speculated that the incident allegedly involved insiders.

About 10:15 pm on the 29th, we detected abnormal withdrawal of the companys cryptocurrency through Bithumbs abnormal trading monitoring system. reads a statement published by the exchange.

All the spilled cryptocurrency is owned by company, and all the members asset is under the protection of cold wallet.

According to the companys manual, Bithumb secured all the cryptocurrency from the detection time with a cold wallet and checked them by blocking deposit and withdrawal service.

As a result of the internal inspection, it is judged that the incident is an accident involving insiders.

Bithumb is conducting an intensive investigation along with KISA, Cyber Police Agency and security companies.



Bithumb was hacked multiple times in the past two years. In June 2018,

the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange confirmed that hackers stole 35 billion won ($31.6 million) worth of cryptocurrency between June 19 and June 20. In July 2017 hackers have stolen more than $1 Million in Bitcoin and Ether cryptocurrencies from the accounts of several users of the exchange.

And this is the second time Bithumb saw a MAJOR hack, last time its hacked with a loss over $30m.. lol and after the first hack it was STILL able to get the fiat license from Korea and WTF??  Dovey Wan  (@DoveyWan) March 30, 2019

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, posted an interesting representation of the way the attackers have distributed his funds after stealing it from Bithumb.



Received this diagram in a group: pic.twitter.com/PqcyaCDRKB  CZ Binance (@cz_binance) March 30, 2019

The attackers have stolen the private key for the EOS hot wallet account belonging to Bithumb (g4ydomrxhege) and used it to transfer the funds to the address ifguz3chmamg under their control.

We deeply apologize to our members for delaying the cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal service, Bithumb said.

Bithumb is currently working with major cryptocurrency exchanges and foundations in the attempt of recovering the stolen crypto coins.

Pierluigi Paganini New reform reports from Florida and Ohio with broader ideas and lessons | Main | Student SCOTUS preview part three: mapping out likely votes after oral argument in US v. Haymond 

I had been meaning to blog about this remarkable story first reported in the New Haven Independent under the headline "Glitch May Return Rehabd Man To Prison." Here is the backstory from that piece:

Jermaine Demetrius Anderson may have to leave his two jobs, his condo in Westville, his local church family, and the stable, crime-free life he has built for himself in the Elm City  and go to prison. All because of an apparent miscommunication over a decade ago between the Connecticut state judicial system and the federal court in Philadelphia.

His hope now is the federal government  maybe even President Donald Trump  will cut him a break.

On Feb. 28, Paul Diamond, a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, signed a warrant for Andersons arrest for his failure to serve an outstanding 16-month federal sentence. The sentence dates to a crime that occurred 16 years ago.

The federal court issued that sentence to Anderson, now a 43-year-old employee for the citys parks department, in 2005 after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possessing and passing counterfeit currency and one count of identity theft while living in Pennsylvania. He committed the crimes in 2003.

Anderson never served that federal sentence. Even though he thought he had. Thats because he spent three years in state prison in Connecticut after pleading guilty to similar but separate counterfeit currency charges in New Haven in 2003. He said he believed he was serving his state and federal sentences concurrently while locked up in Webster Correctional Institution in Cheshire.

After finishing that state sentence in November 2006, the state judicial system didnt remand him to federal custody in Philadelphia. He said no one reached out to him and said he had to report to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to serve more time for the federal offense. He thought he had done his time. He set about rebuilding his life in New Haven.

Thirteen years later, U.S. marshals came pounding on his door in New Haven last week, claiming that he had evaded arrest and demanding that he report back to Pennsylvania to serve 16 months in federal prison.

Local attorney Michael Dolan said he has been in touch with Philadelphia federal attorneys, and has urged them to reconsider requiring Anderson to serve federal time so long after he was sentenced and so long after he served time in state prison on similar charges. It would appear that the goals of the criminal justice system have been met, he said about his thoroughly rehabilitated client....

Robert Clark, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, told the Independent that the marshals unearthed Andersons outstanding federal sentence and the slip-up between the Connecticut state judicial system and the Pennsylvania federal district court during a routine audit.

During an internal audit of custody detainers by the U.S. Marshals in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, he said, a case dating back to 2005 was found in which a sentenced man, Jermaine Demetrius Anderson, had been sent to Connecticut to face state charges. After a conviction and sentence served in Connecticut, Anderson should have been held for transfer back to federal custody; instead, he was mistakenly released. Upon the Marshals providing this information to a federal judge, the court issued a bench warrant for Anderson for failure to serve an outstanding federal sentence. Anderson was arrested in Connecticut March 20, released on bond and ordered to appear in U.S. district court in Philadelphia April 4. As the enforcement arm of the federal courts, the Marshals ensure that individuals with federal warrants are brought to face justice. Ultimately, the federal court system will make a determination on Andersons outstanding federal sentence.

Dolan called Andersons case a prime example of someone who committed a crime, took responsibility by pleading guilty, served time in prison, and has subsequently successfully rehabilitated himself. Hes been crime free, drug free, has employment, Dolan said. And now they want to take him back into custody.

Its called corrections, Anderson said. I corrected myself. I dont want pity. I just want people to be ethical.

I wasnt evading, he continued. I wasnt on the run. "The Captive Lab Rat: Human Medical Experimentation in the Carceral State" | Main | New reform reports from Florida and Ohio with broader ideas and lessons 

March 29, 2019

Notable judicial hand-wringing from California Supreme Court justices about "expensive and dysfunctional [capital] system that does not deliver justice or closure"

A helpful colleague made sure I did not miss the notable short concurring opinion at the end of this long decision by the Supreme Court of California affirming a death sentence. The concurring opinion was authored by Justice Goodwin Liu and joined by Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar. Here is how it gets started:

Todays decision is our first to affirm a death judgment since Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-09-19 effecting a moratorium on capital punishment in California. Neither defendant nor the Attorney General has suggested that the Executive Order raises any new issues bearing on this appeal. We thus decide this case on the claims and arguments as submitted. And yet, as the Executive Order underscores, our decision affirming the judgment does not alter a fundamental reality: A death sentence in California has only a remote possibility of ever being carried out. As leaders of the judiciary have long observed, the death penalty presents serious challenges for the fair and efficient administration of justice. For decades, those challenges have not been meaningfully addressed. As a result, Californias death penalty is an expensive and dysfunctional system that does not deliver justice or closure in a timely manner, if at all.

The opinion goes on to highlight various reasons why the California death penalty system is such a mess and why the reform initiative in 2016, Proposition 66, "did not enact or put to the voters the key reforms that leading authorities consider fundamental to a workable death penalty system." The eight-page opinion then concludes with this paragraph:

I express no view here on the morality or constitutionality of the death penalty. Since joining this court, I have voted to affirm scores of death judgments, and I will continue to do so when the law requires. It is impossible to review these cases without feeling tremendous compassion for the victims and their families, who have suffered unimaginable heartbreak and loss. But the promise of justice in our death penalty system is a promise that California has been unable to keep. We are overdue for what our Chief Justice has called a merit-based discussion on [the death penaltys] effectiveness and costs. (Dolan, [California Chief Justice Urges Reevaluating Death Penalty, L.A. Times (Dec. 24, 2011)].) In the meantime, the judiciary will continue to do its duty under the law, leaving it to the voters and our elected representatives to decide whether California should double down on the current system or chart a new course.

Because Justice Liu was a law professor before he became a Justice, I fully understand his inclination to speak his mind on this issue and his decision to do so through the medium readily available to him (namely, a judicial opinion). But, candidly, I was hoping for a little bit more of a formal legal payoff from this formal legal opinion, perhaps in the form of a call for briefing on whether Executive Order N-09-19 impacts the legal status of death penalty cases in California or whether state judges might exercise discretion not to continue adjudicating pending capital cases while the moratorium is in place.

March 29, 2019 at 03:37 PM | Permalink

Comments

Doug:

It is a constant wonder that judges cannot see that these problems are caused by the case managers - the judges.

With executions (72%) and other removals (23.4%), Virginia has cleared 95.4% of their death row cases (1), which would have resulted in California, now, having 47 inmates on their death row, not 737.

In Virginia, the average time on death row, prior to execution, is 7 years.

Nationally, the first 5 years of double digit executions, in the 1980's, saw an average of 6.6 years of appeals, prior to execution.

In 2018 is was 19 years.

It appears, intentional, that judges are killing the death penalty.

It sure seems like the invisible elephant in the room.

===

Virginia has hasd 3 more executions, since this report, below,

1) Table 17, page 20, Capital Punishment, 2013, Statistical Tables, Bureau of Justice Statistics, December 2014, (THE LAST YEAR OF THAT DATA SET)

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cp13st.pdf

Posted by: Dudley SHarp | Mar 31, 2019 4:34:59 AM

Post a comment Encouraging developments in remarkable federal case that threatened old prison term after obvious rehabilitation | Main | Federal judge rules ADA requires Maine jail to provide woman with access to medication-assisted treatment during her 40-day term 

March 30, 2019

Student SCOTUS preview part three: mapping out likely votes after oral argument in US v. Haymond

I noted here back in 2017 an interesting opinion in US v. Haymond where a Tenth Circuit panel declared unconstitutional the procedures used for revocation of a sex offender's supervised release. The Supreme Court also found the case interesting because, as reported here, the Justices in 2018 accepted the petition for certiorari filed by the federal government. The SCOTUSblog page on Haymond has links to all the briefing.

As reported in this prior post, I have a great student, Jim McGibbon, who is drafting a series of posts on the Haymond case. Oral argument took place last month, and Jim was there for all the action. Following up on his introductory post, and his second post inspired by the briefing in the case, he is working on a few posts on the Justices' likely votes informed by the argument. Here is the start of his efforts:

Oral argument for United States v. Haymond is completed and the case has been submitted. Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog observed after oral argument that the Court seems poised to rule for [Haymond] in dispute over constitutionality of sex-offender law." I predict that United States v. Haymond will be decided 6-3 in favor of Mr. Haymond. This post will analyze the predicted majority and the next post will give a breakdown of the predicted dissent. Locks Justice Sotomayor Justice Sotomayor may have more than tipped her hand when she opined during oral argument that to compare supervised release with parole is to compare apples and oranges. If still not convinced, consider that she has stated in Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), that Apprendi [is] firmly rooted in our jurisprudence. Not so subtly did Justice Sotomayor lay the cards on the table, when she averred during oral argument that she had a due process concern as well as a Sixth Amendment concern with the procedures applicable in Haymond. The government did little to propitiate Sotomayor at oral argument, and it appears safe to say that Sotomayor will not break rank from her past holdings. Justice Thomas Justice Thomas wrote the concurring opinion in Apprendi v. New Jersey. He asserted that if the legislature defines some core crime and then provides for increasing the punishment of that crime upon a finding of some aggravating fact of whatever sort, including the fact of a prior conviction  the core crime and the aggravating fact together constitute an aggravated crime. Here, the 10th Circuit convicted Haymond of a violation of 3583(k) and as a result, he was subsequently exposed to greater and additional punishment without a jury. Even though Justice Thomas may not believe in stare decisis and even though he did not speak during oral argument, it would seem reasonable to assume that he believes that 3583(k) is a sentencing enhancement of a sort that is based on facts that need to be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. To boot, Justice Thomas was in the majority in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), and Alleyne v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2151 (2013) both cases extending the reach of the procedural rights recognized in Apprendi. Likely Justice Ginsburg Justice Ginsburg is a soldier of criminal procedural rights as she joined the ranks of the majority in Apprendi, Blakely, and Alleyne, which all affirmed Sixth Amendment and related procedural due process rights for the criminal defendant. And in the Haymond oral argument, Justice Ginsburg may have revealed her vote when she intimated that the imposition of 3583(k) requires a factual finding. She also voiced more concern over the remedy that the defendant was seeking than the merits of the argument, which although is not conclusive, is suggestive. But, of course, Justice Ginsburg was the key swing vote that created the advisory guideline remedy in Booker, and see authored the Court opinion limiting the reach of the Sixth Amendment in Oregon v. Ice, 555 U.S. 160 (2009). Justice Kagan Justice Kagan seems quite likely to hold for the defendant. She was among the majority in Alleyne, and during oral argument in Haymond she also resisted the government's efforts to compare supervised release to parole. More generally, in a variety of setting for a variety of criminal defendants, Justice Kagan has been a fairly consistent voice and vote for expanding procedural rights. It is hard to think of too many cases in which Justice Kagan has been less willing to recognize expanded constitutional rights than her colleagues. On the Bubble



Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch do not have extensive enough records as Supreme Court Justices regarding Sixth Amendment or other procedural due process rights to predict with any confidence how they will vote, which is why I have them as on the bubble. Notably, last year Justice Gorsuch was a key swing vote siding with the more liberal justices in a case where the Court held that a federal statute defining a "crime of violence" was unconstitutionally vague. See Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204 (2018). This case seems to suggest that Justice Gorsuch is not disinclined to strike down federal statutes even to benefit criminal offenders. Notably, during oral argument, Justice Gorsuch also resisted the governments contention that supervised release and parole were similar, and he did not question the defendants counsel at all during oral argument. Justice Kavanaugh questioned both sides during the argument in Haymond, and he focused on the intricacies of the applicable statutes and a possible remedy. Notably, while serving on the DC Circuit, in 2015 then-Judge Kavanuagh issued a notable statement in case involving a sentence enhanced on the basis of "acquitted conduct" (available here) that included the assertion that "[a]llowing judges to rely on acquitted or uncharged conduct to impose higher sentences than they otherwise would impose seems a dubious infringement of the rights to due process and a jury trial." Given that statement, though Justice Kavanaugh could be a wild card here, I predict that he sides with the defendant. Up next, the breakdown of the predicted dissenters.

Prior related posts:

March 30, 2019 at 11:41 AM | Permalink

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Post a commentFollowing is a summary of current odd news briefs.

Bears in Russian zoo predict Ukrainian election

"Anyone but Poroshenko!" cried the crowd in a Russian zoo on Thursday as a brown bear made its way toward a butternut squash bearing a picture of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Buyan, resident of a zoo on the outskirts of Russia's Krasnoyarask city, was choosing among three squashes, each adorned with a flag depicting the main candidates in Ukraine's presidential election taking place on Sunday.

Artists use Ukraine president's candy wrappers for critical portrait

As Ukraine heads in a presidential election on Sunday, two artists have created an unflattering portrait of incumbent Petro Poroshenko using sweet wrappers and bullet casings. From Poroshenko's perspective probably the best thing about the piece is that the artists had to use 20 kilograms (44 lb) of candies made by a confectionary firm that he owns.

Dubai court restores yacht to Russia tycoon, move disputed in divorce contest

A $436 million superyacht belonging to a Russian billionaire at the center of one of the world's costliest divorce battles has been released by a Dubai court after being impounded last year, but legal wrangling over the fate of the vessel continued. Oil and gas tycoon Farkhad Akhmedov was ordered to pay about 40 percent of his fortune to his former wife Tatiana Akhmedova by London's High Court in 2016 in one of the largest divorce settlements in legal history.Bangladesh security forces stopped 29 people, mostly Rohingya Muslims, from being smuggled to Malaysia in rickety fishing boats, officials said Saturday, the latest group prevented from leaving squalid refugee camps. Lieutenant Commander Mahmud Hasan said Bangladesh Coast Guard forces found 16 women, seven children and six men waiting for the boat along the coast of the southern Saint Martin's Island early Saturday. "Among them 22 are Rohingya refugees from the Cox's Bazar camps and the rest are Bangladeshis. We have also arrested three human traffickers with a boat," Hasan told reporters. The official said they have handed over the traffickers to the police and sent the refugees back to Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world. About 740,000 of the Muslim minority fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, escaping a military crackdown in the Buddhist-majority nation in August 2017, and joining some 300,000 Rohingya already living in the overcrowded camps. Saturday's operation marked the sixth time since November that Rohingya have been intercepted attempting to get a boat to Malaysia, a more prosperous Muslim-majority nation. Bangladesh security forces last month stopped more than 100 people -- mostly Rohingya refugees -- from making the dangerous journey. People smugglers sent tens of thousands of Rohingya from the camps to Malaysia before Bangladesh launched a crackdown in 2015 following the discovery of mass graves of refugees by Thai authorities. Many people attempt to leave Bangladesh by boat while the Bay of Bengal remains calm before the arrival of monsoons at the end of March, according to coast guard officials.MANILA, Philippines  The P75 environmental fee being collected from tourists visiting the Boracay Island may increase in the coming months.

The local government of Malay, Aklan proposed to hike the fee from 75 to somewhere between P100 and P150 to finance the islands waste management program.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu has expressed support for the proposal if it will accrue to the improvement of the situation or condition of the world-renowned island.

Kasi ang environmental fee lang yata ngayon is P75 (The current environmental fee is only P75). Now if we increase this in favor of having a very clean, no garbage at saka yung ating mga environmental issues dito ay ma-address properly or ma-sustain (and its environmental issues will be addressed or sustained properly), Cimatu said during the press briefing of the Boracay inter-agency task force on Thursday.

Cimatu added that increasing the environmental fee will sustain the islands waste management program and improve the sanitary landfill located in the town of Malay.

A Love Boracay Sustainability Week is also being proposed to commemorate the islands rehabilitation next month.

It can be recalled that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay on April 26, 2018 for six months for a much-needed rehabilitation. The island was reopened to tourists in October last year amid ongoing rehabilitation.  Robie de Guzman

The post DENR backs proposed Boracay environmental fee hike appeared first on UNTV News.Senator Joel Villanueva on Saturday urged Filipino traders and employers to give fellow countrymen preferential treatment over foreign workers amid the reported influx of foreign nationals in the labor market. Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, said the Labor Code of the Philippines should be amended to ensure that 80 percent of Filipino employers collective workforce are Filipinos. Since 2016, incidents of illegal foreign workers entering our special economic zones caused an uproar due to the grave disproportionality of foreign workers to Filipino workers, Villanueva said in a statement. The senator has filed Senate Bill 1508, or an Act Mandating the Requisite Proportion of Filipino Laborers to Foreign Workers. This mandatory protection will guarantee that Filipinos will always have a fighting chance despite the rapidly shrinking global economy. The State must always uphold and uplift the rights of the Filipino laborer, Villanueva said. The Philippines, as a member-country of the International Labor Organization, is mandated to maintain open borders in allowing foreign workers to partake in the countrys labor force. However, in a world where unprecedented opportunities exist for global citizens to work in foreign countries, the need for substantive protection for Filipino citizens to meaningful opportunities remains, Villanueva said.According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate of the Philippine working population stood at 5.2 percent as of January 2019. For foreign employees to work in the country, they must secure an alien employment permit from the Department of Labor and Employment. Villanueva has been conducting committee hearings on the influx of illegal foreign workers in the country. In 2018, the National Bureau of Investigation reported to the committee that it arrested or charged 167 foreign nationals employed locally without working permits. Of those arrested, 95 percent or 159 cases involved Chinese nationals. Most of them have been arrested for illegal online gambling. The information we received from the NBI offers another perspective that we need to consider in this pressing problem of illegal foreign workers using loopholes in our system to take away jobs that Filipinos can do, Villanueva said.The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) inaugurated on Friday, March 29, 2019, a 435-linear meter concrete roadway inside Camp Aguinaldo and named it after the first fallen soldier in Marawi City.

This new road we are opening was named JC Morales Avenue to honor First Lieutenant John Carl Morales who died during a military operation against ISIS-inspired local terrorists group in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on the 23rd of May, 2017, said DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, who led the inauguration ceremony together with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

First Lieutenant Morales, who was the Company Commander of the 49th Infantry (Good Samaritan) Battalion of the Philippine Army during the siege, led his men in a six-hour firefight that led to eight enemy casualties and recovery of weapons and other rebel assets.

We hope that as we improve traffic within Camp Aguinaldo with this new road, we will likewise spread the heroism of First Lieutenant Morales and the rest of the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting for the people of Marawi City, said Secretary Villar.

DPWH allocated a total of PHP50 million to construct JC Morales Avenue which is complete with 36 inches in diameter reinforced concrete pipes manholes and 1.2-meter sidewalk on both sides.

The road project also covers the improvement and upgrading of existing roads: the 437.25-linear meter Crame Avenue Extension with a newly-constructed and opened Gate 5 that will serve as entry and exit portal from White Plains Avenue; and 415-linear meter Capinpin Avenue Extension.

The post DPWH Opens New Road Named After First Fallen Soldier in Marawi Siege appeared first on Carmudi Philippines.It seems the drama coming out from Go-Jek rides is never-ending: kidnapping accusations, complaints about customers in wheelchairs, and F-bombs hurled during rides.

Now, another Go-Jek driver has decided to launch an unhinged rant on an elderly customer all because there was a $7 difference in fare.

The implications of the fare difference seemed to be intense for the driver as he claimed it would affect his monetary incentives and if he canceled the ride, it would affect his acceptance rate of bookings.

The video of the rant was taken down by the original poster but was later re-uploaded to All Singapore Stuffs Facebook page on Saturday in the late afternoon.

In the video, the customers  an elderly couple  were seen reportedly sorting out a price difference issue with a Go-Jek officer on the phone.

Apparently, the price of the ride was around $14 when the couple booked for the ride on the Go-Jek app.

But, the duo entered the car booked for their ride only to find out that the drivers app reflected a price of around $21 instead for the trip.

The couples call to the Go-Jek customer service team happened during the ride. Go-Jek drivers are unable to cancel rides during a trip, according to the driver handbook.

It is at this moment that our intrepid driver decided to pull an Abang Go-Jek: by taking out his phone to record the whole conversation.

The couple repeatedly tried to persuade the driver that they were not targeting him but they were merely checking in with Go-Jek about the reason behind the price difference.

That did not stop the Go-Jek driver from getting triggered by the conversation, which is obviously wasting precious time that he could use to chase more clients and hit incentive requirements.

Seven dollars, you want to make an issue? the driver ranted. Waste my time! Eh, youre driving Mercedes one is it?

At multiple times during the incident, the driver flared up when the elderly couple said to the Go-Jek team on the phone that he was allegedly charging them a higher fare.

Story continues

I am not charging you! The app shows $21.10. Its not my problem! said the driver, pointing his finger at the couple. Dont accuse me.

To the credit of the couple, they said to the customer service officer that the price difference was not fair to both the driver and the customers.

However, no words could console our dear driver who kept getting triggered by the couples choice of words. At one point, the customer asked Go-Jek customer service if the driver could bear with it which sent the driver absolutely nuts.

If you sort out with Go-Jek, Go-Jek will minus out the $7 from my account, the driver explained. Let me put it clear to you, anything it becomes drivers problem. Always drivers problem. That is the problem.

Coconuts Singapore understands Go-Jek driver and rider apps may show different prices due to factors which may include possible incentives during peak periods that are borne by the company. However, it is unclear what is the cause behind this incident.

Coconuts Singapore has reached out to Go-Jek representatives to obtain more information on the incident.

In the meantime, if you see a price difference or have a grouse to raise, you can always send a support ticket to Go-Jek through their app. Just try not to aggravate the driver while youre doing that.

This article, Go-Jek Singapore drama again: Driver launches epic rant on customer all because of a $7 difference in fare, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on President Donald Trump's rally in Michigan (all times local):

10:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump has deemed the Russia investigation "the greatest hoax in the history of our country."

He is also warning that those behind the probe will "be held accountable," calling it an attempt "to tear up the fabric of our great democracy."

Trump addressed a boisterous crowd at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Thursday night.

He said: "After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is dead. This was nothing more than a sinister effort to undermine our historic election victory and to sabotage the will of the American people."

It was Trump's first political event since Attorney General William Barr released a summary that said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that his campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.

__

8:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is trying to win over Michigan voters by saying the automobile industry "was decimated and going down" before he took office.

He says his administration has taken "historic and dramatic action to save the American auto industry and defend American auto workers right here in Michigan."

Since Trump took office in 2017, auto manufacturing employment has risen by about 51,000 jobs to just over 1 million, according to the Labor Department. That's a 5 percent increase over two years.

However, GM in November announced plans to shut four U.S. auto factories and one in Canada. Two of those plants are in Michigan.

The company said the moves are necessary to stay financially healthy as GM faces large capital expenditures to shift to electric and autonomous vehicles.

__

8:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump is announcing that he will fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative after his administration proposed a 90 percent spending cut.

Story continues

Trump is telling supporters at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he will be providing $300 million for the cleanup program, framing the announcement as "breaking news."

Trump says "it's time," though it's unclear what he means.

Trump's 2020 budget offered just $30 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which receives $300 million most years to remove toxic pollution, prevent algae blooms and species invasions and restore wildlife habitat.

Governors of five states had warned the move would cost jobs, hurt tourism and jeopardize public health.

Trump says he "supports the Great Lakes," noting "they're big" and "very deep."

__

8 p.m.

President Donald Trump is using the case of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett to rile supporters at a campaign rally in Michigan.

Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed that two men attacked him and yelled he was in "MAGA country."

Prosecutors charged him with making a false police report, but abruptly dropped those charges this week, infuriating Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Trump says it's "maybe the only time I've ever agreed with the mayor of Chicago."

Trump calls the dropped charges "an embarrassment not only to Chicago. That is an embarrassment to our country, what took place there."

Smollett has maintained his innocence and insisted the attack was real. Trump's comments Thursday night are the second time he addressed the case in a matter of hours.

__

7:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump is attacking Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California as he speaks to supporters in Michigan, calling the Democratic lawmaker a "little pencil-neck."

The president is running through a list of grievances as he revels in his attorney general's summary that Special Counsel Robert Mueller could not establish that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Earlier in the event, his son Donald Trump Jr., issued similar insults incorporating Schiff's last name.

Trump says the Democratic Party, the "fake news media" and the "deep state" failed to overturn the result of the 2016 election.

He says "many people were badly hurt by this scam, but more importantly our country was hurt."

__

7:30 p.m.

A fired-up President Donald Trump is turning the end of the special counsel's Russia investigation into a political weapon at a boisterous rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Trump is telling a crowd of thousands that: "After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over."

He's also calling the investigation "nothing more than a sinister effort" to undermine his 2016 election victory and "sabotage the will of the American people."

The rally is Trump's first political event since news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of his campaign colluding with Russians.

Mueller did not, however, come to a conclusion on obstruction of justice, leaving that up to his new attorney general.

Trump is calling the report "total exoneration" and "complete vindication" nonetheless.

__

7:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump's supporters are taking a victory lap at his first political rally since the end of the Mueller investigation was announced.

The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is telling a crowd of thousands in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on America" is now "out the window."

And he's thanking his father's supporters for sticking with him, saying "it's not just our vindication, it's your vindication" too.

The Justice Department announced Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia  but that Mueller did not reach a conclusion on obstruction.

Trump Jr. is also taking repeated shots at Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti, who was arrested this week, saying the lawyer went from "Avenatti 2020 to Avenatti 20-25. Maybe 50."

__

5:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is turning his attention to 2020 now that the special counsel's investigation is largely behind him.

Trump is heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a rally Thursday night  his first political event since the Justice Department said Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia's election meddling.

As he left the White House, Trump said, "Michigan is booming."

Loyal supporters started lining up in front of the Van Andel Arena on Wednesday evening, with some camping out in tents and sleeping bags overnight. By midafternoon, a crowd of thousands, many in red "Make America Great Again" hats, snaked for blocks around downtown Grand Rapids, just across the river from The Gerald Ford Presidential Museum.Five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, prompting Israeli tanks to respond by firing on Hamas military posts early Sunday, hours after a massive Palestinian protest along the border between Israel and Gaza. The rocket attack and Israeli response did not cause any casualties, according to the Israeli army and witnesses in Gaza. The Israeli tanks fired at Hamas posts in the central Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City, witnesses said. Tens of thousands of Gazans earlier gathered at the Israeli border to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations. Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during a demonstration ahead of the main rally and three 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded. But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise. Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections. Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence. Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm. Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence. East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire. The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers. An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar. Israel's army said around 40,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered in spots throughout the border. It said grenades and explosive devices were hurled at troops, who responded "in accordance with standard operating procedures". - Negotiated calm - Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed. At least 50 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the protests began, charity Save the Children said. In the run-up to the anniversary, long-time mediator Egypt had shuttled back and forth in a bid to avoid major bloodshed. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday's protest "a very important message" that thousands had gathered "peacefully to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza". He confirmed that Egypt had made progress towards a deal that media reports said would see Israel allow more Qatari aid into the strip and ease some restrictions. In exchange Hamas would maintain calm at the border protests. Khalil al-Hayya, another senior figure in the Islamist movement, said they were expecting to receive a timetable from Israel on Sunday. There was no Israeli comment on the alleged agreement. Israel goes to the polls in a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz. He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has faced accusations of being soft on Hamas, including from former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned in November the day after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was agreed. The anniversary came only days after another severe flare-up between Israel and Hamas, sparked by a rare long-range rocket strike from Gaza that struck north of Tel Aviv. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm. The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation. Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border. It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers' use of live fire has come under heavy criticism. In February a United Nations probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes. Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean. Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the protests. Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza's only other gateway to the outside world. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and others. Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers and clashed with soldiers. Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float them over the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes and farmland.File photo: President Rodrigo Duterte reads out the names of alleged narco-politicians

MANILA, Philippines  Malacanang on Friday assured that President Rodrigo Duterte will not give special treatment to local celebrities who are included on the list of personalities involved in illegal drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that at least 31 local celebrities are on their narcotics list.

No, the President doesnt give special treatment to anyone if you have noticed, Panelo told reporters at a press briefing.

The Presidential Spokesman, however, clarified that the President has yet to decide on whether to release the list of narco-celebrities.

We will wait for the Presidents judgment on that, he said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Oscar Albayalde earlier said he is in favor of releasing the names of celebrities on the drugs list while PDEA expressed reservations on the proposal.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, said the list should only be released when allegations about certain actors were validated and backed by enough and strong evidence.

Lacson added that a persons involvement in illegal drugs should be proven in court.

And I think its unfair to make public these names tapos later on especially ngayon mag-e-election tapos babawiin. Eh, papaano ang di nakarinig ang binawi? Ang narinig lang o napanood lang [noong] in-announce? Di ba unfair yan? he said.  Robie de Guzman (with details from Rosalie Coz)

The post Malacanang: No special treatment for drug-linked celebrities appeared first on UNTV News.AFPTV

Aerial shots show the scale of destruction in Mayfield, Kentucky after extreme weather left the town in ruins. Mayfield is the worst-hit town from ferocious tornadoes that swept across parts of the US overnight on Friday, killing at least 94 people in several states, but officials cautioned that the toll could still rise.Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., subsidiary MPCALA Holdings, Inc., has started the construction of the 27-km Cavite segment of the 45-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAEX).

The PHP12 billion project is expected to cut the travel time of motorists coming from Cavite going to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)-Mamplasan Interchange from 2.5 hours to less than 45 minutes. The government estimates that around 50,000 cars will be taken off the streets when the CALAEX becomes fully operational.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said that the project is part of President Rodrigo Dutertes vision to connect Luzon from north to south. Dubbed the Luzon Spine Expressway Network (LSEN), the governments plan is to increase the current 300-km stretch expressway to 1,000 km by 2022.

We will deliver not just on our promise to solve traffic, but to bring development to our provinces, Villar said.

Aside from reducing travel time to less than an hour, the expressways will further help develop the provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

Currently, Cavite has the biggest population in the countrys provinces, setting an estimated 4.1 million in the countrys demographic. Moreover, the CALABARZON is one of the most productive regions in the country, averaging almost 20 percent of the Philippines Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) President and Chief Executive Officer Rodrigo Franco said that the Laguna segment of CALAEX is in full swing, and is expected to open the first section during the third quarter or as early as July this year.

The post Most Advanced Expressway CALAEX Cuts Travel Time from Cavite to SLEX to Under 45 Minutes appeared first on Carmudi Philippines.Pinoy fishers urged: Avoid Scarborough

posted March 31, 2019 at 12:50 am by Manila Standard March 31, 2019 at 12:50 am

Allegations of harassment of Filipino fishermen by the Chinese Coast Guard at the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal had returned to the limelight, prompting the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to advise the fishermen to avoid sailing to the area. READ: Pinoys now free to fish in ScarboroughPalace In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, beamed nationwide, BFAR National Director Eduardo Gongona said the fishermen should keep away from the area, both separately disputed by the Philippines and China. Gongona told the fishermen to concentrate on the countrys municipal waters to check what could be a rising tension between Manila and Beijing. This followed a purported campaign video of senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares which was circulated online, discussing the alleged harassment against Filipino fishermen by the Chinese Coast Guard. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo earlier urged those behind the documentary to show proof of the harassment before the Philippine government could file a diplomatic protest. The Northern Luzon Command has since clarified that there were no reports of Filipino fishermen being subjected to the said attack of Chinese water cannons, and so far, there were no sightings of dredging ships in the waters of Bajo De Masinloc or in the West Philippine Sea. The alleged harassment may be raised by President Rodrigo Duterte during his upcoming visit to Beijing next month, the Palace had said on Wednesday. In an interview on ANC, heard nationwide, Panelo said: I think he (Duterte) will raise that as an issue during the visit [to China]. The President immediately raises issues like that, but not in a way that hed seem to be running amok. In November 2018, the President strengthened the countrys bilateral relations with Beijing.Upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the President will attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China in April. Panelo has previously maintained the Philippine government will definitely protest the supposed harassment of Filipino fishermen once proven true. As far as I know, (Chinese) ambassador Zhao Jianhua told me that the fishermen there are not being harassed. Now if there is a violation, then we will have to go back to them and say, Hey, they say theres a violation, you better stop it, Panelo said in a Palace press briefing Monday. The policy is always, You cannot be harassing our fishermen, he added. Beijing and Manila have previously agreed to let fishermen freely navigate the disputed waters except for marine protected areas. However, this was not the first time that reports of alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen have been raised. In fact, it was reported a number of times in recent months, including an incident where the Chinese Coast Guard drove away a local television crew from Panatag Shoal. In November 2018, the President called on China, including Southeast Asian leaders who are claimant of the contested waters, to practice self-restraint in dealing with the resource-filled seas in order to avoid actions that may further complicate situations. Asean countries and China have also discussed the creation of a binding Code of Conduct to address tensions in the West Philippine Sea. The code, however, is set to be finalized in three years. READ: Duterte pooh-poohs ICC case vs Chinas leader

COMMENT DISCLAIMER: Reader comments posted on this Web site are not in any way endorsed by Manila Standard. Comments are views by manilastandard.net readers who exercise their right to free expression and they do not necessarily represent or reflect the position or viewpoint of manilastandard.net. While reserving this publications right to delete comments that are deemed offensive, indecent or inconsistent with Manila Standard editorial standards, Manila Standard may not be held liable for any false information posted by readers in this comments section.Pioneering Hong Kong architect Tao Ho, who designed the citys post-handover flag and emblem, has died at age 82.

Ho died in Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai on Friday morning, three days after he was admitted with pneumonia, his daughter Noelle Ho Ying and son-in-law Lam Wai-shan said on Saturday.

Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and industry veterans paid tribute to Ho, who was remembered for his passion in designing public spaces in the city and introducing modern architecture to Hong Kong.

Lam expressed deep sorrow over his death. She said he was a distinguished architect held in high regard in his sector, with his name and works world renowned.

I was grieved to learn of Dr Hos passing. On behalf of the government, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family, she said.

Former Hong Kong Institute of Architects president Vincent Ng Wing-shun said: He was a pioneer in designing the citys public buildings like the Arts Centre [in Wan Chai] at a time when most architects were still focusing on real estate projects.

Ho was described as outspoken during his presidency at the institute from 1997 to 1998.

He promoted Hong Kong architecture and encouraged us to speak up, Ng added. In fact, he openly criticised the design of the Central Library [in Causeway Bay], which was quite rare.

Born in Shanghai in 1936, Ho moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1941. He studied at Pui Ching Middle School from 1950 to 1956. He then attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts to study under famed art historians Lane Faison and Whitney Stoddard, and graduated in 1960.

Ho went on to Harvard Universitys Graduate School of Design and earned a masters degree in architecture in 1964. At Harvard, he caught the eye of pioneering German architect Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus School, and influential critic Sigfried Giedion.

After returning to Hong Kong he began teaching architecture and design at Chinese University.

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In 1968, Ho founded Taoho Design, a multidisciplinary studio.

William Tseng Yen-wei, who worked for Ho as a project director for seven years, said the Arts Centres design was a breakthrough in Hong Kong.

Its a rare practice for local architects to put all the cultural venues including black box, theatres, gallery and multifunctional areas into one vertical development. Dont forget it is a very small site. The Arts Centre itself is also an art piece. It looks timeless even after so many years, he said.

The centre was inaugurated in 1977.

Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing, himself a pioneer in green architecture in Hong Kong, said Ho had inspired him at a public lecture. He highlighted the importance of energy efficiency and harmony with nature. He was used to using philosophical means to present his design and concept.

Ho was also known for heritage preservation and led the revitalisation of the iconic red-brick Western Market in Sheung Wan.

His other well-known designs include the Special Room Block at St Stephens College in Stanley, the engineering building at Chinese University and the old campus of Baptist University. In 1997, the Shanghai Construction Bureau awarded Ho the First Distinction Design Prize for the citys 212-metre King Tower office block, which at the time of completion was the tallest skyscraper in mainland China.

Tseng said Ho was well respected on the mainland.

In 1987-88, a contest was held to design the regional flag and emblem that would be adopted after the handover in 1997. More than 4,000 designs were put forward but all submissions were eventually rejected after meetings in the mainland. Instead, three designers, including Ho, were asked to submit proposals.

Hos work was finally accepted and approved by the National Peoples Congress in 1990.

The design centred on an image of the bauhinia flower, a colonial Hong Kong emblem. Ho chose a red background and incorporated one star into each of the five bauhinia petals, a reference to the red background and five stars on Chinas national flag, which represent the relationship of the people to the Communist Party.

In 2002 during a business trip on the mainland, Ho suffered a stroke which left him paralysed and bedridden.

He was probably the Chinese architect getting the most awards from the institute, especially at a time when the market was dominated by Western architectural companies, Tseng said.

Ho is survived by his second wife Irene and four children: Suenn, Shu, Dien and Noelle.

This article Pioneering architect Tao Ho, known for designing Hong Kong Bauhinia flag and buildings such as Arts Centre, dies at age 82 first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.A new blackout hit Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities on Friday, the third major electricity outage in the crisis-plagued country this month. The blackout began around 7:10 pm (2310 GMT), leaving the capital as well as cities including Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without electricity, according to users on social media networks. It is the third time since March 7 that a major power outage has hit Venezuela -- worsening the already-dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a major political showdown between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido. Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference. Earlier on Friday, the Red Cross said it would begin impartially distributing aid in Venezuela in two weeks, brushing aside the threat of political interference amid the Maduro-Guaido power struggle. Malnutrition and disease are on the rise as living conditions plummet in the oil-producing Latin American nation, which is spiraling ever deeper into economic chaos during a protracted political crisis. "We estimate that in a period of approximately 15 days we will be ready to offer help," said Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The United States -- which considers Guaido interim president along with some 50 other countries -- welcomed the announcement as a "real opportunity." Rocca told reporters in Caracas the organization would begin distributing aid mid-April, including tons of mostly US food and medical supplies that Maduro has to date refused to allow into the country -- leaving it stockpiled for weeks on the borders with Colombia and Brazil. The Red Cross -- aiming to reach 650,000 people initially -- would act according to its principles of "impartiality, neutrality and independence," he said, "without accepting interference from anyone." - 'Victory over sanctions' - Meanwhile, in a boost to Maduro, a Chinese plane loaded with 65 tons of medical aid landed in Caracas on Friday. His government celebrated it as a victory over US sanctions, which the socialist leader blames for the economic crisis. Though unpopular, Maduro has the upper hand at home, thanks to loyalty from his military chiefs and, since last weekend, the presence of 100 Russian troops. The Russian deployment to Venezuela has drawn fire from Washington, but Caracas' defense minister said Friday that "no one should be alarmed" by their presence. "We are overcoming the purported siege, the blockade, which has been undertaken by President Trump and the diabolical puppet from here in Venezuela," said vice-president Tareck El Aissami, referring to Guaido. El Aissami, on the tarmac to meet the Chinese plane, said the medical supplies were the "first cargo of several that start from this moment." It includes analgesics, surgical equipment and medicine for diseases such as diabetes. China's ambassador Li Baorong said the delivery was part of previous "cooperation agreements" with Venezuela. Speaking at a news conference in Caracas, Rocca said agreements had been put in place to guarantee aid distribution, but declined to give details. In Washington, Elliott Abrams, the envoy heading the US effort to oust Maduro, praised the Red Cross initiative and credited appeals by Guaido. "This looks like a real opportunity, and we think that it is a response to the efforts that interim President Guaido has been making," Abrams told reporters in Washington. "So it's very welcome, we hope it works, and -- assuming that it does, which we do -- the United States would be happy to put some of our aid into this method of reaching the Venezuelan people," he said. Maduro ordered the border closed to keep out the aid, thwarting a high-profile February 23 operation orchestrated by Guaido to bring badly needed food and medical supplies into the country where the UN says seven million people are in dire need. At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in subsequent rioting at the border. - Seven million in dire need - The socialist leader said aid would be a precursor to a US military incursion. "That was an issue that was very politicized," said Rocca. "If that help complies with our rules and our protocols, of course we are willing to distribute it." About 24 percent of Venezuela's population -- seven million people -- are in dire need of humanitarian aid, according to an internal UN report that showed malnutrition and disease were on the rise as living conditions plummet. Abrams nonetheless said the Red Cross assistance was no substitute for toppling Maduro. "The kind of aid that is needed for a broad recovery of the Venezuelan economy really cannot be put in place until the regime is replaced by democratic government," Abrams said.Vocal government critic and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova will become Slovakia's first female president after provisional results showed her winning Saturday's run-off election. Environmental lawyer Caputova got 58.40 percent of the ballot while EU energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic garnered 41.59, the Slovak Statistics Office said. Official results are due Sunday at noon. "Let us look for what connects us. Let us promote cooperation above personal interests," Caputova said after her victory. The 45-year-old added that the outcome was a sign that "you can win without attacking your opponents." "I believe this trend will also be confirmed in the elections to the European Parliament and the Slovak parliamentary elections next year." Sefcovic, the 52-year-old ruling party candidate, called Caputova to congratulate her and planned to also send flowers. "The first female president of Slovakia deserves a bouquet," he told reporters. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who belongs to the governing Smer-SD party, said he expected "constructive cooperation". Outgoing President Andrej Kiska told reporters that "Slovakia is in a moral crisis and needs a president like Zuzana Caputova." "Many countries probably envy us for we have chosen a president who symbolises values like decency." - Justice for all - Political novice Caputova, who ran on a slogan of "Stand up to evil" had earlier called the last few weeks "extremely challenging" and "an intense journey". No stranger to tough battles, Caputova won a 2016 award for successfully blocking a planned landfill in her hometown of Pezinok. More recently, she took to the streets of the central European country of 5.4 million along with tens of thousands of other anti-government protesters after investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was gunned down alongside his fiancee in February 2018. He had been preparing to publish a story on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia. The killings forced then prime minister Robert Fico to resign but he remains leader of the populist-left Smer-SD and is a close ally of the current premier. Five people have been charged, including a millionaire businessman with alleged Smer-SD ties who is suspected of ordering the murders. The European Parliament has urged Slovakia to look into "any possible political links to the crimes." MEPs voiced "concern about the allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest, impunity and revolving doors in Slovakia's circles of power." Speaking to AFP on the campaign trail, Caputova said she would "initiate systematic changes that would deprive prosecutors and the police of political influence." In addition to fighting for justice for all, Caputova has promised better care for the elderly and environmental protection. - 'Protest vote' - Earlier this week, she won an endorsement from Jozef Kuciak, the slain journalist's brother, who denounced Sefcovic for his ties to the political establishment. "I will not vote for someone supported by oligarchs and their people who have deprived me of my brother and sister-in-law," he said. Observers have compared Caputova to French President Emmanuel Macron, an outsider who swept to power on a reformist agenda. "A similar story unfolded during the last presidential election in France, where the representative of the new political trend and a new political movement prevailed," analyst Aneta Vilagi told AFP. But analyst Juraj Marusiak cautioned that both "their programmes were formulated within vague contours, so they can also bring great disappointment." "Caputova, like Macron, is a symbol of a very hazily defined hope." IT technician Oliver Strycek said Caputova's lack of political experience was refreshing. "I don't see anyone among our politicians who'd be trustworthy, not even within the opposition parties," said the 55-year-old Bratislava voter. Data analyst Viliam Gregus, 28, in the southern town of Komarno, said his choice of Caputova was "a protest vote against Sefcovic and the ruling coalition." Artist Andrej Petrovic, 37, applauded Caputova's landfill battle, adding: "She will be good for this country." Though the office is largely ceremonial, the president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.BATANGAS, Philippines  The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Thursday (March 28) raised the alert level in Taal Volcanos main crater after a series of abnormal activities.

The agency, however, said the situation should not be a cause for panic.

Alert Level 1 remains in effect over Taal Volcano. This means that hazardous eruption is not imminent. The public, however, is reminded that the Main Crater should be strictly off-limits because sudden steam explosions may occur and high concentrations of toxic gases may accumulate, the agency said on its website.

The public is also reminded that the entire volcano island is a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ), and permanent settlement on the island is strongly not recommended, it added.

Phivolcs recorded a series of earthquakes, at least 50 tremors, within the vicinity of the lake since March 22 this year.

Taal Volcano, which sits at the center of Taal Lake, had its most destructive eruptions in 1749, 1754, 1911, and 1965.

In February, Phivolcs officer-in-charge and DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum, Jr. said that a major eruption of Taal Volcano may affect 100,000 to 200,000 people in Batangas and adjacent provinces.

The phenomenon may also trigger an ash fall that could reach and affect Metro Manila.  Marje Pelayo

The post Taal Volcano in abnormal state; no reason for panic  Phivolcs appeared first on UNTV News.Nine Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their checkpoints and launched a follow-up ambush in the eastern Afghanistan city of Ghazni, officials said Saturday. The assault began early Friday when the Taliban attacked two adjacent checkpoints, Ghazni police spokesman Ahmad Khan Seerat told AFP. The Taliban then ambushed a group of police rushing to the scene, killing the local police head, Seerat added. In all, nine policemen were killed and six were wounded, he said. Arif Noori, spokesman for the Ghazni governor, confirmed the toll. In August, Taliban fighters briefly held Ghazni, a city of about 300,000 people some 150 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Kabul, before they were pushed out by US air strikes and Afghan forces. Noori added that in a separate part of Ghazni province Friday, a mortar round hit a school, killing four students and wounding 15 students and teachers. "The Taliban and security forces were fighting nearby when the incident happened. We have sent a delegation to investigate the incident," Noori said. Friday's attacks highlight the ongoing fragility of Afghanistan's security and the risks faced by local forces stationed at vulnerable checkpoints. President Ashraf Ghani in January said 45,000 security forces have been killed since he took office in September 2014. On their Twitter account, the Taliban claimed to have killed 12 "soldiers", though the group frequently exaggerates numbers. Meanwhile in Zabul in southern Afghanistan late Friday, Gul Islam Seyal, spokesman for the local governor, told AFP that four police were killed and two wounded after a "Taliban infiltrator" opened fire at a checkpoint. The attacks come as the United States seeks to broker a peace accord with the Taliban and the Kabul government, more than 17 years since the US-led invasion that ousted the Islamist fighters.The Thai king has revoked the royal decorations of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, citing his conviction and "extremely inappropriate" flight from the country, according to an announcement published Saturday. The statement in the Royal Gazette from King Maha Vajiralongkorn comes almost a week after the country held its first election since a military coup in 2014 installed a royalist junta. Pheu Thai, a political party linked to Thaksin, is now jostling with the junta-backed Phalang Pracharat for the right to form a government. The billionaire told AFP in an interview last week that the election was "rigged". The royal statement said the king "recalls the royal decorations" from the former premier "because Mr. Thaksin was convicted by the Supreme Court". "Moreover, he has fled the kingdom which is extremely inappropriate behaviour." The ex-premier was stripped of the "illustrious order of Chula Chom Klao", typically bestowed for service to the country. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled the country in 2008. He was convicted in Thailand on corruption charges. His sister Yingluck became prime minister in 2011 before being removed in the coup three years later. King Vajiralongkorn had issued an announcement on election eve calling for Thais to support "good" people to prevent "chaos" -- a declaration replayed right before polls opened on March 24. The monarch also sent jitters across the country in February after a party linked to the Shinawatras nominated Princess Ubolratana as a candidate for prime minister -- which he swiftly called "inappropriate" in a royal rebuke. The party was dissolved and its executives barred from political life for ten years. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.If you traveled to China in recent years, its hard not to be wowed by how pervasive e-payment is in the worlds most populous country. Most of my Chinese friends travel around without even carrying a wallet or any cash. Yet they are able to go shopping, pay for their meals, commute on public transport and perform all sorts of micro-transactions using just the e-wallet on their mobile phones.

The Singapore government has a vision to move Singapore towards cashless nation powered by digital payment, but adoption rate has been slow here due to various factors such as the easy availability of cash due to our strong network of ATMs; consumer culture; and too many different players in the payment market that is making it hard for merchants to decide which ones to stake their bets on.

As such, Singapore still has a lot to learn from China in terms of e-payment and moving towards a true cashless society.

One of the most popular e-wallet service in China is WeChat Pay and WeChat launched WeChat Pay MY in Malaysia last year in August, making Malaysia the first country outside of China to have the WeChat Pay integrated into the countrys payment eco-system.

In Singapore, while there are points where WeChat Pay users from China can make payments, WeChat Pay is not integrated with the Singapore banking system and we are unable to easily sign up and transact using Singapore dollar like our counterparts in Malaysia who can transact with ease in Malaysian ringgit with WeChat Pay MY.

Earlier this week, WeChat Pay MY held a launch event in Kuala Lumpur, announcing plans to expand WeChat Pay merchant base in Malaysia.

(From left) Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent, YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance of Malaysia, YB Tuan Chong Chieng Jen, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, and Jason Siew, CEO, WeChat Pay MY, launching the first ever WeChat Pay MY Conference Advancing the Future of Malaysia Digital Landscape with WeChat Pay MY.

(From left) Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent, YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance of Malaysia, YB Tuan Chong Chieng Jen, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, and Jason Siew, CEO, WeChat Pay MY, launching the first ever WeChat Pay MY Conference Advancing the Future of Malaysia Digital Landscape with WeChat Pay MY.

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In Malaysia, WeChat Pay MY supports various types of value-added services from online services such as mobile credit top-ups as well as flight and bus ticket purchases, to offline transactions at retail outlets. Currently, a WeChat Pay MY user can purchase items at retail stores by just scanning a QR code and punching in his payment PIN on his mobile phone.

Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent, presenting his speech on WeChat Pay MYs role in Malaysias digital payment landscape.

Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent, presenting his speech on WeChat Pay MYs role in Malaysias digital payment landscape.

Malaysia is one of the standout emerging markets that has quickly adopted to mobile payments. Our mission is to facilitate the development of the Malaysian digital economy by introducing local users and businesses with a simple, secure and convenient mobile payment experience. We believe that with enhanced public awareness, engagements and exposure, we will be able to play a role in leading Malaysians digital ecosystem into the next level, shared Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent, the parent company of WeChat.

Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY, giving his speech on the future innovations and offerings WeChat Pay MY will be bringing to Malaysia.

Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY, giving his speech on the future innovations and offerings WeChat Pay MY will be bringing to Malaysia.

We are currently working on expanding our merchant base to include more outlets similar to KK Mart and Starbucks. This will sequentially give users more opportunities to use WeChat Pay MY for easier and more seamless payment transactions, added Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY.

YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance, Malaysia, presenting his speech on digital payments and how mobile payment aids in bringing a better Malaysia.

YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance, Malaysia, presenting his speech on digital payments and how mobile payment aids in bringing a better Malaysia.

To demonstrate WeChat Pay MYs resolve to lead the way in the digital payment arena, WeChat Pay MY put together its first showcase of how it intends to encourage adoption and usage of mobile payments in the near future at the launch event.

(From left) YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Finance Minister of Malaysia, presenting the WeChat Pay MY application together with Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent.

(From left) YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Finance Minister of Malaysia, presenting the WeChat Pay MY application together with Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent.

An experience zone, simulating various innovative payment service experiences at a convenience store, a food and beverage outlet, a petrol station, and even a regular roadside vendor stall, presented how WeChat Pay MY can be applied to users daily lives.

(From left) Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY, presenting demonstrating how to make orders and payments via WeChat Pay MY to YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Finance Minister of Malaysia, while Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent looked on.

(From left) Jason Siew, CEO of WeChat Pay MY, presenting demonstrating how to make orders and payments via WeChat Pay MY to YB Tuan Lim Guan Eng, Finance Minister of Malaysia, while Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group at Tencent looked on.

More advanced services were also presented during the event. WeChat Pay MY unveiled a fully digitised vending machine to guests where payments can be made via WeChat Pay MY instead of sorting through small notes or coins to purchase an item.

The highlight for the showcase would probably be the mini-kiosk set up to demonstrate WeChat Pay MYs plan to enable users to purchase petrol. The mini-kiosk demonstrates a smart solution where users can select a petrol station, key in the amount of fuel that they would like to purchase and once they arrive at the kiosk, a camera will detect the car plate number to activate the pump. Users can then fill their tanks immediately and be on their way in no time. No more nonsense like the petrol fuel ten saga in Singapore whereby a driver was accused of cheating an elderly pump attendant to pay for his full tank petrol!

Another new service will soon be available in mamak restaurants around the Klang Valley is the online ordering service that allows users to order their choice of food and beverage through WeChat Pay MY and make payment instantly. This service provides regular mamak goers a smoother way of ordering and paying for food without having to wait for a waiter to take their orders or queue up to pay for their bill.

YB Tuan Chong Chieng Jen, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, trying out the conceptualised payment method at street store in the Experience Zone.

YB Tuan Chong Chieng Jen, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, trying out the conceptualised payment method at street store in the Experience Zone.

There was also a kuih-muih stall fashioned to show potential merchants at the event just how easy it is to conduct transactions using WeChat Pay MY, as plans are already underway to get local pasar-malam or roadside stall vendors to adopt the payment solution.

Moving forward, WeChat Pay MY envisions a convenient and rewarding lifestyle for both its users and merchants and will continue to leverage its payment platforms experience, technologies, and abilities to offer users an excellent mobile payment experience to ease everyones daily life.

The post WeChat Pay MY to expand merchant base in Malaysia  targets mamak restaurants, petrol kiosks and pasar malams in the future appeared first on Alvinology.In recent times, it seems as though this amorphous, ambiguous quality of readiness is what shapes social policy for the PAP. Of course, Im referring to Minister Heng Swee Keats recent comments that older Singaporeans are not ready for a non-Chinese PM.

Minister Heng said that with full knowledge of polls that indicate most Singaporeans would support Deputy Prime Minister Tharman for the top job. He buttresses his argument with the unshakable anecdotal evidence of my own experience walking the ground.

The reality is, of course, that public opinion has sometimes not been on the side of the government, but since when has that ever mattered?

Lets take a trip down memory lane, to look at the historical context of readiness.

1: Separation from Malaysia (1965)

Singapores status as an independent, multi-racial city-state was decided the day Stamford Raffles set foot on our shores, which is why the second we were freed from British fetters, we ran straight into Malayas arms. We have a unique identity; we are one with Malaysia. We were always meant to be free; were joining the Federation. Schizophrenic much? Sorry, the government narrative tends to mess with my head.

The abortion of Singapore from the Federation, an act so shocking that even our stiff-upper-lipped PM (peace be upon him) shed a tear, was a blow. Our young, day-old nation washow do I put itnot ready to form a government. So what did we do? Did we beg to be allowed back into Mother Malayas womb; whinge about the time not being right; complain that we didnt feel any support for independence while walking the ground?

Or did we bite our collective tongue and carry on?

2: National Service (1967)

National service is a (literal) sore spot for many young men. However, the sons of Singapore will never forget the day we enlisted, roaring and clapping, cheering as we begin two joyous years of service to the nation.

Everyone knows that national service is a highlight of every Singaporean sons life. After all, as a militarised and highly nationalistic society, we have a strong sense of moral duty and obligation to the nation that we call home. We willingly devote two years to the service of this country, and we stand ready to lay down our lives in its defence.

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Except thats not really the case, is it? We, the men of Singapore, hereby pledge that we are not ready for (and absolutely detest) national service. Despite general un-readiness, however, weve by and large accepted its necessity, so generations of boys trudge wearily to their barbers each year. Though, given that even Facebook posts pass for seditious commentary these days, I think theres little time before this three-paragraph sub-header is simply replaced with REDACTED.

I wont really be ready for that either.

3: Marina Bay Sands opens (2010)

Gambling is one of the more problematic vices, so it came as a great surprise when the government announced the construction of a national casino. An unwelcome surprise, too, given the negative response from civil and religious groups alike.

A hallmark of our civic society, Singapores well-known religious sensitivity must be the strongest indicator that society is not ready for a change or policy action. This, of course, meant that the government must have heeded the peoples (and, perhaps more importantly, religious leaders) word, and scrapped these plans.

Well, yes, but actually, no. In 2010, the casino opened its doors to the public, albeit underneath a swanky exterior that neatly disguised all indications of uncomfortable (but profitable) vice. The message is clear: A casino is worth the potential blowback, but not a minority PM.

4: Presidential Race Card (2017)

Finally, who can forget the reserved election of 2017? Poor Madam Halimah became the most controversial presidential candidate in what was supposed to be an uncontroversial race.

The job of Singapores head of state, top diplomat, and keeper of the Keys to the Kingdom (i.e. the reserves), is one of the highest offices in the land. As the role is largely ceremonial, it generally involves little political scrutiny, and Presidential elections pass smoothly as fibrous motions. Everything changed, however, when the fire nation attacked, and by fire nation, I mean Tan Cheng Bock, who in 2011 lost by a hair to former DPM Tony Tan.

When the 2017 election rolled around, the constitution was amended just in time to ensure that the next Presidential Elections could only be contested by a Malay candidate; a colossal Bock Block.

One might say that the change to the law has nothing to do with TCB, but one would have to be virtually blind to ignore the coincidence. Alas, I guess we as Singaporeans were just not ready for a President who nearly won the last election, and stood a good chance of winning this one. Thank goodness the government prevented us from making that mistake.

Mr Heng is feeling the sting of being our rebound guy.

To be frank, I dont think that Mr Heng, or the PAP, has a secret, malignant, anti-Indian agendaMr Tharman just doesnt want to be PM, a sentiment hes shared well before the recent turn of events (namely, Mr Hengs Ascension to First Assistant Sec-Gen).

Rather, the examples above prove that, like all politicians, they are simply devoid of ideology. They hold the peoples will as a weapon, not a guiding principle, wielding it when it supports them and discarding it when it doesnt. Like most politicians.

Mr Heng is feeling the sting of being, for lack of a better word, our rebound guy. Tharman said no, so weve got him instead, and thats a hard pill to swallow. But swallow Mr Heng must, or risk his credibility in the process of defending himself in such a ridiculous manner.

Have something to say about the story? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co.

The post 4 More Things Singapore Wasnt Ready For (But Happened Anyway) appeared first on RICE.LET THERE BE DARKNESS. A combination image shows the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Opera House, and the Ferris wheel before and after (bottom picture) their lights went out, as seen from the citys Luna Park for the Earth Hour environmental campaign on March 30, three hours ahead of Metro Manilas switch off at 8:30 p.m. The lights went out on two of Sydneys most famous landmarks for the 12th anniversary of the climate change awareness campaign, among the first landmarks round the world to dim their lights for the annual event. AFP

LIFE IS BUT A DREAM. Mall goers, with the nursery rhymes 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' on their minds, experience a mystifying river trip Friday, eve of the annual event Earth Hour at 8:30-9:30 p.m. when essential lights were switched off nationwide to show solidarity with other nations in celebrating the environmental awareness campaign, now on its 12th year. The message from SM management is for city residents to take an added-on shuffle and volunteer for the river cleanup in Marikina. Norman Cruz

LET THERE BE DARKNESS. A combination image shows the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Opera House, and the Ferris wheel before (top picture) and after their lights went out, as seen from the citys Luna Park for the Earth Hour environmental campaign on March 30, three hours ahead of Metro Manilas switch off at 8:30 p.m. The lights went out on two of Sydneys most famous landmarks for the 12th anniversary of the climate change awareness campaign, among the first landmarks round the world to dim their lights for the annual event. AFP

Greenfield, WWF set #AyokoNgPlastik for Earth Hour 2019Page Content

If your organization's leaders and hiring managers assume that most candidates will move to a new location for a job, they're wrong. While some job seekers in the United States will relocate, most won't.

Glassdoor Chief Economist Andrew Chamberlain pointed out at a recent event that when Amazon launched its HQ2 search, many thought it would choose a smaller, scrappier city with few tech jobs, potentially attracting workers and creating a new U.S. tech hub. But Amazon chose the Washington, D.C., area and New York Cityalthough plans to open in the latter have since been scrappedbecause these locations are where talented tech people already live.

Chamberlain was not surprised. Based on the locations of people using Glassdoor and where they are applying for jobs, he found that the vast majority don't stray far from home. A little more than 70 percent of respondents applied for a job in the metro area where they live, while only 28.5 percent sought work in a different metro area.

That means most of your applicants will come from the local area where your jobs are based, Chamberlain told attendees at Glassdoor's Best Places to Work event on Feb. 27.

Glassdoor is an employer review site based in Mill Valley, Calif.

[SHRM members-only platform: SHRM Connect]

Here are some other Glassdoor study highlights:

Salary drives candidates to move, but culture is king. An extra $10,000 in salary makes candidates only about a half percentage point more likely to move for a job. However, having a one-star higher overall Glassdoor rating (based on employee feedback) predicts that candidates will be 2.5 percentage points more likely to move for a job.

Younger workers, men and more-educated applicants are more likely to move. Adding about 10 years to an applicant's age makes that person 7 percentage points less likely to relocate. The study also found that men are 3 percentage points more likely to move than women. Meanwhile, workers with a master's degree are about 5 percentage points more likely to move for a job.

Time to Get Creative

If job candidates won't relocate, employers need to find other ways to recruit talent, according to Martha Gimbel, research director for the Indeed Hiring Lab, the research arm of the global job search engine. Allowing employees to work remotely is one idea, she said. However, while that might work well in technology fields, it won't for a manufacturing plant in Iowa.

Other companies might consider a hybrid staffing model. For example, health care is increasingly provided using a mix of in-person visits and remote telemedicine interactions, particularly in rural areas. In many industries, it pays to figure out what can be done in-person and what can be staffed remotely.

If a candidate in the local area doesn't have the exact qualifications for a job, employers may want to offer training so the applicant gains the necessary skills. Offering to help subsidize child care can allow some applicants to take a job they otherwise might have refused.

Gimbel said she's seen an increase in the hiring of workers with disabilities. To lure job candidates, companies may want to promote their employee resource groups for these workers.

Pamela Babcock is a freelance writer based in the New York City area.

Get More Hi-Phi Nation Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcastsand much more. Sign up today. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to Hi-Phi Nation Copy this link and add it in your podcast app. copy link copied! For detailed instructions, see our Slate Plus podcasts page.

A few days after the March 15 New Zealand mosque massacre, Dr. Thaya Ashman heard about a woman who was too afraid to come out in public in her hijab for fear of being targeted. So Ashman had the idea to invite every person in New Zealand to wear a headscarf in public. The result was quite different from what happened in America three years ago, when a woman who tried to make a similar gesture of goodwill toward Muslims incurred the wrath of evangelical Christians on social media. On this episode, Barry revisits that incident in light of the New Zealand massacre and discusses how it helped write the next chapter in a thousand-year-old controversy concerning Christianity, Islam, their shared origins, and the nature of God. We look at whether Christians and Muslims worship the same god, and what it takes to answer that question. Guest voices include Thaya Ashman, Larycia Hawkins, Michael Mangis, Karly Bothman, Paul Griffiths, and Amir Hussain.

For all back episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 of Hi-Phi Nation, visit www.hiphination.org.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hiphination/

Email: hiphination@slate.com

Twitter: @hiphinationThe psychosis made him do it. Firebrand conspiracy theorist Alex Jones pointed the finger at what he described as a form of psychosis for spreading the theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was all staged. The Infowars host made the claim in a deposition as part of a lawsuit filed against him by the family of one of the 20 children who were killed in the shooting that left 27 people dead. The deposition was posted online by a Texas law firm that is representing some of the Sandy Hook families. Huffpost has posted a transcript of the deposition online.

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During the deposition, Jones, who had previously suggested the shooting was a hoax, acknowledged it was real but fell sort of really taking responsibility for amplifying claims that the parents of dead children were lying. I, myself, have almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though Im now learning a lot of times things arent staged, Jones said. So I think, as a pundit, someone giving an opinion, that, you know, my opinions have been wrong; but they were never wrong consciously to hurt people.

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The lawyer representing Sandy Hook parents went back on that point and asked Jones about his psychosis claim. Well, Im just saying that the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything beginsyou dont trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they dont know what reality is, Jones said. The radio host added that in the past he thought everything was a conspiracy but now he knows better and sees that its more in the middle.

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Jones faces eight lawsuits over his comments about the Sandy Hook massacre that are seeking millions in damages for his claims. And even though he seemed contrite in the deposition, only days after he blamed psychosis for his conspiracy theories he was back on the air making outlandish allegations about Sandy Hook parents. Huffpost notes that in a March 25 broadcast, Jones claimed that the father of one of the kids who was killed in Sandy Hook who had been found dead of an apparent suicide was actually murdered to distract from the release of the summary of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

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Writing for the Cut in a story published Friday afternoon, Lucy Flores described her encounter with the thenvice president of the United States. Biden had traveled to Nevada before the midterm election to help turn out Democratic voters and appeared at an event for Flores, she wrote.

According to Flores account, she was standing in a room next to the stage, waiting to be introduced, when Biden approached her:

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As I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me? I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, I didnt wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual fuck? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair? He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldnt process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused. There is a Spanish saying, tragame tierra, it means, earth, swallow me whole.

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Flores then described how the encounter left her feeling powerless, ashamed, and confused. She did not describe the kiss as assault or even definitively sexual in nature, but she did underscore its ultimate effect: She felt he had demeaned her at a crucial moment in her career in a way that left her feeling deeply upset.

In response to the Cuts story, Biden spokesman Bill Russo gave a statement denying any knowledge of Flores account.

Vice President Biden was pleased to support Lucy Flores candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event. Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes. But Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.

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Flores appears to be the first woman to accuse Biden of inappropriate touching, but photos and stories of Biden behaving in an allegedly creepy way have circulated for a long time: He can be seen kissing Sen. Chuck Grassleys wife on the lips; placing his hand too high on a womans waist (and just generally touching strangers and female acquaintances with too much familiarity); joking he hoped a teenage girls mom has a big fence around your house while also placing his arm around that teenager; and on numerous occasions whispering into a womans ear.

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None of the women or girls involved in these encounters have complained publicly, but Flores wrote that she sees discomfort in the faces of the women in those photos. Had I never seen those pictures, I may have been able to give Biden the benefit of the doubt, she wrote. But hearing Bidens potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.Why did the Supreme Court halt Patrick Henry Murphys execution and not Domineque Rays? On Thursday night, the justices barred Texas from killing Murphy, a Buddhist, because the state refused to let a Buddhist spiritual adviser accompany him in the execution chamber. Yet just last month, a majority of the court let Alabama kill Ray, a Muslim, even though the state would not let his imam accompany him during the lethal injection. At least one conservative justice, Brett Kavanaugh, intervened to help Murphy but let Ray die alone. Why?

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Kavanaughs explanation for his change of heartthat Murphy brought his claim earlier than Rayis dubious if not outright wrong. Perhaps, in truth, they feel duly shamed by the bipartisan public backlash to their callous treatment of Ray. Maybe they were stung by Justice Elena Kagans fierce dissent in the Ray case. Or maybe a white Buddhist inmate like Murphy is simply more sympathetic to the conservative justices than a black Muslim inmate like Ray. Whatever the reason, Thursdays decision marked an overdue embrace of the basic respect for religious liberty that the Constitution affords religious minorities.

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Murphy and Rays cases are, legally, nearly indistinguishable. Both men wanted a spiritual adviser present when the state was due to execute them. But Alabama would not allow an imam to accompany Ray, and Texas would not allow a Buddhist adviser to accompany Murphy. Both states, however, were willing to provide a Christian chaplain to death row inmates at execution. (Texas, unlike Alabama, also allows a Muslim spiritual adviser to attend executions, which would be of no benefit to Murphy.) Ray and Murphy sued, noting that this discriminatory treatment of religious minorities clearly violates the First Amendments Establishment Clause by favoring one religion over another.

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In February, by a 54 vote, the Supreme Court turned Ray away and let Alabama kill him, over Kagans scathing dissent. The majority claimed that Ray made his request too late. On Thursday, the court blocked Texas from killing Murphy. The majority believed that Murphy, unlike Ray, made his request in what Kavanaugh called a sufficiently timely manner. And so it forbade the execution unless Texas permits Murphys Buddhist spiritual adviser or another Buddhist reverend of the States choosing to accompany Murphy in the execution chamber during the execution.

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On the surface, the courts belief that Murphys request was timelier than Rays might seem plausible. Murphy asked for a spiritual adviser one month before his execution date, while Ray asked for one less than two weeks prior to his execution on Feb. 7. But Ray did not discover that he could not have his imam present until Jan. 23. Thats because Alabama statute states that an inmates spiritual adviser of choice may be present at an execution, and Ray understandably assumed that law authorized his imam to be present at his execution. It wasnt until Jan. 23 that the state provided Ray with confidential regulations that only allow a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber. After Ray discovered this secret rule, he filed his federal lawsuit in five days, seeking a stay of execution until he could secure his imams presence. As Cassy Stubbs, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Capital Punishment Project, told Slate, there is no evidence that Ray sat on the claim or was dilatory in any way.

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Why did the Supreme Court spare Murphy but not Ray?

Murphy, by contrast, has had notice of Texas death chamber regulations for years. Since 2012, the states official policy has excluded all but prison employees from the chamber during executions. And there are no Buddhist spiritual advisers who work for the prison. This rule, unlike Alabamas, is public. Moreover, when the state confirmed that it would not allow a Buddhist spiritual adviser to attend his execution, Murphy waited more than two weeks to file a lawsuit. In all pertinent details, Murphys claim was less timely than Raysas both the federal district and appeals court explained in denying his suit. And when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Murphys claim, one justice wrote separately to chastise his longtime attorney, David Dow, for his alleged history of attempting to thwart executions through frivolous last-minute suits.

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So why did the Supreme Court spare Murphy but not Ray? In his brief concurring opinion, Kavanaugh wrote cryptically that under all the circumstances of this case, I conclude that Murphy made his request to the State in a sufficiently timely mannerwhich, again, is highly debatable. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito did not note their votes, so it is unclear if they agreed to halt the execution or dissented silently. (Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented.) Thus, we know with certainty only that Kavanaugh flipped.

The most generous explanation of Kavanaughs vote is that Kagan persuaded him that he failed to honor Rays constitutional rights. Her dissent in that case was so devastating, so comprehensive and meticulous, that it may have opened Kavanaughs eyes to the bigotry on display. Kagan described the courts treatment of Ray as profoundly wrong, a direct affront to the Constitutions core principle of denominational neutrality. Alabamas justification for its flagrant religious discrimination was laughably pretextual. Perhaps Kavanaugh absorbed this dissent, along with widespread, bipartisan public backlash, and changed his mind. He may have also realized the horrible optics of the courts insensitivity to the religious liberty of Muslims as it bends over backward to appease conservative Christians. Or he might just be more solicitous to the religious freedom of a white Buddhist than to that of a black Muslim.

Whatever the reason Kavanaugh flipped, it is gratifying that a majority of the court finally grasps the grave constitutional harms inflicted by discriminatory execution policies. Texas and Alabama seek to favor compel religious minorities to die without spiritual comfort. The Constitution obviously forbids such intentional religious inequality. And despite the best efforts of Texas, Alabama, and several conservative justices, executioners cannot suspend the First Amendment in their death chambers.The European Union has said an external company would be auditing READ: Euro NGOs hit for funding Reds The EU now will verify and evaluate these documents. A financial audit by an external company is due to be conducted in April, the EU Delegation in Manila said in a statement. The Philippine government on March 28 submitted documents and pieces of evidence to EU Program Manager on Governance Louis Dey and Belgian Ambassador Michel Goffin, asking the two parties to immediately cease the release of funds. In a related development:  A New Peoples Army top commander of the Pulang Bagani Command-2 and his vice commander operating in Eastern Mindanao were presented to President Rodrigo Dutertes daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio following their surrender to the military last Thursday. NPA commanders Bong and Igong met the local chief executive shortly after the change of command rites inside the 103rd Infantry Brigade at Purok 9, Barangay Mahayag, Bunawan District in Davao City. In her short dialogue with the two leaders, Carpio informed them of their free access to government programs.The EU has yet to verify the allegations as it noted that the NGO concerned was registered and continued to operate legally in the Philippines. Should the allegations be established, the EU immediately would take full legal action, it said. Meanwhile, the Belgium embassy in Manila said it was taking the claim seriously and had immediately started investigating the matter, together with European authorities. The funding of non-governmental organizations is subject to strong legal requirements under Belgian law. Should these abuses be established, the Belgian government will not hesitate to stop its support and to seek to recover the amounts already disbursed, Goffin said in a statement. The bloc underscored that CPP and the NPA were recognized by the EU as terrorist groups, which means that no asset could be held in EU by these organizations. In Manila, Malacanang said the EU should cease its funding to the groups alleged to be acting as legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo agreed with the move of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. formally asking the EU to stop financing alleged communists-linked groups . The EU should [cease its funding]. The funding would [only] be used in destabilizing the government, Panelo told reporters on Friday. If these are legal [communist] fronts and their main purpose is to break down the government, then the EU should reconsider [funding them]. READ: Stop funding Red fronts Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue gathering information on the alleged front groups of the CPP-NPA. AFP public affairs office chief Noel Detoyato told PNA on Friday: The AFP will continue gathering information to unearth hidden or embedded organizations in the identified fronts as mentioned in the documents submitted to EU.He said: The AFP will continue supporting this endeavor to cut off the foreign funds that is being squandered by the recipient front organizations by funneling it to fund the armed groups and other effort(s) to subvert the Philippine government.A military official, meanwhile, said the communist rebels defeat in Victoria, Northern Samar, on Thursday, where three insurgents were killed and another was captured, indicated that the revolutionary movement was running out of cadres capable of fighting a war. Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday National Democratic Front consultant Francisco Fernandez and his wife, Cleofe Lagtapon, were being given full medical attention following their arrest on March 24 in Liliw, Laguna. In a letter to EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, Esperon warned the EU that funds were being used to propagate terrorism through international alliances and networks. He claimed that communist-linked groups were using the funds to finance the recruitment, trafficking and exploitation of children to become child warriors. He said EU funds were being used to recruit and exploit vulnerable sectors such as indigenous people, the systematic destruction of the latters culture and value system and the murder of their leaders. Esperon said three Belgian non-government organizations such as SOLIDAGRO, Viva Salud and KIYO had indirectly and unwittingly partnered with NGOs here that he claimed to be acting as legal fronts of the CPP-NPA. Esperon then tagged 10 groups that supposedly received the funds: the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, IBON Foundation, Karapatan, Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc., the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, the Salugpungan Tatanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center Inc., the Alliance of Health Workers, the Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela and ACT. Some of these groups, however, had previously rejected Esperons claim.The Davao City executive encouraged the two former NPA leaders to reveal their motives and concerns for joining the armed group so the City Government could address and attend to them. The two NPA leaders handed their two M16 rifles, a cal. 45 pistol and one 9mm Glock pistol to military officials led by Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr., commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Both NPA commanders surrendered to the 3rd Infantry Battalion after their group figured in fierce encounter with troops last March 22. Shortly after yielding to the military, the two underwent debriefing where they revealed a supposed armory of their comrades leading to the discovery of an M14 rifles and six M16 rifles. Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said the surrender of Bong and Igong came after troops under Lt. Col Oscar Partuza were validating reports on the presence of NPAs in Barangay Tambobong, Baguio District, Davao City. In the process, a five-minute gunfight ensued with a rebel band resulting to the deathof one NPA and the capture of one M16 rifle and a ca. 45 pistol. Lt. Gen. Santos reiterated his call to the NPAs to surrender and for other stakeholders to assist in facilitating them. With the help of our different stakeholders who are always there to help, come down and avail (yourselves) of the social reform program of the government for you to rejoin the mainstream, Lt. Gen. Santos said. The surrender is proof that the NPAs are now losing not only regular members but also leaders, he added.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in two partisan gerrymandering cases that have the potential to reshape the way Americans select their representatives. State legislatures in Maryland and North Carolina, the former controlled by Democrats and the latter by Republicans, drew their congressional district lines so as to lock in a huge advantage for the party in control. No one disputes what happened. There are emails. The question before the court is whether the Constitution forbids this kind of outcome-fixing or whether it walks on by with an expression of faint disapproval.

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This case is about voting, and the constitutional rights of free association and equal protection, and the balance of power between parties and voters. But it is also about math, because both gerrymandering and anti-gerrymandering measures have become deeply quantitative. Thats why this case included a mathematicians brief that was, as far as I know, the first such ever submitted to the Supreme Court. (Along with 10 other mathematicians, I signed onto this brief.)

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Mathematicians are like the Ents in The Lord of the Ringswe dont like to get involved in the mundane conflicts of state, which are out of sync with our slow timescale. But sometimes (and Im still inside this Ent simile, by the way), events in the world so offend our particular interests that we have to lumber in. Thats where we are now, because the oral arguments in this case were largely premised on a fundamental quantitative misapprehension about the underlying legal theory, one that could very well determine the justices decision.

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The Supreme Court has already held that partisan gerrymandering is justiciable, meaning its within the courts power to address. The question is: Wheres the line between normal partisan jockeying for legislative control and unconstitutional vote-rigging? Justice Gorsuch, questioning the plaintiffs lawyer Emmet Bondurant, cuts to what he believes to be the chase:

How much deviation from proportional representation is enough to dictate an outcome?

In math, wrong answers are bad, but wrong questions are worse. And this is the wrong question. To explain why, I need to say something about proportions, and something about Massachusetts.

In math, wrong answers are bad, but wrong questions are worse. And this is the wrong question.

Proportional representation means that the fraction of seats a party holds should be roughly equal to the fraction of votes that party won overall. Many democracies have this principle built in by law; ours doesnt. North Carolinas Legislature very carefully drew North Carolinas 13 districts to ensure that 10 of themmore than three-quarters of the wholehad a robust Republican advantage, even though Republican voters in North Carolina dont make up anything like three-quarters of the electorate. So, the North Carolina districts push the state away from proportional representation. And isnt that, Gorsuch asks, what the plaintiffs are asking the court to forbid?

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Its not. I can see why the court would want that to be the ask, because that would make its job a lot easier; theres already established precedent that a map isnt unconstitutional just because its not proportional, which would allow the court to just say no. But the plaintiffs here are asking for something different.

To see why, consider Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a Democratic state through and through, from the Berkshires to Boston Harbor. Its electorate is only about 35 percent Republican. Some parts of the state are more GOP-friendly and some less, but theres not a single congressional district with enough Republicans to make the party competitive there. Its been 22 years since a Republican has represented the state in the House of Representatives. Paul Clement, representing North Carolina in defense of its gerrymandered map, brought up this case, pointing out that Massachusetts Republicans dont complain about their lack of proportional representation and arent dragging their state Legislature into court. It might be unfortunate for them, Clement says, but I dont think its unfair. And hes right! Proportional representation, in general, is the wrong goal to strive for. It doesnt reflect what we think of as fairness.

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Then what does? The justices seemed to struggle with this point. [W]e need a baseline, Gorsuch said. And the baseline, I still think, if its not proportional representation, what is the baseline that you would have us use?

He was asking a question that had just been answered, a moment before, by Elena Kagan. The baseline is what the state would have come up with, absent partisan considerations. What else could it be? Thats how we measure harm in every other contextif someone defrauds me, the financial harm done to me is the difference between the amount of money I have and the amount of money I would have had if I hadnt been defrauded.

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In North Carolina, we have a very good sense of what the maps might look like if they hadnt been drawn with the intent of producing a 103 GOP advantage. Thats what the mathematicians brief is all about. Just as gerrymanderers use computers and extensive collections of voter data to draw tens of thousands of maps to find the one that suits their party best, mathematicians can draw tens of thousands of maps without thumbing the scale to see what neutrally drawn district maps of North Carolina tend to look like. They dont all look the same, but they have a lot in common. And fewer than 1 percent of them have 10 Republican seats. The GOP-drawn map is an extreme outlier, inexplicable except as a case of gerrymandering.

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In Massachusetts, on the other hand, the neutral maps drawn by machine confirm Clements intuition: Look at thousands and thousands of maps, and you get nine of nine Democratic-leaning districts in almost every case, which is what Massachusetts has. If Massachusetts were to have proportional representationthree out of nine Republican representativesthat would be very strong evidence of gerrymandering. The opposite of gerrymandering isnt proportional representation; the opposite of gerrymandering is not gerrymandering.

The people suing North Carolina arent asking the courts to require states to hew to an abstract norm of proportional representation; theyre asking that they throw out the outliers, the freakiest of freaky gerrymanders, leaving state lawmakers the rest of the vast universe of maps to choose from with a free hand.

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The oral arguments, from this point on, become very weird. Elena Kagan, as in all the recent gerrymandering cases, is the only justice who seems to have fully grasped what the two sides are asking for. She lays it out very clearly, as well as any math professor couldand then the rest of the court carries on as if she hadnt spoken. Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts say less but what they say is mostly right. Stephen Breyer has his own gerrymandering test, which neither side likes much. And Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, and to some extent Brett Kavanaugh, with help from Clement, collaborate on building a fictional version of the case in which the plaintiffs are asking the court to impose some form of proportional representation on the state. If you dont want to get into the math, heres a re-enactment of the argument, but about sandwiches instead:

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COUNSEL: Id like a grilled cheese. ALITO: OK, one tuna melt. COUNSEL: No, I said grilled cheese. KAVANAUGH: I hear the tuna melts good. GORSUCH: You want that tuna melt open face or closed? COUNSEL: I dont want a tuna melt, I want a GORSUCH: It seems like you dont want to just come out and say it, but dont you want a tuna melt? COUNSEL: No! KAGAN: She asked for a grilled cheese. Thats not a tuna melt because theres no tuna in it. GORSUCH: But if, as you say, you dont want a tuna melt, what do you want? Are we supposed to just make up a sandwich for you? ALITO: You come in here, you ask for a hot sandwich on toasted bread with cheese on it. To me, thats a tuna melt. BREYER: Nobody ever orders the chopped liver, but have they really given it a chance? OPPOSING COUNSEL: The framers had every opportunity to make you a tuna melt, but they chose not to.

My biggest worry is that, six months from now, well get a decision that lets the gerrymandered maps stand, on the utterly irrelevant grounds that voters dont have a constitutional right to proportional representation. In other words, the justices will simply say: Even though you want a tuna melt, we cant actually make you one, because a tuna melt isnt on the menu.

Dont be fooled. Nobody ordered the tuna melt.The State Department has made clear it was not just an idle threat. The United States will be blocking all federal aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras for their failure to address the flow of migrants. The move comes a day after President Donald Trump blamed the countries for being behind migrant caravans that make their way to the United States. We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and were not paying them anymore because they havent done a thing for us, Trump said on Friday. Trump also warned he was ready to close the southern border if Mexico doesnt do more to push back migrants.

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The State Department confirmed on Saturday that the aid threat was becoming a reality. We are carrying out the Presidents direction and ending [fiscal year] 2017 and [fiscal year] 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle, a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. We will be engaging Congress as part of this process. The Northern Triangle refers to the three northern Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The three countries were set to receive around $500 million in aid in the 2018 fiscal year plus millions more that were left over from last year, according to the Washington Post.

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The move was met with immediate criticism as New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called it a reckless announcement and urged his colleagues on both sides of he aisle to reject the initiative. U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens, Menendez said in a statement.

Trumps repeated threats to slash aid to Central American nations opened a rift in the government, with many pushing back by saying the funds help slow down migration. But Trump and his closest allies say the governments must do more to slow down the flow of people toward the United States. The slashing of aid to the three Central American countries also comes mere days after Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security, signed what she characterized as an unprecedented agreement with the Northern Triangle countries to prevent migration and help with U.S. border security.President Donald Trumps celebration of Attorney General William Barrs summary of special counsel Robert Muellers report is continuing. And his campaign is making it easy for the presidents supporters to participate in the gloating. Trumps presidential campaign has started selling $28 Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff T-shirts that feature a drawing of Rep. Adam Schiff with a pencil for a neck and a clown nose.

Little Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff



He spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking. He should be forced to resign from Congress!



Everyone should buy a Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff shirt today!



BUY Now: https://t.co/5SMsrJC8nU pic.twitter.com/v3Vvmma0e6  Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) March 29, 2019

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Trump has repeatedly slammed the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee since Barrs summary was released. And the T-shirt refers to a term that Trump used to describe theDemocrat during a rally in Michigan on Thursday. Little pencil-neck Adam Schiff. Hes got the smallest, thinnest neck Ive ever seen, the president said. He is not a long-ball hitter, but I saw him today, Well we dont really know, there still could have been some Russia collusion. The president went on: Sick, sick. These are sick people.

TRUMP: "Little pencil neck Adam Schiff. He has the smallest, thinnest neck I have ever seen. He is not a long-ball hitter." #BeBest pic.twitter.com/NW7oU3z4Il  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 28, 2019

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Trump and other Republicans have said Schiff should be forced to resign from Congress after the release of the Barr summary. Schiff has raised the ire of Republicans for sticking to his guns after the Barr summary was released, vowing to continue investigating the issue. Undoubtedly there is collusion, Schiff said in an interview with the Washington Post earlier this week. We will continue to investigate the counterintelligence issues. That is, is the president or people around him compromised in any way by a hostile foreign power?  It doesnt appear that was any part of Muellers report.

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Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019

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Trumps supporters who want to celebrate the Barr report have other options to spend their money. The Trump campaign is also selling a $30 T-shirt that features a screenshot of Trumps No Collusion celebratory tweet after the Barr report.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.The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.Outlawgrabbingears turned in a thoroughly dominant performance Friday evening at Fraser Downs in winning the $75,000 Keith Linton Memorial for three-year-old colt and geldings pacers, and in doing so the colt stretched his winning streak to five in a row.

Sent off as the 2-5 favourite in the contest, Outlawgrabbingears was sent right to the position of command by co-owner/trainer/driver Paul Davies. Together they whacked out fractions of :27.1, :56. and 1:24 before using a :28.1 closing quarter to win by 2-1/4 lengths over Go Nine O in a career-best and track record-setting clocking of 1:52.1. Taking home third prize in the rich tilt was Major Winker.

The previous track standard for three-year-old pacing colts was the 1:52.4 speed established by Trust The Artist in 2007. Canadian Pharoh holds the record for geldings at 1:51.3.

Davies shares ownership on the son of Smart Shark-Grand Slam with his wife, Nicole, and Deborah Pinel. After a 7-for-9 rookie season which landed him $103,625 in earnings, Outlawgrabbingears is now 2-for-2 this year with a seasonal bankroll that stands at $42,500. The talented pacer was bred in Alberta by the Outlaw Stable of Falun.

To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results  Fraser Downs.In this week's 'Rewind' column Robert Smith recalls the Armbro name, undoubtedly the best known and respected name ever associated with Canadian harness racing.

In this week's Rewind column Robert Smith recalls the Armbro name, undoubtedly the best known and respected name ever associated with Canadian harness racing. His story traces the origins of the Armbro name and discusses a bit of the tremendous influence that two generations of the Armstrong family have contributed to the sport.

Nearly 70 years ago a couple of enterprising brothers decided to venture into the world of harness racing, having dabbled a bit previously with the thoroughbreds. Just what their dreams and aspirations were in the beginning I am not certain. What I do know is that the brothers Elgin and Ted Armstrong wrote the book on excellence in our sport over the next several decades.



Elgin Armstrong co-founder and owner of the famed Armbro operation appears in a 1960's photo with Armbro Flight one of their early stars. The daughter of Helicopter was a standout on the track and later joined their broodmare band Elgin Armstrong co-founder and owner of the famed Armbro operation appears in a 1960's photo with Armbro Flight one of their early stars. The daughter of Helicopter was a standout on the track and later joined their broodmare band

By the 1960's Elgin's son Charlie also became involved; he added even more class and integrity. From a humble beginning, their vision carried them to a place in history that positions them in very special territory. In 2004 the Armstrong dynasty closed out its long and successful existence, but the Armbro name will forever be etched in the history of Canadian Harness Racing.



Charlie Armstrong pays a visit to a group of Armbro farm residents in this 1980's photo. Visible in the background are several of the structures that were part of the new complex built in 1978. Charlie Armstrong pays a visit to a group of Armbro farm residents in this 1980's photo. Visible in the background are several of the structures that were part of the new complex built in 1978.

I have chosen to display a few old photos and ads that tell a small portion of the Armstrong history and its resulting success. A story of this magnitude is not told in one simple episode, but rather could fill many. If anyone in the reading audience has something relevant to add please do so as it will only enhance the story.

Over the years the Armstrong operation allied itself with the most proficient people in the industry. From their earliest days, they dealt with the top trainers and drivers in the business. Starting with Delvin Miller, they eventually cultivated associations and working relationships with many other top people. The names of Joe O'Brien, Billy Haughton, Jack and John Kopas, Bill Wellwood and of course the ill- fated Glen Garnsey, who died so tragically at the height of his career was a mainstay in the racing operation. In the Canadian portion of the racing setup, one man was associated with the Armstrong operation for a huge portion of his professional career and that was Harold McKinley.

In 1953 as virtual newcomers to the sport, the Armstrong Brothers pulled off what has to be one of the great coups in the sport's history. They captured the prestigious Hambletonian Stake at DuQuoin, Illinois with the filly Helicopter, a filly they had purchased for a mere $7,500. After owning just a "handful" of horses they won the biggest race in the sport on their first try, a victory that would net them $63,126 for a single day's work, a record to that point in time. Despite the passage of almost 66 years, it is still a highlight that is spoken of whenever harness racing history is discussed.



Elgin Armstrong and his wife Victoria congratulate Harry Harvey, the 29-year-old driver of Helicopter, following their stunning victory in the 1953 Hambletonian. The filly was victorious in a field of 20 three-year-old trotters on that memorable day at Goshen. (Harness Horse) Elgin Armstrong and his wife Victoria congratulate Harry Harvey, the 29-year-old driver of Helicopter, following their stunning victory in the 1953 Hambletonian. The filly was victorious in a field of 20 three-year-old trotters on that memorable day at Goshen. (Harness Horse)

Dr. Glen Brown joined the Armstrong family operation in 1958 and remained for the duration of its existence. He saw it grow from a small operation to a huge enterprise that eventually gained world-class status. A number of other veterinarians including Dr. John McKnight and Dr. Moira Gunn were also integral parts of the world class facility. Numerous other employees staffed the operation; many serving with lengthy careers. The farm was generally acknowledged as the Standardbred breeding capital of Canada.

In 1960 the Armstrong Farm sent its first crop of yearlings to auction. A group of 15 youngsters brought a total of just over $68,000 for an average of $4,563. Just nine years later in 1969, they sold 41 head for $365,200 - an average of $8,907. In later years the numbers continued to escalate and were always at or near the top of the annual statistics.

I recently asked Dr. Brown just how the naming of the Armbro foals began and he graciously gave me some of the background that went into the annual naming process. Here are some excerpts from his letter:

"The ARMBRO came of course as an abbreviation of Armstrong Brothers. I started with Armstrong's in 1958 and the yearling crop on the ground at that time included Armbro Adanac. So the first in the alpha sequence were foals of 1957. They had a few prior foals not in the alpha sequence, such as Armbro Express, a pretty good free for aller back in those days. Obviously, the whole process had been set in place before my arrival.

"The employees were asked to submit names, and often suggested which foal it should be affixed to. The final choice was made in the early days by myself and later Dr. Gunn. I never was really that interested in the names -- I always believed a good horse had a good name. Their names were not used on the farm; they were always 'so and so's foal'. Often most saw the name for the first time when the sale catalogues were published.

"We were able to retain sole rights to the name by registering it with the USTA, and we retained that right as long as we kept breeding.

"The order was reversed in a few cases - Governor Armbro (Kentucky Futurity winner) - sounded better than the other way around. The CSHS would not let you use the Armbro prefix unless we were the breeder - not so in the U.S. There were a few cases where we bought pregnant mares and those were registered first with the U.S.T.A. Then we got C.S.H.S. papers off the U.S. certificate. I'm not sure it made a lot of sense and wasn't done very often."

The Armstrong Brothers life story is an extremely interesting tale. They were born on a farm south of Brampton. In 1929 at the dawn of the Depression they started a business known as Armstrong Brothers Company. With just a few dump trucks and a small employee base, they performed simple construction projects in the Peel County area. In time the firm grew by leaps and bounds and their scope of activity was almost endless. No job was too large for them and at one time they constructed a 100 mile strip of Highway 401 !! Their projects carried them to many parts of the globe, but Ontario was always home. With brother Ted acknowledged as "the engineering genius" of the two, the firm constantly improved in every facet of its operation. They were among the first to use computers to speed their processes.

As the years changed they too increased their business scope. They were involved with building the Welland Canal, airport runways and other massive projects. In the late 1940's, they purchased a 95-acre farm at Brampton. It was a huge source of gravel which led to yet another enterprise and also paved the way to their horse involvement. Their land holdings later included over 1,000 acres devoted to the horse interests.

Despite their rise to prominence and the enormous growth the enterprise experienced over the years, the ethics code of their business never changed. They treated everyone with the utmost respect and continued to remember their old friends and business colleagues as they had done as a fledgling operation. Virtually everything they did was aimed at contributing to the growth and wellness of the sport and business of harness racing in general and particularly in Canada. The word "Class" could be attached to anything the Armstrongs said or did, and it was always done with sincerity, good taste and caring.

In the early years the farm was located on No. 7 Hwy just west of No. 10 in the City of Brampton. That site contained around 300 acres with adjoining land leased from Elgin's son Charlie plus another 100-acre site on the edge of Caledon used as a yearling farm (Armbro Flight was raised there). In 1978 when the move to Inglewood was made, the Armstrongs put together approximately 1,100 acres which was the peak of their operation and remained so for many years. Much of that acquisition was put together by Elgin Armstrong and of course involved purchasing several farms. A number of employees lived on various farms.

The two founding fathers passed away in 1977 and 1978 and unfortunately did not see the new ultra-modern operation completed although they were both part of the original planning sessions. Dr. Brown did show Elgin through one of the barns during construction but he did not see the finished product. An interesting portion of the new land holdings known as the Smith House was saved and in fact is still standing and will undoubtedly continue to virtually forever. It is pictured below as it was in 1979 with a further description.



The Smith House designated as a historical structure has a long and interesting history. All of the barns, silos and related buildings standing at the new farm site when it was purchased were leveled. Only the farmhouse built in 1865 by John Smith, an auctioneer, farmer and MPP for Peel County in the mid-1880's was saved and restored to be a guest house. For many years it served as the front entrance view of the new farm which was built from scratch (Hoof Beats photo) The Smith House designated as a historical structure has a long and interesting history. All of the barns, silos and related buildings standing at the new farm site when it was purchased were leveled. Only the farmhouse built in 1865 by John Smith, an auctioneer, farmer and MPP for Peel County in the mid-1880's was saved and restored to be a guest house. For many years it served as the front entrance view of the new farm which was built from scratch (Hoof Beats photo)



Charlie Armstrong, son of founder Elgin Armstrong (center) is shown at the Harrisburg sale a number of years ago flanked by Dr. Moira Gunn (left) and Dr. Glen Brown on the right. Dr. Brown is seated on an Armbro trunk bearing the familiar black and orange farm and company colours. Charlie Armstrong, son of founder Elgin Armstrong (center) is shown at the Harrisburg sale a number of years ago flanked by Dr. Moira Gunn (left) and Dr. Glen Brown on the right. Dr. Brown is seated on an Armbro trunk bearing the familiar black and orange farm and company colours.



The above ad from the early days appeared in a 1967 edition of The Canadian Sportsman. It showed a new stallion Good Flyer who had just begun standing at the Farm at that time for a fee of $300 as was Armbro Express and Hoot Frost for the same fee. Rounding out the four stallion roster was Take Command at $200. Prices did escalate a bit in the years that followed. The above ad from the early days appeared in a 1967 edition of The Canadian Sportsman. It showed a new stallion Good Flyer who had just begun standing at the Farm at that time for a fee of $300 as was Armbro Express and Hoot Frost for the same fee. Rounding out the four stallion roster was Take Command at $200. Prices did escalate a bit in the years that followed.



This 1965 scene shows three Armbro farm employees during an early yearling breaking exercise. Stew Howard is the driver, I do not have identities for the other two men. This 1965 scene shows three Armbro farm employees during an early yearling breaking exercise. Stew Howard is the driver, I do not have identities for the other two men.

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance given to me by Dr. Glen Brown which was an immense help in compiling this story.Beijing, ChinaFive workers were killed and three injured in a factory explosion caused by a gas leak in eastern China, local authorities said Saturday. The blast happened Friday night at a perlite workshop in Shandong province, city officials said in a statement. All five victims were night shift workers inside the Qingzhou city factory during the explosion. Three others outside the workshop suffered mild injuries and are still in hospital under observation. The cause of the accident was initially found to be a liquefied natural gas leak, and the specific cause is under further investigation, the statement said. A company official from the Yongli Perlite Plant has also been detained by local authorities, it added. Perlite is a form of volcanic glass that is mined and processed, often used in horticulture, insulation and plastics production. The incident came barely a week after one of Chinas worst recent industrial accidents, in which an explosion at a chemical plant killed 78 people and injured hundreds. The powerful explosion in the eastern city of Yancheng toppled several buildings in the industrial park, blew out windows of nearby homes and even dented metal garage doors. It prompted the State Council, Chinas cabinet, to order a nationwide inspection of chemical firms.Deadly industrial accidents are common in China, where safety regulations are often poorly enforced. In November, a gas leak at a plant in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou, which will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, killed 24 people and injured 21 others. Leaked chloroethylene came in contact with a fire source causing the explosion, authorities said in a February report that revealed the Chinese chemical firm responsible for the accident had concealed information and misled investigators. In December, three students were killed in a blast at a Beijing university laboratory during a research experiment on wastewater treatment. Last July, a blast at a chemical plant in southwest Sichuan province left 19 dead and 12 injured. It was later revealed the company had undertaken illegal construction which did not pass safety checks. In 2015, China saw one of its worst industrial accidents when giant chemical blasts in the northern port city of Tianjin killed at least 165 people. The explosions caused more than $1 billion in damage and sparked widespread anger at a perceived lack of transparency over the accidents causes and its environmental impact.Ohio University

The MFA in Acting program at Ohio University requires the completion of 90 credit hours over the span of three years. The first year of this program is foundational in nature, and students focus on topics like voice, speech, movement, and expression. During the second year, students work to apply principles from the foundational study as well as explore Shakespeare, scene work, and how to use stage combat effectively. The final year of the program focuses on providing students with a broad overview of some of the classics of theater and also serves as the time during which students work on their thesis.

Ohio State University

Ohio State University offers an MFA in Theatre (Acting) with a focus on the creation of new works. In this program, students spend three years taking coursework that covers a variety of topics, from directing and script analysis to history and criticism courses, in addition to practical acting courses. The first year focuses on fundamentals, while the second and third years explore classical and contemporary training. A course in developing new works is also a part of the second year. In total, students will complete at least 69 credit hours and a comprehensive exam in order to fulfill the requirements of this program.

Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University offers an MFA in Acting at the Cleveland Play House, and takes a total of three years to complete. During the first two years of this program, students will focus on topics like voice training, different styles of acting, movement, and stage combat. The third year of the program involves an understudy at the Cleveland Play House as an in-resident actor. Students are also encouraged to explore professional opportunities through a showcase in New York City. In total, students are required to complete 82 credit hours including a thesis portfolio.

Kent State University

Kent State University offers an MFA in Theatre Studies with a concentration in Acting. This program requires a total of 60 credit hours, 24 of which are core courses and 36 are assigned to the concentration. Some courses in the acting concentration cover topics like movement, scene study, naturalism, and voice work. There are some elective options as well that cover topics like acting for the camera, playwriting, and musical theater. Kent State University also offers a concentration called Acting for the Returning Professional. This is designed for individuals who already have some professional acting experience, and students can earn up to 15 credit hours for past experience.The Philippines was tagged as the worlds third-largest ocean polluter in a 2015 report on plastic pollution by the Ocean Conservancy charity and the McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment, behind China and Indonesia. Our country produces 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually and 20 percent of that, or 500,000 tons, end up in the ocean. What most Filipinos dont realize is that plastic harms the undersea environment and is deadly to marine creatures that ingest or get entangled in them. Last week, news broke of a dead Cuviers beaked whale washed up in Davao City. It had 40 kilograms of plastic in its stomach. This is said to be the biggest amount of plastic found in an animal to date. Clearly we as a people are slobs. We also use too much plastic. With environmental concerns at the forefront of our consciousness in this age of climate change, action is gradually being taken on an individual and societal level to reverse the trend of profligate waste through the adoption of zero-waste practices. In May 2014, then-President Benigno Aquino Jr. signed Presidential Proclamation No. 760, declaring January as Zero-Waste Month in line with the principles of environmental awareness and action embodied in Republic Act No. 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The proclamation defines zero waste as an advocacy that promotes designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, and to conserve and recover all resources, and not indiscriminately dispose or burn them. It states further that zero waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. While there still isnt a nationwide law that imposes a total ban on the use of plastic, some LGUs and establishments around the country have begun to be more sustainable by forbidding the use of plastic bags by storekeepers. Shoppers are encouraged to bring reusable bags. Similarly, some coffee shops support diners who bring their own tumblers and bamboo or metal straws. Last week, eco-activists in Iligan City were able to bring to third and final public hearing their request for a comprehensive plastic ban ordinance. Cooki Echavez-Trinidad, who had been working on this since first quarter of 2018, said on Facebook, I am an ordinary citizen and this only proves that all of us can lobby for a plastic ban ordinance in our cities and municipalities. Likewise, individuals and collectives are springing up all over the country practicing zero-waste methods. Here are a few ways that illustrate the keywords reduce-reuse-recycle, methods by which individuals can significantly reduce their output of garbage and use of plastics. Reduce:  Bring a mess kit consisting of metal spoon, fork, and chopsticks and a reusable tumbler, and refuse plastic utensils from fast-food places.  Bring your own containers to the supermarket and palengke to hold your purchases.  Use cloth menstrual pads or menstrual cups. Reuse: Compost food scraps to use for growing vegetables.  Use ice cream containers and jars for food storage, tin cans and boxes as planters or for storage of knick-knacks.  Refurbish old furniture with paint and fabric. Recycle:  Use a glass cutter to cut bottles into tumblers, lampshades, vases, or decorative elements.  Repurpose old building materials into decor or furniture. In a bid to reduce the use of plastic packaging, some brands are offering a refilling service, like Sabon Depot in Bacoor, Cavite, that refills your container with dishwashing liquid at P25 per liter. Another brand tried this but their implementation needs work. Last weekend, Unilever opened All Things Hair Refillery Stations at Trinoma and Glorietta. Some netizens said they werent allowed to use their own clean bottles unless they were the same as the Unilever variants at the station. The station supplied empty Refillery-labeled bottles at P10 each. Others reported being given the Refillery bottles for free in trade for their empty plastic bottles. However, the use of new plastic bottles is still not a zero-waste move. Why not refill the customers bottles, whatever they may be, as long as theyre clean and dry? If the company is worried about contamination, they can provide disinfectant at the Refillery Station. Still, its a good start, and something that other brands can emulate. In Europe and the US, there are zero-waste stores where you bring your own containers for your purchases, whether produce or cereal or coffee. There is also a growing trend there toward mending and fixing things rather than buying new. Through the nationwide adoption of these and other zero-waste practices, the country can reduce the amount of plastic and resources it uses and cut the amount of garbage sent to landfills and sewers. Let us get off the list of world slobs and on to the roster of nations that care for and preserve its environment.Luxembourg and 14 other member states of the EU are preparing for the prospect of a potential new flu epidemic.

This week Luxembourg signed a contract with the pharmaceutical group Seqirus concerning the production and distribution of vaccines against the flu epidemic, along with 14 other member states of the European Commission who signed the same accord, guaranteeing access to vaccines at a competitive price in the event of a pandemic.

The group purchase of vaccines and medication against cross-border threats to health has thus become a reality for the EU.

For Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Etienne Schneider, this marks an important step. He praised the European Commission for its efforts in securing the stock of necessary vaccines for Luxembourg citizens. Due to the increase in participating members, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, representing around half of the EU and European Commission, will be able to guarantee the availability of affordable vaccines in sufficient quantities through group purchasing.

Negotiations are ongoing with a different pharmaceutical supplier for a second set of contracts, which will allow amaximisation of immunisation cover in terms of specific member state needs.In a joint statement (no pun intended), the ministries of Health and of Foreign Affairs specified that they purchased three different types of cannabis.

After thoroughly researching the offer of different producers, the Ministry of Health ordered the cannabis in December 2018. The main criteria used during the selection process were production and quality. Delivery options and costs were also taken into consideration.

Officials eventually decided to purchase the medical cannabis from a Canadian producer and consequently ordered 20 kilograms, worth 50,000. They ordered three different types of the dried plant, varying in THC and CBD levels.

The ministries currently also plan on securing a European supplier for three different cannabis oils. A call for tenders is likely to be launched within the coming weeks. Potential suppliers have to be able to deliver the product to Luxembourg by the end of 2020.

For the time being, national cannabis laws vary by country - bilateral agreements do not exist (yet). Regarding recreational cannabis, Luxembourg officials are supposedly involved in discussions with the Netherlands and Canada.

Even though the exact extent and content of these discussions have not yet been made public, Luxembourg's coalition government reportedly plans on bringing to life a government-run agency that will handle the distribution of recreational cannabis in the Grand Duchy.Norway agreed Thursday to hand back thousands of artifacts removed from Easter Island by the explorer Thor Heyerdahl during his trans-Pacific raft expeditions in the 1950s.

An agreement was signed by representatives of Oslo's Kon-Tiki Museum and officials of Chile's culture ministry at a ceremony in Santiago as part of a state visit by Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja.

The museum pieces include carved artifacts and human bones from the Rapa-Nui, the first inhabitants of the remote Chilean island in the Pacific.

"Our common interest is that the objects are returned and, above all, delivered to a well-equipped museum," said the museum's director Martin Biehl.

He warned however that the repatriation process "will take time."

Heyerdahl's family said he had long wanted to return the pieces he collected in expeditions in the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, currently exhibited in the Oslo museum.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Thor Heyerdahl Jr. who accompanied his father on one of his expeditions to the island in 1955, when he was 17.

"The repatriation is a fulfillment of my father's promise to the Rapa-Nui authorities, that the objects would be returned after they had been analyzed and published," he said.

Anthropologist and adventurer Heyerdahl became famous in 1947 when he and a crew of five crossed much of the Pacific on a reed raft, the Kon-Tiki.

He was seeking to prove his theory that the Polynesian islands could have been settled by prehistoric South American people, and not by settlers from Asia as most scholars believed.

Heyerdahl died in 2002 aged 87.

"The study of human remains -- using DNA -- could demonstrate a prehistoric contact between Rapa-Nui and South America, which was the main thesis of my father," Thor Heyerdahl Jr. said.

"As a ministry we have the mission to respond to the just demand of the Rapa-Nui people to recover their cultural heritage," Chile's Culture Minister Consuelo Valdes said in a statement.

"Today, one more step has been taken through this historic agreement with Norway, which will enable the return of valuable cultural and symbolic pieces."

The Rapa Nui island community is also demanding the British government return the Hoa Hakananai, one of the most spiritually important of the island's stone monoliths, or maois, from the British Museum.

The maoi was stolen from the island in 1868 by the captain of a British frigate and given to Queen Victoria.This post is prompted by a number of things that have left me pondering how as Christians we are to bring about change in our churches. When we strongly b...

6 years agoThe Israel/Palestine situation, with emphasis on the 435-mile long wall that helps divide the two peoples/nations, is the subject of the beautiful, sad, moving and thought-provoking new animated film,, written for the screen byand based upon his 2009 play of the same name.As animated and directed by(shown above, right, with Mr. Hare) in black/white/gray tones to which but a trace of color is very occasionally added -- only toward the conclusion do we get a riot of gorgeous color, via the graffiti that decorates the Palestinian side of the wall -- the film's loose yet rich visuals seem toan excellent complement to the very-much-worth-hearing ideas and arguments presented here.Playwright Hare, who narrates a good deal of the movie, knows better than to simply take the expected left-leaning stance toward the whole situation, in which the "solution" of the wall has proven to be every bit as much of a problem. According to the International Court of Justice, the wall is contrary to international law, yet we see an animated version of the discotheque suicide bombing that was a major precursor to the wall and can understand why it has been built.The movie is a journey, both geographically (inside the wall and in the Palestinian-occupied area outside) and emotionally/intellectually via the thoughts and ideas of a number of people we meet (Israeli and Palestinian), during which we come to better understand the reason for and the results (some of them perhaps unintended) of the wall.As you might expect from Hare, the "take" on all this is measured, low-key, intelligent and necessarily problematic. As one of many speakers we hear from during the course of the film, a presumably left-leaning Israeli, notes early on, "Eighty per cent of the terror attacks against Israel have stopped since the wall. Am I not meant to be pleased by this?!" Yes. But.For the Palestinians who must earn their living, most of whom we must assume are law-abiding and peace-loving, the wall means daily injustice writ large, via the checkpoints through which they must pass, usually waiting in impossibly long lines, often deliberately kept in that state. Does it really come down toor. As Hare notes, the first is irreversible; the second, while reversible, has so far not been.From famous Israeli writerand a Palestinian taxi driver to a Hamas torture technique used against those suspected of informing and our arrival in the huge but now-barely-there city of Nablus -- the animation for which is simply stunning -- this journey is a consistently compelling one.The finale, by the way, is a supreme example of art triumphing over oppression -- even if only in our minds and hearts.indeed., arelease that runs just 81 minutes, has its theatrical premiere this coming Wednesday, April 3, in New York City atfor a one-week run. The entire run is being shown free of charge, by the way, thanks to the generosity of the. Tickets are available via the Film Forum box-office on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of show only.After leaving a stable job at one of the United States largest investment banks, a Japanese businessman has found himself running a food service startup in Vietnam.

In 2015, Taku Tanaka decided to take a trip through Southeast Asia in order to study the regions business environment and seek out new opportunities. It was on that trip that he first realized Vietnams budding potential  particularly in the food industry.

Even though there was nothing to complain about at my job at an investment bank in the U.S., I still feel the passion of the food industry in my veins, Tanaka said.

A chameleon company

Almost immediately after, Tanaka settled in Vietnam and began working as the COO of one of the countrys most well known pizza brands, where he spent two years managing the companys finances, human resources, and sales.

With experience in Vietnams food sector under his belt, Tanaka decided it was time to establish Kamereo, a Ho Chi Minh City-based company which supports restaurants and hotels in finding suppliers and ordering from suppliers.

Kamereo is the Japanese word for chameleon, a lizard whose most outstanding feature is its ability to change colors depending on the environment.

That is also the message we want to deliver, that we will always be flexible enough to meet the needs of our customers, Tanaka explained.

Currently, the company is partnered with over 300 suppliers, restaurants, and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.

In January, Kamereo received an investment fund of US$500,000.

But even with his initial successes, the founder still admits that Kamereo is still it its starting stages and there are many parts of his platform that need to be repaired or changed.

In the long run, we hope to penetrate other markets such as Singapore and Thailand, he said, adding that he is still on the search for additional investment funds to support his business.

Not without failures

Even though Tanaka had experience working with well-known companies in Vietnam, starting his own venture was not without its setbacks.

I do not think failure is a negative thing, it challenges you to learn and grow, as long as you do not repeat the same mistakes, Tanaka says.

Like many startup founders, Tanaka has had his share of struggles, particularly in finding the right people for key positions at his company.

Though young professionals often consider working at startup to be a glamorous career, it is often difficult to find those who understood the challenges of growing a young company and who are willing to stick it out for the long haul, the founder said.

One of my most memorable failures when starting up my own company was not choosing the right person to work with, Tanaka said, adding that he and his former co-founder did not share the same goal and perspective,

Even though Tanaka admits that paperwork necessary for a business in Vietnam can be quite time-consuming and should be simplified, he is appreciative of the help he has received from this country.

The Japanese businessman has received a lot of support from Vietnamese authorities who have helped him avoid unexpected costs, many of which can be seriously detrimental to a new company, he said.

On the other hand, he commented that there should be improvements made in regards of support for foreigners like him, especially for problems related to paperwork.

There are many regulations that are harder to understand and quite outdated compared to other countries, he admitted.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Seemingly ordinary products that are widely available in Vietnam are in fact hot items that sell well at good prices on Amazon, it was revealed at the Vietnam Online Business Day 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

Tran Quy Hien, co-founder of Amazon FBA Freedom, a Facebook group encouraging Vietnamese entrepreneurs to expand their businesses to Amazon to reach worldwide customers, acknowledged that Vietnamese merchants are not new to the global shopping platform.

The Facebook group attracts people with intention to or are already selling their goods on Amazon with the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) service. FBA users store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and the company will pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products.

Top-rated Vietnamese products

Surprisingly, Vietnamese products with high sales on the online shopping platform are the most ordinary things for most Vietnamese people, such as bamboo brooms, non la (conical hat), and bamboo bags, according to Hien.

Not only do these goods appeal to the customers because of their originality, the products are also sold at much higher prices than their counterparts in Vietnam.

For instance, a Vietnamese traditional broom made of bamboo that fetches a mere $1.5 in Vietnam costs US$12 on Amazon. Similarly, G7 coffee, one of the Vietnamese renowned coffee brands, could be purchased on the online shopping platform for $21.

Other made-in-Vietnam goods sold on Amazon include Vietnamese coffee filters, pots and pans to make Vietnamese traditional dishes, and coffee, among others.

As demand for uniquely Vietnamese products is huge on Amazon, Hien advises that sellers should not compete by lower prices.

Instead, you should try to increase the products values by improving customers experience, he said.

He added that packaging should also be improved, as many customers do not purchase goods for their personal use but to give as gifts.

Hien said goods listed on Amazon do not need to be special or luxurious, but they have to be innovative to attract buyers.

One of the products originating from Vietnam favored by Amazon customers is bamboo baskets, which became one of the ten best-selling products only after a week being available for purchase.

Now, it is one of the three most searched keywords on Amazon.

While its price in Vietnam is around VND200,000 [$8.6], the item is sold at $60 on Amazon, Hien said, adding that the product still needs several adjustments to make it more appealing.

Supporting Vietnamese businesses

The Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), a non-government organization supporting businesses in the e-commerce industry, is currently looking for local specialties and outstanding products of each region, especially craft products, to be sold on online shopping platforms, helping merchants boost sales and localities to spread their special products around the world.

At the moment, the association is working with the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre to sell its signature coconut-based products online.

By the end of 2019, it is expected that 90 percent of Ben Tre businesses will be able to generate online sales, according to VECOM vice chairman Nguyen Ngoc Dung.

In addition, Dung also emphasized that e-commerce is a good way to support super small, small, and medium businesses.

In the meantime, an Amazon representative has said the platform is willing to welcome Vietnams businesses.

Currently there are around 200,000 Vietnamese merchants on Amazon, collectively raking in revenue of $1 million in 2018.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Mondays Australian Story The Invisible Man profiles refugee and author Behrouz Boochani, who won the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature, but remains detained on Manus Island.

This episode is introduced by acclaimed author Anna Funder.

The extraordinary story of Behrouz Boochani, a man who won Australias richest literary award but remains unable to set foot in this country.

In January, when No Friend But the Mountains won the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature, its author was thousands of miles away, fielding calls from the worlds media.

The stateless refugee, who has never set foot on mainland Australia, smuggled out the entire book text by text, sent from Manus island on a contraband phone.

I sent it text by text because I didnt feel safe to write it on a paper, Boochani tells Australian Story.

Winning the prize would be at once a great joy and the cruellest of torments, says author Richard Flanagan, because hes honoured by the country that keeps him imprisoned.

Born during the Iran-Iraq war and suffering persecution as a Kurd in his homeland, Boochani fled Iran, seeking refuge in Australia. Arriving on Christmas Island four days after the government toughened its stand on refugees arriving by boat, he was taken to Manus Island where he has remained ever since.

But Boochani doesnt want to be seen as a victim.

He doesnt want to be seen as simply a weak individual in a detention centre, says his friend and translator Omid Tofighian. He doesnt want to be seen as a broken human being.

This is the story of a man who overcame almost impossible odds to write a book and make a film about life and death on the tiny Pacific outpost of Manus. Its a story of courage and persistence in the face of mental and physical deprivation.

And it is a story of determination to celebrate life, even when virtually all hope of escaping a hellish situation has been dashed.

Monday April 1 at 8pm on ABC.Respected maestro Geoff Harvey, best known for the Midday show, has died, aged 83.

Harvey joined the Nine Network in 1961 on Bob Rogers Tonight Show.

In 1963, he was appointed the musical director of Tonight with Dave Allen and then worked on The John Laws Show, Tonight Show with Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall, Bandstand, Barry Crockers Sound of Music and The Don Lane Show.

But it was during The Mike Walsh Show that he became most widely known, as part of the on-air troupe, dabbling in comedy. A gifted arranger and advocate of live music, he remained with the show in its new incarnation Midday, under hosts Ray Martin, Derryn Hinch and Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was a mammoth output of live music, all under Harveys baton, day after day.

He composed the theme songs for A Current Affair, Today, Sunday and The Sullivans.

From 1984 to 2002, he was the musical director of Carols by Candlelight and later was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community as a musician and entertainer, and through support for charitable organisations.

Harvey was most recently touring the live show Senior Moments with Lex Marinos, Max Gilles, Benita Collings and John Wood.

Nine CEO Hugh Marks said, Geoff Harvey was a man of enormous talent as a musician and an entertainer. He was funny and generous entertaining Australians as the Musical Director of choice on so many of our programs across the decades alongside the likes of Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Don Lane, Ray Martin and Mike Walsh. As musical director at Nine he was the composer of memorable themes for A Current Affair and Today Show. Our condolences go out to his family and close friends at this sad time.After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in

and

, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with

friends and family. Find her at

.

Sybil Johnsons love affair with reading began in kindergarten with The Three Little Pigs. Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science.FILE PHOTO: People salvage items from a house destroyed by flood in Enjil district of Herat province, Afghanistan March 29, 2019. Picture taken March 29, 2019.REUTERS/Jalil Ahmad

By Storay Karimy, Jalil and Ahmad

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Flash floods have killed at least 32 people in western Afghanistan, destroyed homes and swept through makeshift shelters that housed displaced families, a government official said on Saturday.

Flooding caused by heavy rains started spreading on Thursday and left a trail of devastation across seven provinces, said Hasibullah Shir Khani, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

Another 12 people were missing and more than 700 houses were destroyed or severely damaged, he added.

The floods worsen an already desperate situation. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced in the region by last year's severe drought and the 17-year-long war with the Taliban.

Floods in early March caused further destruction and put this year's wheat harvest at risk.

"My house and my farmland have been destroyed by floods. If you go and see the destruction it makes you cry," said Shir Ahmad, who lives in a village in Herat province, which borders Iran.

Children waded through muddy, knee-deep floodwaters that flowed through tent camps for displaced people after the rain stopped. Some families strung salvageable clothes and bedding to dry.

Floods have destroyed hundreds of homes, some historic sites, thousands of acres of farmland, bridges and highways, said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the province.

Floods are a common occurrence in Afghanistan, although not usually this severe. The country has little infrastructure, such as ditches and sewers, to manage water run-off from rain or melting snow.

"There is huge destruction caused by floods," said Ahmad Jawed Nadem, head of refugees and repatriation for Herat. In one area, he said he saw more than 200 destroyed houses.

In Herat alone, eight people were killed, said Dr. Abdul Hakim Tamana, head of public health for the province.

"They had the drought problem, and the floods and the conflict. They are very poor people and they lose all they have," the Afghan Red Crescent Society's secretary general Nilab Mobarez said.

Story continues

"Its not as simple as they will go on with their lives."

World Vision said it appeared tens of thousands of Afghans were affected. Some residents of Badghis province were calling it the worst storm in 20 years, it said.

Iran has also been flooded by torrential rains, overwhelming emergency services in some areas.

(Reporting by Storay Karimy and Jalil Ahmad in HERAT; additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi and Rod Nickel in KABUL; Writing by Rod Nickel; Editing by Paul Tait)Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia have presented a joint bid to Unesco to secure coveted UN heritage status for couscous.The four countries applied to have the hearty dish added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which showcases the world's most treasured cultural practises, the Paris-based UN culture agency said.As with the "hummus wars" that have long roiled the Middle East, and West Africa's furious debate over who makes the best jollof rice, couscous is the subject of intense rivalry with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia all claiming to be the home of the dish.In 2016, Algeria announced a solo bid to win protected status for the dish, sparking outrage in Morocco.However, years of antagonism between neighbours and rivals over this culinary delight is perhaps over, thanks to the joint bid."It's the first time that four North African countries have come together to file a joint application," Morocco's ambassador to UNESCO Zohour Alaoui told her country's MAP news agency enthusiastically.Tunisia's UNESCO envoy Ghazi Gherairi also hailed the cooperation."Couscous, the catalyst of North African unity," he tweeted.The application will be examined at the next meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Colombia's capital Bogota in December.

Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia have presented a joint bid to Unesco to secure coveted UN heritage status for couscous.

The four countries applied to have the hearty dish added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which showcases the world's most treasured cultural practises, the Paris-based UN culture agency said.

As with the "hummus wars" that have long roiled the Middle East, and West Africa's furious debate over who makes the best jollof rice, couscous is the subject of intense rivalry with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia all claiming to be the home of the dish.

In 2016, Algeria announced a solo bid to win protected status for the dish, sparking outrage in Morocco.

However, years of antagonism between neighbours and rivals over this culinary delight is perhaps over, thanks to the joint bid.

"It's the first time that four North African countries have come together to file a joint application," Morocco's ambassador to UNESCO Zohour Alaoui told her country's MAP news agency enthusiastically.

Tunisia's UNESCO envoy Ghazi Gherairi also hailed the cooperation.

"Couscous, the catalyst of North African unity," he tweeted.

The application will be examined at the next meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Colombia's capital Bogota in December.

Nigel Dodds said the DUP would rather cancel Brexit than agree to Theresa Mays deal (Picture: PA)

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is prepared to cancel Brexit rather than risk a border in Ireland, a senior figure has said.

The DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said he would rather the UK remain in the European Union than back Theresa Mays withdrawal agreement and urged the government to return to Brussels to get changes to the border backstop.

The DUP are concerned that the backstop would create a border down the Irish Sea by placing checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Mr Dodds said on BBC Newsnight: I would stay in the European Union and remain rather than risk Northern Irelands position. Thats how strongly I feel about the union.

The DUP prop up the Tories in government. (PA)

Mr Dodds said the DUP, which prop up the Conservatives in government, had made clear they would not support Mrs Mays withdrawal agreement unless the backstop protocol was changed.

All ten of the DUP MPs dealt a blow to Theresa May on Friday when they voted against her deal for the third time.

Talks are continuing between ministers and the party in a bid to get its support for a possible fourth vote on the withdrawal agreement.

Read More:

How the newspapers covered the latest chapter in Britains Brexit chaos

Tensions run high as five people arrested at Brexit protest in London

The Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been adamant that the EU will not budge on the issue.

On Friday night he tweeted: The European Council has agreed unanimously that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.

DUP leader Arlene Foster has said: We have encouraged the government to return to Brussels on these issues and not simply to accept the position of the European Union as being unalterable.

Mrs May saw her third Brexit deal defeated in the House of Commons by 344 votes to 286, which meant the UK missed a deadline to delay Brexit to May 22.A British man accused of trying to flee Australia by jet ski says he has "no regrets" about leading police on a chase across a strait.

David Jackson, 57, was facing drugs charges in Western Australia when he allegedly tried to escape to Papua New Guinea.

He had bought a vehicle in the Queensland city of Cairns and then headed to Australia's most northern point, camping on the coast while gathering supplies such as food, petrol and a crossbow, according to local media reports.

But residents nearby were suspicious and tipped off police.

After a chase across the Torres Strait, the water between Australia and Papua New Guinea, Australia's border force caught him and his jet ski.

He told Channel 7 in Brisbane that he had got "very close" to Papua New Guinea.

He added: "Border Force got me, they chased me into the mud... they chased me into the mangroves and I got stuck in the mud.

"Yeah I know [I was close], I had to come back for fuel, they don't sell fuel over there [in Papua New Guinea]."

When asked if he had any regrets, he thought for a moment and then replied: "Nah."

On Friday, Jackson appeared before a magistrate in Cairns for a hearing on his extradition to Western Australia.

He was remanded in custody and will appear in court in Perth on 1 April.Pope Francis on Saturday joined Morocco's King Mohammed VI in saying Jerusalem should be a "symbol of peaceful coexistence" for Christians, Jews and Muslims, on the first day of a visit to the North African country. The spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI for the sake of "interreligious dialogue", according to Moroccan authorities.In a joint statement, the two leaders said Jerusalem was "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions.""The specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in the declaration released by the Vatican as the pontiff visited Rabat.The Moroccan king chairs a committee created by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to safeguard and restore Jerusalem's religious, cultural and architectural heritage.The joint statement came after US President Donald Trump's landmark recognition of the disputed city as capital of Israel, which sparked anger across the Muslim world, especially from Palestinians who see Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by clergy facing a wave of child sex abuse allegations.Opposing extremism Addressing thousands of Moroccans who had braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was "essential to oppose fanaticism".He stressed the need for "appropriate preparation of future religious guides", ahead of meeting trainee imams later on Saturday.Catholics are a tiny minority Morocco, where 99 percent of the population is Muslim. The king is revered across West Africa as "commander of the faithful".Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, the monarch also voiced opposition to radicalism."That which terrorists have in common is not religion, it's precisely the ignorance of religion. It's time that religion is no longer an alibi... for this ignorance, for this intolerance," he said.Francis rode to the ceremony in his Popemobile, passing rows of Moroccan and Vatican City flags and an estimated 12,000 well-wishers who packed the esplanade.Buildings had been repainted, lawns manicured and security stepped up ahead of the first papal visit to Morocco since John Paul II in 1985.A 17-year-old was arrested after trying to throw himself onto the king's limousine to seek the monarch's help, the police said. Some 130,000 people across Rabat watched the first stage of the pope's visit, which was beamed onto giant screens, officials said.'Right to a future' After stopping by the royal palace, Francis and Mohammed visited an institute where around 1,300 students are studying to become imams and preachers.There they heard from a French and a Nigerian student of the institute, which teaches "moderate Islam" and is backed by the king.In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country's "religious tolerance" which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely.But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim, apart from a minority who are born Jewish. Apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is a criminal offence.Those who try to "rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion" risk a prison term of up to three years.After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live "without persecution" and "without discrimination".Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa.The pope finished his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants -- including children dressed in colourful hats -- at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas."Everyone has the right to a future," said Francis, who has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees.He criticised "collective expulsions" and said ways for migrants to regularise their status should be encouraged.Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers welcomed 7,551 new arrivals in 2017, according to the charity, helping migrants access services.The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has recently surged as it has become harder for them to pass through Libya.Rabat claims to have a "humanistic" approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of "brutal arrest campaigns" and "forced displacement" to the country's southern border.On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending.(AFP)

Pope Francis on Saturday joined Morocco's King Mohammed VI in saying Jerusalem should be a "symbol of peaceful coexistence" for Christians, Jews and Muslims, on the first day of a visit to the North African country.

The spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was invited by King Mohammed VI for the sake of "interreligious dialogue", according to Moroccan authorities.

In a joint statement, the two leaders said Jerusalem was "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions."

"The specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in the declaration released by the Vatican as the pontiff visited Rabat.

The Moroccan king chairs a committee created by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to safeguard and restore Jerusalem's religious, cultural and architectural heritage.

The joint statement came after US President Donald Trump's landmark recognition of the disputed city as capital of Israel, which sparked anger across the Muslim world, especially from Palestinians who see Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by clergy facing a wave of child sex abuse allegations.

Opposing extremism

Addressing thousands of Moroccans who had braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was "essential to oppose fanaticism".

He stressed the need for "appropriate preparation of future religious guides", ahead of meeting trainee imams later on Saturday.

Catholics are a tiny minority Morocco, where 99 percent of the population is Muslim. The king is revered across West Africa as "commander of the faithful".

Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, the monarch also voiced opposition to radicalism.

Story continues

"That which terrorists have in common is not religion, it's precisely the ignorance of religion. It's time that religion is no longer an alibi... for this ignorance, for this intolerance," he said.

Francis rode to the ceremony in his Popemobile, passing rows of Moroccan and Vatican City flags and an estimated 12,000 well-wishers who packed the esplanade.

Buildings had been repainted, lawns manicured and security stepped up ahead of the first papal visit to Morocco since John Paul II in 1985.

A 17-year-old was arrested after trying to throw himself onto the king's limousine to seek the monarch's help, the police said.

Some 130,000 people across Rabat watched the first stage of the pope's visit, which was beamed onto giant screens, officials said.

'Right to a future'

After stopping by the royal palace, Francis and Mohammed visited an institute where around 1,300 students are studying to become imams and preachers.

There they heard from a French and a Nigerian student of the institute, which teaches "moderate Islam" and is backed by the king.

In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country's "religious tolerance" which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely.

But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim, apart from a minority who are born Jewish. Apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is a criminal offence.

Those who try to "rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion" risk a prison term of up to three years.

After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live "without persecution" and "without discrimination".

Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa.

The pope finished his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants -- including children dressed in colourful hats -- at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas.

"Everyone has the right to a future," said Francis, who has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees.

He criticised "collective expulsions" and said ways for migrants to regularise their status should be encouraged.

Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers welcomed 7,551 new arrivals in 2017, according to the charity, helping migrants access services.

The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has recently surged as it has become harder for them to pass through Libya.

Rabat claims to have a "humanistic" approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of "brutal arrest campaigns" and "forced displacement" to the country's southern border.

On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending.

(AFP)On 30 March 1936, the British High Commissioner of Palestine, Arthur Wauchope, inaugurated the Palestinian Broadcasting Service, the PBS.

It covered the region of Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well as parts of Egypt.

The new transmitter was in Ramallah and the broadcasting offices were in Jerusalem.

For some years I have been greatly impressed by the benefits that a well-directed broadcasting service can bring to the mind and spirit of any people who enjoy its advantages, said Wauchope on the day of the inauguration. He added that in Palestine, broadcasting would be directed for the advantage of all classes of all communities.

British-mandated Palestine

To understand the significance of the opening of the PBS, its important to put it into the context of the time.

Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1920 after World War One, the Middle East was carved up between the French and the British according to discussions held by members of the League of Nations.

Palestine was officially placed under British control and referred to as British-mandated Palestine, or Mandatory Palestine.

The majority of the population were Arab Palestinians.

But there was a big community of Jewish Palestinians that pre-dated the arrival of the British.

In fact, the mix of communities and religions, between Muslims, Christians and Jews, had been, for the most part, relatively peaceful under the Ottomans until the 1916 revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

Following the end of the Ottomans, the Balfour declaration was pronounced in 1917, a British initiative that put in place an open-ended Jewish immigration and land purchase policy.

By 1936, Palestinian Arabs were beginning to grow weary of Jewish immigration, primarily from central and Eastern Europe, and demanded Arab independence from Britain.

The growing tension exploded in April 1936, in what is referred to as the Great Revolt or the Arab revolt.

This ended in 1939, but during that time, the identities of the communities began to take shape, with many carving out their own ideas of nationhood.

Story continues

Just a year before the establishment of the Palestinian Broadcasting Service, Britain had revoked the licence of the already functioning Radio Tel Aviv.

London argued that the PBS would be more beneficial to the region.

The British government used it as part of their annual reports to the League of nations mandate commission, to argue that putting in a radio station was a sign that they were living up to the terms of the mandate, says Andrea Stanton, author of This is Jerusalem calling and associate professor of Middle East history at the university of Denver in the United States.

She adds that in setting up a radio service, London argued that they were supporting the national development for self-governance of Palestine as a territory that they were administering.

Or perhaps Britain believed that modernisation via a state-controlled radio station would resolve the growing problem of Palestine by focusing on programming aimed at pacifying each community.

This is Jerusalem

The establishment of the Palestinian Broadcasting Service, with the frequency call This is Jerusalem, aimed to service all three communities: Arabic speaking, Hebrew speaking and English speaking.

Using the city of Jerusalem in the frequency call was likely a way of finding a denominator amongst the communities explains Stanton.

This new service was modelled on the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, and as a non-commercial public station it would have a monopoly across Palestine.

Its funding was mainly from the British government, in addition to revenues from the license fees of radio sets.

Its programming was aimed to educate and elevate listeners as citizens, rather than to entertain them as consumers, explains Stanton.

Golden age of radio

Lets not forget that the 1930s was fast becoming the golden age of state-run radio across Europe and in its respective colonies across Africa and Asia.

And the mid-1930s was the shining moment in radio for the Middle East.

By the late 1930s, there were already a number of state-run stations in the region, broadcasting from Cairo, Beirut, Damascus and Mosul.

As mentioned earlier, the aim was of the PBS was to target the two major language audiences: Arabic and Hebrew.

In terms of broadcasting hours, Arabic had the bulk of the time. Different arguments made for that by the mandate officials primarily one out of population. And also the kind of subsidiary argument was that either they felt that there weren't other great options for Arabic-speakers to access whereas the Jewish population was able to listen to other European stations in various languages and presumably understand them says Stanton.

But another use of a state-controlled radio was to minimise any anti-British sentiment, particularly in the late 30s, there was a great concern among British officials in London and to the lesser extend in Palestine that other European countries, in particular Italy were broadcasting in Arabic as anti-British propaganda stresses the author.

And for that reason, censorship was still quite heavy. Rarely did any anti-colonialist line get aired across the British colonies.

Programming for the communities

As noted earlier, the High Commissioners speech at the inauguration of the Palestinian Broadcasting Service, programming would educate and elevate citizens, and not simply entertain them.

While it is hard to find any audio record of programmes on at that time, Stanton points to a fountain of information thanks to the programme guides in the newspapers.

A lot of music. Some live music by the stations music employees, orchestral... We know that there was children programming, the children's hours tended to be mostly plays. There were a lot of talks, short educational talks, 10 to15 minutes. The Arabic ones tended to be on everything from great moments in Arab world history to things like the history of orange production, details Stanton.

On the Hebrew side of the broadcasting, there was more debate on what kind of music should be played. Big debates in terms of what kinds of 'oriental music' should be played on the Hebrew side and what kind of 'Jewish, folk or eastern folk music' should be played during the Hebrew broadcasting, says the historian.

In fact the PBS had an in-house orchestra when it came to playing traditional folk music.

Rima Tarazi is a musician and chairperson of the board and a founder of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in the West Bank.

She describes memorable performances of famous Arab musicians from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, who frequently visited Palestine to perform in the major cities and in the newly established PBS.

She says that PBS actually played a major role in spreading such music across the region.

The increased airing of classical music came as more Jewish immigrants had arrived from Eastern and Central Europe. By the mid-1930s, there was an influx of classically trained European Jewish musicians who had come to Palestine, explains Stanton.

Rima adds that the PBS, while working to share and spread traditional local music, also played an important role in introducing classical music to the public.

She notes one major event during the period of the PBS was Arturo Toscaninis visit to Palestine and his conducting of the in-house orchestra.

One programme called The New Arab Home was created by Salwa Said, a Lebanese woman who married a Palestinian and moved to Palestine soon after.

Her programme aired at the turn of the 1940s for 12 episodes, and dealt with ways to help women create an ideal space, ideal domestic space, in Palestine, [and on what] a modern domestic space should look like explains Sherene Seikaly, the author of Men of Capital: scarcity and Economy in mandate Palestine and a Middle East historian at the University of California in Santa Barbara,

Much of the content in the programme dealt with household ideas, but in a way that Seikaly says highlighted a certain level of identity amongst the Palestinian woman, through an emphasis on hygiene, finance and budgeting. But there was also an emphasis on nationalism.and positioning the middle and upper class Palestinian women in a broader struggle for both social dominance as well as national self-determination.

Demand for a national radio service?

While there hasnt been any research to support the claim that there was a demand for such a service in Palestine, Andrea says radio often was a symbol of sovereignty, and perhaps a stepping stone to finally having independence.

But the PBS mission to cater to two communities that were blatantly divided may have worked to the disadvantage of London.

There was programming for the Palestinian Arab, and programming for the Hebrew-speaking European, or newly arrived immigrant. But what about the Palestinian Jew whose family had been in Palestine for generations?

One thing that is really important  and not looked enough in the main stream  is the way that Zionism and Arab nationalism colluded to make someone like the Arab Jew an impossibility. And that history is really important to recover if we're to think about the possibility of different futures, laments Seikaly.

While the PBS was able to steer Palestine into the modern era of radio, perhaps we forget that radio not only has the capacity to unite, but also to divide.

Click here for the podcast version.Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas Saturday to disperse demonstrators who turned out in Caracas to protest massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March. AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the city.Venezuela has been hit by three major power outages this month, and opposition leader Juan Guaido \-- who is recognized as interim president by some 50 countries -- had called on supporters to take to the streets to demonstrate.In the latest outage, which began Friday night, the capital Caracas and 20 out of 23 states have found themselves without electricity, and many regions remained without power on Saturday.President Nicolas Maduro has blamed previous power outages -- which worsened already dire economic and living conditions in the crisis-hit country -- on sabotage.But experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference.(AFP)

Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas Saturday to disperse demonstrators who turned out in Caracas to protest massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March.

AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the city.

Venezuela has been hit by three major power outages this month, and opposition leader Juan Guaido -- who is recognized as interim president by some 50 countries -- had called on supporters to take to the streets to demonstrate.

In the latest outage, which began Friday night, the capital Caracas and 20 out of 23 states have found themselves without electricity, and many regions remained without power on Saturday.

President Nicolas Maduro has blamed previous power outages -- which worsened already dire economic and living conditions in the crisis-hit country -- on sabotage.

But experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference.

(AFP)Protesters have blocked thespians at Paris' Sorbonne University from staging an interpretation of an ancient Greek play that depicts white actors with darkened faces. Greek theatre week is in full swing at the Sorbonne campus in Paris, just like every year since 1999. But unlike previous editions of the festival, this year anti-racism campaigners have taken offence to one particular play because several white actors were set to darken their faces to depict Egyptian characters.As actors were busy changing into their Greek costumes and applying various shades of make-up inside the Sorbonnes theatre on Monday 25 March, a crowd of around 30 students, supported by black rights activists, gathered outside.Several students contacted us saying they were not happy that the play had white actors painting their faces black, explains Ghyslain Vedeux, chairperson of the Representative Council of France's Black Associations. So we offered to support their protest.The demonstration became so heated that the Sorbonne decided to call off the performance, but not to cancel it. Ive had a lot of questions from colleagues and students asking for a new performance of the play, and I will try to do that, says Alain Tallon, director of humanities at the Sorbonne.Black face protestsThe Sorbonne has issued a communique condemning the demonstration and accusing the protestors of complete incomprehension. The Culture Minister, Frederique Vidal tweeted a joint statement with the Higher Education Minister, Franck Reister saying that the protest was contrary to academic values and the principals of the French Republic.Mondays showdown is the latest in a string of protests around Europe by rights activists to stop white people painting their faces black. Traditional festivals in France, The Netherlands and Sweden have been targeted by black rights activists, who say "blackfacing" is directly linked to the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.Blackfacing is one of several traditions that make up the Dunkirk Carnival in the northern French port, where 44 ships transporting human cargo docked during the slave trade.People run around with black faces during the Dunkirk Carnival, which is insulting to blacks, says Vedeux. Slave masters encouraged people to paint their faces black to celebrate the sale of slaves in Haiti. Culture over skin colourThe play in question, The Suppliants, by Aeschylus, is primarily a story about marriage rights in the times of ancient Greece, in which 50 high-born sisters flee forced marriage to their Egyptian cousins. The director of the play, Philippe Brunet, has taken to Facebook to explain that skin colour in ancient Greece had different connotations to the idea of race that emerged during the transatlantic slave trade and its aftermath. The difference is ethno-geographic rather than race, Brunet says in a statement on Facebook. The French constitution prevents public and private institutions from collecting statistics on race in France, unlike many other countries in Europe. Although surveys can be conducted under special circumstances. The ideal is that minorities will assimilate and become French  which has led to rights activists accusing the French government of whitewashing black identities.At the Sorbonne the pursuit of creative expression supersedes all, including racial identity. We cannot accept this form of censorship, from people with no moral or intellectual authority, says Tallon.There is little doubt that the Sorbonne remains an intellectual authority in the French-speaking world, but this week's confrontation has once again thrust the race debate to the fore in France.

Protesters have blocked thespians at Paris' Sorbonne University from staging an interpretation of an ancient Greek play that depicts white actors with darkened faces.

Greek theatre week is in full swing at the Sorbonne campus in Paris, just like every year since 1999. But unlike previous editions of the festival, this year anti-racism campaigners have taken offence to one particular play because several white actors were set to darken their faces to depict Egyptian characters.

As actors were busy changing into their Greek costumes and applying various shades of make-up inside the Sorbonnes theatre on Monday 25 March, a crowd of around 30 students, supported by black rights activists, gathered outside.

Several students contacted us saying they were not happy that the play had white actors painting their faces black, explains Ghyslain Vedeux, chairperson of the Representative Council of France's Black Associations. So we offered to support their protest.

The demonstration became so heated that the Sorbonne decided to call off the performance, but not to cancel it. Ive had a lot of questions from colleagues and students asking for a new performance of the play, and I will try to do that, says Alain Tallon, director of humanities at the Sorbonne.

Black face protests

The Sorbonne has issued a communique condemning the demonstration and accusing the protestors of complete incomprehension.

The Culture Minister, Frederique Vidal tweeted a joint statement with the Higher Education Minister, Franck Reister saying that the protest was contrary to academic values and the principals of the French Republic.

Mondays showdown is the latest in a string of protests around Europe by rights activists to stop white people painting their faces black.

Traditional festivals in France, The Netherlands and Sweden have been targeted by black rights activists, who say "blackfacing" is directly linked to the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.

Story continues

Blackfacing is one of several traditions that make up the Dunkirk Carnival in the northern French port, where 44 ships transporting human cargo docked during the slave trade.

People run around with black faces during the Dunkirk Carnival, which is insulting to blacks, says Vedeux. Slave masters encouraged people to paint their faces black to celebrate the sale of slaves in Haiti.

Culture over skin colour

The play in question, The Suppliants, by Aeschylus, is primarily a story about marriage rights in the times of ancient Greece, in which 50 high-born sisters flee forced marriage to their Egyptian cousins.

The director of the play, Philippe Brunet, has taken to Facebook to explain that skin colour in ancient Greece had different connotations to the idea of race that emerged during the transatlantic slave trade and its aftermath. The difference is ethno-geographic rather than race, Brunet says in a statement on Facebook.

The French constitution prevents public and private institutions from collecting statistics on race in France, unlike many other countries in Europe. Although surveys can be conducted under special circumstances. The ideal is that minorities will assimilate and become French  which has led to rights activists accusing the French government of whitewashing black identities.

At the Sorbonne the pursuit of creative expression supersedes all, including racial identity. We cannot accept this form of censorship, from people with no moral or intellectual authority, says Tallon.

There is little doubt that the Sorbonne remains an intellectual authority in the French-speaking world, but this week's confrontation has once again thrust the race debate to the fore in France.TUI has warned investors of a 200m (173m) hit from the decision to ground all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft following two deadly crashes in five months.

The travel operator, which currently has 15 of the planes affected, issued a profit warning as it said that it had secured replacement planes to ensure customers suffered no disruption.

Shares were 10% down on opening after it said underlying earnings were now expected to be 17% lower on the previous 12 months.

It had already downgraded its profit expectations last month when it warned that weaker profit margins in the UK would result in flat profits compared to the prior year.

TUI said it was to use some spare aircraft in its 150-strong fleet and lease others to minimise the temporary loss of the 737 MAX.

:: Boeing announces 737 MAX technical fixes

Boeing is racing to restore confidence in the plane through some technical fixes after the new model was involved in October's Lion Air incident in Indonesia and the Ethiopian Airlines crash earlier this month.

The accidents - thought to be linked to sensor and software issues - left almost 350 people dead.

TUI is the only travel firm in the UK that had been using the 737 MAX planes.

TUI said: "TUI has taken precautions along with other airlines, covering the time until mid-July, in order to be prepared for the Easter, Whitsun, and start of the summer holiday season and to secure holidays for its customers and their families."

It added that its costs would rise by a further 86m if the 737 was not back in service by that July time frame.A mother in Indiana wrote a letter to a campus newspaper saying she was ashamed for young women who wear leggings. College students responded by doing just that and launching the hashtag leggingsdayND.A concerned mothers plea urging young women at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to stop wearing leggings because they were too tempting for their male classmates to resist backfired when students showed up on campus en masse clad in the tight Spandex bottoms.Maryann White, a Catholic mother of four sons, described in a March 25 letter to the editor of The Observer, the schools student newspaper, a particularly distracting Mass during which she sat behind a group of women wearing dark leggings and short tops. You couldnt help but see those blackly naked rear ends, she wrote. I didnt want to see them, but they were unavoidable. How much more difficult for young guys to ignore them.Though she recognised that many people wear leggings because they are comfortable, White said she felt ashamed for the young women she saw at Mass and wanted to shield them, and all others inclined to don the stretchy bottoms, from unwanted ogling. Im fretting both because of unsavory guys who are looking at you creepily and nice guys who are doing everything to avoid looking at you, she wrote.Her letter didnt exactly work out the way she intended. Students at the private Catholic university organised campus-wide events on March 26 and 27 calling on people of all genders to wear leggings to support womens right to dress any way they like. On Facebook, The Legging Protest and Leggings Pride Day drew a combined 2,500 interested users, and participants used the hashtag leggingsdayND to post pictures of their outfits. Event organisers criticised White for attempting to police womens bodies and for placing the responsibility of mens actions and moral choices on women. In her letter, White wrote that the leggings problem was one that only girls can solve", and asked her readers, Could you think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead? Students posted photos of their outfits on the "Legging Protest" Facebook event page.In response, the student group Irish 4 Reproductive Health, which organised the Leggings Pride Day event, wrote that Whites argument perpetuates a narrative central to rape culture that aims to hold women accountable for others behavior. Kaitlyn Wong, a senior who created the Leggings Protest Facebook event, offered a stinging rebuke in the form of a parody of Whites letter. The belief that viewing a womans bottom is inescapable is the reason that men in our society believe that they have the power and the right to mistreat women, Wong wrote. Leggings are so stretchy, so form fitting, so comfortable. Could you think of the women who are simply looking to be comfortable as they walk through the world the next time you talk to your sons about the way that women should be treated? This story was written by Jenny Che.

A mother in Indiana wrote a letter to a campus newspaper saying she was ashamed for young women who wear leggings. College students responded by doing just that and launching the hashtag #leggingsdayND.

A concerned mothers plea urging young women at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to stop wearing leggings because they were too tempting for their male classmates to resist backfired when students showed up on campus en masse clad in the tight Spandex bottoms.

Maryann White, a Catholic mother of four sons, described in a March 25 letter to the editor of The Observer, the schools student newspaper, a particularly distracting Mass during which she sat behind a group of women wearing dark leggings and short tops. You couldnt help but see those blackly naked rear ends, she wrote. I didnt want to see them, but they were unavoidable. How much more difficult for young guys to ignore them.

Though she recognised that many people wear leggings because they are comfortable, White said she felt ashamed for the young women she saw at Mass and wanted to shield them, and all others inclined to don the stretchy bottoms, from unwanted ogling. Im fretting both because of unsavory guys who are looking at you creepily and nice guys who are doing everything to avoid looking at you, she wrote.

Her letter didnt exactly work out the way she intended. Students at the private Catholic university organised campus-wide events on March 26 and 27 calling on people of all genders to wear leggings to support womens right to dress any way they like. On Facebook, The Legging Protest and Leggings Pride Day drew a combined 2,500 interested users, and participants used the hashtag #leggingsdayND to post pictures of their outfits.









Event organisers criticised White for attempting to police womens bodies and for placing the responsibility of mens actions and moral choices on women. In her letter, White wrote that the leggings problem was one that only girls can solve", and asked her readers, Could you think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead?





Students posted photos of their outfits on the "Legging Protest" Facebook event page.

In response, the student group Irish 4 Reproductive Health, which organised the Leggings Pride Day event, wrote that Whites argument perpetuates a narrative central to rape culture that aims to hold women accountable for others behavior. Kaitlyn Wong, a senior who created the Leggings Protest Facebook event, offered a stinging rebuke in the form of a parody of Whites letter.



The belief that viewing a womans bottom is inescapable is the reason that men in our society believe that they have the power and the right to mistreat women, Wong wrote. Leggings are so stretchy, so form fitting, so comfortable. Could you think of the women who are simply looking to be comfortable as they walk through the world the next time you talk to your sons about the way that women should be treated?



This story was written by Jenny Che.At 2 PM local time, Day 1B of the WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov 1,700 Main Event is set to start here at the Kings Resort in the Czech Republic. The biggest poker room of Europe has been hosting the WSOPC for the past two weeks already with thirteen WSOP Circuit Ring handed out to players hailing from eight different countries. German players have laid claim to four rings already with Lithuania conquering three of them.

The Main Event has a guaranteed prize pool of 1,103,500 which includes ten tickets for the WSOPE Main Event which will take place right here in October this year. The first of two starting flights kicked off yesterday with 221 entries of which 96 made it through to Day 2 already. Peter Bstieler who took the Day 1A chip lead honors with 376,700 in chips. Bstieler is followed by Daniel Smiljkovic (366,500) and Georgy Philippovich (317,000) but as the last opening flights of any multi-flight tournament is expected to be the busiest, todays chip leader is predicted to bag even more than the current top chip counts.

Let's have a look at who has already won a WSOP Circuit Ring here this year:

Event #: Tournament Winner Country Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 299 Spring Opener Mohamad Arin Germany  64,321 $72,225 2 777 Lucky 7s Paulius Vaitiekunas Lithuania  34,681 $38,943 3 660 NLHE 6-Handed Irena Macesovic Lithuania  11,681 $13,116 4 250 Seniors Event Daniele Vesco Italy  6,055 $6,799 5 250 Mini Main Event Marian Uharcek Slovakia  100,623 $112,989 6 300 PLO Hi-Lo Chris Haberger Germany  8,916 $10,012 7 660 Bounty Hunter Darko Stojanovic France  13,337 $14,976 8 550 NLHE Monster Stack Kasparas Klezys Lithuania  51,207 $57,500 9 330 Seven Card Stud Kryzsztof Jaguscik Poland  5,427 $6,094 10 550 NLHE/PLO Mix Mathis Di Wosegien Germany  16,015 $17,983 11 2,000 PLO High Roller Pierre Christensen Denmark  32,300 $36,269 12 5,300 NLHE High Roller Zhong Chen Netherlands  66,500 $74,672 13 1,700 Main Event - - - - 14 220 Ladies Event Angela Jauss Germany  2,470 $2,774 15 440 NLHE Freezeout - - - -

Players opting to buy in today will receive 50,000 in chips for their 1,700 entry fee and play twelve levels of 45-minutes each. A 20-minute break will take place after every three levels with a 45-minute dinner break after the sixth level. If a player busts, they can opt to reenter once more today or tomorrow before the late registration period closes at the end of the break after Level 14 which is the second level on Day 2, March 31 (3:50 PM local time).

Structure

Level Duration Small Blind Big Blind BB Ante 1 45 100 100 - 2 45 100 200 - 3 45 100 200 200 Break 20 4 45 100 300 300 5 45 200 400 400 6 45 200 500 500 Dinner Break 45 7 45 300 600 600 8 45 300 700 700 9 45 400 800 800 Break 20 10 45 500 1,000 1,000 11 45 600 1,200 1,200 12 45 700 1,400 1,400

The Kings Resort live stream will feature a big cash game today from 8:30 PM local time and focus on the Main Event from Day 2 onwards until a winner has been crowned.

The defending champion, Emil Bise tried to make it through to Day 2 twice yesterday but fell at one of the many hurdles Day 1A brought him. He will probably be back today to try again as are many other players who are expected to flock to the poker tables to take their shot at becoming the next WSOPC Main Event Champion.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be roaming the floor to bring you all the hustle and bustle all day long from sunny Rozvadov until the final bag has been put away so make sure to follow the updates right here!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."Sister Wives" fans know that Mariah Brown, daughter of Meri and Kody Brown proposed to Audrey. Obviously, everyone wants to know when the couple plan on tying the knot. Plus, others question whether Kody will officiate. However, it looks like they don't plan to rush into married life. In fact, Mariah says school's a top priority right now.

Mariah talked about life in Chigaco, far away from the 'Sister Wives' family

When Mariah went onto her Instagram Stories to do a Q&A, she spoke about life in Chicago. Obviously, the move took her far from her "Sister Wives" family, but she seems to love it there.

One thing she loves includes grabbing a brunch. She says that she and Audrey get out to eat brunch because that's her favorite meal of the day.

However, when it comes to winter in the Midwest, there's not so much love on that side. Mariah said, "This was a rough freaking winter." Additionally, she noted that it was just "super-dark," and she never experienced so much darkness before. However, she notes, "we made it through to springtime." Now, she's just excited for summer to arrive as they have some stuff planned.

Wedding plans for 'Sister Wives' family

One of the top questions fans of "Sister Wives" ask Mariah, is when we can expect them to marry. On that, you may be disappointed to hear that any marriage's likely to be a couple of years away yet.

Mariah said, "There's so many of you asking about wedding dates. We don't have one yet." She added that "it will be a few years yet as [she's] in grad school still."

Talking about school, Mariah told "Sister Wives" fans that very likely that she will pursue a Ph.D. Mariah Brown says that she "loves school. " In fact, she "never wants to stop going to school." Mind you, she's not averse to taking a break.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

Actually, she says she's likely to work a little bit and then maybe go back to school a bit later.

Trivia questions for 'Sister Wives' Mariah Brown

Some "Sister Wives" fans asked a bit of trivia, like what she uses on her brows, and whether she ever visited Germany. On Germany, Mariah said she's never been there specifically, but did "go to Europe twice," adding that she "went right after she graduated high school." Plus, she went back two years ago.

She's been to Ireland and Holland, and "specifically " went to Amsterdam. On her favorite book, Mariah said she battles to read books, but her favorite is probably Cheryl Strayed's "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail," as it really changed her life.

What do you think about all the things Mariah Brown shared on IG with her fans? Do you think that it's wiser that they finish school before she and Audrey think about marrying? Sound off your thoughts in the comments below.

Remember to follow the Reality TV Channel on Blasting Pop for more news about "Sister Wives.""The Young and the Restless" new head writer, Josh Griffith has delivered on what has been rumored for more than two years regarding the Newman family. Adam is returning, and the role will be played by Mark Grossman. Fans have patiently waited through speculation, fake news and spoiler alerts that did not pan out. Now Soap Dirt says it is official that Victor's prodigal son will return to Genoa City. There is no word yet as to whether or not Adam come home alone or with his family in tow. Whatever happens, this will open up a can of worms regarding the relationship status of Nick, Chelsea, Conner, and Christian.

Adam's return helps the Y&R set feel like old times

Josh Griffith is doing all he can to please"Y&R" fans and bring back the glory days of Genoa City. Paul, Traci, and Dina were back on Tuesday, Reed returned on Thursday and Ashley is expected by the end of the month. Now Soap Dirt reveals that the big one has arrived. Adam Newman will grace Genoa City once more and the role has now been given the handsome Mark Grossman.

Adam was last seen in October of 2016 when he, allegedly, perished in an explosion. His return to Genoa City will be epic and "Y&R" fans will be thrilled. Soaps She Knows teases that there will be a lot of fallout, for the Newman family, now that Reed is home. The prodigal son returning will bring a slew of storyline possibilities which may help fans get over the changes made by former head writer Mal Young.

It will soon feel like old times for loyal viewers.

Adam's return brings questions

Once Mark Grossman sets foot in Genoa City as Adam Newman, there will be a lot of questions that need answering. Viewers will want to know how Adam escaped and where he has been for two and one-half years. Did Chelsea and Conner leave town to meet up with him and will they follow once he is back home?

Discuss this news on Eunomia

What will all of this mean for Nick who has been raising Christian as his own son?

The Newman family have always dealt with drama, but the return of Adam will take things to a different level. They are currently dealing with the J.T. fiasco, an enraged Reed, and an emotionally distraught Victoria. Summer just married Kyle Abbott and Abby broke up with Arturo after finding out he slept with Mia.

Nick made peace with Sharon and left Phyllis high and dry. Just as the dust is beginning to settle on these issues, the man they thought was dead will show himself very much alive. Be on the lookout for spoilers to update the return of Victor's prodigal son and continue watching "Y&R" weekday afternoons on CBS at 12"30 PM EST.Four members of the Wisconsin women's track and field team had a successful outdoor season opener at the Stanford Invitational, earning UW top-10 times in two different events.andboth competed in the invitational section of the 10,000 meters on Friday night, posting times that rank No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, all-time at UW. Davis and Monson stuck together for the majority of the 25-lap race that featured a stacked lineup, leading a chase pack through most of the race.Monson and Davis finished just under fifteen seconds apart, with Monson crossing the line in 33 minutes, 2.91 seconds while Davis clocked in with a time of 33:15.04. Friday's race marked Monson's first 10K in Badger uniform and also marked a personal best for Davis.also competed in the 10,000 meters and finished third overall in her section. Sorensen's time of 33:29.70 marks a personal best for the senior and also checks in at the No. 9 time in school history in the event.also made her way into the record books after competing in the invitational section of the 3000 meter steeplechase. The Amherst, Wisconsin, native finished fourth overall with a big personal best time of 10:05.96, which ranks No. 2 all-time at Wisconsin.In her first collegiate outdoor track meet, freshmanran hard, earning a fourth-place finish in her section of the 1500 meters, crossing the line in 4:27.92. That time marks a personal best of 8.5 seconds from her high school PR and also marks a U.S. Track and Field junior standard in the event.Junioralso raced in the 3000 steeplechase for the first time in her career. Werking finished seventh in her section of the steeplechase with a time of 10:46.49.Up next, the Badgers will head to Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Angel Classic. Hosted by Arizona State University, the Sun Angel Classic will take place on Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6.4. 4:27.927. 10:46.494. 10:05.9622. 33:02.9126. 33:15.043. 33:29.70Now that President Trump has sidestepped his first two years of domestic turmoil in one piece, China always the pragmatic strategist sees the timing to put the United States-China trade war to rest by opening the negotiations to trade concessions.

By James Dale Davidson

Trumps claim of exoneration of the always far-fetched charges that he was a pawn of Vladimir Putin may not have raised Trumps credibility with the editorial board of the New York Times or the talking heads on CNN, But Trumps stock in Beijing seems to have risen.

Reports from CNBC, CBS The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere indicate that the Chinese reaction to Muellers report will involve trade concessions on intellectual property protection, auto tariffs and foreign cloud storage (that would permit foreign providers to own data storage centers) among other issues.

Before the report was led, some Chinese observers of the US thought that President Trump faced impeachment, or at any rate, stood little chance of re-election. With that in mind, they were in no hurry to schedule a Xi-Trump summit and signing ceremony to ink a US-China trade pact. They were prepared to wait out a one-term Trump presidency and seek a better trade deal with an incoming Democrat.

Now, their calculus has changed.

With Deep State efforts to oust Trump thwarted, for the time being, the Chinese seem to have decided that their best hope for protecting their fragile economy is to defuse the trade War immediately. With that in mind, you can expect an early resolution to bring the Chinese and English texts of the draft trade truce into harmony, plus Chinese concessions as outlined above.

These expectations are reected in the week-long rally in shares of iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI). I continue to doubt that the Chinese economy will prove to be as robust as most observers believe. The sharp drop in the China-US trade surplus already recorded so far this year will tighten liquidity in the Chinese market, probably with adverse follow-on effects for the global economy, as the most credit-intensive boom in history winds down.







The United Kingdoms Brexit battle has all but rendered Prime

Minister Theresa May a lame duck. The only thing UK lawmakers agree on is that their country will not leave the EU without a deal. Beyond that, all sides are at odds.

By James DiGeorgia

British media discourse is much more civilized than it is here in the United States. New analysts reporting on the catastrophic third failed vote on Prime Minister Mays Brexit plan are describing it as another significant defeat. The truth is shes been politically destroyed and will not likely be Prime Minister for very much longer.

Thanks to a delay granted by the European Union, the very day the United Kingdom had originally been due to leave the EU, the House of Commons shot down the prime ministers eleventh-hour attempt to lock in a short extension of Article 50 until May 22 which she said would guarantee Brexit.

Her failure to pass her Brexit plan means the U.K. is now on course to leave the EU without a deal on April 12  unless Parliament and the Theresa May comes up with an alternative plan. She was quoted yesterday in her speech to the Commons that any alternative would likely now be a much longer delay to Brexit which could destroy the attempt to leave the EU

Today should have been the day the U.K. left the EU  that we are not leaving today is a matter of deep personal regret to me.

In a last-ditch attempt to persuade Tory rebels to vote with her, May promised to resign as prime minister if the Commons backed her. The offer was soundly rejected and may mean she is forced from her office at 10 Downing Street much sooner than if she had won her partys support.past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (9) Jun 18 (8) Jun 15 (9) Jun 13 (13) Jun 11 (11) Jun 09 (19) Jun 06 (10) Jun 04 (10) Jun 03 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (5) May 30 (5) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (7) May 26 (6) May 25 (4) May 23 (6) May 22 (6) May 21 (4) May 20 (7) May 19 (9) May 18 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29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1)Matthew Yglesias in Vox:

Boeing executives are offering a simple explanation for why the companys best-selling plane in the world, the 737 MAX 8, crashed twice in the past several months, leaving Jakarta, Indonesia, in October and then Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in March. Executives claimed Wednesday, March 27, that the cause was a software problem  and that a new software upgrade fixes it.

But this open-and-shut version of events conflicts with what diligent reporters in the aviation press have uncovered in the weeks since Asia, Europe, Canada, and then the United States grounded the planes.

The story begins nine years ago when Boeing was faced with a major threat to its bottom line, spurring the airline to rush a series of kludges through the certification process  with an under-resourced Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seemingly all too eager to help an American company threatened by a foreign competitor, rather than to ask tough questions about the project.

More here.Northern State wrestling off to undefeated dual season

The Northern State wrestling team is off to a hot start and has won three straight duals to open the season.BERNALILLO  With four weeks in her new position as Sandoval Countys new director of economic development, Dora Dominguez, is still settling into her new role.

In addition to experience with major economic development entities in the state, Dominguez grew up in New Mexico and relies on her past experiences to guide her future plans: plans that encompass Sandoval Countys economic future.

Last week the Observer sat down with Dominguez to ask her point of view on Right to Work, the completion of Paseo del Volcan and her goals for her first year in her new position.

Q: What is some of your past work experience and why did you chose Sandoval County?

A: I have been working in the field of economic development for over 20 years, if you count chamber management. I was with the City of Albuquerque as their senior economic developer for four years, and we had a lot of big projects that came through Albuquerque.

Prior to that, I was with the State of New Mexico Economic Development Department, and all during that time, I very much embraced what it is to be a professional economic developer, professional. Ive gone through a lot of course work, all the torture in the pain to be certified through the International Economic Development Council.

I accomplished this while working a fulltime job and raising a family. I put myself through what I consider the hardest test I have ever taken in my entire life.

I moved with my family here to New Mexico when I was 10 years old, so you can say I have seen how the economy has fluctuated in my time here. I found that you have to go out in search of development.

In Sandoval County and everything that is happening and being planned, it is important that we keep an eye how to attract new jobs, quality jobs. There is a lot of history and culture to this wonderful place.

Rio Rancho and Sandoval Countys uniqueness is that it is so new. When you have a city that is 50 years old Its that whole newness of the area that excites me.

This is a place where you can really make a difference because of how open the county is to trying new things without a lot laws that would prevent things from happening in a economic sense.

Q: What are your goals for your first year in this new position?

A: We get to see the completion of a five-year marketing and strategic plan for the county. Avalanche Consulting is getting ready to present their first draft report.

This plan is really a call to action. What do we need to do?

We need to go out and assure the community that there is a plan and a strategy, an aggressive strategy to attract business. Then we need to measure and go back out and report to folks that this is what weve accomplished.

Its now about a return, on what we contract with SEA (Sandoval Economic Alliance) to provide to the community. So my first years goal is to listen to the business community, teach them skills and get out of their way and let them run their businesses the way they see fit.

Q: How would you address county residents who say current economic development plans are taking too long?

A: I think its fair to say that it does take time to cultivate and make projects happen. Thats why we have professionals like Steve Jenkins (president of SEA) that go out and recruit.

I think that any existing business is going to say, Hey, it takes a long time for me to grow my business. It takes financing and access to a quality workforce, contracts, all kinds of things.

It comes down to how we can go out and recruit industry. What are our industry clusters? Do we know somebody that is in that industry sector?

It really comes down to looking at skill sets that are transferable to other industry sectors. You may be a mechanic, but your job affects other industries, and pushing economic growth forward means understanding the ripple effect each job has down the pipeline.

It takes time, but what I want to add is that we all play a role in it.

Q: What is your stance on Right to Work?

A: I havent heard directly that this issue has been one of the reasons weve lost a prospect or a deal.

Right now, its really been about site readiness. This has been the biggest complaint or issue I should say that I have heard can make or break a prospective business coming to town.

Q: What should be done first, build Paseo del Volcan to attract businesses or bring in businesses to complete Paseo del Volcan?

A: You have to complete the road to bring the businesses in. To not build the road is to say you dont support basic infrastructure.

When site selectors look at what investment is the government putting to an area to create an attractionto build a foundation that will support industry and manufacturing, they have to see that. Site selectors have to see that weve made that investment.

The other beauty of Paseo del Volcan is the state recognizes that the traffic is there; no one is going to say that its not. That road is a vital piece of the infrastructure that we need to move products in and around.

I think it speaks to partnership, regionalism and how we can support that. So I do think weve got to build the road.For more than 30 years, pieces of Garfield telephones kept washing ashore on the beaches of northwestern France, and no one quite knew why. Where was the lasagna-loving cartoon cat coming from?

The mystery would puzzle the locals for years. His plastic body parts, first appearing in a crevice of the Brittany coast in the mid-1980s, kept returning no matter how many times beach cleaners recovered them. Sometimes they would find only his lazy bulging eyes, or just his smug face, or his entire fat-cat body, always splayed out in the sand in a very Garfield fashion.

From the stray curly wires and the occasional dial pad, it was clear that the pieces came from the once-popular Garfield telephone, made by Tyco in the early 1980s, several years after Jim Davis first colored the famously lazy cat into his hit comic strip. The phone parts were in remarkable condition, considering they had been belched from the ocean, Claire Simonin-Le Meur, president of the environmental group Ar Viltansou, told The Washington Post. Even Garfields black stripes were still painted onto his back, where the phone hooked.

She had been searching for the origin of Garfield for years, she said, out of concern for the damage the plastic phones may be doing to the ocean  and this month, after a chance encounter on the beach, she was about to get some answers.

Simonin-Le Meur said the common belief among locals was that the phones came from a wayward shipping container that must have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, leaving environmentalists to fear Garfields plastic toxicity would continue to pollute the ocean indefinitely. In 2018 alone, at least 200 pieces of Garfield had been found on beaches in northwestern France, Franceinfo reported.

If they could just salvage the long lost shipping container, Simonin-Le Meur said, perhaps Garfield would stop coming.

We were looking for it, but we had no precise idea of where it could be, Simonin-Le Meur said. We thought it was under the sea. We asked people who were divers to look for it. We get a lot of submarines in the area too  its a military area. But they said it was not possible the container could be there and nobody saw it.

This year, however, something changed. Simonin-Le Meur got a tip.

It came from a local farmer named Rene Morvan.

All of Franceinfos recent publicity of the bizarre phenomenon and its environmental impact had apparently sparked his memory. One day last month, Simonin-Le Meur said she met Morvan on the beach while cleaning up debris  including a Garfield part.

Are you looking for Garfield? the man asked.

Simonin-Le Meur said yes, she was  she always was.

Come with me, the man told her. I can show you.

Morvan started from the beginning. Back when he was 19 or 20 years old in the mid-1980s, he told her, a storm blew through the area  and before residents knew it, Garfield telephones were scattered all over the beach, just as Simonin-Le Meur had always been told. He and his brother were curious, Morvan said, and they decided to go exploring, touring the rocky coastline until they found what they were seeking.

Wedged inside a cave, tucked into the seaside cliffs, there it was: a metal shipping container  and a cache of Garfield telephones, Morvan claimed he saw.

The story struck Simonin-Le Meur as too good to be true. The tide was too high to bring her to the cave that day, Morvan realized, and so she would have to wait to find out if he was telling the truth. The shipping container, Morvan told her, was lodged so deep in the cave that it was nearly submerged, making the trip a dangerous expedition.

But finally, last week, it was safe. The tide was low. And Morvan, Simonin-Le Meur said, ultimately was not kidding.

Filming the discovery, a group of journalists and environmentalists, Simonin-Le Meur included, climbed up the rocky shore to the caves narrow opening, finding snippets of a bright orange phone cord along the way. Garfield was scattered all about, just like on the beach.

But when the group entered the cave, ready for the big reveal, they didnt find what they expected. It was clear the plastic cats had been there, Simonin-Le Meur said, but clearer still that most were already gone.

Our preoccupation was to understand why we had so many Garfields everywhere. We thought it would be helpful to find the container so we can stop it. But that was unfortunately not the case, Simonin-Le Meur said. What we found was the remainder of the shipping container. And it was empty.

It seemed the group had solved the mystery, she said, but not the problem.

The Telephone Garfield, as it is known in an online catalogue for ubiquitous ocean debris, is just one plastic item among countless others that litter the ocean and the shore every year. In the region of northwestern France, the Garfield phone has become like an unwitting Smokey Bear, the mascot for the importance of ocean cleanup and the dangers of microplastics polluting the ocean. Lionel Lucas, who developed the online Ocean Plastic Tracker that catalogues discoveries of Garfield, told Franceinfo the Garfield phone was a symbol for the movement.

It is no longer garbage but evidence, Lucas said.

Simonin-Le Meur said that she has tried to use Garfield particularly as a way to interest children in ocean pollution, given its allure compared to pieces of plastic trash. And while the recent purported discovery of Garfields origins has drawn renewed interest, Simonin-Le Meur said, the discovery didnt change much in her eyes.

We found plastic last Friday and Saturday and Sunday, and we have found a lot of pieces of Garfield, she said. Things are just exactly the same.Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

When Savannah Garcia took the stand Friday afternoon in Davon Lymons murder trial, the courtroom fell silent.

Haltingly, Garcia described her actions on the day leading up to the fatal shooting of Albuquerque police officer Daniel Webster on Oct. 21, 2015. How as a 17-year-old she woke up sick from heroin withdrawal, went to a friends house and ended up spending the afternoon with a man shed never met before named Tigger as he delivered dope around town on a stolen motorcycle.

Many in the gallery leaned forward in their seats to hear her softly spoken answers.

She described the moments after officer Webster pulled them over at a Walgreens at Central and Eubank SE.

Im about to do something Im going to regret, Garcia remembered Tigger telling her, moments before she said he opened fire, shooting Webster in the face.

She said after the shots rang out she ran away, ignoring Websters pleas for help.

He was gasping for air, he couldnt breathe, Garcia testified. When he asked me to help him it was in the lowest voice.

Hours later, police arrested Lymon in the backyard of a nearby house, a pair of handcuffs dangling from his wrist.

Lymon, 38, is now on trial for first-degree murder. Judge Neil Candelaria is presiding over the case in 2nd Judicial District Court. The trial is expected to last for several weeks.

Lymon has already been convicted in both state and federal court of possessing the .40-caliber Taurus pistol authorities say was used in the shooting.

During the third day of testimony on Friday, prosecutors showed video footage from Websters lapel camera.

Websters widow and friends covered their faces and cried in the audience as they watched his final moments. Garcia was also brought to tears and asked the judge to allow her to take a break.

But her story seemed less definitive under cross-examination. The defense has long-argued that a different woman was on the back of the motorcycle and that Garcia, now 21, is an impostor.

Garcia  a key witness  had been arrested on misdemeanor charges earlier this week to ensure she would show up to testify.

Lymons defense attorney Tom Clark questioned Garcia repeatedly about her extensive drug use  a several-times-a-day habit dating back to when she was 13  and how she had repeatedly changed her story in interviews with detectives and then again when she gave a deposition and testified in federal court.

You say one thing one day and another thing another day because your memory is so bad you cant remember what you say from day to day, Clark said. When you talk to police, then when you testify, then when you give a deposition, then when you testify.

Clark pointed out that she had initially denied being at the scene of the shooting, then said she was too high and was nodding out when Lymon was pulled over. He said her initial interviews with officers did not match the encounter shown on Websters lapel video.

Shortly before 5 p.m., Clark took one more shot at Garcias testimony, asking her if she would be surprised to learn the friend she claimed introduced her to Lymon on Oct. 21, 2015, was locked up in jail that whole week.

After Garcia answered with confusion, Judge Candelaria dismissed the jurors for the day.

The trial will resume Monday afternoon.EL PASO, Texas  Darkness had fallen, but few in this cramped outdoor detention camp would sleep.

Most of the migrants huddled in the cold desert air had nothing but thin blankets of insulated plastic to protect them from the wind. Rows of families, including small children and babies, lay directly on the dirt floor. Some had been living like this, exposed to the elements under an El Paso bridge, for four days, held there by U.S. border authorities.

The hastily erected holding pen, U.S. officials say, is an extreme but necessary response to a recent increase in Central American families crossing illegally into the country to ask for asylum. A Customs and Border Protection spokesman Friday called the pen a temporary transitional shelter and said it was established last month.

Migrant advocates call it the latest in a string of inhumane practices targeting asylum-seekers. They say that exposing families and young children to unsanitary conditions and chilly desert nights puts them in danger.

In December, two migrant children died in the agencys custody. On Friday, the El Paso medical examiner released an autopsy that found that one of the children, 7-year-old Jakelin Caal of Guatemala, died of strep-induced sepsis.

We are doing everything we can to simply avoid a tragedy in a CBP facility, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said this week, adding that many migrants are ill when they arrive. But with these numbers, with the types of illnesses were seeing  I fear that its just a matter of time. Jakelins family has disputed that she was ill before she and her father were taken into custody.

The scores of families shivering each night under the bridge in El Paso highlight a seismic shift in the type of migrants seeking to reach the U.S. in recent years  as well as the failures of U.S. policy to adapt to those changes.

A decade ago, the vast majority of people apprehended at the border were single men who had been caught trying to sneak into the U.S. But in recent weeks, nearly two-thirds of those detained by U.S. agents have been families who turned themselves in to officials and asked for asylum.

Families have increasingly been crossing illegally to turn themselves in; at official ports of entry, the Trump administration has dramatically limited the number of migrants allowed to present asylum claims.

Customs and Border Protection hit a breaking point and has run out of space in which to process asylum-seekers, McAleenan said at a news conference in El Paso. An uptick in family arrivals has pushed the overall number of migrants detained at the border to numbers not seen in more than a decade, with an especially large increase here on the far western edge of Texas, he said.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to shut down official border crossings with Mexico. He said Friday on Twitter he would do so next week if Mexico failed to stop migrants from reaching the U.S.

But closing border crossings would do little to stop families from exercising their right to seek asylum, since most are crossing between points of entry. Nor would a border wall help; a winding river separates much of the border where Trump wants construction, so a barrier would need to be built several feet north of the actual border, up on a sturdy levee.

Each day here, large groups of asylum-seekers have been walking across the shallow river and then waiting on the narrow strip of U.S. territory north of the Rio Grande and south of a newly constructed section of wall. Sooner or later, khaki-clad Border Patrol agents pull up in vans and pick them up.

U.S. officials and immigration experts say the countrys border infrastructure simply isnt equipped to deal with this new wave of asylum-seekers. The Border Patrols mission is to detect people seeking to illegally enter the United States, not house and process thousands of asylum-seekers each day.

Similarly, the countrys overburdened immigration judges arent equipped to quickly try the hundreds of thousands of asylum cases the U.S. expects to see this year. More than 855,000 immigration cases await adjudication, according to Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse; asylum applicants wait on average more than 700 days to see a judge.

Since Trump reversed his policy of separating parents and children at the border last year, families seeking asylum have been processed by immigration officials and then released inside the U.S. with a court date years in the future.

The recent quick release of such families appears to be contributing to increased migration from Central America, with an estimated 1 percent of the entire population of Honduras and Guatemala on track to be apprehended at the border this fiscal year, according to Adam Isacson, a researcher at the think tank Washington Office on Latin America.

There is a message that if you think you need to leave, now is the time, he said.

What is needed, Isacson said, is not more border fencing but more aid to Central American countries to address the root causes of migration, and a mass hiring of new immigration judges to cut case backlogs.

The U.S. has been seeing an increase in asylum-seeking families and unaccompanied children over the last five years, he said, and U.S. policy must adjust to that.

This is the new normal, he said.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the recent crush of asylum-seekers, painting them as economic migrants who use the asylum process as a back door into the U.S. At a rally in Michigan on Thursday, the president mocked those who request asylum, including those who say their lives are in danger, calling their efforts to win protection in the U.S. a big fat con job.

Migrant advocates insist that many of those crossing have legitimate fears of returning to their home countries in Central America  politically volatile places that have some of the highest homicide rates in the world.

The advocates say the outdoor holding center under the El Paso bridge is evidence that the U.S. is not treating migrants humanely.

This is absolutely an unconscionable way to treat people, said Taylor Levy, legal coordinator at Annunciation House, a migrant shelter in El Paso. You dont let children sleep under underpasses.

She said her organization had spoken with many migrants who stayed at the makeshift shelter. They complained of not having enough food to eat and of not receiving adequate medical attention, she said. Other migrant advocates in El Paso said they heard similar accounts.

The story of one Guatemalan father who crossed the border into El Paso on March 21 with his 9-year-old son and asked for asylum underscores the complexity of the issue.

Elmer, 32, who gave only his first name because he said he fears persecution back home and from U.S. immigration authorities, promised to pay a smuggler $6,000 to ferry him to the U.S. border.

The smuggler told him to bring his son on the journey, because although single adults who seek asylum are typically detained for months under U.S. policy, families requesting asylum are quickly released.

Elmer said eight of his relatives and 10 of his sons grade-school classmates had left in a similar fashion in recent months, thanks to rising crime in the city where they live and the falling price of coffee beans, which have hurt farmers like Elmer. In Guatemala, he earned less than $10 a day.

The pairs long trek north with a series of smugglers was long and often frightening, Elmer said. As they crossed Mexico packed on hot buses, he worried he and his son might be kidnapped by criminal groups known to prey on migrants.

But the worst moment came once they crossed into the U.S. and were corralled into the small outdoor holding pen in El Paso, surrounded by razor wire. There was a tent set up, but it housed only a small portion of the migrants who were there. Border officials say the area is meant as a transitional shelter, but Elmer and his son slept outside on the dirt for four days, surrounded mostly by young mothers and fathers with children. Sick people coughed loudly and babies wailed all night.

We were hungry and cold, he said. Those were some of the hardest days of my life.

The pair were finally processed for asylum and released to a migrant shelter two days ago. On Thursday afternoon, they sat holding hands in the El Paso Greyhound station, waiting to board the first of several buses that would take them to Alabama, where two of Elmers sisters live.

The station was crowded with dozens of migrants who had just been released from federal custody, some of whom, like Elmer, wore bulky ankle monitors over their pants.

As soon as they reached Alabama, Elmer said, he planned to phone his wife, who was home in Guatemala with their younger son.

First, he said, he would tell her he was safe. Then he would urge her not to make the long journey to join him.

The nights outside under the bridge in El Paso had been too difficult, he said. I dont want them to run that risk.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.Of all the responsibilities with which we have empowered our state government, none is more important than educating our children. It also gives us the best rate of return on our investment. And it benefits us all: a well-educated workforce is the backbone of a strong economy and essential for our states overall well-being.

New Mexico has failed in its most important task. As the ruling in the Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico lawsuit explicitly states, New Mexico has not been providing an adequate education to all children. The judges decision specifies that at-risk students  including children from families with few economic resources, English learners, students with disabilities, and Native American and Hispanic students  are left behind due to the states failure to provide essential programs, services and funding in its K-12 education system, failure to monitor the efficacy of the programs, and failure to implement three key laws  the Indian Education, Hispanic Education and Bilingual Multicultural Education Acts.

The judges order is simple and straightforward. The state has a constitutional obligation to provide a sufficient education for all students. The state must come up with the resources necessary to meet students needs. And the state must have a way to monitor and evaluate its progress.

We are pleased Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will not appeal the courts decision. We were disturbed to read in the Journals March 22 editorial that aggressive litigation, in an attempt to get the judge to vacate parts of her decision, is a good use of the states resources and a great next step.

Lost in the bluster of the Journals editorial was any substantive focus on what matters most  our children!

First and foremost, we need to do whats best for our children. Spending money and time on aggressive litigation against a court order that simply requires us to educate our children at the standard set forth in our own constitution is not whats best for our children. Our K-12 education system needs fundamental change, and that will not occur unless we place a relentless focus on improving whats happening in the classroom, not winning in the courtroom.

The governors metaphor of an education moonshot gives us a clue to what hard work it will be. Realizing the original moonshot was a long process that required a great deal of planning, testing and adapting, it also required money and political will. First, the Public Education Department needs to come up with a multicultural and multilingual framework, emphasizing our diverse students distinct assets, upon which all reforms will hang. It needs to revisit statutes that call for curriculum that is responsive to all children, no matter their race, ethnicity or home language. The PED needs to revisit its oversight duties regarding the use of funds at the district level. Then the PED needs to create and implement an internal evaluation system so it can determine which strategies are working and which need to be changed.

And, of course, the Legislature needs to fund our schools to a level that meets our students needs. This means having the courage to find stable, reliable and adequate sources of revenue. Were not there yet. The $400 million in new funds for the coming school year simply gets us back to 2008 spending levels, which will barely allow us to build the launch pad.

Our under-performing school system isnt the fault of the new administration. But  an emphasis on winning litigation obscures the essence of the lawsuit, which would not have been necessary if New Mexico had done right by its children in the first place. We are just emerging from a traumatic two-year-long political drama that will surely be written about in history books. It has created a national schism thats left permanent scars  including on disagreeing family members, political parties and the publics trust of the media.

While the so-called Russian collusion scandal has not yet played out entirely, it is already time to ask ourselves what we can learn from it.

The scandal was born of the body politic, an organization that has disintegrated into a game of media-assisted character assassination coupled with a scorched earth policy aimed at attacking every person close to the opposition candidate. Today it is routine to viciously attack those who embrace different political views even if it means using allegations that are 10, 20 or even 30 years old.

For the health of the republic this has to change.

To those who continue to sputter that something must be wrong because special counsel Robert Mueller issued 34 indictments  slow down. Twenty-five of those indictments named various Russian citizens, including GRU intelligence agents and three Russian companies. They were all charged with various degrees of meddling in our 2016 presidential election  from conspiracy to commit computer crimes and identity theft to money laundering. Five Americans who worked for candidate Trump were also indicted, mostly for lying to federal investigators. A sixth, Paul Manafort, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for crimes including tax fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. No Americans were found to have been working with the Russians to sway the election.

To the Democratic presidential candidates currently on the stump righteously demanding the release of the complete Mueller report  stop grandstanding. That goes for leaders in the House and Senate who keep beating the drum for the attorney general to release the entire report. Everyone knows that is already destined to happen just as soon as classified information and confidential grand jury details are legally omitted.

As for those members of Congress who spent months insisting on cable news programs that there was direct evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians  Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.  or that President Trump was a Russian agent who betrayed our country  Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.  or that Congress must continue to investigate because, as Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., recently put it, We do know, remember, in plain sight, (there was) a lot of collusion, please stop picking at political scabs that now need to heal. Do whats best for the country. Turn your attention to issues that affect Americans quality of life and stop fanning the flames of this horribly divisive fight. The honorable thing to do would be to apologize for your obviously erroneous statements and promise to better serve your constituents instead of your party.

And, finally, to interested citizens who consume news: Going forward, please, put on your critical-thinking caps as you digest what the media tells you. Youve already seen how partisan statements have been parroted as fact by the media. Now, see the valueless blather of programming and publications that beat the same drum day after day. Get your information from a wide variety of sources, not just the newspaper or channel that seems to bolster what you already think. Ask yourself if what you are hearing makes sense or seems like political spin.

We have all been duped for too long, lulled into thinking it possible that the occupant of the White House got in bed with the Russians to win the election. We now know that is not true, no matter how badly political foes wanted it to be so.

One of the most-often heard cries of skullduggery had to do with Donald Trump Jrs. pre-election Trump Tower meeting with a Russian who promised dirt on his fathers opponent, Hillary Clinton. Guess what, folks? Thats the way politics has long been conducted. If someone claims they have negative information on your rival, you hear them out. Thats just common sense, not collusion with an enemy of the state.

This nation needs a political purge badly, a flushing out of the system clogged by partisan politics and self-preservation. There is a nationwide craving for leaders who have moral character, have achieved success through hard work and personal sacrifice. The small-business person, educator, farmer, health care worker, single parent who knows what failure tastes like but refuses to paint themselves part of the victim class. These are the dedicated Americans we need to lead this country.

If we want quality candidates, we have to pave the way for them, voting out those among the 535 members of Congress who have selfishly manipulated the national conversation without remorse or apology.

We reap what we sow. This corroded political system exists because the more than 235 million Americans of voting age let it exist. Simple as that.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.WASHINGTON  Russian claims this week that theyve been exonerated by Robert Muellers final report make my skin crawl. But they highlight the critical question of how the U.S. and Russia can begin to move back toward a saner relationship.

Frankly speaking, as Russians like to say, the first step is for Russia to stop pretending that it didnt meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin got caught red-handed, one could say, and if it keeps claiming otherwise, it obstructs the dialogue it says it wants.

Moscow shouldnt misjudge the moment. The special counsels report affirmed the judgment of the U.S. intelligence community Russia meddled in the 2016 race. Muellers strongest cases were the indictments that detailed how 13 operatives from Russias Internet Research Agency manipulated social media, and 12 GRU officers hacked Democratic Party information and passed stolen e-mails to WikiLeaks.

Russian commentators were nearly as jubilant as the White House after Attorney General William Barr released his summary of Muellers findings. Significant taxpayer resources went into disproving an obvious fake, crowed a Foreign Ministry statement. 

President Trump may enjoy the Kremlin fist pumps. But theyre the wrong way to restart a serious dialogue between Moscow and Washington. A restart wont work unless its founded on mutual trust between the two nations, as opposed to mutual backscratching by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Andrey Krutskikh, the Kremlins leading cyber expert, dropped a hankie in an article this week in the Moscow newspaper Kommersant. He said that some voices were re-emerging in the U.S., as opposed to ritual anti-Russian propaganda. He proposed the nations resume depoliticized expert dialogue about cybersecurity, like the quiet conversations that took place during the Obama administration.

Russia has nothing to fear  nor do we have anything to conceal, Krutskikh said. He said the U.S. should agree to disclose the secret pre-election contacts between the U.S. and Russia in 2016 about U.S. concerns over the intrusion into its electronic infrastructure. This sounds dubious; Russia was conducting a covert action against the U.S., which means it was deniable. Moscows statements in 2016 would reinforce its claim it didnt do what U.S. intelligence and Muellers indictments say it did.

Chris Painter, who was the Obama administrations top cyber diplomat, told me Wednesday a resumption of working-level contacts about cyber would be fine. But he cautioned against any top-rank contacts about cyber issues now, because they might allow Russia to pretend the 2016 cyberattacks didnt happen.  This would be a mistake, he argues, because it would allow Moscow to whitewash what has happened. A policymakers discussion about cyber and other issues has to have clearly defined goals and outcomes that advance our interests.

What about a broader conversation between the U.S. and Russia (on) big, potentially explosive problems like Ukraine, Syria and nuclear arms control? 

We should begin in a modest way, not with a full-up arms control negotiation, but by starting an ongoing dialogue about strategic stability argues Stephen Hadley, who was national security adviser for President George W. Bush. He suggests a range of confidence-building measures that might seek to avoid confrontations in outer space and cyberspace.

Hadley argues the basic rationale for a reset: The lack of dialogue between the two countries is not in either countrys interest. It is also potentially dangerous.

A warier view comes from Tom Donilon, who was national security adviser under Obama. He thinks the U.S. shouldnt engage Russia until its own house is in better order  with full disclosure of the Mueller report on what the Russians did in 2016, better protection for U.S. election security and repair of Americas damaged alliances in Europe.

Trump administration officials argue their Russia policy is based on U.S. interest. Theyve imposed sanctions when necessary, but also tried to keep open channels between Trump and Putin. If officials have plans for any major post-Mueller opening, they dont say so.

If Russia wants lasting improvement in its relations with America, it should stop its Trumpian gloating about the Mueller report and start rebuilding the basics of trust.  if Trump supporters are Moscows only champions, any reset with Russia will blow a fuse.Progressive candidates and new Democratic representatives have offered lots of radical new proposals lately about voting and voters. They include scrapping the 215-year-old Electoral College. Progressives also talk of extending the vote to 16- or 17-year-olds and ex-felons. They wish to further relax requirements for voter identification, same-day registration and voting, and undocumented immigrants voting in local elections. (New Mexicos governor just signed into law same-day registration and automatic registration at MVD.)

The 2016 victory of Donald Trump shocked the left. It was entirely unexpected, given that experts had all but assured a Hillary Clinton landslide. Worse still for those on the left, Trump, like George W. Bush in 2000 and three earlier winning presidential candidates, lost the popular vote.

From 2017 on, Trump has sought to systematically dismantle the progressive agenda that had been established by his predecessor, Barack Obama  often in controversial and unapologetic style.

The furor over the 2016 Clinton loss and the new Trump agenda, the fear that Trump could be re-elected and anger about the Electoral College have mobilized progressives to demand changes to the hallowed traditions of electing presidents.

The Electoral College was designed in part to ensure that candidates at least visited the small and often rural states of America. The generation of the Founding Fathers did not want elections to rest solely with larger urban populations. The Electoral College balances out the popular vote.

The founders were also terrified of radical democracies of the past, especially their frenzied tendencies to adopt mob-like tactics.

In response, the Electoral College was designed to discourage crowded fields of all sorts of fringe presidential candidates in which the eventual winner might win only a small plurality of the popular vote.

Voting requirements have also reflected disdain for radical democracy. Lawmakers have argued that young adults who are at least 18 years old have more experience, are more independent and take on more responsibilities than do younger teenagers living at home. Therefore, they are likely to make more reasoned decisions. Some progressives want to lower the voting age.

Similarly, most states consider the judgment of felons who have committed serious crimes suspect compared with those who have followed the laws. These states have prohibited felons from voting by first requiring completion of their sentences or parole or probation, depending on the nature of their crimes. Many on the left support measures that would ease voting restrictions on ex-felons. (New Mexico restores voting rights upon completion of sentence, a 2019 proposal that failed would have allowed inmates to vote.)

Progressives have deliberately confused residency with citizenship, as if a person living in America, paying some sales or income taxes, should have the same voting rights as those who are legal citizens.

All these proposed modifications are aimed at changing the nature of the electorate and the method of voting in order to change results. In reductionist terms, new rules and new voters reduce the relative voting clout of law-abiding adult citizens.

Leftists assume that Americans are not sympathetic to their new advocacies. In other words, the current 2019 potpourri of progressive issues might not warrant 51 percent support among the existing voting public in the next election.

Most Americans are skeptical of reparations. They do not favor legalizing infanticide. They do not want open borders, sanctuary cities or blanket amnesties. They are troubled by the idea of wealth taxes and top marginal tax rates of 70 percent or higher.

Many Americans certainly fear the Green New Deal. Many do not favor abolishing all student debt, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Electoral College. Nor do many Americans believe in costly ideas such as Medicare for All and free college tuition. The masses do not unanimously want to stop pipeline construction or scale back Americas booming natural gas and oil production.

A cynic might suggest that had Hillary Clinton actually won the 2016 Electoral College vote, but lost the popular vote to Trump, progressives would now be praising our long-established system of voting. (And if) undocumented immigrants  same-day registration and voting  felons or 16-year-old kids polled conservative, then certainly there would be no progressive push to let members of these groups vote.

Expanding and changing the present voter base and altering how we vote is mostly about power, not principles. Without these radical changes, a majority of American voters, in traditional and time-honored elections, will likely not vote for the unpopular progressive agenda.

Email authorvdh@gmail.com.  2019 Tribune Content Agency LLC.Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In August 2017, Courtney Foster lent her 2006 Kia to a childhood friend who ended up driving drunk and getting arrested in the middle of the night. Her car was seized.

Foster still doesnt have a car and now walks to her job at the Weekly Alibi newspaper each day.

As one of more than 2,000 people who lost a car to the citys vehicle seizure program over the past three years, Foster filed a federal lawsuit this week asking for compensation for the hefty fees, court costs and other damages associated with losing her vehicle.

She and another plaintiff, Matthew Kiscaden, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico and are asking for it to be designated as a class-action suit on behalf of themselves and all other people who were in the same situation over the past three years.

Kiscaden was pulled over for a headlight violation in his 2008 Saturn and charged with driving on a revoked license in June 2017. Even though the charges were dismissed after he was able to prove he had a valid license, the lawsuit says, Kiscaden was forced to pay thousands of dollars to get his car back.

For more than 25 years, the citys vehicle seizure program allowed the Albuquerque Police Department to confiscate vehicles from a driver arrested for a second or subsequent DWI or caught driving with a suspended or revoked license, even if the owner of the car was not involved in any way.

In mid-December  after two back-to-back court rulings determined the program was unconstitutional  the city began dismantling the program and returning vehicles to their owners.

However, attorney Shannon Kennedy, who is representing the plaintiffs, says that doesnt make up for the time and money people have lost over the years.

The cars are in terrible shape, basically totaled, she said, going on to describe a Volvo that had been left outside with its convertible top down and was returned with four flat tires. One was left outside for 19 months, and the city gets a tow truck to drop it off in the yard of its lawful owner. This seeks to make people whole.

The lawsuit alleges that generating revenue was a core part of the programs mission, employees were evaluated by whether they increased revenue from seized vehicles and the city attorneys set up yearly targets for vehicle auctions, fees and fines.

It also points out that the program continued to operate even after state lawmakers passed legislation abolishing civil forfeiture in 2015 and a federal court handed down a ruling against the program last summer.

When in July of 2018, a federal court ruled that the City of Albuquerque was unconstitutionally policing for profit, the city continued seizing cars to sell at auction, the lawsuit says. The mayors proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 anticipated that the city would sell another 300 cars.

The lawsuit also alleges police seized a vehicle 10 days after the Court of Appeals decision in December of 2018 found that the program violated state law.

In previous emails with the Journal, an APD spokesman said a vehicle was seized the same day Police Chief Michael Geier issued a special order suspending the program and another was mistakenly seized in early January and then returned.

In response to requests for comment, Jessie Damazyn, the mayors spokeswoman, wrote: Mayor (Tim) Keller took action to halt the problems with the forfeiture program as soon as the first ruling on the program came out. We will need to review the complaint once the City is served with the lawsuit before we can comment on specifics.

Kennedy said she hopes the lawsuit will create a way for the city to do right by the people theyve done wrong. She estimates as many as 2,000 people could be class-action members and says she has been fielding phone calls and emails from vehicle owners all week.

Its a real positive first step to acknowledge that the program is no longer running but an apology would be appropriate, Kennedy said. And making people whole.Federal, state and local authorities served more than a dozen search warrants and made numerous arrests Friday morning in raids that began before the sun rose and went on for hours in Albuquerque.

The FBI, New Mexico State Police and Albuquerque Police Department executed Operation Blockbuster, making at least 19 arrests  nine men and 10 women  on mostly gun- and drug-related charges, according to numerous criminal complaints filed in Metropolitan Court. Most of the raids were done along Central Avenue, from 59th Street to Tramway, with some targeting pockets in other areas of the city.

Spokespeople for the FBI, State Police and APD confirmed the operation occurred but would not give any other details Friday. It is unclear the scope of the operation or how many total arrests were made.

According to court records, the charges ranged widely and included possession of drug paraphernalia, felony firearm possession, stolen gun charges, drug trafficking and drug distribution.

There were at least 14 felony and five misdemeanors arrests, resulting in authorities seizing 2 ounces of methamphetamine, 4 ounces of heroin, 4 ounces of marijuana, two marijuana plants and five guns, one of which had been reported stolen.

One woman, 35-year-old Magdalena Palacio, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge after authorities searched the home she lived in at 5:30 a.m. and found a pipe. The homeowner, 54-year-old Joyce Setinfuhrer, was found with under an ounce of pot, two pipes and less than a gram of methamphetamine.

Authorities say Sabrina Chavez, 29, and Phillip Herrera, 31, were found inside an apartment with more than 3 ounces of heroin, 7 grams of methamphetamine and 7 grams of marijuana. Officers also found numerous scales and hypodermic needles in the home.

Court records show Samuel Kress, 64, was found with 7 grams of methamphetamine, bottles of hydrochloric acid and ammonia for manufacture of methamphetamine. Authorities also found more than $2,000 in the home, including some wet bills floating in the toilet alongside drug packaging.

Some of those arrested chose to remain silent and others openly told authorities they sell varying amounts and types of drugs on a weekly basis.

FBI agents and State Police and APD officers could be seen surrounding a home near Pennsylvania and Chico SE around 7: 30 a.m. One FBI agent was on the roof of the home as officers on the ground took someone into custody.U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small has introduced a bill she hopes will address the doctor shortage in rural parts of New Mexico.

Torres Small, D-N.M., introduced The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2019 along with representatives from Alabama, New York and Illinois, legislation they hope will help reduce nationwide physician shortages, with an emphasis in rural areas, by increasing the number of Medicare-supported residency positions by 15,000. There are currently 90,000 positions.

Torres Small said the money would be increased to add 3,000 residencies a year over a five-year period.

I know adding 3,000 residency positions a year wont solve all of our problems, she said. But she said something needed to be done with a projected shortage of 100,000 doctors nationwide by 2030.

I think the fact that shes focusing on that as a representative of a very rural district is important, said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Id like to work with her on that.

Udall believes a focus needs to be on identifying high school and college students who are considering going into the medical field who want to stay in New Mexico.

He said as many as 75 percent of University of New Mexico Medical School graduates leave the state after receiving their degrees.

Torres Smalls bill could address part of the exodus.

She said the bill would significantly increase training programs for rural physicians and take the first steps towards expanding rural health care access and incentivizing medical students to serve our rural communities.

She said she hoped the incentives would encourage physicians to stay in rural areas after their residencies are complete.

Torres Small said the shortage is causing several challenges for rural residents in noting that some  such as expectant mothers  have to cross state lines for care and that veterans often have to take long bus rides for care in other parts of the state.

Residents in Silver City and Catron County, where I was a couple of weeks ago, often have to go to Arizona for treatment, she said. When they do, they sometimes have problems with their insurance.

While there is a physician shortage for most health care needs in rural areas, Torres Small said the shortage of pediatric and OB-GYN services is significant in some areas.

Torres Small has the support of fellow New Mexico House members Ben Ray Lujan and Deb Haaland. But Lujan points out the shortage isnt just limited to rural parts of the state.

We have a shortage in 32 out of 33 counties, including Bernalillo County, Lujan said.

He voiced a concern that the fate of the Affordable Care Act  which was struck down by a federal court judge, but remains intact pending a Supreme Court ruling  could also have an impact on rural health care. The Department of Justice recently decided it would not defend the law.

Torres Small said her bill is not tied to the ACA. She said the Medicare-funded residency program was in place before the ACA became law.

But if its struck down, Torres Small said of the ACA, it would de-stabilize our health care system if an acceptable alternative is not in place.

She said Congress needed to fight for protections ACA provides such as insurance for people with existing conditions.Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

New Mexicans are bracing for a possible border shutdown after President Trump threatened to do so in a tweet Friday.

Trump tweeted that he will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week if Mexico does not halt illegal immigration immediately.

The president in a series of tweets blamed Mexico for allowing thousands of migrant families, most from Central America, to reach the U.S. border, where they ask for asylum.

The tweets come as Mexico braces for the possible arrival of a caravan from Honduras that could have more than 20,000 people, according to Mexico Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero.

But immigrant activists say reports about the mother of all caravans are false. They claim U.S. officials are using the reports to create fear.

In any case, the threat of a border shutdown has many in New Mexico concerned.

Its like killing an ant with a sledgehammer, said Jerry Pacheco head of the Santa Teresa-based Border Industrial Association.

We are the fifth-most important port of entry on the entire U.S.-Mexico border, and for the president to shut us down means he puts New Mexicans at risk for their work, Pacheco said. He puts at risk revenues that are coming to the state and adding to our tax base.

The Santa Teresa border crossing is responsible for nearly $2 billion in trade annually, and the lions share of that trade is with Mexico.

As it is, Santa Teresa and other ports of entry in the region already are experiencing long delays after U.S. Customs and Border Protection reassigned 750 officers to help Border Patrol agents in the El Paso area and elsewhere care for and process the hundreds of migrants arriving daily and seeking asylum.

The lines in Santa Teresa were stretching back about three hours, Pacheco said. Commercial trucks and regular vehicles, as well as pedestrians, at every port of entry in the region are experiencing delays.

If the president shuts down the border, the closure would affect thousands, including students, shoppers and businesspeople, as well as people who go back and forth to visit relatives.

In terms of the effect on everyday people in our region, I honestly am having trouble finding the words because I cant imagine what it would really be like, said Molly Molloy, a professor and research librarian at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Molloy crosses into Mexico occasionally for professional and personal visits, but some border residents go back and forth daily.

Molloy said the presidents threat to close the border wont lead to the results he wants.

It has all been part of this need he has to portray the southern border as a place of chaos. And every one of his actions with the cooperation of his agencies is feeding into the chaos. Its not preventing the chaos, but its creating the chaos, Molloy said.

This would sort of be the ultimate, what do you do when this most heavily trafficked border is suddenly closed to millions of vehicles, to millions of pedestrians? I cannot even imagine it will actually happen, she said.

But the president insisted he was serious about closing the border when responding to reporters questions in Florida.

We will close it for a long time. I am not kidding around, he said. He added that it could mean all trade with Mexico.

More than $1.7 billion in commerce crosses the border daily between the U.S. and Mexico.

We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday.

We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way, he added.

Mexicos federal government had already agreed to the Migrant Protection Protocol, under which asylum seekers who make a claim after crossing into the U.S. are returned to Mexico to wait until a U.S. immigration judge rules on their cases.

Border cities in Mexico  including Ciudad Juarez  are sheltering thousands of migrants, including parents and children who put their names on a waiting list to make an asylum claim.

Pacheco said that instead of taking money from the Pentagon to cover the $1.9 billion the president wants for a border wall, he should allocate that immediately to boots on the ground and more technology to be able to handle these caravans.

Pacheco also said Congress should act to fix our broken immigration system.

In the meantime, he and other border residents worry they will pay the price if the legal ports of entry are shut down.

Im tired of us at the border being a political pinata that the White House takes swings at, the Congress takes swings at, without even understanding how trade works, how we are so interconnected as friends, family and allies with Mexico, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES  As part of its plan to divert up to $1 billion to construct 57 miles of physical barriers along the Mexican border, the Department of Defense is proposing 46 miles of new barrier structures in Luna and Dona Ana counties, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said this week.

Udall, who learned about the proposed New Mexico structures as a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, explained in a statement, the project includes 46 miles of vehicle barrier replacement beginning approximately 17.5 miles west of the Columbus Port of Entry continuing east in non-contiguous segments to approximately 35 miles east of the Columbus Port of Entry.

On Thursday, Udall spokesman Ned Adriance clarified an initial report by Udalls staff, telling the Sun-News that information provided by the Department of Defense indicated existing vehicle barriers would be replaced with segments of pedestrian fence, consisting of 18-foot high steel bollard structures.

The structures have been alternately referred to by President Donald Trump as a fence, steel slates, steel barriers, and a wall. In a Jan. 31 post on Twitter, Trump wrote, Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday the Pentagon was executing an order from President Trump, who declared a national emergency on Feb. 15 after Congress appropriated less than the $5.7 billion he had requested for a border wall.

Udall argued that the plan compromises military preparedness and drug interdiction programs.

In New Mexico, the proposal includes potentially diverting up to $187.5 million in funds for projects at White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base and Cannon Air Force Base.

Udall, who announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2020, has introduced legislation to block the emergency reappropriations.

Shanahan told the House committee more barriers are needed to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of federal law enforcement agencies, despite data showing that narcotics smuggling is caught most frequently at ports of entry.

A vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Trumps veto of a congressional resolution rejecting his emergency declaration.

U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee that questioned Shanahan on Tuesday, said the declaration means billions of dollars appropriated for Department of Defense programs and military construction projects will be misdirected.He walks unsteadily, slowly, his arms outstretched as if preparing to fall or fall into something.

I walk like a toddler, Joseph Saavedra says, chuckling.

Thats OK for now. A year ago, he was in a wheelchair, unable to walk, unable to do a lot of things after a mystery illness struck Aug. 10, 2017, and all but killed him.

The well-known stylist and Pennies for the Homeless founder has struggled since then to find his new normal, struggled to get back to the business of making people beautiful and, even more important to him, back to raising money to help the homeless.

Its been a lesson, girl, he tells me. Im so driven to get back to me. I need me back. And Im coming back.

Two Novembers have passed without his annual High Tea and Fashion Show, a see-and-be-seen charity event that features the runway collection of top designers from around the world. It has been the major fundraiser for Pennies for the Homeless almost since Saavedra created the charity in 1993 with state District Judge Diane Dal Santo, who died in July 2015.

Saavedras illness, as it turns out, has not stopped Pennies philanthropy altogether. On Thursday, he was back to giving back, presenting $24,000 split into six increments of $4,000 to five organizations that focus on ending homelessness: Joy Junction, Albuquerque Public Schools Title I Homeless Project, Healthcare for the Homeless, Barrett Foundation and Business Coalition for a Better Albuquerque.

The extra $4,000 went to an endowment fund that will keep the Pennies for the Homeless Foundation running in perpetuity.

Much of the money  about $14,000  was raised at the 2018 Great Grant Giveaway, an event held each April by the Albuquerque Community Foundation in which attendees pledge to fund various local charities. Last April, Pennies for the Homeless was added after foundation Vice President Kelli Cooper learned about her longtime friends illness, said Denise Nava, the foundations scholarships and grants manager.

A matching donation from the Anderson Charitable Foundation sweetened the pot. An additional $10,000 from previous Pennies for the Homeless monies was also added.

We kept it a surprise, even from Joseph, who joined us at the event, Nava said.

That was tough, said Saavedra, 64.

It was the first time I let people see me after I got sick, he says. I was still in a wheelchair. I was weak. I had lost a lot of weight. It was humiliating, but I went because Pennies is so important to me.

Many things were humiliating during Saavedras recovery from the mystery illness he now says was caused by an airborne virus and not by a stroke, as rumor has had it.

For seven weeks, he remained hospitalized, barely able to form his words; his head drooped, his body was limp.

He was later moved to the Genesis Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center. Friends took care of and eventually found homes for his stable of miniature horses and exotic birds. His antiques collection was put into storage, his salon booth was rented out, his bank account was depleted.

A friend set up a GoFundMe account, and he was helped with paperwork to get him on Social Security and Medicaid.

The giver had to learn how to receive. He also had to learn how to function again.

The doctor told me my neurological system was taken down to zero, he says. I had to rebuild myself one grain at a time like a sand castle.

Saavedra left Bear Canyon in January and now resides in a small transitional living apartment cluttered with antiques. He does tai chi twice a day, takes liquid minerals and eats healthy foods. He tries to walk each day with a walker to a nearby Starbucks, where he reads his copy of A Course in Miracles. He returns to Bear Canyon when he can to cut hair for residents. He scopes out possible salons to restart his styling business.

And he plans the 20th annual high tea and fashion show, determined to bring the event back this November.

I need help to get things back, he says. We need new board members, sponsorships, volunteers, anybody with an open heart and mind. Just give me a call. It brings me amazing joy to be doing this.

Someday, he says, hed like to paint himself a sand castle, a reminder of his recovery, of how easy it can wash away in the tide, how vital it is to keep rebuilding, one grain at a time.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.The visit that Pope Francis is paying to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI stands as a milestone in inter-religious dialogue and coexistence.

Starting from the religious status and spiritual responsibility assumed by the Commander of the Faithful and His Holiness the Pope, this historic meeting will contribute to promoting the values of fraternity, peace and tolerance among peoples and nations and to consolidating interreligious dialogue, understanding and coexistence, said the ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery in a statement.

This visit will be marked by intense activities of the Commander of the Faithful and His illustrious guest His Holiness the Pope, the statement said.

King Mohammed VI, in his quality as commander of the faithful, is the custodian of the freedom of worship in the majority Muslim country where the ancient Jewish community and Christians, both residents and foreigners, practice their faith freely in a framework of mutual respect and harmony.

Pope Francis said he will pay the visit as a a pilgrim of peace and of fraternity, in a world which has great need of both.

King Mohammed VI has given the example of inter-faith dialogue by promoting religious coexistence between different Abrahamic religions at home and by calling for a new world order of peace.

Respect for cultural and religious diversity as well as a common commitment to the virtues of dialogue were distinctive features of the Kings rule.

Such a commitment reflects Moroccos history, which attests to a long-established tradition of coexistence on Moroccan soil especially between Muslims and Jews.

In Morocco, the institution of the commandership of the faithful has shielded the Moroccan society against the demons of ideological manipulation and subversive forces through enlightened religious training based on moderation and tolerance.

It is no coincidence that the Pope will pay a visit to the Imams training school, which is teaching the genuine values of moderate Islam and which has been attracting Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe.

In Morocco, there is no difference between a Muslim and a Jewish citizen, said the King in a message in September to an inter-religious dialogue conference.

In 2010, King Mohammed VI initiated a program to refurbish hundreds of ancient synagogues and Jewish cemeteries scattered throughout Morocco. Since then, the kingdom has spent millions of dollars to repair nearly 200 of these sites.

Also, Judaism became enshrined in the countrys new constitution, adopted in 2011, as a key part of Moroccan identity

As for Christian residents and temporary visitors, they have always practiced their faith freely in churches, the King said in his September message, recalling that among his ancestors, there was a Sultan who donated land for the construction of a church, which is still open to worshippers to this day.

Tolerance is not just a rhetorical aspect in Moroccos domestic and foreign policy. The country stood out in Africa as the sole country that has a migration policy offering residency status to migrants.

Morocco has welcomed people coming from sister nations to this African land, with their different religions, cultures, traditions, family habits and lifestyles, said the King in a previous message.

Morocco organized two campaigns for migrants to regularize their status and launched several programs aimed, among other things, at ensuring the integration of migrants, asylum-seekers and their families.

Morocco commits to a humanitarian approach that takes into account the global and local contexts and respects the rights and dignity of migrants, the king repeatedly said.

The leader of the Catholic Church has also on many occasions expressed his support for migrants, underlining the need to welcome, protect, and integrate them and not to stigmatize them as a threat to society. He had also backed the United Nations Global Compact for Migration signed in Marrakech last December.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the Popes trip to Rabat features visits to migrants during which he will stress the need for further solidarity towards migrants in a world threatened by the surge of far-right groups.OKLAHOMA CITY  A former University of Oklahoma student alleges he was touched and kissed inappropriately by former university President David Boren on several occasions almost a decade ago when the man worked as a teaching aide for the onetime governor and senator.

The allegations by Jess Eddy, now 29, appear to be at the center of an investigation being conducted for the university by Jones Day, one of the worlds largest law firms, into whether Boren sexually harassed male subordinates. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has also opened an investigation.

Boren, now 77, has denied any inappropriate conduct in statements released by his attorneys, who have confirmed the Jones Day investigation. Boren was a Democratic governor in the 1970s before serving in the U.S. Senate for more than 15 years. He was OU president from 1994 until stepping down last year and has been married to his second wife for more than 40 years. He has denied requests to be interviewed, citing poor health.

Borens attorney, Clark Brewster, said Eddys newest account of his encounter with Boren, which he detailed in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, contradicts previous statements he gave to Jones Day investigators and to Brewster. In those earlier statements, he said he was not aware of any inappropriate behavior.

Eddys latest allegations were first reported Tuesday by the online news site NonDoc.

Mr. Eddy was carefully examined, asked about anything that he had ever witnessed or had seen or had experienced and not only said that didnt occur, but he gave specific factual detail as to why it couldnt have been true, Brewster said.

Eddy acknowledged the discrepancy with his initial accounts and said he was untruthful in an effort to protect Boren.

My initial instinct was to do what Boren wanted, Eddy said. I was under extreme duress.

Eddy confirmed providing Brewster with a signed written statement dated March 14 in which he addressed allegations made against Boren.

To the extent that any of these allegations are attributed to me, I would like to make perfectly clear that they are not true, Eddy wrote.

Eddy also acknowledged calling Boren personally and asking for financial compensation after The Oklahoman first reported Boren was being investigated.

I felt like a great wrong had been done to me, and I was looking for the path of least resistance out and some relief, Eddy said. I hope people can understand that this has just been a traumatic and deeply disturbing experience thats required me to undergo a lot of deep thought and consideration about what the right thing to do is.

Eddy said he decided to speak publicly about his encounters with Boren after he started to realize the implications of what I was doing by concealing my truth.

Thinking that there might be others like me began to just haunt me, he said.

Eddy said he came to know Boren after taking a political science course the president taught. Boren asked him to be his teaching aide the following semester, in the fall of 2010, when Eddy was 21.

That fall, he said, he accompanied Boren on a weekend fundraising-and-recruiting trip to Houston, where he flew on a private jet with Boren and attended a dinner with donors. He said he and Boren ended up in Borens hotel room, where the two of them drank alcohol and Boren made an unwanted sexual advance and touched him inappropriately before he left the room. Eddy declined to elaborate, saying the experience was too traumatic to discuss in detail.

The next morning, when a group of OU administrators picked him and Boren up at the hotel, OUs former vice president of university development, Tripp Hall, a longtime Boren ally, placed his hand on Eddys inner thigh, touched his genital area and asked him if he had a good time, Eddy said. Hall, who left the university in November, did not respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment. He declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by NonDoc.

Eddy suggested Hall and other high-level administrators at OU were aware that Boren made unwanted advances toward male subordinates but did nothing to stop it.

Eddy cited several other incidents of unwanted touching and kissing by Boren that occurred in Borens office at OU in 2010 and 2011. He said he was not aware of any documents or other physical evidence that would corroborate his new account, but three people who knew Eddy in 2010 confirmed to the AP that he recounted to them a similar story about Borens sexual misconduct in the hotel room.

P.J. Wolbach, a friend of Eddys since high school, said he recalled hearing about the incident in the hotel room shortly after Eddy returned from the trip.

He told us how they had drinks and were alone and how Boren got touchy with him in a sexual manner, Wolbach recalled. I remember those points with vivid detail.

Eddy returned to work at OUs Office of University Community in 2017 but left a year later after reaching a separation agreement with the university. He said he now works part-time for a law firm.

Borens attorney said a transcript Eddy provided him of his first interview with Jones Day attorneys in mid-February showed Eddy not only denied ever witnessing or experiencing any inappropriate conduct by Boren, but also gave specific factual details as to why the allegations could not have been true.

And then you call up somebody and say you want money or youre going to say something different? Brewster said. That does cause somewhat of a daunting incredibility is all Im saying.

Neither Brewster nor Eddy agreed to release a copy of the transcript to the AP.

Eddy said he met again with Jones Day investigators this week and provided a detailed account of his allegations against Boren. Jones Day did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for the Norman Police Department confirmed that Eddy also spoke with detectives this week to make a report, but they determined none of the alleged incidents happened within their jurisdiction. Eddys complaint was forwarded to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. An OSBI spokeswoman confirmed the agency is investigating allegations against both Boren and Hall.

Eddy declined to discuss whether he was considering legal action against Boren or OU. He would not comment on whether he had talked to OSBI investigators.

In a statement this week, the university acknowledged an ongoing investigation into a report of sexual misconduct school officials received in November 2018, but they have declined to discuss details.

The goal of this investigation since the beginning has been to proceed with the highest degrees of professionalism, confidentiality and sincere concern for all parties involved, particularly potential victims, the statement read. While individuals may share their own personal accounting, it is critical that the university proceed deliberately, objectively and with respect for all the individuals involved.

___

Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy .ORLANDO, Fla.  When Florida authorities shut down 10 massage spas last month and charged hundreds of men with buying sex, they broke a longstanding pattern of meting out minor charges and punishment for owners, letting patrons off scot-free and turning a mostly blind eye to signs of human trafficking.

An Associated Press review of state records over the past decade shows that while police officers and sheriffs deputies in Florida have investigated hundreds of individual massage parlors within their own counties for illegal sexual activity, it was usually low-level massage therapists who were arrested, while owners mostly were exempted or charged with misdemeanors resulting in fines and probation. Johns usually were not charged at all.

In stark contrast, the investigation announced last month spanned several jurisdictions between Palm Beach and Orlando and focused heavily on the possibility of widespread human trafficking. Several spa owners, most of them women originally from China, were charged with felony racketeering and money laundering and could face years in prison.

Authorities also charged 300 men accused of being patrons, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former Citigroup President John Havens. Authorities say Kraft was twice recorded on video engaging in and then paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, located in a shopping center in Jupiter. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

Florida has more than 8,600 licensed massage therapy establishments. Its difficult to know how many of them sell sex, based on the records. Nationwide, the anti-trafficking advocacy group Polaris estimates there are 9,000 massage establishments with therapists who are trafficked from other places and forced to provide sex acts.

The AP reviewed records from more than 150 Florida Department of Health cases involving massage parlors whose licenses had been revoked, suspended or voluntarily surrendered in the past decade.

Of the spas that lost their licenses, almost 40 percent had massage therapists involved in sexual activity, the AP found. Sex cases were found statewide, in 26 of the states 67 counties, with the tourism-heavy Orlando area having the most.

Few of the cases resulted in charges of human trafficking, and those that did ended with only minor punishments.

In 2017, Mi Cha Jones, owner of the Jee Jee spa in Miami Beach, was charged with two felony counts of human trafficking and one felony count of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Jones was sentenced to only two years of probation after pleading guilty to the latter count in 2018.

Nearly five years ago, investigators found clear evidence of prostitution and a potential sign of human trafficking  women living on the premises  at the O Asian Wellness Spa and Massage in Boca Raton. The spas owner was facing a minimum of four years and maximum of 35 years in prison, but was sentenced to only nine months in jail and probation after a plea deal. None of the johns who patronized the parlor were charged at all.

In 2013, an inspector found three rooms with beds, clothes, computers, cellphones, desks and a refrigerator full of food at Serenity Massage in Tampa. The owner admitted massage therapists were living there but was ultimately only fined. There was no indication any investigation into human trafficking was ever launched.

Florida Department of Health spokesman Brad Dalton said revoking a spas license is the most severe punishment available to the departments Board of Massage Therapy. Any action above that would have to come from law enforcement, Dalton said.

A tougher stance is being championed by Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, whose agency spearheaded the current investigation after receiving a tip from a state health investigator.

When I saw the videos of the women being used  I began to change my whole thoughts and view of it, said Snyder, a former state lawmaker who sponsored a 2012 bill that made human trafficking illegal in Florida. He was elected sheriff that same year.

Still, it remains to be seen whether anything will truly change.

No one has yet been charged with human trafficking, something Snyder said can be difficult to prove, especially if women dont testify against their abusers. He said many of the women fear deportation, even though they could be eligible for a visa if they cooperated. They also fear traffickers will harm their families back home, he said.

And while hundreds of men identified as johns have been accused, Kraft and others have been charged only with misdemeanors that prosecutors have offered to drop if they agree to participate in a diversion program. Jail time for johns, what Snyder sees as the holistic answer to stemming human trafficking, looks highly unlikely.

Still, the sheriff says he hopes the national spotlight that has shone on the Kraft case will make other potential clients think twice before risking a visit to an illicit massage parlor.

I have come to understand that as long as there is a demand, there will be a supply, he said. Even if the demand diminishes microscopically and a few women in some forlorn province in China are not enticed to come here under false pretenses and trafficked, it will all be worthwhile.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Follow Terry Spencer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/terryspen

___

This story corrects that Kraft, Havens and many others accused were charged but not arrested. With AP PhotoFlags waved in the wind and voices came together in chants of unity, protest and celebration as hundreds marched through the Barelas neighborhood for the annual Cesar Chavez Day March on Saturday in Albuquerque.

The two-mile march, which honors the late civil rights leader and the farm worker movement, brought together student groups, local activists and community leaders  figures such as labor leader Dolores Huerta, U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland and Mayor Tim Keller, who walked the march while linking arms.

Many of those participating said they were doing so to feel a sense of unity with their community and to honor the legacy of Chavez and Huerta.

A lot of people see marches as something negative, but I think they are really representative of people, Diana Martinez said.

Martinez is a senior student program adviser for the University of New Mexicos College Assistance Migrant Program, a federal scholarship program that provides money to migrant and seasonal farm worker students. She has participated in the march for four years.

It makes me feel like Im part of the community, and it makes me feel like my voice can be heard, she said.

Its an honor to be a part of this, Brian Lozoya said while carrying a banner of Cesar Chavez. It makes me feel proud of myself and who I have become.SEATTLE  Fans of Seattles Fremont Brewing know the picnic tables and beer barrels that line the brewerys front facade, perfect for knocking back a cold one on a hot summer day.

But they dont see behind closed doors into the world of production, where beer cans are filled and capped on an assembly line in the back of the brewery. And with every barrel of beer the brewery churns out, excise taxes get funneled to the government.

For each of the 18,000 barrels Fremont produced last year, $7 went to the federal government. Thats $126,000 annually  a number that will rise as the company opens a larger facility. Beer production will begin there in 2016, said co-founder Sara Nelson.

Now there are competing proposals in Congress to significantly cut the federal excise tax  or eliminate it altogether  depending on the size of the brewery.

Any of the options would mean enough savings for Fremont Brewing to hire another employee and buy one more fermenter for beer production. Its significant, said Nelson. Its not small potatoes.

But its unclear which, if any, of the proposals might become law. And lawmakers are stuck trying to appease even a group representing the largest of breweries, which says it would be unfair not to pass the tax cut on to them.

The craft-beer industry has been growing since home-brewing was legalized federally in 1978. Sierra Nevada Brewing and Boston Beer started with experiments at home before producing for a larger audience.

Some people starting to drink now would never have not known craft beer to be around, said Adam Robbings, co-founder of Reubens Brews in Seattle.

Small breweries are big business in Washington state. In 2014, the state had 256 craft breweries, the second-highest total in the country. Thats up from 136 in 2011, according to the Brewers Association.

Currently, brewers pay a federal excise tax of $7 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels and $18 per barrel for 60,001 and above.

Small breweries have complained the excise tax hinders their ability to expand. Although large breweries make a larger profit, they also bear a much larger tax burden because excise taxes are based on barrels produced.

Under one proposal, brewers making fewer than 2 million barrels annually would pay $3.50 for the first 60,000 and $16 for the rest. Another plan would base tax cuts on the barrels produced, with the smallest of breweries  those who produce up to 7,143 barrels a year  paying no excise tax, and the rate increasing after that.

Compromise legislation has been introduced that would cut taxes in half for the first 60,000 barrels and reduce the tax for even the largest of breweries  those making more than 2 million barrels annually  and distilleries, wineries and vintners. That bill was the result, in part, of a group representing some of the largest brewers (Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors) crying foul when lawmakers proposed cutting taxes only for their smaller competitors.

A brewer that produces 60,000 or fewer barrels could increase cash flow with the tax cut, and larger breweries may be able to add jobs and increase investment with the extra money, said Andy Thomas, CEO of Craft Brew Alliance.

The smallest brewers would see those taxes cut at least in half, which is significant, said Jim McGreevy, CEO of the Beer Institute.

We think when the tax is lowered and reformed, thats going to do good things for beer and beer consumers, McGreevy said.

But breaking down the legislation means understanding that the size of breweries can be as varied as the beers on tap at a local bar, and that is sparking disagreement.

I think the 2 million is much too high, said Mike Hale, president of Hales Ales, which produced 11,000 barrels of beer last year. He said 100,000 barrels should be the limit for tax cuts because small brewers wouldnt necessarily have a thriving business and would need a financial break.

Less than 1 percent of the countrys breweries produce more than 2 million barrels annually, Thomas said. Most are much smaller  with 90 percent of breweries producing 7,143 barrels or less each year.

Naked City Brewing brewed 700 barrels last year, said its co-owner Bryan Miller. Its co-founder, Don Webb, added that it costs the brewery between $160 and $180 to produce a barrel of beer.

Peter Charbonnier, co-owner of Populuxe Brewing in Seattle, said it also costs them about $160 to produce each barrel, though the production cost varies based on brewery size and style.

On top of that expense, they pay $7 in federal excise tax and an additional $4.78 in state excise tax per barrel.

A federal excise-tax reduction wouldnt be as much of a game-changer for Reubens Brews, which churned out 800 barrels of beer last year, said Robbings.

I would get less than $3,000, which isnt enough to do anything, he said, presuming the tax is cut in half.

Bigger brewers producing more and paying more in taxes, he argues, may reap a more significant benefit for everyone than cutting taxes for the smaller ones.

How many breweries are really going to benefit that much from a position in being able to change what they do? Robbings said. Because we wont be able to change what we do.

Larger brewers with tax breaks could get equipment to automate their beer making, and small brewers would be able to save a bit more money to put back into the business, said Charbonnier, who brewed just over 250 barrels last year. He knows he wouldnt save a significant amount, but hes still optimistic.

Every little penny counts when youre this small, Charbonnier said.

To grow, breweries need tanks, fermentation space and kegs. These are all very expensive things, said Brad Benson, head brewer at Stoup Brewing in Seattle.

Savings would be great, he said.



2015 The Seattle Times

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Topics: t000016227,t000207832,t000016229,t000016228,t000035070,t000002953,t000003007,t000181361,t000386772,c000212286,g000362661,g000066164,g000065594,g000223557RTHK: Indie pop duo die in US car crash

British-based pop duo Her's have been killed in a road accident in the United States, where they were on tour, their record label said Friday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading died along with manager Trevor Engelbrektson while travelling to a gig in California on Wednesday, said the label, Heist or Hit.

"It is with overwhelming sadness that we regretfully inform you that Liverpool band Her's... tragically passed away in a road accident in the early hours of Wednesday, 27th March whilst travelling to a show in Santa Ana, California.

"We are all heartbroken."

The indie duo were on their second US tour to promote debut album "Invitation to Her's".

Fitzpatrick, from northwest England, and Laading, from Norway, met while studying at university in Liverpool.

"As humans, they were warm, gentle and hilarious," the label said in a statement on Facebook, calling them "one of the UK's most loved up and coming bands."

"They were in America playing to thousands of adoring fans. Fans they made a point of meeting and spending time with, such was their passion and humbleness."

First Avenue -- the legendary Minneapolis nightclub known as the home turf of the late pop icon Prince -- also paid tribute to the band as well as Minnesota's own Engelbrektson, saying the crash "sent shockwaves through our community."

"This is a reminder to hold your friends close," the club tweeted. "Tell your people that you love them."

The band was due to wrap their tour with a gig in Santa Ana, California, having played in Phoenix, Arizona the previous night.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety reported that a collision between a pick-up truck and 15-passenger van had left four people dead early Wednesday.

Authorities have not publicly released the victims' names, but said they were were badly burned in the accident.

"We don't know the exact speeds, but two heavy vehicles, coming into contact with each other at full speed -- the impact is huge and devastating," state trooper Kameron Lee told journalists.

"Both vehicles caught fire because of this high impact, and now four people are gone."

Her's began gaining recognition in Britain and the United States after British media cited the duo as "ones to watch," with the BBC promoting them on its new artists platform.

The band posted a poignant final Facebook message on Monday, writing: "It's almost home time for the lads, US tour has gone swimmingly so far. Got a hot sunset date with the Grand Canyon tonight." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.Morocco and the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the promotion and management of investments in the real estate sector.

The agreement was initialed on the sidelines of the Dubai Property Festival by Moroccos State Secretary for Housing, Fatna Lkhiyel, and Director General of Dubai Land Department, Sultan Butti bin Mijrin, reported MAP.

The signing of this MoU is aimed at promoting real estate activities as well as the real estate market by organizing exhibitions and participating in international and regional conferences and fairs.

The Dubai Property Festival (DPF), which wrapped up on Thursday, is the Middle Easts biggest property sales platform for local and international operators.

Sultan Butti Bin Mejren said DPF is an ideal platform for various stakeholders in the property sector. It offers great opportunities for the most prominent real estate projects in Dubai, including those that are currently under development.

Investors and those looking to take advantage of the opportunities that arise from working in the field can take advantage of its facilities.

The event that attracted some 20,000 visitors featured on-site auction of properties in addition to workshops, presentations, and panel discussions.PARADISE, Calif.  Mayor of Paradise Jody Jones is going to Washington DC next week to meet with legislators.

Jones will meet to discuss Camp Fire recovery and aid and says she is hopeful that the trip will be productive and bring resources to the town of Paradise.

Butte County Supervisors Steve Lambert and Bill Connelly will also head to DC with the Mayor where they will update legislatures on the continued impacts of the fire for the town and the community members.In a recent development, the iconic Indian cola brand  Thums Up  appointed Lowe Lintas to handle their creative duties. The mandate comes after an intense multi-agency pitch involving leading agencies in India.

The scope of the account includes creative services for Thums Up and its brand extensions. The business will be handled out of Lowe Lintas Delhi.

Exhilarated about the win, Naveen Gaur, Deputy CEO, Lowe Lintas, said, We are thrilled to have won Thums Up, the iconic cola brand of the country. Lowe Lintas is known for creating and nurturing leader brands. To be awarded a brand like Thums Up that is already Indias icon is a great compliment to our brand building capabilities.

Thums Up is a 40-year-old home-grown cola brand. Over the years, the brand has stood tall in the highly competitive Indian beverages market, as the largest cola brand by far.

Leading the charge at The Coca-Cola Company is Shrenik Dasani, Vice President, Sparkling Category at Coca-Cola India & South West. Speaking about the agencys appointment, he said, For over 40 years running, Thums Up has brought the taste of thunder to Indian taste buds. It has always been a unique icon of masculinity which reminds us that heroism is a choice, that we can unleash our true potential if we only choose to push the boundaries of self-belief. We are very excited to continue finding refreshed expressions of this thought, now with our new partner - congratulations to Lowe Lintas on winning the pitch and agreeing to join hands with us. This partnership comes at a truly epic stage of our journey, as we move ever closer to reaching the 1 billion-dollar mark, and as the brand begins to expand beyond India, into South-West Asian markets. We couldnt have thought of a better ally to help us take the thunder deeper into Indian youths hearts and minds.

The fact that the brand has been consistent in its messaging over the past four decades has helped it immensely. In order to retain its market share, the adventure enticing brand will have to employ approaches beyond consistency alone.Nancy Hokkanen wrote this post about two years ago. The crush is on harder than ever, with a quarantine (really more of a house arrest) of healthy children in Rockland County NY. Davey and Goliath was a children's TV show produced by the Lutheran Church. It had a moral lesson to offer each week. I can still hear Goliath saying, "But Davey, God wouldn't like that." God wouldn't like devout Jewish children being barred from services either.



By Nancy Hokkanen

The mainstream medias hostile, fear-inducing reporting about Minnesotas measles outbreak is a far cry from the objective news coverage of years past. Todays online articles read like calculated rewrites of recent U.S. history, which promote monetary gain for industry and social control for government while ignoring consumers reports of health damage from product failures.

During the 1940s through 1960s, most mothers stayed home with their sick children. Parents and doctors levels of concern about a communicable disease were commensurate with its potential effects on health. During U.S. polio outbreaks, people were justifiably afraid of paralysis and having to breathe using an iron lung. However parents handled many routine childhood diseases such as measles by confining the child and monitoring symptoms.

During the 1960s and 1970s, measles and chickenpox outbreaks occurred regularly among schoolchildren  and were not the subject of inflammatory national reporting. Kids with red spots on their faces were used as humorous punch-lines on TV sitcoms such as The Brady Bunch and cartoons such as Davey and Goliath, a stop-action animation series co-produced by Art Clokey of Gumby fame for the Lutheran Church in America.

Each of the 72 Davey and Goliath cartoons demonstrated a moral lesson for children on topics such as kindness, honesty, bullying and tolerance. In the 1962 episode Editor-in-Chief, young Davey eagerly helps the local newspaper editor by finding news to report. When his housebound friend Jimmy glumly announces from his bedroom window, Ive got the measles, Daveys response is insensitively self-serving: Hey, thats great! Thats news!

The scenes comedic implication is clear: Using a childs case of measles as news is absurd. On TV shows of that era, Daveys enthusiastic announcement would have cued a laugh track.

But theres nothing funny about the horrific rhetoric in this weeks reprehensible Boston Herald hanging offense op-ed. The unnamed writer brutally crossed a moral line by issuing threats against other humans lives  bizarrely, ironically, in the name of public health.President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2020 budget blueprint  a visionary document  includes what some call a good omen for a long-awaited and seemingly mercurial Aiken-area project: the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative.

Trump's budget request, now about three weeks old, includes $50 million for the AMC. More specifically, the money, if appropriated, would be used for AMC design and construction.

The AMC at a 30,000-foot level represents a partnership between the Savannah River Site  the U.S. Department of Energy more generally  and the outside world.

At a 15,000-foot level, the AMC represents a confluence of the Savannah River National Laboratory and both the future of education and manufacturing.

What is it?

At its core, the AMC will "provide some laboratory space, testing kinds of space, available both for industry and academia," according to SRS deputy manager Thomas Johnson Jr.

Johnson discussed Trump's budget request and answered questions about the AMC on Monday during a Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board meeting.

Trump's budget request, including DOE's related justification, describes the purpose of the AMC in great detail: "The Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative facility will provide accessible, modern, commercially viable and flexible laboratory space for SRNL to collaborate with industry and academia to translate a range of proven and potential advanced manufacturing technologies from the commercial chemical and manufacturing sectors into DOE processes, plans and missions to significantly improve risk management, enhance worker and public safety, reduce costs and shave years off the legacy waste cleanup schedule."

The AMC was pitched about three years ago. It's hit snags, in one way or another, since.

Where would it go?

The 60,000 square-foot facility is planned for the USC Aiken campus, according to both DOE documents and Dr. Sandra Jordan, the chancellor of USCA.

"We've been very patiently and supportively waiting," Jordan said Thursday.

Trump's 2020 budget pitch includes multimillion-dollar boost for SRS cleanup President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2020 budget request includes a noteworthy raise for the Savannah River Site.

The chancellor believes USCA is the best fit for the facility because the university has invested in related curriculum and hirings. The university, she continued, would also offer the AMC all the right kinds of exposure.

Jordan described the proposed $50 million as an "excellent sign." Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon and Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Will Williams had similar things to say.

"I think this is a signal that they agree that this is a good thing for the nation, and certainly it's a good thing for our city and our region," Osbon said Friday.

"We started hearing a few weeks ago, 'Pay attention to the budget, pay attention to the budget,'" Williams said during a sit-down interview with the Aiken Standard.

"I get down in the dumps about it sometimes," Williams said, "but then when I see something like this happening, I'm like, 'Alright, they are still trying.'"

Williams has been more or less involved with the the AMC venture from the beginning.

What could it do?

Both Jordan and Williams painted the AMC  if and when it gets done  as a flash point, an economic development engine for at least Aiken County.

Jordan said things happen around industry. South Carolina, she added, has built an economy with manufacturing and skilled labor in mind: Bridgestone in Graniteville, Kimberly-Clark in Beech Island and Boeing near Charleston, for example.

So, she continued, it only makes sense to foster that sort of workforce and encourage that sort of learning.

Savannah River National Lab, U.S. Army Cyber School pen new partnership The Savannah River National Laboratory and the U.S. Army Cyber School have a new agreement promoting training and education.

"This is a knowledge-based economy that we're in," Jordan said, referencing North Carolina's famed Research Triangle and California's legendary Silicon Valley.

Placing the AMC at USCA will "create an environment that can develop the best and brightest next generation workforce," DOE's budget documents read in part.

Williams specifically used the word "catalyst" in reference to the AMC.

"This could be, you could see some very high-tech, positive growth along the University Parkway corridor," he said.

Osbon believes the AMC could piece-by-piece mirror  if not directly connect Aiken to  the cyber and technology corridor that exists across the river in Augusta.

The mayor further said he would expect the AMC to draw "independent and private manufacturers" to the surrounding area.The autobiography of Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Reese has finally been published. Selmas Self-Sacrifice is the late civil rights leaders account of the voting rights movement in Alabamas Black Belt and the events leading up to Bloody Sunday and the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Born in Selma in 1929, F.D. Reese was instrumental in bringing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Selma to help lead protests against voter discrimination.

Selma to Montgomery, Alabama Civil Rights March March 21, 1965. Martin Luther King and Ralph Bunche and Frederick D. Reese. (William McCormick/The Huntsville Times) AL.comAL.com

Published in December 2018, eight months after Reeses death, the book was decades in the making. While the educator and minister had entertained the thought of documenting his life, becoming an author wasnt a priority-- even though his close friends and fellow civil rights leaders encouraged him to do so.

Long after the marches, jail stays and beatings, I cant recall a time when I would see the late Rev. Hosea Williams and he wouldnt inquire, When is your book coming out? Reese wrote in his memoir.

After the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Reese continued to set his sights on desegregating Selma. The activist, who went on to serve as one of Selmas first black city council members, was focused on the movement. When Williams pressed him, hed reply In Gods time.

Joe Smitherman. Mayor, Selma, Alabama. In the heat of the late afternoon sun, they stood talking in front of the Selma city hall, the white mayor and the black councilman. They had been talking about the budget. Suddenly Mayor Joe Smitherman said: "Do you remember the two of us about 10 years ago?" Councilman Frederick Reese grinned and nodded. Selma. (Credit: The Birmingham News)

Not everyone was as supportive as Williams. In the book, Reese noted that many people-- from Selma and beyond-- told him his contributions to the movement in Selma werent nearly as notable as those from the more celebrated leaders with whom he marched, prayed, and knelt beside on the front lines of the fight for civil rights.

That fact still leaves Reeses grandson, Alan, dismayed.

When I read that part (of the book) I thought, thats crazy, Alan told AL.com.

His brother Marvin, however, isnt as appalled. He notes that while leaders like John Lewis and Hosea Williams worked in other states and national politics, Reese chose to stay in Selma to focus on local politics and improving the quality of life for the citys black residents.

To be honest, it didnt make me feel any type of way, said Marvin. Grandad has always been the type to really care about the cause. When he felt like one (goal) had been accomplished, hed move on to the next one. And throughout the book, youll see that. He wasnt just satisfied with (working on) voting rights. His life was always about a different cause and he kept moving. So, I never felt any type of way about other peoples opinions. I knew what my grandad stood for.

Reese was never resentful about not receiving national recognition. Popularity was never part of his plan.

During a signing of Selmas Self Sacrifice earlier this month at Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church, Alan smiled and shook his head as he recalled his grandfathers indifference.

My grandaddy was very stubborn.

Marvin Reese, Jr. (left) and Alan Reese pose with a banner of their late grandfather, Rev. Dr. F.D. Reese (Credit: Shauna Stuart for Al.com)

But Hosea Williams never stopped encouraging Reese to write his memoir. The Reese brothers, who currently reside in Atlanta, remember seeing Williams in the city or in Selma for the Jubilee, the annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday.

Whenever Id see him, hed tell me tell your grandaddy to write his book, said Alan.

Photographs but no name

Growing up, Alan remembers seeing photographs of his grandfather in history books.

We would see his face in the books, but not a name. So, I used to tell him Im getting tired of that. Not seeing your name.  said Alan. Id ask him. How does it make you feel. And hed say it doesnt matter.

But Alan would never be satisfied with his grandfathers response.

Reese would eventually start writing his memoir, working on the book on and off over the years.

When I got older he told me if you feel like you can do something with my legacy, do it.  said Alan.

For Alan and Marvin, that meant encouraging their grandfather to finish his autobiography.

F.D. Reese finished writing his book in 2017 with the help of author Kathy M. Walters. Walters, whose cousin is married to Alan, sat with the minister, speaking with him about organizing protests in Selma, his faith, and raising a family at the height of the civil rights movement.

The result was Selmas Self-Sacrifice.

He wrote it. We finished it. Its an extension of the book he started years ago, said Alan. When he finished it, he allowed us to come up with the name. Because we were working on his legacy.

Selmas Self-Sacrifice

Dedicated to his wife, Alline, his family, and the people of Selma, the first chapter of Selmas Self-Sacrifice opens with Reeses account of standing with the Selma County Teachers Association as they faced Sheriff Jim Clark on the steps of the Dallas County Courthouse. Clark, infamous for his radical views and vicious opposition to desegregation, would later be responsible for many of the violent arrests during Bloody Sunday, the day when peaceful protesters were beaten by police and Alabama state troopers while attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge to Montgomery to demand the right to vote.

Rev. F.D. Reese was a member of the "Courageous Eight" who helped organize black voters in the 1960's and marched on "Bloody Sunday" and in the Selma to Montgomery March. Reese on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. News Staff Photo/Frank Couch ; Story by Kim Chandler bnbn

Reese, who was president of the Selma Teachers Association and fought for black female teachers to get maternity leave, was an unwavering advocate for teachers and challenged them to join the voting rights campaign.

My goal was to let teachers know that one of our most prized possessions is our voice and to stress the potential impact we could have by taking a stand and fighting for what was rightfully ours, wrote Reese.

President of the Dallas County Voters league, Reese was known as one of Selmas Courageous Eight a group of activists who continued to hold meetings to discuss protesting voting injustices, even after a court injunction banned marches and meetings.

In nine chapters, the late civil rights leader devoted his memoir to elevating the stories of the unsung heroes of the voting rights movement in the Black Belt, weaving in deeply personal narratives of meeting his wife, starting a family, and losing two sons to muscular dystrophy.

(left to right) Valerie Reese Harris, Christa Reese, Alline C. Reese, and Kathy M. Walters sign copies of "Selma's Self- Sacrifice" at the 16th Street Baptist Church. (Credit: Shauna A. Stuart)

Walters also added a final chapter to the book. The tenth chapter of Selmas Self Sacrifice is devoted to Reeses funeral and the legacy he left after his death in April 2018. With reflections from James Perkins, Selmas first black mayor, Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Nancy Sewell, and Selmas current mayor, Darrio Melton, the chapter concludes with an image of the telegram Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sent Reese on January 11, 1964, thanking and congratulating him for leading the teachers of Dallas County in protest and destroying often-made charge that teachers were afraid to fight injustice.

Hes the reason why you have the first black officer in Selma, Alan said of his grandfather. The first black sheriff. The first black fireman. He integrated a doctors office.

Selma mayor-elect James Perkins Jr. talks with his transition team chairman Frederick D. Reese in Selma's city council chambers following a press conference. Elected in 2000, Perkins was Selma's first black mayor. (Credit: Christine Jacobs)ph

Preserving their grandfather's legacy

Wearing a black hat with a folder in hand, Dr. F.D. Reese has been featured prominently in some of the most iconic photos of the civil rights movement, walking on the front lines of the marches from Selma to Montgomery.

FILE--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., third from right and his wife, Coretta King, lead off the final lap to the state capitol at Montgomery, Ala. in this March 25, 1965 file photo. Thousands of civil rights marchers joined in the walk, which began in Selma, Ala., on March 21, demanding voter registration rights for blacks. Rev. D. F. Reese, of Selma, is at right. King's birthday will be observed nationally Monday, Jan. 21, 2002. (AP Photo/File) APAP

Dr. Reese would often lead the activists in prayer. Another iconic photo shows Reese, King, and Rev. David Abernathy kneeling on their way to the Dallas County courthouse.

The image received renewed attention in 2017, when The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change shared the image on Twitter in response to the ongoing criticism of professional athletes who chose to take a knee during the National Anthem.

The frustration of their childhood carried into their adult years as they started to read history books with their own children.

 In fact, my daughter just brought a book home from the library. Opened the book and there he was with Coretta Scott King. But no name, said Alan.

We got tired of seeing those pictures. And knowing he officially invited Dr. King to Selma. And there's not a name. So we said 'nah, we're going to change that.

F.D. Reese holds framed photographs of two iconic images taken during the civil rights movement. (Courtesy: The F.D. Reese Foundation)

In 2017, the brothers started the F.D. Reese Foundation to honor their grandfathers legacy of service, focusing on education and humanitarian work. The foundation offers three scholarships to high school and college students, including one to Reeses alma mater, Alabama State University. Alan and Marvin also started the annual March for Muscles, a partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Association to spread awareness and raise money to find a cure for the disease.

The Next Generation

Almost every year, the Reese family has attended the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, the annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday. One of the states largest celebrations of black history, hundreds of people flock to Selma every year to hear personal stories from freedom fighters and activists, enjoy a festival of music and culture, and retrace the Bloody Sunday march from Brown Chapel A.M.E across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

In a Sunday March 6, 2016, file photo, civil rights activist Rev. F.D. Reese rides across the Edmund Pettus Bridge ahead of marchers on the 51st anniversary of the voting rights demonstration that came to be known as "Bloody Sunday." (Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File) APAP

Jubilee co-founder Rose Sanders has spoken openly about the need to bridge the communication gap between the millennial generation and those who came of age in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. For the last two years during the commemorative weekend, Sanders has designed summits to foster candid discussions between generations about activism, politics and social justice. In 2018, Sanders brought in political strategist Angela Rye and Congresswoman Maxine Waters for a conversation about navigating politics and activism, particularly in the era of Donald Trump. This year, journalist Roland Martin moderated an inter-generational panel of community activists from around the country.

Bridging the communication gap between generations is the foundation of the Reese brothers mission, especially when it comes to teaching young people about the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement.

When you talk about that gap, a lot of young people that I've talked to don't know the history, said Marvin. So I think you have to start there.

After learning about Dr. King and the widely celebrated leaders of the movement in elementary school, says Marvin, many of the young people hes encountered never revisit civil rights history. And theres no one to educate them about it once they become young adults.

A lot of young people, will be like I dont know anything except for Dr. King. I did a project on him in third grade but that's pretty much it,  said Marvin.

They say the millennials are in a disconnect. Well, that's why. Because, you have your John Lewis here. And your young people here. But who's in the middle bridging that gap to teach them the history?

Thats where Marvin and Alan come in. They know the history, have access to a community of living civil rights freedom fighters, and know how to speak to the younger generation.

The key, says Alan, is to reach beyond the book and step out from behind the traditional role of educator to teach history in a relatable and authentic way.

To promote the F.D. Reese Foundation, the brothers designed apparel with a logo outline of their grandfathers face.

Alan is also working with an auto body shop to put the logo on a Dodge Challenger.

Itll be an F.D. Reese SRT.

His plan for the car: use music and car culture as a teachable history lesson.

"So, lets take hip-hop. I have a car. A challenger. Some (young people) may not personally know about the movement, but they'll know (about) my car, because they like hot rods. Who is F.D. Reese? Well, let me show you. See, I'm bridging the gap. said Alan. "Weve been taught that we need to bring people near. Well, I've got to bring them near to teach them. But if I can't bring them near, I can't teach them.

"Exactly, agrees Marvin. I had a coworker I was talking to. He said you know, Reese, I don't really read like that. But, he does like cars. And he's actually helping my brother get his car made. So now, he's telling his kids about F.D. Reese. You (have to) bring some likeness instead of just telling people read this. How are you going to reach the people? You have to come up with a different way."

Hip-hop has a long history of influence on culture and politics, and thats not likely to change any time soon. In 2017, Nielsen reported that, for the first time in history, rap surpassed rock to become the most consumed music genre. The music has also long been a vessel for social commentary.

Rapper and cultural commentator Killer Mike vocally endorsed Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. His Atlanta barbershop, The Swag Shop, has also been used as a site for voter registration.

Atlantas hip-hop elite, including rapper T.I. rallied behind Keisha Lance Bottoms 2017 mayoral campaign and the 2018 campaign for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

In addition to political strategists Angela Rye and DeJuana Thompson, the Alabama native who founded the organization Woke Vote, Alan and Marvin say rappers Killer Mike, T.I., and David Banner have a relatable way of discussing politics and engaging younger generations.

Honestly, they're bridging that gap, said Alan. And you see how they're bringing people near.

The brothers say a goal of theirs is to work with rappers and critics such as Killer Mike and David Banner to help teach their already captive audiences about the history of civil rights leaders like their grandfather.

So get someone like us from a family of one of the chief orchestrators of the movement. We want to work with them to bridge the gap. Weve got something. said Alan.

He says that practice can start right at the annual Jubilee for young people who may not be interested in attending the educational sessions.

We performed at the Jubilee this year. They do a great job of having events that educate the people, said Alan. But there are still a lot of people at the festival who dont know why theyre there. Id ask them Do you know about Bloody Sunday? And theyd say no. Im just here for polish sausages.

Its true, agrees Marvin.

One of Alans ideas: start with small, but noticeable details to spark conversations.

When they get a wristband to go into the festival, have (an image of) one of the Courageous Eight on the wristband.

He says when organizers give out the wristbands, they could use the image as the opportunity for a brief talking point.

The Reese brothers would also like to see the foot soldiers, those who took part in the marches from Selma to Montgomery, become a more visible part of the Jubilee weekend.

While the Jubilee has programs in honor of the foot soldiers such as the Foot Soldiers Breakfast and Unity Breakfast, Alan and Marvin would like to see renewed attention placed on the foot soldiers during the actual bridge crossing ceremony on Sunday afternoon following the church service at Brown Chapel A.M.E.

Over the past few years, there are foot soldiers who have stopped participating in Sundays commemoration march, saying Jubilee organizers push them to the back of the crowd to make room for politicians and celebrities.

Some foot soldiers have chosen to make the pilgrimage across the bridge with other groups earlier during the day, or opt to do their own personal journeys across the bridge.

I feel like the foot soldiers should always be in front. And for the ones who are no longer with us, (organizers) should allow family representation. The foot soldiers are the ones who sacrificed, said Alan.

So lets go to the person who controls the narrative and knows who the foot soldiers are. And lets talk to them and say look we need to honor these people while they are still here living. My grandfather always said Give me my flowers while Im living. Dont wait until Im dead. So, while they are still living, let them be in the front."

Every year, politicians return to Selma with Congressman John Lewis to do a pilgrimage across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Saturday.

The Selma Jubilee is also a hotbed for politicians, especially during election seasons, and this year was no different for 2020 presidential hopefuls.

Sen. Bernie Sanders gave the keynote speech at the Unity Breakfast earlier that morning. Before joining Sundays bridge crossing ceremony, Sen. Cory Booker gave the keynote address at Brown Chapel A.M.E., following a rousing speech from Hillary Clinton.

The brothers say people need to start holding politicians accountable when they come to the city.

Show me a plan, said Marvin. Show me the specific plan that you have for what we're going through.

Politicians want to come and talk a good game and get the vote. And theyre just doing their little tour. But what are we seeing from your career that you have done to help? Not just Selma. Not even just voting," said Alan. If you cant show something, then I dont even want to listen to you. Because Ive seen this movie before. I know the ending.

(The article will be updated with additional photos)A Decatur doctor who was found guilty late last year of harassing three female patients and is being sued by 10 patients for sexual harassment was jailed Friday in Montgomery on a sexual abuse warrant from the Morgan County Sheriffs Office, authorities said.

Dr. Michael Dick, whose medical license was suspended for sexual misconduct, was in the state capital for a hearing regarding his license when he was taken into custody by Montgomery police, the sheriffs office said. Dick was held in the Montgomery County Jail on $50,000 bond; Morgan County sheriffs deputies were yet to extradite him to the county as of 6:45 p.m. Friday.

Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said the warrant was related to Dicks work but did not elaborate.

A former patient of Dicks, Ashley Newcomb, said the doctor touched her face inappropriately and told her she was beautiful; Dick was found guilty in September to that charge, in Decatur Municipal Court.

He also pleaded guilty in to two other counts of harassment with the stipulation that he would appeal to the Morgan County Circuit Court.

One of those cases involved Cheree Jordan, a former patient of Dicks at Alabama Medicine and Rheumatology in Decatur, who told AL.com that Dick kissed her on the mouth while she was in the exam room seeing him for arthritis-related problems. She said she was unaware that another woman made a complaint against Dick before she came forward with her allegations.

The conviction and guilty pleas led to Dicks medical license being suspended.

In all, 10 female patients are suing Dick for sexual misconduct and harassment.On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot while leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Reagan had addressed the Building and Construction Workers Union of the AFL-CIO.

U.S. PRESIDENT ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, PRESS SECRETARY POLICE OFFICER INJURED WOUNDED, CROWD, CRIME, SHOOTING SCENE, SECRET SERVICE, CABINET MEMBER, POLITICIANAP

As he was walking to his limousine at 2:27 p.m. from the side entrance on Connecticut Avenue, John Hinckley Jr., 25, who was armed with a .22 caliber revolver, began shooting.

Hinckley's first shot hit White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head. Brady was left partially paralyzed.

Also wounded were District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy.

Secret Services agents and police swarm a gunman, obscured from view, after he attempted an assassination on President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton hotel on Monday, March 30, 1981. The Secret Service later identified the suspect as John Warnock Hinckley, 25, of Evergreen, Colorado. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP

All six of Hinckleys shots missed Reagan. While one Secret Service agent pushed Reagan into the limo, another put himself between the shooter and the president. However, the last bullet ricocheted off the limousine and hit him in the left underarm and lodged in his lung.

Agents at first did not realize Reagan had been hit. After realizing he was injured he was taken to George Washington University Hospital. He arrived there less than 4 minutes after leaving the hotel.

Photo diagram highlights logistics of President Ronald Reagan and others during the assassination attempt on the president outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, March 30, 1981. (AP Photo)AP

At the hospital, according to history.com, Reagan said to his wife, Nancy, Honey, I forgot to duck.

Reagan began resuming some of his duties the next day. He returned to the White House on April 11, 1981.

Hinckley reportedly was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley had stalked her and wrote her a letter saying he was trying to gain her love and respect.

Secret Service Agent Timothy J. McCarthy is loaded into an ambulance after being wounded during an assassination attempt on President Reagan outside a Washington Hotel on March 30, 1981. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in June 1982 and committed to a psychiatric facility. He was permitted supervised day trips in 1999 and was allowed to visit his parents once a week. He was released in 2016 and moved in with his elderly mother in Virginia. Officials had determined that he was no longer a threat to himself or others.

Secret Service agents wrestle with suspect in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in this video screen shot from CBS News, March 30, 1981. Agents later identified the man as John Warnock Hinckley Jr., 22, of Evergreen, Colorado. (AP Photo/CBS News)AP

Last fall a federal judge ruled that Hinckley was permitted to live on his own. He was required to do volunteer work or have a job at least three days a week and was restricted to a 75-mile radius of Williamsburg, Va. He is required to have a GPS-enabled cell phone whenever he is away from home, according to a story by USA Today.

Reagan, former governor of California and a former actor, was elected president in 1980. He had been sworn into office in January 1981, just two months before he was shot.

Two people hang a sign on a building near the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, March 31, 1981 where President Ronald Reagan is being treated for gun shot wounds he received on Monday in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)AP

He won a second term in the 1984 election and was sworn into office in January 1985.

After retiring he was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease in 1994 when he was 83 years old. He died in California on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93.

Secret Service agent Timothy J. McCarthy, foreground, Washington policeman, Thomas K. Delehanty, center, and presidential Press Secretary, James Brady, background, lie wounded on a street outside a Washington hotel after shots were fired at U.S. President Reagan on March 30, 1981. McCarthy threw himself into the line of fire and Delehanty, on crowd control duty, was standing close to the gunman, John Warnock Hinckley Jr., who pushed a pistol through a cluster of bystanders and fired six shots. Police and secret service subdue the gunman in the background. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP

During the shooting in 1981, Brady had been shot above his left eye. He was left with partial paralysis that required him to use a wheelchair.

President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan acknowledge cheers upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, April 11, 1981. Reagan was released from George Washington University Hospital 12 days after he was shot in the chest by a would-be assassin. (AP Photo)AP

He and his wife, Sarah, became gun control advocates and lobbyists. They founded the nonprofit Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed in 1993. Brady died in 2014.

Good Morning, Pennsylvania

Sign up now for Good Morning, Pennsylvania, and get the most important headlines delivered free to your inbox by 6 a.m. Monday-Friday.Negotiations are currently underway between the Moroccan phosphates group OCP and Kenya for the setting up of a fertilizer plant in Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa.

In this connection, the head of the Orange Democracy Movement (ODM), the main opposition party in Kenya, Raila Odinga, is currently visiting Morocco to negotiate the project with the OCP group.

Raila Odinga held a series of meetings on Friday in Rabat, including with OCP Group CEO Mostafa Terrab, to seal the deal, Kenyan The Standard newspaper reported Saturday.

The paper explained that the choice of Kisumu is considered strategic as most countries in sub-Saharan Africa import fertilizers to boost their agricultural output.

The newspaper said Raila Odinga was impressed by the infrastructure and development of Morocco, including the fastest train on the continent that connects Casablanca to Tangier.

The newspaper also revealed that Kisumu Governor, Anyang Nyongo, confirmed the information on the forthcoming setting up in the city of a fertilizer manufacturing unit.

The Governor told the paper he postponed a visit to Morocco initially scheduled for next week to a later date, because the city of Kisumu hosts a national meeting April 12 to 14. We postponed the trip to a later date, Nyongo said.

He welcomed plans to install the fertilizer plant, saying that Kisumus strategic location as a regional hub should benefit investors.

When the Standard Gauge Railway finally reaches Kisumu, the goods will then be loaded into ships crossing Lake Victoria to serve other regional destinations, he said, adding that Moroccos choice as a project partner was to take advantage of its advanced technology in the field of fertilizers and agriculture in general.

OCP is also carrying out fertilizer projects in Ethiopia and Rwanda.The Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Water Works Board both spoke out this week against a proposed coal mine on the Black Warrior River, about five miles away from a drinking water intake that provides water for about 200,000 people.

The Water Works said in a news release that it has filed comments this week with the Alabama Surface Mining Commission opposing the renewal of a permit for Mays Mining to operate a surface coal mine (Mays Mine No. 5), on the banks of the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, upstream of the Water Works Mulberry Intake.

Birmingham Water Works has been a long-standing opponent of coal mining near our water sources as it opens the possibility of contamination into the drinking water for many families we serve, the utility said in a news release. The opposition with this particular mine dates back almost a decade.

The Water Works also noted that a Jefferson County judge ordered the permit remanded back to the Surface Mining Commission twice due to concerns over contamination left behind from a plywood facility that used to operate on the proposed mine site. According to court documents, a plywood production facility operated on the site from approximately 1969 to 1980 and likely used chemicals such as phenolic formaldehyde resin glue that could adversely impact the source water.

There is also a federally protected species, the flattened musk turtle, living in the area.

Not only do we believe that this coal mining could adversely impact our water supply, but our professional research indicates that its also a threat to an endangered species that inhabits that area, BWWB General Manager Michael Johnson said in a news release. People live and depend on a clean and safe water supply and we strive each day to ensure that it stays protected.

That statement came Friday, a few days after the Birmingham City Council passed a resolution opposing the mine, citing the environmental hazards and the potential for adverse impacts to the drinking water.

We implore the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to deny the permit for the proposed No. 5 Mine, the resolution said.

The Mays Mine is a different tract than the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine, which was to be located less than 1000 feet from the intake. In 2015, Drummond Company announced it would not seek to renew its permit to open a mine on that site. Much of the land at the Shepherd Bend site is owned by the University of Alabama. The university has no connection to the Mays Mine project.

Environmental group Black Warrior Riverkeeper, which has also filed comments opposing the mine, and has asked for a public hearing on the permit, said the location is unsuitable for coal mining, particularly at a site that also contains industrial contaminants from the plywood facility.

This mine is a threat to the source of our drinking water for 200,000 people in greater Birmingham, Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said. "Its just upstream from one of the largest sources of drinking water in the entire state.

Theres a very real concern that this mine could release those [plywood] contaminants right next to our drinking water source. Its just too close.

A permit for a surface coal mine on the site had previously been approved by the Alabama Surface Mining Commission under the previous owner of the site, Reed Minerals, but no mining has taken place yet there, partly due to ongoing court actions.

The Birmingham Water Works filed suit against the mining commission to block the permit, and in 2016, a judge ruled that the permit did not take into account the potential for contamination from the plywood facility, and remanded it back to the mining commission. In 2018, the same judge ruled the Mining Commission still had not adequately resolved those issues in a revised permit.

In addition to opposition from the Water Works and City Council, the Citizen Advisory Board of Birmingham also approved a resolution opposing the mine and asking the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to reject the permit application.

Brooke said he hopes that the commission will grant its request for a public hearing before approving the permit, and that many local residents also oppose the permit. He said the area near the proposed mine is a popular fishing spot.

The Alabama Surface Mining Commission is going to have to meaningfully address the courts concerns," Brooke said. A lot of people are opposed to this mine and rightfully so.Huntsville City Schools board member Michelle Watkins was acquitted today of a misdemeanor harassment charge, according to media reports.

Watkins was arrested late last year after a woman filed a police report accusing her of yelling at a meeting at Jemison High and obtained a warrant, authorities said.

Today I was vindicated of a frivolous charge, Watkins said in a statement to AL.com. I am thankful for my family, friends and supporters for standing by my side and constantly encouraging me. Throughout this process I never lost focus of the students. I will continue to serve with power and truth, unbought and unbossed!

At a trial this morning in Huntsville Municipal Court, Watkins was acquitted, according to AL.com news partner WHNT News 19.

After her arrest, Watkins vehemently stated she was innocent.

Watkins represents District 1, which includes Jemison High School and other north Huntsville campuses.The Mobile area Hindu community celebrated a one in a lifetime happening Saturday amid ceremonies to consecrate the citys first Hindu Temple.

Located off McFarland Road in the Dawes area, the temple will officially be brought to life on Sunday, after two days of ceremonies held outside under pavilions. The focus of much of the praying, dancing and singing there has been to imbue a collection of Vighrahas -- statues representing elements of the faith -- with the divine presence they are to convey.

"We are inviting the almighty god into these Vighrahas," said Vijay Vedala, a priest participating in the ceremonies.

On Sunday, the Vighrahas will be moved into the temple itself. Saty Putcha, a community leader in the effort to create the temple, said the process had been going "very, very well." A number of local dignitaries had visited on Saturday, he said, including Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, County Commissioner Jerry Carl, City Councilwoman Gina Gregory, Sheriff Sam Cochran and Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bill Sisson.

"In Hinduism it is a big process," said Vedala. "A once in a lifetime happening."

It is a lifetime opportunity, said Venkat, an officiant in the prayers and ceremonies. Not a lot of people get to see it. Being a part of one is always a great feeling.Qom, Iran  The year was 1979. An Islamic revolution had just overthrown Irans powerful US-backed king, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was now in charge of what for centuries had been an ancient empire.

In the months after Khomeini seized power, Irans revolutionaries began the difficult work of rebuilding government institutions using Islam as a guide.

The first major act of the new leaders was to hold a referendum. On March 30 and 31, the shaky leadership asked all Iranians over the age of 16 a simple yes or no question: should Iran be an Islamic republic?

Looking back, it may seem strange to ask that of a country that had just experienced a successful Islamic revolution. But even though Mohammad Raza Pahlavi  the shah of Iran  was gone, Iranians remained divided about what they wanted the future to look like. At the time, the Islamic Republic of Iran was far from a foregone conclusion.

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In one of his first speeches after returning from exile, before the revolution had taken hold, Khomeini seemed to know he would have to put his leadership claim to some kind of vote.

I must tell you that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, that evil traitor, has gone. He fled and plundered everything. He destroyed our country and filled our cemeteries. He ruined our countrys economy, Khomeini said.

I shall appoint my own government. I shall slap this government in the mouth. I shall determine the government with the backing of this nation, because this nation accepts me.

But even after Pahlavis removal, revolutionaries were hit by infighting, the new government was still suppressing anti-revolution dissent in parts of the country, and just weeks before the referendum tens of thousands of women marched in the streets of Tehran to protest against a new mandatory veil law.

For Khomeini and his supporters, the referendum was a way to legitimise their rule. Nearly 99 percent of Iranians voted in favour of abandoning Irans old constitution and using Islam as the blueprint to write a new one. The vote and its results were scrutinised by critics all over the world. But in December, Iranians voted again in favour of ratifying their new Islamic constitution.

Today, defenders of the Islamic system of government point to the referendum as a democratic mandate for Irans current theocratic system.

Its one of the lesser known events of 1979, but the referendum was a pivotal moment that fused religion and politics, and transformed Irans legislative landscape.





Khomeinis road to Tehran

Irans transformation from empire to the Islamic Republic began in Khomeinis hometown of Qom in the 1960s. One too many fiery speeches admonishing the royal family forced him into exile in 1964. He spent 15 years away from home, much of it in another city of religious scholars  Najaf in Iraq. But that didnt stop him from criticising the shah of Iran for making concessions to Western powers that he saw as a violation of Iranian sovereignty.

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He smuggled letters and bootleg cassette tapes into Iran, using an underground network of mosques and seminaries. His speeches, played in homes around the country, became the bedrock of the revolution to come.

Mahmoud Mohammadi Yazdi is the caretaker of Khomeinis family home in Qom. He was one of Khomeinis students and a young man at the time of the revolution. He was with him during his exile in Najaf and says Khomeinis primary motivation was to improve the lives of ordinary people.

He was perfect in every way, Yazdi said. Everyone liked him.

Khomeinis followers remain fiercely loyal. At his request, Yazdi risked his own life to return to Iran as part of a first wave of the revolution.

We all accepted whatever he said, Yazdi said. Two years before the revolution, he wanted someone to come to Iran [and] he said it is dangerous but there is no one to go but me. I told him if he is OK with it, I would go.

I came here and I faced hardships, but it was not a big problem. I was arrested here in Qom and later I was released. But if [the authorities] knew why I was there, they would never have let me go. We believed what we were doing was the right thing. We all thought the same way; it was just for God and Imam [Khomeini].

Khomeini was becoming much more than a champion for common people. His revolution changed him as much as it changed Iran, transforming him from dutiful Muslim leader to monumental political figure. He may have considered his actions at the time to be a spiritual calling. But the wheels he set in motion decades ago made religion a right of passage for modern-day Iranian political life.





Qom, city of Irans future leaders

Getting anything done in the capital, Tehran, often means getting the blessing of Muslim leaders who oversee elected officials. In place for 40 years, this system has made Qom, Irans religious heartland, one of the most important cities in the country.

If before the revolution, very few young people were interested in entering [Islamic seminaries], today many youths that would have been educated in universities in the past are entering [Islamic seminaries], said Seyyed Ali Mousavi, a professor in one of Qoms many religious institutions.

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Before the Islamic Revolution, Mousavi said, religious scholars were primarily concerned with how Iranians conducted their spiritual lives. After 1979, their public role changed drastically.

After the [1979 Islamic Revolution], other than their social role, clergies took on political roles, he said, adding, not just in parliament, they even entered other branches of government. So, they became more influential.

Today, the impact of seminaries and clergies on the social space of Iran, as well as politics, is greater than in the past. It has meant clergies have dual roles, and that both have been expanded. Firstly, in society and secondly in the ruling class.

For Irans younger generations, the religious study has become a precursor to any ambitions of government work. The city is filled with young men and women in their 20s, hoping to someday climb the political ladder in the capital.

One seminary student running between classes was clear in his assessment about the value of religious education in modern-day Iranian politics.

The most important issue in any society is its ideology, he said. The ideology of Islam is the best and the clerics of Qom have the right ideology. So, because it is where the clerics are, Qom is Irans most important city.Pope Francis started this Saturday a two-day visit to Morocco, a Muslim country wherein Muslims, Jews and Christians live in peace and harmony in a region threatened by growing extremism, populism and radicalism.

Shortly after the Popes arrival in Rabat airport Saturday noon, King Mohammed VI, the Commander of the Faithful, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, and Prince Moulay Rachid, presided over at the esplanade of the Hassan Mosque in Rabat , the official welcoming ceremony of Pope Francis.

The Sovereign and the leader of the Catholic Church then delivered speeches in the presence of tens of thousands of people of all faiths.

The spiritual leader of the Catholic world is making this historical trip at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithfull, to promote interreligious dialogue, mutual respect and understanding between the followers of the two religions.

Francis will be the second pope to visit the country, after St. Pope John Paul II was in 1985 the first pope to visit a Muslim country at the invitation of late King Hassan II.

The North African Kingdom stands out as a model in the protection of religious minorities and as a caretaker of historical heritage, rich in tolerance and coexistence, while respecting the rights of those who fled religious oppression or social injustice.

Moroccan laws and authorities do not tolerate the violation of the rights of religious minorities. Muslims believe in all Prophets and Messengers and were ordered to honor and respect them.

Throughout its history, Morocco has set the example of cultural coexistence and interaction between Islam and other religions, particularly Judaism and Christianity. The Moroccan-Andalusian civilization, produced by various communities with diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, led to the development of trade, industry and arts, as well as to fruitful exchange in the areas of knowledge, wisdom, philosophy and science.

As Commander of the Faithful and defender of the faith, King Mohammed VI is committed to protecting the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The religious rights of Muslims and non-Muslims are protected and guaranteed by the Moroccan Constitution.

There are about 23,000 Catholics in the country which has two archdioceses; one in Rabat, the countrys capital city, and one based in Tangiers.

Reverend Karen Smith, the president of the Protestant Church in Morocco commended the liberty that she and her foreign congregations enjoy in the North African country.

In a video message to Moroccans released on the eve of his trip, Pope Francis said: as Christians and Muslims, we believe in God the creator and merciful one, who has created men and women and placed them on earth so that they might live together as brothers and sisters, respecting each others diversity and helping each other in their need.

During his trip, the Holy Father will visit to the tombs of late Kings Mohammad V and Hassan II and meet with migrants at the offices of the local branch of aid agency Caritas as the Catholic Church in Morocco works mainly with people from Sub-Saharan Africa, who make up to 70 percent of churchgoers.

The Pope will also visit a training center for Imams, Murshideen and Murshidat (male and female preachers), championing a moderate and tolerant Islam against the threat of extremism. The center, opened in 2015, is housing 1,200 live-in students from Morocco, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

On Sunday, 31 March, Pope Francis will make a private visit to a rural center for social services in the town of Temara, and later will meet with priests, religious women and men, and members of the ecumenical council of churches.

The Pope will then have lunch with the Bishops of Morocco. The visit will conclude with the celebration of a solemn papal Mass on Sunday evening at the Prince Moulay Abdellah sporting complex in Rabat. The Mass will be aired worldwide.San Salvador, El Salvador  Mario* says he used to be an aggressive, domineering and an arrogant person. When his relationship ended more than two years ago, he threatened to publish intimate photos and videos of his ex-girlfriend in an attempt to regain control.

He did not share the images publicly, but his messages were still a crime under Salvadoran law: online harassment, which carries a four to six years prison sentence in El Salvador.

Mario spent six months behind bars before he was given the option of enrolling in a masculinity course, an alternative measure focused on rehabilitation.

Often a person doesnt even realise that they are carrying out some type of violence, and in the class, they make us see, Mario says, adding that the classes have helped him identify how his past and present behaviours have embodied toxic masculinity, commonly defined as a set of socially constructed traits that encourage dominance, aggression and the devaluation of women.

The course is part of an initiative to reduce soaring rates of gender violence in El Salvador by implementing measures that focus on changing the behaviour of men convicted of these crimes.

More than 360 femicides last year

El Salvador has some of the highest rates of gender violence in the world. The country registered 365 femicides last year. In 2017, a woman was killed every 18 hours, according to the Institute of Legal Medicine. In a country of roughly 6.5 million residents, that is one of the highest rates of femicide in the world.

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We [men] are the ones who are creating the most violence in general and in context of violence against women, says Benjamin Bonilla, director of Masculinities for Peace, shortened to Mas Paz in Spanish or More Peace, the San Salvador-based NGO that runs the masculinity courses.

Practically the only public policy that the Salvadoran state has for men in terms of prevention of violence against women is jail time, he adds.

El Salvador has the second-highest imprisonment rate after the United States.

There is a growing understanding worldwide that men and boys need to be included in solutions to gender violence. A 2011 UN Women report recommended that programmes to end gender violence extend their focus beyond women and girls to contain specific elements designed to help young men understand that cultural change needs to occur if the cycle of violence is to be broken.

Activists hold a sign reading, not one more during a protest against violence against women in El Salvador [File: Jose Cabezas/Reuters]

El Salvador opened a specialised court system in July 2017 to focus on 11 gender-based crimes ranging from femicide to disseminating revenge porn to failure to pay child support in the hopes of cutting down impunity for gender violence.

An estimated 95 percent of gender-based crimes in El Salvador go unpunished because of weak protections, under-reporting of crimes, and victim-blaming within institutions, according to a 2016 report by Foundation Friedrich Ebert, a German political foundation that funds research on democracy and social justice around the world.

Two-pronged approach

The specialised court system has taken this two-pronged approach to the problem of gender violence that combines convictions and rehabilitation.

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We arent just going to use the traditional mechanisms, such as prison sentences, fines or volunteer service, that dont focus on transforming a persons patriarchal behaviour, says Glenda Baires, one of the two head judges of the specialised court.

We understand that there are many challenges, but we have the confidence that even just attending some talks or therapy can change these patterns of behaviour in the future, she tells Al Jazeera.

The classes are meant to complement punitive punishments, not replace them. After facing trial for disseminating porn, Mario says his jail time helped him understand that it was a crime. But without the masculinity courses, he might not have been able to transform his conduct on a deeper level.

Now, he says he can identify other ways that he has engaged in harmful behaviours, including letting his mother and sisters take all the responsibilities for housework, getting irrationally angry with his ex-girlfriend for not answering his messages, or reacting aggressively towards other men to resolve a conflict.

Although some of these actions are not necessarily crimes, they exist on a continuum of gender violence that ranges from microaggressions to femicide. The rehabilitation process is not just about preventing further crimes, but also about helping aggressors form a new perspective in life and a transformed vision in their familial and social relations, says Baires.

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El Salvador is not the first country to focus on masculinities to address gender violence at the root. Universities such as Duke and Brown have offered academic courses on masculinity in recent years and students report a change in their beliefs about gender norms after enrolling.

A pilot programme in Central America that focused on masculinity and fatherhood classes reported that 98 percent of participants said it was not acceptable for a man to hit a woman if she doesnt want to have sex with him compared with 79 percent who said so at the start of the course.

We aren't just going to use the traditional mechanisms, such as prison sentences, fines or volunteer service, that don't focus on transforming a person's patriarchal behaviour. Glenda Baires, one of the two head judges of the specialised court in El Salvador

The Mas Paz programme asks participants to fill out a survey before and after the course about their attitudes towards women and gender violence, and Bonilla reports positive changes, although he says the organisation has yet to systematically analyse the data. To Bonillas knowledge, no class participant has ever become a repeat offender after taking the class.

Still, not all participants are as open to the process as Mario was. Some resist the material, making homophobic remarks or pushing back against the concepts laid out in the course, Bonilla says.

A 2015 study of rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators of gender violence in Spain found that 70 percent of those who completed the training showed positive changes in attitude. However, there was a high dropout rate. Between 30 and 40 percent of the participants rejected the treatment in the first session and another 20 percent did so on the third or fourth round. And there is little research about whether these classes lead to a reduction of gender violence over time.

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Another local NGO that has run masculinity classes for nearly two decades in El Salvador, Centro Bartolome de las Casas (CBC), stopped working with convicted aggressors because few participants showed drastic changes in their way of thinking even though the programme invested a significant investment of time and resources. Instead, CBC focuses its classes on gatekeepers  community leaders, activists, and government officials.

The Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women, a government institution, (ISDEMU) also runs masculinity workshops for police, judges and investigators for the attorney generals office with the idea that targeting the people attending victims and aggressors to change their sexist beliefs can have the biggest effect.

Because of the socialisation and the construction of gender, we hold the belief that we do work with aggressors, because we are all aggressors under this socialisation, says Walberto Tejeda, who runs the masculinity programme at CBC.

If the system teaches boys from a young age this idea of superiority over the girls, there is an aggressive idea starting there, Tejeda adds.

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Mario agrees that masculinity courses should extend beyond men facing a potential conviction for gender violence.

He has now become part of the burgeoning masculinity movement in El Salvador, regularly speaking to young men at a local community centre about toxic masculinity so that they dont do what he did.

To resolve the problem of violence against women its important to incorporate men, says Bonilla. As long as men are not included, the problem wont be solved.

*Editors note: The name has been changed to avoid unwanted attention to the victim as his conviction was highly publicised in the local media.On March 30, 2018, I witnessed something that I will never forget. I saw tens of thousands of people, with different political affiliations and ideological backgrounds, standing together in one field, raising the Palestinian flag and banners bearing the names of the villages and towns from which Israel had uprooted them.

On that day, the divisions among Palestinians disappeared, and the people came together to demand their inalienable rights.

The Great March of Return opened a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for freedom. It gave the Palestinian people a new opportunity to collectively rise up against the Israeli occupation.

Since then, we have paid a heavy price for our peaceful resistance. Some 266 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,557 have been injured by live ammunition; 124 have had a limb amputated.

But we have persevered. Every Friday, thousands of us, women and men, young and old, have continued to stream to the border fence with Israel to demand our legal right to return to our homeland and demonstrate that we will not accept a slow death inside the walls of the Gaza Strip prison.

The Great March of Return has rekindled our spirit of resistance, empowered us, made us stronger and more unified.

When I and my friends first started discussing the idea of a march more than a year ago, I did not expect that we would achieve so much.

The idea came to us at a time when popular resistance in Palestine had suffered massive decline. Since the end of the second Intifada in 2005, there have been sporadic protests but no spontaneous mass movement.

Instead, various political factions had taken over the streets with planned demonstrations, rallying their members and supporters. Such activism organised along political lines had reduced many Palestinians to passive bystanders and alienated them.

This was highly detrimental to the national cause, because it factionalised the resistance movement. Since the occupation targets the Palestinian people as a whole and not just a particular political faction, the national struggle can only be successful if it involves every single Palestinian.

In addition, Israels wars on Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014 had shifted the spotlight to the armed factions and away from popular resistance. These military confrontations had also allowed Israel to double down on its attempts to justify its excessive use of force against the Palestinian population under the pretext of protecting itself from attacks from armed groups.

As a result, international attention had shifted away from Israels rights abuses and focused on its security pretences. This had additionally side-lined ordinary Palestinian and their demands for an end to the occupation and the right of return.

But all of this changed with the Great March of Return.

What distinguishes it from the protests and confrontations of the recent past is not only its popular and peaceful nature, but also its inception. The idea for the march came from the youth of Gaza  my friends and I took the initiative and floated the idea on social media. Ordinary Palestinians discussed it and helped it to mature and transform into something that can be adopted by all members of the Palestinian society.

The Great March of Return, as an idea conceived by the people, managed to cut across factional lines and build a united front. It channelled the Palestinian peoples energy that does not find a place in the activities of traditional factions.

Individuals and families without any political affiliation who in the past had felt they could not find a place for themselves in many other protests actively participated in this march. Civil society organisations and activists also joined and so did clan unions.

The Great March of Return also attracted many young people who had been disillusioned and depoliticised by the disastrous state of internal Palestinian politics and rekindled their spirit of resistance. It helped a new generation of Palestinians embrace the Palestinian struggle for the right to return.

The march  with its popular mandate and peaceful nature  also managed to undermine Israels efforts to present Gaza as a security issue. The constant protests have been a source of dismay, annoyance and embarrassment for the Israeli occupation.

Israels violent response to the Great March of Return proved that it does not want the Palestinians to adopt the peaceful option. Scared that our peaceful resistance can harm its propaganda efforts painting us as the aggressors, Israel chose to attack demonstrators that pose no direct threat to its people. And as its soldiers killed, maimed and silenced peaceful protesters, the Israeli state tried to put the blame of the bloodshed on the victims.

However, this time, the occupiers did not succeed. This march helped more and more people around the world see our plight and hear our demands for freedom and dignity.

The Great Return March restored credence to the concept of peaceful struggle. If armed resistance confronts the occupation with bullets, the peaceful struggle confronts it with the power of words and the justice of the cause.

Israel may have military strength, but it is morally weak. It displaced a people, occupied its land, and continues to usurp their freedom and dignity to this day. Therefore, the Palestinians naturally have the moral high ground in this struggle and their peaceful protests deliver stronger blows to Israel than any other weapon.

One year after the start of our march, Im filled with a mix of sadness and determination. We paid with the lives and bodies of many Palestinians for these peaceful demonstrations. With every single Israeli bullet that hit one of the protesters, our suffering and grief as a people multiplied. However, we did not give up for 70 years and we have no intention to do so now.

The Great March of Return is the response of a proud nation to decades of occupation, aggression and theft. By taking this peaceful stand, we are announcing to the world that despite Israels attempts to wipe us out, we are still standing strong and united.

The views expressed in this article is the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.Flooding caused by heavy rains destroys homes and leaves trail of devastation across seven provinces.

Flash floods in western Afghanistan have killed at least 35 people, destroyed homes and swept through makeshift shelters that housed displaced families, according to a government official.

Flooding caused by heavy rains started spreading on Thursday and left a trail of devastation across seven provinces.

Hashmat Bahaduri, a spokesman for Afghanistans National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), said the floods killed at least 12 people in Faryab province and 10 others in Herat province.

Eight people were killed in Badghis province and five in Balkh province, Bahaduri told AFP news agency, adding that more than 3,000 houses had been destroyed.

Floods are a common occurrence in Afghanistan, although not usually this severe [Jalil Ahmad/Reuters]

Another 12 people were missing and more than 700 houses were destroyed or severely damaged.

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced in the region by last years severe drought and the 17-year-long war with the Taliban.

Floods in early March caused further destruction and put this years wheat harvest at risk.

My house and my farmland have been destroyed by floods. If you go and see the destruction, it makes you cry, said Shir Ahmad, who lives in a village in Herat province, which borders Iran.

Earlier this month, at least 20 people were killed by flash floods caused by heavy rains that swept away thousands of homes and vehicles in southern Kandahar province [File: Sidiqullah Khan/AP]

Mir Gulabuddin Miri, director of the Afghan Red Crescent in Herat, said access to some areas had been cut off, preventing teams from reaching affected people.

The destruction is huge. Over 12 areas in the province have been badly hit, people have lost their houses. Weve only been able to provide them with some food and blankets so far, he said.

Poor infrastructure also makes it difficult for aid workers to reach isolated areas.

Floods are a common occurrence in Afghanistan, although usually not so severe. The country has little infrastructure, such as ditches and sewers, to manage water runoff from rain or melting snow.Donald Trump reportedly gave Kim Jong Un a document in Hanoi calling for the transfer of nuclear materials to the US.

On the day their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, US President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyangs nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to a document seen by Reuters news agency.

Trump gave Kim both Korean and English-language versions of the US position at Hanois Metropole hotel on February 28, according to a source familiar with the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first time that Trump himself had explicitly defined what he meant by denuclearisation directly to Kim, the source said.

A joint lunch for the two leaders was cancelled the same day. While neither side has presented a complete account of why the summit collapsed, the document may help explain it.

The documents existence was first mentioned by NSA John Bolton in television interviews he gave after the two-day summit. Bolton did not disclose in those interviews the pivotal US expectation contained in the document that North Korea should transfer its nuclear weapons and fissile material to the US.

Libya model





The document appeared to represent Boltons long-held and hardline Libya model of denuclearisation that North Korea has rejected repeatedly. It probably would have been seen by Kim as insulting and provocative, analysts said.

Trump had previously distanced himself in public comments from Boltons approach and said a Libya model would be employed only if a deal could not be reached.

The idea of North Korea handing over its weapons was first proposed by Bolton in 2004. He revived the proposal last year when Trump named him as his national security adviser.

The document was meant to provide the North Koreans with a clear and concise definition of what the US meant by final, fully verifiable, denuclearisation, the source familiar with discussions said.

The document Trump reportedly gave to Kim followed a Libya model of denuclearisation [File: Leah Millis/Reuters]

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the State Department declined to comment on what would be a classified document.

After the summit, a North Korean official accused Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of gangster-like demands, saying Pyongyang was considering suspending talks with the US and may rethink its self-imposed ban on missile and nuclear tests.

The English version of the document, seen by Reuters, called for fully dismantling North Koreas nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program and related dual-use capabilities; and ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities.

Four key points

Aside from the call for the transfer of Pyongyangs nuclear weapons and bomb fuel, the document had four other key points.

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It called on North Korea to provide a comprehensive declaration of its nuclear programme and full access to the US and international inspectors; to halt all related activities and construction of any new facilities; to eliminate all nuclear infrastructure; and to transition all nuclear programme scientists and technicians to commercial activities.

The summit in Vietnams capital was cut short after Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal on the extent of economic sanctions relief for North Korea in exchange for its steps to give up its nuclear programme.

The first summit between Trump and Kim, which took place in Singapore in June 2018, was almost called off after the North Koreans rejected Boltons repeated demands for it to follow a denuclearisation model under which components of Libyas nuclear programme were shipped to the US in 2004.

Seven years after a denuclearisation agreement was reached between the US and Libyas leader, Muammar Gaddafi, the US took part in a NATO-led military operation against his government and he was overthrown by rebels and killed.

Last year, North Korea officials called Boltons plan absurd and noted the miserable fate that befell Gaddafi.

After North Korea threatened to cancel the Singapore summit, Trump said in May 2018 he was not pursuing a Libya model and that he was looking for an agreement that would protect Kim.

He would be there, he would be running his country, his country would be very rich, Trump said at the time.

The Libya model was a much different model. We decimated that country, Trump added.

In limbo

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The Hanoi document was presented in what US officials have said was an attempt by Trump to secure a big deal under which all sanctions would be lifted if North Korea gave up all of its weapons.

US-North Korean engagement has appeared to be in limbo since the Hanoi meeting. Pompeo said on March 4 he was hopeful he could send a team to North Korea in the next couple of weeks but there has been no sign of that.

Jenny Town, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center think-tank, said the content of the US document was not surprising.

This is what Bolton wanted from the beginning and it clearly wasnt going to work, Town said. If the US was really serious about negotiations, they would have learned already that this wasnt an approach they could take.

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Town added, Its already been rejected more than once, and to keep bringing it up  would be rather insulting. Its a non-starter and reflects absolutely no learning curve in the process.

North Korea has repeatedly rejected unilateral disarmament and argues that its weapons programme is needed for defence, a belief reinforced by the fate of Gaddafi and others.

In an interview with US broadcaster ABCs This Week programme after the Hanoi summit, Bolton said the North Koreans had committed to denuclearisation in a variety of forms several times that they have happily violated.

We define denuclearisation as meaning the elimination of their nuclear weapons programme, their uranium enrichment capability, their plutonium reprocessing capability, Bolton said.

Asked who authored the document, Bolton said it had been written at staff level and cleared around as usual.The Australian government has announced plans to introduce tough new anti-terror legislation to prevent people from weaponising social media platforms and livestreaming violent crimes, as it happened during a recent attack on Christchurch mosques in New Zealand.

The attacker, a 28-year-old Australian, livestreamed the 17-minute shooting spree at one of the mosques on Facebook. Fifty mosque-goers were killed in the attack earlier in March.

With the new law, Australia will become the first country in the world to penalise social media giants with jail and millions of dollars in fines if they do not remove the violent materials quickly.

The legislation will be brought to parliament next week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday.

Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists, Morrison said in a joint statement with his attorney general and communications minister.

He said the new legislation will force social media companies to get their act together and work with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to defuse the threat their technologies can present.

Stiff penalties

Attorney General Christian Porter said the law will include penalties of up to 10 percent of a companys annual turnover and executives could face up to three years in prison if social media platforms fail to act to remove violent material.

The draft legislation also requires social media outlets to notify police if their service is being used to broadcast violent crimes, just like they have to inform them if it is being used to access child pornography.

The proposed law targets the showing of abhorrent violent materials, which means the playing or streaming of acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping on social media.

The new law will make it a criminal offence not to remove such materials expeditiously. Also, social media platforms anywhere in the world must notify the Australian Federal Police if they become aware their service is streaming such violent conduct happening in Australia.

Morrison also said a task force of government and social media giants was being formed to work together to tackle the issue.





The legislation and the task force would form the basis of a model approach asking the G20 nations for a global agreement to force the social media companies into our collective net of responsibility and accountability, he said.

Morrison has already written to the current G20 chairman, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asking him to include social media governance as a top priority on the agenda at the next summit meeting in Osaka in June.

Mitch Fifield, the communications minister, said on Saturday the bill will not affect the ability of news media to report on events which are in the public interest.

Earlier this week, Morrison and other ministers met the representatives of social media companies, including Facebook officials, to discuss the Christchurch attacks.

They did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch, Fifield said.

We will not allow social media platforms to be weaponised by terrorists and violent extremists who seek to harm and kill and nor would we allow a situation that a young Australian child could log onto social media and watch a mass murder take place, Fifield said.

After Christchurch, Facebook said it removed 1.5 million copies of the video of the attack in the first 24 hours after the shootings.

YouTube also removed the video of the attack from its site. But it is still available on some underground websites.

The mosque attacker had also posted a 74-page manifesto online before the attack, including to his Twitter account that has now been disabled.

New Zealands chief censor has since made it a criminal offence to possess or distribute the manifesto, deeming it objectionable.

Earlier this week, Facebook announced it had banned praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on its social media platforms, including Instagram.At least two people have died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhoea, says minister.

The number of confirmed cases of cholera in the cyclone-hit Mozambican port city of Beira jumped from five to 138 on Friday, as government and aid agencies battled to contain the spread of disease among the tens of thousands of victims of the storm.

Cyclone Idai smashed into Beira on March 14, causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people across three countries in southeast Africa.

Many badly affected areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are still inaccessible by road, complicating relief efforts and exacerbating the threat of infection.

Although there have been no confirmed cholera deaths in medical centres in Mozambique yet, at least two people died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhoea, countrys Environment Minister Celso Correia said.

We expected this, we were prepared for this, weve doctors in place, Correia told reporters.

The government said for the first time that there had been confirmed cholera cases on Wednesday.

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Mozambiques National Disaster Management Institute said the death toll from the tropical storm in the country had increased to 493 from 468 previously.

That takes the total death toll across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to 738 people, with many more still missing.

Vaccine to arrive

Stranded communities are relying on heavily polluted water. This, combined with widespread flooding and poor sanitation, creates fertile grounds for disease outbreaks, including cholera, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

The World Health Organizations Tarik Jasarevic said 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine were expected to arrive on Monday.

The United States defence department said on Friday it had authorised an additional $8.5m in humanitarian assistance for Mozambique, bringing the total to $15m. About 50 US military personnel have been sent to Mozambique to assist with logistics, including transporting food and medical supplies.

Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had regular outbreaks over the past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the most recent outbreak, which ended in February 2018, according to the WHO.

But the scale of the damage to Beiras water and sanitation infrastructure, coupled with its dense population, have raised fears that another epidemic would be difficult to contain.Four students were killed in an explosion in Ghazni, while at least 25 security forces died in separate attacks.

More than 30 people, including civilians and security forces, have been killed in separate Taliban attacks on security checkpoints across Afghanistan, officials have said.

Four students were killed in an explosion, probably caused by a mortar attack. At least 15 other students and their two teachers were wounded in the incident as the mortar hit their school in the Andar district of eastern Ghazni province.

The explosion took place while security forces and Taliban fighters exchanged fire during an assault on a police checkpoint on Saturday, Arif Noori, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province, told Al Jazeera.

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The students killed were aged between 10 and 16, Noori said, adding an investigation has been launched on who fired the projectile that hit the school.

In a separate incident in Ghazni city, nine Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their checkpoints and launched a follow-up ambush late on Friday.

District control

Elsewhere, Taliban fighters took control of the Arghanj Khaw district centre in north-eastern Badakhshan province after two days of intense fighting, officials said on Saturday.

At least 12 members of the security forces were killed and another five were wounded in the fighting that started late on Thursday night, provincial councillors Abdullah Naji Nazari and Abdul Rahman Talaat said.

Another five were taken hostage by the Taliban, the officials said. By controlling Arghanj Khaw, the Taliban is now in a position to attack Badakhshans capital Faizabad, they said.

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Meanwhile, four policemen were killed and two wounded after a Taliban fighter opened fire at a checkpoint in Zabul in southern Afghanistan on late Friday.

On Thursday, Minister of Defence Asadullah Khalid warned that the Taliban would wage an intense fight in the coming year and told Afghan forces to be ready.

The government controls or influences some 53.8 percent of the countrys districts, down from 64 percent in 2017, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The Taliban continues to stage major attacks on security forces despite being engaged in talks with the United States to find a political solution to the almost two-decades-long war that has ravaged the Central Asian nation.Heres the backstory of the Great March of Return protests and the conditions that have brought Gaza to this point.

Every Friday for the past year, Palestinians in Gaza have protested along the fence separating the besieged strip from Israel.

They are demanding the right to return to their ancestors homes, which they were expelled from in 1948 when Zionist militias forcefully removed 750,000 Palestinians from their villages to clear the way for Israels creation.

The protesters are also demanding an end to the 12-year-long Israeli blockade, which the United Nations says amounts to collective punishment.

The demonstrations started on March 30, 2018, and have continued since, despite the Israeli armys deadly response.

Israeli snipers opened fire at protesters during the demonstrations, killing 266 people and injuring almost 30,000 others in one year, according to Gazas health ministry.

{articleGUID}

Israeli blockade

The Gaza Strip is a small Palestinian territory with a total area of 365sq kilometres.

It shares its northern and eastern borders with Israel, its southern border with Egypt, and to the west lies the Mediterranean Sea.

It is home to almost two million people, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

About 70 percent of its population are registered refugees.

Israel, which occupied Gaza in 1967, retains control of coastal enclaves airspace, seafront, vehicle and pedestrian access despite ending its military presence and removing illegal settlements in 2005.

In 2007, Hamas, a self-described Islamic national liberation and resistance movement took control of Gaza, prompting Israel to impose an air, land and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, isolating the enclave from the rest of the world.

Restriction on movement

Palestinians in Gaza are not allowed to move between Palestinian territories except in rare medical cases or for limited business activity.

That is mainly due to restrictions imposed by Israel on the two main crossings it shares with Gaza: Beit Hanoun in the north and Karem Abu Salem in the south.

Egypt, which also shares borders with Gaza, has closed the Rafah crossing for the majority of the last 12 years. The Rafah crossing is the only passenger crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The restriction on movement means that many students and patients cant leave Gaza to pursue an education or seek treatment.

Israel also controls imports to Gaza and bans almost all exports, which has led  in part  to the collapse of Gazas economy.

According to the World Bank, every other person in Gaza is living in poverty and the besieged strip has the worlds highest unemployment rate at over 50 percent, with youth unemployment at over 70 percent.

The UN says Gaza has become profoundly dependent on aid.

Only five percent of Gazas water is safe to drink and 68 percent of its population suffers from food insecurity, according to UN figures.

People also get as little as four hours of electricity a day.

Israeli military offensives

The effects of the blockade on daily life in Gaza have been amplified by Israeli military offensives on the besieged strip.

Three major operations in 2008/09, 2012, and 2014 have killed more than 3,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, and injured more than 15,000 people, mostly civilians.

The effect on infrastructure has been devastating with schools, mosques, UN facilities, and hospitals being hit.

More than 90 Israelis were killed and hundreds injured in the three operations. Most of them were members of the Israeli army.

Israel said the operations were meant to stop Palestinian rockets being fired from Gaza towards Israel.

Political divisions

Political divisions between Fatah and Hamas have only fuelled the publics frustrations further. The two parties have failed time and time again to reconcile their decade-long differences, despite several agreements that were signed over the years.

In April 2017, the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah took a series of punitive measures, including cutting salaries of employees in Gaza, in a bid to pressure Hamas to hand over its control of the enclave.

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian human rights lawyer, said that while the Fatah-Hamas split is adding to the problem in Gaza, it is not the source of it.

The source of the problem is the [Israeli] occupation, that Israel is shooting and killing with impunity, that Israel is maintaining a blockade with impunity, Buttu told Al Jazeera.

March of return

In January 2018, a Facebook post by Palestinian journalist and poet Ahmed Abu Artema prompted a widespread protest movement.

Abu Artema called on Palestinian refugees to gather peacefully near the fence with Israel and attempt to return to their pre-1948 homes.

His call led to weekly Friday protests, which became known as the Great March of Return rallies.

Jehad Abusalim, a Palestine-Israel programme associate at the American Service Committee, said the protests were another episode in the Palestinian history of popular resistance.

The Great March of Return has been a grassroots social movement that included the various and diverse components of the Palestinian civil society, Abusalim told Al Jazeera.

Political factions, NGOs, people from all across the political spectrum participated in the March, he added.

Buttu thinks that while the protests have not achieved their stated goals, their influence on shifting public opinion has been important.

While Israel is not being held to account yet before the International Criminal Court or in the international arena, one thing that has happened is that we are seeing a sea change, Buttu said.

This is beginning to shed a little bit of light and open a door for people to open their eyes and see what Israel is really about, she added.Four killed, hundreds wounded as Israeli forces use live rounds and tear gas on Great March of Return protesters.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have rallied at the Israel-Gaza fence to mark the first anniversary of the Great March of Return protests, facing off against Israeli tanks and troops massed on the fortified perimeter.

Israeli forces on Saturday used live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas on the protesters, killing three 17-year-old boys, and wounding at least 207 people, according to Gazas health ministry.

Tamer Abu el-Khair was shot in the chest east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and died at a hospital, the ministry said. The second teen, Adham Amara, died after being shot in the face east of Gaza City.

The third teen, Belal al-Najjar, was killed by an Israeli gunshot, according to Gaza officials.

A fourth Palestinian, identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Jihad Saad, was killed in an overnight demonstration ahead of the main protest.

Palestinians are demanding the right to return to lands from which their families were violently expelled during the founding of Israel in 1948. They are also calling for an end to Israels and Egypts 12-year blockade of Gaza.

We will move towards the borders even if we die, said Yusef Ziyada, 21, his face painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag. We are not leaving. We are returning to our land.

Despite heavy rain, some 40,000 people were gathered at the frontier area, the Israeli army said.

The Great March of Return protests began on March 30 last year after civil society groups in Gaza called for action against the crippling Israeli blockade against the enclave [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]

Most protesters were keeping away from the fence, but some hurled stones and explosive devices at the structure and set tires ablaze, the army said, adding that it was responding with riot dispersal means and firing in accordance with standard operating procedures.

Describing the rally as completely peaceful, Mohammed Ridwan, a 34-year-old protester who works at a Gaza think-tank, told Al Jazeera the huge turnout on Saturday was ample proof that our people will not back down until they gain their legitimate rights.

Bahaa Abu Shammal, a 26-year-old activist, said he was at a protest site very far away from the separation fence, but still, nearly suffocated due to Israeli tear gas.

He told Al Jazeera: We need to break the brutal siege we suffer from. We want to return to our occupied lands.

Children killed

For the past year, the Israel-Gaza fence has been the scene of mass protests and major bloodshed in which more than 260 Palestinians were killed, mostly by Israeli sniper fire. Nearly 7,000 others were shot and wounded, according to Gazas health ministry.

Save the Children, a rights group, said those killed include 50 children. Another 21 children had their limbs amputated and many more have been permanently disabled, said the groups regional director, Jeremy Stoner.

Expressing deep concern over the Palestinian teens death on Thursday, Stoner said: We fear that more children could be injured or killed today.

Hamas-Israel truce

The anniversary of the Great March of Return comes only days after another severe flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza. Egypt has sought to mediate between the two parties in a bid to rein in violence and avoid the sort of deadly response from the Israeli military that has accompanied past protests.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, citing the Hamas-affiliated al-Risalah newspaper, said the group had reached a deal with Israel to reduce tensions in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli concessions, according to the al-Risalah newspaper, include increasing Qatari funding from $15m to $40m a month to pay salaries; extending the fishing zone from nine to 12 nautical miles; increasing the electricity supply from Israel into Gaza; and approving a major desalination project, Fawcett said, reporting from an area east of Gaza City.

In return, Israel has been seeking an end to rocket fire, such as that which destroyed a family home north of Tel Aviv on Monday, injuring seven and sparking a new round of escalation.

Abdullatif al-Kanoo, a spokesman for Hamas, confirmed the agreement, saying Egyptian mediators succeeded in extracting approvals from Israel to ease restrictions on employment, fishing, electricity and aid from Qatar.

In the coming days, a timetable will be set for the implementation of what has been agreed on, he told Al Jazeera.

A wounded Palestinian is evacuated during the Great March of Return protests in the southern Gaza Strip [Ashraf Abu Amrah/ Reuters]





Meanwhile, on the eve of the anniversary protests, organisers issued instructions to demonstrators telling them to stay back from Israeli guns, follow commands of organisers on the ground, refrain from aggressive actions and not to burn tyres, a move seen as a sign that the Egyptian-brokered deal may be adhered to.

Hamas security officers at the scene of the protest were seen wearing military uniforms for the first time, as they picked up tyres and took them away.

It looks as if they are here to enforce the deal, to make sure that no one sets these tires alight, Fawcett said.

Israel, which has sent extra troops and tanks to the border, also wants an end to incendiary balloon launches, and a guarantee of calm at the fence.

There was no Israeli comment on the alleged agreement.

How many years before our lives improve?

The Great March of Return protests began on March 30 last year after civil society groups in Gaza called for action against the crippling 12-year blockade on the enclave.

Humanitarian agencies blame the blockade for impoverishment in Gaza, where poverty and unemployment rates are high. According to the United Nations, more than 90 percent of water is unsafe for drinking, while Gazas two million residents receive less than 12 hours of mains electricity a day.

March 30 also marks Land Day  the annual commemoration of the deaths of six Palestinians in 1976, who protested the confiscation of their land to build Jewish communities.

In a year I will finish school. My father is unemployed so I will be unable to go to university. Who is responsible? Israel, said 16-year-old protester Mohammed Ali.

I dont know how many years will pass before our lives improve but we should continue [protests] as long as the occupation and the blockade exist, he told Reuters news agency.

Israels use of lethal force against protesters has drawn censure from the UN and rights groups.





A UN investigation found that while some demonstrators used violence, the vast majority were unarmed and peaceful. Israeli forces may be guilty of war crimes for using excessive force, it said.

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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to balance projecting military strength with seeking de-escalation before Israels general election on April 9.

All Israelis should know that if a comprehensive campaign is required, we will enter it strongly and safely, and after we have exhausted all of the other options, Netanyahu said.

Hamas is also under domestic political pressure.

Earlier this month, protesters took to the streets instead of the border over price rises and tax hikes. Hamas security put the demonstrations down with beatings and arrests.

At the core of those protests were the same feelings of frustration that, for a year now, have brought thousands to the border, week after week.

Rana Shubair and Maram Humaid contributed reporting from Gaza.Radicalism  whether it is motivated by religion or not  is due to failure to know one another, to ignorance of the other, and to ignorance pure and simple, said King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, pointed out Saturday in Rabat.

In a speech delivered at the Esplanade of the Hassan Mosque in the presence of Pope Francis who is on a two-day visit to Morocco, the Sovereign underlined that knowing one another eliminates radicalism  all types of radicalism. Knowing one another is precisely what is going to help us rise to the challenges of our tormented times.

To tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military nor financial; that solution has but one name: Education, the monarch said, noting that given the reality of todays world, it is clear the dialogue between the Abrahamic religions is insufficient.

My plea for education is an indictment of ignorance. It is binary conceptions and the fact of not knowing one another well enough that are threatening our civilizations; it is certainly not religion.

That is why, as Commander of the Faithful, I am advocating today that we give back to religion its rightful place in education, the Sovereign pointed out, adding that what all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion, the Sovereign pointed out.

After noting that religion is Light; Knowledge, Wisdom and Peace, the Sovereign said that religion should no longer be an alibi for ignorant people, for ignorance or for intolerance.

The visit of his holiness Pope Francis is taking place at a time when the Community of Nations  just like that of all Believers  is facing a number of challenges, he said. Therefore, he added, we need to tackle these new ills which feed on treachery as much as on the instrumentalization of the Divine Message by advocating the denial of the Other and similar wicked theories.

In a world in search of direction, the Kingdom of Morocco has never stopped proclaiming, teaching and experiencing, on a daily basis, Brotherhood among the Sons of Abraham. This is a founding pillar of the exceptionally rich diversity underpinning Moroccan civilization, the Sovereign stated further.

The symbiotic relationship uniting Moroccans  beyond faiths  is an eloquent example in this regard, said the Commander of the Faithful. This symbiosis, which is a fact of life in Morocco, is reflected by the mosques, churches and synagogues which have coexisted in the cities of the Kingdom since time immemorial.

As King of Morocco and Commander of the Faithful, I am the Guarantor of the free practice of religion. I am Commander of all believers, the Sovereign pointed out.

And, as Commander of the Faithful, I cannot speak of the Land of Islam, as if only Muslims lived there. I am keen to ensure freedom to practice the religions of the Book and I am the guarantor of that freedom. I protect Moroccan Jews as well as Christians from other countries, who are living in Morocco, the King said.

In this regard, the Sovereign recalled the setting up of the Mohammed VI Ulema Foundation and the Mohammed VI Institute for the training of imams and male and female religious guides, which receives young people from several European and African countries. Because God is love, I have tried to make sure my reign is characterized by closeness to citizens as well as by assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people, he said, recalling the launch 14 years ago of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) to improve the lives of people in precarious or fragile situations, integrate those who are excluded, put a roof over the heads of the homeless and kindle faith in a dignified future.

That is also the philosophy behind the immigration and asylum policy which I have instituted and which is fundamentally based on solidarity, the Sovereign said. He added that his meeting with his Holiness Pope Francis attests to a mutually held belief that the values of monotheism contribute to rationalization, to reconciliation and to improving the world order.

As Commander of the Faithful, and just like Your Holiness, I am against all forms of indifference and I wish, in this respect, to salute the courage of the Leaders who do not shy away from the defining questions of our time, the monarch underlined.

The Sovereign also said that he has been following with interest and appreciation the efforts made by the Pope to serve peace in the world, as well as his regular calls to promote education and dialogue, to end violence, to combat poverty and corruption, to tackle climate change  to fight the ills plaguing human societies.

Our messages do not concern our time only; they are eternal. They call upon people to embrace the values of moderation, to fulfil the imperatives of knowing one another and to raise awareness of otherness.Deal reached on eve of Great March of Return anniversary, media reported, but a Palestinian was killed on Saturday.

A newspaper affiliated to Hamas has reported that a deal has been reached with Israel to reduce tension in the Gaza Strip, as Palestinians prepare to mark the first anniversary of weekly protests along the border fence with Israel.

Gazas fence with Israel has for the past year been the scene of mass protests and major bloodshed in which more than 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli sniper fire and nearly 7,000 shot and wounded, according to Gazas health ministry.

For months, and through repeated military escalations, Egyptian mediators have been trying to broker a truce.

But on the eve of the anniversary of the so-called Great March of Return protests, the organising committee, which is calling for a million man march on Saturday, issued instructions to the demonstrators: stay back from Israeli guns, follow commands of organisers on the ground, make no aggressive actions, and dont burn tyres  a sign that an Egyptian-brokered deal was in the works.

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The occupation has to meet this test  to implement the positive responses we heard from the Egyptian delegation, Khalil Alhaya, a Hamas official, told Al Jazeera. We, the Palestinian factions and our people, are struggling to achieve our fair and legitimate demands.

Palestinians with knowledge of the talks told AFP news agency that as part of the proposed deal, Gaza protesters were to keep away from the fence on Saturday and Israeli snipers were to hold their fire.

Early on Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza said a Palestinian man, who was shot by Israeli forces near the perimeter fence with Israel on Friday, died hours before the mass protest was expected to start.

The ministry said 21-year-old Mohammed Saad was shot at a protest camp near the fence.

A relative of a Palestinian who was killed at the Israel-Gaza border reacts as he looks at his body at a hospital in Gaza City on March 30 [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Gaza, said a Hamas-affiliated al-Risalah newspaper reported on Friday night that an agreement between Hamas and Israel had been reached.





Among the Israeli concessions, according to the al-Risalah newspaper: Increasing Qatari funding from $15m to $40m a month to pay salaries; extending the fishing zone from 9 to 12 nautical miles; increasing the electricity supply from Israel into Gaza; and approving a major desalination project.

In return, Israel has been seeking an end to rocket fire, such as that which destroyed a family home north of Tel Aviv on Monday, injuring seven and sparking a new round of escalation, Fawcett reported.

On Saturday morning, hundreds protesters started arriving in the area east of Gaza City near the border fence with Israel.

For the first time at the protests, Hamas security officers were seen wearing military uniforms, as they picked up tyres and took them away. It looks as if they are here to enforce the deal, to make sure that no one sets these tires alight, Fawcett reported.

Israel, which has sent extra troops and tanks to the border, also wants an end to incendiary balloon launches, and a guarantee of calm at the fence.

The Great March of Return protests began on March 30 last year after civil society groups in Gaza called for action against the crippling Israeli blockade against the enclave, now in its 12th year. The first protest fell on Land Day  the annual March 30 commemoration of the deaths of six Palestinians in 1976, who protested the confiscation of their land to build Jewish communities.

A UN investigation found that while some protesters over the past year used violence, the vast majority were unarmed and peaceful  stating Israel had no justification for using live ammunition and that the actions of Israeli forces may amount to war crimes.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to balance projecting military strength with seeking de-escalation before the general election on April 9.

All Israelis should know that if a comprehensive campaign is required, we will enter it strongly and safely, and after we have exhausted all of the other options, Netanyahu said.

Hamas is also under domestic political pressure. Earlier this month, protesters took to the streets instead of the border over price rises and tax hikes, as Hamas security put the demonstrations down with beatings and arrests.

At the core of those protests were the same feelings of despair and frustration that for a year now, and despite all the risks, have brought thousands to the border, week after week.Projects under intelligence and defence partnership between US and Saudi on hold after killing, writes columnist.

Some members of the Saudi hit team that killed Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in his countrys consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul received training in the United States, according to a new Washington Post column.

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), entered the building on October 2, 2018, to obtain documents necessary for his forthcoming marriage. He was killed inside the consulate by a team of Saudi operatives in what has been described as a premeditated murder.

His body is yet to be found.

According to the reporting by Washington Posts David Ignatius, which included interviews with more than a dozen US and Saudi sources who requested anonymity, some of the special-operations training that members of the hit team received in the US might have been conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company.

The training, part of a wider intelligence and defence partnership between the US and Saudi Arabia, was conducted under a State Department licence, said the Post, for which Khashoggi was a columnist. It has not resumed since.

A US project to help modernise and provide training to the Saudi intelligence service is also on hold, pending State Department approval of a license, according to the newspaper.

The intelligence project, developed by Culpeper National Security Solutions with help from some prominent former CIA officials, involved Ahmed al-Assiri, the Saudi deputy chief of intelligence who is under investigation by Saudi Arabia for his alleged involvement in the Khashoggi murder.

According to the Washington Post, Tier 1 Group and DynCorp are owned by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, a privately-owned investment group in New York. The company did not confirm or deny whether any of the 17 Saudi nationals sanctioned by the US in connection with the Khashoggi killing had been trained under the Tier 1 contract.

The article said that with several of these partnerships now suspended, the future of the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is on hold, pending answers from the Riyadh

The bottom line is that unless the crown prince takes ownership of this issue and accepts blame for murderous deeds done in his name, his relationship with the United States will remain broken, Ignatius wrote.

Calls for open trial

Saudi authorities have charged 11 unnamed suspects over Khashoggis murder, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of ordering and committing the crime.

The CIA has reportedly concluded that Prince Mohammed ordered the killing, which officials in Riyadh deny.

But United Nations human rights expert Agnes Callamard said earlier this week that Saudi Arabias secretive hearings for the 11 suspects fall short of international standards and should be open to the public and trial observers.

Callamard, who leads an international inquiry into the killing, called on the kingdom to reveal the defendants names and the fate of 10 others initially arrested.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said the Saudi criminal justice system has an abysmal record, marked by defendants being held for long periods without charge or trial and often denied lawyers.

Charbonneau added that Saudi authorities should open the Khashoggi murder trial to UN observers, international activists and media, and countries whose diplomats observe that the trial should speak out publicly.

We cant enable the Saudi government to turn it into a kangaroo court that conveniently finds a bunch of people guilty while whitewashing the possible responsibility of top Saudi officials, he said.







More than four decades of continuous conflict has made Mindanao a region of war widows.

Conflict in the Mindanao region of southern Philippines has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the past half-century.

Multiple armed groups operate in the area, and many wives left behind suffer from the stigma of being widows of Abu Sayyaf fighters.

Al Jazeeras Jamela Alindogan travelled to a small village in Basilan to hear their stories.Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities were hit by yet another electricity blackout on Friday evening, as they were barely recovering from the previous outages that paralysed the country for days.

The latest blackout began around 7.10pm (23:10 GMT), leaving the capital city as well as Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without electricity, according to users on social media networks.

Venezuela suffered its worst blackouts earlier this month and then another round of power outages paralysed commerce this past week.

The blackouts have worsened Venezuelans suffering, cutting off water supplies and leaving hospitals and airports in the dark.

President Nicolas Maduros government blamed the outage on an attack targeting the Guri hydroelectric plant. Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said earlier this week the blackout was a result of an attack on the charging and transmission centre at the Guri dam, which supplies 80 percent of the power to the country of 30 million.

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What (last time) took days, now has been taken care of in just a few hours, Rodriguez said, saying the fix had been made in record time.

Both the opposition and the government plan demonstrations on Saturday as they try to project resolve in a debilitating standoff in what was once one of Latin Americas wealthiest countries.

More than three million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, escaping dire economic conditions that left many without adequate food or medicine.

Aid shipments

The Red Cross said on Friday it has reached an agreement to send aid shipments to the South American country to help alleviate shortages.





Following talks in the capital Caracas, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) head Francesco Rocca said the organisation will have unhindered access to bring humanitarian aid into Venezuela.

In a country torn apart by a power struggle, humanity has prevailed, Rocca said.

We will help bring the goods into the country, but our rules  like the rejection of military intervention  must be respected, he added.

The first supplies would include medical equipment, surgical kits and power generators. The aid delivery, which could begin in two weeks, will help some 65,000 people, according to Roca.Newcomer Zuzana Caputova  winner of first round of voting  is expected to beat EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

Slovaks began voting on Saturday to elect a new president with environmental lawyer Zuzana Caputova the favourite to win the poll, bucking a trend that has seen the rise of populist, anti-European Union politicians across the continent.

Corruption and change have been the main themes ahead of the runoff vote, which takes place a year after journalist Jan Kuciak, who investigated high-profile corruption cases, and his fiancee were murdered at their home.

A pro-European political novice looking to become the first woman to be Slovakias president, Caputova won the first round of voting two weeks ago with 40.6 percent, ahead of EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic with 18.7 percent.

Sefcovic is backed by the ruling leftist party Smer, which is the largest party in parliament.

Caputova ran on a slogan of Stand up to evil and campaigned to end what she calls the capture of the state by people pulling strings from behind, a message that resonates with younger, educated voters, according to opinion polls.

Slovakias president does not wield much day-to-day power but can veto appointments of senior prosecutors and judges, pivotal in the fight against corruption. The president also ratifies international treaties and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Caputova won the first round of voting two weeks ago securing 40.6 percent of the ballots cast [David W Cerny/Reuters]

Kuciak case

Five people have been charged with the murders of Kuciak and his fiancee, including businessman Marian Kocner, who was investigated by the journalist. Kocner has become a symbol of perceived impunity after more than a decade of rule by Smer. Kocner denies any wrongdoing.

Caputova waged a 14-year fight with a company Kocner represented that wanted to build an illegal landfill in her hometown, a case that she eventually won and that earned her the nickname Slovakias Erin Brockovich, after the American environmentalist famously portrayed by Julia Roberts in a 2000 film.

Slovakia is waking up, showing great will to change and hope linked to this and the following election, Caputova said in the last televised debate this week, hinting at the upcoming European Parliament vote and the 2020 general election.

Obedient rather than independent

An opinion poll by Median agency, the only survey released between the first and the second round of voting, put support for Caputova at 60.5 percent and Sefcovic, who has campaigned on his experience and personal relationships with foreign leaders, at 39.5 percent.

Critics of Sefcovic said his long diplomatic career would make him an obedient president rather than an independent one, citing his refusal to distance himself from former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who resigned last year amid mass protests sparked by the Kuciak murder.

Courting the anti-system voters whose candidates lost in the first round of the presidential election, Sefcovic has said he rejected the vision of EU where the distribution of migrants would be decided by someone other than Slovakia.

The Moscow-educated diplomat supported the governments opposition to mandatory migrant quotas suggested by the European Commission, where he is a vice president.

Sefcovic, who joined the Communist Party in what was then Czechoslovakia just months before communism collapsed in November 1989, stressed his Christian roots in the campaign.

He called Caputovas support for abortion rights and LGBT rights ultra-liberal in an effort to win socially conservative voters in the country of 5.4 million.

Polling stations close at 2100 GMT. Provisional results are expected around midnight.

The new president will be sworn in on June 15.Maltese authorities file terror charges against teens accused of seizing control of merchant ship that rescued them.

Authorities in Malta have charged three teenagers with committing an act of terrorism for their suspected role in hijacking a merchant ship that rescued them off the coast of Libya.

The teenagers, among 108 refugees and asylum seekers rescued by El Hiblu 1 earlier this week, appeared at a court in the Maltese capital, Valletta, on Saturday.

They were accused of seizing control of the tanker and using force and intimidation against the crew to change the ships course to Europe.

Under Maltese law, unlawfully taking control of a ship is punishable with prison terms of between seven and 30 years.

The suspects pleaded not guilty and were placed in preventive detention pending trial.

The Valletta court identified one of the accused as Abdalla Bari, a 19-year-old from Guinea. The other two are a 15-year-old, also from Guinea, and a 16-year-old from Ivory Coast, who as minors could not be named.

The minors told the court they are secondary school students, while Bari said he had been studying sociology before leaving his country.

The El Hiblu 1 was sailing from Turkey to Libya when it received a call about the migrants in distress [Zammit Lupi/Reuters]

Desperate

Nader el-Hiblu, the ships captain, said the drama began on Tuesday afternoon when his tanker was travelling from Turkey to Libya. A military aircraft flying above alerted him of a boat with people who needed help, he told The Associated Press news agency.

He was not sure if the aircraft was Maltese or Italian.

Once the refugees and migrants were on board, the ship continued its course towards Libya, a country where the United Nations and aid groups say refugees and asylum seekers face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape.

But on Wednesday, when those rescued realised they were headed back to the country they had just left, some revolted, commandeering the ship and forcing it to head to Europe.

The hijackers were desperate and absolutely did not want to return to Libya, el-Hiblu said. They attacked the cockpit, heavily beating on the doors and the windows and they threatened to smash the boat.

He called the port in Libya, informed them of the hijacking, and told them the crew was heading north towards Europe.

A Maltese special operations unit boarded the ship a day later, arrested five men suspected of leading the hijacking. They handed control back to the captain who steered the ship to Valletta under a navy escort.

Some 108 migrants were rescued by the ship [Zammit Lupi/Reuters]

Matteo Salvini, Italys anti-immigration interior minister, described the incident as an act of piracy, but some aid groups called it an act of self-defence against Europes immigration policies, which aim to ship back desperate refugees and migrants back to Libya.

In recent months, boatloads of rescued people have refused to disembark there, prompting local authorities to use force.

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The European Union member states have been at loggerheads over migration since a spike in the Mediterranean arrivals caught the bloc by surprise in 2015, stretching social and security services and leading to support for far-right, nationalist and populist groups.

In 2018, 2,262 people died at sea while trying to reach Europe, the UN said.

The perilous journey has killed 311 people so far this year, according to the Missing Migrants Project, an NGO that tracks the deaths of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers along international migration routes.

Sea arrivals have fallen from more than a million in the peak year of 2015 to some 140,000 people last year.

But political tensions around migration run high in the EU, and have flared once more ahead of the European Parliament election in May.King Maha Vajiralongkorns move comes as the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party jostles for the right to form a government.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has revoked royal decorations awarded to deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, citing his corruption conviction and extremely inappropriate flight from the country.

The announcement in the royal gazette on Saturday came less than a week after Thailand held its first election since a military coup in 2014.

Pheu Thai, a political party linked to Thaksin, is now jostling with the military-backed Phalang Pracharat party for the right to form a government.

Officials have yet to release the full results of the election, which Thaksin has called rigged.

Saturdays royal command said Thaksin was stripped of the illustrious order of Chula Chom Klao, typically bestowed for service to the country.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun issued a royal command to revoke royal decorations, because Thaksin Shinawatra was sentenced to jail by the Supreme Courts Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, in addition to many other accusations, and he fled the kingdom, which is a highly inappropriate behavior, it read.





Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile since fleeing the country in 2008 to avoid a corruption trial. He was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to two years in jail.

Publicly revoking Thaksins royal decorations could discredit him, and perhaps his affiliated party, in the eyes of many Thais, because the monarchy is revered without question in Thai culture.

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The monarchy is above politics in Thailand, but that tradition was tested last month when the kings sister accepted the nomination to run for prime minister for another pro-Thaksin party.

The king swiftly declared Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadis candidacy inappropriate and both the princess and the party were disqualified.

The March 24 vote took place after nearly 15 years of turmoil, during which Thailand saw two army coups, in 2006 and 2014, which deposed Thaksin and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, respectively.

Despite living abroad, the former prime minister has remained a divisive figure in Thai politics. Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election since 2001, even after his removal.

The kings order came after a series of moves by Thaksin that could be seen as challenging the monarchy.

Two days before the Sunday vote, Thaksin appeared at his youngest daughters wedding in Hong Kong with Princess Ubolratana.

The day after that, the king made an unexpected and cryptic statement, recalling a comment made by his late father on the need to put good people in power and to prevent bad people from  creating chaos.Trump repeats threat to close the US southern border  a move that if he acts on would anger Mexico and business groups.

President Donald Trump has threatened to close the southern border of the United States or large sections of it next week if Mexico does not halt undocumented immigrants from reaching the border immediately.

It could mean all trade with Mexico, Trump said on Friday when questioned by reporters in Florida. We will close it for a long time. I am not kidding around.

Earlier on Friday, Trump had tweeted, If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week. This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and talk.'

Trump has previously threatened to close the border  including at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday night  but this time was different as he gave a timetable.

In December, Trump threatened to seal the US-Mexico border entirely if Congress did not approve billions of dollars in funding for a wall. Instead, he allowed the government to shut down for a record 35 days.

If he follows through on Fridays threat, it would likely anger Mexican leaders and business owners and groups on both sides of the border.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions from the Associated Press news agency about whether Trumps possible action would apply to commercial and air travel, but a substantial closure could have an especially heavy effect on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets, factories, and other businesses across the country that rely on trade from Mexico.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter on Friday that Mexico does not act on the basis of threats.

Mexico does not act on the basis of threats. We are a great neighbor, Ebrard tweeted. [Ask] the million and a half Americans who chose our country as their home, the largest community of [Americans] outside the US. For them we are also the best neighbor they could have.

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Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America said he did not take Trumps threat very seriously.

I can think of nobody in the US government, including White House staff, who would go along with closing all ports of entry, which would cost US businesses billions of dollars, he told Al Jazeera.

We can do everything we can

Trumps declaration came a day after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling.

Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly towards remote sections of the US-Mexico border in large groups.

We are going to do everything we can to help, Lopez Obrador said. We dont in any way want a confrontation with the US government.

A senior Homeland Security (DHS) official on Friday suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families crossing the border from Mexico. Many people who cross the border between official ports of entry ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

The official said the US might close designated ports of entry to redeploy staff to help process parents and children.

Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, did not specify which ports the administration was considering closing, but said only that closures were on the table.

Growing number of migrants

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said on Wednesday that 750 border inspectors would be reassigned to deal with the growing number of migrant families, and the DHS official said on Friday that the department was seeking volunteers from other agencies to help.

CBP is also directly releasing migrants into the US when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is unable to provide bed space to relieve overcrowding, McAleenan added.

Rights groups and many Democrats have criticised Trumps characterisation of the border as a crisis. Earlier this week, the Democratic-controlled House failed to get enough votes to override Trumps veto of a bill that revoked the presidents national emergency on the border. Trump is using that order, which is also being challenged in the courts, to circumvent Congress to obtain the needed funds for his border wall.

The president called on Congress to immediately change what he said were weak US immigration laws, which he blamed on Democrats.

March is on track for the highest number of monthly border crossings in over a decade, with more than 100,000 apprehensions and encounters of people deemed inadmissible at US ports of entry, McAleenan said.

* With additional reporting from Ola Salem in Washington, DCMPs will try to agree on Monday on alternative Brexit plan that could command majority cross-party support.

The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Theresa May, hopes to bring her Brexit deal back to parliament next week for a fourth attempt at gaining MPs backing, British media has reported.

May will continue to seek support for her deal as MPs are set to hold another set of votes on various options on Monday, a government source told the BBC on Saturday.

MPs rejected Mays Brexit deal for a third time on Friday, leaving Britains withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the day it was originally due to leave the bloc. The UK is now set to exit on April 12 by legal default.

Several leave-supporting Conservative MPs who had twice rejected Mays deal supported the agreement on Friday. But with the Labour Party and the Democratic Unionist Party opposed to the plan, a majority vote was unachievable.

Alternative plan

With parliament and the government deadlocked on Mays deal, it remains unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU.

But on Monday MPs will try to agree on an alternative Brexit plan that could command majority cross-party support.

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The options that have so far gathered maximum support involve closer ties to the EU and a second referendum.

The chairman of Mays Conservative Party, Brandon Lewis, told Radio 4s Today programme: The governments position is very clear  we do not support these options. The governments position is we believe the best way to respect the referendum is to deliver the deal.

He added that all options were on the table for how to get Britain out of its Brexit impasse.

Lewis said, however, that seeking a customs union with the EU would be difficult and would go against the result of the referendum and Conservative pledges before the 2017 national election.

Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in London last week, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal [File: Kevin Coombs/Reuters]

The BBC also reported that government officials had not ruled out the possibility of a runoff vote in parliament between the most popular option proposed by MPs and Mays deal.

Next steps

While the UK is now scheduled to leave the bloc in two weeks, the government may seek a longer extension, although such a move would require Britain to contest the upcoming European Parliament elections. An extension would also need the unanimous support of all other 27 EU member states.

EU leaders have said the UK would have to provide a clear strategy in order to secure a longer extension.

This week, the British parliament held a series of non-binding votes on a number of alternative Brexit plans, in an attempt to see if a majority could be found for a new approach. Of the eight plans put to the vote, none won majority support.

May said MPs would continue on Monday to try and see if there is a stable majority for a particular alternative version of our future relationship with the EU, adding that any plan would also require parliamentarians to back the withdrawal agreement.

Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat MP, told Al Jazeera that while Mays deal is as dead as a dodo, he was confident Parliament would take the initiative on breaking the Brexit impasse next week.

What happens on Monday is that process of Parliament taking control of this continues, he said.

We have a day booked, where what I expect to happen is that some of the options that were debated earlier in the week will be refined, perhaps joined together, and I think we will see a majority potentially emerge around one of those options.King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al Quds Committee, and Pope Francis signed on Saturday at the Throne Room at the Royal Palace in Rabat the Al Quds Appeal aimed at maintaining the multi-faceted religious, the spiritual dimension and the particular identity of the holy city of Jerusalem that they labeled the common patrimony of humanity.

The Al Quds Appeal, signed on the first day of the Popes historical visit to Morocco, recognizes the uniqueness and sacredness of Jerusalem, and calls for the city to be preserved as a common heritage of humanity and especially for the faithful of the three monotheistic religions, as a meeting place and symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue are cultivated.

To this end, the Commander of the Faithful and the Head of the Catholic Church ask that the specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension, and the peculiar cultural identity of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif must be preserved and promoted.

It is our hope, therefore, concludes the appeal, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed, so that in Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif they may raise their prayers to God, Creator of all, for a future of peace and fraternity on the earth.

Shortly after the popes arrival in Rabat on Saturday, and following the official welcome ceremony presided by King Mohammed VI who was accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay el Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid, the two leaders exchanged speeches, where they both called for enhanced dialogue to know one another and for greater solidarity to rise to the challenges of the present tormented times, mainly radicalism.Before Ukraines presidential election on Sunday, voters speak to Al Jazeera about which way they will vote and why.

Ukraine  In Sundays presidential vote, Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko will be tested for the first time since he came to power in 2014 on the wave of pro-European protests known as Maidan, which overthrew the countrys Russia-backed leader, Viktor Yanukovich.

The opinion polls suggest that he is in the third place, behind opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and the frontrunner, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.

The election ballot will list 39 presidential candidates in the war-torn country.

Al Jazeera spoke to people in the capital, Kiev, the second-largest city Kharkiv, the eastern town of Severodonetsk located less than 40km from the conflict zone contested by pro-Russian forces and Milove, a town divided by a border fence into Ukrainian and Russian territories.

Here is what they had to say:

Ivanna Skyba-Yakubova, Maidan activist, Kharkiv

The cofounder of the Help Army volunteer group that provided material assistance to the Ukrainian soldiers when the war broke out in the east, told Al Jazeera that she would probably vote for Poroshenko, but reluctantly.

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She said she supported the Maidan protests and cast her ballot for Poroshenko in 2014, but she was supporting him this time out of the lack of worthier candidates.

For me personally, the upcoming election is a torture. Yes, I will probably support the current president, but I will do it reluctantly while feeling ashamed. Thats first of all because of the situation with law and order. The promised reforms have failed, she said.

No revolution brings healthy changes very fast. But there was a huge disappointment with the fact that key things that we were fighting for did not change. All those shady deals between the government and business world, and the criminal business [remain a norm].

On the other hand, she credited Poroshenko for reforms in Ukraines education and healthcare systems.

Politics seems remote for Soboleva, whose town borders Russia [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Inna Soboleva, 50, shop assistant, Milove

Soboleva lives in Ukraines border town of Milove, built during the Soviet Union on the administrative borderline between Ukraine and Russia. Until recently, the fact that the town belonged to two different countries was not a problem for its residents.

But since ties between Moscow and Kiev broke down in 2014, Russia built a border fence in the middle of the towns high street, splitting families and friends.

Soboleva blames Ukraines pro-European Poroshenko for Moscows move and plans to take it out on him by ruling out voting for him in Sundays presidential election.

I dont know who the candidates are. I am not familiar with their candidates. I havent decided yet [whether] to go to vote or not. There are a million candidates and I dont know [who to vote for]. At least I know I will not vote for Poroshenko, she told Al Jazeera.

He messed up enough here. He doesnt know that Milove exists. If you look from the birds eye view, [Russian and Ukrainian sides of town] there is one territorial entity. [The fence left] parents living over there and children over here or vice versa. Now we cant visit each other properly.

Sviatuha says Poroshenko has a good track record as president [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Olena Sviatuha, 34, unemployed, Severodonetsk

The mother-of-one, who has spent the past few weeks distributing Poroshenkos campaign booklets for four hours a day in front of a market in Severodonetsk, says she will vote for the president because he is authoritative, he is a leader.

I understand that our country is corrupt, for now, but still over the last few years, he did more than any other president before him. He has been a real man, he has accepted responsibility for his own actions, she said.

He kept all of his promises. It is impossible to fulfil everything because he is not the only decision-maker, there is an international [decision] maker, [Russias President Vladimir] Putin is also affecting the situation [in the country].

Valentyn is looking for a candidate with socially-orientated policies [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Valentyn Kopatsiy, 43, IDP from Luhansk, teacher, Severodonetsk

The history teacher with 21 years of work experience, who had to flee his native rebel-held Luhansk city in 2014, said knowing history and being able to compare Sundays presidential candidates with historical personalities helps with picking the right candidate to support.

For me, it is important that the policies of the new president or the candidate were socially orientated. I would like the government to exist for the people and not vice versa, Kopatsiy said.

Unfortunately, all of our candidates have very similar campaign programmes. But it is still possible to detect details that make us think twice.

He said he was not yet sure who he should support on Sunday. But he has a shortlist of five candidates in his head, including Tymoshenko, Poroshenko, Zelensky, Ruslan Koshulynskyi  who is nominated by a coalition of far-right groups  and Ihor Smeshko, former head of the security service.

Candidates corruption records are of top concern for Reshitko [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Yuliia Reshitko, 26, Maidan activist, Kiev

The communications manager of CHESNO  a watchdog agency monitoring politicians, political parties and their finances  told Al Jazeera that she had a strategic plan for her vote in Sundays election.

She said that none of the top candidates deserved her ballot so she has decided to support a candidate who matches her values to encourage his party to participate in the parliamentary elections due in five months. She refused to name him.

Reshitko, who used to work in the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine following her involvement in the Maidan protests, said that she didnt believe that Zelensky was truly independent, while Tymoshenko and Poroshenko were too corrupt for her.

I will not vote for a corrupt person because its like shooting your leg. Giving a corrupt person another chance is nonsense, she said.

And I dont believe that Zelensky is independent. He seems to be a puppet of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, thats why I cant support him.

Olenchenko sees Ukraines current government as illegitimate [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Elena Olenchenko, 50, anti-Maidan protester, Kharkiv

The former supervisor in Kharkivs penal colony for women, now a pensioner, who took part in anti-Maidan protests in 2014, told Al Jazeera that she is considering staying away from Sundays vote.

I havent decided [whether] to vote or not. First of all, I dont know who to support. The candidates who are positioning themselves as the representatives of southeastern Ukraine, they have done nothing for us, she said.

Olenchenko also thinks that casting her vote would mean legitimising the government she thinks is illegal as Yanukovich has not left his office in a proper way.

If it was necessary to remove Yanukovich, he should have been removed in a legal way. Seizure of government buildings is not acceptable. I came out to protest against it in 2014 to express my civil duty, she said.

Maliutin will be casting his first ever vote on Sunday [Oksana Parafeniuk/Al Jazeera]

Serhii Maliutin, IDP from Yenakiieve, Kharkiv

The 21-year-old, internally displaced person who fled Yenakiieve, a city in the rebel-held Luhansk region in late 2014, will cast his first-ever ballot on Sunday in support of Zelensky.

The student of international relations at Kharkivs Karazin University told Al Jazeera that Zelensky is the candidate who represents a new generation.

I like that his campaign programme is oriented more towards the people. He does not have big administrative resources and he is using new technologies to reach his audiences, he said.

Look at how other candidates like Tymoshenko and Poroshenko are using campaign tents. We used to have street vendors using such tents in the 90s and early 2000s. Zelensky doesnt use that. He is doing everything over the internet  Instagram, Telegram, Youtube. He is a breath of fresh air.

Follow Al Jazeeras Tamila Varshalomidze on Twitter @tamila87vHumanitarian assistance has become one of the ways the opposition has had to pressure Nicolas Maduro.

Amid continued power cuts in Venezuela, opposition leader Juan Guaido has said medical aid will arrive in a few days.

However, Guaido gave no details about the shipment nor whether he has reached an agreement with President Nicolas Maduro.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross in Caracas says it is ready to deliver aid.

Al Jazeeras Teresa Bo reports.Taliban claims responsibility for attack on Abdul Rashid Dostums convoy which killed one of his bodyguards.

Afghanistans Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has escaped unhurt after a Taliban attack that killed one of his bodyguards, according to officials.

Attackers ambushed Dostums convoy on Saturday on the way from Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in Balkh province, to Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, said Bashir Ahmad Tayenj, a spokesman for Dostums Junbish Party.

Dostum was aware of a planned attack but decided to travel anyway, the spokesman added.

Two of his bodyguards were wounded.

Dostum had held a rally in Balkh earlier in the day as he had joined the election team of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, one of several contenders in the presidential election scheduled for September 28.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt. In a tweet, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the group, said four guards were killed and six wounded in the attack.

Second attempt

The assault came eight months after Dostum avoided injury in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport that killed 23 people.

That attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), took place as Dostum returned home from more than a year in exile in Turkey over allegations of torturing and abusing a political rival.

Dostum had left Afghanistan after heavy pressure from Western donors, including the United States.

Less than a year since his return, he remains a significant, if polarising, political figure.

A powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, Dostum is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflict.

Despite a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name and accusations of organising the rape and torture of a political rival, Dostum became Afghanistans first vice president in 2014.

At the rally in Balkh, Dostum had claimed he could clear northern Afghanistan of the Taliban within six months  if only the government would let him.We look at the presidents plans for post-pandemic recovery, and ask if the US can reset relationships with old friends.Pope Francis pointed out that his visit to Morocco is an opportunity to advance interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding among the followers of Christianity and Islam.

The Pope who arrived Saturday in Morocco on a two-day visit at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, was greeted by the Sovereign who hosted in his honor a state welcome ceremony at the Tour Hassan esplanade wherefrom the head of the Catholic Church addressed hundreds of people, the authorities, representatives of the civil society and the diplomatic corps.

All need to help each other overcome tensions and misunderstandings, cliches and stereotypes that generate fear and opposition. Likewise, it is essential that fanaticism and extremism be countered by solidarity on the part of all believers, he said.

Pope Francis also called from Rabat for encouraging cooperation in building a world of greater solidarity, marked by honest, courageous and indispensable efforts in order to promote a dialogue that is respectful of the richness and distinctiveness of each people and every individual.

In this regard, the Holy father expressed appreciation for the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates. The institute trains men and women preachers in order to combat all forms of extremism, which, the Pope said, often lead to violence and terrorism that constitute an offence against religion and against God himself.

Actually, Saturday Afternoon, the pope and the Sovereign visited the Mohammed VI Institute and met there some scholars and trainees.

The Pope pointed out that for authentic dialogue, religion needs to build bridges between people. While respecting our differences, he explained, faith in God leads us to acknowledge the eminent dignity of each human being, as well as his or her inalienable rights. Therefore, freedom of conscience and religion are inseparably linked to human dignity, he insisted.

For this to happen, all need to go beyond mere tolerance to respect and esteem for others, accept the distinctive religious beliefs of others and enrich one another through diversity. Thus, creating bridges between people through inter-religious dialogue calls for a spirit of mutual regard, friendship and fraternity.

In this regard, the Pope expressed appreciation for the International Conference on the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries, held in Morocco in 2016, that condemned the exploitation of religion as a means of discriminating against or attacking others.

He also commended the creation in 2012 of the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute in Rabat that seeks to help promote ecumenism, as well as dialogue with culture and with Islam.

He said all these are ways to halt the misuse of religion to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and the invocation of the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression.

In order to build a society that is open, fraternal and respectful of differences, the Pope said, it is vital to foster the culture of dialogue and adhere to it unfailingly, to adopt mutual cooperation as our code of conduct and reciprocal understanding as our method and standard.

The Argentine Pope noted that his visit was taking place on the 800th anniversary of the historic encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in Egypt in 1219. He said that the prophetic event shows that the courage to encounter one another and extend a hand of friendship is a pathway of peace and harmony for humanity, whereas extremism and hatred cause division and destruction.Outrageously, Chicago State's Attorney Kim Foxx has dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett. Smollett is the black actor who staged a fake hate crime, claiming he was brutally assaulted by Trump supporters wearing MAGA caps.

Smollett paid the two guys he hired to stage his bogus attack with a $3000 check. Closed circuit TV caught Smollett's hired attackers buying the MAGA caps and other materials needed to stage the fake hate crime. Smollett intended for his fake attack to be videoed on cc TV. Thank God the camera in the area Smollett selected malfunctioned. Had Smollett been successful, fake news media would have gleefully aired the video 24/7, probably igniting massive race riots and violence on Trump supporters.

After Kim Foxx dropped all charges, Smollett addressed the media, outrageously lying and presenting himself as a victim of police corruption. Smollett said, I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother's son if I was capable of one drop of what I've been accused of.

Does this guy think we are idiots? Dude, you lied about being attacked. Idiotically, you paid your fake attackers with a check. There is video of them buying the props. And yet, Smollett has the audacity to sell the lie that he is yet another innocent black man abused by racist police. Sadly, I suspect most of fake news media will help to sell Smollett's lie, which sets up our brave men and women in blue for more assassinations by Black Lives Matter disciples.

Many have forgotten the ambush of uniformed Texas Deputy Darren Goforth who was shot multiple times in the back while pumping gas. Deputy Goforth's black assassin was inspired by Black Lives Matter. Forty-seven-year old Deputy Goforth left behind his wife Kathleen, his 12-year-old daughter Ava and his 5-year-old son Ryan.

Do you remember NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu who were ambushed and killed while eating lunch in their police car? The enraged black shooter said his motivation was revenge for cops supposedly murdering blacks.

Officer Ramos' 13-year-old son Jaden posted the following on Facebook. Today I had to say bye to my father. He was their for me everyday of my life, he was the best father I could ask for. It's horrible that someone gets shot dead just for being a police officer. Everyone says they hate cops but they are the people that they call for help. I will always love you and I will never forget you. RIP Dad.

I could go on and on with examples of police ambushed and assassinated because of the evil politically motivated lie that cops routinely abuse and murder blacks. Democrats nurture this heinous lie because it keeps blacks voting for Democrats to protect them from nonexistent massive police and white American racism.

So here is race-baiter Jussie Smollett all over national media, disgustingly claiming he is a hero for civil rights. Please excuse me while I barf. This evil man sought to generate more hate and violence on Trump voters who courageously wear MAGA caps.

While in Walmart, I saw a wheelchair-bound elderly white gentleman wearing a white MAGA cap with gold stars on it. I said, I like that hat. With a grin, he stuck out his hand and said, You're alright partner! We enthusiastically shook hands. His wife pushing his wheelchair smiled.

All charges were dropped against Smollett because his insidious hoax furthers the leftist agenda to demonize police, President Trump, and Trump voters. From Hillary Clinton's serial lawbreaking to Obama, the FBI, the DoJ and others silent coup against an elected president, the deep state feels free to break laws to remove Trump from office.

Allowing deep state operatives to feel emboldened to freely break laws to get rid of Trump is extremely dangerous as we move toward the 2020 presidential election. We must not allow deep state operatives to be above the law.

I pray that Sen. Lindsey Graham will follow through with his promise to investigate all the arrogant corrupt players in the deep state's 679-day bogus Trump-colluded-with-Russia investigation.

My fellow Americans, it is time that we stop allowing anti-American enemies within to get away with criminal and treasonous behavior. Jussie Smollett's feet should be held to the fire. We the People deserve justice.

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American

Help Lloyd spread the TruthI consider myself an amateur historian, though some of my readers might place more emphasis on the amateur than historian. One thing that has puzzled me is why different results sprang from the American and French Revolutions. It might have something to tell us for today.

On the surface reading, the American and French Revolutions seem to hold similar ideals. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness does not seem that far removed from Liberte, Egalite, and Fraternite. And if one says the American slogan does not mention equality, the Declaration of Independence surely does.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights[.]

Many claim that the difference is that the French document is godless. However, both the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man invoke the deity.

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence ... Declaration of Independence, 1776

Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:  Declaration of the Rights of Man, 1789

There can be no doubt that there was an influence of Deism that motivated some of the intellectuals behind both revolutions. Indeed, Thomas Paine, the most influential deist of all time, was critical to both struggles. Paine wrote "Common Sense" for America  which cemented public opinion in favor of the American Revolution  and he would later be elected to Revolutionary France's National Convention. Thomas Jefferson wrote the American Declaration and was consulted on the French document.

So why did the revolutions veer so far apart in results?

Some say the French Revolution heralded those rights as coming from the state, while the American Revolution said those rights came from God. But that is not so clear. The French document asserts that such rights are natural and immutable, and one of the French declaration's writers was Abbe Sieyes, a French Catholic clergyman.

The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man.

So we have two similar documents and revolutions, often with the same participants involved (Lafayette and Paine, etc.). Yet one was a success, while the other was a nightmare, which had to be re-run a few times until France got it right, or at least got it a bit better.

Others delve into conspiracy theories and the role of freemasonry. The name of Adam Weishaupt and the Illuminati crop up. Far too many claim that Weishaupt was Jewish, and their theories devolve into dark anti-semitic nuttiness. In reality, though Weishaupt had Jewish ancestry, he was raised Catholic.

Born in 1748 in Ingolstadt, a city in the Electorate of Bavaria (now part of modern-day Germany), Weishaupt was a descendant of Jewish converts to Christianity. Orphaned at a young age, his scholarly uncle took care of his education, and enrolled him in a Jesuit school.

If that does not stop the nuttiness and the conspiracy theorists, how do they explain that Washington was a freemason, yet our revolution worked?

The basic answer is that the lower levels of freemasonry are just a club of freethinkers. Not everyone involved with the Knights of Columbus is a Jesuit infiltrator for the pope, and not every freemason is on the occult fringes of the society. It was often just an excuse to take a night out from the wife and meet with the boys at the local club. There the latest politics could be discussed, while beers were quaffed  without the wife asking for help with the kids.

The simple answer to our question is more fundamental: the American people saw their revolution as stemming from biblical principles. Though deist himself, Paine knew he would have to appeal to Scripture to win over the American people in his writings. Indeed, Paine's "Common Sense" cited the Old Testament as condemning monarchies. He cemented the point with this statement: "For monarchy in every instance is the popery of government."

That must have settled the issue for Americans, the vast majority of whom were serious Protestants at that time. The American Revolution was seen as an outgrowth of Christianity, not a condemnation of it. It was the next step in the Christianization of society.

While deists were among the leaders of the Revolution, they did not see Christianity as an obstacle to the struggle, but rather as a partner. Some of the more serious denominations took up the patriot cause. They had been persecuted under England's Anglican hegemony and were in favor of the freedoms promised by the Revolution.

Not so with the French. The vast majority of the French were Roman Catholics, and the Catholic Church and clergy were often hostile to the French Revolution. The Catholic Church tended to get along with monarchies. The Church liked stability and concordats.

This led to the French revolutionaries rejecting Christianity altogether. They set up the competing Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being.

Robespierre organized a "Festival of the Supreme Being" in the summer of 1794. Having recently eliminated his adversaries Hebert and Danton, Robespierre delivered the keynote speech. In it he explained his idea for a civic religion worshipping a deist "supreme being" while resisting the more extreme tendency of some to eliminate spirituality outright through an atheistic "cult of reason."

The chief difference is that the American people appealed to the God of the Bible. As they did not reject Christianity, they put brakes on what was acceptable in their revolution.

The French leaders were disgusted with Christianity. Maybe this was due to the corruption of the Catholic clergy and the Church's partnerships with the monarchy. Their solution was to ditch the Christian ethic, and they devolved into the Terror.

It is not that the American people were not faced with a corrupt clergy. The Anglican church was heavily royalist. But the American people did not see a rejection of Christianity as the solution  rather, many embraced the more serious sects of Christianity as the answer.

This is the chief difference between the American and French Revolutions. After the American Revolution, America was arguably more serious about Christianity, while French Christianity was throttled. Over time, in Europe, Christianity, both Lutheran and Catholic, took a beating.

Of course, this is rarely mentioned in history classes today. We hear that the American Revolution was deist, which it was not, or that it was wholly secular. In truth, much of the patriot side appealed to what we would call the principles of the religious right today. Sometimes, a good historian will note the real background. (See "Was the American Revolution a holy war?")

This is also the chief difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties today. The Democratic party has rejected any pretense of biblical ethics, and Democrats have devolved into insanity worthy of Robespierre.

One side sees the Bible as essential to freedom, while the other side sees it as hostile. The Democratic Party has adopted the European model, and with it will come European results.

Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who wishes he had availed himself more fully of the opportunity to learn Spanish better in high school, lo those many decades ago. He runs a website, Latin Arabia, about the Christian Arab community in South America.Do the Democrats have an anti-Semitism problem?

Seems that Rep. Ilhan Omar's "pioneering" on that sick front has drawn other anti-Semites to the party. Daniel Greenfield at Front Page Mag has a report:

Just as the Dems were recovering from their anti-Semitism controversy with Rep. Omar, they've got an anti-Semitic bigot with name recognition running for Senate in New Mexico. It's yesterday's lefty heroine, Valerie Plame, covert secret agent and inspiration for James Bond who inspired one of the more unintentionally hilarious lefty Bush era movies (one that Aaron Sorkin would probably like to forget.) Plame was force to apologize after sharing on Twitter an anti-Semitic article from the UNZ Review entitled "America's Jews Are Driving America's Wars." The article stated that Jews "own the media," that they should wear labels while on national television, and that their beliefs were as dangerous as "a bottle of rat poison." Her initial response was: "First of all, calm down. Re-tweets don't imply endorsement. Yes, very provocative, but thoughtful. Many neocon hawks ARE Jewish." Funny how these scandals just "vanish" when they involve lefties.

And funnier still, a message seems to have gone out to the nation's anti-Semites that it's fine to return to the fold, joining the Democrats. Omar paved the way.

What's striking here is that it shows how multi-fold the anti-Semitism of the Democrats is now becoming.

Omar's variety, buttressed by her claims about Israeli treatment of Palestinians, is of the "confusion and resentment" developing world variety, probably picked up in a place like Somalia, where such resentments are common among the country's petty local intellectuals, given the failure of those states, especially in contrast to Israel and its success. They cloak their Jew-hatred in virtue-signaling about Palestinians and human rights, waving their torch through the boycott-divest-sanctions (BDS) movement, often claiming that their Jew-hate is merely "anti-Zionism."

Plame's has another feel to it  that of the old European elites, who've always leaned toward blaming the Jews for their own failures, too. Many eventually slid into national socialism, Aryan blond hair like Valerie's flying. It's an open train of anti-Semitism less often seen, but just as Jew-hating.

This goes to show that the anti-Semitism of the Democrats is taking on multiple forms. The failure of the House resolution against anti-Semitism, watered down with hate-talk of all sorts, treated equally, means in reality that Omar has gotten the gate open.

If Democrats don't nip this in the bud, they're going to see a slew of this garbage going on, ever new strains of the old Jew-hating virus. Since there's no sign they have any such intention of policing themselves, Republicans had better get it done for them the hard way.With 1.5 million illegal aliens from Central America rolling into the U.S., President Trump has declared an emergency in order to construct a badly needed wall at the border, and now he has threatened to shut the gates of the border down, too, unless Mexico's government quits enabling the problem. It's a major issue, and a recent poll shows that many Americans want it dealt with as a top priority.

Who should show up to throw a stick into these turning wheels but California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's announced his first gubernatorial trip abroad to El Salvador for the purpose of "lifting up our immigrant communities and understanding the root causes of migration."

Oh, really? Here's his tell-nothing statement about it for the press:

While the Trump Administration demonizes those who are fleeing violence from Central America, California is committed to lifting up our immigrant communities and understanding the root causes of migration," Newsom said in a statement. "I am looking forward to traveling to El Salvador in April to talk with the nation's leaders and activists while deepening the bond between our families and communities.

One can just picture how this trip looks from the Salvadoran side of things. Here come Big Daddy, the California governor, the gringo who's already laid out a banquet of goodies for Salvadorans in California, from free health care to free education, to sanctuary state protections to enable illegals to work, coming there supposedly to find out how he can offer...even more goodies to Salvador's uneducated lower middle classes. The idea is to get even more of them to come over. Big Daddy comes down with the Santa sack full of goodies.

From the Salvadoran perspective, his reception is likely to be warm from the Salvadoran government, which benefits hugely from the remittances sent home by El Salvador's mostly illegal aliens, allowing it to finance itself and employ ever larger numbers of bureaucrats without having to house, educate, or medically care for its nationals. This is one reason why remittance economies tends to underdevelop a country, according to the World Bank.

Last year, in fact, that game was going full speed. El Salvador's remittances hit a record $5.47 billion. Literally one out of six Salvadorans now lives in the U.S., and 680,000 of those make their home in benefit-rich California. Salvadoran politicians actually campaign for office in California, owing to the sizable number of Salvadoran voters, many of whom are here illegally, signaling that there's a lot of work to be had for the newest (and least likely to be legal) migrants in the states now, most of which is coming from California. From the Salvadoran private sector, maybe not so much, given that the country is losing a critical component of its work force and is already looking at labor shortages even as the government grows bigger and more powerful from the remittances. Big California Daddy coming in to scoop up more of the Salvadoran labor force may well prompt some anger and disgust in those quarters.

Newsom doesn't care about any of that, because that's economics, and he's a leftist.

Obviously, his mission is domestic: to undercut President Trump's effort to control the border at a time of national emergency, with very large numbers of Salvadorans now planning to come to the U.S. without authorization. The technical infrastructure has emerged with the new (and supercharged) phenomenon of the caravans, aided also by the fact that the U.S. is legally powerless to stop them, so the numbers are projected to soar. Why not goose them a bit? It leaves the question on the table of what Newsom's plotting with the foreigners, and why this isn't classified as subversion.

Newsom's already signaled his strong support for "sanctuary state" policies, as well as pulled U.S. National Guard troops from the California border, creating a good entry point for the caravans on the long stretches of California's wide open border. This, in addition to all the free health care, housing, education, driver's licenses, and legal privileges he's set up for the Salvadorans and other illegal migrants. What more can he offer them? He's met with the farthest of the far-left Salvadoran "community leaders" here, excluding any reasonably minded Salvadorans, and now he's going down to El Salvador to find out how.

It's nothing but a bid to trawl for votes, legal or otherwise, since legality no longer seems to matter to California's ruling class.

It's worth noting that Newsom has already pulled this stunt once before, shortly before he was sworn in to office, right when President Trump shut the border last November. Remember this one, reported by Politico?

As President Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Mexican border access and demands $5 billion from Congress to build a wall, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state lawmakers are heading to Mexico City this week to celebrate the inauguration of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The message: The country's most populous state wants to work with Mexico despite the president's rhetoric.

The purpose was declared to be this:

"We're ushering in new leadership and there is a vital strategic interest for the state of California for continued economic growth on both sides of the border, with collaboration and cooperation that benefits both California and Mexico, regardless of Washington's lack of leadership," said state Sen. Kevin de Leon, the former Senate leader who authored California's "sanctuary state" law. "A lot of folks view foreign policy through the prism of Washington, D.C., however, because California has the fifth-largest economy in the world and because we share a border with our neighbor to the south, we have many shared interests."

He's as transparent as crystal glassware on that. It's about time he be called out on it - and maybe sanctioned, too  at the national level.A frightening dystopia awaits.

That's the story of K.M. Breakey's latest novel, All Thy Sons.

As conservatives, constitutionalists, and fans of Western civilization, I suppose that at one time or another, many have asked this question of the Left: "where are you taking us?" That question gets a (thankfully) fictional treatment from Breakey. Rod Serling comes to mind  "there's a signpost up ahead."

Take a walk through Vancouver, B.C. Sample the ambient present-day politics of a nation and a present-day city mostly immune to inner-city violence of a style and routine that prevails in the USA. Then watch it slowly, then more quickly unravel and spiral into a frightening hellhole as Western civilization is openly and viciously attacked, with no quarter extended for the white, bright, and polite.

The title refers to three words removed by law from the Canadian National Anthem.

Oh Canada

Our home and native land

True patriot love

In all thy sons command

The law that changed the lyric and removed the offensive, sexist word "sons," was backed by Justin Trudeau, a self-described feminist and Canada's chief pencil-neck. In a world dominated by poltroons, the Mona Lisa gets a mustache, and the maple leaf becomes a fig leaf. This is where it starts. Like a roller coaster, once you get strapped in, you are on board for what happens next.

In All Thy Sons, progressivism invades the lives of hardworking Italian Catholics. At first, it is mostly ignored as laughable and absurd. Then tragedy strikes in the form of a terrorist attack. The protagonist, Tony, has his life take a dramatic turn toward activist journalism  the "Alt-Right" variety. He chooses to go down fighting, adopting a "die on your feet rather than live on your knees" attitude.

Where do we go when the First World shrinks until all that is left are the fortified bunkers that used to be comfortable middle-class homes? Preppers, take note: that "hits the fan" scenario that gets discussed in your circles just might come down exactly as described in All Thy Sons. As such, this may be a story that a good man teaches his sons  and daughters. (I almost forgot!)

K.M. Breakey's previous titles are well worth a read. They are Johnny and Jamaal and Never, Never, and Never Again.

Breakey's latest, All Thy Sons, is his best yet.

Willie Shields is a former US Marine, a veteran air traffic controller and a radio talk show host. A graduate of Widener University, Willie resides in Wilmington, Delaware.

WSHIELDS1775@COMCAST.NET

@WILLIEONRADIO (Twitter)Three weeks after signing a "loyalty pledge" to the Democratic Party in order to run for president with that party's resources on that party's ticket, socialist Bernie Sanders has something else in mind, hiring a team of rabid far leftists with long records of detesting the Democrats for his presidential campaign.

James Varney of the Washington Times has a delicious report:

Sen. Bernard Sanders has amassed a presidential campaign team of pit bulls skilled in the art of internal party warfare  and in many cases is still grinding axes over the way he was treated by the Democratic Party in his 2016 run for the White House. Three members of his team didn't even back Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and instead supported the Green Party in the general election. Others have made a career of ripping the very people Mr. Sanders now faces in the 2020 Democratic primaries.

What a guy.

And for Trump-supporters, that means popcorn time.

Democratic operatives are warning that these actions by Bernie amount to "slash and burn."

Obviously, after the way Democrats treated Bernie during the 2016 campaign, scores are being settled. Democrats back then cheated Bernie of the likely victory of the nomination he garnered through a sneaky campaign of leaks, collusion with media allies, and rigging the actual totals through party-picked "superdelegates."

What that now means for Democrats is Bernie biting back, coming back as a fox to the henhouse, shaming the Democrats into adopting his crazed leftist policy prescriptions as now part of its platform, pushing the Democrats into far-left nutbag territory as they try to unseat President Trump.

If I thought this would win, perhaps it would be bad. But it's far more likely to bring casualties to the Democrat side than the Republican. Noisemaking from socialist "it girl" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aside, a large contingent of the Democrats who did retake the House and won seats in the Senate ran on moderate platforms to win, meticulously persuading red-state voters that they wouldn't do anything crazy. Those Democrats are about to be cut off at the knees as Bernie crazitude takes over the Democratic presidential platform and forces them all into conforming to its demands.

It might be not a problem, except that Bernie has some very nasty, redolent of socialist Venezuela, ideas. Now he's being buttressed with nasty people all in for fighting dirty who mean to shake the Democratic Party up.

Bernie isn't going to take it anymore from Democrats, so despite that loyalty pledge to the Democratic Party, all of the moderates are likely to be pitched over the side.

That leaves House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer with yet another problem on their hands, as if they didn't need more with the arrival of Rep. Ilhan Omar, leaving them to try to maintain control of their party splitting out and being pushed to the far left.

It's what they deserve. For the rest of us, time to heat up the stove for some crunchy popcorn.Shortly after the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported on March 6 that the Al Aqsa Mosque in North Philadelphia held three anti-Semitic sermons over a four-month period, each delivered by guest imam Abdelmohsen Abouhatab (Nov. 16, 2018, "Oh Servant of Allah, There is a Jew behind me, come and Kill him; Jan. 11, 2019, "The propaganda and the media are controlled by the Jews"; Feb. 15, 2019, "The Jews are the vilest people..."), the mosque issued an apology, which can be read on its website. But it's hard to believe that it came as a surprise to mosque officials that this guest delivered anti-Semitic sermons, especially when after one of them stood before the audience and said, "We thank Abdelmohsen Abouhatab for his wonderful sermon," a piece of information not reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer or Channel 10 News.

Are these anti-Semitic speeches an aberration or part of a pattern?

In late January 2019, MEMRI released clips of the sermons of Imam Naeem Abdullah, of the Masjid Al-Mu'min mosque and the Nur Uz-Zamaan Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which recorded him saying the Jews are "running everything" and "have all the money," and that Allah "changed some of them into apes and pigs ... we are asking Allah to guide us on the straight path and [to not] make us like the Jews... 'And not like those who go astray'  the Christians."

Imam Abdullah is also the imam of Masjid Uthman Dan Fodio in West Philadelphia, the subject of investigative anchor Chad Pradelli's recent ABC Action News report on child weddings and child sexual abuse of a 17-year-old and 10-year-girls (sisters) and the arrest of a 24-year-old man who "married" the older one at age 14.

On November 12, 2017 Imam Aymen Elkasaby of the Islamic Center of Jersey welcomed the "Interfaith Gathering of Unity" including two rabbis. Twelve days later, at the podium of the same mosque, he said, referring to an attack on a mosque in the Sinai, "This could have only been done by the enemies of Islam  the Jews and their subordinates from among the Muslim rulers. ... Oh Allah, count the oppressors one by one, and kill them down to the very last one. Do not leave a single one upon the earth!"

On Friday, December 8, 2017 Imam Abdullah Khadra delivered an anti-Semitic sermon in a mosque in the Raleigh, N.C. area, saying, "On Judgment Day the Muslims will kill the Jews[.] ... The Prophet Muhammad gave us the glad tidings that ... we will fight those Jews until the rocks and the trees will speak."

It seems apparent these hate speeches are more of a pattern than an aberration. It is what these imams believe, and it is what they are teaching their flocks. These teachings of hate have resulted in fatal attacks against Jews in France, Belgium, and most recently the Netherlands. Do we wait until it happens here? Until the Muslim leadership acknowledges the existence of a radical element in Islam and repudiates that element from their pulpits, the Philadelphia community should not be fooled into thinking that a damage-control apology means Islamic Jew-hatred is behind us.

Len Getz, CPA, is a Counter-Islamist Grid associate and freelance writer whose work has appeared in Lifestyles Magazine, Nostalgia Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Bulletin, the Jewish Exponent, the American Thinker, The Algemeiner, PJMedia, and the Lock Haven Express.The buck stops somewhere well below the exalted personage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I wonder if she even knows who Harry Truman was. President Truman famously acknowledged that the boss has to take the blame when his people screw up with the slogan "the buck stops here." He even had a sign on his presidential desk with that motto on it. (Many years ago, I bought a copy at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. You can get them nowadays on Amazon, though the price seems steep.)

Ocasio-Cortez, who enjoyed an infomercial yesterday on MSNBC in the form of a televised town hall meeting in her district, disagrees with this theory of executive leadership, preferring to blame her staff for the release of an early FAQ on her Green New Deal that contained absurdities about banning cows and airplanes. Matt Whitlock captured the moment of blame-denial in a video clip tweet:

I definitely had a staffer who had a very bad day at work and did release a working draft early, so I get thats what theyre seizing on. @AOC throws staff under the bus when asked about the atrocious #GreenNewDeal launch, FAQ, cow farts. pic.twitter.com/ceEYO3Ps0J  Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) March 30, 2019

Note the automatic posture as a victim  of her own staff and those who "seize upon" her staff's mistake.

The production values on the infomercial were pretty impressive for district meeting of a freshman congressperson with less than three months in office, complete with a camera on a crane arm, zooming around, and the seal of the House of Representatives on the stage floor, right under her stiletto heels.



YouTube screen grab.Rep. Ilhan Omar is at it again, and as you may imagine, the famously America-hating congresswoman is not too happy with America. According to Sean Hannity:

Recently sworn-in Congresswoman Ilhan Omar weighed-in on the country's escalating border crisis this week; baselessly blaming the migrant caravan's arrival in El Paso on "white nationalism." "This is abhorrent and inhumane. It's without a doubt a reflection of what white nationalism is doing to our country. As a country, we have to acknowledge that this is how people are being treated here and decide that we are better and we must do better," tweeted Omar.

Did we just read that right? Illegal immigration and its consequences are all the work of "white nationalism"? The people she pictures in her crazy tweet have all been detained for choosing to migrate illegally.

Weird stuff, given that the people being detained are coming here to actually live. Why would anyone want to move to a place festering with "white nationalism"? Someone should ask her.

Is she saying the illegal aliens who broke U.S. law to get here are masochists?

Perhaps she recognizes that the U.S. let her in, and given that the Central Americans are higher on the human development scale than the land of her birth, all of them have a right to come in unvetted.

Or is she just waving the "racism" stick, confident that Americans will gladly bow to it, regardless of her twisted logic, and then presumably skip that little matter of rule of law to allow all unvetted comers in?

Obviously, it's the latter, and her aim is to support Democrats by importing Democrats, using the perceived vulnerability of Americans to racism charges as a means of getting unvetted migrants into the U.S.

She knows that about this place like the back of her hand, and she's working it.

It's a sorry way to get what she wants, given that poor people migrate away from hellholes, not toward them. Is she saying America, and all its "white nationalists" have some kind of mesmerizing power to force migrants to come here regardless of what they really want, same as she said about the Jews of Israel in one of her famous anti-Semitic rants? She probably does think this.

Omar is a socialist, so her perspective is disastrously disordered. Maybe someone should ask her why these detained migrants mysteriously drawn to all that "white nationalism" aren't moving instead to socialist paradises such as Venezuela or Cuba, both of which are closer to the point of origin of the migrants, bearing no language barriers.

Not going to happen with the current press, so she's going to get away with putting that out as part of the Democrats' ongoing "narrative."

It still stands as absurd, however, showing how far gone she is on the logic front. She'll whip out the racism stick for literally anything.

Image credit: Lorie Shaull via Flickr, detail, CC BY-SA 2.0.You've probably never heard of Dave Berger.

President Trump nominated him on March 27 to be the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps. I met him when we were both assigned to Camp Pendleton, and I remember his deep interest in mastering the Corps's tactics, logistics, and weapons systems. From the beginning of his career, he showed a quiet devotion to the Corps's excellence.

His career is filled with aggressive, on-the-ground combat, including leading a regiment at Fallujah and a division in Afghanistan. He is one of America's best and most experienced combat commanders.

The Berger nomination is in contrast to past leadership at the FBI and the CIA. Infamous FBI managers such as James Comey, Andrew McCabe, and Peter Strzok were never devoted to crime-fighting, the fundamental purpose of the FBI. They promoted themselves through building relationships in Washington, D.C. They have never exposed themselves to physical danger.

Former CIA chief John Brennan is the loudest of all Deep-Staters. He spent a 40-year career entirely within the CIA headquarters building, during which he did no intelligence operations and no intelligence collection.

Berger is a graduate of Tulane University. A few years ago, I wrote Tulane to let the people there know about their distinguished graduate, but with no reply. He's still not on any list of distinguished alumni as of the writing of this post. He has focused his career on the Corps's missions. He never developed a cult of personality like retired general James Mattis. Berger isn't quotable and doesn't make tough-guy statements.

I've encouraged family members who have become Marines to drop in on him and say hello. He's a remarkably kind and humble person for such an expert in the application of violence.

Berger won President Trump's nomination thanks to his record of achievement and service.

If FBI agents see from the example of their leaders that the path to the top involves excellence in crime-fighting, and if CIA officers see that the path to the top involves intelligence-gathering, then these organizations will become more focused on their missions and less likely to betray us.

Ishmael Jones is a former CIA officer and author of The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture.Joe Biden. Photo: Leigh Vogel/2017 Leigh Vogel

In 2014, I was the 35-year-old Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada. The landscape wasnt looking good for my party that year. There were no high-profile national races to help boost turnout, and after the top candidate bowed out of the governors race, None of the Above ended up winning the Democratic primary.

So when my campaign heard from Vice-President Joe Bidens office that he was looking to help me and other Democrats in the state, I was grateful and flattered. His team offered to bring him to a campaign rally in an effort to help boost voter turnout. We set the date for November 1, just three days before election day.

In a state as large but sparsely populated as Nevada, it takes nonstop travel to connect with all its residents. Youre lucky to get properly fed, much less look properly coiffed as female candidates are often required to do. I was exhausted and short on time, so decided to not to wash my hair the morning of the rally. I sprayed some dry shampoo in my hair, raced off to the Reno airport, and flew back to Las Vegas.

The event proceeded as most political events do: coordinated chaos with random problems that no one can predict. I found Eva Longoria, co-founder of the Latino Victory Project, roaming the parking lot trying to figure out how to get inside the union hall. My staff was running around town trying to purchase ferns because according to Bidens team, no other vegetation was acceptable for the stage.

The day of the 2014 rally, speakers gathered and took photos before going on stage. Flores (right) is pictured with Longoria and Biden before the uncomfortable encounter.

I found my way to the holding room for the speakers, where everyone was chatting, taking photos, and getting ready to speak to the hundreds of voters in the audience. Just before the speeches, we were ushered to the side of the stage where we were lined up by order of introduction. As I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?

I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, I didnt wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual fuck? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair? He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldnt process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused. There is a Spanish saying, tragame tierra, it means, earth, swallow me whole. I couldnt move and I couldnt say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience.

By then, as a young Latina in politics, I had gotten used to feeling like an outsider in rooms dominated by white men. But I had never experienced anything so blatantly inappropriate and unnerving before. Biden was the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world. He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job. Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused. The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners  and I felt powerless to do anything about it.

Our strange interaction happened during a pivotal moment in my political career. Id spent months raising money, talking to voters, and securing endorsements. Biden came to Nevada to speak to my leadership and my potential to be second-in-command  an important role he knew firsthand. But he stopped treating me like a peer the moment he touched me. Even if his behavior wasnt violent or sexual, it was demeaning and disrespectful. I wasnt attending the rally as his mentee or even his friend; I was there as the most qualified person for the job.

Imagine youre at work and a male colleague who you have no personal relationship with approaches you from behind, smells your hair, and kisses you on the head. Now imagine its the CEO of the company. If Biden and I worked together in a traditional office, I would have complained to the HR department, but on the campaign trail, theres no clear path for what to do when a powerful man crosses the line. In politics, you shrug it off, smile for the cameras, and get back to the task of trying to win your race.

After the event, I told a few of my staff what happened. We all talked about the inexplicable weirdness of what he did, but I didnt plan on telling anyone else. I didnt have the language or the outlet to talk about what happened. Who do you tell? What do you say? Is it enough of a transgression if a man touches and kisses you without consent, but doesnt rise to the level of what most people consider sexual assault? I did what most women do, and moved on with my life and my work.

Time passed and pictures started to surface of Vice-President Biden getting uncomfortably close with women and young girls. Biden nuzzling the neck of the Defense secretarys wife; Biden kissing a senators wife on the lips; Biden whispering in womens ears; Biden snuggling female constituents. I saw obvious discomfort in the womens faces, and Biden, Im sure, never thought twice about how it made them feel. I knew I couldnt say anything publicly about what those pictures surfaced for me; my anger and my resentment grew.

Had I never seen those pictures, I may have been able to give Biden the benefit of the doubt. Had there not been multiple articles written over the years about the exact same thing  calling his creepy behavior an open secret  perhaps it would feel less offensive. And yet despite the steady stream of pictures and the occasional article, Biden retained his title of Americas Favorite Uncle. On occasion that title was downgraded to Americas Creepy Uncle but that in and of itself implied a certain level of acceptance. After all, how many families just tolerate or keep their young children away from the creepy uncle without ever acknowledging that there should be zero tolerance for a man who persistently invades others personal space and makes people feel uneasy and gross? In this case, it shows a lack of empathy for the women and young girls whose space he is invading, and ignores the power imbalance that exists between Biden and the women he chooses to get cozy with.

For years I feared my experience would be dismissed. Biden will be Biden. Boys will be boys. I worried about the doubts, the threats, the insults, and the minimization. Its not that big of a deal. He touched her, so what? The immediate passing of judgement and the questioning of motives. Why now? Why so long after? She just wants attention. Or: Its politically motivated. I would be lying if I said I didnt carefully consider all of this before deciding to speak. But hearing Bidens potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.

When I spoke to a male friend who is also a political operative in Bidens orbit  the first man who had heard the story outside of my staff and close friends years ago  he did what no one else had and made me question myself and wonder if I was doing the right thing. He reminded me that Biden has significant resources and argued points that made me question my memory, even though Ive replayed that scene in my mind a thousand times. He reminded me that my credibility would be attacked and that I should be prepared for the type of back and forth that could occur. (When reached by New York Magazine, a representative for Vice-President Joe Biden declined to comment.)

Im not suggesting that Biden broke any laws, but the transgressions that society deems minor (or doesnt even see as transgressions) often feel considerable to the person on the receiving end. That imbalance of power and attention is the whole point  and the whole problem.

Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.The attorney general promises to soon let the cat out of the bag. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Attorney General William Barr interrupted partisan skirmishing on Capitol Hill over Democratic efforts to secure a full release of special counsel Robert Muellers report with a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairs promising the document, with redactions, would be in their hands, and apparently made public, by mid-April. Barr also indicated that the White House was waiving any right to review the document before release to determine possible claims of executive privilege over particular material.

Theres a lengthy section of the letter dealing with redactions (withholding of specific names, facts, or other information), summarized by Reuters more succinctly:

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is release, including secret grand jury information, intelligence sources and methods and information that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

Depending on the scope of redactions, they could lead administration critics to claim that the full release promise is misleading.

Interestingly enough, Barr seemed to particularly dispute the description of the letter he sent to Congress a week ago was a Mueller report summary:

I am aware of some media reports and other public statements mischaracterizing my March 24, 2019 supplemental notification as a summary of the Special Counsel?s investigation and report 

As my letter made clear, my notification to Congress and the public provided, pending release of the report, a summary of its principal conclusions  that is, its bottom line. The Special Counsels report is nearly 400 pages long (exclusive of tables and appendices) and sets forth the Special Counsels findings, his analysis, and the reasons for his conclusions. Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own. I do not believe it would be in the publics interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or to release it in serial or piecemeal fashion.

Presumably this disclaimer is intended to head off complaints that there is important and relevant in the full report that Barr didnt bother to tell anyone about in his initial letter, which has already shaped discussion of the report despite its brevity and murkiness about key findings.

But as he says, [e]veryone will soon be able to read it on their own, if he doesnt redact it to ribbons.Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

Windy with rain likely. High 51F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Rain. Low 41F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.Over 1,000 pilots of the struggling private carrier Jet Airways have decided to go ahead with their "no flying" call from April 1 following the airline failing to receive funds from the banks Friday, its pilots guild has said.

The National Aviators Guild (NAG), the body claiming representation of some 1,100 pilots at Jet Airways, had last week announced its decision not to fly from April 1 if their pending salaries were not cleared and clarity on the revival plan not provided by March 31.

Days after that, the airline management went into the hands of SBI-led consortium of banks under a debt-recast plan.

Also Read: Banks take control of Jet Airways board as Naresh Goyal exits, lenders to infuse Rs 1,500 crore

"A part of the expected interim funding from SBI was supposed to be actioned on March 29. Unfortunately, the fund transfer has not taken place, and there is also no update on salary payment from the management. The collective decision of pilots taken at Mumbai and Delhi open house effective 1 April prevails," NAG president Karan Chopra said in a late evening communication to his members.

Earlier in the day, a source said that around 200 pilots had written individually to Jet CEO Vinay Dube, threatening to go on "leave of absence", and they were also planning to take legal recourse over non-payment of salary.

A source in the pilots' community said around 200 pilots have written to the CEO flagging concerns about non-payment of salaries. The pilots are also members of the NAG, the source added.

Also Read: 'Looking back, don't want to change a thing,' writes Naresh Goyal in letter to Jet Airways staffCentral govt has fixed the MSP of wheat at Rs 1,840 per quintal, hiking it by Rs 105 from last year's Rs 1,735 per quintal.

The release of the CCL would facilitate the state government in making timely payments to farmers against purchases of food grains in the current season

Chandigarh: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday cleared Rs 19,240.91 crore towards Cash Credit Limit (CCL) for Punjab for the purchase of wheat in the Rabi marketing season.

With this, the bulk of the CCL sought by the state government for the purchase of 130 lakh tonne of wheat for this season has been released by the central bank, an official release said here.

The release of the CCL would facilitate the state government in making timely payments to farmers against purchases of food grains in the current season, which would begin from April 1 and culminate on May 25, it said.

The central government has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat at Rs 1,840 per quintal, hiking it by Rs 105 from last year's Rs 1,735 per quintal.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh reviewed the arrangements for smooth wheat procurement on Friday and issued strict directives to the Food and Civil Supplies Department to ensure that the farmers do not face any hassles in the procurement of their grain.India wants 5,000 pilgrims to be allowed to visit daily but Pakistan wants the number to be 500 to 700.

New Delhi: Indian concerns over Khalistani propaganda in Pakistan have scuttled, for now, the next round of talks on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on April 2 at Wagah in Pakistani Punjab even as Islamabad has agreed to allow non-Sikh Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine in its territory.

Speculation is also rife that the Indian government may have wanted to avoid a media spectacle at Wagah on April 2, especially when the Pakistan government had already invited the Indian media to apply for visas to cover the talks.

Government sources said on Friday that India had called in Pakistan deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah and conveyed to him concerns over appointment of known pro-Khalistan people like Gopal Singh Chawla, a Pakistani Sikh linked to Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, and others on a committee on the Kartarpur pilgrimage.

India has sought to know the role that these known Khalistan sympathisers would play. New Delhi will decide the next date for talks on the Kartarpur corridor after a response from Islamabad, effectively meaning that the April 2 meeting is virtually called off.

Government sources said it was important to bridge substantive gaps in the positions between the two sides, pointing out that a meeting just for the sake of optics is not feasible. There should be substantive outcomes. Once we receive the response from Pakistan to our concerns and clarifications, the next date can be decided, said an official source.

The ministry of external affairs said, India has sought clarifications from Pakistan on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. India has also shared concerns and sought clarifications on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee to be associated with the Kartarpur corridor. It has been conveyed that the next meeting on the modalities can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistans response.

Apart from Chawla, India is also concerned about the presence of alleged pro-Khalistan people like Maninder Singh, Tara Singh, Bisant Singh and Kuljit Singh on the Kartarpur committee.

This has raised our security concerns. Gopal Singh Chawla is also associated with Hafiz Saeed and the JuD. There cant be any let-up on security concerns. There are clouds of doubt, said a government source.

These people are involved in issuing statements and engaging in activities that promote violence and hatred against India, the source added.

In addition to Indian concerns over Khalistani propaganda and harassment of Indian Sikh pilgrims in Pakistan, there are other issues too. India wants 5,000 pilgrims to be allowed to visit daily but Pakistan wants the number to be 500 to 700. Pakistan is also not willing to allow pilgrims with an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. India wants the pilgrimage to be visa-free but Pakistan wants to impose a fee and is insisting that pilgrims obtain a special permit for it. Pakistan has also not responded to Indias request to free 100 acres of land belonging to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara from encroachers.

But in a key concession, Pakistan has agreed to allow non-Sikh Indian pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and first Guru of the Sikhs, spent the last years of his life in the first half of the 16th century.

The two countries are trying to hammer out an agreement on the modalities that will enable Iindian Sikh pilgrims to travel on the special corridor for the pilgrimage to the Gurudwara in November this year for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak who had spent the last years of his life at Kartarpur in the first half of the 16th century.The former finance minister also questioned the motive of the government in making the announcement.

Chidambaram tweeted, 'The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret.' (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability, saying only a "foolish government" would make such a disclosure and "betray" a defence secret.

In an address to the nation, Modi had on Wednesday announced that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite under 'Mission Shakti', describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space superpowers.

Slamming the announcement by the prime minister, Chidambaram tweeted, "The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret."

The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret.  P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) March 30, 2019

The former finance minister also questioned the motive of the government in making the announcement.

"Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP," Chidambaram claimed.

Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign?



Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP.  P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) March 30, 2019

Following the prime minister's speech, several Opposition parties had complained to the Election Commission alleging violation of the model code of conduct. The Election Commission, however, said on Friday night that Modi's address to the nation on the successful test-firing of an anti-satellite missile did not violate the model code of conduct.

Chidambaram also sought answers from the prime minister on high unemployment rate and job losses, citing data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). "Unemployment rate in India is at 7.1 per cent. It is the highest in 45 years. Why? Will Mr Modi answer? According to the NSSO, 4 crore 70 lakh jobs have been lost. Why? Will Mr Modi answer?" he said in a series of tweets.The ED said the asset is being held in the name of Shahs wife and daughters.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a Srinagar-located asset allegedly linked to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah in connection with a 14-year-old terror funding and money laundering case against him and others.

According to sources, the property is located in Effandi Bagh in the Rawalpora area of Srinagar and the Central probe agency issued a provisional order to attach the asset under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The action is part of a multi-agency crackdown launched by the government against separatists and terror operatives functioning from Kashmir Valley.

The ED said the asset is being held in the name of Shahs wife and daughters. The seized asset is valued at Rs 25.8 lakh, the agency said. It added that Mr Shah, currently in judicial custody, is involved in carrying out illicit activities along with his accomplice Mohd Aslam Wani, who is an activist of banned militant organisation JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad). Shah was using Wani as a carrier for collecting hawala money sent by his Pakistan-based sympathisers through hawala operators, the agency said.

Records show, the ED said, that this property has been gifted to Shahs wife and daughters by his sisters-in-law in 2005, which was purchased in their name by his father-in-law in 1999. However, in spite of repeated opportunities given to Shahs father-in-law and sisters-in-law they failed to justify the sources of fund to acquire the property, the agency claimed. Investigation has also revealed that Shah is the de-facto owner of the property purchased through unexplained source of fund by his father-in-law, it alleged. The ED said its probe revealed that Shah was in touch with global terrorist Hafeez Sayeed, chief of banned outfit Jamat-ud-Dawa based in Pakistan and that he had been receiving money for carrying out separatist activities in J-K and has acquired various properties through a maze of dubious transactions. Shah and Wani were arrested by the ED in 2017. Wani was granted bail by a court in January 2019.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the ED on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 15 lakh on three alleged terrorist organisation operatives and has confiscated cash worth Rs 7 lakh in a 17-year-old terror funding case linked to the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT). The penalty and confiscation action has been taken under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).Mostly illiterate and working in the unorganised sector, they were unaware about the procedures and their applications for citizenship were pending.

This time, the neighbouring country is being mentioned for another reason: As many as 485 former Pakistani nationals who are living in Ahmedabad will vote for the first time as Indian citizens. (Representational image)

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad-based Ghanshyam Khatri, 41, is keenly waiting for April 23, when Gujarat votes in the Lok Sabha elections, because he will be voting for the first time in his life. He was 14 when his family migrated to Ahmedabad from Hathumba of Sindh in Pakistan. He was accorded Indian citizenship only last year.

Pakistan figures prominently in Gujarat during the elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, used to frequently name Pakistan in his campaign speeches. This time, the neighbouring country is being mentioned for another reason: As many as 485 former Pakistani nationals who are living in Ahmedabad will vote for the first time as Indian citizens.

Many people migrated from Pakistan years ago and their applications for Indian citizenship were pending for long. From last year we speeded up the process and, after due inspection, Indian citizenship is being accorded to them. They are now entitled to get the voter ID and Aadhaar cards and avail of the benefits of government schemes, said district collector Dr Vikrant Pande.

We have been able to clear the backlog of pending applications. Nearly 400 applications are being processed, he said.

A gazette notification issued by the Centre on December 23, 2016, authorised some district collectors to accord Indian citizenship to minorities from the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In Gujarat, the collectors of Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Kutch have been authorised to accord citizenship. Ms Dimple Varindani, a migrant from Karachi who came to India at the age of 13 and became a citizen later, has been helping the migrants.

Mostly illiterate and working in the unorganised sector, they were unaware about the procedures and their applications for citizenship were pending.

Ms Dimple Varindani, a Sindhi migrant from Karachi who came to India at the age of 13 and became a citizen later, has been helping them with their paper work. She runs an NGO called Helping Hands in Naroda area of Ahmedabad.

She said, We have been living here since the 1990s, when the migration of minorities took place after the Babri masjid demolition. The government has relaxed the rules so it has become easy for our community to get Indian citizenship. She was herself granted citizenship in 2016 and voted for the first time in the 2017 Assembly election.

We have seen elections in Pakistan but let me say that it was not as safe as we are seeing them here. We were living under threat. Only those who have seen hell can value heaven, said Mr Nandlal Meghnani, a migrant, in an emotion-choked voice.

Mr Meghnani, now 51, hailed from the Tharparkar area of Pakistan and migrated in 2001. He will vote for the first time in an Indian election with the same enthusiasm of other young first-time voters.The external affairs minister said she has asked the Indian mission in Munich to take care of the couples two children.

New Delhi: An Indian man died and his wife sustained injuries after they were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich in Germany, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said Saturday.

Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashants brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, Ms Swaraj tweeted.

The external affairs minister said she has asked the Indian mission in Munich to take care of the couples two children.

Further details of the incident and the couple were not immediately known.

Meanwhile, asked by a Twitter user why she, the most sensible BJP leader, had added the chowkidar prefix to her name on the microblogging site, Ms Swaraj tweeted, Because I am doing Chowkidari of Indian interests and Indian nationals abroad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar (I too am a watchman) campaign to blunt the Congress Chowkidar Chor Hai (the watchman is a thief) jibe at him.

He prefixed his Twitter name with chowkidar and almost all BJP leaders and Union ministers including Ms Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman followed suit.Nath said that Congress would win 22 out of total 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming LS polls.

Bhopal: In a significant development, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday ruled out possibility of changing Jyotiraditya Scindias constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, emphatically saying, Mr Scindia will contest from Guna seat which he was currently representing.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Nath said Mr Scindia would not be shifted to another constituency and would be re-nominated for Guna in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

Mr Naths statement came in the wake of demand by an influential section of Congress men, said to be belonging to the camp of veteran leader Digvijay Singh, to field Mr Scindia in a tough seat this time, instead of Guna.

It is the responsibility of veteran leaders in the party to contest from tough seats, which have remained with BJP for last three decades, and win them for the party. Hence, Mr Scindia being a senior leader, should also be fielded in a tough seat like Indore, the Congress leaders demanded after Mr Singh was asked to contest from Bhopal despite his reservation.

Mr Naths declaration that Mr Scindia would be retained in Guna seat has caused strong resentment among this section of Congress men, sources said. Mr Nath said that Congress would win 22 out of total 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming LS polls.

We are confident of winning at least 22 out of 29 seats, he said.

In the 2014 LS polls, Congress could win only two seats, conceding the rest 27 seats to BJP. The chief minister also gave only 160 seats to BJP in the 2019 general elections.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.Modi said that Congress not only doubted surgical strike but also made fun of our scientists.

Aalo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that the Congress party is concerned only about their 'malai' (personal well-being) and not the welfare of the state (bhalai).

Addressing a rally here, the Prime Minister said "For the past several decades, experts were saying that there is a dire need to develop infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. But the popular family (Congress) and their supporters sitting here were only focused on strengthening their empire. They are more concerned about their personal well-being rather than welfare of the state."

"We work for your 'bhalai' (well-being) but they (Congress) work for their 'malai' (personal benefit)..you have said goodbye to them. Now, do not let them enter again," he added.

Prime Minister Modi slammed the Congress for questioning the valour of the jawans.

"People have seen how Congress leaders reacted when our armed forces conducted surgical strikes to combat terrorism. When we entered the homes of the terrorists and killed them, the Congress was raising questions on the valour of our jawans," he claimed.

He also stated that the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress speaks the same language as that of terrorists.

"When our country does something good, when it achieves something, are you not proud? These leaders are not. When India achieved the surgical strike, these leaders' faces fell. They speak the same language of the terrorists. These leaders have no one in India but Pakistan has been singing their praises. Make them pay."

Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption, Prime Minister Modi said: "In the name of running a newspaper, the Opposition's leaders have been looting the government. Here, local Opposition leaders steal from the plates of the poor, inspired by their leaders in Delhi. These are the very leaders who hit out at the Chowkidar. They think neither of you nor of the youth."

While addressing the rally, the Prime Minister also listed out his government's achievements in Arunachal Pradesh and stated, "Arunachal's 40,000 women have got free LPG connection. Over one lakh families got toilets and three lakh bank accounts have been opened."

The Prime Minister also stressed that the first ever Sainik School in the region was set up under his rule. "Kamal (BJP symbol) has already bloomed on three seats in Arunachal. Trying to make India better. My government is committed to Arunachals development," he added.

Polling for the two Lok Sabha seats at stake in the state will be held on April 11, and counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.Shocked French marine researchers and animal rights groups demand action after 1,100 dead dolphins wash up in France.

Paris: The dolphins bodies were horribly mutilated, the fins cut off. But what shocked French marine researchers wasnt just the brutality of the deaths of these highly intelligent mammals, but the numbers involved  a record 1,100 have landed on Frances Atlantic coast beaches since January.

The mass deaths, widely blamed on industrial fishing, have alarmed animal welfare groups and prompted Frances ecology minister to launch a national plan to protect them. Theres never been a number this high, said Willy Daubin, a member of La Rochelle Universitys National Center for Scientific Research.

Already in three months, we have beaten last years record, which was up from 2017 and even that was the highest in 40 years, he added. Though Daubin said 90 per cent of the fatalities resulted from the dolphins being accidentally captured in industrial fishing nets, the reason behind the spike this year is a mystery.

What fishing machinery or equipment is behind all these deaths? he asked. Autopsies carried out on the dolphins this year by La Rochelle Universitys National Center for Scientific Research show extreme levels of mutilation. Activists say its common for fishermen to cut body parts off the suffocated dolphins after they are pulled up on the nets, to save the nets.

French Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy rushed last week to La Rochelle in an attempt to lower the number of dolphins dying as a result of humans. Hes under pressure, partly due to French President Emmanuel Macrons pro-ecology stance and oft-quoted slogan to Make the Planet Great Again.

Rugy has come up with some plans, including bolstering research into existing acoustic repellent devices in place in 26 two-vessel trawlers off the Bay of Biscay, an industrial fishing hub in the Atlantic Ocean. When activated, the devices send unpleasant signals to nearby dolphins that cause them to swim away.

But animal rights group Sea Shepherd said these measures do not go far enough and has already decried the acoustic repellents as useless. It claims many of the trawlers they watch in the region dont activate the repellent devices, fearing they will scare off valuable fish as well and only turn them on if they are being checked fishing monitors.

It also said increasing the number of repellent devices is not a long-term solution, since that makes the oceans an uninhabitable drum of noise pollution for all mammals and fish. The government needs to take responsibility and act especially Macron, who said he wanted to protect ecology, Lamya Essemlali, President of Sea Shepherd France, told The Associated Press.

She cited scientists who predict that the current rates of fishing will likely drive the dolphin population to extinction. The spotlight has been put on the trawlers that fish for sea bass, which is a scandal. But they were not the only ones responsible, she said.

She suggested that aggressive hake fishing, which was given the green light three years ago after a long ban, was a major factor. The spike in dolphin deaths also began three years ago. Her group says the ecological crisis stems from unprecedented demand for low-cost fish.

Right now, the sea bass that is being caught by the trawlers that kill dolphins, can be found on the French market for 8 euros per kilogram (USD 4 per pound), she said. Global seafood consumption has more than doubled in the past 50 years, according to European Commission, a rate that rights groups have branded unsustainable.92 per cent singles look for love in matrimony: Valentines Day survey.

New Delhi: In this digital age, more and more people are turning to dating apps in order to meet someone new. However, according to a latest survey conducted by BharatMatrimony, a huge number of singles ready to marry are looking for love on matrimonial websites.

Around 6809 members participated in the survey recently and a whopping 92 per cent of singles ready to marry said that theyre looking for the love of their life on the website, not just a life partner.

When asked how they wanted their partner to express love on Valentines Day, interestingly 52 per cent female participants wished that their partner expressed love to them by saying I found my equal. Moreover only 23 per cent females opined that they wanted a gift. However, males when asked How would you express love to your partner on Valentine's Day? 34 per cent said By gifting her something she loves.

86 per cent participants said theyd celebrate Valentines Day with spouse after marriage while 14 per cent said they may not.

(Photo: ANI)

55 per cent female participants and 47 per cent male participants opined that celebrating the day helps strengthen marital bonds while 35 per cent females and 46 per cent male participants opined that it was a special day to express love. Among those who said theyd not celebrate the day post marriage, 43 per cent reasoned that anniversaries and birthdays are more important days, while 32 per cent said Valentines Day was just a marketing gimmick.

When posed Whats the best day of the year to express love post marriage? 44 per cent said Wedding anniversary while 32 per cent felt Partner's birthday was the best day to express love to spouse. 22 per cent preferred Valentines Day as the day to express love to partner.

In response to Who should plan for Valentines Day after marriage, 30 per cent said the husband while 22 per cent opined the wife should. Were constantly studying the changing aspirations of the millennial with regard to matrimony. This survey proves that young singles are not only seeking a life partner but looking to find the love of their life on BharatMatrimony, said Rajasekar KS, GM (Marketing) at Matrimony.com.The Enforcement Directorate Saturday filed a charge sheet before a Delhi court against alleged lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his son Aditya Talwar in a money laundering case.

The agency told Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann in the charge sheet that Talwar, who was arrested on January 30 and currently in judicial custody, allegedly acted as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines, causing loss to national carrier Air India.

The court will take cognisance of the matter on 15 April. Talwar's judicial custody has also been extended for the same date.

ED's special public prosecutor D P Singh and Nitesh Rana told the court that the probe was on and a supplementally charge sheet will be filed later.

The ED earlier told a trial court that it needed to interrogate Talwar to get the names of officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, National Aviation Company of India Ltd and Air India, who favoured foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia.

It claimed that entities directly or indirectly controlled by the accused received exorbitant amounts from Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia and submitted a chart of total USD 60.54 million received by firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008 and February 6, 2009.

His role in some aviation deals during the previous Congress-led UPA regime is also under the scanner.

Also Read: PMLA case : ED attaches Delhi Aerocity hotel case against aviation lobbyist

Also Read: Income tax, GST offices to remain open this Saturday, Sunday to help year-end collectionMatondkar said that she will not use her Mumbaikar or Marathi card in the campaign.

Mumbai: Soon after the Congress declared her name as its candidate from the Mumbai north Lok Sabha (LS) constituency, a sari-clad Urmila Matondkar began her election campaign. She is pitted against BJP MP Gopal Shetty, who defeated former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam by over four lakh votes.

Ms Matondkar said that she will not use her Mumbaikar or Marathi card in the campaign. The Congress was not getting a candidate for the seat. Mr Nirupam, who had represented the seat in the 15th Lok Sabha and lost in 2014, didn't want to contest it this time.

Three days ago, Ms Matondkar joined the Congress. On Friday, she gave a speech at Borivali in her constituency north Mumbai. The new Congress leader first went to the Sai temple in Borivali and later went to the Gurudwara to seek blessings. At noon, she went to the Borivali office of party leader and office bearer Bhushan Patil, general secretary of Mumbai Congress.

Addressing party workers and office bearers at Borivali, she said that whatever she did, she would do from her heart. However, she also said that she was a Mumbaikar and would remain a Mumbaikar, and did not need to give proof of the same to anyone.

Asked about her choice of Khadi saree and whether she was following former PM Indira Gandhi, Matondkar said that things would not work simply by wearing clothes like Ms Gandhi. Her ideas and principles needed to be followed.

The north Mumbai Con-gress candidate said, If youre being questioned about supporting a film star, let them know that the only star in a democracy is the common man. Unlike the BJP, the Con-gress party will not resort to politics of hatred but will win people with love.

Ms Matondkar questioned why she was being asked about her religion and said she wanted to politics above this.Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had given a list of leaders who should not be taken into the party.

Mumbai: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday said that the Congress is on the way to fulfil the dream of late Mahatma Gandhi, who had recommended to dissolve the Congress party. He further said that the BJP has been taking Vibhishana of Lanka (leaders of the Congress) into the party.

Since Ramayana depicted that the Vibhishana should be taken towards the truth, the good leaders have been taken into the party. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had given a list of leaders who should not be taken into the party. Excluding those on the Thackerays list, all the leaders would be taken into the party, Mr Mungantiwar added.

When asked about the state congresss releasing a booklet containing 100 Mistakes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party, Mr Mungantiwar termed him as the BJPs shishupal (mythological character in Mahabharata). He added that the party has been playing the same cassette since 1952 as it had been stuck.

He said that the Congress has touched in low by terming PM Modi, as maut ka saudagar, khoon ka dalal and a person belonging to a neech jaati (low caste).Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg joined by thousands of children in the German capital for the Fridays for Future protest.

Berlin: Thousands of students skipped school in Berlin Friday as part of a growing worldwide youth movement demanding faster action against climate change. Carrying signs with slogans such as I want snow for Christmas and The climate is changing, why arent we?, the demonstrators gathered in a park near the capitals main train station before marching through the government district.

Police estimated the size of the crowd at more than 20,000. Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who inspired the protests in Germany and elsewhere by staging weekly school strikes, headlined the demonstration, joining others at the rally shouting: What do we want? Climate justice. When do we want it? Now!

Later, taking the stage in front of the landmark Brandenburg Gate, the 16-year-old told the animated crowd that older generations have failed tackling the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced.

When we say to them we are worried about the future of our civilization, they just pat us on our heads and say everything will be fine, dont worry, she said. But we should worry, we should panic, and by panic I dont mean running around screaming; by panic I mean stepping out of our comfort zones because when youre in a crisis you change your behaviour, she asserted.

Thunberg later met with scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, just outside the German capital. Some 26,000 scientists in German-speaking countries have signed a call in support of the protesting students in recent weeks.

Thousands of students gathered in Berlin, skipping school to take part in a rally demanding action against climate change. (Photo: AP)

The young people are right to say that this is about intergenerational justice, said the Potsdam Institutes director, Johan Rockstrom. Science clearly shows that climate action today, or the lack thereof, defines the world our children and grandchildren will have to live in.

The Berlin rally was one of more than 20 being held around the country. Environment Ministry spokesman Stephan Gabriel Haufe denied that Germany is dragging its feet on climate action, saying the government plans to pass a bill this year laying out new targets for each sector of the economy to reduce its emissions by 2030.

Unless emissions of heat-trapping gases start dropping dramatically, scientists estimate that the protesters will be in their 40s and 50s, maybe even 30s, when the world will reach the dangerous levels of warming that international climate agreements are trying to prevent.Pakistan's public is not too enthused, and socially it is meeting resistance, especially over the presence of Chinese labour and management.

Some people in India were applying reason and rationale to the context of the UN Security Council move to declare Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. That would have meant Beijing's acceptance of the proposal, against its three earlier instances of rejecting it. Internationally, there was a furore against the Pakistan-supported JeM terror strike involving the car bomb attack at Pulwama, that led to the killing of over 40 Indian securitymen. Many in India felt that China, in this black and white situation, would not like to be singled out as a state supporting another that sponsors terror and proxy war in a neighbouring country. However, little did we realise that geopolitics matters more than sentiment to decide Chinas stand on international security issues.

Whats the geopolitics involved in this decision? Simply, all that is happening in Southwest Asia is virtually an extension of the New Great Game! The area is one of the world's most turbulent hotspots, and highly unstable too. The United States intends to withdraw its last 14,000 troops from Afghanistan, and hopes for some kind of deal with the Taliban to enable that, with Pakistan as the intermediary. Afghanistan is a messy affair, with multiple scenarios that could emerge over the next few months. The Chinese want the Americans out from the region and don't want to create a situation where Pakistan's role as an intermediary is compromised as that may set back the US withdrawal. Behind the scenes, China has been advising Pakistan not to trigger any more turbulence with India, but it cant go against Pakistans interests in the India context by having it isolated internationally. In fact, Pakistans isolation would have been a huge Indian foreign policy success, which would tempt maverick Pakistani terrorist groups to attempt further targeting of Indian interests in Kashmir. Second, China wouldn't like to see a major embarrassment for the Imran Khan government because Pakistan has run out of political options, with its other two mainstream parties in the doghouse. If Imran Khan is weakened, it will only be at the cost of even greater strengthening of the Pakistan Army and the Deep State, whose actions could be unpredictable even to the Chinese. Third, China has invested just too much in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Pakistan's public is not too enthused, and socially it is meeting resistance, especially over the presence of Chinese labour and management. By not holding Pakistan's hand in its moment of crisis and possible isolation, China would open itself to greater compromise internally within Pakistan. In CPEC, it has invested its own outreach to a potential economic empire in Africa and the Middle East. There can be no compromise with that long-term objective. In addition, the strategic isolation of Pakistan would upset any future economic bailout of Pakistan by international monetary institutions and force China to invest even more in rescuing its strategic partner from utter bankruptcy.

What China may have advised Pakistan behind closed doors is to take a step back over sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir. The move against Masood Azhar was too close to acceptance this time. Countries like France and Britain were transformational in their approach to proscribing the JeM chief and in turn isolating Pakistan, much against the transactional attempts in the past. What Pakistan may have told China is that without more active interference in Kashmir, it ran the risk of the Indian security forces smothering the local movement, something akin to what the situation was in 2011-13. Through Pulwama, it would have hoped for greater reaction against Kashmiris and more communal colour to Indias politics, something it always sees as a strategic advantage to itself. India did almost play into

that gameplan, but fortunately pulled back from the brink.

Is Pakistan likely to follow Chinas advice and at least temporarily stop active interference in Kashmir through its subsidiaries? It appears there could be a hiatus as far as big ticket events is concerned. Pakistan clearly miscalculated Pulwama and Indias response. The latter has now climbed higher notches in the escalation matrix, bringing the potential that the response to another major terror act could be more intense, bringing the two sides closer to armed confrontation of varying intensity. It will need to reconfigure its strategy. As far as the ongoing activities to bring more alienation, infiltration through the early spring and summer and prevention of a large voter turnout for the parliamentary elections are concerned, the Deep State will be more than active. For India, it is vital to continue its diplomatic campaign against Pakistan, unlike the past when such efforts on our part flagged off with time. We must never regard the absence of violence as any form of approaching normality. The focus on intelligence against potential use of explosives in another form must remain live. But more than

anything else, the muscular security policy must be balanced by many more conversations with the Kashmiri people. Election time is not a bad time for that.

It would be realpolitik on Indias part to perceive that the Wuhan spirit with China pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not taken as being of advantage only to India. China stands much to gain from stabilising its ties with its southern neighbour. As it stays on the defensive on the US trade wars and the potential of a not-too-stable Southwest Asia region, it may not wish to create fresh rumblings in its external relations. The treatment meted out to the Uyghur minority has the potential of putting it on the backfoot, though on human rights it has always resisted international pressure. Subtle messaging over the Wuhan spirit going haywire in the course of the Chinese support to Pakistan is a strategic necessity. It will help in China imposing greater caution on Pakistan, that may yet treat Chinese advice with less seriousness than it should with reference to the India policy.

There is little potential for Southwest Asia stabilising any time in the near future, and China will continue playing to its perception of interests that focuses on putting many eggs in the Pakistani basket. However, whatever happens, India needs to remain engaged with China to progressively sensitise it to the fact that all its interests do not necessarily lie in the actions Pakistan may take against India and Afghanistan.Google finally removes controversial anti-gay app from its Play Store.

The removal took place the same day the Human Rights Campaign down-ranked Google in its index of the best LGBTQ-friendly employers, TechCrunch reports.

Google has removed a controversial app from its official Play Store. Called, Living Hope Ministries, the app is accused of promoting conversion therapy.

The controversial therapy is an institutionally denounced practice in which a usually religious group tries to correct an individuals same-sex attraction.

The removal took place the same day the Human Rights Campaign down-ranked Google in its index of the best LGBTQ-friendly employers, TechCrunch reports.

The HRC was aware of the conversion therapy-style living promoted by the app in the Google Play Store. The therapy could lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide.

The HRC suspended the Corporate Equality Index rating pending remedial steps by Google.

Meanwhile, the company behind the app denies promoting conversion therapy whereas its website states the otherwise. Apple and Amazon banned the app last year.Pompeo had said it in apparent reference to Chinas move to block Indias proposal at UN to designate JeM chief Azhar as a global terrorist.

Following this, the US has directly moved a resolution in the UN Security Council on Thursday to blacklist Azhar which China said amounted to undermining the 1267 committee. (Photo: File)

Beijing: Defending its repeated attempts to block the listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN, China on Friday refuted US allegation that its action amounted to protecting violent Islamic groups from sanctions.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday denounced China of its shameful hypocrisy toward Muslims, saying China abuses more than a million Muslims at home, but on the other it protects violent Islamic terrorist groups from sanctions at the UN.

Pompeo had said it in apparent reference to Chinas move to block Indias proposal at the United Nations to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Azhar as a global terrorist.

Reacting to this, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here on Friday that if that is so, the country that had put most technical holds in the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Security Council should have been sheltering more terrorists.

At the UN Sanctions committee, the practice of putting technical hold is in line with the rules of the Committee, he asserted.

Without directly referring to the US, Geng said, If a certain country accuses China of sheltering terrorists by putting technical hold, does that mean all the countries that put such holds are sheltering terrorists? If this makes sense then shall we say the country that put most hold is the biggest shelter of terrorists?

China has so far blocked the move four times in recent years. It recently blocked a US, UK and France resolution in the counter terrorism 1267 committee with technical hold saying that it provides time and space for the relevant parties to hold talks after the Pulwama terrorist attack.

Following this, the US has directly moved a resolution in the UN Security Council on Thursday to blacklist Azhar which China said amounted to undermining the 1267 committee.

Defending Chinas move to block Azhars listing, Geng said, China put forward a technical hold with a purpose of conducting in-depth assessment so as to give enough time and space for the dialogue and consultation between parties. China is in communication with all parties to seek a settlement through dialogue. We hope this will be a common goal of all the members of the UNSC. Asked about Pakistan rejecting the evidence put forward by India on the Pulwama terrorist attack, he said, the 1267 committee has detailed and clear stipulation and requirements on the listing issue.

What China has done is in line with the requirement of the UNSC and rules and procedures of the committee. We are always working in a constructive manner and stay in communication with the relevant parties and seek a proper solution.

It is improper to reveal to you the detailed discussions, he said.

To another question whether China is preparing to defend its stand in the UNSC when the latest US resolution would come up for discussion, Geng said, China stayed in close communication with all parties on the listing issue.

We will act in a responsible and a constructive manner to participate in the discussion at the committee. We also hope to work with various parties to seek a proper settlement to the issue, he said.

China on Thursday asked the US not to complicate the listing of Azhar as a global terrorist by forcefully moving a resolution directly in the UNSC, undermining the authority of the UNs anti-terrorism committee.

This is not in line with resolution of the issue through dialogue and negotiations. This has reduced the authority of the Committee as a main anti-terrorism body of the UNSC and this is not conducive to the solidarity and only complicates the issue.

We urge the US to act cautiously and avoid forcefully moving forward this draft resolution, Geng said.Clare Montgomery, Mr Modis barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail.

London: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Friday failed in his second attempt to get bail in his extradition case at Westminster Magistrates Court here despite his defence team vehemently trying to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to care for a pet dog.

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot declined the bail application of the 48-year-old prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case on the grounds that he did pose a substantial flight risk and that he lacked community ties with the UK.

Clare Montgomery, Mr Modis barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail.

He did have a son at Charterhouse [school in London] who has now gone to university in the States and as a sign of ageing parents, led Mr Modi to get a dog instead. None of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out to flee the country, Ms Montgomery claimed.

It is nonsense to say that he is a flight risk. He does not have a safe haven open to him and he has not travelled or applied for citizenship elsewhere he only qualifies for leave to remain in this country, she added.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, stressed that Mr Modi posed a significant flight risk and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence if he were released.

Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian governments arguments, noting the very unusual evidence she had seen at this early stage in the case of interference with witnesses and destruction evidence in the form of mobile phones and a server.

Ms Montgomery, who along with Anand Doobay of Boutique Law makes up a very similar defence team as that of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case against India, told the court that her client was willing to put up 1 million pound as security doubling of the 500,000 figure offered at the first bail hearing last week.

She also offered to submit to several stringent conditions, including Mr Modi wearing an electronic tag to be monitored regularly.

As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Ms Montgomery said that Mr Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up and switched on at all times.Americans Not Having Sex at an All-Time High, Says Study

Young Guys Are Apparently Not Getting It on Anymore

Sure, everyone seems to go through some sort of sex drought at one point or another in their lives. But according to the latest data, a lot of people are living like a bunch of monks.

RELATED: How to Have Better Sex Tonight

The most recent data from the General Social Survey reveals that the number of American adults who had no sex in the entire last year made it to a record-breaking high of 23 percent in 2018. And it isnt just elderly people who are abstaining, as you might think. In fact, among the nearly 1 in 4 people who said they hadnt had any fun between the sheets in the past year, an unexpected 23 percent of them were men in between 18 and 29. Tack on another year to include the 30-year-olds, and 28 percent of guys arent having sex, which is three times the 2008 number, according to the data.

So whats causing an increase in the number of people voluntarily opting to join the recent Great American Sex Depression? According to the data, age is actually one of the factors. As the older demographic of 60-year-olds and older become a larger part of the population, there is also an increase in the number of Americans not having sex. So basically, the good news is that there are more people 60+ included in the data  an increase from 18 percent in 1996 to 26 percent in 2018. In this age group, as many as 50 percent say they are not having sex.

But that doesnt mean its just our parents or grandparents who are to blame for the high rates of people not getting down. The data also show that among Americans 18 to 29, the number to report having no sex in the last year more than doubled from 2008 to 2018 to a surprising 23 percent. Even those having sex once a week or more was down from 51 percent in 1996 to 39 percent.

While the younger age group cant use age as an excuse for basically taking a year (or more) off from having sex, they do have some solid reasons. Helen Fisher, an anthropologist, told The Atlantic that a decline in couplehood could be to blame. Fewer people are getting married early, if at all, and fewer are choosing to shack up together if they arent married.

RELATED: How to Successfully Approach a Beautiful Woman

Further, many people in this age group live at home with parents, which can be an obvious libido killer. And while you might think that hookup culture and an abundance of dating apps would easily increase the chance for lots of sex, the truth is that technology actually might be the culprit for less sex. As Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University told The Washington Post, There are a lot more things to do at 10 oclock at night now than there were 20 years ago. Streaming video, social media, console games, everything else.

The answer? Move out from your parents home and focus less on technology, which is a lot easier said than done. In the meantime, well await the Great American Sexual Revolution.

You Might Also Dig:Eligible voters who have yet to participate in the Aspen mayoral runoff may vote in person at city hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Government-issued identification is required.The government has once again extended the deadline to impose higher import duties on 29 items originating from the United States. A notification from the Finance Ministry said that the implementation of retaliatory customs duties these items has been deferred.

The Indian government had decided to impose highear duties on imports of 29 US products after the Trump administration's decision to impose high custom duties on certain steel and aluminium products US imports from India. India has extended this deadline more than half a dozen time since June 2018.

India has pushed the dates again as both sides are negotiating a trade package to boost bilateral commerce. But earlier this month, the US decided to withdraw export incentives being provided by them to Indian exporters for certain goods under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.

Extension of these benefits were part of the negotiations between India and the US among other issues. These incentives are expected to be withdrawn from May 2. Domestic exporters are jittery over US' decision to withdraw these incentives as they export goods worth $5.6 billion under GSP programme. About 1,900 items including from chemicals and engineering sectors avail these sops.

The government is considering to send a delegation to the US earlier next month to hold discussions on ways to resolve all trade-related issues.

Both sides were holding two-track discussions to increase trade in short and medium term, and identify long-term trade potentials.

India is pressing for exemption from high duty imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their GSP programme, greater market access for its products from agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering sectors.

On the other hand, the US is demanding greater market access through cut in import duties for its agriculture goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT and communication items. India has stated that it would be difficult for them to cut duties on IT products.

As part of the imposition of higher import duties, New Delhi has notified higher tariffs on several products. While import duty on walnut has been hiked to 120 per cent from 30 per cent currently, duty on chickpeas, Bengal gram (chana) and masur dal will be raised to 70 per cent, from 30 per cent currently. Levy on lentils will be increased to 40 per cent, from 30 per cent.

India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.

ALSO READ:US lawmaker urges USTR to delay GSP decision till Indian elections

ALSO READ:Commerce ministry introduces online facility to obtain export licence for restricted itemsSuccess! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.In fact, the 575M Maranello that brought us here is one of the examples whose fate has the power to ruin an aficionado's day.You see, I was joyfully going through my daily Instagram browsing routine and, in between posts about the new Supra getting the 2JZ heart of its predecessor and the upcoming Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 finally showing up completely naked, I came across this poor Fezza.The front-engined Italian now spends its time in Bahrain and there are two main reasons that make me sorry for how the Once-Prancing Horse ended up. First of all, it's obvious that the car has been involved in an accident.The Ferrari shows serious front end damage and even the windshield is cracked. However, given the front-mid-engined layout of the machine, I'm not sure if or how badly its V12 heart was affected.Secondly, the way in which the car is stored only makes its condition worse. Kept in a fenced area under the open sky, this is fully exposed to the elements. And they're not exactly kind in that part of the world.As for why the car seems to have been abandoned, perhaps its former owner left it behind to avoid certain legal consequences (keep in mind we're in speculation land here).In fact, there's one interior shot that shows sand all over the cabin and I'm not sure the world's most zealous detailer could get all the tiny particles out of the vehicle and make the job worth the money.Speaking of the interior, it's clear that both the driver and the passenger airbags have been deployed.For the record, a Ferrari 575M Maranello will trade hands for, say, between $100,000 and $150,000 these days, since we're talking about the dominant paddle shifter model (you can see the paddles in the cabin pic).And while Ferrari also offered the car with a six-speed manual, the clutch derivative can easily go past $300,000 in the current two-pedal era, but this is another story for another time.P.S.: Make sure to use the swipe feature of the Instagram post below to check out the full visual tale, cabin shot included.Intended for deep-space exploration missions, the Orion is the spaceship that will launch on top of the agencys brand new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). Until that moment comes to pass, a lot of testing has to be done though.This week, NASA revealed the capsule performed on March 20 a static hot-fire test of the Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor at its builders facility in Elkton, Maryland. The test lasted for only 30 seconds but is the first of a series of three meant to show the motor is suitable and safe for crewed flights.The first flight of the Orion, scheduled to take place at a yet unspecified date next year, is called Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and will be an uncrewed test. The spacecraft will be traveling empty 280,000 miles away from Earth (450,000 km) and well past the Moon, on a three-week-long journey.If successful, Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2) will follow with crew on board. This flight will see the capsule do a highly elliptical demonstration run around the world and head for the Moon, without landing there.The spacecraft is powered by the European Service Module , a repurposed shuttle engine. The module comprises 24 smaller engines grouped into six pods to provide attitude control and eight thrusters used for orbit corrections.For the first time in a generation, NASA is building a human spacecraft for deep-space missions that will usher in a new era of space exploration, NASA says about the spacecraft.A series of increasingly challenging missions awaits, and this new spacecraft will take us farther than weve gone before, including to the vicinity of the Moon and Mars.AMG

To the point, Performmaster took an example of the four-door GT 63 S, improving the coupe-styled sedan by a huge margin. The car in the photo gallery is one of 31 models, and its capable of hitting 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds at the simplest tap of the loud pedal.The additional suck-squeeze-bang-blow was made possible by the PEC Tuning Module, connected to the vehicles engine control unit. The nine-speedSpeedshift MCT automatic transmission and 4Matic+ all-wheel drive havent been modified, but nevertheless, Performmaster offers a warranty and TUV certification.Why 31 units and not fewer or more? Thats because the Germans are celebrating 31 years since setting up shop in Pluderhausen. A specially developed AERSPHERE aerodynamics package levels up the exterior design of the four-door land missile, cranking up the exclusivity to eleven!On the downside, top speed remains unchanged. 315 km/h (196 mph) is the most the 31st anniversary can do, and even in terms of Autobahn driving, thats ludicrous given the weight of the GT 63 S. Believe it or not, Mercedes-AMG quotes 2,120 kilograms (4,674 pounds) before options. For reference, the curb weight of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is 4,335 pounds (1,966 kilograms).The GT 4-Door Coupe is smaller than the full-size Charger (mid-size to be more precise), but dont let the name fool you. Youre looking at a five-door liftback sedan with underpinnings from the CLS and E-Class. Mercedes-AMG plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid option in the near future, packing in the ballpark of 800 horsepower.Care to guess how much the 63 S costs in the United States? Make that $159,995 including destination, a lot more than the E 63 S by comparison ($106,350 plus $995 for freight).A total of 241 candidates are in the fray in Karnataka's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase on April 18, poll officials said late Friday night.

A total of 33 candidates withdrew their nomination papers on the last day on Friday.

At 31, the Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency has the maximum candidates while Hassan has the least at six.

Prominent among those in the race in the first phase include former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur) and his grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Hassan and Mandya respectively.

Also in the fray are Union Minister Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North), senior Congress leaders Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapura), B K Hariprasad (Bangalore South) and Karnataka Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda (Bangalore North).

In a big relief to Deve Gowda, rebel candidate and sitting Congress MP from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda Friday pulled out of the contest.

"Angry" at being denied the ticket, Muddahanumegowda had filed his papers both as party candidate and as an independent but finally yielded to persuasion from the party leadership.

Also Read: Amit Shah to file nomination from Gandhinagar today, hold road-show in Ahmedabad

K N Rajanna, another Congress leader and former MLA who had filed his nomination from Tumkur as an independent candidate, upset over his party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S), too withdrew his nomination.

Karnataka will go to polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.

Meanwhile, 17 candidates filed 20 nominations on Friday for the second phase of polling on April 23, poll officials said.

Cumulative number of 40 nominations have been filed by 32 candidates so far in the second phase.

For the second phase polls on April 23, the last date for filing nomination is April 4. Scrutiny will take place on April 5 and the last day for withdrawal is April 8.

Counting of votes and announcement of results for both phases is scheduled for May 23.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election News 2019 LIVE Updates: 'I started as a booth worker, now i am party president,' says Amit ShahThank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.The biggest polling story of this week centers around Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, as the 37-year old Afghanistan war veteran picked up his best national result yet with a 4% tally in the Quinnipiac Poll.

Why it matters: "A jump of 3 points may not seem like a lot, but, because the margin of error shrinks significantly the closer you get to 0, the move from 1% to 4% is likely statistically significant," CNN's Harry Enten notes.

By the numbers: This week's new polls showed a pretty stable race.

Quinnipiac : Biden (29), Sanders (19), O'Rouke (12), Harris (8), Buttigieg and Warren (4), Booker and Klobuchar (2), Castro and Hickenlooper (1)

: Biden (29), Sanders (19), O'Rouke (12), Harris (8), Buttigieg and Warren (4), Booker and Klobuchar (2), Castro and Hickenlooper (1) Morning Consult: Biden (35), Sanders (25), Harris and O'Rouke (8), Warren (7), Booker (4), Klobuchar and Buttigieg (2), Gillibrand (1)

Flashback: At this stage of the 2015 GOP presidential primary, Donald Trump wasn't even in the polling average:

Tied at 1) Jeb Bush and Scott Walker; 3) Ben Carson; 4) Mike Huckabee; 5) Rand Paul.

Between the lines: "[C]andidates who receive more attention from the media are likely to receive more interest in [Google] searches. That's not the case for Buttigieg," CNN writes.

"Buttigieg is receiving a lot of search interest on Google ... More people have searched his name in the past two weeks than the prior 93 weeks combined."

"When you take into account Buttigieg's lack of name recognition with his current upturn, it suggests that he has a lot of room to grow."

The bottom line: "You Google a person because you want to learn more about them, not necessarily because youre already sold on voting for them," FiveThirtyEight election analyst Nathaniel Rakich wrote.At a MSNBC town hall on Friday evening, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to Republican criticisms of the Green New Deal and shared her policy details on the resolution, pointing out that a primary focus of plan is to simply make climate change a "national priority."

Why it matters: Highlights of the town hall resulted in viral moments on Twitter  like AOC admonishing an audience member who called former Rep. Bob Inglis a "moron"  but actual policy discussion took place, too. A key point of focus: "transitioning" fossil fuel workers into new energy jobs.

Details:

AOC proposed to fully fund "the pensions of coal miners in West Virginia" at the town hall, while referencing GOP criticisms of how much it would cost to carry out the GND. She emphasized that they have to start somewhere, which could also include "rebuilding Flint."

She also argued that fossil fuel jobs cannot be "better, more dignified and [with a] higher wage with a stronger labor movement behind it than new energy jobs," going forward.

"What I'm tired of is us worrying more about the future of fossil fuels than worrying about the future of fossil fuel workers," she added.

Buzz: Ocasio-Cortez also responded to ongoing GOP criticisms on the Green New Deal, as they call it a socialist resolution and equate it to getting rid of cows and airplanes. "It is next level. I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves."

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Okay, where did the "cow" thing come from? AOC's office released a more informal FAQ alongside the Green New Deal resolution that goes beyond the finalized proposal, and one version throws a tongue-in-cheek mention to "farting cows"  as in, they'll still be around in 10 years, and that's why the GND goal is net-zero rather than zero emissions. AOC's spokesman Corbin Trent described the FAQ cow statement as "literally  clearly  irony, per the Washington Post.

The bottom line: Some key proposals in the Green New Deal, or H.Res. 109, are achieving net-zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing all the major segments of the economy, including power, manufacturing, buildings and transportation.

Go deeper: A GND policy refresherEL PASO  Beto O'Rourke, announcing for president Saturday with three rallies in Texas, is a sign of changing Lone Star politics: Republicans have started to lose their grip.

Catch up quick: Brendan Steinhouser, a GOP political consultant in Texas, says talk of the state turning blue started back in 2014 when he was Sen. John Cornyn's campaign manager  and now Republicans need to take it more seriously. "Even back then, we knew it was going to get harder and harder as the years went on," Steinhouser said. "Beto can give the president a run for his money."

Between the lines: Texas hasn't voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and earlier predictions that demographic trends would turn the state blue have fizzled. But now there's more evidence of change if you look at the marquee races in recent election cycles.

In 2012, Barack Obama lost to Mitt Romney by nearly 16 points. In 2014, Democrat Wendy Davis lost the gubernatorial race to Greg Abbott by 20 percentage points.

to Mitt Romney by nearly 16 points. In 2014, Democrat Wendy Davis lost the gubernatorial race to Greg Abbott by 20 percentage points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost by 9 points. In 2018, O'Rourke came within less than 3 points of beating Sen. Ted Cruz in his statewide race.

That Senate race made O'Rourke a star even though he didn't win. But some Democrats say he simply drew TV coverage and attention, while there was organization and hard work happening on the ground around the state for many different candidates not named Beto.

"The Beto effect was real, but you had broader demographic shifts and a national wave" that made things more blue around the U.S., said Jay Aiyer, a Texas Southern University political analyst.

Voter turnout increased by 18 percentage points in the 2018 midterms. "The problem with Texas has always been that participation rates are abysmally low," said Aiyer.

by 18 percentage points in the 2018 midterms. "The problem with Texas has always been that participation rates are abysmally low," said Aiyer. Democrats ran in all of the state's 36 congressional districts in 2018 for the first time in 25 years. "We believe Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country now," Manny Garcia, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, said.

in all of the state's 36 congressional districts in 2018 for the first time in 25 years. "We believe Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country now," Manny Garcia, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, said. Texas Democrats point to congressional wins that they weren't expecting in 2018, like Collin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher, who both defeated Republican incumbents. GOP Rep. Will Hurd won re-election by less than 1 percentage point against his Democratic challenger.

that they weren't expecting in 2018, like Collin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher, who both defeated Republican incumbents. GOP Rep. Will Hurd won re-election by less than 1 percentage point against his Democratic challenger. Democrats picked up two U.S. House seats, 12 Texas House seats and 2 Texas Senate seats in the 2018 elections.

two U.S. House seats, 12 Texas House seats and 2 Texas Senate seats in the 2018 elections. Suburban, college-educated voters moved away from Republicans and supported Democrats, especially along the state's Interstate 35 from Loredo (south) to the border of Oklahoma.

moved away from Republicans and supported Democrats, especially along the state's Interstate 35 from Loredo (south) to the border of Oklahoma. "The two demographic trends with the largest impact in that region are increased diversity and a more educated populace," reports the Houston Chronicle.

O'Rourke would force Trump's campaign to spend heavily in Texas, which they otherwise don't want to do.

The other side: But James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, thinks O'Rourke's decision to run for president "actually slows down that transition [toward Democrats] than speeds it up," compared to if he ran for Senate in 2020 against Cornyn.

"Beto is part of that constellation [of factors]. He benefitted from it and fed into it further and amplified it," but he didn't create "any significant institutional reversals."

The bottom line: There's a lot more going on in Texas politics than just O'Rourke  but "the map changes dramatically if O'Rourke is the nominee," said Aiyer. "If a Democrat can win Texas, then the presidential race is effectively over."Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen requested that DHS employees volunteer to assist Customs and Border Patrol and ICE "in responding to the emergency at the southern border" in a letter on Wednesday, obtained by CNN.

What's happening: In the letter, Nielsen also called for interagency assistance as the DHS reportedly diverts resources away from border security and "toward full-time humanitarian response." What's included in that humanitarian response: Nielsen is expected to ask Congress in the coming days for permission to deport unaccompanied migrant children and hold families seeking asylum in detention longer than currently permitted, as outlined in a March 28 letter obtained by NBC News.

"My greatest concern is for the children ... who are arriving sicker than ever before," the March 28 letter reads. Nielsen says she has met with "senior Mexican officials" to discuss how to "stem the historic flows" from both sides of the border.

Go deeper: Thousands of migrant youth allegedly suffered sexual abuse in U.S. custody"Pitch up, pitch up!" one pilot declared to another before the cockpit radio went dead, per a Wall Street Journal report on Friday that chronicled the minutes from takeoff to nosedive of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, described with new details by people surrounding the ongoing investigations, pilots and airlines executives.

Details: The preliminary consensus deduced that an automated stall-prevention MCAS system activated due to invalid sensor inputs, pushing the nose of the plane downward per reports from data retrieved from the flight's black boxes.

Timeline of Ethiopian Airlines fatal March 10 flight per the WSJ:

At 8:38 am, Captain Yared Getachew and First Officer Ahmed Nur Mohammed took off from Addis Ababa's highland airport en route to Nairobi.

By 8:39 am, the plane ascended to 8,100 feet above sea level and the nose began to pitch downward.

By 8:40 am, the fluctuations were out of control.

At 8:44 am, the airliner began diving, crashed only 30 miles from the airport, and all 157 passengers were killed immediately.

Go deeper: Ethiopian Airlines investigation indicates Boeing software system may have caused crashThe House Oversight Committee said Thursday it asked election officials in Texas and Kansas to turn over communications as part of the panels expanding investigation into allegations of voter suppression.

Details: This comes weeks after the panel submitted a similar request to officials in Georgia. Chairman Elijah Cummings and Rep. Jamie Raskin, both of whom are Democrats, are looking to review Texas rollout of an inaccurate list of 95,000 people on its voter rolls flagged as possible non-U.S. citizens and the state's plan to purge them. In Kansas, lawmakers are looking into a decision made last year to move the only polling site in a minority-heavy district to a location outside of the city limits  more than a mile away from the nearest bus stop.Chris Petersen with his hogs. Photo: Steve LeVine/Axios

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa  Chris Petersen, a third-generation hog farmer who says "I bleed rural" and tears up at the fate of family and friends, has found a way to keep his small holding going, and avoid the exodus that so many are making. His grown son and daughter have, too.

But meanwhile, Petersen is at war with the big companies that he says are destroying the culture of smaller places like Clear Lake.

"We are going down the same road as the Russians with the collective farm system," he told me yesterday. "There, the government controlled it. Here, it's the corporations."

The big picture: While his is a dramatic rendering of the state of American agriculture, Petersen has a point: Across industries, the U.S. has become a country of monopolies.

Three companies control about 80% of mobile telecoms. Three have 95% of credit cards. Four have 70% of airline flights within the U.S. Google handles 60% of search. The list goes on. (h/t The Economist)

about 80% of mobile telecoms. Three have 95% of credit cards. Four have 70% of airline flights within the U.S. Google handles 60% of search. The list goes on. (h/t The Economist) In agriculture, four companies control 66% of U.S. hogs slaughtered in 2015, 85% of the steer, and half the chickens, according to the Department of Agriculture. (h/t Open Markets Institute)

four companies control 66% of U.S. hogs slaughtered in 2015, 85% of the steer, and half the chickens, according to the Department of Agriculture. (h/t Open Markets Institute) Similarly, just four companies control 85% of U.S. corn seed sales, up from 60% in 2000, and 75% of soy bean seed, a jump from about half, the Agriculture Department says. Far larger than anyone  the American companies DowDuPont and Monsanto.

As we have reported, some economists say this concentration of market power is gumming up the economy and is largely to blame for decades of flat wages and weak productivity growth.

The issue has become a higher-profile plank of both political parties  and could move to the center of the 2020 debate.

Farmers like Petersen are on the receiving end of all this concentration. Just in the five years from 2007 to 2012, the number of U.S. hog farms declined by 25%, the Agriculture Department says.

Joe Peiffer, a bankruptcy lawyer in the Iowa city of Hiawatha, told me that the current wave of consolidation shows no sign of reversing.

The culprit he sees is cheap food: In 1960, Americans spent 17% of their disposable income on food; the figure now is just 6.4%, according to U.S. government figures. The tight margins ran out everyone but the big dogs.

In 1960, Americans spent 17% of their disposable income on food; the figure now is just 6.4%, according to U.S. government figures. The tight margins ran out everyone but the big dogs. Whatever the reason, you can see the outcome outside of Des Moines. "A lot of towns are ghost towns because the farmers are gone. Schools are consolidating. My high school graduated 86 kids in 1974. It was 50 last year."

The heyday, in Petersen's memory, was the 1970s, when "rural America was ungodly vibrant." Sixty cents per pound of hog gave farmers a healthy profit, he said.

The nearby city of Swaledale had just 220 people, yet when you added in everyone in the surrounding, smaller towns, there was sufficient business for a bank, grocery and hardware stores, a gas station, and two bars with restaurants.

had just 220 people, yet when you added in everyone in the surrounding, smaller towns, there was sufficient business for a bank, grocery and hardware stores, a gas station, and two bars with restaurants. Now, Swaledale is about 150, and the businesses have shuttered: "It's all gone. That's what they've done to rural America."

When Petersen says "they," he means Big Ag, which in his view is plain greedy. It is trying "to run us out," he says, banging the table with his fist.

In a statement, Bayer, which owns Monsanto, said : Agriculture is a complex and highly competitive industry, and there are hundreds of companies driving innovation and competing for farmers business. After a robust global regulatory review process, we brought together two talented teams and a robust portfolio to offer more choices for farmers. Working with our customers and partners around the world, we are focused on developing smarter ways to grow healthy crops that are more environmentally and economically sustainable.

: Agriculture is a complex and highly competitive industry, and there are hundreds of companies driving innovation and competing for farmers business. After a robust global regulatory review process, we brought together two talented teams and a robust portfolio to offer more choices for farmers. Working with our customers and partners around the world, we are focused on developing smarter ways to grow healthy crops that are more environmentally and economically sustainable. DowDuPont did not respond to an email.

In 2001, Petersen went bankrupt. After that, he changed his business model and began to raise a premium hog known as a Berkshire, a breed whose meat he compares with Kobe beef. They fetch twice the price of the standard hog.

The whole sequence is outside the packers system. He said he earns more from the 500 Berkshires he raises every year than from the 2,500 ordinary hogs he used to produce.

outside the packers system. He said he earns more from the 500 Berkshires he raises every year than from the 2,500 ordinary hogs he used to produce. "It's capitalism at its best. You get a price, not a fee," Petersen said.

Petersen's daughter Becky and son Matt live nearby. How have they managed to stay? Becky's husband Curtis and Matt both work as conductors for Union Pacific Railroad, he says.

Petersen doesn't want to say what they earn but says it's "ungodly wages." Both have acreage and raise cattle and chickens.

"In this wicked world," he says, "they're adjusted and are doing well."

Go deeper: Shrinking, aging, withering awayFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Saturday that entities outside of Facebook should set the standards for the distribution of harmful content online and hold platforms like his accountable.

Why it matters: With these comments, along with other specific recommendations for regulation in the Washington Post op-ed, Zuckerberg is trying to shape the terms of the multi-front debate over its collection of user data and massive influence over information.

One idea is for third-party bodies to set standards governing the distribution of harmful content and to measure companies against those standards. Regulation could set baselines for whats prohibited and require companies to build systems for keeping harmful content to a bare minimum.

 Zuckerberg

Our thought bubble: When it comes to malicious or harmful content, Zuckerberg is making an unabashed pitch for industry self-regulation. Hes implicitly presenting an alternative to slashing the law that shields Facebook and other web platforms from liability for user-generated content  a law they say is central to their business.

Other details: Zuckerberg said he believes new regulation is needed in four areas:

1. Harmful content: He said he agrees with lawmakers who suggest Facebook has too much power over speech and that Facebook shouldn't be making free speech decisions on its own  but emphasized a self-regulation regime.

He suggested every major internet service follow Facebook's lead in reporting how effectively they remove harmful content  "because it's just as important as financial reporting."

2. Election integrity: Making judgements about political ads "isn't always straightforward," he said. "Our systems would be more effective if regulation created common standards for verifying political actors."

He also said legislation should be updated to deal with how campaigns use data and targeting.

3. Privacy: Zuckerberg called for a global privacy regulation in line with the EU's strict new privacy law, GDPR. He added that governments also need to create "clear rules" around new technologies like artificial intelligence.

Be smart: As a global company, Facebook already has to comply with GDPR. So Facebook would rather deal with a strict global standard than have to comply with a patchwork of rules from country to country.

4. Data portability: "If you share data with one service, you should be able to move it to another. This gives people choice and enables developers to innovate and compete."

This is a proposal some lawmakers and privacy advocates have floated as a way to loosen Big Tech platform's grip on user's personal data.

Go deeper:President Trump tweeted on Friday night, calling for the joint Pulitzer Prize that the New York Times and Washington Post won in 2018 to be voided for the outlets' coverage of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

The other side: In response, the New York Times' communications team tweeted: "We're proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Every @nytimes article cited has proven accurate."

Reality check: This has been a Fox News talking point throughout the week. The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey reminded his followers on Twitter that: "not a single prize-winning story had a substantive correction."Ukraine heads to the polls on Sunday for the first round of its presidential election, a turning point vote for a nation long under the shadow of  and in open conflict with  Russia.

Why it matters: Ukrainians "want to be part of the West. They want to build a functioning democracy that guarantees their prosperity," says Daniel Twining, the president of the International Republican Institute, who spoke to Axios from Kiev.

And, for the U.S., "this is the front line in the struggle between the free world and the autocratic spheres of influence Putin wants to build."

The big picture: It's Ukraine's first presidential election without a clear pro-Kremlin candidate, reflecting a shift for a country that has been increasingly drawn toward the West since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

And the country is looking inward as voters cite Russian influence, the fight against corruption, and its economic outlook as their primary concerns, says Twining.

The players:

Volodymyr Zelensky, currently leading the polls, isn't the president yet, but he already plays the role on TV. The comedian, who lacks any sort of a formal campaign, is promising that, as a fresh face on the political scene, he can shepherd lasting structural change that career politicians cannot.

currently leading the polls, isn't the president yet, but he already plays the role on TV. The comedian, who lacks any sort of a formal campaign, is promising that, as a fresh face on the political scene, he can shepherd lasting structural change that career politicians cannot. Yulia Tymoshenko was one of the leading figures in 2004's Orange Revolution against fraud in that year's election and served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010. She later spent three years in prison on embezzlement charges that were ruled to have been politically motivated.

was one of the leading figures in 2004's Orange Revolution against fraud in that year's election and served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010. She later spent three years in prison on embezzlement charges that were ruled to have been politically motivated. Petro Poroshenko is the incumbent president and has overseen the country's shift onto its pro-Western path, promising voters that his re-election would mean that Ukraine could eventually apply to join the EU and NATO.

The state of play: Ukraine is a "staging ground" for Russian electoral interference tactics given their common culture and language, says Twining. "If you want to run an interference operation here, you can do it. You don't need to do it as a sort of covert operation as you would in the West."

Russian hackers infiltrated Ukraine's central election system days before the 2014 election, allegedly destroying vote-tallying software in the process, per the Christian Science Monitor. They also installed malware  discovered only 40 minutes before announcement of the final results  that would have announced an ultra-nationalist candidate as the victor in the presidential race.

What's next: No candidate is expected to win 50% of the vote outright, so the race will likely head to a two-person runoff on April 21, where it's expected Zelensky will face off against either Tymoshenko or Poroshenko.The U.S. is cutting off federal aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in response to what President Trump described as incoming migrant caravans from those countries, per a State Department spokesperson, reports CNN.

The big picture: This announcement comes the day after Trump threatened to shut down "large sections" of the U.S.-Mexico border unless Mexico "immediately" stops "all illegal immigration." Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen signed a regional compact agreement with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras reportedly "aimed at preventing irregular migration, combating criminal organizations and ultimately helping with US border security," per CNN.

Go deeper: "A system-wide breakdown:" DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asks for volunteers at U.S.-Mexico borderBy Trend

Negotiations held between Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Vienna, Austria, were held in a normal and constructive atmosphere, Hikmat Hajiyev, head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told Trend.

After quite a long period, for the first time, an official meeting was organized between Azerbaijans president and Armenian leadership with mediation of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. This gives ground to say and once again shows that the negotiation format remains unchanged and the negation process is conducted namely between Azerbaijan and Armenia, said Hajiyev.

He recalled that on March 9, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a statement, especially stressing the unacceptability of changing the negotiation format.

As we know, Armenia has such claims, and Azerbaijan has decisively objected to it, noted Hajiyev.

Todays negotiation process once again showed that talks on resolving the conflict are held between Armenia and Azerbaijan as the sides of the conflict, he added.

In general, as for the format, I would like once again to mention that Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a one-on-one meeting and held talks lasting for more than two hours. The talks afterwards continued with participation of the co-chairs and foreign ministers of the two countries. In total, the talks lasted for more than three hours, said Hajiyev.

He said that holding of the talks in this format gave a new impetus to the process related to resolving the conflict in general.

As a result, a joint statement was issued by foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the co-chairs, thats to say, in 3+2 format and this statement also says that a broad exchange of views was held on the main issues of the negotiation process and substantive points. At the same time, it stresses the necessity of creating appropriate and favorable conditions for promotion of peace process and importance of taking concrete and result-oriented steps in the negotiation process. As the statement says, as a result of the discussions held between Azerbaijans president and Armenian PM, the sides reached a common ground on holding another meeting at the level of foreign ministers and on holding talks on the issues of promoting the peace process, said Hajiyev.

He noted that before this meeting at the level of leaders of the two countries, foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have held four meetings, with the last one held in Paris in early 2019.

Hajiyev went on to add that the statement also touches upon the issues related to the ceasefire.

In general, it should be taken into account that the process of strengthening the ceasefire is in parallel with the process of holding substantive talks and they should complement each other. In conclusion, I would like once again to note that the talks in Vienna were held in a normal and constructive atmosphere. Most importantly, the format of the negotiation process remains unchanged and participation of the Armenian side in this process once again clearly shows the unalterability of the format, he concluded.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The meeting held between Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on March 29 in Vienna is an excellent step to be back to a direct dialogue on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nathalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senates Foreign Affairs Committee, told Trend March 30.

She believes it is also very important that the OSCE Minsk group plays its role and try to move towards a fair solution to the conflict.

The recent meeting showed a political will [for resolving the conflict]. But taking into account the occupation lasting more than decades, we need a clear act, not only talks, she said, adding that at least, it is necessary firstly achieve liberation of the surrounding districts.

Goulet expressed hope that the direct talks between the leaders of the two countries will give some results, however, she believes that at the same time, civil societies of the two countries must start a dialogue maybe by meeting between women of both countries.

Also there is a room for parliamentary diplomacy. And for sure, there is more courage to make peace than to start a war, she concluded.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met on March 29 in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America).

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting.

The statement issued on the results of the meeting reads that the two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field, said the statement.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova has sent an appeal to Elena Ajmone Sessera, the head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan in connection with Elvin Ibrahimov, who was taken hostage by Armenians, Trend reports with reference to the ombudsmans office.

The appeal reads that a citizen of Azerbaijan, a resident of the Yukhary Salakhly village of Gazakh district Elvin Ibrahimov, born in 1986, left his home March 15 and went to work. It is noted that on his way he got lost on the border between Azerbaijans Gazakh district and Armenias Noyemberyan district and crossed the border. Ibrahimov was injured as the result of firing by Armenian servicemen, and is being held hostage, reads the appeal.

Considering that Ibrahimov is a disabled person of group II, and that he was wounded by the Armenian servicemen when crossing the border by mistake, according to Article 16 of the Geneva Convention, he needs to be rendered special care and released as soon as possible, according to the appeal.

However, unfortunately, the Armenian side once again violated the norms and principles of international law and took him hostage, Suleymanova said in her appeal. Despite his disability, no measures were taken for his soonest return.

The appeal was sent taking into account the above-mentioned international standards and the letter addressed by Ibrahimovs mother to the Azerbaijani ombudsman.

The appeal contains request not to allow Ibrahimov undergo any physical and moral violence while being held hostage, control his state of health and general condition through the offices operating in Armenia, and, if possible, assist in his soonest return to Azerbaijan.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

First official talks at the highest level between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are the main outcome of the meeting in Vienna, Grigory Trofimchuk, a well-known Russian expert in foreign policy, defense and security, told Trend.

Someone, as always, expected sensations from the meeting, but I didnt expect them, he said. It is clear that Baku doesnt accept either changing the format of the negotiation process or their very essence and purpose. The Azerbaijani side is aimed at returning the territories without any conditions and according to all previously adopted documents. This, in fact, was confirmed by the Azerbaijani president following the summit.

Nevertheless, the Armenian side isnt going to abandon its fresh statements, either, including the requirement of the Karabakh people themselves to participate in the negotiations, Trofimchuk noted. Im confident that President Ilham Aliyev tried to attract the attention of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to these innovations. For the same reason, he said after the meeting that he is waiting for a statement by the mediators.

As for the position of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, it is still the same, the Russian expert added.

For now, they tried not to notice the obvious attempts by new Yerevan to undermine the format of the negotiation process, Trofimchuk said. At the same time, as usual, they confirmed their adherence to the entire set of formal documents on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, beginning from the 90s of the last century. I dont think that the Azerbaijani authorities will be drawn into another fruitless decade of multilateral dialogues against this background, which is obvious for everyone. The Azerbaijani authorities simply drew conclusions, they simply had to see what Pashinyans negotiating style is like compared to that of Ter-Petrosyan, Kocharyan and Sargsyan.

Trofimchuk noted that it is worth welcoming the fact that President Ilham Aliyev, as an experienced politician, didnt make any harsh statements and steps after the meeting, and expressed readiness for political consultations, that is, non-military resolution of the conflict.

But, in any case, Prime Minister Pashinyans projects on changing the format of the negotiation process, including those with a chair abruptly pulled up to the table for representatives of separatist Karabakh, wont be implemented, as this may start a war, the Russian expert said.

If this chair was fixed by negotiation documents, as Pashinyan himself emphasizes, the co-chairs for more than two decades of discussions would probably have noticed its absence long ago. The co-chairs themselves, as I think, need nothing more than making a formal report to the world community that they were able to prepare and hold the first meeting on this topic after the political upheavals in Armenia in 2018 and return the negotiations to the old, meaningless direction.

On March 29, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Vienna. The meeting lasted for more than two hours, and then the negotiations continued in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

As a result, a joint statement was made by the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the new 3+2 format, and this statement highlights the main issues of the negotiation process, as well as a broad exchange of views on substantive points. It also stresses the need to create acceptable and favorable conditions for the progress in the peace process, and such points as the importance of taking concrete and result-oriented steps in the negotiation process are mentioned.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Vienna stands ready to host further talks between Azerbaijans president and Armenian prime minister, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.

Austria and Vienna stand ready to host further talks between Azerbaijan's President and the PM of Armenia. It was an honour to meet with both of them after today's important meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh, he wrote.

Van der Bellen pointed out that Azerbaijan is Austria's most important trading partner in the South Caucasus region and there are several successful cooperations between universities in the two countries.

"On these good bilateral relations Ilham Aliyev and I were able to build our fruitful meeting," he added.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met on March 29 in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America).

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting.

The statement issued on the results of the meeting reads that the two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field, said the statement.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Nursultan Nazarbayev is a great friend of Azerbaijan and a big personality in the Turkic world, and it was thanks to him that an authoritative and strong Turkic state like Kazakhstan was formed, Azerbaijani MP Aydin Mirzazade said at the plenary meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament on March 29, 2019, Trend reports.

He noted that Kazakhstan has become an influential state not only in the post-Soviet space, but also in the region and the world.

Stressing that Nursultan Nazarbayev attaches particular importance to friendship with Azerbaijan, Mirzazade added that the Kazakh leader fully defended Azerbaijans position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "Therefore, the Azerbaijani people consider Nursultan Nazarbayev a great friend of Azerbaijan, appreciate his great work in strengthening the Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations and the Turkic world. "

The MP stressed that the new president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is also a friend of Azerbaijan: "We believe that one of his first visits will be to Azerbaijan, that he will speak in the Azerbaijani Parliament regarding Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations, and are convinced that the policy followed by Nursultan Nazarbayev regarding Azerbaijan and the Turkic world, as well as the work on strengthening peace and well-being in the world as a whole, will be successfully continued by Tokayev during his presidency."

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the first meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, held in Vienna on 29 March 2019, under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, Trend reports citing the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General welcomes the emphasis the leaders placed on creating an environment conducive to peace and on taking further steps towards successful negotiations. He also welcomes their recommitment to strengthening the ceasefire and addressing humanitarian issues, as well as continuing dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, reads the statement.

The Secretary-General commends the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for their important mediation role and reiterates the full support of the United Nations for their continued efforts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

As part of the visit to the USA, on March 29, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov has met with Alexandre Zouev, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Trend reports March 29 citing Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

On March 29, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, who is on a working visit to the United States, took part in the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference held at the level of Defense Ministers in New York, Trend reports citing Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry.

The conference that is a continuation of meetings dedicated to ensuring peacekeeping in the whole world and accelerating global work in this area, discussed issues related to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations between states, achieving international cooperation and other aspects.

The conference also included an exchange of views on improving the planning of peacekeeping operations, the speedy fulfillment of adopted decisions, the further provision and training of UN peacekeepers, and the protection of civilians, in particular women and children in conflict zones.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Indias interest in Azerbaijan is growing every day, Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bawitlung Vanlalvawna said, Trend reports.

He made the remarks during a seminar on medical tourism held with the organizational support of the Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The ambassador touched upon the relations between the two countries and said that Azerbaijan is becoming an attractive tourist destination.

Interest in Azerbaijan is growing, and because this beautiful country has become an attractive tourist destination, many tourists from India also come to Azerbaijan, he added.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The working visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Austria ended on March 30, Trend reports referring to the press-service of the president.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has issued a statement on March 31 - Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Trend reports referring to the ministry.

The statement reads:

"March 31 is the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, commemorating the victims of the bloody massacre perpetrated by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in March 1918.

March massacres of 1918 were well prepared and ruthlessly implemented act by nationalist Armenians against Azerbaijanis on the grounds of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.

In March-April 1918, massacres were committed in the city of Baku and other towns and districts of the Baku Province by the Armenian dashnak - bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the Baku Council (Baku Soviet), and tens of thousands of civilians were killed only for their ethnic and religious affiliation. Stepan Shaumian, an ethnic Armenian appointed as the Commissar Extraordinary for the Caucasus by the head of the Russian Bolsheviks - Vladimir Lenin, admitted that 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku Soviet and 4,000 from the Dashnaksutyun party participated in the massacres against the Azerbaijani people.[1]

The genocide carried out against Azerbaijanis along with Baku covered also Shamakhi, Guba, Iravan, Zangezur, Garabagh, Nakhchivan and Kars regions. During the first five months of 1918, more than 16,000 people were murdered with utmost cruelty in Guba province alone. The Armenians also slaughtered local Jews and Lezghis living in Guba. Mass graves discovered in Guba region in 2007 constitute a clear evidence of the inhumane acts committed by Armenians.

The Government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established in 1918 the Extraordinary Investigation Commission in order to investigate the serious crimes perpetrated by Armenians and has taken a number of measures to preserve the true facts revealed by the Commission in the memory of the people and to inform the world community about these atrocities. The Extraordinary Investigation Commission which was comprised of the best lawyers of that time representing different nationalities  Russians, Jewish, Polish, Georgians and even Armenians, based on the evidences launched criminal cases against 194 individuals accused of different crimes against the peaceful population; 24 individuals in Baku and about 100 individuals in Shamakhy had been arrested for perpetrated crimes.

However, this process had been suspended after the demise of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, full investigation of the tragic events and its political-legal assessment had been prevented. Only after 80 years  on March 26, 1998 the adequate political assessment was given to these horrific events by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis", signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and 31 March was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

The commemoration of the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis raises the awareness of the world community to the facts of the massacre and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis in the past and present.

Since late 1980s, unleashing the war against Azerbaijan and occupying its territories, Armenia continued the policy reminiscent of March Massacre by carrying out ethnic cleansing of more than million Azerbaijanis in Armenia and in the seized lands of Azerbaijan and committing numerous war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide, including Khojaly Genocide of February 1992.

While remembering the innocent victims of March tragedy, we strongly condemn the deliberate and continued policy of genocide, crimes against humanity, racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing of Armenia against the people of Azerbaijan and reiterate the importance of ceasing impunity of Armenia to prevent occurrence of such inhumane crimes."

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzGhana's dominance of the top position of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) International Excellence Awards was broken by a candidate from Nigeria, the biggest country of the five-member WAEC countries.



The International Excellence Awards are given to candidates who excelled in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates.



Ghana, before last year had often emerged winner of the overall best candidate award at the International Excellence Awards.



This is in addition to the first and second runners up awards. However, during the 2018 WASSCE, Master Peter Seunara Arotiba from Nigeria broke Ghanas jinx when he recorded a total score of 657.8256. He had A1 in Economics, A1 in Civic Education, A1 in Tourism, A1 in English Language, A1 in Mathematics, A1 in Biology, A1 in Chemistry and A1 in Physics.



Miss Wilhermina Opoku, formerly of the Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast, who was the Overall Best Candidate in Ghana, had the second prize at the International Excellence Awards with a total score of 649.7693. She had Social Studies A1, English Language A1, Mathematics (core) A1, Integrated Science A1, Mathematics (elective) A1, Biology A1, Chemistry A1 and Physics A1.



The third prize award at the International Excellence Awards went to Ms Imelda Naa Ayorkor Adjei also a former student of the Wesley High Girls' School, who was adjudged Overall third Best Student in Ghana.



She had a total score of 646.8677, having scored A1 in Social Studies, A1 in English Language, A1 in Mathematics (core), A1 in Integrated Science, A1 in Mathematics (elective), A1 in Biology, A1 in Chemistry and A1 in Physics.



At the opening ceremony of the 67th Annual Meeting of WAEC in Freetown Sierra Leone, the three candidates were honoured with the WAEC International Excellence Awards for their outstanding performance in the 2019 WASSCE for School Candidates.



The three winners emerged from a total of 1,976,537 candidates who sat WASSCE for School Candidates in 2018 in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.



The meeting ended with the election of the countrys Chief Government Nominee on the council, Dr. Alhaji Mohamed Kamara, as Vice-Chairman for a one-year tenure. He succeeds Mr Ebrima Sisawo of The Gambia.



At the meeting, council appealed to international donor agencies, corporate organisations and philanthropic private individuals to collaborate with WAEC by instituting other awards to encourage more students in the sub-region to strive for academic excellence.



The meeting was opened by His Excellency Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone, who was represented by the Chief Minister, Professor David John Francis.



In his keynote address, President Bio described WAECas a veritable sub-regional body administering credible examinations and unifying the member countries.



He lauded the council for constantly demonstrating its commitment to academic excellence, regional cooperation and global best practices, adding that his government had prioritised investment in human capital development by introducing Free Quality School Education aimed at providing access for all eligible pupils and students in Sierra Leone.



He called on WAEC to continue to uphold standards and integrity in its assessment process, adding that there should always be relevance between assessment and curriculum so that the outcomes of assessment would accurately reflect the individuals competence or attainment in relation to tasks or further studies.



He also stressed the need for synergy among the various country offices of WAEC and urged the council to constantly deploy cutting-edge technology in its operations across the sub-region.



While reaffirming his governments commitment to the fulfilment of all obligations to WAEC, the President advised the council to do everything necessary to sustain its reputation as a leading examining board in Africa.





Source: Graphic.com









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Featured VideoBakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Cloudy. High near 60F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.Welcome Guest! You Are Here:The number of bump stocks surrendered to local authorities  and whether the items will ever be destroyed  remains unclear days after a federal ban took effect.

A representative from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Beaumont field office said owners of bump stocks were directed to surrender the accessory to their local office. Officers are locking the items in an evidence safe while pending litigation against the regulation is hashed out.

We just take them in, ask the owner to fill out the paperwork and give them a receipt for the surrender, the representative said. We make sure to collect their information in case they are to be returned.

The Beaumont ATF office is located at 2615 Calder Ave.

The accessory commonly known as a bump stock, originally designed for gun enthusiasts with disabilities, comes in different designs, but ultimately uses a guns recoil to allow for multiple shots with a single trigger pull. The Justice Departments regulation change declared that bump stocks change semiautomatic guns into fully automatic ones, making them illegal under existing laws.

After President Donald Trumps directive to the ATF to change the classification of bump stocks took effect Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that it wouldnt strike down the ban. The lobbying group Gun Owners of America argued that the Trump administration had overstepped its bounds by using federal laws made for automatic weapons to ban an accessory.

Under the regulation, Americans who own bump stocks have 90 days to destroy their devices or surrender them to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Other lawsuits from individuals are still progressing through the courts, such as one central Texas gun rights activist Michael Cargill announced Monday. Cargill said the ruling was unconstitutional since Congress reserves the right to define lawful and unlawful activity.

In Beaumonts gun shops, there has been little talk about the ban since it went into effect, but that isnt surprising to one of the citys gun sellers.

Austin Cowart, owner of The Smoking Gun, said he hasnt had a single customer ask about what to do with their bump stocks, but most gun owners know to stay educated on what is allowed and what isnt.

If you are a gun owner, you are responsible for knowing what the current laws are, Cowart said. If something is deemed illegal, you are responsible for knowing and choosing if you follow that.

Cowart said his shop never stocked bump stocks, mostly because they were an unregulated accessory most gun enthusiasts could cheaply purchase through online shops, but he didnt personally agree with the ruling.

We dont agree with the ruling, but we do respect the rule of the law, Cowart said. We do hope our judicial system will have a chance to review it.

Even if customers had asked about the item, Scott Brown at JJs Pawn said he wouldnt have much information to provide. Brown said the shop heard about the ruling when it made it into the headlines.

We didnt get any notice from ATF beforehand or anything, Brown said. We just knew it was being talked about.

Brown said his shop also didnt stock the item, especially since it came under federal scrutiny. He said it wasnt really a popular item until public outcry for a ban rose in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in 2017.

There was enough hype about it, but it isnt something you would want in your store, Brown said. If you had 10 of them in your store, you didnt want to have to eat that inventory cost.

In Washington, state police facilitated a state sponsored buyback program that compensated 1,000 bump stock owners at $150 a piece before the programs budget was depleted. It was the only state to offer a program or become involved in the enforcement of the ruling.

Some social media posts directed bump stock owners to turn their items into local law enforcement, but officials in Beaumont and Jefferson County said they havent been given any directives to accept bump stocks.

We havent seen anything come across from ATF like emails with directives or anything like that, said Marcus McLellan, public information officer for Jefferson County Sheriffs Office.

Carol Riley, public information officer with the Beaumont Police Department, also said the department hadnt received any information about the surrender of bump stocks.

Information about the federal ruling and ways to dispose of bump stocks is available at atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/bump-stocks.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

Twitter.com/jdickjournalismBara, Nepal, March30, 2019: Bara remained tense on Saturday after student clashed briefly with police during their protest against of the leakage of the Secondary Education Examinations (SEE) question.





During the clash erupted in Jitpur of Bara five police personnel including Deputy Superintendent of Police Hem Shahi were injured. Agitating students pelted stones at police personnel during the protest.





As students blocked the Birgunj-Pathalaiya road, Police fired tear gas cells to disperse the agitating students. Police have arrested five persons after the demonstrators torched a lorry and motorbike.





Protesting students had chanted slogans against of the government, particularly the Federal Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel for failing to hold the examination in dissent manner.



(Mirror) Sponsorships are needed for LGBT refugees of the caravan. Four organizations are actively recruiting individuals who desire to sponsor an LGBT refugee.

Numerous LGBT refugees are currently being held in detention centers awaiting decisions on their asylum status, declares an email from Center Action Network, a collection of LGBT community centers.

A long standing narrative of LGBT people being turned away by family members continues to haunt this community. There are entire nations where the simple existence of an LGBT individual can be dangerous, if not lethal. A recent public execution in Iran shook the U.S. into action.

Cast out of their home societies, LGBT people  like others  immigrate to the U.S.

LGBTQ+ people encounter unique obstacles to securing protection, particularly when caught up in immigration enforcement and detention systems, the CAN email reads.

Cristian Sanchez is an Equal Justice Works fellow for RAICES  the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. A gay man and attorney, Sanchez said sponsoring refugees helps avoid a problematic detention system.

When people enter detention they typically can get out if they have a sponsor, but the problem with the LGBTQ community is a lot of them are fleeing because they have been turned away from their families  rejected by their families. Where they would have a family member like an aunt or uncle sponsor them, now they cant because of who they are, said Sanchez in a telephone interview from San Antonio.

-Cristian Sanchez

RAICES is headquartered in Texas and has been working with the Santa Fe Dreamers Project and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, confirmed Gil Diaz, Media and Public Relations director for the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

In seeking sponsorships these organizations cite a report from the Center for American Progress as a major concern for their cause. LGBT immigrants in detention, the CAP report states, are sexually assaulted and abused at much higher rates.

ICE, the nations Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency, reported 227 cases of sexual abuse and assault in 2017. Of the 227 - 28 involved an LGBT victim.

The accounts of abuse and assault were too much for RAICES.

So thats when we decided lets step in and volunteer to help, Sanchez said. Lets find volunteer sponsors that can sponsor these people so they dont have to spend more time in detention which is obviously really, really dangerous and even more so for this population.

RAICES got its start in Mexico as part of the much chronicled caravan migrate movement.

Our organization jumped in and we decided to help a self-form group of people, LGBT asylum seekers called La Comunidad, Sanchez said.

La Comunidad members, Sanchez continued were facing discrimination from other people in the caravan as well as in Mexico so they formed a group and we decided to help them out to finish in their journey to Tijuana and we also assisted them with housing while they were there. Us and other organizations got together and helped with providing services and legal services.

Those interested in sponsorship or hosting LGBT asylum seekers must complete an application form on the RAICES website.

Sanchez said the response has been strong, estimating the number of interested parties to be somewhere north of 90.

I think theres been a really great positive reaction, he said. We have seen a lot of people step up and be interested. We have had people be so anxious and say, Im ready. We do extensively vet everybody before. We havent been able to reach out to everybody that has signed up because were still going down the list.

Most of the asylum seekers RAICES represents come from Central America. The reason, Sanchez said, is twofold.

Discrimination against LGBTQ people is wide spread, kind of engrained in the culture, he said. Political issues, cartel issues, there has been kind of a breakdown in government. The government is not in a position - or even wants to - protect vulnerable people like the LGBTQ community who because of the discrimination of the culture are susceptible to persecution.

The vetting process, or essentially matchmaking, is not easy.

We take it very serious, Sanchez said. Its a lengthy process.

That process, Sanchez said, needs more attention from the wider community.

I think there is maybe a disconnect or a struggle for the wide LGBTQ community within the United States to really see this as an LGBTQ issue, Sanchez said. A lot of times our community closes ourselves off to other issues and its kind of an us versus them, but I see that changing, that people are saying, Hey, these are our brothers and sisters regardless of their nationality and this is an important issue to our community.



Vice President Mike Pence broke through the usual Washington chatter this week with a bold pledge to put American astronauts on the moon within the next five years by any means necessary. It did get a lot of attention, which undoubtedly pleased the administration, but the audacious goal is undercut by some realities that cannot be ignored.

For years NASA has lacked a rocket that could get astronauts off the earth and headed to the moon or Mars. The giant rocket that is supposed to meet that need, the Space Launch System, and the Orion capsule that would house astronauts, have been stymied by repeated delays. The first flight of Orion with astronauts aboard is not scheduled until 2023, and a moon landing is not envisioned until 2028. In both cases, those dates assume no further delays.Six recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives:

1. LaGrangeville, N.Y.-based Health Quest Systems will install IBM Watson Health's artificial intelligence-powered clinical trial matching system throughout its hospitals.

2. Allscripts FollowMyHealth has teamed with Ephraim McDowell Health in Danville, Ky., to expand its mobile patient engagement platform.

3. Wichita Falls, Texas-based United Regional Health Care System selected Epic as its new EHR provider.

4. Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is integrating Suki, an artificial intelligence, voice-enabled digital assistant for physicians, to its EHR system.

5. Patients at Minneapolis-based Allina Health can now access their medical information through Apple's iPhone health records app.

6. The Department of Veterans Affairs secured a $155 million contract with Perspecta, an IT service company, to provide technical support for the department's EHR system.New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System partnered with the Hasso Plattner Institute to establish a new institute focused on researching and developing digital health products.

The Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, donated $15 million to establish the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai, which will be co-led by Joel Dudley, PhD, director of Mount Sinai's Institute for Next Generation Healthcare, and Erwin Bottinger, MD, head of HPI's digital health center.

Researchers at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine and HPI have published studies in areas including genomic diagnostics, precision medicine, digital health and artificial intelligence, according to a news release emailed to Becker's Hospital Review.

"We know we can save lives, prevent disease, and improve the health of patients with [AI] in real-time analysis of comprehensive health data from [EHRs], genetic information, and mobile sensor technologies," Dr. Bottinger said. "With this groundbreaking new institute, Mount Sinai and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, will join forces to build these cutting-edge digital health services"

Long-term goals of the new institute include developing an organizational framework that researchers at HPI and Mount Sinai can use to seamlessly collaborate and co-innovate as well as testing digital health technology prototypes designed for consumers, patients, providers and health systems.New market entrants, political turbulence and an ever-challenging reimbursement landscape have forced healthcare executives to double down on efforts to sustain their bottom line in 2019. However, amid these pressures, Lloyd Dean has not lost his commitment to deliver care to the communities that so desperately require this attention but often go underserved.

Mr. Dean serves in the Office of the CEO for the newly formed CommonSpirit Health in Chicago, the largest nonprofit health system in the country formed by the merging of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives. He will discuss how he balances his loftiest altruistic goals with the industry's financial realities during an April 1 keynote discussion at the Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Scott Becker, JD, CPA, the publisher of Becker's Healthcare, will interview Mr. Dean for "Perspectives On Leadership In A Changing Healthcare World: Balancing Margin And Responsibility to a Whole Range Of Communities."

The conversation comes on the heels of dueling healthcare policy proposals at the federal level, as progressive Democrats in Washington draft a plan to replace private health insurance with a government-run single payer system and the Trump administration resumes efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

"The continued threats to the ACA create worries for millions of Americans with healthcare coverage today. Even without potential changes, more than 27 million Americans don't have health insurance or don't have adequate coverage to meet their health needs," said Mr. Dean. "This is particularly true for the most vulnerable in our communities, who are disproportionately impacted. That means that every day, people are making impossible choices between feeding or sheltering their families and having access to health care, either because they can't afford health coverage, or they don't have proper access to care."

CommonSpirit is $29 billion health system that includes 142 hospitals. From the Office of the CEO, Mr. Dean leads the organization's big picture  its footprint in 21 states and how CommonSpirit is caring for patients holistically, including social determinants of health.

"I am revitalized by our work with communities and knowing that we are making a difference for millions of people in the communities we serve. We have an awesome responsibility to serve the common good," Mr. Dean told Becker's Hospital Review. "As we continue to build on our commitment to treat others with humankindness, I'm confident that our organization and our people will have an even greater positive impact on our communities. It's an exciting time."

Mr. Deans commitment to serving communities far precedes his time as a healthcare leader. Rather, it was sparked during his childhood.

"Growing up in a small town in Michigan with no access to regular medical care, I saw how economic disparities and lack of access to health care adversely affected people in my community," Mr. Dean told Becker' Hospital Review. "Many of them were forced to deal with health-related afflictions that I believe could have been avoided if had they had adequate shelter, nutritious food and, overall, been given equal access to basic human needs. Today, I am honored to work alongside CEO, Kevin Lofton, at CommonSpirit Health to extend access to quality health care to the communities we serve."Becker's Hospital Review reported the following hospital-union events  including protests, elections and contract agreements  on or after March 14.

1. University of California service and patient care workers will strike April 10 in protest of what they call interference and intimidation by the school.

2. Commerce Township, Mich.-based Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital and its nurses have settled allegations that the hospital violated U.S. labor law.

3. Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Mass., part of Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health, tried to union bust regarding security and engineering employees, the National Labor Relations Board found.

4. The New York City Hospital Alliance filed an unfair labor practice charge against the New York State Nurses Association, after the union announced an April 2 strike.

5. Medical interns, residents and fellows at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center walked off the job for 15 minutes March 19 to protest for higher pay and other demands.

6. Registered nurses in New York City postponed their April 2 strike date after progress in negotiations at Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian systems.

7. Nurses at Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Medical Center ratified their first contract agreement with hospital management on March 23.

8. Workers at Sacramento-based University of California Davis Medical Center want to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a unit of the Service Employees International Union.

9. Minneapolis-based Allina Health started contract discussions with the Minnesota Nurses Association, three years after the union called two strikes.

10. Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health Care reached an agreement with the union representing 2,600 of its workers.Grand Blanc, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care launched a telehealth service for patients seeking non-emergency care, Crain's Detroit Business reports.

Four notes:

1. The new telehealth service, called McLaren Now, allows physicians to conduct virtual appointments with patients through a mobile phone or computer.

2. McLaren Now aims to provide treatment for patients with common conditions, including back strain, cough and cold, sore throat and headaches.

3. McLaren Health Care started the telehealth services March 1, and since then, an estimated 200 virtual appointments have been completed, McLaren Health Care Vice President of Service Lines Cheryl Ellegood told Crain's Detroit Business.

"Rather than traveling to medical offices, waiting for a [physician], traveling back [home], it is a great alternative for people," Ms. Ellegood said.

4. McLaren Health Care is a 490-member primary and specialty care physician network. The organization comprises 15 hospitals.The winning streak is now four-in-a-row and counting for distaffer Double A Mint thanks to her dominant score in Fridays $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Louis Philippe Roy got away third in the early going with Double A Mint while Outlaw Fireball shot to the top and carved out the opening panel in :28. Roy was on the move in the backstretch, however, and in a matter of strides Double A Mint worked her way to the lead.

Once in charge, she buzzed through middle splits of :56.3 and 1:24.4 before using a :27.1 closing quarter to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Outlaw Fireball in 1:52. Just Her Luck took home the show dough in the six-mare affair.

Sent off as the 2-5 choice, the Richard Moreau trainee improved here 2019 record to 6-2-1 from 10 attempts with the win. The four-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight-Double Creme, who is owned by Adriano Sorella of Guelph, Ont., is now a 12-time winner with earnings in excess of $450,000.

To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results  Woodbine Mohawk Park.Different directions: Theresa May has failed to win the backing of the DUP when she needed it most

Around this time 40 years ago, the-then Labour prime minister, Jim Callaghan, lost a vote of confidence by a solitary vote, he honourably respected the view of the House of Commons and went to the country. The defeat of Labour at the subsequent general election heralded the era of Margaret Thatcher, one of the most divisive politicians ever to become prime minister.

While the late Gerry Fitt gets an unfair Press from many nationalists, to this writer his excellent record of battling for the working class and civil rights was completely undone by the role he played in bringing down that Labour government. It was unforgivable. The independent nationalist MP Frank Maguire wasn't much better - he went to parliament to "abstain in person".

But, significantly, Labour did win the support of two Ulster Unionist MPs - the late Harold McCusker and John Carson. Their names came up the other night in an online thread posted by DUP MLA Christopher Stalford.

Carson, despite his popularity with the public, was deselected by the Ulster Unionists for voting with Labour and they subsequently lost the North Belfast seat temporarily to the DUP. Four years later, North Belfast was won back by the Ulster Unionists by the affable and quiet man of politics, the late Cecil Walker.

Stalford, not known for his mincing his words, described Walker as "the worst MP unionism ever produced. Less than useless". That's quite an achievement, because there is a very long list of undistinguished and uninspiring unionist MPs. Walker was a quiet man, who was MP for 18 years, but he was inarticulate and was demolished by a young Nigel Dodds on live TV. The night I watched it, Walker had a meltdown. He never recovered from it.

Walker, like John Carson, while capable of the odd bit of nationalist-baiting, were decent, honourable men. They worked effectively across party divisions. Carson was particularly good while at City Hall.

Walker worked very closely with former West Belfast MP Joe Hendron on a range of cross-community and interface issues.

Back then, Harold McCusker was the Ulster Unionist version of Seamus Mallon, straight-talking and hard-hitting. McCusker could verbally filet his opposition.

Despite that, McCusker, too, was capable of working across party divides. McCusker, Carson and, indeed, Walker were champions for working-class Protestants. Supporting Labour would not have been difficult.

Unionism in 1979 held the fate of a prime minister in their hands - as they now hold the entire Tory Government in their vice-like grip. Thatcher's single greatest achievement, to me, was becoming the first female PM (not that she advanced the cause of women as a result).

During her tenure, Thatcher marginalised the poor and prioritised self-interest before society's needs.

The unionists who did vote with her in parliament were rewarded with the much-hated Anglo-Irish Agreement. Soon, they lost Newry-Armagh to Seamus Mallon and South Down to Eddie McGrady. Even the legendary Enoch Powell was electorally slain. When Frank Maguire died, his seat fell to Bobby Sands and the rest is history.

Now, the DUP, rather than the UUP, is in the driving seat. They haven't just hitched to a Conservative Party, but to the Right of the ERG. They sneer at their long-term partners in Sinn Fein. Unapologetic arrogance has led to their undoing and embarrassment in public office.

If Theresa May doesn't regret getting into bed with the DUP, then more fool her. She has prostrated herself before them and they have walked over her.

But they should beware. History often repeats itself. Many Tories will neither forgive, nor forget this disrespectful treatment of Mrs May.

And whoever succeeds her could be much worse for Northern Ireland and its place in the so-called "precious Union".

Tom Kelly is a writer and commentatorThe Grand Opera House will be closed for 10 months next year as restoration work begins.

The development work will be completed ahead of its 125th anniversary in December 2020, which will start a year-long celebration.

One of Northern Ireland's most iconic buildings, it was rescued from demolition in the mid-1970s, restored and reopened in 1980.

The Grand Opera House was the first building in Belfast to attain Grade A listed status, and is the only remaining Victorian theatre in Northern Ireland.

Its historic auditorium is regarded as among the architecturally most important theatre interiors in the UK and Ireland.

The work will start next January, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It will focus on restoring the auditorium, which was designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the Victorian era, Frank Matcham.

Ian Wilson, the chief executive of the Grand Opera House, said: "There's no doubt that Frank Matcham bestowed on Belfast one of his most imaginative and splendid creations.

"The support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the project's other funders will protect this unique heritage asset and will secure a thriving theatre for future generations."

"As well as the restoration work, the project will install, for the first time, an exhibition telling the Grand Opera House's colourful history. Over 300,000 people attended shows last year.

"The addition of the historical exhibition will enable the theatre to open its doors outside performances.

"This will further affirm the Grand Opera House's place on the world stage as a centre for theatregoing and as a Belfast visitor and tourist attraction."

The project will see the auditorium returned to its former grandeur and include the restoration of the auditorium's plasterwork, along with the repair and restoration of the 1980 glass extension to the Great Victoria Street facade.

This area, an important part of the theatre's history which is currently closed off from the public, will be reopened to allow theatregoers and visitors to enjoy more of the 1895 building.

There will be an upgrade of the technical infrastructure, including lighting and stage equipment.

The seats will also be replaced throughout the auditorium, along with the stage curtains.

The first-ever permanent exhibition will be created in the Act II front of house space, celebrating the many famous faces to have appeared on its stage - Laurel and Hardy, Luciano Pavarotti, Darcey Bussell, Roger Moore and, of course, May McFettridge.

During the 10-month closure the Grand Opera House Trust will present its biggest ever outreach and engagement programme, to include talks, tours, workshops and events.The deputy leader of the DUP has said he would rather the UK stay in the EU than back the Withdrawal Agreement.

Brexiteer Nigel Dodds urged the Government to return to Brussels to demand changes that would make the border backstop acceptable to Parliament.

Insisting the Withdrawal Agreement would undermine the Union, Mr Dodds said the EUs resistance to amending the deal must be challenged by the Prime Minister.

I think it would be actually better staying in the European Union than living under this Withdrawal Agreement, which would mean you would accept all the rules of the European Union, pay in all the money, but have no say whatsoever, he told LBC radio.

Mr Dodds said his party had consistently and repeatedly made it clear it will not support the deal until the construction of the contentious backstop protocol is changed.

Reacting after the Withdrawal Agreement was defeated for the third time in the Commons, the North Belfast MP said: We have reached this view from a principled position, as we do not believe the Withdrawal Agreement is the best way forward for the United Kingdom.

The arguments we have advanced are well understood across Parliament and there is strong recognition in the House of Commons that Northern Ireland cannot be subjected to new and onerous trade barriers within the United Kingdom as the price of leaving the European UnionNigel Dodds

We have said that were the backstop to become operational, Northern Ireland would sit in a separate legal position from the rest of the United Kingdom in economic and trade terms.

In those circumstances, there is the strong possibility that we could have a long-term outcome whereby Northern Ireland would inevitably pull away from its biggest trading market in Great Britain as there would be new internal barriers within the United Kingdom.

Activated if a wider EU/UK trade deal fails to materialise before the end of the Brexit implementation period, the backstop would see the UK enter into a temporary customs union with the EU  to avoid the need for customs checks on the Irish border.

It would also see Northern Ireland adhere to EU single market rules on goods  again to rule out the necessity for border regulatory checks.

The DUP believes binding Northern Ireland to single market rules would create a regulatory border between the region and the rest of the UK  a move, it contends, that would undermine the constitutional integrity of the Union.

The backstop has always been the problem. The backstop remains the problem.

Use the time constructively to deal with the problem. pic.twitter.com/PZhjW4pfrI  DUP (@duponline) March 29, 2019

The party has not been convinced by Theresa Mays efforts to provide reassurances on the backstop.

The Prime Minister secured a number of legal add-ons to the agreement from the EU  documents the Government insisted provided assurances around the temporary nature of the measure and over potential routes to exit it.

She has also pledged to use domestic law to beef up Stormonts role on backstop matters and has made commitments that the rest of the UK will not diverge from the EU regulations applied in Northern Ireland.

Mr Dodds said the moves had not gone far enough.

We deeply regret the numerous missed opportunities by those who negotiated on behalf of the UK to listen to our warnings about the dangers of the backstop and to take steps to remedy those deficienciesNigel Dodds

In our recent discussions with the Government, good progress has been made on how domestic legislation would assist in ensuring the economic integrity of the UK as a whole and recognising Northern Irelands particular situation sharing a land border with the European Union, he said.

However, regretfully the fact remains that sufficient progress has not been made.

We have encouraged the Government to do, as (former Brexit secretary) Dominic Raab has said, to return to Brussels on these issues and not simply to accept the position of the European Union as being unalterable.

The Government must use the remaining time to deal with widely held concerns across the House of Commons.

He added: For our part, we will continue to use our position and influence within Parliament and with the Government to strongly argue the case for Northern Ireland and to work through each of the legislative stages in Parliament to eliminate the risk of Northern Ireland and its place within the internal market in the UK.

The arguments we have advanced are well understood across Parliament and there is strong recognition in the House of Commons that Northern Ireland cannot be subjected to new and onerous trade barriers within the United Kingdom as the price of leaving the European Union.

The United Kingdoms long-term relationship with the European Union will need to accord with our key objectives to ensure the economic integrity of the United Kingdom.

We deeply regret the numerous missed opportunities by those who negotiated on behalf of the UK to listen to our warnings about the dangers of the backstop and to take steps to remedy those deficiencies.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to play a central role to chart a route that respects the democratic desire to leave the European Union but that does so in a way that strengthens our United Kingdom.Anthony Smylie from Dervock was last seen at Hillman's Way in Coleraine earlier this month

A body has been found in the search for missing Co Antrim man Anthony Smylie.

Mr Smylie (42), from the village of Dervock near Ballymoney, was last seen in Coleraine on March 6.

On Friday evening, teams from the PSNI and the Community Rescue Service recovered his body from the riverbank on the Glenstall Road outside Ballymoney.

Darryl Wilson, a UUP councillor for the area, offered his condolences to Mr Smylie's family and friends.

"I was deeply saddened today to learn that Anthony Smylie has passed away," he said.

"It was my hope, and the hope of this entire community that Anthony, who had been missing for a number of days would be returned to his family safe and well.

"Over the last number of weeks I have been contacted on an almost daily basis by local people asking about Anthony in the hope that there was a positive update. Anthony was well thought of by his friends, family and the entire community.

"Can I offer my heartfelt sympathies to Anthony's family and friends at this very sad time."

A PSNI spokesperson said: "Police recovered the body of a man from land on the Glenstall Road in Ballymoney yesterday evening, Friday 29 March.

"A post mortem is due to take place to determine the cause of death however it is not being treated as suspicious at this time. There will be no further comment at this time."Adrian McDaid hands over the donation to clinicians and staff from the North West Cancer Centre

A man suffering from leukaemia has raised more than 27,000 for the cancer centre that he is attending.

A year ago today Magilligan native Adrian McDaid was diagnosed with myelodysplasia (MDS) and told that unless he lost a significant amount of weight he may have less than a year to live.

It was a devastating blow to the 50-year-old, who had been busy working long shifts as head chef at the Europa Hotel.

But after absorbing the shock of his diagnosis and impending chemotherapy, Adrian set about giving himself the best chance of survival.

Since last May he has shed almost half his body weight.

This means he is more likely to have a successful stem cell transplant that will save his life, but in the meantime he is fighting the condition with gritty determination.

He has been receiving ongoing treatment at the haematology department of the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital.

As a massive thank you Adrian and his family organised a gala dinner at the Europa that raised more than 27,000.

He also said he wanted to highlight the need for people to become bone marrow donors and raise awareness of the importance of blood donations.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "I was diagnosed on March 30 last year with a condition known as MDS, which is a type of leukaemia, which I am currently receiving chemotherapy for.

"The way it was explained to me, it isn't that my bone marrow isn't working, it is like my bone marrow is on walking sticks, it hasn't totally failed.

"It was a massive shock to hear that.

"I just went to the doctor feeling slightly unwell and feeling cold from the inside out, if that makes sense.

"My consultant Dr McConville told me: 'You have to lose weight and you have to lose it fast'.

"I took him at his word."

At the time Adrian was 36 stone. He knew he needed to act.

He added: "To give myself the best chance for a stem cell transplant, I have to get my heart and all of me fit enough for that. So since last May I have lost 14 stone.

"This time last year I had no chance.

"I said to one of the doctors at that time: 'How long have I got?'.

"And he told me: 'About 11 months'.

"I feel very blessed to be under the care of all the medical team here at the cancer centre, but Dr McConville is like my security blanket, he has been amazing."

Adrian said he has so much to live for, and that has given him motivation as he battles his illness.

He said: "I wake up every day not even realising I am sick, but my problem is I have no immune system, which is what could nail me.

"But I do be sensible and as soon as I feel unwell I get checked out.

"I refuse to be negative, it isn't the kind of person I am, so I think being like that has undoubted helped me because I will never give up.

"Get busy living or get busy dying is my attitude, and I know which one I want to put my energy into.

"I was the head chef in the Europa when I was diagnosed and working around 70 hours a week.

"So this has put things into perspective for me.

"My wife Deborah and my 13-year-old son Charlie are what is most important to me now.

"I wanted to raise money for the haematology department at the cancer centre and to raise awareness about donating bone marrow and donating blood and platelets.

"Every cancer sufferer will need to get blood at some time.

"But blood only last 35 days and platelets only last seven days.

"So there is a constant need for donations."A 91-year-old former cleric branded an "evil monk" when jailed last year for the sex abuse of three boys, was sentenced again yesterday for the abuse of a fourth victim.

However, Vincent Lewis - formerly known as Brother Ambrose - will serve no extra jail time as his three-year sentence was made to run concurrently with the eight and a half years given to him in January 2018.

That sentence, which could see Lewis free by the summer of 2022, is currently under review by the Court of Appeal after being referred by Attorney General John Larkin as being "unduly lenient".

Yesterday Dungannon Crown Court Judge Neil Rafferty told the former monk of Our Lady of Bethelem Monastery in Portglenone, Co Antrim, that while he may have laid an "unencombered" life, his victims had to suffer a "lifetime spoilt" by his abuse.

In contrast, Judge Rafferty praised the "bravery" of his victim, telling him but for "people like you in coming forward these offences would remain unpunished and it is right they are punished".

Telling his victim that Lewis was "entirely to blame" for what happened to him, Judge Rafferty said Lewis's guilty pleas were of "significant benefit ... and certainly welcome" which gave him vindication.

Prosecution counsel Ciaran Harvey told the court that the abuse of the latest victim of Northern Ireland's oldest self-confessed sex offender, also occurred in the mid-1980s after the former monk turned printer, left holy orders and married and moved to Coalisland, Co Tyrone.

Mr Harvey said Lewis, who pleaded guilty to five charges of gross and indecent assault, subjected the then 10-year-old to repeated acts of "oral rape, accompanied by acts of degradation".

And when finally done with him, Lewis told the young victim he "didn't need him anymore and not to come back".

He also gave him 20 as payment for the abuse he suffered, sometimes twice a week for months on end.

Mr Harvey said the month after Lewis was sentenced for the abuse of three boys, the man came forward to police. When initially questioned about the abuse, Lewis told police he was "not in a position" to answer questions.

Defence barrister Noel Dillon said Lewis had made "immediate pleas" which unfortunately, given the question mark over his previous sentence, could not be proceeded with until now, adding that Lewis has "apologised" and "prays for the victim".The sharp divisions on the Brexit debate were evident on the streets of Belfast yesterday.

On the day the UK was supposed to leave the EU, people gave their verdict on how they saw the saga playing out.

Rosemary Matchett from Bangor, who is retired and in her 70s, said: "We're sad it hasn't happened today but I'm happy we're leaving. I want a Brexit that will suit Northern Ireland."

She said the DUP was right to reject the deal on offer.

Jean Shearer, from Eglinton, is also retired and aged in her 70s. She expressed scepticism at those involved in the Brexit negotiations.

"You couldn't trust European officials like Michel Barnier, I think they would trap you into staying in the EU," she said.

"Theresa May never wanted to leave the EU so her heart wasn't in it, end of."

Scott Watson (31), a chef from Glasgow, said the whole exercise was a waste of time, and said he has more important things to concern him.

"I don't think Brexit will make any difference to my life. It's just MPs trying to build a name for themselves and then it will just fall through like always," he said.

"It keeps getting postponed; I can see people bringing up valid points which will just be shot down.

"Today I'm more worried about getting on with my job to provide a living for my wife and myself."

Danielle King (20), from Bangor, called for a re-run of the referendum.

"I think they need to redo the vote. It's worth it because everyone's changed their minds now because they know what it's really like," she said.

She added: "I'd vote Leave again probably, only because of plans for a European superstate in a few years. I don't think that would be good."

Her mother Lesley (47) said: "My daughter and I don't agree about having a second vote, there's a lot of scaremongering.

"I voted Leave as I don't have any trust in the system, really." Jamie Waring (22), a student from Omagh, is writing her dissertation on Brexit. She admits she is delaying the conclusion.

"I don't think Brexit should be happening. I don't think you can validate a referendum based on not knowing what a deal would be," she said.

"It makes sense to go back and ask people what they think about it now, a bit like the Good Friday Agreement where people knew exactly what the deal would be.

"If people still want to leave after a second vote then at least it's an informed decision. I know Theresa May just lost her deal by 58 votes.

"My dissertation's about Brexit, I've to hand it in by September but I'll have to leave the conclusion to the very end."

Sarah Kirk (19), a student from Ballymena, said she fears a negative fallout from Brexit.

"I feel like there's going to be a hard border for Ireland at the end of it," she said.

"I feel the best thing now is to get the best deal we can, but I do think it won't work out for Northern Ireland as we do get a lot of funding from the EU, we basically live off them."

She also expressed bemusement at the latest developments, adding: "It is a bit weird (Theresa May is) having her vote for the third time on the day we were supposed to leave the EU."The scene at Cabragh where a stolen digger was used to steal an ATM

The owner of a Co Tyrone petrol station targeted by ATM thieves was found to be over the legal alcohol limit after driving to the scene in the aftermath.

Police waiting at the premises detected Jacqueline Curran Hughes had been drinking as she arrived on her own forecourt, Dungannon Magistrates' Court heard.

Hughes (54), from Gortlenaghan Road, Dungannon, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

A digger, believed to have been stolen from business premises, had been used to rip out the ATM of Cabragh filling station just after 4am on March 10.

Significant damage was caused to the building, and the digger was torched at the scene.

The ATM had been loaded onto a trailer and driven away.

Police contacted Hughes who, distressed, consumed alcohol to "settle her nerves". She later received a second call to say the premises had been cleared and could be opened for business.

Police waited at the scene and observed Hughes drive a BMW onto the forecourt.

While speaking to her, officers noted an odour of alcohol after which she was arrested and taken to Dungannon custody suite.

An evidential specimen of breath returned a reading of 59mcg of alcohol, 24mcg in excess of the limit.

A defence solicitor told the court his client fully accepted the charge which had come about "after very unfortunate circumstances".

He added Hughes has a previously clear record and co-operated fully with police.

District Judge Stephen Keown imposed a fine of 200 and disqualified driving for 12 months, to be reduced by 25% on completion of a drink-driver course.A former deputy leader of far-right group Britain First has been convicted of stirring up hatred towards Muslims in Northern Ireland.

Jayda Fransen (33) was found guilty over a speech she made at a rally in Belfast, as well as separate comments at a peace wall in the city.

But Britain First leader Paul Golding (37) and two other Englishmen, John Banks and Paul Rimmer, were all acquitted on similar charges.

Convicting Fransen, of Moat Avenue in Donaghadee, Co Down, District Judge George Conner said her public expressions amounted to "a general, vehement attack against a religious group".

She was told to return to Belfast Magistrates Court for sentencing in May.

All four defendants were on trial over speeches to a 'Northern Ireland Against Terrorism' event in August 2017.

They were accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting words intended to stir up hatred or arouse fear.

Demonstrators had gathered on the same day as a republican march to mark the introduction of internment without trial at the height of the Troubles in 1971.

During the trial, defence lawyers argued the accused were entitled to freedom of expression, no matter how offensive their speeches might be. The court heard Fransen told those gathered there was no moderate version of Islam, and said: "These people are baying for our blood." Claiming the religion represented the biggest threat to civilisation, she went on: "Islam says every single one of you wonderful people here today deserves to be killed." Those at the rally were told it was time for the world to come together against "the one common enemy".

Judge Conner ruled: "I'm satisfied these words were intended to stir up hatred and arouse fear." He also found her guilty over a separate, filmed incident at a Belfast peace wall in December 2017.

On that occasion the court heard Fransen declared that the "Islamification" of Britain will lead to similar walls to separate the two sides. She claimed the country was "descending into civil war" and said it was time to "rise up against the biggest threat against the entire world".

Confirming a conviction for that episode, the judge said: "I'm satisfied the words were menacing in nature."

Golding, of Beeches Close in Anerley, London, allegedly referred to a mosque in Newtownards as part of his claims about Islam's colonisation. In his speech he said: "We have got a problem with one religion and one religion only, that is Islam."

Rimmer, of Modred Street in Liverpool, allegedly told the crowd Muslims were colonising and taking over British cities.

Dismissing the case against Golding, Rimmer and 61-year-old Banks, of Acacia Road in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the judge said some of their speeches were "ugly" but had not crossed the line into being illegal.A Belfast man accused of attacking his ex-partner so savagely that she was left in a vegetative state has denied her murder

A Belfast man accused of attacking his ex-partner so savagely that she was left in a vegetative state has denied her murder.

Michael O'Connor (33) pleaded not guilty to the murder of Joleen Corr on December 2, 2016 as he appeared at Downpatrick Crown Court yesterday.

With many of Ms Corr's family sitting in the public gallery, O'Connor also denied a further charge of manslaughter.

Since allegedly attacking mum-of-one Joleen in 2016, O'Connor has been in custody charged with attempted murder and causing the 27-year-old beautician grievous bodily harm with intent.

But following prosecution applications, Judge Piers Grant ordered that in light of her tragic death, the indictment should be amended to murder and manslaughter. None of the facts were heard in court yesterday, but there have been claims that Ms Corr sustained horrific brain injuries and was left in a coma after being savagely attacked in a house in Thomas Russell Park in Downpatrick.

She was beaten so badly she was barely recognisable and, having spent six months in the Royal Victoria and Musgrave Park hospitals, she was transferred home.

Following a landmark court ruling last year, however, doctors withdrew treatment and she tragically died on April 26, 2018.

O'Connor, originally from Westrock Grove in Belfast but whose address is given as care of Maghaberry prison, is understood to be Ms Corr's ex-partner.

Following his denials yesterday, prosecuting counsel Samuel Magee said "full disclosure" would be made in the coming weeks and that the trial, set to be heard in September, will last around six weeks.

He told Judge Grant the case is "complicated by issues so will require experts and will need a new pathologist report".

Remanding O'Connor back into custody, Judge Grant said he would review the case on April 12.

He commented that Ms Corr's family were "understandably upset" and that O'Connor "is entitled to a fair trial".A hail storm that ripped through an avocado orchard in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales last week has destroyed an estimated 4 million avocados. Aussie Orchards managing director Colin Foyster said 80 per cent of the fruit on the 12,000 trees at the Pretty Gully farm was knocked off and onto the ground.

Hail storm smashes 4 million avocados in under 10 minutes in Australia

The hail stones were up to three inches [7.6cm] in size and very jagged. It only hailed for less than 10 minutes, but [the stones were] big enough to knock the fruit off the tree or damage the remaining fruit. Its three months away from harvest, so its all immature, so its unsalvageable.

Mr Foyster said the remaining fruit on the trees also had impact marks where the hail hit the fruit, and the trees themselves were also damaged. They wont go into a premium 5kg tray; itll go into a 10kg bulk box, which you basically get the same money for.

Record expected for Pretty Gully crop

Aussie Orchards is a family-owned-and-operated business with avocado, lychee, sugar cane, macadamia and vegetable farms spread across the Northern Rivers and far-north Queensland.

Pretty Gully is an isolated area, 35 minutes drive north of Tabulam in the Upper Clarence Valley.

This year Pretty Gully was expected to deliver a record crop for the Foyster family, but instead it is believed to be one of the biggest natural disasters to hit a single avocado orchard in Australia.

This is a 100 per cent mature orchard; the original trees are 20 years old and the youngest trees are 12 years old. Its protected so we dont get the wind rub, so a high percentage of premium fruit comes off this property. We dont have pests and diseases like we have to put up with on our other farms and a lot of other growers have to deal with.

The 2019 crop would have produced an estimated 200,000 trays of fruit, or around 50 semitrailer loads of avocados.

It is estimated around 200,000 trays of avocados, approximately 4 million pieces of fruit, were destroyed by the hail storm.

Mr Foyster was devastated by the damage and the financial loss.

My therapy is to assess the damage and get off this farm and go somewhere else for a month or two, and come back and it wont be as apparent. But you cant beat yourself up; youve just got to move on. Its a bit sad for all my children, were all partners in the business together, theyve only just started in the past couple of years and they were all looking forward to our record crop. But its not to be. Theyll bounce back.

It may, however, take the orchard a little longer to recover.

Hopefully there will be something left here for next years crop because its not just this years crop thats on the trees, the fruit, its also the leaves that you see on the ground. Theyre all the tips of where the flowers were coming for the next years crop, so there will be a major impact on next years crop as well.

Avocado orchard survived drought and raging fire

It had been a tough season leading up to the hail storm with months and months of dry conditions in the region.

We just got through the big drought and could see the rain coming, we were all very excited. So we stopped watering the orchard the day before the anticipated rain, but unfortunately it came in the form of hail.

It had been so dry at the orchard that they had to truck in water daily for three months to keep the trees alive and growing.

Theres no readily available water close to our farm, were at the top of a plateau, so I set up a semitrailer with bulk tanks and went and canvassed all the local farmers, cattlemen, anyone that had an excess water supply, a small dam. I pumped that onto the back of a truck and hauled between 100,000 and 150,000 litres per day to supplement the water that I had to get through that dry period into the cooler growing time. The roads here arent up to standard. I went through a set of tyres every three tanks of fuel just shredding them on the hard rock coming up the mountain.

Then came the destructive bush fire near Tabulam that destroyed more than 20 homes and burnt out more than 4,000 hectares.

Around 80 per cent of the fruit on the 12,000 avocado trees in the Pretty Gully orchard was knocked to the ground. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

Mr Foyster said they were lucky that the orchard did not go up in flames.

It only needed a good southerly wind and it wouldve been here within a 24-hour period. As the crow flies the fire was probably about 7 or 8km from the orchard. We did a lot of preparation around the orchard with fire breaks and set up a lot of our own equipment in preparation for it. The one thing about the fire is that we were aware of it for four or five days, so we had a little bit of a chance to prepare for it and thankfully for us it didnt eventuate.

That is dramatic For this family and for our food network I expect food prices  from vegetables to meat  growing badly in the next few months. Hopelly this isnt a food crisis coming to us!

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[ABC.net.au]Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

TD Gerry Adams (right) at a Border Communities Against Brexit protest on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Aoife McGenity attends a Border Communities Against Brexit protest at Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A mock customs post is put up by Border Communities Against Brexit protesters on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk.

A woman attends a Border Communities Against Brexit protest on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A garda watches from the south as a mock customs post is put up Border Communities Against Brexit protesters on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and party colleagues.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Donegal Councillor Padraig MacLochlainn.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Elisha McCallion, Foyle MP, and MEP Martina Anderson.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Elisha McCallion, Foyle MP, and MEP Martina Anderson.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Donegal Councillor Albert Doherty.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend. Elisha McCallion, Foyle MP, and MEP Martina Anderson.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th March 2019 - Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye Border Communities Against Brexit protest at the border crossing between Derry and Donegal at Bridgend.

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. The day of protest is against a hard border in Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 30, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Hundreds of people have taken part in a number of mass demonstrations on the Irish border in opposition to Brexit.

Border Communities Against Brexit organised the protests to mark the day after Britain had been due to leave the European Union.

Border demonstrations took place along a number of crossing points in Co Tyrone, Co Louth, Co Donegal, Co Fermanagh, Co Cavan and Co Monaghan.

Demonstrators set up a mock check-point on the Old Dublin Road in Carrickcarnon which was manned by people dressed as customs officers.

Expand Close Protests took place at several crossing points between Ireland and Northern Ireland (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Protests took place at several crossing points between Ireland and Northern Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)

The road was closed to members of the public as protesters carried anti-Brexit placards and EU flags.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald was joined by party vice-president Michelle ONeill and Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein Assembly member Conor Murphy.

Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon warned a crash Brexit is increasingly likely.

He said: A border in the past meant this road was closed for over 40 years and this community was divided.

Huge crowds again today at Border Communities against Brexit event. Powerful messages from all those that spoke of the jeopardy that Brexit brings upon us. There will be no hard border on our island ever again. The people wont allow it. We will protect the Good Friday Agreement pic.twitter.com/4DU51nlQdb  Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) March 30, 2019

We wont allow the very hard right-wing Tories and the ERG (European Research Group) and especially the DUP to destroy this community and bring us back to days when this was an economic wasteland.

Around 300 people gathered at the border on a road that was closed during the Troubles.

Many similar protests were staged on various border points between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Colin Harvey, a professor of human rights law at Queens University Belfast School of Law, said he is against any attempt to undermine or attack the Good Friday Agreement.

He said: We have long experience of people trying to put walls in our way and we take them down.

Expand Close A mock customs post was set up as part of the protest in Carrickcarnon (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp A mock customs post was set up as part of the protest in Carrickcarnon (Niall Carson/PA)

If anybody attempts to put barriers on this island again they are coming down. Any obstacles on this island will be removed.

We as a society are used to people putting up mountains for us to climb and we will continue to climb them. There will be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

We are going to be the generation who ends the major division on this island, who can achieve the unification of our own country and we are going to get there.

Expand Close Protesters of all ages took part in the demonstrations (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Protesters of all ages took part in the demonstrations (Niall Carson/PA)

Ms McDonald said: We are at a very dangerous moment where we inch ever closer to the real possibility of a crash and a chaotic Brexit.

At this stage people should understand how serious that would be for all of us.

The reality is that Brexit in any form is a disaster for the island of Ireland.

She also accused the DUP of being seduced by Westminster.

She added: The people who live in the north of Ireland wish to continue in a society that is someway prosperous, thats stable and many people identify not just as Irish but also as Europeans. They did not consent to Brexit.

Expand Close Sinn Feins Michelle ONeill, centre, was among protesters in Carrickcarnon (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sinn Feins Michelle ONeill, centre, was among protesters in Carrickcarnon (Niall Carson/PA)

They will never, never, never give up on that point either.

Local student Aine Quinn, who lives along the border, said Brexit will bring economic chaos to the area.

She said: Yesterday was supposed to be Brexit day and today we are no clearer on what that means than we were three years ago.

What we do know is that there are no good outcomes for us. The British Government tried to dismiss us as a small issue among other big issues.

The main problem for me and my community is the free movement of people, whether to work, study or trade.A Belfast councillor's public alignment with anti-Islamic speeches went beyond enhanced legal protection for political expression, a High Court judge ruled today.

Mr Justice Maguire dismissed Jolene Bunting's appeal against receiving a four-month interim suspension after finding that the action was merited.

He held that some of the allegations "raise grave issues about the extent to which confidence in local government institutions in Northern Ireland may, if appropriate steps are not taken, be compromised".

Ms Bunting, an independent representative, was suspended from Belfast City Council last September after 14 complaints against her were received.

The Local Government Commissioner for Standards took the step pending the outcome of an investigation into all of the allegations. These included:

:: Comments she made on a video published in December 2017 outside the Belfast Islamic Centre.

Accompanied by Jayda Fransen, then deputy leader of far right group Britain First, both allegedly spoke of their opposition to the growth of Islam in the city.

:: Ms Bunting's participation at a Britain First rally in Belfast in August 2017 - when Ms Fransen declared Islam "the biggest threat to civilisation" - and subsequent press and social media comments.

:: Her alleged use of the Council Chamber in January 2018 when Ms Fransen was filmed sitting in the Lord Mayor's chair and wearing ceremonial robes.

:: A social media post in May 2018 which depicted a cartoon character dressed in an Irish Tricolour and wearing a hat bearing the phrase "Please be patient I have Famine".

As part of the appeal it was contended that, as a political representative, Ms Bunting has enhanced freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice Maguire held that the interim suspension did amount to a prima facie breach of her Article 10 rights, with political consequences for her ability to serve constituents.

But turning to justification for the action taken, he ruled that the complaints about events outside the Islamic Centre and the Britain First rally crossed the line for protected public expression.

Referring to Ms Fransen's remarks at the rally, which the councillor publicly associated herself with, the judge found it went well beyond the appropriate bounds of protected speech and involved language offensive to those of the Islamic faith.

He said: "The suggestion that every single Muslim is obliged to kill the listeners and their families, and that there were no moderate Islamic people, and that Islamic Mosques are 'dens of iniquity' will be likely, as the court sees it, to vilify Muslims; to stir up hatred against them; and to invite discrimination directed at them, if not something worse."

The staged event outside the Islamic Centre also exceeded the bounds of protected speech, he confirmed.

"References to 'ghetto Muslims', 'Muslim colonisation', to mosques as 'dens of iniquity' and 'monstrosities', and to 'creeping Islamification' are designed to instil public revulsion against those of Islamic faith," Mr Justice Maguire added.

Based on those findings, he decided that an interim suspension of four months was merited.

Dismissing Ms Bunting's appeal, the judge also said: "In particular, this period should not be viewed as tokenism and should be seen as reflecting the seriousness of the matter at issue and the need to provide a level of deterrence pending the outcome of the full investigation."The principal of a Londonderry primary school has said someone could have been killed after a car driven by so-called joyriders crashed outside.

A silver Audi is understood to have veered across the road and careered into railings at Culmore Primary School shortly before 10am on Thursday.

Six people arrested in connection with the crash have been released pending further police enquiries.

Clare McMenamin, the principal of Culmore Primary, said the incident could have ended in tragedy.

"Thankfully, the children coming to our school no longer use the front entrance. They use a car park and side entrance, so they were not at risk," she explained.

"That doesn't take away from what those joyriders did, which was horrendous, because there were other children waiting to go to a school around the corner from us on that footpath an hour before this crash happened.

"In fact, it was a miracle no one was injured, because there were other pedestrians walking along the path at the time.

"Had this been an hour earlier, there is no doubt schoolchildren going to other primary, secondary and grammar schools were in danger because children - my own children included - would have been at bus stops along the road.

"It makes my blood run cold when I think about what could have happened. It was a complete disregard for human life."

Sinn Fein councillor Sandra Duffy said she was horrified by the incident.

"Once again, we see the total disregard these death drivers have for the lives of other people. That this happened before 10am just beggars belief," she said.

"Realistically, the people in this car could have lost control at any time and there is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that we could easily have had a terrible tragedy.

"I have spoken to the police about the whole issue of death drivers in Derry and the people who are selling them these runarounds."

Police appealed to anyone who was in the Culmore Road area on Thursday morning at around 9.45am to call 101.Liam Neeson has again apologised after revealing he wanted to kill a random black person nearly 40 years ago after a close friend had been raped by a black man.

The Ballymena-born star issued a statement yesterday in which he said sorry for "hurtful and divisive" comments that "do not reflect, in any way, my true feelings nor me".

The actor caused a storm in early February when he said that after learning his friend's attacker was black, he hoped a black person "would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."

He later told Good Morning America that he is not a racist, but the controversy overshadowed his new film Cold Pursuit.

In his latest statement, Neeson said he has had time to reflect on "my unacceptable thoughts and actions at that time".

He said that in trying to explain his feelings, he "missed the point and hurt many people".

He ended the 155-word statement by saying: "I profoundly apologise."

Earlier this week it emerged that Neeson had been removed from a Queen's University Belfast prospectus that he featured in last year. Queen's has yet to comment on the matter.Business leaders here have warned that a no-deal Brexit is now a very real threat after the latest rejection of Theresa May's withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons.

The Government's third attempt to win support for its Brexit deal was defeated by 58 votes yesterday afternoon, leaving April 12 as the new legal date for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Aodhan Connolly of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium said: "This is yet another vote where MPs have told us what they don't want, not what they do. While they continue in their indecision, business and consumers across Northern Ireland see time trickling away towards leaving without a deal.

"A no-deal Brexit will fundamentally change how we do business in Northern Ireland, it will systematically disintegrate supply chains across these islands and it will mean cost rises for both businesses and households.

"MPs must recognise the stark reality of a no-deal Brexit and come together to find the mechanism to take no deal off the table completely."

Seamus Leheny of the Freight Transport Association said there are now three potential outcomes for Brexit: A no-deal on April 12, a general election followed by a long extension to Article 50, or revocation of Article 50.

"A cliff-edge no-deal is now a very realistic threat to Northern Ireland and its economy. Who wants to own that car crash?" he said.

Glyn Roberts of Retail NI said the local business community was now "beyond frustrated".

"We are facing a national crisis and an all-party approach to finding a way forward is now needed," he argued.

Calling for "a much longer extension" to Article 50, he said a deal based upon a customs union and enhanced access to the single market stands a better chance of succeeding.

"Crashing out of the EU without a deal would be disastrous for our retail sector, causing delays in the supply chain, food shortages and potential higher prices for consumers," he added.

"Every element of the Northern Ireland business community, trade unions and voluntary sector is speaking with one very clear voice on Brexit - we need a deal."

ADS chief executive Paul Everitt, who speaks for the UK's aerospace sector, said: "The continued confusion in Government and Parliament has gone on for far too long and is costing industry millions of pounds in lost investment and preparations for the worst outcome of no deal.

"If there is still not sufficient support for the deal agreed between the UK Government and the European Union, we must then pause and reset this process.

"It is for Government and Parliament to decide the way forward, but the voice of UK businesses, their employees, customers and suppliers must be given greater priority."The arson attack happened at a house in north Belfast in the early hours of Saturday morning. Credit: Matt Mackey/Press Eye

Police are appealing for information following an arson attack at a house in north Belfast.

The attack happened at the property in the Silverstream Parade area of the city at 4.40am on Saturday.

PSNI Detective Sergeant Corrigan said: "We are extremely fortunate that no one was in the house at the time of this incident. Whoever carried out this reckless attack showed total disregard for the occupant and other residents in the area.

"They did not care who could be killed or injured.

"Did you notice any suspicious activity or vehicles in the area? If you did, please contact detectives at Musgrave on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 319 30/03/19."

Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.An historic church is being demolished to make way for a new place of worship on the site, amid claims that heritage is a low priority in Northern Ireland.

Ballydown Presbyterian Church in Banbridge is being razed to the ground, with some people expressing their sadness at seeing "this lovely building pulled down".

But church officials have said their decision to demolish old Ballydown and build a new church was in keeping with the needs of their growing congregation "who needed a larger building with extra space and modern facilities to meet and worship in".

Ulster Architectural Heritage (UAH), which is the lead independent voice for the promotion of built heritage, said Ballydown "is a loss of identity of community roots which photographs and documents can not replace".

The Department for Communities said: "Ballydown church was being reviewed to determine whether it met the test for listing.

"This process was not complete at the time of demolition."

As demolition work got under way, one local said: "It is sad to see such a lovely building pulled down. Heritage in this area seems to be quite a low priority".

But the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said it was necessary to take action.

"For many different reasons, and after prayerful consideration, our congregations sometimes find it desirable to renovate, rebuild or even move to a new location, so that they can continue to serve and be a blessing to the local community in the name of Jesus Christ," it said.

"Ballydown Presbyterian is a vibrant and growing church of some 500-plus people who needed a larger building with extra space and modern facilities to meet and worship in - a place that could also be enjoyed by the local community.

"While some will lament the passing of the old church, the site will still be used to increase the capacity of the graveyard, which will remain in use."

UAH said the church "was a finite and irreplaceable asset".

"Small historic churches like Ballydown are a finite memorial to the rural congregations of Ulster who, in often very hard times, were able to establish their faith and tradition through these typically modest, plain, very soundly built and, in their way, very attractive churches, set so comfortably in the Ulster countryside," it said.

"Regrettably, Ballydown Presbyterian Church, like too many of its kind, was not listed, and therefore not protected by any statutory designation.

"Built in 1904, the church was a finite and irreplaceable local architectural and historic asset.

"It is unfortunate it was not retained in the new church plans.

"Since 2015, local authorities actually have had the devolved authority to 'locally list' historic buildings.

"Whilst UAH encourage local authorities to take the opportunity through local development plans to do local listing, incredibly, the power, when applied, does not add any protection to the building and, as such is effectively 'waste of time' legislation."A school principal has paid tribute to a former pupil found dead outside a Belfast hospital ahead of her funeral today.

Anne Anderson of New-Bridge Integrated College described 17-year-old Tara Wright, who lost her life last weekend, as a "bright and capable young lady, with a vibrant personality".

Tara, from the Dromore area of Co Down, was found dead in a car outside Belfast City Hospital.

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Her death is believed to be connected to a single-vehicle crash on the Ballygowan Road in Castlereagh in the early hours of Sunday. Police investigating her death believe she was injured in the collision involving a silver Mercedes before being conveyed to the grounds of the city centre hospital in a grey MG car.

Tara is due to be laid to rest after a private committal ceremony today.

In a statement, Mrs Anderson said that the school community was "deeply saddened to learn about the tragic and untimely death" of its past pupil.

"Tara was a pupil here at New-Bridge Integrated College from September 2012 to June 2017," she said.

"We remember Tara as an outgoing and popular member of our college community.

"She was a bright and capable young lady, with a vibrant personality and many creative talents.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wright family at this difficult time."

In a notice posted online by her grieving family, Tara is described as the "dearly loved daughter of Michael and Tracey, much-loved sister of Charles, Alistair and Anna".

It said: "Tara was adored and cherished by her whole family, she will be missed greatly and remembered forever."

Four men - aged 20, 21, 28 and 30 - were arrested on Sunday in connection with the incident but were later bailed pending further police inquiries.

Police believe Miss Wright was involved in a crash in which a Mercedes car left the Ballygowan Road and ended up in the undergrowth. The vehicle was found on its roof near the roundabout at Ballygowan Road close to the Manse Road junction, around eight miles from the hospital.

Around 25 minutes later, Ms Wright was found in a grey MG car in the hospital grounds by ambulance service personnel, who tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The PSNI initially said the teenager had been found on the ground next to the MG car but CCTV footage examined by police has established that Ms Wright was inside the vehicle when ambulance staff arrived.

The man who was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital after being found injured after the collision is in a stable condition.Sinn Fein has hit out a "bigots" for tearing down its election posters.

South Antrim MLA, Declan Kearney said posters of candidates for the forthcoming council elections were removed in Templepatrick and in the Thaxton Village area of Lisburn.

A number of parties have complained of posters being removed as campaigning for the May elections gather pace. Mr Kearney said he would be raising the matter with the police.

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Declan Kearney said: This criminal behaviour must not be tolerated. It is a gross interference in our partys legitimate election campaign, and an attack on democracy. These thefts are also a sinister development so early in this election campaign.

I will be raising the criminal theft of our party's posters directly with the PSNIs district command and seeking assurances that a rigorous police investigation will be conducted immediately in order to identify those responsible, and put them before the courts."

He added: "Sinn Fein will not be deterred or intimidated from promoting our message for change. The momentum for equality and rights in the north is now unstoppable, and Sinn Fein is absolutely resolute about taking that forward.

There will be no 'no go' areas in South Antrim for equality. The bigots will not deny any section of this society from receiving Sinn Fein's equality and rights message directly from our candidates.

These attempts at subverting the democratic electoral process will fail. Sinn Fein's local election campaign in South Antrim will not be deterred. Our candidates will ensure that the right to have equality, respect and integrity entrenched at the heart of the political process will not be silenced."We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

SubmitAll six are to appear in court next month.

Police investigating the activities of the UVF in east Belfast have charged six people with various drugs offences.

On Friday members of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force carried out seven searches in east and north Belfast, Ards and Newtownabbey.

Five men aged between 24 and 40 years of age and a 46-year-old woman were arrested.

All six are to appear in Belfast Magistrates' Court on April 18.

Two men aged 32 and 40 have been charged with being concerned in the supply of a class A controlled drug and possession of a class A controlled drug

Two men, both aged 24 have been charged with being concerned in the supply of a Class A controlled drug and possession of a class B controlled drug

One woman aged 46 and a 37 year old man have been charged with being concerned in the supply of a class A controlled drug

All are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Thursday 18 April. As is normal procedure all charges will be reviewed by the PPS.SDLP candidate Seamas De Faoite said this "thuggish behaviour" belongs in the past

An SDLP council election candidate has said he was threatened while putting up election posters in east Belfast and told he "wasn't welcome" in the area.

Belfast City Council hopeful Seamus de Faoite and a member of his election team were approached by two men while putting up the posters on the Castlereagh Road at around midnight on Saturday.

The SDLP candidate said the men began shouting and swearing at them, stating they "were not welcome" in east Belfast and telling them to leave.

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Mr de Faoite said: "Neither I nor the SDLP will be intimidated out of representing the people of Lisnasharragh. This thuggish behaviour belongs in the past and will not be accepted in 2019.

"It is a threat to our democracy and does not represent the future were working to build together.

"For the residents in the area who have contacted me this morning to express their horror, change cant wait - they dont want their neighbourhood characterised by thugs or bullies."

The PSNI said they are treating the confrontation as a sectarian hate incident.

Inspector White said: As two men were putting up election posters they were approached by two other males who swore at them and used sectarian language.

Enquiries into this incident are ongoing.

In the run up to May's council elections, there have been several incidents across Northern Ireland where candidates' posters have been taken down or damaged.

Posters for Mid and East Antrim Alliance candidate Noel Williams were damaged in Carrickfergus, as were those belonging to several Sinn Fein candidates in Lisburn.

SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan said he made a complaint to police after posts appeared on social media from users bragging about collecting Alliance, Sinn Fein and SDLP posters in the Tyrone area.

On Twitter user posted a picture of the boards saying he would use them for July bonfires.

Earlier this week, Belfast SDLP candidate Heather Wilson said she was accused of "stirring up tensions in a Protestant area" by putting her posters up in Ballysillan.File photo dated 15/01/19 of anti-Brexit and Pro-Brexit protesters flying flags outside the Houses of Parliament, London. Protesters have replaced EU flags opposite the Houses of Parliament in Londons Westminster with a row of Union flags, the day after MPs held a series of indicative votes on the way forward with Brexit.

Musicians, comedians and social media users have been attempting to lighten the mood around Brexit with music, remixing moments from protests and Parliament into new compositions as the process drags on.

Music has long been known for its therapeutic qualities, but writer and musician Rhodri Marsden thought Brexit had driven him to madness after sharing a creation on Thursday.

Im now so obsessed with Bercow saying Mr Peter Bone that Ive spent a period of time setting it to the opening of Beethovens 5th.

Brexit is literally driving me mad, he wrote, posting a video of his attempts on Thursday.

The rendition did not disappoint, and has since been viewed nearly 500,000 times.

I'm now so obsessed with Bercow saying "Mr Peter Bone" that I've spent a period of time setting it to the opening of Beethoven's 5th. Brexit is literally driving me mad. pic.twitter.com/P5w31OWkWi  Rhodri Marsden (@rhodri) March 28, 2019

I am rewatching Peter Bone to get me through, replied one user as Parliament debated the Governments Withdrawal Agreement for a third time on Friday.

I dont know how I would survive Brexit without people like you who brighten up my days, added another.

But he did not stop there.

Next on his list was Mr Bercow calling for Enfields Labour MP Bambos Charalambous, set to the tune of Undcer Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.

In my replies today, a number of people have expressed their delight at Bercow saying the name "Bambos Charalambous", which of course prompts me to do the following, which probably won't last on here longer than 2 minutes but it's worth a crack. pic.twitter.com/Ew0cDY4yQ0  Rhodri Marsden (@rhodri) March 28, 2019

And then Thangham Debonnaire, Labour MP for Bristol West, to the tune Living On A Prayer by Bon Jovi.

A small tribute to the MP for Bristol West. Wasn't my idea but can't find who suggested it. pic.twitter.com/aA9QnfCFE1  Rhodri Marsden (@rhodri) March 29, 2019

But this is far from the only time Speaker Bercows booming voice had been set to music.

Another talented Twitter user took his cries of division  uttered, or in this case yelled, before a vote  and turned it into the lead instrument in a dance anthem.

To celebrate that close shave of a vote & John Bercows endless vocal talents, heres a little thing I whipped up that I may or may not play at a future party near you, wrote DJ Bus Replacement Service.

To celebrate that close shave of a vote & John Bercow's endless vocal talents, here's a little thing I whipped up that I may or may not play at a future party near you pic.twitter.com/YzYSjrztQN  DJ Bus Replacement Service  (@DeeJayBRS) March 29, 2019

And veteran YouTube remixer PlaceBoing transformed the Speakers bellowing calls for order back in January, after he found international fame earlier in the year as the worlds eyes turned to Parliament for key Brexit votes.

Parliament wasnt the only part of the Brexit process getting a remix.

One social media user calling themselves DJ Brexit took footage of chants from the recent pro-EU march and gave it a backing beat.

ONLY GONE AND DUN A REMIX OF THE REMOANERS #PeoplesMarch#PeoplesMarchVote pic.twitter.com/fQTabsuajH  DJ BREXIT (@DJ_BREXIT) March 25, 2019

And comedian Limmy used audio of a Leave voter apologising to radio host James OBrien and gave it a jaunty piano theme.

The Music Therapy Charity says music as a therapeutic measure can help reduce tension, anxiety and challenging behaviour, be effective in managing stress, and promote the development of communication and social skills, self expression, confidence and self esteem.

Whether or not the tunes will inspire a breakthrough in the House of Commons is yet to be determined.Dancing in the dark: Theresa May arrives onstage to the sound of Abba at the Tory party conference last year in Birmingham

Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that the UK would leave the EU on March 29 more than 100 times. Brexit D-Day came and went and it hasn't left yet. The 1,010 days since the Brexit referendum have been marked by many bizarre moments. Here are 10 of the strangest.

1. THE REFERENDUM ITSELF

Pundits were flabbergasted by the result of the June 2016 vote. While the tiny British territory of Gibraltar announced first with a 96% vote to stay in the EU, it was a freak result and Remainers looked on with horror as the night wore on.

The writing was on the wall when it was announced Sunderland voted Leave by 61%.

2. THE TORY LEADERSHIP RACE

David Cameron's resignation sparked a bitter contest. The favourite, Boris Johnson, ultimately didn't run and Michael Gove - who denied stabbing Mr Johnson in the back by entering the race himself - was eliminated early. It came down to Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May. Mrs May was the last one standing.

3. 'BREXIT MEANS BREXIT'

Mrs May had promised that "Brexit means Brexit" and she set out her vision on how it would play out in her Lancaster House speech. She set out red lines of leaving the single market and customs union, denying herself wriggle-room in later talks.

4. DISASTROUS SNAP ELECTION

Mrs May lost her Commons majority in June 2017 after her decision to hold a snap general election. It left her relying on DUP support, making passing the Brexit deal all the more difficult.

5. THE 'BULLETPROOF' BACKSTOP

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the UK government's commitment to avoid a hard border in Ireland was "politically bulletproof" in December 2017. He may have jumped the gun on that, with the so-called backstop - which hardline Brexiteers and the DUP oppose - causing much of the misery since.

6. TRUMP'S BREXIT INTERVENTIONS

Donald Trump - a pal of arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage - said as far back as 2016 the UK would be "better off" outside the EU. He has since indicated he wants an early trade deal with the UK. And Mr Trump has been openly critical of Mrs May's approach to talks, most recently during his Oval Office meeting with Mr Varadkar earlier this month.

7. MAY'S BIZARRE CONFERENCES

At the Conservative Party conference in 2017, she suffered the indignity of being handed a P45 by a prankster and coughed through most of her speech. Last year, she danced on stage to the tune of Abba's Dancing Queen, poking fun at her own awkward dance moves during a trip to Africa.

8. COVENEY, ROSS AND THE BORDER

In January, the Irish Independent revealed how Tanaiste Simon Coveney warned the Republic's Transport Minister Shane Ross not to discuss the possibility of border checks in Ireland in public.

Mr Ross had bungled a question and their subsequent conversation was caught on tape.

9. 'SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL'

European Council President Donald Tusk questioned in February if there was a "special place in hell" for those who promoted Brexit without a plan.

Mr Varadkar, who was with him at the press conference at the time noted Mr Tusk would get in "terrible trouble" with the British Press for the intervention. He wasn't wrong.

10. WESTMINSTER CHAOS

Mrs May cancelled a vote on her Withdrawal Agreement at the last minute in December.

As the clock ticks down to Brexit, it subsequently failed to pass three House of Commons votes - the latest being yesterday.

There have also been failures to pass indicative votes to support a second referendum, Britain staying in the Customs Union, or leaving without a deal. Ahead of the most recent vote, Newsnight political editor Nicholas Watt asked one UK cabinet minister why it was being held if it wouldn't pass. The response: "F*** knows. I'm past caring, it's like the living dead in here."Mr Bass was medically discharged from the Army in 2014 (PA)

A former soldier who accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of breaching its duty of care over its failure to protect him from contracting Q fever in Afghanistan has lost his case.

Wayne Bass, who served as a private in the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, said his life has been ruined after serving in Helmand Province in 2011 and 2012 without being given antibiotics by the Army.

Humans can catch Q fever after breathing in dust from the faeces of infected farm animals such as sheep, cattle and goats.

During his tour, Mr Bass was in contact with goats and sheep and was often required to take cover and jump through ditches and crawl along the ground, coming into contact with animal products and excrement, his lawyers said.

Mr Bass, 34, was medically discharged from the Army in 2014 because of his Q fever and chronic fatigue symptoms.

But Judge Heather Baucher QC, sitting at the Central London County Court on Friday, said the MoD had not breached its duty of care to Mr Bass.

There is no evidence that because doxycycline is effective in a treating dose, it is effective in a preventative doseJudge Heather Baucher

In her written judgement Judge Baucher said that the risk of Q fever was low and there was no evidence to suggest this had changed when Mr Bass was deployed.

She added: There was nothing the defendant could do to avoid exposure to Q fever, save not to deploy troops to Afghanistan.

I have found that the defendant is not in breach of its duty of care.

Theo Huckle QC, representing Mr Bass, had previously told the court that as his employer the MoD should have identified the risks to him and taken all reasonable steps to minimise, remove or minimise the risks.

In court documents setting out the case, it is argued that the MoD should have considered using doxycycline, an antibiotic used to treat Q fever, as an anti-malarial drug.

But Judge Baucher said there was no evidence to support claims that doxycycline would have been an effective preventative measure for Q fever.

She added: There is no evidence that because doxycycline is effective in a treating dose, it is effective in a preventative dose.

It follows therefore that, irrespective of breach, that claimant cannot prove his case on causation.

I was impressed with his resilience and demeanour during the course of the trial. I hope that now the case has been determined he can find a way to move forwardJudge Baucher

Judge Baucher said that despite losing his case she hoped Mr Bass can find a way to move she.

She added: I know the outcome will be a disappointment to Mr Bass.

I was impressed with his resilience and demeanour during the course of the trial. I hope that now the case has been determined he can find a way to move forward.

It was the first case to test the MoDs duty to protect against Q fever, said Hilary Meredith Solicitors, the firm acting for Mr Bass.

In a statement after the decision, Dianne Yates, a director at the firm, said: We will consider this judgment in detail before deciding on the best way forward for our client.

Mr Bass, who was discharged from the Army in 2014, remains in poor health as a result of the Q fever he contracted in Afghanistan.

While considering Mr Basss options  including a potential appeal against this judgment  we will continue to support him in every way we can.

We would urge the Ministry of Defence to do the same. His best interests must come first.

In a statement a spokesman for the MoD said: The MoD follows the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which does not recommend vaccination for Q Fever.

We carefully consider all claims and pay compensation where there is a legal obligation to do so.Theresa May is considering a last-ditch attempt to save her Brexit deal after suffering another bruising Commons defeat.

The Prime Minister is consulting senior ministers over the weekend on the way ahead after MPs voted on Friday to reject the Withdrawal Agreement by a majority of 58.

Following the defeat on what was supposed to be Brexit day, Labour called on Mrs May to finally accept that her deal was dead and to call a general election.

But Downing Street sources have made clear she has not given up hope of getting it through Parliament, despite having already suffered two crushing rejections by MPs.

We continue to believe that the deal the PM has negotiated is the best outcome for the country.No 10 source

One source pointed out that the scale of the reverse was significantly less than the previous occasions as a number of prominent Brexiteers, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Iain Duncan Smith and Dominic Raab, fell into line.

We continue to believe that the deal the PM has negotiated is the best outcome for the country and we will continue to seek a way forward, the source said.

However Nigel Dodds, the deputy leader of the pro-Brexit DUP  who Mrs May had been hoping to persuade to back her deal  said he would rather remain in the EU than support it.

I would stay in the European Union and remain rather than risk Northern Irelands position (in the UK). Thats how strongly I feel about the Union, he told BBC2s Newsnight.

On Monday, MPs will stage a second series of indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs Mays deal as backbenchers, led by Tory former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, again take control of Commons business from the Government.

In the first round of votes on Wednesday none of the eight options considered  including a customs union with the EU and a confirmatory second referendum  was able command a majority.

Expand Close Nigel Dodds says he would rather remain in the EU than back Theresa Mays deal (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Nigel Dodds says he would rather remain in the EU than back Theresa Mays deal (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

However discussions between the various groups of MPs involved were expected to take place over the weekend to see if they could coalesce around one of the various proposals  most probably for a softer Brexit.

One idea being mooted at Westminster, was that if one option did emerge as a clear favourite there could be a final run-off vote with Mrs Mays deal.

Rebel Conservative Brexiteers who backed the deal on Friday did so because they feared that  with the pro-EU Commons taking control  the alternatives were either a much softer Brexit  or no Brexit at all.

In Europe, however there was alarm that  with time running out  the UK was heading for a no-deal Brexit.

The result of the vote means that the Government has missed an EU deadline to secure an extension of the Brexit process and leave with a deal on May 22.

Mrs May now has until April 12 to go back to Brussels with new proposals and seek a longer extension to the negotiation process, or see the UK leave without a deal that day.

As European Council president Donald Tusk called an emergency summit for April 10, the European Commission said a no-deal break on April 12 was now a likely scenario.

Expand Close Leo Varadkar says Theresa May needs to come forward with proposals to prevent no-deal (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Leo Varadkar says Theresa May needs to come forward with proposals to prevent no-deal (Niall Carson/PA)

Irish premier Leo Varadkar  whose country is likely to be the remaining member state hardest hit by no-deal  said that it was up to Mrs May to come forward with a plan to prevent that happening.

It is not clear that the UK has fully understood that no deal is not off the agenda. Rather, its a growing possibility, he said.

The German MEP Manfred Webber, an ally of Chancellor Merkel and a candidate to be the next head of the commission, said there had been a failure of the political class in Great Britain  theres no other way to describe it.

In the Commons, Mrs May said the vote would have grave implications, and hinted at a possible general election, warning we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.

With a clear majority in the Commons against no-deal, she said that failure to support her plan was almost certain to involve an extended delay to Brexit, with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament in May.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the Prime Ministers deal as dead and over (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The First Minister has said she would love to see a general election after Theresa Mays Brexit deal was voted down for a third time, according to reports.

MPs voted by 344 to 286 against the Prime Ministers proposal on Friday, which would have seen the UK leave the European Union on May 22.

STV reports that Nicola Sturgeon Ms May should accept her agreement is now dead and over.

We can't guarantee that a general election is going to happenNicola Sturgeon

The broadcaster reports Ms Sturgeon said: Id love to see a general election.

This is the most incompetent government in my lifetime and I lived through the Thatcher governments.

But we cant guarantee that a general election is going to happen. The important thing now is we find a way forward.

Put the issue back to the people. The Governments had three years almost to come up with a plan and it has failed.A man police wish to speak to after a family of three were attacked on Trinity Way in the Strangeways area of Manchester city centre (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

Police have released a picture of a man they want to speak to over an attack on a family.

A man aged is his 40s, a woman in her 30s and a teenage girl were walking towards their parked car on Trinity Way in the Strangeways area of Manchester city centre when they were approached by a man who tried to get in their vehicle.

The man attacked the family before fleeing on foot, Greater Manchester Police said.

Expand Close Police have released a picture of a man they would like to speak to as part of their enquiries (GMP/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police have released a picture of a man they would like to speak to as part of their enquiries (GMP/PA)

The family were taken to hospital for treatment after the attack, which took place at around 10.40pm on Tuesday February 19.

The man was left with hand injuries, the woman suffered facial injuries, and the girl had concussion.DUP MP Ian Paisley onstage in Parliament Square, Westminster, London, during The March to Leave protest. Pic: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

A thunderous Ian Paisley addressed a pro-Brexit rally in Westminster's Parliament Square telling the crowd "you are red, you are white, you are dynamite".

Speaking from the stage at the mass open air rally in London on Friday evening DUP MP Ian Paisley roared his thanks to the thousands who had marched to support Brexit.

He said they would "never, never" wear the withdrawal agreement on their sleeves.

WATCH | @IanPaisleyuk addresses the Brexit rally in Parliament Sq this afternoon:



"Ahead of us stands the sunny uplands of Freedom! Do not let any government put upon you a Withdrawal Agreement that cuts our great nation in two. Thank you for standing with the Ulster people!"  pic.twitter.com/G0i23a1jil  Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) March 29, 2019

After the Government's latest defeat the DUP's deputy leader Nigel Dodds said he would rather remain in the EU than back Theresa May's deal. He did however, say he would prefer Brexit to be delivered.

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Spotting an Ulster flag in the huge crowd, the North Antrim MP roared: "You are red, you are white - you are dynamite" as the thousands sounded their approval.

"It's great to see you in Parliament Square," he went on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is a good story recounted in the good book. It says the wise build their house upon a rock. I am glad today we are standing with the rock of the British people against the sinking sand of the withdrawal agreement that we will never, never wear on our people."

Calling Mrs May's Irish backstop plan 'the backstab', the North Antrim MP told the crowd: "Your journey here has been long.

"It has faced many twists and turns. There will be more agonising days and steps ahead. But ahead of us stands the sunny uplands of freedom.

"And they will never take our freedom.

"Do not let any government ever put upon you a withdrawal agreement that cuts our great nation in two. The backstop.. the backstab that ruins our country.

"And thank you to the English, the Scots and the Welsh for standing with the Ulster people.

"We say thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"Emily Talbot with a projection of the bat signal, as featured in the Batman comics and movies, at the opening of DC Exhibition: Dawn of Super Heroes at the O2 in London.

Armed police in Canada received a surprise while responding to a recent incident as a man in a full Batman costume tried to offer his assistance.

A video posted to Facebook shows four police cars surrounding a house in the town of Kelowna, British Columbia, and officers aiming down the barrels of their guns before the wannabe caped crusader  complete with shining body armour, mask and utility belt  approached.

Is Batman here to save the day? Like, seriously? said Melissa Parent, who filmed the incident, in her video.

Yeah, we were freaking out a little. Only in Kelowna would you see Batman showing up to save the day! she wrote.

A black flat-bed truck with a batman sticker on the back was parked opposite the incident as the Dark Knight conversed with officers.

After a short period of time, Batman walked away from the scene before briefly turning back and finally returning to his vehicle.

Kelowna RCMP said Batmans presence was an unwanted distraction and foolish, according to local media.

Hes the hero Kelowna deserves, but not the one it needs right now, quipped one Facebook user.

Batman has yet to be identified although some commentators pointed out the Kelowna Fan Experience (KFX), a three-day event in which fans celebrate their favourite fictional characters, took place the same weekend.

Hes out on a daily basis, this wasnt related to any sort of con[ference], insisted Miss Parent.

Hired him for my kids birthday one year, was awesome, wrote another Facebook user.A comedian who has never held political office is topping opinion polls ahead of Ukraines presidential election, but appears to be falling far short of enough support to win in the first round.

Ukrainians on Sunday will choose from 39 candidates for a president they hope can guide the country of more than 42 million out of troubles including endemic corruption, a seemingly intractable war with Russian-backed separatists in the countrys east and a struggling economy.

President Petro Poroshenko is running for another term but a poll released on Friday by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology showed him with support of just 13.7% of voters.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who shot to national prominence by playing the role of president in a television comedy series, topped the poll at 20.9%.

Expand Close Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (AP)

Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister making her third run at the presidency, was third with 9.7%.

If no candidate gets an absolute majority of the votes on Sunday, a run-off between the top two will be held on April 21. Nearly a quarter of those who intend to vote say they remain undecided, according to the survey.

All the leading candidates advocate Ukraine eventually joining Nato and the European Union, and the election will be closely watched by those organisations for indications of whether Ukraine is developing democratic processes.

Concern about the elections freedom and fairness spiked this week after the countrys interior minister said he was looking into hundreds of claims that campaigners for Mr Poroshenko and Ms Tymoshenko were offering money to voters to support their candidates.

Mr Zelenskiy, 41, is famous for his TV portrayal of a school teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral.

Expand Close The actor has surged ahead of his rivals in preliminary polls (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Even before he announced his candidacy, his name was turning up high in pre-election public opinion polls, with potential voters seemingly encouraged by his Servant Of The People TV series  which became the name of his party.

Like his TV character, Mr Zelenskiy has focused strongly on corruption.

He proposes a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption and calls for a tax amnesty under which someone holding hidden assets would declare them, be taxed at 5% and face no other measures.

He also calls for direct negotiation with Russia on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Poroshenko, the 53-year-old incumbent, came to power in 2014 with the image of a good oligarch. The bulk of his fortune came from the Roshen confectionery company, hence his nickname, the Chocolate King.

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Whatsapp Presidential candidate and former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko (AP)

Critics denounce him for having done little to combat Ukraines endemic corruption and for failing to end the war in the east.

He has made economic reforms that pleased international lenders, but that burdened Ukrainians with higher utility bills.

He did score significant goals for Ukraines national identity and its desire to move out of Russias influence. He signed an association agreement with the EU so Ukrainians can travel visa-free to the European Union, and he pushed successfully for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be recognised as self-standing rather than just a branch of the Russian church.

Ms Tymoshenko is playing heavily to the economic distress of millions of Ukrainians. She has promised to reduce prices for household gas by 50% within a month of taking office, calling the price hikes introduced by Mr Poroshenko economic genocide.

She also promises to take away constitutional immunity for the president, the judiciary and legislators.

She was named prime minister after the 2004 Orange Revolution protests in which she was a major figure, but her image was tarnished as she and then president Viktor Yushchenko quarrelled, and she lost to Moscow-leaning Viktyor Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential election.

In 2011, she was arrested and charged with abusing power as premier in a natural gas deal with Russia. Ms Tymoshenko said the proceedings were politically motivated revenge, and Western governments voiced concern about her incarceration.

She was released amid the disorder of the 2014 overthrow of Mr Yanukovych, and lost a presidential election to Mr Poroshenko three months later.Liam Neeson has again apologised for revealing that he wanted to kill a random black person nearly 40 years ago after a close friend had been raped by a black man.

Neeson issued a statement on Friday apologising for hurtful and divisive comments that do not reflect, in any way, my true feelings nor me.

It comes as it was revealed the star was airbrushed out of Belfast's Queen's University prospectus in the wake of the controversy.

The actor caused a firestorm in early February when he told The Independent that after learning his friends attacker was black, he hoped a black person would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him.

He later told Good Morning America that he is not a racist and moved past his desire for violence after seeking help from a priest and from friends.

But the controversy overshadowed his new film Cold Pursuit.

In his latest statement, Neeson said he has had time to reflect on my unacceptable thoughts and actions at that time.

He said that in trying to explain his feelings, he missed the point and hurt many people.

He ended the 155-word statement by saying: I profoundly apologise.

Read MorePope Francis has praised Morocco as a model of religious moderation and migrant welcome as he visited the north African kingdom.

King Mohamed VI welcomed Francis as he arrived in Rabat during an unusual rainstorm and began a 27-hour visit aimed at boosting Christian-Muslim ties and showing solidarity with Moroccos ever-growing migrant community.

Morocco last year became the main destination for sub-Saharan African migrants seeking to reach Europe via Spain. The influx has strained the kingdoms resources and fuelled anti-migrant sentiment in Spain.

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After an airport greeting, the two leaders took separate vehicles  Francis in his popemobile and the king in a Mercedes with a retracted roof  and paraded in tandem into town for a formal welcome ceremony at the Hassan Tower complex, where two of Moroccos past monarchs are buried.

Francis told the king that he hopes Morocco will continue to be a model of humanity, welcome and protection for migrants.

He said: The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families.

He called for a change of attitude towards migrants that respects them as people, worthy of dignity and rights, and not just statistics.

He said world leaders must address the economic imbalances and unrest on Earth that fuel conflicts and migration flows.

Todays grave migration crisis represents an urgent summons for concrete actions aimed at eliminating the causes that force many people to leave country and family behind, often only to find themselves marginalised and rejected, he said.

Expand Close Francis, second left, is received by Moroccos King Mohammed VI centre right, his son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan right, and brother Prince Moulay Rachid, left (Fadel Senna/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Many sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco head north with the aim of crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain or climbing over high fences to reach Spains North Africa enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Those who make it across the 20ft fences head for crowded migrant accommodation centres from where they are eventually repatriated or let go.

Francis has made the plight of refugees a hallmark of his papacy, and has used many of his foreign visits to insist on the need to welcome them, protect them and integrate them into society.

Spain became the leading migrant entry route into Europe last year with more than 57,000 unauthorised arrivals, according to the European Union.

Morocco became the main departure point for migrants in smugglers unseaworthy boats after Italy essentially closed its borders to migrants leaving Libya.

Nearly 2,300 people died crossing the Mediterranean Sea last year and more than 310 have already died this year on the dangerous journey, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

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Francis opened his remarks to the king by praising Moroccos tradition of interfaith co-existence and its efforts to promote a moderate form of Islam.

Morocco, a Sunni Muslim kingdom of 36 million, reformed its religious policies and education to limit the spread of fundamentalism in 2004, following terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 that killed 43 people.

Key to that effort has been the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams that teaches a moderate Islam and exports it via preachers to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Francis praised the school, saying it seeks to provide effective and sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which in any event constitute an offence against religion and against God himself.

The king said education is the key to fighting radicalism  not military crackdowns.

What all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion, he said.Venezuela has experienced massive power outages as the country is enmeshed in the middle of a economic and political crisis (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has said it is poised to deliver aid to Venezuela, warning that it will not accept any interference from president Nicolas Maduro or opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Federation president Francesco Rocca said at a news conference in the capital of Caracas that the humanitarian network could start distributing assistance to an estimated 650,000 people in the South American country in around 15 days.

The Red Cross can never accept interference from other actors, Mr Rocca added, saying that Venezuela was a deeply polarised country and it was vital that no one took advantage of the aid.

On Twitter, however, Mr Guaido almost immediately claimed credit for the effort, saying the announcement amounted to a victory for our struggle.

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Whatsapp Venezuelas self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido speaks during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

He also said medical aid would be coming into Venezuela in a matter of days, reiterating a promise that he was forced to renege on in February after security forces blocked US-backed assistance from entering the country and clashed with protesters.

Mr Guaido said Venezuelans should stay vigilant to make sure incoming aid was not diverted for corrupt purposes, but did not explain the logistics of aid shipments or say whether any agreement had been made with Mr Maduro to let them in.

The leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly has previously rejected the idea of negotiations with Mr Maduro, saying his embattled adversary must resign immediately so that elections can be held.

Mr Maduro, who has previously denied that Venezuela was suffering a humanitarian crisis, did not immediately comment on the Red Cross initiative.

A Chinese plane, meanwhile, arrived at the countrys main airport, carrying what Venezuelan officials said was a 65-ton cargo of medical supplies.

The latest announcement comes as dire conditions in Venezuela force millions to leave the country and make lives elsewhere.

Many who have stayed behind struggle to afford supplies of food and medicine, while nationwide power outages this month have exacerbated widespread misery.

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Whatsapp Workers unload medical supplies from a Chinese plane in Caracas, Venezuela (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A new blackout struck Venezuela on Friday evening, plunging much of the nation again into darkness.

Netblocks, a non-government group based in Europe that monitors internet censorship, said the latest outage left just 10% of Venezuelas telecommunications infrastructure online.

Mr Rocca said he could not accept the idea of children dying because of a lack of electricity, and said Red Cross workers would focus on the medical needs of hospitals, regardless of whether they are state-run or not.

The distribution has to be neutral, he said.

Mr Rocca added that the Red Cross would consider delivering aid currently being stored on the Colombian and Brazilian sides of the border with Venezuela, as long as it meets the protocols of the humanitarian organisation.

On February 23, Mr Guaido attempted to deliver that aid, much of which was provided by the United States in a direct challenge to the rule of Mr Maduro. But Mr Maduro said the shipments were part of a coup attempt against him, and armed forces blockaded the assistance.Protesters hide as they cover from tear gas fired by Israeli troops near the Gaza Strip border fence (Adel Hana/AP)

A fourth young Palestinian has died as tens of thousands of protesters gathered near the Israeli border to mark the first anniversary of weekly demonstrations in the Gaza Strip.

Gazas health ministry said Belal al-Najjar, 17, was killed by an Israeli gunshot at one of five protest locations on Saturday.

Earlier, Tamer Abu el-Khair, 17, was shot in the chest in the southern city of Khan Younis and died in hospital, while Adham Amara, also 17, was hit in the face by Israeli gunfire and died in a protest camp in east Gaza City.

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At dawn, before the protests began, Mohammed Saad, 21, was hit in the head by shrapnel and died.

The health ministry said 64 protesters have been injured by live fire.

As the crowds swelled throughout the afternoon in response to Gazas Hamas rulers calls for a large participation, dozens of protesters approached the fence, unfurling Palestinian flags and throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli troops.

The protest came at a sensitive time for Israel and Hamas.

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of ex-army chiefs who have criticised what they say is his failed Gaza policy.

In the final stretch of the campaign, he needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas.

He took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza.

Hamas faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of worsening conditions after more than a decade of Israeli and Egyptian border closures.

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Whatsapp Protesters waved the Palestinian flag at the border fence (Adel Hana/AP)

The fence protests, which began exactly a year ago, have been aimed in large part at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza.

Protest organisers say the weekly event will continue into a second year, and proposed one for next Friday.

That comes despite an announcement by Hamas on Saturday afternoon that Egypt, mediating between the militant group and Israel, has brokered a deal to ease Gazas blockade in exchange for calm.

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Whatsapp Relatives mourn over the body of 21-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Saad (Khalil Hamra/AP)

The emerging deal would see Israel allow more goods into Gaza, expanding its fishing zone off the coast and other economic incentives.

But Hamas says the marches will continue until the closure is fully lifted.

The Israeli military estimated 30,000 Palestinians were gathered at the marches on Saturday.

The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tyres on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence, it said in a statement.

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Whatsapp Organisers have vowed to continue the protests into a second year  starting next Friday (Adel Hana/AP)

It added that soldiers were responding with riot dispersal means and firing in line with standard procedures.

According to a Gaza rights group, 196 Palestinians have been killed in the demonstrations over the past year, including 41 minors, and thousands were wounded by live fire.

An Israeli soldier was also killed in the context of the marches.Rev Earl Storey (60) was brought up in Enniskillen, where his parents, Jack and Ena, both now deceased, ran a grocery and building supplies business. He was educated in Northern Ireland and at the University of Kent.

He was ordained as a Church of Ireland cleric and served as a parish minister for some 20 years in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. He was rector of Crinken in Dublin, as well as Glenavy and Crumlin and, from 2005-2008, he was director of the Church of Ireland Hard Gospel project, which was established to address sectarianism and living with difference.

In 2003, he wrote Traditional Roots: An Appropriate Relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Orange Order (Columba Press).

In 2008, he founded Topstorey Communications and has worked with organisations as diverse as the GAA, the Orange Order, development agencies, Churches and individuals.

He is the author of a number of other publications, including a report for the Community Relations Council entitled Beyond the Pale: Church and the Decade of Historic Commemorations.

Rev Storey has been editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette for several years.

He is married to the Rt Rev Patricia Storey, Bishop of Meath and Kildare, the first female Anglican bishop to be appointed in the UK and Ireland. They live in Kildare and have two grown-up children and a grandson, aged two.

Q. How and when did you come to faith?

A. An important part of my journey was growing up in a rural Co Fermanagh parish, where I learned the basics of the faith. I studied law at the University of Kent - my grand life plan was to become a barrister, to earn plenty of money and to have fun.

University was a great experience, but also unsettling. The unsettling part was that the fun, the prospect of a career I'd longed for and money didn't seem to be enough. Trying to make sense of it all involved conversations with an Anglican university chaplain. The one thing I remember the chaplain saying was: "You are on a journey."

Half-way through my first year, I went along to a mission at the university. There were no blinding lights, emotional highs, or moments of great revelation. It was a simple realisation that what I didn't need at that moment was more knowledge of the faith; what I needed was to make an adult response to what I already knew. So, that is I what I did. Faith is an integral part of my life. I recognise the frailties and messiness of my own life and feel genuinely personally dependent on God.

Q. Have you ever had a crisis of faith, or a gnawing doubt about your faith?

A. I have spent significant times in my life thinking about faith and whether it makes sense intellectually. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't think it was true. I still believe it is. The journey, for me, is more about allowing God's love and presence to be something that I feel and experience.

Q. Have you ever been angry with God? And, if so, why?

A. I'm challenged by the things we are all challenged with - trying to make sense of suffering, disasters, wars and other things that seem to have no explanation. I don't have answers for any of those things. The one hope I have is that Christ somehow brings light into any darkness.

Q. Do you ever get criticised for your faith? And are you able to live with that criticism?

A. As a student, I spent a summer travelling around Europe, when the Iron Curtain still existed. I became aware of the difficulties that Christians had at that time, whether in meeting together, or even getting access to Bibles. Of course, things have radically changed since then.

I am also aware that persecution is a weekly, if not daily, experience for millions of Christians worldwide - it is estimated that over 200 million Christians are at constant risk of persecution.

So, when I compare my experience with others, I am not especially aware of being criticised for my faith.

Q. Are you ever ashamed of your own Church, or denomination?

A. Church is like anything else: the more we get to know it, the more we realise its foibles, failures and things that it gets wrong. I also realise that, as a member of the Church, I am just as much responsible for its failings as anyone, or anything, else.

Q. Are you afraid to die? Or can you look beyond death?

A. I am not afraid of dying, although I hope the process will be as peaceful as possible.

Q. Are you worried about hell at all?

A. My belief and hope is in God's mercy and forgiveness and I am genuinely thankful for it.

Q. Do you believe in a resurrection? And, if so, what will it be like?

A. Yes, I believe in a resurrection, although I don't know what it will look or feel like. That is why Easter is such a comfort - reminding me that death does not have the last word.

Q. What do you think about people of other denominations and other faiths?

A. My most fundamental sense of identity is as a Christian. The Church of Ireland has been an important part of my spiritual journey. However, Christians and Churches of other denominations have also been important in my spiritual development as well. I am always glad to respectfully engage and build friendships with people of other faiths.

Q. Do you think that the Churches here are fulfilling their mission?

A. There is no "one-size-fits-all" answer to this question. One thing I notice is more openness in Churches to ask the fundamental question of themselves: why are we here? The changing place of Church, faith and Church attendance may all be part of why there is that willingness to ask fundamental questions of ourselves. Whatever the reason, I think the willingness to start with that question is a healthy thing.

The management guru Richard Drucker says there are two crucial questions which any organisation should ask itself: what's your business and how's business? When we are willing to ask ourselves the first of those questions, then the second question will flow naturally from that. That can only be healthy.

Q. Why are many people turning their back on organised religion?

A. There is no doubt that the place of Church, faith and organised religion in people's lives is changing. It is probably a mix of growing secularism, disappointment with the human failings of organised religion and a more individualised approach to spiritual belief, with less of a belief in suggestions of external revealed truth.

However, I am still convinced that the Christian faith can speak to the most fundamental need in a person.

Q. Has religion helped or hindered the people of Northern Ireland?

A. The ordinary, unheralded Christian witness of many people has been a significant contribution for good in Northern Ireland.

We also know that the divisions in our community have followed both political and religious demarcations, which have proven very unhealthy in the past. I still believe that the message of Christ has something life-giving to say to all of us.

Q. What is your favourite film, book and music, and why?

A. I prefer TV programmes that make me laugh and Fawlty Towers is one of my favourites.

I tend to read books for diversion and relaxation - usually thrillers. I really enjoyed I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. As I get older, my musical tastes are definitely getting more mellow - usually classical, or folk, music. One of my favourite pieces is Mozart's clarinet concerto.

Q. Where do you feel closest to God?

A. Walking in the peace of the countryside is a good place to think, pray, or just get some headspace.

Q. What inscription would you like on your gravestone?

A. Preferably something simple and short - perhaps reflecting the importance of family relationships to me.

Q. Have you any major regrets?

A. Like anyone else, I have plenty of these, which I share with a few friends and loved ones, but not publicly.

Q. What is it like being married to the first female Anglican bishop in these islands?

A. It isn't any different. I feel that I am married to Pat and we have been married since 1983. I don't feel any different from the time when Pat was a curate and a rector. We both live busy lives and I am grateful for being able to get on with what I am doing. I am sure that it is the same for the wives of male bishops."The DUP took a risk with its opposition to the Withdrawal Agreement yesterday.

There was clear and worrying evidence that MPs from the Conservatives' European Research Group (ERG) were falling in behind the Johnson/Rees-Mogg view that supporting the PM was the only way of guaranteeing a Brexit of some sort, even if it was a fairly soft sort.

Had they been on the wrong side of the vote, it would have been enormously difficult for them. Because with the local government elections just a few weeks away - and with the RHI report hanging over them - the last thing they needed was having to explain why they had failed to end the 'existential threat' of the backstop.

There is evidence, too, that the DUP is softening its position.

This is what Nigel Dodds said yesterday: "We want to see Brexit delivered, we believe the referendum result should be respected and delivered on, but it can't be at the risk of separating Northern Ireland out from the rest of the United Kingdom.

"I would stay in the European Union and remain rather than risk Northern Ireland's position. That's how strongly I feel about the Union."

That's not a surprise to me. I've argued a number of times in this newspaper that the DUP never expected Leave to win the referendum and would therefore be quite happy with either the softest of soft Brexits or, better still, no Brexit at all.

And as the risk of a no-deal increased, so, too, did the DUP's need for a very soft landing. That's why the link-up with the ERG was always madness.

The biggest shock to the DUP, of course, has been the spectacular, yet predictable, turnaround by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson. Foster, Dodds and Wilson loved having these 'friends in high places'.

Johnson had a roaring ovation at the DUP conference a few months ago when he tore the Withdrawal Agreement apart; and Rees-Mogg attracted huge applause when he spoke at a constituency function organised by Ian Paisley a few weeks ago.

But now, both men have turned on them, as have a number of other ERG MPs.

The DUP had already given up on Theresa May, but now they don't know who to trust.

Two-thirds of the Conservative Party backed the Withdrawal Agreement when it was first tabled. Another tranche shifted at the second vote. And more went yesterday.

If she tries to table it again in the coming week, with something else tacked on - and that's a possibility - she may get the 30 votes she needs to get it over the line.

The DUP won't want to stand alone on the issue, or try standing with what remains of the ERG.

They'll have to find an escape route to a safer place.

So, it is no surprise that they have begun to shift their language, arguing that a soft Brexit, maybe no Brexit at all, is the best way of protecting the Union.

They know, too, that softening their stance should also dampen down the chatter about a border poll and settle the nerves of 'soft' unionism and nationalism.

The internal DUP reaction to Dodds' language is supportive.

While the party has maintained a united front in public, there has been growing concern about where, as one MLA said to me, "this whole Brexit thing lands".

The party knows that no-deal, or a 'hard' Brexit and uncertainty, is bad for Northern Ireland and the Union.

More important, obviously, it would be very bad for the DUP.

Right now they're busy looking for a ladder and a safety net, and I suspect they'll find them - soon.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.Guerrillas of the New People's Army, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, stand in formation in the Sierra Madre mountain range, east of Manila, July 30, 2017.

Police killed at least 14 people on Saturday, eight of them in one city alone, in what authorities initially described as a massive law-enforcement activity but later admitted were simultaneous operations against communist guerrillas in the central Philippines.

A dozen others with suspected links to the New Peoples Army (NPA) were arrested, police said.

They were suspected of being the ones who attacked and killed policemen and soldiers here, Col. Raul Tacaca, police provincial director, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, referring to the slain men. Tacaca did not elaborate.

The police operations took place a day after the NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, marked its 50th founding anniversary Friday.

Local police spokesman Edelberito Euraoba said eight people were killed during gunfights in Canlaon city, four in the town of Manjuyod and two in Santa Catalina town in Negros Oriental province.

Police officers were serving arrest and search warrants on the suspects when they were fired upon, Euraoba told reporters.

Among those slain were alleged leaders of local peasant organizations that authorities believe were legal fronts of the NPA.

Tacaca said in a statement that the targets of the operations were believed to be responsible for attacks on police and military personnel, among other offenses.

In the course of the operation, casualties are imperative to neutralize the threats to lives and properties. However, preservation of human rights, including that of the subjects for operations, are properly observed, Tacaca said.

He said that the operations were launched in response to growing incidents of violence, including alleged harassment of government forces in Negros, and was also aimed at ending what he termed as terroristic activities.

But human rights groups accused the police of targeting leaders of legal organizations, pointing out that among those slain was Edgardo Avelino, leader of a local farmers union and his brother, Ismael, who was also an activist. They said the victims were local farmers, not outlaws.

This is unconscionable. We strongly demand and immediate and independent investigation on this incident, said Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of human rights group Karapatan, or the Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights.

Palabay emphasized that the Negros region has been a consistent target of escalating police and military operations. Similar operations in December also in the region left six dead.

As we condole with the families of those killed, we join our voices in the call for justice and accountability for these heinous crimes perpetrated by the government, she said.

A woman described as Edgardos wife told local radio station Brigada News-San Carlos that 10 men barged into their home and shot her husband dead. The men had claimed to have a search warrant, a document that she said they never saw.By Trend

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met today in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America), Trend reports citing a statement released by OSCE.

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting, reads the statement.

The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions, according to the statement.

They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance.

The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.By Trend

Negotiations held between Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Vienna, Austria, were held in a normal and constructive atmosphere, Hikmat Hajiyev, head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told Trend.



After quite a long period, for the first time, an official meeting was organized between Azerbaijans president and Armenian leadership with mediation of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. This gives ground to say and once again shows that the negotiation format remains unchanged and the negation process is conducted namely between Azerbaijan and Armenia, said Hajiyev.

He recalled that on March 9, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a statement, especially stressing the unacceptability of changing the negotiation format.

As we know, Armenia has such claims, and Azerbaijan has decisively objected to it, noted Hajiyev.

Todays negotiation process once again showed that talks on resolving the conflict are held between Armenia and Azerbaijan as the sides of the conflict, he added.

In general, as for the format, I would like once again to mention that Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a one-on-one meeting and held talks lasting for more than two hours. The talks afterwards continued with participation of the co-chairs and foreign ministers of the two countries. In total, the talks lasted for more than three hours, said Hajiyev.

He said that holding of the talks in this format gave a new impetus to the process related to resolving the conflict in general.

As a result, a joint statement was issued by foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the co-chairs, thats to say, in 3+2 format and this statement also says that a broad exchange of views was held on the main issues of the negotiation process and substantive points. At the same time, it stresses the necessity of creating appropriate and favorable conditions for promotion of peace process and importance of taking concrete and result-oriented steps in the negotiation process. As the statement says, as a result of the discussions held between Azerbaijans president and Armenian PM, the sides reached a common ground on holding another meeting at the level of foreign ministers and on holding talks on the issues of promoting the peace process, said Hajiyev.

He noted that before this meeting at the level of leaders of the two countries, foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have held four meetings, with the last one held in Paris in early 2019.

Hajiyev went on to add that the statement also touches upon the issues related to the ceasefire.

In general, it should be taken into account that the process of strengthening the ceasefire is in parallel with the process of holding substantive talks and they should complement each other. In conclusion, I would like once again to note that the talks in Vienna were held in a normal and constructive atmosphere. Most importantly, the format of the negotiation process remains unchanged and participation of the Armenian side in this process once again clearly shows the unalterability of the format, he concluded.By Trend

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova has sent an appeal to Elena Ajmone Sessera, the head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan in connection with Elvin Ibrahimov, who was taken hostage by Armenians, Trend reports with reference to the ombudsmans office.

The appeal reads that a citizen of Azerbaijan, a resident of the Yukhary Salakhly village of Gazakh district Elvin Ibrahimov, born in 1986, left his home March 15 and went to work. It is noted that on his way he got lost on the border between Azerbaijans Gazakh district and Armenias Noyemberyan district and crossed the border. Ibrahimov was injured as the result of firing by Armenian servicemen, and is being held hostage, reads the appeal.

Considering that Ibrahimov is a disabled person of group II, and that he was wounded by the Armenian servicemen when crossing the border by mistake, according to Article 16 of the Geneva Convention, he needs to be rendered special care and released as soon as possible, according to the appeal.

However, unfortunately, the Armenian side once again violated the norms and principles of international law and took him hostage, Suleymanova said in her appeal. Despite his disability, no measures were taken for his soonest return.

The appeal was sent taking into account the above-mentioned international standards and the letter addressed by Ibrahimovs mother to the Azerbaijani ombudsman.



The appeal contains request not to allow Ibrahimov undergo any physical and moral violence while being held hostage, control his state of health and general condition through the offices operating in Armenia, and, if possible, assist in his soonest return to Azerbaijan.

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.UK investment property companies are maintaining their focus on the UAE market despite Brexit uncertainties, with one major player targeting potential Emirati buyers at the upcoming Cityscape Abu Dhabi expo.

The 13th edition of the UAE capitals leading property investment and development event will kick off on April 16 and run for the next two days.

Salboy, a specialist in private equity investment, property development and construction, is currently investing heavily in the regeneration of the UK city of Manchester in light of the Northern Powerhouse initiative by the UK government to boost the local economy by investing in skills, innovation, transport and culture.

The firm believes that UKs proven track record of delivering high-quality real estate products will resonate well with regional buyers and believes UAE-based investors remain unfazed by political developments in Britain.

"Attendees at Cityscape Abu Dhabi are knowledgeable, experienced and curious about the best way to expand their UK property portfolios," explained Kevin Eyres, the sales manager at Salboy.

"We are bringing to the exhibition our portfolio of developments through our construction company, Domis Property Group, which has already proven to be a big hit with investors," noted Eyres.

"We fund, design, build and sell on prime locations which have been well received by both local and international investors," he stated.

Past experience tells us that a good investment opportunity from a developer with a notable track record in an up and coming UK city is incredibly attractive to Cityscape Abu Dhabi attendees. We anticipate that this year will be no different as we have an outstanding offering.

The post-Brexit real estate prospects will be in keen focus at the free-to-attend Cityscape Abu Dhabi Talks.

James Lapushner, the managing director of the real estate private equity and fund management company Anacott Capital, will be taking Cityscape Abu Dhabi Talks delegates through the realities of UK real estate financing post Brexit.

The changing landscape of the London investment market will be outlined by Phillip Hope, Partner and Head of Real Estate at City of London business law firm Fox Williams LLP Lawyers.

Exhibitors from more than 60 countries are expected at the three-day Cityscape Abu Dhabi  sponsored by Platinum Sponsors: Aldar, Azizi, and ZonesCorp  and is expected to attract up to 15,000 industry professionals and serious buyers.

For many years, the UK market has been high on the investment list of UAE investors and the Brexit issue raises many questions for both existing and potential owners, explained Chris Speller, Cityscape Group Director at Informa Exhibitions, which organises the event.

The Talks series will help dispel some myths and put realities into perspective, he added.

Dedicated to learning and networking, Cityscape Talks includes seminars with renowned experts from various real estate segments such as maximising investment, market trends, the digital technology influencing real estate markets and sales, and the technology disrupting the way people buy property.

The series also represents a fantastic opportunity to network with potential business contacts, with delegates able to exchange ideas with counterparts looking to develop their skills within their respective industries and establish closer links with the main bodies governing each professional domain, added Speller.-TradeArabia News ServiceA registered nurse has been fired and is now the subject of a criminal investigation after at least two pregnant women were allegedly given a labour-inducing drug inappropriately, a hospital in Moncton, N.B., said on Saturday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/3/2019 (988 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A registered nurse has been fired and is now the subject of a criminal investigation after at least two pregnant women were allegedly given a labour-inducing drug inappropriately, a hospital in Moncton, N.B., said on Saturday.

In a statement, Dr. Ken Gillespie, chief of staff at the Moncton Hospital, said the pregnant women required emergency intervention after receiving the drug.

"While in the labour and delivery unit, the administration of oxytocin caused both of these mothers to require urgent C-sections," Gillespie said. "The staff and physicians responded immediately to this need."

Gillespie said the hospital launched an internal investigation, culminating in dismissal of the nurse and notification of the RCMP. He also said both patients and their families were notified, and the mothers and babies were doing well.

Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone that causes contractions of the uterus, speeds up labour and can help control post-delivery bleeding. Its usage, however, requires close monitoring because it can, among other things, affect the fetal heart rate.

"Labour can progress too quickly, causing contractions to become difficult to manage without pain medication," according to the American Pregnancy Association. "Oxytocin may need to be discontinued if contractions become too powerful and close together."

Other research indicates the drug can cause the uterus to tear, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Gillespie called the situation worrisome and apologized on behalf of the Horizon Health Network.

The health authority operates the Moncton Hospital and 11 others, along with more than 100 medical facilities and clinics in New Brunswick.

"It is not a situation a new parent wants to experience," Gillespie said. "Our goal is to always provide safe and quality care to all of our patients and their families (and) it is for this reason this incident is so troubling to all of our staff."

In light of the ongoing RCMP probe, the hospital said it would provide no further information about the nurse, whose alleged actions have been reported to regulators.

"We felt it was important to disclose this information," Gillespie said. "(But) we do not want to compromise the investigation."

RCMP did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment.The mother of an Italian man who was left paralysed following an unprovoked attack in Dublin in 1999 has thanked the people of Ireland for helping her family over the past 20 years.

Guido Nasi was left paralysed at 17 after an unprovoked attack in Dublin while visiting from Italy. His physical injuries have left him requiring round-the-clock care.

He is partially-sighted and unable to walk or feed himself. Now 36, he recently moved to a care home in Turin.

James Osbourne, from East Wall, Dublin, was jailed over the attack in 2001. He was released in 2008.

Guido, who appeared on last night's Late Late Show with his mother, will be received by President Michael D Higgins at a special reception in Aras an Uachtarain on Monday.

Guido Nasi

In a letter which was read out by Bernadette Kelly, a former victim support volunteer and long-time friend of the Nasi family, 76-year-old Simonetta said she believed it was her last chance to thank the Irish public for their support as she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February last year.

She said Ireland and its citizens were "wonderful" and said the Nasi family "felt a great big hug" from the nation.

"I'm here in Dublin this weekend because I want to thank you and show you how I have thought of you during these years. I am taking this opportunity as it may be the last time I have to do so because of my own illness," Simonetta said.

Simonetta Nasi

"I do not think about why this happened. I just think about how can I help Guido to accept his new condition with all of his dreams still alive in his head as they were on the night of July 30, 1999."

She said the support her family received from Ireland is the reason they survived after Guido's attack.

"It's not easy. It's difficult to plan a future when it is so completely different from what you had imagined.

"The reason you are all so important is that you helped us to survive this tragedy, to accept life, to help Guido to believe in his remaining capacity."

Simonetta said she is grateful for the solidarity and help they found here, adding that her experience of the country has been "a pleasure".

There are no words to show our gratitude to the people of Ireland for what you have done. Since the day of the attack, this country has shown us great solidarity in helping us. We felt a great big hug from young and old.

"We will never forget the help we received from victim support and from all the staff and volunteers and Irish Tourist Assistance Service.

"Thank you all for everything. It has been a pleasure knowing such a wonderful country."

Viewers were touched by Simonetta's "beautifully non-judgmental" words, with many taking to social media to praise her "dignity and generosity of spirit" and describe Guido as "an inspiration".

Unbelievable how Guido and his family behave with such dignity and generosity of spirit. Superhuman. #latelate  Fiona O'Brien (@fionaobrienbks) March 29, 2019

I wish I wasn't getting more emotional as I get older but seeing Guido stroke his mother Simonetta's face, and hearing her beautifully non-judgmental words about Ireland, well... #LateLate #LateLateShow    Philip Nolan (@philipnolan1) March 29, 2019

What an amazing lady she is to be so appreciative to Ireland after what happened her son , Guido. It's a disgrace what happened. F*cking thugs. Sending them all the love. #latelate  Eimear (@MissEims) March 29, 2019Two men arrested earlier this week in Dublin have been released without charge.

Gardai investigating serious feud-related organised crime in the city made the arrests in the north inner-city and Finglas on Wednesday.A man's body has been recovered from a river in Co Cork.

Gardai confirmed that the man's remains were recovered on the foreshore of the Ilen River at Skibbereen yesterday evening.

It is believed that the body may have been in the water for some time.

The body has been removed to Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination is due to take place.

Examinations will also attempt to identify the man, but this may take some time.Update: The residents who fought mass eviction and won say they hope their story gives hope to others at risk of homelessness.

The core group of residents of the Leeside apartments in Cork city, who spearheaded a two-year campaign against their eviction, also said they felt abandoned by the government at the height of their campaign.

They were speaking this morning as they celebrated the 20m multi-million social housing property deal which secures their tenancy and provides a further 59 social housing units for the city.

The deal was led by Cork City Council in collaboration with Cluid Housing Association, and follows months of confidential negotiations with Lugus Capital, the vulture fund which bought the four-block complex in late 2017.

Lugus, which was effectively acting as local agent on behalf of the international vulture fund Bain Capital, had served eviction notices on several tenants before it started work on a complete 3m fire safety and structural upgrade of the entire building.

Several tenants moved out but a core group of just over 20 residents remained and resisted.

Following the negotiations, Cluid now owns the completely renovated 78-unit apartment block in on the citys Bachelors Quay.

Resident Aimee ORiordan said confirmation of the deal has lifted a weight off her shoulders.

Its just such a relief. Its a happy day. To be able to tell my son this is your home, its just amazing, she said.

We got no help from the government. We were on our own, essentially.

Our letter to the housing minister was met with silence. We had to explore alternative routes.

But we did it. We did it for all the residents, and for the people who are in the midst of homelessness now. That could have been us.

I hope it gives the incentive to the government and the city to tackle the homeless crisis.

Dorota Okon, who needs to be close to the Mercy University Hospital for medical treatment, said she feared becoming homeless almost every day over the last two years.

My feeling now is I have an apartment and we dont have to move or worry. And we wont be facing another letter about rent going up. The uncertainty is gone. Its great, she said.

Her neighbour, Andre Manuel, urged other tenants in a similar situation to unite.

Dont give up. I know people feel hopeless because they dont know where to go, they dont know where to start fighting, but there is hope. We did it, he said.

Earlier: 'This is a victory for social housing' - Agency hopes to begin filling Leeside Apartments next week

By Vivienne Clarke

The housing agency, Cluid, has described the purchase of the 78-unit Leeside Apartments complex in Cork city as a "major milestone".

The apartments were bought by the agency, in conjunction with Cork City Council, from an investment company for 20m and they will be used for social housing and for rent to the private sector.

The agencys new business manager James OHalloran told RTE radios Morning Ireland that to build the complex would have cost 25m to 26m, so the purchase represented very good value.

The Leeside Apartments complex at Bachelor's Quay in Cork contains 78 units in a mix of two-bed, three-bed and four-bed units, he explained.

At present, there are six HAP tenants in situ and a further six private tenants who will remain as clients of Cluid.

The deal removes the threat of eviction from existing tenants, while around 50 vacant units will be made available for social housing which will be filled from the social housing list.

Mr O'Halloran said that the purchase represents a major milestone for the agency.

"These units are finished to the highest standard and will provide people in Cork City with long-term, secure homes.

"Cluid has worked with Cork City Council to deliver these units in a matter of months and we hope to begin the process of filling the units next week.

"This project shows what can be achieved when stakeholders who are committed to housing delivery work together.

He added that, at present, Cluid is awaiting planning permission for 112 units in Blackpool on the city's northside and is working with Cork City Council and developers to identify additional sites.

"This purchase will help us in our aim of delivering 2,500 homes over three years."

The Leeside Apartments complex brings to 6,800 the number of properties operated by Cluid. Mr O'Halloran said. That is 17,000 tenants paying affordable rents. We dont sell, those units will always be available.

This is a victory for social housing.

Cluid is financing the development of the Leeside units through a combination of a Capital Advance and Availability Payment from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and a loan facility with the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). Cork City Council will act as a conduit for the departmental funding.

The rent on the units will be based on Cork City Council's rent policy and the council will retain full nomination rights on the properties.Two men are to appear in court today charged in connection with a 1.1m drug seizure in the North.

The men, aged 24 and 27, were arrested after the drugs were found following searches in the mid-Ulster area yesterday.The recent stimulus packages have significantly contributed to growing the non-oil private sector across the country, according to Secretary-General of UAE Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI).

Humaid Mohammed bin Salim was addressing a joint meeting of the FCCI General Secretariat and Directors of the Chambers of Commerce.

The meeting addressed the latest business developments during the first quarter in terms of the investment incentives to be created by the FDI Law as well as the role of the economic committee established by the Chambers of Commerce in this respect.

Mohammed bin Salim pointed out that the non-oil private sector would grow exponentially during 2019.

"The FCCI is collaborating with all departments concerned to tap fresh markets abroad for the private sector, and to build up constructive partnerships that add value to the domestic economic," he stated.

"The recent SME-focused and export-oriented stimulus packages represent significant catalysts for private sector companies to utilise available economic opportunities up for grabs on the local, regional and international levels," he noted.

FCCI is seeking to double efforts exerted in this respect over the coming period, he added.-TradeArabia News ServiceA third young Palestinian has died as tens of thousands of protesters gathered near the Israeli border to mark the first anniversary of weekly demos in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza's health ministry said Tamer Abu el-Khair, 17, was shot in the chest in the southern city of Khan Younis and died in hospital.

Earlier on Saturday, Adham Amara, 17, was hit in the face by Israeli gunfire and died in a protest camp in east Gaza City.

At dawn, before the protests began, Mohammed Saad, 21, was hit in the head by shrapnel and died.

The health ministry said 64 protesters have been injured by live fire.

As the crowds swelled throughout the afternoon in response to Gaza's Hamas rulers' calls for a large participation, dozens of protesters approached the fence, unfurling Palestinian flags and throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli troops.

The protest came at a sensitive time for Israel and Hamas.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of ex-army chiefs who have criticised what they say is his failed Gaza policy.

In the final stretch of the campaign, he needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas.

He took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza.

Hamas faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of worsening conditions after more than a decade of Israeli and Egyptian border closures.

The fence protests, which began exactly a year ago, have been aimed in large part at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza.

Protest organisers say the weekly event will continue into a second year and proposed one for next Friday.

That comes despite an announcement by Hamas on Saturday afternoon that Egypt, mediating between the militant group and Israel, has brokered a deal to ease Gaza's blockade in exchange for calm.

The emerging deal would see Israel allow more goods into Gaza, expanding its fishing zone off the coast and other economic incentives.

But Hamas says the marches will continue until the closure is fully lifted.

The Israeli military estimated 30,000 Palestinians were gathered at the marches on Saturday.

"The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tyres on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence," it said in a statement.

It added that soldiers were responding with "riot dispersal means" and firing in line with standard procedures.

According to a Gaza rights group, 196 Palestinians have been killed in the demonstrations over the past year, including 41 minors, and thousands were wounded by live fire.

An Israeli soldier was also killed in the context of the marches.Vladimir Putin's quest to break Russia's reliance on the US dollar has set off a literal gold rush.

Within the span of a decade, the country quadrupled its bullion reserves, and 2018 marked the most ambitious year yet. And the pace is keeping up so far this year. Data from the central bank show that holdings rose by 1 million ounces in February, the most since November.

The data shows that Russia is making rapid progress in its effort to diversify away from American assets. Analysts, who have coined the term de-dollarisation, speculate about the global economic impacts if more countries adopt a similar philosophy and what it could mean for the US dollar's desirability compared with other assets, such as gold or the Chinese yuan.

Stocking up on gold: Journalists watch as Vladimir Putin gives his annual state of the nation address. Credit:AP

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with CNN in November that European corporations and entities are too dependent on the US currency, calling it 'an issue of sovereignty.' Last year, Poland and Hungary surprised analysts by making the first substantial gold purchases by a European Union nation in more than a decade.The team behind coffee start-up Bugisu Project are so passionate about their beans that they moved in together. Darcy Small, Brody Smith, Monica Wang, Bri Kerr, Digby Ayton and Hamish Toohey share four to five coffee machines between them, if were including Aeropress, in their Maroubra think tank-cum-sharehouse, says Wang.

Two weeks after moving in, the team (all aged between 23 and 24) behind the social enterprise were offered a scholarship space at The Commons in Chippendale.

[The houses office] is on the cards as a backup, Small says.

Directors, from left, Brianna Kerr, Monica Wang and Brody Smith (co-founder with Darcy Small, not pictured) of youth-founded, circular-economy coffee start-up Bugisu Project. Credit:Wolter Peeters

For now, theyll use the Commons space to focus on building their business in the circular economy, a concept focused on maximising the value from resources and minimising waste. Bugisu Project provides coffee beans to workplaces, then follows those beans back to where they started: by composting and recycling the grounds, and (as a registered charity) returning profits to communities in Uganda.Which was your favourite protest banner at the recent student strike for climate action? Mine was the one that read, "We'll be less activist if you'll be less shit".

Some politicians reckon the kids should get back to school and leave the grown-ups to sort it out. Activism, they say, will lead them straight to the dole queue. I suspect what those grown-ups fear most, though, is that activism might lead to more activism  which might lead to change.

Students go on strike from school to protest at a climate change rally. Credit:Janie Barrett

In 1990 I joined a delegation of nine young Australians chosen to attend a UN conference in London on protecting the ozone layer. The grown-ups had been pumping ozone-depleting chemicals into the stratosphere for decades and we needed them to stop before it all disappeared. At 25 I was the oldest member of the delegation. The youngest was a 17-year-old schoolgirl in braces called Zanny Begg.

Together we wrote a speech pleading with the grown-ups to basically "be less shit" about ozone depletion. Brave young Zanny stood up in front of hundreds of government representatives from across the globe and delivered our speech. Then we all did interviews with the international media, pointing out that it was our generation who would suffer if governments failed to act.It's time for Netflix to start paying its way. That, at least, is the view of a Senate inquiry into Australian content on broadcast, radio and streaming that quietly tabled its findings on Tuesday, March 26.

Among the 10 recommendations made by committee chair Sarah Hanson-Young of the Australian Greens was that streaming services such as Netflix and Stan (and Amazon and any others who might enter the space) should be forced to spend 10 per cent of income earned in this country on original Australian content. They would also be obliged to promote that content to their subscribers.

In my view, that's a great first move towards ensuring our screen production sector  and the stories it tells  is not dealt out of the future by the tectonic shifts now under way in the industry.

Ten per cent is no big deal compared to what's happening in other markets. In the EU, streamers will soon have to ensure 30 per cent of all content is locally sourced. In Canada, Netflix has committed to spending $500 million over five years on locally made programming (some of it US productions shot in Canada).It's as plump as a goose, has the face of an owl and waddles like a duck. It sleeps in the day and is active at night. And it can climb just about anything but can't fly anywhere.

No wonder people call the kakapo the strangest parrot on Earth.

Once found in large numbers all over New Zealand, kakapo (pronounced caw-caw-poe) have been perched on the edge of disappearing for more than a century. What humans started, by reducing the birds' habitat and food supply, predators such as cats, rats and weasel-like stoats nearly finished.

As of 1977, trackers counted just 18 kakapo left in the entire country - all of them males. The end seemed in sight.

Then something amazing happened. A previously unknown kakapo population was found. It included the first females seen in more than 60 years. This exciting discovery stirred government-led efforts to help the parrots by moving them to three small, predator-free islands.Fire restrictions will be extended at least to the end of April in many parts of NSW as the ongoing drought continues to elevate bushfire risks, the Rural Fire Service said.

The one-month extensions cover most of northern NSW, such as the Far North Coast and Northern Tablelands, but also the Hunter Valley, the Southern Tablelands and the Riverina Highlands.

Dust near Narrandera: cooler weather doesn't mean the fire season is over. Credit:Nick Moir

"Most of the state remains extraordinarily dry," said Ben Shepherd, a senior RFS spokesman, adding the prolonged fire season comes even after the state "had such a dramatic start to the fire season."

Dust storms continue to feature across large swathes of the state - including on Friday - underscoring the severity of the prolonged dry spell.Like the writers pen and the sculptors chisel, experiences and stories fashion who we become.

At the entrance of Siena College stands a statue of St Catherine. The plaque reads that she walked amid chaos and was a force to be reckoned with.

At the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Elsternwick, to an audience of young female students, Sarah Saaroni, aged 93, spoke in a gentle voice but with the conviction of her beliefs, that one must not hate but rather seek to understand what can happen when we do not fight for what is right.

She spoke also of the importance of sharing our stories through the spoken and written word and through ones art.

Catherine of Siena was a woman who walked boldly into situations knowing that she would be opposed, but she had a firm belief that she had to use her voice to bring justice to unjust situations.One rider police caught was riding a Lime scooter with the helmet swung around his arm.

The operation focused on riders who did not wear helmets, with a total of 75 fines issued.

Lime scooter riders risk brain injury and death while zipping around without helmets on in Brisbane city. Credit:Tony Moore

Thirty police officers were attached to Operation Romeo Overture on Friday night across Fortitude Valley, Brisbane city and Mt Gravatt.

A special police taskforce was deployed in Brisbane on Friday night targeting dangerous electric scooter riders in the city.

"Mate had you not had the helmet on and not had it around your arm, you probably would have gotten a warning," an officer from the Brisbane City bike squad said in a video released by police.

"The fact that it is around your arm when it should be on your head means you are going to get and infringement notice tonight."

In the video, the officer then pulls over two people riding on one scooter  both without helmets.

"The first question I have got for you is, why are neither of you wearing a helmet?" the officer asked.

They both replied: "I dunno."The UAE and India are working on a new food security alliance, similar to strategic co-operation between the UAE and India in energy security, said a report.



The plan involves setting up of an Indian Food City in the emirates, most probably in a free zone and would work well for value addition in the zone and exports to third countries, reported state news agency Wam.



The new food security alliance plan was unveiled by Mariam Saeed Hareb Al Mehairi, the UAE Minister of State for Food Security, on the last day of her two-day visit to India.



Such an alliance would have strategic importance and UAEs proximity to India made it feasible, she stated.



Winding up her two-day visit to New Delhi, Al Mehairi said such an alliance would have strategic importance and UAEs proximity to India made it feasible.



She described it as "work in progress" following her visit which generated wide interest in India in view of the critical importance of food security for the second most populous country in the world.



The UAE Ambassador to India, Dr Ahmed Al Banna, who along with the Minister, addressed the creme de la creme of the Indias agro and food processing industries and said the possibilities for productive engagement between the two countries in this sector were immense.



The private sectors of both the UAE and India were looking at these opportunities and Dr Al Banna envisaged joint ventures in the food sector soon. He put the UAE Ministers pioneering visit to India in this context, said the Wam report.



The interactive session was hosted by Indias premier industry organization, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has leading companies from the agro and food processing sectors among its members.



Al Mehairi pointed out that her concept of a bilateral food security alliance was similar to strategic cooperation between the UAE and India in energy security, which was conceptualized following recent high level exchanges by leaders of both countries.



This arrangement is working well and Abu Dhabis oil is now being stored in Indias strategic oil reserves in Karnataka state.



Priyanka Mittal, who briefed Al Mehairi and Dr Al Banna on behalf of CII, said 85 per cent of Indias basmati rice exports go to the Middle East. The UAE is the number one destination for the famed agricultural produce, which is integral to any Arab cuisine that includes rice.



Mittal called for harmonisation of safety and other standards between the UAE and India in the area of food and agriculture business for augmenting cooperation. She also called for engaging each other on mutual protection of trademarks.



The Indian Food City would allow the country to bring its advanced food and agricultural technology which can be harnessed in the UAE for mutual benefit, stated the report.



Several UAE companies in the food sector which are looking to promote business with India in this new area of bilateral co-operation attended the interactive session hosted by CII.



They included ADVOC, which specializes in vegetable oil exports and Lulu, which sources food from India for its retail chains on a large scale. The UAE-India Business Council was also represented.

Haridas Pantheeradi, Director of CIIs Gulf, Middle East and North Africa department explained the rationale for the interaction, it added.A second Brisbane City councillor will throw her hat in the ring at the next federal election.

Cr Angela Owen, who is chair of the council, has been preselected as the LNP candidate for the federal seat of Moreton.

Angela Owen will run in the federal election. Credit:Angela Owen/Facebook

Cr Owen was elected in 2008 and began running council meetings at City Hall in 2015.

The former accountant represents Calamvale ward on council, which abuts the Moreton electorate.On April 13, it will be exactly 50 years since the last tram took its final run down the tracks in Brisbane.

It always seems such a pity that Brisbane dispensed with its trams but there are still the memories.

So for a nostalgic journey, take a trip to the Brisbane Tramway Museum at Ferny Grove, established 50 years ago.

A dilapidated tram at the museum. Credit:Brismania

As well as some of the original trams from a horse-drawn model from the 1890s to the more familiar 1950s trams, it has a variety of artefacts, from ticket punches to uniforms and signal boxes.A police officer has allegedly been assaulted while arresting a man accused of beating his partner north of Brisbane.

Police rushed to a home at Kallangur, about 30 kilometres north of Brisbane, on Friday night to find a woman who had allegedly been beaten, choked and suffocated.

"Following a struggle, police arrested a 38-year-old Closeburn man inside the house and placed him in the rear of a police vehicle," a police spokesman said.

"A short time later as a police officer opened the car door the man assaulted him several times by punching him about the head, knocking him to the ground, before then fleeing on foot," police allege.

Other police officers chased the man down and took him into custody nearby.A good old-fashioned bake sale has seen thousands of Melburnians lining up around the block, as one of Australia's most acclaimed restaurants raised money for victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

Attica chef Ben Shewry and a small army of other accomplished chefs from around Melbourne joined forces to throw a charity bake sale at the famous Ripponlea restaurant.

People queued around the block in Ripponlea on Saturday for Attica's bake sale to raise funds for victims of the Christchurch terror attack. Credit:Karl Quinn

All proceeds went to help the victims and families involved in the Christchurch shooting, which left 50 people dead and many more injured.

Up to 2000 people attended the sale, the line starting as early as 7am as punters tried to score some of the delicious treats.Fires near Ballarat on Friday destroyed at least one home and numerous buildings, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

A large grassfire in the Bunkers Hill area, about 12 kilometres south of Ballarat, engulfed one home and nine sheds before it was brought under control about 7.45pm on Friday.

Scenes from the Bunkers Hill fire near Ballarat. Credit:Fire

Two homes were damaged and a shed was lost in a bush fire at Mount Mercer, about 45 kilometres south of Ballarat, near Meredith.

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp on Saturday said rapid impact assessment teams were still working to determine the extent of damage.It has been a horror start to the 2019 vintage for wineries in West Gippsland, where a bushfire raged for weeks.

Winemakers are grappling with the fallout from the Bunyip State Park bushfire in early March that caused significant smoke damage to wineries at its foothills.

Jinks Creek winery before it was burned to the ground.

Andrew Clarke is still trying to rebuild after the bushfire razed his Tonimbuk property and destroyed his vineyards that he says he first planted in 1979.

Its a bit early for me to know what Im going to do, Mr Clarke said. [But Ill] possibly stick to making beer and a bit of wine.Police are investigating a bushfire in Perths east Friday afternoon which damaged a community building in Bellevue and which detectives believe could have been deliberately lit.

Emergency crews were called to the fire in bushland near Clayton View Primary School in Koongamia about 3.30pm on Friday, which spread and damaged a building on Clayton Street in Bellevue, forcing the evacuation of several people inside.

The inside of the damaged community building in Bellevue. Credit:WA Police

Department of Fire and Emergency Services workers attended and managed to extinguish the blaze, but Arson Squad detectives attended the scene Saturday morning and believed the fire may have been deliberately lit.

Police are calling on anyone with information about the fire to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.A Liberal vying to become the party's candidate for Craig Laundy's old seat has delivered an astonishing condemnation of the closed-door selection process, just as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepares to name his captain's pick for the hotly contested Sydney electorate.

Controversial psychiatrist and writer Tanveer Ahmed - who is among a number of people under consideration for the job - slammed the process as unfair and undemocratic, arguing he had been denied the opportunity to confront his challengers.

Psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed is vying to become the Liberal candidate for the Sydney seat of Reid.

It is expected Mr Morrison could recommend a candidate to replace Mr Laundy in the inner west seat of Reid as soon as Sunday, to be rubber-stamped by the party's state executive on Monday.

The Sun-Herald understands Dr Ahmed met with Mr Morrison's principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein and factional powerbroker Alex Hawke, the Special Minister of State, and has been positively vetted.A parliamentary committee has rejected a proposal to lower the voting age at federal elections to 16.

While a formal bill to legalise lowering the voting age is still before the parliament, the committee found the proposed legislation "potentially damaging to the health of our electoral system".

A federal inquiry has rejected a proposal to lower the voting age to 16. Credit:Max Mason Hubers

The proposal, put forward by Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, would allow for 16 and 17-year-olds to vote at the federal election on a voluntary basis.

The committee's chair, Liberal senator James McGrath, said the voluntary voting measure was counter-intuitive.While much fuss has been made about Bill Shorten's recent use of a social media platform popular among the Australia's Chinese community to defuse racism concerns, other issues like negative gearing and visa concerns actually dominated his online discussion.

Wednesday's session on WeChat - limited to the site's maximum of 500 participants - followed the release a week earlier of a video of NSW Labor leader Michael Daley telling a Blue Mountains pub audience last year that "Asians with PhDs" were taking Australians' jobs.

The emergence of the video in the final week of the election campaign dashed Labor hopes of an upset win. Mr Daley stepped aside days after the loss.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Labor candidate for Chisholm Jennifer Yang on Wednesday, the day of this first WeChat session with Chinese Australians.. Credit:AAP

In the WeChat session, Mr Shorten said he wanted to "make it clear that as Labor leader, I don't agree with what [Mr Daley] said. He shouldn't have expressed those words."Premier Gladys Berejiklian will put her stamp on a revamped cabinet on Sunday, with strategic appointments designed to drive the newly elected governments priorities including the environment and social reform.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will retain his portfolio, while it is expected that David Elliott will be made police minister and Anthony Roberts will move to corrective services.

Transport minister Andrew Constance will keep his portfolio and will also be leader of the house, while Drummoyne MP John Sidoti will move into cabinet taking on sport.

It is understood upper house MP Damien Tudehope, who gave up his lower house seat for Mr Perrottet, will come into cabinet as finance minister and Parramatta MP Geoff Lee is expected to earn a frontbench spot.Bratislavia: Riding a wave of public fury over corruption, liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, bucking a trend that has seen populist, anti-European Union politicians make gains across the continent.

Zuzana Caputova speaks after casting her vote at a polling station in Pezinok, Slovakia, on Saturday. A pro-European lawyer, she will become the country's first female president. Credit:AP

Caputova  who said she would take a "clearly pro-European stance"  won 58.4 per cent of the vote against Maros Sefcovic, currently the EU's energy commissioner, according to the official results released on Sunday.

Caputova, 45, will become Slovakia's first female president following the run-off, which was dominated by discussion of corruption and change. She will be sworn in on June 15.

The president-elect has been repeatedly criticised by the church and other conservative groups for her pro-choice stance on abortion and her support of homosexuality and equal rights, but said her victory in the first round showed that Slovakia is not as conservative as many people believe it is.First round of official talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has ended. Their meeting lasted three and a half hours and, according to the OSCE Minsk Groups French co-chairman Stefan Visconti, was "effective and fruitful."

Immediately after their meeting, leaders of the two countries preferred not to reveal the results - it was obviously mutual agreement. Nikol Pashinyan briefly reported that the meeting was normal, while Ilham Aliyev suggested to wait for the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' statement. Statement was published on the website of the Minsk Group in a couple of hours. They noted that the meeting "was held in positive and constructive atmosphere and gave two leaders opportunity to clarify their positions." Aliyev and Pashinyan exchanged views on a number of key issues in the settlement process, as well as ideas on substance of negotiations.

More interesting details were revealed later: Both leaders stressed the importance of creation of environment conducive to peace, as well as further discussion about steps in the negotiation process that are necessary to find peaceful solution to the conflict. Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, leaders reaffirmed the need to strengthen ceasefire regime and improve direct contacts. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian sphere. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan requested Foreign Ministers of their respective countries to meet with co-chairs in the near future. They also agreed to continue direct dialogue."

After the OSCE Minsk Group's statement was published, President of Azerbaijan said: "Negotiation process should be supported by humanitarian actions. It's important for format of negotiations to remain unchanged, negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are under way, just like it has been for many years," TASS quoted him as saying. "Negotiation process has been given a new impulse, we assessed statement of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group very positively, which shows that changes in the negotiation format can be made only with consent of the two parties," Ilham Aliyev said. Round of negotiations with Pashinyan in Vienna was diplomatically beneficial for Baku, since it showed that negotiation format can't be changed. Agreement between Pashinyan and Aliyev to continue direct dialogue noted by co-chairs of the Minsk Group confirms this.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that there was no breakthrough at the talks - however, neither Baku nor Yerevan thought that would happen. "Now it's time to think about following issues. For example, can parties of the conflict make efforts to stabilize situation on the contact line, can parties ensure that border villages live a normal life, do agricultural work without fear of attacks," Armenian Prime Minister said at a meeting with Armenian diaspora of Austria. Pashinyan didn't mention participation of Karabakh separatists in the negotiation process. According to him, it's important that now parties can talk about their ideas, problems and agendas. There was another remarkable detail - Nikol Pashinyan himself spoke about Armenian-Azerbaijani border and contact line, not of fictional border between the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan.

So far there are no further details about negotiations. For example, what kind of "measures in the humanitarian sphere" will be worked out by Yerevan and Baku remains unknown.Dear Reader,

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Digital EditorWhen her black feature-phone buzzed with news of a pregnant woman going into labour, Damsari Ozre rushed to finish as much housework as she could before leaving to attend to the birth. The 29-year-old is an ASHA (accredited social health activist  a community health worker under the National Rural Health Mission) in Velgaon, a village in Palghar tehsil, Thane district, 95 km from Mumbai, Indias financial capital.

Ozre is used to spending four to five hours a day at work, away from home, but this can go to up to 24 hours when there is a baby on the way. In addition, ...North Korea has almost completed rebuilding a long-range rocket site it had promised to close, South Korean lawmakers told reporters on Friday after a closed-door meeting with intelligence officials in Seoul. The claim comes a month after a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February ended without an agreement.

As CBN news writes in the article North Korea "almost" done rebuilding key rocket test site month after Trump-Kim summit, South says, the second summit deepened a gap between the two sides on how to achieve the goal of "complete denuclearization."

Shortly after the end of the Hanoi summit, a series of satellite images emerged suggesting increased activity at the North's Sohae rocket site, triggering international alarm that the nuclear-armed state might be preparing a long-range or space launch.

"The North began rebuilding the center, which was partly dismantled last July, before the North-U.S. summit in February," lawmaker Kim Min-ki told reporters after the closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service. "The work is almost complete with some maintenance activity being underway," he said.

North Korea has been banned by the UN Security Council from carrying out space launches, as some of its technology was similar to that used for intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs.

But earlier this month the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said there was "deliberate and purposeful" activity going on at the Sohae rocket site.

Friday's latest assessment by Seoul could suggest a reversal in policy by Kim, who agreed to shut the Sohae site at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang last year.

Experts have suggested the Kim regime might be trying to convey its displeasure over the breakdown of the Hanoi nuclear summit with the renewed work at Sohae, but the Trump administration made it clear earlier this month that it doesn't necessarily agree with the public analysis, and it still believes its goal of denuclearizing North Korea is attainable during Mr. Trump's first term.

The White House noted that the activity at Sohae had been noticed even before the Hanoi summit, a notion seemingly confirmed on Friday by the South Korean intelligence assessment. A Trump administration official speaking in early March added, however, that it would represent backsliding by North Korea if the regime was to start using the facility again in any capacity, because they had agreed to dismantle it. A new satellite launch would be, in the administration's view, "inconsistent with the commitments the North Koreans have made."

Experts have warned that a new launch of any kind would send the stuttering talks on denuclearization into disarray. Moon Chung-in, the South Korean presidential special advisor on national security, said the outcome would be "catastrophic."

The nuclear-armed state is also "operating uranium enrichment facilities" at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, the lawmaker added. In the aftermath of the Hanoi summit, Pyongyang and Washington have both sought to blame the other's intransigence for the deadlock. Pyongyang said it had proposed dismantling the Yongbyon complex -- a sprawling site covering multiple different facilities -- in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions that have strangled and isolated the North.

But U.S. officials have said it was not clear exactly which facilities at the Yongbyon complex the North was willing to give up, while Mr. Trump has said that "the weapons themselves need to be on the table."Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday his ruling coalition would increase its majority in Indias upcoming election, despite some independent analysts suggesting it could disappear due to discontent over lack of jobs and depressed farm incomes. Involving around 900 million voters, Indias general election will be the worlds largest democratic exercise, with the vote taking place in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Results will be announced on May 23, and in an interview with Republic Bharat television channel, Modi predicted an easy ...India's trade ministry has proposed that the government delays by a month the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on some US goods that were due to go into effect from April 1, a trade ministry spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday. Trade friction between India and the United States has escalated after US President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this month to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States. Indian officials believe India could lose its preferential treatment in early May. ...White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Friday that President Donald Trump is eager for a US trade deal with Britain once it breaks away from the European Union. President Trump remains very eager to cut a bilateral trade deal with an independent Britain. Its what the people voted for in 2016, and when they get out, whether its now, April 12 or later, well be standing right there waiting for them, Bolton said in an interview with Reuters Television. Trump had told reporters on Thursday that he wished British Prime Minister ...The World Trade Organization is set to rule for the first time on a dispute involving a member's national security, crossing a red line set out by President Donald Trump and putting the arbiter of international trade conflicts on a collision course with the US. As Luxembourg Times reports, the WTO will issue a ruling on a case in which Russia imposed trade restrictions on Ukraine, saying they were necessary in the interest of national security, according to an official with knowledge of the report who asked not to be named because the process is private. The decision could still be appealed or settled outside of the WTO. The ruling confirms the WTO's authority to determine whether such measures are necessary to protect a countrys security.

The WTO allows countries to take "any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests," and has become a favorite justification for Trump, who last year imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and has threatened levies on car imports, both using the national-security rationale. A WTO ruling on the Russia dispute could force the US to justify why the European Union, Canada, Mexico and a half-dozen other nations that have filed disputes against Trump's metal tariffs, pose a security threat.

"The fact that the panel is actually going to engage in an inquiry of whether there is basis for these national security measures means things are looking really bleak for the US." Nicolas Lamp, a former dispute settlement attorney at the WTO, said in an interview on Wednesday. "For the US, this finding could confirm all their worst fears about the WTO." A WTO spokesman declined to comment on the decision.

'Total violation'

US trade officials say the WTO has no authority to mediate national security matters and should simply issue a decision that says the matter is outside of the WTO's remit. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo has gone so far as to warn countries against taking this dispute to the WTO, arguing that it instead "requires conversation at the highest political level."

Many have questioned how genuine the US tariff justifications were, with some of Americas closest allies those most affected by the duties, such as the EU, Canada and Mexico. "If players in the world dont stick to the rule book the system may collapse," Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU's trade commissioner, said in a press conference in Brussels a day after the US imposed the tariffs.

"The fact that these tariffs are a total violation of our WTO obligations I think is pretty much unequivocal," Jennifer Hillman, a former WTO appellate body member, said in an interview. "That means you are going to have to say that you are in some kind of war with Canada, Mexico and the EU. I dont think they are doing to say that."

Existential threat

The dispute could pose an existential threat for the WTO, which has long avoided a politically fraught confrontation over national security disputes for fear that doing so would open a Pandora's box of protectionist measures and tit-for-tat retaliation. In backing Russia's right to implement some restrictions on Ukraine, the WTO could open the door to any country to implement protectionist trade measures using that justification. Various countries have already invoked the WTO's national security exemption in regional fights like Saudi Arabias economic dispute with Qatar and Indias conflict with Pakistan. "So far, a lot of these cases do involve real conflicts - Ukraine and Russia; Qatar and these other countries; India and Pakistan," Simon Lester, the associate director of Cato Institutes Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies in Washington, said in an interview. "The US metal tariffs "seem a little more far-fetched."President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the US border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States. Theres a very good likelihood that Ill be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump has repeatedly said he would close the US border with Mexico during his two years in office and has not followed through. However, this ...This week, as two members of Parliament interrupted a debate on Brexit to rib each other about the elite boarding schools they attended four decades ago, 23-year-old Eve Alcock looked on with deep disgust. The whole world of Britains Parliament  its effete codes of conduct, its arcane and stilted language, its reunions of Oxbridge school chums  seemed impossibly remote from the real, unfolding national crisis of Brexit, the process of extricating the country from the European Union. Were in the middle of a national emergency, and you have ...In an attempt to prevent more acts of terror and mass shooting, Australian government on Saturday introduced new laws under which government officials and bureaucrats will face prison up to three years for either posting or failing to remove "abhorrent" material from their social media platform as soon as possible.

The new legislation will be introduced by the Australian government when the Parliament resumes on Monday.

Alternatively, the platform will receive a fine worth 10 per cent of its global annual turnover, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new laws were introduced following a crackdown on social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, launched by the Australian government in the wake of twin mosque shooting in Christchurch on March 15.

The video of the terror attack was live streamed on Facebook and shared on Twitter and YouTube.

"This is about keeping Australians safe by forcing social media companies to step up and do what the community expects of them to stop terrorists and criminals spreading their hate," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quoted as saying.

The legislation described "abhorrent violent material" as any content produced by a perpetrator that captures terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping.

If the laws are ratified by the Australian Parliament, they also notify the Australian Federal Police that their services are being used to stream offending conduct occurring in Australia.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ruled out re-introducing the death penalty for the terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who was arrested minutes after the attack on the mosques and has been charged with murder. Tarrant is scheduled to appear in court on April 5.

The Prime Minister is currently awaiting a comprehensive and timely report provided by the royal commission on the mosque attacks, dubbed to be the worst terror attack in the country's modern history.

Improving the security situation in the country, New Zealand last week implemented a ban on the sale of assault rifles and semi-automatics across the country to prevent more acts of terror and mass shootings anytime in the future.

At least 50 people, including five Indians--three from Gujarat, were killed in the terror attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government has not given permission for holding a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ground in Kawakhali of Darjeeling district on April 3, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged on Saturday.

"Our first choice was a state government ground in Kawakhali. We gave an application one week back but the permission was not given. We have got permission for two railway grounds in Siliguri," Ghosh told reporters here.

"This led BJP to choose a railway ground," he said.

Accusing the West Bengal government of being partial towards BJP, Ghosh said, "The administration is not fair. We are used to these circumstances. We always keep options."

He said, "Earlier too, we had faced problems in connection with rallies of the Prime Minister and the party president (Amit Shah). No one can be stopped from holding a rally in a democracy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In the wake of a devastating cyclone and flooding, cholera cases in Mozambique have shot up to 139, health officials said on Friday (local time).

Aid agencies rushed to the region to control the spread of disease among thousands of other survivors of the natural disaster, Al Jazeera reported.

Many badly affected areas in Mozambique and the neighbouring countries are still inaccessible by road, complicating relief efforts and exacerbating the threat of infection.

Cyclone Idai, considered being the worst natural disaster to hit Southern Africa in recent history, made landfall in Mozambique on March 14 causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people across three countries in southeast Africa, including Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Around 417 people lost their lives in Mozambique, while over 1,500 people have been injured due to the cyclone until now, according to Mozambican Environment Minister Celso Correia.

Although there have been no confirmed cholera deaths in medical centres in Mozambique yet, at least two people died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhea, Correia said.

"We expected this, we were prepared for this, we've doctors in place," Correia added.

The minister said that 89,000 people are in shelters as efforts continue in locating the missing.

However, no disease outbreak has been reported so far but aid agencies have raised an alarm due to lack of safe drinking water and sanitation at shelters.

The Indian Navy was the first responder in the evolving humanitarian crises in the aftermath of the high-end, Category -2 storm that hit Mozambique on March 15. Assistance is also being sent to Zimbabwe and Malawi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running away from real issues and said that the lead campaigner of BJP likes "speaking more than working".

It also alleged that the BJP-led central government splurged heavily on advertisements before the Model Code of Conduct came into force.

I"The campaign for 2019 is intensifying. Our senior leaders are involved in it. Prime Minister Modi, who is the lead campaigner of the ruling party, also happens to be a controversial and widely-talked about Prime Minister in the history of India. He likes speaking more than working. There is no competition of ours with their vision, the way of work and their means," senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told a press conference here.

He said, "In six weeks starting January 15..., Rs 4,000 crore of public money was spent only on advertisements. After the Model Code of Conduct came into implementation, the government advertisements have stopped."

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BSP supremo Mayawati had made a similar charge against the Centre.

Sharma said, "More than 90 per cent of resources that will be used in these elections will be used by BJP. BJP is the biggest advertiser in the country and has left even the leading corporates behind."

Attacking Prime Minister Modi, he said, "In a democracy, Prime Ministers are not chosen on the basis of physical prowess. A government's strength is about their vision, policies and achievements...He should come to real issues. In these elections, he has to answer about employment, farmer issues and Congress will clearly, during its campaign, demand accountability from Narendra Modi."

The Congress leader said, "Only PM Modi has a mentality that he takes all the credit. The armed forces are of the country and do not belong to any political party. Our soldiers do not lay down their lives for votes. It is wrong to say that Prime Minister Modi went inside someone's home and destroyed it. This kind of gesture does not suit the Prime Minister."

Accusing the government of destroying the country's economy, Sharma said, "The Prime Minister is in the habit of making tall claims and false claims. He will never do any press conference and won't take questions. The Indian economy has suffered because of reckless decisions of the Prime Minister."

He said, "BJP has dented the data credibility. If the government itself is fudging the data then what should be done? Our suggestion to the PM is to stop asking for votes and apologise to the country for he has done."

He also claimed that BJP is only trying to play with people's emotions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Taking a pot shot at the Congress in view of internal clashes within the opposition party, BJP leader and Education Minister Vinod Tawde on Saturday said that Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan has been forced to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. "Congress' internal clashes have escalated to such a level that their convenor came here to intervene from the Centre. Ashok Chavan was trying to field his wife for the Lok Sabha poll as he was willing to take part in the state However, the party has given him the ticket to contest the elections," Tade told ANI. Congress has fielded Chavan from Nanded Lok Sabha constituency.Tawde claimed that Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was filled with happiness after the party announced Ashok's name for the general elections.

"The happiest person is Prithviraj Chavan as Ashok Chavan has gone to Delhi. VK Patil has been sidelined. So, now he will have single-handed leadership in Maharashtra," he said.Continuing his tirade against the Congress for its failure to field a candidate from Pune, Tawde said: "Congress' condition is so bad that they are unable to find a candidate for Pune. They got a candidate for North Pune after a long struggle."

"In this scenario, the Congress party will not be able to gain the faith of the people of the state," he said.

Asked if there were issues within the BJP for North Pune parliamentary constituency, Tawde said: "Shiv Sena and BJP have stitched an alliance. Uddhav ji and Amit Shah will take a decision on it."The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held from April 11 and will go on till May 19.Maharashtra will go to polls in the first four phases, beginning April 11. Results of the polls will be declared on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention against the ongoing Income Tax raids against the Congress and JD (S) leaders, terming it as a political vendetta by the BJP against its rivals at the time of elections.

"'We request you to direct the Income Tax department to desist from conducting raids in the interest of free and fair elections," Rao said in the letter. "The ruling party in power at the centre is misusing the office of the Commissioner of Income Tax of Karnataka and Goa circle, whose integrity is doubtful and who is inimically disposed towards Congress and JD(S). The said officer acts as BJP agent by his candid actions," he wrote. Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for misusing its power against Congress and JD(S), Rao said: "In the month of February 2018, the union government headed by Narendra Modi misusing its power, directed the Income Tax Department to conduct raids on Ministers, Ex-Ministers, MLAs belonging to Indian Congress and its Candidates, supporters and workers and it continued till when the elections was in full swing till May 2018 in an attempt to prejudicially affect the election prospects of Indian Congress Candidates."Rao claimed that several complaints were lodged to the Election Commission by JD(S) but no "actions were taken or initiated".He added that during elections to Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the Income Tax Department raided the residence of Congress candidate Bhimanna Naik, following which, he was confined to his residence for three days and he was not able to campaign. Similar has been case with other candidates contesting against the BJP. "It is obvious that these acts were at the instance of the party in power at the centre abusing its power and misusing the Income Tax Department with an intention that Indian Congress party should not come to power. These acts are politically motivated at the instance of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the Finance Minister who are at helm of affairs," he said. Rao alleged that BJP chief Amith Shah is trying to destabilise the government by offering allurement to some of the MLAs belonging to Congress and JD (S). "Ever since the formation of coalition government by Congress and JD(S), the Bharathiya Janatha Party in Karnataka at the instance of leaders of the central government and its party president Amith Shah is trying to destabilise the government by offering allurement to some of the MLAs belonging to the coalition partners and have attempted to engineer defections," Rao said.This comes two days after the Income Tax (I-T) department said that it has seized Rs 1.66 crore cash in raids across Karnataka. A total of 24 premises were searched said the I-T department who said that locations of 13 contractors and four engineers are being searched. "Certain searches are being carried out by the income tax department in Karnataka Goa on contractors and connected persons. No MP, MLA or minister have so far been covered in the searches. These searches are being carried out on the basis of credible information received, the I-T department said in a statement," I-T Department said. Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and other senior leaders from the JD (S) and Congress staged a protest outside the I-T department office. JD(S) supporters also protested on Masuru Road against the Centre and raised slogans against the BJP government.Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda claimed that the raids were political vendetta as the BJP wanted Kumaraswamy to form the government with their (BJP) support but he (Kumaraswamy) refused. "They (BJP) tried to persuade Kumaraswamy to form the government with the support of BJP. Before the election, they extended huge money for the expenditure of JD(S). They tried to persuade him to meet them in Mumbai where money was kept but Kumaraswamy refused to budge," he claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)People's Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday warned that if the central government scraps Article 370, its relationship with the state will come to an end.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution grants special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Mufti also said new conditions would emerge if Article 370 is scrapped.

"If you break that bridge (Article 370)... Then you will have to renegotiate the relationship between India and Jammu and Kashmir. There will be new conditions... A Muslim majority state, would it even want to stay with you? If you scrap Article 370, your relation with Jammu and Kashmir will be over," she said.

Demands have surfaced time and again to revoke Article 370 along with Article 35 (A), which grants special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a land battle for almost three decades, but some officials say that long-running feud has reached a dangerous tipping point  capped by casualties and daily cease-fire violations.

It is an unresolved conflict and continues to be very strategically dangerous to the whole region, Elin Suleymanov, the Azerbaijan ambassador to Washington, told Fox News this week. The status quo is not sustainable. We dont have peacekeepers. The soldiers are facing each other, sometimes just 100 feet apart. You never know when someone will decide to really destabilize.

The former Soviet nation, in the Caucasus mountains south of Russia and north of Iran, is technically still at war with neighboring Armenia, dating back to 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to secede from Azerbaijan and received Armenian military backing to do so. The U.N. has, however, passed a number of resolutions recognizing the disputed territory as Azerbaijani, and border tensions have been punctuated by bouts of unrest ever since.

The potential for major escalation is always there. Both sides have enough weapons, enough armor -- the conflict could arise at any time, Suleymanov cautioned. There is a dangerous reality on the ground where things could really get out of hand.

At its worst point, in 1994, the conflict claimed the lives of 30,000 people and prompted a refugee flow of more than one million, bringing about a precarious cease-fire agreement. But as it now stands, cease-fire violations are daily happenings, often taking the form of sniper-fire exchanges across the dividing line. Around once a month, Suleymanov said, the sniper fire is stepped up to artillery exchanges.

And the two warring factions have stepped up their military capacity, too. People today have lived with this stalemate conflict, Suleymanov said. People want to see peace; people want to intermarry. People want to heal.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that the Congress party is concerned only about their 'malai' (personal well-being) and not the welfare of the state (bhalai).

Addressing a rally here, the Prime Minister said "For the past several decades, experts were saying that there is a dire need to develop infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. But the popular family (Congress) and their supporters sitting here were only focused on strengthening their empire. They are more concerned about their personal well-being rather than welfare of the state."

"We work for your 'bhalai' (well-being) but they (Congress) work for their 'malai' (personal benefit)..you have said goodbye to them. Now, do not let them enter again," he added.

Prime Minister Modi slammed the Congress for questioning the valour of the jawans.

"People have seen how Congress leaders reacted when our armed forces conducted surgical strikes to combat terrorism. When we entered the homes of the terrorists and killed them, the Congress was raising questions on the valour of our jawans," he claimed.

He also stated that the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress speaks the same language as that of terrorists.

"When our country does something good, when it achieves something, are you not proud? These leaders are not. When India achieved the surgical strike, these leaders' faces fell. They speak the same language of the terrorists. These leaders have no one in India but Pakistan has been singing their praises. Make them pay."

Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption, Prime Minister Modi said: "In the name of running a newspaper, the Opposition's leaders have been looting the government. Here, local Opposition leaders steal from the plates of the poor, inspired by their leaders in Delhi. These are the very leaders who hit out at the Chowkidar. They think neither of you nor of the youth."

While addressing the rally, the Prime Minister also listed out his government's achievements in Arunachal Pradesh and stated, "Arunachal's 40,000 women have got free LPG connection. Over one lakh families got toilets and three lakh bank accounts have been opened."

The Prime Minister also stressed that the first ever Sainik School in the region was set up under his rule. "Kamal (BJP symbol) has already bloomed on three seats in Arunachal. Trying to make India better. My government is committed to Arunachal's development," he added.

Polling for the two Lok Sabha seats at stake in the state will be held on April 11, and counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In the wake of growing threats and acts of terrorism across the world, India and Bolivia have called for an early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

Briefing media on President Ram Nath Kovind's visit to Bolivia, Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: "Bolivian President Evo Morales strongly condemned Pulwama attack and denounced cross border terrorism. There was an assertion that terrorism in all its forms constitutes a threat to humanity. Bolivia-India called for early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism."

Thakur informed that the two leaders discussed bilateral as well as multilateral issues of interest.

She said that President Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Morales focused on three issues in the bilateral arena- terrorism, United Nations Security Council reforms and Climate change.

Thakur further said that there was an acknowledgement that current membership of UNSC is not reflective of realities of the 21st century.

"Bolivian President Evo Morales expressed full understanding of India's aspiration to be a member of UNSC. He extended support for India's membership as a non-permanent member," she stated.

Thakur further said that Morales has signed the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement and Bolivia is now a member of ISA.

"On climate change- Both sides are emphatic that there needs to greater focus on the issue as well as looking at renewable sources of energy. In this context, President Morales signed the International Solar Alliance framework agreement," Thakur said. She added that the two sides discussed bilateral issues including trade and economy.

Talking about trade, Thakur stated that the two nations are looking at diversification of export components of the trade and are exploring ways in which they can work together.

"Growing trade between the two nations stands at 875 million USD in the last calendar year. From point of view of Bolivia, India is the third largest market for India in terms of export and seventh largest trading partner," she said.

Lithium is a resource that the South American nation has in abundance and is looking forward to exploring with the help of India as it is trying move towards industrialisation of its mineral resource.

Thakur said, "As far as Lithium is concerned, there was a discussion on all the three aspects of Lithium including, help in the exploration of the mineral, assured supplies of Lithium Carbide to India and also the possibility of joint ventures of Lithium batteries production plant in India."

She added that the cooperation is expected to be held on NITI Aayog level. She also said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two nations on cooperation on geology and mineral resources which will help facilitate working with Bolivia.

"They have reserves of gas. Bolivia has invited India to help in exploration and strategy in this regard. We have informed Bolivia that we have companies in Private and public sector that might be interested to look into this sector,' Thakur said.

During his trip to Bolivia, President Kovind addressed a joint business forum along with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales organised by groups of Bolivian Chambers of Industries, Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Around 30 Indian companies from gold, mining, infra, IT, automobile energy participated.

Indian and Bolivia on Friday signed eight Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) in diverse sectors including culture space and medicine.

In the second leg on his three-nation state visit, the President reached Bolivia where he was welcomed by Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma and Foreign Minister Diego Pary Rodriguez at Viru Viru International Airport.

Following this, President Kovind will be visiting Chile on March 30, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

President Kovind earlier held talks with his Croatian counterpart, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, following which four Memoranda of Understanding were signed between India and Croatia, in the fields of tourism, education, sports, to name a few. Kovind also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Croatia on Tuesday.

On the sidelines of his state visit to Croatia, President Kovind also met President of Latvia, Raimonds Vcjonis, in Zagreb and discussed issues of mutual interest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta quashed a decision of the Uttarakhand High Court granting relief from dismissal to constable Prem Ram.

The Uttarakhand government had told the top court that Ram, while posted at Berinag in Uttarakhand, was found in an inebriated state on November 1, 2006.

Ram was brought to the police station and confined to the barracks. A medical examination was done which showed that he was under the influence of alcohol. Later, a disciplinary inquiry was initiated.

On May 16, 2007, the Superintendent of Police, Pithoragarh passed an order dismissing Ram from service. Ram then challenged the decision before a single Bench of Uttarakhand High Court but failed to get any relief. He then appealed against the decision before the larger bench of the High Court.

The division bench of the High Court converted the dismissal from service to compulsory retirement taking into consideration that Ram had completed 15 years of satisfactory service in the police department.

Aggrieved by the order, the Uttarakhand government had moved the apex court.

"The charge against the respondent (Ram) was of a serious act of misconduct involving drunkenness and misbehavior with the public," the apex court said.

The order of the top court further added, "The fact of intoxication was duly proved in the medical report. Having regard to the seriousness of the charge of misconduct and the fact that the respondent was a member of the police service, we find no justification for the High Court to interfere with the order of dismissal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Libyan authorities rescued 117 immigrants, including children, off the coast of Al-Khoms on Friday.

"Coast guards patrol rescued 117 immigrants of different African nationalities on a rubber boat," Xinhua quoted the Libyan authorities as saying.

The rescued people include 84 men, 15 women, and 18 children, according to the authorities. They were provided with medical and humanitarian assistance upon rescue.

The internal strife in Libya has led to scores of people leaving the region to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.

Until now, thousands of immigrants have lost their lives after undertaking dangerous sea travel on overcrowded rubber boats in a bid to escape turmoil in their own countries.

The death of a three-year-old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi - whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey - brought the plight of the refugees to the forefront, leading to an international outcry.

The UN Human Rights Council launched a social media campaign '#WithRefugees' after the little boy's picture shocked the

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday announced two more candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

While Ram Kumar will contest from Kanpur, Rambhual Nishad will contest from Gorakhpur in the impending polls.

The announcement comes a day after Nishad Party severed ties with the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party led 'gathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh.

Last week, the SP had announced that party chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest from Azamgarh - the parliamentary constituency of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav - while senior SP leader Azam Khan will contest elections from Rampur constituency.

There are 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Uttar Pradesh, out of which SP will contest on 37 seats, BSP on 38 and RLD on 3 seats.

Polling in Uttar Pradesh will take place in all seven phases of polling, starting April 11. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ahmedabad (Gujarat)/New Delhi [India] Mar 30: Astrology is just a finger pointing at reality, the dictum goes, and if the astrological analysis is anything to go by, the future seems bright for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as far as BJP's performance in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls is concerned.

With the elections just around the corner, the constantly building anticipation has reached the doors of stargazers, who are making a slew of predictions for the world's biggest polls starting in just less than three weeks.

While local political parties continue to play a significant role in Indian politics, all eyes are set on Rahul Gandhi's Congress and Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the two have emerged as the lead competitors of the upcoming tug-of-war.

'Who will win the 2019 elections?' is the single most important question dominating the world of these days. Bejan Daruwalla, a well-known Indian astrology columnist, has a simple answer to this- "Modi will steal the show."

Speaking to ANI, Daruwalla said: "This time the struggle will be more and the fight will be tougher. However, Modi will steal the show. If you ask me what kind of qualities Modi possesses, I'll say his best quality is that he can think fast and straight."

Daruwalla, however, added that while Rahul is a good leader, Modi is always one step ahead.

"Rahul is a Gemini, he is clever, he is smart and he means well for the people. Now, I don't want to compare the two, but I have seen, using seven different methods that Modi will win. According to the Chinese concept, that Modi is a tiger and Rahul is a dog. Dog is also good but it always comes below tiger. So, if I had to compare, I would say Modi is ahead. Rahul is good but Modi is better," he asserted.

Not just the planets, even the cards seem to be favouring the incumbent prime minister.

Nandita Panday, a Delhi-based tarot card reader, after carefully studying her cards, made prophecy in favour of the BJP-led NDA.

"Modi is going to have an upper hand as compared to Rahul Gandhi. I have been saying this since 2017 that Rahul will pick up and that has happened. People have started noticing him. But I think he still has a long way to go. In the end, while NDA might have to face strong opposition, in the final outcome it will be NDA," Panday told ANI.

She clearly asserted that unlike 2014 general elections, BJP will not enjoy majority this time and will form the government with a strong alliance. Panday also mentioned that the BJP will get support from the north-eastern states of the country.

She predicts that the BJP will end up with 230 seats and will then need a strong alliance to form a stable government. Independent candidates can play a significant role in the final formation of the government.

"I don't see BJP completely having the majority. It will be the alliance that will form the government. My tarot statistics say that they will get a lot of support from the north-eastern and the eastern states of India," she said.

All these prediction and prophecies are working as an appetiser for the common people of India who are eagerly waiting for the pollings to begin.

Elections in India are not just a decision-making process where people come together to choose their government, it is rather a grand festival, which celebrates the very spirit of a country that is considered to be the world's biggest democracy.

They say numbers speak for themselves, and the saying applies firmly to Indian elections. Around 900 million voters are registered to cast their vote in April and May, and will collectively decide the destiny of India for the next five years.

While planets, stars and the deck of cards have already picked their side, these 900 million people are yet to cast their votes and decide the outcome of the upcoming elections.

The fate of the Indian politicians will be decided on the basis of their performance during their previous tenure and their promises for the future. Their hard work will win them power and their shortcomings will make them lose. As Cassius conveyed to his friend Brutus in William Shakespeare's classic 'Julius Caesar', "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maharashtra State Congress Committee on Saturday stepped up its attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it released a booklet containing "100 Mistakes" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to him as the BJP's 'shishupal' (mythological character).

In its booklet, Congress stated that the dream of 'Acche Din' collapsed fatally in every sector and aspect. The common man was taken for a ride on the pretext of false promises, it added.

"Though the BJP government was in clear majority in 2014, they were unsuccessful in governing with diligence. Now is the time, the common man must elect their representatives on the basis of truth. For this, the mistakes done by the Modi government should be accounted for," the Congress stated in its booklet.

Elaborating on the term 'shishupal', the Maharashtra Congress said: "Narendra Modi often quotes from ancient Indian epics. One such important character is Shishupal from Mahabharat. Lord Shri Krishna had promised his aunt (mother of Shishupal) that he will forgive Shishupal for his first 100 mistakes. However, after that there will be no forgiveness. Similar is the case with the Modi government. The citizens of this country have overlooked 100 mistakes in the last five years."

The Congress also highlighted the Rafale fighter jets deal as a mistake and alleged irregularities in the deal.

"The Indian government signed a contract with the France Government in 2016 to purchase the Rafale Fighter Aircraft. According to this agreement, the Modi government countered Rs. 58 Thousand Crores for 36 aircrafts. This deal was signed with triple amount compared to the Congress-led coalition government. Apart from that, why pressure was made by Modi on France to make Anil Ambani the Offset Partner of Dassault Aviation?"

Calling the Prime Minister a looter, the Congress stated, "On the one hand, the Indian government company , Hindustan Aeronautics has earned its name across the globe for making aircraft, while on the other hand, Reliance has zero experience in the production of the defense sector. Moreover, this company had got into this sector a few months ago before Modi made a contract. Therefore, there is a suspicion behind changing the previous contract to save friend's business from dark shadows. Prime Minister, in fact, is a looter in this loot who extends crores of Rupees of the nation to benefit only his multi-millionaire friend."

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Nishad party chief Sanjay Nishad and sitting Member of Parliament (MP) from Gorakhpur Praveen Nishad have left for New Delhi to meet Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Nishad said, "We are going to Delhi to meet Amit Shah and speak about my party's issues. It is a big party and under them, voices of the small parties could be heard."

Sanjay also said seat-sharing will be discussed after talks with the BJP chief.

Praveen Nishad, on the other hand, claimed that his party allied with SP and BSP last year, but has been neglected since then.

On Friday, Nishad Party severed ties with the S-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. They also met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow later that day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Malakand Levies force personnel has been accused by his wife of torturing her and cutting off her hair for not covering her head during a family function earlier this month.

An FIR has been lodged against the personnel at the Mathra police station here, according to Daily Times.

The woman has alleged that the incident occurred when she was attending her husband's cousin's wedding. The 'dupatta', or the long scarf typically worn by women in South Asia, slipped off her head while greeting relatives at the do, which apparently angered her husband.

Upon reaching home, the husband was physically violent towards the wife, following which he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off all her hair as "punishment."

"There was no one else in the room except my three-year-old child and so he continued beating me," a police official quoted the woman as saying.

The husband then threatened to kill the woman if she shared details regarding the brutal act of domestic violence with anybody.

This led to the delay in the incident being brought to the police's attention, according to the survivor.

The police have said that the accused will be arrested soon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court here on Saturday framed charges against all 21 accused persons in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

Special POCSO judge Saurabh Kulshreshta will hold a trial for rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation, cruelty and various other charges under POCSO, Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Juvenile Justice Act against all the accused persons.

After pronouncing the charges, Special Judge Kulshreshta posted the matter for further proceeding on Monday.

Aparna Bhatt is acting as the amicus curiae in the case.

Key accused Brajesh Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as officials of Bihar's Department of Social Welfare, have been charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report an assault on the girls.

Thakur has been charged under Section 5 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act to which minimum punishment is five years while maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

He has also been charged under 376C(2) (punishment of sexual assault by a person placed in charge of a shelter home) of the IPC.

Advocated Promod Dubey appeared on the behalf of Thakur in the court.

Thakur along with Ravi Roushan, Ramanuj Thakur, Ashwani Kumar and Shahista Parween alias Madhu was present during the hearing. He was also charged with the offense of cruelty to a child under their authority under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI names 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the shelter home funded by Bihar government where minor girls--44--were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The bench while transferring the trial to the Saket District Court, had said that it should be heard by a judge dealing with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases since the victims are minors.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The head of the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, Vagif Dyargykhly, said today that chaos reigns among the Armenian authorities, as the republics top officials are making conflicting political steps. Thus he commented on the provocative words of Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan, who addressed the Armenian diaspora in New York saying that Yerevan would change the formula of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement peace in exchange for territories with a new war for new territories.

Being well aware of the deplorable situation in the Armenian army, Tonoyan tries to hide it from the leadership and the public in various ways. At the same time, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, holding a meeting with the army leadership behind the closed doors, recognized that the Armenian armed forces are governed by the laws of the underworld, and this is a serious problem for the country. Things reached the point that Pashinyan already expressed serious concern about the riot of the soldiers in Meghri, noting the increase in non-combat losses in the rear units, while also informing the public about cases of corruption, theft and bribery in the defense ministry and the Armenian General Staff,  Dyargyhly said about the situation in the Armenian army.President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday unveiled the plaque of the Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium at Gabriel Rene Moreno University here to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the leader, who in India is regarded as the "Father of the Nation."

Addressing the gathering, President Kovind said: "Mahatma Gandhi is not merely a great figure from our past. He is a guide for our today and a beacon for our tomorrow."

"Father of India honoured in #Bolivia! To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an auditorium in the Autonomous University of Gabriel Rene Moreno in Santa Cruz was named after him during President of India's address to student community there!" Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted.

"Gandhiji remains extremely relevant to 21st-century global concerns. In his advocacy of sustainability, ecological sensitivity and living in harmony with nature, he anticipated some of the pressing challenges of our times. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations are Gandhian philosophy in action," President Kovind was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

"It is almost natural to invoke the Mahatma in any discussion on climate change action. India's role in the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an international organisation co-conceived and head-quartered in our country, too is reflective of Mahatma Gandhi," he added.

President Kovind further noted that India is the first major economy that is seeking to make a leap for industrialisation while combating climate change and reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. India has set a target of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022, of which 100 gigawatts will comprise solar energy.

Earlier on Friday (local time), President Kovind addressed India-- Bolivia Business Forum along with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales organised by groups of Bolivian Chambers of Industries, Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Around 30 Indian companies from gold, mining, infra, IT, automobile energy participated.

In the wake of growing threats and acts of terrorism across the world, India and Bolivia have called for early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

On the same day, India and Bolivia signed eight Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in diverse sectors, including culture, diplomatic visa, diplomatic academies, mining, space, traditional medicine, Bi-Oceanic Railway project, and ISA.

President Kovind is currently in Bolivia on the second leg of his three-nation tour to Croatia, Bolivia, and Chile from March 25 to April 4.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP on Saturday expelled Putul Singh, wife of former late Union Minister Digvijay Singh, from the primary membership of the party for six years for filing her nomination as an independent from Banka Lok Sabha constituency against the NDA's official candidate.

"Through newspapers and various others sources, it is known that you have filed nomination as an Independent candidate from Banka Lok Sabha constituency against the official NDA candidate. This comes under the indiscipline and hence the party has taken it seriously. Hence, you are expelled from the primary membership of the party for six years," reads the office order.

Banka Lok Sabha constituency is currently held by the RJD's Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav who defeated Putul Singh of BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Putul Singh had won the seat in 2010 by-poll as an Independent candidate after the death of her husband Digvijay Singh. Digvijay Singh had won as an Independent candidate in 2009 after the JDU denied him the ticket.

Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The dates of polling in Bihar are April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Addressing growing dissent over new censorship law, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday (local time) said Russia would not impose regulations as China.

"Of course, we will not have such regulation as in China. I will even say more -- even in China this regulation often does not bring, perhaps, the results to which it was originally oriented. Moreover, we do not strive for such regulation, no firewall appears here", Sputnik quoted Medvedev as saying.

The Russian Government recently passed a new censorship law that allows it to target individuals and website for spreading fake news and disrespecting state symbols.

Clarifying that recent law was aimed to make Russians internet sustainable, he said, "We need to protect our interests, not so that we don't disconnect something, but so that we are not disconnected. That is also possible. After all, the Internet is not just a stream of news, it is a huge number of technologies, it is an industrial Internet, a medical Internet. And what if at some point we find ourselves being cut off from another ".

China government has always been criticised over its censorship over the internet. That includes cracking down on foreign internet products, including blocks on Instagram and WhatsApp in recent years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Sindhi Congress (WSC), which represents the interest of the Sindhi People, has formally asked the United Nations to send a fact-finding team to Pakistan to investigate the ongoing human rights violations in Sindh province of Pakistan and to clear the way for formal United Nations intervention in the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Sindh.

Lakhu Luhana, the secretary general of London-based Sindhi Congress said, "Sindhi people are currently facing the worst atrocities in their history. Enforced disappearances are occurring on an average of 10 persons per month, violence against religious minorities has reached unprecedented levels - in last 2 months 13 underage girls from the most vulnerable Sindhi Hindu community have been abducted and forcibly converted".

He laid stress on an urgent visit of UN fact-finding mission to Sindh where the people are facing persecution in the hands of state agencies.

Lakhu Luhana added, "The resources of Sindh, rather sustaining the life of Sindhi people, are being looted illegally and immorally. Sindhi people are not only dying of force-induced hunger and disease but now by enforced disappearances as well".

"Sindhi people seem to have no hope for any remedy or justice from the state of Pakistan and its institutions in spite of a continuous democratic struggle of decades. It is a critical situation requiring urgent international intervention. Therefore, Sindhi people request the UN to send a Fact-Finding Commission to Sindh to investigate and gather data and evidence of unprecedented onslaught on political, economic, social, cultural and human rights including the right to live of Sindhi people", said Lakhu Luhana who continues to highlight the atrocities of Sindhi people at the UN Human Rights Council Sessions in Geneva.

On Friday in Karachi city - another NGO which highlights the plight of the minorities in Sindh the People's Human Rights Organisations held a press conference to raise the issue of protection of minorities.

Addressing the media Ihsan Ali, Chairman People's Human Rights Organisation said Sindh government has failed to protect the human rights of the Hindu minority.

Further, he added that unfortunately, the State was turning a blind eye to the people of Sindh especially the Hindu minority.

Ihsan Ali said People's Human Rights Organisation wants to share its apprehensions on the very disappointing situation for the Hindu community which has been subjected to untold misery in the two months of February and March 2019.

The Sindh Assembly had unanimously passed the Sindh Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill 2015 on November 24. Under the bill, anyone found involved in a forced conversion could face a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison along with a fine. However, the bill was never implemented.

The Pakistan People's Human Rights organisation expressed concern that if the bill to protect minorities was amended or abrogated under pressure from extremist religious parties, it would increase the sense of insecurity among non-Muslims, adding that the human rights situation for all minorities was very grave in Sindh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A senior official from the South Korean Presidential Office on Saturday left for Washington to of the summit between the two countries scheduled to be held next month.

Yonhap reported that deputy chief of South Korean Presidential Office, Kim Hyun-chong, headed to meet the White House National Security Council and Congressional officials.

United States President Donald Trump will be meeting his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in for a summit on April 11 at the White House, amidst an impasse with North Korea on denuclearisation following the Hanoi summit held last month.

"The trip is aimed at discussing the agenda for the imminent visit to the U.S. by the president," the South Korean official was quoted as saying.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since last month's summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi ended abruptly.

The South Korean President had an emergency telephonic conversation with Trump after the US-North Korea summit ended abruptly on February 28 without any joint agreement.

North Korea sought partial relief in sanctions at the summit in Vietnam, according to Pyongyang's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. The US, however, has held on to its stand to ease sanctions only when complete denuclearisation is reached.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Telugu Desam Party (TDP) state president K Kala Venkat Rao hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring the development of Andhra Pradesh.

In an open letter written to Prime Minister Modi, State Minister for Energy Rao said, " You (PM Modi) have done nothing on the basis of which you can ask for votes. You have deceived people of Andhra Pradesh. You have been reiterating that we (TDP) don't cooperate. We are not corrupt like YSRCP, with whom have cordial relations."

He further accused the Prime Minister of conspiring with Telangana Chief Minister KCR and YSRCP chief Jagan Reddy to remove names of TDP sympathizers from the voter list.

Calling Union Minister Nitin Gadkari "Minister cum contractor", Rao said, "Can you (Modi) at least ask your Minister cum contractor Nitin Gadkari that how to complete Polavaram project."

Polavaram Project is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP state president also accused the Prime Minister of protecting the corrupt people.

"Is it your progress that you have protected all the corrupt people in the last five years?" he questioned.

The elections to the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly are scheduled to be held on April 11 simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The United Kingdom (UK) has opposed the easing of sanctions on North Korea as per the country's Ambassador to the United Nations, Karen Pierce.

She told NHK that maintaining pressure on the reclusive state is necessary, despite China and Russia wanting to ease sanctions.

"The Russians and the Chinese want to get sanctions relief for North Korea," she said, adding that Britain is monitoring Russian ships which are helping transfer oil and other goods to North Korea "illegally" despite sanctions.

The British Ambassador also highlighted that North Korean labourers working overseas, who reportedly earn the US $ 800 million per year, need to be sent back home.

Pierce said that she would call on China, Russia, and other countries "to take action by the end of this year to send those labourers home."

The new development comes after the United States refused to ease sanctions on North Korea during the Hanoi summit last month. This led to the second US-North Korea talks ending abruptly, without a joint agreement, in Vietnam.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had reportedly asked for a sanction waiver in exchange for dismantling of Yongbyon nuclear complex, which the United States rejected, maintaining its stand of granting relief once complete denuclearisation is achieved.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Voters in Ukraine will cast votes on Sunday to elect their sixth president from 39 candidates in the fray.

Polls on Sunday will commence around 8 am and close at 8 pm. The counting will take place on Monday. Around 35 million people are eligible to vote.

The vote will be monitored by observers from 18 countries as well as 139 Ukrainian civil society organisations, according to Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC).

This would be a test for President Petro Poroshenko who is facing anti-incumbency. Recently, several people hit the streets to protest against Poroshenko. Even the latest surveys show that another contender Volodymr Zelensky is leading the race with 20.6 percent.

Numbers of voters who will come to cast vote is also debatable, among the eligible voters, millions are in Russia-annexed Crimea and Ukraine.

Ukraine is a war-torn country which is struggling with corruption. According to the United Nations, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the war that broke out in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions between Moscow-backed rebels and Kiev following Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)It's 8 p.m. and Kushi Ram, a resident of Baraulia village, is preparing to go to go to save his farm from the menace of the stray cattle that damage his crops.

In the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' season, the farmers of Amethi seem to be the new watchmen thanks to growing menace of stray cattle.

Showing the hoof marks in his filed, Kushi Ram told this visiting IANS correspondent: "The hoofmarks of the cattle point to the damage to the crop. They ate up all the wheat I had sown. I had to sow all over again."

Surekha Devi, another resident of the Baraulia village, said that she was building a temporary fence of Babool tree branches and twigs around her field.

She said that the thorny plants make the process arduous. "If I don't put up the fence, there will be no wheat to even consume for my five-member family," she said, adding: "I want to protect my crops, so there is little choice. I cannot afford a barbed wire fence."

Venugopal Das, a Dalit from Nara village in the district in the Musafirkhana area of Amethi, blamed the Yogi Adityanath government for the menace.

"They should have made some arrangements against the stray cattle," rued Das, adding that the problem lay in farmers pushing their non-milch cows out of their villages.

The farmers of Amethi, cutting across political lines and castes, claim the menace of stray cattle had worsened after March 2017 when BJP-led Yogi Adityanath assumed office in Uttar Pradesh.

Das pointed out that owing to the fear of vigilante groups, the collapse of local cattle markets and fairs, fall in the value of non-milch cows and bullocks and the campaign against illegal slaughterhouses has led to a situation where both men and women with lathis in their hands are forced to guard their crops during the day and night or stay on the machans built on their fields.

Pointing to his fields, Jagadish Singh asked: "Can you see any crops here? They have been completely destroyed. Now I fear for feeding my family for the rest of the year."

Singh has seven members in his family. He said he produced around 200 quintals of rice and around 120 quintals of wheat from the land. "But as the entire wheat crop has been destroyed I have suffered a huge loss this season," he lamented.

A resident of Dadra village, Bajrangi, confessed he pushed out a male calf earlier this year as he did not have enough feedstock. "I could not feed it, so what to do? I had no option put to push him into another village," he said.

Farmers at the local market said there has been a drastic fall in the sale of non-milch cows and bullocks as there are no takers.

Ali Rehman of Korwa village in Amethi said that it was good that cow slaughter came to a halt but an alternate system should have been put in place to prevent vigiliantism.

"We have seen the news and read in the newspapers how people were lynched on suspicion of transporting the cattles to slaughter houses," Ali said.

He complained that the state government's plan to build shelters for stray cattle is a non-starter.

While travelling through Amethi, several such shelter houses were found incomplete with just a shed and without any fences. One also found several shelters being run by farmers through crowd funding.

On Friday, during Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's trip to Faizabad and Rae Bareli, several farmers complained about the menace of the stray cattle, adding they had now become the chowkidars of their fields through the day and night.

In turn, Priyanka urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay heed to the grievances of the farmers.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

--IANS

aks/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Today, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry commented on the statement made by Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan, who said at a meeting with the Armenian diaspora in New York, that Yerevan will use the formula new war for new territories instead of the formula peace in exchange for territories proposed by the mediators.

This statement by the Minister of Defense of Armenia, made immediately after the meeting of the Prime Minister of Armenia with the President of Azerbaijan in Vienna, which resulted in a Joint Statement on the need to create a favorable environment for peace and the adoption of results-oriented steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict, is frankly provocative in nature and opposes the efforts of the international community in the face of the OSCE MG Co-Chairs for the peaceful settlement of the conflict ", the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan drew attention.

We are bringing to the notice of the Armenian side that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan are among the most powerful armies in the world and are able to liberate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as soon as possible based on the relevant provisions of the international law on self-defense, the Azeri Foreign Ministry recalled, adding that Azerbaijan has no territorial claims against other states and does not plan to occupy anybodys land.

In accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council, Azerbaijan demands the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying troops of Armenia from the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan. All efforts of Azerbaijan with the support of the international community are aimed at achieving this goal. Otherwise, Azerbaijan is ready to liberate its territories from the Armenian occupation by any other means, guided by the relevant norms and principles of the international law, as well as the UN Charter, and Armenia is well aware of this, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stressed.

In conclusion, we would like to hear the comment of the top leadership of Armenia in the context of the statement by its defense minister: did the minister make speech with the consent of the leadership of Armenia or was it ministerial improvisation designed to cast doubt at least on the essence of the talks and the joint statement, adopted on their basis, the Azerbaijani diplomats concluded.A Canadian artist is building a wall of cheese near the border that separates the US and Mexico in Tecate, California, as a way of denouncing the "waste" represented by the barrier that American President Donald Trump wants to construct.

While the Trump administration is trying to use billions of taxpayer money to build the wall, the artist, Cosimo Cavallaro, is relying on GoFundMe to acquire enough blocks of expired cheese from the Mexican state of Michoacan to complete his structure, which stands nearly 5 ft tall.

"Art unites people," the 58-year-old told Efe news on Friday.

Cavallaro quipped that he would be delighted to receive a donation from Trump, who made the promise of a border wall, the centerpiece of his 2016 election campaign.

"I can see the waste in this. It's a little bit of a waste to acknowledge a waste," the artist said of his project.

Beyond the political statement, the main objective of the sculptor and filmmaker is to convey a message of solidarity among people.

Cavallaro said that when he first arrived in Tecate, the sight of the reinforced fence topped with barbed wire left him with a "very ugly and depressive" vibe, evocative of a "concentration camp environment".

US Border Patrol agents are in the area, but they have not interfered with Cavallaro's project.

The artist's intention is to have the wall extend roughly 300 metres along the border, but the project's final shape depends on how many people donate at his GoFundMe page.

Each block of cheese costs roughly $100.

This is not the first time that Cavallaro has made art from perishable items.

His previous works include a figure of Jesus Christ made from chocolate and a bed of ham.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China has decided to promote a package for breast cancer prevention and treatment standards across the country, hoping to prolong patients' survival and narrow the diagnosis and treatment gap between urban and rural areas.

A series of guidelines, covering breast cancer screening, early diagnosis and treatment and rational drug use to follow-up treatment and management of concomitant diseases, were released on Saturday at a conference, jointly organised by the National Cancer Center (NCC), the Cancer Foundation of China, the Beijing Breast Disease Society and others, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The NCC data, released in March 2018, showed the breast cancer mortality in China accounted for 16.5 per cent of all cancers in women. However, the cure rate has been improving steadily with the five-year survival rate reaching 83.2 per cent between 2010 and 2014, up 7.3 per cent since 2000.

As survival time has been stretched, more patients have entered a chronic disease period, according to the guidelines for breast cancer follow-up and overall management of concomitant diseases, the first of its kind in China, by the NCC.

Common concomitant diseases of breast cancer, include cardiovascular diseases, abnormal bone metabolism and depression. "Among elder patients, cardiovascular diseases have caused even more deaths than cancer," said Ma Fei, Executive Chairman of the conference and NCC expert.

Under the dual effects of ovarian dysfunction and drugs, postmenopausal patients suffer a distinct drop in estrogen levels, which often causes an abnormal lipid amount in the blood and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, Ma said.

In addition, a large number of patients will continue to receive endocrine therapy for 5-10 years after cancer treatment, which is often accompanied by abnormal bone metabolism, osteoporosis and fractures.

The guidelines require doctors, through inter-disciplinary collaborations, to take into consideration a patient's blood lipid level and bone density before advising endocrine therapy. It also suggests doctors should intervene to help patients quit smoking and alcohol as well as avoid falls and serious body impacts.

According to Ma Fei, the guidelines is an important step to change the disease-centred diagnosis and treatment model into a patient-centred one. "The patients should not only live longer, but also live well," he said.

China issued the blueprint for health care development "Healthy China 2030" in 2016, aiming to raise the 5-year cancer survival rate by 15 percentage points by 2030.

As for breast cancer, the five-year survival rate varies in different areas. The eastern coastal cities report a survival rate of 90 per cent, roughly the same level as in developed Western countries, while the inland and rural area rates are lower at 70-80 per cent.

Moreover, the incidence of breast cancer in China is still growing 3-4 per cent a year, which is higher than the global average.

"To improve the breast cancer cure rate, early diagnosis and treatment are important. At present, not more than 20 per cent breast cancer cases are detected at an early stage, and less than 5 per cent are found by screening," Ma said.

China started free breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings among rural women in 2009. But for selection of screening techniques, especially when targeting different age groups, there is no single standard. The lack of screening professionals has also resulted in high rates of false or missed diagnosis.

The NCC also released guidelines for screening, early diagnosis and treatment, which defines the screening targets and methods as well as early diagnosis and treatment paths.

European and American countries recommend mammography as the major screening method. But according to a research, more than half of patients in China worry about the procreation problem, very few ask to adjust their treatment plans.

The consensus suggests young patients should all receive genetic counselling regardless of their family history.

"The consensus fills in the gap in helping protect the reproductive health of cancer patients and provides practical operational instructions for medical institutions at all levels, marking a new step toward establishing an overall management system for breast cancer in China," Ma said.

--IANS

rs/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)As the General Election whirlwind across the country gets stronger by the day, court hurdles, police cases, Election Commission notices and faux pas are landing a number of Lok Sabha candidates in West Bengal in a tight spot ahead of the polls.

While an aspiring MP has been barred by the court from entering his own constituency due to a number of criminal cases against him, another has been flayed by the EC for making provocative statements about the role of the central forces.

Another candidate, an actress turned politician, has recently grabbed the headlines for her gaffe about a specific community during a public meeting.

A former Trinamool Congress MP, Saumitra Khan, who has been fielded from Bankura district's Bishnupur constituency by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been barred from entering the district for six weeks by Calcutta High Court due to ongoing criminal cases against him.

Khan, who is apprehending arrest in three cases, was, however, granted interim and conditional anticipatory bail by the High Court in one of the cases last month.

After Khan joined the BJP, the three criminal cases were lodged against him in three different police stations of Bankura.

In the first case, three complaints were lodged by three separate persons - two by local youths and the other by the Bankura Trinamool Congress president - alleging that during his tenure as an MP, Khan had received Rs 3 lakh from each of them for promising them jobs as assistant teachers in state-aided schools in Bankura.

The second complaint related to illegal lifting of sand from the Kangshabati riverbank and selling it to various traders, while the Bankura town police lodged the third case alleging an unlicensed revolver was recovered from his home when the police raided it last month.

The court order has virtually restricted the candidate from campaigning in his constituency till May 8. The poll will be held in Binshnupur on May 12.

Veteran actress and Trinamool Congress nominee from Asansol Lok Sabha constituency Moon Moon Sen stirred a controversy earlier this week by terming the Bihari population in Bengal as "good police informers" while campaigning at a party meeting in Amritnagar in her constituency.

"Biharis who used to work as informers of Kolkata police had good reputation. Earlier, they were seen wearing dhotis and kurtas, sitting in police jeeps, but this is missing now. As a result, police officers face problems," she had said.

The comment stunned the locals in the colliery belt of Asansol, that has a considerable non-Bengali, particularly Bihari, population.

Sitting MP and BJP candidate Union Minister Babul Supriyo was quick to pounce on her faux pas. He took to the social media to condemn the "derogatory remark" and said such comments show the true colours of the Trinamool Congress.

Though the local Trinamool leaders stepped in for damage control, the party has so far made no official statement on this issue.

Meanwhile, a seasoned politician and BJP contestant from North 24 Parganas district's Basithat raised many eyebrows when he asked the central forces to shoot people in the chest if they tried to capture booths on the polling day.

The BJP leader also threatened to confine the state police at the pollce station accusing them of working for the state's ruling regime at every given opportunity.

"On the day of the election, if you come to capture polling booths, ...I will tell the CRPF that the bullet should hit your chest, and not your legs," Basu thundered at one of his public meetings in the minority dominated constituency, which saw communal tension in 2017.

He warned that there would be so much "excesses" that the miscreants "will not go running, but return lying on the bed...We will make such arrangements."

The Election Commission has sought a report while local police have registered a suo-motu case against the leader for his inflammatory comments.

The chances of medical practitioner and Congress turncoat Rezaul Karim to contest in the 2019 polls have become doubtful after his resignation was not accepted by the state health department.

It has been noted that a departmental inquiry is on against Karim, contesting on a CPI-M ticket from Birbhum Lok Sabha seat, for taking part in a rally a few months back.

(Milinda Ghosh Roy can be reached at milinda.r@ians.in)

--IANS

mgr/ssp/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In wake of Friday's defeat of the Brexit deal in the British House of Commons, the European Commission has said the EU is now "fully prepared" for a no-deal Brexit.

The European Union "regrets the negative vote in the House of Commons", the European Commission was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Friday.

"It will be for the UK to indicate the way forward before that date, for consideration by the European Council," it said in a statement, adding, "a no-deal scenario on April 12 is now a likely scenario".

"EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a "no-deal" scenario at midnight on April 12," it said.

"The EU will remain united. The benefits of the Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, will in no circumstances be replicated in a 'no-deal' scenario. Sectoral mini-deals are not an option," the Commission stated.

British lawmakers earlier on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, which has already been rejected twice in Parliament since January, Xinhua reported.

After the vote, May said that the implications of the outcome are "grave".

"In view of the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the House of Commons, I have decided to call a European Council on 10 April," Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, wrote on Twitter.

--IANS

vin/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With 27 peacekeepers killed last year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged to strive for making peacekeeping missions safer.

Speaking at the Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting on Friday, he appealed for help from member countries to achieve this goal through contributions of equipment and training programmes.

The UN deployed Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie to bring a celebrity spotlight to its needs and connect to a broader audience. She joined Guterres in appealing for help.

"The need for peacekeeping troops to have the best possible training and equipment and the highest standards of personal conduct becomes obvious," the actress said. "It is in the hands of the governments you represent to enable peacekeeping to live up to its ideals and the needs of our time."

Responding to Guterres's appeal, about 50 countries made pledges to the peacekeeping programme during the meeting and these ranged from deployment of specialised personnel and equipment to training and a US donation of $13 million for a Bangladesh drone project.

Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Mala Dutt, said: "India has committed an infantry battalion as a Rapidly Deployable Battalion, one engineer and signal company, Force Military Police Platoon and three Formed Police Units in UNPCRS (Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System)."

In response to the Guterres's appeal for more women to be deployed as peacekeepers, Dutt said: "We are always prepared to exceed the targets set in this regard, as laid down in Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy. We are also fully prepared to deploy a Female Engagement Team comprising of 22 women officers and soldiers as part of Rapidly Deployable Battalion in MONUSCO by August 2019."

MONUSCO is the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

One of the earliest participants in peacekeeping operations and the country which has historically sent the most number of blue helmets,.

"India has always employed its rich UN peacekeeping experience and expertise to partner with UN and other member states for training and capacity building initiatives," she said.

India has set up the Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) fthat conducts pre-deployment training and it has conducted field training exercises with 18 African nations, Dutt added.

Guterres said: "Making our missions stronger and safer is one of the key elements of my Action for Peacekeeping initiative, together with refocusing peacekeeping with more realistic expectations, and mobilising greater support for political solutions.

"As conflicts become more complex and high-risk, our operations must keep pace."

He added that as a result of the efforts so far, "our missions are more agile and more proactive" with a reduction in casualties.

Since the inception of peacekeeping operations, 1,026 peacekeepers have been killed in action while on UN missions and 16 of them so far this year.

A total of 3,826 peacekeepers have died from various causes while on UN peacekeeping missions, 164 of them Indian.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

al/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India has expressed interest in investing in the lithium industry of Bolivia, home to vast untapped mines of the mineral that is used in rechargeable batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles.

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales held wide ranging talks on ties in sectors like space, mining, information technology, pharmaceutical and traditional medicines, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted on Friday.

This is the first high-level visit by an Indian leader to the country since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Kovind, on a three-nation Latin American tour to strengthen India's ties in trade, investment and renewable energy, told Morales Indian companies with their cutting edge technologies can help Bolivia develop lithium products.

Kovind and Morales also attended the Bolivia-India business forum in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, Efe news reported.

Morales said Bolivia had nearly $4.5 billion guaranteed investments to industrialise lithium with at least 14 processing plants. He said 20 more plants are in the pipeline that will provide "consumables" to the processing industry and seven others to use the byproducts, including those intended to produce medicines.

Kovind also participated in an India-Bolivia business meet where business representatives of the two countries signed $32 million agreements.

Bolivia, earlier in a report, claimed the country had the largest lithium reserves in the world with at least 21 million tons in Uyuni only.

The Morales government in February chose Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group as a strategic partner for several lithium processing projects, for which it is expected to invest $2.3 billion.

Moreover, state-run Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos and Germany's ACI Systems have a joint venture for extracting lithium in Uyuni with an investment of $900 million.

Lithium is mostly used in chargeable batteries whose popularity and usage are also growing in military and aerospace applications.

The collaboration in lithium extraction for multiple industrial usages was one of the common interests of Kovind and Morales, the report said.

The Bolivian President said India ranked third in overall export from Bolivia. Last year, export was worth $723 million, especially in gold and import from India stood at $571 million with a positive balance for the South American nation.

--IANS

soni/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer shot and killed himself with his service rifle on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.

The victim was identified as Sub-Inspector Chander Mani. The incident took place inside a camp in Tangmarg area.

"An FIR has been registered into the incident," the police added.

--IANS

sq/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, the supreme leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday asked the Congress high command to end uncertainty over whether their President Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad, or not.

IUML is the second biggest ally of the Congress-led UDF in Kerala.

"Thangal has today got in touch with the top national Congress leaders to see that the final decision of Gandhi contesting from Wayanad be made without any further delay," strongman and sitting Malappuram Lok Sabha member P.K.Kunhalikutty.

"Our stand on this remains the same, we wholeheartedly welcome Gandhi to Wayanad, now we all wish the decision is made on this quickly, without any more delay," said Kunhalikutty, after a meeting here.

The news that Gandhi will contest from the hilly district of Wayanad in north Kerala has been doing rounds for sometime now.

When the news first broke there was a frenzy among the Congress workers and also the leaders, but with every passing day, that frenzy has turned into desperation, with both, the Left forces and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking pot shots on why no decision has come through.

With the indecision, this has become the topic for trolls, besides cartoons appearing everyday in the vernacular media.

--IANS

sg/in

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A majority of Jet Airways pilots on Saturday said they needed an assurance from the State Bank of India (SBI) over the dues clearance to prevent their going on a mass leave.

A senior pilot told IANS: "We need direct assurance from the new management, which is led by the SBI."

"The assurance should be about the date on which our dues will be paid and clarity regarding the future of the airline. If such an assurance is given, we might rethink the issue of mass leave," the pilot said.

According to other pilots, the airline has less than 30 aircraft in operation and that even the AMEs (aircraft maintenance engineers) are with them on the proposed mass leave issue.

Pilots, including AMEs, have not been paid for the last 4 months.

On Monday, a consortium of banks, led by the SBI, had agreed to infuse extra cash into the company.

A senior NAG (National Aviator's Guild) committee member told IANS in Mumbai: "If such an assurance is given than the committee will ask pilots to take a call -- it will depend on what the majority wants."

On its part, Jet Airways said it has the requisite number of aviators to manage the fleet under operation. "Operations on Monday are unlikely to be impacted," a senior airline official told IANS.

"We have taken a note of the advisory sent by a section of pilots. We are engaged with them and hope to receive their complete support," the official said.

On dues, the official said everyone would be paid, but it might get delayed for few days. "There is a delay due to the March fiscal end, severely compounded by the weekend," he said.

In a statement, the airline said it remained committed to honour its obligations towards all its employees, including pilots and engineers.

"The board along with lenders, are working towards a strong turnaround plan, which will enable the airline to restore normalcy to its operations," the statement said.

The airline also expressed gratitude towards pilots, engineers and members of senior management for their "patience and understanding during these trying times."

The non-cooperation call was made by members of the Jet Airways Pilots' Union, which decided to refrain from operating flights if their dues were not cleared and clarity on the company's resolution plan were not shred with them by March 31.

--IANS

rv/pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said Kia Motors set up its plant in the state despite threats by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He claimed that Modi wanted the South Korean automotive major to set up its car manufacturing plant in Gujarat but the firm did not succumb to his pressure.

Addressing an election rally here, Naidu said Kia Motors came to Andhra because of the incentives he offered to the company.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said this at an election rally here Saturday night, hours after YSR Congress Party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy stated that Kia plant came to Andhra Pradesh because of Modi.

Condemning Jagan's statement, Naidu said the leader of opposition made all attempts to stall the state's development.

The TDP leader reiterated that Jagan has become a puppet in the hands of Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

Naidu termed as "lies" the claims made by Modi at an election rally in Kurnool on Friday about the works sanctioned by the Centre in the state. He alleged that Modi betrayed people of Andhra Pradesh by going back on all the commitments.

--IANS

ms/vin/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Despite the fact that this year marks 80 years since the beginning of the Second World War, the history of this war and the events that preceded it continues to cause a lot of disagreements and disputes, an analyst of the Russian Federal news agency Vestnik Kavkaza, Artem Sokolov said in the National Question program on Vesti FM.

Todays program was dedicated to the problem of historical coverage of national relations in Eastern Europe of the late 30s of the 20th century on the eve of World War II. As an example of the relevance of this topic, Artem Sokolov cited the Israeli-Polish scandal that flared up in late January last year due to the introduction of Warsaw's criminal responsibility for public statements about the involvement of Poles in the Holocaust. A month ago, this topic became relevant once again.

Not so long ago, another wave of tension flared up between Israel and Poland because of the interpretation of the Holocaust history. Warsaw was outraged by the words of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that Poland participated in the extermination of Jews during the Second World War. The Israeli prime minister added that he does not know a single case when a person was brought to justice for such things, Artem Sokolov said.

In 2018, Poland adopted the law prohibiting even in words to impose collective responsibility on Poles for the elimination of Jews by the Nazis. Initially, the law established criminal liability for accusing the country of cooperating with the Nazis during the war years, but after a wave of discontent raised by Israel and the United States, Warsaw amended the law, according to which criminal liability under this article was abolished, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza reminded.

As a result, it turned out that Netanyahus words were incorrectly interpreted by journalists. He spoke precisely about individual Poles, and not about the Polish nation as a whole. The conflict seemed to be handled, but in February of this year Israels acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that every Pole absorbs anti-Semitism with mothers milk. After these words, Poland refused to participate in the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group and Israel, as a result, the summit was canceled, Artem Sokolov noted.

This is rather an indicative story, which once again shows that the topic of the Second World War and the events that preceded it are still very painful for many countries. Of course, it is unlikely that all controversial issues can be settled, but it is also obvious that the dialogue is necessary. This dialogue must be conducted constantly, especially in the scientific community,  he stressed.

Although in Russia, the topic of the Second World War outside the Great Patriotic War is somewhat in the shadow, the work in this direction is still underway. For example, two weeks ago, an international scientific conference entitled "The Second World War of 1939-1945 in the history of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Slavic peoples" was held in Prague. The event was organized by the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Czech Republic together with the Faculty of Public Administration of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Eurasian Research Center of the Minsk branch of the Russian State Social University (RGSU). Scientists from Belarus, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic participated in the conference, the expert said.

The Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences also works in this direction. In particular, last year in Poland, within the Russian-Polish educational project Russia and Poland: Overcoming Historical Stereotypes, the manuals for history teachers were published. This project has been implemented by the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Central and Eastern Europe in the city of Lublin since 2012, Artem Sokolov concluded.President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted the people of Rajasthan on statehood day.

"My best wishes to the state for a bright, prosperous and peaceful future," Kovind tweeted.

Modi too tweeted his greetings. "Greetings to the people of state on Rajasthan Day."

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said: "It is a day to commemorate the valour, strong willpower and sacrifice of the people of Rajasthan. Let us resolve to make our state a haven of happiness, fulfilling aspirations of one and all."

Rajasthan is the largest state in terms of area and was formed on this day in 1949.

--IANS

nks/in

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The #MainBhiChowkidar has been retweeted 3 million times and got 1,680 impressions on Twitter since Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the slogan for the Lok Sabha elections, said Madhya Pradesh BJP General Secretary V.D. Sharma, here on Saturday.

"People are raising their voices against the Opposition bid to spoil Modi's image and 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' is turning into a public movement against it," Sharma said.

Modi would interact with the people regarding this movement on Sunday, he said. "Modi will interact with people via NaMo app at 500 places from 5 p.m. onwards and people will be able to ask questions to him also," said Sharma.

In Bhopal, the programme will be organised at Roshapura Chauraha, he said.

Sharma said: "Modi projected himself as a 'chowkidar' during 2014 election campaign and people witnessed a decline in corruption during his tenure. But the opposition started defaming him with the word 'chowkidar'. To nullify their efforts, Modi started 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign on March 16."

The hashtag has been trending at international level from day one, he said and added through NaMo app and social media more than one crore people have adopted "Main Bhi Chowkidar" resolution.

--IANS

hindi-rs/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "monumental mismanagement" of the economy, the Congress on Saturday said his "reckless decisions", including that of demonetisation and the hasty implementation of a "flawed" GST, had turned it into a "gasping" and "struggling" economy instead of a "galloping" economy.

"The fact is that there has been monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy under his (Modi's) watch. It is not a galloping economy, it is a gasping economy, a struggling economy. The Indian economy has also suffered because of the reckless decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially demonetisation," Congress leader Anand Sharma said in a press conference.

He said that Modi would have to give an account of what he did to the economy and how "tens of millions of jobs were destroyed" by his government post demonetisation.

Sharma added that time has come to punish Modi and his government for mismanaging the economy and "destroying the credibility of Indian data".

"Narendra Modi had made certain promises to the people of India. A betrayed nation is now questioning his betrayal, non-performance, non-delivery and non-creation of two crore jobs per year which has actually put a dark shadow over the future of our young people and their aspirations.

"The farmers are now asking questions about the non-fulfilment of the government's commitment to give 1-1/2 times the price as per the cost of the produce," Sharma said.

He added that the Prime Minister was "running scared" of the real issues but the Congress was determined not to allow him to get away.

"It is important that the Prime Minister comes back to the real issues. We are making it absolutely clear that the Congress will not allow the Prime Minister to hijack the narrative by talking about non-issues and playing with the people's emotions," the Congress leader said.

--IANS

vv/arm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik here on Saturday said the multi-disciplinary terror monitoring group (MDTMG) set up on Friday will help end terrorism in the state.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function, Malik said: "Terror funding and militant sympathisers are everywhere. Unless they are dealt with firmly, militancy cannot be wiped out."

The MDTMG, set up by the central government, would monitor terror activities and funding on a weekly basis.

Asked whether some state government employees were under the lens as sympathisers of militants, the Governor said: "I am talking about all those who are connected with militants and are supporting them as sympathisers."

The MDTMG will have representatives from the J&K Police, the state intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Income Tax department.

--IANS

sq/pgh/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US Attorney General William Barr has told Congress to expect a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation by mid-April, "if not sooner."

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr said in a letter to top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Attorney General also said he's willing to appear before both panels to testify about the Mueller report on May 1 and May 2.

Mueller wrapped up his nearly two-year investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election by submitting a report to Barr last week.

Barr sent Congress and made public a four-page summary on Sunday, stating that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

The special counsel, meanwhile, did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice, according to Barr's synopsis. The attorney general concluded Mueller's findings are "not sufficient" to support a charge.

Democrats are pushing for the complete release of Mueller's report as well as Barr's appearance before Congress to get a clearer picture of the special counsel's investigation.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is released.

He also said there are no plans to submit the report to the White House.

--IANS

vin/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Taking an indirect swipe at CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who will contest for the BJP from Bihar's Begusarai constituency, on Saturday said his fight is against "desh ka gaddar" (traitor).

Addressing the leaders and workers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Begusarai, Singh said: "I am sure that people of Begusarai will not only defeat them (traitors) but also give them a befitting reply."

He insisted that his fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is "not against any party or candidate" but against the anti-nationals.

Without naming opposition leaders including Kanhaiya Kumar, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president, the Union Minister said those demanding proof of IAF's air strike in Pakistan are not connected to reality and have no idea of people's pulse.

"I have come to Begusarai to defeat the traitor... Anti-nationals are dreaming to win the election from Begusarai," he said.

After expressing his unhappiness and reluctance over being given ticket from Begusarai and not Nawada, his traditional constituency, Singh has now been camping there, meeting party workers and supporters in the district.

He is expected to file nomination papers on April 9 in Begusarai.

As per the seat-sharing deal with the other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents in Bihar, the Nawada seat, represented by Giriraj Singh, has gone to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

--IANS

ik/pgh/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Opposition party Naga People's Front (NPF) on Saturday announced to support former Chief Minister and Congress candidate K.L. Chishi in the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland which goes to the polls in the first phase on April 11.

Chishi, 75, the richest candidate in the state with movable and immovable assets worth Rs 36 crore, will fight against sitting MP Tokheho Yepthomi of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), Hayithung Tungoe of the National People's Party (NPP) and Independent candidate M.M. Thromwa Konyak.

On Monday, seven rebel NPF legislators had extended their support to Yepthomi. Yepthomi is the consensus candidate of the ruling NDPP-led People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), which comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal (United) and an Independent member.

NPF President Shurhozelie Liezietsu said on Saturday that the party has decided to lend support to Congress candidate Chishi. The decision was only for the upcoming election, he said.

"The party has agreed to go back the secular forces' candidate (Congress). However, going together in the ensuing elections will not change the party's stand on regionalism, nor will it reflect NPF as an alliance partner with them," Liezietsu said.

--IANS

rrk/arm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A National People's Party (NPP) supporter was killed and another seriously injured by suspected Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isaac Muivah (NSCN-IM) rebels in the Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh.

At Kheti village on Friday night NSCN-IM member Eli Ketok and his group allegedly assaulted Jaley Anna and Khamney Aboh after abducting them from their house.

"Anna succumbed to the beating, while Aboh is in a critical condition," NPP Spokesperson Nima Sangey Saling said.

According to Saling, Anna took the name of Eli Ketok for the assault. He said an FIR has been lodged at the Khonsa police station by Anna's wife Chathien and NPP's district President Naklam Besai.

Condemning the incident, Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP national President Conrad Sangma tweeted: "Saddened to hear that our party worker was killed in Arunachal's Tirap district. May we learn to respect each other and fight election in its true spirit. I extended my condolences to the bereaved family of Jaley Anna."

--IANS

rrk/pgh/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Pakistani journalist associated with Daily Jang newspaper was reportedly abducted from his residence by unidentified masked men here on Saturday, his family said.

Around two dozen people wearing masks scaled the walls of reporter Matloob Husain Mosavi's home in Karachi's Salman Farsi Society early morning and took him away, claimed his brother Minhaj Mosavi.

The brother said the men misbehaved with the family members and locked them in a room before taking away Matloob, Dawn online reported.

Minhaj Mosavi cited his neighbour's accounts that the men had arrived in plain clothes bearing arms in three police vehicles, Toyota Prado and Toyota Vigo.

He said that his brother had no affiliations with political or religious organisations and termed Matloob as a social activist with liberal and progressive opinions.

The family has filed an application at the Al Falah police station.

--IANS

soni/pcj

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's sons Utpal Parrikar and Abhijat Parrikar have said that they would "honour his (Parrikar's) life by continuing his legacy of service and dedication to the State and the Nation".

The public statement comes amid speculation that the late Chief Minister's elder son Utpal Parrikar is likely to join active

In a joint letter, which was released to the media via the Chief Minister's Office, both the brothers have also said that BJP karyakartas (cadres) were much closer to Parrikar than the two brothers and the bond, the letter says, became evident when the former Defence Minister passed away on March 17 following a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.

"We will honour his life by continuing his legacy of service and dedication to the State and the Nation," the Parrikar brothers said in their open letter of appreciation, which expresses gratitude to the Goa government, the Central government, foreign diplomatic missions, the Indian armed forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, doctors who attended to the late Chief Minister, as well as the host of VIPs who attended Parrikar's funeral on March 18.

"We express our gratitude to the Governemnt of Goa, Government of India, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, BJP, coalition allies and members of other political parties," the letter stated.

"Above all we express our sincere gratitude to the thousands of karyakartas for their love and affection. You have been his pillars of strength throughout. We always knew that you and the people of Goa meant much more to him than even us and this bond was evident when he passed away," the letter said.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Utpal Parrikar, who has been tipped to take over Manohar Parrikar's political legacy, said that he would decide about joining in due time.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Belgrade cannot yet formally recognize Crimea as Russias territory, since that would jeopardize the resolution of the Kosovo status issue, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the Rossiya 24 TV channel, TASS reports.

According to the Serbian president, Crimeas recognition as part of Russia could be used by Western countries as a pretext to strip Serbia of its rights to Kosovo. "If we did it today [recognized Crimea as part of Russia], they would draw a parallel with Kosovo. They would say that, in accordance with that principle, Kosovo is likewise independent, and we no longer have the right to fight for it," he explained.

Vucic stressed though that this approach did not affect relations between Belgrade and Moscow. "Our close ties with Russia are not questioned by anyone. It is a question of political strategy and tactics, which implies that we have no right to endanger our vital state and national interests," he said.

"I believe that any normal person in Russia and any other country understands that," Vucic concluded.The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned the US against further interfering in Venezuela's domestic affairs and stirring up speculations about Russia conducting military operations in the South American country.

"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, strangling its economy and pushing it towards civil war, which is in open violation of international law," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

She reiterated that Russia is not intentionally building up its military presence in Venezuela, despite such accusations by the West including Washington.

Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela on March 23, carrying nearly 100 troops and 35 tons of materials, according to media reports.

Moscow has repeatedly said that the existence of Russian troops in Venezuela is in line with the bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation.

"The speculations about the conduct of certain 'military operations' by Russia in Venezuela are absolutely groundless," Zakharova said.

Meanwhile, the diplomat said that US attempts to scare Russia with sanctions for its legitimate cooperation with Venezuela look ridiculous.

She ascribed America's "nervousness" about Russian presence in Venezuela to Washington's failure to impeach incumbent President Nicolas Maduro.

Nevertheless, Russia will make efforts to facilitate a dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, Zakharova added.

"We call on all Venezuelan political forces, which place the interests of their homeland above their own ambitions, to engage in dialogue. We are ready to promote it in every possible way," she said.

Venezuela has been plunged into a political crisis since late January when the opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the country's interim president and was recognized by the US and some other countries.

--IANS

vin/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actress Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of former Bharatiya Janta Party leader Shatrughan Sinha, supports her father's decision to quit the ruling party and has said that it was time to move on.

She in fact feels that what he did was a bit too late.

Talking about her father's decision to quit the BJP, the actress said: "It's his decision and I feel if you are not happy the way things are taking place, then it's necessary to bring the change and that's what he did.

"I hope with his new association with the Congress, he will be able to do a lot more good and not feel suppressed."

Sonakshi said her father enjoyed a lot of respect within the BJP and that even party stalwarts who had been with her father from early times had not been given the respect they deserved.

"So, it was time to move on. Actually he has done it bit too late. He should have done it a long back," Sonakshi told the media at the Hindustan Times Most Stylish Awards 2019 on Friday here.

Shatrughan Sinha's exit from the BJP came days after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was declared the party's candidate from Bihar's Patna Sahib, which was Sinha's constituency for 10 years.

Sonakshi was asked whether her father was disappointed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for not being treated with respect.

Sinha, a vocal critic of the BJP since he was denied a cabinet post in 2014, has questioned the party over demonetization and denial of ticket to veteran leader L.K. Advani to contest the elections.

Sinha is expected to join the Congress on April 6.

--IANS

iv/in/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The All India Trinamool Congress on Saturday launched a new video series on social media using the hashtag 'Pradhan Mantri Hisab Do'.

The party shared on AITC Twitter handle the first video, which highlights two stark pictures from Haryana and West Bengal.

The one-minute video first shows a girl from Haryana's Rewari village wanted to study but had to quit as there is no school in her village.

"I had to walk 14-15 km so I quit school. The central government talks about 'Beti Padhao' (educating daughters) but they couldn't build a school here," the girl complains in the video.

She then asks: 'Hai iska koi hisab?'(Can this be accounted for?).

After which, the video highlights the development work done in West Bengal.

It underlines the state government's 'Sobuj Saathi' scheme for distribution of bicycles to students of class IX to XII studying in government schools.

A woman from rural Bengal is seen explaining how the bicycle her daughter got from the state government as part of the scheme, conceived by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is enabling her to attend school regularly, even though it's quite far away.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump's administration announced that it would award a $1.7 million family planning grant to a chain of crisis pregnancy centres that oppose abortion and dont offer contraceptives.

The Obria group, which considers itself the "pro-life" version of Planned Parenthood, said on Friday that it will receive a grant to provide family planning services in California, The Hill magazine reported.

The administration's decision to fund Obria is a signal of its desire to shift family planning funds toward faith-based groups that oppose abortion and away from groups like Planned Parenthood, which is the largest single provider of reproductive health services, including abortion, in the US.

"Many women want the opportunity to visit a professional, comprehensive health care facility - not an abortion clinic - for their health care needs; this grant will give them that choice," Kathleen Eaton Bravo, founder and CEO of the Obria Group, said in a statement.

The group says it offers pregnancy testing and counselling, prenatal care, HIV/AIDS testing, ultrasound, cancer testing, well-woman care, pap smears, STD testing and treatment, adoption referral and post-abortion support.

Julie Rabinovitz, president and CEO of Essential Access Health, which will receive $21 million in 2019 to provide family planning services in California, said she is concerned about Obria entering the programme because it doesn't provide a comprehensive range of contraception options.

Also on Friday, the administration cut funds to some Planned Parenthood affiliates.

Planned Parenthood said the four affiliates that were "stripped of funding" served Hawaii, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia, attending to more than 40,000 patients.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A US woman who was kidnapped with her former husband in Afghanistan told a Canadian court that he was controlling and violent towards her before, during and after their five-year hostage ordeal.

Caitlan Coleman, 33, gave testimony for a second day on Friday at the trial of her ex-husband Joshua Boyle, 35 who faces 19 criminal charges, including sexual assault, unlawful confinement and uttering death threats, reports the Guardian.

Coleman was pregnant when she and Boyle were kidnapped by the Haqqani Network terror group while backpacking in Afghanistan in 2011. They spent five years as hostages, and had three children together before they were rescued by the Pakistani military.

Coleman testified that during their captivity, Boyle dictated all aspects of her life.

His behaviour "was just like my captors", she told the court.

"I was never to disagree with him, even on small things," she told the court. "In the past, he made it clear he didn't feel any guilt hurting me."

Coleman, who travelled from Pennsylvania where she currently lives with her family, spoke through video link in an adjoining room in order to avoid being in the same room as Boyle.

Coleman described a pattern of abusive behaviour that culminated in a vicious assault after the couple had returned to Canada.

She told the court she felt "very, very frightened" during the November 27 incident.

In her previous testimony, Coleman had described a "roller- coaster" relationship with Boyle, whom she met at age 16 in a Star Wars-themed online chatroom.

Coleman told the court that the abuse continued in Afghanistan, where the final two years of captivity were the worst. He would choke and bite her as punishment.

During their five years as prisoners in Afghanistan, the couple and their children are believed to have been shuttled between more than 20 locations.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay) promised by the Congress ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections could make a difference to its fortunes in most of what have been identified as aspirational districts. The party claims it to be the "ultimate cure" for poverty in the country.

Nyay - the minimum income guarantee scheme announced by Congress President Rahul Gandhi - promises an income support of Rs 6,000 a month to every family among the poorest 20 per cent.

The poverty line has been defined differently over the years and a large section of the poor live in 115 aspirational districts of the country

Identification of poor is done by the state governments based on information from Below Poverty Line (BPL) censuses, of which the latest is the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011).

The government has been following various formulae to track poverty. After observers criticised measures of poverty based on Tendulkar Poverty Line as being too low, the Rangarajan Committee was appointed which recommended higher rural and urban poverty lines.

As per Rangarajan report, poverty line is estimated as monthly per capita income of Rs. 1407 in urban areas and Rs. 972 in rural areas.

Based on Suresh Tendulkar panel's recommendations in 2011-12, poverty line figure was Rs 27 per day for rural India and Rs 33 per day for urban India.

The promised income support under Nyay is much more than the official definitions of poverty line.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, had come under fire of opposition parties in 2012 for the new poverty line figures he had announced. The new definition categorised people living on less than Rs 28 per day in urban and Rs 22.50 in rural areas as poor.

Ahluwalia had defended the Planning Commission definition.

He said the Supreme Court had asked it how they calculate the poverty line and they had given factual explanation.

--IANS

ps/nir/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A total of 2,395 and 344 candidates remained in the fray for 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats respectively in Andhra Pradesh which goes to the polls on April 11, the Election Commission said Saturday.

State Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi announced this to leaders of various political parties at a meeting here this afternoon, two days after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended.

Each ballot unit (electronic voting machine) would have names and pictures of 15 candidates apart from the NOTA (none of the above) button, the CEO said.

A second EVM would be used in constituencies where the number of contestants was more than 15, he added.

The Election Commission of India has deployed 200 observers to the state, including 75 general observers, for overseeing the Lok Sabha and Assembly election process.

Political parties could get in touch with the observers in case of any problems, Dwivedi said.

The CEO handed over the final list of electors, published on March 25, to the political parties.

The total number of voters in the state touched 3,93,45,717.

As many as 25,20,924 new voters have been added to the list, the CEO said.

Later, the CEO explained the functioning of EVMs and the Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines to the media personnel.

"There need not be any misgivings about the functioning of these machines. They are completely tamper-proof," Dwivedi said.

The name of the candidate and the respective party symbol would be visible for seven seconds after a voter cast the vote in the EVM.

The voting slip would then get deposited in the sealed VVPAT machine, he explained.

"There need not be any doubts or misgivings about these gadgets. They are tamper-proof," Dwivedi asserted.

He conducted a mock poll on the occasion to showcase the security features.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two persons have been arrested for allegedly duping electrical equipment distributors to the tune of several lakh rupees, Thane police said Saturday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police 9Crime) Deepak Deoraj told reporters Puranchand Jain (50) and Bhumaram Kumhar (45) would get phone numbers of distributors from trade and industrial directories and then proceed to cheat them by placing fraudulent orders for electrical items.

"They would ask the distributor to supply equipment to a particular shop. They would tell the shop owner to keep the goods for sometime. The duo would call the distributor for payment at a particular place but would vanish after taking delivery of the items from the shop. They used new mobile numbers for all such transactions," Deoraj said.

Police got on their trail after a complaint was lodged by a distributor, duped of LED bulbs worth Rs 55,000, in August last year.

Police said Jain and Kumhar are believed to have at least a dozen such cases against their names in Thane and suburbs like Andheri, Borivali and Dahisar in neighbouring Mumbai.

They were arrested on March 26 and remanded in police custody till April 2, the DCP said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two Indian-origin MPs, Priti Patel and Suella Braverman, are among a steadfast group of hard-Brexiteers within Theresa May's Conservative Party that continues to stand in the way of her EU divorce bill as the UK Prime Minister faced yet another bruising defeat in Parliament.

As the UK crossed the initial Brexit Day deadline of March 29, the voting pattern for a third parliamentary vote on May's withdrawal agreement reveals that she was able to win over a number of high-profile Brexiteers, including Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, but it did not prove enough in the end as she lost Friday's vote by a margin of 58.

Gujarati-origin Patel has remained vehement in her opposition to the agreement because she believes it is "not in our national interest, does not respect the referendum result and is harmful to the long-term future of our country".

Goan-origin Suella Braverman, who had stepped down as a minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union last November, has been equally strongly opposed to the deal, which she feels is "fatally flawed".

They are both members of the Brexiteer wing of the Tory party, the European Research Group (ERG), and have been very vocal in favour of leaving the EU ever since campaigning for the June 2016 Brexit referendum.

While some ERG members have since been swayed to back May after her promise to step down as the Prime Minister for the next phase of Brexit negotiations, Patel and Braverman make up a group of 34 Tory rebels - some remainers but mostly Brexiteers - who are firmly opposed to the deal and are likely to oppose even a fourth vote now being planned.

"The implications of the House's decision are grave. The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on April 12. In just 14 days' time," May told the Commons moments after yet another 344-286 vote crushing defeat for her deal.

The main stumbling block revolves around the central concern of a controversial Irish backstop clause keeping the UK too closely aligned to the EU even after Brexit.

The EU agreed to an extension to the March 29 deadline on the condition that the UK must pass May's withdrawal agreement by that date so that it could be given until May 22 to finalise its exit under those terms.

Now that such a deal has failed to clear the Commons hurdle yet again, the UK has until April 12 to go back to the EU with credible alternatives or risk a chaotic no-deal exit from the 28-member economic bloc by that date.

May is set to return to Brussels for an emergency European Council summit on April 10, when she could seek a longer delay but that would entail Britain contesting the European Parliament elections on May 23.

Meanwhile, MPs from all parties will test support for other options during a second round of "indicative votes" in the Commons on Monday. But with none of the eight options considered during an unprecedented session on Wednesday attracting a majority, that process is not being viewed as a decisive way forward.

Nicky Morgan, a former Cabinet minister and Tory MP, has suggested that there may need to be a government of national unity to end the deadlock over Brexit.

"It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons, it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it. There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue," she said.

Downing Street said May would continue to try and convince Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which provides her government with its crucial majority in Parliament, to find a way to back her deal with reassurances over the Irish backstop.

The DUP has remained resolute in its opposition because it fears that by temporarily subjecting Northern Ireland to different regulations to the rest of the UK, the backstop would risk a permanent split.

The Opposition Labour Party has also stressed that the deal did not seem to be the way forward and demanded a general election.

"The House has been clear, this deal now has to change," said Corbyn after Friday's vote.

"If the Prime Minister can't accept that, then she must go. Not at an indeterminate date in the future but now, so that we can decide the future of this country through a General Election," he said.

May's latest defeat has raised the probability of a snap general election further, even as she continues to work on garnering enough backing for a possible fourth vote on her EU divorce bill, already defeated three times since January albeit with smaller margins each time.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A video message from the deputies of Dagestanskiye Ogny to the head of Dagestan, Vladimir Vasilyev, was posted in the Internet today. In the video, the officials of the city ask to dismiss the mayor of the city, Zeydullah Gashimov and appoint a more professional manager to this position.

The deputies were supported by deputy mayor Nabi Ibrahimov, who reminded that he had already written in an open letter to Vladimir Vasilyev about the need to dismiss the mayor of Dagestanskiye Ogny. The deputies explained that the mayor does nothing for the city.Police have seized 23 unassembled pistols in Bihar's Munger district Saturday, a senior police officer said.

Superintendent of Police Gaurav Mangla said police seized 10 pieces of semi made pistols and parts to make country made pistols from two persons riding a motorcycle during routine checking of vehicles near Purabsarai police outpost in the early hours of Saturday.

The police also seized the motorcycle, the SP said, adding that the two arrested persons are both residents of Munger district.

On the basis of the information provided by the two arrested persons, police raided a house at Bakarpur village under Mufassil police station area and seized 13 pieces of semi made pistols, SP said



Police have lodged FIRs in both cases and further investigations were on, the SP added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three men were arrested for allegedly staging a robbery in West Delhi's Punjabi Bagh, police said Saturday.

The accused were identified as Amit Negi (22), a resident of Dabri Village, Karan Singh Bhatia (24), a resident of Dabri Extension and Rohit Sharma (24), a resident of Mahavir Enclave, they said.

According to Monika Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), "On Thursday, at around 9:30 pm, police received information regarding robbery of a bag containing Rs 6 lakh".

After reaching the spot, it surfaced that one Rohit Sharma was going through Madipur carrying Rs 6 lakh in cash and two bike-borne men accosted him and forcibly fled with the money, she said.

Sharma said he was an employee of one Nitin Garg, a resident of Vikaspuri and was into footwear manufacturing business, and on the instructions of one Vikas Garg, he had collected the money from Rohini and was supposed to deliver the amount at Madipur, Bhardwj said.

However, Sharma alleged that he was robbed by two persons, she said.

Sensing foul play in Sharma's version of the incident, police examined his mobile phone and route only to establish that he was lying.

During interrogation, Sharma revealed that he conspired with his two unemployed friends Negi and Bhatia, she said.

Initially, their plan was to rob Sharma while he was delivering the amount to the person concerned at Madipur. But anticipating the risk in the plan, Sharma himself handed over the bag to Negi and Bhatia and then placed a call to inform about the "robbery", the DCP said.

Bhatia and Negi were also arrested from Dabri village and the bag containing the money was recovered from their possession, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Aam Aadmi Party has hit out at Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari for reportedly saying that the Supreme Court refused to grant complete statehood to Delhi, challenging him to show which case was filed in the apex court regarding the issue.

According to media reports, responding to a question on the issue of full statehood, Tiwari Friday said that the BJP never took a U-turn on the issue but the Supreme Court made it clear that it cannot be done.

Senior AAP party leader Gopal Rai hit out at Tiwari, accusing him of lying on the issue and misleading the people of the city because the BJP was afraid of the growing popularity of full statehood.

"The AAP will not allow the BJP to escape its decades of false promises with the people of Delhi and its ultimate treachery with Delhiites," he told reporters.

He claimed it was not possible for a member of Parliament to not know the process of how Delhi would attain statehood, particularly when his own party kept promising it to the people of the national capital for decades.

"Latest attempt by Tiwari to spread further falsehoods on Delhi statehood was during his 'Twitter chaupal', during which he said that since the Supreme Court of India has stated Delhi cannot be granted statehood, therefore this matter is now over," Rai added.

He challenged Tiwari to make public where, when and in which case the Supreme Court stated what he has been claiming.

Reacting to it, Tiwari said the AAP party leaders are "biggest liars" if they think the matter is not in the apex court. "It means they have not gone through the documents carefully. They should read the evidence carefully first," he said.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the city is fighting the Lok Sabha election on the agenda of granting full statehood to Delhi.

The election to the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital will be heldon May 12.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The AIUDF led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal is actively considering to lend its support to Trinamool Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha polls in Assam, a day after the Congress fielded strong candidates against AIUDF in two constituencies.

The process has already begun and Ajmal spoke to senior TMC leader Derek O'Brien on Saturday, while a meeting may be arranged with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a decision of alliance may be announced anytime soon, an AIUDF source said.

As soon as the Congress on Friday announced "strong" candidates for Barpeta and Dhubri constituencies, in which AIUDF were contesting, Ajmal rushed to New Delhi leaving behind his campaigns at Barak valley midway.

AIUDF sources told PTI that Ajmal met senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel twice on Friday to find a way out of the stalemate and a move in "reciprocation" of the gesture shown in rest of the seats in Assam, but no positive outcome has come yet.

"Patel informed us that if Congress had given weak candidates, then BJP's allegation of an alliance between Congress and AIUDF will be established. This will drive away the Hindu votes from the Congress," the AIUDF source added.

Congress Friday fielded its MLA Abdul Khaleque for Barpeta and ex-MLA Abu Taher Bepari for Dhubri in the Lok Sabha polls, Swarup Das was announced as Karimganj candidate earlier.

The Congress is contesting all the 14 seats in Assam.

Ajmal earlier had announced that this time his party will contest only Dhubri, Barpeta and Kamringanj seats, from where it has the three sitting MPs, while AIUDF had fielded candidates in 10 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam in 2014.

This move by Ajmal to field candidates in only three seats has led to a volley of allegations from the BJP that AIUDF and Congress have a covert understanding, mainly to help the son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Gaurav win for the second time from Kaliabor.

According to sources, Ajmal was expecting a "goodwill gesture in return" from the Congress by way of leaving the Barpeta and Dhubri, from where Ajmal is contesting to retain seat.

"Congress has not only announced candidates, but two very strong candidates in fact. We did our best to avoid a split in the anti-BJP votes. We are in the UPA for the last 10 years and also a part of the 'mahagathbandhan'. The need of the hour was to stop BJP at any cost," the AIUDF source said.

The Congress action has compelled us to think if BJP is closer to them than any anti-BJP party and their slogan now seems to be "AIUDF hatao, not BJP hatao," he added.

"Now the question has come to the very existence of our party. So, we are thinking in a different line. We are actively considering to lend its full support behind the other 'mahagathbandhan' party -- Tranamool Congress. We are looking to speak to Mamata Banerjee tonight," the source said.

TMC Assam unit chief Gopi Nath Das said no discussion with AIUDF has taken place yet in the state, but he is not aware about any development at the Central level of the party.

TMC is contesting in nine Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP had won seven out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 election, the Congress and the AIUDF had three MPs each and one member was an Independent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)NCP leader Ajit Pawar Saturday slammed Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray who was present when BJP chief Amit Shah filed his nomination, reminding the Sena and BJP of the insults they had traded earlier.

Thackeray accompanied Shah as he filed papers for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, and also shared the dais with him at a rally.

"There can not be turncoat tigers..." Pawar tweeted. The big cat is the Sena's logo.

"Seeking votes in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj amounts to insulting the warrior king's glorious legacy," the NCP leader added.

He referred to Sena's vitriolic attack on Shah earlier where it had dubbed him as "Afzal Khan", the Bijapur sultanate general slain by Shivaji, as well as Shah's warning that the BJP can "thrash" an ally if it turned enemy.

After a lot of mutual bickering, the Sena and BJP last month agreed to have alliance for the Lok Sabha once again.

Interestingly, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil avoided criticising the Sena president harshly for taking part in Shah's rally.

"Political leaders take a stand as per convenience," said Vikhe Patil, whose son Sujay is contesting the Lok Sabha election on BJP ticket.

Earlier in the day, Uddhav Thackeray said the Sena and BJP have sunk their differences.

"Amit Shah came to meet me, we held a discussion and our issues were resolved....Our ideologies and hearts are woven together. We have come together because Hindutva binds us," Thackeray said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Noted social activist Dr Abhay Bang has said democracy is put on sale on the eve of voting as alcohol is freely distributed among voters in lieu of their votes.

He also made an appeal to candidates of political parties not to lure voters with alcohol, especially in Gadchiroli district.

"We are appealing to candidates not to use alcohol to lure men and make them intoxicated. We are also warning the political parties and their candidates that those who sell or distribute alcohol on the eve of voting will be boycotted. Voters will make sure that they lose the election," he was quoted as saying in a release on Friday.

Describing democracy as an aeroplane and voter as its pilot, Dr Bang said, "We don't want our pilot to be drunk when he is flying the plane on the day of voting."



"But unfortunately, it is widely observed and reported that alcohol is freely distributed on the eve of voting. Men get drunk and cast their vote. In fact, democracy is put on sale on the eve of voting- in exchange of a bottle of alcohol for a vote," he added.

"Voting with full consciousness is a duty as well as the right of voters and it is necessary for a healthy democracy," Dr Bang said in the release issued by Society for Education Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH), an organisation founded by him.

There is prohibition in Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Wardha districts of Maharashtra.

Dr Bang is also an advisor of Muktipath, an organisation working for de-addiction.

Talking to PTI, Muktipath director Mayur Gupta said a resolution of 'no alcohol in election' was passed during a programme atArmori in Gadchiroli on Thursday, where residents of 70 villages were present.

Similar resolution will be passed in about 350 villages in coming days, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Algeria's army chief summoned top military brass for an emergency meeting Sunday as he pushes for declaring President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit for office.

Military chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah claimed that unnamed figures were plotting against the military, as tensions mount in Algeria's political crisis.

In a statement and remarks carried on Algerian television, Salah defended his proposal to launch a constitutional process to have Bouteflika declared too ill to serve.

The president of this gas-rich North African country has largely been out of public sight since a 2013 stroke.

Protesters have been demanding Bouteflika's resignation, but many reject Salah's proposed constitutional process because they fear it would leave the shadowy political elite in place. Instead, protesters want a new slate of leaders untainted by allegations of corruption and responsive to problems of struggling youth.

Salah reiterated his proposal to activate Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution, under which the Constitutional Council could determine Bouteflika is too sick to rule and ask Parliament to approve. The army chief also proposed to activate other constitutional articles in response to protesters' demands.

He dismissed allegations that his proposal amounted to an attempted coup d'etat, insisting he was not seeking power himself but looking for a legal way out of the crisis.

Salah claimed a "secret meeting" was being held aimed at "leading a virulent campaign via different media and social networks against the army." Algerian media carried conflicting reports about who attended the secret meeting.

Algerians took to the streets by the millions Friday for the sixth straight week of nationwide protests. The protests have turned the tables on the elite power structure, but it is unclear what lies ahead.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Aligarh district magistrate has submitted "evidence" to the Election Commission regarding Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh's reported remarks supporting the return of Narendra Modi as prime minister, sources said.

The Election Commission is examining his reported remarks in the light of possible violation of the Model Code of Conduct, as holding a constitutional post makes the governor "apolitical".

The sources said details and clip of the comments were submitted to the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Friday.

Addressing BJP workers at his Aligarh residence on March 23, Singh had reportedly said, "All of us are BJP workers and we want the party to win. We want Modiji to become the prime minister."



Singh, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, reportedly made these remarks to placate some agitated BJP members who had gathered outside his house over ticket distribution.

In the 1990s, the Election Commission had expressed displeasure over Himachal Pradesh Governor Gulsher Ahmed campaigning for his son in elections. He had later quit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Biju Janata Dal MP and former Union Minister Arjun Sethi Saturday resigned from the regional party after he was denied ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

BJD president had replaced the eight-time MP from Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency with Manjulata Mandal, the wife of sitting party MLA Muktikant Mandal.

The 78-year-old Sethi has submitted his resignation letter to Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik. He has also quit as Member of Parliament as well as from the post of Bhadrak district BJD president.

Sethi said "I wanted to meet Naveen Patnaik but was not given an appointment. I waited for four hours but failed to meet him. At this old age, it was embarrassing that I had to wait for so long."



"I am pained that neither I nor my son was given ticket to contest in the ensuing polls," Sethi told reporters. He claimed that Patnaik had earlier assured him to consider his candidature or giving ticket to his son.

Bhadrak Youth BJD president Durga Prasanna Das, a supporter of Sethi, also resigned from the party.

Sethi, who was Union Minister for Water Resources in the A B Vajpeyee Ministry from 2000 to 2004, is the fourth BJD MP, to have resigned from the party.

Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh and Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo have already resigned from the BJD.

While Panda, Majhi and Singh have joined BJP, the BJD president has not accepted the resignation of Deo. Sethi was yet to take decision on his next course of action.

Sources said Sethi may also join BJP, if the saffron party makes him a candidate from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat. BJP was yet to announce the name of its candidate from Bhadrak (SC), Jagatsinghpur (SC), Jajpur (SC) and Mayurbhanj (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

At least five sitting MLAs have also resigned from the BJD and joined BJP following denial of renomination.

The BJD has expelled three leaders from the party for anti-party activities ahead of the polls in Odisha.

"BJD president Naveen Patnaik today expelled Siba Prasad Gouda and K Ramkrishna from Gunupur constituency in Rayagada. Besides, Kanhu Singh from Banki constituency in Cuttack district has also been expelled from the party. The trio has been expelled from the party for their indulgence in anti-party activities," BJD state secretary Bijay Nayak said in a release.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad Saturday launched his Lok Sabha poll campaign, holding a roadshow in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi and declaring that the countdown to his defeat has begun.

Commencing his roadshow from the Kutchehri crossing after garlanding a statue of BR Ambedkar, the Dalit leader alleged the PM had only favoured the rich by waiving their loan worth billions of rupees, but "harassed" small borrowers and the poor.

"The countdown to Modi's defeat has begun," he declared.

Modi came to power in 2014 making tall promises about creating crores of jobs but he rendered millions of people jobless during his five year tenure, he said.

He snatched jobs of over two crores youths of the country, Azad alleged.

He announced he will contest the Lok Sabha elections against the Prime Minister from Varanasi.

Earlier, the district administration Friday granted Azad permission to hold roadshow between 11 AM-4 PM, from the Ambedkar Park at Kutchehri to the Ravidas Park in Lanka area.

Azad also visited the Sant Ravidas temple at Seer Govardhan with few of his supporters and offered prayers after police took a written submission that the roadshow had ended and he was visiting the temple in individual capacity.

Meanwhile, some college students tried to show him black flags during the roadshow but the police took them in custody and the roadshow proceeded in a peaceful manner uninterrupted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The environmental action Earth Hour was held tonight in Moscow - the Kremlin, Red Square, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Luzhniki Stadium, the Bolshoi Theater, the State Duma and the Council of the Federation, as well as over 2,000 buildings in the Russian capital turned off lighting as a sign of unindifference to the future of the Earth.

"In Moscow this year, the architectural lighting of almost 2,180 buildings is turned off for an hour, the buildings on Novy Arbat and Tverskaya streets, pavilions of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, 15 parks, including Zaryadye Park, which will host the main program of the event, will join the action, RIA Novosti cites the message of the World Wildlife Fund.Odisha's ruling BJD and opposition Congress Thursday strongly criticised the Centre's decision to bifurcate the the Bhubaneswar-headquartered East Coast Railway to create a new zone with its headquarters at Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam.

The Railway Ministry Wednesday created the new zone -- South Coast Railway -- giving it a portion of the Waltair division of the East Coast Railway.

The portion of Waltair division taken away will now be part of the Vijayawada division, Railways sources said here.

Terming the Centre's action a "conspiracy", Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik accused the BJP-led Central government of discriminating against the state.

Patnaik threatened the Congress will launch an agitation against the decision.

BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, "It is a betrayal with the people of Odisha. They will give a befitting reply to the BJP for working against the state's interest."



The BJP, however, maintained the new south coast zone was formed as per item 8 of schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

"Ask Congress leaders whether the previous UPA government had not planned to bifurcate the East Coast Railway Zone," said BJP spokesman Golak Mohapatra.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Banka MP Putul Kumari was on Saturday expelled from the BJP for filing her nomination from the seat as an independent candidate.

The order was passed by Bihar BJP general secretary Radha Mohan Sharma, after Kumari failed to withdraw her nominations on the last date on Friday.

On Wednesday, state vice-president and in-charge of the Bihar BJP headquarters, Devesh Kumar, shot off missives to Kumari, besides party MLC Ashok Agrawal, who had similarly filed nomination as an independent from Katihar.

Agrawal withdrew his nomination on Friday, claiming that he did so upon the request of senior party leaders as also Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) is contesting Katihar.

The JD(U) is contesting Banka as well, where Kumari had lost in 2014, fighting on a BJP ticket, though she won as an independent in 2010 in a by-election necessitated by the death of her husband Digvijay Singh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The BJP in Telangana Saturday hit out at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for allegedly questioning the surgical strikes carried out under the BJP government.

State BJP president K Laxman told reporters here that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said Friday 11 surgical strikes were made during the UPA I regime when he was a Union minister.

"What strikes does he think of? Is it surgical strikes... Yes, strikes happened. Workers' strikes also happened (during the UPA regime). Rao should apologise to the people for allegedly saying that 'hollow strikes' happened during the Modi government," he said.

"...If you are speaking the language of Pakistan, I am saying, are you eligible to be the chief minister? You are speaking the interpretation of Pakistan," Laxman claimed.

Referring to the recent air strikes on Jaish-E-Mohammed terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan, he said that Rao quoted JeM chief Masood Azhar who had said that even an ant did not die in the air strikes.

"He does not have confidence in the Indian Army that he has in Masood Azhar. What is his patriotism? Telangana people should observe what is his respect for the country," Laxman said.

He demanded that Rao apologise to the families of soldiers who fight bravely at the borders against all odds.

Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of surgical strikes, Rao had Friday said such "strategic attacks" are never disclosed.

"...surgical strikes happened 11 times when I was in the Union Cabinet. They are strategic attacks which are never disclosed. They do it, we do it," said Rao, who was a member of the UPA Cabinet till 2006 when he resigned from it over the issue of separate statehood for Telangana.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief said Modi "boasts that 300 terrorists were eliminated in a single attack".

"Azhar Masood said not even an ant died," Rao claimed.

Slamming Rao for wondering what good happened to the country under Modi's rule, Laxman said the BJP is synonymous with the development of infrastructure in the country.

Road development got top priority during the NDA regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and also under the Modi government, he said, highlighting welfare and development initiatives of the country.

Dismissing TRS leaders' comments that the NDA would not get more than 150 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Laxman asked if they are ready to take political 'sanyas' in case it secured more than 150 seats.

Telangana goes to polls in the first phase on April 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Power minister in the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh Anil Sharma has said that he would not campaign against his son Aashray Sharma, who has been declared the Congress candidate in Mandi.

A day after allocation of Congress ticket to Aashray Sharma from Mandi parliamentary seat, Anil Sharma told PTI that he would not campaign against his son.

Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma is the BJP MLA from Mandi Assembly segment which along with 16 other Assembly segments falls under Mandi parliamentary segment.

As an elected BJP legislator from an assembly segment falling under the Mandi parliamentary seat, he is expeted to campaign in favour of BJP candidate sitting MP Ramswroop Sharma and against Congress candidate Aashray Sharma.

Anil Sharma said, "I have already conveyed it to the BJP leadership after my father Sukh Ram and my son rejoined Congress on March 25 that if Aashray is given a Congress ticket, I would not campaign against him."



Asked about the issue, HP BJP President Satpal Singh Satti said, "Why media is following this issue. This is matter of his (Anil Sharma's) family. (Aap log kyo is mamle ke peeche parre hue ho. Ye unke parivaar ka mamla hai.)'



Pressed further, he said, "We will see, what to do (on this issue)."The HP power minister said, "I am ready to campaign in favour of BJP candidates contesting on other seats except Mandi."Anil Sharma was HP minister during the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress governments in 1993 and 2012 but he along with his father Sukh Ram joined the BJP in October 2017, just before the last assembly elections.

Anil Sharma's son Aashray was seeking a BJP ticket from Mandi but the BJP preferred to renominate sitting MP Ramswroop Sharma.

Subsequently Aashray along with his grandfather rejoined Congress on March 25 and the Congress fielded him from Mandi on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Exuding confidence in the BJP's poll prospects in Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Saturday that voters will help the saffron party accomplish its mission of "60 plus two" in the state.

"We have a target of winning all the seats and the BJPs mission is 60 plus two," Khandu said while addressing an election rally here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP has already opened its account in the state with three candidates declared elected unopposed in the 60-member Assembly.

"Overwhelmed with the development trajectory initiated by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the state government, the voters will help the party to accomplish its mission of 60 plus two in the state and vote the BJP to power again," he said.

Arunachal Pradesh is going to simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls on April 11.

Mentioning that the BJP had weakened the base of the Congress in Arunachal Pradesh, Khandu said, "The Congress, which had ruled the state for several decades, was unable to find strong and suitable candidates for which it fielded candidates only in 46 assembly seats."



With three BJP nominees - Kento Jini, Taba Tedir and Phurpa Tsering - emerging victorious without a contest from Aalo East, Yachuli and Dirang assembly seats respectively, it "clearly shows" that the people have "already rejected" the grand old party in Arunachal Pradesh, he said.

"The BJP is all set to form the next government in the state. On May 23, a new sun will rise in the state heralding a new dawn of development to be headed by a government which will continue its crusade against corruption," Khandu said.

Pointing out that after several decades of the Congress "misrule" Arunachal Pradesh got its due importance only after the NDA came to power in 2014, Khandu said that in the past five years, central ministers visited the state to oversee the ongoing projects for a record 130 times while in the last 27 years during Congress rule, central ministers visited the state only 50 times.

"The NDA government under PM Modi has realised the potential and strategic importance of the state and fast-tracked several important projects including Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) and Greenfield Airport at Hollongi," the chief minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An appeals court judge in Brazil on Saturday overturned another judge's decision to bar commemorations, sought by President Jair Bolsonaro, of a 1964 military coup.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing former paratrooper, on Monday ordered the military to observe the 55th anniversary of the coup "appropriately" in the nation's military barracks.

On Friday, Judge Ivani Silva da Luz in Brasilia declared that such a commemoration was "not compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction" promoted by the 1988 constitution.

But the ruling was overturned on Saturday by an appellate judge, Maria do Carmo Cardoso, who said a government legal filing -- emphasizing that Brazilian democracy was strong enough to support "a pluralism of ideas" -- was admissible.

"I see no violation of human rights, particularly as similar demonstrations took place in the barracks in preceding years, with no negative consequences," she wrote.

Troops in some barracks had gone ahead during the past week to mark the 1964 coup, which installed a dictatorship that lasted 21 years. A message from the defense minister citing the military as a necessary "rampart against totalitarianism" was read.

Bolsonaro, an ex-paratrooper and unabashed admirer of Brazil's former dictators, is the country's first president since democracy was restored in 1985 to publicly exalt the military regime, though he argues its rise to power was not a "coup." A 2014 report published by a national truth commission found that 434 assassinations were carried out in the years after the 1964 coup, as well as uncounted arbitrary detentions and cases of torture of political opponents.

Several demonstrations against the commemorations were planned for Sunday, under the banner of "Dictatorship -- Never Again.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A new blackout hit Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities on Friday, the third major electricity outage in the crisis-plagued country this month.

The blackout began around 7:10 pm, leaving the capital as well as cities including Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without electricity, according to users on social media networks.

It is the third time since March 7 that a major power outage has hit Venezuela -- worsening the already-dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a major political showdown between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido.

Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference.

Earlier on Friday, the Red Cross said it would begin impartially distributing aid in Venezuela in two weeks, brushing aside the threat of political interference amid the Maduro-Guaido power struggle.

Malnutrition and disease are on the rise as living conditions plummet in the oil-producing Latin American nation, which is spiraling ever deeper into economic chaos during a protracted political crisis.

"We estimate that in a period of approximately 15 days we will be ready to offer help," said Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The United States -- which considers Guaido interim president along with some 50 other countries -- welcomed the announcement as a "real opportunity." Rocca told reporters in Caracas the organization would begin distributing aid mid-April, including tons of mostly US food and medical supplies that Maduro has to date refused to allow into the country -- leaving it stockpiled for weeks on the borders with Colombia and Brazil.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The man who launched an arson and homemade explosive attack on a police station in northeastern China earlier this week was a convicted sex offender, local authorities said Saturday.

The Shenyang Public Security Bureau said the 63-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Yang, had bought firecrackers during the Spring Festival and fashioned an explosive device with a trolley bag.

Using a bottle of gasoline as a combustor, he set fire to the traffic police department just after lunch on Thursday, the bureau said in a statement.

The attack killed Yang and injured three others -- two police officers and a member of the public.

Shenyang authorities said in a statement that Yang had previously been jailed for seven years for having sex with a minor.

"He is pessimistic and has a suicidal thought," the statement said.

"He has been mentally ill and emotionally abnormal in recent times and threatened to commit suicide after killing his wife." Yang had on two occasions this month left suicide notes for his family, the most recent just a day before the incident.

Bomb explosions have occurred elsewhere in China in recent years.

Last July, a 26-year-old man set off a small explosion outside the United States embassy in Beijing, injuring his hand and sending smoke into the air. Police said he was from the northern region of Inner Mongolia, but did not reveal any motive.

In June 2017, a blast outside a kindergarten in the eastern Jiangsu province killed eight and injured dozens. The explosion was blamed on a 22-year-old introvert with health problems who died in the blast.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Representatives from over 100 countries, including about 40 leaders of governments, will participate in the second Belt and Road Forum to be held here later next month, a top Chinese official said Saturday.

China held the first Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in 2017 to showcase its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of President Xi Jinping aimed at expanding the country's influence all over the world with a chain of infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments.

India boycotted the first BRF meet over its objections to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

India's Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, in a recent interview to the state-run Global Times signalled a similar boycott of the second BRF meet.

"To be honest, we have made no secret of our views and our position on BRI is clear and consistent, and one that we have conveyed to the authorities concerned," Misri said.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi said in an interview published by state-run Xinhua agency that "representatives from over 100 countries, including about 40 leaders of foreign governments, have confirmed their attendance" at the second BRF meet.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among those who have confirmed their participation.

"As the host country, we will, together with other forum parties, take stock of what has been achieved and draw a blueprint for future cooperation to further enrich BRI cooperation," Yang said.

India along with the US and several other countries have been highlighting the concerns over the BRI projects, leaving a number of smaller countries in debt traps.

The concerns grew louder after China took over Sri Lanka's Hambantota port on a 99-year lease as debt swap. Several other countries including Malaysia and even Pakistan expressed wish to cut down Chinese projects over debt concerns.

Refuting the criticism, Yang, who was China's former Foreign Minister, said: "we have noticed that some people have expressed different views about the BRI, claiming that the initiative is China's geopolitical tool and could cause some countries to fall into a debt trap".

"Such views are less than objective or balanced. They are simply a misunderstanding, misrepresentation and even biased view of the BRI.

"No one is in a better position to repudiate the so-called debt trap allegation than the BRI participants themselves. As a matter of fact, the governments, business communities and the general public of many countries that have participated in and benefited from the BRI have spoken up and debunked such groundless assertions," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A civilian was critically injured Saturday as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Mohammad Mushtaqwas hit by splinters of a mortar shell which exploded near his house at Narala village in Mankote sector, the officials said.

They said the critically injured civilian was rushed to hospital.

A defence spokesman said the Pakistani Army initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortar and firing by small arms from across the border in Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors at around 2000 hours.

The Indian Army retaliated befittingly, he said, adding that the cross-border firing between the two sides was still continuing intermittently.

Seven persons including three soldiers were killed in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch since India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 10-car passenger train produced by Stadler Rail Group (Switzerland) to order of Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) has arrived in Baku, abc.az reported.

ADY reports that the train to run via Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway route consists of nine passenger cars and a dining car.

"The train followed from Switzerland to Turkey and then to Georgia. The train arrived in Baku after testing in Akhalkalaki the point of rearrangement of carts from the 1520 mm rail track to the 1435 mm track," ADY informed.

Passenger carriages via Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route will be organized in 2019.

Earlier, ADY and Stadler Rail Group signed a contract for production of passenger cars intended for use on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route. At the 2nd stage, another 10 cars are expected to be delivered to the country. The cars are manufactured using the latest technology.Unidentified assailants shot dead the principal of a local inter college on Saturday morning while he was on a morning walk here, police said.

Suresh Yadav (62), who was also a RSS swayamsewak, was shot dead near the forest department office, about 300 metres from the DM's office, SP S.T Patil said.

A case has been filed and the body sent for post-mortem, the SP said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.): Vice-Admiral Piyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, along with a delegation, is on a three-day visit to the Southern Naval Command (SNC) here, as part of an official visit programme to India.

The Commander, who reached here on Friday, had discussions with Vice-Admiral AK Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Saturday on subjects of mutual interest to both navies, a Defence press release said here.

He was thereafter given a presentation on the activities conducted by the SNC, focussing mainly on training - this being the Training Command, the release said.

Presently, 95 Sri Lankan Navy officers and 67 sailors are undergoing training at various establishments and units under the SNC.

On completion of his visit to Kochi, the Commander of the Lankan navy and his delegation would proceed to the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala Sunday.

During this visit, he would be having an interaction with Vice Admiral RB Pandit, Commandant INA, and also visit various training facilities at the Academy, the release said.

At presently, 17 Lankan navy cadets are undergoing training at the INA.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ruling alliance in Karnataka will launch their joint Lok Sabha polls campaign Sunday with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda addressing a mega rally on the outskirts of the city.

Titled 'Parivartana Samavesha', this will be the first rally jointly organised by the Congress and JD(S) after the combine came to power.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who visited BIEC ground near Nelamanagala to inspect the arrangements being made, said the event would be "historic."



"This will be the first joint campaign by Congress and JD(S)...tomorrow's meeting is historic as it will send a clear message to people of the country from Karnataka for Lok Sabha polls," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

Congress and JD(S) ministers, MLAs and leaders will be part of the event.

Sunday evening's rally will also be attended by lakhs of workers of both parties from Tumkur, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru urban districts, Congress and JDS sources said.

Following this, state leaders of both parties would organise similar joint meetings at several places across Karnataka, they said.

According to seat sharing arrangements, the Congress and JD(S) have decided to contest in 21 and 7 seats respectively.

For the coalition to emerge as a formidable opposition to BJP and win more number of seats, it is crucial for the Congress to transfer its votes to the JD(S) and vice-versa.

However, dissidence over seat sharing among workers of both parties, who have been arch rivals for decades, has caused worry to coalition leaders.

According to the sources, organising the joint campaign is aimed at addressing this disgruntlement and send out a message that both the alliance partners are together.

Both parties that had fought against each other ahead of May 2018 assembly polls joined hands to form an alliance as the election threw up a hung verdict.

Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Wary of dissidence within hampering the prospects of the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka, Congress has warned its workers of 'strong disciplinary action' if they work against the coalition candidate in the Lok Sabha polls.

With transfer of votes between Congress and JD(S) crucial for them to outperform the BJP, there is a worry in both parties that dissidence may affect their performance.

Both parties that had fought bitterly against each other ahead of the May 2018 assembly polls, joined hands to form an alliance as the election threw up a hung verdict.

Though the coalition leaders decided to go to the polls together, it is not something that workers of both parties at the booth level, who have been fighting each other,agree with.

With the alliance facing trouble in several key Lok Sabha constituencies, especially in old Mysuru region, as Congress workers are unhappy over the seat sharing arrangement with JD(S), AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal held a meeting late last night with senior state party leaders.

In a meeting attended by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao and Ministers from the party,Venugopal gave the responsibility of resolving the dissidence to district in-charge ministers and warned of disciplinary action against those working against the alliance candidate.

"Those working against JD(S) candidate...those Congress leaders working against the Congress-JD(S) alliance candidate, we will take strong disciplinary action," Venugopal told reporters.

"Nobody will be spared. It is a clear message to every Congress man," he said, as he conceded there are some 'small issues' between both parties, which were being patched-up.

Also, noting that the Congress and its rank and file have a 'broader interest,' which is to defeat the BJP at any cost, Venugopal said those working against the Congress-JD(S) candidate will not have any place in the party.

"We have to reduce the number of BJP in larger way. Those helping the BJP, those helping independents supported by BJP, they will not have any place in the Congress.I'm very categorically sending the message."



The alliance is facing a backlash at several places, including Tumkur, Mandya and Hassan, with party workers unhappy with the seat arrangements.

Though Congress sitting MP from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda, who had filed his nomination as a rebel, miffed over being denied the ticket, withdrew his candidacy Friday, there is still ambiguity about the grand old party workers there supporting former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, the joint candidate of ruling alliance.

In Mandya, where Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil is the candidate, Congress workers are upset over the party ceding the seat to JD(S) and many of them have extended support to independent candidate and multi-lingual actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, who also has BJPs support.

They also see it as dynasty of Deve Gowda being imposed on them, as Gowda family hails from Hassan.

In Hassan too, Deve Gowda's other grandson Prajwal Revanna is facing some challenge as he is pitted against former Congress Minister A Manju,who is now the BJP candidate.

Manju quit Congress ahead of the polls, disgruntled with the party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S).

Mandya, Mysore and Tumkur come under old Mysuru region where the Vokkaliga community, seen as a strong vote bank of JD(S) is dominant.

The Congress too has considerable presence there.

In the same way Congress too will need JD(S) support in several seats like Mysore, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Bangalore North and Bangalore Rural, where the regional party has a considerable vote base.

For the coalition to emerge as a formidable opposition to BJP and win more number of seats, it is crucial for the Congress to transfer its votes to JD(S) and vice-versa.

With the cordiality of the alliance still not reaching grassroot level workers of both parties, who have been arch rivals for decades,it remains to be seen how this transfer of votes take place.

According to the seat sharing arrangement, Congress and JD(S) will contest in 21 and 7 Lok Sabha seats respectively.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had won 17 seats, while Congress and JD(S) had won nine and two seats respectively.

However, during the recently held by-polls BJP had lost the Bellary seat to Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Congress announced the candidature of Ulhas Patil from the Raver Lok Sabha seat where he will take on sitting BJP MP Raksha Khadse.

Raver is with the NCP, as part of the alliance between the two principal opposition parties in Maharashtra, but has been given to the Congress, NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said.

Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan said Patil's name was announced by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge here.

Last week, the Congress and NCP decided to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively in Maharashtra.

Both parties decided to leave two seats each from their quota for other allies.

Accordingly, the Congress was to contest 24 and NCP 20 Lok Sabha seats.

With Raver coming into the Congress' fold, the party will now contest 25 seats against the NCP's 19.

In another development, Praveen Gaikwad, who was earlier associated with the Maratha outfit Sambhaji Brigade and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), joined the Congress.

Congress sources said he could be fielded from Pune Lok Sabha seat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A team of Congress observers led by party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal met Maharashtra Congress leaders here Saturday, as the state unit is plagued by discontent and defections ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Venugopal was accompanied by general secretary in charge of the state Mallikarjun Kharge and Madhusudan Mistry, the party's election observer for Maharashtra.

A senior leader who attended the meeting said Venugopal asked state leaders to support state Congress chief Ashok Chavan, and warned that party president Rahul Gandhi will not tolerate any indiscipline.

A few senior state Congress leaders were asked to talk to Manikrao Gavit, who is fuming over the party's decision to give Lok Sabha ticket to K C Padvi from Nandurbar and not to Gavit's son. Manikrao Gavit was a nine-time MP from the seat.

State leaders were also asked to speak to Abdul Sattar who has raised a banner of revolt in Aurangabad.

When contacted, Ashok Chavan said it was a routine meeting to take a stock of preparations ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

There haven't been many defections from the party, Chavan said, adding that the issue of Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of leader of opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, becoming BJP candiate from Ahmednagar was now a closed chapter.

Apart from Sujay Vikhe Patil, Satara district Congress chief Ranjit Naik has crossed over to the BJP and bagged ticket from Madha.

Last week an audio clip, where party worker was heard complaining to Chavan about candidature of Vinayak Bangade from Chandrapur, went viral. Chavan was heard saying that he was in the mood to quit as his views were not heeded.

A day later Bangade was replaced by Suresh Dhanorkar as Chandrapur candidate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)There has been a considerable amount of cooperation from on the efforts to restrict export of Venezuelan oil, a top American diplomat said Friday as the Trump administration tightened its noose over the authoritarian regime of the Latin American country.

"I would say that we have had contacts with Indian companies and with the government of India, and that we have found there to be a very considerable amount of cooperation, which we are very happy to see," Special Representative for Elliott Abrams told reporters at a news conference.

The Trump administration has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as oil-rich country's interim leader against President Nicolas Maduro.

As part of its effort to squeeze the Maduro regime, the had asked countries, including India, across the world to stop importing oil from or face American sanctions.

Several Indian companies have stopped importing oil from the country.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has appreciated Indian cooperation in this regard.

Early this month, the Venezuelan Oil Ministry had said that it has suspended export of oil toOpposition CPI-M Saturday lodged a complaint against Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Dev with the Election Commission for violating model code of conduct by allegedly luring voters with government jobs.

We were shocked to see that the Chief Minister Deb is inciting violence and luring voters by offering government jobs before the Parliament elections. We have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission today, CPI-M West Tripura secretary Pabitra Kar told reporters.

The Congress and CPI (M) leaders, including the Lok Sabha candidates, are under attack from BJP goons, he alleged.

Meanwhile, Congress Vice-president, Tapas Dey in a complaint to ECI on Saturday, the copy of which was made available to media, said, ever since the date to the parliamentary elections were announced a rein of terror has been let loose by the party in power to induce a fear psychosis amongst the electors and rig the election process.

Our party leaders and workers are under constant threat of facing with dire consequences if they dare to participate in the campaign process.

He further alleged that the the INC candidate from West Tripura parliamentary constituency, Subal Bhowmick was attacked by BJP hooligans on Thursday in Sonamura Sub Division in Sipahijala district.

We would also like to put on record that Shri Shankar Prasad Datta, CPI(M) candidate from west Tripura parliamentary seat was attacked thrice by the BJP rowdies and no action regarding all such incidents have been initiated which has induced the BJP workers in taking law in their hands, Dey wrote in his complaint.

However, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya denied the allegations and said if they had specific complaints against Chief Minister and enough proof to substantiate it, then ECI would take appropriate actions against him.

We have also lodged several complaints to the ECI that CPI-M cadres themselves were terrorizing people with lethal and sharp cutting weapons to pave a ground that terror was being let loose by ruling party supporters.

It is their new form of drama to blame BJP, but the truth must prevail in course of time. BJP workers do not believe in any kind of terror, he said.

Bhattacharya further alleged that CPI-M has reached a clandestine understanding with their old Congress friends and both of them were speaking in the same tune to pave the ground for withdrawing either of their candidates from the fray blaming BJP of terror.

Tripura has two Lok Sabha seats.

West Tripura constituency is scheduled to undergo polling on April 11 and East Tripura (ST,reserved) seat would vote on April 18.

A total of 25,98,290 voters would exercise their franchise in the state this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Delhi unit of the Congress Saturday complained with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)against Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of misusing his office by sending letters to voters and violating the poll code.

A delegation of the Legal department of the Delhi congress led by its chairman Sunil Kumar submitted its complaint with the CEO (Delhi) seeking action against Kejriwal.

"Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has grossly violated the code of conduct by misusing his official position by sending letters to lakhs of voters in Delhi," the delegation complained.

Response of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the allegation was not immediately available.

"The Kejriwal government is using the taxpayers' money in the election campaign of the AAP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It is attempting to influence the voters with the plea that the Congress can not defeat the BJP so they should cast their votes for the AAP candidates in Delhi," they alleged.

"Arvind Kejriwal has misused taxpayers' money to mislead the people for the benefit of the AAP to seek support for the party candidates through letters for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," they charged.

The model code of conduct is in place for the Lok Sabha polls. In Delhi, votes will be cast on May 12.

The complaint also claimed that prior permission of the Election Commission was not sought for such printed letters of the Chief Minister.

Details such as name of the printer and number of copies of the letter printed were also not specified by the AAP, it claimed.

Section 127A of the Representation of the People Act stipulates that "no person shall print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any election pamphlet or poster which does not bear on its face the names and addresses of the Printer and the Publisher thereof", it said.

The delegation sought urgent intervention in the matter by initiating stern action against Kejriwal and the AAP for "violation" of the model code of conduct.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Delhi Congress's Screening Committee met late Saturday night to shortlist candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, amid speculation over its alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party.

The meeting held at Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit's residence was on till late hours, said party sources.

The committee is tasked to shortlist names from around 80 applications received from party probables for the seven seats last month.

A senior party leader said that on an average, two-three names will be shortlisted on each seat and the new list will be sent to the party high-command for final selection of the candidates.

A final decision on Congress's alliance with the AAP is pending with the party president Rahul Gandhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)FlyArystan, a low-cost airline, has announced the sales start for its first flight en route Almaty-Taraz slated for May 1, 2019, Kazinform reported citing the company's press service.

The one-way ticket cost starts at KZT 4,999, including passenger charges. The flight duration is 60 minutes. The daily flights will be operated by Airbus A320. FlyArystan is expected to carry above 130,000 passengers from Almaty to Taraz and back within the year. Tickets can be booked at www.flyarystan.com starting from March 29.Over 500 competitors would display their skills in four different categories at the Delhi Horse Show which is being held here till April 7.

Over 400 horses are participating in the event which got underway on Friday. Competitors are grouped in four categories senior, young rider, junior and children.

Participating teams and contingents include those from the Army, paramilitary, police forces, riding clubs, institutes, schools and colleges, press release by the organisers stated.

The events will be conducted in the early morning and late in the evening under floodlights



The Delhi Horse Show has been in existence since the early part of 20th century. It was discontinued in 1979 as the grounds of the Red Fort were no longer available and as a result the public interest waned, the organisers stated.

The show was revived in 1986 under the aegis of the President's Estate Polo Club and now the show is being conducted by the Army Polo & Riding Centre at the Army Equestrian Centre here.

This show will feature events ranging from the more serious Dressage and Show Jumping events for India's top riders to fun gymkhana events for children and teenagers.

"The participants range from 3 years age to India's top senior riders. The participation in the Horse Show has increased after the Indian Eventing Team won 2 Silver Medals at last year's Asian Games at Jakarta," the organisers said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Delhi policeman allegedly shot dead a couple at a temple here, apparently because the woman had ended her relationship with him, police said Saturday.

Dinesh, assistant sub-inspector with the Delhi Traffic Police, and his accomplice Pintoo were arrested, days after the bodies of Preeti, 32, and her fianc Surendra, 26, were found in a temple in 'Sai Upwan' near the Hindan river, they said.

An FIR was lodged by the girl's father Pramod Kumar, DIG Upendra Agarwal.

The police zeroed in on Dinesh as the main suspect after reports of Preeti and him being in a relationship surfaced.

Later, the police examined CCTV footage and conducted electronic surveillance in the area.

A week ago, Preeti had changed her mobile number and stopped meeting Dinesh, officials said.

After coming to know of Surendra and Preeti's relationship, Dinesh planned to kill them, police said.

On March 25, Dinesh and his friend Pintoo followed the couple's scootie when they were on their way to the Sai temple in 'Sai Upvan', officials said.

When the couple came out of the temple, Dinesh had a heated argument with them and in a fit of anger shot them, officials said.

Police have recovered a 9 mm service pistol, three live cartridges and the car which was used in committing the crime, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP national General Secretary Ram Madhav Saturday said that no development is possible without peace and unity in Manipur as well the North East.

Interacting with ethnic Kuki civil bodies at Tuibong area in Churchandpur district, he said "if we are united, we can think of development here, the state as well the North Eastern region".

"With your cooperation, this region can actually transform into one of the most developed region in no more than four to five years because of the Act East Policy", Madhav said at the poll campaign of BJP Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency candidate Benjamin Mate.

"I came here only to seek your support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visions and for us to transform that vision into a reality," he said.

He continued that "for a moment, you have a divided community here and quarrelling" due to which we are forced to deploy security forces like the Assam Rifles here.

Asking everyone to rise above political and group divisions, Madhav remarked the civil bodies are the key and acknowledges that the people listens more to the civil bodies than political leadership.

"An excellent opportunity is waiting for you", he said adding "it is our determination that not a single innocent Kuki blood falls on this land again."



He further stressed that there should be no need for security forces here and is not happy with the number of AR camps. However, peace is required to achieve that and it depends on the leaders of Kuki bodies.

Expressing confidence that Modi will form the next government with more numbers and stability, he maintained "it will give you an excellent opportunity if you have a representative from here.

He urged all to assume Benjamin as a representative of Modi and that Modi means development and peace.

"For us, what is important that we want to do a lot of work here" Madhav assured the civil leaders and promised four-lane roads between capital Imphal and Indo; Myanmar border town of Moreh and that "they are in active talks with Myanmar."



"We are going to make Imphal town and Moreh a big hub. However, the government wants somebody who represents all so as to invest," he said.

Later, after interacting with the leaders of the civil societies, he also addressed the public where he emphasized that "if Act East Policy is naturalized, Churchandpur district will become a hub."



He also said with development of Moreh, people from China, Thailand and Myanmar can visit as well.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh also lambasted the Congress for indulging in corruption, creating communal discord.

He also assures that efforts are being made to bring solution to Kuki political problems.

On Kuki's political issue, he said though suspension of operations was signed between conglomeration of two millitant groups and the centre, it was only after the new government came in that a new interlocutor was appointed for talks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized 16.34 kg of smuggled gold, valued at Rs 5.37 crore, from different areas of the city, and arrested six persons in this connection, officials said on Saturday.

The DRI conducted three separate operations on March 25, 26 and 28 and recovered the gold, it said in a release.

On the basis of inputs received on March 25, two persons lodged in a hotel in central Kolkata were found to be in possession of 4.98 kg gold valued at Rs 1.65 crore, the release said.

In the second operation, the DRI sleuths seized 3.32 kg of the precious metal worth Rs 1.09 crore, from a person lodged in a guest house in Salt Lake area.

The third operation took place on March 28 in the business district of Burrabazar, where DRI officials recovered gold weighing 8.04 kg valued at Rs 2.63 crore, along with unaccounted cash worth Rs 75.3 lakh, the release said.

Six persons have been arrested in connection with the recovery, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will lead an EC delegation here on a two-day visit on April 2 to review the poll preparedness for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections, a senior official said Saturday.

The Election Commission delegation will meet representatives of political parties, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said here.

"The Chief Election Commissioner (Arora) and the other Election Commissioners will be in Chennai on April 2 and 3 to meet representatives of political parties and hold various election related meetings," he said.

Polling in 39 Lok Sabha seats and by-polls to 18 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu are scheduled on April 18 in a single phase.

The AIADMK-led National Democractic Alliance (NDA), DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam floated by T T V Dhinakaran are the main contenders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Enforcement Directorate Saturday attached hotel Holiday Inn, valued at Rs 120 crore, located in the upscale Aerocity area in the national capital, in connection with a money laundering case against alleged aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar.

Talwar, who was deported from Dubai in January this year and arrested by the agency, "beneficially owned" a company, Wave Hospitality Private Limited, that, the ED alleged, used tainted money to construct the hotel, next to the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The multi-storeyed plush hotel boasts of some of the most expensive boarding and dining facilities in the Aerocity complex that was constructed few years ago for international and domestic air passengers coming to Delhi.

The agency said a provisional order for attaching the property was issued by it under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED is probing Talwar in a criminal case of money laundering.

The agency alleged that he "illegally engaged in liasoning/lobbying with politicians, ministers and other public servants and officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for airlines such as Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways for securing undue benefits for them" during the tenure of the UPA government.

"He (Talwar) illegally managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09 at the cost of national carrier, Air India," the agency said in a statement.

Investigation revealed that in lieu of securing favourable traffic rights, these airlines made payments to the tune of Rs 272 crore to Talwar during 2008-09, it said.

"It has been revealed that Talwar created a web of entities owned by him and his family members in India and international offshore havens to launder proceeds of crime of Rs 272 crore received from foreign airlines," the statement said.

"Part of these payments were made to an account in Bank of Singapore, belonging to a company Asiafield Limited registered in the British Virgin Islands and beneficially owned by Deepak Talwar," it added.

These proceeds were "layered" through a series of international money transfers, to finally integrate in India in Wave Hospitality Private Limited, a company beneficially owned and controlled by Talwar and his family members, in the name of his son, Aditya Talwar, the ED alleged.

"These crime proceeds were then utilised in the construction of hotel Holiday Inn in Aerocity, New Delhi," it said.

Talwar is in judicial custody at present and the agency is expected to file its first charge sheet against him before a special PMLA court here Saturday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju Saturday asked the Director General of Police to probe a false complaint against two IAS officers here by using the Shiromani Akali Dal's letterhead.

The orders were issued to the DGP after the SAD feigned ignorance about any such complaint, an official spokesperson of the Punjab's CEO said.

An unidentified person had lodged a complaint, using the letterhead of the opposition SAD, against the two Punjab IAS officers on March 23. The letterhead was bearing the signature of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

"Normally, such complaints are signed by the party's general secretary, but in this complaint, the signature of the party president was there," Raju said.

When a written communication was sent to the SAD's office with regard to the complaint, it feigned ignorance about having made any such complaint, the spokesperson said.

Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta has been directed to thoroughly probe the matter and take necessary action, he said.

"We will not allow such fake complaints," Raju said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Saturday held a protest rally near the residence of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu here in support of their demands including a complete loan waiver.

The agitating farmers lashed out at the governments at the Centre and in the state for not accepting their demands.

Besides complete loan waiver, farmers have been seeking implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, payment of outstanding amount to cane growers, plots to homeless farmers or farm labourers and old age pension, they said.

Press Secretary of the committee, Harpreet Singh Sidhawa, threatened that the farmers would squat on railway track on March 31 to press the governments to accept their demands.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a jolt to the Congress ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha election, its senior leader and former minister Sham Lal Sharma joined the BJP on Saturday, along with a group of his supporters.

Sharma, who resigned from the post of senior vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) in May last year over some differences, joined the BJP in the presence of its national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna and state unit chief Ravinder Raina.

"With the joining of Sharma, along with state leader Subash Langer, six municipal corporators from Jourian and Akhnoor, youth leader Naresh Sharma and hundreds of activists, we have now virtually ensured Congress-mukt (free) Jammu," Raina told reporters here.

Raina also welcomed former additional principal chief conservator forests M J Sharma into the party fold.

"I will work with dedication and honestly for the BJP," Sharma, who had won twice from the Akhnoor Assembly constituency and was a minister in the National Conference-Congress coalition government till 2014, said.

"I became the chowkidar when I first won the by-election from Akhnoor in 2004 and retained the seat in 2008. I have always performed my duties with dedication and always raised my voice against discrimination with Jammu even in the government," Sharma, who was defeated by BJP candidate in the 2014 elections, said.

However, Sharma said, he never got support from his party as "it has become our habit to work as a bonded labour for one section or a particular region. I never compromised with my ideology which is akin to the BJP..."



He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his government brought transparency and accountability in the country and requested the people of Jammu region to stand united and ensure the win of the BJP candidates.

He said the vision of the BJP is equitable development of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli border Sunday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during an overnight demonstration and three 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded.

But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise.

Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections. Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence.

Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm. Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier on Saturday, but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence.

East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire. The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.

An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar. Israel's army said around 40,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered in spots throughout the border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met today in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America), Trend reports citing a statement released by OSCE.

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting, reads the statement.

The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions, according to the statement.

They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance.

The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field.

The Prime Minister and President instructed their Ministers to meet with the CoChairs again in the near future. They also agreed to continue their direct dialogue, reads the statement.A fourth Palestinian died from Israeli fire in clashes sparked by mass demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Billal al-Najjar, 17, was shot by Israeli forces east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, it said in a statement.

Two others aged 17 and a 20-year-old man were killed, according to ministry statements, as tens of thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of weekly protests along the frontier.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Gangster Sushil Mooch, wanted in more than 10 cases of murder in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts of Uttar Pradesh, surrendered in a local court here on Saturday, police said.

Mooch surrendered before the chief judicial magistrate in connection with the case of murder of dairy owner Sushil alias Chiku, they said.

Sushil was shot dead on October 10, 2017.

The accused has been sent to judicial custody till April 12 by Chief Judicial Magistrate Rakesh Gautam, according to the prosecution.

Mooch ran an organised racket of hired hitman and was arrested in 2012 in murder cases registered against him, but he was let out on bail in 2017, they said.

The accused has been on the run since then, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The police Saturday seized 800 kg ganja worth approximately Rs 32 lakh in Lohardaga district, a senior police officer said here.

Superintendent of Police, Priyadarshi Alok said following a tip-off that a consignment was being ferried to Bihar from Kolkata, the police began searching vehicles in the district and found the contraband hidden in a 12-wheeler truck near Kudu of the district.

Four persons in a car escorting the truck were taken into custody for questioning, the SP added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Saturday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for keeping the country on tenterhooks over the anti-satellite missile test announcement and ending up with an address that the Congress leader described as "much ado about nothing".

India shot down one of its satellites in space on Wednesday with an anti-satellite missile to demonstrate this complex capability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced, making it only the fourth country to have used such a weapon.

The announcement could have been made by the scientists themselves, Gehlot said.

He said the entire country waited for 40 minutes "in fear" after the prime minister announced that he wanted to give a message to the nation.

"People waited and later realised that it was much ado about nothing (khoda pahad nikli chuhiya). People were aback for being kept waiting for so long. People were in panic whether there is going to be another demonetisation," Gehlot told reporters at a press conference here Saturday.

He said it took 35-40 years for establishing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but they (prime minister) try to present things in such a manner that everything including 100 satellites which were successfully test fired and the recent achievement of anti-satellite missile test were being done after he became prime minister.

"They present things in such a manner that they were the achievements of their five years of being in power . But, they are getting exposed. They are in delusion that they are going to form the government, which is not possible," he said.

He said the prime minister and people in the BJP were upset after Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced the minimum income scheme (Nyay) after which they have sharpened their attack and are giving "misleading" statements.

"It is not rhetoric (Jumla) like the BJP made to deposit Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people. There is no difference in words and deeds of the Congress but they try to mislead people through rhetoric. NYAY will be a key issue of Congress manifesto," he said.

Gehlot said that implementation of NYAY scheme will increase purchasing power of the poor. It will increase activity in the market and move the wheel of demand and supply, he claimed.

He said the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are important for "saving democracy" in the country.

Replying to a question on ticket denial to veteran BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Gehlot said that the people in the BJP were on the path to make Congress-free India but they forgot and are now making BJP free of Advani and Joshi.

"Shahnawaz Hussain and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi should leave the party for ticket denial as the BJP wants to give a message for Hindutva in the country," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union minister Giriraj Singh Saturday trained his guns at Jignesh Mevani, who has been canvassing for his CPI rival Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai, blaming the young Dalit leader from Gujarat for the attacks on migrants from Bihar in the western state last year.

An indignant Mevani hit back saying he would sue the BJP leader for defamation and alleged that in the backdrop of the "silence" of the ruling BJP in Gujarat, during the anti-migrant violence, Girirajs outbursts were tantamount to "ulta chor kotwal ko daante" (the thief reprimanding the policeman).

"What is this Jignesh Mevani doing here in Begusarai. He was involved in attacks on Biharis who were forcibly driven out of Gujarat. He abetted those responsible for the dishonour that our mothers and sisters had to suffer in that state," Singh who reached Begusarai on Friday after spending several days in a sulk over not getting a chance to seek re-election from his Nawada seat - tweeted.

"I am going to lodge a defamation case against Giriraj Singh. He has the nerve to blame me when his party, which is in power in Gujarat, was solely responsible for the unfortunate events that took place there," Mevani told PTI over phone from Begusarai.

"I had openly condemned the role played by Vijay Rupanis government and questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had ruled Gujarat for long and owed his rise to national prominence in a large measure to the love and affection he received from the Hindi belt," he said.

Mevani, who shot to fame with the massive stir he had launched in Gujarat against atrocities committed by cow vigilantes on Dalits engaged in the profession of skinning of dead cattle, has been camping in Begusarai for three days, canvassing in favour of the former JNU students union president, often leaving the local populace touched with the smattering in local dialect that he has picked up.

Currently an Independent MLA in Gujarat, Mevani also pointed out "I was, in fact, actively involved in the efforts to protect migrants from RSS-backed goons. We had come out in support of the drive launched by Hardik Patel, who had issued a helpline number."



"I had tendered apologies on behalf of the people of Gujarat when I came to Patna in October last year to take part in a CPI rally. I did so because I felt revulsion towards the apathy shown by Rupani and Modi whose silence displayed a sense of thanklessness for the migrant workers who have toiled to make Gujarat what it is. Giriraj has left me appalled," he added.

"Anybody can check on youtube. I spoke for just a few minutes but must have used the term 'namak haram' for Modi about a dozen times, in the context of the anti-migrant violence," Mevani said.

Asked whether he thought the Union minister had confused him with Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who has often been blamed for the attacks on migrants, Mevani said "it could be. But as someone who has seen it all with his own eyes, I can vouch that even he was being made a scapegoat. It was all at the behest of the BJP-RSS combine".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Seven candidates Saturday filed their nominations for the April-May Lok Sabha polls, taking the total to fourteen since the notification was issued on March 28, a release by state Chief Electoral Officer, S Murli Krishna stated.

Saturday was the third day of filing nominations.

Prominent among them was BJP chief Amit Shah who is contesting from Gandhinagar, a seat held multiple times by BJP patriarch LK Advani.

An Independent candidate, Keshav Kachhadia, also filed his nomination for the Gandhinagar seat on Saturday.

According to the release, Ayeshabanu Pathan of the Ambedkar National Congress has filed her candidature for Kheda constituency.

Others who submitted nomination papers were Ramkrishna Rajyaguru, an Independent candidate for Jamnagar seat, and Tapan Dasgupta of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) party for Vadodara seat, said the release.

Uttam Vasava, who is being fielded by the Chhotu Vasava-led Bharatiya Tribal Party for Bardoli (ST) seat, also filed his papers on Saturday.

His dummy candidate Subhash Vasava also presented his candidature for the seat, the release informed.

The state will see five Assembly bypolls along side the Lok Sabha elections on 26 seats on April 23.

Independent candidate Haresh Patel filed his nomination for the Unjha Assembly bypoll, the release said.

Seven candidates had filed their nominations on Friday for the Lok Sabha polls.

The last date to file nominations is April 4.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Senior Congress leaders and their kin are among the contenders for party tickets in Haryana, which sends 10 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Deepender Singh Hooda was the sole Congress leader to win a seat in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He holds the Rohtak parliamentary constituency -- a traditional stronghold of the Hooda family.

The BJP had won seven seats and the Indian National Lok Dal bagged the remaining two.

Senior leaders who are likely to enter the fray include Kumari Selja from Ambala and state unit chief Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa.

Both Ambala and Sirsa are reserved constituencies and have been represented by Selja and Tanwar, respectively, in the past.

Ajay Singh Yadav, Naveen Jindal and Karan Singh Dalal are also eyeing tickets from Gurgaon, Kurukshetra and Faridabad, respectively.

Dalal is likely to face competition from former Congress MP from Faridabad, Avtar Singh Bhadana, who recently returned to the party fold after quitting the BJP.

Former chief minister and sitting MLA from Garhi Sampla Kiloi, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, could spring a surprise by entering the fray from Sonipat parliamentary constituency, sources close to the senior Congress leader said.

Like Rohtak, the adjoining Sonipat parliamentary constituency, which has a sizeable number of Jat voters, is considered a bastion of Hooda Senior, a four-time MP.

If B S Hooda, who was recently appointed chairman of Haryana Congress Coordination Committee, wins from Sonipat and his son manages to retain Rohtak, it could make the former a strong contender for the chief ministerial post, the sources said.

Assembly elections in Haryana are scheduled to be held in October this year.

Besides Deepender Hooda, daughter of Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhary, Shruti Choudhary, is also among the ticket hopefuls. Shruti is eyeing the party ticket from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi is likely to push for the candidature of his son, Bhavya, from Hisar seat.

Amid infighting in the state unit, the Congress high command has planned bus tours across Haryana to present a united face ahead of the polls.

B S Hooda, however, rejected the claims of infighting and exuded confidence that the party would win with a comfortable margin.

"The entire Congress is one and united under the leadership of our party president Rahul Gandhi," he said.

The Congress leader also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and Chief Minister M L Khattar-led state government, alleging that they had failed on to fulfil people's expectations.

B S Hooda also alleged that the Centre and the state government had not delivered on promises made to farmers, youths, traders, and other sections.

Voting will be held in Haryana in the sixth round of seven-phase Lok Sabha polls on May 12. Results will be announced on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Shiv Sena's Mumbai South Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant Saturday hopped onto ally BJP's 'chowkidar' campaign by claiming his party since inception had the "essence" of the watchman, that of being vigilant and providing security.

"Everyone who is alert and provides security is a chowkidar, including Shiv Sainiks. I am a chaukidar from birth and have been supporting the campaign since the two parties have been in alliance," Sawant said at the state BJP office here.

Ironically, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, at a rally in Solapur on December 25, had mounted a veiled attack on the BJP by repeating the Congress' "chowkidar chor hai" jibe.

Thackeray, narrating an incident, said, "In one of the state tours, a farmer showed me a pest-infested lime tree. The lime tree is actually used to make pesticides but this one was itself hit by pests. The farmer told me it was the first time he had ever seen a lime tree getting attacked by pests. I told him times had changed. Nowadays, those providing security themselves have become thieves."



Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Sanjay Upadhyay, who was also present at Saturday's briefing, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a program through video conferencing on Sunday.

He said Modi will have a live chat with people, including chowkidars, at 54 places across the state, including Bandra in the metropolis.

The PM would also answer queries of people at the Uttar Bharatiya Sangh in Bandra.

"The program will be attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar. Besides this, the campaign of Main Bhi Chowkidar will be held in all six constituencies of Mumbai," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Saturday expressed displeasure over the quality of in the country and said "it is because successive central governments had failed to provide adequate budget to the sector".

He also criticised the affluent class for not doing enough charity and said "if I get the power, I will impose cess on these people to improve system".

"I feel pain when the society respects people who have turned powerful by tax evasion, looting money from banks and are dishonest.

"The affluent class are not doing charity. Our 'Seth' (rich) can spend Rs 1,000 crore on the engagement and marriage of his daughter but cannot give Rs 500 crore to any university. If I get the power in my hand, I will force a cess on such people so that we can improve the standard of our education," Malik said, addressing the second convocation of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Jammu.

He said the country is lacking in the quality even after 70 years of Independence.

"The quality education, as it should be in the country, was not here. I have been in Parliament for three-four terms and noticed that when budget is passed, every other sector gets time for discussion while there is no discussion on education budget which is passed without any discussion," the governor said.

The governor observed that quality education is the most powerful tool for a nation to empower its citizens, especially women, and urged greater attention towards providing quality education to students.

He said the younger generation has a vital role to play in nation building and only quality education can contribute to rapid growth and development of the country and enable them to achieve what they want to.

"The education system in the country has become a guillotine. I am not afraid in admitting that no government has given more than six per cent to education sector and spending such a meagre amount, you think our people will get a Nobel Prize," he said.

Malik said researchers of universities abroad have bagged many Noble Prizes, whereas India as a country has got only 11, which include six recipients who reside outside the country while among the rest five, one was given to Mother Teresa.

"I know I am harsh in my words and will not be liked by many but I speak this with a lot of pain. The affluent people in this country, as I had earlier said, are like rotten potatoes," he said, adding they do not deserve respect which should be given to those who are standing at the borders and their parents who on receiving the body of their sons said they are ready to send the second son in the service of the nation.

He said the politicians boast of receiving invitation cards for the marriage ceremony of affluent people and rush to the venue but "I feel the farmers, labourers, industrial workers and educationists deserve more respect and when it will happen, the development scenario in the country will change".

He said his administration has made an effort to improve the education system in Jammu and Kashmir and sanctioned 52 new colleges.

"We have decided to give 50 more colleges by next year as there are places where students had to travel a long distance to continue their studies. We have also upgraded 300 junior higher secondary schools to higher secondary schools," he said.

He said he fought to get an industrial package at par with the Northeast to attract investment in the state. "There is a lot of opportunity for investment in Jammu and I would like the youth of the state to be job providers and not job seekers," he said.

During the convocation ceremony, the Governor awarded meritorious students with medals and certificates.

A total of 62 students were awarded with Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degrees.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In the face of increased threat to 'Blue Helmets', India has strongly underscored the need of well trained peacekeepers in UN missions, saying that their importance cannot be overemphasised.

India's remarks came after UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres on Friday stressed on the need to make peacekeeping missions stronger and safer during the 2019 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial here.

Ministers of defence, foreign affairs and high-level officials from more than 130 member states and intergovernmental organisations gathered at the United Nations headquarters for the ministerial to discuss and generate the specialized capabilities necessary for contemporary peacekeeping, with a specific focus on performance, protection of civilians and women, peace, and security.

India is a signatory to A4P (Action for Peacekeeping) declaration and is ready to play an active role in collectively achieving the shared commitments identified in the declaration. With increased threat to the Blue Helmets, the importance of well trained boots on ground cannot be overemphasized, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Mala Dutt said at the ministerial.

He said as a responsible Troop Contributing Country, India will continue to deploy professional troops in the missions and work towards capacity building of UN missions.

Addressing the Training And Capacity Building session in the UN General Assembly hall, Dutt said since the implementation of the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (UNPCRS), India has pledged and deployed units and enablers as required by UN.

Presently, India has committed an Infantry Battalion as a Rapidly Deployable Battalion, one Engineer and Signal Company, Force Military Police Platoon and three Formed Police Units in UNPCRS. She noted that towards India's endeavour on ?smart pledges?, the country is happy on the successful co-deployment of a Kazakhstan Contingent with Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon since ?October ?2018. This successful venture will pave the way for a new dimension in peacekeeping deployment, wherein Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs) with experience can contribute towards capacity building of the new T/PCCs, she added.

Guterres, during his address, said that as conflicts become more complex and high-risk, the peacekeeping operations must keep pace.

Noting that 27 UN peacekeepers were killed by violent acts in 2018, he said making these missions stronger and safer is one of the key elements of my Action for Peacekeeping initiative, together with refocusing peacekeeping with more realistic expectations, and mobilizing greater support for political solutions.

The UN chief thanked the over 150 countries that have signed the Statement of Shared Commitments so far which, among other things, encompasses advancing political solutions and improving peacekeepers' safety and security.

We are already seeing results, said Guterres, pointing to a significant reduction last year in the number of peacekeepers killed.

The Secretary-General also highlighted some critical gaps in UN missions, such as the urgent need for armoured personnel carriers and 24/7 evacuation helicopters that can operate from remote areas. He urged the signatory countries to contribute towards this.

Guterres stressed that the UN has almost doubled the number of female staff officers and observers but more needs to be done in this regard.

"We will present a strategy to increase the numbers of female uniformed personnel to the Security Council next month, and I urge your support, he said.

The Indian additional defence secretary said India is committed towards participation of women in UN Peacekeeping missions.

We are always prepared to exceed the targets set in this regard, as laid down in Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, she said.

Dutt informed the high-level meeting that India has always employed its rich UN peacekeeping experience and expertise to partner with UN and other member states for training and capacity building initiatives.

India has a well established institute Centre for UN Peacekeeping' (CUNPK) for conducting mission specific pre-deployment training with focus on specialist topics such as Protection of Civilians and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

India also has taken initiative in training troops of member states for UN deployment, including through Mobile Training Teams.

During the meeting, participants renewed their mutual commitment to peacekeeping operations. Ministers voiced their support of the Secretary-General's Action for Peacekeeping initiative and highlighted progress on relevant commitments in the Declaration of Shared Commitments on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

Member States also announced specific pledges of key peacekeeping capabilities requested by the United Nations, including specialized enabling capabilities for high-risk missions, rapidly deployable units, training and capacity-building support and related partnership initiatives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump said he may discuss the situation in Venezuela with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, TASS reported citing Reuters.

"We will probably be talking at some point," the US leader told reporters at his estate in Florida. "Ill be talking to a lot of people - perhaps President Putin, perhaps President Xi of China."

US national security adviser John Bolton said on Friday that Trump was set to talk with Putin by phone soon. He also said his country viewed the deployment of other states troops in Venezuela as a threat to the region.India has offered USD 100 million credit to Bolivia after President Ram Nath Kovind held productive and extensive talks with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales here.

Kovind is on a three-day visit to Bolivia, the first high-level visit from India to the Latin American country since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

President Kovind held wide-ranging talks with his Bolivian counterpart Morales on a number of bilateral issues such as economy, space and IT.

The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen political and economic engagement.

"India offered 100 million US Dollar Line of Credit to Bolivia for financing development projects," according to an official statement.

Both countries also agreed on the need for reform of the UN Security Council to make it reflective of contemporary realities, the statement said.

The two sides also signed eight MoUs in various fields, including academics, space and medicine.

"We are happy to have Bolivia as a partner in the International Solar Alliance and welcome the signing of the framework agreement establishing the bond," Kovind said in a statement.

In addition, the two countries signed MoUs in the fields of culture, visa waiver arrangement for diplomats, the exchange between diplomatic academies, mining, traditional medicine, establishment of centre of excellence in IT and bi-oceanic railway project, according to an official statement.

"The two countries agreed to further expand business ties in pharmaceuticals and health care; automobiles and engineering; machinery and textile; and metals and minerals," it said.

President Kovind also addressed the India-Bolivia Business Forum on Friday and said that the two countries have their own economic strengths and they can complement each other in the mutual quest for growth and prosperity.

"Our joint participation speaks of our deep mutual commitment to strengthening business ties. The task ahead for us is clearly cut out. Our political ties are strong and growing, but we have to work a lot more, hand-in-hand to bring our economic partnership to the level of our mutual understanding," he said.

The event was partnered by Bolivian Chamber and Industry groups and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Indian president is accompanied by top executives of 30 Indian companies representing different sectors, including gold, mining, infrastructure, IT, automobile and energy.

"We want their ideas and enterprise to connect with Bolivian commerce and industry, to create new corridors of growth and prosperity," he added.

The President said that, "we have extended e-visa facilities covering business visits to all Latin American and Caribbean countries. We would be happy if our business community were encouraged with easier travel to Bolivia to plan and prospect better, and for us to deepen and strengthen our partnership.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An Indian man died and his wife sustained injuries after they were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich in Germany, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Saturday.

"Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant's brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Swaraj tweeted.

The external affairs minister said she has asked Indian mission in Munich to take care of the couple's two children.

Further details of the incident and the couple were not immediately known.

Meanwhile, asked by a Twitter user why she, the "most sensible" BJP leader, had added the 'chowkidar' prefix to her name on the microblogging site, Swaraj tweeted, "Because I am doing Chowkidari of Indian interests and Indian nationals abroad."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the "Main Bhi Chowkidar" (I too am a watchman) campaign to blunt the Congress's "Chowkidar Chor Hai" (the watchman is a thief) jibe at him.

He prefixed his Twitter name with 'chowkidar' and almost all BJP leaders and Union ministers including Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman followed suit.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been targeting Modi over alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal. He has often used the "Chowkidar Chor Hai" slogan while accusing the prime minister of wrongdoings in the deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Election Commission (EC) has launched an inquiry against Prithviraj Deshmukh, Sangli district unit president of the BJP, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct, an official said on Saturday.

Deshmukh, while addressing a joint gathering of BJP, Shiv Sena and RPI (A) workers at Miraj city in Sangli district on Wednesday, reportedly told a party worker that he would get Rs five lakh or more if BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil is re-elected to the Lok Sabha.

A video clip of his address has gone viral on social media.

During his address, Deshmukh said it was not easy to win the Sangli Lok Sabha seat currently held by Patil.

When someone from the crowd asked Deshmukh what would he give them if they got Patil re-elected, he said, "You will get five lakh or even more."



But he added, "Jokes apart, Sanjaykaka Patil has done a good job here in Miraj by getting funds for development of roads, highways, railways and other infrastructure projects."



Talking to PTI, Sangli District Collector Abhijit Chaudhari said the EC has taken cognisance of the media reports of Deshmukh's speech.

"The footage of his speech has been sent to the assistant returning officer, who is now studying it. Further course of action will be initiated once the inquiry is complete," he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, no further inquiry was required as Deshmukh's speech had already gone viral on social media, in which he is clearly heard offering bribe to people.

"What more proof is required to take action? This is a clear violation of the model code of conduct. This proves our stand that the BJP is fighting elections based on money power," Malik said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An interstate gang of robbers was busted Saturday with the arrest of three persons in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A pistol along with five live rounds were recovered from the kingpin of the gang, who is a resident of Punjab, a police spokesman said.

He said the gang was busted following investigation into the recent robbery incidents at a petrol pump and a shop in the district.

Two petrol pump employees and a shopkeeper were shot at and injured when armed robbers struck a filling station at Chadwal on March 24 and a shop in Parliwand on February 8 before looting cash.

Based on specific information, police arrested the kingpin, Balbir Singh, from Badholi area in Hiranagar (Kathua) and seized a pistol from him, the spokesman said.

Singh, who goes by the alias 'Pamma', is a resident of Punjab.

"During questioning, he admitted his involvement in both the robberies," the spokesman said, adding that Singh is the prime accused in a 2014 murder case registered at R S Pura police station in Jammu.

He was also booked in other henious crimes in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, the spokesman added.

Two of Singh's local associates -- Rakesh Kumar alias Tony and Vishal verma -- were also arrested, he said.

Meanwhile, police claimed to have cracked a separate burglary case involving a famous shrine within hours and arrested the accused, a government employee, in Poonch district.

Mumtaz Ali (38), an employee in Animal and Sheep Husbandry department, looted Rs 28,635 from the Shareef Sain Elahi Baksh shrine at Battalkote-Loran in the early hours Saturday, the spokesman said.

He said the accused was intercepted by police while he was trying to escape on his two-wheeler. Stolen cash and the equipment used in the burgalry were recovered from him, the spokesman added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath Saturday taunted the BJP for the delay in announcing candidates for the Indore and Bhopal Lok Sabha seats, both considered strongholds of the saffron party.

He said the BJP should issue advertisements inviting suitable candidates for the two seats.

Senior leader and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh is the Congress' nominee from Bhopal while the BJP is yet to announce its candidate.

The seat has been held by the BJP since 1989 and the 2014 polls was won by Alok Sanjar who defeated the Congress' PC Sharma by a margin of over 3.70 lakh votes.

Indore is represented since 1989 by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

"The BJP is breaking out into a sweat. It should issue an advertisement to find candidates," Nath told reporters at the Congress headquarters here.

Queried on the demand from some quarters that Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia be fielded from Indore to wrest the seat from the BJP, Nath said the latter's case was "different".

"Scindia is a sitting MP. There is his own area which he has been representing. So his case is different. There is no such question (of seat change) unless he himself takes any decision," Nath said.

The MP CM predicted the Congress would win 22 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, adding that the BJP would not cross 160 seats across the country in the April-May polls.

He said the Congress would announce candidates for the remaining MP Lok Sabha seats in the next three-four days.

On the occasion, Vijay Shukla, brother of ex-BJP minister Rajendra Shukla and some BJP leaders from Satna and Rewa districts joined the Congress.

The BJP had won 27 out of 29 seats in the 2014 polls, with only Scindia from Guna and Nath from Chhindwara managing to withstand the Narendra Modi wave.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday hit out at Congress leader P C Chacko for describing Gandhi family as the first family of the country.

He said the Gandhi family had no familiarity with the family of Mahatma Gandhi and Chacko's statement reflects nothing but sycophancy culture prevailing in the Congress.

"PC Chacko described Gandhi family as the first family of the country .This is the Congress' mindset and culture of sycophancy which resembles Devkant Barooah who used to say during emergency Indira is India, India is Indira," Javadekar said at a press conference here.

"For the BJP, poor family is the first family of the country and not any dynasty. Dynasty is Congress' culture," said Javadekar, who is also BJP's state election in-charge.

Meanwhile, state BJP leaders presented a chargesheet against the Congress government for not fulfilling promises after 100 days of forming the government here.

"Promises made by the state government before assembly elections have proved (to be) lies. Be it farm loan waiver, unemployment allowance, Congress has not fulfilled any of them even after 100 days," former state minister Rajendra Rathore told reporters.

Former state BJP president Arun Chaturvedi said financial mismanagement, power and water cuts were the realities of the Congress government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three civilians were killed in a jihadist attack on Sunday in Yendere in western Burkina Faso, near the border with Ivory Coast, security sources said.

The town was attacked "by a group of armed individuals," two of whom were killed by authorities, a source told AFP.

"Three civilians, all passengers in a public transport vehicle, were killed," said the source, describing the assailants as jihadist "terrorists".

"Two assailants were killed by security forces in response. There were no victims among the security forces." This is the first attack in the violence-ridden country to claim lives so near the border with Ivory Coast.

Two civilians were injured in the attack, according to a different security source. Yendere was the target of a similar attack earlier this month, which claimed no victims. on Thursday, four Burkina Faso paramilitary police members died in an attack on a base near the border with Mali, a region that sees frequent attacks by jihadists, security sources said.

The same northern base was attacked in October when one gendarme was killed and three were wounded. An assailant was also killed. The poor desert country, a former French colony, has seen a surge in attacks blamed on Islamist groups -- mainly the Ansaroul Islam group and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) -- in the last four years.

At first they were concentrated in the north but the capital Ouagadougou has suffered three attacks, and they are on the rise in the east. More than 310 people have died in the attacks since 2015, including a total of nearly 60 in Ouagadougou, according to an AFP tally.

Human Rights Watch says dozens of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in the north so far this year. More than 100,000 people have been displaced, over half of them since the start of 2019, officials have said.

The worsening violence that has engulfed the entire Sahel region has driven around 4.3 million people from their homes, including one million over the past year, according to UN humanitarian officials.

Jihadist groups have gained ground in central Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while Chad is battling unrest on its borders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A city court hearing the 2016 JNU sedition case Saturday observed that the city police's role regardingsanction was complete and it will now ask the Delhi government about the same.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat made the observation after being told by police that sanction was an administrative action and the charge sheet can be filed without that.

DCP of Special Cell of Delhi Police, Pramod Kushwaha, told the court that the agency has already sent a request to the Delhi government seeking sanction.

The court Friday pulled up the Delhi Police over non-appearance of the DCP, who was asked to file report in the case.

The Delhi Police had earlier told the court that authorities were yet to give requisite sanctions to prosecute former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the case, and it would take two to three months to procure sanctions.

On January 14, police had filed a charge sheet in the court against Kumar and others, saying he was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised in the JNU campus during an event on February 9, 2016.

The court had also sought a report from the deputy commissioner of police assigned to the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday met senior leader Manikrao Gavit after the latter threatened to quit the party over the choice of candidate for the Nandurbar Lok Sabha seat.

Gavit is a nine-time MP from Nandurbar though he was trounced by 1.06 lakh votes by the BJP's Heena Gavit in the 2014 general elections.

Gavit had wanted the Congress ticket for his son Bharat but the party refused to pay heed and fielded MLA K C Padvi.

Nandurbar goes to polls in the fourth phase on April 23.

In a statement, Gavit said Kharge had assured him that he and his family would be taken into confidence while deciding candidates for the Assembly elections and future local bodies polls.

Kharge also asked Gavit to trust him and the party.

Gavit said he had asked Kharge why his son Bharat was not considered for Lok Sabha nomination.

"I assured Kharge that I enjoy good relations with the Gandhi family since the time of Indira Gandhi and will never leave the party or work against its interests," Gavit said in a recorded statement released by the state Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a "first of its kind initiative", the Election Commission Saturday reached out to over 150 community radio stations across the country to educate and inform the voters ahead of the general elections, it said.

The event was organised by India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM), in partnership with Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART), at IIIDEM, Dwarka, the EC said in a statement.

The main purpose of the workshop was to ensure the training and capacity building of the community radios for voter education and awareness, the EC said.

Umesh Sinha, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, said community radio is one of the best mediums to reach out to the last voter of the country and the workshops were just the beginning of a long term and sustained engagement with them.

Community radio can play a vital role in motivating and mobilising the voters, enlisting them into the electoral roll, mobilising them to go to the polling booth, educating them about their rights and responsibilities, and making them an informed and educated voter, he added.

The radio stations can strengthen democracy by developing content in local dialects and deepening the process of voter education and awareness up to the grass root levels.

He assured that community radio stations will become an integral part of the voter education programme.

Sinha further emphasised that every voter is the first representative of the country and plays an important role in protecting democracy.

All voters across the country have the same power. Elections provide a level playing field as each vote has the same power, no matter who casts it-- the richest of the rich or the poorest of the poor, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Turkey's defense minister and chief of general staff on Saturday inaugurated a center in southeastern Sanliurfa province that would manage possible military operation against terrorists east of the Euphrates River in Syria, Anadolu Agency reports.

Hulusi Akar and Gen. Yasar Guler also inspected Turkey's forces deployed near the Syrian border in Sanliurfa. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Akar said Turkey is in pursuit of terrorists with an air operation launched early Saturday in northern Iraq.

In another operation three days ago, Akar noted, PKK ringleaders suffered "heavily". "This will continue. No one should have doubts about that," he added.

Akar said that Turkey's plans and preparations for a possible operation east of the Euphrates in Syria are completed.The world today is very different from the one that Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked in, but he anticipated some of the "pressing challenges" of the 21st century, President Ram Nath Kovind has said.

Commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in Bolivia on Friday, Kovind, who is on a three-day visit to the Latin American country, stressed on the relevance the Father of the Nation holds in the 21st century, saying his principles have shaped India's developmental experience.

President Kovind's visit is the first high-level visit to the Latin American country since the establishment of diplomatic ties. The two countries have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen political and economic engagement.

Speaking at the Autonomous University of Gabriel Rene Moreno in Santa Cruz, he said that the world today is very different from the world that Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked in.

"And yet, Gandhiji remains extremely relevant to 21st century global concerns. In his advocacy of sustainability, ecological sensitivity and living in harmony with nature, he anticipated some of the pressing challenges of our times. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations are Gandhian philosophy in action," the president said.

On the occasion, he also named an auditorium at the university after Gandhi's name. The university is one of the oldest and largest centres of higher education in Bolivia with 115,000 students.

October 2 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.

Bolivia will also install two statues of Gandhi gifted by India in La Paz and Santa Cruz, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said in a tweet.

"It is a fitting tribute to a great man whom we in India consider the Father of our Nation and whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated in 2019," he said.

The president said that Gandhi was the most influential Indian of the 20th century. To this day, he remains the benchmark against which we test public men and women, political ideas and government policies, and the hopes and wishes of our country and our people and of our shared planet.

"These principles have shaped India's developmental experience. That is why the true measure of India's economic success is not just that it is the fastest growing major economy in the world, but also that it is moving briskly towards eliminating extreme poverty in the next decade," he added.

During his address, Kovind said that like Bolivia, India gives great importance to the preservation of indigenous languages and knowledge systems



"Gandhian philosophy treasures, cherishes and renews the wisdom, culture, resources and life systems of common citizens, ordinary families and indigenous communities who have lived for centuries in the lap of nature nature with all its diversity and bio-diversity," the president said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A man and his son were arrested for allegedly supplying illegal weapons in the national capital and its periphery, police said Saturday.

Eight semi-automatic pistols and 18 live cartridges were recovered from the possession of the arrested accused, they said.

The accused have been identified as Haroon (45) and Imran (25), residents of Humayun Nagar, Meerut, they added.

While working on a case of illegal weapons being supplied from neighbouring states, police got a tip-off on Tuesday that one Haroon would come to Ghazipur Fruit Market to supply illegal semi-automatic pistols, a senior police officer said.

A trap was laid and at around 4.30 pm, Haroon, along with his son, arrived at the spot on a bike.

When police tried to apprehend the duo, Imran pistol-whipped them. The accused, however, were overpowered and arrested, Ram Gopal Naik, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

During interrogation, Haroon disclosed that in 2009, he came into contact with one Rahis and started supplying illegal fire arms.

When he was arrested in 2010, he came into contact with many inmates from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and after coming out of jail, he contacted them and started supplying weapons as per their demand, Naik said.

His son Imran started supplying the firearms with him from last two to three years, police said.

In December 2018, one Iqbal was arrested with huge cache of sophisticated weapons and during investigation of that case, Haroon's name came into light as one of the prominent supplier of sophisticated semi-automatic pistols and ammunition in Delhi and adjoining areas, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union minister and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi began her campaign from the Sultanpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

Maneka Gandhi said she started her political journey from here along with her husband, Sanjay Gandhi.

"When I lost my husband, my son was 100 days old. At that time, I had felt lonely and had left everything to God. And today, when I see an army of party workers and the enthusiasm in them, it seems that we will win the polls," Maneka Gandhi said at a party workers programme here.

"It is necessary for you (people) to know about your prospective MP. How did I win elections from Pilibhit? Every person knows that whenever anyone had sought some help, the person has not returned empty-handed," the seven-time Lok Sabha MP said.

Maneka Gandhi will fight from Sultanpur, a seat represented by her son, Varun Gandhi, who will contest from Pilibhit in the Lok Sabha election.

Maneka Gandhi said Varun Gandhi had done a lot for Sultanpur. "He used to spend his salary every month for the poor, which I could not do," the Union minister said.

She also showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This was Maneka Gandhi's first visit to Sultanpur after she was named as the BJP candidate from Sultanpur. Maneka Gandhi had won from Pilibhit on six occasions, while in 2009 she won from Aonla.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The mayor of New Orleans plans an apology to Italian Americans for what's considered the nation's most deadly lynching violence in which 11 Italian immigrants were killed after acquittals in a police chief's murder.

Michael Santo of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy says the lynching in 1891 and responses to it prompted Italy to close its embassy in the US, followed by a reciprocal US Embassy closing in Italy.

He says that when representatives asked the city earlier this year for an apology, Mayor LaToya Cantrell embraced the idea.

He says she appointed Human Relations Commission head Vincenzo Pasquantonio as liaison.

The city and Italian American organisers say the apology proclamation will be presented April 12 at the city's American Italian Cultural Center.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Several office-bearers of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, a body affiliated to the RSS, joined the Congress here Saturday, claiming that they were facing discrimination and apathy.

City president of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch Riyaz Khan alleged that the RSS and BJP were ignoring their demands, and claimed that some 5,000 members of the Manch were joining the Congress alongwith him and some 20 other functionaries.

Congress' candidate for the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, Nana Patole, welcomed them into the party fold at a function here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 28-year-old man who had been missing since March 26 was found murdered in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Saturday.

The body of the deceased, Jogender, was found in Nayagaon village under Ramraj police station in the district on Friday evening, they said.

Jogender, a DJ, had gone to an event with his partner Nitin on March 26 but did not return, the police said.

Nitin and two others -- Shivkumar and Kapil -- were held on suspicion of complicity in crime. During interrogation, they confessed that they had strangulated Jogender over a money dispute and dumped his body in a nala, Circle Officer Somender Negi said.

Meanwhile, angry villagers held a protest at the Delhi-Pauri highway and gheraoed the police station. Shops in the village remained closed.

Security has been tightened in the area, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande joined Congress candidate from Mumbai South Central Eknath Gaikwad in his 'morning walk' campaign in Shivaji Park area Saturday.

Though the Raj Thackeray-led MNS is not a part of opposition's alliance in Maharashtra, Thackeray has said he wants the BJP to lose. The MNS has decided not to field any candidates in the election.

Deshpande was seen walking with Gaikwad as the Congress leader greeted and spoke with residents of Shivaji Park area.

Deshpande, however, said he goes to Shivaji Park for his morning walk regularly, and met Gaikwad by chance.

"I wished him luck. There is nothing more to it," he said.

The MNS leader criticised sitting Shiv Sena MP of the constituency, Rahul Shewale.

"He has built toilets, repaired gym roofs, held health camps. All these things a corporator does, an MP is not expected to do this," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The mortal remains of army jawan Parvez Kathat, who was killed in Pakistani firing, were Saturday buried in his native village in Rajasthan, police said.

People of Shekhawas village in Rajsamand district of the state gathered in large numbers to bid a tearful adieu to the soldier who died Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, they said.

Solider Welfare Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas laid a floral wreath to pay tribute to the solider on behalf of the state government.

The 29-year-old soldier had joined the army in November 2016. His father is an ex-army serviceman while his elder brother too is in the army.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.): Nationalism is alright if it is looked at broadly but it may not be good if it is seen narrowly, former chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) A S Dulat said Saturday.

"The larger point I am making is that what is sufficient is patriotism. We need not stress on nationalism. Because, the indications worldwide are, in the past also, that nationalism can lead to war," he told reporters here.

Dulat, who was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Asian Arab Awards 2019 organised here by the Indian Economic Trade Organisation, was asked about his comments that nationalism is unbalancing the world.

Dulat quoted a former president of France as saying that "we should shed our prejudices. Otherwise, it leads to nationalism and nationalism means war."



Another foreign leader had said, "nationalism is wrecking my patriotism."



"The point I am trying to make is that if you look at nationalism broadly, it is alright. If you start looking at it narrowly, then it starts affecting people," he said.

In his speech earlier, Dulat stressed the need for promoting peace.

He praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her "they are us" comments in the aftermath of attacks at mosques in that country.

Referring to the "they are us" comment, he said the words should set an example for the world, that ultimately everybody is one and the "whole business of nationalism is going to take this world nowhere".

Asked how he assessed the incumbent government's handling of the Pulwama terror attack and the way ahead, he said: "I think it is, I mentioned this before, I think it was gift from the Jaish to the BJP or to Modiji. Because of elections. It was inevitable that something would happen. Something would be done. So, the surgical strike deep inside Pakistan was alright."



He favoured talks with Kashmiris and also with Pakistan as the way forward.

"We need to talk. We need to talk to the Kashmiris. We need to talk ultimately to Pakistan also. There is no other way," Dulat said. He was asked what should be the way forward for Indian government to deal with such kind of issues.

Asked why no solution has been reached (Kashmir issue) even after 60 years and the way ahead, he recalled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as having said the government then was a "signature away" from reaching an agreement.

"If you recall, Manmohan Singh while demitting office said that they were only a signature away from reaching an agreement. Dr Manmohan Singh and Musharraf or India and Pakistan, if that agreement had been reached and that agreement actually was an agreement on the Line of Control, then I think we would have had about 15 years of peace in Kashmir," Dulat said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Proscribed naxal outfit CPI (Maoist) has given a call for Magadh Bandh on April 2 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally at Gayas Gandhi Maidan.

People of Gaya, the Lok Sabha constituency, which falls in the Magadh division, would vote on April 11 in the first phase along with three other constituencies of Aurangabad, Nawada and Jamui.

Aurangabad, Nawada, Jehanabad and Arwal are also part of the division.

The bandh call has been given to unitedly oppose the operation Green hunt and Mission Samadhan, CPI(Maoist) spokesman Manas said in a leaflet.

When asked about the naxalites announcement of bandh, Gaya Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajiv Mishra said that all the guidelines have been strictly followed for Prime Minister's election rally and also for ensuring free, fair and peaceful voting.

The naxal outfits spokesman also claimed responsibility for blowing up BJP leader and ex-MLC Anuj Kumar Singhs house at Bodhibigaha under the jurisdiction of Dumaria police station area on Wednesday night, police sources said.

The naxalites had called for the boycott of Lok Sabha election and threatened the villagers (of Bodhibigaha) with dire consequences if they failed to ensure a complete boycott of the general election in the magadh region.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Turkey regrets U.S. envoy Elliot Abramss statements on its relationship with Venezuela and is against attempts to replace legitimate governments through foreign intervention, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said after Abrams criticised Turkey for supporting the Venezuelan government, Ahval News reported.

Shortly after the Turkish foreign ministry published Aksoy's statement, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, told Reuters TV the president was considering secondary sanctions for countries that do business with Maduro.

Bolton said the United States was moving towards secondary sanctions to cut revenues to Maduro's government, Reuters reported . We are even now looking at a series of additional steps we could take, Bolton said.

Abrams, Trumps special envoy to Venezuela, told reporters on Thursday he had asked Turkey to stop cooperating with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The envoy criticised Turkey for its strong support of Maduro, which includes investment in the Latin American country and involvement in its gold trade, raising suspicions the Turkish government is helping Caracas evade U.S. sanctions.

For its part, the Turkish government has condemned U.S. support for Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who declared himself interim president earlier this year.

Turkey, like many countries, recognizes Maduro Government, which came to power through elections, as the legitimate government of the country in accordance with international law and as represented in the UN, Aksoys statement said.

Turkey is against attempts to replace legitimate governments through foreign intervention and by resorting to undemocratic means. Besides, Turkey conducts its trade with Venezuela in accordance with international trade regulations and in a transparent way, the statement continued.A 40-year-old government employee was killed Saturday and two of his colleagues were injured after an avalanche struck a remote village in this hilly district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A group of Public Health Engineering (PHE) department employees were performing their duties to restore drinking water supply in the snow-bound Gandoh when they came under the avalanche at village Kot-Bhanecha in the morning, Superintendent of Police ,Bhadarwah, Raj Singh Gouria said.

Gouria, who supervised the rescue operation, said the body of one of the trapped employees, Farooq Ahmad of Changa Bala village in Bhallesa, was recovered after several hours of search.

Two other employees, Lal Singh and Mohammad Aslam, were rescued with minor injuries and shifted to hospital, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Punjab Police Saturday claimed to have recovered Rs 9.66 crore of hawala money from six men, including a church priest.

The priest, Anthony, belongs to Diocese of Jalandhar, whose Bishop Franco Mulakkal is facing allegations of raping a nun.

"The money was without documents and evidence and we can say that it was unaccountable," Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruv Dahiya told reporters here.

However, Jalandhar Diocese spokesperson Peter Kavumpuram claimed that the cash, which was recovered by police, was not black money.

"There is nothing to hide. He has bills and everything which will be submitted (to the relevant authorities). It is not black money," the spokesperson claimed.

This was the highest amount of "unaccounted" cash which was recovered ever since the modal code of conduct came into force.

After recovery, police handed over the cash and the occupants to the Income Tax and the Enforcement Directorate officials for further investigation, police said.

The money was seized from the occupants of SUVs during checking near GT road Doraha Friday, Dahiya said, adding that police acted following a tip-off.

Police had a prior information about "black or hawala" money being carried in the vehicles from Jalandhar to Ambala side.

A team of Khanna police recovered the cash amount from three vehicles coming from Ludhiana side Friday during checking,Dahiya said.

Other occupants were identified as Rachpal Singh, a resident of Bhikhiwind Tarn Taran, Ravinder Lingayat, Shivangi Lingayat, residents of New Mumbai, Ashok Kumar, a resident of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh and Harpal Singh, a resident of Jalandhar, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With less than a fortnight to go for the April 11 polls to the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand, campaigning picked up pace in Pauri district Saturday with both the Congress and the BJP holding public meetings here to garner support for themselves.

While BJP nominee from Pauri (Garhwal) Tirath Singh Rawat spoke about the achievements of the Narendra Modi government to seek votes for himself, District Congress president Chandra Mohan Kharkwal said it was a government of mere slogans.

"The prime minister gave a clean government as promised to people with not a single minister facing charges of corruption during his five year tenure," Rawat said at a public meeting here.

The former pradesh BJP president also said Modi had been true to his slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' by ensuring the development of all the sections of the society, especially the poor.

"He provided toilets to all, electricity to every household and made the lives of crores of women smoke-free by providing them free LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana," he said.

Medical treatment worth up to Rs five lakh has been made free for every family under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, he said, adding that these "outstanding" achievements will ensure Modi's return as prime minister after elections.

District Congress president Chandra Mohan Kharkwal, who also held a public meeting here to canvass for Congress nominee from Pauri Manish Khanduri, said he was the perfect choice to represent the seat in the Lok Sabha as stopping migration was on top of his agenda.

Calling the Modi government as a government of mere slogans (jumlas), Kharkwal said Manish Khanduri wants to work only for the development of the constituency if he is elected.

"Helping the poor, unemployed and combating migration are his prorities," Kharkwal said.

BJP's Tirath Singh Rawat and Congress's Manish Khanduri are locked in a straight fight in Pauri, officially known as the Garhwal seat.

The fight in Pauri is all set to be interesting as Manish Khanduri is the son of BJP's sitting MP from the seat Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri and Tirath, hispolitical protege.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)People in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday celebrated Holi, coinciding with the beginning of the spring season.

The Department of Auqaf, Hajj, Religious and Minority Affairs (AHRAMA) hosted the festivities.

Around 600 people from the minority Hindu community thronged the Nishtar Hall and celebrated the festival of colours.

The day-long celebrations witnessed the Hindu community perform aarti followed by prayers for the prosperity of the country. Youths dressed in Punjabi attire performed Bhangra (dance).

Chief guest Dr Hisham Inam Ullah Khan, the Minister for Health, said the Hindu community marked the onset of the spring season with enthusiasm.

"Despite our race and religion, we stand united," he said, adding that peace has prevailed and minorities are safe here.

Secretary of AHRAMA Hassan Mehmood Yousafzai, Members of the Provincial Assembly Ravi Kumar, Wazir Zada, Ranjeet Singh were also present at the ceremony.

The MPAs said the celebration of minorities' events will help spread love and peace.

They said that such events will help build understanding that will develop the sense of tolerance and brotherhood.

Mehmood said that such festivals symbolise peace, love and harmony.

There were adequate security measures for smooth and hassle-free celebrations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the people of Arunachal Pradesh to vote for a 'chowkidaar' who would provide security to the country even as he attacked Opposition parties, saying they were "disheartened" by India's growth and success.

Kicking off his campaign here for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Arunachal, the prime minister said Arunachal is a "shield for the country with the people zealously guarding the border as sentinels".

Attacking the Congress, Modi said the grand old party is "synonymous with corruption" and has the habit to take people of the country for a ride.

"Whenever the country makes achievements, don't you feel happy? Everyone, irrespective of their social and financial status, regales at India's success stories. There are, however, some who feel disheartened by India's growth and success," the PM said.

"When India hit terrorists in their houses, what was the stand of opposition parties, you have all seen. Even when our scientists made achievements, they found excuses to belittle them," the PM said, urging the people to "punish" opposition parties in the upcoming elections.

He also thanked the people of the state for voting the double-engine government of the BJP to power at the Centre and the state.

"In the northeast, the lotus first bloomed in Arunachal. It is because of your support, the Centre has been able to bring about development in the state," he said.

Listing his government's achievements, the PM said the Centre has provided power connection to 50,000 families, gas connection to 40,000 mothers and sisters and built toilets for over 1 lakh families in the last five years.

"Our government has honoured your hopes, aspirations. This watchman was given the opportunity to bring Arunachal on the country's railway map after seven decades of Independence," he said



Referring to the Arun Prabha channel, launched recently, the PM said it will ensure that people across the country get to learn about Arunachal, its people, culture and festivals.

"Arunachal, which is set to hold Mopin festival soon, will be able to tell the world about its festival and culture through the recently launched Arun Prabha channel," he stated.

Election to Lok Sabha and Assembly will be held on April 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the scheduled public rally here on April 3 at a ground belonging to the Railways, after the West Bengal government denied permission for the venue earlier sought by the BJP.

The new venue for the prime minister's rally sits adjacent to the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, BJP's Darjeeling district president Avijit Roy Chowdhury said on Saturday.

"The local administration did not give permission for the venue we had earlier selected. Then, we looked for another ground and got permission for it," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

The saffron party had earlier selected a piece of land belonging to the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) here, which had denied consent for the PM's rally.

"Earlier, too, similar incidents have happened when we were denied permission. But, the TMC cannot prevent BJP's victory march by stopping us from holding rallies," Ghosh asserted.

Modi will address two back-to-back election rallies on April 3, the second public meeting slated at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The TRS Saturday claimed that the idea of the Prime Minister's Kisan Samman farmers' scheme was copied from the 'Rythu Bandhu' farmers' investment support scheme of the TRS government in Telangana.

"Yesterday, he (Modi) came (to Telangana) and said about our Chief Minister that, he (Rao) claimed my (Modi) schemes to be his.

I am asking Modi ji, where did the idea of Rythu Bandhu come from? Is it not from KCR (Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao)? Is it not from the scheme that KCR gave to our Telangana farmers?," Telanngana TRS working president K T Rama Rao said Saturday.

"The idea of PM Kisan (farmers scheme), is it not given by KCR? Have you not copied it?," Rao who addressed road shows in support of TRS candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, said.

Though Modi campaigned in Telangana, it would not help the BJP, he claimed.

Modi addressed a BJP campaign rally at Mahabubnagar on Friday.

On comments of BJP and Congress leaders that comprehensive development was possible only with national parties, Rama Rao claimed there are no national parties in the true sense of the term as neither BJP nor Congress was in a position to win substantial number of seats among the six southern states.

He demanded to know why development, as expected,had not taken place in the country, though Congreses and BJP had ruled the country for long years.

The TRS, he said, can ensure a better deal for Telangana if it wins 16 of the total 17 Lok Sabha seats (leaving Hyderabad held by TRS ally AIMIMs president Asaduddin Owaisi), he said.

He suggested that other non-Congress, non-BJP parties, including Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BSP and SP in Uttar Pradesh and YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh could join hands with TRS post-Lok Sabha elections to increase its strength.

TRS is going it alone in the Lok Sabha polls, to be held in Telangana in the first phase on April 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pope Francis and Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Saturday declared Jerusalem the "common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions," during the pontiff's visit to Rabat.

"The specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem... must be protected and promoted," they said in a joint statement released by the Vatican.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After launching visa application centres in New Delhi and Mumbai, Qatar is all set to open a new centre here.

The country also plans to open such centres in Kochi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Chennai, a statement issued on behalf of Qatar embassy said.

At the new visa centre here, people applying for work visa would be able to sign on work contracts digitally, enroll their biometrics and undergo mandatory medical test, all under one roof, thus saving time and making it hassle-free for them, the statement said.

The move to get work visa applicants to complete the most essential and critical part of visa processing, in the country of origin, (India in this case), is aimed at guaranteeing prospective employees their rights in a manner consistent with the best international standards, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Paceman Kagiso Rabada defended 10 runs in the Super Over to steer Delhi Capitals to a thrilling victory over Kolkata Knight Riders after the home side made heavy weather of a run chase here Saturday.

Chasing 186 to win, Delhi Capitals were set up nicely by Prithvi Shaw's 99 off 55 balls but they could not score six runs from the last over, bowled by chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who held his nerves to give KKR a chance to steal a win.

The Capitals ended their run chase at 185 for 6 in 20 overs, taking the match to Super Over.

The home side managed just 10 runs in the Super Over bowled by paceman Krishna Prasidh but Rabada executed yorkers perfectly to deny KKR. He removed dangerous Andre Russell with a perfectly placed yorker and did not allow other batsmen, including captain Dinesh Karthik, to free their arms.

KKR needed five off the final ball but managed just one.

Shaw missed out on his century by just one run but steered Delhi Capitals to the doorsteps of a win.

Jamaican Russell had endured a beamer blow but still produced a blistering knock of 62 runs from 28 balls to lift KKR to a fighting 185 for eight from 64 for five at one stage after being put into bat.

Shaw paced his innings superbly. He initially was happy rotating the strike but did not miss when he had the chance to open his arms.

The 19-year-old from Mumbai packed a lot of power in his pull shots and also drove elegantly. He hit 12 fours and three sixes in his 55-ball knock which pushed the home side to the doorsteps of a win.

He was caught in the penultimate over, edging one off Lockei Ferguson while going for a big shot.

Shaw shared a 89-run stand with his skipper Shreyas Iyer (43 off 32).

The Capitals made it tough for themselves in the last over with Rishabh Pant and others failing to take the side past the finish line.

The home side did not have a flying start and lost Shikhar Dhawan (16) early but shaw and Iyer rotated the strike and also found boundaries in between to keep the required run rate under control.

Shaw's six off Russell, a pull in the mid-wicket, was a treat to watch. He completed his fifty with a six and a four off chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who was also taken to the cleaners by Iyer.

The partnership ended when Iyer was caught by Shubhman Gill off Russell, two balls after he was dropped by the same fielder.

Later, Shaw added 54 for the third wicket with Rishabh Pant (11).

Earlier, Russell smashed 62 off 28 balls and shared a crucial 95run stand with his skipper Dinesh Karthik (50 off 36 balls) for the sixth wicket.

The home side dominated a large part of the innings after electing to bowl but Russell and Karthik seized the momentum with their fearless batting.

Russell was hit on his left shoulder by a beamer from pacer Harshal Patel in the 14th over and was on the ground. However, after receiving treatment, he launched an assault on the home bowlers, hitting four fours and six sixes.

KKR collected 84 runs in the last six overs to have a challenging total on the board.

The wicket had good carry and it showed when both Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris bowled. They did trouble the batsmen with pace and bounce.

Lamichhane too tested the KKR batsmen with his leg-breaks.

Iyer smartly shuffled his bowlers around, mixing pace with spin. Patel got rid of Robin Uthappa (11) and Nitish Rana (1) while Rabada had Chris Lynn (20) caught behind.

The run out of young Shubman Gill only made it worse for the visiting side.

The run flow improved dramatically with Russell going hammer and tongs.

Lamichhane, who had given only 12 runs in his three overs, ended his quota with an expensive over with skipper Karthik and Russell creaming off 17 runs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Turkey pounded shelters of PKKs ringleaders in northern Iraq's Mount Qandil in an air operation on early on March 30, according to a statement from Turkish Defense Ministry, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The statement said Turkish fighter jets also hit PKK terrorists in Hakurk and Avasin-Basyan areas, who were in preparation of attacking Turkey's border troops.

PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. It has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women and children.At least seven people, including six school girls, were killed when a speeding bus collided head on with an auto-rickshaw in Pakistan's Bhukkar area on Saturday, according to a media report.

The accident happened on Saturday afternoon when the auto carrying the girls were returning home from their first-year high school exams, the Express Tribune reported.

"The collision was so intense that five of the students and the auto driver died on the spot. Another student succumbed to her injuries when she was being shifted to a nearby hospital," the paper reported.

The auto-rickshaw was completely destroyed as a result of the accident and it had to be cut to pull the bodies out of the wreckage, the report said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Police Saturday seized over Rs 34 lakh cash from a car on the National Highway-49 in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district.

The police detained three persons including the driver the the car which was on its way to Kolkata from Keonjhar.

The police seized Rs 34,29,084 from the car, said Bisoi Police Station in-charge officer Kuni Betra.

The police said the three persons detained have been identified as Biplab Das and Dilip Singh of a Keonjhar based mining company and Md. Firoz, the driver of the car.

Police said the cash was seized during the normal checking on the National Highway as per the gudelines followed during and before elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Punjab Police Saturday claimed to have recovered Rs 9.66 crore of hawala money from six persons, including a church priest.

"The money was without documents and evidence and we can say that it was unaccountable," Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruv Dahiya told reporters here.

This was the highest amount of "unaccounted" cash which was recovered ever since the modal code of conduct came into force.

The money was seized from six occupants of SUVs during checking near GT road Doraha Friday, Dahiya said, adding that police acted following a tip-off.

Police had prior information about "black or hawala" money being carried in the vehicles from Jalandhar to Ambala side.

A team of Khanna police recovered the cash amount from three vehicles coming from Ludhiana side Friday during checking,Dahiya said.

After recovery, police handed over the cash and occupants to the officials of the Income Tax and the Enforcement Directorate for further investigation, police said.

Among the occupants was Anthony,who is a church priest at Partappura village in Jalandhar district, Dahiya said.

Other occupants were identified as Rachpal Singh, a resident of Bhikhiwind Tarn Taran, Ravinder Lingayat, Shivangi Lingayat, residents of New Mumbai, Ashok Kumar, a resident of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh and Harpal Singh, a resident of Jalandhar, police said.

Anthony belongs to diocese of Jalandhar, whose Bishop Franco Mulakkal is facing allegations of raping and sexually assaulting a nun.

However, Jalandhar diocese PRO Fr Peter Kavumpuram claimed that the cash, which was recovered by police, was not black money.

"There is nothing to hide. He (Anthony) has bills and everything which will be submitted (to the relevant authorities). It is not black money," he claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russia's arms export company said it has opened a training centre for military helicopter pilots in Venezuela after Moscow flew in troops and equipment.

A spokesman for Rosoboronexport, the export wing of Russia's arms corporation, told Russian agencies that the helicopter training centre opened Friday "with Russian and Venezuelan specialists participating."



The centre that trains pilots to fly Russian-built Mil helicopters was built on the basis of a contract between Rosoboronexport and state-run Venezuelan Military Industrial Company Cavim, Interfax agency quoted spokesman Vyacheslav Davydenko as saying.

The announcement came after two Russian military planes landed a week ago at the main airport outside Caracas and offloaded equipment and troops, ratcheting up international tensions.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognise Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president while Russia, along with China, backs President Nicolas Maduro.

US President Donald Trump called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela, while Russia said its troops will stay for as long as needed.

The military specialists are apparently helping to fix a malfunctioning Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile system, US envoy Elliott Abrams said Friday.

The Kremlin and foreign ministry have insisted the troops came to Venezuela as part of a long-standing agreement on military and technical cooperation, while Venezuela's military attache to Moscow said there was no question of them taking part in a military operation.

Russia is aiming for "deepening of cooperation with the (Venezuelan) defence ministry," Rosoboronexport spokesman Davydenko said.

He said Venezuela, Russia's largest client in Latin America, has already received "a significant amount of Russian arms and military technology" including Sukhoi 30-MK2 fighter planes, Mil helicopters, tanks, armed personnel vehicles, artillery, air defence systems and Kalashnikovs.

"This has allowed the country in a very short time to obtain serious potential, reliably ensuring national security and defence capacity," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) will incentivize women belonging to the indigenous committies in the state to produce more children as the fertility rate have declined, senior party leader P D Rai said Saturday.

"The fertility rate in Sikkim has plummeted to an alarming low rate of 1.2 children," Rai told reporters here.

Equating the declining population of indigenous people comprising Lepcha, Bhutia and Sikkimese Nepalis with Japan and Singapore, he said that the SDF government, if elected to power again, will launch a 'Proud Mother Scheme' under which women will be given an incentive of Rs 5,000 on the birth of her first child and Rs 10,000 on second child.

Rai, a two-term sitting LS MP who has been denied ticket by the SDF leadership and replaced by D B Katwal, said that no formula of incentive to the women for giving birth to third child or more has been worked out by the ruling party as yet.

Sikkim has a population of in excess of 6.5 lakh of which an estimated 60 per cent are the indigenous communities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday filed nomination papers for his maiden Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, currently represented by L K Advani, and later asserted in a rally that people saw in Prime Minister Narendra Modi a leader they had been waiting for the last 70 years.

In what is being seen as a demonstration of his political heft and status as the second most powerful person in the party after Prime Minister Modi, a road show and a rally was held which was attended two ex-BJP chiefs -- Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari -- besides allies like Shiv Sena's Uuddhav Thackeray, SAD's Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party's Ram Vilas Paswan.

Prior to the filing his nomination, a well-attended four-kilometre road show from Sardar Patel statue in Naranpura to Prabhat Chowk in Ghatlodia saw Shah in an open vehicle along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and other local leaders.

After that, Shah drove to Gandhinagar and submitted nomination papers to Gandhinagar District Collector S K Langa in presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, besides Singh, Thackeray and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

At a public gathering before the road show, the BJP chief said, "This election will be fought on only one issue, and that is who will lead this country. When I ask who will lead the country, from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Gandhinagar, only one word is heard, that is: Modi, Modi, Modi."



Showering praise on Modi, he said the prime minister's leadership was something people were waiting for 70 years.

"Why was this trust formed in just five years? Why has a Gujarat chief minister, who had not even contested a panchayat poll before becoming the chief minister, became the favourite of the entire country in just five years? It is because people saw in Narendra Modi a leader that they had been waiting to have for the last 70 years," Shah said.

"The question before the country is who can assure security to the country? Only one person, only one party can assure this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and NDA government can assure security to the country," the BJP chief said.

Shah's Lok Sabha poll debut from Gandhinagar replacing the party patriarch 91-year-old Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from the seat since 1998, marks a generational shift in the party.

Political watchers believe that the absence of Advani at Saturday's events indicated that the veteran leader may not be very happy with the turn of events, but it also underscored the rise and rise in Shah's stature since he took over as the party's chief in 2014 and plotted its unprecedented electoral success in assembly and local polls.

At the rally, Rajnath Singh asked if former prime minister Indira Gandhi can be credited for liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan, why should not Prime Minister Modi be credited for the Balakot air strike.

Badal and Paswan also praised Modi, asking the people to bring back the NDA for another term at the Centre, while Thackeray said differences between the two saffron allies had been resolved.

"Some people were rejoicing that the two parties with the same ideology are fighting with each other. We had some 'manmutav' (bad feeling) and 'matbhinnata' (difference of opinion). But when Amit Shah came to my house and we sat and held talks, all the issues were resolved," he said.

Gadkari claimed that whatever happened in the last five years under PM Modi's leadership "did not happen in 50 years".

Jaitley said Gandhinagar is an important seat for BJP and that was the reason why Shah was given the ticket.

"Amit Shah has filed his nomination papers for Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat today. The top leadership of BJP and NDA has come here in his support which shows the importance this constituency has for us," Jaitley told reporters after Shah filed the papers.

"This is the parliamentary seat represented by leaders like Purshottam Ganesh Mavalankar, L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. That is why the party has fielded its national president from here. He will win this seat with a record margin and will win all the 26 seats in Gujarat again," he said.

As an MLA, Shah had represented Sarkhej constituency. After delimitation, he was an MLA from Naranpura. Both these seats were under Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

"I am fortunate that the BJP has made me the candidate from Gandhinagar seat which was represented by Lal Krishna Advani, Atalji and Purushottam Ganesh Mavalankar," Shah said.

"Today, Gandhinagar is among the most developed seat in the country and I will humbly and from the bottom of my heart try to carry forward the legacy of Advaniji," he said and also tweeted his thanks to his party's senior leaders and allies for their presence at the events.

Noting that he used to paste posters in Gandhinagar during polls as an ordinary BJP worker, and has now become its president and candidate for the general election, Shah said, "It is possible only in the BJP."



"If you remove BJP from my life, then what is left is zero. Whatever I have received, learnt and tried to give to the country and the state is what was given to me by the BJP," he said.

Shah's decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls is seen as his effort to demonstrate that he was willing to lead from the front and also to energise the BJP cadres in Gujarat where the party had won all 26 seats in 2014 but has seen its rival growing in strength since.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Delhi court Saturday framed various charges, including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault, against all accused persons inthe Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha put 21 accused on trial, saying there was prima facie enough evidence against them.

Besides rape (376) and criminal conspiracy, the court also framed charges under various sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and other charges.

All the accused, who appeared before court, pleaded innocence and claimed trail.

Brajesh Thakur,alleged mastermind and strongman in the case, was charged with serious charges under the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault).

The offence carries punishment of minimum 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

All 20 accused were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors.

The Court will hold trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges.

Key accused Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty, failure to report assault on the girls.

The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act.

On February 7, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi, which would conclude the trial within six months by holding preferably day-to-day hearing.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russia on Saturday warned Washington to stop interfering in the stand-off between Venezuela's government and the opposition movement, and once again defended its decision to send personnel to the country.

"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, smothering its economy and pushing it towards civil war in open violation of international law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

On Friday, a statement from the US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned "actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela".

But Zakharova, in her statement Saturday, said Russia had made it clear it was not sending a military contingent to Venezuela.

Two Russian military planes landed a week ago at the main airport outside Caracas and offloaded equipment and troops, ratcheting up international tensions. Russian officials insist the troops came to Venezuela as part of a long-standing agreement on military and technical cooperation.

But US President Donald Trump has called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela, with Russia saying its troops will stay for as long as needed.

The military specialists are apparently helping to fix a malfunctioning Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile system, US envoy Elliott Abrams said Friday.

Russia and Venezuela signed a military cooperation treaty in 2011 involving the sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela.

Earlier Saturday, Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms export company said it has opened a training centre for military helicopter pilots in Venezuela, after Moscow flew in troops and equipment.

Venezuela, Russia's largest client in Latin America, has already received "a significant amount of Russian arms and military technology", Rosoboronexport spokesman Davydenko added.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognise Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. Russia, along with China, backs President Nicolas Maduro.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A section of Islamic jurists (muftis) have passed a resolution saying the government's Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna (SSY) is "illegal" under Sharia as interest is accrued as part of the scheme.

The resolution on the small savings scheme for girl child was passed in a three-day conference organised by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind earlier this week, said Azeemullah Siddiqi, the media-incharge of the organisation.

Siddiqi said that the SSY is based on interest and therefore, it is illegal according to Islamic Sharia.

According to the resolution, under the scheme, a bank account is opened in the name of a girl, who is less than ten years of age, by her parents who deposit money in it.

"The bank annually increases the amount by aiding annual interest up to nine percent . It is because that this scheme involves interest, it is clearly un-Islamic," the resolution read.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 as a part of the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign, to enable parents of girl child to save money for their education and marriage.

The conference was attended by many eminent Islamic scholars and jurists including Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansurpoori, president Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Habiburrahman Khairabadi, Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Nematullah Azmi, Darul Uloom Deoband and Mufti Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri Sheikhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband.

In another resolution, it was declared that financial transaction by different mobile apps was allowed. Cashback or reward points, and booking app based cabs were also declared lawful as per Sharia, Siddiqi said.

In the same resolution, the Muftis declared that using Google AdSense for advertising lawful goods is allowed. However using it for the promotion of movies and illegal programmes is not allowed in Islamic Sharia, he said.

About two hundred Islamic jurists from eminent institutions participated in the conference.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Saturday said it has sold its stake in subsidiary TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited to sister concern TASL for Rs 625 crore for the aerospace business.

also said that it has acquired non-aerospace business from TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited (TAL) for Rs 10 lakh.

"...we would like to inform that the Company has availed requisite regulatory and other approvals and has on March 29, 2019, (i) sold its shareholding in TAL to TASL at an enterprise value of Rs 625 crores for the Aerospace business and (ii) the Company has acquired the non aerospace business from TAL at a value of Rs 10 lakhs," said in a filing.

Tata Adanced Systems Limited is wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons and is the strategic arm of the

In other defence related disclosure, mini-ratna and special alloy maker Midhani said that it has handed over bullet proof vehicles to central armed police forces.

The company said that it is also setting up its new "armouring unit" at IMT, Rohtak with capital expenditure of Rs 50 crore, which is expected to be operational by December 2019.Today, in Yerevan, a major accident occurred on the Arzni-2 main water supply system, which supplies the administrative district of Arabkir as well as the village of Getamezh of Kotayk region.

If the problem is not solved in the near future, the part of Yerevan will lose access to drinking water.

As long as there is water in the reservoirs, the supply of most of the Arabkir houses does not stop. Now the companys employees, despite the unfavorable weather, are carrying out repair work. It is assumed that the works will be completed at midnight,  Sputnik-Armenia quotes a spokesman for the Veolia Jur company Murad Muradyan as saying.Income Tax sleuths on Saturday conducted searches at the premises of senior DMK leader Duraimurugan in Vellore district over suspected use of unaccounted money for electioneering and seized Rs 10 lakh of alleged "excess" cash.

High drama was witnessed when DMK legal cell functionaries refused to allow teams of the tax department's election surveillance and monitoring and district static surveillance and flying squads to hold searches without a "warrant".

Senior tax officials, later, armed with search warrants conducted raids.

Searches have been conducted at Duraimurugan's residence, where some printouts with ward numbers written over them were found but the "main person," indicating assessee, has dismissed them as "junk" and further questioning is on, a a highly placed sources in tax investigation wing told PTI.

About Rs 19 lakh cash was found. After allowing cash declared in election affidavit, an amount of Rs 10 lakh was "determined as excess" and seized, the source said.

"We did not conceal anything," Duraimurugan told PTI adding all his family members are income tax assessees.

He confirmed that Rs 10 lakh was seized and said it was common to have cash on hand.

The searches come days after similar raids led to a political storm in neighbouring Karnataka.

Tax department sources said searches were carried out in the campus of a college run by the DMK's leader's family, including in the teaching and hostel blocks.

The administrative block is "being searched", the sources added. A farmhouse said to be belonging to a close confidant was also searched.

The IT department officials along with personnel from the election flying squad arrived late last night at the residence of the DMK treasurer.

IT department sources earlier in the day indicated the searches were carried out to detect suspected tax evasion vis-a-vis use of unaccounted money for electioneering.

The DMK has fielded Duraimurugan's son, D M Kathir Anand, from Vellore seat in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Duraimurugan alleged that the raids were a "conspiracy" by some political leaders who could not face them in the electoral arena.

"They (tax officials) have gone with the understanding that we have nothing (to hide)," he told reporters.

The DMK leader also questioned the timing of the raid.

"This is not the time to hold searches, be it tax or other authorities, when we are in the midst of full-fledged election campaign," he said.

The sources said tax investigation wing was requested by Vellore district election authorities to accompany them to hold searches. When the teams arrived at the DMK leader's house they faced opposition.

Officials told the DMK legal team that they had an "official memorandum" issued by top authorities and later tax officials also got search warrants issued.

The tax sleuths had carried out pre-dawn raids at 15 to 20 locations in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Ramanagar and Shivamogga, on Thursday.

Karnataka Minor Irrigation minister C S Puttaraju and his nephew and close associates of PWD minister H D Revanna were among those whose premises were raided.

Later, Congress and JD(S) leaders led by Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and former chief minister Siddaramaiah staged a demonstration in Bengaluru against the raids.

DMK president M K Stalin condemned the searches and alleged it was a misuse of power by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He demanded measures to bring departments like the Income tax, the Enforcement Directorate and CBI under the ambit of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the run up to the general elections if the objective was to prevent "distribution of money.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli border Saturday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.

Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections.

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during an overnight demonstration and a 17-year-old in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 207 Gazans were wounded.

But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise.

Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence.

Hamas officials said Friday an understanding had been reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm.

Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier on Saturday, but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence, AFP journalists said.

East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence and sought to break it multiple times but were forced back by Israeli tear gas and live fire.

The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.

An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City, as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar.

Israel's army said around 40,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered in spots throughout the border.

It said grenades and explosive devices were hurled at troops, who responded "in accordance with standard operating procedures."



Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

In the runup to the anniversary, Egypt, the long-time mediator between the parties, had shuffled back and forth seeking to avoid major bloodshed.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday's protest "a very important message" that thousands had gathered "peacefully to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza." He confirmed that Egypt had made progress towards a deal that media reports said would see Israel allow more Qatari aid into the strip and ease some restrictions.

In exchange Hamas would maintain calm at the border protests.

Khalil al-Hayya, another senior figure in the Islamist movement, said they were expecting to receive a timetable from Israel on Sunday.

There was no Israeli comment on the alleged agreement.

Israel holds a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has at the same time faced political pressure over accusations of being soft on Hamas.

The anniversary came only days after another severe flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas, sparked by rare long-range rocket strike from Gaza. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm.

The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation.

Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border.

It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers' use of live fire has come under heavy criticism.

Last month, a UN probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes.

Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the protests.

Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza's only other gateway to the outside world.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and others.

Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers and clashed with soldiers.

Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float them over the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes and farmland.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Thai king has revoked the royal decorations of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, citing his conviction and "extremely inappropriate" flight from the country, according to an announcement published Saturday.

The statement in the Royal Gazette from King Maha Vajiralongkorn comes almost a week after the country held its first election since a military coup in 2014 installed a royalist junta.

Pheu Thai, a political party linked to Thaksin, is now jostling with the junta-backed Phalang Pracharat for the right to form a government.

The billionaire told AFP in an interview last week that the election was "rigged".

The royal statement said the king "recalls the royal decorations" from the former premier "because Mr Thaksin was convicted by the Supreme Court".

"Moreover, he has fled the kingdom which is extremely inappropriate behaviour."



The ex-premier was stripped of the "illustrious order of Chula Chom Klao", typically bestowed for service to the country.

Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled the country in 2008. He was convicted in Thailand on corruption charges.

His sister Yingluck became prime minister in 2011 before being removed in the coup three years later.

King Vajiralongkorn had issued an announcement on election eve calling for Thais to support "good" people to prevent "chaos" -- a declaration replayed right before polls opened on March 24.

The monarch also sent jitters across the country in February after a party linked to the Shinawatras nominated Princess Ubolratana as a candidate for prime minister -- which he swiftly called "inappropriate" in a royal rebuke.

The party was dissolved and its executives barred from political life for ten years.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress MP Shashi Tharoor found himself on a sticky wicket Saturday as his tweet, following a visit to the fish market here, kicked up a row, with the CPI(M) and the BJP alleging that he had insulted the fishermen community and demanded an apology.

Reacting to the row, the former Union minister, who is trying to score a hat-trick from the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, claimed his words had been "deliberately twisted" to show that he had insulted the fisherfolk.

"My words have been twisted to create misunderstanding," he told reporters here.

Tharoor had visited a fish market in the state capital recently during his campaign and spoken to the women selling fish there. He later also posted some pictures of his visit.

"Found a lot of enthusiasm at the fish market, even for a squeamish, vegetarian MP," Tharoor had later tweeted.

As controversy erupted over the use of the word "squeamish", Tharoor in another tweet quoted the meaning of the word from an online English-Malayalam dictionary.

"For those Malayali leftist politicians who are currently having difficulty understanding my English," he tweeted.

In another tweet, Tharoor wrote "order delivered" and put its word by word Malayalam translation as "Kalpana prasavichu" (Kalpana has given birth)" to pinpoint the pitfalls in translations.

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the BJP attacked the Congress MP, saying he had insulted the fishermen community by his choice of words.

BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan said Tharoor should apologise as his act of "humiliating" the fishermen community through social media was "extremely deplorable".

He had insulted the fishermen community who had saved several lives during the devastating floods in August last year, the former Mizoram governor said.

Fishermen took out marches in Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode against the tweet, saying they had been insulted.

During the August floods last year, it was the fisherfolk who saved thousands of lives, they said and demanded an apology from the two-time sitting MP.

Responding to the allegation against him, the Congress leader said, "By describing myself as a squeamish vegetarian, I have made fun of myself and it was never intended to humiliate anyone. Despite being a vegetarian, the fisherwomen have shown so much affection towards me. That is what I have tried to convey through the tweet."



"In my family, except me, all are fish eaters, he said.

Hitting out at the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the BJP, he alleged they were trying to propagate lies to win the election.

"The opposition should stop the false propaganda and the Election Commission should intervene," he said, adding the media should also focus on real issues.

Tharoor said when Cyclone Ockhi hit the shores of Thiruvananthapuram in 2017, he had contacted various leaders, including Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Nitin Gadkari, and sought help for fishermen out to the sea.

Those who had not done anything were criticising him using one word in his tweet, Tharoor said.

The Congress leader had in February recommended Kerala fishermen, whose deeds of courage were the highlight of rescue operations during the 2018 floods in the state, for the Nobel Peace prize.

"It was during the height of this tragedy that fishermen groups of Kerala, at great risk to their lives and potential damage to the boats that are the source of their livelihood, jumped to save their fellow citizens," Tharoor had written to the chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three persons have been arrested from Himachal Pradesh's industrial town Baddi after they were allegedly found carrying drugs, the police said Saturday.

Over 4 kg ganja was recovered from the three hailing from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on Friday, Baddi Superintendent of Police Rohit Malpani said.

The accused have been identified as Natha (40) of Punjab's Nawanshahr district, Deepu Ram (23) of Tagra Kangan in Haryana's Panchkula district and Dev Raj (26) of HP's Sirmaur district.

The SP said the three were caught near Vardhman Chowk Baddi when they were passing through the area on a motorcycle.

They have been arrested and their motorcycle was also seized, he added.

An FIR has been registered against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act at Baddi Police Station, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three leaders, including one from the Congress, joined the Delhi unit of the BJP Saturday.

Balbir Singh from the Congress, President of Uttrakhand Pravasiye Sangh Delhi Rakesh Singh Rawat and Pramod Sachdeva, who had contested assembly elections on a BSP ticket, joined the BJP, the saffron party said in a release.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said, "I am happy that the trust of the people is increasing in the BJP due to the influence of the policy of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi."



"The Chief Minister of Delhi says that we divide the people but with these people joining the BJP, it is seen that the BJP unites people," he was quoted as having said in the release.

Balbir Singh said the way opposition parties are opposing the nationalistic ideology of the BJP "exposes their real character" before the people.

Former BSP Leader Sachdeva said the opposition parties should oppose the government but they should not oppose the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ahead of Lok Sabha poll in the state, the Trinamool Congress Friday launched a web series christened 'Pradhan Mantri Hisab Do' comparing various welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre with that of the TMC government in West Bengal.

The first episode of the web series began with a short film comparing two schemes Bengal governments Sabooj Sathi and the Central governments Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

Under the Sabooj Sathi scheme of West Bengal bicycles are given to girl students of class 9 to 12 studying in government run and government aided schools and madrashas of the state.

The video shows two girls one living in Rewari, Haryana and the other in Hoogly district of West Bengal.

A girl of Rewari in the video is seen speaking about how she had to leave her school as it is 14-15 km away his home and there is not a single school in her village.

In the next scene, a housewife from Hooghly, tells how the bicycle her daughter got from the West Bengal government as part of the Sabooj Sathi scheme, conceived by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is enabling her to attend school regularly, even though its quite a distance away.

The TMC and BJP are engaged in a bitter fight in West Bengal with TMC giving the call to oust the BJP government at the Center and the BJP setting a target of winning 23 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared he is likely to shut down America's southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration.

The president, who also cut U.S. aid to three Central American nations whose citizens are fleeing north, emphasized "I am not kidding around" about closing the border, even though such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries.

"It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned on Friday by reporters in Florida. "We will close it for a long time." Though Trump has previously threatened to close the border and has not followed through, his administration moved to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The State Department said in a statement that it will suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations that have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, "If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week." He didn't qualify his threat with "or large sections," stating: "There is a very good likelihood I'll be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me." He said several times that it would be "so easy" for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the U.S. illegally, "but they just take our money and 'talk.'" The president, with support from conservative media, has made the large caravans symbols of the United States' immigration problem.

A group of House Democrats visiting El Salvador denounced the administration's decision to cut aid to the region.

"As we visit El Salvador evaluating the importance of U.S. assistance to Central America to address the root causes of family and child migration, we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region," said the statement from five lawmakers, including Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.. "The President's approach is entirely counterproductive." Short of a widespread shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under U.S. law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said. "So it's on the table, but what we're doing is a very structured process based on operational needs." Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said Friday. He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way." Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesn't act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan said Wednesday that 750 border inspectors would be reassigned to deal with the growing number of migrant families.

In Florida, Trump was also asked about the two migrant children who died in U.S. custody in December. Is the administration equipped to handle sick children who are detained? "I think that it has been very well stated that we have done a fantastic job," he said, defending Border Patrol efforts to help the children.

Trump said that in one of the cases "the father gave the child no water for a long period of time," although an autopsy released Friday made no mention of dehydration.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared he is likely to shut down America's southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration.

Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasised, "I am not kidding around."



"It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned Friday by reporters in Florida.

"We will close it for a long time."



Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs.

In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north, he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the US.

The US and Mexico trade about USD 1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, "If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week."



He didn't qualify his threat with "or large sections," stating: "There is a very good likelihood I'll be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me."



He said several times that it would be "so easy" for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the US illegally, "but they just take our money and 'talk.'"



Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico.

Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the US might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children.

Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said.

"So it's on the table, but what we're doing is a very structured process based on operational needs."



The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trump's possible action would apply to air travel.

Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling.

Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said Friday.

He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way."



Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesn't act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the US could have.

Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan said Wednesday that 750 border inspectors would be reassigned to deal with the growing number of migrant families.

In Florida, Trump was also asked about the two migrant children who died in US custody in December.

Is the administration equipped to handle sick children who are detained? "I think that it has been very well stated that we have done a fantastic job," he said, defending Border Patrol efforts to help the children.

Trump said that in one of the cases "the father gave the child no water for a long period of time," although an autopsy released Friday made no mention of dehydration.

"It was a very tough situation and that trek up, that's a long hard trek," he said.

"It's a horrible situation. But Mexico could stop it."



Democratic and Republican lawmakers have fought over Trump's contention that there is a "crisis" at the border, particularly amid his push for a border wall.

He claims a wall would solve immigration problems, though it wouldn't keep out families who cross at official points so they can surrender and be detained.

The president called on Congress to immediately change what he said were weak US immigration laws, which he blamed on Democrats.

The Department of Homeland Security wants the authority to detain families for longer and more quickly deport children from Central America who arrive at the border on their own.

The department argues those policy changes would stop families from trying to enter the US.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two 16-year-old Japanese students have drowned while on a school tour at a popular tourist island in eastern Australia, police said Saturday.

Emergency services launched a search and rescue operation near Lake Mackenzie on World Heritage-listed Fraser Island off the Queensland state coast late Friday after the boys were reported missing.

Police located the bodies in the water early Saturday morning.

"This is a tragic event, there is no doubt about that," police inspector Tony Clowes told reporters Saturday.

Clowes said there was nothing to immediately indicate suspicious circumstances surrounding the drowning, but said more would be known as they prepare a coroners report.

The public need to be aware of their swimming abilities before entering Australian waters, Clowes added.

"Be aware that if you are entering water there is some inherent risk with entering waterways in this country," he said Clowes said families of the boys have been notified and authorities were working with the Japanese consulate to provide support.

Fraser, the world's largest sand island, is popular with tourists for its beaches -- and is also well-known for its dingoes.

Two of the wild animals were put down earlier this month after a French mother and son were mauled by dingoes on the island.

It followed an attack in January when a six-year-old boy was mauled by the native animal after as he ran up a dune on the island.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Golden Key Center for theatrical art in Yevpatoria, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of Crimea, will be transferred to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic and will become a full-fledged Young Spectators Theater, Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea Larisa Opanasyuk said during a meeting on the implementation of the state cultural policy in the subjects of the Southern Federal District.

"This is, indeed, a wonderful theater, unique in its kind," TASS quotes her as saying.The US is tracking 250-270 objects of debris in the space generated due to India's anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test in lower earth orbit, but the International Space Station or ISS is not at risk, the Pentagon said Friday.

US Strategic Command's Joint Force Space Component Command (JFSCC) said 250 pieces of debris associated with an Indian ASAT launch that occurred on Wednesday are being actively tracked.

"Debris from the event is being actively monitored by the JFSCC, and conjunction notifications are being issued to satellite owners/operators in accordance with standard notification processes through the Department of Defense's public space situational awareness sharing website HYPERLINK "http://www.space-track.org," it said.

The JFSCC said it will continue to actively track debris associated with the event and issue close approach notifications as required until the debris enters the earth's atmosphere.

US Air Force Space Command Commander Lt Gen David D Thompson told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on Thursday that the JFSCC and Air Force's 18 space control Squadron are currently "tracking about 270 different objects in the debris" field.

Responding to questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, he said the number is going to grow as the debris field spreads out as the US collects more sensor information.

Thompson, however, refrained from giving any further details of the debris.

"But we do know the altitude at which it occurred. We immediately started providing public notice on our space track website and will provide direct notification to satellite operators, if those satellites are under threat," he said.

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Thompson said, "At this point in time, the International Space Station is not at risk."



The ISS orbits over 100 km higher than the orbit at which India carried out the ASAT test.

"That's another thing that we do and provide warning routinely. That's just an example of -no other nation --no other military force, no other civil or other body could have detected characterised and begun warning and providing the world, the way we do with air force and other joint assets," Thompson said.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell from the prestigious Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said India acted in a less irresponsible manner than the Chinese in doing the test.

"We don't know yet how much debris and how high. The United States has said that it's tracking about 250 pieces. But it will take them at least a few days, if not a few weeks to figure to catalog those pieces," he told PTI.

Once the cataloging is done, only then one could analyses how bad the situation is, he added.

Responding to a question, McDowell, who has been following India's space program since 1970s, described the ASAT test as a "much more aggressive stance" even though it is presented as a defensive measure.

This is reflective of the ambitious and military side of the Indian space programme and is in response to the China's aggressive space militarisation programme, he said.

Opposed to such tests, McDowell said, the Indian ASAT test was "relatively responsible" or "less responsible" than the Chinese ASAT test.

"Although I'm opposed to the test, I think that if you're going to do a test, that's a better way to do it.

"There will be debris that ends up in higher orbit but not as much and not as long left. The test at level will ensure that the debris doesn't stay up for long periods of time, in contrast to what happened with the Chinese test, which was much higher up," he said.

"So that is relatively responsible. Certainly they (Indians) have learned from the mistakes of the Chinese," said the American astronomer.

He said the Chinese debris hundreds of pieces in worst possible orbit - are still in the space.

The Indian debris might vanish and burn up when they come down in the next few months, while that of the Chinese might take decades to come down, McDowell said.

Well known space professional, Brian Weeden said China is one reason for India's test.

"India sees itself in competition with China for regional power and prestige and has been internally debating its own demonstration ever since the Chinese ASAT test in 2007," he said.

"The other factor is India's concern about being one of the "have nots" for ASAT weapons like they were for nuclear weapons, in the event of a future ban on ASAT testing," Weeden said.

But more tests like this risk creating space debris that could impact commercial business models for space, plus many of these new space companies feel strongly about social responsibility, he added.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday asked if former prime minister Indira Gandhi can be credited for liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan, why should not Prime Minister Narendra Modi be credited for the Balakot air strike.

Singh was addressing a rally here in support of BJP president Amit Shah, who filed his nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency later in the day.

"It was the bravery of our forces that they divided Pakistan into two parts. One remained Pakistan, while Bangladesh was formed (out of the other)," he said.

"After the war, our leader A B Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi in Parliament. She was also praised all over the country," Singh added.

Referring to the Pulwama attack, the home minister said, "When our 40-42 CRPF soldiers lost their lives in a fidayeen attack, Modiji gave a free hand to our forces."



"If Indira Gandhi can get the credit of dividing Pakistan in 1971, why shouldn't Modiji get the credit for what he has done in Balakot," Rajnath asked.

"If our prime minister has shown such strong willpower to avenge the terror attack on our CRPF jawans, then I would like to ask you why our prime minister should not be praised?" he questioned.

Singh hit out at the Congress for not carrying out similar retaliatory action after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008.

"The Congress was in power when 26/11 attack took place in Mumbai. And they (Congress-led UPA) could do nothing against Pakistan. When political power and military might go hand in hand, then I can assure you that no power in the world can challenge the might of our military," he said.

He asked the people to "punish" Congress president Rahul Gandhi for making allegations of corruption against the prime minister.

"Who will deny the fact that India's respectability in international fraternity has grown. We all accept the truth that India's leadership is in strong hands. But the irony is that the leader of our opposition party and Congress national president abuses our prime minister. I appeal to the people through this event to punish that political party which abuses our PM," he said.

"You have seen earlier governments. In the past five years, no one can dare say there is a blemish of corruption on PM Modi or any of his ministers," the home minister claimed.

Taking on the Congress' "chowkidar chor hai" jibe, Singh said, "Congress national president Rahul Gandhi says 'chowkidar chor hai'.The chowkidar is not a chor, he is pure, his re-election as PM is sure, and for all the country's problems, he is the cure."



He said under Modi, the country was now the sixth largest economy in the world and would occupy fifth place in the fiscal beginning April 1.

"Who will deny the fact that India's respectability in the international fraternity has grown. We all accept the truth that India's leadership is in strong hands," he said.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, speaking at the same event, claimed whatever happened in the last five years under PM Modi's leadership "did not happen in 50 years".

"Amitbhai gets the credit of making the BJP the world's largest party. The NDA will certainly win in this election, and I am certain our government will come back under Modiji's leadership," Gadkari said.

"People understand that our government has not discriminated against anyone on the basis of caste, religion, creed or language," he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal showered praise on Shah, saying he is the country's "biggest organiser, campaigner".

"Amit Shah ji was the chief campaigner and organiser in the 2014 election when Modi was elected. If there is anybody other than Modiji who gets credit for the government getting formed, then it is Amit Shah," Badal said.

"Modi ji made the country proud by taking the decision to conduct (aerial, surgical) strikes to crush militancy. This happened without any jawan getting harmed. This decisive nature belongs to Modi saheb's," Badal claimed.

"We pray to god that Modi saheb becomes the country's prime minister again by a huge majority, and Amit Shahji also contributes to it," he said.

Union minister and Lok Jantantrik Party head Ram Vilas Paswan said he will be happy if Shah breaks all the past records by winning with the highest vote margin.

"I became MLA in 1979, MP in 1977, winning from Hajipur (in Bihar) with the largest margin. I will be happy if you break all past records," he said.

Paswan said Modi's claims of a "Congress-mukt" country was coming true as the opposition party was nowhere to be seen.

"Gathbandhan has become lathbandhan as its constituents are fighting against each other. I can say with confidence that the NDA and the BJP will get more seats in 2019 than what they got in 2014," he said.

"When the press asked me three years ago, I had said there is no vacancy for the prime minister's post in 2019. They should prepare for 2024, and we will see them then," Paswan stressed.

He claimed that the NDA government was with the poor, and cited the memorials it had built for Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a bid to "deflate" the BJP's 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign, the youth wing of the Congress Saturday said it has come up with 'Main Bhi Berozgar' hashtag which, it claimed, is trending on social media.

The Indian Youth Congress' national in charge of social media cell, Vaibhav Walia, said the 'Main Bhi Berozgar' hashtag was launched on Saturday morning and by evening it was used over one lakh times.

He claimed that the hashtag was trending in India as well as globally.

"This will deflate the BJP's 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign," IYC president Keshav Chandra Yadav claimed.

The 'MainBhiBerozgar' hashtag was ideated and executed by the social media team of the IYC, to "blow out the facade" of the BJP's promise of generating two crore jobs in the country annually, IYC spokesperson Amrish Pandey said.

"The trend initiated at 11 am on Saturday was at the top of Twitter trends in India and was one of the top trends worldwide," Walia said.

Yadav alleged the nation was witnessing its "worst phase of unemployment" in four and half decade under the BJP government due to wrong decisions such as demonetisation and GST among others.

"The agony of the youth was clearly palpable and youngsters joined in unison to attack the Modi government by taking to Twitter and posted an assorted query on the curse of unemployment," he said.

The BJP has come up with the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign in a bid to counter Congress president Rahul Gandhi's oft-repeated 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the two sides are locked in a keen battle in the Lok Sabha polls.

Pandey said, "Twitter also saw the flurry of tweets on the trend by top-notch leaders of the Congress garnering over one lakh tweets. The trend #MainBhiBerozgar is going to mould the theme of the upcoming general election, bound to unmask the illusionary campaign of #MainBhiChowkidar."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP workers and people from different walks of life across the country on Sunday evening through his video conference event titled "Main Bhi Chowkidar Hun" at Talkatora stadium here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BNP Paribas Cardif on Friday sold 5 crore shares of SBI Life Insurance through a block deal for Rs 2,889 crore, which saw shares skidding over 6 per cent on the local bourses.

SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture life insurance company between State Bank of India, the country's largest bank, and French multinational bank BNP Paribas Cardif.

BNP Paribas sold its stake in the company through the open market at average price of Rs 577.93 per equity share.

Meanwhile, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has purchased 2 crore shares at an average price of Rs 577.50 per shares, SBI Life Insurance said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The transactions were carried out as bulk deal from one investor to another, it added.

The company said that the sale was undertaken with a view to comply with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) criteria.

The company is required to increase its public shareholding to 25 per cent of its paid-up equity share capital on or before October 2, 2020.

"We confirm that BNP Paribas Cardif remains committed towards ensuring that the company achieves the MPS Threshold during the MPS Compliance Period," it said in the regulatory filing.

Following the deal, BNP Paribas Cardiff's stake in SBI Life Insurance has reduced to 7.7 per cent from the previous 12.7 per cent.

Earlier this month, BNP Paribas Cardiff had offloaded 9.2 per cent stake to global investment firm Carlyle Group's arm, CA Emerald Investments.

SBI Life Insurance Company closed trade at Rs 579.55, down by Rs 37.20 or 6.03 per cent, on the BSE on Friday.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar

Also Read: Over 1,000 Jet Airways pilots may go on strike from April 1History came full circle last week after Rashtriya Janata Dal's leader and Bihar's former deputy Chief Minister (CM), Tejashwi Yadav announced the list of Mahagathbandan - or mega alliance - in the state for general elections. The third name in the list, Sharad Yadav, will contest Madhepura seat on RJD's ticket. Ironically, Tejashwi's father Lalu Prasad formed RJD by rebelling against Sharad Yadav as he split Janata Dal. The Madhepura seat has been a witness to the animosity between both the leaders for the last two decades. The common enemy in Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only brought these two leaders together, but also nudged Sharad Yadav to contest on RJD's ticket.

Sharad Yadav continued mounting political losses over these two decades. From president of the ruling Janata Dal and Civil Aviation Minister in the nineties, Yadav crashed to being virtually a nobody. In December 2017, the then Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief, Nitish Kumar invoked anti-defection rules to have Yadav disqualified from the Rajya Sabha. And today, Yadav's own party, the Loktantrik Janata Dal is as good as part of the RJD.

Madhepura seat will be a survival battle for Yadav. A defeat in the elections may send him into political oblivion. The JD (U), led by Nitish Kumar seems prepared to give a tough competition to their erstwhile national president. The JD (U) has fielded state cabinet minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav from Madhepura on behalf of NDA, and RJD's sitting MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who defeated him in the last polls has already filed his nomination from here. Pappu Yadav's wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, is Congress' candidate from neighbouring Supaul constituency. Congress and RJD are in alliance in Bihar.

In 1991, Pappu Yadav shifted to this constituency on Lalu Yadav's invitation from his Badaun constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Since then, he always contested from here. The constituency witnessed their affection, rivalry, bitterness and hatred and now will witness re-found friendship. Can Lalu's son and his party RJD save career of Sharad Yadav? Or when Lalu is spending more time in Ranchi jail, they can ensure political wilderness for his once arch rival.

It all started during the summers of 1997. Lalu Prasad (then Laloo Yadav), the then national president of Janata Dal was under immense pressure from his colleagues to resign as Chief Minister of Bihar as well as from the party's leadership. The Central Bureau of Investigation was tightening the screws on him in the fodder scam. Incidentally, he is convicted in the same case now. His rivals in the party picked up their then working president Sharad Yadav to contest against him at the national convention in the first week of July 1997.

A day before the convention, at the lawns of Bihar Bhawan in New Delhi's posh Chanakyapuri locale, Lalu Yadav with his 16 out of 46 of their party's Lok Sabha MPs and six colleagues from Rajya Sabha blamed Sharad Yadav along with ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. He blasted Sharad Yadav by saying that he was being used as a remote control by leaders who are more loyal to the Bharatiya Janata Party than to the Janata Dal. Most political analysts predicted that he might lose out to Sharad Yadav; his show of strength meant exit. For two hours, the newsrooms kept guessing his next move. After all, party's Rajya Sabha MP, Inder Kumar Gujral was leading the United Front government and Janata Dal had state governments in Bihar (Jharkhand was still part of the state) and Karnataka. Gujral had become the prime minister only three months ago, and the split could have led to his exit.

As soon as the then education minister and confidant of Lalu Prasad Ramchandra Purve got up and proposed the split and name of the new party, the separation was formulated. This meant that there will be no contest between these two leaders and Lalu walked away with a new outfit by vertically splitting the party. It is the only example in Indian political history where a national president of a party led the split. Straight after this, Lalu Prasad went to the PM's house and told Gujral about the split and assured that his government is stable. Incidentally, Purve is RJD's Bihar chapter's chief and was with Tejashwi when Sharad Yadav's name was announced. After going back to Patna, Lalu Yadav resigned from the chief minister's post and installed his housewife Rabri Devi instead.

Lalu's rivalry with Sharad Yadav didn't end here. During general elections in 1998, he picked up the Sharad Yadav's constituency Madhepura to take on him and defeated him there. In 1991, Sharad Yadav shifted from Badayun in Uttar Pradesh to this constituency and was for the first time contesting not only without Lalu but also against him. In 1999, when Sharad Yadav joined hands with erstwhile Lalu's confidant Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes's Samata Party, which led to the exit of HD Deve Gowda and formation of JD (U), Lalu Yadav didn't leave him there. He again challenged him. This time Sharad Yadav won with the help of BJP's cadre there. Sharad Yadav was defeated thrice in this constituency, twice by Lalu (1998 and 2004) and in 2014 by RJD's Pappu Yadav (the then confidant of Lalu Yadav).

Now the spotlight is on the political discourse coming in from Madhepura.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Rahul Gandhi says will scrap NITI Aayog, replace with 'lean' Planning Commission

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Amit Shah files nomination for Gandhinagar constituencyCongress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he would scrap the NITI Aayog if his party is voted to power in upcoming Lok Sabha elections, alleging that it has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fudging data.

Rahul Gandhi said the Congress party will bring back the Planning Commission, whose members will be renowned economists and experts and the total staff will be below 100.

"If voted to power, we will scrap the NITI Aayog. It has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the PM & fudging data. We will replace it with a lean Planning Commission whose members will be renowned economists & experts with less than 100 staff," Gandhi said in a tweet.

If voted to power, we will scrap the NITI Aayog. It has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the PM & fudging data. We will replace it with a lean Planning Commission whose members will be renowned economists & experts with less than 100 staff. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 29, 2019

Also Read: 7 promises Rahul Gandhi has made to uproot Modi's BJP

The NITI Aayog (also known as National Institution for Transforming India) is the government's policy think tank established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to replace the Planning Commission set up by India's first PM Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Recently, the Niti Aayog was caught in a controversy after its Chairman Rajiv Kumar slammed the Congress President Rahul Gandhi's promise of providing minimum income guarantee to poorest of the poor category, saying that it will create strong incentives against work and bust fiscal discipline.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's income guarantee promise to burst fiscal discipline, says Niti Aayog VC Rajiv Kumar

In a tweet, Kumar said the cost of the minimum income guarantee scheme at 2 per cent of the gross domestic product and 13 per cent of the budget will "ensure" that real needs of people remain unsatisfied.

He was issued a notice by the Election Commission for his remarks against the Congress over its minimum income guarantee promise, by April 2.

At a press conference on Monday, Rahul Gandhi announced that 20 per cent families belonging to the poorest category will be given Rs 72,000 each annually as minimum income if Congress comes to power.

Youngsters, Want to start a new business? Want to create jobs for India? Here's our plan for you: 1. ZERO permissions for the first 3 years of any new business. 2. Goodbye Angel Tax 3. Solid incentives & tax credits based on how many jobs you create. 4. Easy Bank Credit - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 28, 2019

Also Read: How can Rahul Gandhi's Rs 72,000 promise be fulfilled? Tax the super rich!

On Thursday, the Congress President promised that new business will not require any regulatory permissions for three years and will get easy access to bank credit if his party is voted to power. He he also promised to remove the existing 'angel tax' levied on investment in start-ups. Currently, angel tax is charged at a maximum rate of 30 per cent.

Edited by Chitranjan KumarLawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a third time on Friday, sounding its probable death knell and leaving Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the very day it was supposed to leave the bloc.

The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May's divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year Brexit crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty.

After a special sitting of parliament, lawmakers voted 344-286 against May's 585-page EU Withdrawal Agreement, agreed after two years of tortuous negotiations with the bloc.

Within minutes of the vote, European Council President and summit chair Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc.

The EU executive, the Commission, said that "a 'no-deal' scenario on 12 April is now a likely scenario",

May had told parliament the vote was the last opportunity to ensure Brexit would take place. She cautioned that if the deal failed, then any further delay to Brexit would probably be a long one beyond April 12.

"I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," May told parliament after the defeat. "The implications of the House's decision are grave."

"The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12th April," she said.

Also Read: Theresa May's Brexit deal defeated by 149 votes in UK Parliament

The British pound, which has been buoyed in recent weeks by hopes that the likelihood of an abrupt 'no-deal' Brexit is receding, fell half a percent after May lost, to as low as $1.2977.

THIRD FAILURE

It was a third failure for May, who had offered on Wednesday to resign if the deal passed, in a bid to win over eurosceptic rebels in her Conservative Party who support a more decisive break with the EU than the divorce her deal offers.

It leaves May's Brexit strategy in tatters. With no majority in parliament for any Brexit option so far, it is unclear what May will now do. Options include asking the EU for a long delay, parliament forcing an election, or a "no-deal" exit.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking as parliament voted, said the EU needed to accelerate no-deal planning.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters: "One of the two routes to an orderly Brexit seems now to be closed. This leaves only the other route, which is for the British to make clear what they want before April 12."

"The risk of a no-deal Brexit is very real," he said.May's deal had twice been rejected by huge margins this year and, although she was able to win over many Conservative rebels, a hard core of eurosceptics and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which props up her minority government, refused to back it.

Next Monday, lawmakers who have tried to grab control of the process will attempt to agree on an alternative Brexit plan that could command majority cross-party support in parliament, something largely unheard-of in Britain's political system.

NEXT DEADLINE LOOMS

The defeat means Britain now has under two weeks to convince the 27 capitals of the EU that it has an alternative path out of the impasse, or see itself cast out of the bloc from that date with no deal on post-Brexit ties with its largest trading ally.

Many eurosceptics see this as their preferred option but businesses say it would cause huge damage not only to the world's fifth-biggest economy, but also to that of neighbouring Ireland.

However, any further extension would not only require Britain to take part in European Parliament elections in May, but also bring months of fresh uncertainty.

A second referendum could then be in play, although many lawmakers believe the most likely outcome and only way to solve the crisis will be a snap election.

The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU revealed a United Kingdom divided over many more issues, and has provoked impassioned debate about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and what it means to be British.

Meanwhile the uncertainty around Brexit, the United Kingdom's most significant political and economic move since World War Two, has left allies and investors aghast.

Opponents fear Brexit will make Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.

Supporters say that, while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed attempt to forge European unity.India and the United states on Friday underlined the need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from its soil.

The two countries exchanged views on threats posed by international terrorist organisations during the US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue that concluded here Friday.

While the US delegation was led by State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Nathan Sales, the Indian side was headed by Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Mahaveer Singhvi.

"Both sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible, and verifiable action against terrorists and terrorist groups," according to a joint statement.

It said the two sides discussed counterterrorism cooperation between them and resolved to continue close coordination on this important element of the bilateral relationship.

Sales, according to the joint statement, emphasised the US support for the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism.

There was also discussion of strengthening cooperation on information sharing and other steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel, consistent with the important provisions and obligations outlined in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2396.

Indian and American officials also highlighted their efforts on some of the world's most pressing counterterrorism challenges, including countering the financing and operations of terrorist organisations, terrorist use of the internet, and prosecuting, rehabilitating, and reintegrating returning foreign terrorist fighters, said the statement.

The US, it said, welcomed India's participation in international efforts to counter terrorism finance.

The two sides also shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing sanctions designations against terrorist groups and individuals, the statement said.

Also Read: UK court denies bail to Nirav Modi once again; next hearing on April 26news, latest-news

Canberra developers dumping clean fill in NSW could be set to pay more under a new haulage levy being reviewed by Yass Valley Council. It comes as the council voted to charge a new "contribution levy" to local developers on Wednesday night. The vote followed a heated community meeting between councillors and residents on Tuesday where locals vented concerns about the hundreds of trucks hauling clean fill through rural back roads. "I think it's going to take someone getting killed on these roads before you do something," one resident said on Tuesday. "It's just money and dirt." Wednesday's adopted plan would see the council collect a fee of the project cost on construction or subdivision projects if the cost of development is more than $100,000. Developments between $100,000 and $200,000 would have to pay 0.5 per cent in contributions to council, as in $500 on a $100,000 project. Projects above $200,000 would be charged one per cent. Council documents said it expected the Yass region's population to grow by more than 10,000 people in two decades, requiring more than 4000 new homes. On Tuesday, councillors and staff - including deputy mayor Nathan Furry - had gathered residents in Wallaroo outside Hall - to discuss the council's future operational plan. Given the chance to ask questions, several residents expressed concern about the delay in the heavy haulage policy and said it was not enough to repair roads damaged by the excessive truck movements. The council is having a new heavy haulage policy independently reviewed by engineers. Yass council previously said Canberra construction companies were dumping thousands of tonnes of fill just over the border in NSW to avoid the high cost of disposal in the ACT. This was often as rehabilitation works for eroded gullies on Yass farmland with developers saying they would fill eroded gullies. A recent development on Kaveneys Road approved by council in December would have 90,000 tonnes of clean fill dumped on a Yass region farm. It would have cost more than $1 million in fees for the fill to be dumped in Canberra. Instead, it would cost that developer $2110 in road maintenance costs, based off calculations which factor in the weight of the truck and the wear that would cause to the road. But according to the development application, the weight factor for the truck used in the council's calculations was equivalent to what the Australian Trucking Association would classify as a half-loaded truck. One resident told councillors on Tuesday that most development applications, when calculating road levies, had applied the wrong truck weight to calculations. The new levy would see council charge 4.5 cents a tonne of payload a kilometre. Hypothetically, if a fully loaded truck carrying 33 tonnes travelled down three kilometres of road to ultimately deliver 90,000 tonnes it would cost the person dumping the fill more than $12,000. The new policy doesn't factor in how worn the road is or how suitable it is for trucks. Residents on Tuesday said this would still not be enough to deter trucks and it would still be cheaper for developers to drive trucks an hour out of the ACT and dump fill than to dump it in Canberra. The residents told councillors sharing the poor quality and narrow roads with trucks was dangerous. "The number of trucks are well outstripping the amount of money you're pumping into these roads," one resident said. Many of the residents approached by The Canberra Times after Tuesday's meeting would not provide their names for safety or privacy reasons, some fearing reprisals by developers. Local Catherine Baird asked why developers always applied to dump exactly 60,000 cubic metres or 90,000 tonnes of fill. "What is this magical number," she said. "It's the typical size of a basin in construction," one resident said. Ms Baird said she would often drive by the Yass council sign where a slogan reads "the country, the people". "And sometimes I just want to graffito 'and the trucks'," Ms Baird said.

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The Administration condemns Nicolas Maduros continued use of foreign military personnel in his attempt to remain in power, including the introduction of Russian military personnel and equipment into Venezuela. Maduro will only use this military support to further repress the people of Venezuela; perpetuate the economic crisis that has destroyed Venezuelas economy; and endanger regional stability. We call on the Venezuelan military to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the citizens of Venezuela.news, latest-news

The ACT now has a real-time prescription monitoring system in a bid to curb the misuse of controlled drugs such as opioids. It follows recommendations from Coroner Margaret Hunter to set up the scheme in 2017, after an inquest into the death of Canberra man Paul Fennessy, who died of a prescription drug overdose in 2010. The government hopes the system will prevent doctor shopping and limit the misuse of controlled drugs. The online prescription monitoring website, known as DORA, is now available for eligible health professionals. It will allow doctors and pharmacists in Canberra to check in real time all controlled medicines that have been dispensed to their patient. Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said doctors and pharmacists would now have vital information available to them to assist in making better and safer clinical decisions for their patients before a prescription is written or dispensed. Whilst controlled medicines play an important role in patient treatment, unfortunately some controlled medicines can lead to an addiction or even an overdose when patients are able to access these medications inappropriately and or too frequently," she said. This system will help health professionals to identify unusual patterns of use by a patient, such as incorrect, inappropriate and over-use." The schedule 8 medications which the monitoring system will cover include strong opioids used for pain like oxycodone and morphine, as well as stimulants like dexamphetamine which is prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ms Fitzharris urged all eligible doctors and pharmacists to apply and register for DORA so they could start using it. Unfortunately, the misuse of pharmaceuticals is a nationwide problem and tragically the number of harms including deaths from prescription medicines is now higher than illegal drugs," she said. DORA has put the ACT on the front foot for adopting national real-time prescription monitoring in the future, as the Federal Government plans to implement its national monitoring system from this year. "The ACT Government is supportive and plans to adopt the full functions of the national system, following the rollout of DORA." ACT branch president of the Pharmacy Guild Simon Blacker welcomed the move, saying real-time monitoring was an essential step in helping to reduce misuse of prescription medicines. The unfortunate reality is that Australia is experiencing an increasing rate of misuse of prescription medicines, he said. The number of reports of harm, including deaths, from prescription medicines is increasing and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that over the past decade, drug-induced deaths were more likely to be due to prescription drugs than illegal drugs. To date there has been no unified system to enable doctors and pharmacists to track patient use and identify vulnerable and at-risk patients. This system is a great step forward.

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The owner of a house designed by architect Harry Seidler has told a tribunal that he doesnt want to live in a museum and that the owner of the expensive property should be able to demolish it if it does not suit their needs. Michael Bowden is appealing the ACT Heritage Councils decision to add the Deakin home to the heritage register on the grounds that significant changes to the property have destroyed its design integrity. Mr Bowden told the tribunal on Friday that registering the house would devalue it and no one would seek to make the house smaller and restore it to its original condition. He said he thought no private houses should be heritage listed without the owners permission. But an expert report prepared by heritage architect David Hobbes found that, despite extensive additions, including an extension designed by Seidler, the house was still an important example of the Post-War International architectural style and should be added to the heritage register. Mr Hobbes said the house retained its "cubiform" shape visible from the street, which Mr Bowden denied. Mr Hobbes said the house had extensive alterations made throughout its history but these were reversible and did not reduce the heritage character of the building. Mr Bowden said it was "fanciful" that anyone would restore the house to its original, smaller state and pay the rates charged on the block, but he agreed that the house was worth investing in. "Im suggesting no owner would come on to the property and want to do that," he said. Mr Bowden rejected the "highly restrictive" and "exceedingly onerous" terms of a draft development control plan for the block prepared as part of the provisional heritage registration. "I don't want to live in a house where I can't make changes and improvements according to mine and my family's needs," Mr Bowden said. ACT Heritage Council chair David Flannery told the tribunal that heritage nomination increased the value of homes because owners appreciated the certainty a house would retain its unique character. Mr Flannery said changes to the house were expected over its life, as with any building. Under cross-examination from Mr Bowden, Mr Flannery said the Heritage Council never assessed what impact a heritage listing would have to the value of a property. Mr Bowden told the tribunal he believed the house was never properly nominated by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1995 because no form was lodged at the time. He told the tribunal the family was first notified of the nomination in 2000, five years after it was lodged. Mr Bowden said he was not notified of the outstanding nomination when he bought the house from his father in late 2010. He said the Heritage Act "essentially discriminated" against the owners of nominated properties and owners have no rights under the act to "negotiate just terms". "I think the owner of this very expensive property should have the right to demolish and start afresh if the original bachelor house doesn't meet their needs." The house was one of Seidler's first Australian commissions outside Sydney and was built for Mr Bowden's father. The tribunal stayed its decision pending further written submissions from Mr Bowden and the ACT Heritage Council which were due to be lodged next week.

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Re: "ABS statistics reveal Canberra growth spurt" (March 28, p2). Demographer Liz Allen contends that those caring about population numbers, growth rates, and targets are obsessive and implies their views don't count. Numbers do count, and critically, when considering congestion and other negatives of over-population and its rapid growth. She seems to believe the only target for planners should be to accept whatever growth is imposed by state and federal leaders, and to ignore the inevitability of there being limits to growth, and the need to plan for that. The undeclared common intention of those leaders is to simply keep growing forever. Impossible as this may be, it is supportive of the business view of putting short-term profits ahead of future social and environmental considerations. Leaders attempt to make their contentions plausible by saying infrastructure shortfalls are not structural outcomes of too rapid growth, but the result of easily reversed political indecision. That is untrue, as can be seen every day as never-ending roadworks attempt to keep pace with traffic growth, and new hospitals can't be built (and staffed) quickly enough to meet demand growth. Before accepting the current high growth projections, Canberrans should ask what sort of place they want future Canberrans to live in  overpopulated congestion as in Sydney, or spacious as we currently enjoy. If the latter, tell Zed Seselja, Andrew Barr, and all ACT politicians and political aspirants. If you don't, then it is "Sydney here we come". Vince Patulny, Kambah Re: "Canberra population sprints past 420,000, new figures show" (canberatimes.com.au, March 28). It is interesting how modest and small a 2.2 per cent growth rate seems. Few would realise the actual impact: if maintained that is a doubling of the ACT population in just 32 years. To keep municipal services exactly as they are now that means doubling expenditures on schools, hospitals, policing, transport, water supply, sewerage treatments and so on. If population doubles, we need to double every single government service just to stay exactly as we are now. We need to recognise that numeric fact of doubling times so we can plan for it and take action. To my knowledge, there are no effective ways for a single location to constrain its migration population growth under our current economic system other than by slowing economic growth. This would make the ACT a less attractive place to live and existing residents would be affected negatively. Rethinking dwelling density and rapidly changing the current rules, which effectively mandate individual car ownership, will be critical. The world has dramatically dropped its population growth in the past 40 years, from an under 35 year doubling time at a rate of more than 2 per cent a year, to a current rate of just over under 70 years. That still means we face huge global stresses from population growth and must work to reduce the rates in those areas, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, where population growth is still well above 2 per cent a year. The proven path is to educate women, which reduces poverty and lowers birth rates dramatically. The primary issue is that we have an economic system which assumes perpetual growth is possible on a finite planet. That's also called the path to self-destruction. Steve Blume, Chapman Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris hopes Canberra will soon be recognised as a global leader in transport-focused urban development ("Putting the trams before the Gateway", March 27, p1). It is more likely to be recognised as an example of what not to do. The provision of the Civic to Gungahlin light rail took place despite: (a) The Productivity Commission observing the business case indicated bus rapid transport would provide similar benefits at a quarter of the cost. (b) A benefit to cost ratio of 1.2 i.e. it would return $1.20 for every dollar spent. The ACT Auditor-General indicated the real ratio was about 0.5. (c) Failing to respond to widespread concern about the merits of the project. (d) Limiting consultation to not much more than choosing the colour of the carriages. (e) Failing to develop significant employment along the route. Having spent hundreds of millions of dollars above what was necessary on rapid public transport from Civic to Gungahlin, the government now intends to spend about $1.6 billion on the Civic to Woden light rail without a business case. It is committed to the project no matter what the cost. Hardly an example of best practice. Ms Fitzharris, be responsible, prepare a business case comparing light rail and its alternatives, including busways, and undertake genuine consultation, so we can get the most appropriate land use transport solution in the Civic to Woden rapid transport corridor. Mike Quirk, Garran I note The Canberra Times report of the summing up of Justice Burns regarding the terrible incident at ANU in August, 2017, involving mental impairment ("Student found not guilty over ANU bat attack", March 27, p3). Our thoughts are for the continued recovery of those injured and affected by the attack. However, on behalf of the Canberra Mental Health Forum, we also are extremely concerned about the ACT justice system's response to dealing with those who have a mental disability and a confirmed psychiatric disability, such as schizophrenia. As noted in The Canberra Times, Justice Burns launched into a "scathing assessment" of the Crown (ACT Prosecution) case. We wonder about the ACT government's commitment to dealing justly with people with a mental illness. Other evidence in the trial also raised questions about the police processes of dealing with people with a mental illness, and the capacity of ACT Corrections to sufficiently support a significant number of people in its care with mental illness. All ministers  the Chief Minister, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Mental Health and Justice, and the Minister for Police and Emergency Services  should be asking questions of their respective directorates regarding their integrity and diligence in this matter. We hope that the forthcoming report and recommendations into disability and the justice system addresses some of these issues. Ros Williams, convener, Canberra Mental Health Forum Well done Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, for intervening in the press announcement by Defence Industry Minister, Christopher Pyne, on March 28 when he announced changes in the top military leadership. After the announcements, the questions moved on to politics, including One Nation and preference deals. The Australian Defence Force's second in command, Vice-Admiral David Johnston; the newly announced Air Force Chief, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld; and the next Chief of Joint Operations, Major General Greg Bilton were standing in the background. General Campbell advised the minister it was inappropriate for them to be standing in the background when he was answering political questions. The officers were then excused from any further involvement in the interview. General Campbell showed great leadership. He also demonstrated he has the strength of character to stand up against inappropriate political interview standards. Jack Wiles, Gilmore It does not matter that conversations by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and two of her party's cohorts were secretly recorded. It does not matter that what has been reported in the media are only edited snippets of those conversations. What does matter is that those supposedly edited comments show a political leader and her followers who have no idea of what is expected of those in a position of political responsibility and obviously would pay any cost to get elected to Federal Parliament? No sensible person would vote One Nation after those callous comments and the attempt to gain overseas funds to push an overseas agenda. Alan Leitch, Austin's Ferry, Tasmania The PM should have made his decision to preference One Nation below Labor contingent upon Labor preferencing the Greens below the Libs. The Greens are a party of dangerous extremists and fanatics, so his failure to do so was merely acceptance of the fact that he is leading the Coalition to electoral oblivion. Bob Hawke famously pledged on June 23, 1987, that "by 1990 no Australian child will live in poverty", such was his faith in the power of government. The Greens' leader, Richard Di Natale, might as well pledge that by 2030, every Australian child will live in poverty, because that is precisely what would happen under the Greens' insane 100 per cent renewable energy target. Di Natale thinks this policy would not result in job losses because the government would manage the transition. Where the government would get the massive tax revenue needed to fund the transition is unclear, given that Australian industry would be destroyed and coal exports would stop. The only "clean" technologies capable of providing the baseload power needed to keep the country in the 21st century are hydro and nuclear. The Greens, of course, are vehemently opposed to both. Di Natale said only there would be no job losses, not that our standard of living would be maintained. I suppose he would think it a great outcome if Australia in 2030 resembled North Korea today. After all, our carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by almost 100 per cent. D. Zivkovic, Aranda What a disgusting and ungrateful letter from Kenneth Griffiths (Letters, March 27), saying none of the Australian soldiers who fought and served our country made their sacrifice for Australia. Did he think that when Japan invaded Australia in World War II the servicemen and women were not defending their country? Hundreds of people lost their lives in Australia to this attack from an invading enemy. So much so, that the government had ruled a line across the country and was prepared to sacrifice it to the Japanese, such was the threat of total invasion. Does he really think that the Australian personnel who served did not make their sacrifice for Australia (as he puts it, in his words)? In fact more bombs were dropped on Darwin than Pearl Harbour. On February 19, 1942, Darwin was bombed two-and-a-half more times than Pearl Harbour, resulting in the killing of 243 people and many more wounded. It was attacked 64 more times by the Japanese, the last attack in late 1943. Much of northern Australia was also attacked. Next time he writes such dribble he should check his facts and show a little more gratitude to the servicemen and women of this country who put their lives on the line for people like him. Maybe he should make a trip to Darwin to see some of the monuments and history dedicated to the people that saved this country. Ian Pilsner, Weston Owen Reid (Letters, March 27) asks who would have guessed that a group of "prominent" Australians against the War Memorial expansion "just happen to be of the left"? And who would have guessed, judging from Mr Reid's oft-stated opinions, that just about everyone is to his left? Eric Hunter, Cook May I add my small voice to the prominent Australians opposed to the expansion of the Australian War Memorial. Having had four years celebrating World War I, the AWM now wants half-a-billion dollars to glorify war. Enough is enough. To make matters worse, the AWM spokesman claims the public has been consulted and that the overwhelming majority of Australians support the proposed development. What arrogant nonsense. Nobody I know supports this development and one hopes that if the ALP forms government at the general election, it will seriously review this proposal given the public is not in favour of it. When one looks at other developed countries in North America and Europe, they favour national institutions that promote their culture, heritage and natural history. We promote our involvement in other people's wars as our priority. If the ALP does form government in the near future, may I suggest it spends the half-a-billion dollars on proper care for our veterans, proper funding for our existing national cultural institutions and a national natural history centre or museum, as advocated by the Australian Academy of Science. Phil Creaser, Canberra City In a brief proclamation, witnessed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump declared that "the United States recognises that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel." He argued that Israel's illegal seizure of the Golan Heights in 1967, its unilateral annexation of the territory 14 years later and its continued assertion of control along with the aggressive buildup of illegal Jewish settlements and Israeli capitalist exploitation in the territory were all justified by "Israel's need to protect itself from Syria and other regional threats" including Iran. Another win for Israel. Another downhill slide for the US empire. Rex Williams, Springwood, NSW Rex Williams once again descends into crude reductionism when he accuses Israel of "controlling both houses of US government" (Letters, March 26). Not only is this statement out of touch with political reality in the US, it is also redolent of the paranoid fantasies about a 'Jewish conspiracy' that are a feature of classical anti-semitism. It is sad that such discredited discourse can still see the light of day. Robert Cussel, Yarralumla Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to Canberra Times reports should include the date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

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The assertion by the ACT government that they cannot regulate or legislate on drones ("Ready for take-off: Canberra drone base gets the green light", The Canberra Times, March 26) I believe is not totally correct. CASA, at the drone inquiry hearing, stated that in a recent High Court decision that bodies other than the federal government can pass legislation on aviation and aircraft (and drones are aircraft) as long as it is not inconsistent with federal legislation. That is, the ruling was that the Commonwealth does not have exclusivity in the field of aviation regulation. In fact, a growing number of councils in Australia are banning and regulating drones in their areas, and these regulations have not been challenged. It appears that the ACT government is able to make regulations or restrictions on drones, including delivery drones, as long as they do not contradict federal law. Nev Sheather, Bonython In a thought-provoking article by Chris Uhlmann in The Canberra Times on March 27, he pointed to the decline of some of the certainties in life such as the church, the financial system and politicians sticking to their principles. Chris suggests that a way forward would be to find a list of things we do agree on such as parliamentary democracy, equality and the secular rule of law. But surely another thing we can all agree on is that the science tells us that the planet is in deep peril from climate change, loss of biodiversity, plastics in the ocean etc and that while we might debate the means, urgent and unprecedented action is required to provide a liveable Earth for our children, grandchildren and other species of life? Rod Holesgrove, O'Connor In response to Penleigh Boyd (Letters, March 24), most of the carbon usage listed does not count. The ACT carbon neutral team do not count any usage that is outside ACT. That is zero for concrete, cables and tram manufacture and transport until it crosses the border. Jim Thornton, Conder The Sunday Canberra Times editorial (March 24) quite rightly hopes the war memorial listens to those eminent Australians who are concerned about the proposed $498 million redevelopment (read desecration) of the Australian War Memorial's site below Mount Ainslie. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely these hopes will be realised as a spokesman for the memorial ("Chorus against $500m war memorial expansion", The Canberra Times, March 23, p4) made it clear it had "consulted the public", "the Australian government and the overwhelming majority of Australians support the project" and "it will proceed as planned". This is not only arrogant in the extreme, it is also untrue. It is highly unlikely that the overwhelming majority of Australians would support the proposal and I do not believe there was adequate consultation. This project must be rethought and Anzac Hall retained; and it is to be hoped that the Australian government, after the forthcoming federal election, will quickly arrange for this to happen. Murray Upton, Belconnen It was with interest I read that Anh Do received $16,500 as a guest speaker at the ACT Health Awards in 2017 (Sunday Canberra Times, March 24, p2). Can I make an offer to ACT Health? I am willing to talk at your awards night  or any other function  for half the fee of Anh Do. For this amount (half Anh Do's cost) I am sure I could find some interesting things to say to keep the audience listening, although they would not necessarily agree with my subject matter. I even have some jokes I could throw in as well. I make it clear the audience would have the right to boo and hiss and throw me off stage for a poor performance. However, I would simply accept this as a risk with any performance in front of a live audience. Geoff Barker, Flynn The front page article (The Canberra Times, March 26) would have awakened many Canberrans to the problems that light rail will bring. There are many advantages that the bus has over the tram. The main one, of course, is that the bus unloads on the side of the road. The tram does not. To add insult to injury, with the tram having right of way at lights, this not only reduces the time passengers have to cross from the centre to the sides but it reduces the time cross traffic has allotted to it. This applies not only at the 13 stops proposed between Gungahlin and Civic but also the same 13 stops on the return trip. In Melbourne, to take an example I know well, the tram stops at a light. Passengers get off and are able to cross to the side of the road on the red light that stops the tram. Moving on to the proposed second stage, which will travel along Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen: at peak times this stretch gives a quick passage to traffic. If you run a tram down that stretch and have say six sets of traffic lights installed, this will slow car traffic down to the point where they will take at least twice as long to travel along that stretch of road. Naturally enough that does not happen with buses. It is a matter of fact that tram passengers will have difficulty getting to either footpath, especially at peak times. All the above is and was predictable. What is also predictable is that Mr Barr, in his usual fashion, dismisses any fact that does not fit in his plans for a tram service in Canberra. It is a question of common sense that stage two of the tram does not start before stage one has been in operation for at least three months. Howard Carew, Isaacs Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to Canberra Times reports should include the date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

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When Jade Breen's mum handed her a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and said "You should read it" the Canberra teenager had no idea just a few months later she would be playing Scout, one of literature's most-loved characters. "I feel like it's an honour to be playing such a famous role," she said. The 13-year-old joins Jamie Boyd as Jem and Jake Keen as Dill as the children in the enduring tale of racial inequality and innocence lost in the 1930s America south. The play, adapted from Harper Lee's novel, is now being performed by the Canberra Rep at Theatre 3 until April 13. Michael Sparks, starring as upstanding lawyer Atticus Finch, says all three teenagers have been a delight to work with. "They bring talent and enthusiasm and a kind of curiosity to the performance," he said. "Each of them has a curiosity about who they are and how their character fits into the world. "And working over the process of the rehearsals and watching how they develop and how their characters develop, it's been really fascinating. "And, I mean, you can be the best Atticus in the world but the show's not going to work unless you've got great kids and we've got great kids." Jamie, 16, who attends Dickson College and Jess, a student at Daramalan College, said the Christchurch shootings in a mosque earlier this month had shown that the irrational fear of the other seen in To Kill a Mockingbird was still prevalent today. "We talked about it as a school, in class our teachers reminded us to remember this had happened and there could be people affected by this," she said. "But at my age, it's not something that people really know how to approach. I don't think many of my friends are aware of what's happening in the world today, they're mostly oblivious." Jess said after Christchurch she was remembering "how important it is for us to do this [play]". Jake, 14, a student at Saint Mary MacKillop College, said he hoped people their own age would come to see To Kill a Mockingbird. "At the start, I didn't really how relevant the story is now," he said. "From what happened [in Christchurch], I feel it's a really, really important show. That's why we want the younger generation to come and see the show. I feel that will really influence what happens next." Some schools were already booked in to watch the performance. "I think it's really important schools are coming because even now, I see students my age being really racist to other people and that's why so important that we convey this message, especially to younger audiences," Jess said. Tickets canberrarep.org.au or 6257 1950.

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Eight people were injured in a two-car crash on the Barton Highway on Saturday afternoon. A female passenger was taken to Canberra Hospital with leg injuries in a serious but stable condition, with five others taken to hospital in a stable condition. Northbound was partly closed while emergency serviced cleared the scene of the crash, which happened just after 4pm at the intersection of the Barton Highway and McIntosh Circuit near Murrumbateman. A witness said he saw a Holden Commodore turn from McIntosh Circuit onto the Barton Highway before crashing into a Hyundai Accent. The witness said the Hyundai became airborne in the crash. NSW Ambulance inspector Ben Hutchinson said the ages of those involved ranged from 16 to 45. "One of the drivers was on their green P-plates, while the other was a 19-year-old on an unrestricted licence," Mr Hutchinson said. "Only two of the patients were significantly injured." The remaining two people in the crash who weren't taken to hospital did not require treatment at the scene. With Yass Tribune.

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Light rail construction "destroyed" a significant Aboriginal heritage site in Sydney's east that a new report says shed light on early interactions between Indigenous people and British settlers. Mystery surrounded tens of thousands of stone objects that were unearthed at the Randwick tram stabling site in 2016, prompting Indigenous elders to launch a failed bid to halt work on the $2.1 billion light rail line. A post-excavation report, prepared by consultants GML Heritage for Transport for NSW and light rail contractor Acciona in November, found that Aboriginal people used the area to forge tools from flint brought to Australia on British ships. The report said that the site near the corner of Alison Road and Doncaster Avenue had "considerable heritage". "It is significant to Sydneys historical narrative," the report said. Indigenous heritage consultants and Greens MP David Shoebridge seized on those findings to push for bolstered legal protections for Aboriginal heritage sites in areas that are slated for development. "The whole site has been destroyed," Mr Shoebridge said. "We need to learn the lesson and change the law." More than 2400 stone artefacts and five glass artefacts among the trove of objects found in a small excavated portion of the site showed that Aboriginal people had used it like a quarry between roughly 1788 and 1830. They had manufactured tools and implements on-site from flint - a type of mineral quartz not found in or near Sydney - that had originated as ships ballast on the banks of the River Thames in London. "In this case it was probably loaded into British ships at Deptford, London, prior to sailing around the globe to Sydney," the report said. "Once offloaded in Sydney, Aboriginal people found the flint, and, probably curious, moved it a safe distance beyond the young British colony at Sydney Cove to the sand dunes at Randwick." Once the tools were completed, the local Aboriginal people had likely transported and traded them "via traditional networks across the wider contact period cultural landscape". "The place and its cultural landscape context provide direct evidence of the extent of early and continued Aboriginal presence within the colony and the cross-cultural interaction and connection between people beyond the widely-known history of dispossession," the report said. Scott Franks, whose company Tocomwall advised on Indigenous heritage matters for the light rail, said the site was "the epicentre of first contact with the British" and its loss was "appalling". Mr Franks said the discovery of the artefacts should have stopped the light rail project to allow for a full investigation to determine whether the objects should have been dug up, or the site preserved. "It should have been preserved. Ultimately it's a very sad loss of information about first contact." The light rail line project's planning approval included an assessment and conditions that took into account Aboriginal heritage, according to the Department of Planning and Environment. A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said that "the Aboriginal groups were a part of all major decisions including the excavation and salvage of the stone items" at the time of the find. She said the agency was working through the report with Aboriginal representatives, who it had consulted with for the light rail project, to determine "the long-term management and appropriate interpretation" of the artefacts. "This includes acknowledging importance through educational material for local schools and university and public displays to increase community understanding of Randwicks rich local Aboriginal history, as well as visual representation at the Randwick Stabling Yard." In the meantime, the artefacts are being stored by heritage consultants. The spokeswoman said the Aboriginal heritage site made up less than 200 square metres of the tram stabling site, which covered an area of more than 20,000 square metres. Former federal environment minister Greg Hunt had decided against a halt to the project because he was not satisfied the site was a significant Aboriginal area and under threat of desecration. Because the light rail line is "state significant infrastructure", it was difficult for environmental or Indigenous campaigners to challenge the project in court or to get a stop work order. Mr Shoebridge, who made the request for a stop work order on behalf of Aboriginal elders and heritage experts, said such sites should be better protected under the state's planning laws for major projects. "We have seen a crucial Aboriginal heritage site, utterly unique, completely destroyed before we knew what we had. This is a tragic loss for the Bidjigal people, but also to the whole of Australia." The first trams are expected to begin carrying passengers from Randwick to Circular Quay in December.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/11a09880-b88f-49b0-b281-86aecc39dc7f/r0_434_8256_5099_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgWhile I was sipping that morning cup of coffee. I had thinkings brought to my mind that Windows to Russia had exceeded 2400 posts (exact is 2421). So that, (due to my own personal brain processes) extended my thoughts into what countries view Windows to Russia the most. I discovered that United States, Russian Federation, Germany, South Korea, Great Britain, Canada, Slovenia, France, China, Netherlands round out the top 10 from USA number one on down to number ten. Russia is knocking on the door of the USA for number one spot and Germany is dancing right behind. Germany has grown tremendously in the last few months and it has been a pleasure to receive e-mails from Germany. They are so polite and pleasant. Talking about polite and pleasant lets talk about communicating with China. Now if you remember, I was blocked in China and after several e-mails on my part to certain associations (one was Baidu) in China. I got a response that said that they would review my sight for exceptionalisms. (I liked that big word they used!) Something happened because now I am being hit by China again. I expect at the pace they are hitting, that by the end of the month, China will be around number 5 on the list

Then while sipping that coffee I realized that I had finally achieved the separation of http://windowstorussia.com and http://kylekeeton.com and that was not an easy process. If you remember several years ago I had decided to put Windows to Russia on her own domain. From that domain I created Coffee Talk, Russian News From Russia, Thoughts of Moscow and Windows to Russia. I literally killed Windows to Russia and had to start from scratch again. It has paid off

In the last few months News and Coffee have decided to start taking off. The readership has tripled and now news is starting to rival Windows to Russia. But I have 5500 post on news and update it continually now every 6 to 8 hours. I am thinking about trying to set up an every other hour update on the news site but I really have very little time. Thoughts of Moscow is another pet project of mine and is in the developmental stage

If you are interested in what the number one search word in Google is for Windows to Russia? It surprised me and I bet it will surprise you also

Cottage Cheese: is the number one Windows to Russia term. They average 600 to 700 hits a day on that particular term. Day in and day out. Now the term Russia and coffee is right behind it, but it has for months been the number one. I find that Cottage Cheese is usually around the 6th or 7th spot on in the top 10 Google search. Now do not yell at me if Google does not show it to you when you search for it. I do not understand the whens and whys of Google, but I do know that Cottage Cheese is the king per Google webmaster tools

It always amazes me that no matter how hard I work at other words to get them ranked. A search phrase like Cottage Cheese rules the site 

That is it for today. I am going to finish my coffee

Windows to Russia!Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.Photo: The Canadian Press Tyler Barriss

A California man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for making bogus emergency calls to authorities across the U.S., including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online players over $1.50 bet in the "Call of Duty: WWII" video game.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Tyler R. Barriss, 26, under a deal in which he pleaded guilty in November to a total of 51 federal charges related to fake calls and threats.

The 2017 death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch drew national attention to the practice of "swatting," a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address. Authorities say an Ohio gamer recruited Barriss to "swat" a Wichita gamer, but that the address they used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the video game or the dispute.

Barriss admitted he called Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2017, to falsely report a shooting and kidnapping at that Wichita address. Finch answered the door, and an officer shot the unarmed man.

Barriss' prosecution in Wichita consolidated other federal cases that had initially been filed against him in California and the District of Columbia involving similar calls and threats he made. Prosecutors had asked for a 25-year sentence , while the defence had sought a 20-year term.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized swatting as an emerging threat as early as 2008, noting it had become commonplace among gamers.

The intended target in Wichita, Shane Gaskill, 20, and the man who allegedly recruited Barriss, Casey Viner, 19, of North College Hill, Ohio, are charged as co-conspirators. Authorities say Viner provided Barriss with an address for Gaskill that Gaskill had previously given to Viner. Authorities also say that when Gaskill noticed Barriss was following him on Twitter, he gave Barriss that old address and taunted him to "try something."

Viner and Gaskill pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and other counts. Viner has notified the court he intends to change that plea at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Gaskill's trial has been delayed to April 23 amid plea talks with federal prosecutors.

Finch's family has sued the city of Wichita and the unidentified officers involved. Police have said the officer who shot Finch thought he was reaching for a gun because he moved a hand toward his waistband. Prosecutors declined to charge the officer.Former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev have been found guilty of organizing a criminal group in the oil business, embezzling 218 million tons of oil from Yukos subsidiary companies and money laundering.

Hummm

Windows to Russia!Ramona Sue DePrimo of Phoenix, Arizona and more recently of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on March 24, 2019, at the age of 69.

Mona was born on April 22, 1949 in Claremore, Ok. She graduated from Muskogee High School in 1967 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in January, 1968. She married her husband, Joe, also a member of the Air Force, on Valentines Day 1969, and they began their family. Through the years, Ramona devoted herself to her family as they lived the nomadic life that the military requires, managing a total of nine permanent station changes with three children. She was an elder of the Quapaw Tribe, as well as a member of the Creek Nation. She and her husband had recently celebrated their 50-year wedding anniversary by taking a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.



Mona was a devout Christian who spent time studying and memorizing the Bible and teaching her children to do the same. As a homemaker, she was a creative cook, an outstanding seamstress, and she loved to crochet. With her husband, she was a leader in the Single Adult Ministry at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Phoenix for more than 20 years. Since moving to Chattanooga, they became members of the Woodland Park Baptist Church, where they attended the Marriage Adventure Bible Study Fellowship.



She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Lee Quapaw; father, James Quapaw; brother Jimmy Philip Quapaw; and sisters Shirley Henderson and Merelene Horn.



She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Joe DePrimo; children, Jim (Polly) DePrimo of Chattanooga, Tennessee; John (Lisa) DePrimo of Gilbert, Arizona; and Martha (Jeb) Drew of Phoenix, Arizona; 12 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.



A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 1, in the funeral home chapel with Reverend Brian Kinlaw officiating. Pallbearers will be Jim DePrimo, Philip DePrimo, Ryan DePrimo, Miles DePrimo, Jeremy Robinson, and Bill King. Burial will follow at Chattanooga National Cemetery.



Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort to the family.



The family will receive friends on Monday, April 1, from 11:30 a.m.1:30 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road.

I have been away more often than not during the month of March with some health issues so it is fun for me to pick up my pen again with a dose of The Saturday Funnies. I had originally gathered this bunch for just before Saint Patricks Day, as youll note from the Irish twist, but these are just as funny as they would have been if you were standing among a crowd of giggling leprechauns.

In a quick aside, I am doing a good job, I think, at getting well after my third surgery in the last 30 days. As I bask in the warmth of so many notes of good wishes from readers, I pray that you please never stop encouraging one another. None of us can fully appreciate what an I care note means to a fellow struggler, or how greatly the ripples of a solitary kindness can change the course of our nation. For this I am deeply and humbly thankful.

Hooray for The Saturday Funnies!

* * *

GRANDMOTHERS DAY IN THE SUN

The family wheeled Grandma out on the lawn, in her wheelchair, where the activities for her 100th birthday were taking place. Grandma couldnt speak very well, but she could write notes when she needed to communicate.

After a short time out on the lawn, Grandma started leaning off to the right, so some family members grabbed her, straightened her up, and stuffed pillows on her right.

A short time later, she started leaning to her left, so again the family grabbed her and stuffed pillows on her left.

Soon she started leaning forward, so the family members again grabbed her, then tied a pillowcase around her waist to hold her up.

A grandson who arrived late came running up to Grandma and said, Hi Grandma, youre looking good! How are they treating you?

Grandma took out her little note pad and slowly wrote a note to the nephew, They wont let me fart.

* * *

THE YEARS TOP 10 IRISH JOKES

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 1 -- One night, Mrs. McMillen answers the door to see her husbands best friend, Paddy, standing on the doorstep.

Hello Paddy, but where is my husband? He went with you to the beer factory.

Paddy shook his head. Ah Mrs. McMillen, there was a terrible accident at the beer factory, your husband fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned.

Mrs. McMillen starts crying. Oh  dont tell me that, did he at least go quickly?

Paddy shakes his head. Not really  he got out three times to pee!

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 2 -- An Irishman was flustered not being able to find a parking space in a large malls parking lot.

Lord, he prayed, I cant stand this. If you open space up for me, I swear Ill give up drinking me whisky, and I promise to go to church every Sunday.

Suddenly, the clouds parted, and the sun shone on an empty parking spot. Without hesitation, the man said, Never mind, I found one.

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 3 -- Two paddies were working for the city public works department. One would dig a hole, and the other would follow behind him and fill the hole in. They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then moved on to the next street, working all day furiously without rest, one man digging a hole, the other filling it in again.

An onlooker was amazed at their hard work, but couldnt understand what they were doing. So he asked the hole digger, Im impressed by the effort you two are putting into your work, but I dont get it  why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?

The hole digger wiped his brow and sighed, Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because were normally a three-person team. But today the lad who puts in the trees called in sick.'

BEST IRISH JOKE No. 4 --Whats the difference between God and Bono?

God doesnt wander around Dublin thinking hes Bono.

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 5 -- Billy stops Paddy in Dublin and asks for the quickest way to Cork.

Paddy says, Are you on foot or in the car?

Billy says, In the car.

Paddy says, Thats the quickest way.

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 6 -- Paddy and Mick are walking down the road, and Paddys got a bag of doughnuts in his hand.

Paddy says to Mick, If you can guess how many doughnuts are in my bag, you can have them both.

BEST IRISH JOKES NO. 7 -- A Texan walks into a pub in Ireland and clears his voice to the crowd of drinkers. He says, I hear you Irish are a bunch of hard drinkers. Ill give $500 American dollars to anybody in here who can drink 10 pints of Guinness back-to-back.

The room is quiet, and no one takes up the Texans offer. One man even leaves. Thirty minutes later the same gentleman who left shows back up and taps the Texan on the shoulder. Is your bet still good? asks the Irishman.

The Texan says yes and asks the bartender to line up 10 pints of Guinness. Immediately the Irishman tears into all 10 of the pint glasses drinking them all back-to-back. The other pub patrons cheer as the Texan sits in amazement.

The Texan gives the Irishman the $500 and says, If ya dont mind me askin, where did you go for that 30 minutes you were gone?

The Irishman replies, OhI had to go to the pub down the street to see if I could do it first.

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 8 -- An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priests breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.

He says, Sir, have you been drinking?

Just the water, says the priest.

The trooper says, Then why do I smell wine?

The priest looks at the bottle and says, Good Lord! Hes done it again!

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 9 -- Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend Finney.

Did you see the paper? asked Gallagher. They say I died!!

Yes, I saw it! replied Finney. Im betting I know where yer callin from!

BEST IRISH JOKE NO. 10 -- Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, Do you want to go to heaven?

The man said, I do, Father.

The priest said, Then stand over there against the wall. Then the priest asked the second man, Do you want to go to heaven?

Certainly, Father, was the mans reply.

Then stand over there against the wall, said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to OToole and said, Do you want to go to heaven?

OToole said, No, I dont Father.

The priest said, I dont believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you dont want to go to heaven?

OToole said, Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting together a group to go right now.

THE HONORABLE MENTIONS

* -- Dr. O'Mahony tells his patient: "I have bad news and worse news, John."

"Oh dear," John replies. "What's the bad news?" asks the patient.

The doctor replies: "Tests show that you only have 24 hours to live."

"That's terrible," says the patient. "How can the news possibly be worse?"

Dr. O'Mahony replies: Because Ive been trying to contact you since yesterday."

* -- A sobbing Ms. Murphy approaches Father OGrady after mass. He says: So whats bothering you?

She replies: Oh, Father, Ive terrible news. My husband passed away last night.

The priest says: Oh, Mary, thats terrible. Did he have any last requests?

" Well father," she replied. He said: Now Mary, put down that d--- gun.

* -- Paddie goes into a bar and orders seven shots of tequila and one Guinness. The barman lines up shots and goes to get the Guinness.

When he comes back with the pint, all seven shots are gone.

The barman says: Wow! You sure drank those fast.

Paudie explains: Well Laddie, Im prayin you will be understandin' and would drink fast too if you had what I have.

The barman asks: What do you have?

The guy reaches into his pocket and says: Fifty cents!

* -- Gerry Connors walked his dog through the village every day. One day Mr. Connors is on his walk without the dog.

His pal Billy sees him and asks: "Where is your dog?"

Mr Murphy answers: "I had to have him put down."

"Was he mad?" asks Billy.

"He wasn't too pleased," Mr Murphy replies.

* -- An Irishman goes into a bar in America and orders three whiskeys. The barman asks: "Would it be better for if I put all three shots in one glass?"

The Irishman replies: "No! I have two other brothers back at home, so every time I come into a pub, I order a shot for them both."

The following week, the Irishman orders just two whiskeys.

The barman asks: "Did something happen one of your brothers?" "Oh no," replies the Irishman. Oh no, for me health, Ive just decided to quit drinking!"

THIS WEEKS BEST VIDEO  In keeping with our Irish jokes, this foreign ad for Coca-Cola is darn near perfect! Click Here.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Monday is April Fools Day! Dont say you havent been warned!

royexum@aol.comWeve been keeping up with the Duggar family for years thanks to TLC programs like 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar may have been the most notable in the family for awhile, but now that their children are growing up, marrying, and starting families, the individual Duggar kids have attained serious followings of their own. And it seems Jinger Duggar has always been a fan favorite, as she seems slightly rebellious and different than her straight-laced siblings.

Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo currently live in Texas away from her parents who famously live in Arkansas. Recently, the happy couple announced theyre moving out west  and were beginning to think its possible they could convince Jessa Duggar to also relocate. Heres why.

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo announced theyre moving to Los Angeles

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo have proven to be a fan-favorited couple, as theyve proven theyre unafraid to go against the traditional Duggar grain. Before Jeremy was on the path to righteousness, we know he was once arrested and known for his partying ways. As a husband to Jinger, however, hes been nothing but loving  and the two even have a little girl together, too.

The Duggars are primarily located in Arkansas, but Jinger and Jeremy moved to Texas not long ago. Now, they made an even bigger announcement. People reports the two stated theyre going out west to Los Angeles. In recent days, God has made it overwhelmingly clear to us that he is leading us out of Laredo. Through much prayer and counsel, the next step for our family is to relocate to Los Angeles to attend Grace Community Church as Jeremy pursues graduate studies at The Masters Seminary, they announced.

Jessa has discussed the possibility of moving with Jinger in the past

This move is ultra-exciting for Jinger and Jeremy, though it shouldnt come as too much of a shock to fans. Jinger has spoken about her desires to move to a big city in the past. And while Michelle Duggar may have never taken her desires regarding a move too seriously, Jinger has shown her fans that shes unafraid to break away from the Arkansas mold with her first move to Laredo, Texas.

It seems Jessa is another Duggar daughter that fans think could break away from Arkansas, too. OK! Magazine notes when Jinger and Jeremy moved to Laredo, they were asking Jessa and her husband, Ben Seewald, when theyd be moving to Texas, too. To that, Jessa said, Were not set on staying here [in Arkansas] forever, but if we were to be called somewhere else, then we would pack up and move. Could Jessa and Ben possibly be called to out west? Well have to wait and see.

Will Jessa really move? Probably not anytime soon

Were willing to bet Jessa and Ben will visit Jinger and Jeremy out in Los Angeles, but will the two actually move out there, too? If they did make the decision to move, we doubt itd be anytime soon. Jessa and Ben have their third child on the way, and theyll have to get used to juggling three kids before making any plans to relocate. Not only that, but being close to Jim Bob and Michelles home means the couple will have plenty of help with their newborn when the time comes.

Still, we cant wait to see what Jessa and Ben plan to do once their third child is born. Theyve made it known they want plenty more children after that, but a move may be in the works. In Touch Weekly reminds us the two were reportedly selling their land for a crazy high price in 2018, too. Could this mean theyre making themselves more mobile in case they feel called out west to be with Jinger? It would certainly excite fans to see more than one Duggar in the big city of Los Angeles.

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!Its no secret that there are plenty of animal lovers in the royal family. We know Queen Elizabeth II adored the many corgis she had over the years and several of her family members also have a few pets of their own from Prince Charles and Camillas Jack Russells to Zara Tindalls horse, Toytown. But what about the Cambridge household?

Heres the answer to whether Prince William and Kate Middletons children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, have any pets.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince Georges first pet

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridges household is pet-friendly. In fact, prior to Prince Georges birth the couple got a dog.

In 2012, William and Middleton were photographed with their black English Cocker Spaniel puppy. The duchess later revealed at a charity event that the poochs name is Lupo, the Italian word for wolf. The canines name is reportedly a nod to Middletons paternal great-grandmother, Olive Christiana Lupton, whose family crest had wolves on it.

Lupo really bonded with Prince George after he was born in 2013 and over the years they have been seen together playing around. The pup has been pictured in some Cambridge family photos as well.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, and Prince George with dogs Tilly (Middleton family pet) and Lupo | Michael Middleton  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Princess Charlottes beloved pet

Lupo isnt the only pet the family owns. Following Princess Charlottes birth, they got a hamster.

During an event in 2016, Middleton spoke to a group of children about the little furball called Marvin and how much her daughter adores him. One youngster remembered the duchess saying, she had a hamster and Charlotte really likes it because the whiskers always tickle her face.

Princess Charlottes late grandmother, Diana, also owned hamsters when she was a kid. Prince Williams mom reportedly had two of them, which she named Little Black Muff and Little Black Puff. According to Diana: Her True Story, she was so enamored with the pair that a photo of them sat on her bedside table. Some other pets the Princess of Wales had included a guinea pig, a cat, and a Shetland pony she called Souffle.

Now, were waiting for Marvin to appear in some family portraits like Lupo.

Other unconventional pets

In addition to Lupo and Marvin, the Cambridges have a few other pets as well. The family has chickens at their Anmer Hall country house.

While visiting a Gloucester farm in 2017 Middleton said that she had several Cuckoo Marans at home and cleaned out a few chicken sheds in her day.

The royal also explained at the time that they had an incubator of eggs and her kids couldnt wait for them to hatch.

Both Middleton and her husband had pets growing up. William had a pet rabbit and a dog named Widget while Middleton had guinea pigs and the family dog, Tilly.

Read more  Revealed: Do Prince William and Kate Middletons Children Do Household Chores?

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!The 90 Day Fiance family is growing! Paul and Karine Staehle, who appeared on Season 1 and 2 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, just welcomed their first child, a baby boy. Pierre Martins Staehle was born March 22 in Manaus, Brazil, and weighed 6.9 pounds.

Im very happy, very excited, Paul told E! News. Im also very nervous and want to do everything the best that I can and do everything right  Im very happy, very honored and very privileged and I want to make sure I do my absolute best for Pierre.

Which other 90 Day Fiance stars have kids?

Paola and Russ Mayfield | Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery, Inc.

Paul and Karine are far from the first 90 Day Fiance stars to have kids together. Russ and Paola Mayfield from Season 1 and 90 Day Fiance: Happily Every After? said hello to their first child, a boy named Axel, on January 1, 2019.

In fact, all Season 1 couples have stayed married and had kids. Alan and Kirlyam Cox have a son named Liam who was born in 2017. Louis and Aya Gattone had a baby in 2018. Mike and Aziza Eloshways first child, a daughter named Olivia Joan, arrived in January 2019.

Brett and Daya from Season 2 had a daughter in 2017. They chronicle their familys adventures on their blog, the K1 Experience and also appeared on the first season of Happily Ever After? Fellow Season 2 couple Danny and Amy Frismuth have two kids together.

Melanie and Devar Walters from Season 3 of 90 Day Fiance and Season 1 of Happily Ever After? had a baby girl named Avah in November 2017. Josh and Aleksandra Strobel, another Season 3 couple, had a daughter in March 2016 and announced they were expecting their second child in December 2018.

January 2019 was a big month for 90 Day Fiance. Not only did Russ and Paola and Mike and Aziza each have a baby, but so did Elizabeth Potthast and Andrei Castravet from Season 5. Their daughter, who they named Eleanor Louise, was born January 23. Theyll be featured on the upcoming season of Happily Ever After?

Steven Frend and Olga Koshimbetova from Season 6 have a baby as well. Their son arrived in 2018 and there are reports they are considering having a second child. Kalani Faagata and Asuelu Pulaa, also from Season 6, have a son named Oliver, and Kalani is currently pregnant with baby No. 2, which is due at the end of April.

All told, that means there are at least 13 90 Day Fiance babies from 12 different sets of couples, with two more on the way. Several couples also have blended families with children from previous relationships.

Which couples have broken up?

Of course, not every 90 Day Fiance story has a happy ending. A number of couples from the show have called it quits, including Season 6 Colt Johnson and Larissa Dos Santos Lima, who divorced in January. Jonathan Rivera and Fernanda Flores from Season 6 have also separated.

Other couples that didnt make it include Molly Hopkins and Luis Mendez, Jason Hitch and Cassia Tavares, Danielle and Mohamed Jbali, and Yamir Castillo and Chelsea Macek.

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!

Unless youre the Prince of Wales (or future Prince of Wales), learning a foreign language is not part of royal protocol. However, it is encouraged and many royal family members can speak multiple languages (Prince William can speak around five!) and most are fluent in French.



To ensure fluency, some royal family members begin learning their first foreign language in the very early years of their life. Case in point: Prince George and Princess Charlotte are already learning Spanish in school and from their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo  and, its likely they will learn at least one or two more languages in their younger years.



Will Prince George and Princess Charlotte learn French next? Find out, ahead.



Prince George and Princess Charlotte | Karwai Tang/WireImage

Will Prince George and Princess Charlotte learn French?



Aside from English, French is widely spoken in the royal family. In fact, its the only language Queen Elizabeth is fluent in. Additionally, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Prince William all speak French. And, apparently, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle know some French, too.



Prince George and Princess Charlotte arent exactly fluent in Spanish, but they are on their way and, if they keep up their studies, they could have a good understanding of the foreign language once they reach adulthood. However, its likely that Prince William and Kate Middleton wont wait for the young royals to perfect Spanish before encouraging them to learn an additional foreign language. After all, Prince William knows five languages and is fluent in at least two (French and Welsh), so he likely wants the same for his children.



Will Prince George and Princess Charlotte learn French next? Its hard to say for sure, but given the royal familys general fluency and both Prince William and Kate Middletons knowledge of the language, they just might!



What languages does the royal family speak?



French and Spanish arent the only foreign languages spoken by members of the royal family. In fact, Queen Elizabeths family knows at least eight foreign languages  and many members are fluent in at least one or two. What languages does the royal family speak in addition to French and Spanish? Find out, ahead.



German



Not many people speak German fluently in the royal family. However, the queens husband, Prince Philip, grew up speaking the language to his family members. The Duke of Edinburgh is allegedly fluent in three languages, English, French, and German.



Welsh



Welsh is one language some royals cant skip over. And, its possible that Prince George will learn to speak the language of Wales at some point in his life. As the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles studied the language quite a bit in his younger years and allegedly knows enough to get by.



To ensure his son, Prince William, was ready for his future role in the royal family, Prince Charles made sure Prince William began learning the language at a young age so that he would be fluent by the time he takes over as Prince of Wales.



Gaelic



Both Prince Charles and Prince William know some Gaelic, too. Its unclear whether or not they speak the Scottish or Irish version but they apparently know enough to communicate and deliver some speeches.



Swahili



Africa is very important to the royal family, especially Prince William who is involved in philanthropy efforts and proposed to Kate Middleton in one of the continents stunning countries. Following his college years, Prince William allegedly taught himself some Swahili and has used it to deliver speeches and communicate with locals while touring Tanzania and other African countries.



Russian



Some royals also speak a little Russian. Prince Michael of Kent and his wife, Princess Michael both speak and understand the foreign language.



Tagalog



Its unclear how much Tagalog, the language of the Philippines Meghan Markle knows, but while visiting Edinburgh with Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex said: salamat po, which means thank you.



In addition to these languages, Prince William and other members of the royal family occasionally practice some phrases for speeches, royal tours, and other situations where they might feel the need to use a countrys native language. Prince William has delivered parts of speeches in Vietnamese and Mandarin and Prince Harry  who apparently isnt as well-versed in foreign languages  has spoken to guests at a charity dinner in Arabic.



Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!There are fans of the R oyals and there are superfans  and for one elderly superfan of Prince Harry, her adoration of the Royals didnt go unnoticed by the prince and Meghan Markle on the occasion of her 99th birthday. Find out their sweet surprise!

Prince Harry and Daphne Dunne | Paul Edwards  Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harrys superfan has met him on multiple occasions

Daphne Dunne of Australia has had several meetings with Prince Harry over the years, first in 2015 and then again in 2017, where she waited in the pouring rain just to see him. Dunne had been wearing her late husbands war medals, including the Victoria Cross, which caught Harrys eye and he approached her to find out more. On both occasions, the two shared a kiss and a hug.

In 2018, Prince Harry introduced his wife, Meghan Markle, to Dunne and she was won over by the duchess as well. Harry and Markle met with Dunne outside the Sydney Opera House, which they visited during a tour that included Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga.

Markle told her at the time: Oh my goodness, is this Daphne? Im so happy to finally meet you. Ive heard so much about you.

Dunne and Markle became fast friends

Already a Prince Harry fan, Dunnes interaction with Markle was quite sweet as well, as she congratulated the Duchess of Sussex at the time on the recent news of her pregnancy. She told the c ouple: Its wonderful, the two of you. Congratulations, its just what Harry needs.

She added: He will be a marvelous dad. He wont let anything stand in his way and he will be so gentle and loving.

Prince Harry also took notice of something different about Dunne at the time, asking her: Have you dyed your hair a shade of pink ?,  to which she answered, yes.

Dunne was instantly smitten with Markle, telling AAP after their meeting: She said she had heard all about me, shes so beautiful.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprised Dunne

War widow Daphne Dunne has made headlines across the world for being Prince Harry's favourite Aussie! Today, she's turning 99, and you'll never guess who sent her a birthday card #9Today pic.twitter.com/JZNkOhRoyv  The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) March 28, 2019

Dunne just turned 99 on Friday and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprised her with a special birthday greeting. Australias Today Show gave Dunne the special message, after a friend let Harry know that her 99th birthday was coming up.

A letter from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex read: Dear Daphne, My wife and I send our warmest wishes to you on the occasion of your 99th birthday on Friday. We hope you have a wonderful celebration surrounded by family and friends and that youve managed to escape hospital. Congratulations on reaching this important and impressive milestone before your centenary year next year. Happy birthday, Daphne.

The letter was signed: Best wishes, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The birthday note lifted Dunnes spirits

Dunnes daughter remarked how this sweet gesture was a great boost to her mom, who is suffering from an illness, noting: Meghan and Harry have gotten mum through this terrible illness shes had. Shes still very unwell and I think the card theyve sent means so much. I think it will be the thing that gets her through.Robert Sheehan  the Irish heartthrob making cameo appearances in various fans late night dreams  plays Klaus Hargreeves on The Umbrella Academy. Since premiering in The Umbrella Academy, Robert Sheehan has been the subject of widespread critical acclaim and audience affection.

Robert Sheehan | Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images

Robert Sheehan plays one of the seven superhuman siblings adopted by a billionaire industrialist in the Netflix original superhero show. The seven siblings have since grown apart, and are forced to reunite after their fathers passing to prevent an imminent apocalypse.



What conspiracy theory do you believe in?



Robert Sheehan recently sat down with Vice to discuss The Umbrella Academy and his role as Klaus Hargreeves, as well as his personal life and previous work in film and television. The interviewer asked Sheehan about embarrassing life moments and his favorite books before proceeding to question the star on conspiracy theories.



Sheehan was asked, What conspiracy theory do you believe in? He replied, That 9/11 was a cover-up by the American government. He goes on to explain why he endorses the theory, stating, I honestly believe that. They did that to themselves to encourage the American people to get behind them to go and steal loads of peoples oil in the Middle East. Im certain.



As for Robert Sheehan, while many may not side with his opinion on this matter, as it inevitably doesnt depict the American government in the best light, at least he was upfront about his beliefs. Commendable.



Robert Sheehan may be a joker, but he didnt seem to be joking



Robert Sheehan, during most of his interviews, can be seen poking fun at fellow castmates, and making far-fetched and false claims just for the amusement factor; however, this time, when asked if he really believed that 9/11 was a cover-up, he seemed to answer with sincerity and utter conviction.



Going on to answer other seemingly random questions, including the worst celebrity he ever met and what he would choose for his last meal on death row, the conversation never made its way back to 9/11. However, fans would be interested in hearing more about his opinion regarding this matter, and how he came to decide such a conspiracy was true.



Will The Umbrella Academy be renewed for season 2 (more Robert Sheehan to come)?



While Netflix has yet to make an official announcement regarding The Umbrella Academys future, according to NME.com, a film location for season two has been confirmed, and the show will reportedly start filming in May.



Recently, uncertainty regarding the shows renewal has been surfacing. One actor on the show  Aidan Gallagher  concerned fans when he tweeted, Thank you for the role of a lifetime! I will always look back and say wow that was the coolest role I ever played!, according to NME.

While the tweet has since been removed, the wording does sound final, as if Gallagher will not be returning to play the time and space traveling Number Five.



Whatever the future holds for The Umbrella Academy, lets hope the show sees a second season; its unique approach to the superhero genre should not yet be silenced.



It seems no matter what Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex do lately, the media pounces all over it as breaking the rules or being annoying. Meghan, of course, receives the brunt of all the criticism, even if her rule-breaking looks refreshing from the American perspective.

Now Harry is suddenly getting criticized for deciding to take some paternity leave to help with soon-to-arrive Baby Sussex. Why Harry is getting criticized for this is a bit suspicious considering it has recent royal precedent. Plus, theres a U.K. law permitting it for everyone, even royals.

Most of the criticism comes from the older generation who didnt even think of paternity leave decades ago.

Who in the royal family took paternity leave before?

Following in #PrinceWilliam's footsteps, #PrinceHarry will take paternity leave following the birth of his first child. https://t.co/eDTRfmD3Md  Fame10 (@Fame10_com) March 25, 2019

Harrys brother William took some brief paternity leave when Kate Middleton gave birth to Charlotte in 2015. At the time, William was still training as an air ambulance helicopter pilot, even though hed completed enough training early to take the leave. Even though the leave is unpaid, we all know it doesnt really matter in the world of royal finances.

The same goes with Harry, despite older Brits going after him for following in his brothers footsteps. Many of those older royal critics complain its a modern thing and equivalent to telling the younger royals to get off their lawn.

From the outset, it makes sense older royals would gripe considering their emotional commitment to longstanding tradition. Whats a little more troubling is that some older Brits still arent accepting of the fact todays royals are evolving to becoming almost normal people.

Is there toxic masculinity going on through the queens spokesman?

Is it my imagination or is The Duke of Sussex really more relaxed on a solo engagement https://t.co/OTLGEoDJK8  Dickie Arbiter (@RoyalDickie) March 21, 2019

We find it strange the criticism received comes directly from a press spokesman for the queen. Dickie Arbiter has worked for the royals going back decades and made a snide comment about the generation gap regarding paternity leave.

Coming from within the queens inner circle makes you wonder if she and Philip feel the same way about taking a leave of absence from royal duties. It appears they dont expect Harry to take a long time away since Arbiter suggests it should only be two or three weeks.

At least he notes its entirely up to Harry on how much time he takes. With the snark involved, it makes us ponder if the royals are trying to pressure him to shorten quality time he may need to help Meghan through the baby media chaos.

Some critics suggest its a sign of outdated toxic masculinity weve seen more than our share of here in America for decades.

We hope Meghan isnt behind the inside criticism

Meghan Markle is the first biracial woman to marry into the House of Windsor. That's right, there will soon be a royal child with a Black grandmother. Racism is alive and well and royalty doesn't get you a pass.https://t.co/T4V7XH79uV  Hamilton Spectator (@TheSpec) March 21, 2019

Recently, Dickie Arbiter made another sarcastic comment about whether Harry felt better being alone on one of his royal trips. Many tore into Arbiter for insinuating that maybe Harry isnt happy when Meghan is around.

For some, it also insinuates racial bias aimed at Meghan Markle. While maybe jumping the gun, it makes us think about whether Harry would ever get heat for his maternity leave had he married an Anglo-Saxon Brit.

Because the alpha male persona is a major part of royal history, tradition is a hard thing to break in Britain. Its what makes Harrys quality time spent with his first child all the more important to instill the values he and Meghan continue to share.

Taking time to shape the ethics of Baby Sussex

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

While its clear the older and perhaps somewhat racist views of 20th century Britain are still alive, its going to mean Baby Sussex being exposed to some of it during childhood. Lets hope Harry takes all the time he needs to ensure his child doesnt have extreme influence from this old school.

Most people agree the trajectory the royals are taking now to more grounded and socially responsible people should continue unabated far into the future Windsor family line.80-y-o crucifix removed from city council chamber to 'reaffirm' secularism

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A crucifix that has been affixed to the wall in city council chambers in Montreal, Quebec, for over 80 years will be taken down to "reaffirm" the secular character of the government building.

The crucifix, which features a sculpture of Jesus, has hung on the wall of the Montreal City Council since 1937. It was originally stationed there as a reminder to politicians to ensure their decisions are guided by God.

But when the building begins a three-year renovation next month, the crucifix will come down and wont be put back up, according to the person overseeing the renovation.

That person is city councilman Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde, who made the announcement last week during an executive council meeting.

The crucifix was installed during an era that was completely different than the one we live in today, Lavigne-Lalonde said during the meeting, according to CTV News Montreal.

We now live in a society that has evolved and is represented by democratic institutions that must be secular, neutral and open to all citizens.

While the crucifix won't be going back on display at its original location, it's expected to be on display in a museum area in Montreals renovated city hall in 2022.

The context in which it was placed there no longer applies, Lalonde said, according to The Guardian. We need to reaffirm the secular character of the chamber.

CBC reports that another crucifix on display at the Peter McGill Room at Montreals City Hall will also be removed.

Mayor Valerie Plante argued that the cross doesnt need to be located in a secular institution such as city council.

This is a place where we make decisions and it was originally put there to support decision making, She said, according to CTV News. I think we're in a very different time now.

According to CBC, Plante said the decision on the city council crucifix is the recognition of the role of secularism in the institution.

[F]or me, there is a stark distinction between individual and institutional secularism," Plante stressed.

As Quebec is an area known for its Catholic heritage, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal responded to the news by calling the crucifix symbolic of the city's roots and "a love for all humanity."

"Nothing forbids us, and our respective beliefs, from being present in the public space in an attitude of respect and openness, since we share the same common humanity," a spokesperson told CBC.

The planned removal of the crucifix from the Montreal City Council comes as there has been much debate about whether a crucifix hanging over the speakers chair at the National Assembly of Quebec in Quebec City should be removed.

The crucifix was installed in the Blue Room of the building in 1936. But a government-commissioned report in 2008 recommended that the cross be removed.

Premier Francois Legault had argued that the cross would stay because it is a historic symbol rather than a religious one.

But last week, Legault hinted that the removal of the crucifix is being discussed as a potential part of a secularism bill to be introduced by the controlling Coalition Avenir Quebec Party.

Regarding our position, you know very well very soon, in the next few weeks, we will table a bill and this is part of the discussions were having right now, he said, according to National Post. There are good arguments [for leaving the crucifix in place], and some arguments against.'Unplanned' was birthed by faithful prayer, says 40 Days for Life founder

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The story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned pro-life advocate, is powerfully portrayed in the upcoming film "Unplanned," a story birthed by thousands of hours of fervent prayer.

Shawn Carney is the man behind many those prayers. He heads the 40 Days for Life campaign that began in Texas in the fall of 2004. The organization holds continuous, round-the-clock 40-day prayer campaigns every fall and during Lent. As intercessors, they peacefully pray outside abortion clinics, petitioning God to intervene and save the lives of the unborn children and their mothers.

In just 15 years, 40 Days for Life has become a global movement with hundreds of thousands of volunteer intercessors who pray and keep vigil outside Planned Parenthood clinics just like the one where Johnson once worked, which was eventually shut down.

When Johnson exited the abortion industry a decade ago, it was Carney and his wife who helped her find new employment and guided her through the process of leaving the cause she once passionately believed in.

Carney and Johnson remain great friends and through their faithful prayers and efforts they continue to see clinic employees have a change of heart about abortion.

In "Unplanned," Carney is portrayed by actor Jarod Lotz. The movie is named after Johnson's 2014 memoir of the same name.

The Christian Post spoke to Carney in a recent phone interview about the power of prayer, what it's like to see the fruit of his intercession on the big screen, and what's ahead for the pro-life movement. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the interview.

CP: Did you ever think Abby's story, especially given your role in it, would be captured in a motion picture?

SC: No. The whole thing sounds made up, right? We went out there and prayed for and talked to Abby when she was a volunteer, my wife and I both did. When Abby became the director of the Planned Parenthood office we had many conversations with her and she was the Planned Parenthood employee of the year. And now we're running around the country promoting the movie about her conversion story. It literally sounds made up and it's a story that could only be written by the power of prayer.

I say that now and I said that 10 years ago when she walked into my office. There were some media outlets and some people, both pro-life people and pro-choice people, who said Abby was a phony and that "She's got you fooled. She's just a disgruntled employee."

Abby had to deal with that a lot when she first left. There were people, when I was trying to help find her a job, who would not hire her and people who held a grudge. And it was eye-opening for me in that sense. I said the same thing now as I did back then, which was: "I know this woman. I've known her for eight years and the only way she would be drawn out of the abortion facility and industry is through an actual conversion."

People leave for different reasons, and we have a lot of [abortion clinic] workers who have, but she had a change of heart. And I firmly believe that's the day she walked into my office. And I firmly believe that now.

CP: When she walks into your office with that change of heart and she's weeping profusely, how accurately is that depicted in the movie?

SC: Perfectly. I'd never seen her cry. In my dealings with Abby, she was either being nice or mean, the two extremes.

But I'd never seen her emotionally distraught. When I opened the door and I saw a broken person I knew something was going on. She needed to know we were there for her.

So when I walked in and said, "It looks like you've had a hard day at the office," she kind of laughed and said, "Yeah, you could say that."

And that was in Abby's book and they put that in the movie. She was acting the way she should have. She witnessed an abortion and not just witnessed it but then reflected on it and realized: "I've been part of this and I need to get out of here." It was much more than seeing something ugly and wanting to get away from it.

CP: "Unplanned" is being released at a time when we have a President in Donald Trump who was once supportive of abortion and is now, to the shock of many, a vocal defender of the unborn. And as state legislatures increasingly consider passing legislation allowing abortion up to birth, discussions have surfaced related to doctors ending the lives of babies born alive after botched abortions.

What do you make of the fact that this film will be shown in theaters in this particular season where the abortion issue is rattling our politics in such a visceral way?

SC: There has never been a better time in the history of the United States than right now. And the reason for that is because we in America are officially in uncharted waters. We have never, ever had a majority of politicians who are advocating for infanticide. We've simply never had that. Where a baby girl will be on a table, need medical help, and we will not give it to her.

There's this new wave of a barbaric norm where we accept this and people think this is a legitimate political stance. But this has nothing to do with politics. You can love Donald Trump, you can hate Donald Trump. But nobody in our country should want to leave an infant on a table to die. And the reality that America is facing right now is that the same arguments that you can use to justify abortion you can also use to justify infanticide. It's just that nobody does it. And now we have politicians in our country doing it. It's a sobering time in our nation and it has certainly brought waves of people into 40 Days for Life and waves of enthusiasm.

And what a movie. What a movie to remind us of what we are doing in our country, but also remind us of the power of prayer and the power of hope. Abby's story is that story. I knew her. For eight years she was committed to Planned Parenthood. She worked early in the morning. She worked late at night. She did media interviews. She did everything they wanted her to do and when she saw her "product" for the first time she got out. And that was not a late-term abortion, that was not infanticide, that was a 13-week-old baby boy. And it's really becoming a beautiful light on the barbaric nature of all abortions.

CP: In view of what Ephesians 6 says about spiritual warfare  that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places  how have you seen continuous, unbroken prayer, the kind of intercession you all practice outside abortion clinics, dismantle the evil in the spiritual realm?

SC: Well, it's just the timeless battle of life versus death. And Christ is the victor. He lays down His life on Good Friday. It's truly the week that changed the world that we are approaching. That is where our confidence is. There is so much spiritual warfare. And the devil certainly works through abortion to disguise himself and to convince people that it's a responsible thing, a good thing. That it's health care and that it's wonderful.

And yet, it's something that when you step back ... we wouldn't wish this on members of ISIS. We wouldn't wish this on our greatest enemy, this horrible surgery. And our trust is in that ultimate victory of Christ at Calvary.

I've had so many people  Catholic, Protestant, evangelical  come up to me and say something along the lines of: "We were always going to participate in 40 Days for Life and we've finally decided to do it. We went out there and we prayed at the vigil and you're really there at the foot of the cross."

It's not a depressing thing. It is sad. But Mary and John aren't angry that they are at the foot of the cross. They're there out of faithfulness to our Lord. That faithfulness in the midst of great evil is really why I believe abortion is going to end in America. I think people need to know that there is obviously so much spiritual warfare going on with the movie and everything else. But it doesn't end there. There's got to be a pivot. And this movie will be such a beautiful witness to the power of hope and healing.

CP: In this season where your work is being vindicated and celebrated publicly, and in light of all the success, what is next for you and 40 Days for Life?

SC: We've had unprecedented growth in the past two years especially. We've done a lot to catch up with our growth. And we're going to get a lot of volunteers when the movie comes out. It's already happening. We have had so many people say, "I had never even heard of 40 Days for Life and then I went to your website and I went out and prayed at my local abortion facility because I saw a preview of the movie."

It's going to be a beautiful wave to volunteers and prayer warriors and a potential 40 Days for Life leaders and we need that help. We have 800,000 volunteers around the world. We're in 816 cities in 56 countries.

I think what's going to happen is that we're going to have the largest fall 40 Days for Life that we have ever had, which is in late September.

It's testament to these heroes who go out and peacefully pray, lead their campaigns and they are ending abortion at the local level. And that is something that Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C., and New York City are completely detached from. They are completely detached from their staff and their facilities at the local level. Abby felt that when she was working there. It's very top-heavy.

The pro-life movement is built from the ground-up and 40 Days for Life is certainly built from the ground-up. And that should give us great hope moving forward.Abortionist who believes he's doing Gods work denies allegations of sexual misconduct

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Willie Parker, a prominent abortionists who believes he's doing Gods work, denied sexual misconduct allegations this week from Texas-based reproductive rights activist, Candice Russell.

Russell alleged in a piece published on Medium Sunday that Parker, whom she accused of being a predator, sexually assaulted her after they shared a bottle of wine in his hotel room.

Eventually I found out that I wasnt an exception to some rule but a repeated pattern. Eventually I learned about you, Russell wrote in the piece where she suggested that the abortionists behavior is well-known among the reproductive rights community.

Responding on Medium this week, Parker said he was surprised and disappointed by Russells decision to paint a consensual sexual encounter as assault.

While surprised and disappointed that she has described the mutual decision to have a sexual encounter as a situation where I took advantage of her while she was intoxicated, this allegation does not square up with the facts, Parker wrote about the activist he met on a flight in 2015.

I dont have to call her a liar. Every person who feels like they have been wronged has a right to be heard. As I listen to the story that she published, it bares no resemblance to what transpired. I wont rewrite her story. Ill just state what I know in response to what she has described, he added.

Parker, who said he's never drank alcohol in his life, countered Russells claim that he intentionally didnt drink the night he had sex with her while she was supposedly drunk.

I have never seen Candice drunk, including on the night we had sex. If she met up with me when I was in a city convenient to her to meet up, she was driving. I would have never ridden with someone who was drunk, Parker said.

On the evening that she is describing that we had our only sexual encounter after corresponding in a mutually flirtatious manner by text for over a year-and-a-half, when she came to my room, she walked under her own power, neither her speech or motor functions were impaired, and she self-invited to stay, Parker continued.

I was receptive as she made her interest in our encounter known. If she had four martinis when she was with me as she said, I didnt buy them, and she was not impaired in the way that I would have expected her to be if she had consumed that much alcohol, he added.

In response to the allegations, Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, tweeted: No surprise here. If you can kill fully developed babies in the womb in the name of God, then such a twisted moral compass can easily justify sexual abuse."

Despite Parkers denial, several womens groups have announced their support for Russell.

The National Network of Abortion Funds also distanced itself from Parker.

You may have seen recent allegations of improper sexual conduct against Dr. Willie Parker, who until recently was the namesake of one of our internal abortion funds. The National Network of Abortion Funds is in solidarity with those who have come forward. the NNAF said in a statement.

"When one of us is accused of failing to live up to these standards, it is all of our responsibility to make space for victims to speak or be silent as they choose, and with values of autonomy, compassion, intersectionality, and collective power, move through accountability and restorative justice toward healing," the group added.

In response, Troy Newman of the pro-life group Operation Rescue said: Im not sure which values the NNAF was referring to. Was it the ones that embrace chopping innocent babies in the womb or the ones that castigate Christians for trying to stop the slaughter and the abuse?

On Wednesday, Parker resigned from the board of directors for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a group of interfaith leaders who support abortion rights.

We are obviously heartbroken over this situation. We empathize with all victims of sexual misconduct. Additionally, Dr. Willie Parker is a noted abortion provider and leader in the movement for reproductive justice," said Board Chair the Rev. Linda Jaramillo. ...

As people of faith, we understand that part of our job is to offer context in difficult times. We recognize the barriers Parker has overcome as an abortion provider, an advocate and a person of color. At the same time, we must hold ourselves accountable. We are aware that the reproductive health, rights and justice movement must be above reproach.Christian college nursing, education students getting blacklisted, CCCU president says

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AUSTIN, Texas  Some Christian schools have encountered hospitals and schools that refuse to accept their nursing and education students for jobs and internships, Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, told The Christian Post.

The students are being turned away due to the colleges' understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman. The problem is not widespread, Hoogstra explained, but it is an issue that the CCCU has been dealing with and is concerned about for the future.

"There have been small pockets in the United States where Christian colleges that have held a traditional understanding of marriage have had some of their professional programs impacted," she said. "For instance, there have been some public schools that will not allow teachers into their schools. Not because they have witnessed the student teachers in any way being bigoted or discriminatory, but because they have a penalty against a school that has a traditional understanding of marriage.

"In terms of nursing placements, this has repeatedly been a conversation between the public hospitals and nursing placements for student nurses. It's not widespread yet, but there are pockets of it, which concerns us."

Hoogstra clarified that it has nothing to do with the personal beliefs of the students, but the positions of the schools. "It could be the student has a very open understanding of marriage, but it doesn't matter, it's a categorical ban because the institution holds a particular historic understanding of marriage."

Concerns over the religious freedom of Christian colleges were also heard at CCCU's Feb. 1 President's Conference in Washington, D.C.

During that event, Shirley Mullen, the president of Houghton College and vice chair of CCCU's board of directors, noted the "standard western narrative of progress has assumed that deeply-held religious beliefs ... result in intolerance, conflict, violence, oppression." And while many view Christian higher ed as "very monolithic internally," in fact, Christian education is "often really tough-minded, thoughtful dialogue."

Hoogstra was in Austin Tuesday to lead a workshop on religious freedom for Advocacy Day, a two-day event at Woodlawn Baptist Church sponsored by the Texas Baptists' Christian Life Commission.

About 200 people attended the event where conservative Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson was the keynote speaker. On Wednesday, attendees visited political leaders in the Texas legislature to discuss issues they care about. According to a 26-page "Advocacy and Public Policy Guide" given to all the attendees, these issues included children and families, human trafficking, immigration, religious liberty, poverty, and life.

The other workshops were on prison reform, immigration, abortion and adoption, education, and the ONE Campaign. There were also two workshops for Spanish speakers.

The Texas Baptists, or the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is an affiliation of 5,300 churches in Texas from a broad spectrum of Baptist denominations.

Christian colleges, Hoogstra added during her workshop, are the "tip of the spear" on the issue of religious liberty for Christians.

The CCCU represents more than 180 Christian colleges and universities around the world. According to its website, "The CCCUs mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth."Hillsong United Shares Life Changing Experience at California Prison

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Members of the Christian band Hillsong United are sharing the life-changing moment that took place recently when they visited an inmate who wrote to them from a California state prison.

Hillsong United from the Hillsong megachurch in Sydney, Australia, visited Folsom State Prison in Represa, California, after inmate Lothar Preston wrote them a letter to share how much they have inspired him. On July 23 Matt Crocker, Jonathon Douglass and Taya Smith performed "How Great Thou Art," "Amazing Grace," and "Oceans" in a packed prison chapel, according to Serving California, an organization that seeks to encourage prisoners in the state.

Last week, Hillsong United took to their YouTube page to share their feelings about the experience. It was there that Douglass explained why the worship band wanted to visit the prison.

"Today is really special because we also want to go to places and to people who don't have social media. We received this letter a little while ago from an inmate," he explained. "This guy has been behind bars for a very long time but through the music that we've been able to create, it's basically led him to Jesus. So we are going to Folson prison to surprise this inmate and get the opportunity to lead worship."

While his face wasn't shown on camera, Preston's voice was heard in a recording in which he explained how unbelievable it was to have Hillsong United lead worship at the prison. After the prison added the Hillsong channel to its list of TV stations inmates can watch, Preston said his life was changed when he saw the band worshiping at a concert in Miami.

"The reason that I wrote you guys was this. That one day in my cell I heard the Miami concert," Preston revealed. "The music in that concert touched me in such a way that I will never be the same. It's taught me three things ... the Holy Spirit, grace, and how much God loves me."

He added, "I will sing like a man with no sickness in my body and like no prison wall can hold me."

Preston went on to share Isaiah 41:13 while describing how the entire experience was all to showcase the love and glory of God.

"The only word that I can really come up with, it's all about love. Certain concepts, certain words it's all about total surrender and abandonment to the belief that God has a plan for you," he said. "And he says a verse I love in the Bible, 'For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

The experience was life changing for the band who got a chance to see the world from a wholly different perspective.

"Even though they've got prisoner written on all of their clothes they're like, 'We are not our crime.' I'm so grateful for the grace that we've got from Jesus to be able to give that grace," Douglass said. "It's for you, it's for everyone. And they're everyone, so it's pretty cool."

In June, the worship band sent out a message to fans saying they were willing to make some unconventional tour stops in the United States in July and August.

"We want you to tell us why we should come to you! Basically make us a 1 minute video on what's happening in your town, school, church or if it's your birthday, or even getting married," an Instagram message from the band states. "We are down to hang and come play."Hillsong UNITED's JD Douglass talks church's impact on Christian music, ministry and fashion

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Multiplatinum-selling and award-winning Christian worship band Hillsong UNITED is gearing up for the release of their album PEOPLE, and The Christian Post caught up with founding band member JD Douglass to get a look at how the ministry continues to revolutionize worship music worldwide.

Hillsong church was founded by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, in 1983. It has now grown from a single church to an international ministry that has churches in 21 countries on six continents, including: London, England; Paris, France; Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Tel Aviv, Israel; and three cities in the United States.

The church has an average global attendance approaching 130,000 weekly.

In the U.S., Hillsong is recognized for its thriving congregations in New York City, Los Angeles, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, and their services are frequently attended by many A-list celebrities.

There are three different musical groups affiliated with Hillsong Church, these are Hillsong Worship, Hillsong Young & Free, and Hillsong UNITED.

Hillsong UNITED has sold more than 4.7 million albums and remains the No. 1 Christian artist on all social media platforms with over 10.5 million fans combined. Their new live album PEOPLE will be released on April 26 and is said to reflect the band's roots and core mission of unity.

In support of their new music, UNITED will also return to the U.S. for the first time in three years for their The People Tour MMXIX.

The following is an edited transcript of The Christian Post's interview with longtime Hillsong church member and founding member of Hillsong UNITED, JD Douglass, who talks about the evolution of Hillsong music, their commitment to God, and their influence on western culture.

CP: Your relationship with Hillsong Church has been a lifelong journey. What's it been like to be a part of the ministry all these years?

JD: I feel extremely blessed. Everyone has a different journey, but my parents are Christian so not going to church wasn't an option in our family. Im kind of glad that we've been going to Hillsong church my whole life. There really hasnt been a time that I haven't wanted to go [to church].

Were definitely not the best or the most perfect church but it's a church where we've got great leadership that just believes in the next generation. That believes in encouraging, letting people know that God does have a plan and purpose for everyone's life, and that's a really encouraging life-filled environment.

Growing up in that, going from the school of Hillsong and then in the youth ministry, its been a great experience. I never dreamed or imagined that Id be part of the music team, especially with UNITED and being able to be around those early days and to see 20 years on now what God has done and how faithfully Hes been. It's definitely one of those things that has blown our expectation and probably surprised us more than anybody.

CP: Hillsong has revolutionized Christian culture, even down to what people wear to church in a lot of contemporary churches. Was that intentional as a way to reach people?

JD: It's kind of funny to see how thats unfolded as I look back over the journey. But to be honest, it wasn't anything that we did intentionally, and I think I can say that about the whole Hillsong journey. I think that we're just lucky that in the part of the world that we grew up in, Australia has always had great churches and people that are following Jesus. But I guess the culture is a lot different in the church. Different people, different languages, and they all have different accents. And I think one thing about Australia is that were very laid back because it is a secular nation.

It was actually a weird thing to go to church in Australia. The majority of Australians don't go to church. So just the way that our culture was in the church within Australia was very laid back. So I think for us, we didn't know anything else except to dress how we wanted to, and sometimes that was the same as our school friends or whatever was the fashion at the time.

We have a lot of respect and honor for the house of God and the platform, but I honestly just think that, again, if we can just be who were called to be and be authentic to ourselves, and do our best to honor and please God, then He will have His way.

It's funny, and I can see now that it's probably worked to our advantage, but it's all laughs that that has happened because there was absolutely no intention. Its just kind of how we grew up and it was to our surprise that it wasn't the same all over the world. God has been able to use that to help people and to get His message into the hearts of many, and I'm all about it.

But yeah, we kind of sit back and laugh about that stuff because it was not intentional.

CP: Discipling people to be like Jesus in this day and age is very counter-cultural. How do you, as someone who has been in church leadership, disciple people in this generation?

JD: At the risk of sounding cliche or too basic, I can't go past looking at Jesus and use His example. I think where we get it wrong is when we overlook, or we go too far away from the truth of God's word. I think, automatically thinking about Jesus' ministry, it was full of opposition from the religious people of the day. There's not many or any stories that I can remember, in the Bible, where He got attacked by the non-Christian or the nonreligious people of the day. He got all this opposition, all resistance from the religion that had been set up in His time.

It does surprise me that other religious groups, or churches, or people of faith would oppose what we do. But I also think that we've got grace for that, because, again, Jesus. Also, Paul was constantly writing letters about how we are going to have opposition, living this life of faith and this life sacrifice and hard times. What I love though is that the Bible always talks about the fact that it's worth it, and God is with us, and He's made us perfect in our weakness.

It's not always going to work out the way that we want, it's not always going to be perfect. But at the same time, it is always going to be worth it and God is always with us. I think that would be the biggest thing that I want to encourage the next generation or anyone really to not get discouraged when things aren't going our way. To understand that out our journey of following God and being in relationship with Jesus is one of trusting Him and that Hes working all things together for good.

I think, if we just all go with our emotions or feelings or circumstances, I think we can all get pretty discouraged. I'm 35 now and have been on this journey my whole life. When it comes to disciplining, if we look to the world for our inspirational strengths or stability, then were not going to go the distance.

But if we look to the Word of God, which is the truth, I believe that we can re-center what's really important and live the kind of life that God has planned for all of us. Knowing that we are human, and that we are going to stumble, we are going to fall, but God loves us too much to leave us the way that we are. He works with us and I'm just grateful that every day we get new mercies.

CP: Whats the difference between Hillsong UNITED, Hillsong Worship, and Hillsong Young & Free?

JD: We all have a laugh about it because on one hand it's really clear that theyre different but it can get very confusing because we are all trying to do the same thing, really.

There was always Hillsong Worship and that was from the very early days. That was just our main church worship team that would lead worship on Sunday mornings and Sunday night services and write songs for the church.

Then youd have our youth group. Even when I was in youth group, 20 years ago now, the pastor encouraged our youth group to write songs that would really hit home for that age group and write in the style of music that would really encourage and speak to the young generation. So that's how UNITED got birthed.

Our pastors always encouraged us to bring people through and give young people the opportunity to serve God. So that's how Young & Free got birthed because UNITED has been going for 10 or so years and youth was getting a little bit too old for us. So we all encouraged the younger guys that were coming through. Slowly, thats how Young & Free was birthed and that was kind of a new generation.

As UNITED, we thought, does that means that we should stop doing what were doing? But God had really created a special lane for us to create music, so we've kind of just kept going.

So really, at the end of the day, the three different brands are all about writing songs that glorify God and help people.

Hillsong Worship is definitely more about writing songs for churches to be able to sing on Sunday mornings. Young & Free are going for that next generation. Were (UNITED) somewhere in between, doing whatever we can really.

CP: In a recent interview with former Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech, she said she really loves how honest and raw some of the newer worship music is. What inspires your music now?

JD: First of all, I have to honor Darlene because she was my worship pastor growing up. And when I was too young to have the opportunity to be able to sing in big church, she really put her arm around me and I was just lucky to have her as a worship pastor. She always believed in me and all of us from UNITED and Young & Free.

For us, [its about] writing honest and authentic songs. I think that religion always wants to paint a picture thats not real. [But for us, we want to create] something that makes it all about the things that Jesus came to establish, which is have a relationship with people, operating in His grace, His love His mercy.

I feel like Jesus spoke to the hearts of people, not to the heart of a religious organization. Even within the church and even with the best of intentions, I think we've got to always commit to being authentic, to being honest, and that's probably been one of the most key things for us.

I know I can speak on behalf of Joel Houston, who is our main writer and our main leader over the years, whenever we get together to write a project or when we get in the studio, he always says, I want to write the most honest song I possibly can. So its always a balance because you've got to put faith in there and keep it positive and all the rest of that.

But to be honest, I think its the grace of God that people are connected with the songs more than anything. That commitment to just writing the most honest songs that we can and at the end of the day, we dont want to write a song that sounds good or that lots of people are going to listen to or that sells a lot of records, we want to write songs that are going to glorify God. And secondly, actually help people where they're at. Thats always been our main focus. And we've been blessed to still have had the ability to travel the world as we get to do that.

CP: You guys are bringing your tour back to America, what's your goal with the tour?

JD: I feel like America is such a big country, and theres so many people and so many churches. Weve been going to America a lot over the last 20 years and its hard to make a general statement on the whole of church in America, or Christianity in America.

I think that it's probably different for each person, but one thing I know is that weve never been more excited about this tour. Its going to be the biggest tour that we've ever done, especially because were coming off a season where we just recorded a new album and it's the first live album weve done in almost 10 years.

CP: What overarching message are you are hoping to get across with the new album?

JD: We recorded it in the same auditorium where we recorded a lot of the early UNITED albums and gave us the platform that we've got today. So just going off how these songs have been going in our church and even just the few that we've released already, the response has been the best response weve ever had.

The name UNITED came by accident because it was just the name that we were giving these nights at youth, when we're gathering all the different age groups that used to come to our church. We would all come together and have these United youth nights.

But I think God planned for us to be called UNITED because now what we feel more than ever is that nows the time for people to come together and be united and understand that we're not always going to agree on everything but let's stand behind the things we agree on. As believers, thats the truth of God and His word and plan for humanity.

So I think that it's a really important time because there's a lot of uncertain things out there. But there is also some certain things and that's that God is in control and God wants to work His destiny through His church and through His people.

And so that's what these tour nights are all about. We just want to unite people. We want to unite America as much as we possibly can. We believe that with God nothing is impossible. Were just fired up about this tour because we think God's gonna do something really incredible and were just pumped that we get to be a part of it.

The new album PEOPLE is now available for pre-order. For more information on Hillsong UNITED or their U.S. tour, click, here.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Gospel advancement cannot be divorced from the power of prayer. Nor should prayer be divorced from the need for gospel advancement regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Let History Teach Us Now

In 1806, there were five college students who began to pray twice a week for a mighty move of God to occur. The second Great Awakening had affected at least one of these five students. College student Samuel Millss father had served as pastor of a church that had been touched powerfully by this awakening.

These five students of the Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, had come together on a hot Saturday afternoon in August for their prayer meeting. They were going to discuss William Careys missionary manifesto, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens.

On their way to their prayer meeting, a major rainstorm began, filled with wind, lightning, and thunder. They noticed a large haystack, which would provide an opportunity to seek shelter underneath from the wind, rain, and lightning. It was in that setting, after discussing Careys missionary manifesto, they went before God in prayer.

Samuel Mills proposed they would go on mission to India. While three of the five agreed with Mills to focus on reaching Asia, it was Harvey Loomis who believed deeply they must focus on reaching America first.

Dial in closely with me: Beginning with what is now known as the Haystack Prayer Meeting, two years later, in 1808, a group who became known as The Brethren was formulated. These five young men and others focused on prayer and missions. In 1810, after they graduated, they requested that a group send them to India as missionaries. The General Association of Massachusetts formed the first official missions organization in the United States in June of 1810. It was called The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

By the way, Adoniram Judson and his wife, as well as Luther Rice, were some of the first missionaries commissioned and sent across the ocean by this new mission board. It was Judson who became known as the father of Baptist foreign missions. Just think: It all began in a prayer meeting under a haystack.

After praying under the haystack that afternoon, these five young men sang a hymn together. It was then Samuel Mills said loudly over the rain and the wind, We can do this, if we will! That moment changed those men forever. Many historians would tell you that all mission organizations trace their history back to the Haystack Prayer Meeting in some way.

Yes, these men turned the world upside down. And it all began in a prayer meeting under a haystack. At the place where this meeting occurred, a monument stands today, commemorating this historic God moment. At the top of the monument is the phrase, THE FIELD IS THE WORLD. Underneath those words, it says, The birthplace of American foreign missions. 1806. This great gospel advancement all occurred because five college students cried out to God in prayer.

Prayer, Movements, the Power of God, and Great Gospel Advancement

The proper place of prayer is minimized. A spiritual movement is seen as mystical. The power of God is ignored. Then, we wonder why great gospel advancement is not occurring.

Integrating these things is imperative. In fact, it is biblical. Think of this familiar verse found in Acts 4:31. It says, When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak Gods message with boldness.

Prayer prioritized?

Spiritual movement occurring?

Power of God evident?

Gospel advancement occurring?

With the condition of things today, we need to return to the biblical and historical model now.

Six in 10 Protestant Churches are Plateaued or Declining

On March 6, 2019, LifeWay Research released a new study from Exponential. It revealed Six in 10 Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance. It further said that more than half saw fewer than 10 people become new Christians in the past 12 months.

While growth is happening in some churches across America, it is more than evident that churches and the denominations many of them are connected to are not healthy and growing.

Unquestionably, we need to learn what we can from other churches, but more importantly, it is time that we get ourselves under the nearest haystack, study gospel advancement, and cry out to God over the challenges we are facing today.

Then, we can leave this unique place declaring what Samuel Mills declared over 200 years ago, We can do this, if we will.

We need to see what Samuel Mills saw.

THE FIELD IS THE WORLD.85-year-old man attacked as he prayed outside abortion clinic

An 85-year-old man was violently attacked as he prayed outside a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in San Francisco, California, last week and it was captured on video.

The Life Legal Defense Foundation posted the video earlier this week to YouTube showing the elderly prayer warrior, named Ron, trying to stop the theft of a pro-life banner.

In the 23-second clip, Ron tries to stop the theft, but the attacker lunges toward him with his bicycle and then says, "Old man, stay on the ground," before he repeatedly kicks him all over his body.

"San Francisco police are investigating the matter as an assault. Ron said it's the third time the same man harassed or tried to steal the sign in a week," NBC's Bay Area affiliate reported.

On March 19, the assailant attacked a pair of pro-life activists and also threw their sign and literature into the streets.

"The pro-lifer was taking part in a peaceful 40 Days for Life campaign when the perpetrator stole the victim's banner and viciously beat him. The same assailant had attacked the victim and another man just two days prior," the Life Legal Defense Foundation added.

"Life Legal represents the elderly victim, who is afraid for his safety. We are working closely with 40 Days for Life to make sure pro-life advocates in San Francisco and across the nation are protected and perpetrators are brought to justice."

The Planned Parenthood clinic where Ron was attacked has its own footage of the incident but has refused to release the video, Life Legal said.

Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, said in a statement released Monday that he considered the attack evidence that "the idea that San Francisco is tolerant is a joke."

"We believe every person should be treated with kindness, love and respect, even those with whom we may disagree," said Carney.

"That said, over the past few months, we have seen an increase in violence from abortion supporters in an effort to instill fear and deter our law-abiding volunteers."

Last October, a 65-year-old pro-life activist named Joe Alger was physically assaulted while praying outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Naples, Florida, and had to be taken to a hospital.

While a man suspected of committing the assault was taken into custody, Alger declined to press charges, stating at the time that it was "a painful situation, and I'm not going to make it any worse."

The footage was uploaded to YouTube but viewer discretion is advised:

Courtesy of The Christian PostHigh Court judge says religious mother does not need to be told about daughter's gender dysphoria

A High Court judge has ruled that a religious mother does not need to be told about her daughter's gender dysphoria.

The Telegraph reports that the young girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not want her mother to know about her gender dysphoria because of fears that she would disown her.

The girl, identified only as G, is in foster care with her sister following allegations that the mother had used "implements" such as belts and slippers in the "unlawful and unreasonable chastisement" of her children.

Although she is in foster care, G continues to see her mother, who was not informed of the High Court proceedings, the newspaper reports.

In a written ruling, Mrs Justice Theis, of the High Court's Family Division, said that as G had a history of self-harming, it was possible that informing the mother of her struggles with her gender identity might put her at further risk of harm.

The court was asked to decide on the case by representatives of the council social services responsible for G who were unsure about their legal obligations in respect of the mother's right to know.

According to court papers, G feared her mother's reaction after the pair had a conversation about her gay friend in which her mother's response was to "re-state her religious views and her disapproval of such choices".

Mrs Justice Theis said that G could make her own decisions and that the council did not have to inform the mother if this was against her wishes.

"In this case the declaration sought is limited to the therapeutic intervention, which is a matter, in my view, for the professional judgment of the local authority in considering whether 'it is reasonably practicable' to ascertain the wishes and feelings of the mother in this case," she wrote.On what should have been Brexit weekend, churches and cathedrals open their doors for prayer and dialogue

The first weekend after the UK was supposed to leave the European Union, churches and cathedrals are offering spaces for conversation and prayer on Brexit.

Many churches across the country are holding prayer vigils this weekend on what should have marked the start of a new post-Brexit era for the UK.

But after another week of votes and debates failed to break the deadlock on Brexit, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are inviting people to come together in dialogue and prayer as part of five days of prayer for the nation and its future relationship with the European Union.

Cathedrals across England have answered that call. On Friday, Leicester Cathedral hosted a prayer vigil led by the Bishop of Loughborough, Guli Francis-Dehqani, Chair of the European Council of Churches, while Wakefield Cathedral has been inviting members of the public to come and write down their prayers for peace and for each other on prayer cards.

The Bishop of Grantham, Dr Nicholas Chamberlain was due to take part in a drop-in session at St Botolph's Parish Church in Boston, Lincolnshire at 6pm on Saturday.

He said that unity was possible in spite of people's differences over Brexit.

"In a time of great uncertainty, the one thing we can do is to come together and pray together and in doing that we are sending out an important sign that whatever our differences are perceived to be, we can be united," he said.

"Boston and the surrounding area expressed a strong preference to leave in 2016. However, even in Boston, there were those who voted to stay.

"As we know, the political situation is unclear and there are still strong differences of opinion. Given that, the one thing we can do is to come together and pray together and in doing that we are sending out an important sign that whatever our differences are perceived to be, we have the capacity to be united.

"The church in Boston considers itself to be a place of hospitality and where there are deep differences hospitality matters."

The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, was joined by local politicians at a service of Eucharist and informal prayers on Saturday morning.

He said that the gathering was a chance for people to come and talk not about Brexit but rather how communities could work together for unity, peace and the common good across the UK and Europe, and also how to re-establish the British values of respect and tolerance.

"Whether you voted leave or remain, the one thing that does unite us about Brexit is a concern that our nation itself is feeling divided," he said, adding that "the kettle will be on."

At Derby Cathedral, doors will be open over the next five days for people to come in and pray for peace, reconciliation and a way forward after years of division over Britain's exit from the EU.

The Dean of Derby, the Very Rev Stephen Hance said: "After what has been a divisive political process during the last three years, we want people to be encouraged to pray for someone they disagree with, as a step towards reconciliation and a fresh vision for the whole country.

"I hope everyone in the city, including citizens of other EU countries whose future here has been made uncertain since the referendum, will feel welcome to come and say a prayer or take a few moments to be still in the Cathedral, which is here for the whole of Derby and Derbyshire as a sign of healing and peace."

Jan McFarlane, Bishop of Repton and Acting Bishop of Derby, who said:"Our church communities, like the rest of the nation, are divided over whether or not Brexit is the right way forward. But as Christians, our role is to promote peace and reconciliation in the places where we live and worship, and to demonstrate that we can live peacefully together even when we disagree."

Hexham Abbey in Northumberland was also holding in drop-in sessions and prayer gatherings for Brexit on Saturday morning.

The Rector of Hexham, Canon Dagmar Winter said: "For generations, people have come to the Abbey at significant times of community life, and it is here that we are cherished with all our hopes and anxieties and frustrations.

"Whatever shape the Brexit process now takes, it will be good to come together in a relaxed and respectful manner."

Resources for prayer and conversation can be downloaded from churchofengland.org/togetherScience and God are somehow viewed as enemies but this is just wrong

An award-winning scientist recently told the world that science and religion are not incompatible.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports (3/19/19), "The annual Templeton Prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to 'affirming life's spiritual dimension,' was awarded Tuesday to Brazilian Marcelo Gleisera theoretical physicist dedicated to demonstrating science and religion are not enemies."

Gleiser, a professor at Dartmouth College since 1991, said, "Science does not kill God."

Although he is described as an agnostic, the AFP reports that Gleiser "refuses to write off the possibility of God's existence completely." He said, "Atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method...Atheism is a belief in non-belief. So you categorically deny something you have no evidence against...I'll keep an open mind because I understand that human knowledge is limited."

I agree with this man's sentiments. How is it that science and God are somehow viewed as enemies?

The great British jurist, Sir William Blackstone, whose four-volume set of Commentaries on the Laws of England were of great value to our founding fathers, put it this way: "Thus, when the Supreme Being formed the universe, and created matter out of nothing, He impressed certain principles upon that matter, from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be. When He put that matter into motion, He established certain laws of motion, to which all moveable bodies must conform."

I think it is fascinating that virtually all the early scientists historically were professing Christians. They were, in the words of Johannes Kepler, "thinking God's thoughts after Him" in their scientific explorations. Modern science arose near the end of the medieval period. The early scientists believed that a rational God had made a rational universe, and it was their jobusing the words of Kepler, "as priests of the highest God"to try and catalogue what laws of the universe He had created.

Consider some of the thoughts of scientists who were Christians through the ages.

Blaise Pascal was a brilliant mathematician in 17th century France. He is credited with discovering principles that would ultimately lead to the creation of the computer.

Pascal said, "Faith tells us what senses cannot, but it is not contrary to their findings. It simply transcends, without contradicting them." Pascal also said, "Jesus Christ is the only proof of the living God. We only know God through Jesus Christ."

Isaac Newton, the discoverer of gravity and one of the greatest scientists who ever lived, wrote more about the Bible and about Christian theology than he did science. Said the great Newton: "I have a foundational belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily."

The father of modern chemistry was Oxford professor Robert Boyle, born in 1627. Boyle was not only a diligent student of chemistry, but a diligent student of the Bible. In his will he left a large sum of money to found the "Boyle lectures" for proving the Christian religion.

19th century American Matthew Fontaine Maury is credited as the father of oceanography. He got his idea that the sea has "lanes" and currents from a verse in the Bible. Psalm 8:8 speaks of "the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas."

One time Maury gave a speech at the inauguration for a college in which he said, "I have been blamed by men of science, both in this country and in England, for quoting the Bible in confirmation of the doctrines of physical geography. The Bible, they say, was not written for scientific purposes, and is therefore of no authority in matters of science. I beg your pardon: the Bible is authority for everything it touches." That includes, he said, "physical geography, the earth, the sea and the air."

Maury added, "[W]hen, after patient research, I am led to the discovery of any one of [the physical laws the Creator has built into His creation], I feel with the astronomer of old [i.e., Kepler], as though I had 'thought one of God's thoughts,' and tremble. Thus as we progress with our science we are permitted now and then to point out here and there in the physical machinery of the earth a design of the Great Architect when He planned it all."

Indeed, as science professor Marcelo Gleiser points out, "science does not kill God." Far from it.

The late Dr. Robert Jastrow was an astronomer and a planetary physicist with NASA, and he wrote a book called, God and the Astronomers.

Jastrow noted, "The scientist has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; and as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."

Courtesy of Jerry Newcombe: For God and CountryThe art of Oceania  a guide for new collectors

Spanning some 1,800 cultures and languages, Oceanic art has long gone under the radar. Now, says specialist Victor Teodorescu, it is having a moment, with a number of spectacular pieces offered in our Paris sale on 29 June

What is Oceanic art? The art of Oceania encompasses the artefacts created by the indigenous peoples of a geographic region spanning almost a third of the worlds surface, from Tonga and Tahiti in Polynesia to the scattered islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. Comprising some 20,000 Pacific islands, and close to 1,800 cultures and languages, Oceania is one of the most diverse regions on the planet. The art of Oceania falls into two major categories, corresponding to the years before and after Western contact. The rock paintings and engravings of the Australian Aboriginals, thought to be more than 40,000 years old, are the oldest surviving works of Oceanic art.

Today, the market for Oceanic art is primarily concerned with works that were originally conceived for ceremonial use. The artist-makers of Oceanic art are usually unknown, so its market value is greatly influenced by provenance, condition and rarity. What are the key styles and materials new collectors should know about? The sheer scale of Oceania makes stylistic categorisation of its art a complex undertaking: artefacts vary in size and form depending on the islands from which they originate, and their materiality, texture and splendour differ according to function, whether ritualistic or otherwise. Its important to find a style that resonates with you, says Victor Teodorescu, a specialist in African and Oceanic Art at Christies in Paris. Some new collectors may react to the graphic, and, at times, dream-like quality of Melanesian art, while others may react to the simple shapes and geometric forms of Polynesian art.

Crafted for ritual purposes, a large proportion of Oceanic art is associated with spiritual properties and made from both hard and soft wood, depending on its geographic origin. It can also be ornately embellished with detailed carving, feathers, beads, or shells. Clay, sperm whale ivory and stone are among the other most commonly employed materials in Oceanic Art. How did the market for Oceanic art develop in the West? The market for Oceanic art was established in the late 18th to early 19th century when the first explorers, traders and missionaries returned to Europe with ethnographic artefacts. These artefacts were initially collected and exhibited as curiosities across Europe, and later acquired by museums and private collectors.

By the beginning of the 20th century, avant-garde artists and dealers in Berlin and Paris  including Matisse, Picasso, Andre Derain, Paul Guillaume, Charles Ratton, William Oldman and Guillaume Apollinaire  had become keen collectors of ethnographic objects, regarding them as aesthetic works in their own right. The influence of ethnographic art on their style has become known as Primitivism. What is the current state of the market? Oceanic art is enjoying its time in the spotlight, says Teodorescu. Long-time collectors of African art are showing more interest in the field, while long-time collectors of Oceanic art are willing to pay more for exceptional pieces.

According to Teodorescu, this recent rise in the market can be attributed to four primary factors: the rarity of pieces in exceptional condition to market; the availability of documentary provenance; a widening trend for cross-category collecting; and a growing enthusiasm among both public institutions and private collectors to re-evaluate the overlooked. Oceanic art has remained under the radar for many years, he says, but collectors are now beginning to realise that good quality pieces are generally rarer than African works and that their estimates still lag behind African works at auction. The most popular regions 1. Polynesia Teodorescu states that Polynesian art  covering 1,000 islands, including New Zealand, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Marquesas Islands, Tonga and Hawaii  is currently the most in-demand type of Oceanic art. Among its first European collectors were Captain James Cook and the artists and scientists aboard the HMS Endeavour, which set sail for Australia and New Zealand in 1768.

The connection between Polynesian art and the earliest discovery voyages of the South Pacific Ocean make it the oldest and the most historically rich style of Oceanic art on the market, says the specialist. Its also the rarest. This is because much Oceanic art was destroyed in the early 19th century as traditional cultures embraced Christianity. And most of what has survived is now housed in public collections, adds the specialist.

Among the most coveted Polynesian artefacts are Easter Island artefacts, Cook Island God staffs and Maori ornaments from New Zealand  sculptural wood carvings, such as bowls, statues and clubs; objects associated with oceanic travel, including paddles and canoe prows; or any ceremonial object of artistic and cultural relevance.

The very rare Nukuoro figures, produced by the people of Nukuoro Atoll, a Polynesian enclave in Micronesia, are likely to also be at the top of any collector's list of Polynesian art.

Polynesia is mostly known for its giant Easter Island stone Moai. Smaller wooden Easter Island sculptures, carved to honour ancestors, are very popular among collectors because they symbolise one of the most emblematic Polynesian societies, says Teodorescu. 2. Melanesia Melanesian art covers Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, the Torres Strait, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea, and is today the second most highly coveted style of Oceanic art among serious collectors.

Its decorative detailing served as a great source of inspiration for many 20th-century Surrealist artists, including Roland Tual, Wifredo Lam and Max Ernst, as well as Surrealist poets, including Paul Eluard, Tristan Tzara and Andre Breton. Masks from the region around the Sepik River in New Guinea, dating to the late 19th century, are among the most sought-after objects from Melanesia.

The ceremonial wooden malangan from New Ireland  decorative ornaments or figures intricately carved for the cycle of funeral rituals  are also very popular. Principally concerned with honouring and dismissing the souls of a specific individual, malangan carvings were usually destroyed, allowed to rot, or sold after service.

In contrast to the intricately carved malangan from the north of New Ireland, Uli ancestor figures from central New Ireland are less ornate. Hermaphroditic in form and believed to be imbued with the spiritual powers of the deceased leader, they were traditionally kept in ritual houses and paraded during lengthy fertility, initiation, or funerary rites.

Sign up today Christie's Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week SubscribeA man wanted for a double homicide has been arrested in Nuevo Laredo by Tamaulipas state police, authorities said.

Edwin Javier Hurtado-Valdez, 19, is accused of fatally shooting Antwon Elijah Queen, 20, and Antwan Troy Briggs, 24, on March 24 in Maryland, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

Homicide detectives received intelligence that Hurtado-Valdez had gone to Mexico, the department said.

Authorities then disseminated wanted posters to the southern United States. Tamaulipas state police reached out to U.S. law enforcement saying that Hurtado-Valdez could be in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Tamaulipas authorities later located and arrested Hurtado-Valdez without incident. He was turned over to the U.S. Marshals during the extradition.

He was brought through the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers said they conducted a fingerprint check and used national law enforcement databases to confirm his identity as Hurtado-Valdez, a Mexican citizen.

He faces two counts of murder, two counts of assault and firearm use in a felony/violent crime.

Our frontline officers continue to steadfastly uphold our border security mission. The processing and identity verification of a man with an outstanding felony warrant for homicide helps keep our community safe and illustrates our dedication to our mission, said Port Director Alberto Flores, Laredo Port of Entry.

Hurtado-Valdezs wife was identified as Cambria Sieck, 18. She was wanted for being an accessory after the fact in regard to the double homicide, authorities said.

She turned herself into authorities in Maryland at about midnight Friday.Fort Bend ISD trustees may throw their support behind a bill that would allow Fort Bend County to own and operate the site where the remains of 95 African-American were discovered last year.

Fort Bend County commissioners want to own and maintain the cemetery located on the construction site of the James Reese Career and Technical Center. However, the Texas Health and Safety Code currently limits ownership to counties with a population of 8,200 or fewer. State Rep. Rick Miller, who represents part of Fort Bend County, filed a bill earlier this month to change an applicable provision of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

The discovery of the remains in April 2018, who are believed to be part of the convict-leasing system, caused national attention and a renewed discussion on the brutal system where prisoners were contracted out to perform cheap labor.

"Fort Bend ISD is appreciative of the support of Fort Bend County, the City of Sugar Land and our current state representatives who share our vision of memorializing this historic discovery," said board President Jason Burdine in a press release. "We continue to be optimistic that we will find a solution and that we will be able to share this important part of our shared history with generations to come."

State Rep. Ron Reynolds, who represents another part of the county, also recently introduced legislation seeking $95 million in reparations to the descendants of the people buried at the site. He also wants a plaque inside the state Capitol to honor the victims and a study to determine the legacy of the convict leasing-system.

The school district and county officials both officially approved to negotiate about the site in February. Fort Bend ISD also announced they would cancel their plans to build in the area where the remains were discovered.

Trustees are going to consider the resolution on April 8, at a meeting where they review the agenda for the upcoming school board meeting.

They are also expected to discuss how the district will include the discovery into its curriculum, according to the release.Thirty years ago, the Houston Chronicle set out to clue in all those squares as to the lingo that was hip with teens.

Houston students were enlisted to help explain the mysterious language we used with our "road dogs."Lakeland Village Center, the retail and shopping center from the Howard Hughes Corporation, will receive some new restaurants for Bridgeland residents and their neighbors to enjoy.

Jim Carman, senior vice president of commercial development for the Howard Hughes Corporation, confirmed that Local Table, a Mediterranean themed restaurant, Local Bar, a bar from the same owners of Local Table and Edelweiss Stube, a Swiss cuisine restaurant, will open in the Lakeland Village Center soon.Investigators from the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Department are searching for clues and asking for the publics help to track down three suspects after a Fresno-area residence was was targeted by armed robbers, Wednesday, March 27.

Around 5:30 p.m., three men broke into a home in the 2600 block of Feather Green, according to police records. One of the suspects reportedly held a gun to the victims forehead and told the terrified man to sit on the living room sofa without moving or he would be killed. The three suspects then ransacked the home before fleeing the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash, a Sony Playstation4 and a wallet. No injuries were reported.A Harris County judge this week dismissed another pair of drugs charges handled by the former Houston Police officer at the center of the botched Pecan Park drug raid that left a couple dead and five officers injured.

Though he wasn't the arresting officer, embattled ex-cop Gerald Goines was on the team that executed the 2016 search warrant leading to the arrest of Roy Herbert Willis.

On Friday - following weeks of broadening questions about Goines and the Pecan Park search warrant - prosecutors moved to dismiss Willis' case, which was not related to the Jan. 28 drug bust at 7815 Harding St.

"In the interest of justice, the ongoing investigation of Gerald Goines prevents us from moving forward to trial on this case at this time," said Harris County District Attorney's Office spokesman Dane Schiller. "The investigation could yield information that we are not yet aware of that could be helpful to the accused. These charges may be refiled at a later date."

One of the dismissed charges was for less than a gram of cocaine, and the other was for between 4 grams and 400 grams of methamphetamine.

Monique Sparks, the defense attorney who handled the two cases against Willis, wouldn't discuss the arrest in detail without speaking to her client first. But she said Friday that she's had other dealings with the embattled officer, and that she's viewed him as a problem for years.

"He has been terrorizing low-income areas for years," she said, "since I started practicing in 2006."

The bust that ensnared Willis also netted three other collars, as two men were charged with evading arrest and a third hit with a low-level marijuana case.

The man arrested for the misdemeanor pot charge pleaded guilty that same year and did two days in jail, while the defendants in the other two cases were sentenced to 20 days and to 9 months. Court records do not give any indication as to whether the attorneys or defendants in those three cases have been notified of the former officer's involvement.

The 54-year-old case agent came under scrutiny earlier this year after police accused him of lying on the search warrant affidavit used to justify the Harding Street raid. When officers burst in the home in search of a heroin dealer, they kicked off a shootout that left dead Navy veteran Dennis Tuttle and his wife Rhogena Nicholas.

But the raid only turned up marijuana and a small amount of cocaine, and the slain couple's friends and family came forward to say they weren't drug dealers.

Days later, as Goines lay in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to the neck, investigators realized they couldn't find the confidential informant behind the drug buy that sparked the raid.

When asked for details, Goines first named one informant and then another - but, according to court filings, police couldn't find anyone who admitted acting as the confidential informant before the raid.

That revelation prompted a police probe, as well as an investigation by the FBI. Prosecutors launched their own investigation, as well as a review of roughly 1,400 of Goines' cases, including 27 that were still active.

Though initially prosecutors said they planned to look back only at the cases Goines handled, weeks later the case review expanded to include some 800 cases handled by Bryant, who was also allegedly involved in the supposed undercover buy.

And, earlier this week, a Houston Chronicle examination of county data showed that there could be many more cases handled by Goines than the 1,400 initially flagged for review. Though it was still pending, Willis' case was not among the 27 active cases initially identified by prosecutors.

It's also not the first case tossed out; in February, a judge dismissed the drug case against Courtney Jacobs, days before the state moved to end its prosecution of Treveon Cornett, who was arrested with less than a gram of drugs.The city of Houstons deficit would spike by up to $27 million, widening its already massive budget gap, under a bill that aims to limit fees telecommunication and cable companies pay cities to use their right of way, Mayor Sylvester Turner warned this week.

Senate Bill 1152, authored by state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, would eliminate what the bills proponents say is a redundant double tax on companies who pay fees for cable and phone lines, despite transmitting those two services over a single line. Hancocks bill would require companies to pay either their cable franchise fee or right-of-way access line fee, exempting the lesser charge.

These companies are essentially being double-taxed to provide the service to the people in the cities that want to use their services, and it ultimately ends up costing the consumer more, Hancock said.

Those who oppose the bill say it would not compel cable companies to delineate the fees they charge as line items in customers cable bills. Without that requirement, opponents say companies would have no incentive to charge customers correspondingly less once the companies begin paying cities lower franchise fees.

The bills opponents also contend that companies are charged for phone and cable services because they profit from both.

If the bill doubles not because its a combination of more cable services, but because its cable services plus phone services, using those exact same facilities, then the bill increases because the use of that facility is more valuable, Don Knight, a Dallas assistant city attorney, told the Senate Business and Commerce Committee earlier this month.

Hancocks bill has passed out of that committee, and its companion legislation, House Bill 3535, is scheduled for a hearing Monday before the State Affairs Committee. The bills author, state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, chairs the committee.

The main sticking point for the bills opponents  primarily city officials  is the financial hit they say it would deliver to cities general funds, which typically underwrite public safety, waste management, libraries and parks, among other areas.

Turner has said Houston would take a particularly big hit because the city already operates under a vote-imposed revenue cap and faces a projected $197 million budget deficit that has been widened by Proposition B, the November referendum that grants firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding status and would cost Houston at least $80 million, according to city estimates.

Dallas, meanwhile, would lose about $9.3 million in revenue, while San Antonios revenue would fall by about $8 million, according to estimates from both cities. When presented with Dallas estimate at the business and commerce committee hearing, Hancock, the bill author who also chairs the committee, was skeptical that the cuts would require public safety layoffs.

The problem I have is their budget is $1.37 billion, Hancock said. ...$9.3 million out of a $1.37 billion budget, its hard to believe theyre going to go immediately and fire fire(fighters) and policemen.

Houston, meanwhile, would lose $17 million to $27 million in annual revenue, Turner said. Officials in his administration said the loss would require city layoffs.

The mayors plan to fund Prop. B, which did not come with a funding source, will already require the city to employ 378 fewer firefighters next fiscal year, according to Fire Chief Sam Pena. Turner also has asked city departments to cut their budgets by at least 3 percent, which would produce about 100 municipal layoffs.

If the bill becomes law, Turner said, it would have a huge adverse impact on Houston. The mayor acknowledged that Comcast and AT&T would stand to benefit from the bill, but he said company executives had told him they did not push for the legislation.

"My ask is that they will look at the impact that this bill will have on the city as a whole, on their customers, on their business operations, and on fire and police and municipal workers, Turner said.

Still, the bills advocates contend that the dual fee is outdated, in part because they say cities are not additionally burdened when they provide right of way for phone and cable services that are now transmitted over a single line.

Walter Baum, president of the Texas Cable Association, noted that people who stream shows on Netflix, for instance, do not pay the same fees as those who subscribe to cable.

With customers accessing video and voice in so many different ways, we believe this update is needed, Baum said.

Cities have collected franchise fees from telecom companies since 2000, while collecting cable fees since 2005. Houston officials noted that the city has not raised its franchise rates in more than 10 years, while collecting less revenue from franchise fees than it did a decade ago.

Houston and San Antonio officials also argue that the bill would provide disproportionate benefits to the largest telecom companies, which are generally the ones who pay cable franchise fees and right-of-way access line charges.

There are concerns that the bill will  give the large joint telecom and cable companies a competitive advantage against the small telecom companies, said Russell Huff, San Antonios assistant finance director, when testifying before the business and commerce committee.

In a letter to Hancock, Turner also contended that the legislation violates the Texas Constitution by allowing companies to gift public property to companies who would be exempt from one of the fees.

Turner also wrote that the bill would make it difficult to set annual budgets because cities would collect different amounts of revenue from providers each year and be given little time to adjust if they under-budget. Yushan Chang, a Houston assistant city attorney, also contended that right-of-way access in major urban areas should be valued differently than in less densely populated cities  which she said the bill does not do.

Otherwise, officials who say the Legislature is already squeezing municipal budgets through proposed revenue caps believe the bill imposes further unreasonable belt tightening.

$8 million is a big hit to our general fund any time, said Jeff Coyle, San Antonios director of government and public affairs. But in a legislative session where theyre already talking about capping our property tax revenue growth at 2.5 percent, another $8 million on top of that is devastating.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

twitter.com/jaspschererPoliticians, judges and victim advocates convened Friday with a crew of four-legged specialists and their handlers at South Texas College of Law Houston to announce a measure that would allow trained dogs to be in federal courtrooms to support witnesses.

The Dogs as Witness Guardians Act  or DAWG  would give federal judges the authority to permit certified dogs to be inside courtrooms during hearings.Sheriff's deputies are searching for a missing 12-year-old girl who they say was last spotted at the 16600 block of Oarlock Court in northeast Harris County.

A sheriff's office helicopter also circled the area.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox

Hannah Diaz was reported missing at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies said. She was last seen Friday by her parents in their Crosby home.

It appears she left the house between midnight and 8 a.m. Saturday, according to a flier posted on Twitter by the Office of Harris County Constable Precinct 3. She was last seen wearing dark jeans and a green army sweater.

Officials urged anyone with information about Diaz to call 713-221-6000.

RELATED: Police searching for suspect in SW Houston

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.Police on Saturday arrested two robbers who they say made off with more than $100,000 from a Houston bank.

The robbers fled the scene and led police on a high-speed chase after officers responded to reports of a robbery at Compass Bank on Richmond Avenue shortly before 10 a.m.Luis Arroyo briefly escaped from the Bexar County Jail, where he was being held on a capital murder charge, on March 2, 2018.

For that hour of freedom Arroyo was sentenced to 99 years in prison on Friday, according to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

Although escaping from a correctional facility is typically a third-degree felony, the charge was upgraded because Arroyo was found to be a habitual offender, according to a district attorney's office spokesperson.

Arroyo, allegedly along with Jacob Brownson and Eric Trevino, escaped from the jail by climbing 20 feet up the jail's recreation area, cutting a hole in mesh wiring and climbing down onto a roof using bedsheets.

The three were aided by Arroyo's mother, a close friend of Trevino and Trevino's ex-girlfriend, authorities said. Those three were also charged in connection to the escape attempt.

READ MORE: Affidavit: Getaway driver for escaped Bexar County inmates picked them up with child in car

Arroyo, Brownson and Trevino were brought back into custody about an hour after their escape when they were discovered at a Sonic restaurant, officials said.

Brownson and Trevino, who were also being held on capital murder charges, have not yet been tried for the escape attempt, court records showed.

Shortly after the escape, Arroyo was tried for capital murder, but the case resulted in a mistrial in July 2018 after the jury deadlocked.

Prosecutors plan to retry Arroyo on the murder charge, a district attorney spokesperson said Friday.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | fsabawi@mysa.com|@FaresInSAROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Altercation, Center Ridge Road: On March 20, a fight was reported at the Swinging Door between a man and a woman. The couple was gone when officers arrived. No one in the bar reported seeing or hearing anything.

Drugs, Center Ridge Road: On March 20, a man was reported passed out behind the wheel in the drive-through at McDonalds. There were indications of opiate abuse, and an officer administered naloxone before the man was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

A 3-year-old child was in the car and was taken to the Rocky River Police Department to be identified. Once released from the hospital, the 22-year-old man from North Royalton was arrested.

The childs mother, 25, of Cleveland, who had been dropped off at a friends house in Fairview Park moments earlier, was found and arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant from North Olmsted. The child was released to a family member.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man is accused of punching a 78-year-old man and taking $478 from him during a New Years Eve robbery.

Glenn D. Favors, 45, is charged with aggravated robbery in the Dec. 31 incident on East 17th Street near Hamilton Avenue. Investigators arrested him Thursday, the same day he was charged in the case, court records say.

He is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on $75,000 bond.

Favors confronted the 78-year-old man on Dec. 31 near the downtown intersection. He punched the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground, court records say.

He took $478 from the man, who required medical attention after the robbery, court records say.

Court records do not specify how investigators identified Favors as a suspect in the robbery.

Favors demanded a preliminary hearing during his arraignment Saturday in Cleveland Municipal Court. The hearing is scheduled April 9.

Favors has a lengthy criminal history dating back nearly three decades. Hes previously been convicted of robbery, grand theft motor vehicle, theft and drug possession, according to Cuyahoga County court records.

He pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to theft charges stemming from a June 8, 2018 incident in Cleveland. A judge sentenced him to 10 days in jail, court records say.

To comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments page.CLEVELAND, Ohio  The logo for Ohio City Pizzeria is more than a logo.

You can tell it's a piece of pizza, with three stars on the slice. Someone might see the stars and think of pepperoni, or see the similarity in Ohio City street signs that dot the neighborhood.

John Litten sees goals.

"We dont want to lose who we are in creating it," said Litten, executive director of the West Side Catholic Center. "We dont want to be so separate in creating it or why we're here. It also embraces Ohio City."

What the center is building, with help from restaurateur Brandon Chrostowski, is more than a pizza place. It's a haven, employment opportunities for folks who need a job. Its target opening date is late spring/early summer at 3223 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland.

The center bought the pizzeria about a year ago and kept it open for a few months before shutting it down to renovate and figure its specific mission.

As Litten said, the center wanted to "hit the pause button and determine our best path forward."

And, he said, "That path forward is really three goals."

Through the pizzeria, he said, the center wants to "provide employment opportunities for the people we already serve." Jobs aren't guaranteed: "We want them to work toward whatever roles are available there." The plus side for workers, Litten said, is that the center sits on a thoroughfare with bus routes.

"If they can get here, they can get to work," he said.

The second goal revolves around "being able to tell the story of our center through a pizzeria," Litten said.

"We want everything we say and do about the pizzeria to be about the center. We feel its a best-kept secret in Cleveland. We dont want to put that under a bushel or basket."

The third goal targets financial sustainability.

"Should the pizzeria be able to be profitable, that goes into supporting this place," he said. "It's an added revenue stream for the center. Thats why in our logo we have three stars - three goals."

The West Side Catholic Center - a non-profit organization that is not affiliated with the Cleveland Diocese - has been around for more than 40 years. Founded with the simple but critical mission of providing food and clothing for the needy, it has remained a key part of its Ohio City neighborhood. It also expanded its footprint to include housing options and is creating a philanthropic compound in the neighborhood.

The main building houses administrative offices, donation center and dining room. And while food and clothing remains the center's "bread and butter," Litten said, the 7,500 people served annually also benefit from employment advocacy and housing options.

The stand-alone shelter is one of four places that provide a haven for families in Cuyahoga County, and works with female veterans and children. Economic opportunities include job preparation, pre-GED classes and some heath care, he said. It does all this through a solid volunteer corps; Litten said there are about three or four for every paid staff member. A third of its funding is government-based, a third comes from foundation grants, and a third is from individual donations and events.

"I like to think we help people find the highest hanging fruit," he said. "People who didnt think they could find work - the traumatized, the homeless."

What the center has not had, he said, is an on-site program "to hire people into."

That is, until it bought the nearby pizzeria.

The goal will be to "keep the old favorites and affordable favorites, and augment the menu" with Italian dishes - calzone, some good salads, pastas. At least 80 percent of the old business was carryout or delivery, Litten said.

To accomplish that, the center is working with Chrostowski to get the pizzeria up and running.

Chrostowski - who owns Edwins Leadership and Restaurant in Shaker Square and consulted on the opening of Serenite in Medina - knows about merging financially viable businesses with second-chance options. Edwins hires recently incarcerated individuals who have been released, and Serenite works with recovering addicts. He also opened Edwins Butcher Shop in Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood.

When completed, the pizzeria will be able to accommodate 25 to 30 seats. It will connect with online delivery services. The center expects to hire eight to 10 people, mostly kitchen help. And it is waiting on a liquor license so people can enjoy a glass of wine with their Italian meal.

"We're just so excited about this opportunity to be able to open a business, yes, but do so much more," Litten said.

Related coverage

Ohio City Pizzeria to transform into non-profit

Edwins Butcher Shop opens

What Serenite is about

Dining review: Serenite

Dining review: Edwins Butcher ShopCLEVELAND, Ohio  Certainly there are lots of outstanding Mexican restaurants in our region beyond Cuyahoga County.

Of the more than 600 nominations weve received so far for Northeast Ohios Best Mexican Restaurant contest, a huge majority are for eateries in Cuyahoga County.

Lagging behind are representatives from the following counties: Lake, Geauga, Lorain, Summit, Medina and Portage. We bet you have some favorite amazing Mexican restaurants in those counties and were asking you to please nominate them for inclusion in the contest.

All you have to do is fill out this quick and easy form below. Hurry, the deadline is Sunday at 6 p.m.

Remember, were looking for the whole enchilada: a welcoming atmosphere, great food and drink, and even a sense we had gone south of the border for our experience, as well as a menu that features, well, the whole enchilada -- tacos, chimichangas, flautas, burritos, chili relleno, everything that makes a great Mexican restaurant great.

You also can see a list of restaurants that have been nominated as of Thursday afternoon.

Restaurants must be independent or an Ohio-based chain with at least one location within our seven-county coverage area of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Geauga and Lake counties.

COMING TUESDAY: ONLINE POLL TO DETERMINE FINALISTS

Once we have decided on our final list of nominees, readers will vote in an online poll to determine the finalists. Voting in the poll begins Tuesday, April 2. You may vote once each hour until the poll closes on Tuesday, April 9 at 9 a.m.

Once readers have determined the finalists, Clevelands Best reporting team of Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez will hit the road to visit your finalists April 16-May 13. They will take in the whole experience, everything from the atmosphere to the chips and salsa to the fajitas and flan.

We will publish our opinions on the foods, along with lots of photos and video from each restaurant.

We will also publish our schedule of visits in mid-April. You are invited to meet up with us at the restaurants to sample the food as well.

In the end, we will name an ultimate winner and Top 10, as well as our delicious superlative winners such as Best Guacamoles, Best Margaritas, Best Chimichangas.

WHERE SHOULD WE ALL CELEBRATE CINCO DE MAYO?

Yes, well be doing the heavy lifting of tasting all the incredible foods our finalists create, but our readers still will have work to do as well.

Once the list of finalists is published -- around April 12 -- youll be voting in an another online poll to tell us where we should hold a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 5.

Youll vote, and, hopefully, will join us at the party, either at the restaurant or by watching the fiesta on cleveland.coms Facebook page.

But for now, please get to nominating your favorite Mexican restaurant -- one or the ones that need to be in this contest.CLEVELAND, Ohio  The godmother of a 4-year-old boy killed in January and her boyfriend were arrested Friday in Michigan on charges related to the childs death.

U.S. Marshals arrested Joanna Vega, 31, and Romaine Tolbert, 36, at a home in Adrian, Michigan, about 40 miles northwest of Toledo.

They will be extradited back to Cleveland to face charges of murder, gross abuse of a corpse, child endangering and other charges, the U.S. Marshals said in a statement.

They are accused of killing Eliazar Ruiz and hiding his body in the backyard of a home on Longmead Avenue.

The two have been on the run from police since their Jan. 15 indictment. The U.S. Marshals made the duo Fugitive of the Week after they failed to show up for their Jan. 29 arraignment.

Eliazar died sometime between March 1, 2015 and Sept. 20, 2017, according to the indictment.

A tree pruner found his remains Sept. 20, 2017 hidden in a garbage bag tucked under shrubs at a home on Longmead Avenue just east of West 130th Street in the citys Longmead-Puritas neighborhood.

The pruner cut open the bag with shears and saw Eliazars full skeleton, according to police reports. The house sat had vacant for several months after a fire and was under renovation at the time he made the discovery, neighbors said at the time.

Eliazar had been dead for several months before the worker discovered his remains, Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson previously said.

Cleveland police launched an investigation, but it stalled after police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner struggled to identify the remains.

Gilsons office was unable to determine how the child died but ruled the death a homicide. Gilson said that Eliazars was indicative of a child his age and it appeared that he was well nourished. Both of Eliazars arms were broken, including a recent fracture of his left arm, according to the indictment.

Kent State University assistant anthropology professor Linda Spurlock created a forensic sketch using the remains that authorities released on Dec. 6, 2017 in the hopes that someone would recognize the child.

The medical examiner on Jan. 24 identified the Eliazars remains after his mother, Ashley Makuhan, saw the sketch on the news and called police. Tests confirmed the remains matched Eliazars DNA.

Makuhan had been in jail and prison since Feb. 7, 2017 and placed in Eliazar in care of Vega, his godmother, and Tolbert in 2015, Makuhan told cleveland.com last year in an interview while she was still in prison.

Makuhan has two other children, according to court records. She had cases with the Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services that ended in findings that she provided insufficient parental care for her two other children in 2009 and 2010.

She did not have any children under her care in 2012, the last time Children and Family Services had contact with her, a Cuyahoga County spokeswoman previously said.

Cuyahoga County prosecutors filed for emergency custody for Vega and Tolberts three other children  between the ages of 8 and 14  after Jan. 15 indictment.College is expensive, but there is one place in higher education where there's no shortage of money  endowments. There's more than $616 billion worth of endowments assets in the U.S. Most of that endowment wealth lies with a few affluent schools, such as Harvard with its $39.2 billion.

Lawmakers are starting to question why tuition is still rising if some schools have billions of dollars. Most schools only spend about 5 percent of their endowment every year. The rest is invested to grow the endowment even larger. And that's where things get complicated.

Universities with big endowments have a lot of power, and that power draws the eyes of both investors and activists. Investors look to endowments as inspiration for their strategies, and activists have gone after multimillion- and sometimes billion-dollar investments in things like fossil fuel companies, Puerto Rico debt and private prisons.

In 2017, Trump's tax bill started to chip away at those universities' tax-exempt status, adding a 1.4 percent tax on endowment income at schools with more than 500 students and $500,00 per student.

Watch the video above to learn how college endowments helped fuel the rise of wealth in American higher education.Impossible Aerospace founder and CEO Spencer Gore hopes to make self-flying electric planes that would make jet fuel  and the pollution from burning it  obsolete. But he's starting small by building battery-powered electric drones. The company's flagship product, dubbed the US-1, can fly for about two hours on a single charge, about as long as a helicopter can fly on a full tank. Gore describes the small unmanned aerial vehicle half-jokingly as "a battery with propellers attached." More than half of the mass of the US-1 is made of battery cells and the entire structure serves as one big battery pack.

Impossible Aerospace US-1 drone Andrew Evers

Impossible Aerospace shares DNA, and a clean energy mission, with Tesla. Before he caught the start-up bug, Gore worked as an intern at two Elon Musk-led companies, SpaceX and Tesla. He was offered an internship at the electric vehicle maker in 2014, and and later became a full-time battery engineer there. He accepted the internship even though he was still working on an engineering degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Rather than dropping out of college like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, Gore decided to lead a double life. He convinced his professors he would be able to mail in his assignments, and travel back and forth between Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, California and their campus for exams. To save money and eliminate commute time, Gore even lived in an RV in the parking lot at Tesla for six months while finishing up his degree. He has no regrets. "Honestly that was that was one of the happiest times of my life," he recalls. "If you think about the two things that stress people out in Silicon Valley the most it's commuting and paying rent. If you if you don't have to do those two things, life is pretty good."

Spencer Gore's RV

Gore says he learned some important lessons about shipping new products and keeping teams focused through major challenges during his tenure at Tesla. In the years that he worked there, Tesla was perfecting the design and manufacturing processes for battery modules that power its Model S, Model X and Model 3 electric cars. Both Tesla and Impossible Aerospace created their vehicles thinking about battery needs first. Other companies tend to start by designing their vehicles first, and battery later. That can lead to cars or aircraft that aren't as efficient and don't perform as well, Gore said.

Replacing helicopters for some first responders

Drones have become a valuable tool during emergencies, because they can be launched within minutes to give first responders situational awareness, fight fires from above or help search and rescue operations. They're even beginning to replace helicopters in some cases. Impossible Aerospace research found that there are around 18,000 municipal police departments across the US, and around 32,000 fire departments, but only sixty municipalities have access to a helicopter. That's partly because a police-grade helicopter can cost millions of dollars. "A drone can provide about half of the utility of a helicopter at less than 1 percent of the price," Gore says. "It can even be more useful than a helicopter, because a drone can fly lower and get in closer to evaluate dangerous situations." The start-up is flying its US-1 drones on behalf of first responders in Santa Clara County, near its headquarters, to demonstrate the drones' potential and teach officers how to fly them.

Impossible Aerospace US-1 Impossible AerospaceBottles of Purdue Pharma L.P. OxyContin medication. George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Sacklers  the billionaire family whose privately held company is accused of playing a central role in the U.S. opioid epidemic  are stepping away from philanthropy as negative press and legal action mount against them. Several members of the Sackler family own and control Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical giant facing a string of lawsuits over its alleged role in the crisis. In some of the litigation, members of the family have been named alongside the company as defendants. The Sackler Trust, the family's charitable organization, has donated millions of dollars to charities and institutions, but announced this week it was halting new donations in the U.K. In a statement emailed to CNBC Monday, trust chairwoman Theresa Sackler said she was "deeply saddened" by the addiction crisis in the U.S., adding that she continued to reject the "false allegations" made against Purdue and several members of the Sackler family. "The current press attention that these legal cases in the United States is generating has created immense pressure on the scientific, medical, educational and arts institutions here in the U.K., large and small, that I am so proud to support. This attention is distracting them from the important work that they do," she said. "The Trustees of the Sackler Trust have taken the difficult decision to temporarily pause all new philanthropic giving, while still honoring existing commitments. I remain fully committed to all the causes the Sackler Trust supports, but at this moment it is the better course for the Trust to halt all new giving until we can be confident that it will not be a distraction for institutions that are applying for grants." Later on Monday, The Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation  the charity overseen by other members of the family  said in a statement that it would also suspend new donations in line with the Sackler Trust's decision.

The opioid crisis

Purdue is the producer of OxyContin, a prescription drug used to treat moderate to severe pain that first came on the market in 1996. OxyContin is around 50 percent stronger than morphine. The company has been accused of downplaying the drug's addiction risk and advising doctors to prescribe the highest dosage of the painkiller because it was more profitable. On Thursday, the New York attorney general expanded an existing lawsuit against Purdue Pharma to add members of the family as defendants. Just a day earlier, Purdue Pharma reached an agreement with the Oklahoma attorney general's office to settle a lawsuit that accused it of helping ignite the nationwide opioid crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, almost 218,000 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2017, while a study published earlier this year claimed Americans are now more likely to die from an opioid overdose than a car accident. A spokesperson for Purdue told CNBC last week that the firm was "deeply concerned" about the opioid crisis and had led industry efforts to combat prescription drug abuse. "We recognize that more needs to be done and that's why we launched a long-term initiative that continues to build as we pursue a range of solutions that we believe will have a meaningful impact," the spokesperson said in an email.

Rising pressure

The Sacklers' suspension of U.K. donations comes amid mounting pressure on institutions to refuse funding from the family. Last week, the trust rescinded an offer of a $1.3 million grant to the U.K.'s National Portrait Gallery to "avoid being a distraction" to the museum. Days later, art gallery group Tate announced it would no longer accept gifts from the Sacklers.

The Sacklers also saw their money expelled from hedge fund Hildene Capital Management this month, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a statement to the Journal, hedge fund manager Brett Jefferson said: "The weight on my conscience led me to terminate the relationship." Campaigners are also calling on institutions to strip the family's name from their buildings. Earlier this year, photographer Nan Goldin's campaign group Sackler PAIN led a protest against Sackler funding at New York's Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim  which received $9 million in gifts from the Sacklers between 1995 and 2015  confirmed to CNBC on Friday last week it would no longer accept Sackler donations. Elsewhere, Daniel Weiss, president and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, told CNBC via email that the Met was conducting a review of its gift acceptance policies and had not received a gift from the Sacklers for two years. Despite the shift away from Sackler funding, institutions have yet to make moves to remove the family's name from their walls  and they may be unable to. Harvard University's Arthur M. Sackler Museum and the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery were both funded by donations made in the 1980s, decades before OxyContin was invented. "Given these circumstances and legal and contractual considerations, Harvard does not have plans to remove Dr Sackler's name from the museum," a Harvard spokesperson said via email. Similarly, a spokesperson for The Smithsonian told CNBC the museum had a legally binding contract which meant its Arthur M. Sackler Gallery would keep its name "in perpetuity." "(Our) new policy limits the naming of a space to a term of 20 years or until (its) next major renovation," they said. Speaking to CNBC on the phone last week, author L.A. Kauffman  a member of Sackler PAIN  said the group would continue its "fight for accountability." "Museums (are) white washing the reputation of a family that is directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people  But the tide is turning against them," she said.

Considering bankruptcyChina has never forced debt upon participants of its new Silk Road project as "prejudiced" critics have suggested, the country's top diplomat said on Saturday in a strongly worded defense of a key policy platform of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi's Belt and Road Initiative, as it is formally called, envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending.

But it has proved controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as merely a means to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries with unsustainable debt through non-transparent projects.

The United States has been particularly critical of Italy's decision to sign up to the plan this month, during Xi's visit to Rome, the first for a G7 nation.

Speaking to the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, Yang Jiechi, who runs the party's foreign affairs committee, said he had noted that some in the international community believed this was a geopolitical tool and would only bring debt traps for participating countries.

"This obviously shows a lack of objectivity and fair understanding of the Belt and Road initiative. It is a misunderstanding, misjudgment and is even prejudiced," wrote Yang, a former foreign minister and ambassador to Washington.

China has stressed many times that the Belt and Road is to promote joint development, he added.

"The Belt and Road is open, inclusive and transparent. It does not play little geopolitical games. It does not engage in the exclusion of exclusive small circles."

Yang noted that many countries, companies and ordinary people participating in the Belt and Road project had "publicly refuted rumors" about it being a debt trap.

Belt and Road projects, from their selection to their financing, go through careful risk assessments and the initiative's principles stress sustainable development, he said.

"For cooperative partners who have debt difficulties, China's principle is to appropriately resolve this through friendly consultations, and has never pushed or forced debt" on anyone, Yang added.

To date no participating country has faced a debt crisis  to the contrary many countries have been able to escape the "no development trap", he wrote.

China will hold its second Belt and Road summit in Beijing in late April.

Yang said almost 40 foreign leaders would take part, but did not name them. Some of China's closest allies have already confirmed they will come, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.Facebook is also creating an independent body so people can appeal its decisions. Zuckerberg said Facebook is currently working with governments, including French officials, to make sure its systems to review content are effective.

Zuckerberg also called for governments to pass legislation to regulate political ads on the Internet, saying despite Facebook's efforts, it is difficult to determine when an ad should be considered political.



"Our systems would be more effective if regulation created common standards for verifying political actors," Zuckerberg said.



The Facebook CEO also endorsed a global framework to protect people's privacy along the lines of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation: "I believe it would be good for the internet if more countries adopted regulation such as GDPR as a common framework," Zuckerberg said.



He also called for regulation to guarantee data portability, ensuring that users can move data between services. Zuckerberg endorsed a standard data transfer format toward this end.

"This is important for the internet  and for creating services people want," he said. "But this requires clear rules about who's responsible for protecting information when it moves between services."

Read the full statement from Mark Zuckerberg:



Technology is a major part of our lives, and companies such as Facebook have immense responsibilities. Every day we make decisions about what speech is harmful, what constitutes political advertising, and how to prevent sophisticated cyberattacks. These are important for keeping our community safe. But if we were starting from scratch, we wouldn't ask companies to make these judgments alone.

I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators. By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what's best about it  the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things  while also protecting society from broader harms.

From what I've learned, I believe we need new regulation in four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.

First, harmful content. Facebook gives everyone a way to use their voice, and that creates real benefits  from sharing experiences to growing movements. As part of this, we have a responsibility to keep people safe on our services. That means deciding what counts as terrorist propaganda, hate speech and more. We continually review our policies with experts, but at our scale we'll always make mistakes and decisions that people disagree with.

Lawmakers often tell me we have too much power over speech, and frankly I agree. I've come to believe that we shouldn't make so many important decisions about speech on our own. So we're creating an independent body so people can appeal our decisions. We're also working with governments, including French officials, on ensuring the effectiveness of content review systems.

Internet companies should be accountable for enforcing standards on harmful content. It's impossible to remove all harmful content from the internet, but when people use dozens of different sharing services  all with their own policies and processes  we need a more standardized approach.

One idea is for third-party bodies to set standards governing the distribution of harmful content and measure companies against those standards. Regulation could set baselines for what's prohibited and require companies to build systems for keeping harmful content to a bare minimum.

Facebook already publishes transparency reports on how effectively we're removing harmful content. I believe every major internet service should do this quarterly, because it's just as important as financial reporting. Once we understand the prevalence of harmful content, we can see which companies are improving and where we should set the baselines.

Second, legislation is important for protecting elections. Facebook has already made significant changes around political ads: Advertisers in many countries must verify their identities before purchasing political ads. We built a searchable archive that shows who pays for ads, what other ads they ran and what audiences saw the ads. However, deciding whether an ad is political isn't always straightforward. Our systems would be more effective if regulation created common standards for verifying political actors.

Online political advertising laws primarily focus on candidates and elections, rather than divisive political issues where we've seen more attempted interference. Some laws only apply during elections, although information campaigns are nonstop. And there are also important questions about how political campaigns use data and targeting. We believe legislation should be updated to reflect the reality of the threats and set standards for the whole industry.

Third, effective privacy and data protection needs a globally harmonized framework. People around the world have called for comprehensive privacy regulation in line with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, and I agree. I believe it would be good for the internet if more countries adopted regulation such as GDPR as a common framework.

New privacy regulation in the United States and around the world should build on the protections GDPR provides. It should protect your right to choose how your information is used  while enabling companies to use information for safety purposes and to provide services. It shouldn't require data to be stored locally, which would make it more vulnerable to unwarranted access. And it should establish a way to hold companies such as Facebook accountable by imposing sanctions when we make mistakes.

I also believe a common global framework  rather than regulation that varies significantly by country and state  will ensure that the internet does not get fractured, entrepreneurs can build products that serve everyone, and everyone gets the same protections.

As lawmakers adopt new privacy regulations, I hope they can help answer some of the questions GDPR leaves open. We need clear rules on when information can be used to serve the public interest and how it should apply to new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Finally, regulation should guarantee the principle of data portability. If you share data with one service, you should be able to move it to another. This gives people choice and enables developers to innovate and compete.

This is important for the internet  and for creating services people want. It's why we built our development platform. True data portability should look more like the way people use our platform to sign into an app than the existing ways you can download an archive of your information. But this requires clear rules about who's responsible for protecting information when it moves between services.

This also needs common standards, which is why we support a standard data transfer format and the open source Data Transfer Project.

I believe Facebook has a responsibility to help address these issues, and I'm looking forward to discussing them with lawmakers around the world. We've built advanced systems for finding harmful content, stopping election interference and making ads more transparent. But people shouldn't have to rely on individual companies addressing these issues by themselves. We should have a broader debate about what we want as a society and how regulation can help. These four areas are important, but, of course, there's more to discuss.

The rules governing the internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people's lives. It's time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward.

Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019.

Social media executives could spend up to three years in prison and their firms be fined 10 percent of their turnover if they fail to quickly remove violent material from their platforms, according to a new law proposed by the Australian government.

The March 15 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 worshippers were killed at two mosques was carried out by a suspected white supremacist who livestreamed the killings on Facebook, raising criticism of the role of social media in society.

"Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists," Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.

"It should not just be a matter of just doing the right thing. It should be the law."

If the law passes, it will be a criminal offence for companies, such as Facebook and Alphabet's Google, which owns YouTube, not to "expeditiously" remove the "abhorrent violent content". Juries would decide whether the content was removed fast enough.

The government will present the law to the parliament next week  its expected final week before the federal election.

Morrison has also said that Australia has created a task force between government and social media companies to tackle the issue and wants to put it on the agenda for the summit of the G20 leaders in Japan in June.

The Australian government said it has met earlier in the week with social media companies, including Facebook, but that the outcome of the talks was not satisfactory.

"(They) did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch," Mitch Fifield, Australia's minister for communications, said in a statement on Saturday.

Facebook on Friday said it was exploring restrictions on who can access their live video-streaming service, depending on factors such as previous violations of the site's community standards.

Facebook earlier this week banned praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism.

Should Australia move with the introduction of the new law, the individual fines of up to 10 percent of global revenues could be hefty.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, speaking to MSNBC's Chris Hayes on March 29, 2019 at an "All In" town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared in a MSNBC town hall on Friday and forcefully defended her Green New Deal and called climate change "our greatest existential threat."

"We don't have time for five years of a half-baked, watered-down position," Ocasio-Cortez said during the "All In" town hall hosted by MSNBC's Chris Hayes. "This is urgent, and to think we have time is such a privileged and removed-from-reality attitude."

Ocasio-Cortez championed the Green New Deal with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. The ambitious proposal to fight climate change came up for vote Tuesday in the GOP-controlled Senate but failed to advance.

Even some Democrats in Congress have sought to distance themselves from the Green New Deal. Republicans, meantime, are trying to turn the progressive plan into a wedge issue in the 2020 elections.

She said the Green New Deal was intentionally written for the American people and not necessarily for her congressional colleagues.

"This is not a partisan issue, because there are Democrats who will get in the way of us saving ourselves," Ocasio-Cortez told to the town hall audience at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx. "We encourage everyone here to look it up. I'm here not to convince my colleagues, but the electorate."

According to Ocasio-Cortez, if the American voters end up making the plan a priority or show overwhelming support for it, then there's "political room to pass it."

"A lot of what the Green New Deal is, is about shifting our political, economic and social paradigm on every issue," she said. "Because we don't have time to wait."

The Green New Deal includes a series of goals for fighting climate change and pollution as well as calling for economic and social justice reforms.

"This issue is not just about our climate," said the 29-year-old lawmaker. She said there's "runaway income equality" and the economy isn't producing and innovating like it needs to be for the American people.

Also, she said it was important to transition away from fossil fuel jobs to new energy jobs as part of a shift in the economy to help fight climate change.

The congresswoman also fought back against criticism that the Green New Deal was too broad or lofty.

"First of all, we've been here before," she said. "We've been here before with the Great Depression, we've been here before with World War II, even the Cold War. And the answer has been an ambitious and directed mobilization of the American economy to direct and solve our biggest problem."

She went on to say the climate crisis along with economic and social inequality are far too serious to ignore.

"To get us out of this situation, to revamp our economy, to create dignified jobs for working Americans, to guarantee health care and elevate our educational opportunities and attainment, we will have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet," said Ocasio-Cortez

The plan has been ridiculed by some Republicans and right-wing media as "a socialist manifesto" and for mentioning the "farting cows" as a greenhouse gas problem.

Ocasio-Cortez said she expected the criticism of the Green New Deal plan but added, "I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves."

Finally, she rejected those who consider the Green New Deal as radical or socialist.

"This is not a Tea Party of the left," Ocasio-Cortez said. "This is a return to representative democracy."Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks to a crowd of marchers during the anti-Trump 'March for Truth' in El Paso, Texas, on February 11, 2019.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will hold a major rally in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, a city thrust to the center of America's immigration debate by President Donald Trump and the U.S government this week.

O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, will kick off three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S border with Mexico as soon as next week.

His rally in El Paso, which sits on the border with Mexico, has been long planned but the city became central to America's immigration debate this week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told a news conference in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day.

Trump, who says he is still determined to build a barrier along parts of the southern border, said on Friday: "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me."

He has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office but has not done so.

Trump and O'Rourke held dueling rallies in February in El Paso, which is already divided from Mexico by steel fencing.

Trump wants it reinforced and hundreds of miles of additional fencing built along the border. O'Rourke opposes any new border structures and opposition to Trump's border wall and immigration policies has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

They will again be a major part of his speeches in Texas on Saturday.

O'Rourke, who announced his White House campaign on March 14, shot to national prominence last year in an unexpectedly close race against incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

His Texas rallies will be watched via livestream at more than 1,000 locations across America, according to his campaign.

O'Rourke, 46, competes in a large Democratic field. More than a dozen candidates have joined the fight to become the candidate to take on Trump in 2020.

The O'Rourke campaign sent multiple requests to potential supporters for campaign donations before his rallies in El Paso, Houston and Austin on Saturday, a common practice among presidential hopefuls. The messages stressed the importance of donating before Sunday, the deadline for first quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.

O'Rourke smashed fundraising records as a Senate candidate and raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, the largest first-day haul of any announced candidate this year.

However, he has struggled to see a strong campaign work ethic translate into a significant boost in early polling.

O'Rourke trails former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by double digits, according to early polls among Democratic voters. Analysts warn that polls this early, before the first nominating votes are cast in Iowa in February 2020, are unreliable.

Biden has yet to join the race, although he is expected to announce his presidential candidacy soon.Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday.Here is a PDF of a report on the study by consultants Burns and McDonnell on the feasibility of a high-voltage power line project known as Option E. It was delivered to the city in July.Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.Brexit 1) Cabinet ministers urging May to accept no deal

EU leaders declare that leaving without a deal on April 12th is a likely scenario  Financial Times

Ask for another six months to prepare better suggests Lord King  The Times

European leaders react with shock and fury  Daily Telegraph

Raab backs no deal  Daily Mail

Cabinet ministers will attempt to take control of Brexit by telling Theresa May it is time to embrace no deal after her EU Withdrawal Agreement was rejected by MPs for a third time. Mrs May will hold a conference call with ministers on Sunday night amid calls for a Cabinet vote on how to proceed. Senior backbenchers said the Prime Minister had reached the end of the road and should now quit, but Mrs May stood firm and wants to put her deal to a Parliamentary vote for a fourth time next week. She hinted that if MPs refuse to follow her she might call a general election to break the impasse, warning MPs: I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.  Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday:

Brexit 2) Plans for a fourth vote on the Withdrawal Agreement

Theresa May and her cabinet are looking for ways to bring her EU withdrawal agreement back to the Commons for a fourth attempt at winning MPs backing. The PM said the UK would need an alternative way forward after her plan was defeated by 58 votes on Friday. MPs from all parties will test support for other options during a second round of indicative votes on Monday. But government sources have not ruled out a run-off between whichever proves most popular and the PMs Brexit plan.  BBC

Johnson, Rees-Mogg and Raab support deal but it isnt enough  The Times

Id rather stay in EU than back Theresa May deal, says the DUPs deputy leader  The Guardian

The deal is dead  Leader, The Guardian

>Today: ToryDiary: Three cheers for the Commons for the way it is conducting the necessary argument on Europe

Brexit 3) Growing risk of an early General Election

PM confronts choices she hoped never to face  Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times

Party bosses rally ground forces  The Times

It would be the third election within four years  Daily Mail

Snap poll could mean Labour wipeout in Scotland  The Times

Who would win?  Daily Telegraph

Brexit 4) Local association passes no confidence motion in Grieve

Theresa May put MPs on election alert yesterday after her Brexit plan was defeated a third time by dozens of Conservative rebels.Despite No 10s attempt to put on a brave face, though, Mrs May acknowledged that time was almost up for her plan. After yesterdays defeat, on the day when Britain had been scheduled to leave the EU, she told MPs: I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.  The Times

Dominic Grieve suffered further humiliation after his local Conservative association approved a no-confidence vote in him. The Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association voted against Mr Grieve, who represents the area as MP, on the grounds of his views on Brexit. The former Attorney General holds a 24,543 majority in Buckinghamshire and is a staunch supporter of the European Union. Although the BCCA passed the no-confidence vote, it does not automatically mean he will be deselected.  Daily Express

>Today: MPsETC: Grieve and Griffiths lose association confidence ballots

Brexit 5) Farage tells demonstrators there has been a betrayal

Pro-Brexit supporters take over Parliament Square  Financial Times

A British sense of disgruntlement  Patrick Kidd, The Times

Rage at the gates against the elites who ignored the people  Robert Hardman, Daily Mail

Brexit 6) Leadership rivals scramble to secure backing from Rudd

Nigel Farage spoke after yesterdays Brexit march in an attempt to inspire Leave supporters despite Brexit not taking place on March 29. Mr Farage insisted he was more determined to fight back against this political class after what he described as a Brexit betrayal. The LBC host began by saying: I believe that what has happened over there has not just turned this day, that should have been one of great celebration, into a day that history will mark as a day of betrayal.The crowd then exploded into cheers of support as chants of Nigel can be heard from the Brexiteers.  Daily Express

Theresa Mays defeat intensified calls for her departure as potential Brexit-supporting replacements scrambled to secure the backing of Amber Rudd. The work and pensions secretary has made clear that she will endorse potential Tory leadership candidates with strong one-nation credentials, rather than those who necessarily share her view on Brexit.The backing of Remain-voting Ms Rudd is emerging as a prized endorsement for Brexiteer candidates, given that she appeals to parts of the Conservative party that many Leave candidates do not. Ms Rudd is unlikely to run herself although friends say it is not inconceivable.  The Times

Brexit 7) Moore: The Conservatives must now be led by a Leaver

May is one of the least successful PMs in history  Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph

Despite its inadequacy, the Conservative Party remains the only available home for Brexit as an organised cause, and most of its membership agrees. From the Sixties until now, even under Mrs Thatcher, the Tory establishment has been pro-European and has forced the eurosceptical rank-and-file to lump it. Now that Mrs May has failed, and people like Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd and Greg Clark have actively sabotaged everything, this has to end and I believe it will. Instead of burning party cards, Brexiteers should be joining up.  Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph

Brexit 8) Oborne: My money is on Hunt to be the next Tory leader

In my view, the next Tory leader must come from the Centre of the party. It is a shame that Chancellor Philip Hammond is so bland. Otherwise he would be a steady-the-ship candidate. The TWO ministers with the best chance are Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Some time ago, I put money at long odds on Mr Hunt becoming leader. He is now a favourite, but by no means a certainty. Such is the current chaos that the field is open for someone talented from the younger generation of politicians to come through the ranks and show that they can end the rancid sectarianism which has done such damage to the Party.  Peter Oborne, Daily Mail

The next Tory leader faces a challenge to save the party  Camilla Cavendish, Financial Times

Do any of them have what it takes?  Camilla Tominey, Daily Telegraph

People have come forward and said theyd support me.  Interview with Esther McVey, The Times

Brexit 9) Forsyth: If MPs backs a Customs Union it would be hard for the Government to pursue it on negotiations

Brexit 10) Parris: Remainers must not compromise

If a customs union is what wins on Monday, the call is the most finely balanced. Negotiating one would, in the words of a Cabinet minister, be an enormous breach of the Tory manifesto. But fighting a whole Election on a customs union would be hard, if not impossible. You might want it to be a single-issue Election, this Cabinet minister admits. But it is going to cover a multitude of sins. For this reason, he concludes that a surprisingly small number of Cabinet members would have the courage to say, go for an Election.  James Forsyth, The Sun

And now the real battle begins. Its a battle Remainers can win, and these next few days may be critical. I see the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, has been calling for the spirit of compromise. Compromise? Compromise with these tinpot Brexiteers who would destroy Britains links with our biggest trading partner? Compromise with the gang who cheated voters with the lie of a Brexit that would offer all the benefits and none of the obligations of EU membership? Compromise with the bullies who called judges enemies of the people and accused Remainers of (in Mrs Mays words) subverting democracy? Compromise with the skulduggery of politicians who, offered the half-loaf of relinquishing our seat at the EUs top table while remaining subject to its rules, would take the half-loaf, and within days  days  start whipping up public anger at the arrangement? Compromise be damned.  Matthew Parris, The Times

Other comment

Javid launches stop and search blitz to fight knife crime

Goves plan to make cat owners microchip their pets

Sajid Javid will declare war on knife thugs next week by launching a Stop and Search blitz to end the bloodshed on British streets. The Home Secretary will rip up reforms instigated five years ago by Theresa May and give police far more power to challenge gang members. The Tory leadership contender is also expected on Monday to unveil a new Prevent-style public health programme that will treat would-be knife thugs like jihadi extremist. Under the changes to Stop and Search, cops in seven regions will no longer have to prove reasonable grounds are needed before stopping a suspect. Sources said the push will likely last for six months and be billed as a pilot scheme to spare the blushes of the PM. As well as London, South Yorkshire is one of the areas expected to be included in the pilot.  The Sun

Cat owners could soon be required by law to microchip their pet, Michael Gove has suggested. A plan to give moggies the same treatment as dogs  whose owners have had to chip them since 2015  was warmly welcomed by the cat-owning Environment Secretary.MP Rehman Chishti said he met Mr Gove after tabling a Bill seeking to ensure certain cats are microchipped. But there are no details of which breeds from the 11 million-strong cat population are affected.  The Sun

Warsi fears Gove becoming PM  The Guardian

Independent Group launch themselves as a political party

News in brief

Why I decided to vote for Theresa Mays deal  Michael Tomlinson, Brexit Central

A no-deal Brexit or general election are now likelier than ever  Robert Peston, The Spectator

Pointless and counter-productive  lets call time on Earth Hour  Eamonn Ives, CapX

A General Election is inevitable  Stephen Bush, New Statesman

At this rate we may never leave  John Rentoul, Independent

The Independent Group of MPs has launched its plan to be a political party in a bid for votes should a general election follow the Brexit impasse. The 11 MPs who split with their parties said yesterday that their new party would be called Change UK. They also revealed that it will be led, for now, by the former Tory MP Heidi Allen rather than the groups spokesman, Chuka Umunna. A long-term leader will be elected in September. The group is understood to be trying to keep its platform as open as possible, in order to attract more defections from both Labour and the Tories.  The TimesLord Lexden is the Conservative Partys official historian. His website can be found here.

My small pocket diary for 1979 contains a brief reference to my last meeting with Airey Neave. It took place in the morning of 30 March, the day on which he was murdered 40 years ago. He had been Conservative Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland since his brilliant success as manager of Margaret Thatchers campaign for the Tory leadership four years earlier. I had been his political adviser for nearly two years, following a stint as a history lecturer at Queens University, Belfast.

As I entered the Commons on a bright spring morning, I dont think anyone bothered to check the pass, printed on stiff card, that had been issued to me in the Conservative Research Department where I covered all aspects of Northern Ireland affairs, as well as doing everything required by Mr Neave (informality was quite out of the question in that era, which now seems strangely remote).

We met as usual in his dingy little room, which formed part of a collection of cramped offices assigned to the Shadow Cabinet. I was to inherit the books and papers in that room a few days later. It was a moment of high excitement in the Tory Party. Two days earlier Jim Callaghans government had been defeated by a single vote on a confidence motion, in which MPs from Northern Ireland had played a crucial part. Never before had Ulster Unionists helped prop up a Labour government. Neave had worked hard to bring them over to the Conservative side. The impending general election was largely the result of his efforts.

Neither then, nor later, did Thatcher care much for the Unionist MPs, among whom Enoch Powell was prominent, though she cared passionately about the maintenance of the Union with Northern Ireland. In opposition she left everything in Neaves hands.

Champagne did not await me on that fine spring morning forty years ago. High spirits were not in Neaves nature. He expressed cautious optimism about the forthcoming election campaign during our brief talk. We looked one last time at the Northern Ireland section of the election manifesto; he gave it formal approval so that the printer could begin work. The commitments were clear. A new Tory government would spare no effort to achieve  the defeat of terrorism and the restoration of law and order. It would also establish  one or more regional councils with a wide range of powers over local services.

In the absence of agreement among the Provinces unionist and nationalist parties on how devolved government could be recreated, we wanted to make some limited progress by putting the major public serviceshousing, education and healthback under democratic control, instead of leaving them in the hands of civil servants. Forty years on, we face exactly the same problem once again. Can Northern Ireland ever have stable devolved government since its principal parties are in such deep disagreement? In 1979 we were much influenced by words of the great Tory Unionist writer, Peter Utley, in his brilliant book, Lessons of Ulster . He predicted that a devolved government would be nothing but  a ramshackle coalition of incompatibles destined to collapse at the first impact with reality. Over the years since then, it has sometimes survived the first impact, but in the end reality has always caught up with it.

I left Neave, expecting to see him again after the election at the Northern Ireland Office where he had asked me to join him as his special adviser. The hugely popular Ian Gow, who had become his right-hand man in the Commons, was to be a central figure in his team of ministers, along with John Biggs-Davison, a wonderfully kind-hearted Catholic who had come to know Northern Ireland like the back of his hand during frequent visits to all parts of the Province. We were well prepared.

The car bomb exploded at 2.58 pm. I heard it clearly over a late lunch with a Northern Ireland friend at a nearby restaurant. Television brought home the full horror. It is impossible ever to forget the haunting pictures of the misshapen pale blue Vauxhall Cavalier marooned on the ramp leading from the underground Commons car park, surrounded by sheets of headed writing-paper blowing gently in the spring breeze.

Neave was the second sitting MP to be murdered in the twentieth century, fifty-seven years after Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, the top soldier in Whitehall during the First World War, who had become an Ulster Unionist MP in 1922. His killers, the IRA, struck again in 1990, murdering Ian Gow, the friend of so many across parties, outside his home near Eastbourne. Neave was a victim of a vicious splinter group who called themselves the Irish National Liberation Army.

Apart from masterminding the election of the first woman party leader and the terrible circumstances of his death, Neave tends to be remembered for just one thing: making the first escape from the supposedly impregnable Colditz prison in January 1942. Now at last the full story of a remarkable career has been told in an exemplary biography by Patrick Bishop, an expert on the Second World War who has also written about Irish republicanism. Undertaken with the full co-operation of the Neave family, it draws on diaries kept in early life and from 1973 until his death, as well as on interviews with friends and colleagues (including me), though not it seems on Neaves personal papers in the Parliamentary Archives.

Saturday became Neaves code name after his return in 1942 when he worked at the war-time MI9,the organisation entrusted with co-ordinating resistance fighters in occupied Western Europe who were smuggling out Allied prisoners and aircrews who had been shot down. Neaves agents included some courageous and resourceful women, every bit as capable and tough as men. He became a quasi-feminist. In some ways, Bishop writes, their qualities were an exalted manifestation of those that he would admire in Margaret Thatcher.

His devotion to the woman he described as really beautiful and brilliant began some years before he helped her gain the position which enabled her to become a great prime minister. Yet he was no Thatcherite disciple, sharing her free market beliefs. Like most Tories, he was happy with any economic policies as long as they were successful. Ted Heaths were not, and by 1974 Heath himself was too great an electoral liability to remain party leader, in the view of a wide cross-section of Tory opinion.

There is no evidence that Neave and Thatcher ever sat down for a serious policy discussion. She found him long-winded and unduly prone to anxiety. So did others. In his unpublished memoirs (not consulted by Bishop), Carol Mather, another war hero and fellow MP, noted that surprisingly as front bench spokesman, he needed a lot of support and reassurance. His morale from time to time needed boosting and I used to sit with him on the front bench.

My experience was exactly the same. Bishop deals well with the strong feelings of pessimism and insecurity which afflicted Neave, who wrote of them frequently in his diary. On New Years Day 1973, he confessed that he had serious doubts about remaining in Parliament. After 20 years in the House, it did not seem that I should ever achieve very much

Then, suddenly, everything changed. At a time when the IRA was under great pressure from the security forces and violence in Northern Ireland was falling, Neave saw a chance of bringing about their defeat. He hoped too to strengthen Northern Irelands Union with the rest of the country. Was it all utterly unrealistic? Forty years on, with a weakened Union and Ulsters political parties far apart, it may seem so. It did not at the time.

Would he have succeeded if he had lived? I dont know. The Northern Ireland Office, which had (and has)a number of unscrupulous civil servants, was flatly opposed to his policies. The Foreign Office infuriated Neave in 1978 by questioning Northern Irelands  moral right to be part of the UK. The Irish Republic, with its powerful American allies in Congress, would have worked unremittingly against us. Everything would have depended on whether the Conservative Party held firm to its traditional support for the Union, and kept its nerve in the face of formidable difficulties. That is not something the Conservative Party is always good at doing.

Neave scorned police protection. He told the Met that  if as an Englishman he could not walk the streets of London freely, life for him was truly not worth living. Carol Mather thought that having survived the war, he felt himself inviolate thereafter. No one has ever been brought to justice for his murder. Police files on the case are closed until 2079. According to Bishop, who has followed up all the available leads meticulously , one of those involved now runs a bar in Mallorca where, amid Republican memorabilia,  he serves drinks to holidaymakers who do not know or do not care about his past.

The Man who was Saturday: The Extraordinary Life of Airey Neave, Soldier, Escaper, Spymaster, Politician. Patrick Bishop, William Collins, 20 (hardback)Three cheers for the Commons for the way it is conducting the necessary argument on Europe

These are great days in the House of Commons. The debate about Europe which has divided the country for so long is being fought out in the cockpit of the nation.

The news that the Commons has not yet resolved the problem should not be taken as a sign of failure. In due course a way forward will be found, if necessary after a new Commons has been elected.

And the Commons is not just there to be efficient. It is also there to ask awkward questions, and if MPs are not satisfied, to go on asking them over and over again.

But there is a fashion, after any setback such as the Government suffered yesterday, for saying how ridiculous our Parliament looks. Commentators like to dismiss its proceedings as farcical, and to claim, with a questionable grasp of history, that MPs have never been more despised.

The man in the saloon bar is at all times fond of declaring that politicians are all the same and only in it for the money.

And as a reporter, one may find oneself under a professional obligation to treat MPs as power-hungry maniacs who sell out their principles at the first hint of office. Such scepticism is no doubt healthier than an attitude of subservience.

Our idea of liberty has long been bound up with the right to be bloody rude to anyone with the slightest trace of self-importance. By dragging these jacks-in-office back down to our own level, we attain, or try to persuade ourselves that we have attained, the equality for which all democracies yearn.

And despite the current confusions, I feel proud of the Commons. It is having the necessary argument about Europe, and is conducting it better than the two sides managed during the EU referendum.

For Members of Parliament are obliged to regard each other as honourable.

When first heard, that word may sound like an obsolete courtesy, an archaic irrelevance. It possesses, however, a severely practical purpose. It means you cannot call your opponent a liar.

The trouble with calling people liars is that you cannot then have an argument with them. You commit yourself to the view that they are beneath contempt.

This may, at first sight, seem most damaging to whoevers reputation is assailed. But it is in fact even more harmful to anyone who has a good argument to make.

For once you have no one to argue against, your brilliant arguments become pointless, and all you are left with is the hurling of insults, at which your opponent may turn out to be better than you.

It is lazy to hurl insults, and leave it at that. It spares one the trouble of making ones case, or working out whether one has a case, or what its strengths and weaknesses are. How much easier to shout traitor or liar, like some twerp on Twitter.

This happened during the EU referendum campaign: each side hurled insults at the other, and the public learned nothing.

It happened also during the last presidential election in the United States. The New York Times set its fact checkers to work, and proved to its entire satisfaction that on a large number of occasions, Donald Trump had lied.

The newspaper demonstrated he was a liar, yet he won. Why was that? In part because it became impossible to admit that some of what he was saying  about the terms of trade with China, say, or the predicament of workers in America, or the state of the countrys infrastructure  contained an element of truth.

Calling him a liar became an excuse for dismissing everything he said, including the truthful bits. And his ability to hurl outrageously hurtful insults at his stuck-up, hypocritical, worker-despising liberal critics was of course greater, a more vivid and authentic performance, than their pompous, puritanical condemnations of him could ever be.

Now it is, of course, quite possible to talk nonsense in the Commons.

But although it is possible to talk nonsense, there is a penalty for doing so.

Other MPs soon notice that you talk nonsense. The House comes to know you as a crank, a spouter of claptrap, a specious evader of issues, a dullard who cannot even see what the issues are, a person of no consequence because you cannot frame a coherent argument.

Or it may come to recognise you as someone worth listening to, and arguing with. You hold the attention of the House because you speak with an authority founded on knowledge, experience and common sense, and have the ability to make complicated matters intelligible.

The editor of ConservativeHome asked me, as someone who has observed the Commons for about 30 years, whether we are learning anything new about what it can do, and about its capacities.

The straight answer to this question is that I do not know. But we are certainly being reminded of what the Commons is already able to do, which is to hold an argument.

Ah yes, the man in the saloon bar replies. A mere talking shop.

And the official mind, the Whitehall mind, is likewise resistant to the value of having an argument. It considers it an inefficient use of resources.

So too the management consultant, who claims a rational insight into how things should be run, and sees no value in allowing ignorant people to have their say.

But without a Parliament that challenges and corrects the official view, we cease to live in a free country. Here the issues are at length clarified, and we discover who is worth listening to, who is a waste of time.

Jeremy Corbyn has lost ground during the crisis. He was good for several decades as a gadfly, voicing inconvenient views from a far corner of the Chamber.

But once he became Leader of the Opposition it became clear that he cannot think on his feet, master a brief, present himself as a Prime Minister in waiting, or enthuse his backbenchers by making life difficult for the present Prime Minister.

Life has, however, become very difficult for her, in great part because she is such a limited performer at the Despatch Box. Yesterdays failure is above all her failure. She is not persuasive.

The most important and inescapable function of any Prime Minister is to take the blame when things go wrong. Theresa May has demonstrated that she is not up to the job, which is why after less than three years in Downing Street she is on her way out.

Sir Robert Walpole, conventionally regarded as the first Prime Minister and described here by Lord Chesterfield, could not have remained in office for almost 21 years if he had not been an outstanding parliamentarian:

He was both the ablest Parliament man, and the ablest manager of a Parliament, that I believe ever lived. An artful rather than an eloquent speaker, he saw as by intuition, the disposition of the House, and pressed or receded accordingly. So clear in stating the most intricate matters, especially in the finances, that while he was speaking the most ignorant thought that they understood what they really did not.

May has been unable to rise to the challenge, but many parliamentarians have made or enhanced their reputations during this crisis. At the same time as the Commons has failed, it has been renewed.

Few people outside the English Bar or the West Country had heard of Geoffrey Cox before this started. Nor was Sir Keir Starmers name much known outside legal circles. Now they are spoken of as possible Prime Ministers.

It was a pleasure to listen to Sir Oliver Letwin (cries of traitor from the saloon bar) debating briefly, courteously, learnedly and lucidly with Jacob Rees-Mogg (is he now a traitor too?), Peter Bone, Kenneth Clarke, Hilary Benn, Sir John Redwood, Bob Seely, Pete Wishart, Kate Hoey, Gareth Snell, Margaret Beckett, Helen Goodman, Sir Patrick McLoughlin and many others on Wednesday of this week as he explained his proposal for the House to hold indicative votes.

Such debates are not held in some kind of vacuum. MPs are for the most part acutely aware of public opinion.

Ah yes, they just want to save their seats, the man in the saloon bar interjects.

That is indeed a consideration.

And they just want to save their parties, he adds, for he never waits to be asked what he thinks. They couldnt care less about the national interest.

It is true that the parties wish to survive this crisis intact. But without parties, how could the country be presented, at the general election, with a choice of leaders? And is it not in the national interest for us to have such a choice?

From 1994, I lived in Germany, and watched Chancellor Helmut Kohl replacing the German Mark with the Euro. The Bundestag voted overwhelmingly for this measure, even though millions of ordinary Germans were strongly opposed to it.

This was a bad way to do things, and now places the German Government in a very awkward position. For it promised German taxpayers they would not have to subsidise the weaker members of the new currency.

For understandable historical reasons, the German political class feared being condemned as nationalist if it defended the national currency, proud symbol of post-war recovery.

It is inconvenient to argue about Britain and Europe for half a century, as our politicians have done. But it is also a sign of strength to be able to conduct this debate. To suppress the national issue would do more harm than good.

All great issues are difficult to settle, but the Commons needs serious  one might say perilous  issues to debate, or it becomes irrelevant.

In 1989, I was lucky enough to be in the Chamber to hear Sir Geoffrey Howe make his resignation statement. I remember coming out of the Press Gallery and looking at a colleague whom I knew to be a supporter of hers.

He said nothing, but there was no need for words. Dismay was written across his features. It was a devastating blow. Her own party was deserting her.

And that too had something to do with Europe. People sometimes make the facile assumption that our relations with the European Union can somehow be settled.

MPs are not immune to this illusion. They held the referendum on the basis that it would settle the matter. David Cameron believed the people in their wisdom would vote to stay in, and that would be that.

But the referendum hasnt settled the matter, and it is foolish to imagine that anything can. There isnt some perfect solution awaiting discovery by our inept and blinkered leaders. The argument about how to get on with our closest neighbours, while preserving our nation state, will continue long after we are all dead.90%

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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-03-30, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.60%

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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-08-19, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.Gov. Ned Lamonts two key education bills  including one intended to push school districts toward regionalization  were approved by a legislative committee Friday, but with a few notable changes.

Members of the Education Committee eliminated the governors proposal to have municipalities chip in on teacher pensions and scrapped a plan to require homeschoolers to register in their school districts.

The votes, which went largely along party lines, were on House Bill 7150  an act implementing the governors budget  and Senate Bill 874, the controversial bill that includes what some view as punitive steps to push school districts toward regionalization. The latter bill also would have established a commission charged with creating a plan for redistricting.

Last week, the Lamont administration changed language in Bill No. 874 making it more palatable to many by removing every reference to redistricting and consolidation and by empowering the commission to make only recommendations.

Senate Bill 874 was one of three bills that prompted hundreds of opponents to turn out for a hearing last month out of fear their school district would be forced to merge with others and that local control would be lost.

Earlier this months, two of the bills died, and last week Lamont recast his proposal to emphasize that his effort to get school districts to share services and save resources would be voluntary.

The original bill called for the establishment of a Commission on Shared School Services, charged with developing a plan for redistricting or consolidation of school services and school districts.

The revised bill not only eliminates the words redistricting, and consolidation, but also replaces plan with recommendations as a way to emphasize the advisory nature of the commissions report. It says that the commission shall develop recommendations for the sharing of school services and additional collaborations within and among school districts.

He [the governor] heard the people loud and clear and he heard committee members loud and clear, said Rep. Bobby Sanchez, D-New Britain, and co-chairman of the education committee.

The bill approved by the committee maintains the governors language, but also eliminates a provision that was considered punitive by many. That controversial section of Lamonts bill required small districts- defined as districts with fewer than 10,000 residents, fewer than 2,000 students, or with fewer than three schools  to share a superintendent with another district or name a chief executive officer to oversee the schools.

The bill said that if such a district chose instead to maintain its own superintendent without sharing, the commissioner of education could withhold funding in an amount equal to the superintendents salary.

However, Republicans said the steps taken by the administration to water down the bill did not alleviate their concerns.

Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, said that despite the language changes, which do show there was listening and acknowledgement, she is concerned about the original discourse and the original intent of the bill with its references to re-districting and regionalization.

Most disturbing, Lavielle said, was that the original language was all based on the premise that effective local school districts must be prodded somehow to act in their own best interests. So many schools districts in Connecticut are effective and efficient already and I dont believe the state has any business to spend time and energy interfering with them.

In addition, Lavielle said there is nearly $1 million in the governors budget to create and run the commission.

I dont see a reason to spend that money, especially in our severe budget straits, because I dont see a reason for the bill, she said.

McCarty said she opposed the bill because it leaves the structure for a commission to move forward.

At some point this could turn to more forced regionalization, she said.

She said the possibility of forced regionalization resulted in a a lot of angst in the school communities through-out the state.

Sanchez noted that the bill also is stripped of the provision that would require home-schoolers to register with their district.

So you dont have to send me thousands and thousands of emails, Sanchez said to the knowing chuckles of a dozen or so home-school advocates in the attendance.

Twenty two Democrats voted in favor of Senate Bill 874, while 13 Republicans voted against it. Two legislators absent.

After it was approved, about a dozen opponents expressed disappointment.

Wilton resident Jennie Wong said, We made our voices clear. The intent is still there to regionalize. I just think they should have heard us.

Republicans and Democrats alike spoke in favor of the committees decision to eliminate Lamonts plan to have municipalities pay for 25 percent of teacher pension costs, and a greater share if teachers were paid above the statewide median.

Betsy Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST), sent out an email after the vote saying, This proposal would have overwhelmed property taxpayers in small towns and cities throughout Connecticut.

She said the plan would have shifted $73 million onto the backs of already burdened property taxpayersCOST is very pleased that lawmakers recognized that shifting a greater property tax burden on homeowners and businesses is bad public policy. This is a big win for municipalities and property taxpayers, Gara added.

However, those voting against the bill said they were concerned about a provision that accelerated a plan to reduce education cost sharing funds to wealthier districts.

Under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, an agreement had been reached to phase in a shift in education funding over a 10-year period from wealthier districts to struggling, poorer districts. Lamonts proposal would phase out the funds to wealthier districts over a shorter period of time.

I am against this proposal, said Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, shortly before a vote was taken. This really represents the undoing of a bipartisan budget that worked hard to re-establish a true [Education Cost Sharing] formula that took the appropriate educational needs into consideration as part of that formula.

Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, a ranking member on the committee, said the measure would impact adversely over 74 towns, so for that reason I will be voting no on the bill.

Twenty Democrats voted in favor of House Bill 7150, while 15 Republicans and two House Democrats  Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, and Jill Barry, D-Glastonbury  voted against it. Two legislators were absent.WESTPORT-A Shelton woman hired to sit for a dog while a Westport family vacationed is now accused of stealing at least $17,000 in jewelry and cutlery and then selling it for cash.

Police charged Jill Campoli, 45, of River Road, Shelton with second-degree larceny this week. She was released on $2,500 bond pending an April 18 appearance in Norwalk Superior Court.Achieving customer satisfaction has always been the priority of every serious business. This is a straightforward truth. However, the means to achieving customer satisfaction has always been anything but straightforward. The needs of the customer are consistently changing, and businesses have to change with it or risk the very glaring possibility of losing even the most loyal customers to the competition.

Statistics show that customer loyalty to brands and businesses are dropping at an alarming rate. This is largely because the internet has bombarded the 21st century customer with a plethora of choices, each promising to do things a little better than the last. Customer loyalty has therefore become a more difficult task to pull.

Related: 3 Essentials for Building a Loyal Customer Base

Data by American Express has shown that nearly 60 percent of customers try a new brand or a company just to find better customer service. In fact, 89 percent of customers often swap to a companys direct competitor after bad service. These findings easily transport customer service from the category of business afterthought to the category of business priority.

The 21st century customer is worth studying, and when you truly pay attention, you will find out how relevant these four indices are to building a loyal band of customers.

1. Build your customer success.

The concept of customer success is still relatively unknown in many business spheres and when it is used, it is often used as a synonym for customer service. However, the difference between the two is clear, albeit slight. Most importantly, the difference to your customers is crystal clear.

While customer service refers to the system with which your business engages customers and how it reacts to their problems and complaints, customer success refers to a proactively structured system where your business attends to customers needs and problems in real time as the problems arise.

Customer success is often mentioned in the same conversation as Software as a Service (SaaS) because more often than not, it is used to refer to all the automated ways businesses use to address their customers needs. The most common example will be live chat platforms on company websites. However, success occurs when your customers achieve the desired outcome for which they came to you through interactions with your company, either directly or through your product/service. This means that even non-automated forms of engagement with your customers must be developed to become proactive and focused on customer service. What this means is that you must start upgrading a lot of your customer service strategy to customer success strategy.

A great customer success strategy will enhance your customer base, especially by word of mouth -- which has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to grow a customer base. The goal is to make your customers feel so important that their issues are resolved immediately and not relegated to the KIV (keep in view) files. That feeling of importance is what you need to maintain customer satisfaction.

2. Make it very easy for customers to pay.

Most businesses pay attention to indices like speed of delivery and customer service. Very few businesses consider how their payment systems may affect overall customer satisfaction and retention. For instance, the POS systems that are uses in many brick and mortar business venues play a very vital role in how satisfied your customers become in the long run with your services. Point of Sale systems have evolved from systems that were used only for receiving and processing payment. POS systems are now being used to solve one of the major problems of businesses -- inventory management and general business management.

POS systems should integrate sales occurring online with sales occurring in your physical store, so customers never have the displeasure of walking into your store or making a purchase online only to realize that the ordered product is out of stock.

Related: The New Strategy for Lifetime Loyalty: Balancing 'Products' and 'Services'

In 2014, Walmart executives revealed that they were leaving almost $3 billion on the table as a result of items being out of stock. These inventory problems are common to even the biggest businesses. This creates a great need to have POS systems that integrate with inventory management and accounting and reconciliation software. This way your customers never leave empty handed.

The evolution of POS systems have seen amazing features added. POS systems can now be integrated to CRM software, so that it can generate customer profiles, catalog customer behavior and help you with better business decisions.

These exact capabilities, and the ability to solve this dilemma, is why the developers of POS systems like Lighthouse POS and Square have had such success and have earned many positive reviews as one of the leading systems of 2018, alongside Shopify POS and a few others.

3. Post-purchase follow-up.

It is common to find businesses stressing over email campaigns and customer maintenance strategy. Many businesses are now developing apps that they prescribe to customers. And while these apps may make it easier for customers to access their services, it rarely ever converts to a way that your business can keep in touch naturally with the customers.

Customers expect emails and in-app messages advertising products and even messages thanking them when they purchase. However, few expect messages that follow up on their experience with purchased items. For instance, a message that says, "Hello Fred, Thanks again for visiting our store/website. How are you finding the Samsung Galaxy X you purchased? Please respond with any complaints you might have. will naturally paint a picture that goes contrary to the notion people have of businesses -- that they are only concerned with sales.

Some real success has been had in the medical field with Collectly. This single strategy has seen immense success by providing hospitals and private medical practices with the ability to create personalized follow-up campaigns for their clients, bill patients and build online payment plans -- all while reducing about 80 percent of calls to the doctor by integrating a live-chat capability in their app.

The idea behind post-purchase follow-up is to make your customer feel that the purpose of your business is their success and satisfaction -- not their money. If you are going to use SaaS services and apps, then you might as well make them mean more than basic marketing.

Related: Robots May Replace Some Jobs, But Your Human Team Members Should Be There to Guide Them

4. The human touch remains relevant.

According to Customer Thinks projection for 2019 customer service, technology will progress to streamline and automate customer service functions but the human touch will remain relevant. Automated approaches will handle mostly mundane tasks and first-line interactions with customers.

The questions customer service representatives will receive in 2019 will be much more technical and difficult because customers are aware that bots and self-serve technologies can answer the basic questions.

Businesses must train customer service representatives with a higher skill set. In the era of automation, customers are craving personal interaction. Customer service reps will therefore, demand more human skills, like empathy and problem solving, and a willingness for development and life-long learning.

The idea is to balance your efforts at automation with the right dose of personality in customer interactions. Satisfying clients is an art, but there is no reason you cant succeed with the right information at your disposal.

Related:

4 Keys to Satisfying 21st Century Customers

The Most Influential Companies on Social Media Listen to Their Followers

Every Minute Online Is a Battle for Consumer Attention



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reservedThe law professor questioned the abolition of the two-term limit for the presidency and vice-presidency of the Chinese Communist Party as well as the development of a cult of personality around Xi. For intellectuals and friends, the university's decision is a clear form of punishment. Restrictions have been taken against "unpatriotic" scholars since a new ideological campaign was launched last August.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Tsinghua University, one of Beijings most prestigious universities, has suspended Prof Xu Zhangrun, 56, a renowned liberal law professor, after he openly criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping, his colleague Guo Yuhua, who teaches sociology at the same university, told the South China Morning Post.

In some articles widely circulated online, Prof Xu criticised the decision to change the Constitution to grant Xi the lifetime presidency of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as well as the development of a cult of personality around him.

Xus suspension occurred this month. He was excluded from all teaching and research activities related to his profession.

Prof Guo also reports that her dissident colleague was placed under investigation by the university, which has refused to take any questions from the media.

Experts believe that Xu was suspended as part of a new ideological campaign against "unpatriotic" intellectuals, which the Chinese government launched last August.

As a result of this campaign, all those deemed unwilling to carry forward the spirit of patriotic struggle were placed under restrictions.

Xus friends and colleagues came to his defence, believing that the university was out to punish the scholar.

Well-known writer Zhang Yihe was one of the first to speak out in support of Xu, saying on social network WeChat Zhang that she stood by him not because of politics or conscience but out of friendship.

According to Guo, Xu was being penalised because of his critical articles. Maybe they didnt like what he wrote, Guo said. But its against the law and an unreasonable thing to do.

For Zhang Qianfan, a constitutional law professor at Peking University, Xu was penalised by Tsinghua not because he said something radical or inappropriate, but because he made some just and honest comments that others dared not make  because free speech is in a difficult situation in China.Multiple agencies, including police, are investigating high school Principal Beth Smith, who was placed on paid administrative leave, Thursday, March 28.

School Superintendent Dr. Chris Clouet confirmed to the Shelton Herald Saturday that "law enforcement and other agencies are currently investigating a situation that took place involving (Smith)."

Clouet would not comment on what has prompted this investigation or what other agencies are involved, saying only the incident in question occurred earlier in the week.

Clouet told the Herald that he informed Smith of the decision in his conference room at the Board of Education administrative office building Thursday, March 28. Smith was neither arrested nor escorted from the high school by law enforcement, according to Clouet.

"It is true that (Smith) is on paid administrative leave until further notice, but the circumstances of that decision are a personnel matter, and I cannot comment further," said Clouet.

Clouet did say he was "concerned and extremely disappointed in the false reporting" on this matter by various media outlets. According to a report on the WTNH website, Shelton police confirmed that officers were at Shelton High School on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation involving a school employee. No arrest was expected for Friday or over the weekend, according to the report. Herald attempts to contact police representatives to confirm this report have been unsuccessful to this point.

In a statement released on the school's website at 8 p.m. Friday, Clouet stated "Please beware of rumors. (Smith) was not escorted from the building by police. There has been no arrest. Our primary concern is the well being of our students. In addition, Dr. Smith deserves respect and privacy as this process unfolds."

"I made this decision to place her on paid administrative leave for her benefit and the benefit of the school district until this is resolved," said Clouet.

Board of Education Chairman Mark Holden said Friday that Clouet informed board members midday Thursday about the move.

Assistant Principal John Skerritt is acting principal while an investigation begins into Smith, who has been principal at the high school for some 10 years.

Holden said the board has not received any details on the issues surrounding Clouet's decision on Smith.

"There will be a thorough investigation," said Holden, "and if the Board of Education needs to action, we will do so."

Holden also disputed reports of Smith, a longtime member of the Shelton school system, being arrested, saying that he has heard nothing of an arrest or anyone being escorted from the high school by law enforcement.

"(Clouet) met with her yesterday (Thursday, March 28), and he was the one who made the decision that she should be placed on administrative leave, with pay," said Holden.

In the meantime, Holden said he has "tremendous confidence in (Skerritt's) ability to cover what needs to be covered" during this process.NORWALK  Friends, colleagues and family members remember Michael Hefferan as a kind and generous man who loved his daughter unconditionally and would give anyone the shirt off his back.

The 60-year-old lifelong Norwalker died after a Thursday morning crash in Westchester County. In addition to a daughter, he leaves behind six siblings, and many friends with fond memories.

Harrison, N.Y, police Lt. Vincent Lanzillotti said the two-car crash occurred at 9:57 a.m. at the intersection of Westchester Avenue and Webb Avenue and that Hefferan and the other driver were taken to White Plains Hospital, where Hefferan later died. The other male driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Lanzillotti said. He would release no further details. Family members said they were told Hefferan was stopped at the intersection and as the light turned green the other vehicle went through a red light and crashed into his car at about 50 mph.

Sometimes people would tease about how he was a dog whisperer because every dog that approached him, he would get on the ground and play with them, said his brother, Matt Hefferan. He was the favorite uncle of all the nieces and nephews. Both of our parents passed away and Mike was with them to the end. He was a great brother, father and uncle.

Hefferan, a senior account executive at Landmark Print in Stamford, specialized in selling and printing large format graphics. He was on his way to meet with a client when the crash occurred, said his employer, Steve Green, who hired Hefferan years ago because he seemed honest, hard-working and had a following of clients who adored him.

He got along with everybody in our office, Green said. Its a big loss to us all professionally and personally.

Hefferan, a diehard New York Knicks, Cincinnati Reds and Dallas Cowboys fan, attended Tracey Elementary, West Rocks Middle School and Norwalk High, family members said. He enrolled at St. Bonaventure College in fall 1976 before graduating and securing his first job with The Norwalk Hours advertising department. He spent the rest of his life working as a printing salesman, Matt Hefferan said.

Carey Dougherty, executive director at Malta House, was working with Hefferan on invitations for the shelters May gala. Dougherty said Hefferan cared deeply about meeting the needs of his clients.

He always insisted on hand-delivering all our print materials. You think of sales people as pushy, but he was the classic wonderful salesperson who truly cared about his clients and wanted to make them happy, she said.

A friend, Audrey Cozzarin, is asking Norwalk officials to hold a citywide discussion educating the public on safer driving.

We are driving vehicles that are capable of causing injury and death when driven irresponsibly, and when our fellow citizens do not obey the rules of the road established for our safety, we have anarchy and possible danger and death, as in the case of dear Mike Hefferan, she said in a letter to The Norwalk Hour and city officials. To me its a wakeup call. Lets do something.

The Hefferans will receive friends and family at the Magner Funeral Home, 12 Mott Ave., from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday. A Mass of Christian burial is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 203 East Ave. Memorial donations are welcome at Treasure House of Norwalk Hospital and the Open Doors Shelter, organizations where Hefferans mother volunteered for years.

Sharon Hefferan was heartbroken Friday afternoon as she remembered her brother, calling him optimistic, funny and cheerful.

He had a wonderful sense of humor, she said. He loved to tease and make other people laugh. Weve heard from several of his St. Bonaventure College friends and they mentioned he was a wonderful friend and they loved him. They will miss him dearly.

Hefferan leaves behind his daughter, Erin Maeve Hefferan, his girlfriend Donna Tallent, six siblings and his ex-wife and friend, Jennifer Smith.

tatiana.flowers@thehour.comStamford police / Contributed

STAMFORD  A Bridgeport man who ran a stop sign in front of narcotics officers riding in a unmarked car Thursday afternoon was busted while allegedly in possession of cocaine, a carton of marijuana vape cartridges and a few prescription pills, police said.

Capt. Richard Conklin said officers in the Narcotics and Organized Crime squad were patrolling the East Side when they saw a black Honda traveling eastbound on Ely Place turn right onto Colloden Road without observing a stop sign at about 3 p.m. Thursday.Another Lev Tahor Cult Member Gets Arrested

Yeshiva World/March 27, 2019

YWN has learned that authorities have made an additional arrest in connection to the Lev Tahor Cult overnight.



Yechezkel Moshe Matisyahu Malka was reportedly taken into custody by Federal Law Enforcement Personnel. The charges against him along with additional details will be published by YWN shortly.



As YWN reported in December, 5 members of the Lev Tahor Cult  including the cult leader  were arrested and are still sitting in jail without bail.



Four of them were apprehended in Mexico, in a joint operation between Interpol and the FBI. Police had raided two out of three Lev Tahor owned properties in the country in the middle of the night.



The four people arrested in Mexico were:

Nachman Helbrans

Meyer Rosner

Chaim Yankel Rosner

Uriel Goldman

Aron Rosner was arrested in Williamsburg.

They were indicted for the kidnapping of 14-year-old Yante Teller and her 12-year old brother Chaim Teller from their family in upstate New York, and conspiring to transport them to Mexico. YWN previously reported that the siblings were kidnapped on a Shabbos morning (December 8, 2018) in the town of Woodridge. The teens were seen getting into a vehicle in front of the home in middle of the night. Aron Rosner is believed to have driven the vehicle transporting the kidnapped children from Woodridge to the airport in Scranton, on Shabbos RL.

YWN has been at the forefront for more than 10 years fighting the Lev Tahor cult  with dozens of articles over the years.



Lev Tahor practices include women and girls wearing black head-to-toe coverings day and night, arranged marriages between teenagers, and a violent form of Malkos. Lev Tahor only permits certain fruits and vegetables to be eaten, as well as whole wheat flour made into bread with a stone press.

Former members of Lev Tahor (who either escaped or were otherwise expelled) do not recall learning Mishnayos or Gemara, nor any Mitzvos Bein Adam LeChaveiro. They spend the majority of the day in deep prayer and are only allowed to study certain sections of the Chumash, with Lev Tahor commentary.



Reports indicate cult leaders have suggested death as better alternative than life outside the cult.



Lev Tahor was founded and led by Shlomo Helbrans, from the 1980s until his drowning death in Mexico in 2017. Since then, the leadership has moved into the hands of his son Nachman Helbrans, along with Mayer Rosner, Yankel and Yoel Weingarten, who are even more radical and aggressive than the late founder.

Internal documents of Lev Tahor show that Shlomo Helbrans made his followers swear and sign to uphold the following principles among others.



(1) Everyone must negate his or her mind and mind thoroughly and completely, to the leader of Lev Tahor.



2) They must subjugate soul, spirit, and will.



3) Each man accepts upon his descendants and descendants descendants until the end of all generations to be subjugated under the will of Lev Tahors leader.. this should be said openly to the leader himself.



4) Everyone must be ready at any time and moment of 24 hours of the day, whether on the Shabbath and Yom Tov, summer and winter, healthy or sick, to do the will of the leader.



5) Whether the person is a young man or an old man, virgins and women they must accept to do the will of the leader.



6) They must agree to throw away all his physical needs, including eating sleep and rest until he fulfills the desires the leader.



7) It is the obligation of each of them at the beginning of the morning prayers to recite and accept upon themselves all of the above with full mouth and supreme joy.



Some observers have written that these are signs of a cult. Indeed, this was the position of an author of an article that appeared in Mishpacha Magazine. Others, however, claim that there is nothing cult-like about the movement. Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter of Ami Magazine met with Helbrans and assured his readership that it was not a cult, even though a previous Ami article stated that it was.

In 2014 YWN ran an article titled Cults and the War of the Jewish Magazines in response to Mishpacha and Ami magazines running articles on Lev Tahor. Mishpacha Magzaine had run a fifteen page expose on the group, essentially describing Lev Tahor as a cult that has some serious issues involving medicating children, and behaviors that resemble child abuse. Ami Magazine claimed the exact opposite  and ran the following sentence below their headline The unjust persecution of a group of pious Jews, and the unsettling silence of the Jewish community.

Originally a citizen of Israel, cult leader Shlomo Helbrans went to the United States where he was convicted for kidnapping in 1994 and served a two-year prison term before being deported to Israel in 2000. He then settled in Canada.



In 1994 he was convicted in Brooklyn for the 1992 kidnapping of 13-year-old Shai Fhima Reuven, a Bar Mitzvah boy he was tutoring, and served a two-year prison term in the U.S. He was originally sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, but in June 1996 an appeals court reduced the sentence to two to six years. Three days later, he was placed in the work release program for prisoners less than two years away from the possibility of parole, where inmates are freed from prison if they have a job. After protests, he was moved back to prison.



The high-profile case drew much attention in the U.S., and gained further attention when Helbrans successfully convinced New York prison authorities to waive their requirement that all prisoners be shaved for a photograph upon entering prison, and to accept a computer-generated image of what he would have looked like clean-shaven instead. After the State Parole Board decided in November 1996 to release Helbrans after two years in prison, the case rose to near scandal with suspicions that the Pataki administration was providing him special treatment.

After his release from prison, Helbrans ran a yeshiva in Monsey, N.Y., and was deported to Israel in 2000. He then settled in Canada, where in 2003 he was granted refugee status, claiming his life was being threatened in Israel.



Helbrans and his followers had arrived in Mexicos southern Chiapas province after spending three years in Guatemala. They had travelled to Guatemala from Canada, where child-protection authorities were moving to seize children allegedly suffering from neglect.



The group had been established on the outskirts of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, north of Montreal, for more than a decade before Quebec authorities began paying close attention. As they prepared to move in to protect children in the sect in late 2013, community members left en masse overnight for Chatham, Ontario. Before the next summer, they had moved on to Guatemala.



Court documents used by Quebec police to obtain warrants alleged that Lev Tahor girls as young as 13 and 14 in the community were routinely married off to much older men. The allegations in the documents, which became public after the sect had fled and were never proven in court, included sexual and physical abuse of children.



(Charles Gross  YWN)

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.Jewish cult planned to abduct Brooklyn kids again

The New York Post/March 28, 2019

By Andrew Denney, Emily Saul and Laura Italiano

They were plotting to kidnap these kids again  and vowed to fight their mom to the death to get them.

Even from jail, members of the Guatemala-based extremist Jewish cult Lev Tahor were planning the re-abduction of two Orthodox children  kids whose mother has now three times rescued from the group, according to a chilling new indictment obtained by The Post.



In threatening to seize the children back, the sick sects boss in Guatemala, speaking by phone in Yiddish, used violent language toward mom Sara Helbrans, the indictment alleges, including that he will fight the mother until the last drop of blood and that they will fight her to the death.



I will take them out from under your hands, the boss warned the mom of her children, Yante, 14, and Chaim, 12  during a call she secretly recorded for the feds, the indictment said.



And will take them back to their [cult member] father, with Gods help, the unnamed leader allegedly threatened in the phone call.



Lev Tahor members were especially hell-bent on re-capturing the older child, Yante, so that the girl couldnt testify against the cult, according to the indictment, which was filed this week in White Plains and charges alleged cult member Matityae Moshe Malka with conspiracy.



Cult members also wanted the girl reunited with her adult husband, accused cult member Jacob Rosner, according to the indictment.



Yante is considered within Lev Tahor to be the wife of Jacob Rosner, the Malka indictment alleges.



Malka is accused in Manhattan federal court of allegedly delivering cellphones to the girl in Brooklyn several times this month, so that cult leaders  including Saras brother, Nachman, who is incarcerated in Westchester County Jail  could talk secretly to her about her recapture, the indictment alleges.



Yante and Chaim are the grandchildren of the cults late founder, Shlomo Helbrans, who started the ultra-Orthodox sect in Israel in 1987.



In the years since then, he hopscotched the group around the world  to Brooklyn, Israel, Canada, Mexico and now Guatemala  often one step ahead of child welfare officials appalled by the groups abusive living conditions.



Sara, who as Shlomos daughter had been raised in the cult, courageously escaped her cult-member husband with her children in November 2018 after learning that the 14-year-old was to be married to a cult elder.



Sara saved her children a second time after they were kidnapped back into the cult on Dec. 8, while the family was staying at a home in Woodridge, Sullivan County.

With the moms help, law enforcement recovered Yante and Chaim in Mexico on Dec. 27.



Five alleged cult members, including Malka, were taken into custody and deported to the US at that time, and the children were returned to their mother in New York, the indictment says.



Then, this month, the mother found that the cult was still communicating with Yante  through a series of cellphones smuggled to the child during multiple in-person visits by Malka, as the latest the indictment alleges.



Malka is one of five alleged cult members arrested in the kidnap plot; the others are Nachman Helbrans, Saras brother, and Jacob, Mayer and Aron Rosner.



Aron Rosner was released in January on $10 million bail in White Plains, where prosecutors alleged he was the groups money man.



The lawyer who represented Malka at his first court appearance, in White Plains on March 26, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.Anti-vaccine advocates have swayed parents in New York to refuse immunizations for their kids, sparking two of the largest measles outbreaks in the states recent history, according to local health officials.



As of March 27, at least 181 people in New York City  mainly in Brooklyns Williamsburg and Borough Park neighborhoods  had fallen ill. In nearby Rockland County, 153 people have caught the virus, prompting Rockland health officials to declare a state of emergency Tuesday. The declaration involved the unusual step of barring children under the age of 18 who hadnt been vaccinated for measles from public places  including schools, malls, and places of worship  for 30 days.



Whats notable here is that the affected communities are closely linked: Cases are occurring mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated Orthodox Jews, particularly children. When asked why people are opting out of vaccines, the New York city health department said anti-vaccine propagandists are distributing misinformation in the community.



The fearmongerers include a group called PEACH  or Parents Educating and Advocating for Childrens Health  which appears to be targeting the Jewish community with misinformation about vaccine safety, citing rabbis as authorities, through a hotline and magazines. Brooklyn Orthodox Rabbi William Handler has also been proclaiming the well-debunked link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Parents who placate the gods of vaccination are engaging in child sacrifice, he told Vox.



Last fall, when the outbreak started, I talked to Orthodox Jews in New York about the outbreak and their vaccine concerns. And I learned that a minority distrust vaccines  for reasons that have nothing to do with religious doctrine.



Yet the fact that some Orthodox Jews live outside the mainstream, avoid technology, and hold rabbinic opinion in high esteem may leave them particularly vulnerable to anti-vaxxers.



Being a religious Jew, you also get used to having a minority viewpoint, said Alexander Rapaport, the CEO of the Masbia Soup Kitchen Network in Brooklyn, and a public face of the Hasidic community. So if something is not mainstream, it doesnt take you away from believing it.



He also explained that some Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn go to school together, worship together, and live and travel together. This means a few unvaccinated people living in close proximity can be dangerous. But it also means making inroads with public health messages requires extra effort. We see government invest in public health awareness a lot, Rapaport said. But it never trickles down to Yiddish speakers or people who dont own TV sets.



The story in New York is familiar: Other tight-knit communities  like the Somali-American community in Minnesota, the Amish in Ohio, and, more recently, Russian-language immigrants in Washington  have recently fallen victim to measles outbreaks as a result of vaccine refusal. This New York outbreak is a reminder of how vulnerable more insular groups can be to anti-vaxxers, and the unique challenges for public health advocates in countering their messages in these communities.



Measles was eliminated in the US in 2000  but outbreaks linked to vaccine refusal have been popping up in insular communities

Theres one fact that makes the measles virus really scary: Its one of the most infectious diseases known to man. A person with measles can cough in a room, leave, and  if you are unvaccinated  hours later, you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air that they left behind. No other virus can do that.



So if youre not vaccinated, its extremely easy to catch measles. In an unimmunized population, one person with measles can infect 12 to 18 others. Thats way higher than other viruses like Ebola, HIV, or Sars.



By 2000, because of widespread vaccination, the virus was declared eliminated in the United States: Enough people were immunized that outbreaks were uncommon, and deaths from measles were scarcely heard of.



But in order for any vaccine to be effective, you need to have a certain percentage of people in a population immunized. Thats whats known as herd immunity, and it means diseases cant spread through populations very easily. With the MMR vaccine, 95 percent of people need to get the shot. So just a few people refusing vaccines can be dangerous.

Since 2000, weve seen outbreaks every year in populations with lower levels of vaccine uptake, totaling between 37 and 667 cases. The virus typically spreads when unvaccinated travelers visit places where measles is circulating widely and bring it back to other unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people in a close-knit community where some parents have been opting out of vaccines for their kids.



Thats what happened in two of the largest recent measles outbreaks in the US since the disease was eliminated. In 2014, measles spread among unvaccinated Amish people in Ohio after a missionary brought the virus back from the Philippines. And in 2017, a traveler sparked an outbreak in an unvaccinated Somali-American community in Minnesota.



In New York, the current outbreaks also originated with travelers who had recently visited Israel, where a massive measles epidemic is currently underway. The travelers returned to the US and spread it among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated New Yorkers.



But this is not an isolated incident. The Orthodox Jewish community has already faced numerous outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in recent years, including whooping cough and mumps. As recently as 2013, another measles outbreak involving 58 cases became the largest in the city since 1992, nearly a decade before measles was eliminated, and cost the city $400,000 to contain.

The reason parents arent vaccinating in New York

Most of the people I spoke to for this story had no concerns about vaccine safety and happily vaccinate their families. The majority view is also that theres no religious reason to avoid vaccines.



From a religious point of view, people have to vaccinate, Rabbi David Niederman, executive director and president of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, told me. Instead, people have a duty to protect their families and the most vulnerable in their communities. Anything that causes harm  you have to do whatever you can to [avoid] that.



Yet Rabbinic authority, and the argument about avoiding harm, is being used by anti-vaccine campaigners as a vehicle to spread misinformation.



Consider the story of Rachel,* an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn. When her eldest child was 18 months old, she brought her baby to the doctor for the MMR vaccine. Soon after, the girl came down with a fever that climbed up to 106 and eventually had to be hospitalized.



The doctor said there was no correlation with the vaccine, the mother of seven, ranging in age 11 months to 15 years, recalls. But Rachel was skeptical. After that, she noticed her daughter was getting sick all the time. Ear infections, viruses. I lived at the doctors office. She thought vaccines might be the culprit.



So she read up on the shots in PEACHs pamphlets, watched the anti-vaccine documentary Vaxxed, and talked to her neighbors in her Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community.



The rabbis that dont think vaccines are the right way to go keep a low profile, she said, but I could name you a bunch of them.



She read and heard about things that concerned her. The ingredients in vaccines didnt seem safe or healthy, and she heard rumors of neighbors whose kids got autism right after their shots. (For the record, data on thousands of people over the past half-century have found vaccines are overwhelmingly safe and effective.)



So over the years, Rachel has vaccinated her kids less and less. Her two youngest arent immunized at all.



Nowadays, between bringing her children to school and changing diapers, the stay-at-home mom hosts a library in her home, where parents can borrow books about vaccines and discuss what they read. The library includes both pro- and anti-vaccine books. People can read and decide for themselves.



Her library is advertised in anti-vaccine materials that are being spread in Rachels community, and shes now part of the minority who resists vaccines  one thats helped spark two of the largest measles outbreaks in recent US history.

It has been very difficult to dissuade parents

Some of Rachels concerns are reflected in the Vaccine Safety Handbook, purportedly produced out of Brooklyn by a group called PEACH  or Parents Educating and Advocating for Childrens Health. (The group declined to be interviewed for this story.) The book carries the slogan, You can always vaccinate later. You can never unvaccinate, pages of misinformation about vaccines, including the well-debunked link with autism, as well as advice from rabbis about the Biblical commandment to avoid putting ones life or health in danger  including the danger of vaccines.



Another source of vaccine misinformation is Rabbi William Handler, who also holds the view that vaccines cause autism  and shares it with parents. I explain to parents that public health authorities like [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] are not interested in individual children, he said. The best way to avoid potential harm is to avoid getting immunized, he advises. [Parents] dont want to play Russian roulette with their children. Its like child sacrifice.



Though large-scale studies involving thousands of participants in several countries have failed to establish a link between the MMR vaccine and the mental developmental disorder, its the autism views that the New York City health department hears a lot of.



Unfortunately the concern about whether theres any linkage has really lingered and [because of] misinformation, and it has been very difficult to dissuade parents, Jane Zucker, New York Citys assistant commissioner of the bureau of immunization, told Vox. We hear they want to wait until the child is older so they know the child doesnt have autism, then get the child vaccinated.

The challenge of countering anti-vaccine rhetoric in isolated communities

New York State does not allow parents to refuse vaccines for philosophical reasons, though parents can get exemptions for health and religious reasons. Once children reach school, they have to present evidence that their kids have been vaccinated, unless they have been granted an exemption.



Zucker says vaccine levels in Jewish schools in New York City look average, although religious schools have more religious exemptions than non-religious schools. And before kids get to school, theres a problem in Williamsburg: It has one of the lowest rates of vaccine coverage among young children, ages 19 to 35 months, in the city.



So it was no surprise to Zucker that the children currently affected by measles in this outbreak were all too young to be in school. According to the city health department, the Williamsburg and Borough Park measles cases involved only small children, ages ranging from seven months to 4 years old. (Rockland declined to provide details about the affected, citing privacy concerns.)



That means theres a cohort of kids for which state vaccine laws arent applicable, and who are vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.



Once the kids get into school we know we have good vaccine uptake, said Zucker. Its the delay, though, and thats whats linked to this outbreak.



Reaching vaccine-hesitant parents isnt easy, however. The public health department has sent notifications to schools and hospitals with large Orthodox Jewish populations, done outreach, and placed ads and distributed posters in Orthodox papers in both Yiddish and English.

Public health officials need to intervene before outbreaks start

But they need to try harder, community leaders said, and intervene before outbreaks start.



We have a language barrier, a culture barrier, said Rabbi Avi Greenstein, executive director of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council, in one of the affected areas, and it only makes sense the health department should reach out to [our community].



After outbreaks, posters about the importance of vaccines from the public health department will show up in community centers and neighborhood bodegas, said Alexander Rapaport, the Masbia Soup Kitchen CEO. But, The posters from the city are reactionary, he added, and not enough is being done to educate people ahead of outbreaks.

According to recent data from New York Citys health department, theres been a surge in uptake of the MMR vaccine among children since the outbreak started. That mirrors a state-wide effort thats seen 13,000 people, mostly children, vaccinated since early fall.



So maybe its an opportunity to change peoples views. Its becoming increasingly clear if people take the position [not to vaccinate], they are an irresponsible person, an irresponsible parent, Greenstein reiterated. This is the challenge for the community.



* We did not use Rachels real name because she was concerned about privacy and backlash about her views.NXIVM defendant, Seagrams heiress collapses in court after Avenatti revelation

Albany Times-Unioon/March 27, 2019

By Robert Gavin

New York -- Seagram's liquor heiress and NXIVM defendant Clare Bronfman collapsed at a pre-trial hearing in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday after a judge questioned her lawyer about whether she was being secretly represented by embattled celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti.



Bronfman, 39, fainted and was caught by Mark Geragos, another celebrity attorney representing her, who has been identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in an extortion case announced Monday against Avenatti, the former lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels, who has sued President Donald Trump. The account of the courtroom activity was provided by two people who were present.



According to a letter filed by prosecutors that is under seal, according to the source, Avenatti and Geragos met with the government last week to discuss the case of Bronfman, the operations director for NXIVM, the Colonie-based organization now at the center of a racketeering case in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.



Both the government and Geragos confirmed the meeting in court, the source said, adding that U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis was "extremely irritated at being kept in the dark." Bronfman never informed the judge she was being represented by Avenatti, the person said.



Bronfman is charged along with NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere; Lauren Salzman; television actress Allison Mack; and Kathy Russell, a longtime bookkeeper for NXIVM. Another codefendant, NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman, has pleaded guilty.

The person said the sequence of events started when Kathleen Cassidy, an attorney for Bronfman, raised a question that Cassidy said involved attorney-client privilege and sensitive matters  and asked the judge to clear the room. The source said several reporters objected and the judge refused to close the courtroom.



Garaufis had been attempting to question Bronfman at the bench about whether she had retained Avenatti. Donna Newman, a lawyer for Bronfman, objected to her client answering the question, saying it was a matter of attorney-client privilege. Cassidy requested a sidebar conference at the bench.



A five-minute break followed. As Bronfman walked back to the defense table, she started "wobbling and staggering on her feet," the person said. She looked pale and her knees were buckling, the person said, noting that Geragos then caught his client and put her down in a chair.



EMS and firefighters arrived and treated Bronfman in a separate room, the person said.



She did not return to court. The hearing was set to continue Thursday afternoon. She left the courthouse unaided, with Geragos. Jury selection in the trial will be early next month with opening arguments scheduled for April 29.



Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Avenatti with trying to shake down as much as $25 million by threatening Nike with bad publicity. In a separate case, he faces charges he embezzled a client's money to pay his own expenses, and was charged with extortion and bank and wire fraud in separate cases in New York and California.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click hereCommon document of Francis and King Mohammed VI to safeguard "common heritage" of humanity of the Holy City, in which the right of Christians, Muslims and Jews to exercise their faith is guaranteed.

Rabat (AsiaNews) - An appeal to safeguard Jerusalem's "shared heritage" for humanity in which the right of Jews, Christians and Muslims to exercise their cult is guaranteed was launched today by Pope Francis and King Mohammed VI at the end of Francis' visit to the king.

The appeal is a clear, though not explicit, reply to the statements of Israeli government leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Israel's "perpetual capital" of Israel and support for this claim by US president Donald Trump.

"We - reads appeal of the Pope and the King of Morocco - consider it important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.

"To this end, the specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif must be protected and promoted.

"It is our hope, therefore, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed, so that in Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif they may raise their prayers to God, the Creator of all, for a future of peace and fraternity on the earth."

".Pine Grill Classic title could springboard Somerset's season

The Pine Grill Roundball Classic is in its 10th edition after a year hiatus because of COVID. A great local tournament opens the HS basketball season.In his first speech in Rabat Francis speaks of brotherhood between Christians and Muslims. "Itis vital to foster the culture of dialogue and adhere to it unfailingly, to adopt mutual cooperation as our code of conduct and reciprocal understanding as our method and standard". "A change in disposition towards migrants, that affirms them as people".

Rabat (AsiaNews) - Dialogue between Christians and Muslims to affirm coexistence and reject intolerance and violence in the name of God, openness towards and protection of those forced to leave their land and also the defense of nature. These are the objectives that Pope Francis is proposing in his visit to Morocco, which began today, voiced at the first meeting of Francis with King Mohammed VI, the country's authorities, representatives of civil society, the diplomatic corps accredited in the country and the Moroccan people.

The welcome ceremony took place on the esplanade of the Tour Hassan in Rabat. The Pope, who arrived shortly after 2 pm, was greeted at the airport by an unusual rainfall, as well as by King Mohammed VI. The welcome ceremony, with hymns, military honors and presentation of the delegations took place shortly afterwards in the city.

The second Pope to visit Morocco, 34 years after the historic speech of John Paul II in Casablanca, Francis naturally brought interreligious dialogue to the fore, also with express references to the Document on human fraternity, which he signed in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019 together with the rector of the University of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Ahmad al-Tayyib, considered the most authoritative exponent of Sunni Islam. The king himself, however, in his greeting affirmed the need for dialogue, tolerance and respect between people of different faiths.

Francis, who defined Morocco as a "natural bridge between Africa and Europe", said that to build a more solidary world ", it is vital to foster the culture of dialogue and adhere to it unfailingly, to adopt mutual cooperation as our code of conduct and reciprocal understanding as our method and standard (cf. Document on Human Fraternity, Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019). We are called to pursue this path tirelessly, in the effort to help each other overcome tensions and misunderstandings, cliches and stereotypes that generate fear and opposition. In this way, we will encourage the growth of a fruitful and respectful spirit of cooperation. It is likewise essential that fanaticism and extremism be countered by solidarity on the part of all believers, grounded in the lofty shared values that inspire our actions. For this reason, I am happy that I will shortly visit the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates. Established by Your Majesty, the Institute seeks to provide effective and sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself.

Authentic dialogue, then, makes us appreciate more fully the importance of religion for building bridges between people and successfully meeting the challenges that I mentioned above. While respecting our differences, faith in God leads us to acknowledge the eminent dignity of each human being, as well as his or her inalienable rights. We believe that God created human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and he calls them to live as brothers and sisters and to spread the values of goodness, love and peace. That is why freedom of conscience and religious freedom  which is not limited to freedom of worship alone, but allows all to live in accordance with their religious convictions  are inseparably linked to human dignity. In this regard, there is a constant need to progress beyond mere tolerance to respect and esteem for others. This entails encountering and accepting others in their distinctive religious beliefs and enriching one another through our diversity, in a relationship marked by good will and by the pursuit of ways we can work together. Understood in this way, creating bridges between people  from the point of view of interreligious dialogue  calls for a spirit of mutual regard, friendship and indeed fraternity.

Francis, who this morning met two families of Moroccan emigrants at the Vatican, recalled in the Rabat speech that the Intergovernmental Conference on the World Pact was held in Morocco for a safe, orderly and regular migration that adopted a document intended to serve as a point of reference for the entire international community. At the same time, much still remains to be done, especially in passing from the commitments undertaken there, at least in principle, to concrete actions, and, more particularly, to a change of attitude towards migrants, one that sees them as persons, not numbers, and acknowledges their rights and dignity in daily life and in political decisions.

The last theme addressed by the Pope was the protection of nature.The genuine dialogue we want to encourage also leads to a consideration of the world in which we live, our common home. The International Conference on Climate Change, COP 22, also held here in Morocco, once more demonstrated that many nations are conscious of the need to protect this planet where God has placed us to live and to contribute to a true ecological conversion for the sake of integral human development. I express my appreciation for the progress being made in this area and I am gratified by the growth of authentic solidarity between nations and peoples in the effort to find just and lasting solutions to the scourges that threaten our common home and the very survival of the human family. Only together, in patient, judicious, candid and sincere dialogue, can we hope to devise adequate solutions for reversing the trend of global warming and to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty (cf. Laudato Si, 175).Advertisement

Same-sex couple Luke Williams, 31, and Damien Kolbas, 29, wanted a lavish, no-expense spared, fairytale wedding.

And after 12 months of planning, the two happy grooms tied the knot in a breathtaking million-dollar 'luxury white country wonderland' dubbed 'Australia's wedding of the year' on March 23.

The pair had asked their 320 guests to pack nine different 'smart casual' outfits for the four-day event, held in Forster - a coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales.

The Sydney couple - who has been together for five years - kept the rest of the details of their luxurious celebration secret ahead of the special occasion.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the duo offered a glimpse into their extravagant wedding after they adopted all sorts of different approaches to how they wanted to say 'I do' in front of their loved ones.

Scroll down for video

Same-sex couple Luke Williams, 31, and Damien Kolbas, 29, had six bridesmaids in two different styles of designer gowns

Luke (right) and Damien (left) wanted a spectacular wedding day to remember for the rest of their lives

There was a Swarovski Crystal wall, 20,000 flowers, and over a million diamante hanging from the ceiling of the marquee

The couple had a show-stopping entrance into their reception with Lebanese drumming (right) moments after they stopped traffic along the Forster-Tuncurry bridge. They also posed for photos with their entire bridal party in a jumping castle (left)

Arriving at the venue in Rolls Royce vehicles, the couple had six bridesmaids in two different styles of designer gowns, Swarovski crystals decor, 20,000 flowers, an 11-tier cake, and more than a million diamante hanging from the ceiling of the marquee.

The bridal party had a show-stopping entrance into the opulent reception with Lebanese drumming just moments after they stopped traffic along the Forster-Tuncurry bridge.

There were 100 glamping tents set up for their guests, a fine-dining menu, a jumping castle for the bridal party photo shoot, and a fireworks display to wrap up their spectacular weekend festivities.

'I was just lost for words, our dream wedding came true after 12 months of planning. The day was just faultless,' Luke told Daily Mail Australia.

'We knew what we wanted and how we wanted it. The day was a pure fairytale. Everything we dreamed, planned and thought about became a reality. Just to have our family and friends there was just magical.

'The day was all about having fun, positivity and love - and we definitely delivered it.'

As they wowed the crowd, Luke, a retail executive, said he struggled to hold back his tears the moment he saw Damien, an early childcare learning director and a classically trained dancer, walk down the aisle.

'The only time we got emotional was when I waited at the alter for Damien,' he said.

'I was grinding my teeth, my legs were wobbly but as soon as we were together holding hands, everything was sweet. There are no words to describe it, everything was just perfect - it was breathtaking.'

The bridal party stopped traffic for about 10 minutes so they could march down the Forster-Tuncurry bridge for a photo shoot

Love is love! Damien and Luke walked along the bride in front of their luxury Rolls Royce, bringing traffic to a halt on March 23

The couple had a show-stopping entrance into their luxurious wedding reception with Lebanese drumming

The two happy grooms wowed the crowd as they tied the knot in a breathtaking million dollar 'luxury white country wonderland' dubbed 'the wedding of the year'

Sealed with a kiss! The six bridesmaids looked stunning in their stunning gowns, made by high end wedding designer Nicky Velani, as they danced around the couple

Not only did the couple want a wedding day like no other, they also wanted to offer their guests the most memorable experience ever

The couple adopted all sorts of different approaches to how they wanted to say 'I do' in front of their loved ones

Not only did the couple want a wedding day like no other, they also wanted to offer their guests the most memorable and luxurious experience ever.

'We wanted to get married and look after our guests as well. At the end of the day, the experience was just absolutely amazing,' Luke said.

'There were 100 glamping tents, and we provided brunch and champagne for all glampers.

'We were very secretive about the whole wedding. No one knew what to expect before the day - we kept everything all hush hush.

'We told them to pack nine outfits, and the dress code was smart casual - that's all we said.

'We wanted our guests to change into three different outfits on our wedding day.'

The pair organised the four-day event for their guests, who started arriving on Thursday, March 21.

'We initially planned two days, but then it turned into three days. While we were planning the wedding, we just opened up a whole can of worms and we decided we wanted four days because we had a lot of people travelling so far so we didn't want to rush the experience,' Luke said.

'We placed postcards on our guests' pillows with the schedule of the event. So day one, guests started to arrive on Thursday night, the rest arrived on Friday morning and night. We took half of the guests to a nice winery on Friday morning. By the afternoon, we had a bus to take the rest of the guests for a meet-and-greet dinner that night.

'Saturday was our wedding day. We prepared brunch for all the glampers. The ceremony started at 12pm. Around 1pm, the bridal party left for the photo shoot. We got to mingle and greet every single guests until 4pm.'

Just breathtaking! The couple of five years exchanged their vows in front of 320 friends and families in a fairytale wedding

Family and friends were treated to a 'fine dining' menu with delicious meal options and a list of prestigious wines

Damien dazzled in a black blazer, which was completely covered in crystals and he walked down the aisle in a crystal crown

The couple exchanged their vows in front of emotional friends and family, along with 250,000 Swarovski crystal backdrop

With up to 16 cameras on the grooms, the wedding photo shoot was taken to an 'extreme level' when they decided to pose along the Forster-Tuncurry bridge, bringing traffic to a halt.

'We closed the bridge for about 10 minutes max, the traffic built up really quickly but we had no issues with it. Everyone was honking their horns, cheering and we had randoms supporting us,' Luke said.

We wanted our bridesmaids to look beautiful as though they were dressed like a bride on their wedding day

'We also love drums so we had Lebanese drums drumming us into the formal marquee from the bridge. Love is love and it was such an amazing feeling.'

The pair had two groomsmen, three flower girls and six stunning bridesmaids.

'So both our best friends are girls, our partners in crimes are boys, we had our BFFs from uni and school and we also added our sisters to the bridal party,' Luke said.

'We wanted to keep everything balanced, we wanted our bridesmaids to look beautiful. We wanted them to wear white elegant gowns as though they were dressed like a bride on their wedding day.

'We were absolutely delighted with how everything turned out. We also had the whole bridal party in the jumping castle and the whole experience was great fun.'

There was an eight minute spectacular fireworks display to wrap up their four-day luxurious wedding festivities

The 320 guests were treated to an amazing fireworks display to end their amazing weekend after the wedding celebrations

Guests standing next to the spectacular 11 tier wedding cake

The months leading up to their wedding day, the pair organised to have their marquee built from the ground up before adding the luxurious elements.

'There was nothing but snakes and cows on a paddock next to a creek,' he said, laughing.

'We spent 12 months planning our venue, knocking down trees, using a tractor to level out the ground. We built the entire structure from the ground up. We didn't have a wedding planner and I'm a landscape architect by trade so I made sure everything was perfect.

'We had custom made tables in the marquee, the core of the whole wedding were the 250,000 individual Swarovski crystals - it was 15 metres of crystals around the walls, and we had over a million diamante hanging off the ceiling.'

The couple worked with 54 different vendors to bring their magical event forward after spending more than a million dollars on their fairytale wedding. According to Bride to Be magazine, the average cost of a wedding in Australia is about $65,482.

'We spent over a million dollars on the wedding, landscape and renovations. The biggest thing was we knew what we wanted and we didn't cut a single corner,' Luke said.

'My comments to the guests were the seat in the back corner will be the same chair at the front, and you will get the same flower arrangement on every table, there was nothing reduced or cut back. We wanted all our guests to share the same experience and we made sure everything was outstanding.

'It was like clockwork, we couldn't have done it without our amazing suppliers - they were the best. We're very lucky to have everyone fall into our friends category and they all got to be part of our special day.'

Luke said when their wedding preparation was underway, they built their marquee from the ground up before adding the luxurious elements, including the chandeliers, 200,000 flowers, crystals and more than a million diamante

The married couple made a show stopping entrance into their wedding reception after greeting every guest individually

Despite everything going to plan on the big event, Luke said there was only one disaster - but everything was quickly solved before the guests arrived.

'We had torrential rain the night before so Damien and I were up at 3am mopping the water in the marquee. The only threat to our wedding was the weather but we got through it,' Luke said.

'When the guests walked into the marquee, they didn't notice anything wrong.'

Our guests loved everything. Everyone joked that the only thing missing from our wedding was the Sydney Harbour Bridge

And their wedding day was nothing short of amazing.

'I'm a guy who does not cry or get emotional but the moment I walked into the marquee, I just broke down. Everything we had planned was done to a tee, I walked the whole room twice and it was faultless,' Luke said.

'We wanted to have a special finale so we had eight minutes of fireworks - it blew everyone away. Our guests loved everything. Everyone joked that the only thing missing from our wedding was the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

'We've been told it was "the wedding of the year" - it's a big compliment and the best part was our guests got to experience it. Our wedding day was everything we ever dreamed of and more.'

The wedding pictures were captured by Inlighten Photography.

Before exchanging their vows, the couple took intimate photographs ahead of their highly-anticipated wedding day

There were 100 glamping tents set up for their guests, which also included brunch and champagne on Saturday morningThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for the state dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, Fiji, on October 23

The Prince of Wales told the Duchess of Sussex not to wear a tiara to her first overseas state dinner, fearing it might look extravagant.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Prince Charles intervened over plans by Meghan to wear a lavish headpiece to an event in Fiji last October.

The Duchess had hoped to borrow a jewelled tiara from the Royal Collection for the event, but she was advised by her father-in-law that such ostentation is avoided in parts of the Commonwealth where it can be seen as reminiscent of a bygone era or extravagant.

A source said: Meghan did not understand all of this because she was new to the role and so Prince Charles told her that it would not be appropriate.

It was very kindly done.

The absence of a tiara drew attention when Meghan, wearing a blue full-length gown by Safiyaa, arrived for the dinner hosted by the president of Fiji Jioji Konrote  not least because the Duchess of Cambridge wore a large diamond and pearl headpiece once owned by Princess Diana to a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on the same night.

Meghan did, however, wear a pair of diamond earrings that are thought to have been borrowed, possibly from the Royal Collection, which is the largest private collection of art in the world.

The Duchess of Sussex wearing a diamond and platinum bandeau tiara at her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19

Charles is believed to have taken a greater role in planning official foreign trips made by the Royal Family since the Queen gave up overseas tours in 2015.

Commonwealth leaders formally announced last year that he will succeed his mother as the next head of the organisation and aides say he is determined to show respect to each of its 53 member states.

The UN estimates the average monthly wage in Fiji to be just 400 and it is thought Charles considered the tiara would not be in keeping with modern monarchy.

Last night an insider told the Mail on Sunday: The Prince, having travelled to all these places many times over many years, is very well placed to give advice on such matters.

The Duchess of Cambridge attends a State Banquet in honour of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at Buckingham Palace in London on October 23, 2018

The heir to the Throne has also developed a close relationship with Meghan  he walked her up the aisle when she married Prince Harry last May. Those wedding preparations were, however, shaken by a dispute over another tiara. The former Suits actress had reportedly set her heart on an emerald encrusted headpiece, but her request was refused when the origin of the piece could not be established.

When Harry heard this, he reportedly said, What Meghan wants, Meghan gets, prompting the Queen to intervene.

At the time, a source was quoted as saying: There was a very heated exchange that prompted the Queen to speak to Harry.

She said: Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara shes given by me. 

In the end, Meghan wore Queen Marys diamond and platinum bandeau tiara from the Queens private collection during the wedding ceremony at St Georges Chapel in Windsor.

The Royal Collection, which is held in trust by the Queen, boasts a glittering array of crowns, tiaras, necklaces and earrings.

They include the Lovers Knot tiara worn by the Duchess of Cambridge to the banquet last October.

Commissioned by Queen Mary in 1913, it has 19 diamond arches with pearls beneath them and has previously been worn by both the Queen and Princess Diana, who reportedly complained that its weight gave her a headache.

Other famous headpieces include the Queen Mothers Cartier Halo tiara, which boasts 888 diamonds and was loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge for her wedding to Prince William in 2011.

Last night both Kensington Palace and Clarence House declined to comment.Every child assessed for mental health issues must be asked about their social media use, psychiatrists have been told.

The advice, issued by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said clinicians should check if youngsters are spending too much time online.

It comes amid growing evidence of possible links between poor mental health and content seen on the internet.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists said clinicians should check if youngsters are spending too much time online (stock image)

Experts estimate the average 14-year-old is now using social media for three to four hours a day.

At this level of use, 27 per cent of youngsters have symptoms of mental health problems  compared to 12 per cent of those who do not use social media at all.

MPs this month said addiction to social media should potentially be classed as a disease as they called for tough new regulations to protect children from an online Wild West.

They said sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram should be regulated by Ofcom and forced to abide by a statutory code of conduct.

Tragic teen 'didn't qualify for NHS care' Overdose: Afrika Yearwood A teenager overdosed and died after being refused treatment because she was not ill enough to meet the criteria for mental health support, an inquest heard. Afrika Yearwood, 18, was ping-ponged around the NHS and received just over two hours and 21 minutes of care from different NHS services in the three months before her death in May 2018. The A-level student from Leeds repeatedly spoke of wanting to die, Wakefield Coroners Court heard. But her mother, Beverley Yearwood, said she was shunted around  and in one 58-minute call pleading for help she was told her daughter was not acutely ill enough. She added: When Im sat by her grave I hear him say she is not acutely ill enough. The inquest continues. For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 116123. Advertisement

The impact of social media was thrust into the spotlight by the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life after viewing images on Instagram that glamorised self-harm.

The college said such content, or material promoting eating disorders, could have an impact on an existing mental illness.

Conditions such as depression may also make children more likely to spend time online, while use of technology could lead to poor sleep, under-performance at school, behavioural problems and eating issues, it said.

Spending too much time online also limits time for other activities, such as face-to-face conversations with friends and family, the college said.

And it recommends that children stop using gadgets at least an hour before going to bed and avoid using it at mealtimes.

Dr Bernadka Dubicka, of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: Although we recognise that social media and technology are not primary drivers of mental illness in young people, we know they are an important part of their lives and can be harmful in some situations.

As a frontline clinician, I regularly see young people who have deliberately hurt themselves after discussing self-harm techniques online.

Clinicians recognise the well-known phenomena of young people copying each others harmful behaviour while on inpatient units, but its even more worrying to see this replicated in the online world where audiences are so much bigger.

'Were also finding that some young people report being recommended harmful content; for example, links to websites encouraging weight loss or displaying self-harm after searching for, or clicking on, similar content just once before.

College president, Professor Wendy Burn, added: We need to be mindful that many young peoples lives are now being dominated by the online world.

The Government is set to publish a White Paper on forcing social media firms to sign a code of conduct protecting young and vulnerable users.

Emma Thomas, of the Young Minds charity, said: Young people we work with rarely say that social media is the cause of mental health conditions, but they say it can heighten problems they are already struggling with, adding to anxiety or making them feel worse when they compare their lives to those of other people.

Claire Murdoch, of NHS England, said the new guidance should act as a wake-up call.The day my sister Amelia ended up in hospital, fearing she was going to die, began like any other. The alarm went off at 6.30am and, after wolfing down breakfast, she ran out of the door to get to work by 8am.

Aged 32 at the time and an assistant music professor at a US university, her ten-hour day of teaching involved no lunch break  instead she crammed in revision for her upcoming doctorate exam.

After a takeaway dinner, evening concert rehearsals and a brief conversation with her husband about their weekend break with his three teenage children, she finally fell into bed, exhausted. Lying in the dark, her mind whirred. And two hours into her sleeping-pill induced slumber, Amelia woke in excruciating pain. Sharp jolts of agony pierced her abdomen, leaving her breathless and panicked.

Twins Emily and Amelia Nagoski, pictured, are identical twins, but Emily, left, has never spent a day in hospital, while her sister Amelia, right, has been plagued by health problems

She was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered her white blood cell count was five times higher than it should be  a sign the immune system was under incredible strain. She was in hospital for four days. But tests revealed nothing further and she was sent home.

Yet a year later, she was back in hospital, this time with a catalogue of ailments including back pain, asthma, severe depression and a sudden bout of acute appendicitis.

I am Amelias identical twin and am always a picture of health. At 41, I have never been in hospital. So why was Amelias body broken and mine in mint condition? As a health educator and biologist, armed with decades of scientific research, I believe I have the answer.

It lies in a phenomenon called burnout which affects half a million Britons every year with victims mostly women and 40 per cent more likely to suffer, not because of any fundamental biological differences between the sexes but because of the way male and female roles in society have evolved.

Exhaustion wrecks the immune system

Amelias cascade of damaging symptoms was due to the emotional workload she was dealing with day after day

Aside from the sense of helplessness, the physical repercussions of burnout can be catastrophic. The increased release of stress hormones leads to chronic high blood pressure, putting excess strain on the heart. Immune system functioning, tissue repair and the digestive system are all paused, increasing the risk of fatal infections.

Its my belief that Amelias cascade of damaging symptoms was due to the emotional workload she was dealing with day after day.

Our research revealed burnout is not just linked to increased risk of psychiatric disorders  such as anxiety and depression  but may be the reason why thousands of women end up in hospital with physical issues ranging from chronic pain and digestive problems to infertility and migraines. It could even pre-dispose sufferers to dangerous infections such as appendicitis  as it did with Amelia.

Burnout dampens down the immune system, allowing infections that would normally be snuffed out to thrive.

A Dutch study found those with burnout were up to four times more likely to suffer gastroenteritis  an inflamed gut due to bacterial or viral infection.

You get stuck in a non-stop stress cycle

Do you have human giver syndrome? One of the major factors behind the epidemic in female burnout is the curse of Human Giver Syndrome. The affliction, suffered by millions of women, is rooted in the belief that a person must prioritise the needs of others and shield them from negative emotions. If you answer yes to two or more of these questions, you could be suffering, too 1. Do you believe you have a moral obligation to your partner, family or the world to be happy, calm, generous and attentive to others? 2. Do you think that failing to put others first makes you a failure as a person? 3. Do you feel guilty about showing ambition? 4. Do you regard confident women as bossy? 5. Do you see all of the above as normal? Advertisement

Burnout happens when the body and brain are in a biological state of stress for a prolonged period of time, as was the case with Amelia.

The purpose of the brains stress centre is to arm us with the physiological tools to escape or fight when faced with the threat of death. Usually, the body performs this function perfectly well.

The problem is that such an extreme response is triggered by what we perceive to be a threat. Millennia ago, these were indeed life-threatening (a hungry lion, for instance), but nowadays a perceived threat is more likely to be an angry boss, or a mountain of bills. Our body leaps to the same physical reaction. The hormone adrenaline pushes blood into our muscles and to our vital organs, enabling us to run faster and fight fiercer. Endorphins are released to reduce pain sensitivity and blood rushes to our brain, making us alert and hyper-vigilant. Systems that arent a priority  immune, digestive and reproductive  are suppressed.

The human body is only designed to function in this state temporarily. In the past, on escaping the lion, we took a relaxing sigh of relief, grateful to be alive. The natural cycle of stress was completed.

But what happens when the lion re-emerges every morning at your office? We become stuck, mid-cycle. The body and brain remains locked in a state of terror. Day in, day out.

Women put others before themselves

The main difference between Amelia and myself  and a key factor in her burnout  lies in what I call human giver syndrome where someone keeps giving to others (in terms of time, emotional support and care) but expects nothing in return. As a result, they end up stuck in the middle of the stress cycle, physically and emotionally, before they burn out of steam, leading to the cascade of physical repercussions.

According to Emily, pictured, the main difference between her and her sister is that Amelia has 'human giver syndrome' and will keep giving to others without expecting anything in return

Our research found thousands of women fell victim to this ill, believing they must keep their negative emotions to themselves in a bid to improve the lives of others.

It happens because girls are raised to be calm, attentive and helpful to others at all times, but boys, less so. Recent Canadian research found the female tendency to allow others to take the spotlight led to missed work opportunities and catastrophic physical consequences  including heart disease and immune problems.

From a young age, Amelia  like most women  was a people pleaser, hiding her anger or misery so not to upset others. I was seen as different to other girls for my unwillingness to fit in. Oddly, the unique traits that made me feel odd as a teenager may, at some point, save my life.

Sometimes we must look after ourselves

Nobody has a limitless capacity to care for others, without it having a detrimental effect on their wellbeing.

When we experience stress on behalf of other people, we dismiss it as irrational and are unlikely to grant ourselves the time to deal with the emotional fall-out.

According to Emily, left, half of all doctors and nurses suffer from 'compassion fatigue'

This creates stress overload in the emotion centres of the brain that reduces empathy, something psychologists call compassion fatigue, a precursor to burnout.

Studies suggest half of all nurses and doctors exhibit troubling signs of compassion fatigue and those affected have higher incidences of alcoholism, drug dependency, headaches and high blood pressure.

For Amelia, the emotional turmoil of her stepchildrens teenage traumas coupled with caring for sick relatives and friends sent her into a spiral of mental distress.

Women simmer with unreleased anger

In psychology, there is a recognised syndrome called the good girl complex. Just as girls are raised to put others first, theyre told to be nice and happy, too.

Research shows girls are more adept at recognising others emotions but worse than males at expressing the negative ones.

Men, on the other hand, are far more likely than women to respond to affliction with anger or aggression. This puts women at a disadvantage as angry outbursts act as quick, effective way of completing the stress cycle.

Instead, many women are walking around with decades of incomplete stress response cycles simmering away in our chemistry.

Emily and Amelia, pictured, have both written a book on their experiences

We need more sleep but can't switch it off

Scientists know six to eight hours sleep a night is key for healthy immune function, metabolism, memory, inflammation reduction and cell repair.

But women are 50 per cent more likely than men to suffer insomnia and have a 20 per cent increased risk of sleep disorders.

After years of practising activities such as meditation, exercise and time off work, Amelia has seen her physical health improve. Shes healthier, saner and happier than she was in her 20s.

Use our science-based tricks that helped her and you could be, too.

Burnout: The Secret To Solving The Stress Cycle, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Vermilion, 16.99).A patch of skin worn on the back of the neck could banish annoying ringing in the ears, according to new research.

Experts at the University of West Virginia in the US tested the idea on dozens of men and women suffering from the condition tinnitus, which causes the incessant ringing.

Each wore a patch containing lidocaine  a local anaesthetic often used by dentists  on the base of the skull for up to three months, applying a new patch daily. The results, published in the American Journal Of Otolaryngology, showed that most saw a significant reduction in ringing after just a month, with even better results after two and three months.

US researchers have been testing tinnitus sufferers with patches containing lidocaine - a local anaesthetic often used by dentists - on the base of the skull for three months. The user would change the patch on a daily basis

Its not clear why lidocaine has this impact on ringing in the ears.

But if further studies confirm the benefits, it could be a huge relief for the UKs five million tinnitus sufferers  some of whom can end up suicidal due to the unremitting, round-the-clock ear noise.

Some 80 people were treated with hot-water-bottle burns at Westminster Hospital in 2018

Hot water bottles are a serious health hazard, according to doctors.

Specialists have warned that they are responsible for a shocking number of burn injuries  some of which are life-changing.

The burns unit at Londons Chelsea and Westminster Hospital treated 80 adults and children for hot-water-bottle burns in 2018.

Half of the patients were burnt by the bottle itself while the others suffered scalds while filling the bottle or when it leaked while they were asleep.

Twenty-six were admitted to hospital and 37 had operations, the journal Burns reports.

Fat jab 'cures' impotence

Beer bellies could hold the key to treating impotence.

The fat tissue that many loathe is being transformed into stem cells  master cells widely seen as a repair kit for the body.

These are then mixed with blood platelets which encourage them to multiply, before being injected into the penis, restoring erectile function. Doctors at the Medical School of Athens used a form of liposuction to suck up the fat tissue of eight trial patients.

Writing in the journal Bioengineering, the researchers reported a significant improvement in sexual function for men who received the fat jab, compared to a control group.

Exactly how the jab works is unclear, but one possibility is that it increases production of blood-vessel-widening chemical nitric oxide, allowing more blood to flow to the penis when needed. Erectile dysfunction is caused by a lack of blood flow to the penis owing to a number of factors including heart disease, high cholesterol and anxiety. Treatments currently include drugs such as Viagra and psychological therapies.

Oh horrors! Violent films cause obesity

An appetite for violent films such as The Shining starring Jack Nicholson could see you pile on the pounds.

Men and women ate a third more fatty snacks, like crisps and chocolate, and nearly 50 per cent more popcorn after watching a violent film, compared to one that didnt involve violence, the journal Eating Behaviors reports.

They also felt more tired and nervous  perhaps explaining the extra attraction of the calorie-laden comfort foods.

Men and women ate a third more fatty snacks, like crisps and chocolate, and nearly 50 per cent more popcorn after watching a violent film, compared to one that didnt involve violence, the journal Eating Behaviors reports

The University of Beirut researchers say their study, the first of its kind, suggests that it is not only the sedentary nature of television-watching that fuels obesity. The content could also contribute to the problem.

The results shed light on the possible effects of movie violence on eating behaviour, highlighting a predominant increase in energy intake, they add. Addressing this issue and its implication in children is a must.He is the star of the blockbuster Back To The Future films who was told he had Parkinsons disease aged just 29.

Now actor Michael J. Fox has inspired a brilliant teenager  a huge fan of the movies  to invent a way to spot the condition ten years earlier than is usually the case.

Erin Smith was 15 when she had her eureka moment while watching footage of the actor.

Erin Smith, now 19, learned how to code from scratch and within a year she had created a prototype that could identify telltale clues using video footage

She saw how, as a result of the neurological disease, Foxs facial expressions lacked emotion even when he was enthused. Like other sufferers, he also had a droopy smile and upturned eyebrow.

Looking back through Foxs work, Erin saw how his expressions started to change even before he was diagnosed in 1991  six years after the first film in the series.

Keen to devise a computer programme to spot people with early signs of the disease, Erin learned how to code from scratch. Within a year she had created a prototype that could identify telltale clues using video footage.

Similar facial recognition technology is used to scan CCTV images for faces of known criminals, but Erins programme had a machine learning capacity to get continually better at spotting the signs of Parkinsons.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which backs research to find a cure for the disease, funded two pilot studies, which concluded Erins FacePrint programme was 88 per cent accurate at distinguishing Parkinsons sufferers from healthy people. Erin, now 19, outlined FacePrint during a Dragons Den-style pitch at WIRED Health, a conference in London last week run by UK magazine WIRED.

Actor Michael J. Fox inspired Erin Smith  a huge fan of the movies  to invent a way to spot the condition ten years earlier than is usually the case

She told The Mail on Sunday: I have always been a big fan of Back To The Future. After having the initial idea, I was able to look at old footage to see when Michaels facial differences occurred. And as I searched through past medical papers, I found that the parts of the brain that experience the earliest changes in Parkinsons are the same parts involved in facial expression formation.

Major signs such as tremor and difficulty walking do not occur until up to 20 years after onset.

Ms Smith, from Kansas, is now planning a crowdsourcing trial to refine the programme. It is backed by Stanford University, where she has won a place to study computer science and neuroscience.

Professor David Dexter, of the charity Parkinsons UK, said: Earlier detection would not only enable people to take control, but could lead to the development of new and better treatments.Dumbo Cert: PG, 1hr 52mins

Rating:

Anyone revisiting the original 1941 version of Dumbo will be unavoidably struck by two things: first, the enduring vibrancy of Walt Disneys Technicolor animation and, second, the films astonishing political incorrectness by todays standards.

Among its many perceived sins, it places the adult bullying of infants and human cruelty to animals at the very heart of its story, unashamedly perpetuates racial stereotypes and casually endorses drunkenness in minors, albeit minors of the physically challenged, pachyderm variety.

Oh, and youll probably notice a third thing too: said pachyderm doesnt actually fly until about four minutes before the end.

Right from the opening frames of the live-action remake, its clear that things are going to be different this time around with Dumbo taking to the air barely 15 minutes in

So, right from the opening frames of the live-action remake, its clear that things are going to be different this time around.

Yes, there are still storks flying over the winter quarters of the Medici Bros circus but they no longer deliver baby elephants in their beaks. Mrs Jumbo will have to give birth by more conventional means.

As for the muscular circus labourers, theyre certainly not all black now and wont be launching into a demeaning chorus of Were happy-hearted roustabouts any time soon.

Times are tough at the travelling circus for Holt Farrier (Collin Farrell) and his two children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe despite the efforts of its owner, Max Medici (Danny DeVito)

With Dumbo taking to the air barely 15 minutes in, director Tim Burton could not be providing a clearer signal of all change.

As part of that change, the initially rather thin story has been expanded and developed, largely, but not entirely, for the good. Now set in 1919, it sees Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returning to the circus from the Great War, minus an arm and still mourning his wife, who apparently succumbed to the 1918 pandemic of Spanish flu.

No wonder his two children, Milly and Joe, are so pleased to see him.

Michael Keaton seems to have stepped out of a different, more Burtonesque film altogether but Eva Green is spot-on as the French trapeze artist Colette

But times are tough for a travelling circus, despite the best noisy efforts of its indefatigable owner, Max Medici, played with evident relish and big-top showmanship by Danny DeVito.

Holts show horses have been sold and the only job Max can offer him is looking after the elephants, pregnant Mrs Jumbo and all. Holt isnt keen but his children, particularly the solemn, serious and scientifically inclined Milly, are.

So when Mrs J gives birth to a cute, blue-eyed baby with the most enormous ears, its the children who become his chief protectors and, in the face of incontrovertible early evidence that Jumbo Jr can fly, his chief trainers too.

When Mrs Jumbo gives birth to a cute, blue-eyed baby with the most enormous ears, it's the children (Finley Hobbins and Nico Parker) who become his chief protectors

I loved the first hour, which is nothing like as dark as most Burton offerings, which often include DeVito (remember his nightmarish Penguin in Batman Returns?). Here hes more of the lovable, monkey-tormenting rogue, who may noisily demand his money back when Dumbos physical imperfections become apparent but still, one suspects, has a heart of gold.

The same, however, cannot be said of that other veteran of Batman Returns, Michael Keaton, when he arrives as the sinister, blond-wigged amusement park owner, V A Vandevere.

He seems to have stepped out of a different, more Burtonesque film altogether, and theres no doubt Dumbo  as both film and indeed, by now, aerobatic elephant  feels unbalanced as the film builds to rather too big a climax at Vandeveres Dreamland amusement park.

IT'S A FACT The surname Disney is derived from D'Isigny - which means somebody hailing from Isigny-sur-Mer, northern France. Advertisement

The cruelty of the story still jars  Dumbo, Dumbo, fake, fake, fake, chant the crowd as his big- top debut goes horribly wrong and the barred wagon with the warning sign Mad Elephant  one of the iconic images of the original  makes an equally unsettling reappearance.

But other echoes of the first film genuinely charm. Look out for regular appearances of the magic feather supposedly responsible for Dumbos flying abilities, and for a very clever, alcohol-free reworking of the extraordinary, psychedelic pink elephant sequence.

With Eva Green spot-on as the French trapeze artist Colette (goodie, baddie, who knows?) and some wonderfully envisioned big-top sequences, this is very much a Dumbo for our times.

You may not quite come out believing an elephant can fly but it will be close.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

The Highwaymen (15)

Rating:

Half a century ago, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty gave us the definitive version of the story of Bonnie & Clyde. Now its the turn of Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson to tell the corresponding story of Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, the former Texas Rangers who tracked down the Lone Star-born gangsters and brought their infamous crime spree to a bullet-riddled end.

52 years after Bonnie & Clyde, it's the turn of Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson (above) to tell the corresponding story of the men who tracked down the infamous gangsters

Produced by Netflix and directed by John Lee Hancock, the films main strength is the laid-back chemistry between the two leads as the ageing gumshoes who are out of condition and cant shoot straight.

But despite a cinema release, it is slightly lacking in cinematic scale.

The Vanishing (15)

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In recent years weve grown accustomed to Gerard Butler in mega-budget thrillers. So its good to see him returning to his Scottish roots with this tense, menacing but modestly scaled drama based on what is known as the Flannan Isles mystery, which in 1900 saw three lighthouse keepers disappear.

With Butler and Peter Mullan taking the two leading roles, and newcomer Connor Swindells playing the younger third man, the acting is as good as the claustrophobic atmosphere is tense.

But the story that Joe Bone and Celyn Jones have dreamt up to explain the mens disappear-ance feels derivative, and the level of violence favoured by director Kristoffer Nyholm is unpleasant.

Out Of Blue (15)

Rating:

Remember Destroyer, with Nicole Kidman as a troubled LAPD detective on the trail of a murderer with possible links to her past? Well, Carol Morleys new film is a lot like that only, for 80 stylish minutes or more, much, much better, with Patricia Clarkson on low-key but impressive form as the maverick New Orleans homicide detective and Morley layering on the mood, music and off-kilter style.

Patricia Clarkson (above) is on low-key but impressive form as the maverick New Orleans homicide detective in Carol Morley's new film Out Of Blue

And then suddenly, the story of who killed astrophysicist Jennifer Rockwell (Mamie Gummer) goes narratively haywire, turning a strikingly unusual film into something overworked and very odd indeed.

At Eternity's Gate (12A)

Rating:

Apart from producing dozens of artistic masterpieces, Vincent van Gogh is best known for going mad and cutting off his ear. Julian Schnabels biopic, with its wobbly camerawork, discordant soundtrack and 63-year-old Willem Dafoe playing the 37-year-old artist, helps us realise just how Van Gogh felt.Vampire Weekend Islington Assembly Hall, London Glastonbury, Jun 26-30; touring in Nov

Rating:

A band is, among other things, a brand: it stands for something. This can evolve through a career, as shown by The Beatles (from boyish charm to blazing originality) and Abba (cheesy warmth to beautiful sorrow).

Or it can be set in stone: The Who run on articulate fury, Oasis on inarticulate frustration.

Vampire Weekend, so far, have been all about playful intelligence. After making friends at Columbia University in New York, these four young men developed a distinctive sound  Ivy League Afro-pop, taking Paul Simons Graceland as a template and giving it a twist of 21st-century irony.

Frontman Ezra Koenig brings not just his fellow founder members, Chris the bassist and Chris the drummer, but a lead guitarist, a second drummer and two keyboard players

Now, after a long break and the departure of the multi-talented Rostam Batmanglij, theyre branching out.

Popping in to London to play three small curtain-raisers for their new album, Ezra Koenig brings not just his fellow founder members, Chris the bassist and Chris the drummer, but a lead guitarist, a second drummer and two keyboard players, one of whom doubles as drummer number three.

The sound is bigger and fatter and warmer, as when Talking Heads recruited five funk musicians in 1980. Its also more varied, veering towards prog rock one minute, punk the next.

The sound is bigger and fatter & warmer. Its also more varied, veering towards prog rock one minute, punk the next but the effect is mixed and at times it's too scattergun. Above: Koenig

The effect is mixed. Theres even more energy, but at times its too scattergun. A new ballad called Big Blue, short and sweet in the studio, comes with several extra sections bolted on as if it wants to be Bohemian Rhapsody.

Theres a reason why that song hasnt been widely influential.

The crowd, naturally, go crazy for the old favourites, from Walcott to Oxford Comma. But the new tracks have been intriguing, and when I go home and sit down with an early copy of the album (Father Of The Bride, Columbia, out May 3), they stand up well  so well that this could be one of the albums of the year.

Most of the 18 tracks are direct, concise and heartfelt. As they reach their mid-30s, Vampire Weekend are becoming less of a college band, but like good college kids, theyve come back after spreading their wings, and everyone is pleased to see them.

THIS WEEK'S CD RELEASES

By Adam Woods

Jenny Lewis On The Line Out now

Rating:

On her fourth album, Lewis chews on the end of a relationship (Red Bull & Hennessy) and the death of her drug-damaged mother (Little White Dove). Elsewhere, she evokes the stately piano thump of Seventies John Lennon and a distinctively Californian soft-rock

Rose Elinor Dougall A New Illusion Out Fri

Rating:The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story

Tuesday-Thursday, BBC4

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Victoria

Sunday, ITV

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This weeks television was one of those weeks when it just felt like more of the same. Victoria (yeah, yeah). Blue Planet Live (Springwatch with sharks). MotherFatherSon (Still GrippinglyTerrible; fair play, it has been nothing if not consistent in this respect). There was only one programme that felt like you hadnt seen it all before and it was The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story. I am not a true-crime nut, as Im not a weirdo, but this was outstanding and also important and not your average true-crime documentary, as topped and tailed by Trevor McDonald looking very sad, say.

Police photofit of the Yorkshire Ripper issued in 1977. Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women between 1975 and 1981, brutally attacked eight others, and was questioned nine times by police but was always let go to kill again

The film-maker Liza Williams has gone back 40 years to look at the case with fresh and, most essentially, female eyes. I attended Leeds University in the late Seventies when the Ripper roamed free and remember the terror and the mini-buses that were laid on so that female students didnt have to walk anywhere, and the news coming in of yet another victim smashed around the head with a hammer, clothes lifted up, multiply stabbed.

Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women between 1975 and 1981, brutally attacked eight others, and was questioned nine times by police but was always let go to kill again. What I didnt know is that there was a reason the police didnt get anywhere for so long, and you could argue it was the same reason that blighted the Stephen Lawrence case: institutionalised, mind-blowing, shocking prejudice. Although in this instance it was gender not race.

It was so continually astounding in what it revealed that its hard to know where to begin. Williams has interviewed former police officers, former journalists, victims families and plundered the archives, and the picture that emerged was one of a police force that, at least initially, chose to drag its feet. They told us on the quiet, said one former crime reporter. It was just prostitutes and they werent making a big deal of it.

As the body count mounted, the number of police brought in escalated  it would eventually lead to the biggest criminal manhunt in British history  but their attitude remained the same. The victims were sex workers. They had loose morals. They had brought it on themselves, in effect. Their lives were worth less than those of others. You could say, said one senior officer at the time, that you can stay alive best by not being a prostitute. While the Ripper was on the loose they even continued arresting women for soliciting, who then had to go back onto the streets on their own at night to pay their fines. (Christ.) They drew up a profile of Sutcliffe as someone on a mission to kill prostitutes, even if some of his victims werent, and even if some that they said were, werent. And when the evidence didnt fit in with their theory, they ignored it.

For example, Williams interviewed Tracy Browne, who was 14 (in 1975) and had a good look at the man she met on a country lane before he smashed her around the head with a hammer and then, disturbed by an oncoming car, threw her over a fence in a field. When she recovered she was able to give the police a detailed photofit that, as we saw, looked almost exactly like Sutcliffe  afro hair and a beard you couldnt mistake him  but because she was a schoolgirl and because she wasnt attacked in a red-light district the police refused to make the link. After the next couple of murders, she returned to the police, insisting it had to be the same man, and their response? Are you having fun and games with us today? Williams is forensic and compassionate with a (fresh) eye for every detail. Did the photos of the victims released by the police have to be so Myra Hindley-esque? Were they designed to evoke as little sympathy as possible? This was horrifying, but also riveting. And important.

A few words about Victoria, I suppose, given its popularity and that its returned for a third series. In fact, it can be quite fun if you play Spot the Historical Inaccuracy. Was Lord Palmerston a sexy young dude in 1848? (No! He was 64!) Did the Chartists storm Buckingham Palace? (No! They engaged in a peaceful rally miles away!) As a rule, every hour-long episode takes up double that, as there is the time you have to put in on Wikipedia checking stuff. (I could stop doing that but find I am compelled.)

This is history as soap, with a script that goes in for the kind of exposition that puts you in mind of Babs from Acorn Antiques: Thats the queens half-sister from her mothers first marriage and That said, Jenna Coleman is rather wonderful in the starring role and when, after the 1848 revolution in France, she thanked God for the English Channel, I was much taken with Alberts reply. Im not sure thats enough, he said. Ideas can swim. Swimming ideas. Arent they quite the worst?Smart meter installation has slowed, dropping 16 per cent in the final three months of 2018 compared with the same period the year before, according to new data.

There has been a two per cent decrease in domestic smart meter installation in the final quarter of 2018 compared to the three months before, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says.

This is despite the Government's target to have a device fitted in every home and small business by 2020.

The report revealed that a quarter of all domestic meters, which are operated by both large and smaller energy suppliers, are now operating in smart mode.

Meter installation slowed by 2% in the final quarter of 2018, compared to previous quarter

This means that nationally, 25 per cent of households have 'smart' meters automatically sending readings.

The rest are traditional ones - or smart meters without smart functionality, for example, they unable to send automatic meter readings or show energy usage in pounds and pence.

Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: 'These latest figures show suppliers have a mountain to climb, given that only a quarter of meters are operating in smart mode.

'All parties involved should be focusing their resources on ensuring the rollout delivers on the promise to bring greater convenience and a more competitive energy market  not just hassle and soaring costs for customers, funded by their very own bills.'

However, there are now around 13.8million smart and advanced meters working in homes and businesses across the UK  an increase of eight per cent from the previous quarter.

Overall, around 16.09 million smart and advanced meters have been fitted in homes and businesses across the UK by both large and small suppliers with 93 per cent of these installed in domestic properties and the rest in smaller domestic sites.

Robert Cheesewright, director of corporate affairs at Smart Energy GB, said: 'It's good news that 13.8million smart meters are now installed in Britain, many more people are seeing the benefits of having one in their home or small business.

'Every smart meter installed is a step closer to a smart grid, which will enable Britain to make full use of renewable energy and tackle our aging energy system's contribution of climate change, creating a network that will be fit for the 21st century.'

Are smart meters important? Smart meters have been introduced as a way of accurately monitoring energy bills for UK businesses and households. By taking accurate meter readings, it is hoped customers will save money as they will use less energy and not rely on estimated bills from their suppliers. Using less energy will in turn will help the environment. Smart Energy GB said: 'When everyone is using a smart meter and keeping an eye on the energy they use, the collective CO2 savings would be like planting more than 10 million trees a year until 2030 or taking a total of 600,000 cars off the road by 2030.'

Despite the growing number of smart meters being installed, the devices have been plagued by problems since their introduction in 2016.

One of the main issues is with the first generation meters (SMETS1) that go 'dumb', meaning they lose all functionality, when customers have tried to switch supplier.

Worryingly, 58 per cent of customers did not know their meter would go dumb when switching supplier, according to a survey by comparison site, Compare the Market.

In its poll of 1,200 energy customers, it also discovered that a huge 35 per cent of people found their smart meter has gone dumb since initial installation.

Whilst the rollout of the second generation meters (SMETS2) is expected to solve this problem, it has been pushed back and first generation meters are still being fitted.

Customers have also reported being bullied by their energy companies into having one installed - even though it is optional.

A further 19 per cent of those surveyed think the Government should scrap the smart meter scheme altogether.

Peter Earl, head of energy at Compare the Market, said: 'The slowing roll out of smart meters makes the 2020 deadline for every home to have one look implausible.

'It has been blamed on the switch from the first generation of smart meters to the second generation and the sluggish rate of installation of the newer meters will do little to strengthen consumer faith in the project.

'The SMETS2 rollout has been delayed and delayed. It is absolutely critical that those homes yet to have been offered smart meters are issued with the newer model and that the old SMETS1 meters are either replaced  or updated to enable connection to the network  to address the issue of them being rendered useless after switching.

'We believe that the cost of the roll-out now outweighs any consumer benefit. We would not recommend SMETS1 smart meters to our customers.'

The National Audit Office said in November of last year that the government has 'no realistic prospect' of reaching its 2020 target.

It's report said installers will need to replace 39 million old meters within the next two years if it wants to meet the deadline.

Which? said the industry would have to install 30 meters every minute over the next two years to meet the target whereas it currently installing fewer than ten.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'It's worrying that at this key moment, when the switch to second generation smart meters should be accelerating, installation rates overall are actually slowing down.

'This is adding to the confusion for customers. Millions of people who have had a smart meter fitted may find it doesn't work properly when they switch supplier, while millions more are not able to get a smart meter installed even if they want one.

'Customers on prepayment tariffs, in rural areas, and in large parts of the north of England and in Scotland, are in danger of being left behind.

'Smart meters will provide benefits for customers, but with the rollout beset by technical problems, the current timetable is unrealistic.

'There's little chance that the 2020 deadline will be met, it should be extended to 2023.'A sudden loss of mobile signal that renders a smartphone unusable may seem an unexceptional occurrence.

But phone users should be wary as it can be a sign of impending fraud  indicating they may be about to have their bank account plundered.

Fraud experts say there is a window of a couple of hours for victims to take action to be certain of preventing financial losses.

Alert: The first sign of the fraud is when a mobile phone loses its signal

Known as 'SIM-swap fraud', this elaborate scam exploits security weaknesses in mobile phone networks and banks.

It is centred around the six-digit code customers are sent by their bank via text authorising a payment to be made from their account. Fraudsters set out to fool a network provider into transferring their victim's mobile phone number on to a SIM card they possess.

They can then masquerade as the genuine customer, intercept any payment code and authorise fraudulent payment transfers.

The fraudsters have to work hard for their spoils  first stealing information found online or bought on the Dark Web such as a username and password and mobile number.

The trickster can use this to impersonate them online, over the phone or in person at a mobile store.

Hundreds of cases a year are reported to national fraud reporting organisation Action Fraud. But because most people keep quiet about their experiences the scale of the problem is not known.

Estimates suggest the cost to victims in the UK is at least 1 million a year, with an average individual loss of 4,000. Law enforcement agencies are stepping up efforts to alert people about the practice.

Police Scotland recently issued a warning about SIM-swap fraud on Facebook after a resident in the Angus area of eastern Scotland lost a four-figure sum.

The fraudsters have to work hard for their spoils  first stealing information found online or bought on the Dark Web such as a username and password and mobile number

In another case, John, from Cambridge, was lucky to have acted swiftly to thwart a SIM-swap scam  where a fraudster almost succeeded in stealing thousands of pounds from his account.

He was having intermittent trouble with his phone signal so was pleased to discuss the problem when receiving a call he thought was from his network provider O2. John says: 'He was convincing and said he would trigger a text with some numbers which I needed to relay to him.

'I got the text and in innocence read out the digits. Shortly after my phone became like a brick, it didn't work.' John sensed something was wrong and borrowed a relative's phone to contact O2. The provider acknowledged a SIM-swap fraud was occurring on his account and went through the steps to reverse the transfer. But O2 warned him he needed to call his bank immediately.

As John was on hold waiting to speak to someone at NatWest he logged into his bank account and watched with alarm as 2,600 was removed.

John says: 'Part of the difficulty is that when you are on the phone and are sent a one-time passcode, the digits come up on screen in the form of a notification.

'But you cannot see the warning message about not sharing the code until you open the text fully, by which time it is too late. Also, if you do not realise fraud is happening and do not call the bank promptly you might not get your money back.'

NatWest says: 'We are working closely with telecoms providers to tackle the issue of SIM swapping and we have robust security systems in place to detect fraud.'

O2 says: 'We take fraud and customer security extremely seriously. Indeed, we were the first network to lead trials with the banks to identify and block fake banking messages.'

The network also says it sends a warning message to the original SIM before allowing the transfer of a mobile number  as a way to flag up this sort of scam.

If a victim has fallen foul of SIM swap fraud, there is no guarantee their bank will refund the money unless alerted quickly.

UK Finance says: 'Be wary of unsolicited calls, texts or emails asking for personal or financial information  and never reveal your full login details either by email or phone.'

For more information on how to stay safe from fraud visit website takefive-stopfraud.org.uk.When pensioner Jane Snowball took part in a trial 35 years ago to order groceries using her television remote control, little did she realise she effectively became Britains first online shopper.

Last year, internet grocery shopping was worth 12.6 billion, but many elderly people are missing out on this retail revolution, due to high minimum spends and expensive delivery charges.

Today, online ordering is a speedy process carried out on smartphones, tablets and laptops. There are even self-driving cool boxes that can deliver groceries.

Frustrating: Delivery charges can be high for someone who lives alone

But retailers are targeting higher spending households such as families, with customers typically required to spend between 25 and 60 to qualify for home delivery. It is a high bar for a pensioner living alone  and on a tight budget  to reach.

Even providers not demanding a minimum basket spend still charge sizeable delivery fees, presenting another barrier for elderly shoppers.

Costs vary depending on time of delivery, with pricing structures bewildering to understand even for experienced online customers.

Most supermarkets offer delivery subscription packages for regular shoppers, but these can still prove expensive and do not always guarantee no added delivery charges.

The irony is that the remote shopping initiative run by Gateshead council in 1984 was designed to help pensioners with mobility issues.

Mrs Snowball, then 72 and with a broken hip, could browse items using a remote control equipped with a computer chip that connected her television to retailers via her phone line.

Groceries were selected on screen using a teletext style service, then payment was made in cash when the food arrived at her door.

Wendy Wills, professor of food and public health at the University of Hertfordshire, advises supermarkets on the needs of older shoppers.

But she is frustrated how little progress has been made to help the countrys ageing population.

She says: Im astonished the supermarkets arent doing more. They could introduce looser rules with low-cost delivery slots at quiet times as well as reducing the amount older people need to spend to qualify for free delivery.

One excuse retailers give for not adapting their online offering for older shoppers is that this demographic does not use the internet.

But last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, eight out of ten 65 to 74-year-olds used the internet, up from 52 per cent in 2011.

Lesley Carter, head of health influencing at charity Age UK, says large supermarkets should look at what other food delivery services do to embrace the elderly.

She says: Ready meal delivery companies such as Wiltshire Farm Foods do a good job. Some voluntary organisations also undertake online shopping for groups of pensioners in a given area.

Some Age UK branches place online shopping orders for elderly local residents, but these are still restricted by the spending rules set by supermarkets.

Meal delivery firms such as Oakhouse Foods and Wiltshire Farm Foods are a popular alternative. Frozen meals are delivered to the door on a set day each week when the driver is in that area.

The lack of flexibility on delivery dates presents little problem for those who rarely leave their home. Plus, Wiltshire Farm Foods only requires a minimum 15 spend and does not charge for delivery.

Retailers do provide some services helping vulnerable customers. Sainsburys has an assisted shopping telephone ordering facility for those who cannot travel to its shops.

The Co-op does not offer internet shopping, but both Co-op and Iceland do provide home delivery on sums over 25 for items chosen and paid for in store.

Waitrose will set up online accounts allowing relatives or carers to order on a persons behalf, adding an emergency contact should a person not respond to a delivery drivers knock.

In Milton Keynes, the Co-op is running a trial using the self-driving robots  small, secure cool boxes on wheels  that deliver a basketful of groceries to homes.

Customers are charged 1 per delivery, plus the cost of the food order. The growing demand for online food shopping tailored to older shoppers is not just about convenience.

Home food deliveries can be a real lifeline for pensioners  more than a million over-65s currently suffer from malnutrition or are at risk of being malnourished, according to the Malnutrition Taskforce.

Not long ago, elderly and vulnerable people could rely on meals on wheels services.

In 2014, two-thirds of local councils still offered them, but cuts in adult social care budgets mean just 42 per cent of councils were still delivering food to those in need last year, according to research by the National Association of Care Catering.This time of year is traditionally one of the busiest periods in the investment calendar  when savers are opening or topping up Isas to maximise tax breaks, as the financial year draws to a close.

Brexit worries have muddied the waters slightly this year, with many investors too uncertain about the future to salt away hard-earned cash.

Even so, fund managers are working hard, including Miton, a small investment management company that prides itself on being different from its rivals.

Speeding ahead: Investment manager Miton has a European Opportunities fund holding shares in Ferrari

Miton shares are 55p and should increase in value as the firm expands and dividends rise. The stock should also gain ground when the Brexit clouds finally lift and market sentiment recovers.

Miton was founded in 2001, but the business over-expanded and went through a rough patch following the financial crisis. New managers were parachuted in, giving the group a new lease of life and a fresh direction.

Today, the company is well-run and fast-growing, with a selection of top-performing funds and a group of highly committed directors and fund managers.

Chief executive David Barron took the helm two years ago but has spent almost four decades in the fund management industry, including stints at some of the best-known names in the sector, such as JP Morgan, Hambros Bank and Merrill Lynch.

Senior director Gervais Williams has 33 years' experience in the industry and co-runs the group's largest fund, Miton UK Multi Cap Income, which looks for generous dividend payers across the London market and has consistently outperformed its peers.

Williams owns almost 9 per cent of Miton shares so he is incentivised to succeed, along with his partner on the Multi Cap fund, Martin Turner, a near 7 per cent shareholder.

European Opportunities is another top-ranking fund in Miton's stable. Having delivered superior returns since it was launched, the fund includes Ferrari as one of its top shares.

For Barron, this exemplifies Miton's distinctive approach. Describing itself as 'genuinely active', Miton does not follow the herd, focusing instead on selecting stocks with fundamental growth and income prospects.

This is particularly significant today, as more savers migrate to low-cost, passive funds, which simply track stock market indices. Many active fund managers are struggling in response, as they try to prove that the extra fees they charge deliver better returns to investors.

Miton, however, has been drawing in new customers thick and fast, attracting more than 1 billion of new money last year. Assets under management rose 30 per cent to almost 4.4 billion.

Profits for 2018 rose 34 per cent to 9.2 million, and the dividend has risen by 43 per cent to 2p, with investors who buy Miton shares now eligible to receive it.

In a sign of confidence in the future, Barron is introducing an interim dividend payment this year too.

Looking ahead, the company is expected to grow by attracting new investors and launching new funds. In the past two years alone, Miton has launched three new funds, including one dedicated to smaller companies in the US and another focused on global infrastructure.

The group should also benefit when UK investors begin to feel clearer about the future and return to the stock market.

Longer-term too, there are grounds for optimism. People are growing older, they need to save more for retirement and a business offering active management that delivers results should attract savers' cash.Barclays boss Jes Staley was dealt a fresh blow last night when it emerged that the New York fund part run by the investor made famous in The Big Short is betting on a fall in the bank's share price.

Steve Eisman was played by Steve Carell in the Oscar-winning Hollywood film which also starred Brad Pitt and Christian Bale.

He now works for Neuberger Berman, but made his name as a hedge fund boss who cashed in by foreseeing the US housing market collapse that triggered the 2008 crash.

Ominous sign: Short-selling is a trading tactic where investors borrow shares, sell them and later buy them back at a lower price to make a profit

The Mail on Sunday revealed in December that Neuberger Berman was betting against Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland over Brexit fears. Now it has emerged that Eisman's firm is also shorting Barclays.

Short-selling is a trading tactic where investors borrow shares, sell them and later buy them back at a lower price to make a profit.

Neuberger Berman's Absolute Return Multi-Manager Fund has placed a bet worth 340,000 against Barclays shares.

The company has also ramped up its short positions in Lloyds and RBS, which are now worth 360,000 and 420,000 respectively.

Its bets against UK banks top 1.1 million, according to short-selling data firm Breakout Point.

Neuberger Berman declined to comment on the short position taken by the fund, which is run by several managers including Eisman.

However, last month Eisman revealed he was shorting another British bank amid the Brexit chaos though he declined to name the target.

He said at the time that 'nobody has a freaking clue' what would happen with the EU negotiations.

Steve Carell (right) played Steve Eisman in the Oscar-winning Hollywood film 'The Big Short'

Eisman told the BBC in January: 'The only thing that I know for sure is that the people who invest in the UK believe strongly that the ramifications of a hard Brexit are very bad and they believe that a recession will take place in the UK and that would clearly be negative for banks of the UK.'

Barclays has been battling corporate raider Edward Bramson, who has built up a 5.5 per cent stake and is pushing for a seat on the board.

Last week, chief executive Staley took charge of the prized investment banking arm, ousting boss Tim Throsby after just two years in the post. Staley said returns were getting better and the performance last year was improved 'but not yet where we need it to be'.

Barclays declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Neuberger Berman is also shorting Canadian banks and has sounded the alarm about the housing market in Canada. Eisman said: 'This is not The Big Short: Canada. 'I'm not calling for a housing collapse. I'm calling for a simple normalisation of credit that hasn't happened in 20 years.'Powerful asset managers cannot be trusted to vote down exorbitant pension payments to the bosses of companies where they hold shares  because they hand lavish deals to their own top brass, MPs have warned.

The vast retirement perks pocketed by company chiefs have emerged as the most contentious issue for investors voting on executive pay at this year's annual general meeting season, which has just kicked off.

Asset management firms  who hold key voting rights at AGMs  have been urged to vote down pension payments to bosses worth more than 25 per cent of their salaries after The Mail on Sunday revealed that one in ten FTSE 100 chiefs were given pension cash each year worth at least 40 per cent of their basic pay.

Coining it in: Jim Cracchiolo got total pay of 19.7 million in 2018 Ameriprise Financial (top left); Dean Connor got 36 per cent of his 630,000 salary at Sun Life (top right); Christian Sewing's sum equals 31 per cent of his Deutsche basic pay (bottom left); State Street last year set aside an extra 2.7 million to pay Joseph Hooley's pension (bottom right)

But now research by The Mail on Sunday has revealed that some of the largest institutional shareholders are handing gigantic pension perks to their own executives.

In one case, a fund management chief is in line for nearly 24 million in total retirement benefits.

Another executive received the equivalent of nearly 870,000 for his pension in a single year  equal to 31 per cent of his basic pay.

The bosses behind major shareholders in UK companies  including Columbia Threadneedle, Deutsche Bank, Sun Life Financial and State Street  all benefit from huge retirement packages, the analysis showed.

The Mail on Sunday's findings last night prompted Rachel Reeves, chairwoman of Parliament's influential Business Committee, to claim that major investors are 'not up to the task' of restraining firms on excessive pension payments.

The MP said: 'Investors should be holding remuneration committees to account on executive pay, but the reality is that asset managers have too often shown they are not up to the task, unwilling to challenge and unbothered by huge pay awards.'

This newspaper's research found that State Street's former chief executive Joseph Hooley has accumulated a total pension entitlement of 23.8 million through four different schemes at the firm.

The company had to set aside an extra 2.7 million last year to meet these obligations. The extra provision is due to changes in assumptions about the cost of providing his retirement income.

Hooley, who left the asset manager in December, received 12.3 million in total for 2018. He received a salary of 770,000, but his variable pay amounted to 11.4 million.

State Street said it voted against 15 per cent of the 451 pay packages flagged up to its team in 2018 and saw the 'increasing reputational risk poorly structured executive compensation plans pose to firms'.

State Street is one of the top shareholders in HSBC, which has been forced to slash pension awards for executive directors to 10 per cent of basic salary.

The bank's contributions are now lower than those for bosses at Legal & General and Standard Life Aberdeen, two of its top ten shareholders.

Jim Cracchiolo, chief executive of Columbia Threadneedle's parent Ameriprise Financial, has accumulated a total pension entitlement of 11.2 million. In total, he received 19.7 million remuneration in 2018.

Columbia Threadneedle counts itself as one of the most vocal of shareholders in the City, opposing Unilever's proposed move to Rotterdam and The Restaurant Group's acquisition of Wagamama.

It voted against 17 per cent of the remuneration policies proposed by UK company boards last year.

Canadian asset manager Sun Life Financial gave its boss Dean Connor 229,592 towards his pension last year, representing 36 per cent of his 630,000 salary.

Sun Life is a top ten shareholder in drinks maker Diageo, consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser and fashion house Burberry  all of which offer their chief executives pension contributions of more than 25 per cent of base salary.

Rachel Reeves, claims that major investors are 'not up to the task' of restraining firms on excessive pension payments

A spokesman for Sun Life said: 'While we don't disclose our voting choices, we actively monitor our portfolio and make decisions based on a wide range of factors consistent with others in our industry.'

Deutsche Bank awarded its boss Christian Sewing a pension contribution of 870,000  31 per cent of his 2.84 million-a-year salary.

The German bank is the majority owner of DWS Group, the asset management arm it spun off 18 months ago. DWS is one of the biggest investors in travel firm Tui, which faces a revolt over chief executive Friedrich Joussen receiving 489,000 in annual pension contributions  51 per cent of his basic pay.

A report published last week by Rachel Reeves' Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee found the public 'cannot rely on shareholders to exert pressure' on boards.

It continued: 'Asset managers are extremely highly paid and tend to be rewarded with large bonuses based on performance on a one or two-year basis.

'In these circumstances, it may be awkward, if not hypocritical, for them to criticise pay policies for prioritising short-term financial incentives.'

A spokesman for the Investment Association, the asset management trade body which has urged shareholders to vote down large pension awards, said: 'Shareholders are clear they want executives' pension contributions to be in line with the rest of the workforce.'Former Hewlett-Packard boss Leo Apotheker is set to defend his disastrous takeover of Cambridge software firm Autonomy tomorrow as the explosive High Court battle involving 'Britain's Bill Gates' enters its second week.

Mike Lynch, the founder and former head of Autonomy, hit back at HP's claims last week that he cooked the books before the 8.3 billion sale in 2011, accusing the Californian firm of failing at due diligence and botching the takeover.

HP is suing Lynch, who was hailed as Britain's answer to Microsoft founder Gates, for $5.1 billion (4 billion). Lynch has hit back with a $160 million claim for reputational damage.

Explosive battle: Mike Lynch, the founder and former head of Autonomy, has been dubbed 'Britain's Bill Gates'

German-born Apotheker, who was fired shortly after the takeover, will appear tomorrow and Tuesday in London's High Court.

Though a witness for HP, he could prove a useful ally for Lynch as he is likely to defend the deal they struck.

Lynch once said if Apotheker had stayed at HP it could have been 'an industry-changing deal', but 'we were left as the unwanted stepchild'. Lynch was soon fired by Apotheker's successor Meg Whitman.

Whitman, who left HP after splitting the firm in two and selling its business division, will give evidence in the coming months.

On the eve of the trial, which began last week, the US Department of Justice stunned Lynch by adding three counts of conspiracy and securities fraud to its charges against him in a separate case, with potential sentences of up to 25 years in prison.Protestors marched through the streets of Swindon yesterday calling for the Honda factory to be saved.

The Japanese car giant surprised the local area and the wider industry last month when it revealed plans to close its Wiltshire plant in 2021.

The shutdown would rob the factory's 3,500 workers of their livelihoods and there are fears for 12,000 further jobs in the automotive supply chain and local area.

On the march: Campaigners rallied in protest of the closure of the Honda plant in Swindon at the weekend. The Japanese car manufacturer had announced closing the car plant in Swindon in 2021 with the loss of an estimated 3,500 jobs

Unite, the union which is fighting to save the jobs of its members, yesterday led a march through Swindon to protest against the closure.

The union is working with the Government on a plan to try to persuade Honda to reverse its decision to leave the UK.

Last week, 32 MPs signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to take 'urgent action' to keep Honda in Swindon and develop a viable plan to maintain the UK's automotive strength.

Britain's car sector has enjoyed a golden era this decade and it is thought to be supporting more than 800,000 jobs.

Workers from the factory receiving a police escort as they marched through the Wiltshire town on Saturday

Distant memory: The Japanese car giant surprised the local area and the wider industry last month when it revealed plans to close its Wiltshire plant in 2021

Unite, the union which is fighting to save the jobs of its members, led the march through Swindon to protest against the closure

But experts fear Brexit uncertainty and global changes to the industry  which is under pressure to switch from producing vehicles with petrol and diesel engines to those powered by electricity  risk leaving the UK behind.

Honda says it wants to focus on making electric cars in Japan and China and then import them into Europe.

Business Secretary Greg Clark has said he will continue with his attempts to persuade Honda to reverse its decision to pull manufacturing from the UK.

The Japanese company builds 160,000 Honda Civics a year at the UK car plant, which is the only auto factory it has in the EU. Some 12,000 jobs are at risk when you consider the wider supply chain to the facilitySeveral witnesses at the inquest into missing boy William Tyrrell were asked questions about an elderly widower who lives on the street the child vanished from five years ago.

Paul Savage, 74, was one of just five parties with high-powered legal representation at this week's inquest, which investigated William's disappearance from his foster grandmother's home in Kendall, on the New South Wales north coast in 2014.

Mr Savage, reportedly one of the first people to join the search for William, did not appear as a witness. He has not been named as a person of interest in William's disappearance and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting he is.

Gerard Craddock SC, counsel assisting the Coroner, quizzed several witnesses, including Mr Savage's brother-in-law, about their encounters with Paul on the day William vanished.

Paul Savage was neighbours of William Tyrrell's foster grandmother in the bush village of Kendall, on the NSW north coast, and was reportedly one of the first people to join the search

Subjects included what he was wearing that day, how loud his radio was, whether he went on his morning walk and his joining of the search for William.

Gregory Newton, the brother of Paul's now-late wife, stepped into the witness box on Thursday.

He was planning to stay at Paul and his wife Heather's house and arrived that day to find a massive search operation underway.

Mr Savage was standing on a hill next to his property when Mr Newton arrived.

He was described as 'concerned' and 'very worried'.

'There's a little fella gone missing,' he said.

I've been putting up with it on and off for four years Paul Savage, speaking to a reporter this week

Counsel assisting Mr Craddock asked if the grandfather was 'in his usual sartorial splendour'.

Mr Newton confirmed Paul was decked out in black track pants and a flannelette shirt at the time.

The pair soon joined the search for William, the court was told.



Witness Gregory Newton (above) declined to answer further questions about his relative outside court

William Tyrrell, three, has been missing since September 12, 2014, and is presumed to have been abducted

Another neighbour, Peter Crabb, and his wife, Sharelle, told the inquest they were in the habit of going for a walk at nearby North Haven in the morning.

When they returned home, Mr Crabb said people had come 'out of the woodwork' searching for William.

'Did you see Paul Savage at the time?' Counsel Assisting asked.

Mr Crabb said: 'There were too many people in any case ... no, I couldn't tell you'.

Mrs Crabb was asked if she could 'recall seeing Paul that day walking up that part of (the street) that goes toward the fire trail.'

Mrs Crabb said: 'I can't really. I remember talking to him outside our house later on in the afternoon.

'But I can't remember seeing him going up for a walk that day.'

Questions about Mr Savage only made up a brief part of the hearings. Much of the inquest was dedicated to evidence from William Tyrrell's foster parents, and his biological mother and father, who were in Sydney at the time the boy vanished

A neighbour from a third property, Anne Maree Sharpley, told Mr Craddock she was the first person to help William's foster mother scour the street for the missing boy.

She described how she 'went to Paul's house and knocked on the door' that morning.

Ms Sharpley told him she was looking for the little boy in a Spiderman costume who had disappeared and he said, 'I'll come out and have a look'.

'He was home and he came out,' she told the inquest.

In a sign of the level of detail the inquest is seeking, Mr Craddock asked if Ms Sharpley if she recalled if he 'had the radio on playing loud' that day. She couldn't.

William Tyrrell's female foster carer gave tearful evidence about the moment the boy disappeared earlier this week

William's foster father pictured in a police walkthrough video of the premises where William vanished from, six days after he went missing

THE PARTIES WITH LAWYERS AT THE WILLIAM TYRRELL INQUEST THIS WEEK 1. The boy's foster parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were represented by barristers Jill Gatland and Gail Furness SC 2. The Department of Family and Community Services was represented by Michael Fordham SC, instructed by the Crown Solicitor 3. The Salvation Army, was represented by barrister William De Mars 4. Washing machine repairman William Spedding was represented by Peter OBrien of O'Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors 5. Paul Savage was represented by barrister Chris McGorey, instructed by Rebecca Dunlop of Rebecca Dunlop Legal Advertisement

James Opdam, a local SES volunteer, told the inquest he saw Mr Savage among the people gathering to do a search with the SES and police that day.

When Counsel Assisting asked if he had seen his wife Heather, Mr Opdam said: 'No, she'd passed away'.

Mr Savage's wife Heather died of illness in April 2015, months after William vanished.

There was a long pause in court at Mr Opdam's apparent mistake, but he was not corrected by counsel.

Questions about Mr Savage only made up a brief - but consistent - part of the hearings, which were focused on the background of William's biological and foster families, before and after he disappeared, and what action was taken after he went missing.

Members of William's family were questioned at length about their movements the day the three-year-old went missing. Both his foster and birth mothers cried giving evidence.

As for Mr Savage, he was at home when he was visited by a reporter this week.

He said through the crack of his front screen door he'd had enough.

'I've been putting up with it on and off for four years,' he said.

The inquest will hold further hearings in August.A Chinese firm has been ordered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) to sell the popular gay dating app Grindr.

Officials fear that users with security clearances on the app could be blackmailed by Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd., a web game developer founded by Zhou Yahui, bought a majority stake in Grindr in 2016.

The company paid $93 million for a 60 percent stake that year, acquiring the remainder two years later for $152 million, the newspaper said.

Grindr app is seen on a mobile phone in this photo illustration taken in Shanghai, China, March 28, 2019. US officials are ordering Beijing Kunlun Tech to sell the gay dating app over fears user data could be exploited by the Chinese government

Zhou Yahui is chairman and founder of Beijing Kunlun Tech, one of China's largest web game developers and operators, and current owner of Grindr

CFIUS worries that the company would have 'no choice but to share information' on Grindr users if Chinese authorities demanded it do so.

Experts believe that Grindr data allegedly could be used to blackmail users with security clearances, like defense contractors and tech liaisons, to provide information to China.

Additionally, officials fear a greater inclination for China to threaten or punish business executives under President Xi Jinping to control Chinese tech companies.

However, some officials and experts are concerned that CFIUS has ignored social-media apps developed directly by Chinese companies, such as Tik-Tok.

Revellers take part in the annual Pride March on June 24, 2018 in New York City. National security experts fear a Chinese tech firm could provide user data on the gay dating app Grindr to the Chinese government potentially exploiting those with government clearance

'If CFIUS only applies to companies China acquires from the US, and not companies China builds, what can it possibly solve?' Geoffery Cook, chief executive of Meet Group, owners of multiple dating apps, said to the Journal.

Grindr, which bills itself as 'the world's largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people,' was founded in 2009 and says it has millions of users worldwide.

Beijing Kunlun Tech is looking to sell the app for twice the price they paid in acquiring it.

China's LGBT Track Record As Chinese company Beijing Kunlun Tech is forced to sell the gay dating app Grindr over security concerns, here's a look at the country's own issues with LGBT people according to Human Rights Watch. China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but has not implement laws banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and same-sex marriage or partnerships are not legally recognized.

In May of 2018, authorities shut down a popular dating app for lesbians.

Also in May, an event put on by LGBT group Speak Out was cancelled after police detained the organizers and told them that LGBT events were 'not welcome' in the city of Xi'an.

In June, 'abnormal sexual lifestyles,' including homosexuality, were banned from online video shows.

In July, government authorities forced Speak Out to cancel another event in the city of Chengdu. Advertisement



British students are cheating their way to PhDs by paying companies thousands of pounds to write their dissertations for them, a MailOnline investigation has revealed.

'Essay mill' firms are offering to write entire theses on demand, with one telling a reporter posing as a student: You just need to write your name on the top.

Three companies, Kings Academic Help, PhD Dissertation and British Dissertation Editors, said they would sell PhD dissertations for between 2,559 and 6,173, with higher fees demanded for better grades.

A salesman for Kings Academic Help said: We will write the complete dissertation from scratch. Once you will receive the work, all you will have to do is write your name on it and submit it to your mentor.'

An online consultant for King's Academic Help said the company would produce an entire dissertation for a reporter posing as a student

A PhD Dissertation consultant quoted a figure of 6,172 for a complete, 80,000 word thesis

When our reporter commented that it was amazing that a PhD could be bought on the internet, a British Dissertation Editors consultant replied: 'no problem'

He added: If your mentor needs some changes on it, we will do that for you until you and they are completely satisfied.

My writer will be working on your dissertation according to your level of education, as well as the standard of work that you are looking for from us. So its impossible that your instructor will find out that someone else has written your work.

The consultant claimed that Kings Academic Help has 70-75 staff working in its Mayfair office, but the address was found to be a virtual mail service.

The company sells essays to more than 12,000 British students a year, the consultant said, claiming that around 50 of its PhD clients are from Oxford and Cambridge, something the universities denied.

The Mayfair office of King's Academic Help, which is a virtual mailing address

A female consultant for British Dissertation Editors said a dissertation costed from 2,800 to 3,982, depending on whether customers want a 2:2, 2:1 or First  even though these grades are not awarded for PhDs.

Boasting that her firm is the largest in the industry with more than 100 academics on the payroll, she had no hesitation in agreeing to deliver a doctoral thesis in Shakespeares Hamlet and Lacanian postmodern psychoanalysis.

Staff working for PhD Dissertation claimed the company handles more than 100 orders a day, of which 15 to 20 are postgraduate dissertations.

A consultant said they could deliver an 80,000-word thesis on the subject of John Morton and the construction of a new royalty in C15th England within four months, costing 6,173.

Once we deliver the paper, just review it and show it to your supervisor, he said.

The website belonging to King's Academic Help, which offered to produce a complete thesis

British Dissertation Editors declined to comment when approached by MailOnline

A spokesman for PhD Dissertation said it was strictly against plagiarism in any way'

It comes after the US was hit by a college admissions scandal where wealthy parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, were accused of paying bribes to get their children into university.

Dr Thomas Lancaster, a senior fellow at Imperial College London who specialises in academic integrity and contract cheating, said that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The industry is worth hundreds of millions of pounds globally, and tens of millions in Britain, he said.

Kenya is the hotbed where all the writing happens. There is high unemployment and a job working from home is coveted. They have good English and low overheads.

There are thousands of people in Kenya whose job is to write essays for cheating students. There are several writers in every apartment block.

Lord Mike Storey, who has campaigned vigorously on the issue, told MailOnline: Cheating is a huge, huge problem in all sorts of ways. Youve got people in the NHS and the civil service, with quite important jobs, who have cheated to get their degrees.

Its undermining the academic integrity of our universities brick by brick. Its a cancer. Its growing and growing, and eroding the worldwide reputation of our universities.

Im planning to table a private members bill to make advertising these services illegal.

Kings Academic Help and British Dissertation Editors did not respond to requests for comment from MailOnline.

A King's Academic Help consultant highlights the confidentiality of the service

A British Dissertation Editors representative said 25 per cent of Oxbridge students are clients

A spokesman for PhD Dissertation said it was strictly against plagiarism in any way, shape or form, blaming the false promises on a rogue sales representative who had been reprimanded.

Last year, 46 university vice chancellors wrote to the education secretary, Damian Hinds, calling for cheating websites to be banned, as they are in New Zealand and some parts of the United States.

The The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is campaigning to stop essay mills from advertising online.

Were working with partners across the sector to create a hostile environment to prevent unscrupulous companies profit from cheating, said Gareth Crossman, the organisation's Head of Policy and Public Affairs.

Experts argue that essay mills should be criminalised, but the Government has said it wants to consider other approaches first.

A spokesman for Oxford University said: Use of essay-writing services is strictly prohibited at Oxford and directly contravenes the Universitys disciplinary policy.

We offer a range of resources for students warning of the dangers of all forms of plagiarism, including use of essay mills.LeRoya Moore, 39, was found guilty of murdering her six-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son in June 2015 on Friday

A Connecticut mother has been found guilty of killing her two children despite filing an insanity plea and claiming the murder was 'God's plan' on Friday.

A three-judge panel rejected the insanity plea of New Haven woman LeRoya Moore, 39, on Friday saying she 'intentionally formulated a plan to kill her children'.

She was found guilty of murdering her six-year-old daughter Aleisha and her seven-year-old son Daaron in 2015 by drugging them with allergy medicine Benadryl and harming herself afterwards.

She had claimed God spoke to her and told her to kill her children then herself in her insanity plea, which the judges rejected, saying she instead was trying to get revenge at her ex-husband.

The guilty verdicts against her followed a trial featuring conflicting testimony by psychiatrists over her psychotic state.

Her sentencing has been set for June 27 and she faces a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison for each murder.

A successful insanity defense would have resulted in Moore being sent to the state's maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

On Friday a three-judge panel rejected an insanity plea and convicted Moore, of New Haven, Connecticut, of murdering her children by having them overdose on antihistamine, an allergy drug

She was found guilty of murdering her six-year-old daughter Aleisha and her seven-year-old son Daaron in 2015 by drugging them and harming herself afterwards

On June 2, 2015 police discovered Moore's children dead and in an advanced state of decomposition in the first floor of her mother's East Haven home. Moore had also wounded herself in the attack, by slitting her wrists.

Moore had stayed in the home with the children's bodies for three days. When police found her children she told them she 'saved them'.

She had killed them by having them overdose on over-the-counter antihistamine, a drug used to treat allergies.

Aleisha died from acute intoxication of diphenhydramine, which has the brand name Benadryl, mixed with alcohol. Daaron died of acute intoxication of the same drug, according to the states chief medical examiner, the New Haven Register reports.

She told a defense psychiatrist that the kids drowned in the bathtub as she was trying to 'baptize' them after God told her she was supposed to kill them, then herself.

But the judges didn't believe her drowning claims.

'There were no drownings. Both children were deliberately poisoned to death. These were cold and calculated acts,' the judges wrote in their 30-page opinion.

The judges rejected her claims she heard the voice of God telling her to kill herself and the children, saying she never made such a claim during the three years following the slayings and none of Moores friends or family noticed any 'delusions'.

'Rather, there is explicit evidence that the defendant was angry at (her ex-husband) Michael Moore,' the judges said.

They cited an apparent suicide note found near the children's bodies that blamed Moore for 'abandoning' the children.

The judges cited a part of that note that said, 'Im numb and if I burn for eternity, at least Ill know why I deserve it.'

They said, 'This singular expression succinctly demonstrates the obvious appreciation by the defendant of the wrongfulness of her conduct.'

She had killed them by having them overdose on over-the-counter antihistamine, a drug used to treat allergies. She told a defense psychiatrist that the kids drowned as she was trying to 'baptize' them after God told her she was supposed to kill them, then herself

A defense psychiatrist evaluated Moore and found that she suffered from schizoaffective disorder during the killings and continues to suffer from the disorder. Still the judges rejected an insanity plea saying she intentionally formulated a plan to kill her kids

According to the Hartford Courant, Moore had suffered from mental illness and years of sexual abuse as a child. She had also lost custody of some of her five children from three different men.

Defense psychiatrist and Yale psychiatry professor Dr. Paul Amble evaluated Moore over six interviews totaling 12 hours, viewed medical records, and eight hours of body camera video footage. He testified earlier in the trial.

He said Moore suffered from schizoaffective disorder during the killings and continues to suffer from the disorder.

A UConn Health Center psychiatry professor, Dr. Catherine Lewis, testified for the state that Moore has an antisocial personality disorder but was not psychotic at the time of the killings.

'The evidence clearly demonstrates that the defendant intentionally formulated a plan to kill her children, intentional and deliberate action to carry out that plan, and employed a methodology consistent with that intent and plan,' the three judges wrote in their verdict.

Following her verdict ex-husband Michael Moore said: 'There is some sense of relief.'

'Im starting to heal just a little. Its been a long four years,' he added.A ferry worker who lost all of his limbs after contracting a rare bacterial infection that started as a sore throat has taken his first steps on prosthetic legs.

Jason Miller, better known as Buddy, took his first steps on his new legs this week, after surviving an infection that caused gangrene in his hands and feet.

After more than 100 days in hospital, the former ferry worker was again standing upright at Mona Vale Hospital's Beachside Rehabilitation Centre - but on new legs.

Jason Miller (pictured), better known as Buddy, took his first steps on his new legs this week, after surviving an infection that caused gangrene in his hands and feet

After more than 100 days in hospital, Mr Miller (pictured) walked at Mona Vale Hospital's Beachside Rehabilitation Centre - but he admits the experience is surreal

'It was a little overwhelming to be standing again after so long,' Mr Miller told The Daily Telegraph.

The single father said while it was a wonderful feeling to be on his feet again, he couldn't help but feel as though he was going to fall over.

Mr Miller's battle started last October, when he thought he was coming down with something after he developed a sore throat.

Within an hour, he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection that would eventually cause toxic shock syndrome and severe septic shock.

At the time, he was placed in an induced coma and his family rallied around his bedside after doctors told them to prepare for the worst.

As doctors raced to save his life, Mr Miller's organs began to shut down so his family brought in his 7-year-old daughter to say goodbye - but he wasn't ready to let go.

Determined not to give up, Mr Miller survived the infection after spending more than three months in hospital - but the road to recovery was still a long way ahead.

As doctors raced to save his life, Mr Miller's organs began to shut down so his family brought in his 7-year-old daughter to say goodbye - but he wasn't ready to let go

While he had survived the infection that struck him, Mr Miller (pictured) also lost all four of his limbs as a result of gangrene, which left him bedridden

While he had survived the infection that struck him, Mr Miller lost all four of his limbs as a result of gangrene, which left him bedridden.

After intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy to build up his strength, Mr Miller was fitted with his new prosthetic legs that will give him a new lease on life.

Family and friends set up a GoFunMe account to help ease some of the financial strain, and according to the site, they have already raised more than $56,000.

After months of intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy to build up his strength, Mr Miller was fitted with his new prosthetic legs (pictured) that will give him a new lease on life

Rehabilitation specialist Jasmine Gilchrist told the publication Mr Miller had shown remarkable determination and was showing extraordinary results already.

Ms Gilchrist said she had been working with him to build up his muscles, which had significantly deteriorated after spending four months in hospital.

'He doesn't quite believe it yet but I am positive he will be able to drive and be quite independent by the time he leaves. Hes going to go on a live a very full life,' Ms Gilchrist said.

Mr Miller has also learnt how to eat using utensils and has already ventured out for his first fish and chips meal in public, while wearing his prosthetic limbs.

'I didn't even get tartare sauce down my shirt,' he said.The wife of retired NRL legend Sam Thaiday has revealed how an offhand remark after the birth of her second daughter triggered severe postnatal depression.

Rachel Thaiday, 33, opened up about her eight-month battle with depression after the birth of her daughter Ellsie, now aged three, in a bid to help other struggling mothers.

'It hurts still now  nearly four years down the track  to think of my behaviour and what I didn't feel for her in the first eight months of her life, which is so detrimental to a newborn's life,' the mother-of-two told the Courier Mail.

'I didn't feel anything, I was numb to something that I had given birth to and created and that is what kills me now.'

Rachel Thaiday, 33, opened up about her eight-month battle with depression after the birth of her daughter Ellsie

Rachel, who married retired Brisbane Broncos legend Sam Thaiday in 2011, said she already felt defeated after having a second C-section birth.

But when her husband made the offhand remark 'it's another girl, we'll have to try again', her heart dropped.

What followed was eight months of internal struggle as she tried to beat postnatal depression without speaking to anyone about it.

The depression put a toll on their marriage, so the couple decided to get rid of unnecessary baggage and focus on rebuilding their family.

'We had a (cafe) business at that time and we basically gave the business away because it (the situation) was breaking our little pack of four,' she told Katie Mattin on Nova podcast 'Am I A Bad Mum?'.

'He didn't care how much money we lost, he was just like, "get rid of that because I need to fix my wife  she holds the house up, our toddler is dependent upon it, our newborn is dependent on it", and his career was still going full steam ahead.

The wife of retired NRL legend Sam Thaiday said she felt 'numb' and incapacitated

Rachel began to work on herself by talking to family and exercising more which kept her mind preoccupied.

The couple made a decision to not have any more children because Rachel understands her mental limits and if she had another child, she does not believe she would be able to cope.

Her focus now is to try and fix the last four years of her kids' lives and raise them in a loving and supporting family.

Rachel wants other mothers suffering from postnatal depression to not be scared asking for help and try to find something they enjoy doing so they can keep their mind busy.

If you, or someone you know, may have postnatal depression or anxiety, you can contact the Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) helpline on 1300 726 306. Or, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.Five members of a Jewish Cult have been charged with hatching a plan to abduct two children from the arms of their mother in retribution of the family recently fleeing the ultra-Orthodox sect.

Matityau Moshe Malka, a member of the austere coven Lev Tahor, along with four already jailed members of the group, allegedly plotted to kidnap 14-year-old Yante Teller, and her brother, Chaim, 12, for the second time.

According to a new indictment, Lev Tahors boss in Guatemala, who has not been identified, threatened the childrens mother, Sara Helbrans, saying they would fight 'her to the death, to reclaim them, the New York Post reported.

I will take them out from under your hands, the man allegedly scorned to the mother in Yiddish. And will take them back to their father, with Gods help.

Investigators say the group were particularly determined to re-capture Yante, so she couldnt testify against the cult regarding previous kidnapping charges.

14-year-old Yante Teller (right), and her brother Chaim (left), 12, were former members of Lev Tahor. They fled with their mother in November last year and were kidnapped in December

Nachman Helbrans (left) the group's leader and Aron Rosner (right) are currently behind bars in New York with two other members for allegedly kidnapping the two children late last year

They also wanted to reunite the 14-year-old with her husband, Jacob Rosner, an adult member of the group.

Malka is accused of delivering Yante several cellphones, so members of the Guatemala-based group could contact her directly and attempt to lure her back under their control.

His four other alleged accomplices were arrested late last year on kidnapping charges relating to the same two children.

Aron Rosner was arrested in New York on December 23, and the childrens uncle, Nachman Helbrans, was arrested alongside Mayer and Jacob Rosner, and were accused of abducting the children and smuggling them out of the country.

The children eventually were found in the Mexican town of Tenango del Aire by local law enforcement and reunited with their mother in New York.

Sara Helbrans, 32, whose father Shlomo Helbrans founded Lev Tahor in 1994, decided to flee the group in November 2018, after learning her daughter would be forcibly married to, Rosner, a significantly older man.

The group members allegedly wanted to reunite 14-year-old Yante with her husband, Jacob Rosner, a much older man

Shlomo Helbrans (pictured left in 1992) he founded Lev Tahor in Israel 1994, having been deported from the US for attempting to kidnap a 13-year-old girl

Lev Tahor, which is thought to have over 200 followers, has links to Brooklyn, Israel, Canada, Mexico and Guatemala. It's been accused of being a front for pedophilia, with multiple accusations of child sexual assault being reported

Yante and Chaim were rescued by Mexican law enforcement in December, having been taken from the mother in Brooklyn and smuggled out of the US

The sect has been accused of being a front for pedophilia, with members reported to be subjecting children to a great deal of physical and sexual abuse.

Lev Tahor, which is thought to have over 200 followers, has links to Brooklyn, Israel, Canada, Mexico and Guatemala.

Shlomo Helbrans had himself been convicted of the kidnapping of a 13-year-old in New York, in 1992. He was later deported to Israel and died in Mexico, in 2017.

His son, Nachman, who is currently incarcerated in New York, is said to be his successor as the groups leader.

Aron Rosner, considered to be the groups money man, was released on a $10 million bail bond in January, in White Plains.

The three Rosners, and Helbrans, will face charges of attempted kidnapping, police say. Matityau Moshe Malka has been charged with conspiracy.Primary school teachers are searching students' lunch boxes and holding 'wrap free Wednesdays' in a bid to stop parents from using plastic packaging.

Schools across New South Wales are conducting 'surprise lunchbox assessments' and 'going binless' in a 'war on waste', according to a report by the Daily Telegraph.

While some parents are supportive of the eco friendly push, others have hit back at teachers for taking things too far.

Schools across New South Wales are conducting 'surprise lunchbox assessments' and 'going binless' in a 'war on waste' (stock image)

Londonderry Public school teacher Miss Garlick is a self-proclaimed 'environmental warrior' who is fighting a 'war on waste' at her school in Sydney's south west.

Miss Garlick and volunteers 'fish out materials that are thrown into the bins' after lunch time.

'My mission is to wipe out waste at Londonderry Public School and soon be completely binless,' she wrote in a school newsletter.

The school did a 'plastic-free July' last year and Miss Garlick urged parents to 'choose to refuse single-use plastic'.

Teachers at Wallerawang Public School near the NSW Blue Mountains were 'counting the amount of packaging in each student's lunchbox last year.

A second 'surprise lunchbox assessment' weeks later found that disposable packaging in student lunchboxes had dropped by 20 per cent.

The school will continue pushing for 'low waste lunches' this year.

'I'm a teacher and my main concern is simply if my students have lunch in the first place!' one teacher wrote on Facebook.

Teachers at Wallerawang Public School were 'counting the amount of packaging in each student's lunchbox' last year. There was a second 'surprise lunchbox assessment' weeks later (stock image)

Cardiff North Public School near Newcastle will make parents pack lunch without using plastics like cling wrap for 'wrap free Wednesdays', while Eleebana Public School had a 'healthy lunch audit' this month, according to their school newsletter.

Central Coast Council of P&Cs Chairman Sharryn Brownlee said parents were time poor and sick of teachers judging what they packed for their kid's lunch.

'The lunch box is probably the latest example of critiquing the parents through a process,' she told the Daily Telegraph.

'While they understand the intention is good, it is not their core business.

'Is anyone going into the staff room and having a look at what the staff are having for lunch?'The Australian gunman accused of killing 50 people during the Christchurch terror attack regularly posted vile memes about mass murderers and racist propaganda.

Brenton Tarrant's Facebook feed was lined with a series of dark and violent images in the days leading up to the March 15 massacre.

In a disturbing twist, Tarrant uploaded a photo of the Noore mosque in Christchurch two days before he allegedly stormed the building armed with an assault rifle.

The 28-year-old's social media accounts were shut down after the live-streamed attack, but Daily Mail Australia has accessed a partial cache of his Facebook page.

Brenton Tarrant's (pictured) Facebook feed was lined with a series of dark and violent images in the days leading up to the March 15 massacre

The image of the mosque, which was uploaded early on March 13, is photoshopped onto the head of a man being choked by a person dressed as a medieval knight.

Two other versions of the disturbing collage were uploaded to his Facebook.

Tarrant also used a popular meme of rapper Drake disapproving and approving by comparing a photo of Noor mosque and the Victoria Islamic Centre in Texas burning down.

Other images include pictures of Anders Breivik, a 'fascist' who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, and Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Included in the disturbing images was a picture of the Noor mosque (pictured) - two days before he gunned down and killed 50 people inside the place of worship

A founding member of the Noor mosque, Professor Hanif Quazi said he found it 'puzzling' that the posts didn't trigger any warnings.

'It's quite surprising that something like that has happened and nobody has seen it,' Professer Quazi told ABC News.

'In a population of 4 million people, nobody saw such nasty things happening. It's a bit strange.'

'I think we were caught unaware  all of us, including police. We were more concerned for the behaviour of extremist Muslims. This is something that escaped.'

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is believed to be considering launching a Royal Commission into the massacre.

The commission will focus on whether Tarrant, given his history on social media, should have been on intelligence watchlists.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is believed to be considering the terms of reference for a Royal Commission into the massacre

It was revealed this week that the gunman had made a significant charity contribution to an Austrian white nationalist group last year.

He also had deep ties to online far-right groups and frequented white supremacist chat rooms on the dark web.

New Zealand police declined to say when the Facebook posts depicting the Noor mosque had been brought to their attention.

Tarrant's social media pages were deleted swiftly following the attack on March 15.A federal judge declared Californias ban on high-capacity gun magazines over 10 rounds as unconstitutional on Friday, following a lawsuit by the state's arm of the National Rifle Association.

On Friday San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled the law against high-capacity gun magazines was unconstitutional, blocking the state from enforcing the voter-approved ban outlined Californias Proposition 63.

The proposition was made to prevent the use of such magazines, which are often used in mass shootings and got passed on the November 8, 2016 ballot.

California law has prohibited buying or selling of magazines with over 10 rounds since 2000, but those who had them before then were allowed to keep them.

In 2016, the Legislature and voters approved a law removing that provision.

The California arm of the National Rifle Association then sued and Benitez sided with the group's argument that banning the magazines infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

On Friday San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled California's law against high-capacity gun magazines was unconstitutional. A semi-automatic rifle and 10 shot magazine pictured above

He cited stories of three women confronted by armed intruders in their homes. The woman with a high capacity magazine was able to kill an intruder and call for help, while the two other women ran out of bullets. 20, 30, and 100 round rifle magazines above

'Individual liberty and freedom are not outmoded concepts,' Benitez wrote in his 86-page order as he declared the law to be unconstitutional, granting a summary judgement in favor of gun owner Virginia Duncan and the California Pistol & Rifle Association.

Benitez cited the stories of three women who were at their homes in Florida and Georgia and were shot by gun-weilding intruders who broke into their homes.

He suggested that the women were unable to stop the assailants because they had lower capacity guns to defend themselves.

In one case a pajama-clad woman who had a high-capacity magazine attached to her weapon was able to take on three armed intruders, while simultaneously calling for help on her phone.

In the other two cases the women without additional ammunition ran out of bullets.

'She had no place to carry an extra magazine and no way to reload because her left hand held the phone with which she was still trying to call 911,' the judge wrote, saying she killed one attacker while two escaped.

Chuck Michel, an attorney for the NRA and the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said the judge's latest ruling may go much farther by striking down the entire ban, allowing individuals to legally acquire high-capacity magazines for the first time in nearly two decades.

'We're still digesting the opinion but it appears to us that he struck down both the latest ban on possessing by those who are grandfathered in, but also said that everyone has a right to acquire one,' Michel said.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement that his office is 'committed to defending California's common sense gun laws' and is reviewing the decision and evaluating its next steps.

'Individual liberty and freedom are not outmoded concepts,' Benitez (above) wrote in his 86-page order as he declared the ban on high capacity magazines to be unconstitutional

The goal of the California law is to deter mass-shootings, with Becerra previously listing as an example the terrorist assault that killed 14 and injured 22 in San Bernardino.

Benitez, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, called such shootings 'exceedingly rare' while emphasizing the everyday robberies, rapes and murders he said might be countered with firearms.

The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, named after a former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting, is also still evaluating whether the decision applies more broadly, said staff attorney Ari Freilich.

But Freilich predicted the 'extreme outlier decision' will be overturned on appeal and criticized a judge 'so deeply out of touch that he believes mass shootings are a "very small" problem in this country.'

Becerra previously said similar Second Amendment challenges have been repeatedly rejected by other courts, with at least seven other states and 11 local governments already restricting the possession or sale of large-capacity magazines. The conflicting decisions may ultimately be sorted out by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Benitez ruled that magazines holding more than 10 rounds are 'arms' under the U.S. Constitution, and that the California law 'burdens the core of the Second Amendment by criminalizing the acquisition and possession of these magazines that are commonly held by law-abiding citizens for defense of self, home, and state.'

The magazine ban was included in 2016 legislation that voters strengthened with their approval of Proposition 63, which was championed by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gov. Newsom did not comment Friday.Her bestselling memoir Becoming has received rapturous reviews from around the world.

But Michelle Obamas fans are rather less impressed by the offer to see her talk about its contents live on stage  with ticket prices described as obscene.

The 55-year-olds show  which has just one UK date on April 14  is taking place at Londons O2 Arena, which seats up to 20,000 people.

Her book Becoming is on track to be the most successful memoir in modern publishing history, selling more than 10million copies worldwide in five months. Her spokesman was yet to respond last night [File photo]

It is nearly sold out, with most remaining tickets listed for more than 180 on AXS, a website linked to the O2 official page.

Those wanting to sit in the nearest section to the stage can expect to fork out 486, while some resale tickets are listed for as high as 546.

Last night there were just three seats still available at a resale price of 96.

Meanwhile, a front-row Platinum seat on Ticketmaster is listed for as high as 800 with no additional perks included.

Fans have complained about the price of Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama on social media, with some pointing out you could see a decent band or three for the same amount money.

Her bestselling memoir Becoming has received rapturous reviews from around the world. But Michelle Obamas fans are rather less impressed by the offer to see her talk about its contents live on stage  with ticket prices described as obscene

Joyce Elliott, who wanted to attend the event, wrote: Huge fan and the book is fantastic. What I am not loving is the price of tickets for O2 London... to charge hundreds of pounds is obscene. How is that justifiable?

Charley James said: Cannot believe how steeply priced tickets to see Michelle Obama are. Thats not an accessible price point.

And the sad thing is that the women who need to hear Michelle the most may not be able to access this event.

Industry experts say that event managers, in this case Live Nation, typically set ticket prices following a discussion with the artist or speaker.

But Gideon Gottfried, from trade magazine Pollstar, said: The act has the last word on the price. But its a conversation. The promoter may advise them. Its hard to figure out who made the final decision.

Her book Becoming is on track to be the most successful memoir in modern publishing history, selling more than 10million copies worldwide in five months.

Her spokesman was yet to respond last night. An O2 spokesman said they could not comment on the event or its prices.

A spokesman for Live Nation said: It is important to Mrs Obama that her events are accessible.

'Mrs Obama and Live Nation are donating a portion of ticket inventory to organisations including charities and schools. and community groups.Advertisement

A 61-year-old grandmother gave birth to her own granddaughter in Nebraska on Monday, after volunteering to be a surrogate for her son and his husbands child.

When Matthew Eledge, 32, and Elliot Dougherty, 29, began considering IVF as an option for conceiving a child two years ago, the couple say they were amused by Eledges 61-year-old mothers offer that shed happily be their surrogate.

Having last given birth more than 30 years ago, Cecile Eledge, who went through menopause 10 years ago, assured the couple that she loved being pregnant, and, if she could, shed do it again in a heartbeat.

Meeting with a reproductive endocrinologist in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Matthew shared his mothers crazy declaration with Dr. Carolyn Maud Dougherty, who assured him there was nothing crazy about her idea at all.

Cecil Eledge gave birth on Monday to her granddaughter Uma (pictures courtesy of Ariel Pancowicz)

Incredibly, she birthed the baby completely naturally and didn't need a C-section as doctors anticipated

Matthew Eledge (middle), 32, and Elliot Dougherty (left), 29, laughed off Cecil's offer to be their surrogate at first, and they could barely believe their eyes on Monday

The couple described the experience as visceral and overwhelming

Matthew (pictured with Cecil and Uma) commended his mother's strength and resilience, calling her 'a warrior'

Matthew and Elliot have been together since 2012, having met on a film set

Cecil last gave birth more than 30 years ago, but said the journey was 'so worth it'

Calling Cecile in for a series of tests, including a Pap smear, blood and cholesterol tests, a mammogram and an ultrasound, doctors confirmed her to be in remarkable shape and fully capable of carrying a baby full-term.

She has lower blood-pressure than all of us [her children] and shes 61, Matthew told DailyMail.com.

I dont know how to describe her; shes remarkable. I have such a deep respect for her and am so gracious that even as a grown adult she continues to go above and beyond for me.

With Cecile identified as a suitable host, Matthew and Elliot were once again blown away by another act of kindness from within their family. This time, it was Elliots 26-year-old sister, Lea Yribe, who offered the couple her eggs, having just given birth to her second child.

Cecil then had a series of hormone treatments. Using Eledges sperm, doctors implanted several fertilized eggs in Cecils uterus, and remarkably she fell pregnant on the first attempt.

And, following a difficult nine-months  riddled with heightened morning sickness and frightening blood pressure spikes as a result of her age  she gave birth Monday.

Doctors were stunned when Cecile was able to give birth to Uma naturally, instead of the C-section procedure they'd anticipated.

Photographer Ariel Panowicz captured the emotional moment Matthew and Elliot glanced down at their daughter for the first time, as grandma Cecile clutched the baby in her arms.

The pair are animated in their emotion throughout the labor, crying inconsolably into one anothers arms one moment, and beaming with pride the next, as a resilient Cecile stared back at them lovingly.

With Cecile identified as a suitable host, Matthew and Elliot were once again blown away by another act of kindness from within their family, this time, it was Elliots 26-year-old sister. Lea Yribe (left), who offered the couple her eggs, having just given birth to her second child (pictures courtesy of Ariel Pancowicz)

Using Eledges sperm, doctors implanted several fertilized eggs in Cecils uterus, and remarkably she fell pregnant on the first attempt

And on Monday, following a difficult nine-months of pregnancy  riddled with heightened morning sickness and frightening blood pressure spikes  she gave birth to baby Uma naturally

Matthew says Cecile didnt find it hard to hand Uma over. What motivated her throughout the process, he says, was the very moment shed be able to place her grandbaby into her sons arms

Matthew says he can't wait to see the special bond Uma and Cecile will share in the years to come

The whole family were present at the hospital for the birth on Monday

The couple say that Umas birth literally took a village to bring together, but they couldnt be more excited about the prospect of being parents for the rest of their lives

Uma is now at home with the couple as they begin their journey into parenthood

The whole experience behind it all has been so special,' Matthew said. 'The acts of kindness that went into this all, and all of the support has been truly humbling'

(Pictured: Baby Uma)

Growing up we would always tease my mom, Mathew said. Shes very cute and sweet, so she let us get away with it. But in the midst of all the joking you can forget what someone is really like at the core of themselves.

But being in that room [during the labor] was such a visceral moment. All the joking had stopped. She was like a warrior  so strong. I just have such a deep respect for her and the incredible woman she is.

Matthew, a high school teacher, says Cecile didnt find it hard to hand Uma over. What motivated her throughout the process, he says, was the very moment shed be able to place her grandbaby into her sons arms.

She said throughout the whole process that she didnt see Uma as her baby, she saw it as her grandbaby, Matthew said.

In fact she was so exhausted after the pregnancy and birth she said she was actually glad to hand her over before the real hard work began, he jokingly added. She said the whole process was so worth it in the end.

The couple say that Umas birth literally took a village to bring together, but they couldnt be more excited about the prospect of being parents for the rest of their lives.

The whole experience behind it all has been so special. The acts of kindness that went into this all, and all of the support has been truly humbling.

Uma will now have some incredible female role models to look up to in Lea and my mother. I cant wait for her to develop an incredibly special bond with them both.Some time ago, I put money at long odds on Jeremy Hunt becoming leader. He is now a favourite, but by no means a certainty

Several years ago, I was surprised to receive an invitation from an aide of Sir John Major to meet the former prime minister.

When I arrived at his South London office, not far from Brixton where he was brought up, he poured out his heart.

He said he believed the Conservative Party that he loved and of which hed been a member for almost 60 years was being hijacked by bigots.

Decent people, he added, should come together to save the Tories.

I listened politely but dismissed his interpretation, as it was coming from a man who had been very badly scarred by the revolt of anti-EU Tories  whom hed memorably described as b*****ds  which did so much to wreck his premiership.

Since then I have changed my mind.

I now recognise that Major had wisely identified something which has gone on to fester in the Tory Party ever since he lost power in 1997. The boil burst this week, with Theresa May forced to fall on her sword because todays equivalents of Majors bigots have refused to approve her EU exit deal as a result of their bovine hatred of the Brussels-based superstate.

All this means we are facing the sixth Tory leadership election since Major stepped down. Will the ebullient Boris Johnson win? Or the cautiously pragmatic Jeremy Hunt? Perhaps the young thruster Tom Tugendhat? Or the unashamedly ambitious Sajid Javid?

But whoever succeeds Mrs May, they will not be the solution to the Partys woes. Much more important is for Tory MPs and Party workers to ask themselves a rather bigger question.What kind of political organisation do they want to be?

Do they want to uphold the broad-based Conservatism which can be traced back to Disraeli and was championed by Stanley Baldwin and Harold Macmillan? (John Major is part of that One Nation tradition.)

Do they want to follow the rightwards path pursued to no avail by William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith?

All this means we are facing the sixth Tory leadership election since Major stepped down. Will the ebullient Boris Johnson win? Or the cautiously pragmatic Jeremy Hunt? Perhaps the young thruster Tom Tugendhat? Or the unashamedly ambitious Sajid Javid?

Or do they want to be an ideologically rigid pressure group with a fanatical supporter base, but which doesnt have roots in wider society?

The latter course is the one blithely taken by Jeremy Corbyn. His Labour Party may have record numbers of passionate members  especially among the young  yet it finds it very hard to achieve poll ratings higher than 40 per cent from the wider public.

The Tories must learn the lesson from watching Corbyns far-Left Momentum outriders hijack a party which was once led by visionaries and moderates such as Clement Attlee, Labours greatest prime minister.

Lords must prove their value Hats off to Lord Ravensdale for winning the hereditary peers by-election. The 36-year-old engineer and great-grandson of fascist leader Oswald Mosley will now sit in the Upper House as a crossbench peer. Six rival candidates got no votes at all. During Lord Ravensdales previous three attempts, one of those who beat him was the 19th Earl of Devon (a barrister whos married to an American actress and owns 600-year-old Powderham Castle in Devon). Since his election last July, the Earl of Devon has not spoken in the House, hasnt asked a single question and has only voted once. Last week, the Lords shamefully stymied a bill to abolish these antiquated by-elections which are a hangover from Tony Blairs botched reform of the Second Chamber. Until such processes are brought up to date, at least Lord Ravensdale has the opportunity to prove his value, unlike so many drab drudges appointed though the patronage of party leaders. Advertisement

For the alternative is very dangerous. Recent events suggest that we could be witnessing a process which reminds me of the nightmare scenario set out to me by John Major.

The Conservative Party is increasingly being dominated, certainly at a grassroots level, by a highly organised and motivated group of doctrinaire hardliners.

Like Militant Tendency 30 years ago, personified by Derek Hatton and which tried to launch a coup against Neil Kinnocks Labour, these Right-wing ideologues are intent on driving out Tory members whose views they dont like.

One example of this is the attempt to deselect Nick Boles, MP for Margaret Thatchers home town of Grantham. His sin? The former Remainer is considered too soft on Brexit as he has been seeking a Norway-style exit from the EU.

Another parallel between the Tories and Labour is the way both parties are riddled in some sections with bigotry towards religious minorities. For Corbyn, it is the virus of anti-Semitism. For the Tories, it pains me to report, it is the virus of Islamophobia.

It goes without saying that there should be no room for this kind of hatred in any modern political party. So in which direction should the Tories go now? I hope the Party will take the path of decency and moderation.

That said, who is best suited to be the next leader?

In no particular order, Ill start with Amber Rudd. Shes a capable politician who has been a decent Cabinet minister. But her pro-EU views would make her too much of a divisive figure and scare off pro-Brexit voters. The opposite is the case with hardline Leavers Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Jacob Rees-Mogg. But I think their hopes of the top job are fatally tainted because they are too fanatical.

Unforgiveably, Johnson compared Mrs Mays deal to a suicide vest around the British constitution.

Raab stupidly claimed that the Withdrawal Agreement was even worse than staying in the EU.

Rees-Mogg said the deal meant that Britain would become an impotent vassal state of the EU.

The trio finally backed Mrs May yesterday, but their disloyalty up to that point has made them politicians who do not deserve to be taken seriously.

Just as important, any one of them as Tory leader could not command the support of the population at large and would, Im sure, deliver the keys to No. 10 to Corbyn in an election landslide.

In my view, the next Tory leader must come from the Centre of the party.

It is a shame that Chancellor Philip Hammond is so bland. Otherwise he would be a steady-the-ship candidate.

The TWO ministers with the best chance are Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Some time ago, I put money at long odds on Mr Hunt becoming leader. He is now a favourite, but by no means a certainty.

Such is the current chaos that the field is open for someone talented from the younger generation of politicians to come through the ranks and show that they can end the rancid sectarianism which has done such damage to the Party.

Mrs Mays resignation offers the chance for the Tory Party to reinvent itself as the wholesome organisation it once was and which is capable of being trusted by families across all four countries of the United Kingdom.

The Party is fast running out of time to do this. Otherwise the Tories will see Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister within weeks.

Theresa May has been brought down by treachery and intrigue but prime minister Harold Wilson suffered worse.

In his newly published autobiography, Kick Em Back, his press secretary Joe Haines tells how the No. 10 doctor offered to dispose of the PMs troublesome aide, Marcia Falkender. He said he could do it in such a way that her death would seem like natural causes. The physician would then sign the death certificate and that would not be a problem.

Haines, 91, says he turned down the offer, of course.Thousands of students are being allowed on to degree courses with less than three E grades at A-level, figures have revealed.

A total of 2,790 teenagers with this level of achievement were admitted to universities in 2017, according to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Separate figures showed 7,505 18-year-olds got places with three Ds or less last year. This is believed to be a record high and is up 14 per cent on 6,605 in 2016.

Thousands of students are being allowed on to degree courses with less than three E grades at A-level, figures have revealed

Wolverhampton University took the highest number of students who achieved three Es at university or lower. Leeds Beckett University took the third highest number

Critics accused universities of dumbing down and recruiting those not suited to academic study simply for tuition fees.

Statistics from the exam board AQA show students could scrape a D in their A-level exams by scoring as little as 25 per cent in some papers.

Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: The university admissions process has become a money-making racket. The main aim is to pull in as many student punters as possible, regardless of grades, because they bring with them 9,250 a year for the university.

Students, meanwhile, are burdened with a life of debt and graduate under-employment. The data on the number of 18-year-olds admitted with D grades was released to MPs in a parliamentary written answer.

Statistics from the exam board AQA show students could scrape a D in their A-level exams by scoring as little as 25 per cent in some papers

Bedfordshire University took the second highest number of students who got lower than EEE at A-level

A table shows the top ten universities admitting students who got less than three Es at A-level

The HESA figures showed Wolverhampton University, a former polytechnic ranked 129th in the country by the Complete University Guide, took the most students with less than three Es  150. This amounted to 8 per cent of an intake of 1,850, limited to those aged 17 to 19 and excluding foreign students.

Bedfordshire University was next, taking 135  or 15 per cent of a similar intake of 920  and Leeds Beckett, with 120, or 3 per cent of an intake of 4,160.

Many of the universities taking those with low grades said they did so because they catered for disadvantaged communities.

Many take students with alternative access qualifications that are not included in official UCAS tariff scores. They also admit students with lower attainment on to foundation years so they can catch up before they start their degrees.

A Bedfordshire spokesman said: Our analysis of students who enter with three Ds has found that with the right support and guidance, they achieve very similar success as their peers with better A-level grades.

We believe to restrict access to university through tariff entry would be socially regressive and harm social mobility.

Wolverhampton University said it plays a direct role in economic regeneration and improving the skills and life chances of the communities we serve.

A spokesman added: Our students consistently demonstrate the desire and will to succeed against the odds, often being the first person in their families to go to university.

n Black students are at least 20 percentage points behind their white peers at more than 45 per cent of universities, according to the Office for Students.

The figure was calculated from a range of data including numbers who finished their degree, marks attained and whether they went on to full-time jobs.As the Great British Spring Clean enters its second week, thousands more volunteers have been arranging community clean-ups and joining groups to remove the blight of plastic litter.

We were showered with supportive messages from big name firms  and heres proof they really have been rolling up their sleeves:

COCA-COLA

Liz Lowe, Coca-Colas sustainability manager, said: None of us want to see our communities blighted with litter'

The global drinks giant has arranged more than 40 clean-up events for the Spring Clean. These include staff events near the companys six manufacturing sites as well as beach events. Liz Lowe, Coca-Colas sustainability manager, said: None of us want to see our communities blighted with litter. We want to recover and recycle all of it so that nothing ends up spoiling our streets and parks or reaches the ocean.

WALKERS

Crisp packets are a commonly-littered item, so its good to know that staff at the worlds biggest crisp producer are doing their bit. Each Walkers site has a Green Team of staff members who look into different ways to make the company greener  and that includes regular monthly staff litter picks.

WILKO

Wilko's 400 stores have been contributing to the numbers of litter-picking troops on the ground throughout the campaign

The homeware and household goods chain is a headline sponsor of the Spring Clean and staff at its 400 stores have been contributing to the numbers of litter-picking troops on the ground throughout the campaign. At the head office and main distribution centre in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, staff litter picks have been arranged for every day next week.

McDONALDS

Burton Canoe Club, in Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Members of staff at McDonald's joined together with the canoe club to join the Daily Mail campaign

The fast food chain has been a long-term supporter of Keep Britain Tidy and a founding partner of the Spring Clean. This year, staff are being encouraged to team up with local groups to identify litter spots and to join in to boost manpower on organised litter picks.

ASDA

The supermarket giant has 4,000 employees taking part in litter picks this month with staff-led clean-ups throughout the Great British Spring Clean.

NETWORK RAIL

Network rail regularly organise large scale rubbish clearance operations on sites close to its lines

Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble said: We take a lot of pride in our surroundings as our headquarters is based on an old family farm close to a national park

The infrastructure firms staff regularly organise small local litter picks as well as large scale rubbish clearance operations on sites close to its lines.

JOHN LEWIS

The chain has been generating support for the spring clean by encouraging staff to get involved and sending out information packs urging them to pledge time or join an organised clean-up.

OPENREACH

Senior managers from the telecommunications firm set a litter-picking example for their 30,000 staff last week by joining volunteers from Litter Free Felixstowe on a sweep of the towns sandy beach. We are delighted to be supporting the Great British Spring Clean and its important we play our part, Chief executive Clive Selley said. I was proud to work alongside local volunteers.

PEOPLES LOTTERY

As a major supporter of Keep Britain Tidy and its Spring Clean, Peoples Postcode Lottery has helped broaden the reach of litter-reduction campaigns. Team members are encouraged to spend one day a year with the charities that PPL supports.

HECK

Heck sausages, based in Yorkshire, held a mass clean up at its factory in Kirklington with 130 employee volunteers

The Yorkshire sausage brand arranged a mass clean-up in Kirklington, where its factory is based, for 130 employee volunteers. Co-founder Jamie Keeble said: We take a lot of pride in our surroundings as our headquarters is based on an old family farm close to a national park.

The Great British Spring Clean will run between March 22 and April 23. Register at gbspringclean.org.Families hiring cars in Europe this Easter face a host of unexpected charges at the check-in desk.

In the worst cases, fees for sat-navs, childrens seats and additional drivers could more than triple the cost of your car rental.

For example, the cost of renting a car in Tenerife from April 13 to 20 would cost an average of 155, according to iCarhireinsurance.

But families would have to pay as much as 483 if they wanted six common extras  sat-nav, child seat, insurance covering excess payments in an accident, theft cover and tyre and windscreen cover.

Families could face a host of unexpected charges at the check-in desk when hiring cars abroad this Easter (stock image)

Fees for sat-navs, childrens seats and additional drivers could more than triple the cost of a car rental in Europe (stock image)

For the same week in Larnaca, Cyprus, it costs an average of 146 to rent a car. But this will rise to 399 with the extras. In Barcelona, it costs 256, rising to 664.

Complaints about car hire firms have soared by 82 per cent in the past year, according to online complaints service Resolver.

It dealt with 5,388 cases in 2018, up from 2,964 the year before.

Martyn James, of Resolver, said: From endless add-on costs to huge bills for minor damage, this industry will not change until it is regulated properly.

In a victory for Money Mail earlier this week, UK and European regulators ordered car hire firms to ensure the headline prices they advertise match the final price.The leader of one of New Zealand's most notorious gangs has revealed his members won't hand over their guns in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack.

Sonny Fatu, president of Mongrel Mob, admitted many of the gang's estimated 1,000 associates owned illegal guns but would not be handing them to the government.

'Will gangs get rid of their weapons? No. Because of who we are, we can't guarantee our own safety,' Mr Fatu said to Stuff.

'It's not in our culture to inflict harm on innocent people like what happened in Christchurch.'

Sonny Fatu (pictured) said that his gang owns many guns but they won't hand them in because their lifestyle requires protection and they don't believe they are a risk to the public, unlike the Christchurch shooter

Mongrel Mob's strong stance on guns follows an announcement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's outright ban on all military-style semiautomatic and assault rifles.

'In short, every semiautomatic weapon used in the terrorist attack will be banned in this country,' Arden said during a press conference.

Ms Ardern said government would introduce a buyback scheme to ensure 'fair and reasonable' compensation.

Mr Fatu said that ethnic gangs like his were mainly involved in gang-on-gang violence and their members police themselves so the public shouldn't be afraid of them possessing guns.

'The attacks between our organisations are gang-on-gang, they do not involve the non-gang members. Although there may be peripheral damage and violence that occasionally spills out into the public eye, it is absolutely and without intention for any harm to be caused to non-gang members.'

On March 15, accused Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant allegedly entered the Masjid al Noor and Linwood Masjid mosques and gunned down 50 Muslims.

The Mongrel Mob (pictured at Christchurch memorial) is an organised street gang with a network of more than thirty chapters throughout New Zealand

Mr Fatu said that ethnic gangs like his were mainly involved in gang-on-gang violence

The Mongrel Mob is an organised street gang with a network of more than thirty chapters throughout New Zealand.

Members of the gang have been arrested for operating several methamphetamine supply-and-distribution rings over the years.

They have also had numerous violent and public incidents with rival gangs.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting anyone pictured owns any illegal guns or has committed any crimes.A Texas man has died after police say he was brutally beaten by his daughter's boyfriend during a domestic dispute last weekend.

According to an arrest affidavit, Eric Garcia defended his grown daughter after he overheard her boyfriend of one month, Jaime Apodaca, calling her names and accusing her of infidelity last Saturday morning.

Garcia entered his daughter's bedroom at his home in Austin, where 24-year-old Apodaca had been staying, and told the man to leave.

Jaime Apodaca, 24 (left), has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend's father, Eric Garcia (right), and beating the man into a coma in Austin on Saturday. Garcia died on Thursday

Eric with Megan Garcia, his long time partner and the mother of their children

It's alleged that Apodaca punched Garcia and then his teenage daughter, knocking out one of her teeth, when she tried to protect her father, according to KXAN.

The brawl continued on the hallway stairs, where Apodaca allegedly knocked down Garcia multiple times as the victim's daughter screamed at him to stop.

At the bottom of the staircase, Apodaca pushed his girlfriend into a shoe rack with such force that the piece of furniture broke on impact, it is claimed.

The fight then spilled out into Garcia's driveway, where according to the affidavit, Apodaca sucker-punched the father.

The man collapsed and hit his head on the concrete so hard that his skull cracked.

According to the description of a GoFundMe campaign launched by a friend to help the victim and his family with medical and living expenses, Garcia's heart stopped and it took paramedics 15 minutes to revive him.

On Thursday, his family said he had 'moved into the light.'

'He was surrounded by his loved ones, and he will be deeply missed by many,' they wrote.

Garcia was rushed to a hospital suffering from an inter-cranial trauma and a herniated brain. After being in a coma for almost a week, he died on Thursday night.

A picture of Eric's family was posted on their GoFundMe page

One of Eric's daughters Kaela posted this picture online of her with her father

Garcia was punched multiple times while defending his teenage daughter and hit his head on concrete, leaving him in a coma with a brain injury

'He tried to split up a fight. He was such a quiet, nice, humble person,' Schouman told KXAN. 'He didn't really deserve what happened to him.'

Besides the GoFundMe campaign, Schouman also launched a Facebook fundraiser to raise money for Garcia and his children, including his 12-year-old daughter.

As of Wednesday morning, the two campaigns together have netted almost $7,000 in donations.

Meanwhile, Apodaca has been booked into the Travis County Jail on charges of assault causing bodily injury to a family member; assault causing bodily injury and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a family member.

Police say they are waiting for the results of Garcia's autopsy and working with the Travis County district attorney's office to determine whether other charges will be filed.The suns arrived just in time for the clocks to spring forward to British Summer Time  but dont be fooled into packing away your winter woollies just yet.

The mild conditions will be replaced by rain, gales, overnight frosts and even snow showers over the coming days.

High pressure is expected to bring balmy temperatures of up to 19C (66F) in southern England today, but a much chillier picture is forecast for the week ahead.

People played volleyball on Boscombe beach in Dorset yesterday as they enjoyed the mild weather. However, a much chillier picture is forecast for the week ahead

A runner passes the Old Naval College in Greenwich Park, London, as people enjoy a day of mildly warm March weather

Trees have come into bloom in Greenwich Park as temperatures have risen above expected levels in recent weeks - but don't be fooled as wind, rain and gales as predicted for the coming week

A dog called Winston plays with a ball in a pond in Greenwich Park on Saturday

Daytime temperatures are set to plummet to between 8C and 9C (46-48F) in many areas, with successive weather fronts bringing in wet and windy weather.

Richard Miles, from the Met Office, said: It is due to be much more unsettled over the coming week.

There will be showery conditions everywhere at some point and it is due to feel quite cold at night, with overnight temperatures falling to -2C (28F) or -3C (27F) by Tuesday.

By the middle of the week, temperatures could be cold enough for wintry showers of sleet or snow to feed in off the North Sea, the Met Office predicts

On Tuesday night into Wednesday, there could be gales near the west coast with winds of at least 30mph.

'By the middle of the week, temperatures could be cold enough for wintry showers of sleet or snow to feed in off the North Sea.

The temperature dip is due to begin today when a weather front sinks south, bringing patchy rain south to central England.

Temperatures may struggle to exceed 11-12C (52-54F). Tomorrow will be dry but colder and cloudy, while Monday will start cold, frosty and bright.

The clocks will go forward on Sunday morning at 1am.This is the first picture of a married mother-of-two who was killed after a vehicle being chased by police smashed into her car on the motorway.

Jessica Michael was pronounced dead at the scene of the three-car smash on the M25 in Waltham Abbey, on the outskirts of north-east London, on Thursday night.

Jessica's husband of four years Andrew Michael revealed his heartbreak on Facebook, writing: 'No words. Love of my life I hope I make you proud till I see you again.'

Jessica Michael was pronounced dead at the scene of the three-car smash on the M25 on Thursday night

Mrs pictured with her twin brother, who said he's flying home from Australia to be with his grieving family

Her twin brother Matthew Ladkin also paid tribute to his sister online, saying he'd 'love her forever'. He's now flying back from Australia to be with his grieving family.

Mrs Michael leaves behind a two-year-old daughter and an older son. Essex Police are investigating the crash which happened shortly before 10pm on Thursday.

Witness Margaret Parrot told BBC Essex she heard a man who was in one of the vehicles shouting to an injured woman 'don't go'. 'It's terribly tragic, very, very sad,' she added.

A force spokesperson said the incident had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The added: 'It followed a police pursuit involving one of the cars, which officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire road policing unit had attempted to stop on the M25.'

An IOPC spokesperson said: 'We are independently investigating the circumstances of a police pursuit before a fatal road collision in Waltham Abbey last night.

The three-car crash happened near Parklands, Waltham Abbey, when a vehicle being chased by police collided with other cars

'We understand that the pursuit took place after a car failed to stop for officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police roads policing unit at around 9.55pm.

'The car being pursued was then involved in a collision with two other cars in Parklands.

'A woman in one of the cars was sadly pronounced dead at the scene and a number of other people in the vehicles were injured.

'After we were notified by Hertfordshire Police we sent investigators to the scene and to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.'The bodies of two teenage Japanese boys have been found at a picturesque Australian tourist destination.

The 16-year-old Japanese nationals were found in Lake McKenzie on Queensland's Fraser Island about 8.20am on Saturday.

Queensland Police said the boys were reported missing from a school tourist group near the lake just after 5pm on Friday.

The 16-year-old Japanese nationals were found in the water at Lake McKenzie (pictured) on Queensland's idyllic Fraser Island about 8.20am on Saturday

A search and rescue operation was immediately commenced, with both water police and helicopters called in to help local police find the teenagers.

Swift-water rescue crews, State Emergency Service officer and the Rural Fire Service were also called in to aid the search.

Maryborough Patrol Group Inspector Tony Clowes called the deaths a 'tragedy' at a press conference on Saturday afternoon but said police continue to investigate.

'It's very early days in the investigation. This is a tragic event, no doubt about that,' he said.

'Certainly it would be confronting for all persons involved, including emergency services who responded.'

Police confirmed the two boys were on a school trip and were known to each other, but weren't related.

Inspector Clowes said a full investigation is underway: 'We'll be speaking to all the witnesses available and putting together a full picture of exactly what occurred, the events, and the timing of the events.'

A search and rescue operation was immediately commenced, with both water police and helicopters called in to help local police find the teenagers

'We're also working very closely with the Japanese consulate in relation to this matter and providing any assistance we can in these tragic circumstances,' Inspector Clowes said.

The two 16-year-old boys' next of kin has been notified and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Jeff Ellison from SeaLink Travel Group, who own Kingfisher Bay resort, confirmed the boys were on a group tour with guides and interpreters, the ABC reported.

Mr Ellison said his staff members are cooperating with police in the investigation.

'Our whole team up there is deeply saddened about this tragic event and at the moment out thoughts are with the families and friends.'Prices of new-build homes have soared by more than 50 per cent since the launch of Help to Buy, figures show.

They indicate the controversial scheme has helped push prices beyond the reach of millions of families.

The figures also suggest that rather than making property more affordable as intended, the scheme has actually forced buyers to take on even more debt.

A new-build home now costs 9.6 times what the average person earns in a year, up from 7.1 in 2012. Meanwhile, older properties have risen much more slowly relative to wages, up to 7.6 times earnings from 6.7

In 2012, the year before then Chancellor George Osborne introduced the policy, the average new-build home in England and Wales cost 189,950.

This has since surged by 96,050, or 51 per cent, to 286,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. By contrast, the price of an older house has risen by only 47,000, or 26 per cent, from 178,000 to 225,000.

A new-build home now costs 9.6 times what the average person earns in a year, up from 7.1 in 2012. Meanwhile, older properties have risen much more slowly relative to wages, up to 7.6 times earnings from 6.7.

Britains biggest housebuilders have seen their profits surge since Help to Buy was launched.

The equity loan scheme is intended to help young people get on the housing ladder. It allows families to buy new-builds worth up to 600,000 using deposits of only 5 per cent  or 30,000. The Government loans up to another 20 per cent, or 120,000, interest-free for five years.

In 2012, the year before then Chancellor George Osborne introduced the policy, the average new-build home in England and Wales cost 189,950

It has so far been used to buy 195,000 properties with 10.7billion of taxpayers cash.

The scheme has been blamed for pushing up prices because it effectively increases buyers budgets. Developers are accused of taking advantage of this extra financial firepower, knowing families are so desperate to get on the ladder they will pay the maximum they can afford. Critics say this has allowed developers to pocket billions of pounds and give their bosses gigantic bonuses.

Persimmon became the first developer to make profits of more than 1billion last year  helping fund a notorious bonus scheme which handed 85million to former boss Jeff Fairburn, and 45million to current chief executive Dave Jenkinson.

Fellow builders Taylor Wimpey made an 811million profit last year and Barratt Developments made 836million. James Daley, of consumer group Fairer Finance, said: These figures reveal the truth behind Help to Buy. Its not doing what the policy was set up for. Were now in a situation for many people where the dream of owning a home is never going to be a reality.

The housing developers are cleaning up at the expense of first-time buyers doing everything they can to get on the property ladder  and the Government is stoking the fire.

Labour MP Clive Betts, chairman of the Commons housing committee, said: I would urge the Government to investigate the effect Help to Buy has had on the value of new-build properties. Those who are struggling to get on the property ladder should not have to pay more simply because they have no other option.

New-build prices have risen most in London, where borrowers can get a bigger loan from the Government than elsewhere.

Because property is more expensive in the capital, the scheme allows buyers to get a loan equal to 40 per cent of a houses value as opposed to 20 per cent elsewhere.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: We are committed to helping more people get on the housing ladder as we push to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. Our Help To Buy equity loan scheme has helped make home ownership a reality for a new generation.Hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza is desperately trying to mount a 'make or break' legal challenge to overturn his terror convictions in the US Supreme Court.

The radical imam, who preached at Finsbury Park mosque in north London in the 1990s, has pleaded with his lawyer to lodge another appeal in letters seen by The Telegraph.

The 60-year-old - whose real name is Mustafa Kamel Mustafa - was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole in 2014 after being convicted of 11 terrorism charges.

Hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza is mounting a fresh legal bid to overturn his terror convictions in the US

The 60-year-old begged his lawyer to help him in a series of letters sent in recent months

Letters to his lawyer reveal he plans to appeal against nine of his convictions. During their correspondence, he seemed to blame his lawyer, Michael Bachrach, of ignoring requests for updates on an appeal lodged in October, the newspaper reports.

The ruling led to two of his Hamza's convictions being reversed, including one for helping his followers travel to Afghanistan to join Al-Qaeda in 2000. It resulted in Hamza's convictions being reduced from 11 to nine.

In a November letter, the hate preacher wrote: 'Please Michael, struggle to do my request in this letter... It is a make or break matter; I have no choice as I have no more room for manoeuvre. I am asking for the sincere effort not the result.

In another letter, sent this month, Hamza begged for his lawyer to respond, saying: 'I have not heard from you in some time. I never received an of what i have been requested for ages despite I sending you many reminders [sic].'

In a November letter, the hate preacher wrote: 'Please Michael, struggle to do my request in this letter... It is a make or break matter'

Hamza is currently being held at the ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

His lawyer said the appeal should be filed within two months, and if approved it'll be ruled on by judges in 2021.

Mr Bachrach told The Telegraph he's likely to argue the court's original verdict in 2014 was 'invalid' because one of the witnesses had received incorrect treatment, the paper reports.

Hamza is currently being held at the ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, where conditions are tough. He wants to be sent back to the UK

The radical cleric will fight for acquittal or a reduced sentence and will ask to be sent back to the UK - where he was originally serving an eight-year sentence before being extradited to the US in 2012.

Since he was convicted of 11 charges in October 2015 he has been kept in solitary confinement, only being allowed out of his cell for an hour a day.

Before US prosecutors won their eight-year legal battle to extradite him from the UK in October 2012 he was locked up at Belmarsh in south east London - where things were quite different.Donald Trump is continuing to gloat about the results of the Mueller investigation and is demanding the New York Times and the Washington Post be stripped of the Pulitzer Prize they won for their coverage of the collusion controversy.

After Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was released last week and found no proof of collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election, Trump has launched a fierce attack on the left and the media.

On Friday he took to Twitter to sing praises for Mueller releasing 'the Truth' and to attack those who doubt the report's results.

'Robert Mueller was a Hero to the Radical Left Democrats, until he ruled that there was No Collusion with Russia (so ridiculous to even say!). After more than two years since the "insurance policy" statement was made by a dirty cop, I got the answers I wanted, the Truth.....,' he wrote.

Donald Trump took to Twitter to praise the Mueller report on Friday and demand the New York Times and Washington Post have their joint Pulitzer Prize stripped away. Trump pictured on Friday as he visited Canal Point, Florida

On Friday he took to Twitter to sing praises for Mueller releasing the truth and attack those who doubt the report's results

He complained that the 'radical left' won't accept the results and continue to criticize his administration

He went on to demand the New York Times and Washington Post have their joint Pulitzer Prize revoked for their '100% negative and fake' coverage

He went on to say that 'The problem is, no matter what the Radical Left Democrats get, no matter what we give them, it will never be enough.'

'Just watch, they will Harass & Complain & Resist (the theme of their movement). So maybe we should just take our victory and say NO, weve got a Country to run!' he added.

Then the president pointed fingers towards the media and demanded The New York Times and Washington Post be stripped of the joint Pulitzer Prize they were awarded in 2018 for their coverage of the Russia scandal.

'So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!' Trump tweeted.

When the Pulitzer Board awarded the outlets the prize, they described their works as 'deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration.'

Donald Trump Jr joined the attack demanding the Pulitzer Prize be revoked adding: 'He's right...unless they give Pulitzer's for fiction.

The New York Times swiftly responded to the president's attack saying: 'We're proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election'

Trump's presidency has seen him launch bitter attacks against the press.

He notably called the New York Times the 'enemy of the people' on Twitter.

He has also slammed Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and the Washington Post, for using the newspaper as a 'lobbyist weapon against Congress to keep Politicians from looking into Amazon no-tax monopoly.'

Donald Trump Jr joined in on his father's attack online, retweeting his father adding: 'He's right ... unless they give Pulitzers for fiction. #fakenews.'

Contrary to his statement, there actually is a Pulitzer category for fiction. His post sparked a Twitter uproar over his lack of Pulitzer knowledge.

The New York Times swiftly responded to the president's attack saying: 'We're proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Every @nytimes article cited has proven accurate.'

'No report in our package of Pulitzer-prize winning work has been challenged,' NYT spokesperson Eileen Murphy said to USA Today.

'In fact, what we know of the Mueller report from the Attorney Generals summary confirms our coverage. Russia actively worked to upend the American elections in 2016 and there were multiple instances of Trump Transition and Administration officials having contact with Russia,' she added.Researchers hope that if the spinal cord stimulation treatment works, it could be offered to 10 million people across the UK

A revolutionary new treatment to help back pain will be available to NHS patients for the first time in a trial at a London hospital.

Researchers hope that if the spinal cord stimulation treatment works it could be offered to 10 million people across the country who suffer from back pain, the leading cause of disability in Britain.

The treatment works with an implant which delivers small electric shocks to the spinal cord which interrupt pain signals travelling to the brain.

Guy's and St Thomass NHS Foundation Trust are running the 100 patient trial, with each patient having the implant put into their lower backs, although only half of them will have the device activated, The Times reported.

Pain levels in the 100 participants will be monitored to see if the 50 with an active implant see an improvement, though neither the patients nor their doctors will know if their devices are switched on.

The London trial is the first of its kind outside of industry to compare a real device to a mock procedure.

Chief investigator for the study Adnan Al-Kaisy, who is a consultant in pain medicine at the hospital, told The Times: This unique study has the potential to completely revolutionise how we treat chronic back pain on the NHS.

Unlike major back surgery, spinal cord stimulation is reversible and patients can be treated in a day, so its very cost effective.

There is existing research that shows that, for many patients, spinal cord stimulation can work very well, Dr Al-Kaisy added.

Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital will be trialling the treatment on 100 different patients, to see if the 50 with an active implant will improve

Unlike major back surgery, spinal cord stimulation is reversible and patients can be treated in a day, so its very cost effective

If the study finds that it is effective we hope that it will be used more widely, allowing more patients to have access to it across the UK.

The economic cost of back pain-related issues in the UK is estimated to be around 12 billion a year, a figure which Dr Al-Kaisy said is driven by the increasingly sedentary lifestyles people are leading.

He said: We are seeing more and more patients with chronic back pain.

The condition can be extremely debilitating. It causes more disability than any other condition and millions of working days are lost to it, so the cost to society is huge.

Each of the implants costs around 19,000 and require daily charging to deliver electric current to the spine.

The National Institute of Health and Care (NICE) have approved them for certain types of back pain and their popularity varies across the country from 15 operations per 100,000 people in some areas to less than one in 100,000 in others.

In January an NHS reported called on surgeons to submit figures on their use to a national register so information on the devices can be collected.Just when it seemed the institution of marriage was as endangered as an orderly Brexit, news greets us that the number of silver splicers taking second vows in their 60s has doubled since 2001.

People who have already gone through the agonies of divorce or bereavement have decided that the best way to be happy is  whisper it  to marry again.

The eternal longing for mutual friendship, for understanding, companionship and, yes, sex in their 60s and beyond, has proved something many cannot resist.

What is so striking is that this goes against the long trend of falling marriage rates in an era when the institution has been denigrated  viewed as a lifestyle choice thats no better than simply living together.

In our anything-goes society, why should couples have to make a public proclamation of their commitment or proffer a pesky marriage certificate to prove their love?

The eternal longing for mutual friendship, for understanding, companionship and, yes, sex in their 60s and beyond, has proved something many cannot resist (stock image)

Successive governments have attacked married couples allowances for fear of suggesting marriage is better than other lifestyles  that of a struggling single mum, for example. Yet theres a vast body of evidence to show that marriage is statistically the most effective way of keeping relationships together, the most stable way of bringing up children and giving them a good education and job prospects.

Of course, its not a bed of roses. Many marriages end in divorce. Lives broken, dreams shattered and, above all, children damaged.

However, the fact is you are far more likely to split up when co-habiting. Youre also more likely to end up in old age bereft of companionship and good health. Its not for nothing that across the cultures, for centuries, marriage has been the bedrock that has underpinned society.

Which makes it all the more encouraging that these silver splicers  with the benefit of wisdom theyve acquired over the years  have come round once more to understanding that life is enriched by sharing it with another person, with a commitment made before family and friends. We were not born to live alone.

As that A. A. Milne poem, written almost 100 years ago, tells us:

It isnt much fun for One, but Two

Can stick together, says Pooh, says he.

Thats how it is, says Pooh.

Cheer up, Louise

Having divorced her husband of 19 years to find herself, Louise Redknapp says of her raunchy video to new single Stretch: As a 44-year-old woman with two children, I should be allowed to have fun and not be scared to be sexy.

All power to you, sister. But if youre so happy with your lot, why do you look so unutterably miserable?

Louise Redknapp says of her raunchy video to new single Stretch: As a 44-year-old woman with two children, I should be allowed to have fun and not be scared to be sexy

Idris Elba at National Film Awards at Porchester Hall, London, on Wednesday

A non-violent 007?

Idris Elba collected two gongs at the National Film Awards wearing a Dont Stab Your Future sweatshirt as knife deaths hit a record high.

A powerful message to teenagers today from a lad who grew up in a tough-as-nails council estate in the East London borough of Hackney.

Idris, with his stern warning, is the perfect role model for kids who might be tempted to join gangs or who have already joined them.

Although perhaps he should eschew the lure of 007  after all, Bond has a licence to kill.

Mel B's Scary jealous outbursts After Spice Girl Mel B claimed shed had a lesbian fling with Ginger Spice, which Geri Horner (formerly Halliwell) denied, Mel went on to call Posh Spice, now known as Victoria Beckham, a b*tch. VB and Geri are both married and very, very rich  whereas Mel B is divorced, says shes penniless and is living in rented accommodation. Not so much Scary Spice as Spiteful Spice. Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams (Beckham), Melanie Brown (Mel B) front, Melanie Chisholm (Mel C) and Emma Bunton at AOL in New York Advertisement

A dispiriting survey reveals that seven million UK mums will not see their grown-up children on Mothering Sunday tomorrow.

More than one in four of these sons and daughters say they wont travel more than ten miles to see their mothers, many claiming that they have other plans. And one in ten admits they dont see them even once a year!

So, a call to arms for all of you: drop your precious plans for just one Sunday, turn up unannounced  and tell Mum that you love her. It wont just make her feel wonderful, but you, too.

Age-defying Elizabeth Hurley, 53, stepped out for dinner and dancing with her ex-husband Arun Nayar this week, having been on holiday with him and his girlfriend last summer.

Is Liz the ex from heaven  or hell? What girlfriend wants to spend her holiday with her beaus ex  and one who looks better in a bikini, or a few safety pins, than any fiftysomething woman has the right even to dream of?

Westminster wars After the PM said that she would quit as leader, doctors revealed they had discovered a woman who felt no pain and could put up with agonies no other human could withstand. For a moment, I thought they were talking about Theresa May.

Shame on all the MPs who refused to vote through the PMs Brexit agreement yesterday. Every single person I have encountered recently wants a conclusion to this chaos and for the country to move on. A plague on all these wrecking politicians.

Sad though some may be to see her go, at least the exit of Mrs May will see the end of that horrible pale blue Italian Herno coat  which looked as though shed slept in for a month after she misguidedly considered it to be lucky. Advertisement

In a world where we despair of the courage of humans, seven dogs from the Met and British Transport Police were honoured with animal OBEs for bravery during the Westminster Bridge and London Bridge terror attacks.

The firearms support and explosive search dogs were Kai, Delta, Marci, Zax, Bruno, Dave and Bobby. True heroes.

He enthralled us on stage as Hamlet, beguiled us as Jonathan Pine on TV in The Night Manager, intrigued us as the brief boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift.

Now, heart-throb Tom Hiddleston is serving up raw vegetables, pills and a heart-shaped fried egg in an advert selling multi-vitamins to the Chinese.

No wonder Taylor swiftly moved on.

Fears that shops selling Easter eggs in March are fuelling childhood obesity are surely misplaced.

Walking past my local ice-cream parlour, with queues of children looking for three scoops of double-chocolate pistachio, I realised the epidemic isnt seasonal, but 12 months a year.

Police have issued an emoji guide to social workers over their hidden meanings.

Evidently, clapping hands is not, as I believed, a sign of approbation, but can indicate a liking for being spanked.

Now I know why various politicians have not returned my messages.

How delightful that, for the first time I can recall, the Queen this week took her white gloves off in public.

Not to greet a foreign dignitary, but to feed a police horse a couple of carrots.

Having finally agreed to be extradited to the UK, smirking speedboat killer Jack Shepherd has listed his demands.

Single occupancy of a cell with 24-hour surveillance, his own guards and access to the mass media, including pictures of his living conditions.

Who does he think he is? Julian Assange?Don Jr was widely mocked on Twitter Saturday for his lack of knowledge about the prestigious Pulitzer Prize after suggesting there is no award for fiction.

The president's son was replying to a comment made by his father calling for The New York Times and The Washington Post to have their Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election revoked.

Donald Trump had earlier tweeted: 'So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion!

'So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!'

Don Jr retweeted the president's tweet, adding: 'Hes right... unless they give Pulitzers for fiction.'

And he was quickly ridiculed online by users pointing out that the Pulitzer is handed out to works of fiction.

MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin wrote: 'Does Don Jr. not know that there's a Pulitzer for Fiction?'

Historian Kevin M. Kruse replied with a screengrab showing the criteria needed to pick up the $15,000 prize money.

And others shared memes calling the first son 'dumb', 'illiterate', 'the dumbest Trump' and an 'idiot'.

Donald Trump demanded two newspapers have their joint Pulitzer Prize revoked for their '100% negative and fake' coverage. Don Jr, pictured, joined in on the attack but suggested there is no Pulitzer for fiction

Don Jr was widely mocked on Twitter Saturday for his lack of knowledge about the prestigious Pulitzer Prize after suggesting there are no awards for fiction

The president's son was replying to a comment made by his father calling for The New York Times and The Washington Post to have their Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election revoked

Don Jr. was quickly ridiculed online by users pointing out that the Pulitzer is handed out to works of fiction

Users shared memes calling the first son 'dumb', 'illiterate', 'the dumbest Trump' and an 'idiot'

The President had earlier tweeted: 'So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! 'So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!'

Don Jr retweeted the president, adding: 'Hes right... unless they give Pulitzers for fiction'

The prize is awarded 'for distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life'

Donald Trump Jr joined in on his father's attack saying the newspapers should receive Pulitzer prizes for fiction rather than journalism but was widely ridiculed

One user shared this meme which showed a scene from Dumb and Dumber

The prize is awarded 'for distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life', according to the Pulitzer website. Last year's winner was Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

After Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was released last week and found no proof of collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election, Trump launched a fierce attack on the left and the media.

Responding to Don Jr's tweet, one Twitter user wrote: 'This is not a high IQ family.'

Others joked there was 'no need for a DNA test, Junior' and asked 'who wants to tell him?'

When the Pulitzer Board awarded the outlets the prize, they described their works as 'deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration.'

Responding to Don Jr's tweet Jon Nelson wrote: 'He's not what you'd call a reader.'

Comedian Tony Posnanski said: 'And you are the dumbest Trump.'

Others pointed out the apostrophe added by Don Jr, with one person tweeting: 'Good lord, he doesnt know there are Pulitzers for fiction AND he doesnt understand apostrophes.' Another added: 'Well, they don't give them for extraneous apostrophes.'

Research director Robert Maguire at Citizens for Ethics was scathing in his response, writing: 'Don knows fiction, since one of the stories the NYT won the Pulitzer for was the one in which they showed he had lied about the Trump Tower meeting, which he then confirmed by tweeting out the email that shows Russia's offer of assistance to Team Trump.'

Responding to Don Jr's tweet, one Twitter user wrote: 'This is not a high IQ family.'

Others joked there was 'no need for a DNA test, Junior' and asked 'who wants to tell him?'

Responding to Don Jr's tweet Jon Nelson wrote: 'He's not what you'd call a reader'

Comedian Tony Posnanski said: 'And you are the dumbest Trump'

Trump has launched a fierce attack on the left and the media after Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was released last week and found no proof of collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election

Others pointed out the apostrophe added by Don Jr, with one person tweeting: 'Good lord, he doesnt know there are Pulitzers for fiction AND he doesnt understand apostrophes'

When the Pulitzer Board awarded the outlets the prize, they described their works as 'deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest'

Donald Trump Jr joined in on his father's attack saying the newspapers should receive Pulitzer prizes for fiction rather than journalism, calling them Pulitzer's

The two publications swiftly responded to the president's attack saying: 'We're proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Every @nytimes article cited has proven accurate.'

'No report in our package of Pulitzer-prize winning work has been challenged,' NYT spokesperson Eileen Murphy said to USA Today.

'In fact, what we know of the Mueller report from the Attorney Generals summary confirms our coverage. Russia actively worked to upend the American elections in 2016 and there were multiple instances of Trump Transition and Administration officials having contact with Russia,' she added.El Chapo, the fashionista?

The convicted drug lord and his wife have stylish future plans: Creating clothing with the brand name 'El Chapo.'

Joaquin Guzman, 61, and his 29-year-old wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, are working together on the project.

Joaquin Guzman, 61, and his 29-year-old wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, are working together on a clothing company

Aispuro shared with the New York Daily News that Guzman's signature would be part of the brand logo. And there's already an official website.

Aispuro will be running the company and it is unknown who will be taking the profits from the company

The loyal wife will be running the new company - called El Chapo Guzman: JGL LLC.

'This project is an idea Joaquin and I have had for a long time. Before he was in the USA we talked a lot about this topic,' Aispuro said. 'Really, it's both of our ideas.'

The former beauty queen continued: 'We'll talk a little about both of our ideas  that he has and a touch of mine, obviously. Our greatest inspiration is our daughters.'

The couple have seven-year-old twin daughters, who wore matching white blazers to their father's trial in December.

El Chapo was found guilty in February of murder conspiracy charges, drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms possession.

He's awaiting sentencing and could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The company will be called called El Chapo Guzman: JGL LLC after the drug kingpin

'I am very happy to be able to create something like this. I hope it'll be something everyone likes. I will give it my best effort to make it good for everyone and within everyone's reach,' said Aispuro. 'I want to start with a line of caps, then I'll begin to produce clothes, jackets'

But living behind bars may not be a deal-breaker when it comes to fashion with the kind of edgy image that's sexy to some people.

El Chapo was found guilty in February of murder conspiracy charges, drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms possession

'I am very happy to be able to create something like this. I hope it'll be something everyone likes. I will give it my best effort to make it good for everyone and within everyone's reach,' said Aispuro. 'I want to start with a line of caps, then I'll begin to produce clothes, jackets.'

It is currently unknown who will get the profits from the business.

New York's 'Son of Sam' law prevents criminals from making money from behind bars.

The U.S. is seeking to recover billions from the cartel's drug profits.

Notably, the couple wore crimson velvet jackets as an apparent dig at the kingpin's mistress - Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez.A meteor impact 66 million years ago generated a tsunami-like wave in an inland sea that killed and buried fish, mammals, insects and a dinosaur (Triceratops), the first victims of a cataclysm that led to Earth's last mass extinction. The death scene from within an hour of the impact has been excavated at an unprecedented fossil site in North Dakota. CREDIT Graphic courtesy of Robert DePalma

The beginning of the end started with violent shaking that raised giant waves in the waters of an inland sea in what is now North Dakota. Then, tiny glass beads began to fall like birdshot from the heavens. The rain of glass was so heavy it may have set fire to much of the vegetation on land. In the water, fish struggled to breathe as the beads clogged their gills.

The heaving sea turned into a 30-foot wall of water when it reached the mouth of a river, tossing hundreds, if not thousands, of fresh-water fish -- sturgeon and paddlefish -- onto a sand bar and temporarily reversing the flow of the river. Stranded by the receding water, the fish were pelted by glass beads up to 5 millimeters in diameter, some burying themselves inches deep in the mud. The torrent of rocks, like fine sand, and small glass beads continued for another 10 to 20 minutes before a second large wave inundated the shore and covered the fish with gravel, sand and fine sediment, sealing them from the world for 66 million years.

This unique, fossilized graveyard -- fish stacked one atop another and mixed in with burned tree trunks, conifer branches, dead mammals, mosasaur bones, insects, the partial carcass of a Triceratops, marine microorganisms called dinoflagellates and snail-like marine cephalopods called ammonites -- was unearthed by paleontologist Robert DePalma over the past six years in the Hell Creek Formation, not far from Bowman, North Dakota. The evidence confirms a suspicion that nagged at DePalma in his first digging season during the summer of 2013 -- that this was a killing field laid down soon after the asteroid impact that eventually led to the extinction of all ground-dwelling dinosaurs. The impact at the end of the Cretaceous Period, the so-called K-T boundary, exterminated 75 percent of life on Earth.

"This is the first mass death assemblage of large organisms anyone has found associated with the K-T boundary," said DePalma, curator of paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History in Florida and a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. "At no other K-T boundary section on Earth can you find such a collection consisting of a large number of species representing different ages of organisms and different stages of life, all of which died at the same time, on the same day."

In a paper to appear next week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he and his American and European colleagues, including two University of California, Berkeley, geologists, describe the site, dubbed Tanis, and the evidence connecting it with the asteroid or comet strike off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. That impact created a huge crater, called Chicxulub, in the ocean floor and sent vaporized rock and cubic miles of asteroid dust into the atmosphere. The cloud eventually enveloped Earth, setting the stage for Earth's last mass extinction.

Fossilized fish piled one atop another, suggesting that they were flung ashore and died stranded together on a sand bar after the wave from the seiche withdrew. CREDIT Photo courtesy of Robert DePalma

"It's like a museum of the end of the Cretaceous in a layer a meter-and-a-half thick," said Mark Richards, a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of earth and planetary science who is now provost and professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington.

Richards and Walter Alvarez, a UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School who 40 years ago first hypothesized that a comet or asteroid impact caused the mass extinction, were called in by DePalma and Dutch scientist Jan Smit to consult on the rain of glass beads and the tsunami-like waves that buried and preserved the fish. The beads, called tektites, formed in the atmosphere from rock melted by the impact.

Tsunami vs. seiche

Richards and Alvarez determined that the fish could not have been stranded and then buried by a typical tsunami, a single wave that would have reached this previously unknown arm of the Western Interior Seaway no less than 10 to 12 hours after the impact 3,000 kilometers away, if it didn't peter out before then. Their reasoning: The tektites would have rained down within 45 minutes to an hour of the impact, unable to create mudholes if the seabed had not already been exposed.

Instead, they argue, seismic waves likely arrived within 10 minutes of the impact from what would have been the equivalent of a magnitude 10 or 11 earthquake, creating a seiche (pronounced saysh), a standing wave, in the inland sea that is similar to water sloshing in a bathtub during an earthquake. Though large earthquakes often generate seiches in enclosed bodies of water, they're seldom noticed, Richards said. The 2011 Tohoku quake in Japan, a magnitude 9.0, created six-foot-high seiches 30 minutes later in a Norwegian fjord 8,000 kilometers away.

Tektites, 1 millimeter spheres of glass, recovered from the Tanis fossil bed. They were produced by the Chicxulub impact and fell within an hour of the impact. CREDIT Photo courtesy of Robert DePalma

"The seismic waves start arising within nine to 10 minutes of the impact, so they had a chance to get the water sloshing before all the spherules (small spheres) had fallen out of the sky," Richards said. "These spherules coming in cratered the surface, making funnels -- you can see the deformed layers in what used to be soft mud -- and then rubble covered the spherules. No one has seen these funnels before."

The tektites would have come in on a ballistic trajectory from space, reaching terminal velocities of between 100 and 200 miles per hour, according to Alvarez, who estimated their travel time decades ago.

"You can imagine standing there being pelted by these glass spherules. They could have killed you," Richards said. Many believe that the rain of debris was so intense that the energy ignited wildfires over the entire American continent, if not around the world.

"Tsunamis from the Chicxulub impact are certainly well-documented, but no one knew how far something like that would go into an inland sea," DePalma said. "When Mark came aboard, he discovered a remarkable artifact -- that the incoming seismic waves from the impact site would have arrived at just about the same time as the atmospheric travel time of the ejecta. That was our big breakthrough."

Shocked mineral from Tanis Courtesy Robert DePalma

At least two huge seiches inundated the land, perhaps 20 minutes apart, leaving six feet of deposits covering the fossils. Overlaying this is a layer of clay rich in iridium, a metal rare on Earth, but common in asteroids and comets. This layer is known as the K-T, or K-Pg boundary, marking the end of the Cretaceous Period and the beginning of the Tertiary Period, or Paleogene.

Iridium

In 1979, Alvarez and his father, Nobelist Luis Alvarez of UC Berkeley, were the first to recognize the significance of iridium that is found in 66 million-year-old rock layers around the world. They proposed that a comet or asteroid impact was responsible for both the iridium at the K-T boundary and the mass extinction.

The impact would have melted the bedrock under the seafloor and pulverized the asteroid, sending dust and melted rock into the stratosphere, where winds would have carried them around the planet and blotted out the sun for months, if not years. Debris would have rained down from the sky: not only tektites, but also rock debris from the continental crust, including shocked quartz, whose crystal structure was deformed by the impact.

The iridium-rich dust from the pulverized meteor would have been the last to fall out of the atmosphere after the impact, capping off the Cretaceous.

"When we proposed the impact hypothesis to explain the great extinction, it was based just on finding an anomalous concentration of iridium -- the fingerprint of an asteroid or comet," said Alvarez. "Since then, the evidence has gradually built up. But it never crossed my mind that we would find a deathbed like this."

Key confirmation of the meteor hypothesis was the discovery of a buried impact crater, Chicxulub, in the Caribbean and off the coast of the Yucatan in Mexico, that was dated to exactly the age of the extinction. Shocked quartz and glass spherules were also found in K-Pg layers worldwide. The new discovery at Tanis is the first time the debris produced in the impact was found along with animals killed in the immediate aftermath of the impact.

"And now we have this magnificent and completely unexpected site that Robert DePalma is excavating in North Dakota, which is so rich in detailed information about what happened as a result of the impact," Alvarez said. "For me, it is very exciting and gratifying!"

Tektites

Jan Smit, a retired professor of sedimentary geology from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in The Netherlands who is considered the world expert on tektites from the impact, joined DePalma to analyze and date the tektites from the Tanis site. Many were found in near perfect condition embedded in amber, which at the time was pliable pine pitch.

"I went to the site in 2015 and, in front of my eyes, he (DePalma) uncovered a charred log or tree trunk about four meters long which was covered in amber, which acted as sort of an aerogel and caught the tektites when they were coming down," Smit said. "It was a major discovery, because the resin, the amber, covered the tektites completely, and they are the most unaltered tektites I have seen so far, not 1 percent of alteration. We dated them, and they came out to be exactly from the K-T boundary."

The tektites in the fishes' gills are also a first.

"Paddlefish swim through the water with their mouths open, gaping, and in this net, they catch tiny particles, food particles, in their gill rakers, and then they swallow, like a whale shark or a baleen whale," Smit said. "They also caught tektites. That by itself is an amazing fact. That means that the first direct victims of the impact are these accumulations of fishes."

Smit also noted that the buried body of a Triceratops and a duck-billed hadrosaur proves beyond a doubt that dinosaurs were still alive at the time of the impact.

"We have an amazing array of discoveries which will prove in the future to be even more valuable," Smit said. "We have fantastic deposits that need to be studied from all different viewpoints. And I think we can unravel the sequence of incoming ejecta from the Chicxulub impact in great detail, which we would never have been able to do with all the other deposits around the Gulf of Mexico."

"So far, we have gone 40 years before something like this turned up that may very well be unique," Smit said. "So, we have to be very careful with that place, how we dig it up and learn from it. This is a great gift at the end of my career. Walter sees it as the same."

###

Co-authors with DePalma, Smit, Richards and Alvarez are David Burnham of the University of Kansas, Klaudia Kuiper of Vrije Universiteit, Phillip Manning of Manchester University in the United Kingdom, Anton Oleinik of Florida Atlantic University, Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota, Florentin Maurrasse of Florida International University, Johan Vellekoop of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and Loren Gurche of the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History.

Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter.Democrat firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is amping up her call for the White House to address climate change - comparing the nation's swift response to terror attacks with its slow reaction to natural disasters.

The freshman congresswoman compared the government's reaction to 9/11 with the slow and unorganized response to Puerto Rico after the island was hit by the deadly Hurricane Maria in 2017.

'In the events of September 11, 2001, thousands of Americans died in the largest terrorist attack on US soil and our national response, whether we agree with it or not, was to go to war in one then eventually two countries,' she said during an 'All In' town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday hosted by MSNBC's Chris Hayes.

'3,000 Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?' she added as the crowd erupted with applause.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amped up her campaign for the White House to address climate change during an 'All In' town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday

During the talk moderated by MSNBC host Chris Hayes she defended the Green New Deal and compared the government's urgent response to war and conflict to its slow approach to natural disasters such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017

'3,000 Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?' she asked, comparing the lives lost in the natural disaster to the government's response to 9/11, another tragedy that saw the loss of thousands of American lives

She also defended her Green New Deal initiative saying 'we have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet'

.@AOC: "Three thousand Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?" #inners



For more tune in tonight at 8 pm ET. for our #AOCAllIn special event on the #GreenNewDeal pic.twitter.com/K1OrUErPfB  All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) March 29, 2019

The Trump administration has been heavily criticized for its slow and ineffective response to the national emergency on the U.S. island.

After FEMA announced the death toll on the island was nearly 3,000, Trump tweeted denying the number.

In the months following the September 2017 hurricane, FEMA admitted to having widespread failures in its response to the humanitarian aid.

By January the president insisted his administration 'did a fantastic job' and criticized the island when it asked for billions of dollars to rebuild.

In the 9/11 terror attack about 3,000 lives were lost and more than 6,000 people were injured.

The New York Rep said on Friday that shes seen the U.S. government mobilize its resources in dire situations, principally when it comes to conflict and war.

'Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn't have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,' AOC said.

'Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn't have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,' AOC said during the town hall panel on Friday. The devastation of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico pictured above in September 2017

She noted that the U.S. is quick and effective in responding to threats like conflict and war as with 9/11, but ignores other threats like climate change. The rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center pictured above

'And so to get us out of this situation, to revamp our economy to create dignified jobs for working Americans, to guarantee health care and elevate our educational opportunities and attainment, we will have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet,' she added, tying climate change back to the Green New Deal proposal.

AOC went on to defend her proposed stimulus program and reject the Republican criticism of it.

'I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves. I expected a little more nuance, and I expected a little more "concern trolling,"' she said.

She went on to defend her plan, which calls for a full transition to renewable energy by 2030, saying it economically and politically feasible.

'We don't have time for five years of a half-baked, watered-down position. This is urgent, and to think that we have time is such a privileged and removed-from-reality attitude that we cannot tolerate,' she said.

Some Twitter users commended her for her straightforward approach and demanding justice for Puerto Rico after it suffered poor government aid post Hurricane Maria

The Backlash: Not everyone agreed with the Congress freshman's statements

Many were quick to note that the Trump administration did respond to the Hurricane, but its efforts were rendered ineffective due to disorganization on the island

This Twitter user said that the government pursues war for its own economic interests

Some critics hit back that the 'common denominator' between 9/11 and Hurricane Maria isn't lost American lives

'So this issue is not just about our climate. First and foremost we need to save ourselves. Period. There will be no future for the Bronx. There will be no livable future for generations coming, for any part of this country in a way that is better than the lot that we have today if we don't address this issue urgently and on the scale of the problem,' AOC added.

AOC told the town hall attendees that she hopes the initiative can at least spark conversation in D.C. about the dire reality of climate change and how to use the American economy as a way to tackle it in a manner similar to the government's head-on approach to the Great Depression and World War II.

Critics on Twitter didn't see quite eye-to-eye with AOC's comparison.

'One was a natural event (sometimes called and act of God) which was unavoidable. The other was an act of war, whose intention is complete and total world domination by an extremist ideology. That's called apples and oranges,' another said.

'Ummmm, not really. The common denominator is dead Americans. It should be unacceptable but somehow the latter has been pretty much 'thoughts and prayers'd rather than actually addressed,' one Twitter user said, opposing her comparison.

'Guess you are unaware of all the containers of food & other necessities the US sent ahead of time. Many supplies rotted bc the supplies couldn't get to the ppl bc Puerto Rico didn't make room for them to unload the materials to get to the ppl,' another social media user said on the disorganization of the government aid.

'There's no money to be made destroying a hurricane,' another Twitter user wrote.Following a week of intense scrutiny in her handling of the Jussie Smollett scandal, Kim Foxx has welcomed calls for an investigation into her offices handling of the case, in an explosive op-ed.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Foxx insists theres nothing to hide in the prosecution's decision to suddenly drop all 16 felony charges against the Empire star on Tuesday.

Smollett, 36, was accused last month of staging a racist and homophobic attack in a believed bid to advance his on-screen career.

And the States attorney was lambasted this week after suggesting Smollett didnt receive special legal treatment, but instead was subjected to alternative prosecution, following negotiations between her legal team and Smolletts defense lawyers.

Kim Foxx has welcomed calls for an internal investigation into her offices handling of the case in an explosive op-ed in the Chicago Tribune

All 16 charges were miraculously dropped against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday, in a shock press conference

Foxx dismissed the public outcry surrounding her team's methods and said only the people 'in the weeds' of the justice system would understand that 'alternative prosecution' is common practice and has happened thousands of times before.

But again the attorney faced even more criticism on Wednesday, when an email she sent to her workforce asking them to come up with examples to help prove alternative sentencing exists, was leaked to the press.

Since it seems politically expedient right now to question my motives and actions, and those of my office, let me state publicly and clearly that I welcome an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter, Foxx wrote on Friday.

I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our communitys trust is paramount.

In the article, Foxx also suggests for the first time that the states case against Smollett may not have been as strong as first suggested.

During the actor's bond hearing last month, Foxxs team of prosecutors detailed a multitude of evidence  including phone records and bank transactions  that they said definitively proved the actor helped orchestrate the attack on himself, on January 29.

Foxx dismissed the public outcry around it and said only the people 'in the weeds' of the justice system would understand that 'alternative prosecution' was actually a common practice

An email was leaked on Wednesday which shows Foxx scrambling to find other examples to back up her office's decision on Smollett

But in her article, Foxxs says her teams evidence only helped to debunk portions of Smolletts claims about the attack, and insisted the likelihood of securing a conviction against him was uncertain.

For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not high, she said in the Tribune.

She went on to dismiss Smolletts claims that he was innocent and had been exonerated as simply wrong.

He has not been exonerated; he has not been found innocent, she defiantly stated.

Foxx, who took office as the states attorney in 2016, said that in the interests of full transparency, shes hoping to release all of the records surround Smollett to the public.

The motion remains unlikely, as Smolletts team have a legal right to ask that the file remain sealed.

She added that the charges against Smollett were low-level and, as a result, as often resolved long before courtroom proceedings begin  particularly if the defendant has no previous criminal history.

Foxx, who took office as the states attorney in 2016, said that in the interests of full transparency, shes hoping to release all of the records surround Smollett to the public

Despite the high-profile nature of Smolletts case, Foxx believes Chicago has bigger problems at hand, and believes the citys prosecutors time would be better spent tackling the rise in violent crime and misconduct of police officers.

I am angry at anyone who falsely reports a crime,' she wrote. 'I am afraid when I see a little girl shot dead while sitting on her mothers lap. I am afraid when I see a CPD commander slain by a four-time felon who was walking the streets. I am also afraid when I see CPD resources used to initially cover up the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

Foxx continued, saying that when she was elected she pledged to reform the justice system, and to keep people out of prison who dont pose a danger to the community.

I promised to spend my offices finite resources on the most serious crimes in order to create communities that are both safer and fairer, she concluded.

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February after exchanging text messages with one of his relatives, but she never appointed a special prosecutor.A man who performed a sex act and exposed himself to a 20-year-old girl on a Sydney train has eluded police for almost a month.

The perverted act happened on a northbound T1 train between Central and North Sydney station at 6.55am on Sunday, March 3 and was reported later that day.

Police are searching for a man of Asian appearance who is 173cm tall with a slim build and short dark hair, who they believe can assist with inquiries.

A man who performed a sex act and exposed himself to a 20-year-old girl on a Sydney train has eluded police for almost a month. Police have released CCTV images of a man (pictured) who they believe can help with inquiries

The woman was travelling from Central Station to Wollstonecraft Station when a man sat next to her.

He exposed himself and performed a sexual act in front of her.

The woman moved to another carriage and left the train at the next station.

She reported the incident to Day Street Police Station at 2pm on the same day.

The man stayed on the North Shore, Northern & Western Line until he got off at North Sydney Station before getting the train back to Town Hall Station.

Police believe a man of Asian appearance (pictured) who is 173cm tall with a slim build and short dark hair can help with inquiries. He was last seen wearing black shirt and black pants

Police are looking for a man who was last seen wearing a black shirt with three-quarter sleeves and black pants who they believe can help with inquiries.

'Incidents of indecent exposure should always be reported to police,' a NSW Police spokesman said.

'Information provided will always be treated with the strictest of confidence.'

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Made famous by the movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles, an Illinois motel once known as The Braidwood has become overrun with drug users and a prostitution ring, an undercover police investigation revealed.

Following a year-long sting operation, the Braidwood Police Department arrested the motels current owner, Vinodchandra Vinny Patel, 64, for allegedly enabling and promoting prostitution on the premises.

Now called the Sun Motel, the premises manager, 67-year-old Kanubhai Kenny Patel, of no relation, has also been arrested on separate charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a guest at the residence.

The threadbare roadside rest-stop once served as the comedic backdrop for Steve Martin and John Candy, who, in a scene in the 1987 movie, found themselves stranded in a single motel room overnight.

Vinodchandra Vinny Patel (left), 64, has been arrested for allegedly enabling and promoting prostitution on the premises. Kenny Patel (right), of no relation, was arrested for unrelated sexual assault charges

Now called the Sun Motel, the premises once served as the comedic backdrop for Steve Martin and John Candy in the 1987 film Planes, Trains & Automobiles

In the three decades that has passed, the motel has changed ownership, and now finds itself at the epicenter of an alleged prostitution ring.

An officer form Braidwood PD is said to have posed as an undercover pimp from Chicago looking to bring his business to the roadhouse, with a female officer posing as a prostitute under his command.

While police say Vinny Patel is by no means a pimp himself, he was allowing certain circumstances to exist on the property, according to Police Chief Nick Ficarello.

Ficarello also estimated around a dozen or so women were staying at the hotel for prolonged periods of time, offering sexual services in exchange for cash.

In the three decades that has passed, the motel has changed ownership, and now finds itself at the epicenter of an alleged prostitution ring

Just last week, the police department received a call from a guest at the motel to report suspected criminal activity on the premises, Patch.com reported.

Over the past four years, authorities say theyve responded 14 calls regarding drug overdoses at the Sun Motel, two of which resulted in death.

Weve addressed the opioid epidemic in an aggressive manner and this situation at the motel was contributing to that problem, Ficarello said.

Braidwood Mayor, James Vehrs, said he is proud of the continued efforts to clean up this chronic nuisance and the war on drugs in the city of Braidwood, WGN9 reported.An Australian paedophile who raped a five-year-old Filipino girl until she was eight could walk free from jail in just six years.

Terrence William Hainsworth, 61, raped the girl until she was eight while he lived in Angeles City, north-west of Manila.

Between 2005 and 2008, the depraved 61-year-old molested the five-year-old at least four times, PerthNow reported.

Terrence William Hainsworth left), 61, raped the young girl until she was eight, while he lived in Angeles City, north-west of Manila

The victim was groomed, threatened and made to watch child porn.

Hainsworth was first jailed for 13 months in 2009 after he was caught with child porn on his computer upon his arrival at Perth Airport in 2008, WA today reported.

In 2016, police discovered Hainsworth had taken pornographic images of the Filipino girl on his hard drive when they raided his Midland home, in Perth's north-east.

Some of the pornographic images were of the Filipino girl on her eighth birthday, which included photos of her with a birthday cake.

Hainsworth initially denied the crimes after he was questioned by police.

He eventually pleaded guilty to seven offences, including attempting to have sexual intercourse with a child under 16 while overseas as an Australian citizen and for committing indecent acts with a child under 16 while overseas.

The woman still feels the effects of the abuse 10 years later and blames herself for what happened, according to a victim impact statement.

'Nothing to do with this offending is her fault,' Judge Wendy Gillan told Hainsworth.

'This offending is very serious ... you really took the most terrible advantage of her.'

The woman still feels the effects of the abuse 10 years later and blames herself for what happened, according to a victim impact statement (stock image)

The judge mentioned Hainsworth had not learned from his previous child porn conviction, after more vile porn images were found on his hard drives in 2016.

She also said Hainsworth did not appear to have any remorse for his crimes, despite receiving sexual offending counselling during his first time in prison.

Hainsworth was charged for his offences under Commonwealth laws by police in the Philippines.

The Commonwealth laws allows Australian citizens who have left the country and sexually exploited children overseas to be tried and convicted back home.

He was sentenced to two years in jail for child porn and nine years for the abuse of the girl.

He is eligible for parole in 2025, after serving six years in prison.A fisherman who pulled an enormous severed shark head out of the ocean off Australia's coast claims he has seen predators twice as big.

Commercial fisherman Jason 'Trapman' Moyce, from Bermagui on the south coast of New South Wales, made the discovery on Thursday.

A picture of his 18-year-old employee Jasper Lay holding the chunk of Mako shark quickly went viral on social media, racking up more than 30,000 comments and 19,000 shares.

A picture of Jasper Lay holding the chunk of Mako shark quickly went viral on social media, racking up more than 30,000 comments and 19,000 shares

Mr Lay said Thursday's finding as was out of the ordinary.

'When we pulled the head up I was gobsmacked to think that something that big is swimming around,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'A first for me, never seeing anything like it before it was a real eye opener and very scary.'

'And the way it has gone over the media is pretty unreal, still trying to get my head around it.'

The severed head itself weighed 100kg and the whole shark would have tipped the scales at a hefty 300kg.

Mr Moyce said sighting sharks in open water at this time of the year is not particularly uncommon.

'I don't shark fish every week, but I would see it every week if I did,' he told the Illawarra Mercury.

'Some people don't see this kind of thing or expect it is possible.

'Jasper didn't realise sharks were that big, but even at that size it's only half grown.'

When the image was shared to the Trapman Bermagui Facebook page on Thursday, Mr Moyce described the morning's catch as 'crazy'.

'So this was all we got back of this monster mako,' he wrote.

The severed head weighed 100 kilograms and at full strength the shark was expected to have tipped the scales at a hefty 300 kilograms (stock image of mako shark)

MAKO SHARKS There are two species of mako sharks: longfin makos and shortfin makos. Makos are a 'fast speed-swimming shark', dangerous to humans because their speed to attack. The mako can reach up to 32 kilometres per hour, making it the fastest shark on earth. The shark inhabits all temperate waters around the world. There are larger concentrations in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. A longfin shark usually stretches about 4.5 metres and weighs about 170 kilograms. Shortfin makos are about half the size and weight. Source: Sharks-World Advertisement

'Unfortunately we didn't see what ate it but must of been impressive!! The head was about 100kg (220lbs).'

Soon afterwards, Facebook users began speculating about what kind of monster could have inflicted such damage on a Mako.

Makos are also fearsome predators and rarely become prey - they are the fastest species of shark and can reach speeds of up to 46mph.

Some people suggested that this could have been the work of an Orca, or killer whale. The apex predators are one of the fastest marine animals and typically weigh between four and six tonnes.

It might have been a tiger shark, according to Shamus Johnston, who commented that he had seen one kill a 12 ft shark with one bite.

'Tiger sharks get huge, with sightings and records of them getting 20+ feet and being extremely aggressive towards other sharks!,' he wrote.

But Greg Doble wrote that the distinctive pattern around the Mako's wound made it appear to have come from a 20ft great white - and probably more than one.

'You can see the smaller or conveyor teeth outside major bite marks,' he wrote.

Greg Doble wrote on Facebook that the distinctive bite marks visible on the severed head of the Mako shark look as though the kill was the work of a great white shark (pictured)

'Not Orcas - they tend to eat just the liver of large sharks and let the rest drop to the ocean floor.'

Lisa Newick agreed, adding: 'Despite their reputation as lone hunters, great whites will cooperate with one another, hunting in groups and sharing the spoils.

'They're social creatures and travel in groups at times as well, that's why you see them milling all over whale carcasses.

'After seeing the pic I'll just uh stick to the swimming pool,' she added.

Mr Moyce said that after he cut about a slab of meat from the mako head he discovered the bill of a marlin fish.

The long spike had been embedded in the head for years, but shark's 'amazing healing powers' had caused the wound to close around it.The mother of Love Island star Sophie Gradon has revealed she is paying a company 5,000 to unlock two of her daughter's mobile phones.

The 32-year-old's increasingly desperate family have been searching for answers since she was found dead at her parents' home in Northumberland last June.

Mrs Gradon had earlier stated on Twitter that the police were unable to unlock Sophie's iPhone for data extraction, which had delayed the date of a planned inquest.

In February Sophie Gradon's mother had said the police could not open the Love Island star's iPhone for data extraction. But this week she, while offering advice to another woman who lost her cousin, Mrs Gradon said she had paid 5,000 for a London software company to unlock two of Sophie's phones

But on Thursday she revealed that she had paid a private software company in London to hook the two phones to machines that try every possible passcode.

Mrs Gradon suggested that Sophie had a six digit pin number, which would mean there are one million possible combinations to try.

Even if she had a four digit PIN, there are still possible 10,000 combinations, making it impossible to manually unlock.

While offering advice to another grieving woman who had unexpectedly lost her cousin, Mrs Gradon said the service costs 2,500 per device.

An inquest into Sophie's death was due to take place two weeks ago today but it was pushed back as new information was brought to her parents' attention.

Sources told Mirror Online that Sophie's family had asked for more time to consider new information in a report they received, but this week requested that the inquest take place in their absence.

On March 19 a coronoer ruled that Sophie's boyfriend Aaron Armstrong (pictured together) had taken his own life, five days after the Love Island star's funeral

Sophie Gradon (pictured) took part in the 2016 series of Love Island, where she coupled up with Tom Powell and Katie Salmon, before choosing to leave the villa of her own accord after 39 days

The model and former Miss Great Britain shot to fame in 2016 after taking part in ITV2's Love Island, where she was one of the most popular contestants but chose to walk out of the villa after 39 days.

Eric Armstrong, Senior Coroner for Northumberland South, said in a statement: 'Please be advised that a new hearing date for the Inquest dealing with Sophie's death has been arranged.

'Mr and Mrs Gradon have requested that the Inquest take place in their absence, and the Inquest has now been fixed for Thursday 18th April at 10.30am at Howard House.'

Mr Armstrong ruled on March 19 that the death of Sophie's boyfriend Aaron Armstrong was suicide.

He was found dead in his Northumberland flat just five days after Sophie's funeral and 20 days after her death.A late night food run turned into a violent brawl after a group of thugs exchanged a series of blows at a busy McDonald's.

Police were called to the fast food restaurant on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne's CBD just after 11.15pm on Friday.

Mobile phone footage captured terrified onlookers watching on as the punch-up unfolded in front of the store.

A late night food run turned into a violent brawl after a group of thugs exchanged a series of blows at a busy McDonald's

A young person dressed in a hooded jacket and sporting a bum-bag was seen punching another man.

The brawl spilled into the restaurant as another person wearing a white t-shirt delivered a series of blows.

By the time police arrived on scene the brawlers had fled the restaurant.

'Police remained in the area and conducted nearby patrols but were unable to locate anyone involved,' Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia.

Police are urging any witnesses to come forward.Home Secretary Sajid Javid is set to launch a 'Stop and Search blitz' to put a stop to Britain's knife crime

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is set to launch a 'Stop and Search blitz' to put a stop to Britain's knife crime.

The new scheme will tear down old reforms made by Theresa May when she was home secretary five years ago.

It will let police in seven regions carry out Stop and Search checks without needing to prove 'reasonable grounds'.

London and South Yorkshire police forces are expected to be among those given more power under the new 'pilot scheme', which is expected to be pushed for six months.

Mr Javid is also expected to reveal a new 'Prevent-style' public health system that will see councils, schools and agencies be required to report any child that they think is at risk of getting involved in knife crime.

Knives uncovered in a stop and search of a car in West Hendon, in the London Borough of Barnet. The new Stop and Search pilot will let police in seven regions carry out Stop and Search checks without needing to prove 'reasonable grounds'

Machete seized by Greenwich Gangs Unit from a car in Woolwich dockyard area, left, and a machete discovered on a youth in Greenwich after his friend taunted police for taking a short food break. Mr Javid is also expected to reveal a new 'Prevent-style' public health system that will see councils, schools and agencies be required to report any child that they think is at risk of getting involved in knife crime

The scene at Clapham Common station last night after a man in his 40s was stabbed to death. The new programme takes inspiration from the Prevent programme which uses similar methods to identify children at risk of being influenced by extremism

Those children would then be offered support and opportunities to turn away from violence and gang culture.

The programme takes inspiration from the Prevent programme which uses similar methods to identify children at risk of being influenced by extremism.

Mr Javid's Stop and Search blitz mirrors a similar initiative launched in Glasgow in the mid-2000s which saw deaths from stabbings halved in a decade.

Theresa May made stricter rules to the Stop and Search policy in 2014 which saw police forces having to prove they had reasonable grounds before carrying out a search.

Since 2014, knife crime has skyrocketed to the highest level in a decade.

Mr Javid demanded that Ms May relax her rules at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month after 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in a park in Romford.

It comes three days after the Metropolitan Police vowed to increase the number of full-time officers working at schools throughout the country.

Deputy assistant commissioner Mark Simmons said they would aim to increase officer numbers in schools from the current 420 to 600.The deported bikie gang member and father of footy star Dustin Martin believes a Labor government will give him a better opportunity to return to Australia.

Shane Martin, 52, was born in New Zealand but has considered Australia home since moving to New South Wales at age 20.

Martin joined the notorious Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, eventually rising to the role of club president, a journey detailed in his new book written with gangs expert Jarrod Gilbert.

He had three children in Australia including Richmond Tigers AFL superstar Dustin.

In 2016, Martin senior was kicked out of Australia by then-immigration minister Peter Dutton and was forced to build a new life for himself in Auckland.

A 14-year association with the Rebels, as well as a criminal record that included aggravated assault charges and drug trafficking, led to his banishment.

Shane Martin (left), 52, was born in New Zealand but has considered Australia home since moving to New South Wales aged 20. He is pictured with his footy star son Dustin (right)

'I'm waiting on advice from my legal team, but it is based on a change of Government,' Martin (pictured with sons) says about returning to Australia

Shane Martin, 52, was born in Huntly, south of Auckland, has identified with Australia as home since moving to New South Wales at 20

In a new book, Rebel In Exile, written with Kiwi gang expert Jarrod Gilbert, Martin speaks about his experiences in one of the Australia's most notorious gangs

Now living in Mount Maunganui, Martin continues to pursue legal challenges in a bid to return to Australia.

'I'm waiting on advice from my legal team, but it is based on a change of Government,' Martin told the New Zealand Herald.

Australia is due to go to the polls mid-May for the federal election - which is expected to be a close race between current Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Bill Shorten.

'I'm still going for it, I'm not going to fold up. They've picked the wrong bloke to be honest, I'm going to fight it all the way,' Martin said.

John Kotsifas, Martin's lawyer, said they will reassess legal options permitting the Liberal government 'disappear in May'.

Martin said he misses his children and the chance to watch his son play AFL.

Residing in Mount Maunganui, Martin (right) continues to battle legal challenges in a bid to return to Australia, a country he considers home

In 2016, Martin was exiled from Australia by then immigration minister Peter Dutton and was forced to build a new life for himself in Auckland, New Zealand

TIMELINE 1989 At the age of 20, Martin moved from New Zealand to Australia. 1991 One of Martin's three sons, Dustin, was born in Castlemaine, Victoria. He would go on to become an AFL star. 2010 Dustin, known as 'Dusty', debuted for Richmond at the MCG. 2016 Martin was deported to New Zealand as Immigration Minister Peter Dutton cracked down on the former bikie's association to the Rebels. 2017 Dustin is awarded the Brownlow Medal and his team wins the premiership. 2019 Martin released book Rebel in Exile and continues to fight with Australian government to return home. Advertisement

'My wife loves it, and my kids love coming here. But I still want the freedom to come back to Australia,' he said.

In a new book, Rebel In Exile, written with Kiwi gang expert Jarrod Gilbert, Martin speaks about his experiences in one of the Australia's most notorious gangs.

Martin said he was forced to work his way up the ranks to eventually become a top-ranking bikie.

In an extract from the book, Martin recalls the moment the President made him a member of the Rebels.

The president played a trick on Martin by telling him 'you know what you did' and claiming he would be a nominee for three more months.

Moments later, the president erupted in laughter and gave him a bear hug to welcome him into the Rebels.

'For the first time I roared out of the clubhouse wearing a patch. I was buzzing. I didn't feel tougher or anything, just proud to be a member. Proud to be part of something,' Martin wrote.

Martin said joining the Rebels signified that other men had his back, a newfound trust with thousands of 'brothers' across Australia.



As with any bikie gang, Martin (pictured with wife) was forced to work his way up the ranks to eventually become a top-ranking video

Martin said joining the Rebels signified that other men had his back, a newfound trust with thousands of 'brothers' across Australia

'I could trust them, and they could trust me. I could rely on them and they could rely on me. For the first time in my life I knew what belonging was like. Joining the club changed me. And it changed me for the better,' he said.

The former bikie also addresses 'misconceptions' about the culture of gangs, notably their attachment to criminality.

Martin recalls a meeting at the club's 'Big House' which was raided by police.

'It was like a movie. These Raptor cops came crashing in like they were busting up a terrorist plot. There were loads of them. They even had a helicopter,' Martin wrote.

His son Dustin has won the Brownlow Medal as the AFL's best player and a premiership in his impressive career with Richmond.

Martin's son, Richmond footy star Dustin has taken to the pitch again for the 2019 AFL season

In a Herald Sun interview in January, the-27-year-old admitted he'd felt 'weird' throughout 2018 but had learnt a lot as his father tried to return to Australia.

'2018 was a weird feeling (for me). Early in the year. I was like, ''I don't know what is next'',' Martin said.

He said he lacked motivation and struggled throughout the year.

'You think you can win all these things and it is going to make you happy, but the reality is the things that make you happy are your friends and your family and all those kind of things,' Martin said.

Dustin paid tribute to his father both during his Brownlow acceptance speech and after winning the grand final, calling him his 'best mate'.It comes a year after the pub chain banned customers from swearing inside pub

An established pub chain has banned its punters from using mobile phones and iPads across its 300 outlets in a bid to protect 'social conversations'.

Pub chain Samuel Smith, owned by 73-year-old Humphrey Smith, has enforced the rule across its establishments and insisted that pub-goers will have to leave its premises to take a call.

In a memo sent out to his managers, Mr Smith described how the 'brewery's policy is not to allow customers mobile phones, laptops or similar inside out pubs'.

The notoriously secretive owner of the brewery is also reported to turn up incognito to check up on staff and has long forbidden jukeboxes, slot machines and even televisions at his many establishments.

Pub chain Samuel Smith has banned its punters from using mobile phones and iPads across its 300 establishments. Pictured: The Fitzroy Tavern Pub

The decision, made by owner 73-year-old Humphrey Smith, is a bid to protect 'social conversations'

The memo, first reported by the Manchester Evening News, read: 'The brewery's policy is not to allow customers to use mobile phones, laptops or similar inside our pubs.

'If a customer receives a call then he or she should go outside to take it in the same way as is required with smoking.

'Whether outside or inside, tablets and iPads must be prohibited. Customers must not be allowed to receive transmitted pictures of sport or downloads music apps on the brewery's premises either inside or outside.

'The brewery's policy is that out pubs are for social conversation person to person.'

The new rule comes after wide speculation that an imposed ban was heading in the direction of punters.

The memo sent out to staff at the pub chain was first reported by the Manchester Evening News

The notoriously secretive owner Humphrey Smith is also reported to turn up incognito to check up on staff at his pubs

Earlier this month a ban on digital devices already appeared to be in place at the New Inn in Stamford Bridge, North Yorkshire.

The digital ban also comes a year after the pub's owner imposed a ban on swearing across its pub chains.

However Mr Smith is not the first person to stop pub-goers from using their phones.

In 2009 the landlord of the Court Inn in Durham was seen tackling antisocial behavior by banning punters from using their mobile phones.



MailOnline has approached Samuel Smith for comment.Advertisement

Royal Air Force Typhoons have been scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers approaching UK airspace.

The fighter jets were sent from a base in northern Scotland at midday on Friday to monitor the two Russian Blackjacks.

A refuelling tanker called The Voyager was also deployed from an RAF station in Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, according to Sky News.

Two Russian bombers (one pictured) were intercepted by RAF Typhoons on Friday afternoon as they headed towards UK airspace

It is the second time in a week the RAF has identified Russian aircraft in UK airspace. The fighter jets successfully escorted the Blackjacks away yesterday

The RAF said it worked closely with its NATO partners to monitor the Blackjacks as they flew over international airspace.

The Typhoons successfully intercepted the Blackjacks over the North Sea and escorted them from UK airspace after leaving their base at RAF Lossiemouth.

It is the second time this week the RAF has investigated the presence of Russian planes.

The Ministry of Defence said: 'The RAF routinely identify, intercept and escort Russian aircraft that transit international airspace within proximity to the UKs area of interest and continue to be on call every day.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: 'Our brave RAF pilots have shown again that we are ready to respond to any threat to the UK' (stock image of Typhoon)

The Typhoons intercepted the two Blackjacks over the North Sea and escorted them from UK airspace after leaving their base at RAF Lossiemouth

'This is the second time this week RAF aircraft have taken to the air to investigate Russian activity, following a similar incident on Wednesday evening, but on that occasion an intercept by the Typhoons was not necessary.'

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: 'Our brave RAF pilots have shown again that we are ready to respond to any threat to the UK.

'Alongside our NATO allies, we must remain vigilant and aware of Russian military activity.'

Typhoon FGR4 Length: 52ft 4in Wingspan: 36ft 4in Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 Maximum altitude: 55,000ft Armament: Internal 27mm cannon, air-to-air missiles, precision-guided bombs Crew: One AdvertisementAdvertisement

Theresa May faces a rebellion after more than half of Conservative MPs demanded that Brexit should not be delayed by more than a few months.

A letter calling for Britain to leave the EU soon, even if it means a no-deal Brexit, was signed by 170 of the 314 Tory Members of Parliament and sent to the Prime Minister after her withdrawal deal was rejected for a third time on Friday.

As many as 10 Cabinet ministers - including Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt - and 20 other members of the Government are believed to have signed the letter.

Mrs May comfortably survived a no-confidence motion within the Conservative party by 83 votes in December - but if all of the 170 Tory MPs who signed yesterday's letter voted against her she would now lose.

After surviving the motion, with 117 MPs voting against her, she is now immune from another internal leadership challenge for a year.

The Conservative Party's chairman Brandon Lewis said he was aware of the document but had not seen it.

One pro-Brexit minister who signed the letter said the group 'want to leave the EU on April 12 or very soon afterwards', adding that if the PM's deal is voted down again then MPs will vote to dissolve Parliament and hold a general election, the Sun reported.

Pressure to secure a result on Brexit continues to grow as a number of activists wearing yellow vests rallied in the capital today after thousands descended on Westminster last night following the Prime Minister's defeat in the Commons.

Theresa May heads back to Downing Street after her deal was defeated in the Commons for a third time on Friday

Pictured left: Michael Gove, who has kept on board with May's deal. Right: Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab arrives home the day after Prime Minister Theresa May was defeated for a third time on the Withdrawal Agreement in Parliament

The House of Commons will hold another round of indicative votes on Monday but are expected to use a voting system which will whittle down the options to the most popular one

Left: Dominic Grieve MP at his local Beaconsfield Conservative AGM, before a no confidence motion was passed last night. Right: Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson cycles in south London this morning

On Saturday thousands of Eurostar passengers were left stranded at St Pancras after a lone protester clambered onto the station roof with a St George's flag on Friday night and stayed there for 12 hours.

The 44-year-old man was arrested by police but all Eurostar trains into the station were cancelled on Saturday morning until 11am. Pictures from the station showed thousands of stranded people trying to rearrange their plans.

Mrs May's critical loss at the hands of MPs means the country's departure from the EU is likely to be delayed by many months and a general election could be called.

Cabinet ministers will attempt to seize Brexit by telling Mrs May the time has come to 'embrace no deal', according to reports.

It was claimed Mrs May will speak with her ministers tomorrow night as calls are made for Cabinet to vote on how to proceed following the Prime Minister's defeat.

The Telegraph reported that Mrs May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell was told by ministers that the time has come for the Cabinet to vote on either no deal or membership of a customs union.

Pro-Brexit 'yellow vest' protesters demonstrate in London for the second day following Theresa May's defeat in Westminster

Today marks the second day of Brexit protests after thousands of demonstrators rallied in the nation's capital yesterday

Activists were seen holding British flags and wearing yellow high-visibility vests, similar to those worn by French protesters

Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon: Campaigners erected six mock checkpoints along the Northern Ireland and Irish Republic border on Saturday

One Cabinet minister told the paper: 'Cabinet needs to vote and decide on the Government position. David Cameron did it before the referendum when he asked ministers to put on record their positions. We have got to put our names to something.

'The Remainers clearly want a customs union as an alternative but there isn't a majority for that - it would destroy the party.

'We would end up with a Ramsay MacDonald-esque government where we would be completely at odds with our own party. It's time to be bold, we need to embrace no deal.'

The Prime Minister is said to be considering holding a general election, but senior backbenchers told the Telegraph the Conservative Party would not tolerate another election under Mrs May's leadership.

Chris Grayling voiced his opposition to a general election after Mrs May signalled the nation could be going to the polls following her defeat in the Commons.

The Transport Secretary said Mrs May and her Cabinet would hold discussions this weekend on how to go proceed, but warned that an election would be a last resort because of the chaos it would bring.

Eurostar suspended all services to and from St Pancras due to a trespasser who appeared to be a man waving a St George flag whilst standing on the roof of a terminal

Travel chaos: Thousands of frustrated passengers at London St Pancras after Eurostar suspended trains to and from London

Thousands of Eurostar passengers were stranded at St Pancras when a lone protester clambered onto the station roof

The station was crowded with frustrated passengers and their belongings as the incident caused delays this morning

Pictured: St Pancras station as Eurostar trains were stopped for hours after a demonstrator climbed onto a terminal roof

At 8.44am National Rail announced that the trespass incident at London St Pancras International had ended allowing all lines to reopen, but disruption to services will continue until 11am

Britain is gripped by Brexit protests following Theresa May's failure to pass her deal on Friday (pictured: Demonstrators block traffic in Trafalgar Square)

Demonstrators face off with police officers during a pro-Brexit rally in Parliament Square last night as the crisis deepens

He told Sky News: 'I think the last thing this country needs right now is a general election, we have got to sort out the Brexit process.

'We cannot throw everything up in the air. I know Jeremy Corbyn might like it, it is why he has voted against his own policy today, but I do not see how this country benefits from the chaos of a six or seven week general election campaign.'

Mr Grayling, who ran Mrs May's 2016 leadership campaign, said he did not believe the Prime Minister should step down yet.

'Theresa May has already said she is going to go, but in the middle of this situation I do not think it would help to have an immediate Conservative leadership contest,' he said.

The Prime Minister could call an early election, giving just six weeks' notice, if she has the backing of two-thirds of MPs, according to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

Another route to a general election would be if a motion of no confidence in the Government is passed by a majority of MPs and no alternative government is formed within 14 days.

March to Leave protesters are pictured outside Number 10 Downing Street last night as chaos continues to grip the nation

Brexit supporters were pictured burning a European Union flag near Trafalgar Square following the March to Leave protest

Brexit supporters joined together in protest on the day the United Kingdom was due to leave the European Union

The country is now facing the chaos of a general election to break the Brexit deadlock (pictured: Officers clash with demonstrators in London)

Conservative ministers and MPs are likely to demand that Mrs May is replaced by a new party leader before an election takes place.

The timetable and rules for a leadership contest would be set by the 1922 executive committee and then approved by the Conservative party's board.

There will almost certainly be division over what the party's manifesto policy on Brexit would be, with many backbenchers likely to stand with their own individual pledges.

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured March 29, accused the Government of 'running down the clock' and 'bullying and threatening' MPs in order to force through Theresa May's Brexit deal

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today accused the Government of 'running down the clock' and 'bullying and threatening' MPs in order to force through Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Mr Corbyn also refused to say whether his party would offer an option to remain in the European Union during a second round of indicative votes in the House of Commons on Monday.

He was speaking from Newport in South Wales on Saturday as he joined Labour candidate Ruth Jones ahead of the Newport West by-election next week.

But speaking from the suburb of Pillgwenlly, Mr Corbyn said his priority was to end the 'chaos' in Westminster by reaching out across the House of Commons and getting support for Labour's alternative plans for a Brexit deal.

Asked if Labour's indicative vote would include an option of giving the public a confirmatory referendum on any Brexit deal, Mr Corbyn said: 'That is the Labour position so far but there hasn't been enough support for that across the floor in the House of Commons.

'But the absolute priority at the moment is to end this chaos the Government has brought us to by their endlessly running down the clock and basically bullying and threatening people. The bullying hasn't worked the threats hasn't worked. It's time now for the sensible people to take over.

'This is a very dangerous period because if we crash out without a deal then the supply chains get interrupted, jobs are at stake, and also the sense of security of many EU nationals living in Britain, and of course British people living across Europe.'

Mr Corbyn refused to say whether the option to remain would be on a Labour ballot paper, saying: 'The question on the referendum was a choice of all options.'

Mr Corbyn said Labour would propose a deal involving a customs union with the EU to protect the issue of a hard border in Northern Ireland.

'No deal? No problem!' Brexiteers are pictured burning a European Union flag during protests in Trafalgar Square last night

The Prime Minister could call an early election, giving just six weeks' notice, if she has the backing of two-thirds of MPs (pictured: Brexit supporters block traffic in Trafalgar Square)

Another route to a general election would be if a motion of no confidence in the Government is passed by a majority of MPs and no alternative government is formed within 14 days (pictured: Protesters in Trafalgar Square)

He said: 'We are working very hard on that and reaching out to people all across the Commons, and I have been doing that all this week and obviously I'll be doing that all this weekend.'

Mr Corbyn added: 'However people voted in the referendum, no-one voted to lose their jobs, no-one voted to be worse off, and no-one voted to deregulate our society.

'I think the obvious choice is the one I suggested which would be a good economic relationship with Europe that could be negotiated. I'm convinced at that after spending a lot of time meeting with and talking to officials in Europe.'

The Newport West by-election, triggered by the death of Labour MP Paul Flynn, will take place on April 4.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Nicky Morgan has said that there may have to be a government of national unity to end the deadlock over Brexit, telling the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons, it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it.

'There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue.'

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis rejected the idea of a government of national unity, saying it would not 'change the parliamentary maths'.

Mr Lewis also said the Government remained opposed to a customs union with the EU.

Labour shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald has said he believes it is possible for MPs to achieve a consensus on the way forward on Brexit in next week's indicative votes in the Commons.

Mr McDonald said he believed the SNP could now be prepared to support a proposal for a customs union tabled by veteran Tory former cabinet minister Ken Clarke, which Labour also backs.

'I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,' Theresa May said yesterday after her deal was rejected again

Minutes after the Prime Minister's deal was rejected she signalled a general election could now be on its way for the country

'I strongly suspect that they may be prepared to get on board on with that particularly option,' he said.

A general election could see voters facing three ballots in quick succession as it would require a Brexit delay, meaning the country would need to hold European Parliament elections on May 23.

Local elections are scheduled to take place across much of the country on May 2.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has already demanded that Mrs May step aside so a general election can be held.

Following the Government defeat, he told the Commons: 'This is now the third time the Prime Minister's deal has been rejected. When it was defeated the first time, the Prime Minister said it was clear this House does not support the deal.

'Does she now finally accept this House does not support the deal? Because she seemed to indicate just now that she is going to return to this issue again.

'The House has been clear this deal now has to change. If the Prime Minister can't accept that then she must go.'

After her deal failed to win the support of MPs last night Mrs May told the Commons: 'I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.

'This House has rejected no deal. It has rejected no Brexit. On Wednesday it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table.

'And today it has rejected approving the Withdrawal Agreement alone and continuing a process on the future.

'This Government will continue to press the case for the orderly Brexit that the result of the referendum demands.'

On Friday pro-Remain Tory MP Dominic Grieve suffered a vote of no confidence by his local party - meaning the association can try to deselect him as a Tory candidate at the next General Election.

Mr Grieve, a former attorney general, was one of the MPs behind the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business to stage a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May's deal.

Chairman of the Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association Jackson Ng said the no confidence vote motion was passed at the association's annual general meeting.

'Our members had a robust discussion with our MP, Dominic Grieve QC on Brexit before voting on a motion of confidence in him as our MP, which, I can confirm with a heavy heart that he failed to retain,' he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

'He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council.'

Conservative chairman Mr Lewis expressed his support for Mr Grieve and said that the vote, passed by 182 to 131 - had no formal standing under party rules.

'Part of the strength of our party is that we are a broad church. Dominic is somebody who has contributed to Parliament, is a clear strong Conservative and he is an asset to the party,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

A man holds a flag with the words 'leave means leave' in front of the Winston Churchill statue as protesters rallied yesterday

Tens of thousands of 'betrayed' Brexiteers descended on London yesterday to celebrate Theresa May's latest EU defeat

Crowds marched from south London along the River Thames to Whitehall last night holding 'leave means leave' placards

The opposition in the constituency - which narrowly voted to leave by a majority of 570 votes - to Mr Grieve is reported to have been organised by the former Ukip candidate who stood against him in the 2017 general election, Jon Conway.

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne today tweeted: 'Dominic Grieve is deselected because of his beliefs in campaign led by his ex UKIP opponent. The Tory leadership can stop any deselection if it wants - we frequently did. CCHQ should suspend the local party. Otherwise we are heading for a huge, historic split in the Tory Party.'

A number of Conservative MPs swiftly criticised the no confidence vote after it was announced late on Friday.

Senior Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was 'deeply disappointing'.

He tweeted: 'Few in Parliament have contributed as much to public life as Dominic Grieve. As attorney general and chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee he has served our country dutifully for decades. He deserves thanks and praise, not this. Our party and country would be poorer.'

Former minister Alistair Burt said it was an 'extraordinary decision', adding: 'A quality colleague, brave enough to challenge, but fundamentally a Conservative through and through. Where on earth are we heading with situations like this?'

Former Tory MP Anna Soubry, who was also at the forefront of the Remain wing of the Conservative Party until she defected to join the Independent Group, branded the vote 'disgraceful'.

She tweeted: 'More evidence that the uncompromising dogmatic right is running the @Conservatives @DominicGrieve is one of the finest, most courageous Parliamentarians ever - who has always put his country first & championed all his constituents.'

Several Labour MPs also voiced support for Mr Grieve.

Stella Creasy said the country's politics 'would be poorer without his input'.

Crowds cheer as ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: 'I believe that what's happened over the course of two years is actually one of the saddest and worst chapters in the history of our nation'

One pro-Brexit protestor, draped in English and British flags, carried a cardboard coffin labelled 'democracy' yesterday

Brexiteers were seen proudly holding the burning EU flag while others took photos near Trafalgar Square last night

She said: 'I'm in a different political party to Dominic. We disagree on many things. I doubt Beaconsfield conservatives could find someone more experienced, more capable and more principled than him for their MP.'

Phil Wilson said the vote was 'ridiculous', adding: 'I'm not of the same politics as Dominic Grieve but to deselect him as a Conservative candidate is to diminish politics, see an end to political integrity and deprive politics of a sincere and thoughtful practitioner.'

Mr Grieve blamed an 'orchestrated' campaign to oust him masterminded by a former UKIP candidate - and concerns are rising among Tories who have Remain sympathies that more of them could be targeted.

Senior Eurosceptics have predicted that prominent Remainers such as Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen (former Conservative now Independent Group), Antoinette Sandbach, Sam Gymiah, Guto Bebb and Philip Lee will be next to come under fire.

The Prime Minister's deal fell short with 344 MPs blocking her deal and only 286 voting in favour.

Despite an intense whipping effort Mrs May was defied by 34 Tory MPs - 28 hard Brexiteers and six pro-EU Remainers. She also failed to win over the DUP and their 10 MPs.

If all the Brexiteer rebels backed the deal then the Prime Minister would have lost by just two votes - 316 to 314 - and could possibly have gained enough momentum to get the deal over the line next week.

Brexiteer rebels include Priti Patel, the former Aid Secretary seen by some as a possible leadership contender, and former Cabinet ministers Owen Paterson, David Jones and Theresa Villiers.

The group is made of the so-called 'Spartans' in the European Research Group who have vowed never to back the deal. They are led by Steve Baker and Mark Francois.

Following her defeat the SNP's Ian Blackford told the House that Mrs May has to accept her deal has been defeated three times, adding that the Prime Minister 'should now go and we should be having a general election'.

The Prime Minister also hinted that she may have yet another attempt at pushing her withdrawal deal through the Commons next week.

Her fourth attempt can only come after rebel MPs hold a second round of indicative votes on alternatives to her deal on Monday.

Police officers lined up outside the Downing Street security gates this evening as pro-Brexit demonstrations continued

It is believed speaker John Bercow will only hold votes on the options that were closest to passing, including staying in the customs union or holding a second referendum.

The news comes after the EU warned a 'no-deal' scenario is 'likely', following yesterday's defeat for the PM.

Yesterday the Prime Minister confirmed that she will step down within weeks if Parliament approves her deal.

She made the offer at a private meeting of Tory MPs, then told the Commons: 'I have said I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended to secure the right outcome for this country.'

Downing Street refused three times to deny that Mrs May was now considering going to the polls. If a national vote is held it would be the third general election in just four years.

Last night former Bank of England governor Lord Mervyn King said the UK should now leave the EU without a deal, but with a six-month delay to ensure adequate preparation.

Lord King, who was governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, insisted there was little evidence leaving on World Trade Organisation terms would lead to job losses.

The European Commission has warned that Britain is 'likely' to crash out of the bloc without a deal.

A spokeswoman for the bloc's executive branch warned that the EU is now 'fully prepared' for a no-deal scenario, which would strike at midnight on April 12 if the UK hasn't agreed a deal.

European Council President Donald Tusk gave the Prime Minister just 10 days to draw up an alternative plan for an orderly Brexit by April 8, when she will be asked to present it to her 27 EU colleagues at the emergency summit.

Furious Theresa May blasts John Bercow for wrecking her Brexit withdrawal agreement by blocking all amendments before MPs rejected it for a third time John Bercow delivered another blow to the Tories by blocking an amendment from Labour MPs that could have swing behind the deal. Mrs May was defeated Furious Theresa May had a pop at John Bercow for wrecking her Brexit withdrawal agreement by blocking all amendments before MPs rejected it for a third time Theresa May blasted Bercow for intervening to wreck her Brexit plans again as he blocked all amendments to her deal today. One of the proposals the Speaker barred was tabled by Labour backbencher Gareth Snell and sought to guarantee Parliament a say on the trade talks phase of the negotiations. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the Government would have accepted the amendment if it had come to a vote - meaning it could have brought some Labour MPs on board and helped Mrs May win today. Before the vote on her Brexit deal last night, Theresa May said it was unfortunate that the Speaker had not selected the Labour amendment because the government would have accepted it. She said: 'Mr Speaker, if you had selected the amendment in the name of the honourable member for Stoke on Trent Central and others, the Government would have accepted it, and if this motion carries today we will bring forward a withdrawal agreement bill that will include commitments to implement that amendment and will discuss the specific drafting of that with those who supported the amendment.' The Speaker has already come under fire for his alleged Remain sympathies, and was accused of sabotaging a third vote on May's deal before the EU summit last week by saying she had to change the deal before it could be brought back to the commons. In the hope of salvaging her concessions, Mrs May promised MPs she would make sure laws implementing the deal still reflect the plan in the event she pulls off an unlikely victory. Advertisement

Brexit supporters shout through megaphones and carry placards saying 'My leave vote matters, I won't be gagged'

One man in a Union flag shirt holds an American flag over his shoulder as the Brexiteer group march towards College Green

Nigel Farage made an appearance at the protest surrounded by supporters holding Believe in Britain signs yesterday

The Brexit Betrayal: On the day we should have left the EU, Corbyn conspires with Brexiteers to block deal AGAIN plunging Britain into chaos

by Jason Groves and John Stevens for the Daily Mail

Britain was in political paralysis last night after Jeremy Corbyn allied with hardline Eurosceptics to block Brexit.

On the day the UK was meant to leave the EU, MPs threw out Theresa May's withdrawal deal by 344 votes to 286  wrecking hopes of an orderly departure.

Britain faces having to hold European Parliament elections in May  almost three years after the referendum.

Mrs May even said a general election might be needed to break the deadlock, telling the Commons: 'I fear we are reaching the limits of the process in this House.' Her solicitor general Robert Buckland said: 'The prospect of no Brexit is becoming a very real one indeed.'

Jeremy Corbyn yesterday ordered his MPs to vote against a stripped-down version of Mrs May's exit plan, which Labour had previously indicated it could accept.

Britain was in political paralysis last night after Jeremy Corbyn allied with hardline Eurosceptics to block Brexit

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking after the government's withdrawal agreement was voted down for the third time in the House of Commons on Friday

Immediately following the Government's defeat, the Labour leader called for an election  without offering any solution to resolve the crisis.

Thirty-four Tory rebels, including 28 Brexit hardliners dubbed the Spartans, also voted to reject the withdrawal agreement. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis said: 'Labour just voted against Brexit on Brexit Day. Whatever they say, they don't want us to leave the EU. Labour's promise to honour the referendum result lies in tatters.'

Government sources suggested Mrs May's plan could be put to MPs for a fourth time next week  possibly in a 'run-off' against a soft Brexit option, such as a customs union.

However, Speaker John Bercow has ruled against repeated votes on the same matter.

As supporters of Brexit rallied in Parliament Square:

Mrs May confirmed publicly that she would leave Downing Street 'earlier than I intended' in a bid to heal Tory divisions;

Ministers prepared to ask the EU for a further delay to Brexit at an emergency Brussels summit on April 10;

Tory leadership contenders Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab dropped their opposition and voted for the withdrawal agreement;

A cross-party group of MPs led by Sir Oliver Letwin and Yvette Cooper said they would try to persuade Parliament to back a soft Brexit on Monday;

The European Commission said a No Deal Brexit was now a 'likely' scenario;

The DUP's deputy leader Nigel Dodds said he would rather remain in the EU than risk the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Government sources suggested Mrs May's plan could be put to MPs for a fourth time next week, but speaker John Bercow has ruled against repeated votes on the same matter

Mrs May, the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox listen as Deputy leader of the DUP Nigel Dodds speaks in the House of Commons on Friday

Solicitor General Robert Buckland (centre right) points at the frontbench of the opposition party next to Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (right)

Mrs May yesterday dropped the political declaration element of her exit package and let MPs vote only on the withdrawal agreement, which includes the divorce bill, 21-month transition period, protections for citizens' rights and the Irish backstop.

Britain faces a hung Parliament if another general election is held Sir John Curitce's latest numbers suggest a near identical Commons would be returned - accept with slightly weaker Tory and Labour parties in a more hung parliament If No 10 does call another general election Britain faces another hung Parliament, according to the latest polling on the issue. The majority of public is also opposed to going back to the polls to break the Brexit deadlock at Westminster. But Theresa May may be forced to call a possible snap general election within weeks if she loses because remainer MPs will try to force her to deliver a soft Brexit or a second referendum. Now she has lost MPs are preparing to force a soft Brexit and long delay to leaving the EU upon May next week. No 10 has threatened to call a general election rather than be forced into a soft Brexit - but looming over that threat is a new forecast of what might happen in a snap election by polling expert Sir John Curtice. But Sir John's latest numbers suggest a near identical Commons would be returned - accept with slightly weaker Tory and Labour parties in a more hung parliament. The figures suggest even the dramatic step of a new general election would do little to break the stalemate. The PM hopes this bleak outlook will persuade Labour MPs to back it as the party has accepted the divorce deal - but she is set to be disappointed. She needs 75 more votes than she got on March 12 to win. Polls since the 2017 election have seen the two main parties mostly neck and neck. The Tories have held a narrow lead in recent months Advertisement

Opening the debate, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said Labour had 'not emitted a peep of disagreement with a single clause or article of that agreement, and their position today is that they intend to vote it down. What kind of cynicism is that?'

Mr Corbyn said Labour would never support a 'blind Brexit' shorn of the political declaration that sets out a vision for the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Ahead of the vote, the pro-Corbyn Momentum group suggested MPs could face deselection if they backed the withdrawal agreement, saying: 'After years of botched negotiations, it's time for all Labour MPs to reject May's abysmal deal once and for all. Any Labour MP voting for a deal that leaves us with an uncertain future is undeserving of being a Labour MP.'

Only five Labour MPs voted with the Government.

The 34 Conservative MPs who voted against the exit plan included hardliners from the European Research Group, such as former ministers Steve Baker, Priti Patel and Owen Paterson. They were joined by Remainers including Dominic Grieve and Justine Greening.

Mr Baker said: 'I regret to say it is time for Theresa May to follow through on her words and make way so that a new leader can deliver a withdrawal agreement which will be passed by Parliament.'

Michael Fabricant, one of 40 Eurosceptic Tories to switch sides and back Mrs May, said: 'If Brexiteers think that a victory has been won, because Remainers and Labour voted down the deal, think again.

'On Monday, the Remainer Parliament will try to keep us in the customs union which means our obeying EU legislation and having no say in making it.'

Mrs May said the result 'would mean at least a delay and perhaps destroy Brexit'.

On Monday, Sir Oliver will lead a fresh series of 'indicative votes' on Brexit alternatives. If he can build a consensus around a soft Brexit option, such as membership of the single market and customs union, Parliament could order Mrs May to pursue it. Remainer ministers, including Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Gauke, were last night urging Mrs May to embrace a customs union policy.

One Cabinet minister told the Mail they believed the UK would end up in a customs union. 'I just can't see what the alternatives are,' said the source.

'The customs union vote is close and there are a lot of people in Cabinet pushing for it.'

Treasury Chief Secretary Liz Truss has told MPs Mrs May should 'play hard ball' and push for No Deal  by refusing to lay the regulations for the European elections.

Mr Raab called on ministers to step up preparations for No Deal.

Government sources last night insisted Mrs May's plan was not dead, pointing out that it was defeated by 'only' 58 votes  down from 149 earlier this month and 230 in January.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has been deployed to try to build bridges with the DUP, whose ten MPs are seen as critical to any chance of the withdrawal agreement passing.

But Mr Dodds insisted: 'I would stay in the European Union and remain, rather than risk Northern Ireland's position. That's how strongly I feel about the union.'

Dominic Raab courts Eurosceptics by backing no deal ahead of fight with Michael Gove and Boris Johnson to be the next Tory leader

Dominic Raab attempted to court Eurosceptic Tories last night after endorsing a No Deal Brexit.

The former Brexit secretary, who is seen as a leading candidate to succeed Theresa May, changed his long-standing position to vote in favour of the withdrawal deal.

Speaking in the Commons, he said he wanted to avoid a long extension to Article 50 delaying Brexit and also to avoid the prospect of the UK taking part in European Parliament elections starting on May 23.

But shortly after the vote he made another pitch to hardliners, posting a clip of his speech, with a statement saying: 'We need to expedite our preparations for a WTO departure.' This is a reference to trading on World Trade Organisation terms, without an EU trade deal.

By switching, he was in the same voting lobby as Boris Johnson, who also abandoned his opposition to the deal this week.

Dominic Raab attempted to court Eurosceptic Tories last night after endorsing a No Deal Brexit

By switching and backing May's deal, he was in the same voting lobby as Boris Johnson, who also abandoned his opposition to the deal this week

Explaining his decision yesterday, Mr Johnson wrote on Twitter that he remained 'intensely critical of the deal'.

But he said: 'We have a choice to make now, and that means choosing between options that actually exist.

'I have come to the sad conclusion that neither this Government nor this Parliament is willing to leave with no deal. We therefore run the risk of being forced to accept an even worse version of Brexit or losing Brexit altogether.

'A bad deal that we have a chance to improve in the next stage of negotiations must be better than those alternatives.

'It is very painful to vote for this deal. But I hope we can now work together to remedy its defects, avoid the backstop trap and strive to deliver the Brexit people voted for.'

Mr Raab told the Commons he wanted to avoid a long delay to Brexit because of the 'very dangerous and corrosive effect on public trust in our democracy'.

His intervention came as leadership candidates faced a furious backlash from Tory MPs for 'posturing' for the leadership before Brexit had been secured.

Mrs May said on Wednesday she would quit as Tory leader if her Brexit deal went through. But with no sign of a Commons majority, MPs said the leadership contenders should focus on getting Brexit through instead of their own ambitions.

One Cabinet minister raged: 'Everyone is building leadership campaigns and just looking at the prize. But no one is doing anything to get the deal done.

'There's going to be nothing left! They're going to be fighting to be leader of the opposition.'

In the Commons, former Home Office minister Sir Mike Penning said: 'Those running leadership campaigns to replace her should, for God's sake, put it on the back burner until we get this through.'

One member of the Government said the attempts by leadership candidates to court media attention this week were 'unseemly and grubby'.

The MP, who said they had been courted by all the likely contenders, said: 'I told them you've got to sort Brexit first.

'There's no point having a vision if you haven't got Brexit through.'

Allies of Jeremy Hunt furiously denied reports he had already secured the support of 75 MPs, and had another 25 'possibles'. The report, one friend said, was an attempt to portray him as the favourite.

So who are the candidates looking to replace May and what chance have they got?

Michael Gove - 5/2

Unlike Boris and Raab, Gove has kept on board with May's deal and will therefore have greater appeal among his remainer colleagues. He was also seen as a 'high priest of Brexiteers', meaning he could appeal to Tories on both sides of the divide.

The drawback of this position is that hardline leavers and remainers may see him as part of opposing side. His other potential drawback is his perceived disloyalty after he knifed Boris Johnson in last leadership contest.

Mr Gove, 51, the adopted son of a Scottish fish merchant, is a cabinet heavyweight who's served as Education Secretary and Justice Secretary.

His debating skills, intellect and wit put him well above many candidates and is popular with Tory members.

Boris Johnson - 4/1

The 54-year-old former Foreign Secretary is undoubtedly the best-known candidate outside of the Westminster bubble.

His scruffy style, regular TV appearances, chaotic private life and show-off Classics references make him well known to the electorate.

He has experience of power and winning elections, having been twice voted London mayor but was seen as a bumbling foreign secretary.

He is unpopular among many MPs, who may form a 'Stop Boris' campaign to prevent him getting to Number 10.

However, party grassroots members love him and he's top of the ConservativeHome league table.

It has been claimed Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured in Downing Street) has floated the idea of a 'dream ticket' with him as Prime Minister and Mr Gove as Chancellor

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab fell in line behind the deal today, denting his popularity among hardline Brexiteers

Sajid Javid - 9/1

The Home Secretary, 49, is a remainer who changed to a Brexiteer after the referendum.

He is the son of a bus driver who came to Britain from Pakistan with 1 in his pocket. Javid proved himself in business, becoming head of credit trading at Deutsche Bank.

He has experience of being Culture and Business secretary, a role in which he cracked down on union rights.

His strengths are seen as his extraordinary rags-to-riches back story, but is widely seen as a wooden and poor public speaker.

There were rumours earlier this week that he could form part of the 'Stop Boris' ticket, with Michael Gove potentially in support.

Dominic Raab - 8/1

The 46-year-old former Brexit Secretary and diehard Brexiteer is the son of a Czech-born Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis in 1938 and died of cancer when Raab was 12.

He is relatively inexperienced, lasting only four months as Brexit Secretary. He voted against May in leadership confidence vote. Mr Raab is seen as a skilled debater who honed his skills as an adversarial lawyer with blue chip legal firm Linklaters.

His weekness is that he seen lacking people skills and thus is unlikely to beat a more experienced candidate.

Unlike Boris and Raab, Gove (pictured today) has kept on board with May's deal and will therefore have greater appeal among his remainer colleagues. He was also seen as a 'high priest of Brexiteers', meaning he could appeal to Tories on both sides of the divide

Others in the running include Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey

How will the next leader be chosen? If Mrs May's deal goes through, the UK is likely to leave the EU on May 22 and she would resign as Tory leader that day but stay on as interim PM while the contest to replace her begins.

Any Tory MP can stand but they need two nominations from colleagues.

A series of secret votes would be held every Tuesday and Thursday among the 314 members of the Conservative Parliamentary Party.

The last-placed candidate is eliminated at every stage and once it is clear who the front-runners are the back-markers usually drop out and support someone else.

After David Cameron stood down following the referendum in 2016 there were five candidates in the first round, who were whittled down to two: Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom.

The final two candidates then move on to the second phase, when party members vote by postal ballot.

Candidates will be expected to make speeches to members and tour the country to try to win support. This second phase is likely to last for up to a month.

Only members who have been in the party for three months or more can vote in a leadership contest, so joining now would not entitle you to a say.

Conservative sources say the whole process could be completed within a month to six weeks. Advertisement

Jeremy Hunt - 6/1

The Foreign Secretary, 52, is an ex-Remainer who may arouse suspicion among the party's Brexiteer members.

He is the eldest son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt and is married to a Chinese wife and he speaks Mandarin.

He has business experience and, before politics, he set up an educational publisher which was sold for 30million in 2017.

Mr Hunt has widespread cabinet experience and was the longest-serving health secretary in history.

Despite being one of the most experienced ministers in the field, unusually, he has made few political enemies and is therefore seen as someone who could unite the party after devisive battles over Brexit.

Andrea Leadsom - 20/1

The Leader of the Commons gained quite following when she stood for leader in 2016, but her bid fell apart when she made an ill-considered comment comparing her experience as a mother to the childless Mrs May.

Mrs Leadsom is a 55-year-old mother of three and a former city trader.

Since then however, she has blossomed as Leader of the Commons, winning plaudits for taking on Speaker John Bercow.

Popular among members and colleagues, she is now widely expected to have another tilt as leading the party.

Esther McVey - 50/1

The 51-year-old former Welfare Secretary is also an ardent Brexiteer.

She spent the first two years of her life in foster care and was a breakfast TV presenter before becoming a Tory MP on Merseyside.

Won plaudits with members for resigning from Cabinet over Brexit deal and is seen as tough, having braved out vicious targeting by Labour during her time as welfare minister.

Some in the party say she doesn't have the intellectual fire power for top job and she is ranked 14th in ConservativeHome league table.

Andrea Leadsom is also expected to throw her name into the hat after her bid in 2016US President Donald Trump's national security adviser has insisted the UK will be 'at the top of the queue' for a trade deal after Brexit.

John Bolton, 70, said that the president was 'eager for the will of the British people to be carried out, and he is even more eager to do a trade deal'.

The veteran US politician also dismissed concerns about the effects of a no-deal Brexit, highlighting how Britain would be able to boost transatlantic trade instead.

US national security adviser John Bolton (pictured) said that the UK would be 'top of the queue' for a trade deal with the US after Brexit

'People who worry about the United Kingdom crashing out of the European Union - they are going to crash right into the United States,' Mr Bolton told Sky News.

'We are standing here waiting to make a trade deal with a UK independent of the EU.'

Mr Trump has predicted that trade between the US and UK will increase 'very substantially' after Britain's departure from the EU.

Speaking earlier this month, he said that Brexit had been negotiated 'badly' but he would like to see the 'whole situation work out'.

'We are talking with them about trade and we can do a very big trade deal with the UK,' he said.

Former US president Barack Obama drew the ire of Brexiteers in the run-up to the 2016 referendum by saying Britain would be 'at the back of the queue' to negotiate a trade deal it left the EU.

Bolton also added that President Donald Trump is 'eager for the will of the British people to be carried out'

Mr Bolton told Sky News: 'This isn't the Obama administration; Britain will be at the top of the queue for us.'

The prospect of a wide-ranging post-Brexit free trade deal with the US has not been universally welcomed in Britain.

Some critics have warned that Washington could demand unfettered access to the UK for American farmers to UK consumers, potentially damaging British producers.

There have also been warnings over food standards, although they have been vociferously rejected by US figures including the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson.A female prison guard has been charged with having an inappropriate relationship with a male inmate.

The officer, 24, was charged in relation to the alleged relationship with the prisoner, 28, at the Wellington Correctional Centre near Dubbo in central-west New South Wales on Friday.

The alleged offence is the latest case in a spate of illegal relationships in Australian jails, following an investigation carried out by officers working alongside the Corrective Services Investigation unit.

The officer was charged over the alleged relationship at the Wellington Correctional Centre (pictured), near Dubbo in the central west of New South Wales on Friday

The woman prison guard was charged with one count of engaging in a relationship with an inmate.

A New South Wales Corrective Services spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph the alleged relationship did not relate to 'physical sexual contact'.

The 24-year-old was granted conditional bail and will front Wellington Local Court on May 21.

Many prison authorities have been charged for illegal relationships with prisoners.

Amy Mershell Connors, a married mother-of-two, was charged in August 2018 for allegedly having sex with a jailed cop killer.

The 34-year-old worked as an officer at Kempsey Correctional centre in the north-east of NSW, where she allegedly had a 12-month-long sexual relationship with prisoner Sione Penisini.

In February, glamorous officer and part-time bikini model Tara Brooks was accused of having 'inappropriate relations' with a male prisoner at Parklea Correctional centre in the north-west of Sydney.

The 33-year-old allegedly was in a relationship with Hassan Zreika, 41, who reportedly had pictures of Brooks pinned up on his cell wall.

Amy Mershell Connors (pictured), a married mother-of-two, was charged in August 2018 for allegedly having sex with a jailed cop killer

The 34-year-old allegedly had a 12-month-long sexual relationship with prisoner Sione Penisini (pictured right)

Glamorous officer and part-time bikini model Tara Brooks (pictured) was accused of having 'inappropriate relations' with a male prisoner Hassan Zreika

The 24-year-old was granted conditional bail and will front Wellington Local Court on May 21 (stock image)Much-loved composer and 'the face of Australian television' Geoff Harvey has passed away at the age of 83.

Mr Harvey, who a fixture on Australian television, spent 38 years at the Nine Network where he also composed many theme songs for the network, such as those for The Sullivans, A Current Affair and Today.

Broadcasting legend Ray Martin described him as 'the face of Australian television'.

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Much-loved composer and 'the face of Australian television' Geoff Harvey has passed away at the age of 83 (pictured, Geoff Harvey with Kerri-Anne Kennerley)

Mr Harvey, who a fixture on Australian television, spent 38 years at the Nine Network where he also composed many theme songs for the network, such as those for The Sullivans, A Current Affair and Today

Broadcasting legend Ray Martin described him as 'the face of Australian television' (pictured, Geoff Harvey with Ray Martin)

'He had more friends than anyone in the business,' Martin told Nine News.

'Everyone loved Geoff Harvey.'

For nearly two decades, he acted as musical director for Melbourne's Carols By Candlelight and he was eventually awarded the 2006 Medal of the Order of Australia for 'service to the community as a musician and entertainer, and through support for charitable organisations'.

A true lover of the arts, Harvey performed right up until his death with his last performance earlier this month at theatrical revue, Senior Moments.

The much-loved composer was born into a family of musicians in London in 1935 and learned the organ from an early age before he became organist at Westminster Cathedral at the age of 14.

Harvey's most notable life work as a composer Harvey was the brain child behind the theme songs for 'A Current Affair', 'Today', 'Sunday' and 'The Sullivans'. Below is a quick rundown of other works Harvey is known for: 1961: Harvey joins Nine Network to work on Bob Roger's 'Tonight Show'

1963: Harvey appointed musical director of 'Tonight with Dave Allen'

1977: Harvey worked as musical director of 'The Mike Walsh Show' until 1984

1984: Harvey takes on the role of musical director for Carols by Candlelight at Melbourne. He would stay there until 2002

1985: Harvey worked as musical director of 'Midday' until 1998

2006: Harvey is awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for 'service to the community as a musician and entertainer, and through support for charitable organisations'

2017: Harvey joins musical show Senior Moments Advertisement

Harvey also learned saxophone and first toured the jazz scene in Europe before moving to Australia in 1960 to produce records for EMI.

He quickly took up a gig with the Nine Network's 'Tonight Show' the following year.

He would stay with the network for an incredible 38 years and produced musical scores for hit shows such as The Sullivans and news programs, A Current Affair and Today.

'Every time you needed someone to rescue a program, Geoff would come in ... he was always there, he was the maestro,' Martin said of Harvey.

Harvey and Kerri-Anne Kennerley immediately struck up a friendship when they first worked together on The Midday Show in the late 1980s.

Their friendship would stand the test of time and even the rockiest moments of Harvey's life.

After he was dumped from the Nine Network in 1999, Harvey briefly appeared on Sydney's radio station 2GB opposite Kennerley in 2000.

The pair were once again reunited on screen for the last time in January 2019, after the pair appeared on Studio 10.

'I just had the most privileged experience with him,' Kennerley told the Daily Telegraph.

The humorous personality raised two children - Eugenie and Charlotte - with his first wife Penny Spence

Harvey would stay with the network for an incredible 38 years and produced musical scores for hit shows such as The Sullivans and news programs, A Current Affair and Today (pictured, Geoff Harvey with wife Katrina)

Harvey first toured the jazz scene in Europe before moving to Australia in 1960 and quickly took up a gig with the Nine Network's Tonight Show the following year (pictured, Geoff Harvey with Kerri-Anne Kennerley)

'He was so funny and talented and so quick and dry-witted. I am just really, really sad.'

And while Harvey is known for his musical talent, he is also remembered for his comical side.

Harvey grew out his beard after losing a bet to Don Lane over a football game in 1965 and kept the facial hair that has since become inseparable from his character.

'He was a one-off character, he was amazing,' Martin said.

'He was just a barrel of laughs,'

The humorous personality raised two children - Eugenie and Charlotte - with his first wife Penny Spence.

He later moved to Berrima in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales where he lived with his second wife Katrina.

A true lover of the arts, Harvey performed right up until his death with his last performance earlier this month at production Senior Moments (pictured, Geoff Harvey with Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Doug Mulray)

Harvey later moved to Berrima in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales where he lived with his second wife Katrina (pictured, Geoff Harvey and Bronwyn Bishop)The Morrison government will attempt to pass new laws for social media giants that would enforce jail terms and million dollar fines if they fail to take down harmful material quickly.

The proposed laws could see executives both in Australia and overseas jailed for up to three years and fined up to 10 per cent of their annual turnover.

Social media companies including Facebook were criticised for their handling of the Christchurch mosque attack where an alleged terrorist live-streamed his slaying of 50 innocent people.

Scott Morrison said he would not allow social media platforms to be weaponised by terrorists and violent extremists

The two proposed changes to the criminal code will give the social media giants a notification to remove material by the e-Safety Commissioner at which point the clock starts ticking.

The length of time required to remove the content or to decide if they are in breech of the law, will be decided by a jury.

'Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists,' Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

'It should not just be a matter of just doing the right thing. It should be the law.'

In addition to terrorism, the bill will focus on the live streaming or playing of murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping on social media.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the amendments would be modelled on existing offences that require platforms to notify police if their service is being used to access child pornography

The laws were proposed after meeting with heads of social companies earlier this week in which they 'did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch'.

The government plans to create a taskforce to bring government and social media companies together to combat terrorists 'weaponising' the platforms.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the amendments would be modelled on existing offences that require platforms to notify police if their service is being used to access child pornography.

CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has been critised for the company's mishandling of the alleged live stream of the Christchurch shooting

Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg included a letter to the people of New Zealand through the New Zealand Herald on Saturday where she spoke about how the company must make changes

'In the wake of the terror attack, we are taking three steps: strengthening the rules for using Facebook Live, taking further steps to address hate on our platforms, and supporting the New Zealand community,' Ms Sandberg said.

'First, we are exploring restrictions on who can go Live depending on factors such as prior Community Standard violations. We are also investing in research to build better technology to quickly identify edited versions of violent videos and images and prevent people from re-sharing these versions.'Yago Riedijk, 27, says Shamima Begum was the 'perfect' wife', after marrying her when she was 15

The husband of British ISIS bride Shamima Begum has praised his wife, who he married at 15, describing her as 'young and innocent' and 'very easy to love'.

Dutch terrorist Yago Riedijk, 27, who is currently languishing in a Kurdish jail, said that former Bethnal Green schoolgirl Begum, now 19, was 'the perfect wife'.

He also shared his heartbreak at the death of his son Jerah, who died from a lung infection in early March at just three weeks old.

Jerah was the ISIS fighter's third child with Begum, with all three having died prematurely.

The baby died soon after UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid refused to allow Begum into the country and revoked her citizenship.

Riedijk shared his sorrow at the death, before saying that his wife would be 'heartbroken and alone'.

He added that he found out about Jerah's death when he was told by a journalist, a few days after it happened.

He is being held in a Kurdish detention centre in north-eastern Syria and faces six years behind bars if he returns home.

The ISIS fighter spoke about his love for his wife in an interview with The Times.

He said: 'We got very close very quickly. The perfect wife. She was so young and innocent. It was very easy for me to love her.'

He married Begum just 10 days after meeting her in IS territory and has also come out and defended the decision to do so despite her being just 15 at the time, and him 23.

Riedijk also dismissed claims that his wife had a deeper role in the organisation, saying that she was 'just a housewife'.

Shortly after their wedding, he was arrested and jailed by ISIS in Raqqa for seven months.

Jailed on spying charges, he was tortured and interrogated during his incarceration, with his wife claiming that it triggered her loss of faith in the Islamic caliphate.

The baby son of runaway Islamic State schoolgirl Shamima Begum died in northern Syria in early March after a lung infection

Mr Riedijk is being held in a Kurdish detention centre and has revealed how he found out about his son's death

In his interview, Riedjik, who's from Arnhem in the Netherlands originally, claims that he and his wife were naive victims of ISIS and repeatedly calls for forgiveness for both.

Riedjik, whose ISIS alias was Abu Sarayah, added that he and his wife had loved their children 'so much' and that their deaths had a huge impact on Begum.

Begum, 19, gave birth to third child Jerah in a refugee camp last month, having lost her other two children to illness and malnutrition.

They too had suffered breathing problems.

Riedjik had previously been following the headlines about his wife on a TV in his cell, which he shares with 20 other ISIS prisoners.

Begum is pictured holding her son Jerah, named after a 7th century Islamic warlord, in the Al-Hol refugee camp where he was born

He travelled to Syria to join ISIS in October 2014, after converting to Islam when he fell in love with a Muslim girl at his school when he was a teenager.

Local media in Arnhem said he was raised in a 'lovely' middle class family before converting to Islam and leaving for Syria in October 2014 to join ISIS.

Riedijk claims that he immediately started doubting whether he had made the right decision, before being wounded by an airstrike.

It was as he was recovering from these injuries that he met 15-year-old Begum, introduced by a mutual friend.

Facebook picture of Dutch ISIS fighter Yago Riedijk pictured with his mother Ankie Winkelman

Facebook picture believed to be of Dutch ISIS fighter Yago Riedijk, now 27 and in a Kurdish jail

They married but he was soon arrested under suspicion of working for Dutch intelligence.

He said he was tortured and sentenced to death before eventually being released.

After this, he says, he and his wife both began to doubt the truth of ISIS.

He claimed he never fought as a soldier for the group again, instead working as a guard and medic.

After his incarceration, he eventually joined an Arab ISIS unit, though he insisted he didn't do any fighting.

Riedijk previously said that he now realises he and his wife both 'definitely' made a 'mistake' in joining the barbaric terror group.

He had previously been accused by the Dutch media of having a connection with a failed Isis plot to target an Arnhem stadium, which he denied.Actor Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar for his dramatic transformation into rugged explorer Hugh Glass in The Revenant, but first won hearts as clean cut Jack Dawson in Titanic.

Now an Australian research team have come up with a convincing reason why Leo's performance as the fierce frontiersman may have sparked stronger audience reactions than his outing as a doomed passenger on the 1912 cruise liner.

Dr Belinda Craig, from the University of New England in Australia, lead the study into the effect of a bushier chin on men communicating their emotions and masculinity.

Australian researchers have found that men with beards look appear angrier when angry but happier when jolly (Still of Leonardo DiCaprio as explorer Hugh Glass in The Reverent)

She and her team found that people were quicker to recognise a bearded man's display of anger than that of an angry clean shaven man.

They surveyed 700 people, asking them to rate the emotions and the intensity displayed on a range of male faces - bearded and not bearded.

The team's results, in a recently published paper in Psychological Science, suggests that a beard changed the way a man's facial structure is seen and help people make a judgement about a man's anger and masculinity.

'Beards emphasise the jaw... leading to faster recognition of anger,' she to The Times.

Dr Belinda Craig found people were quicker to recognise a bearded man's display of anger than an angry clean shaven man. She said: 'Beards emphasise the jaw... leading to faster recognition of anger.' (Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, with co-star Danny Nucci in Titanic)

But Dr Craig noted that it was harder to explain why men with beards appeared happier.

David Dade, honorary president of the British Beard Club, told the The Times a bearded man has appear 'reliable' and 'trustworthy'.

'Many people [accept] that a bearded man seems kinder and more amenable and maybe more reliable and trustworthy.'

'This may be because a bearded man appears comfortable with himself,' he added.On the day that their talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, President Donald Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the transfer of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States, according to the document seen by Reuters.

Trump gave Kim both Korean and English-language versions of the US position at Hanoi's Metropole hotel on Feb. 28, according to a source familiar with the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first time that Trump himself had explicitly defined what he meant by denuclearization directly to Kim, the source said.

A lunch between the two leaders was canceled the same day. While neither side has presented a complete account of why the summit collapsed, the document may help explain it.

The document's existence was first mentioned by White House national security adviser John Bolton in television interviews he gave after the two-day summit. Bolton did not disclose in those interviews the pivotal US expectation contained in the document that North Korea should transfer its nuclear weapons and fissile material to the United States.

President Trump handed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a written note on February 28 calling for the transfer of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons to the US

The brief face-to-face meeting took place at Hanoi's Metropole hotel in Vietnam's capital city

The document appeared to represent Bolton's long-held and hardline 'Libya model' of denuclearization that North Korea has rejected repeatedly. It probably would have been seen by Kim as insulting and provocative, analysts said.

Trump had previously distanced himself in public comments from Bolton's approach and said a 'Libya model' would be employed only if a deal could not be reached.

The idea of North Korea handing over its weapons was first proposed by Bolton in 2004. He revived the proposal last year when Trump named him as national security adviser.

The document was meant to provide the North Koreans with a clear and concise definition of what the United States meant by 'final, fully verifiable, denuclearization,' the source familiar with discussions said.

The scheduled lunch between Trump and Kim was canceled the same day, cut short after Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal on the extent of economic sanctions relief for North Korea in exchange for its steps to give up its nuclear program

The Hanoi document was presented in what US officials have said was an attempt by Trump to secure a 'big deal' under which sanctions would be lifted if North Korea gave up all its weapons

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department declined to comment on what would be a classified document.

After the summit, a North Korean official accused Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of 'gangster-like' demands, saying Pyongyang was considering suspending talks with the United States and may rethink its self-imposed ban on missile and nuclear tests.

The English version of the document, seen by Reuters, called for 'fully dismantling North Korea's nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program and related dual-use capabilities; and ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities.'

Aside from the call for the transfer of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel, the document had four other key points.

Trump's document appeared to represent White House National Security Advisor John Bolton's long-held, hardline 'Libya model' position on denuclearization

Trump had previously distanced himself in public comments from Bolton's approach and said a 'Libya model' would be employed only if a deal could not be reached

It called on North Korea to provide a comprehensive declaration of its nuclear program and full access to US and international inspectors; to halt all related activities and construction of any new facilities; to eliminate all nuclear infrastructure; and to transition all nuclear program scientists and technicians to commercial activities.

The summit in Vietnam's capital was cut short after Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal on the extent of economic sanctions relief for North Korea in exchange for its steps to give up its nuclear program.

The first summit between Trump and Kim, which took place in Singapore in June 2018, was almost called off after the North Koreans rejected Bolton's repeated demands for it to follow a denuclearization model under which components of Libya's nuclear program were shipped to the United States in 2004.

Seven years after a denuclearization agreement was reached between the United States and Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, the United States took part in a NATO-led military operation against his government and he was overthrown by rebels and killed.

.The English version of Trump's note called for 'fully dismantling North Korea's nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program' an end to the country's 'related dual-use capabilities; and ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities'

'Miserable Fate'

Last year, North Korea officials called Bolton's plan 'absurd' and noted the 'miserable fate' that befell Gaddafi.

After North Korea threatened to cancel the Singapore summit, Trump said in May 2018 he was not pursuing a 'Libya model' and that he was looking for an agreement that would protect Kim.

'He would be there, he would be running his country, his country would be very rich,' Trump said at the time.

'The Libya model was a much different model. We decimated that country,' Trump added.

The Hanoi document was presented in what US officials have said was an attempt by Trump to secure a 'big deal' under which all sanctions would be lifted if North Korea gave up all of its weapons.

Analysts say Kim most likely viewed the US tactic as insulting and provocative. Last year, North Korea officials called Bolton's Libya-style position on denuclearization 'absurd,' noting the 'miserable fate' that befell Libyan leader Muammar Al Gaddafi, who was overthrown and killed by Libyan rebels with US aid

US-North Korean engagement has appeared to be in limbo since the Hanoi meeting. Pompeo said on March 4 he was hopeful he could send a team to North Korea 'in the next couple of weeks,' but there has been no sign of that.

Jenny Town, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank, said the content of the US document was not surprising.

'This is what Bolton wanted from the beginning and it clearly wasn't going to work,' Town said. 'If the US was really serious about negotiations they would have learned already that this wasn't an approach they could take.'

After the summit, a North Korean official accused Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of 'gangster-like' demands, saying Pyongyang would now consider suspending talks with the US and may rethink its self-imposed ban on missile and nuclear tests

Town added, 'It's already been rejected more than once, and to keep bringing it up ... would be rather insulting. It's a non-starter and reflects absolutely no learning curve in the process.'

North Korea has repeatedly rejected unilateral disarmament and argues that its weapons program is needed for defense, a belief reinforced by the fate Gaddafi and others.

In an interview with ABC's 'This Week' program after the Hanoi summit, Bolton said the North Koreans had committed to denuclearization in a variety of forms several times 'that they have happily violated.'

'We define denuclearization as meaning the elimination of their nuclear weapons program, their uranium enrichment capability, their plutonium reprocessing capability,' Bolton said.

Asked who authored the document, Bolton said it had been 'written at staff level and cleared around as usual.'Channel 4 News has apologized for Jon Snow's 'unscripted observation' after the broadcaster said he had 'never seen so many white people in one place' while reporting on last night's pro-Brexit protests.

Snow, 71, was accused of bias for failing to comment on the similar lack of diversity at last weekend's Remain rally.

In a statement, Channel 4 News said it 'regrets' any offence caused by the presenter's remarks, which came as protesters brought Westminster to a standstill on what was supposed to be the day the UK exited the European Union.

Jon Snow (left) made the controversial statement while reporting for Channel 4 on last night's Brexit protests in Westminster

Speaking at the end of the live programme on College Green, Snow said: 'It's been the most extraordinary day. A day which has seen... I have never seen so many white people in one place, it's an extraordinary story.

'There are people everywhere, there are crowds everywhere.'

His quip caused a barrage of online response - with some Twitter users pointing out that those marching for Remain last Saturday were also predominantly white.

Brexiteers complained that Jon Snow had displayed a pro-Remain bias for commenting on the racial make-up of a Leave protest, with one saying he was 'beyond the pale'

Journalist and broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer described his comments as 'unbelievably shocking', while others deemed the reference to 'white people' as unnecessary and inflammatory.

'Here's a pic of one of the People's Vote marches that Jon 'I've never seen so many white people in one place' Snow loves so much,' she wrote on Twitter.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: 'This was an unscripted observation at the very end of a long week of fast-moving Brexit developments.

'Jon has covered major events such as this over a long career and this was a spontaneous comment reflecting his observation that in a London demonstration of that size, ethnic minorities seemed to be significantly under-represented.

'We regret any offence caused by his comment.'

Some Twitter users could not understand why Snow was under fire, and said he was merely pointing out an obvious lack of diversity at the pro-Brexit rally yesterday

A spokesman for the regulator Ofcom said they would have to wait until Monday to say how many complaints - if any - had been registered regarding the incident.

A spokesman said: 'We will assess any complaints we do receive before deciding whether or not to investigate.

Leave supporters said they felt that Snow's remarks were 'reckless' and 'designed to get reactions' and sow division.

'It would have been fine if Jon Snow regularly commented on the racial make up of groups/protests in his reporting,' wrote Katharine Birbalsingh.

'But he doesn't. It's the inconsistency in his behaviour that damns him.'

Most people, however, poked fun at the absurdity of his comments, with one person implying he would see as many white people in Waitrose

However many others jumped to Snow's defence, saying he was merely commenting on an obvious lack of diversity at last night's protests.

They pointed out that anti-immigration figures Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage had addressed protesters earlier in the day, and were unlikely to draw a diverse crowd.

'That protest last night was the 'March 4 Leave' one which featured speeches from Tommy Robinson and Gerald (sic) Batten among others,' wrote Dara Peyton.

'Both men that don't have the most diverse following - so when Snow says he hasn't seen so many white people, he means it it's not a very diverse crowd.'

Twitter users also poked fun at Snow's comment, as well as those taking it seriously.

Have you never been to Waitrose?' one asked, while another reminded Snow that he had been educated at a private boarding school in Oxford.

Julia Hartley-Brewer also posted images from Glastonbury and the Hay Literary Festival, both of which Snow attended, that appear to show an entirely white crowd.

'Like yellow snow, Jon Snow is best avoided,' mused one person.The mother of rock star Michael Hutchence feared his daughter Tiger Lily would be harmed by his girlfriend Paula Yates in the wake of his death.

The INXS frontman's naked body was found in a hotel room at the exclusive Ritz-Carlton in Double Bay, a harbourside suburb of Sydney, in an apparent suicide November 1997.

As the world came to terms with Hutchence's death, two of his former partners were involved in an escalating feud about his one-year-old daughter.

The mother of rock star Michael Hutchence (left) feared his daughter Tiger Lily (centre) would be harmed by his girlfriend Paula Yates (right) after his death

Hutchence's mother Patricia Glassop (left with her son) became increasingly concerned Ms Yates would harm the couple's baby

Hutchence's mother Patricia Glassop became increasingly concerned Paula Yates would harm the couple's baby, forcing both Queensland and New South Wales police to intervene, The Daily Telegraph reported.

On March 30, the year after Hutchence died, police were sent to apartments at The Rocks, in Sydney's CBD, to check on the welfare of Tiger Lily.

Ms Yates, who was British-born, was in town for the christening of Tiger Lily but allegedly phoned Ms Glassop to hurl abuse about Hutchence's estate.

A police visit found the child 'in good spirits and obviously well cared for', despite Ms Glassop's claims.

'Surfers Paradise Police Station advised that over the last two days telephone calls of a threatening nature were made allegedly by Paula Yates to Mrs Patricia Glassop, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise,' the report read.

The INXS frontman's naked body was found in a hotel room in the exclusive Ritz-Carlton in Double Bay, a harbourside suburb of Sydney, in an apparent suicide November 1997

A police visit found the child 'in good spirits and obviously well cared for', despite Ms Glassop's claims

'There was some concern that Ms Yates may harm her child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, daughter of Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence.'

'There is no concern for the welfare of the child. Surfers Paradise police advised and will inform Patricia Glassop.'

Police also spoke with Yates' travel companion Belinda Brewin, her agent in New York Martha Troup and barrister Andrew Young on the alleged estate-related feud between the pair.

An inquest into Hutchence's death found he had committed suicide.

It's believed he killed himself at the height of a bitter custody row over Ms Yates' children with her husband Bob Geldof.

Ms Yates died in 2000 of a heroin overdose and Mr Geldof was awarded custody of Tiger Lily, who is now aged 22.A Nazi rocket-powered plane which Hitler hoped would defeat the Allies in the final years of WWII was just as dangerous for its new pilots according to a new exhibition.

The Messerschmitt Me 163 is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever operational and ascended almost vertically at speeds of 700mph, a record for its time.

Its role as an interceptor was to tear through enemy formations before flying back down for a second attack.

But far from being a potent war weapon for the Nazis, the Messerschmitt Me 163 was just as deadly for its own fighters according to a new exhibition at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, according to The Times.

An x-ray of the Messerschmitt Me 163 suggests there is still liquid in the plane's hydraulic system

The interceptor would fly almost vertically at incredible speeds to break up enemy formations

The plane, first used in conflict in 1944 towards the end of WWII, is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever operational

More than 300 aircraft were built but they destroyed as few as nine Allied bombers, and new X-rays show there may have been even more faults than were previously known.

Many pilots were killed during testing and its fuel would run out after a few minutes, leaving them easy targets for enemy fighters.

The burning period of the engine was very short due to the incredible velocity it had to generate, which meant the pilot would often have to return on a glide.

Andreas Hempfer, an aviation curator at the museum which is the world's largest science and technology museum, said there was a 'myth' in Germany that these planes were a masterpiece of Nazi engineering.

The interceptor accelerated almost vertically at a speed of 700 mph, a record for its time

A new exhibition at the Deutsches Museum in Munich hopes to dispel the German 'myth' of the plane's engineering feat

The rocket engine burned fuel at such a rate that pilots would have to glide back down and became sitting ducks for enemy fighters

He said: 'There were no hypermodern German "wonder-weapons" that could ever have changed the course of the war.

'These claims were disseminated from the 1950s by the German aerospace industry, which had obviously lost its connection to the great powers after 1945, in an attempt to justify its comeback.

'It was extremely dangerous for its own pilots and turned out to be a technical dead end.'

Another curator Felix Wander said pilots of the Messerschmitt Me 163 were considered disposable by the Nazis which explains the high death rate.

The Deutsches Museum has sent one of its own planes for an x-ray to reveal the secrets of its internal engineering.

Early results show there may still be liquid in the plane's hydraulic system.A property expert, who has worked in the industry for more than 15 years, has revealed the shocking tricks used by estate agents to fool buyers.

The anonymous estate agent claimed the industry routinely flouts regulations and tricks those looking at properties, in an interview with The Times.

On their blog, the property expert also claimed online agent Purple Bricks often changed the prices of properties so it appeared as a price reduction.

Describing how lying about price reductions was rife in the industry, the secret blogger has written a number of posts claiming to lift a lid on the hidden truths of the property market.

An anonymous property expert from London has revealed that estate agents routinely flout regulations and fool buyers

The blogger claimed they had seen first hand how the industry routinely breaks the rules when advertising properties

On their most recent blog the secret writer described how lettings was an unregulated industry.

The blogger writes: 'Having worked in the letting industry for over 15 years. I have seen at first hand how the industry routinely breaks the rules when advertising properties mainly in Lettings but also Sales.'

Claiming to have carried out research on more than 60 per cent of north London agents, the blogger also says: 'Agents do this to increase the number of inquiries and to make themselves look busier to any prospective landlords.'

In an earlier post, the expert also claimed how they once worked for a company that uploaded fake properties on its site.

The expert claimed the trick was likely to deceive anyone looking at the properties.

Speaking anonymously to The Times, the blogger claimed: 'Part of the problem, particularly in lettings, is that there is no one policing the industry. There is no sheriff in town.

The property expert has claimed that the industry tricks those looking at properties

'Some of these practices may not appear the worst thing in the world but if people are prepared to do them when they can easily be found out, you have to wonder what else they are doing behind closed doors?'

A Purple Bricks spokesperson told The Times: 'We're disappointed to see these isolated examples, which are a tiny proportion of the thousands of changes made by Purplebricks and our customers every day.

'This is not a practice we adopt or accept and, in line with our commitment to higher standards of transparency in our industry, we will actively prevent this kind of behaviour as soon as it's pointed out.'One of the men arrested for a Brooklyn killing that was caught on security footage is said to be a reputed member of the notorious 'Rockstarz' gang.

Michael Reid, 25, was one of 10 gang members who hunted 21-year-old Tyquan Eversley in East New York on March 19 before the man was gunned down in a backyard.

Local law enforcement sources told the New York Post that the killing is believed to have been part of a long-running feud between the 'Rockstarz' and an offshoot of the 'Very Crispy Gangsters.'

Scroll down for video

Michael Reid, 25, was one of 10 gang members who hunted 21-year-old Tyquan Eversley in East New York on March 19 (seen in blue)

Reid was not identified as the shooter but he is seen in video footage throwing a rock at Eversley.

Sources also stated that Reid was wearing a federal ankle bracelet at the time of his arrest.

Eversley is believed to have been part of a long-running feud between the 'Rockstarz' an offshoot of the 'Very Crispy Gangsters'

Reid was arrested in 2012 during a federals sting in East New York, aimed at gang activity. 50 gangbangers were detained at the time.

In the video a pack of men are seen chasing a victim through the streets, punching Eversley unprovoked.

At one point, Eversley runs and hides behind a parked car at the side of the home.

'Hes literally hiding in fear for his life as the group is now searching for him. We have video surveillance of this group looking in alleyways, looking up and down the street, hunting, searching,' NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper said Thursday.

Then Eversly dashes to hop a fence in a backyard. But behind that fence was another chain link fence with barbed wire, leading Eversley to get stuck.

Reid was not identified as the shooter but he is seen in video footage throwing a rock at Eversley (right)

The gang members pursue him and discover him caught in the barbed wire. One throws a boulder on top of Eversley and another leans over the fence to fire at least five rounds, killing him.

After the attack Eversley was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Reid was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Three other suspects, including the shooter, have been identified and are still being sought as per the New York Daily News. They are 29-year-old Donaven McDay, 22-year-old Alfred Crooks, and 24-year-old Shacore Huff.

Authorities are asking for help in identifying the other six suspects.Dominic Grieve has blamed an 'orchestrated' campaign to oust him masterminded by a former UKIP candidate after he lost vote of no confidence from his local Conservative association.

The rebel MP who has masterminded a campaign to seize control of Brexit next week faces the prospect of deselection - and there are fears among Tories who have Remain sympathies that more of them could be targeted.

A Ukip-supporting donor for Leave.eu, Arron Banks, has funded a campaign against former Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston who defected to The Independent Group in February this year.

Senior Eurosceptics predict prominent Remainers like Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen (former Conservative now Independent Group), Antoinette Sandbach, Sam Gymiah, Guto Bebb and Philip Lee will be next to come under fire.

A change.org campaign called 'Deselect Sarah Wollaston' has garnered 11,327 signatures in just nine months.

Conservative MP Dominic Grieve was deselected last night after he lost a vote of no confidence by 182 votes to 131. His ousting has sparked fears among other Conservative Remainers that they could be next to face the axe

The campaign against the Totnes & South Devon MP states: 'In the recent EU (Withdrawal) Bill Commons votes, Sarah Wollaston MP has tried to tie the Prime Minister's hands with a "meaningful vote" amendment, which is nothing more than an attempt to stop Brexit.

'Sarah Wollaston MP does not represent her constituents and does not adhere to the manifesto on which she stood.

'In signing this petition, we urge the local conservative association to deselect Sarah Wollaston MP.'

The move follows a similar push against former Conservative MP Nick Boles, who quit the party amid bids for his deselection in February.

In an interview on Sky News today Dominic Grieve discussed his recent deselection and revealed he believed the ousting came as part of an 'orchestrated campaign' by his former opponent in 2017, former Ukip member Jon Conway.

Mr Grieve said he believed Mr Conway had 'the express intention' of defeating the motion of confidence which had been tabled by Mr Grieve's officers.

He said: 'The evidence is pretty plain that he organised members in the organisation for the single purpose of coming to defeat me'.

Mr Grieve noted that it wasn't a common occurrence for a Conservative MP to be ousted and said: 'The Conservative Party doesn't seek to expel members of parliament.

'Otherwise many of my colleagues who have good careers in parliament would never have been able to remain there.

Pro-Brexit organisation, Leave.eu, encourages its supporters to vote to deselect prominent Conservative Remainers. It's founder, Arron Banks,

Although 350 turned up to the vote last night, Mr Grieve made it clear he didn't believe the vote represented the views of all conservative voters in Beaconsfield.

He said: 'There are 36,000 people in Beaconsfield who vote Conservative'.

'I get complaints from people who vote Conservative who are appalled at the way Brexit is unfolding.'

In defence of Theresa May and her deal he said: 'The reason why the Prime Minister has not been able to get her deal through parliament is not through bad faith'.

He said it is because the deal when it is examined 'whether by Leavers or Remainers' is lacking.

When asked what he would be doing following his deselection he said he was 'grateful' for the concerns shown by others regarding their confidence in him but said he will 'continue to keep that in mind as we try to find a way out'.

Conservative MP and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, weighed in on the discussion following Mr Grieve's deselection.

He said: 'Dominic Grieve is deselected because of his beliefs in campaign led by his ex-UKIP opponent.

'The Tory leadership can stop any deselection if it wants - we frequently did.

'CCHQ should suspend the local party. Otherwise we are heading for a huge, historic split in the Tory Party.'

Heidi Allen (left) and Sarah Wollaston (right) both face coming under fire as prominent Remainers. A campaign to oust Dr Wollaston has already gained 11,327 signatures

He added: 'Grieves deselection is also a test for the contenders for the Tory leadership.

'Lets hear them not just condemn what has happened but use their leverage over No. 10 to demand it is overturned.

'Well see whos a leader - and well discover whether theyll be a party left to lead.'

Arron Banks, founder of Leave.eu, was recently found to have broken a ban on campaigning for Brexit following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016.

Mr Banks's website brandishes a picture of Conservative MPs with the caption 'Deselect the Tory traitors. The time is now'.

The new fears of more MP ousting come after Dominic Grieve's deselection last night, which saw him lose a vote of no confidence by 182 votes to 131 from his local Conservative Party.

The chairman of the Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association Jackson Ng said the no confidence vote motion was passed at the association's annual general meeting.

'Our members had a robust discussion with our MP, Dominic Grieve QC on Brexit before voting on a motion of confidence in him as our MP, which, I can confirm with a heavy heart that he failed to retain,' he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The prominent pro-Remain Tory MP Dominic Grieve has suffered a vote of no confidence by his local Conservative Party

Anna Soubry, who left the Tory party to join The Independent Group last month, weighed in on the decision on Twitter

Leave.EU's official account praised the decision of local party members in Beaconsfield tonight

'He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council.'

Mr Grieve, a former attorney general, lost by 182 votes to 131. as a result, the association can try to deselect him as a Tory candidate at the next General Election.

He was one of the MPs behind the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business to stage a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May's deal.

The opposition in the constituency to Mr Grieve is reported to have been organised by the former Ukip candidate who stood against him in the 2017 general election, Jon Conway.

In June last year arch-remainer Mr Grieve put forward an amendment to Parliament the power to direct Mrs May if she could not get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons.

This attempt to secure a meaningful vote was defeated by 319 votes to 303, with even Mr Grieve voting against his own amendment.

But the plan was revived a week later after a spectacular intervention by the House of Lords.

Mr Grieve, left, is pictured with Beaconsfield Conservative Constituency Chairman Jackson Ng, right, after the vote

Last June a senior party member in Mr Grieves constituency told the Daily Mail: Grieve has even upset Remainers in the association who think hes gone too far. If he doesnt go, I suspect we will tell him to.

Colleagues of Mr Grieve were quick to offer their support.

Fellow remainer Anna Soubry, of the newly-formed party Change UK, weighed in on the decision on Twitter, saying: 'This is disgraceful. More evidence that the uncompromising dogmatic right is running the @Conservatives

'#DominicGrieve is one of the finest, most courageous Parliamentarians ever - who has always put his country first & championed all his constituents.'

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw called Mr Grieve a 'national hero'.

He wrote: 'Full takeover of the Tory Party by the hard right ERG sect underway tonight. Dominic Grieve is a national hero, who has done more than anyone to try to save Britain from this #BrexitShambles disaster. #FinalSay #PeoplesVote.'Three 'laughing' thugs were spotted on CCTV footage near Clapham Common station in London yesterday, after stabbing a man to death through a car window.

Police were called to Clapham Park Road in south-west London at around 2.30pm yesterday afternoon, where they found a man suffering from knife wounds.

According to witnesses, the hooded thugs approached his vehicle and - after trying to smash the window open with a pair of crutches - stabbed him through a gap.

Despite the best attempts of paramedics, the man died from his wounds and the CCTV footage shows his killers sprinting past horrified shoppers in the aftermath.

The victim, named locally as father-of-three Gavin Garraway, in his 40s, is believed to have driven his black VW polo into a lamp post as he desperately tried to escape.

Police shield a body outside the Belle Vue pub next to Clapham Common tube station after a 40 year man was stabbed to death yesterday

The victim, named locally as Gavin, in his 40s, is believed to have driven into a lamp post as he desperately tried to escape three chasing men (pictured, police at scene)

He was left bleeding out with his foot on the accelerator as horrified onlookers watched on.

He was the 31st murder victim in the capital this year and a cordon was put in place as investigation work was carried out.

The victim was described as a large black man in his 40s with dreadlocks by witnesses.

And in a sickening account, one witness recalled seeing the thugs laughing as they fled the scene.

The worker, 52, said: 'We saw them run past the shop, one of them was laughing. They were young, with no facial hair, they didn't really look the type to be honest.

Police could be seen holding sheets tied together to block the view of the body from passers-by, after the victim was reportedly stabbed by three thugs on Friday afternoon

A murder investigation has been launched following the stabbing in Clapham on Friday afternoon (pictured, forensic officers at the scene)

'Across the street I could hear the victim's foot was stuck on the accelerator. The men passed by, you could see they were quite smartly dressed underneath the tops.'

Tommie Santala, 34, manager of nearby restaurant Honest Burger, said customers reported seeing three young black men run across the cafe's terrace armed with crowbars.

'What a horrific thing to see in front of the restaurant in the middle of the day,' he said.

The attackers were described as black men, skinny, and in their early 20s.

According to eyewitnesses, the thugs approached the victim's vehicle and - after trying to smash the window open with a pair of crutches - stabbed him through a gap

Eyewitnesses described the moment that 'men in their 20s' set upon the motorist in Clapham this afternoon (pictured, police at scene of stabbing)

According to the eyewitness, the thugs had come running across the road and cut across traffic as they tried to get to the victim - before stabbing him outside The Belle Vue pub

It came less than 24 hours after a man in his 20s, was knifed to death yesterday evening, before his killers ran into London Central Mosque near Regent's Park to get away.

Murder hunt after 24-year-old stabbed to death in Solihull A 24-year-old was stabbed to death in Solihull, West Midlands last night A murder investigation has been launched after a man was found stabbed to death in a residential street in Solihull. Officers were called to Arran Way, Smith's Wood, West Midlands following reports a man being stabbed just after 11.15pm, last night. A 24-year-old man was found at the scene with critical injuries. Despite the efforts of medics he was sadly pronounced dead a short time later. West Midlands Police, Detective Inspector Michelle Allen said: 'A man has sadly lost his life and we are working hard to establish the circumstances around what happened. 'The investigation is in its early stages, and we're keen to hear from anyone who can help us piece together the circumstances leading up to the attack. 'If you were in Arran Way at the time, please contact us as you may have vital information about what happened.' Advertisement

And in a separate incident later than night, a 19-year-old was stabbed during a 'large fight' outside a book shop in Southbank, central London - before he was taken to hospital with not life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses described the moment that 'men in their 20s' set upon the motorist in Clapham this afternoon - who died yards from his car. A food delivery driver was sat on his moped opposite the scene as the chaos unfolded this afternoon.

The man, 23, from Clapham, said: 'He was stabbed through the window of his car. I was there for his last moments, I could see his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

'None of them tried to cover their face, but they wore hoods. Just one had the knife, it wasn't that long but it was really wide.

'Once they reached his car at the traffic lights he was trapped, so he drove into the post at the lights.

'The men surrounded the car and tried to get inside, one of them picked up a pair of crutches and tried to break the window.

'There was a small gap in the window on the other side, where he was sitting, they managed to get the knife in there.'

According to the witness, the thugs had come running across the road and cut across traffic as they tried to get to the victim.

He also recalled how the victim had been left in his car with his foot stuck on the accelerator.

'The car was just sat there revving loudly. Everyone walked outside to see what was happening, but for a few minutes everyone just stared. We didn't know if it was over.

'I began to walk over and I looked into the car, the window had been cracked, there was a pool of blood on the passenger side', he said.

Emergency services are seen at the scene of the stabbing in Clapham this afternoon, with a police cordon in place as investigative work is carried out

The victim is believed to have driven into a lamp post as he desperately tried to escape three chasing men (pictured, the crashed vehicle)

Police and pedestrians crowd near an injured man who is believed to have been stabbed outside Clapham Common tube station

The man, in his 40s, died at the scene despite the efforts of the paramedics after they were called this afternoon

Police officers talk to concerned passers-by after the fatal stabbing in Clapham this afternoon

Three female relatives held each other and wept on a road by the scene but were too upset to provide a tribute.

Seemingly overcome with grief, one man tried to run into the crime scene, before he was restrained by police.

Men with balaclavas could be seen on the other side of the crime scene, as a gang of men watched on.

Speaking at the cordon, a man in his 20s said: 'The men tried to break the window. He crashed and three men stabbed him.

'When we approached the car he was looking in a really bad situation, he looked like he was dead, but he was still moving.'

A man who works in a nearby coffee shop said: 'He was stuck in the car bleeding out, it wasn't good to see, it was chilling.'

An air ambulance was also called to the scene, but the victim sadly passed away, becoming the 31st murder victim of the year in London

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the stabbing, and haven't made any arrests yet

An air ambulance swiftly arrived at the scene but paramedics were unable to save the man

Another local said: 'What is happening among our community, our boys, is nothing more than an embarrassment to us.

'Well, a life for a life never ends.'

No arrests have been made yet, with police still investigating the circumstances of the killing.

A Lambeth council spokesman said: 'The stabbing of a man in Clapham High Street this afternoon has resulted in the second killing on our streets in the space of three days.

'It is another tragic event, happening in broad daylight in a busy area that will have caused serious trauma to many people.'

A witness told the Evening Standard: 'I heard a crash and I walked towards the noise and saw a car had hit into the traffic pole, but I don't know what happened.

'The passenger walked into the road and the ambulance came and they tried to do CPR [on the man] and the driver was sat in the seat'.

Witnesses and those with information are asked to call 101 ref CAD 4448/29Mar.

His death follows the killing of a man in his 20s yesterday evening, with the two knifemen responsible then running into London Central Mosque near Regent's Park to get away.

The two knifemen are reported to have stabbed a man to death then ran into a mosque and 'washed their hands and faces' to blend in with worshippers.

Witnesses say two knifemen ran into London Central Mosque (pictured today) near Regent's Park last night to escape the police

Police outside a black of flats in central London today after a man was stabbed near London Central Mosque yesterday evening

Armed police search the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park in London last night

Today's death was the 31st murder in London so far this year - and the 14th in March

The cordon was finally moved from around the mosque in London at 11.30pm last night

Witnesses in the mosque have said the assailants pretended to be members of the congregation arriving for prayers, but then changed clothes in a toilet and disappeared.

Police have said the incident is not terror-related and the killers are not linked to the mosque.

The victim, who was named locally as 'Zahir', is thought to have lived in a nearby estate.

A security guard at the mosque said the men, who were both white with long hair, washed their faces and feet to appear as if they were arriving for prayers.

He told The Evening Standard: 'We saw in the camera them changing clothes in the toilet area, one of them had a backpack and one of them had a side bag.

'They change from hoodies into shirts and trousers and throw the other clothes on the floor. The police have those.'

Police have not arrested any one over the attack, but raided flats in a nearby buildings today as the hunt the killers.

Met Police Commander Simon Rose said this morning: 'A man has lost his life in violent circumstance and we are working to identify the perpetrators as quickly as possible.

'We have been in close contact with the London Central Mosque since the incident happened. We thank them for their patience, cooperation and understanding.

'Friday prayers will today be going ahead with little or no disruption. We do not believe the incident is connected to the mosque.

'The incident is not believed to be terror-related. People can expect to see local officers out and about today and I would encourage anyone with worries or concerns to speak to them.'

Later on Thursday evening, at around 11.5pm, police were called to reports of a large fight outside a book shop on Belvedere Road, Southbank in central London. Where they discovered a 19-year-old man had been stabbed

Officers searching the area cordoned off the London Central Mosque for more than five hours, with armed police at the gates as a helicopter circled overhead.

The cordon was finally moved at about 11.30pm, with the roads reopened and armed officers leaving the scene. Police said the attack was not terror-related.

Later that evening, at around 11.5pm, police were called to reports of a large fight outside a book shop on Belvedere Road, Southbank in central London.

Officers attended and found a 19-year-old man had been stabbed. London Ambulance Service also attended and took the victim to an east London hospital, where his condition was found to be not life-threatening.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'A 26-year-old man from Greenwich has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. The man currently remains in custody.'Student union bosses at the University of Manchester have demanded articles by their student-run newspaper be vetted by a 'sensitivity reader'.

Sara Khan, the University of Manchester's student union's liberation and access officer, said that such an appointment would ensure funding for the publication in the future.

During the Students' Union Senate meeting on Thursday, she said the publication should ask people for their permission to be written about.

She explained that being written about could 'result in psychological distress, and puts people at risk of being harassed, especially women, who are particularly targeted with death and rape threats through social media,' The Tab reported.

Sara Khan (pictured), the University of Manchester's student union's liberation and access officer, demanded articles for their newspaper be vetted by a 'sensitivity reader'. She said being written about could 'result in psychological distress'

There were many opposed to Ms Khan's view, including the paper's deputy editor Amy Wei who told The Sun: 'The introduction of a sensitivity reader infringes on The Mancunions independence, which is protected in the Student Union's by-laws.'

Ms Khan also called for the student newspaper to implement a 45 per cent quota of journalists and staff to come from black, Asian and minority ethnic background to reflect the student population.

'We don't believe that this is malicious or intentional, but that it stems from a lack of diversity in the team, and a lack of training and education,' she said.

Her amendments were voted down, ensuring The Mancunian will continue to funded and run independently for the next three years.

Many opposed to Ms Khan's view, including the paper's deputy editor Amy Wei who told The Sun: 'The introduction of a sensitivity reader infringes on The Mancunions independence, which is protected in the Student Union's by-laws'. Pictured: Manchester Student Union

Ms Khan made headlines last year when she lead a vote that banned clapping at the university and replaced with jazz hands. She said clapping could cause issues with to those with autism, sensory issues or deafness. (Pictured: University of Manchester Students doing jazz hands)

Ms Khan made headlines last year when she lead a vote that banned clapping at the university.

Instead it would be replaced with jazz hands, the British Sign Language it for clapping and cheers.

She told the BBC that loud noises like clapping could cause issues with to those with autism, sensory issues or deafness.

'I've seen that clapping, whooping, talking over each other, loud noises, encourages an atmosphere that is not as respectful as it could be,' she said.Advertisement

This is the incredible moment a fleet of B-52 Stratofortress bombers returned to the UK after an exercise in Norway, bringing back memories of the US bomber trails from WWII.

The planes came to the UK in the largest US bomber deployment since the Iraq War and landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Six bombers, which carry nuclear weapons and precision-guided munitions, and 400 personnel arrived as a visual display of the US's commitment to NATO amid rising tensions with Russia.

They returned to RAF Fairford after flying over Norway and stunning photos of them in flight recall similar scenes of US bombers from WWII.

Then, the B-17 Flying Fortress was employed in a bombing campaign of German targets and many planes were based at UK airfields.

B-52s have been a mainstay of the United States military for decades and are expected to remain in active service until beyond 2050.

A fleet of B-52 Stratrofortress long-range bombers fly over Norway as they return to RAF Fairford. The jet-powered planes have flown in from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana as part of a new deployment of the USAF Bomber Task Force in England

The long-range bombers carry nuclear weapons and precision-guided munitions and six of them, with 400 personnel, have come to the UK as a show of the US's commitment to NATO. Lieutenant Colonel Mike Esposito said: 'The significance for us is that we're able to get in the airspace and train with our allied partners'

The bomber has a combat range of nearly 9,000 miles without refuelling and can carry 32,000kg of weapons. Its first flight was in 1952 and it is expected to serve into the 2050s

The images bring back memories of the vapour trails from the B-17 Flying Fortresses from WWII on their bombing missions to Berlin. The four-engined heavy bombers were based at airfields in southern England during their strategic bombing campaign against the Nazis

The US B-17 bombers began its war operations with the RAF in 1941 after the allies entered into an agreement to acquire 20 aircraft. The planes were primarily involved in the bombing of German military targets such as airfields, docks, warehouses and U-boat pens

The B-52 bombers have joined the US European Command area of operations and they could be part of a deployment for flying training and theatre integration'. The aircraft is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet

Strikes carried out by the B-52s were crucial to the success of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The planes delivered 40 per cent of all weapons dropped by the coalition forces against Iraq. The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and joint direct attack munitions

The planes, which weigh approximately 83,250 kilograms, have a top speed of 650mph. They will be operating out of RAF Fairford and could become a fixture of the Gloucestershire skies

This is the incredible moment that a US Airforce B-52 Stratofortress bomber came in to land for the first time at RAF Fairford two weeks ago. The planes have since been on a show of US strength around Europe

The military show of force is the largest deployment of a US single bomber platform since 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.The federal government will give a generous handout to nearly four million vulnerable Australians in a bid to relieve the strain caused by soaring power prices.

As part of Tuesday's budget, a one-off payment will be sent to about 3.9million people who are either veterans, carers, single parents, aged pensioners and people who receive the disability support pension.

An estimated $285million will be dished out, with singles scoring $75 and couples taking home $125 before July, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The federal government will give a generous handout to nearly four million vulnerable Australians in a bid to relieve the strain of the soaring cost of power bills (stock image)

As part of Tuesday's budget, a one-off payment will be sent to about 3.9 million people who are either veterans, carers, single parents, aged pensioners and people who receive the disability support pension (stock image)

An estimated $285 million will be doled out, with singles scoring $75 and couples taking home $125 before July (stock image)

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Energy Assistance Payment would go a long way to lift the burden for many people across the different states.

'It will particularly support older people living in NSW, with the payments to be provided to more than 760,000 people on the age pension.'

Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull first put the proposal to Cabinet in August last year.

Included in it, the competition watchdog was going to be given the capacity to cap default power prices.

Who will benefit from the budget bonus? About 3.9 million people across Australia will receive the cash boost, including: 2.4million pensioners

241,992 single parents

225,209 veterans

Extra 41,000 welfare recipients in Canberra Advertisement

Talks were also believed to be stirring to urge energy giants to match the handout.

Though the proposal was knocked back, and it is understood one of the opponents was then-treasurer and now-prime minister Scott Morrison.

'There was so much noise about leadership, everyone thought it would be lost,' a Cabinet minister said.

The energy payout won't be the only promise made to older voters as part of the upcoming budget.

Government sources have confirmed they can also expect new in-home care packages in an attempt to keep them in their homes for longer.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Energy Assistance Payment would go a long way to lift the burden for many people across the different states (stock image)A former University of Kentucky cheerleader was killed this week after he was struck by three vehicles in New Jersey.

Jahmir 'Hero' Scott, 22, of Allentown, lost his life when his car broke down and he tried to cross three lanes of traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike on Tuesday.

He was then struck and killed by two tractor-trailers and a car, authorities said.

A former University of Kentucky cheerleader was killed this week after he was struck by three vehicles in New Jersey. Jahmir 'Hero' Scott, 22, of Allentown, lost his life when his car broke down and he tried to cross three lanes of traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike on Tuesday

On Twitter, Kentucky Cheerleading wrote that it is 'with great sadness that we announce former University of Kentucky cheerleader, Hero Scott, has passed'

Scott was pronounced dead at the scene. The three motorists remained on scene.

New Jersey State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele said Scott stopped after 'having some kind of an issue,' with his vehicle, according to NJ.com.

On Twitter, Kentucky Cheerleading wrote that it is 'with great sadness that we announce former University of Kentucky cheerleader, Hero Scott, has passed.'

'We will miss his smile, Broadway singing, and determined attitude. Our thoughts & prayers go out to his friends and family in this sad time. Once a wildcat, always a wildcat.'

Friends who performed with him at university also paid tribute on Facebook.

Friends who performed with him at university also paid tribute on Facebook

'Hero used to write "be open" on the board to remind himself (and all of us) to stay vulnerable and truthful,' friend Kaitlin Leddy posted to Facebook, recalling a musical theater performance class with Scott.

'I think that's a good thing to remember today and always.'

'Thanks for allowing us to see you at your vulnerable and true self Hero Jahmir Darius Scott,' she added. 'May you rest in peace and love.'The investigation into a fatal plane crash in Ethiopia has zeroed in on suspicion that a faulty sensor triggered an automated anti-stall system, sending the plane into a dive.

The Federal Aviation Administration received black box flight data from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on Thursday, indicating that the MCAS anti-stall system was activated shortly before the crash.

The same system was implicated in the crash of another Boeing 737 Max in October in Indonesia, Lion Air Flight 610.

The MCAS is designed to push the nose of the plane down when sensors indicate that the 'angle of attack' is too steep, and the plane in in danger of stalling - but investigators are now probing whether a faulty sensor activated the system during a normal climb, sources say.

The FAA received black box flight data from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on Thursday, indicating that the MCAS anti-stall system was activated before the crash (above)

The MCAS system is a central focus of the investigation into why two Boeing 737 Max airplanes crashed in the span of five months. The system is meant to prevent going into a stall

Data pulled from the Ethiopian Airlines flight recorder suggests the MCAS system, had been activated before the jet plowed into a field outside Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 aboard, a person briefed on the matter said.

However, the source said the investigation is still underway and the findings are not yet definitive.

Boeing and the FAA declined to comment on the finding, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Ethiopian authorities have promised to submit the preliminary report on Flight 302 by mid-April but have already said that there are 'clear similarities' between the two 737 Max crashes.

It was yet another blow to aviation giant Boeing, which just this week unveiled a fix to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that Boeing designed to prevent stalls in its new plane.

The same system was implicated in the crash of another Boeing 737 Max in October in Indonesia, Lion Air Flight 610 (wreckage above)

The aviation company has tried to restore its battered reputation, even while continuing to insist that the Max is safe.

The MCAS, which lowers the aircraft's nose if it detects a stall or loss of airspeed, was developed specifically for the 737 Max, which has heavier engines than its predecessor, creating aerodynamic issues.

The initial investigation into the October Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which killed all 189 people on board, found that an 'angle of attack' (AOA) sensor failed but continued to transmit erroneous information to the MCAS.

The pilot tried repeatedly to regain control and pull the nose up, but the plane crashed into the ocean.

The flight track of the doomed Ethiopia Airlines flight, which also crashed minutes after takeoff, 'was very similar to Lion Air (indicating) there was very possibly a link between the two flights,' FAA acting chief Daniel Elwell told Congress this week.

The FAA grounded the Max fleet worldwide, but not until two days after most countries had done so.

That delay, along with an FAA policy allowing Boeing to certify some of its own safety features, has raised questions about whether regulators are too close to the industry.

Elwell denied the agency was lax in its oversight, saying, 'The certification process was detailed and thorough.'

He also seemed to cast doubt on the MCAS as the clear culprit, saying that data collected from 57,000 flights in the US since the MAX was introduced in 2017 revealed not a single reported MCAS malfunction.

The family of 31-year-old Jackson Musoni, a Rwandan citizen who died in the Ethiopian Airlines accident, filed a lawsuit against Boeing on Thursday in a court in Chicago, where the company has its corporate headquarters. The suit accuses the aircraft manufacturer of designing a defective system.

Steven Marks, the lawyer for Musoni's family, said information from the recent tragedies, as well as pilot reports, 'made it crystal clear that the cause of these two crashes are the same.'

'There's no question that MCAS was the problem' and that pilots were not aware of the system, he told AFP.

US pilots complained after the Lion Air crash that they had not been fully briefed on the system.

Musoni was among at least 22 United Nations employees killed in the Ethiopian crash.

Boeing also declined to comment on the lawsuit, but this week unveiled changes to the MCAS system that will be installed worldwide, once the FAA approves.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are parked on the tarmac after being grounded, at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California on Thursday

Among the changes, long in the works, the MCAS will no longer repeatedly make corrections when the pilot tries to regain control, and the company will install a warning feature - at no cost - to alert pilots when the left and right AOA sensors are out of sync.

The company also is revising pilot training, including for those already certified on the 737, to provide 'enhanced understanding of the 737 Max' flight system and crew procedures.

On Friday, Southwest Airlines it was pulling its 737 Max jets from flight schedules through May, extending its earlier timeline from April 20, according to a company memorandum.

'This will impact the lines in May, but, now that the decision has been made, we can construct our schedule without those flights well in advance in hopes to minimize the daily disruptions,' the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association and the company said in the joint memorandum.This is the extraordinary moment vegan protestors stormed a Jamie's Italian restaurant and clashed with police as stunned customers watched on.

Police were called by restaurant staff after around 25 peaceful protestors with a megaphone breached the restaurant in Brighton's city centre on Friday night.

Families eating out with their children were visibly shocked as the group formed a chain and chanted: 'What do we want? Animal liberation! When do we want it? Now'.

A woman who claimed to have been pushed by the female officer behind her last night

Sussex police said that most of the group - donning signs and chanting - left when asked but some defiantly remained in the restaurant.

A video shared by the organisation, Direct Action Everywhere, shows one protester - a young woman - claim she is pushed to the ground by a female officer.

A male officer tells her to stop 'falling to the ground intentionally' and Sussex Police said the group's claims that 'they were attacked by police' were without basis.

'One police officer shoved someone to the ground and when she got up two officers shoved her over again, then threatened arrest. Armed police were there too,' said an activist who was present.

The group appeared with a piglet stuffed toy on a plate and signs with messages including the message 'humane murder is a lie' and 'It's not food, it's violence!'

The protestors continued their event outside the restaurant after police asked them to leave

The protestors held several signs inside and outside the restaurant in the centre of Brighton

The group also claimed that police deployed a riot van but Sussex Police confirmed that it was just an officer carrier used on the weekends during heightened patrols in the city centre.

Police threw water on all of the group's claims, saying 'nothing of what they're citing' took place.

Some diners appeared irate at the activists, with some of them seen exchanging words before most of the chanting mob agreed to leave the restaurant.

Staff from the restaurant speak with Sussex Police officers who responded to a call from staff

A fake piglet on a plate was among the protest props from Direct Action Everywhere

'Human murder is a lie' was another sign held up in front of stunned families trying to eat

Police said the group continued to peacefully protest outside and that claims that armed police were present are tenuous as they were in the area merely as general support.

A spokesperson for the group said that they took to the eatery 'to speak up against the oppression of our fellow animals who are used and abused, whose screams go unheard or fall on uncaring ears.'

'We are fighting for animal liberation,' said the DxE Brighton spokeswoman.

The spokesperson added that a customer shoved an activist and grabbed her behind before they attacked another activist who intervened, but police said no arrests were made.A bookshop with 450 branches across the UK has been criticised after a shocked customer saw a book about serial killer Rose West, who killed her daughter and step-daughter, on a Mother's Day display.

The book on West, who is serving a life sentence for ten murders, was promoted as a Mother's Day gift at an Eastleigh, Hampshire branch of The Works.

West's victims include her 16-year-old daughter Heather and husband Fred's eight-year-old stepdaughter Charmaine.

Titled 'Love As Always, Mum XXX', the book was written by the twisted couple's oldest daughter Mae, who wrote about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother.

The book about Rose West on the Mother's Day display is 'Love As Always, Mum XXX', which was written by her oldest daughter Mae, who wrote about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother.

Sheila Kimber complained to staff after going into the branch of The Works and seeing the book on display.

She told the Daily Echo: 'It's all about Rose West and her crimes and was displayed quite prominently in a ''Gifts for Mother's Day'' section.

West was convicted of killing her daughter and husband Fred's step-daughter

'It was in very poor taste to include a book about a woman who abused her children.

'When I expressed my displeasure to a member of staff she just said they'd been told by head office what to put out.

'If I worked there I'd have refused to include the book.'

Last night, The Works confirmed the book had been removed from its Mother's Day displays following Mrs Kimber's complaint.

A spokesman for the discount chain said: 'We apologise if the placing of this item caused any offence. It has now been removed from the display across all stores.'

Most of the killings carried out by the twisted couple took place at their home in Gloucester.

The pair abducted, tortured, raped, and murdered young women over a 20 year period - and buried many of them under the floorboards of their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.

West made up half of a murderous partnership with her husband Fred West - who killed himself at Winson Green prison in Birmingham in January 1995, while awaiting trial

The victims at Fred and Rose West's 'House of Horrors' included the couple's eldest daughter Heather, who was killed in June 1987, aged 16. The terrace house was later ripped down.

However, West still maintains her innocence and denies ever committing the horrific crimes.

Fred West killed himself at Winson Green prison in Birmingham in January 1995, while awaiting trial.Nicotine lozenges will be banned in jail after prisoners were caught crushing them using pages of the Bible and smoking them in bongs.

Inmates crushed the lozenges with items like banana peel or tea leaves smoked in Coke cans, shampoo bottles or pens used as bongs at Bathurst jail, in north-west New South Wales.

Two prison officers were taken to hospital after they inhaled the lozenge fumes, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Prison authorities have threatened to ban inmates from working, after the lozenges were purchased during weekly shopping trips from money they earned (pictured: Bathurst jail)

Nicotine lozenges were made available to inmates when NSW prisons became a smoke-free zone on August 10, 2015.

Prison authorities have threatened to ban inmates from working, after the lozenges were purchased during weekly shopping trips from money they earned and were inhaled by officers.

The matter has been reported to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, which regulates and manages workplace affairs.

Smoking and inhaling the fumes of lozenges can lead to a welder's lung, technically referred to as siderosis  when the inhalation of iron particles inflames and scars the lung, causing it to stiffen, resulting in breathing difficulties.

76 per cent of New South Wales prisoners are smokers, compared just 17 per cent of the general population, according to the Corrective NSW statistics (stock image)

According to Corrective NSW statistics, 76 per cent of New South Wales prisoners are smokers, compared just 17 per cent of the general population.

The figures also revealed 85 per cent of inmates who smoke have said they would like to quit.

Support services such as nicotine patches and Quitline are available to help prisoners quit smoking.

The Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Networks provides a 'relaxation tip sheet', which helps inmates quit smoking.A 19-year-old water polo referee is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl who he offered to drive home after a game.

Matthew Emmanuel Goldman, from Sydney's eastern suburbs, was charged with having sexual intercourse without consent with a person under 16 and indecent assault in December.

The former St Andrew's Cathedral School student, in Sydney's CBD, was investigated by the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad after a female water polo player alleged the pair had sex, The Daily Telegraph reported.

A 19-year-old water polo referee is accused of having sex with a minor who he offered to drive home after a game

The former St Andrew's Cathedral School student (centre), in Sydney's CBD, was investigated by the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad after a female water polo player alleged the pair had sex

Goldman allegedly had sex with the victim, aged between 14 and 15 at the time, at a party in Bronte, at an ocean pool and at Matraville in 2017.

All locations are in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The alleged assaults are understood to have occurred after Goldman offered to drive the victim home following a water polo match.

Goldman was refereeing a match the victim was playing last year and a misconduct ruling led to the surfacing of offences.

The victim confided in a relative and then notified police who received a report in December 2018.

Detectives raided Goldman's family home in Maroubra on December 21 where he was arrested and charged.

Matthew Emmanuel Goldman (pictured), from Sydney's eastern suburbs, was in December charged with having sexual intercourse without consent with a person under 16 and indecent assault

Goldman, who is due to appear in court again in May, was bailed after a brief hearing at Waverley Local Court on March 21.

When approached by The Daily Telegraph about the case, Goldman said: 'I am going to choose not to say anything... I think that's the best thing for me at the moment.'

Detectives are understood to be investigating if there are any other alleged victims.

Goldman has refereed a number of competitive water polo matches, including state and national titles, over the past few years.

Players, their families, and officials of Water Polo NSW were notified about the police investigation in a letter sent on March 5.

Goldman (pictured) allegedly had sex with the victim, aged between 14 and 15 at the time, at a party in Bronte, at an ocean pool and at Matraville in 2017

The letter did not name the accused but referred to the allegations before the court and 'others that are still under investigation'.

Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Barnes wrote that he was unable to go into detail due to the nature of the case but that the accused had been suspended from their duties.

He noted it was 'unlikely the allegations involve a significant number of persons, clubs or locations'.President Donald Trump has said that a Navy SEAL who is accused of war crimes will be moved to better jail conditions while he awaits trial.

Edward 'Eddie' Gallagher, 39, is currently jailed in military prison Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in California on charges of premeditated murder and aggravated assault.

'In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly!' Trump wrote in a tweet on Saturday morning.

The president tweeted from Mar-a-lago in Florida, shortly before departing for Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Gallagher, a 14-year Navy SEAL veteran, is accused of murdering a 15-year-old Afghan ISIS prisoner in 2017, performing a reenlistment ceremony with the militant's corpse, and firing sniper rounds at civilians during his deployment in Iraq.

The 39-year-old has been jailed at military prison Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in California on charges of premeditated murder and aggravated assault for killings he allegedly committed during his deployment

Trump tweeted shortly before departing Mar-a-lago for Trump International Golf Club on Saturday morning. Cameras captured the president in route to the links

Trump's motorcade rolled from Mar-a-lago at 9.28am and arrived at the golf course in West Palm Beach eight minutes later. He was seen reading a newspaper in route

Trump can be seen reading Saturday's edition the Palm Beach Daily News, perusing an article about developer Glenn Straub's plan to sell or shut down Palm Beach Polo and Country Club

Last week, Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw joined other House Republicans to decry the 'abhorrent' conditions Gallagher faces as he awaits trial.

Gallagher's prison conditions are reportedly so dire he's allegedly given limited access to food, medical care and access to his legal team, and is jailed alongside convicted criminals, politicians say.

Crenshaw, who lost sight in his right eye after he was injured in an IED explosion during his deployment in Afghanistan, and 17 other House Republicans sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer this week asking for a review of Gallagher's pre-trial confinement.

'Chief Gallagher is a decorated warfighter who, like all service members, is entitled to the presumption of innocence while awaiting court-martial,' the letter said.

'We have received reports that Chief Gallaghers access to counsel and access to food and medical care may have been restricted.

'Chief Gallagher and other pretrial service members are intermingled with convicts who have been tried at court-martial, found guilty and sentenced to confinement,' the Congress members stated in their letter.

Trump waves to supporters as he returns to Mar-a-lago on Saturday afternoon

Trump gave the double thumbs up to supporters as he returned from a day on the links

He's accused of murdering a 15-year-old Afghan ISIS prisoner and firing sniper rounds at civilians during his deployment in the Middle East

His family and politicians say that during his over six months in jail, he's lacked food, medical care, and access to his legal team. The letter demands that his pre-trial conditions be reconsidered and he be moved to another location

They requested that the Navy reconsider Gallagher's jail site and move him out of Miramar, where he's been for over six months, to 'a more appropriate' location for pretrial confinement.

The letter was signed by Crenshaw, Reps. Mac Thornberry of Texas, Van Taylor of Texas, Pete Olsen of Texas, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Jim Banks of Indiana, Paul Cook of California, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Jody Hice of Georgia, French Hill of Arkansas, Brian Mast of Florida, Ralph Normal of South Carolina, Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania, Austin Scott of Georgia, and Greg Steube of Florida, and Michael Waltz of Florida.

Still, Gallagher is expected to stay at Miramar until the start of his war crimes trial on May 28.

Gallagher was a decorated soldier who served for 19 years and was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan several times. He had earned the Bronze Star with V for Valor twice as well as a Meritorious Unit commendation and a trio of Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals.

Gallagher's brother Sean released a statement to Fox on behalf the family saying they are 'grateful Members of Congress are calling attention to what our family has been experiencing for seven months: the abhorrent treatment of one of its most decorated warfighters.'

'Let it sink in that it is taking Members of Congress to request that a combat veteran Navy SEAL -- someone who has gone to war for us 8 times -- be given the basics of medical care and legal counsel amidst absurd charges,' he added.

'Americans should be livid,' he closed the statement.

Gallagher is set to face trial on May 28, and Trump says he will be moved to better conditions

The 39-year-old is jailed at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in California awaiting his May 28 trial for his war crimes

Though Gallagher is hailed a hero, he faces severe accusations of becoming a 'monster' on the front lines after years nearly two decades of service, according to prosecutors.

He's accused of killing the 15-year-old Islamic State fighter who was in his care by repeated plunging a knife into the already wounded prisoner's body. Then Gallagher allegedly held his reenlistment ceremony with the corpse and posed for a photo with the militant's body.

He's also accused of shooting two civilians in Iraq and firing into crowds.

Prosecutors said witnesses told investigators Gallagher had allegedly bragged about killing up to 200 people - 'three a day' during his 2017 deployment to Mosul, Iraq, according to the San Diego Tribune.

In February a military judge dropped two charges against the vet - charges for allegeding performing the reenlistment ceremony next to the corpose and for operating a drone over the corpse.

He still faces charges of premeditated murder for stabbing the teen and aggravated assault for firing rounds at civilians.

His trial will begin on May 28.Advertisement

French 'yellow vest' demonstrators clashed with baton-wielding riot police during the 20th consecutive week of anti-government protests despite bans in hotspot areas.

The Gilet Jaunes took to the streets for a protest dubbed 'Act 20' as banks called for an end to violence against branches, cash machines and personnel.

Iconic sites such as the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris and the centre of Bordeaux, in southwestern France, were declared off limits to demonstrations, with police enforcing the bans in the areas.

In the southern French town of Avignon, violence erupted as police with riot shields and batons forced protesters out of the narrow streets of the medieval city centre.

Officers had struggled the previous weekend to contain violence by highly-organised demonstrators who smashed shop windows and set fire to newspaper kiosks and a bank in the capital.

A 'yellow vest' protester holds a French flag reading 'The ongoing revolution. Stop the dictatorship' as firefighters spray water to extinguish a burning barricade during another demonstration today

There were flames in France again today, as a burning barricade was set up along a road in Bordeaux. The 'yellow vest' movement - so-called after the protesters' high-visibility jackets - began nationwide five months ago over fuel taxes but quickly grew into a broader wave of protests

Anti-riot gendarmes stand behind burning barricades during clashes with 'yellow vest' protesters at a demonstration in Bordeaux today

A barricade is created with burning bins during a yellow vest protest in Bordeaux today. Protestors can be seen in the background as the bins catch fire

One of the yellow vest protesters stands on a raised platform in front of the Eiffel Tower and waves the tricolour flag of France

Police line the streets with their shields today as French yellow vest demonstrators stage their 20th week of anti-government protests

French riot police officers raise their shields and lift their batons into the air as they are left tackling some protesters who became violent on the streets of Avignon

A protester breaks a cash machine on the sidelines of a demonstration as part of a 20th consecutive Saturday of protests called by the 'yellow vests' (pictured in Avignon, southeastern France)

In other scenes some protesters, dressed in black and covering their faces, are seen clashing with the French police in Avignon, France

The 'yellow vest' movement, so-called after the protesters' high-visibility jackets, began nationwide five months ago over fuel taxes but grew into a broader wave to protest against President Macron's policies

French riot police officers run along a street in Avignon, France, today as demonstrations turn violent and some protesters clash with the authorities. In Bordeaux, residents were urged to stay indoors as clashes broke out in the city

A protester wearing a mask across his face clashes with French riot police during the 'Act XX' demonstration in Avignon, south-east France

A protester places his hands at the back of his head as he faces anti-riot police in Bordeaux, western France, today on the 20th day of demonstrations

Anti-riot policemen gather during clashes with the protesters at a demonstration in Bordeaux, western France. A yellow gas leaks from a canister on a tramway

There were more demonstrations in Paris today, where the riots first started several months ago. Protestors are pictured with the eiffel tower in the background

Protesters march past the Saint-Laurent church in Paris today. The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were cordoned off by police in the capital ahead of the protest

Thousands of yellow vests marched peacefully in the streets of Paris, from north of the city center through the Left Bank to the Trocadero plaza near the Eiffel Tower. Some waved a rainbow flag that read 'Peace,' same as the one that Legay was carrying in last week's protest.

The French capital was placed under high security and protests were banned around the grand Champs-Elysees avenue, the scene of past yellow vest riots. Paris police said 32 people were detained and 21 fined for taking part in an unauthorised protest.

The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were also cordoned off by police.

President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the Saturday protests, which began last November, by embarking on a cross-country tour as part of a 'Great National Debate' aimed at encouraging disgruntled citizens to express themselves through a structured dialogue.

The protests began in rural France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion.

In recent weeks, the protesters' numbers have dwindled but those still on the streets appear more determined.

At today's clashes, the protesters said they were showing solidarity with Genevieve Legay, a 73-year-old anti-globalisation activist who suffered a head injury in the southern city of Nice last weekend. The Nice prosecutor said a police officer pushed her down.

'We are all Genevieve!' read an online appeal for Saturday's protests.

French riot police are left removing one protester from the streets as the demonstrations across France become violent (pictured, Avignon)

One protester is dragged by French riot police from the demonstrations in Avignon, France, as chaos erupts across the city

Anti-riot police officers walk behind Yellow Vest demonstrators during the 20th consecutive Saturday of protests in Bordeaux, western France

A protester's placards read 'Castaner, the real violence is 9million poor people' and 'he who does not have the courage to rebel does not have the rights lament,' next to a picture of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara

Police stand guard in Bordeaux, western France, as Yellow Vest protesters walk through the city's streets in their hundreds

Protesters from the 'Gilets Jaunes' (Yellow Vest) movement hold flags and picket signs as they walk along a street in Paris today

A woman wearing metallic-coloured make-up and a Phrygian cap stares at an anti-riot police officer during a demonstration in Bordeaux, western France

Women wearing Phrygian caps hold a placard reading 'Free yourself! Join us!' in Bordeaux, western France, as anti-riot police stand guard

Yellow vest protesters stand behind a large banner as the French capital witnesses yet another week of protests on its streets

Determined Yellow Vest protesters walk along the streets of the French capital as demonstrations continue across the country

A mass congregation of Yellow vest protesters gather in front of the train station during the 20th consecutive national protest in Bordeaux, France

A protester wearing a luchador mask and dressed in a blue jumper raises his arms while holding the French flag at the Gare de L'Est in Paris where around 300 demonstrators had gathered

An anti-riot policeman in Bordeaux holds a non-lethal, hand-held weapon called an LBD40. The weapon replaced the old-style 'flash-ball' in France but it is still widely called it

A Gilet Jaunes protester sits on top of the Le Matin statue during Act 20 - the 20th consecutive protest against Macron's economic policies

Demonstrators take pictures of a statue called Le Matin, or The Morning, after they places an yellow vest on it in Trocadero Square, Paris

Initial reports at midday Saturday said that around 300 demonstrators had gathered at the Paris Gare de l'Est train station and the Paris prefecture said two demonstrations and four gatherings had been organised - with one march to end near the Eiffel Tower.

But the French Interior Ministry stated that there had been a significant decline in the number of protesters this Saturday.

At 2pm, the office said they had counted 5,600 protesters nationwide, down from 8,300 last week, as well as a drop from 3,100 to 1,800 yellow vests in Paris, according to Euronews.

The figures released by the government has been repeatedly disputed by the yellow vest protesters.

'It is still the same goal, social justice and the RIC (citizen initiated referendum), especially when there are economic choices to be made,' said a 43-year-old demonstrator who gave his first name as Jean-Edouard.

The French banking federation called for an end to attacks during yellow vest protests, saying that more than 760 banks have suffered damage since the movement began last year.

Banks have often been the targets of vandalism and arson during the protests, and last week 11 people were injured when a Banque Tarneaud branch was set on fire near the Champs Elysees.

'We must quickly put a stop to this unbridled and unjustified violence,' the federation said in comments published in the daily Le Monde.

French police clash with protesters from the yellow vest movement as demonstrations continue in several cities across France (pictured, Avignon)

Anti-riot police in Bordeaux, western France, point non-lethal hand-held weapons (LBD40) towards protesters during yet another weekend of demonstrations

Yellow vest protesters clash with anti-riot police in Bordeaux as demonstrations continue across the country for a 20th consecutive week

Some protesters from the Yellow Vest movement clash with French riot police in Avignon, France, as demonstrations turn violent in some areas

In Avignon, France, some demonstrators take to the streets to challenge the authorities and clash with police. In recent weeks the police have struggled to contain violence by highly-organised demonstrators

As a tear gas canister is set off in Avignon, southeastern France a protester is left to shield their mouth and escape the scene during the 20th consecutive Saturday of protests

A protester lifts up a can emitting yellow smoke as Yellow Vest protesters take to the streets of Paris, France for yet another weekend of demonstrations

A protester covers his face as he breaks a cash machine during yet another weekend of protests in Avignon, southeastern France

Riot police officers stand guard as yellow vest protesters try and rally support for a woman who was injured in a confrontation with police in Paris

Anti-riot policemen stand guard in full uniform as Yellow Vest protesters congregate in Bordeaux, western France, on the 20th week of protests

Anti-riot police face protesters in Bordeaux, western France, as demonstrators take to the streets for the 20th consecutive Saturday

Police officers block people as they try to walk through the city centre of Avignon, France, during yet another day of protests in the city

Yellow vest protesters gather at the Gare de L'Est in Paris as the country sees yet another day of demonstrations by the movement

With the Paris authorities clamping down, regional protests came into focus, with protests bans in other city centres, including Avignon, Lille and Toulouse.

Lille officials offered demonstrators an alternative path however.

People who take part in unauthorised demonstrations risk an increased fine of 135 euros ($150).

In Bordeaux, where violent clashes have broken during previous protests, the Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city after authorities warned of the possible arrival of 'hundreds of thugs'.

Residents were urged to stay indoors to avoid unintended clashes with police.

A demonstration was planned in the Mediterranean city of Nice, where a 73-year-old activist was injured last week after she was pushed by police and hit her head while falling.

Demonstrators take pictures next to a statue titled 'Le Matin' as French yellow vest protesters rallying to support an older woman activist injured in a confrontation with police in Paris' Trocadero Square

Customers sitting in nearby cafe's were left watching the Yellow Vest protesters walk down the streets of Paris today

Yellow vest protesters congregate near the Eiffel Tower in Paris after an activist is injured in a confrontation with police

Hundreds of protesters from the Yellow Vest movement were seen walking in Paris, France, today as local authorities declared iconic sites such as the Champs Elysees avenue were off limits to demonstrations

A yellow vest protesters hold the French flag as he looks out to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In the French capital demonstrators were rallying to support an older woman activist injured in a confrontation with police

A yellow vest protester holds the French flag in his arms as demonstrators pass him through the streets of Paris today

Yellow vest protesters walk next to the Eiffel Tower as they try and rallying support for the activist injured in a confrontation with police on Saturday

Police had initially insisted that no officer pushed the woman, but rectified that position following an internal investigation.

Last Saturday, 40,500 people demonstrated across France according to police while yellow vest sources put the figure at more than 127,000.

Last week, Macron continued to meet with mayors as part of regional tours linked to the national debate.

He is scheduled to end the tour Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.Valerie Plame, the former CIA operative who was famously outed in an intelligence leak during President George W. Bush's administration is apparently seeking to run for office.

Plame, 55, said she would 'like another opportunity to serve my country,' the Washington Examiner reports, after Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, announced on Monday he would not be seeking re-election.

The ex-spy told the outlet that she intends to run as a Democrat for the seat, and has a history of being opposed to President Trump.

In 2017 she attempted to crowdfund money to buy a stake in Twitter to prevent President Trump from being able to use the social media platform.

Valerie Plame on October 24, 2018 in New York City. Plame says she plans on running for US Senate in 2020 from the state of New Mexico

Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) on May 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. Udall announced on Monday that he would not be seeking re-election in 2020, leaving his seat open to challenge

Plame tweeted at the time of her GoFundMe campaign, 'If @Twitter executives won't shut down Trump's violence and hate, then it's up to us. #BuyTwitter #BanTrump.'

She also hosted fundraisers for eventual Trump opponent Hillary Clinton in both 2014 and 2015.

Accusations of anti-Semitism have followed Plame after she retweeted an article in 2017 entitled 'America's Jews Are Driving America's Wars' from the UNZ Review, an outlet described by The Federalist as 'a mix of far-right and far-left anti-Semitic crackpottery.'

She would initially imply that the retweet was not an endorsement, and that 'many neocon hawks ARE Jewish,' before ultimately apologizing and resigning from the board of the anti-nuclear proliferation Ploughshares Fund.

Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of Staff of former Vice President Dick Cheney, March 29, 2011 in Washington, DC. Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury in the intelligence leak that outed Valerie Plame, but was pardoned of the crime by Trump last year

Plame has been in the public eye since her cover was blown in a column by Robert Novak in 2003, which she alleged was retribution by the Bush administration for the criticism over the run-up to Iraq War by her then-husband former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. The couple divorced in 2017.

The only person to serve any jail time for the incident was Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted of obstructing justice, though not of leaking her CIA cover to the press.

President Trump pardoned Libby last year saying he had 'heard that he has been treated unfairly,' a decision blasted by Plame in a statement saying that the 'pardon is not based on the truth.'

The mother of twin 19-year-olds, Trevor and Samantha, Plame is also the author of several books including her memoir 'Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House' that was adapted for the big screen with Naomi Watts playing her and Sean Penn playing her ex-husband.

As Senator Tom Udall leaves his seat open for 2020 ending his 20-year political career, in a state that leans Democratic.

Other potential candidates in the Democratic primary include Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a member of House Democratic leadership, and first-term Congresswomen Debra Haaland of Albuquerque.

Businessman Mick Rich, former Rep. Steve Pearce and former Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, are also potentially considering runs from the Republican side.Donald Trump, (pictured), has announced that he is cutting financial assistance to the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala

Donald Trump has announced that he is cutting financial assistance to the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

Trump hinted at the cuts on Friday, as a Mexican minister claimed that the 'mother of all caravans' with more than 20,000 people was being organized by Honduras.

ABC reported Trump as saying: 'Ive ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore.

Trump said the funds totaled $500 million, but it wasnt clear if that figure was accurate.

The State Department announced in December that the U.S. would mobilize $5.8 billion in public and private american investment to the three countries.

But Trump claimed those financial aid programs would end saying: 'Were not paying them anymore because they havent done a thing for us.' Most migrants from the three countries come to the U.S.

For years the Government here has worked with them to help their political environments and economies and end violence so that migrants wouldnt leave.

A caravan of about 2,500 Central Americans and Cubans, (pictured), is currently making its way through Mexico's southern state of Chiapas. The group was pictured in Tapachula on in Mexico on Thursday

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News: 'At the Secretarys instruction, we are carrying out the Presidents direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle.'

But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before the House of Representatives on Wednesday about the administration's efforts.

He claimed the told him to use U.S. funding to 'develop a set of programs that reward effective outcomes, that reward good leadership, that get us to a place where we actually achieve the outcomes.'

Meanwhile the government of Honduras said on Friday it rejected comments by a Mexican minister that the "mother of all caravans," with more than 20,000 people, was being organized in the Central American nation.

Honduran foreign minister Maria Dolores Aguero sent a letter to her Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, calling the statements unsubstantiated and potential "triggers for illegal migration."

Mexican Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero told local press earlier this week that the government was aware that 'a new caravan is being formed in Honduras that they call the mother of all caravans.

Honduran foreign minister Maria Dolores Aguero rejected comments by a Mexican minister that the "mother of all caravans" was being organized in the Central American nation

Trump threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade

'They are thinking that it can be more than 20,000 people.' The Mexican interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop migrants from reaching the United States.

'It could mean all trade' with Mexico, Trump said when questioned Friday by reporters in Florida. 'We will close it for a long time.'

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs.

A young boy walks near other migrants lying on the ground inside an enclosure, where they are being held after crossing the border between Mexico and the United States illegally

Migrants from Central America wait inside of an enclosure, where they are being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in El Paso, Texas on Friday

In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be 'an unmitigated economic debacle' that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, 'If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week.'

the government of Honduras said on Friday it rejected comments by a Mexican minister that a large migrant caravan was being organized in Honduras

A young girl carries a child on her back inside an enclosure, where they are being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in El Paso on Friday

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico.

Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under U.S. law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said. "So it's on the table, but what we're doing is a very structured process based on operational needs."

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trump's possible action would apply to air travel.

Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling.

Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

A caravan of about 2,500 Central Americans and Cubans is currently making its way through Mexico's southern state of Chiapas.

The largest of last year's caravans in Mexico contained about 7,000 people at its peak, though some estimates ran as high as 10,000 at some points.

Mexico appears to be both tiring of the caravans and eager not to anger the United States.

It has stopped granting migrants humanitarian visas at the border, and towns along the well-traveled route to Mexico City sometimes no longer allow caravans to spend the night.Maltese authorities have charged three young African migrants with committing an act of terrorism by hijacking a ship that rescued them off the coast of Libya on Saturday.

Two teenagers from Guinea and one from Ivory Coast, aged 15, 16 and 19, are accused of forcing the Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu 1 towards Malta after it picked up 108 migrants, including women and children, on Wednesday and headed towards its destination in Libya.

A Maltese special operations unit boarded the ship a day later and arrested five men suspected of leading the hijacking.

Two teenagers from Guinea and one from Ivory Coast, aged 15, 16 and 19, are accused of forcing the Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu 1 towards Malta after it picked up 108 migrants, including women and children, on Wednesday and headed towards its destination in Libya

One of the migrants is escorted from court after pleading not guilty to charges of terrorism by hijacking

They handed control back to the captain who steered the ship to Valletta under a navy escort.

The three migrants, who were charged at a Maltese court with seizing control of the ship through the use or threat of force and intimidation, pleaded not guilty and were placed in preventive detention pending trial.

They face prison terms of between seven and 30 years if convicted.

The ship's captain told Maltese media the hijackers 'were desperate and absolutely did not want to return to Libya.

'Panic and confusion erupted when the migrants understood that we were going back,' to a country where migrants face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape according to the United Nations and aid groups.

The ship's captain told Maltese media the hijackers 'were desperate and absolutely did not want to return to Libya. There were 108 migrants on board the Elhiblu 1, including women and children

Following Italy's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, vessels that pick up migrants crossing the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Boatloads of rescued migrants have in recent months refused to disembark there however, prompting local authorities to use force.

Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini had earlier said the ship, an 846-tonne tanker, had been bound for Libya after picking up the migrants but had been taken over and turned towards Europe.

Salvini, a hardliner who has repeatedly refused entry to Mediterranean migrants, claimed the ship with 108 migrants on board was heading for Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Following Italy's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, vessels that pick up migrants crossing the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya

A military boat (left) escorts the El Hiblu into Malta's Grand Port after it was seized

The soldiers handed control of the vessel back to its captain who sailed it to the Grand Harbour in Valletta, Malta, where the migrants were due to be handed to police

Maltese special forces seized control of a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants in the Mediterranean after it stopped to rescue them near the Libyan coast

Both countries said El Hiblu 1 would not be allowed to enter their national waters.

'We received reports of a pirated ship heading towards Malta or Lampedusa (off Sicily) and we're monitoring the situation,' a Maltese coastguard spokesman told AFP.

Refusing to let the migrants into Italy, Salvini tweeted: 'They're not shipwrecked, they're pirates.

'They should know that they will only see Italy with a telescope.'

Women and children were pictured being led off the boat after it arrived in Malta on Thursday morning

El Hiblu 1 arrives in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour, in the early hours of Thursday after being seized by Maltese troops

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that Salvini said: 'It would be the first act of piracy on the high seas, with migrants who have hijacked a ship that had reached six nautical miles [seven miles] off the Libyan coast.'

The agency reports that the migrants had realised they were returning towards Tripoli and had threatened the freighter's commander and crew.

The reported line echoes Salvini's language last year when he said migrants would only see the country 'on a postcard'.

The 46-year-old has spearheaded the migration crackdown since he became interior minister and deputy PM last year.

Several young children were pictured being carried off the boat, though it was not immediately clear how many people were actually on board

The captain of the boat (pictured centre, wearing glasses) was also seen disembarking from the vessel along with members of his crew

He has turned away rescue ships operated by foreign NGOs, such as the Aquarius, which was left stranded with 630 migrants last June after being refused entry to Italy.

Following Rome's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, boats that pick up migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Several boatloads of migrants rescued in recent months have refused to disembark in Libya, prompting the authorities there to use force.

Migrant arrivals from North Africa and the Middle East have been sharply reduced since a 2015 peak when Europe faced its worst migration crisis since World War II.

Members of the Maltese special forces team which seized the boat guard the migrant arrivals

A female migrant waits to be allowed off the boat after it was diverted from Libya back to Europe by hijackers who took control

Male migrants wait to be escorted off the tanker after it docked in Valletta under armed guard

A woman and her son are seen aboard tanker El Hiblu as they wait to disembark

Salvini has accused the rescue missions of playing into the hands of people smugglers.

He was sworn in after striking a deal to form a government with the Five Star Movement, an agreement that brought Italy a populist government after three months of post-election deadlock.

On Monday Salvini vowed to 'change Europe' after his League party - which he transformed into a national force - won a regional election.

Spain's socialist PM Pedro Sanchez, who also came to power last year, has taken a more liberal approach.

The ship was on its way to Tripoli, the capital of Lybia, from Turkey, but it changed its direction and started heading northA lack of Arabic speaking staff has forced Victoria's counter terrorism squad to delay work and share potentially sensitive intercepted communications with external staff.

This is despite concerns being raised about the issue last year in a public meeting, according to the Herald Sun.

A representative of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) said during the meeting language issues had caused delays in investigations.

The JCTT, consisting of members from Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, had no Arabic speakers as of October last year.

A representative of the JCTT said during a meeting the lack of Arabic speaking translators sometimes led to delays in investigations (stock image)

Despite the delays and outsourcing, a spokesperson for Victoria Police said the shortage was not an issue with funding and they did not have an issue with availability of resources.

'Staff are monitoring conversations, some of which are in Arabic,' a source told the publication.

'They are then sent out to get translated, which can slow things down.'

Translators have played a significant role in Australia's counter terrorism operations including the 'tinnie terrorists' that were sentenced in February.

The group were convicted of attempting to sail to the Philippines on a small fishing boat to help overthrow the government.

During the case the terrorists' defence lawyer disputed police interpretation of key words such as 'Jihad' found in communications.Former Vice President Joe Biden has said through a spokesman that he doesn't recall the moment that a former Nevada politician claims he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her head as he helped campaign for her in 2014.

Lucy Flores, a Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada in 2014, recalled in a bombshell essay on Friday that Biden crossed the line with her physically as they worked together, leaving her feeling 'gross and confused'.

Biden's spokesman said that the possible Democrat presidential contender didn't recall the interaction, but said he 'respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.'

'Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes,' Biden spokesman Bill Russo said in a statement Friday.

Russo said Biden 'believes Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it's a change for the better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so.'

Flores said on Friday in a personal essay that Biden planted a 'big slow kiss' on the back of her head before she went on stage at a rally for her campaign on November 1, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Flores and Biden pictured above at that event)

Before the event: Flores pictured with Biden and actress Eva Longoria prior to the alleged awkward kiss at the 2014 campaign event

Joe Bidens spokesman issued this statement on Friday saying he doesn't recall the incident

As Flores, then 35, and Biden, then 72, were at a rally for her campaign, Biden allegedly grabbed her by the shoulders from behind and kissed her hair.

'Biden was the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world. He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,' Flores wrote in a personal essay for The Cut.

'Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused,' she added.

She recalled that before she went on stage to speak, Biden approached her and gave her the awkward, unwarranted kiss.

'I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?' Flores recalled.

'I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, "I didnt wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual f**k?"

'He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldnt process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused,' she added.

Biden pictured above at the November 1, 2014 rally before introducing Lucy Flores, the candidate for lieutenant governor in Nevada, to the podium

Biden introduces Flores at a get-out-the-vote rally at a union hall on November 1, 2014. Flores has written an essay saying Biden's behavior at the event left her feeling 'gross'

'He made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused,' Flores recalled on the awkward moment where Biden grabbed her shoulders and kissed the back of her hair

Former Nevada politician Lucy Flores has come forward saying former Vice President Joe Biden kissed her on the back of her head without her consent as they campaigned together in 2014. She was 35 at the time and Biden, then 72, was Vice President

She compared her feeling of shock and immobility to a Spanish phrase, 'tragame tierra' which means 'earth, swallow me whole'.

'I couldnt move and I couldnt say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience,' Flores said.

Flores noted that the contact wasn't violent nor overtly sexual - but she found the uncalled for contact 'demeaning and disrespectful'.

She went on to say that as a young Latina woman working in the white male dominated field of politics, she was used to feeling uncomfortable, but this awkward kiss crossed the line.

Biden, center, kisses a niece of incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Biden has been criticized over the years for getting too close to women. Pictured above nuzzling the next of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's wife Stephanie on February 17, 2015

Biden sparked shock in 2017 when he kissed Senator Chuck Grassley's wife Barbara on the lips. The tweet above mistakenly said it was Grassley's mother

'I had never experienced anything so blatantly inappropriate and unnerving before,' she said.

'The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners  and I felt powerless to do anything about it,' she said.

She didn't report the incident, thinking that it didn't rise to the level of sexual assault.

Instead she did 'what most women do' and moved on with her life and work.

She noted that over the years she heard allegations and seen pictures of Biden crossing the line with other women. In one instance Biden was caught nuzzling the neck of Defense Secretary Ashton Carters wife, kissing Sen. Chuck Grassleys wife on the lips, and getting too close to female constituents.

Biden places his hands on the shoulders of Ashton Carter's wife Stephanie as he was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Defense

Biden embraces family members of American Foreign Service Association members who died while serving overseas during a ceremony at the U.S. State Department May 3, 2013

Biden leans in to say something to Maggie Coons, next to her father Sen. Chris Coons

Eva Longoria, co-founder of the Latino Victory PAC, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden embrace after speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally at a union hall on November 1, 2014

'And yet despite the steady stream of pictures and the occasional article, Biden retained his title of Americas Favorite Uncle,' Flores said.

Flores revealed she was fearful to come forward about her encounter with Biden, but she decided to speak out after hearing of Biden's potential presidential campaign.

'For years I feared my experience would be dismissed. Biden will be Biden. Boys will be boys. I worried about the doubts, the threats, the insults, and the minimization,' she noted.

'But hearing Bidens potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer,' she added.

'Im not suggesting that Biden broke any laws, but the transgressions that society deems minor (or doesnt even see as transgressions) often feel considerable to the person on the receiving end. That imbalance of power and attention is the whole point  and the whole problem,' Flores said.The nephew of the man who shot Bonnie and Clyde has praised Kevin Costner for his portrayal of the Texas Ranger in new Netflix crime drama The Highwaymen and blasted Hollywood for glamourisng the 'murderous thugs'.

Frank Hamer lead a group of law enforcers who tracked and killed the infamous bandits on May 23, 1934, peppering the lovers and their Ford V8 with 187 bullets.

The infamous bandits have been the subject of movies and music in pop culture for decades much to the disdain of Hamer's remaining relatives.

His great-nephew Harrison Hamer said his family have long been unhappy with their crime-fighting relative's portrayals, including Denver Pyle's performance as a blundering Hamer in the 1967 film starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.

Harrison condemned Hollywood for glamourising the 'cruel, murderous thugs' and even claimed the crime duo defecated on murdered police officers.

The family of the man who shot Bonnie and Clyde have praised actor Kevin Costner (right, beside co-star Woody Harrelson) for his portrayal of the Texas Ranger in the new Netflix crime drama The Highwaymen

Frank Hamer (bottom right) lead a group of law enforcers who tracked and killed the infamous bandits on May 23, 1934, peppering the lovers and their Ford V8 with 187 bullets

In an interview with The Mirror, Mr Hamer said: 'At last we feel we have the justice we deserve.

'Bonnie and Clyde were no Robin Hoods, as theyve been portrayed. They were pure and simple murderous thugs. The cruellest of killers.

'Once, after murdering two officers, Bonnie is said to have walked up to one of the dead men and took a c*** on his chest.

He went on the praise the Academy Award winner's performance as his uncle in the Netflix series.

'What many people who see the movie may not pick up on is how quiet my uncle was,' he said.

His great-nephew Harrison Hamer praised Costner's portrayal and added: 'hed be equally angered by how Bonnie and Clyde have been portrayed as Robin Hood-type figures.' Pictured: The real Bonnie and Clyde in 1932

The gangster lovers are pictured in 1933 - a year before they were gunned down by Frank Hamer

Mr Hamer also boasted that his uncle was already famous for catching crooks in the south and had survived 52 gun fights.

He continued: 'If he were alive he'd be hugely embarrassed by the attention he is now getting. But hed be equally angered by how Bonnie and Clyde have been portrayed as Robin Hood-type figures.'

This comes after Kevin Costner recently revealed to EW the haunting experience he had while filming the drama.

He explained they filmed Bonnie and Clyde's final moments in the exact same place the real life lovers were gunned down.

'The fact that we shot the ambush at the exact spot where the actual ambush occurred was really creepy in all the best ways,' he said.

'I think being at that place kind of added a somber attitude in a way to everything about it,' the actor added.

The story of Bonnie and Clyde has become one of the most iconic in American gangster folklore.

The two small-time Depression-era bank robbers were immortalised following a series of Hollywood movies and TV shows.

The pair the American press called 'Romeo & Juliet In A Getaway Car' earned themselves a place in the criminal hall of fame - joining infamous mobsters such as Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.

But the true story of Bonnie and Clyde is very different from the Hollywood fantasy.

Frank's great nephew said the Hamer family have long been unhappy with their crime-fighting relative's portrayals, such as Denver Pyle's performance as a blundering Hamer in the 1967 film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway (pictured)

As American reporter John Guinn said in his 2009 book, Bonnie and Clyde were, in fact, 'perhaps the most inept crooks ever'. He calls their two-year crime spree 'as much a reign of error as of terror'.

To discover the real Bonnie and Clyde, you need to go back to those dusty roads of Louisiana and find out how two kids from the slums of West Dallas fell in love and traded their lives for a brief moment of celebrity - transmitted across the world by the new cinema newsreels and photo agencies.

The pictures of Bonnie Parker, for example, with a cigar between her teeth, beret on her head and a pistol in her hand, swept across the U.S, earning her the sobriquet: The Cigar-Smoking Gun Moll.

It made her and Clyde Barrow as famous as baseball player Babe Ruth or film star Mary Pickford.

But the reality was quite different. Parker didn't smoke cigars and she almost certainly never fired a shot. Clyde Barrow had mocked up the photograph to sustain their myth as glamorous gangsters.

In the flesh, they were as far removed from the images created by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as it is possible to imagine.

For a start, Bonnie was barely 4ft 11in tall and weighed just over 6 and a half stone, while Clyde was only 5ft 3in and a little over eight stone.

The bullet hole-ridden V-8 sedan which Bonnie and Clyde were shot to death in by Frank

Often described as 'short and scrawny', he liked to wear a hat to make him look taller.

Both were also crippled. Clyde walked with a pronounced limp because in 1932 he'd hacked off his left big toe and part of a second toe to get a transfer out of the notoriously tough Eastham Prison Farm in Texas.

Meanwhile, Bonnie's left leg was badly injured in a car accident the same year.

She was trapped in the car when it burst into flames, and escaping battery acid burned her left leg down to the bone. She could barely walk for the last 18 months of her life,and either hopped everywhere or was carried by Clyde.

Their lives certainly weren't glamorous either, spending night after night sleeping in the back of a stolen car hidden deep in the woods and eating cold pork and beans from a tin. Even as bank robbers, they were bunglers - and knew it.

Bonnie and Clyde mainly committed what Guinn calls 'nickel and dime robberies' from ' mom and pop grocery stores and service stations', stealing between $5 and $10 from hardworking people struggling to survive the Depression and the Dust Bowl drought that devastated America's farming heartland.

The crime duo - who have since been glamourised in pop culture - are pictured in 1933

Born in Rowena, Texas, on October 1, 1910, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was the second of three children born to her bricklayer father Charles, who died when she was just four.

After his death, her destitute mother, Emma, moved the family to the slums of West Dallas, known then as 'the Devil's back porch'.

Poor though she was, Bonnie was clever, attractive and strong-willed.

At school, she excelled at creative writing, particularly poetry, and rapidly became a warm-up speaker at rallies for local politicians.

She dreamed of becoming a star on Broadway, but nothing materialised, and just before her 16th birthday she married a neighbourhood thug called Roy Thornton.

The couple separated in 1929, but they never divorced, and Bonnie was still wearing Thornton's wedding ring when she died alongside her partner-in-crime five years later.

Born just south of Dallas, on March 24, 1909, Clyde Chestnut Barrow, was the fifth of seven children. His was a poor, farming family, who were forced off their land by the drought.

A car fanatic, he was first arrested in 1926 when police confronted him over a rental car he'd failed to return. His second arrest came with his elder brother Ivan 'Buck' Barrow, when the two were caught stealing turkeys.

The brothers would quickly progress to stealing cars.

Buck would eventually become a member of the bank-robbing Barrow Gang, formed by his younger brother. His wife, Blanche, would also join the gang.

Bonnie was barely 4ft 11in tall and weighed just over 6 and a half stone, while Clyde was only 5ft 3in and a little over eight stone. The pair are pictured here together between 1932 and 1934

On January 5, 1930, one of Clyde Barrow's friends invited him to a party, where he met Bonnie for the first time.

With his dark wavy hair and dancing brown eyes, she was instantly attracted to him. She told friends he had nice clothes 'and fancy cars', even if she knew they might be stolen.

Bonnie's mother said later: 'As crazy as she'd been about Roy, she never worshipped him as she did Clyde.' The gangster love story that was to enthrall a nation had begun.

Less than two months after their meeting, Clyde was arrested and spent the next two years in jail, some of it at Eastham Prison Farm.

Prison life did not treat the diminutive Barrow kindly: he was repeatedly beaten up and sodomised by fellow inmate Ed Crowder.

In late October 1931, Clyde responded by beating Crowder to death with an iron pipe - his first killing. But a fellow prisoner, already serving life for murder, confessed to the crime as a favour and Clyde was never even charged.

At the end of January the following year, Barrow took an axe to his toes in an effort to escape the brutal regime at Eastham. Ironically, he was paroled just five days later.

Reunited with Bonnie, Clyde resolved never to return to jail and, to take revenge on the Texas prison system, vowed to organise a jail-break from Eastham.

In the next two years, Bonnie and Clyde's haphazard exploits became ever more dramatic, as small-scale robberies led to desperate attempts on banks, and the Barrow Gang roamed across five rural states.

Their attempts to make big money were at times laughable, though. One risky bank bust saw them get away with just $1.75.

Clyde (left) thought to be with fellow outlaw and bank robber Henry Methvin - who was part of Bonnie and Clyde's gang

Despite this, 'America thrilled to their Robin Hood adventures', in the words of one columnist.

'The presence of a female, Bonnie, escalated the sincerity of their intentions to make them something unique and individual - even at times heroic.'

The gang usually kidnapped, rather than killed, any lawmen they encountered, releasing them with the money to get home - which only helped to fuel their celebrity.

But there was nothing heroic about their gang's escape when they were surrounded by police at a motel near Kansas City in July 1933.

They blasted their way out using Clyde's favoured Browning Automatic Rifles, but Clyde's elder brother Buck was shot and injured, while Buck's wife, Blanche, was all but blinded by flying glass.

Six days later, they were surrounded again at an abandoned amusement park near Dexter, Iowa.

Bonnie and Clyde escaped, but Buck was shot in the back and Blanche was again hit by flying glass. Buck died five days later.

Increasingly desperate, Clyde sought reinforcements by organising a break- out from Eastham Prison Farm in January 1934, releasing at least four prisoners, three of whom joined his gang.

But during the jailbreak, a guard was killed, which brought the full weight of Texas law enforcement down on the Barrow Gang. Former Texas Ranger Captain Frank Hamer was charged with catching Bonnie and Clyde - for a fee.

Before he could do so, however, Clyde and one of the prisoners he'd released, Henry Methven, killed two highway patrolmen in Southlake, Texas, on April 1, 1934.

Those killings soured the public's attitude to Bonnie and Clyde, and indirectly led to their deaths - though Methven later confessed he alone committed the killings.

It was Methven's father who tempted Bonnie and Clyde to that lonely road outside Gibsland just a few weeks later, in exchange for a promise of leniency for his son.

And so, on that warm, muggy May morning 75 years ago, Bonnie and Clyde drove into gangster history.

In a twist of fate, within months America's other most famous gangsters met a similar fate. In July, John Dillinger was gunned down; in October, Pretty Boy Floyd was killed by Federal agents; and in November, Baby Face Nelson was shot to death.

But the infamy of Bonnie and Clyde outlives that of their rivals.

And should anyone doubt it, they need only remember that their bullet-riddled Ford, along with Clyde's blood-stained shirt, is on display in a Nevada casino to this very day.Police have released a mother's distraught 911 call after two men allegedly shot at her children and shouted racist abuse as the youths walked home from a shop.

A 12-year-old girl and her 16-year-old brother, who are both biracial, were returning home from a BP gas station around 9pm on March 17, according to a Lake County sheriff deputy report.

Authorities said the siblings cut through a grassy field near the Lisbon Church of God in Leesburg when they were confronted by James Reidnauer, 31, and Brent Van Besien, 33.

It is alleged that the men, who are both white, blocked their path while wielding a 9mm handgun and a rifle.

Brent Van Besien (left), 33, and James Reidnauer (right), 31, were arrested March 18 and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm used during a hate crime

Reidnauer reportedly asked the pair what they were doing, and the 16-year-old replied that he was just walking home.

When Reidnauer repeated 'What are you doing?' once more, Van Besisen allegedly called the teen a racial slur before both men fired their guns at the children.

The siblings ran home to their mother, Michelle Sabb, who called 911.

Neither child was harmed during the incident, but officers who responded to the scene noted in their report that 'both were visibly frightened.'

Reidnauer and Van Besien were booked into Lake County Jail on March 18 and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm used during a hate crime for the incident.

Both men denied using racial slurs, WKMG reported.

Van Besien, who has prior arrests for aggravated robbery and domestic battery, was charged additionally with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The troubling 911 tape recounts the emergency call their mother made as her children returned home crying hysterically.

Michelle Sabb called 911 after her two children returned home saying they'd been shot at

Authorities said the siblings cut through a grassy field near the Lisbon Church of God in Leesburg, Florida when they were confronted by Reidnauer and Van Besien

Police said the children were returning home from a nearby BP gas station (pictured) when the alleged racist attack occurred

'Something better be done now,' a weeping Sabb tells the dispatcher during the call.

She added: "We have to get out of this neighborhood.

"They werent doing anything. All they did was walk home from the store."

And she tells her distraught children: 'You should have just said nothing and walked home! You don't ever say nothing. You just walk home. You don't talk to older people. That's what can happen. You could've got shot... I'm not saying you did anything. You just run. You don't ever think, you just run.'

Deputies who spoke with the suspects said both men claimed they had confronted two 'meth heads' who were trying to break into a trailer park home.

Reidnauer said he fired 'a warning shot into the ground to prevent them from breaking into the house,' according to the arrest report.

They reportedly described the children as 'brown guy' and a 'white girl' in their 20s or 30s, a sheriff deputy said.

Lake County Sgt. Fred Jones said the suspects should not have taken the law into their own hands

An officer wrote in his report that Van Besien later changed his story, saying he 'never actually got a good look at the people because he was quite a distance away.'

Van Besien also reportedly claimed Reidnauer was the only one who fired a shot. Bullet casings from a Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun were recovered from the scene, authorities said.

Neighbors confirmed to local reporters that drug users are known to hang out in the area. The landlord of the building next to the scene where the alleged attack occurred said she has had problems with people cutting through her property.

But police Sgt. Fred Jones said the Reidnauer and Van Besien should not have taken the law into their own hands.

'We could be talking about a child that is dead right now,' Jones said. 'And if we're talking about trespassing on a property, is that worth a child's life? Absolutely not.'

The alleged shooting took place about 31 miles away from where Trayvon Martin was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida in February of 2012, which clearly weighed on Sabb's mind.

'Trayvon, you know, he didn't make it home. What if my son wouldn't have made it home?' she told WFTV.

Reidnauer and Van Besien are being held on bonds of $100,000 and $25,000 respectively.Advertisement

A man charged towards the car the King of Morocco Mohammed VI was travelling in, in the same motorcade as Pope Francis today.

Dramatic live footage from the North African country's state broadcaster showed security guards quickly seize the man.

King Mohammed's open-top car was travelling alongside the Pope's vehicle in Rabat during his two-day visit.

The papal car pulled out in front and as the King continued to wave, the man - who appeared to be holding a note - darted towards it.

The King looks on as a man attempts to break the barrier of security between him and the crowds in a rainy Rabat today

King Mohammed VI looks on as a man is detained by security during the welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis in Rabat

The man darted with his right arm raised - appearing to hold a note - but was quickly spotted and dealt with by security

Pope Francis and King Mohammed VI parade in tandem into town for a formal welcome ceremony, in Rabat, Morocco

King Mohammed VI (right) waves to the crowd from his car as he arrives with Pope Francis (left) in his pope mobile in Tour Hassan square upon the pontiff's arrival in the North African country

Francis is on a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name

Pope Francis arrives at the Presidential Palace in the capital Rabat today during the pontiff's visit which will see him meet Muslim leaders and migrants

Rabat has stepped up security ahead of the first papal visit to the North African country since John Paul II in 1985. Pope Francis is pictured alongside King Mohammed VI of Morocco on their way to the Presidential Palace in Rabat today

The Pope's visit to the 99 per cent Muslim country is to boost interfaith dialogue.

Improving relations with other religions has been a priority for the Argentine pontiff, whose papacy has been marred by a wave of child sex abuse allegations against clergy.

Addressing thousands of Moroccans who had braved the rain to attend the welcome ceremony, Francis said it was 'essential to oppose fanaticism'.

He stressed the need for 'appropriate preparation of future religious guides', ahead of meeting trainee imams later today.

Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, Francis defended 'freedom of conscience' and 'religious freedom'.

'Live as brothers,' he told a crowd of around 25,000, after arriving from the airport in his Popemobile, passing rows of Moroccan and Vatican City flags.

Pope Francis and King Mohamed VI greet officials at the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams. Pope Francis is on a two-day tour of Morocco aimed at highlight the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties while also showing solidarity with migrants at Europe's door

Pope Francis (left) and King Mohammed VI of Morocco (right) shake hands after a signature ceremony at the Royal Palace. It came after a man earlier charged towards the car the King of Morocco Mohammed VI was travelling in

Pope Francis and King Mohammed VI of Morocco attend a signature ceremony at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital

Francis (pictured at a signature ceremony) is at the start a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's (right) efforts to spread a form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects violence in God's name

Pope Francis also visited the Hassan II mosque during his apostolic journey in Rabat, and is pictured here alongside King Mohammed VI of Morocco

Pope Francis greets children during his visit to a centre run by the Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas, which hosts migrants, in the Moroccan capital Rabat

Pope Francis meets with migrants at the premises of the diocesan Caritas in Rabat. He told migrants seeking protection in Morocco that they are 'at the center of the church's heart,' not on its margins, and deserve to welcomed, cared for and integrated into their new homes

The pope finished his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants - including children dressed in colourful hats - at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas

Pope Francis writes a message in the guest book of the mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat as part as the pontiff's two-day visit to Morocco

Speaking at the ceremony at the Tour (or tower) Hassan mosque and nearby mausoleum in Rabat, Francis defended 'freedom of conscience' and 'religious freedom' (pictured at mausoleum of Mohammed V)

Well-wishers packed the esplanade outside the partly-finished 12th century mosque, while others, including many Moroccans in traditional costume, lined the nearby.

He also spoke about the issue of migration at the ceremony, criticising Donald Trump's plans to build a wall at the Mexican border.

'The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families,' Francis said at the welcoming ceremony.

'We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity.'

Pope slams Donald Trump's wall plan on visit to Morocco Pope Francis said on Saturday that problems of migration would never be resolved by physical barriers but instead required social justice and correcting the world's economic imbalances. U.S. President Donald Trump, has vowed to fulfil his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico and on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States. But Francis said today, as he arrived in Morocco: 'The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families. 'We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity,' he said.' Advertisement

Rabat has stepped up security ahead of the first papal visit to the North African country since John Paul II in 1985. Buildings have been repainted, streets decorated and lawns manicured for the pope's two-day visit.

In the afternoon, the pope spoke again of migration during a visit to a Church-run shelter. He called migration 'a great and deep wound that continues to afflict our world at the beginning of this 21st century. A wound that cries out to heaven.'

He said migrants and refugees had rights and dignity 'independent of their legal status' and that host communities should reject 'all forms of discrimination and xenophobia'.

Francis and the king visited an institute the monarch founded to train imams and male and female preachers of Islam. There are around 1,300 students studying to become imams and preachers at the institute, teaching 'moderate Islam' and backed by the king.

Students at the school told Pope Francis and Morocco's king that they will bring home the lessons of building bridges between religions and promoting a moderate model of Islam.

Nigerian student Hindu Usman told the leaders during Francis' visit Saturday that she hopes to spread tolerance and peaceful coexistence between Christians, Muslims. She said her country needs advocates to help resolve conflict and misunderstandings.

She said: 'Upon my graduation and return home, I will be able to argue and convince that religion is for peace and goodness ... that women are equal with men in their rights.'

Morocco, which is almost entirely Muslim, has promoted itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy. It has offered training to Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.

Francis, making the first papal visit to Morocco in 34 years, praised the monarch for providing 'sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offence against religion and against God himself'.

Vatican News said that the Pope is also seen as coming to console Muslims after the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand on March 15.

Despite the country being so heavily Muslim, many newspapers have splashed the 82-year-old Argentine's picture on their front pages. It is viewed as a positive move by Moroccans.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco (right) waves, as Pope Francis (left) wipes his forehead in the Moroccan capital

Pope Francis (L) greets Mohammed VI of Morocco (2nd-L), in the presence of Crown Prince Moulay Hassan (2nd-R) and Prince Moulay Rachid (R), arrives at the Presidential Palace

Pope Francis and King Mohammed VI of Morocco arrive at the Presidential Palace in the capital covered by umbrellas

King Mohammed VI waves next to Pope Francis - who wipes rain from his head - as they arrive at the Hassan Tower esplanade

Pope Francis is received by Morocco's King Mohammed VI upon disembarking from his plane at Rabat-Sale International Airport near the capital Rabat. He was gifted with a traditional welcome of milk and dates

People take cover from the rain as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at the Hassan Tower esplanade in Rabat

There was rainfall as people waited to hear the Pope speak today, with his visit designed to highlight the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties

People take cover from the rain as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at the Hassan Tower esplanade in Rabat

'L'Opinion', a daily francophone Moroccan newspaper, led with the headline, 'Pope Francis Among Us.'

Also broadcast was the Pope's video message. It was shown with Arabic subtitles.

He said he was coming to Morocco on 'a pilgrimage of peace and fraternity, in a world that greatly needs it.'

'It will be a joy for me to share these convictions directly with you at the meeting we will have in Rabat,' he finished his address.

It was Rabat today that saw the scenes that may have caused alarm among Christians and Muslims alike. It is still unclear what the motive of absconder was but it did seem that he ran to his king and not the Pope.

The Pope will also hold a mass with Morocco's minority catholic community during his visit.

His plane landed today at around 2pm today in the capital today where he was met by the King who is known as the 'commander of the faithful.' The King will host him at his palace later today.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco (right) welcomes Pope Francis (left) in Rabat upon the pontiff's arrival in the North African country on a visit which will see him meet Muslim leaders and migrants ahead of a mass with the minority Catholic community

Francis (pictured arriving today), starting a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name

From the airport to the city centre, Francis (pictured leaving his airplane) was driven in a white popemobile on a drizzly day as the 55-year-old king rode beside him standing in a separate vehicle, a vintage black 1969 open-top Mercedes 600 Pullman

Women cheer as they wait for Pope Francis to arrive at the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams

Pope Francis signing the visitors' book after paying his respects at the tomb of late kings Mohamed V and Hassan II, in Rabat

Last month Francis visited the United Arab Emirates, where he met with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's prestigious seat of learning.

The two signed a document on 'human fraternity for world peace', which among other things called for 'freedom of belief' and 'full citizenship' rights for minorities.

Francis will not hesitate to refer to the text, which from now on he will give to all heads of state, Gisotti said.

In Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, authorities are keen to stress the country's 'religious tolerance' which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely.

But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim if they are not born into the Jewish community, apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is a criminal offence.

Those who try to 'rock the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion' risk a prison term of up to three years.

After years in the shadows, since 2017 the small number of converts have called openly for the right to live 'without persecution' and 'without discrimination'.

Around 30,000 to 35,000 Catholics live in Morocco, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa.

Pope Francis waves from the popemobile lined with security and police on motorbikes in the Moroccan capital Rabat

There was a large security presence as the Pope made his way through the streets of Rabat this afternoon, on the first day of his visit to the country

Pope Francis and king Mohammed VI greet people during a welcome ceremony on the Esplanade of the Mosque Hassan in Rabat

King Mohammed VI of Morocco greets the crowds as he makes his way to the Presidential Palace with Pope Francis

The pope is due to finish his Saturday schedule by meeting migrants at a centre run by Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas.

The charity runs day centres for migrants who are trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, as well as helping them access services.

The number of people taking the sea route from Morocco to Spain has recently surged as it has become harder for them to pass through Libya.

In 2017, Caritas centres in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers welcomed 7,551 new arrivals, according to the charity.

Rabat claims to have a 'humanistic' approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of 'brutal arrest campaigns' and 'forced displacement' to the country's southern border.

Francis has throughout his papacy highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees, calling on Catholics as well as politicians to show solidarity with those in need.

On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass at a Rabat stadium with an estimated 10,000 people attending.Norway has agreed to hand back thousands of artefacts removed from Easter Island by famed explorer Thor Heyerdahl during his trans-Pacific raft expeditions in the 1950s.

An agreement was signed by representatives of Oslo's Kon-Tiki Museum and officials of Chile's culture ministry at a ceremony in Santiago as part of a state visit by Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja.

The museum pieces include carved artifacts and human bones from the Rapa-Nui, the first inhabitants of the remote Chilean island in the Pacific.

Norway has agreed to hand back thousands of artefacts removed from Easter Island by famed explorer Thor Heyerdahl (pictured with artefacts from Easter Island) during his trans-Pacific raft expeditions in the 1950s

The Rapa-Nui island community is also demanding the British government return the Hoa Hakananai, one of the most spiritually important of the island's stone monoliths, or maois, from the British Museum.

Hoa Hakananai translates to 'stolen friend'.

The maoi was stolen from the island in 1868 by the captain of a British frigate and given to Queen Victoria as a present.

'Our common interest is that the objects are returned and, above all, delivered to a well-equipped museum,' said the museum's director Martin Biehl to the AFP news agency.

He warned however that the repatriation process 'will take time.'

Mr Heyerdahl's family said he had long wanted to return the pieces he collected in expeditions in the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, currently exhibited in the Oslo museum.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Thor Heyerdahl Jr. who accompanied his father on one of his expeditions to the island in 1955, when he was 17.

He said: 'The repatriation is a fulfillment of my father's promise to the Rapa-Nui authorities, that the objects would be returned after they had been analyzed and published'.

Anthropologist and adventurer Mr Heyerdahl became famous in 1947 when he and a crew of five crossed much of the Pacific on a reed raft, the Kon-Tiki.

The Rapa-Nui island community is also demanding the British government return the Hoa Hakananai (which translates as 'stolen friend'), one of the most spiritually important of the island's stone monoliths, or maois, from the British Museum

Anthropologist and adventurer Mr Heyerdahl became famous in 1947 when he and a crew of five crossed much of the Pacific on a reed raft, the Kon-Tiki (pictured)

He was seeking to prove his theory that the Polynesian islands could have been settled by prehistoric South American people, and not by settlers from Asia as most scholars believed.

Mr Heyerdahl died in 2002 aged 87.

'The study of human remains - using DNA - could demonstrate a prehistoric contact between Rapa-Nui and South America, which was the main thesis of my father,' Thor Heyerdahl Jr said.

'As a ministry we have the mission to respond to the just demand of the Rapa-Nui people to recover their cultural heritage,' Chile's Culture Minister Consuelo Valdes said in a statement.

'Today, one more step has been taken through this historic agreement with Norway, which will enable the return of valuable cultural and symbolic pieces.'A man has been arrested over the murder and kidnap of a student who mistakenly got into his car thinking it was her Uber after her blood and cell phone were found in his vehicle, police say.

Samantha Josephson, 21, went missing in Columbia, South Carolina early on Friday morning. She was found dead by turkey hunters later that day after her body was dumped in a rural spot in nearby Claredon County.

Hours later Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was arrested after being pulled over by officers driving the same car she had been last seen in.

He had been stopped by Columbia police at 3am Saturday two blocks from the Five Points area from where Samantha had gone missing. Police say Rowland tried to flee the scene on foot but was apprehended.

Samantha's blood and her cell phone were then found the black Chevy Impala, as well as bleach, wet wipes and germicide, according to police.

They said there was a child safety seat in the back of the car and the child safety locks were enabled meaning she would have not been able to escape.

Scroll down for video

Samantha Josephson, 21, is confirmed dead after disappearing in Columbia, South Carolina early on Friday. She is seen left in a family photo and right moments before disappearing

Police say they have now arrested 24-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland after he was pulled over by police driving the car before trying to flee the scene on foot

Security footage appears to show Samantha getting into the black Chevy Impala at around 2am on Friday, when she was leaving after a night out with a group of friends in the Five Points area.

She left the bar Bird Dog alone and was spotted getting into the car that she and her friends believed was an Uber that she had ordered, a witness told the Daily Gamecock student newspaper.

When Samantha's actual Uber driver arrived moments later, the driver cancelled the ride when she didn't show up for the pick-up, witnesses said.

Surveillance images released by the Columbia Police Department also show the final image of Samantha before she disappeared. She is seen wearing an orange shirt and black pants, and talking on the phone.

Throughout the day on Friday, Samantha's friends and family were unable to get in touch with her and an urgent search was launched.

Samantha got into this car, which she and her friends mistakenly believed was the Uber she had ordered

Samantha's father (with her above) in her hometown of Robinsville, New Jersey also confirmed her passing in a heart-wrenching Facebook post

Samantha's body was said to have been found Black Bottom Road, pictured

Columbia Police Department Chief Skip Holbrook said in a news conference Saturday: 'She had, in fact, summoned an Uber ride. She was waiting for that Uber ride to come, we believe. She simply mistakenly got into this car thinking it was an Uber ride.'

'Our hearts are broken, they're broken. There is nothing tougher than to stand before a family and explain how a loved one was murdered. It was gut wrenching, words really can't describe what they're going through.'

Holbrook did not take questions and did not elaborate on a motive or how Josephson died.

It is understood another woman, who knew Rowland, was in the car with him at the time of his arrest and is said to be cooperating with police, Timmons said.

After a frantic day of searching for the missing University of South Carolina student the school had earlier confirmed she was dead.

She was found 40 feet off a dirt road in a wooded area in Clarendon County.

'It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write these words this morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death,' wrote President Harris Pastides in a statement.

Samantha's father in her hometown of Robinsville, New Jersey also confirmed her passing in a heart-wrenching Facebook post.

'I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life. Samantha is no longer with us but she will not be forgotten,' wrote Seymour Josephson, a sales manager with a technology company.

'It is extremely hard to write this and post it but I love her with all my heart. I could continue to write about her but it kills me. I sit here and cry while looking at the picture and write this,' Josephson continued.

The mayor of Robinsville, a township of 13,000 near Trenton, posted condolences, writing: 'Our thoughts, prayers, boundless grief and endless support are with Seymour, Marci and Sydney at this unimaginable time.'

Samantha's blood and her cell phone were found Rowland's black Chevy Impala, as well as bleach and cleaning products, according to police. They said the child safety locks were enabled on Rowland's car meaning she would have not been able to escape

Security footage appears to show Samantha getting into the black Chevy Impala at around 2am on Friday. Rowland was arrested driving that car, police say

Columbia Police Department said Nathaniel David Rowland was arrested hours after tragic Samantha's body was found

Samantha is seen with her parents in January 2018 on her way to spend her semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain. She was a political science major

Samantha and her sister Sydney (right) pose together in Barcelona during her semester there

Samantha is seen visiting Paris in February 2018. She was out with friends and got into a car she thought was her Uber when she disappeared

Police say the suspect previously lived in the area where Samantha's body was found.

An Uber spokesman was unable to immediately comment when reached by DailyMail.com.

The company does urge riders to check that the details of the driver and the car match the information in the app, which provides the driver's name and photo, as well as the make and model of the car and a license plate number.

Drivers are also provided the rider's name and should be able to specify who they are picking up when asked.

Samantha (left) is seen in a family photo with her sister Sydney in Barcelona in 2018

Samantha is seen in family photos with her parents. Her death sparked an outpouring of grief on the USC campus as well as in her hometown of Robinsville, New Jersey

'In cases when you are helping someone request a ride through Uber who may have had a few drinks or is unfamiliar with the app, help them double check that the driver and vehicle match the details in the app  before they get in the car,' wrote Wade Stormer, Uber's law enforcement liaison, in a blog post.

'Taking the extra step to double check these details is an important safety measure,' he continued.

A GoFundMe set up to help with funeral costs had raised more than $24,000 Saturday night.

Anyone with information about Samantha Josephson's disappearance and death is urged to to call South Carolina CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.Brits all over the UK took to the beach to bask in the late March sun today, but snow, shivers and 60mph storms are on the way with Mother's Day celebrations threatened by an 'Icelandic plunge'.

Temperatures hit 68F (20C) in parts of the UK on Saturday but could plummet to 44F (7C) on Sunday as British Summer Time starts.

A 700-mile wide 'polar plume' from Iceland is bringing the low temperatures, which will last from Sunday until at least Thursday.

However, the good news is that a hot Easter period follows, with 79F (26C) highs expected.

Brits took advantage of the sunny weather today, but snow and a wintry plunge is on its way (pictured people at Brighton beach)

Brits took to the beach and parks as they lapped up the sun on Saturday, though many will have been unaware that the warm spell was a fleeting one.

Tomorrow's impending chill will see snow flurries yesterday with potentially freezing nights in northern England and Wales.

Gale-force gusts are due to hit 40mph on Sunday in the South, with windy conditions for a week, pushing close to 60mph from Wednesday in the North.

Thunderstorms are also due.

The RAC warned of wild conditions hitting the Easter getaway as schools broke up on Friday.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: 'Stormy weather ahead is bad timing for the Easter rush. Motorists should check forecasts and plan journeys accordingly.'

But the Met Office forecast has forecasted 'rather warm' conditions in the weeks around Easter.

Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: 'British Summer Time is starting - but no-one told the weather.

Although the clocks are springing forward for British Summer Time, a cold spell is sit to hit the country

People enjoying the mid-afternoon sun at the beach in Brighton, on a warm Saturday for most

By the middle of the week, temperatures could be cold enough for wintry showers of sleet or snow to feed in off the North Sea, the Met Office predicts

'Markedly lower temperatures than recently will be seen from Mother's Day, with cold air from Iceland and Greenland.

'Saturday had a chance, with sunny spells for England.

'But snow and sleet are expected on higher ground Saturday in Scotland and again on Monday and on Tuesday in northern England and Wales.

'40mph gusts are possible on Sunday evening in the South, with windy conditions in general continuing with Wednesday onwards seeing the strongest winds with gusts of 50mph or stronger on North-West and North-East coasts.

'But towards Easter sees indications of brighter conditions and temperatures going above normal.'

Another Met Office forecaster said: 'Temperatures are likely to become rather warm for the second half of the month.'

Trees have come into bloom in Greenwich Park as temperatures have risen above expected levels in recent weeks - but don't be fooled as wind, rain and gales as predicted for the coming week

The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: 'After spring in winter during February, it will be winter during British Summer Time in April.

'It will be a shock to system after glorious spring weather.

'Tuesday may see snow may fall even to low levels in the North, with snow risks for the rest of the week.

'But 26C highs are likely later in April. Plumes of warm air from Africa are expected.'

Today's sun arrived just in time for the clocks to spring forward to British Summer Time  but don't be fooled into packing away your winter woollies just yet.

The mild conditions will be replaced by rain, gales, overnight frosts and even snow showers over the coming days.

High pressure is expected to bring balmy temperatures of up to 19C (66F) in southern England today, but a much chillier picture is forecast for the week ahead.

People played volleyball on Boscombe beach in Dorset yesterday as they enjoyed the mild weather. However, a much chillier picture is forecast for the week ahead

A runner passes the Old Naval College in Greenwich Park, London, as people enjoy a day of mildly warm March weather

A dog called Winston plays with a ball in a pond in Greenwich Park on Saturday

Daytime temperatures are set to plummet to between 8C and 9C (46-48F) in many areas, with successive weather fronts bringing in wet and windy weather.

Richard Miles, from the Met Office, said: 'It is due to be much more unsettled over the coming week.

There will be showery conditions everywhere at some point and it is due to feel quite cold at night, with overnight temperatures falling to -2C (28F) or -3C (27F) by Tuesday.

'On Tuesday night into Wednesday, there could be gales near the west coast with winds of at least 30mph.

'By the middle of the week, temperatures could be cold enough for wintry showers of sleet or snow to feed in off the North Sea.'

The temperature dip is due to begin today when a weather front sinks south, bringing patchy rain south to central England.

Temperatures may struggle to exceed 11-12C (52-54F). Tomorrow will be dry but colder and cloudy, while Monday will start 'cold, frosty and bright'.

The clocks will go forward on Sunday morning at 1am.Real Time host Bill Maher blasted George Clooney's call for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei as 'chicken s**t tokenism.'

Clooney called for a boycott of nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe with ties to the sultan of Brunei, which next month will implement Islamic criminal laws to punish gay sex by stoning offenders to death.

The Hollywood actor wrote Thursday in Deadline Hollywood: 'Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?'

Real Time host Bill Maher, (right), blasted George Clooney, (left), for calling for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, calling the move 'chicken s**t tokenism'

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, (pictured), rules Brunei and owns nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe

He wrote that 'you cant shame murderous regimes,' but you can shame 'the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them.'

However during a 'Real Time' panel discussion, Maher said Clooneys call for a boycott 'really bothered' him.

'Its chickens**t tokenism,' Maher said. 'What about Saudi Arabia? If you really want to get back to them, stop driving, dont use oil.

'Its Sharia Law, which is some version of the law in most Muslim-majority countries,' Maher continued.

'And if you want to be against that, you know, speak openly and honestly about standing up for liberal principles.'

The HBO star added that liberal activist Clooney is a 'really smart guy' who knows about problems in the Middle East,

However he added that the Oscar-winners 'virtue signaling' ultimately wont make an impact.

'This idea that the Sultan of Brunei is going over the receipts from the Polo Lounge. Oh no, we only sold two soups today, Maher claimed.

Panelist S.E. Cupp, a CNN host, called Clooney 'hypocritical' and claimed that Hollywood does 'a ton of business' with the United Arab Emirates, whose regime has been criticized in the past.

Clooney, pictured with his wife Amal at a charity gala earlier this month, went on to say that at 'the head of it all is the Sultan of Brunei who is one of the richest men in the world'

Bill Maher, (left), and panelist S.E. Cupp, (right), called out Cooney and called him hypocritical

In his piece Clooney said: 'On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay.

'Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone,' he added.

Clooney went on to say that at 'the head of it all is the Sultan of Brunei who is one of the richest men in the world'.

Clooney admitted that he's stayed at most of the nine hotels, but noted it was 'because I hadn't done my homework and didn't know who owned them'.

'They're nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties.

Clooney admitted that he's stayed at most of the nine hotels, but noted it was 'because I hadn't done my homework.' The sultan owns The Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles (pictured)

The sultan also owns The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles (pictured) and is extremely rich

'But let's be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.

Clooney wrote that he's 'learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them'.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah rules the oil-rich monarchy with full executive authority, and the hotels are owned by the Brunei Investment Agency. An email seeking comment was sent to the agency Friday.

The hotels are The Dorchester and Coworth Park in the U.K.; Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles; Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris; Hotel Eden in Rome; and Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan.

The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air are part of the Dorchester Collection, owned by a wing of the Brunei government referred to as the Brunei Investment Agency.

Clooney said that 'every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay'. The Coworth Park hotel (pictured) is located in the UK

Clooney said he's 'learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them'. 'But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way.' Pictured is the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan

Le Meurice in Paris (pictured) is also owned by the sultan of Brunei

They owned nine high-end hotels worldwide.

A representative for the hotel told Fox News: 'Dorchester Collections Code emphasizes equality, respect, and integrity in all areas of our operation, and strongly values people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees.'

Brunei has defended its right to implement Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality against growing global criticism.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty, including by stoning, and theft with amputation.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world's second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world's wealthiest people.

Brunei, which neighbours two Malaysian states on Borneo island, already enforces Islamic teachings more strictly than Malaysia and Indonesia, the other majority Muslim countries in southeast Asia. The sale of alcohol is banned and evangelism by other religions is forbidden.

The country does not hold elections, but any discontent is assuaged with generous government polices including zero taxes, subsidized housing, and free healthcare and education.

The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei.

'Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral,' former U.S. vice president Joe Biden said in a Twitter post on Friday.

'There is no excuse - not culture, not tradition - for this kind of hate and inhumanity.'A British holidaymaker who died after being found floating in a hotel pool in the Canary Islands was a successful businessman and a father-of-one.

Iain McKellar, 53, reportedly travelled to Fuerteventura from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, where he ran the company Just Seaweed. Before turning to seaweed to make a living, he worked as a lorry driver throughout England and Scotland.

Mr McKellar was spotted in the water at his three-star resort just before 1am local time.

A 45-minute attempt to revive him was unsuccessful after he was found to have gone into cardiac arrest and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

It is believed that Mr McKellar was on holiday with his wife Yvonne.

Scot Iain McKellar, 53, was found dead in a hotel pool at the Canary Islands resort where he was on holiday with his wife

He reportedly travelled to Fuerteventura from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, where he ran the company Just Seaweed

Wellwishers sent Mr McKellar's son Finlay messages of support on Facebook after he posted a photo alongside his dad.

One wrote: 'Stay strong.'

Another said: 'Thinking of you Finlay. You know where I am if you need anything.'

Donna Currie wrote: 'Thinking of you and your mum.'

Civil Guard officers have now launched an inquiry which is being coordinated by a local court.

Witnesses told officers that the dead man appeared to have been drinking before he ended up in the pool.

Investigators have concluded there is nothing at this stage to indicate any suspicious circumstances, although the autopsy has yet to take place.

The tourist is believed to have died at the Hotel Oasis Village in Corralejo in the north of the sunshine island.

A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency services coordination centre confirmed: 'A 53-year-old British man has been pronounced dead after being found floating in a swimming pool in the municipality of La Oliva in Fuerteventura.

'We received an alert at 12.52am this morning from a hotel reception informing us a person had been found floating in the water.

'An emergency response was immediately activated and private health workers at the hotel and emergency responders tried to revive the man who had gone into cardiac arrest.

It is believed the British holidaymaker died at the Hotel Oasis Village in Corralejo in the north of Fuerteventura island

'But none of the attempts to save his life were successful and a doctor from a local health centre subsequently confirmed his death.

'Civil Guard officers have taken charge of the case. Local police cooperated with the emergency response.'

A source close to the investigation added: 'The dead man was on holiday with his partner.

'Several witnesses said he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol before the tragedy occurred.

'He was found in the pool by a night security guard and another tourist who made an unsuccessful attempt to save his life.

'There were no external signs of physical injuries or the participation of other people in what happened but officers are awaiting the results of the autopsy which should determine the cause of death.'

Another insider said: 'He died around 1.55am.

'For around 45 minutes the people who dragged him out of the water and medical responders were trying to save his life.'Northern Ireland's border counties arranged mass protests against a hard Irish border after Brexit today.

Some six counties took part in protests against a border that could see delays and restrictions for crossing between the Republic of Ireland and northern counties.

The Border Communities against Brexit campaign group organised the protests amid increased uncertainty over Brexit.

People attend a protest against Brexit at the border crossing between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in Carrickcarnon today

A mock customs post is put up by Border Communities Against Brexit protesters on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk

Some six counties took part in protests against a border that could see delays and restrictions for crossing from the Republic of Ireland to the northern counties

Protesters in Louth, Fermanagh, Cavan, Monaghan, Tyrone and Donegal lined the streets waving European Union flags and clutching signs that read: 'No border no barrier. Respect the remain vote'.

A spokesman for Border Communities Against Brexit told MailOnline: 'In Carrickcarnon there were about about a thousand protesters, in Derry there were five or six hundred, and there were two or three hundred at the others.

'People are angry about Brexit. They are angry they are being dragged out and frustrated at nonsense they have sen this week in Westminster.

'We support the backstop and the withdrawal agreement and want to see it enacted.

'We think it is important to do these protests to give people in the community a voice.

'It is good that the Irish government, Westminster and Brussels see the people living in border communities are quite worried about our future.

'The customs officer and the hut were stopping people and asking for the green cards they're supposed to have to drive through.'

The border caused a tailback as cars waited to cross the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland

Sinn Fein was among the groups supporting today's demonstrations, with Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill MLA congratulating Border Communities Against Brexit on mobilising thousands of people to oppose Brexit.

Commenting after joining a rally at Carrickcarnon, Michelle O'Neill said: 'Thousands of people gathered at border locations across Ireland today to oppose Brexit and the political circus that has played out at Westminster.

'We are moving closer to a no-deal crash out as a result of the reckless actions of the DUP and hardline Brexiteers.

'There is an agreement on the table, which includes the backstop, the bare minimum protections for Ireland. It cannot be renegotiated.

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk. A spokesperson for Border Communities Against Brexit, JJ O'Hara, said cross-community work is at risk after two decades because of Brexit

'Our economy, farmers, business and the rights of citizens and our peace agreements cannot be collateral damage to Westminster.

'Mary Lou McDonald will lead a delegation to Brussels on Monday and our leadership team will meet with Michel Barnier and other European leaders to ensure they continue to act in the interests of Ireland in the result of any crash-out Brexit.

'Communities on both side of the border remain deeply concerned about their futures and I commend Border Communities Against Brexit for organising today's rallies.'

A smaller protest took place outside Croke Park in Dublin earlier as both the Republic and Northern counties expressed their disapproval.President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a U.S. judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump's executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama's environmental legacy.

Presidents have the power under a federal law to remove certain lands from development but cannot revoke those removals, Gleason said.

Judge Sharon Gleason said Friday President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed Barack Obama's bans on offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Ocean

'The wording of President Obama's 2015 and 2016 withdrawals indicates that he intended them to extend indefinitely, and therefore be revocable only by an act of Congress,' said Gleason, who was nominated to the bench by Obama.

A Department of Justice spokesman, Jeremy Edwards, declined to comment Saturday.

The American Petroleum Institute, a defendant in the case, disagreed with the ruling.

'In addition to bringing supplies of affordable energy to consumers for decades to come, developing our abundant offshore resources can provide billions in government revenue, create thousands of jobs and will also strengthen our national security,' it said in a statement.

Erik Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice, welcomed the ruling, saying it 'shows that the president cannot just trample on the Constitution to do the bidding of his cronies in the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our oceans, wildlife and climate.'

Earthjustice represented numerous environmental groups that sued the Trump administration over the April 2017 executive order reversing the drilling bans. At issue in the case was the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Judith Enck, center, former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency addresses those gathered at a protest against President Trump's plan to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas in Albany, New York (pictured February 2018)

Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Wood said during a hearing before Gleason in November that environmental groups were misinterpreting the intent of the law written in 1953.

He said it is meant to be flexible and sensible and not intended to bind one president with decisions made by another when determining offshore stewardship as needs and realities change over time.

In 2015, Obama halted exploration in coastal areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and the Hanna Shoal, an important area for walrus. In late 2016, he withdrew most other potential Arctic Ocean lease areas - about 98 percent of the Arctic outer continental shelf.

The bans were intended to protect polar bears, walruses, ice seals and Alaska Native villages that depend on the animals.

In the Atlantic, Obama banned exploration in 5,937 square miles (15,377 square kilometers) of underwater canyon complexes, citing their importance for marine mammals, deep-water corals, valuable fish populations and migratory whales.Brunei has defended its right to stone people to death for homosexuality and adultery under Sharia law against growing global criticism.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the new Islamic laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty, and theft with amputation.

The laws, elements of which were first adopted in 2014 and which have been rolled out in phases since then, will be fully implemented from next week.

'The (Sharia) Law, apart from criminalizing and deterring acts that are against the teachings of Islam, also aims to educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race,' the prime minister's office statement said.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the new Islamic laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty. Pictured: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah

'The (Sharia) Law, apart from criminalizing and deterring acts that are against the teachings of Islam, also aims to educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race,' the prime minister's office statement said. Pictured: Brunei

Some aspects of the laws will apply to non-Muslims.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world's second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world's wealthiest people.

Brunei, which neighbours two Malaysian states on Borneo island, already enforces Islamic teachings more strictly than Malaysia and Indonesia, the other majority Muslim countries in southeast Asia. The sale of alcohol is banned and evangelism by other religions is forbidden.

The country does not hold elections, but any discontent is assuaged with generous government polices including zero taxes, subsidized housing, and free healthcare and education.

The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei.

'Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral,' former U.S. vice president Joe Biden said in a Twitter post on Friday. 'There is no excuse - not culture, not tradition - for this kind of hate and inhumanity.'

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by The Brunei Investment Company, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorchester in London and the Plaza Athenee in Paris.Advertisement

Russia has admitted sending 'specialists' into Venezuela under a military cooperation deal, but denied that they would be used in military operations.

The country said its personnel would pose no threat to regional stability, brushing aside calls from the United States to remove all its military staff from Venezuela.

It comes as supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido and the man he is trying to oust, President Nicolas Maduro, held rival demonstrations today.

Shops have been left without food and cities without electricity under the rule of President Maduro.

Russia has denied its 'specialists' will be used for military operations as supporters of the opposition leader Juan Guaido and rival supporters of the President Maduro held protests just 18 miles apart. (Pictured) Bolivarian National police try to hold off supporters of President Maduro during a rally in Caracas yesterday

Supporters of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have also held an 'anti-imperialist' protest in the capital, Caracas

A Russian Ilyushin II-62M Air Force plane arrived in Venezuela with troops and equipment last weekend, although Putin's country denies its 'specialists' will be used in military operations

Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said: 'The Russian side clearly stated the purpose of the arrival of its specialists to Caracas. This is not about any 'military contingents'.

'Thus, the speculations about the conduct of certain 'military operations' by Russia in Venezuela are absolutely groundless.'

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido protested in Los Teques, Carrizal and San Antonio today, 18 miles from the capital city Caracas, as President Maduro's supporters gathered for an 'anti-imperialist' rally in the capital.

Juan Guaido's supporters were also photographed protesting in the capital today.

Juan Guaido's supporters have held protests in the city of Los Teques today which is 18 miles from the capital

An opposition supporter holds a sign that reads '#MaduroLeaveNow' as she demonstrates in the streets of Caracas

Juan Guaido supporters have protested in San Antonio de Los Altos, Carrizal and Los Teques today, with some also photographed protesting in the capital Caracas. President Maduro's supporters have held an 'anti-imperialist' march in the capital city

Opposition protesters held rallies 18 miles from the country's capital in San Antonio, Carrizal and the city of Los Teques

Juan Guiado greets supporters in Los Teques, Venezuela, today just 18 miles from the capital city of Caracas

Supporters of President Maduro in Caracas take part in an 'anti-imperialist' protest. Duelling demonstrations between rival groups have become increasingly common in the past weeks

Juan Guaido speaks during a rally in Los Teques today

Speaking from street podiums, the 35-year-old politician Juan Guaido drew applause when he said even bigger protests will be held on April 6.

'Are you afraid?' he asked the gathered crowd in San Antonio de Los Altos.

'No!' the crowd roared.

The opposition chief acknowledged power outages and other hardships in Venezuela as well as pressure from Maduro's embattled government, which retains the pivotal support of the nation's military leadership.

Meanwhile, backers of Maduro, a former bus driver, gathered for a rally in the capital brandishing Venezuelan flags.

They filed towards the rally point, wearing red clothing associated with the socialist movement started by the late Hugo Chavez, and yelled the revolutionary slogan 'Always loyal! Never traitors!'

Such dueling demonstrations have become a pattern in past weeks as Venezuela's opposing factions vie for power in a country enduring economic turmoil and a humanitarian crisis.

This month there have been several nationwide blackouts, most recently yesterday evening.

The outages knocked out water pumps and communications, leaving millions without water and out of contact with family and friends. It also forced schools and businesses to close.

Maduro blames the blackouts on U.S.-directed sabotage, an allegation that Guaido routinely dismisses as the desperate talk of a government that has presided over the collapse of infrastructure in a country which was once among the wealthiest in Latin America.

Venezuelan security forces have detained Guaido's chief of staff, but have yet to move directly against the opposition leader, whose claim to be interim president is backed by dozens of countries that say Maduro's re-election last year was rigged.

On Saturday morning, anti-riot police used tear gas to disperse several small groups of opposition supporters, including in areas where government loyalists were active.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognised by many as the country's rightful interim leader, waves during a rally in San Antonio, Venezuela, today

He spoke to large crowds about the importance of changing the government after Russia flew in 'specialists' under a cooperation agreement with the regime

Many people gathered at the rally in San Antonio, held today by Juan Guaido, against the country's president

Juan Guaido (pictured on top of a truck) speaks to protesters in Carrizal, Venezuela, next to the city of Los Teques

Today's protests came a day after the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it is poised to deliver aid to Venezuela next month.

The humanitarian group says it will remain neutral and has warned both sides in the Venezuelan conflict not to interfere with the aid distribution.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will 'probably' talk to Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the Venezuelan crisis.

'We will probably be talking at some point,' he said to reporters yesterday after the White House warned Russia and other countries backing President Nicolas Maduro against sending troops and military equipment to Venezuela.

'I'll be talking to a lot of people - perhaps President Putin, perhaps President Xi of China', he said.

Opposition supporters were also seen demonstrating against President Maduro in Caracas today, where they blocked roads

Two opposition supporters also blocked an avenue as they took part in demonstrations against President Maduro

Meanwhile, President Maduro's supporters held their own 'anti-imperialist' rally in the capital city, Caracas

Living conditions in the South American country have been plummeting since Maduro came to power

Melania Trump has also piled on the pressure after inviting opposition leader Juan Guaido's wife Fabiana Rosales to Mar-a-Lago.

The White House published images of the pair smiling before a row of palm trees, and even posing for a selfie inside one of the gilded rooms of the president's luxury private club yesterday.

Maduro was voted in as the country's president last year in elections widely condemned by opposition parties and other countries.

In May a 14-nation group of Latin American countries plus Canada said they did not recognise the election's legitimacy.

The United States also rejected President Maduro's re-election, throwing its support behind opposition leader Juan Guaido.Pope Francis has slammed Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the Mexican border, saying migration will 'never be resolved by raising barriers'.

The 82-year-old made the comments as he arrived for the start of a two-day visit to Morocco today, aimed at showing solidarity with Morocco's growing migrant community.

At a welcome ceremony in the capital of Rabat today, the Pope said that a wall would only stir up 'fear' and deny help to those who genuinely need it.

'The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families,' he said.

Pope Francis made the comments as he arrived for the start of a two-day visit to Morocco today, where he made a speech at a welcome ceremony (pictured)

His visit has been backed by Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name

Pope Francis (left) and King Mohammed VI of Morocco (right) review honour guards upon their arrival at the Royal Palace in the capital Rabat

Pope Francis arrives at the Presidential Palace in Rabat today during the pontiff's visit which will see him meet Muslim leaders and migrants

It comes as US President Donald Trump vows to fulfil his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

And on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States.

The Pope continued: 'We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity.'

Francis was joined at the welcome ceremony by Moroccan King Mohammed VI, who has been working to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name.

In recent months, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries and the United States.

Morocco has become a key departure point for African migrants trying to reach Europe after crackdowns that closed or limited routes elsewhere. Italy's anti-immigrant interior minister has closed ports to rescue ships run by charity groups.

Francis (pictured arriving today) said at a welcoming ceremony today: 'The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers'

Pope Francis waves from the popemobile lined with security and police on motorbikes in the Moroccan capital Rabat

There was a large security presence as the Pope made his way through the streets of Rabat this afternoon, on the first day of his visit to the country

Francis, who has made defence of migrants and refugees a key part of his preaching, said he was concerned about their 'frequently grim fate' and receiving countries must acknowledge that migrants are forced to leave their homes because of poverty and political upheaval.

From the airport to the city centre, Francis, 82, was driven in a white popemobile on a drizzly day as the 55-year-old king rode beside him standing in a separate vehicle, a vintage black 1969 open-top Mercedes 600 Pullman.

At one point, a man rushed towards the king's car but was stopped and detained by guards as the motorcade continued along the street lined with bystanders. Police said he was a 17-year-old Moroccan who wanted to seek help from the king for his sick parents.

After the arrival ceremony Francis and the king visited an institute the monarch founded in 2015 for the training of imams and male and female preachers of Islam.

The King looks on as a man attempts to break the barrier of security between him and the crowds in a rainy Rabat today

King Mohammed VI looks on as a man is detained by security during the welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis in Rabat

Morocco, which is nearly 100 percent Muslim, has marketed itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy. It has offered training to Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.

Francis, making the first papal visit to Morocco in 34 years, praised the monarch for providing 'sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offence against religion and against God himself'.

The king said learning was the only way to combat religious extremism. 'To tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military no financial; that solution has but one name: education,' the king said. 'What all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion.'Advertisement

An urban explorer risked his life to explore an abandoned power station used in the film Blade Runner 2049 - dubbing it a 'death trap'.

Bob Thissen, 33, visited the spot an hour outside of Budapest in Hungary, to discover its eerie emptiness, moss and rust-clad walls.

Describing the vast site as an 'enormous industrial maze', part of the building was used as a location for the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 dystopian sci-fi flick Blade Runner.

Urban explorer Bob Thissen, 33, risked his life to explore an abandoned power station an hour outside of Budapest, in Hungary, which was used in the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1984 classic Blade Runner, describing the site as an 'industrial maze'

The site, in the process of being demolished, bore clear 'no entry' signs, but Thissen, from the Netherlands, carried on. Above: The interior of the power station shows the long-silent machinery, with some rare colour in the dreary grey landscape

Not much sunlight: Mr Thissen, who has explored in numerous other deserted places, said power stations 'don't get time to decay anymore', because they are dismantled so quickly after ceasing operation

Mr Thissen said he was not surprised the site was used in Bladerunner 2049, which stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. Above: Peering down into the base of one of the cooling towers

There was a steep drop which would have been difficult to get out of. Mr Thissen added: 'The cooling towers were very dangerous! You have to watch out with rusty metal which you can fall through'

A wider shot taken from the inside of one of the cooling towers, with the deep pit at the centre. Mr Thissen trod carefully across the metal bars to get to the middle

With the site bearing clear 'no entry' signs, the urban explorer - known as an urbexer - carefully trod around dangerous cooling towers, gloomy warehouses amassed in pipes and into the control room.

The plant, which remains an industrial grey with odd smatterings of colour is currently in the process of being demolished.

Mr Thissen, from Heerlen, the Netherlands, said: 'These buildings always feel like an enormous industrial maze. You can walk for hours in there.

'They often have a sci-fi look, so I am not surprised it was used in Bladerunner 2049

'The cooling towers were very dangerous! It was a death trap to walk there.

'You have to watch out with rusty metal which you can fall through.

Blue and red: Mr Thissen said he liked the 'decayed' turbine room, above, because of the plants growing next to the machines

Mr Thissen was amazed that there was still power in the control rom, shown above, which he said is still partly in use

The 'decay and symmetry' of the boiler room was something else that Mr Thissen liked

'I liked the decay and the symmetry of the boiler room.

'I also liked the decayed turbine room, even flowers were growing next to them.

'Nowadays most power stations don't get the chance to decay anymore, because they get demolished quickly after being decommissioned.

Dark corridors: The power station has long since closed, but that didn't stop it looking like it could burst into life once again

Too many pipes: The metal running through the building was rusting in places

Abandoned cooling towers, described as 'very dangerous' by Mr Thissen, sit eerily in the industrial landscape near Budapest

The new Blade Runner instalment sees Ryan Gosling hunt down Harrison Ford and other robots known as 'replicants', fearing an uprising against mankind after it's discovered they can reproduce.

Shots show Gosling inside an abandoned 'shipyard' and walking down stairs within the rusting location, according to Mr Thissen.

He added: 'The boiler room is very recognisable, although they changed it a little in post-production.

The new Blade Runner instalment sees Ryan Gosling (right) hunt down Harrison Ford and other robots known as 'replicants', fearing an uprising against mankind after it's discovered they can reproduce.

Harrison Ford also starred in the original 1982 Blade Runner film, which was directed by British director Ridley Scott

'There are some shots made in the boiler part, he walks down the stairs of a very sci-fi looking building.

'The power station is abandoned for quite a while and is being demolished at the moment. The control room was still in use.

'The turbines are already dismantled, so I wonder what will happen to the building.'

Mr Thissen has previously toured an abandoned SEGA arcade inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in Japan, in which there was a nuclear meltdown following a magnitude nine earthquake in 2011.

He has also explored abandoned theme parks, castles and an aircraft hangar in Kazakhstan.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under mounting pressure after his former justice minister released documents relating to a major corruption scandal.

Former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says government officials tried to persuade her to shield SNC-Lavalin from prosecution.

Wilson-Raybould made public around 40 pages of documents revealing more details of what she said were attempts by officials to force her change her mind even after she insisted they desist.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under mounting pressure after his former justice minister released documents relating to a major corruption scandal

The crisis may well threaten Trudeau's reelection chances in a vote this October. Polls show his center-left Liberals, who as recently as January looked certain to win, could lose to the official opposition Conservatives.

Wilson-Raybould, who was demoted to veterans affairs minister in January and resigned the following month, first made the allegations in almost four hours of testimony to the House of Commons justice committee last month.

Trudeau says officials were trying to make Wilson-Raybould understand that thousands of jobs would be at risk if SNC-Lavalin were found guilty of bribing Libyan officials. Trudeau insists he and his team did nothing wrong.

The affair has so far cost Trudeau two high-profile female cabinet ministers, his closest personal aide and the head of the federal bureaucracy, Michael Wernick.

Wilson-Raybould included a recording of a phone call with Wernick last December in which he told her he was worried about 'a collision' between her and Trudeau 'because he is pretty firm about this.'

Wilson-Raybould, who stressed she thought the call was inappropriate, told Wernick she was waiting 'for the other shoe to drop' because she was under no illusion about how Trudeau 'gets things that he wants.'

Former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says government officials tried to persuade her to shield SNC-Lavalin from prosecution. Wilson-Raybould made public around 40 pages of documents revealing more details of what she said were attempts by officials to force her change her mind even after she insisted they desist

Opposition legislators said the documents reinforced their demand for a public inquiry into the matter, something Trudeau says is not necessary.

'She is actually trying to speak truth to power, trying to say, 'You can't do this,' ... and it keeps happening,' New Democratic Party parliamentarian Nathan Cullen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Trudeau's office was not immediately available for comment.

The crisis is opening rifts inside the Liberal Party and some legislators want Wilson-Raybould to be kicked out of the parliamentary caucus, a move Trudeau has so far resisted.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that President Donald Trump needs a woman to 'vilify' after his supporters chanted 'AOC sucks' at a rally.

'You know this is part of a pattern that the right and the far-right and, frankly, the President is consistent with,' the freshman Democrat said in New York on Friday, CNN reported.

'He doesn't have another woman, Hillary Clinton or whoever else, to vilify anymore so they need to find another woman to kind of prop up and become a lightning rod.'

Ocasio-Cortez was responding to Trump's rally on Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to his speech, Don Trump Jr fired up the crowd with a dismissive mention of Ocasio-Cortez, to which the crowd responded with the chant.

'You guys, you're not very nice,' Trump Jr remarked dryly in response to the chant.

'He doesn't have another woman, Hillary Clinton or whoever else, to vilify anymore so they need to find another woman to kind of prop up and become a lightning rod,' AOC said of Trump

Trump is seen at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, where his supporters chanted 'AOC sucks.' The freshman Democrat believes it is because she's a woman

The chants came after Don Trump Jr (above) referred to Ocasio-Cortez in his remarks

AOC says she will visit coal miners in Kentucky to ask for their support. Coal miners are seen returning from an underground shift in Harlan County in 2014

In her remarks on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez also revealed she had recently accepted an invitation from Kentucky GOP Rep. Andy Barr to visit coal mines in Kentucky.

'To borrow from one of my colleague's terms, 'you can't hate up close,'' she said.

'And so that's why I'm excited to not only come back home to my district but to take up Congressman Barr's invitation to go to the coal mines in Kentucky, because I think that one of the ways that we can combat that is showing people that we're fighting for them too.'

Harlan County, in the heart of eastern Kentucky coal country, voted 85 per cent in favor of Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

In separate remarks in New York on Friday night, Ocasio-Cortez raised eyebrows by comparing climate change to the 9/11 terror attacks.

'In the events of September 11, 2001, thousands of Americans died in the largest terrorist attack on US soil and our national response, whether we agree with it or not, was to go to war in one then eventually two countries,' she said during an 'All In' town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday hosted by MSNBC's Chris Hayes.

'3,000 Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?' she added as the crowd erupted with applause.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amped up her campaign for the White House to address climate change during an 'All In' town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday

During the talk moderated by MSNBC host Chris Hayes she defended the Green New Deal and compared the government's urgent response to war and conflict to its slow approach to natural disasters such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017

She also defended her Green New Deal initiative saying 'we have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet'

The Trump administration has been heavily criticized for its slow and ineffective response to the national emergency on the U.S. island.

After FEMA announced the death toll on the island was nearly 3,000, Trump tweeted denying the number.

In the months following the September 2017 hurricane, FEMA admitted to having widespread failures in its response to the humanitarian aid.

By January the president insisted his administration 'did a fantastic job' and criticized the island when it asked for billions of dollars to rebuild.

In the 9/11 terror attack about 3,000 lives were lost and more than 6,000 people were injured.

The New York Rep said on Friday that she's seen the U.S. government mobilize its resources in dire situations, principally when it comes to conflict and war.

'Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn't have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,' AOC said.

'Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn't have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,' AOC said during the town hall panel on Friday. The devastation of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico pictured above in September 2017

She noted that the U.S. is quick and effective in responding to threats like conflict and war as with 9/11, but ignores other threats like climate change. The rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center pictured above

'And so to get us out of this situation, to revamp our economy to create dignified jobs for working Americans, to guarantee health care and elevate our educational opportunities and attainment, we will have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet,' she added, tying climate change back to the Green New Deal proposal.

AOC went on to defend her proposed stimulus program and reject the Republican criticism of it.

'I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves. I expected a little more nuance, and I expected a little more 'concern trolling,'' she said.

She went on to defend her plan, which calls for a full transition to renewable energy by 2030, saying it economically and politically feasible.

'We don't have time for five years of a half-baked, watered-down position. This is urgent, and to think that we have time is such a privileged and removed-from-reality attitude that we cannot tolerate,' she said.

Some Twitter users commended her for her straightforward approach and demanding justice for Puerto Rico after it suffered poor government aid post Hurricane Maria

The Backlash: Not everyone agreed with the Congress freshman's statements

Many were quick to note that the Trump administration did respond to the Hurricane, but its efforts were rendered ineffective due to disorganization on the island

'So this issue is not just about our climate. First and foremost we need to save ourselves. Period. There will be no future for the Bronx. There will be no livable future for generations coming, for any part of this country in a way that is better than the lot that we have today if we don't address this issue urgently and on the scale of the problem,' AOC added.

AOC told the town hall attendees that she hopes the initiative can at least spark conversation in D.C. about the dire reality of climate change and how to use the American economy as a way to tackle it in a manner similar to the government's head-on approach to the Great Depression and World War II.

Critics on Twitter didn't see quite eye-to-eye with AOC's comparison.

'One was a natural event (sometimes called and act of God) which was unavoidable. The other was an act of war, whose intention is complete and total world domination by an extremist ideology. That's called apples and oranges,' another said.

'Ummmm, not really. The common denominator is dead Americans. It should be unacceptable but somehow the latter has been pretty much 'thoughts and prayers'd rather than actually addressed,' one Twitter user said, opposing her comparison.

'Guess you are unaware of all the containers of food & other necessities the US sent ahead of time. Many supplies rotted bc the supplies couldn't get to the ppl bc Puerto Rico didn't make room for them to unload the materials to get to the ppl,' another social media user said on the disorganization of the government aid.

'There's no money to be made destroying a hurricane,' another Twitter user wrote.A web protest has erupted in Russia from women teachers stripping off to complain about a colleague forced out of her job for wearing a short dress and swimsuits.

Tatiana Kuvshinnikova, 38, was accused of dressing 'like a prostitute' and provoking male pupils to lust after her.

But now under the hashtag # - meaning 'teachers are humans too' - she has won nationwide support from hundreds of female colleagues proudly posting their revealing pictures.

Scroll down for video

Teachers in Russia posting photos of themselves stripping off to show solidarity with a colleague who was fired (Darya Snigirevadashasnig pictured)

This was the picture of Tatiana Kuvshinnikova that outraged parents who complained to the school which fired her

A protest video showed teachers walking into the sea in their classroom clothes to mock complainants who say school staff should never be seen revealing any flesh.

Anastasia, teacher of Russian language from Ivanovo, said that Tatiana Kuvshinnikova, from Barnaul in Siberia, is an ice swimmer and the pictures for which she was slated by her school director and some parents were linked to her sporting prowess.

Posting her own beach picture, Anastasia taunted her own bosses to dismiss her if they don't like it.

'How do you think a modern teacher must meet the requirements of parents and their superiors?

'Family status? Breast size? The length of her skirt? Waist? Hobbies?

'Being a great lover of experiments, I will post these photos. Let's see how soon I get fired '

Dasha Lukashenskaya, a teacher from Velikie Luki, said 'people have gone entirely mad' over the Kuvshinnikova case.

She asked: 'Are teachers a different race?'

Anastasia, a teacher of Russian language from Ivanovo posted a picture of her at the beach and taunted her own bosses to dismiss her if they don't like it

Under the hashtag # - meaning 'teachers are humans too' - hundreds of female colleagues are proudly posting their revealing pictures, such as Olesya

'A teacher's private life is a teacher's private life,' she said, urging parents to stop digging dirt of school staff who are good professionals.

An English teacher from Omsk in Siberia, Alyona Chupriyanova-Tarasova, attacked the persecution of a colleague for wearing a swimsuit.

She said: 'Are teachers not people or what? Does a photo in a swimsuit insult the dignity of others?'

Liudmila Alexandrovna posted her own picture in a bikini and asked why it was a 'scandal' to have 'photos of a teacher in a swimsuit'.

'Why does it cause such a reaction? Why do people see evil in that?

'Isn't it an example to follow? A woman in good physical shape aged 38 taking care of her health. What is sexual here? What damage can it cause to pupils?

'There is more explicit stuff on TV. Why aren't parents complaining about it? Teachers are humans too, I am supporting the teacher from Barnaul.'

A teacher called Dasha from Yekaterinburg posted her own revealing picture and said she had sent in her resignation latter.

'I did it because apart from the joy of sharing knowledge teaching also brings disappointment in the modern educational system, in methods, bureaucracy, and finally relations with school management that demand turning a child into a disciplined robot,' she complained.

Irina Katsuba defied her bosses posting: 'So we have no right to wear piercings, tattoos, coloured hair and take photos in a swimming suit? Why not?'

Alyona Chupriyanova-Tarasova, attacked the persecution of a colleague for wearing a swimsuit. She said: 'Are teachers not people or what?

Viktoria Sheik, an English language teacher from Saratov, complained that teachers face parents using 'Sherlock Holmes methods' to find their social media.

She asked: 'Why is it possible for everyone to climb into a teacher's private life?

Yet 'teachers cannot condemn drunken parents, or those who beat their children, and give an iPhone instead of love'.

She said: 'For the younger generation to grow up normal, everyone should set an example for them, and not just teachers.

'Parents first. Worried that the child will see the photo of the teacher from the beach, well, then do not take the child to the beach.

'Are you are afraid to see your class teacher in a shop with wine?

'Well then start with yourself so that your children will not see you drunk at home.'

Yana Abdullina posted: 'I want to remind everyone that we are humans too.What is happening now is bullying.'

'Teachers have the right to a private life including swimsuits, piercing and tattoos, hobbies and interests and, God forgive, sex.

'Remember, we can play different social roles. We are not dragging our private lives to school. So don't dig into it, moralists.'

Kuvshinnikova has posted pictures of herself in a short glittering dress and heels, ice swimming, and bikini-clad dancing in snow with schoolgirls

Olga Goncharenko wrote in fury: 'This is a vent-off post. I have just watched the news about Barnaul about a cautious mummy who, Oh God, saw a teacher in a swimsuit in social media, and, most likely saved children from suspicious elements in educational system.

'But teachers are humans too. They know how to relax 

'Crazily cautious parents should stop poking there nose in places where they they have no right. Watch yourselves.'

Kuvshinnikova has posted pictures of herself in a short glittering dress and heels, ice swimming, and bikini-clad dancing in snow with schoolgirls.

Her school director Olga Gain - who tried to fire her in February before other parents backed the teacher in a show of support - declared in an interview with local media: 'This is how only prostitutes dress - high heels, dress above the knees, and everything on show.

Viktoria Sheik (pictured), an English language teacher from Saratov, complained that teachers face parents using 'Sherlock Holmes methods' to find their social media

'Who are you trying to lure? You do not have the right to use the title 'teacher'.

'You are a stain on the reputation of the school. It is not surprising that boy pupils are in love with you - and there is only one step left to paedophilia.'

After the school director fired her there was a protest by parents and she stayed.

But this month Kuvshinnikova quit, citing harassment at school.

This prompted regional education minister Maxim Kostenko to find her another job, branding the reaction of the school director as outdated.

He said: 'Modern school needs educators who promote a healthy lifestyle, sports.'

Kostenko blamed 'contradictions between the generations' for the outcry against her and called for teachers to be 'more tolerant to each other and to maintain patience'.

He stressed: 'Personally, I do not see anything reprehensible in the photographs that this teacher-athlete posted.'

Marina Kokoreva stips down to her bikini at the beach to show support for the fired teacher

Anna poses by the pool in a dark red bikini for the cause which is being endorsed by hundreds of Russian women

Anastasia said: 'How do you think a modern teacher must meet the requirements of parents and their superiors? 'Family status? Breast size? The length of her skirt? Waist? Hobbies?'An off-duty officer with New York City's Department of Correction was arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriends young son.

Jayden Gustave, 25, was taken into custody at his girlfriends home in Flatlands neighborhood of Brooklyn, on Friday evening, according to the New York Daily News.

The girlfriend alleged Gustave punched her six-year-old son, and bit the child as well.

Jayden Gustave, 25, is an off-duty New York City correction officer who was arrested and jailed for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend's six-year-old boy (file photo of a jail cell)

He also allegedly whipped the young boy with a belt repeatedly and with enough force to bruise his face, back and buttocks.

Gustave is charged with assault and causing injury to a child under the age of 11 years old.

It was not immediately known if Gustave was being represented by an attorney.Vandals have trashed the track at Aintree racecourse just one week before the Grand National - but organisers have promised punters the race will go ahead.

The perpetrators used a vehicle to smash through a security gate at 6.45am on Saturday morning and drive on the turf.

Images showed parts of the white perimeter fences snapped off and deep tyre marks on the normally-pristine grass.

Vandals have trashed the track at Aintree racecourse just one week before the Grand National. Pictured: Parts of the white perimeter fence snapped off and deep tyre marks on the normally-pristine grass

It comes seven days before thousands will flock to the world famous racecourse in Liverpool for the festival and prestigious race.

An estimated 500 to 600 million people will tune in to watch it from more than 140 countries.

An Aintree spokesman said they were working closely with police on the matter.

'Some superficial damage is being addressed but this certainly wont affect a fantastic three days in Liverpools sporting and social calendar,' they added.

Bosses have vowed the Grand National will still go ahead as promised. An estimated 500 to 600 million people will tune in to watch it from more than 140 countries

A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: 'We are appealing for information following an incident of criminal damage at Aintree Racecourse, Ormskirk Road, Aintree reported this morning, Saturday 30 March.

'At 6.45am, it was reported that damage had been found to a perimeter gate and on the course. It is not believed that anything was stolen and no injuries were caused.

'It is initially believed that the damage was a caused by a car driven onto the site.

The perpetrators used a vehicle to smash through a security gate at 6.45am on Saturday morning and drive on the turf

'Extensive CCTV and witness enquiries are ongoing, working closely alongside the course owners.'

Nearly a year of preparation has gone into the annual event, with organisers beginning to plan for the next race the Monday after the previous National.

The Jockey Club, which owns Aintree, is in charge of maintaining the course to make sure its ready for the huge crowds on the big day.

The three-day festival kicks off with Grand National Thursday, which includes a featured race called The Aintree Hurdle.

The glamorous Ladies Day then gets underway on Friday which sees fashionistas show off their unique style ahead of the big race on Saturday.The 12 million investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is at risk of being abandoned as leads dry up and Government funding runs out, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Scotland Yards hunt for Madeleine is understood to have no earth-shattering leads and detectives rarely visit the Portuguese resort where she vanished in May 2007.

The Home Office provided 150,000 cash last October to fund four detectives to work on Operation Grange, as the inquiry is codenamed, until the end of this month.

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese resort in May 2007

The Metropolitan Police is understood to have sought a further 300,000, but officials last night admitted no decision on future funding has been made.

Madeleine was three when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve as her parents, Gerry and Kate, dined with friends at a nearby restaurant.

Portuguese police shelved their investigation in 2008 but Scotland Yard launched its own inquiry in 2011. At its height, 31 detectives worked on the case, but the investigation was dramatically scaled back in 2015.

A well-placed source said the remaining handful of detectives have been carrying out grunt work which includes tracking down and eliminating known sex offenders and finding possible witnesses rather than pursuing hard leads.

Most of what Operation Grange is doing is having things set up to knock down and rule out, rather than pursuing a particular fantastic lead that could unlock it all, the source said. Im not aware of any earth-shattering lead or breakthrough imminently.

Scotland Yards hunt for Madeleine is understood to have no earth-shattering leads

The Home Office provided 150,000 cash last October to fund four detectives to work on Operation Grange, as the inquiry is codenamed, until the end of this month. (Pictured) British Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall arriving at Faro police station in December 2014

Much of the work is understood to take place in London. Detectives made just two trips to Portugal in 2017-18, which involved five return flights costing 1,240. They usually stay at the upmarket Estrela da Luz hotel but a bar manager there said: I havent seen any police here for nearly a year, probably last May.

Instead, sources say the focus has shifted to Eastern Europe as detectives examine the theory that Madeleine was abducted by child-traffickers. It is understood they went to great lengths to trace a couple believed to be from Bulgaria who were staying near Praia da Luz at the time of her disappearance. The man, who was believed to have been a paedophile, had died but officers struggled to find the woman, despite help from Interpol.

Operation Grange has so far cost 11.75 million, including more than 10 million on salaries, over 440,000 on overtime and about 287,000 on travel costs.

A source close to the investigation said the Home Office would be clinical in deciding whether to approve more funding. The bottom line is they need to be able to present an argument that suggests they still have stuff to do.

The inquiry is led by Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall. Her team comprises a detective sergeant and three detective constables based at Putney police station in South-West London.

Former Met Commander Brian Paddick said investigations like Operation Grange were adding to the pressure on Scotland Yard detectives. Clearly there is a national shortage of detectives and any detective that is taken away from other duties in order to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is going to have an impact, he said.

In an interview with Vogue magazine in 2013, DCI Wall spoke of her fondness for Saga Noren, the fictional detective in the Scandinavian TV drama The Bridge, whom she described as quite feminine, very glamorous, very pretty and very capable. The Met veteran was said to attribute her low media profile to the fact we solve cases so quickly nobody gets involved.

But the search for Madeleine has so far proved fruitless. Locals in Praia da Luz this weekend said they had seen little evidence of any ongoing police inquiries for almost a year.

A worker at the Ocean Club Resort, from where Madeleine disappeared, said: I havent seen any police here for a long time. I think that is a good thing as far as the locals are concerned, they are tired of the area being associated with such a tragic event.

A Met spokesman said: The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains ongoing. A spokesman for the McCanns said: Kate and Gerry remain incredibly grateful to the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office for the continued work they are doing.

The Home Office confirmed it had received a request to extend funding for Operation Grange and was in talks with the Met.Advertisement

Cities around the world are turning off the lights today as they mark Earth Hour, a global campaign to urge more action against climate change.

Initiated by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, Earth Hour has since become a worldwide movement aimed at encouraging people to physically show their commitment to protect the environment and curb climate change by turning off the lights for an hour.

This year's Earth Hour is scheduled for March 30 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time, with millions of people in more than 180 countries expected to participate in the dark out.

As the hour approached, city officials and organizations behind major landmarks throughout the world joined individuals in turning off the lights in solidarity, producing some startling visual results.

Dramatic images from around the world show the moment when cities turned off the lights at major monuments in support of the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour grassroots movement. Here, Les Invalides in Paris is shown before and after the lights were shut off

Greece's Acropolis hill before and after having its lighting switched off to mark Earth Hour

The lights were also shut off Saturday at Moscow's Kremlin in support of Earth Hour

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo dimmed the lights on the Eiffel Tower, the city's most famous monument, for an hour Saturday, starting at 8.30pm. The tower's lights normally dominate the Paris skyline after dusk.

French President Emmanuel Macron has campaigned to 'Make Our Planet Great Again', but has faced criticism from those who say his efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions target the poor.

In Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was plunged into darkness  illuminated only by the lights of environmental campaigners depicting a map of the world.

As landmarks across the globe switch off for #EarthHour, we hope you get inspired to join in the biggest environmental movement of the year! Remember to switch off on 30 March at 8.30 pm your local time  #Connect2Earth pic.twitter.com/AE59Vnbio7  Earth Hour Official (@earthhour) March 30, 2019

The lights at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate were replaced with WWF campaigners' LED lights

Passersby were plunged into virtual darkness at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

In Dubai, the lights were shut off at Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building on Saturday

In the Polish capital Warsaw, the landmark Palace of Culture and Science turned off its night illumination, along with some churches and Old Town walls.

Earlier, as night fell in Hong Kong, major buildings along Victoria Harbour turned off their non-essential lights and the city's popular tourist attraction known as the Symphony of Lights was cancelled.

Taipei 101, Taiwan's tallest building, joined surrounding buildings in shutting off the lights.

A time lapse image revealing Sydney's Harbour Bridge before and during Earth HourChick-fil-A will no long be opening a restaurant inside Buffalo Niagara International Airport following outcry from LGBTQ+ campaigners, just days after they were halted from launching an outlet in San Antonio over alleged homophobic rhetoric.

The company was given the green light to open a branch of the popular chicken chain in the renovated air hub Thursday, but Assemblyman Sean Ryan hit out at the decision citing Chick-fil-A's alleged contributions towards controversial groups.

This appears to have prompted a U-turn by hospitality management company Delaware North and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA).

He said on Twitter that it was wrong for the state-funded entity to do business 'with corporations who fund hateful and divisive groups' - specifically, Chick-fil-A's financial contributions to groups that fuel anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.'

I'm disappointed in the @NFTA decision to bring a Chick-fil-A to the @BUFAirport. pic.twitter.com/zP0oIUOz3q  Senator Sean Ryan (@SenSeanRyan) March 29, 2019

Update: I applaud the decision that has been made to remove Chick-fil-A from plans for the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Thank you to everyone who reached out to share their opinion. pic.twitter.com/HA5t1CjwkV  Senator Sean Ryan (@SenSeanRyan) March 29, 2019

Adding: 'I strongly urge the NFTA to reverse this decision,' the Democratic lawmaker wrote online.

'I don't believe the leadership of the NFTA intends to help spread hate and discrimination, but allowing a corporation like Chick-fil-A to do business at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport will help to fund continued divisive anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. New York is a welcoming state that celebrates diversity.'

Ryan applauded the decision and said: 'We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to anti-discrimination policies, and we're confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future.'

Six council members approved ban on Chick-fil-A at San Antonio International Airport as part of a new project coming in April 2020

Texas' attorney general opened an investigation Thursday into San Antonio's decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from opening airport concession facilities due to the fast-food chain owners' record on LGBT issues.

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the investigation in a letter to San Antonio officials and stated his office will examine whether Texas' second-largest city violated state law with the rejection.

Paxton called the move 'the opposite of tolerance' and a 'discriminatory decision' based on the religious beliefs of the chain's owners.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation after Chick-fil-A was banned from San Antonio International Airport

Councilman Roberto Trevino made a motion to approve the Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement with Paradies Lagardere, 'provided it exclude the Chick-Fil-A concept'

'The Constitution's protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A's chicken,' Paxton said in the letter. 'Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport.'

The attorney general's action comes after the San Antonio City Council voted 6-4 last week to block Chick-fil-A from getting a new concession contract at the airport. The councilmembers voted instead for city staff to find another company for the contract.

'The City's Attorney's Office is reviewing the letter. I am withholding comment until we have had adequate time to analyze it,' San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in an emailed statement.

Senator Ted Cruz has shared his opposition to Chick-fil-A being banned from the airport

Cruz tweeted 'ridiculous' in response to last weeks story on his personal Twitter

Councilman Manny Pelaez said at the meeting that Chick-fil-A has a history of funding anti-LGBTQ organizations that support and advocate for gay conversion therapy. Pelaez said approving the restaurant would 'help them fund those efforts by making money off of our airport.'

Paxton also told San Antonio officials he asked Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to investigate whether the city's actions violated federal law and regulations prohibiting religious discrimination by federal grant recipients.

Paxton has made religious freedom battles a focus of his office since being elected in 2014.

The Atlanta-based fast-food chain has faced opposition elsewhere over donating millions over the years to groups that oppose same-sex marriage.

In 2012, the company's chief operating officer criticized same-sex marriage, prompting some politicians to block the chain from expanding in certain areas.

Earlier this month, a dean at Rider University in New Jersey resigned over the school's decision to not consider bringing Chick-fil-A to campus because of its opposition to the LGBT community.It is a sun-drenched spot in southern Spain of such breathtaking beauty that a host of British celebrities have been drawn to make their second homes there.

But with the idyll of the Lecrin valley under threat, the stars of music and film have joined a campaign against plans to install hundreds of monstrous pylons.

Among the names campaigners have amassed on their petition are Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi, comedians Rowan Atkinson and Alexei Sayle and songwriter Paul Weller.

Chris Stewart, the original drummer and a founding member of British band Genesis, now an author and farmer, pictured with his wife Ana Exton at their home in Orgiva in Spain

Campaigners insist they are not just being El Nimbies and that the 362 pylons, due to be installed by Spanish energy company Red Electrica, will spoil the paradise said to have inspired the writer Virginia Woolf.

They also complain that the power lines, stretching more than 60 miles through the valley and the area known as Alpujarras, will endanger hundreds of protected species, including the rare Bonellis eagle.

Genesis star Chris Stewart  the bands original drummer  also has a home in the valley, along with thousands of British expatriates.

The Lecrin Valley in Spain is just south of Granada and sits at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains

Among names campaigners have amassed on their petition is Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi

He told The Mail on Sunday: Once again, private financial interests are riding roughshod over the will and the rights of the people, leaving as ever a wake of destruction.

Describing how he was seduced by the beauty of the valley in his 1999 memoir Driving Over Lemons, Stewart wrote: In the softening light of the afternoon I drove high up and found a spot where I could see the whole valley, green and lovely and apparently inaccessible.

The valley, just south of Granada in the region of Andalucia, currently attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. And academics from the universities of Cambridge, Granada and Madrids King Juan Carlos have estimated losses of almost 14 million a year because of the impact the pylons will have on the tourism industry and local businesses.

Pressure group Di No a las Torres (Say No to the pylons) has now presented a petition to the local Spanish authority, with more than 4,000 signatures.

Some 17 villages and towns are surrounded by rolling countryside, green fields and orchards

A representative of the campaign told The Mail on Sunday: There is now a huge groundswell of opinion against these monstrous pylons, which will do considerable damage to the area.

We are blessed in this part of Spain with beautiful flora and fauna, much of which is likely to be wiped out if these pylons are allowed to be installed.

The campaigners have also accused the partly state- owned Red Electrica of hiding its proposals for the valley.

They added: Other irregularities include the clandestine nature in which the project has been submitted and their procedure of presenting their plans in a piecemeal fashion throughout the whole of Spain.

Red Electrica has maintained that its project is the best proposal from both an environmental and a social point of view.

An area of outstanding natural beauty the valley is famed for its walks, wildlife, and grovesPolice say a man fatally shot a teenager who accidentally knocked on the wrong apartment door in Atlanta.

It happened about 12.30am Friday at The Retreat apartments, WSB-TV reported.

Police say 19-year-old Omarian Banks was dropped off from a Lyft ride near the wrong breezeway in the complex.

They say Banks and his girlfriend had just moved there and Banks wasn't familiar with the area.

He went to what he thought was his apartment but it was the wrong door.

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Omarian Banks, 19, was shot and killed when he knocked on the wrong door of an apartment complex he just moved in to in Atlanta, police say

Banks was speaking to his girlfriend on FaceTime when he knocked on the door of a neighbor, thinking it was their apartment, according to police

The shooting took place at The Retreat apartment complex (seen above) in Atlanta. The specific apartment shown above was not where the shooting took place

Banks knocked but eventually walked away.

Police say Banks was speaking to his girlfriend on FaceTime when he knocked.

As Banks began to walk away, police say the man in the wrong apartment came to the door and opened it.

Darryl Bynes, 32, has been arrested and charged with murder. He is being held at Fulton County Jail

Police identified the man inside the apartment as 32-year-old Darryl Bynes.

They say he grabbed a gun and went onto his balcony to confront Banks and after a short conversation, shot him.

Bynes is charged with murder. The TV station didn't say if he has an attorney.

'I heard him say, "Sorry, I'm at the wrong house.",' Banks' girlfriend, Zsakeria Mathis, told WSB-TV.

'Then the man said, "No you're not. N****, you at the right house."

'And he shot two more times.'

A neighbor recalled the incident similarly.

'I see him running around the corner and all you hear him saying is, "I am sorry. It was the wrong door",' a neighbor told WSB-TV.

'(He said), "You aint come to the wrong door" and shot him a third time.

'I saw him drop to the ground.'

Police said Bynes initially claimed he shot Banks in self-defense, but investigators believe he shot the teen from his balcony while the victim tried to get away.

'This is a 19-year-old child that didnt even deserve to die, that hasnt even lived his life,' family friend Michael Wallace said.

Bynes' family disagrees with the murder charge.

'He is an innocent father,' his cousin, Makayla Johnson said.

'He has five kids. He was protecting his family.

'His truck was stolen earlier this week, right now, he's just trying to protect his family.'Sadiq Khan has been accused of wasting 1.3 million on a controversial soft justice scheme that has resulted in just ten victims of crime meeting offenders face-to-face.

The Labour Mayor of London launched a two-year restorative justice programme amid much fanfare soon after his 2016 election.

The project aimed to get criminals to meet their victims and apologise for subjecting them to ordeals such as muggings or burglaries.

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, launched a two-year restorative justice programme amid much fanfare soon after his 2016 election

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that only ten offenders took part in direct meetings and fewer than 1,000 victims were referred to the Restore: Justice scheme  despite an estimated 1.5 million Londoners suffering crime over the past two years.

Susan Hall, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said: True to form, the Mayor has splurged taxpayers money on this ill-conceived programme despite the fact its success has been called into question.

With this sort of irresponsible spending, does the Mayor really expect Londoners to believe him when he claims to be doing all he can to bring crime levels down?

We shouldnt underestimate the amount of cash that the Mayor has spent on this white elephant  1.3 million of taxpayers money could have put 22 more police officers on our streets to catch crooks and keep Londoners safe.

When the project began in 2017, Mr Khan spoke of his pride that all Londoners affected by crime have the chance to sit down with their offenders if they wish to, but the results of the scheme have only now been published.

Details obtained by Tories on the London Assembly show that 988 victims were referred to the service between April 2017 and January this year. Of those, 241 took up the offer, 335 declined and in 323 cases the Restore: Justice scheme team could not make contact with the victim. Some cases are ongoing.

The Mayor insisted that direct meetings between victim and criminal were only one stage in the process, adding: The other stages include in-depth restorative conversations and facilitated communications between the victim and offender.

Sadiq Khan arrives to attend a photocall with EU nationals at the University of East London in east London yesterday to promote the launch of a 'We are all Londoners' bus that will provide advice across the capital on Settled Status applications

The vast majority of victims who take up the offer of restorative justice are content with outcomes that dont result in a conference [meeting].

But he admitted: There were challenges around information sharing, referral pathways, and low levels of awareness of restorative justice throughout the programme, which impacted on referral levels.

Meanwhile, Mr Khan is facing claims of cronyism after a Labour ally was hand-picked to lead his flagship anti-knife crime scheme.

Lib Peck, Labour leader of Lambeth Council in South London, has known Mr Khan for many years and has been appointed director of the 6.8 million Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which aims to treat the soaring numbers of stabbings in the capital as a public health problem rather than a law and order issue.

Documents seen by this newspaper show that Ms Peck  who will earn 117,000 a year in her new role  sat on every meeting of the VRU Reference Group, which helped set up the unit and drew up the job description for director. When she was interviewed for the job, she knew all but one person on the panel.

Tory assembly member Ms Hall said: Rather than appointing the expert policy professional required for this job, the Mayor has instead handed a six-figure salary to an old Labour ally.

A spokesman for the Mayor insisted: She has a wealth of experience and was chosen as the best person for the job in an open, transparent and rigorous recruitment process run by independent recruitment consultants Hays, in conjunction with partner organisations and a community panel who met shortlisted candidates.Advertisement

A few months ago, having lunch with my old Vogue colleague Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey, I asked where her pale green shirt was from.

It was a perfectly ordinary cotton shirt but it was the way Ginnie wore it, with low-rise white jeans and the cuffs rolled just so, that made it so desirable.

She told me it was from Zara, and when I left the restaurant I immediately charged into the store to scoop up a blue version for myself.

The Gucci blouse worn back to front: Earlier this month, Kate attended the Henry Fawcett Childrens Centre wearing arguably her most stylish outfit yet: a purple Gucci blouse, with navy wide-leg trousers  unusual for someone who usually favours dresses in a formal setting and skinny jeans for casual events. You might spot the designer blouse is actually worn back to front  not a fashion faux pas, but most likely a smart styling move by Ginnie. Her accessories have stepped up a gear too, from clutches to top-handled bags  like this Aspinal Midi Mayfair bag, 495

So it is absolutely no surprise to learn that Ginnie is now helping her old university friend, the Duchess of Cambridge, with her wardrobe.

She is the perfect person for the job  as you can see from the results.

At Vogue, Ginnie was retail editor, a role that involved hosting reader events and industry trend talks.

Her skill was in translating fashion information for real people rather than edgy fashion shoots.

You can see how all of this would be invaluable to the Duchess, whose every hiking boot and clutch bag is analysed and scrutinised.

While Catherine has a very distinct sense of her own style, she is not interested in spending hours poring over fashion pages and reading designer profiles.

Her stylist will be responsible for sourcing clothes for her to choose from, trying to balance the tried and tested with the new and trendy and making sure that her wardrobe can cope with an ever-growing list of public engagements  as well as making those all-important tweaks that can make the old look new.

To this end we have already seen the Duchess in slightly more fashion forward styles in recent months, demonstrating a new confidence in playing with her clothes.

Bardot neck becomes a bang-up-to-date square: Kate has long been an advocate of re-wearing items from her Royal wardrobe, but instead of simply slipping back into this elegant Alexander McQueen gown (worn last at the 2017 Bafta Awards, left) the Duchess, or perhaps her savvy stylist, had it reworked, taking it from the off-the-shoulder Bardot neckline popular a few years ago and replacing it with the short sleeves and square neck (right) seen all over the 2019 spring/summer catwalks

This may partially be thanks to Ginnie, but might also be the result of having seen her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex, seemingly less hidebound by established Royal style and definitely not feeling the need to court favourable public opinion by dressing inexpensively.

While Catherine is not remotely interested in being a clothes horse, she knows that its a huge part of the job and will want to be seen as being at the top of her game.

Ginnie, like the Duchess, has young children but, unlike the Duchess, works full-time. She and her husband left London to bring up their two daughters in the countryside, but that didnt slow her down professionally.

She is an ambassador of Smart Works, the charity  where Meghan is the new Royal Patron  which cleverly helps less privileged women get jobs through mentoring and dressing them for interviews.

Sloaney knits and boots get nipped in and laced up: Kate tends to rely on Breton tops for less formal events, but for a dressed-down visit a fortnight ago (left), she chose a knitted top from J.Crew (a fashion-insider favourite) instead. And worn with these Chloe lace-up boots (360), instead of conservative flats or wedges, she is certainly making a style statement. In fact, attending a similar Scout event back in 2016 (right), the Duchess of Cambridge sported the same sweater, jean and flat boot formula. But with a few noticeable differences: shes since swapped muted, oversized knitwear for slim-fit alternatives, and long riding boots for fashions favourite thick-soled hiking boots. Its these small but considered new additions that elevate Kates otherwise casual outfits into something far more chic and current

Ginnie also runs her own successful styling consultancy, VCHStyle, which has at its core an understanding of how real women of different shapes and ages can make the best of themselves.

Her own taste is bright and cheerful, mixing in a bit of boho  embroidered smocks and ethnic fabrics  with clean, classic shapes such as shirt dresses, slim trousers and kitten heels.

She is no stranger to society weddings and racetrack meetings in her own life, but shops for herself on a tight budget which involves a lot of High Street and the odd investment splurge.

From formal dresser to sheer movie star magic: Then theres her recent Baftas appearance. Weve seen Kate experiment on the red carpet before when it comes to colour, shape and embellishment, but theres something about this Grecian-style Alexander McQueen look that feels impossibly glamorous for a Royal  and suggests there may be a new power behind the wardrobe. Note the applique flowers on the shoulder and the gathered detailing which expertly defines her slender frame. Gone is her signature bouncy blow dry. Instead, Kates hair was loosely pulled back into a tousled bun, no doubt to accentuate the beautiful one-shouldered design  the kind of advice that good stylists just know how to give

A cape to replace the coat dress: DURING a walkabout in Northern Ireland, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a 1,735, fashion-forward coat from Mulberry. Rather than her usual choice of formal coat dresses in autumnal hues or tartans, this cape-style coat felt fresh and modern. It nods to fashions must-have pastel trend, in a soft powder blue. Accessories are low-key to offset the coats directional silhouette  typical of Ginnies wearable styling

I would expect her to introduce some new names to the Duchesss repertoire, or encourage her to bring some of those she has in her private wardrobe on to the public stage.

Chinti & Parkers expanding range of patterned cashmere knitwear, newly popular event dressing designer Anna Mason, and Richard Quinn, winner of the first Queen Elizabeth II Award for design, might all get a look in.

Whats for sure is that Ginnie, with her easy manner, big smile, natural discretion and wealth of experience is a real pro rather than a limelight seeking amateur. The Duchess couldnt find herself in better hands.

Got a grip on the fashion insiders' latest It bag: While this look, right, feels more in keeping with Kates former wardrobe, one item stands out. In Blackpool earlier this month, the Duchess completed her emerald outfit with a box bag by Manu Atelier which costs 408. Lesserknown than most of Kates favoured accessory brands, Manu Atelier is a mid-priced handbag label created by two Turkish sisters, which is currently favoured by fashion editors and social media influencers alikeA 'Catch Me If You Can' fugitive taunted and eluded police like Leonardo DiCaprio in the Hollywood blockbuster before making a crucial mistake.

Sydney man Dillon Murdoch, 34, repeatedly posted to NSW Police on Facebook since a warrant for his arrest was issued on January 16 over an alleged stealing spree.

'F*k the police lol,' wrote Murdoch in a caption of a photo of himself at The Star casino in Sydney, according to The Daily Telegraph.

'Someone looking for me HAHAHAHA,' he posted on February 7.

Murdoch commented on a police media release calling for information about him: 'Long live the good life.'

Cash me if you can: Bligh Park man Dillon Murdoch (pictured), 34, posted taunts to NSW Police in the style of the Leonardo DiCaprio film on Facebook

Just hours before his arrest, Murdoch shared a picture of a police officer at Brisbane airport captioned 'missed me lol'.

In his next post, he revealed he was flying to Hervey Bay under the name 'Alex Hoy' on Thursday night.

Police arrested Murdoch when he landed in Hervey Bay and allegedly found a small amount of cannabis on him.

He was a wanted man after he allegedly stole thousands of dollars, iPads and computer equipment from six different businesses in three days in Windsor in Sydney's northwest.

'He was having a bit of fun with us on the social media site and it ended up backfiring on him,' Hawkesbury police's Detective Inspector Paul McHugh said.

Murdoch posted a photo of his boarding pass (pictured) that revealed he was flying from Brisbane to Hervey Bay under the name of 'Alex Hoy'

A January 16 arrest warrant wanted Murdoch 'in relation to a break and enter that occurred in Richmond in November last year'.

Murdoch's fingerprint was found on a discarded cash box from an Anytime Fitness gym and CCTV footage links him to other offences, police allege.

Police searched over 12 properties since January and believe he couch-surfed at friends' places around Sydney to avoid them.

Police arrested Murdoch when he landed in Hervey Bay and allegedly found a small amount of cannabis on him. He was charged with drug possession

He was charged with drug possession and appeared in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court where he was granted conditional bail.

Murdoch was charged over the alleged Windsor stealing spree before he was released on bail.

He did not meet his bail conditions and will be released on Monday, April 1 at the earliest.He has described smoking marijuana as a waste of money. So Tory Party Deputy Chairman James Cleverly could be forgiven for having doubts about his cousins new business venture  importing cannabis to Britain.

Chris Cleverly is executive chairman of little-known London-based agriculture firm Block Commodities, which on Wednesday became one of the few British companies to obtain a licence to grow the controversial plant.

Block Commodities, which counts former Tory MP Mark Simmonds as a director, wants to import the cannabis from Sierra Leone, where Chris and Jamess mothers are from, to Europe and the UK so it can be used in cannabis-based medicines. Chris and Jamess British fathers are brothers and their mothers are best friends.

Tory Party Deputy Chairman James Cleverly's cousin is executive chairman of little-known London-based agriculture firm Block Commodities - which is legally allowed to grow cannabis

It is understood that any cannabis the company grows and imports will be only for medicinal products.

Last year, products using cannabidiol, also known as CBD, the cannabis extract used for treatments, became available on the NHS as Britain joined other European countries in relaxing rules on such medicines. Patients can get a prescription through the NHS to treat epilepsy or nausea caused by chemotherapy, but only if other treatments have not worked.

Cannabis-based medicines are legal in 22 European countries and their increasing availability in North America has spawned a rush by businesses to cash in on the fledgling industry.

Chris Cleverly said his politician cousin knew nothing of the deal and was busy dealing with Brexit

Block Commodities has referred to itself as a pot stock because its shares are listed on the NEX Exchange, an obscure London stock exchange. The average investor can buy and sell Block Commodities shares, but it is not a very liquid market, meaning it can be hard to sell them.

The company, which specialises in agriculture in Africa, has decided to focus on the cannabis market and has agreed to pay 4 million in shares to buy Greenbelt Company.

Last year Greenbelt was given the go-ahead by the Sierra Leone government to grow, process and export cannabis on 4,000 acres of farmland.

Block Commodities said that it wanted to fast-track and streamline operations as soon as the deal was completed.

Chris Cleverly, who counts Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng as a friend, told The Mail on Sunday that James had had no involvement in the company and that he had been very busy with Brexit.

He added: The all-party [parliamentary] group on drugs has been very, very positive on this area.

The movement across Europe is very much pro moving towards legalising medicinal cannabis, so we can see where its going to go. The opioid crisis has medical professionals scrambling for alternatives. An alternative is medical cannabis. Medical cannabis has a much greater functionality than just pain relief and doctors are testing out its remedial effects on melanomas and its success with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy have been noted.

When James Cleverly, 49, became an MP in 2015, he admitted to having dabbled with marijuana at university

Asked whether he had ever smoked cannabis, he replied: Lets just say Ive lived a full life.

When James Cleverly, 49, became an MP in 2015, he admitted to having dabbled with marijuana at university. The Tory MP for Braintree said: I dont recommend it, its a waste of money, waste of time and just not very good for your future prospects.

He became Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party last year.

Block Commodities recently changed its name from African Potash, a fertiliser company, to focus on blockchain, the digital ledger that records all transactions.

Blockchain has been hailed as a way of improving complex supply chain issues in industries such as farming. Lord Hain, the Labour peer, stepped down from the board of African Potash in 2017.

Like James, Chris Cleverly grew up in Essex. He spent a short time as a dancer in Turkey before training as a barrister.

At the age of 28, he became the youngest barrister to head his own chambers in more than a century before turning to business.

James Cleverly declined to comment last night.An Arizona man killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator brings the worldwide death toll to at least 24.

Armando V. Ortega, 55, of Yuma, died June 11, 2018, three days after his 2002 Honda Civic was involved in a crash in near Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Honda said in a statement that the Civic driver was hit by shrapnel and injured. He later died at a hospital.

The death, which wasn't reported to a federal agency until this month, is the 16th in the U.S. caused by the air bags, which can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Seven people were killed in Malaysia and one in Australia.

Deployed Takata airbags are seen on the driver and passenger side of a 2007 Dodge Charger. Takata said it plans to boost production of parts needed to replace potentially deadly air bag inflators that could spray vehicle occupants with metal shards

Another person has died from shrapnel hurled by a faulty Takata air bag inflator. Honda says the death happened in Buckeye, Arizona last June

More than 200 people also have been hurt by the inflators, which have caused the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving with as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year.

About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide.

'This is a critical reminder of the serious nature of the Takata airbag recall and serves as an important call to action,' NHTSA said in a statement Friday.

The agency urged owners to check for open recalls by keying in their 17-digit vehicle identification number into the NHTSA website, www.nhtsa.gov/recalls .

A recalled Takata airbag inflator is shown after being removed. During a crash, the inflators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the bags. But it can deteriorate due to high temperatures and humidity and explode too forcefully, spewing metal fragments.

The deaths and recalls forced Takata into bankruptcy with its assets purchased by a company owned by a Chinese investment firm.

The owner of the Civic, identified by Arizona officials as Ortega, purchased the Civic used less than three months before the death.

But there is no federal requirement that used car sellers have the cars repaired or inform buyers of any unrepaired recall problems. Honda said it did not know the car had been sold until recently.

The Civic in the crash has been under recall since December 2014 due to a faulty driver's front air bag inflator.

The company was only told of the death recently which happened in a 2002 Honda Civic

Honda said it mailed 12 recall notices over three years to the previous owners.

The company also said it made more than 20 phone calls in an effort to reach the owners, but Honda records show the repairs were never done.

Honda said the death was first reported to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 11 of this year.

The safety agency notified Honda on March 14, and it inspected the car with Honda on Friday and determined that the inflator was blown apart in the crash. 'The rupture was confirmed at this inspection, and we announced the findings the same day,' Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.

Honda said it has sufficient supplies of replacement inflators, and it urged people to get recalled vehicles repaired as soon as possible.

Older vehicles, especially from the 2001 through 2003 model years, are most at risk, the company said.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said Ortega's Civic collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Maricopa County near the city of Buckeye. He did not know further details of the crash.Senator Elizabeth Warren has said Joe Biden 'needs to answer' after he denied any memory of an 'awkward' moment a Nevada politician claims he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her head.

The former Vice President has said through a spokesman that he doesn't recall the incident as he helped campaign for her in 2014.

Democrat Warren became the first 2020 presidential candidate to address the accusations, Business Insider reports.

Speaking Friday night she said: 'So I don't know anything about this. But obviously if there's a problem, then Joe Biden needs to answer.'

The following day she added: 'I read the op-ed last night. I believe Lucy Flores and Joe Biden needs to give an answer.'

Asked if she thinks Biden should reconsider his bid for the presidency, Warren replied: 'That's for Joe Biden to decide.'

Lucy Flores, a Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada in 2014, recalled in a bombshell essay on Friday that Biden crossed the line with her physically as they worked together, leaving her feeling 'gross and confused'.

Biden's spokesman said that the possible Democrat presidential contender didn't recall the interaction, but said he 'respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.'

'Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes,' Biden spokesman Bill Russo said in a statement Friday.

Russo said Biden 'believes Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it's a change for the better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so.'

Flores said on Friday in a personal essay that Biden planted a 'big slow kiss' on the back of her head before she went on stage at a rally for her campaign on November 1, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Flores and Biden pictured above at that event)

Democrat Elizabeth Warren became the first 2020 presidential candidate to address the accusations saying 'believe Lucy Flores and Joe Biden needs to give an answer'

Before the event: Flores pictured with Biden and actress Eva Longoria prior to the alleged awkward kiss at the 2014 campaign event

Joe Bidens spokesman issued this statement on Friday saying he doesn't recall the incident

As Flores, then 35, and Biden, then 72, were at a rally for her campaign, Biden allegedly grabbed her by the shoulders from behind and kissed her hair.

'Biden was the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world. He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,' Flores wrote in a personal essay for The Cut.

'Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused,' she added.

She recalled that before she went on stage to speak, Biden approached her and gave her the awkward, unwarranted kiss.

'I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?' Flores recalled.

'I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, "I didnt wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual f**k?"

'He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldnt process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused,' she added.

Biden pictured above at the November 1, 2014 rally before introducing Lucy Flores, the candidate for lieutenant governor in Nevada, to the podium

Biden introduces Flores at a get-out-the-vote rally at a union hall on November 1, 2014. Flores has written an essay saying Biden's behavior at the event left her feeling 'gross'

'He made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused,' Flores recalled on the awkward moment where Biden grabbed her shoulders and kissed the back of her hair

Former Nevada politician Lucy Flores has come forward saying former Vice President Joe Biden kissed her on the back of her head without her consent as they campaigned together in 2014. She was 35 at the time and Biden, then 72, was Vice President

She compared her feeling of shock and immobility to a Spanish phrase, 'tragame tierra' which means 'earth, swallow me whole'.

'I couldnt move and I couldnt say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience,' Flores said.

Flores noted that the contact wasn't violent nor overtly sexual - but she found the uncalled for contact 'demeaning and disrespectful'.

She went on to say that as a young Latina woman working in the white male dominated field of politics, she was used to feeling uncomfortable, but this awkward kiss crossed the line.

Biden, center, kisses a niece of incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Biden has been criticized over the years for getting too close to women. Pictured above nuzzling the next of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's wife Stephanie on February 17, 2015

Biden sparked shock in 2017 when he kissed Senator Chuck Grassley's wife Barbara on the lips. The tweet above mistakenly said it was Grassley's mother

'I had never experienced anything so blatantly inappropriate and unnerving before,' she said.

'The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners  and I felt powerless to do anything about it,' she said.

She didn't report the incident, thinking that it didn't rise to the level of sexual assault.

Instead she did 'what most women do' and moved on with her life and work.

She noted that over the years she heard allegations and seen pictures of Biden crossing the line with other women. In one instance Biden was caught nuzzling the neck of Defense Secretary Ashton Carters wife, kissing Sen. Chuck Grassleys wife on the lips, and getting too close to female constituents.

Biden places his hands on the shoulders of Ashton Carter's wife Stephanie as he was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Defense

Biden embraces family members of American Foreign Service Association members who died while serving overseas during a ceremony at the U.S. State Department May 3, 2013

Biden leans in to say something to Maggie Coons, next to her father Sen. Chris Coons

Eva Longoria, co-founder of the Latino Victory PAC, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden embrace after speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally at a union hall on November 1, 2014

'And yet despite the steady stream of pictures and the occasional article, Biden retained his title of Americas Favorite Uncle,' Flores said.

Flores revealed she was fearful to come forward about her encounter with Biden, but she decided to speak out after hearing of Biden's potential presidential campaign.

'For years I feared my experience would be dismissed. Biden will be Biden. Boys will be boys. I worried about the doubts, the threats, the insults, and the minimization,' she noted.

'But hearing Bidens potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer,' she added.

'Im not suggesting that Biden broke any laws, but the transgressions that society deems minor (or doesnt even see as transgressions) often feel considerable to the person on the receiving end. That imbalance of power and attention is the whole point  and the whole problem,' Flores said.Advertisement

Hundreds off iconic landmarks around the world have been plunged into darkness after they switched off their lights for Earth Hour.

The annual event organised by the World Wildlife Fund is to draw attention to environmental problems and the impact humans are having on the planet.

Buckingham Palace, the Sydney Opera House and the Egyptian Pyramids are among the famous buildings observing the global blackout between 8.30 and 9.30 tonight.

And millions of ordinary households are also expected to turn off their lights to send a message to world leaders who they demand front up to protect the Earth, according to the WWF.

The charity - which asks the question: 'will you switch off for your world this Earth Hour?' - says that over 10 million people in the UK participated last year.

It says: 'By making pledges to help our planet, and by being part of a movement of hundreds of millions more around the globe, we can show we're fighting for our world.

'We are the first generation to know we are destroying the world. And we could be the last that can do anything about it. We have the solutions, we just need our voices to be heard.'

In the capital, the Shard and the London Eye will observe the blackout while Brighton Pier and Edinburgh Castle are will also go dark.

St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow was among the hundreds of iconic landmarks switching off their lights for this year's Earth Hour

People visited the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to watch the monument descent into darkness between 8.30 and 9.30 tonight

The hotel 'Kazakhstan' in the country's largest city, Almaty, can be seen before and after it turned off its lights tonight

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, which is usually lit up in the heart of the French capital is blackened out except for a #WEACTFORGOOD sign on the front

In Russia's St Petersburg, the Admiralty building, the Peter and Paul cathedral and the State Hermitage museum all observed the WWF's blackout tonight

Piccadilly Circus in London turned off its screen for Earth Hour tonight. It marks the annual blackout to urge politicians to take action on environment issues

The Sydney Harbour Bridge which is usually lights up the water it stretches over joined millions of buildings across the world in turning their lights off to raise environmental awareness

City Hall, home of the London Assembly, and the Shard both switched off their lights on the capital's south bank this evening

And the Houses of Parliament went dark tonight to draw attention to environmental problems and the impact humans are having on the planet

Although Earth Hour is designed to attract the attention of world leaders, politicians in the Hungarian Parliament need no reminding as the building in Budapest went dark tonight

And 79 kms northeast of Budapest, Hungary, the Saint Bartholomew Church is seen after the lights were switched off for one hour to mark Earth Hour in Gyongyos

Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong is photographed lit up before its lights were switched off for the 13th Earth Hour

And there was a marked difference when the Asian city was plunged into darkness between 8.30 and 9.30 tonight

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station is seen after its lights went out for the Earth Hour environmental campaign in MumbaiAdvertisement

Jeremy Corbyn would be poised on the threshold of Downing Street if Theresa May called a General Election, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found.

After weeks of conflict in the Conservative Party, public support for Labour stands at 41 per cent, five points clear of the Tories on 36.

If repeated at an Election, Labour would be on course to win 307 seats, while the Conservatives would claim just 264.

Although Mr Corbyn would be 19 seats short of a majority, it would leave him in pole position to enter No 10 if he could strike an deal with the Scottish Nationalists.

When the 11-strong Independent Group of Labour and Tory MPs is included in the poll choices, Labour is still ahead, on 35 per cent, with the Tories on 32 per cent and the new group  now called Change UK  on nine per cent.

Jeremy Corbyn would be poised on the threshold of Downing Street if Theresa May (pictured today at church in Maidenhead) called a General Election, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found

Jeremy Corbyn would be poised on the threshold of Downing Street if Theresa May called a General Election, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found

Although Mr Corbyn would be 19 seats short of a majority, it would leave him in pole position to enter No 10 if he could strike an deal with the Scottish Nationalists

The findings by Deltapoll represent a sharp turnaround for Mr Corbyn from last months MoS poll when the Tories enjoyed a seven-point cushion.

The new poll also shows that Boris Johnson enjoys a clear lead among the electorate in the race to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader, with more than twice the level of support of his closest rival, Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove is the next most popular, followed by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss.

The results will be seized upon by supporters of Mr Johnson. He has traditionally been more popular in the country than he is among the Tory MPs who would determine the final two candidates for a run-off among party members.

It will also embolden him in his battle with Mrs Mays allies in No 10 and at Tory HQ who have been plotting to sabotage his bid to take over the reins of power.

In a desperate bid to win support for her deal, Mrs May promised her partys hardline Brexiteers that she would step down if they dropped their opposition, only to lose the vote anyway.

The new poll also shows that Boris Johnson enjoys a clear lead among the electorate in the race to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader

The poll shows that nearly two-thirds of voters think that Mrs May should resign  41 per cent say she should do so immediately, with a further 23 per cent saying she should do so if her deal is passed by the Commons. Just 22 per cent want her to stay.

In a desperate bid to win support for her deal, Mrs May promised her partys hardline Brexiteers that she would step down if they dropped their opposition, only to lose the vote anyway.

It is clear that the country is as divided as the Commons over a way through the Brexit quagmire, with the public evenly split on options such as pursuing a No Deal, holding a second referendum or cancelling Brexit altogether. Deltapolls Joe Twyman said: Theresa May has threatened the rebel MPs in her party with a General Election if they do not finally come around and support her Brexit deal. These results, however, show just what a kamikaze risk that may be.

Choosing to call an Election when so far behind in the polls could be seen as the bravest or worst decision ever made by a British Prime Minister in modern times.

Deltapoll interviewed 1,010 British adults online between March 28 and 30, 2019. The data has been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.

Conservatives are caught up in all-out civil war over Theresa May's 'kamikaze' election plan should her deal be defeated a fourth time with aides and MP's divided over the best way forward

Theresa May is today weighing up what one ally describes as a menu of equally unpalatable options  any one of which could lead to the swift collapse of her stricken Government.

Her exhausted Downing Street operation is staring at an invidious choice if her deal is voted down again this week: either accept the likely bidding of MPs and keep the UK in a customs union  thus splitting her party down the middle  or turn her face against the Commons by calling a kamikaze Election.

A further option  leaving the EU with No Deal  was heavily defeated when the Commons voted on it earlier this month.

Calls for the Prime Minister to trigger an Election immediately have been led by Mrs Mays Political Secretary Stephen Parkinson, who has argued that events will lead to one anyway so we might as well be on the front foot.

Opposition to a snap poll is being orchestrated by Chief Whip Julian Smith, who has said he is fighting it with every sinew in his body.

Theresa May is today weighing up what one ally describes as a menu of equally unpalatable options - including triggering an election. Pictured: Mrs May on the steps of Downing Street on April 18, 2017 - the last time she called a General Election

Labour is also ready to table a vote of no-confidence this week in Mrs Mays Government if it senses that Tory arch-Brexiteers will vote to bring down the Prime Minister

Even those advisers who lean towards calling an Election cannot decide if Mrs May should lead the campaign, or whether a leadership contest should be compressed into a few days and decided only by MPs at Westminster.

The Cabinet is equally divided, with Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark all urging Mrs May to accept a customs union  with the implicit threat that they will resign if she does not.

But Cabinet Brexiteers, orchestrated by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, are implacably opposed and are likely to quit if Mrs May starts to negotiate membership of a customs union with the EU.

Ms Leadsoms pizza club  which she founded last year to discuss Brexit strategy over takeaways in her Commons room  agreed yesterday to block efforts to join a customs union.

A senior Government source said: Theresa is trapped between aides and Ministers, all urging her with equal passion to do different things.

The pressure has been ramped up by the letter sent by 170 Brexit-supporting Conservatives demanding the UK leaves the EU on April 12 with or without a deal, and asking for assurances that Mrs May will not commit the country to a long extension or participating in the European Parliament elections on May 23. Last night, there were reports that the letter was organised by Ms Leadsom, and also signed by other Cabinet Ministers including Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.

A source close to one of the letters signatories said last night: The letter reaffirmed our commitment to the manifesto, and to the PMs own determination to seek a short extension to Article 50 that avoids the EU elections.

The Cabinet is equally divided, with Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark all urging Mrs May to accept a customs union. Pictured: Oliver Letwin, who organised indicative votes earlier this week

Mrs May is also considering delaying Brexit and stepping down, with Boris Johnson the favourite to replace her

Will she really risk it? The four options Option 1 - May calls Election this week After her 2017 Election disaster that saw Jeremy Corbyn wipe out her majority, the PM would be incredibly wary about going to the country again. But she knows that without a change to the numbers, the House of Commons will remain deadlocked. Option 2 - Confidence vote sparks Election If disgruntled Tories side with Labour in a vote of no confidence and Jeremy Corbyn is unable to form a government within 14 days, the country will be plunged into an Election anyway. Given that it looks inevitable, No 10 is split on whether to jump first. Option 3 - PM accepts customs fudge If Parliament orders the UK to stay in the customs union, Mrs May could be forced to abandon a cherished red line. Accepting it would blow up her party as hundreds of Tory MPs loathe the idea, including six Cabinet Ministers. Option 4 - Delay Brexit, change leader If Mrs Mays deal is defeated a fourth time, her political capital will be utterly spent and she will face a chorus of calls to quit. Brexit could be delayed for a new leader to be chosen and the Tories will go to the country with a fresh face in charge. Advertisement

The Chief Whips opposition to an Election  which is shared by No 10 Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell  increased after he was briefed about Mr Corbyns plans to hit Mrs May with a decapitation strategy if an Election is called.

Tory whips say Labour has drawn up plans to target a string of the partys biggest stars  including Boris Johnson, Ms Rudd and ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith  and will pour thousands of activists into Tory seats in London and the South that are vulnerable.

One senior Tory MP in the South-East was overheard admitting at Westminster last week that weve all had it if an Election was called soon. Labour is also ready to table a vote of no-confidence this week in Mrs Mays Government if it senses that Tory arch-Brexiteers will vote to bring down the Prime Minister.

However, Labours battle plan was last night dismissed as bravado by one of its own Shadow Ministers, who claimed the party was simply not ready to fight an Election.

And party insiders also warn that Labour could lose all seven of its Scottish seats, effectively destroying any hopes Mr Corbyn has of getting a Commons majority.

Mrs Mays Election threats have sent a shiver down the spine of many Tory MPs in the South-East defending thin or vulnerable majorities. Top of Mr Corbyns attack list is Ms Rudds Hastings and Rye seat, where she is defending a wafer-thin 346 majority over Labour. Her role as Work and Pensions Secretary makes her doubly vulnerable, say Corbyn strategists.

But Labour boasts it can also claim the scalp of would-be party leader Mr Johnson in his Uxbridge seat in West London. He is defending a 5,034 majority but Labours vote locally has soared in recent years.

Today marks the second day of Brexit protests after thousands of demonstrators rallied in the nation's capital yesterday

Pro-Brexit 'yellow vest' protesters demonstrate in London for the second day following Theresa May's defeat in Westminster

Activists were seen holding British flags and wearing yellow high-visibility vests, similar to those worn by French protesters

Brexit supporters shout through megaphones and carry placards saying 'My leave vote matters, I won't be gagged'

Also in the Labour firing line are former Education Secretary Justine Greening in Putney (majority just 1,554 over Labour) and Mr Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader. He is defending a majority of only 2,438 in Chingford and Woodford Green. One senior Labour MP said last night: London is basically a Labour city and the enthusiasm for Corbyn is still running very high. All those top Tories are going to struggle to cling on if Mrs May does fire the Election starting gun any time soon.

The party is also aiming to eject Labour defectors in the new Change UK independent group, including Chuka Umunna in Streatham, South London.

Some Labour figures scoffed at the decapitation claims, with one warning any gains in the South would be cancelled out by losses in the North. One said: Now weve started openly backing a second referendum much more than before, were really losing Brexiteer votes in the North.

When and if the Election comes, it really will be a case of holding on to what we have rather than making gains. Labour has 245 seats against the Tories 314.

The Labour plans emerged as Mr Corbyn declared it was time for the sensible people to take over talks with the EU  even though he sparked fury from many Brexit voters last week by ordering his MPs to vote down Mrs Mays deal.

Mr Corbyn also refused to say whether he would offer an option to remain in the EU during a second round of indicative votes in the Commons tomorrow.

Speaking in Newport, South Wales, ahead of this weeks by-election, he accused Mrs May of bullying and threatening people.

Prime Minister blames Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab for blowing up her Brexit deal after last-minute agreement with DUP fell through because they doubted the pair were Unionists

Tory leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab were last night blamed by Theresa Mays allies for dashing her hopes of a Brexit deal with the DUP.

They claimed a last-minute accord fell through because of doubts among the Northern Irish party that Mr Johnson and Mr Raab were really Unionists.

A senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday that the two men had met the DUP as the Prime Minister desperately tried to persuade the partys ten MPs to add their crucial support to her deal.

May's allies claimed a last-minute accord fell through because of doubts among the Northern Irish party that Mr Johnson (pictured) and Mr Raab were really Unionists

A senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday that the two men (Raab is pictured) had met the DUP as the Prime Minister desperately tried to persuade the partys ten MPs to add their crucial support to her deal

But the Minister  a close ally of Mrs May  said the DUP had suspicions about how strongly former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson and ex-Brexit Secretary Mr Raab really felt about the Union.

The May ally suggested that the DUP had doubts over how strongly either man would defend the Northern Ireland position if they became Prime Minister.

He said: One of the things that put the DUP off is that they met Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab and decided that they were not really Unionists.

The backing of the DUP is seen as vital to any hopes Mrs May has of getting her Brexit plan over the line.

But the party has held firm against it, with its Westminster leader Nigel Dodds saying: I would stay in the EU rather than risk Northern Irelands position.

Thats how strongly I feel about the Union.

The May ally suggested that the DUP had doubts over how strongly either man (Johnson pictured with May in 2017) would defend the Northern Ireland position if they became Prime Minister

Mr Dodds has consistently raised fears of Northern Ireland being reduced to a separate status from the rest of the UK because of the Brexit backstop agreed between Mrs May and Brussels.

However, there were also reports that privately the DUP had been split 7-3 in favour of backing the Prime Ministers deal but in the end maintained a united front to oppose it.

Last night, friends of Mr Johnson dismissed the claims that he had put off the DUP.

They pointed out that he had been feted by the party when he attended their annual conference in Belfast, when he railed against the danger of having to leave Northern Ireland behind as an economic semi-colony of the EU and of damaging the fabric of the union.

Allies of Mr Raab also dismissed the claims.

Mays plot to block Boris: Prime Minister wants to delay Tory leadership battle until party conference in October to stop Johnson benefiting from Brexit bounce if Britain leaves EU

Theresa May has been accused of plotting to block Boris Johnsons leadership ambitions by dragging out the contest to succeed her until the Tory Party conference in October.

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis has told friends that if Mrs May survives the coming weeks, then Downing Street hopes to delay the final stages of the contest until the gathering in Manchester  in the hope it will deprive Mr Johnson of an immediate Brexit bounce if Britain has left the EU.

Allies of Mrs May believe that a long contest would offer the best chance for the leadership to skip a generation, allowing a dark horse candidate such as Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly or Mark Harper to surge through the ranks.

THE FAVOURITE: Boris Johnson has three times the support of his closest rival in leadership polling. But the darling of the party faithful has an uphill struggle convincing MPs to put him to the membership

THE RUNNER: Michael Gove is running everyday, and not just to be Prime Minister. The Brexiteer believes he is the only one who can see off hardliners and unite remainers

THERESA IN TROUSERS: Jeremy Hunt (left) is seen as a safe pair of hands but other MPs worry he is a bit too boring. He needs to move fast to shake the comparisons to Theresa Mays cautious steady-as-she-goes style. THE KARATE KID: Dominic Raab (right) is a Brexit purist but risks putting off more moderate MPs with his hardline Brexit stance. Clean cut with a black belt in Karate, his good looks hide a ruthless streak

Under the plan, the leadership contenders would parade their wares to the party faithful before a final vote by the Tory membership. It would also, they believe, allow Mrs May to be given a dignified send-off by the party.

No 10 is furious about the leading role played by Mr Johnson and fellow Brexiteer Dominic Raab in opposing Mrs Mays deal  until they performed a U-turn in Fridays vote.

Who's the real top dog in the Gove household? Michael Goves wife Sarah Vine has lifted the lid on the real battle to be top dog  the one raging in their home. Like the Tory Party leadership contest, this battle erupted last week after bichon frise Snowy got top billing by being pictured on their doorstep next to would-be Prime Minister Mr Gove. Gove's dogs Muffin, Monkee and Snowy (left to right) But as columnist Ms Vine revealed on Twitter, that only provoked the couples other two pets. Muffin and Monkee say why is Snowy getting all the attention  look how damn cute we are, she tweeted. Advertisement

A friend of Mr Lewis said: By the time we reach the autumn, everyone will be heartily sick of hearing Boris and Raab banging on about Brexit, and will be in the mood for a new face  or at least a more acceptable one such as [Foreign Secretary] Jeremy Hunt.

A Eurosceptic source said: If they try this there will be a riot. Whoever takes over will need a decent run-up to the Brexit trade negotiations, to have the right team in place and devise a clear and coherent strategy.

The main leadership contenders  Mr Johnson, Mr Hunt, Mr Raab, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss  will tomorrow step up their courting of Tory MPs.

It has been claimed that Mr Hunt is the frontrunner, with between 75 and 100 MPs in the bag, followed by Mr Gove with between 40 and 50 MPs.

However, both men privately dispute the figures and a poll in todays Mail on Sunday by Deltapoll shows that former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson is almost three times as popular as his nearest rival. Claims Mr Johnson has pledges of support from 80 Tory MPs have been dismissed by his camp as well wide of the mark.

It comes as the Cabinet contenders all unveiled their operations, with MPs starting to openly declare to each other who they are backing.

Mr Johnsons key allies Conor Burns and Jake Berry have been joined by Brexiteer hardliner Simon Clarke.

Mr Goves campaign is being aided by Pensions Minister Guy Opperman and Treasury rising star Mel Stride.

Mr Javid, who is said to be struggling to drum up significant levels of support, is being backed by Treasury Minister John Glen and former Minister Robert Halfon, a university friend.

Mr Raab has support from Brexit Minister Chris Heaton-Harris and former whip Sir Robert Syms. He has also hired two of Mr Goves former special advisers, Beth Armstrong and James Starkie, to boost his office staff.

THE SAJ: The Home Secretary is said to be struggling getting support from colleagues after a choppy few months. He as an amazing backstory, but MPs fear hes not ready

THE FREEDOM FIGHTER: Liz Truss wants to inject a bit red meat into the race with a clarion call for freedom against the nanny state. Picking up a lot of support with younger MPs of the right

Meanwhile Mr Hunts camp includes Steve Brine, who resigned last week in protest over Brexit, former Cameron-era Minister Philip Dunne, and junior Government aide Alan Mak.

Mr Hunts status as frontrunner last week came under sustained attack from rival camps which have nicknamed him and Mr Javid The TiTs  short for Theresa in Trousers.

Iain Duncan Smith the VERY unlikely soft-top heart-throb Iain Duncan Smiths arrival to see Theresa May at Chequers in his 25,000 Morgan 4/4 last week made headlines and turned the former Tory leader into an unlikely heart-throb. Iain Duncan Smith pictured in his 25,000 Morgan 4/4 Hes been getting fan mail from middle-aged women all week asking for a ride, a Commons source said. It is not the first time IDSs soft-top motor has hit the headlines  we first revealed his Mr Toad look, below, back in 2003. Advertisement

One Minister said: We let the managers have a go last time and that went well. Its time for someone with a bit of flair.

And another branded Mr Hunt a Diet Coke version of Theresa May.

Mr Hunt was by far the most active candidate last week, addressing MPs on Monday, followed by a wide-ranging midweek interview.

This weekend he tried to burnish his statesman credentials with an article in the Washington Post newspaper in which he defended Britains presentation in the foreign media as a crime-ridden dystopia mired in political chaos.

He wrote: Please put aside the doom-laden commentary and accept my assurance: we British are neither abandoning our neighbours nor retreating from the world. He was also seen wooing Amber Rudd at the expensive Corinthia Hotel off Whitehall, and The Mail on Sunday has learned he offered to make her his replacement as Foreign Secretary if he won a leadership contest.

However, Ms Rudds wafer-thin majority in Hastings would make extensive international travel a tough ask. Their breakfast plotting came as Ms Rudd, who many Remain-backing MPs want to run herself, emerged as a powerful kingmaker figure.

Remainers and left-wing Tories will today launch a new Compassionate Conservative group, to counter the Brexiteers. The 40-strong body will be headed by Ms Rudd as well as other wets Damian Green, Nicky Morgan and Sir Nicholas Soames.

The group will seek to hold their own leadership hustings and rally behind a single candidate with the best hopes of defeating a Brexit hardliner from the European Research Group. Meanwhile, Mr Raab has been warned he will lose if he becomes the poster boy for the ERG.

Remainers and left-wing Tories will today launch a new Compassionate Conservative group, to counter the Brexiteers. The 40-strong body will be headed by Amber Rudd as well as other wets Damian Green, Nicky Morgan and Sir Nicholas Soames

One MP said: There is so much anger in the party at the behaviour of the nutters, that anyone who gets their backing en masse is f***ed.

Allies of Mr Gove say his pitch to the MPs will be that he is the only Brexiteer who can unite the party  as it is highly likely a Remain-supporting candidate would be trounced in a vote of party members. Yet Mr Gove has proven with his support of the PM that he is not a hardliner.

A source said: Michael is the only one who can beat the ERG out there in the country and stop us becoming a far-Right party. Mr Gove and Mr Javid were spotted have lunch together on Thursday in the House of Commons, with both camps dismissing reports that Mr Gove could endorse Mr Javid. A source in the Gove team said: More like the other way round.

Mr Javid would be a powerful endorsement for any frontrunner, but after a series of gaffes he is failing to attract the levels of support he might have hoped for. One MP said: Its always buddy this and buddy that, but Im not sure hes got what it what it takes to win people over.

Last night luxury bookmakers Fitzdares told The Mail on Sunday that the firm was yet to receive a single penny in bets on favourite Michael Gove  and that all the flutters on Boris Johnson had come from females.

CEO Will Woodhams said: Someone asked for odds on Winston Churchills grandson Sir Nick Soames, saying only a Churchill can sort this mess out. We gave him 250/1.Theresa May is today weighing up what one ally describes as a menu of equally unpalatable options  any one of which could lead to the swift collapse of her stricken Government.

Her exhausted Downing Street operation is staring at an invidious choice if her deal is voted down again this week: either accept the likely bidding of MPs and keep the UK in a customs union  thus splitting her party down the middle  or turn her face against the Commons by calling a kamikaze Election.

A further option  leaving the EU with No Deal  was heavily defeated when the Commons voted on it earlier this month.

Calls for the Prime Minister to trigger an Election immediately have been led by Mrs Mays Political Secretary Stephen Parkinson, who has argued that events will lead to one anyway so we might as well be on the front foot.

Opposition to a snap poll is being orchestrated by Chief Whip Julian Smith, who has said he is fighting it with every sinew in his body.

Theresa May is today weighing up what one ally describes as a menu of equally unpalatable options - including triggering an election. Pictured: Mrs May on the steps of Downing Street on April 18, 2017 - the last time she called a General Election

Labour is also ready to table a vote of no-confidence this week in Mrs Mays Government if it senses that Tory arch-Brexiteers will vote to bring down the Prime Minister

Even those advisers who lean towards calling an Election cannot decide if Mrs May should lead the campaign, or whether a leadership contest should be compressed into a few days and decided only by MPs at Westminster.

The Cabinet is equally divided, with Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark all urging Mrs May to accept a customs union  with the implicit threat that they will resign if she does not.

But Cabinet Brexiteers, orchestrated by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, are implacably opposed and are likely to quit if Mrs May starts to negotiate membership of a customs union with the EU.

Ms Leadsoms pizza club  which she founded last year to discuss Brexit strategy over takeaways in her Commons room  agreed yesterday to block efforts to join a customs union.

A senior Government source said: Theresa is trapped between aides and Ministers, all urging her with equal passion to do different things.

The pressure has been ramped up by the letter sent by 170 Brexit-supporting Conservatives demanding the UK leaves the EU on April 12 with or without a deal, and asking for assurances that Mrs May will not commit the country to a long extension or participating in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

Last night, there were reports that the letter was organised by Ms Leadsom, and also signed by other Cabinet Ministers including Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.

A source close to one of the letters signatories said last night: The letter reaffirmed our commitment to the manifesto, and to the PMs own determination to seek a short extension to Article 50 that avoids the EU elections.

The Cabinet is equally divided, with Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark all urging Mrs May to accept a customs union. Pictured: Oliver Letwin, who organised indicative votes earlier this week

Will she really risk it? The four options Option 1 - May calls Election this week After her 2017 Election disaster that saw Jeremy Corbyn wipe out her majority, the PM would be incredibly wary about going to the country again. But she knows that without a change to the numbers, the House of Commons will remain deadlocked. Option 2 - Confidence vote sparks Election If disgruntled Tories side with Labour in a vote of no confidence and Jeremy Corbyn is unable to form a government within 14 days, the country will be plunged into an Election anyway. Given that it looks inevitable, No 10 is split on whether to jump first. Option 3 - PM accepts customs fudge If Parliament orders the UK to stay in the customs union, Mrs May could be forced to abandon a cherished red line. Accepting it would blow up her party as hundreds of Tory MPs loathe the idea, including six Cabinet Ministers. Option 4 - Delay Brexit, change leader If Mrs Mays deal is defeated a fourth time, her political capital will be utterly spent and she will face a chorus of calls to quit. Brexit could be delayed for a new leader to be chosen and the Tories will go to the country with a fresh face in charge. Advertisement

The Chief Whips opposition to an Election  which is shared by No 10 Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell  increased after he was briefed about Mr Corbyns plans to hit Mrs May with a decapitation strategy if an Election is called.

Tory whips say Labour has drawn up plans to target a string of the partys biggest stars  including Boris Johnson, Ms Rudd and ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith  and will pour thousands of activists into Tory seats in London and the South that are vulnerable.

One senior Tory MP in the South-East was overheard admitting at Westminster last week that weve all had it if an Election was called soon. Labour is also ready to table a vote of no-confidence this week in Mrs Mays Government if it senses that Tory arch-Brexiteers will vote to bring down the Prime Minister.

However, Labours battle plan was last night dismissed as bravado by one of its own Shadow Ministers, who claimed the party was simply not ready to fight an Election.

And party insiders also warn that Labour could lose all seven of its Scottish seats, effectively destroying any hopes Mr Corbyn has of getting a Commons majority.

Mrs Mays Election threats have sent a shiver down the spine of many Tory MPs in the South-East defending thin or vulnerable majorities. Top of Mr Corbyns attack list is Ms Rudds Hastings and Rye seat, where she is defending a wafer-thin 346 majority over Labour. Her role as Work and Pensions Secretary makes her doubly vulnerable, say Corbyn strategists.

Mrs May is also considering delaying Brexit and stepping down, with Boris Johnson the favourite to replace her

But Labour boasts it can also claim the scalp of would-be party leader Mr Johnson in his Uxbridge seat in West London. He is defending a 5,034 majority but Labours vote locally has soared in recent years.

Also in the Labour firing line are former Education Secretary Justine Greening in Putney (majority just 1,554 over Labour) and Mr Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader. He is defending a majority of only 2,438 in Chingford and Woodford Green. One senior Labour MP said last night: London is basically a Labour city and the enthusiasm for Corbyn is still running very high. All those top Tories are going to struggle to cling on if Mrs May does fire the Election starting gun any time soon.

The party is also aiming to eject Labour defectors in the new Change UK independent group, including Chuka Umunna in Streatham, South London.

Some Labour figures scoffed at the decapitation claims, with one warning any gains in the South would be cancelled out by losses in the North. One said: Now weve started openly backing a second referendum much more than before, were really losing Brexiteer votes in the North.

When and if the Election comes, it really will be a case of holding on to what we have rather than making gains. Labour has 245 seats against the Tories 314.

The Labour plans emerged as Mr Corbyn declared it was time for the sensible people to take over talks with the EU  even though he sparked fury from many Brexit voters last week by ordering his MPs to vote down Mrs Mays deal.

Mr Corbyn also refused to say whether he would offer an option to remain in the EU during a second round of indicative votes in the Commons tomorrow.

Speaking in Newport, South Wales, ahead of this weeks by-election, he accused Mrs May of bullying and threatening people.In some cities, diners have few qualms about walking out having left no gratuity at all. People in Sheffield emerged as the most reluctant tippers in the UK, with only 72 per cent saying they were likely to leave something for the staff after a meal

It's an awkward moment at the end of any restaurant meal  the bill has been paid and youre wondering how much to leave as a tip.

But in some cities, diners have few qualms about walking out having left no gratuity at all, a new survey reveals.

People in Sheffield emerged as the most reluctant tippers in the UK, with only 72 per cent saying they were likely to leave something for the staff after a meal.

Those who would tip suggested an average of only 1.94 for a 30 meal  about six per cent, compared with the recommended amount of between ten and 15 per cent.

However, even the most generous tip  from diners in Belfast  was just 2.71, which is still a relatively measly nine per cent.

Glaswegians were found to be the most likely tippers, averaging 2.43 for a 30 meal, according to the study by travel experts Big Domain.

Top restaurateur and TV chef Raymond Blanc said he wasnt surprised to find a regional variation but that he did sympathise with customers.

It can be difficult for people who are trying to work out the right amount to leave for staff, he said.

He has recently introduced a discretionary service charge at his hotel and restaurant, Belmond Le Manoir aux QuatSaisons in Oxfordshire, which has two Michelin stars.

We talked to the customers and the staff and we decided that it was the best way, he said.

It means everyone knows where they stand and we give every penny of that money to the staff because they have a tough job and deserve it.

The recommended tipping amount is between nine and 15 per cent, but even in Belfast - the most generous tippers - the average was just 2.71, which is a relatively measly nine per cent

Other cities featuring in the less-likely-to-tip table were Leeds, Plymouth, Newcastle and Norwich, while diners in Belfast, Edinburgh, London and Bristol were the most likely to leave some money.

Interestingly, the study found that younger Britons were more inclined to leave a tip, perhaps because they identified more with waiting staff, with those aged between 16 and 24 tipping an average of between 16 and 20 per cent on meals.

The most tight-fisted diners were those over the age of 55, among whom nearly one in five admitted that they never left tips.

The survey also found that more than half of people who didnt tip had a good reason for their decision  rude waiting staff, with cold or poor-quality food, mistakes on the order and delays also cited.

A separate survey a few years ago found that Germans and Americans were more likely to leave a tip than people from Russia, Brazil, France, Britain, Spain and Italy.Labour was plunged into fresh turmoil over anti-Semitism tonight as it was revealed that a party activist accused Countdown star Rachel Riley of prostituting her Jewish heritage.

The presenter of the Channel 4 game show was also told her campaign against anti-Semitism in Jeremy Corbyns party was poisoning the memory of your ancestors.

Labour member Bob James has now been suspended by the party over the series of offensive tweets aimed at Ms Riley.

The presenter of the Channel 4 game show was also told her campaign against anti-Semitism in Jeremy Corbyns party was poisoning the memory of your ancestors

The revelations come just days before Labour learns if it will face a full-scale investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into how the party has dealt with anti-Semitic allegations.

Party insiders said yesterday that there had been a sudden surge in the processing of complaints at Labour HQ following signs earlier this month that the watchdog could intervene.

Ms Riley has suffered a torrent of abuse over her campaign. Last week, she was the target of vile taunts from supporters of Mr Corbyn who backed a #BoycottRachelRiley hashtag on Twitter.

And it emerged yesterday that she had been singled out by North Wales activist Mr James, whose Twitter posts include comparing the state of Israel to the Nazis and saying: Israel is using the Holocaust as an excuse for murder.

Now it has been revealed that in December he told Ms Riley: You have prostituted your religion, poisoning the memory of your ancestors who suffered greatly.

He later tweeted: Judaism is a religion but what Israel does in the name of God is pure Satanic.

Labour member Bob James (pictured) has now been suspended by the party over the series of offensive tweets aimed at Ms Riley

In January, Mr James, a member of the Alyn and Deeside constituency Labour Party, wrote: I think Riley is using her influence as a popular celebrity to undermine the Labour party. Her method, though, using her Jewish heritage to promote self-interest, is appalling.

He added: Riley has been open about her dislike of Corbyn You have to hand it to the Tory party for getting her to risk her career for 30 pieces of silver. The attacks provoked a personal reply from Ms Riley, who asked Mr James: Are you an official Labour spokesperson, Bob, or just a big cheerleader?

In now deleted tweets, Mr James said: 'Riley has been open about her dislike of Corbyn You have to hand it to the Tory party for getting her to risk her career for 30 pieces of silver

He then accused her of prostituting her religion and poisoning he memory of her ancestors

Three months ago, the sustained attacks on Ms Riley were reported to Labour by Steve Cooke, a member in Stockton North and a political education officer. Ms Riley thanked him for his support and added: Sad state of affairs that youd need courage to decry anti-Semitism but here we are.

Mr James last night admitted sending numerous messages to Ms Riley and confirmed he had been suspended by the party. He denied being anti-Semitic and accused the presenter of using her religion to promote anti-socialism.

Labour said it could not comment on individual cases but a spokesman added: We take all complaints of anti-Semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to challenging and campaigning against it in all its forms.

All complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.

Ms Riley could not be contacted for comment.A small Pennsylvania town police chief and his friend have been charged with raping a child hundreds of times over seven years starting when the girl was just four.

Brent Getz, 27, was arrested and charged Tuesday along with Gregory Wagner, 28.

The alleged victim said both men sexually assaulted her, often at the same time, from 2005 to 2012.

The investigation began in 2012 when the child, who was 12 at the time, reported Wagner had been assaulting her, prosecutors said.

No charges were filed following an investigation.

Brent Getz (left), 27, the chief of police of Weissport, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged Tuesday along with his friend, Gregory Wagner (right), 28

Three years later, a criminal complaint was prepared charging Wagner but it was dismissed due to a paperwork error.

Charges were never refiled.

In August, a police officer revisited the case. It was then the victim said Getz also sexually abused her.

Getz became chief of police earlier this year in Weissport, a town of 412 people in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, about 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

It is unknown whether council members who appointed Getz knew of the allegations.

A message was left with a phone number found for Paulette Watson, the mayor of Weissport.

Wagner admitted he and Getz sexually abused the girl together, prosecutors said. Attorney information for either man could not be found in court documents.

Both men remain jailed. Messages could not be left with phone numbers found for Getz and Wagner.

The victim said she was sexually assaulted hundreds of times between the ages of 4 and 11, both by Wagner and Getz.

She said Wagner made her watch pornography with him. The attorney general's office did not disclose how the men knew the child.

Authorities found many electronic devices at Wagner's home, including his cellphone, which had Google searches of terms related to child pornography, prosecutors said.

Both Getz and Wagner were arraigned on charges. The men are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing April 3.

Ken Livingstone has stoked the Labour Partys festering anti-Semitism row by dismissing it as lies and smears peddled by ghastly old Blairites.

Mr Livingstone  who was suspended in 2016 for claiming that Hitler had supported Zionism  told a meeting of pro-Corbyn activists that he had been victimised by the elite, who were trying to stop Mr Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Mr Livingstone, who quit the party last year, told a meeting of Labour Against The Witchhunt last week that he had fallen victim to a Labour machine run by Blairites.

Mr Livingstone told a meeting of pro-Corbyn activists that he had been victimised by the elite, who were trying to stop Mr Corbyn becoming Prime Minister

He added: Jeremy Corbyns office did not want it to happen. It was about distracting  this is endemic if you have a genuine socialist leader who is going to transform things for ordinary people and make the bloody corporations pay their fair share of tax  they will do whatever is necessary to stop you.

'And that means lies and smears in most of the West. In other parts of the world it can mean assassination.

The former Mayor of London continued: You cant have a proper functioning democracy in a world in which the media, whether its the press or internet, can just spread lie after lie after lie.

Mr Livingstone, who quit the party last year, told a meeting of Labour Against The Witchhunt last week that he had fallen victim to a Labour machine run by Blairites

I mean it was outrageous because it was still  and this was Jeremys big problem  a Labour machine controlled by all the ghastly old Blairites, convinced Jeremy was going to lead us to a wipeout, doing everything possible to get rid of him, and thats what has fuelled all this stuff about anti-Semitism.

At that stage, 80 per cent of Labour MPs thought wed be wiped out at the next Election. They didnt believe Jeremy and his policies would connect with people.

'And so that was the first time I started to hear accusations about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

He added: If you have a genuine socialist leader who is going to transform things for ordinary people and make the bloody corporations pay their fair share of tax  they will do whatever is necessary to stop you'

'The simple fact is, the elite will do everything to stop Jeremy getting into Government, because they look at [Shadow Chancellor] John McDonnell and think that buggers going to stop all our tax dodging in the Cayman Islands.

I get a phone call saying that Ive been suspended from the Labour Party by the General Secretary the debate was apparently going on horrendously because Jeremys office didnt want this to happen, but Jeremy had no control over the disciplinary structure.

After claiming that Hitler supported Zionism before he went mad, Mr Livingstone quit the Labour Party last year, saying that the row over his comments had become a distraction.Tory leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab were last night blamed by Theresa Mays allies for dashing her hopes of a Brexit deal with the DUP.

They claimed a last-minute accord fell through because of doubts among the Northern Irish party that Mr Johnson and Mr Raab were really Unionists.

A senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday that the two men had met the DUP as the Prime Minister desperately tried to persuade the partys ten MPs to add their crucial support to her deal.

May's allies claimed a last-minute accord fell through because of doubts among the Northern Irish party that Mr Johnson (pictured) and Mr Raab were really Unionists

A senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday that the two men (Raab is pictured) had met the DUP as the Prime Minister desperately tried to persuade the partys ten MPs to add their crucial support to her deal

But the Minister  a close ally of Mrs May  said the DUP had suspicions about how strongly former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson and ex-Brexit Secretary Mr Raab really felt about the Union.

The May ally suggested that the DUP had doubts over how strongly either man would defend the Northern Ireland position if they became Prime Minister.

He said: One of the things that put the DUP off is that they met Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab and decided that they were not really Unionists.

The backing of the DUP is seen as vital to any hopes Mrs May has of getting her Brexit plan over the line.

But the party has held firm against it, with its Westminster leader Nigel Dodds saying: I would stay in the EU rather than risk Northern Irelands position.

Thats how strongly I feel about the Union.

The May ally suggested that the DUP had doubts over how strongly either man (Johnson pictured with May in 2017) would defend the Northern Ireland position if they became Prime Minister

Mr Dodds has consistently raised fears of Northern Ireland being reduced to a separate status from the rest of the UK because of the Brexit backstop agreed between Mrs May and Brussels.

However, there were also reports that privately the DUP had been split 7-3 in favour of backing the Prime Ministers deal but in the end maintained a united front to oppose it.

Last night, friends of Mr Johnson dismissed the claims that he had put off the DUP.

They pointed out that he had been feted by the party when he attended their annual conference in Belfast, when he railed against the danger of having to leave Northern Ireland behind as an economic semi-colony of the EU and of damaging the fabric of the union.

Allies of Mr Raab also dismissed the claims.A leading pro-Brexit Tory who gave Theresa May her vote last week today warns the Prime Minister her Government will collapse if she caves into Remainer demands for the UK to stay in the EUs customs union.

Berwick-upon-Tweed MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan dropped her long-standing opposition to Mrs Mays flawed Brexit deal on Friday as it was the only remaining route out of the EU.

The senior member of the hardline European Research Group  nicknamed The Spartans for their willingness to lay down their political lives for a pure Brexit  warns Mrs Mays deal must go through this week or Brexit will be lost forever. She vows today to bring down the Government if Mrs May compromises further and caves into demands from MPs for a softer Brexit.

Anne Marie Trevelyan (centre), a Brexit warrior who has put down her spear once over May's deal but now vows to pick it up again. Steve Baker (left), Messianic Brexit commander who threatens to 'tear' Parliament down and 'bulldoze it into the river'. Mark Francois (right), ex-territorial Army trooper who boasts: 'I was in the Army. I wasn't trained to lose.'

Ms Trevelyan says bluntly such a move would spell the end of the line for this Conservative Government as it would not be tolerated by Tory MPs.

In an explosive intervention in todays Mail on Sunday, the respected backbencher warns Brexit faces its gravest threat yet, as staying bound to Brussels tariff rules without a seat at the table is the most damaging option available.

As MPs prepare to force Mrs May into a softer Brexit, Ms Trevelyan has branded any further softening of the divorce terms a surrender that would open the door to a Jeremy Corbyn regime.

Taking aim at Downing Street for breaking its promises, she writes: The Conservative manifesto promised, and the Prime Minister has emphasised repeatedly, that we would leave the customs union and Single Market. Conservatives who vote to remain in the customs union tomorrow will be tearing up their manifesto commitments and doing irreparable damage to our party.

Despite Ms Trevelyan backing Mrs Mays deal on Friday, Downing Street faces an uphill struggle to convince fellow ERG hardliners Steve Baker and Mark Francois into a similar climbdown (Theresa May is pictured centre)

And she has blamed a bizarre lack of direction from the leader of our party and country, for fear of resignations as the key reason the Government has ended up on the brink of collapse.

The Prime Minister has always viewed Brexit as a damage-limitation exercise.

She never had any enthusiasm for the decision made by the British people in 2016, and as a result weve been accommodating the EUs every whim rather than staunchly fighting for British interests.

It seems the PM has decided to throw away our right to leave the EU without a deal  despite having said dozens of times that no deal is better than a bad deal.

In a warning to future leadership contenders, she adds: Governance and vision for our great country after a real Brexit has been delivered must be restored.

Despite Ms Trevelyan backing Mrs Mays deal on Friday, Downing Street faces an uphill struggle to convince fellow ERG hardliners Steve Baker and Mark Francois into a similar climbdown.Downing Street has been plunged into civil war over whether Theresa May should trigger a General Election this week, as the Brexit crisis threatens to overwhelm her Government.

The Prime Ministers closest advisers are bitterly divided over whether to call a snap poll if Mrs May loses a last-chance Brexit vote this week and are also split over whether she should be in charge of the campaign.

It comes as a Mail on Sunday poll today gives Jeremy Corbyn a five-point lead over the Tories, enough to make Labour the largest party in the Commons and put Mr Corbyn on the threshold of Downing Street. The poll result prompted this newspapers pollster to say that calling an election would be a kamikaze move by Mrs May.

The Prime Ministers closest advisers are bitterly divided over whether to call a snap poll if Mrs May loses a last-chance Brexit vote this week and are also split over whether she should be in charge of the campaign

Ahead of another tumultuous week at Westminster:

Mrs May was preparing to make a final bid to win MPs approval for her deal through a Commons run-off against a Remainers plan to keep the UK in a customs union;

Her Cabinet was at war over the crisis, with threats of walkouts by Remain-leaning Ministers, led by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, if Mrs May does not sign up to a customs union, and counter-threats to quit from pro-Brexit Ministers if she does;

The pizza club of pro-Brexit Cabinet Ministers, led by Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, held an emergency conference call yesterday afternoon to co-ordinate their response to the crisis;

A letter-writing campaign backed by 170 MPs put huge additional pressure on Mrs May not to extend the UKs EU membership until the European Parliament elections on May 23;

Cabinet Minister Geoffrey Cox accused Tory MP Oliver Letwin of conspiring with Brussels to keep the UK in a customs union;

Mrs May was accused of plotting to stymie Boris Johnsons leadership ambitions by staying in Downing Street until October;

The main candidates to succeed Mrs May intensified their courtship of Tory MPs;

One of Mrs Mays allies accused Mr Johnson and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab of blowing up the deal with the DUP by failing an interview with the Ulster Unionists;

Tory MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan warned that the Government would fall if Mrs May negotiated to keep the UK in a customs union;

Brussels negotiators were locked in debate about whether to force the UK into a No-Deal Brexit or a long extension of EU membership if the Commons remains deadlocked;

Mr Corbyns strategists were plotting a General Election decapitation strategy designed to take out Mr Johnson, Ms Rudd and Iain Duncan Smith if a poll is called.

Mrs May will this week mount a desperate, last-ditch attempt to win support for her vote as Parliament tries to coalesce around a Brexit option that can achieve a majority.

Remainer MPs led by Mr Letwin are set to seize control of the Commons timetabling again tomorrow and Wednesday for a fresh round of indicative votes.

They are expected to show that Parliament wants to stay tied to Brussels tariff rules for good.

It comes as a Mail on Sunday poll today gives Jeremy Corbyn a five-point lead over the Tories, enough to make Labour the largest party in the Commons and put Mr Corbyn on the threshold of Downing Street. The poll result prompted this newspapers pollster to say that calling an election would be a kamikaze move by Mrs May

Mrs May will this week mount a desperate, last-ditch attempt to win support for her vote as Parliament tries to coalesce around a Brexit option that can achieve a majority

It would set up a showdown on Thursday with Mrs Mays deal, which has been defeated three times already. It will be given one last chance to get over the line to avoid a major delay to Brexit.

Some No 10 advisers are pushing for the run-off to come as early as Tuesday, meaning an Election could conceivably be called as soon as Wednesday.

Last night EU sources said it would still be possible for the UK to leave on May 22 if Mrs Mays deal was passed this week.

But an emergency meeting of the EU 27 has been convened for April 8 in case the deal fails to get parliamentary approval.

The European Commission is open to an extension that would require the UK to take part in European elections in May but the decision would have to be taken by the EU Council of leaders.

There are fears France or Italy, both sick of Brexit wrangling, could veto the proposal, plunging the continent into a No-Deal scenario on April 12.

Mrs May is under pressure from Brexiteers in Government who have organised a new Leave Ministers WhatsApp group to co-ordinate their demand that Britain leaves on that date, even without a deal, and fight off a bid by Remainers to foist a customs union on the Government in a last-gasp effort to soften Brexit.

Last night No 10 and the Cabinet were split down the middle over what Mrs May should do if Mr Letwin succeeds in securing Commons support for UK membership of a customs union.

Ms Leadsoms pizza club  which she founded last year to discuss pro-Brexit strategy over takeaways in her Commons room  is understood to have agreed in their 5pm call to block efforts to join a customs union.

The Deltapoll survey for The Mail on Sunday puts Labour on 41 per cent, five points clear of the Conservatives on 36 per cent.

If this result were to be repeated at an Election, Labour would win 307 seats and the Conservatives would win 264.

Although Mr Corbyn would be 19 seats short of a majority, it would leave him in pole position to move into No 10 if he could strike an agreement with the Scottish Nationalists.Q. Can you recommend a Panama Canal cruise for a single traveller?

Angela, Leeds

Trailfinders has a 16-night full-board cruise with Holland America Line from Fort Lauderdale in Florida to San Diego in California, passing through the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific. It costs from 3,149 for one traveller, flights included (020 7084 6500, trailfinders.com).

Or try Tui, which offers a seven-night cruise that begins and ends in Montego Bay, Jamaica, calling at Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama with a ferry day-trip along the canal. From 1,637 with Manchester flights included (tui.co.uk).

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama for those travelling solo is an option with Holland America Line from Fort Lauderdale. The trip costs 3,149 for one traveller including flights from Trailfinders

Q. My partner and I are pensioners and would love to visit Cornwall, but the thought of driving is daunting. Could a train take us near Mullion Cove Hotel on the Lizard Peninsula?

Gil Brown, Wirral, Cheshire

Redruth station is closest to Mullion Cove Hotel, about 20 miles away. The taxi fare is 45 each way from Kernow Cabs (kernowcabs.co.uk, 01326 464646), based in Helston.

Lounge lizards: A view of the Lizard Peninsula near the Mullion Cove Hotel. Taxis to the hotel cost 45 each way from Redruth station, which is 20 miles away, for those that aren't driving

Q. I want to visit Oslo, but I cant fly. Can you suggest a way by rail or ferry?

John Sharp, Southsea

This is tricky  and could turn into quite an adventure. To get to Oslo take a train to Brussels (eurostar.com, 66, 2h 31m), another to Copenhagen (en.oui.sncf, 216, 14h), then a ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo (dfdsseaways.co.uk, 71, 17h). You will need to spend nights in Brussels and Copenhagen as well as on the ship.

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions and provide tips on how to make the most of your precious time off. Please send questions to holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk or write to Daily Mail Travel, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT  and include your contact details. We will do our best to answer your queries but we cant reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.This golden spot on the Welsh side of the border with England has been called the birthplace of British tourism.

Staying at Gliffaes, an ultra-comfy country house hotel in the Usk Valley, I persuade the owner, James Suter, to take me on to the leads of the roof.

He points to the Brecon Beacons on one side, Table Mountain (outside Crickhowell, not Cape Town) on the other; brawling below us is the river Usk. Fishermen love it here, he says.

A magnet for artists: Turner was lured by the beauty of Llanthony Priory ruins

There are so many old or unusual trees in this part of Wales that the hotel publishes a guide to them.

The artist and cleric Rev William Gilpin once lauded the qualities of the river Wye, whose loops bring it within a few miles of the Usk, and travellers who were prevented from making the Grand Tour on the Continent by the Napoleonic Wars found that it had as much scenery to offer as Italy.

Whats more, William Wordsworth rejoiced in the wooded banks and rolling waters at Tintern Abbey, towards the mouth of the Wye, not far from Chepstow.

Today, these magnificent ruins are in the care of Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage.

For a distant view, go to the Devils Pulpit on the other side of the Wye: so named because of a legend which says the devil perched on this jutting rock in an attempt to lure monks away from the monastery. The cascading landscape remains much the same as how J. M. W. Turner painted it.

Not so the food: that displays a whole new order of technique.

The artist and cleric Rev William Gilpin once lauded the qualities of the river Wye (above)

Half an hours drive from Gliffaes stands Llangoed Hall, above Hay-on-Wye. Re-designed by the Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis just before the Great War, it was bought, in 1987, by Sir Bernard Ashley (husband of designer Laura Ashley), who hung the walls with Edwardian paintings and opened it as an elegant hotel.

Ownership has since changed, but some of Sir Bernards picture collection remains. Room seven still has its original Laura Ashley wallpaper  floral, of course.

Under a new manager, Llangoed Hall is being driven to yet greater heights, and if Nick Brodie, the chef, doesnt win the restaurant a Michelin star, Ill eat my hat.

Nicks a virtuoso of the kitchen  and Llangoed has its own beehives, chickens and asparagus beds, observed by a herd of cattle in the adjacent meadows.

Walking here is fabulous. At Llanthony Priory, in the Vale of Ewyas  another favourite of Turner  we meet a girl encased in rainwear, who has nearly been blown off the top of one of the hills; she is going to make the rest of the journey to Hay-on-Wye along the road, where the only obstacle is likely to be a flock of sheep.

Hay is the book capital of Wales, if not Britain, and home to the celebrated Hay Festival in May.

Its a quiet place at other times, where its all too easy to be beguiled by the antique shops selling old Welsh blankets and chandeliers.

But dont linger too long: we got a parking ticket. I should have read the pay-and-display notice.

Well, actually, given what the poet Thomas Gray called the succession of nameless beauties of this glorious landscape, we should have been on foot.All the ingredients of a small-town carnival are in place: marching bands, garish floats, a costume parade, candy floss. Flamboyance and fanfares. But here, in the deepest corner of Oregon on the north-west coast of the United States, it might help if you believe in aliens.

This is the home of UFO Fest, held in the small town of McMinnville in Yamhill County.

Each May, McMenamins Hotel in Oregon stages its celebration of the extra-terrestrial: the world of abductions, out-of-body experiences and close encounters.

Just a freak occurrence: McMinnville locals dress up as their favourite aliens

Many of the 20,000 who attend the three-day festival  and you can still get tickets  are firm believers in alien life, often referred to as ufologists; others, the doubters and the sceptical, come to enjoy the spectacle. In McMinnvilles Main Street, locals and out-of-towners, believers and non-believers, mingle. No one falls out.

As Jeff Knapp, executive director of Visit McMinnville, says: Its the one weekend when locals feel its OK to let their freak flag fly.

This year will see the 20th anniversary of the festival, which began after a local farmer, Paul Trent, photographed an alleged UFO hovering around his farm outside McMinnville. Now known as the The Trent Sightings, his two photographs, taken on May 11, 1950, have passed into UFO legend.

The highlight of the festival is the costume parade, a colourful spectacle of tinfoil outfits and spaceships.

Speakers at the 600-seater auditorium in the community centre include Bob Lazar, who worked at the secretive government complex known as Area 51. He claims to have worked on the reverse-engineering of crashed/captured alien spacecraft.

Also appearing will be Commander David Fravor, a retired Top Gun Navy pilot, who in 2004 encountered an oblong-shaped craft hovering above the Pacific Ocean. Fravor is reported as saying that he was weirded out.

Around 20,000 are expected to attend the three-day festival in May

And thats the point about this wacky festival, where the wine-tasting is billed as Close Encounters of the 3rd Vine.

Where else can you join an alien parade, dance in the streets, attend a lecture from an ex-intelligence officer and end the day with sipping pinot noir with ET?Where do experts choose to eat on holiday?

Henry and Tom Herbert  TVs Fabulous Baker Brothers  took their young families to the Algarve.

Here they give their top tips on where to go to enjoy the most delicious food.

Down the hatch: Tom Herbert (left) tucks into oysters at Estamine as brother Henry looks on. The restaurant is on an island in the Ria Formosa natural park. The views and service are great

Where is your favourite food market?

Henry: The town of Loule, just inland from Faro, has stalls filled with fresh produce, all spilling out on to the cobbled streets next to the indoor market. Its a vibrant, lively meeting point every day but its best to go on a Saturday  the place is buzzing.

Tom: For a massive choice, the fish market in Quarteira cant be beaten. From fresh clams and prawns to sea bass and dourada, the daily catches are perfect for bringing back to barbecue.

Which bakeries do you rate?

Henry: For me its Pastelaria Charlotte in Almancil. It doesnt look much from the outside but you cant beat its amazing pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) and cakes.

Tom: Near the harbour in Faro is Urban Bakery, where you can see the bakers in action at the back of the shop. If you visit at Easter, try the regional speciality folar. Its glorious  like a massive, buttery Chelsea bun but with less fruit and more spice.

Egg on your face: The 'amazing' pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) are a hit at Pastelaria Charlotte in Almancil, according to Henry Herbert, who says the joint 'doesnt look much from the outside but you cant beat the cakes'

And for great seafood?

Henry: Gigis (quintadolago.com/en/restaurants/gigis) is the perfect holiday restaurant  you get an entertaining afternoon eating some of the finest seafood cooked over charcoal while a sea breeze cools you down.

Owner Gigi strides around his restaurant as the master raconteur, telling stories, using his sabre to pop champagne corks and singing along to his favourite operas.

Its not for the faint-hearted but it will always be a memorable occasion.

Tom: The most enchanting restaurant Ive ever been to is the family-run Estamine (estamine.deserta.pt). Its on a deserted island in the Ria Formosa natural park. The park is teeming with wildlife and the views are sensational. You also get superb service.

Where do your family like to go for dinner?

Henry: They would vote for the new Amara restaurant at Four Seasons Fairways (amararestaurant.pt), which is light and bright and has great views of the hills.

Its modern, with attention to detail in everything from the design of the restaurant to the food. My years as a chef have taught me that contemporary Portuguese dishes featuring crab or foie gras dont come without a lot of knowledge and skill in the kitchen.

Tom: Casa Velha in Quinta do Lago (quintadolago.com/en/restaurants/casa-velha) is true to its roots and serves locally inspired fare in a space perfectly designed for the worlds elite. Alas, we cant go there as often as wed like as we would quickly run out of money.Chloe Sims will struggle to contain her emotions in Sunday's The Only Way Is Essex, as Dan Edgar finally confronts her about their Thailand fling.

In first look snaps, Chloe is left in tears as Dan asks where they stand on their relationship, after finally returning home from their sunny break.

The show will also see Sam Mucklow seeking advice from his pals regarding his fractured relationship with Shelby following their explosive row, after he angrily called her a 's**g' in dramatic scenes.

Tearful: Chloe Sims will struggled to contain her emotions in Sunday's The Only Way Is Essex, as Dan Edgar finally confronts her about their Thailand fling

Chloe will take some time away to enjoy a night in with her female pals, as she tries to make a decision around her relationship with Dan.

The pair enjoyed a secret fling while soaking up the sun in Thailand, but are yet to make things official.

Chloe has also been left conflicted after Diags admitted that many of their pals are not on board with her dating Dan, following his split from Amber Turner.

Hard: Chloe has been left conflicted regarding her status with Dan, after she was told some of her friends were not on board with their romance

What do you think? Diags will confront Dan, questioning whether his feelings are as strong as hers

What will happen? Fans have repeatedly been kept guessing regarding Chloe's relationship with Dan, as many root for the long-serving cast member to finally have her happy ending

Well? Diags' (right) words give Dan food for thought, leading him to decide to ambush Chloe's girls' night in

As she updates Georgia Kousoulou, Demi Sims and Chloe Ross on her status with Dan, he will be called out by Diags, who questions whether his feelings run as deep as Chloe's do.

Desperate to set things straight, Dan ambushes Chloe's night in, leading to an intense conversation between the pair.

It seems things become too much for Chloe, as she struggles to hold back tears in the preview snaps.

Pals: Chloe decides to set the record straight with her pals as they enjoy a cosy girls' night in, completely with matching pyjamas

The case: She proceeds to update Georgia Kousoulou, Demi Sims and Chloe Ross on the situation, but remains torn on her and Dan's status

Dramatic: Desperate to set things straight, Dan ambushes Chloe's night in, leading to an intense conversation between the pair

Torn: It seems things become too much for Chloe, as she struggles to hold back tears in the preview snaps

Awkward! Also set to feature is Sam Mucklow addressing his recent row with Shelby Tribble, when he called her a 's***'

Raging: Meanwhile Clelia Theodorou and Chloe Meadows lambaste Sam for his behaviour, as they enjoy an spot of ice cream with Shelby

Upset: Shelby was left raging when Sam insulted her, which came after she threw a drink in his face

Viewers will have to wait and see when the couple finally make things official, as Chloe confirmed earlier this week that she and Dan are dating, weeks after the scenes were filmed.

Also set to feature is Sam addressing his recent row with Shelby, which saw him call her a 's**g' after she threw a drink over him.

As Sam speaks to the boys about his behaviour, Clelia Theodorou and the girls lambaste his cruel words.

Later Sam comes fact to face with Saffron Lempriere, who offers him some much-needed words of wisdom, but will he take heed?

The drama continues in The Only Way Is Essex on Sunday 31st March at 9pm on ITVBe.Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have been married for 22 years.

And Lisa marked the proud occasion on Friday through beautiful throwback photographs of the couple on Instagram.

After walking down the aisle in 1997, Rinna, 55, and Hamlin, 67, have lived full lives together, filled with two stunning daughters.

Holy matrimony: Lisa Rinna, 55, and Harry Hamlin, 67, have been married for 22 years on Friday, which Lisa celebrated through beautiful throwback photographs on Instagram

And looking back on where it all began, Lisa shared an image from their wedding day as they kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

In the old photo, we see the happy couple with their lips locked and Harry clutching tightly to his bride.

The Days Of Our Lives beauty wore a long veil in her up-do with a white simple wedding gown.

Surrounded by vines, the moment was like one you'd only expect to be seen in a romantic film.

She said yes: Continuing in her walk down memory lane, Lisa posted another picture on her Instagram stories, again showing her and Harry on their wedding day

Continuing in her walk down memory lane, Lisa posted another picture on her Instagram stories, again showing her and Harry on their wedding day.

In this one, they smiled widely while facing the flash of the camera.

Lisa's bangs covered her face, showing the actress back in the prime of her thirties at age 34.

The loving couple embarked on a crazy adventure together this week to celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary as well.

Deep blue sea: On Instagram, Lisa's been posting nonstop with a look at her and Harry's trip to Baja, Mexico

A new show? Joking about the mammals perched along the shore, Rinna wrote, Real Housewives of Baja

On Instagram, Lisa's been posting nonstop with a look at her and Harry's trip to Baja, Mexico.

In numerous videos Lisa showed off her daring side as she sat inside a boat out on the open water.

Getting the full experience, she got to pet dolphins and gaze at seals during her rocky ride.

Flying high: Later on, she showed off a tiny airplane that her and her man were about to board saying, 'Time for our next adventure, there's HH,' as Harry walked in front of her

Joking about the mammals perched along the shore, Rinna wrote, Real Housewives of Baja.

Later on, she showed off a tiny airplane that her and her man were about to board saying, 'Time for our next adventure, there's HH,' as Harry walked in front of her.

Since they've been together, the gorgeous lovers have worked together on numerous projects, like Veronica Mars.

Perfect on and off screen: Since they've been together, the gorgeous lovers have worked together on numerous projects, like Veronica Mars

But although they have a professional relationship too, they actually didn't meet on set, like so many star crossed lovers in Hollywood have.

Instead, Rinna was working in an eyeglass store in the early 90s and as she was closing up one night, Harry was simultaneously having dinner with the store's owner.

Lisa came in to give her boss the building keys as he was dining with the Mad Men star, which is how they first locked eyes on each other.

Prior to the stunner, Harry was married to Falcon Crest star Laura Johnson from 1985 to 1989.

Busy guy: He also tied the knot with Nicollette Sheridan in September 1991 and filed for divorce 11 months later. Here they are in 1991

He also tied the knot with Nicollette Sheridan in September 1991 and filed for divorce 11 months later.

Hamlin shares his son Dimitri with another of his ex's, model Ursula Andress.

Lisa and Harry now share their two daughters - Delilah, 20, and Amelia, 17 - both of whom have decided to enter the modeling profession.

On The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, Lisa quipped that 'I thank Michael Bolton to this day,' since he is the reason she and Harry 'have these beautiful children.'She tied the knot in a magical Maldives wedding in front of family and friends earlier this month.

And Billie Faiers appeared to continue the celebrations as she strutted her stuff alongside fellow reality star Ferne McCann, sister Sam and mother Suzie on a raucous on a 'mum's night out' at The Curtain in London on Friday.

The Mummy Diaries star, 29, showed off her bridal body in figure-hugging sleek black flared jeans and a top with a plunging neckline.

Looking chic: Billie Faiers appeared to continue the celebrations as she strutted her stuff alongside fellow reality star Ferne McCann on a girls night out at The Curtain in London on Friday

Glamorous: The Mummy Diaries star, 29, showed off her bridal body in a figure-hugging sleek black catsuit with a plunging neckline

Newly wed Billie paired the eye-catching outfit with a stylish leather jacket and a black belt which accentuated her tiny waist.

The former TOWIE personality finished the look with a pair of dazzling gold earrings, a chic black bag and smokey makeup to ensure her blue eyes were noticed.

She also added a pop of colour to the monochrome look with bright red nails, displaying her sparkling wedding ring on her left hand.

Ferne opted for sleek leather trousers which showed off her incredible pins and styled her long blonde tresses in a sleek straight do.

Having fun: Sister Sam Faiers looked like she was having a night to remember as she clutched onto her mother Suzanne Wells as they laughed out loud

Looking lovely: Having fun: Sister Sam Faiers looked like she was having a night to remember as she clutched onto her mother Suzanne Wells as they laughed out loud

Big smiles: Ferne styled her long blonde tresses in a sleek and straight do

Girls night out: The former TOWIE personality finished the look with a pair of dazzling gold earrings while Ferne opted for sleek leather trousers which showed off her incredible pins

Newly wed: Making sure her cleavage was out on display, Ferne looked utterly dazzling in a satin cropped-shirt revealing her black underwear

Making sure her cleavage was out on display, Ferne looked utterly dazzling in a cropped satin shirt revealing her black underwear.

The reality star put her plump pout on display with lip gloss to ensure her puckered lips were eye-catching.

Sister Sam Faiers looked like she was having a night to remember as she clutched onto her mother Suzanne Wells as they laughed out loud.

Sam wore a dazzling baby blue plisse dress with a matching tie to cinch her waist and paired the outfit with nude stilettos.

Making sure her sensational tanned pins were on display, The TOWIE star paired the mini dress with eye-catching star earrings.

The Mummy Diaries star, 28, wore her brunette tresses in effortless waves and opted for big and bold lashes to accentuate her eyes.

Ready for the night: Billie clutched her black leather jacket as she was joined by pal Ferne, sister Sam and mother Suzie

Youth-defying mother Suzie opted for show-stopping long satin fuchsia wrap dress which displayed her ample assets in a racy black bra.

The 50-year-old paired the bright ensemble with a Chanel bag and, red nails and styled her locks in waves.

Taking to Instagram, Billie posted a snap of their 'mums' night out with the caption 'Lets get this party started', adding '#mumsontour .. it never gets old'.

The night out comes just three weeks after Billie and beau Greg Shepherd invited 95 of their mates to the Maldives to celebrate their dream wedding.

The couple got engaged in the Maldives back in February 2014 and returned to the Indian Ocean paradise to get married on March 5 as part of a glossy magazine deal with OK!.

Mum's night out: Taking to Instagram, Billie posted a snap of their 'mums' night out with the caption 'Lets get this party started', adding '#mumsontour .. it never gets old'

A night to remember: Making sure her sensational tanned pins were on display, The TOWIE star paired the mini dress with eye-catching star earrings

Mum's night out: Youth-defying mother Suzie opted for show-stopping long satin fuchsia wrap dress which displayed her ample assets in a racy black bra

Looking fierce: Ferne put on a sauntering display as she headed on a night out with pal Billie

All eyes on them: The reality star put her plump pout on display with lip gloss to ensure her puckered lips were eye-catching

Flawless: Newly wed Billie paired the sleek outfit with a stylish leather jacket and a black belt which accentuated her tiny waist

Billie said of the nuptials in an interview with OK!: 'Other than the days that Nelly and Arthur were born, it was the best day of my life. It was like a fairy tale - all the stress and tears were worth it.

'It's so lovely for me to finally be a Shepherd and share a surname with my children. Marriage ties our little family together completely.'

The couple's guests partied at the resort for a week of celebrations, with Billie's The Mummy Diaries co-star sister Sam, 28, and best friend Ferne McCann, 28, also in attendance.

But Billie's wedding to Greg reportedly caused upset among other guests in the Maldives, some of whom had paid up to 12,000 for their trip of a lifetime.

Laughing out loud: The Mummy Diaries star, 28, wore her brunette tresses in effortless waves and opted for big and bold lashes to accentuate her eyes

The Shepherds: Billie, her new husband Greg Shepherd, 33, and their children Nelly, four, and Arthur, two, after the couple's Maldives wedding

And Billie appeared to red-faced when Phillip Schofield grilled her over whether she had 'cut a deal' to pay for her ceremony during a TV interview.

This Morning presenter Phil, 56, had estimated that it would have set her back 229,000 if she had to pay for the guests' trip to the Maldives.

He said: 'My God, you must be earning beautifully to do this. This is the Kuramathi Resort in the Maldives. So we had a look, if you were to stay there next Saturday it would be 650 a night, that would be 4,588 for a week for the superior beach villa.

'The whole week for 100 guests, 229,000. So you must have got a deal there. 229,000 for your wedding?'

But Billie who appeared on the show with sister Sam, 28, said it 'wasn't quite that,' as she giggled awkwardly.

Phillip then grilled her further after claiming she didnt get a discount, saying: 'Right, so they did give you a deal?'

Billie then said: 'We had the beach houses and split them in two, it really helped us out with the rooms and stuff.'She might have split from BFF Kylie Jenner, but Jordyn Woods is hoping she can be a success story all on her own.

The 21-year-old model wrapped up her business trip to London by posting about a soon to be released project on Friday.

Collaborating with a hair extension line, Woods lived her best life as she shared some behind the scenes shots in England, where she originally jetted off to for the release of her eyelash line.

All work: Jordyn Woods, 21, wrapped up her business trip to London by posting about a soon to be released project on Friday

In one, Jordyn was strewn across a floor, resting chest down with her head on her arms.

She wore a gold jacket with matching jewelry as her long, dark pony tail was formed perfectly above her.

The lash line creator captioned the shot saying: 'Came to London to finally wrap a project weve been working on for the last 12 months! I cant wait for you guys to see it @easilockshair.'

That's a wrap: Kylie's former best friend shared other behind the scenes looks at her busy work trip too

Take a load off: In one Instagram story Woods relaxed while getting her hair washed as she wrote, 'the best after a long day'

Kylie's former best friend shared other behind the scenes looks at her busy work trip too.

In one she wrote 'That's a wrap,' across a bouquet of roses and pink flowers.

And then in another she relaxed while getting her hair washed as she wrote, 'the best after a long day.'

Her makeup still glistened in the story, showing off how packed her day had been.

As Jordyn appeared to be creating something with hair care brand, Easilocks, she also had some fun with her own hair style while abroad.

Blondes have more fun: On Tuesday the Calabasas, California native pulled one of the Lip Kit founder's moves by wearing a long blonde wig. Jenner did this several times in 2017 and 2018

On Tuesday the Calabasas, California native pulled one of the Lip Kit founder's moves by wearing a long blonde wig. Jenner did this several times in 2017 and 2018.

The Life Of Kylie co-star showed off the new locks in an Instagram of her seductively relaxing on her hotel bed.

With Woods' eyelash brand, Eylure, launching soon, the beauty headed to London to celebrate.

She shared her travel plans on Instagram prior to her departure saying, 'I am so excited to come to London next week to celebrate my @eylureofficial lash collection launching exclusively in @superdrug. All three lashes will be available in stores on the 25th of March!'

Ready for fun: Jordyn looked stunning as she headed out to the launch party of her lash line, Eylure

Jordyn's business trip comes after heavy speculation that Kylie, 21, is hoping to leave their friendship in the past and move on.

The make-up mogul allegedly still isn't speaking to Jordyn since the cheating incident between Jordyn and Tristan Thompson, 28, and wants to draw a line on their relationship.

Jordyn poured her heart out in a Red Table Talk interview with Jade Pinkett Smith last month, denying she had cheated with Tristan.

Side by side: Khloe shares an 11-month-old daughter called True with Tristan, who had a cheating scandal go public last year less than 48 hours before the baby was born

The Cleveland Cavaliers player shares baby True, 11 months, with Kylie's sister Khloe Kardashan, 34, who has reportedly been left devastated by the claims.

Kylie wasn't buying her childhood friend's apology, however, and the public denial supposedly annoyed her even more.

TMZ reports that Kylie has asked Jordyn to come and pick up her stuff from her guest house in a bid to cut ties.

A source claims that while Kylie might consider being 'amicable' in future, their days of being best friends are over for good.They were estranged for years, but now Jon Voight is back on good terms with daughter Angelina Jolie.

The 80-year-old actor gave an update on the actress and her brood of six while speaking to Us Weekly at Thursday's International Champions of Jewish Values Gala in New York City.

The 43-year-old actress shares three biological children and three adopted children with her former husband, Brad Pitt, 55.

All's well: Jon Voight, 80, said that 43-year-old Angelina Jolie's, children were 'doing very well' while speaking to Us Weekly at Thursday's International Champions of Jewish Values Gala in New York City

'The kids are great. They're growing up,' the Ray Donovan star said of his daughter's children, adding, 'Theyre doing very well'.

He continued, adopting a more philosophical lens to discuss his children.

'It's just amazing to have kids and watch them grow. You realize the preciousness of time and how short our lives are really. Kids don't know that. When they're young, they think life is endless and they're always anxious to get to the next age.'

Optimistic: 'It's just amazing to have kids and watch them grow. You realize the preciousness of time and how short our lives are really. Kids don't know that,' said Jon; pictured (L-R) Knox, Angelina, Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara and Maddox on February 25 in New York City

Angelina's experiences with adoption predate her relationship with Brad.

She announced the adoption of her first child, Maddox, 17, from a Cambodian orphanage in 2002 while still married to actor Billy Bob Thornton. However, she officially adopted him as a single parent when the two split mere months after announcing the adoption.

Angelina and Brad began dating in 2005, shortly after filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith and his divorce from Jennifer Aniston. That year she adopted a daughter, Zahara, 14, from Ethiopia.

The couple later adopted a son, Pax, 15, from Vietnam in 2007.

She also gave birth to biological children with the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood actor, Shiloh, 12, and a set of twins, 10-year-olds Knox and Vivienne.

The beginning: Angelina and Brad began dating in 2005, shortly after filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith and his divorce from Jennifer Aniston; still from Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Happy family: On March 11, Angelina attended the premiere of Disney's live-action Dumbo remake with four of her six children, (L-R) Knox, Zahara, Vivienne and Shiloh; pictured March 11 in Los Angeles

On March 11, Angelina attended the premiere of Disney's live-action Dumbo remake with four of her six children, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.

The kids enjoyed some movie theater food, including corn dogs, chili cheese fries and candy.

'They were really chowing down on them in silence, obviously super into the food, while Angelina seemed relaxed and unbothered by all the junk food,' a guest at the premiere revealed to Us. 'She was smiling a lot, and the vibe of the family was very low-key and content together.'

Edgy style: Angelina showed off her extensive back tattoos in a sheer white dress at the Dumbo premiere; pictured March 11 in Los Angeles

Another source claimed after the premiere that Angelina's ex-husband wished his children wouldn't spend as much time in the spotlight.

'Brad isn't thrilled that Angie takes the kids to movie premieres, but it's not going to trigger any actions. Angie has always chosen to be more public with the kids than Brad has,' they said.

The two separated in September 2016, though their legal battles continued for years over questions of custody arrangements and Brad's child support responsibilities.They had a brief split earlier in the month after he shared a 'humiliating' video of her sleeping leading to him cruelly fat-shaming her in a row.

But Gemma Collins and James 'Arg' Argent seem to have put their troubles behind them on a recent trip to Tenerife.

Friday was no different to the pair, who gave a very revealing glimpse inside their life as they shared a clip of themselves in the bath.

Intimate: Gemma Collins and James 'Arg' Argent seem to have put their troubles behind them on a recent trip to Tenerife and on Friday they gave a very revealing glimpse inside their bath

Arg, 31, posted a snap of the duo relaxing in the super-sized tub with the caption: 'Bath Time with Bae  #theworldisyours'.

While Gemma, 38, shared a video of the pair in the bath as they listened to Beyonce and Jay Z's Bonnie And Clyde with Arg singing to his beau: 'Me and my girlfriend'.

The former TOWIE starlet showed off her fresh skin in the clip with her hair slicked back from her face as she donned a pair of sunglasses.

Romance: Gemma, 38, shared a video of the pair in the bath as they listened to Beyonce and Jay Z's Bonnie And Clyde with Arg singing to his beau: 'Me and my girlfriend'

Style: The former TOWIE starlet showed off her fresh skin in the clip with her hair slicked back from her face as she donned a pair of sunglasses

While her beau copied her style as he also clad his eyes in large frame glasses for the dip in the indoor bath.

Prior to her holiday, Gemma spoke candidly about her hopes to move to sunny California whilst on the Jonathan Ross Show earlier this month.

She revealed: 'Ive never been to LA. [Im going to LA because] the cameras want to be on me the minute I touch down in LA, to follow me having a go at it.'

Duo: While her beau copied her style as he also clad his eyes in large frame glasses for the dip in the indoor bath

Big plans: Prior to her holiday, Gemma spoke candidly about her hopes to move to sunny California whilst on the Jonathan Ross Show earlier this month

In February it was reported that Gemma had begun talks with TV producers to land her own reality show, after winning an army of new fans on Dancing On Ice.

A source told The Sun that the TOWIE star has been bombarded with big money deals after being eliminated from the skating show, but is taking some time off before making a decision.

It comes after Gemma's boyfriend also confirmed that he would be open to appearing on a reality show with her, as he makes a return to TV following a stint in rehab.

The source said: 'Gemma has been inundated with big money offers for different shows. She's spent the last couple of weeks weighing up her options and deciding what the next step is in her career.

'Shes hoping to film in Essex, London, Marbella and even Los Angeles to visit close pal Jonathan Cheban.'They memorably drew the ire of other competitors after admitting to scoring selectively to save their fellow group members.

But My Kitchen Rules 'villains' Romel Kouran and Ibby Moubadder have defiantly said they 'have no regrets' about their behaviour on the show.

Romel, 42, has previously defended the tactic to Daily Mail Australia - saying the $250,000 up for grabs justified the means.

They memorably drew the ire of other competitors after admitting to scoring selectively to save their fellow group members

He also claimed his team weren't the only team involved in the sabotage and the episode - which aired earlier this month - was cleverly edited to make it look like everyone else voted fairly.

Now the Sydney socialites have doubled down on their tactics to BW Magazine, with Romel saying: 'I feel bad about what happened but I don't regret what I did.'

The pair decided to disclose their behaviour to their co-stars earlier this month - causing considerable fallout as other teams accused them of not acting in the spirit of the show.

But Romel and Ibby said selective scoring was a common practice on the show, and that the only difference was they had the courage to own up to it.

'People do it every year but they just don't own up to it. We wanted to be honest about it,' he said.

But My Kitchen Rules participants Romel Kouran and Ibby Moubadder have defiantly said they 'have no regrets' about their behaviour

Ibby, meanwhile, was keen to convey that he was far from what he has been characterised on the reality cooking show.

In this month's interview with Daily Mail Australia, Romel told viewers to watch the episode where they cheated again and to look at how their co-stars scored.

'Let me tell you something else that you didn't see on camera yesterday,' Romel said.

'You kind of get a snippet of it but you don't see the whole thing... Ibby and I were not the only ones that strategically voted.'

'I love the girls and they're going to hate me for telling you, but f**k 'em - Andy and Ruby scored Group One a nine and they scored Group Two a two. And that is why you don't see anyone else's scores going on.'

Romel told Daily Mail Australia TWO other teams were involved in MKR's controversial cheating scandal and revealed the sabotage will continue Pictured: Ibby Moubadder, left, and Romel, right, during the cheating scandal)

He added: 'There's also another team that scored strategically because we actually had a conversation off-camera before where we went "we're f**ked, we're screwed!"'

My Kitchen Rules has struggled in the ratings this year, and TV news expert Steve Molk said the network appear to be favouring drama in a bid to boost numbers.

My Kitchen Rules continues on Monday at 7.30pm on Channel SevenThe MAFS star previously said that being the next Bachelorette would be a 'dream'.

But Ines Basic's dreams were shattered on Friday when Channel Ten announced that former Gogglebox star Angie Kent will front the next season of The Bachelorette.

The move is a little surprising considering that Ines was the bookies' favourite to score the coveted TV gig.

The 'dream' is over: Married At First Sight villain Ines Basic lost her 'dream' job this week after Angie Kent was named the next star of Channel Ten's The Bachelorette

On Tuesday, the Married At First Sight villain's odds were sitting at $3.50, according to online bookmakers Sportsbet.

She was followed by Bachelor in Paradise star Brooke Blurton ($5), actress Olympia Valance ($5.50) and Bachelor 2018 finalist Brittany Hockley ($7.50).

Elizabeth Sobinoff, who starred alongside Ines on MAFS and was involved in their bitter love triangle with Samuel Ball, had odds of $8.

Winners are grinners! Former Gogglebox star Angie Kent landed the coveted job this week

Interestingly, Angie wasn't included in Sportsbet's predictions.

Ines has made it clear that she's keen to pursue media opportunities following her iconic stint on Married At First Sight.

Last week, the brunette shared an ad to Instagram looking for a celebrity manager to help build her burgeoning brand.

The post read: 'I am now officially for sale and seeking representation.'

'I am now officially for sale and seeking representation': The 29-year-old has made it clear that she plans to pursue a career in the spotlight

She then listed her 'requirements' for potential managers, which stated they must not try mould her 'into every other hoe' among other bizarre requests.

'Must never put baby in the corner because she has her own voice for a purpose. Must believe in and follow my vision,' continued Ines.

The 29-year-old's lawyer also recently revealed that she has plans to head to the U.S. to pursue media opportunities in the future.Ant McPartlin reportedly earned 3million last year, despite taking time off work after his drink-drive crash, conviction and rehab stints, reports The Mirror.

The TV presenter's fortune is said to have risen from 16.3million to 19.3million in the past year.

Ant, 43, was still pocketing earnings despite being in rehab and missing the final of Saturday Night Takeaway and the live Britain's Got Talent shows.

Earning money: Ant McPartlin earned 3million last year despite taking time off work after his drink-drive crash, conviction and rehab stints, reports The Mirror

The Geordie star was involved in a three-car collision in Richmond and was discovered to be over the limit behind the wheel in March last year.

He was forced to take a break from presenting after he pleaded guilty to drink-driving in April, receiving a record-breaking 86,000 fine, as well as a 20-month ban from driving.

Newly-filed accounts for his company Teecourt Limited are said to reveal he was still earning from when he first went into rehab in June 2017 to the end of June 2018, according to the publication.

The star's wealth is boosted by numerous investments, including a business he owns with co-presenter Declan Donnelly, Hurley Productions, which has risen in value from 300,000 to 4.4million.

Ant's investments are also said to have risen by 500,000 to 11.5million while cash reserves in the business allegedly went from 6.7million to 9.3million, leaving him with 19.3 million after money he owed was taken away.

Double act: Ant was still pocketing earnings despite being in rehab and missing the final of Saturday Night Takeaway and the live Britian's Got Talent shows

Shocking: Ant was involved in a three-car collision in Richmond and was discovered to be over the limit behind the wheel, which Dec felt was 'indefensible'

MailOnline has contacted Ant's representative for comment.

It comes as Declan revealed he considered parting ways with his TV partner after the latter's drink-drive scandal last year.

Dec made the shocking admission in a candid interview with the Guardian Weekend magazine, which is set to be released on Saturday.

He revealed that he was angry with his friend when he heard about the news, but also felt upset on his behalf.

Discussing his feelings in the aftermath, the BGT host admitted he 'would be lying' if he said he hadn't thought about splitting from Ant, but decided he wanted to focus on getting their relationship 'back on track'.

Dec went on to say that he also felt he wanted Ant to be 'healthy and happy' again, and so decided not to part ways with him.

The TV duo have shared the stage together for 30 years, and quickly became one of the UK's most prolific presenters in history.

Admitting that they 'reassessed their career and relationship' following Ant's car crash, the duo realised they had been taking 'each other for granted' and had even 'stopped talking to each other'.

And, of this period, Ant explained: 'For the first time in many years, all we talked about were deep things like how we felt, and what the future held, and where we were, and all the chaos that has come along, especially for me.'

Triumphant return: BGT is just the start of the presenter's comeback after he stepped down from all his TV commitments for a year after a difficult few months

Ant's personal issues  which saw him develop a painkiller addiction, end his marriage to Lisa Armstrong and commit a drink-driving offence  saw him sit out the last few episodes the shows he presented with Dec.

But now the presenter is making a comeback, with the new Britain's Got Talent 2019 trailer dropping two weeks ago, ahead of the show airing in April.

BGT is just the start of the presenter's return to the screen after he stepped down from all his TV commitments for a year.

The presenter was greeted with a standing ovation from the audience when he returned to filming for Britain's Got Talent last month.Just hours after her stalker was charged with violating the restraining order she filed against him, Natalie Portman was seen out and about.

The 37 year old actress was spotted taking a stroll in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

Earlier that day, her stalker, who showed up at her house on multiple occasions, identifying himself as the fictional Keanu Reeves character John Wick, was charged with trespassing and violating a restraining order.

Out and about: Natalie Portman takes a solo stroll in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, hours after her stalker was charged with trespassing and violating a restraining order

The Black Swan star was wearing a plain white t-shirt with dark blue skinny jeans and black heels.

She also had a purse with a multi-colored strap slung over her shoulder and was seen carrying a notebook and her car keys.

She completed her ensemble with a pair of dark sunglasses.

Friday stroll: The Black Swan star was wearing a plain white t-shirt with dark blue skinny jeans and black heels

Two weeks ago, Portman obtained a five-year restraining order against the same man who believed he had a telepathic connection to her, The Blast reported.

On one occasion the man repeatedly rang Natalie's doorbell, and he has given his name as John Wick, a hitman played by Keanu Reeves in the self-titled franchise.

The stalker was ordered to stay 100 yards from Natalie as well as her husband Benjamin Millepied, and their two children Aleph, seven, and Amalia, 23 months.

Stalker-free: Two weeks ago, Portman obtained a five-year restraining order against the same man who believed he had a telepathic connection to her, The Blast reported

After starring in three movies in 2018, Annihilation, Vox Lux and The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, Portman could have just as big a year in 2019.

The actress stars as a female astronaut in the upcoming drama Lucy in the Sky, who returns to Earth from a life-changing mission in space.

She begins to slowly unravel and lose touch with reality in the film from director Noah Hawley, who created the Fargo TV series.

Big year: After starring in three movies in 2018, Annihilation, Vox Lux and The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, Portman could have just as big a year in 2019

Portman also narrates the upcoming Disneynature documentary Dolphin Reef, which hits theaters later this year.

She is also set to star in the upcoming mini-series We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, which doesn't have a release date yet.

The story follows a college student who laments the loss of a chimpanzee she claims is her twin sister.She is known for turning heads with her unique fashion choices.

And Olivia Palermo took it to the next level as she wore an eye-catching ensemble while attending the Love Arabia Ball in Doha, Qatar, on Friday evening.

The 32-year-old actress and businesswoman donned the colour of love in a shocking red jumpsuit with an impossibly long cape that trailed onto the floor.

Colour of love: Olivia Palmero didn't fail to impress as she wore an eye-catching ensemble as she attended the Love Ball at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar

Olivia looked sensational as she posed on the red carpet in the outfit which included over-sized puff sleeves, a high neck and chic tapered trousers.

She paired the outfit with a pop of pattern on her black and white fringed stilettos which complemented a silver choker necklace and small clutch bag.

The beauty tied the ensemble together with a dash of fuchsia eye shadow while she slicked back her brunette locks in a dramatic hair do.

The Love Arabia Ball is one of the most anticipated events of the year and often draws a slew of celebs to its red carpet.

Sensational: The 32-year-old actress and businesswoman donned the colour of love in a shocking red jumpsuit with an impossibly long cape that trailed onto the floor

The glitzy event was held at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and welcomed a whole host of stars from across the globe, which was held in support of the Naked Heart Foundation and Al Shafallah.

All proceeds will benefit the work of Al Shafallah Centre and Naked Heart Foundation, and will go towards developing professional support services for families of children with mental, physical and sensory disabilities, as well as enhancing advocacy campaigns in both Russia and Qatar.

The charity gala managed to raise $7.4 million thanks to generous contributions from the famous stars that attended the event, which comprised of a gala dinner with an immersive theatrical performance.

Colour pop: She paired the outfit with a pop of pattern on her black and white fringed stilettos which complemented a silver choker necklace and small clutch bag

Glamorous: Olivia tied the ensemble together with a dash of fuchsia eye shadow while she slicked back her brunette locks in a dramatic hair do

The star-studded charity gala, which was previously held in London, Paris, Moscow and Monte Carlo, was attended by celebs including model Jourdan Dunn and fashion designer Olivier Rousteing.

The gala was presented by Iman Bowie, and included a unique performance by ballet dancer Sergei Polunin and an exclusive fashion show by Ulyana Sergeenko featuring the full Spring-Summer 2019 collection accompanied by the world's rarest Burmese rubies.

A charity auction also took place held by Lord Mark Poltimore of Sothebys, which offered some amazing experiences such as dinner with Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen and personalised fashion advice and a couture dress by Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing.She gave birth to son Forest just seven months ago.

And on Saturday, former Home and Away star Esther Anderson, 39, showcased her incredible post-baby body as she stripped off into a tiny string bikini.

The LA-based Australian actress took to Instagram to share photos of herself in a skimpy two-piece, while preparing for a minibreak in Palm Springs, California.

If you've got it! Esther Anderson, 39, shows off her incredible post-baby body in a tiny string bikini

In one playful photo, the mother stands in the bathroom with her hand in the air, flashing the peace sign.

In another, Esther flashes two peace signs as she smiles towards the camera.

She left her long brunete locks out over her shoulders and appeared to be wearing minimal makeup.

Gorgeous and glowing: She has her long dark locks out and over her shoulders and appears to be wearing minimal makeup

Oh baby! The stunner is pictured while pregnant

'Weekend getaway got me like,' Esther said.

She added: 'Palm Springs we are coming for ya!!!'

Esther welcomed son Forest Jack in August last year, with British advertising executive husband, Howard Moggs.

Family: Esther welcomed son Forest Jack in August last year, with British advertising executive husband, Howard Moggs

At the time, she shared a snap of their boy and wrote that he is the 'love of our lives'.

'We couldn't be more in love with this beautiful little soul,' she added.

Esther and Howard married in Victoria's Geelong where she's from, in February 2017.Jodi and Braith Anasta confirmed their separation in 2015 - after three years of marriage.

And in The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Saturday, the actress revealed that 'it's really hard to date' following the split as a single mother.

The 34-year-old, who shares daughter Aleeia, five, with the retired NRL star, said it can be tricky finding the time while juggling a career with motherhood.

Challenges: Jodi Anasta, 34, said 'it's really hard to date' while juggling a career with motherhood... more than three years after her split from from NRL star husband Braith, 37. The former couple are pictured in August 2015

'I do date occasionally, but I find it really difficult between two cities, and when I'm in Sydney, I'm "mum",' Jodi told the paper.

The brunette flies to Melbourne from Sydney four times a week to film Channel Ten soap Neighbours.

'It's really hard to date, but I do find time occasionally,' Jodi added.

The model also told Confidential that she isn't a fan of dating apps, and hopes to meet someone who can handle her work and family commitments.

Schedule: Jodi, who flies to Melbourne from Sydney four times a week to film Neighbours, told The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Saturday, that it can be hard to find the time

Jodi and Braith, 37, confirmed their separation in 2015 after three years of marriage, and their divorce was finalised in March 2017.

Braith told Yahoo Lifestyle in September 2016 how the former couple co-parent daughter Aleeia.

'I have her every week, Monday to Friday, I'm a lucky dad and she's amazing, she's a beautiful girl who is growing up quick so I'm very, very lucky,' Braith said.

He said at the time that there is no animosity between the pair, and that they remain friends.

Family: Aleeia shares daughter Aleeia [pictured], five, with Braith

'The amazing part is Jodi and I are 50/50 split down the line, there is no animosity there, we get along really well and Aleeia sees that and sees that we are still friends.'

Braith has since moved on with personal trainer Rachael Lee, and the couple share daughter Gigi, one.

Jodi was linked to Sydney real estate agent Warren Ginsberg in December 2016.

Woman's Day reported that the couple called it quits in April 2017 due to 'too much friction'.The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels.



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He shares son Wolf, three, and daughter Saskia, two, with ex-fiancee Tammy Hembrow.

And Reece Hawkins hit back at a troll on Saturday, who criticised his parenting and said he's 'forgotten' about his two children.

Responding directly on the Instagram thread, the 23-year-old District Goods founder said the accusations are 'ridiculous' and to think before making assumptions.

'That's ridiculous': Tammy Hembrow's ex-fiance Reece Hawkins, 23, hit back at an Instagram troll on Saturday who criticised his parenting and said he's 'forgotten' about his two kids. Tammy, 24, is pictured on the right with Wolf, three, and Saskia, two

Reece took to Instagram on Saturday, sharing two side-by-side photos of himself shirtless.

In the Polaroids, the influencer shows off his array of tattoos and plays with a dog.

An Instagram troll used the post as an opportunity to take to the comments section and criticise Reece on his parenting.

'Are you with your kids anymore? You forgot them?!!' the troll directed at Reece.

Vocal: An Instagram troll used Reece's Instagram post on Saturday (not pictured) as an opportunity to take to the comments section and criticise Reece on his parenting

Hitting back: After being accused of 'forgetting' about his children, Reece responded directly to the troll, saying the accusations are 'ridiculous' and to think before making assumptions

Responding directly to the troll in the Instagram thread, Reece said the accusations are 'ridiculous' and to think before making assumptions.

'I think people would be getting angry and confused with your question, asking if I see them or not because you're asking if I FORGOT about my own kids which is ridiculous,' he began.

'Like how would I ever forget about my kids? I love them very much, I think about them everyday and I see them as much as I possibly can considering certain circumstances that can sometimes make it hard.'

'Just think a little before you ask questions and make assumptions,' Reece concluded.

Split: Reece and Tammy announced their split last June after four years of dating

New flame: Reece has since moved on with American model London Goheen (pictured), 21, while Tammy has been previously linked to Kylie Jenner's ex Tyga and Odell Beckham Jr

Reece and Tammy, 24, announced their split last June after four years of dating.

Reece has since moved on with American model London Goheen, 21, while Tammy has been previously linked to Kylie Jenner's ex Tyga and Odell Beckham Jr.

In January, the muscled hunk introduced his two children, Wolf and Saskia to London.

The brunette influencer told Daily Mail Australia that same month that she's smitten with the Insta-famous kids.

'Yes, they're sweet,' she said. 'They're lovely. They're really sweet, I liked them a lot.'She's providing the voice of Anna in Frozen II, but her off camera status doesn't mean Kristen Bell is going to let it go.

The 38-year-old Good Place star was seen out in Los Angeles on Friday as she fit a workout session into her busy schedule.

It was just one stop in the day which saw her running errands around the city.

Fabulous figure: Kristen Bell, 38, was seen out in Los Angeles on Friday as she fit a workout session into her busy schedule

The 5ft1in actress had on a lilac training top that highlighted her toned arms and flat tummy.

She wore a matching pair of navel-height leggings and a set of pink, blue and white trainers.

The Veronica Mars star had a large bag slung over her shoulder featuring an M. C. Escher style array of endless gray columns.

Kristen also carried along some shopping bags to and from her trip to the gym.

Staying in shape: The 5ft1in actress had on a lilac training top that highlighted her toned arms and flat tummy. She wore a matching pair of navel-height leggings and a set of pink, blue and white trainers

Like Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow before her, the Frozen star has become an entrepreneur as well as an actress.

She recently founded Hello Bello with her husband, Dax Shepard, 44.

The new company, which launched exclusively at Walmart, offers plant-based products for babies and young children.

'Parents can expect products formulated with safe and effective ingredients, including organic botanicals when possible; delivering greater comfort and performance,' a press release read.

On Tuesday, Kristen spoke at a launch event at Alice Kitchen in West Hollywood for the new baby brand.

New venture: Like Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow before her, the Frozen star has become an entrepreneur as well as an actress. She recently founded Hello Bello with her husband, Dax Shepard, 44; pictured in West Hollywood on March 26

Clean living: The new company, which launched exclusively at Walmart, offers plant-based products for babies and young children; shown with Joy Cho (R) in West Hollywood on March 26

Helping each other: Beyond being business partners with her husband Dax Shepard, 44, Kristen also practices being a loving and supportive wife. She spoke to People recently about the importance of his 14 years of sobriety; shown together in 2018

Beyond being business partners with her husband, Kristen also practices being a loving and supportive wife.

She spoke to People recently about the importance of Dax's 14 years of sobriety.

'I know how much effort has to be put into staying sober. I dont mean that to be like, I come home and see him shaking and looking at a whiskey ad or something, [but] there are different elements you have to deal with when youre staying sober,' she said. 'Its a ton of mental control and evolution.'

She 'spoils the hell out of me,' the CHiPs star said of his wife.

Staying strong: 'I know how much effort has to be put into staying sober. I dont mean that to be like, I come home and see him shaking and looking at a whiskey ad or something, [but] there are different elements you have to deal with when youre staying sober,' she said. 'Its a ton of mental control and evolution'; shown January 6 in Beverly Hills

Dax also opened up about his dislike of marriage as an institution  and his willingness to put those concerns aside to make Kristen happy.

'Ultimately, I was like, Well, Im doing it because my partner wants that,' he said, speaking to his wife. 'Forget the tradition or history of marriage as a concept, you knowing I was doing something that I didnt want to do because I loved you was a big sign for you.'

The two first began dating in late 2007, after the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star ended a five-year relationship with her film producer fiance Kevin Mann earlier that year. They had a courthouse marriage in 2013.

The couple share two daughters, six-year-old Lincoln and four-year-old Delta.He was recently spending time with Stranger Things actress, Millie Bobby Brown.

And on Saturday, Robert Irwin, 15, just enjoyed another milestone when he reached one million followers on Instagram.

Taking to his account, clad in his trademark Australia Zoo uniform Robert sat atop an illuminated '1M' sign before delivering a personalised message.

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What a milestone: Robert Irwin, 15, has marked getting one million Instagram followers on Saturday - celebrating with a personal message to fans on the social media platform

'Thank you so much for your support and kindness, and being on the journey with me,' he wrote.

Robert often shares snaps of endangered animals and exotic animals, encouraging conservation.

He added: 'I love sharing my world with you all and look forward to the adventures ahead.'

'The most magical day with these special souls': Stranger Things star, Millie Bobby Brown (centre) visited Robert (L) and Bindi (R) at the iconic Australia Zoo last weekend

Last weekend, Robert was spotted with English actress Millie Bobby Brown, who is filming the next installment of Godzilla Down Under.

The teen actress looked delighted as she met a kangaroo for the first time, posed with a python around her neck and cuddled an adorable meerkat at the wildlife park.

Millie, who plays Eleven in the science fiction horror web series, was also seen sharing a laugh with television star Bindi as she fed a giraffe some leaves.

Hiss you were here! The teen actress (right) posed with a python around her neck as she stood alongside a beaming Bindi (left)

This week, Robert also revealed the family would be filming season two of Crikey! It's The Irwins.

'So many more amazing stories, heaps of adventures - it's going to be fun!' Robert wrote alongside a smiling photo of the trio.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary ranges from showcasing crocodiles at their zoo on the Sunshine Coast to the family's conservation work with wildlife around the globe.Paris Jackson was seen enjoying a casual stroll with her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn in Los Angeles on Friday.

The actress and model, 20, appeared in good spirits as she made the most of her day off in the sunshine with her other half and pet pooch.

Paris' sighting comes after close friends revealed to DailyMail.com that she cut herself with kitchen scissors during a wild night of partying  but she didn't attempt suicide.

Stepping out: Paris Jackson, 20, was seen enjoying a casual stroll with her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn in Los Angeles on Friday

Paris stayed true to her boho style as she stepped out in a tie-dye logo crop top and shorts, styled with an unbuttoned plaid shirt.

She kept it comfortable in a pair of socks and sandals and tamed her tresses in place with a beanie.

Paris looked happy and relaxed as she enjoyed a conversation with her beau Gabriel while strolling along.

This comes after DailyMail.com reported that a concerned friend of the late Michael Jackson's daughter called 911 after she sliced her arm by accident during an 'out of control' night and they couldn't stem the bleeding.

Relaxed: The actress and model appeared in good spirits as she made the most of her day off in the sunshine with her other half and pet pooch

Casually cool: Paris stayed true to her boho style as she stepped out in a tie-dye logo crop top and shorts, styled with an unbuttoned plaid shirt

She was taken to the hospital  where she apparently continued to 'act wildly'  and medical staff wanted to keep her for three days.

According to sources, however, her people convinced the hospital they would take Paris to rehab and managed to get her released.

Paris told everyone she was fine  and was seen out on a date with her boyfriend Gabriel and at the premiere of the new Motley Crue movie over the next few days.

She has since confided in friends she accidentally cut her arm with kitchen scissors during a 'crazy night' but did not try to kill herself.

Los Angeles police confirmed that they attended an attempted suicide call at Paris' house.

A 911 call dispatch call revealed how officers attended the scene to deal with a 'psychiatric incident'.

Low-key: Paris looked happy and relaxed as she enjoyed a conversation with her beau Gabriel while strolling along

However, friends of Paris told DailyMail.com they do not believe she is suicidal and the call out got confused.

'The problem with Paris is that the way she has been brought up makes her very mysterious even to close friends who speak to her every day,' a source said.

'She lives by this mantra that her dad told her which is ''truth is fantasy and fantasy is truth''. 'Michael always told her to keep things private and keep people guessing.

'So she has intentionally not been clear about what happened on the night.

'But nobody in her inner circle is worried that she is suicidal  they all think this is typical Paris just partying a little too hard.

Troubles: Paris' sighting comes after close friends revealed to DailyMail.com that she cut herself with kitchen scissors during a wild night of partying  but she didn't attempt suicide

'They were concerned when they saw the blood everywhere because she has had issues in the past but they now believe her that it wasn't a suicide attempt.

'Of course she is upset about the allegations against her dad  and everyone being up in her business  but not suicidal.

'Some of her friends would like to see her go to rehab because they think the whole incident was a cry for help and they just want her to get any help she might need.

'But they are confident that she'll be okay.'

Paris' father Michael Jackson has been accused of sexual molestation by Wade Robson and James Safechuck - which was detailed in the controversial documentary, Leaving Neverland.The third season of The Bold Type premieres in April on Stan.

And Australian-American Aisha Dee told Sunday's Stellar magazine, that at age 25, she's come to embrace her insecurities.

The actress who plays Kat in the teen drama series, said that she's come to love her 'thick thighs'.

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'I've come to love my thick thighs': The Bold Type actress Aisha Dee, 25, (pictured) told Sunday's Stellar magazine that she now embraces her insecurities

'The older I get, the more I look at my thighs, and they're bigger than all my white friends', and I'm like, 'You know what? I love my thick thighs. And I love my chubby cheeks and my crazy hair,'' Aisha told the paper.

Aisha, who was raised on the Gold Coast by her single Australian mother, went on to say that her insecurities have become her strengths.

'All these things that used to make me feel insecure, and that people used to tease me about, I've grown to love. They become your strengths,' she said.

Body confidence: 'The older I get, the more I look at my thighs, and they're bigger than all my white friends', and I'm like, 'You know what? I love my thick thighs,' Aisha told Stellar

Aisha added that it's important to accept yourself and realise we're not all meant to conform to one ideal.

Aisha will return to screens as Kat Edison, in the third season of The Bold Type, on April 10.

The show follows Jane, Kat and Sutton, three best friends who work at glamorous fashion magazine, Scarlet.

Together, the girls work through the trials and tribulations of work, love and friendship.

Back soon! Aisha will return to screens as Kat Edison, in the third season of The Bold Type, on April 10. Aisha is pictured on The Bold Type

Aisha told PopSugar Australia in December that despite the success of the first two seasons of the show, she's remain level-headed.

'Before this interview I was trying to figure out how to work the coin laundry in the hotel I'm staying in,' she said at the time. 'I was sitting there on the floor trying to get my laundry into the machine, and there's nothing like that to bring you back down to earth.'

'I've got a pretty good head on my shoulders,' Aisha added. 'Not much has really changed, I am still just out there hustlin'.'

Season three of The Bold Type premieres on April 10, exclusively on Stan.She dropped a bombshell when she revealed her secret sex romp with Geri Halliwell.

Yet Mel B forgot the scandal when she appeared in high spirits while posing for a cheeky bikini snap to her Instagram on Friday.

The Spice Girls star, 43, showed off her toned stomach as she posed in a tiny purple bikini top and multi-coloured patterned briefs ahead of a day relaxing by the pool.

Relax: The Spice Girls star, 43, showed off her toned stomach as she posed in a tiny purple bikini top and multi-coloured patterned briefs ahead of a day by the pool

She stuck her tongue out as she took the snap in a bathroom mirror and wore her hair in space buns for the occasion.

Mel - known as Scary Spice - also donned a rainbow pom-pom headband borrowed from her seven-year-old daughter Madison.

In the caption, she wrote: 'Yes, I stole my seven-year-old's pomp pomp (sic) head band hahaha #whynot #pooltime #bathroomselfie boom'.

Mel is the mother of three daughters - Madison with Stephen Belafonte, Angel, 11, with Eddie Murphy, and Phoenix, 20, with Jimmy Gulzar.

Glam: She stuck her tongue out as she took the snap in a bathroom mirror and wore her hair in space buns for the occasion

Happy family: Mel is the mother of three daughters - Madison with Stephen Belafonte, Angel, 11, with Eddie Murphy, and Phoenix, 20, with Jimmy Gulzar

The snap comes after the former Spice Girls star called her former band mate Victoria Beckham a 'b***h' during a candid interview with Piers Morgan.

Mel reportedly told the TV presenter that the tense relationship between her and Victoria is down to her turning down their offer to join the reunion tour, reports the Sun.

During the same interview on Piers Morgan's Life Stories where she dropped the bombshell that she had got intimate with her pal Geri, Mel also discussed Posh.

Hitting out: The snap comes after the former Spice Girls star called her former band mate Victoria Beckham a 'b***h' during a candid interview with Piers Morgan

The website claimed that when Piers asked Mel directly about her opinion of Victoria she replied: 'Bit of a b***h'.

However she is also believed to have added: 'I am sad she is not going to be there [on tour]. But she is busy with what she is doing with her fashion line and her family.

'But I am gutted that she is not going to be with us. But I am still going to hold that candle and hope that she will.'

Insiders told the publication that Mel's comment will anger Victoria, who has reportedly made it clear she doesn't want to go on tour.

Tense: Mel reportedly told the TV presenter that the tense relationship between her and Victoria is down to her turning down their offer to join the reunion tour

Uh oh: Mel made the shock confession of her and Geri's intimacy during filming for Piers' Life Stories last week (pictured in 1997)

Mel made the shock confession of her and Geri's intimacy during filming for Piers' Life Stories last week, and after the racy admission hit the headlines over the weekend, Piers shared a clip of the moment on Good Morning Britain.

Mel C was seen looking shocked in the audience as Mel confessed she had once bedded her bandmate.

Piers is seen asking Mel: 'You were coming here to be brutally honest - did or didn't you sleep with Geri Halliwell? Did you sleep with her?'

Hitting the headlines: Piers is seen asking Mel: 'You were coming here to be brutally honest - did or didn't you sleep with Geri Halliwell? Did you sleep with her?' (Spice Girls pictured in 1997)

Shocker: Looking bashful, Mel at first tries to dodge the question, telling Piers: 'Yeah. We all slept in a bed together, but not like that, all of us'

Looking bashful, Mel at first tries to dodge the question, telling Piers: 'Yeah. We all slept in a bed together, but not like that, all of us.'

But Piers is relentless, probing: 'Did you sleep with Geri like that?' to which Mel smiles and nods as a shocked Piers checks, 'Yes? Really?'

'She's going to hate me for this because she's all posh in her country house with her husband,' adds Mel of Geri who is married to Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner.She revealed fans on Instagram over the weekend that she has suffered a leg injury.

And despite sporting a taped-up thigh, Sam Frost was all smiles as she celebrated her 30th birthday at the Royal Hotel in Sydney's Paddington on Saturday.

The Home and Away star revealed her slim figure in a little black dress and was joined by her close pals.

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The show must go on! Home and Away's Sam Frost (right) celebrated her 30th birthday in Sydney on Saturday, and was all smiles despite drawing attention to a taped-up thigh

Sam's frock featured sheer detail under the bust, drawing attention to her tiny waist.

The former Bachelor and Bachelorette kept light on her feet with tan leather slides, and accessorised further with gold drop earrings and a brown perspex handbag.

Sam's signature blonde locks fell effortlessly, and her makeup palette consisted of a matte complexion, bold brows, lashings of mascara and a nude lip.

Pals: Sam was pictured arriving at the Royal Hotel in Sydney's Paddington with her makeup artist pal Cameron Smith

Trim and terrific: Sam's chic black frock featured sheer detail under the bust, highlighting her tiny waist

Effortless style: The blonde beauty kept light on her feet with tan leather slides, and carried her belongings in a brown perspex handbag

Beauty: Sam's locks fell around her face and shoulders and her makeup palette consisted of a matte complexion, bold brows, lashings of mascara and a nude lip

The Channel Seven star was pictured walking into the Royal Hotel in Sydney's Paddington with her makeup artist friend Cameron Smith, and several other party-goers.

Sam appeared in high spirits, stopping to pose for photos outside the venue.

The interiors were lavishly decorated with vibrant hued balloons and guests were treated to cake pops with Sam's image painted on the icing.

Sam took to Instagram over the weekend, revealing that she has suffered a leg injury.

Striking a pose: Sam happily stopped outside of the venue to pose for photos with her pals

Social: The former Bachelor and Bachelorette star engaged in conversation with her pals

All smiles: Sam embraced pal Cameron as she made her way into the event venue

Memories: Pals were seen capturing moments of Sam's milestone birthday on their iPhones

The blonde beauty shared a photo of her taped-up leg, and told her fans that despite it being the worst timing, the show must go on.

Sam captioned a photo of her strapped-up leg: 'The worst timing for an injury. It's super annoying, but the festival must go on!

'Swapping my heels for slides. Moving a little slower, but I'm still SO excited to celebrate my 30th with all my favourite people for the entire month,' she continued.

That's the spirit: Sam told her Instagram fans on Saturday that despite it being the worst time for an injury, the show must go on

Celebratory: Pals were seen entering the venue with balloons in vibrant hues

Now that's a photo: The pals made the most of a photo opportunity

Sam's boyfriend Dave Bashford took her out for an early birthday dinner on Wednesday.

Sam revealed on Instagram that the navy diver treated her to a meal and showered her with presents, due to being away for the next two weeks.

'Bash is away for the next two weeks for work so he'll miss my birthday,' the soap star explained to fans.

'But he took me out for dinner tonight and now has a couple of early b'day presents for me.'

All for the birthday girl: Sam's image was painted onto cake pops, and her nickname 'Fro' was featured on event signage

Captured: Sam's birthday balloons were released into the sky, making for a great photo opportunity

Venue: The event was held at the Royal Hotel in Sydney's PaddingtonShe's the daughter of fashion icon Christie Brinkley, and who relocated to Australia earlier this year.

And Sailor Brinkley-Cook was working her model genes as she posed track side in a series of retro seventies-inspired looks for Stellar magazine's March issue.

In one photograph, the 20-year-old showed off her hippy chic in a black and yellow floral print dress.

Hippy chic! Sailor Brinkley-Cook showed off her model genes modelling a series of retro looks for a Stellar magazine fashion shoot published on Saturday

Keeping her long blonde locks in loose waves and staring up at the sun, the beauty finished off her ensemble with a brown velvet fedora hat.

In a second photo from the shoot, the American looked every inch the supermodel as she stared seductively into the lens of the camera.

Clad in a tailored cream blazer with a bright pink and yellow collar, she showed off her flawless decolletage by going completely topless.

Vintage: The American model looked every inch the supermodel as she stared seductively into the lens of the camera wearing a tailored cream blazer with a retro print collar

Feminine: In a third photograph, she showed off her tiny waist in a white mullet dress with a broderie anglaise lace hemline detail and cap sleeves

Her look was completed by accessorising with a black fedora hat.

Sailor's makeup for the photo shoot was left soft and natural, with a dusting of caramel eye shadow and a touch of mascara to make her eyes pop.

The model's hair was left out in loose waves and parted in the middle, showcasing her natural beauty.

Big move: Sailor, who is signed with international modelling agency IMG, relocated to Sydney earlier this year. Pictured: Sailor with her model mother Christie Brinkley

In a third photograph, she showed off her tiny waist in a white mullet dress with broderie anglaise lace hemline detail and cap-sleeves.

The look was finished with a pair of animal print flats, a brown fedora and a beige headscarf.

Sailor, who is signed with international modelling agency IMG, relocated to Sydney earlier this year.She plays politician Selina Meyer in HBO comedy series Veep.

And Julia Louis-Dreyfus told News Corp on Saturday ahead of the seventh and final season, that it's been hard to say goodbye.

The 58-year-old said that while it's been delightful to play someone so narcissistic, there are only 'a certain number of stories to tell.'

'It's been delightful to play somebody so narcissistic': Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58, (pictured) told News Corp on Saturday that it's been hard to say goodbye to political satire Veep

Julia, who stars as on-off American president Selina Meyer in the series, told News Corp that the same stories could not be repeated.

'For instance, in this season [season seven] she's running for president again. We had to find a new way of doing that, and that was our challenge and I think we rose to it,' she explained.

'But at the end of the day, there's only a certain number of stories to tell. That's how it felt to us,' Julia continued.

The actress, who is also producer and co-creator of Veep, added that while it's hard to say goodbye, playing Selina has been rewarding.

'There's only a certain number of stories to tell': Julia plays politician Selina Meyer in HBO comedy series Veep. The actress told News Corp that while it's hard to say goodbye, the same stories can't be repeated. Pictured in the role

'To play somebody so narcissistic and so undeveloped and so full of rage has been delightful,' she said.

Julia revealed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last week, that there was not a dry eye on the set, as the cast and crew filmed the show's seventh and final season.

'We were all a wreck,' the former Seinfeld star said. 'I'm gonna tell you something, we've been doing this show for many years, we're a very close-knit group of people.'

She continued: 'When I came to the table read, for the final episode of the show, I walk in and I see Tim Simons sitting at the table - Tim plays Jonah Ryan on Veep - and he's bawling. And we haven't even started to read the script yet.'

Julia said that Simons' tears had a chain effect on her, and soon enough, her eyes were welling up as the chapter was coming to a close.

'And this man, this grown man, is hysterical at the table and that was it - I was done.'

Veep airs at 7.30pm on Tuesday on Australia's Fox Showcase.Her social media account is littered with racy snaps.

And on Saturday morning, Elizabeth Hurley didn't didn't disappoint as she shared a sizzling swimwear snap with her 1.2million Instagram followers.

The actress, 53, showed off her age-defying physique as she slipped into a striped two-piece during her sun-kissed getaway to India.

'Salaam': Elizabeth Hurley, 53, showed off her age-defying physique as she slipped into a striped two-piece during her sun-kissed getaway to India

Elizabeth oozed body confidence as she stretched out her arms with delight while setting pulses racing in the black and white bikini.

Making the most of her youthful features, Elizabeth opted for a glamorous coat of make-up which complemented her brunette locks.

Standing in front of a pool and lush greenery, the beauty captioned the snap: 'Salaam India.'

The Hampshire native's sexy Instagram display comes after the beauty candidly spoke to Harper's BAZAAR about her statement designer gown at the Four Weddings and a Funeral's London premiere in 1994.

Saucy: Her social media account is littered with racy snaps

Elizabeth reflected on the night she wore the dress as she admitted she was 'unprepared' for the impact the ensemble holds in today's fashion industry.

While she made a bold style statement during the glitzy evening with her then-boyfriend Hugh Grant, the Royals star confessed the process of achieving the striking look was less than glamorous.

The honey-blonde beauty shared: 'I was so unprepared for what happened that night.

Iconic: Her sexy Instagram display comes after the beauty spoke to Harper's BAZAAR about her statement designer gown at the Four Weddings and a Funeral's London premiere in 1994

'I urgently needed to find a dress to wear for Hughs premiere, and in those days I had no idea about fashion.

'I remember going to an office where they literally fished a dress out of a white plastic bag. I took it home and did my own hair and makeup, fighting Hugh for the mirror, which wasnt even full-length, in our tiny one-bedroom flat.'

The mother-of-one, who dated screen star Hugh, 58, for 13 years until 2000, added: 'It was all very unglamorous compared to how things get done these days.'She's the former Married At First Sight star who is enjoying a luxurious Bali getaway.

And on Saturday, Cheryl Maitland took to Instagram to flaunt her toned figure.

The 28-year-old revealed her cleavage and toned tummy in a racy leopard print swimsuit with cut-out detail.

Va va voom! Former Married At First Sight star Cheryl Maitland, 28, flaunted her toned figure in a racy leopard print swimsuit, in a photo shared to Instagram on Saturday and taken on a Bali getaway

In one photo, Cheryl posed on a sun lounger at Bali beach club, Ulu Cliffhouse.

The hairdresser showed off her enviable curves in the scanty one-piece and held a cocktail in one hand.

Cheryl styled her shoulder-length locks straight and opted for a minimal makeup palette.

Another picture within the same post saw the former reality star kneeling on a sun lounger and embracing pal Jordan Cayless.

Working up an appetite: Cheryl took to Instagram again later on Saturday, this time showing off her figure in a mesh ensemble while dining at Bikini Restaurant in Bali's Seminyak

Appearing relaxed and at ease, Cheryl wrote in the post's caption: 'Another day, another cocktail.'

Keeping her fans updated on her holiday adventures, Cheryl took to Instagram later on Saturday while dining at Bikini Restaurant in Bali's Seminyak.

Sporting a white bandeau bikini top, matching briefs and a slinky white mesh dress, Cheryl joked in the post's caption that it's the only restaurant where you can wear a bikini at dinner.

'The only place you can have dinner in your bikinis. By far the best restaurant in Bali,' Cheryl told her fans.

Having the time of their lives: Cheryl has been enjoying her luxurious Bali getaway with pal Jordan and boyfriend Dean Gibbs [pictured]

Cheryl has been enjoying her luxurious Bali getaway with pal Jordan and boyfriend Dean Gibbs.

The couple have been inseparable since getting together in 2017, with Dean often taking photos of Cheryl for her popular Instagram account.

Cheryl made headlines after appearing on Married At First Sight in 2017, after her relationships with Jonathan Troughton and Andrew 'Jonesy' Jones ended in tears.

Her initial match with Jonathan fell apart, and she was later paired up with Jonesy, but their romance didn't last either.

After the cameras stopped rolling, she found love with Dean, a tradie from Melbourne.Jett Kenny has previously admitted he has a 'spark' with his Dancing With The Stars dance partner, Lily Cornish.

But the dancer's boyfriend of two years, Jock White, insists it's all just part of the performance.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the student, who is based in Tasmania, reveals the pair are still very much together.

'It's just part of the act:' Dancer Lily Cornish's boyfriend of two years, Jock White (left) said in an interview Saturday that her her blistering chemistry with Dancing with the Stars partner Jett Kenny is all for show. Pictured: Lily Cornish and Jock White in a recent social media snap

'Yes we are still together,' he told the paper, adding of the chemistry between Lily and Jett, 'I understand it's just all part of the act'.

Jock goes on to say that the couple spend time apart as 19-year-old Lily is busy working and while he's busy studying.

However the lovebirds, 'make the most of things when we get to see each other,' he says.

Performance? 'Yes we are still together,' he told the paper, adding of the chemistry between Lily and Jett, 'I understand it's just all part of the act'. Pictured: Lily Cornish and Jett Kenny

The pair have been dating for over two years, with Jock taking to Instagram in October last year to celebrate their two-year anniversary.

He captioned that photo: 'Here's cheers to two years. Keep the good times rolling, love you'.

The couple routinely post loved-up photos together, including a snap from a camping holiday in January, at Clifton Beach, Queensland.

It comes after Jett, 23, confessed he has 'feelings' for the brunette beauty.

Loved up! The pair have been dating for over two years, with Jock taking to Instagram in October last year to celebrate their two-year anniversary. Pictured: Lily Cornish and Jock White in a recent social media snap

Romance! The couple routinely post loved-up photos together. Pictured: Lily Cornish and Jock White in a recent social media snap

Speaking to The Courier Mail, Jett admitted: 'I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for her.'

'(When the show ends) It will almost be like breaking up, we'll be going back to reality and living our normal lives,' Jett said.

Elsewhere in the interview, when asked if he would be keen for something more with Lily in the future, he said he was 'open to it'.

'I'm always open to new things, but I'm not the one you have to convince,' he said.Luke Perry's Hollywood memorial will take place on April 13.

The 52-year-old actor died suddenly this month after suffering a massive stroke at his Los Angeles home and while a private funeral has already taken place, with his ashes scattered at his beloved Tennessee farm, a large Hollywood memorial is being planned for next month.

TMZ reported that invitations have already been issued to many of the cast and crew of Luke's acting projects, including 'Beverly Hills 90210' and Riverdale for the event, which will take place at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

Remembering: Luke Perry's Hollywood memorial will take place on April 13; seen in 2005

His death certificate was released a few weeks ago and revealed his passing was ruled as an 'ischemic cerebrovascular accident', which is more commonly known as a stroke.

Luke's fiancee, Wendy Bauer, was listed as his next of kin on the papers, and she recently spoke out for the first time and expressed gratitude for the love and support in the wake of his death.

'I want to express my gratitude to everyone for the outpouring of love and support,' she said. 'The countless, heartwarming stories of Luke's generosity and kindness have been a great source of solace during this difficult time.'

Sad: The 52-year-old actor died suddenly this month after suffering a massive stroke at his Los Angeles home; seen in 2017

His death certificate was released a few weeks ago and revealed his passing was ruled as an 'ischemic cerebrovascular accident', which is more commonly known as a stroke; seen in 1991

The late star's body was cremated in Dickson, Tennessee and his remains were then taken to Vanleer - a small town around 13 miles away from Dickson - where his ashes were scattered on the estate where he had lived on and off since 1995.

It was recently claimed the Riverdale star's children, 18-year-old Sophie and 21-year-old Jack - who he had with ex-wife Rachel Sharp - are planning to keep the farm, on which he raised cattle, so they can continue to spend time there in the future.

Perry played angsty Dylan McKay for six seasons and returned as a special guest for the final two seasons of Aaron Spelling's hit show, Beverly Hills, 90210.

A revival of the show was confirmed last month with Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling confirmed to return for six episodes ordered by Fox.Friday night's explosive EastEnders took an emotional turn as Jack Branning comforted his great-niece Tiffany Butcher following her involvement with a drugs gang.

The latest instalment saw the troubled teen (Maisie Smith) left distraught after finding gang leader Evie Steele (Sophia Capasso) bloodied and bruised as those she owed money to finally caught up with her.

After they rushed Evie to hospital, Tiffany's great-uncle Jack (Scott Maslen) spotted bruises on the teen and pulled her to one side where he gave a moving speech about her turmoils.

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Support: EastEnders took an emotional turn as Jack Branning comforted his great-niece Tiffany Butcher following her involvement with a drugs gang

Knowing that Evie and Tiffany had become embroiled in a dangerous drug dealing ring, the former police officer desperately tried to get through to her by opening her eyes to the situation.

He said: 'Don't tell anyone, is that what they told you? You met them in a cafe, in a park, in a chicken shop. probably, probably a boy first, giving you all the chat. You're my girl! It felt good, didn't it?

'A bit out there but someone taking notice. Then you probably met this one, pulled you in a bit closer, bought you little presents, told you you were special - and you thought, 'You know what? This lot have got my back.'

Scared: The troubled teen (Maisie Smith) was distraught after finding gang leader Evie Steele (Sophia Capasso) bloodied and bruised as those she owed money to finally caught up with her

Jack continued to talk about Tiffany's scenario, noting how she no doubt got persuaded to sell drugs, adding: 'It felt good having people to run with, but then they asked you to do a little favour... Hold onto a bag, take a package to a mate, and you know it's not what they told you it was.'

As he continued to drive home his point, Tiffany got emotional as he concluded: 'This is what they do to kids like you, it goes on and it won't stop.'

As the tearful teen begged him to 'make it' stop, he told her 'Only you can.'

Viewers tuning in were left moved by his hard-hitting monologue, with many praising Jack for finally making Tiffany see sense.

Comfort: Tiffany's great-uncle Jack (Scott Maslen) spotted bruises on the teen and pulled her to one side where he gave a moving speech about her turmoils

Opinion: Viewers tuning in were left moved by his hard-hitting monologue, with many praising Jack for finally making Tiffany see sense

'I dont know how its possible to love Jack Branning more every scene, but it is possible bc its happening, I just love him so much,' commented one viewer.

While another remarked: '@bbceastenders heartbreaking Jack and Tiffany's scene #EastEnders.'

A third tweeted: 'Good speech from Jack on #eastenders about the dark side of gangs and drug dealing. We can only hope that kids are taking it in.'

While a fourth emotional watcher added: 'Well done #Eastenders brilliant storyline about #gangs and child #grooming. Tonight's episode left me in tears.'

It's over: The emotional episode concluded with Evie giving the police information on her drug dealing bosses in exchange for protection and a new identity

The emotional episode concluded with Evie giving the police information on her drug dealing bosses in exchange for protection and a new identity.

With her warned not to contact Tiffany again, Evie bid goodbye to Albert Square, leaving Tiffany devastated.

EastEnders continues Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays on BBC One.She seldom makes public appearances with her husband and kids.

But Konnie Huq looked in high spirits as she cosied up to Charlie Brooker and sons Huxley, five, and Covey, seven, at a screening of Missing Link in London on Saturday.

The former Blue Peter presenter, 43, kept things casual in a cream jumper and black skinny jeans as she posed next to a character from the stop-motion film.

Family fun: Konnie Huq looked in high spirits as she cosied up to Charlie Brooker and sons Huxley, five, and Covey, seven, at a screening of Missing Link in London on Saturday

She finished off her simple ensemble with a pair of grey UGGs and wore her hair loose as she enjoyed an afternoon at the Picturehouse Central.

Her Black Mirror creator husband, 48, followed suit in a light blue polo shirt and black hoodie as he posed with his family during their rare public outing.

Konnie became a firm on-screen favourite when she appeared as a Blue Peter presenter between December 1997 and January 2008.

She married Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker in 2010 after nine months of dating.

Lovebirds: The former Blue Peter presenter, 43, kept things casual in a cream jumper and black skinny jeans as she posed next to a character from the stop-motion film

They are now parents to sons Covey and Huxley - and Charlie recently paid tribute to the TV star and their children, revealing how his whirlwind romance and becoming a parent changed him for the better.

The writer told BBC4's Desert Island Discs that marrying Konnie in a Las Vegas ceremony and deciding to become a father were 'the best decisions' he ever made.

Of the loved-up pair's marriage he said: 'That was absolutely the right time. It was weird because, for years, I'd not known if I'd wanted kids or a family...

Casual: Her Black Mirror creator husband, 48, followed suit in a light blue polo shirt and black hoody as he posed with his family at the rare public event

'That seemed like something that other people did, I couldn't perceive of that as a future.

'And then Konnie came along and quite early on she said "I want kids and a family" and this sort of thing, and I heard myself going "OK", and sort of thought, "oh, right, why have I said that?"

'It was the best decision I ever made.'

Whirlwind: Konnie married Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker in 2010 after just nine months of datingShe recently enjoyed a sun-kissed holiday to Thailand with her boyfriend Jeremy Meeks.

And Chloe Green looked happy to be in the company of friends as she spent time in Monaco on Friday after her trip.

The Topshop heiress, 28, joined a friend at the Sass Cafe in the city state where she showed off her tan in an Instagram snap.

Pals: Chloe Green, 28, looked happy to be in the company of friends as she spent time in Monaco on Friday after her trip to Thailand

Alongside the photo she wrote: 'We are back! #Friendsforlife'.

Chloe recently went to Thailand with her other half Jeremy who became well-known when his mug shot went viral in 2014.

Insiders exclusively revealed to MailOnline last week: 'We spotted them at the lagoon at Hong Island, near to Krabi, Thailand, at midday on Sunday...

'We were only with them a short time as they were paddling alone together in the lagoon, but they seemed very happy, they were hugging and taking pictures.

Holiday: Chloe recently went to Thailand with her other half Jeremy who became well-known when his mug shot went viral in 2014

'We saw them coming just two of them on a canoe, and there was a boat "parked" close to the lagoon.'

The insider added: 'They seemed really happy in each other's company and there was no sign of a strain in their relationship as has been reported recently.'

Contrary to their loved-up display, sources close to the couple said earlier this month that their 18-month relationship was under strain after they had a row in Dubai.

Insiders exclusively revealed to MailOnline last week: 'We spotted them at the lagoon at Hong Island, near to Krabi, Thailand, at midday on Sunday'

They are understood to have had a public spat on February 19 at the Cavalli Club where Jeremy stormed out of the venue, leaving Chloe on her own.

When he was asked about the status of his relationship, model Jeremy replied: 'Of course we're still together.

However, speaking to MailOnline, a source close to the pair previously said: These ups and downs are part of every relationship but they are usually settled, particularly when one of the is worth so much money. I expect them to sort it'.She was named the most influential lingerie model in 2018.

And Candice Swanepoel sure made jaws drop once again when she took to social media to flaunt her impeccable physique in a skimpy bikini set while on holiday in Tulum, Mexico, on Friday.

The 30-year-old beauty positioned herself atop a wooden swing in the jungle during her stay in the luxurious Holistika resort.

Gorgeous: Candice Swanepoel set pulses racing on Saturday when she flaunted her incredibly physique in a skimpy black bikini during her holiday to Tulum, Mexico

Candice stunned in a black set that ensured her toned abs were on display.

The mom-of-two's bikini bottoms were of a high waisted design, leaving her endlessly long and lean legs out on show.

Her blonde tresses were kept out and wet from the river and she appeared to be makeup free for the outing.

Model off-duty: Candice stunned in a black set that ensured her toned abs were on display

Candice is currently in Mexico shooting the latest range of her Tropic Of C bathing suit collection.

The Victoria's Secret Angel has been spending the past few days sharing snapshots from her vacation South Of The Border.

Friday saw her model a bohemian tunic, a floppy striped hat and a crochet bag whilst on the beach.

Beach bound: Friday saw her model a bohemian tunic, a floppy striped hat and a crochet bag whilst on the beach

In the club: The mommy model recently revealed she shares a group text with fellow Victoria's Secret models Behati Prinsloo and Lily Aldridge to talk about parenting

The mommy model recently revealed she shares a group text with fellow Victoria's Secret models Behati Prinsloo and Lily Aldridge to talk about parenting.

'Behati, Lily, we all have our mommy chat,' the beauty said during Daily Front Row's Fashion Los Angeles Awards earlier in the month - '"Did you use this product?" It helps.'

The lingerie model welcomed son Anaca in 2016 and her second son Ariel in June 2018. She's been with partner Hermann Nicoli since 2005.They've been together for over 20 years.

So Kelly Ripa went all out while celebrating husband Mark Consuelos' 48th birthday on her Instagram Saturday.

Posting a montage of the Riverdale hunk's best moments, the talk show hostess wrote: 'Happy birthday to the finest man! You are our heart and soul and rock and roll.'

Happy birthday! Kelly Ripa celebrated husband Mark Consuelos' 48th birthday with a montage of some choice photos this Saturday

The clip was set to the tune of Mississippi Delta by Jake Shears.

Kelly's video was packed with some of Mark's most swoon-worthy moments.

After beginning with a photo of Mark blowing out candles on his birthday cake, the fun began.

Ripa didn't hold back from sharing several sexy shots of his chiseled beach body.

Buff: Ripa didn't hold back from sharing several sexy shots of his chiseled beach body

Hubba hubba: Kelly's video was packed with some of Mark's most swoon-worthy moments

Still smitten: The talk show hostess captioned the video: 'Happy birthday to the finest man! You are our heart and soul and rock and roll'

Slick: The star showed off his charms straight from the ocean

Cleans up nice! Mark looked dapper in a shot from the Vanity Fair Oscar After Party

To shell and back! The Riverdale actor messed around on the beach

Partners: Kelly and Mark held hands while enjoying the beach together

There were also plenty of photogenic family portraits.

Mark flashed his world class smile while posing with his three kids.

Ripa and Consuelos daughter Lola is 17 while brothers Michael and Joaquin are 21 and 16.

Family man: Mark flashed his world class smile while posing with his three kids Lola, Michael and Joaquin

Precious moment: There was a retro flashback to the birth of one of their sons

Little ones: Mark and the kids looked adorable in their throwback

Making the montage multi-generational, there was also a shot of Consuelos with his father and his sons.

There was a retro flashback to the birth of one of their sons.

Kelly continued the vintage vibes with an old photo of her, Mark and the kids that appeared to be from the 90s.

Another photo of the couple kissing rounded out the collection.

Blast from the past: Kelly continued the vintage vibes with an old photo of her, Mark and the kids that appeared to be from the 90s

Proud papa: Mark held on to one of his bundles of joy in another old shot

Still in love! Another photo of the couple kissing rounded out the collection

Kelly and Mark have been going strong since the 90s.

There was an instant spark between the pair, who met while working on All My Children together back in 1995. They eloped the next year and welcomed eldest Michael shortly after.

Speaking about his love for Kelly back in tk, Mark said: 'Im crazy about my wife. We both come from families, our parents are still together  family is super important to us. We have three great kids, and that also bonds you, having that experience together.'

Mark can be seen on Riverdale Wednesdays on The CW, while Kelly is a fixture on ABC's AM show Live With Kelly And Ryan.

Boys club! Making the montage multi-generational, there was also a shot of Consuelos with his father and his sons

Sonny boy: Mark doted on his son Joaquin in another older pictureChloe Sims and Dan Edgar sent shock waves through their friendship group when it was revealed that they enjoyed a secret fling during TOWIE filming in Thailand.

And Courtney Green offered her opinion on the blossoming romance between Chloe and Dan during a candid chat with her pal Diags, as they discussed the current situation.

The reality star, 23, shockingly claimed that Dan 'isn't the one' for Chloe, as she voiced her concerns that he wasn't ready to settle down with the mother-of-one.

Shocked: Courtney Green offered her opinion on the blossoming romance between Chloe and Dan during a candid chat with her pal Diags, as they discussed the current situation

The new romance has apparently caused trouble within Dan's group of friends, which include's Chloe Sim's cousin and former co-star Joey Essex.

Diags confessed that he feels 'completely in the middle' of the drama, and added that he thinks their newfound feelings might be down to spending so much time together in a 'bubble' during their trip to Thailand.

The 27-year-old suggested that Dan had gone against the rules by getting close to one of his friend's family members adding: Our group of boys we just don't get with each others family, it's just a thing that we don't do because it just causes a whole load of agg.'

Not happy: The new romance has apparently caused trouble within Dan's group of friends, which include's Chloe Sim's cousin and former co-star Joey Essex

Courtney said she doesn't think that Chloe, who has made no secret of her desire to settle down, will be satisfied by a relationship with heartthrob Dan.

She said: 'From my point of view I don't think it's going to end well, I don't, I love Dan but I don't think he's enough for her. I think she needs someone more than him.'

Diags replied: 'I just think for what's happening and what it's causing between our mates, her cousins really upset about it and he's obviously my best mate and he's giving me loads of stuff about it.'

Stuck in the middle: Diags confessed that he feels 'completely in the middle' of the drama, and added that he thinks their newfound feelings might be down to spending so much time together in a 'bubble' during their trip to Thailand

'But on the other hand if you do stop it then Chloe's going to be upset, so it's like an impossible situation.'

Courtney then went on to allude to the reason behind Dan's split with his ex girlfriend Amber Turner, suggesting that he was struggling with commitment.

She said: 'But the thing is with Dan if he's going to commit to Chloe, this is one big hell of a commitment, but the whole thing with Dan and Amber, they weren't together because he just couldn't commit and he just didn't really see a future.'

Unsatisfied: Courtney said she doesn't think that Chloe, who has made no secret of her desire to settle down, will be satisfied by a relationship with heartthrob Dan

Diags replied: 'I just think for what's happening and what it's causing between our mates, her cousins really upset about it and he's obviously my best mate and he's giving me loads of stuff about it'

'I'm just confused, I just don't think he would commit to Chloe.'

Diags then sweetly admitted that the reason everyone is so concerned about the romance is because they all love Chloe so much, he said: 'If it was another girl it wouldn't matter nobody would care...

'But it's Chloe we all love Chloe, so if you're gonna hurt Chloe - he needs to say straight up, you know what I'm not in that stage of time to think I'm going to commit and settle down because I'm not.

'All us boys know it, so just be honest, but when I speak to Chloe about it it just goes round in circles because she's like "I don't want that, I just want to see where things go". But I know what Chloe wants.'

Courtney then bluntly said: 'I think everyone knows what Chloe wants, she's always been at that stage where she wants to find the one - but Dan isn't it.'She announced she was expecting her first child with her dancer partner Gorka Marquez back in February.

And Gemma Atkinson looked every inch the glowing mother-to-be as she revealed her growing bump at the Thrive Fitness, Wellness & Food Festival in Dublin on Saturday.

The former Hollyoaks star, 34, proudly showcased her blossoming bump in a tight fitting black vest top as she attended the festival.

Hot mama: Gemma Atkinson looked every inch the glowing mother-to-be as she revealed her growing bump at the Thrive Fitness, Wellness & Food Festival in Dublin on Saturday

Flashing her bronzed bump, the star teamed the top with a pair of black joggers and box fresh trainers.

Her caramel tresses were styled in a tousled updo while her pretty features were enhanced with a simple swipe of mascara.

The star oozed confidence as she proudly displayed her bump as she prepares to enter the third trimester.

Bumping along: The former Hollyoaks star, 34, proudly showcased her blossoming bump in a tight fitting black vest top as she attended the festival

Proud: The star showed off her baby bump as she posed up at the event

Radiant: The expectant mother showed off her glowing complexion

Trio: Gemma joined Jasmine Hensley and Gina London at the festival

The appearance comes as Gemma's partner Gorka revealed the couple will raise their baby to be bilingual.

The former Emmerdale actress is from Bury, Manchester, while the Strictly Come Dancing professional, 28, is from Bilbao, Spain.

Talking about his upcoming father duties, Gorka told The Sun: 'Of course our baby will learn to speak Spanish.

'Gemma loves where Im from too. She is been to visit, we love how hot it is.

'I love being an uncle so I cant wait to be a dad.'

Glow: Flashing her bronzed bump, the star teamed the top with a pair of black joggers and box fresh trainers

Happy: Her caramel tresses were styled in a tousled updo while her pretty features were enhanced with a simple swipe of mascara

Selfie: The star oozed confidence as she proudly displayed her bump as she prepares to enter the third trimester

Glamour: Gemma looked delighted as she posed up with a gorgeous friend

Chat: The star was the guest of honour at the event with Anna Geary

The couple announced their baby news on February 1 with an adorable post featuring a picture of their dogs with signs around their necks - one of which read: 'Guess what... Mum's pregnant!'

The couple met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, before going public with their relationship in February 2018.

Gemma recently said pregnancy makes her feel like 'superwoman' and she's 'astounded' by her body transformation.

Smile: The star looked happy as she posed up for the cameras

Snap happy: The star was enjoying some time with friends and fans

Couple: Gemma and partner Gorka Marquez met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, before going public with their relationship in February 2018.

Taking to Instagram, the soap star shared a side-by-side comparison of herself at the peak of her fitness journey and now that she's pregnant.

Lauding her physique in both shots, she captioned the photograph: 'Our bodies are incredible! What they are capable of doing astounds me, and in both these pictures I felt / feel like superwoman.

'I have a life inside of me ticking away ready to join us soon. The little kicks & turns & flutters are just wonderful. I feel so incredibly lucky.'He's set to take on the role of James Bond one last time in the upcoming film Bond 25.

And Daniel Craig cut a casual figure as he caught a flight from New York's JFK Airport on Saturday where he's suspected to join the rest of the cast in Norway to continue filming.

The British actor, 51, clad his muscular physique in a navy blazer paired with distressed jeans.

On the go: Daniel Craig cut a casual figure as he caught a flight from New York's JFK Airport on Saturday where he's suspected to join the rest of the cast in Norway to continue filming

He showed off his stylish side by adding white trainers and a baker boy cap to his look.

The father-of-two was ready to relax on his flight as he sported a pair of headphones around his neck with a beige satchel slung across his shoulders.

Despite starring in the past four Bond flicks, Daniel proved he was as down-to-earth as ever as he wheeled his suitcase through the airport while flashing a smile with security officers.

Casual: The British actor, 51, clad his muscular physique in a navy blazer paired with distressed jeans and showed off his stylish side by adding white trainers and a baker boy cap to his look

End of an era: The latest installment in the franchise will mark the star's final stint as James Bond (pictured in Casino Royale in 2006)

The latest installment in the franchise will mark the star's final stint as James Bond.

The film is the first Bond action in four years, although little is known about plot developments in what will be the long-running film franchise's 25th installment.

Bond 25 is confirmed to star Daniel, alongside returning Bond girl Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann, with True Detective's Cary Fukunaga set to direct.

Picturesque: The Italian province of Matera is thought to be the location of the upcoming film's opening sequence

Oscar-winner Rami Malek is widely thought to be playing Bond's latest enemy, although he was not seen during principal photography earlier this month.

Various locations in Jamaica, where Bond creator Ian Fleming once lived, and the Italian province of Matera will also be used as filming continues throughout 2019.

Bond 25 is expected to go on general release on 8 April 2020.At 52-years-old, she's hotter than ever.

And Halle Berry made that clear when she shared a close-up shot of her unreal abs online Thursday.

The next day the Jagged Edge actress shared some of her tips for achieving such an enviable body on trainer Peter Lee Thomas' feed.

Abs-olute stunner: Halle Berry showed off her washboard abs on Instagram Thursday

Halle looked sensational as she showed off her chiseled midsection wearing only a triangle bra with a lush faux fur coat.

Putting her body in the spotlight, the mother-of-two had her face cropped from the frame.

Just a few tendrils of carmel hair swept down into the photo.

'Springtime Confusion,' she captioned the shot, adding the tag '#FauxFur' for good measure.

Guide: The next day the Jagged Edge actress' trainer shared some tips

Jump for joy! She got back to basics, using a simple jumbo truck tire to do several moves from a junkyard-turned-makeshift gym

Dip it low: The routine included tricep dips amped up with a kick at the end

Taking the lead: Trainer Peter Lee Thomas exercised along with Halle

Do it yourself! Her routine was a sequence of tire plyo jumps, tricep dips and kicks, jumps in and over the tire, all finished with squats and jumps

Sharing her secrets to success, Halle gave fans a glimpse into her training routine on social media afterwards.

She got back to basics, using a simple jumbo truck tire to do several moves from a junkyard-turned-makeshift gym.

Trainer Peter Lee Thomas exercised along with Halle, doing a sequence of tire plyo jumps, tricep dips and kicks, jumping in and over the tire, and finishing with a squat and jump.

Halle has a close relationship with trainer, who has been a fixture on her social media since they started working together about a year ago.

On the same wavelength: Halle has a close relationship with trainer, who has been a fixture on her social media for some time now

Both shared the same #FitnessFriday encouragement online, telling their followers: 'Its #FitnessFriday - whos ready to get to work!? This week we bring out one of my favorite toys  the giant tire.

'I love using unique equipment that offers several workout variations and keeps exercise interesting. Not ONLY do tire workouts effectively challenge you, bringing out the badass warrior that you are, they are the perfect way to work on both physique AND cardio.

'Does it get any better than that?? Head to stories for 4 tire based exercises that will give you a full body workout. P.S. We found these tires in an old junkyard, so no excuses ;)'

Two of a kind: Both shared the same #FitnessFriday encouragement online, which began: 'Its #FitnessFriday - whos ready to get to work!? This week we bring out one of my favorite toys  the giant tire

It was hard to ignore Peter's likeness to Halle's ex/baby daddy Gabriel Aubry, who she shares 11-year-old daughter Nahla with.

Berry's younger child, five-year-old Maceo, is from her three-year union to French actor Olivier Martinez.

Halle's been flying solo since her split from rapper Alex Da Kid in late 2017.He was over the moon to have been nominated for an Oscar for the first time in his acclaimed career.

And despite not winning, Richard E. Grant was delighted to receive a fake Oscar statue made for him by a friend after he he lost out to Green Books Mahershala Ali.

The 61-year-old actor posted a gushing video on social media on Saturday as he showed fans his brand new 'honorary Oscar'.

What a treat! Richard E. Grant was delighted to receive a fake Oscar statue made for him by a friend after he he lost out to Green Books Mahershala Ali

Smiling from ear to ear, the Can You Ever Forgive Me actor dons a hat and with a wry smile he holds the faux-statue in the air describing it as a 'treat'.

He said: A sculpture friend in France, Felix de Louis, whos a great friend and has been for two decades made me this. Honorary Oscar.

In the absence of the real thing. What a treat!

Richard's post was quickly inundated with responses from fans, who shared their delight with the veteran actor.

Winner: Richard lost out on the Best Supporting Actor prize to Green Book's Mahershala Ali

Delighted: Smiling from ear to ear, the star dons a hat and and with a wry smile he describes the statue as a 'treat'

One wrote: 'Forever an Oscar winner in my eyes'.

Another fan said: 'Fabulous. Never was a journey to the Oscars more heartwarming than yours.'

Richard was nominated for best supporting actor for his performance as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, where he starred alongside Melissa McCarthy.

And Richard didn't hold back from sharing his joy at being nominated for the prize, and documented his awards season adventures with plenty of star-studded selfies.

Delighted! Richard's recent award season excitement captured the hearts of many

Movie star: Richard was nominated for best supporting actor for his performance as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, where he starred alongside Melissa McCarthy

After the Oscar ceremony, he took to Instagram to share snaps and added a caption reading: 'Being Oscar nominated was pretty amazing, but meeting with Barbra and having a proper conversation was an absolute astonishment. 40 carat Gold'.

The rest of his evening was spent heavily with the A-list as he hobnobbed and snapped selfies with his fellow screen stars.

In the lead up to the ceremony Richard was sharing yet more celeb-packed selfies, and he went on to upload snaps alongside Hollywood heavyweights Rebel Wilson and Amy Adams.

The night before he was seen grinning ear to ear as he posed with the likes of Laura Dern, Olivia Colman and Regina King at an Oscar nominees dinner.

Richard lost out on the Best Supporting Actor prize to Green Book's Mahershala Ali. He was also up against Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born), Sam Rockwell (Vice) and Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman) for the coveted award.

Snap happy: The father-of-one also shared a shot after meeting Emilia Clarke who was beaming

Happy days: The Star Wars actor also met Emma Stone, who gifted him with a selfie

Going on to talk about his preparation for the Oscars, Richard revealed to Variety he hadn't prepared a speech because he thinks that it is a 'foolish' thing to do.

The Star Wars: Episode IX actor said: 'The man that has to have the speech planned is the man who has had to come up with four different speeches for the four different awards that hes already won.'

Can You Ever Forgive Me? sees Melissa step into the stilettos of celebrity biographer Lee Israel who makes her living profiling A-listers in the dramatic thriller film.

The writer chronicles the lives of stars including Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen.

Yet in a shocking twist, Lee turns her art form into deception when she falls on hard times and her work is no longer able to get published.She revealed earlier in the week that she had only been in love once in her life.

And currently single, Kourtney Kardashian stepped out in very high spirits on Saturday morning when she met up with a pal in Calabasas, California.

The 39-year-old beauty kept things casual as she headed into the beautician for a French inspired facial.

Errands run: Kourtney Kardashian appeared in very high spirits when she stepped out to meet a friend in Calabasas on Saturday morning

Kourtney stunned in a white sweater top with a pair of black activewear leggings.

She completed her look with matching colored sneakers and a $1,150 Prada backpack.

The eldest Kardashian sister styled her dark tresses out into natural waves and kept a low profile with a pair of glasses.

Gorgeous: Kourtney stunned in a white sweater top with a pair of black activewear leggings

Touch ups: The mom-of-three took to her social media later in the morning to share the beauty procedure

Gorgeous glow: Kourtney showcased her stunning fresh complexion for her followers

Kourtney appeared to be wearing no makeup for the beauty catch-up.

The mom-of-three took to her social media later in the morning to share the procedure.

Tagging her friend, Chance, she turned the camera over to her Sia look-a-like beauty pal.

And it appears as though the reality star and beautician have been pals for a long time.

Taking to her Instagram page three days ago, she shared a mirror selfie with Kourtney.

'Beautiful day with my gorgeous Devine beauty - proudly calling my friend Kourtney Kardashian,' she captioned.

Sia, is that you? Tagging her friend, Chance, she turned the camera over to her Sia look-a-like beauty pal

Family friend: And it appears as though the reality star and beautician have been pals for a long time with Chance sharing posts with Kourtney as well as sister Kim

Chance has also been seen sharing content online with Kim Kardashian and her daughter North.

Kourtney's sighting comes after she revealed earlier in the week in a Keeping Up With The Kardashians promo clip that she had only been in love once in her life.

The brunette beauty has three children - Mason, Penelope and Reign - with former party body Scott Disick, her beau from 2007 until 2015.

Then the teaser goes to Disick who is in a black T-shirt and sunglasses as he holds Mason.

The edit suggests that Scott is the lucky guy whom Kourtney has been in love with.

The KUWTK guest star then says he didn't think he was going to have happiness again after he split from Kourtney, but he has.

The 35-year-old - who calls himself Lord Disick - has been dating Lionel Richie's 20-year-old daughter Sofia Richie.She's no stranger to posting sizzling snaps in racy ensembles.

And Kelly Brook set pulses racing in a series of Instagram snaps as she celebrated her four year anniversary with beau Jeremy Parisi in Portugal on Saturday.

The British model, 39, smouldered as she posed up a storm in a leopard print bikini which showed off her ample cleavage and bronzed body.

Glowing: Kelly Brook set pulses racing in a series of Instagram snaps as she celebrated her four year anniversary with beau Jeremy Parisi

Kelly commanded attention with a stunning brown suede fringed leather jacket which she wore draped over her sensational animal print swimwear.

The glamorous model looked fierce as she posed through dappled rays of sunlight while nonchalantly tousling her long brunette locks which she styled in effortless waves.

Kelly celebrated four years with her boyfriend in style as she shared an Instagram story drinking Aperol Spritz in the sun.

She wrote: 'It's officially our 4 year anniversary of being consciously coupled'.

Wow: The British model, 39, smouldered as she posed up a storm in a leopard print bikini which showed off her ample cleavage and bronzed body

Smouldering: The British model, 39, smouldered as she posed up a storm in a leopard print bikini which showed off her ample cleavage and bronzed body

Goddess: Kelly commanded attention with a stunning brown suede fringed leather jacket which she wore over her animal print swimwear

The model and TV personality, 38, has been dating the French-Italian martial arts instructor, 33, after kicking off their relationship by flirting via direct message on Instagram.

Kelly previously revealed she initially feared she was being 'catfished' by the hunk until they came face-to-face in real life.

Speaking as she co-hosted Heart Drivetime on Tuesday, the radio presenter said: 'I met him on Instagram! It's the way forward. I saw a video of him and I thought, "Oh I wonder if hes on Instagram".

Cheers! Kelly was in Portugal and celebrated four years with her boyfriend in style as she shared an Instagram story drinking Aperol Spritz in the sun

Social media romance: Kelly Brook has revealed she pursued boyfriend Jeremy Parisi for six months by 'slipping into his DMs' on Instagram before they met in person

'Obviously he was, as everyone is, and I started following him and I saw he followed me back, so I just slipped in to the DMs and I was like, "Ohhh thank you for the follow".'

Kelly reportedly 'proved seriously popular' when she made her debut on the radio airwaves at the end of 2018.

The model recently said that life is more settled now that she has a permanent job and steady boyfriend.

Loved up: The model recently said that life is more settled now that she has a permanent job and steady boyfriend

'It definitely feels like a whole chapter of my life is over,' Kelly told The Sun's Fabulous magazine last month.

'Like, that person is dead. The girl who didnt have a lot of control over what was going on doesnt exist any more. Those times have gone.'

Kelly previously revealed how she is unsure whether she and partner Jeremy Parisi will ever have children.

She detailed the struggle of suffering a miscarriage six months into her pregnancy with rugby player Thom Evans in 2011.

In an interview with Fabulous she said: 'You can feel a failure if you go through miscarriage or feel that its quite unfair, but as much as it was a real loss and a difficult time, I got through it.'Advocacy groups expect the proposed disability royal commission to be announced on Monday with broad terms of reference to investigate widespread abuse in the sector.

Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher has met with disability groups this week to discuss the draft terms of reference, which are expected to be revealed next week.

People With Disabilities Australia co-chief executive Matthew Bowden has seen some draft terms and said the investigation should include people with mental health disabilities.

"The terms of reference we've seen have a very broad look at disability, so people with psychosocial disability would definitely be included in the royal commission," he told ABC radio on Friday.

Mr Fletcher stopped short of saying when the commission will be officially announced.

"Consultations on a royal commission into the disability sector are ongoing and I understand we're yet to hear back formally from all states and territories after the prime minister wrote to them," the minister said in a statement.

"If it goes ahead we'll do it properly with full involvement from people with disabilities, the states and territories and all relevant stakeholders."

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John is "hopeful" the commission's terms of reference will be broad enough to investigate abuse in all parts of the disability sector.

"Ultimately what we need to see from this royal commission ... is a broad terms of reference that allows the commission to investigate violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation everywhere disabled people experience it - not everywhere politicians think that it exists," he told AAP.Defence Minister Christopher Pyne believes it's unrealistic to suggest Australia will ever establish a nuclear energy industry.

Mr Pyne cannot see the overwhelmingly negative community attitudes towards nuclear power shifting in the foreseeable future.

He made the assertion after fielding questions about why Australia's new fleet of submarines, which are currently under construction, will be powered by diesel rather than nuclear energy.

The minister said Australia would have been the only country in the world with nuclear-powered submarines and no domestic industry to back them up.

"I wish we'd had a nuclear energy industry from the 1950s onward and then this wouldn't even be an argument," Mr Pyne told a Sky News defence summit on Friday.

"Bob Hawke said the same thing, but I think the horse has completely bolted."

My Pyne described the debate around nuclear energy as a "parlour room" discussion.

"Which prime minister of any political persuasion is going to say, 'I know what we're going to do, we're going to start a nuclear energy industry'?

"We have the most, in some respects, irrational debate occurring around the Adani mine but people think we're going to have a new debate around nuclear energy? I mean, it's just not real world."The NSW government has been accused of not following due process when it passed legislation to allow flooding in the heritage-listed Blue Mountains.

The Greater Blue Mountains Area is already recognised globally for its environmental significance but now some sections are being assessed by the federal government for inclusion on the National Heritage List for Aboriginal cultural values.

A UNESCO advisory body has warned NSW legislation passed in 2018 as part of the coalition's plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall by 14 metres could endanger the area's cultural values.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites wrote to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in February 2019 arguing the legislation shouldn't have been proposed before the Commonwealth's cultural values assessment was finalised.

"It is inappropriate ... for the NSW parliament to be enabling legislation that would impact upon established world or national heritage values or potential national heritage values," the letter, seen by AAP, states.

ICOMOS Australia president Ian Travers says it would be unacceptable for the Blue Mountains to be flooded before the presumed cultural values of the area were fully known.

"If the areas being assessed are inundated in the interim, it's not acceptable," he told AAP.

"The correct process hasn't been followed. They're enabling legislation which is directly contrary to what should be happening."

Thousands of cultural sites were flooded when Warragamba Dam was built in the 1960s with Aboriginal elders concerned the plan to raise the wall will destroy those that are left.

"Traditional owners feel very strongly that their cultural heritage, that's already been decimated, is about to eradicated," Mr Travers said.

Gundungurra elder Sharyn Halls urged the heritage centre to investigate the threat to thousands of cultural areas including burial sites, waterholes and artefacts.

The raising of the wall will be "disastrous" for local indigenous people, she said.

ICOMOS claims the proposal could flood up to 1000 hectares of world heritage area and 3700 hectares of surrounding national park.

The group's letter urges the WHC to consider assessing the conservation of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and to put it on the agenda at its 2019 meeting in Azerbaijan.

ICOMOS cautioned the federal and NSW governments in October that the plan could result in the Blue Mountains being placed on a list of sites "in danger".

The NSW government argues the wall needs to be raised to reduce the risk of flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.

An Infrastructure NSW spokeswoman told AAP on Friday that if the plan isn't eventually approved the legislation passed by state government will have no effect.

An Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment is underway and will be included in the environmental impact statement, the spokeswoman said.Two cases of a debilitating mosquito-borne virus have been detected in Tasmania, prompting a warning to residents and travellers on the state's east coast.

Another three potential cases of the Barmah Forest virus, spread by mosquitoes, are being investigated by the state's health department.

"This is unusual. These may be the first diagnosed cases of this virus caught in Tasmania," Public Health Services Clinical Director Dr Faline Howes said on Friday.

Barmah Forest is similar but less severe than Ross River virus and symptoms, including joint pain, tiredness, headaches and muscle pain, can last for months.

Health authorities are urging people on Tasmania's east coast to protect themselves against mosquito bites.

All five cases relate to people who live or have travelled on the east coast.A cheek spray that relieves pain being studied in Sydney could be a wonder drug worth billions, at least according to one executive in Australia's booming medical marijuana industry.

The country's entrepreneurs have joined the global cannabidiol oil craze in a big way, researching its use in treating everything from anxiety and skin rashes, to pain and inflammation in dogs.

There's been enormous interest in cannabidiol oil, or CBD, ever since it was credited with dramatically reducing the epileptic seizures of a young American girl in 2013 after other medicines failed.

"There's just an explosion of interest in studying the individual chemicals to see what they do," says Matt Callahan, executive director of ASX-listed Botanix Pharmaceuticals.

"I think it's going to be really significant. It's the only time in my career we've had a drug that cures a lot of diseases and it doesn't seem to cause side effects."

Botanix is holding clinical trials on a CBD gel to treat acne and dermatitis, and Mr Callahan says early results are promising.

Medlab Clinical meanwhile is investigating using a mix of CBD and THC - the compound that gives cannabis users their high - via a cheek spray to treat pain in cancer patients.

"We've got clinical trials going on at Sydney Royal North Shore Hospital that are progressing nicely; the data from them is sensational," says chief executive Sean Hall.

"We're looking down the face of a potentially another Lipitor."

That's a bold claim, given that the cholesterol-lowering drug made Pfizer as much as $A18 billion a year during the 2000s.

"It's always the way of medicine, you get something new and shiny and it gets overhyped," says Professor Iain McGregor, director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney.

Still, Prof McGregor says there's no smoke without fire and there's evidence that CBD could be used to treat a range of conditions.

"We do have signals, in alcohol dependency, in anxiety, in acne, in inflammation, in neuropathic pain. It's very tempting to pin your hopes on a molecule like this."

Mark Bernberg, who runs cannabis investment portfolio Green Fund, says he's heard the comparisons to the cryptocurrency craze of 18 months ago but says they couldn't be further from the truth.

"This is real jobs, real products, real opportunities. This is having a real and meaningful impact on people's lives," he says.

"Our thesis at the Green Fund is that this is the greatest disruptor since penicillin."

But Layton Mills, managing director of Sydney's CannPal Animal Therapeutics, which is investigating using CBD and THC to treat pain and inflammation in dogs, warns scams are as real as the promise.

"Every week I might see 10 to 15 products come to market, and maybe less than five per cent have some independent efficacy research, basic safety research, or even very basic independent quality controls and processes," he said.

"That's a little frightening."

Prof McGregor says Australia's relatively small medical marijuana companies will also face challenges when the world's multinational pharmaceutical companies turn their attention to CBD.

"Most of them will be dead in two years. It's a speculators' dream right now" with ideas that range from the "sublime to the ridiculous," he says.

"You really have to have your business plans right."A 17-year-old boy will stand trial for murdering Melbourne teenager Laa Chol.

On Friday, the boy - who cannot be named due to his age - appeared in a children's court where he pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

The Sunshine North youth admits stabbing the university student, but claims it was manslaughter.

The matter will now go to trial in the Supreme Court.

Ms Chol, 19, died at a city apartment on July 21 last year.

Her body was found on the 56th floor of the CBD EQ Tower after a party at a short-term stay apartment.

The court heard on Friday the boy stepped forward and stabbed Ms Chol to the torso with a knife, with "moderate" force.

The blade entered to a depth of 8.5cm and pierced the right ventricle of her heart, causing a hemothorax - bleeding inside the chest.

In November, prosecutors refused to accept a defence offer for the boy to plead guilty to manslaughter.

On Friday however, his lawyer argued the murder charge should be discharged as he didn't intend to cause death or serious injury to Ms Chol.

He said there wasn't evidence of sufficient weight to support a murder conviction, and although the boy's actions were deliberate, they did not show intent to kill or seriously injure.

He said there was a "lack of animus" in the boy's actions.

But the magistrate deemed the boy's intent at the time was a matter for a jury to determine.

She said CCTV footage clearly showed Ms Chol being held by another boy as she was stabbed.

"There appears to be some ill feeling between the victim and (the two boys) right before she dies," the magistrate said.

"It was a stab wound in the chest. I'm trying to understand the argument about a jury not being able to find he intended to cause serious injury when he stabbed her torso."

It is believed Ms Chol's death occurred amid a dispute between two groups of partygoers, with the victim punched, kicked and stabbed as her mobile phone was stolen.

As details of her death were described, Ms Chol's family wept.

Outside court, Ms Chol's father Daniel Kunyrith told reporters it was up to the courts to deal with his daughter's killer.

"Let the law deal with him," he said.

"I do not hate his family...but we should look at the problem, to let people continue their good life.

"I can't get another Laa. My life - finished - it's gone. She's the first-born for me.

"Laa (was) doing good...but now they took it, they throw it in the rubbish somewhere."

The boy faces the Supreme Court on March 13 for a directions hearing.Labor will look to win over disillusioned voters in two South Australian seats it has not held for more than 45 years, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.

Mr Shorten was alongside Sturt candidate Cressida O'Hanlon and Boothby candidate Nadia Clancy on International Women's Day when he committed $1.2 billion for work on Adelaide's north-south road corridor.

The party announced Ms O'Hanlon as its Sturt candidate this week, as the Liberals faced calls to preselect a woman to run in place of the veteran MP and outgoing Defence Minister Christopher Pyne.

Mr Shorten said while Labor had not traditionally been successful in the seats, several factors including Liberal infighting the ALP at the upcoming federal election.

"I'm sure they'll be perhaps dyed-in-the-wool Liberal voters in Sturt and Boothby who mightn't have traditionally thought about voting Labor," he told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

"But this time they're going to go 'well, after 2000 days of Liberal government, what have we got to show in South Australia?'

"And they might say 'we're just sick of the instability'."

The Liberal Party's margin in Boothby slipped from 3.5 per cent to a notional 2.8 per cent in the 2017-18 federal seat redraw.

The party holds Sturt by 5.4 per cent following the redistribution - though it's unclear how the resignation of Mr Pyne, who held the seat for 26 years, will affect the vote.

Labor Senator Penny Wong addressed questions of whether the Liberals should select a female candidate in Sturt.

"It doesn't matter if they pre-select a woman or not, because we all know what they really think," she said.

"You know there's an election coming when the Liberal Party suddenly start talking about women's representation again."

Premier Steven Marshall's chief of staff, James Stevens, this week resigned from his position and announced he would contest the Sturt preselection ballot.

Nominations closed on Friday.WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT FROM THE LATEST BANK BOSS HEARINGS?

THE COMMONWEALTH BANK:

* Commonwealth Bank has stopped ongoing fees for 97 per cent of its financial advice customers, with the fees expected to be completely removed within 10 days.

* CBA boss Matt Comyn says he is not aware of any staff being interviewed by regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) over matters referred to in the banking royal commission's final report.

* But he said 73 staff have been interviewed as part of ASIC's continuous monitoring of the bank (an ASIC team is based at CBA).

* In late 2018, CBA emailed eight million customers, apologising again for misconduct and asking people to get in touch directly with complaints or other feedback. Mr Comyn said in October that 9000 people had responded, with that figure now sitting at 14,000.

* Of those 14,000 responses, 5500 were classified as complaints. CBA established a team of 40 people to deal with the complaints, most of which have been settled.

* But there are currently 990 Commonwealth Bank complaints before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

* The CBA revealed in its half-year results that it had paid about $1.4 billion for remediation over the past five years (including both refunds and administrative and programs cost). Mr Comyn says it's unlikely such payments have been paid before.

WESTPAC:

* Of banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne's 76 recommendations, Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer says 53 require action by the bank, and 25 are already under way or complete.

* Westpac spent $380 million on remediation in the 2017-18 financial year, including some administration costs. That was up from $169 million the year before.

* Since July 2018, the bank has resolved 500 long-dated complaints. About 200 remain, with many currently before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority for review.

* Westpac has reduced its complaints by 60 per cent in the past few years, with 0.3 per cent of customers now complaining in a given year.A disagreement about whether Christians and Muslims should marry sparked a heated dispute that ended with a shooting at a Melbourne cafe.

The interfaith argument erupted between patrons at the Babylon Coffee Shop in Broadmeadows in June last year.

Nasser El Kheir was kicked out of the cafe when he became "highly agitated, gesticulating and yelling", court documents show.

The 56-year-old went home, grabbed a handgun and returned to the coffee shop. He fired two shots at the ceiling near patrons, although none were injured.

"Where is the motherf***er? I'll kill him," El Kheir yelled.

The cafe owner tried to stop the gunman walking to the rear of the business but was pushed aside, then El Kheir turned and fled.

An extensive police search failed to find the gunman and El Kheir eventually handed himself in almost a week after the shooting. The firearm has not been recovered.

There were also claims aired in court that a man at the cafe had gestured he would cut El Kheir's throat.

At a hearing in the Victorian County Court on Friday, Judge Gabriele Cannon said she was satisfied El Kheir demonstrated remorse but it was concerning that he was affected by alcohol at the time of the shooting.

The judge wanted the firearm surrendered to police but recognised people were hesitant to hand in the weapon, worried they would be criminally charged.

She ordered El Kheir to undergo an assessment for a community corrections order but did not rule out a term of imprisonment.

The gunman, who is in custody, pleaded guilty to conduct endangering life and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

He is due to be sentenced on April 30.The abuse and pain handed to Australians with disabilities isn't buried deep in history - it's still happening right now.

The multi-billion dollar disability sector is also about to be put on "economic steroids" as the National Disability Insurance Scheme ramps up.

That's why advocacy groups say a disability royal commission is so necessary, to change the culture before even more taxpayer money floods in.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is tipped to announce the royal commission next week, with broad terms of reference to investigate abuse across the sector.

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John expects the commission hearings to be "a moment of profound societal reckoning" about the abuse of people with disabilities.

"People have no idea the extent to which we experience these things every single day," he told AAP on Friday.

"Not in the past, not in some far off corner of our history, but right now in 2019, in Australia."

A Senate inquiry in 2015 heard shocking allegations of violence, abuse and neglect in the disability sector, and it recommended a royal commission.

It found private residential care operators had moved physically and sexually abusive staff to other locations, rather than report them to police.

The inquiry also heard stories like that of a 22-year-old woman with the mental capacity of an infant, who was found to be pregnant in residential care.

Senator Steele-John said he "absolutely" expected to see criminal charges arise out of the disability royal commission.

"People must be held accountable, for not only systemic failure but actual abuse," he said.

"We are looking at something which could potentially dwarf the child abuse royal commission in terms of its finding of systemic failure and criminality."

People With Disability Australia co-chief executive Matthew Bowden was encouraged by what he saw from the federal government in talks about the commission's terms of reference.

"It's clear the government has been listening to people with disability and what we're asking for in terms of the terms of reference being all-encompassing so that they cover all settings," he told ABC radio.

"All people with disability are going to be covered by this royal commission and all terms of forms of violence."

Mr Bowden wants the disability royal commission to have a similar model to the child abuse royal commission, where the survivors had private hearings.

"That information went into what became the public hearings, where they were able to interrogate the themes of that particular violence, or interrogate what was happening in particular institutions," he said.

He warned the public to expect to hear some awful stories.

"You have people with disability being killed by their parents, tortured and abused by family members," Mr Bowden said.

"It is absolutely going to be harrowing, what we hear and what is uncovered. But it has been going on for such a long time that it's really important these things are brought to light."

Senator Steele-John and Mr Bowden said it was important that the commissioners chosen included someone with a disability, who could use their lived experience to inform the recommendations.

Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher stopped short of saying the royal commission will be announced on Monday, but he said negotiations were ongoing.

"Consultations on a royal commission into the disability sector are ongoing and I understand we're yet to hear back formally from all states and territories after the prime minister wrote to them," he said in a statement.

"If it goes ahead we'll do it properly with full involvement from people with disabilities, the states and territories and all relevant stakeholders."

The NDIS is expected to cost about $22 billion a year and drive a quarter of Australia's jobs growth over the next 25 years.

Senator Steele-John says that's why the sector needs a cultural reset, before the money starts flooding in.

"In that context, where we have that level of economic and employment growth in the sector, it is absolutely vital that we get to the bottom of cultural problems that we are seeing and the abuse those problems are leading to," he said.Drivers will get home faster in Adelaide and Perth thanks to new road projects Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten announced ahead of the upcoming federal election.

The Labor leader promised the bigger package, with $1.2 billion for the final stage of Adelaide's north-south road corridor.

"What we're going to make sure is, not only does the money get invested to help ease the commuter congestion experience, but what we also want to do is make sure that we employ locals when the contracts get allocated," Mr Shorten told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

At least one in 10 workers on the project will be apprentices and there will be a priority on local procurement, he added.

But South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas said the state was not ready to go ahead with the road because the previous government had not planned it.

"There is just no capacity, given the incompetence and negligence of the former Labor government, we're not in a position yet to be able to spend any money in the next 12 months," he told reporters.

Mr Shorten hit back at the Liberal state government.

"If you're not ready to deal with a major infrastructure challenge then maybe you need to look in the mirror as to what the problem is," he said.

The South Australian Freight Council said the final section of South Road would be the most complex and costly to complete and called on the coalition to match Labor's promise.

Mr Morrison was in Perth to announce $96 million worth of road and rail upgrades to revamp three bottleneck areas.

"This is about responding to the pressures of population growth across our cities all across the country," the prime minister told reporters.

The $96 million package will go towards upgrades at Hazelmere, Alkimos and Kewdale, the widening of the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways as well as Perth's Smart Freeway, and the construction of a train station at Lakelands on the Mandurah Line.

Mr Morrison is mid-way through a four-day visit to Western Australia, as the coalition fights to hold onto four seats it can ill afford to lose at the federal election.

He is expected to spend the remainder of his time campaigning in at-risk Liberal-held seats - Pearce, Swan, Canning and Stirling - and also in Cowan, held by Labor's Anne Aly.Has the National Broadband Network made using the internet slower, more expensive and less reliable?

The Statement

"Taxpayers and consumers are worse off as a result of an NBN that is regrettably slower, costlier and less reliable."

Federal shadow communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland blames the National Broadband Network (NBN) for Australia falling to 60th in the world for broadband download speeds. March 5, 2019

The Analysis

Federal shadow communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland has blamed the NBN network for Australia's fall to 60th in the world for fast internet speed. [1]

AAP CrossCheck examined the claims made by Ms Rowland that the rollout of the NBN has resulted in consumers paying more for a slower and less reliable service.

AAP CrossCheck found one of the shadow ministers three claims to be correct. The evidence shows the internet is cheaper and faster since the rollout of the NBN but the service is less reliable.

The NBN, launched by former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2009, was supposed to supercede Australia's aging copper-wire asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) and cable network. [2]

The ADSL network connects to the internet and carries data through traditional telephone lines already installed to homes and businesses. These lines weren't originally intended for anything more than phone calls. [3]

The cable network supplies the internet through the same coaxial cables that deliver data to your TV set. [4]

According to NBN Co Limited - the government-owned corporation tasked to design, build and operate the NBN as a monopoly wholesale broadband provider - the new network will "upgrade" Australia's existing wholesale landline phone and internet service. The network rollout "is expected to be completed by 2020". [5]

Price

AAP CrossCheck found the claim by Ms Rowland that the rollout of the NBN had resulted in consumers paying more was false.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Communications Market Report for 2017-18, there has been an annual downward trend in fixed broadband prices since 2014-15. [6]

The same report for 2014-15 found annual decreases since 2007-08. [7]

The ACCC's findings are supported by a decrease in prices for fixed broadband plans offered by provider Internode. In 2010, $50 bought 50 Gb of date with Internode. In 2019, $50 buys double that amount of data. [8]

The 2017 Australian Digital Inclusion Index reported the cost of data - for both fixed and mobile internet - declined from 2014-2017. This was in line with the ACCC's price monitoring of telecommunications services which showed an average decline in real terms of 3.1 per cent since 2006. [9]

Speed

AAP CrossCheck found the claim by Ms Rowland that the NBN had delivered a slower service was false.

Under the NBN, consumers can purchase different speed plans, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Speed plans range from 12 Mbps to 100 Mbps. [10]

Under consecutive Liberal prime ministers Tony Abbott (2013-2015) and Malcolm Turnbull (2015-2018), the NBN model of installing fibre optic to the premises nationwide was scaled back to fibre optic to the node (FFTN). Mr Rudd described the node as a "mystical point somewhere in the neighbourhood". Dr Longxiang Gao, lecturer in computer networks, School of Information Technology at Deakin University described FFTN as "old technology". [11]

"FTTN runs high-speed fibre optics to boxes on a street corner before delivering internet to the home via copper, and was always going to be a short-term fix," Dr Gao said. "The performance of FTTN is really dependent on the location, or put simply, how close a home or business is to the boxes, and has a very slow upload speed. The current NBN speed is already out of date." [11]

According to a State of the Internet Report published before the start of the NBN rollout in 2010 by internet content-distribution giant Akamai, Australia's average internet speed in January-March 2010 was 2.6 Mbps, ranking Australia 50th in the world. [12]

According to the Speedtest Global Index, the new go-to for global broadband speed reporting, Australia was ranked 60th for global broadband speed with an average of 33.28 Mbps in January 2019. The global average download speed was 55.52 Mbps. [13]

The evidence shows Australia's average broadband speed has risen since the introduction of the NBN from 2.6 Mbps in 2010 to 33.28 Mbps in 2019. But the rise has not kept pace with better and faster technology available around the world, as demonstrated by Australia's slide in world rankings from 50th in 2010 to 60th in 2019.

Reliability

AAP CrossCheck found the claim by Ms Rowland that the introduction of the NBN had created a less reliable service was true.

A federal parliamentary Joint Standing Committee report on the NBN dated September 2017 listed reliability and loss of service as a key complaint, with an Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) 2016 research paper titled "Migrating to the NBN - The experience of Australian consumers" saying one in five consumers reported "their fixed-internet and landline phone services were less reliable now than before connecting to the NBN". [14]

A separate ACMA report from August 2018 found seven in 10 consumers (71 per cent for both households and businesses) experienced at least one issue or fault after NBN connection. "The most frequently mentioned issue or fault was drop-outs (49 per cent). Around one-third of both households and businesses experienced speed issues and service outages." [15]

A NSW Business Chamber NBN and Telecommunications Survey from March 2018 found there were delays and disruptions with the NBN, with 42 per cent of businesses reporting the NBN was "unreliable". [16]

AAP CrossCheck concludes only one of Ms Rowland's three claims was correct. The evidence shows accessing the internet is less expensive and faster since the rollout of the NBN, but the service is less reliable.

The Verdict

Somewhat False - Mostly false, but there is more than one element of truth.

The References

1: 'Australia slips to 60th spot in world broadband speeds, falling behind developing nations' by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson. The Daily Telegraph. March 5, 2019: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/australia-slips-to-60th-spot-in-world-broadband-speeds-falling-behind-developing-nations/news-story/1417989725c2953874bdeb993fb9a797.

2: 'The NBN is compulsory, but at least 6 million Australians don't realise it'. By Tony Yoo. The Australian Financial Review. April 7, 2017: https://www.afr.com/technology/web/nbn/the-nbn-is-compulsory-but-at-least-6-million-australians-dont-realise-it-20170407-gvfl10)

3: 'NBN Vs ADSL: What's the difference?'. By Joseph Hanlon. WhistleOut. April 1, 2017: https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Faqs/nbn-vs-adsl

4: 'NBN rollout: Streets and suburbs suffer digital divide as speed depends on lottery'. By Geoff Thompson, Lucy Carter and Deborah Richards. ABC Four Corners. October 23, 2017: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-23/australian-streets-digitally-divided-by-nbn-lottery/9073258

5: 'Everything you need to know about Australia's broadband network'. National Broadband Network. October 15, 2015: https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project/nbn-101-Everything-you-need-to-know-about-Australias-broadband-network

6: 'Australia's broadband speeds: first report'. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. March 2019. Page 18: https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ACCC%20Communications%20Market%20Report%202017%E2%80%9318%E2%80%94February%202019.pdf

7: ''Price changes for telecommunications services in Australia'. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. February 2016. Page 91: https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ACCC%20Telecommunications%20reports%202014%E2%80%9315_Div%2011%20and%2012_web_FA.pdf

8: 'Broadband company Internode pokes fun at Telstra BigPond's blue Kombi van', by Tim Burrowes. Mumbrella. March 29, 2010: https://mumbrella.com.au/broadband-company-internode-pokes-fun-of-telstra-bigponds-blue-kombi-van-21812

9: 'Lack of internet affordability may worsen Australia's digital divide: new report', by Julian Thomas. The Conversation. August 2, 2017:

https://theconversation.com/lack-of-internet-affordability-may-worsen-australias-digital0-divide-new-report-81823

10: 'Bits and Bytes'. Tech Terms. https://techterms.com/category/bits_and_bytes

11: 'Why the NBN is already past its use by date', by Dr Longxiang Gao, lecturer in computer networks, School of Information Technology, Deakin University. February 11, 2018: https://this.deakin.edu.au/society/why-the-nbn-is-already-past-its-used-by-date

12: 'Australia scores a C on Akamai broadband report card', by Nate Cochrane. IT News. July 28, 2010: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/australia-scores-a-c-on-akamai-broadband-report-card-221179

13: 'Speedtest Global Index'. Ookla. January 2019: https://www.speedtest.net/global-index

14: 'The rollout of the National Broadband Network'. Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network. September 2017. Page 89 and 122: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Broadband_Network/NBN/First_report

15: 'NBN consumer experience Households and businesses - the end-to-end journey'. Australian Communications and Media Authority. August 2018: https://www.acma.gov.au/-/media/Research-and-Analysis/Research/pdf/NBN-consumer-experience_households-and-businesses.pdf

16: 'Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network Inquiry into the rollout of the NBN in rural and regional areas'. NSW Business Chamber. March 2018: https://www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au/NSWBC/media/Policy/Infrastructure/180329-NBN-inquiry-rural-and-regional-areas-Submission.pdfA loving young woman bashed to death by her boyfriend in her Sydney apartment had no chance of surviving his "insane jealousy" and "utter contempt for women", her mother says.

Rhonda Baker's family broke down in court on Friday, also International Women's Day, as they detailed the profound loss of their daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, workmate, aunty and sister.

The 26-year-old was murdered by Onitolosi Etuini Atiai Latu in Liverpool in August 2016.

Latu's NSW Supreme Court trial heard he had sent emails threatening to "cave" his girlfriend's head in prior to her death.

The 30-year-old has a history of violence towards women and had once karate-kicked another female partner unconscious.

"A partner's role is to care and love but instead she suffered a life of constant abuse, harm and threatening behaviour," Rhonda's mother, Darcel Baker, read from her victim impact statement on Friday.

"She had no chance of ever surviving. She lived in constant fear not only for herself but that of her family."

Latu, found guilty of murder by a jury in December, did not react as Ms Baker's mother wept loudly.

"Our daughter was ridiculed by him because of his insane jealousy towards her. To me, his infidelity and arrogance towards my daughter shows his utter contempt for women in general," she said through tears.

Her firstborn daughter was found unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse when help arrived after Latu made a triple-zero call from the apartment.

She had fluid frothing from her mouth, a bleeding nose, facial fractures, broken ribs and various other injuries.

Latu told emergency services she had been "jumped" and then had a seizure as he asked what had happened.

Ms Baker suffered a serious brain injury and died in hospital on August 7.

The jury heard evidence she regularly took sick days off work but would return with facial bruises and swelling.

One friend testified Ms Baker had said she couldn't leave Latu unless she knew he was going to jail for "a very long time" because otherwise "he would find her and hurt her".

Ms Baker's father, Tim Tetava, described her as an easygoing and "undemanding" girl who never complained.

She was the first to call him on his birthday, loved spaghetti and would join him for dinners every week.

"Since she died I realise she avoided telling me the bad things that were happening in their relationship," Mr Tetava said in his statement.

He said it's hard to accept his daughter was "gone forever" while Latu was still alive.

"I hope we get justice and he serves a long sentence. I am worried for the safety of the community," he said.

Tamania Stampoulis said she was "tormented with disbelief" at the death of her older sister and "second mother".

Latu's sentence hearing before Justice Julia Lonergan will resume in May.New independent legal advice has been sought in the case of murdered toddler Cheryl Grimmer after NSW's chief prosecutor decided to not appeal a key judgement.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Allan Hulme in February ruled a 1971 police interview - in which a 17-year-old confessed to murdering the little girl - was inadmissible.

Subsequently a murder charge against the now-adult suspect was dropped due to a lack of other evidence.

NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman on Friday said he was seeking his own independent legal advice after the director of public prosecutions decided not to appeal Justice Hulme's decision.

"I recognise the deep hurt felt by Cheryl's family as a result of the decision which I'm assured was taken after careful consideration of the judgment by the DPP," he said in a statement on Friday.

"I have nevertheless requested my own independent advice from the Crown Advocate Dr David Kell."

Cheryl vanished from outside a shower block while with her mother and three older brothers at Fairy Meadow Beach in Wollongong on January 12 in 1970.

Her former accused killer, who cannot be named as he was underage at the time, was 15 when Cheryl disappeared and 17 when he was interviewed by police for one hour and 40 minutes in April 1971.

Justice Hulme said no parent, adult or legal practitioner was present at any stage of the police interview.

At the time, there was no mandatory requirement, legislative or otherwise, or even a guideline by way of police instruction, for an adult support person to be present during the interview.

The former accused was arrested in Victoria in March 2017 and pleaded not guilty in September 2018 to murdering the three-year-old.A teenage mother from Melbourne filmed herself performing sexual acts with her infant daughter and sent the footage to someone in the United Kingdom, a court has heard.

The man in the UK is accused of blackmailing young women into filming pornography by threatening to send intimate pictures to family and friends.

The 18-year-old Melbourne woman was released on bail on Friday and ordered not to go near her child after a children's court hearing, in which details of the case were revealed.

Her parents were in court and became emotional when explicit details of the allegations were read out by an Australian Federal Police agent.

The teenager is facing four charges, including sexual penetration of a child, and producing and transmitting child pornography.

The agent said the young woman, who was 17 at the time, was communicating with a man in the UK via the messaging application WhatsApp.

Police had a "strong case" against the teenager, the agent said.

The teenager was tracked down and arrested on Wednesday after an analysis of a WhatsApp profile linked to the UK man, who was recently arrested by British authorities.

"(She) sent pictures of herself to him," the agent said.

"(He) became aware that (she) was the mother ... requests that she carry out sexual acts with the child."

The young woman has never been in trouble with police before and her lawyer said it had been a "shock" to spend two nights in custody.

"She is somewhat overwhelmed," the defence lawyer said.

In the dock, the teenager shed tears as she was bailed on strict conditions, including a ban on internet use.

"You can't go on Facebook. You can't go on Snapchat. You can't Google things," the magistrate said.

The magistrate also made an intervention order to keep the young woman away from her daughter, warning her of serious consequences if it was breached.

"It is a really serious order, and it must be taken seriously," the magistrate said.

Prosecutors had opposed bail, citing risks she could potentially destroy evidence linked to her phone, which has not yet been forensically examined.

But the magistrate believed the risks of the teenager's release were manageable.

The teenager is due to return to court on April 2.A "very dangerous" thunderstorm has caused building damage and flooding across parts of Melbourne.

The State Emergency Service received 73 calls for help after the storm battered Melbourne's southeast with large hail and heavy rain.

Of those reports, 23 were related to building damage, 12 to flooding and 18 for fallen trees.

Almost all of the requests for assistance have been answered with only four active jobs in the area, an SES spokeswoman told AAP.

A severe warning was put in place for parts of Victoria by the Bureau of Meteorology on Friday before being cancelled.

People had been warned to stay inside as the storm passed over the outer eastern suburbs of the city from 5 to 7pm, with heavy rainfall and "giant" hailstones expected.

"There were really intense rainfalls in the outer east. There was also a lot of hail out of these thunderstorms," senior forecaster Michael Efron told AAP.

Images on social media showed hail stones as large as 2cm falling in parts of the city.

In Box Hill up to 17mm fell in 15 minutes while 30mm fell in Blackburn South, 27mm in Mooroolbark and 26mm in Montrose during the storm period.

A flash flood warning has been lifted for Brushy Creek at Mooroolbark.Malcolm Turnbull has been out campaigning for the Liberals in the NSW election, saying it was "so important" the Berejiklian government be re-elected.

The former prime minister spent Saturday morning with Coogee MP Bruce Notley-Smith at a polling booth in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The electorate takes in part of the federal division of Wentworth, Mr Turnbull's former blue-ribbon Liberal seat that fell to independent Kerryn Phelps in the October by-election.

"It's so important to re-elect the Berejiklian government and Bruce Notley-Smith right here in Coogee," Mr Turnbull said in a video posted on Twitter on Saturday.

The dumped Liberal leader wrote a glowing opinion piece about NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in The Sydney Morning Herald, describing her as practical, competent, smart, humble and a great listener and learner.

"And she gets things done," he wrote, echoing the Liberals' campaign slogan.

Mr Turnbull said Ms Berejiklian had no appetite for the nasty side of politics and labelled her government as the most successful state government in Australia.

"But there is a lot more to do. And Gladys Berejiklian is the leader to do it."Some NSW voters have had trouble casting their ballot as issues plaguing the state's electronic voting system ran into election day.

Technical issues began on Friday night but continued Saturday morning as thousands flooded iVote to register and cast their ballot.

Frustrated voters then turned to the telephone registration system, which itself was then overloaded, with some told to call back later.

One voter living in the United Kingdom said she registered last week but had to call the NSW Electoral Commission 42 times on Saturday in an effort to get her iVote number.

"It was a very, very painful process," Vanessa told AAP.

"Once I was logged in, it was a relatively easy way to vote."

Chrissy Symeonakis said she'd phoned multiple times on Friday night and Saturday morning before finally getting through about 10am.

"I have multiple sclerosis, so getting to a polling booth isn't easy for me at the moment as I'm currently undergoing new treatments," she said, adding she registered for iVote in February.

The server problems for the online system appeared to be fixed about 10am.

The NSWEC said while there had been issues with the registration system, no voting had been impacted.

"The problem relating to online registrations has resulted in increased call volumes to our call centre," Commissioner John Schmidt said in a statement on Friday night.

Applications for iVote close 1pm but votes can be cast until 6pm.

More than 207,000 votes had been submitted using iVote by Saturday morning.

The system, which received more than 280,000 votes in the 2015 election, has been used since 2011.New South Wales are into their first Sheffield Shield final for five years after an incredible spell of bowling from Sean Abbott demolished Tasmania on day four at Hobart's Bellerive Oval.

Needing a victory to stave off Western Australia's push for a berth in the final, the Blues were facing a nervous final day on Saturday but instead came away with a comfortable 149-run winning margin.

Despite Tasmania showing plenty of batting resolve in recent matches, the home side crumbled and were removed for 120 within a session.

Abbott was the chief destroyer, picking a perfect time to return career-best figures of 7-45 as Tasmania chased an achievable target of 270.

NSW elected to declare overnight at 5-149 after Western Australia grabbed a temporary hold on second spot with their three-day win over Queensland.

Tasmania's in-form top-order were immediately in trouble, with Abbott's seaming deliveries reducing the home side to 5-23. Matthew Wade scored 65 and was the only recognised batman to reach double figures.

Abbott duly combined with Trent Copeland (2-31) to roll through the tail as Tasmania were dismissed before the end of an elongated morning session.

NSW will meet Victoria in the five-day Shield final which commences next Thursday at Melbourne's Junction Oval.Human dignity is being assailed by extremists, fanatics and power grabbers, Jordan's Crown Prince believes.

Prince El Hassan bin Talal prayed at a New Zealand mosque targeted in last week's terror attack as it re-opened to small groups on Saturday morning.

Four Jordanians were killed and a number remain in hospital after the attacks on Christchurch's Masjid al Noor and Linwood Masjid.

"This is a moment of deep anguish for all of us, all of humanity where we stand together proud of our commitment to peace in this beautiful country of New Zealand, which has so much to teach us in terms of the solidarity and the human love and compassion that has been so manifest," he said after prayers at al Noor, alongside his daughter and grandson.

"I have lived in a part of the world where every 10 years we have seen a war, every 10 years we have seen refugees, and to feel that this form of violence and cruelty is visited on you living in this idyllic part of the world is deeply moving."

He spoke of his gratitude for the doctors, nurses and emergency staff who helped the victims, including a four-year-old girl who was flown to Auckland's children's hospital after the shooting.

He hugged mourners outside the Al Noor mosque on Saturday after visiting four people in hospital in the morning.

Two Jordanians shot in the attack were among them, as well as a Syrian boy who had lived in Jordan and a woman who suffered a heart attack the day after her Jordanian husband was killed.

A four-year-old girl remains in Auckland's children's hospital, and he hopes to speak with her family when he travels there next.

A delegation from the United Arab Emirates also visited Masjid al Noor on Saturday.

They were among the first allowed to re-enter the mosque after police handed it back to the local Muslim community in the morning.

Thirty foreign dignitaries attended prayers and a memorial service opposite the al Noor mosque on Friday to mark one week since the tragedy.The Greens look set to retain the inner-Sydney seat of Newtown with a significant swing towards the party that's suffered a tumultuous few years with infighting and defections.

Sitting member Jenny Leong said the situation was looking "really positive" with an early swing towards her of 6.1 per cent with just over two per cent of the vote counted.

"One thing is clear - everyone's talking about the need for action on climate change," she told ABC TV.

"It's pretty clear the people of Newtown are saying that they want to see an end to coal-fired power stations in this state."

After months of bitter internal factional warfare embattled Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham quit the party in mid-December to stand as an independent.

He'd come under sustained pressure from rivals to leave over a 2011 sexual harassment allegation.

Nevertheless, Ms Leong on Saturday night insisted there was "absolute strength and unity" across the state in terms of its priority seats.

The Greens have three lower house sitting MPs in Ballina, Balmain and Newtown which they're hoping to retain.

The party is also hoping to pick up Lismore with local lawyer Sue Higginson.

A party spokesman told AAP that on the early figures it was "too close to call".

With 16 per cent of the ballots counted, Nationals candidate Austin Curtin was ahead of Ms Higginson 51 to 49 on a two-party preferred basis.Frontline police officers in Perth will be among the first in the state to wear body-worn cameras.

The first lot of the cameras will go to officers in the Perth district and those in the Traffic Enforcement Group, WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts announced on Sunday.

"It will provide greater transparency and greater protection to both police and members of the community," Ms Roberts said about the roll-out.

"It's also hoped the new technology will help reduce assaults on officers and increase the number of early guilty pleas."

The first officers to get the cameras in regional WA will be those in the Pilbara region, who will receive more than 200 cameras by June.

The move has been backed by WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson.

"Body worn cameras are a significant step in the digital modernisation of WA Police Force," Mr Dawson said.

"The benefits include improved evidence gathering and accountability, and I expect they will optimise how our frontline officers operate."

He said a strict policy and set of procedures would surround the use of the cameras to address the circumstances of when they are activated.

The cameras will capture real-time audio and video and around 4200 of the devices will be deployed to officers across the state by June 2021.Senior Labor MP Jodi McKay has described the NSW election results as disappointing, but says leader Michael Daley deserves to keep his job.

Mr Daley, who suffered a double-digit swing against him in his own seat of Maroubra, has conceded defeat.

Several hundred Labor supporters are waiting at Selina's nightclub in Coogee for him to appear.

Labor cannot win enough seats to force a change of government following Saturday's election.

But it's failure to possibly pick up more than two Sydney seats has put Mr Daley's future into question.

Federal Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite arrived at the Coogee Bay Hotel party and conceded the party was a "little disappointed" at the results so far.

"Some of those key marginals we did need to win, the results haven't flowed our way," he told reporters at the event on Saturday.

The member for Kingsford Smith was upbeat about Labor's chances in the Sydney seat of Coogee with "star candidate" Marjorie O'Neill.

"In Coogee it's looking good," he said.

Ms McKay, who retained her ultra-marginal seat of Strathfield, agreed Labor could not win the seats it needed.

"It's a disappointing result for us, but I also think this is not a victory that the government can crow about when you look at the seats that they are likely to lose," she said.

But she backed Mr Daley, who became leader only months before the election following the forced resignation of Luke Foley, to stay on as party leader

"He has performed very, very strongly," she told ABC TV.

"In saying that, last week we had a bad week. We had two incidents there which I think all of us wish hadn't happened."

Ms McKay said a video of Mr Daley in September saying Asian migrants were taking local jobs was "very unfortunate and I for one wish that that hadn't happened."

"Do I wish he said those? No. Do I agree with what he said? No," she told the ABC.

"But I do think that it did not help our case for forming government."The Liberal party has survived a brutal NSW election campaign with a narrow win that has returned them to government, but also given the federal branch hope ahead of the May election.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has weathered an election that pundits predicted would tip her coalition government into deep minority or opposition.

The coalition was left teetering one seat short of a majority on Saturday night, but will form government either in its own right or with the cross bench, with Labor in no position to win.

In a victory speech that read more like a thank you note, Ms Berejiklian told the crowd the Liberals would concede no seats lost on Saturday, though the ABC had called Coogee for the ALP.

She thanked staff, her family, and Liberal volunteers and members for their efforts during the election campaign.

A pumped-up Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrived at the Liberal election night party at the Sofitel to applause an hour after party elder John Howard, and addressed the crowd.

"How good is Gladys Berejiklian and how good is the Liberal Party here in NSW," he said.

Mr Morrison told the crowd the NSW Liberals were a great "advertisement" for the party brand, and promised to be back in Sydney celebrating in two months after the federal campaign.

Goulburn and Penrith had been tipped to fall into Labor's hands, but numbers suggest Ms Berejiklian's party will retain the battleground seats. The Liberal-held seat of East Hills was too close to call.

Their coalition partners weren't so lucky, with the Nationals losing Murray to the Shooters and likely also the vast western electorate of Barwon.

The election was called before the Sofitel Wentworth ballroom was even half full.

The crowd, dotted with blue campaign shirts, had been bracing to lose a string of Sydney seats, but grew more optimistic through the night, hugging, laughing and drinking.

Both Mr Morrison and Mr Howard made appearances during the campaign, but more of the credit was being place on Labor leader Michael Daley's terrible for final week.

One Liberal powerbroker was overheard joking, "Mr Daley, thank you for your service".

A loud cheer went up among the crowd as a TV bulletin flashed "Daley concedes".

Another cheer went up when Mr Daley said in his concession speech it was his intention to remain the leader of the Labor Party.

A Labor MP told AAP the election result was "beyond disappointing" and that it was up in the air as to whether Mr Daley retained the leadership.

A steady stream of party faithful poured congratulations over Ms Berejiklian's parents Krikor and Arsha, who were seated in the corner for most of the night.

Ms Berejiklian's sisters, Mary and Rita, were also mingling among the crowd.

Mr Daley's train wreck final week brought the contest back to where it had begun, one Liberal insider told AAP.

While Labor had made ground by doggedly pursuing the Allianz Stadium knockdown and threatening to fire shock jock Alan Jones through the middle of the campaign, the last week brought them full circle to the 52 day mark, he said.

Ms Berejiklian said she would work with the three independents - Wagga Wagga's Joe McGirr, Sydney's Alex Greenwich and Port Macquarie's Greg Piper - regardless of the result.

"Whether or not my government is a majority government or a minority government, we will work closely with the three independents that are elected to the NSW parliament," she said.Residents in Western Australia's far north are bracing for dangerous storm surges, destructive winds and prolonged rain as cyclone Veronica bears down.

The category four system is nearing Port Hedland, with predictions it would cross the coast late on Saturday or on Sunday.

A significant storm surge is predicted to hit along parts of the Pilbara coast with a high risk that properties in Port Hedland could be inundated, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

"Tides are at the highest point this weekend which increases the risk of large storm tides. The surge may be up to four metres on top of the existing tide level," a Red Warning reads.

Residents have been urged to stay indoors in the strongest and safest part of their homes.

"We're expecting the potential for very dangerous storm surge as the tropical cyclone pushes water up against the low lying coastal areas," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster James Ashley said.

Mr Ashley said Veronica is unique because it's a slow-moving system that will bring a prolonged period of destructive winds and heavy rain.

"We are expecting a prolonged period - 12 hours or more - of destructive winds near the core of the cyclone, we're expecting a prolonged period of heavy rainfall so flooding is going to be an issue."

Western Australia's fire and emergency services chief superintendent praised the community for their response to the cyclone but said it was a significant event.

"We are looking down the barrel of a significant tropical cyclone impact," chief superintendent Paul Carr said.

People in the Port Hedland area were urged to check storm surge modelling maps and start preparing to relocate to a safer place if affected.

The system is expected to remain a category four on Sunday, weakening to a category two on Monday.

The last category four tropical cyclone to impact the WA coast was Christine in December 2013.

Veronica is the third tropical cyclone this season.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she is open to dealing with the cross bench to form government as her coalition teeters on the edge of winning a majority.

The coalition on Saturday night were predicted to win 46 seats, one short of a majority, with several key electorates still in play.

In her victory speech, Ms Berejiklian told a jubilant crowd she would happily work with the three crossbench MPs to form government if she had to.

"Whether or not my government is a majority government or a minority government, we will work closely with the three independents that are elected to the NSW parliament," she said.

While the Liberals were able to weather much of the election storm, the seat of East Hills was too close to call and Coogee was all but lost to Labor.

Meanwhile the Nationals lost the seat of Murray to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, while Barwon is also likely to fall that way.

The premier told the crowd she was proud to live in a state that would elect a woman with a long name. Ms Berejiklian is the first woman ever elected premier in NSW.

"I am most proud of the state of NSW, I'm incredibly proud of the wonderful place in which we live," she said.Counting in the NSW election will continue on Sunday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian sweating on winning one more seat to allow the coalition to govern in its own right for its third term.

With most of the votes counted on Saturday night, the coalition had 46 seats - 34 for the Liberals and 12 for the Nationals.

Labor held 35, well short of the 47 seats needed to form a majority government.

Ms Berejiklian has already promised to work with the three independents - Joe McGirr, Alex Greenwich and Greg Piper - for smooth government.

She became the first woman to be popularly elected premier in the history of NSW.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said the Berejiklian government suffered a swing of 2.3 against it, but it wasn't been enough to force it out of power.

The Liberal-Nationals went into Saturday's election with 52 seats in the lower house but it needed to only lose six seats to relinquish its majority.

Three Nationals seats - Dubbo, Barwon and Lismore - were still in doubt on Saturday night.

Candidate Dugald Saunders was in a tight fight with independent Mathew Dickerson to retain the seat of Dubbo being vacated by former leader Troy Grant.

The state's most marginal seat - East Hills in Sydney - was also going right to the wire with the Liberals' Wendy Lindsay just ahead.

More than four million people had been expected to cast their votes on Saturday, at more than 2200 polling booths around the state.

Nearly 1.1 million people took advantage of early voting, with about one-in-five making their decision at pre-poll centres or via the post, internet or telephone.

Meanwhile, in the Upper House, former federal Labor leader Mark Latham looks like making a return to parliamentary life as a One Nation MP.

A total of 21 NSW Legislative Council seats were up for election on Saturday.The Berejklian government has held on to power in NSW with the coalition hoping the result will prove a boost to Scott Morrison just two months out from the federal election.

Gladys Berejiklian on Saturday became the first woman to be popularly elected premier of NSW and she'll lead the coalition into a third straight term for the first time in 50-odd years.

It's not yet clear if the government will maintain its majority but even if it falls short Ms Berejiklian will be able to rely on the three returning independents - Wagga Wagga's Joe McGirr, Sydney's Alex Greenwich and Port Macquarie's Greg Piper.

Ms Berejiklian told the party faithful she was incredibly proud of NSW where "someone with a long surname - and a woman - can be the premier".

With almost 66 per cent of the vote counted the Liberal party and Nationals had won 46 seats in the 93-seat lower house.

Labor had 35 seats, the Greens had three and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party had at least two.

Liberals hope the result is an indication NSW voters won't punish the prime minister and the party for the 2018 chaos in Canberra when they cast their ballots in May's federal election.

"How good is Gladys Berejiklian and how good is the Liberal Party here in NSW," Mr Morrison told the party faithful at a Sydney hotel.

The federal Liberal leader, who's from south Sydney, said in two months' time they'd be "back here celebrating another Liberal-National government".

Ms Berejiklian pledged "we will do everything we can to support you and your government's re-election".

NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has only been in the top job for four months but after Saturday's poor showing his days could well be numbered.

He vowed on Saturday night "it is my intention to remain the leader of the party" but admitted he was only "hopeful" of being in the role when parliament returns.

Labor frontbencher Jodi McKay - a potential leadership contender along with Chris Minns - backed Mr Daley to stay in the top job before adding: "In saying that, last week we had a bad week".

"We had two incidents there which I think all of us wish hadn't happened," she said, referring to a video of Mr Daley saying Asian migrants were taking local jobs and his inability to recall, during a TV debate, how much the opposition had committed to schools and TAFE.Masjid al Noor was a site of unspeakable horror, but it has been reclaimed by the New Zealand Muslim community with love.

A week and a day after 50 people were slaughtered at Al Noor and the Linwood Masjid in Christchurch, prayers have resumed.

At first only a small group was permitted to pass through the cordon but once the barricades came down the lines grew, as grieving families and those who escaped with their lives came back.

They were joined by friends and strangers wanting to show solidarity and support.

More are set to return on Sunday, when a vigil is held across the road in Hagley Park for those who died and the injured.

Among them are 27 who remain in hospital, five critical in intensive care.

The vigil, like the memorial at Friday prayers attended by thousands, is expected to draw a large crowd.

There will again be a large presence of armed police, who have been praised for their support of the Islamic community.

"As-salaam alaikum," officers greeted those returning to the mosque Saturday morning. Peace be upon you.

Huzef Vohra, who says he lost 80 per cent of his friends in the attack, welcomed their ongoing presence.

"If they could (stay), it's really better," he said.

A series of memorial events have already been held, including a march and performances on Saturday and the outdoor Friday prayers on Friday.

Al Noor Imam Gamal Fouda spoke, a week after his prayers were interrupted by gunfire.

He reflected on the hatred and rage he saw in the killer's eyes. On Friday he saw love reflecting back from those gathered.

"We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken," he said.

"We are alive, we are together, we are determined not to let anyone divide us."

A mass burial on Friday afternoon saw the final victims to be buried locally laid to rest, including the youngest victim, three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim.

A four-year-old girl is one of 27 who remain in hospital, five in critical conditions.

The man charged with murder over the attack, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, used two semi-automatic rifles legally bought with a licence.

From 3pm on Thursday such weapons became illegal under interim measures, until legislation is expected to be introduced by April 11.

Police have already received more than 1000 notifications from people wanting to hand in their now-banned weapons.A man will face court accused of stabbing a stranger with a screwdriver in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Emergency services were called to Anzac Parade about 4pm on Saturday where they found a man with stab wounds to his back. Police were told the man was allegedly stabbed with a screwdriver by a stranger who then fled. The 50-year-old Maroubra man was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

Police subsequently arrested a 27-year-old man about 6.30pm at a home in Maroubra and charged him with wounding a person with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday.A man has been charged over a fatal crash north of Adelaide.

An 81-year-old man died in hospital after his car and another vehicle collided on Port Wakefield Road at Lower Light on Friday afternoon. The driver of the other car, a 53-year-old Rostrevor man, and his passenger were treated for minor injuries.

On Saturday, police charged the Rostrevor man with causing death by dangerous driving. He was granted bail and is expected to appear in Elizabeth Magistrates Court on April 30.Four people have been charged after they allegedly used a taxi to supply cocaine across Sydney's southwest.

Following months of investigations, police stopped a taxi in Roselands on Friday and arrested the driver, a 57-year-old man, after they found a substance believed to be cocaine.

A short time later police searched homes in Bankstown, Bass Hill, Campsie and Rhodes, and seized various items including cash. A 52-year-old woman and two men, aged 27 and 53, were also arrested.

It will be alleged the group supplied cocaine via a taxi driven by the older man. All four were charged with various drug offences and remanded in custody.Australia's democracy has become more fragile because of the normalisation of hate speech and extremist views in parliament, senior Labor figure Penny Wong says.

Senator Wong will on Friday deliver a speech in honour of being named the McKinnon Political Leader of the Year for promoting a more tolerant and inclusive Australia.

"Racism is not only unethical, it is antithetical to the values which underpin democracy," she will say in Melbourne.

"Hate speech is inimical to democracy, it must not be normalised, it cannot be defended on grounds of freedom of speech because it inflicts real and direct harm."

The Labor Senate leader heavily rewrote her speech after the Christchurch massacre a fortnight ago, where 50 people died after a lone shooter attacked two mosques.

Politicians from all sides must stand together against ideologies of hate and prejudice, the senator will say.

Her speech warns of how competing ideas can morph into hyper-partisanship and deep polarisation, shutting down rational discussion and placing stress on democracy.

"A robust Australian democracy is not fundamental to the country we cherish, it is a necessary prerequisite to our ability to advance our interests and advocate our values internationally," Senator Wong will say.

"Our weight amongst nations is greatest if we can truly reflect who we are - an inclusive, independent, multicultural nation confident of our identity and of our place in the world."

Senator Wong flags inequality, disrespect and disengagement as drivers to the public losing confidence in the political system.

Leaders must tackle those issues to make democracy work better, she will say.The Morrison government will establish a new foundation to help soothe strained ties with China following a raft of diplomatic tensions with the global superpower.

The National Foundation for Australia-China Relations will have more money than the existing Australia-China Council to fund projects strengthening links between the two countries.

It will also widen the focus from projects about education, culture and the arts to also include agriculture, infrastructure, health, the environment and energy.

Australia will also send a new ambassador to China with Graham Fletcher set to replace Jan Adams, who has been in the role since 2016.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the foundation would be a high-profile platform for promoting ties with China.

"It will harness efforts of the private sector, peak bodies, NGOs, cultural organisations, state and federal agencies and the Chinese-Australian community to turbo-charge our national effort in engaging China," she said on Friday.

Australia's relationship with China has been tense recently, with concerns about foreign influence leading to Huawei and ZTE being banned from the 5G network rollout.

Australia has also sought answers about a slowdown in coal exports to China, but has been careful not to link the issue to diplomatic payback.

The South China Sea has also been a bone of contention along with China's rising influence in the Pacific.

Senator Payne said there were many areas Australia and China shared common objectives and could maximise cooperation.

"We have different perspectives on some important issues and the new foundation will encourage and enable considerable constructive discourse and engagement between our two countries," she said.

Former Liberal MP Warwick Smith, who is currently chair of the council, will lead the foundation while board members are yet to be named.The birth of bilby triplets on the Gold Coast has given conservationists renewed hope for the future of the vulnerable marsupials.

Willow, Tilly and Daisy made their public debut at Dreamworld in January, but as Easter approaches, the trio are preparing for a new wave of attention.

"Bilby triplets are very unusual," says Al Mucci, director of the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation.

"I've only seen it three times, and this is the second time it's happened at Dreamworld."

The bilbies are a part of Dreamworld's conservation program, which ultimately aims to repopulate areas affected by introduced species.

"The natural habitat of the bilby spans from west of the Great Dividing Range to Perth, and south to Adelaide," Mucci says.

"But much of that environment has been hit by feral cats. The bilby went extinct in the south, and they could become extinct everywhere unless these cats are managed."

Known as the 'rabbit-eared bandicoot', the bilby has become an Australian icon at Easter. Chocolate bilbies sit alongside the traditional bunnies on supermarket shelves in an effort to raise awareness of their plight.

"Bilbies thrive in tough, arid environments and harsh climates," Mucci says. "They get all their moisture from the invertebrates and snakes they eat."

When much-needed rain hits the coast, these dry, thirsty areas can end up with more than just a drink.

"The water is good, but it brings the cats," he says. "So it's a very boom-and-bust environment for bilbies."

Despite the threats, Mucci says repopulation efforts are working, thanks in part to the bilby's accelerated gestation period.

"Just two weeks," he says. "It's a very quick reproductive cycle. Bilbies are short-lived, they only have a life expectancy of about five years, but in that time they can breed like rabbits."

In a predator-free environment, numbers can explode. At Currawinya National Park in south-west Queensland, a 24 square kilometre enclosure has been set up to host bilbies born in captivity.

"It's a safe area with water and food, which they can catch on their own," Mucci says.

The first cohort of bilbies bred in captivity will be released at Currawinya just before Easter, with two more to follow in June and August. It's a promising start to the year, but Mucci says much more needs to be done.

"There are 20 million feral cats out there, and they'll kill and eat anything they catch," he says.

"Farmers should be given government incentives to kill the feral cats."

Farmers were given incentives to kill dingoes and the now-extinct Tasmanian Tiger, and the subsequent lack of dogs led to an increase in the cat population.

"The feral cat problem is everyone's responsibility, and if we don't act, the bilby could become extinct."

The Lesser bilby went extinct in the 1950s, a fate Mucci says the surviving Greater bilby can avoid.

"It's down to awareness. People need to be made aware of bilbies and their situation, which is why we encourage people to boycott the bunny at Easter and buy a chocolate bilby instead."

Funds raised from the sale of Pink Lady chocolate bilbies help conservation efforts like Dreamworld's, which have helped turn things around for the cute critters.

"There's a lot of work to do, but things are looking up for the bilby."Scott Morrison needs this budget to work - his job depends on it.

With Australian voters due to head to the polls in May, the prime minister and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg face a fine balancing act.

Call it the Goldilocks budget.

Spend too much and the coalition risks undermining its message about being more responsible with taxpayers' money than Labor.

Spend too little, and voters will wonder why it is they are paying billions of dollars in tax and not seeing results for it.

Get your spending just right and there's a slim hope voters may reward you for it.

Expect carefully targeted spending in the marginal seats that count and messages carefully crafted towards pensioners, self-funded retirees, working families and small business operators.

The prime minister's key theme in speeches leading up to the budget has been "trust".

However, the flip side of the message is you can't trust Labor, and - if you ask Morrison - there is the distinct prospect of a recession in coming years if the electorate changes horses.

Labor dismisses this as scare tactics, pointing to the fact that the Rudd government saved Australia from recession during the global financial crisis.

And governments of both persuasions have kept the country's economy growing for 28 successive years.

Of course, that growth has come as debt has ballooned. Half a trillion dollars so far. But the coalition has managed to convince voters it's not important for the moment.

Labor has already promised bigger personal tax cuts and is promising to spend more on health and education, using money raised from changes to negative gearing, trusts and franking credits.

The coalition has to watch out for any other problem issues like last year's decision to give the Great Barrier Reef Foundation more than $443 million in a one-off grant, which has caused months of unnecessary pain.

Of course there is a theory that anything said on budget night won't matter a jot anyway, as voters have been tuned out of the rhetoric emanating from the "Canberra bubble" for some time.

That can only have a downside effect for the government.Another 30 institutions have joined the national redress scheme for institutional child abuse victims.

The new additions leave just under 100 institutions who are yet to sign up, with the federal government calling on them to do so.

Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher said the 30 groups joining included 22 Anglican institutions, five Baptist organisations, Scouts Queensland, Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, and the Uniting Church in Australia.

"I continue to emphasise the urgency of giving survivors access to redress as soon as they are able," Mr Fletcher said in a statement on Friday.

"The Liberal-National government expects all the institutions where institutional child sexual abuse has occurred to sign up to the national redress scheme as soon as possible."

Applications for redress can only be processed after the relevant institution has joined the scheme, leaving many victims still unable to receive compensation.

The scheme has come under fire from victims' advocates this week, who say it is traumatising survivors and should be overhauled.

Survivors and their supporters will stage a rally in Melbourne on Sunday calling for significant changes to the $3.8 billion scheme.A Melbourne catering company shut down during a listeriosis scare linked to the death of an elderly hospital patient plans to sue the state government over the forced closure.

I Cook Foods in Dandenong South was forced to cease operating in February after meals it provided to a private hospital in Melbourne's east were suspected of being contaminated with listeriosis and contributed to the death of an 80-year-old woman.

On Thursday the company was allowed to reopen its doors, just two days after it launched legal action arguing the closure was premature and unjust.

Company owner Ian Cook on Friday said the company, employing 41 staff, will seek compensation for the closure.

"We've been completely wronged," he told ABC radio.

"We've had contracts cancelled because we've been made to look like we killed someone, and we didn't do that. We just didn't do that."

Mr Cook said the health department's own testing showed its food items satisfied Australian food standards.

The sandwich in question is considered a high-risk food item not recommended for vulnerable people such as the elderly or pregnant women, he said.

"The hospital should never have given a high-risk food to a very sick woman," Mr Cook added.

In February, Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton said he acted out of an "abundance of caution" to close the kitchen while investigations continued.

He said six positive samples for listeriosis had been found in the firm's kitchen.

On Thursday Dr Sutton revoked the order against I Cook Foods and said he was satisfied changes had been made to food handling processes.

Mr Cook is also critical of how the department managed the reopening process.

"They've put a number of conditions on the reopening, a number of which are, if you like, ludicrous," he said.

"They have a testing regime which actually means, if I follow it, I end up selling food out of date. The whole thing smacks of trying to cover tracks."World War I soldier Lance Corporal John Alexander Crawford's heart-broken mother wanted to know for certain that "he is no more".

The Adelaide man was listed as missing for more than a year before an official telegram confirmed he had in fact died in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles, the worst 24 hours of Australia's military history.

His widowed mother Christina Crawford asked the army for a death certificate and any of his belongings.

"Why I desire this is on account of the long suspense I have been held in. And also to satisfy myself that he is no more," she wrote in October 1917.

The death certificate arrived the next month.

More than a century later, Lance Corporal Crawford and six other Australian soldiers killed at Fromelles will finally get headstones bearing their names at their final resting place in France.

They are among 166 Australian soldiers from the 250 found buried in mass graves a decade ago who have now been identified by name through the use of DNA technology, forensic science and historical data.

Rob Crawford was contacted "out of the blue" two years ago, asking if he would provide a DNA sample to help identify a great uncle he knew nothing about.

The news of Lance Corporal Crawford's formal identification has had a profound effect on the 75-year-old.

"It's changed my life, it really has," Mr Crawford told AAP after the official announcement this week.

"Looking at the family tree, it brings tears to your eyes."

Mr Crawford has now read Lance Corporal Crawford's service records, and the letters from the soldier's grieving mother.

"The letters that she sent to the army are tear-jerking," he said.

"It's grief - 'my poor son's been killed'."

Like Lance Corporal Crawford, Private Arthur George Batt's body remained unidentified until now.

Robert Batt and Scott Backler, who do not know each other, had no idea about their connection to an unidentified Fromelles soldier until they were contacted by volunteers from the Fromelles Association of Australia seeking DNA samples.

Mr Batt, whose grandfather and Private Batt's father were brothers, was amazed a formal identification was possible after a body had been buried for so long.

He believed the DNA for the comparison came from one of Private Batt's toes.

"I thought it was fantastic, the fact that somebody alive over a hundred years ago could help identify somebody."

Mr Backler felt both surprised and sad to learn about his grandmother's uncle and his fate at Fromelles.

"There's not just him but so many other soldiers from both sides still buried there, unknown.

"It's sad really, but also good that at least he's been identified."

Private Batt and Lance Corporal Crawford, who both served in the 32nd Battalion, lived in neighbouring Adelaide suburbs.

Mr Batt said his sisters, armed with information about new branches of their family tree, now believe the soldiers may have been mates before the war.A Melbourne psychiatrist who sexually assaulted a vulnerable long-term patient has been jailed for at least 14 months.

Prabakar Rajan Thomas, 69, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault which occurred in 2015 after the woman went to him for help.

"I am perfectly satisfied that the consequences of your offending have greatly exasperated the victim's mental difficulties," County Court Judge Liz Gaynor told Thomas during sentencing on Friday.

The victim was first referred to Thomas for treatment of bipolar in 2011 and began attending regular appointments.

Two years later, after discussing the effects of medication on the woman's sex drive, Thomas began asking unnecessary questions about her masturbation habits.

Thomas also showed her "graphic pornographic material" and called her sexy when she complained of weight gain caused by medication.

She complained to staff about Thomas' "sleazy" behaviour but had to make another appointment to get her script filled.

It was at this appointment in November 2015 she was assaulted.

The psychiatrist put his hands in her bra and exposed her breasts and told the woman to masturbate for him, touching her over her clothes.

She reported the attack to police and the medical board but two days later attempted to take her own life.

"Unfortunately as is often the case the victim has blamed, hated and loathed herself for your offending," Judge Gaynor said.

An immediate term of imprisonment was warranted because of the enormous breach of trust, she added.

Thomas was sentenced to serve two years in jail, and must spend at least 14 months behind bars before being eligible for release on parole.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636AAP FactCheck Investigation: Does Qatar-based news organisation Al Jazeera support Islamic extremist groups?

The Statement

"Al Jazeera are a state-owned propaganda arm of the Qatari government that supports Islamic extremist groups and are not a legitimate media organisation."

One Nation statement. March 26, 2019.

The Analysis

Pauline Hanson's One Nation has referred to police an Al Jazeera investigation, aired on ABC TV, into the party's attempt to secure political funding from America's powerful National Rifle Association.

Al Jazeera filmed Ms Hanson's chief of staff James Ashby and the party's Queensland director Steve Dickson discussing the softening of Australia's gun laws during a trip to the US last year.

AAP FactCheck examined One Nation's claim Al Jazeera "supports Islamic extremist groups". [1]

One Nation did not respond to AAP FactCheck requests to provide a source for its claim.

Al Jazeera's manager of investigative journalism said One Nation's criticisms were unfounded. "Al Jazeera is financed by the Qatari government but operates wholly independently. No one from the government of Qatar has had any role in this production," Phil Rees told leading US political website The Hill.

"The idea for the investigation came from Peter Charley, the reporter and producer, a 30-year veteran with Australian TV. Blaming the messenger rather than addressing the message is always an act of last resort by politicians." [2]

Al Jazeera began broadcasting in 1996 when a group of former BBC reporters received backing from Qatar's monarch to start a TV network independent of Western channels. The broadcaster states on its website that it "is an independent news organisation funded in part by the Qatari government". [3][4]

Luciano Zaccara, assistant professor at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Centre says Al Jazeera has helped promote Qatar's influence in the region. "It put Qatar on the map," he told GlobalPost in 2015. "Al Jazeera was the most important tool (Qatari leaders) had to influence public opinion." [3]

Al Jazeera has long been a source of tension between Qatar and its Arab neighbours, accused of being a mouthpiece for terrorists.

In 2006 the network aired an audio tape from Osama bin Laden and an address from bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. The statements were picked up by every major news agency and were vetted for authenticity by the CIA. US President George Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld later accused Al Jazeera of fuelling anti-American sentiment and giving terrorists a podium.

In its defence Al-Jazeera said it assesses such tapes purely on the basis of news value. Editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Sheikh said Al-Jazeera's editors wrangle over what portions, if any, they can air. [5]

In 2011 Al Jazeera became the primary source of information for its coverage of the Arab spring, a series of pro-democracy uprisings that enveloped several largely Muslim countries, including Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Bahrain. Two years later Egyptian secret police arrested the network's Australian journalist Peter Greste and an Egyptian reporter on suspicion of illegally broadcasting news harming "domestic security". Egypt's military-installed government cracked down on Al-Jazeera following the 2013 overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, accusing the broadcaster of bias in favour of Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood. [6]

In 2017 when Saudi Arabia cut ties with Qatar it accused Al Jazeera and Qatar of supporting militants and broadcasting their ideology. "(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," the Saudi state news agency SPA said. [7]

In the same year after Saudi attempts to shut the network, Al Jazeera addressed accusations of supporting extremism in an open letter, claiming it challenged "all sides of the story".

"We defend the freedom of expression and believe in people's right to knowledge. We take no sides. We are no one's messenger or spokesperson and we never have been," it said. [8]

In a 2017 article University of Southern California academic and author Philip Seib wrote there was "truth to the allegations that Al Jazeera Arabic's reporting has a pro-Islamist slant".

"Qatar's adversaries say this reporting takes the form of sympathetic coverage of not only the Muslim Brotherhood but also Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria and Yemen." [9]

In 2017 author Hugh Marks wrote in The Observer that while Al Jazeera had raised political awareness across the Middle East, western audiences needed to consider the network had two faces - one Arabic and one English - and it was "the Arabic face that creates all the problems in Qatar's neighbourhood".

Marks noted Arab regimes persecuting Qatar "are all vulnerable to being overthrown by popular revolution and replaced by Islamist groups, so seeing these same groups presented as legitimate political opposition on Al Jazeera and being allowed to agitate for political change represents a clear existential threat". [10]

AAP FactCheck found there is no direct evidence to support One Nation's claim, however it's important to note that Al Jazeera is a broadcaster with channels in English and Arabic. There is some evidence of a pro-Islamist editorial stance by Al Jazeera Arabic and its Qatari owners.

The Verdict

Somewhat False - Mostly false, but there is more than one element of truth.

The References

1: 'ABC defends Al Jazeera Investigation'. Nine.com.au/AAP. March 26, 2019: https://www.9news.com.au/national/abc-defends-al-jazeera-investigation/2104b113-9232-4252-80ac-b1f45a889925

2: 'Australian leader accuses politicians of soliciting NRA, Koch donations to undermine gun laws'. By Chris Mills Rodrigo. The Hill. March 26, 2019:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/435817-australian-leader-accuses-politicians-of-soliciting-donations-from-nra

3: 'Inside Al Jazeera: Is the pan-Arab channel a propaganda outfit or an essential voice?' By Reese Erlich. Public Radio International (PRI). June 10, 2015: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-06-10/inside-al-jazeera-pan-arab-channel-propaganda-outfit-or-essential-voice

4: 'Who we are. A truly global network'. Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/aboutus/

5: 'Al-Qaida tapes often come through Al-Jazeera'. NBC News/AP. January 2006: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10948626/ns/world_news-terrorism/t/al-qaida-tapes-often-come-through-al-jazeera/#.XJwRsFUzbRY

6: 'Aussie journo held in Egypt'. SBS/AAP. December 31, 2013: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/aussie-journo-held-in-egypt

7: 'Al Jazeera Accused of Supporting Terrorism: Qatar News Agency's Bitter History With the Arab World'. Haaretz and Reuters. June 5, 2017: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/qatar-crisis-al-jazeera-has-a-long-and-bitter-history-the-arab-world-1.5480437

8: 'An Open Letter from Al Jazeera'. Al Jazeera. June 27, 2015: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/open-letter-al-jazeera-170626125049180.html

9: 'Why some Arab countries want to shutter Al Jazeera'. By Philip Seib. The Conversation. July 10, 2017: https://theconversation.com/why-some-arab-countries-want-to-shutter-al-jazeera-80600

10: 'Al-Jazeera, insurgent TV station that divides the Arab world, faces closure'. By Hugh Miles, The Observer. July 2, 2017: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/01/demand-al-jazeera-closure-shows-how-much-enemies-fear-itThe Morrison government is gearing up for the last roll of the parliamentary dice as politicians descend on Canberra for the final sitting before the election.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver his first budget on Tuesday night, with income tax cuts expected to be brought forward and the nation's books in surplus for the first time in more than a decade.

With the coalition lagging behind Labor in the polls, the budget is set to include sweeteners for voters and springboard into the official election campaign.

The House of Representatives will sit from Tuesday to Thursday, with Bill Shorten to give his budget reply speech to round out parliamentary sittings before the election.

That's provided the government doesn't pull the rug from under the opposition by calling an election first.

The more likely scenario is Scott Morrison will visit the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove next weekend, triggering a five to six-week campaign.

The Senate will sit on Tuesday and Wednesday before budget estimates hearings are held on Thursday and Friday to scrutinise government spending.

Legislation for budget appropriations, north Queensland floods relief, the instant asset write-off for business, veterans, foreign influence transparency scheme and resource taxation are on the agenda.

But with limited time, the government may have to nut out a deal with Labor to prioritise what will pass before parliament rises.

Tasmanian Liberal Wendy Askew will replace her brother David Bushby, while Raff Ciccone will also be sworn in to replace Victorian Labor factional ally Jacinta Collins.

As former senator David Leyonhjelm waits to see if he is elected to the NSW upper house, his chief of staff Duncan Spender replaces him in Canberra for what could be a record for shortest stay in parliament.

The three new faces' first debate is likely to be a censure motion condemning Queensland senator Fraser Anning for blaming the Christchurch terror attack on Muslim migrants.

Both houses are expected to hear a condolence for the brutal deaths of 50 people at two mosques.

Inquiry reports are due on political interference in the ABC, the controversial cashless welfare card and resource tax changes.

That's along with findings on the abuse royal commission redress scheme, quality of checks on aged care homes and national integrity commission laws.

In the Senate, Labor will also try to torpedo regulations banning long-term casuals claiming an annual leave entitlement.Thousands of taxi drivers, licence plate owners and operators have signed up to a class action against ride-share giant Uber.

More than 5500 entities affected across Australia have signed on to the suit, according to Maurice Blackburn lawyers.

Senior associate Elizabeth O'Shea said she had spoken to people who had bought a plate thinking it was a sound financial investment for their future, as well as drivers and operators.

"They've been devastated in this," Ms O'Shea said.

Some people had lost their retirement savings, gone bankrupt or had seen the value of businesses and licence plates drop dramatically.

The suit will claim Uber operated without complying with relevant legislation, as drivers lacked appropriate accreditation and weren't driving licensed vehicles.

"Some operators and drivers are looking at the prospect of working into their 70s to make up for their loss," Ms O'Shea said.

"It's a real injustice."

The deadline for people wanting to join the class action has been extended until April 29.

The case against Uber is set to be filed in the Victorian Supreme Court later this year.

Uber has been contacted for comment.

BREAKDOWN OF CLASS ACTION ENTITIES BY STATE:

* Victoria - 2036

* NSW - 1837

* Queensland - 1121

* WA - 539South Australia has moved to train more police in counter-terrorism strategies in the wake of the attack on two Christchurch mosques.

The SA government has increased by 60 the number of local police with specialist counter-terrorism training, who can then be seconded to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Section should a local attack occur.

Police Minister Corey Wingard said there was no suggestion the threat level in SA had increased.

But he said the attack in New Zealand, where 50 people were shot and killed, had raised fears across the community.

"We saw from Christchurch people can be vulnerable wherever they are," he said on Friday.

"It doesn't matter how big or small the community is. These things can happen anywhere in the world at any time."

The minister said the government was also compiling a Counter-Radicalisation Strategy targeting prison inmates who might be vulnerable to teachings of violent extremism.

Mr Wingard said it was important to be proactive against the terrorist threat.

"Extremists are increasingly seeking to inspire like-minded individuals to their repugnant way of thinking through online recruitment," he said."The president is indeed there; he's the one on the job," Bongo's spokesman told reporters

Ali Bongo of Gabon does not have a body double, his spokesman said Thursday, brushing aside rumours that a lookalike has been standing in for the 60-year-old president since he suffered a stroke in October.

"There's no body double," Ike Ngouoni told a news conference, the second since Bongo fell ill. "The president is indeed there. He's the one on the job."

He said there was "no reason to be concerned" about Bongo's health, while noting that "adjustments have been made for the head of state, who has gone through an unusual time."

Bongo, who is convalescing in Morocco, has returned to Gabon only twice since falling ill, staying less than 48 hours each time.

There has been no word on when he will return home definitively.

In early January Bongo survived a brief coup attempt by army rebels while in Morocco.

Gabon is notoriously rumour-prone, and the president's prolonged absence has prompted speculation about his health, as well as the possible existence of a stand-in.

Late last month Bongo led a cabinet meeting during which a raft of appointments were announced and several close aides were dismissed -- but no media were on hand for the event.

He also went for a ride through the capital Libreville, waving at people through the car window.

"The president was there in flesh and blood. He went around the city... a lot of people can attest to that," Ngouoni said in answer to a question.US President Donald Trump (R) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly ended a summit in Hanoi without an agreement or even a joint statement

The US still believes the "fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea is possible by the end of President Donald Trump's "first term," a senior official said Thursday, despite warnings a key rocket launch site appears to have resumed operations.

The specialized website 38 North and the Center for Strategic and International Studies used commercial satellite imagery to track construction at the site -- which they said began before last week's aborted summit in Hanoi between Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Images taken on March 6 showed that a rail-mounted structure to transfer rockets to the launching pad appeared to have been completed and "may now be operational."

Cranes have been removed from the pad, while progress also appeared to have been made on rebuilding the support structure for a rocket engine testing stand.

"Given that construction, plus activity at other areas of the site, Sohae (Satellite Launching Station) appears to have returned to normal operational status," 38 North's report said.

The news will compound the White House's frustration over the lack of progress on talks with the North, following the collapse of a second Trump-Kim summit without so much as a joint statement, let alone an agreement on nuclear disarmament.

The official confirmed that Washington would seek from Pyongyang "clarifications on the purposes" of rebuilding the site.

"We don't know why they are taking these steps," the official said, requesting anonymity.

Kim had agreed to shutter Sohae at a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang as part of confidence-building measures, and satellite pictures in August suggested workers were dismantling the engine test stand.

US President Donald Trump (L) first met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 11, 2018

Trump equivocated when asked Thursday if he was disappointed about the news. "We'll see," he said. "We'll let you know in about a year."

The president had declared that it was "too early" to tell if a previous report about activity at the site was true, but said he would be "very, very disappointed in Chairman Kim" if the intelligence checked out.

US media had speculated over whether Trump might tighten the thumbscrews on Pyongyang following the Vietnam summit, by ratcheting up an already crippling sanctions regime.

- 'We have sufficient time' -

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino affirmed Washington's commitment to stay engaged with Kim, however, telling journalists on Thursday the administration was ready for "constructive negotiation."

Satellite images of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Korea, on December 5, 2018, (top) and on March 2, 2019

Palladino would not say if Washington had been in contact with Pyongyang over Sohae, situated on North Korea's northwest coast, or the aborted summit.

And despite the apparent setback, the senior official insisted "we still believe this (denuclearization) is all achievable within the president's first term." Unless re-elected, Trump's term will end in January 2021.

"We have sufficient time," the official said, without mentioning a deadline for reaching an agreement so the goal could be met.

"Where we really need to see progress and we need to see it soon is meaningful and verifiable steps on denuclearization as quickly as we can," the official added, while stressing that the US side was pushing an all-in strategy for a final deal.

"Nobody in the administration advocates a step-by-step approach. In all cases, the expectation is a complete denuclearization of North Korea as a condition for all the other steps being taken."

Pyongyang used the site in 2012 and 2016 to launch satellites, a maneuver Western experts believe informs its development of inter-continental missiles capable of striking the United States.

CIA director Gina Haspel said in January that North Korea remains committed to developing long-range missiles despite the denuclearization talks.

Pyongyang's top ally, China, said Friday that the Trump-Kim summit had been an "important step" toward denuclearization on the peninsula but that the issue "cannot be solved overnight."

"All parties must have reasonable expectations, and should not set the bar too high at the outset, or make unilateral, unrealistic demands," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters.

- 'Snapback' -

An analysis by two experts at CSIS said the rebuilding of the launch facility amounted to a "snapback" from the moderate dismantlement North Korea performed after Trump's first summit with Kim in Singapore last year.

Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha said it showed "how quickly North Korea can easily render reversible any steps taken towards scrapping its WMD program with little hesitation."

Graphic on satellite image analysis of North Korea's long-range rocket testing site

They called the North Korean actions "an affront to the president's diplomatic strategy" that also showed Pyongyang's "pique" over Trump's refusal to lift sanctions.

They noted that the activity has continued despite Trump's conciliatory words about Kim since the Hanoi summit, and a US decision to cancel annual large-scale exercises with South Korea that the North has objected to.

The exercises were replaced with a shorter exercise that kicked off this week in South Korea to criticism from the North.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tough challenge from a centrist coalition at April 9 polls

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads into the crucial final weeks of his re-election campaign for April 9 polls fighting for his political life while under threat of indictment for corruption.

With a month to go, the longtime prime minister has found himself locked in a close battle with a centrist political alliance headed by former military chief of staff Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid.

Their decision last month to team up against Netanyahu has changed the momentum of a race the premier had previously been expected to win, a victory that would put him on track to become the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history.

Opinion polls have since shown Netanyahu's right-wing Likud trailing the Blue and White alliance, named for the colours of the Israeli flag, and the prime minister's legal troubles have only further helped his opponents.

Under those polls, the alliance would still fall far short of an outright majority, and it is unclear whether it would be able to assemble enough parties to form a coalition.

Further fluctuations are likely in store and many analysts predict a close race in which post-election negotiations may be key.

The vote will be seen in large part as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has towered over Israeli politics for years, but Gantz's message of wanting to heal divisions also seems to have resonated.

His alliance's centrist positions and security credentials -- bolstered by the involvement of three former military chiefs of staff -- have helped beat back Netanyahu's attempts to label it "weak" and leftist.

- 'Prefer our way' -

"In a way, I think what they're doing will help us," Blue and White candidate Ofer Shelah told AFP, referring to Netanyahu's harshly negative campaign.

"Probably we won't get to the Likud core base, but we believe many people will prefer our way."

Eli Hazan, Likud's foreign affairs director, said the campaign would continue to try to brand Gantz's alliance as "leftist" while highlighting Israel's economic growth and other achievements under Netanyahu.

"We are going to continue with it because that's the truth," he told AFP of the "leftist" claims.

Former military chief of staff Benny Gantz has teamed up with ex-finance minister Yair Lapid to try to dislodge premier Benjamin Netanyahu

"We are going to emphasise our political and economic achievements. No doubt about it. This is what we have to offer to the public."

Seeking to prevent any further loss of ground, Netanyahu has hit back hard at the attorney general's February 28 announcement that he intends to indict the premier for bribery pending a hearing.

Netanyahu's rhetoric castigating the investigations as a political plot to bring him down have led to criticism, though it may also help motivate his supporters and boost turnout.

The 69-year-old known for his sharp political instincts clearly senses his career is at risk, and he has tacked further to the right.

In a widely condemned move, he brokered a deal aimed at making it easier for candidates from an extreme-right party many view as racist to enter parliament, hoping to secure as many right-wing seats as possible.

He has also enlisted the support of US President Donald Trump, tweeting a video of a man he calls his "friend" praising Netanyahu's leadership.

- Losing the centre-right? -

The campaign has provided a glimpse of Israeli politics' move to the right.

For much of the public, "leftist" means significant concessions to the Palestinians, and many have grown weary of such calls and see little hope in a two-state solution.

Blue and White's campaign platform speaks of separating from the Palestinians, but does not specifically mention a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu often seeks to avoid talking about the Palestinians apart from trying to burnish his reputation as Israel's "Mr. Security", the source of much of his popularity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has showcased his close relationship with US President Donald Trump to boost his election chances

He has said in recent months he wants the Palestinians to govern themselves without specifying whether that would mean an independent Palestinian state or a lesser form of autonomy.

Prominent members of his current governing coalition, seen as the most right-wing ever in Israel, openly oppose a Palestinian state and advocate annexing much of the occupied West Bank.

Israel's Labour party, which sealed the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians when it was in power in the 1990s, has fallen far out of favour among voters.

Security is always a major issue in a country that has fought repeated wars since its 1948 founding, and Netanyahu has been highlighting Israel's strikes against its main enemy Iran in neighbouring Syria.

But Israeli voters' decisions often come down to candidates' personalities -- whether they like them and see them as strong leaders.

What could decide the race is if Netanyahu's negative campaigning and legal troubles change centre-right voters' opinions of him, said Gideon Rahat of Hebrew University and the Israel Democracy Institute.

"If he really loses the soft right, the moderate right, his strategy has failed," he said.New destination: Papua New Guinea is trying to overcome its reputation as the "worst place to be a woman"

Papua New Guinea is considering making its currently all-male legislature more representative, by creating parliamentary seats reserved for women.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill introduced the proposal on International Women's Day on Friday, saying it was "only fair" that there was more debate about women's role "at the leadership level."

There are currently 111 members of parliament in Papua New Guinea, representing 8.3 million people -- and not a single woman MP.

Speaking ahead of a retreat that coincided with the annual day to promote equality, O'Neill said it was a "sad fact" that women's interests were neglected.

"In our own national parliament, we currently have no elected female member. Despite so many highly skilled and talented female candidates, they were not elected."

"I want to see this situation rectified and our government will present a proposal to Parliament that will create seats specifically for women."

Papua New Guinea is struggling to overcome its international reputation as the "worst place in the world to be a woman" and the land that #MeToo forgot.

Domestic and sexual violence are endemic and often go unpunished. It is estimated that two-thirds of women in Papua New Guinea experience domestic violence.

It is not uncommon to see domestic disputes take place in full public view.

In some parts of the country, brutal witch hunts are overwhelmingly targeted against women.

But a series of legal reforms have changed the penalties for domestic violence and victims say the police are now taking it more seriously.

There are signs that political parties are also taking women's role more seriously too.

"We will never achieve our true potential if we do not attend to the core and basic issues of our communities," said O'Neill.

"And that is the wellbeing of all of our people, especially the women of our country."

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is proposing creating seats only for women

In the past, seven women have been elected to the national assembly and more serve in provincial assemblies and district councils.

But previous efforts to introduce seats for women have faltered over the need for a constitutional amendment.

Theresa Jaintong from the PNG National Council of Women said she supported the move and hoped it would shift from the government's agenda to the floor of parliament and become law.

But not all women like the idea of getting specifically designated seats.

Former Minister for Women and Community Development Delilah Gore said that she, like others, had won the hard way.

Rubie Wanariu, one of 165 losing women candidates in the 2017 elections asked: "Why would they be allocated?"

"It continues to give the notion that women are the weak link... We have been fighting for gender equality and balance."

"I would think females should also be seen as equally capable and must be equally mandated if they want to contribute to the development of the country."Eva Schloss told reporters following the meeting in Newport Beach that the teens had apologized profusely for the incident and had "learned a lesson for life"

The stepsister of Anne Frank met privately on Thursday with a group of high school students in California who were photographed giving the Nazi salute while standing around a swastika made of red cups.

Eva Schloss told reporters following the meeting in Newport Beach that the teens had apologized profusely for the incident and had "learned a lesson for life."

"People should never, ever forget what has happened and how it came about," the 89-year-old Holocaust survivor said.

"I was shocked that in 2019, in a well-educated town, in a very high-educated school, that incidents like this should still happen."

She said she had shared her experience at the Auschwitz death camp with the students from the wealthy seaside community and that the teens had come to understand the outrage behind the offensive photo.

"They just thought it was a joke," said Schloss, who lives in London but who happened to be in California this week to speak at another event.

Like Frank, the famous teenage diarist who died at the hands of the Nazis during WWII, Schloss and her family went into hiding in the Netherlands after the Germans invaded Holland

The meeting took place at Newport Harbor High School, where several of the teens who appeared in the picture are students.

School officials, students and community leaders have expressed outrage over the photo that began circulating online last weekend during a party at a private home.

Rabbi Reuven Mintz, of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, who helped organize the meeting with Schloss, said he hoped the students at the center of the scandal realize the severity of their action.

"It's imperative that today's young people come face to face with the consequences of unchecked hatred," he said.

"Our hope is that meeting someone who witnessed firsthand the atrocities committed under that same swastika and salute will help guide these students toward a life of tolerance and acceptance, spreading a message of inclusion and love, rather than one of hatred."

The scandal comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. The Anti-Defamation League reported a 58 percent increase in such incidents between 2016 and 2017, many of them in schools or on college campuses.

An early published edition of "The Diary of Anne Frank" discovered in her hiding place in Amsterdam after her arrest is displayed at an exhibition

Like Frank, the famous teenage diarist who died at the hands of the Nazis during WWII, Schloss and her family went into hiding in the Netherlands after the Germans invaded Holland.

But they were betrayed and sent to Auschwitz. Schloss was freed from the death camp in 1945, when she was 16-years-old, but her father and brother did not survive.

Her mother married Frank's father, Otto Frank, in 1953.

She has written about her ordeal in a book titled "After Auschwitz: A story of Heartbreak and Survival."Guinea Bissau's President President Jose Mario Vaz appointed a series of prime ministers, but none has garnered sufficient support to achieve a parliamentary majority

Voters in Guinea-Bissau are to elect a new parliament Sunday in the hopes of ending a three-year-old leadership deadlock in a country that has become more renowned for drug trafficking than its cashew nuts.

The onetime Marxist ruling party PAIGC, which has run the poor West African country of some two million for most of the 45 years since winning independence from Portugal, is fielding candidates along with 20 opposition parties.

Among them are the main opposition Party of Social Renewal and the Movement for Democratic Change (Madem-G15), made up of African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) dissidents.

The latest crisis in the notoriously volatile country arose in August 2015 when President Jose Mario Vaz, elected a year earlier, sacked his prime minister, Domingos Simoes Pereira, after a falling out.

At the time, the parallel economy came to play a preponderant role, fuelled by drug trafficking.

Vaz appointed a series of prime ministers, but none has garnered sufficient support to achieve a parliamentary majority.

Finally in April 2018, the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediated an agreement leading to the designation of a consensus prime minister, Aristide Gomes, and the resumption of work by the 102-seat parliament.

Gomes was given the caretaker task of preparing for parliamentary polls, in which 36 percent of candidates must be women for the first time.

Initially set for November 18, they were postponed to March 10 mainly for technical reasons.

- UN chief pessimistic -

The party that wins on Sunday should appoint the future prime minister, who could once again be Vaz's rival Simoes Pereira.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded a note of pessimism last month when he said: "Nothing suggests that these elections will make it possible to resolve the problems undermining the country."

He said a solution could lie in a constitutional review to "clarify the division of labour" between the president and prime minister.

Cashew nuts are Guinea-Bissau's main export

On a positive note, Guterres also said that "the armed forces have remained neutral and have not interfered with the constitutional order" -- in a country that has seen 16 coup attempts since independence of which four were successful.

International sanctions remain in place since 2012, after the last violent power seizure.

Guinea-Bissau's porous coastline and chronic instability have made it a target for Latin American drug lords trafficking cocaine to Europe implicating senior government and military officials.

Cashews, the country's main export, accounted for nearly half of the national budget in 2017, when the economy grew by 2017. But growth slowed to around 3.8 percent in 2018 after a drop in cashew production caused by bad weather.

The opposition has contested the accuracy of the electoral roll for Sunday's polls, which will be closely watched by international observers.

Campaigning ends on Friday and the electorate of some 760,000 people are called to vote between 7 am (0700 GMT) and 7 pm on Sunday. First results are expected 48 hours later.

Another election is on the horizon, as Vaz's five-year term ends on June 23.Dubai wants to expand on its renown for luxurious city living and a tradition of camping by offering 'glamping', or glamorous camping

Just over 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Dubai's skyscrapers, Mohammed al-Kaabi strolls through the tranquil desert with his friends as the sun sets.

Kaabi, 27, hails from a long line of Emiratis, a people with a centuries-old bedouin history tied inextricably to the local desert.

Today, he is among a fast-growing group drawn to a new wave of a tradition of desert camping but with all the trappings of comfort, style and modernity.

With "glamping", short for "glamorous camping", Dubai aims to expand on its renown for luxurious city living and its tradition of camping.

Betting on tourism at a time of low oil prices, Dubai is now offering stays in chic desert trailers, in plush mountainside lodgings and beach camps

Betting on tourism at a time of low oil prices, Dubai is now offering stays in chic desert trailers, in plush mountainside lodgings and beach camps, as it seeks to put its own mark on the glamping trend that has swept world tourism destinations.

"This place is far from the cities and the high-rises," said Kaabi, sporting the traditional full-length white Emirati robe worn by men.

"Camping is very popular in the UAE, but when you want to bring the family it becomes more complicated," he added, at a campsite in Hatta, near the Omani border.

"But here, safety and comfort are provided for."

- A room with... a bed -

Camping is still a beloved way of life for many Emiratis, who take their equipment and head for the desert from the fall months onwards, when the scorching summer heat has faded.

Tourists and expat residents also increasingly opt to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

The mountainous eastern Hatta desert has lots to offer "glampers" with a taste for adventure but also for their home comforts

Dubai welcomed a record 15.9 million visitors in 2018, many of whom were drawn to its mega malls, luxurious hotels and pristine beaches.

It hopes to push the figure up to 20 million visitors annually by next year, when it hosts the six-month global trade fair, Expo 2020.

The mountainous eastern Hatta desert has lots to offer "glampers" with a taste for adventure but also for their home comforts.

Near the Hatta dam, campers have a choice between a trailer, caravan or five-star lodge fully equipped with TVs and power points for charging a smartphone.

Seated outside a trailer, Jamil Fahmy, a Dubai resident from Saudi Arabia, said glamping was the perfect way to escape the city without compromising on hygiene.

Near the Hatta dam, campers have a choice between a trailer, caravan or five-star lodge fully equipped with TVs and power points

"It's fun, with the fire and hanging with friends and all that, but I personally prefer to sleep in a room with a bed and a private bathroom, and that's what we get here," he told AFP.

"It's great to be an adventurer and explore and cook fireside, and that's what we did.

"But when the time came, we retreated into the beautiful room and slept on a bed."

- 'Five-star camping' -

Rooms with modern amenities, including bathrooms and beds, start from 400 dirhams (about $110, 100 euros) per night at the Hatta site, which opened in October.

The Hatta camping project, part of Dubai's plan to use tourism to diversify revenues, is also home to a 350-metre zip wire.

Glamping at Hatta, near the border with Oman, is part of Dubai's plan to use tourism to diversify revenues

Last year, Dubai faced a downturn in the real-estate market due to a supply glut, while oil prices also dropped, affecting the UAE as a whole.

Several glamping sites, some on the beach, have popped up across the UAE in recent years, with options to participate in yoga classes, star gazing or kayaking.

For Jay, a 37-year-old Briton, glamping offers a new experience after a decade in the UAE.

"We're fairly outdoorsy, we came here kayaking before, we did the big zip line," he told AFP, referring to the Hatta zip wire.

But, he added with a laugh that with the usual no-frills style of camping "you haven't got a shower or all the facilities" so glamping is a welcome step-up.

"You get the outdoors and all of that, and nature, and you can barbeque -- but you can also have a shower and get clean!

"It's not five-star hoteling, but five-star camping."Decades of oil spills have left the southern Nigerian region of Ogoniland an environmental disaster zone

Young men in the Ogoniland area of southern Nigeria watch excitedly as engineers excavate heaps of polluted soil for treatment.

Decades of oil spills left their region an environmental disaster zone -- but now hopes are high of a rebirth of farming, fishing and clean water.

Alode-Eleme, located outside the oil hub of Port Harcourt, is one of 21 sites that the state-run Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project has earmarked for restoration.

In 2011, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that decontaminating Ogoniland could cost a billion dollars (880 million euros) and take 30 years to complete.

In 2016, to great fanfare, the government launched the cleanup -- although it took until January this year before engineers finally arrived.

"We are treating the soil for hydrocarbon contamination so as to make the land fertile for farming and vegetation," said Babatunde Benard, head of engineering firm Earthpro.

A cleanup has now begun at one of 21 sites in Ogoniland that the state-run Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project has earmarked for restoration

"Very soon, the water will be free of hydrocarbons."

Local youth leader Princewill Osaroejiji said he had been sceptical the cleanup would ever get going.

Today, though, he is relieved.

"At last, something concrete is happening," he said. "Very soon our people will begin to drink clean water, go to the farms and fish in rivers."

- Devastation -

Oil was first discovered in Ogoniland, a region of about 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) on the northern edge of the Niger Delta, in 1957.

The early 1970s saw the start of major spills that made the region a byword for environmental catastrophe and, later, activism.

The maze of rivers and creeks are slicked black with oil, and nothing grows or survives.

Some $180 million has been released to clean the water, restore the mangroves and other vegetation, says the head of the cleanup project

Residents dig boreholes for water, but as soon as the taps are turned on, a smell emerges similar to used engine oil and cooking gas.

In places like Bomu, Bodo, K-Dere and Goi, signs warn residents -- as if they needed it -- that the water is not fit for use.

At a jetty in Bodo, one sign reads: "Polluted water! Do not drink, fish or swim here."

But children still swim and bathe in the foul-smelling, oily river.

"Getting clean water is like gold here," said Kelvin, 16. "We depend on this bad water because we cannot afford a borehole."

- Anger -

K-Dere is home to 52 oil wells owned by the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell but they are not currently in operation.

Residents dig boreholes for water, and in some places, signs warn residents that the water is not fit for use

Shell was the only oil major in Ogoniland but quit production and exploration in the area in 1993 because of community unrest.

The company, which has contributed towards funding the HYPREP cleanup, has another 44 oil wells in the area which are also not currently producing.

However oil pipelines from the rest of the Niger Delta still snake through Ogoniland, leading to occasional sabotage.

Shell plans to resume its operations but faces resistance from the 800,000 local community.

Activists want the firm to admit liability for pollution, pay them compensation and clean up the area.

Ogoniland's maze of rivers and creeks are slicked black with oil, and nothing grows or survives

The firm has been accused of not doing enough to prevent pollution and clean up spills in the delta. In its defence, it blames pipeline sabotage for worsening the problem.

"For cleanup and remediation to be successful, the repeated re-contamination of cleaned-up sites due to crude oil theft and illegal refining must end," Shell says on its website.

In January 2015, it agreed to pay more than $80 million to the Ogoniland community of Bodo for two oil spills in 2008, following a court case brought in London.

And in December the same year, a Dutch court ruled that four Ogoni farmers and fishermen could sue Shell for environmental pollution, potentially paving the way for other cases in the Netherlands.

- Years of uncertainty -

The UNEP assessment of Ogoniland made stark reading. The study found high concentrations of hydrocarbons and benzene, a carcinogen, in outdoor air and drinking water. In some locations, benzene levels were more than 900 times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Fishermen and traders complain of hard times because of the pollution

The head of the cleanup project, Marvin Dekil, said $180 million had been released to clean the water, restore the mangroves and other vegetation.

"A lot has happened since the flag-off in 2016 and now," he said. "Some people might think we are slow, yes.

"We did not want to do things the old ways, so as to achieve a better result."

Decontaminating the soil entails mixing it with a microbial treatment and nutrients that help to break down the hydrocarbons.

Alode-Eleme is the first site so far where the cleanup has begun, although work is due to start at the 20 others in the coming weeks, Dekil said.

Environmental campaigners say locals remain guarded about how and where contaminated soil will be treated.

The early 1970s saw the start of major spills that made the region a byword for environmental catastrophe and, later, activism

They also accuse the government agency of ignoring demands for drinking water as part of immediate measures before the work starts.

"HYPREP is only concerned about contract awards because that is an easy way to enrich individuals," said Fegalo Nsuke, who heads the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, founded by the executed writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Fisherman Bigboy Daamabel, who spent hours on the Bonny river, agreed.

"The fish are dead because of pollution. To get a handful, I have to set out early in the morning to the high seas."

As he disembarked from his wooden boat, traders rushed to buy the few fish he had managed to catch.

One trader, who gave her name only as Beatrice, said despite the new activity, people like her still face years of hardship.

"Fish trading has been the only business I know how to do. But I hardly make enough money because almost all the fish are dead," said the 55-year-old.

"How long shall we continue like this?"The clean-up continues

Eight years have passed since a tsunami smashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, sparking a meltdown and the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.

Eight years on, the disaster zone remains a huge building site with the immediate danger cleared but an immensely difficult clean-up job still looming.

- What is the state of the clean-up? -

The clean-up operation is progressing at a painstakingly slow pace.

Robotic arms have recently been employed to successfully pick up pebble-sized pieces of radioactive fuel at the bottom of reactor two, one of three that melted down after the 2011 quake and tsunami.

This is the first step to prepare the extremely delicate task of extracting the fuel that will not begin in earnest until 2021 at the earliest, the government and the TEPCO operator have said.

Another problem is the fuel pools in reactors one, two and three.

The pool in reactor one is covered in rubble which needs to be removed "with extreme care," explained Akira Ono, head of the TEPCO subsidiary in charge of decommissioning.

Removing fuel from the pools in reactors one and two will not start until 2023.

As for reactor three, the operation to remove fuel should have started this month but it was delayed "due to various problems", admitted Ono.

- What about contaminated water? -

Contaminated water still poses a huge problem for Fukushima operators.

Some workers have called for increased surveillance

The water comes in three forms: residual water from the tsunami; water used to cool the reactors, and precipitation as well as groundwater. All water needs to be pumped, purified and stored.

An ice wall stretching 1.5 kilometres and located 30 metres underground is designed to block underground water from nearby mountains from flowing into the shattered complex.

The operators are winning the battle against contaminated water, Ono insisted, but non-profits like Greenpeace disagree.

"It has gone down to 220 cubic metres on average per day in 2017/18 compared to 470 cubic metres four years ago," he said.

"We think we can get it down to 150 cubic metres by 2020."

However, inevitable typhoons and other periods of heavy rain make it an uphill battle.

Shaun Burbie from Greenpeace said: "The government and TEPCO had set a target of 2020 as a timeframe for solving the water crisis.... That was never credible."

The reprocessing of all contaminated water will take five to six years, he estimated, and there are "remaining questions over its efficacy."

"Volumes of contaminated water will continue to increase in the coming years."

- How is water decontaminated? -

Around 1.12 million cubic metres are stored onsite but the maximum of 1.37 million cubic metres will be reached at the end of 2020.

The water is purified by a decontamination system that eliminates all radioactive elements with the exception of tritium.

However, TEPCO realised last year that 85 percent of the water still contained too much potentially radioactive material and so decided to filter it a second time.

Experts are still trying to work out what to do with this tritium-contaminated water.

"There are several possible solutions (injecting it into deep pockets in the Earth, dumping it at sea, evaporating it) being examined by an expert working group but we have not yet decided anything," said Yumiko Hata, head of Fukushima waste management at the industry ministry.

As for solid radioactive waste, TEPCO plans to store 750,000 cubic metres of waste at the site until 2029 -- some of which is radioactive.

- What about the workers? -

The number of people working on the site has nearly halved from four years ago but there are still some 5,000 labourers.

The work is painstaking and likely to take several more years

"A lot of the big jobs have been done (ice wall, protective coating on the ground, construction of various buildings)," said Ono.

Workers are exposed to average levels of radiation below 5 millisieverts per year but TEPCO admits that this average masks a wide difference in individual levels depending on what jobs the workers carry out.

One former worker, Minoru Ikeda, said surveillance should be strengthened.

"We have a radiation book but only my employer looked at this. We are not especially monitored by the government and that's not normal," he complained.The disappearance of MH370 is one of the most confounding mysteries in aviation history, and in the five years since it vanished, there have been a host of theories about its fate

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering the biggest hunt in aviation history.

Only a few fragments of the jet have been found, all on western Indian Ocean shores, and search efforts ended last year.

The disappearance has spawned a host of theories -- some credible, some outlandish. Here are five of them:

- Mechanical failure -

Much attention has focused on the possibility of a mechanical or structural failure. Some experts have put forward the theory that a fire could have broken out in electronic components, which produced smoke that filled the plane and led to the passengers and crew falling unconscious.

The plane then continued on autopilot over the Indian Ocean, where search efforts have been focused, before running out of fuel and crashing, the theory goes.

The idea of a so-called "mass hypoxia event" -- "hypoxia" refers to a lack of oxygen -- has been supported by a number of analysts.

In a 2014 report setting out details of a search area, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau -- which led the main hunt for the jet -- said that an "unresponsive crew/ hypoxia event" appeared to fit the final stage of MH370's flight.

- Rogue pilot -

MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah has been the subject of intense speculation, and some believe he may have intentionally taken the Boeing 777 off course and crashed it.

In the months after the plane vanished, media scrutinised everything from his political beliefs to his mental health for clues as to what could have happened.

Unconfirmed reports said he may have been distraught over marital woes or the controversial conviction of Malaysia's then opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges just hours before MH370 took off.

But family and friends of Zaharie -- a highly respected veteran pilot -- strongly reject such claims as baseless.

In 2016, Malaysian officials revealed he had plotted a path over the Indian Ocean on a home flight simulator but stressed this did not prove he deliberately crashed the plane.

- Terror plot -

There have been a slew of theories -- none of them substantiated -- that the plane was hijacked as part of a terror plot.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been among those who backed the idea. In a bizarre tweet soon after the plane disappeared, he suggested it was "stolen" and "effectively hidden, perhaps in Northern Pakistan, like Bin Laden".

He was referring to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US Navy Seal raid in Pakistan in 2011.

There has also been a suggestion that the plane was commandeered to be used as a "flying bomb" headed for US military installations on the Diego Garcia atoll, and was shot down by the Americans. The United States has dismissed this.

- Remote take over -

Some have speculated the plane may have been taken over remotely to foil a hijacking.

According to reports, Boeing was in 2006 awarded a US patent for a system that, once activated, could take control of a commercial aircraft away from the pilot or flight crew in the event of a hijacking.

One of the leading supporters of the idea is Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who told The Australian newspaper last year -- before he was elected -- that: "The capacity to do that is there. The technology is there."

- Putin Perhaps? -

One of the wackiest theories appeared in an article in New York magazine by US aviation expert Jeff Wise in 2015.

He suggested MH370 was commandeered and taken to a Russian facility in Kazakhstan, possibly an effort by President Vladimir Putin to intimidate the West amid an escalating crisis in Ukraine, or to gain access to a certain passenger or item in the hold.

"There's no way to know. That's the thing about MH370 theory-making: It's hard to come up with a plausible motive for an act that has no apparent beneficiaries," he wrote.Tesla chief executive Elon Musk was in China in January for the groundbreaking of the factory near Shanghai

Electric carmaker Tesla has won more than $520 million in loans from Chinese banks to build its first overseas car plant near Shanghai, the first foreign automaker to wholly own a factory in China.

The funding, announced on Thursday, is an important boost for the California-based firm, which has been in negotiations with Beijing for years over building the plant in the world's biggest electric car market.

The US giant will make its Model 3 sedans at the factory -- initially targeting 3,000 cars a week before ramping up annual production to 500,000 -- which it plans to have operational by the end of the year.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk was in China in January for the groundbreaking of the factory, where he said he planned to approach local banks for the money to get the plant built and into production.

Musk is betting on China's growing market for electric cars as Beijing pushes the industry away from fossil fuel vehicles.

Manufacturing locally is expected to help Tesla avoid some of the impact of trade tensions between the US and China, as well as reduce its production costs.

According to a regulatory filing, Tesla has secured $521 million from four domestic banks -- the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the Chinese Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

Tesla shares rose more than two percent in after-hours New York trading.

China is by far the world's biggest car market and sales there have been on an upwards trajectory for years, although they slipped 2.8 percent in 2018.

Sales of electric vehicles and hybrids have meanwhile continued to swell -- jumping 62 percent last year -- but only make up just four percent of overall sales in China.

Tesla remains in the lead, but is followed by three Chinese brands -- BAIC, BYD and Zotye -- according to analysis provider Jato Dynamics.

-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn arrives at his residence in Tokyo

A lawyer representing ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Friday apologised for "tainting" the tycoon's reputation by suggesting he disguise himself as a workman to leave detention on bail.

Ghosn sparked confusion and some derision by walking out of a Tokyo jail on Wednesday after more than 100 days in custody, sporting a blue construction worker's jacket, a light blue cap and a facemask.

Lawyer Takashi Takano said the bizarre get-up was a bid to protect Ghosn's privacy, and particularly to avoid media tracking him to the residence where he will live while out on bail.

But Takano acknowledged the plan backfired, with the world's media instead snapping photos and filming video of Ghosn, transformed from his previously suave executive image.

"The disguise was all planned and carried out by me," Takano wrote in a blog article posted Friday.

"Due to my amateur plan, the fame he has built over a lifetime was tainted."

"I caused tangible and intangible damage to many people. I feel sorry about that," he added.

Carlos Ghosn sparked some derision after walking out of a Tokyo jail disguised as a workman

Takano said his only goal had been to prevent the media from locating Ghosn's residence.

"Not only would he not be able to have his life back but also his health would be damaged" if the home was located, Takano said.

"The life of his family and his neighbours would be threatened. We definitely needed to avoid such a situation."

- Walk in the park -

However, Japanese media on Friday filmed Ghosn with his wife and one of his daughters outside his Tokyo residence.

Footage aired on television showed the family walking in a park during the afternoon.

As they returned several hours later by car, a press pack crowded around Ghosn but he did not make any comment.

On the day of his release, Ghosn was widely filmed and photographed in the bizarre disguise, including as he got into a minivan complete with a workman's ladder. Media in helicopters and on motorbikes later tracked the vehicle around Tokyo.

Japanese media then devoted news programmes to dissecting Ghosn's disguise, with some stations even dressing up doubles in similar garb to discuss the outfit.

His release was the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the business world in Japan and beyond since his November 19 arrest.

Carlos Ghosn and his daughter Maya arrive at the former Nissan chairman's residence in Tokyo

Ghosn, who faces three charges of financial misconduct, must adhere to strict conditions in addition to the nearly $9 million he paid in bail.

He must stay in a residence in Tokyo designated by the court, with a surveillance camera installed at the door. Footage from the camera must be submitted to the court periodically.

He can only use a computer at his lawyer's office and will not be able to access the internet.

But a senior Tokyo prosecutor said Friday that the decision to grant bail could risk "destruction of evidence".

"We believe the conditions for the bail are not effective," said Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.

Takano said Ghosn's bail will be cancelled if any of the rules are violated and "he would have to return to the tough life in custody."Wang said China supports Huawei's use of the "weapon of law to safeguard" its rights and not become a "silent lamb to the slaughter"

China threw its weight behind Huawei's legal battle against the United States on Friday, saying the telecom giant will not be a "silent lamb to the slaughter" and vowing to defend the rights of Chinese companies.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced Beijing's support as Huawei mounts a legal and public relations campaign to counter US warnings that the company's networks and equipment could serve as Trojan horses for Chinese intelligence services.

US prosecutors have also charged the company and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, over allegations of violating Iran sanctions.

"It's quite obvious to any fair and unbiased person that the recent action against a particular company and Chinese individual is not just a pure judicial case but deliberate political suppression," Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of China's annual parliament session.

"We have already and will continue to take all necessary steps, and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens," Wang said, without explaining what kind of measures Beijing would take.

Meng was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of the United States

Huawei announced on Thursday that it had filed a lawsuit in the US state of Texas to seek the reversal of legislation that prevents American federal agencies from buying its equipment and services.

Wang said China supports the company's use of the "weapon of law to safeguard" its rights and not become a "silent lamb to the slaughter".

Meng was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of the United States and this week a court set a May 8 date to start her extradition hearings.

Since her arrest, two Canadians have been detained in China in suspected retaliation, and the 15-year prison term of a third Canadian held on drug trafficking charges was switched to a death sentence.

- Huawei campaign -

Washington has warned that Huawei systems could be manipulated by Beijing to spy on other countries and disrupt critical communications, and is urging nations to shun the company in 5G networks.

Huawei is expected to play a key role in the coming rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks

Huawei is expected to play a key role in the coming rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks that will allow wide adoption of next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence.

The firm has responded to the pressure with an aggressive PR campaign in recent months, with its reclusive founder and Meng's father, Ren Zhengfei, denying the claims in several foreign media interviews.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit on Thursday, Huawei officials said the company had never received any request from Beijing to install security "backdoors" in its equipment or to gather intelligence.

Chief legal officer Song Liuping acknowledged that Chinese laws may require Huawei to heed government requests for assistance but said it would only do so in matters such as terrorism or criminal activity.

Huawei's lawsuit targets an "unconstitutional exercise of executive and/or judicial power" that deprived it of a "fair hearing" to rebut allegations against it.

It also says the National Defense Authorization Act violates a bill of attainder clause by "singling out Huawei for punishment".

While it has taken its case to court in the United States, Huawei has no immediate plans to mount a legal challenge in Australia, where its equipment has been barred from the country's 5G network.

"Whilst we have our differences with the federal government, we would still rather work cooperatively," a company spokesman told AFP.

"A legal challenge is not a priority at this moment."Facebook's new mission outlined by Mark Zuckerberg could be a major shift to privacy for the embattled social network, or, as one analyst said, a "smokescreen"

After building the world's biggest and most powerful social network in history, Mark Zuckerberg says the future of Facebook is something else.

The strategic shift announced this week by Zuckerberg suggests Facebook no longer wants to be a "digital town square," but a "digital living room" for secure, private communications, in what could be a major transformation on privacy.

But Zuckerberg's announcement also prompted considerable head-scratching on the implications for Facebook's ad-supported business model, and on the growing pressure to weed out nefarious content and misinformation.

"Should this ambition be realized, it is nothing less than an epochal shift in Facebook's business model," Henry Farrell, a George Washington University professor, wrote in the Washington Post.

Farrell noted that Facebook's pivot comes amid pressure from governments to weed out "hate speech" and other inappropriate content, and in some cases use the social network to spy on its population.

By making more communications private and encrypted, "it makes some kinds of political manipulation harder to carry off at a wide scale," Farrell wrote. "However, it also means, obviously, that government authorities will not be able to see what people are saying to one another."

Farrell argued that Zuckerberg "isn't just changing course because he was pushed. He is also being pulled by new opportunities, which might provide a more politically sustainable business model."

- Payments, commerce -

While the new business model is not yet defined, Facebook could move into payments and other kinds of services with its messaging applications

Somewhat overlooked in Zuckerberg's announcement was his plan to offer new services on a privacy-focused platform. He proposed to "build more ways for people to interact" with "video chats, groups, stories, businesses, payments, commerce, and ultimately a platform for many other kinds of private services."

Fred Wilson, a venture investor who blogs on the tech sector, called Zuckerberg's announcement a bold effort to "completely reboot the company's business model to position itself to win the next wave in tech."

Zuckerberg told Wired magazine in an interview Wednesday the details of the business model are not yet worked out, while acknowledging that Facebook will collect and store less user data.

"I'm optimistic that we'll build systems that can basically deliver most of the value with a fraction of the amount of data," Zuckerberg said.

Laura Martin, analyst with the financial firm Needham & Co., said Zuckerberg's move is smart because it brings Facebook new revenue streams while limiting its exposure to regulation.

Zuckerberg "sees the writing on the wall that Facebook will be regulated" and as a result is "carving out these apps to take them out of the regulatory purview," Martin told AFP.

Moving into e-commerce and payments, Martin said, "represents revenue diversification, and Wall Street vastly prefers multiple revenue streams."

- Smokescreen? -

Critics say Facebook's announcement is an effort to deflect attention away from its growing role in public discourse

Some analysts argue that Facebook's move is a headfake designed to deflect attention away from its growing influence over public discourse.

"Underneath it all, very little is going to change," said Richard Windsor, a technology analyst who writes the Radio Free Mobile blog, describing the shift as a "smokescreen."

"This is because a pivot towards becoming a fully private and encrypted communication system looks like suicide as with no data Facebook would have no advertising to sell."

Alex Stamos, a former Facebook chief security officer who is now on the Stanford University faculty, meanwhile called Zuckerberg's announcement a "judo move" which addresses several challenges for the social network.

"Right now FB gets crap (from the same people) for both invading people's privacy and not policing communications enough," Stamos tweeted.

"In a world where everything is encrypted and doesn't last long, entire classes of scandal are invisible to the media."

Facebook's move comes with US lawmakers mulling new regulations for internet platforms which could end the liability protections for content posted by third parties, and with tough data protection regulations in Europe which in some cases require removal of inappropriate content within hours.

To comply with these requirements, Facebook has hired some 20,000 moderators around the world, but still faces a daunting task in removing content from billions of users in dozens of languages.

The new focus "could privilege privacy but undercut things like content moderation," said Daniel Kreiss, a University of North Carolina professor of communication.

"A move in this direction would let them entirely wash their hands of any editorial or role for content... fake news, hate speech, defamation."

- Owning the privacy space -

One analyst says Facebook's pivot is part of an effort to ramp up competition against rivals like Snapchat which use ephemeral messages

Tech analyst and blogger Ben Thompson said the shift "makes perfect sense for Facebook: this is a privacy cake that Facebook can have -- and eat it too."

Thompson said Facebook is likely to keep its data collection and advertising business in place while moving into the new private communications space as it moves against rivals like Snapchat.

"This is a valuable space to own for all of the reasons that Snapchat succeeded in the first place," he said in his Stratechery blog.

"Facebook has changed nothing about its core service or data collection policies, yet the assumption is that the company is pivoting and the only debate is whether to believe them or not."Conservative right-wing protesters in Seoul take part in a rally denouncing South Korean government policies towards North Korea

An academic and former head of a research institute was Friday appointed as Seoul's new unification minister, the South's key point of contact on inter-Korean affairs.

The appointment of Kim Yeon-chul comes days after the US and North Korea held a second much-anticipated summit in Vietnam, but failed to reach any agreement on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Kim, a pro-engagement academic who has headed the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification since last year, is replacing Cho Myoung-gyon in the role, which is seen as key in inter-Korean relations.

Cho took the post in 2017 -- is a longtime civil servant who first joined the unification ministry in 1980.

He has participated in several meetings with his North Korean counterpart as part of a growing rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made headlines at their groundbreaking first summit in Singapore last year, but their commitment to the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" was criticised as vague.

The no deal outcome from their second meeting in Hanoi has been a disappointment for the South Korean president.

He had brokered the talks process between Washington and Pyongyang and touted the summit as a "remarkable breakthrough" for peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula.

In spite of the collapse of the Hanoi summit, Moon said earlier this month Seoul would consult with the US on ways to resume South Korean tourism to the North's Mount Kumgang.

He said he would also discuss restarting operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where Southern firms used to be staffed by Northern workers.

Moon has been pushing for the resumption of both projects as he seeks to engage Pyongyang, but doing so would fall foul of sanctions imposed on the North.

The newly-appointed Kim was a vocal critic of President Park Geun-hye's decision to shutter the Kaesong firms in 2016, in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.

He also supported Moon when he used South Korea's position as host of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to reopen communications with Pyongyang.

The appointment of Kim, a longtime confidant of Moon, comes as part of a cabinet reshuffle.

Kim has "expert knowledge on economic cooperation with North Korea and its nuclear issues," the Blue House said.NASA has captured unprecedented images of the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic jets

NASA has captured unprecedented photos of the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic aircraft, part of its research into developing planes that can fly faster than sound without thunderous "sonic booms".

When an aircraft crosses that threshold -- around 1,225 kilometers (760 miles) per hour at sea level -- it produces waves from the pressure it puts on the air around it, which merge to cause the ear-splitting sound.

In an intricate maneuver by "rock star" pilots at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, two supersonic T-38 jets flew just 30 feet (nine meters) apart below another plane waiting to photograph them with an advanced, high-speed camera, the agency said.

The mesmerizing images will help boost research into planes that can fly faster than sound without causing ear-splitting 'sonic booms'

The rendezvous -- at an altitude of around 30,000 feet -- yielded mesmerizing images of the shockwaves emanating from both planes.

With one jet flying just behind the other, "the shocks are going to be shaped differently", said Neal Smith of AerospaceComputing Inc, an engineering firm that works with NASA, in a post on the agency's website.

"This data is really going to help us advance our understanding of how these shocks interact."

Sonic booms can be a major nuisance, capable of not just startling people on the ground but also causing damage -- like shattered windows -- and this has led to strong restrictions on supersonic flight over land in jurisdictions like the United States.

The images were produced by an advanced camera carried on another aircraft, which flew above the two supersonic jets

The ability to capture such detailed images of shockwaves will be "crucial" to NASA's development of the X-59, the agency said, an experimental supersonic plane it hopes will be able to break the sound barrier with just a rumble instead of a sonic boom.

A breakthrough like that could lead to the loosening of flight restrictions and the return of commercial supersonic planes for the first time since Concorde was retired in 2003.

Some countries and cities banned the Franco-British airliner from their airspace because of its sonic booms.Van hire firm Wicked Campers has long sparked outrage in Australia with obscene spray-painted slogans on their vehicles

The government on Friday stepped up its campaign against a "misogynistic" campervan firm, branding its notorious fleet of graffiti-clad vehicles vulgar and offensive.

Officials choose International Women's Day to launch the tirade against Wicked Campers, a van hire firm whose spray-painted slogans have long-been a source of outrage on Australian roads.

"We have no tolerance for sexist, misogynistic and offensive slogans on campervans, or those displayed anywhere else for that matter, no matter how hard some try to justify their existence," Minister for Women Kelly O'Dwyer said in a statement.

The hire firm, popular with backpackers, has long come under fire from politicians and concerned parents, and has been banned or discouraged from festivals.

Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau has for years received complaints about slogans spray-painted on Wicked Campers vehicles.

In January, the bureau found the company breached its code of ethics with an obscene slogan inviting people to masturbate.

And in 2014 the firm was forced to apologise after an online petition drew more than 100,000 signatures protesting a coarse van slogan regarding "princesses".

In 2008 Wicked was subject to criticism over a xenophobic slogan concerning Japan's tradition of whale hunting.

The federal government said Friday it would coordinate a response with state authorities to remove a loophole that allowed the car hire firm to change its vehicle registration to a different state once a complaint had been lodged.

"These vehicles are offensive and belong in a junkyard, not on Australian roads," Transport Minister Michael McCormack said.

"By choosing to avoid these vehicles, youre also choosing to ensure parents or grandparents won't have to explain the vile meaning of these disgusting signs or images to their children or grandchildren while driving on our roads," he said.

Wicked Campers did not respond to a request for comment.Russia remains a major supplier of arms to India and in October leaders Modi and Putin met to sign a deal over Russia's missile defence system for $5.2 billion

India has signed a $3 billion deal to lease a third Russian nuclear-powered submarine for 10 years, giving Delhi a boost in the Indian Ocean against arch-rivals Pakistan and China, media reports said.

The deal -- which according to the reports took months to negotiate -- comes as tensions run high between India and Pakistan following their biggest standoff in years, and as Chinese influence grows in the region.

A defence ministry spokesman declined to confirm the agreement to AFP but the reports said that the submarine, the third India has leased from Russia, would be delivered by 2025.

Russia, India's Cold War ally, remains a major supplier of arms to India, irking the United States which has imposed sanctions on nations buying military hardware from Moscow.

Last October Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and inked a deal for Delhi to buy Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system for $5.2 billion.

But India also shares US fears about China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean, where New Delhi has traditionally held sway.

In 2017 India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.

China has made inroads in Sri Lanka and Maldives, countries that India considers to be in its sphere of influence, through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has raised concerns about the initiative as a major section passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a disputed territory which was again the fuse for the latest crisis.

On February 26 India said its warplanes hit a militant training camp in Pakistan in response to a suicide bombing in Kashmir, which killed 40 paramilitary officers and was claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan.

Pakistan a day later carried out its own air raid, triggering a dogfight in which an Indian plane was shot down. India also says it shot down a Pakistan plane but Islamabad denied this.

Tensions cooled after Pakistan last Friday returned the Indian pilot of the downed aircraft, although both nations have continued to fire shells and mortars over their de-facto Kashmir border.Aboriginal Australians make up about three percent of the total national population of 25 million, but remain the country's most disadvantaged community

The Australian government said Friday it was looking into claims that a major hotel chain had been directing staff to check Aboriginal guests into poorer-quality rooms.

An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation uncovered a leaked email advising staff at the Ibis Styles Alice Springs Oasis, owned by French hotel group Accor, to move into one of six designated rooms people from "the communities".

The national broadcaster said the term is used locally to refer to indigenous people living in remote communities outside of Alice Springs, in northern Australia.

An unnamed staff member told the ABC it had happened hundreds of times since the initiative was handed down last June, where anyone who "appeared Aboriginal" was given the "worse rooms".

Minister for indigenous affairs Nigel Scullion vowed to get quickly get "to the bottom" of the allegations.

"That sort of behaviour from Australian businesses is completely unacceptable," he told reporters.

Scullion warned Australia's racial discrimination act held "serious compliances and sanctions".

"Let's have a look at the evidence but that sounds very concerning to me."

The ABC arranged two bookings at the Ibis, one with Aboriginal guests and the other non-indigenous.

It found that both were being charged the same amount, but Aboriginal clients were directed to an inferior room, as per the leaked email.

The national broadcaster said the rooms were starkly different, with the Aboriginal group given the dirtier and less well maintained accommodation.

Accor told the ABC it was not aware of any complaints.

"The hotel welcomes and embraces guests from all backgrounds and cultures that reflects their diverse workforce, which includes 31 per cent indigenous employees," the company said in a statement.

Aboriginal Australians make up about three percent of the total national population of 25 million, but remain the country's most disadvantaged community.

In February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted that the government was falling short more than a decade after vowing to "close the gap" between indigenous Australians and the rest of the country.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says the unemployment rate for Aboriginal Australians is three to four times higher than the national average, while suicide rates for Aboriginal children are five times higher than for the rest of the population.The foreign investment legislation was presented at a session of the National People's Congress in Beijing and is expected to be approved on March 15, the last day of the annual parliamentary meeting

China's rubber-stamp parliament took up on Friday a draft foreign investment law that could help smooth out trade talks with the US as the world's top two economies angle towards a deal.

The legislation was presented at a session of the National People's Congress in Beijing and is expected to be approved on March 15, the last day of the annual parliamentary meeting.

The bill will ban the illegal transfer of technology and "illegal government interference" in foreign businesses, a key point in Washington's contention that Beijing steals American technology.

The law aims to assuage concerns about China's business environment for foreign firms, but earlier versions of the draft drew criticism from some business groups.

The law "clearly stipulates that the state protects the intellectual property rights of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises and bars the use of administrative means to force technology transfer," said Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission.

"This will certainly provide a more comprehensive and more powerful rule of law guarantee for foreign investment interests," Ning told reporters earlier this week.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US and China have made "significant progress" in trade talks but he blasted hawks in Washington who have advocated a "decoupling" between the two countries' economies

Beijing sees the law as a tool to attract more foreign investment as its economy slows.

China's premier on Tuesday laid out a lower growth target of 6.0 to 6.5 percent this year, down from 6.6 percent growth in 2018.

Official data Friday showed China's exports and imports plummeted much more than expected in February, adding to worries.

Its roller-coaster stock market ended the day down sharply with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index losing 4.40 percent.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday trade negotiations were "moving along pretty well".

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that the two sides have made "significant progress" but he blasted hawks in Washington who have advocated a "decoupling" between the two countries' economies.A paper written by China's former vice president Li Yuanchao includes 20 paragraphs that are identical to a 1991 thesis by Zhang Mingeng

Top Chinese Communist Party officials plagiarised parts of their university theses, an AFP review has found, testing the government's pledge to crack down on academic misconduct.

A former vice president, a supreme court judge, a former top public security official, and the powerful party chief in the restive region of Xinjiang are among a half-dozen officials who borrowed from other people's work without citing them, the analysis showed.

The State Council, China's cabinet, released last year the first ever national guidelines to enforce academic integrity in research following a series of plagiarism scandals, warning that those caught would be "severely punished".

Last month, the Beijing Film Academy revoked a doctorate awarded to popular actor Zhai Tianlin after finding that sections of a paper published while he was a graduate student were copied from earlier works without references.

The incident led to a heated debate on Chinese social media about "fake qualifications" among China's powerful and well-connected.

An AFP review of 12 master's and doctoral theses by Chinese officials available on China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) -- a database under the ministries of Education and Science -- found six cases in which passages were copied from other authors without citations.

Education qualifications are closely linked to promotions within the party, experts say, putting pressure on officials to cut corners when trying to amass diplomas while working.

"University leaders are well aware of this, because they are also government officials. They are all born with the same roots," said Li Datong, former editor of China Youth Daily.

"The certificate is real, it's not bought on the street, but it is fake in essence. This is a popular practice in the officialdom," Li said.

- Xinjiang chief -

AFP analysed a dozen theses by using software that detects plagiarism. None of the six officials who plagiarised could be reached for comment or replied to questions sent by AFP.

Chen Quanguo (C) wrote a thesis which includes over 60 paragraphs copied without citation from another work

This includes the doctoral dissertation by Chen Quanguo, a member of the party's elite Politburo and the top official in Xinjiang.

Chen has overseen a massive security crackdown since taking the top post in Xinjiang in August 2016, with an estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities held in internment camps. Beijing denies holding people by force in what it describes as "vocational education centres".

A rising political star, Chen graduated from Wuhan University of Technology in 2004.

His thesis, titled "Research on the Correlation between Human Capital Accumulation and Economic Development in Central China", includes over 60 paragraphs copied without citation from another work.

The other paper, titled "Human Capital and its Contribution to Economic Growth: An Empirical Study of Guangdong Province", was submitted to Jinan university in 2002 by doctoral candidate Zhu Yimin.

Zhu is now an associate professor at the School of Management in China's prestigious Sun Yat-sen University.

Large chunks of the introduction to Chen's thesis is copied almost word-for-word without references from another 2002 thesis titled "Economic analysis of Human Capital" submitted by Mo Zhihong to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Mo, an associate professor at Beijing University of Technology, declined to comment when AFP asked whether Chen had asked for permission to use his work.

The Wuhan University of Technology did not respond to requests for comment.

The Communist Party's Organisation Department -- responsible for personnel promotions and punishing rule-breakers -- declined a request for comment about the six plagiarism cases.

All six officials were working part-time toward their postgraduate degrees while holding public office.

Outing top officials could be a tough proposition for universities, which are controlled by the Communist Party.

"In many cases, party officials obtain degrees from institutions that have ties to and would benefit from their government positions," said a Chinese academic from elite Renmin University, who asked to remain anonymous.

- Part-time studies -

China's vice president from 2013 to 2018, Li Yuanchao, wrote a doctoral dissertation titled "Some Issues Concerning the Production of Socialist Culture and Art" in 1998.

His paper includes 20 paragraphs that are identical to a 1991 thesis titled "On the Spiritual and Cultural Needs of the Masses of the Socialist Society" by Zhang Mingeng.

Li obtained his doctoral degree from the central party school.

A 2004 doctoral thesis by the vice president of the Supreme People's Court, Zhang Shuyuan, has dozens of paragraphs contained in a dissertation published by Tan Wei a year earlier and titled "Criminal Retrial Theory and System".

Former deputy auditor general Chen Zhaoyu, former Public Security Bureau chief Shi Jun and former party secretary of the State Intellectual Property Office Xiao Xingwei also borrowed heavily from other authors without attribution for their academic papers.

The State Council guidelines issued last year adopt a "zero tolerance" attitude towards plagiarism.

The punishments include having one's degree revoked, being subjected to a promotion freeze or being fired, depending on the severity of the violation. If rule-breakers are party members then they shall be "given disciplinary sanctions," it says, without offering details.

Nanjing University expelled a sociology professor last year for plagiarising 15 research papers, state media reported.

But no top party officials have been publicly punished.Sisiku Ayuk Tabe et son gouvernement Archives

The case against Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and some other Anglophone leaders, have been adjourned again, after a series of unforeseen circumstances prevented deliberations for several hours.

One of the Anglophone separatist leaders, Barrister Eyambe Elias Ebai of the Meme Lawyers Association, collapsed at the court house early Friday.

The court room, described as a tight and poorly ventilated structure, which could have caused his malaise.

Barrister Eyambe later regained consciousness and was transferred to a private medical ward at the military tribunal.

However the presiding magistrate announced the case had been adjourned, due to the condition of Barrister Eyambe.

Before this incident, the newly appointed magistrate over the case, wanted to start prosecution, despite the fact that lawyers objected to the presence of assessors, who were part of the former panel. The defense counsel said their recusal is at the level of the Appeal Court. It took the presiding judge about four hours to finally announce it had been moved forward, because Barrister Eyambe was not around.

The case against the Ambazonia leaders was opened in December. Since then it has suffered a series of adjournments. They might face a death penalty, if found guilty of terrorism and secession.

Ayuk Tabe and others have argued they are not nationals of Cameroon, and should be returned to Nigeria, where they were arrested in January 2018.

The court case this Friday, led to a call on a ghost town, by separatists and armed groups in the Anglophone regions.

Clashes between the armed forces and separatists take place almost daily in the two Anglophone regions.Rights activists in Pakistan have long fought against the patriarchal notion of "honour", which remains prevalent across South Asia

Women's rights activists Friday condemned the murder of a whistleblower in a notorious "honour killing" case that has shone a years-long spotlight on female victims -- and the men who defend them -- in deeply patriarchal Pakistan.

Afzal Kohistani, the man who first drew attention to the infamous incident in 2012, was gunned down in Abbottabad on Wednesday, police have said.

He had pursued a case in which a local cleric order the deaths of male and female wedding guests shown enjoying themselves in a video.

Precise details remain shrouded in mystery but Kohistani had long been adamant that women shown in the video had been murdered.

He was shot five times on a busy road and died on the spot, Abdul Aziz Afridi, a senior police official, told AFP.

Officials said Friday that at least two arrests had been made.

"The perpetrators of this heinous crime will be brought to justice," provincial information minister Shaukat Yousafzai told AFP.

Kohistani's murder has ignited anger in Pakistan, where rights activists have long fought against the patriarchal notion of "honour", which remains prevalent across South Asia.

Women have been shot, stabbed, stoned, set alight and strangled for bringing "shame" on their families for everything from refusing marriage proposals to wedding the "wrong" man and helping friends elope.

Men can be victims too, though it is rarer.

"Will be raising this shocking murder of Afzal Kohistani in parliament," opposition leader Sherry Rehman tweeted.

Rights activists participating in a march to mark International Women's Day on Friday condemned Kohistani's shooting.

"This incident has brought to the focus, once again, how vulnerable those that raise their voice still are," said Benazir Jatoi, a human rights lawyer and march organiser.

Witness protection was "almost non-existent", she added.

"Today's march in Islamabad will remember Afzal and other brave Pakistanis like him and we will that perpetrators be held accountable," said Jatoi.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was concerned the killing would "have a ripple effect on human rights defenders who monitor and report 'honour' killings and are reminded of what their work could cost them".

- Wedding video -

The wedding video emerged in 2012, showing women clapping as two men danced in the deeply conservative mountainous area of Kohistan, 175 kilometres (110 miles) north of the capital Islamabad.

The men and women had allegedly been in the room together, in defiance of strict tribal customs that separate men and women at weddings -- though the video does not show them together.

A local cleric sentenced several women and men to death over the video.

Kohistani is believed to have been related to some of the men in the video. His entire family were banished from Kohistan as a result.

He took the rare step of pushing the case before the media and the justice system. The Supreme Court launched a commission to investigate -- but in June 2012 was told the women had never been murdered at all.

A fact-finding team met women who were purportedly those shown in the video and said they were alive.

But Kohistani insisted that the women shown to the fact-finding officials were different women, and that the death sentences had been carried out.

Three more men -- Kohistani's brothers -- were later killed by a rival family. A Pakistani court convicted six of their killers in 2014.Tran Duc Anh Son's patriotic Facebook posts have argued in favour of Vietnam's claims over the South China Sea, a sensitive issue with Beijing

Vietnam's Communist Party has purged a prominent researcher whose work on his country's claims to the disputed South China Sea had threatened to ruffle feathers in Beijing, which says it owns most of the resource-rich waterway.

Tran Duc Anh Son, deputy head of a state-run research institute in central Danang City, was expelled from the party this week after being accused of eroding its prestige, state media reported.

"The violations by Tran Duc Anh Son are very serious, creating negative public opinion among cadres, party members and the people," Danang Online official news site reported Friday.

He was also accused of "defaming the prestige of... the party organisation and the institute where he is working," it added, referring to the Danang Institute for Socioeconomic Development where he has been employed since 2009.

The newspaper did not specify Son's alleged misdeeds, though the historian has previously criticised the Vietnamese government for not standing up to Beijing in its long-simmering fight over disputed territory in the sea.

The outspoken researcher has collected documents that he says justifies Hanoi's claims in the waterway dating back to the 19th century, namely over the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Son's patriotic Facebook posts have argued in favour of those claims and against China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam that sparked a bloody border war.

Son was not available for comment Friday, but posted a cryptic message on Facebook after the news of his expulsion from the party broke.

"This is a happy moment," he posted, quoting the controversial anti-war Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

Hanoi and Beijing enjoy an at times uneasy alliance, with occasional flare-ups over the South China Sea.

Though Hanoi disputes Beijing's so-called nine dash line -- its own historical justification over most of the South China Sea -- Vietnam is careful not to upset its powerful neighbour and leading trade partner.

The dispute boiled over in 2014 when China moved an oil rig into waters claimed by Hanoi, sparking violent protests across Vietnam.

Last year Vietnam scrapped a major exploration project off its coast in the South China Sea run by Spanish oil firm Repsol, a move seen as a sop to Beijing.Members of the liberal Jewish religious movement "Women of the Wall" were mobbed by young ultra-Orthodox men as they donned phylacteries and "Tallit" traditional Jewish prayer shawls for men at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Thousands of young ultra-Orthodox Jews mobbed women seeking equal prayer rights at one of Judaism's holiest sites on Friday, leading police to escort the women away from Jerusalem's Western Wall for their own safety.

The Women of the Wall (WOW) group has for 30 years been demanding changes to rules at the site that bar females from leading Jewish prayer, wearing ritual prayer shawls or handling Torah scrolls.

A police statement said the prayer space in front of the Wall was packed with worshippers marking the start of the new Jewish month, according to the lunar calendar.

"During the prayers, friction arose between the worshippers, including the Women of the Wall, including curses and various comments," the statement said.

Video posted by Haaretz newspaper showed a crowd of black-hatted ultra-Orthodox men jeering and trying to shove their way toward the rival group.

An AFP photographer at the scene said young ultra-Orthodox women, bussed in for the occasion, also joined the attack.

"It was getting very, very dangerous -- very violent," Tzaphira Stern, a spokeswoman for WOW told AFP.

"There were 10,000 people, it was really frightening, we had to get out of there."

Israeli policewomen hold back ultra Orthodox Jewish girls at the Western Wall, as they sought to confront "Women of the Wall" members

Police accused some members of the women's group of setting out to cause trouble.

"Some of the Women of the Wall came to the main prayer area apparently to deliberately create conflict and provocation," the police said.

WOW members pray at the Wall monthly, getting a hostile response from worshippers, particularly the ultra-Orthodox who follow a rigid code of religious observance.

On Friday the group marked not only the start of the month but also its 30th anniversary and International Women's Day.

Ultra-Orthodox opponents mobilised thousands of ultra-Orthodox high school students brought to the holy site from settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Stern said.

"To maintain public order police separated the two sides and arrested a 20-year-old man after he attempted to attack a policeman," the police statement said.

The police added that in order to allow the ultra-Orthodox to continue their prayers "as usual" the reformers went to pray at a more remote stretch of the wall, designated for non-Orthodox worship.Several nations have legalised medicinal cannabis, including Canada, Australia, Israel, and more than half the states in the US

Thailand is poised to start its first tests of cannabis oil on patients, a health official said Friday, as excitement swirls around a new industry that could create money-making avenues for entrepreneurs while offering relief for suffering patients.

Marijuana has been used as a traditional herb for centuries in Thailand but was banned decades ago.

The junta's rubber-stamp parliament voted in December to legalise it for medical purposes.

Thailand is the first in Southeast Asia to embrace medical marijuana though recreational use remains illegal.

Now state-sanctioned clinical trials testing the impact of cannabis oil on selected patients will be held as early as July, according to Nuntakan Suwanpidokkul, director of research and development at the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO).

Extracts or "sublingual drops" will be administered during the tests to volunteers suffering from nausea and pain from chemotherapy, among other ailments.

"We will use cannabis plants to extract oil for finished products," Nuntakan told AFP, adding that "we hope to begin in July or August".

They will come from the government-managed indoor plantation that opened last month on the outskirts of Bangkok.

It has around 140 plants cultivated under controlled lighting, temperatures and a misting system known as aeroponics.

A gold rush mentality has set in since Thailand's parliament voted to change to the law.

Political parties are touting the cash crop's benefits for the livelihoods of farmers and big blowout festivals are planned for April.

The country's Food and Drug Administration also announced a 90-day amnesty starting in March for Thais to declare marijuana used for medical reasons and it has received thousands of calls asking for more details.

Several nations have legalised medicinal cannabis, including Canada, Australia, Israel, and more than half the states in the US.

US-based Grand View Research has estimated the global market for medical marijuana could reach $55.8 billion by 2025.

But critics caution that Thailand lacks the technical know-how to be truly competitive in the lucrative industry.

"What I feel that the law is lacking is that the people who are writing it don't understand that cannabis is a very finicky plant," said Kitty Chopaka from the Highland Network, which advocates for marijuana legalisation.A Turkish flag flies on the back of a pickup truck carrying Syrian fighters from a Turkish-backed rebel force in Aleppo province

Turkish and Russian patrols will begin in Syria's northwestern Idlib region on Friday as part of a deal agreed last year, Turkey's defence minister said.

The jihadist-controlled Idlib province has been protected from a major offensive by the Syrian regime following the September agreement between Damascus ally Russia and rebel supporter Turkey, which included setting up a demilitarised zone around the region.

"Today Russian patrols will start outside of Idlib in the border region (and) Turkish armed forces' patrols will begin in the demilitarised zone," Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

"There were restrictions on the use of Idlib and Afrin regions' airspace but these have been lifted from today," Akar told state news agency Anadolu in an interview.

Idlib is the last major region held by rebels in Syria and is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

HTS took administrative control of the whole of the Idlib region in January.

Despite being on opposing sides of the conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have been working closely in a bid to end the war.

A Syrian fighter, from the Turkish-backed Hamza Division, in Ulashli village near the frontline in northeast Aleppo province

An AFP correspondent on Friday morning saw a column of around 10 armoured vehicles on a road in the zone in the western countryside of the Aleppo province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor that relies on sources inside Syria, said Turkish troops were preparing to carry out patrols in the area concerned by the Russian-Turkish agreement.

"Turkish forces in Syria at observation points spread out in the areas of Aleppo, Hama, Idlib and the slopes of the Latakia mountains are preparing to conduct patrols in the areas of implementation of the Putin-Erdogan agreement," the monitor said.

More than 160 civilians including 60 children have been killed in air strikes and shelling by regime forces since the buffer zone agreement was implemented, the Observatory says.

In that same time, 94 rebels and jihadists have also lost their lives, as have 125 regime fighters, it says.Afghanistan has been enmeshed in nearly constant conflict for decades

The Taliban denied on Friday that they were discussing a ceasefire and dialogue with the Kabul government during ongoing talks with the US in Doha, contrary to statements from Washington.

"This phase is about fleshing out the details of the two issues... the withdrawal of all occupying forces from Afghanistan and not allowing" the country to be used as a base for international militancy, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

He described them as "external" aspects of the 17-year conflict.

"Other issues that have an internal aspect and are not tied to the United States... have not been held under discussion."

On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino had affirmed the opposite.

"What we're focusing on are the four interconnected issues that are going to compose any future agreement," Palladino said -- listing them as "terrorism", "troop withdrawal", "intra-Afghan dialogue" and "ceasefire".

He said progress was being made.

The latest round of talks, believed to be among the longest held between Washington and the militants, began on February 25 in the Qatari capital.

Both sides have remained tight-lipped, however, and it is not clear how many days have involved direct negotiations.

The talks have already been paused at least once for two days, and the Taliban said Friday that they were again being suspended for a day, due to resume Saturday. It is not clear how much longer they will go on for.

Expectations remain high. The previous round, in January, saw the US and the Taliban walk away with a "draft framework" that focused on the issues Mujahid said were being discussed this time: a potential US troop withdrawal and a pact to prevent Afghanistan from harbouring terrorists.

The Taliban have repeatedly refused to meet with the Afghan government, whom they dismiss as "puppets".

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is leading the diplomatic push, had earlier hinted that headway was being made on the issue, however.

He also met with the Taliban's top political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar at the start of the current round in Doha, in what has been touted as the highest-level engagement between the two sides in the months-long diplomatic thrust.

General Scott Miller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has also attended at least some of the talks.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his eagerness to end America's involvement in Afghanistan, where 14,000 US troops are still deployed.

On Thursday, General Joseph Votel, head of US Central Command, said the military has received no directions yet to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested he could visit Doha to help advance the negotiations "in a couple (of) weeks".

Afghanistan has been enmeshed in nearly constant conflict since the Soviet invasion in 1979, which was followed by civil war, the Taliban regime, and the post-9/11 US invasion in late 2001.Around a dozen mortar shells were fired on those attending the open-air rally in the Afghan capital

The death toll in an attack on a political gathering in Kabul attended by many senior Afghan leaders has risen to 11 with another 95 wounded, the interior ministry said Friday.

Thursday's attack in the Afghan capital, commemorating the death of a Shiite leader, was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Authorities had put the toll at three dead and 32 wounded late on Thursday.

"Unfortunately the attack led to 11 deaths including three women, and 95 others wounded," Nasrat Rahimi, acting interior ministry spokesman, told AFP.

The majority of the casualties were civilians, he added.

Rahimi also blamed the Taliban for the attack, despite the IS claim. The Taliban has denied involvement.

Around a dozen mortar shells were fired on those attending the open-air rally marking 24 years since the death of Shiite leader Hazara Abdul Ali Mazari, a security source told AFP.

Fired from the roof of a nearby building, most of the shells are said to have fallen on surrounding houses.

Images of the ceremony, broadcast live on Afghan television, had shown a sudden movement of the crowd with screams and loud explosions before the broadcast was interrupted.

Police quickly surrounded the building from where the shots came, killing two attackers and arresting the main suspect, according to Rahimi.Hundreds of men suspected of being IS fighters have surrendered to US-backed forces in Syria in recent days

Defeated but unrepentant, some jihadists limping out of their besieged final bastion in eastern Syria still praise the Islamic State and promise bloody vengeance against its enemies.

The skeletal and dishevelled figures shuffling out of the smouldering ashes of the "caliphate" may look like a procession of zombies, but their devotion seems intact.

At an outpost for US-backed forces outside the besieged village of Baghouz, 10 women stand in front of journalists, pointing their index fingers to the sky in a gesture used by IS supporters to proclaim the oneness of God.

They shout in unison: "The Islamic State is here to stay!"

Most refuse to disclose their names or nationalities.

Indistinguishable under their identical black robes, a group of women arriving at the screening point manned by the Syrian Democratic Forces swarm around reporters like hornets.

Some throw rocks at the cameras of those trying to film them, while one screams at a photographer and calls him a pig.

Another grabs the uncovered hair of a female reporter, saying: "Have you not read the Koran, are you not ashamed?"

A third woman snarks at the way the reporter is dressed: "God curses women who resemble men".

The SDF are closing in on diehard jihadists and their relatives holed up in a makeshift encampment inside the village of Baghouz.

More than 7,000 people have fled the bombed-out bastion over the past three days, escaping shelling by the SDF and air strikes by the US-led coalition against IS.

- Cubs of the caliphate -

But for Umm Mohammed, a 47-year-old woman from Iraq's Anbar province, the men who have fled are "the cowards and the meek".

As for the women, "we left because we are a heavy burden on the men", she says.

"We are waiting for the (next) conquest, God willing."

Nearby, a little boy hums a jihadist anthem as he walks beside his mother, his jacket covered with dust.

The so-called "cubs of the caliphate" -- boys raised under IS rule and trained to fight from a young age -- are the reason the group will survive, another Iraqi woman says.

Thousands of men, women and children, many of them wounded, have fled Baghouz in recent days

"The caliphate will not end, because it has been ingrained in the hearts and brains of the newborns and the little ones," says the 60-year-old, refusing to give her name.

Many women tell AFP that they want to raise their children on the ideology of the caliphate, even as its territorial presence fizzles out.

Abdul Monhem Najiyya is more ambivalent about the group.

"There was an implementation of God's law, but there was injustice," he says, claiming he worked as an accountant for IS.

"The leaders stole money... and fled," he says. "We stayed until the bullets flew over our heads."

The 30-year-old with white hair prays for the "caliphate" and wishes IS "many conquests" to come.

- 'Let down' by leaders -

But he says many senior IS figures have fled to the northwestern province of Idlib or crossed into Turkey and Iraq.

Najiyya's harshest words are for the group's elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whom he says he never saw once.

"He left us in the hands of people who let us down and left," he says. "He bears responsibility, because, in our view, he is our guide".

When asked why it took him so long to quit the redoubt, Najiyya said he was afraid of being detained by the SDF because his cousins are IS fighters.

He also says that rumours the jihadists would be granted safe passage to Idlib, largely controlled by a rival jihadist group, encouraged some to stay.

Nearby, a bearded man with a leg wound cursed the coalition, whose warplanes have pummelled the last jihadist redoubt.

"I only surrendered because of my injury," he says. "I have been with IS since the beginning."

One woman, who says she is from Damascus, tells AFP: "We have left, but there will be new conquests in the future".

Speaking from behind a veil that covers her face, she says: "We will seek vengeance, there will be blood up to your knees."Nirav Modi fled India last year after being accused a central role in a $1.8-billion fraud involving the country's second-largest public lender

Indian authorities on Friday dynamited the multi-million-dollar seafront mansion of fugitive billionaire and jeweller to the stars Nirav Modi, officials said.

The 33,000 square-foot property near Mumbai, believed to be worth $14 million, was seized after Modi was accused of involvement in a massive bank fraud that rocked India's corporate community.

"We have razed the structure to the ground using dynamite," Bharat Shitole, an official for government of the western state of Maharashtra, told AFP.

Video footage aired by Indian news channels showed the sprawling bungalow crumble to the ground within seconds of the controlled blast.

Modi, 48, owned luxury jewellery stores in several major cities across the world and boasted celebrity customers including actresses Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas before his downfall last year.

He fled India in February 2018 after being accused a central role in a $1.8-billion fraud involving Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country's second-largest public lender.

Modi owned luxury jewellery stores in several major cities across the world and boasted celebrity customers before his downfall

Modi and his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi, also a diamond merchant, allegedly defrauded PNB out of more than $40 million.

Authorities say the pair diverted large sums of the loan money illegally to invest in foreign companies.

Choksi fled to Antigua while the Financial Times reported last June that Modi was in Britain.

Indian authorities have seized assets of Modi worth around $90 million including his jewellery business, overseas bank accounts, a London property worth around $7.8 million and two others in New York valued at $29 million.

Shitole said authorities decided to demolish the seaside mansion rather than put it up for auction because it was illegally built and had violated environmental regulations.

Forbes estimated Modi's wealth at $1.73 billion before the alleged fraud, placing him 85th on India's rich list.

Modi is not the only Indian billionaire facing heat from authorities.

Vijay Mallya, a business tycoon who until recently owned a Formula One team, left India in 2016 after authorities filed money-laundering charges against him.

He is currently fighting extradition from Britain.Rodong Sinmun, the North's state-run newspaper, carried a front-page picture that showed Kim and Trump shaking hands

North Korea's state media Friday acknowledged for the first time the collapse of the summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump last week without a deal.

The high-stakes meeting in Vietnam was supposed to build on the leaders' historic first summit in Singapore last year, but ended without any agreement on walking back North Korea's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency, however, had made no mention of the breakdown of the high-stakes summit until Friday.

"The public at home and abroad... are feeling regretful, blaming the US for the summit that ended without an agreement," an editorial published by KCNA wrote.

In the aftermath of the summit's abrupt ending, each side sought to blame the other's intransigence for the deadlock.

But immediately after the summit North Korean media said only that Pyongyang and Washington have agreed to continue "productive" discussions on denuclearisation.

The following day Rodong Sinmun, the North's state-run newspaper, carried a front-page picture that showed Kim and Trump shaking hands.

Earlier this week, North Korean television aired a 75-minute documentary on Kim's diplomacy with Trump without mentioning that the second meeting ended without a deal.

Following the stalemate in Hanoi, researchers said this week that Pyongyang was rebuilding the Sohae long-range rocket site after Kim had agreed last year to shut it as part of confidence-building measures.

Trump said he would be "very, very disappointed" if the reports proved true.RTHK: Two Japanese teens found dead in Australian lake

Two Japanese teenagers have been found dead in Australia's Lake McKenzie after being reported missing from a school tour.

The boys' bodies were discovered by police divers on Saturday morning.

Inspector Tony Clowes of the Queensland Police said authorities will be interviewing witnesses to determine what happened at the popular tourist destination, described by the mayor as "a calm lake in the middle of an island."

"This is a tragic event, there is no doubt about that," Clowes told reporters, adding that there was always a risk when entering waterways. He said he did not know if the 16-year-olds could swim.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour told the ABC the deaths had shocked the community.

"Lake McKenzie is the postcard-perfect image of Fraser Island  it's where all the tourists go," Seymour said. "It's really unimaginable how somebody, let alone two people, could drown there. It's a calm lake in the middle of an island ... whatever has happened is highly unusual."

The boys were not with their families on the tour when they were reported missing on Friday, Clowes said.

Lake McKenzie is 350 kilometres north of the Queensland capital Brisbane. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.Diocese of Kumbo, Worried over deteriorating impact of Anglophone Crisis Facebook

A release from the Catholic Diocese of Kumbo, North West region, reports that some 358 civilians, have been killed, since the Anglophone crisis gained steam late 2016, within Kumbo and its environs.

The report says the figure could get higher, as corpses are continuously discovered from time to time. It doesnt specify how many military officers and well as separatists have died since then.Recently, over 99 persons were killed by soldiers in villages under the diocese.

They also regret that many people have lost their homes, as security forces intensify burnings in the said area. In all, over 750 houses and structures have been burned in the Diocese since the end of 2016, a figure that can increase, as days go by. The diocese states that the war has caused the displacement of over 9,900 persons from its 34 parishes and pastoral zones. The report further accuses military and armed separatists for looting property and rape

Separatists are also accused of blocking movement, grounding economic activities, educational and social life across the diocese. It highlights kidnappings, as one of the activities undertaken by armed separatists, who end up asking for ransoms, and sometimes torture their victims.

On the part of health, the diocese regrets that several people have died at home, who might have survived if they had access to health facilities. Hospitals have a tough time getting medication and other hospital provisions into Kumbo. Meanwhile, patients that are referred to those hospitals, or from them to others, often get stuck. Three nurses have already been shot and killed on their way to/from work, dressed in their work attire.State forces have reportedly, gone into health facilities with firearms, searching for any suspected and wounded separatist.

None of the accused parties have accepted they committed the acts.Protesters have recently held sit-ins in Marseille and other French cities against the Algerian president's bid for a fifth term in office

Sat at a cafe terrace in northern Paris, 32-year-old Samira wonders why France, the self-proclaimed land of human rights, has seemed so feeble in its response to the protests against 82-year-old Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The young Frenchwoman, who has family roots in the north African country like hundreds of thousands of others in France, has been scouring the news about the demonstrations and was hoping vainly for the French government to speak up.

"We get showered every day with talk about how we're the birthplace of human rights, but when we need to act, there's nothing," she said bitterly, comparing Paris' prudence when dealing with its former colony to its outspoken support for anti-government protesters in Venezuela.

Her friend Mehdi, a 28-year-old who fears that giving his surname will expose his family in Algeria to reprisals, wonders aloud: "Where is France?"

In the fortnight since protests broke out, France under President Emmanuel Macron has been playing it safe, wary of being seen to interfere in its former colony, which is of huge strategic importance.

"It's a real issue... It's taking up the president and the prime minister's time," one minister told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Instability, questions surrounding security, immigration, economic issues, the feelings and behaviour of our Franco-Algerian compatriots: repercussions are numerous," the minister added.

A recent report in the L'Obs news magazine quoted a senior government official discussing which potential foreign crisis most worried 41-year-old Macron, even before the protests broke out.

"His nightmare is Algeria. It was the same for his predecessors," the official said, saying concern hinged on possible "serious instability" after the end of Bouteflika's rule which began in 1999.

Algerian protesters have clashed with security forces in the capital Algiers

The recent history of Libya, Algeria's neighbour, no doubt influences the president's bad dreams: chaos and civil war that have seen migrants flow north to Europe, while weapons trickle south helping destabilise the Sahel region.

The ailing Algerian leader has long been viewed in Paris as a source of stability and a bulwark against spreading Islamism -- despite concerns about human right abuses and corruption on his watch.

- Diplomatic minefield -

France's approach to the protests -- calling for calm and insisting Algerians must chose their own future -- is shaped by the bloody and still contested history of the two nations.

Paris ruled Algeria for more than a hundred years and used brutal methods to keep hold of the territory up to 1962, leaving deep scars and a toxic debate about the legacy of colonisation.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has held power since 1999

This shared past continues to give France clout -- through close economic, diplomatic and security ties, a shared language, as well as the large Algerian-origin diaspora in France, estimated to be 1.7 million-strong.

But it also means the French are vulnerable to charges of seeking to pull strings in the energy-rich nation, which is a major gas supplier to several European countries, particularly Spain.

"Either we speak up, and then the Algerians accuse us of interfering as the old coloniser, or we don't speak up and France is accused of supporting an anti-democratic regime," French historian Benjamin Stora told AFP.

"Either way it's a minefield."

Veteran foreign affairs specialist Dominique Moisi contrasted in a recent column how France once dared to impose its rule by force, but was now too timid to speak up.

"Before we wanted to do our best by Algerians, but without taking them into account. Now we almost stop ourselves from telling them about something that is obviously bad for them," he said, speaking of Bouteflika.

"How can we be both frank and respectful, find a language of truth that can -- that should -- exist between two equals? The answer isn't simple," he wrote in Les Echos newspaper.

- Diaspora pressure -

The French government rejects any suggestion of double standards when dealing with protests in Algeria and Venezuela, where Macron has backed protesters against President Nicolas Maduro and recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido.

French-Algerians are expected to hold rallies this weekend in Paris, Marseille and other cities to voice support for the protest movement in Algeria

"You really can't compare Venezuela and Algeria," junior foreign minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said on Tuesday.

"In Venezuela, there's a humanitarian crisis, three million refugees, a president Maduro who is using force against his own people," he said.

France was "not indifferent" to what was happening in Algeria, but "we are not interfering," he added.

This weekend, young French-Algerians are again expected to hit the streets in Paris, Marseille and other cities to voice support for the protest movement in Algeria and, in some cases, demand France take a stronger position.

"It's a shared struggle between Algerians in Algeria and Algerians overseas. The diaspora also has a role to play in this transition, this construction of a new nation based on the rule of law," Samir Mellal from the Stand Up Algeria! collective told AFP in Paris.

burs-adp/fc/dcrNorway's sovereign wealth fund, fuelled by the state's oil revenues, is considering its oil and gas holdings

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest thanks to petrodollars, will sell off stakes in oil and gas exploration and production companies to reduce its exposure to black gold, the government said Friday.

While the decision is based solely on financial considerations and not on the environment, a divestment -- even partial -- by an investor worth more than $1 trillion was seen as a major blow to the fossil fuels industry and hailed by the environmental lobby.

The government of Norway, the biggest oil and gas producer in western Europe, said the divestment was specifically targetting exploration and production companies, "rather than selling a broadly diversified energy sector."

"The objective is to reduce the vulnerability of our common wealth to a permanent oil price decline," Finance Minister Siv Jensen said, stressing the move should not be interpreted as a lack of confidence in the future of the oil sector.

As the decision only concerns companies specialised in upstream operations, it could affect 134 groups like Chesapeake of the US, Canada's Encana, China's CNOOC, France's Maurel and Britain's Tullow, among others.

Companies involved in downstream operations, such as distribution and refining, and, more importantly, integrated companies which do both down- and upstream -- such as giants ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Total -- will not be affected.

- Expected to sail through parliament -

Friday's proposal therefore concerns $7.5 billion of the around $37 billion the fund held in the oil and gas sector at the end of 2018.

The government's proposal is expected to sail through parliament.

Sovereign funds are state-owned investors in various kinds of assets that aim to generate revenue for government programmes and pensions.

The Norwegian decision follows a headline-making 2017 recommendation by the Scandinavian country's central bank, which manages the fund, aimed at limiting the state coffers' exposure to a steep drop in oil prices, as in 2014.

Finance Minister Siv Jensen insists the oil industry "will be an important and major industry in Norway for many years to come"

Oil and gas represent almost half of Norway's exports and 20 percent of the state's revenues.

The state's oil revenues are placed in the sovereign wealth fund -- commonly referred to as the "oil fund" but formally known as the Government Pension Fund Global -- which Oslo then taps to balance its budget.

The finance minister insisted that Friday's decision "does not reflect any specific view on the oil price, future profitability or sustainability of the petroleum sector."

Jensen noted that the oil industry "will be an important and major industry in Norway for many years to come."

- 'Shockwave' -

For environmental organisations and climate change activists, Norway's new position is a clear victory as the world struggles to meet Paris Agreement goals.

"If this passes through parliament, it will cause a shockwave on the market, dealing the biggest blow yet to the illusion that the fossil fuel sector still has decades of business ahead of it," said Yossi Cadan of 350.org, an organisation engaged in the fight against climate change.

Environmental activists say the Norwegian decision to shun oil and gas stocks shows they are becoming increasingly high-risk

"The decision should be seen as a red flag for private banks and investors whose oil and gas stocks are becoming increasingly high-risk and morally untenable," he said in a statement.

Beyond the sums involved, the decision is also important because positions taken by the fund -- which controls 1.4 percent of global market capitalisation -- are closely watched by other investors.

"When one of the biggest sovereign funds in the world concludes that it can yield high returns on its investments with moderate risk by reducing its exposure to oil and gas, investors take note," Jan Erik Saugestad, head of asset management at Norwegian insurer Storebrand said.

The fund has already pulled out of the coal industry, both for environmental and financial reasons.Tensions are running high following tit-for-tat air strikes and an aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan last month

An Indian fighter jet crashed Friday in desert close to the border with Pakistan -- not after a dogfight with enemy planes but a collision with a bird, the air force said.

Tensions are running high following tit-for-tat air strikes and an aerial dogfight between the nuclear-armed Asian nations over the disputed Kashmir region last month.

The ageing Russian-made MiG-21 jet, which crash with some regularity, was on a routine sortie in western Rajasthan state when Friday's accident happened. The pilot ejected safely.

"Initial inputs indicate the likely cause of accident as bird hit after take off," the Indian Air Force said in a statement.

India carried out air strikes inside Pakistan on February 26 after 40 paramilitaries died in a suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

It was the first time since 1971 that India hit territory beyond Kashmir.

The next day Pakistani and Indian planes engaged in a dogfight over Kashmir. India said one of its aircraft was shot down -- Pakistan said two -- and its pilot captured by Pakistan's military.

India said it shot down a Pakistani plane but Islamabad denied this.

Pakistan returned the pilot on March 1, easing tensions, but both sides have continued to fire shells and mortar over the de-facto border that divides Indian and Pakistani Kashmir.

Both countries are maintaining a tight vigil in the skies and conducting frequent fly-overs of Kashmir. India on March 4 shot down a Pakistani military drone, media reports said.

Pakistan said on Tuesday that it stopped an Indian submarine from entering its waters.US President Donald Trump said he feels 'very badly' for his former campaign chief Paul Manafort, who was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud

US President Donald Trump declared a victory Friday in the Russia collusion investigation after his former campaign chief received an unexpectedly light sentence in a high-profile case brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

"Both the Judge and the lawyer in the Paul Manafort case stated loudly and for the world to hear that there was NO COLLUSION with Russia," Trump tweeted.

Judge T.S. Ellis did not actually say that and neither did Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing.

What the judge said before sentencing Manafort to nearly four years in prison on Thursday was that he was not before the court on any allegations of collusion with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Following the sentencing, Manafort's lawyer said there was "absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved with any collusion with any government official from Russia."

He did not address the wider question of whether any other members of Trump's election campaign may have been involved with Russia.

That is the subject of the investigation by Mueller, a former FBI director.

Speaking later to reporters, Trump said he "feels very badly for Paul Manafort."

"I think it has been a very tough time for him," he said.

Manafort, 69, who headed Trump's presidential campaign for two months in 2016, was sentenced to 47 months in prison on Thursday for tax and bank fraud crimes which were unrelated to his campaign work.

Trump has denounced Mueller's investigation on multiple occasions and he repeated his criticism Friday, calling it a "Witch Hunt Hoax."

"So bad for our Country!" he said.

Trump has dangled the possibility of pardons for some of those indicted by Mueller -- including Manafort.

Manafort could have faced up to 24 years in prison, but Judge Ellis said he found that "excessive" and sentenced him to 47 months in prison with nine months of credit for time served.Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said he expects more US sanctions against the movement

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Friday called for donations from its popular base because it says it is coming under financial pressure as a result of Western sanctions.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's appeal came after Britain announced on February 25 that it would seek to make membership of the Shiite movement or inviting support for it a crime.

It also follows the United States ramping up sanctions against the group, with its latest raft of measures in November targeting Nasrallah's son Jawad, among other individuals.

"The sanctions and terror lists are a form of warfare against the resistance and we must deal with them as such," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

"I announce today that we are in need of the support of our popular base," Nasrallah added.

"It is the responsibility of the Lebanese resistance, its popular base, its milieu," to confront these measures.

Hezbollah was established in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war and is now a major political party in the country, holding three cabinet posts.

The movement has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US since 1997 and the group's armed wing fights alongside the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war.

Commenting on Britain's ban, he said: "More states will follow suit and put Hezbollah on terror lists and describe it as a terrorist group."

Addressing his supporters, he stressed that the "financial difficulties that we may face are a result of this (financial) war" and not because of any "administrative defect".

"They wont be able to empoverish or starve us," he said.

"Those who have supported us will continue to support us... be it states or our support base".

Washington has targeted the party with tough sanctions, and the European Union blacklisted the group's military arm in 2013.

Nasrallah said he expects US sanctions "to get tighter on us and our supporters."

"We may see new names, and new people, and new organisations added to the sanctions lists."Poaching is devastating African elephants -- numbers have fallen by 110,000 over the past decade to 415,000, say conservationists

A former mayor of Zimbabwe's tourist hotspot Victoria Falls was caught with nine elephant tusks weighing 120 kilograms (264 pounds) and arrested with two other suspects, police said Friday.

Sifiso Mpofu, 42, was elected mayor in 2013, serving until July last year when he lost to an opposition candidate.

He was arrested on Thursday night at his house in Mkhosana township, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police and rangers swopped on the former mayor's house and found him and the two other suspects moving the tusks from a car, they said.

Two other tusks were found in a bedroom during a search of the house.

"Information was received that the accused were in possession of raw ivory," according to a police document seen by AFP.

Mpofu -- who is the younger brother of the country's former home affairs minister Obert Mpofu -- has been charged with illegal possession of elephant ivory.

He is expected to appear in court along with his two fellow suspects before the end of the weekend.

Following his election defeat last year he retreated to his game farm, Sifiso Hunting Safaris, which is situated between Victoria Falls and Hwange National Partk, the country's largest game reserve.

The arrest comes two months after seven Chinese nationals were arrested for money laundering and unlawful possession of rhino horn on December 23.

They were caught with more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of rhino horn pieces worth nearly $1 million.

The seven, aged between 23 and 35, are in custody and will return to the Hwange regional court next week.

Elephant tusks are highly coveted in some Asian countries, including China and Vietnam, where they are used for jewellery and ornamentation.

The demand has fuelled a boom in poaching and trafficking in Africa. The continent's elephant population has fallen by 110,000 over the past decade to just 415,000 animals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).After the deluge: Buzi, central Mozambique

The death toll from a cyclone that ravaged three southern African countries last week headed Thursday towards 400, as officials estimated that more than 1.7 million people had been affected by the storm and 15,000 people were still stranded in floodwater.

As the toll surged from the region's biggest storm in years, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to tackle an emerging threat to survivors from malaria and cholera.

Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique last Friday, unleashing hurricane-force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and drenched eastern Zimbabwe.

A man with one leg stands on sacks of rice printed 'China Aid,' looted from a warehouse in Beira

Mozambican Land and Environmental Minister Celso Correia said 242 lives had been lost and 15,000 out of 18,000 stranded people still needed to be saved, many of them on rooftops or even in trees.

"Yesterday we had counted 15,000 people that still need rescue today -- 15,000 people who are in bad shape. They are alive, we are communicating with them, delivering food, but we need to rescue them and take them out," he told reporters.

A total of 65,000 people are in transit centres, he said.

People stand beside a damaged section of the road between Beira and Chimoio in Nhamatanda district, central Mozambique

"Our priority now is to make sure we take food, shelter and medicine to the people that are isolated in small islands or in big islands and villages," Correia said at Beira airport, the humanitarian relief coordination hub.

Flooding in Mozambique

On Wednesday there were just five helicopters rescuing the marooned, according to Adrien Nance who is heading the operation.

"Its encouraging that the humanitarian response is really starting to come to scale. But more help is needed," said Jamie LeSueur of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman Herve Verhoosel said the number of people affected in Mozambique was 600,000, but warned: "That number will definitely go up."

Mourners: People carry the coffin of Tomas Joaquim Chimukme, who died after his home in Beira collapsed in the storm

Ultimately, around 1.7 million people in Mozambique will need assistance, Verhoosel said in Geneva.

Pall bearers waded through flood waters carrying a black coffin containing the remains of Tomas Joaquim Chimukme, who died after his house collapsed on him in Beira.

- Zimbabwe toll -

In Zimbabwe, state broadcaster ZBC said the death toll had risen to 139, up from 100 on Wednesday, while the WFP said its estimates of the number of people there affected by the cyclone had jumped from 15,000 to 200,000.

Flood zone: The land west of the city of Beira has been turned almost into an inland sea

In Chimanimani, close to Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique, "some 90 percent of the district has been significantly damaged," Verhoosel said.

An AFP reporter in the area said the district had been cut off.

Roads had been gobbled up by massive sinkholes and bridges ripped to shreds by flash floods -- a landscape that Zimbabwe's acting defence minister Perrance Shiri, who is also agriculture minister, said "resembles the aftermath of a full-scale war".

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, after touring the area, said the country would observe two days of mourning from Saturday. Mozambique declared three days of mourning, taking effect on Wednesday.

"In Rusitu, I saw unmitigated despair," Mnangawa told reporters in Harare.

"Big boulders (were) recklessly strewn on what used be a settlement, a banana market and even a police post."

At the police station, "both serving officers and prisoners were washed away alongside other government structures and private residences," he said.

Mnangagwa also announced steps to cope with future disasters, including mapping the country for weather-related risk, creating a national disaster fund and stepping up global advocacy on climate change.

Victim: A young man recovers after receiving medical treatment in a camp in Chimanimani

In Malawi, the WHO said on Wednesday, the storm had affected 922,000 others, of whom 82,000 had been displaced.

The WHO announced an emergency plan for 10,000 people.

"The displacement of large numbers of people and the flooding triggered by Cyclone Idai significantly increases the risk of malaria, typhoid and cholera," said Matshidiso Moeti, the agency's regional director for Africa.

The three countries are some of the poorest in the region and depend heavily on foreign aid.

- Call for help -

The UN launched an appeal for assistance overnight.

Aftermath: Mud fills a home in Chimanimani

"We do not yet know enough about the level of destruction to give an accurate estimate of the amount of this call for funds, but it will be important," spokesman Farhan Haq said at UN headquarters in New York.

Aid agencies said they were prepared for the cyclone but not for the massive floods that followed.

Mozambique bore the brunt from rivers that flow downstream from its neighbours.

Air force personnel from Mozambique and South Africa have been drafted in to fly rescue missions and distribute aid in central Mozambique.

Roads out of Beira have been destroyed and the city itself, home to around half a million people, has been 90-percent damaged or destroyed.

burs/sn-riEvery year, snakes bite about 5.4 million people worldwide but the figure is likely a vast underestimation, given underreporting and patchy recordkeeping, officials say

On June 15, 2015, four-year-old Chepchirchir Kiplagat's life changed forever. Bitten by a snake as she slept, she permanently lost the use of the left side of her body.

Sleeping beside her on a mattress on the floor of their modest, mud-walled home, Chepchirchir's two-year-old sister Scholar was also bitten.

She did not survive.

"It was hard to tell what had happened because the children were crying from the pain," their father Jackson Chepkui, a 39-year-old livestock farmer, told AFP at home in the tiny village of Embosos in Kenya's remote western Baringo county.

"We saw two blood spots on her (Chepchirchir's) wrist, that's how we were able to conclude that they were bitten by a snake."

With tiny Scholar no longer breathing, Chepkui scrambled to save his surviving daughter.

Embosos does not have its own clinic, and the frantic father struggled to find a motorcycle taxi to take them to the nearest town: Marigat about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) away.

They finally arrived at about 1:00 am -- some five hours after the child was bitten -- only to find the clinic had no antivenom.

They set off again for the town of Kabarnet, another 40 km away, again to find no stocks of the lifesaving serum.

Finally, Chepchirchir was brought to a hospital in the city of Eldoret, a further 90 km away, by 5:00 am.

The little girl was in hospital for two months and suffered permanent damage. Of school age now, she requires a wheelchair her family cannot afford.

Chepchirchir Kiplagat (pictured) was bitten by a snake when she was four years old as she slept

Every year, snakes bite about 5.4 million people worldwide, of whom up to 2.7 million experience "envenoming" -- when the animal transfers its poison through its fangs.

This number is likely a vast underestimation, given underreporting and patchy recordkeeping, officials say.

An estimated 81,000-138,000 people die of snakebites annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), while about 400,000 survivors suffer permanent disabilities and other nasty aftereffects.

Snake venom can cause paralysis that stops breathing, bleeding disorders that can lead to fatal haemorrhage, irreversible kidney failure and tissue damage that can cause permanent disability and limb loss.

Most snakebite victims live in the world's tropical and poorest regions, and children are worse affected due to their smaller body size.

- This one won't bite -

The fate of victims like Chepchirchir and her little sister is avoidable, insisted Royjan Taylor, director of the Bio-Ken venomous snake centre in Watamu on the Kenyan coast.

Even simple barriers such as mosquito nets around beds can repel the slithering reptiles, while easy access to trained medical staff and species-specific antivenoms can save thousands of lives.

The WHO says that about 400,000 survivors suffer permanent disabilities and other nasty aftereffects of snakebites

Figures on antivenom availability today are hard to come by, but a report by Nick Brown of the Global Snakebite Initiative a few years ago estimated it could be as low as 2.5 percent of what is needed, with the majority of African countries having no effective or affordable antivenom at all.

And a recent study of more than 100 clinics in Kenya's southern Kilifi county revealed that nearly 90 percent of staff had had no training in snakebite treatment.

"Because it (a snakebite) can't be transmitted (like a disease), people tend not to look at it seriously. But we see so many snakebites, we see so much suffering because people lose limbs, they lose a leg" for something as random as "stepping on a snake," said Taylor.

During a visit by AFP, the Bio-Ken centre receives a call on a dedicated telephone line that immediately jolts the team into action: a snake has been spotted.

The call came from Emmanuel, 23, who waits for the team, machete in hand, at the spot where he last saw the reptile while locking his goat in its pen.

Moments later, Taylor and a colleague each grab an extremity of the snake using long pincers, and with a choreographed swoop, place it in a special box.

Today's find: an African puff adder -- the same type that bit Chepchirchir and Scholar.

"This one was well hidden" under piles of dead leaves, said Taylor. "At least this snake won't bite anybody here."

The captured snakes are released into national parks, far from populated villages and towns. The poison of some is extracted for use in antivenom production.

- Neglected -

Kenya boasts some of the world's deadliest snakes, key among them green and black mambas and spitting cobras.

Royjan Taylor (pictured), director of the Bio-Ken venomous snake centre in Watamu on the Kenyan coast, says the fate of snakebite victims is avoidable

And as in other poor, rural areas of Africa, Latin America and Asia, venomous snakes pose a public health risk that experts say has been neglected for far too long.

Things may finally be changing.

On February 21, a dedicated working group set up by the UN's public health organ unveiled a strategy for halving snake bite deaths by 2030.

In its report, the group slams policymakers and drug developers for turning a blind eye to the issue.

"Like many diseases of poverty, snakebite envenoming has failed to attract requisite public health policy inclusion and investment...," the authors state.

"This is largely due to the demographics of the affected populations and their lack of political voice."

The working group's plan envisions making 500,000 antivenom treatments available in sub-Saharan Africa every year by 2024, rising to three million per year globally by 2030.

WHO will work to boost production of the serum, improve regulatory control and reinvigorate the market by ensuring that safe and effective products are available, the report says.Mourners prepare to bury one of the victims of the Christchurch shootings on Friday, a week after a gunman shot dead 50 worshippers

For three days and nights the volunteers toiled, diligently washing the bodies of those murdered by a white supremacist in the Christchurch mosque massacres, finally embracing when the last victim was wrapped in a shroud.

In the aftermath of the slayings of 50 Muslims one week ago, a team of specialists in Islamic funeral rites rushed to the terrorised city on New Zealand's South Island to perform a grim but vital task.

Muslim dead must be washed before burial in a ritually complex ceremony that the city's tight-knit Muslim community usually performed at the Al Noor mosque.

But the mosque, the first of two Muslim houses of worship struck in the March 15 attacks by Australian national Brenton Tarrant, remains a closed-up crime scene. Christchurch Muslims suddenly had 50 loved ones to prepare for burial.

Mourners embrace after a two minute silence for the victims of the Christchurch attack, one of whom welcomed the man who was to open fire with the words 'Hello brother' as he approached the Al Noor mosque

One of those who took part described to AFP the daunting and heartbreaking task in a funeral home on the outskirts of the city.

"We treated each body like it was family, as if I was washing my own father or brother," explained Mo, who travelled from Brisbane in Australia as soon as he heard the massacre had taken place.

- Specialist experience -

A 27-year-old urban planner, Mo asked AFP not to use his surname as he wanted to avoid publicity.

But he agreed to talk about the work performed by a core team of around 10 exhausted volunteers and three doctors, who were aided at times by family members.

Islam prescribes that bodies be buried quickly, ideally within 24 hours as no preservatives are allowed in the process.

Muslim men pray in a park near the Al Noor mosque, shortly after a two minutes silence held in memory of the victims of last Friday's shooting

Several of the volunteers had specialist experience preparing the dead for Islamic burial, Mo said.

But due to the sheer scale of the massacre and the criminal investigation that followed, it took between four to five days for most bodies to be released, adding to the pressure on the team to prepare bodies as speedily as possible.

Mo said the process was the same for all -- the 47 male victims were prepared by men and the three female bodies were bathed by women.

The first job was to address the often horrific gunshot wounds, a task primarily carried out by the local medics.

"The doctors who helped make the bodies look more presentable, they were amazing," Mo said.

The parts of the body that Muslims wash in their ablutions before attending prayer -- feet, hands, and face -- were then cleansed with a wet cloth so that the deceased can make their way to heaven in a state of purity.

The bodies were then washed three times, first with lukewarm water, then with water infused with extracts from a tree considered by Muslims to be blessed, and lastly with camphor-scented water. The right side is bathed first, followed by the left.

- State of grace -

Perfume was then applied and in a final ceremony the deceased were wrapped in simple white shrouds to be taken for burial.

Flowers are placed around portraits at the home of Haji Mohammed Daoud Nabi, 71, the first victim of the Al Noor mosque shooting who was shot dead after welcoming the gunman into the building with the words 'Hello brother'

Mo's team also prepared a 48th body not directly connected to the shooting -- a Muslim volunteer who came to Christchurch to help the local community but who died in a car crash.

"Weve barely slept the last three nights. We started washing the bodies at 8 am and would finish each day at around 2 am, although the first day was a little less busy because there were only six bodies released," Mo said.

The last victim was finally prepared at 2 am on Friday morning, a week after the slayings.

"It was so emotional," he recalled. "The volunteers cried and hugged each other. It was a joyous moment because we knew we had done our duty to our martyrs."

"After we finished I got about an hour of sleep and it was about the best hour's sleep I've ever had," he said.The relatives of jihadist attack victims gathered in two towns in Mali to urge more government backing, especially from the military (soldier pictured July 2013)

Hundreds of wives and children of Mali soldiers slain in a spate of jihadist attacks rallied in two central towns Friday, calling for more support for the military.

The towns of Segou, a regional capital, and Sevare saw the victims' relatives gather to urge more government backing, participants told AFP.

Th rally came after an attack in the central city of Dioura killed 26 people, according to a latest official army toll, with Bamako decreeing three days of official mourning from Friday.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has demanded a tough security line but that has failed to pacify the victims' families.

The rally at Segou saw a group of women block traffic by sitting down in the middle of the road while children who had lost fathers to attacks set tyres ablaze, witnesses said.

"We've been told helicopters have been bought for the army -- where are they? Why don't they use them?" demanded one woman, Fatoumata, who said she had lost her husband in the Dioura attack.

"Hundreds of women and children are here to demonstrate at Segou to denounce a lack of resources for the army," said Oumar Toure, a teacher.

"We don't want our husbands to keep dying like this," other women chanted at a rally at Sevare, near Mopti, another central capital in the country's centre.

Some protesters at Sevare called for the president to resign, local media quoted them as saying.

A group of associations meanwhile drew around 1,000 people to a meeting in the capital Bamako to urge solutions to a crisis in education after repeated strikes by public sector teachers demanding better conditions.

"There's been no school for months -- the government and teachers must urgently find common ground, organiser Mohamed Kimbiri said, adding that the parlous security situation in Mali was a further major worry.

In further proof of that, at least four civilians were killed and two injured Friday when armed assailants attacked the village of Diombolo, near the central town of Bandiagara and carried off food and livestock, locals said.

Hama Dengu, a resident, said the attack was the work of an ethnic Fulani group earlier seen riding around the area.

UN sources blame violence between ethnic groups in central Mali for over 500 deaths last year.

A military source told AFP that troops had deployed to the area after the attack and came across a boobytrapped motorcycle, which exploded, killing one local man for a fifth fatality on the day.Joseph Banadzem Lukong Archives

The National Assembly, party militants of the Social Democratic Front party, are in shock, following the death of the SDF parliamentary group leader, Lukong Joseph Banadzem.

Hon. Joseph Banadzem , the SDF parliamentarian for Bui Centre, in the North West region, died early this morning of March 30, at the Yaounde General Hospital, after suffering from a long illness.

The National Chairman of the Social Democratic front, Ni John Fru Ndi, has expressed regrets over his passing, stating it is a great loss for the party.

" I was called this morning around 6 am to learn of his death. We lost our parliamentary group leader, a very industrious and hardworking one, said Chairman Fru Ndi to Cameroon-Info.net, on a telephone call this morning.

Indeed Hon. Joseph Banadzem was a big brain for the Social Democratic Front. Described by many as a level headed person, he carried out tasks of the party at the national assembly ease and devotion.

The parliamentarian was also a lecturer of history at ENS Bambili. He obtained his master degree at a University in France.

He was one of those who raised an alarm at the assembly over an alleged warrant issued on another SDF MP, Hon. Wirba Joseph, who was accused of instigating the population, on the heels of the ongoing Anglophone crisis. He led a protest at the assembly against House speaker , Cavaye Yeguie Djibril's dictatorial ways in Parliament in 2017, blasting the assembly's lukewarm attitude, on the arrest warrant issued on the SDF parliamentarian.

On November 16, 2017, he regretted that a fire incident at the National Assembly had led to the destruction of the history of his political party. He also led the SDF march for peace in the Anglophone regions, in 2017.

His death, follows that of the SDF Mayor of Belo, still in the North West region, who recently died in Yaounde.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was questioned as a witness in the submarine case, but is not a suspect

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Friday he is suing his main election rivals for libel, over their comments alleging grave misconduct linked to the purchase of submarines from Germany.

Israel's deal with German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp has been the subject of a lengthy investigation, with police saying in November there was evidence to charge one of Netanyahu's lawyers.

The prime minister was questioned as a witness and is not a suspect, although the case has been dragged up again by his rivals amid fierce election campaigning.

Netanyahu's threat of legal action centres on the newly-minted Blue and White alliance, whose head Benny Gantz claimed the premier profited by 16 million shekels ($4.4 million) from his stock rising on the strength of the submarine deal.

Another Blue and White member, Moshe Yaalon, was asked on Wednesday if he considered Netanyahu had betrayed Israel and its security over the affair.

"The matter is so important that it could reach as far as treason," Yaalon replied, speaking on Israeli public radio. "Let's have it investigated."

Writing on Facebook, Netanyahu said Friday he had instructed his lawyers to sue Gantz and Yaalon.

The premier would also have filed suit against the Blue and White party's co-leader Yair Lapid, he said, but as a member of the outgoing parliament he had immunity.

"The lies of Lapid, Gantz and Yaalon cross a red line on the most sensitive issues concerning Israel's security," he wrote. "So I instructed my lawyers to sue them for libel."

Blue and White's spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Lapid fought back with a Facebook video clip of his own.

"I am waiving my immunity, sue me!" he challenged Netanyahu.

"You know very well that neither I, Benny Gantz nor Yaalon... called you 'traitor' regarding the submarine affair."

Netanyahu is already under threat of indictment for corruption in separate cases and is facing stiff competition from Blue and White ahead of April 9 polls.Those on trial are accused of "treason" and trying to overthrow the head of state, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema (pictured September 2018), both charges which could bring the death penalty

The trial opened Friday of more than 150 people accused of involvement in an alleged December 2017 coup which the Malabo authorities say they foiled.

Those in the dock are accused of "treason" and trying to overthrow the head of state, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, both charges which could bring the death penalty.

Further charges are "terrorism" and possession of arms and ammunition, which alone could bring 20-year jail terms.

In January of last year the government said it had foiled an attempted coup, which it said was organised by foreign mercenaries who had a month earlier tried to overthrow Obiang.

At the time he was in his palace at Koete Mongomo some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the bordres with Gabon, Guinea and Cameroon.

On December 27, 2017, three days after the alleged operation, Cameroon police detained a group of armed men on the Cameroon border.

There followed dozens of arrests in Equatorial Guinea and warrants were issued against a number of foreigners believed to have been involved.

Only 79 of the 150 accused are in the dock for what is expected to be a three-week trial -- including 24 foreigners, mainly from Chad and the Central African Republic.

The defendants' lawyers demanded their clients' immediate release for lack of evidence. They also cited procedural "irregularities" in the case.

Those in the dock include several former regime supporters including former ambassador to Chad, Henri Nsue Anguesomo, as well as the former head of presidential security Julian Ondo Nkumu, an AFP journalist said.

Around 30 suspected foreign mercenaries have not been extradited from Cameroon, where they were arrested after the alleged coup.

They included British-based exiled opposition figure Salomon Abeso Ndong and five Frenchmen.

Lawyers for those absent have urged their cases be closed.

The prosecution earlier showed the court what it says is material evidence of the coup planning including around 20 shotguns with ammunition and satellite telephones.

Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa's top oil producers but the bulk of the population of some 1.2 million lives in poverty. The country has lived through several coups since independence from Spain in 1968.

Nguema, 76, is now Africa's longest-serving leader having himself seized power in a 1979 putsch.

Critics accuse him of brutal repression, election fraud and corruption.Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari has written to the Security Council to demand that it upholds resolutions demanding an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan

Syria on Friday asked the UN Security Council to uphold resolutions declaring that Israel withdraw from the Golan Heights after President Donald Trump said the United States would recognize Israel's annexation of the territory.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari urged the council to "take practical measures to ensure that the council is fulfilling ... its mandate in the implementation of its resolutions" concerning the Golan, in a letter seen by AFP.

The council is scheduled to discuss the Golan on Wednesday during a meeting on renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force deployed between Israel and Syria in the Golan, known as UNDOF.

Trump broke with decades of US Middle East policy when he posted a Tweet on Thursday that said it was time to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan.

In the letter, the Syrian ambassador also asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to reaffirm the UN position on Israel's occupation of the Golan, which it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Asked about Trump's stance, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said UN policy was based on council resolutions and those of the General Assembly on the status of the Golan.

"The resolutions are of course unchanged," said Haq. "Our policies have not changed in that regard."

The United States backed Resolution 242 adopted in 1967, which calls on Israel to withdraw from territories it occupied in the Six-Day war and refers to the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war".

The council adopted another resolution in 1973 that reaffirmed the demand for a withdrawal and in 1981, backed a separate measure that rejected Israel's annexation of the Golan.

After Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a group of Arab countries presented a resolution in 2017 condemning the decision to the General Assembly that won overwhelming support.

UN diplomats said it was premature to speculate as to whether there would be a similar measure in the assembly.Trump critic and San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, seen in a file image, is running for governor

San Juan, Puerto Rico's mayor -- who challenged President Donald Trump over what really happened when the US island was devastated by Hurricane Maria -- is running for governor, she said Friday.

"I am going to serve the people of Puerto Rico as the next governor," Carmen Yulin Cruz said, in a T-shirt with the slogan "Sin miedo" (Fearless), two and a half years after gaining international attention for her firm handling of the massive crisis -- and of Trump.

As Trump insisted the federal government had done all it could to help Puerto Rico, a US commonwealth of more than three million people, Cruz was quick to tell him the slow US federal response was what "killed" many islanders.

She will represent the Popular Democratic Party - known by its Spanish acronym PPD -- in the 2020 race against Ricardo Rossello who favors having the island keep its current status.

Trump defended his handling of the crisis, and charged Cruz with taking him on in order to benefits Democrats politically.

Hit by two hurricanes in quick succession, Irma and then Maria, 3,000 people were killed in Puerto Rico. Trump boasted of a low casualty toll -- when local officials had not reported it in a timely and accurate way.

Last year, Cruz, 56, took on Trump in another tweet, saying (in Spanish) "It isn't that you have failed to understand what happened. It's that you are unable to execute your moral imperative: helping the people of Puerto Rico."

Puerto Rico's citizens are US citizens and carry a US passport. The mostly Spanish-speaking former Spanish colony long has debated whether it should seek independence, the current a relationship with the United States, or full US statehood.Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members

A teenager who survived the Parkland school shooting in Florida has killed herself while struggling with survivors' guilt, local media reported Friday.

Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members.

Among the dead were two of Aiello's best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver.

Her parents told local news CBS4 that she had been treated for PTSD, and suffered from survivor's guilt, when a victim fixates on why they were the one to live, not someone else.

Her mother, Cara, told CBS Miami that Aiello had had a difficult time with her college classes "because classrooms now scared her."

Aiello graduated from high school in July. She was a yoga enthusiast, and took part in the national student movement seeking legal changes on gun control policy.

Stoneman Douglas students became crusaders against gun violence under the banner "March for Our Lives," lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organizing protests and rallies.

Meadow's father, Andrew Pollack, told the Miami Herald that his "heart goes out to those poor, poor parents.

"It's terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time," Pollack said.Robert Mueller has described a cohesive effort under the auspices of Russian President Vladimir Putin to interfere in the 2016 US election to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton and aid Republican candidate Donald Trump

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has remained silent for nearly two years about his Russia meddling and collusion investigation, which wrapped up on Friday.

But a vast story of conspiracy, possible collusion and obstruction has been told in documents that have emerged from the probe, particularly court filings in Mueller's indictment of 34 individuals and convictions of five former Trump associates.

Here's what we have learned up until now:

- The Russian conspiracy -

In two conspiracy indictments Mueller described a cohesive effort under the auspices of Russian President Vladimir Putin to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton and aid Republican candidate Donald Trump.

One charged 12 hackers of the GRU military intelligence agency with stealing specifically Democratic Party materials and leaking them to WikiLeaks.

The hackers "targeted over 300 individuals affiliated with the Clinton Campaign, DCCC, and DNC," it said, referring to two key national Democratic bodies.

The second indictment named 13 Russians with the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a St. Petersburg troll farm controlled by Evgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Putin. They were accused of running a massive "fake news" campaign on social media targeting US voters beginning in 2014.

The IRA "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system.... By early to mid-2016, defendants' operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump... and disparaging Hillary Clinton."

WikiLeaks was not charged, but court filings said it actively communicated with the GRU hackers offering to help publish the stolen Democratic materials.

- Trump campaign collusion with Russia -

The investigation showed frequent, willing contacts between members of the Trump campaign and Russians or intermediaries with Moscow, more than 100 by some counts.

Trump campaign aides made multiple efforts to arrange a pre-election meeting between him and Putin and to obtain Russian "dirt" on Clinton.

"Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team," foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos told an unidentified senior campaign official in an April 2016 email. He also told the campaign the Russians proposed to give him information damaging to Clinton.

The investigation also revealed the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between top members of the campaign and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Clinton.

"If it's what you say I love it," Trump's son Don Jr. wrote in an email to the publicist who arranged the meeting.

The indictments detailed secret communications between Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. In them Flynn urged cooperation that effectively would undermine the policies of still-president Barack Obama.

Court documents also showed campaign chairman Paul Manafort sharing polling data with a man with Russian intelligence links.

And two associates of the campaign, Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi, communicated with WikiLeaks about its plans for releasing hacked communications from Clinton's operations.

- Obstruction -

Mueller's team meanwhile investigated actions by Trump that could support charges of obstruction of justice.

That began with Trump's pressing FBI director James Comey in early 2017 to pull back on the investigation, and then his firing of Comey that May.

Trump also reportedly repeatedly pressured then attorney general Jeff Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself from the Mueller probe; sought several times to have Mueller fired; and allegedly encouraged associates to lie about Russia contacts and other behavior.

Trump also allegedly dangled pardons to indicted associates to prevent them from providing evidence against him.

- Hush payments -

A spinoff case from Mueller's investigation showed that, under Trump's direction his former lawyer Michael Cohen illegally used campaign funds to buy the silence of an adult film actress about an alleged affair she had with Trump in the 2000s.

- Corrupt campaign chiefs -

The investigation showed that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy chair Richard Gates had engaged in money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes related to their work from Russia-backed politicians in Ukraine in the decade before the 2016 race. Both maintained their contacts, which included a suspected Russian intelligence agent, Konstantin Kilimnik, through the 2016 campaign.

According to reports, Mueller or spinoff investigations have also looked into the huge sums of money donated to the Trump transition and inauguration operations, which were partly overseen by Gates. There are indications that investigators have evidence of illegal foreign donations and misuse of funds.

- Business with Russians -

The investigation of Michael Cohen showed that the Trump Organization pursued a potentially huge real estate deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow throughout the 2016 campaign.

Also reportedly examined were the Trump Organization's marketing of properties since the 2000s to wealthy Russians, with some of the sales raising questions of money laundering.US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Donald Trump's chief Democratic opponent in Congress, has led calls for a swift and thorough release of the special counsel's report on Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign

Top US Democrats on Friday demanded the full special counsel report on Russian interference in the 2016 election be released publicly with no "sneak preview" for President Donald Trump.

Many of the party's challengers for the 2020 presidential nomination, including senators Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, swiftly joined calls for full transparency after Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to Attorney General Bill Barr.

"It is imperative for Mr Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Barr "must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any 'sneak preview' of Special Counsel Mueller's findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public."

As the nearly two-year investigation wrapped up, Democratic presidential hopefuls demanded the White House release the report on Russian election meddling and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.

"Attorney General Barr -- release the Mueller report to the American public. Now," tweeted Senator Elizabeth Warren, a staunch Trump critic and liberal candidate challenging him in 2020.

The document is confidential, but Barr said in a letter to Congress that he might be able to summarize its "principal" conclusions as early as this weekend.

The sentiment among at least nine 2020 Democrats was unanimous: let the report come to light.

"I call on the Trump administration to make Special Counsel Mueller's full report public as soon as possible. No one, including the president, is above the law," Sanders tweeted.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who holds a campaign launch event Sunday across the street from Manhattan's Trump Tower, also weighed in to say Americans "have a right to know its findings."

Senator Kamala Harris, the former attorney general of California, joined her presidential rivals in demanding "total transparency" but took it a step further.

"AG Barr must publicly testify under oath about the investigation's findings," she added.

Trump has repeatedly branded the investigation a "witch hunt," but on Wednesday he revealed that he wanted Mueller's final report made public.

Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers urged transparency in the report's handling. But Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham, a Republican ally of the president, suggested there was a possibility that some of the report could be withheld.

"I will work with... colleagues to ensure as much transparency as possible, consistent with the law," he said.

Experts say the report is unlikely to be revealed in the raw, as it could have confidential data on people not charged, as well as top secret information on sources.

But the leaders of six House committees, including Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler, made explicitly clear that the president "must be subject to accountability."

If the Justice Department feels it is unable to do so it must provide Congress with the probe's full evidence.

"To then withhold evidence of wrongdoing from Congress because a sitting president cannot be charged is to convert Justice Department policy into the means for a cover-up," they warned.The president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, speaks to investors in Sao Paulo in May 2018

The Inter-American Development Bank said Friday its annual meeting would exit China after the United States led objections to Beijing's refusal to grant a visa to the Venezuelan representative backed by Washington.

The bank, which provides development funding for Latin America and in which Washington holds 30 percent of voting power, said it would no longer gather in the southwestern city of Chengdu from March 28 to 31 in what would have been its first annual meeting in China.

The Washington-based institution said its board would decide within 30 days where to hold the meeting instead.

The decision marks a two-front victory for the United States which is trying to oust Venezuelas leftist President Nicolas Maduro and to reduce Chinese influence in Latin America.

A State Department official said that the United States objected to China holding the meeting so long as it did not issue a visa to Ricardo Hausmann, who is considered the Venezuelan representative to the bank by Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president recognized by Washington and major Latin American and European states.

US allies backed the US position, with more than 80 percent of IDB shareholders voting Friday to move the meeting out of China, the official said.

"Allowing a country to prevent the seating of a legitimate delegation of a multilateral organization would have set a precedent contrary to a century of established diplomatic norms," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Vice President Mike Pence also raised the issue in an opinion piece in The Miami herald, accusing China of "propping up a corrupt dictator."

It would mark "the first time in the bank's history that a host nation has refused to seat a member," he wrote.

China is the main creditor of Venezuela, granting more than $60 billion over the past decade to Maduro's cash-strapped government, which pays back in oil.

The Inter-American Development Bank's president, Colombian Luis Alberto Moreno, has voiced willingness to work with Guaido.

Hausmann was the IDB's chief economist from 1994 to 2000 and served as minister of planning under Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez, implementing a package of economic reforms.

Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez led a coup against Perez in 1992, citing the reforms. Chavez was later elected president and has branded himself as a champion of the poor.

Venezuela, which helped found the IDB in 1959, in May was declared in default of the bank which said it would not grant any further loans.The sun sets on the US Capitol on March 22, 2019 in Washington, DC, shortly after the announcement that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had wrapped up his two-year investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.Special counsel Robert Mueller on March 22, 2019, submitted his long-awaited report into an explosive two-year investigation of Russian meddling in Donald Trump's 2016 election -- a probe the president denounces as a "witch hunt" and opponents say could fuel impeachment. What the report says is confidential, but Attorney General Bill Barr wrote in a letter to Congress that he might be able to summarize its "principal conclusions" for Congress as early as this weekend.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia meddling investigation Friday without recommending any new charges, but President Donald Trump, who faced obstruction and collusion allegations, could still be implicated in serious, even impeachable wrongdoing.

Experts say the confidential report Mueller has submitted to Attorney General Bill Barr might still have evidence of wrongdoing that for Mueller didn't rise to criminal level but could still an impeachment investigation by Congress.

But no one else has seen the report yet, so the focus is on what comes next in the process in the coming days and weeks.

- First step: inform Congress

Under his mandate, Mueller was to provide to Barr "a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions."

Barr is obliged to summarize the report for the House and Senate judiciary committees.

Barr said Friday he be able to deliver its "principal conclusions" for the committees this weekend.

But Barr, a past critic of Mueller who Trump named to lead the Justice Department only in February, can divulge or withhold as much information as he wants in his own report.

The special counsel regulations "give Barr lots of discretion about what to disclose to Congress and the public," said Andrew Coan, a University of Arizona law professor who has written about special prosecutors and presidents.

Coan said Barr could release an abbreviated report that puts Trump in a good light rather than a very damaging one.

"The selective release of exculpatory material is a possibility worth watching for."

Barr also said he will study how much of Mueller's report he can release to the public.

With public pressure immense, Barr said he is "committed to as much transparency as possible."

David Rivkin, a conservative attorney who has followed the investigation closely, says he thinks there won't be much that Barr needs to hold back.

"My sense is it's going to be a nothing-burger. It will be fairly anticlimactic," he said.

"Mueller is a cautious person, he's not going to make recommendations about impeachment."

- Step two: Congress reacts

Parts or all of Barr's summary can be expected to leak within hours of its arrival on Capitol Hill. But Congress has already moved beyond that to demand more.

The Democratic chairs of six committees in the House insisted Friday that the full Mueller report be released to the public.

"We also expect the underlying evidence uncovered during the course of the Special Counsel's investigation will be turned over to the relevant Committees of Congress upon request," they said.

The value of that could be huge -- or a dud.

The report could be "much ado about nothing," wrote Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist known for her knowledge of the case.

One the other hand, it might be "a very damning report that doesn't amount to criminal behavior" -- something that Democrats in Congress could act upon even if Mueller did not.

If Barr refuses to give more, it could spark a pitched battle between Congress and the White House.

"It is likely to be weeks, and possibly months, before this issue is fully resolved, with much legal and political wrangling in the meantime," said Coan.

- Step three: Congress investigates

Whatever they get from Barr, Congress -- or at least the Democrats who control the House -- will continue to investigate Trump and his circle.

Their reason: through criminal cases against 34 individuals, including six former Trump aides, Mueller sketched out a picture of scores of willing contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians and a readiness to exchange "dirt" on Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton.

And Trump's behavior throughout the investigation has, many lawyers said, met most definitions of obstruction, even if Mueller didn't see a provable case.

If there is more to that picture, Democrats want it out in public, and may believe that further investigation is required beyond the parameters that Mueller set for himself.

Both Mueller and Barr can be expected to be summoned to testify, both behind closed doors where they can discuss intelligence matters, and in public.A Monsanto toxicologist has denied influencing studies to hide the dangers of weedkiller Roundup and its main ingredient glyphosate

A toxicologist from Roundup weedkiller manufacturer Monsanto denied Friday that she had influenced scientific studies to hide the dangers of the product, in the damages phase of a trial in California.

One of the lawyers for the plaintiff -- a 70-year-old retiree with cancer -- asked Dr Donna Farmer to explain internal documents from Monsanto made public in 2017.

Among other documents, a February 2015 email sent to Farmer by another senior Monsanto scientist refers to the technique of writing scientific articles and then paying recognized scientists -- presented as independent -- to sign them.

Farmer -- who testified by video -- repeatedly denied that she participated in such "ghostwriting" and also responded "no" when asked if Roundup causes cancer.

Edwin Hardeman is the man at the center of the case who says his 25-year use of Roundup, the principal ingredient of which is controversial chemical glyphosate, contributed to his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis.

The jury in San Francisco is weighing how much Monsanto knew about Roundup's possible risks, if it tried to hide those risks and whether the product's cans should have carried a warning.

Jurors then must determine if Monsanto is liable for Hardeman's injuries, and if so, what damages are owed.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer found in 2015 that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic," though the European Food Safety Authority, the European Chemicals Agency and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have not issued similar judgments.Tsai arrived in Palau on Thursday to kick off her second official visit to the Pacific

Visiting Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged a tourism boost and gifted a coast guard vessel to the remote Pacific microstate of Palau, as she works to check a push for regional influence by rival China.

Tsai arrived in Palau on Thursday to kick off her second official visit to the Pacific, amid growing concerns over Beijing's attempt to lure away Taipei's few remaining diplomatic allies.

Her overtures this week included a pledge to increase flights to the tiny island state, which is struggling to boost tourism after cutting back on charter flights from mainland China.

Tsai said national carrier China Airlines would add a fourth weekly flight to Palau to bolster the local tourism industry, which has been dominated by visitors from mainland China.

She also gifted a coastal frigate for patrol of a new conservation area, to be established when the country closes part of its exclusive economic zone to commercial fishing by next year.

The Taiwan leader made the commitments late Friday after meetings with Palau President Tommy Remengesau, who reaffirmed his tiny nation's "lasting friendship" with her country.

"As our friends from Taiwan know all too well, as island states, securing our ocean spaces is vital to allow our respective national projects to flourish," he said.

Remengesau added that Palau students currently on scholarships at the Taiwan Naval Academy would join its crew.

The Taiwanese naval patrol frigate Hsun Hu No. 7 took part in joint exercises with Palau's Coast Guard on Saturday.

Tsai addressed Palau's congress on Friday, thanking them for "their longstanding commitment to speaking up for Taiwan" at the UN and other world bodies, as well as for "upholding the core values of democracy and freedom".

But the fragility of that support was underscored when both the Senate president and speaker, backers of shifting Palau's recognition from Taiwan to China, skipped the event.

Beijing has stepped up diplomatic pressure on Taiwan since Tsai took office in 2016, as she has refused to acknowledge its "one China" policy that considers the self-ruling island a renegade province to be brought back into the fold.

Five countries have switched official recognition to Beijing since Tsai became president, leaving Taipei with only 17 diplomatic allies including six in the Pacific, where China has been boosting its economic and military presence.

Tsai leaves Palau on Sunday for Nauru and then the Marshall Islands.

Tsai is due to wrap up her tour by transiting through Hawaii on March 27, drawing a protest by Beijing to Washington, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but remains Taiwan's most powerful unofficial ally and biggest arms supplier.The outgoing president of Comoros Azali Assoumani is an authoritarian ex-soldier to his foes, a champion of democracy to supporters

The president of the tiny archipelago of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, looks set to win a new term Sunday in an election that rivals say has been hijacked.

Huge campaign pictures of Azali, 60, emblazon the whitewashed walls of the capital Moroni and along roads on the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli.

Those of his rivals are minute -- a comparison that seems to speak eloquently for their chances.

Comoros Islands

The Supreme Court has barred the bid of some of Azali's major rivals, including former president Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption.

In a pre-election visit to Anjouan, Azali oozed confidence of victory. He burst out laughing when asked about defeat. "That's a question I won't answer. When you set out to do something, you do it to win!"

The mainly-Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago of some 800,000 people is one of the world's poorest and most coup-prone states.

It has suffered more than 20 successful or attempted power grabs since gaining independence from France in 1975. Its first leader, Ahmed Abdallah, lasted barely a month before being ousted.

- 'Great masquerade' -

Azali is staging the poll after Comorans voted in a referendum to support the extension of presidential mandates from one five-year term to two, rotating among the three islands.

The controversial change shocked a fragile balance of power established in 2001 that sought to end separatist crises on Anjouan and Moheli and halt the endless cycle of coups.

Supporters of the opposition Juwa Party sit beneath campaign posters, waiting for a rally in a village near Moroni

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Grande Comore last elected in 2016, could hold power for 10 more years until 2029.

The referendum last July led to violent protests on Anjouan, which would have taken over the presidency in 2021.

The head of the Union of the Opposition group, former deputy president Mohamed Ali Soilihi, is one of the candidates who has been barred from running.

"This election is a great masquerade. The plot has been written out in advance. On the evening of March 24, there'll be an announcement of victory (for Azali) in the first round," Soilihi predicted. "It'll be forced through."

"Everyone is against him," said the leader of the Juwa Party, lawyer Mahamoudou Ahamada. "If the vote were transparent, he couldn't win. Azali has no choice but to steal the election."

- 'Rockslide plot'

Azali, a former army chief of staff, first seized power in a coup in April 1999.

He toppled an interim president he saw as weak in handling secessionist forces, and then was elected in 2002.

Earlier this month, according to his staff, Azali survived an attempt on his life on Anjouan.

"People at the top of a mountain placed explosives, which they blew up to cause a rockslide" as his convoy passed, his campaign director, Houmed Msaidie, told AFP on March 7. "The president's car stopped in time."

An elderly resident walks past a mosque in downtown Moroni. The grind of poverty in the Comoros can be worsened by comparisons with Mayotte, the island that chose to remain under French rule

Wires connected to dynamite were found at the scene, Msaidie said. Photos sent to AFP by a police official showed tree branches and rocks partially covering a road.

Critics dismiss this account as bogus.

Juwa campaign director Ibrahim Mohamed Soule said Azali's team "creates fake attacks or fake incidents to deter people from participating in the elections freely".

In March 2008, Comoran troops backed by an African Union military force invaded Anjouan to put an end to the authoritarian rule of island leader Mohamed Bacar.

The one-time police chief was accused of atrocities including killings, torture and rape, as well as embezzlement, but he escaped.

The Comoros has tried repeatedly to lay claim at the UN General Assembly to the fourth and wealthiest island in their archipelago, Mayotte, whose inhabitants chose in a 1974 referendum to remain a French territory.

The gap in development has drawn many Comoran "boat people" to Mayotte in search of a better life.US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces raise their flag on a building in the jihadists final bastion, celebrating the end of the Islamic State group's brutal caliphate

Here are key developments in the final battle by US-backed Kurdish-Arab forces to conquer the jihadist Islamic State group's last redoubt in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria.

- 'Operation Roundup' -

On September 10, 2018, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch the third phase of "Operation Roundup", to clear eastern Syria of its last IS holdouts.

Under phase one of the operation launched on May 1, the Kurdish-dominated force drives IS from the area around Baghouz in two weeks.

Under phase two, on June 17 it pushes the jihadists from their bastion of Dashisha in Hasakeh province. The village had been one of the last IS-controlled areas in a corridor linking Syria with Iraq.

After initial progress, in late October the SDF is forced to retreat after deadly IS counterattacks. They then announce a temporary halt to the offensive due to bombardments by the Turkish army against Kurdish military positions in northern Syria.

On November 11 the SDF relaunches its operation to seize the last remnants of IS territory, which once covered vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.

- Last IS town taken -

On December 14, the SDF takes Hajin near the Iraqi border, the last town of note still under IS control.

On January 23, 2019, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says the SDF has overrun Baghouz, the last IS-held village in Syria.

A day later the jihadists carry out a failed counterattack in a bid to retake the village, of which they still hold a small patch, according to an SDF commander.

On February 7 the international coalition says IS now controls less than one percent of its self-declared caliphate, confirming comments a day earlier by US President Donald Trump.

- 'Decisive battle' begins -

On February 9 the SDF says it has begun the "decisive battle" against the remaining pocket of the jihadists.

"The SDF are advancing slowly in what remains of the IS pocket," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman says two days later.

Landmines, IS snipers, and tunnels the extremists have dug out for their defence are hindering the advance, he says.

- 'Human shields' -

On February 16 an SDF spokesman says his forces have slowed down their advance to protect the "large numbers" of civilians inside.

SDF commander Jia Furat says civilians are "trapped there as human shields".

On February 22 Human Rights Watch urges the SDF and the US-led coalition to make protecting civilians a priority.

"Witnesses described harrowing conditions in the last months," it says.

They arrive "extremely hungry and dehydrated" and many of them require urgent medical care, the International Rescue Committee says, pointing to new deaths among children.

On February 27 men, women and children packed on trucks leave the last IS patch under the supervision of the SDF, in the fifth evacuation in a week.

A day later the SDF says it has discovered a mass grave containing the severed heads of women near Baghouz.

- Final assault -

On March 1 the SDF launches its final assault against the last IS redoubt, a riverside encampment in the village of Baghouz.

A day later the SDF says it has breached the jihadists' perimeter. Artillery fire and airstrikes target jihadist positions.

On March 3, the Kurdish-Arab forces slow down its campaign on the last IS pocket to allow tens of thousands of civilians and surrendering jihadists out from their enclave.

The alliance on March 10 says a deadline for surrender has passed and the assault has been resumed.

- Cornered on Euphrates banks -

On March 19 advancing Kurdish-led forces push diehard IS fighters out of their main encampment, cornering them along the banks of the Euphrates.

The military campaign resumes on March 22 after a pause of two days.

On Saturday, the Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State's caliphate.

"Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS," spokesman Mustefa Bali said in a statement.A fighter with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)

Now that the Islamic State group has officially lost its geographic "caliphate," the Pentagon is marking a historic moment in its years-long campaign to defeat the jihadists.

From a military perspective at least, the United States can claim significant success in its strategy of working "by, with and through" local proxy forces, where a Kurdish militia in Syria and security forces in Iraq bore the brunt of the fighting -- and dying.

But IS still has thousands of battle-hardened fighters across several countries, and questions loom over whether the group's territorial loss can be parlayed into an enduring defeat -- or whether President Donald Trump's decision to pull most troops from Syria is premature, and risks ruining the end game.

"I'd be hesitant to use the term winning," General Raymond Thomas, who heads US Special Operations Command, told lawmakers recently.

The objective is "to be able to maintain persistent capabilities so that an external threat cannot emanate from that in the future."

Asked if he was satisfied the United States was at that point, Thomas said: "I do not think we're there yet."

How much the United States can influence things will only diminish after the Pentagon withdraws all but 200 of the 2,000 or so special forces from Syria that have been helping the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Trump in December declared victory over IS, saying the US had "beaten them badly" as he announced the pullout.

John Spencer, a scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point, said things were not so simple.

IS "is a terrorist organization, all they have to do is put down their weapons and try to blend in with the population and just escape," he told AFP.

"They're not gone, and they're not going to be gone," he said.

- Started under Obama -

The US-led mission began in late 2014 under president Barack Obama, after IS fighters seized an area the size of Britain across Iraq and Syria.

In an effort to "degrade and ultimately defeat" the black-flag-flying jihadists, the United States formed a coalition that grew to more than 70 nations, several of which started bombing IS positions in 2014.

In the years since, the coalition has conducted about 34,000 air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Instead of committing large numbers of troops, the coalition combined its air campaign with training and advising to local forces.

The decision stemmed partly from the Iraq War, which saw more than 4,400 US troops die.

An American public wary of additional deployments did not want Obama recommitting more combat troops.

A French airman displaying the badge signifying "Operation Chammal," the French military operation within "Operation Inherent Resolve"

The strategy paid off fastest in Iraq, where a national military that had neared collapse in the face of the IS advance morphed into an army that ousted the jihadists from one city after another until retaking their stronghold of Mosul in 2017.

When Trump took office, he essentially continued Obama's strategy, albeit with tougher talk and looser constraints on air strikes.

"Overall, the US strategy was effective at pushing back the Islamic State," Daniel Byman, a senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, told AFP.

However, he noted, it has not solved the problem of local governance in Syria, where the grueling civil war gave rise to the conditions that allowed IS to blossom in the first place.

"So the Islamic State is remaining active -- hundreds of killings this month alone -- as an insurgency," Byman said.

The toll on US-backed local forces has been brutal, with thousands of Syrian and Iraqi fighters killed.

- 'It's just no' -

Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria has left Kurdish partners scrambling for safeguards, and they are hoping a "safe zone" in the north can provide them cover.

A US departure makes Kurdish fighters more vulnerable to attack by neighboring Turkey, which considers them to be "terrorists," and dashes their dreams of autonomy.

The New York-based Soufan Group, which compiles security assessments, cautioned against claims of beating IS.

That would "only serve to offer a false sense of security while showing that the United States remains out of touch with realities on the ground," Soufan said.

General Joseph Votel, who heads the US military's Central Command, said the military cannot take its eye off IS.

"The coalition's hard-won battlefield gains can only be secured by maintaining a vigilant offensive against a now largely disbursed and disaggregated (IS) that retains leaders, fighters, facilitators, resources and the profane ideology that fuels their efforts," said Votel, who is about to retire, adding that Trump never checked in with him about a Syria withdrawal.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has tried to convince skeptical allies to help secure Syria.

But "it is totally out of the question to have French troops on the ground without the Americans there," one French government source told AFP.

"It's just no."Now the Islamic State group's "caliphate" has fallen, the hard-won limited autonomy of Syria's Kurds will be left in peril if their key US ally goes ahead with its announced pullout.

On Saturday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced the end of the proto-state that the Sunni Arab extremist group declared across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

The Kurds have largely stayed out of Syria's eight-year civil war, instead building their own institutions in a third of the country under their control.

But a planned US military pullout has left them exposed to an attack by Turkey and in need of protection from Damascus, in a massive blow to their dreams of self-rule.

"The Kurds have been caught between a Syrian rock and a Turkish hard place," Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said.

Kurdish fighters have spearheaded the fight against IS since late 2014, but neighbouring Turkey views them as "terrorists".

The presence of American troops in areas held by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had acted as a shield against any Turkish offensive.

But US President Donald Trump in December shocked Washington's allies by announcing a full withdrawal of all 2,000 US troops from Syria as IS had been "beaten".

"The Kurds are facing an uncertain future. The most urgent threat appears to be from Turkey," analyst Mutlu Civiroglu said.

After his announcement, Trump attempted to ease tensions by speaking of a 30-kilometre (18-mile) "safe zone" on the Syrian side of the border.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country would establish the "security zone" itself if it took too long to implement.

- 'Recognition?' -

The Kurds have rejected any Turkish implementation, especially since any such buffer would include their major cities.

They are demanding instead the deployment of an international observer force.

"Kobane, Tal Abyad, Darbasiya, Qamishli, Dehik, Derbassiye -- most of the Kurdish cities are on the border line," Civiroglu said.

Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have led two previous offensives inside Syria, most recently seizing the northwestern enclave of Afrin from the Kurds last year.

Syria's civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

It has since spiralled into a complex conflict, with rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Russia emerging as key powerbrokers.

Beyond American approval, Civiroglu said Turkey would likely need a green light from Russia before any Turkish offensive in Syria.

"Russia's position is going to be very important, because Russia has a strong power over Turkey," he said.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime now controls two-thirds of Syria thanks to Russian military backing since 2015, and its seems determined to also return to oil-rich northeastern Syria.

To protect themselves, the Kurds have dispatched delegations to Washington and Moscow.

And in ongoing talks, they have scrambled to mend ties with Damascus.

After decades of marginalisation, the Kurds have developed their own political system in northeast Syria -- holding elections, collecting taxes and running schools teaching the Kurdish language.

"In a war-torn country, the Kurdish system is working fine," Civiroglu said.

"The Kurds want this to be recognised."

They want "Kurdish education to be offered officially", he said, after decades of an effective ban on their mother tongue.

- 'Carved up?' -

But talks so far have failed to bear fruit, and Balanche warns the Kurds are in a weak position.

"The regime is demanding an unconditional surrender. Damascus does not want to let them retain any autonomy," he said.

Syrian Defence Minister Ali Abdullah Ayoub said Monday that the government would recapture all areas held by the SDF "in one of two ways: a reconciliation agreement or... by force".

Although the end of the IS "caliphate" has been declared, IS is still present in eastern Syria's vast Badia desert.

The US Defence Department has warned that without sustained pressure on the jihadists, they could resurge in Syria within months.

In the end, the future of the Kurds mainly depends on the United States, says analyst Nicholas Heras of the Center for a New American Security.

"Every other actor in Syria cannot make a move until there is greater clarity on what the United States ultimately decides to do," he said.

And after any troop pullout, the United States could still stay on with a paramilitary force, he added.

"The best hope for the SDF is for the Americans and the coalition to stick it out in Syria for the long haul."

The White House has said that around 200 American "peace-keeping" soldiers would remain in northern Syria indefinitely.

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said he would be discussing with NATO partners the potential to establish an "observer force" in the area.US-backed fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces raise their flag in the Islamic State group's last redoubt of Baghouz as their commanders proclaim the total elimination of its "caliphate"

Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State group's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out diehard jihadists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria.

Fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces raised their yellow flag in Baghouz, the remote riverside village where jihadists from many countries made a desperate last stand.

The SDF's victory capped a deadly six-month operation against the final remnants of the "caliphate" which once stretched across a vast swathe of Iraq and Syria, and held seven million people in its sway.

World leaders hailed the victory as a major landmark in the fight against IS and its ideology, but warned that the group that spurred a spate of global terror attacks was far from defeated.

"Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS," spokesman Mustefa Bali said in a statement, using another acronym for IS.

US President Donald Trump hailed the announcement but vowed to remained "vigilant" as the military coalition his country led against IS said the fight "is far from over".

The defeat of Islamic State group

In Al-Omar, an oil field used by the SDF as a staging base, fighters laid down their weapons and broke into song and dance.

They joined top Kurdish and Arab tribal officials, as well as a leading US envoy, for a ceremony unveiling a monument to their fallen comrades and celebrating the landmark victory.

The state proclaimed in mid-2014 by fugitive IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi started collapsing in 2017 when parallel offensives in Iraq and Syria wrested back its main hubs Mosul and Raqa.

The nearly five years of fighting against the most brutal jihadist group in modern history left major cities in ruins and populations homeless.

- Foreigners last -

Fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, women prominent among them, celebrate victory after nearly five years of fighting the most brutal jihadist group in modern history

IS-held territory continued to shrink month after month and in September 2018 the SDF launched a final offensive on the last dregs of the "caliphate" in the Euphrates Valley.

SDF fighters last week expelled IS fighters who refused to surrender from an encampment on the edge of Baghouz and have since been hunting down a few survivors hiding on the reedy banks of the Euphrates River.

"Those who lasted the longest were mostly foreigners... Tunisians, Moroccans, Egyptians," Kurdish fighter Hisham Harun, 21, told AFP.

Suspected Islamic State group fighters, many of them wounded, file towards a screening point where they will be interrogated by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces

Around him, the former jihadist encampment was littered with bullet-riddled truck carcasses, discarded suicide belts and torn tents where the caliphate's last families sheltered for weeks.

Some bodies of suspected IS fighters could also be seen.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 630 civilians, 750 SDF fighters and around 1,600 jihadists were killed in the offensive.

Kurdish officers and aid groups were flummoxed by the number of people who poured out of Baghouz, a small village even few Syrians knew of until this year.

As SDF forces pummelled IS positions and US warplanes dropped huge payloads on the riverside village, tens of thousands of people fled over a rocky hill.

- Aid emergency -

Surrendering Islamic State group jihadists and their families flee through the arid hills around their last redoubt in biblical scenes that intensified daily

For weeks, the ghostly figures hobbled out of the besieged village, famished, often wounded but sometimes still defiantly proclaiming their support for IS.

The Kurdish-led force and foreign intelligence have screened more than 60,000 people since January, around 10 percent of them jihadists turning themselves in.

Most of the people evacuated from the smouldering ruins of Baghouz in recent days were relatives of IS members who now fill overcrowded camps further north in Syria's Kurdish-controlled region.

The biggest of them, Al-Hol, is struggling to host 74,000 people, including at least 25,000 school-aged children.

The displaced arrived in camps in their thousands famished, often wounded but sometimes still defiantly proclaiming their support for the Islamic State group

Among them are thousands of foreigners from more than 40 countries that are in most cases unwilling to take them back.

"The needs are huge and the camp is overwhelmed," International Committee of the Red Cross head Peter Maurer said Friday after a five-day visit to Syria.

- Still a threat -

Speaking at the ceremony in Al-Omar, top SDF commander Mazloum Kobane warned that a new phase had begun in anti-IS operations.

The US has vowed to draw down its forces in Syria, but Kobane appealed for sustained coalition assistance to help smash sleeper cells "which are a great threat to our region and the whole world".

The sheer number of displaced has threatened to overwhelm the capacity of the camps set up to accommodate them

US coalition envoy William Roebuck agreed and said "we still have much more to do to achieve an enduring defeat" of IS.

Trump vowed the United States would remain "vigilant... until it is finally defeated wherever it operates" and would continue to work with its partners "to totally crush radical Islamic terrorists".

The commander of anti-IS coalition forces, Lieutenant General Paul LaCamera, echoed him saying "now is not the time to rest".

"Make no mistake, Daesh is preserving their force," LaCamera said.

"They have made calculated decisions to preserve what is left of their dwindling personnel and capabilities by taking their chances in camps for internally displaced persons and going to ground in remote areas. They are waiting for the right time to reemerge."

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the fall of Baghouz, saying "a significant threat to our country" has been "eliminated", while British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke of "a historic milestone".

The jihadists retain a presence in eastern Syria's vast Badia desert and various other hideouts from which they could wage the kind of deadly guerrilla insurgency that accompanied the rise of the Islamic State group.

John Spencer, a scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point, warned that while the geographic caliphate had been dismantled, IS was far from defeated.

IS "is a terrorist organisation, all they have to do is put down their weapons and try to blend in with the population and just escape," he told AFP. "They're not gone, and they're not going to be gone."Islamic State jihadists in June 2014 proclaimed a "caliphate" across territory seized in Syria and Iraq, but have since lost one territory after another until the fall of a border village Saturday.

A timeline:

- Caliphate -

On June 29, 2014, jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) proclaim a "caliphate" led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi across territory the group seized in Syria and Iraq and rebrands itself the Islamic State (IS).

In Syria, ISIL had in January seized the northern city of Raqa from rebels.

It also controls a large part of the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, on the border with Iraq, as well as positions in the northern province of Aleppo.

In Iraq, where it is backed by former officers of late dictator Saddam Hussein and salafist groups, ISIL in June seizes Mosul and Sunni Arab areas bordering the autonomous Kurdistan region.

A badly prepared Iraqi army is routed without a fight.

Raqa and Mosul become the IS's two de-facto capitals.

In July, Baghdadi appears in a video posted on jihadist websites and calls on all Muslims everywhere to "obey" him.

- Atrocities -

In Raqa, the IS carries out beheadings, mass executions, rapes, abductions and ethnic cleansing. It stones to death women suspected of adultery and slaughters homosexuals.

Some of the atrocities are broadcast on video, which the jihadists use as a propaganda tool.

In Iraq, the group seizes the historic home of the Yazidi minority in Sinjar region, turning young children into soldiers and using thousands of women as sex slaves.

- Anti-jihadist coalition -

In August 2014, US warplanes strike IS positions in northern Iraq.

Washington then forms a coalition of more than 70 countries to fight the group in both Iraq and Syria. Washington deploys 5,000 soldiers.

- Defeats in Syria -

Backed by US-led air strikes, Kurdish forces in January 2015 drive the jihadists out of the city of Kobane, on the Turkish border.

In August 2016, a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recaptures Manbij in Aleppo province.

Backed by Turkish tanks and air force, rebels then retake Jarabulus, and then, in February 2017, Al-Bab, the last IS bastion in Aleppo province.

In March 2017, Syrian troops backed by Russian jets recapture the ancient desert town of Palmyra from the IS.

The oasis city had traded hands several times during the war and become a symbol of the jihadists' destruction of priceless cultural heritage in areas under their control.

In October 2017, the SDF announces the full recapture of Raqa city, the capital of the eponymous province.

In September 2018, the coalition launches an offensive against IS pockets in Deir Ezzor province.

On Saturday, March 23, the SDF announces the death of the caliphate after seizing total control of the last IS outpost in the village of Baghouz neighbouring Iraq.

- Defeats in Iraq -

In March 2015, Iraq announces the "liberation" of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The operation highlights the crucial role of Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shiite-dominated paramilitary group.

In November, coalition-backed Kurdish forces retake Sinjar.

In 2016, Anbar provincial capital Ramadi is recaptured and Iraqi forces retake Fallujah.

In July 2017, then Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declares victory in Mosul after a nearly nine-month offensive led by a federal force backed by coalition air strikes.

In August, the last major IS urban stronghold in northern Iraq, Tal Afar, is declared "liberated", as is the whole of Niniveh province.

On December 9, Abadi declares victory in Iraq's three-year war against the IS.

- Attacks -

The jihadists, however, carry out periodic attacks.

In January 2018, a double suicide attack leaves more than 30 dead in central Baghdad. The IS has since claimed several deadly attacks in Iraq.

In Syria on January 16, 2019, a routine US patrol is targeted by a IS suicide bomber at Manbij.

Ten civilians, five fighters from the Kurdish-Arab force and four Americans are killed.

Several days later in northeastern Hasakeh province, five are killed when a US-SDF convoy is attacked by a suicide bomber.Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, Americans Peter Kassig and James Foley, Japanese national Haruna Yukawa, US freelance writer Steven Sotloff and Britons Alan Henning and David Haines were among those taken hostage and killed by the Islamic State group

The Islamic State jihadist group executed a string of foreign hostages under its self-declared "caliphate" in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Here are some of them:

- American journalists -

On August 19, 2014, IS posts a video of its militants decapitating US freelance photojournalist James Foley, 40, who was seized in northern Syria in November 2012.

He is the first American journalist to be executed by the jihadists.

Foley was an experienced correspondent who had covered the war in Libya before heading to Syria to follow the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime for the Global Post, AFP and other outlets.

The video of Foley's killing also shows a second US reporter, Steven Sotloff, being paraded by a black-clad IS militant who warns that he too will be killed unless then-president Barack Obama halts air strikes on IS in Iraq.

Both Foley and Sotloff wear orange overalls similar to those that were worn by suspected jihadists detained by the US in Guantanamo in Cuba or Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

On September 2, 2014, the jihadists claim they have beheaded Sotloff, aged 31. Sotloff had spent years working in Muslim countries before being reportedly kidnapped in northern Syria in August 2013.

In the video accompanying the claim, he is shown on his knees in a desert landscape next to a masked man, armed with a knife.

The militant condemns the ongoing US strikes against IS and then introduces a second captive, Briton David Haines, and threatens to execute him too.

- US and British aid workers -

On September 13, 2014, IS says it has beheaded Haines, a 44-year-old aid worker.

He had been abducted in Syria in March 2013 while working for a Paris-based non-governmental organisation.

The jihadists reproach Britain for having joined the US-led coalition against them, and threaten to execute another British aid volunteer, Alan Henning.

On October 3, 2014, the extremist group in a video claims responsibility for 47-year-old Henning's beheading.

Henning, a former taxi driver, was abducted in late 2013 after he volunteered to drive into Syria with an unofficial humanitarian aid convoy to help displaced people.

IS jihadists then parade another hostage, American Peter Kassig, threatening to make him their next victim.

On November 16, 2014, IS says it has beheaded Kassig, 26.

A former soldier in Iraq, Kassig had founded an aid organisation in 2012 and taken the name Abdul Rahman after converting to Islam.

In a video said to be of his death, IS also says it has beheaded at least 18 men described as Syrian military personnel, the latest in a series of mass executions it has carried out in Syria and Iraq.

- Japanese killed -

On January 24, 2015, IS in a video claims to have executed Haruna Yukawa, 42.

A self-employed security contractor from Japan, he was seized in Syria in August 2014.

On January 31, 2015, the jihadist group announces the execution of respected Japanese war correspondent Kenji Goto, 47, abducted while searching for Yukawa in Syria.

- Jordanian burnt alive -

On February 3, 2015, the group releases a video showing a 26-year-old Jordanian fighter pilot, First Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh, being burnt alive inside a metal cage.

Kassasbeh was captured in December 2014 after his plane crashed in Syria.

Jordan, part of the international coalition battling IS, responded by intensifying its strikes against the group.

- Norwegian, Chinese victims -

On November 18, 2015, IS says it has killed Norwegian hostage Ole-Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, 48, and Chinese national Fan Jinghui, 50.

The announcement comes two months after the jihadist group demanded a ransom for the pair's release.

Grimsgaard-Ofstad was kidnapped shortly after his arrival in Syria in January the same year. IS presented the Chinese hostage as a consultant.

In its English-language Dabiq magazine, the IS shows the bodies of two men blindfolded.Thai hip-hop sensation Rap Against Dictatorship has weighed into Sunday's election with a caustic new song called "250 Bootlickers"

A golden statue of Thai premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha with the word "cheat" behind him looms over five rappers as they rip into junta "bootlickers", in a video gone viral on the eve of an election critics say is stacked to favour the generals.

Excitement is coursing through Thailand ahead of Sunday's vote, which will determine whether the army that grabbed power in 2014 can hold onto it through the ballot box.

Rival campaign convoys sent loud messages across Bangkok early Saturday in a last-minute dash for votes in what many analysts expect to be a cliffhanger election.

Thai hip-hop sensation Rap Against Dictatorship has also weighed in with a new caustic attack called "250 Bootlickers" -- aimed at a rubber-stamp upper house which will be instrumental in appointing the next prime minister.

General Prayut, who toppled the last civilian government, hopes to return as a civilian premier after Sunday's poll with the help of the Senate, whose members will be appointed by the junta's number two over the coming days.

Rival campaign convoys sent loud messages across Bangkok early Saturday in a last-minute dash for votes in what many analysts expect to be a cliffhanger election

The track, released late Friday on YouTube, has already been viewed nearly 114,000 times.

"Bootlickers, bootlickers... constitution of bootlickers," Liberate P raps in a coruscating chorus.

"Why bother campaigning when there is still the night of the howling dogs," another member says, referencing a Thai idiom for last-minute vote-buying.

Surrounding the rappers are symbols and statues, a who's who of Thai politics including billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Prayut -- all works by artist Headache Stencil known as "Thailand's Banksy".

Artists and musicians have been skewering the junta in increasingly bold ways as the election nears.

RAD's first song "What My Country's Got?" -- a indictment of military oppression -- garnered 60 million views and earned a rebuke from Prayut, though the rappers faced no legal censure.

"The new generation has a chance to bring change to the country," RAD's Hockhacker told AFP on Friday, adding the party he will vote for "is not supporting the junta".

Thailand's traditional split between Thaksin-aligned and pro-junta factions will be tested by new parties joining the fray

Thailand's traditional split between Thaksin-aligned and pro-junta factions will be tested by the entry of more than seven million first-time voters aged between 18 and 25, and new parties joining the fray.

The most prominent is Future Forward, led by telegenic billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who has commandeered the hearts of millennials with slick campaigns and calls to unwind junta power.

A commenter on RAD's video says he hopes the rappers' message "will reach Thai eligible voters... and I wish change would happen tomorrow".Nigeria's voting commission ordered the partial re-run because of electoral violence

Nigerians returned to vote in governorship and state elections on Saturday after polling a fortnight ago was declared invalid in some areas because of violence.

The decision by Nigeria's electoral board to void March 9 elections in six states came two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in a poll denounced by his main rival as fraudulent.

The INEC, the National Electoral Commission, said violence and other irregularities had prompted voting to be cancelled in some areas of Kano and Sokoto, in the northwest, Bauchi and Adamawa in the northwest, and the central states of Benue and Plateau.

Another poll, in Rivers state, had been suspended.

Around half a million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballot Saturday.

Results are expected from early next week.

The governorship races in the six states are closely fought between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

State parliamentary elections were also taking place across the country.

Tempers have been frayed since Buhari's re-election, with the defeated PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar challenging the result in an election tribunal and claiming that results in several states were manipulated.

Election observers meanwhile criticised the organisation and running of the governorship and state elections, as well as presidential and parliamentary polls on February 23, citing reports of vote buying and intimidation.

Situation Room, an umbrella group of more than 70 civil society organisations monitoring the vote, has called for an independent inquiry into the entire election process.

The PDP denounced INEC's decision to halt voting in affected states, claiming it was "clearly leading the (governorship) race," accusing INEC of collusion with the ruling party.

INEC was "seeking ways to use the situation to aid the APC to alter the results and announce APC candidates as winners", it said in a statement Monday.

Buhari's APC won 13 states in the governorship elections, with the PDP winning 9.

Regional elections are fiercely contested in Nigeria, where governors are powerful and influential figures, controlling state finances and responsible for key areas from education to health.

Buhari will hope to consolidate his re-election victory whilst the opposition PDP seeks to claw back power at the state level.Angry protesters demonstrate against neglect and corruption after 100 people were killed in a ferry capsize on the Tigris river, most of them women and children headed out of Iraq's second city Mosul for a mother's day picnic at Kurdish New Year

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi made a formal request to parliament on Saturday to fire the governor of Niniveh province where 100 people were killed in a ferry capsize.

Most of those killed in Thursday's sinking on the Tigris River were women and children headed out of Iraq's second city Mosul for a Mother's Day picnic on the Kurds' Nowruz New Year holiday.

In a letter to the speaker of parliament, Abdel Mahdi said there was clear evidence of "negligence and concrete failings" that merited a vote on dismissing governor Nawfel Akoub.

"An ongoing investigation has found evidence of the misuse of public funds and the fraudulent abuse of his office," the prime minister alleged.

Akoub has already been subjected to the anger of victims' relatives and their supporters over alleged corruption and cronyism.

When he visited the scene of the tragedy on Friday stones were throw at his convoy by protesters demonstrating against perceived corruption and neglect.

There is widespread anger in Mosul at the slow pace of reconstruction since the city's recapture from the Islamic State group in 2017 by Iraqi troops backed by a US-led coalition.

The city still bears the scars of three years of iron-fisted rule by the jihadists who made it their "caliphate's" de facto capital.

Survivors of Thursday's disaster were treated in hospitals heavily damaged by the months-long military campaign against IS.Jet Airways, India's number two carrier by market share, says it has been badly hit by fluctuating global crude prices, a weak rupee and fierce competition from budget rivals

India's debt-laden Jet Airways has grounded seven more planes after failing to pay for its aircraft leases, heaping pressure on its founder as a ballooning crisis threatens its survival.

The beleaguered airline, gasping under debts of more than $1 billion, had grounded six planes earlier this week, and is also facing the threat of strike action over salary payments.

In a statement late Friday announcing the latest groundings, the airline said it was "making all efforts to minimise disruption to its network ... and is proactively informing and re-accommodating its affected guests".

The Mumbai-based airline has now been left with just a quarter of its fleet of 119 aircraft in operation.

Jet, which employs more than 20,000 people, has also been facing pressure from pilots who have not been paid on time, with unions threatening they will walk off the job if salaries do not arrive soon.

The airline, India's number two carrier by market share, says it has been badly hit by fluctuating global crude prices, a weak rupee and fierce competition from budget rivals.

In February, it secured a $1.19 billion bailout from lenders including State Bank of India to bridge a funding gap.

But the crisis has since deepened due to a stalemate in talks between Jet founder Naresh Goyal and the airline's other major stakeholder, Etihad Airline.

Local media said Saturday hope was fading that Goyal would be able to raise the funds needed to save the airline he launched 26 years ago.

"Banks may wait for a couple of days and if Goyal is unable to do the needful, the former will ask him to quit from the board with his nominees," the Times of India daily quoted sources as saying.

A spokesman for Jet however told AFP the carrier was hopeful of "successfully resolving the current situation in the coming days."

The airline and its key stakeholders were working towards finalising a bank-led plan to "ensure that the airline emerges financially strong and resilient".Apple CEO Tim Cook has been a critic of the US-China trade war that has spooked global markets

Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Saturday urged China to keep opening up its economy as local rivals bit into the profits of the US tech giant caught in the crosshairs of a trade spat between Beijing and Washington.

"We have seen China continue to change and evolve... We encourage China to continue to open up," he said during a speech at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday.

"We see that as essential not only for China to reach its full potential, but also for the global economy to thrive."

Apple in January revealed that it took a hit in the "Greater China" region, where revenue plunged almost 27 percent in the most recent quarter.

The dip had been expected following the company's revenue warning in December, where Apple admitted that iPhone sales and overall earnings would be below most forecasts, citing economic weakness in China and trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

Lower priced local rivals such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have also been nibbling at the California tech giant's market share in China.

Cook has been a critic of the US-China trade war that has spooked global markets. Last year, he used the China Development Forum as a venue to urge leaders of China and the US to let "calm heads prevail" and to avoid an escalation of tariffs.

Most of Apple's flagship products are assembled in China, leaving the California tech giant acutely vulnerable to Trump's tariffs.

During his speech on Saturday, Cook called for partnerships based on "openness and trust" where world players can work together to solve some of the biggest problems facing the planet including poverty, inequality and climate change.The cyclone death toll has risen in Mozambique

The death toll in Mozambique has climbed to 417 after a cyclone devastated swathes of the southern African country, flooding thousands of square kilometres (miles), the government said Saturday.

Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique on Friday last week, unleashing hurricane-force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and drenched eastern Zimbabwe.

"At this time 417 deaths have been recorded," Lands and Environment Minister Celso Correia told reporters in the port city of Beira.

The new numbers take the combined death toll of the two neighbouring countries to 676.

Nearly 90,000 Mozambicans have been moved into shelters, while thousands of others are still stranded in floodwaters.

The government estimates that around one million people have been affected by the storm.

"We are living an unprecedented natural disaster. A disaster that only matches major disasters," the minister said.

"Unfortunately no one in the region and in the world could predict a disaster of this size," he said as the UN stepped up calls for aid for the ravaged and impoverished country.Ardern has been widely praised for her handling of the tragedy which left 50 Muslims dead

Dubai has projected the image of New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern onto its iconic Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper, in thanks for her response to last week's mosque shootings.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum praised Ardern's "support to the Muslim community" after a white supremacist gunman attacked two mosques on March 15, killing 50 people.

"Thank you PM @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world," he wrote on Twitter.

A photo from Dubai's Public Diplomacy Office showed Burj Khalifa lit up with a picture of Ardern in a hijab, warmly embracing a Muslim affected by the tragedy, under the word "peace" in Arabic and English.

Ardern has been widely praised for her handling of the tragedy, meeting victims' families and moving quickly to tighten gun laws while calling for global efforts against extremism online.The yellow flag of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces billows over the Islamic State group's last redoubt of Baghouz after the jihadist black flag is finally torn down

It once flew over a chunk of the Middle East larger than Britain but on Saturday the Islamic State group's sinister black banner lay crumpled in the dust of its final bastion.

A few metres from the reedy banks of the mighty Euphrates, what was likely one of the last flags of the "caliphate" had been torn and trampled.

Near it was one of at least 10 discarded explosives belts spotted by AFP reporters in the last strip of land conquered by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

In a small and remote village near the Iraqi border, the nightmare of the "Islamic caliphate" has ended.

The encampment on the edge of the village of Baghouz where the jihadists made their last stand is a churned-up wasteland of tents and truck carcasses.

Just days ago, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were still locked in deadly fighting with diehard jihadists of the Islamic State group

Music rings out from one of the SDF cars, and the applause of male and female fighters echoes across the hills surrounding the fallen jihadist encampment.

"Three days ago we clutched our weapons, trying to break forward even a few metres," a fighter called Rami says.

But "now we've finished with IS and its black banner and we've hoisted our own instead," the 33-year-old tells AFP.

On the rooftop of a battle-scarred building near the Euphrates, a large yellow SDF flag now flies in the breeze.

A small group of fighters have already removed their military uniforms, to slip on jeans, tracksuits and sandals.

- 'Get married' -

Just two days ago, they were combing the camp for holdout jihadists, when suddenly three suicide bombers jumped out from a tunnel wearing explosives belts.

Now after nearly five years of combat in which they suffered heavy losses, the SDF's fighters can celebrate victory over one of the world's most brutal and feared adversaries

"They were running, we were scared. We killed one, and the other two blew themselves up," says a 25-year-old fighter who gives his name as Ashkarani.

A fellow fighter was wounded and he had to carry him off to their armoured vehicle for evacuation, says the fighter from a small village in the wider province of Deir Ezzor says.

His wounded comrade is now in the Kurdish-held city of Qamishli further north and recovering, he says.

"It was just a light wound," adds Ashkarani, wearing a track suit rolled up above his ankles and sandals on his feet.

When victory was declared, he emptied his last cartridge into the air.

"We put music on. We started to dance," one of his friends interjects, laughing.

Now the victorious SDF fighters can look foward to returning to their families and even marriage as they celebrate with a Kurdish line dance

Ashkarani has already told his fiancee he and his comrades have finally won after a grinding months-long battle.

"I told her we'd finished and and we were coming home. She was happy," he says.

"We're expecting to get married in 10 or 20 days time."

At the foot of a hill, only charred cars and abandoned canvas remain of the cross-border "caliphate" that the extremist group declared in 2014 across large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

- Tunisians, Moroccans -

Amid the skeletons of scorched vehicles, sheets, plastic carpets and thick blankets flap in the wind, once hastily thrown over metal rods or even trees to form makeshift tents.

Some cover deep trenches dug out in the ground.

In one jihadist bastion after another, the black flag of the Islamic State group has been torn down, including here in Iraq's second city Mosul where it declared its "caliphate" in 2014

Behind them, the jihadists have left saucepans, plastic basins -- even a stove.

Ripped clothes cling onto the side of parched, brittle bushes.

All around, there are sedans, mini-buses, even water tankers. Their mangled bodywork and those windscreens that have survived are riddled with bullet holes.

Just moments before the SDF announced victory, the crackle and thud of mortar fire and the whistle of sniper bullets still sounded from the front line.

A plume of smoke spiralled into the sky.

Hisham Haroun, 21, says the SDF's best fighters were called in for the last two days of battle.

For the defeated jihadists of the Islamic State group, an uncertain future beckons as they are marched off to prison while their women and children are crammed into displacement camps

"We needed military expertise equivalent" to that of the last IS holdouts, says the young fighter, still in his camouflage fatigues.

"Those who held out until the end were mainly foreigners -- Tunisians, Moroccans, and Egyptians."The Shabaab attackers died in a shootout as government forces fought back

An attack involving gunmen and bomb blasts on a complex housing government ministries in Somalia's capital killed at least 11 people on Saturday, including the deputy labour minister, officials said.

Claimed by the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, the assault was a sign of the insurgency's continued ability to strike at the heart of Somalia's government, despite years of foreign military support for Mogadishu.

The fighting began with two blasts at the gates of the complex housing the labour and works ministries.

Police say at least four gunmen then stormed the buildings, leading to a shootout as officers rushed to confront the attackers.

"The death toll reached eleven, three of them women, and the number of wounded is 15," said Abdukadir Abdirahman Adan, director of Mogadishu's Aamin ambulance service.

Senator Ilyas Ali Hassan confirmed that Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, the deputy minister for labour and social affairs, was also killed.

"I cannot elaborate on how he died but I can confirm that he was killed inside the ministry building," Hassan said.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed said all the gunmen were killed.

"There were some other casualties including members of the police," he said, without elaborating.

- Siege attacks -

Attacks that combine bombings with gunmen have become a speciality of the Al-Qaeda linked group, which is running an armed insurrection against what it sees as heretic and foreign influence in Somalia.

The group emerged from Islamic Courts that once controlled central and southern Somalia and are variously estimated to number between 5,000 and 9,000 men.

In 2010 the Shabaab declared their allegiance to Al-Qaeda. The following year, the group were chased out of Mogadishu by the 22,000-strong African Union peace-enforcement mission, AMISOM.

They have since lost many of their strongholds but retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to wage a guerrilla war, frequently hitting Mogadishu.

In October 2017 a truck bombing in a busy neighbourhood of the capital killed over 500 people, the deadliest attack in Somalia to date.

- Targeting Kenya -

Among Al-Shabaab's adversaries is the US military, which has killed over 800 people in airstrikes targeting the insurgents over the last two years.

This week Amnesty International released a report challening the US's claim that the airtrikes only killed "terrorists."

Amnesty researchers say at least 14 civilians were killed in US bombings. The US military denied the report.

The have also carried out a string of attacks in Kenya since 2011.

The deadliest of these took place on April 2, 2015 when 148 people were killed at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya.

In 2013, a raid on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall left 67 dead in a siege that unfolded over four days. And in January this year, 14 people were killed in a -claimed attack on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi.An SDF flag flies over a building in what had been the Islamic State group's last territorial bastion of Baghouz in eastern Syria

The top military commander in Syria's autonomous Kurdish region urged Damascus on Saturday to choose the path of dialogue after his forces sealed a key victory over the Islamic State group.

"We call on the central government in Damascus to prefer the process of dialogue," Mazloum Kobane, the overall commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said in a statement.

He read part of the statement at a ceremony to pay homage to his fallen comrades and celebrate the capture of Baghouz, the very last pocket of territory held by IS, which SDF forces took after weeks of fighting.

The statement urged the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "start practical steps to reach a political solution based on the recognition" of autonomous institutions and of the SDF's special status.

Syria's eight-year conflict has seen the country's Kurds carve out a large de facto autonomous region in the oil-rich northeast.

The Kurdish-dominated SDF has acted as the ground force of the US-led military coalition that intervened in Syria and Iraq in September 2014 to counter the expansion of IS.

The following year, a Russian military intervention helped Assad claw back key territories from rebels who had seized them in the country's 2011 uprising.

His government now controls about two thirds of Syria, but the northeast remains under the control of US-backed Kurdish-led forces.

Washington has however said it would significantly downscale its military footprint after the defeat of IS.

That has left the Kurds exposed to threats by the regime and Turkey, which fears its own Kurdish population could be encouraged to seek further autonomy.

The Syrian defence minister has issued a clear warning that Damascus had no intention of allowing the United States to maintain its influence over the area.

"The only card that remains in the hands of the Americans and their allies is" the SDF, Ali Ayoub said on Monday.

"The Syrian government will deal with this issue in one of two ways: a reconciliation agreement or liberating the territory (controlled by the SDF) by force," he said.

The SDF also urged Ankara to seek dialogue.

The Turkish government considers the Kurdish component of the SDF a "terrorist" organisation linked to Turkey-based Kurdish militants, and has repeatedly threatened a cross-border military offensive.Algerian lawyers demonstrate against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the centre of the capital Algiers on March 23, 2019

Around a thousand Algerian lawyers demonstrated Saturday in the capital calling for regime change in the North African country, where veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to stay in power has sparked weeks of protests.

The demonstration, coinciding with National Lawyer's Day in Algeria, came a day after hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Algiers and across the country, for the fifth consecutive Friday, to keep the pressure on Bouteflika to quit.

Chanting "we're fed up" with this government and calling on the political system to "go away", the lawyers, wearing their black robes, waved Algerian flags and held up placards saying "no to a violation of the constitution".

Bouteflika said on February 22 he would run for a fifth term in April 18 elections, despite concerns about his ability to rule.

The 82-year-old uses a wheelchair and has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

On March 11, after returning home from medical checkups in Switzerland, he made the surprise announcement that he was pulling out of the race -- and also postponed the polls.

Protesters initially greeted the move with elation, but since then they have staged further mass demonstrations after realising he intends to remain in office.

On Saturday, lawyers from across the country rallied in a square outside the main post office in Algiers which has become the emblematic gathering for demonstrations.

"We're here to say 'game over'," said veteran attorney Noureddine Benissad, who is also a human rights defender.

"We are opposed to a transition carried out by (those in power). Change and transition must happen now," he added.

Another lawyer, Nora Ghidouche, said the demonstrators "represent the people in the face of the law and the people are demanding change".

The protesters broke though a police cordon to march in the city centre before wrapping up the demonstration by midday without incident.

Newspapers were meanwhile hopeful on Saturday that change was on its way in Algeria.

"The ship is sinking," and "its occupants and crew will abandon it in the coming weeks" said El Watan newspaper, while the Liberte daily echoed it saying "the end is near".

Authorities have pledged to hold a "national conference" to discuss reforms, followed by a referendum on a new constitution and eventually the election of a new president.Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrated his election victory last month, but the violence that marred some polls that have had to be re-run appeared to have returned Saturday

Violence and voter intimidation once again marred polls in Nigeria Saturday, as voters tried to take part in re-run governorship and state elections already postponed once because of unrest.

An opposition spokesman said some of their agents had been killed in the violence and called on election officials to cancel the vote again.

Armed men armed with machetes, knives and cudgels took over polling stations, assaulting observers and journalists in Kano, northwest Nigeria.

In Gama ward in Kano, men wielding machetes, daggers and cudgels invaded several polling stations, an AFP reporter saw, forcing voters to flee.

In the nearby towns of Bichi and Gaya armed youths dispersed voters and thumb-printed ballot papers in favour of the ruling APC, voters and party agents said.

Similar reports emerged in other states such as the north eastern Bauchi, where elections are being held.

Gama ward is seen as a decider in the re-run election. The opposition PDP said it was leading the ruling APC when the last vote was cancelled.

Journalists and observers at polling units in Gama were attacked by the armed men, an AFP reporter saw, with police saving at least one journalist from assault.

The acting chairman of the PDP in Kano, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi on Saturday called on INEC to cancel the elections.

"As I address you now, we have reports that some of our agents have been killed, vehicles burnt, property destroyed," he said.

- 'Democracy in trouble' -

The director for the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, condemned Saturday's violence in these key wards. The violence would "raise questions of the legitimacy" of the results, she said.

"Journalists and observers have been intimidated" because of a "win at all costs mentality" from politicians, she said. "Democracy is in trouble in Nigeria."

The original elections a fortnight ago were declared invalid in some areas by Nigeria's electoral board because of violence and disruption.

Tension was high in states such as Kano, where the result was finely balanced heading into today's poll between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to void March 9 elections in six states came two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term. His main rival Atiku Abubakar denounced the results as "a sham".

INEC said violence and other irregularities had prompted voting to be cancelled in some areas of Kano and Sokoto, in the northwest; Bauchi and Adamawa in the northwest; and the central states of Benue and Plateau.

A legal challenge, however, meant that the planned election in Adamawa did not go ahead Saturday, leaving five states to vote in the re-run.

- Disputed elections -

Political tensions have frayed in Nigeria since Buhari's re-election. Abubakar, the defeated PDP candidate, has challenged the result in an election tribunal, claiming that the results in several states were manipulated.

Election observers, citing reports of vote buying and intimidation, have criticised the organisation and running of the governorship and state elections, as well as the February 23 presidential and parliamentary polls.

Situation Room, an umbrella group of more than 70 civil society organisations monitoring the vote, has called for an independent inquiry into the entire election process.

The opposition PDP denounced INEC's decision to halt voting in affected states, claiming it was "clearly leading the (governorship) race," accusing INEC of collusion with the ruling party.

Regional elections are fiercely contested in Nigeria, where governors are powerful and influential figures, controlling state finances and responsible for key areas from education to health.

Buhari will hope to consolidate his re-election victory whilst the opposition PDP seeks to claw back power at the state level.

A seventh poll, in Rivers state, is to be run next month. The original count there was also suspended because of violence, INEC said.Chad's president Idriss Deby (pictured December 2018) fired his armed forces chief of staff and his two deputies by presidential decree after six years in the post, just hours after the attack in the southwest of the country

Chad President Idriss Deby has fired his armed forces chief of staff following the latest bout of unrest which culminated in a Boko Haram attack that left 23 dead.

Deby fired Brahim Seid Mahamat and his two deputies by presidential decree after six years in the post Friday night just hours after the attack in the southwest of the country.

The soldiers were killed after coming under attack from jihadists in the early hours of Friday morning in the deadliest attack on the Chadian military by Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in Nigeria a decade ago.

The unrest has spread to neighbouring Niger and Chad with the Boko Haram revolt to date claiming more than 27,000 lives and uprooting more than 1.7 million people.

Friday's attack took place at Dangdala, on the northeastern bank of Lake Chad.

Thursday had seen another attack by the group kill eight civilians at Karidi in southeastern Niger in the Diffa region bordering Lake Chad, The area is one of the worst-hit areas for jihadist attacks in Niger.

Troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have been grouped into a multi-national force to fight Boko Haram.

Deby's reorganisation of security -- which included the suspension of the air force chief and his deputy -- saw army chief of staff Taher Erda take the top job with a general from the northeastern region of Tibesti made chief advisor on national defence issues.

Erda is a Deby loyalist and former police chief who fought alongside the president before he took power in 1990.

The air force suspensions followed the discovery of debris from an helicopter which went missing more than a week ago in the north.

The sparsely populated, mainly desert region near the border with Sudan, Libya and Niger is volatile prone to attack from Chadian rebel groups based across the Libyan border.

In late January, France pounded Chadian rebels who had crossed back into their country from Libya to halt their incursion.Druze residents on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights wave Syrian and Druze flags as they protest against US President Donald Trump's pledge to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau on March 23, 2019

Druze on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday took to the streets in protest at US President Donald Trump's pledge to recognise the Jewish state's sovereignty there.

Trump broke with decades of US Middle East policy, and longstanding international consensus, when he posted a Tweet on Thursday that said it was time to accept Israel's widely-contested claim to the strategic plateau.

Tens of thousands of Syrians fled or were expelled when Israel seized part of the Golan during the 1967 Six-Day War, subsequently annexing it in 1981.

Some remained, however, and today around 23,000 Druze -- an offshoot of Shiite Islam who also live in Lebanon -- reside in the Israeli-controlled sector, alongside 25,000 Israeli settlers.

The vast majority of these Druze see themselves as Syrians, refusing to take Israeli nationality.

On Saturday Druze men, women and children rallied in the town of Majdal Shams, adjacent to the armistice line between the Golan's Israeli and Syrian-controlled sectors.

They waved Druze and Syrian flags and carried pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Others carried banners in Arabic reading, "The Golan is Syrian" and "We are the ones who decide Golan's identity".

Wasef Khatar, a Druze community representative, said Trump was making commitments on "Arab, Syrian land, not Israeli".

"We reject the decision of the American president Trump because he is talking about something he doesn't own," he said in Arabic.

Trump's move was hinted at a week ago when the US State Department changed its description of the area from "occupied" to "Israeli-controlled".

It is yet to be made operative by an act of Congress or an executive order.The government has denied it plans to expel residents of Warraq to make way for a luxury investment project

An Egyptian court on Saturday referred to experts the case of Nile islanders seeking to avoid eviction by the government, a defence lawyer said.

The ruling by the administrative court comes nearly two years after Egyptian authorities moved to demolish "illegal" buildings on Warraq island, across from central Cairo.

The operation triggered violent clashes between residents and security forces, with at least one person being killed before the campaign was suspended.

The government maintains its actions were aimed at removing "encroachments" on state property, in order to develop the impoverished island.

Authorities claim illegal buildings have created an informal residential area which should be cleared, although officials deny the plans are intended to make way for a luxury investment project.

Many of Warraq's residents insist they hold legal property contracts and took the case to court to challenge the government's decision.

Saturday's ruling is "a preliminary procedure that would allow experts to check the veracity of the residents' appeal claims," said defence lawyer Sayed Ibrahim.

The legal proceedings will take months and a verdict is not expected until after June, Ibrahim said.

The fate of the islanders has drawn the attention of the United Nations' expert on housing rights, Leilani Farha.

"The government has expressed an interest in initiating luxury developments throughout Cairo," she said in October after a visit to Egypt.

"There is concern that the island... will fall prey to this vision."

She has since criticised "new expropriations and home demolitions", triggering charges from the government of "unfounded allegations" over its housing policies.A man sits near a portrait of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and an electoral poster at a local district office in Bangkok on the eve of the first general election since a 2014 coup

Thailand's king issued a rare statement late Saturday hours before the junta-run country's first election in nearly five years, quoting his late father's advice to support "good" leaders to prevent "chaos".

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's last-minute intervention comes less than two months after a royal command torpedoed the candidacy of his elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The party was later dissolved by a court, a fresh chapter of intrigue in the politically combustible country.

Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup -- and went into self-exile two years later -- but his affiliated parties have won every Thai election since.

On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honour at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin's daughter -- with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral.

The unscheduled palace statement featured remarks by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to "support good people to govern the society and control the bad people" to prevent them from "creating chaos."

Vajiralongkorn urged the public to "remember and be aware" of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016.

The message comes a few hours before Thais are set to vote for the first time since a 2014 coup.

The king called on the general public, the military, police and civil service to heed the words of his father.

"His majesty is concerned about the stability of the nation, the feelings and happiness of the people," the statement added.

The election pits a royalist junta and its allies against the Shinawatra's successful electoral machine and an unpredictable wave of millennial voters, whose political loyalties are unknown.

The junta-party, which is proposing army chief turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha for civilian prime minister after the polls, is under intense pressure to perform well in what is effectively a referendum on its popularity.

Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck in 2014 -- the twelfth successful coup by the army in less than a century.

The ruling junta has written new rules for this election aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties -- specifically the Shinawatras' election-winning Pheu Thai -- can win.

Pheu Thai is expected to again sweep up the north and northeastern heartlands as it seeks to head an anti-junta coalition.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. But the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.

burs-joe/apj/rmaA man sits near a portrait of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and an electoral poster at a local district office in Bangkok on the eve of the first general election since a 2014 coup

Thailand's king issued a cryptic statement late Saturday hours before polls open for the country's first general election since a 2014 coup, quoting his late father's advice to support "good" leaders to prevent "chaos".

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's last-minute intervention comes less than two months after another royal command torpedoed the candidacy of his elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The king called the move to bring his sister into politics "highly inappropriate", as the monarchy is ostensibly above the political fray.

The party was later dissolved by a court, a fresh chapter of intrigue in the politically combustible country.

Thaksin, a divisive telecoms tycoon, was ousted in a 2006 coup and went into self-exile two years later.

But his affiliated parties have won every Thai election since, drawing on huge loyalty from rural and urban poor.

On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honour at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin's daughter -- with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral.

The unscheduled palace statement featured remarks by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to "support good people to govern the society and control the bad people" to prevent them from "creating chaos."

Vajiralongkorn urged the public to "remember and be aware" of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016.

The message comes a few hours before Thais are set to vote in a national election for the first time since the 2014 coup -- the twelfth by the army in less than a century.

The king called on the general public, the military, police and civil service to heed the words of his father.

"His majesty is concerned about the stability of the nation, the feelings and happiness of the people," the statement added.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. But the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.

The turbulent kingdom remains bitterly divided despite the junta's pledge to rescue the country from a decade-long treadmill of political instability, protests and coups.

Sunday's election pits a royalist junta and its allies against the Shinawatras' polished electoral machine and an unpredictable wave of millennial voters, whose political loyalties are unknown.

Shortly after the king's statement the top trending hashtag on Thai Twitter was #oldenoughtochooseourselves.

-- Numbers game --

The junta-party, which is proposing army chief turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha for civilian prime minister after the polls, is under intense pressure to avoid humiliation on Sunday in what is effectively a referendum on its popularity.

Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck in 2014.

The army and its allies in the Bangkok elite loathe the Shinawatras, accusing the clan of toxifying Thai politics and society with money, nepotism and graft.

The Shinawatras say they have simply recognised the economic and democratic aspirations of the majority of Thais, reflected in their landslide election wins.

This time the ruling junta has written new election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties -- specifically the Shinawatras' main election vehicle Pheu Thai -- can win.

Pheu Thai is expected to again sweep up the north and northeastern heartlands as it seeks to head an anti-junta coalition.

A 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have manoeuvered Prayut and the junta party -- Phalang Pracharat -- into pole position.

With senate votes in hand, the party needs just 126 lower house seats to secure a parliamentary majority. It can cross that line comfortably with alliances with smaller parties.

Pheu Thai, however, needs 376 lower house seats to command an overall majority -- near impossible without complex tie-ups across pro-democracy factions.

"A deadlock is very likely," political scientist Napisa Waitoolkiat of Naresuan University told AFP.

New demographic forces have complicated the normal split between pro-and anti-Shinawatra factions.

Seven million millennials are eligible to vote for the first time.

Voter turnout is expected to be high among a public weary of junta rule.

burs-joe/apj/rmaRafi Eitan attends a cabinet meeting in 2006

Former Mossad spy Rafi Eitan, who commanded the audacious 1960 capture of top Nazi Adolf Eichmann, died on Saturday aged 92, Israeli public radio announced.

Eitan, the handler for Jonathan Pollard, a US Navy analyst who passed Israel thousands of top secret documents, was himself wanted by American authorities for a time.

He died in the afternoon at Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital, the radio said, without giving further details.

"Rafi was one of the heroes of the state of Israel's intelligence service in countless acts for Israel's security," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We mourn his passing."

Eitan also won a rare eulogy from the Shin Bet domestic security service, for whom he had worked.

"Rafi, who was one of the founders of the Shin Bet's operations branch, led and participated in dozens of groundbreaking operations that will remain unknown for many years to come," agency chief Nadav Argaman wrote in a statement.

"We grieve at his passing and are proud to continue on his path."

Eitan was born on a kibbutz in British-ruled Palestine in November 1926.

He was nicknamed "Rafi the Stinker" after he fell into a sewer during a military operation prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948.

After his service in the elite Palmach arm of the paramilitary Haganah organisation, the forerunner of the Israeli army, he joined Mossad in the 1950s.

He rose to become the agency's operations chief, commanding the operation to snatch Eichmann in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires and smuggle him to Israel.

The mastermind of the Nazis' Final Solution, Eichmann was then tried and hanged.

The ability of the security services to bring him to justice was a source of pride for the Jewish state, which President Reuvin Rivlin called a momentous moment in Israel's history.

In the 1980s, Eitan's name came into the spotlight in a major crisis between Israel and key ally the United States.

He was the handler for Jonathan Pollard, a US marine analyst who handed thousands of top secret documents over to Israel between May 1984 and his arrest in November 1985.

Pollard served 30 years in a US prison. He was freed in November 2015 but given a five-year probation period during which he is barred from travelling.

The FBI had also issued an arrest warrant against Eitan, Pollard's handler.

In 2006, at the age of 79, he was elected to Israel's parliament as head of the Pensioners' Party and appointed minister for senior citizens.

"I had a heart operation a year ago, I can't see anything and I can't hear anything, but I run every morning, I sculpt and my wife says I'm doing well," Eitan said on becoming a lawmaker.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement Saturday evening that Eitan "was a born fighter who stuck to his mission and to what he knew to be right."

"Our heads are bowed today in his memory," he said.US President Donald Trump warned youths not to be swayed by propaganda of the Islamic State group, otherwise "you will be dead."

President Donald Trump hailed the end of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" Saturday, vowing that the United States would remain "vigilant" against the diehard jihadists.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces' victory in the remote riverside village of Baghouz, where IS made its last stand, capped a six-month operation against the final remnants of IS-controlled territory that once stretched across a vast swathe of Iraq and Syria, with seven million people in its sway.

"We will remain vigilant... until it is finally defeated wherever it operates," Trump said of IS in a statement.

"The United States will defend American interests whenever and wherever necessary. We will continue to work with our partners and allies to totally crush radical Islamic terrorists."

Trump also had a warning for youths who can easily be swayed.

"To all of the young people on the internet believing in ISIS's Propaganda, you will be dead if you join. Think instead about having a great life," he said, using an alternative acronym for the jihadist movement.

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan welcomed the "critical milestone," but warned that "our work is far from complete."

"We will continue our work with the global coalition to deny ISIS safe haven anywhere in the world," he said.

"We remain committed to ISIS's enduring defeat and we are confident that we will prevail."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, Jr added that "the US military remains committed to working closely with our Coalition and regional partners to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS."

The jihadists retain a presence in eastern Syria's vast Badia desert and various other hideouts from which they could wage the kind of deadly guerrilla insurgency that accompanied the rise of IS.

While the geographic caliphate has been dismantled, analysts warn remnants of the group can melt back in to the population while seeking to convert others to their ideology.Bongo Ondimba had spent several months in Morocco recovering from illness

President Ali Bongo Ondimba flew home to Gabon Saturday after several months in Morocco recovering from illness.

He flew back into Libreville on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his wife Sylvia, to be welcomed by Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale and senior members of the government.

Several thousand people also turned out at the airport to greet the president after the ruling Democratic Party announced his return and called for a warm reception. They were marshalled by a strong police presence.

Bongo, walking slowly with the aid of a stick, raised first one arm and then the other to greet them, an AFP journalist noted.

Since he suffered a stroke on October 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia, Bongo had previously only been back to Gabon for two brief visits.

His prolonged absence stoked concern about power vacuum, apparently sparking a brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers on January 7.

Bongo took office after an election in 2009 that followed the death of his father, former president Omar Bongo, who took office in 1967.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (pictured February 2019) said building work on a storage facility for US military equipment in Poland will start later in 2019 and is expected to take two years

NATO on Saturday confirmed it plans a storage facility for US military equipment in Poland, as the alliance steps up its defences in the face of increased Russian assertiveness.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the $260 million facility will be located in Powidz, some 200 km (120 miles) west of Warsaw, and will house armoured vehicles, ammunition and weapons for a brigade.

Building work will start later this year and is expected to take two years, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told the Journal. A NATO official confirmed the report was accurate.

NATO has increased defences along its eastern flank in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea and its role in the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Battlegroups have been deployed in the three Baltic states as well as Poland and NATO has launched an overhaul of its command structure and is taking steps to improve how quickly it can move troops and equipment around Europe in case of incursion.

The practice of "pre-positioning" equipment in strategic locations is also aimed at making it easier to deploy resources quickly in a crisis.

Stoltenberg told the Journal the new facility would "underpin the increased US presence in Poland".

Poland's government has been beefing up its military ties with the US, last month agreeing to buy American mobile rocket launchers worth $414 million and a year ago signing a $4.75 billion contract for a US-made Patriot anti-missile system.

Warsaw has also been pushing for the US to open a permanent military base. Nearly 5,000 American troops are already stationed on a rotational basis as part of NATO operations.Supporters of Chelsea Manning say she is being held in 'solitary confinement' in an Alexandria, Virginia detention center

Chelsea Manning, the anti-secrecy campaigner who was jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks, has been held in solitary confinement for over two weeks, supporters said Saturday.

Since being sent to a detention center in Alexandria, Virginia earlier this month, "Chelsea has been placed in administrative segregation... a term designed to sound less cruel than 'solitary confinement,'" the Chelsea Resists group said.

"However, Chelsea has been kept in her cell for 22 hours a day.

"Chelsea can't be out of her cell while any other prisoners are out, so she cannot talk to other people, or visit the law library, and has no access to books or reading material. She has not been outside for 16 days," they added.

"Keeping her under these conditions for over 15 days amounts to torture, possibly in an attempt to coerce her into compliance with the Grand Jury."

Manning, who was convicted in 2013 of leaking more than 700,000 classified US documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks, was ruled in contempt of court on March 8 after rejecting a court demand that she testify in the WikiLeaks probe.

The transgender woman, 31, cited "ethical" objections to the grand jury system.

"I will not participate in a secret process that I morally object to, particularly one that has been historically used to entrap and persecute activists for protected political speech," she said at the time.

The Chelsea Resists group said confinement was having a toll on her mental health, evoking her experience when in 2013, as then-Army Private Bradley Manning, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

At that time she spent time in solitary and attempted suicide twice, before her sentence was commuted in 2017 by president Barack Obama.

She has argued that since the grand jury investigation is officially secret, it is not clear what they want to learn from her about WikiLeaks' activities in 2010 that she hasn't recounted in her earlier trial.

In a previously secret court filing unsealed this week, Manning's lawyers said she "reasonably believes that the current administration is unhappy with her release [in 2016], and seeks to punish her further by using any means at their disposal to incarcerate her."President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said in February 2019 he would run for a fifth term, triggering an outcry in the country which has been gripped by demonstrations since

A group of Algerian opposition parties and unions proposed on Saturday a "roadmap" to end a political crisis and weeks of protests sparked by the veteran president's bid to stay in power.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said on February 22 he would run for a fifth term in April 18 elections, despite concerns about his ability to rule, triggering an outcry in the country which has since been gripped by demonstrations.

The 82-year-old, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, earlier this month said he would pull out of the race.

But he also postponed the elections, meaning he will stay in power until polls are held.

Bouteflika's current mandate expires on April 28 and proposals agreed at a meeting between opposition parties and unions call for a six-month transition period from that date.

The roadmap stipulates the creation of a "presidential body" that would run the country during the transition period and which would be comprised of "national figures known for their credibility, integrity and competence".

Bouteflika, who is 82 years old, uses a wheelchair and has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, said he would pull out of the race but also postponed the elections

But members of the body should not run in future presidential elections nor back any candidates in the poll, the statement seen by AFP said.

The proposals were made during a meeting attended namely by the party of Bouteflika's key rival Ali Benflis, a former prime minister who has joined the opposition, and the main Islamist party, the Movement for the Society of Peace.

Algeria's opposition however has been marginalised by the protest movement, which has been largely led by students angry with the country's political system.

The proposals come a day after hundreds of thousands of Algerians demonstrated nationwide for a fifth consecutive Friday, demanding that Bouteflika stand down and calling for regime change.

On Saturday, around 1,000 lawyers rallied in the capital Algiers chanting "we're fed up" with this government and calling on the political system to "go away".Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Ben Carson alleges that Facebook violated the Fair Housing Act by allowing ad targeting that excludes groups by race, religion and other factors

US officials accused Facebook of discrimination Thursday for using its targeted advertising to limit who sees postings for certain kinds of housing.

Administrative charges filed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development said Facebook "unlawfully discriminates based on race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability" by restricting who can view housing-related ads.

"Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live," said HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

"Using a computer to limit a person's housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone's face."

The HUD charges follow a complaint filed last August, stating that Facebook enabled advertisers to exclude people whom it classified as parents, non-US-born, non-Christian, interested in Hispanic culture or otherwise segmented in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

HUD also alleged Facebook enabled advertisers to exclude people based upon their neighborhood by drawing a red line around certain areas on a map, and gave advertisers the option of showing ads only to men or only to women.

HUD asked an administrative law judge to order corrective actions by Facebook as well as unspecified damages.

Facebook said in a statement it was surprised by the actions because it had already been taking steps to address discrimination concerns.

The online giant said it had been in negotiations with HUD but that the federal agency "insisted on access to sensitive information -- like user data -- without adequate safeguards."

"We're disappointed by today's developments, but we'll continue working with civil rights experts on these issues."

A week ago, Facebook announced it was revamping how it uses targeted advertising in a settlement with activist groups alleging it discriminated in messages on jobs, housing, credit and other services.

Under those changes, housing, employment or credit ads would no longer be allowed to target by age, gender or zip code -- a practice critics argued had led to discrimination.

The modifications were announced as part of a settlement with the National Fair American Civil Liberties Union, National Fair Housing Alliance, Communication Workers of America and others.

An administrative law judge will hear the charges brought by HUD unless Facebook or another affected party asks for the case to go to federal district court, according to the department.

The law judge may award fines and damages or an injunction against Facebook.President Donald Trump has threatened again to close the Mexican border because of what he calls an illegal immigration crisis

President Donald Trump on Thursday again threatened to seal the US-Mexican border, claiming in a tweet that America's southern neighbor is allowing illegal immigrants to cross unhindered.

"May close the Southern Border!" the president wrote.

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action," he said.

"Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don't care, such BAD laws."

The new threat to shut one of the world's busiest borders, separating two countries with massive economic and cultural links, shows Trump is doubling down on his bid to make immigration a keystone of the gathering 2020 reelection campaign.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rejected Trump's criticism, telling journalists: "We are doing something on this issue."

"We are going to help in every way we can. We don't in any way want a confrontation with the United States," he said.

But Lopez Obrador said a solution would depend on "fundamentally addressing the causes of migration."

Trump will likely highlight the issue when he hosts a campaign rally in Michigan later Thursday.

On Wednesday, he referred to the need for more border walls to stop "people pouring in."

"Other countries stand there with machine-guns ready to fire. We can't do that," he told Fox News. "We are building massive, many, many miles of walls right now, and we are gearing up to do many more."

- 'Unprecedented' -

US authorities say they are facing an "unprecedented" influx of illegal migrants

The US border protection agency commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, said Wednesday that the southwestern frontier faces "an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis."

The worst spot, he said, is around El Paso, Texas, where agents have nowhere to put the large numbers of illegal border crossers they detain.

Nationwide, the border agency took in more than 12,000 migrants this week, it said, while just half that number would be considered already reaching "crisis level."

With the agency on track to detain more than 100,000 people in March, "it would be the highest monthly total in a decade," the agency said.

Overall, attempts to get across the border into the United States illegally are down substantially from a decade or more ago.

However, the last year has seen a surge and the general makeup of the arrivals has changed from single men to families and often small children -- greatly complicating the task of authorities in providing basic services to detained migrants while their cases are decided.

Migrants are also appearing in greater numbers from Central America, rather than just Mexico, sometimes traveling in large groups dubbed caravans.

One is currently forming in Honduras, according to Mexico's interior minister, Olga Sanchez Cordero. She said it could be "the 'mother of all caravans' and they think it might have more than 20,000 people."

However, Honduran deputy foreign minister Nelly Jerez said there was "no indication" of such a group gathering. "We don't have anything about that."

- Wall fight -

Trump is pushing for billions of dollars worth of wall barriers along the US-Mexican border

The last time Trump threatened to close the Mexican border was in December, when a row over his demand for billions of dollars in wall funding was at its peak.

Democrats in Congress turned down the funding, arguing that Trump was exaggerating problems on the border for political gain. In retaliation, Trump refused to sign wider spending bills, leading to much of the federal government having to shut down for five weeks.

Trump finally declared a national emergency so that he could bypass Congress and unlock the money -- a move drawing condemnation even from many of Trump's Republicans.

burs-sms/oh/clThe women, including activist Aziza al-Youssef, were held for a year before facing trial

Saudi Arabia on Thursday temporarily released three out of 11 women detained nearly a year ago in a broad crackdown on activists, state media said, as the kingdom faces intense global scrutiny over human rights.

Blogger Eman al-Nafjan, retired lecturer Aziza al-Youssef and academic Rokaya al-Mohareb were freed, one of their relatives told AFP, as the women face trial in Riyadh's criminal court on charges that include contact with foreign media, diplomats and human rights groups.

"The criminal court in Riyadh announces the provisional release of three detainees," the official Saudi Press Agency said, without naming them.

"The court will continue to hear their cases and they will attend the trial sessions... until the issuance of the final judgement."

Confirming the names of the freed women, London-based rights group ALQST said other detained women were expected to be freed on Sunday.

Most of the women were detained last summer in a wide-ranging crackdown against women campaigners just before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on female motorists.

Their release follows an emotionally charged second court hearing on Wednesday that saw some of the women breaking down while testifying that they faced torture and sexual harassment in detention.

They accused interrogators of subjecting them to electric shocks, flogging them and groping them in detention, two people with access to the trial told AFP.

At least one of the detained women tried to commit suicide following her mistreatment, a close relative said.

The government, facing sharp global criticism of its human rights record, denies the women were tortured or harassed.

- Silencing dissent -

The three released women will have to appear in court next Wednesday when the trial before a three-judge panel resumes.

"This is a long overdue step as these women should never have been jailed in the first place, and their release should certainly not be on a 'temporary' basis," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East research director.

"They have been locked up, separated from their loved ones, subjected to torture and threats for simply peacefully calling for women's rights and expressing their views."

The women had long campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the restrictive guardianship system that gives male relatives arbitrary authority over women.

Saudi officials have repeatedly accused the women of links to foreign intelligence agencies, while state-backed media branded them traitors and "agents of embassies".

The charge sheets, however, make no mention of contact with foreign spies, say campaigners who have reviewed the documents.

Some of the charges fell under a section of the kingdom's sweeping cyber crime law that carries prison sentences of up to five years. The law has typically been used to silence political dissent, rights campaigners say.

"It's a relief some of the women have been freed," said Najah al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation.

"Saudi Arabia needs corrective policies to ensure people have the freedom to express their views."

The trial has intensified criticism of the kingdom over human rights following global outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder by Saudi agents last October.

Western nations, including the United States and the 28 countries of the European Union, appear to have stepped up pressure on the kingdom to release the activists.The World Trade Organization ruled in March 2012 that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and notified the United States to bring them to an end

The World Trade Organization confirmed Thursday that Washington failed to fully comply with a 2012 order to halt subsidies to Boeing, marking a partial victory for rival aircraft maker Airbus and the EU.

The ruling from the WTO appeals body was the latest blow in the decade-long clash between the titans of the civil aircraft industry, which has seen both Airbus and Boeing score points along the way.

The WTO ruled in March 2012 that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and notified the United States to bring them to an end.

But just a few months later, the European Union filed a new complaint with the global trade body, alleging that Washington was not complying with that order.

In a ruling published in June 2017, the WTO said the US had brought 28 of 29 programmes into compliance, but agreed with Brussels that Washington had not taken "appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or ... withdraw the subsidy" in the case of Washington State.

Both the EU and the US appealed that finding to the WTO Appellate Body, which on Thursday basically toed the same line as the 2017 panel, although it appeared to take a harsher line against the American-side.

It found there were other subsidy programmes, including in South Carolina, which did not conform with the 2012 ruling, but in several of them it said it had been unable to complete the legal analysis to determine if the subsidies had an adverse effect on competitors' sales.

Both the EU and the US claimed victory after the ruling landed.

In its own statement, Airbus described the ruling as a "major win" and warned that if without a settlement, the US "will face billions in countermeasures."

Boeing meanwhile maintained that the WTO appeals body had "rejected every allegation of unlawful subsidies to Boeing with the single exception of one measure," referring to Washington State.

"Boeing will support the United States and Washington State as they take steps necessary to fully comply with todays ruling," the company said.

"We trust that our example will prompt Airbus and the European Union to immediately bring themselves into full compliance with the substantial rulings against these parties by the WTO," it added.

The EU has also been reprimanded by the WTO during the tit-for-tat conflict between Airbus and Boeing, and the US aircraft maker suggested last year that billions in sanctions might also be applied against the bloc.

The WTO, which aims to create a level playing field in global trade, does not have the ability to force compliance with its rulings, but can approve retaliatory measures which in theory can pressure trade manipulators to fall into line.Patrick Murphy, one of a group of seven escaped prisoners known as the "Texas Seven," is to be executed in Texas for the muder of a police officer

The United States Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of one of the last members of the "Texas Seven," a group of escaped prisoners who killed a police officer during a high-profile crime spree in 2000.

The court granted Patrick Murphy, 57, a last-minute reprieve in the name of religious equality, pointing out that under Texas policy, Christian and Muslim clerics can be present in the execution room, while other denominations -- including the Buddhist monk Murphy wants to accompany him -- cannot.

Sentenced to 50 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault, Murphy participated in an escape in December 2000 with six other detainees from a maximum security prison in south Texas.

The seven men knocked out guards to steal their uniforms and forced another to open the door. The father of one of them was waiting outside with a vehicle.

The men committed multiple robberies during their time on the run.

On Christmas Eve, they robbed a sporting goods store in the suburbs of Dallas and were confronted by police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Hawkins died after being shot 11 times.

Authorities launched a manhunt with a reward of $500,000.

After the broadcast of an episode of the television show "America's Most Wanted," several tips came in about sightings of the fugitives.

Six weeks after their escape, they were apprehended in Colorado. One of the seven committed suicide when they were arrested.

Murphy was the driver of the getaway car but a Texas court ruled that the survivors were all responsible for the murder of the police officer and sentenced them to death.

- Religious freedom argument -

Four of them have already been executed while Murphy and another member of the "Texas Seven" have been on death row awaiting execution.

His lawyers said that Murphy converted to Buddhism about 10 years ago and asked, in the name of religious freedom, for the presence in the death chamber of Murphy's spiritual advisor.

The condemned convict is convinced that his advisor's presence is necessary "to be reborn in the Pure Land," the lawyers wrote in their appeal.

"He can only achieve this outcome if he is able to focus on the Buddha," they said. "The presence of his spiritual advisor, who has visited him in this capacity for the past six years, would permit him to maintain the required focus."

The Huntsville Penitentiary, which has only a Christian chaplain, refused the request.

Last month, the Supreme Court refused to delay the execution of Domineque Ray, a Muslim death row inmate who sought the presence of an imam when he was executed in an Alabama penitentiary.

The court said that Murphy "made his request to the state in a sufficiently timely manner, one month before the scheduled execution," while Ray was said to have submitted his request too late.File picture of US dollars

A 74-year-old California woman will finally get some $150,000 in child support payments she was owed over several decades from her ex-husband who had skipped town and moved to Canada.

Toni Anderson told US media that she had raised the couple's now 52-year-old daughter on her own after she and Donald Lenhart divorced in the late 1960s.

Lenhart was supposed to pay $210 dollars a month in child support over 30 months and then $160 a month until his daughter turned 18.

However, he failed to make any payments and later moved to Canada with a new partner with whom he had two other children.

"He completely disappeared," Anderson, a retired interior designer from Carlsbad, north of San Diego, told CNN.

She said she worked several jobs and relied on food stamps to make ends meet, and to help get her daughter through college.

Anderson said she realized last year that under California law she was still entitled to the child support and tracked down her ex-husband to Oregon, where he is now living.

She said she was shocked when he attended a court hearing last week following a summons and asked for forgiveness.

The principal amount Lenhart owed was $35,000, which came up to $160,000 with interest and penalties. The pair settled on $150,000 that must be paid over two years.

Lenhart's attorney said his client believed he and Anderson had made an out-of-court settlement years back based on a handshake that he thought absolved him of making any child support payments.

Anderson said her husband was panicked by her suit and was glad they had managed to finally reach a settlement.

"I'm very happy because I was panicked all these years," she said. "Now, it's his turn."Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan was under fire repeatedly for the bank's lapses following a massive fake accounts scandal

Wells Fargo Chief Executive Tim Sloan, a frequent target of critics following a series of lapses by the bank, is stepping down from his post "effective immediately," the bank announced Thursday.

Sloan, who was promoted to CEO from president in October 2016 following a fake accounts scandal, also will leave the board immediately, and will retire from the company June 30, Wells Fargo said in a statement.

The board elected General Counsel Allen Parker to serve as interim CEO and president while the bank undertakes an external search for a new chief.

Sloan touted reforms he spearheaded at the nation's third biggest bank by assets since the fake accounts scandal broke two and a half years ago.

The company replaced several key executives, scrapped compensation incentives that encouraged selling, and enhanced compliance training.

Wells Fargo has settled a number of regulatory cases, although it remains under a Federal Reserve asset cap imposed following the problems.

But though he was not CEO during the fake accounts scandal, Sloan has faced continual pressure from Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and others in Congress for the bank's behavior, which she blamed on him as well.

"About damn time," Warren said on Twitter moments after the announcement.

"Tim Sloan should have been fired a long time ago. He enabled Wells Fargo's massive fake accounts scam, got rich off it, & then helped cover it up."

Sloan appeared at a House hearing two weeks ago where he faced sharp question from lawmakers of both parties.

He said the company "has made progress in many areas," according to a Wells Fargo statement.

"While there remains more work to be done, I am confident in our leadership team and optimistic about the future of Wells Fargo," Sloan said.

"However, it has become apparent to me that our ability to successfully move Wells Fargo forward from here will benefit from a new CEO and fresh perspectives."

Shares of Wells Fargo rose 2.6 percent to $50.35 in after-hours trading.US President Donald Trump says before leaving on the Marine One helicopter that he will reverse an earlier decision to take funding away from the Special Olympics.

President Donald Trump on Thursday reversed his administration's decision to cut funding for the Special Olympics, saying the competition for people with intellectual disabilities is "incredible."

"The Special Olympics will be funded," Trump told reporters at the White House, saying he was "overriding" his administration.

"I've been to the Special Olympics, I think it's incredible," he said.

He was speaking after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos caused an uproar when she said the government was axing $18 million in funding. The cut was part of a proposed hefty 10 percent reduction in overall federal education spending, a savings of $7 billion.

"We had to make some difficult decisions with this budget," DeVos told a House appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.

When DeVos acknowledged she did not know how many American children would be affected by the cuts, House Democrat Mark Pocan provided the figure: 272,000.

Sophie Lacourse-Pudifin of Canada competes in rhythmic gymnastics during the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 20, 2019

The Special Olympics, founded by president John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968, has grown into a global movement, providing competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The organization is largely funded by corporate and private donations. The US funds had been earmarked for Special Olympics education programs at 6,500 schools, where activities have shown to increase inclusion and reduce bullying.

Democratic congresswoman Barbara Lee called the Special Olympics cuts "appalling."

With the outcry growing, DeVos on Wednesday insisted the Department of Education remains "focused every day on raising expectations and improving outcomes for infants and toddlers, children and youth with disabilities."

Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver expressed disappointment with the proposal, saying the organization does critical work in schools to help educate youths "about the importance of an inclusive mindset to the future of the country."

The latest Special Olympics World Games were held last week in Abu Dhabi.By calling once more for the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, US President Donald Trump has signaled that health care will be a top campaign issue during his 2020 re-election bid

With the Russia meddling probe complete, Donald Trump has unexpectedly pivoted to health care, alarming fellow Republicans who warn there is no coherent Obamacare replacement ready and galvanizing Democrats.

The president trumpeted his renewed belligerence against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this week when the Justice Department announced it was siding with a federal court ruling that declared the health care law -- which has reduced the numbers of uninsured Americans by 20 million -- unconstitutional.

"Obamacare is a disaster" that must be repealed, Trump tweeted Thursday, repeating a newly framed campaign narrative that Republicans will become "the party of great health care" when it unveils a better plan.

But Trump -- who was only recently cleared by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of colluding with Russia over election interference -- offered no specifics or timetable for a replacement.

Will the political gamble help Trump's 2020 re-election efforts, as he moves to reassure supporters that he is honoring a campaign pledge to dismantle his predecessor Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement? Or does it play into Democratic hands?

Some Republicans are confounded by Trump's pivot, with moderate Senator Susan Collins saying she remained "vehemently opposed to the administration seeking to invalidate the entire ACA."

Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy reportedly told the president he disagreed with the administration's push to invalidate Obamacare

Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy reportedly told the president he disagreed with the administration's push to invalidate Obamacare.

Even Republicans who enthusiastically support Trump acknowledge no fresh Obamacare replacement plan is in the offing, and its likelihood of passing a divided Congress would be minimal.

Some strategists say Trump is looking instead at injecting himself into the ongoing primary battle between some 15 Democratic presidential hopefuls, many of whom are advocating various versions of universal health care, such as Medicare for all.

"He's trolling the Democrats by doing this," conservative consultant Patrick Hynes, an advisor to former presidential candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney, told AFP Thursday.

"By throwing this stink bomb into the public debate, the president is going to force all Democrat candidates and most Democratic officials to the hard left on... a policy proposal that is indefensible on its finances."

- 'War' on Obamacare -

Democrats, who ran successfully on shoring up health care for more Americans in last year's mid-term elections, were relishing the chance to do so again.

A print-out of the Affordable Care Act (R) sits next to a copy of the plan introduced to repeal and replace it during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, DC in March 2017

"Now the president wants to go back to repeal and replace again? Make our day," proclaimed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from the Senate floor.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighed in to criticize Trump's renewed "war on America's healthcare," and promised to fight against the Obamacare repeal effort in Congress, where her Democrats rule the House, in the courts, and "in the court of public opinion."

Several Democratic presidential hopefuls also joined the escalating battle, lobbing criticism at Trump's administration for seeking to kick millions off health care and return to an era when insurance companies could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

"Enough," tweeted liberal Senator Bernie Sanders. "We must defend the ACA and move forward to pass Medicare for All."

At the heart of 2010's hugely consequential ACA was a mandate that Americans buy health insurance, while also forcing insurance companies to accept all applicants, even those with pre-existing health conditions.

Democrats saw the law as a historic step to getting tens of millions of Americans who had no health coverage to participate in what is a highly uneven and often inaccessible system.

Republicans have attacked the law from the start -- especially the mandate on buying insurance -- as government overreach.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has weighed in to criticize President Donald Trump's renewed "war on America's healthcare"

They have whittled away at the law, and managed to scrap the penalty imposed on anyone who fails to get insurance.

But the dozens of legislative attempts to repeal Obamacare have failed, and many Republicans have embraced the protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Several have complained that Trump turned too swiftly to the toxic health care fight, saying he should instead enjoy a victory lap after Attorney General Bill Barr, having received Mueller's report, cleared the president of collusion with Russia.

"I would have liked to see him bask in his post-Mueller report a bit longer before shifting to policy issues," said Hynes, the Republican consultant.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said Democrats hold an "enormous advantage" because Americans trust Democrats over Republicans on reforming health care.

While Sabato said it is already too late to pass an alternative health care plan through Congress before the election, Trump's goal is to rally conservatives who oppose Obamacare.

"Trump has had one priority since the day he entered the race: to please his hard-core base," Sabato said.Supporters of Yemen's Huthi rebels attend a rally in the capital Sanaa marking the fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition's intervention

The United States on Thursday urged Saudi-led forces to conduct a transparent probe after eight people including five children were killed in a strike near a hospital in Yemen.

Charity Save the Children reported the death toll at the hospital it supports in Saada province, saying a missile hit a gas station near the entrance on Tuesday morning.

US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino called the incident "tragic" and "awful."

"We are going to continue to call on all parties to take appropriate measures to mitigate the risk for civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure," Palladino told reporters.

He pointed to a probe that has been promised by the Saudi-led coalition -- the only player in the conflict that has warplanes, which come largely from the United States.

"The United States urges a transparent investigation by the Joint Incidents Assessment Team into these alleged incidents as well as swift implementation of the resulting recommendations," Palladino said.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates enjoy US logistical and diplomatic backing as they battle Yemen's Iranian-linked Huthi rebels.

A series of attacks on civilians has triggered alarm in Washington, with lawmakers moving to end US support to the Saudis.

President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to veto the move, saying that Iran is the larger concern.Nina Martinez, 35, the first HIV-positive person to donate a kidney to another patient with the AIDS virus

The kidney of a 35-year-old HIV-positive woman has been transplanted into another patient with the virus that causes AIDS, US surgeons announced Thursday, in a major medical breakthrough.

The surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore performed the operation on Monday, calling it the first in the world of its kind.

"I'm feeling good," said the donor, Nina Martinez, at a news conference on Thursday following the surgery.

The recipient, who has not been identified, is doing "beautifully," said Christine Durand, associate professor of medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins.

They are "incredibly grateful for this gift and now we just monitor for the long term outcomes," Durand said.

Martinez initially wanted to donate the kidney to a friend, but after that friend died, she pursued her wish to be an organ donor, Johns Hopkins said.

The Atlanta resident, who was inspired to donate her kidney by an episode of "Grey's Anatomy," said she was excited to be part of a medical first.

Dr. Dorry Segev (L), professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Dr. Christine Durand (R), associate professor of medicine and oncology and member of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, pose with organ donor Nina Martinez at Johns Hopkins after the first HIV-positive patient to HIV-positive patient kidney transplant

"I knew that I was the one that they had been waiting for," she said. "For anyone considering embarking on this journey, it's doable.

"I've just showed you how and I'm very excited to see who the first follow-on might be."

Before this transplant operation, doctors had believed it too risky to leave an HIV-positive patient with only one kidney.

The decision to move forward with the transplant highlights the confidence scientists have in current anti-retroviral medication, which allows those with HIV to lead normal, productive lives.

Thousands of people die each year in the United States awaiting organ transplants.

- 'Doors are now open' -

Dorry Segev, an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said about 500-600 HIV-positive patients could donate organs each year, benefiting about 1,000 people with the virus.

Dr. Christine Durand (L), associate professor of medicine and oncology and member of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Dorry Segev, professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, pose after the first HIV-positive patient to HIV-positive patient kidney transplant

Until now, HIV-positive patients could receive organs from dead HIV-positive patients but not from anyone living with the virus.

They could also previously receive an organ from someone who was not HIV-positive.

The possibility of using organs from living donors would significantly change the equation.

Johns Hopkins University Hospital received authorization in 2016 to move ahead with the first transplant from a living donor with HIV. Surgeons had been waiting to find compatible patients.

Martinez and the recipient of her kidney will have to keep taking their anti-retroviral medication.

"The doors are now open for people living with HIV to become kidney donors," said Segev. "Now anybody can do this anywhere in the world, provided that they screen the patients accordingly.

"For us, this is not only a celebration of transplantation but a celebration of the progress of HIV care," he said.

"And the fact that 30 years ago, a disease that was basically a death sentence has been so transformed, that today somebody with HIV can save somebody else's life."

Like other countries, the United States suffers from a shortage of donor kidneys and there is a waiting list of around 100,000 people, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

Durand said about 10,000 HIV-positive patients are currently suffering kidney failure and on dialysis.Some are calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel's arms exports policy "unpredictable"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government Thursday extended by six months an embargo on weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, instituted last October in response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The ban has faced opposition from within the German government and the EU, but has the support of rights groups.

"The order to halt authorised weapons exports to Saudi Arabia is extended by six months from March 31 to September 30, 2019," government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

Berlin reacted to Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October by declaring a freeze on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries involved in the Yemen war.

It has since faced protests by EU partners because the ban has impacted joint defence projects such as the Eurofighter and Tornado jets.

While France and Britain have urged Germany to end the export halt, human rights groups argue it should stay in place -- a view that has many backers among the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners to Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc in the coalition government.

"We oppose defence exports to dictatorships and into active conflict zones," SPD deputy leader Ralf Stegner said on public TV.

Arming Saudi Arabia

Merkel's bloc favoured resumed sales, at least for joint European defence projects.

"Another unilateral German stop to defence exports, imposed without coordination with European and NATO partners, would be wrong and dangerous," its economic policy expert Joachim Pfeiffer told the Passauer Neue Presse daily.

- Rights violations -

This week, French ambassador Anne-Marie Descotes criticised Germany's "unpredictable" arms export policy and pointed out that some companies in the sector were marketing products as "German free" in terms of components.

A German security council meeting Wednesday failed to resolve the issue, media reports said, leading to further discussions Thursday.

One reported compromise proposal was to give the green light to multinational defence products with a German share of no more than 20 percent.

Stegner urged "a sensible solution", stressing that the SPD too wants Germany to cooperate with other European powers on joint defence projects.

Media reported another idea on the table would be for Germany to hold onto six naval patrol vessels and a training ship ordered by Saudi Arabia.

Media group RND said that if the Saudi export stop was extended by six months, the German state could buy the ships for its navy, customs service and federal police.

At least 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Yemen war since March 2015.

This week more than 20 non-government groups operating in Yemen wrote to Merkel to urge her to maintain the freeze, citing the "great risk" that the arms would be used to "facilitate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights".

Germany is among the world's top arms exporters, a group led by the United States that also includes Russia, China, France and Britain.Philippine authorities also arrested Ressa last month on an internet libel charge

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa was arrested Friday on a fraud charge, her second detention in what press freedom advocates have said is retaliation for her news site's criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The veteran reporter, named a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for her work, was taken into custody by authorities at Manila airport, said Beth Frondoso, a co-founder of Ressa's website Rappler.

"They got her at the airport," Frondoso told AFP. "We will be filing bail."

Philippine authorities arrested Ressa in February on an internet libel charge, which sparked international condemnation and allegations that she was being targeted for Rappler's critical stance on Duterte.

"This case against Ressa... is unprecedented and speaks volumes of the Duterte administration's determination to shut the website down for its credible and consistent reporting on the government," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's controversial pledge to move the country's embassy to Jerusalem is expected to be high on the agenda during a three-day visit to Israel

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro arrives in Israel Sunday, where he will walk a diplomatic tightrope as he seeks to shore up ties with his right-wing counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu while keeping key Arab trade partners onside.

Bolsonaro's controversial pledge to move Brazil's embassy to Jerusalem is expected to be high on the agenda during the three-day visit as Netanyahu uses the occasion to boost his standing ahead of April 9 elections.

The Brazilian ex-army captain's trip comes after his recent visits to the United States and Chile, as part of efforts to build ties with conservative governments around the world.

Neither Brazil nor Israel has released details of the visit, but Bolsonaro is expected to focus on correcting their lopsided trade relationship by boosting Brazilian exports, mainly soybeans and meat.

He is also expected to seek greater access to Israeli defense technology.

In 2018, Brazil's exports to Israel were worth $321 million dollars, while imports, including fertilizers and chemical products, stood at $1.17 billion, official data shows.

But the issue of relocating Brazil's embassy will likely dominate the visit, testing the tough-talking Bolsonaro's diplomatic skills.

Months after promising the shift, which sparked an angry response from Palestinian leaders, Bolsonaro has yet to announce a timetable.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Bolsonaro suggested he was in no hurry to make a decision.

"Trump took nine months to decide, to give his final word, so that the embassy was transferred," Bolsonaro said.

"Perhaps now we will open a commercial office in Jerusalem."

- Risky move -

While moving the embassy would please Bolsonaro's evangelical Christian support base, it would run the risk of provoking commercial retaliation from Arab states, some of which are major importers of Brazilian meat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a strong electoral challenge from former military chief Benny Gantz

The issue has "a very important symbolic weight," said Paulo Kramer, a professor at the University of Brasilia.

"If he doesn't announce it on the trip, it will frustrate his voters' expectations and upset evangelical groups," federal lawmaker Marcos Pereira, who is also president of a parliamentary Brazil-Israel friendship group, told AFP.

The decision to move the embassy is highly sensitive because Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Virtually all countries agree that Jerusalem's status can only be defined through wider Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

So far, only the United States and Guatemala have broken with that consensus by opening embassies in Jerusalem. Paraguay backtracked on a decision last year to move its embassy. Israel and the US have spoken with Honduras about its embassy going to Jerusalem.

"Moving the embassy of any country... is a violation of international law and an attack on the Palestinian people," the Palestinian envoy to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, told AFP this week.

For Netanyahu, who faces a strong challenge from former military chief Benny Gantz in next month's election, Bolsonaro's visit will help him demonstrate that "he has friends around the world," Raphael Eldad, Israeli ambassador to Brazil from 2011 to 2014, told AFP.

"In the international context, Israel cannot ignore friends."China's Vice Premier Liu He is meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (R) and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (L) in a bid to settle a months-long trade dispute

Top negotiators from China and the United States began a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing on Friday to settle a bruising dispute that has threatened to blight the global economy.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were greeted by Vice Premier Liu He at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse as they seek to resolve the months-long trade war between the world's top two economies.

As the US delegation left its hotel for a full day of talks, Mnuchin told reporters the officials had a "very productive" working dinner on Thursday.

"It's a pleasure to see you again," Mnuchin told Liu as they exchanged pleasantries before their meeting.

Officials are seeking to iron out major differences over US accusations that China has been using unfair trade practices for years by heavily subsidising its companies while snatching the technological know-how of American firms.

US President Donald Trump has said that the two sides were close to a deal, but officials have played down expectations of an imminent agreement.

Liu will travel to Washington next week for another set of negotiations.

In Washington, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Thursday the talks could last weeks or even months if necessary.

The Chinese commerce ministry said a "large amount of work" remains to be done.

The two sides have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade since last year but Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December.

Trump suggested last week that some of those tariffs should stay in place after a deal is reached to ensure China keeps its end of any bargain.

Beijing has taken steps to address some US complaints, rushing through a law this month that promises to protect foreign firms from the forced transfer of technology.

But US officials want China to show that it will enforce any law that aims to protect intellectual property rights of American companies.Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has said a new foundation to boost China ties will have 'substantially increased' funding compared with its predecessor

Australia announced a diplomatic boost to "turbo-charge" its China relations on Friday as it seeks to mend ties damaged by foreign interference concerns and a 5G bar on Huawei.

Canberra unveiled plans for a new foundation to supercede the Australia-China Council, its long-time primary platform for relations with its largest trading partner.

The government also announced that career diplomat Graham Fletcher, a China expert and Mandarin speaker, would replace Jan Adams as Australia's ambassador in Beijing. Adams had served in the role since 2016.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the new National Foundation for Australia-China Relations would receive Aus$44 (US$31) million over five years, significantly broadening the remit of its predecessor.

She said the more than 40-year-old Council had remained "static even as China has transformed and our bilateral ties have dramatically expanded in breadth and complexity."

She said the "substantially increased" funding would allow the new body to "move beyond the Council's current focus on education, culture and the arts, to also promote Australian excellence in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, health and ageing and the environment and energy."

"It will harness efforts of the private sector, peak bodies, NGOs, cultural organisations, state and federal agencies and the Chinese-Australian community to turbo-charge our national effort in engaging China."

While noting that the two countries "share common objectives" in many areas, Payne said there were "different perspectives on some important issues" that would be a focus of the new foundation.

Bilateral ties have soured, notably since Canberra passed sweeping national security reforms last year to strengthen foreign interference laws, calling out China as its primary concern, and setting off a string of diplomatic flare-ups.

A high-profile Australian senator was forced to quit politics in 2017 over his links to Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo, a permanent Australian resident who last month was banned from returning to the country following scrutiny of his Communist Party ties.

Beijing has dismissed the claims of political interference as paranoia and hysteria.

Australia last year also announced guidelines for contractors to build fifth-generation -- or 5G -- mobile networks that effectively blocked Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Canberra cited intelligence agency warnings against using vendors subject to "extrajudicial directions from a foreign government".

Mike Burgess from the national cybersecurity agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, said that 5G is still maturing, but will be "critically important" to Australia, with the future technology enabling key infrastructure, like power grids.

"There will be machines talking to machines, devices talking to devices -- enabled by 5G," he told Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute Wednesday, adding the "availability" of the network is the agency's primary concern.

"So high-risk vendors for us are categorised as vendors that actually have headquarters in countries, where those countries have capability, form and intent and coercive laws that compel their companies to cooperate on matters of national intelligence," he said.Ezzedine al-Baz has had five operations on his leg since being shot a year ago

A year ago, Ezzedine al-Baz's decision to skip work and join tens of thousands at the first day of protests along the Gaza-Israel border nearly cost him his life.

Baz, then 29, said he had been standing a couple of hundred metres from the border fence for only about a half an hour when an Israeli sniper's bullet pierced his leg.

Five operations and multiple infections later, he is missing a chunk of bone, his leg remains strapped in a metal case and he will likely never walk as before.

"It has been a year that I have been suffering, there is still pain," he said from a clinic run by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza City.

"At night I don't sleep at all. If I had known, I would have stayed at work."

A year after the start of protests and clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

But beyond those killed, thousands of others wounded have been largely forgotten.

There have also been knock-on impacts for the Palestinian territory's already beleaguered health system.

Hundreds of those shot remain at risk of infection and amputation, while Israel has turned down most applications to leave the strip for treatment.

So stretched are healthcare services that thousands of operations for other conditions have been delayed, while doctors who can leave are fleeing the strip, Gazan medics say.

Hundreds of those shot on the border remain at risk of infection and amputation

With major protests expected on the anniversary Saturday, medical professionals are worried.

"A full-blown escalation would obviously push the system again towards the edge of collapse," said Gerald Rockenschaub, the World Health Organization (WHO) head in the Palestinian territories.

- 'No hope' -

The protests labelled the Great March of Return have called for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside Israel, which Israelis view as advocating for the destruction of the country.

They were also billed as an opportunity for protesters to break the decade-long Israeli blockade of Gaza.

The World Bank says the restrictions are the primary cause of desperate economic circumstances in the strip, where seven out of 10 young people are unemployed.

Israel says they are necessary to isolate Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and with whom it has fought three wars.

Early on, many protesters remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully. Others approached and clashed with Israeli forces.

Those approaching the fence have progressively become more violent.

Explosive devices, stones and fireworks have been used against Israeli forces. There has been occasional gunfire, with one soldier killed by a Palestinian sniper.

MSF has treated more than 4,000 Plaestinians with gunshots wounds

Israeli forces' use of live fire has come under heavy criticism, with Palestinians and rights groups saying protesters have been shot while posing little threat.

Last month, a United Nations probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes.

At the MSF clinic, dozens of young men with casts sit on plastic chairs waiting for treatment.

The organisation has treated more than 4,000 Palestinians with gunshot wounds. A few hundred are not healing and risk amputation.

Mohammed Bakr, a 27-year-old fisherman, was also shot on March 30 last year and has had six operations.

"Since that day I have had no hope for the future," he said.

He accused Israeli soldiers of shooting at protesters who did nothing to provoke them.

"I won't be able to work like before. The leg won't carry weight."

- The next crisis -

With Gaza's medical system overstretched, treatment outside the strip could ease pressure.

Around 500 applications have been made by those injured in the marches to cross the Israeli border for treatment, according to figures published by the WHO.

Less than one in five have received the permits in time.

COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for the permits, confirmed it granted around 100 requests.

Less than one in five permit requests have been approved by Israeli authorities, for those seeking to leave Gaza for treatment

"The Gaza health system suffers from long years of neglect by the Hamas terror organisation, which prefers to invest its citizens' money in terror and military power," it said.

More than 8,000 operations for other often serious but not life-threatening conditions -- such as gallstones or hip replacements -- have been postponed in Gaza hospitals according to the WHO.

Dozens of doctors also left Gaza in 2018, a huge spike from previous years, health officials say.

Neither the WHO nor Gaza health authorities said they had exact figures.

WHO's Rockenschaub said he recently met a nurse who walked miles to work each day as she didn't have money for a bus.

"Whenever we talk to health authorities in Gaza, even to individual physicians, many of them talk about their intention to leave," he told AFP.European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (L) met with President Donald Trump at the White House in July 2018

France is blocking the launch of trade talks with the US exasperating its EU partners who fear a restart to a trade war with President Donald Trump, diplomats said Friday.

"The French are blocking, but they are isolated," a European source told AFP after a Friday meeting of envoys from member states ended without an agreement.

The envoys are struggling to decide a mandate to launch the transatlantic negotiations given the opposition of Paris that fears domestic blowback just months ahead of European elections, set for May 22 to 26.

Berlin however strongly wants the deal in order to placate Trump and avoid US auto tariffs that would punish Germany's cherished exports, a prospect Chancellor Angela Merkel has labelled "frightening".

Pursuing a limited trade deal was the central part of a truce agreed in July when Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged no new tariffs following those on steel and aluminium.

"France is really testing the patience of the other member states to the limit," an EU diplomat said, on condition of anonymity.

"It's quite daring to block something that everyone else wants," the diplomat added. Talks were set to resume on Wednesday.

At Friday's meeting, French diplomats called for more time to discuss differences while the Germans argued that "waiting weakens the negotiating ability of Europeans", the source said.

Paris is especially wary after the failure of talks on TTIP, a far more ambitious transatlantic trade plan, which stalled amid fears a deal with Washington would undermine EU food and health standards.

As a condition French President Emmanuel Macron last week demanded a clear signal that TTIP is obsolete, though some member states would like the option to revive those talks to survive.

France is also insisting on environmental guarantees if the trade negotiations take place, diplomats said.

But diplomats added that Macron had stepped back from calling for Washington's adherence to the Paris climate accord, which Trump pulled out of in 2017.The event comes after some of the most dire warnings yet on the state of Earth's natural habitat and species

The Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge were plunged into darkness for an hour Saturday to raise awareness about climate change and its impact on the planet's vanishing biodiversity.

The 13th edition of Earth Hour, organised by the green group WWF, will see millions of people across 180 countries turn off their lights at 8:30 pm local time to highlight energy use and the need for conservation.

"We are the first generation to know we are destroying the world. And we could be the last that can do anything about it," the charity said.

"We have the solutions, we just need our voices to be heard."

WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman told AFP that "Earth hour still is the world's largest grassroots movement for people to take action on climate change".

"It's about individuals taking personal action but joining with hundreds of millions of people around the world to show that not only do we need urgent action on climate change but we need to be protecting our planet," he added.

Dozens of companies around the world have said they will join in this year's switch-off.

The event comes after some of the most dire warnings yet on the state of Earth's natural habitat and species.

WWF's own "Living Planet" report in October said that 60 percent of all animals with a backbone -- fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals -- had been wiped out by human activity since 1970.

Another dataset confirmed the depth of an unfolding mass extinction event, only the sixth in the last half-billion years.

Paris's Eiffel Tower, New York's Empire State Building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa and the Acropolis in Athens are among the 24 global landmarks that will take part in Earth Hour.

Last year's event was observed in more than 7,000 towns and cities in 187 countries, according to organisers.

While the lights-off event is a symbolic gesture, Earth Hour has led successful campaigns over the past decade to ban plastics in the Galapagos Islands and plant 17 million trees in Kazakhstan.

burs/amu/qanHer's label Heist or Hit said the band was travelling to Santa Ana, California, for the final gig of their US tour when the crash that killed them occurred

The driver who killed British-based pop duo Her's in a head-on crash was traveling the wrong way on an interstate highway, US police said in a statement received Saturday.

Arizona's Department of Public Safety confirmed the deaths of Stephen Fitzpatrick, 24, and Audun Laading, 25, as well as the only other person in their van, Trevor Engelbrektson, 37, of Minneapolis. He was their tour manager and driver.

Officers were already responding at about 1:00 am on Wednesday after "a wrong-way driver was reported eastbound in the westbound lanes" of Interstate 10, west of Phoenix, the state troopers said in a statement sent to AFP.

A short time later, a Nissan pickup collided head-on with the passenger van in the westbound interstate, the troopers said.

"Both vehicles were engulfed in flames," their statement said.

"There was no roadway evidence to indicate braking by either vehicle prior to impact. An alcoholic beverage container was located in the debris field."

The Nissan driver, Francisco Edward Rebollar, 64, of Murrieta, California, also died.

Her's label Heist or Hit earlier said the band was travelling to Santa Ana, California, for the final gig of its US tour when the crash occurred.

The indie duo had played in Phoenix the previous night, as part of their second American tour to promote their debut album "Invitation to Her's".

Fitzpatrick, from northwest England, and Laading, from Norway, met while studying at university in Liverpool.

Their label called them "one of the UK's most loved up and coming bands."

On Monday the duo had posted a poignant final Facebook message: "It's almost home time for the lads, US tour has gone swimmingly so far. Got a hot sunset date with the Grand Canyon tonight."WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's a "little disappointed" by reports of new activity at a North Korean missile research center and long-range rocket site and that time will tell if U.S. diplomacy with the reclusive country will be successful.

South Korea's military said it is carefully monitoring North Korean nuclear and missile facilities after the country's spy agency told lawmakers that new activity was detected at a research center where the North is believed to build long-range missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.

Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said the U.S. and South Korean militaries are sharing intelligence over the developments at the North's missile research center in Sanumdong on the outskirts of the capital, Pyongyang, and at a separate long-range rocket site. She did not elaborate on what the developments were.

Asked if he was disappointed in the new activity, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was "a little disappointed." Then he said time will determine the future of U.S. efforts to get North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from sanctions stalling economic growth.

"We'll let you know in about a year," Trump told the reporters.

Briefing reporters at the State Department later, a senior U.S. official said that despite the new activity and the failure of last month's Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi to reach a denuclearization deal, the administration still believes it can reach and implement an agreement by the end of the president's first term. The official said it is important that progress be made quickly but that the goal is "achievable" by January 2021.

This image provided by Airbus Defence & Space and 38 North via a satellite image from CNES which was captured on March 6, 2019, shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Facility in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea is restoring facilities at the long-range rocket launch, which it dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps, according to foreign experts and a South Korean lawmaker who was briefed by Seoul's spy service. The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit last week between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump that ended without any agreement. Airbus Defence & Space and 38 North via AP)

The official said that the U.S. is still trying to determine exactly what North Korea is doing with recent activity but that the administration will seek clarification from the North as well as intelligence analysts. The official said the Trump administration did not necessarily agree with nongovernmental analysts who believe the activity is a sign of North Korean anger following the summit. The official was not authorized to speak publicly to the state of negotiations with the North Koreans and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump said on Wednesday that his relationship with Kim remained "good" even though Trump walked away from negotiations at their high-profile meeting in Vietnam, saying the North's concessions on its nuclear program weren't enough to warrant sanctions relief.

Trump has favored direct talks with Kim, but the next stage of negotiations is likely to be conducted at lower levels. Trump's envoy to North Korea, Steve Biegun, had lunch Wednesday at the State Department with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea. The South Koreans have proposed semiofficial three-way talks with the United States and North Korea as it works to put nuclear diplomacy back on track.

Suh Hoon, the director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told his nation's lawmakers in Seoul that North Korea was restoring facilities at a rocket launch site it had dismantled last year in a goodwill measure.

Meanwhile, 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies, said commercial satellite imagery indicates the rebuilding started between Feb. 16 and March 2. And the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, issued another report saying satellite imagery taken Saturday - just two days after the summit ended - showed North Korea "pursuing a rapid rebuilding" of the Sohae Satellite Launch Site.

Some analysts think the work is a signal that Kim is getting ready to conduct more tests, but others suggest he's just registering his disappointment that no agreement was reached at the summit. Trump himself added to the confusion, saying his administration had a hand in the report on Sohae being made public.

"It's a very early report. We're the ones that put it out," Trump said without elaborating.

Joel Wit, a North Korea proliferation expert who helped negotiate with North Korea in the mid-1990s, said the new work at Sohae is Kim's way of showing that he's "getting impatient with lack of progress in negotiations."

"We have to watch to see what else happens," Wit said. "It's a space launch facility and has been used to send satellites into space. ... Problem is, some of the technologies are the same."

He said there is no evidence that North Korea's work at the site signals Kim is preparing to test another intercontinental missile. He said North Korea has never tested an ICBM at Sohae. "Preparations for any launch would require a wide range of activities not observed at the site," Wit said.

Trump and Kim, who also met in Singapore last year, have not said if there will be a third summit. For now, discussions with North Korea will be conducted by their subordinates. Biegun, the U.S. envoy to North Korea, gave members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a classified update Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said that Biegun has a vision of where the U.S. wants to take the talks and that progress was made in Vietnam.

There's no framework agreement "to put the details on it yet," he said. But he added: "The differences have been narrowed."

Less upbeat, Committee member Edward Markey, D-Mass., said he's worried that future satellite launches at Sohae could help Kim further his work on ballistic missiles to threaten the U.S. and its allies with a nuclear attack.

"President Trump never codified in writing North Korea's missile and nuclear testing freeze," Markey said. "Without that formal commitment, North Korea might claim it is doing nothing wrong and derail the fragile diplomatic process underway."

This satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe captured on March 2, 2019, and shows the launch tower at the Sohae Satellite Launch Facility in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea is restoring facilities at the long-range rocket launch site, which it dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps, according to foreign experts and a South Korean lawmaker who was briefed by Seoul's spy service. The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit last week between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump that ended without any agreement. (DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company, via AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with former U.S. hostage in Yemen, Danny Burch, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

This satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe, was captured on March 2, 2019, and shows the rocket test stand at the Sohae Satellite Launch Facility in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea is restoring facilities at the long-range rocket launch, which it dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps, according to foreign experts and a South Korean lawmaker who was briefed by Seoul's spy service. The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit last week between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump that ended without any agreement. (DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company, via AP)ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, much less than what was called for under sentencing guidelines.

Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications from gout, had no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month sentence. While that was the longest sentence to date to come from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, it could have been much worse for Manafort. Sentencing guidelines called for a 20-year-term, effectively a lifetime sentence for the 69-year-old.

Manafort has been jailed since June, so he will receive credit for the nine months he has already served. He still faces the possibility of additional time from his sentencing in a separate case in the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty to charges related to illegal lobbying.

Before Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence, Manafort told him that "saying I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement." But he offered no explicit apology, something Ellis noted before issuing his sentence.

Manafort steered Donald Trump's election efforts during crucial months of the 2016 campaign as Russia sought to meddle in the election through hacking of Democratic email accounts. He was among the first Trump associates charged in the Mueller investigation and has been a high-profile defendant.

But the charges against Manafort were unrelated to his work on the campaign or the focus of Mueller's investigation: whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians.

This courtroom sketch depicts former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, center in a wheelchair, during his sentencing hearing in federal court before judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, March 7, 2019. Manafort was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

A jury last year convicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid from the IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine.

Manafort's lawyers argued that their client had engaged in what amounted to a routine tax evasion case, and cited numerous past sentences in which defendants had hidden millions from the IRS and served less than a year in prison.

Prosecutors said Manafort's conduct was egregious, but Ellis ultimately agreed more with defense attorneys. "These guidelines are quite high," Ellis said.

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys had requested a particular sentence length in their sentencing memoranda, but prosecutors had urged a "significant" sentence.

Outside court, Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, said his client accepted responsibility for his conduct "and there was absolutely no evidence that Mr. Manafort was involved in any collusion with the government of Russia."

Prosecutors left the courthouse without making any comment.

Though Manafort hasn't faced charges related to collusion, he has been seen as one of the most pivotal figures in the Mueller investigation. Prosecutors, for instance, have scrutinized his relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate U.S. authorities say is tied to Russian intelligence, and have described a furtive meeting the men had in August 2016 as cutting to the heart of the investigation.

After pleading guilty in the D.C. case, Manafort met with investigators for more than 50 hours as part of a requirement to cooperate with the probe. But prosecutors reiterated at Thursday's hearing that they believe Manafort was evasive and untruthful in his testimony to a grand jury.

Manafort was wheeled into the courtroom about 3:45 p.m. in a green jumpsuit from the Alexandria jail, where he spent the last several months in solitary confinement. The jet black hair he bore in 2016 when serving as campaign chairman was gone, replaced by a shaggy gray. He spent much of the hearing hunched at the shoulders, bearing what appeared to be an air of resignation.

Defense lawyers had argued that Manafort would never have been charged if it were not for Mueller's probe. At the outset of the trial, even Ellis agreed with that assessment, suggesting Manafort was being prosecuted only to pressure him to "sing" against Trump. Prosecutors said the Manafort investigation preceded Mueller's appointment.

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani echoed the defense argument Thursday night, saying: "I feel terrible about the way Manafort has been treated to this point. I think it's not American to keep a man in solitary confinement to try to crack him."

Giuliani said he hadn't spoken to the president about Manafort's sentence.

Manafort was convicted of eight felonies related to tax and bank fraud charges for hiding foreign income from his work in Ukraine from the IRS and later inflating his income on bank loan applications. Prosecutors have said the work in Ukraine was on behalf of politicians who were closely aligned with Russia, though Manafort insisted his work helped those politicians distance themselves from Russia and align with the West.

In arguing for a significant sentence, prosecutor Greg Andres said Manafort still hasn't accepted responsibility for his misconduct.

"His sentencing positions are replete with blaming others," Andres said. He also said Manafort still has not provided a full account of his finances for purposes of restitution, a particularly egregious omission given that his crime involved hiding more than $55 million in overseas bank accounts to evade paying more than $6 million in federal income taxes.

The lack of certainty about Manafort's finances complicated the judge's efforts to impose restitution, but Ellis ultimately ordered that Manafort could be required to pay back up to $24 million.

In the D.C. case, Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each of two counts to which he pleaded guilty. The judge will have the option to impose any sentence there concurrent or consecutive to the sentence imposed by Ellis.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.

This courtroom sketch depicts former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, center in a wheelchair, during his sentencing hearing in federal court before judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, March 7, 2019. Manafort was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Three Indonesian soldiers and at least one Papuan independence fighter were killed in a gunbattle, the military said, adding to more than two dozen deaths in the conflict since November.

A force of 50-70 rebels armed with military-grade weapons as well as spears and arrows attacked a group of 25 soldiers in Nduga district in a battle lasting several hours Thursday, said Muhammad Aidi, the military spokesman for Indonesia's easternmost Papua region.

The jungled highlands district was the location of a December attack by Papuan fighters on workers at a construction site for the trans Papua highway that killed 19. Large numbers of people have been displaced by military and police security operations since the Dec. 2 attack.

At least 31 people have died since early November in an apparent escalation of attacks by the West Papua National Liberation Army. The figure doesn't include unconfirmed civilian deaths that Papuan activists say resulted from security operations following the Dec. 2 attack.

Aidi said the military killed seven to 10 of the Papuan fighters but only found one body, saying the rest were carried away by other fighters. Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the liberation army, said five soldiers were killed and admitted no deaths for the Papuan fighters. Both sides claimed to have captured weapons.

An insurgency has simmered in Papua, which makes up the western half of the island of New Guinea, since the early 1960s when Indonesia annexed the Dutch-controlled territory.

Discrimination against indigenous Papuans and abuses by Indonesian police and military have drawn renewed attention globally as Indonesia campaigns for membership in the U.N.'s human rights watchdog.

The exiled leader of the Papuan independence movement, Benny Wenda, in January presented a 1.8 million-signature petition calling for self-determination to the U.N. human rights chief in Geneva.

Aidi said the soldiers had arrived in the area to guard work on the trans Papua highway and the attack was unprovoked. According to Sambom, the soldiers had burned traditional dwellings and interrogated villagers, hoping to get information about liberation army positions.

Two helicopters sent to take the bodies of the three killed soldiers to the mining town of Timika were shot at but eventually landed after Indonesian forces returned fire, Aidi said.WASHINGTON (AP) - Divided in debate but mostly united in a final vote, the House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry Thursday, with Democrats trying to push past a dispute that has overwhelmed their agenda and exposed fault lines that could shadow them through next year's elections.

The one-sided 407-23 vote belied the emotional infighting over how to respond to freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar's recent comments suggesting House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances. For days, Democrats wrestled with whether or how to punish the lawmaker, arguing over whether Omar, one of two Muslim women in Congress, should be singled out, what other types of bias should be decried in the text and whether the party would tolerate dissenting views on Israel.

Republicans generally joined in the favorable vote, though nearly two-dozen opposed the measure, one calling it a "sham."

Generational as well as ideological, the argument was fueled in part by young, liberal lawmakers - and voters - who have become a face of the newly empowered Democratic majority in the House. These lawmakers are critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, rejecting the conservative leader's approach to Palestinians and other issues.

They split sharply from Democratic leaders who seemed caught off guard by the support for Omar and unprepared for the debate. But the leaders regrouped.

"It's not about her. It's about these forms of hatred," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., walks to the chamber Thursday, March 7, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, as the House was preparing to vote on a resolution to speak out against, as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "anti-Semitism, anti-Islamophobia, anti-white supremacy and all the forms that it takes," an action sparked by remarks from Omar. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The resolution approved Thursday condemns anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities "as hateful expressions of intolerance." Omar, a Somali-American, and fellow Muslims Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Andrew Carson of Indiana, issued a statement praising the "historic" vote as the first resolution to condemn "anti-Muslim bigotry."

Some Democrats complained that Omar's comments on Israel had ignited all this debate while years of President Donald Trump's racially charged rhetoric had led to no similar congressional action.

The seven-page document details a history of recent attacks not only against Jews in the United States but also Muslims, as it condemns all such discrimination as contradictory to "the values and aspirations" of the people of the United States. The vote was delayed for a time on Thursday to include mention of Latinos to address concerns of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It was inserted under a section on white supremacists who "weaponize hate for political gain" over a long list of "traditionally persecuted peoples."

An earlier version focused more narrowly on anti-Semitism. The final resolution did not mention Omar by name.

Getting this debate right will be crucial for Democrats in 2020. U.S.-Israel policy is a prominent issue that is exposing the splits between the party's core voters, its liberal flank and the more centrist Americans in Trump country the party hopes to reach.

"What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That's wrong," said presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent.

"Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world," the senator said. "We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel."

Other Democratic presidential contenders tried to walk a similar line.

California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said "we need to speak out against hate." But she said she also believes "there is a critical difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism."

A statement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said, "Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians." She said threats of violence, including those made against Omar, "are never acceptable.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said, "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they are allowed to have free speech in this country," Gillibrand said. "But we don't need to use anti-Semitic tropes or anti-Muslim tropes to be heard."

Another member of the new crop of outspoken young House freshmen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, said the final product, as well as the way presidential candidates are now talking about the issue, showed "there's been some really great progress we've made."

But Omar's rhetoric is taking Democrats to a place that leaves many uneasy. The new lawmaker sparked a weeklong debate in Congress as fellow Democrats said her comments have no place in the party. She suggested Israel's supporters were pushing lawmakers to take a pledge of "allegiance" to a foreign country, reviving a trope of dual loyalties. It wasn't her first dip into such rhetoric.

The new congresswoman has been critical of the Jewish state in the past and apologized for those previous comments. But Omar has not apologized for what this latest comment.

Pelosi said she did not believe that Omar understood the "weight of her words" or that they would be perceived by some as anti-Semitic.

Asked whether the resolution was intended to "police" lawmakers' words, Pelosi replied, "We are not policing the speech of our members." Instead, she said, the goal was to condemn anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and white supremacy.

Some of the House's leading Jewish Democrats wanted to bring a resolution on the floor simply condemning anti-Semitism.

But other Democrats wanted to broaden the resolution to include a rejection of all forms of racism and bigotry. Others questioned whether a resolution was necessary at all and viewed it as unfairly singling out Omar at a time when Trump and others have made disparaging racial comments.

There remained frustration that the party that touts its diversity conducted such a messy and public debate about how to declare its opposition to bigotry.

"This shouldn't be so hard," Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said on the House floor.

Among the Republican dissenters, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the GOP leadership, called the resolution "a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism."

In part, Democratic leaders were trying to fend off a challenge from Republicans on the issue.

They worry they could run into trouble on another bill, their signature ethics and voting reform package, if Republicans try to tack their own anti-Semitism bill on as an amendment. By voting Thursday, the House Democratic vote counters believed they could inoculate their lawmakers against such a move.

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Associated Press writers Padmananda Rama, Mary Clare Jalonick, Elana Schor, Juana Summers and Doug Glass contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mascaro and Kellman on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/LisaMascaro and http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters during her weekly news conference, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., walks to the chamber Thursday, March 7, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, as the House was preparing to vote on a resolution to speak out against, as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "anti-Semitism, anti-Islamophobia, anti-white supremacy and all the forms that it takes," an action sparked by remarks from Omar. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sits with fellow Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee during a bill markup, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Omar stirred controversy last week saying that Israel's supporters are pushing U.S. lawmakers to take a pledge of "allegiance to a foreign country." Omar is not apologizing for that remark, and progressives are supporting her. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on House Democrats and Rep. Ilhan Omar's comments about Israel (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

The House has passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, discrimination against Muslims and other bigotry against minorities.

The 407-23 vote Thursday was a bid to end dissension among Democrats over congresswoman Ilhan Omar's latest remarks on Israel. Omar said the Jewish state's allies pressure lawmakers to pledge "allegiance" to a foreign country.

Some lawmakers wanted Omar implicitly rebuked with a measure condemning anti-Semitism. But others said the resolution should condemn discrimination against Muslims, too.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Omar didn't intend the remark to be anti-Semitic.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sits with fellow Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee during a bill markup, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Omar stirred controversy last week saying that Israel's supporters are pushing U.S. lawmakers to take a pledge of "allegiance to a foreign country." Omar is not apologizing for that remark, and progressives are supporting her. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats have long been split over the U.S.-Israeli relationship. But the developments seem to highlight a divide that's as generational as it is ideological. The dynamics on Israel have seeped into the party's fight over the 2020 presidential nomination.

__

4:05 p.m.

House Democrats are briefly postponing votes on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry as lawmakers add language sought by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to include Latinos.

That's according to the office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. A spokeswoman says voting on the resolution is expected later Thursday.

The late revision comes after a week of debate among Democrats over how to respond the comments critical of Israel by Ilhan Omar, a newly elected Democratic congressman from Minnesota.

Some view her words as anti-Semitic. But others want to broaden the resolution to include a rejection of other discrimination and racism.

__

2 p.m.

House Democrats are unveiling a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as they try to end the swirling controversy around a colleague's comments against Israel.

The new resolution is being rushed for a vote Thursday. The seven-page document condemns anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry "as hateful expressions of intolerance" contradictory to "the values and aspirations" of the U.S. It "rejects the perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes" in the U.S. and abroad.

It's the product of days of debate over how to respond to Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar's remarks that were widely seen as anti-Semitic. She suggested Jewish people have dual loyalties.

Lawmakers have been torn over how to respond. Some wanted to rebuke her remarks. But others say she's being unfairly singled out amid racist comments from President Donald Trump and Republicans.

__

11:20 a.m.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says freshman Democrat Ilhan Omar didn't realize her words about Israel would sound anti-Semitic to some powerful members of Congress.

Omar's comment that a pledge of "allegiance" to the Jewish state is expected of lawmakers sparked enough outrage to split Democrats and throw their agenda into question. Some Democrats wanted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, while others said that would have unfairly singled out the Minnesota Democrat.

Pelosi told reporters the resolution the House will vote on Thursday will "speak out against anti-Semitism, anti-Islamophobia, anti-white supremacy and all the forms that it takes."

Of Omar, Pelosi said, "I do not believe she understood the full weight of her words. These words have a history and a cultural impact."

Omar, a Somali-American, is one of two Muslim women in the House.

___

10:30 a.m.

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a resolution "opposing hate" as Democrats try to move on from a controversy that has split the party and clouded their agenda.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced the vote at a private morning meeting of House Democrats, according to a spokeswoman.

Democrats have been in knots after comments from newly elected Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that were seen as anti-Semitic. A Muslim-American, she has been critical of Israel.

Some Democratic lawmakers wanted a resolution that rebuked the comments, but others viewed the condemnation as unfairly singling out Omar at a time when President Donald Trump and others have made disparaging racial comments.

A draft resolution was panned by many Democrats, and a new text was being prepared ahead of voting.ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - The Latest on a shooting at an Illinois hotel (all times local):

7:10 p.m.

A man suspected of fatally shooting an Illinois sheriff's deputy has been charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors in Winnebago County in northern Illinois had issued a warrant against Floyd E. Brown for attempted murder. Winnebago County State's Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross says the charge against the 39-year-old Brown of Springfield was upgraded after McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner died of his injuries.

Authorities say Brown was taken into custody hours after his car crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. They say Brown fled a Rockford hotel where a fugitive task force tried to serve a warrant for his arrest Thursday morning.

They say Brown was wanted on a burglary warrant and a parole violation.

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Primm speaks during a news conference, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Rockford Police Department District 3 Headquarters in Rockford, Ill. Floyd E. Brown suspected of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy and wounding a woman at an Illinois hotel was taken into custody Thursday after an hours-long standoff that began when he crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway, authorities said. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)

Authorities say Brown also wounded a woman described as an acquaintance of his. She was treated at a hospital and released.

___

This update has been corrected to show that Winnebago County is in northern Illinois, not central Illinois.

___

4:15 p.m.

Authorities say a suspect in the fatal shooting of an Illinois sheriff's deputy has been taken into custody.

Illinois State Trooper Sean Ramsey told WGN-TV that 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown was taken into custody hours after his car crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. State police officials said they attempted to negotiate with him to surrender. However, Ramsey did not explain how Brown was taken into custody.

Brown is alleged to have fatally shot 35-year-old McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner, a 12 -year veteran of the department Thursday morning while helping serve an arrest warrant.

Prosecutors in Winnebago County in northern Illinois say they have issued a warrant with $5 million bond against Brown for attempted murder. Officials haven't said when charges against Brown will be upgraded.

___

This update has been corrected to show that Winnebago County is in northern Illinois, not central Illinois.

___

3:55 p.m.

A sheriff's department spokesman says an Illinois deputy shot while helping to serve an arrest warrant at a hotel has died.

McHenry County Sheriff's Department Chief David Dezane says the deputy was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker sent a tweet expressing condolences to the deputy's family members.

The suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, was in his car that crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. Illinois State Police officials said they were trying to negotiate with him.

Police say Brown fled the Rockford hotel earlier Thursday after shooting the McHenry County sheriff's deputy who was assigned to a fugitive task force serving Brown with an arrest warrant. Police described the injured woman as an acquaintance of Brown and said she was injured by one of his rounds.

___

This update corrects the spelling of McHenry County.

___

1:45 p.m.

Authorities say a sheriff's deputy is in critical condition and a woman suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in a shooting at a northern Illinois hotel.

The suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, was in his car that crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. Illinois State Police officials said they were trying to negotiate with him.

Police say Brown fled the Rockford hotel earlier Thursday after shooting the McHenry County sheriff's deputy who was assigned to a fugitive task force serving Brown with an arrest warrant. Police described the injured woman as an acquaintance of Brown and said she was injured by one of his rounds.

Prosecutors in Winnebago County have issued an arrest warrant for Brown on an attempted murder charge with a bond of $5 million.

___

1 p.m.

Police say a man suspected of shooting an officer at a northern Illinois hotel before fleeing has crashed his vehicle along an interstate about 170 miles (273.5 kilometers) away.

Trooper Sean Ramsey tells WGN-TV that police have several officers and a negotiator at the crash scene. Illinois State Police say the suspect is inside his vehicle and troopers have down Interstate 55 in both directions.

Authorities say the suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, shot an officer earlier Thursday at a hotel in Rockford as a fugitive task force tried to serve an arrest warrant. He then fled in a vehicle and drove south.

Police have said they believe Brown has a rifle and is considered "armed and dangerous."

___

12:20 p.m.

Police in northern Illinois say they believe a man suspected of shooting an officer at a Rockford hotel has left the area.

Rockford police Lt. Andre Brass identified the suspect as 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown.

Police say he fled the Extended Stay America hotel in Rockford after shooting an officer who was part of a regional fugitive task force trying to serve a search warrant. The officer was taken to the hospital but his condition hasn't been released.

Brass says police believe Brown has a rifle and is to be considered "armed and dangerous." Brass didn't know what direction Brown fled in.

___

11:05 a.m.

Police say a gunman has fled an Illinois hotel after shooting an officer who was part of a task force trying to serve an arrest warrant.

Rockford police Lt. Andre Brass says the suspect was wanted on several warrants when the regional fugitive task moved in Thursday. Brass says the suspect fled in a vehicle after the shooting.

Brass says investigators believe the suspect is still armed. He says: "We just want to end this situation peacefully with his surrender."

Rockford is about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of downtown Chicago.

___

10:50 a.m.

Authorities say an officer has been shot at a hotel in northern Illinois.

The U.S. Marshals Service says the shooting occurred Thursday morning at a hotel in Rockford. Spokeswoman Belkis Cantor Sandoval says the officer was on-duty and working with a regional task force when the shooting occurred.

She didn't immediately have details but said more information was forthcoming.

Local media is reporting that Rockford police are responding to an active shooter at a hotel.

This undated booking photo released by Illinois Department of Corrections shows Floyd E. Brown. Illinois State Police say Brown, 39, suspected of shooting a sheriff's deputy and a woman Thursday, March 7, 2019 at an Illinois hotel crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway while trying to flee police. (Illinois Department of Corrections via AP)

Area law enforcement vehicles gather near the scene of a shooting in Rockford, Ill., Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Ken DeCoster/Rockford Register Star via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer (all times local):

8 p.m.

The attorney for President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, says the president's advisers dangled the possibility of a pardon last year.

Lanny Davis, Cohen's lawyer, said in a written statement Thursday that his client was "open to the ongoing 'dangling' of a possible pardon by Trump representatives privately and in the media" in the months after the FBI raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room in April 2018.

Davis, who was not Cohen's lawyer at the time, says Cohen "directed his attorney" to explore a possible pardon with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others on Trump's legal team. The statement appears to contradict Cohen's sworn testimony last week at a House Oversight Committee hearing that he had never asked for, and would not accept, a pardon from Trump.

__

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, tells reporters as he departs that he will "continue to cooperate" with the House Intelligence Committee as he prepares for a three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress and other charges, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

12:30 p.m.

The Senate intelligence committee is interested in re-interviewing Donald Trump Jr. and other witnesses after President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, spoke to the committee last week.

That's according to a person familiar with the probe who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential investigation. The committee first interviewed Trump Jr. in 2017.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican member of the panel, said Thursday on CNN that senators "clearly need to re-interview some witnesses whose accounts (Cohen) contradicts." She did not name the witnesses.

Cohen told a House committee last week that he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 he was only "peripherally aware" of the proposal.

___

10:40 a.m.

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, "directed his attorney" to explore a potential presidential pardon last year with Trump's legal team. That's according to a statement Thursday by Lanny Davis, Cohen's current attorney.

Davis' statement appears to contradict Cohen's public testimony before the House Oversight Committee last week. Cohen said under oath he never asked for, and would not accept, a pardon from Trump.

Davis said Thursday that his client was "open to the ongoing 'dangling' of a possible pardon" after the FBI raided his home and hotel room in April. He said Cohen "directed his attorney" to explore a pardon.

The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Cohen was Trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer.ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Frenchman Nicolas Petit is back in the lead in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Petit had earlier led the 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) race and retook the top spot Thursday. He was first to leave the checkpoint at the ghost town of Iditarod, the halfway point of this year's race.

He left with all 14 of his dogs.

In second place is Aliy (AL'-ee) Zirkle. The three-time second-place finisher was in the lead earlier Thursday, when she was first to reach the Iditarod checkpoint.

For that feat, she picks up some swag. She can decide between $3,000 in gold nuggets or a top-end cellphone with free service for a year.

In third place is defending champion Joar Ulsom of Norway.

In this Saturday, March 2, 2019 photo, musher Aliy Zirkle, right, examines a feather given to her as a gift by a fan at the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. Zirkle was leading the race early Thursday, and was the first musher to reach the halfway point of the race when she pulled into the checkpoint in the ghost town of Iditarod, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - In this March 15, 2016 file photo, Aliy Zirkle drives her dog team to the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. The veteran musher is leading in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She is seeking to become the first woman to win in nearly three decades. She was first to leave the Ophir checkpoint Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 432 miles into the race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

File - In this March 3, 2018, file photo, musher Aliy Zirkle runs her team during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. The veteran musher is leading in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She is seeking to become the first woman to win in nearly three decades. She was first to leave the Ophir checkpoint Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 432 miles into the race. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen, File)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Former Texas Rep. Ralph Hall, the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House and a man who claimed to have once sold cigarettes and Coca-Cola to the bank-robbing duo of Bonnie and Clyde, has died at age 95.

The Republican and World War II pilot died at his home in Rockwall on Thursday morning, said Ed Valentine, Hall's longtime strategist. Asked about a cause of death, Valentine simply cited Hall's age, saying he hadn't been suffering from any known long-term health problems.

Hall was 91 when he left the House after being defeated in a 2014 Republican primary runoff election by John Ratcliffe. The former U.S. attorney was less than half Hall's age and well-schooled in digital and data-heavy campaigning.

An avid jogger, Hall marked Memorial Day 2012 - when he was 89 - by skydiving to honor American service members. That Christmas, he became the oldest member of Congress' lower chamber, breaking the record set by North Carolina Rep. Charles Manly Stedman, who died in office when he was 89 years, 7 months and 25 days old.

"I'm just an old guy - lived pretty clean," Hall said after breaking the record. "I have no ailments. I don't hurt anywhere."

Getting ousted by his own party in 2014 came a decade after Hall became a Republican as Texas moved further to the right. He served 12 terms in Congress as a Democrat but announced in January 2004 that he'd made the switch, backed by his friend, then-President George W. Bush.

FILE - In this March 8, 2004, file photo, then President Bush, left, waves with Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, right, as they step off Air Force One upon Bush's arrival in Dallas. Former Rep. Hall, the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House, has died at age 95. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

In a statement Thursday, Bush said "Ralph Hall epitomized decency, class, and patriotism." Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the former congressman "distinguished himself as a fiercely independent voice who put the needs of his constituents above all else."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed a similar sentiment. "All who knew Ralph respected him for his patriotism and his passion for public service, and loved him for his humor and kindness. The world is a darker place without the warmth and humanity of this special man," she said.

Hall, who flew Hellcat fighters during World War II, was known in Congress for promoting NASA and energy production. Hailing from Rockwall, east of Dallas, he was fond of saying that he voted with his party often but always voted with his district.

He was probably most popular for mailing or personally handing out pennies fitted with a special silver band bearing his name.

Only three U.S. senators were older than Hall while still serving in Congress: South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond, who was 100 when he retired in 2003; Democrat Theodore Francis Green of Rhode Island, who left the Senate at age 93; and West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, who died in office in 2010 at age 92.

Hall stuck to retail politicking, preferring to greet voters personally rather than organize formal campaign stops. That was enough to retain his House seat in 2012, when he bested a tea party primary opponent.

But in 2014, Ratcliffe painted his opponent as a Washington insider, noting that Hall had represented the district long enough to have an airport, lake and highway named after him.

Hall tried to modernize, joining Twitter in 2013 and marking former President Ronald Reagan's 102nd birthday with his first Tweet. But that proved no match for Ratcliffe, who ran unopposed in the deeply red district in the November 2014 general election.

Ralph Moody Hall was born on May 3, 1923, in the Dallas suburb of Fate. He attended Texas Christian University and the University of Texas before earning a law degree at Southern Methodist University in 1951.

While working in a pharmacy in his hometown as a boy, Hall said then-fugitives Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker used curb-side service. Hall said they bought "two cartons of Old Golds, two Coca-Colas and all the newspapers we had."

"He was a funny looking little guy. She was acceptable looking," Hall said in 2014. "I saw them. But I don't think it's that unusual. They were a lot of places."

Hall joined the Navy at 19. He married Mary Ellen Murphy in November 1944, while serving in Pensacola, Florida. The couple had three sons: Hampton, Brett and Blakeley.

After World War II, Hall practiced law in Rockwall County, where he served as a judge from 1950 to 1962. He was elected the following year to the Texas Senate and ran unsuccessfully in the 1972 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.

Winning a U.S. House seat in 1980, Hall was among the Democratic conservatives who sided with President Ronald Reagan on budget issues. He voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement and was an original co-sponsor of bills to repeal the estate tax and the marriage tax penalty.

After becoming a Republican, Hall leaned heavily on Bush, a former Texas governor. In 2009, he opposed the federal bailout of the financial industry and the economic stimulus package, and was a harsh critic of federal health care reform when it was debated and ultimately approved by Congress in 2010.

Two years later, Hall was appointed chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

After the primary defeat to Ratcliffe, Hall injured his hip in car crash, and was away from Washington convalescing for much of the remainder of his final term.

Hall is survived by his three children. His wife died in 2008 at age 83.

___

Follow Will Weissert on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apwillweissert

FILE - In this May 27, 2014, file photo, Congressman Ralph Hall smiles during a tour of his home in Rockwall, Texas. Former Rep. Hall, the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House, has died at age 95. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on reports of recent activity at missile and rocket sites in North Korea (all times local):

9 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he's a "little disappointed" by reports of new activity at a North Korean missile research center and long-range rocket site.

Trump says time will tell if U.S. diplomacy with the reclusive country will be successful.

South Korea's military says it is carefully monitoring North Korean nuclear and missile facilities after the country's spy agency told lawmakers that new activity was detected at a research center where the North is believed to build long-range missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.

A senior U.S. official says the administration still believes it can reach and implement an agreement by the end of the Trump's first term. The official was not authorized to speak publicly to the state of negotiations with the North Koreans and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2019 file photo, U.S President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, in Hanoi, Vietnam. North Korea's state TV on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, has aired a documentary glorifying leader Kim's recent visit to Vietnam that omitted the failed nuclear negotiations with Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

- Matthew Lee

__

5 p.m.

A senior U.S. official says the Trump administration still believes it can reach and implement a denuclearization deal with North Korea by the end of the president's first term. That's despite the failure of President Donald Trump's summit in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to forge an agreement.

The official said Thursday that the administration is still trying to determine exactly what North Korea is doing with recent activity at several missile sites. But, the official said, the administration does not necessarily agree with analysts who believe the activity is a sign of North Korean anger following the summit.

The official was not authorized to speak to the state of negotiations with the North Koreans publicly and spoke to reporters at the State Department on condition of anonymity.

- By Associated Press writer Matthew Lee

___

2:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he's disappointed about reports of recent activity at missile and rocket sites in North Korea.

During a White House meeting Thursday with the prime minister of the Czech Republic, Trump was asked if he was disappointed about new activity detected at a research center where the North is believed to build long-range missiles.

Trump says he is "a little disappointed."

A South Korean defense spokeswoman says the U.S. and South Korea are sharing intelligence about the activity at a missile research center on the outskirts of Pyongyang and at a separate long-range rocket site.

Trump also seemed to indicate that U.S. negotiations with the North Koreans could be long term.

Without elaborating, Trump said: "We'll let you know in about a year."

___

8 a.m.

Satellite photos are showing new activity at a North Korean launch site, and that's raising doubts that Kim Jong Un will ever give up his nuclear weapons efforts. Yet talks with the U.S. are continuing, and President Donald Trump is still hoping for an agreement.

The president said Wednesday his relationship with the North Korean leader remains "good," even though Trump walked away from their high-profile summit in Vietnam last week. Trump said then that the North's concessions on its nuclear program weren't enough to warrant sanctions relief. And he said Wednesday he'd be "very disappointed" if reports prove true that Kim is rebuilding a launch site after promising in Vietnam to extend his ban on nuclear and rocket tests.

But meetings continue, and Trump said, "we'll see what happens."

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 7, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - A man suspected of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy and wounding a woman at an Illinois hotel was taken into custody Thursday after an hourslong standoff that began when he crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway, authorities said.

Floyd E. Brown, 39, was arrested hours after the crash in central Illinois, State Trooper Sean Ramsey said. Officers employed flash grenades to disable Brown after trying for hours to negotiate with him to surrender, police said.

Brown, of Springfield, was taken to a hospital to be treated for several injuries. It wasn't immediately known what caused the injuries, Ramsey said.

Brown is accused of fatally shooting 35-year-old Deputy Jacob Keltner, a 12 -year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff's Office in northern Illinois. Keltner was pronounced dead at a hospital several hours after he was shot, spokesman David Dezane said.

Police said a 25-year-old woman described as an acquaintance of Brown suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening after being hit with one of Brown's rounds. She was treated at a hospital and released.

No shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident, authorities said.

This undated booking photo released by Illinois Department of Corrections shows Floyd E. Brown. Illinois State Police say Brown, 39, suspected of shooting a sheriff's deputy and a woman Thursday, March 7, 2019 at an Illinois hotel crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway while trying to flee police. (Illinois Department of Corrections via AP)

The shootings happened Thursday morning at a hotel as a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force tried to serve Brown with an arrest warrant for burglary and parole violation charges. Brown fled the hotel in Rockford in Winnebago County, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, and traveled about 170 miles (274 kilometers) to Logan County in central Illinois, police said.

Prosecutors in Winnebago County in northern Illinois initially issued a warrant with $5 million bond against Brown for attempted murder. State's Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross said the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder after Keltner died. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said Brown also will face a federal murder charge in the death of the deputy, who was assisting federal law enforcement when he was shot.

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim called Keltner a "great guy" whose father and brother serve in law enforcement in suburban Chicago.

"Jake was a fine young man who leaves a wife and two young children," Prim said. "We are going to miss him."

Keltner was the first officer in the department to die in the line of duty in three years, Prim said.

From 2009 to 2019, 73 officers were killed nationwide while attempting to serve warrants, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit group that keeps track of officer fatalities nationwide.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Winnebago County is in northern Illinois, not central Illinois, and to show that police now say Brown is 39, not 45.

___

For the latest information on this story: https://apnews.com/37703a552df146109cb7b5cc771d3291

Area law enforcement vehicles gather near the scene of a shooting in Rockford, Ill., Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Ken DeCoster/Rockford Register Star via AP)

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Primm speaks during a news conference, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Rockford Police Department District 3 Headquarters in Rockford, Ill. Floyd E. Brown suspected of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy and wounding a woman at an Illinois hotel was taken into custody Thursday after an hours-long standoff that began when he crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway, authorities said. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Primm speaks during a news conference, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Rockford Police Department District 3 Headquarters in Rockford, Ill. Floyd E. Brown suspected of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy and wounding a woman at an Illinois hotel was taken into custody Thursday after an hours-long standoff that began when he crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway, authorities said. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)

A McHenry County Sheriff's cruiser with lights on participates in the miles-long procession leaving Mercyhealth's Javon Bea Hospital and Physician Clinic-Riverside with the body of the McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner on Thursday, March 7, 2019, in Rockford, Ill. Floyd E. Brown, 39, is accused of fatally shooting 35-year-old Keltner, a 12 -year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff's Office. Keltner was pronounced dead at the hospital several hours after he was shot, spokesman David Dezane said. (Susan Moran/Rockford Register Star via AP)

Ron Schwartz, an acting officer and driving engineer of Rockford Fire Department's Engine 6, salutes as the law enforcement procession stretching miles long carrying the body of McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner passes on Thursday, March 7, 2019, along West State Street in Rockford, Ill. Floyd E. Brown, 39, is accused of fatally shooting 35-year-old Keltner, a 12 -year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff's Office. Keltner was pronounced dead at the hospital several hours after he was shot, spokesman David Dezane said.(Susan Moran/Rockford Register Star via AP)

An unidentified person is loaded on an ambulance from the Extended Stay America, the scene of a shooting, Thursday, March 7, 2019 in Rockford, Ill. Prosecutors in Winnebago County in central Illinois said they have issued a warrant against Floyd E. Brown, 39, for attempted murder in the shooting of the deputy, who police said was in critical condition. (Susan Moran/Rockford Register Star via AP)

An Illinois State Police Officer gears up in front of the Extended Stay America, the scene of a shooting, Thursday, March 7, 2019 in Rockford, Ill. Prosecutors in Winnebago County in central Illinois said they have issued a warrant against Floyd E. Brown, 39, for attempted murder in the shooting of the deputy, who police said was in critical condition. (Susan Moran/Rockford Register Star via AP)

This image provided by ABC 7 Chicago shows police activity at a hotel in Rockford, Ill., Thursday, March 7, 2019. Authorities say an officer has been shot at the hotel in northern Illinois. Local media was reporting that Rockford police were responding to an active shooter at a hotel. (ABC 7 Chicago via AP)

A police sharpshooter is in position where Illinois State Police and crisis negotiators are in a standoff with Floyd E. Brown, 39, of Springfield, on Interstate 55 near Lincoln, Ill. Thursday, March 7, 2019, after Brown allegedly shot a McHenry County sheriff's deputy attached to a U.S. Marshals Service task force in Rockford, then fled. His car was off the southbound lanes of the interstate and Brown was in and out of the car. (Rich Saal/The State Journal-Register via AP)ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - The Latest on Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort (all times local):

9:50 p.m.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, much less than what was called for under sentencing guidelines.

Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications from gout, had no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month sentence. While it is the longest sentence to date to come from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, it could have been much worse for Manafort. Sentencing guidelines called for a 20-year term, effectively a lifetime sentence for the 69-year-old.

Manafort has been jailed since June, so he will receive credit for the nine months he has already served.

__

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2017 file photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves Federal District Court in Washington. The 69-year-old Manafort is scheduled to appear Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, where he could get 20 years under federal guidelines but his lawyers have sought a shorter sentence. Manafort was convicted of hiding from the IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work advising Ukrainian politicians. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

6:59 p.m.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence Thursday, capping the only jury trial following indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

A jury last year convicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid from the Internal Revenue Service millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine.

Federal sentencing guidelines had called for a term of roughly 20 years, but few observers had expected he would receive a sentence that long.

Manafort still faces sentencing in the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty in a separate case connected to illegal lobbying.

__

6:35 p.m.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is asking a federal judge for compassion as he awaits sentencing on tax and bank fraud charges.

Manafort spoke to the judge while seated in a wheelchair in an Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom. He says that "saying I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement."

He says he has had time to reflect on his actions during months of solitary confinement and does not recognize the person he has been made out to be in the media. He says he hopes to have an opportunity "to show the world who I know I really am."

Manafort was prosecuted as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, but this case isn't related to Donald Trump's campaign. It stems from his overseas work advising politicians in Ukraine.

__

4:10 p.m.

The sentencing hearing for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has begun in Virginia with the 69-year-old entering the courtroom in a wheelchair.

A jury in Alexandria convicted Manafort last year on eight counts of tax and bank fraud related to his overseas work advising politicians in Ukraine.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of roughly 20 years, though few observers expect Manafort to receive a sentence that long.

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys offered specific recommendations for a length of sentence, but defense attorneys are hoping for a term significantly less than 20 years.

Manafort also still faces sentencing in the District of Columbia in a separate case related to illegal lobbying.

In court papers, defense lawyers say Manafort is suffering from gout and poor health.

__

9 a.m.

Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort could be set to receive a decades-long prison sentence for tax and bank fraud.

The 69-year-old Manafort was convicted last year of hiding from the IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

Manafort is scheduled to appear Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, where he could get 20 years under federal guidelines but his lawyers have sought a shorter sentence.LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three men were arrested Thursday as part of an illegal marijuana-growing operation in Southern California that was funded with money from China, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities seized nearly 200 pounds (90 kilograms) of processed marijuana and about 3,000 plants during raids on seven large homes in neatly kept San Bernardino County neighborhoods, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

The alleged coordinator of the scheme was a real estate agent who spent more than $5 million to buy the homes with money wired from the Guangdong Province of China, authorities said. Three guns and more than $80,000 in cash was seized from his home.

The case is the latest where overseas money backed black market marijuana growing operations in places where the drug is legal for adults, prosecutors said.

"In states that have decriminalized marijuana, we have seen an influx of foreign money used to establish grow operations, with much of the marijuana being destined for out-of-state consumers," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said.

In April, federal and local law enforcement agents seized about 100 houses in Northern California that were purchased with money wired to the U.S. by a Chinese-based crime organization and used to grow massive amounts of pot. Colorado authorities have said Cuban syndicates are behind some of the growing operations in that state.

These Thursday, March 7, 2019 evidence photos released by the United States Attorney's Office Central District of California shows illegal marijuana plants in San Bernardino County, Calif. Federal prosecutors say three men have been arrested on charges they took part in a scheme to illegally grow marijuana in Southern California homes purchased with money from China. The U.S. attorney's office said raids Thursday, discovered more than 1,600 pot plants growing in seven homes in San Bernardino County. (U.S. Attorney's Office Central District of California via AP)

The Southern California operation was being run by Lin Li, also known as Aaron Li, 37, who purchased the homes, ran the shell companies that managed finances and paid utility bills, prosecutors said.

Ben Chen, 42, and Jimmy Yu, 44, were allegedly cultivating the crop.

The three face charges of growing and distributing marijuana. They made initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, but did not enter pleas.

Attorney Anthony Solis, who represents Yu, said he had barely read the complaint and didn't have a comment. Attorneys for the other two defendants did not immediately return emails seeking comment.

Messages seeking comment left on Li's cellphone and an email address listed in court documents were not immediately returned.

Prosecutors said the pot was being sold in California and Nevada.

Marijuana is legally grown and sold in California for recreational and medical use, though it is strictly regulated. While it remains illegal under federal law, U.S. authorities have typically only prosecuted the most egregious cases.

In an affidavit supporting the arrests, Agent John Harris of Homeland Security Investigations, said Li pirated the enormous amount of electricity needed to grow marijuana under bright lights by tapping into power lines before they passed through a meter measuring use.

The investigation that lasted more than a year included tips from neighbors.

"No one is ever seen coming or going," one neighbor complained, according to the affidavit. "The smell of marijuana is overwhelming."SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Days before last November's elections, members of a political action committee in Oregon went door-to-door in Portland and its suburbs and collected filled-in ballots from voters, saying they would send them in.

But the committee delivered about 100 of those ballots to an elections office a day after the election. They were not counted, disenfranchising those voters. The secretary of state fined the committee $94,750.

As doubts arise in the nation about security of election systems that can be hacked and about reliance on aging or inadequate voting machines, more attention is being paid to voting by mail. After Oregon pioneered the all-mail vote in 2000, Colorado and Washington state followed suit.

The incident in Oregon exposed a potential election vulnerability. An organization collecting ballots might mishandle ballots, as happened last year, or even dump them to try to sway an election.

No one knows how many groups in Oregon collect ballots to turn in because state government officials in charge of elections don't track the groups.

News about the Oregon ballots being rejected and the fine on the PAC last month comes as there's renewed scrutiny of ballot collection efforts. A political operative working on behalf of a GOP candidate in North Carolina was arrested after being accused of illegally collecting mail-in absentee ballots. That November race will be redone.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, a voter in Lake Oswego, Ore., places her ballot in a designated drop box outside City Hall. Days before last November's elections, members of a political action committee in Oregon went door-to-door in Portland and its suburbs and collected filled-in ballots from voters, saying they'd mail them in. But about 100 of those ballots were mailed late and not counted. The group was fined by the secretary of state (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)

There is no indication that Oregon's voter system has been penetrated by fraud by use of go-betweens to collect ballots.

And from the governor on down to county clerks, officials praise a system allowing voters to cast ballots at their leisure through the post office or at official drop boxes because the voters don't have to leave work on election day or travel long distances to crowded polling stations. They also say the system has the added benefit of leaving a paper trail and presents fewer opportunities for hacking.

But the recent incident showed that state and county election officials in Oregon do not keep records on which groups collect completed ballots from voters, or how often this happens.

"Organizations might keep track but we don't ask for that information," said Debra Royal, chief of staff to the secretary of state, Oregon's top elections official.

A study last year by Northern Illinois University ranked Oregon as the easiest state for voting in the country, analyzing 33 variables dealing with registration and voting laws. In Oregon, citizens are automatically registered to vote when they go to the motor vehicles department for drivers' licenses, IDs or permits.

The incident last November involved a PAC called Defend Oregon, which was registered with the state elections division last May and works "to protect Oregon from extremist groups with dangerous agendas."

The group said one of its canvassers removed 97 completed ballots from a lock box on election night, Nov. 6, checked them against a spreadsheet, and put them into a box to be delivered to the elections office or to an official drop box.

But no one delivered them that day. The box was discovered the next day and was driven by Defend Oregon director Becca Uherbelau to the Multnomah County election office in Portland.

"We take this mistake very seriously and sincerely apologize to impacted voters who entrusted us with their ballots," Uherbelau said in a statement.

She would not say how many ballots the group collected overall or what the group's motive was for doing so.

The group's collection effort was legal, as long as the box they used had a sign identifying it as an unofficial ballot drop box, said Tim Scott, director of elections for Multnomah County

After Scott received the 97 ballots late, he notified the secretary of state's office.

"It was clear that it was a violation of the statutes, and I felt that it was my duty to make sure it was reported to the secretary of state, who has the resources to investigate," Scott said in a phone interview. The county elections office encourages voters to use official drop sites, he said.

The secretary of state's office said in its Feb. 12 decision that because the PAC delivered the ballots late "each voter who entrusted Defend Oregon canvassers lost their respective right to have their ballot counted," adding: "The harm of not having a ballot counted is more severe than any other violation of election law."

University of Oregon political science professor Priscilla Southwell said if voters have doubts that their ballots were properly delivered by a go-between, they can check the secretary of state website to see if they were received.

"It seems strange that that many people would willingly turn over their ballots," she said.

___

This version corrects that the 97 ballots were delivered to the elections office, not mailed.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselskyLONDON (AP) - The U.K. government has decided to provide diplomatic protection to a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran for nearly three years.

The Foreign Office said Thursday that the move means Britain formally asserts that Iran has failed to meet its international obligations in its treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said legal proceedings against her in Iran were deficient and that she has been denied proper access to medical care.

"My decision is an important diplomatic step which signals to Tehran that its behavior is totally wrong," he said.

Hunt conceded the move is unlikely to lead to immediate results. The British government has long been seeking her release.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 on charges of plotting against the Iranian government. Her family denies the allegations.HONOLULU (AP) - A number of private boats helped a team of federal responders free a young humpback whale from heavy gauge fishing gear off Hawaii, officials said Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a joint statement that the "subadult" humpback was first spotted Wednesday morning by a dive boat off Maui.

The dive boat alerted officials that the whale was struggling, and NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary coordinated a rescue effort with the U.S. Coast Guard and others. Several private boats, including a commercial fishing vessel, tracked the whale while waiting for officials to arrive.

The U.S. Coast Guard arrived and attached a tracking beacon to the whale in case they were not able to immediately remove the debris.

NOAA's Ed Lyman, the sanctuary's whale entanglement coordinator, was part of the team that cut the gear away from the whale. The whale was dragging about 500 feet (152 meters) of gear and the thick line was "deeply embedded" in the whale's mouth, he said.

Lyman said when this happens officials will leave a portion of the line where it is to prevent further injury. The line usually falls out on its own once the weight of the entangled debris is removed, he said.

In this Wednesday, March 6, 2019 photo, provided by the NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, is an entangled subadult humpback whale that was freed of gear by a team of trained responders off Makena Beach, Hawaii. Officials say a number of private boats helped a team of federal responders free a young humpback whale from heavy gauge fishing gear off Hawaii. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a joint statement Thursday that the "subadult" humpback was first spotted Wednesday morning by a dive boat off Maui. (Ed Lyman/NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary via AP)

The team was able to cut the line from the whale ahead of its tail, which reduces the risk of it getting further entangled.

The whale was "moderately emaciated" and had light skin and carpets of whale lice on it, Lyman said. "Those are all indicators that it had been carrying this gear for some time, likely months," he added.

It is possible the whale migrated from Alaska or another northern feeding ground with the gear already attached. The trap line that was found in the whale is typically used to catch crabs and other bottom fish in the north Pacific.

"This would not be the first time a whale has dragged gear 2,500 nautical miles," Lyman said. "This looks like it had been active gear, and it probably was up there and yes the whale probably dragged it, and there were impacts shown on the animal."

Lyman said this young humpback has an "excellent chance of surviving" now that most of the line has been cut off.

Hawaiian humpbacks feed in the cool waters around Alaska in the summer and then come to the warmer waters around Hawaii to mate and raise their young in the winter months.

There are are usually about 10 whale entanglement responses each year in Hawaii, Lyman said. There have been nine confirmed entanglements so far this season and 14 last year.

In November, a team of U.S. and international researchers, wildlife managers and federal officials met in Honolulu to discuss a decline in sightings of humpback whales in Hawaii.

Research into the decline points to a food chain disruption likely caused by warmer ocean temperatures in the whales' feeding grounds in Alaska, federal officials said .JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Past ghost-hunting experiences have come back to haunt a man picked by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to serve on a compensation board for crime victims.

John Francis hasn't shied away from the topic, voluntarily bringing it up during a House hearing last week and calmly fielding pointed questions during a Senate hearing Wednesday. In an interview Thursday, he spoke of a life-changing event in which he felt the soul of a man "go through my body."

Francis said he was somewhat surprised by how much attention the ghost hunting has gotten. He said he expected more questions on criminal activity he was involved in many years ago, which he said included burglary and insurance fraud, though he acknowledged there were time constraints on Wednesday's hearing.

During that hearing, Eagle River Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold focused on Francis' ghost hunting and his thoughts on the paranormal. She said she has been contacted by people concerned about the matter.

"If it's just for fun and all make believe, tell me that. If you're serious and there's investigative process and you believe this is real, I want to know that," Reinbold said. "I really don't want you to glaze over this because I think this is a real serious concern."

Francis, who testified via telephone, explained setting up recorders in people's homes as part of the investigations. He said what is found is almost always explainable and that sharing that provides a measure of comfort for those homeowners.

Reinbold asked if Francis believes in paranormal activities. He said he believed Jesus rose from the dead. Reinbold later told him that she would not support his nomination.

Francis is the latest Dunleavy nominee to raise eyebrows. A Dunleavy Cabinet member resigned after being accused of lying about his business background and a Board of Regents nominee withdrew after facing scrutiny over her social media activity, which included sharing derogatory tweets about former first lady Michelle Obama and two Muslim congresswomen. A candidate for a judicial conduct commission is drawing questions about a recall effort he faced while serving as a school board president.

It's not clear if Francis' ghost-hunting activities will be a deal-breaker for lawmakers who will decide whether to confirm him to serve on the Violent Crimes Compensation Board.

During last week's House hearing, Francis said there was nothing "weird or demonic" about the ghost-hunting group and he saw it as a way to help people.

"We do the opposite of what you see on TV," Francis told The Associated Press Thursday. "We try to disprove any noise or explain any noise or visuals that somebody might see."

He said they would sometimes do cleansings with sage. "We don't run around the house with crosses and stuff, either," Francis said.

He described the ghost-hunting group as inactive.

Francis believes he would be a good fit for the board. He said he has long since turned his life around and supports victims' rights. He said he has a computer business and has been involved with Facebook groups focused on crime and listing of stolen items.

Francis said he had a life-altering experience in the early 1980s, when he said he was involved in unsuccessful efforts to revive a man found on a boat.

"I swear I felt his soul go through my body because I was doing mouth to mouth on him; I was closest to his head," he said, adding that it "creeped me out."

"But I tell you what, that really changed my life," he said. "Prior to that I felt like other people were just objects, not people. But after that, it just changed everything. Everything."COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) - Sen. Bernie Sanders reasserted himself on Thursday as the original champion of a progressive agenda many of his fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have since adopted.

The Vermont senator rallied a cheering throng in a noisy convention center in western Iowa, promoting the same themes that launched him to a near-tie with Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses in 2016. Sanders noted that he had fought for the progressive issues first.

"Shock of all shocks, those very same ideas are now supported by candidates - Democratic candidates - for president," Sanders told a crowd of 2,000 in Council Bluffs in his first trip to Iowa since announcing his 2020 candidacy.

There were signs from the deafening cheers that Sanders had the potential to reignite the magic of 2016.

"I want to welcome you to a campaign which says, loudly and clearly, that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, will not be kleptocracy, will not be hatred and lies. It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry," Sanders said. "All of that is going to end."

He called President Donald Trump "the most dangerous president in modern American history" and accused him of trying to "divide us up by the color of our skin, our country of origin, our gender, our religion and our sexual orientation.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, takes leave after speaking at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

"We're going to do exactly the opposite," Sanders said. "We are going to bring people together."

In the hourlong speech, Sanders did not bring up the allegations of sexual harassment and other mistreatment that female staffers on his first presidential campaign had made against some of the male staffers.

The crowd was dominated by supporters from nearby Omaha, Nebraska, who are ineligible to participate in Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses.

One Iowa Democrat, Michael Autera, said of Sanders, "I like his platform, what he stands for."

"More importantly, he was the original," the 57-year-old pipe manufacturer employee added. "He had the guts to say it first."

The tone of Sanders' event was familiar. The crowd waved "Bernie" signs, wore T-shirts featuring Sanders' familiar shock of white hair and glasses, and interrupted his speech with the chant: "Feel the Bern! Feel the Bern!"

But the landscape has shifted significantly nationally since 2016, when he was the lone candidate advocating for progressive issues including guaranteed health care for all and a $15 minimum wage.

Those positions were adopted by several successful Democratic candidates for U.S. House in 2018, when the party seized the majority.

Now, presidential candidates Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have signed onto Sanders' "Medicare-for-all" bill, which holds out the promise of health care as a right, the potential for national savings from reduced administrative costs and government price-setting, and no more copays, deductibles or surprise medical bills

Similarly, many of Sanders' rivals for the 2020 Democratic nomination support sharply increasing the minimum wage and offering aggressive approaches to tackling climate change.

Warren has begun cultivating a following in Iowa echoing a central theme of Sanders' 2016 campaign, calling for "big structural change" to government to attack corruption.

Sanders on Thursday renewed his calls for criminal justice and prison sentencing changes that affect disproportionately minorities.

"The principles of our government will be based on justice: economic justice, social justice, racial justice," he said.

Other Democrats are making similar issues central to their campaigns, including Booker and Harris, who as Senate Judiciary Committee members helped work out major prison sentencing changes.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, waves to supporters at the conclusion of a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Cristian Gomez of Lincoln, Neb., right, and Lisa Heineman, who have never met, pose for a photo while wearing Bernie Sanders shirts, ahead of a Sanders rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, speaks at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on efforts to move a Confederate statue at the University of Mississippi (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

A faculty group is joining students at the University of Mississippi in asking that a Confederate monument be shifted from its current spot on campus.

Faculty Senate Chair Brice Noonan says that body voted unanimously Thursday for a resolution recommending the statue's relocation to a Confederate cemetery on campus.

Two student government groups passed similar resolutions earlier this week.

Student newspaper The Daily Mississippian reports a staff group is voting on its own resolution by email.

This is a Feb. 23, 2019 photograph of the Confederate soldier monument at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. The Associated Student Body Senate voted 47-0, Tuesday night, March 5, 2019, for a resolution asking the university's administrators to move the statue to the Confederate cemetery, behind the Tad Smith Coliseum, also on campus. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks says in a Thursday statement that he's waiting on campus group recommendations on the issue before deciding if he will ask the College Board to vote on the move. The board's trustees govern Mississippi's eight public universities.

Sparks says that before any move, the university would have to consult with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which regulates government alterations of historic structures.

___

12:45 p.m.

The University of Mississippi's leader says he's waiting to hear from faculty and staff groups before recommending a Confederate monument be shifted from its current spot on campus.

Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks says in a Thursday statement that he's waiting on the groups to recommend the statue's relocation to a Confederate cemetery on campus.

Two student government groups have passed resolutions seeking relocation.

The Ole Miss Faculty Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday night and a staff group could discuss the issue in coming days.

Sparks says the College Board, which governs Mississippi's eight public universities, ultimately must vote to move the statue.

Sparks says that before any move, the university would have to consult with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which regulates government alterations of historic structures.

This is a Feb. 23, 2019 photograph of the Confederate soldier monument at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. The Associated Student Body Senate voted 47-0, Tuesday night, March 5, 2019, for a resolution asking the university's administrators to move the statue to the Confederate cemetery, behind the Tad Smith Coliseum, also on campus. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - U.S. analysts say North Korea appears to have restored normal operations at a long-range rocket launch site it had partially dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps.

Some experts say North Korea is trying to convey displeasure over the breakdown of a high-stakes nuclear summit last week between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump over what the Americans said were Kim's excessive demands for sanctions relief.

North Korea's state media on Friday acknowledged for the first time that the summit ended without an agreement. But the Rodong Sinmun, which primarily targets the domestic audience, held back from criticizing the United States and instead berated "detestable" Japan for supposedly celebrating the "unexpected" setback and supporting sanctions against the North.

The United States and North Korea accused each other of causing the breakdown of the talks in Vietnam, but both sides left the door open for future negotiations.

North Korea-focused website 38 North said Thursday that commercial satellite images from March 6 indicate that the launch site appears to have returned to "normal operational status" following rapid construction to rebuild a launch pad and a rocket engine test stand.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies published similar findings and said the North's actions amount to a "snapback" from the moderate dismantlement it undertook following the first Trump-Kim summit last June.

FILE - In this April 8, 2012, file photo, a soldier stands in front of the Unha-3 rocket at a launching site in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea is reportedly restoring facilities at its long-range rocket launch site that it had dismantled as part of disarmament steps last year. A major South Korean newspaper reports that the country's spy service gave such an assessment to lawmakers in a private briefing on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

"The rebuilding activities at Sohae demonstrate how quickly North Korea can easily render reversible any steps taken toward scrapping its WMD program with little hesitation," the CSIS said in a study authored by Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha. "This poses challenges for the U.S. goal of final, irreversible and verifiable denuclearization."

Trump said he's a "little disappointed" by the reports of the new North Korean activity and that time will tell if U.S. diplomacy with the reclusive country will be successful.

The Sohae satellite launching center in Tongchang-ri, a seaside region in western North Korea, is where the North carried out satellite launches in recent years, resulting in U.N. sanctions over claims that they were disguised tests of banned missile technology.

Some experts see the North as trying to put pressure on Washington and Seoul, which has acted as a mediator, to make a deal by creating an impression that it could resume missile or rocket tests.

South Korea's spy agency has also told lawmakers in a closed-door intelligence briefing that increased vehicle movement was detected at a missile research center on the outskirts of Pyongyang where the North is believed to build long-range missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Thursday that it is carefully monitoring North Korean nuclear and missile facilities and that the U.S. and South Korean militaries were closely coordinating intelligence over the developments at Tongchang-ri and the missile research center.

Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said it's unlikely that North Korea will resume major missile tests or satellite launches anytime soon because that would risk destroying its fragile negotiations with Washington and could bring even harsher sanctions on its crippled economy.

He said North Korea will also want to see if South Korea will support its position more strongly. Undeterred by the breakdown of the Trump-Kim summit, South Korea has continued to urge the United States to ease sanctions on North Korea to allow a resumption of inter-Korean economic projects and encourage more disarmament steps from the North.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has said it was Seoul's "outmost priority" to prevent nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang from derailing, nominated a dovish scholar as his new point-man on North Korea on Friday in an apparent effort to push further his engagement policy with the North.

Kim Yeonchul, currently the head of the state-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, has been an outspoken supporter of inter-Korean rapprochement and frequently expressed skepticism on whether sanctions work with North Korea. The presidential Blue House described Kim as a leading expert in "inter-Korean economic cooperation and the North Korean nuclear problem."

When asked about the prospects of restarting operations at an inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and South Korean tours to the North's Diamond Mountain resort, Kim told reporters on Friday that Seoul should "work on it."

South Korean calls for partial sanctions relief to encourage nuclear disarmament steps by North Korea has caused disagreements with Washington, which does not want to give up what it sees as its main leverage with the North. A senior State Department official told reporters on Thursday that Washington isn't considering sanctions exemptions for inter-Korean economic projects.

Analyzing commercial satellite images from March 6, the CSIS report assessed that the North had completed rebuilding the superstructure and covering of the rocket engine test stand at the launch site. Additional work at the stand, such as the construction of a shelter on the entrance ramp, could indicate preparations to test rocket engines again, it said.

The 38 North study said the North appears to have also finished rebuilding a rail-mounted transfer structure at the launch pad and that the structure may now be operational. The structure is used to move rocket stages from an underground transfer point to a processing building and from the processing building to the launch tower, according to CSIS, which provided a similar account on the developments.

Satellite images taken weeks after the first Trump-Kim summit had shown the North was taking steps to dismantle the rocket engine test stand and the rail-mounted transfer structure at the launch pad.

___

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

This image provided by Airbus Defence & Space and 38 North via a satellite image from CNES which was captured on March 6, 2019, shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Facility in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea is restoring facilities at the long-range rocket launch, which it dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps, according to foreign experts and a South Korean lawmaker who was briefed by Seoul's spy service. The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit last week between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump that ended without any agreement. Airbus Defence & Space and 38 North via AP)BEIJING (AP) - The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday, despite criticism that the meeting ended early without leading to an agreement.

The Hanoi talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were "worthy of full recognition," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's ceremonial legislature.

"We feel like this meeting was an important step in finding a political resolution to the (Korean) Peninsula issue," Wang said. That the two "leaders overcame obstacles to meet again in a candid face-to-face discussion itself represents a positive development that must be applauded."

He encouraged the two countries to "remain patient," and noted that many issues concerning the peninsula "cannot be solved overnight."

Trump and Kim's summit ended abruptly Feb. 28 after a dispute over how much sanctions relief Washington should provide Pyongyang in return for nuclear disarmament steps. No agreement was reached.

Wang said China favors a phased approach to ending the North's nuclear program in return for a reduction in sanctions, in contrast with U.S. demands that Pyongyang end the program permanently in one fell swoop.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives for a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

"All parties need to have reasonable expectations and one should not set the bar too high at the outset or make unilateral, unrealistic demands," Wang said.

"In China's view, the key to solving the issue lies in not being a prisoner of history and breaking the cycle of mistrust," he said, adding China would continue playing its "irreplaceable role" in promoting negotiations.

China is North Korea's only major ally and a chief provider of energy and trade that keeps the country's broken economy afloat. In recent years, however, China has agreed to increasingly strict United Nations sanctions over the North's nuclear programs and missile tests, although Pyongyang has not carried out such activities for more than a year.

After a period of frosty times, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met four times with Kim last year, Wang noted. He declined to say whether Xi had any plans to visit Pyongyang.

During the wide-ranging two-hour briefing, Wang also strongly defended China's massive "belt and road" initiative against accusations it is miring poor nations in poverty to pay for Chinese financed ports, power plants and highways. Wang said the $1 trillion infrastructure program linking China to Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia had been endorsed by 72 countries and had already racked up considerable success.

China will host a second global meeting on the initiative in Beijing next month, which Wang said would be bigger and more ambitious that the first.

Wang also praised China's growing closeness to Russia in international affairs, saying the two giant neighbors would create a "more peaceful and stable world" by standing together.

Both countries are backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, which has been accused of committing atrocities during the country's bloody civil war, and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, whose government has borrowed billions from China in a bid to remain afloat.

Wang said China would continue efforts to reach an agreement with the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to avoid conflicts over the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety. He declined to say whether China would require the code of conduct that it hopes to sign by 2021 be legally binding.

And he said China's diplomats would continue to defend the country's reputation and its citizens following recent disputes with Canada, the U.S. and Sweden that saw Beijing making unusually harsh accusations.

"China will stand up for its rights, but will not seek hegemony," Wang said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives for a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)DENVER (AP) - Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper delivered a fiery defense of his pragmatic approach to politics Thursday night as he held the first rally of his presidential campaign in the state that nurtured his unlikely career in public office.

"Being a pragmatist doesn't mean saying no to bold ideas," Hickenlooper, 67, told a crowd of more than a thousand people at a downtown Denver park. "It means knowing how to make them happen."

Hickenlooper, who announced his presidential bid Monday via video, hopes to stand out in a crowded Democratic presidential field of national figures making big, liberal proposals for "Medicare for all," universal child care and high taxes on the wealthy. He'll travel to Iowa Friday for a two-day swing through the early state, on which he is pinning his hopes in his underdog presidential bid.

As governor of Colorado, Hickenlooper signed laws expanding gun control, regulating methane emissions from energy exploration and expanded Medicaid. He also governed as a nonpartisan centrist and has long talked up the value of compromise and collaboration -- notions that may be out of favor with chunks of the Democratic electorate under President Donald Trump.

Normally a toned-down public speaker, Hickenlooper devoted some of his 20-minute speech to Trump, accusing the president of "kidnapping" children separated from their families at the border, "endangering our planet and destroying our democracy."

"He measures progress by the number of enemies he creates," Hickenlooper said of the president.

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at a sendoff event in Denver on Thursday, March 7, 2019, to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

The former governor tried to contrast that with his own career. Hickenlooper was a laid-off geologist in the 1980s when he and friends decided to start a brewpub in a then-desolate slice of downtown Denver. The business took off, helped revitalize the neighborhood and made Hickenlooper wealthy. He parlayed his success into a quixotic mayoral run in 2003 at age 50, and was elected governor in 2010.

Hickenlooper's unusual style has dominated Colorado politics for much of the past two decades. He jumped out of an airplane to support one ballot measure related to the state budget and rappelled down a high rise to raise money to fight cancer. He disavowed negative ads and frustrated some Democrats with his reluctance to engage in partisan battles.

He's tried to adjust to the political realities of 2019. Hickenlooper once said he was too "moderate" to win a Democratic presidential primary, but on Thursday he tried to turn his nonconfrontational approach into an asset.

"This isn't about unity for unity's sake," Hickenlooper said. "America stops working when we work against each other....It's time to end this American crisis of division. It's time to bring all Americans together. And that's why I'm running to be President of the United States."

Echoing in the background of Hickenlooper's address were chants of a few dozen activists protesting Hickenlooper's reluctance to stop hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking." Activists for years have seethed at Hickenlooper, who remained close to the energy industry while he was governor.

"This is going to be a major issue in his campaign," vowed organizer Suzanne Spiegel.

Hickenlooper, meanwhile, sounded more like a traditional Democratic candidate as he rattled off a list of ambitious liberal proposals. He vowed to make health care a "right" as president, to close corporate tax loopholes, address racial bias in the criminal justice system, rejoin the Paris climate accords and "build a green economy that creates jobs that can't be shipped overseas."

"At the end of my presidency," Hickenlooper said, "I want Americans to say: It feels like the cloud has lifted, we feel closer to our neighbors and we've gotten big things done."

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at a sendoff event in Denver on Thursday, March 7, 2019, to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at a sendoff event in Denver on Thursday, March 7, 2019, to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at a sendoff event in Denver on Thursday, March 7, 2019, to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. Hickenlooper delivered a fiery defense of his pragmatic approach to politics in the first rally of his presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at a sendoff event in Denver on Thursday, March 7, 2019, to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)A Minnesota television station reported Thursday that the Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs says in a letter from jail that he plans to plead guilty.

KARE-TV reported that suspect Jake Patterson's Feb. 28 letter was in response to a letter from a station reporter. Patterson wrote that he planned to plead guilty because he didn't want Jayme's family "to worry about a trial," the station said.

Patterson, 21, is also charged with killing Jayme's parents in an Oct. 15 attack at the family's home near Barron, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis in western Wisconsin. Prosecutors say Patterson spotted Jayme getting off a school bus near her home and made up his mind to take her. He's accused of holding Jayme for 88 days in a cabin about an hour north of Barron before she escaped in January.

In the letter attributed to Patterson, he wrote to reporter Lou Raguse that he had "huge amounts" of remorse and "I can't believe I did this."

A photo of one part of the letter posted on the station's website showed the words "I'm Sorry Jayme!" in large balloon letters, followed by "For everything. I know it doesn't mean much."

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald told The Associated Press he could not comment on the report. KARE reported that Fitzgerald told the station he was aware that Patterson had sent a letter to a KARE reporter.

FILE - In a Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 file photo, Jake Patterson appears for a brief hearing in Barron County Circuit Court in Barron, Wis. A Minnesota television station is reporting Thursday, March 7, 2019 that Patterson, who is charged in the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs, says in a letter from jail that he plans to plead guilty. Patterson, 21, is accused of killing James and Denise Closs on Oct. 15 and kidnapping their daughter, Jayme Closs, from their Barron home. Jayme escaped on Jan. 10, after 88 days.(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

Jayme's family said they'd been told about the letter by police, according to KARE.

Patterson's attorneys did not immediately respond to messages from AP.

He is being held on $5 million bail pending a March 27 arraignment, where he's expected to formally enter a plea.ATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on Crossover Day at the Georgia legislature (all times local):

10:55 p.m.

Georgia joined a string of states moving to enact tough abortion restrictions, as the state House passed a ban on most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

During tense debate Thursday night, several Democratic lawmakers opposed to the bill turned their back to its author, Republican Rep. Ed Setzler. Earlier in the day, some handed out wire coat hangers in reference to unsafe home abortions.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy. A fetal heartbeat is generally detectable at around six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

The bill makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest, but only when the woman files a police report first, as well as when a fetus is deemed not compatible with life.

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018 file photo, Rep. Ed Setzler presents his bill to the Governmental Affairs Special Subcommittee in Atlanta. Amid tears, gasps and handshakes, a Georgia House committee has approved legislation that would outlaw abortion after a heartbeat can be detected. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

It now goes to the state Senate. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp backs the measure.

___

9:25 p.m.

A hate crimes bill that would add penalties for those convicted of targeting certain groups has passed the Georgia House.

The bipartisan measure succeeded on a vote of 96 to 64.

If it becomes law, Georgia would join 45 other states with an official hate crimes law.

The penalties apply to those who target others because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.

Critics worry a hate crimes statute would not treat victims equally.

The Georgia Supreme Court struck down a 2000 hate crimes law, saying it was "unconstitutionally vague" and could be applied to every possible prejudice.

___

6:30 p.m.

Law enforcement officials in Georgia would need to keep rape kits for a longer time under a bill that passed the state House unanimously Thursday.

Current law requires rape kits to be stored for 10 years. The proposal would require Georgia to preserve the evidence as long as the crime remains unsolved or until a perpetrator's prison sentence has been completed.

The bill's author, Rep. Scott Holcomb, is an Atlanta Democrat and lawyer who said he's prosecuted rape and sexual assault crimes.

In an emotional speech on the floor, Holcomb said, "These crimes change and damage lives to a degree that is really incredible."

Holcomb was one of the main backers of a law passed in 2016 that helped cut down on the state's backlog of rape kits.

It now goes to the Senate.

___

3:10 p.m.

Georgia House Democrats are opposing a bill that would outlaw abortions after a heartbeat can be detected.

During a state Capitol news conference Thursday, advocates and lawmakers criticized the measure for "playing politics with women's bodies."

One doctor spoke about working with patients who tried to self-induce abortions.

Rep. Erica Thomas of Austell, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said she's more than four months pregnant. Her decision to give birth was between her and her family and she said that's how it should be.

Timing to pass the legislation is tight. Thursday marks a deadline by which a bill must generally pass one chamber or the other.

The bill is not yet on the House calendar but could come up for consideration there later Thursday.

Gov. Brian Kemp has endorsed it.

____

2:40 p.m.

A plan for the state to take over control of Atlanta's airport has passed the Georgia Senate, despite vociferous opposition from Atlanta officials.

The legislation, introduced by Republican state Sen. Burt Jones of Jackson, would create the Georgia Major Airport Authority, a board appointed by state officials to oversee operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airport is currently owned and operated by the city.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has come out strongly against the proposal, calling it "theft" from the people of Atlanta.

Jones said state control is needed because of corruption issues in the procurement process. Critics of the plan say those issues involved past administrations and that Bottoms, who assumed office last year, has taken steps to reform the process.

The bill will now go to the House for consideration.

___

10:50 a.m.

Georgia's legislature hits a critical deadline on Thursday: Crossover Day. It's a legislative deadline by which bills must generally pass out of one chamber or the other to remain alive for the session.

Several high-profile bills are under consideration, including a House bill to outlaw abortion after a fetus' heartbeat can be detected and a Senate bill to create a state authority to oversee operations at Atlanta's airport.

Republicans pushed the abortion bill through a tense and emotional committee hearing late Wednesday, where advocates and citizens on both sides of the issue were moved to tears.

Atlanta's mayor has come out strongly against the airport takeover plan.

Also up for possible consideration is a hate crimes bill that would add penalties for those convicted of targeting specific groups.

Opponents to HB 481 hold a press conference led off by Rep. Park Cannon, at podium, D - Atlanta. The bill would severely restrict abortions. The legislature was in session for "crossover" day, the 28th day of the 2019 General Assembly. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

State Sen. Burt Jones, sponsor of the bill to give the state control of Hartsfield-Jackson airport, is congratulated by Senator Lee Anderson, R - Grovetown, after the passage of the bill Thursday, March 7, 2019. The Georgia Senate voted Thursday to approve a measure that would give the state control of Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The legislature was in session for "crossover" day, the 28th day of the 2019 General Assembly. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Several woman legislators, including Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero, left, D - Norcross, brought coat hangers into the House Thursday, March 7, 2019 to show opposition to HB 481, which would toughen restrictions on abortions. The legislature was in session for Crossover" Day, a legislative deadline by which bills must generally pass out of one chamber or the other to remain alive for the session. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Sen. John Albers, R - Roswell, urges a yes vote Thursday, March 7, 2019, on one of multiple amendments on a bill by State Sen. Burt Jones that would give the state control of Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The Georgia Senate voted Thursday to approve a measure that would give the state control of Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The legislature was in session for "crossover" day, the 28th day of the 2019 General Assembly. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers are thought to have extended their streak of hiring in February even as the overall economy is showing signs of slowing.

On Friday, the government is expected to report that the economy added 182,000 jobs last month, down from a blockbuster gain of 304,000 in January, according to data provider FactSet. Even such a smaller job gain, though, would be enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. The consensus forecast is that the jobless rate dipped to 3.9 percent last month from 4 percent in January.

Slowing global growth, a trade war with China and signs of increased caution among consumers have led many economists to forecast weaker growth in the first three months of this year.

Still, most analysts expect businesses to keep hiring and growth to rebound in the April-June quarter. It will be harder than usual, though, to get a precise read on the economy because many data reports are still delayed by the partial shutdown of the government, which ended Jan. 25.

In the meantime, there are cautionary signs. Consumer confidence fell sharply in January, held back by the shutdown and by a steep fall in stock prices in December. And Americans spent less over the winter holidays, with consumer spending falling in December by the most in five years.

Home sales fell last year and price gains are slowing after the average rate on a 30-year mortgage reached nearly 5 percent last year. Sales of new homes also cratered late last year before picking up in December. And U.S. businesses have cut their orders for equipment and machinery for the past two months, a sign that they are uncertain about their customer demand.

FILE- In this March 4, 2019, file photo a worker cleans a jet bridge before passengers boarded an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland, Ore., at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. On Friday, March 8, the U.S. government issues the February jobs report, which will reveal the latest unemployment rate and number of jobs U.S. employers added. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

The economy is forecast to be slowing to an annual growth rate of just 1 percent in the first three months of this year, down from 2.6 percent in the October-December quarter. Growth reached nearly 3 percent for all of last year, the strongest pace since 2015.

Still, economists expect a rebound in the April-June quarter, and there are already signs of one: Consumer confidence rose in February along with the stock market.

And more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in January, propelled by lower mortgage rates. Analysts have forecast that annual growth will top 2 percent next quarter.

In this Thursday, March 7, 2019, photo visitors to the Pittsburgh veterans job fair meet with recruiters at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. On Friday, March 8, the U.S. government issues the February jobs report, which will reveal the latest unemployment rate and number of jobs U.S. employers added. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)BEIJING (AP) - China's foreign minister on Friday promised "all necessary measures" to defend Chinese companies and citizens abroad amid legal clashes between tech giant Huawei and Washington.

Recent legal action against Chinese companies and individuals is "deliberate political suppression," said Wang Yi at a news conference.

Wang was responding to a question about Beijing's stance on Canada's arrest of a Huawei Technologies Ltd. executive on U.S. criminal charges and the company's lawsuit in an American court aimed at overturning restrictions on sales of its telecom equipment.

"Recent actions against specific Chinese enterprises and individuals are not simply judicial cases, but deliberate political suppression," said Wang.

Beijing will take "all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens," he said.

"We also support companies and individuals using legal weapons to protect their rights and interests and not to be silent lambs."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi listens to a journalist's question during a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam last week was an "important step" toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China's government has demanded Canada release Huawei's chief financial officer. She is fighting U.S. efforts to extradite her to face charges of lying to banks about dealings with Iran.

Wang gave no details of what Beijing might do, but a Canadian former diplomat and a businessman have been arrested in China in what is widely seen as an effort to pressure Canada.

Authorities also have slowed imports of Canadian canola, an oilseed crop, by imposing more stringent inspections.

Meanwhile, Huawei faces charges including theft of trade secrets in a case in federal court in Seattle. The company pleaded not guilty this month.

On Thursday, Huawei announced it filed a lawsuit asking U.S. federal court to throw out a portion of this year's American military appropriations bill that bars the government from using its technology or dealing with contractors that do.

Huawei argues the measure improperly singles out the company for penalties without giving it a chance to defend itself.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. China's foreign minister says Beijing will "take all necessary measures" to defend its companies following legal conflicts between tech giant Huawei and the United States. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)WAIMIRI-ATROARI RESERVE, Brazil (AP) - First the helicopters arrived, dropping chemical bombs. Then came armed men in green uniforms who proceeded to slaughter members of an Amazon tribe to make way for a major road.

Bare Bornaldo Waimiri, at the time a teenage member of the Waimiri-Atroari tribe deep in Brazil's Amazon, said the day of that attack, many years ago, was the last he saw his family alive.

Now elderly, Bornaldo described the horrific scene last week during a historic hearing that put a spotlight on Brazil's military, which denies attacking the tribe. His testimony underscored the constant tension between development and conservation in Latin America's largest nation and comes as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro gives a prominent role to the military in his government and ends new indigenous land demarcations in the Amazon.

"I lost my father, my mother, my sister and my brother," Bornaldo said in a very low voice, wearing shorts and tapping his flip-flops on the ground as two translators put his words into Portuguese.

The hearing took place in a thatched, cone-shaped hut where the Waimiri-Atroari normally hold colorful festivities and long storytelling sessions. For one day last week, it transformed into a gloomy courthouse where six elders told a judge how over many years the 1964-1985 military dictatorship tried to eradicate them with arms, bombs and chemicals.

The Associated Press and one local newspaper were the only media allowed to attend the hearing. Non-tribal members in general are usually forbidden to enter the sprawling reserve that is the size of Israel and straddles the states of Amazonas and Roraima.

Temehe Tomas Waimiri, sitting center left and wearing blue shirt and glasses, gives testimony about alleged crimes committed by the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1970s, during a hearing inside a traditional "maloca" indigenous hut, at the Waimiri-Atroari reserve in Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Temehe Tomas said he saw a group of soldiers attacking by land and helicopters dropping bombs. "The attackers had uniforms of the color of the jungle," he said. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Tribe members and prosecutors said it marked the first time a judge was allowed on Waimiri-Atroari lands to hear witnesses tell of several alleged attacks over the years. Leaders said their aim was to deal with the past and avoid future incursions.

"To turn this page, we all have to read the book," tribal leader Mario Parwe Atroari said.

Most indigenous tribes that allege atrocities during the dictatorship are reluctant to give a full accounting of incidents in urban courthouses because they don't trust non-indigenous peoples. Some also fear being prosecuted for their own attacks against state agents and missionaries.

While tribesmen nodded during Bornaldo's testimony, a half-dozen military personnel in uniform stood in silence. Retired Col. Hiram Reis e Silva, dressed in a white-collared shirt and jeans, shook his head as the witnesses spoke. Reis e Silva, who said he worked near the reserve after 1982, was at the hearing to represent the military.

"My version of the story is very different," Reis e Silva told the AP. "There are some exaggerations. We hope truth is re-established."

"I also have several witnesses who are the pioneers of the highway and counter everything (the tribe members say)," Reis e Silva added, though when asked to share contacts with any such person he declined to.

Before ruling, federal judge Raffaela Cassia de Sousa was expected to wait for forensics, which could include a determination of what chemical may have been used in the bombings witnesses described, and possibly more testimony and pieces of evidence.

There is no final date for a decision.

Federal prosecutors, who accuse the Brazilian state of genocide in their civil suit, said hundreds, if not thousands, of tribe members died between 1968 and 1977, when highway BR-174 was built. The deaths either happened by military strikes or because of diseases that came after the forceful construction of the road through the reserve, prosecutors said.

The witnesses said they don't know the dates of the alleged attacks. The Waimiri-Atroari do not measure time in months and years, and instead talk of events in relation to their phase in life.

Prosecutors said they believe that the attack Bornaldo witnessed took place after 1974, the year the aggressions intensified. The massacre he saw was one of numerous attacks during the construction of a portion of the road that connects the cities of Manaus and Boa Vista, according to prosecutors and tribesmen testifying.

All six tribe members testifying said the aggressions came from the Brazilian army while it oversaw the construction of 75 miles (120 kilometers) across the Waimiri-Atroari reserve.

At the time, military leaders said the tribe was impeding government employees from building the road. However, the military has never acknowledged a role in attacking the tribe.

"Documents of that time show the military dictatorship considered the indigenous a hurdle to development and that their presence in areas of government interest could not stop construction works," said journalist Rubens Valente, who attended the hearing and is the author of a book on the relationship between Brazil's authoritarian regime and indigenous tribes.

During last week's hearing, the government's lawyers suggested in their questions that miners or local criminals were behind the attacks, assertions that tribal members rejected.

In explaining their own use of violence, Waimiri-Atroari said they were just defending their territory. According to Valente's book, which prosecutors cite, at least 26 people, including construction workers, government liaisons with indigenous groups and members of religious missions, were killed during the construction of the road.

Compared to South American countries like Chile and Argentina, Brazil has done little to uncover atrocities at the hands of the military, particularly against indigenous peoples.

The allegations of the Waimiri-Atroari pose a challenge to Brazil's armed forces, who say their regime only cracked down on adversaries that pushed for a socialist revolution.

Slender and low-voiced Dawuna Elzo Atroari said he witnessed a blitzkrieg style attack against the tribe in a different incident than the one Bornaldo described.

"Before this road we lived well and in peace, we were healthy," he said, his hands shaking. "After the road, people died and we were threatened."

"I had a gun pointed to my ear," he recounted.

Wildlife is abundant in the region, with sloths, monkeys and jaguars frequently appearing. Bayous filled with fly-attracting pink flowers can be seen from the road. Not far from it, the trees become leafier and taller.

The Waimiri-Atroari close off the road with a massive chain each day at 6 p.m. so as to protect wildlife and the tribe itself. It only reopens at 6 a.m.

The testimony of the elders, all youngsters during the construction of the road, are key in the suit demanding the state pay the tribe $13 million in damages, issue an official apology in a ceremony on Waimiri-Atroari land, build a museum to remember the atrocities and mention human rights violations against them in public school books.

In 2014, a Brazilian truth commission said more than 8,000 members of indigenous tribes could have been killed at the hands of authoritarian regimes between 1946 and 1988, the vast majority during the 1964-1985 dictatorship.

Prosecutors estimate the number of Waimiri-Atroari victims between 600 and 3,000.

As the hearing went on and tribe members repeatedly accused the Brazilian military of slaughter, news emerged that had eerie parallels with the past: Brazil's federal government announced plans to build an energy line through the Waimiri-Atroari reserve, a move that politicians and military leaders have been pushing for since the construction of the BR-174.

Bolsonaro, who frequently praises the dictatorship and promises to open the Amazon to more development, deemed the energy line connecting the grid of the state of Roraima to the rest of Brazil's a matter of national security. The decision would allow him to avoid consulting the Waimiri-Atroari, as the law demands. Brazil now buys energy from crisis-ridden Venezuela to supply the isolated Northern state.

If the $600 million energy project goes forward in June as Bolsonaro pledged, there will be more deforestation in the Waimiri-Atroari lands with the installation of dozens of towers. A legal battle is expected.

Regardless of what happens, Parwe, one of the tribe leaders, said he was happy future generations would learn more about the Waimiri-Atroari.

"Everyone should know what happened here so it never happens again," Parwe said in a firm voice, standing next to the judge and looking at the military personnel in attendance.

____

Video journalist Victor Caivano contributed to this report.

The BR-174 highway cuts through the Waimiri-Atroari reserve in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Federal prosecutors, who accuse the Brazilian state of genocide in a civil suit, said hundreds, if not thousands, of tribe members died between 1968 and 1977, when the highway was built, due to military strikes or diseases that came after its forceful construction through the reserve. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Waimiri-Atroari elders attend a hearing about alleged crimes committed by the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1970s inside a traditional "maloca" indigenous hut on the Waimiri-Atroari reserve in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. The testimony of the elders, all youngsters during the construction of highway BR-174, are key in the suit demanding the state pay the tribe US$13 million in damages, issue an official apology in a ceremony on Waimiri-Atroari land, build a museum to remember the atrocities and mention human rights violations against them in public school books. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Waimiri-Atroari indigenous elders stand around a knife which they say was used in the 1970s by the military to kill many of their relatives on the Waimiri-Atroari reserve in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Some of the elders gave testimony in a hearing about alleged crimes by the military, that according to prosecutors massacred between 600 and 3,000 indigenous people during the construction of a highway that cuts through their reserve in the 1970s. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Military officers listen to the testimony of Temehe Tomas Waimiri about alleged crimes committed by Brazil's dictatorship in the 1970s during a hearing on the Waimiri-Atroari reserve, in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Now elderly, indigenous men described horrific scenes that put a spotlight on Brazil's military, which denies attacking the tribe. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Viana Wome Atroari, sitting center, and Wanaby Raimundo Atroari, standing right, wait outside a traditional indigenous "maloca" hut before giving their testimony about alleged crimes committed by Brazil's dictatorship in the 1970s during a hearing on the Waimiri-Atroari reserve, in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Viana Wome Atroari recalled seeing many victims, some with their throats slit. "When we arrived we saw people dead, lots of people dead: children, girls, everybody, everybody," he said. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Bare Bornaldo Waimiri sits before a microphone as he gives testimony about alleged crimes committed by the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1970s during a hearing on the Waimiri-Atroari reserve in Brazil's Amazon state, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. "I lost my father, my mother, my sister and my brother," Bornaldo said. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)BEIJING (AP) - China's exports to the United States plunged in January and February as President Donald Trump's punitive tariffs chilled demand, while sales to the rest of the world also weakened.

Exports to the United States, China's biggest trading partner, fell 14.1 percent from a year earlier to $52.3 billion in the first two months of 2019, customs data showed Friday. Analysts usually look at the first two months of the year together to screen out the effect of the Lunar New Year holiday, when factories close for up to two weeks.

China's global exports sank 4.6 percent to $353.2 billion for the two-month period.

The trade slump has added to pressure on Chinese leaders to make peace with Washington in their tariff fight over Beijing's technology ambitions. Premier Li Keqiang, the top economic official, warned this week China faces a "graver and more complicated environment."

The decline in exports to the U.S. market represented a worsening of December's 3.5 percent contraction.

Sales to the United States had kept growing by double digits through most of 2018 despite Trump's tariff hikes starting in July as exporters rushed to fill orders. But they started to slide in December once the full impact of the penalties hit.

FILE - In this July 6, 2018, file photo, a container ship is docked at a port in Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong Province. China's exports to the United States fell 14.1 percent from a year earlier in the first two months of 2019 as President Donald Trump's punitive tariffs chilled demand, while sales to the rest of the world also slid.(Chinatopix via AP, File)

This is the weakest start to the year for Chinese trade since 2016, according to Capital Economics.

Washington and Beijing say negotiations are making progress after Trump postponed another planned tariff hike March 1. But forecasters say even if they reach an agreement, this year's Chinese exports will be lackluster.

"Slow global demand will weigh on China's export growth in 2019," said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report.

A truce with Trump would help exports, but "tensions on technology and China's industrial policy are unlikely to subside any time soon," Kuijs said. "The survival of the agreement will remain dependent on political judgments in Washington."

Chinese imports of American goods in January and February plummeted 35.1 percent to $17.2 billion, depressed by Beijing's retaliatory tariffs and encouragement to importers to buy more from non-U.S. suppliers.

In the same period, exports to the 28-nation European Union rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier to $64.7 billion. China's trade surplus with Europe was $21.9 billion.

Total Chinese imports in January and February were off 3.1 percent from a year earlier at $309.5 billion, reflecting slowing domestic economic activity.

The country's global trade surplus was $43.7 billion. The politically sensitive surplus with the United States for the two-month period was $42 billion.MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday met a Filipino Muslim rebel leader who has become a regional governor under a Malaysian-brokered peace deal, telling him while it's easier to shoot and kill than to develop a nation, prosperity can only happen in the absence of war.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel chairman Murad Ebrahim said Mahathir pledged during their meeting in Manila that his country will help ensure the success of the peace accord that transformed him and other rebel commanders last month into administrators of a conflict-wracked Muslim autonomous region in the south.

Mahathir met Murad on the last day of his visit to Manila, where he held talks with President Rodrigo Duterte on a wide range of issues, including combatting Islamic State-linked militants in the largely Roman Catholic nation's southern region of Mindanao.

"Prime Minister Mahathir told him it's easy to shoot and kill, but it's difficult to develop. Chairman Murad said 'Yes, that is the next level of our struggle, how to develop and transform our revolutionary organization,'" said Nabil Tan, a Philippine official who joined the meeting.

Murad said Mahathir told him, "If there is peace, then everything will come ... He really encouraged us."

"I explained to him our priorities, the challenges. Part of the challenges is our transformation from revolutionaries to this governance. We want to have programs that will benefit the people," Murad told The Associated Press.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel chairman Murad Ebrahim, right, flashes a peace sign as he is greeted at a hotel in metropolitan Manila, Philippines on Friday, March 8, 2019. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has met Murad, a Filipino Muslim rebel leader who has become a regional governor under a Malaysian-brokered peace deal, telling him while it's easier to shoot and kill than to develop a nation, prosperity can only happen in peace. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Under the peace deal brokered by Malaysia, Murad's group gave up its goal of a separate Muslim state in exchange for broader autonomy. The 40,000 fighters and at least 7,000 firearms that Murad's group has declared are to be demobilized starting this year in three phases depending on progress in the agreement's enforcement.

The first huge batch of about 12,000 guerrillas and their firearms would be demobilized in two to three months, Murad said.

Murad's people, including fierce Muslim commanders still facing criminal cases for past attacks, were sworn in last month to comprise 41 of 80 regional administrators, who would lead a transition government for the five-province region called Bangsamoro until regular leaders are elected in 2022.

Duterte picked his representatives, along with Muslim rebels from another group, to fill the rest of the transition authority, which will also act as a regional parliament.

The Philippine and Western governments see effective Muslim autonomy as an antidote to nearly half a century of Muslim secessionist violence, which the Islamic State group could exploit to gain a foothold in the region.

Bangsamoro replaces an existing poverty-wracked autonomous region of more than 3.7 million people with a larger, better-funded and more powerful entity. An annual grant, which could reach more than $1 billion, is to be set aside to bolster development in a region that has little infrastructure and is deeply scarred by decades of fighting.

Smaller but more violent groups aligned with the Islamic State group like the Abu Sayyaf still threaten the region.

During talks with Mahathir on Thursday, Duterte thanked Malaysia for brokering the peace talks. The Malaysian leader pledged to continue helping.

A Malaysia-led team of 28 international peace monitors will remain in the south until all Muslim guerrillas have demobilized under the peace deal, Malaysian officials said. The European Union, Japan and Brunei have contributed personnel to the peacekeeping contingent, which has been credited for enforcing a yearslong ceasefire and helping ease major fighting in the past.BBC-Italy has become the first developed economy to sign up to China's global investment programme which has raised concerns among Italy's Western allies.

A total of 29 deals amounting to 2.5bn ($2.8bn) were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Rome.

The project is seen as a new Silk Road which, just like the ancient trade route, aims to link China to Europe.

Italy's European Union allies and the United States have expressed concern at China's growing influence.

What projects were signed in Rome?

On behalf of Italy, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, leader of the populist Five Star Movement, signed the umbrella deal (memorandum of intent) making Italy formally part of the Economic Silk Road and The Initiative for a Maritime Silk Road for the 21st Century.

Ministers then signed deals over energy, finance, and agricultural produce, followed by the heads of big Italian gas and energy, and engineering firms - which will be offered entry into the Chinese market.

China's Communications and Construction Company will be given access to the port of Trieste to enable links to central and eastern Europe. The Chinese will also be involved in developing the port of Genoa.TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) - Authorities in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas say at least 25 Central American migrants died when the truck they were traveling in overturned.

The Chiapas state prosecutor's office said in a statement late Thursday that 29 others were injured in the accident. It appears the driver lost control of the truck around 6 p.m. near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.

The injured were transported to hospitals as authorities investigated the cause of the crash.

In a statement, Guatemala's foreign ministry said 23 of those killed were Guatemalan migrants.

Photographs on social media show an overturned truck in an unpopulated area, with dozens of people lying on the ground nearby. Some of the wounded appeared to be waiting for help from paramedics.

The Guatemala foreign ministry said its consulates in the area were assisting those affected.

Chiapas is the historic entry point for Central Americans arriving in Mexico from the neighboring country.

The normal migratory flow has attracted additional attention recently with the arrival of several large migrant caravans from Central America during the past year.NEW DELHI (AP) - India's top court set up a mediation team Friday to try to settle a land dispute between Muslims and Hindus over plans to build a Hindu temple on a site where hard-liners demolished a 16th century mosque.

Attorney Vishnu Jain said the court gave the three-member team four weeks to submit its report. A retired Supreme Court judge will head the panel.

If the mediation bid fails, the Supreme Court will settle the dispute.

The court is hearing petitions challenging a 2010 lower court ruling that 1.12 hectares (2.77 acres) of disputed land be partitioned among the Hindus and the Muslims.

The destruction of the mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 sparked massive Hindu-Muslim violence in the country, leaving 2,000 people dead.

Hindu hard-liners say they want to build a new temple to Hindu god Ram on the site, which they revere as his birthplace. They say the 16th century Babri Mosque was built after a temple dedicated to the Hindu god was destroyed by Muslim invaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to build the temple in 2014 elections that brought him to power. The next national elections are due before May.HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - A Vietnamese fishing boat capsized after being rammed by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea's contested Paracel Islands, a Vietnamese official said Friday. China said its boat came upon the fishing vessel after it started sinking and sought help for the crew.

The boat was fishing near Discovery Reef when the incident occurred Wednesday, said the Vietnamese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. The Paracel archipelago is claimed by both Vietnam and China, which took control of the islands in 1974.

An online report by the newspaper Tuoi Tre said the five crewmen aboard the Vietnamese boat clung to the bow of their upturned vessel for two hours until they were rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat.

The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper reported that a Chinese government vessel received a distress call from a Vietnamese fishing boat and sailed to the area, where it found the boat partly sunk. The online report, quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, said the Chinese ship immediately contacted China's maritime search and rescue center to dispatch a rescue vessel and the five Vietnamese fishermen were rescued.

Lu said nothing about a vessel, Chinese or otherwise, ramming the Vietnamese ship other than to cite the original Vietnamese report. He also didn't specifically say that the Chinese ship rescued the fishermen.

China's territorial claims extend far into the South China Sea, and it maintains a robust maritime presence that includes driving away non-Chinese fishing boats. Its coast guard performs most such actions, assisted by ships of the maritime militia - ostensibly civilian fishing boats that can swiftly be mobilized. There have been several previously reported incidents of Vietnamese fishing boats being attacked by Chinese vessels.

China has also built up reefs and islands, transforming them into military installations to further its claim to the disputed waterway and its resources, a major point of regional tension. A standoff between the countries in 2014 after China parked an oil rig near the Paracel Islands sparked deadly riots in Vietnam.

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this story.MOSCOW (AP) - When a Russian army recruitment office ordered a photoshoot to celebrate International Women's Day, it didn't feature any of the 45,000 women currently serving in the country's armed forces.

Instead, the photos showed ballerinas in floaty white dresses posing with active servicemen in combats and machine guns. "The men's power lies in women's tenderness and love!" read a congratulatory note from the army office, based in Russia's fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg.

While International Women's Day is marked Friday across many countries with calls for gender equality, in Russia it is still a holiday largely focused on celebrating traditional gender roles.

Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government - including the influential chief of the Central Bank and speaker of the upper chamber of parliament - but traditional gender roles still hold sway, and efforts to address problems like the gender pay gap, domestic violence and sexual harassment have hardly scratched the surface.

A younger generation of Russian women, however, is hopeful changes are afoot.

In a video address Friday, President Vladimir Putin gave his annual speech praising women.

In this undated photo provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, soldiers and ballerinas pose for pictures during a photoshoot in Yekaterinburg, Russia, to mark International Women's Day. When a Russian army recruitment office ordered a photoshoot to celebrate International Women's Day, it didn't feature any of the 45,000 women currently serving in the country's armed forces. While International Women's Day is marked Friday across many countries with calls for gender equality, in Russia it is still a holiday largely focused on celebrating outdated gender roles. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

"In this day and age, you have attained the heights of practically all professions ... and at the same time you remain beautiful, charismatic, charming, the center of gravity for the whole family, uniting it with your love, with your capacity to inspire and support, to give warmth and comfort," he said.

The #MeToo movement appeared to have taken hold in Russia last year when three Russian journalists accused prominent lawmaker Leonid Slutsky of sexual harassment. Some media companies called for a boycott of the Russian parliament, and the chamber's ethics committee held a hearing - developments that led some to believe that Russia was ready for a serious discussion on sexual abuse and harassment.

But the complaints were later dismissed as a conspiracy to smear Slutsky's image, and the politician never admitted any wrongdoing.

Entrepreneur and lawyer Alyona Popova, one of the few voices to publicly side with the women, said she was shocked to see that not a single female Russian politician had come out to support the journalists.

"Lots of women in power know all too well what harassment is. They could have spoken out, but they didn't," Popova said.

Popova is preparing a draft bill to criminalize domestic violence, and is also lobbying for restraining orders to be introduced in Russia.

The Russian parliament in 2017 voted to decriminalize domestic violence that does not cause serious bodily harm - a move seen as a step back for a country where such violence is widespread. Some 12,000 women are killed as result of domestic violence in Russia every year, according to Human Rights Watch.

The gender pay gap is also an issue.

Olga Golodets, one of Russia's two female deputy prime ministers, said at a recent conference that women's average pay in Russia is equivalent to 70 percent compared to men's wages.

"With all the opportunities that women have, they do not achieve the same level of education, career growth and remuneration of their work, as men do," the minister said.

Some Russian women have decided to tackle the pay gap and harassment in their own way.

In the former imperial Russian capital St. Petersburg, two young women opened what they say is Russia's first exclusively female co-working space.

"I got tired of sexism and mansplaining at work, especially when I found out that my male colleague, who worked just as much as I do, had a salary up to 15,000 rubles ($230) higher than mine," says 27-year-old barista Svetlana Natarkhova, one of the co-founders of Simona, named after the French writer and feminist Simone de Beauvoir.

For a fee of just 150 rubles ($2.2) per day any female customer is welcome to stay and work at Simona, a bright, open space on the ground floor of a pre-revolutionary building.

Leda Garina, the other co-founder of Simona, said she is optimistic about the future of feminism even though "feminist" is often treated as a swear word in Russia.

She noted how a tiny group of feminists marching in the May 1, 2013 rally in St. Petersburg has expanded to several dozen at the same event five years later.

It's high time for Russians to reclaim March 8, Garina says, and celebrate it as "the day of women's solidarity and fight for women's rights."

The day before Women's Day, about a half-dozen male activists of the pro-Kremlin group Syet entered Simona despite the protests of women there and presented vases of flowers as gifts. As they were leaving, one woman sprayed the person filing the encounter with gas.

__

Irina Titova in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Harriet Morris and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.

In this undated photo provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, soldiers and ballerinas pose for pictures during a photoshoot in Yekaterinburg, Russia, to mark International Women's Day. When a Russian army recruitment office ordered a photoshoot to celebrate International Women's Day, it didn't feature any of the 45,000 women currently serving in the country's armed forces. While International Women's Day is marked Friday across many countries with calls for gender equality, in Russia it is still a holiday largely focused on celebrating outdated gender roles. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 7, 2019, a man carries bouquets of fresh flowers in Moscow, Russia, ahead of International Women's Day. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government and business but traditional gender roles and a wide gender pay gap show that Russia is falling behind the West in gender quality. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 7, 2019, a man carries a bouquet of fresh flowers in Moscow, Russia, ahead of International Women's Day. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government and business but traditional gender roles and a wide gender pay gap show that Russia is falling behind the West in gender quality. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 7, 2019, a man carries bouquets of fresh flowers in Moscow, Russia, ahead of International Women's Day. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government and business but traditional gender roles and a wide gender pay gap show that Russia is falling behind the West in gender quality. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this Monday, March 4, 2019 photo, women use the women-only co-working space Simona in St. Petersburg, Russia. Women in Russia hold prominent positions in the government but traditional gender roles and the gender pay gap persist. Some Russian women have decided to tackle the pay gap and harassment in their own way. In the former imperial Russian capital St. Petersburg, two young women opened what they say is Russia's first exclusively female co-working space. (AP Photo/Elena Ignatyeva)

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 7, 2019, a woman sells fresh flowers in Moscow, Russia, ahead of International Women's Day. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government and business but traditional gender roles and a wide gender pay gap show that Russia is falling behind the West in gender quality. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this undated photo provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, soldiers and ballerinas pose for pictures during a photoshoot in Yekaterinburg, Russia, to mark International Women's Day. When a Russian army recruitment office ordered a photoshoot to celebrate International Women's Day, it didn't feature any of the 45,000 women currently serving in the country's armed forces. While International Women's Day is marked Friday across many countries with calls for gender equality, in Russia it is still a holiday largely focused on celebrating outdated gender roles. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image taken from video on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, Russian lawyer Alyona Popova speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, Russia. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government and business but traditional gender roles still hold sway, and efforts to address problems like the gender pay gap, domestic violence and sexual harassment have hardly scratched the surface. Alyona Popova is preparing a draft bill to criminalize domestic violence, and is also lobbying for restraining orders to be introduced in Russia. (AP Photo/Vladimir Kondrashev)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea and the U.S. on Friday formally signed a deal on Seoul's increased payment for the U.S. troop deployment, amid worries about the future of the countries' decades-long military alliance.

President Donald Trump earlier pressured Seoul to increase its share, triggering concerns in South Korea that he might withdraw some of the 28,500 U.S. troops here if Seoul refused to accept his demand. Experts say Trump will likely again apply pressure when the two countries meet in coming months to determine Seoul's contribution next year.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris signed the new cost-sharing deal on Friday.

During a signing ceremony, Kang called the deal "the results of hard work and sometimes difficult work" that "the alliance can build upon to become stronger and greater." Harries said the deal's signing underscores "the importance of iron-clad nature of our alliance."

Earlier this week, the two countries eliminated their huge springtime military drills and replaced them with smaller training in what they called a bid to back diplomatic efforts to strip North Korea of its nuclear weapons. Trump tweeted that "the reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed."

After his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last year, Trump unilaterally announced the suspension of another major U.S.-South Korea exercise, calling joint drills "very provocative" and "massively expensive."

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris exchange documents at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 8, 2019. South Korea and the United States have formally signed a deal that increases Seoul's financial contribution for the deployment of U.S. troops in the Asian country. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

Many experts think the lack of comprehensive joint exercises will eventually likely weaken the allies' military readiness if diplomacy fails and tensions with North Korea return.

Trump's second summit with Kim in Vietnam last week ended without any agreement.

North Korea's state media on Thursday called the new, smaller U.S.-South Korea exercise "a wanton violation" of previous agreements to ease tensions and remove hostility among them. The statement was much milder than its past warlike statements issued in response to the just-ended South Korea-U.S. drills that North Korea viewed as an invasion rehearsal.

The cost-sharing deal, which involves the spending of South Korean taxpayer money, requires parliamentary approval in South Korea, but not in the United States. The deal will likely easily pass through South Korea's parliament as the main conservative opposition party highly values a stronger alliance with the United States.COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila's center-right government resigned Friday after the governing coalition failed to agree on and push through a planned social and health reform.

"I take the responsibility for the failure. It has been a huge disappointment to me," Sipila told a news conference, according to public broadcaster YLE. He added that the reform "had been one of our most important projects."

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto accepted Sipila's resignation. The prime minister, who came to power in May 2015, will continue to serve in a caretaking role.

The move comes week before Finland holds parliamentary elections on April 14 to renew Finland's 200-seat Eduskunta assembly. The government's resignation would not change the timetable for next month's elections, the justice ministry said.

The planned health care reform was meant to tackle an aging population, improve efficiency and reduce public spending by 3 billion euros ($3.4 billions) by 2029. Successive governments have so far failed to accomplish the reform.

Sipala's three-party governing coalition held 123 out of 200 seats in parliament. The coalition included his own Center Party, the National Coalition Party and the small populist Blue Reform Party, once part of the euroskeptic True Finns.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila announces his cabinet's resignation during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence Kes'ranta in Helsinki, Finland, Friday, March 8, 2019. Sipila's center-right government resigned Friday after failing to push through a planned social and health reform. (Seppo Samuli/Lehtikuva via AP)

Last year, the latter broke up into two parties after internal divisions over tighter immigration policies.

Finland is due to take over the European Union's rotating presidency on July 1.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila announces his cabinet's resignation in a press conference at the prime minister's official residence Kes'ranta in Helsinki, Finland, Friday, March 8, 2019. Sipila's center-right government resigned Friday after failing to push through a planned social and health reform. (Seppo Samuli/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila arrives to announce his cabinet's resignation, in Helsinki, Finland, Friday March 8, 2019. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila's center-right government has resigned after failing to push through a planned social and health reform. (Seppo Samuli/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila arrives to announce his cabinet's resignation, in Helsinki, Finland, Friday March 8, 2019. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila's center-right government has resigned after failing to push through a planned social and health reform. (Seppo Samuli/Lehtikuva via AP)WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Workers in the Polish city of Gdansk dismantled Friday a statue of the late Solidarity-era priest, Henryk Jankowski, following allegations he sexually abused minors.

Councilors in the city voted Thursday to have the statue removed, and to have the name of the square where it stood - named after Jankowski - changed. They also want Jankowski stripped of the Baltic city's honorary citizenship. The city mayor has spoken in favor of the monument's removal.

A crane took the metal figure off its stone base and put it on a truck that drove the statue away to a storage place. Jankowski's critics are calling for the allegations to be examined.

The statue was funded in 2012 to recognize Jankowski's staunch support for the Solidarity pro-democracy movement in the 1980s, borne out of a strike at the Gdansk shipyard.

Questions over Jankowski resurfaced last year when at least two people alleged to Polish media that they were abused as minors. A previous investigation into allegations that Jankowski sexually abused young boys was stopped in 2003.

Protesters who wanted to draw attention to the abuse allegations in strongly Catholic Poland toppled the statue last month, cushioning its fall with car tires. Shipyard workers had put it back up.

Workers dismantling a statue of the late Solidarity-era priest, Henryk Jankowski, following a decision by city councilors remove it, amid allegations Jankowski sexually abused minors, in Gdansk, Poland, on Friday, March 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Wojciech Strozyk)

The controversy takes place as the Vatican seeks to contain damage caused by an array of sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

Jankowski, who died in 2010, gained prominence through his support for the nationwide Solidarity movement and its leader, Lech Walesa, in their struggle against Poland's communist regime.

World leaders including President George H.W. Bush and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Jankowski's St. Brygida Church in Gdansk in recognition of his anti-communist activity.TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A top Iranian diplomat asserted on Friday that the U.K.'s decision to give diplomatic protection to a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran for nearly three years contravenes international law.

British officials have said Iran has failed to meet its international obligations in its treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The Iranian ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, said in a tweet Friday: "UK Govt's extension of diplomatic protection to Ms Zaghari contravenes int'l law. Govts may only exercise such protection for own nationals. As UK Govt is acutely aware, Iran does not recognize dual nationality. Irrespective of UK residency, Ms Zaghari thus remains Iranian."

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 while traveling with her toddler daughter in Iran. Her five-year prison sentence for plotting the "soft toppling" of its government has been widely criticized.

In response to the granting of diplomatic protection to Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, issued a statement Friday welcoming the British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's action: "This is an important step that has not been used in the UK in 150 years."

"We renew our plea for the Iranian authorities to release Nazanin as soon as possible," the statement added.JERUSALEM (AP) - Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have attempted to prevent a liberal Jewish women's group from praying at a key Jerusalem holy site, leading to a tense confrontation between protesters and police.

The women gathered Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of Women of the Wall, a women's prayer group that seeks equality of worship at Judaism's holiest site, which coincides this year with International Women's Day.

The women wore religious attire that ultra-Orthodox tradition reserves for men and swayed in prayer as Orthodox men spit, shoved and shouted insults.

Police tried to restrain protesters charging at the women's prayer circle, and said they arrested one youth for attacking an officer.

The Israeli government, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, scrapped plans for a mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall in 2017.COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A 46-year-old man was found guilty Friday of preparing an attack in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic State group and sentenced to seven years in jail.

The Solna District Court in Stockholm says David Idrisson, an Uzbek national who has been living legally in Sweden since 2008, should be expelled for life from Sweden where his family lives after serving his time. He was also found guilty of financing the radical Islamic group in Syria.

The court said Friday that Idrisson had gathered some 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of chemicals, knives, gas masks and military equipment, and photos of potentials targets in Stockholm were found on his cellphone.

Two other younger men who Idrisson knows and who were also suspected in the case, were acquitted. They were released from detention earlier this week.

A total of six men were also accused of financing IS by sending up to 20,000 kronor ($2.135) each. The court found four of them - including Idrisson - guilty of that charge and gave them prison sentences ranging between four and six months. Two were acquitted.

The men - five Uzbeks and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan - communicated via closed chatrooms. All live legally in Sweden and denied wrongdoing.

There was no link to Rakhmat Akilov, the Uzbek man behind the 2017 deadly Stockholm truck attack.GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. refugee agency says it is opening its first reception center in Colombia to support people leaving neighboring Venezuela.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic says the center set up along with Colombian authorities in the border city of Maicao opens Friday and can initially take in up to 350 people. He said it "has the possibility to grow" in the future.

The Geneva-based agency said Friday that hundreds of people including children, the elderly and those with medical conditions are "forced to live on the streets" because of a lack of shelter in Maicao.

UNHCR says 2.7 million Venezuelans have left their crisis-ridden country since 2015, and Colombia is the country most-affected by the outflow, with more than 1.1 million.

The agency said humanitarian needs have "overwhelmed" Colombia's reception capacity.KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan official says the death toll in a mortar attack in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has risen to 11, while the number of wounded has reached almost 100.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said Friday that Afghan security forces were among the wounded in the attack a day earlier.

Insurgents targeted a ceremony attended by the country's chief executive and a former president, both of whom were unharmed.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the ceremony honoring a slain leader of Afghanistan's ethnic Hazaras. Most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, reviled by the radical Sunni IS group.

Rahimi says two attackers were killed and a third was arrested. He added that those killed in the attack were all civilians.Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. MANAFORT ONLY GETS 4 YEARS IN PRISON WHEN 20 WAS POSSIBLE

The former Trump campaign chairman has been sentenced to only 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

2. HOW THE HOUSE RESPONDED AFTER ANTI-SEMITISM DISPUTE

Divided in debate but mostly united in a final vote, the House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry.

3. POWER OUTAGE IN VENEZUELA RAISES TENSIONS

Attorney Kevin Downing walks to the microphones to speak with reporters following the sentencing of his client former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, in Alexandria, Thursday, March 7, 2019. Manafort was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Much of Venezuela remained engulfed by darkness amid one of the largest power outages in years as the blackout hit 22 of 23 states by some accounts.

4. WHY SUPPORT FOR MILITANTS IN PAKISTAN COMPLICATES CRACKDOWN

Many of the militant groups are popular among the poor because they operate networks of charities. Some groups have also enjoyed the support of the military and intelligence services.

5. ANALYSTS: NORMAL OPERATIONS RESTORED AT N. KOREAN LAUNCH SITE

U.S. analysts say North Korea appears to have restored normal operations at a long-range rocket launch site it had partially dismantled last year as part of disarmament steps.

6. R. KELLY COULD BE LEFT WITH NOTHING AFTER MAKING MILLIONS

Tax and legal issues - including recently filed charges that he sexually abused three girls and a woman - could leave the Grammy winner with next to nothing.

7. JOE BIDEN COULD GET BOOST BY BACK TO BACK 2020 DEPARTURES

With two key rivals already getting out of the way, the former vice president has more space to court voters who could help him claim the Democratic nomination.

8. RUGGED IDITAROD HAS HIGH-TECH SUPPORT

Volunteers and race contractors monitor the progress in the 47-year-old dog race through sleds equipped with GPS trackers that allow fans to follow them online in real time and organizers to ensure no one is missing.

9. BRAZIL ARMY ACCUSED OF ATROCITIES

In a historic hearing, an indigenous tribe in the Amazon accused the Brazilian military of killing members to make way for the building of a road.

10. BUCKS PLAYER WANTS TO WORK ALONGSIDE POLICE

Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown wants to work alongside law enforcement on improving practices used during arrests and stops after police used a stun gun on him.

Mothers and relatives wait outside of an intense care room for babies at a clinic, during a power outage in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 7, 2019. A power outage left much of Venezuela in the dark early Thursday evening in what appeared to be one of the largest blackouts yet in a country where power failures have become increasingly common. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The European Union's police agency says law enforcement authorities seized illegally trafficked medicines last year worth more than 165 million euros ($185 million).

Europol said Friday that a seven-month operation involving authorities from 16 European countries led to 435 arrests and the seizure of 1.8 tons of medicines.

The police agency, which helped support the operations, says that more than half the medicines seized were counterfeit or falsified.

Europol says the illegally trafficked medicines included opioids but also treatments for heart disease and cancer as well as performance-enhancing drugs.

Police involved in the operations also seized criminal assets worth 3.2 million euros ($3.6 million). It did not elaborate further as to what these assets included.VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis denounced the "depraved hatred" behind a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in parts of the world and said interfaith dialogue can help counter it.

Francis met Friday with a delegation of the American Jewish Committee and praised their longstanding good relations.

He lamented that their meeting was taking place amid the spread of a "climate of wickedness and fury, in which an excessive and depraved hatred is taking root."

And he warned that for Christians, any form of anti-Semitism is "a rejection of one's own origins, a complete contradiction."

The audience occurred days after Francis responded to longstanding requests from Jewish groups to open the Vatican archives of its World War II-era pope, Pius XII, who has faced accusations of having failed to speak out enough against the Holocaust.

Francis didn't refer publicly to Pius, whom the Vatican has long defended as having used quiet diplomacy to save lives.

Pope Francis waves as he leaves St. John Lateran Basilica after meeting Roman clergy, in Rome, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The president of the AJC, John Shapiro, did, thanking Francis for opening the archives starting in 2020.

"We look forward especially to the involvement of the leading Holocaust memorial institutes in Israel and the U.S. to objectively evaluate as best as possible the historical record of that most terrible of times, to acknowledge both the failures as well as valiant efforts during the period of the Shoah," Shapiro said.BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Hungary's prime minister said Friday he would seek to form an alliance with Poland's populist ruling party if his governing Fidesz party is ousted from the main center-right group in the European Parliament.

The European People's Party is expected to make a decision on Fidesz's status on March 20. About a dozen smaller parties within the bloc called for the Hungarian party's ouster because of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's tough anti-immigration stance and perceived contradictions with the group's Christian Democratic values.

"It's possible this debate will end in a way that our place is not in the People's Party, but outside it," Orban said on state radio.

While Orban has often been at loggerheads with the European Union and the EPP since his return to power in 2010, his government's current ad campaign against EU migration policies provoked intense criticism. The posters and billboards depict European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who is part of the EEP, as advocating for mass migration into Europe.

Orban said he preferred to stay in the EPP, but wanted it changed.

"I'd rather prefer to achieve ... the transformation of the People's Party so there is room inside it for anti-immigration forces like us," Orban said. "Whatever happens in the future, no compromise is imaginable regarding the protection of Christian culture and immigration."

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019 file photo, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers his annual "State of Hungary" speech in Budapest, Hungary. The inscription reads: "For us Hungary is the first!" Hungary's populist prime minister says calls for his party's expulsion from a European Parliament group serve left-wing rivals. The debate in the European People's Party follows a Hungarian government ad campaign against migration. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP, File )

If Fidesz is expelled, "then the first place we will hold talks is in Poland."

Poland's governing populist Law and Justice Party is not in the EPP, and Orban has a close relationship with Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The EU has put Hungary and Poland under the microscope because of concerns about the rule of law and democratic values. Both countries have vowed to veto any possible EU sanctions against the other.

EPP group leader Manfred Weber, also the EPP candidate to succeed Juncker after May's European Parliament election, has set conditions for Fidesz to remain in the bloc.

They include ending the anti-Juncker campaign - which the government said it will do by March 15 - apologizing for the ads, and ensuring that Central European University, founded by George Soros, who appears with Juncker on the billboards, can keep all of its activities in Budapest.MADRID (AP) - Spain's Civil Guard says it has arrested six people for possibly swindling 1.8 million euros ($2 million) from elderly people held at an alleged "house of horrors."

In a tweet, the police force said it found foreign elders locked up, drugged and often fed through tubes at the private nursing home near the southern city of Cadiz. An elderly German man and a Dutch woman were found to be in a "terrible state."

According to the local Diario de Cadiz newspaper, a Cuban woman and a German man were among those arrested over allegations that they duped the elders to designate them as heirs.

The report said Interpol was first alerted by a friend of one of the residents.BERLIN (AP) - Hundreds of police officers are searching for a teenager who went missing in Berlin last month in a case that has distressed Germany.

German news agency dpa reported that 100 officers were sifting through a forest 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of the capital Friday.

The search comes after investigators said earlier this week that the 15-year-old, only identified as Rebecca, was probably no longer alive and that her 27-year-old brother-in-law was a suspect in her disappearance.

The brother-in-law has been detained but is refusing to cooperate with investigators. Rebecca's family says he's innocent.

Police received more than 700 responses from the public after asking for help. In particular, they're trying to find out why the brother-in-law drove to eastern Germany on the day Rebecca disappeared.

Berlin police searches a forest in Kummersdorf, Germany, on Thursday, March 7, 2019. Hundreds of police officers are searching for a girl who went missing in Berlin last month, in a case that has distressed the country. German news agency dpa reported that 100 officers were sifting through a forest 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of the capital on Friday. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)

Berlin police searches a forest in Kummersdorf, Germany, on Thursday, March 7, 2019. Hundreds of police officers are searching for a girl who went missing in Berlin last month, in a case that has distressed the country. German news agency dpa reported that 100 officers were sifting through a forest 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of the capital on Friday. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Attorneys for a double-amputee Army veteran accused of shooting two people at a Florida hospital for veterans a told federal judge they believe he's competent to stand trial.

The Palm Beach Post reports that during a preliminary hearing Thursday, Magistrate Judge William Mattheman ordered 59-year-old Larry Ray Bon to remain in custody.

Authorities say Bon wounded two people, including a doctor, during a Feb. 27 shooting at the VA Medical Center in Riviera Beach. Court records show he went to the hospital to meet with his primary care physician, who sent him there for mental health treatment under Florida's Baker Act. The act allows patients to be hospitalized against their will for up to 72 hours.

The judge set another hearing for May 6.CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A newspaper is reporting that a South Carolina megachurch with a volunteer accused of sexually assaulting 14 children has a history of child sexual misconduct cases.

The Post and Courier reports 28-year-old Jacop Hazlett is the fourth NewSpring Church worker to be accused since 2016.

The Southern Baptist church has 14 campuses where 20,000 weekly attendees donate $41 million a year.

In each case, the paper says, church officials have expressed shock and fired the accused.

In 2016, volunteer Leo La Salle Comissions admitted to fondling a teen on a church campus, and volunteer Chaz McKinsey Wood admitted to molesting a 10-year-old. Each pleaded guilty to assault and received probation. Youth pastor Caleb Lide Jordan's case is pending; he's accused of soliciting sex from a minor last year.

___

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.comHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - An ethics panel has fined a former University of Connecticut diversity official $20,000 after determining she awarded her husband a $54,000 fellowship he did not apply for and was not eligible to receive.

The state Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board on Thursday assessed the fine on Charmane Thurmand, who as UConn's graduate diversity officer assisted the graduate school in awarding diversity fellowships.

Thurmand resigned when the allegations first surfaced and has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against UConn. That suit is pending.

Her attorney said he was not surprised by the ethics panel's decision.

"The State of Connecticut Ethics Commission consists of political appointees, and is a government apparatus that has simply continued the racial discrimination initiated by the defendant University of Connecticut," attorney James Brewer said. "A real trial will occur in the United States District Court where my client's racial discrimination suit is pending."

The university said Thurmand included her husband, Martinus Evans, as a fellowship recipient for fall 2016 and told the graduate school dean the decision had been approved by an independent selection committee. UConn said that its investigation found Thurmand's husband was ineligible because he did not have the required degree.

The ethics board held four days of hearings and determined Thurmand's actions violated state law and policies.

UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said the board's findings were in keeping with the university's.

"When UConn became aware of potential misconduct on the part of this employee, the university investigated and, upon conclusion of the investigation, took swift action by moving to initiate disciplinary proceedings," Reitz said. "The employee in question resigned before that could take place."WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump will host Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the White House next week to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

On Thursday, the prime minister will participate in the annual shamrock ceremony, presenting Trump with a bowl of Ireland's famous greens. St. Patrick's Day this year is on Sunday, March 17.

The White House says the two are to discuss how to strengthen relations between the United States and Ireland, enhance economic and people-to-people ties and maintain progress achieved by the Good Friday Agreement.

The 1998 agreement set in place a historic power-sharing assembly that took over some of the decision-making powers from London. The agreement also reduced the British military's operations in Northern Ireland.BEIRUT (AP) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group is calling on his supporters to donate funds as it comes under tighter sanctions from western countries.

The rare call came during a televised speech Friday by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a few days after Britain joined the United States in banning the group as a terrorist organization. The U.S. has increased its pressure on the group recently, placing several sets of sanctions on Hezbollah and its regional backer, Iran.

"The resistance needs your support ... because we are in the heart of the struggle," Nasrallah said. He added that the group will face sanctions with "patience and steadfastness."

"We can survive this war," he said.

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group listen to a speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, via a video link, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 8, 2019. Nasrallah called on his supporters to donate funds to the group as it comes under tighter sanctions from western countries. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group listen to a speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, via a video link, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 8, 2019. Nasrallah called on his supporters to donate funds to the group as it comes under tighter sanctions from western countries. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Prosecutors say a couple was panhandling along a North Carolina road when a foreigner pulled over with a proposal for the woman: Marry him so he could stay in the country, and they'd receive $12,000 along with payments for a house and car.

Citing court records, The News & Observer reports that 31-year-old Melissa Anne Godshall accepted the offer from 44-year-old Levan Lomtatidze, a native of the country of Georgia. Her boyfriend, 46-year-old Robert Kennerly, served as a witness during the marriage ceremony.

The U.S. attorney's office says all three are now indicted on charges involving marriage fraud. News reports didn't include comments in their defense.CHICAGO (AP) - Police say a shooting outside a Chicago nightclub left an employee dead and another man wounded.

Police say in a statement that there was a fight involving about 15 people early Friday outside Sound-Bar in the city's River North district. Investigators say on person involved pulled a handgun and fired shots.

Police say the employee, identified as a 28-year-old man, was pronounced dead at hospital.

A 58-year-old man identified by police as being "associated with the business" was listed in stable condition with bullet fragments in a leg and arm.

No one was immediately taken into custody, but police say the suspected shooter was a male. The shooting is under investigation.CLEVELAND (AP) - A city outside Cleveland has agreed to pay $1 million to the estate of an unarmed man fatally shot by a police officer after a vehicle chase in March 2017, an attorney for the estate confirmed Thursday.

The federal lawsuit was filed in January 2018 on behalf of the estate of Roy Evans Jr. The lawsuit claimed Strongsville police officer Jason Miller ignored a supervisor's order, rushed toward the 37-year-old Evans' van with his gun drawn and fatally shot Evans within a second of Miller's opening the driver's side door.

Miller told investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation that he feared for his life. A grand jury in Medina County later cleared Miller of wrongdoing. Miller told investigators it was his fourth on-duty shooting.

The lawsuit claimed that Miller endangered Evans' girlfriend and her three children, who were in the van that night.

Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender told Cleveland.com he was glad that Strongsville agreed to settle.

The shooting occurred after a chase that began with a Strongsville officer attempting to pull over Evans' van for not having its headlights on. State Highway Patrol troopers joined the pursuit with speeds reaching 100 mph. Despite the use of spike sticks to flatten the van's tires in the southbound lanes of Interstate 71, Evans continued driving. The chase ended about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Cleveland with officers surrounding the van with their cruisers.

Despite a supervisor's orders that officers take cover, Miller and another officer rushed toward the van, the lawsuit said.

Miller told investigators he was afraid Evans was going to "back up and pin" him. Dashcam video showed Miller standing to the side of the van and not in its path. Miller told investigators he shot Evans when he saw Evans' right hand drop out of view.

"I thought for sure he was going for a gun," Miller said. "The thought process was so fast to try and get to the draw before he did."

No guns were found in the van. Officers later learned that Evans was reaching toward rolls of carpet stuffed between the driver's and passenger's seat.

Miller shot Evans again about 2 seconds after the first shots, a BCI report said. Miller told investigators he fired again when he saw Evans' hand dropped further out of sight.

Evans' girlfriend told investigators she begged Evans to stop, but he refused because he was on parole and didn't have a driver's license. She said Evans was returning from a carpet job the night he was killed.

The girlfriend and her children weren't injured.

___

Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.comOZARK, Ala. (AP) - A truck-driving preacher accused of killing two teenage girls from Alabama nearly 20 years ago was found with the same genealogy database techniques used to apprehend the suspected "Golden State Killer" last year.

Law enforcement interest in using genetic genealogy to crack cold cases has ballooned since the high-profile arrest of a suspect in the California serial killings, who was found by running crime scene DNA through a genealogy database, said CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs. The same company did the searches in the Alabama case.

Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, both 17, disappeared after setting off for a party in southeastern Alabama on July 31, 1999. Their bodies were found the next day in the trunk of Beasley's black Mazda along a road in Ozark, a city of 19,000 people about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Montgomery. Each had been shot in the head.

The case sat unsolved for nearly two decades, until the Golden State killer arrest .

Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker, who said he always believed the case could be solved, said "let's try that."

Police arrested Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan, on Friday after the Alabama crime scene sample was analyzed and uploaded to GEDMatch, a public genetic database repository where more than a million people have uploaded profiles from at-home ancestry kits.

This Saturday, March 16, 2019 booking photo provided by the Dale County Sheriff's Office, shows Coley McCraney. Al.com reported McCraney, of Dothan, was arrested Saturday and charged with rape and capital murder in the 1999 deaths of 17-year-olds Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley. Ozark police and Dale County sheriff's officials are scheduled to hold a press conference about the case on Monday, March 18. Authorities in Alabama said a DNA match found through a genealogy website led to to the arrest. (Dale County Sheriff's Office via AP)

"We are looking for second, third, fourth cousins and then we reverse engineer the family tree based on the people who are sharing DNA with that crime scene sample," Moore said.

The police chief said the genetic genealogy work identified a family - which means at least one of McCraney's relatives had uploaded information - and kinship testing narrowed the potential suspects to a single person. The police chief said they obtained DNA from McCraney - he did not say how - and the state crime lab matched it to the DNA from the 1999 crime scene.

Moore said the company is now fielding calls for help in decades-old cases as interest grows in this technique. Since May, the company has helped provide law enforcement with identifications in 43 cases, she said.

She said genetic genealogy can help provide answers for families who have seen their loved one' murders go unsolved for years. "The fact that we can finally provide those is just incredibly important," Moore said.

While investigators seeking new leads in cold cases are intrigued, others see red flags.

"There are huge privacy concerns," said Jennifer Friedman, a public defender in Los Angeles who has been involved in cases involving DNA since the late 1980s. She said there are multiple problems with tying people to crimes using family genetic information, including the fact that most people probably wouldn't want a relative arrested based on their DNA sample.

Moore said she only uses a database where people have uploaded their information and are told it can be used this way. She said only a small fraction of the estimated 23 million people who have taken a consumer DNA ancestry test are in GEDMatch.

David Harrison, McCraney's lawyer, said he's an outstanding member of the community and a married man with children and grandchildren. He's been a truck driver and had his own church where he preached as recently as three weeks ago, Harrison said.

At the press conference announcing the arrest, Carol Roberts wore a brooch over her heart with a photograph of her daughter Tracie Hawlett, showing her youthful smile frozen forever in time. She had grown to doubt the case would ever be solved as the years slipped by.

"We've been through pure hell the last 20 years," said Mike Roberts, Hawlett's stepfather. "DNA don't lie," he said.

Tracie had planned since she was a little girl to become a doctor, her mother said. She would have turned 37 this month.

In their last conversation, the night she disappeared, Tracie asked if her friend could sleep over and go to church the next day.

"Last words out of her lips were, 'Mama, I love you.' Last words out of my mouth to her were, 'I love you.'"

___

Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, contributed to this report.

This combination of images from a 1999 flyer released by the Ozark (Ala.) Police Department, shows J.B. Beasley, left, and Tracie Hawlett, who were both murdered in July 1999. Alabama authorities say a DNA match found through a genealogy website has led to an arrest in the killings of the two teen girls nearly 20 years ago. Coley McCraney, of Dothan, was arrested Saturday, March 16, 2019, on rape and capital murder charges in the deaths of Hawlett and Beasley, according to Dale County jail records. (Ozark Police Department via AP)

Ozark (Ala.) Police Chief Marlos Walker comments during a press conference Monday, March 18, 2019 announcing the arrest of Coley McCraney of nearby Dothan for the 1999 slayings of Dothan teens J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. McCraney was arrested Friday and is held in the Dale County Jail with no bond. (Jay Hare/Dothan Eagle via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - Bernie Sanders spent much of 2016 talking of revolution. In 2019, he's turned to a subject that's a bit more pragmatic: electability.

As he revs up his second presidential campaign, the Vermont senator and his supporters are putting his case for winning the general election at the center of the argument. The emphasis is meant to aggressively confront the perception that Sanders , a self-described democratic socialist, is too liberal to win over the coalition needed to win the White House. That question dogged Sanders' campaign for the Democratic nomination four years ago. This time he is trying to shake it early.

On the trail, Sanders is quick to note that some of his policy ideas have moved from the fringe to the mainstream of the Democratic Party. His strategists argue he's best positioned to win over voters in the three Rust Belt states that Democrat Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016. Trump, the campaign argues, won Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, the keys to his Electoral College victory, by offering a version of Sanders' populist economic message.

What Trump was offering "was faux-Bernie Sanders in order to beat Hillary Clinton," Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir said, adding that Sanders plans to focus on the three states even as he fights off a crowded field of Democrats vying for the nomination in states with early primary contests. "We will invest, we will go to these states and demonstrate through real action, and hopefully data and numbers, that we can beat Donald Trump."

The early focus on the general election is just one of the many ways Sanders has evolved from the freewheeling candidate of 2016 to a front-runner. Already, the campaign has 70 staffers on its payroll , compared to 30 in July 2015, his advisers told reporters last week on a conference call arranged to discuss Sanders' "path to victory more than 600 days before Election Day. In less than a week as a declared candidate, Sanders flexed the power of his robust donor list, raising $10 million from donors, the campaign said, a sum that dwarfed his rivals.

Sanders' viability-first focus comes as the Democratic field continues to expand. Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke jumped into the presidential race last week, and former Vice President Joe Biden appears on the cusp of announcing his plans. Biden and O'Rourke are each expected to infuse a more centrist strain of politics into the race, and supporters of both men say they could also appeal to white working-class voters who backed Trump in 2016.

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kayleigh McEnany, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said: "We are happy to go toe to toe with any Democrat 2020 contender, especially in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. President Trump expanded the map, winning states that have not been won by a Republican since the 1980s."

Whether Sanders would have beaten Trump in 2016 is, of course, unknowable. Indeed, like Trump, Sanders appealed to voters with populist promises to upend Washington and fight for the forgotten. It is possible that, if Sanders had been the nominee, he may have won some disillusioned or disconnected voters who ultimately voted for Trump over Clinton. But Sanders had weak spots with other key parts of the Democratic coalition - notably African-American voters. It's impossible to know whether he would have matched Clinton's overwhelming support from those voters.

Sanders' campaign argues that he's starting his 2020 bid in a stronger place among African-American and Latino voters. But this case isn't yet about convincing independent or moderates, but rather about convincing the Democratic base.

"The polls have been pretty consistent that Democratic primary voters are very focused on which candidate has the best chance to beat Trump, so I expect all the candidates to argue why they are uniquely positioned to win," said Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

"Bernie Sanders has a strong case that his economic message works in the states that delivered Trump the presidency in 2016, but his challenge is going to be articulating how he can defend himself against attacks that he is a socialist," Pfeiffer said.

Karine Jean-Pierre, a Democratic strategist and senior adviser at MoveOn, argued against the notion that a more centrist candidate is inherently more electable. "Often you'll hear arguments from centrist, or more corporate-aligned, Democrats that a candidate needs to run as a centrist to win - but those comments say more about the commenters' interests and ideology. They don't actually tell you much useful about political outcomes," she said.

"This year's primary is obviously a different dynamic than 2016, when there were only two Democrats, and much of that debate centered on electability - and then the candidate presumed by the Democratic establishment to be most 'electable' lost," Jean-Pierre said.

So far, Sanders has been focused on Democrats' shared goal of defeating Trump, whom he's called the most dangerous president in American history. But he's also placed himself as a standard-bearer in today's political environment.

"In 2016, this is where the political revolution took off," Sanders said during a recent trip to New Hampshire, a state that he won by 22 percentage points. He said that he began the race far behind Clinton, campaigning on ideas "considered by establishment politicians and mainstream media to be 'radical' and 'extreme.'"

Sanders says that now his ideas are supported by a majority of Americans, particularly Democrats and independents, as well as his rivals in the race.

Many of the hundreds who braved a snowstorm to hear Sanders speak said they believe Sanders is the Democratic candidate best suited to end the Trump era.

Kimberly Taylor, a 53-year-old who works at a veterinary clinic, said she was a huge supporter of Sanders in 2016 and is inclined to support him again.

"I know there's a huge running list and that there are a lot of people out there, but I think a lot of them are just reiterating what he's been saying pretty much his whole life," Taylor said of the Democratic field.

Asked whether Sanders is Democrats' best opportunity to beat Trump, she replied, "God, I hope so."

___

Woodall reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)

FILE - In this March 16, 2019 photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally in Henderson, Nev. Sanders spent much of 2016 talking of revolution. In 2019, he's turned to a subject that's a bit more pragmatic: electability. (AP Photo/John Locher)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - International journalists' organizations are criticizing the status of press freedom in South Korea after the country's ruling party singled out a Bloomberg reporter with South Korean nationality over what it claimed was a "borderline traitorous" article insulting President Moon Jae-in, resulting in threats to the reporter's safety.

The Democratic Party initially said Tuesday that it had no immediate plans to withdraw a March 13 statement by spokesman Lee Hae-sik, who attacked the reporter by name over a September article whose headline described the liberal Moon as acting as the "top spokesman" of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the U.N. General Assembly.

However, hours later, Lee said in an email that the party has decided to remove the reporter's name and personal details from the statement and that it apologizes to members of the foreign press "if it caused misunderstanding."

Lee also on March 14 attacked a New York Times article published last October that said Moon was serving as Kim's "agent" while advocating diplomacy with North Korea. Lee tried to discredit the Times story by bringing up its South Korean author's nationality. Lee said it was "merely an article written by a black-haired wire reporter," but didn't call out the writer by name. In South Korea, the expression "black-haired" is commonly used in nationalistic insults against South Koreans working for foreign companies who are said to be disloyal to the country.

After refusing to comment on the issue for days, Moon's office released a statement Tuesday evening saying that the government fully guarantees freedom of the press and "cannot accept any circumstances where a reporter's personal safety is threatened."

The ruling party statements by Lee came in response to a parliamentary speech last week by conservative lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who borrowed the Bloomberg headline to criticize Moon's diplomacy with North Korea following the collapse of last month's summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.

A woman displays a banner showing a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, to wish for peace on the Korean Peninsula, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. International journalists' organizations have expressed concern over South Korea's press freedoms after the country's ruling party singled out a Bloomberg reporter over what it claimed was a "borderline treacherous" article insulting Moon, resulting in threats to the reporter's safety. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The Asian American Journalists Association expressed "deep concerns" about the treatment of the Bloomberg journalist, saying that her safety was under threat "simply for doing her job."

"That she is being targeted by members of the South Korean government is also troubling," the AAJA said. "Threatening or intimidating journalists is unacceptable. Such activities have a chilling effect and undermine the freedom of the press for all journalists working in Korea."

AAJA-Asia and its Seoul subchapter, as well as the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club, have also issued statements expressing concern over the Democratic Party's statement, which the SFCC described as a "form of censorship and journalistically chilling."

In the email, Lee said the March 13 statement was chiefly aimed at Na and that the party has the right to criticize the work of journalists. Lee said there was "room for self-reflection" on whether it was appropriate to describe the Bloomberg article as "borderline traitorous" and that he acknowledges he may have caused "inconvenience to the reporter, and depending on the person, psychological shock." He said the party still views the headline as "clearly over the line" in terms of journalistic objectivity. Concerning the "black-haired wire reporter" comment, Lee said the expression "has nothing to do with racial prejudice" and it is a "political term" commonly used by South Korean internet users.

In a country deeply divided along ideological lines, being described as North Korea-friendly is a sensitive accusation for liberal politicians like Moon, who has been unwavering in his commitment to inter-Korean rapprochement, even in the face of North Korean threats. Moon has lobbied hard to set up nuclear diplomacy among Washington, Pyongyang and Seoul.

In an effort to keep the fragile diplomacy alive, Moon has tried to improve Kim's image and portray him as a credible diplomatic counterpart, describing him as a "candid and polite" leader who sincerely wanted to trade away his nuclear weapons to bring economic prosperity to impoverished North Koreans. Experts say the breakdown of the Trump-Kim talks has raised further doubts about Moon's claim that Kim is genuinely interested in dealing away his nuclear weapons.

The presidential Blue House responded sharply to Na's comments, calling them an insult to both Moon and South Koreans who want peace. During her parliamentary speech, Na said, "Please ensure that we never again hear the embarrassing talk that the president of the Republic of Korea is the top spokesman of Kim Jong Un," referring to South Korea by its formal name, as Democratic Party lawmakers began shouting at her.

While criticizing Na, Lee described the Bloomberg reporter's article as "borderline traitorous content that insulted the head of state while wearing the cloak of a U.S. wire service."

Moon's two conservative predecessors were both accused of suppressing freedom of speech.

Under former President Park Geun-hye, who is currently serving a lengthy jail term over a corruption scandal, prosecutors indicted a Japanese journalist on charges of defaming Park by citing salacious rumors about her whereabouts on the day of a ferry sinking that killed more than 300 people in 2014.

Before Park, former President Lee Myung-bak was said by critics to have turned major TV networks into his mouthpieces by filling their corporate leadership with close supporters.

A man passes by the Seoul Foreign Correspondent's Club office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. International journalists' organizations have expressed concern over South Korea's press freedoms after the country's ruling party singled out a Bloomberg reporter over what it claimed was a "borderline treacherous" article insulting President Moon Jae-in, resulting in threats to the reporter's safety. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 12, 2019, file photo, Na Kyung-won, the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. International journalists' organizations on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, have expressed concern over South Korea's press freedoms after the country's ruling party singled out a Bloomberg reporter over what it claimed was a "borderline treacherous" article insulting President Moon Jae-in, resulting in threats to the reporter's safety. (Kim Hyun-tai/Yonhap via AP, File)CHICAGO (AP) - R. Kelly yelled through tears in a recent TV interview before an audience numbering in the millions, saying he's in a fight for his life to disprove sexual abuse charges. That fight will ultimately be waged in court, with the only audience that matters numbering just 12 jurors.

While the day lawyers deliver opening statements to jurors inside a Cook County courtroom is still many months or even years away, court filings as well as comments by the R&B star himself and his attorney after charges in February provide clues about an emerging legal strategy.

Signs are they intend to question the veracity of his accusers and argue that, if he had sex with them, it was consensual and he thought they were of age. His attorney has also signaled he'll push to have some counts tossed on grounds statutes of limitation ran out or because some are too closely related to crimes for which Kelly was acquitted at his 2008 child pornography trial.

Kelly, 52, was right in more ways than one when he cursed during the interview with Gayle King of "CBS This Morning," saying: "I'm fighting for my ... life." If convicted on all ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse of three underage girls and one adult, the Grammy winner faces an effective life sentence of up to 70 years in prison.

The defense is expected to fine tune their argument over coming months that Kelly's accusers are misrepresenting the facts. For now, there's not much finesse.

"All of them are lying," Kelly told King in his only full interview since being charged. "I have been assassinated," he said. Kelly's lead attorney, Steve Greenberg, also told reporters the day of Kelly's arrest, "I think all the women are lying, yes."

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 file photo, R. Kelly, right, leaves Cook County Jail with his defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, in Chicago. A strategy seems to be slowly emerging about how R. Kelly and his legal team intend to defend him against charges he sexually abused three girls and an adult woman. (AP Photo/Matt Marton, File)

At a Friday pretrial hearing, prosecutors said they weren't immediately providing the defense with a copy of a video they say shows Kelly having sex with one of the minors because it's considered child pornography and shouldn't be distributed to anyone.

"The state's going to have to give it to us. They can't play hide the ball," Greenberg told reporters outside court later. "We're entitled to see the tape."

He said the prosecutor's office has handed over some evidence but still holds the bulk of it.

"I was expecting everything by this point," he said. "You should be in a position when you indict somebody the next day to turn over all the (evidence)."

Greenberg is best known for representing the accused in several high-profile murder cases, including of former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson. He was convicted in 2012 of killing his third wife in a case reopened after his fourth wife disappeared.

Greenberg is regarded as a savvy, experienced lawyer prone to quips that have sometimes raised eyebrows. In arguing that any sex was consensual, Greenberg told reporters last month about Kelly: "He's a rock star. He doesn't need to have nonconsensual sex."

Greenberg and attorney Michael Avenatti have regularly clashed via Twitter, both questioning the lawyerly skills of the other. Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in a civil case against President Donald Trump, gave video evidence to prosecutors that he says helped them charge Kelly.

Prosecutors say they won't have to depend only on the word of the accusers.

The video Avenatti turned over purportedly shows Kelly having sex with an underage girl 20 years ago while Kelly and the girl say aloud more than 10 times that she's 14, which could help prove Kelly knew she was a minor.

And another accuser, a hairdresser, says Kelly forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2003 when she was 24. Prosecutors say a police lab found Kelly's DNA in semen on a shirt she was wearing that day.

In a defense filing Wednesday, Greenberg questioned the motives of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, accusing her of bringing a flimsy criminal case based on old allegations "to thrust herself into the spotlight" of the #MeToo movement, which aims to highlight sexual abuse against women.

A Foxx spokeswoman declined comment.

Greenberg has also criticized Foxx for public statements in January calling allegations against Kelly in a Lifetime documentary "sickening." He said characterizing the allegations before charges were even brought illustrated bias and may have tainted the pool of potential jurors, rendering a fair trial impossible. He could revive those arguments in motions to dismiss or in appeals if Kelly is convicted.

The girl in two videos that Avenatti provided to prosecutors - one of which he turned over after Kelly was charged - is the same girl in a similar video at the heart of the 2008 trial.

Greenberg says that means charges related to her violate constitutional protections called "double jeopardy," designed to thwart overzealous prosecutors from charging people for the same crime for which they've already been acquitted.

"Double jeopardy," Greenberg said last month, "should bar that case." Kelly appeared to be making a similar point when he told King, "When you beat your case, you beat your case."

But legal experts say it's not that simple.

Double jeopardy shouldn't apply if it's not exactly the same incident being charged, said Monu Bedi, a professor at DePaul University College of Law. He said it also doesn't necessarily apply if it's the same incident but a different charge. All the 14 counts Kelly faced in 2008 were child pornography, while all 10 this time are sexual abuse, Bedi said.

But Illinois law extends protections against double jeopardy further than the protections provided under the U.S. Constitution. That could help Kelly's legal team make the case that - when it comes to the girl in the video - prosecutors are unlawfully charging him with the same crime for which he has been acquitted.

Greenberg has said the legal window on bringing at least some of the charges filed against Kelly shut years ago, though he hasn't fully explained how. Calculating when statutes of limitations run out are complex, relying on variables that are sometimes open to interpretation.

Illinois legislators in 2017 did erase all time limits for charging sexual assault of children and it unambiguously applies to such crimes that happened anytime since 2017. It can't apply retroactively to older crimes.

But that doesn't mean any sex abuse by Kelly in the late 1990s can't be charged now, Bedi said. That's because older sexual assaults are governed by the statute of limitations as it existed before 2017, when prosecutors had 20 years to charge abuse of children. So, if Kelly sexually abused a minor as far back as the late 1990s, prosecutors should still be within the 20-year charging window.

__

Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

___

Check out the AP's complete coverage of the investigations into R. Kelly.

FILE - In this Friday, March 15, 2019 file photo, R. Kelly's defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, speaks with reporters at the Leighton Criminal Court after a hearing regarding cameras in the courtroom for his client's upcoming case in Chicago. A strategy seems to be slowly emerging about how R. Kelly and his legal team intend to defend him against charges he sexually abused three girls and an adult woman. (AP Photo/Matt Marton, File)You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net

CRIME: THEFT FROM SENIORS

DATE: February 9, 2019

RCMP FILE: 2019-7486

West Kelowna RCMP responded to a theft on February 9th where a man took extreme advantage of seniors living in a community in Peachland. The man approached the home and stated he knew the husband. Once inside, Steve claimed he was a roofer, said he could see water damage in the ceiling and offered to check out the rest of the home. While doing so, he stole several pieces of sentimental jewellery and some precious cash from the bedroom. One of the pieces of missing jewellery is a bracelet that matches this platinum and gold necklace that was left behind. The thief is described as a Caucasian male in his late 40s or early 50s with brown hair weighing approximately 150 pounds. He was driving a white Ford F150 with a BC licence plate.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00.

CRIME: MISCHIEF AT JOHNSON BENTLEY

DATE: March 25, 2019

RCMP FILE: 2019-15703

Staff at Johnson Bentley Aquatic Centre located on Old Okanagan Highway in West Kelowna arrived on March 25th to a smashed front window. Video surveillance was checked where they discovered the window was broken just before 11:00 p.m. on March 24th by four youth suspects. The window was tough, but the vandals persevered until it broke. One male kicked the glass door, not breaking it. Another youth did a body slam into a glass window, then three of the youths picked up a garbage can and tossed it at the window. Finally, one youth picked up a bike frame and hurled it at the window, smashing it. After giving each other a high-five, they ran off to the neighbouring field. The suspects are described as being between 13 and 17 years old. Suspect number one is a male, 510- 6 tall wearing a grey hoodie, tan pants, and black shoes with white soles. Suspect 2 is slim, approximately 55 tall wearing a black and white spotted hooded jacket, black sneakers and a brown backpack. Suspect # 3 is shorter, about 54, approximately 14 years old, wearing a long green sweatshirt with hoodie, dark pants and black sneakers with white soles. Suspect number 4 is a female, approximately 14 years old with long black hair wearing a red sweatshirt, black leggings white shoes and a dark backpack. Four additional photos can be seen on our Facebook page.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

You can help catch these suspects and qualify for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net.PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Trump administration stepped up sanctions on Venezuela Friday in response to the kidnapping of a top aide for an leader the U.S wants to see replace the embattled - but not yet ousted - President Nicolas Maduro.

The Treasury Department announcement came while the President Donald Trump met with leaders from five nations in the Caribbean that generally support the U.S. call for an end to Maduro's rule. Trump hosted them at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and pledged U.S. investment in their countries.

The new sanctions, issued in response to the kidnapping, specifically target Venezuela's national development bank, BANDES, and four additional subsidiaries that BANDES owns or controls.

"The regime's continued use of kidnapping, torture and murder of Venezuelan citizens will not be tolerated by the U.S. or the international coalition" that is united behind Juan Guaido, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. He was referring to the opposition leader recognized by more than 50 countries as the legitimate interim leader following a flawed ballot that resulted in Maduro's re-election.

Earlier this week, forces affiliated with the Maduro government broke into the homes of officials backing Guaido and threatened them with their lives. Guaido's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, was kidnapped. In an op-ed published Friday in The Miami Herald, Vice President Mike Pence said the kidnapping was an "egregious violation of the rule of law" and was only the latest example of Maduro's "brutality and despotism."

"We're not bluffing when we told Maduro not to do stuff like this (the kidnapping)," John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser told Univision News in an interview aired Friday.

From left, National Security Adviser John Bolton, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, and President Donald Trump sit together during a meeting with Caribbean leaders at Mar-A Lago, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The U.S. has already sanctioned scores of top Venezuelan officials and has blocked U.S. banks from doing business with that country, imposing a financial strangle-hold on the cash-strapped nation. The sanctions announced Friday also came as members of Congress from both parties condemned Marrero's arrest.

"The international community is closely watching Maduro's actions and will respond accordingly to any that threaten the safety of the opposition and Interim President Juan Guaido," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

Trump hosted the leaders of Jamaica, Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia to show his support for Caribbean countries that back democratic transition in Venezuela. The five have either denounced Maduro or joined more than 50 countries in recognizing Juan Guaido as the rightful interim leader of the nation.

Trump told the leaders as the meeting kicked off that he would be "discussing ways that we can be beneficial to you and you can be beneficial to us."

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that at their meeting with Trump he learned that a representative from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets, would be visiting the region and the five countries.

"The message from this meeting is that the United States wants to encourage and promote stronger relationship with the region," Holness said. "It's absolutely important that it's not just talk, that there will be real investments."

"We're very happy with that message. We feel that that is a message that is long-in-coming, but we're also satisfied that it's not just a message. Were satisfied that there will be instrumental action."

The Trump administration considers Maduro's government a dictatorship and says he was re-elected in an illegitimate election. The U.S. has sanctioned scores of top Venezuelan officials and has blocked U.S. banks from doing business with Venezuela, putting a financial stranglehold on the cash-strapped country. The country is in an economic meltdown and millions of Venezuelans have fled.

Nations in the Caribbean, however, have been split on whether to interfere in Venezuela.

For years, Venezuela has provided a reliable supply of oil to many Caribbean nations. They purchased the oil under the PetroCaribe arrangement, which gave them low-interest credit terms, but have left them indebted to Caracas.

St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Michael Chastanet said it's been since the Reagan administration that the U.S. has taken an interest in the Caribbean and acknowledged that Trump's invitation was likely due to their support of the U.S. stance against Venezuela at the Organization of American States.

He also acknowledged that not all countries in the region agree with the U.S. call for Maduro's ouster.

"I think we all recognize there's a problem in Venezuela. Most people recognize the need for new elections," Chastanet said, adding that any disagreement they have is in how that will play out. "The world remains divided on that. I think there is a growing consensus that there needs to be fresh elections in Venezuela to resolve the humanitarian crisis."

From left, National Security Adviser John Bolton, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and President Donald Trump sit together during a meeting with Caribbean leaders at Mar-A Lago, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)Mueller concludes Russia-Trump probe; no new indictments

WASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation, ending a probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency with no new charges but launching a fresh wave of political battles over the still-confidential findings.

The 22-month probe ended without additional indictments by Mueller despite public speculation by congressional Democrats and others that members of the president's family, including his oldest son, could themselves wind up facing charges.

The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then it went to Attorney General William Barr. Word of the delivery triggered reactions across Washington, including Democrats' demands that it be released to the public and Republicans' contentions that it ended two years of wasted time and money.

The next step is up to Barr, who is charged with writing his own account of Mueller's findings and sending it to Congress. In a letter to lawmakers , he declared he was committed to transparency and speed. He said he could provide the special counsel's "principal findings" to Congress this weekend, but that likely won't be the last of the information he provides to lawmakers or the public.

The attorney general said the Justice Department had not denied any request from the special counsel, something Barr would have been required to disclose to ensure there was no political inference.

___

Now what? Mueller ends the Russia investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) - Now what?

Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his Trump-Russia investigation and on Friday delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr.

But what the report looks like isn't clear. Justice Department regulations required only that Mueller give the attorney general a confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. It could have been as simple as a bullet point list, but the Justice Department has described it as "comprehensive."

Whatever is in the report, we may not get all the juicy details that were uncovered over the past 22 months - at least not right away. But this story is far from over.

Here's what to expect next:

___

Beyond Mueller report, Trump faces flurry of legal perils

NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump portrayed Robert Mueller as the bane of his existence, but even with the special counsel's Russia investigation wrapped up, he may still have to contend with state and federal investigators in New York.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan continue to pursue at least two known criminal inquiries involving Trump or people in his orbit, one involving his inaugural committee and another focused on the hush-money scandal that led his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to plead guilty last year to campaign finance violations.

The president also faces inquiries from New York's attorney general, Letitia James, who recently opened a civil inquiry into Cohen's claims that Trump exaggerated his wealth when seeking loans for real estate projects and a failed bid to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, a state regulatory entity is looking into whether Trump gave false information to insurance companies.

Cohen told Congress in testimony last month he is in "constant contact" with prosecutors involving ongoing investigations.

Trump has dismissed the New York investigations as politically motivated.

___

Trump intervenes, reverses North Korea sanctions with tweet

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that he had reversed his administration's decision to slap new sanctions on North Korea - a move that left officials at the Treasury Department and observers across Washington scratching their heads.

Trump delivered the news from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, writing, "It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!"

The problem: The Treasury did not announce any new action affecting North Korea on Friday, let alone "additional large scale Sanctions." The administration on Thursday did sanction two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions - but not the country itself.

So what was Trump referring to? The White House wouldn't say. Press secretary Sarah Sanders issued only a brief statement saying that Trump "likes" North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and "doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary."

But a person familiar with the action later told The Associated Press that Trump's tweet was not about reversing existing sanctions. Instead, the person said, the president was talking about not going forward with additional large-scale sanctions on North Korea at this time. The person was not authorized to discuss the president's comments and spoke on condition of anonymity.

___

Flight attendant detained by immigration on return to US

A flight attendant who arrived in the U.S. as a child flew to Mexico for work and was stopped by immigration authorities who forced her to spend more than a month in detention, her attorney said.

Selene Saavedra Roman, 28, who was enrolled in a government program for so-called dreamers, was released Friday from a detention center in Conroe, Texas, according to a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Originally from Peru and married to an American citizen, she raised concerns with Mesa Airlines about her immigration status after being assigned to an international flight, attorney Belinda Arroyo said.

The airline assured her she would be fine, but she was stopped by U.S. authorities on Feb. 12, when she returned to Houston, and was sent to detention, where she remained for more than five weeks, Arroyo said.

Soon after her lawyer, her husband, the airline and a flight attendants' association publicly demanded her release, Saavedra Roman called to tell her husband she was getting out.

___

Democratic demands set up battle over Mueller report

WASHINGTON (AP) - Within minutes of receiving notification that special counsel Robert Mueller had turned over his report on the Russia investigation, congressional Democrats were calling for the report to be fully released, including the underlying evidence. They have threatened subpoenas if it is not.

The demands are setting up a potential tug of war between congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump's administration that federal judges might eventually have to referee.

Six Democratic committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Friday that if Mueller has any reason to believe that Trump "has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct," then the Justice Department should not conceal it.

"The president is not above the law and the need for public faith in our democratic institutions and the rule of law must be the priority," the chairmen wrote.

It's unclear what Mueller has found related to the president, or if any of it would be damning. In his investigation of whether President Donald Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

___

Trump's Golan statement draws strong regional condemnation

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - From Syria to Turkey and beyond, President Donald Trump's abrupt declaration that Washington will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights drew strong condemnation on Friday.

The Syrian government called it "irresponsible" and a threat to international peace and stability, while Iran's foreign ministry said it plunges the region into a new crisis.

The Foreign Ministry in Damascus said Trump's statement confirms "the blind bias of the United States to the Zionist entity," referring to Israel, and added that it won't change "the fact that the Golan was and will remain Arab and Syrian."

The ministry also said Damascus is now more intent on liberating the Golan, "using every possible means."

Trump's announcement the day before was a major shift in American policy and gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.

___

Verdict reached in trial of white cop who killed black teen

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A jury reached a verdict Friday night in the trial of a white former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld fired on 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer outside Pittsburgh in a killing that sparked weeks of unrest.

Jurors informed the court Friday night that they had reached a verdict. They can convict Rosfeld of murder or manslaughter, or return an acquittal.

Rosfeld, 30, shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger got out and began running away.

Jurors saw video of the fatal confrontation, which showed Rose falling to the ground after being hit.

___

R Kelly defense emerges, including saying accusers are lying

CHICAGO (AP) - R. Kelly yelled through tears in a recent TV interview before an audience numbering in the millions, saying he's in a fight for his life to disprove sexual abuse charges. That fight will ultimately be waged in court, with the only audience that matters numbering just 12 jurors.

While the day lawyers deliver opening statements to jurors inside a Cook County courtroom is still many months or even years away, court filings as well as comments by the R&B star himself and his attorney after charges in February provide clues about an emerging legal strategy.

Signs are they intend to question the veracity of his accusers and argue that, if he had sex with them, it was consensual and he thought they were of age. His attorney has also signaled he'll push to have some counts tossed on grounds statutes of limitation ran out or because some are too closely related to crimes for which Kelly was acquitted at his 2008 child pornography trial.

Kelly, 52, was right in more ways than one when he cursed during the interview with Gayle King of "CBS This Morning," saying: "I'm fighting for my ... life." If convicted on all ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse of three underage girls and one adult, the Grammy winner faces an effective life sentence of up to 70 years in prison.

The defense is expected to fine tune their argument over coming months that Kelly's accusers are misrepresenting the facts. For now, there's not much finesse.

___

GM announces jobs, electric vehicle after Trump criticism

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Less than a week after a series of critical tweets from the president over an Ohio plant closure, General Motors is announcing plans to add 400 jobs and build a new electric vehicle at a factory north of Detroit.

The company says it will spend $300 million at its plant in Orion Township, Michigan, to manufacture a Chevrolet vehicle based on the battery-powered Bolt.

GM wouldn't say when the new workers will start or when the new vehicle will go on sale, nor would it say if the workers will be new hires or come from a pool of laid-off workers from the planned closings of four U.S. factories by January.

The company also announced plans Friday to spend about another $1.4 billion at U.S. factories with 300 more jobs but did not release a time frame or details.

The moves come after last weekend's string of venomous tweets by President Donald Trump condemning GM for shutting its small-car factory in Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland. During the weekend, Trump demanded that GM reopen the plant or sell it, criticized the local union leader and expressed frustration with CEO Mary Barra.LOS ANGELES (AP) - By the time California's presidential primary election arrived in 2016, Bernie Sanders was a beaten man. This time around, everything has changed.

The senator from Vermont was an insurgent outsider three years ago in a head-to-head race against Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state whose grip on the Democratic nomination was effectively unshakeable by the time California's primary was held in June that year.

When Sanders heads to San Diego on Friday for the first of three California campaign rallies, the self-described democratic socialist will be asking for votes in a Democratic contest in which he's a top-shelf candidate . He'll be campaigning in a state that could be pivotal to choosing the Democratic nominee. And unlike the state's end-of-the-line primary in 2016, California is voting near the front of the pack this time in March 2020 with hundreds of delegates at stake.

Sanders attracted a throng of cheering supporters to an outdoor rally Friday in San Diego, where he promised to win California in 2020 and railed against President Donald Trump's leadership.

He said Trump wants to divide the nation by skin color, gender, sexual orientation and nationality, but his administration would do "exactly the opposite."

He also previewed his approach Wednesday when he spoke to striking workers in Los Angeles. He touched on familiar themes, decrying "a war being waged against the working people" and California's notoriously expensive housing costs and rents.

FILE - In this June 7, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a rally in Santa Monica, Calif. By the time California's presidential primary finally arrived in 2016, Sanders was a beaten man. This time around, everything has changed. Sanders arrives in California this week for rallies in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco with the state's vast trove of delegates in play for 2020, no front-runner in a crowded Democratic presidential field and a left-leaning electorate looking favorably on his signature proposals. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

"The stage is set" for a Sanders win in 2020, predicted striking worker Ben Evans, 45, a Democrat who attended the rally Wednesday where Sanders he spoke to striking workers in Los Angeles. "Everyone who paid attention last time is not going to forget."

In his second White House run, Sanders is jostling for position as the roster of Democratic candidates continues to grow - former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas entered the race last week, and former Vice President Joe Biden has been hinting at a possible run.

Sanders remains popular with his liberal base, but he faces a new set of challenges in California in 2020 - among them, he's competing on the home turf of rival Democrat Kamala Harris, California's junior senator. She's the former state attorney general and has won statewide races in California three times.

But home-state connections don't always equate with success in California. Bill Clinton, for instance, defeated former California Gov. Jerry Brown in the state's 1992 presidential primary, on his way to winning the White House.

Michael Ceraso, who did a stint leading Sanders' 2016 campaign in the state, said the senator will need to do a better job connecting his big ideas for change with the concerns of local voters, especially minorities.

"He's going to need to break the narrative that he can't connect with communities of color," Ceraso said.

Unlike 2016, voters in the Golden State are familiar with Sanders - he grabbed 46 percent of the tally against the far-better-known Clinton. Since his first run for the White House, some of his signature proposals have been embraced by the party's mainstream, including "Medicare for All" and decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, issues that are popular in strongly Democratic California.

And he has an established donor base and a devoted volunteer corps.

In 2016, Sanders "came here and spent quite a bit of money and did better than anyone thought he was going to do," said veteran Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who is based in Los Angeles.

"He came out of it with a lot of assets that he's going to bring to this campaign," Carrick added.

Among his challenges, Sanders will need to perform strongly in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and other Democratic strongholds, where Clinton bested him in 2016 and where Harris has done well in her state campaigns.

That's especially important in a Democratic presidential contest because the maze of rules that divvy up California delegates rewards candidates who do well in strongly Democratic areas.

With a dozen candidates in the race and many sharing similar views, it has not been established if Sanders can generate the foot-stomping enthusiasm witnessed in his 2016 run, when he was a first-time presidential candidate running against an establishment favorite.

Ben Tulchin, Sanders' San Francisco-based pollster, said the senator is well-positioned to compete in California, and possibly win it.

Sanders is a strong draw with younger voters, and millennials now make up the largest age group among registered voters in California. However, younger voters also tend to be unreliable on Election Day.

Sanders has another edge, Tulchin said. A string of recent polls has found that Sanders is favored at this point by Hispanics, who make up an increasingly influential slice of the California electorate.

"Sanders's strength with Latino voters has major implications" in states with large Hispanic populations, including California, Tulchin concluded in a recent memo.

But he'll also need to do well with independents, who make up about 1 in 4 voters in the state and can participate in California's Democratic presidential primaries.

At the rally, striking worker Stephanie Aguirre, 26, of Los Angeles, said she voted for Sanders in 2016 and was leaning his way again. The clinical social worker said the broader acceptance of his platform, once seen as rooted on the political fringe, boded well for his candidacy.

For those who didn't vote for him last time, "I just hope that people will have a change of heart," she said.

___

Associated Press videographer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report.

FILE - In this March 16, 2019 photo, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally in Henderson, Nev. The Vermont senator was an insurgent outsider three years ago in a head-to-head race against Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state whose grip on the Democratic nomination was effectively unshakeable by the time California's primary was held in June that year. When Sanders heads to San Diego on Friday for the first of three California campaign rallies, the self-described democratic socialist will be asking for votes in a Democratic contest in which he's a top-shelf candidate. (AP Photo/John Locher)

FILE - In this June 7, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a rally in Santa Monica, Calif. By the time California's presidential primary finally arrived in 2016, Sanders was a beaten man. This time around, everything has changed. Sanders arrives in California this week for rallies in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco with the state's vast trove of delegates in play for 2020, no front-runner in a crowded Democratic presidential field and a left-leaning electorate looking favorably on his signature proposals. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - In this May 25, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally in Cathedral City, Calif. By the time California's presidential primary finally arrived in 2016, Sanders was a beaten man. This time around, everything has changed. Sanders arrives in California this week for rallies in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco with the state's vast trove of delegates in play for 2020, no front-runner in a crowded Democratic presidential field and a left-leaning electorate looking favorably on his signature proposals. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - In this March 20, 2019 file photo, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders talks to striking workers at a rally at the University of California Los Angeles,Members of a union representing research and technical workers walked picket lines Wednesday at University of California campuses and hospitals in a one-day strike amid a lengthening stretch of unsuccessful contract negotiations. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)ATLANTA (AP) - Nearly four decades after voters unceremoniously rejected then-President Jimmy Carter's bid for a second term, the 39th president has reached a milestone that electoral math cannot dispute: He is now the longest-living chief executive in American history.

Friday is the 172nd day beyond Carter's 94th birthday, exceeding by one day the lifespan of former President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30 at the age of 94 years, 171 days. Both men were born in 1924: Bush on June 12, Carter on Oct. 1.

It's yet another post-presidency distinction for Carter, whose legacy since leaving office has long overshadowed both his rocky White House tenure and the remarkable political rise that led him from his family peanut farm and a state Senate seat to the governor's mansion and his unlikely presidential victory in 1976.

The achievement also defies medical odds, coming more than three years after Carter announced he had melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. He underwent treatment and received a clean bill of health.

"There are no special celebrations planned," said Deanna Congileo, spokeswoman for the former president and The Carter Center, which Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, now 91, founded in Atlanta in 1982 to focus on global human rights issues.

The center's decades of public health advocacy, election-monitoring and conflict resolution around the world have redefined the role of former presidents, who before Carter often retired to relative obscurity.

FILE- In this Sept. 18, 2018 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter speaks as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams listens during a news conference to announce her rural health care plan, in Plains, Ga. Carter is now the longest-living president in American history. The 39th president on Friday, March 15, 2019, reached the age of 94 years, 172 days - one day beyond the lifespan of George H.W. Bush, who died in November. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

"We at The Carter Center sure are rooting for him and grateful for his long life of service that has benefited millions of the world's poorest people," Congileo said.

Seemingly downplaying his political career, Carter has for years characterized the center's work as his defining professional achievement - though, of course, having been a U.S. president is what allowed him the stature to establish the center.

"I spent four of my ninety years in the White House, and they were, of course, the pinnacle of my political life," Carter wrote in a memoir published on his 90th birthday. "Those years, though, do not dominate my chain of memories, and there was never an orderly or planned path to get there during my early life."

Rather, he continued, "Teaching, writing and helping The Carter Center evolve ... seem to constitute the high points in my life."

And the man who once held the U.S. nuclear codes, forged a historic Middle East peace deal at Camp David and tried to manage a hostage crisis that sealed his one-term fate has a simple answer whenever he's asked to recount the best or most significant decision he's ever made: "Asking Rosalynn to marry me."

The former president and first lady still live in Plains, Georgia, a town of about 750 where they were born, raised and married 73 years ago, weeks after the future commander in chief graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

A devout Christian, Jimmy Carter regularly teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, drawing hundreds of visitors to Plains for each session. The Carters pose for pictures with each attendee.

Though he sometimes de-emphasizes his elected career, living so long after his presidency is allowing Carter a resurgence of sorts in Democratic politics.

Two current presidential candidates, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, have ventured to Plains to meet with the Carters. The former president has hosted Bernie Sanders, a 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate, for a panel at The Carter Center - and Carter told the audience that he voted for Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary. He hosted and endorsed Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams in her unsuccessful bid for Georgia governor last year.

Georgia Democrats say they expect more presidential candidates to make a Plains pilgrimage.

As for what's next, Carter has at least one more accomplishment on his mind, pointing often to The Carter Center's long-running effort to eliminate Guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection attributed to poor drinking water.

There were 3.5 million cases in 21 countries in 1986, when the Carter Center began its eradication program. In 2018, there were 28 cases worldwide.

"I'm hoping that I will live longer than the last Guinea worm," he said in a British television interview in 2016. "That's one of my goals in life, and I think I have a good chance to succeed."

___

Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAPSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A U.S. judge appeared skeptical Friday of one of the key arguments that civil liberties groups have made to try to block the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico until their cases are heard.

Judge Richard Seeborg also had tough questions for a Justice Department attorney who defended the practice as a lawful response to an overtaxed immigration system. Seeborg did not immediately issue a ruling at the end of a hearing in San Francisco to help him decide whether to stop the policy while a lawsuit moves forward.

The policy began in January and marked an unprecedented change to the U.S. asylum system . Families seeking asylum are typically released in the U.S. with notices to appear in immigration court, but the Trump administration began sending them back to Mexico to await their court hearings.

The policy affects those who seek asylum at the nation's busiest border crossing, in San Diego, and the Calexico port of entry that's about 120 miles (193 kilometers) east.

The lawsuit on behalf of 11 asylum seekers from Central America and legal advocacy groups says the administration is violating U.S. law by failing to adequately evaluate the dangers that migrants face in Mexico.

Under the new policy, asylum seekers are not guaranteed interpreters or lawyers and don't get to argue to a judge that they face the potential of persecution or torture if they are sent back to Mexico, said Judy Rabinovitz, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that is suing.

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 19, 2019, file photo, a man who only gave his first name as Ariel, of Honduras, center in blue shirt, crosses into the United States to begin his asylum case with others after being returned to Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico. A U.S. judge in San Francisco will scrutinize the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico during a court hearing Friday, March 22, 2019, to help him decide whether to block the practice. Civil rights groups have asked Judge Richard Seeborg to put the asylum policy on hold while their lawsuit moves forward. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

"The process they have right now completely turns the whole notion of protection on its head," she said.

Seeborg questioned the lawsuit's argument that the administration misapplied a U.S. law that allows the return of immigrants to Mexico. The ACLU and the other groups say that law does not apply to asylum seekers who cross the border illegally or arrive at an entry port without proper documents.

Seeborg said they faced a "tall order" convincing him that asylum seekers were always exempt from that law. He did say the plaintiffs had authority to bring the case, and the court could hear it.

The Trump administration hopes that making asylum seekers wait in Mexico will discourage weak claims and help reduce an immigration court backlog of more than 800,000 cases.

Justice Department attorney Scott Stewart said there is a process to protect immigrants who could face harm in Mexico. All 11 plaintiffs in the lawsuit are represented by attorneys, and 10 already have appeared for court proceedings, he said.

"There will be occasional hiccups to work out," he said. "But it's going. It's underway."

Seeborg questioned the Justice Department's argument that the asylum seekers sent back to Mexico are not eligible for certain protections such as a hearing before an immigration judge.

"The same thing is happening to these people for good or bad," he said.

Border Patrol arrests, the most widely used gauge of illegal crossings, have risen sharply over the last year but are relatively low in historical terms after hitting a 46-year low in 2017.

The policy followed months of delicate talks between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexicans and children traveling alone are exempt from it.BEIRA, Mozambique (AP) - With the flooding easing in parts of cyclone-stricken Mozambique on Friday, fears are rising that the waters could yield up many more bodies. The confirmed number of people killed in Mozambique and neighboring Zimbabwe and Malawi climbed past 600.

Eight days after Cyclone Idai struck southeast Africa's Indian Ocean coast, touching off some of the worst flooding in decades, the homeless, hungry and injured slowly made their way from devastated inland areas to the port city of Beira, which was heavily damaged itself but has emerged as the nerve center for rescue efforts.

"Some were wounded. Some were bleeding," said Julia Castigo, a Beira resident who watched them arrive. "Some had feet white like flour for being in the water for so long."

Aid workers are seeing many children who have been separated from their parents in the chaos or orphaned.

Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the relief efforts so far "are nowhere near the scale and magnitude of the problem," and the humanitarian needs are likely to grow in the coming weeks and months.

"We should brace ourselves," he said.

A man passes through a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Helicopters set off into the rain for another day of efforts to find people clinging to rooftops and trees.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for stepped up support for victims of Idai saying the U.N. and its humanitarian partners are scaling up the response but "far greater international support is needed."

The U.N. chief said in a statement that "with crops destroyed in the breadbasket of Mozambique more people are at risk of food insecurity in all three countries."

With water and sanitation systems largely destroyed, waterborne diseases are also a growing concern.

"The situation is simply horrendous. There is no other way to describe it," As Sy said after touring camps for the growing number of displaced. "Three thousand people who are living in a school that has 15 classrooms and six, only six, toilets. You can imagine how much we are sitting on a water and sanitation ticking bomb."

The death toll in Mozambique rose to 293, with an untold number of people missing and the mortuary at Beira's central hospital already reported full. Deaths could soar beyond the 1,000 predicted by the country's president earlier this week, As Sy said.

The number of dead was put at 259 in Zimbabwe and 56 in Malawi.

Thousands made the trek from inland Mozambique toward Beira, some walking along roads carved away by the raging waters. Hundreds of others arrived by boat, ferried by fishermen who plucked stranded people from patches of land that had been turned into islands. Many of the arrivals were children.

In Beira, people salvaged the metal strips of roofs that had been peeled away like the skin of a fruit. Downed trees littered the streets.

And yet there were flashes of life as it used to be. White wedding dresses stood pristine behind a shop window that hadn't shattered.

A downtown sidewalk was Marta Ben's new home. The 30-year-old mother of five clutched a teary child to her hip as she described the sudden horror of the storm that destroyed their home in Beira.

"I've never seen anything like this," she said, barefoot, a cooking pot bubbling nearby. "We were not warned. Suddenly the roof flew away."

She and others now homeless begged passers-by for help, saying they had received nothing from the government or aid groups, not even bread.

In Zimbabwe, where roads began to open and some basic communications were set up, a fuller picture of the extent of the damage began to emerge.

The victims included a mother buried in the same grave with her child; headmasters missing together with dozens of students; illegal gold and diamond miners swept away by raging rivers; and police officers washed away with their prisoners.

In the city of Mutare, Maina Chisiriirwa said she buried her son-in-law, who had gone to the diamond fields to mine illegally.

"There are no jobs and all he wanted was to feed his family. He was with his colleagues. They thought it would be easier to mine since the rains would keep the guards and the police away from patrolling," Chisiriirwa said.

His colleagues survived, but her son-in-law was swept away, she said.

___

Farai Mutsaka reported from Mutare, Zimbabwe.

People go on their morning errands amid the shattered city of Beira, Friday, March 22 2019. Some hundreds of people are dead, many more still missing and with many thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in a makeshift shelter by the roadside near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in an abandoned and derelict building near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in a makeshift shelter by the roadside near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday, March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in a makeshift shelter by the roadside near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in a makeshift shelter by the roadside near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A World Food Programme (WFP) helicopter takes off, in Beira, Mozambique, Friday, March 22, 2019. A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, its death, destruction and flooding continues to grow in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

An aerial view part of damaged city in Beira, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Hundreds are dead, many more missing and thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A UN humanitarian helicopter prepares for a day of work, at the airport in the Mozambique city of Beira, Friday March 22 2019. Some hundreds of people are dead, many more still missing and with many thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

In this photo supplied by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre survivors of Cyclone Idai arrive by rescue boat in Beira, Mozambique, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The confirmed death toll in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi surpassed 500, with hundreds more feared dead in towns and villages that were completely submerged. (Photo -Denis Onyodi - Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre via AP)

Survivors of Cyclone Idai in an abandoned and derelict building near Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A woman carries salvaged metal sheeting amid the shattered city of Beira, Mozambique, Friday March 22 2019. Some hundreds of people are dead, many more still missing and with many thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai.(AP Photo/Cara Anna)

This Tuesday, March 19, 2019 photo taken from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and provided by the European Space Agency, ESA, shows the extent of flooding, depicted in red, around the port town of Beira in Mozambique. following cyclone force winds and heavy rain near the coastal city. (ESA via AP)

Pedestrians walk on the edge of a collapsed bridge in Nhamatanda, about 100km west of Beira, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Some hundreds are dead, many more still missing and thousands at risk from massive flooding across the region including Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A woman carrying her child walks alongside a collapsed bridge in Nhamatanda, about 100km west of Beira, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Hundreds are dead, many more missing and thousands at risk from massive flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe caused by Cyclone Idai. A week after Cyclone Idai lashed southern Africa, flooding still raged Thursday as torrential rains caused a dam to overflow in Zimbabwe, threatening riverside populations. The confirmed death toll in Zimbabwe, neighboring Mozambique and Malawi surpassed 500, with hundreds more feared dead in towns and villages that were completely submerged. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

People pass through a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Construction vehicles at work near a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A man passes through a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A villager sulvages what remains of a piece of clothing near a section of the road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda about 50 kilometres from Beira, in Mozambique, Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - In a blow for Boeing, Indonesia's flag carrier is seeking the cancellation of a multibillion dollar order for 49 of the manufacturer's 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of confidence after two crashes within five months.

It is the first announcement of a cancellation since Boeing's new model aircraft were grounded following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

PT Garuda Indonesia, which had ordered 50 Max 8 jets in 2014 and had received just one plane last year, sent a letter to Boeing last week requesting to cancel the order worth $4.9 billion, company spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said Friday. The carrier has so far paid Boeing about $26 million for the order.

Garuda joined other airlines worldwide in grounding its one Max 8 jet after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight this month which killed all 157 people aboard. It came less than five months after 189 people died in the Oct. 29 crash of another Max 8, operated by Indonesian private carrier Lion Air.

"Passengers always ask what type of plane they will fly as they have lost trust and confidence in the Max 8 jet," Rosan told The Associated Press. "This would harm our business."

He said that Garuda plans to meet with Boeing representatives next week in Jakarta to discuss details of canceling the order.

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2015, file photo, workers clean a jetliner at GMF AeroAsia facility at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's flag carrier is seeking the cancellation of a multibillion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of confidence in the model following two crashes in the space of a few months. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

"We don't want to use Max jets ... but maybe will consider switching it with another Boeing model of plane," Rosan said. He said Indonesian passengers are afraid to take flights using any Max model, whether it's the 8, 9 or 10 series.

A preliminary report from Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee in December stopped short of declaring a probable cause of the Oct. 29 crash.

Officials have provided scant details since then, saying they are still analyzing data from a cockpit voice recorder that was only recovered from the sea in January.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Polish national carrier PLL LOT said it was considering asking for financial compensation from Boeing or even a delay to deliveries of purchased 737 Max 8 aircraft after the planes were grounded globally following the crash in Ethiopia.

In a statement to the AP on Friday, LOT said it would wait for communications from Boeing and flight regulators on whether to put the Max 8 planes back into service. LOT has five 737 Max 8 planes and is to receive nine more this year. Its total fleet counts over 80 aircraft.

Another Polish carrier, charter airline EnterAir, said Friday it would also seek damages. It has two Max 8 planes and has placed orders for another four.

Earlier this month, Norwegian Air Shuttles said it would seek compensation from Boeing. It had grounded its 18 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

With Boeing's backlog of 4,600 unfilled orders for Max jets, the loss of the Garuda order figures to have little financial impact on the Chicago-based company. The danger is that other airlines could follow, particularly if investigators fault the plane for the accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

"We think other cancellations may follow as global customers remain spooked after two crashes with seemingly similar causes," Jim Corridore, an airline analyst with CFRA Research, said in a note to clients.

Corridore said, however, that if Boeing delivers a software patch to a flight-control system suspected in the crashes, and the planes are allowed to resume flying, "most customers will be reassured." He said investors will eventually focus on strong demand for airliners.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that federal investigators are looking into whether Boeing gave U.S. regulators and the company's customers incomplete or misleading information about the jets. The report cited people familiar with the matter who were not named.

Earlier this week, a person briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that U.S. prosecutors are looking into the development of the 737 Max jets. The Transportation Department's inspector general is also investigating the FAA's approval of jets, a U.S. official told AP.

Boeing Co. shares closed Friday down $10.53, or 2.8 percent, at $362.17 amid a broad stock market decline. Boeing shares have dropped 14 percent since the Ethiopia Airlines crash.

___

AP Airline Writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) - Their voices have thundered across this heartsick city, in parks and at flower memorials and schools. Day after day, the students of Christchurch have gathered, feet smashing the ground in unison as they chant the words of their nation's indigenous people in an outpouring of grief and love and support.

In the aftermath of last week's deadly shooting spree on two mosques blamed on a white supremacist, the young people of Christchurch have found solace in an old tradition: a Maori ceremonial dance called the haka.

To much of the world, the haka is largely associated with New Zealand's rugby team, the All Blacks, who perform it before games. That has led to a misconception that it is solely a war dance meant to inspire fear. But though it may have started out that way, the haka has evolved to mean so much more.

"Whenever I haka, I feel like I am from the tribe, standing with them - that all their spirits are with us," said high school student Georgia Horiana Myers Meihana, after she and her classmates finished reciting a karakia, or Maori prayer, at a flower memorial. "To us, it doesn't feel like we're just shouting words."

Millions around the world have viewed videos of the students' hakas over the past week, with many people commenting that they have been moved to tears, even if they don't understand what the Maori words mean. Such a reaction is not surprising, says Tapeta Wehi, founder of the New Zealand performance group The Haka Experience.

"I've performed haka around the world, and that's normal," Wehi says. "I remember performing it in Germany, and I had these big German guys coming up to me with tears in their eyes, wondering why they're crying. It's the inner spirit that we portray."

Students from Punchbowl Boys High School perform the New Zealand Maori tradition dance called a haka after Friday prayers at Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque in Sydney, Australia, Friday, March 22, 2019. The performance is to show support for New Zealand Muslims after 50 people were killed in attacks at Christchurch mosques last week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Though hakas were traditionally performed by the Maori people in preparation for battle, they are not all about war, Wehi says. Hakas are performed to celebrate and to mourn, and are often part of important events such as funerals or 21st birthdays. In the aftermath of the shootings, Wehi says, people across New Zealand have performed hakas to show support and respect for the victims and their families.

For the students, the haka has served as a powerful form of healing after a harrowing week in which they lost friends and the sense of safety that came from living in a nation previously largely immune to mass gun violence. Many New Zealand students learn how to perform hakas in school. Some schools have hakas specifically written for them; other schools teach traditional hakas.

On Monday, more than a thousand students gathered for a vigil in the park across from one of the mosques that was attacked. White and Maori, Catholic and Muslim, they stood and performed a haka that held a particularly poignant meaning: It is the haka used by Cashmere High School, which lost two students in the attack.

This haka, called Tahu Potiki, comes from the South Island Maori tribe Ngai Tahu, said Cashmere High Principal Mark Wilson. Tahu Potiki was an ancestor of Ngai Tahu, and the haka calls for his descendants to rise and claim their place in the new day, Wilson said. Being part of a haka group can be a powerful emotive moment, he said, one in which people are left uplifted and strengthened.

In some ways, the students' response to the attacks has been similar to the aftermath of last year's mass shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida, where it was the voices of the youth that rose above the din. The students of Parkland - around 30 of whom actually visited Christchurch last year - united to demand gun law reform. In Christchurch, the students have united in an utter rejection of the intolerance spewed by the white supremacist accused of the massacre.

"It melts my heart," 15-year-old Seraphim Tempest said after joining in Monday's performance of the Tahu Potiki. "It's just showing that everyone's the same here and we accept everyone."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has encouraged students to turn to the haka in the wake of the attacks, particularly if they are struggling to express themselves.

"Never underestimate the power of just sending a message, looking out for someone, performing a haka," Ardern told students at Cashmere High after they performed the Tahu Potiki for her during a visit on Wednesday. "There is power in that, because in doing that, you are sending a message of solidarity and of support."

Fourteen-year-old Rayhan Satriawan was born in Indonesia, but later moved to New Zealand. Two of his friends were killed in the attack, something he is still struggling to understand. He hopes the message behind the students' hakas will carry beyond Christchurch to the rest of the world - that no matter how different people seem, he says, "we are one."

"I want to stay strong," he says. "Everything that I do in my life is going to be on behalf of the people who have died."

And when the students stood to perform the Tahu Potiki at their vigil on Monday, their strength was clear in every stamp of their feet, every slap of their chest. Together, they roared:

"MARAKA! MARAKA!"

RISE UP! RISE UP!

FILE - In this March 20, 2019, file photo, students perform the Haka during arrival of New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, during a high school visit in Christchurch, New Zealand. Day after day, the students of Christchurch have gathered, feet smashing the ground in unison as they chant the words of their nation's indigenous people in an outpouring of grief and love and support. In the aftermath of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques on March 15, the young people of Christchurch have found solace in an old tradition: a Maori ceremonial dance called the haka. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

Students from Punchbowl Boys High School perform the New Zealand Maori tradition dance called a haka after Friday prayers at Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque in Sydney, Australia, Friday, March 22, 2019. The performance is to show support for New Zealand Muslims after 50 people were killed in attacks at Christchurch mosques last week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

FILE - In this March 18, 2019, file photo, students perform the Haka during a vigil to commemorate victims of Friday's shooting, outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Day after day, the students of Christchurch have gathered, feet smashing the ground in unison as they chant the words of their nation's indigenous people in an outpouring of grief and love and support. In the aftermath of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques on March 15, the young people of Christchurch have found solace in an old tradition: a Maori ceremonial dance called the haka. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

10:30 p.m.

The district attorney in Pittsburgh says he disagrees with a jury's decision to acquit a former police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager as he ran from a car involved just minutes earlier in a drive-by shooting.

But Stephen Zappala Jr. says it is the people of Pennsylvania who decide guilt in criminal cases, and "they have spoken."

A jury deliberated fewer than four hours Friday before clearing ex-East Pittsburgh Officer Michael Rosfeld of homicide in the shooting of Antwon Rose II last year.

Rosfeld's lawyer called him "a good man." During the trial he said the officer feared for his life and had to make a split-second decision.

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Zappala said that in the interest of justice, he'll continue to bring charges where charges are appropriate.

__

9:45 p.m.

The family of a black teenager who was shot in the back and killed by a white police officer outside Pittsburgh remained stoic after the man was acquitted.

Antwon Rose II's sister had tears streaming down her face after the jury cleared former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld of a homicide charge late Friday. Her mother urged her not to cry.

The jury deliberated fewer than four hours before reaching its verdict. There were tears and gasps from black people gathered in an overflow courtroom, and several broke out in song: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Rosfeld's wife burst out sobbing as the verdict was announced. She and Rosfeld were hustled out of the courtroom by deputies.

Rosfeld's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, told reporters that Rosfeld is "a good man."

___

9:25 p.m.

A jury has acquitted a white former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that was involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the teen ran away.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another passenger in the car had a gun pointed at him.

The jury saw video of the fatal confrontation. The verdict came Friday after fewer than four hours of deliberations.

The shooting triggered protests in the Pittsburgh area last year.

___

8:25 p.m.

The jury has reached a verdict in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with shooting an unarmed black teenager as he fled a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld fired on 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer in a killing that sparked weeks of unrest.

Jurors informed the court Friday night they have reached a verdict. They can convict Rosfeld of murder or manslaughter, or return an acquittal.

The ex-cop shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger got out and began running away. Rosfeld says he thought one of the suspects was pointing a gun at him.

___

5:10 p.m.

A jury has started deliberating in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Jurors got the case Friday afternoon.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi tells jurors that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

___

4:10 p.m.

Closing arguments have been delivered in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi said Friday that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said in his closing argument that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating Friday.

___

1:20 p.m.

An attorney for the family of Antwon Rose II says a jury should conclude that the unarmed black teenager was "murdered" by a white police officer last summer.

S. Lee Merritt spoke to The Associated Press on Friday as closing arguments were getting underway in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the 17-year-old ran away from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

Rosfeld told jurors that he thought Rose or another fleeing suspect had pointed a gun at him. Neither teen had a weapon on him at the time.

Merritt says "it's pretty obvious" Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.

___

11:30 a.m.

The defense has rested its case in the homicide trial of a white police officer charged with shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer.

Rosfeld's lawyer rested Friday.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose had a gun. The defense also called a use-of-force expert who says Rosfeld did nothing wrong.

The jury will hear closing arguments Friday afternoon and then begin deliberating.

Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back as he fled.

One juror, a white woman, was dismissed from the panel Friday and replaced with a white man.

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10 a.m.

A judge has lifted a gag order in the trial of a white police officer charged in the on-duty shooting of an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Judge Alexander Bicket lifted the gag order he imposed on parties in the case Friday at the request of the defense. Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says while he and prosecutors have abided by the judge's order, the attorney for Antwon Rose II's family has made comments to the media.

Bicket made his ruling Friday morning.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is on trial for homicide after gunning down the 17-year-old Rose last summer. Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld shot him in the back as he fled.

Rosfeld says he thought Rose or another passenger had a gun.

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1 a.m.

An expert in police use of force says a former officer did everything by the book in a fatal encounter with an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Clifford W. Jobe Jr. testified for the defense at the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, who's charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rose, a passenger in the car, was shot in the back as he fled.

Jobe told jurors Thursday that Rosfeld followed proper procedure. Prosecutors say Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun.

The trial resumes Friday with Jobe back on the stand for cross-examination.

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, leave the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Antwon Rose II in the back last June. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer, in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In this March 12, 2019 file photo, former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, charged with homicide in the shooting death of Antwon Rose II, walks to the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa. On the fourth day of the trial in Pittsburgh, Friday March 22, 2019, Rosfeld was acquitted of all counts in the death of Rose. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)TORONTO (AP) - China has stopped all new purchases of Canadian canola seeds in what some see as retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei.

The Canola Council of Canada said late Thursday exporters are reporting Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase the seeds at this time.

In 2018, China bought about 40 percent of Canada's canola exports for a total of $2.1 billion.

Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Canada's government now needs to retaliate and should expel any Chinese athletes training in Canada for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022.

"We are going to lose billions in dollars in trade and it's time to show our displeasure," Saint-Jacques said

Earlier this year, Beijing suspended canola imports from Canadian-based Richardson International Ltd. for what one Chinese official alleged was the detection of hazardous organisms in the company's product.

Canola grower David Reid checks on his storage bins full of last year's crop of canola seed on his farm near Cremona, Alberta, Canada, Friday, March 22, 2019. China has stopped all new purchases of Canadian canola seeds in what some see as retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei. The Canola Council of Canada said late Thursday exporters are reporting Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase the seeds at this time. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

But David Mulroney, Canada's former ambassador to China, said the blockage of Canadian canola is "absolutely related" to the Huawei arrest.

Relations between both countries have been tense since Canada arrested Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in early December at the request of the U.S.

U.S. prosecutors have filed fraud charges against Meng, who is Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder.

China has warned of "grave consequences" if Meng is not immediately released. On Dec. 10, it arrested two Canadians in an apparent attempt to pressure the government of Justin Trudeau. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial in December, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier.

Mulroney said the latest move by China should convince the Canadian government that Huawei should be banned from supplying equipment for 5G networks in Canada.

"This is really the example that should convince people that the risk is too great," Mulroney said.

Canada and its security agencies are studying whether to use equipment from Huawei as phone carriers prepare to roll out fifth-generation technology. 5G is designed to support a vast expansion of networks to facilitate medical devices, self-driving cars and other technology.

Huawei is the world's biggest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, but has long been seen as a front for spying by China's military and its highly skilled security services.

"We are about to make a really, really important decision on the future of the technology on which our internet is based," Mulroney said. "How can we not at least consider what's happening in the agriculture sector when we make a decision in the technology sector?"

"If China intervenes capriciously in one sector, might it not intervene capriciously in another? We have to turn the tables on China. China turns the tables on us," he added.

Prime Justin Trudeau said Canada's intelligence and security services are very carefully examining Huawei.

Trudeau added that he is optimistic his government will be able to solve the canola issue, noting a previous issue over canola exports to China in 2016 was solved.

It is not the first time that Beijing has struck back against a nation which appears to cross it.

In 2010, China suspended its bilateral trade deal with Norway and restricted imports of Norwegian salmon after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Chinese political prisoner Liu Xiaobo.

Britain and other countries were also retaliated against over their meetings with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who is considered a dangerous separatist by Beijing.

"We cannot take this laying down any longer. It's a two-way relationship and they cannot do this to an old friend," said Saint-Jacques, the ex- ambassador.

Saint-Jacques also said it is getting close to the point where Canada should expel China's ambassador.

"He has not been helpful in this crisis," he said. "When you look at what the Chinese are doing this is pretty significant."

He also said the Trump administration needs to speak up more on Canada's behalf.

"We are in a big mess and Canadian farmers are going to suffer and so the Americans should recognize they have some responsibility in this. And they should try to help us," he said.

FILE - In this March 6, 2019 file photo, Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou arrives back at her home after a court appearance in Vancouver. China has stopped all new purchases of Canadian canola seeds in what some see as retaliation for Canada's arrest of the top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei. The Canola Council of Canada said late Thursday, March 21, 2019, that exporters are reporting Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase the seeds at this time. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)If you live in B.C., odds are you know who the premier of the province is.

But beyond John Horgan, do you know who runs the other provinces in Canada?

Castanet's Stephanie Prentice took to the streets of Vernon for a little quiz to see who knows who is in charge across the nation.RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Former Brazilian President Michel Temer remained silent when questioned by investigators Friday, a day after he was arrested as part of the country's sprawling Car Wash corruption probe.

The probe has ensnared several top politicians and businessmen in the South American country, including former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is currently serving a 12-year sentence.

Temer, 78, was arrested on corruption charges Thursday, with prosecutors saying that construction company Engevix paid him bribes in exchange for a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the city of Angra dos Reis in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state.

Federal prosecutor Fabiana Schneider told journalists that Temer's attorneys said he would not answer any questions. She said she is "absolutely convinced" the former president needs to be jailed so investigations can go forward.

"The Car Wash task force has been very restrained in its requests for arrest," Schneider said. "We are talking about a criminal organization that has robbed the taxpayer for 40 years."

Lawyers for the former president consider his jailing illegal and have filed two requests for his release. A federal court based in Rio de Janeiro postponed a ruling to next Wednesday.

Former Brazilian President Michel Temer, center, arrives to the Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 21, 2019. In a statement, the Prosecutors Office in Rio de Janeiro said that Judge Marcelo Breitas had issued an arrest warrant for Temer, as well as Moreira Franco, a former minister and close ally of Temer, and eight others. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Temer's former Cabinet minister, Wellington Moreira Franco, was also arrested and has denied any wrongdoing.

Both of their arrests come at a time of considerable tension between Car Wash prosecutors and Brazil's top court. A week ago, the nation's Supreme Federal Tribunal ruled that some graft investigations should be handled by electoral judges because they involve politicians who allegedly received kickbacks from companies to finance their campaigns.

In ruling, some justices acknowledged that Brazil's electoral court system lacks the infrastructure and expertise to handle such big corruption cases, but expressed confidence that the gap could be bridged.

The country's top court also blocked a move that allowed the Car Wash task force to manage hundreds of millions of dollars recovered from corruption scandals at state-run oil giant Petrobras.

While prosecutors and judges involved in the investigation see the imprisonment of Temer as a major win after those setbacks, however, others in Brazil - including adversaries of the ex-president - were critical of the decision of federal Judge Marcelo Bretas to arrest him.

"Car Wash is trying to turn the focus away from the discredit it was falling into," said former President Lula da Silva on Twitter Thursday night. "The (Car Wash) task force does not need pyrotechnics to survive, it needs sobriety."

Luis Henrique Machado, a law professor at IDP university in Brasilia, said the arrest of deeply unpopular Temer on "absurd grounds" appeared to be a response to recent blows by courts.

"Prosecutors and magistrates have pressured and intimidated Brazil's Supreme Court recently. That game is being played," Machado said. "It is a judicial invention that could cost all sides dearly."

This is not the first time that Bretas, who is in charge of all Car Wash cases in the state of Rio de Janeiro, has come under fire. Bretas is also behind the arrests of ex-Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral and Brazilian businessman Eike Batista, once number eight on Forbes' World's Billionaires list. In 2016, he sentenced then president of state-run Eletronuclear, Othon Luiz Pinheiro da Silva, to 43 years in prison.

Supporters of Bretas see him as serious, firm and uncompromising, while adversaries consider him to be a zealot with political ambitions.

Temer governed between 2016 and 2018 after his predecessor Dilma Rousseff was impeached.

His administration was clouded by corruption allegations, with the former president himself surviving two votes in Congress that would have suspended him from office and put him on trial for graft charges.

There are now 10 investigations related to Temer, who was once a discreet backroom dealmaker in Congress before he was propelled into Brazil's presidency amid a huge political and economic crisis.

Temer left office with his job approval in single digits, and many of adversaries were sure that his imprisonment was imminent.

____

AP writer Savarese reported from Madrid.Before she could start breast cancer treatment, Nancy Simpson had to walk in a straight line, count backward from 20 and repeat a silly phrase.

It was all part of a special kind of medical fitness test for older patients that's starting to catch on among cancer doctors. Instead of assuming that elderly patients are too frail for treatment or recommending harsh drugs tested only in younger patients, they are taking a broader look.

Specialists call these tests geriatric assessments, and they require doctors to take the time to evaluate physical and mental fitness, along with emotional and social well-being. They also take into account the patient's desires for life-prolonging treatment regardless of how much time might be left.

An avid walker with a strong network of nearby family and friends, Simpson, now 80, says she "wanted to do the maximum I could handle" to fight her disease. She scored high enough in her 2017 evaluation to proceed with recommended surgery and chemotherapy.

"It gave me encouragement. Then I felt like I am OK and I can get through this and will get through this," said Simpson, who lives in Fairport, New York, near Rochester.

These tests are sometimes done with other illnesses but only recently have been recommended for cancer. In new guidelines , the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends the evaluations for patients aged 65 and up, particularly before making decisions about chemotherapy. The idea is to find ways to help patients tolerate treatment, not rule it out.

In this Monday, March 4, 2019, Nancy Simpson, left, speaks with Dr. Allison Magnuson, Geriatric Oncology and Breast Oncology at Wilmot Cancer Institute, at the Pluta Cancer Center in Rochester, N.Y. Simpson, 80, says she "wanted to do the maximum I could handle" to fight her disease. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

For example, if walking tests show balance problems that chemotherapy might worsen, patients might be offered physical therapy first. Relatives or friends might be called on to help cook for seniors who live alone and would become too weak to prepare meals during chemo. And for those who want to avoid the hospital no matter what, treatment that could put them there would be avoided.

Almost 1 million U.S. adults aged 65 and older will be diagnosed with cancer this year, the American Cancer Society estimates. Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients are in that age group. And yet, most cancer treatments stem from studies on younger, often healthier patients. That leaves doctors with limited information on how treatments will affect elderly patients. Geriatric assessments can help bridge that gap, said Dr. Supriya Mohile, a specialist in geriatric cancer at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

These tests may require 15 to 30 minutes or more and recent research has shown they can accurately predict how patients will fare during and after cancer treatment, Mohile said. Older patients who get chemo and have other health problems are more vulnerable to falls and delirium and at risk for losing independence.

"We hear all the time about 'decision regret,'" she said, meaning patients who got harsh treatment but weren't unaware of risks and other options and who say, "I wish someone had told me this could happen."

Mohile co-authored a recent study that found just 1 in 4 U.S. cancer specialists did the assessments. She said doctors say it takes too long and that patients don't want it. But she hears from patients and caregivers: "I'm so happy you're asking me about these things. Nobody ever asked me.'"

One of Mohile's colleagues did Simpson's evaluation, which showed she was strong enough to endure a standard, aggressive three-drug chemotherapy combo for breast cancer. She chose a variation that was gentler but extended the treatment by several weeks.

The evaluation showed "I wasn't in as that bad of shape as my age would indicate," Simpson said.

Her walking buddy and four attentive children gave her strong social support, and she lived independently, doing her own cooking and cleaning.

Treatment left Simpson with hair loss, fatigue and excruciating mouth sores. She knew about the risks but has no regrets.

Cancer "gave me a different perspective on what is important in life and what isn't and I'm still adjusting to that," Simpson said.

Dr. Hyman Muss, a geriatrics specialist at the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center says there's no question the evaluations are important but insurance coverage is sometimes a problem. Medicare will pay for yearly physical exams but not geriatric assessments, he said. Doctors can sometimes squeeze the tests into other office visits, but there is no billing code for the exams, he said.

Advocates note that the evaluations can include questionnaires that patients can fill out at home to shorten time in the doctor's office.

Beverly Canin, 84, of Rhinebeck, New York, became an advocate after declining chemotherapy following surgery for early breast cancer 20 years ago. She didn't have an assessment, and says her doctor dismissed her concerns about harsh side effects and refused to consider other options.

A 2015 medical report Canin co-authored told of a patient who had the opposite experience. The 92-year-old man with rectal cancer entered hospice care after he declined surgery, the only treatment his primary care doctor recommended. The doctor determined the man would not tolerate rigorous chemotherapy and radiation because of his advanced age. A specialist approved the treatments after the man had a geriatric evaluation and declared he wanted care that would control his symptoms and prolong his life.

The patient managed well and was cancer-free two years later. Canin said his stress and treatment delay could have been avoided if a geriatric evaluation had been done first.

"The risks with older adults traditionally are overtreatment and undertreatment. What we need is more precision treatment," she said.

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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner on Twitter at @LindseyTanner.

___

The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In this Monday, March 4, 2019 photo, Dr. Allison Magnuson, left, speaks with patient Nancy Simpson at the Pluta Cancer Center in Rochester, N.Y. Before she could start breast cancer treatment, Simpson, 80, had to walk in a straight line, count backward from 20 and repeat a silly phrase. It was part of a special kind of medical fitness test for older patients. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnamese authorities have ordered monks at a popular Buddhist pagoda to stop "soul summoning" and "bad karma eviction" ceremonies after an investigation found the rituals were a scam.

Tens of thousands of worshippers have been paying the 18th century Ba Vang pagoda in northern Quang Ninh province between 1 million and several hundred million dong ($45-$13,500) to have their bad karma vanquished, according to the state-run Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper.

The Committee for Religious Affairs, a government body, issued a statement on its website on Friday saying "the ritual goes against Buddhist philosophy and violates Vietnam's law on religion and folk beliefs."

"It has a negative impact on social order and security," it added.

Calls to the pagoda were not answered Friday.

Monks at the pagoda teach that all illnesses and misfortune result from bad deeds in previous lives.

In this undated photo, visitors fill the courtyard of the Ba Vang pagoda in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Vietnamese authorities have ordered monks at a popular Buddhist pagoda to stop "soul summoning" and "bad karma eviction" ceremonies, saying such rituals violate the country's law on religion and folk beliefs. According to the state-run Lao Dong newspaper, worshippers have been paying the 18th century Ba Vang pagoda in northern Vietnam 1 million Vietnamese dong to several hundred million dong ($45-$13,500) to have their bad karma vanquished. (Vietnam News Agency via AP)

Three times a month, they hold a two-day ceremony to "summon wandering souls" and "remove bad karma," demanding donations, supposedly representing good deeds, to help cure bad karma and make up for supposed bad deeds in previous lives.

Such rituals have been going on for years, but the practice has drawn unfavorable attention as the amounts demanded by the monks soared to the point where they began taking payments by bank transfers and by installments.

Public outrage flared when an inspirational speaker associated with the pagoda blamed a victim for being gang raped, saying she had committed evil acts in a past life in comments posted on the pagoda's website and on social media. The 20-year-old college student was taken hostage and raped by five men for two days before she was killed on the eve of the Feb. 5 Lunar New Year.

"The teaching was hurtful and disrespectful to the soul of my daughter," Tuoi Tre, another official newspaper, quoted the woman's mother as saying.

The monks also teach that homosexuality comes from bad karma and should be "cured" by having people of the opposite sex spend time together.

"Vindictive wandering souls follow people. They bring you illness, marriage problems and make your children unwell. We have the power to summon the souls and evict them," the abbot of the pagoda, Thich Truc Thai Minh, told followers during a gathering that was live streamed on social media on Thursday.

A reporter for Lao Dong shot a video at the pagoda showing a monk telling another woman, who was distraught over losing her only child: "It's your karma. In previous life, you were a witch."

"And the wandering soul says it will take your life, too. Not just your child," the monk said.

Ba Vang pagoda was built on a mountain slope in Uong Bi district of Quang Ninh province. It was recently renovated and expanded to become one of Vietnam's largest pagoda complexes.

Only a minority of Vietnam's 95 million people follow Buddhism, but many non-Buddhists go to pagodas and temples and practice a form of folk religion that includes some Buddhist practices.

Religions that are not registered with the government are prohibited. The Ba Vang pagoda belongs to a registered Vietnamese Buddhist association.FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Tech billionaire Elon Musk surprised students by showing up at a school assembly in Flint, Michigan, and promising to take some of them for a tour of his Space X rocket factory in California.

Musk and Flint Community Schools Superintendent Derrick Lopez also told the crowd of sixth- and seventh-graders Friday that they'd all be getting free laptops.

The Musk Foundation announced in December it was giving about $424,000 to help provide laptops as the city recovers from a crisis with lead-tainted water . The schools were also using a separate Musk grant of $480,000 to for water filtration.

The assembly was held at Doyle Ryder Elementary but included students from several Flint schools. Musk is the CEO of Tesla Motors and the head of SpaceX.MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin Republicans asked an appeals court Friday to immediately reinstate GOP-backed laws limiting the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, sparking a flurry of legal maneuvering as both sides jockeyed for position before the court makes a decision.

Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess issued an injunction Thursday blocking the laws, which GOP legislators quickly approved in December before Evers replaced Republican Gov. Scott Walker. On Friday, an attorney for the Republican lawmakers asked the 3rd District Court of Appeals for an immediate stay blocking Niess' order and reinstating the statutes.

The court gave everyone involved until 4 p.m. Monday to file briefs, ensuring no decision will come until at least then.

The Republicans' attorney, Misha Tseytlin, told the appellate court in a filing Friday morning that Niess' injunction was already causing confusion for military and overseas voters, noting a state Supreme Court election is only days away.

Tseytlin added that Neiss' ruling jeopardizes the validity of thousands of other laws passed during so-called extraordinary sessions, which are unscheduled floor periods convened by majority party leaders.

He also questioned whether scores of Walker's appointees still have jobs. Lawmakers confirmed 82 of Walker's appointees during the December session, ensuring Evers couldn't remove them when he took office.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers answered reporters questions at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisc., Thursday, March 21, 2019, after a Dane County judge has blocked the lame duck laws that Republicans passed in December to limit the power of the governor and attorney general. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

Empowered by Niess' ruling, the governor rescinded the appointments late Friday afternoon. His spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, said the positions are now vacant. Some of the higher-profile appointees included two University of Wisconsin System regents and state Public Service Commission Chairwoman Ellen Nowak.

Baldauff said the governor will fill the spots as quickly as possible to minimize disruption. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald issued a statement saying he feels the appointees were confirmed legally and called Evers' move "irresponsible."

The laws approved during the December lame-duck legislative session prohibit Evers from withdrawing the state from lawsuits without legislative approval. The move was designed to prevent him from pulling Wisconsin out of a multistate challenge to the Affordable Care Act, but Evers quickly started the process Thursday following Niess' order.

The laws also require Kaul to seek legislative approval before settling any case and to deposit settlement winnings in the state general fund rather than in state Department of Justice accounts. The laws also rework voting regulations, restricting early in-person voting to the two weeks preceding an election and loosening requirements for military and overseas voters. Their witnesses no longer have to be U.S. citizens, and they can use email to receive and transmit ballots.

A coalition of liberal-leaning groups led by the League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit challenging the legislation in January. The groups argued that the Legislature can't meet unless the time is specified in a law passed every two years or the governor calls it into session. Extraordinary sessions aren't scheduled as part of that law. The majority party calls them when it sees fit.

Niess agreed with the coalition Thursday, saying there was no statutory basis for extraordinary sessions.

Hours after Niess issued the injunction, Evers ordered Kaul to move to withdraw Wisconsin from the ACA lawsuit. Evers didn't immediately make any other moves with his restored powers, saying he needed time to digest the injunction.

The governor and the coalition sent letters to the appellate court Friday asking to be heard before it makes a decision on a stay. Evers' attorney, Tamara Packard, insisted Tseytlin was "grossly misstating" the injunction's effects.

Both Evers and the coaltion argued the case belongs in the 4th District Court of Appeals. The judges on that court include Gary Sherman, a former Democratic legislator; JoAnne Kloppenburg, a liberal-leaning former state Supreme Court candidate; and Brian Blanchard, a former Democratic prosecutor.

In another twist Friday, Kaul reversed himself and now wants to get into the lawsuit.

The coalition has technically named Evers as a defendant. But Kaul said in January he wouldn't defend the governor, explaining would face a conflict of interest since the laws affect the state Department of Justice's authority.

But Kaul sent a letter to the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Friday saying that he now wants to be heard ahead of any stay decision. The laws' impact on DOJ gives him a "unique perspective" on the facts, he said, and statutes allow the attorney general to be heard whenever a law is found unconstitutional.

Kaul spokeswoman Gillian Drummond said he feels he can't represent others in the case because the laws affect DOJ but he can represent his own agency without any conflict.

The court issued an order late Friday afternoon allowing Kaul to participate.

___

Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2019 file photo, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks during his address at the inauguration of Gov. Tony Evers, right, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. Kaul has filed a motion to withdraw the state from an ongoing federal lawsuit seeking repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Kaul filed the motion Thursday after fellow Democrat, Evers, ordered him to withdraw Wisconsin from the lawsuit. Kaul had been blocked from taking action under a law passed by the Republican Legislature in a lame-duck session shortly before he took office. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)BEIJING (AP) - A massive explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China with a long record of safety violations has killed at least 62 people and injured hundreds of others, 90 of them seriously.

The death toll appeared likely to rise still further, with another 28 people still listed as missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. Just 26 of those confirmed dead in Thursday's explosion have been identified, it said.

The blast in an industrial park in the city of Yancheng, north of Shanghai, was one of China's worst industrial accidents in recent years. State-run television showed crushed cars, blown-out windows and workers leaving the factory with bloodied heads.

Schools were closed and nearly 1,000 residents were moved to safety as a precaution against leaks and additional explosions, the city government said in a statement posted to its microblog.

The blast created a crater, and more than 900 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire that burned into the night. Windows in buildings as far as 6 kilometers (4 miles) away were blown out by the force of the blast, which caused a magnitude 2.2 seismic shock.

The cause of the blast was under investigation, and people responsible for operations at the plant have been placed "under control," Xinhua said. It wasn't clear whether anyone had been formally arrested.

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, fires burn at the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Chinatopix via AP)

Drains and waterways running through and from the plant complex have been blocked to prevent toxic chemicals from running into the nearby Yellow Sea, under orders from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The orders covered sewage and rainwater outlets while further assessments of air and water quality were ongoing, Xinhua reported.

A resident of the community of Chenjiagang, about 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) from the plant, said glass from windows smashed by the force of the blast injured neighbors.

"At the time of the explosion, I was almost deafened and I was terribly frightened," said the woman, who gave only her surname, Zhi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to Italy, demanded "all-out efforts" to find and rescue victims, Xinhua reported.

"Relief work must be well done to maintain social stability. Meanwhile, environmental monitoring and early warning should be strengthened to prevent environmental pollution as well as secondary disasters," it quoted Xi as saying.

Xi said local officials need to learn the lessons of a recent series of industrial accidents to save lives and property, signaling a likely crackdown on safety violations at a time when many Chinese companies are being hit by a downturn in sales that is squeezing profit margins.

On Xi's orders, State Councilor Wang Yong led officials from the State Council, China's Cabinet officials to the explosion site to "guide the rescue and emergency response work and visit the injured people," Xinhua said. The State Council has been ordered to oversee the investigation into the cause of the explosion, an indication of the seriousness with which the government regards the incident.

The Yancheng city government statement said 3,500 medical workers at 16 hospitals were mobilized to treat the injured, dozens of whom remained in critical condition.

The U.N. said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply saddened" at the loss of life and injuries and sent "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of the victims and to the people and government of China.

China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines.

Among the worst accidents was a massive 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers. That blast was blamed on illegal construction and unsafe storage of volatile materials.

In November, at least 22 people were killed and scores of vehicles destroyed in an explosion outside a chemical plant in the northeastern city of Zhangjiakou, which will host competitions in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Thursday's disaster occurred at a factory run by the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Located among a cluster of chemical factories in Yancheng, it has a dismal safety record: In February 2018, China's State Administration for Work Safety cited 13 types of safety hazards at the company, including mishandling of tanks of toxic benzene, believed to be the source of Thursday's explosion.

Other local media reports said chemical fertilizer may have also been involved in the explosion.

Those violations came despite the plant having racked up 1.79 million RMB ($267,000) in fines since 2016 for violations of environmental regulations, according to a judgments issued by local county and city environmental protection bureaus. Those included improperly dealing with hazardous waste and evading air pollution supervision.

A 2017 explosion that killed 10 at a nearby plant prompted the State Administration of Work Safety to dispatch inspectors. They discovered over 200 safety hazards at chemical factories in Yancheng and four nearby cities, including 13 at the Tianjiayi plant. Safety hazards cited included leaks and drips, employees who didn't understand safety procedures, and a lack of emergency shut-off valves on tanks carrying flammable chemicals.

In 2014, the company's chairman, Zhang Qinyue, and Wu Guozhong, its former supply chief, were arrested on suspicion of dumping and burying hazardous waste byproducts near a temple and a village landfill, according to a Jiangsu court criminal judgment. They were convicted in 2017 and the company was fined 1 million RMB ($149,000).

___

Associated Press writers Yanan Wang and Dake Kang contributed to this report.

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, fires burn at the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua via AP)

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, rescuers walk near the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Chinatopix via AP)

Emergency personnel wearing protective clothing prepare to work at the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province, Friday, March 22, 2019. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Chinatopix via AP)

In this aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, damaged buildings are seen at the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province, Friday, March 22, 2019. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua via AP)

In this aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, rescuers work at the site of a factory explosion in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County of Yancheng in eastern China's Jiangsu province, Friday, March 22, 2019. The local government reports the death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen with dozens killed and more seriously injured. (Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua via AP)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

4 p.m.

This year's round of Midwestern flooding is the worst ever at three locations in Nebraska.

National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Low said during a conference call Friday that the Missouri River reached record levels at Plattsmouth, Nebraska City and Brownville. It crested just short of a record at several other places, including St. Joseph, Missouri, where the river reached 32.02 feet (9.76 meters) on Friday, inches short of the record of 32.07 feet (9.77 meters) set during the historic 1993 flood.

Crests are still coming further south and east on the Missouri River, but flooding in Kansas City and other points in Missouri isn't expected to be nearly as severe.

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say it is too early to begin assessing total damage from the flood. While the crests in Nebraska, southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri have largely passed, water will remain high for several days.

The cab of a pickup truck peeks out of floodwaters Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Hamburg, Iowa. As some communities along the Missouri River start to shift their focus to flood recovery after a late-winter storm, residents in two Iowa cities are still in crisis mode because their treatment plants have shut down and they lack fresh water. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

___

1:30 p.m.

Authorities are evacuating a low-lying area of St. Joseph, Missouri, as the Missouri River crests at near-record levels.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jake Angle says the evacuation began late Friday morning in the city's Lake Contrary area. The river is cresting in the city at levels that are less than 1 foot (0.3 meters) away from those reached during historic 1993 flooding. More than 100 people are sandbagging to shore up the levee that protects the Missouri Air National Guard and Rosencrans Airport.

Across the river, about 1,200 residents of the Kansas town of Elwood were urged to leave.

Kansas City Power & Light says that because of the flooding, crews have shut off power to some customers in five communities, including St. Joseph, which has a population of about 75,000.

____

11 a.m.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage.

Reynolds sent a letter asking President Donald Trump to quickly issue a disaster declaration for 57 counties in Iowa that have been severely impacted by flooding, including along the Missouri River.

Ongoing flooding along the river has damaged thousands of homes and inundated agricultural land in several Midwestern states.

Reynolds says Iowa will need the additional federal recovery assistance to help with damage and losses related to agriculture, businesses, homes and levees.

The damage estimates indicate flooding that began last week has caused $417 million in damage to homes with minor damage and $64 million to homes with major damage.

Businesses suffered $300 million in damage, while agriculture damage is estimated at $214 million. Additional damage is to levees.

Flooding in Nebraska has caused an estimated $1.4 billion in damage. The state received Trump's federal disaster assistance approval on Thursday.

___

10:25 a.m.

More towns are evacuating as the flooded Missouri River seeps over and through busted levees.

The National Weather Service says the river is expected to crest Friday at levels just short of those reached during historic 1993 flooding in Atchison, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri.

About 1,200 residents of the Kansas town of Elwood were urged to leave, and the governor eased restrictions on large vehicles carrying relief supplies. Across the river, parts of an industrial area in St. Joseph were inundated with water.

But no major flooding is forecast downstream in Kansas City.

The Missouri River swelled following heavy rains and snowmelt this month. The flooding had been blamed for three deaths, damaged thousands of homes in Nebraska,Iowa and Missouri, and taken a heavy toll on agriculture.

In this Wednesday, March 20, 2019 photo provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol shows Water Patrol Troopers assisting utility company employees in shutting off natural gas lines in flood waters at Craig, Mo. In northwest Missouri, a levee breached Tuesday, unleashed a torrent that overwhelmed a temporary berm that was built up with excavators and sandbags to protect the small town of Craig, where the 220 residents have been ordered to evacuate. "They've got water running down Main Street," said Tom Bullock, emergency management director of Holt County, where Craig is located. (Missouri State Highway Patrol, via AP)

In this March 18, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, environmental restoration employees deploy a containment boom from a boat on Offutt Air Force Base in Neb., as a precautionary measure for possible fuel leaks in the flooded area. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Delanie Stafford, The U.S. Air Force via AP)

This March 17, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Areas surrounding Offutt Air Force Base affected by flood waters in Neb. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/The U.S. Air Force via AP)

Treyton Gubser, left, and his uncle Daniel Gubser paddleusing shovels through the floodwaters after they rescued Daniel's kid's cat, Bob Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Hamburg, Iowa. As some communities along the Missouri River start to shift their focus to flood recovery after a late-winter storm, residents in two Iowa cities are still in crisis mode because their treatment plants have shut down and they lack fresh water. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)A 17-year-old boy was charged Friday with making online threats of "ethnic cleansing" against black and Hispanic students at the public high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a city that was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017.

The threats had shut down the city's public schools on Thursday and Friday, drawing the community closer together but also sparking fear in a city that witnessed racial violence firsthand.

Aware that this college town has become synonymous with racial strife, city leaders used a news conference to speak out against racism and even rebuke past comments by President Donald Trump.

"We want the community and the world to know that hate is not welcomed in Charlottesville," police Chief RaShall Brackney said. "Violence is not welcomed in Charlottesville. Intolerance is not welcomed in Charlottesville."

She added: "And in Charlottesville and around the globe, we stand firmly in stating: There are not 'very fine people' on both sides of this issue."

Brackney's comment appeared to reference statements Trump made in the days after violence broke out in the city during the summer of 2017. A loosely connected mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists had assembled to protest the city's decision to remove a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.

Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney, right, looks on as Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins, left, speaks during a press conference at the Charlottesville Police Department, Friday, March 22, 2019 in Charlottesville, Va. A 17-year-old boy was charged Friday with making online threats of "ethnic cleansing" against black and Hispanic students at the public high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a city that was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017. (Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress via AP)

In the days afterward, Trump acknowledged there were "some very bad people" looking for trouble in the group protesting plans to remove the statue. "But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides," he said.

Charlottesville police released few details about the teen who was arrested Friday because he was a juvenile. But they said he lives outside the city in Albemarle County and does not attend Charlottesville's schools.

When asked about his race, police said the suspect identifies as Portuguese.

The teen faces a felony charge of threatening to commit serious bodily harm on school property. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of harassment by computer.

Chief Brackney said the student used "vile and racially charged language" on 4chan, a shadowy site known for, among other things, cruel hoaxes and political extremism.

She said detective work helped find the teen and that internet providers and law enforcement professionals "nationally, internationally" helped the department investigate.

Rosa Atkins, the superintendent of Charlottesville schools, said the threat provoked real fear and anxiety. School counselors and others are preparing for the students' return Monday.

"Since August 2017, our community has made a good-faith effort to have these difficult conversations about race and equity, and build trust and relationships in our school system and in our community," she said. "And this comment attempted, although it failed, to undermine our efforts, and our community."

Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins, right, receives comfort from city school board members Lisa Torres, middle, and Juandiego R. Wade, left, after a press conference at the Charlottesville Police Department, Friday, March 22, 2019 in Charlottesville, Va. A 17-year-old boy was charged Friday with making online threats of "ethnic cleansing" against black and Hispanic students at the public high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a city that was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017. (Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress via AP)WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Islamic State militants no longer control any territory in Syria, President Donald Trump proudly announced Friday, though the U.S. was still launching airstrikes and sporadic fighting continued on the ground against the group's holdouts.

"It's about time," Trump exclaimed on an airport tarmac in Florida. He held up maps indicating the territory once held by the IS group in Iraq and Syria had shrunk to nothing.

Elimination of the last IS stronghold in Baghouz in eastern Syria would mark the end of the militants' self-declared caliphate, which at its height blanketed large parts of Syria and Iraq. The campaign to take back the territory by the U.S. and its partners has spanned five years and two U.S. presidencies, unleashed more than 100,000 bombs and killed untold numbers of fighters and civilians.

Controlling territory and assets, such as oil facilities, has given the group a stream of revenue and a place from which to launch attacks around the world. However, if history is a guide, the reconquering of IS-held territory could prove a short-lived victory unless Iraq and Syria fix a problem that gave rise to the extremist movement in the first place: governments pitting one ethnic or sectarian group against another.

Trump has been teasing the victory for days, most recently Wednesday when he said the milestone would be achieved by that night.

On Friday, after a flight to Florida, Trump held up a map to supporters cheering him on the tarmac. Then he turned to reporters standing nearby.

President Donald Trump holds a a copy of two maps of Syria as he arrives on Air Force One, Friday, March 22, 2019, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla. One map is awash in red shows IS controlled territory in Syria in November 2016. The other, without red, indicates that IS as of today no longer controls territory in Syria. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"Here's ISIS on Election Day," he said, linking coalition gains since then to his presidency. He pointed to a swath of red signifying the group's previous territorial hold, and then to a version without any red, "Here's ISIS right now."

But Trump appeared to be overstating his administration's contribution to the anti-IS fight. A close-up of the map showed that he was displaying the group's footprint at a high-point in 2014, not Election Day 2016, by which point the U.S.-backed campaign was well underway.

And American officials familiar with the situation in Syria said that the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces - who had not announced victory and weren't planning to on Friday - were still battling remaining IS fighters who were holed up in tunnels along river cliffs in Baghouz. Another official confirmed that the U.S. launched airstrikes there on Friday and that the fighting continued to clear out final pockets of IS members.

Associated Press journalists in Baghouz said coalition fighters were still conducting mop-up operations in the village after seizing an encampment Tuesday where the extremists had been for months. SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told AP earlier Friday that there were still IS fighters and women and children hiding in caves near Baghouz. He said final operations were ongoing and there appeared to be several hundred people still inside. Other SDF officials said the camp was full of corpses, and some civilians and IS fighters were still handing themselves over.

As the militants have put up a desperate, last-ditch fight for weeks, they have kept up their recruiting efforts, as Trump noted.

"ISIS uses the internet better than almost anyone, but for all those susceptible to ISIS propaganda, they are now being beaten badly at every level," the president tweeted. "They will always try to show a glimmer of vicious hope, but they are losers and barely breathing."

He warned would-be recruits: "Think about that before you destroy your lives and the lives of your family!"

The coalition siege has been slowed by the unexpectedly large number of civilians in Baghouz, most of them families of IS members. In recent weeks, they have been flowing out, exhausted, hungry and often wounded. The sheer number who emerged - nearly 30,000 since early January, according to Kurdish officials - took the Syrian Democratic Forces by surprise.

According to the officials, the SDF is moving slowly and carefully, and is willing to wait out the IS fighters who are out of food and low on water. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss mission details.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was briefed by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan who was traveling with him to Florida where he was meeting Caribbean leaders at his Mar-a-Lago club. "We got the information from the DOD," she said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking in Jerusalem, said Thursday the U.S.-led coalition had achieved "amazing" results in Syria.

But he said, "The threat from radical Islamic terrorism remains."

___

Baldor reported from Washington. AP writers Philip Issa in Baghouz, Syria, Robert Burns, Zeke Miller and Kevin Freking in Washington and Matthew Lee in Jerusalem contributed.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders holds a map of Syria in the press cabin on Air Force One, Friday, March 22, 2019, on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he arrives on Air Force One, Friday, March 22, 2019, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla., en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - From Syria to Turkey and beyond, President Donald Trump's abrupt declaration that Washington will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights drew strong condemnation on Friday.

The Syrian government called it "irresponsible" and a threat to international peace and stability, while Iran's foreign ministry said it plunges the region into a new crisis.

The Foreign Ministry in Damascus said Trump's statement confirms "the blind bias of the United States to the Zionist entity," referring to Israel, and added that it won't change "the fact that the Golan was and will remain Arab and Syrian."

The ministry also said Damascus is now more intent on liberating the Golan, "using every possible means."

Trump's announcement the day before was a major shift in American policy and gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.

The administration has been considering recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, for some time and Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week.

FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, an Israeli flag in front of the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Syria slammed President Donald Trump's abrupt declaration that Washington will recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, saying Friday March 22, 2019, the statement was "irresponsible" and a threat to international peace and stability. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, FILE)

Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. The U.N. Security Council resolution 497, issued after the annexation, refers to Israel as "the occupying power" and says Israel's attempt to "impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect."

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations had no comment on Trump's tweet.

"But if you're asking what the U.N. policy on the Golan Heights is, it's very clear," he said. "It's the policy reflected in the resolutions of the Security Council and the relevant resolutions as well of the General Assembly."

Damascus also said Trump's statement "clearly shows the U.S. disdain to the international legitimacy and violates its resolutions, especially Security Council resolution 497" while also threatening "international peace and stability."

Syria's Foreign Ministry later announced that a letter was sent to the presidents of the U.N. Security Council and United Nations over Trump's "irresponsible and dangerous statements over the Golan." The statement urged the U.N. secretary-general to confirm the organization's stance regarding Israeli occupation of the Golan.

In a Friday tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took aim at the U.S., saying that if it believes that "persistently violating int'l law, bullying sovereign nations & milking its clients projects strength. It does not. Its recklessness just displays panic of an empire in decline."

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit also criticized the American stance, saying it "comes outside the international legitimacy and no country, no matter how important it is, can make such a decision."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Trump's "unfortunate" declaration has brought the region "to the brink of a new crisis and new tensions."

"We will never allow the legitimization of the occupation of the Golan Heights," Erdogan added.

Egypt also issued a statement, saying the Golan is occupied Arab territory and calling for respect for international resolutions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Trump's comments "can destabilize the already fragile situation in the Middle East."

"The very idea is not helping the goals of the Middle East settlement, quite the other way round," he said. "Right now, it's merely a declaration. Let's hope it will stay this way."

In Germany, government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said there was no change to Berlin's position on the Golan Heights, pointing to the 1981 U.N. resolution. She said Germany opposes "unilateral steps," but is well aware of the territory's significance to Israel.

"A peace settlement would have to take account of Israel's very justified security interests and of course stop once and for all the potential dangers to Israel from the Golan Heights," Demmer said. "But for the present, the tensions that already exist should not be deepened."

The U.S. will be the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as territory occupied by Israel whose status should be determined by negotiations between Israel and Syria. Attempts to bring Israel and Syria to the table have failed.

It was not immediately clear how a U.N. peacekeeping force that is in place in the Golan might be affected by the U.S. move. That force's mandate expires at the end of June.

There had been signals that a U.S. decision was coming. Last week, in its annual human rights report, the State Department dropped the phrase "Israeli-occupied" from the Golan Heights section, instead calling it "Israeli-controlled."

___

Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Cairo; Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Geir Moulson in Berlin and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, March 11, 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, right, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, during a visit to the border between Israel and Syria at the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Syria slammed President Donald Trump's abrupt declaration that Washington will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, saying Friday March 22, 2019, the statement was "irresponsible" and a threat to international peace and stability. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool FILE via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during their visit to Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem, Thursday March 21, 2019. Netanyahu has praised U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of its control over the Golan Heights as a holiday "miracle." (Amir Cohen/Pool via AP)

Tourists take photographs next to a mock road sign for Damascus, the capital of Syria, and other capitals and cities and a cutout of a soldiers, in an old outpost in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Tourists pose for photograph next to a mock road sign for Damascus, the capital of Syria, and other capitals and cities and a cutout of a soldier, in an old outpost in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Tourists pose for photograph next to a mock road sign for Damascus, the capital of Syria, and other capitals and cities and a cutout of a soldier, in an old outpost in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)Photo: usrepresented.com

On March 10, 1989, there was an explosion on the sun. It catapulted a large mass of hot solar plasma off into space at thousands of kilometres a second.

In the early hours of the 13th, this cloud, properly called a "coronal mass ejection, hit us.

The Earth's magnetic field convulsed, triggering a major magnetic storm that caused power outages, disruptions of communications and somewhere around $2 billion worth of damage.

In 1859, there was a far bigger solar storm. Back then the only hi-tech communications system was the telegraph. Operators got electric shocks off their equipment and, in some cases, it caught fire.

If we had another event like that today, the consequences would be enormous. We are now tied together by a complex communications, power and transportation infrastructure in a way that impacts almost all aspects of our lives.

Solar activity can black out radio communications and disable communication satellites. Solar-induced currents can cause failures in electrical power systems and enhanced corrosion in pipelines.

Enhanced high-altitude radiation due to solar activity can be a hazard to air travel on polar routes. Navigation systems can be disrupted, and on the ground, railway-signalling systems may be affected.

Imagine losing the Internet for a week, or, having put all your data in the cloud, finding you cannot connect to it. Until recently we had no information as to how big a solar storm could be other than the 1859 event.

Now, we know the sun can do far "better" than that.

Although our medieval ancestors would not have noticed solar activity and solar storms much, apart from occasional displays of aurorae, those storms left some environmental signatures.

Solar activity changes the intensity of high-energy particles hitting the upper atmosphere. When these particles hit atoms of oxygen or nitrogen, they create new elements, some of them radioactive.

These new elements get carried down in rain and snow to the Earth's surface. In most places they just diffuse off into the soil. However when these atoms fall on permanent ice caps, they end up being trapped in a layer of surface ice.

Then, the following year another layer forms on top, and so on, so that the icecap contains a historical record of solar activity. Scientists have extracted ice cores yielding solar activity records dating back to remote historical times.

When we look at these ice cores, we can see the annual layering quite easily, so we can scan along the core looking for particular elements, counting the layers as we go. Doing this we can track solar activity back in time thousands of years.

It has been found that although our hi-tech free ancestors never noticed, there have been solar storms far larger than anything of which we had prior knowledge.

One hit the Earth in 660 BCE (BC). Others occurred in 775 and 994 CE (AD).

Our vulnerability to bad solar behaviour is now at an all-time high, so the big question is when will the next supersized solar storm happen? Can it be predicted? How much warning will we get?

In Canada, we are monitoring the sun every day and have an extensive set of instruments monitoring the Earth's ionosphere and magnetic field.

We are trying to get a better understanding of the connection between what the sun gets up to and what the consequences would be here on Earth.

Working with international partners, our aim is to minimize what the sun can do to our modern, technology-dependent way of life.

This involves prediction of dangerous solar activity, assessment of its potential impacts, and developing means to mitigate them, and where there is damage, making the recovery as rapid as possible.

We will solve these problems because we have to.LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Faith-based adoption agencies that are paid by the state of Michigan will no longer be able to turn away LGBT couples or individuals because of religious objections under a legal settlement announced Friday.

The agreement was reached between Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel's office and lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the state in 2017 on behalf of two lesbian couples and a woman who was in foster care in her teens.

"Discrimination in the provision of foster care case management and adoption services is illegal, no matter the rationale," Nessel, who pursued settlement talks after taking office in January, said in a statement. "Limiting the opportunity for a child to be adopted or fostered by a loving home not only goes against the state's goal of finding a home for every child, it is a direct violation of the contract every child-placing agency enters into with the state."

Michigan, like most states, contracts with private agencies to place children from troubled homes with new families. The lawsuit alleged that the same-sex couples were turned away by Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services because they are gay.

A 2015 Republican-enacted law says child-placement agencies are not required to provide any services that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs. But the definition of services does not include those provided under a contract with the state Department of Health and Human Services, according to the suit and resulting settlement .

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which intervened in the case on behalf of St. Vincent Catholic Charities and others, accused Nessel and the ACLU of trying to stop the state from working with faith-based adoption agencies.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel attends an event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in Clawson, Mich., Monday, March 18, 2019. The Michigan attorney general's office has settled a lawsuit by same-sex couples who say their rights have been violated by faith-based adoption agencies that don't want to work with gays and lesbians. Under the settlement announced Friday, March 22, 2019 the state says it will enforce non-discrimination provisions in its foster care and adoption agency contracts. Nessel initiated settlement talks. She says discrimination in foster care and adoption services is "illegal." (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

"The result of that will be tragic," said attorney Lori Windham. "Thousands of children will be kept from finding the loving homes they deserve. This settlement violates the state law protecting religious adoption agencies."

But two plaintiffs, Kristy and Dana Dumont of Dimondale near Lansing, issued a statement saying they were "so happy" for same-sex couples who are interested in fostering or adopting children.

"We are hopeful that this will mean more families for children, especially those who have been waiting years for a family to adopt them," they said. "And we can't wait to welcome one of those children into our family."

The ACLU, which called the settlement a "victory" for nearly 12,000 children in foster care, has said the suit was filed after the office of former GOP Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to speak to it about possible discrimination. Nessel, who is gay, has criticized the law. As a private attorney, she successfully fought to overturn Michigan's ban on gay marriage.

As of February, Bethany Christian Services, Catholic Charities and St. Vincent were responsible for more than 1,600, or 12 percent, of the state's 13,000-plus foster care and adoption cases, said state spokeswoman Bob Wheaton.

Under the settlement, the state must enforce non-discrimination provisions in its contracts in cases where agencies accept referrals but refuse to work with LGBT people interested in fostering or adopting any children they have accepted. Turning away otherwise potentially qualified LGBT individuals would be prohibited, as would refusal to provide orientation or training, perform a home study or process applications.

In a 2017 court filing, St. Vincent Catholic Charities said it recruited more new families than seven of the eight other adoption agencies in the capital region, and seven of those agencies were willing to work with unmarried or same-sex couples. The agency said it would be unable to keep its adoption and foster programs going without the state contract.

The settlement drew both praise and criticism.

The liberal advocacy group Progress Michigan called it a "great step toward a more welcoming and inclusive Michigan." But a top Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, of Clarklake, said he was "deeply saddened and outraged," and accused Nessel of furthering her "personal political agenda."

"Nessel's apparent disregard for the laws of our state, the Constitution and the well-being of thousands of children is an affront to all citizens," he said.

Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney countered that the attorney general "strongly supports" giving every child who is a ward of the state a "forever home. That is the compassionate agenda of a mom."

___

Follow Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey's attorney general announced a lawsuit Friday against a California company that sells mail-order firearms parts that can be turned into working weapons, the first such action the state has taken since it banned so-called ghost guns last year.

The lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Apple Valley-based U.S. Patriot Armory and owner-founder James Tromblee Jr. violated New Jersey's consumer fraud laws when it advertised and sold gun parts to an undercover investigator last month.

The company was sent a letter in December asking it to "stop advertising, offering for sale, and/or selling 'ghost guns' and 'ghost gun' parts to New Jersey residents," according to the suit. But in February, an investigator for the attorney general's office ordered parts for an AR-15 assault rifle. The shipment was received this month, according to the suit.

According to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, 15 other companies that received similar letters have either posted warnings to potential New Jersey buyers on their websites or removed the state from lists of available shipping addresses.

The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and to stop the company from shipping parts to New Jersey.

A phone message seeking comment was left Friday with the company.

This undated photo provided by the Office of Attorney General of New Jersey shows parts of guns confiscated after being sold by mail order from a California company. New Jersey's attorney general announced a lawsuit Friday, March 22, 2019, against the California company that sells mail-order firearms parts that can be turned into working weapons, the first such action the state has taken since it banned so-called "ghost guns" last year. (Office of Attorney General of New Jersey via AP)

"Ghost guns" are unregistered weapons that don't have serial numbers. Companies sell the nearly complete weapons, often along with the parts needed to finish them, as well as training so the firearms can be completed.

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law last fall that made it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to buy gun parts for use in making firearms with no serial numbers. It's also a crime to possess an unregistered assault firearm in New Jersey, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"By advertising and selling dangerous and illegal ghost guns to New Jersey residents, failing to disclose the criminal liability buyers are exposing themselves to, and affirmatively misrepresenting that these guns are legal to purchase, this company has shown blatant disregard for New Jersey's consumer protection laws," Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Paul R. Rodriguez said in a statement.

The company is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Nicaragua's opposition signed a timetable Friday for reaching agreements to free a total of 802 people considered political prisoners but releases didn't start.

The Civic Alliance group said the lists of prisoners it has still have to be collated with those compiled by the government and the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission.

Opposition negotiator Mario Arana said he had hoped the government would release a first group of inmates over the weekend or early next week, but the government of President Daniel Ortega refused to commit to that. About 640 are in prison, and 162 are under a form of house arrest.

Azahalea Solis, one of the main leaders of the Alliance and a negotiator in talks with the government aimed at resolving a political standoff, said in an interview that the 162 released from prison and placed under house arrest since February could be granted more definitive freedom under a proposed deal.

She said that under such a deal, all 802 people detained since protests erupted last April would have unrestricted freedom and see their charges and trials annulled.

Security forces and armed, pro-government civilian groups killed hundreds in their crack down on demonstrators who sought Ortega's exit from office last year, according to independent monitors.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega speaks during the inauguration ceremony of a highway overpass in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Ortega's government and opposition began negotiating Thursday how to carry out the release of hundreds of political prisoners arrested in the past year of unrest, after the government announced Wednesday it would free the prisoners within 90 days in exchange for the lifting of external sanctions. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

This week, as negotiations that began Feb. 27 were on hold over the issue of jailed government opponents, Ortega's government agreed to release them all within 90 days, prompting opposition negotiators to return to the table. In the past, authorities have repeatedly characterized anti-government demonstrators as "terrorists" and "coup-plotters."

Speaking Thursday night at a political event, the president told supporters in an apparent allusion to the negotiations that "we do not all think alike, but despite our ideological and differences, we must unite around a sacred goal, which is peace."

Solis told the AP that the 90-day window for releases is a maximum and could end up being shorter.

Still, she cautioned that it will be "a slow and complex" process because it entails documenting a long list of individual cases, including prisoners who have not been prosecuted, others facing trial and some who have already been convicted.

Solis said the Civic Alliance has demanded that police stop detaining government opponents, because otherwise "the list of prisoners will keep growing."

"May all of them go free and clean, without a criminal record, because all the arrests were illegal and due process was violated," Solis said.

The opposition is also seeking guarantees for the safe return of some 52,000 people who have fled the country, and asking that government opponents be able to secure jobs, return to university and get medical care.

Solis said the Alliance will also demand discussion of disarming the pro-government paramilitary groups that attacked protesters, often visibly in coordination with security forces.

The opposition is continuing to seek an early date for elections currently scheduled for 2021.

"Our demand remains the same," Solis said, "free, early and monitored elections."

At least 325 people were killed in last year's violence, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The government puts the figure at 198, and other human rights groups say it tops 500.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega arrives to the inauguration ceremony of a highway overpass in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Ortega's government and opposition began negotiating Thursday how to carry out the release of hundreds of political prisoners arrested in the past year of unrest, after the government announced Wednesday it would free the prisoners within 90 days in exchange for the lifting of external sanctions. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - In the first primary state where Democratic presidential hopefuls can test their mettle before a mostly black audience, Beto O'Rourke took on issues of race Friday, telling South Carolina voters that he might not know their struggles firsthand but wants to be a president who can try to fix them.

"I'm a white man who's had privilege in my life," the former Texas congressman told a crowd at South Carolina State University, a historically black school in Orangeburg, saying there are struggles he hasn't faced. "I've listened to those who have, and I'm listening to you today."

The trip is O'Rourke's first to the state, which holds the first primary in the South. It's also the first place for candidates to be tested by a Democratic primary electorate that is mostly black.

O'Rourke has talked about white privilege before, saying earlier this week in Iowa that he didn't think being a white male in a historically diverse field of candidates put him at a disadvantage because his gender and race have given him inherent advantages for years.

Before a mostly black crowd of about 200 people at South Carolina State, his voice hoarse after a multitude of events across several states in recent days, O'Rourke framed many of his answers to town hall-style questions around his desire to equalize what he sees as race-based unfairness in access to health care and business capital, as well as in the criminal justice system.

"Whether it's a war on drugs, the inability to obtain capital in a capitalist economy ... all of it comes to a head, and so much of it causes people to lose their lives," O'Rourke said in answering a question about how to stop incidents of police violence against black suspects. "Yes, we need accountability for police officers."

Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke takes a question about the electoral college after a rally at South Carolina State University, Friday, March 22, 2019 in Orangeburg, S.C. The former Texas congressman is making his first trip to this state, which holds the first presidential primary in the South. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Earlier in the day, before a primarily white audience of several hundred at the University of South Carolina's campus in Columbia, O'Rourke emphasized what he sees as inequality in the prosecution and imprisonment of minorities, also advocating for legalization of marijuana, a point he has made before .

"How can we have a system of justice so patently unjust?" O'Rourke asked. "Let's end the war on drugs, the war on people."

O'Rourke is spending Saturday morning in Charleston for a town hall hosted by state Sen. Marlon Kimpson. His South Carolina debut - and the swarm of media that has followed him through other early states including Iowa and New Hampshire - is sucking much of the political oxygen out of the atmosphere on a weekend when other members of the sprawling Democratic primary field are also visiting. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg also have several events in the state on Saturday.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAPMADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin Republicans' attempt to stay an order blocking their lame-duck laws limiting the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul (all times local):

4:50 p.m.

A Wisconsin appeals court won't decide until at least Monday whether to reinstate Republican-backed lame-duck laws limiting the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul.

A Dane County judge blocked the laws Thursday, finding the Legislature convened illegally when it passed them in December. Republican legislators asked the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Friday morning to immediately reinstate the laws pending appeal.

The court issued an order late Friday afternoon telling all parties involved to file briefs outlining their arguments by 4 p.m. Monday. Evers and Kaul have both asked the court to let them make arguments ahead of a decision.

___

4:25 p.m.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is rescinding scores of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker's appointments after a judge invalidated their confirmation votes.

Republicans who control the state Senate confirmed 82 Walker appointments in December to ensure they would keep their jobs after Evers took office. The votes came during a lame-duck extraordinary session.

Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess ruled Thursday that the session was illegally convened and invalidated all actions lawmakers took during it.

Empowered by the ruling, Evers rescinded the appointments Friday afternoon. His spokeswoman says the positions are now considered vacant.

Some of the higher profile appointees include a pair of University of Wisconsin System regents and Ellen Nowak, chairwoman of the state Public Service Commission.

Republicans asked the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Friday morning to immediately stay Niess' ruling. The court had not ruled as of late Friday afternoon.

___

3:45 p.m.

In an about-face, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul now wants to be heard in the fight to preserve an injunction blocking Republican-backed laws limiting the powers of both his office and Gov. Tony Evers.

A coalition of liberal-leaning groups sued in January alleging the Legislature convened illegally when it passed the legislation in December. The lawsuit technically named Evers as a defendant but the governor has officially taken the coalition's side.

A Dane County judge blocked the law on Thursday. Republican lawmakers asked the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Friday to immediately reinstate the laws pending appeal.

Kaul declined in January to defend Evers, saying the laws affect the state Department of Justice and therefore create a conflict of interest.

But on Friday DOJ sent a letter to the appellate court saying it wants to be heard before a ruling on reinstatement is made, saying it has a unique perspective on the case given its impact on the agency. The department also argues that state law allows the attorney general to be heard when a statute is found unconstitutional.

___

12:50 p.m.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and his allies are asking a state appeals court for a chance to argue against Republicans' request to stay an order blocking the GOP's lame-duck laws limiting his powers.

A coalition of liberal-leaning groups sued in January, alleging legislators illegally gathered when they passed the laws in December. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess granted their request Thursday for an injunction blocking the laws.

An attorney for Republican legislators asked an appeals court on Friday to immediately stay Niess' ruling.

Evers' attorney, Tamara Packard, sent a letter to the court Friday saying the GOP attorney is misstating the issues. Packard and an attorney for the coalition also argued that the stay request should be heard in a different court.

___

10:55 p.m.

Republican lawmakers are asking an appeals court to halt a judge's order that temporarily blocks GOP-backed laws limiting the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul.

Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess issued an injunction Thursday blocking the laws. On Friday, an attorney for the Republican legislators filed court documents requesting an immediate emergency stay.

Attorney Misha Tseytlin also told the 3rd District Court of Appeals that an appeal was coming.

Tseytlin says in the court filings that the judge's injunction is "indefensible" and causing confusion about whether thousands of statutes passed during extraordinary sessions are valid.

The Legislature passed the laws during a previously unscheduled extraordinary session called in December, just before Evers took office. Niess said the Wisconsin Constitution doesn't allow such sessions.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the United States sanctions on North Korea (all times local):

2:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he is reversing his administration's decision to slap new sanctions on North Korea, ordering them withdrawn.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Trump "likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary."

Trump says in a tweet that, "It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea."

But he says, "I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!"

Protesters hold signs during a rally demanding the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace treaty near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. More than 20 protesters participated at a rally and also demanding the end the Korean War and to stop the sanction on North Korea. The letters read "Restarting operations at Kaesong industrial complex and Diamond Mountain resort." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about which sanctions Trump was referring to. His administration on Thursday sanctioned two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions - the first targeted actions taken against Pyongyang since Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (gihm jung oon) met in Hanoi last month.

__

5:55 a.m.

The Trump administration is sanctioning two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions.

Thursday's punitive action is the first taken against Pyongyang since nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in Hanoi last month ended without agreement.

Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, says the maritime industry must do more to stop North Korea's illicit shipping practices. He said in a tweet that everyone should review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea's sanctions evasion.

The White House says the sanctions are evidence that the U.S. is maintaining its pressure on North Korea in an effort to coax Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons program.HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on a fire that had been burning at a Texas petrochemical storage facility (all times local):

5:30 p.m.

The Texas Attorney General's office has sued the company that operates a Houston-area chemical plant where a fire burned for several days, leading to health and environmental concerns.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the state would hold Intercontinental Terminals Company "accountable for the damage it has done to our environment."

The lawsuit demands civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day for unauthorized air pollution, outdoor burning of chemicals and emissions of dark plumes that spread for miles.

It was filed in state district court in Travis County.

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2019 photo, shows smoke rising from a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company near the Deer Park School District's Abshire Stadium in Deer Park, Texas. Officials have lifted an order to remain indoors after several readings showed that the air quality had improved near a scorched petrochemical storage facility in suburban Houston. City officials in Deer Park lifted the order Thursday and reopened roads around the Intercontinental Terminals Company. But residents living near ITC say they're skeptical of what public officials are telling them. (Jeffrey Fountain via AP)

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

___

5:15 p.m.

The company that operates a Houston-area chemical plant says a new fire has been extinguished about an hour after it began.

Intercontinental Terminals Company spokesman Dale Samuelsen said Friday that the blaze was put out around 5 p.m., though video taken from overhead showed crews still spraying areas that were emitting smoke.

The flames ignited on the west side of the tank farm, which holds potentially hazardous chemicals including benzene.

Earlier, a breach in a dike on the property led to a spill that forced the closure of the adjacent Houston Ship Channel, a key commercial artery.

___

4:15 p.m.

A fire has reignited at the Houston-area tank farm where an earlier blaze sent plumes of black smoke over the Houston area for several days.

Harris County's emergency management center says multiple tanks were on fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company plant east of Houston. It's unclear how large or serious the fire is. Several calls to the company's incident center went unanswered Friday afternoon.

Earlier Friday, a breach of a containment dike at the plant forced the closure of part of the Houston Ship Channel. Crews were trying to drain one tank considered to be structurally unsound.

There are still significant health and environmental concerns at the site. Among the chemicals stored there include benzene, a highly flammable liquid that can cause headaches, rapid heartbeat and other symptoms.

___

3:15 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed part of the Houston Ship Channel due to chemicals spilling from a petrochemical tank farm after a dayslong fire, affecting commerce on one of the nation's most important commercial waterways.

The Coast Guard said Friday that it was closing the channel near the Intercontinental Terminals Company plant east of Houston.

The company said earlier that a dike wall breached near a damaged tank where crews were trying to drain potentially hazardous liquids.

Coast Guard spokesman Kelly Parker says that caused a mix of chemicals, firefighting foam, and soot from the fire to enter the channel. By closing the channel, the Coast Guard hopes to limit the spread of those liquids into the nearby bay.

The ship channel connects the Port of Houston to Galveston Bay and is a key waterway for refineries and industrial sites.

___

1:45 p.m.

The company that operates a petrochemical tank farm near Houston says there's been a partial breach of a dike wall containing potentially hazardous liquids.

The breach occurred near a damaged tank that crews were working Friday to drain of chemicals that include benzene. The cleanup efforts came after a dayslong fire at the facility was put out on Wednesday.

Intercontinental Terminals Company spokesman Dale Samuelsen said the breach occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m.. He says the company has asked industrial neighbors and people at a nearby historical site to shelter in place. The surrounding town of Deer Park has not been told to shelter in place.

Samuelsen said workers didn't know what was in the liquids or how it would affect the ongoing process to pump liquid out of the tank.

___

12 p.m.

The company that operates a petrochemical tank farm near Houston where a dayslong fire damaged several tanks says it's working to remove flammable product without allowing dangerous emissions to again escape into the air.

Brent Weber with Intercontinental Terminals Company said during a news conference Friday that crews are pumping about 20,000 barrels of liquid out of a damaged tank.

He says foam will be repeatedly sprayed over the tank to avoid benzene from seeping into the air.

The tanks contained components of gasoline and materials used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner.

People living near the plant in Deer Park were told Thursday to remain indoors after air monitors detected elevated levels of benzene. The order was lifted later Thursday.

The fire began Sunday and was extinguished Wednesday.SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The mayor of Puerto Rico's capital announced Friday that she is running for governor of the U.S. territory.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz is a polarizing figure who became an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump after Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.

"Trump and his followers here and over there clung to the idea that everything was fine," she said during her speech to supporters as they clapped.

Cruz also is a co-chair for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and was a nominee for TIME Magazine's 2017 Person of the Year. She said that if elected, she plans to hold a constitutional assembly to decide the future of Puerto Rico's political status.

Cruz also said she wants to eliminate a federal control board overseeing the island's finances and allow government agencies to declare bankruptcy if needed, among other things. Puerto Rico is mired in a 12-year recession and trying to restructure some of its more than $70 billion public debt.

Cruz is a member of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island's commonwealth status. She will run against others from the same party, including Puerto Rico Sen. Eduardo Bhatia, Isabela Mayor Carlos Delgado and former Senator Roberto Prats. It's the first time the Popular Democratic Party will hold such a primary since it was founded.

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2017 file photo, San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz attends a House Democratic Leaders news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cruz announced Friday, March 22, 2019, that she is running for governor of the U.S. territory. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

The winner will face Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party in general elections of November 2020. Rossello is seeking a second term.HOUSTON (AP) - The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel.

The Texas attorney general also filed a lawsuit against Intercontinental Terminals Company, which operates the petrochemical tank farm east of Houston. Attorney General Ken Paxton said Texas had to hold the company "accountable for the damage it has done to our environment."

"ITC has a history of environmental violations, and this latest incident is especially disturbing and frightening," Paxton said in a statement. "No company can be allowed to disrupt lives and put public health and safety at risk."

An ITC spokeswoman said the company would not comment on pending litigation.

While the new fire was extinguished about an hour after it began Friday afternoon, the spillage of chemicals led the U.S. Coast Guard to close part of the ship channel, a critical commercial waterway that connects oil refineries between the Port of Houston and the Gulf of Mexico.

Among the chemicals released into the air this week were benzene, which evaporates quickly and can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, and headaches, with worse symptoms at higher levels of exposure.

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Crews on Friday continued to drain an estimated 20,000 barrels of chemicals from a tank damaged in the fire that began Sunday and was initially put out on Wednesday . A foam layer was reapplied to keep the chemicals contained.

But a dike wall partially breached shortly before 12:30 p.m., company spokesman Dale Samuelsen said, leading to the spill of possibly hazardous chemicals.

The Coast Guard eventually closed the ship channel in the nearby area to prevent the spread of what a spokesman said was a mix of chemicals, foam, and soot from the fire.

Just before 4 p.m., another fire broke out, emitting more large plumes of black smoke. Samuelsen said the fire was extinguished by 5 p.m., though some smoke was still visible shortly afterward.

After the dike breach, the company asked neighboring industrial sites and the nearby San Jacinto Texas State Historic Site to shelter in place. Authorities did not extend that order to residents. People living near the plant in Deer Park were told Thursday to remain indoors after air monitors detected elevated levels of benzene. That order was lifted later Thursday.

Adam Adams of the Environmental Protection Agency said air tests by the EPA and the company had not shown any positive results for high levels of benzene. One positive test after 4 a.m. from a sensor operated by Harris County was verified to be a false alarm, a county spokeswoman said.

The Harris County fire marshal's office said it continued to investigate the origin and cause of the fire with the help of federal authorities.

"This incident has captured the attention of the nation and beyond, with many questions being asked why and how this incident occurred," Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen said in a statement.

Firefighters arrive at the site where the Intercontinental Terminals Company petrochemical fire reignited, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Sarai Aranda hugs her son, who was part of the cleanup crew to empty out the remaining chemicals in the open tanks, as the Intercontinental Terminals Company petrochemical fire reignited, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2019 photo, shows smoke rising from a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company near the Deer Park School District's Abshire Stadium in Deer Park, Texas. Officials have lifted an order to remain indoors after several readings showed that the air quality had improved near a scorched petrochemical storage facility in suburban Houston. City officials in Deer Park lifted the order Thursday and reopened roads around the Intercontinental Terminals Company. But residents living near ITC say they're skeptical of what public officials are telling them. (Jeffrey Fountain via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation in the hours before the report was submitted Friday.

The president, speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before leaving for meetings at his Florida estate, again repeated his claim that "There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. Everybody knows it. It's all a big hoax. It's all a witch hunt."

Mueller's report has not been released publicly. Attorney General William Barr released a letter noting his plans to write his own account of Mueller's findings and advise Congress of its principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.

Justice Department regulations require only that Mueller give the attorney general a confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. That could be as simple as a bullet point list or as fulsome as a report running hundreds of pages.

Barr is required only to say the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed "was so inappropriate or unwarranted" that it should not be pursued. Barr has already said that the Justice Department denied none of Mueller's requests.

Trump and his allies have spent nearly two years trying to discredit Mueller. But the president has grown increasingly confident the report will produce what he has insisted all along: no clear evidence of a conspiracy between Russia and his 2016 campaign. And Trump and his advisers are considering how to weaponize those possible findings for the 2020 race, painting the probe as a failed coup while railing against investigations launched by House Democrats.

President Donald Trump calls out to media as he greets people on the tarmac after arriving on Air Force One, Friday, March 22, 2019, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Even if Mueller's final report does not implicate the president in criminal conduct, the investigation was far from fruitless. His team charged 34 people, including six Trump associates, and three companies. His prosecutors revealed a sweeping criminal effort by Russians to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and showed that people connected to the Trump campaign were eager to exploit emails stolen from Democrats.

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire

President Donald Trump waves before boarding Air Force One, Friday, March 22, 2019, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for a trip to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Photo: The Canadian Press

Hyundai has found a new problem that can cause its car engines to fail or catch fire, issuing yet another recall to fix problems that have affected more than 6 million vehicles during the past 3 1/2 years.

The Korean automaker, under pressure from safety regulators, is recalling about 20,000 Veloster cars in the U.S. and Canada because fuel can prematurely ignite in the cylinders around the pistons. That can cause excessive pressure and damage the engine, causing vehicles to stall and in some cases catch fire, according to Hyundai documents posted Friday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It's a different problem from what has caused the rest of the recalls since 2015 from Hyundai and its affiliated automaker Kia, which have been plagued by engine failures and fires across the U.S.

The recall, which covers only the 2013 Veloster with 1.6-litre engines, is due to a software problem that has been found only in that model year and not in other Hyundai engines, company spokesman Michael Stewart said. Kia spokesman James Bell said in a statement that the automaker didn't use any engines from the plant that made Veloster engines.

Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer group that has petitioned the government seeking more Hyundai and Kia recalls, said the fire and engine problems keep spreading to more vehicles.

"This recall raises the question of whether we are even beyond the tip of the iceberg with these non-crash fires with both of these manufacturers," Levine said. "How many times are we going to hear from either Hyundai or Kia that these circumstances are unique to a particular model and then have another recall or fire situation announced weeks or months later?"

Hyundai said in documents that it has been analyzing fire claims from owners and reporting the findings to NHTSA, which in December raised questions about the Veloster. The company traced the problem to engine control software in vehicles made at the Ulsan plant in South Korea from April 26, 2012 to Oct. 16, 2013, according to documents.

While claims were high for the 2013 model, they decreased starting in 2014, the company wrote. Software was updated on vehicles at the factory in October of 2013, the company said. Hyundai wrote that it's not aware of any crashes or injuries.

Dealers will install updated software on the recalled cars. Owners will be notified starting May 13.

In February, Kia announced that it would recall the Soul small SUV with the same-size engine due to fire and engine failure problems, but Stewart said that was for a problem that was different from the Veloster.

The Soul recall covered nearly 379,000 vehicles from 2012 through 2016. Documents showed that high exhaust gas temperatures can damage the catalytic converters, which control pollution. That can cause abnormal combustion and damage pistons and connecting rods. A failed connecting rod can pierce the engine block and cause oil leaks that can cause fires.

So far Hyundai and Kia have recalled about 2.4 million vehicles to fix problems that can cause fires and engine failures since 2015. In addition, the automakers are doing a "product improvement campaign" covering another 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars into a reduced-speed "limp" mode if problems are detected.PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that he has reversed his administration's decision to slap new sanctions on North Korea, with his press secretary explaining that the president "likes" leader Kim Jong Un and doesn't think they're necessary.

It's unclear, however, which sanctions the president was referencing in his tweet, which took Treasury officials by surprise.

"It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea," Trump wrote from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida.

"I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!"

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about which sanctions Trump was referring to, or what large-scale sanctions were poised to be added to existing ones already imposed on North Korea.

On Thursday, his administration did sanction two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions - the first targeted actions taken against Pyongyang since Trump and Kim met in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month for negotiations about North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Protesters wearing masks of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stand near the map of Korean Peninsula during a rally demanding the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace treaty near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. More than 20 protesters participated at a rally and also demanding the end the Korean War and to stop the sanction on North Korea. The letters read "Peace and Unification." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In addition to Trump's talks with North Korea, the U.S. is knee-deep in delicate trade negotiations with China.

A person familiar with the action told The Associated Press that Trump's tweet was not a reversal of existing sanctions, but that the president was talking about not going forward with additional large-scale sanctions on North Korea at this time. The person was not authorized to discuss the president's comments and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It's unclear whether Trump's decision was related to North Korea's move on Friday to abruptly withdraw its staff from a liaison office with South Korea. The development is likely to put a damper on ties between the North and South and further complicate global diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear program. The withdrawal also is seen as a major setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has sought improved relations with North Korea alongside the nuclear negotiations between the North and the United States.

North Korea said it was withdrawing its staff under instructions from unspecified "higher-level authorities," according to a Unification Ministry statement. It didn't say whether the withdrawal would be temporary or permanent. South Korea called the North's decision regrettable and urged the North to return its staff to the liaison office soon.

It was the latest example of Trump's governance-by-tweet, which has often sent agency heads scrambling, trying to figure out what he meant and trying to implement policy proclamations that have not gone through traditional vetting processes. That includes when Trump announced, via tweet, that transgender people would no longer be allowed to serve in the military.

And it came hours after Trump made the official announcement that Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria had been reduced to zero from an airport tarmac, using a printed map he held upside-down, instead of a formal statement or ceremony.

His North Korea tweet prompted reporters to bombard officials at the White House National Security Council and Treasury Department with questions. All declined to comment. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a brief statement saying only that Trump "likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary."

When the administration announced the sanctions on Thursday against the Chinese shipping companies, administration officials briefed reporters. They said Thursday's sanctions were evidence the U.S. was maintaining pressure on North Korea in an effort to coax its leader to give up his nuclear weapons program.

The Treasury Department sanctioned Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd. for using deceptive methods to circumvent international and U.S. sanctions and the U.S. commitment to implementing existing U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Calls to the two companies rang without response Friday or were answered by people who immediately hung up the phone.

The Treasury Department, in coordination with the State Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, also updated a North Korea shipping advisory, adding dozens of vessels thought to be doing ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean tankers or exported North Korean coal in violation of sanctions.

Two senior administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. policy on North Korea, said that illegal ship-to-ship transfers that violate U.S. and international sanctions have increased and that not all countries, including China, are implementing the restrictions. They said the deceptive practices include disabling or manipulating ship identification systems, repainting the names on vessels and falsifying cargo documents.SAN ELIZARIO, Texas (AP) - The Latest on the shooting of a West Texas sheriff's deputy (all times local):

10 p.m.

Authorities in West Texas say a 27-year-old man has been charged in the shooting of a sheriff's deputy who was critically wounded.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Facundo Chavez was booked into the county jail without bond on attempted capital murder of a peace officer and other charges. Online jail records list no attorney for Chavez.

The sheriff's office says the deputy, Peter Herrera, was shot about 1:50 a.m. Friday after he stopped a vehicle in San Elizario, southeast of El Paso.

Investigators say at least five rounds were fired at the deputy. They say body armor stopped the bullets from hitting vital areas of Herrera's body, but he was struck in the upper thigh and his head was grazed.

This undated photo provided by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office shows Facundo Chavez. A West Texas sheriff's deputy was critically wounded Friday, March 22, 2019, after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop, but authorities credited the body armor with saving his life. Chavez, 27, has been booked into the El Paso County Jail without bond on multiple charges, including attempted capital murder of the peace officer. (El Paso County Sheriff's Office via AP)

___

5:30 p.m.

Officials in West Texas say body armor saved the life of a deputy who was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office says deputy Peter Herrera was shot about 1:50 a.m. Friday after he stopped a vehicle in San Elizario, southeast of El Paso.

El Paso County Sheriff's investigations commander Robert Flores said the shooter fired at least five rounds, but that the vest stopped them from hitting vital areas of Herrera's body. Flores said Herrera was struck in the upper thigh and that his head was grazed.

The deputy did not return fire. Two suspects were arrested a few blocks away, and authorities say deputies found the gun likely used in the shooting.

Authorities have not identified the suspects or named their pending charges.

___

2:30 p.m.

Authorities say a West Texas sheriff's deputy is recovering after being shot during an early morning traffic stop.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office on Friday identified the wounded deputy as Peter Herrera.

Herrera underwent surgery after he was shot early Friday as he approached a vehicle in San Elizario, southeast of El Paso.

The deputy did not return fire, and the people in the vehicle fled on foot. Two suspects were arrested a few blocks away, and authorities say deputies found the gun likely used in the shooting.

The suspects have not been identified, and officials haven't named the charges pending against them.

Fellow deputies were attending a blood drive that was being held to benefit Herrera.

___

12:30 p.m.

Officials in Texas say a sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after being shot during a pre-dawn traffic stop.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office says the shooting happened around 1:50 a.m. Friday after the deputy stopped a vehicle in San Elizario, southeast of El Paso.

The sheriff's office says someone in the vehicle started shooting as the deputy approached the driver. The deputy did not return fire, and occupants of the vehicle fled on foot.

The sheriff's office says two people were arrested a few blocks from where the shooting happened and that deputies found a gun likely used in the shooting.

Officials say the wounded deputy underwent surgery and is in critical but stable condition.

Names of the deputy and those arrested were not immediately released.NEW YORK (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres went to the first mosque built in New York City on Friday to show solidarity with the Muslim community, urging people everywhere "to reaffirm the sanctity of all places of worship and the safety of all worshippers."

Speaking a week after the terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 people, Guterres warned again that "around the world, we have seen ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, hate speech and bigotry."

"We need to act against extremism in all its forms - whether it targets mosques, synagogues, churches or anywhere else," he added.

Guterres first spoke at Friday prayers in the mosque at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York and then addressed the media at its school. He was surrounded there by the imam and more than a dozen U.N. ambassadors from Muslim and non-Muslim countries including New Zealand and Australia, where the white supremacist who gunned down victims at the mosques was born.

In remarks at the prayer service, Guterres recalled that a worshipper who saw a stranger walk into one of the Christchurch mosques said "Hello, brother," not knowing he was a terrorist.

"This is the spirit deeply embedded in Islam, a religion I so much respect - the face of love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy and grace," the U.N. chief said.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, left, is greeted by Sheik Saad Jalloh, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, as he arrives for a service, Friday, March 22, 2019 in the wake of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques, March 15, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

But Guterres warned in his remarks afterward that "hate speech is spreading like wildfire," that "social media is being exploited as a platform for bigotry," and "many political movements are either openly admitting their neo-Nazi affiliation, or lip syncing their words, and cutting and pasting the symbols and images."

"That cancer is spreading," the secretary-general said. "It is our duty to find the cure."

Guterres announced that he was asking Miguel Moratinos, head of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, to develop "an action plan" to ensure that all U.N. bodies are "fully engaged in support of safeguarding religious sites."

He said governments, faith-based organizations, religious leaders and others should be involved in discussing actions that can prevent attacks "and guarantee the sanctity of religious sites."

"The reason is clear: Mosques and all places of prayer and contemplation should be safe havens, not sites of terror," Guterres said.

Sheik Saad Jalloh, left, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center, walks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres as he arrives for a service in New York, Friday, March 22, 2019 in the wake of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques, March 15, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK (AP) - The legal saga surrounding real estate scion Robert Durst found yet another venue Friday, as a new lawsuit accused him of killing his first wife in New York and disposing of her body in 1982.

The wrongful death claim, filed in state court, came two years after a judge declared Kathleen Durst legally dead. It accuses Durst of killing the woman in their suburban New York City home after she threatened to divorce him.

Durst for decades has denied involvement in his first wife's death. But the lawsuit claims he has made "multiple admissions" to the killing, including remarks featured in a sensational HBO documentary that examined Kathleen Durst's disappearance and two other killings for which Durst was charged.

During the finale of that series, "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst," he was heard muttering to himself on a live microphone: "You're caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Durst, 75, was arrested in New Orleans in March 2015, just hours before the airing of the final episode.

He has not been charged in his first wife's disappearance but is scheduled to stand trial later this year in Los Angeles in the killing of Susan Berman, his best friend and spokeswoman. Durst allegedly told her about his role in his first wife's death and then fatally shot Berman in 2000 after the authorities in New York reopened their investigation and planned to talk with her.

FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2016 file photo, Robert Durst sits in a courtroom in Los Angeles. The New York real estate heir Robert Durst is facing a new lawsuit that claims he killed his first wife and disposed of her body in 1982. A sister of Kathleen Durst filed a wrongful death claim Friday, March 22, 2019, accusing Durst of killing the woman in their suburban New York City home. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)

Prosecutors say he ambushed Berman in her home near Beverly Hills and shot her in the back of the head.

Phone and email messages were left with Durst's lawyer seeking comment.

An attorney for Kathleen Durst's sister declined to comment.

The lawsuit filed Friday differs from a prior legal action brought by Kathleen Durst's sisters accusing Robert Durst of interfering with the family's efforts to recover the woman's body.

The wrongful death claim, which seeks damages, alleges that there is "overwhelming evidence" Durst abused his wife before her disappearance, citing a host of possible motives for her killing. It alleges that Durst's "modus operandi lends itself to the conclusion that Kathie (Durst) was shot in the back of her head and that her body was cut into little pieces and her remains were then disposed of."

The filing refers to another killing for which Durst was acquitted of murder in Texas in 2003 after testifying he fatally shot a neighbor in self-defense before dismembering the man's body and tossing it out to sea.

Durst, who inherited a fortune from his family's New York City real estate empire, had gone into hiding in Galveston disguised as a mute woman living in a low-rent apartment.

Prosecutors claimed Durst killed the neighbor, Morris Black, to prevent him from revealing his whereabouts.SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pinterest is pinning its future on Wall Street, with the digital scrapbooking site on Friday filing for an initial public offering of stock.

It follows a similar filing with securities regulators earlier this month by ride-hailing company Lyft in what is shaping up to be a busy season for technology IPOs. Also expected to sell stock to the public in the coming weeks: Lyft rival Uber and messaging app Slack.

Pinterest said in its filing that it intends to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange using the ticker symbol "PINS." The company hasn't yet said how many shares it's selling in the IPO or how much money it intends to raise.

The San Francisco-based company had revenue of $756 million last year, a 60 percent bump from 2017. It had a loss of $63 million last year, compared to a loss of $130 million in 2017.

Pinterest allows people to search for and "pin" images as inspiration for fashion, interior design, travel and more.

The company said it has more than 250 million users each month, and users have saved more than 175 billion pins since the site was launched.

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2018, file photo, Evan Sharp, Pinterest co-founder and chief product officer, poses for a photo, standing beside a wall of pegs symbolizing the company logo at Pinterest headquarters in San Francisco. Pinterest is pinning its future on Wall Street, with the digital scrapbooking site on Friday, March 22, 2019, filing for an initial public offering of stock. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Pinterest has raised nearly $1.5 billion in the private markets, and was last valued at $12.3 billion in 2017, according to PitchBook Data.

Pinterest has long shunned being labeled a social network. Because of that, it doesn't push users to add friends or build connections. It also means it's been able to avoid problems of its larger rivals like Facebook.

But despite the lack of friend networks, many advertisers likely still consider Pinterest to be part of their "social" budgets, said eMarketer analyst Andrew Lipsman, meaning it competes in part with Facebook, Snapchat and others.

Pinterest makes advertising revenue when businesses promote pins in users' feeds. Pinterest has the potential to be more valuable than most digital media to advertisers, Lipsman said, because it has direct information about what a user wants.

It's all clear in the search - if a user is searching for new floor lamps or diamond rings, there's a decent chance they want to buy those things.

"Visual search has a much bigger impact in terms of driving desire," Lipsman said.

Pinterest was founded in 2010 by Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp, who still serve as CEO and chief product officer, respectively.

The company has been working on developing its artificial intelligence search, which allows people to take a photo or upload a screenshot of an item and find similar products on Pinterest.

Like many other tech companies, including Facebook and Google, Pinterest will create two classes of stock - one that will give the holder one vote per share, and another that will get 20 votes per share. Shares held by executives and board members will be converted into shares of the second, more powerful, class. Pinterest's filing did not break down the percentage of ownership.ATLANTA (AP) - When the top lieutenant to a presidential contender phoned Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman Nikema Williams recently to ask for a one-on-one meeting, Williams declined.

"I'm sorry, but I talk to candidates; I don't talk to surrogates," she said, recalling the conversation in an interview.

Williams got what she wanted. By her count, she's had conversations with at least nine Democrats seeking the party's 2020 presidential nomination, and she expects the number to climb.

That kind of attention is a testament to the growing influence that Georgia and the rest of the South has in presidential politics, beyond the first-in-the-South primary state of South Carolina.

It starts with the hundreds of delegates at stake - about a third of what's required to win the nomination - in primaries that will quickly play out from Virginia to Texas in the weeks after the traditional early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina being the process. And with a significant black population and diversifying metro areas in many Southern states, the region is testing ground for candidates to demonstrate whether they can build the type of diverse coalition any Democratic nominee would need to defeat President Donald Trump.

"We're going to be right in the thick of it," Williams said.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shakes hands with Alabama State Sen. Henry Sanders at the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Democrats' road back to the White House runs through the Republican-run South, and not just in the early nominating state of South Carolina. (Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Sen. Kamala Harris of California will be in Atlanta this weekend and has raised money from friends in the city since she first sought local office. Several candidates have been in Louisiana for recent national political conferences and to Selma, Alabama, for a commemoration of the 1965 voting rights march. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took a multiday swing through Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama this week following a trip to Georgia in February.

Meanwhile, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have ventured to Plains, Georgia, to sit down with Jimmy Carter, the 94-year-old former president who'd been all but forgotten in Democratic politics. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has campaigned for political allies in Alabama and Mississippi since his last presidential run in 2016, and he's expected to return.

The South is still mostly Republican-controlled, with Democrats in the governor's mansion of just three states: Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana. Democrats Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum grabbed the national spotlight but came up short last fall in their bids to win governors' races in Georgia and Florida, respectively. And a rejection this week of a proposed tax hike to extend mass transit into suburban Atlanta was another reminder of the hurdles still facing progressives in the region.

Southern Democrats welcome the interactions with presidential candidates and say they've earned it based on previous cycles: Barack Obama's early delegate lead in 2008 and Hillary Clinton's eventual winning margin in 2016 were built from wins across the region. But now, Southerners are seeing the candidates earlier in the process.

Warren's visit "shows that she cares about all Americans and not just those whose vote matters" in the Electoral College, said Valerie Latawiec, a 52-year-old Alabamian who was one of about 500 people who attended the senator's rally in Birmingham, Alabama.

The trend highlights African-Americans' influence in Democratic politics, with black voters likely being a majority of primary voters in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and large portions in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The primary already includes two black candidates - Harris and Booker - and could feature a third if Abrams decides to get in the race. And all the candidates, regardless of race, are working to tie their discussions of many issues, from reparations for the descendants of African slaves and criminal justice overhaul to environmental justice and health care access, to the black community.

But Bobby Moak, the chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, also emphasized that the region's makeup, even in heavily Republican states like his, gives candidates a chance to craft appeals that cross racial, ethnic and philosophical lines.

"It's important for them to hear us and for us to hear them," Moak said.

Certainly, there are strategic complexities for candidates to weigh as they decide where to spend their time.

California has as many delegates at stake as Georgia, Florida and Virginia combined. And with early voting and Harris enjoying a possible home-state advantage, some candidates may decide to spend more time there.

Sanders, for instance, kicks off a series of California rallies this weekend and considers the state vital to his prospects.

For now, Georgia may be the biggest Southern counter to California. It offers more than 100 delegates, a diverse electorate and the deep donor pool of metro Atlanta. Texas and Virginia also are wellsprings of money and votes. But Texas has two local candidates: Julian Castro, a Cabinet member in the Obama administration, and Beto O'Rourke, a former congressman.

"I'm telling them all to come," says state Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, "but if they're still in the race (on the March 3rd Super Tuesday), I think Beto and Julian will dominate Texas."

Virginia could add its own local favorite, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, but more importantly, the state is still reeling after its Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, admitted wearing blackface as a young man and after sexual assault allegations against Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who denies wrongdoing.

Nearly all the 2020 contenders - including McAuliffe - have called on Northam and Fairfax to step down, but state party chairwoman Susan Swecker said that shouldn't stop them from coming to the state.

"Ignore Virginia Democrats at your peril," she said, noting that the state has become part of Democrats' presumed path to 270 electoral votes.

"And if they can't handle questions" about controversial topics, Swecker added, "then they shouldn't be our nominee."

___

Associated Press reporter Elana Schor contributed to this report from Birmingham, Ala.

___

Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP

In this March 8, 2019 photo, Sen. Kamala Harris, meets with supporters at Big Mike's Soul Food, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Democrats' road back to the White House runs through the Republican-run South, and not just in the early nominating state of South Carolina. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on a flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

A flight attendant just released from the custody of U.S. immigration authorities after more than a month of detention says her release feels "incredible."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it released Selene Saavedra Roman on Friday evening from a Conroe, Texas, detention center.

In a statement issued through a spokesman, Saavedra Roman said that when she left the detention center, "I cried and hugged my husband and never wanted to let go."

She expressed gratitude for those who argued for her release, saying "it fills my heart."

This 2018 photo provided by Feldman Strategies shows Selene Saavedra Roman. Selene Saavedra Roman, a flight attendant who traveled to Mexico for work with employment authorization through a program for immigrants brought to the country as children has been detained. Attorney Belinda Arroyo said Friday, March 22, 2019, that Mesa Airlines mistakenly assured 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman she could travel internationally but she was detained on her way back. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says she didn't have a valid document to enter the country. (Davo Watsui/Feldman Strategies via AP)

Roman's attorney, Belinda Martinez Arroyo, said Mesa Airlines had mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that she could work a flight to Mexico, but Saavedra Roman was detained Feb. 12 upon her return to Houston.

___

6:30 p.m.

A flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities as she was returning from an international work assignment has been freed from custody.

Selene Saavedra Roman's husband, David Watkins of College Station, Texas, told KBTX-TV of Bryan and College Station that his wife was freed from detention in Conroe, Texas, early Friday afternoon.

Messages from The Associated Press to Roman's attorney, Belinda Martinez Arroyo, were not immediately returned.

Earlier Friday, Arroyo had told reporters that Roman, who is 28, told her husband that she would be released shortly after Arroyo, Mesa Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants publicly called for her freedom.

___

1:05 p.m.

The lawyer for a flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities on her way back from an international work assignment says her client has said she is being released.

Attorney Belinda Arroyo says 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman called her husband Friday from a Texas immigration detention facility and said she would be getting out. It was not immediately clear when.

The call came shortly after Arroyo, Mesa Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants publicly called for her release.

A message sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not immediately returned.

Arroyo said the airline had mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that she could work a flight to Mexico, but Saavedra Roman was detained Feb. 12 upon her return to Houston.

___

12:12 p.m.

A flight attendant who traveled to Mexico for work through a program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children has been detained.

Attorney Belinda Arroyo said Friday that 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman raised concerns about whether she could work an international flight due to her immigration status.

Arroyo says Mesa Airlines mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

U.S. authorities stopped Saavedra Roman on her return to Houston.

Mesa Airlines apologized and joined the Association of Flight Attendants in asking for her release.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Saavedra Roman didn't have a valid document to enter the country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says on its website that those who travel outside the country without permission are no longer covered by the program.WASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates.

The comprehensive report, still confidential, marks the end of Mueller's probe but sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then it went to Attorney General William Barr. Word of the delivery triggered reactions across Washington, including Democrats' demands that it be released publicly before long and Republicans' contentions that it ended two years of wasted time and money.

Barr released a letter noting his plans to write his own account of Mueller's findings. The White House released a statement saying it had not seen or been briefed on the special counsel's document.

What happens next is "up to Attorney General Barr," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

Barr said he could send his account to Congress quickly.

Special Counsel Robert Muller arrives at his office building, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Washington. Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

"I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend," Barr said in his letter the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees. He pledged a commitment to transparency.

The attorney general said the Justice Department had not denied any request from the special counsel, something Barr would have been required to disclose to Congress to ensure there was no political inference in the independent probe.

With no details released at this point, it's not known whether Mueller's report answers the core questions of his investigation: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

But the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president. Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia probe, a Justice Department official confirmed Friday. That person, who described the document as "comprehensive," was not authorized to discuss the probe and asked for anonymity.

It's unclear what steps Mueller will take if he uncovered what he believes to be criminal wrongdoing by Trump, in light of Justice Department legal opinions that have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted.

The mere delivery of a confidential report set off immediate demands from Democrats for full release of Mueller's findings.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared it "imperative" to make the full report public.

The top congressional Democrats said, "The American people have a right to the truth."

Democrats also expressed concern that Trump would try to get a "sneak preview" of the findings.

"The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public," they said in a joint statement.

Barr has said he wants to make as much public as possible, and any efforts to withhold details will prompt a tussle between the Justice Department and lawmakers who may subpoena Mueller and his investigators to testify before Congress. Such a move by Democrats would likely be vigorously contested by the Trump administration.

The conclusion of Mueller's investigation does not remove legal peril for the president. Trump faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He's also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president's inaugural committee.

No matter the findings in Mueller's report, the investigation has already illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts. Over the 21-month investigation, Mueller has brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

The special counsel brought a sweeping indictment accusing Russian military intelligence officers of hacking Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups during the 2016 election. He charged another group of Russians with carrying out a large-scale social media disinformation campaign against the American political process that also sought to help Trump and hurt Clinton.

Closer to the president, Mueller secured convictions against a campaign chairman who cheated banks and dodged his taxes, a national security adviser who lied about his Russian contacts and a campaign aide who misled the FBI about his knowledge of stolen emails.

Cohen, the president's former lawyer, pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations arising from the hush money payments and in the Mueller probe to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal. Another Trump confidant, Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails ultimately released by WikiLeaks. It's unclear whether any of the aides who have been convicted, all of whom have pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigators, might angle for a pardon. Trump has left open the idea of pardons.

Along the way, Trump lawyers and advisers repeatedly evolved their public defenses to deal with the onslaught of allegations from the investigation. Where once Trump and his aides had maintained that there were no connections between the campaign and Russia, by the end of the probe Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was routinely making the argument that even if the two sides did collude, it wasn't necessarily a crime. The goalpost shifting reflected the administration's challenge in adopting a singular narrative to fend off allegations.

Equally central to Mueller's work is his inquiry into whether the president tried to obstruct the investigation. Since the special counsel's appointment in May 2017, Trump has increasingly tried to undermine the probe by calling it a "witch hunt" and repeatedly proclaiming there was "NO COLLUSION" with Russia. But Trump also took certain acts as president that caught Mueller's attention and have been scrutinized for possible obstruction.

One week before Mueller's appointment, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, later saying he was thinking of "this Russia thing" at the time.

He mercilessly harangued Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing from the Russia investigation two months before Mueller was named special counsel, a move that left the president without a perceived loyalist atop the probe. And he helped draft a misleading statement on Air Force One as a Trump Tower meeting between his eldest son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was about to become public.

The meeting itself became part of Mueller's investigation, entangling Donald Trump Jr. in the probe. Mueller's team also interviewed the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, multiple times.

Even as Trump blasted Mueller's team, his White House and campaign produced thousands of documents for the special counsel, and dozens of his aides were interviewed. The president submitted written answers to Mueller regarding the Russia investigation, but he refused to be interviewed.

___

Online: For complete coverage of the Mueller probe: https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A presidential helicopter takes off in a practice run as the White House is reflected in a puddle, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, amid news that special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation, is shown Friday, March 22, 2019 in Washington. Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Bushes have been blown over by the wind at the West Wing of the White House, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, as news breaks that the special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

FILE - In this June 21, 2017 file photo, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)A Texas flight attendant who was enrolled in the government's program for "Dreamers" flew to Mexico for work and was stopped by immigration authorities who forced her to spend more than a month in detention, her attorney said.

Selene Saavedra Roman, 28, who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as a child, was released Friday from a detention center in Conroe, Texas, according to a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Being released is an indescribable feeling," she said through a spokesman. "I cried and hugged my husband and never wanted to let go. I am thankful and grateful for the amazing people that came to fight for me, and it fills my heart. Thank you to everyone that has supported. I am just so happy to have my freedom back."

Originally from Peru and married to an American citizen, she raised concerns with Mesa Airlines about her immigration status after being assigned to an international flight, attorney Belinda Arroyo said.

The airline assured her she would be fine, but she was stopped by U.S. authorities on Feb. 12, when she returned to Houston, and was sent to detention, where she remained for more than five weeks, Arroyo said.

Soon after her lawyer, her husband, the airline and a flight attendants' group publicly demanded her release, Saavedra Roman called to tell her husband she was getting out.

In this 2018 photo provided by Feldman Strategies is Selene Saavedra Roman. Selene Saavedra Roman, a flight attendant who traveled to Mexico for work with employment authorization through a program for immigrants brought to the country as children has been detained. Attorney Belinda Arroyo said Friday, March 22, 2019, that Mesa Airlines mistakenly assured 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman she could travel internationally but she was detained on her way back. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says she didn't have a valid document to enter the country. (Davo Watsui/Feldman Strategies via AP)

"She was crying and she said, 'Please come get me,'" her husband, David Watkins, told reporters.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency was looking into her status. Earlier, the agency said Saavedra Roman did not have a valid document to enter the country and was being detained while going through immigration court proceedings.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - the agency that oversees the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA - declined to discuss the case. But the agency says on its website that participants who travel outside the country without a special document allowing them to do so are no longer covered by the program.

The agency no longer issues the document to the program's enrollees, according to the website.

People enrolled in the program are commonly referred to as "Dreamers," based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act.

The Trump administration sought to end the Obama-era program but was blocked by litigation. New applications have been halted, but renewals continue for hundreds of thousands of immigrants already enrolled.

In a joint statement with the Association of Flight Attendants, Mesa Airlines chief executive Jonathan Ornstein apologized to Saavedra Roman and asked U.S. authorities to release her, arguing that it was unfair to continually detain someone "over something that is nothing more than an administrative error and a misunderstanding."

"She should have never been advised that she could travel," Arroyo said. "It was a big mistake."

Saavedra Roman - who is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in April - attended Texas A&M University, where she met her husband.

Watkins said he was not initially worried about her assignment because they already obtained approval from Citizenship and Immigration Services to apply for her green card as the wife of an American citizen. She has no criminal record and has long paid her taxes, he said, and she checked with her employer before the trip.

Then she was detained. He could visit her only once a week and could only see her through thick glass. She sounded hopeless, he said.

"I told her, 'Even if you get deported to Peru, I'll just go with you,'" he said to reporters. "Regardless of whatever happens in the future, I am not giving up. I am going to keep fighting."

In a statement, the union representing Saavedra Roman and her colleagues said the event "highlights the urgency of commonsense immigration reform and resolution for America's children who are part of DACA."

___

Associated Press Writer Terry Wallace contributed to this report.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Friday to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state viewed as a national environmental leader.

"The increasing wildfire risks we face as a state mean we simply can't wait until a fire starts in order to start deploying emergency resources," Newsom said in a statement ahead of declaring a state of emergency.

California experienced two of its most destructive and deadly wildfire seasons in 2017 and 2018 and experts say climate change increases the risks. Newsom said clearing dead trees at a quick pace is essential to diminishing future threats. President Donald Trump has blamed California fires on poor forest management, though experts say climate change caused by people is more of a factor.

Newsom is taking recommendations from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, but one environmental group likened it to actions by Trump.

"Gov. Newsom should reject the Trump approach of logging and rolling back critical environmental protections," said Shaye Wolf, climate science director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Newsom also pledged $50 million for fire preparedness in low-income communities and asked the private sector to bring forward innovative proposals.

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2018 file photo, President Donald Trump talks with California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, left, as California Gov. Jerry Brown, walks at right during a visit to a neighborhood destroyed by the Camp wildfire in Paradise, Calif. Newsom is declaring a state of emergency to speed up forest management ahead of the next wildfire season and will sign an order Friday, March 22, 2019, allowing fire officials to bypass certain environmental and other regulations in order to clear dead trees and vegetation more quickly. It will apply to 35 projects across 90,000 acres of land. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The center and other environmental groups said focusing on retrofitting and creating defensible space around homes is more effective than thinning forests. Sierra Club California said clearing trees might create more danger by loosening soil that could lead to mudslides.

Newsom's order will apply only to 35 projects covering nearly 141 square miles (365 square kilometers) of land, allowing state fire officials to go around multiple state regulations. They include provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, one of the nation's strictest state-level regulations. Administration officials would need to give the go ahead to each individual project and it's unclear exactly which regulations each individual project would forego.

Newsom said moving through the normal process would drastically slow down the state's ability to act.

"Some of these projects quite literally, not figuratively, could take two years to get done, or we could get them done in the next two months," he told an audience in Lake County, the site of several massive wildfires in recent years.

The union representing state firefighters praised Newsom's plan.

"These circumstances are unusual, unpredictable, unseen in our lifetime, and courageous decisions that sometimes go against the political winds need to be made," said Tim Edwards, president of CAL Fire Local 2881.

Republican state Sen. Pat Bates also praised Newsom for acting with urgency ahead of the wildfire season.

"I stand ready to assist the Governor with any legislative action to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks that could slow these projects," she said in a statement.

While environmental groups bristled at Newsom's plan, they still align with him on a wide range of issues. Newsom's predecessor, fellow Democrat Jerry Brown, was known globally for his fight against climate change but still clashed with environmental groups at home on some issues.

California has set a goal, for example, of getting 100 percent of its energy from carbon-free sources by 2045, and passed a landmark cap-and-trade law to decrease emissions.

"On the whole we see (Newsom) as an ally on environmental issues. I think what we're disagreeing with here is an approach to a problem that we all recognize," said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California.

The state's environmental laws are designed to protect California's soil stability, watershed and wildlife habitats, she said, and waiving environmental reviews could have unintended consequences.

"For some suspension of oversight now, what's the consequence going to be later?" she said. "Are we going to end up having huge silt floods and mudslides?"

Beyond accelerating tree clearing, Newsom put out a "request for innovative ideas" from the private sector to help fight California fires. He said he wants to tap into Silicon Valley and California's spirit of creativity to come up with solutions to reduce wildfire threats.Photo: The Canadian Press Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones performs during the concert of their 'No Filter' Europe Tour 2017 at U Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, France.

The Rolling Stones are postponing their latest tour so Mick Jagger can receive medical treatment.

The band announced Saturday that Jagger was told by doctors "he cannot go on tour at this time." The band added that Jagger "is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible."

No more details about 75-year-old Jagger's condition were provided.

The Stones' No Filter Tour was expected to start April 20 in Miami. Other stops included Jacksonville, Florida; Houston; the New Orleans Jazz Festival; Pasadena and Santa Clara in California; Seattle; Denver; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Foxborough, Massachusetts; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Chicago; and Burl's Creek, Ont.

Jagger says in the statement he hates letting the fans down but he's "looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can."

Tour promoters AEG Presents and Concerts West advise ticketholders to hold on to their existing tickets because they will be valid for the rescheduled dates.ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A judge has ruled that a Virginia Tech researcher who helped expose the Flint, Michigan, water crisis can't silence critics with a federal defamation lawsuit.

The Roanoke Times reports that U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski dismissed Marc Edwards' $3 million lawsuit against three critics Wednesday. The engineering professor and a team of students helped expose lead contamination in the city's water supply in 2015. The suit was sparked by a letter signed by more than 60 Flint residents that accuses Edwards of interfering with efforts to self-organize, abusing authority and insulting them.

Urbanski writes in a 115-page opinion that Edwards' lawsuit failed to state a valid claim against his critics. He says the statements "plainly qualify as constitutionally protected opinion" and notes no reasonable reader would think it was factual.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation (all times local):

10:45 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency but launching a fresh wave of political battles.

The report's details remain a mystery, accessible to only a handful of Justice Department officials while Attorney General William Barr prepares to release the "principal conclusions" soon.

The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then it went to Barr. Word of the delivery triggered reactions across Washington, including Democrats' demands that it be quickly released to the public and Republicans' contentions that it ended two years of wasted time and money.

__

The White House is seen at dusk, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, after news broke that the special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

7:20 p.m.

The Democratic chairs of six House committees are demanding that the Justice Department release "without delay" the full report it has received from special counsel Robert Mueller. They say they expect Attorney General William Barr also to turn over all evidence Mueller has uncovered.

The Democrats say since the Justice Department asserts a sitting president can't be indicted, Barr's failure to release evidence of criminal or other misconduct by President Donald Trump "would raise serious questions about whether the Department of Justice policy is being used as a pretext for a cover-up of misconduct."

The six chairs are Jerrold Nadler of Judiciary and Eliot Engel of Foreign Affairs; Elijah Cummings of Oversight and Reform; Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee, Maxine Waters of Financial Services and the Ways and Means Committee's Richard Neal.

___

6:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump's lawyers want an early look at special counsel Robert Mueller's findings before they are made public.

That's according to Rudy Giuliani, Trump's attorney. He says Trump's legal team hasn't received any assurances that they'll get the early look they want, though.

Mueller notified Attorney General William Barr on Friday that he had concluded his probe of Russian election interference and any possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

Now, Barr will review the findings and determine how much to make public.

___

6:38 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller will be concluding his government service in the "coming days."

That's according to special counsel spokesman Peter Carr.

Carr says in a statement that a "small number" of the office's staff will remain "to assist in closing the operations of the office." He did not provide a specific timeline for when that might occur. As of Friday, 11 prosecutors were still employed by the special counsel's office.

The statement comes just hours after Mueller turned in his confidential report closing his probe of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

___

6:35 p.m.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff says his panel will issue subpoenas if special counsel Robert Mueller's report - and its underlying evidence - are not released to Congress for further review.

The California Democrat said on CNN that Congress needs to know "and so does the country."

He said he's willing to subpoena Mueller as well as Attorney General William Barr, if needed, to push for disclosure.

House Democrats now see the Mueller investigation as a starting point for their own probes of President Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mueller delivered his final report to Barr on Friday.

___

6:15 p.m.

One top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, says the findings of the special counsel's Russia investigation must be made public to end the "speculation and innuendo" that hangs over President Donald Trump's administration.

The former Judiciary Committee chairman says while it's clear the Russians "tried to meddle in our democratic processes," he still hasn't seen any evidence of collusion.

Grassley says Attorney General William Barr Attorney General must provide the findings from special counsel Robert Mueller's report to Congress and the American people "to finally put an end to the speculation and innuendo that has loomed over this administration since its earliest days."

___

5:58 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia investigation.

That's according to a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the confidential recommendation.

Mueller notified Attorney General William Barr on Friday that he had concluded his probe of Russian election interference and any possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

-By Eric Tucker

___

5:57 p.m.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham expects that he and the panel's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, will be briefed "in the coming days" about special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

The South Carolina Republican says he was notified by the Justice Department that Mueller's report has been turned over and that Attorney General William Barr "will pursue as much transparency as possible."

Graham says he expects to be "more thoroughly" briefed. He says he believed it was important for Mueller to do his job "without interference, and that has been accomplished."

___

5:55 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department did not block special counsel Robert Mueller from taking any action during his Russia investigation.

Barr is required to disclose to Congress any instance in which he or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed should not be pursued.

Barr said in his letter to members of Congress on Friday that "there were no such instances during the Special Counsel's investigation."

The attorney general notified four key lawmakers that he may update them over the weekend.

___

5:50 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he welcomes news that special counsel Robert Mueller has completed his investigation into Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 elections.

McConnell says he and other Republicans have long believed that Russia poses a significant threat to American interests, adding that he hopes Mueller's report will "help inform and improve our efforts to protect our democracy."

The Kentucky Republican says he hopes that Attorney General William Barr, who received Mueller's report on Friday, will "provide as much information as possible" on the findings, "with as much openness and transparency as possible."

Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said he expects the Justice Department to release the report to the committee without delay "and to the maximum extent permitted by law."

___

5:40 p.m.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer say it's "imperative" to make the full report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller public.

The top congressional Democrats say, "The American people have a right to the truth."

In a joint statement, they say Attorney Gneral William Barr must not give President Donald Trump his lawyers or staff any "sneak preview" of the findings or evidence.

"The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public," they say.

__

5:39 p.m.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says Congress should receive the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler says in a statement that "We look forward to getting the full Mueller report and related materials." He adds that "transparency and the public interest demand nothing less" because the public needs to have faith in the rule of law.

Attorney General William Barr wrote in a letter to Nadler and other committee chairmen that Mueller had finished his investigation and delivered his report to Barr. The attorney general said he would update Congress as soon as this weekend, but it wasn't clear now much of the report would be shared with lawmakers or with the public.

__

5:38 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates are demanding that Attorney General William Barr make Robert Mueller's report on Russia public.

Minutes after Barr notified members of Congress Friday that Mueller had delivered his report, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted that the attorney general should "release the Mueller report to the American public. Now."

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey tweeted that the report "should be made public immediately."

The Trump administration's handling of Mueller's report foretells big fights to come, from the presidential campaign trail to, in all likelihood, the federal courts.

__

5:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump's lawyers say they are "pleased" that special counsel Robert Mueller has delivered his report on the Russia investigation.

Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow issued their joint statement within minutes of Attorney General William Barr's letter to key members of Congress confirming the delivery and suggesting he could update lawmakers as soon as this weekend.

They say: "We're pleased that the Office of Special Counsel has delivered its report to the Attorney General pursuant to the regulations. Attorney General Barr will determine the appropriate next steps."

Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come, including in all likelihood, in federal court. It's not clear how much of the report will become public or provided to Congress.

__

5:20 p.m.

Responding to the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, the White House says the next steps are "up to Attorney General (William) Barr."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says "we look forward to the process taking its course."

She adds, "The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel's report."

For 22 months, Mueller has probed allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and other potential misdeeds by those in President Donald Trump's orbit.

Barr has said he will provide updates on Mueller's still-confidential findings to Congress as soon as this weekend.

__

5:15 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report concluding the Russia investigation was delivered by a security officer early Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

That's according to Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec. It was then delivered within minutes to Attorney General William Barr.

The White House was notified around 4:35-4:40 p.m. that the Justice Department had received the report.

The letter was scheduled to be delivered at 5 p.m. to staff members on Capitol Hill.

Rosenstein was expected to call Mueller on Friday to thank him for his work in the last two years.

__

5:07 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr says he could update Congress as early as this weekend about special counsel Robert Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation.

The Justice Department confirmed late Friday that Barr received Mueller's final report. The report concludes Mueller's nearly two-year-long investigation of Russian election interference and possible coordination with President Donald Trump's campaign.

__

5:03 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump.

The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it.

Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

It's not clear how much of the report will become public or provided to Congress. Barr has said he will write his own report summarizing Mueller's findings.

The nearly two-year probe has shadowed Trump's presidency and resulted in felony charges against 34 people including six people who served on Trump's campaign.

A man takes a photo of the White House, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, after news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A West Texas sheriff's deputy was critically wounded Friday after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop, but authorities credited the body armor with saving his life.

El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesman Robert Flores identified the wounded deputy as Peter Herrera. He was shot around 1:50 a.m. Friday after he stopped a vehicle in San Elizario, southeast of El Paso along the U.S.-Mexico border. A man in the vehicle started shooting at Herrera after the deputy asked the driver to step out of the car, authorities said.

Herrera did not return fire, Flores said, and the shooter fled on foot along with a female passenger. Deputies found the pair hiding in a tool shed a few blocks away from where the deputy was shot, Flores said.

"Thankfully he was wearing a vest," Flores said. "The rounds that actually struck some of the more vital areas of his upper body were stopped by the vest."

One round did strike Herrera in the upper thigh and another grazed his head, Flores said. Herrera was listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery and was recovering in an area hospital.

The suspected gunman, Facundo Chavez, 27, was booked into the El Paso County Jail without bond on attempted capital murder of a peace officer and other charges. Online jail records list no attorney for Chavez.

This undated photo provided by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office shows Facundo Chavez. A West Texas sheriff's deputy was critically wounded Friday, March 22, 2019, after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop, but authorities credited the body armor with saving his life. Chavez, 27, has been booked into the El Paso County Jail without bond on multiple charges, including attempted capital murder of the peace officer. (El Paso County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Flores said investigators were trying to clarify the "complicated" relationship between the shooting suspect and the woman who was in the car. The woman cooperated with law enforcement and was released from custody, authorities said.

Car trouble played a role in helping deputies track down the shooting suspect, Flores said.

"The vehicle, it stalled out on him," the spokesman said. "It definitely helped us solve this crime."

Dozens of fellow deputies and other law enforcement officers from the El Paso Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety lined up in the sheriff office's parking lot to donate blood and plasma Friday during a drive held to benefit Herrera, who has been a deputy for five years.

"We're brothers," said Detective Alan Gurtler, a 30-year veteran of the sheriff's office who was preparing to donate plasma in a mobile blood drive bus. "(An) incident like this with a deputy getting shot multiple times in serious condition, it's very rare here."ATLANTA (AP) - Amid protests and a heavy police presence, the Georgia Senate on Friday passed a bill banning almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The bill, backed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, passed on a 34-18 party-line vote and would be one of the nation's strictest anti-abortion measures if it becomes law and is not blocked in court battles. It will now go back to the House to approve Senate changes, where it's expected to pass again.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. A heartbeat can be detected in an embryo as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant.

Georgia lawmakers and GOP-led legislatures in several other states have pushed anti-abortion measures in hopes of getting a case before the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Andrea Young, the executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said in an interview Friday that the group would challenge the heartbeat abortion ban in court if it's signed into law.

Young called the legislation "clearly unconstitutional" and said that it "flies in the face of 50 years of legal precedent."

A woman records a group of pro-abortion rights demonstrators the 35th legislative day at the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta, Friday, March 22, 2019. The Georgia Senate is set for a lengthy debate on the anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" Friday. Sen. Renee Unterman is carrying the bill for Rep. Ed Setzler. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Several Republican senators, most of them men, spoke in favor of the bill, while several Democratic senators, most of them women, argued against it.

Many Republican lawmakers in favor of the legislation outlined their position in religious terms.

"There are many scriptures that make it clear to me that God knew us and had a plan for us when we were still in our mother's womb," said Republican Sen. Greg Kirk. "The word abortion is not going to be found in the Bible."

Democratic Sen. Valencia Seay took issue with that line of reasoning, saying lawmakers were letting their "personal religious beliefs dictate everyone else's ability to have a choice."

Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal, speaking in favor of the legislation, said that every life is a miracle.

"I don't know how many of us are in this room right now, probably 200, but I am looking at 200 miracles," Dolezal said. He then began to look around the chamber. "Senator, you are a miracle. Senator, you are a miracle," then up to the balcony, "Sir, you're a miracle. Ma'am, you're a miracle."

Democratic Sen. Jen Jordan, questioned whether the standard being contemplated by the legislation was actually a human heartbeat.

"Every physician has said that the fetal cardiac activity present early in pregnancies is not a beating heart, and no matter how many times you say it, no matter what you call this bill, it does not make it so," she said.

A large group of women at the Georgia Capitol protested the bill dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," which depicts a dystopian future where women are controlled by the government and forced to breed. The activists in red cloaks and white bonnets have been an almost daily presence ever since the House passed the measure earlier this month.

A smaller contingent of anti-abortion advocates held signs and urged lawmakers to pass the bill.

Debate took place amid heavy security. Over two dozen Georgia State Patrol cars flanked the Capitol building and as many troopers stood watch inside.

During public testimony last week, several physicians and physician groups came out against the bill, saying it contained medical inaccuracies and would worsen health care for women in Georgia, a state that already has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country.

Two influential groups, the Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, sent letters to lawmakers opposing the legislation.

GOP lawmakers in Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Ohio are pursuing similar legislation, while Republican governors in Mississippi and Kentucky have recently signed heartbeat abortion bans.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed a heartbeat abortion ban, despite a federal judge's ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions there.

Kentucky's law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed it on March 14, in response to a challenge by the ACLU.

A state judge found Iowa's heartbeat abortion ban to be unconstitutional in January.

The Georgia bill makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest - but only when the woman files a police report first - and to save the life of the mother. It also allows for abortions when a fetus is determined to be not compatible with life due to serious medical issues.

If signed, the law would take effect January 1, 2020.

Gov. Kemp said in a statement Friday that he looked "forward to working with the House to ensure this legislation's final passage in the coming days."

Pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion demonstrators display their signs in the lobby of the Georgia State Capitol building during the 35th legislative day at the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta, Friday, March 22, 2019. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia State Troopers walk toward the Senate chambers gallery during the 35th legislative day at the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta, Friday, March 22, 2019. The Georgia Senate is set for a lengthy debate on the anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" Friday. Sen. Renee Unterman is carrying the bill for Rep. Ed Setzler. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)Attorney General William Barr delivered a letter to Congress on Friday notifying the leaders of the Judiciary committees that special counsel Robert Mueller had submitted his report on the Russia investigation. The letter was addressed to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, and Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia.

Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Chairman Graham, Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Ranking Member Collins:

I write to notify you pursuant to 28 C.F.R. 600.9(a)(3) that Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters. In addition to this notification, the Special Counsel regulations require that I provide you with "a description and explanation of instances (if any) in which the Attorney General" or acting Attorney General "concluded that a proposed action by a Special Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued." 28 C.F.R. 600.9(a)(3). There were no such instances during the Special Counsel's investigation.

The Special Counsel has submitted to me today a "confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions" he has reached, as required by 28 C.F.R. 600.8(c). I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.

Separately, I intend to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public consistent with the law, including the Special Counsel regulations, and the Department's long-standing practices and policies. I remain committed to as much transparency as possible, and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review.

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation, is shown Friday, March 22, 2019 in Washington. Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Finally, the Special Counsel regulations provide that "the Attorney General may determine that public release of" this notification "would be in the public interest." 28 C.F.R. 600.9(c) I have so determined, and I will disclose this letter to the public after delivering it to you.

Sincerely,

William P. Barr

Attorney General

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation, is shown Friday, March 22, 2019 in Washington. Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)WASHINGTON (AP) - A look at the key players entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

PAUL MANAFORT

The former chairman of Trump's campaign has been convicted in Washington and Virginia of crimes related to years of Ukrainian political consulting work, including allegations he concealed his foreign government work from the United States and failed to pay taxes on it. Though the charges don't directly touch Trump, he's nonetheless remained a figure of considerable intrigue and enjoys the continued sympathy of the president, who has left open the door for a pardon. He is now serving a more than seven-year prison sentence.

MICHAEL FLYNN

Trump's former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI just days after Trump took office by telling agents that he had never discussed sanctions with the then Russian ambassador to the United States. The White House said Flynn had misled administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the conversation and ousted him weeks later. He's since become a vital cooperator for Mueller.

MICHAEL COHEN

FILE - In this July 17, 2016 file photo, then-Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer is at the center of not only Mueller's investigation but also a separate, and rapidly mushrooming, investigation into hush-money payments. In Mueller's investigation, Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about a proposed real estate development in Moscow. He told lawmakers the negotiations were done in January 2016 when in fact they stretched deep into the campaign. He also pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations stemming from the payments, with prosecutors saying last week that he "acted in coordination and at the direction of Individual 1" - or Trump.

GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS

The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser served a 14-day prison sentence after admitting lying to the FBI about a 2016 conversation with a Maltese professor who told him that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of stolen emails. Information about Papadopoulos' contacts during the campaign started the FBI's Russia investigation.

RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were charged in July with hacking into email accounts of Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and then facilitating the release of tens of thousands of private communications. It remains perhaps the most direct example of what intelligence officials say was a broad conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 election on Trump's behalf.

RUSSIAN ONLINE TROLLS

A separate indictment charges 13 Russians with funding a covert social media propaganda campaign to sow discord among Americans in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors say the scheme was run by a Russia-based troll farm that used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to try to influence the race.

ROGER STONE

A longtime Trump confidant, and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" of Republican politics, Stone is charged with witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts to gain advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information on Clinton during 2016. Though a Stone tweet from 2016 - "Trust me, it will soon the Podesta's time in the barrel" - appeared to presage the disclosure of hacked emails, Stone has said he had no inside knowledge about the content, source or timing of WikiLeaks' disclosure. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges brought by Mueller.

JULIAN ASSANGE

The WikiLeaks founder, under Justice Department scrutiny for years for the group's role in publishing government secrets, has been an important figure in the Mueller investigation as investigators examine how WikiLeaks obtained emails stolen from Clinton's campaign and Democratic groups. Prosecutors have also investigated whether any Americans were involved in coordinating that effort. Separately, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia inadvertently disclosed the existence of a sealed criminal complaint against the WikiLeaks founder, though no details have been publicly announced.

DONALD TRUMP JR.

The president's eldest son has attracted scrutiny for his role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 - also attended by Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner - at which he expected to receive damaging information on Clinton. He has said the meeting was a waste of time because he didn't receive anything interesting from the attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Both he and his father have suggested that anyone in that position would have taken such a meeting in hopes of getting dirt on a political opponent.

The meeting has been of interest to investigators, who have called multiple participants before the grand jury.

___

Read AP's coverage of the Russia probe: https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations

FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn arrives at federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2017, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, steps out of a cab during his arrival on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, file photo, former Donald Trump presidential campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos leaves federal court after he was sentenced to 14 days in prison, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2019, file photo, former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse following a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stone was arrested Friday in the special counsel's Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

FILE - In this May 19, 2017, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures to supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been in self imposed exile since 2012. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) - A man arrested in a southwestern Michigan cold case slaying was not charged in the years after the killing despite alleged confessions to police.

Michael Leon Curry was charged Monday in Van Buren County with murder in the 1986 strangulation of 59-year-old Wilda Wilkinson in her Bangor home.

WOOD-TV reports that a state police investigator testified earlier this month that in the late 1980s, Curry told police about his involvement in Wilkinson's death and that an anonymous letter sent to police in 1989 provided details about the slaying and had Curry's fingerprints on it.

Retired Bangor police Det, Tim Wydick tells the television station that after the slaying it was believed Curry "was trying to get attention."

Wydick says the case went to prosecutors at the time, but no warrant ever was issued.

The prosecutor's office declined to comment Friday on the case. The Associated Press was unable to reach Curry's lawyer for comment.

Curry, now 51, was living in California when he was arrested last week.

___

Information from: WOOD-TV, http://www.woodtv.comALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state's ban on personal ownership of stun guns is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Friday in the latest in a series of court decisions that have led to the loosening of restrictions on the weapons in several states.

The decision came in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Avitabile, of Schoharie County, New York, who said he wanted to buy a stun gun for self-defense in his rural upstate home.

His lawyers argued that New York's longstanding ban on civilian ownership of stun guns violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge David Hurd agreed.

"New York's sweeping prohibition on the possession and use of tasers and stun guns by all citizens for all purposes, even for self-defense in one's own home, must be declared unconstitutional," Hurd wrote in his decision.

The lawsuit named the superintendent of the state police, the agency that enforces New York's weapons laws. New York attorney general's office, which defends the state in lawsuits, referred questions to state police or Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. Cuomo adviser Richard Azzopardi said that state lawyers are reviewing the decision and that the governor is reserving comment.

Illinois' Supreme Court made a similar stun gun ruling Thursday, deciding in favor of two men charged with carrying the weapons.

FILE- In this May 7, 2008 file photo, a police issued taser is displayed at the Victoria police station in Victoria, British Columbia. On Friday, March 22, 2019 a federal judge has ruled that New York's ban on personal ownership of stun guns is unconstitutional. Friday's ruling by a district judge in Utica, N.Y., is the latest in a series of court decisions that have led to the loosening of restrictions on the weapons in several states. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

In New Jersey, a resident and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society sued the state in 2016 after Taser International declined his order for a Taser Pulse model because the state bans the sale of such merchandise. The following year the state's attorney general conceded the state's ban on electronic arms is unconstitutional.

A Massachusetts court struck down that state's stun gun ban last year, also ruling that banning civilian possession of the weapons violates the U.S. Constitution's right to bear arms.

"After that, the domino fell in the right way, and the rest of these cases became much more likely" to end with state bans overturned, said Alan Beck, of San Diego, one of two attorneys who filed Avitabile's lawsuit.

The other, Stephen Stamboulieh, of Madison, Mississippi, said in all the cases the judges ruled that stun guns are "bearable arms" and therefore covered under protections guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

"A right's a right," he said. "If it's a Taser, a billy club, a handgun, it's all protected by the Second Amendment."

Stamboulieh said he and Beck have also filed lawsuits aiming to overturn stun gun bans in Hawaii and Rhode Island.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Inter-American Development Bank is calling off its general assembly next week in China amid a dispute over the participation of a Venezuelan representative opposed by Beijing.

The IDB did not say in a press release the reason for canceling the meeting, planned for March 28-31 in Chengdu.

However, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence wrote Friday in The Miami Herald that China refused to grant an official visa to Ricardo Hausmann, the Venezuelan representative designated by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The IDB last week became the first international financial organization to recognize Guaido as the legitimate president of the South American country, a stand taken by the U.S. and about 50 other nations that say Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year was rigged.

China, which is seeking to make inroads into what has traditionally been regarded as the United States' backyard, disagrees and remains one of Maduro's main allies.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said, "A handful of countries ignored the aim of the annual meeting, ignored China's stance and concern and disregarded the host country's sincere efforts."

Those counties, which the ministry did not identify, "insisted on manipulating the Venezuela issue and forcibly having Guaido's representative attend the meeting. Therefore the annual meeting cannot be held smoothly as scheduled, this is what all parties are unwilling to see."

"The responsibility does not rest with China," the statement added, saying Guaido's representative lacked legitimacy because Guaido himself was "not a president elected through legal procedure.

Maduro has cited the continued support of China and especially Russia in keeping his regime afloat through loans and diplomatic support.

Over the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes more than $20 billion. China's only hope of being repaid appears to lie in Venezuela ramping up oil production, although low petroleum prices and the country's crashing economy appear to bode poorly for such an outcome.BLOUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Police arrested a substitute teacher in Alabama on Friday after his gun went off in a first-grade classroom.

No one at Blountsville Elementary School was injured in the incident. But authorities tell news outlets that Henry Rex Weaver, 72, is in custody and will face charges.

Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon said students were in the classroom with Weaver when a gun that was in his pocket discharged.

"It (the sound) alerted administrators," Moon said. The sheriff said Moon was detained and later jailed.

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said Weaver will face charges of reckless endangerment, third-degree assault and possession of a firearm on school grounds, Al.com reported.

"Obviously I'm concerned about a substitute teacher bringing a gun to school, and what we can do to prevent that in the future," Moon said.

Records aren't yet available to show whether Weaver has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.Photo: CTV News

A registered nurse has been fired and is now the subject of a criminal investigation after at least two pregnant women were allegedly given a labour-inducing drug inappropriately, a hospital in Moncton, N.B., said on Saturday.

In a statement, Dr. Ken Gillespie, chief of staff at the Moncton Hospital, said the pregnant women required emergency intervention after receiving the drug.

"While in the labour and delivery unit, the administration of oxytocin caused both of these mothers to require urgent C-sections," Gillespie said. "The staff and physicians responded immediately to this need."

Gillespie said the hospital launched an internal investigation, culminating in dismissal of the nurse and notification of the RCMP. He also said both patients and their families were notified, and the mothers and babies were doing well.

Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone that causes contractions of the uterus, speeds up labour and can help control post-delivery bleeding. Its usage, however, requires close monitoring because it can, among other things, affect the fetal heart rate.

"Labour can progress too quickly, causing contractions to become difficult to manage without pain medication," according to the American Pregnancy Association. "Oxytocin may need to be discontinued if contractions become too powerful and close together."

Other research indicates the drug can cause the uterus to tear, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Gillespie called the situation worrisome and apologized on behalf of the Horizon Health Network.

The health authority operates the Moncton Hospital and 11 others, along with more than 100 medical facilities and clinics in New Brunswick.

"It is not a situation a new parent wants to experience," Gillespie said. "Our goal is to always provide safe and quality care to all of our patients and their families (and) it is for this reason this incident is so troubling to all of our staff."

In light of the ongoing RCMP probe, the hospital said it would provide no further information about the nurse, whose alleged actions have been reported to regulators.

"We felt it was important to disclose this information," Gillespie said. "(But) we do not want to compromise the investigation."

RCMP did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment.JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A federal judge on Friday dismissed a federal evidence-tampering charge against an ailing retired Mississippi sheriff's deputy accused of wrongfully shooting a man to death in 2013.

Federal prosecutors asked Senior U.S. District Judge Neil Biggers earlier this week to end the prosecution of former Bolivar (BAHL'-uh-vur) County Deputy Walter Grant. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mims wrote in a court filing that Grant is too sick to travel to a federal detention facility for a psychological exam to determine if he's mentally competent to stand trial.

Grant faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He has been free on bail and his lawyer has denied he did anything wrong.

The former deputy has acknowledged that he shot Willie Bingham Jr. in a cotton field on the edge of Cleveland. He was tried twice in 2015 on state manslaughter charges, with both trials resulting in mistrials after jurors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts. Attorney General Jim Hood's office, which handled the prosecutions, dropped the state court case in 2016.

Bingham was suspected of breaking into cars parked outside an auto parts plant. Grant and other officers pursued a car carrying Bingham and other men. Bingham's family said in a civil lawsuit that when the car stopped, Bingham jumped out and ran away, unarmed. Grant caught up with Bingham in the field and shot him once in the back of the head, according to the suit.

Grant told investigators he thought Bingham had a gun, but none was found, despite an intensive search. The family's lawsuit accused Grant of planting a baton on Bingham's body. A response by the Bolivar County sheriff's office later said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the attorney general's office concluded in their investigation that Grant planted the baton to make it appear Bingham was armed.

Both Grant and Bingham are black.

The civil suit was settled, but Bolivar County and Cleveland officials have declined requests from The Associated Press to say what they paid the family, saying a judge made the settlement secret.

The federal indictment followed in 2017, but both sides agreed they wanted Grant to be examined by a psychologist.

"The defendant has suffered significant health related events which have affected both his physical and mental capacities," Mims wrote.

In July, Grant's lawyer wrote that he had failed to appear for a psychological examination in Mississippi because he had spent four weeks in a Cleveland hospital being treated for sores on his feet that threatened to deteriorate into gangrene. In September, Biggers wrote that Grant, who is in his early 50s couldn't travel by "routine airlift" and needed special airplane accommodations to be taken to a detention facility.

Mims wrote in his decision that Bingham's family had been consulted before prosecutors concluded that "further prosecution of this matter would be impractical and an inefficient use of taxpayer resources."

Grant's lawyer didn't immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

The Mississippi NAACP , among others, called for Grant's prosecution.

Prosecutions of police officers for shooting at suspects are relatively rare in Mississippi.

Attorney General Jim Hood's office is prosecuting former Columbus officer Canyon Boykin, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in a 2015 shooting death that sparked community protests. His office is also prosecuting former Starkville officer Gary Wheeler, who has pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault in a 2017 shooting of a man in a police chase.

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Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy .NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump still has to contend with state and federal investigators in New York, even though special counsel Robert Mueller has wrapped up his investigation with no additional indictments.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are pursuing at least two known criminal inquiries involving Trump or people in his orbit, one involving his inaugural committee and another focused on the hush-money scandal that led his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to plead guilty last year to campaign finance violations.

The president also faces inquiries from New York's attorney general, Letitia James, who recently opened a civil inquiry into Cohen's claims that Trump exaggerated his wealth when seeking loans for real estate projects and a failed bid to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, a state regulatory entity is looking into whether Trump gave false information to insurance companies.

Cohen told Congress in testimony last month he is in "constant contact" with prosecutors involving ongoing investigations.

Trump has dismissed the New York investigations as politically motivated.

"These investigations could pose a danger to everybody in Trump's inner circle," said Patrick J. Cotter, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. "They are very real and very significant. If you're Trump, this has got to feel, in some ways, like an even greater threat than the Russia probe."

In this July 27, 2016, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump National Doral in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Mueller on Friday gave his report on possible collusion with the Kremlin in the 2016 presidential election to the office of U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Its contents remain confidential, but Barr said he will decide soon how much of the report he will release to Congress and the public. As of Friday evening, the White House said it had not seen or been briefed on the document.

The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment on the New York probes but has told a federal judge it is still investigating campaign-finance violations committed when Cohen helped orchestrate six-figure payments to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, and a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet during the campaign about alleged affairs with Trump. Cohen says Trump ordered the payments and later reimbursed him for his efforts. So far, nobody besides Cohen has been charged.

Political observers have continued to speculate that Cohen, who is scheduled to report to prison in May, might secretly be providing investigators with additional information.

"If you've got Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer, as a tour guide, that means you could go anywhere," former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey told MSNBC recently.

Cohen stoked speculation when he told Congress he was aware of other "wrongdoing" involving Trump but couldn't talk about it because it was "part of the investigation that's currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York."

Among other things, he suggested prosecutors were investigating communications he had with either Trump or one of his representatives in spring 2018 in the months after the FBI raided his home and office. At the time, Cohen was looking for information about whether Trump might consider giving him a pardon.

But there was a sign Friday that the federal probe in Manhattan also could be winding down or shifting course: the news that Robert Khuzami, the prosecutor leading the Cohen probe, will step down April 12. The case went to Khuzami when U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman was recused for undisclosed reasons. Berman remains in charge of other investigations related to Trump.

The president has denied breaking any laws and dismissed Cohen as a liar. He derided the state investigations in New York as a "witch hunt," calling the state and its Democratic governor and attorney general "proud members of the group of PRESIDENTIAL HARASSERS."

Trump says the payments to Daniels and McDougal were a private matter unrelated to his campaign.

The White House has said Trump was not involved in the operations of his inaugural committee, which raised $107 million to celebrate his election.

The inquiry into the committee has focused partly on whether donors received "benefits" after making contributions or whether foreign nationals made barred donations, according to a subpoena sent to the committee. The same document shows prosecutors are looking at whether the committee's vendors were paid with unreported donations.

The U.S. Justice Department has held for nearly a half-century that a sitting president is constitutionally immune from criminal prosecution, a conclusion Cotter, the former prosecutor, referred to as Trump's "ace in the hole."

If prosecutors find evidence Trump committed a crime, they could wait to charge him after he leaves office, though the legal deadline for filing charges is five years for most federal offenses, including the campaign-finance violations in question in the Cohen case.

The possibility of Trump's re-election has raised questions about whether that deadline could be tolled - suspended - for the duration of his presidency.

Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, said it's unlikely a judge would allow that because no law expressly forbids charges against a sitting president. Tolling the statute of limitations is typically reserved for circumstances beyond the government's control, like when a defendant becomes a fugitive.

"The DOJ, in fact, could proceed with a case" against the president, said Rodgers, who lectures at Columbia Law School. "They aren't because of their own policy."

James, New York's attorney general, also has a pending lawsuit alleging Trump and his family illegally ran the Trump Foundation as an extension of his businesses and presidential campaign. And she has called for a "full examination" of a New York Times report accusing Trump's family of benefiting from "dubious tax schemes" in the 1990s.

The foundation has agreed to dissolve. Its lawyers have argued that the lawsuit is flimsy and politically motivated.

Experts have said the president is unlikely to be criminally prosecuted over the tax matters, which are far past the statute of limitations, but state officials could pursue Trump for millions of dollars in civil fines.SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pushed back Friday on a U.S. judge's revised proposals to prevent the utility's equipment from causing more wildfires, saying it could not "monitor every tree at every moment of every day" to ensure they don't pose a threat to its electric lines in violation of California laws.

Judge William Alsup earlier this month proposed requiring the company to fully comply with all vegetation management and clearance laws as part of its probation in a criminal case. Alsup called the utility's efforts to prevent trees from hitting its power lines and starting wildfires dismal.

That requirement would likely result in probation violations because tree conditions are constantly changing, PG&E said in a court filing.

"A tree that was compliant at the time of a prior inspection might become a non-compliant hazard tree one day later when it is damaged by a natural or man-made event or three months later after a bark beetle infestation has taken hold," attorneys for the company said.

Alsup should also leave assessments of PG&E's compliance with vegetation management laws to state law enforcement officials and regulators, the attorneys said.

PG&E also objected to Alsup's proposal to ban it from paying dividends to shareholders until it meets his vegetation management requirements. The company said that requirement would substantially hamper its ability to raise money from investors, which in turn would affect its safety efforts.

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2017 file photo, a Pacific Gas and Electric Company worker cuts back branches from a tree that fell across power lines in Felton, Calif. PG&E pushed back Friday, March 22, 2019, on a U.S. judge's revised proposals to prevent the utility's equipment from causing more wildfires, saying it could not "monitor every tree at every moment of every day" to ensure they don't pose a threat to its electric lines in violation of California laws. (Kevin Johnson/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP, File)

The company has already suspended dividends and said it will not pay any at least until it emerges from bankruptcy.

The company sought bankruptcy protection in January in the face of billions of dollars in potential liability from recent wildfires.

Alsup is overseeing a criminal conviction against PG&E stemming from a 2010 gas line explosion that killed eight people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The judge's proposals follow devastating wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018 - some of which investigators have blamed on PG&E equipment. Alsup has said his goal is to prevent PG&E equipment from causing any wildfires during the 2019 fire season.

He initially proposed ordering PG&E to undertake more drastic measures, including removing or trimming all trees that could fall on its power lines and cutting off power during certain wind conditions.WASHINGTON (AP) - Now what?

Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his Trump-Russia investigation and on Friday delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr.

But what the report looks like isn't clear. Justice Department regulations required only that Mueller give the attorney general a confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. It could have been as simple as a bullet point list, but the Justice Department has described it as "comprehensive."

Whatever is in the report, we may not get all the juicy details that were uncovered over the past 22 months - at least not right away. But this story is far from over.

Here's what to expect next:

___

The White House is reflected in a puddle, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, as news breaks that the special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WHAT WILL THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DO?

Barr has to decide what should be released to Congress and the public.

In a letter to lawmakers Friday, Barr suggested this could come in stages. He said he could release Mueller's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend. He also said that he would consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to see what other information could be released "consistent with the law."

He said he remains "committed to as much transparency as possible." But Barr has previously said he takes seriously the "shall be confidential" part of the regulations governing Mueller's report. He has noted that department protocol says internal memos explaining charging decisions should not be released.

___

WILL TRUMP BE ABLE TO SEE THE REPORT?

It is unclear whether Trump will ask to see the full report and under what circumstances he or his attorneys might be able to view it, especially because the document is meant to be confidential for Justice Department leadership.

Mueller reports to the Justice Department, not the White House.

Barr said at his confirmation hearing that he would not permit White House interference in the investigation. But he also has voiced an expansive view of executive power in which the president functions as the country's chief law enforcement officer and has wide latitude in giving directives to the FBI and Justice Department.

Democrats could seize on any disclosure to the president to argue that the report really isn't confidential and should be immediately provided to them as well.

___

WHAT WILL DEMOCRATS DO?

Democrats are demanding access to the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence in the investigation - and are threatening to issue subpoenas if they don't get them.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on CNN that Congress needs to know "and so does the country."

But Trump, as the leader of the executive branch, could direct the Justice Department to defy the subpoena, setting the stage for a court fight that could go to the Supreme Court.

___

WHAT WON'T HAPPEN NOW?

More indictments.

A Justice Department official says Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia investigation.TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Hudbay Minerals Inc. says its planned new open-pit copper mine in southern Arizona mountains near Tucson has cleared the final permitting step.

The Toronto-based company said Thursday the U.S. Forest Service approved the project's operations plan and the Rosemont Mind is "now a fully permitted, shovel-ready copper project."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a key water permit for the mine on March 8.

Hudbay says the mine will eventually create 500 jobs at the mine after $1.9 billion in construction spending.

Environmentalists have opposed the project for years, contending it will damage water sources and scar the land, while Hudbay has said the project will include support for conservation, cultural and recreational projects.WASHINGTON (AP) - Within minutes of receiving notification that special counsel Robert Mueller had turned over his report on the Russia investigation, congressional Democrats were calling for the report to be fully released, including the underlying evidence. They have threatened subpoenas if it is not.

The demands are setting up a potential tug of war between congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump's administration that federal judges might eventually have to referee.

Six Democratic committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Friday that if Mueller has any reason to believe that Trump "has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct," then the Justice Department should not conceal it.

"The president is not above the law and the need for public faith in our democratic institutions and the rule of law must be the priority," the chairmen wrote.

It's unclear what Mueller has found related to the president, or if any of it would be damning. In his investigation of whether President Donald Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

Lawmakers say they need the underlying evidence - including interviews, documents and material turned over to the grand jury - because the Justice Department has maintained that a president cannot be indicted, and also that derogatory information cannot be released about people who have not been charged. So if the investigation did find evidence incriminating against Trump, they may not be able to release it, under their own guidelines.

The American flag flies over the White House as vehicles move along 16th Street, in northwest Washington, Friday March 22, 2019. Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Barr, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Democrats say that it could be tantamount to a cover-up if the department did not let Congress and the public know what they found.

Barr said in the letter advising the top lawmakers on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees Friday that he had received Mueller's report that he intends to share its "principal conclusions" with lawmakers soon, potentially over the weekend. He also said he will consult Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about what other parts of the report can be shared with Congress or the public.

Barr testified at his confirmation hearings that he wants to release as much information as he can about the inquiry. But the department's regulations require only that the attorney general report to Congress that the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed "was so inappropriate or unwarranted" that it should not be pursued. Barr said Friday there were no such instances where Mueller was thwarted.

But anything less than the full report won't be enough for Democrats.

"If the AG plays any games, we will subpoena the report, ask Mr. Mueller to testify, and take it all to court if necessary," said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y. "The people deserve to know."

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff told CNN Friday that he's willing to subpoena Mueller and Barr, if needed, to push for disclosure.

Though Trump himself has said the report should be made public, it's not clear whether the administration would fight subpoenas for testimony or block the transmission of grand jury material.

If the administration decides to fight, lawmakers could ask federal courts to step in and enforce a subpoena. A court fight could, in theory, reach the Supreme Court. But few tussles between Congress and the White House get that far. They often are resolved through negotiation.

In both the Clinton and Obama administrations, even when talks failed and courts got involved in assessing claims of executive privilege, the White House decided not to take the fight to the high court and complied with lower court rulings against it.

The Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, could also formally ask Mueller to send his committee evidence that could be used in possible impeachment proceedings against Trump, as suggested by Benjamin Wittes, a senior Brookings Institution fellow and editor-in-chief of the Lawfare blog.

That's the course one of Nadler's predecessors followed during Watergate, although an impeachment inquiry against President Richard Nixon had already started by that point. Grand jury material from special counsel Leon Jaworski, provided through the federal judge who presided over the Watergate trials, became the road map that the House committee used to vote for articles of impeachment. Nixon resigned before the full House acted on his impeachment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said recently that she's not for impeaching Trump, at least for now.WASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges Friday, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency but launching a fresh wave of political battles over the still-confidential findings.

The report's details remained a mystery, accessible to only a handful of Justice Department officials while Attorney General William Barr prepared to release the "principal conclusions" soon. But the closure of the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump's orbit who had feared a final round of charges could ensnare more Trump associates, including members of the president's family.

The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then it went to Barr. Word of the delivery triggered reactions across Washington, including Democrats' demands that it be quickly released to the public and Republicans' contentions that it ended two years of wasted time and money.

The next step is up to Barr, who is charged with writing his own account of Mueller's findings and sending it to Congress. In a letter to lawmakers , he declared he was committed to transparency and speed. He said he could provide details as soon as this weekend.

The White House sought to keep some distance from the report, saying it had not seen or been briefed on the document. Trump, surrounded by advisers and political supporters at his resort in Florida, stayed uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter.

With no details released at this point, it's not known whether Mueller's report answers the core questions of his investigation: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

Special Counsel Robert Mueller arrives at his office building, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Washington. Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

But the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president. A Justice Department official confirmed that Mueller was not recommending any further indictments.

That person, who described the document as "comprehensive," was not authorized to discuss the probe and asked for anonymity.

That's good news for a handful of Trump associates and family members dogged by speculation of possible wrongdoing. They include Donald Trump Jr., who had a role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 election campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was interviewed at least twice by Mueller's prosecutors. It wasn't immediately clear whether Mueller might have referred additional investigations to the Justice Department.

All told, Mueller charged 34 people, including the president's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies. Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet. Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering.

It's unclear what steps Mueller might take if he uncovered what he believes to be criminal wrongdoing by Trump, in light of Justice Department legal opinions that have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted.

In his letter to lawmakers, Barr noted the Justice Department had not denied any request from the special counsel, something Barr would have been required to disclose to ensure there was no political inference. Trump was never interviewed in person, but submitted answers to questions in writing.

The mere delivery of the confidential findings set off swift, full-throated demands from Democrats for full release of Mueller's report and the supporting evidence collected during the sweeping probe. As Mueller's probe has wound down, Democrats have increasingly shifted their focus to their own investigations, ensuring the special counsel's would not be the last word on the matter.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared it "imperative" to make the full report public, a call echoed by several Democrats vying to challenge Trump in 2020.

"The American people have a right to the truth," Schumer and Pelosi said in a joint statement.

Democrats also expressed concern that Trump would try to get a "sneak preview" of the findings.

"The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public," they said in a joint statement.

It was not clear whether Trump would have early access to Mueller's findings. Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders suggested the White House would not interfere, saying "we look forward to the process taking its course." But Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told The Associated Press Friday that the legal team would seek to get "an early look" before they were made public.

Giuliani said it was "appropriate" for the White House to be able "to review matters of executive privilege." He said had received no assurances from the Department of Justice on that front. He later softened his stance, saying the decision was "up to DOJ and we are confident it will be handled properly."

The White House did receive a brief heads-up on the report's arrival Friday. Barr's chief of staff called White House Counsel Emmet Flood Friday about 20 minutes before sending the letter went to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

The chairman of the Senate panel, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, was keynote speaker Friday night at a Palm Beach County GOP dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

The president and first lady Melania Trump stopped by the dinner and made a few minutes of remarks but didn't mention the Mueller report, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the event, which was closed to the press.

Barr has said he wants to make as much public as possible, but any efforts to withhold details is sure to prompt a tussle between the Justice Department and lawmakers who may subpoena Mueller and his investigators to testify before Congress. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., threatened a subpoena Friday.

Such a move would likely be vigorously contested by the Trump administration.

The conclusion of Mueller's investigation does not remove legal peril for the president . Trump faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He's also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president's inaugural committee.

No matter the findings in Mueller's report, the investigation has already illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The special counsel brought a sweeping indictment accusing Russian military intelligence officers of hacking Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups during the 2016 campaign. He charged another group of Russians with carrying out a large-scale social media disinformation campaign against the American political process that also sought to help Trump and hurt Clinton.

Mueller also initiated the investigation into Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer, who pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations arising from the hush money payments and in the Mueller probe to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal. Another Trump confidant, Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails ultimately released by WikiLeaks.

Mueller has also been investigating whether the president tried to obstruct the investigation. Since the special counsel's appointment in May 2017, Trump has increasingly tried to undermine the probe by calling it a "witch hunt" and repeatedly proclaiming there was "NO COLLUSION" with Russia.

But one week before Mueller's appointment, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, later saying he was thinking of "this Russia thing" at the time.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Washington. Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation, ending a probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency with no new charges but launching a fresh wave of political battles over the still-confidential findings. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A presidential helicopter takes off in a practice run as the White House is reflected in a puddle, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, amid news that special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation, is shown Friday, March 22, 2019 in Washington. Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump . (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The head of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Friday announced that he is stepping down, the latest high-profile departure from the watchdog organization best known for its work monitoring extremist groups.

Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen sent an email to staff saying that he would be stepping down from his leadership role at the organization. The organization last week fired founder and prominent civil rights attorney Morris Dees for unspecified reasons.

"Whatever problems exist at the SPLC happened on my watch, so I take responsibility for them," Cohen wrote.

Cohen in October had approached the organization's board about finding a "new generation" of leadership. He wrote Friday that he was stepping up that timeframe in light of recent events, and asked the organization's board to immediately begin the search for an interim president "in order to give the organization the best chance to heal."

He also asked his staff for patience as they bring in an outside party to review the organization's workplace environment.

The SPLC did not elaborate on the reasons behind Dees' termination. In a statement about Dees' departure, Cohen only said the organization is "committed to ensuring that the conduct of our staff reflects the mission of the organization and the values we hope to instill in the world."

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, right, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. Cohen, the head of the watchdog organization, on Friday, March 22, 2019, announced his resignation to staff. A spokesman for the organization said he could not comment on personnel matters. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The group this week announced it hired Tina Tchen, a one-time aide to former first lady Michelle Obama, to review its workplace. Tchen was chief of staff to the former first lady and now works for a Chicago law firm focusing on workplace issues including gender and racial equity and sexual harassment.

Cohen asked SPLC staff to let the "process play out before jumping to conclusions."

"We're going through a difficult period right now, and I know that we'll emerge stronger at the end of the process that we've launched with Tina Tchen," Cohen wrote.

Dees founded the Montgomery-based law center with a partner in 1971 as a watchdog for minorities and the underprivileged. A decade later he won a $7 million judgment against the United Klans of America on behalf of Beulah Mae Donald, whose son was murdered by KKK members in Mobile.

The organization has sometimes been criticized for its aggressive fundraising tactics. In 2017, tax records show, the organization had some $450 million in assets.

Last year, it agreed to pay a $3.4 million settlement after wrongly labeling a British organization and its founder as extremists.PITTSBURGH (AP) - A jury acquitted a white former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for killing Antwon Rose II last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the 17-year-old in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran away.

The panel of seven men and five women - including three black jurors - saw video of the fatal confrontation, which showed Rose falling to the ground after being hit. The acquittal came after fewer than four hours of deliberations on the fourth day of the trial.

Rose's family remained stoic as the verdict was read, with his mother telling his sister not to cry. Rosfeld's wife began sobbing, and she and Rosfeld were hustled out of the courtroom by deputies.

There were tears and gasps in an overflow courtroom, and several people broke out in song: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Rose's death spurred angry protests in the Pittsburgh area last year, including a late-night march that shut down a major highway.

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

But on Friday, the reaction was measured.

After the verdict, a group of about 100 protesters headed to the trendy East Liberty neighborhood, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the downtown Pittsburgh courthouse, and they blocked intersections and briefly entered two hotels, chanting "17" for Rose's age and reading a poem written by Rose.

The family's attorney, S. Lee Merritt, had urged a murder conviction, saying before closing arguments that it's "pretty obvious" Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.

He said afterward that Rose's mother, Michelle Kenney, was "upset about the state of the law. But she didn't really expect a different verdict," given other high-profile cases in recent years in which police officers have either avoided charges or won acquittals in the shooting deaths of black men and teens.

"She has joined a community of mothers who have lost children in really, really horrific ways," he said.

Defense lawyer Patrick Thomassey told reporters that Rosfeld is "a good man. He said to me many times, 'Patrick, this has nothing to do with the kid's color. I was doing what I was trained to do.'"

Thomassey said he hoped the city remained calm, and "everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives."

Stephen Zappala Jr., the district attorney in Pittsburgh, said he disagreed with the decision.

At trial, the prosecution and the defense sparred over whether Rosfeld - who'd worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was officially sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting - was justified in using lethal force.

Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi declared in his closing argument that Rosfeld had acted as "judge, jury and executioner," and the video evidence showed "there was no threat" to the officer.

"We don't shoot first and ask questions later," the prosecutor added.

But the former officer told the jury he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him, insisting he fired his weapon to protect himself and the community. Neither teen was holding one when Rosfeld opened fire, though two guns were later found in the car.

"It happened very quickly," Rosfeld said. "My intent was to end the threat that was made against me."

A defense expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.

Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger jumped out and began running away. Rosfeld fired three times in quick succession.

The defense said the shooting was justified because Rosfeld believed he was in danger and couldn't wait for other officers to get there.

"He's a sitting duck," Thomassey told jurors in his closing argument, asking them to consider "the standard of what a reasonable police officer would do under the circumstances."

Prosecutors had charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter. The prosecution said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose was armed.

Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Thomassey said Rosfeld referred to Rose's "color," not his "race."

___

Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this story.

In this March 12, 2019 file photo, former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, charged with homicide in the shooting death of Antwon Rose II, walks to the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa. On the fourth day of the trial in Pittsburgh, Friday March 22, 2019, Rosfeld was acquitted of all counts in the death of Rose. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, leave the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Antwon Rose II in the back last June. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer, in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In this March 12, 2019 file photo, former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, charged with homicide in the shooting death of Antwon Rose II, walks to the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa. On the fourth day of the trial in Pittsburgh, Friday March 22, 2019, Rosfeld was acquitted of all counts in the death of Rose. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)BANGKOK (AP) - Thailand's election Sunday is likely to produce a weak, unstable government whether it's a civilian or military-backed party that cobbles together a coalition, setting off a new phase of uncertainty in a country that's a U.S. ally in Southeast Asia and one of the world's top tourist destinations.

The election is Thailand's first since its military seized power from an elected government in May 2014. It was the conservative establishment's third major attempt by either military or legal coup to eradicate the influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who made his fortune in telecommunication and upended Thailand's politics with a populist political revolution nearly two decades ago.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army chief led the 2014 coup, is hoping to stay in power with a hybrid political system that relies on an appointed Senate and a 20-year national strategic plan to limit the power of political parties not aligned with the military.

"It will be unstable," said Prajak Kongkirati, a political science lecturer at Thailand's Thammasat University. "Whatever party wins, Prayuth or Thaksin's side, both governments will be weak and unstable. The government can collapse within a year or a year and a half and we might have a new election quite soon."

Prayuth's five years as junta leader have been marred by complaints of human rights violations and growing economic inequality. Thailand's ties with the U.S. cooled because of the coup and Prayuth is seeking greater international legitimacy with an election meant to provide the appearance of a return to democracy.

If the junta had one success, it was reinforcing its claim to be the protector of Thailand's monarchy, an institution at the heart of Thai society, following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 after a reign of seven decades and the succession of his son Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Volunteers lock ballot boxes ahead of Sunday's general elections Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The nation's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup is scheduled to be held on March 24. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Critics say the new military-designed political system is intrinsically unstable because it is not accepted by all sides and will be the beginning of a new round of struggle in Thailand.

The country's prime minister will not be directly elected by its 51 million voters. Instead, 750 lawmakers - 500 from an elected lower house of parliament and 250 from a junta-appointed Senate - will decide by simple majority. The prime minister does not have to be a member of parliament.

None of the major political parties is likely to have enough elected lawmakers to choose a prime minister and form a government outright. Chaotic outcomes, such as a military-favored prime minister chosen with Senate backing who lacks a majority in the lower house, are possible.

Sunday's vote is the latest episode in a sometimes violent political struggle that pits Thaksin's political machine against a conservative establishment led by the ultra-royalist military.

Thaksin swept to power in 2001 with social welfare policies aimed at uplifting the majority rural poor. He has lived in exile since being ousted by a 2006 military coup and accused of abuse of power, corruption and self-enrichment. Some saw him as disrespectful to the monarchy.

The 2014 coup ousted the government that was led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the head of the Thaksin-allied Pheu Thai party at the time.

On Friday, Thaksin hosted a glittering wedding reception in Hong Kong for his youngest daughter, causing a sensation and substantial media and online coverage in Thailand. Guests included the Thai king's sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, who last month made a spectacular but quickly aborted attempt to be a prime ministerial candidate for a small Thaksin-allied party.

Though ostensibly a family affair, the ceremony's timing two days ahead of the election seemed to implicitly say: Don't forget me and my political allies when you go out to vote.

The Pheu Thai party remains broadly popular, especially in the country's north and northeast, home to the majority of voters, and its current leader, Sudarat Keyuraphan, has urged all Thais to vote, hoping a high turnout will derail Prayuth's plans to stay in power.

"If Pheu Thai does reach the number needed to form a new government, it is unclear how the military leadership would respond," said John Ciorciari, a Southeast Asia expert at the University of Michigan.

"Regardless of the election result, it is unlikely to put an end to Thailand's protracted political crisis," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Kaweewit Kaewjinda contributed to this report.

Volunteers prepare ballot boxes ahead of Sunday's general elections Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The nation's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup is scheduled to be held on March 24. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The leader of Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan reaches to shake hands of supporters during an election rally concluding their campaign ahead of general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 22, 2019. The nation's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup is scheduled to be held on March 24. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

The leader of Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, right, gestures, during an election rally concluding their campaign ahead of general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 22, 2019. The nation's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup is scheduled to be held on March 24. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of the Palang Pracharat Party receives flowers from supporters during an election campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 22, 2019. The political movement that has won every Thai election in nearly two decades is facing its biggest test yet: Squaring off against the allies of the military junta that removed it from power and rewrote the electoral rules with the goal of putting an end to those victories. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) - A Jordanian prince and the family of a slain 3-year-old boy and were among those who visited a New Zealand mosque Saturday when it reopened for the first time since a terrorist killed dozens of people there.

Hundreds of people stopped at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to lay flowers or pray after police removed a cordon and those running the mosque decided to reopen.

Inside the mosque, there were few signs of the carnage from eight days earlier. Crews had replaced windows that worshippers smashed in a desperate attempt to escape when the attacker mowed them down during Friday prayers. Bullet holes were plastered over and painted. There wasn't time to replace the carpet, which was pulled out and buried because it was soaked in blood.

Shagat Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury, said they hadn't planned to open the mosque so soon but when they saw the crowds gathering after the police cordon was removed they decided to allow people to enter in managed groups "so the mosque will be alive again."

"Those who lost their families are of course quite emotional," he said. "And those who were present here during the incident, of course the memories come back. The flashbacks."

The gunman killed a total of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, in the nation's worst terrorist attack. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder in the attacks and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 5.

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, of the Kingdom of Jordan, embraces a worshipper outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Abdullahi Ibrahim Diriye, the uncle of the youngest victim of the shooting, 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, visited the mosque with the boy's father. Diriye said he helped lift the boy's coffin to a gravesite Friday as Mucaad's mother wept. The coffin was very light with such a young child inside, he said.

"Always he was a happy boy, and he liked every person he met, not only Muslims," Diriye said.

Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who traveled to New Zealand to pay his respects, hugged a man at the entrance of the mosque and told him to "be patient."

"He was crying deeply from his heart for a loved one he had lost," the prince later explained. "And I was saying, this is God's will, be patient. Because only through patience can you endure."

Prince Hassan said in the Middle East there have been wars every decade.

"To feel that this form of violence and cruelty is visited on you, living in this idyllic part of the world, is deeply, deeply moving," he said.

Human dignity is being assailed on all fronts by extremists, he said, and people need to stand together as human beings.

Officials say four Jordanian nationals died in the attack, while a 4-year-old Jordanian girl is also recovering in an Auckland hospital.

Jereeth Abdeen, who was visiting from Auckland, said a friend of his escaped the attack. He said he found it hard to walk through the mosque, especially after glimpsing the gunman's livestream of the attack after it was sent to him on social media before quickly closing out of the link.

"It's terrible," he said. "Nobody should do that in this world."

Abdeen said he took some comfort that those killed were in a holy place and were about to pray.

"The sad thing is the way they died," he said. "But our belief is they will be in paradise."

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, left, of the Kingdom of Jordan greets worshippers outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite of the Kingdom of Jordan greets worshippers outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite of the Kingdom of Jordan and his entourage are escorted to the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, right, of the Kingdom of Jordan embraces a worshipper outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, second right, of the Kingdom of Jordan greets a worshipper outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, second right, of Jordan, greets a worshipper who had just performed a haka outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite of the Kingdom of Jordan walks past floral tribute outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The mosque reopened today following the March 15 mass shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Worshippers prepare to enter the Al Noor mosque following last week's mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Muslim men pray in Hagley Park across the road from the Al Noor mosque following last week's mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi marked the occasion saying that the region needs peace, not war and Pakistan wants to live peacefully with its neighbors. He said Pakistan's war is against hunger, poverty and unemployment.

As part of security measures for Saturday's parade in Islamabad, authorities suspended mobile phone services.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahtir Mohamad was the chief guest of the parade.

Alvi was tp honor selected Pakistanis and foreigners with civilian awards later in the day. Naeem Rashid, who rendered his life in attempt to stop the gunman in last week's New Zealand mosque attacks, will be honored posthumously.ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan celebrated its national day on Saturday with a military parade showcasing its missiles, tanks and aircraft, even as the prime minister and his Indian counterpart exchanged goodwill messages in a sign of easing tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered "best wishes" to his counterpart Imran Khan ahead of Saturday's celebrations. Khan welcomed the statement late Friday and called for a comprehensive dialogue on all issues, including the disputed Kashmir region.

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared last month after a suicide attack killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The Indian air force launched an airstrike inside Pakistan, saying it was targeting militants it blamed for the bombing.

Pakistan retaliated and said it shot down two Indian air force planes. One pilot was captured and later released. India says it lost only one plane.

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi marked the national day by saying the region needs peace, not war, and that Pakistan wants to live peacefully with its neighbors. He said Pakistan's war is against hunger, poverty and unemployment.

"Our desire for peace shouldn't be construed as our weakness. Let's end the hatred and sow the seeds of peace in this region for prosperity of the people," Alvi said.

A Pakistani-made ballistic missile NASR is loaded on a trailer rolls down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was the chief guest of the parade, in which troops marched through the streets of Islamabad and warplanes staged acrobatic flyovers. Authorities suspended mobile phone services and blocked roads as part of security precautions.

Later Saturday, President Alvi held a ceremony in which he honored military officers and accomplished civilians in their respective fields. The presidency also announced that Naeem Rashid, who was killed trying to stop the gunman who attacked two New Zealand mosques earlier this month, will be honored posthumously later this year.

The nationwide celebrations were marred by tragedy when a wall collapsed over students and teachers marking the occasion in the eastern city of Gujranwala. Local administrator Naila Baqar said five students and a teacher died, and 12 others were injured.

Pakistani commandos from the Special Services Group march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani commandos from the Special Services Group march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani commandos from the Special Services Group march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani-made missiles are loaded on a trailers roll down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A Pakistani-made Shaheen-III missile, that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is loaded on a trailer rolls down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A Pakistani-made Ghauri missile, that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is loaded on a trailer rolls down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani-made missiles are loaded on a trailers roll down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani-made tanks roll down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A Pakistani-made Cruise missile Ra'ad is loaded on a trailer rolls down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani-made tanks roll down during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan army musical band parade on camelback during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Chinese J-10 fighter jets demonstrate an aerobatic performance during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Chinese J-10 fighter jets demonstrate an aerobatic performance during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan army musical band parade on camelback during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani troops march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Female soldiers of Pakistan Army march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Female soldiers of Pakistan Army march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani paramilitary troops march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani paramilitary troops march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani paramilitary troops march during a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Pakistanis are celebrating their National Day with a military parade that's showcasing short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other hardware. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) - U.S.-backed forces declared military victory over the Islamic State group in Syria on Saturday after liberating the last pocket of territory held by the militants, marking the end of a brutal self-styled caliphate the group carved out in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The nearly five-year war that has devastated cities and towns across north Syria and Iraq ended in Baghouz, a minor border village where the cornered militants made their last stand, under a grueling siege for weeks.

On Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces raised their bright yellow banner from a shell-pocked house where the militants once flew their notorious black flag. Below it stretched a field shattered by the battle, pitted by trenches and bomb craters and littered with scorched tents, twisted wreckage of burned out vehicles, unspent explosives and few remaining corpses.

"Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved," tweeted Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.

The fall of Baghouz brings to a close a nearly 5-year global campaign against the Islamic State group that raged in two countries, spanned two U.S. presidencies and saw a U.S.-led coalition unleash more than 100,000 strikes. The campaign has left a trail of destruction in cities in Iraq and Syria, likely killed tens of thousands and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.

The campaign put an end to the militants' proto-state, which at its height four years ago was the size of Britain and home to some 8 million people. But the extremist group still maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq. It's not known whether the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is still alive or where he might be hiding.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

IS affiliates in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Afghanistan and other countries continue to pose a threat, and the group's ideology has inspired so-called lone-wolf attacks that had little if any connection to its leadership.

The "caliphate's" end also marks a new phase in Syria's civil war, now in its ninth year. The country is carved up, with the Iranian- and Russian-backed government of President Bashar Assad controlling the west, center and south, the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces holding the north and east, and Turkish allies controlling a pocket in the north. The fear now is of new conflict among those players.

At a ceremony held later Saturday at the nearby al-Omar oil field base, a senior U.S. diplomat, William Roebuck, said the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group is a "critical milestone" that delivers a crushing and strategic blow to the extremist group. But he stressed it remains a significant threat.

"We still have much work to do to achieve an enduring defeat of IS," he said.

The commander in chief of the SDF, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, appealed for continued assistance to his group until the full eradication of the extremist group. He spoke at the ceremony during which fighters marched to a military band.

The victory declaration sets the stage for President Donald Trump to begin withdrawing most of the 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in northern Syria, as he abruptly announced in December that he would do. Trump, however, later agreed to leave a small peacekeeping force of 200 soldiers in Syria to ensure Turkey will not get into a conflict with the SDF. Turkey views Kurdish members of the SDF as terrorists.

The Kurds fear being abandoned by the Americans. They are squeezed between a belligerent Turkey from the north, which regards them as a national threat and Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces from the south.

Saturday's announcement came a day after Trump declared that Islamic State militants no longer control any territory in Syria, a victory he had been teasing for days.

Associated Press journalists in Baghouz on Saturday, however, reported hearing mortars and gunfire directed toward a cliff overlooking the village, where U.S.-led coalition airstrikes were carried out a day earlier. SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel said Friday there were IS fighters hiding in caves near Baghouz and that clearing operations were still underway.

The site of IS's last stand was centered on a tent encampment in Baghouz where, unknown to the besieging SDF forces, thousands of civilians were holed up. During the weeks-long siege, an estimate 30,000 men, women and children were evacuated from the pocket, most of them IS family members, a mix of Syrians, Iraqis and foreigners. They were exhausted, hungry, many of them wounded and traumatized by the loss of relatives, but some remained die-hard supporters of the "caliphate."

On Saturday, journalists were taken to the encampment - a wasteland of wrecked vehicles, torn tents and scorched trees. A few bodies could be seen and a faint smell of rotting corpses hung in the air.

Scattered across the dirt amid empty foxholes and trenches were personal belongings, blankets, generators, oil barrels, water tanks and satellite dishes. Cars and motorcycles were turned to rusted, twisted heaps of metal. There were unused rockets, mortars and grenades, as well as a pile of suicide vests.

Ciya Kobani, an SDF commander, announced the end of the operation from the roof of the building with the SDF flag: "We have been victorious against Daesh," he declared.

At its height, the Islamic State group ruled a third of both Syria and Iraq, holding millions hostage to its harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. The group carried out massacres and documented them with slickly produced videos circulated online. It beheaded foreign journalists and aid workers and burned alive a captured Jordanian pilot. During a rampage through Iraq's Sinjar region in 2014, it captured thousands of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority and forced them into sexual slavery. Many remain missing to this day.

The group also used its caliphate as a launchpad for attacks around the globe, including the assaults in Paris in 2015 that killed more than 130 people.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that "a major danger to our country is now eliminated, yet the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue." France has been a member of the coalition fighting the IS since 2014.

While it imposed its unforgiving interpretation of Islamic law through public beheadings and crucifixions, the group also carried out the mundane duties of governance in its territories, including regulating prices at markets and repairing infrastructure.

Cornered in Baghouz, the group fought fiercely and desperately to hang on to the last shred of territory it controlled, using thousands of civilians, including women and children, as human shields. In the final weeks, they streamed out of Baghouz, bedraggled, angry and hungry, overwhelming Kurdish-run camps in northern Syria where they are being held.

Aid organizations say more than 100 people have died in the journey from Baghouz to the al-Hol camp in Hassakeh province, or soon after arriving.

___

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.

A military band performs ahead of a ceremony at al-Omar Oil Field marking the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture of Baghouz, Syria, after months of fighting to oust Islamic State militants Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Islamic State militant flag, foreground ,lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syriaon Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters fly their flag from a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of a man lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria from Islamic State militants on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Islamic State militant flag lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A tent used by Islamic State militants billows in the wind after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)BEIRUT (AP) - The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate."

Its territorial rule, which at its height in 2014 stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq, ended with a last stand by several hundred of its militants at a tiny Syrian village on the banks of the Euphrates near the border with Syria.

Here are the key moments in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group:

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April 2013 - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaida's branch in Iraq, announces the merger of his group with al-Qaida's franchise in Syria, forming the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and expanding his reach into neighboring Syria.

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FILE - In this file photo released on April 25, 2015, by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, young boys known as the "caliphate cubs" hold their rifles as they parade after graduating from a religious school, in Tal Afar, near Mosul city, north Iraq. The Arabic words, center, read: "A parade of caliphate cubs after their graduation from a religious school." (Militant website via AP, File)

2014

January - Al-Baghdadi's forces overrun the city of Fallujah in Iraq's western Anbar province and parts of the nearby provincial capital of Ramadi. In Syria, they seize sole control of the city of Raqqa after driving out rival Syrian rebel factions, and it becomes their de facto capital.

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February - Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri disavows al-Baghdadi after the Iraqi militant ignores his demands that IS leave Syria.

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June - IS captures Mosul, Iraqi's second-largest city, and pushes south as Iraqi forces crumble, eventually capturing Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and reaching the outskirts of Baghdad. When they threaten Shiite holy sites, Iraq's top Shiite cleric issues a call to arms, and masses of volunteers, largely backed and armed by Iran, join militias.

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June 29 - The group renames itself the Islamic State and declares the establishment of a self-styled "caliphate," a traditional model of Islamic rule, in its territories in Iraq and Syria. Al-Baghdadi is declared the caliph.

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July 4 - Al-Baghdadi makes his first public appearance, delivering a Friday sermon in Mosul's historic al-Nuri Mosque. He urges Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the caliphate and obey him as its leader.

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August - IS captures the town of Sinjar west of Mosul and begins a systematic slaughter of the tiny Yazidi religious community. Women and girls are kidnapped as sex slaves; hundreds remain missing to this day.

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Aug. 8 - The U.S. launches its campaign of airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

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Sept. 22 - The U.S.-led coalition begins an aerial campaign against IS in Syria.

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2015

January - Iraqi Kurdish fighters, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, drive IS out of several towns north of Mosul. In Syria, Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes repel an IS onslaught on the town of Kobani on the border with Turkey, the first significant defeat for IS.

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April 1 - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retake Tikrit, their first major victory against IS.

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May 20 - IS captures the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, where the extremists later destroy archaeological treasures.

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2016

Feb. 9 - Iraqi forces recapture Ramadi after months of fighting and at enormous cost, with thousands of buildings destroyed. Almost the entire population fled the city.

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June 26 - Fallujah is declared liberated by Iraqi forces after a five-week battle.

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July 3 - IS sets off a gigantic suicide truck bomb outside a Baghdad shopping mall, killing almost 300 people, the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

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Oct. 17 - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of the operation to liberate Mosul.

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Oct. 21 - IS militants and sleeper cells stage a wave of attacks with suicide blasts in the central Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least 80 people in an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

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Nov. 5 - The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launch Operation Euphrates Wrath, the first of five operations aiming to retake Raqqa, starting with an encircling of the city.

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2017

Jan. 24 - Al-Abadi announces eastern Mosul has been "fully liberated."

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Feb. 19 - Iraqi forces begin the assault on western Mosul, taking the city's airport and nearby military base within four days.

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May 10 - SDF captures the strategic Tabqa dam after weeks of battles and a major airlift operation that brought SDF fighters and their U.S. advisers to the area. The fall of the dam facilitated the push on Raqqa, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.

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June 6 - SDF fighters begin an attack on Raqqa from three sides, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

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June 18 - Iraqi forces launch battle for Mosul's Old City, the last IS stronghold there.

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June 21 - IS destroys Mosul's iconic al-Nuri Mosque and its 12th century leaning minaret as Iraqi forces close in, according to Iraqi and coalition officials.

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July 10 - Iraqi prime minister declares victory over IS in Mosul and end of the extremists' caliphate in Iraq.

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Oct. 17 - SDF takes full control of Raqqa after months of heavy bombardment that devastates the city.

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September-December -Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian forces, recapture IS territory on the western bank of the Euphrates River, seizing the cities of Deir el-Zour, Mayadin and Boukamal on the border with Iraq.

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2018

Aug. 23 - IS leader al-Baghdadi resurfaces in his first purported audio recording in almost a year; he urges followers to "persevere" and continue fighting.

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Sept. 10 - SDF launches a ground offensive, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, to take the last territory held by IS in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

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2019

February-March - SDF besiege IS in the village of Baghouz, the last scrap of land the group holds. The advance stalls as some 30,000 civilians, mostly families of IS members, are evacuated from the pocket over the course of weeks.

March 23 - SDF declares the complete capture of Baghouz and the end of the Islamic State group's territorial "caliphate."

FILE - This image made from video posted on a militant website July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria in a tweet Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, but the militants remain a deadly force, and U.S. partners warn a premature U.S. withdrawal will allow them to storm back. The jihadists still hold territory in Syria and top leaders, including the group's self-styled caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain at large. (Militant video via AP, File)

FILE - This undated photo released Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, file photo, on a social media site used by Islamic State militants, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows smoke from the detonation of the 2,000-year-old temple of Baalshamin in Syria's ancient caravan city of Palmyra. (Islamic State social media account via AP, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, March 30, 2014, file photo, Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, this image posted by the Raqqa Media Center, which monitors events in territory controlled by Islamic State militants with the permission of the extremist group, shows militants with a captured pilot, center right, wearing a white shirt in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center, File)

FILE - This file image made from undated video posted during the weekend of June 28, 2014, on a social media account frequently used for communications by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows Omar al-Shishani standing next to the group's spokesman among a group of fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/militant social media account via AP video, File)

FILE - In this July 27, 2017, file photo, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters prepare to fire a mortar shell against the Islamic State militants, at one of the front lines, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

In this file photo released on Jan. 14, 2015, by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, Islamic State militants kill a man they accused of being a homosexual by throwing him off a building in Syria's northeastern province of Hassakeh. (Militant website via AP, File)

FILE - In this July 26, 2017, file photo, Syrians look at a U.S. armored vehicle convoy on a road that leads to Raqqa, northeast Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this October 28, 2014, file photo, smoke and flames rise from an Islamic State fighters' position in the town of Kobani during airstrikes by the US-led coalition seen from the outskirts of Suruc, near the Turkey-Syria border. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - This a file frame grab from video posted online Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, by supporters of the Islamic State group, purports to show an IS fighter firing a weapon during clashes with members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour, Syria. (Militant Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this June 27, 2016, file photo, a member of Iraqi counterterrorism forces stands guard near Islamic State group militant graffiti in Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 file photo, a frame grab made from drone video shows damaged buildings in Raqqa, Syria.(AP Photo/Gabriel Chaim, File)

FILE - In this June 23, 2014, file photo, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this March 30, 2018, file photo, Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed "The Beatles," sit on a sofa during an interview with The Associated Press at a security center in Kobani, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE -In this Tuesday, July 18, 2017, file photo, suspected Islamic State members sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

FILE - This undated file photo posted Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014, by the Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group, a Syrian opposition group, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows a fighter from the Islamic State group, armed with a knife and an automatic weapon, next to captured Syrian army soldiers and officers, following the battle for the Tabqa air base in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group, File)

FILE - In this July 3, 2017, file photo, smoke billows over the Old City after several strikes as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Monday, July 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2016 file photo, a Kurdish Peshmerga convoy drives towards a frontline in Khazer, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

FILE - In this June 29, 2016, file photo, Iraqi security forces inspect vehicles belonging to escaping Islamic State militants outside Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo, 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 shards of ice collecting along the shore of Lake Michigan; wind turbines at dawn in Maine; and a vigil after the mass shootings in New Zealand.

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This gallery contains photos from the week of March 16-22, 2019.

See the latest AP photo galleries: https://apimagesblog.com

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Shards of ice pile up on Lake Michigan along the South Haven Pier in South Haven, Mich., on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. The motion of the water underneath the ice has pushed up sheets of ice into a mesmerizing stacked pattern. (Joel Bissell/Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com via AP)

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/

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This gallery was produced by Patrick Sison in New York.

A man walks through a section of a road damaged by Cyclone Idai in Nhamatanda, Mozambique, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Beira, on Friday March, 22, 2019. As flood waters began to recede in parts of Mozambique on Friday, fears rose that the death toll could soar as bodies are revealed. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, March 17, 2019, where one of two mass shootings occurred. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, holds a national flag during a rally in Valencia, Venezuela, Saturday, March 16, 2019. Large crowds gathered in the northern Venezuelan city to greet Guaido, who plans to tour the country as part of his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Pedestrians walk past a mural featuring Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Chavez, a former military officer, declared a socialist "revolution" after coming to power in 1999. He was succeeded after his 2013 death by his protege, Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Wind turbines are bathed in the first rays of sunlight at the Saddleback Ridge Wind Project, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Carthage, Maine. The first day of spring blew in with gentle winds and cold temperatures. Warmer and wetter weather is expected later in the week. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Revelers dance as colored powders are sprayed during celebrations for the Hindu festival Holi in Prayagraj, India, on Friday, March 22, 2019. The riotous annual celebration of color, marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring. People armed with water balloons, colored water and powder in multiple hues played Holi by smearing each other's faces with color. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)

President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Students react as they gather for a vigil to commemorate victims of the shootings, outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Gunmen set off a suicide car bombing and then stormed a government building in Somalia's capital Saturday, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said. It was the latest attack by Islamic extremists in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.

After an hours-long gunbattle, Somalia's security forces took back control of the building in Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon from at least five attackers who forced their way into the government building that houses the ministries of labor and public works, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, Somalia's deputy minister of labor and social affairs, was killed in his ground-floor office shortly after gunmen entered the building, he said.

Hussein said at least 10 other people were wounded in the attack, which the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for.

Dozens of people were inside the building at the time since Saturday is a working day in Somalia. The building is not far from the headquarters of the Somali intelligence agency.

As the attack unfolded, gunfire could be heard from inside the building. White smoke billowed from the scene, according to witnesses.

A police vehicle drives past wreckage after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A similar attack targeting a busy area in Mogadishu at the end of February killed at least 24 people.

Al-Shabab, Africa's most active Islamic extremist group, has been fighting for years to take power and create an Islamic state in Somalia. It frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting public places, hotels and government offices despite being pushed out of Mogadishu. It mostly operates from rural areas in the country's south.

African Union peacekeepers stationed in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country have helped Somali forces to keep al-Shabab fighters at bay.

The extremist group has also carried out many deadly attacks in neighboring Kenya in retaliation over the country's deployment in 2011 of peacekeepers in Somalia.

The U.S. military has carried out a number of deadly airstrikes in recent months against al-Shabab.

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Associated Press writer Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.

A woman stands behind wreckage left from a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali government soldiers run to take positions during ongoing fighting with gunmen, after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali civilians and medical workers run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali civilians run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali government soldiers run to take positions during ongoing fighting with gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somalis carry away the body of a civilian victim who was shot dead by gunmen during a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali government soldiers check the dead body of a suspected attacker after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A Somali woman walks past a destroyed building after a suicide car bomb attack on the government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)BEIRUT (AP) - The announcement of victory over the Islamic State group in Syria marks the end of the extremists' self-styled caliphate, a proto-state in which they held millions hostage to their dark and brutal vision.

But IS, which traces its roots back to the bloody emergence of al-Qaida in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, has survived past defeats and is already waging a low-level insurgency in areas it was driven from months or even years ago.

The grueling 4 -year campaign to drive IS from the territories it once held has left entire towns and neighborhoods in ruins, in both war-torn Syria and Iraq. If the long-standing grievances of Sunni Muslims in both countries continue to fester, the extremists could rise again.

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WHAT HAS ENDED EXACTLY?

What is over is the Islamic State group's physical "caliphate," after the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group supported by the United States, declared on Saturday the capture of the last tiny patch of territory controlled by the militants, in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz.

FILE - In this July 17, 2017, file photo, a fighter of the Christian Syriac militia that battles Islamic State group militants under the banner of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, burns an IS flag on the front line on the western side of Raqqa, northeast Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

That domain once stretched over large parts of Syria and Iraq, which the group conquered in a blitz in the summer of 2014, capturing towns and cities, including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest.

The fighters bulldozed berms along the border and proclaimed a contiguous caliphate stretching across a third of both countries. At its height, the territory was the size of Britain, stretching from near the northern Syrian town of Aleppo to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and home to 8 million people.

The extremists governed under a harsh and violent interpretation of Islam. They massacred those who resisted their rule and beheaded hostages, including Western journalists and foreign aid workers, in gruesome videos circulated online. Alleged adulterers were stoned to death, those believed to be gay were thrown from the tops of buildings, and children were made to watch the atrocities as part of their brainwashing. The group captured thousands of women from Iraq's Yazidi minority, forcing them into sexual slavery.

IS also carried out the more mundane actions of a state - collecting taxes, printing school textbooks, minting its own currency and restoring public infrastructure. It was an experiment in statehood that not even al-Qaida ever tried on a significant scale.

From its de facto capital of Raqqa, in northern Syria, its leaders plotted spectacular attacks abroad, including the 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people. As IS began to hemorrhage territory, it began opportunistically claiming attacks without any evidence of its involvement.

The self-proclaimed caliphate attracted tens of thousands of people from around the world, lured by the group's online activism and slickly produced propaganda videos. Young, troubled men were eager to wage war against those branded enemies of Islam, while others were drawn to the promise of life in an Islamic state governed by God's law.

That physical "caliphate" was declared dead, for now.

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WHAT IS THE COST OF LIBERATION?

The grueling four-year air and ground campaign against IS has killed or wounded tens of thousands of people, driven hundreds of thousands from their homes and left a swath of destruction stretching from the suburbs of Damascus to central Iraq.

The major cities IS once held - Mosul, Raqqa, Fallujah and Ramadi - have all seen major devastation.

The group put up fierce resistance nearly everywhere, using civilians as human shields and launching waves of car bomb and suicide attacks. As it slowly retreated, it left behind booby traps and explosives that in many areas have yet to be cleared.

The U.S.-led coalition dropped tens of thousands of bombs over Syria and Iraq to help its allies on the ground advance, sometimes pulverizing entire city blocks. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power battled IS in some areas, as did Iraq's state-sanctioned militias, with help from Iran.

The death toll from the campaign remains uncounted. In a report released last year, the coalition confirmed the deaths of 1,139 civilians in airstrikes conducted between August 2014 and November 2018. Rights groups say the number is much higher.

An Associated Press investigation found at least 9,000 civilians died in the assault to retake Mosul alone. In Raqqa, the U.S.-backed campaign killed hundreds of civilians and caused destruction on a massive scale.

Syria is still mired in civil war, and Iraq estimates it will need $100 billion to rebuild. Local leaders in Mosul say they need that much for their city alone. No one has offered to foot the bill, and hard-hit areas remain empty, even years later.

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WHAT'S NEXT?

The official declaration of victory is of mostly symbolic value. Thousands of IS militants have dispersed and gone to ground, and U.S. defense officials have warned that IS could stage a comeback in Syria within a year if military and counterterrorism pressure is eased.

"They've cut the trunk of this malignant tree, but they haven't pulled up its roots, which are still capable of growing and spreading," Hisham al-Hashemi, a researcher in extremism and expert on IS, wrote in a Twitter post.

Activists who closely follow the conflict in Syria already point to signs of a growing insurgency and sleeper cells carrying out assassinations, setting up flying checkpoints and claiming roadside bombs in liberated areas across Syria and Iraq.

That insurgency could gain strength as President Donald Trump presses ahead with his planned U.S. withdrawal from Syria. The American commander overseeing the fight against IS, Gen. Joseph Votel, has warned that the group is far from being defeated, saying its leaders have dispersed and gone underground.

"What we are seeing now is not the surrender of ISIS as an organization but a calculated decision to preserve the safety of their families and preservation of their capabilities," he said earlier this month, adding that the insurgents are "waiting for the right time to resurge."

The withdrawal of American forces from eastern Syria would open the door for major turmoil as various actors - including the Syrian government, allied with Russia and Iran - race to fill the vacuum.

IS was all but defeated once before, when U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011; experts warn it could stage another devastating comeback.

And IS has established affiliates across Asia and Africa, and continues to be active in places like Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Yemen and the Philippines.

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WHAT ABOUT DETAINED FIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES?

Another major concern is jihadis finding their way back to Europe.

Around 1,000 foreign fighters are currently being held in Kurdish-run prisons in northern Syria. Their wives - many of them from Western countries - and their children are in camps in northern Syria.

Syrian Kurdish authorities are calling on countries to take back their nationals, saying they cannot afford to keep shouldering the burden. Trump has weighed in, calling on Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to repatriate their nationals and put them on trial.

"The U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go," he tweeted in February.

But few countries are willing to bring back people they view as a security threat, posing a dilemma for the Kurdish-led forces as the U.S. prepares to withdraw.

FILE - In this July 22, 2017, file photo, Arab and Kurdish fighters with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), move to the front line to battle Islamic State group militants, in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this July 11, 2017, file photo, airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this file image made from video taken on Monday, April 9, 2018, bodies are recovered by volunteers in Mosul's Old City. (AP Photo/Balint Szlanko, File)

FILE - In this frame grab from a video released In this Oct. 15, 2017, file photo and provided by Furat FM, a Syrian Kurdish activist-run media group, shows Syrian Islamic State group fighters who have surrendered, at a base of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Raqqa, Syria. (Furat FM, via AP, File)

FILE - In this July 9, 2017, file photo, Iraqi Special Forces soldiers celebrate after reaching the bank of the Tigris river, in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this July 4, 2017, file photo, fleeing Iraqi civilians walk past the heavily damaged al-Nuri mosque as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in Iraq's Old City of Mosul. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this March 29, 2018 file photo, a fighter, second right, from the U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council, stands next to U.S. humvee at a U.S. outpost, north of Manbij, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this July 27, 2017, file photo, a U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighter runs in front of a damaged building as he crosses a street on the front line, in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this July 26, 2017, file photo, Syrian children and youths watch a U.S. armored vehicle convoy passing on a road that links to Raqqa, northeast Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The Latest on an extremist attack in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

A Somali police officer says security forces have ended a siege by Islamic militants of a government building in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein confirmed that at least five people were killed in the siege that began Saturday morning, including the East African country's deputy minister of labor.

He said at least 10 other people were wounded in the attack that started with a suicide car bombing and then gunfire as five attackers stormed the Mogadishu building that houses the ministries of labor and public works.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Somali government soldiers run to take positions during ongoing fighting with gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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3:10 p.m.

A Somali police officer says five people, including the country's deputy labor minister, have been killed in an Islamic extremist attack on a government building in the capital.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the minister, Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, was killed in his ground-floor office shortly after gunmen stormed the building in Mogadishu.

At least five gunmen stormed the building after a suicide car bombing at the gates.

Somali security forces, fighting to take control of the building, were exchanging fire with the militants.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

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1:30 p.m.

Dozens of people in Somalia's capital are believed to be trapped inside a government building amid an Islamic extremist attack.

Gunmen stormed Somalia's ministries of labor and works after a suicide bombing at the gates of the building in Mogadishu, which is near the headquarters of the country's intelligence agency. There has been no word on casualties. Saturday is a working day in Somalia.

Police say five gunmen are involved in the attack and that security forces are fighting to neutralize them. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility, saying it has fighters inside the building.

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11:50 a.m.

An explosion has been heard in the Somali capital, scene of frequent attacks by Islamic extremist fighters.

Witnesses said Saturday the blast was heard near the headquarters of the Somali intelligence agency in Mogadishu.

Somali police didn't immediately provide more information.

The Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab frequently carries out suicide bomb attacks targeting public places and government offices.

A woman stands behind wreckage left from a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali civilians run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali civilians and medical workers run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Hundreds of lawyers in Algeria marched Saturday in the country's capital wearing their black courtroom robes to demand the departure of ailing 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at the end of his term scheduled on April 28.

Similar demonstrations were held in the country's other big cities calling for an end to Bouteflika's 20-year reign of this gas-rich country.

Lawyers chanted anti-government slogans as they marched to a central plaza in Algiers, where they sang the national anthem. Police stood alert but stayed largely on the sidelines, and local residents applauded as the lawyers paraded past. The protesters, with shoulders wrapped in green-and-white Algerian flags, responded by raising their fists and changing "Long Live Algeria!"

The march comes a day after thousands of people demonstrated for the fifth straight Friday since nationwide anti-Bouteflika protests began on Feb. 22. Protests were also held in Paris.

Last week, Bouteflika indefinitely postponed April's national election and overhauled the government. While he abandoned his bid for a fifth term in office, critics fear that he intends to hold onto power indefinitely.

The protesting lawyers say canceling the election was unconstitutional. Banners at their demonstration targeted corruption in Algeria's power structure and "telephone call justice," referring to alleged interference in legal cases by Justice Minister Tayeb Louh, a Bouteflika ally.

"The people have made a choice, that this is the end of the gang in power," said Fareed Al-Wali, a member of a lawyer's union. "And after this, God willing, there will be a time of reckoning. And anyone who stole or embezzled a cent from the Algerian state budget, it will first be returned and then they will appear before Algerian justice."

Another protester, Ahmed Shawash, said "We are asking them (the regime) to leave as soon as possible, and leave the people to choose their future."

The movement has drawn protesters from a large section of Algerian society - families with babies, elderly people with canes, teachers, unemployed youth, imams. But it's notably driven via social networks by young people who feel Bouteflika's generation is out of touch with the country's current economic problems.

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Lotfi Bouchouchi in Algiers contributed to this story.ROME (AP) - Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with China on Saturday supporting Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond.

With the move, Italy becomes the first member of the Group of Seven major economies, which includes the United States, to join the Belt and Road program, following Portugal's embrace of the initiative in December.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a ceremony in Rome where 29 separate protocols of the memorandum were signed by both governments in front of the flags of China, Italy and the European Union.

Luigi di Maio, the Italian minister of economic development, told reporters afterward that his country's goal is to increase exports to China in order to correct trade imbalances and boost Italian businesses and the country's troubled economy. He said the value of the individual deals signed on Saturday amounts to 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), with the potential to grow to 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion)

"Our goal with these accords is to start to rebalance an imbalance for which there is a lot of 'Made in China' coming to Italy and too little 'Made in Italy' that goes to China," Di Maio said.

He said Italy now expects "a substantial and gradual increase of exports and we hope that in the next years we can balance out the trade imbalances."

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, sits in front of the Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte ahead of the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with China on Saturday in support of Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA Via AP)

Italy's move appears to also be driven by hopes that Chinese investment in Italy's ports might help revive the country's traditional role as a key link in trade between the East and West.

The signed accords are wide-ranging and include cooperation between banks, between a Chinese construction company and Italian ports, and the export of Italian fruit to China. The deals also foresee cooperation in the spheres of science and technology and between media outlets, as well as the return by Italy of hundreds of Chinese cultural treasures.

The signing ceremony took place at the Villa Madama, a Renaissance villa designed by Raphael, where Xi was greeted with full honors on the second day of his two-day visit to Italy. He then traveled to Sicily, where officials hope to attract more Chinese tourism.

Italy's involvement in the Belt and Road program gives China a crucial inroad into Western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with Washington, where President Donald Trump is challenging China over trade and other issues.

The EU, however, is worried about unfair competition from Chinese companies, which are controlled by the Chinese government and benefit from the state's financial backing. EU leaders in Brussels are preparing a strategy to counter the growing influence of China, which they describe as a "systemic rival."

Some Italian government officials were critical of the deals, worried that Italy might be ceding national sovereignty in key strategic areas to Beijing. In a sign of opposition, Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and interior minister, stayed away from the official ceremonies with the Chinese delegation.

Di Maio stressed that Italy remains firmly rooted in its alliance with the United States, NATO and its European partners, but said Italy must also look out for its own economic interests.

"Like someone in the United States said 'America first,' I continue to repeat: 'Italy first' in commercial relations," Di Maio said.

In response to concerns that the memorandum could open the way to colonization by China, Di Maio countered it would instead help goods manufactured in Italy "to colonize the world."

"That is a good colonialization," he said.

The Belt and Road project has so far seen investments totaling more than a trillion dollars since its launch more than five years ago, and China says some 150 countries have signed agreements related to the project.

Beijing has marketed the initiative as a way to give some of the world's neediest countries a leg up, helping them gain access to more trade and investment. But it also helps Chinese companies tap new markets for their products while helping Beijing amass greater global influence.

Some governments including the U.S., Japan and India worry that Beijing is trying to build a China-centered sphere of influence that undermines their own sway, pulling developing nations into infrastructure "debt traps" that would give China ever-more control over their territories and economies. Some say the proposed improvements are too expensive for the impoverished countries.

China's official position is that Belt and Road is solely an economic initiative with no political motives. Xi said last year that even as China moves closer to the center of the world stage, it will never seek hegemony.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte shake their hands at the end of the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with China on Saturday in support of Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

China's Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, left, and Italian Labor Minister Luigi Di Maio sign a memorandum of understanding at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with China on Saturday in support of Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte meet at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte pose for photographers during their meeting at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte shake their hands as they meet at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte pose for photographers during their meeting at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte walk past the honor guard during their meeting at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte walk past the honor guard during their meeting at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte walk past the honor guard during their meeting at Rome's Villa Madama, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A Cuirassier presidential guard stands at attention prior to the start of the farewell ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) - The Latest on the battle against the Islamic State group in Syria (all times local):

10:25 p.m.

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Iraq says the victory of the Syrian Democratic Forces over the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate does not mean that violent extremism is over.

The 74-nation coalition said in a statement Saturday that since the beginning of operations in 2014, 7.7 million people have been liberated from IS control in an area measuring nearly 110,000 square kilometers (42,471 square miles).

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera is the coalition commander. He said that "the end of the so-called physical caliphate is a historic military accomplishment."

But he warned that IS fighters "are preserving their force and are waiting for the right time to re-emerge."

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

LaCamera said the coalition will continue working with its partners to ensure the enduring defeat of IS.

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8:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will remain vigilant against the Islamic State militant network and is warning prospective recruits that they will be "dead" if they join it.

Trump said in a statement released Saturday that the group's loss of all its territory in Iraq and Syria is evidence of its false narrative, and he called the militants "losers" who will always be "losers." He accused the group of brutal executions, exploiting children as soldiers and sexually abusing and killing women and children.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced Saturday it had liberated the last village held by IS in Syria. That was a day after Trump said the militants no longer control any territory in Syria.

Trump is spending the weekend in Florida.

___

5:05 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States still has a lot of work to do despite the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria.

Asked by reporters during a visit to Lebanon Saturday whether the U.S. will provide additional funding to prevent a resurgence of the group, Pompeo said "our mission hasn't changed."

"We still have work to do to make sure that radical Islamic terrorism doesn't continue to grow," he added.

The U.S.-allied militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces announced Saturday it had liberated the last village held by IS in Syria, declaring victory over the group.

The announcement came a day after Trump said the militants no longer control any territory in Syria, a victory he had been teasing for days.

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4:50 p.m.

Britain's prime minister has praised the liberation of the last piece of Islamic State-held territory in Syria as a historic milestone.

Theresa May said in a statement Saturday that it would not have been possible without the "commitment, professionalism and courage" of British forces and their global coalition partners.

She praised their "tireless work and extraordinary courage."

May cautions that the coalition must not lose sight of the threat Islamic State poses. She said the government is committed to wiping out the group's "poisonous ideology."

Britain says its armed forces had nearly 1,400 personnel in the region providing support to local forces in addition to numerous air strikes carried out by the Royal Air Force. Britain's army has also helped train Iraqi security forces.

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3:15 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to the international coalition and its allies after U.S.-backed forces declared military victory over the Islamic State group in Syria.

Macron tweeted that "a major danger to our country is now eliminated, yet the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue."

He expressed condolences for the victims of IS.

France has been a member of the coalition fighting the IS since 2014. IS claimed responsibility for several attacks in France, including assaults in Paris in 2015 that killed more than 130 people.

___

3 p.m.

A senior U.S. diplomat says the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group is a "critical milestone" that delivers a crushing and strategic blow to the extremist group.

William Roebuck, the State Department's official in charge of Syria, adds, however, that the campaign against IS is not over, saying the group remains a significant threat in the region.

"We still have much work to do to achieve an enduring defeat of IS," Roebuck said Saturday at a ceremony in eastern Syria's al-Omar oil field base, celebrating victory over the group in Baghouz, IS' last stronghold in Syria.

Roebuck promised continued support to America's local partners in Syria to continue fighting IS.

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2:45 p.m.

A Kurdish commander has formally announced the "physical defeat" of the Islamic State group and appealed for continued assistance until the full eradication of the extremist group.

General Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, says his forces have destroyed the group's so-called caliphate after liberating their last stronghold in the village of Baghouz.

The SDF has been Washington's partner on the ground in Syria, spearheading the fight against the Islamic State group for the past five years.

"We are proud of what we have accomplished," Kobani said at a press conference in eastern Syria, citing the sacrifices and bravery of SDF fighters.

Kobani spoke Saturday few hours after the group announced the full liberation of Baghouz from IS militants after a grueling weeks-long battle.

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8:30 a.m.

U.S.-backed forces have declared military victory over the Islamic State group in Syria after liberating the last pocket of territory held by the militants, marking the end of a brutal self-styled caliphate the group carved out in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

After weeks of heavy fighting, the tent camp where the militants had made their final stand in the village of Baghouz was, by Saturday, bombed to shreds. A field pitted with abandoned trenches and bomb craters, and littered with scorched tents and the twisted metal carcasses of vehicles, was all that remained. Half buried in the dirt was a tattered shred of IS's notorious black flag, while a giant yellow flag belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces fluttered atop a shell-pocked building.

"Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved," tweeted Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.

A military band performs ahead of a ceremony at al-Omar Oil Field marking the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture of Baghouz, Syria, after months of fighting to oust Islamic State militants Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Islamic State militant flag, foreground ,lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syriaon Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters fly their flag from a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of a man lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria from Islamic State militants on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

An Islamic State militant flag lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants after months of fighting on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A tent used by Islamic State militants billows in the wind after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syria on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Parties involved in a dispute over whether North Dakota regulators should be involved in the siting of an oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park have filed their initial legal arguments in state court. Here's a look at the dispute over the $800 million Davis Refinery being built by Meridian Energy.

THE REFINERY

Meridian wants to build the project just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the park that's the state's top tourist attraction, drawing more than 700,000 visitors annually. The company says the facility will be the "cleanest refinery on the planet," a model for future plants and a boost for the area economy. Environmental groups worry pollution will erode air quality at the park and mar its majestic scenery. Meridian began site work last summer and plans to resume construction this spring with a goal of having the refinery fully operating by mid-2021.

HOW MUCH OIL?

The amount of oil Meridian says it will process at the refinery is central to why North Dakota regulators never considered the appropriateness of the site. Under state law, oil refineries with a capacity of 50,000 or more barrels daily need to obtain a site permit from the Public Service Commission, a process that involves public hearings and can take half a year or longer to complete. Meridian initially told the media, investors and government officials that the refinery would have a capacity of 55,000 barrels, but the company later lowered the figure to 49,500.

THE LEGAL CHALLENGE

FILE--In this Wednesday, June 11, 2014, file photo, James Lyons and Florence Reaves, from Kirkwood, Mo., hike to a stone lookout over the Little Missouri River inside the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, located in the Badlands of North Dakota. Parties involved in a dispute over whether North Dakota regulators should be involved in the siting of a controversial oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park are battling in state court. The dispute is over whether state regulators should have reviewed the site of the $800 million Davis Refinery. Environmental groups say yes, but developer Meridian Energy and the state Public Service Commission are both urging a judge to rule against a hearing. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

The Environmental Law and Policy Center and the Dakota Resource Council believe Meridian pulled a fast one. The groups criticized the commission for trusting the company and appealed to district court.

WHAT DO THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAY?

In their initial argument filed late last month, the groups say they haven't even been given an opportunity to make their case in a formal hearing. They want a chance to question Meridian CEO William Prentice about an affidavit he signed last August saying the company has "no current plans" for any expansion beyond 49,500 barrels per day.

"This statement flatly contradicted all publicly available information," their attorneys wrote. They offer a hypothetical comparison of an assault suspect getting off scot-free simply by signing an affidavit saying, "I didn't touch him." They go on to say, "This isn't a question of jurisdiction; it is a question of disputed material fact." They want a judge to send the case back to the commission with orders for a hearing.

WHAT'S THE COMMISSION'S POSITION?

The agency contends it's following state law and that "the only disputed fact seems to be over Meridian's sincerity." In her initial court filing this month, Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Verleger turned to the silver screen to bolster her argument.

"In the movie 'Minority Report,' police arrest perpetrators before they commit their crimes, based solely on the premonitions of psychics," she wrote. "In this case, the environmental appellants are the psychics asking PSC to take action against Meridian because they allege Meridian 'will soon' violate" the law.

Verleger argued that a hearing will not help "predict the future" and that the commission "must take Meridian at its word."

WHAT'S MERIDIAN'S TAKE?

Meridian has denied trying to skirt state law, and in its initial legal filing accused the environmental groups of yet another effort to "stymie progress" on the refinery. The groups have unsuccessfully sued over the project's county permit and state air quality permit, and now seek to "conduct overly broad and invasive discovery on irrelevant issues," Meridian attorney Lawrence Bender wrote.

He argued that granting the environmental groups a PSC hearing "based upon their own speculation" would support their "fishing expedition" and create a giant legal loophole for opponents of future projects.

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Follow Blake Nicholson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NicholsonBlake

FILE--In this June 11, 2014 file photo, longhorn cattle wander through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, located in the Badlands of North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt ranched cattle while he briefly lived in North Dakota, before he was president. Parties involved in a dispute over whether North Dakota regulators should be involved in the siting of a controversial oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park are battling in state court. The dispute is over whether state regulators should have reviewed the site of the $800 million Davis Refinery. Environmental groups say yes, but developer Meridian Energy and the state Public Service Commission are both urging a judge to rule against a hearing. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)BEIRUT (AP) - The Islamic State group has lost all the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria, but its shadowy leader and self-proclaimed "caliph" is still at large.

With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the world's most wanted man, responsible for steering his chillingly violent organization into mass slaughter of opponents and directing and inspiring terror attacks across continents and in the heart of Europe.

Despite numerous claims about his death in the past few years, al-Baghdadi's whereabouts remain a mystery. He appeared in public only once, in 2014. Since then, many of his top aides have been killed, mostly in U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

He is among the few senior IS commanders still at large after two years of steady battlefield losses that saw the self-styled "caliphate" shrink from an area the size of Britain to a tiny speck in the Euphrates River valley.

Although largely seen as a symbolic figurehead of the global terror network - he was described as "irrelevant for a long time" by a coalition spokesman in 2017 - al-Baghdadi's capture would be a coveted prize for the various players across both Syria and Iraq.

But so far, he has eluded the Americans, Russians, Syrians, Iraqis and Kurds.

FILE - This image made from video posted on a militant website July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria in a tweet Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, but the militants remain a deadly force, and U.S. partners warn a premature U.S. withdrawal will allow them to storm back. The jihadists still hold territory in Syria and top leaders, including the group's self-styled caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain at large. (Militant video via AP, File)

In the last days of IS, as U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces zoned in on the last slice of territory held by the militants in eastern Syria - a couple of villages and farmlands near the Iraqi border - the possibility remained that al-Baghdadi would turn up there. Several hundred IS leaders and hardcore fighters, many of them Iraqis, made a last stand in the enclave before surrendering.

The last pocket, in the eastern village of Baghouz, was declared liberated on Saturday after weeks of fighting. During the siege, civilians streamed out of the pocket and surrendered - estimated at more than 30,000, mostly family of IS. But there has been no sign ofal-Baghdadi.

"The Coalition is not holding him nor do we know where he is," U.S.-led coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan told The Associated Press.

Mohammed Kheder, co-founder of the Sound and Picture group which documents IS, said the last time al-Baghdadi was spotted in the area was about 15 months ago, citing sources on the ground and the testimony of the people who left the area.

In Twitter posts, Kheder's group has said it cannot rule out the possibility al-Baghdadi was detained long ago - "especially since many of American airdrops and night operations targeting IS leaders along the Iraqi border have not been disclosed by the coalition."

Iraqi intelligence officials believe al-Baghdadi is hiding somewhere in the desert stretching across the Syrian-Iraqi border, using tunnels to move around.

"He does not use any communication equipment or internet to avoid detection by coalition planes," a senior intelligence official said. "When he wants to see someone from the organization, they are brought to him individually in cars that stop around two hours away from where al-Baghdadi is, and then they are brought to him individually on motorcycles."

Another official, a colonel, said the Americans recently targeted some of al-Baghdadi's closest people, including his personal bodyguard Khaled al-Saudi - known as Khallad - who was killed last week near the area of al-Baaj along the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Khallad's wife was arrested. Another close aide to al-Baghdadi was also recently killed and his wife captured, the colonel said, adding that the Americans believe such targets will soon lead them to al-Baghdadi. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to share intelligence information.

Al-Baghdadi was born Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai in 1971 in Samarra, Iraq, and adopted his nom de guerre early on. According to IS-affiliated websites, he was detained by U.S. forces in Iraq and sent to Bucca prison in February 2004 for his anti-U.S. militant activity.

He was released 10 months later, after which he joined the al-Qaida branch in Iraq of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He later assumed control of the group, known at the time as the Islamic State of Iraq.

After Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, al-Baghdadi dispatched comrades to the neighboring country to create a like-minded Sunni extremist group there. The group, which came to be known as the Nusra Front, initially welcomed moderate Sunni rebels who were part of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Over time, more of his fighters and possibly al-Baghdadi himself relocated to Syria, pursuing his plan to restore a medieval Islamic state, or caliphate. In April 2013, al-Baghdadi announced what amounted to a hostile takeover of the Nusra Front, saying he was merging it into a new group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Nusra Front's leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani refused to accept the takeover - as did al-Qaida's central leadership, which broke with al-Baghdadi.

Al-Baghdadi's fighters went onto to capture a contiguous stretch of territory across Iraq and Syria, including key cities such as Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. In June 2014, the group announced its own state, or caliphate. Al-Baghdadi became the declared caliph of the newly renamed Islamic State group.

The group ruled with a virulently extreme interpretation of Islamic law. The atrocities, massacres and beheadings by al-Baghdadi's militants that followed - many broadcast in grisly and macabre video postings on militant websites - secured IS a spot in some of the darkest, most brutal annals of modern history.

Throughout it all, al-Baghdadi was in the shadows.

His only known public appearance on video was on June 29, 2014, when he appeared as a black-robed figure to deliver a sermon from the pulpit of Mosul's Great Mosque of al-Nuri in which he urged Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the caliphate and obey him as its leader.

"It is a burden to accept this responsibility to be in charge of you," he says in the video. "I am not better than you or more virtuous than you. If you see me on the right path, help me. If you see me on the wrong path, advise me and halt me. And obey me as far as I obey God."

Little is known about al-Baghdadi's family. An ex-wife, Saja al-Dulaimi, and her daughter from al-Baghdadi, were detained in Lebanon in 2014. She was released a year later as part of a swap with al-Qaida in exchange for kidnapped Lebanese soldiers and policemen. In July 2018, IS announced that al-Baghdadi's son, Huthaifa al-Badri, had been killed fighting government forces in central Syria.

None of the subsequent reports of al-Baghdadi being killed or wounded were confirmed. In 2017, Russian officials said there was a "high probability" he had been killed in a Russian airstrike on the outskirts of Raqqa, but U.S. officials later said they believed he was still alive.

He resurfaced in late September 2017, calling in an audio message on followers to burn their enemies everywhere. Another audio was posted last August in which al-Baghdadi urges followers to "persevere" in fighting IS' enemies - the speech was sprinkled with references to current events to show it was recent.

Experts tracking militant figures said the voice in the recordings was al-Baghdadi's.

It was the last time he was heard of.

___

Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Saturday called for a significant federal investment in teacher pay, the first policy proposal that she has put forth since officially launching her 2020 campaign.

At a rally in Houston, Harris argued that the U.S. faces a teacher pay crisis that requires a national response. She pledged by the end of her first term to close a pay gap that Harris said currently amounts to teachers making about $13,000 a year less than other college graduates.

"You can judge a society by the way it treats its children, and one of the greatest expressions of love that a society can give to its children is educating those children with resources they need," Harris said.

Harris' campaign is citing a study from the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute that found that what's called the "teacher pay penalty" - the difference in compensation for teachers and comparable public workers - is larger than ever. The Economic Policy Institute study puts the teacher compensation penalty at a record-high 11.1 percent in 2017.

Harris, a U.S. senator from California, plans to release more details of the plan next week, but she said her proposal will amount to the largest federal investment in teacher pay in American history. It was not immediately clear how much money Harris is calling to be diverted to educators' pay or how the plan will be funded, but she told a packed gymnasium at Texas Southern University that the cost shouldn't be the question.

"The question is: What's the return on the investment?" Harris said.

FILE - In this March 1, 2019, file photo, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Harris' focus on the pay of educators comes as walkouts by teachers protesting low pay and education funding shortfalls have made headlines across the country. Throngs of teachers have marched in states across the country demanding better funding, including in California.

In February, Harris threw her support behind striking teachers in her hometown of Oakland, where she launched her campaign earlier this year.

The rally in Houston was Harris' first in Texas since announcing that she would seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

___

Associated Press Writer Paul J. Weber in Houston contributed to this report.PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

2:55 p.m.

The father of a black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer outside Pittsburgh says "it's very painful to see what happened, to sit there and deal with it."

Antwon Rose spoke to hundreds who gathered in the city Saturday to protest a jury's acquittal of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld. He had been charged with homicide in the shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer.

Rose's father says "I just don't want it to happen to our city" anymore. Protesters chanted "protect our sons" before marching toward downtown Pittsburgh, blocking a street and yelling "no justice, no peace."

The presidents of two Pittsburgh-based charities issued a statement Saturday saying they share a "sense of shock and outrage" at the acquittal.

In this March 12, 2019 file photo, former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, charged with homicide in the shooting death of Antwon Rose II, walks to the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa. On the fourth day of the trial in Pittsburgh, Friday March 22, 2019, Rosfeld was acquitted of all counts in the death of Rose. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

___

12:20 p.m.

Police say someone fired about five to eight shots at the office of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld's attorney after Rosfeld was acquitted of homicide for shooting an unarmed teenager.

Authorities say they're canvassing security cameras for footage.

Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole said Saturday no one was inside the building that houses the office of attorney Patrick Thomassey when shots were fired the night before.

Rosfeld, who is white, was acquitted of all charges Friday in the June shooting of Antwon Rose II, a black 17-year-old high school student.

Cole said officers had been keeping an eye on the office after the verdict, but the shooting occurred while they were called away on another matter.

The chief says a vehicle was involved but they don't have a description yet.

___

10 a.m.

Gunshots were fired into the law office of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld's attorney, hours after Rosfeld was acquitted of shooting an unarmed black teenager last year.

Lawyer Patrick Thomassey tells WTAE-TV on Saturday he was called after midnight about shots fired into the Monroeville building.

Thomassey tells the station he wasn't hurt and found three to four bullet holes.

A jury cleared Rosfeld of criminal homicide charges Friday after Rosfeld testified about shooting to death 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rose ran from a vehicle Rosfeld had pulled over while investigating a drive-by shooting.

Protesters marched through parts of Pittsburgh after the verdict, but the mayor's office says they have no reports of arrests or property damage. No protests were seen yet Saturday morning.

___

1:15 a.m.

The family of an unarmed black teenager fatally shot by a white police officer is expressing anger and sadness over a jury's decision to acquit.

Pittsburgh is bracing for protests a day after the verdict.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last June. Rosfeld walked out of the courtroom a free man Friday after jurors rejected a prosecutor's argument that he acted as Rose's "judge, jury and executioner."

The verdict leaves Rose's family to pursue the federal civil rights lawsuit they filed last August against Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh. That's a small municipality about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Pittsburgh.

Rosfeld says he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this story.

Michelle Kenney, center, the mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse with supporters after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Christian Carter, of Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, left, leads a chant with other supporters of Antwon Rose II after they learned a not guilty verdict in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, Friday, March 22, 2019, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. A jury acquitted Rosfeld, a former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest. (Michael M. Santiago/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, leave the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Antwon Rose II in the back last June. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

S. Lee Merritt, attorney for Michelle Kenney, the mother of Antwon Rose II, talks with reporters as he leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Michelle Kenney, mother of Antwon Rose II, leaves the Allegheny County Courthouse after a not guilty verdict in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, Friday, March 22, 2019, in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. A jury acquitted Rosfeld, a former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest. (Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

People, including Khalil Darden, 18, of Penn Hills, Pa., center, and Pennsylvania State Rep. Summer Lee, right, protest after they learned a not guilty verdict in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, Friday, March 22, 2019, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. A jury acquitted Rosfeld, a former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest. (Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Kahlil Darden, center, and other supporters of Antwon Rose II react after they learned a not guilty verdict in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, Friday, March 22, 2019, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. A jury acquitted Rosfeld, a former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest. (Michael M. Santiago/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II gather on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, gather outside the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, gather outside the Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. Rosfeld was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II as he fled during a traffic stop on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was glowing as he stepped up to a podium in the backyard of his Jerusalem home to welcome U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to a holiday dinner.

Less than an hour earlier, President Donald Trump had surprised the world by announcing that the U.S. would reverse policy and recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel seized from Syria after the Six-Day War of 1967.

Senior U.S. and Israeli officials had been told privately that such an announcement was in the works, but that it wouldn't come until Netanyahu visited Washington next week.

Instead, Trump abruptly tweeted the news, delaying the Thursday dinner celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim so Netanyahu could call the president to thank him.

"We have a miracle of Purim," Netanyahu said, beaming broadly at his wife, Sarah, the secretary of state and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, as they sat outside on a chilly evening. "President Trump has just made history."

The effusive praise of Trump by Netanyahu is characteristic of their mutually beneficial relationship, more pronounced than perhaps any previous alliance between leaders of the two countries. The surprise recognition of the Golan was just the most recent of many examples.

FILE - In this March 5, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Trump and Netanyahu have had a mutually beneficial relationship unlike perhaps that of any previous leader of either country, with Trump's surprise recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights just the most recent example. Trump's precedent-breaking steps have boosted his own profile with pro-Israel groups in the U.S. and given a boost to Netanyahu at the height of campaigning in the unexpectedly tense Israeli election. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

"The Trump-Netanyahu relationship has no precedent," said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul-general in New York. "They see eye to eye."

Their unusual connection began as soon as Trump took office, when Netanyahu was among the first foreign leaders to visit the White House. Trump appreciates the praise Netanyahu has lavished upon him - compared with the more restrained reaction from other foreign leaders. And boosting Israel plays well with his political base, which is heavy with conservative Christians who see it as a top priority. Trump has deputized son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose family has longstanding personal ties to Netanyahu, to work on a Middle East peace plan, though details of that strategy remain unclear.

The value of the Golan announcement for Netanyahu appeared obvious at the backyard podium at the Purim dinner. He exuded a confidence that belied whatever concerns he may have about a series of corruption scandals and looming possible criminal charges that have engulfed him in recent months and turned Israel's April 9 election into an unexpectedly close race between him and a popular former military chief. Netanyahu has denied all charges.

"For those on the fence, it will enhance his standing for sure," said Eytan Gilboa, professor of politics at Bar-Ilan University. "The Golan Heights recognition, warm White House reception, personal dinner with Trump. It will both divert attention away from his pressing domestic concerns and make him appear as a great world leader."

Their relationship will be on display again this coming week. Netanyahu will be in Washington for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference and will be hosted at the White House for a meeting and a dinner - his third trip there since Trump took over.

Even before the Golan move, Trump has repeatedly and radically altered U.S. policies related to Israel, siding with Netanyahu at the expense of the Palestinians and to the dismay of longtime U.S. allies in Europe and others.

He recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians, closed their representative office in Washington, and ended the decades-long practice of opposing Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank in what would be the core of a future Palestinian state.

Trump also withdrew from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu had fiercely opposed, and re-imposed stringent new sanctions on the country that Israel regards as an existential threat. And he pulled the U.S. out of several U.N. organizations, the U.N. Human Rights Council and UNESCO, citing anti-Israel bias in their agendas.

But their association has not helped Trump win over Jewish American voters, and has complicated Netanyahu's relationship with the American Jewish community, who vote overwhelmingly Democratic. Many have expressed dismay over Netanyahu's close ties with the president.

And Trump has used his Israel policies to needle his Democratic opponents. He routinely cites his support of Israel, not to mention his friendship with Netanyahu, as proof that critics are wrong when they say he fails to denounce white nationalism or anti-Semitism. And, he has used it as a cudgel to bash Democrats who are not in lockstep with his policies.

"The Democrats have very much proven to be anti-Israel," Trump said Friday. "There's no question about that. And it's a disgrace. I mean, I don't know what's happened to them but they are totally anti-Israel. Frankly, I think they're anti-Jewish."

A strong majority of American Jews supported Democrats in the midterms and in 2016, but the party is divided over the U.S.-Israeli relationship. That came to a head last month, when freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, one of the first Muslim women in Congress, insinuated that lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, were paying lawmakers to support Israel, a remark that drew bipartisan criticism.

Nearly all of the declared 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke and Kamala Harris, have said they won't attend the AIPAC conference this year, though other prominent party officials will be there.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel organization, said the Trump-Netanyahu alliance has tested the committee's traditional commitment to bipartisanship. J Street has encouraged Democrats who attend the upcoming AIPAC conference to use the stage to denounce Netanyahu's hardline policies.

"When your role as an organization is to support those in power, you end up getting dragged along," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Isabel DeBre contributed from Jerusalem; Lucey reported from Washington.MOSCOW (AP) - Kazakhstan has renamed its capital to Nur-Sultan, in honor of the country's longtime leader who resigned this week.

The order to change the city's name from Astana was issued Saturday by interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who took power after Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on Tuesday.

Nazarbayev led Kazakhstan for nearly 30 years, first as Communist boss in the last years of the Soviet Union then as president of the independent country.

In 1997, Nazarbayev moved the capital from Almaty, turning a provincial town noted for severe winters into a showcase of modernist architecture, including an observation tower where visitors are invited to touch a handprint of the leader.

Small protests took place in Almaty and other cities after the name change was proposed.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 file photo, residents walk in a street in Astana, Kazakhstan. The parliament of the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan on Wednesday March 20, 2019, voted to rename the country's capital Nursultan, after the outgoing longtime leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 file photo, a person walks along a street in Astana, Kazakhstan. The parliament of the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan on Wednesday March 20, 2019, has voted to rename the country's capital to Nursultan, after the outgoing longtime leader. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

CORRECTS DATE In this photo taken March 27, 2017, Kazakhstan's interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during an inauguration in Astana, Kazakhstan. The speaker of Kazakhstan's parliament, Tokayev, was sworn as interim president on Wednesday March 20, 2019, a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev abruptly resigned. (AP Photo)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Schoolteacher raises of $5,000 are on the table in Texas - a proposed pay hike that ranks among the biggest in the U.S. since a wave of teacher unrest began last year. But protests aren't why the money is suddenly available.

Texas hasn't even had a teacher strike. But as in other GOP strongholds this spring, lawmakers who have spent years clashing with public schools by slashing budgets, ratcheting up testing and cheerleading private schools are blinking in the face of election pressure as much as picket lines.

Rattled by a dreadful midterm election for Republicans - and looking ahead to 2020 - conservative-leaning states including Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina are pouring new money into schools. And to ensure it doesn't go unnoticed, Republicans are making a show of a renewed commitment to public classrooms, courting voters turned off by years of cost-cutting that catered to the party's base.

Nowhere is this political whiplash more on display than in Texas, where just two years ago conservatives pushed heavily for private school vouchers and restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students could use. That was followed last November by Republicans losing 14 seats in the Statehouse, their worst election in a generation.

To some, the message was clear. Said Republican state Sen. Kel Seliger, quoting a top GOP official "way up" whom he wouldn't name: "Urban Texas is now blue. Suburban Texas is purple and it's rural Texas that is still red. And then what does that mean for the future" of the party?

Seliger added, "You're not hearing anything about a bathroom bill. You're not hearing anyone utter the word 'vouchers' this session. And I think that's significant."

In this March 11, 2019, photo, Educators attending a rally to support funding for public schools in Texas fill the rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, Texas. Cost-cutting states are trying to keep schools happy as teacher unrest over low pay and overcrowded classrooms continues. But pressure from voters is forcing states to put more money on the table as much as much as picket lines. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A nationwide teacher revolt that began with walkouts in West Virginia in early 2018 is still kicking. In Kentucky, recurring "sickouts" for teacher protests forced schools to cancel classes, and a six-day teacher strike in Los Angeles ended with a 6 percent pay hike and commitment to smaller classes.

Elsewhere, new worries over elections are moving Republicans to act on their own.

In Oklahoma, the state's new CEO-turned-governor , Kevin Stitt, made giving teachers another pay boost a key plank of his campaign. He's pushing ahead with an additional $1,200 pay increase for classroom teachers, a year after several Republican opponents of a pay package were ousted in GOP primaries. In South Carolina, a state budget passed by House lawmakers would give all teachers a 4 percent raise and bump the minimum salary for first-year teachers to $35,000. Teachers there have asked for a 10 percent raise.

Public concern about education is growing, said Pat McFerron, a GOP pollster and strategist in Oklahoma. "In a red state where Republicans are in control, it's going to fall on Republicans."

Texas is in the middle of the pack nationally in classroom funding for the state's 5.5 million public school students, and teacher pay is about $7,000 below the national average. In recent years, conservatives have pushed for directing some funding to students attending private and religious schools.

That talk has now gone silent. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who pushed the "bathroom bill" in 2017, is now calling for $5,000 teacher raises, while House Republicans have called for an extra $9 billion for public schools.

"There's no doubt about it. When Dan Patrick goes from bathrooms and vouchers to, 'We need to give every teacher a $5,000 pay raise,' his pollsters are telling him you took a bath with educators this time around," said Louis Malfaro, president of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. "We're nine seats off from flipping the House."

Not all Republicans are running scared: Some GOP lawmakers in West Virginia and Arizona have proposed measures that would effectively punish striking teachers, but those bills have had little support. And while governors in at least 18 states have proposed teacher pay hikes this year, elections are not always the driving factor, said Michael Leachman of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

For both parties, "you do have a political constituency that supports public schools that reaches deep into the business community, deep into school boards and parent groups," Leachman said.

Near Austin, Shea Smith brings home about $55,000 in her 10th year teaching in the Del Valle school district. She took a half-day from work to take part in a rally for more funding this month at the Texas Capitol, where some Republican lawmakers stood side-by-side with union leaders.

"I think people are fired up because of the results in November," Smith said.

___

Associated Press Writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, Okla., and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

____

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

In this March 11, 2019, photo, Educators attend a rally to support funding for public schools at the state Capitol in Austin, Texas. Cost-cutting states are trying to keep schools happy as teacher unrest over low pay and overcrowded classrooms continues. But pressure from voters is forcing states to put more money on the table as much as much as picket lines. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In this March 11, 2019, photo, Dr. Nancy Vera, center, of Corpus Christi, Texas, joins other educators during a rally to support funding for public schools in Texas at the state Capitol in Austin, Texas. Cost-cutting states are trying to keep schools happy as teacher unrest over low pay and overcrowded classrooms continues. But pressure from voters is forcing states to put more money on the table as much as much as picket lines. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In this March 11, 2019, photo, Koni Kaiwi, right, of Garland, Texas, joins other educators during a rally to support funding for public schools in Texas at the state Capitol, in Austin, Texas. Cost-cutting states are trying to keep schools happy as teacher unrest over low pay and overcrowded classrooms continues. But pressure from voters is forcing states to put more money on the table as much as much as picket lines. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In this March 11, 2019 photo, Adrianne Bell, front center, of Houston, joins other educators during a rally to support funding for public schools in Texas at the state Capitol, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Austin, Texas. Cost-cutting states are trying to keep schools happy as teacher unrest over low pay and overcrowded classrooms continues. But pressure from voters is forcing states to put more money on the table as much as much as picket lines. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) - A Colorado man faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly throwing water on Iowa Rep. Steve King while the Republican congressman was eating lunch in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Blake Gibbins was arrested Friday at the Mineral City Mill and Grill. The 26-year-old from Lafayette, Colorado, is charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

Fort Dodge police say in a news release that Gibbins approached King's group and asked King who he was. When King replied, Gibbins allegedly threw a glass of water on him. Police say others seated at the table also got wet.

King has drawn criticism for racist statements. House Republican leaders this year stripped King of his committee assignments. Still, the nine-term congressman has said he will seek re-election in 2020.WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The day after Thanksgiving in 2009, James Kahler went to the home of his estranged wife's grandmother, where he shot the two women, along with his two teenage daughters.

No one - not even Kahler's attorneys - disputes that he killed the four relatives. Instead, his lawyers argue that he was suffering from depression so severe that he experienced extreme emotional disturbance, dissociating him from reality.

What had been an open-and-shut death penalty case - Kahler was convicted and sentenced in 2011 - was upended when the U.S. Supreme Court said this past week that it would consider whether Kansas unconstitutionally abolished his right to use insanity as a defense. A ruling from the nation's highest court could have far-reaching implications for mentally ill defendants across the nation.

Kansas is one of five states where a traditional insanity defense in which a person must understand the difference between right and wrong before being found guilty of a crime isn't allowed. Instead, someone can cite "mental disease or defect" as a partial defense but must prove that he didn't intend to commit the crime. The other states with similar laws are Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Utah.

"A favorable decision in this case would make it clear that the Constitution requires that a defendant be able to understand the difference between right and wrong before being found guilty, and, in cases like Mr. Kahler's, put to death," his defense attorney, Meryle Carver-Allmond, said in an email.

Kahler's lawyers argued in their petition to the Supreme Court that although Kahler knew that he was shooting human beings, his mental state was so disturbed at the time that he was unable to control his actions.

FILE--In this Oct. 2011, file photo, James Kraig Kahler listens to the judge while being sentenced in Osage County Court in Lyndon, Kansas. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a Kansas death penalty case that could have implications for mentally ill defendants across the nation. The case involves Kahler, convicted and sentenced to death for the 2009 fatal shootings of his estranged wife, her grandmother and his two teenage daughters. His attorneys argue that he was suffering from depression so severe that he experienced extreme emotional disturbance, dissociating him from reality. (Anthony S. Bush/The Topeka Capital Journal via AP, Pool, File)

"We're hopeful that, in taking Mr. Kahler's case, the United States Supreme Court has indicated a desire to find that the Constitution requires better of us in our treatment of mentally ill defendants," Carver-Allmond said.

The state argues that it hasn't abolished the insanity defense, just modified it.

"We think the state's approach, providing for an insanity defense based on mental disease or defect, satisfies constitutional requirements," Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in an emailed statement. "We look forward to defending the statute and arguing our case before the Justices in the fall."

Kahler was in the middle of a contentious divorce when he went to Dorothy Wight's home in Burlingame, where his wife, Karen, and three children were spending the Thanksgiving holiday amid contentious divorce proceedings. He found Karen in the kitchen and shot her twice, then shot Wright and his daughter Emily in the living room. He found his daughter Lauren in an upstairs bedroom. His son, Sean, fled to a neighboring house.

Sherrie Baughn, executive director of the Kansas chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, said her organization opposes execution of individuals who have a serious mental illness or mental disability when committing a crime.

"I am happy that they are looking at it and reviewing this," Baughn said of the Supreme Court decision to take up the Kansas case. "Despite constitutional protections, the death penalty is still somewhat applied to people with mental illness or mental disabilities."

It is unclear how often an insanity defense would be used in Kansas, because the state hasn't really had one for so many years now, Carver-Allmond said. Without the option, seriously mentally ill defendants are often left to go to trial with little-to-no defense or forced to plead guilty on bad terms.

In this June 2010, file photo, James Kraig Kahler sits in the jury box at the Osage County District Courtroom before court in Lyndon, Kansas. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a Kansas death penalty case that could have implications for mentally ill defendants across the nation. The case involves Kahler, convicted and sentenced to death for the 2009 fatal shootings of his estranged wife, her grandmother and his two teenage daughters. His attorneys argue that he was suffering from depression so severe that he experienced extreme emotional disturbance, dissociating him from reality. (Thad Alton/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)HOUSTON (AP) - A Houston narcotics officer at the center of an investigation into a drug raid in which a couple was killed has retired from the police force.

A lawyer for officer Gerald Goines says Goines retired Friday after more than 30 years with the department.

Goines was relieved of duty and under investigation following the Jan. 28 drug raid in which homeowners Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were killed. Authorities say Goines lied in an affidavit to justify the raid.

He was one of four officers shot in a gunbattle when police stormed the home. One remains hospitalized.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office previously announced that it was reviewing about 1,400 cases worked by Goines.

The attorney for Goines, Nicole DeBorde, says he's innocent of any crime.NEW YORK (AP) - For Sean Hannity, the "witch hunt" was finally over. Rachel Maddow considered it the start of something.

The diametrically opposed opinion hosts, who vie for the distinction of the most popular in cable news, were the windows through which many Americans digested Friday's news that special counsel Robert Mueller had concluded a nearly two-year investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. While his report, or even a summary, has not been released, television news still had hours to fill talking about it.

Fox News Channel's Hannity, a close Trump ally, focused on reports there will be no additional indictments from Mueller.

"The left's favorite conspiracy theory is now dead," Hannity said. "It is buried, and there was no collusion, no conspiracy, no obstruction. The witch hunt is over and there will be no further charges."

He lamented that lives were ruined by the investigation and said that people who have been prosecuted or convicted had committed "process crimes."

The accusations against Trump were "what we always said, a hoax, a lie conceived by hate."

Tourists visit the White House with her family, Friday March 22, 2019, in Washington, as news breaks that special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. The Justice Department says Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it. Mueller's report, still confidential, sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump's attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

While Hannity's Fox colleague Tucker Carlson suggested it was a night Americans "should be celebrating the great news" that no crime was apparently found regarding collusion, Hannity said citizens should be outraged by the amount of time and money spent on the case. He promised a reckoning in the coming weeks of politicians and media figures he claimed were guilty of a rush to judgment, and his first target was U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "Schifty Schiff" read the words onscreen behind him.

"What is Maddow and all the other MSNBC conspiracy theorists, what are they going to ever do now?" he said.

As he talked, Maddow was doing the same. Unlike most evenings, when the two figures work in studios across Manhattan's Sixth Avenue from each other, Maddow had rushed to a studio in Tennessee where she had spent the day trout fishing.

"Finally, it happened," she said. "In terms of what that means and what Mueller has found, we know only the smallest little bits. This is the start of something, not the end of something."

In meticulous fashion, she detailed how the news that Mueller's investigation had concluded was reported and what a letter by Attorney General William Barr meant about what will be released to the public. Democrats in Congress have already demanded the full report be released and that they see background materials; Maddow read a letter by Schiff about that on the air.

"Right now we mostly have just a ton of questions, as to what Mueller's report says, who gets to see it, who gets to decide who gets to see it and when," she said.

It wasn't until 16 minutes into her program that she discussed the reports that there will be no new indictments from Mueller.

Many Fox News Channel guests, not just Hannity, focused on that detail on Friday evening. Former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski called it "a very clear signal that this entire hoax is over."

Still, some Fox personalities, including Chris Wallace and Harris Faulkner, had to caution guests that Mueller's report hadn't been seen yet. "To say that somehow this clears the president seems like the height of rushing to judgment," Wallace said. He dismissed the idea that those prosecuted had been charged of process crimes, saying they were very serious.

Meanwhile, on CNN, analyst and frequent Trump critic Jeffrey Toobin had an answer to colleagues who warned Trump and his supporters against prematurely celebrating.

While he isn't necessarily in the clear, the fact that the president's sons or son-in-law Jared Kushner were not indicted "is unambiguously good news for him," Toobin said.

___

This story has been corrected to say that Schiff is chairman of the Intelligence Committee.CLAREMONT, N.H. (AP) - Beto O'Rourke leaves room for voters to decide for themselves what he is and what he could be.

He's Bobby Kennedy and Barack Obama. He's nothing new. He'd be a great vice president. He's a man whose candidacy will be a melted candle in a matter of months. He's exactly what this nation needs.

In interviews with more than 30 voters as O'Rourke campaigned for president in New Hampshire this week, the former Texas congressman meant conflicting things to different voters, though passion, one way or the other, was much more common than any semblance of passivity.

There's still plenty of time before the state's first-in-the-nation primary, and O'Rourke has a lot of convincing to do if he wants to make a dent in the large 2020 Democratic primary field.

"We're blessed with so many good candidates," said Kathleen O'Donnell, a 55-year-old attorney, as she waited through an hourlong delay for O'Rourke to arrive for his first event over a two-day visit. "So, it's like, well, why are you doing this?"

The O'Rourke experience, as it rolled through New Hampshire, happened the way some Democrats fear has become the candidate's trademark: He can play it "too cute," they say, with his informal style and approach to social media and campaigning.

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke addresses a gathering during a campaign stop at a restaurant in Manchester, N.H., Thursday, March 21, 2019. O'Rourke announced last week that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Skeptics acknowledged, though, that he's the kind of guy voters know they've seen before but want to see again. The concerns are there, however. Light on policy, high on charisma.

O'Rourke is clearly very bright, said 72-year-old retired teacher Linda Fuerst. He knows how to move people, how to charm people.

"And he's very appealing," she said. "But I have no idea, really, what his substance is. So, I'm just not going to let myself go for him just because I like him."

If criticism of any kind bothers O'Rourke, he doesn't show it.

"I'm trying to do better," he told a crowd of reporters, a common refrain from event to event.

Some saw that as a cop-out, a rookie move from a novice candidate.

Others saw it as another sign of authenticity, the kind they find from a man who will stand on a chair and talk to a crowd that has spilled out from an at-capacity venue in the hope of getting what they came to see.

They don't mind that he lost the U.S. Senate race in Texas to Republican Ted Cruz last fall and is now running for president. The loss comes off to them like a proud battle scar rather than a mortal wound for the future.

New Hampshire voters have long memories. They're willing to fall in love, but not right away. They've been burned before and know it could happen again.

Walking away from O'Rourke's events, some voters filled in the gaps in his resume with what they can't explain.

"He's got it," several said after seeing him in person for the first time.

Gino Funicella, a 77-year-old who works in marketing, left O'Rourke's stop at a brewery saying he'll support him.

"I definitely think he'll be president," Funicella said. "And I don't know why. I just feel that."

He's the kind of candidate who has young voters, who weren't alive for the likes of John or Bobby Kennedy and barely remember the rise of Obama, thinking of the Democratic icons who have come before him.

"I was really young when Obama started running, but I definitely see a lot of Obama vibes," said Tim Ennis, a 19-year-old college student wearing a "Beto for Texas" shirt who drove from Massachusetts to see O'Rourke speak in Keene.

"I love history, so I really get a lot of Bobby Kennedy or JFK vibes from him, especially with Bobby's kind of energizing movements to young people," Ennis said. "I definitely see that in Beto's candidacy."

If one thing is clear so far, it's that O'Rourke can draw a crowd.

All his public events in New Hampshire were advertised by his campaign the same way: "Space is limited."

"We will be back!" O'Rourke told the last crowd of his New Hampshire trip that had spilled out onto the street outside a coffee shop in Laconia. "We will find a larger space."

O'Rourke isn't the only 2020 Democratic candidate with packed rooms and fans wanting photos. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont received similar receptions.

He's a student of politics at a time when his competitors are tenured professors. They've run for president before (Sanders). They've run more statewide races (Harris). They actually were tenured professors (Warren).

He's a work in progress, he's well aware. But people who have warmed to O'Rourke don't seem to mind.

"We'd love to see you in the White House," 76-year-old John Law, a retired government worker, told O'Rourke as he waded through a crowd of onlookers and into a coffee shop.

Law didn't stick around to see O'Rourke's last speech. The coffee shop was too full.

Besides, Law had already gotten the face time he wanted with O'Rourke.

"I like his thoughts," Law said. "I like the way he speaks."

Other voters, like 70-year-old college professor Leslie Smith, watched O'Rourke's speech from the street outside the venue where his voice could barely be heard.

She could tick off what made O'Rourke so appealing from a curbside view: He's got lots of energy, he's very good-looking, he's young, he's got a cool name.

"But God, the country needs more than that," she said.

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke answers a question during a campaign stop at a brewery in Conway, N.H., Wednesday, March 20, 2019. O'Rourke announced last week that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke rests his foot on a picnic table as he listens to a question during a campaign stop at a brewery in Conway, N.H., Wednesday, March 20, 2019. O'Rourke announced last week that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke shakes hands during a campaign stop at a brewery in Conway, N.H., Wednesday, March 20, 2019. O'Rourke announced last week that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Yemeni officials say heavy street battles among armed Islamist factions aligned with the exiled government have left at least six people dead and families displaced.

They said on Saturday that the clashes, which erupted in Taiz a day earlier, saw a faction financed and armed by the United Arab Emirates and led by Salafi commander Aboul Abbas, confront other factions affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group in Yemen - the Islah party - which is loyal to Yemeni president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The violence in Taiz underscores the deep divisions marring allies in Yemen's war which pits the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Shiite rebels.HOUSTON (AP) - Officials have no timetable for reopening a portion of the Houston Ship Channel, one of the busiest commercial waterways in the country, after another setback caused flammable chemicals to seep into the water near a fire-ravaged petrochemical tank farm, a Coast Guard commander said Saturday.

Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Oditt said during a news conference that work was underway to contain and absorb benzene and other contaminants after a dike failed adjacent to the farm operated by the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, southeast of Houston.

The breach occurred Friday. As of early Saturday, more than 40 vessels - oil tankers, container ships and other crafts - were either trying to move south out of the channel or north toward awaiting terminals, according to Coast Guard petty officer Kelly Parker. The channel is a critical waterway that connects oil refineries between the Port of Houston and the Gulf of Mexico.

ITC was planning Saturday to resume pumping some 20,000 barrels of product from a tank heavily damaged by the fire, which began Sunday, March 17, and was extinguished Wednesday, but flared again on two occasions. The most recent flare-up on Friday took an hour to suppress and disrupted the pumping, ITC executive Brent Weber said.

The tanks that caught fire contained components of gasoline and materials used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner.

Residents already alarmed by a large plume of black smoke that billowed for days from the farm were further shaken by an order Thursday to remain indoors after elevated levels of benzene were detected in the air. Schools in the region also were shuttered and waterfront parks were closed to the public as a precaution. The chemical evaporates quickly and can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, and headaches, with worse symptoms at higher levels of exposure.

A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality mobile unit is used to monitor air quality near the Houston Ship Channel Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Houston. The efforts to clean up the Intercontinental Terminals Company petrochemical facility, that burned for several days this week, were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. A portion of the channel remains closed. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against ITC, saying Friday that Texas had to hold the company "accountable for the damage it has done to our environment." The company has had a history of environmental violations, Paxton said.

ITC spokeswoman Alice Richardson declined to comment on Paxton's claims, citing the pending litigation.

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. has spent days giving assurances that company and public officials are working in a transparent manner to provide the latest updates to anxious residents.

"Everything doesn't always work the way it's planned," he told reporters Saturday.

"Everybody out here is doing the best they can," Mouton said, later adding, "They're trying to address every situation to the best of their ability."

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Oditt answers a question about closing a portion of the Houston Ship Channel due to the fire and chemical spill at Intercontinental Terminals Company, during a news conference Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Intercontinental Terminals Company public information officer Alice Richardson reads a statement during a news conference Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up the Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Intercontinental Terminals Company incident commander Brent Weber answers a question about efforts to contain and clean out the chemicals that remained in burned out tanks Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up the Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Adam Adams, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, talks about continued air monitoring around the Intercontinental Terminals Company facility as crews continue to work to contain chemicals that remained in the burned tanks Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Sarai Aranda hugs her son, who was part of the cleanup crew to empty out the remaining chemicals in the open tanks, as the Intercontinental Terminals Company petrochemical fire reignited, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The efforts to clean up a Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - Militia fighters descended on a village in central Mali early Saturday, killing at least 40 people including the village chief and his grandchildren in the latest violence based on ethnic militias in the volatile region.

Militants from a Dogon group known as Dan Na Ambassagou have been blamed for scores of attacks over the past year, according to Human Rights Watch. The umbrella group comprises a number of self-defense groups from the Dogon villages among others.

"This morning around 5 a.m. the Dogon militia attacked the village of Egossogou," said Sekou Allaye Bolly, who is a Peulh militia leader involved with peace efforts in the area.

The U.N. mission in Mali known as MINUSMA confirmed reports of an attack though did not immediately confirm the death toll provided.

The growing prominence of Islamic extremists in central Mali since 2015 has unraveled relations between the Dogon and Peulh communities.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to terror groups in the country's north and beyond. Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that "militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiraling out of control." The group said that Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.

Mali's Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the region's villages with local guides. The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.

___

Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this story.WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The U.S. will host a delegation from China led by Vice Premier Liu He early next month, following a trip by U.S. officials to China in an effort to improve trade relations, the White House said Saturday.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump is sending U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Beijing starting next week, joined by deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish and other senior Trump administration officials.

Vice Premier Liu He and other Chinese officials meet with officials in Washington starting April 3, Sanders said.

The trade dispute began last year after the U.S. made several complaints, including that China was stealing U.S. trade secrets and was forcing companies to give them technology to access its market. Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports, about half what the United States buys from that country. China retaliated with tariffs on about $110 billion of U.S. items.

China's commerce ministry had previously said Lighthizer and Mnuchin would be in China on Thursday and Friday for the eighth round of trade negotiations.

The scheduled talks suggest the two sides believe they can make at least some progress. Trump said Thursday at the White House that, "Talks with China are going very well."

Administration officials say they speak with their Chinese counterparts on a nearly daily basis. Business lobbyists say that a key sticking point is what type of enforcement mechanism will be included in the agreement. The Trump administration, they say, wants to have the option to impose tariffs on Chinese goods if China doesn't abide by the terms of the pact. The U.S. also wants China to promise not to retaliate against those tariffs.

Still, business groups say the talks are making progress.BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - The Latest on the Mali village attack (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

A group representing ethnic Peulhs in central Mali says the provisional death toll from a morning militia attack has risen to 115.

Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of Tabital Pulaaku, gave the figure Saturday after receiving detailed information from authorities at the scene. Initially, witnesses said at least 40 had been slain.

Diallo said the victims included pregnant women and small children. Another leader of a local Peulh militia said the village chief of Ogossagou had also been killed along with some of his grandchildren.

It was not immediately possible to independently corroborate the death toll.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to terror groups in the country's north and beyond. Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

___

5:05 p.m.

Witnesses in a central Malian village say at least 40 people have been slain and dozens wounded after an attack blamed on an ethnic militia.

Sekou Allaye Bolly told The Associated Press that the Dogon fighters had descended upon the Peulh village of Ogossagou just after 5 a.m. Saturday.

The dead included the village chief and his grandchildren.

The Dogon and Peulh communities have long co-existed in central Mali though the emergence of jihadists from other parts of the country has unraveled the peace between them.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to terror groups in the country's north and beyond. Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

___

Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this story.

___

This story has been corrected to show the village name is spelled Ogossagou instead of Egossagou, per Peulh association in the area.ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) - Two Wisconsin sheriff's deputies rescued a pair of bear cubs trapped in a flooded culvert that had served as their den.

The Ashland Daily Press reports that Ashland County deputies Zach Pierce and Dylan Wegner discovered the baby bruins Friday near the Bad River Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Pierce says the cubs were soaked and cold, so they brought them into their squad car to warm up.

Pierce said they realized they risked angering the cubs' mother who was nearby. He said she was slow and groggy from waking up and "the little cubs were screaming and crying like crazy."

A conservation warden then arrived on scene and the cubs were placed in an open area for their mother to gather up.

___

Information from: Ashland Daily Press, http://www.apg-wi.com/ashland_daily_press/JERUSALEM (AP) - Rafi Eitan, a legendary Israeli Mossad spy who led the capture of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann, died Saturday. He was 92.

Eitan was one of the founders of Israel's vaunted intelligence community and among its most prominent figures in Israel and abroad.

"Rafi was among the heroes of the intelligence services of the State of Israel on countless missions on behalf of the security of Israel," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "His wisdom, wit and commitment to the people of Israel and our state were without peer."

The 1960 operation to capture Eichmann in Argentina and bring him to trial in Jerusalem was the Mossad's most historic mission and remains one of the defining episodes in Israel's history. His trial brought to life the horrors of the Nazi "Final Solution," which followed Eichmann's blueprint for liquidating the entire Jewish population of Europe. Eichmann was convicted in 1961 of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was hanged the following year - the only time Israel has carried out a death sentence.

Known as the "architect of the Holocaust" for his role in coordinating the Nazi genocide policy, Eichmann fled Germany after World War II and assumed the name Ricardo Klement in Argentina.

Eitan, who headed the seven-man team on the ground, grabbed Eichmann on the way back to his Buenos Aires home, shoved him into a car and spirited him to a safe house. In the back seat of the car, one agent shoved a gloved hand inside Eichmann's mouth in case he had a cyanide pill hidden in a tooth, as some former top Nazis were known to have to foil their capture. Eitan identified Eichmann by searching his body for distinctive scars on his arm and stomach. "And once I felt it I was convinced. This is the man - we got Eichmann," he recalled years later.

FILE - In this Monday, April 3, 2006 file photo, Israeli Rafi Eitan talks with the press after a meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav in Jerusalem. Eitan, a legendary Israeli Mossad spy who led the capture of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann, has died. He was 92. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Mossad Director Yossi Cohen said the majority of Eitan's exploits still remain unknown to the general public.

"His work and his actions will be etched in gold letters in the annals of the state," Cohen said in a special statement Saturday. "The foundations that Rafi laid in the first years of the state are a significant layer in the activities of the Mossad even today."

Eitan's reputation took a hit in the 1980s for his handling of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, who sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty, in an espionage affair that embarrassed Israel and severely tarnished its relations with the United States.

Eitan claimed his actions were sanctioned by his superiors, but eventually was forced to resign his post.

He went into business and later in life entered politics and scored an election sensation in 2006 as head of the Pensioners Party, garnering seven seats in the 120-seat parliament and becoming a Cabinet minister in Ehud Olmert's government.

The short and stocky Eitan was easily recognizable by his mop of white hair and his thick, large framed eyeglasses.

Eitan, a longtime friend of Ariel Sharon, began his career fighting in the Palmach pre-state army, where he was wounded in battle and became partially deaf. It was then he also earned his nickname, "Stinky Rafi," after hiding in a pit of sewage while on a mission. Sharon continued to affectionately call him "the Stinker" for the next half century.BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - Militia fighters descended on a village in central Mali before dawn Saturday, killing at least 115 people in the latest deadly attack blamed on an ethnic militia, local authorities said.

The massacre in the village of Ogossogou left the village chief and his grandchildren dead in the ethnic Peulh community, according to a local official who had received detailed accounts from the remote area.

The victims "included pregnant women, young children and the elderly," according to Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of a Peulh group known as Tabital Pulaaku.

It was not immediately possible to independently corroborate the toll given by those in contact with survivors from the Peulh village. The U.N. mission in Mali confirmed reports of an attack but gave no figures.

Militants from a Dogon group known as Dan Na Ambassagou have been blamed for scores of attacks over the past year, according to Human Rights Watch. The umbrella group comprises a number of self-defense groups from the Dogon villages among others.

The growing prominence of Islamic extremists in central Mali since 2015 has unraveled relations between the Dogon and Peulh communities.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to terror groups in the country's north and beyond. Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that "militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiraling out of control." The group said that Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.

Mali's Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the region's villages with local guides. The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.

___

Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this story.BERLIN (AP) - Authorities say one person was killed and a second seriously injured after getting caught in an avalanche in Austria.

Police told the Austrian news agency APA on Saturday that the two people were part of a group who were in the Rax mountain range in Austria, near the town of Reichenau, when the avalanche hit in the afternoon.

The seriously injured person was flown to a hospital by helicopter.

Officials say no other people have been reported missing but that as a precaution the area was searched, and no signs of anyone else hit by the wet snow were found.

There were no other immediate details on the two victims.NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - With Kim Kardashian West pledging to cover five years of rent, one of the first inmates released after federal sentencing reforms says he has finally found a new home.

In a Facebook post Friday, Matthew Charles thanked Kardashian West and others for helping to overcome what he called a "nonsensical barrier."

Charles told The Tennessean earlier this month he couldn't find permanent housing since his release, partly due to his criminal history.

Kardashian-West, an advocate for criminal justice reform, then reached out with the offer.

Convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 1996, Charles received national attention because he was ordered back to prison in 2018, two years after his release. He was released on Jan. 3 and was invited to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - About 5,000 nationalist demonstrators have held a protest in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev calling for arrests in a defense industry corruption case.

The Saturday protest was the latest in several weeks of demonstrations by supporters of the far-right focusing on corruption.

A journalistic investigation in February reported that figures close to President Petro Poroshenko and a factory controlled by him were involved in an embezzlement scheme. It has become a top issue in the heated campaign ahead of Ukraine's March 31 presidential election.

Poroshenko is trying to get re-elected, but a deep recession, endemic corruption and a war with Russia-backed separatists that has killed some 13,000 people since 2014 are weighing heavily on his ambitions.

Far-right demonstrators attend rally against corruption in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, March 23, 2019. The placard reads "While we fought, the Svinarchuk and Poroshenko robbed". (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Far-right demonstrators gesture during a rally against corruption in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Holding Ukrainian state flags, members of far-right groups hold a mass demonstration against government corruption on the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Holding Ukrainian state flags, members of far-right groups hold a mass demonstration against government corruption on the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, March 23, 2019.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)BYBLOS, Lebanon (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan spent much of the second and last day of their visit to Lebanon touring historical churches and a centuries-old citadel in this coastal city Saturday.

The tour in Byblos and a nearby village came a day after Pompeo blasted the militant Hezbollah group and called on the Lebanese people to stand up to its "criminality."

His visit came amid tight security as roads were closed before his motorcade drove through Byblos and Beirut while Lebanese army sharpshooters took positions on rooftops. Some of the sites he visited, including churches, were closed to the public during his hourslong tour.

Pompeo began his day by visiting the site where a new U.S. embassy compound is being built then drove to the village of Behdaidat northeast of Beirut where he visited the 13th century Mar Tadros, or St. Theodore church. The State Department awarded a $44,000 grant through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation to support the conservation of the church.

Later, he visited two other churches in this coastal city renowned for its ancient Phoenician, Roman, and Crusader ruins where he was greeted by priests who briefed about the history of each church.

The last site to be visited in the ancient city was the Byblos Citadel built by the Crusaders. Pompeo toured the citadel as Tania Zazen, director general of antiquities in Byblos, accompanied him recounting the city's history.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan visit a church at Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim Young/Pool Photo via AP)

In 2011, the State Department awarded a grant $93,895 to support the conservation of the main tower of the 12th century citadel at the archaeological site of ancient Byblos, a World Heritage site.

The delegation afterward went to a restaurant by the Mediterranean where they had a meal of cold and hot authentic Lebanese dishes, known as Mezza, and grilled lamb chops and chicken.

Pompeo also met Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun and Beirut Metropolitan of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi.

"Spoke about the importance of protecting and defending religious diversity and opportunity" with Bishop Audi and how they enrich every country," Pompeo tweeted after the meeting.

Around sunset, his plane took off back to the U.S. ending a Mideast tour that also included visits to Kuwait and Israel.

Pompeo renewed his attack on Hezbollah and its main backer Iran, blasting the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Qassim Suleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, saying their aim is to control Lebanon.

"They want to control this state. They want access to the Mediterranean. They want power and influence here," Pompeo said in an interview with Sky News. He added that "the people of Lebanon deserve better than that, they want something different from that, and America is prepared to help."

When told that the Lebanese president and prime minister are not on the same page, Pompeo responded: "Yeah, I don't think that's true. I think that's false."

Speaking on President Donald Trump's abrupt declaration that Washington will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Pompeo told Sky News that "what the President did with the Golan Heights is recognize the reality on the ground and the security situation necessary for the protection of the Israeli state. It's that - it's that simple."

When told the Trump's decision comes in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions Pompeo, defended him saying: "No, this is - this is deeply consistent with the reality on the ground, the facts on the ground."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits a church at the village of Bahdidat, near Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim Young/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan visit a church at Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim Young/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tours the Byblos citadel, in Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim Young/Pool Photo via AP)BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist President Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station's reporting that they view as biased.

Whistle-blowing crowds on Saturday returned in front of the public broadcaster's headquarters in downtown Belgrade but the gathering passed without incidents.

Scuffles with police erupted inside the TV building last Saturday, and again last Sunday when demonstrators encircled the presidency building. Eighteen people were detained.

The incidents were the first in months of protests that started after thugs beat up an opposition politician in November. The demonstrators are demanding Vucic's resignation, free elections and media and more democracy.

Thousands also rallied Saturday in neighboring Montenegro demanding resignation of long-serving President Milo Djukanovic.

Protesters light candles as they gather in front of the state TV building in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist president Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station's reporting that they view as biased. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Protesters gather in central Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist president Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station's reporting that they view as biased. The word on the banner reads "Fraud" in Serbian Latin letters. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Protesters gather in front of the state TV building in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist president Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station's reporting that they view as biased. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Protesters gather in central Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist president Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station's reporting that they view as biased. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Several hundred people have marched in Barcelona to protest the emergence of a far-right party in Spain ahead of next month's national elections.

The protesters gathered Saturday behind a banner that read "Stop Vox, for a world without racism and fascism" in reference to the upstart Vox party. Others carried handmade signs, including one that said "There aren't too many immigrants, there are too many racists!"

Spain hadn't had a far-right party for years until Vox erupted onto the political scene by winning representation in regional elections in the country's south in December.

Vox has scheduled a rally next weekend in Barcelona as part of its campaign to win seats in the national Parliament in the April 28 general elections.

People shout slogans during a protest against the emergence of a far right party in Spain ahead of next month's national elections in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Spain hadn't had a far-right party for years until Vox erupted onto the political scene by winning representation in regional elections in the country's south in December. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People shout slogans during a protest against the emergence of a far right party in Spain ahead of next month's national elections in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Spain hadn't had a far-right party for years until Vox erupted onto the political scene by winning representation in regional elections in the country's south in December. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People shout slogans during a protest against the emergence of a far right party in Spain ahead of next month's national electionsin Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Spain hadn't had a far-right party for years until Vox erupted onto the political scene by winning representation in regional elections in the country's south in December. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta's mayor and police chief are leading a push to re-examine evidence from a string of murders that terrorized the city's black community between 1979 and 1981.

As a result, authorities are being inundated with calls. Now, officials have set up a central hotline for anyone with information about the "Atlanta Child Murders" cases.

Atlanta police urged tipsters to call 404-546-2603 and, if no one answers, callers are encouraged to leave a message for follow-up.

At least 25 African-American children and several adults were killed in the late 70s and early 80s. Atlanta native Wayne Williams was convicted in the deaths of two adults in 1981. He's been linked to the deaths of at least 22 of the children, but has never been tried. Williams maintains he never killed children.NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Cyprus' government spokesman says authorities have arrested a Turkish Kurd against whom Germany has launched criminal proceedings for "terrorist activities."

Prodromos Prodromou said in a written statement Saturday that the individual had been recognized by Cyprus as a political refugee and had been granted Cypriot travel documents. He said the person was detained on the strength of a European arrest warrant.

Prodromou said a court on Saturday ordered the suspect detained.

He said the suspect, whose identity was not released, will remain in custody until a court rules whether to extradite him to Germany within 60 days of his arrest.JERUSALEM (AP) - Egyptian mediators pressed ahead Thursday with efforts to broker a cease-fire between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel, even as the sides braced for the possibility of renewed violence this weekend.

As negotiations continued, Hamas was making preparations for a mass demonstration along the Israeli border on Saturday. In response, Israel said it was moving additional troops to the area.

The Egyptian team met with Hamas officials, then went to Israel before returning back to Gaza late Thursday for more meetings. The Egyptians did not comment as talks wrapped up and they returned to their hotel.

Ismail Radwan, a top Hamas official, said that if there is progress, Hamas would scale back Saturday's demonstration. The protest, marking the one-year anniversary of the weekly gatherings, is expected to be exceptionally large.

"The new understanding, if implemented, would make our people in Gaza feel a significant relief," Radwan said. He said if Israel "was committed to the understandings, then Saturday's march would be peaceful."

Three Hamas officials familiar with the negotiations said the Egyptians were offering the organization a series of measures to ease a crippling Egyptian-Israeli blockade on Gaza. In exchange, Hamas would have to pledge to halt rocket fire and keep border protests under control and far from the separation fence.

Palestinians search for their family's belongings amid the rubble of destroyed building near a Hamas security building that was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike late Monday, in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The officials say the deal would only take effect after Saturday's demonstration - a likely sticking point with the Israelis.

They said the Israeli gestures would include an expanded fishing zone for Palestinian anglers off the Mediterranean coast, increasing imports and exports in and out of Gaza, increased electricity from Israel and increased movement of people through Gaza's border crossings.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were ongoing. One of the officials described the atmosphere as positive.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the talks.

Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during the protests. Israel says it is defending its border against infiltration attempts, noting that protesters have hurled flaming tires, explosives and incendiary balloons across the border. But the military has come under heavy international criticism over the large number of unarmed people who have been shot, sometimes hundreds of meters (yards) away from the border.

During a trip to the southern border region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was prepared to take further military action in Gaza, but only as a last resort.

Netanyahu made his comments Thursday after visiting troops sent to the Gaza border this week after a two-day outbreak of fighting.

The Israeli military said it had beefed up its troop presence along the border with the Gaza Strip and completed preparations for possible renewal of hostilities.

The army said issued a video showing soldiers massing near the border and performing urban combat drills.

"If we need a broader operation, we will enter it strong and confident, and after we have exhausted all other options," Netanyahu said.

Earlier this week, Israel carried out retaliatory airstrikes against Hamas after a rocket fired from Gaza destroyed a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven Israelis. Palestinian militants responded with rocket barrages in some of the most intense fighting since a 2014 war. A fragile calm has held since early Wednesday.

In the midst of the negotiations, the Israeli military said its planes bombed a group of Palestinians who had launched incendiary balloons from Gaza into Israel. The Gaza health ministry confirmed three Palestinians were wounded in the bombing.

Later, the ministry said five more people were wounded by Israeli fire during a night protest in which activists set off loud explosions near the border.

In an open letter to the U.N. secretary-general and High Commissioner for Human Rights, a group of Palestinian rights groups urged the U.N. to help protect demonstrators this weekend.

"We urge the UN to take meaningful action to prevent further unnecessary loss of life and injury by the Israeli occupying forces," the letter said.

___

Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed reporting.PARIS (AP) - A theater production promoted with a photo showing actors wearing dark brown makeup has given France's esteemed Sorbonne University its own version of the blackface scandals that chastened politicians in the United States and luxury fashion companies in Italy.

Activists from four anti-racism groups blocked the Sorbonne's entrance Monday to stop a performance of "The Suppliants" by ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. They said African-style masks and dark stage makeup planned for the production promoted racist stereotypes.

The Representative Council of Black Associations, a leading anti-racism group, called the Sorbonne production "colonial propaganda." The group, known by its French acronym CRAN, invited the team behind the play to launch a "common reflection on blackface" to avoid future tensions.

The producers of the Sorbonne production said the costumes followed the classical technique of using contrasting shades to differentiate ancient Greek and Egyptian characters, a design method in ancient times to help spectators seated far away tell characters apart.

But the director, respected Hellenist Philippe Brunet, said artistic intentions were "misinterpreted" as racist ones. He said no blackface was employed in the staging of the play and argued that it was France's prized freedom of expression under attack.

"Blackface - to be painted black to make fun of black people - is a practice that we condemn with the greatest of firmness," Brunet told Le Monde newspaper. "We are facing a form of radicalization that opens a very dangerous gap for freedom of expression, for art as a whole."

A photo on the Sorbonne website that showed actors with their faces and other exposed skin painted dark brown. It's unclear if the makeup would have been used in the actual production itself. The photo has since been removed.

Brunet told Le Monde he planned to replace the black masks that offended anti-racism activists with golden ones, but didn't get a chance to.

France's culture and higher education ministers were quick to throw their support behind Brunet and the university, bringing them criticism as well.

In a joint statement Wednesday, Minister of Higher Education Frederique Vidal and Minister of Culture Franck Riester said they "strongly condemn this unprecedented attack on freedom of expression."

The Sorbonne play was "faithful to the ancient theatrical practices, namely by actresses and actors wearing white masks and black masks as they were at the time," they said.

Blackface caricatures, first popularized in 19th century minstrel shows put on my actors who painted their faces black while portraying African characters appearing ridiculous, attracted renewed attention in the United States recently after the governor of Virginia and his attorney general were made to answer for incidents from their college days in the 1980s.

High-end fashion brand Gucci apologized in February for a high-neck black wool sweater that featured bright red lips when pulled over the face, Prada apologized for a monkey bag charm resembling blackface in December.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Congress and the special counsel's Russia report (all times local):

7 p.m.

Democrats are intensifying their demands for Robert Mueller's full report after learning the special counsel's Trump-Russia findings run to more than 300 pages.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is boasting of total exoneration based on a four-page summary by his attorney general.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler says Attorney General William Barr told him he has no intention of giving the confidential report to Congress immediately as he redacts grand jury testimony and other elements.

Democrats say they may subpoena the report if it's not forthcoming by their Tuesday deadline, which Barr has said will not be met.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pushes ahead with their oversight of the Trump administration at a hearing to examine to examine "Putin's Playbook," how the Russian government works to undermine its adversaries, especially the U.S., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

__

3:15 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr does not intend to give Congress a complete copy of the report from special counsel Robert Mueller.

That's according to a House Democratic aide who briefed reporters on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The aide said Barr spoke with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler late Wednesday and indicated he was redacting grand jury information from the confidential report. While grand jury information is often confidential, it can be unsealed in some situations.

The aide added Nadler offered to work with Barr to have the information unsealed.

House Democrats are pressing for the full release of Mueller's report.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Barr's four-page synopsis "condescending" and "arrogant" and said Democrats need to draw their own conclusions about what Mueller found.

___

12:18 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr has told the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that he would testify before his panel.

That's according to a Justice Department official familiar with a Wednesday call between Barr and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who runs the committee.

Democrats are anxious to hear from Barr about special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report. They want to see the full report and the evidence that goes with it. Barr told Nadler on the call that the report is more than 300 pages.

Barr released a four-page summary of the report on Sunday and is expected to produce a public version of the document in the coming weeks.

-- By AP writer Eric Tucker

___

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is heaping scorn on Attorney General William Barr, saying his letter about special counsel Robert Mueller's report was "condescending."

Barr's four-page summary of the Russia probe said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.

Pelosi said she found Barr's decision to write the letter "arrogant." Congress, she said, doesn't need Barr "to be our interpreter of something that he should just show us."

The Democratic chairmen of six House committees have demanded that Barr release the Mueller report to Congress by Tuesday.

Pelosi also defended House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who faced calls Thursday from Republicans to resign over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia.

Pelosi said the Republicans are "scaredy cats" afraid of a "patriotic leader."

___

10:05 a.m.

House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee say they have "no faith" in Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff and are demanding his resignation. Schiff is insisting President Donald Trump's associates colluded with Russia and may be compromised.

The fiery back-and-forth came during a rare public hearing by the secretive committee on Thursday in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia. Attorney General William Barr has said Mueller didn't find that Trump colluded with election meddling and made no conclusion on obstruction.

Still, Republicans submitted a letter to Schiff saying his statements suggesting the contrary have produced "no faith in your ability to discharge your duties" and mean Schiff should resign from the panel.

Schiff angrily refused and said some activities of Trump and his associates amount to "collusion" and "compromise."

___

12:15 a.m.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee says he's disappointed that the attorney general will take weeks instead of days to release the special counsel's report on Russia's election interference.

Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings said Wednesday that the delay allows President Donald Trump to spend weeks taking a victory lap in the wake of the generally favorable findings summarized by Attorney General William Barr.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says Barr told him that he's combing through Mueller's report and removing classified, grand jury and other information in hopes of releasing it to Congress.

Democratic lawmakers warn that the longer it takes to release the full findings the more they will question the legitimacy of Barr's actions.ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - An Algerian media executive who was detained Thursday and released hours later said he was arrested because he publicly denounced political corruption but won't stop speaking out against fraud at the top level of the political hierarchy.

"What happened to me is deplorable," Ali Fodhil, who heads the media company Echourouk, said during a news conference after he was freed from custody.

The Algiers prosecutor said Fodhil was let go because there was nothing to justify his arrest by a service of the judicial police, online news site TSA Algerie reported.

The site quoted a statement from the prosecutor saying the arrest was improper without a prosecutor's order and an investigation would be opened.

The episode reflects the murky climate in Algeria amid an unprecedented political crisis over protesters demands that ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, step down after 20 years in power along with his loyal entourage.

The arrest came as protesters prepare for nationwide marches Friday in what will be the sixth consecutive week of anti-government demonstrations. Official corruption has been one focus of the protests.

In this picture taken on June 27, 2012, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, left, and his Army chief of staff, Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, review an honor guard before attending a military parade, in Cherchell near Algiers, Algeria. Algeria's powerful army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, insisted Wednesday that the military won't get mixed up in politics, a day after he said a constitutional process should be set in motion to declare ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit for office. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Echourouk TV had said Fodhil was "kidnapped" by security forces outside his home as he left for work. He was released in mid-afternoon.

The TV station had tied the episode to Fodhil's allegation this week that "extraconstitutional forces" run Algeria and the president's younger brother, Said Bouteflika, was "head of the gang."

Corruption has long been considered widespread in the North African country, but the president's critics allege it has grown during Bouteflika's two decades in power.

It's among the chief complaints of protesters who have been demanding that Bouteflika step down and the regime that has profited from his presidency be ousted, too.MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - The Latest on a shooting and a standoff at a hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire:

3:30 p.m.

The New Hampshire attorney general's office says a man and woman were found dead inside a hotel room following a 15-hour standoff.

But it wouldn't say how the two died nor provide their identities. It also wouldn't say whether police found anything in the room at the Quality Inn related to the standoff.

The standoff began Wednesday evening after authorities attempted to serve a warrant on 51-year-old Stephen Marshall, of Manchester and another male. Marshall was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers outside the hotel.

___

Police officers gather in a parking lot outside the Quality Inn on Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Manchester, N.H., where two people barricaded themselves in a first-floor room. One man was shot and killed there Wednesday night by police after he engaged Drug Enforcement Administration agents and police. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

12:50 p.m.

The New Hampshire attorney general's office says the two remaining people involved in a hotel standoff in Manchester are dead.

The two were found inside a room at the Quality Inn. The attorney general's office says in a news release Thursday at least one had fired multiple gunshots out of the room.

They weren't identified and it wasn't immediately known how they died. A news conference is planned for Thursday afternoon.

The bodies were found hours after 51-year-old Stephen Marshall, of Manchester, was apparently killed by a law enforcement officer at the hotel Wednesday.

Authorities say the standoff began around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when Marshall was holding a gun in his hand and "engaged" with police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents outside the hotel.

___

10:30 a.m.

Police in New Hampshire's largest city say a standoff between authorities and two people barricaded inside a hotel has been resolved, hours after another man was apparently killed by a law enforcement officer.

Police provided no further information, but ambulances were seen near the hotel. A stretcher was brought out with someone on it.

Authorities say the standoff began around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man with a gun in his hand "engaged" with police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents outside the Quality Inn in Manchester.

State Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati said a Manchester police officer and a DEA agent both fired their weapons.

Authorities identified the man killed as 51-year-old Stephen Marshall, of Manchester, at a news conference early Thursday. Marshall was pronounced dead at the hospital.

___

7:40 a.m.

New Hampshire's attorney general's office says a man has been killed in an officer-involved shooting with police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents at a hotel. Two people remain barricaded in a first-floor room.

Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati identified the man killed as 51-year-old Stephen Marshall, of Manchester, in a news conference early Thursday.

Agati says the shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Quality Inn in Manchester, near Interstate 293 in a busy area that includes a shopping mall.

Agati says Marshall had a gun in his hand and "engaged" with DEA agents and police. Marshall was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police had evacuated the hotel and a nearby restaurant.

Officials say there is still an active standoff going on between officers and the two people barricaded in the hotel room as of Thursday morning.

__

This story has been corrected to show the name of the agency is Drug Enforcement Administration, not the Drug Enforcement Agency.

___

6 a.m.

New Hampshire's attorney general's office says a man has been killed in an officer-involved shooting with police and Drug Enforcement Agency agents at a hotel. Two people remain barricaded in a first-floor room.

Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati identified the man killed as 51-year-old Stephen Marshall, of Manchester, in a news conference early Thursday. Agati says the shooting happened at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Quality Inn in Manchester, near Interstate 293 in a busy area that includes a shopping mall.

Marshall was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police had evacuated the hotel and a nearby restaurant.

No officers were hurt.

Officials say there is still an active standoff going on between officers and the two people barricaded in the hotel room as of Thursday morning.

Police officers enter the Quality Inn on Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Manchester, N.H., where two people barricaded themselves in a first-floor room. One man was shot and killed there Wednesday night by police after he engaged Drug Enforcement Administration agents and police. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday aimed at strengthening global efforts to combat the numerous and new ways that terrorist groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State raise funds to finance their operations.

The French-drafted resolution orders all countries to ensure that their domestic laws are sufficient to prosecute and penalize those responsible for directly or indirectly financing "terrorist organizations or individual terrorists for any purpose."

It also demands that the U.N.'s 193 member states ensure that all measures they take to combat terrorism and its financing comply with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law - a measure sought by aid, rights and refugee organizations concerned that counter-terrorism laws can restrict their activities.

The Security Council has addressed terrorist financing in resolutions since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, but this is the first to focus solely on the issue and address the new methods extremist groups and their affiliates have adopted to raise money.

U.N. counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told the council in a video statement from Rome that the resolution's adoption "comes at a critical time."

"Recent attacks around the world demonstrate that financial flows continue to reach terrorist groups from both illegal and legal means," he said. "A concerted effort to redouble the world's attention on stopping the financing of terrorism is therefore a vital topic."

Jean-Yves Le Drian, United Nations Security Council president, speaks at the UN headquarters about threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, Thursday, March 28, 2019. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at strengthening global efforts to combat the numerous and new ways that terrorist groups raise funds to finance their operations. The French-drafted resolution approved Thursday orders all countries to ensure that their domestic laws are sufficient to prosecute and penalize those responsible for directly or indirectly financing "terrorist organizations or individual terrorists for any purpose." At right is Hasmik Egian, Director of the Security Council Affairs Division of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. (Eskinder Debebe/United Nations via AP)

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who presided over the meeting, said after the vote: "The challenge is very great. Our determination has to be equally great."

"We have to tackle the evil at the root and intensify our efforts in order to isolate terrorism by drying up their sources of financing," he said.

Le Drian said terrorist groups such as the Islamic State may have been chased from their territory, "but they have learned to inhabit new virtual financial spaces where they exploit new technologies."

"They know how to amass funds by opening online pools," he added. "They transform their resources into cryptocurrency in order to acquire drones in cyberspace."

They also pervert informal "hawala" money transfer networks which are especially popular in the Middle East, parts of Africa and the Indian subcontinent, "to transfer funds to the other end of the world" for terrorist activities, Le Drian said.

The resolution adopted Thursday strongly urges all countries to implement international standards established by the Financial Action Task Force or FATF, which was established in 1989 by major economic powers to combat money laundering. It has since expanded its work to countering terrorist financing and the financing of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Marshall Billingslea, the FATF president, told the Security Council "it is critical for all states to recognize where they may be vulnerable to terrorist financing and then use that understanding to mitigate those risks properly."

He said countries must recognize that the risks extend beyond the banking and finance sector to construction, commodities, pharmaceutical trafficking and even the used car trade.

Billingslea said groups such as Hezbollah, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and FARC rebels in Colombia "have all benefited from intermingling funds from criminal and otherwise legal trade for the purpose of funding terror attacks."

Kidnapping for ransom is also "a prominent and sometimes even primary source of terrorist revenue," and a major source of funding for the remnants of the Islamic State extremist group around the world, he said, adding that such payments are an incentive for further hostage-taking.

Billingslea said more than 190 countries have committed to being evaluated by FATF and implementing its standards.

As a result of its assessments, he said, FATF will be encouraging more than 50 countries to pass new legislation to counter terrorist financing.

Mercy Buku, an expert from Kenya in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, told the council by video link from Nairobi that there has been a rise in banking over mobile phones, noting that 866 million mobile money accounts - more than 45 percent in sub-Saharan Africa and 32 percent in southern Asia - transacted $1.3 billion last year.

But Buku said such money has become attractive to criminals, and she urged governments to adopt regulations to ensure that mobile transactions aren't used for money laundering or financing terrorism.

The resolution adopted Thursday urges all countries to establish financial intelligence units, to share information on financing terrorism within countries and to exchange relevant information with other nations.WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) - Authorities spoke privately Thursday to school board members for two hours about what happened when a fifth grader died from injuries suffered in a fight at a South Carolina elementary school.

But the Colleton County School Board gave out no additional information about the death of Raniya Wright after the meeting.

Wright was knocked unconscious Monday at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro during a fight with another fifth grader. She died in the hospital two days later.

The other student involved in the fight has been suspended. The student's name, sex and age have not been released. No charges have been filed.

Colleton County deputies met with the school board behind closed doors. When the board emerged, Chairman Tim Mabry read a brief statement saying student privacy laws and the ongoing criminal investigation meant they could not release additional information.

"We understand this is an emotional and difficult time for our community," Mabry said.

Superintendent Franklin Foster then read a brief statement promising to review the findings of the investigation and make any changes needed.

People who came to the school board meeting were unhappy with the lack of answers.

"We wait outside for two hours and y'all just going to adjourn the meeting and leave?" one yelled as the board members walked out.

School officials who called 911 initially said the girl collapsed Monday after the fight and was unconscious but breathing in the nurse's office, according to a Colleton County Sheriff's Office incident report.

The report and statements from deputies and school officials have not detailed how the girl was injured or what the fight was about. The attack is listed on the report as a simple assault. The report also said no weapons were used.

Raniya died Wednesday at a Charleston hospital. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of an Italian tourist during an attempted robbery almost two years ago.

Andre Jackson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court in the slaying of Carlo Marigliano, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Jackson, 34, was originally charged with capital murder.

Marigliano, 31, was found shot to death in a crashed jeep outside a Little Rock apartment complex in July 2017. Jackson's hand print was found on the driver's door, according to court records.

Savannah Johnson, 18, told police she was with Jackson, Fanicqua Blalock and Charina Fort when Marigliano approached her seeking marijuana and sex. The group first went to a nearby motel in search of drugs before they headed to the apartments, Johnson said.

Jackson then pulled out a gun and demanded money from Marigliano, Johnson said. Jackson shot Marigliano when he tried to drive away, she said.

Jackson was arrested a week after the shooting, according to court records. He was mistakenly released from prison in 2018 after completing a sentence for a separate crime.

This Dec. 11, 2018 booking photo released by Polaski County, Ark., Sheriff's Office shows Andre Jackson. Jackson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in the July 2017 slaying of Carlo Marigliano of Italy. Jackson was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of the Italian tourist during an attempted robbery almost two years ago. (Polaski County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Blalock has been charged with capital murder, according to court records. She's accused of arranging for Marigliano to be robbed.

___

Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.comWASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report is more than 300 pages long, a Justice Department official and another person familiar with the document said Thursday.

Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary of the report on Sunday and is expected to release a public version of the document in the coming weeks. The length of Mueller's report makes clear there are substantially more details he and his team have documented in their investigation than Barr disclosed to Congress and the public in his summary.

The Justice Department official said Barr discussed the length of the report during a phone call Wednesday with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler.

Both the department official and the other person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential report.

Nadler, a Democrat from New York, told reporters Wednesday that the report was "very substantial" and fewer than 1,000 pages.

Mueller's report did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign to swing the 2016 presidential election in President Donald Trump's favor, according to Barr's summary.

In this March 24, 2019 photo, Special Counsel Robert Mueller walks past the White House, after attending St. John's Episcopal Church for morning services, in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

But the report reached no conclusion on whether Trump had sought to obstruct the investigation. Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had determined there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Trump had obstructed justice.

The New York Times first reported that the report was more than 300 pages.

____

Follow Eric Tucker and Michael Balsamo on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

and http://www.twitter.com/mikebalsamo1 .CHICAGO (AP) - A man convicted of murder who is suspected of belonging to the notorious "Ripper Crew" that killed as many as 20 Chicago-area women in the 1980s is scheduled for release from prison Friday.

Thomas Kokoraleis was sentenced to life in prison for the 1982 slaying of 21-year-old Lorraine "Lorry" Ann Borowski, the Chicago Tribune reported. Prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty on appeal in exchange for a 70-year prison term. That deal allows for the 58-year-old inmate's release this week.

Jason Sweat, spokesman for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, said the state is legally required to release Kokoraleis because he has served the maximum possible amount of time on that sentence.

Kokoraleis was denied release in September 2017 after he failed to find an approved place to live, in violation of parole-eligibility requirements.

The former DuPage County resident is likely to be the only member of the four-man gang who will have a chance to rejoin society.

His younger brother, Andrew, was executed by lethal injection 20 years ago at age 35, prior to Illinois eliminating the death penalty. The other two have used all of their eligible appeals, although one of them will be eligible for parole if he lives to be 89.

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections shows Thomas Kokoraleis. The convicted murderer who is suspected of being a member of the notorious "Ripper Crew" that brutally killed as many as 20 women in the 1980s is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 29, 2019. Kokoraleis was initially sentenced to life in prison for the 1982 slaying of 21-year-old Lorry Ann Borowski. But after his appeal request was granted, prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty in exchange for serving half of his 70-year prison term.(Illinois Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Relatives of some of the victims' families were infuriated in late 2017 when they learned of Kokoraleis' expected release. Their efforts led to an 18-month delay of his initial parole date, but authorities said there was nothing else they could do to hold him beyond March 29.

Some family members said that while they're still disappointed, they've accepted that he will be released.

"We've exhausted everything," said Mark Borowski, who was 14 when his sister Lorry Ann was kidnapped after walking a few short blocks in broad daylight from her Elmhurst apartment to work. "There's nothing else we can do. We fought as hard as we could. I cannot even imagine someone like this could get out."

Lorry Ann Borowski's mother, Lorraine, now 83, said she never envisioned she'd see the day Kokoraleis would be released from prison.

"I thought he was going to be in prison until I died," she said.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.comGENEVA (AP) - Delivering final word in a nearly 14-year standoff, a World Trade Organization body has ruled that Boeing received an illegal U.S. tax break from Washington state that damaged sales by European archrival Airbus.

The decision by the WTO's appellate body considered whether the United States had complied with a 2012 ruling that found that plane-maker and defense company Boeing received at least $5 billion in subsidies prohibited under international trade rules.

But the ruling was limited. Except for the relatively small Washington state tax program - which the U.S. says was worth just $100 million a year - Thursday's decision found no grounds upon which the European bloc could seek damages from an arbitrator.

The verdict - one of several disputes pitting Boeing and Airbus in recent years - comes as Boeing has been facing concerns over its 737 Max aircraft following a fatal crash in Ethiopia this month and another off the coast of Indonesia last year. And the Trump administration has taken a hard line against the Geneva-based WTO over administration allegations that the trade body's rulings are unfair to the United States.

Both sides - as has often been the case in such high-stake standoffs - claimed "a major win" from Thursday's ruling.

The European Union saw the ruling as "vindicating the EU's long held position that the United States has taken no steps to comply with WTO rules on support to Boeing."

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2011 file photo, the Boeing Company logo on the property in El Segundo, Calif. Boeing Co. Delivering final word in a nearly 14-year standoff, a World Trade Organization body has ruled on Thursday, March 28, 2019 Boeing received U.S. subsidies via tax breaks from Washington state that damaged sales of aircraft made by European archrival Airbus. The decision by the WTO's appellate body considered whether the U.S. aeronautics and defense giant had complied with a 2012 ruling that found Boeing received at least $5 billion in subsidies that were prohibited under international trade rules. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

In a statement, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said: "The Appellate Body has now settled this case definitively, confirming our view the U.S. has continued to subsidize Boeing despite WTO rulings to the contrary."

Airbus went further, noting that the WTO would allow the 28-nation bloc to seek countermeasures against U.S. products if the United States doesn't comply.

"This is a clear victory for the EU and Airbus. It vindicates our position that Boeing, while pointing fingers at Airbus, has not taken any action to comply with its WTO obligations, contrary to Airbus and the EU," Airbus General Counsel John Harrison said.

The WTO ruling found that the Washington state tax break had led to lost sales of Airbus' A320neo and A320ceo aircraft in five sales campaigns.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office - just like Airbus - called the decision "a major win" and noted that the only victory by the European Union was over a Washington state tax measure worth an average annual value of only around $100 million from 2013-2015.

The U.S. won another victory last year in the long Boeing-Airbus conflict. A WTO panel found last May that the EU continued to provide illegal subsidies to Airbus.

"For years, European governments have provided massive subsidies to Airbus that dwarf any U.S. subsidies to Boeing," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Thursday. "This report confirms what every other WTO report on these issues has found: the United States does not provide support even remotely comparable to the exceptionally large and harmful EU subsidies to Airbus."

Boeing, meanwhile, similarly focused on the parts of the rulings in its favor Thursday, saying the WTO had rejected "every allegation of unlawful subsidies to Boeing with the single exception of one measure - the Washington state business and occupancy tax."

"We trust that our example will prompt Airbus and the European Union to immediately bring themselves into full compliance with the substantial rulings against these parties by the WTO."

"Legally, the U.S. won," said Gary Hufbauer, a trade analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, noting that the United States and Boeing dodged sanctions on potentially billions of dollars in business. But after years of legal wrangling that has likely had little impact on actual aircraft sales, Hufbauer said, "the only people who benefit are the lawyers."

___

Wiseman reported from Washington. David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this story.RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazilian mining giant Vale said a total of four of its dams could collapse at any moment, putting the company under renewed scrutiny just months after a rupture at another of its dams near the city of Brumadinho killed 212 people and left 93 missing.

On Wednesday night, the company raised the risk level at three of its mining dams to the highest grade, saying that independent auditors found they would not meet a new safety standard. It took similar measures on Saturday for one of its waste dams in the city of Barao de Cocais.

According to Brazil's mining and energy secretary, level three means that "a rupture is imminent or already happening."

In a statement, the company said that it "continues to adopt a series of preventative measures to increase security conditions at its dams."

It also said that it sounded actual alarms in rural areas on Wednesday where the state cannot guarantee a timely rescue, although evacuation orders had already been issued in those same places in February.

The latest emergency alert comes just over two months after the company was blamed for the Brumadinho dam collapse, which led to the arrests of several Vale employees and independent auditors.

Two weeks after the tragedy, an alarm rang out to over 500 residents in the middle of the night saying: "Attention! This is a real dam rupture emergency. Abandon your homes immediately." Vale said that measure was merely preventative.

Brumadinho was Vale's second fatal dam collapse in recent years.

In November 2015, a dam owned by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton also burst, killing 19 people and contaminating river and ocean waters.CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on the Jussie Smollett case (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association has issued a blistering critique of how Cook County prosecutors went about dropping all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett over his report of a racist, anti-gay attack.

A Thursday statement says Cook County State's Attorney Kim Fox and her representatives "have fundamentally misled the public on the law and circumstances surrounding the dismissal."

It said the approach "was abnormal and unfamiliar" to those in criminal law in Illinois.

Foxx this week has defended her staff's work, saying the Smollett case was handled how it would have been for anyone with no criminal record. Her office didn't have an immediate comment about the group's comments.

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

The association also pointed to apparent secrecy around a Tuesday hearing where charges were dropped, saying it added to an "appearance of impropriety."

___

3:10 p.m.

A city official says Chicago is seeking $130,000 from "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett to cover the costs of the investigation into his reported beating, which police say was staged.

Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city government's legal department, confirmed the amount Thursday, hours after Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city would try to recoup the money it spent on the investigation.

Cook County prosecutors on Tuesday dropped all of the charges against Smollett, who was accused of lying to police about being the victim of a homophobic and racist attack in downtown Chicago on Jan. 29.

Emanuel and the police department blasted the decision to drop the charges, saying they stand by their belief that Smollett hired two friends to help him stage the attack because he was unhappy about his salary and wanted publicity.

Smollett has maintained throughout that he is innocent.

___

2:15 p.m.

Jussie Smollett's attorney says his defense team won't ask for any records to be destroyed in the "Empire" actor's case.

Patricia Brown Holmes said Thursday that Smollett's defense team supports "the court files being preserved" in the now-sealed criminal case that accused the actor of filing a false police report.

Cook County prosecutors offered little explanation when they dropped felony charges against the actor on Tuesday. But they still insist the actor faked a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in January.

During a court hearing earlier Thursday, Cook County Judge LeRoy K. Martin Jr. said there was "no possibility" the records related to Smollett's case would be destroyed. He said: "In Cook County, we don't destroy records."

Prosecutors said during the hearing that they'd notify media outlets if Smollett's lawyers try to expunge his record. Holmes said Smollett "has not and will not file a motion for destruction of any records."

___

1:15 p.m.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city plans to try to recoup the money it spent on the Jussie Smollett investigation from the "Empire" actor himself.

Emanuel spoke Thursday on WGN radio, saying the Chicago Police Department is figuring out how much money it spent investigating Smollett's allegation that he was the victim of a racial and homophobic attack.

The mayor says once city attorneys finalize the number, the city will contact Smollett and his attorneys.

Prosecutors offered little explanation and infuriated Chicago's police chief and mayor when they dropped felony charges that alleged Smollett made a false police report.

Prosecutors still insist the actor faked the attack. Smollett says the attack was real.

Emanuel called the decision to drop the case "a whitewash of justice." He told WGN radio that taxpayers should get their resources back. Emanuel says if Smollett makes the payment, it would be "a small way of" acknowledging guilt.

___

12:40 p.m.

The ex-chief of staff for former first lady Michelle Obama says she approached Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx regarding the Jussie Smollett case on behalf of the actor's family.

Tina Tchen released a statement Wednesday saying she's a friend of Smollett's family and knows Foxx "from prior work together."

Tchen says her "sole activity" was to put the prosecutor in touch with "an alleged victim's family." Tchen says the Smollett family "had concerns about how the investigation was being characterized in public."

Email and text messages that Foxx's office provided to the Chicago Sun-Times show Tchen contacted Foxx to set up a telephone conversation with a Smollett relative. Foxx told the Sun-Times the relative expressed concerns over leaked information.

Foxx on Wednesday told the Chicago Tribune she regretted dealing with the Smollett relative in the investigation's early phases.

___

11:20 a.m.

Prosecutors say they will notify media outlets if Jussie Smollett's lawyers try to expunge the "Empire" actor's record in a now-sealed criminal case that accused him of filing a false police report.

Prosecutors made the promise during a Chicago court hearing with media attorneys on Thursday, two days after they infuriated Chicago's police chief and mayor by abruptly dropping the 16 felony counts against Smollett.

Prosecutors still insist the actor faked a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in January but have offered little explanation as to why they dropped the case and wiped his record from public view.

Lawyers for major news outlets including The Associated Press told the judge Thursday that court proceedings haven't been transparent and that "the public is entitled to know what happened."

Judge LeRoy Martin says court proceedings followed the law, adding: "There's no nefariousness."

___

8 a.m.

President Donald Trump says the FBI and Department of Justice will review the case of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett in Chicago.

Prosecutors offered little explanation and infuriated Chicago's police chief and mayor this week when they dropped charges against Smollett related to making a false police report. Yet prosecutors still insist the actor faked a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in January.

Trump tweeted early Thursday: "FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!"

Smollett's attorney says two brothers who claim they worked with the actor to stage the attack are lying. Investigators alleged Smollett staged the attack with the hopes of gaining attention and advancing his career.

___

Check out the AP's complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson appear at a news conference in Chicago, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, abandoning the case barely five weeks after he was accused of lying to police about being the target of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago. The mayor and police chief blasted the decision and stood by the investigation that concluded Smollett staged a hoax. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Actor Jussie Smollett, center, leaves the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after prosecutors dropped all charges against him on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, center, appear at a news conference Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, abandoning the case barely five weeks after he was accused of lying to police about being the target of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago. The mayor and police chief blasted the decision and stood by the investigation that concluded Smollett staged a hoax. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks during a news conference Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, abandoning the case barely five weeks after he was accused of lying to police about being the target of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago. Johnson stood by the department's investigation and said Chicago is "is still owed an apology." (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County Court after his charges were dropped Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - An uncle and nephew who had been imprisoned for 42 years for a Florida murder were vindicated Thursday when prosecutors asked a judge to vacate their convictions, saying they no longer believed in the men's guilt.

Clifford Williams, 76, and Hubert "Nathan" Myers, 61, wiped away tears after the judge said she was vacating their convictions. They are the first men cleared since the state attorney's office in Jacksonville started an initiative last year reviewing claims of wrongful conviction, the first effort of its kind in Florida.

"When we have an opportunity to correct errors, we should do so," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said.

Myers, who was only 18 when convicted, said at a news conference after the hearing that the first thing he wanted to do is re-establish ties with his family since "everything else is second." He thanked Nelson and Shelley Thibodeau, the lead attorney who re-examined the case.

"Everyone else had plugs in their ears and wouldn't listen," said Myers, who recounted how he reached out to Thibodeau's office after reading about the wrongful-conviction initiative in a newspaper. "I tried and tried and tried."

The men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1976 fatal shooting of Jeanette Williams and the attempted murder of her girlfriend, Nina Marshall. The women, who knew the defendants socially, were asleep in bed at the time of the shooting.

Nathan Myers, left, embraces his uncle, Clifford Williams, during a news conference after their 1976 murder convictions were overturned Thursday, March 28, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Williams died instantly but Marshall was able to flag down a car that drove her to a hospital. She identified Williams and Myers as the shooters.

The men claimed they had been at a birthday party a block from the shooting, and other party-goers backed up their alibis.

Their first trial ended in mistrial; the men were convicted at a second trial during which prosecutors contended a drug debt was the motive. Defense attorneys presented no witnesses and entered no evidence but instead attacked Marshall's credibility as a witness.

No physical evidence linked the shootings to the men and the case relied solely on the testimony of Marshall, who said the men had fired their shots from the foot of her bed.

"In fact, the physical and scientific evidence actually contradicts her testimony about what happened," according to a report from the state attorney's office outlining the reasons for vacating the convictions.

Broken glass along with bullet holes in a curtain and an aluminum screen showed the shots came from outside a bedroom window, the report said. Forensics evidence also showed only one gun was fired.

Marshall died in 2001 and investigators re-examining the case were unable to question her.

The report said another man who died in 1994 had claimed responsibility for the slaying and Myers answered questions truthfully during a polygraph test taken as part of the review of innocence.

"The culmination of all the evidence, most of which the jury never heard or saw, leaves no abiding confidence in the convictions or the guilt of the defendants," the report said.

Nathan Myers, left, hugs his uncle Frank Williams after the 1976 murder convictions of Myers and his other uncle, Clifford Williams, were overturned Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Nathan Myers, left, hugs his uncle, Clifford Williams, during a news conference after their 1976 murder convictions were overturned Thursday, March 28, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Clifford Williams gets a hug from his nephew, Nathan Myers, at the end of a hearing to overturn their 1976 murder convictions Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Clifford Williams, foreground left, and his nephew, Nathan Myers, talk to the media after their 1976 murder convictions were overturned Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Shelby Thibodeau, conviction integrity review director, right, speaks with Clifford Williams, left, and his nephew, Nathan Myers, before a hearing to overturn their 1976 murder convictions Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. The order to vacate the convictions originated from the first ever conviction integrity review unit set up by State Attorney Melissa Nelson. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP)Record-breaking flooding has forced dozens of people on a South Dakota reservation to evacuate and ranchers were working Thursday to get their livestock to higher ground while waiting for a river to crest.

High water from the Moreau River is threatening about 50 residences in an 8-mile (12.8-kilometer) stretch between White Horse and Thomas in north-central South Dakota, said Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe spokesman Remi Bald Eagle. He said about half a dozen people were rescued by helicopter. The tribe has asked others to voluntarily evacuate.

Bald Eagle said no injuries have been reported but some residents are refusing to leave because their cattle are trapped by flooding.

"Everybody is afraid that their livelihoods are going to be swept up by the water obviously," Bald Eagle said. "It is really a critical time for the livestock folks because right now their cattle are all calving."

The reservation has deployed 20,000 sandbags and a Pennington County rescue team is on hand if needed.

The National Weather Service said the worst appears to be over. The river has been as high as 28 feet (8.5 meters), or 8 feet (2 meters) above flood stage. It stood at about 23 feet (7.01 meters) Thursday morning and is expected to crest at 24 feet (7.3 meters) over the weekend, South Dakota meteorologist Jeff Chapman said.

In this Monday, March 25, 2019 photo, standing water pools in a field near Loneman, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, following spring flooding. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)

On the Pine Ridge Reservation in southern South Dakota, the Oglala Sioux tribe is transitioning into recovery mode after flooding swamped roads, trapped people in homes and cut off water supplies to thousands.

"A lot of people lost their homes," said state Rep. Peri Pourier, who is executive director of the Pine Ridge Reservation Emergency Relief nonprofit. "It's going to be a big recovery effort - getting the manpower, the materials and resources to help recover."

Elsewhere, meteorologists in Montana said a spring storm that is bringing rain and snow may lead to additional flooding as the runoff flows into rivers and streams already swollen with snowmelt. And North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared a statewide flood emergency after touring inundated homes in the western part of the state on Wednesday.

Rain is expected to prolong the flood fight along the swollen Missouri River , creating a second crest east of Kansas City. The river's first crest is still making its way downstream, but the worst of the flooding is upstream in Missouri's Holt and Atchison counties, where multiple levees breached.

___

Associated Press writers Matt Volz in Helena, Montana, and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

In this Monday, March 25, 2019 photo, Water gushes along the driveway to Betty Lou Brave Heart's home near Porcupine, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation following spring flooding. The flowing water has made the quarter-mile driveway impassible by vehicle. (Ryan Hermens/Rapid City Journal via AP)

In this Wednesday, March 27, 2019, photo provided by the North Dakota Governor's Office, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, center, tours flood-affected areas in western McKenzie County with two unidentified residents. Burgum declared a statewide flood emergency after touring the area with a submerged section of Highway 200 between Cartwright, N.D., and Fairview, Mont., still closed Wednesday. (Mark Staples/North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Mexican and Central American leaders of doing "nothing" to prevent illegal immigrants from coming to the United States - one day after his administration signed an agreement with some of those same leaders aimed at reducing the number of migrants streaming north.

Trump's tweets risked undermining his administration's diplomatic efforts on immigration, and came as Mexico said it planned to set up a "containment belt" of federal forces to stem an increasing flow of Central American migrants.

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country," he tweeted. "They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing."

Trump also suggested he'd shut the U.S.-Mexico border - a threat he's floated before - as U.S. border officials stressed immigration enforcement is at the breaking point. He doubled down on the digs against Mexico in a second tweet later Thursday.

Trump's remarks stood in contrast with those of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who expressed gratitude for the collaboration among regional leaders in addressing border problems. She met with Mexican officials and traveled to Honduras this week to meet with leaders of that country, Guatemala and El Salvador. The U.S. and Central American officials signed a border security compact Wednesday that aims to expand intelligence sharing, address human trafficking and combat transnational gangs.

"America shares common cause with the countries of Central America in confronting these challenges," she said in a tweet Thursday, adding that all the countries were working toward the same goal. "Together we will prevail."

President Donald Trump speaks before awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins with Atkins' son Trevor Oliver, 22, accepting the posthumous recognition for conspicuous gallantry in Iraq in June 2007, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday March 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday acknowledged that migrants were increasingly coming north, "because there are no options, no alternatives in Central America."

Lopez Obrador said Mexico is doing its part to fight immigrant smuggling. "We are going to do everything we can to help. We don't in any way want a confrontation with the U.S. government."

He said Mexico was going to maintain a "very respectful relationship" with the U.S. government and Trump, adding that the U.S. concerns were legitimate.

For Trump, the tweet was a return to a signature policy and one that plays deeply to his base, wedged between victory tweets following the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mueller's team found no evidence that Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary by Attorney General William Barr. The report reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.

While overall arrests at the border are still well below highs of the early 2000s, the U.S. is facing a surge of Central American families who ask for asylum and who cannot be easily returned, straining the system, creating a huge backlog in cases, and overwhelming border facilities not set up to manage so many children and families.

Arrests along the Mexican border jumped to 66,450 in February, up 149 percent from a year earlier. March is shaping up to be even busier. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said the agency was on track to make 100,000 arrests or denials of entry during the month, up about 30 percent from February and about double the same period last year. About 55,000 people will have arrived as families, including 40,000 children.

The border agency temporarily reassigned several hundred border inspectors to process migrants, provide transportation and perform hospital watches to keep pace.

"That breaking point has arrived this week," McAleenan said Wednesday in El Paso. "CBP is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis all along our southwest border."

Mexico has already allowed the U.S. to return some migrants to Mexico to wait as their asylum cases play out. And Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero said the government would try to contain migrants heading north at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest part of the country's south and the easiest to control.

"It's going to be a big change," she said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump has spent months clashing with lawmakers over his long-promised border wall and the fight included questions from Democrats on whether there actually was a "crisis" at the border.

That conflict escalated last month when Trump declared a national emergency to obtain billions in additional dollars for construction. The move drew bipartisan criticism that the president was seeking to improperly circumvent lawmakers and prompted Congress to pass a resolution opposing the move. But Trump vetoed the resolution and the Democratic-led House lacked the votes to override.

___

Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Central American migrants wait for food in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in a pen erected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to process a surge of migrant families and unaccompanied minors. Earlier, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, center, announced the the Trump administration will temporarily reassign several hundred border inspectors, during a news conference at the border in El Paso. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, center, announced that the Trump administration will temporarily reassign several hundred border inspectors during a news conference at the border in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. McAleenan said the reassignment of 750 border inspectors would mean longer waits at crossings as the busy Easter holiday nears but that it was necessary to address what he called "an operational crisis." The reassigned officers will process migrants, provide transportation and perform hospital watches for migrants who require medical attention. It is unknown when they will return to their regular duties. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez , left, speaks as Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen listens during a meeting in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The Secretary of National Security of the United States will discuss with his colleagues from the Northern Triangle a series of actions to counter organized crime and illegal trafficking of migrants and drugs to his country from Central America. (AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The owners of an air ambulance that crashed in Alaska have ended a private search for the three employees on board.

Officials with Utah-based Guardian Flight say the search ended Wednesday after covering 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) of ocean floor and traversing more than 700 linear miles (1,127 kilometers) by ship.

Company spokesman Jim Gregory says searchers will continue to look along the shoreline.

Searchers earlier found most of the plane wreckage, including the cockpit voice recorder, over a large debris field in Frederick Sound.

The King Air 200 disappeared Jan. 29 flying to pick up a patient in the southeast community of Kake. The pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic were Guardian Flight employees.

The Coast Guard searched hundreds of square miles before suspending its search Jan. 31.PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a one-year extension of a humanitarian program that allows Liberians to live and work in the U.S., days before it was set to end.

The White House issued a memo from Trump about the program for immigrants who came from the African nation to escape environmental disasters, the Ebola virus and war. The protected status for thousands of Liberians had been set to expire Sunday, which would have put them at risk for deportation.

The Republican president decided last year to end the program, dating to 2007. He said then that it wasn't needed because conditions in Liberia have improved. Trump now says that, "upon further reflection and review," he has decided it's in the foreign policy interest of the United States to extend a "wind-down period" for the program for an additional year.

Their re-integration "into Liberian civil and political life will be a complex task, and an unsuccessful transition could strain United States-Liberian relations and undermine Liberia's post-civil war strides toward democracy and political stability," he wrote in the memo.

Liberians "are surviving a huge storm that would have paralyzed our community, that would have separated families, that would have caused so many problems in our community," Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of Minnesota-based African Immigrant Services, said. Minnesota has one of the largest populations of Liberians in the U.S.

Kiatamba, who chaired a national campaign to extend the program for Liberians, called the extension not only a "huge victory" for Liberians, but for all immigrants across the U.S.

If the program hadn't been extended, Kiatamba said Liberians' driver's licenses could have been revoked in many states and they could have lost income, housing and medical insurance. Since many Liberians are health care workers, patients could have lost their caregivers, he added.

Two civil rights organizations sued in Boston this month on behalf of 15 Liberian immigrants as the deadline drew near. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Lawyers for Civil Rights argued that the decision to end the program was unconstitutional and based on race, ethnicity and national origin, and would break apart families. The program protects about 4,000 Liberian immigrants, the organizations said.

A coalition of attorneys general filed a brief Monday supporting the Liberian immigrants.

Trump's decision comes hours before a hearing that was set for Thursday afternoon on the civil rights organizations' request for an injunction to stop the government from issuing deportation orders, said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Clarke said they're now figuring out their next steps, following the one-year reprieve.

Clarke called it a "major win" for families and communities affected by the administration's "discriminatory decision."

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and immigration advocates praised the extension but said Congress should enact a more permanent resolution. Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, has been leading an effort for years to pass a bill to provide legal status and a pathway to citizenship for qualifying Liberians. Rhode Island has one of the largest populations of Liberians per capita.

"In the long-term, we still need a solution that provides certainty for this population, allowing them to get on a pathway to full citizenship," Reed said in a statement Thursday. "It is time for Congress to act on legislation that gives Liberians an opportunity to remain here permanently."

Avideh Moussavian, legislative director of the National Immigration Law Center, said the administration's decision is the "right thing to do" but "temporary relief is not enough."

The Philadelphia area has the largest population of Liberian immigrants in the United States, with 13,000, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul with 11,000, New York City-Newark with 7,000, and Washington, D.C., with 6,000, according to census data analyzed by the Migration Policy Institute. There are also pockets in Providence, Baltimore, Dallas and Atlanta.

___

Baenen reported from Minneapolis.WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats intensified their demands for Robert Mueller's full report Thursday after learning the special counsel's findings from his Trump-Russia investigation run to more than 300 pages, while President Donald Trump boasted of total exoneration based on a four-page summary by his attorney general.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler was told by Attorney General William Barr that there's no intention of giving the confidential report to Congress immediately as he redacts grand jury testimony and other elements.

Democrats say they may subpoena the report if it's not forthcoming by their Tuesday deadline, which Barr has said will not be met.

Through the day, tempers were rising on Capitol Hill.

Shaking her fist for emphasis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr's summary, which cleared Trump of campaign collusion with Russia and criminal obstruction of Mueller's federal probe, was "condescending" and "arrogant."

"Mr. Attorney General," she said, "show us the report and we'll come to our own conclusions." She asked what Trump and the Republicans were afraid of and mocked them as "scaredy-cats."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi heaps scorn on Attorney General William Barr, saying his letter about special counsel Robert Mueller's report was "condescending," after Barr concluded there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Pelosi also defended House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who faced calls Thursday from Republicans to resign over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump himself headed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a campaign rally, where he deemed the probe "the greatest hoax in the history of our country" and warned that those behind it "would be held accountable."

"After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is dead," Trump told a packed house of roaring supporters. "This was nothing more than a sinister effort to undermine our historic election victory and to sabotage the will of the American people."

The length of Mueller's still-confidential report makes clear that there are substantially more details that he and his team have documented in their investigation than Barr disclosed to Congress and the public. The volume of pages was described Thursday by a Justice Department official and another person familiar with the document.

The Justice Department official said Barr discussed the length of the report during a phone call Wednesday with Nadler, who would only indicate it was less than 1,000 pages.

Both the department official and the other person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the document.

Barr would not commit to providing the full report with its underlying evidence, according to a House Democratic aide granted anonymity Thursday to brief reporters.

The attorney general has been going through the report amid Democratic concerns that what has been made public so far was tilted in Trump's favor. It's unclear whether whatever Barr might release next will be Mueller's own words or another summary. Nadler offered to join Barr to seek a judge's approval to unseal grand jury testimony, the aide said.

Barr has said he'll provide Congress with at least a partial version in April and told Nadler he would agree to testify before his committee.

As that battle brews, House Democrats barreled ahead with their own investigation of the Trump administration, and Trump resumed his attack on Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., just as the chairman of the intelligence committee was about to gavel his panel into session.

"Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!" Trump tweeted early Thursday.

Republicans picking up on Trump's complaints formalized their demand that Schiff resign as chairman of the intelligence panel over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia.

"We have no faith in your ability to discharge your responsibilities" in line with the Constitution, the Republicans wrote to Schiff in a missive they read aloud at the hearing.

Republicans pointed to Barr's synopsis, released Sunday, that said Mueller's probe didn't find that Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Schiff stood by his remarks, listing the meetings that people in Trump's circle had with Russians. He noted Trump's pursuit of a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

"There is a different word for that than collusion, and it's called compromise," Schiff said, as he opened the session. The hearing was called to provide an overview on how Russia in the past has blackmailed Americans.

Since Barr's findings were released, Schiff this week has repeated his assertion that evidence of collusion is in "plain sight." He says Mueller's failure to find a criminal conspiracy with Russia does not absolve the Trump campaign.

Pelosi stood by Schiff, saying she was proud of him and taunting Republicans - including Trump - for fearing the chairman, whom she called a "patriotic leader."

"What is the president afraid of, Is he afraid of the truth?" she said. "They're just scaredy-cats."

Democrats complain that Barr overstepped by making the determination, with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, that Trump did not obstruct the investigation.

While Barr's summary Sunday said Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election, it also said Mueller reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed the federal investigation, instead setting out "evidence on both sides" of the question.

"I would hope the attorney general would not be acting as a political operative for the president," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Judiciary Committee. "The Department of Justice should not be involved in a cover-up of what's actually in the report."

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Wednesday he was disappointed Barr would take weeks, not days, to release the report.

"The president has now an opportunity for weeks, it sounds like, to do these victory laps," said Cummings, noting that Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, is among those headed to jail as a result of the probe. "Cohen goes to jail, the president runs a victory lap."

Barr told the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that he's combing through Mueller's report and removing classified, grand jury and other information in hopes of releasing the rest to Congress.

Trump has said he's fine with releasing the findings. "The president said, 'Just let it go,' and that's what's going to happen," Graham said.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Kevin Freking, Andrew Taylor, Catherine Lucey, Jill Colvin, Alan Fram, Mike Balsamo and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.

___

Follow all of AP's Trump Investigations coverage at https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations .

President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019, for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Trump is traveling to Michigan to speak at a rally before spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., evades reporters as he rushes to a vote during a committee hearing on Russia, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, calls for the resignation of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as the Democrat-controlled panel pushed ahead with their oversight of the Trump administration on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Schiff this week has repeated his assertion that evidence of collusion is in "plain sight," saying that Mueller's failure to find a criminal conspiracy with Russia does not absolve the Trump campaign of its actions. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi heaps scorn on Attorney General William Barr, saying his letter about special counsel Robert Mueller's report was "condescending," after Barr concluded there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Pelosi also defended House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who faced calls Thursday from Republicans to resign over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia student who worked with the nation's first elected African-American governor is accusing him of sexually harassing her by kissing her without consent.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Sydney Black, 22, says L. Douglas Wilder, 88, offered to take her on trips and pay for law school and suggested she live at his house in 2017. Black reported the conduct to police and Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was working as an office assistant at the school's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Wilder is a distinguished professor at the school.

Citing privacy concerns, VCU declined to answer questions, but the newspaper reports the university notified Black in a January letter that its Title IX office intended to investigate. Wilder didn't respond to the newspaper's repeated requests for comment over several weeks.

The report comes nearly two months after revelations that Virginia's current governor and attorney general had worn blackface in the 1980s. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, meanwhile, has vehemently denied sexual assault allegations from two women. Wilder called for Gov. Ralph Northam's resignation after he admitted wearing blackface, but didn't comment publicly about allegations against Fairfax.

Black, who is African-American, said she struggled with making a report that could tarnish Wilder's legacy and attract negative attention.

"I had to choose being a woman over being black," she said.

In February 2017, Black said that Wilder took her to dinner on her 20th birthday, gave her alcohol and invited her back to his Richmond condo, where he kissed her. Wilder told her he could help her get accepted at the Howard University School of Law, where he is a board member, she said. When she asked what he wanted in return, he said, "As long as you stick with me, you should be fine."

They went to his condo, where he poured them both champagne, and as they talked, Black said he put his hand on her leg and then kissed her. She said she "immediately jerked away" asking why he "felt comfortable doing that" and he responded that he "shouldn't have."

Three months later, Wilder told Black that funding for her position lapsed, Black said. She withdrew from college 2018 and re-enrolled this semester.

"I was deceived," she said. "I thought he was a different sort of person."

Black reported the alleged incident to the university in December and was directed to speak with Richmond Police Detective Eric Livengood, who confirmed he spoke to Black, but didn't answer questions. A redacted Jan. 3 report says a 20-year-old woman reported that a Feb. 16, 2017, assault in a residence in the same block where Wilder owns a condo.

After Black contacted VCU, she received a letter that said VCU's Title IX office determined that the conduct Black reported "could possibly" meet the definitions of sexual assault or sex- or gender-based discrimination outlined in VCU policies. Last month, the deputy Title IX coordinator for students at VCU, Tammi Slovinsky, told Black in an email that an "external attorney-investigator with specialized training and experience" had been assigned to her case.

Black's mother, Margo Stokes, and grandmother, Pauline Carver of Wytheville, said Black called them independently in the days after the alleged incident and told them Wilder gave her alcohol and tried to kiss her.

"He just took a lot from Sydney when he did this because she really admired him, and so did I," Carver said.COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Russian diplomat quietly left Sweden following the arrest of a computer specialist he allegedly handled as a spy and met for dinner in Stockholm three weeks ago to carry out an act of espionage, Swedish authorities said.

The delay in Moscow recalling the diplomat back to Russia after he was seen meeting with the Swedish computer specialist at the nightclub where the arrest took place puzzled government officials and analysts.

An intelligence report from a European service obtained by The Associated Press identified the diplomat as Yevgeny Umerenko and alleged he served as a "line-x officer," or a specialist in technology espionage. The report said he previously served a similar spying role while stationed as a diplomat in Germany.

Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter first named Umerenko. Anna Lundbladh, a spokeswoman for Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, confirmed Thursday that Umerenko had left the country but said "we will not discuss this matter in further detail."

Following the computer specialist's arrest on suspicion of espionage, Sweden summoned Russia's ambassador "as a result of a diplomat's activities."

A former Swedish intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the case, said it was unusual Russia waited so long to withdraw the diplomat given his public exposure. SAPO chief Klas Friberg, also expressed surprise in an interview with Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

An undated handout photo obtained by The Associated Press from an intelligence report from a European service of a man identified as Yevgeny Umerenko. Computer technology espionage specialist identified as Yevgeny Umerenko, was detained in Stockholm, Sweden, before he carried out an act of espionage, according to Swedish authorities Thursday March 28, 2019. (Photo via AP)

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The computer specialist was arrested on Feb. 26 by the country's domestic security agency. The agency, known by its Swedish acronym SAPO, said a Russian intelligence officer recruited the Swede after working the case "for a long time." Criminal activity had been going on at least since 2017, the agency said.

Magnus Ranstorp, an analyst at the Swedish National Defense College, described the arrest as a "big case," noting that Sweden and neighboring Finland are important spy posts for Russian intelligence.

The European intelligence report identified the computer specialist as Kristian Dmitrievski, a naturalized Swedish citizen who previously held a Russian passport. Dmitrievski is married to a Swede and lives in Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city and home to several prominent research institutions.

"Mr. Dmitrievski is a specialist in computer simulation and biophysics," the intelligence report said. A Swedish court document states he has a domestic violence conviction.

SAPO spokeswoman Sofia Hellqvist could not provide new information and referred to the prosecutor in charge of the investigation.

Dmitrievski previously worked at the Chalmers University of Technology, according to the report, and founded a company called Computer Simulation AB. Those details match the information on a LinkedIn page of a man named Kristian Dmitrievski.

Christian Borg, the press spokesman for the Chalmers University of Technology, told the AP Dmitrievski was employed as a researcher until 2011 but did not have access to sensitive information. The university has not been contacted by investigators, Borg said.

"The charges came as a total surprise for us. We see no connection to his former work at Chalmers," he said.

___

Butler reported from Washington.CORONA, Calif. (AP) - A California man was charged Thursday in the torturing death of his 8-year-old son, who hasn't been found weeks after his mother reported him missing southeast of Los Angeles, prosecutors said.

Both parents had already been jailed on child abuse charges following the boy's disappearance.

Bryce McIntosh, 32, was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said.

Police in the city of Corona said they are still looking for the boy but after searching three locations, found evidence that Noah was killed. Items included a trash can, plastic bag with residue consistent with blood, blender parts and empty bottles of drain cleaner, court papers show.

"There is no more trust a child should have than in their parents," Police Chief George Johnstone told reporters. "It truly is saddening. And it truly tears at our hearts to see this type of case."

Police said Jillian Godfrey reported on March 12 that she couldn't reach her son and had last dropped him off at his father's home more than a week earlier. Police said Godfrey later told them she stayed at McIntosh's apartment from March 1 to March 3 and last saw her son on March 2.

FILE - This booking photo released on March 14, 2019 by the Corona, Calif., Police Department shows Bryce McIntosh. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday, March 28, 2019 that McIntosh was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh. Corona police say they are still looking for the boy but found evidence in searches in Riverside County that he was killed. Police say the boy's mother, Jillian Godfrey, reported she couldn't reach him more than two weeks ago. (Corona Police Department via AP, File)

McIntosh is expected to appear in court next week on the murder charge. His attorney Brian Cosgrove declined to comment. In court filings, police said McIntosh bought gloves, acid, drain opener and a trash can on March 4.

That's also the day that McIntosh searched on his cellphone for "normal heart rate for 8 year old" and information about sodium hydroxide, which is corrosive and can dissolve flesh, Corona police Det. Mario Hernandez wrote in a court filing in support of an arrest warrant.

Godfrey initially told police she last saw her son on March 4, but later said it actually was two days earlier and that McIntosh had taken the boy into the bathroom where the child asked his father why he was hurting him, Hernandez wrote.

Police searched areas in Riverside County where McIntosh's cellphone had been used on March 4 and March 5 and found a glove, plastic bag, empty drain cleaner bottles and other items. They also had a plumbing company search his apartment and found that the bathtub plumbing trap was cleaner than usual, Hernandez wrote.

Noah's 10-year-old sister described how her father abused her brother by putting him in the bathtub and handcuffing him, according to the court filing.

Police asked residents to contact them if they saw either parent or a black BMW in the weeks before the boy disappeared. Residents held a vigil last weekend and hung blue ribbons throughout the community 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles to honor Noah.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Corona Police Department shows 8-year-old Noah McIntosh, who is missing. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday, March 28, 2019 that the boy's father Bryce McIntosh was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh. Corona police say they are still looking for the boy but found evidence in searches in Riverside County that he was killed. Police say the boy's mother, Jillian Godfrey, reported she couldn't reach him more than two weeks ago. (Corona Police Department via AP, File)

FILE - This booking photo released on March 14, 2019 by the Corona, Calif., Police Department shows Jillian Godfrey, the mother of missing 8-year-old Noah McIntosh. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday, March 28, that the boy's father, Bryce McIntosh, was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh. Police said the boy's mother Jillian Godfrey reported on March 12 that she couldn't reach her son. Authorities say they searched the father's apartment and found enough evidence to arrest him and Godfrey and charge both with child abuse. (Corona Police Department via AP, File)CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader brushed off the measure and said it would not derail his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The announcement by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, a close Maduro ally, cited alleged irregularities in Guaido's financial records and reflected a tightening of government pressure on an opposition movement backed by the United States and its allies.

Guaido, who was elected to the assembly in 2015, has taken 90 international trips without accounting for the origin of the estimated $94,000 in expenses, Amoroso said. He also accused the opposition leader of harming Venezuela through his interactions with foreign governments, dozens of which support Guaido's claim that he is interim president of the country.

"We're going to continue in the streets," Guaido said soon after Amoroso's statements on state television. He dismissed the comptroller's announcement as irrelevant because, in his view, Maduro's government is illegitimate.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino described the ban on Guaido as "ridiculous."

Meeting in Ecuador, delegations from a group of European and Latin American countries also criticized the Venezuelan government's move.

Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido talks during a meeting with electricity experts in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 28, 2019. The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader responded soon afterward that he would continue his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

"Such a political decision without regard to due process is yet another demonstration of the arbitrary nature of judicial procedures in the country," said the International Contact Group on Venezuela. The group says it seeks the peaceful restoration of democracy to the country.

The power struggle between Maduro and Guaido has intensified the sense of crisis in Venezuela, which suffered its worst blackouts earlier this month and then another round of power outages that paralyzed commerce this week.

Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said Thursday that electricity had been restored in most of the country, though some areas remained without power and experts have warned that the system is vulnerable to further disruptions.

Schools and public offices were still closed, but there was more traffic in the streets of Caracas and many people were able to make electronic payments for the first time in days.

"It's a moment of happiness in the middle of this tragedy, to see that my card worked," Caracas resident Maria Isabel Vera said after buying medicine in a pharmacy.

Both the opposition and the government plan demonstrations on Saturday as they try to project resolve in a debilitating standoff in what was once one of Latin America's wealthiest countries. More than 3 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, escaping dire economic conditions that left many without adequate food or medicine.

Maduro, who is backed by Russia, says he is the target of a U.S.-led coup plot and has accused Washington and Guaido of sabotaging Venezuela's power grid. Both the U.S. and the Venezuelan opposition, as well as many electricity experts, believe neglect and mismanagement are the cause of the country's electricity woes.

Venezuelan authorities this month arrested Guaido's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, and accused him of involvement in a "terrorist" scheme to overthrow the government.

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaido as interim president, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was rigged. It has stepped up sanctions and other diplomatic measures in the hopes of forcing him to give up power.

Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido attends a meeting with electricity experts in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 28, 2019. The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader responded soon afterward that he would continue his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido talks during a meeting with electricity experts in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 28, 2019. The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader responded soon afterward that he would continue his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A former Iowa Democratic Party official is facing criticism for jumping to Beto O'Rourke's campaign - and bringing with him inside information that O'Rourke's rivals for the White House say could give the former Texas congressman an advantage on caucus night.

Before joining O'Rourke's campaign this month as a senior Iowa strategist, Norm Sterzenbach worked for the state Democratic Party to develop and implement some of the biggest changes to the nation's leadoff caucus in 50 years. Those changes include a mandate from the Democratic National Committee to hold a "virtual caucus" that, for the first time, would allow people to participate by telephone.

Party officials were blindsided by his decision to join the O'Rourke campaign, and some Iowa Democrats are arguing that Sterzenbach is conflicted. Former Rep. David Nagle, who led a team of more than two dozen Democratic activists and operatives in reviewing the caucuses after the 2016 election, said Sterzenbach had been involved in that process from start to finish. He said he and other party operatives were "very uncomfortable" that Sterzenbach joined a campaign.

"We almost feel like it's an act of betrayal," he said. "To design a system, and then the week you're giving your final advice to the party you go and join a presidential campaign and don't tell anybody?"

Party officials plan to hire a new caucus director and emphasize that the party's current leadership - Chairman Troy Price and Executive Director Kevin Geiken - have plenty of caucus experience. The campaigns still have a full year to get their questions answered.

Sterzenbach says he was not thinking about joining O'Rourke's team or any other campaign while crafting the caucus rules. He says he signed a nondisclosure agreement with the state party that bars him from discussing certain caucus details with the campaign - an agreement he plans to maintain.

FILE - In this March 15, 2019, file photo, former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks during a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. A former Iowa Democratic Party official is facing criticism for jumping from the party to work for O'Rourke _ and bringing with him inside information his opponents say could give him an advantage. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

"I have actually not had a single conversation with anyone on the Beto O'Rourke campaign about the caucus changes," he said. "Some of that is just a matter of, we haven't gotten to that point yet, as we're still setting up the structure of the campaign, but they haven't asked - nor have I ever shared anything. And from this point forward, the conversations will only revolve around things that have been publicly disclosed."

The O'Rourke campaign stood by Sterzenbach in an email to the Associated Press.

"We are building the largest grassroots campaign in history and are excited to have Norm's on-the-ground expertise leading the way in Iowa as we work to meet with, listen to, learn from and serve everyone in the state," spokesman Chris Evans said.

Sterzenbach is not the only Iowa Democratic Party official who has moved to a campaign, nor is he the only campaign staffer in the state with an intimate knowledge of the caucuses.

Still, operatives on at least three rival campaigns have privately expressed concerns over Sterzenbach's move. They note that, as a party official, he was available to campaigns to answer questions as the caucus changes were rolled out. Some campaigns had frank conversations with Sterzenbach - or with other party officials that they believe Sterzenbach was privy to - that they worry could tip their hand on their caucus strategy.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal campaign conversations.

The issue is especially fraught in Iowa where supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have argued an unfair nominating process in 2016 inappropriately favored Hillary Clinton. Iowa Democratic Party officials are feeling added pressure to ensure that all candidates are treated the same this time.

Sue Dvorsky, a former party chairwoman who was also involved in rewriting the caucus rules, said because of those complaints, Iowa Democratic Party officials are on high alert to make things fair.

"I think people are being very, very careful, all the way along, to document what information is going out and that it's going to everybody, and that there literally is just no favoritism being shown," she said.

Dvorsky said she "understands the concerns" from the rival campaigns over Sterzenbach's hiring, but expressed confidence in Price, the state party chairman.

For now, Sanders' camp isn't raising concerns about fairness. Pete D'Alessandro, a top adviser on Sanders' Iowa campaign, acknowledged Sterzenbach's departure was a significant loss for the party.

"It is not in Norm Sterzenbach's DNA to cheat. It is not how this person who I've known for 20 years conducts himself," he said.

The state party now lacks a key staffer as they implement major changes to the caucus process. In addition to the virtual caucus, the party is changing key aspects gatherings that will affect candidates' strategies on caucus night and the party's reporting practices.

__

Associated Press writer Sara Burnett in Waterloo, Iowa, contributed to this report.NEW YORK (AP) - As an esteemed film critic and director of the New York Film Festival, Kent Jones' perch is the film world is a rarified one. But he has long harbored a dream beyond his day job. He doesn't just want to write about and curate movies. He wants to make them.

"It's where I've always been aimed," Jones said with the certainty of a compass while sitting in a Park Slope cafe on a recent morning in Brooklyn.

Such aspirations, of course, do not always make sound life goals. Proximity to moviemaking can cloud even the most level-headed of thinkers. The New Yorker critic Pauline Kael infamously flamed out in Hollywood after Warren Beatty lured her to Los Angeles to work on James Toback's "Love & Money."

Jones has carved out a career, and a sensibility, far different than Kael's. But if anyone was skeptical when Jones, 58, went off to make his first fiction film, he understands.

"More than one person has been like, 'I was very nervous about watching your movie and then I was relieved that I liked it as much as I did,'" said Jones. "That's been a common thread. I think people were kind of like, 'He's going to make a movie?' But from the inside, it was always about moving in that direction. I just took" - and here Jones roars with laughter - "a different route."

The result is "Diane," a modest and raw character study starring Mary Kay Place as a selfless widower in wintery Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she spends guilt-ridden days always on the move: visiting her addicted and overbearing son (Jake Lacy), a soup kitchen, her diminishing community of friends and family.

This undated image released by Cinetic Media shows filmmaker Kent Jones, right, with actress Mary Kay Place, left, and associate producer Gabi Madsen on the set of "Diane." The film is a modest and raw character study starring Place as a widower who spends her guilt-ridden days visiting her addicted and overbearing son, a soup kitchen and her diminishing community of friends and family. (Cinetic Media via AP)

Shot on a meager budget over 20 days in upstate New York (Place calls it "a 59-cent movie"), "Diane," which is in limited release Friday, has been hailed for its clear-eyed intimacy, for the bracingly honest performance of its 71-year-old veteran actress and for its singular rhythm in which life passes, perplexedly, in fits and starts, through pain and grace. It won three awards, including best narrative film, at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, the downtown New York festival alternative to the one overseen by Jones at Lincoln Center.

Jones wrote it specifically for Place, the "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" star, inspired by her performance in Francis Ford Coppola's 1997 drama "The Rainmaker." They first met while serving as jurors at the Berkshire Film Festival. Jones grew up in nearby Pittsfield, the small, blue-collar city in western Massachusetts. Place was flattered but skeptical.

"I had no hope that it would ever get financed. I said to him, 'You will not a get a penny from me. I am not a bank.' But he never seemed daunted or even seemed to think much about it," said Place, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. "I said I believe I'll jump on that faith train myself. I still find it a miracle."

When the script finally arrived years later, Place recognized, she says, "the part of a lifetime."

"It was one of the great gifts of my life," said Place. "I read that thing straight through in a zip. It seemed to flow like honey dripping out of a bottle."

Jones was once Martin Scorsese's video archivist, and the two remain close. (Scorsese is an executive producer on "Diane.") As a critic, he's shied away from regular week-to-week reviewing to craft a more varied relationship to cinema. He's made documentaries on film history about filmmakers with unique interactions with movies, including the B-movie producer Val Lewton and the critic-turned-filmmaker Francois Truffaut's storied interviews with Alfred Hitchcock. Jones has also written some scripts, including 2013's "Jimmy P.," with French director Arnaud Desplechin.

"I kind of created my own idea of criticism," said Jones. "The deeper I got, the more my thinking about movies became oriented on the divergence between the way they're thought about in writing and what they actually are - what the filmmaking process is for filmmakers as opposed to what the filmmaking process is imaged to be. And it's really different. That became more and more apparent to me."

"It has to live," adds Jones. "That's a very different kind of enterprise from what criticism tends to be aimed at."

Film history is rife with critics who crossed over into filmmaking, from Jean-Luc Godard to Paul Schrader, James Agee to Frank Nugent. In making his first narrative film, Jones pulled from both his study of cinema and from his friends. Scorsese twice went frame by frame through an unfinished cut with Jones. In the credits, Jones thanks David Fincher, Jim Jarmusch, James Gray and Olivier Assayas, who gave Jones several key bits of advice.

"He said, 'Look, nobody's going to get your movie made but you. You're going to have to be the driving force,'" recalls Jones.

Filmmaker Oren Moverman ("Time Out of Mind," ''The Messenger") came aboard early on as a producer, struck by Jones' screenplay and drawn by what he called a "dangerous" enterprise.

"For so many years as a critic and programmer, he criticized films and praised others, rejected films and accepted others. So it's an incredible act of bravery to completely expose yourself and open yourself up to criticism," said Moverman. "I thought, wow, you better make a really great film. Otherwise it would be a feeding frenzy."

While "Diane" makes plenty of nods, allusions and departures from film history, it might surprise some by its simple poetry. It's a kind of rough-hewn gem, and a deeply personal movie to Jones based on the landscape of his upbringing and the lives of his great aunts and grandmother.

"They were just the firmament. They were the North Star for everybody," said Jones. "They all lived to be pretty old and so it seemed like they would go on forever, but of course they didn't. And when they didn't, they went very quickly."

The production was, it's clear, a long-awaited thrill for Jones, and a life-changing one, too. He and the film's costume designer, Carisa Kelly, were wed last October in the Berkshires - one more happy result of "Diane."

"It was," says Jones understatedly, "a lot of things at the same time."

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAPWASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration has approved seven applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, the Energy Department said Thursday.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Energy Department has approved 37 nuclear applications since January 2017, including nine in the Middle East. Besides the seven to Saudi Arabia, two were approved for Jordan. Perry said in his testimony that six applications were approved to Saudi Arabia, but a spokeswoman later said he misspoke.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked Perry whether the applications were approved after Oct. 2, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, lived in Virginia.

Perry said he did not know the specific date.

"We sign a lot of papers," he said. "I've got a pretty good memory, but to remember every date that I sign a piece of paper might be above my ability to recall."

Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns that Saudi Arabia could develop nuclear weapons if the U.S. technology is transferred without proper safeguards.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry testifies during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Congress is increasingly uneasy with the close relationship between the Trump administration and Saudi Arabia. President Donald Trump has made the kingdom a centerpiece of his foreign policy in the Middle East as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival to the Saudi regime. In the process, Trump has brushed off criticism over the killing of Khashoggi and the Saudis' role in the war in Yemen.

The nuclear approvals, known as Part 810 authorizations, allow companies to do preliminary work on nuclear power ahead of any deal to build a nuclear plant. They do not allow transfer of nuclear material, equipment or components. The authorizations were first reported by The Daily Beast before Perry confirmed them in public testimony.

Perry disputed media accounts describing the authorizations as secret, saying, "These U.S. companies that are going to be doing this work want to keep that proprietary information from being out in the public domain."

But Democrats said nuclear authorizations are normally made public. They accused the Trump administration of trying to conceal its negotiations with Saudi Arabia.

"It appears to me that this is an end run around the law in an effort to achieve a policy," Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Pompeo said U.S. officials were "working to ensure that the nuclear power that (the Saudis) get is something we understand and doesn't present that risk" of allowing them to make nuclear weapons.

Sherman called the U.S. response to Khashoggi's murder inadequate and said officials must do everything in their power to prevent Saudi Arabia from getting a nuclear weapon.

"If you cannot trust a regime with a bone saw, you should not trust them with nuclear weapons," Sherman said, referring to reports from the Turkish government that Saudi agents used a bone saw to dismember Khashoggi after he was killed last year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Armed Services Committee, told Perry it was "a bad idea to even consider passing on nuclear technology to the Saudi government," given the possible role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Khashoggi's murder.

"The last thing we should be doing is giving the Saudi government the tools to produce nuclear weapons," said Warren, a Democratic candidate for president.

The announcement of the nuclear approvals came as Republican and Democratic senators requested that the Government Accountability Office review the Trump administration's negotiations with Saudi Arabia.

Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., asked the GAO to investigate reports that some negotiations have been conducted without oversight required under the federal Atomic Energy Act. The senators, who both serve on the Foreign Relations Committee, said it was unusual that the Energy Department apparently was leading the negotiations, rather than the State Department.

The senators said they were "troubled by the administration's lack of consultations with Congress" and concerned that specific proposals presented by Energy officials may not have been fully vetted with other agencies.

The Trump administration had previously opened talks with Riyadh on what's known as a "123 agreement." The name comes from the section of the law that establishes the parameters for major nuclear cooperation between the United States and other countries. Without one, U.S. nuclear energy companies such as Westinghouse would lose out on business opportunities with the Saudis.

The Democratic-led House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, has opened an investigation into claims by several whistleblowers who said they witnessed "abnormal acts" in the White House regarding a proposal to build nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia.

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Associated Press writers Richard Lardner and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.

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This story corrects that the U.S. has approved seven applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said earlier that six applications had been approved; an Energy Department spokeswoman later corrected him.PARIS (AP) - The dolphins' bodies were horribly mutilated, the fins cut off.

But what shocked French marine researchers wasn't just the brutality of the deaths of these highly intelligent mammals, but the numbers involved - a record 1,100 have landed on France's Atlantic coast beaches since January.

The mass deaths, widely blamed on industrial fishing, have alarmed animal welfare groups and prompted France's ecology minister to launch a national plan to protect them.

"There's never been a number this high," said Willy Daubin, a member of La Rochelle University's National Center for Scientific Research. "Already in three months, we have beaten last year's record, which was up from 2017 and even that was the highest in 40 years."

Though Daubin said 90 percent of the fatalities resulted from the dolphins being accidentally captured in industrial fishing nets, the reason behind the spike this year is a mystery.

"What fishing machinery or equipment is behind all these deaths?" he asked.

This photo taken on March 7, 2019 and provided by the Observatoire Pelagis shows dead dolphins on a shore of La Tranche sur Mer, on the Atlantic coast, western France. France has been shaken into action after a record number of dead dolphins have washed up on the country's Atlantic coast this year, many clearly victims of industrial fishing. More than a 1,000 corpses, according to French marine researchers _ death toll that has alarmed animal welfare groups and prompted France's ecology minister to launch a national plan to protect them. (Cecile Dars, Observatoire Pelagis/CNRS/Universite de la Rochelle via AP)

Autopsies carried out on the dolphins this year by La Rochelle University's National Center for Scientific Research show extreme levels of mutilation.

Activists say it's common for fishermen to cut body parts off the suffocated dolphins after they are pulled up on the nets, to save the nets.

French Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy rushed last week to La Rochelle in an attempt to lower the number of dolphins dying as a result of humans. He's under pressure, partly due to French President Emmanuel Macron's pro-ecology stance and oft-quoted slogan to "Make the Planet Great Again."

Rugy has come up with some plans, including bolstering research into existing acoustic repellent devices in place in 26 two-vessel trawlers off the Bay of Biscay, an industrial fishing hub in the Atlantic Ocean. When activated, the devices send unpleasant signals to nearby dolphins that cause them to swim away.

But animal rights group Sea Shepherd said his measures do not go far enough, and has already decried the acoustic repellents as "useless."

It claims many of the trawlers they watch in the region don't activate the repellent devices, fearing they will scare off valuable fish as well, and only turn them on if they are being checked fishing monitors.

It also said increasing the number of repellent devices is not a long-term solution, since that makes the oceans an uninhabitable drum of noise pollution for all mammals and fish.

"The government needs to take responsibility and act - especially Macron, who said he wanted to protect ecology," Lamya Essemlali, President of Sea Shepherd France, told The Associated Press.

She cited scientists who predict that the current rates of fishing will likely drive the dolphin population to extinction.

"The spotlight has been put on the trawlers that fish for sea bass ..., which is a scandal. But they were not the only ones responsible," she said.

She suggested that aggressive hake fishing, which was given the green light three years ago after a long ban, was a major factor. The spike in dolphin deaths also began three years ago.

Her group says the ecological crisis stems from unprecedented demand for low-cost fish.

"Right now, the sea bass that is being caught by the trawlers that kill dolphins you can find on the French market for 8 euros per kilogram ($4 per pound)," she said.

Global seafood consumption has more than doubled in the past 50 years, according to European Commission, a rate that rights groups have branded unsustainable.

This photo taken on Feb.13, 2019 and provided by the Observatoire Pelagis shows a dead dolphin on a shore of Jard sur Mer on the Atlantic coast, western France. France has been shaken into action after a record number of dead dolphins have washed up on the country's Atlantic coast this year, many clearly victims of industrial fishing. (Willy Dabin, Observatoire Pelagis/CNRS/Universite de la Rochelle via AP)

This photo taken on Feb.6, 2019 and provided by the Observatoire Pelagis shows a scientist standing by a dead dolphin in Chatelaillon-les-Boucholeurs on the Atlantic coast, western France. France has been shaken into action after a record number of dead dolphins have washed up on the country's Atlantic coast this year, many clearly victims of industrial fishing. More than a 1,000 corpses, according to French marine researchers _ death toll that has alarmed animal welfare groups and prompted France's ecology minister to launch a national plan to protect them. (Jerome Spitz, Observatoire Pelagis/CNRS/Universite de la Rochelle via AP)

This photo taken on Feb. 10, 2019 and provided by the Observatoire Pelagis shows a dead dolphin on a shore of Rivedoux, Re island on the Atlantic coast, western France. France has been shaken into action after a record number of dead dolphins have washed up on the country's Atlantic coast this year, many clearly victims of industrial fishing. More than a 1,000 corpses, according to French marine researchers _ death toll that has alarmed animal welfare groups and prompted France's ecology minister to launch a national plan to protect them. (Helene Peltier, Observatoire Pelagis/CNRS/Universite de la Rochelle via AP)NEW YORK (AP) - New York is suing the billionaire family behind the company that created OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments seeking to hold not only the firm but its owners accountable for the nation's opioid crisis.

The state, which averages nine opioid-related deaths per day, on Thursday expanded an existing lawsuit against pill maker Purdue Pharma to add members of its controlling Sackler family as defendants. Five other companies that produce opioid painkillers and four drug distributors, which buy medications in bulk and sell them to pharmacies, were also added as defendants.

"This is an extensive lawsuit that leaves no stone unturned," New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said at a news conference.

While other states and localities have filed similar suits, New York is taking some novel approaches, such as seeking to bar the companies from marketing and distributing painkillers in New York unless they abide by strict safeguards.

The suit claims drug manufacturers collaborated to falsely deny the serious risks of opioid addiction, and it accuses drug distributors of skirting systems meant to limit orders for painkillers. Distributors even helped pharmacies game the system to evade the caps, the lawsuit alleges.

But at the heart of the case are Purdue and the Sacklers, whom James called "the masterminds behind this crisis."

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018 file photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses leave pill bottles in protest outside the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, in Stamford, Conn. New York is suing the billionaire family behind Oxycontin, alleging the drugmaker fueled the opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

The suit, like others filed elsewhere, alleges aggressive marketing of OxyContin beginning in the mid-1990s led to massive overprescribing and a scourge of dependency, addiction and death. Once the pills ran out, the lawsuit alleges, many patients craving the same effects turned to cheaper, more potent alternatives: heroin and fentanyl.

Representatives for Purdue and Sackler family members said the suit misleadingly blames them for a problem that's far bigger than OxyContin.

"The state is seeking to publicly vilify Purdue" and the Sacklers with ill-supported claims about a drug that currently accounts for under 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company said in a statement.

The Sackler relatives named in the suit - all former Purdue board members who remain shareholders - said in a statement issued through a spokeswoman that they "have always acted properly."

They and the company said they would fight the new allegations, which come two days after Purdue and the Sacklers agreed to pay $270 million to the state of Oklahoma to settle an opioid lawsuit there. In settling the case, Purdue denied any wrongdoing.

It was the first settlement in a recent wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits that the company says could push it into bankruptcy. New York, in its lawsuit, accused the Sacklers of pulling hundreds of millions of dollars from the company because of potentially costly litigation.

James, the New York attorney general, said she was open to settlement talks but hadn't been approached. In addition to potentially banning the companies from selling the drugs, her lawsuit seeks penalties and damages that could add up to tens of millions of dollars and a dedicated fund to curb the opioid epidemic.

Since 2013, opioid-related deaths statewide have more than doubled, and there's been a 30-fold increase in fentanyl-related deaths in New York City, according to the lawsuit. It accuses the companies of deliberately betraying their duties under state drug laws "in order to profiteer from the plague they knew would be unleashed."

New Yorker Justin Sangeorge says he experienced that plague firsthand after having a dental procedure, getting an opioid prescription and becoming addicted.

"I couldn't believe how readily available pharmaceutical drugs were," said the social worker, who has gotten treatment, is now recovering and spoke at a news conference with James.

"We hold accountable drug dealers, drug traffickers, I know, but the pharmaceutical companies hide behind this legitimate enterprise, and as far as I'm concerned, are just as guilty as a drug trafficker or a drug cartel," Sangeorge said.

The suit accuses Purdue in particular of downplaying addiction risks and pushing doctors to increase dosages even as the dangers became known, the lawsuit said. Some of the company's marketing tactics included hiring a respected New York City doctor to tout the drug and sending representatives on more than a million sales visits to doctors' offices, the lawsuit said.

Richard Sackler, then senior vice president responsible for sales, proudly told the audience at an OxyContin launch party in 1996 that it would create a "blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition," the lawsuit said.

Purdue and the Sacklers have said they're committed to trying to stem opioid addiction, including through the Oklahoma settlement. It includes $75 million from the Sacklers, though they weren't personally sued in that case.

Nearly $200 million of the money will go toward establishing a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa.

The Sacklers have given tens of millions of dollars to New York City cultural institutions. Several members of the family own multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartments. One has a $5 million Long Island estate.

In the past few weeks, as the accusations against the family have mounted, the Tate museums in London and the Guggenheim Museum in New York have cut ties with the family, and other institutions have come under pressure to turn down donations or remove the Sackler name.

The other defendants in New York's lawsuit are: Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals; U.K.-based Mallinckrodt plc, which has an opioid manufacturing plant in Hobart, New York; Dublin-based Endo and Allergan; Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva and the drug distributors McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.

Endo said in a statement that it denies the allegations in the lawsuit and intends to vigorously defend itself.

Cardinal Health said it has a "rigorous system" to track pharmacy orders and has stopped suspicious orders for hundreds of millions of painkiller pills over the last decade. In a statement, the Dublin, Ohio-based company said: "Our people operate in good faith, and our goal is to get it right."

McKesson had no specific response to the New York suit but said it has "strong programs" to try to prevent opioid abuse.

The other companies declined comment or did not immediately respond to requests for it.

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Follow Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak

Justin Sangeorge, a social worker and recovering opioid addict, speaks at a news conference, Thursday, March 28, 2019, about a New York state lawsuit against opioid drug manufacturers and distributors. Behind him are New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, and drug abuse treatment center director Gary Butchen. New York on Thursday sued the billionaire family behind OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the drugmaker sparked the nation's opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Three people have been indicted in connection with the October robbery and killing of a New Orleans rap artist.

The New Orleans District Attorney's Office said the charges involve the death of the 34-year-old performer Young Greatness, whose birth name was Theodore Jones.

Police said 38-year-old Donald Reaux (roh), 18-year-old Donny Maxwell and a juvenile were indicted Wednesday. Charges include second-degree murder and armed robbery. All were in custody Thursday. It was unclear whether they had attorneys.

Family members said Jones, who moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, was in New Orleans for a funeral when he died. Prosecutors said he was shot and his car was taken.

Jones's song, "Moolah," reached Billboard's Hot 100 chart. He performed it on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert " in 2016.WASHINGTON (AP) - A British government report issued Thursday detailing security risks posed by Chinese firm Huawei confirms U.S. government warnings of security risks associated with the telecom giant, according to a U.S. official.

The report from a cybersecurity watchdog identified "significant technical issues" in Huawei's engineering and warned there is "only limited assurance" the risk can be managed.

The U.S. official said those findings support similar American assessments that concluded Huawei's equipment cannot be "made safe from Chinese influence or disruption." The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief the media publicly.

Huawei denies that its equipment could be used to facilitate spying and Chinese authorities have accused Washington of exaggerating security concerns to limit competition with Western vendors.

Washington is campaigning in Europe and beyond for allies to ban the use of Huawei technology as they develop plans to build new high speed fifth generation, or 5G, mobile networks.

The U.S. has experienced significant pushback from allies concerned about remaining competitive in the global race to develop 5G technology. Germany recently announced Huawei would be able to bid on 5G contracts there and the U.S. has issued warnings to Israel that Chinese investment could result in reduced intelligence sharing.

FILE - In this Thursday, March 7, 2019 file photo, two men use their mobile phones outside a Huawei retail shop in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province. British cybersecurity inspectors have found significant technical issues in Chinese telecom supplier Huawei's software that they say pose new risks for the country's telecom companies. The annual report Thursday, March 28, 2019 said that because of Huawei's involvement in Britain's critical telecom networks it can only give "limited assurance" that long-term national security risks can be adequately managed. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

The United Kingdom has previously said it believes Huawei's security risks could be managed. Thursday's report authored by British cybersecurity inspectors also said Huawei's plans to address security flaws "could in principle be successful."

The U.S. argues Huawei could give the Chinese government backdoor access to snoop on internet users worldwide.

"Our intelligence community has made it abundantly clear Huawei and ZTE put the security of our communications at risk and it is concerning that allies like Germany are considering relying on their products," said Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado in statement Thursday. "It is my hope all of our allies in Europe and around the globe hear us loud and clear."

The U.S. accused ZTE Corp., a major supplier of telecom networks and smartphones based in southern China, of misleading American regulators after it settled charges of violating sanctions against North Korea and Iran. The company was blocked in 2018 from importing American components for seven years.

Despite the security flaws identified in the report Thursday, British authorities said they do not believe the defects were a result of "Chinese state interference" and the report did not find that Huawei was giving the Chinese government backdoor access as the U.S. is warning.

U.S. officials didn't expect to find dedicated backdoors, instead assessing its more likely the Chinese government would use what appear to be flaws in Huawei's code to gain access, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official added that type of access can be just as damaging.WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate panel Thursday approved a GOP budget plan that would curb federal benefit programs by $551 billion over the next five years and reject President Donald Trump's plan to use budget tricks to pad the Pentagon budget.

The Budget Committee approved the nonbinding measure by a party-line vote.

The budget plan probably won't head to the floor for vote by the full Senate, however, and won't have much bearing on Capitol Hill efforts later this year to reverse automatic spending cuts that are slated to strike the Pentagon and domestic accounts.

It would ease the deficit from a projection of $903 billion this year to $748 billion in 2024.

Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the plan proposes "reasonable and incremental steps to reduce the deficit."

But Democrats said proposed cuts to health care, student loans and compensation for federal workers were unfair and said cuts to day-to-day operating budgets of federal agencies are unrealistic.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, prepares for the markup of the fiscal year 2020 budget resolution, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Senate panel's two-day hearing on the measure featured lots of complaints from Democrats that Washington's arcane annual budget process is pretty much a waste of time. The annual budget measure has no force of law and its policy prescriptions are usually ignored. While it can set in motion a filibuster-proof opportunity to legislate - such as twin GOP efforts in 2017 to repeal the Affordable Care Act and enact tax cuts - that won't happen this year now that Democrats control the House.

"The Budget Committee has two purposes. One is to provide a messaging opportunity for each party and the second is to provide a delivery vehicle ... that can allow the majority party in the Senate a one-time annual bypass around the filibuster," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. "It is not configured to address the deficit or the debt."

For their part, House Democrats are likely to skip the whole exercise since their membership appears unlikely to be able to agree on a budget plan. Democrats face divisions between progressives seeking more money for domestic programs and more moderate members in swing districts who fear being attacked on tax hikes.

House Democratic leaders haven't shown much interest in trying to pressure colleagues to unite the wings of their caucus around a messaging measure that's going nowhere with Republicans controlling the Senate or with President Donald Trump.ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's highest court on Thursday delayed the trial of a man charged with killing a high school teacher whose disappearance remained a mystery for more than a decade.

The Georgia Supreme Court placed the murder trial of Ryan Duke on hold while the court decides whether it has jurisdiction to hear an emergency appeal he filed dealing with funding for expert defense witnesses. Oral arguments before the high court were set for May 7.

Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday in rural Irwin County, where Duke is charged with the slaying of Tara Grinstead.

The teacher and beauty queen's disappearance in October 2005 baffled her hometown of Ocilla, and her face loomed for years on a billboard seeking tips. Her death was confirmed after Duke and another man were arrested in 2017.

Duke's defense attorneys appealed to the state Supreme Court after the trial judge denied them funding for expert witnesses in DNA, false confessions, and psychology.

Superior Court Judge Bill Reinhardt had found Duke was unable to pay for his defense. But the judge denied him money for defense experts after Duke accepted the offer of two private attorneys willing to defend him for free, as opposed to being appointed a state-funded public defender.

The Supreme Court's order Thursday said Duke's pretrial appeal raised "difficult and important issues for which there does not appear to be controlling legal precedent." But the court questioned whether it has jurisdiction before Duke stands trial. The May 7 hearing will deal with that issue.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Jason Shoudel testified at a pretrial hearing that Duke confessed to killing Grinstead nearly 14 years ago after he broke into her home to steal money for drugs. GBI agents have also said DNA matching both Duke and Grinstead was found on a latex glove discovered in her yard.

Duke's attorneys have said he made a false confession under the influence of drugs. They said in court filings Duke was asleep at home when Grinstead was killed.

The suspect's former best friend and similarly named co-defendant, Bo Dukes, was convicted last week of helping conceal Grinstead's death. He told authorities he helped Duke burn her body in a rural pecan orchard. A judge sentenced Dukes last Friday to 25 years in prison.LONDON (AP) - Theresa May is the "Brexit Means Brexit" prime minister. For almost three years since Britain voted to leave the European Union, May repeated the mantra that she would deliver the departure.

But time and circumstance have made her change her words.

July 11, 2016, while candidate for Conservative Party leader: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it."

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July 13, 2016, in her first speech as prime minister: "As we leave the European Union, we will forge a bold, new, positive role for ourselves in the world."

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FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 file photo Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May reacts during a press conference inside 10 Downing Street in London. May told lawmakers Wednesday she is prepared to step down "earlier than I intended" in order to win passage of her Brexit divorce deal from the European Union. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool)

January 17, 2017: "After all the division and discord, the country is coming together."

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March 29, 2017, triggering the two-year countdown to departure under EU rules: "This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back."

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December 15, 2017: "What people voted for last year was for us to leave the European Union and we will leave the EU on 29 March 2019."

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December 20, 2017: "We are very clear - we will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 at 11 p.m."

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November 18, 2018: "I'm clear people voted for us to leave. We will leave and will leave on 29 March 2019."

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February 7, 2019: "I'm clear that I am going to deliver Brexit. I am going to deliver it on time."

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February 24, 2019: "We still have it within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on 29 March."

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March 20, 2019: "Two years on, MPs have been unable to agree on a way to implement the UK's withdrawal. As a result we will now not leave on time with a deal on the 29th March. This delay is a matter of great personal regret for me."

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March 27, 2019: "I know there is a desire for a new approach - and new leadership - in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations - and I won't stand in the way of that."

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/BrexitHUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - The Latest on the reprieve for a member of 'Texas 7' gang of escaped prisoners (all times local):

8:30 p.m.

A member of the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners has won a reprieve from execution for the fatal shooting of a suburban Dallas police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery more than 18 years ago.

The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the lethal injection of Patrick Murphy after attorneys for the prisoner argued a Buddhist priest was not allowed to be with Murphy in the death chamber as he was being put to death.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in an opinion Thursday night, said inmates of other religious denominations who want their religious adviser to be present can have the adviser present only in the viewing room and not in the execution room itself for their executions.

Kavanaugh said that, in his view, the Constitution prohibits such denominational discrimination.

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Patrick Murphy. Lawyers for the member of the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners who is scheduled to be executed Thursday, March 28, 2019, say he should be spared because he never fatally shot a suburban Dallas police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery nearly 18 years earlier. Murphy is slated to die by lethal injection after 6 p.m. at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

Murphy was convicted in the December 2000 death of Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins.

The 57-year-old Murphy was part of a group of inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in December 2000 and committed numerous robberies before being captured, including the one during which they killed Hawkins.

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2:30 p.m.

Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his lethal injection until a Buddhist minister can be present with him in the execution chamber.

Patrick Murphy's lawyers argue that executing the 57-year-old "Texas 7" member without his spiritual adviser present would violate his right to religious freedom. Murphy became a Buddhist almost a decade ago while incarcerated.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied a request to stay his execution on the same grounds, upholding a lower court decision.

Murphy is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was convicted in the shooting death of a Dallas-area police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery in 2000.

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12:00 a.m.

Attorneys for a death row inmate say his pending execution is unconstitutional because he never fatally shot a suburban Dallas police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery more than 18 years ago.

Patrick Murphy's lawyers say the 57-year-old shouldn't be executed Thursday night because he wasn't a major participant in the December 2000 robbery in which Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins was killed by the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners.

If Murphy's appeals fail and he is executed, he'd be the fourth person put to death in the U.S. this year.

Murphy was convicted under Texas' law of parties, which holds a person criminally responsible for the actions of another if they are engaged in a conspiracy.BERLIN (AP) - Berlin police have searched hookah bars, jewelers and travel agents linked to families suspected of involvement in organized crime in the German capital.

Police said the raids Thursday involving more than 300 officers and prosecutors were "the biggest such operation in Berlin" to date, targeting what authorities described as "criminal parallel societies." The raids were centered in Berlin's Neukoelln and Moabit districts, both of which have large immigrant populations.

German politicians have called for a concerted crackdown on migrant families of Arab or Eastern European origin suspected of involvement in the drug trade, forced prostitution and other illegal activity.

Similar operations have recently taken place in western and northern Germany.TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A law that Michigan's Republican-led Legislature hurriedly passed during a lame-duck session in December authorizing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel linking lakes Huron and Michigan is unconstitutional, the state's Democratic attorney general said Thursday.

Shortly after Dana Nessel issued her first legal opinion since taking office in January, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered state agencies to stop any work on the tunnel project.

Nessel said the bill violated the state constitution because it went beyond what the bill's title reflected.

The measure authorized a deal between then-GOP Gov. Rick Snyder and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge to drill the tunnel through bedrock under the Straits of Mackinac. It would house a replacement for a more than 4-mile-long (6.4-kilometer-long) segment of Enbridge's Line 5, which carries crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario.

Nessel and Whitmer were elected in November after criticizing the pipeline tunnel plan during their campaigns. After both were inaugurated, Whitmer asked Nessel to assess the constitutionality of the bill.

Whitmer said in a statement that she agrees with Nessel's opinion, which carries the force of law unless overruled by a court.

FILE - In this July 19, 2002 file photo, the Mackinac Bridge that spans the Straits of Mackinac is shown from Mackinaw City, Mich. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered state departments and agencies to take no further action on legislation enacted in late 2018 authorizing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath lakes Huron and Michigan. On Thursday, March 28, 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, deemed unconstitutional a 2018 law that established a panel to oversee construction and operation of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel linking Lakes Huron and Michigan. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

"The Great Lakes are our most precious resource in Michigan, and because of their significance, I've instructed state departments and agencies to halt any actions in furtherance of the law," Whitmer said.

She also ordered them to inform her legal counsel of any steps they have taken that were authorized by the law.

Republican state Rep. Triston Cole of Mancelona dismissed Nessel's opinion as "flimsy" and said the tunnel project would provide good-paying construction jobs for northern Michigan workers.

"To suggest that lawmakers weren't clear on the details of the plan they voted for last December is outrageous," Cole said. "This plan was put forward after months of debate, public testimony and rigorous investigation. ... I will not allow the well-being of hardworking Michiganders to be put in jeopardy while the attorney general splits legal hairs for political brownie points."

Among other provisions, the law established a panel - the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority - to oversee construction and eventual operation of the tunnel, which Enbridge estimates would cost $500 million and take up to 10 years to build. Enbridge would pay for it, but Michigan would own it and lease it to the company for 99 years.

Snyder, GOP lawmakers and Enbridge described the complex agreement as a win-win that would keep oil flowing along Line 5 but lead to the decommissioning of the straits-area segment - twin pipes that have traversed the bottomlands since 1953. The company says they're in good condition, while environmentalists, native tribes and other crticics argue they're vulnerable to a spill that could do catastrophic damage to the lakes.

The corridor authority met a week after the bill was enacted and unanimously approved the tunnel deal, which members said they were bound to do under the new law. But Nessel said in her opinion that if courts were to find the law unconstitutional, they likely would void any of the panel's actions.

Nessel focused on a section of the constitution requiring that each law have a single "object," or general purpose, which is described in its title, and that no bill could be amended in a way that would change the original purpose.

The tunnel measure underwent significant revisions that the title didn't adequately reflect, she said. Among them: transfer of jurisdiction over the proposed tunnel from the Mackinac Bridge Authority to the corridor authority; a requirement that the corridor authority enter agreements to implement the deal by a certain date; and a requirement that if the attorney general's office refuses to represent the corridor authority, it must pay for outside counsel.

A judge with the Michigan Court of Claims ruled earlier this month that another section of the law also ran afoul of the constitution by giving members of the corridor authority six-year terms instead of the allowable four years. But the judge, Stephen Borrello, said that wasn't enough to invalidate the entire statute.

Enbridge, based in Calgary, Alberta, said it was "surprised and disappointed" by Nessel's findings and would "seek clarification from the administration on a path forward."

"Enbridge has worked in good faith with the Michigan government on the tunnel project," said Bob Rooney, the company's chief legal officer. "We disagree with the attorney general's opinion and continue to believe in the benefits of the tunnel."

Environmentalists praised Nessel's opinion and called for the quick shutdown of the Line 5 pipes.

"It is not surprising that this brazen attempt to satisfy interests, subvert the democratic process, and tie the hands of Gov. Whitmer does not meet the requirements of the Michigan Constitution," said Oday Salim, attorney for the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office. "This opinion paves the way for Gov. Whitmer to move forward as a champion for the Great Lakes and Michiganders by removing the risks Line 5 poses to the Great Lakes, our economy, drinking water and our way of life."

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Follow John Flesher on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnflesherBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - A federal judge in Argentina has launched an investigation into former President Cristina Fernandez.

Judge Claudio Bonadio said Thursday that Fernandez committed embezzlement "by taking advantage of the presidential plane fleet" while she was president from 2007 to 2015 and while she was a lawmaker during the 2003-2007 presidency of her late husband Nestor Kirchner.

She was accused of using presidential airplanes to transport furniture, a bed, clothing, newspapers and even a hair stylist to her homes in the country's south.

Fernandez has immunity from arrest, which she gained after being elected to the Senate.

Bonadio says that testimony by pilots shows that Fernandez and Kirchner regularly used the presidential fleet to get newspapers delivered from Buenos Aires to the cities of Rio Gallegos and El Calafate.

Fernandez denies wrongdoing.REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Members of the Icelandic avant-garde rock band Sigur Ros have been charged with tax evasion three years after authorities launched a probe of the group's finances.

An indictment issued by the district prosecutor Thursday accused the prominent musicians of submitting incorrect tax returns from 2011 to 2014, evading a total of 151 million Icelandic Krona ($1.2 million).

The band's four members faulted their former accountant and said they cooperated with tax authorities after learning about the inaccurate tax returns.

In a statement Thursday, they vowed to clear the Sigur Ros name and said the group "regrets seeing the case end up in court."

Assets of the four, including apartments and houses worth $6.5 million, will be frozen pending trial, authorities said. Two-thirds of the assets belong to Sigur Ros frontman Jon Thor Birgisson, who currently lives in Los Angeles.

Birgisson is charged with evading about $240,000 in income taxes and another $105,000 in taxes on his investment income.

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 file photo, Jon Thor Birgisson, center, from the Icelandic rock group Sigur Ros, performs at the Corona Capital music festival in Mexico City. Members of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros have been charged with tax evasion, three years after local authorities launched a probe into the avant-garde rock band's finances. The indictment, issued by the District Prosecutor on Thursday, March 28, 2019 accuses the Nordic nation's prominent musicians of submitting incorrect tax returns from 2011 to 2014, evading a total of 151 million Icelandic Krona ($1.2 million). (AP Photo/Christian Palma, file)

According to the prosecutor, other band members - Georg Holm, Kjartan Sveinsson and Orri Pall Dyrason - allegedly neglected reporting a total of $1.6 million in income, of which they should have paid about $725,000 in taxes.

In Iceland, general income tax for high earners is 46 percent.

Holm and Dyrason are also accused of evading about $150,000 in taxes on investments.

"The members of Sigur Ros are musicians - not experts on bookkeeping and international finance," defense lawyer Bjarnfredur Olafsson said in a statement.

A court date has not set.WASHINGTON (AP) - Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is breaking bread with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose endorsement in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary is a potentially powerful prize.

Warren and Ocasio-Cortez had lunch Thursday, the New Yorker confirmed on Twitter.

The two leading liberals have crossed paths before: Warren and Ocasio-Cortez both spoke last year at a gathering of progressive activists. But their meeting Thursday comes as Ocasio-Cortez's clout with the Democrats' liberal base seems to grow ever stronger.

Neither Warren's nor Ocasio-Cortez's offices offered details on what the two discussed or who initiated the meeting, though Ocasio-Cortez joked about a food item they ordered. Ocasio-Cortez, who worked for Bernie Sanders' presidential bid in 2016, has declined to indicate whether or when she will endorse a presidential candidate.LVIV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko alleged Thursday that his two top rivals in a weekend election are backed by a self-exiled tycoon who wants to unseat Poroshenko as revenge for the nationalization of his bank.

Poroshenko said at a rally in the western city of Lviv that billionaire businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi is trying to prevent the incumbent's re-election by supporting comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Sunday's election.

"He has fled abroad, but he simultaneously moves two figures on the election chessboard," Poroshenko alleged of Kolomoyskyi, who lives in Israel.

Poroshenko claimed the tycoon wants to "to take revenge against the state" for the 2016 nationalization of his Privatbank.

Opinion polls have shown Zelenskiy leading the race. He and Tymoshenko have rejected claims that Kolomoyskyi is the funder and mastermind of their campaigns.

Speaking to reporters at the campaign event, Poroshenko sought to downplay the polls that gave Zelenskiy, who stars on a TV comedy series about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, a big lead over the incumbent president and ex-prime minister.

President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, Petro Poroshenko, is seen on a screen as he talks for supporters during a election campaign rally in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

"There is no any big gap between Zelenskiy and me," he said.

Poroshenko blamed Tymoshenko for Ukraine's past economic woes, calling her "Madam Crisis" and alleged that Zelenskiy's victory would benefit Russia.

"He even jokes in Russian," Poroshenko said.

Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 in a move that most nations see as illegal and also backed a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.

At Thursday's rally, Poroshenko said Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn't succeed in his attempts to derail Ukraine's effort to join the European Union and NATO.

"Only Ukrainian people, not Putin, not anybody else, not oligarchs who sit in Israel, will define what will be the future of Ukraine," he said. "I'm confident of this, and I'm confident that this future will be trans-Atlantic membership, NATO and Europe."

The rally in Lviv drew more than 20,000 people and was tightly secured by police, which kept several hundred ultra-right demonstrators from disrupting it.

Ukraine's ultra-right activists have shadowed Poroshenko as he campaigns across the country, accusing him of corruption and demanding the detention of associates who are accused of involvement in a military embezzlement scheme.

Poroshenko rejected the accusations and ordered a probe of the alleged embezzlement scheme.

Ultranationalists dogging the president on the campaign trail occasionally clashed with police, but the rally in Lviv went on peacefully.

The ultranationalist groups have said they plan to monitor voting to prevent election violations. Their statement worried the ambassadors of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, who sent a letter to Ukraine's Interior Ministry expressing concern about the increasingly assertive stance of right-wing activists ahead of the vote.

The ministry promised that it would ensure order. Poroshenko also pledged to ensure a free and fair election.

"I'm absolutely confident that we have enough power not to allow any pro-Putin or nationalistic or (neo-) Nazi small groups to try to block or cancel or attack our elections," he said. "We are responsible. We understand how important this election is for the democracy of Ukraine, for stability in Europe."

Members of right-wing National Corps march toward an election campaign rally of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Members of right-wing National Corps march toward an election campaign rally of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Members of right-wing National Corps march toward an election campaign rally of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Members of right-wing National Corps march toward an election campaign rally of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Ukrainian anti riot police cordon off the access to an election campaign rally of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine and candidate for 2019 elections, during a demonstration by right-wing National Corps in Lviv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few showers later in the day. High 57F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Rain showers in the evening will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 51F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.BOSTON (AP) - A report into the death of a Massachusetts woman who died days after collapsing from an asthma attack outside a locked emergency room found serious flaws with the hospital's parent company but stopped short of blaming individuals.

Thursday's 80-page report was conducted by a firm hired by the hospital and looks into the death of 34-year-old Laura Levis , who collapsed Sept. 16, 2016, outside Somerville Hospital.

Ex-state attorney general Martha Coakley, who helped prepare the report, tells The Boston Globe "There was no one person who did anything wrong or who could be blamed."

Levis' husband, Peter DeMarco, said the report ignores important details and undermines what hospital officials told him.

Hospital board Chairman Josh Posner said in a statement the hospital is "stronger and more transparent" as a result of the investigation.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety, and he urged the utility's leader to change course.

"With this move, PG&E would send a clear message that it is prioritizing quick profits for Wall Street over public safety and reliable and affordable energy service," Newsom, a Democrat, said in a public letter to John Simon, the utility's interim chief executive.

The San Francisco-based utility is in the midst of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after it said it could not afford billions of dollars in liability related to deadly California wildfires in 2017 and 2018. It had previously announced plans to replace most of its board by its annual shareholder meeting in May.

But the company has not announced its slate of candidates for the new board. Newsom's office was briefed by PG&E executives on their proposed slate in recent days, spokesman Nathan Click said. The governor's office is not releasing the names either.

A spokeswoman for the utility did not directly address who the utility is planning to name for the board or when it will make an announcement. Lynsey Paulo said the utility understands "the serious concerns expressed by the governor" and his urgency.

"We recognize the importance of adding perspectives to the Board that will bring about the right changes in safety, as well as help address the serious operational and financial challenges the business faces now and in the future," she said in an emailed statement.

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2018 file photo, Pacific Gas & Electric crews work to restore power lines in Paradise, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom says PG&E plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety. Newsom, on Thursday March 28, 2019, said putting hedge fund managers in charge of the company will send a message the utility prioritizes profits over providing safe and reliable energy service. The utility did not immediately comment. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

PG&E, the nation's largest utility, has faced intense scrutiny over its equipment's role in starting deadly blazes across California. A federal judge is overseeing a separate criminal conviction PG&E received for its role in a 2010 gas line explosion that killed eight people.

Newsom said PG&E should remake its board with a majority of Californians with backgrounds as regulators, safety experts and in clean energy.

"Any new board member should be resolved to change the culture of the company, understand the concerns of ratepayers and demonstrate a commitment to the fair treatment of wildfire victims and employees," his letter said.

BlueMountain Capital Management, a PG&E shareholder that has criticized the bankruptcy declaration, has put forward its own slate of 13 new board members.

"PG&E needs a board with proven experience in safety, claims resolution, utility operations, finance and turnarounds, and California business and public policy," the shareholder group said in an emailed statement.

Shareholders will elect a new board at the May 21 annual meeting, either voting for or against nominees put forward by a nominating and governance committee. Board members on average serve for more than seven years, according to information prepared ahead of the 2018 annual meeting. Board members for the corporation also serve on the board of the utility.

The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group, praised Newsom's public comments.

"It was a very good thing for the governor to serve notice that replacing the board with the same kind of Wall Street interests that have put profits in front of safety for so many years is not going to solve the problem," executive director Mark Toney said.

FILE -- In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric truck enters their customer center in Hayward, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom says PG&E plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety. Newsom, on Thursday March 28, 2019, said putting hedge fund managers in charge of the company will send a message the utility prioritizes profits over providing safe and reliable energy service. The utility did not immediately comment. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)BALTIMORE (AP) - A former National Security Agency contractor accused in a theft of classified documents from the agency's headquarters pleaded guilty Thursday to willful retention of national defense information.

In a federal courthouse in Baltimore, Harold T. Martin III pleaded guilty to one felony count, which authorities said involved a top secret NSA leadership briefing from March 2014 that he had multiple copies of. Another 19 counts he faced are expected to be dismissed at sentencing in July. As part of a plea agreement, Martin's defense team accepted nine years in prison with three years of supervised release.

The 54-year-old private contractor and former U.S. Navy lieutenant who held various security clearances was arrested at his Maryland home by heavily armed FBI agents in August 2016. He's been in federal custody ever since. Martin initially pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of willfully retaining classified information and was due to go to trial in June, but prosecutors announced this week that he would be arraigned again, signaling a change in plea.

After his change of plea on the one count, Martin's federal defenders said he had no intention to harm his country or the intelligence agencies he served. During the Thursday hearing, Martin told a federal judge that he was diagnosed with ADHD and took medication for that disorder.

"Today's plea is an affirmation of what Mr. Martin and his defense team have maintained from the beginning of this case. His actions were the product of mental illness. Not treason," his federal defenders' statement said.

One of his lawyers has previously described Martin of Glen Burnie, Maryland, as a "compulsive hoarder" who took work documents home with him. An indictment accused Martin of stealing top secret and classified documents between 1996 and 2016. Authorities said they found a trove of documents stowed in his car and his Maryland home.

FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, vehicles are parked near a sign outside the National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md. A former NSA contractor accused in a massive theft of classified information is expected to plead guilty Thursday, March 28, 2019, in what U.S. prosecutors had once portrayed as a "breathtaking" breach at the nation's biggest spy shop. Prosecutors announced Wednesday, March 27 that Harold T. Martin III would face rearraignment in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, a proceeding typically signaling a change of plea. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The NSA has suffered a series of significant breaches in recent years. Most notably, Edward Snowden disclosed a cache of classified material in 2013, exposing U.S. government surveillance programs. Martin, like Snowden, had worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton.

Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy specialist with the Federation of American Scientists, said the breaches at the NSA are a reminder that keeping secrets is a tricky task, particularly now as technological advances allow large amounts of information to be stored inside routine devices.

"The string of breaches is a humbling reminder that keeping secrets is hard, that people are fallible, and that perfect security can never be achieved. What has changed over the past several decades or so is that the scale of the breaches has increased tremendously. Instead of individual secrets being compromised, it often turns out that entire databases or libraries of information have been breached," Aftergood said in an email.

People have stolen government secrets throughout history but intelligence contractors hoarding reams of classified information at their homes appears to be something new.

Last year, another Maryland man who had worked at NSA pleaded guilty to keeping numerous top secret U.S. defense materials at home. At his sentencing, Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, told a federal judge he took copies of U.S. government documents and writings containing national defense information so he could work from home and possibly earn a promotion. He got 5  years in prison.

"I don't know if psychological screening can uncover hoarders before they are employed, and that might be especially challenging because the age of onset is typically not young. But once an employee is in the grip of a powerful obsessive compulsion like hoarding, I would imagine that they are extremely difficult to stop," said Gabriel Schoenfeld, a national-security policy expert and author of the book "Necessary Secrets."

It's not clear whether the NSA has instituted new protections in the wake of Martin's case.

"I don't have any specific knowledge of new security measures. But every compromise of classified information is a learning opportunity, and security officials would be derelict if they did not use the occasion to make improvements," said Aftergood, who writes the "Secrecy News" blog reporting on developments in secrecy policy.

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Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfaddTRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - The Latest on Michigan officials halting work toward a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Canadian pipeline company Enbridge says it's "surprised and disappointed" by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's finding that a law authorizing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the waterway linking Lakes Huron and Michigan is unconstitutional.

Nessel issued her opinion Thursday. Afterward, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered state agencies to take no further actions under the law that the Republican-led Legislature enacted in December.

Enbridge chief legal officer Bob Rooney says the company worked in good faith with Michigan on the tunnel project.

Republican state Rep. Triston Cole of Mancelona says the opinion is "flimsy" and that Nessel "split legal hairs."

Environmentalists are praising Nessel and Whitmer and calling for the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac.

Liz Kirkwood of For Love of Water says the tunnel plan was based on "backroom deals" that "can't survive the rule of law."

___

4:25 p.m.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered state departments and agencies to take no further action on legislation enacted in late 2018 authorizing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath lakes Huron and Michigan.

Whitmer made the move Thursday after Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion labeling the law unconstitutional.

Whitmer and Nessel are both Democrats who were elected last year. They had opposed a deal to build the Straits of Mackinac tunnel reached by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge.

Legislation to establish a panel that would oversee the project was rushed to enactment in December.

After taking office in January, Whitmer asked Nessel to examine the law's constitutionality.

___

4 p.m.

Michigan's attorney general has deemed unconstitutional a 2018 law that established a panel to oversee construction and operation of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel linking Lakes Huron and Michigan.

Democrat Dana Nessel says in an opinion released Thursday the title of the bill approved by lawmakers did not accurately describe its contents as required by the Michigan Constitution.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure during a lame-duck session in December. Then-Gov. Rick Snyder signed it and appointed members of the new Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, which later approved a deal Snyder's administration negotiated with Enbridge Inc. to build the tunnel.

It would house a more than 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of Enbridge's Line 5, which carries oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario.NEW YORK (AP) - A New York banker says the alleged German fraudster Anna Sorokin seemed to "speak the language" of the financial world during her attempt to obtain a multimillion-dollar loan.

Ryan Salem of City National Bank told a Manhattan jury Thursday that his bank denied a request to finance a private arts club Sorokin proposed building.

But he said Sorokin persuaded the bank to loan her $100,000 that she failed to repay despite repeated claims she would wire funds from an overseas account.

The testimony came on the second of Sorokin's grand larceny and theft of services trial in state court in Manhattan.

Prosecutors say Sorokin bilked friends, banks and hotels to the tune of $275,000 over a 10-month period.

Her attorney has said she never intended to commit a crime.

Anna Sorokin and her attorney Todd Spodek sit at the defense table after a recess in her trial in New York State Supreme Court, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in New York. Sorokin, who claimed to be a German heiress, is on trial on grand larceny and theft of services charges. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Anna Sorokin returns to court after a recess in her trial in New York State Supreme Court, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in New York. Sorokin, who claimed to be a German heiress, is on trial on grand larceny and theft of services charges. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican fishermen, environmentalists and residents say an undetermined number of people have been wounded in a clash with marines in the state of Baja California.

The injuries occurred after shots were fired during a confrontation in the coastal town of San Felipe, which is near the reserve of the vaquita porpoise.

The porpoise is the world's most endangered marine mammal, with as few as 10 remaining in the Gulf of California.

The confrontation Thursday apparently started as authorities confiscated illegal nets set for Totoaba fish. The vaquitas often get caught in the nets, although such fishing is banned.

The Navy said it was investigating the incident.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics (all times local):

9 p.m.

The Trump administration is reversing itself on a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics.

President Donald Trump says he has authorized funding for the organization, adding: "I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people."

Trump's announcement comes after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spent days defending the proposal, which drew widespread condemnation from lawmakers, as well as advocates and celebrities.

DeVos has since issued a statement saying she is "pleased and grateful the President and I see eye to eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant."

President Trump talks to reporters before leaving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019, for the short trip to Andrews Air Fore Base in Maryland. Trump is traveling to Michigan to speak at a rally before spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

She adds that it "is funding I have fought for behind the scenes over the last several years."

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4:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he is backing off a budget request to cut funding for the Special Olympics, after days of criticism.

Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday, "I've overridden my people for funding the Special Olympics."

The Trump administration's education budget proposal calls for the elimination of $17.6 million in funding for the Special Olympics, roughly 10 percent of the group's overall revenue.

Democrats pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on the topic during a Senate budget hearing Thursday, just days after House Democrats grilled her on the proposal and sparked criticism online.

DeVos said she "wasn't personally involved" in pushing for elimination of the funding, but she defended it as her agency seeks to cut $7 billion from the 2020 budget.

__

11:50 a.m.

Education Secretary Betsy Devos is facing a new round of scrutiny over a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, a cut that lawmakers say is unlikely to be approved.

Senate Democrats are pressing DeVos on the topic during a budget hearing, just after House Democrats grilled her on the proposal and sparked a wave of criticism online.

DeVos says she "wasn't personally involved" in pushing for elimination of the funding, but she is defending it as her agency seeks to cut $7 billion for the 2020 budget.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says "someone has to accept responsibility for a bad decision."ATLANTA (AP) - More than 40 Hollywood celebrities have signed a letter sent to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and House Speaker David Ralston saying they will urge TV and film production companies to abandon the state if a "heartbeat" abortion bill becomes law.

The bill prohibits most abortions after six weeks from conception and could come to a House vote as early as Thursday. If approved, it will go to Kemp, who's expected to sign it.

While TV and film production companies have largely stayed on the sidelines regarding the bill, these actors and the Writers Guild of America are going public in their opposition. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports those who signed the letter, spearheaded by Alyssa Milano, include Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer, Gabrielle Union, Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow and others.

___

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.comCLEVELAND (AP) - Ohio's Republican attorney general said Thursday he will file a court brief opposing a federal judge's ruling that declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, potentially leaving nearly 2 million state residents with pre-existing medical conditions without health insurance should the decision be upheld.

Attorney General Dave Yost told The Associated Press that U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in December "got it wrong" when he struck down former President Barack Obama's signature health care law after Congress eliminated the "individual mandate." The mandate required people without health insurance to pay fines.

O'Connor, based in Fort Worth, Texas, ruled on a case brought by a group of Republican state attorneys general.

Democratic attorneys general from 17 states appealed O'Connor's ruling in January at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Yost said he planned next Monday to file an amicus brief in support of requiring insurers to provide coverage for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday filed a two-sentence letter with the 5th Circuit that said it agrees with O'Connor's ruling.

Yost said the legal doctrine of severability means that even though one section of legislation is repealed, it doesn't invalidate the entire law.

"I don't think the law or the Constitution requires it," he said.

The Supreme Court has twice upheld the Affordable Care Act and will likely be asked to consider the Texas case as well.

When asked about the Trump administration's position, Yost said: "Their goal is affordable health care for everybody. I think they're looking to Congress to pass a better law."

Yost said he doesn't necessarily concur with Republicans or Democrats about the Affordable Care Act, but added that "a lot of regular people" agree that health insurers should be required to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Both Yost and Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine have said they are opposed to fining people who were uninsured. Yost said he spoke with DeWine, who also supports maintaining coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, on Tuesday.

DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said Thursday that should the Affordable Care Act ultimately be overturned, DeWine would ask the state Legislature to take steps to ensure that Ohioans with pre-existing conditions be able to obtain health insurance.NEW YORK (AP) - A high-profile lawyer was cleared Thursday to defend a wealthy heiress in a New York sex-trafficking case despite reports linking him to an alleged extortion plot by Michael Avenatti.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis approved Clare Bronfman's decision to hire Mark Geragos a day after she had a fainting spell in federal court in Brooklyn as the judge began to question her about her choice.

"Honestly, I was scared yesterday," Bronfman told the judge. "This whole situation has been very stressful."

Bronfman, heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune, has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing her of bank-rolling a cult-like organization that brainwashed and branded women who served as sex slaves.

Bronfman said she wasn't deterred by reports saying Geragos is the unidentified co-conspirator mentioned in court papers charging Avenatti of trying to extort Nike for millions of dollars. The judge had warned her that her lawyer's "potential criminal exposure" could create a conflict.

The judge also quizzed Bronfman on whether she was aware that Avenatti joined Geragos at a meeting with prosecutors where Avenatti offered them information in exchange for "a benefit." She responded that she knew about it, but that Avenatti only acted briefly as a "consultant."

Avenatti, best known for representing porn star Stormy Daniels, has denied the extortion charges. Geragos declined to speak about them on Thursday.

Geragos' clients have included Michael Jackson, Colin Kaepernick and Jussie Smollett.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Avenatti.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Geragos in the third paragraph.WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas woman whose 3-year-old son suffered severe abuse before he was killed and his body encased in concrete was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison after she acknowledged that she failed as a mother.

During the hearing, Miranda Miller and her attorney, Steven Wagle, asked Sedgwick County District Judge Stephen Ternes for a lighter sentence, saying her live-in boyfriend, Stephen Bodine, controlled her through physical violence, mental abuse and drugs, The Wichita Eagle reported .

Investigators say Bodine killed Evan Brewer in May 2017 and hid his body. Before that, prosecutors say, Evans was subjected to months of abuse at the hands of Bodine and Miller - including standing naked and chained for hours and being taunted and slapped while he cried. His body was found in concrete after the couple moved out of their rental home in Wichita.

Miller pleaded guilty in late 2018 to second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, child abuse and aggravated endangering a child. As part of her plea deal, she testified against Bodine, who was convicted of first-degree murder, child abuse and other charges and is serving a sentence of 109 years and six months in prison.

Miller acknowledged Thursday that she should have called police when the abuse first started.

"At the time, I did what I thought was best," Miller said. "In the end, I failed as a mother to protect my child. I will live with that the rest of my life."

But the judge and Evan's relatives didn't accept her explanation that Bodine was controlling her.

"While I did hear your statements, I must say after hearing the evidence in the trial that you are more than a mother who failed to protect her child. You actively participated in his murder," Ternes said.

During Bodine's trial, prosecutors called dozens of witnesses and presented more than 550 pieces of evidence, including parts of the concrete tomb, videos and photos showing Evan being abused.

Among those who spoke Thursday was Evan's father, Carlo Brewer, who was kept from his son by Bodine and Miller in the weeks before the boy's death.

"The day Evan was found, I was in disbelief and denial. I thought there was no possible way that anyone, even the worst individuals, could look into his beautiful, innocent eyes and harm him. I didn't believe that a mother was harming or allowing someone to harm their child," Carlo said. "The individual who gave birth to this child betrayed him, and was his predator."GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Presenting himself as both vindicated and vindictive, a fired-up President Donald Trump on Thursday turned the findings of the Russia investigation into a political weapon at a Michigan rally that was part victory lap, part 2020 campaign push.

Trump unleashed a fervent diatribe about the inquiry, which he deemed "the greatest hoax in the history of our country." He warned that those behind the probe "would be held accountable," aired his grievances about the "unfair" media coverage and seethed that the matter was an attempt "to tear up the fabric of our great democracy."

"After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is dead," said Trump. "This was nothing more than a sinister effort to undermine our historic election victory and to sabotage the will of the American people."

The rollicking 82-minute speech unfolded before a boisterous crowd in a key state that Trump swiped from Democrats in 2016. It marked his first political event since Attorney General William Barr released a summary that said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that his campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. With the cloud of the probe largely lifted, Trump is hoping to win re-election by keeping Michigan and several other Rust Belt states in his column.

"It's going to be so much easier the second time: We're one for one," Trump boasted.

He basked in the adulation of his supporters at the Grand Rapids rally. The packed crowd, some of whom began to line up the night before, delivered a deafening roar for the president while unleashing its vitriol as he bashed the media and Democrats.

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The president linked Mueller's probe with the myriad investigations launched by House Democrats and tried to make the case that, after Mueller's findings, further inquiries are partisan overreach.

"The Democrats now have to decide if they will continue to defraud the American public with this ridiculous bulls--t," said Trump, who urged the opposing party to instead work with him on issues like infrastructure repair and drug pricing.

While Trump's base has long been suspicious of Mueller, the president's team believes independents and moderate Democrats who backed him in the last election but have since soured may return to the fold if convinced he was unfairly targeted. Trump used the moment to heighten his attacks on the media, which many Trump supporters believe unjustly fanned the flames of the special counsel's probe in an effort to bring down the president.

Trump stood before a familiar backdrop: a giant American flag, signs reading "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" and, of course, "Make America Great Again." Though the aftermath of the probe was at the forefront of his mind, Trump also ticked off what he portrayed as his administration's accomplishments, including a booming stock market and victories over the Islamic State terror group.

He also framed the Democrats' presidential candidates as "radical," and slammed the Green New Deal, an ambitious, wide-ranging plan to combat climate change, as a "dangerous" reinvention of American society. But he spent relatively little time on his administration's renewed push to overturn the Affordable Care Act, other than to declare that the "Republican Party will be the party of health care." He didn't present many details as to what the new GOP plan might be.

His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., provided a high-energy warm-up act and, in particular, savaged family foe Michael Avenatti, the celebrity lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, the porn star who alleged an affair with the president. Avenatti was arrested this week on charges of extortion.

"For this week only, MAGA stands for Michael Avenatti got arrested," Trump Jr. boomed, taunting the once-rumored presidential candidate.

Loyal supporters started lining up in front of the Van Andel Arena on Wednesday evening, with some camping out in tents and sleeping bags overnight. By midafternoon, a crowd of thousands, many in red "Make America Great Again" hats, snaked for blocks around downtown Grand Rapids, just across the river from The Gerald Ford Presidential Museum.

Trump's sojourn to the Midwest is expected to be the first of many.

His campaign is seeking to hold three key states that he swung from blue to red in 2016 - Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania - but that may prove difficult to hold after midterm elections showed rising Democratic energy. Still, advisers believe Trump's core supporters remain enthusiastic heading into 2020.

With an eye on local matters, Trump touted his support for the automobile industry and announced he would reverse part of his administration's own budget plan, which had proposed a 90 percent spending cut for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Trump said he would fully fund the cleanup program, offering the $300 million the program has typically received.

Even before Thursday's barnburner, Grand Rapids held a special place in Trump lore.

On the eve of the 2016 election, Trump's breakneck final blitz of rallies was meant to come to an end in Manchester, New Hampshire. But just days before, the Trump campaign tacked on one more rally in the western Michigan city after seeing data that showed a surge for their candidate. The Grand Rapids rally didn't end until after midnight, bleeding into Election Day. Trump won Michigan by just 10,704 votes - his margins of victory in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were similarly small - and those close to the president have long pointed to the rally as a reason for his victory.

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Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Colvin at http://twitter.com@colvinj

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Donald Trump Jr. tosses hats to the audience during a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

People wait for President Donald Trump to speak at a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)DENVER (AP) - Legislation that would provide federal protection for financial institutions that serve state-authorized marijuana and ancillary businesses passed a U.S. House committee on Thursday.

The House Financial Services Committee voted 45-15 to advance the proposed bill after amending it to include provisions to provide a safe harbor for insurance companies and improve access of financial services to minority- and women-owned cannabis businesses.

"This is a historic and critical step forward for the nation's burgeoning cannabis industry," Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. "Regardless of where members stand on legalization, they can agree that it is in the public interest to make banking available to cannabis businesses in states where it is legal."

The proposal was originally introduced by Reps. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado and Denny Heck of Washington state, both Democrats, and Ohio Republicans Steve Stivers and Warren Davidson. It now goes to the full House for consideration, the Marijuana Business Daily reported .

Banks generally balk at servicing the marijuana industry for fear it could expose them to legal trouble from the federal government, which still considers marijuana illegal.

As a result, a large portion of the fledgling industry is left to operate on a cash-only basis, which creates security, money laundering and other criminal concerns.

FILE - In this June 27, 2017 file photo, the proprietor of a medical marijuana dispensary prepares his monthly tax payment, over $40,000 in cash, at his Los Angeles store. Legislation that would provide federal protection for financial institutions that serve state-authorized marijuana and ancillary businesses has passed a U.S. House committee. The House Financial Services Committee voted 45-15 Thursday, March 28, 2019, to advance the bill after amending it to include provisions to provide a safe harbor for insurance companies and improve access of financial services to minority and women-owned cannabis businesses. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The measure would address that difficulty while helping cannabis businesses that have struggled to obtain the financing needed for operations and expansion.

"The SAFE Banking Act would go a long way toward improving safety, transparency, access and justice in the cannabis industry," Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said in a statement.

Kevin Murphy, CEO of New York-based multistate operator Acreage Holdings, said in a statement that access to traditional banking services will have a "profound" positive economic impact in terms of creating jobs and tax revenues.

Financial industry groups such as the American Bankers Association and Credit Union National Association have come out in support of the bill, saying its members have found themselves in a difficult situation because of the conflict between state and federal law.

Among other things, the proposed measure would prevent federal banking regulators from punishing financial institutions that serve cannabis-related businesses that comply with state laws.

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Information from: Marijuana Business Daily, http://www.mjbizdaily.com

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2015, file photo, a bud tender holds two marijuana buds on his fingers on the way to a customer at the Denver Kush Club in north Denver. Legislation that would provide federal protection for financial institutions that serve state-authorized marijuana and ancillary businesses has passed a U.S. House committee. The House Financial Services Committee voted 45-15 Thursday, March 28, 2019, to advance the bill after amending it to include provisions to provide a safe harbor for insurance companies and improve access of financial services to minority and women-owned cannabis businesses. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)GENEVA (AP) - An independent U.N. human rights expert has denounced Saudi Arabia's closed-door trials of suspects in the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and called on the kingdom to name the defendants.

Agnes Callamard, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions mandated by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, also put an onus on the five permanent U.N. Security Council countries.

Callamard said in a statement Thursday that the Saudi government invited representatives from the five countries to attend some court hearings.

She said China, France, Britain, Russia and the United States "risk being participants in a potential miscarriage of justice" and could be "complicit" if the trials turn out to involve violations of human rights law.

Callamard is leading a human rights probe into the Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

She said the whereabouts of Khashoggi's remains and information about those initially arrested over the killing should be made public.

The U.N. human rights office said 11 people are on trial, five of whom face the death penalty, and "it appears" 21 people were initially detained by Saudi authorities.

Callamard has been seeking authorization to travel to Saudi Arabia as part of her investigation.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.'s board restructuring (all times local):

2:15 p.m.

A Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman has declined to address whether the utility is planning to replace its board with hedge fund financiers and people without utility expertise.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly criticized the company Thursday, saying it planned to appoint a board more focused on profits than safety.

Spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo says the company understands and recognizes Newsom's concerns and shares his urgency for action. She says PG&E recognizes the importance of adding people to the board who will bring about safety changes and address operational and financial challenges.

But Paulo isn't saying who the company wants to place on the board or when it will announce its nominees.

FILE -- In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, file photo, a Pacific Gas & Electric truck enters their customer center in Hayward, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom says PG&E plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety. Newsom, on Thursday March 28, 2019, said putting hedge fund managers in charge of the company will send a message the utility prioritizes profits over providing safe and reliable energy service. The utility did not immediately comment. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

PG&E has said it will replace most of its board amid a bankruptcy proceeding related to costs from deadly wildfires.

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1:15 p.m.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety.

Newsom on Thursday publicly called on the troubled utility to change course. His spokesman, Nathan Click, says Newsom's staff was briefed by PG&E officials on its proposed board changes in recent days.

The San Francisco-based utility is in the midst of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after it said it could not afford billions of dollars in liability related to deadly wildfires.

Newsom says putting hedge fund managers in charge of the company will send a message the utility prioritizes profits over providing safe and reliable energy service.

A PG&E spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment.

In this photo taken Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom talks with reporters in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom, on Thursday, March 28, says PG&E plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety. Putting hedge fund managers in charge of the company, said Newsom, will send a message the utility prioritizes profits over providing safe and reliable energy service. The utility did not immediately comment. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - The California Horse Racing Board voted Thursday to severely limit the use of whips on horses in racing statewide and approved medication changes on a smaller scale following the deaths of 22 horses at Santa Anita Park.

The board votes came during a passionate meeting in which a group that represents jockeys argued that the whips were not connected to the horse deaths and that any drastic changes should be delayed for more study.

Board members rejected that idea, with two saying they personally witnessed whips being overused on some of the horses that died at Santa Anita and that if the sport of horse racing is to survive, changes are necessary.

"Going after a horse with a whip when it was obvious that the horse in question had nothing left to give is something I never want to see again," said Madeline Auerbach, the board's vice chair.

"We are appointed to take care of racing in California and if we ignore the view of the people of this state, we will all pay a very big price," Auerbach said. "We won't be arguing about whips. We will not have the ability to have whips because there will be no need for them because we will have destroyed the industry by being viewed as not taking care of our horses."

Board chairman Chuck Winner shot back at the assertion the horses' deaths were unrelated to whips.

A few horses and riders are seen on the track while members of the California Horse Racing Board weigh new safety and medication rules in the wake of 22 horse deaths at Santa Anita Park, during a meeting at the track in Arcadia, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2019. The board is considering whether to ban the use of medication and whips on racing days. If approved, Santa Anita would become the first racetrack in the nation to impose such restrictions. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

"We don't know that for sure," he said. "If you watch some of the tapes, the horses that went down in some cases, the crop was being - in my view - overused and could have contributed."

The board voted to approve limiting the use of whips, also known as riding crops, to matters of safety, such as avoiding a collision. Jockeys would not be able to use the whips to get their mounts to run faster.

If they are found to have broken that rule, they would face fines, suspension or loss of a purse.

The vote to limit whips now goes to a regulatory agency for a public comment period and will have to go before the board again before it can become permanent regulation. That process could take up to six months, according to a board spokesman.

Tom Kennedy, general counsel for the Jockeys' Guild, urged the board to table the whip issue before they voted, saying riding crops are necessary to encourage and communicate with horses during races, that versions adopted a decade ago don't leave welts or bruises, and that limiting their use will negatively impact the sport, particularly with Santa Anita hosting the Breeders' Cup in November.

In addition to limiting riding crops, the board also approved a plan by the owners of Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California to begin phasing out the use of a medication known as Lasix, already banned on race days in every country but the U.S. and Canada.

While many American horse trainers say Lasix is a vital anti-bleeding medication that keeps horses safe, animal-rights activists say it amounts to a performance-enhancing drug and that most tracks in the world do fine without it.

All horses born in or after 2018 will race at Santa Anita and Golden Gate with no race-day medication, including Lasix. That means all 2-year-old horses starting in 2020 and after will race medication-free.

All horses born before 2018 will race at the two tracks owned by The Stronach Group under the same guidelines, but Lasix will still be permitted only at 50 percent of current levels.

Though the board's vote on Lasix just applies to Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields, Winner said the matter undoubtedly will be looked at for statewide application in the coming months.

At Santa Anita, just northeast of Los Angeles, 22 horses suffered fatal injuries in less than three months, drawing national attention, angering animal rights groups, prompting protests and leading to the suspension of racing since March 5.

Racing at Santa Anita is expected to resume Friday, though no changes on the use of whips there are immediately planned until the statewide measure goes through final approval.

Santa Anita's owner spoke during the meeting about how everyone at the track has been affected by the deaths, particularly the most recent one in which a 3-year-old filly broke down just after a half-mile workout as a news crew filmed nearby on March 14. That was the 22nd death at the track since Dec. 26.

"We all witnessed that breakdown and we all felt like we got punched in the gut," said Belinda Stronach, president of The Stronach Group. "We literally felt sick to our stomachs."

That's when she said The Stronach Group knew major reforms were needed. She defended the decision to go after the whips.

"We call it a riding crop because a whip sounds worse," she said. "When you take a principled stand and make changes for the better and the right reasons ... we will end up in a better position."

An official with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which advocates for the end of horse racing, said at the meeting that if tracks want to stay in business, they should get behind changes to whip rules.

"People inside racing might think that not striking the horse is a radical move but the public sees it as visible and obvious cruelty," said Kathy Guillermo, PETA's senior vice president. "They see horses dying and they see horses being hit.

"The racing industry is constantly talking about improving its image to the public. You can't do that if you keep whipping horses who supposedly love to run."

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Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP

Horses are led to paddocks past the Seabiscuit statue during workouts at Santa Anita Park, as members of the California Horse Racing Board weigh new safety and medication rules in the wake of 22 horse deaths during a meeting at the track in Arcadia, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2019. The board is considering whether to ban the use of medication and whips on racing days. If approved, Santa Anita would become the first racetrack in the nation to impose such restrictions. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

Members of the California Horse Racing Board weigh new safety and medication rules in the wake of 22 horse deaths at Santa Anita Park, during a meeting at the track in Arcadia, Calif., Thursday, March 28, 2019. The board is considering whether to ban the use of medication and whips on racing days. If approved, Santa Anita would become the first racetrack in the nation to impose such restrictions. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Rio de Janeiro civil police arrested four suspects in the gang rape of a 12-year-old girl that was filmed and posted to social media during Carnival celebrations earlier this month, authorities said.

The first suspect was arrested on Tuesday and two more were arrested Thursday morning in the Rio de Janeiro satellite city of Itaguai, where the crime occurred. A fourth suspect turned himself in Thursday evening at the civil police department with a lawyer.

Civil police said in a statement the suspects are four of "around 11 men" who were seen in the video footage of the gang rape.

The 12-year-old girl went to a party where she was forced to drink alcohol and undress, according to police. She was then taken to an abandoned house and raped by the 11 men, who police say are drug traffickers.

In 2017, over 60,000 rapes were reported in Brazil, an average of one rape every 10 minutes -- a statistic experts say is likely much higher, as many rapes go unreported. Feminist groups have criticized "machista" attitudes toward rape. A 2016 study done by the Institute of Applied Economics found that 59 percent of respondents agree partially or fully with the statement, "if women knew how to behave, there would be less rape."

Renata Souza, a Rio de Janeiro state deputy, criticized those who blame the victim and called for action to combat the rampant violence against women.

"Before anyone has the nerve to say it, it wasn't her fault!" she tweeted. "Violence against women needs to be addressed with urgency. The state is negligent."WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Congressional investigations over voter irregularities expanded Thursday with Democratic lawmakers requesting information from state officials in Kansas and Texas.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent letters seeking communications related to the decision by Ford County, Kansas, to move the only Dodge City polling site outside of city limits for the 2018 midterm elections. It also is seeking communications about efforts in January by the Texas secretary of state's office to purge voter rolls amid disputed claims that registered voters may not be U.S. citizens.

The four letters were signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

The spokeswoman for Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said in an email they have acknowledged receipt of the request and "will respond accordingly."

Jeff Mateer, first assistant attorney general in Texas, said in an emailed statement that they are reviewing the letter and "look forward to providing the committee with information that demonstrates our compliance with the law while ensuring free and fair elections."

Spokespeople for Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox in Kansas and Secretary of State David Whitley in Texas did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday.

For about two decades, the only polling site for Dodge City's 13,000 registered voters was the Civic Center in a mostly white part of town. Cox decided to move the site to the county Expo Center located outside of town and more than a mile from the nearest bus stop the month before the midterms. County officials have said the move was prompted by a planned construction project at the Civic Center, although work had not started by the time of the November election.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas sued Cox, arguing that moving the only polling site in Dodge City outside the city limits will make it more difficult for the city's majority Hispanic population to vote because they tend to have less access to transportation and flexible work schedules. A federal judge refused to order the county to open a new polling location just days before the election, finding it was not in the public's interest because it would likely create more voter confusion.

The letter to Cox from Democratic lawmakers acknowledges that Ford County recently settled a lawsuit and agreed to open additional polling sites in the city for future elections. However, it said they remained concerned that the decision to move the polling site last year may have impacted the voting ability of Dodge City residents. Their letter to Schwab seeks to determine the role of the Kansas secretary of state's office in moving the polling site.

Texas' bungled search for illegal voters began in January when state election officials released a deeply flawed list of 98,000 registered voters flagged as potential noncitizens. But it became almost immediately clear that the list wasn't vetted and that the U.S. citizenship of tens of thousands of Texas voters had been wrongly questioned.

A federal judge in February called Texas' scouring of voter rolls for noncitizens "a solution looking for a problem" and prohibited the state from removing any voters following lawsuits by civil rights groups.

Paxton had originally amplified the January announcement as a "VOTER FRAUD ALERT" in campaign fundraising emails before problems with the list emerged. President Donald Trump had also used the reports to renew his unsubstantiated claims of rampant voter fraud.

The fallout has put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's hand-picked elections chief in jeopardy. Whitley was appointed in December but still needs confirmation in the Texas Senate, where Democrats signaled they have enough votes to reject him.

The letters from lawmakers ask that the requested communications be produced by April 11.

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Associated Press Writer Paul Weber contributed to this story from Austin.WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's pick for the Justice Department's No. 3 position has withdrawn her name from consideration after encountering opposition on the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee because of her past membership in a lawyers' group that has supported abortion rights.

Jessie Liu will instead stay on in her current position as the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said Thursday.

A person familiar with the process said Liu's selection was jeopardized by her involvement more than a decade ago in a legal group, the National Association of Women Lawyers, that filed legal briefs in support of abortion rights and that opposed the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito, a conservative justice.

Though Liu was a senior official of the lawyers' group at the time of Alito's nomination, she did not sign onto the letter opposing Alito's nomination and instead signed a separate Yale Law School alumni letter in support of him, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the process. Liu said in an interview with the National Review published this month that she "was then and am now a huge admirer of Justice Alito" and that she ultimately resigned from the group as it took left-leaning positions.

Still, Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who once clerked for Alito on a federal appeals court, made clear his opposition to Liu's nomination, according to the person and the senator's office. Other Republicans on the committee likely would have raised similar concerns, denying her the necessary votes for confirmation.

The associate attorney general position is the third-highest ranking Justice Department job in Washington, responsible for overseeing issues including civil litigation, civil rights, antitrust and environmental matters. Her withdrawal could delay Attorney General William Barr's efforts to assemble a new leadership team around him as he begins implementing his agenda.

"Jessie Liu is one of the finest, most impressive people serving in the Department of Justice," Barr said in a statement. "She has been an outstanding United States Attorney and would have made an outstanding Associate Attorney General. I have zero doubt she would have faithfully executed my priorities and advanced my rule-of-law agenda."

He appointed Liu to serve as chairwoman of a committee of U.S. attorneys that advises him.

As top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital, Liu will continue overseeing some of the matters referred to her office by special counsel Robert Mueller during his recently concluded investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Those include a subpoena issued to an unidentified company owned by a foreign government. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from the company, which for months has refused to turn over documents demanded by Mueller's team.

The first associate attorney general in the Trump administration, Rachel Brand, left her position after less than a year.

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Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAPWASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday he reinstated his top enlisted adviser after an investigation found the adviser had violated ethics rules.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said in a statement that he decided to reinstate Army Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell after weighing the gravity of his ethics violations against the totality of his 37 years of military service.

"Appropriate corrective action has been taken and I'm confident that (he) has learned from this experience," Dunford said. "I am equally confident in his competence and capability to continue serving as our senior enlisted leader.

Dunford added: "Now it's time to move on and get back to the important work we have before us."

Troxell was suspended last September, pending the investigation.

A statement by Dunford's office Thursday said Troxell was found to have improperly used military personnel to conduct tasks such as personal errands for him, and he made improper endorsements of commercial fitness and nutrition products on official Defense Department social media platforms.

The statement said Troxell received no personal or monetary gain from his improper endorsements. It did not disclose the administrative actions Dunford took against Troxell before reinstating him.WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his support of Puerto Rico in its rebuilding from hurricanes, but he doesn't think officials in the U.S. territory are spending federal assistance wisely.

"Puerto Rico has been taken better care of by Donald Trump than by any living human being," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for Michigan.

Puerto Ricans and their government officials have complained that the U.S. response remains slow, but Trump told reporters there is $91 billion going to Puerto Rico. He said that's more than the amount earmarked for Florida and Texas hurricane recovery.

It's unclear how he's arrived at that number. Many federal agencies are sending assistance money and differing amounts have been authorized, but not yet allocated.

Trump said he thinks Puerto Ricans understand he's sending them a lot, but he took aim at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz. She has been an outspoken critic of Trump since Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm. Gov. Ricardo Rossello has been critical as well, accusing the administration of erecting roadblocks to the funding.

"You do have a mayor of San Juan that frankly doesn't know what she's doing," Trump said. "And the governor ... they don't know how to spend the money and they're not spending it wisely."

This June 18, 2018, file photo shows an aerial view of the Amelia neighborhood in the municipality of Catano, east of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A long-delayed disaster aid bill that's a top political priority for some of President Donald Trump's GOP allies is facing a potentially tricky path as it heads to the Senate floor this week. Although the measure has wide backing from both parties, the White House isn't pleased with the bill and is particularly opposed to efforts by Democrats to make hurricane relief to Puerto Rico more generous. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera, File)

Trump's opposition to further disaster aid for Puerto Rico hardened Tuesday during a Capitol Hill meeting. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Trump told Republicans at a closed-door luncheon that aid for Puerto Rico "is way out of proportion to what Texas and Florida and others have gotten."

Trump's stance sets up a showdown with House Democrats, who insist that a $13 billion-to-$14 billion disaster aid package that's a top priority for southern Republicans won't advance in Congress without further aid for the island.HOUSTON (AP) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Houston next week to give a speech on the political turmoil and economic crisis in Venezuela.

The White House says in a statement that Pence will address students and members of the local Venezuelan community at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy on Friday, April 5.

Pence's visit comes as the political fight in Venezuela is intensifying. The government of President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that it barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

Houston is home to a large Venezuelan immigrant community, as well as the corporate headquarters of CITGO. Six executives with the oil company are jailed in Venezuela on what their families say are trumped-up corruption charges.CORONA, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a California father charged with the murder of his missing 8-year-old son (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

Police say a Southern California man charged with murder in the death of his 8-year-old son bought gloves, acid and drain cleaner two days after the boy's mother said she last saw him.

Corona police Detective Mario Hernandez wrote in a declaration filed Thursday that Bryce McIntosh bought the items March 4. That's the day he searched on his cellphone for "normal heart rate for 8 year old" and information about sodium hydroxide, which is corrosive and can dissolve flesh.

McIntosh was charged Thursday with the murder of his son Noah. The boy's body has not been found. It's not known if he has a lawyer.

Police say Jillian Godfrey initially told police she saw her son March 4, but she later said it actually was two days earlier and that McIntosh had taken the boy into the bathroom where her son asked his father why he was hurting him.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Corona Police Department shows 8-year-old Noah McIntosh, who is missing. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday, March 28, 2019 that the boy's father Bryce McIntosh was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh. Corona police say they are still looking for the boy but found evidence in searches in Riverside County that he was killed. Police say the boy's mother, Jillian Godfrey, reported she couldn't reach him more than two weeks ago. (Corona Police Department via AP, File)

Corona is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

___

10:40 a.m.

A California man jailed on a child abuse charge has been charged with the murder of his missing 8-year-old son.

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday 32-year-old Bryce McIntosh was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh.

Police in the city of Corona say they are still looking for the boy but found evidence in searches in Riverside County that he was killed.

Police say the boy's mother reported she couldn't reach him more than two weeks ago. Authorities say they searched the father's home and arrested him and the mother for investigation of child abuse.

Community residents held a vigil this weekend for the boy.

It's not immediately clear if the father has a lawyer.

FILE - This booking photo released on March 14, 2019 by the Corona, Calif., Police Department shows Bryce McIntosh. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday, March 28, 2019 that McIntosh was charged with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture in the death of Noah McIntosh. Corona police say they are still looking for the boy but found evidence in searches in Riverside County that he was killed. Police say the boy's mother, Jillian Godfrey, reported she couldn't reach him more than two weeks ago. (Corona Police Department via AP, File)BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore's mayor on Thursday described a lucrative arrangement to sell her self-published children's books to a university-based health care system as a "regrettable mistake" and offered apologies for "any lack of confidence or disappointment" citizens and colleagues may be feeling.

At a City Hall news conference, Mayor Catherine Pugh provided five pages of paperwork, asserting they detail production and various deliveries of her "Healthy Holly" books to Baltimore's school system. She also provided a copy of a January 2011 letter to the district's chief academic officer describing a donation of 20,000 copies of "Health Holly: Exercising is Fun!"

Since 2011, Pugh received $500,000 selling her illustrated paperback series to the University of Maryland Medical System, a $4 billion hospital network. Pugh sat on the medical system's board of directors for about 18 years.

"I am deeply sorry for any lack of confidence or disappointment which this initiative may have caused any Baltimore City residents and colleagues. In hindsight, this arrangement with the University of Maryland Medical System was a regrettable mistake," she said, speaking in a weakened voice as she recovers from what spokespeople called a bout of pneumonia.

One of Maryland's largest private employers, the UMMS paid Pugh half-a-million dollars for 100,000 copies of her roughly 20-page books, arguably making her among the world's most successful self-published authors. There was no contract behind the deal and the hospital network described some of the purchases as "grants" in federal filings. Pugh - who once sat on a state Senate committee that funded the major health network before becoming mayor in 2016 - served on the system's board since 2001.

Pugh's slim "Healthy Holly" books, sharing tips on nutrition and exercise, were meant to be distributed to schools and daycares. But the school district has described her hard-to-find books as "unsolicited" donations after The Baltimore Sun recently exposed Pugh's arrangements with UMMS. Fewer than 9,000 copies were found collecting dust in a district warehouse. It's unclear where tens of thousands of other copies are.

FILE - In this June 8, 2018 file photo, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh addresses a gathering during the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Boston. Baltimore's mayor says a lucrative arrangement to sell her self-published children's books to a health care system was a "regrettable mistake." In a Thursday, March 28, 2019 press conference, Mayor Catherine Pugh provided four pages of paperwork that she says details production of thousands of her "Healthy Holly" illustrated books and deliveries to Baltimore's school system. Since 2011, Pugh received $500,000 selling her illustrated books to the University of Maryland Medical System. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Pugh suggested Thursday that it was up to the city's school district to clear up the confusion.

"I do hope that we find out from the school system where the rest of those books are," she said.

During the evening press conference, Pugh also held up cloth bibs, onesies and other baby items with words like "jump" and "play" emblazoned on them that she says were intended to be part of her campaign to teach youngsters and families about health. She said her "Healthy Holly" initiative was "never about books" but was "about a lifestyle."

She said her lawyer advised her not to take any questions since the arrangement with UMMS is now being investigated. A retired state corruption investigator has filed a complaint against Pugh with the state prosecutor's office.

Pugh choked up at the end of her presentation and departed the conference room, appearing drained as reporters yelled out questions.

A Democrat, Pugh faces a 2020 Democratic primary for re-election in a city dominated by her party's political machine.

Criticism of UMMS and of Pugh has lately been intense. The Washington Post's editorial board recently asserted the UMMS had a "get-rich-quick program" for many of its board members, with Pugh's involvement painted as an egregious case of "political sleaze."

In recent days, Pugh resigned from the volunteer UMMS board and returned her most recent payment of $100,000. She also amended years of financial disclosure forms from her state Senate days.

Pugh is not the only board member who received significant financial compensation from UMMS. About one-third of the UMMS board members received compensation through the medical system's arrangements with their businesses, a revelation that Gov. Larry Hogan has called "appalling."

Two other members of the board have also resigned, and four others went on voluntary leave while the system reviews governance practices. The president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System has recently been sent on a temporary leave of absence.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot says an independent audit is urgent to understand how many "self-dealing" arrangements there have been over the years.

___

Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfaddA representative of a passenger killed in this month's Ethiopian Airlines crash is suing Boeing, claiming that a flight-control system on the plane was defective and Boeing failed to warn the airline about it.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Illinois by the administrator of the estate of Jackson Musoni, a Rwandan citizen who was on the March 10 flight.

Lawyers for the family say Boeing was negligent in designing the now-grounded 737 Max 8, which has features not on previous 737s.

Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Software designed to counter a potential nose-up pitch is under scrutiny in an October crash in Indonesia and the Ethiopian crash.

Lawyers say Boeing also failed to adequately train pilots how to use automation on the Max.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will travel to El Salvador in April to discuss the poverty and violence that's causing waves of migrants to seek asylum in the United States.

It will be Newsom's first international trip as governor and his latest effort to position California - not the White House - as the leader on the nation's toughest issues.

The announcement came days after U.S. and Central American leaders signed a new border security compact. Still, President Donald Trump said Thursday that foreign leaders were "doing nothing" to stop the flow of migrants.

In announcing his trip, Newsom said that while the "Trump administration demonizes those who are fleeing violence from Central America, California is committed to lifting up our immigrant communities and understanding the root causes of migration."

Newsom, a Democrat, has sparred with Trump on immigration more than any other issue. In his first two months as governor, he withdrew most California National Guard troops from the border and filed a lawsuit over Trump's declaration of a national emergency to fund a border wall.

Newsom has pledged $25 million to aid asylum seekers and wants to expand access to health care for young people living in California illegally. One of the first bills he signed as governor provided $5 million to help open a migrant support center.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom attend a roundtable discussion with Central American community leaders at the Clinica Monsenor Oscar Romero in Los Angeles Thursday, March 28, 2019. Newsom said Thursday he will travel to El Salvador in April to discuss the poverty and violence that's causing waves of migrants to seek asylum in the United States. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

"This is our answer to the White House: No more division, no more xenophobia and no more nativism," Newsom declared last month in his State of the State address.

He met Thursday with Central American community leaders in Los Angeles to discuss the challenges facing families in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said she appreciated Newsom's efforts to start dialogue with immigrant groups.

"I think now that as he embarks on this trip to El Salvador, he will have a deeper understanding of our perspective," she said after the meeting.

California is home to the nation's busiest border crossing at San Ysidro in San Diego and has more than 680,000 El Salvadoran immigrants, according to Newsom.

The governor will travel there from April 7 to 10.

Cesar Rios, executive director of the Salvadoran Migrant Institute, welcomed Newsom's visit to Central America. He said it's important that officials "pay closer attention to the causes of migration instead of looking for someone to blame for provoking the migration."

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen traveled to Honduras this week to meet with leaders from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and offered U.S. support for combating drug and gang violence. The gang MS-13 is active in El Salvador.

The administration also approved $5.8 billion in aid for Central America in December.

Trump on Thursday blunted that message with a darker assessment of the U.S.-Central American partnership.

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country," he tweeted. "They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing."

California governors have engaged in international diplomacy before. Former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown traveled to China and Russia and served as a special envoy to the United Nations on climate change. Newsom's trip to El Salvador will expand his national profile and likely fuel speculation about his ambitions for higher political office.

Brown broke with the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly by signing a bill limiting local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

Newsom has been more aggressive. He reversed Brown's decision to deploy several hundred California National Guard troops to the border, removing most of them in February to focus on other issues such as preparing for the upcoming wildfire season.

He kept roughly 100 on the border to aid in combating international drug crime and said he'd be willing to work with the Trump administration on that front.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, listens to Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo representing the 51st California Assembly District during a roundtable discussion with Central American community leaders at the Clinica Monsenor Oscar Romero in Los Angeles Thursday, March 28, 2019. The roundtable examines the root causes of migration and discusses California's efforts to provide relief and humanitarian aid to asylum seekers fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - After this spring's massive flooding along the Missouri River, many want to blame the agency that manages the river's dams for making the disaster worse, but it may not be that simple.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says much of the water that created the flooding came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the river downstream of all the dams, and at the same time, massive amounts of water filled the reservoirs and some had to be released.

For instance, the National Weather Service estimates that enough water poured into the reservoir behind Gavin's Point Dam on the South Dakota-Nebraska border during nine days in mid-March to totally fill the reservoir from empty more than twice.

But many people who live near the Missouri River believe the Corps isn't doing enough to prevent floods or is placing too much emphasis on other priorities, such as protecting endangered species and preserving barge traffic.

Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said Corps officials told him this week that they treat all eight priorities for the river equally.

"I was told point-blank, 'Flood control is not our top priority. It is not. Period.' They were very firm on that point," Hawley said. "I said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'"

FILE - This March 17, 2019 file photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base and surrounding areas in Nebraska affected by flood waters. After this spring's massive flooding along the Missouri River, many want to blame the agency that manages the river's dams for making the disaster worse, but it may not be that simple. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says much of the water that created this month's flooding came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the river downstream of all the dams, and at the same time, massive amounts of water filled the reservoirs and some had to be released. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

Corps officials say they work to balance all the priorities Congress approved when operating the dams, but no single priority outweighs all the others. Their operating model tries to maximize the benefit to several priorities when possible.

Hawley said Congress should consider "serious reform," such as deciding if the Corps should be taken out of the Department of Defense and placed under direction of another agency, such as the Department of Transportation or the Department of the Interior.

The Corps manages the Missouri River's system of dams and locks and decides when and how much water is released from reservoirs into the river. The severe flooding this month in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri has renewed criticism of the Corps' management of the river.

Officials estimate that the flooding caused more than $1 billion of damage to farms in Nebraska and Iowa, destroying stored crops and killing livestock. And the damage total will grow as floodwaters recede and other states assess conditions.

Nearly 400 farmers, landowners and business operators sued the Corps after the historic 2011 floods - and won. U.S. District Judge Nancy B. Firestone's ruling last year determined that severe Missouri River flooding "was caused by and was the foreseeable result" of the agency's management practices.

R. Dan Boulware, the St. Joseph, Missouri-based attorney for the lawsuit's plaintiffs, said those management practices are still in place, contributing to the flooding this month. He said the Corps stores more water in six upper-Missouri River basins than it needs to, and has also modified structures like dikes.

"The river itself is changed," Boulware said. "It spreads out and it doesn't flow like it used to flow. It's like a sluggish drain - it backs up."

Corps officials declined to discuss the lawsuit because it is still ongoing, but they defended the way they handled this spring's flooding. John Remus oversees the dams, including Gavin's Point Dam, for the Corps.

"There was far more water coming into Gavin's Point than we could hold," Remus said.

And the National Weather Service's Kevin Low said significantly more water poured into the Missouri River from rivers in Nebraska and Iowa with no dams, so officials couldn't regulate the flow from those. Low said the Platte River peaked at over 170,000 cubic feet per second of water on March 17.

Most other rivers that feed into the lower Missouri crested around the same time after heavy rains helped melt lingering snowpack that flowed right into rivers because the ground was still mostly frozen.

Emergency management directors in two northwestern Missouri counties that took the brunt of this year's flood damage have differing views on the Corps' responsibility.

Buchanan County Emergency Management Director Bill Brinton said a dam failure to the north sent a surge of additional water into the river, worsening an already bad situation.

"That dam failed and you had billions of gallons of water," Brinton said. "I don't see how you can blame the Corps. But I seem to be in the minority."

In Holt County, Missouri, 460 homes were damaged when the flood reached a foot above the 2011 record, and most are still underwater, Emergency Management Director Tom Bullock said.

Bullock's home is among the flooded ones. He's taken a motorboat out to it a few times but won't know the extent of the damage until he gets inside the home.

"They told us after the flood of '11 if you build up and elevate above this certain level it'll never happen again, so I did that," Bullock said. "It still wasn't high enough. So I don't know what the answer is. It gets pretty expensive."

Much of the concern about the Corps' management dates to 2004, when it initiated a management change partly to protect endangered species, including the pallid sturgeon, a seldom-seen, bottom-feeding fish.

Bullock agreed 2004 was the turning point when the Corps "started managing the river for recreation and wildlife."

"Used to be at the top of the list was flood control first place, and navigation second place. Those two things have moved to the bottom of the list," Bullock said.

"Ever since that happened, we've been flooded out regularly down here in the bottom," he added.

He's worried his and his neighbors' homes will be hit again this spring.

"We don't see an end in sight yet," Bullock said. "All of our levees are just destroyed. We have no protection from the high river now, or spring rains. We're sitting there exposed."

___

Salter contributed to this report from St. Louis.

FILE - This Monday, March 18, 2019 file photo made by the South Dakota Civil Air Patrol and provided by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management shows flooding along the Missouri River in rural Iowa north of Omaha, Neb. After massive flooding along the Missouri River in the spring of 2019, many want to blame the agency that manages the river's dams for making the disaster worse, but it may not be that simple. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says much of the water that created March's flooding came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the river downstream of all the dams, and at the same time, massive amounts of water filled the reservoirs and some had to be released. (Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP, File )LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The governor whose state is at the center of the fight over work requirements for Medicaid recipients said Thursday he wants to fight a judge's ruling blocking those rules, while Republicans elsewhere are trying to determine the decision's effect on their state.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged the federal government to appeal the ruling against his state's requirement that certain people covered by its Medicaid expansion work or lose their coverage. A day earlier, a federal judge in Washington blocked work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky.

Hutchinson said he wants the Legislature to maintain Arkansas' Medicaid expansion program, which covers 235,000 low-income residents. The Republican governor said defunding it would mean giving up the fight over the work requirement.

"I remain fully committed to a work requirement, and we are in this for the long haul because we believe this is the right policy for Arkansans who want to work and need training and more opportunity," the governor said during a news conference at the state Capitol.

Arkansas was the first state to enforce a Medicaid work requirement. Similar rules are in effect in Indiana and New Hampshire.

Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin have had their work requirements approved by the federal government, but they are not yet implemented. Several other states have requests pending with the Trump administration.

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2018, file photo, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, center, talks at a news conference at the State Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., about the state's work requirement for its expanded Medicaid program. Federal judge James Boasberg is blocking Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky, dealing a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to push the poor toward self-sufficiency. Boasberg issued two decisions Wednesday, March 27, finding that Medicaid work requirements for low-income people in Arkansas and Kentucky pose numerous obstacles to getting health care that haven't been adequately addressed by federal and state officials. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)

Expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income adults was a key pillar of former President Barack Obama's health care reforms. It's responsible for adding some 12 million people to the Medicaid rolls in the 37 states that accepted the expansion.

Many Republicans have argued for work requirements and other provisions, such as modest premiums, as a condition for agreeing to it.

In Kentucky, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has threatened to end his state's Medicaid expansion if work requirements are ultimately struck down. It was adopted under his Democratic predecessor and provides coverage for 400,000 people.

Bevin said Medicaid was intended to provide health coverage for the medically frail, the elderly and the disabled, and is skeptical of offering it with no strings attached to able-bodied, working-age adults who have no dependents. Under the rules in Kentucky and Arkansas, recipients also can fulfill the requirements if they volunteer or continue their education.

"The day of the free lunch is over," Bevin said.

Indiana officials said they planned to move forward with their work requirements despite the ruling. Beneficiaries there won't have to begin reporting hours worked until July, and next January is the earliest that any recipient could have coverage suspended for not complying. New Hampshire's requirement, which took effect this month, also is being challenged in court.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in Ohio said his administration was reviewing the ruling to see if it would have any effect on that state's requirement, which is expected to take effect in 2021.

DeWine has described the Ohio rules as a possible model for other states. He said they strike a balance between ensuring health coverage while creating a way for recipients to find a job.

The ruling does not affect Arizona's planning to implement work requirements, said Heidi Capriotti, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state Medicaid agency. Arizona's work requirements are scheduled to begin no sooner than next January, she said.

The future is less certain in Michigan, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month said she would ask the Republican-led Legislature to change newly enacted work or job-related requirements to qualify for Michigan's Medicaid expansion program. They are set to take effect next year.

In Arkansas, failure to comply with the work requirement led to more than 18,000 people losing coverage last year. Those kicked off the rolls were able to re-enroll beginning in January, and Hutchinson said about 2,000 of them had done so.

Only recipients who gained coverage through the expansion - and not the regular Medicaid population - were subject to the requirement. They had to work 80 hours a month and lost coverage if they failed to comply three months in a calendar year.

State Department of Human Services officials said Thursday they were taking down the website used for reporting hours worked and planned to notify people that the requirement had been halted.

Critics of the requirement said Hutchinson should drop his support for it and instead focus on restoring coverage to the thousands who were kicked off.

"It was a bad idea, an even worse implementation, and it shouldn't take federal courts to show us that we need to do better," State Democratic Party Chairman Michael John Gray said in a statement.

The future of Arkansas' expansion following the ruling faces a test on Friday, when the state House takes up the budget bill for Medicaid and the expansion.

___

Associated Press writers Rick Callahan in Indianapolis, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Bruce Schreiner in Brandenburg, Kentucky, and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and contributed to this report.

___

Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademilloELLENSBURG, Wash. (AP) - More than a thousand people, including hundreds of law enforcement officers, gathered Thursday at a memorial service for a Washington state sheriff's deputy who was killed last week by a road rage suspect living in the country illegally.

Uniformed officers lined a street and saluted as a white hearse brought the flag-draped casket of Kittitas County Deputy Ryan Thompson to Central Washington University in the town of Ellensburg, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Seattle. Bagpipers, drummers and an honor guard of uniformed officers met the casket.

Thompson, 42, a graduate of the university, died in a gunbattle March 19 near Ellensburg that also killed the suspect and wounded police Officer Benito Chavez, 22, of the nearby small town of Kittitas.

Speakers described Thompson as a courageous hero who loved his community.

"We will never be the same," said sheriff's Deputy Ben Corbett, a friend and neighbor. "We enjoyed sharing life with you."

Corbett added, "You will always be my backup."

Law enforcement personnel salute as a hearse bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson arrives ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for the memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

Thompson grew up in Walla Walla and is survived by his wife and three children.

The memorial service featured officers from the U.S. and Canada, and opened with the national anthems of both countries. People in the audience wiped away tears.

The suspect in the shooting was in the U.S. illegally, officials said.

Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro, 29, was a citizen of Mexico who entered the United States in 2014 at Laredo, Texas, on a temporary agricultural worker visa, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency had no record that Flores Del Toro left the U.S. or extended his visa after it expired.

Flores Del Toro died in a hospital a short time after the shootout. Investigators say they do not know why Flores Del Toro fled from the officers and that no warrants were pending for his arrest.

The two officers had tried to stop Flores Del Toro's vehicle after they received a complaint about his driving. Authorities have described it as a "road-rage type event" without revealing more details.

Law officers chased the car, which stopped in a trailer park in the town of Kittitas. Flores Del Toro got out and used a handgun to exchange gunfire with the officers, police said.

Thompson's death was the first fatal shooting of a law enforcement officer in the rural county since 1927, officials said.

A procession bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson arrives ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for the memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

An honor guard of Washington State Patrol riflemen lead a procession bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for the memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

A riderless horse is led beneath an American flag at the head of a procession bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for the memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

A hearse bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson arrives ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for a memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

Bystanders sit outside a house behind law enforcement waiting for a procession bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson to arrive ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Thompson, a graduate of the school, was shot to death during a gunbattle the evening of March 19 near Ellensburg. The suspect was also killed. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)

An NYPD officer wears a black stripe over his badge while waiting for the arrival of a procession bearing the body of Kittitas County Deputy Sherif Ryan Thompson ahead of a memorial service at Central Washington University, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Ellensburg, Wash. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the region have gathered for the memorial service for Thompson, who was shot to death by a road rage suspect last week. (Jake Green/The Daily Record via AP)LOS ANGELES (AP) - The federal government sued California on Thursday over a water policy it said violates the state's environmental protection law.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in Sacramento federal court to block a contentious plan approved in December to increase river flows in the San Joaquin River and three tributaries to help revive dwindling salmon populations.

It was part of a larger effort to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which state officials called an "ecosystem in crisis." The delta supplies water for the majority of California's people and farms.

Once-thriving fish in the delta, which flows out to San Francisco Bay, have plunged from some 70,000 adult Chinook salmon returning to the San Joaquin basin in the fall of 1984 to just 10,000 in 2017.

Some environmental groups supported the plan, while other conservation groups and fishing groups said it fell short in providing enough water for habitat.

Farmers opposed to the plan because it would divert less water for irrigation protested last summer outside the state Capitol.

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2016 file photo, people try to catch fish along the Sacramento River in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, near Courtland, Calif. The federal government has sued California over water policies it says violate state environmental protections. The lawsuit filed Thursday, March 28, 2019, in federal court in Sacramento challenges a plan that went into effect in December to increase water flows in the San Joaquin River. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

The U.S. lawsuit said the plan was arbitrary and the state failed to analyze impacts on the environment and would reduce water coming out of the New Melones reservoir for farms, businesses and hydroelectric operations.

The environmental analysis "hid the true impacts of their plan and could put substantial operational constraints on the Department of the Interior's ability to effectively operate the New Melones Dam, which plays a critical role in flood control, irrigation, and power generation in the Sacramento region," said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark said in a statement.

The federal government's lawsuit follows a suit filed last month in state court by the California Farm Bureau Federation to block the plan.

George Kostyrko, a spokesman for the water board, said the agency looks forward to defending the plan that involved years of analysis and public input.

The lawsuit was an unusual turn of events with the state of California as a defendant in a lawsuit with the federal government. The state's attorney general has sued the Trump administration more 47 times.

Attorney Doug Obegi of the Natural Resources Defense Council said it was ironic that the U.S. government was citing state law to sue California in federal court.

"The Trump administration has shown its flagrant disregard for state laws for some time, so it's not surprising in that regard," Obegi said. "I can't for the life of me see how a federal court lawsuit against a state agency for a claimed violation of state law doesn't get tossed out immediately for violating the U.S. Constitution."

The NRDC said the December decision was a step forward, but it wouldn't do enough to reach the goal to double the salmon population.

John McManus, president of the Golden Gate Salmon Association, said the plan approved in December had "re-balanced a badly out of balance water diversion scheme" and the suit was a "frivolous attempt to see more water diverted and more salmon industry jobs and families destroyed."LAS VEGAS (AP) - A 19-time felon suspected of escaping from authorities, getting shot by Las Vegas police and leading a wild chase in a stolen truck stood before a judge the next day, his arm in a bandage, to be sentenced to life in prison.

Christopher Gregory Ganci, 52, stood shackled in court Thursday, surrounded by heavily armed police guards and a medic, as he told Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Smith he wasn't a violent man and deserved another chance. While not named by police in the attempted escape, Ganci acknowledged that he "took a bullet" the day before.

"I never hurt anybody. I'm no danger to the public," Ganci said. "Your honor, I've had a long hard life of crime. I'm not a robber or killer."

But Smith declared Ganci a habitual offender with a history of disregarding judges and parole restrictions.

"At some point you have to say, Mr. Ganci, you can't be in the public and not break the law," the judge said. "I think it's time you pay the consequences."

Ganci's sentencing was delayed for a day after he failed to appear in court Wednesday. Smith gave Ganci five consecutive life terms without parole for being found guilty in February of armed robbery, kidnapping, battery and two counts of conspiracy. His 19th conviction was for admitting he had a gun.

Gregory Ganci addresses the judge during his sentencing at the Regional Justice Center on Thursday, March. 28, 2019, in Las Vegas. Ganci, a 19-time felon whose sentencing was delayed a day when he was shot by Las Vegas police while trying to escape from custody was told he'll spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. Prosecutor John Giordani says Ganci was convicted of felonies in Arizona, California, Illinois and Texas before being found guilty in February in Las Vegas of armed robbery, kidnapping, battery and conspiracy. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

He had been accused of abducting and robbing a man who escaped Ganci and a woman at a Las Vegas casino.

Prosecutor John Giordani told Smith that Ganci was convicted previously of 13 felonies in Arizona, California, Illinois and Texas and served multiple stints in prison before moving to Las Vegas.

Ganci has active warrants for his arrest from four states and still faces witness tampering charges in his Las Vegas case, the prosecutor said.

Ganci acknowledged he "took a bullet" on Wednesday, and Giordani said Ganci is expected to face charges related to the attempted escape and police chase.

Police have not named Ganci, but say an officer who accompanied a 52-year-old prisoner in custody to a medical clinic for what was described as a routine procedure shot the man in the left arm when he ran to an unattended pickup truck and drove away.

The wounded man led officers on a wreck-filled chase before surrendering near downtown casinos and the county courthouse, police said.

No bystanders were struck by gunfire and no one was seriously hurt in vehicles rammed by the pickup, police said.

The name of the officer has not been made public. He was placed on paid leave pending departmental and district attorney reviews of the shooting.

Police said it did not appear that two men who left the pickup unattended in the clinic parking lot were connected with Ganci.

Las Vegas police surround a white pickup truck as they investigate after a pursuit related to the officer-involved shooting that ended at the Golden Nugget hotel-casino on Wednesday, March. 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. Authorities say a Las Vegas police officer shot a jail prisoner who escaped in shackles in a stolen pickup truck after a medical clinic visit and led officers on a wreck-filled chase before running out of gas near downtown casinos. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Gregory Ganci is led into the courtroom during his sentencing at the Regional Justice Center on Thursday, March. 28, 2019, in Las Vegas. Ganci, a 19-time felon whose sentencing was delayed a day when he was shot by Las Vegas police while trying to escape from custody was told he'll spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. Prosecutor John Giordani says Ganci was convicted of felonies in Arizona, California, Illinois and Texas before being found guilty in February in Las Vegas of armed robbery, kidnapping, battery and conspiracy. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A member of a black church in Mississippi has pleaded guilty to burning the church, which was also spray painted with the slogan "Vote Trump," a week before the 2016 presidential election.

Andrew McClinton, 47, pleaded guilty to arson Thursday, the Delta Democrat-Times reported. His sentencing is set for late April.

Investigators said McClinton, who is African-American, belonged to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, which was vandalized and burned.

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who is also the state fire marshal, told The Associated Press that investigators believe the graffiti was intended as a distraction from some other sort of wrongdoing. Chaney would not specify what that was.

"He tried to make the arson appear it was politically motivated, but it was not," Chaney said.

Greenville, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Jackson, is a Mississippi River port city that's a hub of commerce in the cotton-growing Delta. About 78 percent of the city's 32,100 residents are African-American.

FILE - This is a Mississippi Department of Public Safety-provided and undated state driver's license photograph of Andrew McClinton, of Leland, Miss. McClinton, a member of a black church in Mississippi, has pleaded guilty to burning the church, which was also spray painted with the slogan "Vote Trump," a week before the 2016 presidential election. (Mississippi Department of Public Safety via AP, File)

McClinton will be sentenced as a habitual offender because he was convicted of attempted armed robbery in 1997 and armed robbery in 2004, both in another part of Mississippi.

Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1905 in the heart of an African-American neighborhood, and the congregation has about 200 members. Some walls of the beige brick church survived the fire, but the remaining walls were torn down. A new structure was built in its place.

During the first months after the fire, Hopewell members have worshipped in the chapel at First Baptist Church of Greenville, which has a predominantly white congregation.

Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons initially urged officials to investigate the church burning as a possible hate crime. Simmons is African-American and had been elected months earlier on a platform of seeking racial unity.

The mayor's twin, Democratic state Sen. Derrick Simmons, told AP in December 2016 that his brother had taken the right approach.

"There is a dark past in America and in the Deep South regarding the burning of African-American churches," Derrick Simmons said. "The way law enforcement authorities initially investigated this matter as a hate crime I believe was warranted, considering the past and the history."

____

Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .HONOLULU (AP) - U.S. prosecutors worry a 99-year-old woman central to establishing the motive behind corruption-related charges against her granddaughter won't be available to testify at trial.

Prosecutors say Florence Puana needs to be deposed by April 26 because her health is deteriorating.

Puana is the grandmother of Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy prosecutor who is married to ex-Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha. The Kealohas are accused of defrauding banks and relatives to fund their lavish lifestyle.

Prosecutors say Katherine Kealoha stole money from her grandmother and an uncle. Prosecutors say when they threatened to expose the fraud, Kealoha tried to have her grandmother declared incapacitated and framed her uncle for a mailbox theft.

The Kealohas pleaded not guilty.

A judge is giving the Kealohas until Monday to respond to the deposition motion.RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Over the objections of human rights groups but with the support of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, some military bases began commemorations of the March 31, 1964 coup that launched 21 years of military rule in Brazil.

Brazil's Southeast military command, led by Gen. Luiz Baptista Pereira, held a commemoration ceremony in Sao Paulo.

The order of the day read in the base called March 31, 1964 a "symbolic episode" in the armed forces' support for the "legitimate aspirations" of Brazilian people.

"The Brazilian people defended democracy together with their uniformed citizens" that day, it read. "With Brazilian families alarmed and facing great disorder, the escalation toward communism was interrupted."

With rifles on their shoulders, soldiers sang Brazil's national anthem and paraded.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 military regime and a fierce anti-communist, caused a commotion in Brazil when he asked the Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" on March 31, a day historians call a coup that began the dictatorship, which supporters call a "military government."

Armed forces take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 1964 military coup that began the last Brazilian dictatorship, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2019. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 dictatorship, on Monday asked Brazil's Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the upcoming 55th anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazil's federal prosecutor's office strongly criticized Bolsonaro's move, saying that under international criminal law Brazil's dictators "had committed crimes against humanity." Several civic groups announced that they were organizing protests throughout the country.

The decision to commemorate the coup anniversary ended a 2011 move by then-President Dilma Rousseff, who had asked armed forces to suspend such commemorations.

Government spokesman Otavio Rego Barros recently told reporters that "the president does not believe March 31, 1964 was a coup."

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro flashes two thumbs up standing next to Adm. Marcus Vinicius Oliveira dos Santos, Supreme Military Court president, who presented Bolsonaro with the Order of Military Judicial Merit, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 dictatorship, on Monday asked Brazil's Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the upcoming March 31st anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Armed forces take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 1964 military coup that began the last Brazilian dictatorship, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2019. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 dictatorship, on Monday asked Brazil's Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the upcoming 55th anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Armed forces take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 1964 military coup that began the last Brazilian dictatorship, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2019. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 dictatorship, on Monday asked Brazil's Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the upcoming 55th anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro puts out his arm to receive the Order of Military Judicial Merit from Adm. Marcus Vinicius Oliveira dos Santos, Supreme Military Court president, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2019. Bolsonaro, a former army captain who waxes nostalgic for the 1964-1985 dictatorship, on Monday asked Brazil's Defense Ministry to organize "due commemorations" to mark the upcoming March 31st anniversary of Brazil's 1964 military coup. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)BRUSSELS (AP) - The date for the U.K.'s departure from the European Union was seemingly chiseled in stone - March 29, 2019. When it finally arrived with no Brexit, Europeans could only shake their heads in frustrated disbelief.

They saw three years of bluster on how Britain would leave the EU on its own terms dissolve Friday with the last of three votes in Parliament that failed to approve Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal, leaving an uncertain course.

"There was no game plan. Well, no strategy," Philippe Lamberts, a key member of the European Parliament's Brexit steering group, said of the British approach in an interview with The Associated Press.

Few in Britain would disagree.

For decades, the bloc was the target of ridicule in Britain for what was perceived as European hubris and an inefficient bureaucracy. But on Friday, there was very little gloating on the continent as May failed to get the deal through the U.K. Parliament, sending London deeper into the Brexit morass.

"We have resisted the temptation to position the (EU) Commission in terms of sentiments," said EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas. "We don't do that."

European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier,left, and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, right, shake hands during a news conference following their talks on possible scenarios for Britain's departure from the 28-member bloc in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, March 29, 2019. Morawiecki said that if twice-rejected divorce deal is not approved Friday, the EU is open to Britain's requests for further extension of the departure process for up to 12 months. (AP Photo/Stringer)

The EU called another emergency summit for April 10, two days ahead of a new withdrawal date. A chaotic "no-deal" departure scenario is expected to be costly to U.K. businesses and inconvenient at its border. May said there would be "grave" implications.

The EU doesn't want to inflame passions even more, because it also stands to suffer, with hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of jobs at stake for a U.K. exit without transitional measures in place.

"In Brexit, everybody loses," said Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka, a vice rector of the College of Europe, speaking at a branch in Natolin, Poland. "Brexit diminishes both the EU and the U.K."

There was frustration among EU officials who felt that they and their star negotiator Michel Barnier did their part and Britain didn't.

Even Nigel Farage, a British driving force behind Brexit and staunch EU opponent, has nothing but admiration for Barnier who kept 27 nations aligned as one while Britain, as one, crumbled into chaos.

"Oh, in terms of doing his job. Goodness gracious me. Look, you know, I wish he was on my team and not their team," Farage, a member of the European Parliament, told the AP.

Almost three years after the June 23, 2016, Brexit referendum, the British government and Parliament seem to be still at a loss over what they really wants from the EU.

"Britain is at a dead end," said Nathalie Loiseau, who was France's Europe Minister until she resigned this week to run in the May 23-26 EU elections. "Europeans have other priorities than having to wait until the U.K. takes a decision."

What also is in tatters is a European admiration of Britain as a symbol of a well-run parliamentary democracy, with its sometimes brilliant discourse and vigorous debate.

Lamberts said he was stunned at how May's Conservative Party as well as those in the Labour Party seemed to act in their own interests, rather than the needs of the country.

"It's the inability to build compromise," Lamberts said. "That's it. Party above country, in the most brutal sense of the word."

Manfred Weber, a European lawmaker from Germany and center-right candidate to head the European Commission, said the repeated rejection of the deal highlighted "a failure of the political class in Great Britain - there's no other way to describe it."

Some saw Friday's events as another blow to Britain's international standing.

"The British have given the world a great deal, from modern parliamentarism to the world title in the discipline of 'muddling through,'" historian Michael Stuermer wrote in a front-page commentary in German daily Die Welt.

Now, however, "the damage to the country's reputation is unmistakable."

___

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London, Friday, March 29, 2019. The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finishes on Friday March 29 in Parliament Square, London, on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A rescue in the Mediterranean Sea that took an ominous turn has raised concerns that some merchant ship captains might become reluctant to save migrants in danger of drowning during the perilous crossing from north Africa to Europe, fearing they could lose control of their ship.

A cargo ship heading from Turkey to Libya was asked to divert its course to rescue nearly 100 migrants in distress, which it did, before continuing on its course. But when the migrants realized Wednesday they were headed back to lawless Libya, which they had just left, some revolted, commandeering the ship and forcing it to head to Europe.

The temporary hijacking this week of the El Hiblu 1 was described by Italy's hard-line interior minister as an act of "piracy. " Aid groups called it an act of "self-defense" against Europe's inhumane immigration policies, which aim to ship back desperate migrants to Libya, where they often face beatings, rape and torture in detention camps.

Five migrants were arrested after Maltese special forces boarded the ship Thursday, then escorted it to port.

The ship's captain said Maltese authorities had detained and strip-searched him after the ship docked in the capital, Valletta.

"I swear in the name of God, if I find a million people dying in front of me in the sea, I will never rescue them after what I saw here in Malta," Nader el Hiblu told The Associated Press by phone from the ship Friday. "This filthy country treated me in a very disrespectable way after rescuing 98 people. They dealt with me as a criminal and accused me of illegal migration."

A view of Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1, which was hijacked by migrants, harbored in Valletta, Malta, Thursday March 28, 2019. A Maltese special operations team on Thursday boarded a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain, before escorting it to a Maltese port. (AP Photo/Rene' Rossignaud)

But the captain's perhaps understandable ire notwithstanding, all boat and ship crews are legally required to rescue anyone in distress at sea. The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea stipulates captains must "render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost" so long as they can do so without "serious danger to the ship, the crew or the passengers."

The risk of hijackings in the Mediterranean has been of concern to the shipping world in recent years, particularly since some European countries began refusing to allow ships with rescued passengers into their ports, industry specialists say.

"We knew it was coming, we have sounded warnings about this frequently," John Stawpert, manager for environment and trade at the London-based International Chamber of Shipping, told the AP. "This episode I think has brought it into sharp focus. What we need is action at a high level, at state level and also international level, to ensure that ships that find themselves, through no fault of their own, in this sort of situation, get immediate assistance."

Cargo ships and their crews are not equipped to deal with large numbers of desperate people suddenly arriving on board. The ICS has called for the coast guards of nearby countries to intervene as quickly as possible in such situations to transfer rescued migrants to safe locations.

Despite the risks, Stawpert said it was unlikely commercial ships would start to regularly refuse help to those in distress.

The number of people making the perilous journey from north Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe has fallen steeply in recent years, he noted, and many are being caught by the Libyan coast guard before they get far from the Libyan coast.

"Most importantly, seafarers recognize their legal and moral obligation to conduct search and rescue. It's a very deeply ingrained moral obligation and culture within shipping," he said. "I'm confident that people will continue to pick up people in distress."

____

Michael contributed from Cairo.

Armed forces stand onboard the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1, which was hijacked by migrants, in Valletta, Malta, Thursday March 28, 2019. A Maltese special operations team on Thursday boarded a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain, before escorting it to a Maltese port. (AP Photo/Rene' Rossignaud)Facebook has removed nearly 150 accounts which targeted UK politics with co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour by engaging in hate speech and spreading division across the spectrum of political debate.

Individuals operating the 137 accounts, groups and pages across Facebook and Instagram would present themselves as far-right and anti-far-right activists, wrote the companys head of cybersecurity Nathaniel Gleicher, and would frequently change the names of pages and groups.

Two of the pages detailed in the investigation, the right-leaning Politicalised and another called Anti Far Right Extremists, had more than 20,000 and over 12,000 followers respectively.

Making the announcement in a blog post, Mr Gleicher wrote: Despite their misrepresentation of their identities, we found that these Pages, Groups and accounts were connected.

They frequently posted about local and political news including topics like immigration, free speech, racism, LGBT issues, far-right politics, issues between India and Pakistan, and religious beliefs including Islam and Christianity.

A post from one of the Pages which Facebook said aimed to stoke division in the UK by misrepresenting their identity. (Credit: Facebook/PA)

The accounts, followed by around 175,000 people on Facebook and 4,500 on Instagram, were removed for their behaviour, rather than the content, Mr Gleicher stressed, because we dont want our services to be used to manipulate people.

In each of these cases, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action, he added.

Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior From the UK and Romania https://t.co/NL8tTT5aEN  Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) March 7, 2019

Deputy Labour leader and shadow culture secretary Tom Watson said: Misinformation and abuse online, often spread by co-ordinated networks of accounts, is polluting our public sphere and undermining democracy.

This move by Facebook is welcome but we also need Government to tackle this issue head on in their overdue white paper on online harms.

Conservative MP Damian Collins, who chairs the select committee which recently authored a report into disinformation and fake news in the UK, said the network was likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

He tweeted: When Facebook looks for fake accounts spreading disinformation and other harmful content it finds them.

The trouble is that it doesnt look often enough. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg  Facebook finds UK-based fake news network.

Another post from an "inauthentic" account which aimed to stoke division in the UK which has been removed by Facebook (Credit: Facebook/PA)

Some of the removed pages named in the blog post include Halal Speech, Politicalised, Anti Far Right Extremists, Atheists Research Centre, British Pakistani and XeeshanX.

The accounts were identified through an internal investigation and information from British law enforcement, Mr Gleicher said, and the findings have been shared with police, politicians and industry partners.

The blog post also revealed similar but unconnected activity on a smaller scale in Romania.

The announcement is the latest in a string of headaches for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in recent years, including rampant misinformation spread on the network, breaches of user data and allegations of political manipulation.

He turned down multiple requests to give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into disinformation and fake news but claimed he would work to improve privacy on the network in a post on Wednesday.Brexit should be delayed for up to a year to prevent an impending national disaster and allow proper consideration of the UKs future relationship with Brussels, Gordon Brown said.

The former prime minister said an extension to Article 50 was inescapable to avoid chaos on the scheduled March 29 departure date from the European Union.

He said that extending the period by 12 months would allow MPs to listen to the public through a citizens consultation on the detail of current Brexit proposals and the alternative options.

Delaying Brexit to find a proper resolution was the best way to restore national pride, he suggested.

Mr Browns call is part of a concerted effort involving business leaders, union chiefs, community representatives and senior politicians to call for a delay.

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised MPs a vote on calling for an extension to Article 50 if they reject her Withdrawal Agreement and a no-deal Brexit in crunch votes next week.

Gordon Brown (Nick Ansell/PA)

But she has suggested that any extension must be short, in part to avoid the UK taking part in European elections which will see newly-elected MEPs take their seats in July.

Mr Brown said a short extension would not allow enough time for a considered assessment of the options available to the UK.

He said: The logic of extending Article 50 is now inescapable to avoid chaos on March 29 and prevent an impending national political disaster.

Mr Brown said the ill-thought-out approach to Brexit had left the economy drastically ill-prepared.

He added: Decades from now a new generation will look back with stunned disbelief at the way the Brexit debate has been conducted so far.

It was near impossible to pass the necessary legislation required for Brexit by March 29 and Mr Brown said there was support in Europe for an extension.

Leaders agree with their chief negotiator Michel Barnier that an extension has become almost inevitable and that they have to try to overcome the technical difficulties of British participation in the European elections and ensure an extension substantially longer than three months, he said.

It is now clear that Article 50 should be extended, perhaps for a year, not as a delaying tactic or just for MPs to rerun the old arguments in the Westminster bubble, but for a positive purpose  to allow Parliament to reflect  and to begin to bring the country together again.

Mr Brown said the citizens consultation should cover issues including immigration and sovereignty and the options available across Europe and for us of addressing these.

He added: Brexit must be delayed long enough for us to reach proper decisions  and restore the nations hope and its pride.

Business figures backing the call include former Sainsburys boss Justin King, Lastminute.com co-founder Baroness Lane-Fox, former BT chairman Sir Mike Rake and former City minister Lord Myners, Mr Browns office said.The Government must safeguard high standards of financial crime defences and not compromise on anti-money laundering supervision when securing trade deals after Brexit, a top MP has warned.

A new report on economic crime published by the influential Treasury Committee said an increase in trade with countries outside the European Union after Brexit will increase British firms contact with markets with lower standards for anti-money laundering.

It urged the Government to lead the fight against economic crime and guarantee that the flow of information between enforcement agencies in the EU and Britain is maintained post-Brexit.

Nicky Morgan, who chairs the House of Commons committee, said: With the uncertainties of Brexit around the corner, the Government should regularly review the UKs effort to combat money laundering to ensure a constant stimulus to improve.

When the UK does leave the EU, there will be both risks and opportunities in terms of economic crime.

The Government must ensure it does not bow to buccaneering deregulatory pressures and maintain its intentions to lead in the fight against economic crime.

The Treasury Committee released a report on anti-money laundering supervision (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The committee has called on the Government to re-order the countrys highly fragmented anti-money laundering supervision systems.

It suggested that the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) should be designated as the supervisor of supervisors.

OPBAS already oversees 22 accountancy and legal professional bodies and the committee said the regulator should therefore supervise HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the Financial Conduct Authority and the Gambling Commission on anti-money laundering procedure as well.

This follows concerns that HMRC treats its supervisory responsibilities as a bolt-on activity to its revenue generating operations and the committee said if HMRC is to carry on supervising anti-money laundering systems it should have a departmental objective relating to this work.

The committee identified estate agents and Companies House, a register of firms in the UK, as particular risks to money laundering.

Proceeds from financial crime can be stashed in the property sector, while Companies House is not obligated to carry out anti-money laundering checks.

Mrs Morgan added: The Government needs to bring greater order to a fragmented supervisory system, better identify the scale of the problem, and make a greater effort to combat the known risks and gaps in the supervisory system.

The committees comprehensive report makes a series of recommendations around estate agents, Companies House, financial sanctions and the UKs corporate criminal liability framework that would help the UK combat economic crime.

Nienke Palstra, of Global Witness, which campaigns on corruption, said: The committees recommendation for Companies House is spot on. We know the UK is a favourite for the criminal and corrupt looking to stash stolen money or secure safe haven  and anonymous companies have made this easy.

Giving Companies House the resources and mandate to police their company register will address a glaring gap in the UKs money-laundering defences.Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications from gout, showed no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month sentence, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term.

The sentence caps the only jury trial following indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. It was not related to Manaforts role in Donald Trumps presidential campaign.

Before Judge TS Ellis III imposed the sentence, Manafort told him that saying I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement.

Manafort still faces sentencing in a separate case connected to illegal lobbying (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

But he offered no explicit apology, something the judge noted before issuing his sentence.

Manaforts lawyers argued that their client had engaged in what amounted to a routine tax evasion case, and cited numerous past sentences in which defendants had hidden millions from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and served less than a year in prison.

Prosecutors said Manaforts conduct was egregious, but the judge ultimately agreed more with defence lawyers.

These guidelines are quite high, Mr Ellis said.

A jury convicted Manafort on eight counts last year, concluding that he hid from the IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine.

Manafort still faces sentencing in the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty in a separate case connected to illegal lobbying.

Outside court, Manaforts lawyer, Kevin Downing, said his client accepted responsibility for his conduct and there was absolutely no evidence that Mr Manafort was involved in any collusion with the government of Russia.

Prosecutors left the courthouse without making any comment.

A courtroom sketch showing Paul Manafort during his sentencing hearing (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

Though Manafort has not faced charges related to collusion, he has been seen as one of the most pivotal figures in the Mueller investigation.

Prosecutors, for instance, have scrutinised his relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate US authorities say is tied to Russian intelligence, and have described a furtive meeting the men had in August 2016 as cutting to the heart of the investigation.

After pleading guilty in the DC case, Manafort met with investigators for more than 50 hours as part of a requirement to cooperate with the probe.

But prosecutors reiterated at Thursdays hearing that they believe Manafort was evasive and untruthful in his testimony to a grand jury.

Manafort was wheeled into the courtroom in a green jumpsuit from the Alexandria jail, where he spent the last several months in solitary confinement.

The jet black hair he bore in 2016 when serving as campaign chairman was gone, replaced by grey.

Lawyer Kevin Downing following the sentencing of his client, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort (Cliff Owen/AP)

Defence lawyers had argued that Manafort would never have been charged if it were not for Mr Muellers probe.

At the outset of the trial, even Mr Ellis agreed with that assessment, suggesting that Manafort was being prosecuted only to pressure him to sing against Mr Trump.

Prosecutors said the Manafort investigation preceded Mr Muellers appointment.

The jury convicted Manafort on eight felonies related to tax and bank fraud charges for hiding foreign income from his work in Ukraine from the IRS and later inflating his income on bank loan applications.

Prosecutors have said the work in Ukraine was on behalf of politicians who were closely aligned with Russia, though Manafort insisted his work helped those politicians distance themselves from Russia and align with the West.

In arguing for a significant sentence, prosecutor Greg Andres said Manafort still has not accepted responsibility for his misconduct.

His sentencing positions are replete with blaming others, Mr Andres said.

Mr Andres also said Manafort still has not provided a full account of his finances for purposes of restitution.

The lack of certainty about Manaforts finances complicated the judges efforts to impose restitution, but Mr Ellis ultimately ordered that Manafort could be required to pay back up to 24 million dollars (18 million).

In the DC case, Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each of two counts to which he pleaded guilty. The judge will have the option to impose any sentence there concurrent or consecutive to the sentence imposed by Mr Ellis.The plaintiffs in the most recent suit are leading makers of frozen foods and other processed products. They are Chicago-based Conagra, whose brands include Healthy Choice, Marie Callender and Chef Boyardee; New Jersey-based Pinnacle Foods (a wholly owned subsidiary of Conagra), which makes Hungry-Man and Birds Eye; Kraft Heinz, maker of Oscar Mayer and Smart Ones, which is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh; Virginia-based Nestle USA, maker of Lean Cuisine; and St. Louis-based Nestle Purina Petcare, which makes pet food.One of Britains most senior police officers has demanded harsh sentences for criminals caught carrying knives as the countrys stabbings death toll continues to rise.

Andy Cooke, chief constable of Merseyside Police, said judges needed to get tough on people who end up before the courts for carrying weapons, and urged the Government to unite in tackling the issue of knife crime, rather than putting an obstacle in the way at every turn.

His comments come in the wake of a string of fatal stabbings on Britains streets which have prompted warnings of a national emergency.

On Thursday a teenager who was stabbed in West Kensington became the 17th person killed by a knife in London alone in 2019.

Scene of the stabbing in Lanfrey Place, West Kensington (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Mr Cooke told the Daily Express: We need harsh sentences for people carrying knives. We need to ensure that those sentences are being carried out.

I think the sentencing guidelines for knife possession are about right. We just need to make sure that those sentences are actually being carried out.

We need the judiciary to be sentencing at the higher end of the sentencing that they can achieve on each and every occasion.

His calls follow a backlash against Chancellor Philip Hammond, who demanded that police shift existing resources into tackling knife crime rather than expect more funding.

Mr Hammond said forces should move officers away from lower priority crime and on to knife violence.

His words, which also included a suggestion that public services would get more cash if MPs voted for Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit deal, were lambasted by the Police Federation of England and Wales.

Family friend Amina Osman lays flowers near the scene in Lanfrey Place, West Kensington (Isabel Infantes/PA)

The organisations national chairman John Apter said: Children are dying on our streets and he has the audacity to suggest that the police need to prioritise. Let me assure him  this is a priority.

Across England and Wales, my members are the ones working flat out to prevent more young people being killed.

They are often the ones on their knees in the street trying desperately to save the lives of these young victims, they are the ones who have to deliver the terrible news to families that their loved one will never be coming home again.

And they are doing it with almost 22,000 fewer colleagues than when the Conservative Government came to power.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Hammond insisted that police budgets were rising, and said knife crime was an immediate problem, you cannot solve it by recruiting and training more officers  that takes time.

The number of police officers across the 43 forces in England and Wales has fallen by more than 20,000 since 2009 but the Prime Minister has said there is no correlation between the decline and certain crimes.

Calling on Mr Hammond to leave his Westminster bubble and increase funding, Mr Apter said: It is an insult to my dedicated and hard-working colleagues, and it shows a shocking lack of awareness or understanding of the reality of the crisis happening right now in towns and cities across the country.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused Mr Hammond of being tin-eared and acting like a management consultant.

Its an insult to grieving families, to police officers, to the victims and to the public. His comments were ill informed, insulting and misguided. #bbcqt https://t.co/qtZHqGmZjb  John Apter (@PFEW_Chair) March 7, 2019

He said: The two most senior members of the Government are in total denial about the impact of police cuts. You cant protect people on the cheap.

Also on Friday, police announced the death of a 37-year-old man who had been injured in a stabbing in Soho on Sunday, while David Martinez was named as the 26-year-old Spanish man who died after a stabbing in Leyton, east London, on Wednesday.

And Peter Chesney, the father of 17-year-old Jodie Chesney who was knifed in the back in a seemingly motiveless attack in Harold Hill, east London, last Friday, made an emotional appeal for someone to do the right thing and help catch her killer.A mother is facing up to 14 years in prison after becoming the first person to be found guilty of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The 37-year-old Ugandan woman was found guilty of cutting her three-year-old daughter despite deploying witchcraft to shut up her accusers.

Her partner, a 43-year-old Ghanaian, was cleared of involvement following an Old Bailey trial.

The couple, from Walthamstow, east London, had been jointly accused of carrying out FGM on their daughter over the 2017 summer bank holiday.

The girl was subjected to deliberate cutting with a sharp instrument at her mothers dirty home, the Old Bailey heard.

Medics raised the alarm after she was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital with severe bleeding.

The defendants told authorities that their daughter had been reaching for a biscuit when she fell and cut herself on the edge of a kitchen cupboard.

But the victim later confided in specially trained officers that she had been cut by a witch.

Her older brother told police he saw his sister crying and blood dripping on the floor.

While the parents were on bail, police searched the unemployed mothers home and found evidence of witchcraft.

A total of 40 frozen limes contained spells aimed at silencing police, social workers and lawyers in the Female Genital Mutilation case (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry QC said Two cow tongues, they were bound in wire with nails and a small blunt knife also embedded in them, 40 limes were found and other fruit which when opened contained pieces of paper with names on them.

The names embedded included both police officers involved in the investigation of the case, the social worker, her own son and the then director of public prosecutions.

These people were to shut up and freeze their mouths. There was a jar with a picture of a social worker in pepper found hidden behind the toilet in the bathroom. Another spell was hidden under the bed.

One of the spells found inside one of the 40 frozen limes (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Giving evidence, the mother denied cutting her daughter, saying: Its a big accusation. Someone who would cut a childs private parts, theyre not human. Im not like that.

She told jurors that she resorted to spells because cutting your child, thats not something for any person. So, as a mother, I knew I did not do it.

The father denied having an interest in voodoo or witchcraft and claimed he was outside when his daughter was hurt.

The court heard FGM would need more than one person to do it, although police have not identified anyone else in the case.

Mrs Justice Whipple will sentence the mother at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Type II female genital mutilation, of the type inflicted on the toddler, involves the mutilation of the clitoris and removal of the labia minora, the court heard.

Immediate effects include bleeding, severe pain, shock and susceptibility to infection, with long-term impacts including gynaecological problems, reduced sexual enjoyment, higher risk pregnancies and mental health problems.

FGM carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

There have been just three other trials involving FGM  two in London and one in Bristol  which all ended in acquittals while some 298 prevention orders have been put in place to safeguard children at risk.Suffering from sleep problems could be genetic, according to a new study.

Scientists have identified 76 new genes which are associated with sleep duration after examining nearly 500,000 Britons.

Previous studies have shown that regularly getting adequate sleep  between seven and eight hours per night  is important to health.

But insufficient sleep of six hours or fewer and excessive sleep  nine hours or more  have been linked to significant health problems.

Family studies have suggested that from 10% to 40% of variation in sleep duration may be inherited and previous genetic studies have associated variants in two gene regions with sleep duration.

For this study, scientists at the University of Exeter and the Massachusetts General Hospital examined genetic data from more than 446,000 participants in the UK Biobank who self-reported the amount of sleep they typically had.

Previous studies have shown that regularly getting adequate sleep is important to health (Peter Byrne/PA)

They identified 78 gene regions  including the two previously discovered  as associated with sleep duration.

While carrying a single gene variant influenced the average amount of sleep by only a minute, participants carrying the largest number of duration-increasing variants reported an average of 22 more minutes of sleep, compared with those with the fewest.

This is comparable to other well-recognised factors that influence sleep duration.

Co-lead author Dr Samuel Jones, from the University of Exeter, said: Finding 78 areas of the genome that influence habitual sleep duration represents a huge leap forward in our understanding of the mechanisms behind why some people need more sleep than others.

As part of a wider body of work, our discoveries have the potential to aid the discovery of new treatments for sleep and sleep-related disorders.

Only a few of the newly discovered gene regions overlap with an early study of insomnia and chronotype  whether someone is an early riser or a night owl.

While we spend about a third of our life asleep, we have little knowledge of the specific genes and pathways that regulate the amount of sleep people get, said lead author Dr Hassan Saeed Dashti.

The scientists also found that there were shared health problems for those who got too little and too much sleep.

There were shared genetic links and factors such as higher levels of body fat, symptoms of depression and fewer years of schooling, the scientists said.

In addition, people who did not get enough sleep were genetically linked to insomnia and smoking, while those who got too much sleep were linked with schizophrenia, type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

The findings also support earlier conclusions that the genetics of sleep duration may be different in children than in adults.

Co-senior author Dr Richa Saxena, from Harvard Medical School, said: While follow-up studies are required to clarify the functional impact of these variants, the associated genes are known to play a role in brain development and in the transmission of signals between neurons.

These findings suggest themes for future investigations of the sleep-wake control centres of the brain that will help us tease apart mechanisms of disordered sleep and help understand each persons natural set point for refreshing sleep.

 The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.To President Donald Trump, it was an awkward slip of the tongue. To Apple chief executive Tim Cook, it was an opportunity to poke some sly fun at a president who has often clashed with the tech industry.

A day after Mr Trump mistakenly referred to Mr Cook at a White House meeting as Tim Apple  an understandable slip, perhaps, coming from the owner of the Trump Organisation  Mr Cook quietly altered his Twitter profile, replacing his last name with the Apple logo.

Mr Cook did not publicly acknowledge the change, but it did not take long for Apple fans to notice and spread the word.

Non-Apple fans, though, may not get the joke.

Mr Cooks Apple-logo icon is only visible on iPhones and Mac computers.

Dreamers are our co-workers, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our economy and communities. Their dreams are our dreams. Were calling on the new Congress to uphold American values and permanently protect the Dreamers.  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 11, 2019

On Windows, it is a blank square; on Android, it renders variously as an X-ed out or blank grey rectangle. (Tim Square was probably not the connotation the Apple boss was going for.)

President Donald Trump talks to Apple boss Tim Cook during meeting in tt the White House (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

That is not wholly surprising for Apple, which famously prefers its own devices and software over others.

Apple did not respond to a query about the logo misstep (if indeed it was a misstep).

The White House, meanwhile, appears to be engaged in some damage control.

In the official transcript of the meeting , the words Tim and Apple are separated by a dash as if Mr Trump had paused, possibly to thank both the executive and the company.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian mother being held in Iran where she is accused of spying, has been granted diplomatic protection by Britain.

Here we answer some key questions about what it means.

 What is diplomatic protection?

Granting diplomatic protection is a rarely used diplomatic device which elevates a dispute from being a consular matter to being a formal state-to-state issue.

Under international law, it is a way for a state to take action on behalf of a national whose rights have been breached by another country.

In this case, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said diplomatic protection was invoked in recognition of Irans failure to meet its obligations under international law in its treatment of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella (Family handout/PA)

Diplomatic protection can take the form of consular action, political and economic pressure, negotiations with the other state, judicial proceedings or other forms of peaceful dispute settlement.

It is distinct from diplomatic immunity which covers the status of accredited diplomats.

 What does it mean for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe?

Mr Hunt acknowledged the move was unlikely to be a magic wand that secures her immediate release.

But he said it demonstrated to the whole world that the UK would not stand by when one of its citizens was treated unjustly.

While diplomatic protection does not automatically dictate any particular course of action, the Foreign Office has indicated it will take the steps it believes are most likely to secure the goal of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes release.

 What will happen next?

The next question will be how Iran responds to the UKs move and what impact it will have on relations between the two countries.

 What did the Foreign Secretary say about it?

Mr Hunt said that in reaching his decision, he had taken into account Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes unacceptable treatment by Iran since she was detained in 2016, including the denial of medical treatment and the lack of due process in the proceedings against her.

He said Tehrans actions had been totally wrong and that no state was entitled to use innocent individuals as pawns for diplomatic leverage.

I know there are many in Iran who understand the unjustness of this situation, he said. No government should use innocent individuals as pawns for diplomatic leverage so I call on Iran to release this innocent woman so she can be reunited with her family.Theresa May will plead with European Union leaders to give ground in order to help her Brexit deal survive next weeks Commons showdown.

After talks earlier this week in Brussels broke down, the Prime Minister said the decisions made by the European Union in the coming days would have a big impact on the fate of the deal.

MPs will vote on Tuesday on whether to back the Withdrawal Agreement as Mrs May seeks further concessions on the Northern Ireland backstop in order to reverse the humiliating 230-vote defeat suffered the last time the Commons passed judgment on her Brexit deal.

Mrs Mays call for action from the EU came as Cabinet minister Liam Fox warned Brexit might not happen at all unless MPs get behind the deal.

The Prime Minister will use a speech in Leave-voting Grimsby to say the Government remains determined to secure legally binding changes to the backstop, and will urge the EU to agree.

Just as MPs will face a big choice next week, the EU has to make a choice too, she will say.

We are both participants in this process.

It is in the European interest for the UK to leave with a deal.

We are working with them but the decisions that the European Union makes over the next few days will have a big impact on the outcome of the vote.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Brussels that unless it helps the Government get a deal through, relations will be poisoned for years to come.

This is a moment of change in our relationship between the UK and the EU and history will judge both sides very badly if we get this wrong, Mr Hunt told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

We want to remain the best of friends with the EU. That means getting this agreement through in a way that doesnt inject poison into our relations for many years to come.

If you come back and ask essentially the same question, logic suggests youll get pretty much the same answer  deputy chair of the European Research Group Mark Francois tells #newsnight ahead of next week's vote on Brexit pic.twitter.com/NJXTR3rM5w  BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) March 7, 2019

The EU said technical discussions are ongoing and it insisted Brussels has come forward with ideas to resolve the deadlock.

European Commission spokesman Alex Winterstein told reporters in Brussels: The EU side has offered ideas on how to give further reassurances regarding the backstop. You are aware of all this.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: Its becoming increasingly clear that Theresa May will not be able to deliver the changes she promised to her failed Brexit deal.

This speech looks set to be an admission of failure.

International Trade Secretary Dr Fox urged Tory Brexiteers to rally behind the deal in order to ensure the UK does break away from Brussels.

The thing that I fear is that there will be a risk that we might not deliver Brexit at all, he told BBCs Newsnight.

In Parliament there are a large number of MPs who do not see it as their primary objective to deliver on the referendum and would want to keep us locked to the European Union.

In a message to fellow Brexiteers, he added: You can never allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good, many of us have made compromises throughout this process.

The quicker we can rally behind a common position that shows we have a united front in terms of how we want to approach the future, the better.

But European Research Group deputy chairman Mark Francois told Newsnight: We will look very carefully at what  if anything  comes back from Brussels and then we will take a decision.

But if it is some very minor, meaningless tweak then of course we will vote against it.

(PA Graphics)

Negotiators are preparing to work through the weekend in a frantic effort to break the deadlock over the backstop measures, which are aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland if no alternative trading arrangements are in place.

The European Commission said president Jean-Claude Juncker is available 24/7 to meet Mrs May if a deal is close.

In practical terms the Government needs an agreement by Sunday night at the latest as any new documentation relating to the deal must be published by Monday  the day before the vote.

Number 10 is believed to hope a deal can be reached by Sunday night, with the possibility of the Prime Minister travelling to Brussels on Monday morning to meet Mr Juncker.

Ministers are said to be braced for another heavy defeat on Tuesday after the previous meaningful vote was lost by a majority of 230, with many MPs deeply unhappy about the backstop.Lord Alan Sugar is mulling a potential stock market flotation of a vegan skincare business founded by an Apprentice runner-up as part of ambitious US expansion plans.

Tropic Skincare, which only uses sustainably sourced natural ingredients, just reported a record turnover of 29.5 million for 2018 after selling 3.3 million products last year.

It was founded by Susie Ma, who was a candidate on the 2011 series of The Apprentice. It remains the only business run by a runner-up from the show to have secured investment from Lord Sugar, who is a 50-50 partner in the brand.

Speaking to the Press Association, Lord Sugar said the companys revenues could exceed 100 million in the next five years, at which point it would look across the Atlantic for further growth opportunities.

I think when we hit 100 million to 150 million turnover, and the profits will be very, very high, we can show a profit path for the past 10 years which has tremendous growth, he said.

We may, at that stage, consider a flotation of the company in order to finance replicating this in America.

Lord Sugar unveils Tropic Skincares new Croydon headquarters with founder Susie Ma after a 4 million investment

However, he and his business partner both said Tropic will remain an online brand, with a network of Avon-style social representatives, rather than expanding into the high street.

Ms Ma said: There will always be a place for bricks-and-mortar shopping, but I do feel that consumers  myself included  are moving away from that because of the convenience aspect.

Commenting on the potential impacts of Brexit on the business, she said it would be resilient to most challenges but could face staffing challenges if EU workers are put off coming to the UK.

She said: I think it would be a real shame if Britain becomes a less attractive place for international workers to come here because weve made it seem unwelcoming to them.

Lord Sugar unveiled the companys new 4 million headquarters this week in Croydon.A second person has been arrested on suspicion of murdering teenager Jodie Chesney, who was stabbed in the back as she socialised with friends in a park.

Scotland Yard gave no age for the male who is in custody after being arrested in London on Friday morning.

Jodie, 17, was in the park in Harold Hill, east London, when she was approached by two males and knifed from behind in a seemingly motiveless attack on March 1.

Flowers near the scene of the stabbing in Harold Hill, east London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

She was pronounced dead just over an hour after officers were called to what police described as a savage, evil attack at about 9.25pm.

A 20-year-old man arrested in Leicester on Tuesday evening remains in custody on suspicion of murder in London, police said.

Jodie was playing music with five other teenagers in the park when they became aware of two males who left at around 9pm without interacting with them, the Metropolitan Police said.

About 30 minutes later, the pair returned and one stabbed Jodie in the back without saying a word, officers added.

Calling for anyone with information to come forward, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams said: This was a savage, evil attack.

At this time, there being no clear motive is very unusual. We retain an open mind and cant rule anything out.

Jodies father Peter, stepmother Joanne and sister Lucy have urged anyone with information about her murder to contact police (PA)

Jodies death has added to the urgency for action to be taken to tackle knife crime across the UK.

Police have called for a reverse in the cuts to the number of officers under austerity measures, but Chancellor Philip Hammond on Thursday told forces to refocus their existing resources.

Jodies family have made an emotional appeal for help in catching the A-level students killer.

Father Peter Chesney said: You cant get kudos for stabbing a 17-year-old in the back. So, just dob them in, grass them up, this is not alright.

It was obviously a murder as well, it wasnt an accident it was so ferocious the attack. She lost so much blood. This was on purpose, someone meant to murder her.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of the Girl Scouts death as trauma and haemorrhage.

On Remembrance Day last year, Jodie posted to Instagram a picture with fellow Scouts at 10 Downing Street, and added the caption: Im basically famous now this was such a good opportunity and so much fun.Families bereaved in shootings involving the British Army in Belfast in 1971 have rejected Karen Bradleys invitation to meet.

The Northern Ireland Secretary reached out to victims hurt by comments she made over state killings in Northern Ireland.

Her remark in the House of Commons on Wednesday that killings carried out by the police and military during the Troubles were not crimes, rather actions of people fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way, sparked fury among some victims and political parties.

John Teggart speaking outside Belfast Coroners Court, following Karen Bradleys apology for comments suggesting deaths caused by soldiers and police during the Troubles were not crimes (David Young/PA)

John Teggart, whose father Danny was shot 14 times at Ballymurphy, said Mrs Bradley should resign.

Ballymurphy massacre families have been requesting a meeting with the secretary of state since she took up her position of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, he said.

Karen Bradley hasnt even replied to these requests.

Tonight (Thursday) we find that she would like to meet us tomorrow to apologise for the hurt she has caused.

We will not meet her, and have one request for Mrs Bradley and that is for her to resign immediately.

Karen Bradley speaking to the media at Stormont House in Belfast following her apology (David Young/PA)

Families request that those parties who support our campaign join us and refuse to meet with Karen Bradley.

Do the dignified and appropriate thing  resign Karen Bradley.

Mrs Bradley made it clear on Thursday she would not be resigning over the gaffe, vowing to work to deliver for people she had offended.

I want to get on and get this job done, she said.

Downing Street has said Prime Minister Theresa May retains full confidence in her.

Mrs Bradley has faced calls to quit  from victims of state violence and several political parties in Northern Ireland  following the remarks in the Commons.

Ballymurphy families tell Karen Bradley that apology is too little, too late and she should hang her head in shame and leave...through the back door. pic.twitter.com/ZhdhPuCwyh  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) March 7, 2019

The Secretary of States remarks carried added significance as they were made a week before long-awaited decisions from Northern Ireland prosecutors on whether 17 soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry in 1972 will face prosecution.

She returned to the Commons on Wednesday afternoon in a bid to clarify the comments and, on Thursday afternoon, issued a statement of apology, saying she was profoundly sorry.

In an interview with the Press Association in Belfast on Thursday evening, Mrs Bradley said there were no excuses for what she said.

I shouldnt have said it and I want to say sorry to all those people, all those families that have been kind enough to share their experiences with me, she said.

I want to say sorry to them because I didnt want to cause hurt or pain or distress to them in any way, and what I want to do is deliver for them, and I am absolutely determined I will do.

I recognise that a slip of the tongue at the wrong moment has caused enormous distress.

I want to be very clear  I do not believe what I said, that is not my view.

I believe that where crimes have happened, no matter who the perpetrator, they should be properly investigated by an independent authority and they should be prosecuted.

There is no excuse for anybody where a crime has been committed.There should be a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the two fires in four years that left the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) badly damaged, a Holyrood Committee report has found.

The renowned art school was extensively damaged last June while it was undergoing a 35 million restoration programme following the previous fire in May 2014.

The Scottish Parliaments Culture Committee published its report on Friday after taking evidence on the circumstances surrounding the blazes.

The second blaze spread to nearby buildings in Sauchiehall Street (Douglas Barrie/PA)

The report found that in the period up to the 2014 fire, GSA appears not to have specifically addressed the heightened risk of fire to the Mackintosh building and was not convinced an adequate risk management approach had been taken by the art school with specific regard to the building.

The committee also said it was concerned about the length of time taken for a mist suppression system to be installed in the Mackintosh building and questioned whether more could have been done in the interim period to protect the building.

Committee convener Joan McAlpine said: The board of Glasgow School of Art were custodians of this magnificent building, one of the most significant to Scotlands rich cultural heritage.

They had a duty to protect Mackintoshs legacy.

Glasgow School of Art itself must learn lessons from its role in presiding over the building, given that two devastating fires occurred within their estate in such a short space of time.

The committee is calling on the Scottish Government to establish a public inquiry with judicial powers.

The devastating blaze that ripped through the famous Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building in June 2018 also spread to nearby premises on the citys busy Sauchiehall Street.

Art school bosses have previously said they are confident the Mackintosh will be rebuilt.

GSA said: The Glasgow School of Art would like to thank the committee for the time and energy that has been put into this report and for making it available so quickly.

There is much to be welcomed that will be useful for those who, like the GSA, are custodians of some of Scotlands most important historic buildings.

As a nation we are rightly proud of being able to provide unique places of learning, whose history continues to inspire generations of students.

It is one of the significant factors in attracting students to Scotland.

There are always lessons that can be learned and we are happy to take forward the most appropriate and helpful as we bring this much-loved building back to life.

The GSA said there were some factual inaccuracies in the report, adding it was surprised it does not expressly clarify the legal distinction between the GSA and Keir Construction (Scotland) Ltd in relation to responsibility for the site, stressing that Keir had full control of the site.

It added: The Mackintosh Building is a national (indeed international) treasure but it is not lost and it will certainly return.A lack of resources is delaying Labours investigation of anti-Semitism complaints against members, the partys Scottish leader has said.

Richard Leonard said he was frustrated by the situation, explaining there was a resource issue because of the number of complaints that had been made.

He insisted the party would not tolerate the problem, telling BBC Radio Scotland: We want to root out anti-Semitism from every corner of the Labour Party and every corner of society.

Delegates at the partys Scottish conference in Dundee will get the chance to discuss the issue during a debate on equalities, he said, though some have been calling for a dedicated slot on the agenda.

Mr Leonard, speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, said the issue of anti-Semitism is one Labour takes very seriously.

He said: It is something that we are not prepared to tolerate.

Richard Leonard said a `resources issue is delaying investigation of anti-semitism complaints (John Linton/PA)

I understand why people feel frustrated that while some people have been expelled from the Labour Party because of their views, I understand why people are frustrated that were not getting on with it as quickly as they would like.

He added: Theres been a bit of a resource issue because of the number of complaints that have come in.

As a party were trying to deal with them in a way thats judicious and fair to all parties concerned.

Because only if they are dealt with in that way can both people who put in complaints and people who are complained against get a proper trial of their views.

Were keen to make sure that how we deal with any complaints is fair but also I am frustrated and I know that other people are frustrated about the length of time it is taking but we are seeking to address that.

Mr Leonard spoke out after Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, criticised Labours handling of allegations of anti-Semitism, saying: The whole thing frankly stinks.

Meanwhile, Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has complained the party has been too slow to deal with a Labour councillor who made Islamophobic remarks about him.

Mr Leonard accepted that was simply not satisfactory.

He said: The case rests with our national constitutional committee, which is set up to consider these kind of cases.

They will be convening a hearing where they will take evidence and then they will make a decision.

Ill take this opportunity again to apologise that this has taken as long as it has taken. Its unsatisfactory to me and to all those people involved.Police investigating the fatal stabbings of two 17-year-olds have made a string of arrests.

Scotland Yard on Friday said that a second male had been arrested on suspicion of murdering teenager Jodie Chesney.

She was stabbed in the back as she socialised with friends in a park in Harold Hill, east London.

Stabbing victim Jodie Chesney (Met Police/PA)

Officers also arrested four males  two 15-year-olds and two others aged 17 and 18  on suspicion of murdering the second teenager in West Kensington, in the west of the capital.

The victim was named locally as Ayub Hassan, with a family friend paying tribute to him as a kind and handsome boy with ambitions of becoming a barrister.

Jodie was in the park when she was approached by two males and knifed from behind in what police called a savage, evil attack at about 9.25pm on March 1.

People march through Romford town centre in memory of Jodie Chesney (Victoria Jones/PA)

Scotland Yard gave no age for the male who is in custody after being arrested in London on Friday morning.

A 20-year-old man arrested in Leicester on Tuesday evening remains in custody on suspicion of her murder, police said.

Ayub was found with stab injuries to the chest in Lanfrey Place on Thursday afternoon.

Ayub Hassan, who was named locally as the 17-year-old boy stabbed in West Kensington (Handout/PA)

After laying flowers at the scene, family friend Amina Osman said: He had ambitions, he was looking forward to being a barrister. He was looking forward to being a grown-up man.

He was good with his words, he was very kind and handsome.

But she said the fatal attack was the fourth attempt on his life, having previously been found unconscious in a park, run over and had been stabbed on another occasion.

Community support worker Ms Osman said the boys mother Siraad collapsed with shock when she heard of his death.

Family friend Amina Osman lays flowers near the scene in Lanfrey Place (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Jodie was playing music with five other teenagers in the park when they became aware of two males who left at around 9pm without interacting with them, police said.

About 30 minutes later, the pair returned and one stabbed the girl scout in the back without saying a word, officers added.

(PA Graphics)

The latest stabbings will add to growing urgency for action to be taken to tackle knife crime across the UK.

Police have called for a reverse in the cuts to the number of officers under austerity measures, but Chancellor Philip Hammond on Thursday told forces to refocus their existing resources.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murdering 26-year-old David Steven Martinez-Valencia, Scotland Yard said.

The Spanish-Colombian is believed to have been fatally stabbed in a home in Leyton, east London, on Wednesday, before dying in the street.

At this stage it is understood the victim and suspect were known to each other. The incident is not thought to be gang-related, the Met said.The pilot whose plane crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has been cleared of manslaughter.

Andrew Hill had been attempting a loop when his Hawker Hunter jet exploded into a fireball on the A27 in West Sussex.

Andrew Hill attending court (PA)

Speaking outside the Old Bailey following the verdict, Mr Hill read out the names of those who died and said: Im truly sorry for the part I played in their deaths.

But Sue and Phil Grimstone, whose son Matthew was killed as he drove on the A27, said they were devastated at the acquittal.

A statement said: There seems to be no justice for our son Matthew and all 11 men who died in such tragic circumstances.

Survivors ran for their lives and suffered terrible burns when they were caught in the blast on August 22, 2015.

Mr Hill miraculously survived after being thrown clear from the burning wreckage into brambles.

He was flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries and placed in an induced coma before being discharged a month later.

The prosecution said the former RAF and British Airways pilot had been flying too low and slow as he attempted the disastrous stunt.

Tom Kark QC alleged he had at times a cavalier attitude to safety and a history of taking risks, having played fast and loose with the rules in the past.

But Mr Hill claimed he blacked out in the air, having experienced cognitive impairment brought on by hypoxia possibly due to the effects of G-force.

The 54-year-old, of Sandon, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, denied 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The victims were Maurice Abrahams, 76; Dylan Archer, 42; Tony Brightwell, 53; Matthew Grimstone, 23; Matt Jones, 24; Graham Mallinson, 72; Daniele Polito, 23; Mark Reeves, 53; Jacob Schilt, 23; Richard Smith, 26; and Mark Trussler, 54, who all lived in Sussex.

Victims of the Shoreham Airshow crash (Family handout/PA)

The not guilty verdicts were announced on Friday after jurors deliberated for just over seven hours during three days. Victims families wept in court as the unanimous verdicts were given as Mr Hill stood in the dock.

Mr Justice Edis acknowledged the families were enormously upset as he praised the very dignified way they conducted themselves throughout the trial

Outside court, Leslye Polito, the mother of the youngest crash victim, Daniele Polito, 23, said she felt disappointed, very upset and primarily let down by the justice system.

She said: The whole fact that it was avoidable, that was the hardest bit to consider and process. Its still the hardest bit.

Sarah Stewart, a partner at Stewarts, who represents most of the bereaved families, called for a wider investigation to prevent future tragedies.

She said: It is now almost four years since the Shoreham Airshow disaster killed 11 innocent men. The bereaved families have had to painfully re-live the circumstances of their loved ones death again and again.

The families want answers and a verdict will go some way towards that. But it is only one part of the jigsaw.

The crash saw the greatest loss of life at an air show since 1952, when 31 people, including the pilot, were killed at Farnborough Airshow.

Prosecutors had claimed the 2015 crash was due to pilot error and although Mr Hill was normally considered careful and competent, he had taken risks in the past, suggesting he sometimes played fast and loose with the rules and may have had a more cavalier attitude to safety than was appropriate.

In 2017 a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch also found the disaster was caused by pilot error after the plane was too slow and too low during a loop manoeuvre.

(PA Graphics)

But Mr Hill, an experienced former RAF instructor and British Airways captain, said he took a very structured, disciplined approach to display flying.

He told jurors he sometimes held back from flights he was not comfortable with carrying out, adding: We have our strengths and weaknesses.

Mr Hill said he thinks about the tragedy every day and it was a dominant thought in his mind. He said he never intended to cause any risk to anybody.

Some witnesses described him as safety conscious and an absolute gentleman.

Mr Hill said he was known for his planning and preparation before displays and footage from other airshows shows him carrying out a similar manoeuvre without issue.

He believes he experienced cognitive impairment shortly before the crash and does not remember what happened.

He told medics he blacked out in the air after he was found with blood on his face lying in undergrowth beside the cockpit.

He had a fractured nose, ribs and part of his lower spine, a collapsed lung, and serious bruising, among other injuries.

But he is now physically in good health.

The court heard medical checks before and after the crash have not established whether he had any condition which may have affected his health.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brushed off questions about his Manchester United future despite increasing talk about when, rather than if, the caretaker manager is given the job on a permanent basis.

Solskjaer has won 14 of his 17 matches in charge, and on Wednesday rendered his only loss to date meaningless as United became the first team in Champions League history to overcome a home first-leg loss of two goals.

Wednesdays jaw-dropping 3-1 win at Paris St Germain even saw a bookmaker pay out on the overriding favourite succeeding Jose Mourinho full time, but, much like the club, he is keeping quiet.

Of course, I love managing these boys, I love working here, Solskjaer said.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw believes Solskjaer will get the managers job on a permanent basis. (Martin Rickett/PA)

As I said so many times, I am just doing the best I can every single day, and if and when if it comes to a decision to be made, weve got to think about that.

Uniteds players are confident Solskjaer will have a decision to make.

Luke Shaw is certain the Norwegian will get the job, while Romelu Lukaku asked in Paris What else does he have to do?

Such comments heightened talk that Solskjaer himself fuelled by admitting to a Norwegian podcast that his contract with Molde, the club he is supposed to return to in the summer, has been terminated.

Thats just the media, Solskjaer said of the constant speculation. I am not here to get excited, I am here to do my job.

And of course, that contract issue there, you cannot have two contracts when youre a manager, so that contract was terminated.

I am contracted to Man United until the end of June.

Solskjaer has been looking ahead to summer signings and pre-season plans, but his main focus now is Sundays trip to Arsenal.

Still unbeaten domestically, United head to the Emirates Stadium  a ground where they beat the Gunners 3-1 in the FA Cup in January  with their absentee list easing.

Ole's delivered some positive team news in his press conference!  #MUFC  Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 8, 2019

Paul Pogba is available after serving a European suspension in Paris, Anthony Martial has recovered from a groin injury, while Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic are pushing for a return.

Eric (Bailly) is fine, Solskjaer said of a defender he substituted after 36 minutes in Paris.

Anthony will be available and hopefully well have Nemanja and/or Ander ready as well.

Were looking better for it. They just need to have another couple of days training with the team. Theyve done well with their recovery work.

Those involved in Paris are also fine after re-focusing on domestic matters following the high of the Champions League triumph when Marcus Rashfords stoppage-time penalty sealed progress to the quarter-finals.

Solskjaer would love the 21-year-old to become one of the clubs quality legends but staying in the team is key for now, as is showing the clinical finishing displayed by the likes of Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"We all know the legends we've had at this club that have stayed here for so long and have been one-club players," says Ole. "We hope Rashy is going to be one of them. If he keeps producing he'll stay in the team and that's up to him." #MUFC pic.twitter.com/OPkGkGYMdd  Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 8, 2019

I keep battering him with it, that he should also score as many goals as Rom after the training session has finished, the former striker said.

He should always get those simple tap-ins, finishes from close range, like Rom scored in the last few games.

Rashys goals are sometimes worldies, and he does have a sensational strike of the ball but you see the improvement and maturity and change in Cristianos goals from when he was young to now.

He scores more from inside the box, and thats what Rashy has to do  improve his tap-ins, movement in the box, staying in the box, getting away from the centre-backs a few more times.

You can get those extra five or 10 goals from staying in the box, and hes been told that.A timeline of the Shoreham Airshow crash and developments in the investigations:

August 22 2015, 1.22pm  A vintage Hawker Hunter jet flown by pilot Andrew Hill crashes mid-stunt on to the A27 at Shoreham in West Sussex during an airshow, killing 11 men. Hill survives the crash with serious injuries after he was thrown clear from the wreckage. He is taken to hospital and put in an induced coma before being discharged a month later.

August 23  The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Sussex Police all launch probes into the crash.

August 24  The CAA temporarily grounds all Hawker Hunters and limits vintage jets to flypasts during airshows.

September 2  The identities of all 11 victims are officially confirmed as an inquest is opened and adjourned by West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield.

November 22  A memorial service takes place to honour the victims.

Friends of Shoreham air crash victim Matt Jones secure tributes to the Old Shoreham Tollbridge, as a memorial service takes place for the victims (Gareth Fuller/PA)

December 15  Hill is interviewed by police officers from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team under caution after voluntarily attending a station near his Hertfordshire home but is not arrested.

April 14 2016  The CAA says it is tightening rules for all show organisers when it publishes its final report in the wake of the crash.

July 8  It emerges police are investigating Hill for manslaughter by gross negligence and endangerment of life under air navigation laws.

January 24, 2017  The CAA agrees to accept all the safety measures made by the AAIB in the wake of the tragedy, meaning stricter safety rules for pilots and organisers, after it initially rejected almost half of the recommendations.

March 3  The AAIB publishes its findings in a 219-page report following one of its longest investigations in recent years. Investigators found the disaster was caused by the pilot flying too slow and too low during a loop manoeuvre.

June 20  The police say the criminal investigation is 95% complete at a pre-inquest hearing.

November 1  Families hit out after their application for exceptional case funding legal aid, which will pay for costs incurred when lawyers represent them at the inquest, was rejected. Prime Minister Theresa May asks the Lord Chancellor David Lidington to intervene.

November 30  The coroner says prosecutors have been provided with a complete case file and are to decide whether criminal charges will be brought.

January 24 2018  A pre-inquest review is postponed until March 26 to allow prosecutors more time to consider the case file.

March 21  Prosecutors meet victims families at police headquarters in Lewes, East Sussex, to inform them of their charging decision. The CPS announces it is charging Hill with manslaughter by gross negligence and endangerment of an aircraft.

Pilot Andrew Hill outside the Old Bailey (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

May 15  Hill pleads not guilty to 11 charges of manslaughter by gross negligence and one of recklessly or negligently endangering an aircraft under aviation laws.

January 16 2019  Hill stands trial at the Old Bailey accused of manslaughter by gross negligence. Prosecutors drop the final charge of endangering an aircraft.

March 8 2019  The jury deliver their verdict. Hill is cleared.Families bereaved by security force violence have met Karen Bradley to express concern about her controversial comments on state killings.

The Northern Ireland Secretary reached out to a number of victims groups following her gaffe.

Some refused to meet Mrs Bradley but on Friday morning a delegation of relatives did travel to Stormont House in Belfast to discuss the furore.

A delegation of families bereaved by the British army and RUC outside Stormont House on way to meet Karen Bradley, look her in the eye, and tell her what they think .@FinucaneCentre pic.twitter.com/MBdBf0d1vl  Relatives 4 Justice (@RelsForJustice) March 8, 2019

Mrs Bradleys remarks in the Commons on Wednesday that killings carried out by the police and military during the Troubles were not crimes, rather actions of people fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way, sparked fury among some victims and political parties.

Ahead of the private meeting with her at Stormont, campaign group Relatives for Justice tweeted a picture of them, saying: A delegation of families bereaved by the British Army and RUC outside Stormont House on way to meet Karen Bradley, look her in the eye, and tell her what they think.

Relatives of those killed in shootings involving the Army in Ballymurphy in west Belfast in 1971 refused to meet the Conservative MP.

Karen Bradley has said she deeply regrets the remarks and has apologised for the offence caused (David Young/PA)

John Teggart, whose father Danny was shot 14 times at Ballymurphy, said Mrs Bradley should resign.

We will not meet her, and have one request for Mrs Bradley and that is for her to resign immediately, he said.

Families request that those parties who support our campaign join us and refuse to meet with Karen Bradley.

There is nothing dignified in how my father was murdered she needs to resign pic.twitter.com/ozIfdr4uch  Relatives 4 Justice (@RelsForJustice) March 8, 2019

Do the dignified and appropriate thing  resign, Karen Bradley.

Mrs Bradley made it clear on Thursday that she would not be leaving her role, vowing instead to work to deliver for people she had offended.

I want to get on and get this job done, she said.

Downing Street has said Prime Minister Theresa May retains full confidence in her.

The ministers comments carried added significance as they were made a week before long-awaited decisions from Northern Ireland prosecutors on whether 17 soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry in 1972 will face prosecution.

She returned to the Commons on Wednesday afternoon in a bid to clarify the comments and, on Thursday, issued a statement of apology, saying she was profoundly sorry.

In an interview with the Press Association in Belfast on Thursday evening, Mrs Bradley said there were no excuses for what she said.

Karen Bradley makes clear shes not quitting & pledges to rebuild trust w/ bereaved families & Stormont parties. Says shes fallible & deeply sorry for her mistake. Rejects suggestion shes out of her depth - Im determined to prove myself by delivering for the people of NI. pic.twitter.com/7tR79q7yur  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) March 7, 2019

I shouldnt have said it and I want to say sorry to all those people, all those families that have been kind enough to share their experiences with me, she said.

I want to say sorry to them because I didnt want to cause hurt or pain or distress to them in any way, and what I want to do is deliver for them, and I am absolutely determined I will do.

I recognise that a slip of the tongue at the wrong moment has caused enormous distress.

I want to be very clear  I do not believe what I said, that is not my view.

I believe that where crimes have happened, no matter who the perpetrator, they should be properly investigated by an independent authority and they should be prosecuted.

There is no excuse for anybody where a crime has been committed.Inspectors have raised concerns about cleanliness and infection prevention at Scotlands flagship hospital.

A 10-year-old boy died in December at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow after contracting an infection linked to pigeon droppings.

A 73-year-old woman who had been infected with the bug died at the same hospital in January, with officials initially saying it was from an unrelated condition.

The Crown Office announced it would be investigating both deaths at the 842 million NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) hospital.

An inspection was carried out in January on the orders of Health Secretary Jeane Freeman.

Following the publication of the report on Friday, Alastair Delaney, director of quality assurance at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: Inspectors found areas of good practice in relation to infection control.

Inspectors have been assessing conditions at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow (Jane Barlow/PA)

However, there were also areas of concern, such as developing a strategy to ensure the hospital environment and patient equipment in the emergency department is clean and ready for use, and that any estates and facilities issues around repairs and maintenance are carried out to ensure infection prevention and control can be maintained.

Following our inspection, NHSGGC have developed an action plan and must address the areas which require improvement as a matter of priority.

Concerns were also raised about the relationship between staff and senior management.

Inspectors were given examples of where it was felt management have not reacted to fears about the environment, which can effect clinical care.

Significant gaps in maintenance and improvement of the care setting were also found.

The team reviewed 27 wards in the main building, the Royal Hospital for Children and the Institute of Neurological Sciences.

Its report will help inform the Scottish Governments wider independent review into QEUH.

Jane Grant, NHSGGC chief executive, said: Patients should be assured that the prevention and control of infection has always been, and remains, a top priority for NHSGGC.

Infection rates in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children are low  lower than the average rate of infection in Scotlands hospitals.

For further reassurance on infection control we asked Health Protection Scotland to carry out a detailed review of our infection performance compared to similar large hospitals over the past three years.

Their findings confirmed that at no time during this period did infection rates at QEUH and RHC exceed expected levels.A ban on mesh implants will not be lifted until there is a high vigilance, restricted-use protocol put in place, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said.

Health boards in Scotland were ordered to immediately halt the use of vaginal mesh implants in September, with thousands of women having received the treatment.

Many women say they have suffered painful and debilitating health complications as a result of the procedure.

The use of mesh was suspended in all but extraordinary circumstances in Scotland in 2014.

The Scottish Government said a sub-group of medical directors and senior clinical managers will be asked to consider a range of measures to help improve care for women who have received a mesh implant.

Ms Freeman said: Last September, I announced a complete halt to all transvaginal mesh procedures and that will only be lifted when I am satisfied that a high vigilance, restricted-use protocol has been fully implemented.

I remain convinced that was the right decision but it is also important that we do everything possible for the women who have suffered injury as a result of complications from procedures already carried out.

Following this weeks debate at the Scottish Parliament, I have listened carefully to the views of women who have been affected by complications.

I had the opportunity to meet some of them in person after the debate and I found what they told me of their experience deeply moving.

She added: This sub-group will look at a range of options to see how the care and support for these women can be improved.

In particular, and where reasonable, I want them to ensure that women have some choice regarding the place of treatment and the clinicians involved.

Senior health board medical managers, academic and European advisers, and advocates for the affected women will all contribute to this work.

The first meeting will be held as soon as is practicable and I will write to campaigners within a month to set out the probable timescales.

Among the groups considerations will be the sharing of experience and techniques from Europe and the US, and examining education and training requirements.

The Scottish Government said a meeting with a representative group of campaigners will be arranged to seek their views on service development.

Scottish Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said he welcomed the announcement from the Health Secretary.

This is a step forward for women in Scotland seeking full mesh removal and is a great result for campaigners  Elaine Holmes, Olive McIlroy and Marion Scott, he said.

This announcement opens the door to more clinical working with mesh experts in other parts of the world.

This battle has been a protracted one but this does look like a victory.

I now very much hope that the SNP Government will stick to their word and give mesh survivors these much-needed options.As the countdown continues to the scheduled date of Brexit on March 29, here is what has been happening over the past week.

Days to go

21  or possibly more, depending on next weeks crunch Commons votes.

What happened this week?

Talks in Brussels involving Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and European Union negotiator Michel Barnier appeared to hit a brick wall.

Both sides described the discussions on changes to the Northern Ireland backstop as difficult  usually diplomatic code for a complete breakdown.

The latest developments in the countdown to Brexit (Yui Mok/PA)

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn met Tory ex-ministers Nick Boles and Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour backbenchers Stephen Kinnock and Lucy Powell about their Common Market 2.0 plan for a soft Brexit.

What happens next?

Theresa May is pleading with the EU to give ground ahead of Tuesdays Commons showdown on her Withdrawal Agreement.

Negotiations are expected to continue over the weekend in the hope of a late breakthrough.

If the Withdrawal Agreement is rejected in the Commons on Tuesday, MPs will vote on Wednesday on whether they want a no-deal departure from the EU.

Assuming they do not, then MPs will be asked if they want to seek a short, limited extension to Article 50  delaying Brexit beyond March 29.

Good week

Nick Boles and Sir Oliver Letwin

Mr Corbyns talks with the Tory pair about their Norway-style plan, which would keep the UK in both the single market and a customs union, were described as positive and constructive. The Labour leader said he was more certain than ever that a sensible deal could be agreed  something which could reduce the chances of him fully throwing his weight behind a second referendum.

Bad week

Geoffrey Cox

His efforts to secure legally-binding changes to the backstop appear to have stalled, with critics dubbing his efforts to cover up what they view as the deals flaws Coxs codpiece.

Quote of the week

European Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas: Michel Barnier informed the commissioners that while the talks take place in a constructive atmosphere, discussions have been difficult.

No solution has been identified at this point that is consistent with the Withdrawal Agreement, including the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, which, as you all know, will not be reopened.

Tweet of the week

Labour MP Lucy Powell: Very positive and constructive meeting with @jeremycorbyn today together with our cross-party alliance for Common Market 2.0 @NickBoles @oletwinofficial @SKinnock. We discussed areas of agreement and where we differ and how we could work together to break the Brexit deadlock.

Very positive and constructive meeting with @jeremycorbyn today together with our cross-party alliance for Common Market 2.0 @NickBoles @oletwinofficial @SKinnock. We discussed areas of agreement and where we differ and how we could work together to break the Brexit deadlock.  Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) March 6, 2019

Word of the week

Codpiece

The Attorney General insisted it remains Government policy to achieve changes to the backstop that would allow him to alter his legal advice that the UK could potentially be trapped indefinitely in the arrangement.

I would say that it has come to be called Coxs codpiece, he told MPs. What I am concerned to ensure is that what is inside the codpiece is in full working order.A committed dissident republican terrorist has been jailed for 25 years after he was found guilty of planting a bomb under a police officers car.

Sean McVeigh, 38, of Victoria Street, Lurgan, was convicted in February of the attempted murder of the officer at his home using an under-car bomb following a non-jury Diplock trial.

The bid was foiled when the officers wife, who is also a serving police officer, raised the alarm at their home in the Eglinton area of Co Londonderry in the early hours of June 18 2015.

A sentencing hearing last week was told during submissions from the prosecution and defence that McVeigh has shown no remorse, before the hearing was adjourned for a week while Judge Stephen Fowler considered what he had heard.

McVeigh reappeared in the dock at Belfast Crown Court on Friday morning to be sentenced.

Judge Stephen Fowler described McVeigh as a committed dissident republican terrorist.

A man convicted of attemptiong to kill a police officer has been jailed (PA)

He said the device which McVeigh had planted had one purpose, to kill anyone unfortunate enough to be in the car and noted that McVeigh has shown no semblance of remorse.

The judge said there were two potential victims, the police officer and his wife.

He said it was entirely fortuitous that the planting of the bomb was disrupted and that both could have been in the car, and added that given the car was parked in a residential area there could easily have been multiple deaths.

I have no doubt this was a terrifying ordeal for both officers, Judge Fowler said.

The judge sentenced McVeigh to 25 years in prison.

As McVeigh was led from the dock, a group of men in the public gallery raised their right arms with clenched fists.

Speaking outside court, PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said Northern Ireland is a safer place with McVeigh in custody.

Sean McVeigh chose to attack two officers who had selflessly chosen to protect their community and keep people safe despite the ever-present threat posed by dissident republicans, he said.

I am thankful that despite Seans evil intentions, he was unable to take these people away from their families and destroy numerous lives all in the name of his warped ideology.

Sean gave little thought to the community of Eglinton and his reckless actions could have caused devastating harm to residents living in the area if the bomb had exploded. Furthermore, the incident caused considerable disruption and upset to the local community, some of whom had to be evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night.

Todays success follows a rigorous investigation by detectives and I welcome the fact that Sean McVeigh is behind bars. His plan was to destroy lives and it demonstrates the ruthlessness and recklessness of those opposed to peace and who live for violence.

Northern Ireland is a safer place with this terrorist removed from our streets.1965 W. Evergreen Ave. in Chicago: $2,300,000 Listed on Mar 4, 2019 Alison Victoria Interiors and Greymark Development Group of HGTVs "Windy City Rehab" completely restored and expanded this 6,000-square-foot home. Key features include herringbone oak floors, a custom metal grid wall with refurbished tear drop French doors, a stone mantel in the parlor, 10-foot ceilings and an open floor plan. The eat-in kitchen has custom Brakur cabinetry, top-of-the-line Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, Calcutta quartz countertops, a custom 48-inch brass hood, a five-seat island and a built-in banquet. Four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and laundry are located on the second floor. The master suite consists of a bright, southern facing bedroom, bathroom with a custom shower and a large walk-in-closet. A custom wet bar anchors the lower level with two Sub-Zero wine towers, an icemaker and beverage center. An additional bedroom, full bath and theater are also located in the basement. The penthouse level has two large outdoor spaces along with a great room for entertaining. Agent: Ryan Preuett of Jameson Sothebys International Realty, 312-837-1111 To feature your luxury listing of $800,000 or more in Chicago Tribunes Dream Homes, send listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com.A social responsibility levy on stores selling alcohol could raise more than 100 million a year to help tackle Scotlands public health emergency, Labours Monica Lennon has said.

The health spokeswoman announced a future Labour government in Scotland would bring in the charge as she told how drug and alcohol abuse is ruining lives in every community.

Ms Lennon, whose father died after decades of alcohol abuse, insisted urgent change was needed.

With minimum pricing having increased the cost of many alcoholic drinks, Labour believes bringing in a levy on shops selling alcohol could recoup extra cash for initiatives to tackle problems such as addiction and health inequalities.

Previous research by the party has suggested a levy of 0.022p on every unit of alcohol sold in supermarkets and off-sales could raise more than 100 million a year.

Provisions to bring in such a charge are already in place, having been included in the Alcohol Scotland Act 2010.

A social responsibility levy on alcohol could raise 100 million a year, Labour said (PA)

Alcohol and drugs misuse is damaging communities across Scotland.



In government, Scottish Labour will enact a Social Responsibility Levy to raise money to fund public health initiatives to tackle this problem. @MonicaLennon7 #ScotLab19 https://t.co/d9VzlNPk9u pic.twitter.com/OQNlYwuiTx  Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) March 8, 2019

Speaking about the partys plans at the Scottish Labour conference in Dundee, Ms Lennon said: We will end the predatory industry practices that saturate our poorest communities with betting shops, booze and unhealthy food.

We will enact the social responsibility levy on alcohol sales, potentially raising over 100 million pounds a year.

We will ban alcohol marketing to children.

She argued: Urgent change is needed. Overall life expectancy in Scotland has fallen for the first time in 35 years.

How can it be right that the richest Scots can expect good health for 20 years longer than the poorest?

And here in Dundee, Scotlands drugs deaths crisis is at the highest rate in Europe.

Drugs and alcohol misuse is ruining lives in every community. It is a Scottish public health emergency.

She added: My much-loved dad died from decades of alcohol abuse.

Emotional scars of addiction run deep. Families affected by the harm caused by alcohol or drugs misuse feel isolated.

Investment in recovery is scant. We will change this. Over 50,000 young people are affected by parental drinking.

We will put support in place for them on the first day of a Scottish Labour government.Dogs of all shapes and sizes have been showing up in style as Crufts returns to Birmingham.

Arriving in onesies, snoods and doggy booties, working dogs from the great dane to the dobermann kicked off the world-famous show on Thursday.

Luther, an Irish water spaniel from Cumbria, was named the best gun dog and is the first of seven to make this weekends showpiece competition.

Owner Judith Carruthers said she was in total shock at her spaniel taking the top spot.

Two Old English Sheepdogs show off their waterproof footwear(Beat Media Group/PA)

She said: Hes such a young dog. His grandfather won best in group seven years ago but were not used to having this spotlight on us.

Reaching the best in show final is just such an honour, its been a great effort and everyone is over the moon.

Staying true to being mans, and womans, best friend, many dogs mimicked their owners sense of style on arrival.

Susan Reilly and Boris, her Pyrenean mountain dog, sported matching looks as they arrived at Birminghams National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on Friday.

Italian Greyhounds arrive in matching styles for day two of Crufts (Beat Media Group/PA)

The second day of Crufts will see working breeds and pastoral breeds competing to represent their group in the shows finale.

Day three of the show on Saturday will see terrier and hound breeds on the main stage, followed by utility and toy breeds, who will close the show on Sunday.Passengers have been warned to expect teething problems when train timetable changes adding more than 1,000 extra services to tackle overcrowding come into force on May 19.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train operators and Network Rail, said it had learned the lessons from last years disruption.

Then, schedules crippled large parts of the network in the north and south-east of England.

The RDG said the new services  part of a plan to add up to 6,400 by the early 2020s  are only being introduced where there is high confidence that infrastructure, staffing plans and trains would be ready.

Its chief executive, Paul Plummer, said: The scale of our ambition to improve means that this is a significant challenge.

While there may be some teething problems, train operators and Network Rail have worked together to carefully assess where new services can be introduced without impacting reliability.

The summer timetable will include additional peak services across the UK (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Many parts of the country are set to benefit this summer from a better service, but where introducing improvements puts reliability at risk, we are rightly taking a more cautious approach.

The summer timetable will include additional peak services between London and Reading, Windsor, Portsmouth and Farnham, as well as additional fast trains from Southend to central London.

There will be more direct services on the West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway from local stations to London, the West Midlands and the North West.

Scotrail will see additional Sunday services between Glasgow, Fort William and Mallaig and faster journeys between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa.

Following last Mays timetable launch, Govia Thameslink Railway and Northern cancelled up to 470 and 310 trains respectively each day.

Train companies, Government-owned Network Rail and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling have all been blamed for the chaos.

A review by Office of Rail and Road chairman Professor Stephen Glaister called for the industry to improve how information is provided to passengers.

Earlier this year, a Commons report warned rail passengers faced another difficult year in 2019 amid more timetable changes and an increase in engineering work.

The Public Accounts Committee claimed there was still a way to go before Network Rail and train operating companies collaborated in a way that minimised disruption during infrastructure projects.Events are being held across the globe to mark International Womens Day.

From concerts and conferences to fun runs and festivals  people were invited to celebrate the day with friends, family or colleagues.

The aim is to help forge a more gender-balanced world by raising awareness, celebrating achievements by women and to hold rallies for change.

Activists protest to mark International Womens Day near the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines (Aaron Favila/AP)

Women activists topple an effigy of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Campaigners are demanding equal rights (Aaron Favila/AP)

Flowers prepared for International Womens Day in Pyongyang, North Korea (Dita Alangkara/AP)

The Tibetan Womens Association invited ladies to pose for a photo in Dharmsala, India (Ashwini Bhatia/AP)

Women watch a street play on domestic violence before the start of a march to mark International Womens Day in New Delhi, India (Manish Swarup/AP)

A rally to mark International Womens Day in Seoul, South Korea (Lee Jin-man/AP)

An activist wears an umbrella during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia (Achmad Ibrahim/AP)

Hundreds of women marched in Nairobi to highlight domestic violence and discrimination in jobs and wages (Khalil Senosi/AP)

A woman wearing a headband with a sign that reads `enough takes part in a rally in Manila (Aaron Favila/AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron marked the day by presenting the Simone Veil prize to an activist who has worked against forced marriages (Thibault Camus/AP)Jeremy Corbyn has insisted that Labour does not have anything to hide over its action on anti-Semitism, after an equality watchdog began enforcement action which could lead to it gaining access to internal communications between staff handling complaints.

In a dramatic heightening of Labours anti-Semitism crisis, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced on Thursday it was launching an enforcement process which could lead to a formal investigation.

Labour has been given a fortnight to respond to the bodys concerns that it may have unlawfully discriminated against people because of their ethnicity and religious beliefs.

A decision will then be made on whether to launch an investigation, which would involve interviews with key party figures and the EHRC obtaining documents and records relating to the issue.

Speaking during a visit to a housing project in north London on Friday, Mr Corbyn said Labour will give the EHRC its fullest possible co-operation if the body decides to investigate.

Mr Corbyn was speaking during a visit to a north London housing project with Mayor Sadiq Khan (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

We welcome it, we will co-operate with it  we do not believe we have anything to hide at all, said the Labour leader.

Anti-Semitism has no place whatsoever at all in the Labour Party or the Labour movement.

He said he was absolutely determined that all people that join the Labour Party are welcome.

Meanwhile, a shadow cabinet minister rejected claims by a member of Labours ruling National Executive Committee that the EHRC is a failed experiment which should be abolished.

Huda Elmi stressed that she would like to see the EHRC broken up into the separate rights bodies  the Commission for Racial Equality, Equal Opportunities Commission and Disability Rights Commission  whose responsibilities it took over on its creation in 2007.

Writing on Twitter, the Momentum-backed NEC member said: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a failed experiment. If tomorrow it were to cease in existence, most of the people it was created to support wouldnt even notice.

We need to abolish it and bring back separate, well resourced governmental bodies for each equality strand.

The argument that different equality agendas are best dealt with individually is one shared by distinguished equality campaigners, lawyers and academics. There is desperate need for conversation about EHRCs purpose and how to reform it.

She added: The Labour Party has said it will fully co-operate with the EHRC, and I completely support that approach. The more scrutiny on prejudice within politics and action to tackle it, the better.

Asked about Ms Elmis comments, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said that the NEC member was entitled to her opinion.

But Ms Rayner told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: I dont think it is a failed experiment. I dont think it should be abolished. I think they should have the resources to do their job effectively.

Ms Rayner said organisations promoting equality and human rights should be strengthened not weakened.

We should celebrate the fact that we have these bodies, but also strengthen them to ensure that they can carry out their role effectively, she said.The UK will be plunged into uncertainty and may never leave the European Union if MPs reject the Brexit deal next week, Theresa May said.

In a warning ahead of Tuesdays Commons showdown on her Withdrawal Agreement, the Prime Minister acknowledged no one knows what will happen if her plan is defeated.

Mrs May said both the democratic and economic cases for backing her deal are clear, and issued a plea to MPs: Lets get it done.

The Prime Minister is urging Brussels to give ground in order to help her deal survive Tuesdays crunch vote by agreeing changes to the Northern Ireland backstop measures.

In a speech in Leave-voting Grimsby, the Prime Minister said: Next week MPs in Westminster face a crucial choice: Whether to back the Brexit deal or to reject it.

Back it and the UK will leave the European Union. Reject it and no one knows what will happen.

We may not leave the EU for many months, we may leave without the protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all.

Everyone now wants to get it done, move beyond the arguments, past the bitterness of the debate and out of the EU as a united country ready to make a success of the future.

In a plea to Brussels for support in making changes, she said what the European Union does over the next few days will have a big impact on the outcome of the vote.

Mrs May used her speech to appeal to EU leaders to help find a deal that MPs can support (Christopher Furlong/PA)

Aiming her words directly at EU leaders, she said: Now is the moment for us to act. Weve worked hard together over two years on the deal. Its a comprehensive deal that provides for an orderly exit from the EU and sets the platform for an ambitious future relationship.

It needs just one more push to address the final specific concerns of our Parliament. So lets not hold back. Lets do what is necessary for MPs to back the deal on Tuesday.

Mrs May also sent a message of warning to hardline Brexiteers considering voting against her deal next week.

Any delay to the Withdrawal Agreement could lead to a form of Brexit that does not match up to what people voted for, or to a second referendum, she said.

A softer Brexit deal could mean no end to free movement, no ability to strike our own trade deals, no end to the big annual payments, no taking back control  which is what the British people voted for, said Mrs May.

And she accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of supporting a divisive second referendum that would take the UK right back to square one.

She added: If MPs reject the deal, nothing is certain. We would be at a moment of crisis.

MPs would immediately be faced with another choice. Either we leave the EU with no deal on March 29  I dont believe that would be the best outcome for the UK or the EU  or we delay Brexit and carry on arguing about it, both amongst ourselves and with the EU. That is not in our interests either.

More talking will not change the questions that need to be settled and delay risks creating new problems.

Mrs May warned that if the UK asks for a delay simply to give MPs more time to decide what to do, the EU might insist on new conditions that were not in our interests before they agreed to such an extension.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Brussels that a failure to co-operate on securing changes to the Brexit deal could poison relations with the EU for years.

This is a moment of change in our relationship between the UK and the EU and history will judge both sides very badly if we get this wrong, Mr Hunt told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

We want to remain the best of friends with the EU. That means getting this agreement through in a way that doesnt inject poison into our relations for many years to come.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Withdrawal Agreement as it currently stands already involves compromise (PA)

The EU said technical discussions are ongoing and it insisted Brussels has come forward with ideas to resolve the deadlock.

European Commission spokesman Alex Winterstein told reporters in Brussels: The EU side has offered ideas on how to give further reassurances regarding the backstop. You are aware of all this.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the UK Government had failed to offer any solutions on the Withdrawal Agreement.

Speaking in Dublin, he said the deal reached in November, including the Irish backstop, was already a compromise delivered in response to British requests.

We were and remain happy to apply the backstop only to Northern Ireland if they want to go back to that, it doesnt have to trap or keep all of Great Britain in the single customs territory at all or for a long period, said Mr Varadkar.The sentencing of the final member of an organised crime gang who stole nearly 360,000 from victims has been welcomed by police.

Members of the 13-strong group targeted bank account holders, tricking them into revealing information over the phone so money could be transferred into accounts under the gangs control.

The final group member to be sentenced, Robert Coleman, 31, was handed a community payback order when he returned to court on Thursday, police said following the case.

The fraud and money laundering scheme duped several victims out of a total of 359,473, a probe by Police Scotlands financial investigation unit discovered.

Operating in Drumchapel and Yoker in Glasgow and Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire, they targeted victims in locations including Aberdeenshire and Northern Ireland between December 2013 and April 2014, officers said.

The man who fronted the gang, Mark Miller, 28, was jailed for 28 months in February.

Mark Miller was jailed for 28 months (Police Scotland/PA)

Another member of the group, Kevin Gallagher, 27, was jailed for four months at the same hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, while others have been handed community payback orders.

A total of 15 people were originally charged with involvement in the scheme but two accused had not guilty pleas accepted.

Detective Inspector Steven Trim, of the forces organised crime and counter-terrorism unit, said this type of crime can have a huge impact on victims.

The conclusion of this case marks what has been a successful investigation, he said.

The group were well organised and set up in a way that involved various roles, including the use of mule account holders.

We are particularly pleased about securing convictions for senior members of the crime group.Workers in the Polish city of Gdansk have dismantled a statue of the late Solidarity-era priest Henryk Jankowski following allegations he sexually abused youngsters.

Councillors in the city voted on Thursday to have the statue removed, and to have the name of the square where it stood  named after Jankowski  changed.

They also want Jankowski stripped of the Baltic citys honorary citizenship. The city mayor has also spoken in favour of the monuments removal.

A crane took the metal figure off its stone base on Friday before a truck drove it away to a storage place.

Jankowskis critics are calling for the allegations to be examined.

The statue was funded in 2012 to recognise Jankowskis staunch support for the Solidarity pro-democracy movement in the 1980s, borne out of a strike at the Gdansk shipyard.

Workers dismantling a statue of the late Solidarity-era priest, Henryk Jankowski (AP/Wojciech Strozyk)

Questions over Jankowski resurfaced last year when at least two people alleged to Polish media that they were abused as youngsters.

A previous investigation into allegations that Jankowski sexually abused young boys was stopped in 2003.

Protesters who wanted to draw attention to the abuse allegations in strongly-Catholic Poland toppled the statue last month, cushioning its fall with car tyres. Shipyard workers had put it back up.

The controversy takes place as the Vatican seeks to contain damage caused by an array of sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

Jankowski, who died in 2010, gained prominence through his support for the nationwide Solidarity movement and its leader, Lech Walesa, in their struggle against Polands communist regime.

World leaders, including former president George HW Bush and then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, visited Jankowskis St Brygida Church in Gdansk in recognition of his anti-communist activity.Labours recent policy switch to support a second Brexit referendum could fail to deliver a Peoples Vote, a member of Jeremy Corbyns frontbench team has conceded.

Lesley Laird, shadow Scottish secretary, said while the party would keep fighting there is not sufficient support in the Commons for a Peoples Vote to get the go-ahead.

Regarding the prospect of a second referendum, in which voters could choose between Theresa Mays deal and remaining in the European Union, Ms Laird said that path is not smooth.

She also used her speech to warn politicians who have spoken out against Mr Corbyn that unity in the party would be key to getting to the right destination of a Labour government.

Several MPs quit the party and formed The Independence Group, with dissatisfaction over Labours Brexit stance and handling of anti-Semitism allegations key among their reasons.

In Scotland, former leader Kezia Dugdale accused successor Richard Leonard of attempting to censor the partys two Scottish MEPs.

Lesley Laird used her speech to call for unity in the Labour Party (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Ms Laird, also deputy leader of Scottish Labour, told delegates that unity is key to any winning team and that division only plays into Tory and SNP hands.

She said: On any journey there are always different routes to take but what is really important now is that we get to the right destination.

And that we get there together. Ready to deliver a Labour government.

On the subject of Brexit, she said: Labour will not accept Theresa Mays botched Brexit. And Labour will certainly not accept no deal.

With the PM facing a series of crunch votes in the Commons next week, she added: Parliamentary processes will soon be exhausted with all options explored.

And if there is no resolution that meets our tests then, as our conference motion compels us to do, we will seek to put it back to the people.

In September last year, delegates at Labours UK conference had overwhelmingly backed keeping the option of a fresh ballot on the table.

But it was only last month, after Labours alternative Brexit proposals were rejected by MPs, that the party leadership spoke out in favour of a second European referendum.

Ms Laird said: That path is not smooth. Right now there is no parliamentary majority for this.

Ultimately no matter what outcome we want to achieve, if we can not get the numbers we will not win the vote.

But we cannot give up. We must keep fighting. We must reject Theresa Mays shoddy deal and we must get no deal off the table.A man is in hospital after he was found with stab wounds in a street in South Lanarkshire.

The 45-year-old man flagged down a passing car for help at around 10.20pm on Thursday in Braeside Place, Cambuslang.

He was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride where staff described his condition as stable.

Police are treating the incident as attempted murder and appealed for information.

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Detective Inspector Alan McDonald from Cambuslang CID said: Enquiries are at a very early stage to establish what has happened here and it is vital that anyone with information comes forward.

Police are investigating after a man was found with stab wounds in Cambuslang (David Cheskin/PA)

The attack may have taken place in a property nearby, with the victim then coming out into the street for help, and I would appeal to anyone who was in the vicinity of Braeside Place who saw or heard anything at all suspicious to please get in touch.

Additional patrols will be in the area to provide reassurance to members of the public and I would urge anyone with information or concerns to approach the officers on patrol who will be happy to assist.The Bank of England has ordered credit card giant Visa to appoint accountancy giant PwC to help avoid a repeat of an outage that caused chaos last year.

A systems failure at the firm in June impacted 5.2 million card transactions, including 2.4 million in the UK, and prompted MPs to launch an inquiry into IT fiascos at financial firms.

On Friday, the central bank said that it is using statutory powers to direct Visa to fully implement the recommendations of an independent review, which found that it was unprepared for the failure and failed to communicate effectively with those impacted.

This includes requiring the firm to appoint PwC to assess Visa Europes progress in implementing these recommendations.

The Bank said the incident had the potential to affect confidence in the financial system, but acknowledged that Visa has accepted all of the recommendations and is committed to implementing them.

Visa has said the issue was caused by a very rare partial failure of a switch in one of its data centres, which meant its back-up centre could not automatically process all transactions.

Visa has been ordered to appoint PwC (PA)

It has since fixed the issue and said it was taking all necessary steps to prevent the failure happening again, while also improving its incident response and compensating customers where necessary.

The action taken on Friday does not imply the breach of a regulatory requirement and does not constitute an enforcement action, the Bank said.

PwC will provide a final report to the Bank later this year assessing the progress in the implementation of each recommendation

A third of all spending in the UK is processed by Visa.A mother and daughter who were found dead with a man at a flat in Co Down, in what has been described as an unspeakable tragedy, have been named as Giselle and Allison Marimon-Herrera.

Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) launched a murder inquiry after the bodies of the man, 38, and the mother and daughter, 37 and 15, were found at Glin Ree Court in Newry, Co Down, at about 11am on Thursday.

The circumstances and causes of death have not yet been established, police said.

The man has not been named.

We can confirm that the two females who were found dead at their Glin Ree Court apartment home on Thursday were Giselle Marimon-Herrera, 37, and her 15 year old daughter Allison. pic.twitter.com/8vHdJ8XWds  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) March 8, 2019

Ms Marimon-Herrera is originally from Colombia and moved to Northern Ireland four years ago.

She worked in the Newry area.

Her daughter Allison was born in Spain and has lived in Northern Ireland since 2017. She attended Newry High School.

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy said they were working to find out what exactly happened at the flat in Newry and described it as an unspeakable tragedy.

I believe that Giselle and Allison were still alive in the early hours of Sunday morning but family members have not been able to contact them since, he said.

The exact circumstances of what happened in their home remains the subject of our investigation.

Forensic officers at flats in Newry where the bodies were found (Niall Carson/PA)

I would appeal today to anyone who came into direct contact with either Giselle or Allison, or communicated with them via text or social media since Friday, to contact detectives in Newry.

We are currently supporting the families of those involved as well as Newry High School. I would ask that they are given the time and space to come to terms with these tragic events.

Mr Murphy said definitive causes of death have not been established, adding that post mortem examinations were under way.

While our investigation remains at an early stage, there is no evidence at this time that anyone else was involved, he said.

This is an unspeakable tragedy and anyone with information should contact detectives on 101.Thousands of protesters are marching through central Algiers to protest over President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas hold on power.

The protesters, wrapped in Algerian flags, singing and throwing flowers, converged after prayers in a dense stream stretching nearly a kilometre.

Onlookers threw flowers and confetti from flag-draped balconies, while security forces watched from the sidelines without intervening.

The protesters are challenging Mr Bouteflikas fitness to run for a fifth term in next months election.

A woman demonstrates in Algiers, Friday, March 8, 2019. As Friday prayers let out, Algerians gathered in the center of the capital under the close watch of nearby security forces. Holding signs calling for current President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas ouster, carrying Algerian flags and chanting, the crowd began walking down the citys wide boulevards. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

The Algerian leader has been in power since 1999, but has been all but absent from the public eye since a stroke in 2013.

He has been in hospital in Switzerland since last month for what the government describes as medical tests.

It is the third Friday running that people have protested, and the demonstrations have continued into the week.

More than a dozen political parties and unions have thrown their support behind the widening street protests.

At a meeting that ended late on Thursday, 15 opposition parties and four unions praised the protest movement and criticised the government for its stubborn power in insisting upon the elections in April.

Protesters are calling for a general strike if the government does not back down.A British man has died after an apparent fight in Benidorm.

The incident happened in the Spanish seaside resort at around 3am on Friday, according to reports.

A spokesman for the National Police in Alicante told STV News a 33-year-old man from Scotland had died.

Witnesses are said to have told police a fight had broken out between the man and other British holidaymakers.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: Our staff are providing assistance to the family of a British man who has died in Benidorm.The UK is still  officially  expected to leave the European Union on March 29.

But that could change depending on events next week as the Brexit process enters a critical period.

Theresa May faces a crunch vote on her Brexit deal next week (Christopher Furlong/PA)



 What is happening in Brussels?

Technical talks with the European Union are still continuing, but discussions involving Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay earlier in the week failed to make progress, with both sides describing them as difficult.

Negotiations are set to continue over the weekend. with the possibility of the Prime Minister travelling to Brussels on Monday to meet Jean-Claude Juncker if there is a breakthrough on changes to the Northern Ireland backstop.

Whatever concessions are secured will be closely scrutinised by Tory and DUP Eurosceptics before Theresa May faces a showdown with MPs over the revised deal.

 What is happening in Westminster?

MPs will vote on the revised Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on March 12. The last time the Brexit deal was voted on by MPs, Mrs May suffered a humiliating 230-vote defeat.

Labour has indicated it will use the meaningful vote to support a call for a referendum on a Brexit deal.

If Mrs Mays plan is rejected again, MPs will vote on March 13 on whether they want a no-deal Brexit.

Should MPs reject that, there will be another vote on whether Parliament wants to seek a short, limited extension to Article 50  delaying the UKs departure beyond the current March 29 deadline.

 How could Brexit be delayed and for how long?

To secure an extension to Article 50, Mrs May would need the support of the 27 other EU states. They are likely to agree to an extension as long as there was a prospect of a deal being reached  or a referendum or general election which could change the political picture at Westminster.

The looming European elections in May present a problem, with the UK currently not expected to take part.

That would limit any extension of the UKs membership of the EU until the end of June, as the newly-elected parliament sits in July.

If a longer extension was sought, that would mean taking part in the elections, something likely to fuel Eurosceptic anger  and potentially see Nigel Farage standing for the new Brexit Party.

Former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Sir John Major have both argued that an extension of up to a year should be sought to allow a proper public consultation on Brexit.

-So what happens on March 29?

Impossible to say at this stage. If there is a deal, with a transition period, then although the UK will formally leave the EU at 11pm, very little will change.

If there is a delay, the UK will still be in the European Union until the extension period expires.

But if there is a no-deal Brexit, things are a lot more uncertain  the Government has been ramping up preparations to try to prevent shortages of food and medicine amid fears that increased bureaucracy will clog up key ports where goods arrive from the Continent.Campaigners have protested at the headquarters of Irelands national broadcaster calling for them to boycott Eurovision.

This years Eurovision Song Contest is to be held in Israel and campaigners say the states record on alleged human rights abuses makes taking part in the competition unconscionable.

Protesters handed in a petition of more than 16,500 signatures to the studios on Friday, calling on RTE and Irelands Eurovision entry Sarah McTernan not to take part in the singing contest.

Around 50 people carrying Palestine flags, banners and placards gathered at the broadcasters Dublin headquarters built a fake stone wall to mimic the IsraelGaza security barrier.

About 50 people took part in the demonstration (Brian Lawless/PA)

Zoe Lawlor, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said the idea that Eurovision is non-political is false.

Israel has made this years Eurovision explicitly militaristic and political in nature, she said.

This is especially so as the contestants will be expected to perform in front of 500 soldiers from the Israeli military.

The boycott call has been supported by over 16,500 people in Ireland, the Musicians Union of Ireland, Irish Equity and many prominent figures associated with former Eurovisions, as well as respected public figures in the arts, humanities and human and civil rights fields.

Ireland has a proud tradition of standing with the oppressed and against injustice and we sincerely hope that Sarah McTernan will take this opportunity to stand on the right side of history by listening to the Palestinian and international calls for a boycott.

Fatin al Tamimi, a Palestinian woman who has lived in Ireland for 30 years, and chairwoman of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, says a boycott by Ireland would send a strong message of solidarity.

Irish Campaign to Boycott Eurovision spokesperson Betty Purcell will be on the Sean O'Rourke Show debating Keith Mills at around 10.30am this morning. You can tweet support @TodaySOR using hashtags #BoycottEurovision, or email todaysor@rte.ie or Text 51551 pic.twitter.com/EzKy1tAqMN  IPSC (@ipsc48) March 8, 2019

Palestine is watching and waiting and looking for Ireland to support them, there has been a civil call in society in Palestine to boycott Eurovision, she said.

We dont want Ireland to take part in the white washing of Israel, which is an apartheid state.

Their postcard campaign during the programme will show illegal settlements in the occupied territories as part of Israel.

Dee Forbes, director general of RTE, said last year that the company would not sanction any workers whose consciences prevent them from travelling to Israel.

As a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), RTE has registered to take part in the 2019 contest.

In September, the broadcaster stated that: RTE is not aware of any regularly participating public service broadcaster who is planning to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest.

RTE have been contacted for comment.Scotlands largest teaching union has suspended plans to ballot members over strike action after a revised pay offer was put forward.

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) last month voted against a deal offering a 9% increase, with a further 3% next year.

The strike ballot was set to begin on Monday as part of the campaign to secure an improved settlement.

A revised pay offer was put forward by the Scottish Government on Thursday, however, with a letter confirming the proposal on Friday, the union said.

The EIS Council has now agreed overwhelmingly to recommend teachers accept the fresh deal.

The new offer is for a 3% rise backdated to April last year, 7% from this April and a further 3% from April 2020, the EIS said.

The EIS had been demanding a 10% pay rise for teachers (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The union said the offer represents a significant success for Scotlands teachers and it has called off the move towards possible strike action.

The Scottish Government welcomed the decision to suspend the ballot on industrial action.

EIS general-secretary Larry Flanagan said the union has been campaigning for action over issues such as the recruitment and retention of teachers, professional development, workload, and the level of support for pupils with additional support needs, as well as pay.

He said: The new proposed offer outlined in todays letter from the Scottish Government represents a positive attempt to address these issues.

It offers a 3-year pay settlement of 3% from April 2018, 7% from April 2019 and 3% from April 2020 for a compounded total increase of 13.51% over three years.

It also includes additional commitments aimed at tackling workload, supporting teacher professional development, and enhancing the teacher leadership programme.

Taking all of these elements together, it represents a package that the EIS is now recommending to Scotlands teachers.

Very pleased we have reached an agreement on pay, workload and empowerment with @EISUnion. This creates an excellent opportunity to strengthen Scottish education and make sure our young people can fulfill their potential.  John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) March 8, 2019

In October last year, thousands of teachers and their supporters marched through Glasgow as part of their campaign for a larger pay hike.

Responding to the development on Friday, Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney said: I welcome the EIS decision to suspend the ballot on industrial action.

The Scottish Government and (local government body) Cosla made a strong offer to teachers which, by a narrow margin, was rejected.

Given the importance we place on valuing teachers and improving the attractiveness of the profession, I have looked again at the investment the Scottish Government is making.

He added: This landmark agreement brings together a partnership with local authorities and professional associations to tackle critical issues, in tandem with a settlement on pay.

It is an agreement that removes the threat of industrial action, will provide the stability we need to make the reform Scotlands education system needs and deliver the best possible outcomes for our young people.

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: This is a positive development, nobody wants to see strikes in our schools.

Now it is up to teachers to decide if the offer is acceptable.

However, it should never have come to this and it should not have taken John Swinney nearly two years to listen to what teachers are saying about pay erosion and workload.

Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer said: This is great news for Scotlands overworked and underappreciated teachers, after a near 25% pay cut over recent years.Pep Guardiola has urged UEFA not to drag out its investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules by Manchester City.

The European governing body announced on Thursday it had launched a probe following a series of fresh allegations about the Premier League champions in the media.

The claims include allegations that some of Citys sponsorship deals were artificially inflated and that the club were deceitful in their accounting procedures.

City have denied the claims and manager Guardiola expressed his confidence in the club when questioned about the matter at his latest press conference.

Guardiola said: I think the club made their statement yesterday, I cant add more than that.

The club is open, so hopefully it can finish as soon as possible and UEFA can decide what it sees.

UEFA Club Financial Control Body opens investigation into Manchester City FC for alleged Financial Fair Play violations.



Read more https://t.co/ZOI4ALEvbP  UEFA (@UEFA) March 7, 2019

I said last season I trust a lot what the club has done because I know them. Hopefully they can solve it as soon as possible.

Asked further if he was concerned the matter could taint his legacy at the club, Guardiola said: No, absolutely not.

Guardiola was speaking to media ahead of his sides Premier League clash with Watford on Saturday.

Manchester City can extend their lead at the top of the table when they face Watford on Saturday (Martin Rickett/PA)

Victory would take City four points clear at the top of the table ahead of rivals Liverpools encounter with Burnley on Sunday.

City regained the initiative in the title race as Liverpool were held to a draw by Everton last weekend. Guardiola, however, is not yet looking beyond what he expects to be a tough game against Javier Gracias side this weekend.

He said: Its incredible what hes done. It is one of the toughest games we have in the last nine games.

Javi Gracias Watford could climb up to seventh if results go their way this weekend (Nick Potts/PA)

They have physicality, quality one on one, they are strong in the air, well organised. This season they have achieved a lot of points, they have done incredibly well.

Its the last game before 21 days without the Premier League, before the international break. Everything is closer in terms of fewer games left.

At home its massively important for us to take our points.Conservative MP Mark Francois and author Will Self locked themselves in a staring contest on the BBCs Politics Live programme on Friday following a tense exchange over Brexit.

Mr Francois, vice-chairman of the Tories vehemently pro-Brexit European Research Group, was outraged after Mr Self suggested most racists and anti-Semites in the UK had voted to leave the European Union.

Mark Francois: A slur on 17.4m people...you should apologise on national TV....outrageous thing to say



Author @wself You seem to find a lot of things outrageous...What I said was every racist and anti-Semiteprobably voted for Brexit#politicslive https://t.co/pVHd9QGUD9 pic.twitter.com/XA1TXxuWCd  BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 8, 2019

The author and academic said: Your problem really, Mark, is not that you have to be a racist or an anti-Semite to vote for Brexit, its just that every racist and anti-Semite in the country did.

I think thats a slur on 17.4 million people and I think you should apologise on national television, Mr Francois said as Self protested.

I think thats an outrageous thing to say.

Ah well you seem to find a lot of things outrageous, dont you, replied Self.

Tory MP Mark Francois and author Will Self lock eyes for almost 15 seconds after a tense exchange on the BBCs Politics Live (Screenshot/PA)

Are you saying that 17.4 million people are are racists and bigots because they voted to leave the European Union? asked Francois.

No, thats not what I said, came the reply.

The pair talked over each other as host Jo Coburn tried to introduce the shows other guests, with Francois exclaiming utterly ridiculous and madness.

Coburn continued regardless and Self stared, unblinking, for close to 15 seconds at Francois as he drank from a cup.

The Conservative MP placed his drink down and retorted youre the bigot, mate.

One Twitter user characterised the exchange with an analogy about birds and penguins.

He wrote: WS Im not saying that every bird is a penguin. Im just saying that every penguin is a bird.

MF How dare you say that every bird is a penguin!

WS I didnt say that.

MF You need to apologise to every bird for saying they are a penguin.

His tweet had been liked by more than 500 people in less than an hour.

Another popular response lamented Mr Francoiss comments as the saddest thing about modern life.

They wrote: Mark Francois demonstrating the saddest thing about modern life there. Not listening to what the other person is saying, making up what he thinks the other person is saying, getting offended and angry by the thing he made up, looking like a prize idiot as a result.

But Conservative MP Michael Fabricant leapt to his colleagues defence, tweeting: No-one can call ME an anti-semite [sic].

I voted for #Brexit. @wself just espousing narrow north London metropolitan elite view.

No-one can call ME an anti-semite.



I voted for #Brexit. @wself just espousing narrow north London metropolitan elite view. https://t.co/iinrcCtVNF  Michael Fabricant  (@Mike_Fabricant) March 8, 2019

In January, Mr Francois became embroiled in controversy after accusing the German chief executive of aeroplane manufacturer Airbus of Teutonic arrogance over comments he made about the companys business decisions on Brexit.

Mr Francois added: My father, Reginald Francois, was a D Day veteran. He never submitted to bullying by any German and neither will his son.Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

US District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Manning to be jailed on Friday after a brief hearing in which Manning confirmed she has no intention of testifying.

She told the judge she will accept whatever you bring upon me.

Manning has said she objects to the secrecy of the grand jury process, and that she already revealed everything she knows at her court martial.

tomorrow im facing a sealed contempt hearing for refusing to testify at a secret grand jury over my 2010 disclosures



statement: pic.twitter.com/M1uhssUzXh  Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) March 7, 2019

The judge said she will remain jailed until she testifies, or until the grand jury concludes its work.

Mannings lawyers had asked that she be sent to home confinement instead of the jail, because of medical complications she faces.

Chelsea Manning addresses the media outside federal court (Matthew Barakat/AP)

The judge said US Marshals can handle her medical care.Ruling in what it called a "tragically bizarre" case, an appeals court found that the estate of a man killed by a train while crossing the Edgebrook Metra station tracks can be held liable after a part of his body sent airborne by the collision struck and injured a bystander.



In 2008, Hiroyuki Joho, 18, was hurrying in pouring rain with an umbrella over his head, trying to catch an inbound Metra train due to arrive in about five minutes when he was struck by a southbound Amtrak train traveling more than 70 mph.



A large portion of his body was thrown about 100 feet on to the southbound platform, where it struck Gayane Zokhrabov, then 58, who was waiting to catch the 8:17 a.m. train to work. She was knocked to the ground, her leg and wrist broken and her shoulder injured.



A Cook County judge dismissed Zokhrabov's lawsuit against Joho's estate, finding that Joho could not have anticipated Zokhrabov's injuries.



A state appeals court, after noting that the case law involving "flying bodies" is sparse, has disagreed, ruling that "it was reasonably foreseeable" that the high-speed train would kill Joho and fling his body down the tracks toward a platform where people were waiting.



Leslie Rosen, who handled Zokhrabov's appeal, said that while the circumstances of the case were "very peculiar and gory and creepy," it ultimately was a straightforward negligence case, no different than if a train passenger had been injured after the engineer hit the brakes.



"If you do something as stupid as this guy did, you have to be responsible for what comes from it," she said.



Joho's mother, Jeung-Hee Park, who had just dropped him off before the accident, filed her own lawsuit against Metra and the Canadian Pacific Railway. The lawsuit said both entities were negligent because Joho had no warning that what he thought was his Metra train was actually an express Amtrak train.



The Metra train was delayed that day, but there was no announcement on the platform's loudspeakers. A Cook County judge found that the railroads had no duty to warn about such an "open and obvious danger" as a moving train, a decision upheld on appeal.



Keith Davidson, one of Park's attorneys, said he is seeking to appeal that ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.



Two months after Joho's death, another person was killed while crossing the Edgebrook station tracks in Chicago. Joyce Chiriboga, 48, died after being struck while following her sister across the tracks in a case that alleged a Metra engineer had failed to keep lookout and blow the horn in time.



The case was recently settled for an undisclosed amount, court records show.



Other Illinois "flying body" cases include a 1974 Supreme Court ruling from La Grange in which a passenger in a two-car crash at Brainard Street and Ogden Avenue was thrown 30 feet into a public parkway. His leg, which had to be amputated, was impaled on a broken piece of drain pipe the town had left by the road, but courts found that La Grange could not be held liable.



In 1951, a postal worker in Momence, Ill., was seriously injured after a train struck an elderly woman whose body knocked him into his mail cart, breaking his leg. But in that case, he successfully sued the railroad for operating a train at an unsafe speed.



sschmadeke@tribune.comNicola Sturgeon has announced a new strategy to tackle the gender pay gap in Scotland in a speech on International Womens Day.

The First Minister revealed the plan to reduce inequality as she celebrated the progress made in Scotland.

But she stressed how much more still needed to be done.

Womens equality isnt just an issue of principle and fairness for women  if we have gender equality the country does better and we have a better world, Ms Sturgeon said.

Its in everybodys interest and we should never lose sight of that.

Speaking to businesswomen at the City Chambers in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon announced the Scottish Governments Gender Pay Gap Action Plan, pledging a whole range of ways in which we will tackle the causes of the gender pay gap  in our education system, in workplaces and across society.

Ms Sturgeon launched the strategy in Edinburgh (Scottish Government/PA)

The policy outlines more than 50 steps to reduce the disparity between men and women, including 5 million of funding over three years for a programme providing advice, training and placements for women who want to return to work after a career break, having children or caring for elderly relatives.

The Scottish Government will also carry out an equal pay audit to look at pay in the public sector, as well as expanding the Workplace Equality Fund, including support for women during menopause and for victims of domestic abuse.

Ms Sturgeon said: While the gender pay gap in Scotland is now the lowest on record and lower than the UK as a whole, we still have much progress to make, which requires long term solutions not short term fixes.

Giving examples of disparity in business, she said: It is still the case that more than three-fifths of new businesses are being started by men and less than two-fifths by women.

That matters as a basic issue of principle  a basic issue of equity  but it also matters for a really hard-headed reason as well.

That disparity harms the country and our economy overall.

Steps to tackle gender discrimination and inequalities have been set out in the first @scotgov Gender Pay Gap Action Plan  launched by @nicolasturgeon at #BGateway_EL #IWD2019 #BalanceForBetter https://t.co/KD0o4VCJUk pic.twitter.com/YsaoSCwW58  First Minister (@ScotGovFM) March 8, 2019

She added: Research suggests that if the level of female ownership of businesses in Scotland matched the level of male ownership the size of our economy would increase by around 5%.

To put that into context, that equates to 7.6 billion.

So getting more women into business isnt just good for women, quite simply it will make our economy richer and make all of us more prosperous.

Ms Sturgeon was joined by members of the business community(Phil Wilkinson/PA)

Susan Harkins, head of Business Gateway Scotland, which organised the event to mark International Womens Day, welcomed Ms Sturgeons pledge.

She said: Its not an easy task but its good for business, its good for women and its also good for men.

Women-led businesses are contributing 8.8 billion to the Scottish economy and they make up about 11% of the total employment in the private sector in Scotland  imagine if we got more women starting up and growing their businesses? It makes good economic sense.Queues of lorries have been seen at the Eurotunnel entrance in Kent as French customs officials continue to strike.

A backlog of freight lorries stretched back as far as the M20 on Friday afternoon, with traffic crawling towards Folkestone.

Traffic jams began to build up in Calais earlier this week as customs officers reportedly worked to rule, carrying out tighter checks on lorries heading for the Channel Tunnel and ferry port.

Lorries queue to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The action began on Monday in a bid to improve pay and staff numbers ahead of Brexit.

P&O ferries tweeted: Please be advised that our Freight traffic is being delayed through the Port due to action by Customs officers.

Rhenus Logistics UK posted: The strikes reported at the port of Calais at the beginning of this week are on-going as French Customs are working to rule.

This is causing delays of around 3 hours leaving Calais. Trucks entering the port are still unaffected.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has said it is extremely worried the tailbacks could be putting the lives and livelihoods of lorry drivers at risk, with stationary lorries becoming a sitting target for migrants.

#POCALAIS UPDATE: Please be advised that our Freight traffic is being delayed through the Port due to action by Customs officers.  P&O Ferries Freight (@POFerriesFR8) March 8, 2019

It said tens of thousands of hauliers were in the dark due to complete and utter lack of clarity on the border processes post-Brexit.

Chief executive Richard Burnett said earlier this week: Since Brexit discussions began, we have been voicing our concerns that the number of customs agents currently employed will be insufficient to tackle the new procedures.

The French union officials claim that the action is aimed at showing what will happen after Brexit is totally unacceptable.

Many of our members caught up in the queues are bearing the brunt of this action.

Traffic is crawling slowly toward the Eurotunnel entrance (Gareth Fuller/PA)

They will be stuck with no facilities and will inevitably suffer financial losses as a result of delayed deliveries  particularly those carrying perishable goods.

The head of French customs has insisted that France will be ready for Brexit on 29 March, and that such queues would not form.

But with only 17 working days left until the UK leaves the EU, I do not share his optimism.

This is an intolerable situation and if not resolved, theres a real danger that it could be the shape of things to come.

We continue our call for clarity over border crossing procedures but still nothing is forthcoming.US special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election and alleged collusion with associates of Donald Trump.

The Justice Department said Mr Mueller delivered his final report on Friday to Attorney General William Barr, who is reviewing it.

Attorney General William Barr is reviewing Robert Muellers report (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Responding to the release, the White House said the next steps are up to Attorney General (William) Barr.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said we look forward to the process taking its course.

She added: The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsels report.

The next steps are up to Attorney General Barr, and we look forward to the process taking its course. The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsels report.  Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 22, 2019

Leading Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said it is imperative to make the full report public.

The top congressional Democrats said: The American people have a right to the truth.

In a joint statement, they said Mr Barr must not give Mr Trump, his lawyers or staff any sneak preview of the findings or evidence.

The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public, they said.

Mr Muellers report sets the stage for big public fights to come. The next steps are up to Mr Trumps attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

It is not clear how much of the report will become public or be provided to Congress. Mr Barr has said he will write his own report summarising Mr Muellers findings.

The nearly two-year probe has shadowed Mr Trumps presidency and resulted in felony charges against 34 people including six people who served on Mr Trumps campaign.

Mr Barr said he could release his account to Congress as soon as this weekend.

I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsels principal conclusions as soon as this weekend, Mr Barr said in his letter to the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees.

Mr Trumps lawyers said they were pleased that Mr Mueller has delivered his report.

Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow said: Were pleased that the Office of Special Counsel has delivered its report to the Attorney General pursuant to the regulations. Attorney General Barr will determine the appropriate next steps.

With no details released at this point, it is not known whether Mr Muellers report answers the core questions of his investigation:

 Did Mr Trumps campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favour of the celebrity businessman?

 Did Mr Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

President Donald Trump has been dogged by the investigation (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

But the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the President.

It is unclear what steps Mr Mueller will take if he uncovered what he believes to be criminal wrongdoing by Mr Trump, in light of Justice Department legal opinions that have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted.

The mere delivery of a confidential report will set off immediate demands, including in the Democratic-led House, for full release of Mr Muellers findings.

Mr Barr has said he wants to make as much public as possible, and any efforts to withhold details will prompt a tussle between the Justice Department and lawmakers who may subpoena Mr Mueller and his investigators to testify before Congress.

Such a move by Democrats would likely be vigorously contested by the Trump administration.

The conclusion of Mr Muellers investigation does not remove legal peril for the president. Mr Trump faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election.

He has also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Mr Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the presidents inaugural committee.

No matter the findings in Mr Muellers report, the investigation has already illuminated Russias assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The special counsel brought a sweeping indictment accusing Russian military intelligence officers of hacking Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign and other Democratic groups during the 2016 election.

He charged another group of Russians with carrying out a large-scale social media disinformation campaign against the American political process that also sought to help Mr Trump and hurt Mrs Clinton.

Closer to the president, Mr Mueller secured convictions against a campaign chairman who cheated banks and dodged his taxes, a national security adviser who lied about his Russian contacts and a campaign aide who misled the FBI about his knowledge of stolen emails.

Cohen, the presidents former lawyer, pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations arising from the hush money payments and in the Mueller probe to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal.

Another Trump confidant, Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails ultimately released by WikiLeaks.

It is unclear whether any of the aides who have been convicted, all of whom have pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigators, might angle for a pardon. Mr Trump has left open the idea of pardons.As special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation, here is a look at the key names who are likely to feature in the report.

 Paul Manafort

The former campaign chairman of Donald Trumps campaign has been convicted in Washington and Virginia of crimes related to years of Ukrainian political consulting work, including allegations he concealed his foreign government work from the United States and failed to pay taxes on it. Though the charges do not directly touch Mr Trump, he nonetheless remained a figure of considerable intrigue and enjoys the continued sympathy of the President, who has left open the door for a pardon. He is now serving a more than seven-year prison sentence.

 Michael Flynn

President Donald Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn is awaiting sentencing (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Mr Trumps former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI just days after Mr Trump took office by telling agents that he had never discussed sanctions with the-then Russian ambassador to the United States. The White House said Flynn had misled administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the conversation and ousted him weeks later. He has since become a vital cooperator for Mr Mueller, having met 19 times with investigators. Prosecutors are not recommending any prison time when he is sentenced next week.

 Michael Cohen

Mr Trumps long-time lawyer and fixer is at the centre of not only Mr Muellers investigation but also a separate, and rapidly mushrooming, investigation into hush-money payments. In Mr Muellers investigation, Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about a proposed real estate development in Moscow. He told lawmakers the negotiations were done in January 2016 when in fact they stretched deep into the campaign. He also pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations stemming from the payments, with prosecutors saying last week that he acted in coordination and at the direction of Individual 1  or Mr Trump.

 George Papadopoulos

The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser served a 14-day prison sentence after admitting lying to the FBI about a 2016 conversation with a Maltese professor who told him that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of stolen emails. Information about Papadopouloss contacts during the campaign started the FBIs Russia investigation.

 Russian intelligence

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were charged in July with hacking into email accounts of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and then facilitating the release of tens of thousands of private communications. It remains perhaps the most direct example of what intelligence officials say was a broad conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 election on Mr Trumps behalf.

 Russian online trolls

A separate indictment charges 13 Russians with funding a covert social media propaganda campaign to sow discord among Americans in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors say the scheme was run by a Russia-based troll farm that used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to try to influence the race.

 Roger Stone

Roger Stone, an associate of President Donald Trump, is facing charges (Cliff Owen/AP)

A long-time Trump confidant, and self-proclaimed dirty trickster of Republican politics, Stone is charged with witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts to gain advance knowledge of WikiLeakss plans to release damaging information on Mrs Clinton during 2016. Though a Stone tweet from 2016  Trust me, it will soon the Podestas time in the barrel  appeared to presage the disclosure of hacked emails, Stone has said he had no inside knowledge about the content, source or timing of WikiLeakss disclosure. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges brought by Mr Mueller.

 Julian Assange

The WikiLeaks founder, under Justice Department scrutiny for years for the groups role in publishing government secrets, has been an important figure in the Mueller investigation as investigators examine how WikiLeaks obtained emails stolen from Mrs Clintons campaign and Democratic groups. Prosecutors have also investigated whether any Americans were involved in coordinating that effort. Separately, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia inadvertently disclosed the existence of a sealed criminal complaint against the WikiLeaks founder, though no details have been publicly announced.

 Donald Trump Jr

The presidents eldest son has attracted scrutiny for his role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016  also attended by Manafort and Mr Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner  at which he expected to receive damaging information on Mrs Clinton. He has said the meeting was a waste of time because he did not receive anything interesting from the attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Both he and his father have suggested that anyone in that position would have taken such a meeting in hopes of getting dirt on a political opponent.US special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election and delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr.

Heres what to expect next:

What happens when the investigation ends?

Mr Mueller had to submit a report of some kind. It could be bare-bones.

Justice Department regulations require only that Mr Mueller give the Attorney General a confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. That could be as simple as a bullet point list or as fulsome as a report running hundreds of pages.

What will the Attorney General do?

William Barr said he envisions two reports, and only one for congressional and public consumption.

Mr Barr has said he takes seriously the shall be confidential part of the regulations governing Mr Muellers report. He has noted that department protocol says internal memos explaining charging decisions should not be released.

During his confirmation hearing, Mr Barr said he would draft, after Mr Mueller turned in his report, a second one for the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. But the regulations provide little guidance for what such a report would say.

The Attorney General is required only to say the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided an action Mr Mueller proposed was so inappropriate or unwarranted that it should not be pursued.

In a letter Mr Barr sent on Friday to the four members of the two Judiciary committees, he said there were no such instances. He also said he may be in a position to advise them of Mr Muellers conclusions as soon as this weekend.

Mr Barr indicated that he expects to use his report to share the results of Mr Muellers investigation with the public, which the regulations allow him to do. But he has hedged on specifics and said his plans could change after speaking with Mr Mueller and Mr Rosenstein.

Will Donald Trump be able to see the report?

It is not yet clear whether Donald Trump will get to see the report (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

It is unclear whether Donald Trump will ask to see the report and under what circumstances he or his attorneys might be able to view it, especially because the document is meant to be confidential for Justice Department leadership.

Mr Mueller reports to the Justice Department, not the White House.

Mr Barr said at his confirmation hearing that he would not permit White House interference in the investigation. But he has also voiced an expansive view of executive power in which the president functions as the countrys chief law enforcement officer and has wide latitude in giving directives to the FBI and Justice Department.

Democrats could seize on any disclosure to the president to argue that the report is not confidential and should be immediately provided to them as well.

Can Democrats in Congress subpoena Mr Mueller and his report?

Yes. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler, has said as much.

We could subpoena the final report. We could subpoena Mueller and ask him in front of the committee what was in your final report. Those are things we could do, Mr Nadler told ABCs This Week in October.

But Mr Trump, as the leader of the executive branch, could direct the Justice Department to defy the subpoena, setting the stage for a court fight that would almost certainly go to the Supreme Court.Campaigners have been prosecuted for inconsiderate driving while trying to bring roads to a standstill as part of a pro-Brexit protest.

According to organisers, the demonstrations aimed to ensure the UK leaves the EU on March 29 by causing gridlock on motorways and A roads using a convoy of slow-moving vehicles.

The protesters were aiming to target between 30 and 40 locations over the weekend, including the M25, M6 and M1.

Devon and Cornwall Police said it had stopped the convoys on the A30 and M5 and prosecuted the two lead drivers of both convoys for careless and inconsiderate driving.

The force said it had spoken to organisers of both protests beforehand and told them they were to ensure other motorists could pass them and not drop down to unsafe speeds.

Inspector Simon Jenkinson told the Press Association that the force was happy to facilitate the protests as long as they did not bring the roads to a standstill.

Pro-Brexit campaigners were trying to ensure the UK leaves the EU on March 29 by causing gridlock on motorways and A roads using a convoy of slow-moving vehicles (PA Images).

But he said that the campaigners had blocked both lanes of the A30 towards Cornwall and at least two lanes of the M5 northbound while travelling at speeds as low as 20mph on the motorway.

A30 go slow - My officers have stopped the front vehicles and will be prosecuting them for inconsiderate driving. We will be adopting the same approach on the M5 should drivers deliberately slow or stop traffic.  Chief Insp Si Jenkinson (@ChInspJenkinson) March 22, 2019

Mr Jenkinson added: We took the decision for the front two vehicles to be pulled over and reported for the driving offence of careless and inconsiderate driving.

They presented a risk to the road-using community.

The information I have had was there were speeds as low as 20mph (on the M5).

That presents a significant risk on a very busy arterial road.

The RAC advises that, while most motorways in the UK do not have an official minimum speed limit, travelling too slowly can be considered dangerous and might attract attention from police.

Highways England tweeted: There have been a few issues but nothing of any major impact and at present everything is running as usual.

Hi there, there have been a few issues but nothing of any major impact and at present everything is running as usual.  National Highways (@NationalHways) March 22, 2019

Organiser Ian Charlesworth had said the protests could cause serious gridlock and believes MPs and the Home Office will be looking at it, but added he does not know how effective the protests will be.

The ultimate aim is to make sure come hell or high water that Britain leaves on March 29, the 55-year-old told the Press Association.

The protests have been organised through social media, with Mr Charlesworths Facebook group containing more than 21,000 members.

After this weekends protests he said a larger national event is planned in London on March 29, should their demands not be met, which will coincide with the pro-Brexit March To Leave demonstration in Parliament Square.Theresa May has admitted she may not garner enough support to get her twice-defeated Brexit deal through the Commons next week, amid mounting speculation about the future of her premiership.

The Prime Minister wrote to MPs warning that if there is insufficient support for her Withdrawal Agreement in the coming days that she could seek an extension to Britains EU membership beyond the European Parliament elections.

It came after the DUP  whose support will be crucial if the Government is to win  indicated they would not back her deal, with the partys deputy leader Nigel Dodds lamenting the PMs failure to secure any changes to the Northern Ireland backstop while in Brussels.

Nothing has changed as far as the Withdrawal Agreement is concerned. We will not accept any deal which poses a long-term risk to the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom, he said.

Mrs May sought to soften her approach in her letter to parliamentarians, offering to hold talks with MPs and thanking those who have backed her plan previously.

And she laid out the choices available to the Commons after she agreed a delay to Brexit with EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday night.

The PM said the UK could revoke Article 50; leave without a deal; ask for an extension beyond April 12 if her deal is rejected or not voted on; or leave on May 22 if it is finally approved.

Mrs May wrote: If it appears that there is not sufficient support to bring the deal back next week, or the House rejects it again, we can ask for another extension before 12 April  but that will involve holding European Parliament elections.

If it appears that there is sufficient support and the Speaker permits it, we can bring the deal back next week and if it is approved we can leave on 22 May.

It came as ministers moved to try to head off an attempt by MPs to seize control of Commons business in a bid to secure a softer Brexit.

A cross-party group of pro-EU MPs claimed they had the numbers to force a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs Mays Brexit deal.

But Business Secretary Greg Clark said the Government was prepared to enable Parliament to express a view on the various options if Mrs Mays deal is rejected by the Commons for a third time next week.

Defeat for the Government on Monday on the amendment  tabled by former ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve and Labour MP Hilary Benn  would be a further humiliation for Mrs May.

A cross-party group of pro-EU MPs claim they have the numbers to force a series of "indicative votes" in the Commons (UK Parliament/Mark Duffy/PA)

If the amendment is passed, it would pave the way for a series of indicative votes in the House on Wednesday, effectively taking control of the Brexit process out of the hands of the Government.

Meanwhile, former environment and Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Government must stand up for the 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit, adding a March 29 departure provides the certainty which all sides are craving.

In reference to the April 12 extension offered by EU leaders, he added: Apart from the further humiliation of not delivering Brexit on time, what can be achieved in two weeks that has not been achieved in two years?

Elsewhere it emerged that Tory former foreign secretary Boris Johnson met Mrs May for talks twice this week, including on Friday.

Mr Johnson is said to have asked the PM how she intended to change her approach, and she reportedly set out plans to restructure the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a second referendum will march through central London on Saturday, where Labours deputy leader Tom Watson is expected to say he will vote for the PMs deal if it is put to the people.

Meanwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been reluctant to throw his full weight behind a so-called Peoples Vote, will be campaigning in the North West of England.

As Mrs May battles to stay in Number 10, Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said replacing her would not help the situation.

I would rather she stayed because I dont believe that changing Theresa May for someone else is going to resolve this problem, he told BBC Twos Newsnight.

The problems are deep in the wounds of the vote, Parliament, the European Union  its not about a single individual.

Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi warned of a political meltdown if Brexit is delayed further, and said he was not prepared to tell his constituents that the UK would take part in the EU elections.

If Parliament decides to vote down the Prime Ministers Withdrawal Agreement then I think it would be political meltdown and Parliament would have failed, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

Each and every one of us will have to ask ourselves the question: Am I prepared to go back to my constituents and say were not leaving the EU, were going to go for a much longer extension, and were going to take part in the European elections?

Im not prepared to do that. I dont think the Prime Minister is prepared to do that.Nicola Sturgeon has called for a lengthy extension to allow a second Brexit referendum ahead of the Put It To The People march in London.

The Scottish First Minister urged opponents of Brexit to seize the moment of maximum opportunity presented by the delay agreed by the EU.

Before she joined the rally backing a second EU referendum, Ms Sturgeon said: This is now the moment of maximum opportunity  we need to avoid both the catastrophe of no deal and the damage which would be caused by the Prime Ministers bad deal.

The EUs decision to postpone things until at least April 12 has opened a window, and those of us who oppose Brexit must seize the chance it offers.

The House of Commons must now take back control from Theresa May and secure a longer extension to the process, to allow time for a new referendum to be held.

The Prime Minister and her government have proved completely incapable of delivering on the result of the 2016 vote, which is why it is right that this should now go back to the people.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged opponents of Brexit to seize the opportunity for a second EU referendum (Scottish Government/PA)

Ms Sturgeon also argued that Scotland, which as a region had a majority of remain votes, has been completely ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit process.

Ill be proud to speak at the @peoplesvote_uk march tomorrow. Scotland voted to remain in 2016 but people across the UK must have the chance to get out of this Brexit mess. Whatever Scotlands future - I hope independent - it is in all of our interests for UK to be in the EU.  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 22, 2019

She added: That has demolished Tory claims that the UK is a partnership of equals, and is making the case for independence stronger than it has ever been.

But whatever Scotlands future  and I hope and believe it will be an independent one  it is in all of our interests for UK to be in the EU.

The Put It To The People rally will have figures from across the political spectrum taking part.

Ms Sturgeon will speak alongside Conservative peer Michael Heseltine and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve and Labours London Mayor Sadiq Kahn as well as MPs Jess Phillips and David Lammy.

Edinburgh South Labour MP Ian Murray said: I will be marching on behalf of the 78 per cent of voters in Edinburgh South who backed remain.

This is a march to stop the madness of Brexit. The last 1,000 days have destroyed trust in politics, and time is now running out to avoid a catastrophic no-deal exit from the EU.

This national crisis can only be resolved by putting the decision back to the British public.

Its heartening that political figures are putting aside their differences for this, and its particularly encouraging that Nicola Sturgeon is now willing to share a platform with a Tory.

This is much bigger than party politics, and we owe it to the people of Britain to come together to fix this mess.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added: From the hundreds of thousands marching across the country to the millions of people signing petitions and speaking out, I have rarely seen the public so engaged with politics.

The country is at a perilous crossroads and people are deeply concerned. However, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn still refuse to act in the national interest.

It doesnt need to be this way and Brexit is not a done deal. Liberal Democrats have led the campaign for the people to have the final say on Brexit, and it is time they got it.President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that he had reversed his administrations decision to slap new sanctions on North Korea  a move which took officials at the US Treasury Department by surprise.

Mr Trump delivered the news from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, writing, It was announced today by the US Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!

A problem arose when the Treasury did not announce any new action affecting North Korea on Friday, let alone additional large scale Sanctions.

The administration on Thursday did sanction two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions  but not the country itself.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders issued only a brief statement saying that Mr Trump likes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

But a person familiar with the action later told The Associated Press that Mr Trumps tweet was not about reversing existing sanctions.

Instead, the person said, the president was talking about not going forward with additional large-scale sanctions on North Korea at this time.

President Donald Trumps tweet caught officials by surprise (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

It was the latest example of the confusion sometimes sparked by Mr Trumps governance-by-tweet, which has often sent agency heads scrambling, trying to figure out what he meant or trying to implement policy proclamations that have not gone through traditional vetting processes.

Mr Trumps tweet took Treasury officials by surprise and prompted reporters to bombard officials at the White House National Security Council and Treasury Department with questions. All declined to comment.

The reversal came a day after the Treasury Department announced the first targeted actions taken against Pyongyang since Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month for negotiations about North Koreas nuclear weapons programme.

The meeting ended without a deal.

Important actions today from @USTreasury; the maritime industry must do more to stop North Koreas illicit shipping practices. Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Koreas sanctions evasion. https://t.co/AVnOPrWbH6  John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) March 21, 2019

In addition to Mr Trumps talks with North Korea, the US is in delicate trade negotiations with China.

It is unclear whether Mr Trumps decision was related to North Koreas move on Friday to abruptly withdraw its staff from a liaison office with South Korea.

That development is likely to put a damper on ties between the North and South and further complicate global diplomacy on North Koreas nuclear programme.

The withdrawal also is seen as a major setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has sought to improve relations with North Korea alongside the nuclear negotiations between the North and the United States.

North Korea said it was withdrawing its staff under instructions from unspecified higher-level authorities, according to a Unification Ministry statement.

It did not say whether the withdrawal would be temporary or permanent. South Korea called the Norths decision regrettable and urged the North to return its staff to the liaison office soon.

When the administration announced the sanctions on Thursday against the Chinese shipping companies, administration officials briefed reporters, saying the sanctions were evidence the US was maintaining pressure on North Korea in an effort to coax its leader to give up his nuclear weapons programme.

Mr Trumps national security adviser John Bolton called it an Important action, tweeting, The maritime industry must do more to stop North Koreas illicit shipping practices.

The Treasury Department sanctioned Dalian Haibo International Freight Co Ltd and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co Ltd for using deceptive methods to circumvent international and US sanctions and the US commitment to implementing existing UN Security Council resolutions.

AP calls to the two companies rang without response on Friday.

The Treasury Department, in coordination with the State Department and the US Coast Guard, also updated a North Korea shipping advisory, adding dozens of vessels thought to be doing ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean tankers or exported North Korean coal in violation of sanctions.

Two senior administration officials said that illegal ship-to-ship transfers that violate US and international sanctions have increased and that not all countries, including China, are implementing the restrictions.

They said the deceptive practices include disabling or manipulating ship identification systems, repainting the names on vessels and falsifying cargo documents.Worshippers have visited a New Zealand mosque as it reopened for the first time after dozens of people died there in a mass shooting.

Hundreds of people stopped at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to lay flowers or pray after police removed a cordon and those running the mosque decided to reopen.

Inside the mosque, there were few signs of the carnage from eight days earlier.

Worshippers prepare to enter the Al Noor mosque following last weeks mass shooting in Christchurch (Mark Baker/AP)

Crews had replaced windows that worshippers smashed in a desperate attempt to escape when the attack during Friday prayers. Bullet holes were plastered over and painted.

Shagat Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury, said they had not planned to open the mosque so soon but when they saw the crowds gathering after the police cordon was removed, they decided to allow people to enter in managed groups so the mosque will be alive again.

Those who lost their families are of course quite emotional, he said. And those who were present here during the incident, of course the memories come back. The flashbacks.

A total of 50 people were killed at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, in the nations worst terrorist attack.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 5.

Abdullahi Ibrahim Diriye, the uncle of the youngest victim of the shooting, three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, visited the mosque with the boys father.

Always he was a happy boy, and he liked every person he met, not only Muslims, Mr Diriye said.

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Hashemite, of the Kingdom of Jordan, embraces a worshipper outside the Al Noor mosque (Mark Baker/AP)

Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who travelled to New Zealand to pay his respects, hugged a man at the entrance of the mosque and told him to be patient.

He was crying deeply from his heart for a loved one he had lost, the prince later explained. And I was saying, this is Gods will, be patient. Because only through patience can you endure.

Prince Hassan said in the Middle East there have been wars every decade.

To feel that this form of violence and cruelty is visited on you, living in this idyllic part of the world, is deeply, deeply moving, he said.

Human dignity is being assailed on all fronts by extremists, he said, and people need to stand together as human beings.

Officials say four Jordanian nationals died in the attack, while a four-year-old Jordanian girl is also recovering in an Auckland hospital.In a round of media interviews Wednesday, including with the Chicago Tribune, Foxx defended the decision signed off on by her first assistant, Joseph Magats. She said that many of the thousands of similar, nonviolent felony cases her office handles each year are disposed of by alternative means and noted that Smolletts celebrity status should not earn him harsher treatment. Both Foxx and Magats said their evidence was solid and that they could have won at trial. But Foxxs explanations did little to quell the uproar, and her public relations team seemed to be unprepared for the intense public blowback.The liberation of the last of the so-called Islamic States territory in Syria has been hailed by British politicians as a historic achievement, but they warned the threat from the terror group remains.

Prime Minister Theresa May praised the extraordinary courage of the UK armed forces and their allies.

And Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt vowed Britain will remain resolute in its commitment against the group, also known as Daesh, and its poisonous ideology.

The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory wouldnt have been possible without the immense courage of UK military and our allies. We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our Allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses.  Theresa May (@theresa_may) March 23, 2019

Major General Chris Ghika, Deputy Commander of the Global Coalitions joint task force, said the terror organisation is by no means leaderless or rudderless, despite its loss of physical territory.

But he said he could not predict whether the fall of the physical territory would substantially increase or decrease the terror risk to the UK.

The capture of Baghouz is a milestone in the four-year campaign to defeat the groups so-called caliphate that once covered a vast territory straddling both Syria and Iraq.

Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and %100 territorial defeat of ISIS. On this unique day, we commemorate thousands of martyrs whose efforts made the victory possible. #SDFDefeatedISIS  Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) March 23, 2019

It was announced on Saturday by Mustafa Bali, from the Syrian Democratic Forces, who tweeted: Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and %100 territorial defeat of Isis.

On this unique day, we commemorate thousands of martyrs whose efforts made the victory possible. #SDFDefeatedISIS

Mrs May tweeted: The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory wouldnt have been possible without the immense courage of UK military and our allies.

We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our Allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses.

She said the Government remained committed to eradicating Daeshs poisonous ideology.

Todays liberation of Daeshs last territory in Syria is a historic achievement. But the fight is NOT over. We remain resolute in our commitment to tackle the real threat Daesh & its poisonous ideology poses to people in Iraq, Syria & around the world  Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) March 23, 2019

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote: Todays liberation of Daeshs last territory in Syria is a historic achievement. But the fight is NOT over.

We remain resolute in our commitment to tackle the real threat Daesh & its poisonous ideology poses to people in Iraq, Syria & around the world.

(PA Graphics)

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said it had been a long campaign to end the misery of millions.

He added: Due to the tireless efforts of our service personnel, we have been able to beat them back, depriving them of territory and making sure that Britain is safer.

But we cannot be complacent. Theyve dispersed, and theyll continue to pose a threat to Britain, and that is why we will always remain vigilant.

Shortly after the victory was confirmed, the Global Coalition tweeted: History shows us that groups like Daesh dont need territory to remain a threat. Daesh will continue to use insurgency tactics which still pose an ongoing global threat.

The Coalition is committed to supporting the people in liberated areas in Syria and Iraq and ensuring an enduring defeat of Daesh through humanitarian support.

The US withdrawal is already underway, with its main ally, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces warning that leaving too soon could have dangerous repercussions and a destabilising effect on the region.

Maj Gen Ghika told reporters at a Ministry of Defence briefing ahead of Baghouzs fall: There are no plans to scale down the contribution to Operation Shader.

Today it has been confirmed that Daesh has lost all its territory in Syria. It's an important milestone in the fight against the terrorists, but it is not the end. Watch our video to see how events unfolded from the early days of Daesh to the present day https://t.co/bK6kxCv6kr  The Global Coalition (@coalition) March 23, 2019

He added: The US have said they are going to keep a presence in northern Syria so air power will play an important part in that, and we expect the British contribution to keep going on that side.

In Iraq exactly the same maxim applies, the British troops that are training the Iraqi security forces are going to stay and keep doing what they are doing because Isis continues to present a threat and that threat is met largely by the Iraqi security forces.

Maj Gen Ghika said the coalition must remain very conscious about the continued threat of IS and warned against allowing Syria to become a safe haven for the ideology.

He continued: They are not leaderless or rudderless. One of the reasons why even after the end of the physical caliphate Isis will remain a dangerous organisation is because there are members of the organisation willing to take on the struggle.

An RAF Tornado GR4 returning to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus following an armed mission in support of Operation Shader (MoD/PA)

They are less experienced, they are less capablethan the people of years ago so the organisation is weaker but there are still people willing to take on the leadership functionand that is one of the things that we target.

Maj Gen Ghika estimated there were a few hundred IS fighters in eastern Syria, and between 1-2,000 in Iraq.

The SDF is holding more than 1,000 foreign suspected fighters in prisons that it runs in northern Syria.

The military commander said it was a sovereign national decision for countries on whether take back citizens who joined IS.

He said the British Government must decide whether British forces will have a role in repatriating citizens, including children of fighters.

Asked if the threat to the UK would be removed by keeping fighters imprisoned, he said: I dont think it removes it, but I think it reduces the threat of people of British origin who have fought with IS returning to the UK to conduct terrorist attacks.

Maj Gen Ghika was also asked about whether the MoD will attempt to gather evidence from the battlefield once fighting is over which could be used to prosecute British fighters.

He said: I think thats too early to say whether thats going to be possible but I think if we found any individual of any nation and we were able to link them to crimes and with evidence we have then we would expect them to be prosecuted under the force of the law.The family of Mark Duggan  whose death resulted in civil unrest in English cities in 2011  has lodged a civil claim against the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Duggan, 29, was shot dead in Tottenham, north London, by armed officers who had intercepted the minicab he was travelling in and believed he was carrying a gun.

No firearm was found on Mr Duggan after he had been shot by an officer  known only as V53  and his death sparked riots in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and other English cities for nearly a week.

The scene of Mr Duggans shooting (Met Police/PA)

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the force had received a civil claim from the Duggan family but would not comment further.

Armed officers intercepted the minicab Mr Duggan was travelling in on the basis of intelligence that he was part of a gang and had collected a gun.

He was shot twice by V53 on August 4 2011. One of the hits was fatal.

An inquest jury concluded Mr Duggan, who jumped from the taxi, had dropped the firearm on to grass as soon as the car came to a stop  but the officer honestly believed Mr Duggan still had a gun at the time he was shot.

His family, led by Mr Duggans mother, Pamela, were outraged at the 2014 inquest verdict that he was lawfully killed.

But they lost a legal challenge in March 2017 when Court of Appeal judges ruled the 8-2 majority verdict was lawful.

The armed officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing by the police watchdog in 2015 following a three-and-a-half year investigation.A rise in blackmail in the capital has been fuelled by people sharing explicit photos and videos of themselves, it has been reported.

The Metropolitan Polices head of cyber and economic crime command told the Daily Mail that intimate photos and videos texted or shared on social media made up the bulk of blackmail material the force deals with.

The paper reported that the number of blackmail cases in the capital surged by 57% from 1,700 in 2017 to 2,677 the following year according to Scotland Yard figures.

The swapping of explicit photos has led to the increase (Lauren Hurley/PA)

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Gallagher told the paper the rise in online dating and swapping of intimate photographs online had led to the rise in people being extorted.

He said there were several types of blackmail and added: One of them is sexploitation, where invariably young men and women are online and asked to FaceTime the suspect who encourages them to perform sexual acts.

Its all recorded and they are told unless they give them money its going to be sent to friends and family.

For a long time we believed this was not being reported for many reasons, maybe embarrassment at shaming the family or themselves.

But in the last year we have become conscious that more and more of this offending is being reported as the public becomes aware of it.

The senior police offer said even teenagers were committing offences and added: Certainly with some of the sexploitation and shaming stuff that goes on, schoolchildren are involved in that.

Mr Gallagher said that linked to these type of offences are offences where couples having made an intimate tape together then split up and the one circulates the tapes to friends and family.

He added: Linked to that are offences, not always blackmail, linked to shaming, where a couple have made an intimate tape together, they split up and the male partner circulates the sex video to friends and family.

Its been around for a while but we are only just seeing it being reported in the last 12 months or so.

Mr Gallagher also told the Daily Mail that criminal hacking syndicates were stealing data and compromising images to blackmail internet users.

He added: The other thing contributing to this, but not in such volume is hacking syndicates getting into companies and organisations and blackmailing them to get their data back.Hundreds of jobs in Aberdeenshire are expected to be safeguarded as a result of a joint funding pledge from the Scottish Government and the European Union.

Investment of 1.6 million has been announced for Irish-based meat processing company Kepak, based in Portlethen.

Nearly 300 full-time jobs are now estimated to be secure as a result of the funding, as well as the creation of an additional 40 jobs.

The company is aiming to use the money to help significantly increase the amount of beef, cattle and lamb currently processed at the site.

The funding has been made available through the Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) grant scheme, which is aimed at providing support for the Scottish food and drink businesses.

On a visit to the site, Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon said: This is great news for the local area, not just to the hundreds of workers and their families who will welcome the job security this provides, but also because the factory plays a vital role in helping farmers get their quality beef and lamb products from farm to fork.

Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon on a visit to the site in Portlethen (Scottish Government/PA)

In spite of the challenges being presented by Brexit, the Scottish Government continues to help our Food and Drink sector to realise the ambition to double in value to 30 billion over the next 12 years.

The FPMC scheme has provided vital financial support to over 200 Scottish food and drink businesses, helping to ensure the long-term viability of our primary producers, and maximise export markets for our fantastic Scottish produce.

With Brexit looming, this is a timely reminder of how EU funding makes a real difference to the lives of people in rural Scotland  providing millions annually to our farmers, fishermen, and food producers.

The UK Government has yet to guarantee much of that funding in the long term, should Scotland be taken out of the EU against its will.

Portlethen site manager Alan Brown said: Kepak Group very much welcomes the financial support provided by the Scottish Government towards the major (5.4 million) upgrading of our Portlethen site.

The well-established and reputable McIntosh Donald business was acquired seven months ago and we have moved quickly to develop and grow a business with great potential.

The timely award of this FPMC grant is a great financial and morale boost for the management, staff and suppliers in these uncertain times.Residents have described their shock after a teenager was stabbed to death outside a block of flats in west London.

The boy, believed to be 17, was discovered with stab injuries outside apartments on Union Lane, Isleworth, at around 10.35pm on Friday.

Officers carried out first aid and paramedics were called to the scene, but the victim was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police tape sealed off part of the area on Saturday morning, with officers standing guard.

A couple who called the police described finding the bloodied victim on the ground after the fight.

The husband and wife said they heard shouting and looked out of their flat to see the teenager being assaulted by two people.

The pair, neither of whom wished to be named, said one of the perpetrators had his face covered.

Residents described finding a teenager lying injured on the ground (Aine Fox/PA)

The husband, a 33-year-old engineer, said: It was one guy who was massive with, like, a mask on his face and another small guy. They were kicking him (the victim), but it was dark so it was hard to see exactly what was happening.

By the time the couple went downstairs to the scene they said the two attackers had left.

His wife, 35, added: The boy was bleeding from the mouth. The blood was everywhere. He was still alive, there was someone else there trying to help by checking his pulse. He was responding but he couldnt speak.

Her husband said: Its sad that he died.

Police said the victim had been in nearby Syon Park with a group of other people before the incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard from the Metropolitan Police said: A vehicle has pulled up and a group of males have got out. They have chased the victim and attacked him in Union Lane.

He appealed for anyone who was in the park or surrounding area at around 10.30pm and who has information that could help to get in contact with the force.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: This is an appalling, senseless act of violence. The family and friends of this young man are in my thoughts at this awful time.

Halima Abubaker, a 22-year-old hairdresser, said she saw two males running for their lives around the time of the incident.

She said: I just heard loads of people, then there was seven police cars and two vans.

Ive lived here two years and nothing like this has happened. I feel really sick.

Another man, who has lived in one of the flats for seven years, said it was not something he expected to happen near his home.

The restaurant owner and chef, who did not want to give his name, said: Its a nice area, its nice and quiet. Weve never had a problem here before.

No arrests have been made.

Police said the remain open-minded about the motive for the killing.

The victims next of kin have been informed but he has not yet been formally identified.

Scotland Yard has launched a murder investigation and is asking anyone with information to contact officers on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.BBC radio presenter Jim Naughtie has apologised for likening a group of Tory Eurosceptics to Frances National Front, saying that his words were ill-chosen.

The broadcaster had been labelled a very, very highly paid bigot by Conservative Mark Francois and suggested the corporation risked showing pro-EU bias during an outburst in the Commons.

He had also objected to Naughties comparisons linked to the Brexit-backing European Research Group (ERG), of which he is a member.

Mr Francois had called for the presenter to resign if he failed to apologise for his comments, made on BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

Naughtie said in a statement: I was wrong to say in a live discussion this morning that members of the ERG would be happy in a far-right party.

Mark Francois (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

That was not my intention, because I dont believe it. I was trying to make the point that if our parties fracture in some way after Brexit  on right and left  we could see a political landscape emerge that looks more like the rest of Europe than it does at the moment.

But my words were ill-chosen and Im sorry for any offence caused.

Naughtie had been involved in a discussion about the impact of Brexit on politics and the governing system on the Today programme.

After saying he did not expect either the Tories or Labour to split and disappear, Naughtie added: Somebody put it to me the other day, look, in any other European country the Conservative Party wouldnt exist in its current form.

The ERG, Jacob Rees-Moggs group, in France would be in the National Front because thats what they believe, and in Germany theyd be in the AfD.

Its only because of our system that the carapace of this party keeps them in, and I think on both sides of the aisle that cant last.

Raising a point of order in the Commons, Mr Francois repeated the quote before saying: I believe that is an outrageous comment and it is a slur on at least 80 members of this House.

We feel passionately about Brexit, as do members from all corners of this House, but that does not mean that we belong in the National Front, a despicable organisation that all of us would condemn.

I would like to take this opportunity in Parliament, as an elected Member of Parliament, which Mr Naughtie is not, hes just a very, very highly paid bigot, to say that his comments are outrageous.

If the BBC does not get him to make a full and complete apology by the end of today he should resign as a presenter of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and if the corporation does not take action against him then it proves what many in this House have suspected for a long time, that they are irredeemably biased and Europhiliac.

Speaker John Bercow said he would not seek to arbitrate on the matter of the BBCs position on Brexit and said of Mr Francois: I have known him for 35 years and there is no way on earth that I could imagine him in the National Front.

Mr Bercow listed other members of the ERG, and said of Mr Rees-Mogg: To suggest that there is some sort of National Front allegiance is quite wrong and, in my opinion, uncalled for.

Let us try to lower the decibel level and treat other peoples views on either side of an argument with respect, debating the issues rather than resorting to slogans.Streets were closed and rail services were cancelled following reports of an early morning gas explosion at a building in Paisley.

Emergency services attended a premises on Well Street in Paisley at around 4.30am on Saturday.

Members of the public were asked by police to avoid the area, although no injuries have been reported.

Police Scotland said: Emergency services are dealing with a report of a gas explosion at a premises in Well Street, Paisley.

Well Street is completely closed, as well as a number of surrounding streets. The train line running through Paisley Gilmour Street is also affected. Please avoid the area.

UPDATE: The emergency services have lifted the exclusion zone they put in place, services are returning to normal but some disruption is still expected.  ScotRail (@ScotRail) March 23, 2019

At around 8.30am, police provided an update that a cordon around Well Street had been reduced while emergency services continued to deal with the incident.

Members of the public were told to avoid the area (Andrew Milligan/PA)

ScotRail has told passengers that services are expected to return to normal after earlier services between Glasgow Central, Largs and Ardrossan Harbour were suspended.

A number of surrounding roads were also cordoned off by police.

In a statement published at around 8.50am, Renfewshire Council said: Following the incident at Well Street, repairs are on-going and Well Street remains closed, but the safety cordon is being lifted on surrounding streets.

This means our waste collection teams are now able to start their Saturday collections.Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage has described Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit policy as one of the saddest chapters in the history of our nation as he re-joined Leave-supporting marchers heading for London.

Mr Farage was speaking as he arrived at the start of the latest stage of the March to Leave, which began a week ago in Sunderland and is aiming to end up in London on the original Brexit day of March 29.

He told the Press Association: What has happened this week is not only a national humiliation but it is an outright betrayal because Mrs May now tells us were not leaving next Friday despite telling us over a hundred times that we would be, despite putting a piece of law in place supported by 500 MPs.

So there is something going on here that I believe to be one of the saddest chapters in the history of our nation and we will not take this lying down.

Starting in Linby on the #MarchToLeave today.



We continue our epic journey from Sunderland to London! #LetsGoWTO pic.twitter.com/rTyGvWfCxt  Britain Means Business (@BritMnsBusn) March 23, 2019

Mr Farage arrived on Saturday morning to be greeted with cheers by around 200 marchers, who had gathered in car park of the Horse and Groom pub in the village of Linby, in Nottinghamshire.

Asked about the March to Leave supporters being outnumbered on Saturday by the Peoples Vote March in London, he pointed to the cheering marchers gathered in a pub car park and said: There are 17.4 million here, cant you see them?

Mr Farage took to the top of a double-decker open-top bus to address the crowds before leading them off on their trek to Beeston, also in Nottinghamshire.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage leads the March to Leave protest (Joe Giddens/PA)

He told the marchers: What a week its been. I was hoping to spend more time with you on the march this week but Ive been in Brussels watching a British Prime Minister reducing our nation in the eyes of the world to the state of humiliation.

Worse than that, the gap thats now opened up between the people and the politicians is such that, despite everything we were told in the referendum, everything we were told in general election manifestos, every promise that was made when 498 MPs voted for article 50 which said we leave on March 29 with or without a deal, the Prime Minister signalled that we will not be leaving this Friday.

And that means this March to Leave could not be better timed.

Mr Farage was cheered as he said: Our message is very clear. If they think they can walk all over us, were going to march back and tell them, no you cant, we will not give in, we will not roll over, we will fight and we know that we will get Brexit whether its this Friday or at a later date.

Whatever battles we face and have to fight, be confident because we are united. They are in the minority, we are in the majority.

We are going to win this great historic battle and we will become again a self governing, independent, normal country not run by (Jean-Claude) Junker and the gang in Brussels.Additional aid funding has been announced by the Scottish Government to help support relief efforts in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe following deadly flooding in the region.

More than 400,000 people have lost their homes and at least an estimated 480 lives have been lost as a result of Cyclone Idai.

An appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) on Thursday to help those affected raised 8 million within its first 24 hours.

Some of the devastation caused in Nhamatanda in Mozambique (AP)

International Development Minister Ben Macpherson announced that the Scottish Government would provide 150,000 to the appeal.

Around 100,000 of funding is to come from the international development budget, with 50,000 allocated from the Climate Justice Fund to support emergency flood relief in Malawi in securing water supplies and treating contamination.

Earlier this month, the Scottish Government pledged a total of 175,000 towards supporting relief efforts.

Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the terrible consequences of Cyclone Idai, said Mr Macpherson.

As an outward-looking, compassionate country it is right that we do what we can to support the international response to this humanitarian emergency.

This funding will help aid agencies in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to deliver life-saving support to local families and communities in desperate need, as will all public donations to the DEC Scotland appeal.

The area submerged by water in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe is vast following #CycloneIdai. Land and livelihoods have been ruined and the recovery will take time. Please give what you can: https://t.co/qPy0EslyU0 pic.twitter.com/JU94PeACqL  DEC (@decappeal) March 22, 2019

Sally Foster Fulton, of Christian Aid and DEC Scotland, said: The DEC in Scotland is delighted that the Scottish Government has made available this extra funding.

The Scottish public are already responding generously, as always, and were sure this extra boost will inspire others to dig deep in the coming days.

The response from our members and partners on the ground over the weekend will be vital in saving and protecting lives, so please donate now.Demonstrators flooded the streets of central London as they marched on Parliament to demand the public are given a final say over Brexit.

Marchers set off from Hyde Park Corner at around midday on Saturday as part of the Put It To The People protest.

Organisers claimed there was a turnout of around one million, which they said made it one of the biggest protests in British history.

Marching bands, music, whistles, chants and cheers provided a noisy backdrop to the march.

A screengrab taken from BBC News shows the aerial view of the anti-Brexit campaigners marching in London (BBC/PA)

Demonstrators wore blue and yellow berets and flew large EU flags above the crowd as the march slowly made its way to Parliament Square.

Placards bore messages urging the Government to revoke article 50 and for Brexit to be put to the people.

Demonstrators gather in Parliament Square (Yui Mok/PA)

The size of the crowd saw people spill over into the capitals side streets and some underground trains were not stopping at Green Park station.

Mariella Frostrup and Richard Bacon, who were hosting a rally in Parliament Square, told the crowds an initial count showed the amount of people taking part in the march had topped one million.

The march featured people of all ages who were lead in chants for a peoples vote.

Many people wore yellow fluorescent stickers reading Bollocks to Brexit. Its not a done deal.

Why young socialists will be marching today #FinalSayForAll https://t.co/lZm58XGAFL  Clive Lewis MP (@labourlewis) March 23, 2019

The days activities were kicked off by the unfurling of a large banner on Westminster Bridge that read Love socialism, hate Brexit.

The stunt was organised by a group calling itself the Left Bloc which is supported by Labour MPs, including Clive Lewis and Kate Osamor, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, trade unions and grassroots campaigners.

Anti-Brexit campaigners in Park Lane (Yui Mok/PA)

In Parliament Square, Labours deputy leader Tom Watson is expected to tell marchers the only way to resolve the Brexit impasse is for people themselves to sign it off.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and London mayor Sadiq Khan are also expected to take the stage.

Massive crowds at #PutIttothePeople rally in London today. Good to be there. pic.twitter.com/hgY2kZaW0c  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 23, 2019

Other speakers will include former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening and ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, former Tory turned independent MP Anna Soubry, Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

Campaigners arrived in the capital from across the country, with one taking on a 715-mile journey on ferries, trains and buses from Orkney in Scotland.

Student Sorcha Kirker, 27, was joined by about 30 other students from the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Great to kick off the #PeoplesVoteMarch just now. There is a huge turnout of people here from all walks of life, of all ages and from all over the country. We are a Remain country now with 60% wanting to stop the Brexit mess. #ExitfromBrexit #PutitToThePeople pic.twitter.com/9Osfwd1Jc0  Vince Cable (@vincecable) March 23, 2019

The London march coincides with pro-Brexit campaigners continuing their long hike from the North East to the capital.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage re-joined the March to Leave when it set off from Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday morning.

Nigel Farage leads the March to Leave protest (Joe Giddens/PA)

Saturdays demonstrations follow EU leaders agreeing to delay Brexit to give Prime Minister Theresa May a final chance to get her deal through Parliament.

Leaders agreed to extend Brexit to May 22 if Mrs May can get MPs to back her deal in the Commons at the third time of asking.

And we're off! 



Here in London, thousands of people from across our city and country have come together with @peoplesvote_uk to send a clear message:



Enough is enough - it's time to give the British public the final say on Brexit. #PeoplesVote #PutItToThePeople  pic.twitter.com/wJzXF4UB6N  Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 23, 2019

If the vote is not passed, the UK will have to set out an alternative way forward by April 12, which could mean a much longer delay  with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament  or leaving without a deal at all.

An online petition demanding the Government stops the Brexit process had topped four million signatures by Saturday morning.

It is now the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, moving ahead of a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.Since it seems politically expedient right now to question my motives and actions, and those of my office, let me state publicly and clearly that I welcome an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter, Foxx wrote. "I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our communitys trust is paramount."An online petition urging the Government to cancel Brexit has become the most popular to be submitted to the Parliament website with over 4,150,000 signatures.

The Revoke Article 50 petition on Saturday leapt ahead of a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum, as thousands of demonstrators are due to march on Westminster calling for a Peoples Vote.

It has had the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to Parliaments official Petitions Committee, adding over two million signatures in 24 hours.

An anti-Brexit banner is unfurled from Westminster Bridge ahead of Saturdays day of protest (Yui Mok/PA)

The petition took the top spot from another proposal which called for a second EU referendum should the winning vote and turnout not reach a certain threshold.

By contrast, a pro-Brexit petition on the Parliament website which urges the Government to leave the EU without a deal has received 455,000 signatures.

The Prime Minister ruled out halting the Brexit process when in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

The petition rose in popularity following Theresa Mays Downing Street speech (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Data provided by the committee on the location of signatories was paused on Friday to aid website operations after the official website crashed numerous times.

In a tweet, the House of Commons committee said approximately 96% of signatories were from the UK.

The website requires signatories to tick a box confirming they are a British citizen or UK resident and provide a name, email address, country and postcode.

People have been asking about who can sign petitions. Anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 22, 2019

The petition, started in late February, leapt in popularity following the Prime Ministers appeal to the public on Wednesday where she told frustrated voters: I am on your side.

It quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament, with the official committee revealing nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime.

Many celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.

Hundreds of thousands of people were pouring into the capital on Saturday to take part in the Put It To The People march.

The London march coincides with pro-Brexit campaigners continuing their long hike from the North East to the capital.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage re-joined the March to Leave when it set off from Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday morning.Former attorney general Dominic Grieve has said he has no intention of the leaving the Conservative Party despite facing a confidence motion by his local association next week.

Mr Grieve, a prominent Remain supporter who this week said he had never felt more ashamed to be a member of the Tories, will seek to win the vote on March 29  the day Britain was due to leave the European Union.

He acknowledged that there were members of his association who were dissatisfied, but said they were entitled to express their views.

The Beaconsfield MP told the Press Association: I have a very supportive association. Ive many friends in it. I cant predict what will happen. I accept that Brexit is a divisive subject and people have strong views about it.

He added: I have no idea what signatures have been raised to call a vote of confidence.

On Friday there is an AGM. My officers of my association have tabled a motion of confidence in me, which some members intended to oppose.

Former attorney general and pro-Remain MP Dominic Grieve (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Mr Grieve said he could not predict the result of the vote, but said it had been organised in part by the Ukip candidate who was against me in 2017 but is now a member of the association.

He added: People are entitled to have their view about this. I make that absolutely clear, including being critical of me if they wish.

Asked if he would consider leaving the party, he said: Ive been a member of the Conservatives for 43 years. Ive no intention of leaving it.

On Wednesday, Mr Grieve issued a strongly-word broadside against the Prime Minister in the Commons, arguing that unless she stands up and starts doing something different, we are going to spiral down into oblivion.

He said: Whenthe Prime Minister came to the despatch box today at PMQs, I confess I think it was the worst moment I have experienced since I came into the House of Commons.

I have never felt more ashamed to be a member of the Conservative Party or to be asked to lend her support.

She spent most of her time castigating the House for its misconduct, at no stage did she pause to consider whether is it in fact the way she is leading this Government which might be contributing to this situation.Voting down the Prime Ministers Brexit deal for a third time would cause a political meltdown, a minister has warned, after Theresa May admitted she may not garner enough support to get her plan through the Commons next week.

Nadhim Zahawi said Parliament would have failed if the twice-defeated Withdrawal Agreement is rejected by MPs again, as he said he was not prepared to tell his constituents the UK would not leave the European Union.

The Education Ministers comments came as hundreds of thousands of people descended on central London demanding a second referendum on Brexit in the Put it to the People march.

Meanwhile, pro-Brexit campaigners continuing their long hike from the North East to the capital were joined by former Ukip leader Nigel Farage near Nottingham.

Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: If Parliament decides to vote down the Prime Ministers Withdrawal Agreement then I think it would be political meltdown and Parliament would have failed.

He added: Each and every one of us will have to ask ourselves the question: Am I prepared to go back to my constituents and say were not leaving the EU, were going to go for a much longer extension, and were going to take part in the European elections?

Im not prepared to do that. I dont think the Prime Minister is prepared to do that.

Elsewhere, former Conservative chancellor George Osborne called for a long delay to the Brexit process.

Former chancellor George Osborne (Matt Cardy/PA)

The best outcome now would be a long delay, and its not the worst thing in the world to ask people to vote for some MEPs, and certainly better than stockpiling medicine and turning Kent into a car park, he told Today.

So I think the best outcome is a long delay where we rethink how we deliver on the referendum result and we try and find a majority for a compromise Brexit agreement and possibly have a second referendum.

And ex-prime minister Tony Blair, who advocates a second referendum, called for a proposed series of indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs Mays Brexit deal to be delayed, saying it would be better to have a debate in a less frenzied atmosphere.

Mrs May wrote to MPs on Friday night warning that if there is insufficient support for her Withdrawal Agreement in the coming days that she could seek an extension to Britains EU membership beyond the European Parliament elections.

Tony Blair is a prominent supporter of the campaign for a second referendum (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The PM said the UK could revoke Article 50; leave without a deal; ask for an extension beyond April 12 if her deal is rejected or not voted on; or leave on May 22 if it is finally approved.

Mrs May wrote: If it appears that there is not sufficient support to bring the deal back next week, or the House rejects it again, we can ask for another extension before 12 April  but that will involve holding European Parliament elections.

If it appears that there is sufficient support and the Speaker permits it, we can bring the deal back next week and if it is approved we can leave on 22 May.

Amid mounting speculation about the Prime Ministers future in Number 10, Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said replacing her would not help the situation.

I would rather she stayed because I dont believe that changing Theresa May for someone else is going to resolve this problem, he told BBC Twos Newsnight.

The problems are deep in the wounds of the vote, Parliament, the European Union  its not about a single individual.Rescue workers off Norways western coast are working to evacuate 1,300 passengers and crew from a disabled cruise ship by helicopter as huge waves tossed the vessel ship from side to side in high winds.

Norwegian newspaper VG said the Viking Sky cruise ship issued a mayday call as bad weather hit on Saturday and engine problems caused it to start drifting toward the rocky shore.

Police in the western county of Moere og Romsdal said the crew, fearing the ship would run aground, managed to anchor in Hustadsvika Bay, between the Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim, so the helicopter evacuations could take place.

Video and photos from people on the ship showed chairs and other furniture dangerously rolling from side to side, and Norwegian media reported gusts up to 38 knots (43 mph) and waves over 8 metres (26 feet) in an area known for its rough, frigid waters.

Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the Viking Skys evacuation was a slow and dangerous process, as passengers needed to be hoisted one-by-one from the cruise ship to the five available helicopters.

Norwegian media said the majority of the cruise ship passengers were British and American tourists.

Passengers were pictured in orange life vests as the waves broke some ship windows and cold water flowed over the feet of those awaiting rescue.

Passengers rescued from the Viking Sky cruise ship are helped from a helicopter in Hustadvika (Odd Roar Lange/NTB Scanpix via AP)

I was afraid. Ive never experienced anything so scary, Janet Jacob, who was among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told NRK.

She said her helicopter ride to safety came amid strong winds like a tornado, prompting her to pray for the safety of all aboard.

American passenger John Curry told NRK that he was having lunch as the cruise ship started to shake.

It was just chaos. The helicopter ride from the ship to shore I would rather not think about. It wasnt nice, Mr Curry told the broadcaster.

NRK said one 90-year-old-man and his 70-year-old spouse on the ship were severely injured but did not say how that happened.

The cruise ship Viking Sky lays at anchor in heavy seas (Frank Einar Vatne/NTB scanpix via AP)

Later, reports emerged that a cargo ship with nine crew members was in trouble nearby, and the Norwegian rescue service diverted two of the five helicopters working on the cruise ship to that rescue.

Authorities told NRK that a strong storm with high waves was preventing rescue workers from using life boats or tug boats to take passengers ashore.

Its a demanding exercise, because they (passengers) have to hang in the air under a helicopter and theres a very, very strong wind, witness Odd Roar Lange told NRK at the site.

Norwegian authorities said the evacuation would proceed through the night into Sunday.

The Viking Sky was on a 12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, according to the cruisemapper.com website.

The ship was visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before its scheduled arrival in Tilbury in Essex on Tuesday.

The Viking Sky, a vessel with gross tonnage of 47,800, was delivered in 2017 to operator Viking Ocean Cruises.The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have arrived in Grenada to a warm welcome from the countrys Governor General.

Dame Cecile La Grenade was waiting at the bottom of the planes steps to greet Charles and Camilla as they began the latest leg of their 12-day Caribbean tour.

The Governor General is the Queens representative on the island and she will join the couple for much of their day-long tour.

The prince and his wife have already visited St Lucia, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines during a busy tour at the request of the British Government which is aimed at strengthening ties with the Commonwealth nations.

Charles and Camilla are on a 12-day Caribbean tour (Jane Barlow/PA)

Their first stop will be an official welcome ceremony with the countrys prime minister Keith Mitchell at Grenadas parliament building.

Later, the couple will learn about the art of chocolate-making when they visit the House of Chocolate, a thriving new business on the island, and meet its manager and other chocolatiers.

The couple will be taken on a tour and will have the chance to sample local chocolate bars and cocoa tea, a traditional chocolate beverage.

Grenada is known as the spice island and the prince and the duchess will visit an exhibition and hear how innovative producers are finding new uses for spices in teas, soaps and cosmetics.

During the visit, Charles will attend a blue economy roundtable and join the discussion which will hear from participants about their plans for better stewardship of the waters of the Caribbean.Politicians from all parties have urged the Prime Minister to give the public the final say over Brexit at the Put it to the People march in London.

Organisers claimed around one million took part in Saturdays event, which finished with a rally in Parliament Square.

MPs urged their parliamentary colleagues and the Government to back a new referendum on leaving the EU.

Labours deputy leader Tom Watson told the crowd: At every turn we have been ignored.

At every stage Theresa May has doubled down rather than reaching out.

She has made it impossible for anyone who cares about jobs, about solidarity at home and abroad, about friendship across borders and between communities to support this Brexit.

The Prime Minister claims she speaks for Britain. Well, have a look out of the window Prime Minister. Open your curtains. Switch on your TV. Look at this great crowd today. Here are the people. Theresa May: you dont speak for us. #PutItToThePeople pic.twitter.com/wnKOrtmoO8  Tom Watson (@tom_watson) March 23, 2019

Addressing Mrs May, he called on her to look out your window to see this magnificent crowd today.

He added: Prime Minister, youve lost control of this process, youre plunging the country into chaos, let the people take control.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan took to the stage to call for Article 50 to be withdrawn.

The British people didnt vote for the Government to gamble on our future, the British people didnt vote for the national nightmare thats been created, he said.

Its time the Government gave us, the British people, a final say on Brexit.

Sadiq Khan called for Article 50 to be withdrawn (Yui Mok/PA)

A group of eight cross-party MPs also appeared in front of the crowd together to support a Peoples vote.

Anna Soubry of The Independent Group, Conservatives Justine Greening and Philip Lee, Green Caroline Lucas, the Lib Dems Jo Swinson, the SNPs Ian Blackford and Labours David Lammy and Rosena Alin Khan took it in turns to criticise the Brexit process.

Ms Soubry urged her parliamentary colleagues to put your country first, get into the lobbies and vote for a Peoples vote.

Mr Blackford said: No parliamentarians should be going through the lobbies to make their constituents poorer.

Ms Greening said: This started with a referendum, lets finish it with a final say.

Ms Lucas said while the PM had tried to beg and bribe MPs to back her deal, she was not allowing the British people to say whether they have changed their minds in three years.

Nicola Sturgeon wants Theresa May to `let the people speak (Yui Mok/PA)

Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the crowd Mrs May had pitched Parliament against the people.

If that is your view, Prime Minister, let the people speak, she said.

Ms Sturgeon accused Ms May of being in thrall to hardline Brexiteers.

She also called on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to back a peoples vote.DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has told the Fine Gael party conference he would like to see Ireland join the Commonwealth.

Sir Jeffrey received a round of applause when he mentioned the idea in Co Wexford on Saturday.

This wont get agreement with everyone here, he said.

I do hope we can come to a day when the Republic of Ireland will join with many other nations in the Commonwealth of nations and recognising, whatever our history, and whatever differences there have been in the past, that weve overcome a lot of diversity in the past in dealing with those issues, and I think it would be good in dealing with that.

The Commonwealth is a place where Irelands voice should be heard and I would like to see that happen.

The Republic of Ireland was a member of the Commonwealth until April 1949 when The Republic of Ireland Act 1948, came into force, severing all formal ties with the British Crown.

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson wants the Republic of Ireland to become a Commonwealth member again (Niall Carson/PA)

The idea of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth has been prominently supported by Fine Gael Senator Frank Feighan, who Sir Jeffrey referenced a number of times.

Mr Feighan argues membership would promote Irelands values on a global stage and strengthen economic relations internationally.

The event, hosted by Young Fine Gael, brought Sir Jeffrey as well as Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and SDLP MLA Claire Hanna to discuss north-south relations.

A round of applause at the Fine Gael conference for Jeffrey Donaldson who was thanked in particular for attending. pic.twitter.com/RoBGSYkDsS  aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) March 23, 2019

Sir Jeffrey spoke at length about his partys wish to be good neighbours to the Republic of Ireland, despite tense Brexit negotiations.

There is no ulterior motive in unionism that says we can use Brexit to prevent this or prevent that, in terms of increased, enhanced cooperation in our common good, he said.

We need to ensure that people are comfortable where they are, we need to address the issues around the backstop in particular, but its about developing the new relationship.

The UK has taken a decision, that decision has to be respected but it doesnt mean we cant continue to build those north-south and internal relationships, and that is the challenge for all of us.

We do not see Brexit as some kind of a vehicle to undermine those relationships, and what we do in taking Brexit forward is important and we move forward on the basis of co-operation.

Sir Jeffrey was also pressed on his partys use of the petition of concern in the Stormont Assembly to block a vote on marriage equality.

He pointed out the DUP no longer have enough to members to have the majority for a petition of concern, and that it may no longer be a problem if there was a Northern Ireland executive.The Prince of Wales emulated Charlie in the chocolate factory when he visited a chocolate producer in Grenada.

The prince and his wife were given a colossal hamper full of goodies to mark their visit to House of Chocolate in the capital St Georges, which produces an array of sweet treats.

Charles eyed up the chocolate liqueurs joking: I might have to try some of that on the way back!

Chocolate educator Magdalena Field told the couple the story of how chocolate is made.

Charles and Camilla were told the story of how chocolate is made (Chris Jackson/PA)

While the prince nodded at the commentary, his wifes eyes drifted over to dozens of bars of chocolate on display and she could not resist buying some.

Charles had to gently tap his wife on the shoulder to encourage her to move on to see the next showcase of desserts and carefully crafted truffles.

Charles quipped: They are all very good for you, Im sure! Did you make all these yourselves, even the chocolate gold?

The couple were then given some cocoa tea to try, but seemed surprised at the bitter taste.

The Prince and The Duchess visit the House of Chocolate where they learn about the history of the cocoa industry in Grenada  #RoyalVisitGrenada pic.twitter.com/HEKiK2iN1Y  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) March 23, 2019

Camilla was not too keen but Charles seemed to be a big fan and asked to finish hers as well, which he promptly did.

They were then given a whole selection of chocolate samples to try, which they enjoyed.

Flavours included charcoal roasted beans, dark with bee pollen, sea salt, nutmeg and spices.

Camilla was taken with the bee pollen variety while Charles was very keen on the spice, claiming the pairing was a particular favourite, according to staff.The case of a family at risk of deportation because they cannot afford the Home Office fee to process their application has been described as appalling by the First Minister.

During First Ministers Questions on Thursday, South of Scotland MSP Emma Harper raised the case involving her constituents, the Sbita family.

The Sbita family, four of whom are under the age of 16, told Ms Harper they are having to report to police on a weekly basis and are unable to work, study or make money for themselves as they await deportation to Tunisia as a result of not being able to afford the 7,000 Home Office fee.

It is understood the family are not at imminent risk of deportation.

Ms Sturgeon described the case as an illustration of Tory-run Britain.

It is absolutely shocking and appalling, the First Minister said.

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon (Yui Mok/PA)

I am hugely sympathetic to all those, and were talking about many people here, who have real difficulties navigating the complex and the increasingly restrictive UK immigration rules.

The Scottish Government welcomes, and we hugely value, people from all over the world who choose to build their lives here.

Scotland is stronger because of our multiculturalism and non-UK citizens are an essential part, not just of our present, but also of our future.

Ms Harper said she had written to the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid, as well as Scotlands migration minister Ben Macpherson, in a bid to allow the family of six to remain in the country.

The fee to apply for leave to remain status is 1,033.

The First Minister added: The UK Governments immigration system is not fit for purpose.

We want to see a less restrictive, more humane system that meets our needs and also provides a welcoming environment for new Scots and their families.

The migration minister will make representations to the Home Office and will respond to Ms Harper as soon as possible.

A Home Office spokesman said: All applications are considered on their individual merits and on the evidence provided.

Applicants who are destitute can apply for a fee waiver, but anybody seeking a waiver is required to submit relevant documentary evidence to support their claim.

Where an applicant has not paid the necessary fee and has not been granted a fee waiver, the leave application will be refused.MPs are to vote on the Governments EU Withdrawal Agreement on Friday.

But the motion will not count as a third attempt to pass a meaningful vote on Theresa Mays deal, because it will not cover the future relationship with Europe.

Commons Speaker John Bercow cleared the motion for debate, ruling that it complies with parliamentary conventions which bar ministers from asking MPs to vote repeatedly on the same proposals.

If passed by MPs on Friday, the vote would qualify the UK to be granted an automatic delay to May 22 of the formal date of Brexit.

But Labour and the DUP have said they will vote against the Withdrawal Agreement.

The Governments move is set to allow Mrs May to present it as a choice between a short delay to Brexit and the potential for a much longer postponement which would mean taking part in European elections.

But it would not allow Parliament to go ahead and ratify the withdrawal deal, as Brexit legislation allows this only after the passage of a meaningful vote on both the Withdrawal Agreement and a Political Declaration on the future relationship.

The government has plunged our country into crisis. pic.twitter.com/1GCGd8KKin  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) March 28, 2019

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke to the PM by telephone for twenty minutes about the situation on Thursday, and said his MPs would not back the Government move.

A Labour spokesman said: Jeremy made clear Labour will not agree a blindfold Brexit to force through Theresa Mays damaging deal, which would leave the next Tory party leader free to rip up essential rights and protections and undermine jobs and living standards.

Significant doubts remain over whether Mrs May can secure a majority for the Withdrawal Agreement alone on Friday.

The agreement includes the controversial backstop customs arrangements for the Irish border which continues to represent the biggest obstacle to support from the DUP and Brexit-backing Tories in the European Research Group.

Plans for a vote on Brexit were announced by Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom (PA Wire/PA Images)

DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said his party would not support Mrs May on the issue.

He told the BBC: We will be voting against the Withdrawal Agreement because the concerns that we have about the trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, and what that would mean in terms of who makes our laws  not Stormont or Westminster  those concerns remain.

We regret the fact that we werent able to get to a position to support the Withdrawal Agreement, and the fact of the matter is that had there been legally binding changes at treaty level then we could have been in business.

Moving the motion to enable the debate to take place on March 29  initially slated as Brexit day  the Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom urged MPs to back the deal so that we can leave the EU in an orderly way that gives businesses and people the certainty that they need.

Downing Street has said that Mrs May will not move to a third meaningful vote  known in Westminster as MV3  unless she believes she has a realistic chance of success, having seen it defeated by 230 votes in January and 149 in March.

But it is understood that Number 10 believes that passing the Withdrawal Agreement alone would allow the UK to guarantee its departure date and avoid the need for Britain to take part in European Parliament elections on May 23-26.

This would buy time to seek wider agreement among MPs on the shape of the UKs future relationship with the EU, in the hope of passing MV3 in April and leaving with a deal on May 22.

If the motion fails, the UK will have until April 12 to ask for a further extension to Brexit negotiations  which would require voters to choose new MEPs  or leave the EU without a deal.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has praised Mrs May.

He told reporters outside the White House: Shes a very nice lady. Shes a friend of mine.

I hope she does well. I hope the Brexit movement and everything happening there goes very well.

But, Theresa May is a very good woman. And, Ill tell you what, shes strong, shes tough, and shes in there fighting.I found it strange that the mayor who didnt hold a national press conference when the Laquan McDonalds tape wasnt released, I find it strange that the police chief that didnt say a word, when they let an election go by and couldnt find the tape, but all of the sudden, you have selective outrage and you start attacking Ms. Foxx, Sharpton preached as a crowd of a couple of hundred people rose to its feet and cheered. This is of national concern. We are not going to sit by and allow her to be questioned when you didnt question Van Dyke, you didnt question the tape, you didnt question anything else.The premier of the Cayman Islands has declared that Caymanians remain staunchly British as he joined the Prince of Wales on a tour of the Caribbean outcrops.

As Charles began his first full day in the British Overseas Territory, Premier Alden McLaughlin described the trip as reaffirming ties between the UK and the Cayman Islands.

The heir to the throne flew to Cayman Brac to open a much needed open-air public pool on a picturesque island.

The Prince of Wales cuts a ribbon to open the new swimming pool in Cayman Brac, which will be used by the local schools for training and competitions, and by members of the public. #RoyalVisitCayman pic.twitter.com/EqcFXmFqJL  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) March 28, 2019

He was joined by Mr McLaughlin, who said: We are staunchly British.

I dont think a lot of people in the UK realise how long weve actually been British. Weve been a British possession since the Treaty of Madrid (signed in 1670).

The Prince of Wales has a meeting at Government House with the Premier and Governor of the Cayman Islands. #RoyalVisitCayman pic.twitter.com/qrjHbMCUuz  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) March 28, 2019

And the Cayman Islands were first settled by the British around the 1700s, so weve gone more than 300 years of being British.

Notwithstanding the fact that many former British colonies including Jamaica, of which we were a dependency for a long time, have moved on to independence, the Cayman Islands have remained staunchly British.

And there really are no serious moves or movement to change that status, we have a very high degree of self-government and were quite happy with our status.

Charles strokes a blue iguana called Peter at the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Botanic Park (Chris Jackson/PA)

The Cayman Islands is well known for being a tax haven for the wealthy, famous and big business and has been criticised for providing a financial bolthole for those who want to pay less tax.

The Cayman Islands are also known for their stunning beaches, marine life and coral reefs that attract tourists and amateur divers from across the world.

But climate change is threatening life in the waters around the islands and Charles learnt about the work of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) when he travelled on to Little Cayman where the organisation is based.

HIs Royal Highness Prince Charles learned about the critical work CCMI does to understand resiliency to changing conditions and how we can aid the recovery of coral reefs. #RoyalVisitCayman pic.twitter.com/0VwKGmvXSR  CCMI (@reefresearch) March 28, 2019

Dr Carrie Manfrino, president and founder of the CMMI, gave a presentation about the Institutes work collecting data on the surrounding corals since 1999 and went further to highlight the plight of the seas around the world.

Before the prince and a group of Year 6 schoolchildren took part in a Reefs go Live event  a live link-up to a dive team on the reef  she said: Theres a global problem, in the past 40 years half of the known marine organisms have disappeared and the UN reports 70% of the earths coral reefs are threatened.

Our message today, we need to act urgently and act now to protect the coral reefs.

In the link-up Charles and the students saw and heard a diver for a few minutes on a large screen who explained what a reef was before the connection was lost.

Charles during his visit to Little Cayman (Phil Noble/PA)

The event was held on the beachfront and Charles went outside and used a telescope to try to spot local turtles who were in the waters earlier in the day but could not be seen.The committee set up to investigate how misconduct allegations against Alex Salmond were handled by the Scottish Government is to raise issues concerning the preservation of evidence with the First Minister.

Convener Linda Fabiani announced the move after MSPs were informed that Scottish Government computer systems automatically delete material not saved onto the corporate record system after a period of time.

But Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans has written to the committee to say she has instructed the halting of the automated deletion of some users content.

MSPs on the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints discussed the letter when they met in private for about an hour on Thursday evening.

At the end of the meeting, Ms Fabiani announced they would write to Nicola Sturgeon, saying this would be relevant to the preservation of evidence which maybe relevant to the remit of this inquiry.

It comes after the First Minister pledged to Holyrood she would answer to the fullest extent possible any questions regarding her involvement with a legal challenge her predecessor brought against the Scottish Government.

The former first minister challenged the way sexual misconduct allegations had been handled, taking his case to the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Former first minister Alex Salmond. (Andrew Milligan/PA)

It ruled that the process had been unlawful after it emerged the investigating officer had had previous contact with the two women who made the allegations.

After that ruling in January, Ms Evans pledged an internal review of procedures within the Scottish Government would be carried out.

A separate investigation is also taking place to determine if Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code in meetings and conversations with the former first minister prior to the court case.

While MSPs on the committee have agreed to put their inquiry on hold until the conclusion of a court case against the former SNP leader, they had written to the Government making clear they expected all hard copy and electronic documents which may be relevant to the inquiry to be preserved.

In response, Ms Evans said that specific staff who may hold documents which may be relevant had been instructed not to delete such documents.

She added: I have also instructed that any relevant files which fall to be considered under the Scottish Governments retention and disposal schedules before the conclusion of the committees inquiry should not be destroyed.

Finally, the Scottish Government has systems which automatically delete material which is not saved to the corporate record after certain periods. I have therefore instructed the halting of the automated deletion of specific users content for a set time frame.

In addition to writing to the First Minister, the committee will contact the Scottish Government for additional reassurance, Ms Fabiani said.

Mr Salmond appeared in court in Edinburgh in January charged with 14 offences, including two of attempted rape, but insisted afterwards that he refuted absolutely these allegations of criminality.A man has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of a 28-year-old who was found dead at his home in Glasgow.

The body of Ryan Richardson was found by police at his flat in Kilmany Drive in the Shettleston area on Friday March 15.

Officers went to the property after being told by his family that Mr Richardson had not been in contact for more than a week.

Police said a 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the death.

He is due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.Justin Rose sympathised with opponent Eddie Pepperell after snatching an unlikely half from the jaws of defeat to maintain control of his own destiny on day two of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Rose was three down with four holes to play at Austin Country Club, but birdied the 15th, 17th and 18th to halve his match with Pepperell and will advance to the last 16 with victory over Gary Woodland on Friday.

I had a great match with Eddie, hes such a class individual and player to the point where you almost feel sorry for doing that to him over the last few holes, Rose, who was the tournament host of the British Masters won by Pepperell last year, told Sky Sports.

After 14 holes: 3 down.

After 18 holes: All-square.



Justin Rose never gives up! pic.twitter.com/GV6M4EwxKa  DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 28, 2019

Woodland was four up on Emiliano Grillo with seven holes to play before eventually securing his second victory of the week on the 18th, leaving Grillo and Pepperell to contest a dead rubber.

Open champion Francesco Molinari had earlier enjoyed a magnificent seventh match-play victory in succession to move closer to a place in the knockout stages.

Molinari was thrashed 7&5 by Justin Thomas in his final group game 12 months ago, but has since become the first European player to compile a perfect 5-0 record in the Ryder Cup and the Italian followed his opening win over Satoshi Kodaira with a 4&3 victory over team-mate Thorbjorn Olesen.

Justin Rose (left) beat Eddie Pepperell on day two of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (Steven Paston/PA)

With Webb Simpson and Kodaira halving the other match in group seven, Molinari needs to avoid defeat to Simpson on Friday to reach the last 16.

WOW!



Tiger with the great escape @DellMatchPlay pic.twitter.com/44HBldPlmj  DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 28, 2019

Tiger Woods will need other results to go his way to advance from his group after losing 2&1 to Brandt Snedeker, who halved his opening match with Patrick Cantlay on Wednesday.

Woods will need to beat Cantlay on Friday and hope that Snedeker loses to Aaron Wise, whose defeat to Cantlay ended his hopes of progressing.

Woods conjured up a miraculous escape from under a bush on the 10th with a left-handed shot played on his knees, but pulled his tee shot into the water on the 13th and crucially failed to match Snedekers birdie on the par-five 16th.

Former champion Rory McIlroy made it two wins out of two with a 3&2 victory over South Africas Justin Harding and will reach the last 16 by avoiding defeat to Matt Fitzpatrick on Friday.

McIlroy told Sky Sports: I feel good. If anything I played a little bit better today than I did yesterday.

Justin put up a really good fight. I had to make a few birdies just to hang in there on the front nine and to finish with two birdies on 15 and 16 was very nice.

Defending champion Bubba Watson crashed out with a game to spare after losing to Billy Horschel.

It is the second year in succession the defending champion has failed to reach the knockout stages after 2017 winner Dustin Johnson lost all three of his matches in 2018.More than a quarter of Scottish companies feel Brexit is having a negative impact on expectations for their business activity, according to new research.

The latest Bank of Scotland Business Barometer found 28% of firms felt this way in March, compared to 15% a month earlier.

Businesses reported lower confidence in their own prospects at 10%, having been 17% the previous month.

This figure combined with views toward the economy as a whole brought confidence level on the barometer to minus 3%, an eight-point drop month-on-month.

The Business Barometer surveyed 94 companies in Scotland between March 1 and 15.

Fraser Sime, regional director for Scotland at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said: Domestic and global uncertainties are weighing on optimism levels among Scottish businesses at the moment.

The barometer found confidence fell to minus 3% - an eight point drop month-on-month (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Despite the decrease in confidence, we are committed to supporting businesses growth ambitions.

As part of this commitment, we recently pledged to lend up to 1.6 billion to support Scottish firms this year and look forward to seeing confidence increase again in the coming months.

Overall confidence climbed six points to 10% across the UK as a whole.

Of the 1,200 businesses questioned by the banks barometer UK-wide, confidence in prospects rose to 20%.

Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: The strengthening of confidence in the first half of this month provides some solace in light of recent pessimism, and there has been a slight improvement in firms expectations about the impact of the UKs departure from the EU.

However, levels remain below the long-term average and continue to show volatility as political negotiations continue.Prime Minister Theresa May is bringing her Withdrawal Agreement to the Commons for a vote on Friday  the day the UK had been scheduled to quit the EU.

 How is this different from previous votes?

MPs will only be voting on part of Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit deal, not the whole thing.

The Commons will consider the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), which is the legally binding divorce deal and covers the UKs exit from the EU.

MPs will not vote on the Political Declaration (PD) element which is non-legally binding and looks at the future relationship Britain will have with the bloc.

 What does the WA cover?

John Bercow said the Brexit deal needed to be substantially different before being brought before the Commons again (Yui Mok/PA)

The WA deals with matters such as the transition period after the UK formally leaves the EU.

It contains proposals for the controversial Northern Irish backstop which is intended as an insurance policy to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

And it deals with issues like the financial settlement and citizens rights after withdrawal.

 Why has the Prime Minister chosen to do it in this way?

The move ensures the Government complies with a ruling by Commons Speaker John Bercow that it could not present the Brexit deal to the Commons again for approval unless it was substantially different from previous efforts.

Splitting the two elements of the deal means the Government meets the Speakers demands after the full Brexit package was heavily defeated by MPs on two occasions.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he will vote against it (Jonathan Brady/PA)

However, the move does not let Parliament go ahead and ratify the withdrawal deal because Brexit legislation only allows this after the passage of a so-called meaningful vote on both the Withdrawal Agreement and a Political Declaration on the future relationship.

 What impact would the result have on the UKs exit date from the EU?

If passed by MPs, the vote would qualify the UK to be granted an automatic delay to May 22 of the formal date of Brexit.

If the motion is rejected, the UK will have until April 12 to ask for a further extension to Brexit negotiations  which would require voters to choose new MEPs at May elections  or leave the EU without a deal.

 What are the chances of the Commons backing the PM?

Both the DUP and Labour have said they will vote against the agreement.

This means the Government is dependent on winning over enough hardline members of the European Research Group of Tory MPs and Labour backbenchers to achieve success.

While Mrs Mays statement that she would stand down if she gets her Brexit deal through Parliament has caused a number of prominent Tory Eurosceptics to offer support, other hardline Brexiteers remain opposed to the agreement.Amidst the gloom that has marked the national debate on Kashmir since the Pulwama attack on February 14, Pakistans proposal to establish a corridor  that will allow Hindu pilgrims from India to visit Sharada Peeth in Pak-Administered Kashmir  is a hugely welcome step.

Sharada Peeth is an ancient Hindu temple and a highly significant cultural site in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The Sharada Peeth corridor, when opened, will be the second religious tract after the Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan-administered territory that will connect the two neighbouring nations.

Both mainstream and separatist leaders in Kashmir have welcomed the move to open a corridor to Sharada Peeth. Omar Abdullah tweeted that while this was a welcome announcement, the Pakistan government should also open the Kargil-Skardu road and other routes to facilitate greater people to people contact.

After the welcome announcement to open the Sharada Peeth corridor to religious pilgrims by @ImranKhanPTI we hope the government in Pakistan will only announce the Kargil-Skardu road as also other routes to facilitate greater people to people contact.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 26, 2019

Allowing greater people to people contact & opening routes to religious pilgrims are always welcome developments that help to ease tensions, Omar reportedly said.

Sharada Peeth Corridor: A welcome step in the strained bilateral relations between the neighbours. (Photo: Reuters)

Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet at an initiative like this, at a time when Indo-Pak tensions are at an all-time high, could help navigate the current impasse.

Not too long ago I had written to PM imploring GoI to reopen Sharada Peeth, a temple across LoC for Kash Pandits. An initiative like this at a time when Indo - Pak tensions are at an all time high could help navigate the current impasse. https://t.co/IYRyQ8v5U3  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 25, 2019

Meanwhile, the Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said media reports about a positive movement between India and Pakistan on the opening of Sharada Peeth temple were a welcome sign.

Media reports about positive movement between India and Pakistan on opening of Sharada Peeth temple,is a welcome sign. During Hurriyats last visit to Pakistan we had also urged the Govt there to facilitate the pilgrimage as it was a deep longing of our Kashmiri pandith community  Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) March 25, 2019

People-to-people contact helps in demystifying myths about a people or community. Such interactions also enable exchanges of culture, and have the potential to enhance peace or progress.

Sharada Peeth translates to 'the seat of Sharada'  the Kashmiri name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Sharada Peeth is an ancient Hindu temple, once a great centre of learning in the area that is now Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning and knowledge and occupies a hallowed place in the pantheon.

Sharada Peeth: The ancient Hindu temple, visiting which was once a pilgrimage for Pandits. This is now in Pakistani Kashmir. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Between the 6th and 12th centuries CE, Sharada Peeth was one of the foremost temple universities of the Indian subcontinent, hosting scholars such as Kalhana, Adi Shankara, Vairotsana, Kumarajiva and Thonmi Sambhota.

As a religious institution, it is one of the three famous tirthas or holy sites for Kashmiri Pandits  the other two being the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath Temple. Sharada Peeth is one of 18 Maha Shakti Peethas or "Grand Shakti Peethas"  highly revered temples in South Asia that commemorate the location as per the legend of the fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati.

The opening of a corridor to Sharada Peeth has been a long-standing demand of the Kashmiri Pandit community  the move has been welcomed by them.

The yatra to Sharada Peeth had been an annual pilgrimage for Kashmiri Pandits since ancient times. During the Dogra rule after 1846, the yatra became a regular feature. The devotees would trek hundreds of kilometres to have a darshan of Devi Sharada and offer their obeisance to their ancestors (Pitras). A Buddhist university existed near the temple which was established by Emperor Ashoka in 273 BCE.

The Sharada script was invented at this university by scholars, as an amalgamation of local dialects.

It remains to be seen whether access to this extraordinary site becomes a reality any time soon. But even a first step in this direction is a welcome one.

Also read: Amarnath pilgrims urinating in Dal Lake has outraged Kashmiris, but it has also made them introspect American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved.

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 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.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This letter is signed by both of us in our respective positions as Chicago mayoral candidates for election April 2, 2019. Whereas our task in running for office is done, we realize as leaders we must show Chicago and the nation how we can win with grace and lose with dignity. In a real sense both of us are winners, the pledge reads. Rev. Jackson has appealed to us to remember those who want healing and reconciliation in the aftermath of this tumultuous election. Neither of us want to see our city and county in protracted division.Avient Corp. engages in the business of thermoplastic compounds. It specializes in polymer materials, services, and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, plastic sheet and packaging solutions and polymer distribution. The firm is also involved in the development and manufacturing of performance enhancing additives, liquid colorants, fluoropolymers and silicone colorants. It operates through the following segments: Color, Additives and Inks; Specialty Engineered Materials; and Distribution. The Color, Additives and Inks segment provides custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, speciality inks, plasticols, and vinyl slush molding solutions. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment makes polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. The Distribution segment distributes engineering and commodity grade resins, including PolyOne-produced solutions, principally to the North American, Central American, and Asian markets. The firm's products include polymer distribution, screen printing inks, and thermoplastic elastomers. Its services include IQ design and color services. The company was founded on August 31, 2000 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, OH.

Read MoreiShares Global Healthcare ETF shares split on the morning of Wednesday, May 2nd 2018. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 29th 2018. The newly issued shares were issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, May 1st 2018. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares Global Healthcare ETF stock prior to the split would have 200 shares after the split.With Democrats calling for the release of the complete and unredacted Mueller report of more than 300 pages, the Trump administration has relied on a four-page memo from Attorney General William Barr, which reported Mueller found no evidence the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia. In the meantime, Pence said the Trump administration was moving forward to continue to focus where we have from the very beginning, on the issues that are important to this country.Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc. engages in the production and sale of cellulose products, which is a natural polymer commonly used in the production of cell phone and computer screens, filters, and pharmaceuticals. It operates through the following segments: High Purity Cellulose, Forest Products, Paperboard, Pulp and Newsprint, and Corporate. The High Purity Cellulose segment manufacture and market high purity cellulose, which is sold as either cellulose specialties or commodity products in U.S., Canda, and France. The Forest Products segment manufacture and market construction-grade lumber in North America through seven sawmills located in Canada. The Paperboard segment comprises paperboard products. The Pulp and Newsprint segment involves in the production of pulp and newsprint in Canada. The Corporate segment consists senior management, accounting, information systems, human resources, treasury, tax, and legal administrative functions that provide support services to the operating business units. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL.

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Canuc Resources Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in exploration, evaluation, and development of precious and base metal projects and oil and gas properties in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It primarily holds interest in the San Javier Project that consists of 17 mineral concessions comprising silver, lead, gold, copper, and zinc deposits located in the state of Sonora, Mexico. The company was formerly known as Santa Rosa Silver Mining Corp. and changed its name to Canuc Resources Corporation in February 2017. Canuc Resources Corporation is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreAntofagasta plc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the exploration, evaluation, development, and mining of copper properties in Chile and internationally. It operates through Los Pelambres, Centinela, Antucoya, ZaldAvar, Exploration and Evaluation, and Transport segments. The company explores for copper concentrates containing by-products, such as molybdenum, gold, and silver; and copper cathodes. It holds a 60% interest in the Los Pelambres mine; a 70% interest in the Centinela mine; a 50% interest in the ZaldAvar mine; and a 70% interest in the Antucoya mine located in Chile. The company also provides rail and road cargo, and other ancillary services. In addition, it offers rail and truck services to the mining industry in the Antofagasta Region. The company was incorporated in 1888 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Antofagasta plc is a subsidiary of Metalinvest Establishment.

Read MorePental Limited manufactures, markets, and distributes personal, household, and commercial products in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. The company provides soap products, bleaches, firelighters, laundry care products, stain removers, dishwashing products, toothpastes, and others. It offers products under the White King, Country Life, Jiffy Firelighters, Softly, Martha's, Velvet, Sunlight, Lux, Little Lucifer, AIM Toothpaste, Huggie, Natural Selections, Procell, Duracell, and Janola brands. The company was formerly known as Symex Holdings Limited and changed its name to Pental Limited in January 2013. Pental Limited was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Tyson Foods: APF Legacy Subs LLC, Advance Food Company LLC, AdvancePierre Foods, AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc., AdvancePierre Foods Inc., Aidells Sausage Company Inc., Allied Specialty Foods Inc., American Proteins Inc, Artisan Bread Co. LLC, Australian Food Corporation Pty Limited, Australian Food Corporation Trust, BRF, Barber Foods LLC, Bosco's Pizza Co., Bryan Foods Inc., C.S. Grain LLC, C.V. Holdings Inc., CBFA Management Corp., Central Industries Inc., Chefs Pantry LLC, Clovervale Farms LLC, Cobb (Hubei) Breeding Co. Ltd., Cobb (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Cobb Ana Damizlik Tavukculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cobb Columbia S.A.S., Cobb Europe B.V., Cobb Europe Limited, Cobb Peru (Andina) S.A.C., Cobb-Heritage LLC, Cobb-Vantress Brasil Ltda, Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cobb-Vantress New Zealand Limited, Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc., Coominya AFC Pty Limited, Coominya AFC Trust, DFG Foods Inc., DFG Foods L.L.C., Don Julio, Egbert LLC, Equity Group - Georgia Division LLC, Equity Group - Kentucky Division LLC, Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Meat Corp., Flavor Corp., Flavor Holdings Inc., Foodbrands America Inc., Foodbrands Supply Chain Services Inc., Gallo Salame Inc., Global Employment Services Inc., Grow-Out Credit LLC, Grow-Out Holdings LLC, Haimen Tyson Poultry Development Co. Ltd, Hudson Foods Company, Hudson Midwest Foods Inc., Hybro Genetics Brasil Ltda, IBP Caribbean Inc., IBP Foodservice L.L.C., IBP Inc., International Affiliates & Investment LLC, Jiangsu Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Keydutch Finance B.V., Keydutch Holdings I LLC, Keydutch Holdings II LLC, Keydutch Investments B.V., Keystone CLJV Holdings Limited, Keystone County House Road LLC, Keystone Foods, Keystone Foods (AP) Limited, Keystone Foods Holdco LLC, Keystone Foods Intermediate LLC, Keystone Foods LLC, Keystone Foods Pty Limited, Keystone Management Inc., Keystone Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, LD Foods LLC, M & M Express LLC, M&M Restaurant Supply (MI/OH) LLC, MFG (USA) Holdings Inc., Mac Food Services (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., Madison Foods Inc., McKey Food Services (Hong Kong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Shandong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Thailand) Limited, McKey Food Services Limited, McKey Luxembourg Holdings APMEA S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg S.a.r.l., McKey VI Holdings Limited, Myung Seung Food Company Ltd., National Comp Care Inc., New Canada Holdings Inc., Oaklawn Capital Corporation, Oaklawn IT Solution Private Limited, Original Philly Holdings Inc., PBX inc., Pierre Holdco Inc., River Valley Ingredients LLC, Rizhao Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Rizhao Tyson Poultry Co. Ltd, Rural Energy Systems Inc., Sara Lee - Kiwi Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Diversified LLC, Sara Lee Foods LLC, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Malawi Ltd., Sara Lee International LLC, Sara Lee International TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Mexicana Holdings Investment L.L.C., Sara Lee TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Trademark Holdings Australasia LLC, Saramar L.L.C., Shandong Tyson-Da Long Food Company Limited, Smart Chicken, Southern Family Foods L.L.C., Southwest Products LLC, TF 20 B.V., TF 5201 B.V., TFA Leasing LLC, TFA Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, TFI of California Inc., Tecumseh Poultry LLC, Texas Transfer Inc., The Bruss Company, The Hillshire Brands Company, The IBP Foods Co., The Pork Group Inc., TyNet Corporation, Tyson (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Tyson Americas Holding Sarl, Tyson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Tyson Breeders Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Tyson China Holding 2 Limited, Tyson China Holding 3 Limited, Tyson China Holding Limited, Tyson Deli Inc., Tyson Europe Holding Company, Tyson Farms Inc., Tyson Farms QOZB LLC, Tyson Foods Brasil Investimentos Ltda., Tyson Foods Canada Inc., Tyson Foods Europe (Netherlands) B.V., Tyson Foods Europe GmbH, Tyson Foods France S.A.R.L., Tyson Foods Germany GmbH, Tyson Foods Group Limited, Tyson Foods Holland B.V., Tyson Foods Huadong Development Co. Ltd, Tyson Foods Iberia Alimentos S.L.U., Tyson Foods Italia S.p.A., Tyson Foods Korea, Tyson Foods Netherlands B.V., Tyson Foods Products Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Europe Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Sales (Europe) Limited, Tyson Foods UK Limited, Tyson Foods Wrexham Limited, Tyson Foods oosterwolde B.V., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Sales and Distribution LLC, Tyson Global Holding Sarl, Tyson Hog Markets Inc., Tyson India Holdings Ltd., Tyson International APAC Ltd., Tyson International Company Ltd., Tyson International Holding Company, Tyson International Holding Sarl, Tyson International Service Center Inc., Tyson International Service Center Inc. Asia, Tyson International Service Center Inc. Europe, Tyson Mexican Original Inc., Tyson Mexico Trading Company S. de R.L. de CV., Tyson New Ventures LLC, Tyson Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, Tyson Pet Products Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods Inc., Tyson Processing Services Inc., Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc., Tyson Sales and Distribution Inc., Tyson Service Center Corp., Tyson Shared Services Inc., Tyson Storm Lake Holdings LLC, Tyson Warehousing Services LLC, Tyson of Wisconsin LLC, Uninex SA, Universal Meats (UK) Limited, WBA Analytical Laboratories Inc., Wilton Foods Inc., Xamol Consultores e Servicos, and Zemco Industries Inc..The report did not resolve disputes over whether Jakelin was taken to the hospital for treatment quickly enough and whether she was given sufficient water after she and her father crossed into a remote New Mexico outpost, part of a group of more than 160 migrants. About two weeks later, Felipe Gomez Alonzo, 8, also from Guatemala, died after several days in federal custody. His death is under investigation in New Mexico, an official said.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Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. engages in the acquisition and operation of multifamily properties in select targeted markets throughout the United States. It operates through the following segments: Multifamily Communities, Financing, New Market Properties, Preferred Office Properties, and Others. The Multifamily Communities segment consists of company's portfolio of owned residential multifamily communities. The Financing segment refers to the portfolio of real estate loans, bridge loans, and other instruments deployed by the company to partially finance the development, construction, and prestabilization carrying costs of new multifamily communities and other real estate and real estate related assets. The New Market Properties segment covers portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers, as well as the financial results from the retail real estate loans. The Preferred Office Properties segment relates to the portfolio of office buildings. The Others segment includes deferred offering costs. The company was founded by Leonard A. Silverstein and John A. Williams on September 18, 2009 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Read More1 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Premier Oil in the last year. There are currently 1 hold rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" Premier Oil stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in PMO, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for Premier Oil or view top-rated stocks.There is not enough analysis data for Samsung Electronics.

4.1 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Samsung Electronics has received 130 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

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Community Sentiment Samsung Electronics has received 62.80% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Samsung Electronics and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe SSNLF will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe SSNLF will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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NextTelecom Italia S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Europe, South America, and the Mediterranean Basin. The company operates through Domestic, Brazil, and Other Operations segments. It offers fixed and mobile voice and Internet, and public telephony services, as well as products managed and developed for individuals and families; and voice, data, and Internet services and products, and information and communications technology solutions for small and medium-size enterprises, small offices/home offices, the public sector, large accounts, and enterprises in the fixed and mobile telecommunications markets. The company also manages and develops a portfolio of regulated and unregulated wholesale services for fixed and mobile telecommunications operators; provision of infrastructure for housing radio transmission equipment of mobile telephone networks; and development, engineering, building, and operation of network infrastructures, information technology (IT), real estate properties, and plant engineering. In addition, it engages in customer care, operating credit support, loyalty, and retention activities; and staff functions and other support activities. Further, the company offers office products and services for IT sector. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Rome, Italy.

Read MoreTSO3 Inc. engages in the research, development, production, maintenance, sale, and licensing of sterilization processes, related consumable supplies, and accessories for heat and moisture sensitive medical devices worldwide. Its principal product is the STERIZONE VP4 sterilizer, a dual sterilant, low temperature sterilization system that utilizes vaporized hydrogen peroxide and ozone that is marketed in Canada and the United States. The company also develops and sells the STERIZONE 125L+ sterilizer, which is designed for terminal sterilization of heat and moisture sensitive medical devices, and is intended for the reprocessing of general instruments, rigid channel instruments, and single/multi-channel rigid endoscopes, as well as short and long single/multi-channel flexible endoscopes. In addition, it provides product development services to medical device manufacturers and others that include hydrogen peroxide and ozone sterilization validation, compatibility testing, medical devices cleaning method development, and medical packaging compatibility verification services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Quebec, Canada.

Read MoreWynnstay Group Plc manufactures and supplies agricultural products in the United Kingdom. It operates through Agriculture and Specialist Agricultural Merchanting segments. The Agriculture segment offers animal nutrition products to the agricultural market; and seeds, fertilizers, and agro-chemicals to arable and grassland farmers, as well as markets grains. The Specialist Agricultural Merchanting segment provides specialist products to farmers, smallholders, and pet owners. This segment offers its products through 54 depots; and specialist catalogues and online channels. It also manufactures and acts as a distributor of equine and small animal feeds through wholesalers and retailers. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreAdam Isaacson, a senior official at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy group, said U.S. presidents have shied away from reprogramming money because it irritates lawmakers, who can retaliate by declining to fund key administration projects. "It's just a strong, strong custom" in Congress, he said. "If you go against our will on this, we will get you in the next appropriations bill."Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read MoreAs a public figure, Smolletts alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could. None of that, though, should detract from two facts that must be able to coexist: First, falsely reporting a hate crime is a dangerous and unlawful act, and Smollett was not exonerated of that in this case. Second, our criminal justice system is at its best when jails are used to protect us from the people we rightly fear, while alternative outcomes are reserved for the people who make us angry but need to learn the error of their ways without seeing their lives irrevocably destroyed.Yet on Feb. 26, the first chance Chicagoans had to begin choosing the next city officials to address those problems and many more, an anemic 35 percent of voters took time to participate  to exercise not just their right to vote, but their responsibility to vote. Thats just a hair above the turnout in the first-round municipal election in 2015 (34 percent), and far worse than the first round in 2011 (42 percent), when Mayor Rahm Emanuel ascended to office. Glaringly absent from the Feb. 26 election were younger voters  only 3.5 percent of votes cast came from voters younger than 25, the Tribune reported.But the question assumes that there is a surefire alternative to putting certain criminals to death  namely, locking them up and throwing away the key. In that 2010 Illinois poll, 43 percent of those surveyed said the punishment for murder should be life imprisonment with no chance of parole plus payment of restitution to the victims family. Another 18 percent were content with just life in prison with no chance of parole.**STATUS OF THIS EVENT IS NOT CONFIRMED**

This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Past Event - Saturday, May 2, 2020 This page may be updated if the event is repeated

$3 at the door and kids under 12 get in free

Come see southwest Ohios finest food trucks compete at The Yellow Cab. It's a competition. It's a food truck rally. It's a lot of delicious barbecue!

Smokin' Bee-Bee-Q's Barbecue Rodeo Returns to the "Old" Yellow Cab

Celebrating it's fifth year, the Dayton Barbecue Rodeo returns on Saturday, May 2nd at the Yellow Cab Tavern! It's a festival. It's a concert. But most importantly, it's a whole lot of delicious barbecue!

May 2nd from 10am to 8pm at Yellow Cab Tavern, only $3 entry with kids 12 and under free

The Barbecue:

Serving full menus of ribs, chicken and so much more, this year's competing trucks include...For many black women, Tuesdays election will be a remarkable shift in Chicagos history that signifies a progressive step forward for the city. Other black women say, however, that they are unfazed or even unimpressed by the focus on the race and gender of the candidates.Expected to be underpinned by a new platform.

The new platform is likely to underpin the next-gen Honda City and WR-V.

Will look different inside-out compared to the current third-gen hatchback.

The cabin is likely to be shared with the next-gen City and WR-V.

Petrol and hybrid powertrains expected globally; India-spec model likely to get a diesel as well.

India launch expected in late-2020 or early-2021.

The fourth-gen Honda Jazz has been spotted testing in Europe again ahead of its expected debut later this year in Japan. The latest batch of spy shots give us a glimpse of the upcoming models interior. The test mule has also dropped some camo compared to its previous sighting in September 2018.

Compared to the third-gen Honda Jazz, the upcoming model gets a completely redesigned dashboard. It is more on the minimalistic side compared to the third-gen Jazz interior. The dashboard also appears to be low-set, which isnt the case with the current model. A low-set dashboard allows a better view of the road ahead and enriches your driving experience. It is worth noting that the fourth-gen Jazz will have the instrument cluster and the infotainment screen on roughly the same level as the current model. Its dashboard is likely to be shared with next-gen 2020 Honda City and the WR-V, just like the current models.

The recessed instrument cluster appears to be an all-digital unit like the Civics. The infotainment screen looks pretty large and pops out of the dashboard. Below it are the dials for climate control and they are likely to feature embedded displays like the Swift. The steering wheel is new and appears to be inspired by the e Prototype, Hondas upcoming all-electric small hatchback. Besides this, expect it to be as roomy as the current model and pack a cavernous boot as well. Not to mention, the famed Magic seats are likely to be retained as well.

Like its interior, the exterior of the fourth-gen Jazz will also be revised. That said, elements such as the overall silhouette, large front windscreen, front and rear quarter glasses along with the tiny, sloped bonnet remind you that it is a Jazz. The front and rear profiles, however, will have a different design approach compared to the current model, especially with its wraparound tail lamps and chunky headlamps. Read more about the new Jazz as well as its expected powertrain options here: Fourth-gen Honda Jazz Spied For The First Time

Image source

Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho.If youve ever wondered how your favourite actors transform so convincingly into animals, monsters, aliens or even real-life characters, youve got prosthetic make-up to thank. From adding body parts, wounds and wrinkles to making someone age by 50 years or more, good prosthetics can make a world of difference in blurring the lines between reality and celluloid.

Take the case of Deepika Padukone, whose first look as acid attack survivor/activist Malti from Meghna Gulzars Chhapaak has left fans speechless. Not only has the actress selected a strong role to essay, but she looks absolutely unrecognisable, which is the first step towards a convincing portrayal.

Earlier too, actors have virtually gotten into the skin of the characters they were playing, like Akshay Kumar in 2.0, Rajkummar Rao as a 324-year-old man in Raabta, Rishi Kapoor in Kapoor and Sons, Shah Rukh Khan in Fan, Randeep Hooda in Sarbjit and Keerthy Suresh in Mahanati  the list goes on with due credit to make-up, especially prosthetics.

Make-up is one tool through which any look can be achieved. Depending on the requirement, one can look old, young, have wounds  absolutely anything. More than an art, make-up has become a science, especially prosthetics, says make-up artist Aashmeen Munjaal.

Actress Shweta Tripathi Sharma, who has shot with prosthetics for her upcoming movie Gone Kesh, echoes her thoughts. The film revolves around a girl who is diagnosed with alopecia, a condition where she starts losing hair rapidly.

Says Shweta, Prosthetics help the character look real. But the make-up should be done by experts, otherwise it can look fake. The first challenge is to sit through hours of applying the make-up and then another hour to remove it. The temperature needs to be controlled along with physical movement,

Actor Rajkummar Rao in Raabta, actor Randeep Hooda in Sarbjit.

So how challenging is it to recreate real-life characters? National Award-winning make-up, hair and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh, who, worked on Nawazuddin Siddiqui's look for Thackeray, the biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor as a 102 year-old man and his 75-year-old son respectively in the film 102 Not Out, says, We definitely face a lot of challenges when we have to set an actors face, especially for biopics, where we have to make them look like the character that they are playing. For Thackeray, it was a bit difficult in terms of execution for Nawaz because the features were completely different. We initially worked on photoshop designs and finally ended up using a prosthetic nose and chin piece along with a bald cap to resemble Thackerays receding hairline.

She adds, We got the wig created to make him look like the Shiv Sena supremo, but apart from all this, Nawaz is a great actor, so he used both the prosthetics and his body language to great advantage.

Elaborating on the exact process of getting the look right, she shares, Look designing is one of the important processes in the make-up of a film. It involves reading the script, doing a lot of research and then designing every character based on the requirements. While digital software helps, we also use manual sketches depending on the kind of look that we want to achieve.

As an expert in her field, Preetisheel highlights that prosthetic makeup is a very detailed and technical process. Not only does one have to get it right, but the time frame must also be kept in mind. And of course, environmental conditions need to be taken into account too.

While an actor is in prosthetic make-up, it is very important to take care of the weather conditions while on shoot which means air conditioning is a must. That way, the make-up would be intact with minimum touch-ups for a 10 to 12 hour shoot, she adds.

Yet another prosthetics expert, Mark Dsouza, admits that the scenario in India has drastically changed.

He says, In the past, a hero would always look like himself, but today, our stars are open to changes in their appearance which involves transformation with the help of prosthetics. This is a big win for all make-up and prosthetic designers.Actor Vishal Krishna, known for his daring stunts, has hurt himself again while performing a stunt. The actor met with a nasty accident when he fell from a mobike while shooting for his upcoming film in Turkey. The unfortunate accident has left his leg and hand injured.

Speaking from Turkey, Vishal said, It was a nasty fall for sure, but it could have been much worse. Im thankful that I did not injure myself any worse, because it could have been really bad. So what exactly happened? It was a bike stunt. And the bike, an ATV, fell on me. My leg and hand seemed badly injured and I thought that either or both my limbs were fractured. Thankfully, there is no fracture. However, there is a lot of swelling which will take a fair amount of time to subside. I cant wait for my leg and hand to heal. I will resume shooting shortly. We cant afford to lose time.

This reminds us of the accident that Tom Cruise had met with while he was shooting for the latest installment of Mission Impossible in Paris. In a shot where he had to jump from one building across to another, Cruise miscalculated the distance and he heard his ankle crack.

Vishal said, I am no Tom Cruise but I completely understand that. Actors today cant fake stunts. Audiences pay attention to the details, so one has to take risks. And if youre taking a risk, then theres always the likelihood of injuries. I suffered from a leg injury just one month ago, and now this.

Vishals fiancee Anisha Alla Reddy has now forbidden him from performing dangerous stunts. Vishal laughs it off. Its simple. One must not talk about it, just quietly perform the stunt and hope that no bones get broken, says the Pandem Kodi actor.

In fact, Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are two prominent actors from Bollywood who dont tell their respective wives before shooting for an action scene.The research showed that this anti-inflammatory effect of physical activity is caused by activation of a particular protein called HDAC6. (Photo: Representational/Pexels)

Washington: A new study has found that degradation of cartilage due to osteoarthritis could be prevented with the help of exercise. The study, published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, demonstrates the benefits of exercise on the tissues that form our joints.

The researchers have shown for the first time how mechanical forces experienced by cells in joints during exercise prevent cartilage degradation by suppressing the action of inflammatory molecules that cause osteoarthritis. During exercise, the cartilage in joints such as the hip and knee is squashed.

This mechanical distortion is detected by the living cells in the cartilage, which then block the action of inflammatory molecules associated with conditions such as arthritis. The researchers showed that this anti-inflammatory effect of physical activity is caused by activation of a particular protein, called HDAC6, which triggers changes in the proteins that form primary cilia.

Pharmaceutical drugs that blocked HDAC6 activation prevented the anti-inflammatory effects of physical activity, while other drug treatments were able to mimic the benefits of exercise. Changes in length of the primary cilia, which are only a few 1000th of a millimetre, provided a biomarker of the level of inflammation.

Cilia got longer during inflammation, but treatments that prevented this elongation successfully prevented inflammation. Su Fu, a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London and study author, said: "We have known for some time that healthy exercise is good for you. Now we know the process through which exercise prevents cartilage degradation."

Professor Martin Knight, lead researcher of the study added, "These findings may also explain the anti-inflammatory effects of normal blood flow in arteries, which is important for preventing arterial diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysm." The researchers hope that these findings will help in the search for treatments for arthritis. The researchers suggest the results may lead to a whole new therapeutic approach known as mechanomedicine in which drugs simulate the effect of mechanical forces to prevent the damaging effects of inflammation and treat conditions such as arthritis.Thiruvananthapuram: The Marayamuttom police has registered a case against an army jawan who tried to molest a woman.

The accused was identified as Anu Joy, a native of Irampil. The woman cried aloud when the jawan tried to molest her. The accused tried to drag the woman into a room before trying to sexually assault her. Neighbours reached the spot hearing the woman's cry, but the accused escaped. The woman is a neighbour of the accused.

Police said that they were on the lookout for the accused.

The accused was involved in a PoCSO case last year. Though, he had left the state and reached his army unit, he was taken into custody and handed over to the police then. He is also involved in a case related to the attack on a house in Chenkal.Smith got 39 percent of the vote in the first round. She has been fighting for more green space in the giant Lincoln Yards development west of her ward. She has called for more government transparency and oversight to give Chicagoans confidence in City Hall. She also got $20,000 last fall from Emanuels campaign fund, according to finance records.ED's special public prosecutor D P Singh and Nitesh Rana told the court that the probe was on and a supplementally charge sheet will be filed later. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Saturday filed a charge sheet before a Delhi court against alleged lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his son Aditya Talwar in a money laundering case.

The agency told Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann in the charge sheet that Talwar, who was arrested on January 30 and currently in judicial custody, allegedly acted as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines, causing loss to national carrier Air India.

The court will consider the charge sheet on April 15. ED's special public prosecutor D P Singh and Nitesh Rana told the court that the probe was on and a supplementally charge sheet will be filed later. The ED earlier told a trial court that it needed to interrogate Talwar to get the names of officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, National Aviation Company of India Ltd and Air India, who favoured foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia.

It claimed that entities directly or indirectly controlled by the accused received exorbitant amounts from Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia and submitted a chart of total USD 60.54 million received by firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008 and February 6, 2009. His role in some aviation deals during the previous Congress-led UPA regime is also under the scanner.When contacted, the space scientist pleaded ignorance about the letter, but said he was informed there was an intelligence report about the threat. (Photo: FileI)

Thiruvananthapuram: Former ISRO chairman and BJP member G Madhavan Nair has received death threat and a high-level probe was on into it, police in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram said on Friday.

The threat to Mr Nair, who resides here, was made in an anonymous letter on Wednesday, police told PTI.

A case under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code had been registered and investigation was on, they said.

When contacted, the space scientist pleaded ignorance about the letter, but said he was informed there was an intelligence report about the threat.

Mr Nair, who retired in 2009 as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), joined the BJP in October last year.Brajesh Thakur, alleged mastermind and strongman in the case, was charged with serious charges under the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault). (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: A Delhi court Saturday framed various charges, including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault, against all accused persons in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha put 21 accused on trial, saying there was prima facie enough evidence against them. Besides rape (376) and criminal conspiracy, the court also framed charges under various sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and other charges.

All the accused, who appeared before court, pleaded innocence and claimed trail. Brajesh Thakur, alleged mastermind and strongman in the case, was charged with serious charges under the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault). The offence carries punishment of minimum 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

All 20 accused were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The Court will hold trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges.

Key accused Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty, failure to report assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act.

On February 7, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi, which would conclude the trial within six months by holding preferably day-to-day hearing.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the central government to ensure that there is a clear guideline for registration of cases related to marital rape under framed guidelines and laws. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the central government to ensure that there is a clear guideline for registration of cases related to marital rape under framed guidelines and laws.

The petition, filed by lawyer Anuja Kapur on Friday, also urged the top court to direct the Centre to frame the necessary guidelines along with appropriate laws and by-laws related to marital rape as a ground for divorce.

Advocate Kapur's petition is likely to come up before the court next week.

The petitioner opined that there should be a proper guideline for registration of the cases (FIRs) related to marital rape matters so that accountability, responsibility and, liability of the concerned authorities could be assigned while awarding penalties to accused persons.

The 47-page petition claimed that there is no law for stopping the marital rape, the marital force of intercourse and marital criminalisation.

Anuja's petition contended that to maintain the dignity of women in marriage, the top court should pass suitable directions to the respondent (UOI) keeping in mind the welfare, well-being and in the interest of the public.

The petitioner also pleaded that the apex court should hear the petition and pass a direction, which is the need of the hour in order to put a stop to the marital rape cases, keeping in view the fact that with the advent of time the women of India started advocating the violation of their fundamental and legal rights.As per the data with the security agencies, this year till March 25 only three local youths have picked up arms and joined the rank of the militant groups.

New Delhi: There has been significant drop in local youth joining militant organisations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 2019 after seeing a surge in 2018 and 2017.

This even as army has launched an operation against the Jaish-e-Mohammad leadership in Kas-hmir Valley after the Pulwama attack on the CRPF on February 14.

As per the data with the security agencies, this year till March 25 only three local youths have picked up arms and joined the rank of the militant groups.

This is sharp drop from 208 locals joining the militant groups in 2018, which was the highest number of local recruitment in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. The increase in young Kashmiri boys picking up guns had worried the security establishment.

Adil Ahmad Dar of the Jaish-e-Mohammad who had carried out the suicide attack on CRPF convoy killing 40 soldiers was also a local boy.

In 2017 the number of local recruitment was 128 which then was the highest number after 2010.

If the trend of fewer locals joining militancy continued throughout the year in summers too, it will be a sign of slow return of calm in the trouble torn Valley and peace to its people.

However, the drop in local recruitment in militancy has coincided with strong action by security agencies against militants.

In 2019, security agencies have killed over 60 militants in Jammu and Kashmir out of which 21 are only from Jaish-e-Moham-mad. Out of these 21 Jaish militants, 17 have been killed after Pulwa-ma attack on the CRPF convoy on February 14. In last 3 years, the army eliminated over 600 terrorists operating in the State.Bhopal: In a significant development, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday ruled out possibility of changing Jyotiraditya Scindias constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, emphatically saying, Mr Scindia will contest from Guna seat which he was currently representing.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Nath said Mr Scindia would not be shifted to another constituency and would be re-nominated for Guna in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

Mr Naths statement came in the wake of demand by an influential section of Congress men, said to be belonging to the camp of veteran leader Digvijay Singh, to field Mr Scindia in a tough seat this time, instead of Guna.

It is the responsibility of veteran leaders in the party to contest from tough seats, which have remained with BJP for last three decades, and win them for the party. Hence, Mr Scindia being a senior leader, should also be fielded in a tough seat like Indore, the Congress leaders demanded after Mr Singh was asked to contest from Bhopal despite his reservation.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.Former Vaishali MP Lovely Anand is also reportedly upset after she was denied ticket this time. She had recently joined Congress on the assurance of getting a ticket from Sheohar constituency.

Patna: The allotment of seats has turned out to be a major disappointment for many in the grand alliance. Reports suggest that many leaders who were denied ticket may consider contesting Lok Sabha elections as independent candidates. Senior RJD leader Mohammad Ashraf Ali Fatmi is among those who may file nomination against the grand alliance candidate from Madhubani constituency.

Talking to this newspaper he said, I am disappointed after party didnt give me a ticket. I have won four Lok Sabha elections and I must know the reasons why I was not given a ticket.

Fatmi is considered a strong minority face in the Mithilanchal region. He had won four Lok Sabha elections but was defeated by BJP nominee Kirti Azad in 2014 by 34,000 votes. I have remained loyal to Lalu Yadav and RJD for almost thirty years. I still cant figure out why my party denied ticket to me. I am consulting my supporters and I will make an announcement soon, Mohammad Ashraf Ali Fatmi said.

Mr Fatmi is currently camping in Darbhanga and discussing the issue with his supporters.

Former Vaishali MP Lovely Anand is also reportedly upset after she was denied ticket this time. She had recently joined Congress on the assurance of getting a ticket from Sheohar constituency.

Her husband Anand Mohan is in jail in the murder case of Gopalganj district magistrate G. Krishnaiya. Political analysts are of the opinion that sizeable Rajput voters may side with her if she contests against grand alliance candidate.

As per the seat sharing formula, Sheohar seat has been given to the RJD. According to sources here, the announcement for Sheohar has been delayed because Tej Pratap Yadav wants one of his close aides to contest from the seat.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.The association's state president P. Ayyakannu told newsmen after their state-level office-bearers meeting held at Tiruchy on Saturday that a resolution to this effect was adopted at the meeting.

TIRUCHY: The 'Desiya Then Indhiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayeegal Sangam' gave an ultimatum to the National leadership of both the BJP and the Congress on Saturday, stating that unless they were invited to the national capital New Delhi by April 6 and assured on the farmers' charter of demands, they will go ahead with their plan of fielding rebel candidates in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The association's state president P. Ayyakannu told newsmen after their state-level office-bearers meeting held at Tiruchy on Saturday that a resolution to this effect was adopted at the meeting.

The farmers demands include profitable price for agricultural produces, waiver of all farm loans, link all major rivers in the country and a monthly pension of Rs.6,000 for all farmers above 60 years.

He said since such long pending demands can only be resolved by the national parties, they have given an ultimatum to both the BJP and Congress parties. If they did not invite them for negotiations, as per their original plan and assure to include their demands in their respective party manifestos, 111 farmers from Tamil Nadu will leave for Varanasi on April 22, reach there on April 24 and will be beg on the streets there like 'Aghoris', to raise money for caution deposits for filing of nominations by 111 farmers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other national leaders like Priyanka Gandhi or any other leader from the Congress party, on April 25, he added.

He appealed to the BJP President Amit Shah and Congress President Rahul Gandhi to invite them for negotiations on or before April 6, to find a solution for the farmers' long- pending demands.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.Malappuram: As the buzz over Congress president Rahul Gandhis Wayanad foray continues, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday conveyed to the Congress high command their anguish over the delay in naming the candidate for the constituency.

The IUML top leaders met at the residence of party state president Sayyid Hyderali Shihab Thangal at Panakkad to discuss the issue amid concerns of the procrastination affecting the UDF election campaign.

Of the seven assembly segments in the constituency, three each belong to Malappuram and Wayanad districts and one to Kozhikode. So it is a cause for worry for all the three district committees of the UDF.

The IUML believes the presence of Mr Gandhi in the electoral scene of Kerala would make their task more relaxed in the region, as it would electrify the UDF across the state.

The state president has shared our concerns over the delay in naming the Wayanad candidate, and we are expecting an immediate decision, general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, the UDF candidate in Malappuram, told reporters after the meeting.

The absence of UDF candidate in Wayanad may affect the campaign in other constituencies. So the Congress should take a decision now.

He said it was up to the Congress party to field Mr Gandhi or not from Wayanad. In both cases, the IUML needed an immediate decision.

The IUML is expecting a wave in UDFs favour especially in Ponnani, where they face a fierce battle this time if Mr Gandhi contests from the neighbouring Wayanad. The Thangal called the meeting, attended by top leaders of the party, as the displeasure started brewing within the party, particularly the Wayanad district committee. The IUML has a significant vote in the Wayanad constituency which includes Ernad, Wandoor and Nilambur assembly segments in Malappuram district.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.CHENNAI: Strongly condemning the raids by the Income-Tax (I-T) department sleuths on the residence of the former Tamil Nadu minister and DMK treasurer Duraimurugan at Katpadi near Vellore since Friday night, the DMK President, M K Stalin termed it as a "blatant abuse of power by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) through the I-T department" in the backdrop of intelligence reports predicting a clean sweep for the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu in the April 18 Lok Sabha elections.

"The DMK will not be cowed down by such fascist tactics and sadism of the Central government," Mr Stalin said in a hard-hitting statement here on Saturday. "Perhaps, Sri Narendra Modi does not understand that the DMK had faced even the Emergency bravely and stood up to the draconian MISA terror," he said.

Accusing the Prime Minister with continuing to use I-T raids against the DMK and other opposition parties in different parts of the country even when the election process is on, Mr Stalin alleged that "he (Modi) is trying to have all Central agencies including CBI, ED etc. in his pocket and misuse official power, which was now reaching a zenith."

Mr Stalin said even the BJP's electoral deal with the AIADMK was like a quid-pro-quo after having ordered several raids against ruling AIADMK ministers, and added "now the PM is turning his attention towards the DMK." Mr. Modi is now only a caretaker Prime Minister, he said and asked why the Central agencies were still "keeping quiet" about such abuse of power when the model code of conduct for the general elections was in force.

Charging the BJP government at the Centre with "protecting" the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at any cost, the DMK leader said the I-T raids on Duraimurugan's house was like aiming covertly from its back on the DMK.

Mr. Stalin said the Election Commission should declare that autonomous central agencies including CBI and ED were also bound by the model code of conduct. If the EC's objective was to stop "cash distribution" to voters, the poll body should make efforts to ensure that all such Central agencies directly functioned under the Chief Justice of India when the poll code was in force, he urged.DHARMAPURI: The Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam taking the lead from J.Jayalalithaa's statement, accused DMK of deceiving people of the state and cover up its role in mass killing of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

On Saturday, the deputy CM was here for the election campaign in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri Lok sabha constituencies. He asked voters to support his party's alliance candidate Anbumani Ramadoss contesting in Dharmapuri and K.P. Munusamy of AIADMK in Krishnagiri Lok Sabha seats.

Three others are A. Govindasamy and V.Sampath Kumar and S.Jyothi, all belongs to AIADMK and in the electoral fray for the by-polls to be held on April 18 for Pappireddipatti, Harur and Hosur constituencies, respectively.

"When the Sri Lankan war was at its peak in 2009, Karunanidihi instead of pulling out his ministers from the Union government or withdraw his support to it, enacted a drama of three hours fast," OPS said.

Panneerselvam further said, "had he (Karunanidhi) withdrawn his support to the union government, it would have saved the lives Sri Lankan Tamils killed in 2009. This is the big betrayal done for Tamils by DMK, which claims it is the protector of the community."

The Deputy Chief Minister also recalled the 2011 resolution passed in the state Assembly by Jayalalithaa.

The resolution asked the Union government to impose economic embargo and those involved in war crimes be brought to justice, adding, it was 'Amma' who really cared for Tamils' welfare.BHUBANESWAR: Odisha minister and BJDs Ghasipura Assembly candidate Badri Narayan Patra is likely to see a tough fight in the 2019 elections, as Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee chief Niranjan Patnaik has reportedly accepted his challenge to contest from Ghasipura.

Mr Patnaik said that he will fight from Ghasipura if All India Congress Committee (AICC) gives a go ahead.

The BJD nominee, known as a bitter rival of Niranjan Patnaik, had thrown the challenge to the latter several times this year to fight against him.

Taking a dig at Mr Patra, the PCC chief said, I dont have the power to get involved in violence and criminal activities like the BJD leader but I definitely have guts to fight the election against him.

To prove this, I have requested AICC to consider fielding me from the Ghasipura constituency. Further if AICC recommends, I will contest from two seats  Ghasipura and Bhandaripokhari, the PCC chief said.Hyderabad: The Pulwama attack by terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed came as a gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its timing would benefit the NDA government in the Lok Sabha elections, said Indias former top spy A.S. Dulat. The BJP will display muscle and claim credit for the retaliation, he said.

In a conversation with Deccan Chronicle, Mr Dulat, former director of the Research and Analysis Wing, who is among Indias foremost experts on Indo-Pak relations, said, It was a ghastly tragedy. With an intent to send a strong message to Pakistan, India reacted through air strikes. Pakistan retaliated immediately because their air space was violated, and the rest is known to the world. However, the terror strikes have taken the BJP government to new heights. The incident has benefited Mr Modi to a degree that will be known post the elections, he said.

Repeating what Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had said about the surgical strikes during the UPA government, Mr Dulat said, Strikes kept happening and there were undisclosed attacks against Pakistan during the UPA regime but the government never spoke about it. In fact, no government in the past has given surgical strikes such a public display. This government likes publicity, as we have seen Mr Modi talking about it every day. Even Mr Shivshankar Menon, National Security Adviser during the UPA government, said that during our time we never spoke about the strikes.

The NDA is lucky. There was the 26/11 attack during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There were the Kargil war, the Parliament attack, and the plane hijack during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees tenure. The Modi government is lucky because the Pulwama attack happened before the elections, he said.

Mr Dulat has served in high ranking positions and advised the PMO between 2000 and 2004 on Kashmir. Asked about the situation in the Valley, he said, There is zero dialogue between Kashmir and Delhi. The Valley is in a mess of our making. The coalition between the north and the south never worked out.

As far as the approaches taken by Mr Modi and Vajpayee in addressing the situation in Kashmir are concerned, he cited that there was a solution to the Kashmir issue during Vajpayees government. The Modi government has been messing it up since July 2016. When Mr Modi was elected to power, it was thought that Kashmir would return to be peace. However, the Valley is in a mess, he said.

Asked if hypernationalism was good for the country, Mr Dulat said: Nationalism means war. The DNA of India remains secular. The country would do better without the open display of nationalism. A true sense of patriotism is more than enough. The country needs more humanism.

Agreeing with another former RAW chief, Mr Vikram Sood, for increasing human intelligence, Mr Dulat said, Resources (funding) for human intelligence should be increased. However, I believe that RAW and IB are among the top intelligence agencies. We are better than the enemy countrys intel body and this (statement) was backed by a former ISI officer.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.CHENNAI: The I-T raids at DMK treasurer Duraimurugan's house was initiated following information provided by the police, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo has informed.

The income tax sleuths on Saturday conducted searches on the premises of Duraimurugan in Vellore district near here over suspected use of unaccounted money for electioneering and seized Rs 10 lakh of alleged "excess" cash. Duraimurugan however alleged that the raids were a "conspiracy" by some political leaders who could not face them in the electoral arena.

When asked by reporters, the CEO said the raids were outcome of the information provided by the police. Duraimurugan's son Kathir Anand is contesting from Vellore Lok Sabha constituency.

The CEO further said that about Rs 70.90 crore has been seized so far by the EC flying squads. About 506 cases of poll violations have been registered. The EC has received 833 complaints of distribution of cash to voters and has registered 37 cases thus far.

ECI team to visit TN on April 2 for review:

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will lead an ECI delegation for a two-day trip to Tamil Nadu on April 2 to review the poll preparedness for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission delegation will meet representatives of political parties, Satyabrata Sahoo said here. "The Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners will be in Chennai on April 2 and 3 to meet representatives of political parties and hold various election related meetings," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, in view of the polls, the state government has arranged to operate 400 special buses from Chennai to various districts to enable the people to travel to their native places to cast their votes on the poll day.

The buses will leave from Koyambedu and Perangalathur and the services would be started two days before the election date. The Metro rail will also operate special services between 4.30 am and 11 pm from Monday to Saturday.According to sources, Dr Arshad was seeking an advanced certificate in orthodontics and a master of science in oral sciences at the UIC Orthodontics School. The school was closed on Friday in the wake of his death.

Hyderabad: Dr Arshad Mohammed from Vikarabad, a dentist from the state who was pursuing an orthodontics course in the US, died in a road accident at Chicago on Thursday night, according to reports.

Dr Arshad, 32, a resident of Andhra Pradesh Housing Board (APHB) Colony in Vikarabad, had gone to the US to pursue the course. He was staying at his sisters house in Bloomingdale in the US and was the youngest sibling.

In all, two people died in the accident three others sustained injuries in the multi-vehicle crash.

According to sources, Dr Arshad was seeking an advanced certificate in orthodontics and a master of science in oral sciences at the UIC Orthodontics School.

The school was closed on Friday in the wake of his death.

Dr Arshads family subsequently rented out their house in APHB Colony and were living in the city. Sources said Dr Arshads parents were going to Chicago for the funeral.

In all, two people died in the accident three others sustained injuries in the multi-vehicle crash. Of the three vehicles, two were damaged. One person, who got trapped in one of the vehicles, was extricated, reports said.The NITI Aayog scheme that replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government will return if the Congress is voted to power this year, Rahul Gandhi posted on social media. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP-led Modi governments NITI Aayog scheme of fudging data and assured to bring a leaner Planning Commission if the party comes back to power.

The NITI Aayog scheme that replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government will return if the Congress is voted to power this year, Rahul Gandhi posted on social media.

"If voted to power, we will scrap the NITI Aayog. It has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the PM and fudging data," Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Friday.

"We will replace it with a lean Planning Commission whose members will be renowned economists and experts with less than 100 staff," he said.

If voted to power, we will scrap the NITI Aayog. It has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the PM & fudging data.



We will replace it with a lean Planning Commission whose members will be renowned economists & experts with less than 100 staff.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 29, 2019

Rahul Gandhis remark comes after NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar trashed Congresss minimum income guarantee plan to give the poor Rs 72,000 annually, which was announced by the party chief at a pre-poll campaign.

Rajiv Kumar faced was slammed with a notice from the Election Commission over his remarks criticising the Congress's election promise of minimum income support for the poor.

In a reply to Gandhis comment, Union Minister VK Singh questioned the effectiveness of the Planning Commission. "Your party was in power for 60 odd years, and your family's version of Planning Commission didn't deliver much," VK Singh tweeted.

"Rahul Gandhi, rather than talking about breaking down institutions or tearing up ordinances, think about what you can contribute to the country. Tough ask, eh?" the BJP leader said.

Your party was in power for 60 odd years, and your familys version of Planning Commission didnt deliver much. @RahulGandhi rather than talking about breaking down institutions or tearing up ordinances, think about what you can contribute to the country.



Tough ask, eh? https://t.co/zxfZfbsI09  Chowkidar Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 29, 2019

The NITI Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India, whose chairman is PM Modi, is the premier policy think tank of the centre that provides both directional and policy inputs. The think tank on its website said that it's an important evolutionary change from the past and acts as the quintessential platform of the government to bring states to act together in national interest, and "thereby fosters cooperative federalism".

The Planning Commission was set up by the countrys first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950. Since then, the emphasis was on a growing public sector with massive public investments in basic and heavy industries. But the plan panel came under increased scrutiny with many experts questioning its role in a market-economy model where private enterprises are the primary growth engines.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of simultaneous elections in Odisha, veteran Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and sitting MP from Bhadrak constituency Arjun Charan Sethi on Saturday resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The six-time Lok Sabha member from Bhadrak tendered his resignation to party supremo Naveen Patnaik.

Apart from resigning from the primary membership of the party, the 78-year-old leader who was minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government also quit as member of parliament as well as from the post of district president.

I wanted to meet Naveen Patnaik but was not given an appointment. I waited for four hours but failed to meet him. At this old age, it was embarrassing that I had to wait for so long. I am pained that neither I nor my son was given ticket to contest in the ensuing polls, Mr Sethi told media.

Bhadrak youth BJD president Durga Das also tendered his resignation.

Mohan Jena, another BJD stalwart and former Jajpur Lok Sabha member, also resigned from the party and joined the BJP.

I was feeling suffocated in the BJD. Though I worked hard for the party, I was always ignored and never invited to participate in organisational activities, said Mr Jena.

While Arjun Sethis on Abhimanyu is likely to contest on BJP ticket from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat, Mohanj Jena will vie for Jajpur LS seat.

Prior to Arjun Sethi, three BJD Lok Sabha members  Baijayant Jay Panda, Balabhadra Majhi and Pratyusha Rajeswar had resigned the primary membership of the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.On March 27, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a rather dramatic address to the nation. He announced that India had deployed an anti-satellite kinetic kill vehicle to neutralise a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite at an altitude of 300 kilometres.

The satellite in question was ostensibly the Microsat-R. It was launched on January 24, 2019. The Microsat-R weighs 740 kg and was in a 268-km-by-289-km orbit. Elaborating on its specifications, Gunter's Space Page states, "Microsat-R is an small Indian satellite built for the Indian military by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), likely as a target satellite for A-Sat testing. The satellite has a launch mass of 740 kg and orbits the earth at a height of 274 km. Reportedly, it was built by a handful of DRDO laboratories, not by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The satellite was destroyed in an A-Sat test on March 27, 2019 (confirmation pending)."

The fact that the test was conducted slam bang in the middle of an election and the manner in which the Prime Minister chose to address the nation raised a lot of eyebrows because the current NDA/BJP dispensation is not chary of using the national security paradigm as a political prop. As an aside in the minutes leading up to the Prime Minister's address there was both tittering and trepidation on social media with people asking whether they should run to the bank or the bunker. The references were obviously to the disastrous demonetisation proclamation by the Prime Minister on November 8, 2016, and the recent standoff between India and Pakistan post the Pulwama suicide bombing.

It is important to put the A-Sat test in perspective. India started developing a ballistic missile defence capacity 20 years ago - in 1999. An anti-satellite weapon is a part of that capacity. In 2011, India tested its interception capability by neutralising an incoming missile at an altitude of 16 km. Academics tracking the progress of the programme are of the considered opinion that between 2011 and now there have been six tests - five of them successful and one unsuccessful. The significant thing about these tests was that each time the altitude of the test kept increasing from the previous one by a height of 16 km.

It, therefore, would be completely incorrect to believe that this kinetic kill capacity emerged out of the blue on March 27 or, for that matter, the technology demonstration had been recessed by the previous UPA government. It was a simple case of a calibrated and graduated mastery over a complex technological process.

What, though, was a first was the manner in which the Prime Minister sought to take ownership of a two-decade-old programme in poll season by spinning it off as a personal achievement rather than a national one that spanned the tenures of several successive governments.

Also, there are deeper issues of space theology at play. The test represents a reversal of India's position with regard to militarisation and weaponisation of outer space.

As late as April 4, 2018, India had told the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva that it "believes that outer space should be an ever-expanding frontier of cooperative endeavour rather than an area of conflict. India, as a space-faring nation with wide-ranging interests in outer space activities, remained opposed to the weaponisation of outer space and support(s) collective efforts to strengthen the safety and security of space-based assets". The March 27 test does not square up with this position but represents a holistic turnaround.

V.K. Saraswat, head of DRDO, in 2012, had explained India's diffidence, if not aversion, to an anti-satellite test, saying: "We will not do a physical test [actual destruction of a satellite] because of the risk of space debris affecting other satellites." The fact that he has turned his earlier position on its head by now stating that the previous UPA government did not accord permission to carry out the test is logic-defying. Incidentally, the former national security advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon, has publicly contradicted Mr Saraswat. He said, "This is the first I have ever heard of it. Saraswat never asked me for permission for an A-Sat test." He added that while Mr Saraswat made an informal presentation, he did not seek any sanction or approval.

The more serious concern, meanwhile, is that there has not been enough public discussion about India's policy towards outer space as there was when we decided not to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, or separate our civil and military nuclear programmes, as a condition precedent to the Indo-US nuclear deal. Should India go down the same path as the United States, China and Russia with regard to engaging and neutralisation of space assets? This is a question that India has not seriously asked itself. Only the US and China have piloted tests of anti-satellite systems against live targets in the recent past. In 2007, China was at the receiving end of pervasive international censure for neutralising a satellite at an altitude of over 800 km in low earth orbit. The test generated more than 2,000 pieces of debris, hundreds of which will remain in orbit for years to come.

In 2008, the US validated an anti-satellite competence when a US Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser, USS Lake Erie, launched a Standard Missile-3 interceptor. The test revealed the similarities between ballistic missile defence interception technologies and those required to destroy satellites. Russia is evolving a new anti-satellite system known as the PL19, or Nudol. That weapon is yet to be verified against a live satellite target.

Finally, did the A-Sat test carried out by India go against the grain of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 to which we are a party? An article of the treaty states: "The States Parties to this Treaty Recognising the common interests of all humankind in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space, agree to the following: State Parties to the Treaty shall carry on activities in the exploration of space and use of outer space in the interest of maintaining international peace and security."

Whether an A-SAT does that or not is a question that does not require a knowledge of rocket science to answer. It would, however, be only fair to add that the US, former Soviet Union and China have been the original offenders in this regard and in that order.

The writer is a lawyer and a former Union minister. The views expressed are personal. Twitter handle @manishtewari.The law is said to be blind. But those dispensing justice are sometimes said to be blindsided by circumstance or struck by woodenness. This comes to mind in the case of the young firebrand Gujarat Patidar leader, Hardik Patel, who recently joined the Congress party and was hoping to be a candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from the Jamnagar constituency in Saurashtra.

On Friday, the Gujarat High Court rejected his application for a stay on his conviction in a 2015 rioting case in Visnagar in the course of the Patidar agitation. In 2017 Mr. Patel was convicted by a local court.

The high court's decision will stun many. According to a tally last year by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 1,580 MLAs and MPs face criminal charges. They are yet to be convicted, of course, but the ongoing cases against many of them are for heinous crimes, and they resort to appeals to keep the ball in play.

In contrast, the case against Mr Patel is for championing a sociopolitical movement. To take a parallel from history, the British colonial authorities in India would have foisted thousands of cases against nationalists, Gandhi being just one example.

By keeping the 25-year old from the electoral arena, the high court has shown it is missing any sense of perspective or proportion. But many actions of the judiciary do not any longer cause surprise. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had ordered several sensitive 2002 communal violence cases to be tried outside Gujarat for fear of miscarriage of justice within the state.Anita Rose, the daughter of a poor Christian masseuse living in Karachi; Monty, a rich kid in the same city and Sunny, the son of an Indian immigrant living in Portsmouth belong to different worlds but their vulnerability, lack of a proper emotional support structure and the need to belong takes them on a journey to a jihadi camp in Syria and finally, towards Islamic extremism.

The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto is a fantastic read which makes the reader understand why so many youngsters from Britain, Australia and other parts of the West have been fleeing the security of their everyday lives and becoming Jihadi brides or ISIS fighters. Through the lives of the main characters, Bhutto reveals how dissatisfaction and alienation can lead youngsters to do unimaginable things like becoming radicalised.

While the subject may be serious, the author weaves a vivid story that is endearing, humorous, romantic and heartbreaking in parts. You really feel for the characters and want to reach out to them and say, No! Dont go there!

The irony of Anita Roses life is that the one constant figure of genuine friendship and kindness actually sets her on a path to terrorism.

Osama, her elderly neighbour and only friend who for years is the familys go-to man for free groceries and other necessities, introduces her to literature that celebrates fighters and genuine heroes  Men he had known who believed in something great, of writers who opposed oppression and injustice.

This sadly triggers her anger towards society and classmates who make it known to her that she doesnt belong with them.

For a girl who wants nothing more than to hang out with and live the life of all the rich kids with their beautiful homes in Karachis upmarket Clifton, Syria becomes her destination instead. Monty, on the other hand, has everything going for him as the only child of one of Karachis richest businessmen. But his neurotic mother and emotionally absent father, who believes Monty needs to man up, do not give him the security that he craves.

The Ahmeds do however, provide some humorous moments. Montys dads annoyance over talkative cabbies who just wont shut up when they fetch you from Heathrow in London is so relatable. When the Uber driver asks Montys dad if he needs anything, all he says is, Silence! His disdain towards a maulvi that his wife suddenly starts to follow is also very funny.

Sunny, the books other main character, is the best sketched out figure. His father, an Indian immigrant who comes to England dreaming of going to Ascot, becoming English and turning into a huge success story is as comical as its tragic. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, he tries to make a life for his family in Portsmouth but simply tries too hard.

Stuck with a slightly cuckoo father, who also makes for an excellent nag, Sunny is confused about his sexuality and really doesnt know who or what can make life happy. All those desi girls in hijab who are wild in bed or the white girls who find Sunny super hot also dont do it for him anymore. He turns towards religion in the hope of finding salvation but its his attraction towards his cousin Oz that finally pushes him towards Syria.

Fatima Bhutto

Author Fatima Bhutto, a Pakistani born in Afghanistan, has lived in Syria and experienced the tragedy that comes with being born into one of the worlds most powerful political dynasties. No wonder then that she is best suited to tell the tale of youngsters growing up in a painful world, making The Runaways such a relatable and relevant read.

I believe in redemption as a principle

Q The Runaways is such a great work. How long did it take you to put it together? How did you go about your research?

I spent about four years writing the novel and rewriting it several times. It began as a much shorter book and more driven by the news and current events but with every draft, I moved away from the news and more into the inner life, the troubles and the hopes of the characters. While the first half of the book is completely focused on who Sunny, Monty, Anita Rose and Layla are, the second half places them in conflict with the wider world. Part of the book was based on things Ive observed over the years  the loneliness, confusion and isolation of not belonging  and then another part, particularly to do with the day-to-day life of someone fighting in Iraq, came out of reading and watching a lot of accounts of young people who had left their homes and families to join extremist movements.

Q Your book finally makes one understand why so many British teenagers have been running away to Syria to join ISIS. How do you think they can be prevented from making this mistake?

Compassion. If those teenagers  not just in Britain but anywhere in the world  had felt their society valued and respected them and that they had a role to play in the future of their country or community, then I doubt they would have left their homes to take up arms against the world. The compassion towards and inclusion of people who feel relegated to the periphery has to be there before they make these devastating choices.

Q One cant help but feel sorry for them, do you think that at least a few deserve a second chance or they just have to deal with the consequences?

I believe in redemption as a principle. One must always have space for empathy and redemption but I also recognise that people have to be held responsible for their actions  especially when they are motivated by anger and violence. But that is the beautiful thing about novels, they demand empathy of you before anything else. And thats a good guide for life in general.

Q For someone who was born in Afghanistan, lived in Syria and born into a famous politics dynasty in Pakistan, how much did your heritage help you own this novel?

I come from so many places and feel an affinity with the countries you mentioned  from Afghanistan to Syria  and that, I suppose, makes me open towards places that most people are unsure about because they have only heard of them from a distance. Ive always been interested in people on the fringe and those who would otherwise be cast in the darkness, but this novel was not so much influenced by my past as by the present and what I felt when I looked at the world around me right now.

Q You have been through so much tragedy in your life but still believe in the importance of peace and have not let your life only be coloured by tragic events. What gives you that strength which the characters in this book lack? How did you deal with the hardships?

I was deeply loved. I was raised by a father who gave me his time, his love and his attention - that's what saved me and continues to save me today. Even 23 years after my father, Murtaza, was assassinated, it is his love that nurtures and protects me. In this, I know I am incredibly fortunate and I thank God every day for giving me the gift of my father, even though I only had him for a very short time.

Q Poverty, the desperate need to fit in, loneliness and wrong company are what prove to be the characters undoing.... in Sunny and Montys case their parents can be blamed to a certain extent, but what about Anita Roses mum? Do people like that have any chance?

Anita Roses story is set against the backdrop of burning inequality. The depravations she endures are more painful, more haunting and unremitting. None of the characters are motivated by religion, which alone is not the cause of radicalism in the world today. But how do we judge a girl who has to fight for the most basic rights? Who will have nothing  no chance at life, who is rendered powerless and invisible by the poverty of her birth  unless she battles for it? How do we condemn her for wanting a different life?

Q What do you have to say about a character like Ozair? Should we applaud him for turning his life around in time or despise him for destroying another life?

Without giving away too many spoilers, I think Ozair is not what he seems. Rather, hes never what he seems and Im not sure I can applaud a character so easily flexible with his ethics and morals. Hes not someone I trust either...

Q When you look at Syria today how do you feel? Can it ever become the Syria you lived in?

Its heartbreaking to see what Syria and the Syrian people have been through and I could have never imagined such a scale of horror taking over a country that I love, but I have faith that Syria will recover.

It will certainly take time, but I have hope. Syria is a country that has survived through millennia with its heart and soul intact.

Q What next? How are you unwinding now?

Right now, Im on the next leg of the book tour, I just finished the UK part of the tour and am preparing to head to Australia where I'll be speaking at the Sydney Writers Festival. Theres not a huge amount of unwinding yet but Im enjoying going back to books and reading for pleasure rather than for research! I just read an utterly gripping non-fiction book called Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (its about the troubles in Ireland, so I wouldnt call it unwinding material but fascinating nonetheless!)

Q When can we expect your next novel?

My next book is going to be non-fiction, its a narrative reportage on the end of the American century of soft power and the new centres of global pop culture rising up in India, Turkey and Korea.Northam wants to change legislation that would bar drivers from holding a cellphone while driving in a highway work zone to apply to all roads throughout the state.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's effort to ban motorists from holding cellphones while driving appears doomed.

House Speaker Kirk Cox spokesman Parker Slaybaugh said the speaker believes an amendment Northam is proposing is out of order.

Such a ruling by the speaker would effectively kill Northam's proposed amendment. Northam wants to change legislation that would bar drivers from holding a cellphone while driving in a highway work zone to apply to all roads throughout the state.

Slaybaugh said Northam's proposal is not germane to the original legislation related only to work zones and noted that lawmakers already failed to pass a broad so-called "hands-free driving" bill earlier this year.

Northam's office declined to comment.

The legislature will return April 3 to take up Northam's vetoes and amendments.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.SAMR, a body under the State Council, issued a public notice calling on local authorities to seriously investigate advertisements involving political sensitivities and vulgar content.

Chinas top market regulator on Friday demanded online platforms police advertisements more closely, marking another effort from the government to clean up illegal web content.

Chinas State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), a body under the State Council, issued a public notice calling on local authorities to seriously investigate advertisements involving political sensitivities and vulgar content.

Specifically, the body called for increased scrutiny toward advertisements making guarantees or exaggerations about health foods and medicinal products, or promoting risk-free or guaranteed interest financial investments.

It also called for investigation into advertisements that create vile impacts on society.

The regulator cited web portals, search engines, e-commerce sites, and small online media outlets as targets.

Online advertisements have been a sore subject for some of Chinas internet companies.

In 2016, search giant Baidu Inc faced a massive scandal when a student battling cancer died after seeking treatment from a hospital offering a false remedy it advertised on the site.

Chinas top internet regulator went on to claim that the companys search results had an impact on the students death and demanded it reduce the numbers of paid promotions on its search listings.

Since then, false advertising has remained a perennial subject for Chinas regulators. In 2017, an editorial in Chinas Peoples Daily, a state-backed newspaper, called false advertising a malignant tumor.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.On March 22, Mueller completed his 22-month probe and Barr on Sunday sent a four-page letter to Congress that outlined the main findings. (Photo:AP)

Washington: US Attorney General William Barr plans to make public a redacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April, "if not sooner," he said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday.

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr wrote in the letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

He said he was willing to appear before both committees to testify about Mueller's report on May 1 and May 2.

On March 22, Mueller completed his 22-month probe and Barr on Sunday sent a four-page letter to Congress that outlined the main findings. Barr told lawmakers that the investigation did not establish that members of the election campaign of President Donald Trump conspired with Russia.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday Trump said he had "great confidence" in Barr.

Asked whether he agreed with Barr's decision to release the Mueller report to the public, Trump said, "If that's what he'd like to do I have nothing to hide. This was a hoax. This was a witch hunt."

Leading congressional Democrats are pressing for a quick release of the entire Mueller report.

"We need to see the Mueller report ASAP, with only those redactions that are absolutely necessary to protect intelligence sources and methods. Congress and the American people need the full story about what happened in 2016," said Senator Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

A Mueller spokesman would not comment on the letter to Congress that Barr issued on Friday.

Mueller left unresolved the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Barr said that based on the evidence presented, he concluded it was not sufficient to charge the president with obstruction.

Barr said his letter on Sunday "was not, and did not purport to be an exhaustive recounting" of Mueller's investigation and said he believed the public should be allowed to read the report and judge for themselves.

Lawmakers have since been clamouring for more details.

In a statement on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said the April 2 deadline he imposed on Barr's Justice Department "still stands" and he urged the release of a "full and complete" report without redactions.

The top Republican on the committee, Doug Collins, said on Twitter that Barr was "following his word" by pledging to release the report and chided Nadler for setting an arbitrary deadline.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is released, including secret grand jury information, intelligence sources and methods and information that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

Nadler rejected that notion, saying Barr must "work with us to request a court order to release any and all grand jury information to the House Judiciary Committee."

The federal rules of criminal procedure make it a crime for government officials to publicly divulge sensitive grand jury materials such as transcripts, unless a federal judge signs off first.

Barr said on Friday that although Trump also has the right to assert executive privilege on some materials in the report to keep them from being made public, Trump has said publicly he intends to defer to Barr.

Because of that, Barr added, there were no plans for the Justice Department to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

During his investigation, Mueller brought charges against 34 people, including Russian agents and former Trump aides.

The US intelligence community has concluded that Russia used a campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, harm Clinton and boost Trump's candidacy. Russia denied election interference.The move drew condemnation from both the president's rival Democrats and fellow Republicans. (Photo:AP)

Washington: President Donald Trump renewed on Thursday his threat to close the vital US-Mexico border, claiming America's southern neighbor was doing "NOTHING" to slow the flow of illegal immigrants to the United States.

In a flurry of early morning tweets, Trump warned: "May close the Southern Border!"

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action," he added.

"Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don't care, such Bad laws."

Trump has previously made similar threats, including in December in the early days of America's longest ever federal government shutdown, when he vowed to seal the frontier "entirely" if Congress does not approve billions of dollars in funding for a wall.

Lawmakers demurred and Trump declared a national emergency instead to bypass Congress and unlock the money to fulfill his 2016 campaign promise to build a border wall.

The move drew condemnation from both the president's rival Democrats and fellow Republicans, who warned it was an abuse of presidential powers and created a dangerous precedent.

Although there has been a surge in arrivals of families and children at the border, overall apprehensions there are down substantially from a decade or more ago.Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December to refrain from further escalation. (Photo:AP)

Washington: The United States said on Friday that its trade negotiators are making "great headway" with Beijing in talks aimed at ending a bruising tariffs battle between the two economic superpowers.

US and Chinese negotiators are working to find a binding agreement to address President Donald Trump's complaints about years of unfair treatment of US companies by China, which would allow a rollback of the tariffs hitting businesses in both countries.

"We are still making great headway, including these talks," White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said on CNBC, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer headed home from the latest round of negotiations in Beijing.

"The last message we got is they made more headway," Kudlow said.

The White House also reported "progress" in what it termed "candid and constructive discussions," saying the trade talks would resume in the US capital on April 3.

And Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the latest round yielded "new progress," without elaborating.

Mnuchin wrote on Twitter that he and Lighthizer "concluded constructive trade talks in Beijing," but did not provide more details.

"I look forward to welcoming China's Vice Premier Liu He to continue these important discussions in Washington next week," he said.

The two negotiating teams, including China's central bank chief Yi Gang, posed for pictures in front of Chinese and American flags at the conclusion of the latest round of talks, but they did not make statements to the media.

Officials are seeking to iron out major differences over US accusations that China has been using unfair trade practices for years by heavily subsidizing its companies while snatching the technological know-how of American firms.

Trump has said the two sides were close to a deal, repeatedly saying the talks are going "very well," but officials have played down expectations of an imminent agreement.

On Thursday, Kudlow said the talks were not "time-dependent" and could last weeks or even months if necessary.

The talks are "policy and enforcement dependent," Kudlow said.

The Chinese commerce ministry said a "large amount of work" remains to be done.

The two sides have imposed tariffs on USD 360 billion in two-way trade since last year but Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December to refrain from further escalation.

Trump suggested last week that some of those tariffs should stay in place even after a deal is reached to ensure China keeps its end of any bargain.

"We have to see what the track record is and we're not going to give up our leverage," said Kudlow.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that all the tariffs will be kept in place, some of the tariffs will be kept there," he told Bloomberg TV.

US insistence on keeping the first tranche of 25 percent tariffs on USD 50 billion worth of Chinese imports could be a sticking point for a deal, analysts say.

It is hard to predict if China will accept a deal leaving some tariffs in place, said economist Cui Fan of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

The truce agreed by Xi and Trump called for "reaching a deal as soon as possible in the direction of mutually canceling the punitive tariffs slapped on by both sides," Cui said.

Beijing has taken steps to address some US complaints, rushing through a law this month that promises to protect foreign firms from the forced transfer of technology.

It also includes language on protecting foreign companies' commercial secrets, and fleshes out criminal penalties for officials who leak confidential information they obtain from overseas businesses.

Chinese state-owned companies also have stepped up purchases of American agricultural goods such as soybeans.

Massive purchases of American goods are expected to be part of any deal, in order to lower the politically sensitive US goods trade deficit with China, which reached a record high of USD 419.2 billion last year.Modi will remain at the Wandsworth prison in south-west London during that period, where he can hold sessions with his legal team to deliberate on the course of the extradition case. (Photo: PTI)

London: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi failed in his second attempt to get bail in his extradition case at the Westminster Magistrates' Court here despite his defence team trying hard to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to care for a pet dog.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot on Friday declined the bail application of the 48-year-old prime accused in the USD 1-2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case on the grounds that he did pose a "substantial" flight risk and that he lacked "community ties" with the UK. Clare Montgomery, Modi's barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail. "He did have a son at Charterhouse (school in London) who has now gone to university in the States and as a sign of ageing parents, led Modi to get a dog instead.

None of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out to flee the country," Montgomery claimed. Britain has a long-held reputation as a nation of animal lovers. "It is nonsense to say that he is a flight risk. He does not have a safe haven open to him and he has not travelled or applied for citizenship elsewhere - he only qualifies for leave to remain in this country," she added. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, stressed that Modi posed a significant flight risk and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence if he were released. Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian government's arguments, noting the "very unusual" evidence she had seen at this early stage in the case of interference with witnesses and destruction evidence in the form of mobile phones and a server.

Montgomery, who along with Anand Doobay of Boutique Law makes up a very similar defence team as that of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case against India, told the court that her client was willing to put up 1 million pound as security -- doubling of the 500,000 pounds figure offered at the first bail hearing last week. She also offered to submit to several "stringent conditions", including Modi wearing an electronic tag to be monitored regularly. The tag was claimed to be even better than reporting to any police station but Modi was also willing to submit to even that requirement. As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Montgomery said that Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up and switched on at all times, submit to complete travel restrictions and also surrender all his residence permits, including for Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE.

The defence team also attempted to counter additional CPS evidence, submitted on Friday by the joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team, that claimed Modi had made death threats to witnesses in the PNB fraud case, many of whom had been forced to leave India to hide away in Cairo, Egypt. "All of the witnesses who make varying claims have been in India since then and cooperating with the authorities," said Montgomery.

The CPS was able to challenge Modi's defence claims that he had not travelled out of the UK since January 2018, when he allegedly arrived in Britain to establish the global headquarters of his diamond business. CPS barrister Toby Cadman told the court that in fact he had flown out to New York as recently as last month. "That aside, he has known about these matters for some time but has not cooperated with authorities in any way. Now that the (extradition) process has started, there is an even greater risk of his fleeing (the UK)," Cadman submitted.

The judge agreed that she did not feel that the conditions met with Modi's statutory right to bail in such a case and directed Modi to be remanded in custody to appear for a remand hearing via videocall on April 26, required within a four-week period of an accused being remanded in custody. Modi will remain at the Wandsworth prison in south-west London during that period, where he can hold sessions with his legal team to deliberate on the course of the extradition case. His lawyers have urged the judge to allow them more that the few hours a week allowed by the jail, one of the UK's most overcrowded prisons.Opposition leaders at the BBMP council came down heavily on the civic body for not taking appropriate measures to help tide over the water crisis in the city.

They rallied against the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) as it failed to take steps despite being aware of the model code of conduct in place prior to the Lok Sabha elections.

BBMP and BWSSB officials, when asked about the water crisis, cite code of conduct for not moving files or floating tenders, said Padmanabha Reddy, opposition leader at the council.

D Randeep, special commissioner (Solid Waste Management), said the BBMP is waiting for the decision to be officially communicated by the Urban Development Department. This may be confirmed by Monday or later, then the BBMP shall call for short term tenders, he said.

He also said the Election Commission of Indias model code of conduct does not hold good for the water crisis in the city, as access to water is an essential service.

Power failure is one of the main reasons for irregular water supply, the opposition leaders said. There is no cooperation between the BWSSB and BESCOM. Whenever there is power supply, there is no water and vice versa. The BWSSB should have called for short term tenders by now but nothing has happened so far, added Reddy.

It was emphasised in the meeting that the water crisis is severe in 110 villages under the BBMP that depend only on borewells for water. The BWSSB is yet to complete the pipeline and UGD works at 110 villages. We dont know when the water will be supplied, said M Anjinappa, the Begur corporator. The corporators of Bellandur and Yelahanka said there is an acute crisis in their wards.

But some corporators argued the crisis is very much there in other areas besides the 110 villages. They wanted to know why the BBMP is focussing only in the 110 villages.

Suresh P, additional chief engineer, BWSSB, claimed the power interruption has been drastically reduced over the past few days after BWSSB submitted a letter to BESCOM.

Meanwhile, with the single judge bench of the high court quashing a BBMP order banning all outdoor advertising for one year, opposition leaders said if banners are back it would dent the beauty of Bengaluru, condemning the move.The wave of opposition to a hike in minimum balance on the metro smart card saw its first physical representation in the form of a protest at the Town Hall on Friday.

In a sudden move on Wednesday, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) hiked the minimum balance from Rs 8.50 to Rs 50, leaving many commuters stranded.

Officials had said the decision was taken to end the problem of long queues at exit gates, created by passengers with low balance recharging at customer care centres.

On Friday, a small group of commuters gathered in front of Town Hall to protest against the "autocratic decision".

Krushika A V, on a two-day visit to the city, said he was one of the 300 commuters who got stranded at the Sampige Road metro station for not having the minimum balance.

"I had Rs 39 and offered to recharge the card by Rs 11 to ensure compliance with the rule. But a metro staffer said Rs 50 is the minimum recharge amount. I don't understand why commuters have to shell out so much money when they don't need it," he said.

Krushika and 300 others staged a protest at the metro station and demanded that metro officials address them.

"Many protesters left after 10 pm. I waited till 12.30 am but the police came and convinced me to return there the next day. On Thursday, I didn't stage a protest but metro officials got me arrested by the Malleswaram police," he added.

Burden on poor

Guruprasad D N, another commuter, said the BMRCL's decision would hurt the poor. "It's a huge blow to the poor who want to get the discount on travel. We pay Rs 50 to buy the card. If anyone didn't have the money to pay for the exit, the BMRCL should have confiscated their card. Imposing such a rule on everyone shows total disregard for commuters," he added.

Krushika and Ramesh Adiga, another protester, said the BMRCL should have consulted the public before taking such a decision.

"We have submitted a memorandum and will continue this protest," they added.India on Friday put on hold its engagement with Pakistan on the proposed Kartarpur Corridor after the government of the neighbouring country roped in people known for supporting the campaign for Khalistan.

Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner to India, Syed Haider Shah, was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in South Block in New Delhi early on Friday. The senior MEA officials conveyed to him New Delhi's concerns over the inclusion of Gopal Singh Chawla and other pro-Khalistani leaders based in Pakistan in the committee, which Prime Minister Imran Khan's Government recently constituted to welcome the pilgrims from India through the proposed Kartarpur Corridor, sources said.

Once completed, the Kartarpur Corridor linking India and Pakistan would facilitate pilgrims from India to travel to the final resting place of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak in Pakistan.

India also asked Pakistan to clarify its position on certain issues related to implementation of the Kartarpur Corridor project on which differences emerged between the two sides when the officials of the two governments had held the first meeting on Kartarpur Corridor at Attari (India) on the Attari-Wagah border on March 14.

The second meeting between the officials of the MEA and the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India and their counterparts in Government of Pakistan had been scheduled to take place at Wagah (Pakistan) on the Attari-Wagah border on April 2.

New Delhi, however, made it clear that the next meeting could happen only when it would receive clarification from Islamabad on the reports indicating of Pakistan Government accommodated people, who had been campaigning for carving out a Khalistan out of India, sources said.

India decided to put on hold its engagement with Pakistan on Kartarpur Corridor just a day after the neighbouring country claimed that its own probe into the dossier it received from New Delhi found that no individual or entity in its territory was in any way linked to the February 14 killing of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in a suicide attack.

Chawla, who is known to be linked to anti-India and pro-Khalistan entities based in Pakistan, has been accommodated in a committee that Khan Government constituted this week in connection with the Kartarpur Corridor.

He is also linked to radical cleric Hafiz Saeed, who is based at Lahore in Pakistan and whom New Delhi suspects to be the founder of the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) as well as the brain behind the November 26-28, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Not only Chawla, but several other pro-Khalistani activists based in Pakistan  Bison Singh, Kuljit Singh and Maninder Singh  were included in the committee set up by Khan Government to welcome pilgrims from India, when they would arrive at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.

The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan is among the holiest for the Sikhs as it marks the place where Guru Nanak lived for 18 years and finally breathed his last in 1539.

India is insisting to make the movement of its pilgrims from the country to Pakistan through Kartarpur Corridor visa-free as also free of any other permit, documentation or fees. Pakistan Government, however, has been seeking to impose a special permit along with charging a fee, which, New Delhi argued, would be repugnant to the religious sentiments of pilgrims and the spirit of providing them smooth and easy access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur through the proposed corridor. Pakistan has also not yet agreed to allow overseas citizens of India to avail the corridor.Wary of dissidence and the threat of sabotage, the Congress on Friday warned party cadre of "strong disciplinary action" if they were found to be working against the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka.

"Those Congress leaders working against the Congress-JD(S) alliance candidates, especially the JD(S) candidate, I'm categorically saying they will face strong disciplinary action. Those working to help the BJP or independents supported by the BJP have no place in the Congress," AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal said after holding a discussion with Congress ministers.

Congress rank and file have a broader interest, which is "to defeat the BJP at any cost and reduce the BJP's numbers," he said.

Congress faces the challenge of convincing its grassroots machinery to work in tandem with the JD(S), a party that has been a bitter rival for decades. "Everywhere Congress workers are complaining. Small issues are there (between the two parties). Not we're confident...we're patching up everything," Venugopal said.

In the meeting, Venugopal asked ministers to ensure coordination with JD(S) in the districts they are in charge of. Venugopal asked them to involve JD(S) workers in campaigns, and that they draw up strategies to counter the BJP at the local level.

Karnataka has 28 seats of which the Congress is contesting 21 and the rest seven will be fought by the JD(S) as part of the pre-poll alliance. Karnataka will have polls on April 18 and April 23.

On March 31, the alliance will sound the poll bugle by a joint campaign that will be launched by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumakuru Road near Bengaluru city.Defending dynasty politics, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday said this in fact helped regional parties thrive in the country.

Justifying the JD(S)s decision to field three of family members in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kumaraswamy said his party was not different from other parties, including national parties.

Dynasty politics has lost its meaning. This trend is prevalent in many states. Not just in regional parties  dynasty politics is prevalent in the Congress and the BJP too. In my opinion, regional parties are thriving only because of dynasty politics. Some regional parties have persisted only because of certain political families. In Tamil Nadu, who will build DMK, if not for the Karunanidhi family? The NCP in Maharashtra is replete with family members. The Samajwadi Party is also thriving because of dynasty politics. If anybody can give a fight to Nitish Kumar or the BJP, it is only the Lalu Yadav family. The JD(S) is standing today only because of the struggles of my family, he said during an interaction with DH and Prajavani on Friday.

The CM said the Gowda family should not be held responsible for fielding family members, as it merely yielded to its workers demands.

The JD(S) is also around because of the faith reposed by party workers in my family. They believe the party will survive if my family grows politically. I have no choice but to yield to their demands. People from political families can be in politics only when people bless them, he added.

Kumaraswamy said that BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa too was guilty of dynasty politics. He said that Yeddyurappas older son B Y Raghavendra was already in active politics, when his second son too was foraying into politics.

A third person from Yeddyurappas family has also entered politics. It was in fact Yeddyurappas second son who took an active lead in the BJPs attempts to topple the coalition government recently. He was the one who was handling the money and handing it over (to ruling party MLAs) in Mumbai. Two or three more family members from Yeddyurappas family may enter politics in future. Who knows. When such is the precedent, then why blame the Deve Gowda family alone? he said.

He said that he was forced to field his son Nikhil from Mandya. During the Mandya bypolls itself, all eight MLAs of Mandya had demanded that Nikhil should be fielded. But I had snubbed them then. I wouldnt have fielded him today also. Nikhil had campaigned in all eight constituencies during the Assembly elections and all eight MLAs have developed a fondness for him. Nikhil was fielded only because the MLAs insisted that he be the candidate. We (family) didnt impose his candidature in Mandya. We have just responded to their emotions.

Nikhil is a politician first

When asked how he found it convenient to deride film actors entering politics while his son himself was an actor, Kumaraswamy said Nikhil was first a politician and then an actor. Not only Ramya (former Congress MP). I have even criticised Ambareesh. Nikhil is somebody who likes to be among people. Politics is in his blood. He knows the plight of the people.

When asked if Nikhil will not act in films in future, he said, Its not that he should not act in films in future.The Congress seems to be planning to cash in on the dissatisfaction within the BJP and lure its aspirant to the party fold by giving him candidature from Chikkodi constituency.

The BJP did not give the party ticket to former MP Ramesh Katti from Chikkodi. He had lost the previous election to Prakash Hukkeri (Congress).

The saffron party is fielding Annasaheb Jolle, who too had earlier unsuccessfully contested two Assembly elections. This

has not gone down well in the party. Annasaheb is the husband of Nippani MLA Shashikala Jolle.

The grand old party plans to shift Hukkeri to the Belgaum constituency. Hukkeri had earlier said that he was prepared to shift to Belgaum as he has good equations with the leaders and people across linguistic communities there.

After Jolles name was announced as BJP candidate from Chikkodi, dissatisfaction in the BJP came to the fore, but none of the leaders have expressed their dissent on record, barring Hukkeri MLA Umesh Katti, who urged the party to reconsider its decision.

Umesh had been lobbying for the party candidature for his younger brother Ramesh, who has remained active in the constituency.

Umesh said BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa had been asked to reconsider the decision and that he would wait for the response. The brothers could jump

the ship if their demands are not met, say political observers.

The Katti brothers are expected to hold a meeting with their supporters in Hukkeri on Sunday to decide on the next course of action if the BJP fails to reconsider its decision.

Sources said Congress leaders from the district were working on a strategy to retain Chikkodi and win Belgaum. They will have to convince Virupakshappa Sadhunvar to withdraw the nomination papers in Belgaum, if Hukkeri has to contest.The trail of Uzbekistans national hero Amir Timur (also spelt Temur) is also the trail of the ancient Silk Road. But if you are visiting Uzbekistan, your initiation with history perhaps begins with a museum to the Temurids in the sprawling capital city of Tashkent.

The Museum of History of Temurids  which is called the Amir Timur Museum popularly  is a building with a blue cupola with all three floors dedicated to the rulers of Uzbekistan. Once you enter the building and before exploring the various exhibits what you confront at the centre of the main hall is a copy of the Muslim holy book  the Koran Osman. This Koran is said to be a copy of the oldest holy book of the Muslims which is preserved in the same capital city.

This museum was built only to commemorate the 600th birthday of Timur.



Amir Timur Museum



As you stand in front of the Koran admiring its display and size, you come face to face with Timur in a large mural on the wall in the style of miniatures, titled The Great Timur  the great creator. Made by Uzbek artists, it draws your attention along with a beautiful chandelier adorning the ceiling.

The picture reflects the life of Timur from his birth to his death. It shows a shooting star, symbolising the translation of his name Amir Temur as born under a lucky star.

In the second part of the mural, there is a creative work of the great ruler, which are the majestic buildings you see in Uzbekistan  Ak-Saray Palace in Shakhrisyabs or the Bibi Khanum in Samarkand. And third, the final part of a panel is the last stage in the life of Timur, his tomb  the Gur-e Emir, also in Samarkand.

Since its inception, the museum has become a centre of scientific thought and education. The exhibits of the museum dating back to Timurid era are of great historical value and for an Indian, they are relatable with our history and culture almost intertwined since Babur came to India.



Interiors of Gur e Emir.



In the museum there are also archaeological, ethnographic and numismatic materials and ornaments of the Amir Timur era transported through the Great Silk Road. A replica of the Taj Mahal would also hold an Indians interest in this museum.

But the real splendour of the country begins when you take a two-hour bullet train journey from Tashkent to Samarkand, the ancient city which is often referred to as the diamond of Central Asia.

Founded in 742 BC, writers and poets paid glowing tributes to Samarkand with epithets like Eden of the Ancient East, The City of Allah, The Pearl of the Eastern Muslim World, The Face of the Earth, etc.

The earliest mention of Samarkand, since ancient times known as Marakanda, is found in the descriptions of the conquests of Alexander the Great (329 BC). Alexander described Samarkand as: Everything I heard about the beauties of Samarkand is all true, except that it is more beautiful than I could imagine.

In different periods, the city was influenced by Persians, Seleucids, Arabs and Mongols. In the 14th century, the city was the capital of the empire of Timur and its dynasty.

From every successful expedition to India, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Transcaucasia, Timur brought to Samarkand the most skilfull architects, jewellers and scientists. The rulers of the European states considered it an honour to visit Samarkand.

It is in Samarkand that you see an explosion of Islamic architecture under the Timurid dynasty. In the heart of the modern city of Samarkand is this public square called the Registan, which was the crowning glory of the city under the Timurids. Registan means sandy place or desert in Persian.

It is here that in Timurid-era people would gather to hear royal proclamations heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis. It was also a place of public executions.



Timur was buried in Gur-e-Emir.



Under the dome

The works of majolica and azure mosaics of these buildings form the centrepiece of the city. This UNESCO World Heritage complex with its azure glistening cupolas (domes), ornate portals and patterned minarets overwhelm you as you walk into the grand public expanse. No wonder that British India viceroy George Curzon had described Registan as the noblest public square in the world.

Under Ulugbek, Samarkand also became one of the worlds scientific centres. There was a whole scientific school, uniting astronomers and mathematicians. In 1428, the Ulugbek Observatory was built, the key instrument of which was a wall quadrant in partly underground section with a radius of 40m and a working part from 20 to 80, used to chart movements of celestial bodies across the sky.

The history of the city is closely connected with the names of great poets, philosophers and scholars like Ibn Sina, al-Biruni, Rumi, Rudaki, Omar Khayyam, Jami, Navoi, Babur and Ali-Kushchi.

Aged over 2,750 years, Samarkand was the most important point on the Great Silk Road between China and Europe.

If you go dizzy viewing the grandeur and scale of Registan, then pause and head to the the mausoleum of Gur-e Emir (Timur). This building was laid by the grandson of Timur  Muhammad-Sultan  as a madrasa in 1401. However, Muhammad-Sultan died prematurely, returning from the campaign to Asia Minor. So his madrasa was rebuilt by the order of Amir Timur himself, and Muhammad-Sultan was buried there.



Caption



The Bukhara experience

If Samarkand leaves you breathless with its beautiful monuments and architecture, then hold your breath till you are in Bukhara, the museum-city where every building, alley and brick breathes history. There are some 140 centuries-old monuments in Bukhara with its historical centre included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city was the largest trade centre on the Great Silk Road. In the caravan-sheds, merchants from different countries stopped for rest.RADNOR  A 34-year-old Devon man is in police custody Friday after investigators say he used an AR-15 to shoot and murder his 37-year-old ex-wife inside a Wawa off Sugartown Road in Wayne Thursday night.

The suspect has been identified as Brian Kennedy, of the 300 block of Sugartown Road in the Devon section of Tredyffrin Township.

Late Friday afternoon, officials identified the victim as Stephanie Miller.

During a Friday morning press conference, police said Kennedy was currently in the hospital and was expected to be charged later in the day or Saturday.

According to court records, he had been taken to the hospital for a possible drug overdose.

Radnor police Superintendent Chris Flanagan said the incident occurred Thursday night at about 8:21 p.m. when a township police officer on Sugartown Road was flagged down by a woman and told she believed a shooting may have just occurred at the nearby Wawa.

As that officer was informing other police units and pulling into the parking lot, a 911 call came in reporting a shooting inside the Wawa, according to police

Arriving officers found the deceased woman inside the store where she had been shot multiple times, Flanagan said. No one else was injured during the shooting.

An arriving Tredyffrin Township police officer recognized Miller as a person he had dealt with in the past due to domestic violence calls between her and Kennedy, according to police.

With the help of witnesses and store security cameras, police were able to put out a description of the suspect.

Shortly thereafter, we were able to locate the suspect in Glen Mills, Pa., in the Thornbury Park area, Flanagan said.

According to the criminal complaint, police reviewed footage from a nearby business showing Kennedy getting the weapon from the trunk of his black sedan and then walking into the store at 8:20:30 p.m. Twenty-six seconds later at 8:20:56 seconds, the video shows him leaving the store before getting back into the car and driving away.

One of the Wawa employees, identified only as witness two, told police he had recognized the man entering the store as a regular customer but did not know him by name.

Witness 2 stated that Kennedy appeared agitated and had a stern look on his face as he looked around the store, court documents read.

The witness told police that he thought the man shot four to six times at the woman at what he described as point-blank range.

Following his apprehension by Pennsylvania State Police, Kennedy was taken to a hospital for evaluation where he remained as of Friday afternoon.

Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said Kennedy has been charged with criminal homicide, first- and third-degree murder and related charges.

 He brutally murdered the mother of his child in a public place in cold blood, putting numerous others at risk, and then cowardly fled the area, Copeland said.

According to Copeland, the victim had a protection from abuse order on Kennedy that expired in September of last year.

As the superintendent indicated, our hearts go out to the family, Copeland said.

Copeland said this is a classic case of domestic abuse, violence and the use of firearms.

Weve talked repeatedly about the fact that at any time, cases pertaining to domestic violence can escalate to the point of murder, Copeland said. Our laws in regards to this matter need to be strengthened. A young woman lost her life at the hands of another  and brutally so. It is victims like this that we must protect.

According to Flanagan, police were waiting on search warrants to be signed off on to continue other parts of the investigation.

One thing they were still looking into were details on the ownership of the firearm and whether Kennedy possessed it legally, he said.

Following the arrest, Radnor police conducted a search of their records and found Kennedy had been arrested at the same Wawa in 2016 on a domestic violence charge where he threatened to kill Miller, according to authorities.

As of Friday afternoon, police were waiting for Kennedy to be released from the hospital and brought to police headquarters and then be processed and arraigned before a district judge.By Dean Beer

Times Guest Columnist

His name was Clarence Earl Gideon.

He was an impoverished, uneducated drifter in a Florida prison who was tried, convicted, and sentenced to five years for a crime he maintained he did not commit. Gideon had asked for a lawyer, but had been denied. From his cell, he penned a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court contending that his constitutional rights had been violated.

On March 18, 1963, the court agreed. In a landmark opinion, Justice Hugo L. Black wrote that in our adversarial system, any accused person who cannot afford a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. And so began the public defender system that is fundamental to criminal justice today  and I emphasize the word justice. Its been 56 years since the court ruled that public defenders are essential to our due process rights. Every day, public defenders serve our Constitution and our communities. Theres no justice without us.

Here in the Montgomery County Public Defender Office, we serve the accused who are poor and they are also disproportionately people of color. We also serve the public at large because no one is safe or secure when the court system cannot reliably deliver just verdicts. Our 68 lawyers, investigators, social workers and administrative support staff are at the very center of trying to improve our community.

We ensure that our clients receive zealous representation and we try to address systemic issues that trap portions of our community in systematic poverty they cannot escape.

We advocate for people when the system seems to just mechanically process cases. Every client is much more than what they have been accused of and at every stage of the criminal justice process it is our duty to humanize our clients and change the narrative. If we are to achieve the promise of Gideon we must bring to bear all the resources necessary for each and every client. Without adequate funding we cannot assure fair trials, and without fair trials, there is no justice.

The public defender system is evolving, and we celebrate worthy successes. But the system is far from perfect. We have much more to do. The anniversary of the Gideon decision should not merely be a day on the calendars of public defenders or court staff. Its an important day for all of us. Given the alarming numbers of people arrested, detained, and incarcerated  both locally and nationally  the criminal courts system affects everyone.

Public defenders represent more than 60 percent of all the criminal defendants in our local courts. We encourage you to think about how being low-income increases your risk of contact with the criminal court system, and how contact with the criminal court system increases your risk of being (and staying) low income.

We encourage you to think about the role of public defenders in the pursuit of a just system, and we encourage you to come observe some proceedings at the courthouse and see how the criminal court works.

Public defenders are an essential part of the court system, but theres no justice without the larger us. We believe our community cares about justice, that we should reduce the desperation that drives people to crime, and we should reserve jail only for the legitimately dangerous, not the mentally ill, homeless, addicted or disabled.

This Gideon anniversary, we hope to inspire a more invested community, so that six decades later your public defender office can be an even more effective advocate and part of a fair and just criminal court system.

As for Gideon himself, he was appointed a lawyer and was re-tried. After one hour of deliberation, the jury acquitted him, and an innocent man received justice.Country

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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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A wide range of topics made headlines this week, including developments in the Jussie Smollett story, the findings from the Mueller report and the 2020 election.

After almost two years, special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into accusations that the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to secure the election, a topic heavily pushed by Democrats. It was also covered intensely by the media.

Attorney General William Barr sent a summary of the more than 300-page report to Congress, saying the investigation did not find members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia.

The report didn't find that Trump had committed a crime, but is not an exoneration, Barr said.

Some are asking for the entire report to be released. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked a vote to release the Mueller report.

Criticism has been aimed at the Democrats and media for overemphasizing what the report could find.

Jussie Smollett is back in the news after Chicago prosecutors announced they would drop all charges against the "Empire" actor.

Smollett is accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself. Police still believe he is responsible for staging the attack, but prosecutors gave no reason why they are abandoning the case.

The move has sparked harsh criticism, even from other Chicago officials. It's been called a disgrace to justice and the whole incident has been described as "a tremendous blow" to the city.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made headlines for proposingcuts to Special Olympics funding by 12 percent.

The proposal has been met with harsh criticism and outrage, but DeVos defended her position.

Democrats are being targeted for the large amount of promises they're bringing to the 2020 election. Commentators and columnists have been quick to point out that many are unrealistic and perhaps impossible.

Also this week, Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti has been accused of extorting Nike, and Thursday marked Opening Day for the MLB.Our legislative session just ended and as the minority leader in the state House of Representatives, I want Utahns to be aware of the work of Democrats that serve all Utahns in various important ways. Democrats are in the minority in the House and Senate. But we are vital in pulling the debates back toward the middle, finding common ground and sticking to our principles. This is the three-legged stool for Democratic success. Its how Democrats help move the Legislature toward stability and accountability.

Democrats work hard to be the voice of the people. We fought to maintain the voter-approved initiatives and fought against changes to our tax structure concocted without public input.

Unfortunately, many important policy discussions occur behind closed doors. Republican-only legislative meetings tend to pull decisions about policy further and further to the right. But the majority of Utahns do not live or think on the extremes of the political spectrum, so it is vital that Democrats weigh in for balance.

As that counterweight, Democrats doggedly opposed the majority on their plan to repeal and replace Proposition 3 for expanding Medicaid. Last November, most voters made clear Proposition 3 is what they wanted. The alternative the majority party wanted for Proposition 3 and that eventually passed and was signed into law was a bad move. It covers fewer Utahns and at greater costs to Utah taxpayers. Although Democrats realized we lacked sufficient votes to defeat that bill, we spoke for most voters. As a result, we pushed the majority to accept concessions on their bill, such as a backstop to provide full Medicaid expansion in the case that the Trump administration refused to grant Utah a waiver for its skinny Medicaid expansion.

Democrats work hard, and are usually successful, in finding common ground with our majority colleagues. This year between the House and Senate Democrats, we passed 78 bills of the 137 we introduced, making for a 57 percent pass rate. The overall pass rate for the Legislature this session was 68 percent.

How do we do it? Sometimes it takes years of leading on bipartisan issues to find agreeable solutions, such as with air quality and domestic violence legislation. On issues like education, health care, and criminal justice, Democrats are effective at both working closely with constituents and partnering across the aisle. We find consensus in ways that make Utah operate a little fairer and little better every year.

Finally, Democrats stick to principles. This year we sponsored a number of high-profile bills that were supported by most Utahns, but not by most of our Republican colleagues. Unfortunately, the majority opposed a popular bill to curb distracted driving with cell phones, as well as several bills that would have reduced gun violence, reduced our teen suicides and improved the ability of working families to make ends meet. We pushed forward with legislation that reflects the will of our constituents who elected us.

All of this brings me to tax reform. We do face a structural budget problem. But it is not one Utahns fully understand. As state leaders, weve done a poor job explaining the issue. And constantly highlighting the good health of the economy without explaining why our budget needs revamping adds to the confusion. The beginning of understanding the problem is this: Our sales tax revenue, which funds most of our state budget other than public and higher education, is shrinking relative to the costs of essential services. Very soon we will not be able to put in place a balanced budget unless we come up with new revenue.

Democrats want to hear from you on any future changes to Utahs tax structure. Tax reform will affect every person, family, and business in the state. Everyone should be heard. We want to continue to be your voice moving forward. Well continue to pull the discussion toward pragmatic, principled solutions; find common ground; and never stop advocating for Utahs values.SANDY  A 33-year-old Utah State Board of Regents policy on women and minorities in faculty and administrative positions that's been on the books but apparently never acted on has undergone substantial revisions and will be considered by the regents in May.

The regents' Academic and Student Affairs committee reviewed the latest version of the policy on Friday, which calls for "wage and salary data for all faculty and staff, disaggregated by gender, race, and ethnicity."

According to memo to the regents from Utah Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler, current board members want to monitor the representation by gender, race and ethnic group of the faculty and staff of the Utah System of Higher Education, as well as the effects of salary equity on that representation.

"This is particularly important because there is research that demonstrates that students from diverse backgrounds are more likely to participate in higher education and continue to completion if they see individuals like themselves represented in the faculty, staff and administration of higher education institutions. Appointments of women to the presidencies of four of the eight Utah System of Higher Education institutions have brought the power of these appointments into sharp focus," the memo states.

Regent Nina Barnes lauded the staff for its thorough work on the policy update.

"Im just thrilled to death. Im so pleased because I think this addresses so many issues we see across the state," said Barnes, who is the vice chairwoman of the board of regents.

The system analysis should have been available for decades "and it has not been available. That's why we're doing this," she said during the meeting held on the Miller campus of Salt Lake Community College.

The committee pulled the policy from its agenda to address some minor changes.

According Utah System of Higher Education general counsel Geoffrey Landward, the data would be collected by internal auditors and reviewed by experts to ensure "the conclusions we use for policymaking are accurate and informed by the context they come from" before their release.

The data would be protected in the audit phase, he said.

Barnes requested that language in a supporting memorandum be changed before it is presented to the full board.

As written, it said "the regents have a long history" of actions designed to focus attention on and to encourage representative participation in the Utah System of Higher Education for students, faculty and staff.

"If were really working to be transparent and honest and reflect at our shortcomings, its important we identify and not sugarcoat it that weve been doing all this because I dont believe we have," Barnes said.

The proposal also has an updated title: Gender, Race and Ethnicity Representation within the Utah System of Higher Education. Its title had been "Women and Minorities in Faculty and Administrative Positions."

The policy update would clarify the board's goals of employing "a diverse, representative and equitably compensated workforce," as well providing "an educational experience for students rooted in diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds."

"As findings from a thorough process for data collection and analysis becomes available, the board can direct future actions to achieve the policy goals," the memo states.MURRAY  For Matthew Thompson, a 32-year-old father of three, donating his kidney to a stranger was the same as helping a neighbor carry in groceries.

"Why would I be selfish and keep it when someone else needs it that bad?" he said Friday.

Mitchell Salas, 30 of Woods Cross, has suffered from kidney problems since he was a child. He'd been on dialysis for the past three years, and even though people in his life offered to donate kidneys to him, things kept falling through. At one point, his father, Willie Salas, was going to donate his kidney but he was eliminated during the screening process.

"I didn't have anybody and was kind of like, 'Man, I don't know what to do,'" Salas said.

That all changed when he got a phone call three weeks ago and doctors told him he would receive a kidney from a good Samaritan donor  someone who chooses to donate an organ to a complete stranger.

Salas broke down and said he knew this was the answer to his prayers.

The two men met for the first time Friday at Intermountain Medical Center, surrounded by Salas' family, just two days after the transplant surgery.

Salas' family was first to arrive to the meeting. When Thompson arrived, Willie Salas embraced him and tearfully thanked him "from the bottom of our heart" for "giving life back to my boy."

When Mitchell Salas entered the room shortly after, he was immediately choked up when he saw Thompson. He hugged him and told him through tears, "I don't know how I could ever repay you, I'm forever in your debt."

"Just knowing that I've helped somebody is good enough for me," Thompson told Salas.

The pair sat down and held hands as they each shared their stories.

The idea of donating an organ came to Thompson five years ago, when he added it to his bucket list after listening to a talk by John Bytheway, a well-known Latter-day Saint author and speaker.

"You're the hero of this story, man," Mitchell Salas told Thompson.

But Thompson said he never thought of himself as hero. He just knew he wanted to help someone.

"Donors do something wonderful to save the lives of others," said Srini Srinivas, medical director of Intermountain's kidney/pancreas transplant program. "Whenever a kidney donation occurs, when a recipient receives a kidney, the lifespan of that recipient is doubled.

"There's not too many instances in medicine where we can double somebody's lifespan through somebody else's goodness."

Srinivas said the vetting process for good Samaritan organ donation is especially intense and helps to ensure that donors won't regret the decision.

Thompson, who lives in Stansbury Park, said once people knew he wanted to donate an organ, some friends approached him and told him about people they knew who were in need. However, matching with people can be difficult.

Thompson knew the organ donation list is long and can be a grueling process, with people sometimes waiting years for organs.

"I just need to take the next person off the list," Thompson recalled thinking to himself.

He still has some pain, but thought it would be worse. But, he said, it's not about the pain for him.

"The pain is nothing compared to knowing I helped someone," he said.

Thompson's wife and father initially felt he was acting selfishly as a father and husband to give a piece of himself to a stranger. But since they've seen the difference it's made, they've been supportive.

His father is proud, but told his son "don't do it again," Thompson said with a laugh. However, he said if he could, he would donate an organ again.

Doctors told both men the kidney was doing great and Nancy Salas remarked that her son's coloring was the best it's looked in years.

"He's my warrior but  (he's) been through a lot," she said.

Both men are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and said they feel this was a spiritual experience and part of God's plan.

They also discovered they are both Denver Broncos fans and Mitchell Salas said the two should go to a Broncos game together.

There are risks for organ donors, including the risk of losing 25 to 35 percent of kidney function, and 3 in 10,000 donors die in surgery, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Over the last three years, Intermountain teams have performed 80 living kidney donation surgeries, seven of which were good Samaritans.

While Salas desperately wanted a kidney to live, he felt selfish and conflicted about the situation.

"I didn't want anyone to have to pass away to live," he said. And even though he felt relieved and grateful to receive a good Samaritan donation, he worried about Thompson's health.

He said he and his family prayed and fasted before the operation for Thompson's safety during the procedure.

"We've been waiting a long time for this and just seeing what he's had to go through and the process of it has been very emotional. I'm just glad it's finally over," said Kayelin Salas, Mitchell Salas' wife.

Mitchell Salas had dialysis Monday, Wednesday and Friday, making it almost impossible to travel. The couple wants to take a vacation once he's recovered from the operation.

"This man right here  this angel  has done it," Mitchell Salas said of Thompson. "You are definitely my angel, there's no doubt about it. You're my brother now, you're a part of me now."Editor's note: Portions of this article have been previously published on the author's website and in the Deseret News.

Horrific, gusting east canyon winds have been a periodic phenomenon ever since the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

The first record of such winds struck Davis County hard in the fall of 1848: "East winds have come from time to time (in Davis County) ever since the people can remember, doing much damage to trees and roofs," states the history book "East of Antelope Island," published by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

The first recorded incident of strong east winds comes from a diary of Daniel A. Miller, one of the earliest settlers in Farmington.

He recorded that the very first day his family arrived in the area  the fall of 1848  there was a heavy east wind.

Early settlers created inventive ways to try to secure their roofs from these winds, but nothing seemed foolproof. One early Kaysville resident, John R. Barnes, made the east walls of his home four bricks thick to ward off canyon wind damage.

Prominent settler George D. Watt made a special windstorm shelter for his family, but he still had his home's roof blown off.

A strong east wind in the summer of 1854 was actually a miracle. The canyon winds saved the day by blowing hordes of invading grasshoppers away from Davis County crops and into the Great Salt Lake, where they perished.

Perhaps the first most widespread east winds that affected most of the Wasatch Front was recorded on May 12, 1859.

The Deseret News of May 18, 1859, reported:

"On last Thursday evening, the wind commenced blowing in this city from the east and continued to increase in velocity till three or four o'clock on Friday morning when it reached the height of its fury and came rushing down from the Wasatch range through the kanyons (sic) opening into Great Salt Lake Valley, sweeping every thing before it that was not sufficiently strong, or firmly attached to terra firma to resist its force."

The account continued:

"Much damage was done to buildings, fences and other erections ... The gale seems to have been the strongest at Farmington, Davis County, where the house of Wells Smith and of David Hess were completely destroyed, eight more unroofed and many others materially injured ... and nearly once half the fences in that vicinity were prostrated."

The newspaper reported that the wind was also severe in Centerville and destroyed the home of Thomas Rich, plus another eight or 10 homes and barns were unroofed.

Residents of Ogden city and Weber County reported considerable damage to buildings and fences too.

The courthouse in Brigham City had the roof blown off and then the walls fell in, making it a "total wreck."

Salt Lake County reported loose items blown all over, carriages overturned and much dust and gravel in motion.

Still, there were no reports of fatalities.

The Deseret News reported that there had been several other gales in previous years "that would make a man wish he was somewhere else out of this cold, high, airy, mountainous region, if there was any other place on earth he could dwell in peace."

The Deseret News reported another major east wind event on Nov. 16, 1860, as reported in the newspaper of Nov. 21, 1860.

Due to its proximity to Emigration Canyon, the wind was worst in the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City.

Again there was considerable damage done to buildings, barns and fences. Roofs were blown off in Centerville and somehow the wind help start a fire and then intensify it so that a mule and some 106 sheep and tons of hay were consumed.

"Three houses at Freedom (one of Kaysville's early names), including the large dwelling of Bishop Taylor were unroofed," the newspaper reported.

"The City of Ogden suffered severely ... The large and elegant Tabernacle was considerable (sic) damaged."

Hurricane-force east winds struck at least twice in the early 1860s, and the roof on the East Bountiful chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had to be replaced twice.

After one such east wind, the Tuttle brothers from Bountiful jokingly inquired if any missing hats had been found on Antelope Island.

The east winds were a very feared and dreaded occurrence, especially in Farmington. Canyon winds and water shortages plagued many early Davis settlers the most.

Perhaps the saddest east wind incident took place in February 1864 when Elizabeth Rigby of south Farmington and her 18-month-old son, John, froze to death after being pinned against a fence by hurricane force canyon winds. Husband John Rigby had left his family to travel to Salt Lake City for medicine. Upon returning, he not only discovered the two deaths, but the home's roof was also blown off and 200 sheep, six horses, 10 cows and four pigs perished because of downed buildings and the frigid winds.

During a Nov. 9, 1864, visit to Farmington with Wilford Woodruff when the canyon winds were blowing, President Brigham Young rebuked the winds in the name of the Lord, Wilford Woodruff noted and is published in "Wilford Woodruff  History of His Life and Labors."

Woodruff's diary reports that east winds did decrease substantially for some years afterward, perhaps as long as the late 1890s.

When Matthew Cowley reviewed Woodruff's diary in 1909 before its publication in "Wilford Woodruff  History of His Life and Labors," he noted:

"In late years these winds have occurred in some of their old-time severity."

Strong east winds struck Davis County twice during 1896 and two more times in 1898. A fierce canyon wind in 1906 took the roof off the 2-year-old West Bountiful chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sources: Deseret News Archives; "East of Antelope Island" book, by Daughters of Utah Pioneers; "Weather and Climate" book, by Dan Pope and Clayton Brough.SALT LAKE CITY  A child developmental expert says the toddler kicking his legs on the aisle of the grocery store isn't that much different from the teenager dramatically sighing before slamming the bedroom door.

Kathleen Van Antwerp, or Dr. K as she is known, said developmentally, teens and toddlers are about at the same level, with each age group struggling to grow into the next stage of life  but not yet equipped with all the tools.

The leading expert in juvenile justice reform was the keynote speaker Saturday at the University of Utah's "Breaking the Pipeline" fourth annual symposium addressing ways to plug the schools-to-prison pipeline trend, especially for marginalized youth. The systemic funneling of youth, primarily minorities, out of schools and into the criminal justice system is a serious issue in Utah schools, said Cambre Roberts, a U. law student who chairs the symposium.

In her interactive exchange with the participants, Van Antwerp noted how toddlers have yet to develop a range of expressive skills, so they resort to physical, shrieking tantrums to convey their discontent.

At the teenage stage, the part of the brain that controls emotion is hijacked developmentally, she added, governing the teen's behavior across the spectrum.

Research, she added, shows the prefrontal cortex  the chief executive officer portion of the brain that governs rational, cognitive thinking  doesn't develop until the mid-20s or later.

"Why does it matter? Because the United States locks up more children than any other country in the world," she said. "If we are going to change the school-to-prison pipeline, we need to understand where our children are developmentally.  We know more about the deep dark depths of the ocean than we know about our brain."

She said something is wrong when pre-schoolers are getting expelled from schools and police are handcuffing children as young as 5, 6 or 7.

"Our schools are turning into places where we criminalize children. We have school resource officers on campuses in the name of school safety, in the name of discipline."

Rather, the emphasis, she said, should be in creating a "school climate" in which teachers, police and other adults are properly schooled in understanding developmental behavior, instead of simply reacting to something they don't understand.

As an example, she pointed to her work with inner city community outreach centers in Los Angeles staffed by law enforcement officers told to go "connect" with the children.

She said they had "zero" training on child and adolescent development.

"Would you hand a civilian a gun and tell them to go down to the end of the street and enforce the law?"

Van Antwerp has spent more than 30 years developing educational and outreach programs for at-risk youth in schools, juvenile justice programs, emergency care centers and foster homes. She trains multiple professions on the front lines, including teachers and law enforcement officers.

She said society makes the mistake of trying to manage behavior rather than understanding it.

Managing behavior simply sets the stage for a fight, especially among teens, she noted.

The daylong symposium was sponsored by the Utah Minority Bar Association, the Associated Students of the University of Utah, Racially Just Utah, the S.J. Quinney School of Law, the University of Utah College of Social Work and Salt Lake County.SALT LAKE CITY  Decades ago, they were nearly zoned out of existence  not just in Salt Lake City, but nationwide.

Low-cost, dorm-style units, known as residential hotels or single-room occupancy housing, were decried in the 1970s and 1980s as "flophouses," plagued with a reputation to breed crime, drugs and deviant lifestyles. Cities across the country essentially eradicated them through zoning.

But Salt Lake City may soon join other cities like New York and Chicago that are either trying to preserve what's left or bring them back in a new, re-imagined way  all to fight homelessness and create another form of affordable housing.

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski's office has been working on an ordinance change to allow single-room occupancy in more areas of the city. After working its way through the Salt Lake City Planning Commission, it's now headed toward final public hearings before the City Council takes a vote on it, possibly in coming weeks.

Today, only 50 rooms make up what remains of Salt Lake City's single-room occupancy housing stock, down from about 800 in 1978. Those 50 rooms make up the Rio Grande Hotel  built in 1911 for railroad workers, but today still offers low-cost rooms with shared kitchen and bathrooms.

To Pamela Atkinson, a homelessness advocate who spearheaded a focus group to find ways to fill gaps in Utah's new homeless service system, single-room occupancy housing is a "key element" to help prevent homelessness and offer an alternative to emergency shelter.

"It's very important," she said. "There are homeless people who say, 'I don't want an apartment. I don't want that responsibility. I just need a room, and I'm happy to share."

Advocates like Atkinson see opportunity in creating more housing like the rooms offered at the Rio Grande Hotel. They believe the low-cost housing would be appealing to developers and to people transitioning out of homelessness or just seeking a cheap place to live.

Her group has recommended that state officials consider helping build three, 50-unit properties with rents limited to $200 per month or paid by the week if necessary.

But will single-room occupancy housing survive its past reputation? And will cities change their zoning to allow them? Atkinson thinks so.

"The enthusiasm is beginning to spread as people realize it's not the 'flophouses' of the 1980s," she said. "This is something that would be very different."

What's different?

The ordinance change being proposed by Biskupski's administration includes a provision to require a 24/7, on-site property manager. It would allow single-room occupancy in more zoning districts throughout the city, including high-density commercial districts. Currently, they're only allowed along transit corridors, so along 400 South and North Temple, said Nick Norris, the city's planning director.

"One of the issues we've had is there is not a lot of land available for this type of use in those corridors," Norris said. "So we want to expand it in very high-density districts."

The aim, Norris said, is to create more opportunity for "one of the lowest cost housing types out there," so people who can maybe only afford $20 a night or less have an option other than a homeless shelter.

"Having a room of your own provides a certain level of dignity, but it's also more affordable," Norris said, noting developers can get better "bang for their buck" if they aren't required to put a kitchen and bathroom in every room they build.

The Salt Lake City Council was briefed on the ordinance last week. Some council members, including Councilwoman Ana Valdemoros and Councilwoman Amy Fowler, expressed concerns, worried about how their constituents may view a facility that's managed 24/7.

Fowler said she can "imagine" some of her residents looking at the proposal and saying, "This is another way to say that we're going to have a homeless shelter next to the S-Line."

"I could see how somebody would interpret that as saying, 'Well, if we're going to have somebody 24 hours a day to manage this, well then what really is this turning into?'" Fowler said.

Valdemoros also questioned if the city has to include in its ordinance that the property must be managed 24/7, saying "that's a lot for us to regulate" and may be "overkill."

But Councilman Andrew Johnston said he's "highly supportive" of allowing single-room occupancy in more parts of the city because it "fits everything" the city has been trying to do to address homelessness and affordable housing.

"This is a small niche that tries to bring down that (cost) for a subset of the population whose willing to live in this situation," Johnston said. "The cost is much cheaper."

A hearing to take public comment is slated for April 23, and the council is tentatively scheduled to take action on the ordinance change May 7.Actor Kangana Ranaut may be an established name today but she had to struggle quite a bit before she found success. Recalling one such story, she said on a chat show, Sit With Hitlist that her parents always warned her against showbiz and living in a big city. She said her parents had heard stories of girls being sexually exploited and were afraid of her moving to Mumbai.

Talking about one such time when she almost fell into a similar trap, Kangana said, The fact that people met, and promised to guide and help me, but then I was put under house-arrest. And then Pahlaj Nihalani had offered me a film called I Love You Boss. They had a photoshoot where they gave me a robe to wear, and no undergarments. So I just had a satin robe for a show-girl pose, from which I had to stick my leg out, coming out of darkness.

She went on to share, They should at least have given some tapes. I was supposed to play a young girl lusting after her middle-aged boss. So it was a soft-porn sort of character. And I had this epiphany that I cant do this. I felt like this is exactly what my parents were talking about. I actually went through the photo shoot, but then I disappeared. I changed my number.

After some time, Kangana landed a role in her debut film, Gangster that also won her a Filmfare award for Best Debut. She was also signed for Puri Jagannadhs Pokiri. Both the films released in 2006.

Also read: Kangana Ranaut attacks Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, says star kids will discuss their sex lives but not their country

Kangana played Rani Laxmibai in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and had also shared the directors credit with Krish. She will now be seen in Mental Hai Kya alongside Rajkummar Rao and also has Ashwiny Iyer Tiwaris Panga in her kitty. She recently made headlines for being chosen to play J J Jayalalithaa in her biopic and reportedly being paid Rs 24 crores for the role.





The release date of Blackboard vs Whiteboard is now 12th April 2019. The release of the film had to be pushed because of censor issues. The film is based on how in modern times education too has fallen prey to commercialization and is now considered as a business opportunity. Not only the cities but even small towns and villages are engulfed in the evil malpractices. There are a few idealistic teachers who are trying to instill sacrilegious work of education even in the face of criticality. They relentlessly try to teach children so as to have a better India tomorrow. The film throws light on this gory picture of commercialization of education.

The film release date was stuck due to censor issues. On reaching out to the film actor Raghubir Yadav for the release date change of the film he quoted "Releasing a Film is more difficult than making. Due to delays in censor certificate the release date got changed. But it all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film in which we showcase how education has fallen prey to commercialization with a little bit of humor added to the film.". The film producers Nupur Shrivastava, Gireesh Tiwary, and Ashutosh Singh Ratan also shared their thoughts on release date change of the film.





Nupur said "Due to delay in Censor Certificate we couldn't able to release our film on it's previous release date. But now everything is ok. We are ready to release on 12th of April 2019." Ashutosh Singh Ratan quoted "After defeating all challenges finally we are coming with our film Blackboard vs Whiteboard, on 12th of April 2019. It's a pleasant moment for us." and Gireesh Tiwary said "Its all worth the wait as we got U certificate for the film. We are ready to rock on cinema screen on 12th April 2019."

Directed by Tarun Bisht Blackboard Vs Whiteboard stars Raghubir Yadav, Dharmendra Singh, Alismita Goswami, Ashok Samarth, Akhilendra Mishra and Pankaj Jha in lead roles.Whether youre under the pump at work or youre struggling to function after a big night out, sometimes it takes more than a lazy Sunday to kick your brain back into gear. And while a couple of Berocca tablets and a Long Black might help you out in the short term, wouldnt it be better if you could naturally increase your powers of concentration?

Fortunately for ambitious workaholics and hungover interns alike, such a solution exists: the micro-break technique. A mini skill that punches well above its weight, micro-breaking is toted as one of the rare productivity hacks that actually works, with studies showing it can improve your ability to concentrate, change the way you see your job, and even help you avoid common desk-worker injuries.

According to the BBC, a micro-break is classified as a brief activity that helps to break up the monotony of physically or mentally draining tasks (which) can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and involve anything from making a cup of tea to stretching or watching a music video.

The term micro-break, the BBC tells us, Was coined in the late 1980s by researchers from the (US) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (who) wanted to find out whether fleeting breaks could boost productivity or reduce stress.

To do this, they invited 20 participants to work in an artificial office environment for two days, performing a highly repetitive data entry tasksome with micro-breaks, some without.

Although they found no conclusive results on productivity (dont worry, weve since had positive findings on this front), they discovered people who took microbreaks tended to have lower heart rates (i.e. were less stressed) and made fewer mistakes.

This inspired more research, whichover the last three decadeshas unearthed mountains of evidence (BBC) to suggest that microbreaks reduce stress, keep workers engaged and make work more enjoyable.

So, how does one take the perfect micro-break? The short answer is: its up to you. As theres no scientific consensus on the exact length of the ideal Instagram zone out sesh (for example), Sooyeol Kim, a Phd student from the University of Illinois (and expert on micro-breaks) told the BBC, there are only two rules: they should be short and voluntary.

In other words: as long as it works for you (and doesnt culminate in a two-hour Youtube wormhole), you can take any kind of micro-break you like. That iswith one final caveat. Dont do something that will make you more fatigued.

One key component of an effective break is psychological detachment, which refers to mentally disengaging from work thoughts, (Psychology Today).

This is crucial to remember, as some of the most popular breaks (like having a sugary snack, drinking caffeine, or venting about a problem) are actually associated with more fatigue.

Thats not to say you shouldnt have a coffee break, just that you shouldnt think about work during it. Capiche? Oh and, depending on your aims, you should try and take different types of micro-breaks.

For instance, if you are hoping to avoid neck and eye strain, its a better idea to go for a brisk walk than it is to scroll Facebook. Conversely, if you are the sort of person who cant help but stress about work when you have no stimulation in front of you (like when walking around the block), then scrolling Facebook might actually be a good option for you, after all.

Further advice includes: give yourself a reason to take a micro break. One way to do this is to keep a large bottle of water by your desk (and drink it), which will force you to take regular trips to the bathroom.

If your boss is yet to get his head around this trend, you can also disguise your micro-breaks as something productive by doing something useful (think: going out for a round of coffees, or answering the door for a client).

Read NextHolders of UK driving licences living in Donegal have been urged to immediately exchange their licence for an Irish licence due to the real threat of a no-deal Brexit.

The UKs departure date from the EU has been put back to April 12 with ongoing uncertainty amid a political crisis in Westminster.

Donegal TD and Leas-Cheann Comhairle of the Dail Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has called on holders of UK driving licences living here to immediately exchange their licences otherwise they run the risk of holding no valid licence after Brexit.

It would be prudent to act now rather than wait and see what eventual outcome there is to the UK parliament decision on Brexit, as there will be natural delays in exchanging a licence but if a crash out of the EU occurs with the United Kingdom, then overnight you could very well find out that your UK licence is no longer valid to use on Irish roads if you are residing in the Republic, Mr Gallagher said.

He said it is essential that holders of UK licences act now and fill in the NDLS Form D401 in order to exchange their licence.

Replying to Mr Gallaghers question in the Dail, Minister for Transport Shane Ross said:

The Road Safety Authority (RSA), through the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) are informing people to avail of the exchange facility in place to swap over the UK licence for an Irish licence before that facility extinguishes in the event of a

no-deal Brexit. Therefore it is critical that holders of UK drivers Licences avail of this exchange scheme before the Brexit deadline.

Legislation exists to allow for the recognition of foreign driving licences for exchange purposes in section 23A of the Road Traffic Act 1961. If there is a no-deal Brexit, the UK becomes a third country and no formal arrangement will remain between both countries and therefore the licences will no longer be valid.The Minister for Transport Shane Ross told the Dail he cannot intervene in the case of a Donegal woman who has launched a campaign for wheelchair accessible public transport from Donegal to Sligo.

Vicky Matthews plans to continue her studies at Sligo Institute of Technology have been put in jeopardy due to the lack of a wheelchair accessible bus service from Ballyshannon to Sligo.

Ms Matthews is studying at the Ballyshannon ETB and is hoping to pursue a full-time course at Sligo IT. She has discovered that the local Bus Eireann route from Ballyshannon to Sligo is not wheelchair accessible.

She has collected over 4,000 signatures on a petition to have a wheelchair accessible bus service on the 480 route between Donegal town and Sligo.

Mr Ross said this week that it is not within his power to change the type of bus used on the route. He was speaking after the issue was raised in the Dail by Deputy Martin Kenny.

Addressing the Dail Mr Kenny said Bus Eireann has said it is moving toward a situation where transport will be accessible to all.

To do that properly it needs, in as many places as possible, particularly relatively short routes, such as the one from Donegal to Sligo, to use the buses with low access. When the bus pulls in a short ramp comes out and the person with the wheelchair is on the bus very quickly.

That is the model we need to see in most places. Bus Eireann in Sligo tells me it has several buses doing that but they are not allocated to that route and it says it does not allocate the buses to the routes, that is done by the National Transport Authority, NTA. That is a disconnect that needs to be resolved.

In reply, the minister said he is not involved in the day to day operations of public transport.

This is a very good and suitable forum for the Deputy to bring up the case but he would not expect me to say that I will move and do something with the 480 route between Donegal town and Sligo, including access to Sligo Institute of Technology, this evening.

 It is not something which is either within my power or would be possible for me to do. What the Deputy has done is to highlight the case which is there, as well as others, who are undoubtedly in the same boat. I have explained to the House previously that under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, the NTA has statutory responsibility for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network.

READ MORE: Donegal woman Vicky Matthews launches wheelchair accessible campaign for bus routeA retired Belfast psychotherapist told a court that he could have been killed or seriously injured after he was assaulted by a Malinbeg sheep farmer in a row over Palestine in a pub.

Francis Cunningham, aged 39, of Malinbeg, Glencolmcille, who was described as a farmer and a fiddle player, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Eamon McMahon on August 8, 2017 in the Glen Head Tavern, Cashel, Glencolmcille.

The defendant had his case put back to May 22 to see if he was suitable for a probation report and for payment of compensation.

I could have been killed or seriously injured, the injured party said.

Inspector Denis Joyce told the Donegal District Court that the victim, who was a Belfast native, and had a holiday home in the area, had gone into the pub to buy cigarettes.

A discussion arose about Palestine and the defendant grabbed the retired psychotherapist by the lapels, pushed him backwards and tried to bang the back of his head against the wall.

The inspector said the injured party said he had been thrown across the bar, was rescued and the defendant went at him again.

The victim had suffered injuries to his shoulder and back, the court heard.

The victim told the court he was rudely assaulted by the defendant whom he knew to see.

The defendant introduced a young woman who was with him and a conversation began about a Palestinian badge that the injured party was wearing, the court heard.

Eamon McMahon told the court he had made a remark and the young woman said she was not interested.

And then Francis Cunningham threatened to throw the witness through the window.

The witness said he suffered a broken collar bone and tail bone and had a massive lump on his back.

He added that he had been bandaged for a fortnight after the incident.

The witness told the court he had suffered psychologically as he was in fear.

A medical report was produced in court and the victim had his arm in a sling for a period, the court was told.

Defence solicitor Francis Gillespie told the court that it had been established that Eamon McMahon had not sought any medical help for 14 days.

He added that the defence had not been given complete medical evidence.

The defendant admitted grabbing the injured party asking him to desist from his behaviour.

But he denied trying to bang his head against the wall.The defendant had been with his then US fiancee and now wife and she had left to go to a chippy outside the pub where she met Eamon McMahon, the court heard.

Badges

A conversation began about badges that the injured party was wearing.

When she came back into the bar Eamon McMahon had placed himself beside her.

There was a notice up in the pub banning all talk of politics or religion.

This was not complied with and Eamon McMahon was accusing the US of responsibility for the situation in Palestine.

This sounds like an assault on Mr McMahons personality and your client has pleaded guilty to a serious charge, said Judge Paul Kelly.

Mr Gillespie said it was to explain the background.

Judge Kelly said it was suspiciously looking like a defence.

Mr Gillespie told the court there was one final remark made to the defendants fiancee which resulted in his clients actions.

The defendant took full responsibility for his actions.

The court further heard that what he did was wrong, and he should have acted differently. But he wanted to protect his then fiancee and now wife from what this man was saying about her race of people.

The defendant was 39, had no previous convictions, and had not ever come to garda attention.

He was a respected member of the community, was recently married and was involved in a number of local community organizations and taught music to young people.

A conviction could have serious implications on his travelling to the US following his marriage.

The solicitor said this was an unusual case and it was a big ask not to impose a conviction.

The solicitor said Garda McBride was prepared to speak about the defendants character.

The defendant was prepared to pay compensation but was recently married.

The victim Eamon McMahon said he supported the plea for leniency but felt that allegations were being made that devalued his character.

Judge Paul Kelly told the court that he was going to consider restorative justice in the case as he put the matter back to May 22 to see if Francis Cunningham was suitable for community service. He added that compensation would also have to be considered.

The judge said the victim was free to attend the next sitting if he so wished.Home Two wheelers Lightning Motorcycle Strike AgainLiterally! oi-Rahul Jaswal

Lightning Motorcycle strike again. Literally! After spending years developing and showing off the ridiculously fast LS-218, Lightning Motorcycle has unveiled its all new Lightning Strikethe world's first mass-market, premium electric motorcycle.

The motorcycle comes in three variants. All variants use the same electric motor, albeit with different battery specs. First, there is the Strike Standard that features a 10kWh battery. The motor produces 90hp and 245Nm of torque! The company claims the Lightening Strike Standard has a top speed of 217kmph and an in-city range of 113. The range increases to 161km on highways. Also claimed is the curb weight that stands at 206kg.

The second is a mid-range variant called the Strike Mid-Range. The motorcycle features a 15kWh battery. The increased capacity pushes the in-city range to 168km and 240km on highways. The rest of the specs resemble the Standard variant with a top speed of 217km and a motor that produces 90hp and 245Nm of torque. The claimed curb weight stands at 211kg.

The third variant, called the Strike Carbon Edition is the top of the line product. The variant features a massive 20kHw battery. It produces 120hp from the same motor as the other siblings! Range on this baby increases to 241km in the city, and 322km on highways. The Lightening Strike Carbon Edition feature top of game cycle parts. Get a load of thisshe runs Ohlin suspension at both front and rear, Brembo braking systems, a GPS-based data logger, and an AIM Strada racing dash with a lap timer! Oh and, top speed on the motorcycle is electronically limited to 241kmph. Fast, really fast!

Big batteries mean more charging. Lightning Motorcycle has a three-level charging for the triplets. Level 1allows the battery to be charged via a 110v outlet (6 to 8 hours for a full charge). Level 2although we are unsure about what outlet this uses, the battery charges within a 3-hour period. And Level 3Lightning claims the battery will be at full power in 20-minutes! How? Well, the folks at LM have developed a fast charger!

The triplets are priced at $2,998 for the Standard, $16,998 for the Strike Mid-Range, and $19,998 for the Strike Carbon Edition. That is a price bracket of Rs. 8.98 lakh and Rs 13.83 lakh (not including taxes and import duties). The fast charger is an optional and is available for $1,500. That is approximately Rs 1.03 lakh. Lightning Motorcycle has managed to keep prices competitive because most parts are manufactured at their facility in China, and are assembled in California. Only the carbon-fibre body panels are manufactured in the US of A.

As is, the triplets have been launched only in the US. Although the company has expansion plans that include a global market, we do not think LM will head toward India in the near future.

What We Think Of The Lightning Strike Triplets

Woah! Who does that? An all electric superbike? That clocks 241kmph? And has a fast charger to juice the battery up in 20 minutes? All we have a mobile fast chargers that promise 50% juice in about 30 minutes. Tsk tsk! But we want to get our hands on one of these! Lightning Motorcycle Strike again, literally!

Most Viewed VideosA meeting on Brexit its effects on the Agricultural sector took place in the Carrickdale Hotel last Tuesday (March 26).

Speakers on the evening included: Damian McDonald, Director General Irish Farmers Association, Charlie McConalogue TD,

Spokesperson for Agriculture, Food & The Marine, Patsy McGlone MLA, Spokesperson for Agriculture and Brendan Smith TD Cavan Monaghan, Candidate European Parliament Election.

Local Fianna Fail election candidate for the Carlingford-Dundalk area, Erin McGreehan who was also in attendance at the well-attended event, told the Dundalk Democrat:

The evening served as a opportunity for local people to ask questions about Brexit and how it will affect the agricultural sector.

At the talk I highlighted the fact that the haulage sector is facing a massive threat with regards Brexit. Trucks are crossing the border every day. No matter what way Brexit turns out, hauliers will be affected and will have extra work to do as a result of Brexit.

Tourism in the area is also going to be affected by Brexit, hopefully not too drastically, but that's another concern.

Ms McGreehan added: A representative from the beef sector also spoke at the event. Beef farming are struggling. They are already being affected by Brexit and the Government arent paying attention. There is no clarity on any Brexit supports. The agriculture sector dont know where they can go for advice.

It's a very dangerous interim period - noone knows whats going to happen. There are so many unknowns for farmers and people in every industry.

The local election candidate added: CAP Reform (Europe's Common Agricultural Policy) funding is due to run out by 2020. But this could all change because of Brexit. There is more ambiguity there about where the money will come from if there is a shortfall.



CAP money supports many LEDER community schemes in the area, so this wont just affect farmers.

The local election candidate added there were also concerns expressed regarding funding for the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) and post-Brexit.

SDLP Councillors and MLAs were also in attendance at the meeting. Speaking about the parties partnership with Fianna Fail and the need for their northern voices to be heard because there is no assembly in the north and they have no seat in Westminster McGreehan said: The only voices being heard at the minute (for the people of Northern Ireland) in Westminister are those of the DUP. People in the North are feeling disenfranchised.

In conclusion, Ms McGreehan added: There was great interaction from the floor at the event and robust debates. Brexit isn't academic for us it's our reality.One of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos favorite talking points is that public schools are not innovative, and that the solution to our problems in education is to invest public tax dollars in creating more charter schools and voucher programs for private and religious schools:

Theres still not enough innovation, she said Tuesday, continuing her familiar focus on school choice and schools or networks working outside the traditional public system. The reality is there are a number of challenges and opportunities facing American students, and Washington, DC does not have all the answers.

Id suggest that it is Ms. DeVos who does not have all the answers, and in fact isnt really sure of what the questions arebut more on that in a minute.

In the meantime, I thought it would be helpful to share a story about an example of true innovation happening in Ohio, where the public schools are initiating a new program involving food trucks:

Last week saw Middletown Schools unveil the districts first food truck, part of a $225,000 program to feed the districts needy students by going to them on non-school days. The giant, brightly colored truck will travel to some of Middletowns low-income communities this summer to deliver free lunches to children and teens who during the school year depend on such meals from their school cafeterias.

A couple of points worth mentioning here

1. Its important to note that these are traditional public schools in Ohio providing these food trucksnot charter schools, or private schools, or even religious schools. Because traditional public schools are committed to serving the communities in which they are located, and are governed by locally-elected school boardsnot charter management corporations, or privately-appointed boards of directors.

Remember this the next time some ed reformer makes a snide comment about children being trapped in failing public schools because of their Zip Code! Zip codes arent evilthey describe the communities in which we live. Instead of suggesting that families move their children out of their Zip code to find a better school, why doesnt the Secretary of Education work to make sure that every public school has the resources needed to offer the high-quality education that every child deserves? Instead of trying to invest more of our tax dollars in to a group of schools that are actually failing, in front of our very eyes? Isnt that heryou knowjob?

2. These food trucks are part of school meal programs that are federally subsidized. Remember this the next time some conservative makes a snide comment about government schools. The government is not some evil machine that is attacking our freedoms. Its just people, like you and meand most of these people are just trying to do their jobs, which have to do with serving the publicin this case, providing nutritious meals to children outside of normal school hours, and after the normal school year has ended.

3. While Ms. DeVos seems to think that our public schools are some sort of monolith, and based on a one-size-fits-all model that has survived as an artifact from the pre-industrial revolution agricultural calendar, nothing could be further from the truth. The diversity among our public schools is one of the true strengths of the modern educational system. Its really not very hard to find public Montessori schools; arts, science, and language-immersion magnet schools; early childhood education centers; schools functioning on extended- , year-round, or balanced-calendars; schools that offer career and vocational training; and schools offering the International Baccalaureate modeloften all within the same public school district.

Of course, in order to find these schools youd need to actually visit a public school or two.

So, in spite of Sec. DeVos maintaining that our public schools are failing because they are not innovative, I have yet to hear a single innovative thing that she thinks charter or private schools are doing that public schools havent already done.

It is not innovative to cut funding for children with special needs.

It is not innovative to increase funding for charter schools that educate fewer than 7% of our children while cutting funding for traditional public schools that educate 90+% of kids.

It is not innovative to suggest that public schools are failing and large school districts (i.e., Detroit) should simply be shut down.

It is not innovative to demand billions of tax dollars for private school vouchers.

It is not innovative to hold lotteries for school admissions.

It is not innovative to mix religion and public education.

It is not innovative to ignore the impact of class size on student learning.

It is not innovative to demonize teachers unions and their members.

It is not innovative to limit your school visits to charter, private, and religious schools.

It is not innovative to hire uncertified or unqualified teachers.

It is not innovative to pay teachers less, and administrators more.

It is not innovative for the Secretary of Education to welcome massive cuts to the federal education budget.

Sadly, at this point what would be innovative is to have a Secretary of Education who had ever studied education, been a certified teacher, or had ever taught in a real public school.

Rather than continue to make these disparaging remarks about schools, teachers, and the press, what would be innovative is for Ms. DeVos to go out and actually listen to some public school teachers, students, and parents. Shed quickly find that her preconceived notions about our schools are based on equal parts ignorance and arrogance; that the vast majority of Americans are very satisfied with their childrens public schools; and that our countrys public school teachers are doing magnificent work under very difficult conditionsconditions that Betsy DeVos has been a major force in funding, creating, and implementing.

Want to do something innovative that would truly help our nations children, teachers, and schools, Ms. DeVos?

Resign.(Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC)Rabbi Tamara Schagas

A group of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches have shared Shabbat dinner with Jerusalem's Kol HaNeshama congregation whose people are seeking to reach out in the communities around them.

"We believe all people are created in the image of God, and that religion comes after," said Rabbi Tamara Schagas as she recently welcomed the group of international participants in the WCC's Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel.

The program that is known as EAPPI came from a call of the churches in the Holy Land to be there, observe and walk with the people they live with during a time of heightened conflict involving Israel and the Palestinian West Bank area that started in 2001.

So, the World Council of Churches, which represents more than half a billion Christians worldwide, created the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) in 2002.

Reformed Jewish congregation

Schagas, a member of Kol HaNeshama, a reformed Jewish congregation of 350 families in Jerusalem, engages with EAPPI in her endeavors to reach out to communities around her.

Kol HaNeshama works actively as a focal point for Jewish pluralism and social action in the area.

Its congregants originate from Israel and from countries all over the world.

Prayers are in Hebrew and prayer books are also available with English translation, as well as Hebrew transliteration.

"We are all connected to what happens in Israeli society, and we see that we need to find a common language to speak to each other," says Schagas, an activist in Rabbis for Human Rights.

"We welcome you into our community, our house of prayer to share with you who we are and the work that we do," she said to the accompaniers.

After an evening prayer service together in the synagogue, ecumenical accompaniers joined Kol HaNeshama congregants to share a Shabbat dinner.

Rabbi Schagas recites the Kiddush, the blessing over the wine, to sanctify the Shabbat.

"On Shabbat, our prayers express thankfulness over the week that has passed, Schagas said. "We invite you to come and meet with us, and to rest with us."

Hand-washing before meal

Pouring water three times over their hands, ecumenical accompaniers participated in the traditional Shabbat custom of N'tilat Yadayim, hand-washing before blessing the meal.

The rabbi then sprinkled salt over the Shabbat bread, as a symbol of remembrance of the sacrifices that were once part of the Shabbat ritual.

"Being at this Shabbat dinner was balm for my soul," said one of the ecumenical accompaniers coming out of the synagogue. "We spoke to an Israeli woman who was so wholeheartedly committed to the well-being of the Palestinians, and by that, of the Palestinians and the Israelis."

"She's learning Arabic, she teaches Hebrew to Arabic nurses in East Jerusalem," she continued. "I think what it was, was that there weren't any ifs or buts, there weren't any limits on what the Palestinians needed to do to be acceptable, it was that this is what she needed to do to live in this country."

"The dinner was really interesting," said another ecumenical accompanier, from Argentina.

Seeing how a large part of the accompaniers' time is spent in placements across the West Bank, she reflected, "it is a big change, and a hard change, to try to understand and focus on an Israeli point of view.

"I had to sit and really listen, and keep an open mind, and it wasn't easy. But also, I think it helps you to understand much more. We are a program to accompany both sides, the Israeli and the Palestinian people."

Israeli perspective

With parents originally from Poland, Israel-born Amos was one of the congregants receiving the ecumenical accompaniers at the dinner, affording them an opportunity to learn about Israeli perspectives on the conflict, to share reflections and exchange experiences.

"This was one of the highlights. We're sitting at a table with a psychiatrist and his wife who works in a bilingual Arab-Jewish school, and they are very politically active in a non-governmental organization working with Holocaust survivors... and we had a very lively discussion," reflects an ecumenical accompanier from Germany.

"Being in the Palestinian territories... dealing only with settlers and with soldiers will give you a very monolithic image of Israeli society, so I think it's very necessary to humanize the other side as well," he adds.

"If you are active on only one side, there will be a tendency to dehumanize the other side. But there are many people on both sides who are very helpful in our fight for human rights."

"We need to be aware of this, and dehumanizing people on any side won't bring peace closer," he said.

This is an edited version of a story that Albin Hillert wrote for the World Council of Churches.Island wide collection for Cyclone Idai victims

A street collection will be held on the Isle of Man for the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Cyclone Idai today.

Volunteers will be shaking buckets in Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Port Erin through the day.

Manx residents are also reminded Co-Op stores on the Island all have donation tins.

Cyclone Idai left a devastating trail across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe with over 750 reported dead, 400.000 made homeless and hundreds of thousands affected.Manx charities benefit from Peel New Year's Day Dip

Three charities on the Island have been handed cheques following the annual New Year's Day Dip in Peel.

Peel RNLI, Multiple Sclerosis and Rebecca House were each presented with 1300 yesterday.

The three recipients received their cheques from Stuart Blackley on behalf of the organisers who thanked all who had helped with the event along with the sponsors.

Sir Miles Walker received the cheque on behalf of Rebecca House, Suzy Holland for MS and Paddy Kelly for the Peel RNLI, all three thanked the dip for their generosity.Isle of Man to participate at EuroMAB

The Isle of Man will participate in delivering three workshops at a major biennial gathering of European and American Biospheres.



EuroMAB takes place in Dublin from 1st to 5th April and will explore Local Actions for Global Challenges.

The event will be attended by representatives from 30 countries.



UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man has been chosen to help deliver workshops on protecting and promoting coastal and marine life (Dr Fiona Gell, Ecosystem Policy Manager at the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture), protecting and promoting indigenous languages (Dr Breesha Maddrell, Director of Culture Vannin), and tackling marine plastics (Bill Dale BEM, founder of Beach Buddies).



The UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man delegation will also share local expertise at workshops on empowering young people, developing local enterprises (including branding and product labelling) and engagement through arts and culture.Pope Francis arrives in Moroccan capital

Pope to meet some immigrants as part of his visit to Morocco.

Pope Francis on Saturday arrived in the Moroccan capital Rabat for a two-day visit.

"THE UNION WILL BE STRONGER"

Moroccan King Mohammed VI received the Pope, who has made the first papal visit to Morocco since 1985. On Friday, Moroccan authorities announced that the meeting between King Mohammed VI and Pope Francis, "will contribute to the promotion of dialogue, understanding and coexistence between religions," adding that the visit comes upon an invitation of the [Moroccan] King.

In a statement, the Ministry of Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery described the visit as "historic," affirming that it would contribute to spreading the values of fraternity, peace and tolerance among peoples.

"The visit will be characterized by a series of intensive activities of the Moroccan monarch and his great guest," the statement read. The Pope would meet with some of the country's immigrants as part of his visit.Turkey welcomes Romanias position on its EU ties

Turkeys vice president hailed Romania on Friday for supporting Ankaras efforts to establish constructive relations with the European Union.

'We hope Romanias stance will set an example for other European countries," says Turkish vice president.

"WE HOPE ROMANIA'S STANCE WILL SET AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER COUNTRIES"

We welcome Romanias principled stance and its efforts, which contribute toward a constructive understanding in EU-Turkey relations," said Fuat Oktay, speaking at a joint press conference in Bucharest with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. "We hope Romanias stance will set an example for other European countries," Oktay added. His remarks came after bilateral and inter-delegation meetings with Dancila.

Weve had a fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Dancila. We broadly exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments," he added. Within the framework of the EU presidency of Romania, weve shared our approach and expectations to advance the negotiation process of our country's accession to the EU, Oktay said, calling Romania a close ally.

Romania holds the EUs rotating presidency until June 30. During our meeting, we confirmed that we are on the same page on further developing our cooperation in every field and on Turkey-EU relations, he added.

Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987 and accession talks began in 2005. But negotiations stalled in 2007 due to the objections of the Greek Cypriot administration on the divided island of Cyprus as well as opposition from Germany and France.

Regarding the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 coup attempt, Oktay said: We place great importance on the continuation of mutual cooperation in the fight against the structuring of this terror organization, which also poses a threat to Romanias security.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

"KEY PARTNER"

Dancila voiced her support for Turkeys EU membership, calling Turkey a key partner of the EU. She also praised Turkeys efforts to deter irregular migration by hosting over 3.5 million migrants. Stating that Turkey and Romania have very strong relations, Dancila said the bilateral trade potential of the two countries was very high.

Following the press conference, Oktay met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the quadrilateral meeting of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The meeting, which was closed to the press, lasted for 30 minutes.Turkish jets hit PKK terrorists in Northhern Iraq

Turkish military conduct airstrike in Iraq's Mt Qandil as well as Hakurk and Avasin-Basyan areas.

Turkey pounded shelters of PKK terror group's ringleaders in northern Iraq's Mt Qandil in an air operation on early Saturday, according to the statement from Turkish Defense Ministry.

The statement said Turkish fighter jets also hit PKK terrorists in Hakurk and Avasin-Basyan areas, who were in preparation of attacking Turkey's border troops.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU have been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women and children.Venezuela welcomes the arrival of medical from China

China sends 65 tons of medical supplies to Venezuela in Caracas.

A Chinese plane loaded with 65 tons of medical supplies landed in Venezuela's capital of Caracas on Friday amid a power struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

HE WELCOMED THE ARRIVAL OF THE HUMANITARIAN AID

Maduro welcomed the arrival of the humanitarian aid on Twitter, saying "Venezuela is breaking the imperialist siege and advancing with a victory." He shared photos showing the arrival of the aid as well as a photo of him taken with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his visit to China last year. China's move came after Russia sent humanitarian aid to Caracas last week.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions escalated when Guaido, who heads Venezuelas National Assembly, declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, a move supported by the US and many European and Latin American countries. Turkey, Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bolivia threw their weight behind Maduro.

As Venezuelans were hit by another major power outage Friday, opponents of the government said they will take to the streets in Caracas on Saturday to protest the blackouts. Twenty-one states reportedly lost power Friday evening. Maduro supporters will also take to the streets in the capital.The ECIs approach to campaigning on social media has failed to ensure a level playing field.

The campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections has been perhaps the most digital so far with parties across the spectrum now using, and often abusing, the digital tools available to them such as social media, mobile apps, online discussion forums, and mass messaging.

Last week, social media platforms came together with the Internet and Mobile Association of India to release a Voluntary Code of Ethics in consultation with the Election Commission of India (ECI). Through this, Facebook, Google, Twitter and others will monitor and take action against election-related paid advertisements that violate the ECI guidelines. This code claims to ensure that there is no misuse of the platforms that can vitiate the free and fair character of the electoral process.Saturday, March 30, 2019

Thursday March 28, 2019 the US House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff was asked by the Nine Republicans on that committee to resign. He gave a response for the ages not unlike the House Army McCarthy hearings in May 1956 when Senator McCarthy was finally brought down for his overreach with the comment "Have You No Shame." Schiff's retort "You Might Think It's Okay" may be the new rallying cry to Trump's "Roy Cohn" Attorney General William Barr's latest attempt to whitewash the Trump Russia compromise. Here is the text of this famous exchange in the United States House of Representatives:

Representative Michael Conaway (R) Texas Intelligence Committee: "We have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as chairman of the committee. Mr. Chairman this letter is signed by all nine members of the Republican side of the House on the committee."

Representative Adam Schiff (D) California Intelligence Committee Chair: "My colleagues may think its okay that the Russians offered dirt on a Democratic candidate for president as part of what was described as the Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign. You might think that's okay. My colleagues might think its okay, that when that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president's son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help, no instead that son said that he would love the help of the Russians. You might think its okay that he took that meeting. You might think it's okay that Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience to run a campaign, also took that meeting. You might think it's okay that the president's son in law also took that meeting. You might think it's okay that they concealed it from the public. You might think it's okay that the only disappointment from that meeting was that the dirt on Hillary Clinton wasn't better. You might think that's okay. You might think it's okay, that when it was discovered a year later, they then lied about that meeting, said it was about adoption. You might think that the president helped dictate that lie. You might think that's okay, I don't. You might think it's okay that the campaign chairman of a presidential campaign would offer information about that campaign to a Russian oligarch in exchange for money or debt forgiveness. You might think it's okay, I don't. You might think it's okay that that campaign chairman offered polling data, campaign polling data to someone linked to Russian intelligence. I don't think that's okay. You might think it's okay that the president himself called on Russia to hack his opponent's emails, if they were listening. You might think it's okay that later that day the Russians attempted to hack a server affiliated with that campaign. I don't think that's okay.

You might think it's okay that the president's son in law sought to establish a secret back channel of communications to the Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility. I don't think that's okay. You might think it's okay that an associate of the president made direct contact with the GRU through Guccifer 2.0 and wiki-leaks that is considered a hostile intelligence agency. You might think it's okay that a senior campaign official was instructed to reach that associate and find out what that hostile intelligence agency had to say in terms of dirt on his opponent. You might think its okay that the National Security Advisor designate secretly conferred with the Russian ambassador about undermining US sanctions and you might think it's okay that he lied about it to the FBI. You might say that's all okay, that's just what you need to do to win. But I don't think it's okay, I think its immoral, I think it's unethical, unpatriotic, and yes, I think its corrupt, and evidence of collusion. Now I have always said, that whether this amounts to conspiracy was another matter. Whether the Special Counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt of that crime would be up to the Special Counsel, and I would accept his decision, and I do. He is a good and honorable man and a good prosecutor. But I do not think that conduct criminal or not is okay. And the day we do think that is okay is the day we look back and say America has lost its way.

And I will tell you one more thing that is apropos of the hearing today. I don't think it's okay that during a presidential campaign Mr. Trump sought the Kremlin's help to consummate a real estate deal in Moscow that would make him a fortune. According to Special Counsel hundreds of millions of dollars. I don't think it's okay to lie and conceal it from the public. I don't think it's okay to advocate a new and more favorable policy to the Russians even as he was seeking the Kremlin's help to make money. I don't think it's okay to instruct his attorney to lie to our committee. There is a different word for that than collusion, and its called compromise. And that is the subject of our hearing today."

Relevance to Peace Economics:

The corruption of the empire society plutocracy has become obvious to most in America. Reagan with his military buildup, making the rich almost tax free, union busting, and killing the equal time provision of the media, has let the oligarchy gain control over America at the expense of the middle class which has been falling steadily further behind since that 1980 election mistake. The suggested reading below "Rankism and Dignity" offers a different vision of inclusion instead of the Trump politics of exclusion and conning people with 9179 documented lies in Trump presidency (Washington Post).

Rankism and the Dignity Society (second most popular on academia last month):

https://www.academia.edu/11020728/RANKISM_and_DIGNITY_Robert_Fuller_Concept_1_p._2006

Please cite this work as follows:

Reuschlein, Robert. (2019, March 30), "You Might Think It's Okay" Madison, WI: Real Economy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/You-Might-Think-It's-Okay,2019179302.aspx

Dr. Peace, Professor Robert Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute,

Nominated Vetted 2016 (2 Web Looks), Given Odds 2017 (3 Web Looks), Strongly Considered 2018 (48 Web Looks, one million words) for Nobel Peace Prize, a favorite in 2019 (double that of last year 38 in 6 months) for Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday October 4th, 2019.

Contact: bobreuschlein@gmail.com, Info: www.realeconomy.comThough its permanent home still is in the works, work at the National Security Collaboration Center is underway.

The facility, along with the School of Data Science, will be in a building at the University of Texas at San Antonios expanded downtown campus.

The $90 million project is supported by $70 million from the states Permanent University Fund, $15 million from local tech entrepreneur Graham Weston and $5 million in university funds.

The building is expected to open during the 2021-2022 academic year. In the meantime, the university has set up a temporary space for partners at the main campus with labs and offices.

On ExpressNews.com: Regents approve $70 million for UTSA cyber expansions

It started to coalesce and come together so quickly that we had no choice, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said at an open house Friday.

We couldn't wait for our new building, he added. We had to get on with the business of running the (center) and having the collisions that happen when you put a lot of bright people in spaces together.

The center is intended to bring together academics, students, government agencies, contractors and private companies to develop and test technologies. The Energy and Homeland Security departments, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Raytheon, Booz Allen Hamilton and USAA are among 36 groups with a presence at the center.

If you put them all in the mix, we can tackle some of the grand challenges and aspects of cybersecurity, said Bernard Arulanandam, UTSAs interim vice president for research, economic development and knowledge enterprise.

On ExpressNews.com: NSA employees can get UTSA degrees through new program

The groups will focus on research areas including cloud computing, anti-terrorism, artificial intelligence, election security and military health and wellness.

The National Security Agency in Texas, which operates a facility on the Northwest Side, is one of the groups. The partnership is just so important for us to conduct our mission, particularly in the cyber space, as we go forward, said Kathy Hutson, NSAs senior strategist for academic engagement.

The field is evolving quite rapidly, she added.

IPSecure, a local cybersecurity company, is another partner. The proximity to organizations such as the 24th Air Force (cybersecurity) is appealing and makes it easy to ask questions and collaborate, chief technology officer Richard Valdez said.

Businesses also have access to students and can teach them the skills theyre looking for, Valdez added. Companies in San Antonio and across the country are facing a shortage of workers with the right qualifications.

It shortens the learning curve, he said.

madison.iszler@express-news.netL to R, Her Excellency Ms Wu Xi, Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to NewZealand, His Excellency Minister Luo Shugang, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Peoples Republic of China, Kelvin Davis, Minister of Tourism, New Zealand and Mr Jamie Tuuta, incoming Chair of Tourism New Zealand pose during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism opening ceremony at Te Papa on March 30, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. [Photo: VCG]

2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism was launched in Wellington Saturday with an aim to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

An official ceremony was held at Wellington's Te Papa Tongawera, Museum of New Zealand, and attended by high-level officials and hundreds of representatives from the tourism industry in both countries.

His Excellency Minister Luo Shugang, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Peoples Republic of China, speaks during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism opening ceremony at Te Papa on March 30, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. [Photo: VCG]

China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang read the welcoming message by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for the opening ceremony.

"Tourism is an important area of our cooperation and a driving force for our peoples' mutual understanding and friendly ties. Chinese tourists are attracted by scenic beauty and cultural diversity of New Zealand, and visitors from New Zealand marvel at China's natural wonders and rich heritage as an ancient civilization," Li said in the message.

"Last year, around 600,000 visits were exchanged between the two countries. China remains the second largest overseas tourist market of New Zealand," Li said."The China-New Zealand Year of Tourism presents an opportunity for our two countries to enhance tourism cooperation through people-to-people contact. More people-to-people contact between China and New Zealand will increase our mutual knowledge and awareness, which are central to more popular support for our bilateral relations and cooperation," the Chinese premier said.

Kelvin Davis, Minister of Tourism, speaks during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism opening ceremony at Te Papa on March 30, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. [Photo: VCG]

New Zealand Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis read the welcoming message by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the opening ceremony.

Ardern said "Tourism is a crucial strand in our bilateral relationship, and is a particularly important driver of economic growth. There was an 8.8 percent increase in Chinese holidaymakers to New Zealand from 2017 to 2018, and China is New Zealand's second-largest tourism market. The number of New Zealanders visiting China has also reached a new high."

"The recent Christchurch terrorist attacks brought into sharp relief the importance of building interactions and understanding across peoples, cultures and borders. Initiatives during the Year of Tourism reflect China and New Zealand's shared commitment to doing just that," Ardern said.

Her Excellency Ms Wu Xi, Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to NewZealand, speaks during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism opening ceremony at Te Papa on March 30, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. [Photo: VCG]

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi said "New Zealand is a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Zealand in 2017, the two sides signed Belt and Road cooperation documents. The connection between facilities and people's hearts is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative."

Wu said "Sino-New Zealand's Belt and Road cooperation will not only help to enhance New Zealand's tourism infrastructure, but also further strengthen New Zealand's advantage as an ideal tourist destination for Chinese tourists and attract more Chinese tourists."

Richard Davies, manager of tourism policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said the Year of Tourism gives New Zealand an opportunity to showcase the things that makes it a world class destination.

Tourism New Zealand General Manager -- New Zealand & Government Relations, Rebecca Ingram said "Tourism New Zealand's focus is on ensuring New Zealand remains a desirable destination and top of mind as an option for Chinese travelers."

"China is New Zealand's most valuable visitor market. With the highest daily spend of all our visitors and a highly seasonal profile, our Chinese visitors help to spread the benefits of tourism throughout the year."

During the 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, New Zealand's tourism sector and beyond is encouraged to think about what they can do to get their China business ready.Toy shopping has transformed over the past 100 years, whether because of advancements in the products themselves or the marketplace. Using national toy archives and data curated by The Strong , from 1920 to today, Stacker searched for products that caught hold of the public zeitgeist through novelty, innovation, kitsch, quirk, or simply great timing, and then rocketed to success. Here are the top holiday toys from the year you were born, counting up from 1920 to today. May they fill your heartand stockings!with joy. Visit thestacker.com for similar lists and stories.The massive wave of migrant families crossing the border has reached San Antonio, overwhelming its bus station and shelters.

Local nonprofits have run out of space as hundreds of people are being released from large family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes County south of San Antonio, and from the border.

Were trying to figure out where pregnant women and newborn babies are going to spend the night tonight, said Michelle Rumbaut, a volunteer for the Interfaith Welcome Coalition, which greets migrants at San Antonios Greyhound bus station and at the airport.

The influx here comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection began releasing thousands of migrants in border cities with notices to appear later in court earlier this month.

From El Paso to Brownsville, the mass releases have swamped communities and burdened nonprofits with providing increased humanitarian aid.

Its a tough situation all the way around. We dont want families to be held in detention, said Sister Denise LaRock, bus station coordinator for the Interfaith coalition. So now, theyre released at the border but the numbers are so huge, we dont have the infrastructure.

One migrant, Claudina Suazo, 27, sat quietly at the bus station Friday. As the noise of crying children and volunteers calling for migrants to board a bus swirled around her, she patted her 1-year-old, who lay asleep on her chest.

She came from a small town in Honduras with her infant and 8-year-old. She crossed at Reynosa and presented herself to the Border Patrol, which held her in two separate facilities: a processing center migrants call a hielera (ice box) for three days and a perrera (kennel), a smaller space for two people.

You suffer. And your kid suffers, she said. I cried seeing my sons so cold. My 1-year-old got sick there.

She was released in McAllen and stayed there for 10 days to nurse her infant back to health, before getting on a bus with other migrants headed to San Antonio.

Immigration authorities have released 51,500 migrants along the South Texas border and in San Antonio since late December. Thats more than in any other ICE jurisdiction along the border and almost half of the total migrants released, said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, who was briefed by Homeland Security officials.

ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations released 34,500 migrants in El Paso, 20,000 in Phoenix and 11,500 in San Diego, Calif., as of March 26, he said.

Overall, ICE has released 117,500 migrants along the border since Dec. 21.

The sheer volume of family units  crossing the border has overwhelmed ICEs limited transportation resources; combined with a requirement to detain these individuals for no more than 20 days, the agency has no option but to expeditiously arrange for their release, ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said.

Border apprehensions are projected to reach 100,000 by the end of the month, CBP Chief Operating Officer John Sanders said this week. Thats nearly double what it was in March 2018.

CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said the influx of migrants has put ICEs facilities at a breaking point.

In the past, migrants arriving at the bus station predominantly were released from the family detention centers in Karnes and Dilley. ICE would give the Interfaith coalition a notification of how many were coming, and when. The migrants would arrive with bus tickets in hand.

This week, migrants from Del Rio and Eagle Pass, cities that lack a large bus station, began arriving at San Antonios bus station unannounced. Without tickets already secured, many have to wait overnight.

On Thursday, nearly 100 people showed up with no warning and no bus tickets after being released from Eagle Pass, shortly after Catholic Charities had been informed. The Travis Park Church opened its doors to temporarily house them.

Within a period of six days from March 20 to March 26, the number of family members released increased in the South Texas region from 47,500 to 51,500, according to data provided by ICE and Cuellar.

While thousands are arriving daily at the U.S. border, ICE has a 150-person-per-day processing capacity, Cuellar said. An ICE spokesperson said the agency recently counted multiple days that each had over 1,000 releases in the Rio Grande Valley.

By Friday afternoon, about 150 migrants had arrived at the San Antonio bus station, and Catholic Charities said 150 more might come during the night. Volunteers from RAICES and other organizations began to show up for added support. About 100 had also been released at the airport.

The bus station was a hectic, crowded scene. Babies with runny noses grasped their mothers necks. Migrants crowded around volunteers, who put stickers on their shirts with their destination and the time of their bus departure. Kids approached a corner stocked with donations asking anyone who would listen, Hay jugo? (juice) or Tiene calcetines? (socks).

Today was over the top, said Rumbaut, with the Interfaith coalition. We havent seen this before.

Between January and March last year, 2,490 migrants were dropped off at the bus station, according to the coalition. This year, that number has reached 5,286.

While the number of apprehensions across the border is lower than in the early 2000s, the number of Central Americans and families seeking asylum has skyrocketed  73 percent of migrants come from Central America now, compared to 90 percent coming from Mexico in 2006, Cuellar said.

The federal government has been grappling with how to process and detain migrants of this new population. Those with children cant be detained for longer than 20 days under a court settlement known as the Flores Agreement.

ICE has had to shift personnel from other departments to handle the influx. Cuellar said 330 ICE enforcement and removal operations personnel are on temporary duty status or were reassigned from another agency to handle the surge.

Beginning April 1, the Karnes Residential Center, which is meant for families, will be making room for 700 single, female adults, said Pruneda, the ICE spokeswoman.

Transportation services also are straining to keep up with demand  they only can serve half of the unaccompanied minors projected to require transportation in fiscal year 2019, according to Cuellars Homeland Security briefing.

I came here for my future, and for theirs, Suazo said of her children. To give them what I cant. To make a little house in this country and wake up to them playing.

sfosterfrau@express-news.netAUSTIN  When a police officer pulled them over for a broken brake light in 2010, Felix Macarios wife started sobbing and he began to plead.

Please dont take me, my daughter needs me, and my wife needs me, Macario said to the officer. I cant leave them.

They were driving to a secondhand store in Cedar Park. In the back seat was their 10-year-old daughter, who had a learning disability. They had been living in the country for a decade as undocumented immigrants.

He didnt listen. They dont like to listen, said Macario, 36. And thats how my immigration process began.

He spent more than two weeks in jail and in the Pearsall immigrant detention center, and was allowed to stay in the country after his release. Seven years later, Macarios case was put on hold in a process known as administrative closure.

But the closure didnt last. Macario has been ordered back into immigration court in May and now faces a new threat of deportation.

The Guatemalan native is one of thousands of immigrants across the country whose cases are reopening after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions last May removed the authority of immigration judges to overrule government prosecutors and administratively close cases, and authorized the reopening of those that were closed.

After a slow trickle of reopened cases last fall, lawyers in South Texas are reporting a sharp uptick, indicating the Trump administration has doubled down on its promise to remove undocumented immigrants.

Administrative closures began in 2011, when the Obama administration directed courts to pause cases of immigrants who posed no risk to the community, allowing judges to prioritize those with criminal histories or other red flags.

The intent was to get through an enormous backlog of cases. The latest figures from TRAC, a Syracuse University research agency, shows 855,807 cases are pending in immigration courts, quadruple the number from a decade ago.

Through last December, there were more than 327,000 administratively closed cases, which could get added to the backlog.

Putting a case on hold also avoids clogging hearing schedules when an immigrant is applying for a visa through U.S. Customs and Immigration Services.

Lawyers argue that reopening cases is counterproductive to the Trump administrations goal of targeting criminal immigrants and removing them.

If the concern of the administration is a public safety concern, then by prioritizing everyone  it limits the governments ability to specifically prioritize people who actually potentially could be a danger to the community, said Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Austin-based immigration lawyer.

Meanwhile, immigrants who have been in this country for years with work visas and driver licenses, who have had children here and settled into homes, must argue their cases again.

Macario said he heard about the ruling last year, and he hoped and prayed it wouldnt affect him. He said he pays his taxes, volunteers at his girls local schools and donates every month to St. Jude Childrens Hospital.

I told my wife, I hope they dont open it. Ive behaved well, Ive tried to do everything right, so hopefully this helps me, that they wont open it, Macario said. But it didnt go that way.

Now he faces the possibility that his wife and three daughters might have to live without him.

I got really sad. I told my wife, and she started crying, saying Why does this have to happen to us? Why us? Macario said.

Hes the sole provider for the family, working nights so he can help take care of their daughter with disabilities during the day. He shuttles Ana, now 17, to three different types of therapy programs each week. He takes her to doctors and dentists appointments. And hes the one that brings her a change of clothes when she wets her pants in school.

I think and I think: What will I do? What will I do? Because my daughter  she needs me.

Reversing Obama rule

Macario sat across from Georgia Santos Evangelista, one of three lawyers at OConnor and Associates in Austin, for a recent meeting at the firm. She told him his hearing will be May 30 in San Antonio.

What options will the judge give me? What can I do now? Does he need more evidence? Macario asked, holding his daughters hand.

Ana cant spell her own name. But she had a cheery disposition throughout the meeting, smiling unexpectedly.

Santos Evangelista told Macario the evidence part will come later.

Lawyers are pulling files from the backs of cabinets as case after case is revived and given court dates. In a Facebook group for Texas lawyers, many are swapping stories and sharing tips on different legal options to try to keep their clients from getting deported.

Stephen OConnor, head of the Austin immigration firm, said his office has seen about 60 administratively closed cases re-calendared in recent months. San Antonio immigration lawyer Lance Curtright said 25 to 30 cases have been reopened at his firm this year.

Administrative closure also had functioned as temporary relief for immigrants whose unique situations didnt qualify them for legal status.

Administrative closure was a way to say, This is a compelling case for someone who hasnt violated our laws, who probably should for humanitarian reasons be able to stay in the U.S., but there may not be statutory relief, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

When the Obama administration began the temporary closures, it was eyeing immigration reform. Putting those cases on hold gave the immigrants a chance to possibly qualify for future legal relief.

Some lawyers say U.S. law is too narrow to sufficiently encompass the breadth of humanitarian reasons for allowing some undocumented immigrants to stay in the country.

Immigrants who dont fit into any path to legal status include those who have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade but cant prove it would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen if they were deported; children who came to the U.S. after June 15, 2007, the cutoff date for those who qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival; and immigrant parents whose children are citizens.

People who might just barely qualify for something, but dont, might not have any other relief available to them except administrative closure, said Lincoln-Goldfinch. So when we take that away, were literally tearing families apart for no public safety reason.

Other immigrants have preferred to administratively close their cases instead of pursuing an asylum claim because the odds are against them: the denial rate for asylum claims in 2018 was 65 percent nationwide.

Last year in San Antonio, eight of 10 immigration judges recorded asylum denial rates higher than 60 percent. Three had rates of 80 percent and higher, according to TRAC.

On March 21, 2017, Macario learned his case was closed. By then, Trump was two months into office, and Sessions ruling had yet to come.

When (OConnor) called me to tell me he was closing my case, it was a huge happiness. I thought I wont have to go back to court, I can relax, I can get my work visa, and I can be with my daughter, Macario said. It was pure joy.

I knew there was a risk that my case could be opened, but I never imagined it would be so soon.

Caring for disabled daughter

After their meeting with Santos Evangelista, Macario and Ana went to a nearby Guatemalan restaurant that they frequent. The walls are painted the colors of the Guatemalan flag, and the TV plays one of the countrys news stations.

What do you want? You wont like this, he said to a menu item she pointed at. He glanced up at the TV and sighed. A dead body was flashing on the screen.

Theres always deaths there, he said.

He and two brothers made the two-month journey to the U.S. in 2000, when he was 18. The gangs were getting more aggressive in his hometown of 31,000 people.

After getting caught by immigration officials and sent back into Mexico the first time they crossed, they made it through undetected the second time, and after a stop in Los Angeles, arrived in Austin where they had friends.

The friends had loaned them the money for their journey, and they spent the next year paying back the debt.

Macario met his wife at the Dell factory in Austin, where they were both janitors. They fell in love and got married, and he cared for her daughter, Ana, like his own.

When he was put in jail and in Pearsall in 2010, Ana would ask: Y papa? Y papa? (wheres dad?).

On weekends, while his wife takes care of their two younger children, he and Ana go to the park together. Hell bring a ball and theyll play catch. Or theyll walk in circles and chat. On weekday mornings he helps her get ready before the school bus comes, and hes there when she gets dropped off. He goes to work at 5 p.m.

And on Wednesdays, they spend nearly the whole day together as he takes her to her various weekly therapy appointments.

As a father, you want your kid to be like all the others, Macario said. I always dreamed of sending her to university. I would love to see her successful with degrees and a career. So when the medics told us she wouldnt be able to do that, it hurt.

Shes been bullied at school, he said. A woman once started yelling and swearing at her when they were having lunch at a restaurant because Ana was staring at her - she doesnt pick up on social cues, Macario said, and sometimes she stares too long.

Back at the Guatemalan restaurant, he orders her apple juice.

Can you get it? Should I help you? he said as she struggled to open it. He takes it in his hand and she puts her head on his shoulder while he opens it.

Macarios daughter has presented an extra challenge the family. Its made him and his wife even more fearful of being separated.

But his lawyer said Anas disability could also be a blessing in disguise. It could be his ticket to avoid deportation.

A recent ruling on Notice to Appear files allows him to apply for cancellation of removal. He may fit the criteria under the provision that his departure would create an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen (his children) should he be deported.

Even though it scares me to be here, I know it was a blessing from God to get me here, Macario said. Theres a lot of people that try to get here, and they die in the dessert, or they die in the river. Theyre trying to get a better future and they dont achieve it. I did get it.

Ill always be grateful for that.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFFA judge on Wednesday dramatically reduced the bond required to release an Air Force Reserve officer who is accused of tampering with evidence in the disappearance of his wife, whom authorities believe is dead.

State District Judge Frank Castro reduced the bail of Andre Sean McDonald from $2 million on the single charge to $300,000 after hearing arguments from defense attorney John A. Convery and prosecutor Samantha DiMaio.

McDonald, 40, assigned to a cyberwarfare unit at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, has been in the Bexar County jail since his arrest March 3.

His wife, Andreen Nicole McDonald, 29, a local businesswoman and mother of their 6-year-old daughter, was last seen arguing with her husband Feb. 28 at their home valued at nearly $500,000 in the 1000 block of Solitude Cove.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio woman still missing

She was reported missing March 1 after not showing up for work, and law enforcement officers say she is presumed dead.

The reduction means that instead of having to come up with a $200,000 bond to be released  a bond is usually 10 percent of the bail amount  McDonald can be freed on a $30,000 bond.

He had not been released as of Friday evening.

As part of his restrictions if he is released, the Air Force officer would not be allowed to go to his home in north Bexar County, or to have contact with the couples daughter, who is in the care of family members.

Castro also ordered McDonald to wear an electronic monitoring device and put him under full house arrest. He can only leave to go to work, the judge ordered.

Convery told the judge he had documents to show his client is an outstanding officer and pointed out that McDonald doesnt have a criminal record. He called the original bail amount simply outrageous.

On ExpressNews.com: Air Force Reserve major arrested on tampering charge

DiMaio countered that McDonald is a flight risk because he has numerous assets available to him and listed for the court several vehicles and properties valued at more than $1 million.

She presented several photographs taken by investigators at the couples home that showed a burn pile and a bloody hammer. Investigators also found a hatchet, a shovel, an ax and gas cans.

DiMaio said McDonald also is a flight risk because he is part owner, with his wife, of a $1 million company, and a danger to the community because he purchased a gun and ammunition, and rammed his garage with one of his own vehicles.

Convery said after the hearing that he had never seen bail that high for a tampering with evidence charge, and that he has mixed emotions about the reduction.

Im happy that the judge saw fit to seriously reduce the (bail) from $2 million to $300,000. I think thats kind of a victory for the Constitution and a victory for all of us, Convery said. Its not the victory that we wanted. We thought that a significantly lower (bail) in the neighborhood of perhaps up to $50,000 or $75,000 would have been more than adequate.

Christian Henricksen, chief of litigation for the Bexar County District Attorneys Office, said the prosecution respects the judges decision, but defended the attempt to keep the higher bail.

Anytime someone is acting the way he was, clearly tampering with evidence in the middle of a missing person case involving his wife, and buying a gun, its a scary thing, Henricksen said.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar has said a search of the home found the womans blood and hair in the couples master bedroom, and search warrants established that after his wife went missing, McDonald bought a shovel, ax, trash bags, gloves and gasoline.

Authorities said burn pits also were found in the couples backyard.

On ExpressNews.com: Friends and family reveal chilling details of missing SA woman

Based on information that McDonald might have gone to Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, that area was searched for hours in the weeks after his wife went missing.

Official searches ended two weeks ago; Salazar said they wouldnt resume until theres direct evidence taking us to a certain site.

Private searches have continued, however, and Salazar said he didnt want to discourage those efforts. But he cautioned searchers looking in brushy, wooded and other undeveloped areas to be aware of potential risks including weather and wildlife, especially snakes.

Realize that with spring weather approaching, the snakes are out, Salazar said at a news conference last week. It could be dangerous.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect responsible for McDonalds disappearance.

Andre McDonalds next court appearance, a pre-indictment hearing, is scheduled for April in the 399th state District Court, Henricksen said.A San Antonio murder suspect who made a daring escape from Bexar County Jail and remained free for an hour was sentenced Friday to 99 years in prison.

A jury agreed with prosecutors that Luis Antonio Arroyo, 41, is a habitual offender and upped his sentence from what typically would be 10 years for escape.

He has a lengthy criminal history that includes burglary, theft, criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance, according to Bexar County court records.

Arroyo and two other inmates, also accused of murder, broke out of the jail a year ago by climbing 20 feet in a recreational area, cutting a hole in some mesh and using bedsheets to climb down onto a roof outside.

At the time, Arroyo, was charged with capital murder.

Four months later, while he was on trial for two killings, the jury deadlocked 6-6 over a verdict, leaving prosecutors and defense attorneys bewildered and some jurors in tears. Judge Kevin OConnell declared a mistrial.

Arroyo faces trial again on charges he killed Rodney Spring, 47, and Quickther Ketha Jackson, 36, on Jan. 21, 2016, in an apartment on the West Side.

Spring was shot once in the back, and Jackson was shot five times and stabbed three times. At the trial in July, prosecutors argued the slayings might have been over the theft of a pack of cigarettes.

Jacksons mother, Tandalyn Jackson, 59, who was wounded, described in detail the stabbing and shooting deaths and named Arroyo as the killer in a 911 call.

The defense contended that police conducted a shabby investigation and raised doubts about the evidence, enough apparently to bring the jury to a draw.

Had he been convicted, Arroyo could have sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On ExpressNews.com: Jury deadlocked, mistrial declared

Arroyos trial on the escape charge began Tuesday in 227th state District Court, with Felony Impact Court Judge Laura Parker presiding.

He escaped with Jacob Brownson and Eric Trevino, who were in jail on separate murder charges. The three were captured an hour later at a Sonic restaurant, officials said.

On ExpressNews.com: Escape called a miraculous feat

Arroyos mother, Gabrielle De Arroyo, along with Marcus Maldonado, a friend of Trevinos, and Michelle Ramirez, Trevinos ex-girlfriend, have been charged in connection with the escape attempt. They await trial.

Court records indicate Brownson and Trevino are awaiting trial on capital murder charges and the escape charges.

Brownson is accused of fatally shooting Anthony Rodrigues, Pedro Garcia Jr. and Matthew Martinez in September 2016.

Trevino is accused of shooting and killing 3-year-old Rene Blancas Jr. on Nov. 4, 2017, as the toddler sat in a car with his parents and next to his 11-month-old sister.

Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863Immigration officials this week released dozens of migrants in Del Rio, a town that has no shelter, no real bus station and one part-time Catholic Charities employee.

Making matters worse, they were dropped off Thursday without bus tickets.

About the same time, busloads of migrants landed in San Antonio, too. They are only a fraction of the thousands dropped off at the downtown bus station over the last year.

None of this broke any rules. Except, of course, for the golden one.

But the newest releases were out of the ordinary. Some migrants arrived overnight, when there are no volunteers at the bus station. The migrants, released legally into the United States to pursue their asylum claims, were left alone to figure out how to get where theyre going. They often arent acquainted with U.S. geography, but have destinations where relatives and sponsors expect them.

The events of the last 48 hours have taxed the agencies that help them. Catholic Charities CEO Antonio Fernandez said members of his staff have worked around the clock to assist about 90 Central American families with children who arrived in San Antonio overnight Thursday.

In Del Rio, migrants were dropped off at 15th Street and Veterans Boulevard, near a convenience store where Greyhound operates, Fernandez said. He secured hotel rooms for them, then learned some might have been taken to Eagle Pass before getting to San Antonio.

The series of board-game moves, using human beings as pawns, has been part of an orchestrated crisis created by the Trump administration. Its goal: a border wall that will cost billions of dollars just to satisfy unsubstantiated fears of inadequate border security and anti-immigrant bigotry among Americans. The wall will fulfill a campaign promise, but it wont stop people from seeking refuge.

The administrations manufactured emergencies have separated migrant children from their parents, some indefinitely. The crises has kept migrants at bay in dangerous Mexican border cities and turned detention centers into family jails.

Such policies have resulted in violations of U.S. and international asylum laws. Some migrants have been prevented from requesting asylum in whats called metering, which allows only small numbers to lawfully present themselves at border gates.

These latest episodes came just as Fernandez and Ann Helmke of the City of San Antonios Faith-Based Initiative have been working on a new campaign to help migrants seeking refuge.

The #BeGolden campaign begins Thursday night, on the eve of International Golden Rule Day on April 5. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller will launch the campaign, asking businesses, neighborhoods and individuals to come outdoors Thursday night and light a candle for the Golden Rule.

This commitment to universal reciprocity has been central to many faiths and cultures for thousands of years. #BeGolden will enlist ambassadors to remind us of the de facto treaty we humans sign onto but often forget: Do unto others. All others, the #BeGolden campaign says.

It goes hand in hand with the City of San Antonios agreement with the International Campaign for Compassionate Cities.

#BeGolden started in Dallas with its Catholic Charities agency and the encouragement of philanthropist Alfredo Duarte, owner of Taxco Produce. He was an undocumented immigrant. Now a U.S. citizen, he puts his charitable contributions where his heart is.

In San Antonio, #BeGoldenSA will focus on children, Fernandez said, including migrant children. It will remind San Antonians to practice the Golden Rule. The campaign will include a welcome wall art installation that will be covered with messages of welcome for all those who come here.

The campaign on Thursday also will feature a downtown light display. Several buildings will be lit up, including the Tower of Americas, both Frost buildings, the Rand Building, The Vistana apartments, the Weston Center and the beloved Tower Life Building.

Fernandez and Helmke will lead a celebration at Trinity Universitys Coates Student Center. As night falls, they hope to look out onto a downtown skyline bathed in golden light, while the citys volunteers continue to help migrants likely to keep arriving.

Elaine Ayala is a columnist covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eayala@express-news.net | Twitter: @ElaineAyalaFormer state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is seriously considering a run for the congressional seat likely to be vacated by Joaquin Castro.

Van de Putte, 64, a San Antonio Democrat who served for 24 years in the Legislature, is discussing the ramifications of a possible congressional campaign with her family, according to multiple sources.

Castro is expected to announce his intention to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, which would open up the U.S. House District 20 seat that Castro has held for four terms. District 20 is a Democratic stronghold and the only congressional seat entirely contained within Bexar County.

Van de Putte did not respond to an interview request for this column.

A Van de Putte candidacy could produce a seismic shift in a race that looks to be up for grabs.

It also would be a major surprise, given Van de Puttes 2015 decision to move into the world of consulting and lobbying with her old friend Hope Andrade, the former Texas secretary of state. Their firm, Andrade-Van de Putte & Associates, concentrates on connecting business clients with government officials.

On ExpressNews.com: Van de Putte, Andrade team up for consulting firm

As she prepared to launch the firm, Van de Putte said her decision to do lobbying work came with an acceptance that her days as a politician were over.

The toughest decision for me, and our family, was the realization that Im never going to put my name on a ballot again, Van de Putte said in November 2015. This is it, once youve turned the corner here. And Im really pleased with it.

Van de Puttes re-evaluation of her career prospects speaks to what a coveted seat Castro holds. It also reflects Van de Puttes undeniable passion for politics, which led the West Side pharmacist from a precinct chair post in the Democratic Party to co-chairing the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and running as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014.

She ran a dogged statewide campaign in 2014 but lost to Dan Patrick by more than 19 percentage points.

On the rebound from that exhausting campaign, Van de Putte acquiesced to calls from local supporters that she run for mayor. Entering the race as an overwhelming front-runner, she ran an uncharacteristically lackluster campaign, struggling to acclimate herself  after more than two decades dealing with state issues  to the language of municipal government.

On ExpressNews.com: Van de Putte got more than she bargained for

In June 2015, she narrowly lost a mayoral runoff to Ivy Taylor.

That disappointing performance, and Van de Puttes subsequent absence from electoral politics, raises the question of exactly what Democratic primary voters would make of her in a 2020 congressional primary.

Almost certainly, however, she would enter the race with the highest name recognition and the most campaign experience. She probably would also command the strongest fundraising base.

During her bid for lieutenant governor, Van de Putte raised more than $8.2 million.

Insiders suggest that a successful District 20 primary campaign will require more than $1 million in funds.

While most prospective District 20 candidates are still in a watching-and-waiting phase, some prominent names are in the mix, including state lawmakers Ina Minjarez, Diego Bernal and Trey Martinez Fischer and City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

There also are two highly accomplished Latinas working in the private sector, contemplating their first campaigns as candidates:

Dr. Erika Gonzalez, a physician who served as the chief of allergy, immunology and rheumatology at the Childrens Hospital of San Antonio, spent 10 years in the Air Force and is the 2020 chair-elect of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Melanie Aranda Tawil, a tech business owner, Democratic activist (New Mexico youth vote field organizer for Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign) and community leader whose credits include serving on the citys 2017-22 Parks & Recreation bond committee.

The District 20 seat has been held by only three people over the past 57 years and two of them were named Gonzalez. The legendary liberal lion Henry B. Gonzalez held the office for 38 years and was succeeded by his son, Charlie, who served for 14 years.

When Charlie Gonzalez announced in November 2011 that he wouldnt seek another term, Castro immediately jumped into the race and effectively shut down all other local Democrats before they got a notion.

Its too early to know exactly what the upcoming District 20 primary race will look like, but we can be sure that no one is going unopposed this time.

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Adria Malcolm / Bloomberg

President Donald Trump plans to travel to Texas on April 10 for fundraisers in Houston and San Antonio as Republicans build a campaign fund for the 2020 election, according to a Texas GOP official familiar with planning.

No other details were available, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about the visits.No collusion with Russia is a good thing, right?

Critics of President Donald Trump should check their disappointment about this outcome at the door. It is far better than the alternative: an independent finding that a sitting president colluded with a hostile foreign power to obtain office.

To not see this is to be blinded by the narrow lens of politics. Sure, this result might make Trumps path to re-election easier because he can tweet NO COLLUSION ad nauseam. But this was always, first and foremost, a question of national interest. The obvious political repercussions were supposedly secondary, right?

To see this as a win for Trump and Republicans, and a loss to Democrats and Trump critics, is to miss the larger points. And there are many larger points to consider from Attorney General William Barrs four-page letter about special counsel Robert Muellers investigation.

The first, and most obvious one, is that the president of the United States did not collude with Russia. Again, thats better than the alternative.

But that hardly absolves Russia from messing with U.S. elections. As Barr writes, there were two main Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.

The first was a disinformation campaign by Russias Internet Research Agency to antagonize Americans and fuel animosity. Fake online personas. Fake organizations. The deliberate spread of misinformation masquerading as something real.

Think of the dueling rallies near the Islamic Dawah Center of Houston in 2016. Russian Facebook pages for fake groups  Heart of Texas and United Muslims of America  rallied real people against one another.

The second was Russias successful hacking of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons campaign and various Democratic Party organizations, and then spilling those emails and documents to WikiLeaks.

Despite numerous warnings of more of this as we move closer to the 2020 election, theres little evidence the U.S. is prepared for such cyber-influence campaigns.

Trump has slammed the Mueller investigation as an illegal takedown that failed, and, of course, as a witch hunt. Hardly. The process worked. If this were a witch hunt, it sure caught a lot of witches.

These include the conviction of Paul Manafort, Trumps campaign manager, for fraud.

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynns guilty plea for lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian officials.

Former Trump fixer Michael Cohens guilty plea for lying to Congress about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

The indictments of numerous Russians for attempting to interfere with our elections.

Another key point? Mueller also did not exonerate Trump on the question of obstruction of justice. From the Barr letter: The special counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

The question, then, is why Barr was so quick to exonerate Trump. And the only meaningful answer can come from the release of Muellers report so the American people can draw their own conclusions  and Barr has said he is working to do this as much as possible. Well see.

One of the chief criticisms of Trump is that he erodes trust in key institutions: the courts, news outlets, the intelligence community and so on. But when leading Democrats refuse to accept what we know about the Mueller report, they participate in the very behavior they decry.

You have a president who, in my opinion, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sought to, however ham-handedly, collude with the Russian government, a foreign power, to undermine and influence our elections, Beto ORourke, one of many Democrats seeking the partys nomination, recently said in South Carolina.

Oh, really? Muellers team issued thousands of subpoenas, interviewed 500 witnesses, executed about 500 search warrants and made 13 requests to foreign governments  and came to a different conclusion. Why is that so hard to accept?

No collusion is hardly a celebration of character. Trump is still the man who has boasted about groping women, uses divisive rhetoric that emboldens extremists and white nationalists, continues to undermine health care, has embraced market-gyrating trade policies, ballooned the national debt, and lies again and again.

No collusion, but also no exoneration on obstruction, is an awfully low bar to hold office.

jbrodesky@express-news.netOn the Aurora Public Library, he said if the residents want an elected library board, he would be for it. But he praised the Aurora library as one of the most well-run library systems in Illinois. He also said the West Branch of the library would be closed over my dead body.Los hombres nunca lloran

(men never cry).

My father was born in Chihuahua, and by the time he was 5 years old he was an orphan. He had a rough life growing up, and he was my hero. I tried to comply with every thing he taught me. So when he told me as a young boy that men never cry, I followed his advice until 51 years ago, on April 4, 1968.

I had recently been sent by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to a small community to bring together the Negro and Spanish people for a hearing on civil rights. These two groups had been fighting each other instead of fighting the system. The Negros didnt believe the Spanish really knew what discrimination was, and the Spanish complained that the recent civil rights laws were meant for blacks only.

This area had a reputation of being so racist and backward it was given the name Little Texas. Clovis, N.M., is directly west of the Texas border in the Plainview area.

I had spent weeks at a time meeting with community groups and their leadership until they finally agreed to participate in a hearing held by the New Mexico Advisory Committee of the commission. We gathered in the lobby of the Clovis Hotel the night before the meeting, April 4, 1968. The acting general counsel, the western regional director, and other investigators and researchers working for the commission were all there. These staff members considered themselves a hardened and cynical group that had seen everything in the struggle for civil rights. The bar was in the lobby. Some were having their favorite cocktail, and all of us were watching TV.

Suddenly a bulletin interrupted the program we were watching  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot at a motel in Memphis, Tenn. We were glued to the TV, and then it was announced that King had died.

The shock that hit all of us was apparent, but what I noticed most was that everyone was crying  grown men and women alike  including myself. Then I remembered what my father had taught me  los hombres no lloran.

This was impossible  it had to be wrong  King couldnt be dead!

Something happened that night that changed my mind about King. The media showed the speech he had given to the sanitation workers in Memphis the day before: I have been to the mountaintop  I have seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

The speech was played over and over, and it was that night in the lobby of a cheap hotel in Clovis  Little Texas  that I no longer saw King as a mere civil rights leader who was leading the African-American community out of the dark abyss of brutality and racism  he became a prophet.

I had moved to Washington, D.C., in 1963. I was there when King gave his I Have a Dream speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The first time I met him with a handshake was during the James Meredith march in Mississippi in 1966. I flew from Washington to Jackson, Miss., to join the march. I represented a small group of Mexican-American organizations that had recently organized chapters in the District of Colombia  the American GI Forum, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Washington D.C. Huelga Committee and the South West Council of La Raza.

I was taken to the Holiday Inn in downtown Jackson (where blacks and whites, to my great surprise, were swimming together in the hotel pool) and was introduced to King. I told him I was representing a group of Mexican-American organizations and that we supported the fight for freedom that the black community was undertaking. He shook my hand and said he welcomed our support. I got the impression he was sincere but didnt really know too much about Mexican-Americans. ( I found out later that I was the only Mexican-American on the march.)

So, back in Little Texas we had to make a decision: Do we cancel the hearing out of respect for King ? No, it was unanimous: If King had lived, he would want us to continue with our work.

For the next two days, members of the Negro and Spanish community came before the New Mexico Advisory Committee and told their stories.

It was almost impossible for qualified members of the minority communities to get employment  and if they did it was usually at the lower level. This was even true in federal agencies such as the Postal Service and at Cannon AFB.

Employers often told the committee that one of the reasons Negros and Spanish are not hired is because they dont apply.

Regarding education, one parent told of an experience with a teacher at the local school: He got mad at one of the Spanish-American boys and he called him a S--- and he told him to get up there on the stage and tell him what the lesson was.

He got mad at this colored boy and said, All right, (n-word), come here. I want to talk to you.

I thought, no wonder they call this Little Texas!

After the two-day hearing, I drove southwest toward El Paso, home of my parents. Since I left late, a lot of my driving was at night. Several times I almost lost it. I had to stop; I couldnt stop crying, and was overcome with grief and trepidation. I couldnt believe the past few days.

I got to El Paso in the middle of the night. A few days later, my sister and I took a flight to Atlanta. We marched in Kings funeral procession  his coffin was made of common pine and was pulled by several mules. How appropriate for a prophet, a true man of God.

As a young boy I learned the meaning of the word prophet  someone who has been given the gift of being able to see into the future, someone who can see something that the rest of us cant see. Someone who may not live into the future but can see it.

After the funeral, we caught a flight to Washingtons National Airport. As the door of our airplane opened, the first thing that hit me was the pungent smell of smoke. Homes and businesses were burning  mostly in Northeast Washington  the predominately black area of the city.

I often think of those days. Someday soon I hope to return to Little Texas. Ive never been back in 51 years. I wonder if Clovis has changed.

I think about the prophet from time to time. Could he have seen that we elected a black president? What would he say about the hatred and racism that dominate life in this country today?

We think we have made great progress in civil and human rights, but, in reality, in some areas we have gone backward. I am reminded of what William Faulkner once said about life in Mississippi: The past is never dead. Its not even past

Dr. King must have known. After all, he wasnt just a civil rights leader for African-Americans. He was a prophet  for me, for all of us.

J. Richard Avena is the former southwest regional director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.Elizabeth Warren, the pointy end of the spear of Democratic radicalism, has called for the end of the Electoral College.

My view, she said at a CNN town hall, is that every vote matters. And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting, and that means get rid of the Electoral College.

Her statement elicited the support of other 2020 candidates. The same people who complain daily about Donald Trump violating norms are now openly advocating eliminating the Electoral College and packing the Supreme Court.

Democrats obviously want to beat Trump and win the presidency going forward. There are simpler, less far-reaching expedients than trying to dump the Electoral College, beginning with nominating a more appealing candidate than Hillary Clinton.

If Democrats could manage that, and win both the popular vote and an Electoral College majority, their concerns about the current system would suddenly evaporate.

The case against the Electoral College is, first, as Warren said, that it supposedly ensures that some votes dont matter: In heavily blue or red states, voters on the other side are effectively disenfranchised.

This isnt true, though. All votes are counted toward the outcome in every state. Voters from Republican, rural areas in California, for instance, arent disregarded; they are simply outnumbered.

If it is the considered progressive view that this is tantamount to disenfranchisement, California could immediately mitigate the problem by splitting its electoral votes by congressional district the way Nebraska and Maine do.

Another argument is that the Electoral College bears the moral stain of slavery. But the debate over how to select the president that took place at the Constitutional Convention was between the large and small states. Slavery wasnt mentioned, except in an ambiguous remark by James Madison.

The Electoral College was indirectly touched by the notorious slavery compromise only because states were allocated electors based on their senators and congressional districts, and slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation. When the three-fifths clause was abolished 150 years ago, the Electoral College continued to operate as usual.

Then theres the question of proportionality. The way the Electoral College distributes electors isnt strictly proportional to the population of the states, yet the big states still are hugely important. The 84 electoral votes of automatically blue California and New York are an enormous step toward Electoral College victory.

Its understandable, of course, that Democrats feel aggrieved by how Clinton lost. But 2016 wasnt a true test of the popular vote, given her opponent wasnt contesting the campaign on those grounds. Trumps team was, rightly, trying to eke out an Electoral College victory rather than run up the score in Republican states.

Yes, Clinton walloped Trump by nearly 2-1 margins in California and New York, but that didnt get her anything except greater permission to act the sore loser. What Democrats want is effectively to make California and New York the kingmakers in presidential politics, and not have to bother with the middle of the country and smaller, more rural states. This is exactly the approach that the Electoral College is meant to foreclose.

Opponents of the Electoral College have made some progress in getting blue states to agree to award their electors to the popular-vote winner, a deal that would go into effect when states equaling 270 electors join the compact. This arrangement would surely lose its allure as soon as it meant awarding the electoral votes of these states to Donald Trump, or any other Republican.

In the Trump era, Democrats are in a perpetual state of panic. They should remember that the electoral map is always changing. Before 2016, it was thought the Electoral College favored Democrats. It shouldnt be beyond their conceiving that they can win again under the long-established rules of Americas foundational governing document.

If its true that they cant, they have only themselves to blame.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.comThe Serbian government has named twelve routes of public interest which will be launched from Nis Constantine the Great Airport this summer. The eleven year-round and one seasonal service will be subsidised to the tune of five million euros from July 1, 2019 until June 30, 2025. The destinations in question are: Baden Baden, Bologna, Budapest, Frankfurt Hahn, Friedrichshafen, Gothenburg, Hannover, Ljubljana, Nuremberg, Rome, Salzburg and Tivat. All routes will be maintained twice per week both in the summer and winter months, with exception to Tivat, which will be operated three times per week between May and October. Under Serbia's updated aviation law, if within "a short period of time" no airline shows interest for any of the abovementioned routes, an international tender will be launched to find an operating carrier, although the government reserves the right to enter into direct talks with airlines without a public call.







Mihajlo Zdravkovic, a member of the assembly of the City of Nis, said the twelve new routes will fuel people to people exchange, tourism and the development of the local economy. Furthermore, it was identified that although the services were not commercially viable, they are of importance to the residents of south-east Serbia and will not affect any existing routes currently maintained from Nis. "We expect that these destinations will complement our route network and significantly increase traffic at Constantine the Great Airport. These cities are well linked with others on the continent and beyond", Mr Zdravkovic said.





The General Manager of Nis Airport, Dusan Knezevic noted, "Last year we handled some 350.000 passengers. This year and in the years to come, this figure will grow considerably. In 2020 we expect to welcome half a million travellers. We will have to expand the terminal building next year, but we are ready to welcome new flights". The Serbian government will also offer subsidies to tour operators who bring groups of Russian, Turkish, Chinese, South Korean, Indian and US tourists arriving or departing either through Belgrade or Nis airports. The government will grant up to thirty euros per visitor from Russia and Turkey and up to fifty euros for tourists arriving from the other four countries. The exact sum will depend on the length of stay. Tour operators must form a group of at least fifteen people to be eligible for the incentives. The measure is expected to boost both air travel and tourism.HARTFORD  The Public Health Committee Friday forwarded a controversial bill that regulates advertising for crisis pregnancy centers to the House, but it held legislation that would allow a terminally-ill patient end their lives with medication.

Crisis pregnancy centers provide pregnancy-related services and support, but do not offer abortions or emergency contraception and do not offer referrals for those services. Critics of the centers say women believe they are getting a full spectrum of reproductive care when thats not the case.

The bill the committee approved Friday regulates the centers advertising and allows the attorney general to apply for a court order to bring a center into compliance with the law. It passed the committee by a 14-11 vote.

Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said the legislation confers power upon the attorney general to essentially bring a private cause of action, which he believes to be unprecedented.

He said if the crisis pregnancy center is deceptive in their advertising then a person should already be allowed to file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Protection.

A similar bill was raised by the Public Health Committee last year for debate, but it never received a vote.

Candelora pointed out that during the public hearing on the bill they didnt hear any specific allegations about pregnancy centers in Connecticut.

I do feel as if this legislation is designed to discriminate against a particular portion of this industry, Candelora said.

Rep. David Michel, D-Stamford, said some of the crisis pregnancy centers were quick to make some small changes to language on their websites following the public hearing.

Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, said she doesnt think anyone wants to be deceived, but there have been no complaints against these centers to the Department of Consumer Protection.

She said its not applied to plastic surgeons when they cant help her look 10 times younger or the weightloss companies when she doesnt lose as much weight as promised.

However, the state isnt looking to regulate advertising in those areas.

I think this bill is quite different than somebody looking for cosmetic surgery or weightloss, Sen. Mary Abrams, D-Meriden, said. This is about a timely situation  an unplanned pregnancy  where a woman is looking for medical services that theyre legally entitled to. They shouldnt have to spend extra time figuring out who can provide that or not provide that.

Abrams said shes actually a few of these centers changed their websites since the hearing because it means they are aware of what needs to happen.

Rep. William A. Petit, Jr., R-Plainville, said he doesnt know if its the gorilla in the room, but the issue has been whether or not places tell people whether they provide abortions or refer for abortions.

He said the straightforward resolution to the issue would be to have a sheet of paper at every center that says what services are provided and what services are not provided.

Steinberg said the goal of the legislation and government is to go after the bad actorsthose who are intentionally deceiving people as to what services they provide.

The committee held a bill that would provide terminally-ill patients with six months to live the ability to receive medication to end their lives. They meet again at 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 1 and their deadline to move legislation forward is 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 3.

Sharon Hines, who has stage four lung cancer and may not be here next year to fight for the bill, said she wants to have the option.

Its my death. I want to go out on my own terms, in my own home, Hines said in the Legislative Office Building Thursday.

Hines and a small group of volunteers, including actor James Naughton, were tracking down Public Health Committee members Thursday trying to make sure the bill will get out of committee this year.

Naughton said he cant understand why some are conflating it with other issues. He said for 20 years, its been legal in a handful of states and no one with a disability had been harmed.

The disability community and the religious organizations have been opposed to the legislation.

Patty McQueen, another volunteer supporting the legislation, said it keeps coming back as an issue because its needed.

Shannon Sanford, a nurse, said every person is just one bad death away from supporting the legislation.

The bill failed to survive the committee process in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. On Monday, New Jersey passed similar legislation and its awaiting the governors signature.BRIDGEPORT  An increase in the citys grand list combined with election-year politics may have a positive impact on overburdened taxpayers.

Three years after Mayor Joe Ganim outraged some neighborhoods by hiking Bridgeports tax rate from 42 to 54 mills, he is running for re-election and considering including a modest tax reduction in his proposed budget.

That draft 2019-20 fiscal plan is expected to be forwarded to the City Council on Tuesday.

The mayor and I had a preliminary conversation about lowering or attempting to lower taxes, City Council President Aidee Nieves said. From my understanding, he is proposing a budget with tax cuts in it.

Ganim refused in a brief interview Thursday night to talk budget details, but stated, Im very sensitive to taxpayers. His last two spending plans kept the tax rate the same.

The mayor said he planned to consult with council members over the weekend, ahead of that legislative bodys regular Monday meeting. Ganim is expected to deliver a few comments on his budget then, and also to tout it when he makes his annual state-of-the-city address to the business community Tuesday at the University of Bridgeport.

Crunching numbers

Councilwoman Maria Zambrano Viggiano, along with the Budget Committee she co-chairs, will spend April reviewing the mayors draft. She said it is obvious Ganim would at least want to hold the line on taxes.

I suspect because it is an election year for the mayor it would be wise for him to keep taxes where they are, she said.

Viggiano said lowering taxes might be a good short-term political move not only for the mayor but for council members who are also facing re-election. But, she warned, that would be an irresponsible decision if it requires raising taxes in non-election years.

I dont want to see a significant reduction in taxes thats not sustainable, she said.

Ganim, a Democrat, and the all-Democrat council head into the budget season buoyed by some recent good fiscal news, but also facing new pressures.

The grand list of taxable properties grew 5 percent, thanks mostly to the ongoing construction of a natural gas-fired power plant. That project was initiated during former Democratic Mayor Bill Finchs administration and continued after Ganim was elected in late 2015.

It was Finch whom Ganim blamed when he and the council raised the tax rate to 54 mills, one of the highest in Connecticut. Ganim and his staff claimed at the time that he had inherited a surprise deficit from his predecessor.

The recent grand list growth means that if city spending stays roughly the same in the 2019-20 budget, Ganim and the council could conceivably reduce the tax rate and still collect enough revenue to balance the books.

But maintaining the same level of city spending will be a challenge, given changes to wages and benefits.

For example, the Ganim administration recently negotiated contracts with the Laborers International Union of North America and the City Supervisors Association that include 2 percent wage increases for the current fiscal year and the upcoming 2019-20 one that begins July 1. Ganims salary and the salaries of other elected or appointed officials are tied to the supervisors contract and will similarly rise.

And the state recently required municipalities that participate in Connecticuts non-education pension system to increase their contributions by 20 percent. That will have an estimated $3.5 million impact on Bridgeports 2019-20 budget.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ned Lamonts proposed budget flat-funded municipal aid while asking cities and towns to start contributing toward the states teacher pension program.

What about education?

Asked what his proposed 2019-20 budget would do for public schools, Ganim reiterated his frequent complaint that state government repeatedly shortchanges Bridgeport when it comes to education dollars.

The Bridgeport Board of Education wants $16 million above its current $248 million operating budget. Ganims past budget proposals have flat-funded the schools, leaving it up to the council to find more money.

Ganim said he will help fight for additional state education aid, adding: Its unfair what they do to Bridgeport, year after year after year.

Viggiano said the public would like to see more money go to the school district, but that the council has mixed feelings.

Im of the mind: Lets try to give additional funds, she said.

Viggiano said she is certain other areas of the budget can be cut. She referred to the costs of some recent, controversial municipal projects  the new public facilities garage and decorative lighting in the Black Rock neighborhood  as well as the ongoing FBI investigation of missing money from illicit scrap metal sales.

Theres definitely areas where money was spent where the council feels the administration could have done better, Viggiano said.

It is also possible that as the full council prepares to vote on a budget in early May, City Hall will find some new cost savings. Last year, for example, on the weekend ahead of the budget vote, Ganims staff announced a decision to shift the employee health plan from self-insured to a state program, which freed up over $1 million in the 2018-19 budget.GREENWICH  Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo will be returning to Greenwich High School, where he got his start at the age off 22, to lead it as the interim headmaster for the 2019-20 school year.

I am confident that I will bring the stability to the school community that is needed at this time, and that I will provide the leadership needed to begin the transformation necessary to position Greenwich High School for its next phase of excellence, Mayo said during the Board of Education meeting Thursday evening at Julian Curtiss School. I feel like Im returning home.

Based on initial feedback from parents, they are happy to hear that Mayo will be returning to GHS, said Maureen Bonanno and Anne Pfetsch, the GHS PTA co-presidents, in an email.

We feel that his appointment is a natural fit given his extensive district knowledge, the co-presidents said. He already knows the faculty, parents and many of the students which will ease the transition. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Mayo.

A lifelong resident of town and a GHS graduate, Mayo became a teachers aide there in 1976 and an English teacher in 1980. He has been an administrator in the towns schools for 26 years, including posts as the program administrator for special education and as Clark housemaster at Greenwich High.

He presided over Eastern Middle School as principal for 14 years before stepping up as interim superintendent last summer after Jill Gildea unexpectedly announced her departure just one year into her three-year contract.

Incoming superintendent Toni Jones can conduct a search for a permanent GHS headmaster for the 2020-21 school year, Mayo said.

Jones, who is currently superintendent with the Fairfield Public Schools, will join the Greenwich school district on July 1. Mayo will step into his role as headmaster also on July 1.

A widespread search for a new leader of GHS began in December, and by February, the district narrowed down its pool to five, and then three, candidates. After the interview process, however, the district was unable to identify a leader who was the right fit for GHS. Mayo and Jones decided that he would take over on an interim basis.

Rick Piotrzkowski will return to his preferred role of assistant headmaster. He stepped in as interim headmaster last July after Chris Winters announced his departure from the district to help create and lead the Upper School at Greenwich Country Day School. The private school is adding the high school grades this fall as it completes a merger with the Stanwich School.

Piotrzkowski said he and the GHS leadership team are excited to work with Mayo. He considers Mayo to be his mentor, after they overlapped at GHS when he was the sciences program administrator and Mayo was the Clark housemaster.

Any time you have someone in the district, was at GHS, they understand the culture, Piotrzkowski said. I believe it keeps stability within our building, it makes everyone feel very comfortable, that the transition is nice and smooth.

The district will initiate the search for a permanent principal at Eastern immediately. Jason Goldstein became the interim principal there last summer.

Coming home

Mayo admitted he has thought about returning to the place where he started. For me, it was a golden opportunity to go back to some place that I love, Mayo said of Greenwich High. Im not thinking beyond next year.

The move from superintendent to headmaster means adjusting to a different work style.

Im at my best working with teachers and kids, he said Friday. Is it going to be hard? Absolutely not. Thats probably where I belong.

Bonanno and Pfetsch, the GHS PTA co-presidents, said Piotrzkowski has been a strong leader.

He was handed a challenging issue of implementing Opportunity Block in a short amount of time, they said. He successfully worked with students and faculty to create and manage opportunities to maximize the 30-minute downtime. Throughout the year he listened to students needs and concerns and made appropriate adjustments.

First Selectman Peter Tesei is also pleased Mayo will continue to play an important role in the Greenwich community and school district.

Ralphs even-keeled approach will ensure the continuity that is needed at the districts leadership level, he said in a statement.

From interim to permanent

Board member Meghan Olsson choked up during Mayos announcement Thursday night.

Thank you for your time and service, she said. Im personally very excited to have you lead Greenwich High School.

Many in the community were upset after Jones was named the new superintendent in January. Some took to social media to express their disappointment in the decision, their frustration with the board and their solidarity with Mayo, whom they had supported for the job. The town teachers union also announced it would have preferred Mayo. Even Tesei, speaking as a parent, called on the school board to reconsider its choice.

By February, Mayo thanked the community for its support, but said he respected the boards decision and was moving on. He advised his supporters to do the same.

The news of Mayos new post left Greenwich parent Alexandra Delev with mixed feelings.

What a humble person Mr. Mayo is, she said. Im afraid it gives many of us false hope. The BOE needs to focus on consistency. The revolving door brings tremendous unease and stress to the students and parents.

Delev is thrilled by the decision, but, gauging interactions with the news on social media, people are not excited by the term interim.

Nobody wants to commit to Mr. Mayos appointment because weve all been played before and emotions are running high, she said.

Suzanne Sullivan, who circulated a petition earlier this year supporting Mayo, said she speaks for many when she says she would like to see him in a lasting position.

Mr. Mayos dedication to our district is unparalleled, she said. He jumps in wherever he is most needed as evidenced by this latest move ... With his years of experience in our district and intimate knowledge of our schools, he is an asset that we cannot afford to lose.

jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.comGroves was accepted into the Chicago Police Academy, but hurt himself while training for the physical fitness test and lost his slot at the academy after being unable to take the test, Boyle said. After finding it a challenge to get in with other local departments due to his age, he eventually wound up leaving the area for Colorado.Farming will form part of the solution to meeting Scotlands environmental obligations, MSPs taking part in a climate change debate were told.

The Green Party used Scottish parliament time to highlight that the Earth is entering a 'climate emergency', calling for the end of oil and gas recovery and legislative ban on the extraction of unconventional oil and gas.

On Wednesday (27 March), Holyrood could not agree on any one position towards improving the current Climate Change Bill going through parliament, which will limit greenhouse gases by 78% come 2040.

However, Scottish Conservative MSP Peter Chapman argued that farmers can present a net benefit on emissions if they are given Scottish government support and access to new technologies.

He told MSPs during the debate that farming is 'part of the solution to climate change rather than part of the problem'.

It is largely our farmers who will plant the extra trees which we need to counter climate change, Mr Chapman said.

It is farmers who will put mitigation measures in place to restore peat bogs. It is on farmers land that wind turbines and solar panel farms are located.

He added: Cattle and sheep get a bad press, but again by grazing grass and keeping it green and growing, this process also helps to lock up carbon.

Most of our sheep and cattle are kept on ground that can only grow grass so these areas are never going to be capable of growing cereals or beans.

It comes as there is growing criticism of the UK livestock industry over claims that it is damaging the climate.

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has called the amount of criticism levied against livestock farmers in the debate as unfair.

For example, statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) estimate total UK greenhouse gas emissions are around 468 mtCO2e and all of UK agriculture is responsible for only around 10% of these.

The bulk of emissions come from transport and energy which together account for over half of total emissions.

UK agriculture is also responsible for managing around 70% of the total landmass of the UK, and its emissions are low by comparison to the transport and energy sector.Automated raspberry harvesting could be a reality in five years time as concerns mount over labour availability once the UK leaves the EU.

Reduced access to workforce could in turn see productivity levels fall at a time when consumer demand for plant based products is at its highest.

However, raspberry growers concerned about labour availability could be using commercial robot harvesters on farm in five to ten years.

Dr Michael Stoelen from the University of Plymouth, discussed his teams work on soft robotics at AHDBs recent SmartHort conference.

They have built a prototype robotic arm which can pick a raspberry without damaging it in 12 seconds, however they believe once the robot is commercialised they can half the time it takes.

While human pickers will still be required there could be significant savings for growers once robotic harvesting becomes a reality as labour often makes up over 50% of the cost.

Dr Stoelen said: These initial robots will not replace manual labour. What we expect is that they will be able to pick the more accessible fruit with human pickers there to pick the fruit which the machine isnt yet able too.

The challenge with designing robots such as these is not just in the delicate nature of the raspberry, but also ensuring they can cope with having people around them, as well as other complicating factors such as poles, sunlight and complex foliage.

Dr Stoelens team has focused on human biology as the inspiration for their robots, developing an arm which mimics a humans ability to shift between being robust and delicate when needs be.

We looked at human muscles, such as the biceps and triceps, and the way humans can flex and stiffen those muscles depending on the situation, he said.

Weve also been using deep learning to build a large database of raspberries which will make it easier for the robot to classify and grade them.The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.Community banks serve businesses and consumers throughout the country. The Federal Reserve defines community banking organizations as those with less than $10 billion in assets, and regional banking organizations as those with total assets between $10 billion and $100 billion. Regional and community banking organizations constitute the largest number of banking organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve. In supervising community banks, the Federal Reserve follows a risk-focused approach that aims to target examination resources to higher-risk areas of each bank's operations and to ensure that banks maintain risk-management capabilities appropriate to their size and complexity.

Community Banking Connections is a primary source for information on guidance, resources, and tools that help community banks across the United States.

Partnership for Progress Initiative is a Federal Reserve System program created to preserve and promote minority-owned institutions and enhance their ability to thrive in an increasingly competitive banking environment.

The annual Community Banking in the 21st Century research and policy conference--sponsored by the Federal Reserve System, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation--brings together community bankers, academics, policymakers, and bank regulators to discuss the latest research on community banking.

Conducting Due Diligence on Financial Technology Companies: A Guide for Community Banks. This guide is a resource for community banks to use as they consider partnering with a fintech company.

Community Bank Access to Innovation through Partnerships. This resource describes the landscape of community bank partnerships with fintechs and key considerations for engaging in them.Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-CategorySo we had to prove ourselves in every single town, even in Palos Park, where we had been for years, he said. But as time went on, its funny, some of the most fearful residents who made threats to us about keeping our clients off their lawns, etc., now welcome us and bring us cookies for Christmas.at the end?



Well, he might be blind yet. What makes you think he can see?



There were a lot of things that we didnt show. We were four of us (Arijit Biswas, Yogesh Chandekar, Hemanth Rao and Raghavan) writing the script. My editor Pooja (Ladha Surti), who was also co-writing, felt that this guy should remain blind. But some of us felt that it would be too bleak. What has he done to deserve that kind of an end? But at the same time, if he gets his eyes back easily like suppose Simi (Tabus character in AndhaDhun) has green eyes and then suddenly he takes off his dark glasses and you see he has green eyes that would be a cheesy kind of an end. I thought what if we leave it at a point where the audience doesnt know whether hes blind or not. And at the same time give a hint that he whacked a can. But that could have been an accident. And maybe someone told him that a farmer was trying to kill a rabbit and all that happened when he got onto the bus. Thats one possibility.



Whats the other?



The other one is that none of this ever happened, he just made it up. So, what probably happened is that the doctor told him that shes valuable because her blood group matches Ayushmanns. So, he tells Ayushman Ill take the liver and make money and give you the eyes. After two years, he sees his old girlfriend and he cannot confess to her what hes done. So, he tells her a lie in which Tabu becomes the villain and he becomes the victim. What happens in the end reflects the viewer more than what were trying to say. If a guy says something like, If I take her eyes, Ill never be able to play music again. That sounds like a sensitive soul. But imagine if he has made up this line. Thats even more dangerous than the regular bad guy.





What interests you about the thriller genre?



Its because of the books I read as a kid. I believed that the Alfred Hitchcock stories, were written by him. But he had just lent his name to a franchise. Later, Id prefer to watch Hindi movies, which

had thrill.

off in India before?



Were now exploring taboo topics, pushing the envelope in terms of stories. Earlier even a thriller would have music, comedy, the works. It would have a happy ending. Youd never expect an ending that makes you think. But, occasionally, its nice to have a thriller that makes you think after its over.

Some say the film was all over the place in the second half



I get what theyre saying. As a viewer, you believe that the kid in the film has shot a video of Ayushmann so thats going to be useful. Suddenly, all those things are forgotten and Ayushmanns character has got himself into another story. So, it dislocates the viewers thinking process. We had people saying that the second half was going crazy and how can you introduce characters so late. But that seemed to be the best option.

AndhaDhun has brought both critical acclaim and box-office success. Are you flying high?



Even if youre flying that doesnt mean anything. Because with the next film, theres a new mountain to climb, a new adventure to tackle. I may a get a little more money from the producer to make my film. Thats all. But Ill use that money only if my story needs it. You just enjoy all this as a great sunrise you witnessed.





Are you like my next film has to be a hit now?



Not hit, the next film has to be liked. Everyone was unsure about this film. Whether itll work or not. It was low key in every aspect. Suddenly, it took off. Itll make things easier for me but finding the right story is never easy. (Laughs) Maybe, now Ill get more screens on the first day.

You approached Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Harshvardhan Kapoor. What happened?



Earlier this film was supposed to be done

with Tips. I told them

I had a terrific role for

an actor. But I didnt have a detailed script.

We met a few actors  some newcomers too. I wouldnt take names because it doesnt make sense now. Each one got rattled in the second half. I cant blame them because we cracked the script along the way. Like that line, What is life? Depends on the liver came one day when we were editing. In Badlapur too, we had the quote, The axe forgets but the tree remembers. The liver quote had a pun. It suited the film.

You thought of casting Varun Dhawan too. Right?



I had narrated this story to Varun before starting Badlapur. I told him I was working on a funny movie. I always thought of AndhaDhun as a humorous film. But, when he heard the story of Badlapur, he loved it so much that we didnt pursue this. When Badlapur got over, he was doing bigger and bigger films. I let him go because I make certain kind of movies. I didnt want to wait for a year or two.

I began looking for actors. I met Tabu and finalised her. She kept asking me, Wholl play the guy?

Then Ayushmann Khurrana called you for the role...



Yes one day he just called. The next day I met him. The following evening everything was locked.





Ayushmann said that though youll deny it, he did give a screen test. Isnt it great that an actor is ready to give a screen test in todays age?



(Smiles) I just told him we will do a few scenes. I wanted to see his body language. You have to tweak the script to suit the actor. In one scene, hes playing blind but he can see and in the other, hes actually gone blind. It was just to see what the difference would be. Actually, when I met him, within the first couple of hours, I was convinced about him. I kicked myself wondering why I hadnt thought of him six-eight months back.

A favourite scene in the film?



The one where hes playing music and the whole skit is happening around him. Thats the nucleus of the film. Amit Trivedi had already made the music for the scene. We wanted waltz music. What would you play if it was a wedding anniversary celebration? Its a four-minute piece. I used to rehearse along with my assistants just to see if we had enough activity for four minutes. We didnt rehearse with the actors. We just explained the scene and asked them to manage. That helped because otherwise it might have looked rehearsed.

Does a director need to have nerves of steel?



You will have difficult days and youll wish that things were different. But, as long as the actors good, the script has got something and youre patient, its not so bad. After its all over, you can remember all this and laugh over it. In fact, Im sacred that if everything went perfect, it might turn out to be a lousy movie.

How did the transition from journalism to movies happen?



I used to watch a lot of movies. I wanted to become a journalist.

I thought of coming to Bombay and joining the evening course in journalism in St Xaviers. Once in the train, I saw

an ad for trainee journalists for a film magazine.

I joined the publication. But due to my stammer,

I was a bad reporter. I was eventually chucked out.

Then?



A film trade journal wanted a proof reader. I joined them. Thats when I met Mukul Anand (late director). He asked me to join him as an assistant. He was working on the Hitchcock remake Dial M For Murder (1954), titled as Aitbaar (1985). During Aitbaar, I applied at the FTII in Pune. We were shooting a song for Aitbaar in Khandala. The shoot got delayed. So, I went off to Pune and gave the interview at the institute and enrolled myself.

What have been the turning points in your career?



One is the shoot of Aitbaar getting delayed. The second would be meeting Ram Gopal Varma. I had done a docu-drama on Raman Raghav on a VHS. Anurag Kashyap, who was working with RGV, showed it to him. I began interacting with him. RGV wanted me to write a script for him. Eventually, he produced my debut - Ek Hasina Thi (2004).

Whats next?



A war film. Its not a thriller but itll be thrilling. Its not a Laash kahan chupao? kind of thing. It is about a character from the 1971 war, Arun Kethrapal. He was martyred and went on to receive the Param Veer Chakra. That story is mixed with another story. Both the stories run parallel.

romantic film?



Id love to but it has to

be a story that kicks in some manner. I do believe in love and romance.

I loved Rangeela. But,

I dont know if Id be able to do that. You need to find a story, which deeply moves you. Theres no story that I read and I felt like I should make this. But, when I watch films like Roman Holidaythey have tremendous appeal. So, maybe some day...



When I was in Goa for IFFI, every few minutes, people would walk up

to me for a selfie. That

felt nice.



Cheers to that!Kangana Ranaut Gives Us Summer Feels!

Kangana Ranaut is the queen of airport looks and no one can deny it. On Saturday morning, Kangana gave us all summer feels with her weekend airport look. Kangana looked like she was ready to hit the beach wearing a light checkered sundress. She accessorized with a large straw hat, a cool pair of sunglasses, and a yellow ochre hand bag.

Sonam Kapoor Takes Glam Airport Look To The Next Level

Sonam Kapoor is known as the fashion icon of Bollywood for a reason. Her weekend airport look says why. On Saturday evening, Sonam looked glamorous as ever as she returned to Mumbai city from Dubai, after attending a Filmfare event. She donned a chic navy blue midi dress over which she wore a long printed grey blazer. Sonam accessorized with sunglasses and a black sling bag.

Rajkummar Rao Keeps It Casual

Rajkummar Rao kept his airport look casual when he was snapped on Saturday evening. He wore a grey graphic printed sweatshirt with denims and a pair of white sneakers, and accessorized with a white hat. Rajkummar will next be seen in the film Mental Hai Kya, starring alongside Kangana Ranaut, Amyra Dastur and Jimmy Shergill.

Jim Sarbh & Ishaan Khatter Return From Dubai

Jim Sarbh and Ishaan Khatter too attended the Filmfare event in Dubai on Friday night and they returned to Mumbai city together. Jim was wearing a white graphic sweatshirt with a pair of black denims and white sneakers, whereas Ishaan wore an orange t-shirt which he teamed with a dark grey bomber jacket and a pair of black denims.Hit By Piracy

Even Lucifer, Mohanlal's latest big release has not been able to escape from the hands of piracy. This big movie, much like many other films of the recent times, has been hit by piracy.

Full Movie Leaked Online In Tamilrockers

What is even more shocking and disappointing is that Lucifer full movie has been leaked online fro free download through the website Tamilrockers. If reports that have come up are to be believed, this happened a day after film's huge release in the theatres.

Piracy Continues To Create Problems

Lucifer isn't the sole Malayalam film that got hit by piracy upon release in the theatres. Mohanlal's previous big film Odiyan, which had a celebrated arrival in the theatres, was also leaked online on day 1 of its release. Other recent films like Kumbalangi Nights, Nine, Mikhael etc., were also hit by piracy.

The Overwhelming Reports For Lucifer

Audiences have extended their full support for the movie and the initial reviews have been mind-boggling. All the reports give the sign that a gigantic blockbuster is in the loading.

Will Piracy Affect The Collections?

The fans and followers are indeed shocked to learn about Lucifer getting leaked. A film like Lucifer deserves to be seen from the theatres as such is the amazing experience that it offers. Let us hope that the film would bravely cross all the hurdles of piracy and continue its victorious run for a long time.ISTANBUL, March 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tamer Saka, the Head of Sabanci Holding Cement Group: "We have completed the acquisition process and are stepping into the world league with Cimsa."

Cimsa, a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding, concluded the acquisition agreement to acquire Bunol, a white cement plant in Spain, for US$ 180 million. Following the completion of the acquisition, Cimsa will significantly increase its contribution to Turkey's export revenues.

Cimsa, which is a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding and a world leader in white cement, signed an agreement to acquire the Bunol Plant in Valencia, Spain from Cemex, one of the world's leading cement producers, for approximately US$ 180 million.

Stating that they became a world leader with the completion of the acquisition, Tamer Saka, the Head of Sabanci Holding Cement Group and Cimsa Chairman, said: "At Sabanci, we have expanded our leadership position in Turkey to the international arena. With our experience and know-how, we aim to become a global leader by following the developments in the world, managing our business in line with world-class standards. In order to reinforce our global leadership position, we will use our best efforts to take new steps in the coming period."

Commenting on the development, Ulku Ozcan, General Manager of Cimsa, said, "Building on the strength and vision of the new generation of Sabanci, we have prioritized expansion to new geographies as a critical matter. Our nearly 50-year-long history in the cement industry is characterized by the goal of sustainable growth. On March 21, we took a big step to consolidate Cimsa's position in the international arena and initiated the acquisition process for the Bunol Plant in Spain. Having concluded the agreement, we are proud to have made Cimsa the world's number one white cement producer today."

With the addition of the Bunol Plant to the production and distribution network, Cimsa will build a strong export network in Europe, North Africa and South America as well as increasing its area of influence. Cimsa, which will enjoy a 40% increase in its production capacity with its investment, will become the global market leader.

In the acquisition process of Cimsa Bunol White Cement Plant, EDNAM Capital, Clifford Chance and BCG served as financial, legal and strategic advisors, respectively.

Eda Akyuzlu Simsek, Snr. Media Director

eda.akyuzlu@desibelajans.com

+905334711690

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/814865/Cimsa_Logo.jpg )(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co's board started its official search for a new chief executive officer on Friday after announcing the abrupt departure of CEO Tim Sloan a day earlier. What are some of the challenges a new CEO will have to tackle? Asset Cap: Sloan's successor will have to satisfy the requirements of the U.S.

(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co's board started its official search for a new chief executive officer on Friday after announcing the abrupt departure of CEO Tim Sloan a day earlier.

What are some of the challenges a new CEO will have to tackle?

Asset Cap: Sloan's successor will have to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Federal Reserve's asset cap, which prohibits the bank from increasing its balance sheet beyond 2017 levels. The bank has said it expects the asset cap to be lifted by the end of this year. Yet analysts believe mid-2020 is a more realistic time frame.

Executive turnover: Wells Fargo veterans lead many of the bank's main business segments, but fresh leadership at the top could spur additional senior departures, analysts said.

"Anyone on that next level down who had hoped to be a CEO near term, that kind of squashes that possibility," said KBW analyst Brian Kleinhanzl. The new CEO may also decide to remove senior executives to bring in outsiders to refresh the culture.

Shoring up business fundamentals: Wells Fargo was the only large-cap U.S. bank to not increase the number of loans or deposits over the last two years, according to Refinitiv data. Investors will want to see a plan to expand the bank's core business. For now new management will likely have to continue shrinking to enhance profit, analysts said.

"The plan will be the same in terms of cutting costs an getting leaner," Edward Jones analyst Kyle Sanders said.

Dealing with Washington: Wells Fargo has become a perpetual target of U.S. lawmakers Most notably, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president, has made the bank's past misdeeds a constant talking point in her campaign. Fixing the bank's relationship with her, and other politicians such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Maxine Waters is sure to be an uphill climb, analysts said.

"Even a pick with DC experience won't immediately fix the bank's troubles," said Cowen Analyst Jaret Seiberg.

The bank is also still faces lingering investigations by regulators.

Winning new business: Wells Fargo's consumer bank has begun seeing signs of customer growth after flat-lining in the wake of its unauthorized consumer accounts scandal, but its other lines of business have been slower to add new clients. Executives have told Reuters that its wholesale bank, which caters to corporate and institutional clients, has struggled to add new business.

(Reporting and compilation by Imani Moise, editing by Anna Irrera and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.Survey after survey is revealing that lack of employment will be one of the most pressing challenges facing the Modi government.

Survey after survey is revealing that lack of employment will be one of the most pressing challenges facing the Modi government in its quest for a second term. According to the latest Pew Research Centre survey, published on 25 March, as high as 76 percent of Indian adults consider lack of employment opportunities to be the biggest challenge facing the country.

The survey comes after the Periodic Labour Force Survey of the National Sample Survey Office, leaked by Business Standard, showed that Indias labour force participation rate, which is the proportion of the population working or seeking jobs, fell to 49.8 percent in 2017-18 from 55.9 percent in 2011-12.

This is one issue where the Modi government is apparently fighting a losing battle in its bid to change the public perception. And this one is not like other issues which the Modi government and the BJP leadership are keen to dismiss as choreographed campaigns by liberal intelligentsia, and may have succeeded in doing so to some extent. The impact of unemployment is real and its manifestations in rural life are too obvious to ignore. The saffron outfits are well aware of the repercussions as the affected people can be expected to react when they go to the polling booths.

Results of a data-driven analysis of how the discontent over unemployment could play out in the 2019 elections are not at all reassuring for the Modi government.

Modi government desperate to show a lower unemployment rate

According to various estimates, the size of Indias jobless army is in the vicinity of 3 crore, which the Modi government is desperate to peg at a lower level, the success of which will be open to scrutiny in the election campaign for 2019. On a back-of-the envelope calculation, this would mean that each constituency will have over 50,000 unemployed among the voters. And the number is sizeable enough to decide the outcome of any constituency, particularly when there is a tough fight. And considering that there is a concentration of jobless in the crucial states in the Hindi heartland, which are set to witness keen contests in view of the three-cornered fight, this is going to be a crucial factor.

An analysis of the 2014 Lok Sabha election results reveals that in about 140 constituencies, the margin of victory was less than 50,000. The BJP may seek to draw comfort from the fact that most of the low victory margin seats were in states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and others where the party was not a major contender.

Still, there were about 40 seats, which were won by BJP and its NDA partners, with the margin of victory falling below the benchmark level. Many of these seats were in states like Karnataka and Bihar, where the party had done remarkably well, but faces tough fights this time. And most importantly, given the serious challenge the Modi government is expected to face in its bid for a second term, 40 seats can make the difference between hope and despair for it.

No wonder then that the Modi government has been doing everything possible  fudging, cover-up, window-dressing and what not  to come clean on the job front. We have had the curious case of two members of the well-respected National Statistics Commission quitting in protest over the delay by the government in releasing a new set of job statistics in the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report, which showed unemployment hitting a 45-year high under the Modi government. NITI Aayog, which primarily does PMOs bidding, came out with the explanation that the report was not final as the data was still under process.

The controversial delay led to complaints by some 100 economists, some operating at the international level, about suppression of uncomfortable data by the Modi government, which according to them questioned the credibility of once well-respected statistics originating in India.

It has now been reported that the controversial NSSO job data is likely to be released before the end of this month after a panel of experts vetted the report and arrived at the conclusion that the methodology used to interpret the numbers needed to be refined further.

Strategy behind Modis pakoda economics

The new data releases are expected to support the government contention that there is a serious flaw in the collection and reporting of job data as it leaves out jobs created in the informal sector, including self-employment. It is the same argument associated with what has come to be known as Modis pakoda economics.

Although the term has attracted much derision, pakoda economics is not just a random thought. There is a certain strategy in propounding the theory. Before coming to power, Modi had promised to create one crore new jobs every year if his party was voted to power. But the target turned out to be a line drawn in water.

According to published data, in 2016-17, only 4.1 lakh jobs were created, which is not even 5 percent of what was promised.

In four years of Modi governments rule, the unemployment rate has registered an increase as the economy got caught in the tailspin of demonetisation and GST hiccups.

There has been a clear shift in the pattern of employment from permanent jobs to casual and contract jobs. The temporary nature of work obviously had an adverse effect on the level of wages, stability of employment, and social security.

The government claims that it has provided assistance to 7.2 crore youths under self-employment schemes. If what these people do with that money can be categorised as employment, suddenly, the job creation numbers would appear respectable and it would suggest that the government has even performed better than promised. That is the catch in the pakoda argument: a magic created through sleight of hand.

In his high-voltage reply to Congress president Rahul Gandhis famous 'hug and wink' performance in Parliament last year, Modi had presented a forceful argument about how the doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers, chartered accountants, cost accountants, company secretaries and other professional categories passing out of various institutes every year create jobs for others.

He even cited a study to show that out of about 17,000 new chartered accountants entering the profession in 2016-17, more than 5,000 started new companies. "If a chartered account company employs 20 people, then more than one lakh people have got employment in these institutions. Over 80,000 postgraduate doctors, dental surgeons and Ayush doctors come out of college every year. If 60 percent of them practice themselves, five others will get employment for each doctor and this works out to 2.4 lakh jobs."

"Nearly 80,000 undergraduate and postgraduate lawyers entered the profession in 2017. If 60 percent of them started their practice and gave employment to two to three people, about two lakh jobs were created through those lawyers. In these three professions, more than 6 lakh people would have received employment opportunities in 2017, Modi had claimed.

He then cited the sale of passenger cars, trucks and auto rickshaws to argue the case further and establish that the public perception about job creation by the Modi government was not founded on facts.

All the arguments have been concluded and now it is time to wait for the verdict.By Michael Martina and Jeff Mason BEIJING/PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a 'great deal' after top U.S

By Michael Martina and Jeff Mason

BEIJING/PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a "great deal" after top U.S. and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing.

Both sides reported progress in the talks and China also approved majority-owned brokerage joint ventures for U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase and Japan's Nomura, a step toward meeting U.S. demands for more access to China's financial services market.

"The trade deal is going very well," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

"It is a very comprehensive, very detailed enlisting of problems that we've had with China over the years," Trump said of the talks. "And it's going to have to be a great deal. If it's not a great deal, we can't do it."

In an earlier statement, the White House said the two sides "continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps," but did not elaborate on the nature of the progress.

The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

China's state news agency Xinhua said the two sides discussed "relevant agreement documents" and made new progress in their talks, but did not elaborate in a brief report.

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley told Reuters in Malvern, Iowa, that he has been told the Trump administration is planning to complete a deal with China by the end of April.

However, Trump administration officials, including White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, have said the negotiations are "not time dependent" and could take weeks or even months to complete.

"Weve made great progress on intellectual property, on trade secrets, on their government not forcing our business to give them our technologies and on currency manipulation, among several other things," Grassley said at a farm event.

But the Iowa Republican, whose state has been hit hard by China's retaliation against U.S. tariffs, added that without an effective enforcement mechanism to hold China to its promises, "none of this other stuff matters."

Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports beginning last July in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of its economy to U.S. companies.

Though his blunt-force use of tariffs has angered many, Trump's push to change what are widely viewed as China's market-distorting trade and subsidy practices has drawn broad support.

Lobbyists, company executives and U.S. lawmakers from both parties have urged Trump not to settle simply for Beijing's offers to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

Going into the talks at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, people familiar with the negotiations had said there were still significant differences on enforcement and the sequence of when and how U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would be lifted.

Analysts had anticipated the scope of this round of talks to be quite narrow, but that both countries hoped to signal they were working hard toward a resolution.

Reuters reported previously that the two sides were negotiating written pacts in six areas: forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade.

One person with knowledge of the talks said "translation is definitely an issue," referring to discrepancies between the Chinese- and English-language versions.

'THERE ARE GOING TO BE PROBLEMS'

There remains scepticism that any deal can permanently resolve U.S.-China trade tensions.

"Whatever implementation mechanism China agrees to, whether it is monthly or quarterly meetings or other check-ins, there are going to be problems," James Green, a senior adviser at McLarty Associates who until August was the top USTR official at the embassy in Beijing, told Reuters.

Trump's demands include an end to Beijing practices that Washington says result in systematic theft of U.S. intellectual property and the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese companies.

U.S. companies say they are often pressured into handing over technological know-how to Chinese joint venture partners, local officials or regulators as a condition for doing business in China.

The U.S. government says technology is often subsequently transferred to, and used by, Chinese competitors.

China says its laws enshrine no requirements on technology transfers that are a result of legitimate transactions.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Philip Wen in Beijing and Jeff Mason in Palm Beach, Florida; Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann, David Lawder in Washington and Tom Polansek in Malvern, Iowa; Writing by David Lawder, Ben Blanchard, and Tony Munroe; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Dan Grebler and Bill Berkrot)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.By Michael Martina and Philip Wen BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States and China said they made progress in trade talks that concluded on Friday in Beijing, with Washington calling them candid and constructive, as the world's two largest economies try to resolve a bitter, nearly nine-month trade war.

By Michael Martina and Philip Wen

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States and China said they made progress in trade talks that concluded on Friday in Beijing, with Washington calling them candid and constructive, as the world's two largest economies try to resolve a bitter, nearly nine-month trade war.

"The two parties continued to make progress during candid and constructive discussions on the negotiations and important next steps," the White House said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to the visit to Washington next week by a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.

The statement gave no other details on the nature of the progress.

"We are still making good headway including these talks," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview on CNBC on Friday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since President Donald Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, citing progress in negotiations.

China's state news agency Xinhua said the two sides discussed "relevant agreement documents" and made new progress in their talks, but did not elaborate in a brief report.

"@USTradeRep and I concluded constructive trade talks in Beijing," Mnuchin said on Twitter.

Earlier, Mnuchin told reporters that U.S. officials had a "very productive working dinner" on Thursday. He did not elaborate and it was not immediately clear with whom he had dined.

Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports beginning last July in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of its economy to U.S. companies.

Though his blunt-force use of tariffs has angered many, Trump's push to change what are widely viewed as China's market-distorting trade and subsidy practices has drawn broad support.

Lobbyists, company executives and U.S. lawmakers from both parties have urged Trump not to settle simply for Beijing's offers to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

Details of where the two sides made progress were not immediately clear. Going into the talks, people familiar with the negotiations had said there were still significant differences on an enforcement mechanism and the sequence of when and how U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would be lifted.

Mnuchin and Lighthizer greeted a waiting Liu at the Diaoyutai State Guest House just before 9 a.m. (0100 GMT), and in two brief appearances before journalists, the three mingled and joked with members of the opposite teams.

Analysts had anticipated the scope of this round of talks, which wrapped up about 24 hours after the U.S. delegation arrived, to be quite narrow, but that both countries hoped to signal they were working hard toward a resolution.

Reuters reported previously that the two sides were negotiating written pacts in six areas: forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade.

A U.S. administration official told Reuters earlier this week that Lighthizer and Mnuchin were "literally sitting there going through the texts", a task typically delegated to lower-level deputies.

One person with knowledge of the talks said "translation is definitely an issue", referring to discrepancies between the Chinese- and English-language versions.

On Thursday, Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing would sharply expand market access for foreign banks and securities and insurance companies, fuelling speculation that China may soon announce new rules allowing foreign financial firms to increase their presence.

Kudlow said on Thursday the United States may drop some tariffs if a trade deal is reached, while keeping others in place to ensure Beijing's compliance.

"We're not going to give up our leverage," he told reporters in Washington.

'THERE ARE GOING TO BE PROBLEMS'

There remains scepticism that any deal can permanently resolve U.S.-China trade tensions.

"Whatever implementation mechanism China agrees to, whether it is monthly or quarterly meetings or other check-ins, there are going to be problems," James Green, a senior adviser at McLarty Associates who until August was the top USTR official at the embassy in Beijing, told Reuters.

"Either the purchases are going to be off, or the market access is not going to be there. And then the question is, 'When do you consider putting tariffs back on?'" he added. "The trade issue is not going to be put to bed."

Trump's demands include an end to Beijing's practices that Washington says result in the systematic theft of U.S. intellectual property and the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese companies.

U.S. companies say they are often pressured into handing over technological know-how to Chinese joint venture partners, local officials or regulators as a condition for doing business in China.

The U.S. government says technology is often subsequently transferred to, and used by, Chinese competitors.

The issue has proved tough for negotiators as U.S. officials say China has previously refused to acknowledge the problem exists to the extent alleged by the United States, making it hard to discuss resolution.

China says its laws enshrine no requirements on technology transfers that are a result of legitimate transactions.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Philip Wen in Beijing; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Tim Ahmann and David Lawder in Washington; Writing by Ben Blanchard, Tony Munroe and David Lawder; Editing by, Clarence Fernandez, Dan Grebler and Bill Berkrot)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.With the Balakot attack, an important red line has been crossed, and the nature of future threats  and opportunities  is yet uncertain.

It has now been one month since the air strike at Balakot, and intense discussions on the subject are still on. The noise on how many terrorists were killed continues, like morticians arguing with each other. Apparently impartial analyses have it that the strike missed its intended targets completely, backing this up with imagery from the European Space Agency; all this despite the fact that neither the Indian Air Force nor anyone else has at any time released the latitude and longitude of the targets hit. Then there are the doubters, usually with strong political linkages, who say that the strikes never took place at all. Balancing this unruly noise are a few good persons of sense who are analysing issues intimately related to the strikes, and which are of vital and long term importance.

An article in Hindustan Times brought out the paralysis of decision-making among the political classes on either side of the divide. In addition, it gave an example of the lack of accountability of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has dragged its feet on the upgrading of the Mirage-2000 with the longer range MICA missile. The irony is that a large part of the Rafale controversy was based mostly on the fact that HAL  whom many a foreign aircraft company has refused to deal with due its inability to absorb technology, among other things  was not given the contract to make the aircraft in India. The fact that the Indian Air Force had to therefore rely on the outdated MiG-21 is a scandal that needs public inquiry and attention. But the HAL will in all probability again duck an accountability exercise. No one wants touch this particular dead rat.

However, in the manner of yin and yang, the Balakot strikes also highlighted the importance of timely acquisition, at a time when the Ministry of Defence is being (sometimes justly) maligned for its interminable sitting on files. The decision to buy the SPICE guidance system was made in 2012, when the then Air Force Chief NAK Browne persuaded the powers that be to put this buy on the front burner. This was at a time when terrorist attacks and beheading cases by the Pakistanis were on the rise. The UPA-2 sanctioned it, and the first kits began arriving in the year 2000. If this had not been pursued, the Air Force would not have had the capability to take out the terrorist camps 17 years later. India would have absorbed yet another terrorist attack and bled inwardly.

So here comes the crucial point. With the Balakot attack, an important red line has been crossed, and the nature of future threats  and opportunities  is yet uncertain. Balakot was essentially an exercise in the use of coercive air power. The book on this one has not yet been written, and theory will have a hard time catching up with events on the ground. Pakistan is still digesting the effects of this signal by India that it is prepared to top the sub-conventional terrorism war with a very conventional weapon indeed.

Pakistan will turn to talk and technology to get around this one. First, it will shout loudly and long about how it will use nuclear weapons to deter another Balakot, or anything like it. Second, it will look to defence suppliers like China and perhaps Russia to get it an edge over India in the offence-defence cycle. With the Rafale jets, India will have the upper hand  for the present. Technology is moving fast, and what deters today could be a damp squib tomorrow. Deterrence ten years down the line needs planning and equipment acquisition now. As of now, the state of the bureaucracy and the crassness of politicians are unlikely to change much. The Indian defence industry is improving, but at a snails pace.

The vagaries of the bureaucracy and the capabilities for Make in India were the topics of discussion at the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation recently. Senior and retired Air Force officers comprised most of the audience, and the dismay at the sorry state of acquisitions was apparent, alongside clarity that the service had to move quickly to close vital loopholes and uptick nascent capabilities in both air and space. The Air Forces plans for the future are commendable. But listening to it, one could not help but feel a certain sense of deja vu. It has all been done before, and every single perspective plan has had to run the obstacle course that is the defence planning system.

There is one way. Some time ago, the US Department of Defence bluntly and publicly stated that it no longer had the capability to fight on two fronts, as well as an insurgency. This shocked Congress and planners, and induced them to start allocating more funds, even while reducing troop presence in Afghanistan, among other measures. The Indian Air Force is known for grimly going to action, no matter what the odds. Thats all very well. But it might be time to make the headlines not on what it can do  which is plenty  but also on what it cannot. That will take a type of courage that is notoriously in short supply at top echelons anywhere. But it is still there within the armed forces. It just needs the right leadership to bring this out and ensure more power in the air.The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is expected to release the Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) Results 2019 at 1 pm on Saturday. Candidates can check for updates on either of the official websites: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

Bihar board 12th result 2019 | The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is expected to release the Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) Results 2019 were declared on Saturday. Candidates can check for updates on either of the official websites: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

Hindustan Times reported that the result will be declared at 1 pm by BSEB chairman Anand Kishor and additional chief secretary of Bihar education department RK Mahajan at a press conference.

Over 13 lakh students had registered to appear for the examination that was conducted between 6 and 16 February. The Indian Express reported that it was the first time that the BSEB released the results in record 28 days. It quoted an official as saying that the evaluation process had begun by 2 March.

Candidates can follow these steps to get the result:

- Visit the official website: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

- Click on the link for Class 12 Result of the relevant stream from Arts, Commerce, and Science.

- Enter details like candidate seat number and submit details.

- Download the result and take a print copy for future reference.The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) released the Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) Results 2019 on Saturday. Candidates can check the results by visiting either of the official websites: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) released the Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) Results 2019 on Saturday. Candidates can check the results by visiting either of the official websites: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

A total of 79.76 percent students have successfully cleared the examination, with students in the Commerce stream clocking the highest pass percentage among the three streams at a 93 percent success rate. In the Science stream, at least 76 percent of the students have passed the exam, while 81 percent students in the Science stream were successful in BSEB class 12 exam for 2019.

This years' results show a marked improvement when compared to the pass percentage of BSEB intermediate results in 2018, News18 India reported.

Over 13 lakh students had registered to appear for the examination that was conducted between 6 and 16 February. A total of 10 lakh students have passed the exams. The Indian Express reported that it was the first time that the BSEB released the results in record 28 days. It quoted an official as saying that the evaluation process had begun by 2 March.

Candidates can follow these steps to get the result:

- Visit the official website: biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or bsebssresult.com.

- Click on the link for Class 12 Result of the relevant stream from Arts, Commerce, and Science.

- Enter details like candidate seat number and submit details.

- Download the result and take a print copy for future reference.Pollsters say the airstrikes and nationalist rhetoric had diverted attention away from socio-economic issues, but the latest numbers suggest these might be back on voters' minds.

New Delhi: The potential benefits accruing to Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling alliance from a spike in nationalist sentiment following recent clashes with arch rival Pakistan might be waning, results of a nationwide opinion poll suggested.

Tensions with neighbouring Pakistan soared after a suicide bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama killed 40 Indian paramilitary police last month. The bombing was claimed by Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

That led national sentiment on security and terror-related issues in India to peak at nearly 29 percent in early March after India retaliated with airstrikes on a suspected militant camp in northern Pakistan, according to CVoter polling agency.

However, it has since waned to about 15 percent, as tensions have cooled, the agency said, citing its daily tracker of national sentiment.

A cliff-fall for the security narrative complicates BJPs positioning as this is one issue where BJP comprehensively dominates the Congress and, in fact, the entire Opposition, CVoter said, referring to Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that will face off against the main Opposition Congress in the general election scheduled to begin on 11 April.

Pollsters say the airstrikes and nationalist rhetoric had diverted attention away from socio-economic issues, including increasing unemployment and an agrarian crisis, which critics have often used to lambaste Modis policies.

The new poll numbers suggest those issues may be back on voters minds, CVoter said.

At election rallies in recent weeks the BJP has played up the airstrikes and a subsequent anti-satellite missile test that Modi hailed as making India a military space power. Some Opposition parties criticised the anti-satellite test announcement as a political gimmick.

The impact of mission Shakti (anti-satellite missile) test is anticipated to show in the next few days, CVoter said.

A coalition led by Modis BJP is widely expected to retain power in the looming general election, the worlds biggest democratic exercise with about 900 million eligible voters. Final results of the vote will be available on 23 May.There's a striking difference between Jayapur and Nagepur villages in Varanasi, which Narendra Modi adopted, and the Dalit-dominated Tedhwa in Mirzapur.

There's a striking difference between the villages of Jayapur and Nagepur in Varanasi district, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), and the Dalit-dominated Tedhwa village in Mirzapur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

After Modi adopted Jayapur and Nagepur for a year each, the villages saw a spurt of unprecedented activity. Infrastructure development received a fillip; solar power stations were established; pipes were laid out for water to reach villagers at their homes; and a large number of toilets and 'pucca' homes were constructed.

In contrast, Tedhwa remains the quintessential Indian village of the 1950s, with 'kachcha' mud huts and broken-down front doors. It boasts of no pucca road and no pipelines for water. Although toilets have been built under the Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan, the majority remain incomplete projects and unused. Since this village owns little land, most villagers here belonging to the Bind caste work as daily labourers in the nearby towns of Mirzapur and Bhadohi.

Jayapur was the first village to be adopted, in November 2014, under the SAGY flagship scheme. In the initial days, the 4,500 villagers of Jayapur were euphoric, believing that their lives would transform rapidly as they had come under the focus of none other than the prime minister himself.

Village sarpanch Narayan Patel, a staunch BJP loyalist, said, "We now boast of our own bank, water pipelines and two solar plants of 25 kilowatts each, which provide us electricity between 6 pm and 6 am. A khadi weaving facility has also been set up to provide the women in the village training and employment."

"Initially, bureaucrats were monitoring the projects in our village, but the construction work was being carried out under the tutelage of CR Patil, an influential Gujarati MP from Navsari, who is known to be very close to the prime minister. The villagers were not consulted, nor were our needs ascertained. Since everything was being built at break-neck speed, quality suffered," Patel pointed out.

"The results are there for everyone to see. Eighty percent of the toilets are unusable. Their plastic doors have developed holes, and the roads have developed huge potholes," he added.

In 2015, district authorities took the laudable step of installing 135 solar-powered streetlights in Jayapur. Unfortunately, 80 of these solar batteries have been stolen. The sarpanch lodged a complaint with the police and took the matter up to the highest authorities, but he claimed no action has been taken against the culprits, so far.

Moreover, the makeover in Nagepur, the second village that Modi adopted under SAGY, was also impressive, with the emphasis on developing infrastructure. But the villagers, including Sarpanch Parasnath Rajbhar, were more cautious as they did not want the mistakes made in Jayapur repeated.

Rajbhar had refused to accede to the MP's demand to certify the quality of the 153 fibre toilets that had been installed at his behest, insisting that the work being done in his village had completely bypassed the local official machinery and elected officials.

Nagepur is a village primarily of weavers, while Jayapur has a vibrant farming community.

A local activist, Nandlal 'Master', who works with NGO Lok Kalyan, pointed out: "Instead of opening a weaving centre in Jayapur, it should have been opened in our village (Nagepur) as this would have helped increase work opportunities for our weavers and their wives. But our demand went unheeded."

Shyam Sunder 'Master', who is the sarpanch's brother, said, "We had demanded a middle and higher secondary school as we only have a primary school. The nearest higher secondary schools are Bhairav Nath Inter College and Kisan Inter College, both located 7 to 8 kilometres from our village. The distance forces a large number of our children, especially girls, to drop out. We also asked for a health centre and made a representation before Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel, who promised to set up a hospital, but nothing has happened so far."

Other demands, such as establishing a post office, a veterinary hospital and a barat ghar, also went unheeded.

What surprised villagers here is that the funds for these projects came from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of multinational companies, not from Modis Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD)Scheme fund as they had presumed, believing that schemes implemented with funds from the latter allows for more checks and balances.

Nandlal added, "Anil Aggarwal's Vedanta constructed a Nand Ghar, which is a model anganwadi centre in Nagepur. The children were given educational tools to play with and computers for skill development. The day SAGY was shifted to Kakrahia, a village known for its wrestlers and wrestling arenas, all the learning tools given to our children and furniture, such as chairs and tables, were moved out from here."

The most interesting example of how CSR works is the way a JCB arrived in Nagepur, after the SAGY focus was shifted to Kakrahi, and dismantled the solar plant that had been set up on lease on a farmers land.

"The entire operation was completed in a matter of a few hours, and the farmer who had leased out his land for the solar plant came to know about it much later," Nandlal claimed.

He also expressed concern over how Coca Cola was one of the companies involved in the CSR work, pointing out how 18 village councils in this Mehdiganj area of Varanasi district have been fighting acute water shortage since 1999 when a Coca Cola plant began its operations.

"Farmers of Nagepur have been at the forefront of this agitation. The Central Pollution Control Board had ordered the plant to be shut down in 2015, but Coca Cola took the matter to the National Green Tribunal and got a stay. Since there is no transparency in the working of the SAGY, we don't know where the funding comes from," he asserted.

While the makeover is evident in these two Modi-adopted villages, Tedhwas only claim to fame is that 15 of its children, who were working as bonded labourers in the carpet industry nearly two decades ago, were rescued by the Centre for Rural Education and Development Action (CREDA) under a labour ministry scheme and then rehabilitated. These 15 boys all went on to become graduates and post graduates and now work in and around the village.

Arun Kumar, one of the boys rescued by CREDA, pursued BA and B.Ed. A 25-year-old now, he teaches at a village school called Eternal Grace Junior, run by Christian missionaries.

Deepak Kumar, also rescued by CREDA, pursued higher studies and teaches at the same school. Both earn Rs 1,200 per month.

The village also has a primary government school with five teachers on its payroll. These teachers receive a salary of Rs 45,000 per month, but lack of supervision has created a situation where actual teaching is lacking.

"Ours is a largely Dalit village that voted for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the last Lok Sabha election," said Arun Kumar. "Since we have little political clout, no one has bothered to look at us. We did request Anupriya Patel to set up a health centre in our village, but our request went ignored."

He believes that Jayapur and Nagepur were selected for SAGY because both villages have large number of BJP and Patel supporters. But regardless of what factors played a role in the decision, women suffer the most in Tedhwa, with no employment opportunities, living below poverty level.

A group of women in Tedhwa admitted that they had received a gas cylinder and stove under the Ujjwala scheme, but they were in no position to get them refilled.

Middle-aged Guddi Devi said, "We received the initial amounts to construct a latrine but could not complete it because of lack of money."

Supati Devi highlighted, "Not one of us has a pucca house. We don't have water pipelines either."

The only concession for the women is the 12 hours of electricity, albeit largely erratic.

While villagers in Jayapur and Nagepur openly admit they will cast their vote in favour of Modi, those in Tedhwa are equally vociferous in pledging their support to Rajendra Bind, the BSP candidate fielded by the alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The villagers here want a more inclusive developmental model where their needs are addressed under their supervision.National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which once had the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as its main issue, has forgotten about it after the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at terror launch pads in Pakistan.

Srinagar: National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which once had the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as its main issue, has forgotten about it after the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at terror launch pads in Pakistan.

Addressing a public gathering, Abdullah said, Previously the temple issue was important for them but where it is now? Has Balakot eaten it? He also accused the BJP-led central government of diverting attention from main issues and said, A lot of Indian soldiers lost their lives in Chhattisgarh but Modiji never went to meet their families. But when 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives...I have my doubts and I tell you the truth...he raised a storm over it.

#WATCH Farooq Abdullah, NC: Kitne sipahi Hindustan ke shaheed huye Chhattisgarh mein? Kya kabhi Modi ji vahan gaye unpe phool chadhane ke liye?........magar vo 40 log CRPF ke shaheed ho gaye, uska bhi mujhe shak hai. pic.twitter.com/cK3M1u67Nn  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

"He (Modi) attacked Pakistan and we killed 300, some say 500 and some say 1000. We also shot down their plane just to show that he (Narendra Modi) is very brave and can do anything. Through all this, he tried to make everyone forget about farmers and jobs. He (Modi) promised that he will give 2 crore jobs to the youth in a year, which makes 10 crore in five years. Where are those five crore jobs? He said he will reduce the price of petrol, diesel and, LPG but nothing happened, he added.

Abdullah also said these elections are very important because certain forces trying to divide the people of the country. He then blamed the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP of bringing BJP to the valley by allying with them. Today Mehbooba is only lying about not allowing action against Jamaat-e-Islami and others. It is PDP which brought BJP to the valley after getting 28 seats. Abdullah also credited former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the successful launch of A-SAT missile.

#WATCH F Abdullah: Vo missile jo usne satellite ko maarne ke liye chhoda, vo Manmohan Singh ne taiyaar karaya tha...Aaj election tha,dikhane ke liye 'hanuman ji tashreef laye hain' usne button dabaya, 1 button galat dab gaya aur helicopter gir gaya, humare 6 jawan shaheed ho gaye pic.twitter.com/5n3WPpNrhl  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

The Anti Satellite Missile got made by the then-prime minister Manmohan Singh but he didn't declare it. But today when there is an election, he (Modi) pressed the button to show as if Hanuman ji has come himself.

"A similar button was pressed, which made a helicopter crash and killed 6 of our jawaans," Abdullah claimed in an apparent reference to the Mi-17 chopper crash that took place in Budgam last month.The last phase in the seven-stage Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be held today, on 19 May, with 59 Lok Sabha constituencies across nine states set to vote.

The seventh and the last phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be held on Sunday (19 May), with as many as 59 Lok Sabha constituencies across six states and a Union Territory scheduled to vote.

This Lok Sabha election, nearly 90 crore voters will cast their ballots till 19 May  the last phase  with the results on 23 May. Of the lot, nearly 1.5 crore voters are in the age group of 18 to 19, which means they will be voting for the very first time this election.

The most basic unit of the electoral process in India is the polling station, where eligible citizens go to vote for their preferred candidate. For the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has made arrangements for over 10 lakh polling booths across the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India.

Here is a step-by-step guide to finding your polling booth ahead of the voting:

Step 1: Go to the National Voters Service Portal website.

Step 2: On the extreme right hand side of the website, under 'Citizen Information', click on 'Booth, AC, PC'.

Step 3: Users will be redirected to a page with two tabs  'Search by Details' and 'Search by EPIC Number'. Either option can be used to find the polling station.

Step 4: In the 'Search by Details' tab, users have to provide details such as their name, their father or husband's name, gender and date of birth or age before choosing their state, district and Assembly/ Lok Sabha constituency from a drop-down menu.

Step 5 (optional): Alternatively, users can also choose to locate the geographical details on a map. Once done, they can complete the process by entering the captcha text and clicking search.

Step 6: In the 'Search by EPIC Number' tab, users have to enter their EPIC (Election Photo Identity Card) number, choose the state where their Lok Sabha constituency is located from the drop-down list and then enter the mandatory captcha text.

After submitting the required information in either tab, users can get the exact address of their polling station. The information box also includes a "view details" button, that redirects users to a page with additional details, such as part name, part number and serial number. Voters can also find the name and number of the Booth Level Officer, District Election Officer and the Electoral Roll Registration Officer.The Nagas and the Kukis are trying to score brownie points over each other by raking up contentious issues in Manipur's outer Lok Sabha constituency.

Imphal: The Manipur People's (Protection) Bill, which primarily defines Manipuris and non-Manipuris, has divided electorate in this northeastern state ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Tension between different ethnic communities with competing interests and overlapping claims continues to simmer under the surface as the electorate decides whom to cast their vote for. Protecting the state's territorial integrity, demand for a Scheduled Tribe status by some sections of the Meiteis  the majority ethnic group of Manipur  and enactment of the Manipur People's Bill, passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state Legislative Assembly on 23 July last year, are the major issues for the people of inner parliamentary seat, slated to go for polls on 18 April.

The Nagas and the Kukis are trying to score brownie points over each other by raking up contentious issues in Manipur's outer Lok Sabha constituency, where polls would be held on 11 April.

The Manipur People's Bill

The Manipur People's Bill seeks regulation on the entry and exit into the state by outsiders and defines Manipuris as Meiteis, Meitei Pangals (Muslims), scheduled tribes and castes of the state listed under the Constitution and Indian citizens, who settled in Manipur before 1951 and their descendants. Those who dont fall in these categories, according to the Bill, are non-Manipuris and are outsiders.

The outsiders visiting the state, according to the Bill, would have to obtain an Inner Line Permit, a system that is in place in three other northeastern states: Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. But this Bill requires a nod from the President of India to become a law.

All stakeholders were taken on board

Former president of United Committee Manipur, Johnson Elangbam, who played a pivotal role in getting the Manipur People's Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly, said: There should not be any disunity as far as the Bill is concerned as all the stakeholders representing the sub-tribes under various ethnic nomenclature were duly consulted several times before passing the new Bill.

"Considering the unprecedented negative response from the people in Churachandpur against the precursor bills which eventually lapsed after failing to receive the president's nod, we reached an understanding with the top leadership of United Naga Council and Kuki Inpi to present the conscientious Bill with their full participation. The Bill was then referred to the Hill Area Committee for further consideration. Following that, the Bill was tabled in the Assembly and passed," Elangbam said.

"There's no question of the Manipur People's Bill being unconstitutional as the framers of the Indian Constitution have put in place certain provisions under Article 19 where reasonable restrictions can be imposed on freedom of movement and residence within the country. The indigenous population of the state is on the cusp of being engulfed by both internal and external migrants. It's our last resort as internal migration cannot be allowed to overwhelm the state's native population and pose a threat to demography," he said.

It may be recalled that the passing of three precursor bills in 2015 pushed the entire state towards a precipice after nine protesters were killed while agitating against the Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bills and the Protection of Manipur People's Bill.

State's territorial integrity non-negotiable

Kuki Inpi, Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki community in Manipur, still considers the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as the biggest threat to the indigenous population in the state. It has asked people to remain cautious about the ramifications of the framework agreement signed between the Union government and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM) in 2015. The contents of the agreement have been kept under wraps so far, with many student and civil society organisations demanding its disclosure every now and then for the past few years.

The general secretary of KIM Solun Mate said, The KIM stands with United Council, Manipur and All Manipur United Club Organisation on issue of the state's territorial integrity which is non-negotiable. We don't have any objection to the Manipur People's Bill which is pending the President's assent. We do not have anything to say on those with vested interests opposing the Bill on mere assumptions. There's no question of opposing the Bill as the government had left the door wide open for reviewing the Bill if there were any objections."

Cracks wide and open

All Tribal Students' Union of Manipur (ATSUM) remains divided on the issue as some leaders support it while others oppose it vehemently.

The ATSUM president, Vareiyo Shatshang, said that the government inserted some clauses such as the deputy commissioner becoming the sole authority by superseding the Autonomous District Council, which is objectionable.

Selboi Haokip, general secretary of the same tribal students' body, said, The new bill has been passed with the consensus of all civil society organisations and the students' body has no objection to it.

He said that All Naga Students' Association of Manipur had put some remarks on the Bill. Other than that, there is no opposition against the bill from any quarter," Haokip observed.

A prominent Naga leader said the United Naga Council (UNC) endorses ATSUM's position on the Bill. However, it raised questions on which among the two opinions UNC endorses.

"We have managed to achieve a relatively peaceful atmosphere in the past two years where there is communal harmony, no economic blockades and internal conflict. Let this peace prevail and give it a chance," the Naga leader said.

The president of All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM), Joseph Adani, said the Nagas strongly oppose the Manipur People's Bill as it infringes their rights specially their land.

"The Bill was purportedly signed for protecting the scheduled tribes but we have examined the Bill and it has nothing to do with the protection of the tribal people," Adani stressed. He also disclosed that ANSAM has submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind against the Bill. We have also written a letter to Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla for withholding the Bill, he added.

Meiteis seek Scheduled Tribe status

Meanwhile, Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (STDC), Manipur has been pressing for ST status to Meiteis since 2014. The Meiteis are the Valley-based community comprising over 40 percent of the state's total population. Earlier this month, the committee imposed a 36-hour general strike to mount pressure on the state government to send recommendation to the central government for including the community in the Scheduled Tribe list under the Indian Constitution.

STDC's general secretary, Keithellakpam Bhogendrajit, said, "We have made it known to all the political parties to come clean on their stance on this demand. We are waiting for the elections to conclude and we will continue with our movement for a Scheduled Tribe status for the Meiteis."

Bhogendrajit said the Manipur People's Bill, if it receives the president's assent, will be good for all the ethnic communities. But he was quick to add, The Bill has been tampered with. It no longer even mentions protection.

On the other hand, Meitei Pangals, which have over one lakh voters in the inner seat and around 40,000 voters in the outer parliamentary seat, support the Manipur People's Bill.

All Manipur Muslims Organisation Coordinating Committee's president SM Jalal Sheikh said Meitei Pangals support the Manipur People's Bill and do not have any issues even if the base year is kept at 1901, 1921 or 1951.

On the demand for a Scheduled Tribe status by the majority Meiteis, Sheikh said all the indigenous communities including the Meitei Pangals should be included under the Scheduled Tribe list.

(Author is an Imphal-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com.)A social activist, Arjumand Hussain Bhat, was shot dead by militants at a central location in north Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla city, according to reports.

Militants shot dead a social activist on Saturday at a central location in North Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla city, according to reports.

News18 identified the victim as Arjumand Hussain Bhat. A chemist by profession, Bhat is assumed to be around 35 years old and is a resident of Khwajabag in Baramulla. Bhat was known locally as "Raju Mistiri".

The activist was seriously injured in the shooting after reports say militants forcefully entered his shop, located at Baramulla's Main Chowk. He succumbed to his injuries while on the way to the hospital.

What a tragic news. Gunman entered the shop of this man, Arjumand Hussain Bhat, also a social activist, in the main Chowk of Baramulla and killed him. pic.twitter.com/nPxeUwJaIf  Sameer Yasir (@sameeryasir) March 30, 2019

Authorities are investigating the motive behind the murder, and security has been heightened in the region.

The shooting comes on the same day a blast occurred in a car on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Ramban's Banihal area, near a bus of the Central Reserve Police Force.Key accused Brajesh Thakur and employees of his Muzaffarpur shelter home, as well as officials of Bihar's Department of Social Welfare, have been charged with criminal conspiracy.

New Delhi: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in New Delgi on Saturday framed charges against all 21 accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

Special POCSO judge Saurabh Kulshreshta will hold a trial for rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation, cruelty and various other charges under POCSO, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Juvenile Justice Act against all the accused.

After pronouncing the charges, Kulshreshta posted the matter for further hearing on Monday.

Aparna Bhatt is acting as the amicus curiae in the case.

Key accused Brajesh Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as officials of Bihar's Department of Social Welfare, have been charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report an assault on the girls.

Thakur has been charged under Section 5 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, for which minimum punishment is five years and maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

He has also been charged under Section 376C(2) (punishment of sexual assault by a person placed in charge of a shelter home) of the IPC.

Advocate Promod Dubey represented Thakur in court.

Thakur, along with Ravi Roushan, Ramanuj Thakur, Ashwani Kumar and Shahista Parween alias Madhu was present during the hearing. He was also charged with the offence of cruelty to a child under their authority under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The CBI chargesheet names 21 people, including Thakur, who used to run the shelter home funded by the Bihar government where 44 minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The bench, while transferring the trial to the Saket District Court, had said it should be heard by a judge dealing with POCSO Act cases since the victims are minors.

The apex court, on 31 October, last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure to arrest former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.India on Friday summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner in New Delhi and conveyed concerns over the presence of several Khalistani separatists in a committee appointed by Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday described as "incomprehensible" India's decision to reschedule the upcoming meeting of the experts on the Kartarpur Corridor.

India on Friday summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner in New Delhi and conveyed concerns over the presence of several Khalistani separatists in a committee appointed by Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor.

The Pakistani Cabinet constituted a ten-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to facilitate Sikh pilgrims after opening of Kartarpur Corridor, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

However, it did not name the members of the committee.

The next meeting of technical experts on the Kartarpur corridor was earlier scheduled in Wagah on the Pakistani side of the border on April 2 and was "jointly agreed by both sides" on 14 March, the Foreign Office said here.

"Pakistan regrets the Indian decision to postpone the upcoming Kartarpur meeting. The meeting was to discuss and find consensus on outstanding issues," Mohammad Faisal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted following a statement from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.

"Last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on 19 March is incomprehensible," Faisal tweeted.

The foreign office said that the 10-member purely-religious committee referred to by India was indeed PSGPC and was not specific to Kartarpur but responsible for upkeep of all Sikh Gurdwaras in Pakistan.

"It is not a new mechanism but was constituted under Section 3 of the 'Scheme for Renovation, Maintenance and Preservation of Sikh Holy Shrines' in 2004 and is reconstituted after every three years," it said.

The foreign office said that "postponing the meeting only endangers Pakistan's Kartarpur initiative".

Faisal's response comes shortly after India said it had "sought clarifications from Pakistan on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor".

An MEA statement in India said it has been conveyed to the Paksitani side that the next meeting on the modalities of the corridor can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan's response.

In order to take forward the infrastructure development for the corridor in an expeditious manner, India has proposed to hold another meeting of technical experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding issues at the zero point agreed to at the last meeting, the statement said.

Last November, India and Pakistan agreed to set up the border crossing linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district.

Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh had on 26 November last year laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur Corridor in Gurdaspur district.

Two days later, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the corridor in Narowal, 125 km from Lahore.Priyanka's campaigning and interaction with party workers give us less imprints of an electoral genius and more an affable personality who is more easy-going at public appearances and before the camera than her brother

Priyanka Gandhi's much-publicised Ayodhya trip tells us a lot about Congress, and the predicament that the party finds itself in. Priyanka, we were told by the Congress' PR machinery in media, is the "smarter one". She apparently is the silent backroom worker, the 'brain' behind the dynasty and a 'reincarnation' of Indira Gandhi, her grandmother  certainly in looks if not in charisma.

So, when the 'smarter one' formally took the plunge in active politics, there was a sense of anticipation that we may finally get to see the telegenic personality at work, find out how she rescues the Congress party from irrelevance in India's most populous state, whether the media frenzy around her is justified, if she really is a self-assured, smart and magnetic personality as a section of sycophantic media, commentators, Congress politicians and spokespersons would have us believe, or there is a different reality behind the myth-making.

If the grand old party needs a 47-year-old who has no experience in fighting elections to emerge from her reclusiveness and mitigate Congress existential crisis at the proverbial eleventh hour, then she either must be the smartest politician in the world or a feudal Congress cannot look beyond a dynasty when it comes to electoral success. Either way, Priyanka's role as the partys general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh was going to give us some answers.

We may not quite have the proof of the pudding yet but early impressions of Priyankas campaigning and interaction with party workers give us less imprints of an electoral genius and more an affable personality who is more easy-going at public appearances and before the camera than her brother. We havent seen any evidence yet of the mythical qualities that Congress politicians or the media have bestowed on her. In fact, her methods so far appear too flippant for a serious politician and rather unimaginative.

Confusion on whether she will remain the party's general secretary or take the electoral plunge against the prime minister in Varanasi might be a great way of sustaining media attention, but it is not necessarily a great electoral strategy. Priyanka is dropping large hints about contesting the polls yet appears coy in the same breath.

"If my party says that I have to contest the election, then I will definitely contest," she tells journalists in Amethi, before adding that "my wish is that I work for the party because there is a lot of work to be done in the organization." And as if to dispel the notion of settling the debate, she goes on to casually ask party workers whether she should contest from Varanasi  Narendra Modis constituency.

This flippancy has been interpreted as a surprise element in her armory but it sits uneasy with Congresss stated strategy of unseating the BJP government at the Centre and providing a politically stable coalition government. If the ace weapon in Congresss armory seems flippant and indecisive about fighting elections, the message that goes down to voters isnt that of stability.

The Ayodhya visit reveals that Priyanka possesses no big electoral idea or imagination that may resuscitate a moribund organisation  her primary job. This is the third time a Gandhi has come calling in Ayodhya before the Lok Sabha polls. In her choice of a road show in Faizabad and visiting of Hanuman Garhi temple she stuck to the tradition of her grandmother Indira, but it is a measure of how far the seed has fallen from the tree that all Priyanka could offer during the Ayodhya visit was the regurgitation of the same electoral strategy that has so far seen Congress steadily losing its national footprint.

The only thing that mattered during Priyankas visit was whether she would visit the disputed site for Babari Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi temple. She stayed clear of it. Not just that. Priyanka also steadfastly avoided any reference to the Ram Mandir during her Ayodhya visit and when cornered by journalists, took recourse to the excuse that the matter is sub-judice.

Instead, Priyanka kept her eyes fixed firmly on Modi and in different nukkad sabhas and multiple rallies, targeted her rhetoric at the prime minister. "Modi had gone to Pakistan in 2015 to eat biryani," said the Congress general secretary.

It isn't difficult to understand her strategy. The Ayodhya visit is aimed as a dog whistle to the Hindus that Congress isn't really an "anti-Hindu" or "minority appeasement" party that BJP paints it to be. However, by avoiding all references to Ram Temple during her interactions in Ayodhya and staying away from the Ram Janmabhoomi site, the Congress was trying to assure the Muslims that it hasn't transformed into a BJP clone either.

This is not a clever electoral strategy but a desperation that Congress faces in trying to differentiate itself from the BJP in the marketplace of ideas. For the better part of its almost six-decade rule over India since Independence, the Congress has never needed to think about counter-mobilisation of Hindus against it. Now that a neo middle class has arisen that despises the old elite and their incestuous hold over power and is challenging all conventional wisdom about the idea of India, the Congress, which represents the old elite and nurtures this ecosystem, suddenly stares at an existential crisis.

Priyanka could have taken the bold step of visiting the site. That would have sent a signal of commitment. By choosing to do neither this, nor that she has made explicit her lack of imagination as a leader. It is difficult to imagine that she could be Congresss redemption song.Rear Admiral Suraj Berry has taken over as the Command of the Eastern Fleet from Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi.

Visakhapatnam: Rear Admiral Suraj Berry, NM, VSM, on Saturday took over as the Command of the Eastern Fleet, the Sword Arm of the Eastern Naval Command, from Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM, at a ceremony at the Naval Base in Visakhapatnam.

Rear Admiral Berry was commissioned on 1 January, 1987, and is a specialist in gunnery and missile warfare. His sea commands include the missile vessel INS Nirbhik, missile corvette INS Karmuk, stealth frigate INS Talwar and aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, of which he was the commissioning commanding officer.

His staff and operational appointments include those as the operations officer of the Mobile Missile Coastal Battery, fleet gunnery officer of the Western Fleet, defence adviser to the Indian High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and Maldives, director at the Directorate of Staff Requirements and naval assistant to the Chief of Naval Staff and principal director strategy, concepts and transformation, at the Naval Headquarters.

Rear Admiral Berry was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (meritorious service medal) in 2006 for services during the tsunami relief operations in Sri Lanka and Maldives and the Nau Sena Medal (navy medal) in 2015 for devotion to duty.

He was elevated to the flag rank in October 2016 and was the assistant chief of personnel for human resource development prior to taking over command of the Eastern Fleet.

Over the past 14 and a half months, the Eastern Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, undertook various operational missions, including the maiden edition of a multilateral exercise at sea off Port Blair as part of MILAN-18 and operational demonstrations as part of Defence Expo 18 off the cast of Chennai.

A task force of the Eastern Fleet under the flag officer was also deployed to South East Asia and the Western Pacific, including the first visit by Indian Navy ships to Guam for Malabar-19.

The Eastern Fleet under him also participated in various bilateral exercises, most notable being INDRA-18 with the Russian Federation Navy, JIMEX-18 with the Japanese Navy and the 25th edition of SIMBEX with the Republic of Singapore Navy.

Rear Admiral Tripathi has been placed in the select list for promotion to the post of vice admiral and is headed to New Delhi as the assistant director-general of Project Seabird.As such, ULFA would always be able to attract new cadres which has been evidenced from time to time in the past couple of decades. But the situation could be very different this time around with the odds stacked heavily against all the separatist outfits based in Myanmar

Reports indicating panic and confusion at some rebel camps in Myanmar were vindicated when seven United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) functionaries surrendered after crossing over from Myanmar on 19 March. Two days later, a senior functionary of the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) followed suit fuelling speculation that more rebel cadres would return to the mainstream.

The trigger was the Myanmar army's (officially known as Tatmadaw) operation in Taga almost two months ago resulting in the dismantling of all the camps belonging to the separatist outfits from the Northeast except the NSCN(K) which is a Myanmarese outfit. Only one senior cadre of ULFA was reported to have been killed in a skirmish that occurred after the army had surrounded the camp. Media reports in Myanmar said that five leaders of NSCN(K) were also detained at Khamti for violating the Unlawful Association Act.

Sources in the different factions of ULFA and NSCN(K) revealed that hundreds of cadres from all the groups except the NSCN(K) dispersed in different directions after the raid. Majority of the functionaries belonging to the outfits from Imphal valley headed south to the region opposite Manipur in Myanmars Sagaing Division where their facilities continue to be intact. ULFA and NDFB cadres shifted to the hills in the Pangmi and Konyak Naga regions contiguous to Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh and Mon in Nagaland.

The rebel cadres have been accommodated in villages and the three camps  Arakan Camp, First Battalion and Council  that were erected years ago. In a press release issued on 16 March, ULFA chairman Dr Avijeet Asom and chief of staff Paresh Baruah expressed their gratitude to all the groups and the inhabitants of the Patkai region for ensuring the security of its cadres.

According to informed sources, the seven cadres who came over ground were part of a larger group that had reached the Arakan Camp after escaping from Taga that arrived at a unanimous decision to surrender. It is not yet known what prevented the other members from following the same route although the intelligence community is hopeful of more results in a short span.

Raid on Taga  What Next?

The operation by the Myanmar army in Taga seems to have caught all the rebel groups by surprise. A middle-rung NSCN(K) cadre said it was least expected since a ceasefire agreement had already been inked between the outfit and Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) in 2012 just a few weeks after this correspondent had returned from the camp. Not only were the camps abandoned, nine senior leaders of NSCN(K) were detained at the army headquarters in Khamti for interrogation which coincided with the visit of Myanmar state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to the Naga region.

Clearly, the raid was meant to deliver two messages to the NSCN(K). First, that it ought to seriously consider signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement and give up the demand of sovereignty of the Naga inhabited region in India and Myanmar. And secondly, it should distance itself from the separatist outfits from Indias Northeast whose presence in the region has never been of any benefit to the Tatmadaw.

NSCN(K) didnt have any choice  it was in no position to retaliate against the Myanmar army. The least it could do was to inform all its officers in the villages to assist the fleeing members from the other groups. Inputs trickling sporadically suggest that some villages opposite Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh where a large group of rebel cadres are holed up are beginning to reel under a food shortage. Communication between the cadres and ULFA leader Jibon Moran, who was based at Taga and was entrusted with the task of managing all the camps, had been snapped after the operation. Moran, who is currently the senior most functionary in ULFA, is known to be unable to walk for long distances in the hills.

A senior government official was emphatic that their (ULFA and NDFB) hands have been tied. They dont have any other place except to settle except in the Naga hills (Myanmar). They will remain safe for sometime but only if they dont launch any attack in the Northeast. While it may be too early to say if the groups would remain confined to the Naga hills, what appears imminent is a tremendous setback to their plans of continuing with the separatist campaign. NSCN(K)s position would be rendered more vulnerable if these outfits carry out strikes in the Northeast.

The Myanmar army may not have extended the operation to the hills, but it cannot be ignorant of the locations where the rebels have shifted. It is already overstretched with the engagements in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states. There are rumours that New Delhi has been pressurising Tatmadaw to establish a military cantonment at Taga which will ensure a permanent presence of the army in a large part of Hukwang Valley near the Chindwin river.

Will ULFA survive the crisis?

In its four decades of existence, ULFA and the other separatist groups from the Northeast had established bases in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar and cultivated high-level contacts with the governments of China, Pakistan and other countries. But the space is fast shrinking and Myanmar could well be the last sanctuary for these outfits. While there is a greater possibility of the Manipuri groups surviving for a longer duration, the condition of the smaller outfits like ULFA, NDFB, KCP and PREPAK (Progressive),etc could soon become critical.

ULFA had suffered many blows earlier  during Operation Bajrang in 1990, Operation All Clear in Bhutan in 2003 and the crackdown in Bangladesh in 2009 which was followed by a division in its ranks. But every time it was able to rebound and continue with the separatist campaign. But in real terms, the outfit had been on an irreversible downslide since the late 1990s when secret killings was unleashed by the government. But the decline in their fortunes were also aggravated by other factors.

Unlike the other rebel groups in the Northeast such as the PLA, UNLF or the NSCN(IM), ULFAs fundamentals were weak and it never had a long term vision to fulfill its objectives. The leaders were young, inexperienced and without knowledge about domestic politics or international relations. The organisations entire focus had been to ensure its survival, shifting from one country to another, and acquisition of weapons and money. The leadership was never bothered to iron out the differences among themselves which had only widened after the arrest of general secretary Anup Chetia in Bangladesh in 1997. While the majority of the top functionaries led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa were supportive of talks with the government for a negotiated settlement, chief of staff Paresh Baruah would not budge until the government agreed to discuss Assam's sovereignty.

No wonder then that ULFA has also been wavering in its opinion on vital issues from time to time. Putting an end to illegal immigration in Assam and the economic exploitation of the state had topped ULFAs agenda when it emerged in the early 1980s. But a year after Operation Bajrang when the leaders were forced to flee and land up in Bangladesh, a booklet was issued which not only condemned the Assam Agitation but justified the presence of the illegal migrants in Assam. Likewise, there was no policy on recruitment or gathering funds and there were innumerable cases of capital punishments being awarded on flimsy grounds.

Eyebrows were raised when the media flashed videos of two engineers, including a nephew of Baruah, a senior functionary of the influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) and a woman kick-boxer justifying their decisions to join ULFA about two months ago. It is estimated that over a hundred new recruits had crossed the border to the camps in Myanmar in the last one year or so. The situation was somewhat reminiscent of the late 1980s when the ULFA enjoyed massive support in the state and had also established a parallel government.

Baruah and the anti-talks faction of ULFA that he heads are viewed as an alternative by large sections of people, especially in the rural areas of eastern (upper) Assam where the outfit still commands support. He is seen as a leader different from the rest who had either come over ground or compromised with the government. As such, ULFA would always be able to attract new cadres which has been evidenced from time to time in the past couple of decades. But the situation could be very different this time around with the odds stacked heavily against all the separatist outfits based in Myanmar.The Shiksha Mitras were appointed in Jharkhand as ad hoc teachers to combat the dearth of regular teachers in the rural areas and ensure that SSA achieves its target

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings  straight and raw from the ground  will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here

***

Ranchi: Naresh Mahato, 45, single-handedly runs the Utramit Prathmik Vidyalaya in Dahutoli under Sukurhutta village of Ranchi parliamentary constituency. He conducts classes of all subjects for the 61 students, manages the schools funds, helps with the midday meal arrangements and conducts examinations and evaluations as per schedule in each academic year. All for a monthly salary of Rs 9,438, with no additional benefits.

"I have been teaching here since 2006," said Naresh, a non-permanent para teacher. "I passed the Jharkhand Teachers Eligibility Test (JTET) but the government did not recruit me as a full-time teacher. I have been the only teacher here since 2015."

Primary education in the states rural tribal belts would have collapsed a long time back, if not for the efforts of the 67,000 odd para teachers like Naresh Mahato, who outnumber the 50,000 odd permanent teachers at primary schools. Their appointments started in 2002 as Shiksha Mitras (meaning teacher's friends) under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The SSA is a Government of India-sponsored programme that aims at providing free and compulsory education to children in the age bracket of six to 14 years as a fundamental right. The Shiksha Mitras were appointed as ad hoc teachers to combat the dearth of regular teachers in the rural areas and ensure that SSA achieves its target. Hired at the initial salary of Rs 1,000, most of these 67,000 od Shiksha Mitras have now progressed on to a meagre Rs 10,000 salary per month. Meanwhile, the permanent teachers are paid five times the amount with pension, provident fund and other social security benefits.

During this period, the paraprofessional educators have staged a series of protests and strikes that crippled school education in many parts of the tribal hinterland. Some teachers have even lost their lives in these protests while many others lost their jobs.

The latest in their series of protests was a strike from 16 November, 2018 to 17 January, 2019, in which Suryadev Thakur and Ujjwal Rai reportedly died after being lathi-charged outside the venue of chief minister's event on Jharkhands Statehood Day on 15 November 2018 in Ranchi. Another para teacher, Kanchan Das, allegedly died of cold while protesting outside state social welfare minister Louis Marandi's residence in Dumka. "Our brothers have died demanding justice and parity with permanent teachers, but nobody cares about our lives," said says Vikrant Jyoti, a para teacher from Dumka. "Several governments have come and gone but no one has helped us."

The present state government has also blatantly ignored a Supreme Court ruling regarding equal pay to regular and ad hoc employees. A bench of Justice JS Khehar and Justice S A Bobde on October 25 last year had ruled that the principle of 'equal pay for equal work' constitutes a clear and unambiguous right whether employed on a regular or temporary basis. The court had also said that temporary teachers were entitled to dearness allowance at par with their permanent counterparts.

The para teachers are still waiting for the state government to implement the SC verdict. We have been reduced to vote banks, said Sanjay Dubey, 48, a science teacher at Basic School in Barhi block of Hazaribag. Sanjay, who became a para teacher in 2003, earns Rs 10,000 a month, with the government not regularising his services citing lack of eligibility.

Sanjay cleared the Jharkhand Teachers Eligibility Test (JTET) in 2013 as the government had announced that year that services of all para teachers who clear the test would be regularised. At least 11,000 para teachers who have passed JTET are still temporary employees and continue to receive the paltry salaries even though they perform all the tasks of a regular school teacher.

Now, with elections around the corner, all the parties are back making the same unkept promises to the para teachers. Jharkhand is currently ruled by the BJP. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the second largest party in the state, has formed four governments here in the past. However, none of them lasted for the complete tenure of five years. Congress has never ruled in the state since its formation in 2000 and is now making the tallest promises to the teachers, who are now being drafted for poll duty.

"Para teachers who have served for more than 10 years and are qualified should be regularised," said Ajoy Kumar, president of the state Congress unit. "We have made it clear in our manifesto that ad hoc teachers will be regularised based on a set selection process."

Jharkhands education minister Neera Yadav dodged questions about the issue of para teachers claiming that the matter cannot be discussed over the phone. The JMM as well as the BJP manifesto of 2014, when the BJP swept the polls, had included the issue of ad hoc government employees.

"What the incumbent government has done is closest to being a permanent solution for the para teachers' issue," claimed Pratul Shahdeo, BJP spokesperson. "We have assured regular revision of honorarium, provided maternity leave to teachers and will provide 50 percent reservation for them in the next recruitment cycle for primary school teachers."

Amrendra Pratap Singh, Jharkhand school education and literacy secretary dismissed the para teachers claims as not based on facts. "Around 4000 seats in the reserved category could not be filled due to lack of eligible candidates," said Singh. "We will have one special counselling session for JTET pass teachers probably in June. The government has recruited around 33,000 teachers in the last four to five years and recruitment of 18,000 more teachers is in the pipeline." He added that the government spends Rs 850 crore annually on para teachers which will go up by Rs 250 crore after the latest pay revision.

But talk to para teacher Mohammad Javed Riaz, 42, and one hits a very different reality. A trained Urdu teacher who has cleared the JTET twice, Riaz insisted that they had never received the support the government claims to have given them. "All the governments formed in Jharkhand till date have only fooled us with their false assurances," said Riyaz, who became a para teacher in 2003 and currently teaches at the Rajkiya Urdu Madhya Vidyalaya in Gagikhatanga under Ranchi parliamentary constituency, "Dont the politicians understand that we too have families to feed and children who need proper education."

The author is a Ranchi-based freelance writer and a member of 101ReportersShah drove to Gandhinagar and submitted nomination papers to District Collector SK Langa in the presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Ahmedabad: BJP chief Amit Shah on Saturday filed nomination papers for his maiden Lok Sabha electoral contest from Gandhinagar, currently represented by LK Advani, and later asserted in a rally that people saw in Prime Minister Narendra Modi a leader they had been waiting for the last 70 years.

In what is being seen as a demonstration of his political heft and status as the second most powerful person in the party after Prime Minister Modi, a road show and a rally was held which was attended by two ex-BJP chiefs  Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari  besides allies like Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, SAD's Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party's Ram Vilas Paswan.

Prior to the filing of his nomination, a well-attended four-kilometre road show from Sardar Patel statue in Naranpura to Prabhat Chowk in Ghatlodia saw Shah in an open vehicle along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and other local leaders.

After that, Shah drove to Gandhinagar and submitted nomination papers to District Collector SK Langa in the presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, besides Singh, Thackeray and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

At a public gathering before the road show, the BJP chief said, "This election will be fought on only one issue, and that is who will lead this country. When I ask who will lead the country, from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Gandhinagar, only one word is heard, that is: Modi, Modi, Modi."

"Why was this trust formed in just five years? Why has a Gujarat chief minister, who had not even contested a panchayat poll before becoming the chief minister, became the favourite of the entire country in just five years? It is because people saw in Narendra Modi a leader that they had been waiting to have for the last 70 years," Shah said.

"The question before the country is who can assure security to the country? Only one person, only one party can assure this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and NDA government can assure security to the country," the BJP chief said.

Shah's Lok Sabha poll debut from Gandhinagar replacing 91-year-old party patriarch Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from the seat since 1998, marks a generational shift in the party.

Political watchers believe that the absence of Advani at Saturday's events indicated that the veteran leader may not be very happy with the turn of events, but it also underscored the rise and rise in Shah's stature since he took over as the BJP's chief in 2014 and led the party in its unprecedented electoral success in assembly and local polls.

At the rally, Rajnath Singh said if former prime minister Indira Gandhi can be credited for liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan, why should not Prime Minister Modi be credited for the Balakot air strike.

Badal and Paswan also praised Modi, asking the people to bring back the NDA for another term at the Centre, while Thackeray said differences between the two saffron allies had been resolved.

"Some people were rejoicing that the two parties with the same ideology are fighting with each other. We had some 'manmutav' (differences) and 'matbhinnata' (difference of opinion). But when Amit Shah came to my house and we sat and held talks, all the issues were resolved," he said.

Gadkari claimed that whatever happened in the last five years under Modi's leadership "did not happen in 50 years".

Jaitley said Gandhinagar is an important seat for BJP and that was the reason why Shah was given the ticket.

"Amit Shah has filed his nomination papers for Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat today. The top leadership of BJP and NDA has come here in his support which shows the importance this constituency has for us," Jaitley told reporters after Shah filed the papers.

"This is the parliamentary seat represented by leaders like Purshottam Ganesh Mavalankar, LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. That is why the party has fielded its national president from here. He will win this seat with a record margin and will win all the 26 seats in Gujarat again," he said.

As an MLA, Shah had represented Sarkhej constituency. After delimitation, he was an MLA from Naranpura. Both these seats were under Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

"I am fortunate that the BJP has made me the candidate from Gandhinagar seat which was represented by Lal Krishna Advani, Atalji and Purushottam Ganesh Mavalankar," Shah said.

"Today, Gandhinagar is among the most developed seat in the country and I will humbly and from the bottom of my heart try to carry forward the legacy of Advaniji," he said and also tweeted his thanks to his party's senior leaders and allies for their presence at the events.

Noting that he used to paste posters in Gandhinagar during polls as an ordinary BJP worker, and has now become its president and candidate for the general election, Shah said, "It is possible only in the BJP."

"If you remove BJP from my life, then what is left is zero. Whatever I have received, learnt and tried to give to the country and the state is what was given to me by the BJP," he said.

Shah's decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls is seen as his effort to demonstrate that he was willing to lead from the front and also to energise the BJP cadres in Gujarat where the party had won all 26 seats in 2014 but has seen its rival growing in strength since.DMK treasurer Durai Murugan, however, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking to media about the I-T raids on his residence at the colleges owned by his son Kadhir Anand.

Vellore: Income Tax department and Election Commission officials have been conducting raids since last night at Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer Durai Murugans residence in Vellore, officials said on Saturday.

Kingston Engineering College and Durai Murugan B.Ed College, which are owned by Murugan's son Kadhir Anand, are also being raided by officials in Katpadi.

The DMK has fielded Kadhir Anand from Vellore Parliamentary constituency against AIADMK leader AC Shanmugam.

When the officials reached Katpadi, they were not allowed to enter Murugan's house by his advocate and DMK members, stating that the officials have no valid documents to carry out raids.

After an hour of delay, Assistant Commissioner of the I-T department Vijay Deepan arrived at the residence, following which a heated argument broke out between officials and DMK cadres.

The officials had come to search the house based on Section 131 of the Income Tax Act, which empowers the I-T authorities to conduct inquiries.

DMK treasurer Durai Murugan, however, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking to media about the I-T raid.

Murgan said, "It is a very wrong calculation that by ordering IT raids on us we would raise 'Modi jai ho' slogans. This is a democratic country and whoever in the past has done this wrong calculation have been themselves proven wrong."

"This will not bring any success to him rather it will only bring criticism and blame on him. It is a conspiracy which will never win," he added.

Sharing details of the raid, he said, "Income Tax officials told me that they want to search. I told them to go ahead. They wanted my personal room to be searched as well. I did not object to it as well."

Today Tamil Nadu. Nasty tour of political vendetta continues. After Bengal, Delhi, UP, Andhra, Bihar, Karnataka & others, the BJP govt now harassed more political opponents. IT officials raid @arivalayam DMK treasurer whose son is a candidate. We condemn this @mkstalin: Derek  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 30, 2019



Meanwhile, Murugan's supporters alleged that the raids are "politically motivated" and officials are not abiding the law.

Hundreds of police personnel have been deployed at the site.Barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party on Friday sprang a surprise by parting ways with the fledgling anti-BJP alliance and meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Gorakhpur/Lucknow: Barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party on Friday sprang a surprise by parting ways with the fledgling anti-BJP alliance and meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. There was no immediate word from either side as to what transpired at the meeting between the Nishad Party leaders including its president Sanjay Nishad with Adityanath in Lucknow.

"The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad alias Riteash Nishad, media in-charge, Nishad Party, told PTI in Gorakhpur. "There was conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol where as Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added.

Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad meets Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/MNvdVzOiXQ  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 29, 2019

The party workers were not willing to contest on the SP symbol and many of them began quitting, he said. "So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on Thursday it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he added.

When asked whether Pravin Nishad, MP, will also quit Samajwadi Party, he said, "I don't know about it." The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls.

The win had been remarkable, as Gorakhpur was considered a bastion of Adityanath, who had represented the parliamentary constituency several times before. A Nishad Party insider accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav of backtracking on his promises.

"They did not put our name on the posters/letters or anything. Our party workers, authorities, core committee were upset," he said. "So, the Nishad Party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently and can look for other options as well. The party is free now," he added.

When contacted, SP national spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI that he had no information of the decision taken by the Nishad Party. Just three days ago on Tuesday, the Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party in a press conference in Lucknow had announced that it was joining the grand opposition alliance in the state.

On the day of the announcement, Sanjay Nishad had addressed a press conference in which he had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him a 'jumlebaz' as well as Adityanath. "Our constitution, youth and farmers' futures are in grave danger. People voted for a 'jumlebaz' party cause of their false promises," he had said.

"Modi and Yogi promised many things for Nishad community but nothing was done. The Nishad community will now give full support to the SP-BSP alliance in all the state," he added. The Nishad Party, sources said, is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some seats including Gorakhpur.In Uttar Pradesh, multiple small parties represent interests of niche caste segments, within the commonly understood stratas of society. The larger parties like BJP, SP-BSP, and Congress are busy bargaining to win over their allegiance over and above their traditional caste base

As the schedule for the seven-phases-long 2019 Lok Sabha elections came out in March, the caste engines which run India's polity are racing full throttle. The bigger national and regional political parties are busy roping in smaller parties and outfits to add up the caste numbers in their traditional support base. This has once again lit the offices smaller local parties, which command a significant influence over the respective caste groups they represent, across the country; discussions are being held, offerings are being negotiated; and seat sharing matrix are being worked out as the small players are propelled once again into focus.

There are 3,000 castes in India, apart from various sub-castes and tribal population, which have their political representation in form of smaller parties; their strength proportional to the social awareness of each caste group. For instance, Uttar Pradesh alone has a caste spread of Yadavs, Jats, Kushwahas, Kurmi, Jatav Dalits, Non-Jatav Dalits, Brahmins, Thakurs, Vaishya, Tyagi and Bhumihar, apart from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Muslims, Christians and Tribals.

In this electorally crucial state which holds 80 of the total 542 Lok Sabha seats in fray, political arithmetic is at its prime. On 19 March, rebel Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav who has floated his own outfit called Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), announced a coalition with two smaller parties  Peace Party and Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) . A few weeks earlier, the Indian National Congress announced an alliance with a smaller party, Mahan Dal. The Bharatiya Janata Party has also sealed its pact with the Apna Dal faction led by Anupriya Patel, while it is still trying to arrive at a mutually acceptable deal with the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party. Meanwhile, there are rumours that the saffron party has managed to break away the Nishad Party also from the Opposition grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh, as the smaller party's leaders announced the split and were later seen outside chief minister Yogi Adityanath's residence.

The two large regional parties in the state  Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)  have already entered a coalition that now includes the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), posing a formidable challenge to the BJP which seeks to maintain Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shahs command at the Centre for another term.

Shivpals gambit

Much of the support enjoyed by the erstwhile Samajwadi Party at the grassroots across Uttar Pradesh is believed to be drawn via Shivpals influence, a powerful leader among his people. Estranged from nephew Akhilesh, he continues to have the potential to attract two relatively influential small parties in the state. "Our party has arrangements in place with more than four dozen small parties all over the state," says Shahid Siddiqui, a PSP(L) leader who was a well-known figure during his association with the Samajwadi Party. "We have already announced our candidates for 34 seats, while 11 seats have been left for Peace Party and two for the Apna Dal (Krishna Patel)," he adds.

The party has also fielded candidates in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Delhi. Our party has a wide support base not only in UP but in other states as well, says Siddiqui. PSPL was founded on 29 August last year.

Nishad factor

The NISHAD party, founded in 2016, stands for Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal, loosely meaning a party of the weak, exploited and the ordinary people. It professes to work for the improvement of Nishad, Kewat, Bind and other marginalised communities traditionally working as boatmen, fishermen, marginal farmers etc. Such social and caste groups are estimated to be about 15 percent of the population in the eastern UP region.

Party founder Sanjay Nishad, who was formerly with the BSP, floated the outfit when his son Pravin defeated BJP candidate Upendra Shukla in by-election to Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat. The seat was a strong BJP bastion and was held by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath since 1998. Pravin fought this election on a Samajwadi Party ticket. However, the NISHAD party contested the 2017 UP Assembly elections in coalition with Peace Party, winning Gyanpur seat near Varanasi.

Pravin Nishad, an engineer by education, is clear about the strength of his party: United we stand, divided we fall. The world has seen the power of our party in the 2018 byelections. Our party was formed in 2016 and we fought on 62 Vidhan Sabha seats in the 2017 Assembly elections, winning only one seat. I joined the SP, BSP alliance in 2017 and in 2018, I became a Member of Parliament from a seat that is the stronghold of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath."

However, much has changed since Pravin took that stand.

Barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party Friday sprang a surprise by parting ways with the fledgling anti-BJP alliance and meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. There was no immediate word from either side as to what transpired at the meeting between the Nishad Party leaders including its President Sanjay Nishad with Adityanath in Lucknow. A party functionary confirmed this news to PTI but when asked whether Pravin will also quit Samajwadi Party, he said, "I don't know about it."

The Samajwadi Party, in the meantime, has fielded its own candidate from the Gorakhpur seat.

Peace Party shows promise

The Peace Party had made a splash in the 2012 Assembly election when it won four seats, including Khalilabad and Domariyaganj in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Headed by Ayub, a doctor and social worker known for his charity work in Gorakhpur and adjoining districts, the party at that time showed signs of emerging as a favourite among the Muslim community, especially the backward classes, also known as Pasmanda Muslims. In fact, in the 2012 election the party was considered by many politicians and observers as a probable kingmaker. This time around, the party has allied with Shivpal's newly floated alliance.

Apna Dal factions

The case of Apna Dal is quite curious as far its support to other parties is concerned. The party was founded by Sone Lal Patel, a senior Kurmi leader of eastern Uttar Pradesh, in 1995. At one time, he had been closely associated with Kanshi Ram and was one of the founders of BSP. However, he later quit the party to form Apna Dal. The party opted to become an ally of the NDA in 2014 and its leader Anupriya Patel is a minister in the Modi government at the Centre. The party split soon thereafter and her mother heads the other faction. Now, the Apna Dal (Krishna Patel) has on one hand finalised an alliance with the Congress, and on the other, it is part of a coalition comprising Shivpal's PSP (L) and Peace Party.

Mahan Dal

Another small party having allied with the Congress is Mahan Dal. It is headed by Keshav Dev Maurya and in 2014 Lok Sabha election also it had aligned with the UPA. It had unsuccessfully contested three Lok Sabha seats, Badayun, Nagina and Etah, at that time. On 13 February, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announced her partys alliance with Mahan Dal, which claims to enjoy some support among the OBC communities of Maurya, Kushwaha, Saini and Shakya. On different occasions in the past few years, the SP, BSP and the BJP have approached this party for some sort of electoral understanding without any success. However, this time the Mahan Dal candidates will contest on the Congress symbol.

The Congress has also sealed an alliance with Jan Adhikar Manch of Babu Singh Kushwaha, a former minister in the BSP government, who was expelled from the party on corruption charges, and had a short-lived stint in the BJP too, before being expelled from there as well.

SBSP undecided

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) is an ally of the NDA and is headed by Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government in UP. The party claims support among the Rajbhar community in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The SBSP was formed in 2002 with an aim to work for the betterment of backwards and Dalits. The party formed an alliance with the BJP in 2016 and contested on eight Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the 2017 Assembly elections, winning four of those.

Rajbhar though has been vocal in his criticism of the BJP and the Yogi government in particular, demanding more proactive measures for welfare of the OBCs, causing serious embarrassment to the party.

On its part, the BJP has been undecided on settling the number of seats to be left for the SBSP, as a result of which the latter has been restive, giving indications that it might dissociate with the BJP in near future.

SBSP spokesperson Piyush Mishra says that the party could contest on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and our people are very much ready to give a tough fight to all the political parties, but we know where we are strong and that is why we have demanded only five seats from the BJP. Our doors are open and we are waiting to see the final decision of BJP on seat sharing.

Raja Bhaiya goes alone

The Jan Satta Party (Loktantrik), formed by independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh (alias Raja Bhaiyya) has decided to contest eight seats on its own, while Singh himself is not contesting. The party has announced candidates from Pratapgarh  Singhs stronghold - and Kaushambi, and the names of six other candidates and their seats are likely to be announced shortly.

Singh had been an independent MLA from Kunda in Pratapgarh for six terms since 1993. He was a minister in SP government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, and later led by Akhilesh Yadav in the past, but had not joined the SP at any time. He had also been a party of the BJP governments headed by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh.

Authors are Lucknow-based freelance journalists and members of 101Reporters.comWith resentment against national and Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream parties at an all-time high among Ladakh voters, regional parties in the state are now faced with the challenge of picking the right candidate for the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency.

Jammu: With resentment against national and Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream parties at an all-time high among Ladakh voters, regional parties in the state are now faced with the challenge of picking the right candidate for the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency.

Most voters have vowed to only rally behind a local face, declaring a de facto boycott of candidates of every political party.

The anger over representatives of political parties is due to various reasons, notes Kargil-based journalist Sajjad Hussain. While people in Leh want Union Territory status, in Kargil, citizens have raised the pitch for separate divisional headquarters, he says.

"Meanwhile, Ladakh residents are suspicious of all political parties who have never quite paid heed to their woes," Hussain adds.

Ladakh  one of the largest Lok Sabha constituencies in terms of area  seems to have already made up its mind to rebel, putting political parties who are in the process of choosing candidates in a fix.

Some insiders, however, say the delay in the announcement of candidate names is not just thanks to Ladakh residents' avowed insistence on not backing a particular candidate but because of something much more sinister.

BJP looks at reviving its fortunes

The constituency is slated to go for polls in the fifth phase, on 6 May.

At the time of publishing the report, only the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its candidate, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, popularly known as "JTN". Thirty-five-year-old JTN is an elected councillor from Martselang and the chief executive councillor (CEC) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) at Leh. Ladakh region is managed by two LAHDCs, one which looks after Leh district and the other, after Kargil district.

JTN took over as the CEC in November, 2018, after a "revolt" in the Ladakh unit of the BJP over what was seen as the failure of the party to address the aspirations and hopes of people of the Ladakh region.

The internal revolt led to the former CEC, Dorjey Motup, resigning. That was not the only offshoot of the revolt within the BJP's ranks. In the civic elections, which were held late last year, the party's candidates could not win even a single seat.

The BJP suffered yet another jolt in January, 2019, when five of its councillors resigned from the Leh LAHDC, where it had won 18 of the 26 seats in the council elections in 2015.

NC, Congress, PDP tread with caution

The National Conference and Congress, as it is known, have entered into a partial pre-poll alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC has left two seats for the Congress in Jammu while the latter has not fielded any candidates for the Srinagar seat.

Both the parties have fielded their own candidates in Anantnag and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies. On the other hand, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been grappling with a number of issues after being dumped by its coalition partner BJP in June, 2018, has surrendered two Jammu seats. Jammu is considered to be the BJPs bastion and the PDP's move is largely suspected to have arisen out of the necessity to not split the party's secular vote bank. Insiders say that the party may stand back in Ladakh as well.

Senior Congress leader from Leh and former tourism minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Nawang Rigzin Jora, says there is a "bleak possibility" of the NC and Congress entering a pre-poll alliance in Ladakh. "We have sent two candidates' names  one each from Kargil and Leh  to the high command, for the upcoming polls. Our candidates will be declared soon," Jora insists.

The Kargil LAHDC is managed by NC. The Congress, it must be noted, has a substantial vote base in Ladakh.

Senior PDP leader and former CEC of Kargil LAHDC, Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan, says the delay in announcing candidates' names is caused by the necessity to form a consensus between political parties so that division of votes can be avoided as this could benefit the BJP. "There is a situation of Kargil-versus-Leh in the region and any polarization on communal or regional lines can help BJP win the polls. This is the reason that all political parties are moving ahead with caution," says Khan.

All the parties are acutely aware of the fact that in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Ladakh witnessed a total turnout of 70.78 percent, the highest among all six constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh has nearly 118,029 voters.

Differences simmer between Kargil, Leh

It might also be worthwhile to note that division lines separating the two districts of Ladakh were recently sharpened when the state government granted divisional status to Ladakh, and announced that its headquarters would be at Leh.

Upset with the government's decision, Kargil, which predominantly comprises Muslims, had erupted in protest and demanded that the Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police posted in the region must be stationed on a rotational basis at Kargil and Leh and not headquartered at Leh alone. Ultimately, the Jammu and Kashmir government had conceded to protesters' their demands and decided to set up offices of the Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police at Kargil too.

An unkept promise

Leh division, a majority of residents of which are of Buddhist faith, has been pressing for to end the decades-long perceived hegemony of Muslim-majority Kashmir over the region.

Prior to 2014 polls, the BJP had promised that if the party was voted to power, it would give Union Territory status to Ladakh and include the Bhoti language in the Eighth Schedule. The BJP is yet to make good on the promise, a fact which many feel has led a chunk of Ladakhis to turn against the party.

Sitting BJP MP, Thuptsan Chhewang, had even resigned from the Lok Sabha and party in 2018 to protest against the failure of the BJP leadership to keep grant Union Territory status to Ladakh, but to no avail.

Along with his resignation, Chhewang also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reminding him of the BJP's unkept promises to Ladakhis.

A tradition of alternation

Interestingly, Ladakh has witnessed a tradition of more or less alternatively electing Buddhists and Muslims as MPs for quite some time. In 1989, an Independent candidate, Mohammad Hassan Commander, became the MP from Ladakh. In 1996, P Namgyal of the Congress represented the region in the Parliament.

Fresh elections were held after the government collapsed at the Centre in 1998, and NC leader Syed Hussain was elected. In 1999, Hassan Khan won as the NC's candidate, and in 2004, Independent candidate Thupstan Chhewang was declared winner. In 2009, Hassan Khan returned to the Lok Sabha as an Independent but by 2014, Thupstan Chhewang had been elected on a BJP ticket.

The fact that so many Independent candidates win in Ladakh, says Leh-based journalist Rinchen Angmo, indicates that voters of Ladakh support contestants on the basis of issues and not political affiliation.

Angmo also pointed out that while the trends pointed to the victory of a Muslim candidate this time, as a Buddhist one was elected in 2014, the process of prediction could only begin once the name of candidates are announced.

The author is a Ludhiana-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com.The BJP's Main Bhi Chowikdar campaign is under fire after passengers of the Kathgodam Shatabdi Express were served tea in paper cups on which the campaign slogan was printed.

New Delhi: Amid the full-fledged campaigning underway across India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Main Bhi Chowikdar propaganda faced flak on social media after passengers of Kathgodam Shatabdi Express 12040, which runs between New Delhi and Kathgodam, were served tea in paper cups on which the campaign slogan was printed.

The incident appears to be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

Media reports suggest that taking cognisance of the matter, the Election Commission has issued a fresh show cause notice to Indian Railways over the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' cups on Saturday evening. Reports say the notice has specifically sought an explanation on the matter and accountability of whoever is responsible for it.

However, Indian Railways sources claimed they had not received any show cause notice from the Election Commission, so far.

Repeated calls to the polling watchdog went answered.

IRCTC to issue advisory

Meanwhile, a source in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said the catering wing of Indian Railways will soon issue advisories to various zones regarding these 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' cups to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

Every train has one supervisor. So all the trains that run across the length and breadth of the country will be intimated about the advisory, he added.

IRCTC said on Friday: The space on cups and other such materials is used for paid publicity by licensees as per the agreement. The licensees are supposed to take permission from IRCTC to print advertisements. However, in this case, no such approval was taken. A fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed on the licensee, who has also been served a show cause notice.

The statement further said they had sought an explanation from the supervisory staff and those in charge of the trains' pantries "for carelessness".

"A few cups were used only today for a very short period. The cups have since been withdrawn," it added.

Political Chai pe Charcha

Soon after the incident came to light, several parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Samajwadi Party, criticised the Election Commission.

Uttar Pradesh AAP spokesperson Vaibhav Maheshwari said, First of all, the Election Commission's guidelines are only for Opposition parties, not for the BJP. Second, after the incident, it is quite evident that the Election Commission is acting like a BJP agent, and in todays digital era, it took so much time to investigate the whole incident. This shows that the Election Commission deliberately tried to help the BJP."

Calling the incident poll propaganda, senior Samajwadi Party leader Dr Sunilam said, Its a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Shatabdi is an executive train. If this type of incident can happen in Shatabdi-like trains, then the Election Commission must come up with a permanent solution to the whole issue.

He also called for a case to be registered against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "as he is responsible for creating ruckus nowadays in the entire country.

NGO says not involved

The controversial tea cups carried the name of NGO Sankalp Seva Foundation and the logo of another NGO, Utthan Seva Sansthan. The cups also highlighted the BJP's campaign slogans of saving the country from terrorism and respecting soldiers.

Himanshu Mishra of Utthan Seva Sansthan said, We had not distributed any type of materials, including cups, which carried Modis picture with the slogan 'Main Bhi Chowkidar'. As I got to know about the matter yesterday (on Friday), we are looking into it. We have got nothing to do with the BJP.

Requesting anonymity, a passenger who travels by train regularly said, If this incident can happen in a train like Shatabdi, then the Election Commission must keep a watch on other trains, too. As this was the Shatabdi Express, the incident came to light.

Violation of Railways General Conditions of Contract

Bhopal-based Railways expert and senior journalist Pravesh Gautam said advertisements within the ambit of the Railways must always be approved before display.

"Usually, the licensee or contractor does not take this approval for advertisements. The incident on the Kathgodam Shatabdi Express is a serious violation of the Railways' guidelines and General Conditions Contract."

Here, the Railways should have imposed a heavy penalty, say 10% of the contract value or reserve price," he added. "Imposing penalty of Rs 1 lakh is merely a formality, as the contractor already benefitted from the advertiser for this ad, and this is a common practice in the Railways."

The author is a New Delhi-based freelance writer and a member of 101ReportersCongress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is just pretending to be a Hindu by visiting temples, claimed BJP leader and state cabinet minister Chetan Chauhan in Sambhal on Saturday.

Sambhal: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is just pretending to be a Hindu by visiting temples, claimed BJP leader and state cabinet minister Chetan Chauhan in Sambhal on Saturday.

She could have been considered a Hindu had she gone to Ram Janmabhoomi, the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, and bowed her head in reverence there, he said.

Priyanka has been imitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for many days. One who is a monkey imitates, and if given a knife can cut his hair and beard also, he said.

One wears the sacred thread, while the other takes a boat ride to tell the people that they are Hindus. If Priyanka was a real Hindu, she should have gone to Ram Janmabhoomi and should have prayed there and bowed her head in reverence, he said.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha election is set to begin on 11 April and will go on till 19 May. The counting of votes will take place on 23 May. In Uttar Pradesh, where 80 seats are at stake, polling will be held during all seven phases.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said his idea for a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest of poor came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Rs 15 lakh promise' made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Yamunanagar/Karnal: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said his idea for a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest of poor came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Rs 15 lakh promise' made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul said the Congress' poll promise for the ambitious 'NYAY' (Nyuntam Aay Yojna) under which Rs 72,000 will be deposited each year in the bank accounts of 20 percent of the country's poorest is 'historic' and claimed that the prime minister looks 'shaken' ever since the announcement was made on Monday.

Accusing Modi of helping certain industrialists, Rahul said he protects the rich while refraining from helping out the debt-ridden farmers, adding this 'chowkidar' is a thief. On the contrary, Rahul said his party bats for the poor, the weaker sections and the farmers.

The 2019 polls are a fight between two ideologies. On one hand are the BJP, the RSS and Narendra Modi and on the other is the Congress," he said. Rahul was on a day's visit to Haryana to be part of Congress state unit's ongoing six-day Parivartan Yatra, which began from Gurugram earlier this week.

He said unlike the BJP his party keeps its promise and referred to NYAY the Congress plans to introduce if it forms the government. "He (Modi) promised putting Rs 15 lakh into every Indian's bank account. Did anyone get anything? he said at a public meeting in Yamunanagar district's Jagadhri town. He also travelled to Karnal and addressed another meeting there from the top of a high-tech bus.

"Truth is when our government is formed we will put Rs 72,000 a year into the accounts of 20 percent of the country's poorest. Modi spoke lies about putting Rs 15 lakh into every Indian's bank account, however, I felt that the idea about putting money into bank accounts of the poor was a right one if implemented with sincerity, he said.

I caught hold of this idea. I spoke to Congress party's think-tank and told them about Modi's Rs 15 lakh promise and said he did not fulfil it, instead what he did was to do injustice to farmers, hit small shopkeepers with demonetisation, and brought Gabbar Singh Tax (GST), Rahul said, adding he told the party's think-tank to come up with a scheme to benefit the poor and they worked out the modalities in six months.

Rahul was referring to Modi's 2014 election speech when as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate he promised to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks within 100 days of coming to power. Modi had also said that if all the black money was brought back to the country, it would be enough to deposit Rs 15 lakh in every poor person's bank account.

"It (NYAY) is historic, so much historic that you must have seen Narendra Modi's face on TV during the past 2-3 days, he looked shaken. Rahul accused Modi and the BJP of spreading hatred and anger and putting real issues on the backburner.

"In the last five years, Modi ji has waived Rs 3.50 lakh crore of 15 industrialists. Narendra Modi protects the rich, (he) gives justice to the rich, he said. Rahul also said that 'anyay' or injustice had been done to farmers, poor and weaker sections and added if Congress forms the next government at the Centre it will give nyay... we will give justice to the poor, farmers, labourers, small traders...

"During the past five years, Modi has made several promises to the people of this country. Wherever he goes, he spreads hatred," Rahul alleged. Rahul asked party workers to fan out in every nook and corner to apprise the people about the minimum income guarantee scheme.

He also attacked Modi on the Rafale deal issue alleging irregularities in the procurement of the jet fighters from France. He (Modi) used to say I do not want to become pradhan mantri and I want to become chowkidar. He used to say 'Achhe din ayenge'. These days a new slogan is running. 'Chowkidar chor hai' (watchman is a thief)," said Rahul while taking a dig at Modi.

In Karnal, which is Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar's constituency, he alleged that some top BJP leaders had got favours from businessmen like Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi.Reuters

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a unit of Amazon.com Inc, said on Thursday it will open a Latin America infrastructure location in Colombia and help train 2,000 students in cloud technology.

The company will team up with Colombias public technical education institute to train students in cloud computing, Jeffrey Kratz, AWS general public sector manager for Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada, said in a government statement.

The companys so-called Edge location, the sixth in Latin America, will help deliver data, videos and applications at higher speeds to end-users.

Kratz, in Bogota for a technology conference, said Amazon wants to support the development of digital infrastructure and help entrepreneurs create large-scale projects. He said the company would continue to invest in Colombia, though he did not provide further details.

We are excited to continue investing in Latin Americas success, Kratz told Reuters. This investment will ensure that customers have the tools and services to continue innovating for a positive user experience.

Last August Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, announced that it would open its first customer service center in Colombia later this year and employ 600 people.

The service center will serve customers worldwide in Spanish, English and Portuguese.Reuters

Chinas Huawei Technologies called on Washington to drop the losers attitude and once again rubbished U.S. allegations its gear could be used by Beijing for spying, as its network business weakened amid mounting global scrutiny.

The U.S. government has a losers attitude. It wants to smear Huawei because it cannot compete against Huawei, Guo Ping, rotating chairman of the worlds top producer of telecoms equipment and No.3 maker of smartphones, said on Friday.

I hope the U.S. can adjust its attitude, Guo said at a press briefing that was attended by more than 100 journalists from across the world.

The U.S. embassy in China declined to comment.

Huawei reported a slower pace of profit growth for 2018 as its network business saw its first drop in revenue in two years, overshadowing a robust 45 percent jump in its smartphone unit.

Huaweis outlook has come under a cloud over the past year with the United States voicing concerns that its equipment could be used for espionage. Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building next-generation 5G mobile networks.

The latest blow for the company came on Thursday when Britain rebuked it for failing to fix long-standing security flaws in its mobile network equipment and revealed new significant technical issues.

For 2018, the Shenzen-based firm reported a net profit of 59.3 billion yuan ($9 billion), up 25 percent from a year ago, versus a 28 percent rise in 2017. Revenue from its carrier business fell 1.3 percent to 294 billion yuan, which it blamed on telecommunications industry investment cycles.

However, the surge in its consumer business sales to a record 348.9 billion yuan, driven by demand for its premium smartphone models such as the P series and Mate series, helped push global revenue to above $100 billion for the first time.

Its total revenue rose nearly 20 percent to about 721 billion yuan, marking the fastest pace of growth in two years.

The performance of consumer business was in line with what Huawei flagged in January, when it also said it could become the worlds biggest-selling smartphone vendor this year.

Guo said he expects all three business groups - consumer, carrier and enterprise - to post double-digit growth this year, although he did not provide a specific number.

The company has previously said it was targeting total revenue of $125 billion this year, a record high.

Moving forward, we will do everything we can to shake off outside distractions, improve management and make progress towards our strategic goals, Guo said.

Huawei has prepared some inventories for uncertainties that has reduced its net cash position, Guo added, without giving any details.

SPYING WOULD BE SUICIDE

To fight global concerns over its gear, Huawei has launched an unprecedented media blitz by opening up its campus to journalists and parading its typically low-key founder, Ren Zhengfei, in front of media.

It has stepped up the campaign in recent months after Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO and Rens daughter, was arrested in Canada in December at U.S. behest on charges of bank and wire fraud in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran. She denies wrongdoing.

The company has said the spying concerns are unfounded.

Spying would be equal to suicide, said Song Liuping, Huaweis chief legal officer.

We have no intention of committing suicide.

Huawei derived 48.4 percent of its business from overseas markets in 2018, versus 49.5 percent a year earlier.Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflict.

Kabul: Taliban fighters on Saturday attacked a convoy carrying Afghanistan's vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum, in an assault that left the former warlord unscathed but killed one of his bodyguards, an official told AFP.

Enayatullah Babur, Dostum's former chief of staff, said the hour-long attack also left several others in the convoy wounded.

The attack occurred in the northern province of Balkh, where Dostum had held a rally earlier in the day.

On Twitter, a Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group had carried out the attack and claimed four of Dostum's bodyguards had been killed.

Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflict.

Despite a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name and accusations of organising the rape and torture of a political rival, Dostum became Afghanistan's first vice president in 2014.

At the rally in Balkh, Dostum had claimed he could clear northern Afghanistan of the Taliban within six months  if only the government would let him.

In delayed elections now slated for September, President Ashraf Ghani has chosen to run with Amrullah Saleh, an ethnic Tajik, instead of Dostum.

Dostum has survived several other attempts on his life, including one claimed by the Islamic State group last July in Kabul that killed 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar.Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared on Friday he is likely to shut down America's southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration.

Palm Beach: Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared on Friday he is likely to shut down America's southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration.

Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasized, "I am not kidding around." "It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned by reporters in Florida. "We will close it for a long time."

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north, he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the US.

The US and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, "If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week."

In Florida, he didn't qualify his threat with "or large sections," stating: "There is a very good likelihood I'll be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me."

He said several times that it would be "so easy" for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the US illegally, "but they just take our money and 'talk.'"

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the US might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said. "So it's on the table, but what we're doing is a very structured process based on operational needs." The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trump's possible action would apply to air travel.

Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.By Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is considering imposing sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela to cut off revenues to President Nicolas Maduro, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters TV on Friday. 'We're moving exactly in that direction,' Bolton said when asked whether Trump would consider what are known as 'secondary sanctions.' 'We are even now looking at a series of additional steps we could take,' Bolton said in the interview.

By Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is considering imposing sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela to cut off revenues to President Nicolas Maduro, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters TV on Friday.

"We're moving exactly in that direction," Bolton said when asked whether Trump would consider what are known as "secondary sanctions."

"We are even now looking at a series of additional steps we could take," Bolton said in the interview.

The United States and most other Western countries have thrown their backing behind Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who invoked the constitution in January to declare himself interim president, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Oil provides 90 percent of export revenue for OPEC member Venezuela. The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in January, preventing U.S. companies from dealing with it unless revenues went to a fund available to Guaido.

The Trump administration has not yet slapped sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with PDVSA - but U.S. officials have been having "conversations" with oil trading houses and governments around the world to convince them to scale down their dealings with Maduro, Trump's Venezuela envoy Elliott Abrams said earlier on Friday.

MONROE DOCTRINE

Russia and China support Maduro, who has said Guaido is a puppet of Washington. Maduro retains control of state functions and the loyalty of the country's military.

Bolton said he was not concerned that the push to oust Maduro was losing momentum.

"I can tell you there's a lot going on beneath the surface. The opposition is in constant contact with large numbers of admirals and other supporters within the Maduro administration," Bolton said.

"It's a struggle against an authoritarian government and it's obviously going to take some time," he said.

Trump is looking at options - including sanctions - to respond to Russia's growing military presence in Venezuela, Bolton said. Two Russian air force planes carrying nearly 100 military personnel landed outside Caracas on Saturday.

"We're not afraid to use the phrase 'Monroe Doctrine' in this administration," Bolton said, referring to the 1823 policy established by then-President James Monroe, widely seen in Latin America as a justification for U.S. armed intervention in the region.

"And one of the purposes of the Monroe Doctrine was to prevent foreign interference and even recolonisation," Bolton said.

"If you look at the presence of Cuban and Russian forces in Venezuela, you have to ask when will the people of Venezuela get to choose their government rather than foreigners?" he said.

Venezuela's economic crisis, which has caused shortages of food and medicine, has pushed millions of people to flee the country.

Trump is considering granting temporary protection from deportation to the more than 70,000 Venezuelans believed to be in the United States, but wants to focus first on ensuring there is a transition in the government of the country, Bolton said.

"We want to be sure that people are not put back into a difficult position if they're opponents of the Maduro regime. On the other hand, there are many families of Maduro regime supporters in this country that wanted out of Venezuela to be safe," Bolton said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Tom Brown)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.India and the United States on Friday underlined the need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from its soil.

Washington: India and the United States on Friday underlined the need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from its soil.

The two countries exchanged views on threats posed by international terrorist organisations during the US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and Designations Dialogue that concluded on Friday.

While the US delegation was led by State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Nathan Sales, the Indian side was headed by Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Mahaveer Singhvi.

"Both sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible, and verifiable action against terrorists and terrorist groups," according to a joint statement. It said the two sides discussed counterterrorism cooperation between them and resolved to continue close coordination on this important element of the bilateral relationship.

Sales, according to the joint statement, emphasised the US support for the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism. There was also discussion of strengthening cooperation on information sharing and other steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel, consistent with the important provisions and obligations outlined in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2396.

Indian and American officials also highlighted their efforts on some of the world's most pressing counterterrorism challenges, including countering the financing and operations of terrorist organisations, terrorist use of the internet, and prosecuting, rehabilitating, and reintegrating returning foreign terrorist fighters, said the statement.

The US, it said, welcomed India's participation in international efforts to counter terrorism finance. The two sides also shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing sanctions designations against terrorist groups and individuals, the statement said.PARIS (Reuters) - A man who rented a flat to several Islamist militant gunmen involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks was sentenced to four years in prison by a French court on Friday, on charges of helping them escape arrest or detection.

PARIS (Reuters) - A man who rented a flat to several Islamist militant gunmen involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks was sentenced to four years in prison by a French court on Friday, on charges of helping them escape arrest or detection.

The attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Chakib Akrouh and Hasna Ait Boulahcen, hid in Jawad Bendaoud's flat on the outskirts of Paris after they and a group of other gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people on Nov. 13, 2015.

Bendaoud had previously been cleared by another court in Paris in February of last year. It had argued there was not enough proof he had knowingly helped the attackers by renting them a flat.

Paris prosecutors immediately appealed, however.

The only surviving man suspected of being involved in the attacks on Paris cafes and restaurants and the Stade de France stadium, Salah Abdeslam, is in a French prison awaiting a trial that may not start until late 2020.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court last April for trying to kill police during a shootout in Brussels in 2016, after fleeing Paris on the night of the 2015 attacks. He was eventually arrested in Belgium.

(Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday made it compulsory in law to report the sexual abuse of children within the Vatican and in its diplomatic missions worldwide. Although the city state within Rome is tiny, and very few children live there, the sweeping legal changes reflect a desire to show that the Catholic Church is finally acting against clerical child abuse after decades of scandals around the world. The changes signed by the pope - who is Vatican head of state as well as head of the Church - make it obligatory for superiors and co-workers to report abuse allegations; punish failure to report with dismissal, fines or jail; and offer assistance to victims and families.

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday made it compulsory in law to report the sexual abuse of children within the Vatican and in its diplomatic missions worldwide.

Although the city state within Rome is tiny, and very few children live there, the sweeping legal changes reflect a desire to show that the Catholic Church is finally acting against clerical child abuse after decades of scandals around the world.

The changes signed by the pope - who is Vatican head of state as well as head of the Church - make it obligatory for superiors and co-workers to report abuse allegations; punish failure to report with dismissal, fines or jail; and offer assistance to victims and families.

There are also provisions to protect vulnerable adults.

It is the first time a unified and detailed policy for the protection of children has been compiled for the Vatican and its embassies and universities outside the city state.

The law sets up procedures for reporting suspected abuse, imposes more screening of prospective employees, and sets strict guidelines for adult interaction with children and the use of social media.

The Church's credibility has been badly tarnished in much of the world by abuse scandals in Ireland, Chile, Australia, France, the United States, Poland, Germany and elsewhere, in which it has paid billions of dollars in damages to victims and been forced to close parishes.

"Laws that make even one child safer should be applauded," said Anne Barrett Doyle of the U.S.-based abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org.

"While the action is no-risk and limited in scope, it is constructive. It's a baby step in the right direction," she said, calling for the pope to undertake "bold, broad reforms" by changing universal Church law.

Senior bishops from around the world met in the Vatican last month to chart a strategy for ending abuse. Victims said the meeting merely produced a restatement of old promises.

The scandals have reached the upper echelons of the Vatican itself. Cardinal George Pell, jailed this month for six years for abusing boys in his native Australia, had served as the Vatican treasurer and a member of the pope's innermost council of cardinals.

Vatican diplomatic missions have also been involved in scandals in the past. In 2013, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, the Vatican's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, was charged with paying boys for sex. He was recalled and kept in detention in the Vatican but died in 2015 before his trial.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.A DuPage County judge earlier this month rejected the countys request for a restraining order that would force immediate closure of the business. The judge said the ruling did not reflect a decision on the merits of the case overall, but said the restraining order was an extraordinary measure and the county had not provided enough information for the emergency order.British lawmakers on Friday rejected the governments Brexit deal for a third time, leaving the UK facing the stark prospect of a chaotic departure from the European Union in just two weeks, with political leaders in turmoil and the country ill-prepared for the shock.

London: British lawmakers on Friday rejected the governments Brexit deal for a third time, leaving the UK facing the stark prospect of a chaotic departure from the European Union in just two weeks, with political leaders in turmoil and the country ill-prepared for the shock. Its either that, or a long delay to the countrys exit from the EU. The alternatives are dwindling.

The House of Commons voted 344-286 against the withdrawal agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU, rebuffing her plea to put aside self and party and deliver the Brexit that Britons voted for. Amid business warnings that a no-deal Brexit could mean crippling tariffs, border gridlock and shortages of goods, a visibly frustrated May said the vote had grave implications.

The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12 April  in just 14 days time, she said. This is not enough time to agree, legislate for and ratify a deal, and yet the House has been clear it will not permit leaving without a deal. And so we will have to agree an alternative way forward. Had the deal been passed, Britain would have left the EU on 22 May.

The bloc said the rejection of the divorce terms made a no-deal Brexit a likely scenario and called an emergency summit of EU leaders for April 10 to decide what to do next. An EU Commission official said the 27 remaining EU nations were fully prepared for a no-deal scenario at midnight 12th of April.

Almost three years after Britain voted in June 2016 to leave the EU, and two years after it set its departure date for March 29, 2019, British politicians remain deadlocked over Brexit. Like the country as a whole, they are split between those who want a clean break, those who want to retain close ties with the bloc, and those who want to overturn the decision to leave.

Last week, to prevent Britain from crashing out, the EU granted an extension to 22 May if the divorce deal was approved by Friday  or to 12 April if it was rejected. Fridays 58-vote margin of defeat for the deal was narrower than previous votes in January and March, but it still left the governments blueprint for exiting the bloc in tatters.

Mays deal was voted down even after the prime minister sacrificed her job in exchange for Brexit, promising to quit if lawmakers approved the agreement. With the deals rejection, she will face pressure to step aside and let a new Conservative Party leader take over negotiations with the EU. The government had also warned pro-Brexit politicians that rejecting Mays deal could see Britains departure from the EU delayed indefinitely.

Mays arguments moved some previously resistant Brexit-backers to support the deal. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson  a likely contender to replace May as Conservative leader  tweeted that rejecting it risked being forced to accept an even worse version of Brexit or losing Brexit altogether.

But Mays key allies, the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, refused to back the agreement because it treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK.

Parliament voted on the legally binding, 585-page withdrawal agreement that May struck with the EU late last year, setting out the terms of Britains departure  but not on a shorter declaration on future ties that was also part of the accord between the two sides.

Removing the political declaration altered the deal enough to overcome a parliamentary ban against asking lawmakers the same question over and over again.

May also hoped severing the link between the two parts of the deal would blunt opposition. That gamble failed to pay off, as opposition lawmakers said if amounted to voting for a blind Brexit with no idea what would happen next.

Opposition lawmakers declared Mays deal as good as dead. Labour Party legislator Ian Murray likened it to the dead parrot in a Monty Python comedy sketch. Her deal is no more, he said. It has ceased to exist. It is bereft of life. It rests in peace. Its a deal that has been nailed to its perch. Its an ex-parrot, it is an ex-deal.

Lawmakers who favor a soft Brexit plan to hold votes on Monday in an attempt to find a deal with majority support that can break the deadlock. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Parliament had a responsibility to find a majority for a better deal for all the people of this country.

Business groups, who have been sounding the alarm for months about the damage a no-deal Brexit could do, urged lawmakers to avert disaster. All eyes are now on Monday to discover what Parliament is for, said Josh Hardie, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. The UKs reputation, peoples jobs and livelihoods are at stake. No-deal is two weeks away.

There also were new warnings in Europe.

Eric Schweitzer, head of the influential Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said it was time to prepare for the worst. Britain and Europe are stumbling toward an unregulated withdrawal from the EU, he said.

If lawmakers back a new proposal, Britain would need to seek a new delay to Brexit from the bloc to implement it. The EU has indicated it could grant an extension of up to a year if the UK plans to change course and tack toward a softer departure. That would, however, require Britain to participate in elections for the European Parliament in late May  something both the bloc and the British government have sought to avoid.

The political morass has left Britons on both sides of the debate frustrated and angry. Thousands of Brexit supporters, who had planned to be celebrating on Friday, were protesting instead.

They converged on Parliament Square as lawmakers voted inside, waving Union Jack flags, singing Bye-Bye EU and lamenting the governments failure to take Britain out of the bloc on schedule.

The people are supposed to be the masters and them inside (Parliament) are meant to do what we tell them, said Charlotte Clifford from Eastbourne in southern England. Its democracy. The main Leave Means Leave protest outside Parliament was attended by senior Brexiteers including former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who called Friday a day of betrayal.

In a separate rally up the street, far-right agitator Tommy Robinson roused supporters with a speech attacking politicians and the media. Retired charity worker Mandy Childs, one of a band of Brexit supporters walking across England to join the Leave Means Leave protest, said she felt heartbroken.

We were told over a 100 times by a British prime minister that we would be leaving on the 29th of March, 2019, she said. To do that, promise the British people that and then say Actually, no, we need to just put it back  absolute betrayal. And how dare she?PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will probably talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela

PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will probably talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela.

"We will probably be talking at some point," Trump told reporters after the White House warned Russia and other countries backing President Nicolas Maduro against sending troops and military equipment to Venezuela.

"I'll be talking to a lot of people - perhaps President Putin, perhaps President Xi of China," Trump said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.The US attorney general plans to make public a redacted copy of Robert Mueller's nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Washington: US Attorney General William Barr plans to make public a redacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April, "if not sooner," he said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday.

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr wrote in the letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

He said he is willing to appear before both committees to testify about Mueller's report on 1 and 2 May.

Mueller completed his 22-month investigation into whether President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia on 22 March.

On Sunday, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress that outlined Mueller's main findings. Barr told lawmakers that Mueller's investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in its election interference activities.

Mueller left unresolved the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Barr said that based on the evidence presented, he concluded it was not sufficient to charge the president with obstruction.

He said his letter on Sunday "was not, and did not purport to be an exhaustive recounting" of Mueller's investigation and said he believed the public should be allowed to read it and judge for themselves.

"I do not believe it would be in the public's interest for me to attempt to summarise the full report or release it in serial or piecemeal fashion," he wrote.

Lawmakers have since been clamouring for more details, with Democrats calling for a full release of the report and some lawmakers urging a deadline of 2 April.

In a statement on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said the 2 April deadline he imposed on the Justice Department "still stands" and he urged the release of a "full and complete" report without redactions.

The top Republican on the committee, Doug Collins, said on Twitter that Barr was "following his word" by pledging to release the report and chided Nadler for setting an arbitrary deadline.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is released, including secret grand jury information, intelligence sources and methods and information that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

Nadler rejected that notion, saying Barr must "work with us to request a court order to release any and all grand jury information to the House Judiciary Committee".

The federal rules of criminal procedure make it a crime for government officials to publicly divulge sensitive grand jury materials such as transcripts, unless a federal judge signs off first.

Barr said on Friday that although Trump also has the right to assert executive privilege on some materials in the report to keep them from being made public, Trump has said publicly he intends to defer to Barr.

Because of that, Barr added, there were no plans for the Justice Department to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

Jay Sekulow, a personal lawyer for Trump, deferred to the White House for comment. The White House declined to comment.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday afternoon in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said he "had a lot of confidence" in Barr.

At a rally on Thursday in Michigan, Trump had celebrated the end of the investigation and what he called "lies and smears and slander".As part of the Naperville Sun candidate survey for the mayoral hopefuls, which can be found at www.napervillesun.com, Caylor and Chirico were asked to lay out their goals for the city should they be elected. Those goals include Chiricos ideas for improving infrastructure and housing and Caylors vision for establishing resident/business working groups to focus on things like development. Read about them here.Investors reacted harshly last week to the final quarterly earnings report of Guess?'s ( GES -1.47% ) fiscal 2019, which also included an official outlook for sales growth and profitability for the year ahead. The retailer's headline figures both edged past expectations for the holiday period, and it posted some of its best market-share results in years, yet management's guidance disappointed many shareholders.

In their March 20 conference call with analysts, incoming CEO Carlos Alberini and his team added context to that forecast, and explained why they see lots of room for growth ahead for the Guess? family of apparel brands.

Solid growth

I was very pleased to see that several businesses which may have been considered mature are showing healthy trends of growth.

-- Alberini

There were many bright spots in these results when it comes to demand for Guess? apparel. Sales in the U.S. market rose 7% on the retailing side, and jumped 22% in the wholesale segment. Management noted that this was the fourth consecutive quarter of positive comparable-store sales, with comps up 7% in the U.S. region, 6% in Europe, and up 17% in the China geography. And fiscal 2019 was the first time in eight years that the retailer had year-over-year comps growth in the Americas.

Results weren't as strong on the profitability front: Gross margin slipped to 36.6% of sales in fiscal Q4 from 37.2% a year earlier. Executives said the biggest drags were Europe and China, where markdowns were needed to keep inventory moving. In the U.S. division, by contrast, the company was able to raise prices.

Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Guess?

Too much product

We exited the year with higher inventories than planned, and we plan to move through this inventory over the course of the coming fiscal year, through a combination of our own retail outlet stores as well as stock liquidation channels.

-- CFO Sandeep Reddy

The inventory overhang in Europe and China was large enough to impact Guess?'s outlook for fiscal 2020. Due to the price cuts it plans to offer by moving products into its factory outlet retailing arm -- which should peak over the next two quarter -- management predicted operating losses of between 4.5% and 4% of sales in the first quarter. Margin should improve to around 5% of sales for the full fiscal year, which is below management's long-term target of at least 8%.

Bright outlook

The high end of our new guidance represents a 23% increase over last year's adjusted [earnings per share].

-- Reddy

Guess? plans to offset some of the profitability pinch by dialing back the amount it will spend on store remodeling. Investors might see other adjustments that include focusing more on key pieces of its portfolio that today spans eyewear, kids and adult apparel, jewelry, handbags, and more. Alberini may decide after completing his strategic review to steer the company in new directions in terms of its core retailing focus.

In the meantime, executives say they believe that collectively, Guess? brands including Guess Jeans, Marciano, and Guess Kids, have the potential for annual retail sales of between $7 billion and $9 billion -- 40% to 80% higher than current levels. One key to achieving that potential will be to move deeper into international markets like China, Japan, and Eastern Europe by launching new stores, partnering with more retailers, and building out the online fulfillment infrastructure there. The retailer gets over half of its revenue from markets outside of the U.S. and credits these geographies for delivering most of its growth lately. .

But the more immediate concerns are the inventory-management struggles and cost overruns that have hobbled the retailer's short-term profit outlook. Before management can realistically hope to position Guess? as a world-class retailer, they'll need to demonstrate that can they effectively navigate their global business through those inevitable demand swings.If you can wait, you'll most likely be able to get a pretty good discount when the 2020's hit the floor since they have new bumpers, lights, grille, and the gen3 6.7L. Im sure theres going to be quite a few 19's left since they are the "older" model and people buying that level of truck are usually the "buy a new iPhone every year just because its new" crowd. Fear of missing out is strong in that purchasing group.



With that said, if you need the truck now, that's a respectable deal, and in the scheme of things, whats a couple grand amortized over the life of a loan. Its not going to make or break you either way.FRC's Peter Sprigg in Italy to Address the World Congress of Families

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Family Research Council

March 29, 2019



WASHINGTON, March 29, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, will be in Verona, Italy March 29 - 31 to speak at the World Congress of Families XIII. The World Congress of Families XIII will gather advocates of pro-family policies and allied organizations from around the globe to discuss marriage, family, growth and demographic decline, women's dignity and health, defense of life and family, and policies promoting birth rates and families. On Friday, March 29, Peter will discuss the findings of his latest paper, "Evidence Shows Sexual Orientation Can Change: Debunking the Myth of 'Immutability.'"

Sprigg made the following comments on his upcoming trip to Italy:

"I'm excited to be able to speak at this year's World Congress of Families in Verona. This opportunity for pro-family, pro-freedom policy makers to gather from around the world enables us to better work together to positively impact society in our various countries. "I look forward to contributing to this discussion by highlighting the evidence regarding sexual orientation that prompts us to 'abandon the immutability argument once and for all,' as one scholar put it. This paper showcases the type of work that Family Research Council is doing to advance our values in the United States - where we are working with the Trump administration and other allies," concluded Sprigg.

To arrange an interview with Peter Sprigg, please call 202-624-3025 or email jla@frc.org.

Peter Sprigg's latest publication, "Evidence Shows Sexual Orientation Can Change: Debunking the Myth of 'Immutability,'" is available for download here.

To request media credentials for the event, visit this page.



SOURCE Family Research Council

CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Joshua Arnold, 866-FRC-NEWS, 866-372-6397

Related Links

www.frc.org

A special bookshelf dedicated exclusively to China was set up in a central Athens bookstore on Friday.

From now on visitors of Booktique bookshop, which is located at the affluent district of Kolonaki near the Greek parliament, can find dozens of Chinese books in the special section and get to learn more about Chinese people and Chinese culture.

During the opening ceremony, organizers of the initiative told Xinhua that they want to build a new bridge of understanding between Greek and Chinese people through the initiative.

Starting with about 50 books in Chinese and English languages, the bookshelf aims to increase its volume to at least 500, according to Sofika Eleftheroudakis, CEO of the G. C. Eleftheroudakis S.A. International Bookstore. Booktique is the latest "child" of the fourth-generation booksellers in Eleftheroudakis family.

As the cooperation with Chinese publishers deepened, Eleftheroudakis family now has brought to Greece a selection of Chinese editions mainly on Chinese language, Art, modern literature and children's books under a program run by the China Publishing & Media Co., Ltd.

"This project is mainly to introduce Chinese good books to readers around the world. The Chinese Bookshelf has already landed in 16 countries on four continents. This is a good attempt," Sun Yuemu, Deputy General Manager of China Publishing & Media Co., Ltd., told Xinhua on Friday.

"Greece has much in common with China, and we feel that the biggest thing in common is culture - we all have a long history and culture. The long history and culture are important symbol of the continuation of human development and the move towards a higher civilization," he said, explaining why the Chinese Bookshelf arrived also in Athens.

Booktique's clients have given a warm welcome to the initiative, browsing through the editions, as the Chinese Bookshelf was filled with books earlier this week, Eleftheroudakis said.

"More and more Greeks are trying to learn the Chinese language. It is taught at some schools. There is clearly interest for everything, the Chinese language, literature, children's books and you know one gets to learn a lot this way. You can learn something new about culture through literature," she noted.

The Chinese Bookshelf is a step-in effort to enhance communication between the two countries and peoples, she stressed.

"Our goal is to bring the two societies closer through Chinese books in Greece and Greek books in China... This is my idea: to promote, to create sooner or later a similar Greek shelf with Greek books and design objects at Chinese bookshops," she said.

Sun Yuemu also expressed willingness to strengthen exchanges and ties with Greece.

"The People's Literature Publishing House has published many books about ancient Greek myths and legends. It is the spiritual nutrition that our Chinese youth grew up from generation to generation," he explained.

"The Commercial Press has a number of the world's academic masterpieces translated into Chinese. There are many Greek classics like the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, which have been popular for many years. Chinese readers enjoyed them very much," he added.

"We can say that Chinese has more access to Greek books and knowledge about Greek culture than the Greeks' access to the Chinese books and culture. We want to better tell the Greek readers about China and show them China's excellent traditional culture, the modern China and its development, truly and objectively," Sun Yuemu said.



Documentaries made by a group of college students from Myanmar and China on China's Yunnan province were screened in Myanmar's Yangon on Friday.

Under the training program "Future Communicator," a group of nine Myanmar youths joined the Chinese students from the School of Journalism, China's Yunnan University in late 2018 to make the documentaries.

Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar Tian Shanting expressed his belief that the friendship between China and Myanmar could be strengthened through such training program.

U Thein Naing, director of Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department under the Information Ministry, said "the Information Ministry pledges to provide assistance if students from the School of Journalism, Yunnan University would come and join with Myanmar local youths for documentary portraying Myanmar's tradition and cultural heritage as well as beautiful sceneries."

Entitled "Beauty of Yunnan," "Myanmar Youths in Yunnan," "Animated Plants in Yunnan," "Technology in Your Sight," "Blossoming" and "Half A Month," the six documentaries made by the students from the two countries were screened at Yangon's China Cultural Center.

According to the program organizers, the Myanmar students first chose specific themes, then the students from the two countries set off to film the documentaries jointly in China's Yunnan province for a period of 14 days.

The program was a nice attempt of telling Chinese stories, said the organizers, adding the successful event can offer experience on more such cooperation in other southeast Asian countries.

Shan Xiaohong, vice dean of Yunnan University's School of Journalism, said that cooperation is the key in such exchange training programs and the documentaries showed the great success of the power of teamwork.

Friday's event was jointly organized by the School of Journalism, China's Yunnan University, Myanmar Golden Phoenix Chinese newspaper and China Cultural Center in Yangon.



Imeruli khachapuri  One of Georgias most popular type of cheese bread - GeorgianJournalLG K12+ officially launched with DTS:X Headphone support for Rs 21,000 News oi-Vivek LG K12+ runs on Android 8.1 Oreo

LG has launched a new mid-tier smartphone, the LG K21+ in the South Korean smartphone market. The smartphone looks similar to most of the mid-tier smartphones from LG, and the K12+ closely resembles the LG K40. Here is everything you need to know about the LG K12+.

Price and availability

The LG K12+ will be available in Moroccan Blue, Platinum Gray, and Black colors. The base variant of the smartphone retails in South Korea for R$ 1,199 (Rs 21,000). As of now, there is no information on the launch of the LG K12+ in India.

Specifications

The LG K12+ feature a 5.7-inch HD+ (720p) IPS LCD screen, which is a bit let down considering the price of the smartphone, where almost every other smartphone that costs more than Rs 15,000 will feature a display with at least 1080p or FHD resolution.

The mobile is powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 SoC, which is a mid-tier Octa-core chipset. The processor is coupled with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. Just like LG' premium smartphones, the LG K12+ has a dedicated Google Assistant button on the left, just below the volume controls.

The rear panel of the LG K12+ hosts a 16 MP primary camera with a single tone LED flash and a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. On the front, the device has an 8 MP selfie camera. Both cameras offer AI features and can record 1080p videos @30fps.

The device is fueled by a 3000 mAh Li-ion battery with support for 10W fast charging via micro USB port. The device boasts a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack with DTS:X 3D Surround Sound support. Lastly, the smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with custom LG skin on top.

Considering the specs-sheet, the LG K12+ seems like a bit of a let-down in terms of specifications, as most of the smartphones (at least in India), costing upwards of Rs 20,000, offering semi-flagship grade specs-sheet, whereas the LG K12+ features entry-level specifications.

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Redmi and Marvel likely join hands for Avengers: Endgame News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Is a new Marvel-themed Redmi phone in the making?

Redmi, the entity that got separated from Xiaomi has joined hands with Marvel. This partnership is to promote the upcoming film Avengers: Endgame using the Redmi products. Well, this partnership is likely for the promotion of the superhero movie Avengers: Endgame, which is the fourth one in the series.

Earlier, Marvel teamed up with OnePlus for the promotion of the Avengers movie. As a result of this partnership tipped on Weibo, the company launched the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition. Though the specifications were the same, the design was centered around Marvel Avengers and custom accessories were introduced.

Special edition Redmi Note 7 Pro likely?

While both the Redmi and Marvel have not revealed anything about this partnership, it is expected that a limited edition version of a smartphone, accessory or themes and wallpapers might be launched. If the company is in plans to bring a special edition smartphone, then we can expect the Redmi Note 7 Pro to be the ideal one for the same.

Notable, the Redmi Note 7 Pro has been launched in two variants - 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM. We can expect the special edition Marvel themed variant (if any) to arrive with similar specifications and a different design centered around the superhero series.

As of now, there is no official confirmation from both the companies regarding the same and we are yet to see if this partnership is on a global basis or limited only to China. This is a mere speculation and we have to await an official info on this for more clarity. Maybe, we will get to know more details as Xiaomi is in plans to launch a slew of devices in China on April 1 and the movie is all set to hit the screens on April 24.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsSamsung Galaxy A20e case renders emerge online News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Samsung Galaxy A20e case renders show the alleged design that we can expect.

By now, we know Samsung is in plans to host an event on April 10 to unveil new smartphones in the Galaxy A series. While we have no clarity regarding which ones to expect, there are expectations that the Galaxy A90, Galaxy A60, Galaxy A40 and Galaxy A20e will see the light of the day at the event. The most affordable offering among these is the Galaxy A20e.

Recently, we saw this upcoming Samsung smartphone receive certifications from Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG. Now, a report by 91mobiles report citing a reliable source reveals a set of case renders of this smartphone revealing what we can expect from the budget smartphone in the Galaxy A series.

Samsung Galaxy A20e case renders

Going by the leaked case renders, the Galaxy A20e will arrive with an edge-to-edge display design along with a waterdrop notch to provide room to the selfie camera. This smartphone appears to arrive with a unibody design along with rounded corners and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. It looks like it will have a plastic build but it is too early to speculate the material.

When it comes to the other aspects of design, the Samsung smartphone seems to have dual rear cameras stacked vertically at the top left corner and a LED flash unit as well. The volume rocker and power button are positioned at the left while the right is bare without any buttons. The bottom of this smartphone appears to house the speaker grilles, USB charging port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Galaxy A20 like design

From the case renders that have been leaked, we can infer that the Galaxy A20e will have a design that is similar to that of the Galaxy A20 launched recently. Notably, it flaunts a 6.4-inch display and comes with Android 9 Pie out of the box. The pricing of this device is yet to be announced by the company.

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US actor Brent Hill studied the violin for seven years during his childhood.

"But, now, I couldn't make a sound out of it," he says, laughing.

His latest role as Dewey Finn in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, School of Rock, in which he plays with 36 talented child musicians, reminds him of his time as an instrumentalist.

Hill shared his story when he arrived in Beijing on March 20. After four weeks of performing in Shanghai, School of Rock is being staged in the capital at Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from March 22 until April 14 on its debut China tour.

It'll visit other Chinese cities, including Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Xiamen in Fujian province this year.

The musical is based on the successful 2003 Hollywood comedy, starring Jack Black. The plot follows Dewey Finn, a failed rock star forced to make money as a substitute teacher at a private elementary school, where he turns a class of straight-A students into a rock band.

"The role, Dewey, is the biggest kid. I am a big kid in real life, so this part is not a challenge. When I got the role, I did the exact same thing as Dewey... who is a loser. I stopped paying my rent for a couple of months to see what happened," Hill says.

"Working with child actors is exciting."

Thousands of kids auditioned. Three-and-a-half months later, 36 made the cut.

Samantha Zhang plays the role of Katie. She has practiced piano for seven years and violin for four but had to learn to play bass for the musical.

"Not many girls play bass. It's so cool, and I feel like a rock star," says the 13-year-old, who made her musical-theater debut in Opera Australia's The King& I in 2014. It's the first time for the girl, who lives in Sydney with her Chinese parents, to visit China.

Webber, who's known for such musical-theater hits as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, became interested in the movie after his wife, Madeleine Gurdon, recommended it to him.

The musical staged its world premiere on Broadway in 2015. It made its West End debut a year later. And it toured Australia for three months before coming to China.

The movie includes songs by such celebrated artists as David Bowie, Metallica and The Clash.

Webber also wrote 12 new songs, that feature alongside songs like Teachers' Pet and Stick It To The Man, which appeared in the original movie.

"Webber knows rock well," Hill says.

"The music is about getting something out, like your anger or a demon. For the musical, it's also about the spirit of community."

Hill has watched the movie over 20 times. But he says it's difficult to get Black's acting out of his subconscious. However, Webber's songs make the musical fundamentally different, enabling Hill to make the role his own.

"School of Rock is about how music reaches and transforms everyone's life, especially children," Webber said at the 70th Tony Award ceremony in 2016, where School of Rock was nominated for four awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Leading Actor in a Musical.

"When the substitute teacher turned the straight-A student class into a rock band, it changed his life and theirs forever."



English French

Marseilles, March 28, 2019

BOURBON awarded a significant integrated logistics contract by SHELL in Bulgaria, in line with its #BOURBONINMOTION strategic plan

Bourbon Marine & Logistics is pleased to announce that it has been awarded by SHELL its first integrated logistics contract for the support of its exploration campaign in Black Sea, Bulgaria, in partnership with Bulgarian operator Bon Marine. The project scope covers the full logistics solution project management, offering for the first time both Marine logistics together with shore logistics: marine services, logistics base, warehousing, port facilities, cargo carrying units, waste management, customs clearance, etc.

Bourbon Marine & Logistics will jointly perform the services with its partner Bon Marine and will operate from Varna (Bulgaria). Working with a strong local partner is fully part of Bourbon Marine & Logistics local content strategy. Two large supply vessels will be dedicated to the project and as well as the latest digital data management tools.

Bourbon Marine & Logistics proposal for an integrated end-to-end solution is in line with SHELL's willingness to pilot a light-footprint strategy in exploration operations with more risk-sharing with its subcontractors.

The drilling operation is scheduled to start early April and should last about 3 to 4 months.

"Providing integrated logistics services for offshore operations, BOURBON will ensure, with its partner Bon Marine, that the entire logistics chain of SHELL exploration campaign is successfully delivered on time, efficiently, while meeting the highest safety standards. We are proud to support SHELL in this new exploration strategy. This contract illustrates the relevance of our #BOURBONINMOTION strategic plan, going a step forward in the creation of new services to accompany our clients' evolving needs" commented Victor Chevallier, Chief Executive Officer of Bourbon Marine & Logistics.

About BOURBON

Among the market leaders in marine services for offshore oil & gas, BOURBON offers the most demanding oil & gas companies a wide range of marine services, both surface and sub-surface, for offshore oil & gas fields and wind farms. These extensive services rely on a broad range of the latest-generation vessels and the expertise of more than 8,400 skilled employees. Through its 29 operating subsidiaries the group provides local services as close as possible to customers and their operations throughout the world, of the highest standards of service and safety.

BOURBON provides three operating activities (Marine & Logistics, Mobility and Subsea Services) and also protects the French coastline for the French Navy.

In 2018, BOURBON'S revenue came to 689.5 million and the company operated a fleet of 483 vessels.

Placed by ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) in the "Oil Services" sector, BOURBON is listed on the Euronext Paris, Compartment B.

Contacts



English French

QUEBEC CITY, March 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nemaska Lithium Inc. (the Corporation) (TSX: NMX) (OTCQX: NMKEF) (Frankfurt: N0T) is pleased to announce that it has modified and expanded its existing long-term supply agreement (announced May 11, 2016) for battery grade lithium hydroxide with Johnson Matthey Plc (LSE: JMAT) (www.matthey.com).



Under this amended agreement, Nemaska Lithium agrees to supply Johnson Matthey, on a take-or-pay basis and through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nemaska Lithium Shawinigan Transformation Inc., a total of 61,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide produced at the Corporations commercial plant in Shawinigan, for an initial 10-year supply period scheduled to start in 2021. Nemaska Lithium is entitled, if ever necessary, to reschedule the commencement of the supply period within certain parameters set out in the agreement and based on the anticipated commissioning, ramping up and production start date for the Shawinigan plant.

To date, Johnson Matthey received over 80 tonnes of battery grade lithium hydroxide solution from Nemaska Lithiums Phase 1 Plant in Shawinigan and started receiving lithium hydroxide monohydrate earlier this month.*

Guy Bourassa, President and CEO of Nemaska Lithium said, Johnson Matthey has been a long-term and valued partner and customer of Nemaska Lithium. Our relationship began in 2015/2016 with the financing and construction of the Phase 1 Plant and we are delighted to be expanding on our initial commercial supply contract.

*Production from the Phase 1 Plant is not included in the commercial supply agreement announced today.

About Nemaska Lithium

Nemaska Lithium Inc. is a developing chemical company whose activities will be vertically integrated, from spodumene mining to the commercialization of high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. These lithium salts are mainly destined for the fast-growing lithium-ion battery market, which is driven by the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage worldwide. With its products and processes, the Corporation intends to facilitate access to green energy, for the benefit of humanity.

The Corporation will be operating the Whabouchi mine in Quebec, Canada, one of the richest lithium spodumene deposits in the world, both in volume and grade. The spodumene concentrate produced at the Whabouchi mine will be processed at the Shawinigan plant using a unique membrane electrolysis process for which the Corporation holds several patents.

The Corporation is a member of the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index, S&P/TSX Global Mining Index, S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index, S&P/TSX Equal Weight Global Base Metals Index, and the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index. For more information, visit www.nemaskalithium.com or twitter.com/Nemaska Lithium .

About Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey is a global leader in science that enables a cleaner and healthier world. With over 200 years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs, we improve the performance, function and safety of our customers products. Our science has a global impact in areas such as low emission transport, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planets natural resources. Today more than 14,000 Johnson Matthey professionals collaborate with our network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us. For more information, visit www.matthey.com

Inspiring science, enhancing life

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to, those relating to the completion of the construction of the Whabouchi mine and the Shawinigan plant, the commissioning, ramping up and the start of production at the Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan plant sites, constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws and are based on expectations and projections as of the date of this press release. Certain important assumptions by the Corporation in making forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the obtaining of the additional capital required to fulfill the conditions precedent to receive the remaining proceeds from the project financing, being the second tranche payment under the Streaming facility and the Bonds offering proceeds, and to allow the Corporation to complete construction of the Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan plant, and ultimately commence production at both sites.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, those related to (i) the supply by the Corporation of a total of 61,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide produced at the Shawinigan plant, (ii) the start of supply in 2021 and the Corporations entitlement to postpone same, and (iii) generally, the above About Nemaska Lithium paragraph which essentially describes the Corporations outlook. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Corporation as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect.

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the Whabouchi mine and/or the electrochemical plant in Shawinigan will be commissioned and will begin production, as future events could differ materially what is currently anticipated by the Corporation.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important risk factors and future events could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators of Canada including, but not limited to, the cautionary statements made in the Risk Factors section of the Corporations Annual Information Form dated October 10, 2018, and the Risk Exposure and Management section of the Corporations quarterly Management Discussion & Analysis. The Corporation cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive, and new, unforeseeable risks may arise from time to time. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Further information regarding Nemaska Lithium is available in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporations website at: www.nemaskalithium.com .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Victor Cantore

Investor Relations

514 831-3809

victor.cantore@nemaskalithium.com Wanda Cutler

Investor Relations

416 303-6460

wanda.cutler@nemaskalithium.com

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD) announced today that it has acquired 3D Material Technologies (3DMT) from ARC Group Worldwide, Inc. 3DMT is a provider of additive manufacturing (3-D printing) services to the aerospace, defense, medical and industrial markets.



The acquisition complements Aerojet Rocketdynes industry-leading capabilities to develop and produce metal alloy additive manufacturing parts for aerospace propulsion and power systems. Aerojet Rocketdyne has qualified production parts for the RL10 and RS-25 liquid rocket engines and sees growth opportunities for these complex, high value systems. Additionally, the companys defense business unit continues to develop and demonstrate the benefits of additive manufacturing for its hypersonic propulsion systems.

The addition of 3DMTs capacity and expertise in metal alloy additive manufacturing expands our range of products and services in the space and defense markets, said Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. CEO and President Eileen Drake. As we look to the future, additive manufacturing will continue to play an important role in lowering costs and production timelines. This deal allows Aerojet Rocketdyne to broaden its application of this revolutionary technology. We respect the long-standing reputation for quality and customer focus that 3DMT has built in the aerospace industry and we are thrilled to welcome them to our company.

3DMT will continue to operate with its existing workforce at its 28,000 square ft. facility located in Daytona Beach, Florida. More information about 3DMT can be found at www.3dmt.com . Aerojet Rocketdyne has more than 5,000 employees at 14 sites around the country, including approximately 650 employees at its facilities in West Palm Beach and Orlando, Florida. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and both the purchase price and ongoing financials are deemed immaterial to the business.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California, is an innovative technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems, with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the companys excess real estate assets. More information can be obtained by visiting the Companys websites at www.rocket.com or www.aerojetrocketdyne.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: anticipate, plan, expect, strategy, future, may, will, and similar references to future periods. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected depending on a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among other things: economic and financial conditions; changes in customer demand and requirements; the possibility that the pending acquisition does not close at the expected time; the ability to integrate the acquired operations; cancellation or material modification of one or more contracts; changes in labor costs and labor difficulties; and the ability to implement the anticipated business plans following closing. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many factors that affect Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.s business as described in more detail in its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Contact information:

Investors: Kelly Anderson, investor relations 310-252-8155

Media: Steve Warren, chief communications officer 703-650-0278You are here: Business

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin co-hosted the eighth round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing from Thursday to Friday.



The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress.

Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, was invited to visit the United States next week for the ninth round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington D.C.Setting a Standard

Data Collection and Analysis

Personalized diagnosis, assessment and treatment.

Continuing long-term outpatient care.

Concurrent, coordinated care for physical and mental health.

Access to fully trained behavioral health professionals.

Access to FDA-approved medications.

Access to non-medical recovery support services.

State Participation

Next Steps

Five states are partnering with national nonprofit Shatterproof to create the Rating System for Addiction Treatment Programs  a system that would essentially do for addiction treatment centers what TripAdvisor does for hotels.The system, according to the organization, will deliver trustworthy, standardized information about the levels and quality of care offered at all types of treatment centers.The first three states are Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York, and theyll be joined by two more, which Shatterproof says it will announce in the next few weeks.After the 24-month pilot  a $5 million initiative thats funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and health insurers Aetna, Anthem, Beacon Health Options, Cigna, Magellan Health and UnitedHealth Group  the goal is to launch the system nationwide.Creating such a system will drive improvement among treatment programs by increasing accountability and transparency, and it will supply states and health-care payers with the information necessary to reward high-quality care, according to Shatterproof, which Founder and CEO Gary Mendell launched after his son committed suicide over the shame he felt about his own addiction.Abuse of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs and prescription opioids costs more than $740 billion annually by way of crime, lost work productivity and health care, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And according to a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as many as 90 percent of those who need drug rehab the most dont receive it.For those who do receive help, no system exists that makes it easy to choose a quality treatment program.The quality of care varies widely among addiction treatment programs, and individuals looking for care cant identify high-quality programs, Mendell said in a press release. It is time a standard be set across all of addiction treatment, and the entire system aligns behind evidence-based care.Within the addiction treatment field, many addiction treatment practices are based not on what the evidence and research show best improves patient outcomes, said Samantha Arsenault, director of national treatment quality initiatives at Shatterproof, but on people's life experiences, their philosophies about addiction or on payment structures versus what is best for the patient.One concrete example of that is that we are in the wake of an opioid epidemic and yet 60 percent of the specialty addiction treatment programs in the U.S. don't offer a single medication to treat opioid use disorder, she told. That would be like saying, We are in the height of a diabetes crisis and 60 percent of the facilities that treat diabetes don't offer insulin.And this is why Shatterproof finds it absolutely critical not only to bring transparency for people seeking treatment so they can locate high-quality care, Arsenault added, but also to bring accountability to adhering to those best practices within the industry.Each of the five selected states will work with the organization to build one system that assesses program delivery of evidence-based best practices in treating substance use disorders.Arsenault said the team is ensuring geographic and political diversity in the pilot states given the goal to expand nationwide, and theyre working toward harmonizing a standard across the country versus perpetuating the siloed nature of care that currently exists.We know that the providers in Louisiana are different from the providers in New York, she said, and being able to implement this system across both, and those lessons learned from those different settings, will help us inform and create a system that can be used across the country.The standards are based on Shatterproofs National Principles of Care, and theyll be used to examine addiction treatment programs delivery of care. The standards are:The pilot will measure evidence-based care delivery elements that are shown to improve patient outcomes by using information from three sources: insurance claims, treatment program surveys and consumer experience.Arsenault said that Shatterproof is primarily measuring processes and structures, and because the ability to gather patient-reported outcome data across the field in a consistent manner isnt quite ready for primetime, that information is only captured in some cases.We are measuring a lot of processes and structures that the research shows are connected to outcomes, she added. For example, in terms of medication, the continuity of medication is tied to better outcomes, so we're measuring continuity for assessments. We know that programs should be using a reliable and valid assessment tool, so we're measuring that. But we aren't necessarily measuring  [that] this number of people from this program became involved in the criminal justice system.But moving toward patient outcomes is the goal. In the meantime, however, the team is establishing a baseline with several process and structure measures.We are measuring pay programs, performance and alignment with these principles of care, and in a lot of cases, we're triangulating that quality of information from multiple sources, Arsenault said. Claims might not provide a clear picture about one of these elements, which is why we also have the treatment program survey and the consumer experience to start to identify and color that full quality picture of a program.Over a two-week period in February, the three aforementioned states signed on to participate in the pilot. Each state selected has displayed a commitment to tackling the substance use disorder and opioid addiction epidemics in the country, Arsenault said, showing that the states already are aligned with what the project aims to achieve.Massachusetts, whose opioid death rate exceeds the national average, was the first state to sign on; Gov. Charlie Baker, who authorized the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to not only study the epidemic more closely but also to use data to reduce substance abuse and overdose deaths, announced the partnership in mid-February. Since 2015, his administration has doubled spending to address the states opioid crisis.In New York, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) will work with Shatterproof to align the Rating System with ongoing state initiatives to improve addiction treatment quality.OASAS Communications Director Edison Alban toldthat with this new rating system, patients will be better informed when making health-care decisions, and theyll experience better outcomes as accountability and transparency are increased, and the quality of care is improved through evidence-based best practices.New York State is committed to combating the opioid epidemic through the implementation of new and innovative services, he said via email. The new rating system will help us improve the quality and effectiveness of our services and provide New Yorkers with access to the best quality care available.In Louisiana, the Department of Healths Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) will head up the project  and OBH Assistant Secretary Karen Stubbs said that within about 10 days of being selected, Shatterproof was on the ground in Louisiana meeting with various stakeholders.We've participated in webinars, we've had introductory meetings for our providers and other stakeholders as a kickoff, she told. And the Department of Health has really been a facilitator of that. Weve set up meetings with dozens and dozens of Louisiana substance use providers to allow Shatterproof some inreach into our state to start gathering feedback and ideas from providers who are doing this every day.Louisiana already has worked toward curbing the opioid epidemic in the state, including the Healthy Louisiana Substance Use Disorder 1115 Demonstration, which allows Louisiana to maintain critical access to opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorder (SUD) services, and continue delivery system improvements for these services to provide more coordinated and comprehensive OUD/SUD treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a document from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.The state also was progressive with legislation in 2016 and 2017 in trying to combat the opioid epidemic specific to its prescription monitoring programs, she added. These are just a few of the factors that made Louisiana a solid pilot participant.Shatterproofs goal is a win for the industry, Stubbs said, adding that she sees the states participation as positive.They would like an objective quality rating system that is transparent to the public, so the public has a more informed choice when they're choosing with whom to receive their treatment, she said. Sometimes data doesn't show the whole picture, and we have communicated those concerns; that's one of the reasons we wanted to take advantage of being in the pilot, so we can have ground zero input. And I know every time they come in, they plan on doing a series of provider and stakeholder meetings.Stubbs said Shatterproof plans to be on the ground in Louisiana about once per month to work with the OBH and substance abuse treatment providers across the state as far as concerns and caveats.So, ultimately, when this pilot is over in about two years, we hope that consumers of these services will have a more informed choice about their service array, she said. And I know Shatterproofs ultimate goal is that this type of quality system would be available nationally, not just in the pilot sites.Stubbs also acknowledges the potential paranoia that treatment providers may have as far as transparency.Louisiana has made it a priority to try to include providers in this and send the message that we're in it together, she said. We're not doing this because of the negative quality or negative outcomes of providers. I want to give providers props and credit for the tough work that they're doing. And in Louisiana, were trying to involve providers in this initiative, so it's not being done to them but with them.Following the data collection and analysis in 2019, Arsenault said a preview period for treatment programs will open in 2020  substance abuse treatment centers will be able to view their ratings and test them before anything is made public.And then when the ratings go public, theyll be made available on four sites, she added, noting that the first is Shatterproofs public-facing site, where anyone can search for treatment based on factors that matter to them. According to focus groups the nonprofit held with people in recovery or those with a family member in recovery, preferred search methods include by location, accepted insurance providers, specialty programs, program quality  and the ability to compare multiple programs.Arsenault said its important to note that if a treatment program doesnt submit any quality information, it will still be listed  but it will convey to the public that the program chose not to engage in the process.The other three data portals will be password protected and offer more depth in terms of data analysis, she said.On the portal for treatment programs, theyll be able to see their data, compare themselves with the others in the field and identify areas for quality improvement. The second portal for payers, who are essentially the health insurance providers, will allow them to identify high-level providers for centers of excellence or certain distinctions. And then the portal for states will be a critical tool for identifying areas to target with their technical assistance grant funding.So if in a specific geographic region of the state or within a specific area of quality, there's a lack of providers performing highly, she said, the state can target their resources to address those gaps.(TNS)  In 2013 four Missourians were charged with stealing a prescription pad from a psychiatrist and using it to forge prescriptions for opioids and Xanax that they filled at multiple pharmacies.In 2016 a University of Kansas pharmacy intern lost his license after he stole a pad from a Topeka hospital where he worked and used it to forge prescriptions for opioid pills that he used and sold.Now Kansas and Missouri lawmakers are considering a simple policy that drug stores say would prevent that type of fraud: Doing away with paper prescriptions and requiring doctors send them directly to the pharmacy electronically.We remain absolutely committed to electronic prescribing as a way to address fraud and abuse in the system and we think its very important to helping with the solution to opioid abuse, said Chris Krese, a spokesman for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. New research from the Missouri Hospital Association estimates that opioid abuse costs the state about $14 billion a year  almost 5 percent of its GDP. Surveys commissioned by Kreses group showed 62 percent of people in Kansas and Missouri support requiring electronic prescribing as a potential fix.But so far its taking a number of compromises to get Kansas and Missouri physician groups on board.According to the association of chain drugs stores, most prescriptions nationwide are already written electronically, but those for controlled substances are still more likely to be written on paper.Forged prescriptions account for about 3 percent to 9 percent of all opioids that are diverted for illegal use.Prescription pad theft remains a problem and, although the federal government has required tamper-resistant paper for more than a decade, there have still been cases of people photo-copying a single prescription from their doctor and successfully filling it at multiple locations Missouri is especially vulnerable to that type of fraud because its the only state that doesnt have a prescription drug monitoring program that allows doctors and pharmacists to see what prescriptions people are filling and where.For now, its up to the pharmacists to spot fakes and forgeries, and the drug stores say the electronic system is more fail-safe at this point.Kreses trade group, which represents CVS, Walgreens and a slew of grocery and department store pharmacies nationwide, successfully lobbied last year for a federal law that will require prescriptions for controlled substances to be sent electronically starting in 2021.But it will only apply to prescriptions covered under Medicare Part D, not to those written for people on Medicaid or private insurance, or for people who pay out of pocket.We still need the state legislation to go even further, Krese said. According to DrFirst , a Maryland company that sells medical software, five states already have laws in effect requiring electronic prescribing of controlled substances: Maine, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota and Arizona. Another seven have passed laws that will take effect later. And at least 10 more are, like Kansas and Missouri, considering it.In Kansas and Missouri the legislation started off broad, but was whittled down at the request of the organizations that represent the states doctors: the Kansas Medical Society and the Missouri State Medical Association.The groups have a number of concerns. Electronic prescribing software can be expensive for doctors in solo or small practices, and internet access is still spotty in some rural areas of both states. There are also philosophical objections to more government regulation of how physicians practice.In both states bills that were originally introduced would have required all prescriptions to be sent electronically starting in 2021.In Missouri the proposed mandate in Senate Bill 262 would now apply only to controlled substances  a list of commonly abused drugs regulated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.Missouri doctors are also negotiating to allow waivers based on technology challenges and replacing fines for non-compliance with discipline from the state medical licensing board.We were opposed to the original bill and testified as such, Jeff Howell, the Missouri State Medical Associations vice president of government relations said via email. We have been involved in making the bill better.The group has also requested an exemption for any patient who specifically requests a paper prescription.The reason the patient retains the right to ask for a paper script is because they currently have a statutory right to have a paper script and the ability take it to a pharmacy of their choice, Howell said. Not including that exception in the committee substitute (bill) would have nullified that right.In Kansas, House Bill 2389 and Senate Bill 234 also now include exemptions for technological or financial hardships. Both bills would also apply only to controlled substances that contain opioids  a point of contention during a committee hearing Monday.Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Republican from Louisburg, said that leaves out several other types of controlled substances that can be dangerous. As a teacher at the K-12 and community college level, she heard of students abusing prescription stimulants like Adderall , as well as other drugs that arent opioids.Those would be the kind of things folks would sell, they would crush they would snort and use, Baumgardner said.But the Kansas Medical Society said it would oppose efforts to expand the bill to include all controlled substances.There are no physicians that will support that position, its simply too broad, Rachelle Colombo, the groups director of government affairs, said during the hearing. We dont support the government getting in between the patient-physician relationship.(TNS)  Michigan State Police supervisors could remotely monitor pursuits and other critical incidents in real time under a $2.3-million plan to provide for livestreaming of the agency's patrol car dashboard cameras.The proposed technology upgrade  included in Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2019 state budget proposal and believed to be a first among Michigan police agencies  follows an August 2017 incident in which a 15-year-old Detroit teenager crashed his ATV and died after a trooper fired a Taser at him from a pursuing patrol car.Firing a Taser from a moving patrol car is a violation of department policy. The death of Damon Grimes resulted in a second-degree murder charge against a trooper, in a case that ended in a hung jury and mistrial in October.Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the State Police, wouldn't comment on whether Grimes' death might have been avoided if a patrol car livestreaming system had been in place in 2017."This question is purely speculative  cannot be answered," Banner said in an email.However, the system is expected to be introduced in metro Detroit patrol cars first, according to records the Free Press obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.The MSP did not specifically reference the Grimes tragedy in setting out the rationale for its budget request, which also detailed projected cost savings over what is now a cumbersome system for processing police video.But it said the system "would allow command to observe pursuits and other critical incidents live, allowing for better risk management-based decision-making," records show.Also, "command will have the ability to make decisions based on the real event, not on assumptions," according to the budget request.Geoffrey Fieger, a Southfield attorney representing the Grimes family in an ongoing 2017 federal lawsuit against the State Police and other defendants, said Wednesday the livestreaming sounds like a good investment and he hopes the death of Grimes was a factor in the MSP wanting to make the purchase.Still, it would not be a cure-all, said Fieger, whose suit alleges that State Police supervisors sought to cover up what happened in the Grimes case."It's good they're proposing to have this additional supervision," but "you've got to have good people who are not going to subvert the system," Fieger told the Free Press.Livestreaming of police dashboard or body cameras is still relatively rare among U.S. police departments, but use of the technology is growing.Officials say they don't foresee a day when the public could watch such camera streams in real time, partly because of privacy concerns related to suspects and other citizens who encounter police but do not face charges."You will find universal objection to that, from the ACLU to the police," said Robert Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police."So many of these situations are ones that the public doesn't have a need or a right to know about."Stevenson said he's not aware of any Michigan police agencies now using dashboard livestreaming, as "it's kind of leading-edge technology."According to records obtained by the Free Press, the technology includes a security feature under which video is constantly buffered for after-the-fact retrieval, even if the "record" button is not turned on, "ensuring MSP has video of all incidents."Banner said she didn't know how many of the agency's 1,368 patrol cars could be equipped with the new technology  or when  if the budget request is approved.But in the records obtained through FOIA, the MSP said the technology would be introduced in metro Detroit first, where it would take about 60 days to implement.The agency told state budget officials the system would enhance public safety, transparency and integrity, while also saving the department more than $1 million a year, once all patrol cars are equipped with the technology, over time.During the administration of former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, the MSP reduced its number of posts statewide to 30 from 62, according to the unsigned four-page request sent to the State Budget Office. As a result, troopers work more remotely and "seldom return to a physical location." That has created problems with the timely uploading of both dashboard camera and body camera video, which the new cellular technology would address by allowing for instant remote uploading, the report said.Doing so would save "significant man-hours that can be dedicated to serving the citizens of the SOM (State of Michigan)," the request said.In the MSP's metro Detroit district alone, troopers and other officials spend 250 hours a month uploading and otherwise processing video, the report said. That means the statewide cost of such work is about $969,000, which would be reduced to just under $100,000 once the system is implemented statewide, according to the report.The new technology would also help prevent video from getting corrupted while being transferred for storage, help ensure that video can't be intentionally altered, deleted or corrupted, and make it much easier to respond to Michigan Freedom of Information Act requests, the report said.About half of the 20,000 FOIA requests the MSP receives annually include requests for video, and the report estimates the agency would save just over $200,000 a year in labor costs related to responding to those requests.Environment officers were busy preventing the spread of polluted water inside an industrial park in Jiangsu province that was hit by a deadly blast last week.



Priority had been given to the treatment of wastewater in the exploded chemical plant and the huge pit the explosion generated, according to a release from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Friday.

The deadly blast occurred at about 2:48 pm on March 21 following a fire in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. The accident has left at least 78 dead and more than 600 injured.

Alkali had been thrown into the waste water to neutralize its acidity so that the polluted water could flow to a nearby treatment plant via a pipeline. Otherwise, the wastewater would erode the pipeline, according to a working team the ministry dispatched to the site.

Environment officers have also begun to process the pollution in the Xinfeng River - the most polluted water body in the park after the explosion - to prevent it from contaminating waters outside the park, according to the release.

The construction of the pipeline connecting the river and the Yulang chemical sewage treatment plant was completed on Thursday night, it said.

"The priority in the team's work is to handle the wastewater resulting from the explosion and to closely monitor nearby rivers and other water bodies to ensure that not even a single drop of untreated water will be discharged into the external environment of the park," the release said.

According to the work plan, all polluted water would be temporarily stored at the Yulang chemical sewage treatment plant before being processed to meet national standards.

In addition to 50 environmental experts, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has also dispatched more than 200 environment monitoring officers to the site, according to the ministry.

Environment officers detected benzene concentrations in the air of 2.04 milligrams per cubic meter at a monitoring point 1 kilometer downwind from the explosion site at 10 am on Wednesday, a level about 17.5 times more than the national standard.

But at 10 am on Thursday and Friday, the benzene concentration at the same point was within the standard, according to the Ecology and Environment Department of Jiangsu.An the 2019 Hannover Messe, Ericsson, together with Audi and Sick (a leading provider of sensors for industrial automation), is demonstrating human-robot interaction in real time using 5G.

In the future, wireless production robots and employees will work hand in hand. Real-time interaction is essential for smooth collaboration. The key to this, the partners say, is 5G technology with its low latencyi.e., end-to-end delays of less than ten millisecondsand its high level of network stability.

As a result, interaction between humans and machines is made even safer thanks to 5G. The playful demonstration at Ericssons Hannover Messe booth is an example for the interaction in a factory.

The robot has sensors connected to the 5G network. As soon as a visitor stretches his hand towards the robot, this is detected by those sensors. The robot then hands the guest a packet of mint sweets.

In the future, 5G will be essential to allow flexible, wireless robots to interact reliably and safely with people in production environments. Because a robot connected via 5G can react to humans in real time only with extremely low latencies and very high availability. Jan-Peter Meyer-Kahlen, Head of the ICT Development Center Eurolab Aachen

The human-robot interaction at the Hannover Messe is just the beginning. With the introduction of 5G in car production, we are gaining completely new possibilities for connecting machines via radio. We are absolutely convinced of the potential of the new technology. Thats why we want to set up an in-house 5G network that will facilitate agile and flexible production in the future. Dr. Henning Loser, Head of the Audi Production Lab

Audi has been testing a local 5G network for vehicle production together with Ericsson since August 2018.Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics, a pioneer in autonomous driving solutions, are joining forces to commercialize highly automated trucks (SAE Level 4) on US roads. Going beyond an OEM/supplier relationship, the companies signed an agreement for Daimler AGs subsidiary Daimler Trucks and Buses Holding Inc., to acquire a majority stake in Torc Robotics for an undisclosed sum. Closing of the acquisition is subject to approval from US authorities.





With the ever-rising demand for road transportation, not the least through e-commerce, there is a strong business case for self-driving trucks in the US market and I believe the fastest path to commercialization for self-driving trucks is in partnership with Daimler Trucks, the OEM market leader. This move is in line with our mission of saving lives and represents another major milestone for Torc since crossing the finish line in the DARPA Urban Challenge 12 years ago. Michael Fleming, CEO of Torc

Torc is not a start-up, but one of the worlds most experienced companies for vehicle automation. Torc takes a practical approach to commercialization and offers advanced, road-ready technology, plus years of experience in heavy vehicles. Torcs Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine. Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA)

As part of the overall agreements, the Torc team will work closely with Daimler Trucks developers, particularly with the Research & Development team of Daimler Trucks North America in Portland, Oregon. Torc will continue to develop its Asimov self-driving software and testing at its Blacksburg facility.

At the same time, DTNA will focus on further evolving automated driving technology and vehicle integration for heavy-duty trucks at its Automated Truck Research & Development Center in Portland. The DTNA team is working on a truck chassis perfectly suited for automated driving, particularly the redundancy of systems needed to provide the maximum level of reliability and safety.

Under the agreement, Torc will remain a separate entity retaining its name, team, existing customers, and facilities in Blacksburg. The partnership with Daimler Trucks will enable Torc to expand significantly its team, engage into the trucking market and service its growing customer base in other markets.

In addition to the partnership with Torc, Daimler Trucks will continue to work

very closely across the Daimler Group for maximum synergies regarding automated vehicle technology. Specifically, Daimler Trucks is drawing on the activities and experiences of Mercedes-Benz Cars regarding sensor technology and operational aspects of vehicle automation.

Level 2 automated driving now a reality at Daimler Trucks. With Active Drive Assist (Mercedes-Benz Actros, FUSO Super Great) and Detroit Assurance 5.0 with Active Lane Assist (Freightliner Cascadia), Daimler Trucks is the first to bring partially automated driving features (SAE level 2) into series production.

The new system can independently brake, accelerate and steer. Unlike systems that only work above a certain speed, Active Drive Assist / Detroit Assurance 5.0 make partially automated driving possible in all speed ranges for the driver, also another first in a series production truck. This active lateral and longitudinal assistance package is powered by an advanced radar and camera fusion system.

Founded in 2005, Torc has integrated its self-driving solutions on ground vehicles ranging from SUVs to 300-ton mining trucks. The company employs around 100 people.

Torc has tested its on-road and traffic capabilities in demo self-driving cars that successfully logged robotic testing in more than 20 states while operating on both public roads and closed courses with zero accidents. The testing included a coast-to-coast trip across the United States and extensive driving in densely-packed streets such as those located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Torcs inclement weather capabilities were featured at CES 2019.

Torc believes that successful commercialization of self-driving technology is best accomplished through close partnerships. Announced partnerships include Caterpillar, with mining and agriculture applications, and AAA Northern California Nevada & Utah for developing safety criteria through testing on public streets and closed courses. In January, Torc and Transdev announced a partnership integrating Level 4 self-driving technology in an i-Cristal shuttle that is currently undergoing route testing in France and scheduled for commercial operation this year.For more than two years, American political life has been under the specter of Donald Trump and some of his aides' alleged connection to Russia's efforts to intervene in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Now that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is over, the U.S. president has indirectly acquired a new weapon for his re-election campaign. Trump and his allies are expected to attack their political opponents for deliberately vilifying them, and the Democrats might now find themselves in an impasse. The lack of evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russian government during his 2016 election campaign, seriously challenges their stance, which has been largely endorsed by almost all American mainstream media.



Some Democrats are not prepared to abandon this convenient strategy of accusing their political opponent and are determined to continue believing the President is not exonerated of collusion. But it is questionable whether the 2020 campaign can still be about the 2016 campaign, which would have certainly been the case if Mueller's findings had been different. Although the report itself has not been published, Attorney General William Barr released a summary of findings which support the conclusion that the treatment of the President was unfair.

The biggest challenge now for the Democrats is to develop a creative political agenda for the 2020 election. First, this will depend on the politician the party will nominate. The basic question among their voters is who would be the best candidate to challenge Trump in the next twenty months leading up to the elections.

A survey conducted in Iowa shows that former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are currently the Democrat's favored candidates for President. Biden, who has yet to announce his candidacy, is widely regarded as a serious, experienced, and centrist politician, but his age might be a disadvantage. Sanders, on the other hand, will certainly lead the Democrats towards the left as Jeremy Corbyn, who heads the Labor Party, is doing in the U.K. Other Democrats who will fight for the nomination, include Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke, Senators Kamala Harris (California), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Cory Booker (New Jersey) as well the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Peter Buttigieg. Kamala Harris deserves special attention because she can appeal to women and black voters who are traditionally core supporters of the Democratic party. But a poll conducted by Emerson a few days ago found that only Biden and Sanders had an edge over Trump in Iowa.



A major problem facing the Democrats now is their unclear political orientation as they find it hard to move beyond their criticism of Trump and persuade citizens to their cause. Some, for example, seek temporary publicity by proposing constitutional amendments that can arguably take place, such as abolishing the Electoral College. In addition, the emphasis on the greater role of the state is seemingly attractive in a country where citizens do not generally enjoy social and health benefits as do some other parts of the world. Recently, the Democrats advocated for the so-called "green new deal" without explaining how they would find the resources to finance it. More importantly, they have, until now, failed to propose a sustainable economic plan at a time when the national economy is performing well and tax-cuts introduced by Trump are yielding results.

Of course, politics is highly fluid. A lot can change before November 2020 and even more so after the Democrats nominate their candidate for the Presidential election. But as of now, they are struggling to formulate a positive agenda for the American people. In this way, the Mueller report is a double-edge sword for the party. On the one hand, it might be the springboard for the Democrats to start focusing on real politics and issues of interest that impact the daily lives of American citizens. But on the other, the report could also expose the weakness of the Democrats and their inability to articulate successful policy proposals for the American people.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:





http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.





If you would like to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.GREENWICH  Every two weeks or so, and on some special occasions, Sandy Litvack trudges to Town Hall to take his seat as the minority party member on the three-man Board of Selectmen. He is that person no one wants to be: the third wheel on a date.

Litvack, a Democrat, often disagrees with his Republican colleagues, First Selectman Peter Tesei and Selectman John Toner, and harbors no illusion that he has any significant impact on town affairs.

It is a completely unnecessary job, Litvack says of his role on the BOS. Litvack gave serious consideration to not accepting the seat in 2017, but decided it was his duty to represent his party and those who had voted for him.

Litvack, Tesei and Toner have peacefully co-existed since January 2018. But all that changed at last Thursdays BOS meeting when Tesei and Toner scuttled Litvacks request for an investigation into surreptitious videotaping and stalking in Town Hall during the 2017 municipal election campaign. The two Republicans remained silent as Litvack essentially pushed his colleagues to authorize further inquiry.

I was shocked. And, I was angry, In fact, Im still angry, Litvack said during a phone conversation Friday morning. Whether there was a civil violation or a crime committed, it was wrong. I still dont understand why Peter and John did not want to get to the bottom of it. But they dont.

Litvack may have been shocked by the Republicans silence, and puzzled by their lack of curiosity, but I dont think many others are surprised that both Tesei and Toner just want this surveillance issue to fade from the public conversation. There are many more details about this incident available on the Greenwich Time website, but it dates to the 2017 election season. The Democratic Town Committee had reserved space in Town Hall to run a phone bank in support of local Democratic candidates. One of the people taped and photographed without her knowledge that night was Joanna Swomley, Litvacks wife, and a co-founder of Indivisible Greenwich.

However, the public did not learn of the videotape until January 2019, 15 months after the taping. That is when Edward Dadakis decided to share it with his followers on Twitter. Dadakis, a former Greenwich GOP town chairman and current member of the partys state central committee, posted four photos with the headline Here is Indivisible Greenwich using Town Hall. Two of those photos were of the phone banks operated by the DTC, not Indivisible.

At first glance, January 2019 was a curious time to release photos from the 2017 election and to make a false claim about who was pictured. The 2017 election was a distant memory in this era of 24/7 political circuses.

But January 2019 was also the month Peter Tesei bent the rules of usage of Town Hall by outside groups, when he let local conservative firebrand Carl Higbie turn Town Hall into a sound stage for a taping of a show for Americas Voice Network, a commercial network that enables Content Providers, Agencies and Advertisers (capitalization is theirs) to reach a largely conservative audience.

Just as debate over the Higbie taping was reaching a peak, and other politicians were dropping their support of the event given Higbies record for racist, bigoted and homophobic comments, Dadakis dropped his Tweet with the implied claim that if Indivisible was allowed to use Town Hall, so should Carl Higbie. Twitter content is very much of the moment. That moment, I believe, was Dadakiss effort to help out Tesei, his longtime political ally, and promote Higbie.

But the plan backfired. Criticism of Teseis support of Higbies appearance at Town Hall grew, and Dadakis had inadvertently revealed a secret videotaping or photographing of private activity at Town Hall, which some believe is a criminal offense.

Now, we have the towns chief executive refusing to support an investigation into a dirty tricks scheme to spy on his political opponents.

One of the images posted appears to be of activity in the Mazza Room at Town Hall. Another appears to be of the Cone Room. The second floor Cone Room is one of the spaces in Town Hall equipped with video cameras to record and broadcast meetings for town boards and commissions. Those cameras are secured and can only be turned on and accessed by a few volunteers working with Greenwich Community Television, Channel 79.

The video equipment is controlled in a small room that shares a common door with the Cone Room. Access to that room is restricted by key card, and only a few people have those cards. This would not be a difficult case to solve.

Tesei did ask Town Attorney John Wayne Fox at the Thursday BOS meeting to take a further look into privacy issues and the use of recording equipment. While Fox takes, oh, lets say, three years to complete his further work, Swomley, for one, has grown tired of waiting. She filed a complaint Friday about the surveillance with the Greenwich Police Department. The question now becomes, will Police Commissioner Tesei get behind an investigation that as First Selectman he dismissed?

Bob Horton can be reached at bobhorton@yahoo.com.Maine State Police said Friday that a man fatally shot his estranged wife before setting fire to her mother's home and returning to the scene of the shooting to kill himself earlier this month.

Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said investigators still don't know why Kenneth Bryant, 48, killed Autumn Bryant, 44, in Gardiner and burned her mother's home in Sidney. Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to close the nation's southern border with Mexico next week, amid feud over illegal immigration.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our southern border, I will be closing the border, or large sections of the border, next week," Trump said on Twitter.

He claimed closing off border crossings, key avenues for trade with Mexico, "would be a good thing!"

The threat came a day after Trump criticized Mexico and several Central American nations for not halting illegal immigrants heading north to cross the U.S. border.

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action," Trump said in a tweet Thursday. "Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing."

"May close the Southern Border!" he added.

The president's remarks stood in contrast with those of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who has thanked Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for their efforts to help the United States secure the border.

"America shares common cause with the countries of Central America in confronting these challenges," Nielsen said in a statement Thursday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected Trump's criticism.

"We respect President Trump's position, and we are going to help," Lopez Obrador told reporters on Thursday. "This is a problem of the United States, or it's a problem of the Central American countries. It's not up to us Mexicans, no."

Trump repeatedly threatened to seal the southern border late last year, when the White House and Congressional Democrats couldn't reach an agreement over his demand for billions of U.S. dollars in funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a plank of his 2016 presidential campaign.

The latest threats were issued after U.S. border officials said they are facing an increase in asylum seekers along the southern border, many of them reportedly children and families, fleeing violence and economic hardship in Central America.

Democrats have refused to give in over Trump's proposals on border security, arguing that president was exaggerating the situation on the border for political gains while calling the proposed border wall costly and unnecessary.

Trump retaliated by declining to sign spending bills, resulting in a record-breaking 35-day partial government shutdown, which ended in January.

To acquire access to money for building the wall, Trump declared a national emergency in mid-February, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and raised concerns among Republicans.

The U.S. House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, failed earlier this week to override Trump's veto of a congressional resolution blocking his national emergency declaration.



Haiti - Economy : The free zone of Digneron has already create 8,000 jobs





Recall that in July 2018, the "Palm Apparel Group", a group of Haitian businessmen completed the first phase of the construction of an industrial park in the Dideron free zone located in Roche Blanche (Croix-des-Bouquets) hhttps://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18566-icihaiti-economy-towards-the-establishment-of-3-new-free-zones-in-haiti.html with an area of 33,000 m2 this phase required $ 15 million in investments.



In this first phase, 4 industrial buildings, two administrative buildings (with seismic standards), customs facilities and appropriate infrastructures were built (cafeteria, dispensary...)



The Haitian promoters of the "Palm Apparel Group" Jean Paul Faubert, Guy Faubert, Patrick Blanchet, Alain Villard and Roger Carrie specify that 8,000 jobs have already been created and with the completion of the Digneron free zone, they estimate they can create 15,000 jobs additional. The Group indicates that the workers were trained and received the minimum wage during their training, underlining that those who become more efficient earn between 600 and 700 gourdes per day.



"There are opportunities to do good things in Haiti despite the instability in the country" according to the promoters who have recently lost the opportunity to sign two important contracts because of the socio-political situation and the lack of road infrastructure. Indeed, it would take 8 kilometers of road to serve this free zone which is also waiting for a bridge to cross the river Grise from Tabarre. However confident, they intend to take full advantage of the competitive advantages of the HOPE (Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership for Encouragement) which allows the United States to import duty-free quota of clothing from Haiti, and generate employment and income of currency in Haiti.



Note that the "Palm Apparel Group" plans to build a hospital outside the free zone for the inhabitants of Digneron.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26479-haiti-economy-summary-challenges-and-perspectives-of-the-textile-sector.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20786-haiti-politics-moise-seeks-to-encourage-investment.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18566-icihaiti-economy-towards-the-establishment-of-3-new-free-zones-in-haiti.html



SL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - News : Zapping...





A police officers and his wife murdered

Friday, March 28 at Carrefour Fleuriot around 7:00 pm the police officer Pierrelin Jean Baptiste and his wife were cowardly murdered.



Jean-Bertrand Aristide refuses the invitation of Jovenel Moise

Jude Charles Faustin, counselor of Jovenel Moise, revealed that after meeting with former Presidents Jocelerme Privert and Boniface Alexandre, President Jovenel Moise who wishes to discuss with all opposition political actors such as Jean-Charles Moise, Andre Michel among others had sent an invitation to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who refused to receive this invitation from the Palace.



Demonstrations, the opposition struggles to mobilize

On Friday, a few hundred protesters marched in several streets of the capital demanding the resignation of the Head of State. In the provinces, to Petit-Goave, Cap-Haitien and Saint Marc among others, the mobilization was modest compared to the big announcements of the opposition which predicted since several a new paralysis of the country. Most events took place without major incidents.



Words of Jovenel Moise

"32 years have passed since we ratified a Constitution for the establishment of the rule of law. The dream is still fragile. Its concretization depends on the sacred union of all Haitians called to build a democratic, free and prosperous Nation," said Friday Jovenel Moise.



Distribution of fishing equipments

Two associations of 115 fishermen in Roche a Bateau and Chardonnieres in the Southern Department received fishing equipments distributed by the United Nations Food Fund (FAO) in partnership with the organization for the improvement of fisheries Artisanal and Integrated Development (PADI).



Truck repair after 7 years...

Thursday, Guito Edouard, the Director General of the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) went to Morne-a-Cabri, to see the progress of the repair work of 13 emptying trucks, by Haitian and Cuban mechanics, out of the 26 vehicles in breakdowns since 2012. The repaired trucks will be deployed at the different Regional Drinking Water and Sanitation Offices to ensure the emptying of excreta in public institutions (schools, hospitals...), as well as sanitary blocks built throughout the country.



HL/ HaitiLibre

















Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  A young celebrity who recently figured in a drunk driving incident took to social media Friday to apologize for his actions.

Migo Adecer, who was hailed as StarStruck Ultimate Male Survivor in 2015 said, "First of all, I would like to apologize to all the persons who had been adversely affected by this incident. I have apologized to the police authorities and have explained to them that disobeying them was not my intention at all."

His apology was posted on Instagram.

Adecer was arrested on Tuesday after hitting two Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) employees while driving.

A police report stated that Adecer continued driving even after hitting the two victims, and was chased down by police officers along Barangay Poblacion, Makati City. The victims were brought to Ospital ng Makati for medical treatment.

Police said Adecer was drunk and became unruly, refusing to surrender his driver's license. He also attempted to hit a patrol police car.

Adecer was charged for reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries and damage to properties and disobedience to a person in authority.

Adecer said his actions following the incident were out of fear, as he had never been in that kind of situation.

He also apologized to the MMDA personnel he hit, adding they were kind enough to forgive him.

He then begged off from interviews at the moment, but promised he would answer all questions soon. Flash

British lawmakers on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, which has already been rejected twice in Parliament since January.

MPs voted 286 to 344 to turn down the Withdrawal Agreement and delay Brexit to May 22.

May said after the vote that the implications of the outcome are "grave."

"I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," the prime minister said after she was defeated by a majority of 58.

At the request of the British government, MPs were asked to vote Friday only on the 585-page Withdrawal Agreement, which was concluded in November 2018 between London and the EU after long and painful negotiations. The Brexit deal sets out the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union.

May's Brexit deal was rejected in the House of Commons by a record 230 votes in January and by 149 earlier this month.

The prime minister separated her Brexit deal from the 26-page political declaration on future relations when seeking the parliamentary vote partly to meet the recent ruling of Commons Speaker John Bercow that the same motion can not be tabled twice in the same parliamentary session.

After the vote, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, told the House of Commons that "it is the third time that the prime minister's agreement was rejected."

Corbyn went further to call for a general election in the country. His statement was echoed by MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party, which is from Northern Ireland and propping up May's minority government.

Earlier this month, MPs voted to delay Brexit from March 29 to April 12 or May 22.

The "legal default" is that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on April 12, said May, who has been waging an uphill fight to get her Brexit deal through Parliament in order to pave the way for Britain to leave the European Union on May 22.

Britain will leave the European Union with no deal unless May can find a new agreement with Brussels.

The prime minister said that she had not enough time to negotiate a new agreement with the European Union with only 14 days to go until the new Brexit date.

However, she said that her government will push for an orderly Brexit after Parliament had rejected a no-deal Brexit and a fresh Brexit referendum.

May said earlier this week that she had agreed to step down as prime minister before the next phase of negotiations with the European Union if her deal is passed in Parliament.

The European Council said last week that if MPs approved the Brexit deal by March 29, the European Union would extend the Article 50 exit process until May 22.

In response to the latest vote in the British Parliament, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted that European Union's leaders will meet on April 10 for a summit to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc.

"In view of the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the House of Commons, I have decided to call a European Council on 10 April," Tusk said in the message.



HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A stalled bill meant to help missing persons investigations in Montana has been revived.

The measure passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday after it was amended to give the state Department of Justice the option of hiring a missing persons specialist, instead of making it a requirement.

The Independent Record reports the measure next goes to the Senate floor. The bill earlier passed the House on a 99-0 vote.

The bill, called Hanna's Act, is named for a Native American woman who was reported missing before her body was found on the Northern Cheyenne Indian R...Keith Duffy in his element on stage. Now he is in hospital with wife Lisa at his bedside. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Ronan Keating said Keith Duffy went into a "downward spiral" before being taken to hospital ahead of a Boyzone gig in Thailand.

Duffy was unable to perform at the show in Bangkok on Thursday night and Keating has said he is unsure whether he will be able to travel to Australia to join them for their next concert tonight.

Keating said Duffy (44) had undergone blood tests but they did not yet know the cause of his illness, speculating that it could have been food poisoning.

Temperature

A statement from the band said Duffy had been taken to hospital "on the advice of the local medical team".

Keating added that he and Boyzone band-mates Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham had to leave Duffy in hospital to fly to Australia but that his wife Lisa was with him.

Expand Close The full Boyzone line-up of Keith Duffy, Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham. Photo: Niall Carson/PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp The full Boyzone line-up of Keith Duffy, Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

"He took ill before the show. He just went on a downward spiral," he said.

"He came to the gig. He had a massive, really high temperature.

"The doctors arrived at the gig and they said it wasn't possible for him to go on in the state he was in. We really don't know - we assumed it was food poisoning or something like that.

"But we don't know. There may be something else going on. We're waiting to hear back on the blood tests and whether or not he can travel.

"So we're hoping he can be on a plane tonight in Thailand and be here for the show tomorrow, fingers crossed," he added.

The Irish boyband, who are on their farewell tour to mark their 25th anniversary, are scheduled to perform in Perth tonight.

Keating said he hoped Duffy would be right for their Adelaide show next Tuesday if he cannot make the gig in Perth.

Asked about the Bangkok gig without Duffy, Keating said it was "hilarious".

"We had considered certain things but not others. I had to take some of Keith's vocals and I didn't know the words," he said.

"It was in When The Going Gets Tough and I had no idea, no clue whatsoever.

"I just looked at Shane and handed the mic out to the audience and hoped they'd sing along." Flash

"The New Zealand-China relationship has grown in breadth and depth in recent years. And we're looking for fresh momentum to two-way links as a result of Prime Minister Ardern's visit across a range of areas of cooperation," New Zealand Ambassador to China Clare Fearnley said in Beijing on Friday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will pay an official visit to China from March 31 to April 1 at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"We're very much looking forward to the visit. High-level contact of this sort is of great benefit to bilateral relations," Fearnley said in an interview with Xinhua.

Once a student at Peking University in the 1980s and Consul-General in Shanghai from 1998 to 2002, Fearnley herself is a witness of the development of bilateral ties.

When asked about her China experiences, Fearnley said: "Chinese people bring China to life for me. From deep conversations with old friends to simple exchanges with taxi drivers or in a restaurant over a bowl of noodles, I find curiosity, warmth and a sense of humor amongst Chinese people." She stressed that people-to-people connections will carry the bilateral relationship into the future.

With its breathtaking scenery, the island country in the South Pacific Ocean has long been a dream destination for Chinese tourists. The ambassador told Xinhua that the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism would be launched on March 30, one day before the prime minister's upcoming visit.

She also noticed that an exhibition of Terracotta Warriors, sculptures representing ancient Chinese art and civilization, at the National Museum of New Zealand, has gained national attention and popularity. "It's been so popular that within the first two months, the number of visitors had already exceeded the expectation for the entire four-month season."

Apart from tourism and culture, cooperation in education and academic research is also going deeper between the two sides, she added.

As a strong pillar of bilateral ties, economic and trade cooperation will be a major topic for Ardern's meetings with the Chinese side during the visit.

"The economic link is very strong since the two countries concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 11 years ago," Fearnley said, adding that the trade relationship has developed in a fastpaced and balanced way.

"Trade links now go well beyond the traditional sectors of dairy, forestry, fisheries and horticulture to a range of high-tech sectors and also services."

China has recently adopted a Foreign Investment Law. "We're pleased that Chinese authorities invited foreign governments to comment on the draft of the law," she said, adding the new law represents a step toward high-level opening up.

The two sides are also working toward an early conclusion of the FTA upgrade, Fearnley said.A customer services team member in Dublin Airport who fell over a passenger's bag has claimed in the High Court her past-time as a keen golfer has been affected by a knee injury she sustained in the accident

A man who slapped his two-year-old daughter in a Cork shopping centre, prompting two concerned shoppers to immediately alert gardai, has been fined 700.

The 46-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found by Cork District Court's Judge Olann Kelleher to have slapped the child as she struggled to get out of a shopping trolley in the car park.

However, the man - who is not Irish - was described in court as being a devoted father and husband. He had no previous convictions.

A medical report sought on the child, who was two years and 10 months old at the time of the incident on July 23, 2017, subsequently found no injuries.

The court was told the man had moved to Ireland with his family so that his little girl could grow up learning English.

The man had at all times denied slapping his daughter.

Judge Kelleher said he found the facts proved against the man.

"The extent of the slapping amounted to assault," he said.

"It is fair to say that he has not co-operated fully with the Probation and Welfare Service (PWS)."

The judge noted that the PWS said it felt it no longer had a role to play in the matter.

Sad

Tusla had been liaising with the man's family since the incident was brought before the courts.

The judge imposed a fine of 350 on each of the two charges. He allowed the man four months to pay.

The defendant had appeared before Cork District Court on two charges of assaulting his daughter at a Cork shopping centre on July 23, 2017.

Judge Kelleher previously said that while he found the facts proved against the man in respect of the assault matter, he wanted to consider alternatives to recording a conviction.

"This is a very, very sad case," he said.

The judge noted that, having seen the incident, the two female shoppers were so concerned for the safety of the child they contacted gardai.

The defendant did not address the court. However, on a previous court sitting he became very emotional.

"Our kid is suffering and no one cares," he said.

"Where is the heart? I want my family safe. My family is not safe. My family is suffering. My kid is suffering. What do I have to do?"

The man's wife also became extremely distraught during the previous court hearing.

A female witness told the court she was near a Cork shopping centre on July 23, 2017.

The woman said her attention was drawn to the high-pitched sound of a child crying.

She saw a man struggling with a young child by a shopping trolley. He was trying to get the child's legs into the seat.

Later, she came across the pair back in the car park.

She said she saw the man standing by the rear of his car and swinging his hands into the back of the car.

The woman said she heard the child crying and noted that her voice was getting higher and louder in apparent distress.

A second woman at the centre said she also saw the man swinging his hands into the rear of the car - and heard a child crying. The woman said, as she passed, she heard the man shouting in a loud voice: "Have you enough, now?"

Neither said they actually witnessed the child being struck but were convinced about what had happened.

Judge Kelleher said the evidence of the two independent witnesses was both compelling and credible.A man whose dangerous driving due to inattention and tiredness caused the death of an elderly woman has been jailed for 14 months.

James Dingle (42) struck Maureen Creaner (92) with his 4x4 as she crossed the road to buy a paper at 8.15am, causing "catastrophic injuries" which led to her death.

A garda at the scene noticed a smell of intoxicating liquor from Dingle and a test found him to be "barely" over the drink-driving limit. He told gardai he had taken alcohol while socialising the night before.

Dingle had had a row with his partner the previous night and was driving to her house at the time of the crash.

Garda experts concluded that Dingle had been driving at 64kph in a 50kph zone.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Dingle's phone activity was analysed and his usage in the early hours of the morning showed there was a "severe lack of sleep" on his part.

The prosecution told the court it could not be said definitively that Dingle was on the phone at the time of the accident but that he was using the phone "very close" to the time of the incident.

Dingle, of Drumcliffe Road, Cabra, Dublin, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Ms Creaner at Navan Road, Cabra, on September 4, 2016.

Stories

David Creaner, Maureen's son, paid tribute to her in the family's victim impact statement.

He said Ms Creaner had been a loving mother who provided "a loving, friendly and safe home", which was always open to family and friends.

He said his mother had lived through interesting times and had "92 years of stories", which they had just started recording the week prior to her death.

He said they missed her for lots of reasons, including her good advice and inspiring attitude to life.

He said they wished to thank the emergency services and nurses at the Mater hospital who were with their mother in the moments before she died when they could not be there.

Mr Creaner said it was the family's hope that as the lengthy legal process reaches a close, they could "begin to remember Maureen not as a victim but as our wonderful mother".

Judge Martin Nolan said it seemed Dingle did not see Ms Creaner, or at least not see her in time.

The judge said Dingle knew he had taken drink the night before, knew he was tired and drove at a certain speed.

"These are things he had control over, made decisions about and must take responsibility for," said Judge Nolan.

"His inattention was contributed to by these factors."

He noted in mitigation that Dingle had remained at the scene, co-operated with gardai and made full admissions.

He said testimonials handed into court on Dingle's behalf were impressive and it must be taken into account that he was a productive man.

Judge Nolan imposed 14 months' imprisonment and disqualified Dingle from driving for four years.

He also extended his condolences to the Creaner family.AN English national has been arrested in London in connection with the brutal feud murder of dissident republican Michael Barr.

Barr was shot dead in the Sunset House pub in the Summerhill area of Dublin in April 2016, on the orders of the Kinahan cartel.

The man (40) who was picked up is not suspected of being a gunman in the case.

Extradition

Officers from the Extradition Unit picked up the man at a London prison yesterday after he completed a short sentence for minor offences.

He will now undergo an extradition procedure in the UK, which may take a number of weeks or months.

Gardai hope the extradition will not be affected by the ongoing Brexit debacle.

If his extradition is granted by the British courts, the suspect will be the third man to appear before the courts here in relation to the murder of IRA man Barr, who was blamed by the Kinahan cartel for involvement in the Regency Hotel bloodbath.

Eamonn Cumberton (31) became the first person to be convicted of a murder linked to the Hutch/Kinahan feud when he was jailed for life by the Special Criminal Court in January of last year.

Gardai believe Cumberton, who trained in mixed martial arts, became involved in the Barr murder because he owed a significant cocaine debt to the cartel.

He had denied the murder of Barr (35) in the Sunset House pub on April 25, 2016.

The Special Criminal Court heard how Barr was standing at the counter of the bar, socialising, when two men wearing "Freddy Krueger" masks entered the pub.

Execution

One of them shot him seven times, in what the court described as a "deliberate" and "planned" execution.

Also convicted in the case was Martin Aylmer (31), of Casino Park, Marino, who was jailed for three years and nine months last October for helping a criminal organisation murder the bar manager.

Gardai recovered a mobile phone beside the partially burnt-out getaway car following the murder and CCTV footage later showed Aylmer buying the phone in Dublin's Ilac Shopping Centre two days before Barr was shot dead.A hairdresser who betrayed an elderly customer by using her bank card to steal from her has been given community service instead of a jail sentence.

Elaine Long (47) heartlessly took the card to make cash withdrawals and book flights for herself as 88-year-old Bernie Clarke's health deteriorated.

A court heard Ms Clarke, who had lost the power of speech to a progressive brain disorder and communicated by writing, "loved" to see the accused call to do her hair, a weekly treat to herself.

After the betrayal was revealed, she "lost trust in people" and has since died.

Judge Geraldine Carthy ordered Long to do 240 hours of community service instead of five months in prison.

Ms Clarke's daughter, Marian Murray, said the family was "devastated" by the crimes and felt Long should have been jailed.

Horrified

Long, a mother-of-two, from Blackhorse Grove, North Circular Road, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft, with a total of 924 proved stolen.

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Garda Padraic Walsh told Dublin District Court that in June 2017 Ms Murray reported the compromised use of her mother's AIB bank card in a cash withdrawal.

She went to the shop where the withdrawal was made and was "horrified" to identify Long.

Gardai established the accused had used the card to withdraw 500 at Spar, Ashtown, on June 4 and 100 from a Maxol service station on the Navan Road on June 14.

It was also used to buy a 133 Dublin to Liverpool Ryanair flight in Long's name on June 5 and another flight for 131.

Long used the card to make a payment on her own Virgin Media account on May 30, 2017.

When questioned, Long denied using the card and did not "show any remorse", the garda said.

Ms Clarke passed away last year, the court heard.

Ms Murray said her mother had progressive supranuclear palsy, akin to muscular dystrophy, and could not speak.

Her mother began getting hair care at home from Long when she became sick in 2015 and Long was given a key to the home, "such was the trust we developed with her".

"Elaine and mum described each other as each other's adopted mother/daughter," Ms Murray said. "Mum loved to see Elaine coming to do her hair.

"As mum became more immobile she lost the power of speech and had to communicate with writing, which left her very vulnerable.

"It was at this point Elaine Long took advantage of the trust placed in her. We are devastated by this betrayal.

"I was speechless when I saw it was Elaine Long on the CCTV footage using our mum's bank card.

Manipulated

"I had dinner on occasions with Elaine and could not believe she would breach the trust our family and mum placed in her.

"We feel manipulated. Mum lost her trust in people at a time when she really needed to be able to trust people."

Long had no previous convictions and at the time her sister was undergoing cancer treatment, defence solicitor Amanda Connolly said.

The accused had been under financial pressure. She acknowledged she had abused a position of trust, was deeply ashamed and regretted the hurt she had caused.

Long had compensation in court and Ms Clarke's family wanted that to go to charity.

Judge Carthy said the breach of trust had had a significant impact and nothing would bring Ms Clarke back.

It was appropriate the accused would "give back to society" rather than being sent to prison, she said.

Ms Murray said she did not think community service was enough. "I would have liked to have seen her serve time in prison," she said.U2's former photographer has told how he was attacked by a man who intended to kill him when he plunged a bread knife into his chest.

Famed photographer Colm Henry (65) spoke to the Herald yesterday at his home in Bray, Co Wicklow, and revealed he was lucky to be alive after the attack - which also involved him being struck on the forehead with a hammer.

Gardai are keen to speak to a 61-year-old local man, who is well known to the victim, following Thursday's attack.

Broke

It is understood the incident is directly linked to a long-running property dispute.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Expand Close Colm Henry, a former photographer for U2, shows off his injuries after he suffered a knife attack / Facebook

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Whatsapp Colm Henry, a former photographer for U2, shows off his injuries after he suffered a knife attack

Mr Henry explained he was "lucky to be alive" after the bread knife was stabbed into his chest but "hit the breast bone" and broke.

"When I came downstairs he came at me with the hammer and a kitchen knife," he said.

"He hit me on the head with the hammer and then stabbed me in the chest.

"He chased me out on to the street. He was just about to try and finish me off.

"But there were a lot of people around and they came to help me. His intention was to kill me. If I hadn't made it to the street I wouldn't have made it.

"He needs help - he needs to be institutionalised," added Mr Henry.

He started out in photography in the late 1970s and spent more than 10 years as U2's photographer.

He was the recipient of the "Best of Irish" award in Irish editorial photography.

He said of his time photographing U2: "It was their most creative period by a mile. They started out as boys and ended as men."

The chief suspect in the attack had fled by the time emergency services arrived.

Gardai were last night in contact with a man over the incident.

Mr Henry was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital where he received emergency treatment before discharging himself from the facility yesterday morning.

The photographer retired around a decade ago and has been involved in the B&B trade since then. He has an iconic collection of Irish music photography, including images of Rory Gallagher, Phil Lynott and Shane MacGowan, as well as U2.

Shaken

Mr Henry was yesterday preparing to move out of his home by agreement following receivership proceedings at the Commercial Court.

"This is my Brexit day, to move out by agreement and arrangement," he said.

The arrangement to vacate the property was agreed in the High Court last September.

It is understood the respected family man is relocating to a rural location in Munster but has been left "severely shaken" by the shocking events of Thursday evening.

Local gardai were alerted to the scene on Adelaide Road, Bray, at around 6.30pm and put a cordon in place around the property. There was a large amount of blood at the scene.

A garda spokeswoman confirmed the incident, saying the investigation was ongoing.

"Gardai in Bray are investigating an alleged assault that occurred at Adelaide Road, Bray," she said.

"A male in his 60s was assaulted and received head wounds. He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital for treatment.

"Investigations are ongoing. No arrests have been made."Igors Smirnov (64) was working nights and claimed his sleep was being disturbed by deliveries to the pub.. Stock photo

A taxi driver slashed a tyre of a delivery man's van after he confronted him about noise as he dropped off kegs of beer at a pub.

Igors Smirnov (64) was working nights and claimed his sleep was being disturbed by deliveries to the pub.

Judge John Lindsay ordered Smirnov to pay 600 compensation to the victim.

The judge also ordered Smirnov to donate 200 to the Children's Sunshine Home Hospice Fund and adjourned the case to May.

The defendant, from Stepaside village, Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, admitted criminal damage and possessing pepper spray.

Garda Trevor Gibbons told Dun Laoghaire District Court the victim had parked his vehicle in the loading bay at Morgan & Mac's pub in Stepaside village at around 2pm last March 30 to deliver kegs of beer.

Smirnov, who had a grievance about noise, confronted the victim and slashed one of his tyres. The damage amounted to 420.

Footage

Gda Gibbons said the victim made a complaint to gardai and the culprit was identified from CCTV footage.

The garda later called at the defendant's home and he was taken to Dundrum Garda Station for questioning.

When emptying his pockets at the garda station, Gda Gibbons said Smirnov took out a black leather pouch that contained a Swiss army knife and a can of pepper spray.

Gda Gibbons said there was no suggestion the spray had been used.

Smirnov had no previous convictions, the court heard.

Defence lawyer Gavin Keogh said the pepper spray was in the defendant's home and he had taken it to the garda station. He did not know he was not allowed to carry it.

Mr Keogh said Smirnov was married and had two grown-up children. The incident had been very distressing for him.

The court heard Smirnov had been working nights as a taxi driver at the time and had an issue with beer kegs being dropped from a height and interfering with his sleep.

Mr Keogh said Smirnov had gone down to remonstrate with the delivery driver and had "taken matters into his own hands".

The dispute was now resolved and there were no more difficulties, the court heard. Flash

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday that the European Union (EU) must be open to a long extension of Brexit if Britain decides to "fundamentally reconsider its approach to Brexit and put back on the table options previously ruled out".

"I believe that will result in a generous and understanding response from the 27," said the prime minister.

The 27 he mentioned here refers to the remaining 27 member states of the EU if Britain eventually leaves the bloc.

Varadkar's remarks came after the House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, once again rejected the Withdrawal Agreement reached between the British government led by Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU in a Friday vote.

In a statement, Varadkar said "It is now up to the UK to indicate how it plans to proceed in order to avoid a NO Deal scenario."

He reiterated the unanimous position of the EU that the Withdrawal Agreement will not be re-opened.

"Ireland has been preparing intensively for a No Deal scenario. But no one should under-estimate the difficulties that a No Deal will present, for all of us, including the UK. It is not clear that the UK has fully understood that NO Deal is not off the agenda. Rather, it's a growing possibility," he said.

He urged Britain to "chart a realistic way forward for consideration" at a meeting of the European Council called by its President Donald Tusk on April 10.

In the statement, Varadkar said that prior to the European Council meeting he will meet one-to-one with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and he will also speak to other heads of government of the EU members by phone.

Earlier in the day, a government press office statement said that Varadkar will meet Macron in Paris next Tuesday and Merkel in Dublin next Thursday.

"Discussions in both meetings will focus on current EU issues in particular latest developments on Brexit," said the statement.



'So much we want the public to know': Meritus COVID cases surge againTheir (Chinas) efforts to build ports around the world arent because they want to be good shipbuilders and stewards of waterways, but rather they have a state national security element to each and every one of them: Mike Pompeo

China poses security threat to the US, its friends and allies, Pompeo said

WASHINGTON: Chinese infrastructure and connectivity projects around the world have an element of national security and are less of an economic offer for host countries, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said as Beijing is gearing to host the second Belt and Road Forum.

The One Belt One Road OBOR, also called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China claims, is a multi-billion dollar project focused on improving connectivity and cooperation among countries in Asia, Africa, China and Europe.

Pompeo Thursday told a Washington audience that China poses security threat to the US, its friends and allies.

Theyre moving into the South China Sea is not because they want freedom of navigation. Their efforts to build ports around the world arent because they want to be good shipbuilders and stewards of waterways, but rather they have a state national security element to each and every one of them, Pompeo said in conversation with Rich Lowry at the National Review Institutes 2019 Ideas Summit.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is no different, he asserted.

Weve said this every place weve gone, every  if you talk to any of our ambassadors or our charges, they will tell you we are happy to compete on a fair, transparent basis under rule of law with the Chinese anywhere in the world. Well win more than our fair share, but well lose some to them too, he said.

But when youre showing up with a non-economic offer, whether thats through state-facilitated, below-market pricing or handing someone something knowing that you can foreclose on their nation shortly, so predatory lending practices, thats not straight and we are working diligently to make sure everyone in the world understands that threat, Pompeo said.

India has been raising concern over the BRIs China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as it is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The 3,000-km CPEC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical fibre cable networks.

India too advised caution, specially the neighbouring countries, about debt traps.

Apprehensions over the huge loans grew after China acquired Sri Lankas strategic Hambantota port on a 99-year lease as a debt swap.

The world is waking up to this threat, the US secretary of State said.

I think Asia and Southeast Asia in particular are waking up to this risk, and I hope the State Department can continue to be a part of making sure that they see that, identify it, and that it becomes more difficult for the Chinese to engage in these practices, Pompeo said.

Pompeos comments came as China is getting ready to hold the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) next month. India boycotted the first BRF meet held in 2017 as Beijing went ahead with the CPEC with Pakistan.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told an annual media briefing here this month that the BRF meeting to be held in April would be bigger that that in 2017 with more international participation.

Wang refuted the criticism from the US, India and several other countries that the BRI is driving smaller countries in debt traps.

The BRI is not a debt trap that some countries may fall into but an economic pie that benefits local population, Wang claimed.

Source : The Times of IndiaActor Kareena Kapoor Khan has joined actor Irrfan Khan on Hindi Medium 2. A source close to the actor told IANS: She is playing the lead role in the film and might turn into cop mode for it. The film will be shot in London.

Hindi Medium was directed by Saket Choudhary and released in 2017. It starred Irrfan and Pakistani actor Saba Qamar in lead roles. The film was based on Indias education system and was a big critical and commercial hit.

Also read: Soni Razdan on Alia Bhatt: I did not bring up my child to think that she was a star, it was a normal middle-class life

The sequel will be Irrfans first project after he was diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Tumour in March last year. Irrfan had shared his diagnosis on Twitter. The unexpected makes us grow, which is what the past few days have been about. Learning that I have been diagnosed with NeuroEndocrine Tumour as of now has admittedly been difficult, but the love and strength of those around me and that I found within me has brought me to a place of hope. The journey of this is taking me out of the country, and I request everyone to continue sending their wishes. As for the rumours that were floated NEURO is not always about the brain and googling is the easiest way to do research.To those who waited for my words, I hope to be back with more stories to tell, he wrote in a tweet.

A source had earlier told the Asian Age, While Hindi Medium was shot extensively in India, the sequel will be shot in the US. The story will revolve around the daughter, to be played by Radhika Madan, who leaves travels to the United States for her higher education.

Apart from Hindi Medium 2, Kareena will next be seen in Karan Johars Takht and in Good News with Akshay Kumar. Takht will begin filming later this year while Good News is already in production.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreActor Priyanka Chopra, who was in Miami with husband Nick Jonas and rest of their family recently, attended the graduation ceremony of brother-in-law Franklin Jonas in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday. Franklin is the youngest Jonas brother. The actor shared pictures from the ceremony on social media.

Sharing two pictures, Priyanka wrote: The man of the hour!! @franklinjonas we r so proud of u.. Graduate ! Cant wait to witness what else u will accomplish in your life. To bigger and greater heights! Love u.

In one of the pictures, Priyanka, her in-laws Kevin Sr and Denise cuddle up to Franklin as he displays his certificate. In another, Priyanka, Denise and Franklin share a hug.

She also put out a video clip from the graduation ceremony and wrote: So proud of u @franklinjonas yay! Hes a graduate!

Priyanka and Nick, along with other family members including Joe and his fiancee and Games of Thrones star Sophie Turner had been stationed in Miami where the Jonas Brothers were shooting a new music video. This comes after the success of their comeback song, Sucker, whose music video features Priyanka, Sophie and Kevin Jonas wife Daniella as well.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas have a blast as they throw cakes at a concert crowd in Miami. See pics, video

However, the celebrity couple and Joe managed to take some time out on Thursday and hung out at a concert of DJ Steve Aoki. The highlight of the concert was when Priyanka and Nick threw cakes into the crowd. Steve shared pictures and videos from the concert on social media.

Priyanka has finished shooting for her Bollywood comeback film, The Sky Is Pink, in which she stars with Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim. Her latest Hollywood release was Isnt It Romantic. She has also launched her YouTube talk show called If I Could Tell You Just One Thing. In the show, she invites three female celebrities and asks them for life advice. In the very first episode she was advised to have children.

Follow @htshowbiz for more176pp, 200; Goa, 1556

Addressing the overflowing audience at last weeks launch of his first-ever compilation of English writings, Konkani literatures icon Damodar Mauzo was characteristically self-effacing: When any book is released in Goa, we usually see about 60 people. Since this one is by me, perhaps 100 could be expected. So many have come today that I have told our chief guest all the rest of you are here because of him. But when the historian and Gandhi biographer, Ramachandra Guha took the microphone, he demurred, I dont know about anyone else, but the reason I am here is Bhai (as Mauzo is affectionately called by everyone who knows him) and Bhai alone.

Mauzo stands out an unusual bridge figure in Indias diverse literary landscape, with his stature extending beyond the usual language and regional limitations. Amitav Ghosh, who recently became the first English writer to win the Jnanpith Award, told me via email, There can be no doubt that Damodar is Goas most important literary voice, as well as its ambassador to the literary world. Not only is he a great story-teller himself, he has close connections with many writers across India and has helped to acquaint many of them with Goas culture and traditions. Being the warm, cultivated, congenial person that he is, he has shown the world a side of Goa that is very different from the usual stereotypes.

In his writing career extending over five decades, spanning short stories, novels, criticism, journalism and screenplays, Mauzo has proven impossible to pigeonhole. Heres a man whose most memorable characters are women, a Hindu whose works uncannily portray mostly the Catholic milieu, a soft-spoken and surpassingly gentle human being whose life is nonetheless imperilled by violent extremists. In July 2018, the 74-year-olds name was found on the target list maintained by the murderers of Bengaluru journalist Gauri Lankesh, and he was compelled to accept 24-hour security from the state, an uncomfortable stricture which continues with no end in sight.

In his new Ink of Dissent: Critical Writings on Language, Literature, and Freedom (Goa 1556, Rs. 200), Mauzo frankly assesses the situation, No one had to tell me from where the threat originated. Though a fiction writer, I have consistently criticized the religious orthodoxy prevailing in our society, that tries to pseudo-rationalize mythical beliefs. I have voiced my agony over the lynching incidents in the country in the name of protection to cows. I am critical of the present dispensation for their silence over the injustice meted out to the Dalits and other minoritiesI have been fighting tooth and nail the attempts by right wing outfits to promote a national mono-culture that denies inclusiveness.

These may be familiar liberal concerns, but Mauzo is largely unique in his bravery in directly confronting religious extremists implicated in the murders of Dr Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, Govind Pansare in Kolhapur and Prof MM Kalburgi in Dharwad in 2015, as well as Lankesh in 2017.

Speaking out has increasingly preoccupied Mauzo in recent years. Back in 2009, he and I co-founded the Goa Arts + Literature Festival, and since then we have watched our home states open-minded pluralism under sustained assault. Amitav Ghosh says, The reason that all of India flocks to Goa is that it is a haven of tolerance, not just for different religions but also for different lifestyles. In that sense Damodar perfectly represents the spirit of the place. As a writer, and a public personality, he has always upheld the multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious traditions of Goa. In more ways than one can count, he truly is both a representative of, and a spokesman for, the kind of human flourishing that occurs when people of different backgrounds and aspirations live harmoniously with each other. It is shocking that he should be placed on a hit list by religious extremists. It shows that a whole history, and a way of life, is under threat from a very narrow kind of majoritarianism.

These perceptive insights remind us that when he first learned of the death threat, Mauzo boldly declared, No bullet can stop the truth. Yet, as Ganesh Devy points out in his foreword to Ink of Dissent, In Mauzos case, the truth of things has a lot to do with being in a minorityA non-Catholic born in a predominantly Catholic neighbourhood in Majorda  his schooling was done in three languages: first Marathi and Portuguese, and then English; neither of which was really his own. His college education had to be done in a state that was not his own. He spent a lifetime in an occupation  running a modest shop  which was not really his callingHis life shows that he invariably chose to be a prophet of a minority but a poet of moderation, a rare combination that makes him widely loved and admired.

Another big part of Mauzos singular appeal is his unyielding loyalty to Konkani. Ramachandra Guha told me, Those who write in the language of the state/region have greater moral authority than those who write in English. Mahasweta Devi had far greater credibility when she spoke of tribal suffering than when Arundhati Roy spoke of the same subject; the latter might be quoted in the New York Times, whereas the former might even succeed in embarrass her State Government into remedial action. Bhais book reveals him to be a rooted cosmopolitan in the best sense of that term; deeply embedded in Goa, yet alert and alive to the rest of India and the wider world. He thus writes with great authority and insight on Konkani literature and folk culture; and also with empathy and understanding about places far distant like Assam. He travels widely, but also returns always to where he belongs.

Read more: Dog-whistle rhetoric aside, open sectarianism remains political suicide in Goa

The Konkani laureate BB (Bakibab) Borkar used to talk about vegddench munisponn, the distinctly Goan humanism that comes along with independent thought, and indomitable spine to fight for what is right. That strength of character is evident throughout Ink of Dissent, where Mauzo writes this is not the first threat to my life. I had my first massive heart attack in 1991; I survived it. After a gap of six years the second one caught me off guard. I had to rush to Mumbai for a bypass surgery when an angiography detected five major blocks. I survived that too. The next threat came my way in 2007 when cancer, the most dreaded disease, trained its guns at me. I came through that attack. And now yet another is knocking at my door. With security guards hovering around, like the doctors and nurses of earlier times, I have the same feeling of hospitalization. If all goes well, I should survive this threat as well.

Vivek Menezes is a curator, photographer, writer and co-founder of the Goa Arts and Literature FestivalFormer Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah appeared to head right into a row for his statement that he had doubts about the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. He did not clarify the nature of his doubts.

Speaking at a party conference in Nawia Subh complex here, the National Conference chief said, Did PM Modi ever pay homage to the numerous jawans who were killed in action? Did he ever go meet their families? Did he ever meet the families of those who were killed in Jammu and Kashmir. But those 40 CRPF jawans who were killed, I have my doubts about that as well.

The Pulwama suicide bombing that took place on February 14 had resulted in the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans. The Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack had led to tensions escalating between India and Pakistan.

Abdullah asked why the PM does not pay homage to the CRPF personnel killed in Chhattisgarh, while combating the Naxal insurgents.

How many Indian soldiers have been martyred in Chhattisgarh? Did PM Modi ever visited to pay floral tributes to them. But those 40 CRPF personnel were martyred (in Pulwama)...I have doubts over it, he said,

He said that they attacked Pakistan and claimed 300 people were killed there.

The former CM also raised questions over the air force strikes at Balakote in Pakistan and termed it as a stunt by the Prime Minister to portray his bravery.

They (government) claim 500 to 1,000 were killed in the attacks (Balakote air strike). They even claim to have shot down their (Pakistan)plane. It was done only to show that he (Modi) is a brave man and can do anything, he said.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former CM said while people were asked not to attend a function at Pakistan High Commission on their national day on March 23, the PM had sent messages of felicitations to their prime minister Imran Khan.

I dont know how many faces they (BJP) have, Abdullah said.

The NC president also shared that PDP founder and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had realised his mistake of joining hands with the BJP.

I cant say how much he (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ) was disheartened, Abdullah said.I view India as a democracy whose people are free to do what they want provided its within the confines of the law. Alas, as its term draws to a close, the Modi government seems to disagree. Last week it made strenuous attempts to stop Indian citizens invited to Pakistans National Day reception from attending. This wasnt just wrong. It was also reprehensible and could prove internationally embarrassing.

First, it is not against the law to attend a Pakistan Day reception. Nor is it morally forbidden to do so. The government chose not to but the prime minister still wrote to his Pakistani counterpart to greet him. If his fellow citizens wish to do the same by accepting the high commissioners invitation they have every right to attend his reception.

So what was the government thinking when it ordered the Delhi Police to stop and question every Indian guest before permitting them to enter the Pakistani high commission? They were asked for their names, phone numbers and why they wanted to attend the reception. Those who refused to answer were not allowed to proceed. And what was the justification for this illegal and offensive behaviour? This is what a police official told the Press Trust of India: The government boycotted the event  in such circumstances it was important to note the details of the people who were present there and to ascertain reasons for their presence.

At almost every level, this is an affront to Indian citizens and to our democracy. Ours is not a police surveillance State. We are not required to follow what the government does and, indeed, were free to act against its advice. Nor do we have to explain our decisions to the authorities. To insist on this is to infringe on our rights. Finally, Modi was elected to protect them and not to trespass on them.

However, thats not all. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government did not behave in this outlandish way after the Kargil War, which was far worse than the Pulwama terror attack. And if the government doesnt want Indians to attend the Pakistani reception, why did the prime minister send a letter of greetings to Imran Khan? Incidentally, till the Pakistani PM tweeted about it, news of this letter was withheld from us! Which raises the question: does the government have one policy for itself and another for the citizens of India?

One more point. The government was upset because the high commissioner invited the Hurriyat. Yet this is not the first time that has happened. More importantly, Vajpayee and LK Advani used to hold talks with them. And, finally, lets not forget we consider the Hurriyat Indian citizens. In which case, are we seriously telling the Pakistanis they can invite some Indians but not others? Im afraid the conclusion I have come to is both sad and stark. The government has tied itself up in knots. The world will only laugh at us and this embarrassment is self-inflicted.

But I cant leave it there. I have one more point to make. In any other democracy, the governments high-handed behaviour would have enraged the citizenry. Sadly, in India it hasnt met with the opprobrium it deserves. If we dont loudly protest when our rights are trampled upon, the government will continue to do so. We owe it to ourselves to tell Modi and his cabinet that this was unacceptable and must never happen again. With elections 10 days away, this is a critical message.

Karan Thapar is the author of Devils Advocate: The Untold Story

The views expressed are personalThe Delhi government schools are set to witness a crisis on the first day of the upcoming academic session beginning Monday, in the absence of around 22,000 guest teachers, whose contracts expired on February 28.

The Delhi high court on Friday could not hear a government application seeking a six-month extension of their services.

The Delhi government had filed the application last month seeking an extension of the guest teachers services as their contracts had expired on February 28. In its application, the government stated the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSSB) was in the process of filling the vacancies and, hence, would require an extension of six months to finish it. It added that in the event of leave, retirement and shortage, the services of guest teachers will be necessary.

However, as the hearing could not take place on Friday confusion looms over the future of these teachers.

Heads of schools (HOS), where the majority of staff comprises of guest teachers, expressed concern over the crisis they may face on Monday. Of 113 teachers working at our school, 100 are guest teachers. There will be a crisis-like situation for us if the guest teachers are not able to join duty from Monday, said HOS of a senior secondary school in Karawal Nagar.

Similarly, HoS of senior secondary school in Sultanpuri where 88 guest teachers worked said, We can still manage for a few days with handful of permanent teachers as not all students join immediately. But we wont be able to manage in their absence for long.

Presently, against the sanctioned posts of 66,736 teachers, only 38,926 posts are filled by regular teachers. A total of 22,000 posts are filled by guest teachers and 5,810 posts lie vacant.

Ashok Agarwal, who had filed a contempt plea against the authorities for not filling the vacancies, said, The directorate of education (DoE) can now only give additional extension to these teachers till the next date of court hearing. The high court will now hear the matter on April 12.

Officials at DoE till Friday evening maintained they were taking legal opinions on giving an extension to guest teachers. Since the matter is sub judice we cannot take any decision without considering all legal aspects. We might announce something on Saturday, a DoE official said.

Shoaib Rana, a member of All India Guest Teachers Association, said there was a sense of insecurity among guest teachers. That is the reason why we were demanding formulation of a proper policy for regularising the guest teachers. We have no clue what will we do now, he said.

The guest teachers have been holding protests demanding regularisation of jobs since February 28. The Delhi government had on March 6 called a special assembly session and approved a policy allowing them to work in its schools till the age of 60. Lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal is yet to approve the policy.BSEB intermediate commerce topper Satyam Kumar wants to become a CA

BSEB Class 12 commerce topper Satyam Kumar of SKR college in Barbigha, Sheikhpura said, I am happy my efforts bore fruit. I had studied very hard for the board exams. I am glad that I could top among others. Satyam, son of a farmer, wants to become a chartered accountant.

Toppers to get Rs 1 lakh scholarship, 2nd, 3rd rankers to get 75K, 50K

Anand Kishor said the toppers in all the three streams would get cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each, while those securing second and third positions would be given Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 apart from a laptop and kindle E-reader.

Bihar Board Intermediate Results 2019: Here is the direct link to check

Here is the direct link to check Bihar Board intermediate results 2019

Unsatisfied students can apply for scrutiny

Candidates who are not satisfied with their score can apply for scrutiny between April 3 and 12.

Commerce topper Satyam Kumar scored 94.4%

Satyam Kumar of SKR College, Barbigha, Sheikhpura scored 472 marks and 94.4.%. Sonu Kumar of Commerce College, Patna scored 470 marks- 94%

Arts Topper Rohini Rani and Manish Kumar scored 92.6%

Rohini Rani of St Teressa Girls High School High School, Bettiah and Manish Kumar of Gaya College Gaya scored 92.6% and 463 marks

This year, the toppers scored better than last year toppers

This year, the toppers of Bihar Board inter result scored better than last year toppers. This year, Science topper Rohini Prasad and Pawan Kumar scored 94.6%

81.20% pass percentage in Science

A total of 535110 candidates qualified in Science stream making a pass percentage of 81.20%

76.53% pass percentage in Arts

A total of 425550 candidates qualified in arts stream making a pass percentage of 76.53%

93% pass percentage in Commerce

A total of 59135 candidates qualified in commerce streams with a total pass percentage of 93%.

BSEB Inter results declared.

BSEB class 12th Inter results declared. 79.76% qualified.

BSEB officials arrive.

BSEB officials arrive at press conference. BSEB chairman Anand Kishor and RK Mahajan of Bihar education department will declare the results jointly.

BSEB officials all set to declare inter results

BSEB officials all set to declare inter results 2019. They are to arrive shortly.

BSEB to declare inter results after 3 pm

BSEB to declare inter results after 3 pm now. Officials to arrive shortly

BSEB officials yet to arrive, students waiting for results anxiously

BSEB officials have not yet arrived to address the press conference. Students are waiting for the results anxiously.

BSEB officials yet to arrive.

BSEB officials will arrive in 5 minutes, say officials

BSEB officials to arrive shortly, press conference to start shortly at 2:30 pm

Press conference will start shortly at 2:30 pm. BSEB officials are yet to arrive. The results will be declared soon.

Media persons arrived, press conference to start shortly

Media persons have arrived at the BSEB office for the press conference. Results will be declared at 2: 30 pm.

BSEB Officials yet to arrive

Press conference will start shortly. BSEB officials are yet to arrive.

Press Conference to start in half an hour

The press conference will start at 2:30 pm today. BSEB chairman Anand Kishor will address the media and declare the results.

All websites of BSEB crash, students anxious

With just one hour left for the board result to be out, all websites of BSEB have crashed. Students are constantly trying to get updates of result.

Candidates waiting for the Bihar Board 12th results

13 lakh candidates are eagerly waiting for their results. The results will be declared at 2:30 pm today

Bihar Board 12th Results 2019: Just one hour to go

Just one hour is left for the Bihar Board intermediate results 2019 to be declared. BSEB Chairman Anand Kishor will declare the results today at 2: 30 pm.

BSEB busy in last minute preparations for intermediate results

Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is busy in last minute preparations for intermediate results. The result will be declared at 2:30 pm

13 lakh candidates anxiously waiting for results

The 13 lakh candidates are anxiously waiting for the Bihar Board intermediate results 2019. The result will be declared after 2:30 pm

BSEB Chairman Anand Kishor will address the media at 2: 30 pm

BSEB Chairman Anand Kishor will address the media at 2: 30 pm today and declare the results.

Press conference to declare BSEB intermediate results at 2.30pm

According to the latest update, the press conference to declare the BSEB intermediate results will start at 2.30pm.

Media Persons to arrive soon for Press Conference

Media persons have started coming to the BSEB office for the press conference. BSEB chairman Anand Kishor will address the media at 1 pm declare the results.

Bihar Board Intermediate Results 2019: Just 1 hour to go

Just one hour is left for the Bihar Board intermediate results 2019 to be declared. BSEB Chairman Anand Kishor will declare the results today at 1 pm.

Bihar Board toppers to get scholarship of Rs 1 lakh

Bihar Board toppers will get scholarship of Rs 1 lakh, BSEB official said.

Bihar Board intermediate paper evaluation was completed last week

An official source of BSEB confirmed that the paper evaluation process was completed in the mid-week of March.

BSEB Chairman will declare the Bihar Board toppers today

Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) chairman Anand Kishor in the press conference will declare the top three rank holders of all streams today at 1 pm.

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor to address media

Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) chairman Anand Kishor will address the media at 1 pm today at a press conference in BSEB office.

Bihar Board 2019: Results of all three streams will be declared today

Bihar Board will declare the results of all the three streams: Arts, Science and Commerce along with the vocational stream today at 1 pm.

Bihar Board 12th Result 2019: Just two hours to go

The 13 lakh candidates who are waiting for their results have to wait for two more hours only. The results will be declared at 1 pm today.

Bihar Board 12th Result 2019: Chairman Anand Kishor to talk about various important points

Bihar Board 12th Result 2019: Chairman Anand Kishor to talk about various important points related to exams in the press conference today.

Bihar Board Results 2019: Check the intermediate results here

Candidates can check the Bihar Board intermediate results at the following websites: biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www.bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com

Bihar Board intermediate results 2019: Just few hours to go

Just few hours left for the Bihar Board intermediate results to be out. The results will be declared at 1 pm today.

Bihar Board 2019: This is the first time in history that the result is declared in March

This is happening for the first time in history of Bihar Board that the results are declared in the month of March. Earlier, the results were declared in the month of May or June.

Bihar Board 2019: Press conference to start within hours

The press conference will start at 1 pm today. Officials are all set to declare the results. The press conference will be held int he Bihar Board office.

Bihar Board exam paper evaluation was done by first week of March

The answer paper evaluation process was completed by the first week of March. This was done in a record time by the evaluators due to which declaring the result early has been possible for the board.

Bihar Board had a pass percentage of 52 last year

Last year, in 2018, 52% candidates had passed the Bihar Board intermediate exam. The result had seen an improvement as compared to 2017 result when only 32% students could pass.

Take a look at Bihar Board toppers for Intermediate exam 2018

Last year, Kalpana Kumari had topper the Science stream exam by scoring 434 marks. She was also the topper of NEET exam 2018. Nidhi SInha of RDS College Muzaffarpur was the Commerce stream topper by scoring 434 marks. Kusum Kumari from Simultala Awasiya Vidyalya, Jamui had topper Arts stream exam by scoring 424 marks.

Bihar Board intermediate exam result will be uploaded online

After the press conference, BSEB chief Anand Kishor will upload all the results on the official websites after which candidates will be able to check it.

OMR sheets were pre- filled this year to lessen the trouble of candidates

Candidates did not have the trouble of filling the circles in the OMR sheet. From this year, the OMR sheets have the name of candidates, roll code, roll number , subject code and date of exam will be printed. Candidate only had to fill the circles for the answers.

Candidates can also check their results on smartphone

Candidates who do not have access to computers or cyber cafes can check their result on mobile by following simple steps. Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com on your mobile.

If you face any difficulty in accessing the homepage, go to your settings option on Google Chrome.You will get an option of DESKTOP SITE.

Shoes were banned during Bihar Board exams.

Following the last year trend, Bihar board had again banned shoes and socks for the candidates this year. The candidates had to reach the exam centre in slippers or open sandals.

BSEB had arranged 24X7 control room to keep a check

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor had said that to monitor the exams, in addition to a WhatsApp group, a 24X7 control room was made. In the WhatsApp group all the district magistrates, district education officers and district nodal officers were attached.

This year 55 Munna Bhais were arrested during Bihar Board intermediate exam

The BSEB chairman Anand Kishore has claimed that the matric exam was conducted in a fair manner. However, 162 examinees were expelled for using unfair means in the examination and 55 persons impersonating as candidates were arrested .

Bihar Board Intermediate Results 2019: Candidates should keep their admit card handy

Candidates are advised to keep their admit cards handy so that they can check their roll number and roll code to log in for checking the results.

This is the first time that Bihar Board is releasing result in March

This will be the first ever time that Bihar Board will declare the result within 42 days of conducting the exam. This year, the exam was conducted between February 6 and 16. Earlier, the Bihar Board results were declared in the month of May while in 2018, the result of BSEB intermediate exam was declared on June 6.

Candidates can check Bihar Board results online

Candidates can check their results by visiting the official website of BSEB at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www.bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com

BSEB Chairman Anand Kishor will release the results

Bihar School Examination Board ( BSEB) Anand Kishor along with RK Mahajan, the additional chief secretary of Bihar education department will jointly release the intermediate exam results 2019 online. The press conference will start at 1 pm.

Bihar Board Results 2019: 13 lakh students were registered

A total of 13.15 lakh students were registered for the Bihar Board intermediate exams 2019. Candidates will be able to check their results today after 1 pm.

Bihar Board Class 12th result today

Bihar School Examination Board will declare the intermediate exam results today for Arts, Science, Commerce and Vocational streams at 1 pm.The 13 lakh candidates who had taken the Bihar Board intermediate examination will be able to check their results after the result is declared by BSEB chairman Anand Kishor at 1 pm today..

Results of all three streams, Arts, Science and Commerce and vocational will be declared today.

Candidates can check the live updates of the Bihar Board intermediate result today at hindustantimes.com.

This will be the first ever time that Bihar Board will declare the result within 44 days of conducting the exam. This year, the exam was conducted between February 6 and 16. Earlier, the Bihar Board results were declared in the month of May while in 2018, the result of BSEB intermediate exam was declared on June 6.

BIHAR BOARD INTERMEDIATE RESULT 2019: HOW TO CHECK YOUR RESULT

Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com

Click on the link flashing on the homepage that read- Bihar Board intermediate result 2019.

A login page will open

Fill in your Roll number and Roll Code

Click on Submit

Your result will be displayed on screenThe Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) declared the results of intermediate or Class 12 board examinations on Saturday after 3 pm. A total of 79.76% candidates successfully qualified this year. Last year the pass percentage was only 52%. In 2017, the pass percentage was 38%.

The examination was held between February 6 and 16 and practical exams were conducted between January 15 and January 25.

In Arts stream, 76.53% students cleared the exam while in science and commerce streams 81.20% and 93% students qualified , respectively.

A total of 59135 candidates qualified in commerce streams with a total pass percentage of 93%.

A total of 425550 candidates qualified in arts stream making a pass percentage of 76.53%

A total of 535110 candidates qualified in Science stream making a pass percentage of 81.20%

TOPPERS

This year, the toppers of Bihar Board inter result scored better than last year toppers. This year, Science topper Rohini Prakash and Pawan Kumar scored 94.6%

Rohini Rani of St Teressa Girls High School High School, Bettiah and Manish Kumar of Gaya College Gaya scored 92.6% and 463 marks

Satyam Kumar of SKR College, Barbigha, Sheikhpura scored 472 marks and 94.4.%. Sonu Kumar of Commerce College, Patna scored 470 marks- 94%

Last year, Kalpana Kumari had topped the Science stream exam by scoring 434 marks out of 500. She was also the topper of NEET exam 2018. Nidhi SInha of RDS College Muzaffarpur was the commerce stream topper by scoring 434 marks. Kusum Kumari from Simultala Awasiya Vidyalya, Jamui had topper Arts stream exam by scoring 424 marks.

SCRUTINY

Candidates who are not satisfied with their score can apply for scrutiny between April 3 and 12.

HOW TO CHECK BIHAR BOARD RESULTS

Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com

Click on the link for Bihar Board intermediate result 2019 on the home page

A login page for intermediate results will open

Fill in your roll number and roll code

Click on submit

Your result will be displayed on the screen

BIHAR BOARD RESULT 2019: HOW TO CHECK YOUR BSEB INTERMEDIATE RESULT ON MOBILE

Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com on your mobile.

Click on the link flashing on the homepage that reads - Bihar Board intermediate result 2019.

If you face any difficulty in accessing the homepage, go to your settings option on Google Chrome. You will get an option of DESKTOP SITE.

The desktop site option is given to convert your smartphone browser into computer - like browser. The mobile browser sometimes is unable to open few sites. However, when you switch to the desktop site option you will be able to use it just like your computer.

Touch the check box to switch in to Desktop friendly site. After you click on the Check box, your mobile browser will be desktop friendly and you will be able to access the website of Bihar Board result.

A login page will open

Key in in your Roll number and roll code

Click on submit

Your result will be displayed on screen

Video by Parwaz Khan/HTThe Bihar Board 12th Result 2019 was declared on Saturday at the official website of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). Candidates can check their results after it is uploaded on the BSEB websites.

The percentage of students who have passed in the exam is 79.76%. In arts 4 lakh, 25 thousand, 550 candidates have passed in the exam, while in commerce 59,135 have passed and in science 5,35,110 students have passed. The pass percentage is 76.53 in arts, 93.02 in commerce and 81.20 in science.

There are two toppers in science Rohini Prakash of +2 High School Sarbahdi Nalanda and Pawan Kumar of Govt High School Kinjar Arwal. They have scored 473 out of 500 which is 94.6%

In arts, Rohini Rani of Teresa Girls High School Bettiah and Manish Kumar of Gaya College, Gaya have topped. They have scored 463 out of 500 which is 92.6%

In commerce, Satyam Kumar of SKR college, Barbigha, Sheikhpura has topped with 472 marks, which is 94.4.%

More than 13 lakh students had appeared for the BSEB intermediate exams 2019 held across 1,339 centres in 38 districts of the state.

Students who had appeared in the examination, can check their Bihar board intermediate exam results on the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com.

The results have been declared for Class 12 arts, science, commerce and vocational streams. This year the results have been declared much earlier than previous years, most likely, to help students in applying for admissions to colleges in universities outside the state, like in Delhi University.

BIHAR BOARD INTERMEDIATE RESULT 2019: HOW TO CHECK YOUR 12th EXAM RESULT

Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com

Click on the link for Bihar Board intermediate result 2019 on the home page

A login page for intermediate results will open

Fill in your roll number and roll code

Click on submit

Your result will be displayed on the screen

BIHAR BOARD RESULT 2019: HOW TO CHECK YOUR BSEB INTERMEDIATE RESULT ON MOBILE

Visit the official websites of Bihar Board at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www. bsebinteredu.in or www.bsebbihar.com on your mobile.

Click on the link flashing on the homepage that reads - Bihar Board intermediate result 2019.

If you face any difficulty in accessing the homepage, go to your settings option on Google Chrome. You will get an option of DESKTOP SITE.

The desktop site option is given to convert your smartphone browser into computer - like browser. The mobile browser sometimes is unable to open few sites. However, when you switch to the desktop site option you will be able to use it just like your computer.

Touch the check box to switch in to desktop friendly site. After you click on the check box, your mobile browser will be desktop friendly and you will be able to access the website of Bihar Board result.

img src="https://www.hindustantimes.com/static/ht2019/3/mobile_education2.jpg" width="100%"/>

A login page will open

Key in in your Roll number and roll code

Click on submit

Your result will be displayed on screen

Candidates can check the live updates of the Bihar Board intermediate result at hindustantimes.com.

This is the first ever time that Bihar Board has declared the result within 44 days of conducting the exam. This year, the exam was conducted between February 6 and 16. Earlier, the Bihar Board results were declared in the month of May while in 2018, the result of BSEB intermediate exam was declared on June 6.

Bihar Board intermediate results 2019: District-wise list

(With inputs from Rakesh in Patna and Nandini in New Delhi)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ONAbout 2,500 Jan Dhan accounts in a Bank of Baroda branch in Moradabad were credited with 10,700 each, leading to a flutter of excitement in the industrial town in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

Senior district officials later claimed that the money that had been deposited in the accounts, opened as part of the central governments financial inclusion drive, were towards routine scholarship payments by the Union minority affairs ministry. As hundreds of people tried to quickly withdraw the money, the branch in the Bhojupur neighbourhood of Moradabad stopped transactions and an enquiry was ordered.

Moradabad district magistrate Rakesh Singh said that he ordered a detailed enquiry, sent the election commissions flying squad to the branch and also alerted the minority department officials of the district.

As per available reports, its a case of transfer of scholarship amounts to beneficiaries by the Union minority affairs ministry. The money was sent through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode, so it reached the bank accounts directly, Singh told HT. But since its election time, there was some confusion, he said, adding reports that non-Muslim account holders had also received money were baseless.

Officials also suspect foul play by a local business correspondent, a retail agent engaged by banks for providing banking services.The business correspondent may have created some fake jan dhan accounts, officials said.

Singh said a probe is on against the Banking Correspondent.

We are in touch with officials of minorities affairs department to find out under which head the transactions have been made. The accounts have been blocked until the matter is resolved, Hema Adhikari, the branch manager of Bank of Baroda, said.A 7-year-old boy is fighting for his life after his step father allegedly smashed his head into the ground. The boy had to undergo two major surgeries. Doctors treating the boy say his conditional was highly critical and that he was on life-support system.

The whole story of torture was narrated by his four-year-old brother who was also injured in the assault. As news of the brutal attack sent shockwaves across the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would bear all medical expenses and would adopt both children. Police said the step father had been taken into custody and that the mother would also be detained after questioning.

The incident came to light on Thursday after the injured child was admitted to a private hospital in Thodupuzha in Idukki district.

Initially, the parents said the boy was injured after he fell from a sofa but doctors got suspicious and alerted the child line officials and police. As the boys condition worsened, he was shifted to a super specialty hospital in the evening where he underwent two surgeries to check for internal bleeding in the brain, said hospital authorities.

It is a shocking incident. We will ensure maximum punishment for the tormentor of the children. The government will ensure best treatment for the child. The Idukki district collector has been directed to co-ordinate treatment and other formalities, said state health minister KK Shailaja.

During questioning, the mother said that the accused Arun Anand, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, began living with her after her husbands death last year.

Staying in a rented house, neighbours said they often heard the children wailing from the house. Police suspect the accused is a drug addict. The second child is in safe custody. Our preliminary investigation shows the accused has some criminal background, said a senior police officer.Two days after the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) protested outside the Income Tax office in Bengaluru over what the two parties called politically motivated raids, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley attacked the Karnataka coalition partners and said the demonstration raised the needle of suspicion.

Writing a blog titled UPA makes corruption a cause on Facebook, Jaitley said the tax authorities had already clarified that the raids were not on any politicians but against contractors and engineers.

Why the chief minister and the ministers be seen raising slogans on the streets when corrupt contractors and engineers are being searched...there is a lurking suspicion due to the disproportionality of the reaction that the protestors were more concerned with regard to the substance of the search, he said.

Jaitley was referring to chief minister HD Kumaraswamy joining the protests, where junior irrigation minister CS Puttaraju claiming his residence had been raided.

The finance minister said in the Indian federal structure, the rights of the Union was as important as that of the states.

Security of India, sovereignty, dealing with terrorism, managing the borders, custom check points, income tax enforcement are all amongst the several constitutional powers of the Union. If the States stand in way of any of them it is guilty of breaching federal norms, he added.

He said many states had stopped giving police security to income tax authorities when they conducted operations. Alternatively when state police is asked for, the information is leaked out to the political government and it reaches the targets of the operations. Tax authorities increasingly have to rely on central forces, he said.

He alleged the protests showed a text book method of the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] on two fronts: use government money, round trip it through contractors and beneficiaries and enrich themselves. The second is lip sympathy for federalism and destroy it whenever the opportunity arises. This is a very transparent self goal.

But Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy renewed his attack on Saturday, accusing the income tax department of harassing Congress and JD(S) workers in the state and sought the immediate intervention of the Election Commission in the matter. Speaking in Bengaluru, he termed the raids a shameful attempt to threaten and generate fear among party workers.Pakistan is refusing to acknowledge the damage caused by the Indian Air Forces unprecedented, peace-time, cross-border strike against a terror camp in Balakot on February 26 although the proof exists in front of its eyes in the form of the bombed-out structures, IAF chief BS Dhanoa said on Friday.

He asserted that Indian fighter planes had struck their intended targets with precision.

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa quoted lines from an iconic Bob Dylan track in response to a question on Pakistan downplaying the pre-dawn raid by the IAFs Mirage 2000 fighters and also denying that any damage was caused by the precision bombing.

It is there in front of you (Pakistan), but you dont want to see it...I can only recall Dylan, And how many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesnt see; the answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind.., Dhanoa said, referring to the song, which was part of Dylans 1963 album, The Freewheeling Bob Dylan.

The air strikes against the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror base were Indias response for the Pulwama suicide car bomb attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men were killed on February 14.

The IAFs Mirages hit three targets in Balakot with five Israeli-origin Spice 2000 bombs with penetrator warheads that allowed them to pierce through the rooftops before exploding inside to cause maximum damage, two air force officers said on condition of anonymity.

Each bomb was carrying around 80 kgs of explosives in a 900-kg steel casing, with the explosion caused by time-delay fuses sending a lethal quantity of shrapnel that would have instantly killed the occupants of the buildings, said one of the officials cited above.

The bombs hit their targets in a vertical attack angle, leaving holes measuring 80 to 90 cm in diameter on the rooftops of the structures, the second official said. Points of impact are visible to people who know where to look, Dhanoa said.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Odishas Koraput, slammed Opposition parties for raising questions over the IAF strike.

It has been one month, Pakistan is still counting the dead bodies and our rivals are seeking proof for Balakot strike, he said, adding, When India takes action against terrorists, enters their home and kills them, then some here ask for proof.

On February 28, the IAF said it had credible proof that the Mirage 2000 strikes met their objective and the evidence  consisting of satellite and radar imagery  has been handed over to the government.

Hindustan Times has seen satellite images of the targets before and after the February 26 strike, and the holes created by the penetrator warheads are hard to miss.

More than a month after the Balakot strikes, the air force is still in its highest state of alert and prepared to scramble fighter jets from its forward bases within minutes, officials said. Military tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following the Balakot strikes, with Pakistan Air Force fighters, including F-16s, making a failed attempt to bomb Indian military installations on February 27.

Both air forces lost one fighter plane each in the ensuing aerial engagement, with IAFs Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman ending up in Pakistani custody after his MiG-21 Bison crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He was returned to India on March 1.

On March 12 , defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the IAF shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 on February 27, but Islamabad would never admit it as it had always been in denial about the losses suffered by it.

The Indian Navy cut short a major exercise in the Indian Ocean region after the Pulwama attack and swiftly redeployed its frontline assets to the north Arabian Sea for operations. In a rare announcement on March 17, the navy said the buildup, consisting of an aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered attack submarines and scores of warships and maritime aircraft, put the Pakistan Navy on the back foot.

The combat units are still deployed in the region and the navy is in the highest state of preparedness, a navy official said on condition of anonymity.

Once Rafale is here, Pak wont come near LoC: Air Force Chief DhanoaThe Supreme Court Friday asked the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action in two weeks against the erring police officials, including an IPS officer, convicted by the Bombay High Court in the sensational Bilkis Bano gang rape case during the 2002 riots in the state.

Besides, Bano in a plea before the top court sought exemplary compensation from the state government, refusing to accept its offer of 5 lakh.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna asked the Gujarat government to complete the disciplinary action within two weeks initiated against the erring officials indicted by the Bombay High Court.

On the statement made by the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Gujarat, that the proceedings for disciplinary action against the erring officers will be completed within two weeks, we adjourn the matter for two weeks.

On the next date, the orders passed in the disciplinary proceedings be placed before the Court, the bench said.

The top court, terming the 5 lakh compensation offered by the Gujarat government interim, said the plea for exemplary compensation will be heard on April 23.

Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General appearing for the State has offered an interim compensation of 5 lakh, which counsel for the petitioner is reluctant to accept and instead prays for final disposal of the special leave petition. Let the special leave petition be listed on April 23, 2019, it said.

At the outset, Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, said that no action has been taken by the state government against the erring officials, who were convicted by the high court.

She said that one IPS officer, currently serving in Gujarat is set to retire this year, while in case of four other officials who have retired no action has been taken against them like stopping of their pensions and retirement benefits.

The counsel further said that these police officers were convicted by the high court for botching up the investigation in the case.

With regard to compensation, she contended that Bano has been leading almost a nomadic life after being subjected to gruesome crime and therefore exemplary compensation should be granted.

Gupta said she is not willing to accept the interim compensation of 5 lakh offered by the state government.

Senior advocate Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government said that disciplinary proceedings are going on against the erring police officials.

He said that it will be completed soon but the top court asked him to complete the proceedings within two weeks.

On the compensation part, Mehta said that state government has a policy of granting 5 lakh as compensation in such incidents.

The bench said it will hear the plea for compensation on April 23.

Bilkis, five months pregnant at that time, was gang raped while six other members of her family managed to escape from the mob. The trial in the case initially began in Ahmedabad.

However, after Bano expressed apprehensions that the witnesses could be harmed and the CBI evidence tampered with, the apex court transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.

The high court had on May 4, 2017 convicted seven people -- five policemen and two doctors -- under sections 218 (not performing their duties) and section 201 (tampering of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The top court had on July 10, 2017 dismissed the appeals of two doctors and four policemen, including an IPS officer R S Bhagora, challenging their conviction by the high court saying there was clear-cut evidence against them. One of the officers did not appeal.

A special court had on 21 January, 2008 convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment 11 men for raping Bano and murdering seven of her family members in the aftermath of the Godhra riots, while acquitting seven persons including the policemen and doctors.

The convicts had later approached the Bombay High Court challenging their conviction and sought quashing and setting aside of the trial court.

The CBI had also filed an appeal in the high court seeking harsher punishment of death for three of the convicted persons on the ground that they were the main perpetrators of the crime.

According to the prosecution, on March 3, 2002 Bilkis Banos family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village near Ahmedabad.

The convicts had challenged the order on three main grounds  that all evidence in the case was fabricated by CBI, that Bilkis gave birth to a child after the incident, proving that she could not have been gang raped, and the failure to find the bodies of some of her family members which proved that they were not killed.The Congress partys Parivartan Yatra reached Rohtak and Jhajjar, the strongholds of the former chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and his son Deepender, on Saturday. However, in a setback to the party, two of its local leaders and former state ministers revolted against the state leadership of the Congress.

Krishan Murti Hooda, who earlier owed his allegiance to Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Subhash Batra, who had long been associated with Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Ashok Tanwar, jointly expressed their displeasure for not being given respect in the Congress.

The two leaders, however, brushed aside the rumours of them joining the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that they would seek time from Congress president Rahul Gandhi to lodge their complaint. I was not even invited for the Parivartan Yatra. That is why I did not go to welcome them in Rohtak, said Krishan Murti Hooda. Batra, on the other hand, said he was not going to quit the Congress but was keen on fighting his battle within the party.

Earlier during their roadshow in Rohtak, Congress general secretary and Haryana in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress party has always stood for the farmers. Sonia Gandhi had brought the historic loan waiver scheme, which allowed crores of farmers to make a fresh start. Later Rahul Gandhi brought in the Land Acquisition Act, which protected the land of the farmers. Recently, Rahul Gandhi promised that agricultural loans of the farmers will be waived of within 10 days of government formation in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Our state governments implemented them within two days of assuming charge, he said.

Addressing the public, Hooda alleged that anti-farmer policies of the BJP had reduced them to a pitiable state, as they were being denied a fair price. Further, the governments policies have shot up their input prices by bringing them under the GST, Hooda said. Even for crops that are covered under the minimum support price, farmers are being harassed as the government has put a series of conditions before purchase, Hooda added.

Member of Parliament from Rohtak Deepender Hooda said the NYAY scheme proposed by Rahul Gandhi would serve as the final assault on poverty.A day after Punjab police busted a hawala racket worth 9.66 crore and arrested six persons, including a Jalandhar-based church priest, police on Saturday transferred the case to enforcement directorate (ED) and income tax (I-T) department.

The priest, Father Anthony, is reportedly a close aide of former bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused in the Kerala nun case.

Khanna senior superintendent of police Dhruv Dahiya said the probe will now be carried out by ED and I-T department.

Dahiya said the accused were travelling from Jalandhar to Ambala, when, acting on a tip-off, police nabbed them at a check post on national highway 1. The six accused were travelling in three MUVs, police said.

The accused were carrying 9.66 crore in cash without any documents to justify it, police said. The cars and the money have been handed over the ED and I-T officials, police said.Almost 80,000 passengers had their flights cancelled in February, the highest ever, reflecting the combined impact of the grounding of about 50 Jet Airways planes and curtailing of its schedule by IndiGo, Indias largest airline by market share. The aviation regulator expects that by the end of this month, the record would have already been broken.

According to the monthly report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 79,795 passengers were hit by flight cancellations last month, more than doubling from January, when 37,819 passengers had been affected. The previous record high was in March 2018, when IndiGo, with about 40% market share, grounded 12 planes because of snags experienced by Airbus A-320 NEO engines.

We are expecting the data from March will be worse as Pakistan airspace closure happened by the end of February, leading to cancellations and also SpiceJet had to ground 12 Boeing Max 737s during mid-March. All these happened when the problem with Jet airways had worsened and IndiGo also continued to cancel flights, a senior DGCA official said on condition of anonymity.

A cash crunch prompted Jet Airwayss unpaid lessors to repossess some aircraft in its fleet and IndiGo had to cancel 30 flights a day in February because of a shortage of pilots. An escalation in India-Pakistan tensions, following a dogfight between their fighter planes over the Line of Control in Kashmir, forced Pakistan to shut its airspace towards the end of last month, forcing airlines to divert their flights. SpiceJet had to ground its Boeing Max 737s in line with a DGCA order after the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Air India also grounded about two dozen aircraft in two months. Jet Airways, IndiGo and Spicejet did not respond to query sent on Wednesday morning.

Of the total passengers affected by flight cancellations in February, 41,549 were to fly by IndiGo and 13,595 by Jet Airways. The number of Air India and SpiceJet passengers who had flights cancelled was 11,455 and 10,524, respectively. Our objective is to ensure passengers are not affected... We ask the airlines to provide details of refunds, rescheduling, hotel accommodation and compensation. In February, passengers got ~49.74 lakh as compensation and more than 50% of the passengers affected were from IndiGo, said the official.

In line with the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), airlines are required to submit data on number of cases of passengers denied boarding, cancellations and delays along with a monthly status report. DGCA started making the data public from June 2014.

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-February numbered 23.85 million compared with 22.2 million during the same period last year, an increase of 7.42%. In February alone, domestic airlines carried 11.39 million passengers, 5.62% more than in the same month last year  the lowest growth rate in four years.

If February was bad, March and April will be disastrous. Miracles do not happen overnight and things will take time to settle down. Also with political uncertainty until May-end, expect the crisis to continue till June. We need political will to reduce the operational costs, but the aviation industry will have to be patient, said aviation expert Mark Martin, CEO of Dubai-based Martin Consulting.

The airspace closure by Pakistan forced airlines flying on international routes to reroute their flights at extra cost. It had the biggest impact on Air India; the national airline ended up spending almost ~15 lakh per flight, what is the normal cost, and had to carry along extra crew for the longer duration of flights.

The crisis led to a sharp increase in fares  by 40-50% for same-day fares and, in some cases, up to 200% for last-minute fares, according to airline executives.

With Jet Airways preparing to resume flights, SpiceJet hoping to get more aircraft on lease, and IndiGo seeking to reduce the number of cancellations due to pilot shortages, the coming months could see a fall in air fares or, at the least, a return to normalcy, spelling relief for passengers, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.The police has booked two food right activists for organising a public meeting without permission at Bishunpura in Garhwa district but has spared economist Jean Dreze, police said on Saturday.

The Belgian-born development economist Dreze, however, termed it deliberate and arbitrary. The cases were lodged under Sections 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Panel Code (IPC), against DEHAN group, an NGO spearheading the Right to Food campaign in Garhwa, president Vivek Kumar Gupta and secretary Anuj Kumar.

On Thursday, the Garhwa police had detained Dreze, Gupta and Kumar for organising a public meeting allegedly without permission. They were, however, freed after two hours of interrogation. The food activists had gone for a public meeting at Bishunpura village in Jharkhands Garhwa district to discuss issues related to subsidised food, pension scheme and MGNREGA with the villagers.

Bishunpura police station in-charge Vijay Kumar Singh said, An FIR has been filed against Vivek Gupta, Anuj Kumar and four other unknown persons. Dreze has been excluded as he had no role in the programme. He was invited by the organisers. It was the organisers responsibility to inform about him, which they did not.

He said permission for any programme with a detailed list of speakers was required when the model code of conduct was in place. There was no permission for the programme. Besides, the organisers did not provide any detail of speakers, Singh said, adding, they were investigating the matter to take further action.

Reacting to the development, Dreze, who was a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) under in the UPA regime, said, We were accused of violating the model code of conduct that day. This makes no sense because the code applies only to political parties. Now, my colleagues are accused of violating Section 144. But, there was no mention of Section 144 that day whether by the police or deputy commissioner. No one seems to be clear where it applies.

He said arbitrary powers were being used to stifle fundamental rights of assembly and expression.

DEHAN president Gupta said, We had sought permission for the programme from the local district administration around 10 days ago but received neither a denial nor a go-ahead. I feel the programme was aborted deliberately to suppress the voice of the people during the time of election.Hospitals found to be charging beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat money for treatment and other kinds of wrongdoing will risk having their accreditation to the government-sponsored health insurance programme suspended and having their payments withheld, a senior official said.

If the charges are established after an inquiry, a first information report may be lodged with the police, and the hospitals will risk losing their licences to offer health services .Until now, hospitals were issued a show-cause notice if irregularities were found and action taken after an investigation.

The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) , launched in September last year, provides an annual hospitalisation cover of Rs 5 lakh to around 100 million families in at least 16,000 empanelled hospitals. It is billed as the worlds largest public health insurance programme.

We have decided to take stricter action against any kind of fraud, and the states have been directed to suspend the PMJAY licence immediately if theres prima facie evidence against a hospital. After detailed inquiry, depending on the nature of fraud, we may recommend to the state licensing authorities to suspend the hospitals licence to operate. We will also file an FIR for fraud, said Dr Dinesh Arora, deputy CEO, National Health Authority (NHA), the central implementing agency of AB-PMJAY.

Licences of two hospitals Nagarmal Seva Sadan and PVTG Hospital in Jharkhand were suspended earlier this month after the NHAs medical audit team found serious irregularities during on-site investigations of hospitals in the state.

the medical audit team identified that money for diagnostics was being collected from beneficiaries, e-cards were being retained by the hospital, there was a mismatch between empanelment details and onsite facilities etc, NHA wrote to the state principal secretary in a letter seen by HT.

We recommend temporary suspension from implementation of PMJAY and withhold their payments till a detailed inquiry is complete, the NHA letter added.

Two hospitals in Chhattisgarh and one in Uttar Pradesh are also under the scanner.

We want to make this scheme not only the largest but most well implemented scheme in the world. We have created enough mechanisms to prevent and mitigate frauds and abuse. Still, if any such incident of illegally taking government money comes to our knowledge it will be dealt with in the harshest manner, said Indu Bhushan, CEO of NHA.

The hospitals say committing irregularities is not common.

Most empanelled hospitals are sincerely offering services under the scheme. There may be some defaulters but their number would be few and far between. Its a new scheme, so there will be challenges in the beginning but over time people will come up with proper solutions to deal with them, said Dr DS Rana, chairman, board of governors, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The hospital is the largest in Delhi to have been recently empanelled under the schemeFormer Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah appeared to head right into a row for his statement that he had doubts about the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. He did not clarify the nature of his doubts.

Speaking at a party conference in Srinagar, the National Conference chief said, Did PM Modi ever pay homage to the numerous jawans who were killed in action? Did he ever go meet their families? Did he ever meet the families of those who were killed in Jammu and Kashmir. But those 40 CRPF jawans who were killed, I have my doubts about that as well.

The Pulwama suicide bombing that took place on February 14 had resulted in the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans. The Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack had led to tensions escalating between India and Pakistan.

On February 15, a day after the suicide bombing, leaders from various political parties including Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid homage to the deceased jawans at the Indira Gandhi airport where their bodies were kept in state before being sent to their respective homes.

#WATCH F Abdullah: Vo missile jo usne satellite ko maarne ke liye chhoda, vo Manmohan Singh ne taiyaar karaya tha...Aaj election tha,dikhane ke liye 'hanuman ji tashreef laye hain' usne button dabaya, 1 button galat dab gaya aur helicopter gir gaya, humare 6 jawan shaheed ho gaye pic.twitter.com/5n3WPpNrhl  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

Abdullah also went on to question the death of six air force jawans in a helicopter crash in Jammu and Kashmir on February 28.

Targeting the PM, he said, That missile that PM Modi fired, that was built by former PM Manmohan Singh. It was election day and that day to show that Hanuman ji himself has come, he pressed a button. A wrong button was pressed and that caused the helicopter crash and killed six of our jawans.India has shared critical evidence with the US that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) indeed used F-16 fighters in its attempted strike on February 27 in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector as a counter to the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, the previous day.

South Block officials said on condition of anonymity that this evidence  call signs associated with PAF F-16s, and specific details of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air To Air Missile (AMRAAM) used by the intruding fighting falcons  were shared with the US through institutionalised intelligence channels.

The PAF lost one F-16 aircraft that day in a dogfight with a Russian MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The details in the recovered expended missile correspond to the consignment lot sold by the US to Pakistan, the officials added.

India has not shared radar signatures of the F-16s used in the Nowshera fight as this information would also compromise the security of the IAF.

New Delhi also knows the name of the pilot of the downed F-16 shot down by Varthaman, the officials said. Photographs of the recovered engine cowling of the F-16 downed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that were examined by IAF experts shows that it has nothing to do with Varthamans MiG-21-Bison, the officials added. While the photograph shows the recovered part without rivets, the MiG-21 engine cowling has rivets at multiple places, they said.

While Major General Asif Ghafoor, chief spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces, denied the use of F-16s in the Nowshera fight on February 27, he changed his statement on March 24 in an interview to Sputnik in Islamabad. He was quoted as saying: As regards to how to use F-16, in what context (they) were used or not  because at that point of time our entire Air Force was airborne  it remains between Pakistan and the US to see how the MoUs (memorandums of understanding) regarding the use of F-16 have been adhered to or otherwise.

The statement was made in the context that the US sold F-16 fighters to Pakistan on condition that they will not be used in aggression against any other country, but only in the war against terror.

According to the South Block officials, while the Pentagon knows that F-16s were used by Pakistan and not the over-rated Chinese JF-17s, the downing of a fighting falcon by a lowly Fishbed, the NATO name of the MiG-21, is a bitter pill to for it to swallow both militarily and commercially.A German national of Indian origin identified as 49-year-old Prashant Basarur died after he was stabbed multiple times near Munich. His wife Smita Basarur, 43, is reported to be in a critical condition. The attack took place around 7 am on Friday. The couple had obtained German citizenship only last year.

The incident reportedly took place when a the couple got into an argument with a 33-year-old man from Guinea, who lived in the same apartment complex as the Basarurs. As the argument spiralled out of control, the man attacked and stabbed the couple several times. During the attack, Prashant was stabbed multiple times in the body and head. The reason behind the argument is not yet known.

On hearing the scuffle and the screams, neighbours living in the same complex called the police who arrived and took the Guinea man into custody. Reports indicate that he did not offer any resistance while being arrested. The police have also seized the kitchen knife with which was used in the attack.

The assailant was later produced in a magistrates court in Augsburg and was charged with attempt to murder, a charge which is likely to be changed to murder now after Prashants death. The police have ruled out any terror angle to the attack.

Tweeting about it, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj wrote, Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashants brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant's brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. /1  Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 30, 2019

I appreciate the good work by @cgmunich. I have asked our mission to take care of their two children. /2  Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 30, 2019

Tweeting her appreciation for the Consulate General of India in Munich, Swaraj said that she had asked the mission to take care of the Basarur children. The children are currently in the custody of the social services.

The police are investigating the case.Two days after the Income Tax department raided the homes of minor Irrigation minister CS Puttaraju and Public Works Department minister HD Revanna among others, in Karnataka, IT officials and Election Commission (EC) flying squads carried out raids at the properties of Tamil Nadus deputy leader of the opposition and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Treasurer S Duraimurugan.

DMK leaders said a three-member team reached Duraimurugans house in Katpadi, Vellore district on Friday at 10 pm.

Duraimurugans son Kathir Anand is the DMKs candidate for Vellore LS seat, and the duo had gone out for campaigning. The team of officials waited until the arrival of Duraimurugan and Anand and asked the DMK leader to co-operate for the raid, DMK legal wing deputy secretary I Parandhaman said.

The raids conducted in Duraimurugans house, cars and the premises of an engineering college ended on Saturday morning.

Reacting to the raids, DMK president MK Stalin accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being behind these search operations. Since the pre-poll surveys are saying that BJP could not come to the power again, a frustrated PM has been using Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax and Election Commission to threaten oppositions. However, we DMK will not be terrified for these silly things, he charged.The Bihar regional committee of the CPI (Maoists), an outlawed Left Wing Extremists (LWE) group, has called for Magadh division bandh covering four districts Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada and Jehanabad on April 2 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election rally in Gaya.

The Maoists put up posters Friday night in the rural areas of Gaya and Aurangabad announcing the bandh.

The posters called upon the poor and the suppressed class of the society to boycott the PMs rally on April 2 and remain indoors to avoid any eventuality. They described the political establishment of the country as a congregation of fascist forces to inflict atrocities on the poor and the women.

The Bihar Police dismissed any possible threat to the Prime Minister from the Maoists.

Proper deployments of forces at all strategic locations, alert security and the intelligence wings, and regular search operations have instilled a sense of security among the commoners. All poll processes are going on smoothly and peacefully, said Gayas senior superintendent of police Rajeev Mishra.

BJP leaders in Gaya also dismissed the Maoist attempt to foil the PM rally by spreading fear among people. Nobody is going to heed their threats, said a BJP leader who is part of the team organising the rally.

In their posters, Maoists also owned responsibility for blowing up the house of the former BJP MLC Anuj Kumar Singh at his native village of Bodhibigha in Gaya district because he had joined the Brahminical forces of Hindutva which perpetuated torture on the poor and the weaker sections of the society.

Police have rubbished the claims saying the MLCs house was attacked because he did not pay the Maosists.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  Filipino-American beauty queen Maureen Montagne nearly won a back-to-back crown for the Philippines at the Miss Eco International 2019 where she was named first runner-up.

Reigning queen Cynthia Thomalla from Southern Leyte passed on the crown to Peru's Suheyn Cipriani during the pageant's coronation in Egypt on Saturday. Miss USA finished 2nd runner-up, followed by Miss Ukraine and Miss Malaysia.

Montagne, born to a Filipina mother and French father also won first runner-up in Miss World USA in 2017, representing the state of Arizona.

Prior to the announcement of winners, the 5'7" model took the time to thank supporters who have been part of her "incredible" journey.

"No matter what happens I will leave Egypt full of love, light, and new found purpose," she said on Instagram.

Over 60 countries joined this year's Miss Eco International which advocates sustainable tourism and environmental protection.The legal team defending fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on Friday offered to furnish a security deposit of 1 million and follow stringent conditions to secure bail at the Westminster Magistrates Court, but it was denied for the second time.

The court was told Modi could wear an electronic tag, which operates on GPS technology, enabling the police to track the location of the wearer, and carry at all times a fully charged and functioning mobile phone, besides surrendering visas to various countries that he held.

However, chief judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected the teams arguments and denied him bail until the next hearing on April 26, when he is due to appear in court via video link.

Modis team, led by barrister Clare Montgomery, mentioned Modi having a dog, and told the judge that he had the same right to bail as any UK national in a domestic case. Modi, she added, did not have a history of criminal conduct, neither did he have links with the underworld.

However, the judge ruled that given Modis weak ties to the UK, the serious nature of Indias allegations of fraud against him and high value of fraud she accepted the prosecutions arguments to deny bail, even though there are some inconsistencies in the paperwork submitted by Indian agencies.

Toby Cadman, barrister representing India, raised the prospect of Modi fleeing, influencing witnesses and destroying evidence in the case, as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and the Indian high commission followed the proceedings closely.

The hearing began with some banter about a sense of deja vu, since it is the same judge and the defence lawyer (Montgomery) who figured in the extradition trial of businessman Vijay Mallya; Arbuthnot ordered his extradition in December 2018.

The judge wondered if Modi might be lodged in the same cell as Mallya in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the Congress-led Opposition at all the three election rallies that he addressed during the day in the north-east  one in Arunachal Pradesh and two in Assam.

In a counter to the chowkidar chor hai (watchman is a thief) campaign of the Congress, Modi, at an election rally in Assams Gohpur, said, The Opposition is scared of the chowkidar [watchman] people trust.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has taken action against corrupt people which has unnerved the Opposition. He blamed the Congress for keeping the country backward and presenting an image of an impoverished nation to the world.

Modi said the Congress serves only one family and is not concerned about the progress of the country.

The Congress has run such governments that gave a great country like India an identity of a weak nation, Modi said in Moran.

He referred to the surgical strikes that India conducted in 2016 after the Uri attack and the recent Balakot operation by the Indian Air Force in the aftermath of Pulwama suicide bombing in his speech to target the Congress party. He said it was the first time that India entered the homes of terrorists and killed them.

Hindustan is happy but people at two places are not. One is the Congress family and the other is the homes of terrorists... The entire world stands solid behind India but the Congress has lost its sleep, Modi said.

The Prime Minister said the Congress had tears in its eyes when scientists shot down a live satellite in space three days ago.

At a rally in Arunachal Pradeshs Aalo, Modi renewed his attack on the Congress leadership, making indirect references to cases against Congress leaders, including party president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He said they abuse the chowkidar despite being out on bail.

There are leaders who sit in Delhi and evade tax, take away farmers land, earn lakhs of rupees as rent from government land given for a newspaper and get commission in defence deals. They are out on bail They have barely escaped [jail]. They are on bail themselves but abuse the chowkidar, Modi said.

This was PM Modis first election rally in Arunchal Pradesh since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced earlier this month.

Experts for decades kept saying Arunachal needs modern infrastructure but the naamdar parivar [a phrase often used by Modi to refer to the Nehru-Gandhi family] and their courtiers here were busy building their own sultanate. They didnt care about you. They cared more for malai [cream, a euphuism for kickbacks] for themselves than bhalai [welfare] of people, Modi said.

The PM slammed the Opposition leaders for criticising his government over the recent Balakot strike and announcement of the success of Mission Shakti, under which India shot down a defunct satellite using an anti-satellite missile (A-SAT).

This showcased Indias capability to hit a target in space, becoming only the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to possess such power.

When scientists achieved success, they mocked them. The achievements which make the entire nation proud, they get rattled. They speak the same language as terrorists, Modi said, adding, No one is bothered about them in the country, they are being hailed in Pakistan. Their photographs are published in the newspapers there.

They [Opposition] have developed so much of love for the neighbouring country that they dont even cherish India.

The BJP is eyeing to maximise its prospects in the Lok Sabha elections in the north-east.

The party has set a target of winning 25 seats from the region. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won eight seats  seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh.If you own more than one car, you may have to pay more for parking the extra vehicles near your house once proposed new rules take effect in the national capital, which already has 3.5 million cars plying on its roads and is adding an average 500 more daily.

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has recommended the introduction of differential and higher rates for parking additional cars in residential areas, citing examples of some Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) that have already introduced such measures.

Among the other proposals under the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Rules, 2017, are customised parking management plans for each neighbourhood and making green spaces, parks and footpaths out of bounds for parking.

The pricing for residential parking should be determined jointly by the local agency, RWA, shopkeepers association but it must be based on the principle of charging differential and higher rates for additional cars, said a report EPCA submitted to the Supreme Court.

The Delhi government in February opposed an EPCA recommendation to introduce pricing for residential parking. In its latest report, EPCA said the national capital was paying a high price for allowing free parking and that the government should be directed to notify the proposed new rules. Civic bodies and the Delhi Traffic Police have supported EPCA.

The crisis of unsustainable parking pressure in residential neighbourhoods has created serious law and order problem, local congestion and toxic exposure and erosion of well being and liveability. It is important to address management of parking in residential areas, the report said.

Under clause 11(2) of the proposed policy, parking is possible only in demarcated public spaces in residential areas against the payment of a fee  even for the first car. The government suggested that people shouldnt be charged for parking in residential areas.

The Delhi government said it wouldnt change its stand on residential parking.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the government had already made its stand clear that until more parking space is created by the municipal bodies, people staying in residential neighbourhoods cannot be forced to pay.

In the past 5-7 years, Delhi government has collected thousands of crores of rupees on behalf of the MCDs {Municipal Corporations of Delhi}. The MCDs were supposed to build new parking lots. How many of these have even been built by the municipal corporations? We had directed the transport department to notify the policy, but now the matter is being monitored by the Supreme Court. We will make our stand clear to the court as well, he said.

EPCA opposed the governments suggestion on grounds that free parking in residential areas would make the policy toothless and defeat the very purpose of the proposed rules. After meeting with civic bodies and the police, EPCA suggested differential and higher parking rates for additional cars owned by residents, and a customised parking management plan for each neighbourhood.

Each locality and colony should have it own parking management plan based on its local needs and character. Multiplicity of responsibility is one of the core problems of governance in the city and parking regulations must not add to this, said Sunita Narain, a member of EPCA.

EPCAs review has shown that because of lack of an integrated management approach and availability of free parking in surface areas, parking facilities such as multi-level car parks that are being built are not being used optimally and free parking in the vicinity is adding to problems.

The local parking plan must ensure that there is provision for movement of emergency vehicles and green areas, parks and footpaths may not be allowed to be used for parking, one of the recommendations said.

Ashutosh Dikshit, CEO of United RWAs Joint Action (URJA), an umbrella group of RWAs, agreed on the need for customised parking solutions and differential parking charges. Having a local area plan has been a longstanding demand of URJA. But the roles of each stake holder  civic bodies and RWAs  should be clearly defined, he said.

EPCA also requested the court to direct Delhi Police to greatly improve enforcement against illegal and unauthorised parking through use of advanced equipment, including cameras and automated challans.

Even while the policy must be directed to manage the existing parking demand in an organised and a planned manner it is also important to find ways to reduce demand for parking through restrictions and pricing, said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy) at the Centre for Science and Environment.While the horror inflicted on her on a Holi night may haunt her for life, it took around a year for the four-year-old rape survivor to walk out of the King George Medical University in Lucknow, here on Saturday.

Battling for life ever since she was raped when she was just three years old by her uncle, who had come to her house to celebrate the festival last year, the little girl had to undergo multiple surgeries, including a few complicated ones, before Saturday when she was told that she could now lead a normal life.

The brutal rape had severely damaged her passages of rectum and vagina. It needed multiple surgeries to bring them back to normal, said Prof SN Kureel, head of department, paedictric surgery, KGMU, who operated the girl.

While she was first admitted for 10 days, she had to be in hospital almost for the entire year, undergoing different surgeries.

The first stage surgery was done to divert the stool passage in March last year. The second surgery to repair the rectum and vagina was done in November. The third surgery was done on March 18 this year to give her back the original stool passage. The organs are now normal, said Prof Kureel. She can now live a normal life and will not require any further surgery, said Prof Kureel, for whom issuing a discharge slip for her was an emotional moment.

One can only imagine what all she has faced at such a tender age, said the doctor.

For her father, a daily wager in Lucknow Nagar Nigam, coping up was equally challenging experience.

Every moment was tough. But now that my daughter can play and live like other girls of her age, I am happy, he said while profusely thanking the team of doctors  Dr Archika, Dr Gaurav, Dr Vipul, Dr Sunil who gave his daughter a new life.

The girl went missing while she was playing outside her rented house in Thakurganj locality.She was found later from an abandoned under-construction house nearby.

A group of locals nabbed the girls uncle coming out of the abandoned building. He was beaten up badly before being handed over to us, the police said.

The accused was later booked under charges of rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is still in jail, said police.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday asked if former prime minister Indira Gandhi can be credited for liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan, why should not Prime Minister Narendra Modi be credited for the Balakot air strike.

Singh was addressing a rally in Ahmedabad in support of BJP president Amit Shah, who filed his nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency later in the day.

It was the bravery of our forces that they divided Pakistan into two parts. One remained Pakistan, while Bangladesh was formed (out of the other), he said.

After the war, our leader A B Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi in Parliament. She was also praised all over the country, Singh added.

Referring to the Pulwama attack, the home minister said, When our 40-42 CRPF soldiers lost their lives in a fidayeen attack, Modiji gave a free hand to our forces. If Indira Gandhi can get the credit of dividing Pakistan in 1971, why shouldnt Modiji get the credit for what he has done in Balakot, Rajnath asked.

If our prime minister has shown such strong willpower to avenge the terror attack on our CRPF jawans, then I would like to ask you why our prime minister should not be praised? he questioned.

Singh hit out at the Congress for not carrying out similar retaliatory action after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008.

The Congress was in power when 26/11 attack took place in Mumbai. And they (Congress-led UPA) could do nothing against Pakistan. When political power and military might go hand in hand, then I can assure you that no power in the world can challenge the might of our military, he said.

He asked the people to punish Congress president Rahul Gandhi for making allegations of corruption against the prime minister.

Who will deny the fact that Indias respectability in international fraternity has grown. We all accept the truth that Indias leadership is in strong hands. But the irony is that the leader of our opposition party and Congress national president abuses our prime minister. I appeal to the people through this event to punish that political party which abuses our PM, he said.

You have seen earlier governments. In the past five years, no one can dare say there is a blemish of corruption on PM Modi or any of his ministers, the home minister claimed.

Taking on the Congress chowkidar chor hai jibe, Singh said, Congress national president Rahul Gandhi says chowkidar chor hai.The chowkidar is not a chor, he is pure, his re-election as PM is sure, and for all the countrys problems, he is the cure. He said under Modi, the country was now the sixth largest economy in the world and would occupy fifth place in the fiscal beginning April 1.

Who will deny the fact that Indias respectability in the international fraternity has grown. We all accept the truth that Indias leadership is in strong hands, he said.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, speaking at the same event, claimed whatever happened in the last five years under PM Modis leadership did not happen in 50 years.

Amitbhai gets the credit of making the BJP the worlds largest party. The NDA will certainly win in this election, and I am certain our government will come back under Modijis leadership, Gadkari said.

People understand that our government has not discriminated against anyone on the basis of caste, religion, creed or language, he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal showered praise on Shah, saying he is the countrys biggest organiser, campaigner.

Amit Shah ji was the chief campaigner and organiser in the 2014 election when Modi was elected. If there is anybody other than Modiji who gets credit for the government getting formed, then it is Amit Shah, Badal said.

Modi ji made the country proud by taking the decision to conduct (aerial, surgical) strikes to crush militancy. This happened without any jawan getting harmed. This decisive nature belongs to Modi sahebs, Badal claimed.

We pray to god that Modi saheb becomes the countrys prime minister again by a huge majority, and Amit Shahji also contributes to it, he said.

Union minister and Lok Jantantrik Party head Ram Vilas Paswan said he will be happy if Shah breaks all the past records by winning with the highest vote margin.

I became MLA in 1979, MP in 1977, winning from Hajipur (in Bihar) with the largest margin. I will be happy if you break all past records, he said.

Paswan said Modis claims of a Congress-mukt country was coming true as the opposition party was nowhere to be seen.

Gathbandhan has become lathbandhan as its constituents are fighting against each other. I can say with confidence that the NDA and the BJP will get more seats in 2019 than what they got in 2014, he said.

When the press asked me three years ago, I had said there is no vacancy for the prime ministers post in 2019. They should prepare for 2024, and we will see them then, Paswan stressed.

He claimed that the NDA government was with the poor, and cited the memorials it had built for Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.The district court in Gurugram on Saturday sentenced two persons, including a 32-year-old woman, to life imprisonment for murdering a 35-year-old man in Farukhnagar area in June 2015. The police said the woman, along with her lover, had murdered her partially blind husband after he discovered her extramarital affair.

Lalit Kumar (35), alias Bittu, a farmer and political worker in Mehchana village in Farukhnagar, was found murdered at his house in June 2015.

The police had arrested the deceaseds wife on the basis of her confession, technical surveillance and her friends confession. She had revealed during interrogation that she hatched the murder plan along with her paramour Parvinder Kumar after her husband found her messages on the mobile phone. Their plan was finalised after her husband received 1 crore from the government, when it acquired his ancestral land, the police said.

Parvinder had told the police that as per the plan, Vinita went to her sisters place in Delhi with her children.In her absence, Parvinder killed Lalit. Both the accused were out on bail when the court pronounced the order on. They were arrested after the court order and sent to jail, said assistant commissioner of police Shamsher Singh.Struggling to keep the house united after defections and rebellions, the Congress has appointed a committee of key central leaders for deliberation with the state leadership on Saturday. Prominent Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad is also likely to join Congress on Saturday in presence of senior leaders and could be announced as a party candidate from Pune.

The Congress high command stepped in to control the damage in a state that has highest Lok Sabha seats [48] after Uttar Pradesh.

The central committee, headed by AICC general secretary Maharashtra in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and central electoral observer Madhusudan Mistry, will hold the meeting in Mumbai. Official party candidates are facing rebels in constituencies, such as Aurangabad, Ramtek, and had to change its candidate in Chandrapur after an embarrassing audio clip leak. On Friday, veteran tribal leader of the party, Manikrao Gavit, who was a union minister, threatened to quit the party because the candidature in Nandurbar was not given to his son. Senior party leader and Opposition Leader in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil is openly working to ensure victory of his son, Sujay, who is contesting from Ahmednagar on a BJP ticket.

The central team is expected to give responsibilities of each constituency to senior leaders from the state, including former CMs and ministers. The leaders may have the responsibility of two to three constituencies. The leaders will be given a brief to try to patch up warring factions at local level to contain any damage. The steps are being taken after senior leaders complained to the party leadership that they were not being taken into confidence by state leadership, said a senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, Pravin Gaikwad, a leading Maratha leader who was associated with Sambhaji Brigade and later joined the Peasants and Workers Party, is joining the Congress. His name for the Pune seat has almost been finalised and official announcement will soon be done. It may lead to further unrest and the local party leaders have opposed candidature of any outsider like Gaikwad, said another leader from Pune said.

Gaikwad, who has a following in the Maratha community, will be pitted against BJPs Girish Bapat, who is a Brahmin. Congress and even NCP feels that the move will help them garner voters of Marathas upset over the reservation issue.

The decision about sharing the Sangli seat with Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Paksha is expected to be officially taken during the meeting.

Congress leader Vishal Patil or Dhangar leader Gopichand Padalkar could be the Swabhimani Paksha candidate.

Meanwhile, Congress is releasing a book in two languages highlighting 100 mistakes by prime minister Narendra Modi.Both in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Andhra Pradesh played a critical role in the Congress forming governments at the Centre. Under the leadership of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the Congress and its allies won 35 and 33 seats out of the total 42 seats in the state. In 2014, the party faced a double whammy. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in September 2009, and his son YS Jaganmohan Reddy walked out of the Congress to create a separate political party  the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)  in 2011. It also ceded ground to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, which denied the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) prospective gains from the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create Indias 29th and youngest state.

The Congresss losses were much bigger in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh after the carving out of Telangana. From a vote share of 50.4% and 40.7% in 2004 and 2009, the Congress crashed to a figure of 2.8% in the 2014 elections. That the YSRCP polled 45.4% of the total votes shows that almost the entire Congress support base shifted to the breakaway party.

However, it was the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), partners in the multi-party National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that reaped the political benefits out of the split in the Congress. The NDA won 17 out of the 25 seats in the state.

Had the TDP stayed with the NDA, the Congress would perhaps not even be a factor in these elections. In March 2018, the TDP walked out of the NDA over the denial of its demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh. This has made the political contest in the coastal state multi-polar in nature with the two regional parties -- TDP and YSRCP being the main players and the Congress and the BJP also contesting all seats on their own. The left parties have made another coalition with the Jana Sena Party.

If one were to compare contested vote share of the TDP (48.2%) and YSRCP (45.4%) in 2014, the former seems to have a small advantage. To be sure, the TDP figure might not capture the true picture as it would have got BJP votes as well. The biggest question in 2019 will be whether the YSRCP can repeat its 2014 performance in terms of vote share. If that happens, and the five-year anti-incumbency and lack of coalition partners lowers the TDPs vote share, the YSRCP could sweep Andhra Pradesh.

What is difficult to predict is the role which the two national parties could play in Andhra Pradesh. A revival in the fortunes of the Congress would probably reduce YSRCPs support and could end up helping the TDP. The TDP, on the other hand, would have to prevent its supporters from switching to the BJP, its alliance partner in 2014. Another possibility which cannot be ruled out is a multi-polar (YSRCP, Congress and the BJP) division of opposition votes  Andhra Pradesh would have simultaneous assembly elections as well  ending up helping the TDP in overcoming anti-incumbency.

In a first-past-the-post system, none of these possibilities can be ruled out as of now.To create voter awareness in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, select trains originating and halting at New Delhi Railway Station will bear slogans such as My Vote Matters .

On Friday, Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh launched an awareness campaign from the city, flagging off the Kerala Express with poll-related messages.

The Kerala Express bound for Thiruvananthapuram starts at 11.25 am, covering eight states in 51 hours and 10 minutes. The train will be flagged by state chief electoral officers at multiple stops as it traverses across the country, the Delhi CEO office said a statement.

Four long-distance trains covering 19 states have been selected by Election Commission of India (ECI) and Indian Railways to carry voter awareness and motivational messages.

The other trains carrying messages include Himsagar Express, Guwahati Express and Howrah Express.

As the train travels across different states, passengers will be urged by the district election officers (DEOs) to click selfies with the slogans in the background and upload them on the official social media accounts of the commission, said officials.

The move has been taken under the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).

The trains have been selected on the longest North-South route and East-West routes. The main purpose of this collaboration is to promote awareness among voters on a large scale, it said.

The Indian Railways network carries 22.24 million passengers and 3.04 million tonnes of freight on an average on a daily basis, it maintained.

Cash seizure

Around 35,85,000 cash has been seized over two days as part of the electoral vigil being across the city. While 10, 85000 was seized from outer Delhi, another 25 lakh was found from an SUV in Matiala area of southwest Delhi.

BJP reply to notice

The Delhi CEO in a statement released on Friday said the BJP wants 10 more days to reply to a showcause notice issued to the partys election committee member for sharing an audio-visual advertisement titled main bhi chowkidar hun on social media.

The advertisement featured defence personnel, which is violation of the model code of conduct.

The notice was issued on March 26 for not complying with the directions of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee. The poll body had earlier asked the BJP member to submit a reply within three days.

The EC had directed political parties to keep the countrys defence personnel out of election campaigning and not to use their photographs in advertisements.A day after Congress central election committee huddled to decide tickets for Lok Sabha elections, old arch rivals former Union telecom minister Sukh Ram and Congress veteran Virbhadra Singh met in New Delhi on Friday.

Sukh Ram, 92, had been a bitter rival of Virbhadra Singh for decades. He did mend the broken chords with his old arch-rival, after retiring from electoral politics in 2004. But the old feud was back in the open.

However, in a new development, the meeting between the two senior leaders is seen as the party high commands effort to end rivalry between two stalwarts, that could mar Congresss prospect in Lok Sabha elections from Mandi where chief minister Jai Ram Thakurs personal prestige is at stake.

The meeting also comes close on the heels of Sukhram re-joining the Congress recently along with his grandson, Ashray Sharma, who was declared the partys candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat later on Friday.

Former minister Sukh Ram created a flutter in Himachal Pradesh politics when he walked back to the Congress with his grandson, Ashray Sharma in tow, two days after the BJP denied the 32-year-old the ticket from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

According to sources, Sukh Ram sought Virbhadras blessing for his grandson ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

The rare meeting, which continued for 45 minutes, between old rivals took place at Virbhadras Greater Kailash residence in New Delhi.It was rare sight when the two shared a warm hug and exchanged pleasantries with each other. Virbhadras two lieutenants Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and former urban development minister Sudhir Sharma were also present at the meeting, which was held at party high commands behest.

It was a rare meeting between the two leaders. Virbhadra Singh is a respected leader in Congress. The two also talked about past political experiences, said Ashray Sharma, who refused to divulge more details.

Ashray along with his father Anil Sharma, who is a cabinet minister in Jai Ram Thakur-led state government, and grandfather Sukh Ram had walked away from Congress ahead of 2017 assembly elections.

Our family had always been with Congress. It was the circumstances that had forced us to switch sides. My grandfather always had the desire to return back to Congress he said.

The two political heavyweights from Himachal Pradesh -- Virbhadra Singh and his bete noire Sukh Ram, started their political career together.

Sukh Ram, once close to former Prime Minister P V Narsimha Rao, was in race for chief Minister in 1992 when Congress registered a landslide victory gaining 52 seats in the assembly. However, after the party high command chose Virbhadra over Sukh Ram, the two have never left any stone unturned to pin down each other.

In 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided house of then telecom minister Sukhram in Mandi and Delhi and recovered over 3 crore. Sukh Ram later blamed Virbhadra Singh for the raids and accused him of keeping money in his house. Following his conviction in the telecom scam, Congress had sacked Sukhram in 1997.

Relations between the two ministers soured further in 1998 when Sukh Ram formed his own outfit Himachal Vikas Congress that helped the BJP strike an alliance in Himachal. The new outfit was later disbanded in 2004.Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told students of Sunbeam School in Ayodhya that in politics there must be a balance between youthfulness and experience.

While interacting with around 400 students of class 9 and 12 of the school on Friday, Priyanka was asked by a student why the Congress party opted for aged chief ministers instead of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot in MP and Rajasthan, respectively.

She replied : We need to keep a balance between experience and youthfulness in politics.

Another student asked Priyanka about her cooking habits.

I have learnt how to cook Italian dishes from my nani (maternal grandmother) and Indian dishes from my dadi (paternal grandmother), said Priyanka.

A student asked the Congress general secretary about the Nyay scheme in which the party has promised Rs 72000 every year for poor families. The student wanted to know how the Congress will arrange funds for this scheme.

Replying to the query, the Congress general secretary said: There is no shortfall of funds in this country.

A student also asked why the Congress party did not appoint a Lokpal during its rule in the country. Priyanka did not give a direct reply to the query and instead said: The present government (BJP) has appointed the Lokpal before elections due to political reasons.

The interactive session continued for around 45 minutes in which the media was not allowed.The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced 31-year-old Jamyang Tsering Namgyal as its candidate for Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency.

Ladakh goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6. State BJP president Ravinder Raina said, Namgyal is a strong and an energetic young man. He is a true follower and a close aide of Dalai Lama.

The young leader, who serving as the current chief executive councillor (CEC) of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), remained private secretary to the former BJP MP and renowned Buddhist spiritual leader, Thupstan Chhewang.

A graduate from University of Jammu, Namgyal took over as CEC of the hill development council on November 10 last year following mass revolt in Ladakh unit of the BJP.

The then CEC Dorjey Mottup had also resigned to register his protest against the BJP government over non-fulfillment of promises made by them in 2014 parliamentary polls.

Holding political importance, the vast and sparsely populated Ladakh constituency has 1,56,888 voters (85,763 in Kargil and 71,125 in Leh), out of which 79,432 are male and 77,456 are female. Namgyals nomination comes a three days after the BJP announced the candidature of Tejasvi Surya, 28, from the high profile Bangalore South seat in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The young leaders nominations is seen as an encouragement to the youth. Amandeep Mathur, a local, wrote on Namgyals Facebook page,After Tejasvi Surya, BJP gave chance to another bright youth from Ladakh parliamentary seat. His work in Ladakh speaks volume. Earlier, he was a leader of Ladakhi students in Jammu. He has no background or influence. Hope this new generation of young BJP MPs will bring a positive change in the outlook of youngsters towards the politics.

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah will address a public rally on April 3 in Rajouri districts Sunderbani area, the home constituency of Raina.

However, PMs April 8 rally in Jammu is yet to be finalised, he added.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019: All you need to know about Jammu and KashmirThe iconic Sydney Opera House, located in the bay of Sydney Harbour, will be the venue for a programme being organised on Sunday where the participants will discuss why it is important to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he leads the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into general elections in April.

The NRI 4 NAMO meeting is not the only one of its kind. As the first phase of polling on April 11 draws near, programmes to reinforce the ruling partys efforts to retain power will be organised in several locations outside India. NRI is short for non-resident Indian, and NAMO is an acronym comprising the initials of the PMs name.

As was done in the run-up to the 2014 general election that saw BJP emerge victorious with 31% vote share, campaigns to support Modi and the BJP are being anchored by Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), which has chapters in at least 30 countries.

NRIs who support the party will help carry out campaigns both in India and in the countries they live in.

The difference between 2014 and now is that, earlier these programmes were conducted extempore, and now it is more systematic since we have strengthened our support system in over 30 countries. The PMs interactions with the diaspora itself has given the exercise a fresh impetus, said Vijay Chauthaiwale, incharge of the BJPs foreign affairs department, of which the OFBJP is a part.

The party is counting on supporters in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Malaysia and across the Gulf region.

The template followed in most of these countries is the same -- discussions over the weekends; cultural programmes and the now ubiquitous part of the BJPs election campaign -- the chai pe charchas (discussions over tea) that was popularized by Modi in the 2014 election campaign.

These NRIs also reach out to friends and family in India and help in fund raising.

Jay Shah, an information technology (IT) professional who is part of the OFBJP in Australia, said at least three programmes will be organised in Australia over the weekend to muster support for Modi and his policies.

Chauthaiwale attributes the spurt in support for Modi to three major reasons.

He said issues of national security, the development record of the Modi government and the foreign policy initiatives have had a clear resonance on the ground.

The BJPs campaign is also being shored up by the vast network of volunteers associated with the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the overseas arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

BJP is not the only party relying on Indian diaspora to create a favourable atmosphere for it. Parties like Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Admi Party also bank on the NRI pool for raising money and manpower to strengthen campaigns.

While there is no data either with the parties or the Election Commission on how many NRIs turn up to vote, 71,735 Indians abroad are registered as voters with the EC, of which 66,866 are men, 4,849 women and 20 belong to the third gender.Odisha is one of the key eastern states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to make big gains in the 2019 elections. If this were to happen, it would be redemption of sorts for the party, as it suffered heavy losses in the state after Naveen Patnaiks Biju Janata Dal (BJD) decided to walk out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) just before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJPs post-2009 revival in the state has come at the cost of the Congress, which suffered a big reduction in its seat share and vote share in the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The BJP improved its vote share in 2014 Lok Sabha election compared to that in 2009 by 4.7 percentage points and won one seat. The Congress vote share reduced by 6.7 percentage points between the two elections, and its seat tally reduced from six to zero.

The Congresss decline continued further in the panchayat polls held in 2017. In the 2012 panchayat elections, the BJP won 36 of 854 seats, while the Congress won 128. In 2017, the BJP won 297 of 845 seats, while the Congress could win only 60.

There is also a geographical divide in the BJPs resurgence in Odisha. While the Congress performed relatively better in the costal regions of Odisha in 2014, the BJP made major gains in the western region of the state. This region is relatively backward and has a high share of Scheduled Tribe (ST) population. For example, none of the eighth districts in the state with an ST population share above 50%, such as Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, and Rayagada, are on the coast.

See Map 1A and 1B: Change in BJP and Congress vote share between 2009 and 2014 LS wise

It would be interesting to see whether the BJP continues its consolidation in the western region of the state. It won the Jharkhand  a contiguous region with Western Odisha  assembly elections held soon after the 2014 elections in Odisha.

However the Congress snatched a huge victory in the 2018 Chhattisgarh  another contiguous state  elections, which would have been impossible without a major support among the ST population, 30.62% of the states population. This might lead to some sort of revival in the Congresss support among tribal voters. Whether or not the BJP continues to usurp the Congresss support base in Odisha will also be a critical factor for the BJDs fortunes in the state.

In the 2014 elections, the combined vote share of the BJP and the Congress was more than that of the BJD in 13 out of 21 seats. However the division of opposition votes allowed the BJD to win 20 seats in the state. Things could change drastically if the opposition vote were to be polarized behind either the BJP or the Congress.

Such a polarisation would be 20-30 percentage points ahead of the BJD in 4 constituencies, and 10-20 percentage points ahead in three others, according to the 2014 performance of the three parties.

The BJD would be most vulnerable in the interior non-coastal constituencies, such as Kalahandi, Bargarh, Sambalpur, and Sundargarh. See Map 2: Difference between combined vote share of BJP-Cong and BJD in Odisha 2019 will perhaps be a unique election in Odisha, where Naveen Patnaik who is one of the most successful inheritors of the legacy of anti-Congress politics in India, may want the Congress to stay relevant in the state.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that corruption was the glue that binds opposition parties, singling out the Congress that has alleged wrongdoing in the 59,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal and personally targeted him. Modi also accused the opposition of speaking the language of terrorists.

Whether their government is in Delhi or Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress is always hand-in-glove with corruption. In this Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), corruption is the Fevicol which binds them, Modi said.

Modi was speaking at a rally in Aalo, Arunachal Pradesh, where he sought a second term for the state government run by chief minister Pema Khandu. The Prime Minister addressed three election rallies on Saturday in the Northeast -- two in Assam besides the one in Aalo. Five seats in Assam, two Lok Sabha seats and 60 Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh will vote on April 11, the first phase of polling.

They are out on bail themselves but abuse chowkidar (watchman), Modi said, referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who have secured bail in a case of alleged wrongdoing at National Herald, the mouthpiece of the Congress party. Choose between a neta who does bhalai (welfare) and those who eat malai (cream), said Modi. At the Polo Ground in Assams Moran, Modi said, It is time to decide whether you want a dumdaar sarkar (strong government) or a daagdar sarkar (tainted government).

In Assams Gohpur, addressing the third rally, the prime minister said: When you vote on April 11 do remember who can rid Assam of infiltrators and terrorists.

He refrained from mentioning the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which has sparked protests across the Northeast over fears of a large-scale influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring nations. The bill, which sought to allow Indian citizenship to minorities from the Muslim-majority nations of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is set to lapse after the government failed to present it in the Rajya Sabha following Lok Sabha approval.

Modi referred to surgical strikes by the Indian Army in September 2016 on terror camps across the Line of Control after the Uri terror attack and the air strikes on February 26 on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, Pakistan, in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama suicide car bombing . It was the first time that India entered the homes of terrorists and killed them, Modi said.

The achievements which make the entire nation proud, they (opposition parties) get rattled. They speak the same language as terrorists, PM Modi said in Aalo, apparently referring to questions asked about the death toll in the Balakot strike.

The opposition Congress described the content of Modis election speeches as poll gimmicks that would not translate into votes. People are tired of these speeches and want action. In the past few years, BJP governments at the Centre and in the northeast have indulged in large-scale corruption. People are watching and it would benefit our party, said Arunachal Pradesh Congress chief Takam Sanjoy.

(With inputs from Utpal Parashar)Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that if the party is voted to power, then lakhs of rural youngsters will be employed in gram sabhas to improve the environment.

He tweeted that the country needs to repair and restore its water bodies, and regenerate wasteland and degraded land.

We will employ lakhs of rural youth in our gram sabhas to improve the environment, Gandhi said, adding that the Congresss manifesto will focus on jobs creation, address agrarian distress, and strengthen education and health sectors.

To this, minister of state for external affairs VK Singh asked Gandhi to shed light on the cost estimates of the scheme and clarify if it includes the Jayanthi tax  a phrase previously used by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to attack the Congress-led UPA government over alleged corruption in the environment ministry.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma hit out at the central government, saying that the country has suffered due to mismanagement of the Indian economy and reckless decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the past five years, Indias economy has been gasping instead of galloping, Sharma said, adding: The government is destroying the credibility of Indian data by embellishing the data, fudging numbers and inflating figures...

The Congress spokesperson said that PM Modi should be held accountable for destroying millions of jobs and answer for a hasty imposition of a flawed GST (Goods and Services Tax) model.

How can you keep on claiming that we are the fastest growing (economy) by not creating jobs but by destroying them. There is a huge contradiction.

Reiterating Gandhis promise to scrap government think tank Niti Aayog and bring back the Planning Commission, Sharma said, Fudging of the data is not going to help. NITI Aayogs job is not meant to embellish numbers and fudge the countrys data.

Sharma also urged the prime minister to stop misusing the countrys armed forces for political gains. In an apparent reference to the Balakot air strike, PM Modi said at a rally in Assams Moran that only the Congress and terrorists are not happy with the BJP after the government took action against militants.

Finalising PR Firm

Percept limited may emerge as the frontrunner to bag the multi crore campaign for the Congress party in the elections. The party has already finalised Silverpush to handle its digital campaign. The search is on for an agency to handle the physical media space.

(With HTC inputs)Ex-BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was sacked from service after he uploaded a video complaining of bad quality food being served to the forces, on Friday said he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yadav, a resident of Rewari in Haryana, claimed he was approached by several parties to join them but chose to contest as an independent candidate. He said by contesting the elections he would raise the issue of corruption in the forces.

My motive is not to win or lose. It is to highlight how this government has failed the forces, especially paramilitary forces. PM Modi seeks votes in the name of our jawans but has done nothing for them. Our paramilitary jawans (CRPF men) killed recently in Pulwama were not even given martyr status by this government, he said.

Yadav was dismissed from BSF in 2017 after he took to the social media to complain about the quality of food being served to the forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

He has challenged his dismissal in the court and the case is in the trial stage. My dismissal was completely wrong. They claimed I am being removed for indiscipline.

At least the government could have bothered to address the corruption issue I had raised. Its actions to suppress my voice only shows this government is a party to large scale corruption in the forces, Yadav said.

He said he would soon go to Varanasi and start campaigning with the help of ex-servicemen and farmers. We are building our strategy to target maximum voters, he said.

For complete coverage of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, click herePrime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the Congress-led Opposition at all the three election rallies that he addressed during the day in the Northeast, one in Arunachal Pradesh and two in Assam.

PM Modi countered chowkidar chor hai (watchman is a thief) campaign of the Congress. Addressing an election rally at Gohpur in Assam, PM Modi said, The Opposition is scared of the chowkidar people trust.

He said the BJP-led government has taken action against corrupt people which has unnerved the Opposition. Earlier, at a rally in Assams Moran, he blamed the Congress for keeping the country backward and presenting image of an impoverished nation to the world. PM Modi said the Congress serves only one family and is not concerned about the progress of the country.

The Congress has run such governments that gave a great country like India an identity of a weak nation, said Modi at a public rally in Assams Moran. This was his second rally of the day in the Northeast and first of the two rallies in Assam.

Hindustan is happy but Congress, terrorists are not

PM Modi also referred to surgical strike by the India in 2016 after Uri terror attack and recent Balakot operation by the Indian Air Force in the aftermath of Pulwama suicide bombing in his speech to target the Congress party. PM Modi said it was the first time that India entered the homes of terrorists and killed them.

Hindustan is happy but people at two places are not. One is the Congresss family and the other is the homes of terrorists...The entire world stands solid behind India but the Congress has lost its sleep, PM Modi said.

The prime minister said the Congress had tears in its eyes when scientists shot down a live satellite in space three days ago.

Those on bail abuse chowkidar

At his public rally in Arunachal Pradeshs Aalo, PM Modi renewed his attack on the Congress leadership making indirect reference to cases against Congress leaders including party president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Modi said they abuse chowkidar despite being out on bail.

There are leaders, who sit in Delhi and evade tax, take away farmers land, earn lakhs of rupees as rent from government land given for a newspaper and get commission in defence deals. They are out on bail granted by courtThey have barely escaped (jail). They are on bail themselves but abuse chowkidar, said Modi at ITBP Ground, Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

This was PM Modis first election rally in Arunchal Pradesh since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced earlier this month. The prime minister attacked the Congress accusing it of neglecting Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of the Northeast.

Experts for decades kept saying that Arunachal needs modern infrastructure but the naamdar parivar (a phrase often used by PM Modi to refer to Nehru-Gandhi family) and their courtiers here were busy building their own sultanate. They didnt care about you. They cared more for malai (cream) for themselves than bhalai (welfare) of people, Modi said.

PM Modi slammed the Opposition leaders for criticising his government over the recent Balakot strike and announcement of the success of Mission Shakti, under which India shot down a defunct satellite using anti-satellite missile (A-SAT).

This showcased Indias capability to hit a target in space becoming only the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to possess such power.

When scientists achieved success, they mocked them. The achievements which make the entire nation proud, they get rattled. They speak the same language as terrorists, PM Modi said adding, No one is bothered about them in the country, they are being hailed in Pakistan. Their photographs are published in the newspapers there.

He said, They (Opposition) have developed so much of love for the neighbouring country that they dont even cherish India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party planned three rallies of PM Modi in the Northeast for the day, one in Arunachal Pradesh and two in Assam. The BJP is eyeing to maximise its prospects in the Lok Sabha elections in the Northeast.

The party has set a target of winning 25 seats from the region. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won eight seats, seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh, which will vote in simultaneous parliamentary and assembly elections on April 11.BJPs mission in Arunachal Pradesh is 60+2: CM Khandu

Exuding confidence in the BJPs poll prospects in Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Saturday that voters will help the saffron party accomplish its mission of 60 plus two in the state.

We have a target of winning all the seats and the BJPs mission is 60 plus two, Khandu said while addressing an election rally here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP has already opened its account in the state with three candidates declared elected unopposed in the 60-member Assembly.

Approved five new bridges on Brahmaputra: PM Modi

Constructed roads in villages and cities, our government has also approved five new bridges on Brahmaputra for Assams welfare: PM Modi

When world is praising India, opposition is raising questions on Indias achievement: PM Modi in Assam

Whole world has been praising the India for its development steps and security stances. But the opposition has been raising questions on Indias achievements: PM Modi In Assams Gohpur

Backed Congress in 1971 when India defeated Pakistan in war: PM Modi in Assam

We supported Congress in 1971 when the then government defeated Pakistan and provided freedom to Bangladesh, but today Congress has been raising questions on our soldiers valour: PM Modi in Assam

Worked with honesty for Assam: PM Modi in Assam

I have worked with honesty for the betterment of Assam, Congress only destroyed the states: PM Modi in Assam



BJP chief Amit Shah files nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat

Amit Shah files nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, top NDA leaders including Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackrey and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani accompany him.

Working to develop Northeast as Indias new energy hub: PM Modi

Northeast has power to become new Indias new energy hub, govt is working hard to develop region for realising this dream: PM Modi in Moran.

Only Congress and terrorist not happy with BJP govt. : PM Modi

People are happy with BJP govt but it is only Congress and terrorists who are not happy: PM Modi at Moran rally,reports news agency PTI.

Planning to provide Schedule Tribe status to Assams six communities: PM Modi

NDA government committed to save Assams tradition and culture. We are thinking to provide Schedule Tribe status to Assams six communities: PM Modi

Congress donot want to see anyone associated with Tea business: PM Modi

Congress has problems with Chowkidars and Chaiwalas, Initially I thought the problem was with only one chaiwala but after touring whole country I realised that they dont want to see any chaiwala or anyone associated with tea business: PM Modi in Assams Moran

When ASAT test was done, Congress had tears in their eyes: PM Modi

Whole world stood with India after surgical strikes, but Congress did not. When our scientist carried out A-SAT test, Congress got tears in their eyes: PM Modi in Assam

Assam first state to provide gas and fuel to nation, but only 40% residents of Assam got gas connections in 70 years: PM Modi

Assam was the state where India for the first time got fuel and oil but only 40 percent of the houses of this state got gas connection, but now within 5 years we have taken the number to 85 percent. Same with electricity, only 40 percent of houses in Assam got electricity in 70 years, but within 5 years of our government almost ever house in Assam has electricity connection.

Congress made fun of our scientists: PM Modi

Congresss statement after Surgical strikes were seen by the nation, even when our scientist had achieved what only three countries could, congress made fun of them also: PM Modi while addressing poll rally in Arunachal

Double engine of growth for Arunachal after 2019 LS polls: PM Modi

I believe youth of Arunachal Pradesh, I am sure NDA government at both centre and state will act as double engine of growth for the state: PM Modi

Congress is blinded by love for neighbouring country : PM Modi

Congress and its leaders have been blinded by the love for neighbouring country to the point that they dont cherish Northeast or India anymore, their statements are being flashed in Pakistan: PM Modi

Other PMs did not visit Arunachal Pradesh in 30 years, I visited Northeast 30 times in 5 years: PM Modi in Arunachal Pradeshs Aalo

It is after 30 years that a Prime Minister has visited Arunachal Pradeshs Aalo, but in BJPs rule Prime Minister has visited Northeast over 30 times within five years: Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing poll rally in Arunachal Pradeshs Aalo

BJP president Amit Shah holds road show in Gandhinagar

Gujarat: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah holds a road show in Ahmedabad,reports news agency ANI.

Gujarat: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah holds a road show in Ahmedabad. pic.twitter.com/T42WkCPz9i  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

Feel fortune to be named BJPs candidate from Gandhinagar LS seat: Amit Shah

My political career started in 1982, when I was a poll party head in Gandhinagar. I feel fortunate to be announced BJPs candidate from Lok Sabha seat which was once Lok Sabha seat to LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee: BJP president Amit Shah

If we can credit Indira Gandhi for 1971 war victory, why cant we credit Modi for airstrikes: Rajnath Singh

In 1971 Atal Bihari Vajpayee congratulated Indira Gandhi for war victory over Pakistan because we placed nation first and party later but Congress has been trying to discredit Narendra Modis decision making abilities: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

India will soon be one of the top 3 super powers of the world: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

It is Narendra Modi who has taken India ahead of time, if given second chance then NDA government under Narendra Modis leadership will soon be regarded as one of the top three super powers of the world: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

NDA government is Power to the Poor government: Ram Vilas Paswan

NDA government is Power to the Poor government, we made sure SC/ST and OBC get economically and socially stronger: LJP founder Ram Villas Paswan

Kaun banega PM: Uddhav Thackerays poser to Opposition

Grand alliance should hold a rally together and announce PM candidate, they are all busy proving different leaders as PM candidates: Uddhav Thackeray

Some people were celebrating thinking BJP and Shiv sena are fighting, but we are on same track now: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackery

People must be surprised that I reached at Amit Shahs nomination filing. Some of them were celebrating thinking that two parties of same ideologies were fighting.

We had detailed discussion over our misunderstandings and now we are on same track: Uddhav Thackery

Our government achieved things that other governments could not in 50 years: Nitin Gadkari in Gandhinagar

What other governments failed to achieve in 50 years, our government did in 5 years.

Amit Shah is Indias biggest organiser and campaigner: Prakash Singh Badal

Amit Shah is Indias biggest organiser and campaigner, he was chief campaigner and organiser in 2014 when Narendra Modi was elected as Prime Minister of India: SAD supremo Prakash Singh Badal

Amit Shah pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel before addressing poll rally in Gandhinagar

Ahmedabad: BJP President Amit Shah pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he will file his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency today, reports news agency ANI.

Ahmedabad: BJP President Amit Shah pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he will file his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency today. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/HL1a0fupMx  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

UP village threatens to boycott LS polls over demand for bridge

The residents of a village in Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar district have threatened to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections over the authorities not paying heed to their demand to construct a bridge over Solani river.

The decision was taken at a panchayat meeting in Yogender Nagar village.

A villager, Pratap Singh, said since the village is located near the river, residents face problems in getting across.

These problems are aggravated during the monsoon season, he added, reports news agency PTI.

Top NDA leaders to be present during Amit Shahs filing of nomination

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and leaders of BJPs allies such as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan are expected to be present during party president Amit Shahs filing of nomination, reports news agency PTI

Amit Shah to address poll rally, before filing nomination from Gandhinagar

BJP president Amit Shah will be addressing poll rally in Gandhinagar followed by a roadshow before he files his nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who referred to Telugu Desam Party president as U-turn Babu at an election rally in Adnhra Pradeshs Kurnool a day before.

Naidu posted a series of tweets using hashtag #ModiIsAMistake pointing to 2014 parliamentary elections which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party win 282 seat winning single-party majority in the Lok Sabha after 30 years. The TDP chief accused PM Modi of resorting to lies in his public speeches ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Coming from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, if you had any respect for him, you would not have resorted to such lies. The whole country now knows that being in power matters the most to you, Naidu wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Launching sharp attack on PM Modi, Naidu said, Mother India would have never thought that she would see a Prime Minister like you. Are you not ashamed to act in favour of the culprit who has 12 criminal cases? Why are you rolling out the red carpet for him in your office?

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister was responding to PM Modis stinging remarks against him at an election rally in the state on Friday. PM Modi said, When we raised the question on corruption, the U-Turn Babu snapped ties with the National Democratic Alliance.

Naidu was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) till 2017 when he walked out of the ruling coalition alleging discrimination against Andhra Pradesh, for which he sought special category status from the Centre. The Modi government cited technical difficulties in not granting the special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The prime minister also took potshot at Naidus alliance with the Congress saying, Now he has joined up with people who ride the bail gaadi.

In his riposte, Naidu wrote on Twitter: You are not Chowkidar, you are Bakhidar. You have not fulfilled the promises of special status, railway zone, metro rail, Kadapa steel plant. Is it not your conspiracy against AP?

Naidu has been campaigning for past several months to present a united front against the BJP-led ruling coalition in the national election. He has played instrumental role behind two mega rallies of the Opposition parties in January and February this year.

The first rally was organised in Kolkata by the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister while the second was hosted by the Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister. The Congress participated in both the rallies.

Andhra Pradesh will vote in simultaneous elections to the 175-member assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the first phase on April 11.The cracks in the RJDs first family over ticket distribution widened further Saturday with party chief Lalu Prasads elder son Tej Pratap Yadav announcing that he would back his own candidate from the Jehanabad parliamentary seat as against the partys official nominee.

I want to put two candidates from Jehanabad and Sheohar seat. I have talked with opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Tejashwi has asked me to wait for couple of days before a decision is taken on the candidate for Sheohar, he told reporters. The RJD has already announced Surendra Yadav, a sitting MLA, as its official nominee from the Jehanabad seat.

Incidentally, the elder Yadav scion also hinted he would only wait for few days before he finalizes his candidate from Sheohar Lok Sabha seat. Tej Pratap said he would back Chandraprakash Yadav, his choice for the Jehanabad seat and the latter would file his nomination on April 24. Jehanabad goes to polls in the seventh phase on May 19.

Many feel, the announcement of Chandra Prakashs candidature from Jehanabad seat is a ploy by Lalu Prasads elder son to step up the pressure on RJD leadership for accommodating another candidate of his choice - Angesh Kumar for the Sheohar seat. Insiders said Tej Pratap also wants the party to replace Surendra Yadav with Chandra Prakash Yadav from the Jehanabad seat.

Also read: Tejashwi Yadav denies rift with elder brother Tej Pratap

The RJD has not announced the official nominee from the seat, stoking speculations that Tejashwi was considering the option of accommodating his elder brothers recommendation. On Friday, Tejashwi had downplayed Tej Prataps statement that he would back the two candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. It is good Tej Pratap has made some suggestions about candidates from some seats. He has every right to do it, he said.

At the moment, Tej Pratap continues to adopt a belligerent stand by having stepped down from the post of patron of student wing of the party as a mark of protest against the RJDs decision not to give much importance to his recommendations for two candidates in the official list.

Chandra Prakashs family is known to Lalu ji from early days as they have been active in politics for a long time. I want youths to come into politics as they can take the party ahead, he said.

State RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwary, however, said that Tej Prataps bid to back a candidate from Jehanabad seat had nothing to do with any kind of factionalism in the party. It is an internal party matter. Both Tej Pratap and Tejashwi will settle the issue and all differences would be sorted out. There is still much time for election in Jehanabad seat, Tiwary said.Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who was once involved in a bitter tussle with BJP chief Amit Shah, will be accompanying the latter as he files his nomination for the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat on Saturday.

Shiv Sena leaders said Shah invited Thackeray to join him while filing the nomination form, and for a public rally, which the latter has accepted.

From equating PM Narendra Modi and his ministers to the army of Bijapur general Afzal Khan in 2014 to embracing the BJPs leadership while announcing the alliance in February 2019, the ties between the Sena and BJP have seen many ups and downs.

The development is also significant in context of the cold war between the two leaders in the past. Shah, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, is all set to contest from Gandhinagar to get elected to the lower house of the Parliament.

A senior party functionary said Thackeray has accepted the invitation and will be heading to Gandhinagar on Saturday. Amit Shah called Uddhavji on Wednesday to invite him personally. He accepted it immediately, the functionary said, requesting anonymity. Sena secretary and personal assistant to Thackeray, Milind Narvekar, will be joining him in Gandhinagar. Thackeray will also attend a rally in the Gujarat capital on Saturday where senior BJP leader and union minister Nitin Gadkari will also be present.

Chiefs of other NDA allies, SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan are also expected to be present with Thackeray.

Senior party leaders have called Shahs invitation a good gesture that befits the Sena chief. The Sena, in the past five years, had claimed the BJP did not give due respect to the Sena chief. A senior Sena leader said, This is a welcome change in their attitude. Such camaraderie or oneness was missing. They have realised the importance of allies now. Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Thackeray will go to Gandhinagar as a show of strength of NDA allies.

In the five acrimonious years of the Sena-BJP association, the Sena has not let go of any opportunity to criticise PM, Shah, other senior BJP ministers or the policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre and in Maharashtra. During the Assembly election campaign in 2014, at the height of their tussle, Thackeray asked the voters to defeat the BJP, which he said was conspiring to break the state into pieces.

With the general election approaching, the BJP softened its approach against its allies, Sena leaders said. In June 2018, Shah came to Mumbai to meet Thackeray, to mollify the party and reconsider its decision to go solo in elections.

.Bharatiya Janata Party Amit Shah on Saturday took out a massive road show and addressed a mega rally of the BJP supporters ahead of filing nomination for the Lok Sabha polls in Gandhinagar.

Shah, who has replaced BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, from Gandhinagar seat praised the sitting Lok Sabha MP for making it one the most developed constituencies in the country.

The BJP has nominated me as its candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, which has been represented by Advaniji for long. He has worked hard in here to make is one of the most developed constituencies. I will try to take his legacy forward, Shah told the BJP rally that was attended by top NDA leaders.

Advani had won Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat five consecutive times from 1998 to 2014. But the former deputy prime minister was not nominated by the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Some reports suggested that Advani was apparently not happy with the way the generational shift was handled in the party.

Shah is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. The BJP president had represented Gandhinagar Assembly seat five times in Gujarat state legislature. This is the first time, Shah is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

NDA leaders who attended the BJP rally in Gandhinagar included Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal also attended the rally and took part in the road show ahead of Shahs filing of nomination papers at the election commission office in Gandhinagar.Kalyani Priyadarshan, daughter of veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan, has signed her second Tamil project. On Friday, it was announced that Kalyani will team up with Simbu in upcoming political thriller Manaadu, to be directed by Venkat Prabhu. She had signed her maiden Tamil film Hero opposite Sivakarthikeyan earlier this month.

Producer Suresh Kamatchi took to Twitter and wrote: Proud and happy that the stage in Manaadu will be graced having Kalyani Priyadarshan pairing with STR.

Kalyani, who is thrilled to be part of the project, wrote on Twitter: Cant wait to bring that amazing script to life.

Apparently, Raashi Khanna was originally considered for the project. The makers eventually went on to sign Kalyani, who recently completed shooting for two Telugu films.

Also read | Kalank title song: Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan fall in love to Arijit Singhs melodious voice

The project, rumoured to go on the floors from May, marks the first time collaboration of Venkat Prabhu and Simbu.

The rest of the cast and crew are yet to be finalised. It is rumoured that Simbu is currently in London undergoing rigorous training to shed weight and sport a different look for this project.

Not long ago, rumours made the rounds that Manaadu will go on the floors from October 2018. But for reasons unknown the project never took off and many believed that it was shelved. However, producer Suresh Kamatchi earlier this month took to Twitter to put to rest all such rumours.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktopIndia and the United States on Friday reiterated their call for an urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable actions against terrorists and terrorist groups.

Officials of the two countries who held heir annual meeting of their counter-terrorism Joint Working Group here on Friday, in the backdrop of the Pulwama terrorists attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, also shared concerns over ongoing cross-border terrorism in South Asia, a reference to Pakistan-based terrorists carrying out attacks in both India and Afghanistan.

India and the United States have been calling upon Pakistan to take urgent steps against terrorists based on its soil, and have renewed those calls with a new urgency in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.

Ambassador Nathan Sales, the US counter-terrorism head at the state department who led the US side, emphasized his countrys support for the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism, according to a joint statement. Ministry of external affairs Joint secretary for counter-terrorism Mahaveer Singhvi led the Indian side.

The two sides also discussed the need to strengthen cooperation on information sharing and other steps to prevent terrorists from traveling in line with the UN Security Council resolution on terrorists returning to their home countries from conflict zones.

They also highlighted in their discussions, according to the statement, the most urgent and pressing counter-terrorism issues such as funding and operation of terrorist outfits, terrorists use of the Internet to recruit and radicalize supporters, and prosecuting, rehabilitating and reintegrating Foreign Terrorist Fighters. Returning fighters of the defeated Islamic State caliphate are a global concern.

Officials of two sides also discussed their priorities and procedures regarding the designation of terrorist groups and individuals for sanctions.Afghan vice presidential candidate, former intelligence chief and interior minister Amrullah Saleh has called for a regional effort to fight terrorism of the kind represented by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar, calling it a venomous arm of Pakistans spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

...whether China does or doesnt see him as a terrorist, he is a terrorist, Saleh said in an email interview from Kabul, when asked about China putting a technical hold on a resolution designating Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Councils 1267 sanctions committee that focusses on the fight against terrorism.

The Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide car bombing in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama that killed at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and fanned tensions in the subcontinent. In reprisal for the attack, Indian Air Force jets bombed a JeM camp in Pakistans Balakot. Afghanistans government, meanwhile, is fighting the Taliban militia which, according to Saleh, has the patronage of Pakistan.

See, when they attack India or Afghanistan they [ISI] use this tool [terrorism] and then survive behind deniability themselves. Although it is not sticking anymore, it is perceived as a second deterrence in the hands of the Pakistani establishment, Saleh said.

He quoted former US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullens description of the Haqqani network as a virulent arm of ISI.

He added:  I believe the whole infrastructure of terrorism which breeds and operates out of Pakistan is a virulent arm of ISI. Either we convince Pakistan to delink itself from them, which is next to impossible, or we work together to cut this venomous arm.Beleaguered diamond miner Petra Diamonds Ltd. found a huge stone at its Cullinan mine in South Africa, where the biggest-ever diamond was found more than a century ago.

Petra said Friday it recovered a 425-carat white color Type II stone. Its a welcome find for the company which has been weighed down by too much debt and growing concerns that it wasnt finding enough expensive stones. Just a handful of big finds can change the economics of some gem mines.

The companys iconic Cullinan mine, once called the Premier Mine, has been operating since 1902 after a brickwork owner discovered diamonds on a farmers land outside of Johannesburg. Just three years later, the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was dug from the new mine. It was cut into several polished gems, the two largest of which -- the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa -- are set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.

Todays discovery sent the shares up as much as 7.7 percent, rebounding from a 16-year low. In the second half of last year, prices achieved at Cullinan slumped 31 percent from a year earlier to just $96 a carat, casting doubt on its ability to find big stones despite racking up millions in debt upgrading the mine.

Petra has also been caught up in a wider industry downturn. Equities have tumbled amid a slump in prices for cheaper stones, hit hard by too much supply and feeble demand. The market has also been weighed down by a weak currency in India, where nearly all the worlds diamonds are either traded or manufactured into jewelry.

Petra found a 100-carat white diamond and a 6.1-carat blue diamond earlier this year, but those failed to address its share slide. The 425-carat diamond is probably the sixth-biggest stone ever found at the mine and among the 15 largest found this century.

While the stone will need to be analyzed to figure the size of the polished stones it can yield -- and therefore how much its worth -- there have been some early estimates. BMO Capital Markets said it could be worth more than $15 million, while RBC Capital Markets a value of $25 million to $35 million could be reasonable.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ONAfghan vice presidential candidate and former head of intelligence Amrullah Saleh says Pakistan is using the Taliban to influence the situation in Afghanistan through terrorism and violence, citing examples of the kind of patronage the militia enjoys in Pakistan, which he said was its first home. Saleh, who is contesting the election as a member of President Ashraf Ghanis team, cited the fact that the Taliban leaders running negotiations with the US in Doha fly to the Qatar capital from Karachi or Islamabad. Sometimes they are provided with special flights arranged by Pakistan Air Force, the former minister said in an email interview from Kabul. The Taliban leadership council commonly known as Quetta Shura is in reality a network of persons scattered in major Pakistani cities but they use Quetta as their headquarters to strategise and coordinate. Edited excerpts:

What do you make of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans statement that Afghanistan should have an interim government to help with peace talks? US Ambassador to Afghanistan John R Bass has called this ball tampering by PM Imran Khan, who has been accused of the same tactic during his fast bowler days?

A: The aim of Pakistan has always been either to install a puppet clerical regime in Kabul or keep it as weak as possible. The call of PM Khan for an interim set up is thus aimed to derail the Afghan constitutional order. Contrary to their rhetoric the Pakistani establishment sees its interest in chaos in Afghanistan. The statement of PM Khan was just an outburst of a covert policy going on for years.

Many in Afghanistan and India believe the Taliban are backed by Pakistan and that Prime Minister Imran Khans controversial remarks on the formation of an interim government were only a reflection of this ground reality. What are your views on this? Is the Taliban shura based across the Durand Line in Quetta or Peshawar? What is its relationship with Pakistan ISI ? What steps can Islamabad take to gain Kabuls trust?

A: The Taliban leaders who run the negotiations in Doha fly there from Karachi or Islamabad. Sometimes they are provided with special flights arranged by Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The Taliban leadership council commonly known as Quetta Shura is in reality a network of persons scattered in major Pakistani cities but they use Quetta as their headquarters to strategise and coordinate. The only way for both countries to build trust is to start-state-to state dialogue. Currently Islamabad speaks to Kabul via Taliban and they want to influence the situation through terrorism and violence. This is a rotten policy which has widened the gulf of mistrust and it has deprived both countries from enormous economic opportunities which can be utilized if peace and trust prevails.

What sort of a relationship do you envisage between Afghanistan and Pakistan? Do you think the Pakistani military establishment has given up its policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan?

A: Our aim is to see Afghanistan, Pakistan enjoy normal, good and friendly relations. We want to see a relationship in which the main focus is on trade, people-to -eople relationship, energy, connectivity and a relationship in which there is mutual respect and mutual interest. Unfortunately, that is not the state of our relationship right now. Pakistan is seen as a hostile state sponsoring the Taliban and other terrorist outfits who destabilise Afghanistan and have caused so much bloodshed and destruction. Pakistan is stuck with the classic idea of strategic depth. They can pursue a legitimate policy for gaining strategic depth which will only come through strong economic links. A policy to gain strategic depth through militancy and violence is truly odd and wont work. Pakistan must realize that it cant be a mini imperial power. It lacks all the necessary means to pursue such a strategy. A blueprint of strategic depth relying on bloodshed, violence, terrorism and blackmail wont materialize. It is a waste of time and resources and we hope they wake up and stop it.

It has been 17 years since Taliban was bombed out of Kabul but the Afghan army, despite all training and the best of equipment, shows little signs of standing up to fight. Is this because of Pashtun tribal filiality or lack of will to fight?

A: The Taliban were defeated in Afghanistan, but they never came under pressure in their first home, which is Pakistan. There was and still is a flaw in the US / NATO policy in regards to the Pakistan based sanctuaries, all out support to Taliban by Pakistan army and lack of hard pursuit of terrorism within Pakistan. So we did our homework but Pakistan was paid for a job they never did and as President Trump once said they were all into fooling the world and seems they succeeded.

Why cant Afghanistan stand up on its own rather than rely on any third power -- be it the US, the erstwhile USSR or may be China in the future?

A: We are victims of our vital location. Our location is both our asset and our liability. Our quest is to convince the neighbours including Pakistan that they must look into the positive side of the Afghanistans location. Of course it can be seen as a launch path against anyone but it can also be a hub of connectivity for everyone. Our dream is to invest on the latter vision.

China has extended its Belt-Road Initiative in Pakistan and is now looking towards the resources of Afghanistan through its all-weather ally, Islamabad? What are your views?

A: China is indeed a neighbour which has massive and enormous capability to invest in Afghanistan. But they havent done much yet. We hope they do. We also hope our bilateral ties grow sans influence of third-party interference or reservation. We hope China will start work on Ainak mines.

Do you think that China has a put a technical hold on designating Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Councils 1267 committee due to the deep links between the terror leader and Taliban on a Sunni Deobandi ideological platform?

A: I learned from media that China blocked the UN vote declaring Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. But whether China does or doesnt see him as a terrorist, he is a terrorist. It is unfortunate that our region is having a fragmented view of terrorism. That hurts everyone including China. The issue in question is not the Deobandi platform. The matter is emergence of militancy and deviated religious politics. The militant Islam which is not necessarily Islam but a branch created by intelligence services to project cheap power and hide behind deniability should it lead to disaster which has on several occasions. See when they attack India or Afghanistan they use this tool and then survive behind deniability themselves. Although it is not sticking anymore, it is perceived a second deterrence in the hands of the Pakistani establishment. We are thus encountered with a deep and fundamental issue. Do we see these groups as independent or part of the state structures? The best description was given by the former US joint chief of staff Admiral(Michael) Mullen who described Haqqani network as virulent arm of the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistans spy agency). I believe the whole infrastructure of the terrorism which breeds and operates out of Pakistan is a virulent arm of the ISI. Either we convince Pakistan to delink itself from them, which is next to impossible, or we work together to cut this venomous arm.

What are your views on the talks between US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban, which appear to have completely shut out the elected government in Kabul?

A: No talks can shut out the Afghan government. None. It is because Afghan government is central factor, it is functioning and is governing Afghanistan. We cant dictate the US what to do or what not to do. What we can do is to be ready for protecting our national vital interest. The US talks will eventually come to a stage where it will need the Afghan government to play the central and core role. That is stage is inevitable. There are matters and issues which are strictly in the domain and space of the Afghan government. So no talks by foreign governments can substitute the Afghan state. I believe the term shut off is mainly used to put us under psychological pressure. We know it. We are not shut off. We are in control of our country.

The US seems to have set the bar for the talks so low that even former US ambassador Ryan Crocker has described the proposed framework for a deal as a surrender. Is Afghanistan and its national defence forces ready to deal with the situation as and when the US pulls out?

A: I dont see the logic (why the) US should withdraw and negotiate its withdrawal with a terror group. Their presence will evolve and it will have a different shape, different scope, different aim but they wont leave. We should therefore not be panicked based on hypotheses. Words matter and some words have been badly used. There is no withdrawal. There is one globe, one Afghanistan and one US. Where will they go?. We make part of the globe and we will always be here with or without foreign support. It is better to work with a government in Afghanistan. This government has come into existence with massive sacrifice of Afghans and our foreign allies. It wont melt and it wont be melted on the dictates of Pakistan or its terror proxies

What can be done to kick-start the process of an intra-Afghan dialogue to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan? Is there any way the Taliban can be persuaded to join such a dialogue? Should an intra-Afghan dialogue follow the presidential election (in July) or should it be started immediately?

A: We dont need the so-called intra-Afghan dialogue. That is a very deceptive term. We need Afghan government talks with the Taliban. Intra-Afghan talks is a term used in the 90s when there wasnt any entity to represent the entirety of the country. That is a term from an era of fragmentation. Now we have a government. These deceptive terms are invented by our enemies and we expect friends not to repeat them unintendedly.

India has insisted steps should be taken during any dialogue to ensure that the basic structure of Afghanistans constitution is not altered and that the gains made in the past 17 years in terms of the rights of women and minorities, education and democratic institutions arent in any way rolled back. What ar your views on this?

A: The Afghan constitution is in the veins of all Afghans, not only minorities or vulnerable groups. Our strategic and core aim in any talks will be protection and safeguarding of constitutional order and ensuring peaceful succession.

Do you foresee the possibility of some form of talks between the Taliban and India?

A: Indias policy of staying away from talks with terror groups has earned her a prestigious place in hearts and minds of Afghans. India is a friend of Afghanistan people, Afghan government and has abstained from non-state politics within Afghanistan. That should be kept. It doesnt suit the image of India as the largest democracy in the world to initiate dialogue with a terror group whose hands have stains of Indian blood. No dont talk to them. Dont repeat the mistake of others. India should continue assisting the democratic and constitutional order in Afghanistan and do nothing to shatter that noble policy.

I believe it shouldnt be the question of can they. They must. It is needed.

There are many security experts who fear that any deal that allows the Taliban to return in triumph to Kabul could give a boost to militancy and terrorism in the area ranging from Central Asia to Kashmir. Are such fears valid?

A: Those fears are valid. The Taliban insurgency doesnt have roots in domestic grievances. It is a manifestation of religious militancy which Pakistan has created to project power and use it against neighbours. First there is no way Taliban will run Afghanistan or take it over. NO way. None. Peace will kill them. They know it. So they will try to remain armed, militant and stay away from mainstream politics. If they do get into mainstream politics, they will become part of the pluralistic society in which they will be mocked and ridiculed and will lose. They fear democracy and thus they insist on militancy and violence. While the fear is valid, it is being over-estimated,

What are your views on the recent book that contended Taliban chief Mullah Omar hid for years in Afghanistan and not Pakistan?

A: The Dutch Journalist Bette Dam has written a book which is more like a Taliban Harry Potter. It is fiction portrayed as a real story. It is a good script for cheap Pakistan film industry to make a movie on.President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.

Theres a very good likelihood that Ill be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office and has not followed through. However, this time the government says it is struggling to deal with a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America who travel through Mexico.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials warned that traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts 750 border personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers who are turning up between official crossing points.

Make no mistake: Americans may feel effects from this emergency, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement. Nielsen said the personnel shift would lead to commercial delays and longer waiting times at crossing points.

Some of those delays were already being felt on both sides of the international border.

On Friday afternoon, the wait was longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas, with long lines of freight trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States, according to a Reuters witness. One driver said she had been stuck in line for three hours on her way to her job in the United States.

Nielsen and other U.S. officials say border patrol officers have been overwhelmed by a dramatic increase in asylum seekers, many of them children and families who arrive in large groups fleeing violence and economic hardship in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

March is on track for 100,000 border apprehensions, DHS officials said, which would be the highest monthly number in more than a decade. Most of those people can remain in the United States while their asylum claims are processed, which can take years because of ballooning immigration court backlogs.

Nielsen warned Congress on Thursday that the government faces a system-wide meltdown as it tries to care for more than 1,200 unaccompanied children and 6,600 migrant families in its custody.

Mexico played down the possibility of a border shutdown.

Mexico does not act on the basis of threats. We are a great neighbor, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter.

Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal, who leads President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors party in the chamber, said in a statement on Friday he would seek to send a diplomatic note to the U.S. Congress criticizing what he called Trumps xenophobic attitudes.

SIAMESE TWINS

It was not clear how shutting down ports of entry would deter asylum seekers because they are legally able to request help as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.

But a border shutdown would disrupt tourism and commerce between the United States and its third-largest trading partner, with trade totaling $612 billion last year according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wed be looking at losses worth billions of dollars, said Kurt Honold, head of CCE, a business group in Tijuana, Mexico, in response to Trumps threat. Its obvious hes not measuring what he says.

A shutdown could lead to factory closures on both sides of the border, industry officials say, because the automobiles and medical sectors have woven international supply chains into their business models.

We are Siamese twins - we are so entangled together, said Alan Russell, chief executive of the Tecma Group, an outsourcing firm.

Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 5.7 percent on worries that the border closure would disrupt exports to the top U.S. pork market.

U.S. ports of entry recorded 193 million pedestrian and vehicle-passenger crossings last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As president, Trump has legal authority to close particular ports of entry but he could be open to a legal challenge if he decided to close all of them immediately, said Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump is trying to convince Congress to sign off on a revised trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that his administration negotiated last year.

Trump launched his presidential bid in June 2015 with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, saying Mexico was sending rapists and drug runners into the United States.

He said on Friday Mexico should do more to prevent Central American migrants from reaching the United States.

Its very easy for them to stop people from coming up, but they dont choose to do it, he said.

Lopez Obrador said on Thursday tackling illegal immigration was an issue chiefly for the United States and the Central American countries to address.

Trump has so far been unable to convince Congress to tighten asylum laws or fund a proposed border wall, one of his signature policies. He has declared a national emergency to justify redirecting money earmarked for the military to pay for building a wall.Superman is known as the quintessential American hero. He's always portrayed as the do-gooder who swoops in, quite literally, to save the day. However, have you ever thought about what it would be like if Superman was...well...a murderous, demonic, alien-type man from another planet? What would Clark Kent be like if instead of wanting to help the world and save others with his powers, he wanted to kill people in the most frightening ways? Whether you've given it some thought or not, Hollywood has a movie just for you.

Enter Brightburn, a film about a couple who discovers an alien child and raises him as their own. However, when the boy hits adolescence, his darker side begins to rear its diabolical head.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1111689774283157504



Synopsis:

What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? In this horrific take on the classic superhero trope, a couple adopts a baby who came from the stars. While they attempt to raise the boy to use his powers for good, an evil grows inside that he unleashes.

The super-villain film centers around the boy as he dives deeper into his dark side. The horror flick stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, and Steve Agee. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is named as the producer of the film while David Yarovesky is credited as the director.

Check out the chilling trailer below.Chicago Police don't have the best reputation and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. According to NBC Chicago, the Chicago Police Department is being accused of raiding a four-year-old's birthday party with their guns out in search of someone who hasn't lived there in years.

The family of a four-year-old boy has filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago PD claiming that on Feb 10th -- the day of the raid -- police knocked down their doors, pointed guns at the people inside of their home and tore up the unit in search of someone who hasn't lived in that apartment for more than five years. The suit claims that their actions are a reflection of the ongoing pattern of discrimination and excessive force from the police department against or in the presence of children of color in the South and West side of Chicago.

The mother of the child, Stephanie Burris, detailed the scenario. "To worry about her or her brother getting shot by someone who is supposed to protect and serve them, it's terrifying," she said. "It's horrible," she added. "It's terrifying... Can you imagine a 4- or a 7-year-old sitting and playing games with other children, then come in and be confiscated by men with guns pointed at them? I can't imagine that."

"Instead of having his family sing happy birthday to him, 4-year-old TJ had Chicago police officers curse and insult him and his family with f-words and cruel jokes," added the family's attorney.

Chicago Police didn't directly address the suit but in a statement, a spokesperson said the department "makes every effort to ensure the validity and accuracy of all information that is used to apply for and execute search warrants" but "errors occur and it does take them seriously."Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is currently the prosecutor is R. Kelly's sexual abuse case and was the prosecutor in Jussie Smollett's case until she recused herself. Foxx recently wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune where she explains her decision to drop the charges against Smollett, claiming that she never actually exonerated him or found him guilty. However, she did seem to say that the Mayor and Chicago's top cop's public statements played a role in not convicting Smollett.



Presley Ann/Getty Images

"For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain," Foxx wrote in her op-ed, referencing mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago PD Superintendent Eddie Johnson's press conference.

She continued to downplay the alleged crimes in a way where she compared filing a false police report to pulling a fire alarm, claiming Smollett was hit with low-level charges. "The least serious category, which also covers things like falsely pulling a fire alarm in school and 'draft card mutilation," she wrote. "These felonies are routinely resolved, particularly in cases involving suspects with no prior criminal record, long before a case ever nears a courtroom and often without either jail time or monetary penalties."

She continued to take jabs at Emanuel and Johnson, saying, "Any law-enforcement leader or elected official not grandstanding or clouded by political expediency understands the purpose of sentencing guidelines."

Earlier this week, Trump ordered the FBI to review Smollett's case, a move that Foxx said that she's open to.

"Since it seems politically expedient right now to question my motives and actions, and those of my office, let me state publicly and clearly that I welcome an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter."Empire actress Tasha Smith told TMZ reporters to kiss her where the sun doesn't shine after they questioned her about her co-star Jussie Smollett, but Power actress Naturi Naughton isn't as shy about sharing her opinion. Smollet may be free of all 16 charges that the Chicago Police Department stacked against him, but the actor still faces an uphill battle when it comes to restoring his reputation in the industry.

The NAACP Image Awards is upon us, and Smollett is once again, for the fourth year in a row, nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. There are those who are calling for Smollett to gracefully bow out of the category considering his recent run-ins with the law, but the actor doesn't look as if he's planning on doing so.

One person who thinks it's time for Smollett to be "canceled" is Power actress Naturi Naughton who caught up with TMZ at an airport. When asked about Smollett's Image Awards nomination, Naughton said, "This is tricky because we actually both won last year as best supporting actors. Im a fan and I love him, but if anyone else was indicted on 16 counts for committing a hoax would you want to have them represent the NAACP? Thats not what NAACP stands for so I feel like he should kinda get canceled," adding "I cant believe they dropped all the counts but thats what money and power will do for you."

Meanwhile, Image Awards host Anthony Anderson told Variety that he hopes Smollett scores a victory in his category. I hope he wins," Anderson said. "Im happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isnt always fair, especially for people of color. So Im glad it worked out for him. So Im glad it worked out for him, Anderson continued. Its not my place or any other persons place to judge him or what not, but Im glad that hes nominatedI hope he wins because Id be interested to hear his speech.Seth Rogen and long-time friend and business partner Evan Goldberg are diving into the cannabis business. Rogen and Goldberg, who worked with the actor on Pineapple Express as the executive producer, announced their cannabis company Houseplant earlier this week. The company is a partnership with Ontario-based cannabis company, Canopy Growth, who also partnered withSnoop Dogg and Martha Stewart in separate ventures.

Houseplant is the result of years of experience and dedication, with each element and expression thoughtfully designed to make it easier for people to learn to love cannabis as much as Houseplant does," Canopy Growth said in a statement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtzB1zxBvrr



Rogen's venture into the weed business is expected especially since the Canadian government legalized recreational use of cannabis in October.

Houseplant is a passion weve brought to life through drive and dedication. Every decision weve made for the business reflects the years of education, first-hand experience and respect we have for cannabis," Rogan said in a statement. Goldberg added, We are so proud to be launching in Canada, our home. After spending five years diligently preparing for the launch of this company, were excited to be able to share our passion for cannabis with Canadians in this way.

The first strain from Houseplant will be available in April, called Houseplant Sativa. They will also be rolling out Houseplant Hybrid and Houseplant Indica.A natural phenomenon is about to happen. Billions of migratory songbirds are traveling from their winter homes in Latin America and flying nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico to arrive on nearby shores and even in Houston backyards.

Were talking about birds such as summer tanagers, wood thrushes, prothonotary warblers and orchard orioles that will not only come to nearby shores but nest in the Houston area. Others, like scarlet tanagers, Swainsons thrushes, Blackburnian warblers and Baltimore orioles, will stop to rest and replenish fat reserves before heading to northern regions to nest.

But no matter their destination, theyll be showing up along coastal woodlots, wildlife refuges and neighborhood yards from now until mid-May. Itll be quite a show.

Thousands of people from across the country and around the world will be arriving to witness the show and see and photograph the multitudes of songbirds. For some people, it may be their first and only trip to see the one-of-a-kind pageant of migratory songbirds.

Were lucky. To see the wondrous migratory birds, we need only look in our backyards or take an hours drive to the Houston Audubon Societys High Island bird sanctuaries or to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatorys Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary near Freeport.

Bird migration events Galveston FeatherFest When: April 11-14 Where: Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway, Galveston Island. Activities: Bird tours, nature photography tours, exhibits, and workshops. Various fees for workshops and tours, but register ahead of time. Information:galvestonfeatherfest.com, 832-459-5533 Migration Celebration When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 27 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 28 Where: San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, 6801 County Road 306, Brazoria Activities: Family-oriented event with guided woodland walks, birds-of-prey demonstration, marsh buggy tours, kayak trips and other nature-related activities. Free. Information:migrationcelebration.org, 844-842-4737 See More Collapse

After a lifetime of witnessing the spring migration of songbirds, I remain enthralled every season. Ive refused trips to other places so that I could be here to see the wondrous array of migratory songbirds.

Think about how momentous songbird migration is. Were talking about birds like warblers, those little puffs of feathers no bigger than a sparrow and weighing less than half an ounce. They may travel from South America, Central America, or Southern Mexico and fly 500-600 miles nonstop over the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula to Texas shores.

Its an overnight flight, with arrival times from mornings to afternoons. Some birds will perish at sea from sheer exhaustion from the perilous flight through storms sweeping over the Gulf. Some will fatally crash into lighted buildings and transmission towers after making landfall.

And yet the songbirds risk the journey.

Why do they do it? We dont have a complete answer. We do know the birds have an internal clock that causes migratory restlessness. Known as Zugunruhe, it compels them to head to breeding grounds in North America. Even at their peril.

Email Gary Clark at Texasbirder@comcast.netA onetime Democratic nominee for Nevada's lieutenant governor accused former vice president Joe Biden on Friday of touching and kissing her without her consent during her campaign in 2014, an experience she says left her feeling mortified, embarrassed and confused.

In an essay published by "The Cut," Lucy Flores wrote that, when she learned the then-vice president had offered to appear at a rally in Nevada to support her campaign, she was grateful. But that feeling changed, she said, when Biden approached her from behind as she was getting ready to address the crowd.

She wrote that she felt the vice president place two hands on her shoulders before moving closer to her from behind.

Then, she says, Biden kissed her on the back of her head.

- - -

He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn't process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused. There is a Spanish saying, "tragame tierra," it means, "earth, swallow me whole." I couldn't move and I couldn't say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience.

- - -

As a young Latina, Flores said, she was used to feeling like an "outsider" in a political world dominated by white men - but she'd never experienced something so "blatantly inappropriate and unnerving before."

While she told a few members of her staff what happened, Flores said she was initially reluctant to talk to anyone else.

"Is it enough of a transgression if a man touches and kisses you without consent, but doesn't rise to the level of what most people consider sexual assault?" she asked. "I did what most women do, and moved on with my life and my work."

A spokesman for Biden on Friday said the former vice president was "pleased" to support Flores in 2014, and neither he nor his staff had "an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes."

"But Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so," the statement read. "He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best."

During a March 16 speech in Dover, Delaware, Biden referred to himself as a "tactile politician."

"I always have been, and that gets me in trouble as well, because I think I can feel and taste what is going on," he told the crowd.

Over the years, Biden has been captured in numerous images and videos embracing, kissing and standing close to women. These instances were brushed off by some who saw his actions as "lighthearted," and Flores lamented the fact that Biden was able to keep his title of "America's Favorite Uncle" despite myriad publications documenting his actions.

"In this case, it shows a lack of empathy for the women and young girls whose space he is invading, and ignores the power imbalance that exists between Biden and the women he chooses to get cozy with," she wrote.

Flores' account also comes as Biden faces scrutiny over the way he handled the accusations Anita Hill made against Clarence Thomas during his confirmation as a Supreme Court justice.

On Tuesday, at an event honoring those who have worked to combat sexual assault on college campuses, Biden apologized again for his handling of the matter in 1991, when Hill faced accusatory questioning from a panel of white men.

"To this day, I regret I couldn't come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved, given the courage she showed by reaching out to us," Biden said in New York at the Biden Courage Awards. Some pointed out that his use of the word "couldn't" suggested he didn't have the power to change the course of the hearing.

- - -

The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.SUTHERLAND SPRINGS  Sitting in Pastor Frank Pomeroys church office not long ago, a book-filled, little box of a room where the walls are painted an incongruous robins-egg blue, the conversation is about guns. In a country church that experienced unimaginable horror at the point of a gun a year and a half ago, its a topic thats never far from the surface, particularly since the pastor himself wears a pistol on his hip in the pulpit  and did so long before the shooting.

During my time embedded in the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs while working on a book about the tragedy, I never got used to guns in the church, even though Pastor Frank offers up a reasonable rationale: Hes the shepherd, and hes obligated to protect his flock. Several church elders also carry guns, although neither the pastor nor any of the armed elders were in church on the day of the shooting.

Reaching for a book on his shelf called Pistol Packin Preachers, by a West Texas writer named Barbara Barton, Pastor Frank reminds me that a dual faith  in God and in guns  are part of a venerable Texas tradition. I remind the pistol-packing, bow-hunting, flintlock rifle-shooting preacher that he was born in the wrong century. Pastor Frank, who grew up in and around Galena Park, laughs and agrees.

The most colorful of author Bartons collection of pistol-packing men of God  and Pomeroys hero  is Andrew Jackson Potter, a tough, irascible Methodist circuit-rider who bore the name of the man his father fought alongside of during the War of 1812. Most Texans, whether friend or foe, knew the preacher as Fightin Jack.

Born in Missouri in 1830, Potter was orphaned at age 10, and for the next six years survived as a jockey on the horse-racing circuit. As an early biographer noted, during those six years the unschooled, unlettered teenager got an education in horse-swapping, gambling, racing and drinking.

When he got too heavy to ride racehorses after age 16 or so, he became a soldier in the Mexican War, then an Army nurse in Santa Fe and at Fort Leavenworth, a teamster along the Santa Fe Trail, an Indian fighter and cowboy in West Texas, a gambler in the cow towns of Kansas, a prospector in California and, later, a Confederate army chaplain.

He found Jesus one evening in 1856, at a camp meeting near Bastrop. For the next 40 years, the rough, barely literate frontiersman traveled the backwoods spreading the Word. He preached in brush arbors, country churches, army forts, cattle camps and saloons. He traveled untold miles across frontier Texas, endured danger and disease and slept many nights on the hard, cold ground. Back home, wherever home happened to be for the restless man of God, wife Emily managed the household and looked after their 15 children.

The camp-meeting conversion didnt result in a total transformation. Still Fightin Jack, he armed himself with Gods Word  and with a weapon. If not spoiling for a scrape, he was not a person to avoid one either.

One afternoon, he rode into San Angelo, where the only structure big enough for a church service was a saloon. Pews were fashioned out of two-by-twelve planks supported by empty beer kegs. A big box served as a pulpit. Kerosene lamps cast a dim glow over the impromptu church.

Locals began to amble in at the appointed time, in part because they expected young rowdies to hurraw the preacher. Fightin Jack walked in carrying his Winchester. The crowd quieted as the tall man with rugged features leaned the rifle against the makeshift pulpit and pulled his .45 pet maker revolver from under his long black coat. He laid the gun atop his well-thumbed Bible and slowly scanned the congregation, mostly men, seated on the rude benches before him.

According to rumor, he said, some unregenerative sinners have bragged around town that they were going to break up this meeting. Maybe they will, but Ill guarantee one thing: They will be a bunch of mighty sick roosters before they get it done.

San Angelos roosters got the message, maybe even the Message.

Potter had numerous encounters with Indians, bandits, enemy soldiers and assorted desperadoes during his long life on the frontier. Sometimes he tried to talk his way out of danger or retreat; sometimes he used his trusty Winchester or his pistol or his Bowie knife. On those long, lonely journeys across frontier Texas, he seems to have thought deeply about how he, when his time came, would give an account of the deeds done in the body.

When God calls me to travel in a region of country infested with lurking savages, he wrote, my Winchester gun and a full belt of cartridges shall ever prevent distressing alarms about my safety when meeting a savage foe, feeling that in the fearful struggle for life I have some safe means to preserve my God-given manhood. . . . I am not so anxious to wear a martyrs crown as to sacrifice my life when God requires me to use means to preserve it. It is no evidence of a preachers want of trust in God when he carries a gun to shield his life in the time of peril. It would be the most sinful presumption not to do so. Indeed, I do not carry a gun because I am afraid to die, but because it is a duty to use means to preserve life.

Potter died preaching, not fighting. On a Sunday morning in the fall of 1895, he was delivering a sermon in a little country church south of Austin when he fell over dead in the pulpit. He was 65.

The formidable Fightin Jack represents one sort of frontier preacher; the Rev. Charles A. Grote represents another. Grote, the first Methodist pastor in Gillespie County, never carried a weapon, even though his itinerant preaching frequently took him among hostile Indian bands. Like his friend, John O. Meusebach, who traveled unarmed into Comanche country and forged a lasting treaty between the German settlements and the tribes, Grote trusted God, not guns.

According to a sesquicentennial history of Mason County, Grote needed to cross the Llano River one morning, but the water was too high. Settlers on the opposite shore noticed his plight and sent some Indians they knew to help him cross. The preacher couldnt swim, so through sign language the Indians told him to hold on to his horses tail and paddle with his feet. One Indian swam ahead, leading the horse, while two others swam on each side.

By the time he got to the middle of the swollen river, Grote had swallowed so much water he could go no farther. His Indian guides managed to stretch a rope from a willow tree on a dirt island to a tree on the bank, and Grote crossed, keeping himself above water by holding on to the rope. Emerging from his impromptu baptism, he donned dry clothes and preached a Sunday sermon to the people who had assembled for the service. His text was, Ye must be born again.

Nobody ever called Pastor Grote Fighting Charles, as far as I know, but he lived a long life in rough country, unarmed. God, not guns, saw him through.

djholley10@gmail.com

Twitter: holleynewsHouston Mayor Sylvester Turner formally began his bid for re-election by pledging to continue to lift up every voice, the apparent theme of his quest for a second mayoral term, which began in earnest with a Saturday launch event at Minute Maid Park.

Placing a heavy emphasis on unity in his first major stump speech, Turner largely ignored the tumult that has dominated city politics in recent months, merely nodding at the ongoing Proposition B firefighter pay feud and the criticism his opponents have lobbed at him.

At a time when theres so much noise, its so easy to lose that positive spirit, Turner said. More than anything else ... I want to give to the next mayor a positive city. I want to give to the next mayor a city that he or she can be proud of. And I want to give it to the next mayor four years from now.

Turners decision to focus on his own agenda while disregarding opponents Tony Buzbee and Bill King was nothing new. The mayor has brushed off their contention that political donors hold too much sway over City Hall operations, and he continued to do so when speaking to reporters Saturday.

Its one thing to talk about the negative, Turner said. Its another thing to come with ideas.

Turner, 64, was elected mayor of Houston on his third try in 2015, beating King in a hotly contested runoff. He previously served for 27 years in the Legislature, where he built a reputation for striking deals and employing his unique rhetorical style on the House floor.

During his first term as mayor, Turner has faced several politically perilous situations, some of which remain unresolved and will seep into the mayoral race. Notably, he has continued to butt heads with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association over the implementation of Prop. B, the November referendum that grants firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding status.

The union backed Turner in his 2015 mayoral bid. Asked Saturday if he was concerned about presumably losing their support this time, Turner said, I never rule anything out.

Speaking to the crowd in Union Station Lobby, Turner presented the citys pension overhaul passed in 2017 as the signature accomplishment of his first term. Already, the mayor is drawing heat on the topic from King, who contends that Turner did not truly solve Houstons long-term pension problems. The mayor addressed the issue unprompted Saturday.

No one can deny that that $8.2 billion unfunded liability has almost been cut in half, Turner said, framing Houston as the model on how to address pension reform.

King, a Houston businessman, announced in January that he would challenge Turner anew, holding his own formal kickoff event last month. Buzbee, meanwhile, announced his candidacy in October, and later made heads turn when he used a wheelbarrow full of manure to illustrate his point that something stinks at City Hall.

A millionaire attorney who has amassed his wealth by defending high-profile clients, Buzbee has already poured $6 million into his self-funded campaign, and he took aim at Turner on social media after the kickoff event.

Sylvester Turner busses people in and still cant draw half the crowd we had last Sunday, Buzbee tweeted. Time for change!

Both challengers have announced they intend to hold petition drives aimed at limiting political donors influence over city business. Turner shot down his opponents criticism Saturday.

You can say that in every campaign, Turner said. Thats just kind of boilerplate stuff.

Otherwise, Turner renewed his intent to build an Astroworld-like theme park. He also said that Proposition B could be phased in over four years, without layoffs, if the fire union would agree to start taking raises July 1.

Previously Turner, had said anything short of a five-year phase-in would require layoffs.

The mayor seemed to allude to the firefighter pay issue at one point during his stump speech.

Its not easy to say no when some people want you to say yes, Turner said. But sometimes you say no for the greater good of everyone.

Several Democratic elected officials attended Turners rally, with state Sen. John Whitmire introducing Turner. Like the mayor, Whitmire did not directly mention Buzbee or King, though he perhaps made an indirect swipe.

In my experience in politics, I have witnessed show horses and workhorses, Whitmire said. With your help, we will re-elect a workhorse.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

twitter.com/jaspschererTexas is graduating more students from high school than ever before, yet as Gov. Greg Abbott pointed out in his State of the State address this year, only about a third of those who took a college admission test are prepared for higher education.

Here's the problem  only about 40 percent of third graders are reading at grade level by the time they finish the third grade, Abbott said.

Although it may seem odd to tie an 18-year-olds college readiness to a 9-year-olds reading proficiency, its all part of an education continuum that begins much earlier, well before a child even reaches kindergarten.

Childrens brains develop new neural connections at a rate of more than a million every second during the first years of life, experts say, building the foundation for learning and behavior that will last a lifetime. That is why quality child care is so important, especially for disadvantaged children who may not receive the kind of meaningful interactions with parents or caregivers necessary for optimal development.

While Texas has a long way to go in offering affordable quality child care for all, bills in the Legislature that extend prekindergarten programs from half day to full are a good step in improving outcomes for students. As the House and Senate debate their competing school funding measures, pre-K expansion must remain an integral part of their efforts.

To his credit, Abbott has urged the Legislature to support pre-K programs in the past, but the governors enthusiasm was not met with substantial, stable funding from lawmakers. This time must be different. Texas must make a serious commitment to our young children, who are the future of our state.

Texas currently pays for half-day pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds who qualify, including those from low-income, military or non-English-speaking families. Students who dont qualify usually pay tuition to attend a pre-K program.

Based on return on investment alone, Texas should adequately fund all-day, high-quality preschool.

Critics cite the 2012 Head Start Impact study that found no significant lasting effect for Head Start students in elementary school through third grade. But quality varies, and experts note the key is enrollment in a high-quality program, a requirement already contemplated in the state education code. Overall, studies show that children who attend high-quality pre-K reap the benefits - along with their communities.

A 2016 report by Children at Risk, a Houston-based nonpartisan research organization, found that economically disadvantaged students who attended high-quality public pre-K scored higher on the third grade STAAR reading assessment than peers who did not attend public pre-K or who attended lower quality public pre-K. A longer-term study by the Texas Education Agency found a lower likelihood of dropping out, a higher likelihood of graduating high school on time and more college enrollment for students who went through pre-K.

Other studies have found that children who do well in pre-K have better health outcomes and are less likely to use social services or be involved in crime, said Rebecca Huss-Keeler, associate professor of early childhood education at University of Houston-Clear Lake and a member of the Texas Early Learning Council.

Such improvements dont come strictly from increased literacy and numeracy, but through the social-emotional learning that is also part of early childhood education.

Children learn skills that theyll be able to use later on. Socialization skills, how to get along, follow directions, learn the content, being able to think, Huss-Keeler said. A good teacher doesnt just teach academics; a good teacher teaches all these kinds of skills that lead to productive citizens.

Despite the current lack of state funding, more than 70 percent of Texas school districts offer full-day programs through a patchwork of local, state and federal money. Proposed legislation in the Texas House would give districts about $750 million a year as part of an early childhood allotment to be spent anywhere from pre-K through third grade. Though these funds are not required to be spent on preschool, districts that dont already provide full-day pre-K would be squandering a precious opportunity if they use the funds elsewhere.

The change comes with a price tag but the benefit of pre-K on children, especially on economically disadvantaged students, is clear. With more than 50 percent of Texas children under the age of 6 living in low-income families, the state cant afford not to invest fully in early childhood education.As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

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The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.Local veterans groups have been putting the ceremony on for 43 years to remember those who died in the war. At age 94, Anthony Pastore continues to sing the national anthem at every veterans event. John Harding served as the emcee. Clark Gable is recognized for the volunteer work his company did to help the VFW. PreviousNext

Pittsfield Ceremony Honors Vietnam Veterans



Mayor Linda Tyer served as this year's keynote speaker. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  She was just a young child but Mayor Linda Tyer remembers watching soldiers returning from the Vietnam War on television.

Her mother had a silver bracelet etched with the name of Francis Edward Visconti, a soldier from Syracuse, N.Y. who was serving overseas. Such bracelets featuring the names of soldiers were worn by women back home and weren't supposed to be taken off until the soldier returned.

On Saturday, Tyer was wearing that bracelet. Visconti still hasn't returned. His helicopter had blown out to sea and the crew has been unaccounted for since.

"Until the end of time, we will honor the more than 58,000 patriots who sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know. These many long years later, we pledge to bring home to more than 1,600 servicemembers who are still among the missing because the United States leaves no one behind," Tyer said.

Tyer was the keynote speaker during the city's National Vietnam War Veterans Day commemoration ceremony. The event was the 43rd put on by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 65, American Legion Post 68, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 448 and serves as a time to remember the 27 people from the Berkshires who died in the war. Pittsfield native Kevin Gerry Aldam was one of those.

The mayor used her 10-minute speech to tell the stories of Visconti, Aldam, and her father's wing commander, Edward B Burdett, three men who went to serve in a faraway land and never returned.

Aldam was born in Pittsfield on Dec. 21, 1949, and was drafted into the Army. He embarked on his first tour of duty on May 10, 1969. He ranked as a specialist four and his occupation was light weapons infantry. He served in Company C, 1st Battalion, 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 52nd Infantry. He died at the age of 19.

"About six weeks later, Specialist Aldam experienced a traumatic event which resulted in his loss of life on June 27, 1969. Reported circumstances are attributed to 'hostile, died of wounds, multiple fragmentation wounds, ground casualty.' Incident location: South Vietnam, Quang Ngai Province," Tyer said.

Burdett had served with Tyer's father. When the mayor was just 2 years old, her father, a lieutenant in the Air Force, was sent to Thailand.

"My dad would watch the sortie take off and he'd count the jets as they left. About two hours later the jets would begin to return and he'd count those, too. Remember, this war was long before we had instantaneous information, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Counting jets was the quickest way to know if some of his brothers would not be returning," Tyer said.

In 1967, Burdett's plane was one of those that never returned. He had gone on a strike mission in North Vietnam and was later captured after his plane crashed.

"His aircraft was hit by fragments, he completed his pass, released his bombs, and made a nearly level right turn to exit the area. His aircraft was on fire. He attempted to light his afterburner but was unsuccessful and the aircraft went into an uncontrollable spin into a cloud undercast. No ejection was seen or parachute was observed," Tyer said.

He was listed as missing in action from Nov. 18, 1967, until Jan. 15, 1968, when there was enough evidence to show that he had been captured.

"Conclusive evidence was received on April 2, 1974, that he had died in captivity on Nov. 18, 1967," Tyer said.

Those are three who never returned. Tyer continued that those who did return home were often faced with an unwelcoming crowd. She said the homecomings for many were painful experiences and that shouldn't happen again.



A volley is released to honor the 27 local people who died in Vietnam. "We must forever stand without troops regardless of our feelings about the war. Today brave fighters are welcomed home and rightfully honored for their service," Tyer said.

Tyer said the city of Pittsfield will continue to honor veterans and she highlighted to work of the Veterans Services Department that distributes about $1 million in state and local benefits to 300 area veterans. She said the office goes beyond the city's borders to help veterans living in nearby communities.

"It is our obligation, our privileged and honor, to provide that support," Tyer said.

The annual event included the county's various veterans group each laying a wreath by the monument in Park Square for those who died. George Moran read the names of each of the 27 local servicemen killed and the Dalton American Legion Post 155 performed a volley, and taps was played.

Peter Blake also recognized Clark Gable with a plaque for his efforts in helping the VFW light up a tree in Veterans Memorial Park on South Street. The owner of Gable Electric volunteered his time to bring the electricity to the location.

"Clark Gable saw we needed some help with electricity and through his efforts and the effort of his team, he pulled it off for us. We lit the lights last year on Veterans Day," Blake said.South Africa: Parliament welcomes SANDF Cyclone Idai intervention

The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence has welcomed the assistance the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has rendered in countries severely affected by tropical Cyclone Idai.

The cyclone hit parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi two weeks ago, leaving nations reeling. Hundreds of citizens were killed and thousands displaced during the disaster that has seen the international community pledge support in recovery efforts.

The committees extend heartfelt condolences to all the families in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, who have lost their loved ones. The effects of tropical Cyclone Idai are one of the worst in Africa and the southern hemisphere as a whole, where it currently ranks as the second or third deadliest tropical cyclone on record, the committees said in a statement issued on Friday.

The willingness and speedy response of the SANDF speaks of a professional and willing defence force that can be counted on in times of disaster, whether it be local or across our borders, read the statement.

We extend our gratitude to our soldiers, who risked their lives in difficult circumstances for extended periods in the humanitarian aid they extended, especially to stranded Mozambicans.

Our Air Force is also assisting to restore the power supply from the Cahora Bassa hydro-electric generation station to South Africa to relieve some of the pressure on the South African power grid.

The committees also acknowledged the speedy approval by President Cyril Ramaphosa to employ soldiers to Mozambique and Malawi.

The committees said the efforts come in the wake of a successful Armed Forces Day in Cape Town on 21 February, where the SANDF displayed its professionalism and military equipment.

Despite budget challenges, the committees called on the SANDF to further enhance efforts to assist South Africas neighbours.

We wish the South African men and women in uniform all of the best with these praiseworthy and valiant endeavours, the committee said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is confident international funding will soon stop for a number of organizations it has accused of having links to communist rebels.

In a statement on Saturday, the AFP said it was "pleased" with the European Union's commitment to investigate the government's allegations that EU funds have been donated to groups acting as legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing New People's Army (NPA).

"The EU did not just commit to look into the voluminous documents the NTF (National Task Force) has submitted, it even committed to enlist a third party firm to audit the funds they donated to NGOs we reported to have links with the terrorist CPP-NPA," the AFP statement read.

In a statement Friday, the EU said the financial audit is slated for April, following the receipt of documents with specific allegations from the Philippine government last March 28.

"Should the allegations be established, the EU immediately would take full legal action," it added.

The CPP-NPA is in EU's list of terrorist organizations. But in the Philippines, the government's move seeking to tag communist rebels as terrorists is still pending before a local court.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. formally wrote to Gilles De Kerchove, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator last March 26, urging the bloc to stop funding certain groups in the Philippines as the money is being used for terrorism.

Esperon said Belgian non-government organizations have "indirectly and unwittingly partnered" with CPP-linked groups such as the Ibon Foundation, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines and Anakbayan, among others. The groups have denied they are communist fronts and filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights against the government's red-tagging.

"We are confident that we will succeed in proving our case," the AFP said. It added that the Belgian government has said it is "now conducting an investigation pursuant to the submission to ensure that their donations comply with their strict legal requirements."

President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a national task force to end the local communist armed conflict, which has been going on for five decades. He walked away from the on-and-off peace negotiations with the Reds in November 2017, as both sides accused each other of ceasefire violations.

Authorities are now on a crackdown against members of the CPP-NPA, as well as consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines  the umbrella organization of communist groups, and other personalities and groups supposedly in cahoots with it."I quit. I'm in Miami and leaving the van with the keys here."

That was the call I received one weekend not long after launching my first business. To exacerbate the situation, the van referenced was full of valuable merchandise, and I was 11 hours away in South Carolina.

And so started my long history of terrible hires.

Some background. I had started a business with a partner, and we were already stretched to the limit with time and money and stress. The van in question was in route to Miami to deliver merchandise to new clients, and needless to say, it never made it to the clients. Immediately, after receiving the call, I drove with my business partner overnight to Miami to retrieve the van.

Of course, like every entrepreneurial story, this one was more complicated. The deliver drive who abandoned our van and merchandise was actually on his third stint with our company. Yes, third.

When the driver originally applied for the position, he was a well-spoken and ambitious and genuinely seemed enthusiastic to join our gritty startup team. The first time we hired him, however, he did not show up for his first day, though he did call later and had a reasonably good excuse for missing. He demonstrated remorse and continued to express enthusiasm to be part of our team, so I gave him another chance.

Fool me once, shame on you.

When his first day again came, he again never showed up. And again, he called and had a seemingly valid reason for not coming. He begged for one more opportunity, and although I declined originally, but he was persistent. Against everything I knew and had been taught, I gave him another chance.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

This third time, he did show up for his first day, and after a couple of days on the job and getting to know our operation, he seemed reliable. We then decided to give him the van keys to make the 11 hours trip to Miami, meet with our clients and deliver merchandise.

He left, and the next day, he called to tell us he quit.

Fool me thrice, call it a day.

What I remember most about this incident were the debates between me and my business partner, who from the start disagreed with hiring this driver and certainly disagreed with giving him two more chances. It was a long, quiet drive together down to Miami, and I left any remaining pride I had at home.

While everything turned out fine -- we recovered the van and the merchandise before our clients even knew anything was amiss -- there were certainly lessons to be learned.

Put In The Time

This story was just one in a handful of terrible hiring decisions during this time in my career, many of which are detailed in my book from that time. It took a while, but I eventually learned that there were no shortcuts to hiring the right people. If you want to find the type of people that are going to compliment your business, you need understand that it takes time, energy, resources and, most important, patience.

In my work now as a consultant, I often see entrepreneurs, in a hurry to build a business, completely overlook or underestimate the resources needed to find the right people. Instead, they rush to hire in order to not stunt the growth and opportunity, failing to realize that hiring poorly could ultimately do just that.

How do you start? In addition to great articles about hiring, Inc also has a great HR reference library you can use to help guide you. Fellow columnist, Bill Murphy, Jr., also has nine great tips for hiring.

Get People Off Your Bus

Author Jim Collins, who wrote Good to Great and Built to Last, uses a bus analogy for hiring, emphasizing that companies need to not only find the right people but also put them in the right seats.

That is sound advice, but there also needs to be an emphasis on getting people off the bus when they become a menace. This is difficult for some entrepreneurs to do, because getting rid of a person involves many steps, creates holes that need to be filled, and takes even more time and money.

With certainty however, I can tell you that whatever you calculate as the cost and inconvenience, it is far less than ignoring the problem and allowing it to fester.

Prioritize Gut Over Pride

Looking back on this delivery driver fiasco, I remember also having a bad feeling about him from the start, and certainly after not showing up the first time. My pride and desire to be right, however, got in the way of the rational decision to move on.

Today, I go more with gut feeling and will be the first person to admit when I am wrong. That is not always easy for new entrepreneurs, but they can compensate by consulting with partners and advisors about a hire, checking references and backgrounds, and most important, if something seems off, continuing the search until it feels right.Given we are in the midst of the Great Talent Wars, any insight on employee retention is like gold. And when we see companies like Patagonia posting an incredible 4 percent turnover rate (the retail and consumer product sector average is more than triple that at 13 percent), we can't help but look to them for gold nuggets.

The Ventura, California, based outdoor clothing brand is on no shortage of "Best Employer" lists nor is it short in its reputation for retaining employees over the long run.

A recent profile in Quartz at Work highlighted some of its more noted practices like promoting women into leadership roles, paying to send nannies on business trips to embrace and support work-life integration, and hosting childcare right on their facilities (helping with their astonishing 100 percent retention rate among working mothers).

But it's one particularly quirky policy that symbolizes the root of the company's appeal. The company hires activist employees and encourages peaceful environmental protests. But for those wayward employees that get thrown in jail for their efforts, Patagonia will pay their bail (and their spouse's bail), pay for their legal fees, and pay them for their corresponding time away from work.

Why? (one writer asks incredulously)

Because, as Patagonia's Chief Human Resources Officer, Dean Carter, told a crowd at a recent Salt Lake City conference, "We want them to be who they are."

And there you have it.

It's the same reason the company encourages employees to get out and enjoy nature in their own way. The same reason why Carter says he doesn't keep measuring employee engagement because it's not important to know if employees are "97 percent or 98 percent engaged."

Authenticity.

The Patagonia employees I interviewed for this piece said it was the first thing that came to mind about their company. They walk the talk. They want you to bring your whole self to work. They have a track record of living their values through heavy environmental philanthropy and investment. In fact, Patagonia started the anti-black Friday movement with a famous 2012 New York Times ad that implored people, "Don't Buy This Jacket." It featured their top selling fleece and broke down the environmental impact of producing the jacket, asking consumers to carefully consider the need to make the purchase (or any purchase).

Look, they're no dummies: sales increased significantly in 2012 directly due to the ad, but the point nonetheless holds, they meant every word they printed--authentic.

How you can leverage the power of authenticity in your company.

An authentic culture starts with the leaders. It's worth the pursuit because authentic behavior binds human beings to one another, reinforces self-identities, and creates a bridge to a sense of belonging. Working in an authentic culture helps answer two questions we ask ourselves in our quest for meaning: "Who Am I?" and "Where Do I Belong?"

Leaders (and anyone) can conduct themselves in an authentic manner, thus feeding an authentic culture, in the following ways (as taken from my book Make It Matter). Think of what follows as an Authenticity Code of Conduct:

Be a beacon of: transparency, honesty, and integrity.

Be worthy of: belief and trust.

Behave: in a down-to-earth and approachable manner congruent with your values (no matter the conditions).

Believe: in the power of each person bringing their whole self to work.

Be beholden to: employees who speak the truth, expose issues, and admit mistakes (and do so yourself).

Be the first to: give away credit and accept blame.

Be wary of: politics and two-faced behavior.

Be a provider of: truth, reality, and hope and a safe haven for risk taking and venting frustrations.Landmarks in nations across the world, from Samoa to the UK, were plunged into darkness on Saturday as activists marked Earth Hour.

The initiative, which is aimed at raising awareness about climate protection, was launched by the conservation charity World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to urge action to save the planet.

Lights were turned off at the landmarks between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday.

Sydney Opera House, Egypts Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Brazils Christ the Redeemer monument and the Empire State Building in New York were among the sites that took part in 2019.

Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal  effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord  agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe

In the UK more than 100 landmarks, from Buckingham Palace to Edinburgh Castle, switched off their lights.

The WWF also encouraged people to pledge personal actions as part of this years Earth Hour, such as turning the washing machine down to 30C, avoiding single-use plastics, planning a staycation or holiday nearer to home, changing the way they eat or helping restore nature in their local area.

Activists and crowds of people gathered at landmarks in their respective nations to mark the event.

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Additional reporting by agenciesYou could easily pass through the most sprawling art museum in India without realising you had even been there.

Scattered throughout the four levels of Terminal 2 of Mumbais international airport are more than 5,500 pieces of Indian art and handicrafts, including tribal totem poles and a 3-D map of Mumbai built from recycled chips and circuit boards. Together they make up the Jaya He, GVK New Museum  GVK is the family-led conglomerate that built the museum and terminal and has managed both since they opened five years ago,

The X-shaped, ultramodern terminal handles all international and many domestic flights for the countrys commercial hub. Around 50 million people pass through it every year.

Recommended Here is why Mumbai have criminalised plastic bags

There is anxiety built in, said Rekha Nair, who oversees the museum and customer experience at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj international airport. People think, I just want to get to the gate.

As a result, the art is tucked into the hallways, baggage carousels and check-in counters so as to avoid disrupting the movement of passengers and the nearly 30,000 people who work at the airport. Angelic figures perch above the elevators. Treelike sculptures stand sentinel over the luggage belts. A mural accompanies passengers up the escalator after they step off the arrivals bus.

Bollywood figures liven up a travelator (Alamy)

The most prominent installation is India Greets, a 60ft-high display that wraps around the centre of the terminal. It starts with real doorways and balconies from around India mounted to the wall, then progresses horizontally to a series of portraits  by Andrew Logan, Robyn Beeche and Anjolie Menon  as passengers walk toward the gates. Once an hour, a life-size white peacock slides along a wire in front of the works.

But on a recent weekday, few people even noticed the doors or the flying peacock, which were across from a bookstore and a lounge for premium passengers.

Three UK tourists lingered there. Its the most beautiful art I have ever seen in an airport, says Judith Wolfram, who had lived in India for seven years as a young woman and had returned for a two-week visit with her daughter and daughters boyfriend. Wolfram was so impressed by the airports all-India art collection that when their flight was delayed, she decided to give the younger generation a quick tour of Indian art history.

Sanjay Reddy, the vice chairman of GVK, says he knew it would be a challenge to create an art museum in a place where people are always in transit. But he said he had wanted to do it anyway to introduce the countrys artistic heritage to Indians.

Curators aim for fleeting engagement with passers-by (Alamy)

Even if we are able to catch one out of 100 people, we have done our job, says Reddy, who hired the Delhi artist Rajeev Sethi to select and arrange the works. A lot of this is subconscious. When you go through any place, it becomes a part of you.

Indeed, art and architecture go together in the terminal, which has 4.7 million sq ft of built-up space, more than double the footprint of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The airports check-in hall, for example, is covered by a giant canopy in the shape of a peacocks tail, with skylights to let in natural light and small nooks where passengers can sit before going through security.

Mukeeta Jhaveri, who lives in Mumbai and advises companies and private collectors on art purchases and cultural philanthropy, says that the airports collection stands out among both Indias museums and other public art installations at airports around the world.

Its a heady and kitschy mix of the contemporary, folk, antiquity, tribal, crafts, you name it, she says. Even when I am rushing through the corridors, there is such a wonderful sense of both discovery and also that of meeting familiar friends.

About 25 per cent of the passengers that pass through the airport are blue-collar workers travelling to and from jobs in the Middle East, and the museum very deliberately sought to include Indian crafts along with contemporary fine art.

More than 75 women from the slums near the airport, for example, were enlisted to make a giant, colourful Godhadi quilt, GVKs Reddy says.

Design is informed by a peacock theme  Indias national bird (Alamy)

The earthiest work is undoubtedly Fortress of Clay, Rajeev Sethis homage to rural India. It features animal and human figurines made of mud and cow dung  which is still used as fuel, construction material and even as insect repellent in the countryside. Airport staff members periodically reapply the fecal mixture to keep the figures looking fresh.

Ashok Kumar, a Mumbai bank manager who is originally from the farm state of Bihar, says he always takes a moment to look at that exhibit on the way to his gate. Its the most familiar to me, he said. Its down to earth.

By far the most popular piece, according to museum officials, is Moving Constant, a gilded depiction of Indian gods and goddesses by N Ramachandran and V Anamika that nods to the traditional Tanjore style of painting. Domestic passengers frequently stop to take selfies in front of the floor-to-ceiling artwork, while airport workers slip through a door in the corner to visit the employee restrooms.

Although a great deal of effort went into putting together the museum, far less has been put into helping the public enjoy it. Upon passing through security, travellers are hit with shops and restaurants, with little indication of the art that is deeper inside the terminal.

Free tours for passengers can be arranged online, although the art safaris, which last 15 to 45 minutes, need to be booked at least two days in advance. School groups can also make special arrangements to get through security and see the collection on the domestic level of the terminal.

I wish the airport management could find ways to engage the traffic more, Mukeeta Jhaveri, the art adviser, says. It breaks my heart to see people rushing by without stopping.

 New York TimesConvicted drug lord El Chapo is launching an eponymous clothing line with the help of his wife.

El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquin Guzman, and his 29-year-old wife Emma Coronel Aispuro, have started the line despite him facing a lifetime in prison.

According to Aispuro, who spoke to the New York Daily News, the clothing line El Chapo Guzman: JGL LLC will bear her husbands signature.

The line also has a website, which previews a range of clothing including shoes, belts and jeans.

While the links currently do not work, El Chapos attorney Mariel Colon Miro told CNN the first garments will be released in the summer.

Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout







4 show all Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout





1/ 4 Inside El Chapo's hideout Pictures reveal how the Mexican drug lord had been living since his escape Getty

2/ 4 Inside El Chapo's hideout The inside of a house searched by marine special forces where Guzman was hiding Getty

3/ 4 Inside El Chapo's hideout Inside a house searched by marine special forces during the military operation to recapture Guzman Getty

4/ 4 El Chapo's attempted escape A marine stands guard next to a manhole of the sewer system through which drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman tried to escape Getty

The drug lord reportedly signed a contract giving rights to his name from prison in February.

According to Aispuro, the line is dedicated to the couples twin seven-year-old daughters.

"I'm very excited to start this project, which was based on ideas and concepts that my husband and I had years ago," Aispuro told CNN in a statement. "It is a project dedicated to our daughters."

After a lengthy trial in New York, Guzman was convicted on 10 counts, including international distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, and conspiracy to launder money.

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Throughout the trial, Aispuro stood by her husbands side, even wearing matching velvet smoking jackets in court.The tradition of Mothering Sunday was actually nothing to do with mothers: originally dating from the 16th century, it was the one day in the year, the third Sunday in Lent, when Christian worshippers from far-flung parishes would go to the mother church or cathedral of the area, and since it was in the spring, it was usually celebrated with garlands of flowers and seen as a time for family reunions. But it also chimed in with Roman and Greek celebrations of the mother goddesses Cybele and Rhea, usually in March as well.

The specific celebration of Mothers Day was created in the United States in the 19th century as a way of honouring mothers and the roles they played; as a way of reinforcing what was seen then as family values. Today, like Valentines Day, it is much overtaken by commercialism, but still a good excuse to raise a glass to celebrate all mothers and their unique place in our world.

So, if you are planning a special meal of family gathering tomorrow for which wine is needed, it is unfortunately too late to buy online. Our wine choices this week therefore have to be limited to what is available on the high street.

The first stop has to be a sparkler and for a traditional champagne that tastes and feels classy, try the Pommery Brut Royal NV (39.99 or 28.99 as part of a mixed six-bottle purchase; Majestic Wine) from one of the oldest champagne houses: light and fresh, with lots of citrus and apple notes. Pink somehow seems unavoidable when it comes to Mothers Day, so another good choice is an elegant English sparkling rose, the Hambledon Classic Cuvee Rose (35.00 Marks and Spencer); chardonnay with a dash of pinot from Hampshire, full of summery fruit notes, an excellent celebration aperitif and wonderful with seafood canapes. And in a nice gift box.

Staying in the pink mode, the forecast for the weekend seems good, so some might like to open the first still rose of the year and one of the best bargains can be found in the Co-op which has an exclusive new wine from Miraval, the Provence estate owned jointly by actors Angelina Jolie (something of a mother figure herself) and her ex Brad Pitt in partnership with the renowned Perrins wine family. Miraval produces excellent, elegantly created and bottled roses in the typically pale, orange-and-herb-scented Provencal style, and Studio by Miraval (12.00 Co-op stores) continues this with a cinsault and grenache dominated blend. Gorgeous with any seafood or tomato based dishes.

As spring is on the way, many reach for the refreshing and zesty notes of sauvignon blanc, which usually these days means New Zealands zesty, mouth-puckering versions. For the original Bordeaux take on a grape and for a more special meal, the Chateau de Cruzeau 2013 (17.99 Waitrose); this has some ageing to give richness and fullness on the palate, but also has subtle citrus and refreshing flavours. Fabulous with a baked fish or lighter white-meat dishes.

Had a bit too much SB? Try the Rabl Gruner Veltliner (10.99 or 8.99 as part of mixed six-bottle purchase; Majestic Wine), a rich and spicy gruner from the Kamptal region of Austria, with lots of smoky and tropical-fruit flavours. Fab with roast pork. If you are having rare roast beef or leg of lamb with anchovies and rosemary, then you will need a good, all-purpose claret. The Moueix Saint Emilion 2015 (15.00 Marks and Spencer) is a really soft and velvety smooth claret, elegant and subtle from one of the prime Bordeaux villages  nicely rounded flavours of blackberries, plums and some herbal touches. If you want a slightly lighter wine then try the silky and Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir Martinborough 2013 (23.00 or 20.50 as part of a mixed six bottle purchase; Majestic Wine), a supreme example of New Zealand pinot  some oak ageing gives spice, depth and complexity to the black-fruit flavours. Suitable for all kind of roast meats, particularly lamb, duck or poultry and richer vegetable dishes.

Finally, a dessert wine for all types of puddings: made in Spain from the muscat grape in the style of the French vin doux naturel, the Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro (50cl; 6.59 9 until April, normally 8.29; Waitrose); a good buy at the normal price and a positive steal at the current discount. Its on the lighter end of the dessert-wine spectrum, with clean, luscious flavours of apricots, honey and orange blossom.Googles vice president of global partnerships has shared the career-oriented advice she would give to her younger self.

Bonita Stewart joined the tech company in 2006 and is now in charge of overseeing the brands global partnerships - an achievement she credits to immersing herself in work.

Speaking to Business Insider, Stewart revealed that if she could offer her 25-year-old self one piece of advice, it would be go see for yourself.

According to Stewart, the guidance means taking the time to see and understand the different parts of a role and gain first-hand experience.

Stewart follows her own advice by taking the opportunity to do things such as visit business partners in other countries or travel to other parts of the world to see how different markets operate.

Google Assistant tips and tricks Show all 7 1 /7 Google Assistant tips and tricks Google Assistant tips and tricks Delete everything Google knows about you Google Assistant remembers everything youve used it for and stores the information to do things like remember your interests and give more personalized responses. However, if that makes you uncomfortable, you can see and delete the data by visiting https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity. Google Assistant tips and tricks Disable Okay Google Okay Google and Hey Google are Google Assistants hands-free wake phrases, but you can disable them and instead activate the virtual helper by tapping and holding your phones home button. To turn off Okay Google, tap and hold your phones home button, hit the Explore & Your Stuff icon in the top right of the popup window, select More and then Settings. After that, tap the phone section and disable "OK Google" Detection. Google Assistant tips and tricks Unlock your phone with Okay Google You can also go the other way by giving Google Assistant more control over your phone. You can use one of the wake phrases to actually unlock your phone hands-free, but Google warns that doing this can make your phone less secure, as a similar voice or recording of your own voice could be used to access your device. If youre happy to take the risk, touch and hold your phones home button, tap Explore & Your Stuff, More, Settings and the phone section. Once youve enabled OK Google Detection, you can do the same for Access and Unlock, the option immediately below it. Google Assistant tips and tricks Create shortcuts You can set up Google Assistant shortcuts that can let you streamline your commands. Saying something like workout time, for instance, can be used as a way to get the virtual helper to play music, and goodnight can tell it turn off your lights. To set one up, touch and hold your phones home button, tap Explore & Your Stuff, Your Stuff, Shortcuts and Create New Shortcut. After that, enter the phrase youll say to Google Assistant, and what you want your Google Assistant to do when you use the phrase. If youre in need of inspiration, browse through a list of popular shortcuts by going back to the previous page. Google Assistant tips and tricks Use Assistant through Home Google Assistant is arguably most useful when you access it through Google Home, the companys smart speaker. This is because it can be hooked up to multiple Google accounts and is capable of recognising the different users voices. As well as being good for privacy, this means each member of a household gets an experience that has been personalised to their preferences and interests. To add an account to Home, open the Google Home app, make sure your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Google Home you want to connect to, tap the Menu icon, Devices and find the device card of the Google Home you'd like to link to your voice. From the device card, tap the blue banner labelled Multi User is Now Available or Link Your Account, hit Continue and follow the prompts to teach Google Home to recognise your voice. To invite other people to link their Google Account & voice for tailored results, tap Invite. Google Assistant tips and tricks Hook up your Spotify and Netflix accounts You can control Spotify through Google Assistant by linking your account to Google Home. Open the Google Home app, hit Menu, Account preferences, Media Accounts and select Spotify. The exact same process applies for your Netflix account. Google Assistant tips and tricks Control what you share Once youve linked your Google Account and voice to a shared Google Home, other people can access your music and video services using Google Assistant voice commands. If youre not comfortable with this, you can ask them to link their own music and video accounts to Google Home. All they need to do is open the Google Home app on their phone, tap Menu and Music and choose their favourite compatible music service, or tap Menu, More Settings, Videos and Photos and choose their favourite compatible video service. People whose Google accounts arent linked to your Google Home will, however, still be able to play content from the default music and video services of the first person that linked their Google account and voice to the device.

I am constantly looking for ways to immerse myself, she said. Im always looking for opportunities to go see for myself.

An example she recalls is a trip to India in 2016 where she learned about the countrys mobile-first ecosystem and the importance of speed - which later influenced Googles own work on its mobile-first platform, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).

The Google executive also noted the importance of being fearless if you want to succeed, as getting ahead often means taking risks and completely immersing yourself in opportunities.

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In addition to proving herself an invaluable part of Google, Stewart has previously been included on Crains New York Business Most Powerful Women list for her work overseeing Googles relations with publishers.Later this year, Emperor Akihito of Japan is due to abdicate his role as the head of the imperial family.

Emperor Akihito will become the first Japanese monarch to step down from his position in two centuries.

So when is Emperor Akihito abdicating the throne, who will replace him and how will Japan's next era be decided?

Here's everything you need to know:

When did Emperor Akihito announce his abdication?

Emperor Akihito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989 following the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

In December 2017, it was announced that the emperor would step down from his role on 30 April 2019.

The last Japanese emperor to abdicate prior to Akihito was Kokaku in 1817.

Prior to the announcement of his abdication, some suspected that Akihito had starting thinking of stepping down on account of his declining health.

These suspicions were made more apparent in August 2016, following a video address delivered by the emperor.

"When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the State with my whole being as I have done until now," the 85-year-old said at the time.

The following year, it was formally announced that Akihito had decided to abdicate.

How has Emperor Akihito spent his 30-year rule?

Emperor Akihito's period of rule since 1989 has been known as the Heisei era.

The beginning of the Heisei era, which can be translated to mean "achieving peace", marked the end of the Showa era, which can be translated to mean "enlightened harmony".

Before becoming emperor at the age of 56, Akihito married the now Empress consort Michiko.

Their union broke with tradition, as Michiko became the first commoner to marry into the imperial family in centuries.

Throughout Emperor Akihito's rule, the octogenarian has spent a significant amount of time addressing Japan's legacy from the Second World War, which was fought during his father's rule.

In 2005, Emperor Akihito became the first Japanese monarch to visit the site of a Second World War battle that had been fought abroad.

He and Empress consort Michiko visited the island of Saipan in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, on which the Battle of Saipan was fought in 1944.

Who will succeed the emperor?

Emperor Akihito will be succeeded by his eldest son, the Crown Prince Naruhito.

Akihito and Michiko have two other children - a second son, Fumihito, Prince Akishino, and a daughter, Sayako Kuroda.

Prince Akishino's son, 11-year-old Prince Hisahito, will become second-in-line to the throne.

Crown Prince Naruhito's 16-year-old daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi, will not be included in the line of succession, as only male members of the Japanese royal family can ascend to the throne.

How will the name of Japan's next era be decided?

While Japan uses the western calendar, the country also denotes the year by using the name of the era of the current ruling emperor.

Therefore, the first year of the Heisei era, 1989, would have also been known as "Heisei 1".

According to the National Institutes for the Humanities, it's likely that the titles of Japanese eras are chosen by a team of specialists, who each propose new names.

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"We do know that starting around the 10th century, new era names were decided by knowledgeable persons from several specific families that served the emperors court, who were known as monjo hakase," explains Masaharu Mizukami, professor in the Faculty of Letters at Chuo University, Japan.

"When deciding a new era name, each monjo hakase would submit a text called nengo kanmon, containing a candidate name and a passage of the Chinese classic on which the name was based."

The name of the new era will be announced on Monday 1 April, a month before the Crown Prince Naruhito assumes the throne on Wednesday 1 May.A fossil site has captured the moments just after the asteroid thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs collided with Earth, palaeontologists have claimed.

The remains of fish and trees unearthed at a graveyard site called Tanis in North Dakota provide evidence for a series of deadly events that played out in the immediate aftermath of the impact.

Within minutes, the scientists think earthquakes and sea surges swept sea creatures inland, burying and preserving their bodies in sediment.

At the same time, glass beads formed from molten rock spraying into the sky would have pelted down onto the fish, choking them as their gills became clogged.

These results are set to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a paper the authors say offers a unique insight into Earths most recent mass extinction.

Dinosaurs in the Wild Show all 18 1 /18 Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Tyrannosaurus fighting an Ankylosaurus. These pictures come from Dinosaurs in the Wild, a Dinosaur safari in London Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild A Mosasaur Prognathodon Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Timebase 67 and a Quetzalcoatlus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Pair of Quetzalcoatlus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Avisaurs riding a bull Triceratops Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild A Herbivorous Thescelosaurus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild A female Alamosaurus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Chronotex X90 with an Alamosaurus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Tyrannosaurus and geyser Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Drinking Ankylosaurus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Triceratops with a Chronotex X90 Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild A Tyrannosaurus Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild Dinosaurs in the Wild

A tangled mass of freshwater fish, terrestrial vertebrates, trees, branches, logs, marine ammonites and other marine creatures was all packed into this layer by the inland-directed surge, said Robert DePalma, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas who led the expedition.

The Chicxulub impact, caused by a 12km object smashing into the Gulf of Mexico, is widely regarded as the event that triggered the extinction of dinosaurs and around 75 per cent of animals and plants.

Researchers were able to date the Tanis sites fish skeletons and amber from tree sap to the point around 66 million years ago when the space rock struck.

The scientists found fossilised fish piled on top of one another, suggesting that they were flung ashore and died stranded together on a sand bar after the waves withdrew (Robert DePalma)

Among the researchers working on the new paper was Dr Walter Alvarez who, with his father Luis, was instrumental in developing the theory that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

They proposed a layer of iridium  an element commonly found on space rocks  found in the planets geological record was a sign of an enormous collision at the end of the Cretaceous period.

In their new study, the scientists found a later of iridium on top of the deposit, which helped them date the fossils.

A report in The New Yorker claims that besides fish it also contains evidence of dinosaurs, mammals and sea reptiles killed in the aftermath of the asteroids impact.

Recommended Dinosaur footprints revealed after storms destroy Sussex cliffs

Among these proposed remnants were remains of a horned Triceratops and a duck-billed hadrosaur.

However, experts are still sceptical about some of these claims, which they point out have yet to be published in the scientific literature.

This is hugely exciting if true, but it will take extraordinary evidence to convince palaeontologists, Dr Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh, told The Independent.

I think the evidence is strong for a catastrophic event that killed many fish close to the asteroid impact. But the research paper does not discuss any dinosaur graveyard.

That has only been mentioned in the New Yorker article. So I am at a loss because there is no evidence for me to assess when it comes to the dinosaur part of the story.

Nevertheless, the scientists behind the work said it provides the first snapshot of the immediate events following the Chicxulub impact, and hope to continue exploring this critical event in Earths history.

Weve understood that bad things happened right after the impact, but nobodys found this kind of smoking-gun evidence, said co-author Professor David Burnham, also at the University of Kansas.

People have said, We get that this blast killed the dinosaurs, but why dont we have dead bodies everywhere? Well, now we have bodies.A 44-year-old man has been arrested after Eurostar trains from London were suspended because of a protester draped in a St Georges flag.

British Transport Police said the suspect was detained around 8.30am after spending the night on the roof of St Pancras station.

Officers were called just after 7pm on Friday  the day of the Brexit Betrayal march  after the man was seen in a precarious position over the high-speed lines.

Photos of the scene showed the trespasser carrying a St Georges flag on a roof above the tracks, leading to speculation it was a pro-Brexit protester.

Eurostar announced that all services to and from St Pancras would be suspended until 9.45am.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Southeastern trains were also disrupted. The company announced: High speed trains will not run to and from St Pancras due to the ongoing trespass incident just outside the station.

The person is above the high-speed lines and as such the overhead wires can not be recharged.

Shortly after the man was arrested, Eurostar said its services would resume soon but advised passengers not to travel on Saturday morning and either cancel their trip or exchange their ticket. Eurostar trains were already disrupted due to industrial action by French customs officials in Paris until 3 April.

The British Transport Police said in a statement: Just after 7pm last night (Friday 29 March 2019), British Transport Police officers, along with other emergency services, were called to a man on the roof of St Pancras Railway Station.

This morning (Saturday 30 March) a 44-year-old man has been arrested for trespass and obstruction of the railway. Passengers should contact rail operators for current information on their train journeys. We thank everyone for their patience.

National Rail said the disruption to train services would continue until 11am.

On Friday, thousands of pro-Brexit supporters gathered in central London on the day the UK was supposed to leave the EU.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage and Tory Brexiteer MP Mark Francois spoke at the March to Leave rally in Parliament Square while Ukip leader Gerard Batten and English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson made speeches at a separate Make Brexit Happen rally near Whitehall.

The Metropolitan Police said five people were arrested, including two for assault, one for drunk and disorderly, one for assaulting a police officer and one who was identified as wanted for an offence in Hertfordshire. All are now in custody, the force said.The governments flagship EU Settlement Scheme has been hit by technical problems on the day of its launch.

EU nationals vented their frustration on social media, saying they had logged in to the app or visited the website only to be confronted with an error message, or for the page not to load at all.

The scheme, which opened on 21 January but was fully rolled out on Saturday (30 March), is designed by the government to grant post-Brexit residency to EU citizens and their family members, who will have until 30 June 2021 to apply.

It requires applicants to prove their identity by using a mobile app, which is part of an integrated online application process.

The Home Office spokesperson said the scheme was live and performing well on Saturday morning, and that it had received thousands of applications so far.

But dozens of EU citizens living in the UK reported that, while they had been able to start the application process through the app, they were then redirected to an error page stating that there was a problem with the service.

Pilar Gomez, 31, a Spanish national who has been living in Bristol for seven years, described her first attempt to apply for settled status as a big fail.

After a while taking pics, waiting in queues and giving details, everything ends up in a nice blow up saying BETA: This service is currently in development. Oh joy, she said.

Another EU national tweeted: Ive tried via mobile app, my laptop and I even thought Ill do the postal option to see if I can do it that way and I get an error message for that too.

They knew this day was coming and the influx. Why was it not prepared properly? Bit like Brexit then.

The Settlement Scheme has already been criticised as campaigners warned that, with so many people to register, tens of thousands of EU nationals would fall thought the net and become undocumented migrants.

Charities said that while the scheme might work for those who were aware of it, efforts to inform harder to reach people such as the elderly, those who did not speak English and those who were being exploited were inadequate.

The scheme was also criticised for the fact that the mobile app developed to allow EU nationals to register did not work on iPhones, only on Android phones.

The Home Office spokesperson said: There is plenty of time for EU citizens to make an application and there is extra support available for those who need it, including through our Settlement Resolution Centre.European Council president Donald Tusk announced on Friday that EU leaders would meet for another summit on 10 April.

Why 10 April?

The date of the meeting, which is expected to be in Brussels, is two days before the UK is due to crash out of the EU without a deal  12 April is the new deadline.Channel 4 News said it "regrets" any offence caused after presenter Jon Snow said he had never seen so many white people in one place as he reported on pro-Brexit protests.

The 71-year-old broadcaster made the remark as he described the scene near Downing Street where crowds of Leave supporters had gathered on Friday night to protest the delay to Brexit.

Speaking live for Channel 4 News from Parliament Square, he said: Weve just got these pictures in which were taken nearby. Police are now wearing riot gear.

Police dogs are patrolling. The mood has changed.

"We cannot confirm whether any arrests have been made.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

"It has been the most extraordinary day. A day which has seen  Ive never seen so many white people in one place.

He added: "Its an extraordinary story there are people everywhere, there are crowds everywhere."

Mr Snow faced a backlash online after clips of his comments on the live news programme were circulated on social media.

One person wrote: @jonsnowC4 can you please explain your need to proclaim youve never seen so many white people in one place?

Broadcaster and journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer also shared the video clip of Mr Snows remarks and wrote: This is unbelievably shocking from a national broadcaster. Ive never seen so many white people in one place. Which of course, for some reason, is a bad thing.

In response to the criticism Mr Snows remarks drew, Channel 4 said in a statement: "This was an unscripted observation at the very end of a long week of fast-moving Brexit developments.

"Jon has covered major events such as this over a long career and this was a spontaneous comment reflecting his observation that in a London demonstration of that size, ethnic minorities seemed to be significantly under-represented.

"We regret any offence caused by his comment."

A spokesperson for the regulator Ofcom said they would have to wait until Monday to say how many complaints, if any, had been registered regarding the incident.

"We will assess any complaints we do receive before deciding whether or not to investigate," the spokesperson said.

Mr Snows comments came on a day of protests outside parliament and Downing street on the day Britain was due to leave the EU.

Many who had expected to celebrate Brexit outside Parliament were left disappointed when Theresa Mays withdrawal agreement was rejected for a third time by MPs.

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Five people were arrested during the demonstrations, including two for assault, one for assaulting a police officer and one for drunk and disorderly behaviour, according to the Metropolitan Police.

At least two MPs were abused by pro-Brexit supporters in the streets outside parliament. Labour's Lisa Nandy said she was accosted by people shouting f****** traitor, while the SNPs Joanna Cherry said she was told to go back to my own country.

Additional reporting by PAThe Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) would rather cancel Brexit than risk the breakup of the UK by voting for Theresa Mays deal, one of its most senior figures has said.

Nigel Dodds, the DUP Westminster leader, dealt a hammer blow to the prime ministers hopes of bringing her deal back to the Commons for a fourth time, by insisting the partys 10 MPs would not drop their opposition.

It comes after MPs rejected Ms Mays Brexit blueprint for the third time on Friday  the day the UK was originally due to leave the EU.

Ms May now has just two weeks to come up with a viable plan, as the European Commission said a no-deal break on April 12 was now a likely scenario.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Mr Dodds told BBC Newsnight: Somebody once asked me what the order of these priorities is and I said I would rather stay in the European Union and remain than risk Northern Irelands position.

Thats how strongly I feel about the union.

Mr Dodds warned his party could not support the prime ministers deal because the divisive backstop  designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland  could see Northern Ireland being left behind.

He added: We want to see Brexit delivered, we believe the referendum result should be respected and delivered on, but it cant be at the risk of separating Northern Ireland out from the rest of the United Kingdom.

The DUP, whose 10 MPs prop up Ms Mays minority government, joined a hard core of Tory Brexiteers and opposition parties to inflict a 58-vote defeat on the government on Friday.

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A grim-faced Ms May hinted she would trigger a general election if parliament does not approve a Brexit plan within the next 10 days

Ministers told The Independent a new ballot featured in the prime ministers thinking, with her likely to have one final attempt to push her Brexit deal through the Commons next week.

Asked whether an election was now becoming a clear possibility, one cabinet source said: Yes. Absolutely. No question.

On Monday, MPs will hold a second series of indicative votes on different Brexit options after none of the eight options considered  including a customs union with the EU and a confirmatory second referendum  was able to command a majority in the first round.The Conservatives and Labour could both break apart in the coming months because of internal divisions over Brexit, Vince Cable has said.

The Liberal Democrat leader said that for the first time in his lifetime he believed there was a real prospect of splits because Tory moderates are in a terrible state and hardliners have complete control of Labour.

He was speaking at an IndyMinds event in central London for subscribers of The Independent.

Asked about the prospect of a possible split in the main parties, he said: I think for the first time in my lifetime this is possible.

In the last few days Ive been having conversations with deep-dyed Tories  the kind of people you would never regard as wet or one-nation Tories.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

They say, Weve just had it up to here  we just cannot take any more of it. Our partys been infiltrated by the right-wing equivalent of Momentum, weve been threatened in our seats, weve had to get legal advice.' Theyre in a terrible state these moderate Tories.

And then on the Labour side you have one desperate effort being made by [deputy leader] Tom Watson, who is a very formidable and impressive guy, to try and save the Labour Party, but even those who like him and hope for the best are pretty pessimistic because the hardliners have complete control.

You may well find that if this crisis continues for much longer then both of the traditional parties do split, and that creates the perfect condition for something new and better.

Sir Vince said he wanted his party to work closely with The Independent Group, which is registering as a political party called Change UK - saying it would be foolish and shortsighted for the two parties to field candidates against each other.

He said: As long as Im leader Im keen to bring us together. There are tribal people in any organisation who wont work like that, but Im personally determined that as long as Im around, we do our best to bring people together.

He added: We cant compete with them or them with us because it will destroy us both. It would be an absurd thing to do because wed simply be splitting the centrist vote under a first-past-the-post system, so they are going to have to collaborate with us.

He was speaking hours after MPs rejected Theresa Mays Brexit deal for a third time.

Speaking immediately after the vote, Ms May told MPs it was likely that the UK would now have to seek a long delay to Brexit and hold European Parliament elections in May.

She said: The implications of the Houses decision are grave.

The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12 April  in just 14 days time.

This is not enough time to agree, legislate for and ratify a deal, and yet the House has been clear it will not permit leaving without a deal, and so we will have to agree an alternative way forward.

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The prime minister also hinted at the prospect of a general election, warning MPs: I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.

This House has rejected no deal, it has rejected no Brexit. On Wednesday it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table. And today it has rejected approving the withdrawal agreement alone and continuing a process on the future.Conservative Brexiteers are lobbying Theresa May to pursue a no-deal exit after her deal was rejected for the third time.

Party chair Brandon Lewis confirmed reports that 170 Tory MPs, believed to include several ministers, have written to the prime minister urging her to ensure the UK leaves the EU on 12 April no matter what.

It comes after a dramatic day in Westminster when protesters took to the streets as MPs rejected Ms Mays Brexit deal for the third time, on the day originally earmarked for the UKs exit from the bloc.

Ms May now has just two weeks to come up with viable Brexit plan, after the European Commission said a no-deal break on 12 April was now a likely scenario.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Senior ministers have reportedly told Ms May to embrace no deal, while The Sun disclosed that a letter had been delivered to No 10 signed by more than half of Conservative MPs, demanding the UK leaves the EU in the next few months, regardless of whether there is a deal.

Asked about the move, Mr Lewis told the Today programme: I havent signed the letter, but I do know about it. I havent seen the full text of the letter and I havent seen the signatures on it.

My view is we should be doing everything we can to leave the European Union in good order, as quickly as we can, as we said in our manifesto and outlined to parliament.

I think the deal is the right way to do that and we must do everything we can to make sure we do not fight the European elections.

Following the defeat on Friday, Ms May warned the Commons that any extension beyond 12 April  the new deadline set by the EU  would require Britain to take part in European parliament elections in May.

Downing Street is considering bringing the prime ministers deal back before MPs for a fourth attempt, with aides suggesting plans for a run-off between Ms Mays blueprint and a customs union.

On Monday, MPs will once again vote on a range of Brexit scenarios after a previous process indicated a future arrangement relating to a customs union could carry a majority.

But the prime minister has strongly indicated that she could not countenance asking the EU for such an arrangement and could demand an election.

Elsewhere, Ms May faced calls to form a unity government if she cannot get her Brexit deal through the Commons.

Former Tory cabinet minister Nicky Morgan said: If the government refused and Theresa May felt she could not implement what parliament had identified as a way of leaving the EU, then I think we would have to think very hard about whether a cross-party coalition, group of people, whatever, could do that in order to make sure that the UK does leave the EU in an orderly fashion.

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She added: It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it.

There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson also suggested the time had come for a national unity government, telling Prospect magazine:If needs must, we have to then do whats right.

But Mr Lewis rejected the calls, saying: A national government is not the answer. It doesnt change the parliamentary maths and the fact that when MPs have voted they have consistently failed to come to a conclusion.EU leaders are prepared to let Britain delay Brexit again to allow time for a second referendum, The Independent understands.

After parliament rejected Theresa Mays deal for a third time, the bloc called a summit on 10 April  two days before the UK is on course to leave without a deal.

And senior Brussels officials familiar with leaders thinking say that barring a credible plan to get a majority for the withdrawal agreement, the UK would be given more time only if it was for another clear option such as a general election or a referendum.

The EU has already warned that a further extension, which could run until at least the end of the year, would also require the UK to take part in European parliament elections scheduled for the end of May.

As reported by The Independent, the prime minister is considering a general election as a way out of the Brexit chaos in Westminster, where MPs have rejected all options  including a no-deal Brexit. Senior officials in Brussels have made clear that an extension would also be justified if it was to make time for a referendum.

Indicative votes in the Commons this week showed relatively strong support for a confirmatory referendum among MPs, with numbers such that only around a dozen more would need to be convinced to back one to pass it.

One senior EU official said there were three possible justifications for a long extension emerging in member states thinking following their summit last week.

One is if there is a general election. All of us speculate about what that changes, but we are a democracy and we respect democratic procedures so it would be, the senior official said.

A second referendum: that does not seem very likely but it also a democratic process that we would like to respect.

And then the less defined one: if there is some sort of plan for a political process that can lead to, if not a political consensus, then at least a workable majority. That, and I should underline it, cannot involve any reopening of the withdrawal agreement.

The senior official stressed that no final decision had been taken and that it would ultimately be up to leaders in the room on 10 April  who last week tore up their original plan and wrote a new one at the last minute.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

But with Westminster in full deadlock, inter-party talks so far yielding nothing, and the Brexit deal already rejected three times, the prospect of any credible political process to build a majority now looks distant.

Labour is insisting on a customs union if it is to back the deal, but if such a move were accepted by Theresa May her own MPs would likely be enraged even further, and refuse to support the deal.

EU leaders have already insisted that the UK would have to take part in European parliament elections if a delay beyond 12 April, the current deadline, is to happen.

Officials have suggested that any further Brexit extension would have to be until at least the end of the year, possibly more  with appetite for repeatedly kicking the can down the road in small steps at zero in European capitals.

There are some worries in Brussels that a long extension could import the political crisis in the UK into the EU institutions and infect the rest of the European Union.

Rhetoric by some Tory Brexiteers about bringing down the EU from the inside, which has found an airing in some right-wing UK newspapers, has not gone unnoticed in the EU institutions.

On the one hand, the UK has been behaving in accordance with the obligation of sincere cooperation until now. And at the same time ... we do also read the British press, and we have seen some comments that maybe we should take this opportunity to break the union from the inside, one official said.

I dont think that will be possible and I think any British government will understand that thats not a promising way forward. We luckily have qualified majority voting on most issues these days and if we dont, Im sure wed find ways of dealing with it if these things were to happen.

This week former Ukip leader Nigel Farage goaded MEPs in the European parliament, asking whether they wanted him to return at the head of a Eurosceptic delegation. But despite predictions that Eurosceptics would sweep the board if the UK take part in EU elections, Mr Farages re-election is not guaranteed, with his new Brexit Party yet to have lift-off in the polls.

Theresa May may be asked by EU leaders to justify a long extension (EPA)

The Liberal Democrats and SNP have already begun picking candidates for the contest, while the new centrist party Change UK, formed by breakaway Tory and Labour MPs, has also expressed an interest in standing candidates.

EU leaders have taken varying stances on a further long Article 50 extension. Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, said on Friday that his country was open to an extension of six, nine or 12 months, adding: We want the UK to stay, and if that would not be possible to have an orderly Brexit.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM, meanwhile said the EU should be open to a long extension should the United Kingdom decide to fundamentally reconsider its approach to Brexit.

But a more hardline view is coming from Paris, where Emmanuel Macron has said the EU would have to decide on the timeframe for the UKs exit  suggesting a no deal was still a possibility.

He was joined by Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who said: Unfortunately, if no plan is put forward by Britain in the next two weeks, there will be a hard Brexit. Austria and the EU are prepared for such an outcome.

The European Commission warned after the vote that no deal was now likely.

Ultimately all EU members states have to unanimously agree a way forward. Discussions about the first Article 50 extension were characterised by late-night talks after heads of government ripped up draft plans at the last minute and wrote their own  and the process for a second extension is expected to be just as controversial and unpredictable.Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

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Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349Tory Brexit rebel Dominic Grieve has suffered a vote of no confidence from his local party.

The former attorney general, who has led efforts to give MPs a greater say on Brexit, lost the confidence motion at his Beaconsfield constituency associations annual general meeting on Friday.

In a statement, the local chairman Jackson Ng said: Our members had a robust discussion with our MP, Dominic Grieve QC on Brexit before voting on a motion of confidence in him as our MP, which, I can confirm with a heavy heart that he failed to retain.

He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Mr Grieve said there was clear evidence that there was an orchestrated campaign by Jon Conway, his former Ukip opponent from the 2017 election.

He vowed to carry on as before, adding: I should emphasise that the local association is fully entitled to express its views.

Ive always known Brexit is very divisive and I am totally respectful of those who disagree with me over the way I have approached this particular crisis.

Historically though, the Conservative Party, being a broad church, doesnt seek to expel members of parliament for variations of view.

Mr Conway, a former Ukip activist, denied a plot to oust Mr Grieve. He said: Im one person out of 183 people who voted no confidence in Dominic last night.

The result triggered a wave of criticism from senior Conservatives, with former chancellor George Osborne warning such moves could lead to a huge, historic split in the party.

Tory chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support for Mr Grieve and said that the vote, which passed by 182 to 131  had no formal standing under party rules.

Part of the strength of our party is that we are a broad church, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

 Dominic Grieve: 'I have never felt more ashamed to be a member of the Conservative Party'

Dominic is somebody who has contributed to parliament, is a clear, strong Conservative, and he is an asset to the party.

Mr Osborne, who now edits the Evening Standard, said: The Tory leadership can stop any deselection if it wants  we frequently did.

CCHQ should suspend the local party. Otherwise we are heading for a huge, historic split in the Tory Party.

Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, branded the move deeply disappointing.

Former minister Alistair Burt said the no-confidence vote in Mr Grieve was an extraordinary decision.

He tweeted: A quality colleague, brave enough to challenge, but fundamentally a Conservative through and through. Where on earth are we heading with situations like this?

Labour MP Dr Paul Williams described Mr Grieve as a man of true courage, respected across the Commons, who shows true leadership, while suggesting Ukip supporters had gained primacy in the Beaconsfield association.

The vote came after thousands of people marched in London to show their sense of betrayal at MPs failure to remove Britain from the European Union on 29 March, as promised.

Both Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson held rallies outside parliament as Theresa Mays withdrawal agreement floundered, for the third time, just yards away.

As the weekend began, a general election appeared to be on the cards if Ms May could not get her deal over the line with one final push.

Mr Grieve was one of the MPs behind the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business to stage a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa Mays deal.

Eventually all alternative Brexit routes were voted down but fresh debates are expected next week.The pro-Remain Tory MP Dominic Grieve was called a traitor and liar by members of his local Conservative party, video footage has revealed.

The former attorney general lost a confidence motion at his Beaconsfield constituency associations annual general meeting by 182 to 131 votes on Friday.

Angry Brexiteers shouted repeatedly lies and rubbish at Mr Grieve as he attempted to explain the potential economic costs of a no-deal Brexit, a clip obtained by The Sunday Times shows.

One woman can be heard calling the politician another traitor.

Despite losing a vote which could trigger a deselection process, Mr Grieve has vowed to continue as MP of Beaconsfield. He said the no confidence motion makes no difference and pledged to carry on exactly as before.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Mr Grieve has also claimed there was an orchestrated campaign against him by Jon Conway  his former UKIP opponent from the 2017 election.

At the meeting there were a very large number of people who had turned up  around 100 of whom I had certainly never seen or met before in my years as a member of parliament, he told Sky News.

And there is clear evidence that there was an orchestrated campaign by my UKIP opponent in 2017, who has since joined the association, with the express intention of trying to come along and defeating the motion.

The rhetoric heard at the meeting in Buckinghamshire follows a tempestuous gathering outside Parliament yesterday, where many Brexit protesters were heard shouting treason and traitors in reference to Remain politicians.

Several leading Tory MPs jumped to Mr Grieves defence after the no confidence vote result was announced late Friday. More offered their backing throughout Saturday.

Party chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support and said the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

Part of the strength of our party is that we are a broad church. Dominic is somebody who has contributed to Parliament, is a clear strong Conservative and he is an asset to the party, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Pro-Brexit protesters at Parliament Square on 29 March (Reuters)

Boris Johnson called Mr Grieve a good man and a true Conservative, while former chancellor George Osborne warned that more local no confidence votes could lead to a wider split in the party.

The Tory leadership can stop any deselection if it wants - we frequently did, he said. CCHQ should suspend the local party. Otherwise we are heading for a huge, historic split in the Tory Party.

Senior Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was deeply disappointing.

He tweeted: Few in Parliament have contributed as much to public life as Dominic Grieve  He deserves thanks and praise, not this. Our party and country would be poorer.

Former minister Alistair Burt added: A quality colleague, brave enough to challenge, but fundamentally a Conservative through and through. Where on earth are we heading with situations like this?

The chairman of the Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association Jackson Ng did not, however, rule out the possibility of deselection.

He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council, said Mr Ng.

The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Beaconsfield, narrowly voted for Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.A man has reportedly been detained after running at the Moroccan king's car, during Pope Francis' visit to the North African country.

Mohammed VI was standing up in the open-top car waving at crowds lining a street in Rabat, travelling in a motorcade alongside the pope's vehicle.

The man ran towards the car but was swiftly seized by guards.

Live footage from the country's state broadcaster showed the king's car speeding up slightly but there was no other sign of disruption.

The incident occurred shortly after the pope arrived in the country on Saturday.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

It was not immediately clear what the man was trying to do.

The pope is on a two-day visit to Morocco.

His trip will be focused on boosting interfaith dialogue.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Additional reporting by agenciesWith guns drawn, the police officers broke down the door of the suburban Phoenix home in the early hours of a February morning.

Come out with your hands up! an officer yelled, with the dark front porch and foyer inside suddenly flooded with light from the officers flashlights.

The target of the raid: an unvaccinated 2-year-old boy with a high fever.

Video from the officers body cameras that was released on Thursday shows that moments later, the childs father emerges, walking out backward with his hands over his head. The boys mother then comes out, too, cradling her young son in her arms.

The boy was whisked away to a hospital, and since that raid on 25 February, he and the couples two other children, aged 4 and 6, have been in the states custody. The parents have been charged with child abuse.

The boys case is among the most extreme examples of the authorities overriding the rights of parents to make decisions for their childrens health, and it comes at a time of rising concern about unvaccinated children infecting others around them.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was never the same after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

The parents, Brooks Bryce and Sarah Beck, say the authorities drastically overreacted. They treated us like criminals, busting in our door, Mr Bryce told a local TV station. I mean, I dont know what kind of trauma that did to my kids.

But the Chandler Police Department has defended its role in the confrontation, saying it was compelled to carry out a court-ordered welfare check after the childs doctor became concerned that the boy might have meningitis, a potentially life-threatening illness, and was not receiving necessary emergency care.

In rare cases, parents can be stripped of their ability to make health care decisions on behalf of their children. Even rarer are the occasions when parents lose custody of their children for declining treatment.

But with 315 individual cases of measles confirmed in 15 states this year, authorities are on high alert for people exhibiting symptoms of infectious diseases, especially children and toddlers who lack vaccinations for that disease and other illnesses.

Under Arizona law, parents may decline vaccinations for their child based on personal, religious or medical exemptions. But that law is in opposition to the parens patriae theory, a centuries-old principle that empowers the state to look after the interests of children and others unable to care for themselves.

Its a pretty high standard to meet, said Douglas S Diekema, who has been a practising emergency room doctor for 30 years at Seattle Childrens Hospital. I dont know that Ive ever called Child Protective Services, though Ive thought about it a couple of times.

Police records show that on 25 February, Ms Beck had taken her 2-year-old boy to a clinic, where his temperature was recorded at above 100 degrees.

The childs doctor became concerned that he could have meningitis, after learning that he was lethargic and had not been vaccinated. Ms Beck was told to take him to an emergency room.

I called the doctor back and said, Hey, Im not sure how you got this 105 reading, my sons acting fine, Ms Beck told a local TV station. This doesnt really seem like a medical emergency.

The childs doctor, after learning Ms Beck had ignored the recommendation to take the child to the hospital and having follow-up phone calls to the family go unanswered, then contacted the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Asked to do a welfare check, police officers later arrived at the familys door, but were not allowed in. The body camera footage released on Thursday shows the police twice knocking and trying to enter, before an officer reaches Mr Bryce by telephone just before midnight, and tells him that he needs to verify that their youngest child is improving.

No, you dont need to, Mr Bryce replies. He remains polite, saying No, thank you when he is asked to come out of his home.

 Teenager secretly gets vaccinated and blasts 'conspiracy theory-believing' anti-vax parents

An emergency court order was issued, allowing police to take the child into custody. The officers asked the family to leave their home and take the child to the hospital, the video shows. After two more unsuccessful attempts at knocking at the door, they reminded Mr Bryce that they had a court order and broke down the door, nearly four hours after they arrived at the home.

Though neither parent was arrested, each was charged with one count of child abuse after an investigation. Two of the children, including the youngest, were taken by ambulance to the hospital, and the third was taken by the Department of Child Safety, according to the police.

All three children remain in separate foster care placements, according to The Arizona Republic.

Mr Diekema, the emergency room doctor in Seattle, said he personally encounters parents refusing a treatment plan maybe every month or two, meaning it likely happens in his hospital on a weekly basis. But there are procedures in place to stave off a hospital visit escalating into a child custody battle.

Sometimes, he said, a compromise can be found on a less aggressive form of treatment that is acceptable to the doctor; other times, another doctor at the hospital can give a second opinion, which some parents find more comforting.

Mr Diekema, who is also a bioethics professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said he tries to avoid coercion when he can. He recalled telling a patients parents, I hate to say this, but I have to let you know that if you walk out of this emergency department, without agreeing to something that makes me comfortable, Ill have to call child protective services.

He said the doctor in Arizona would have been obligated to call the authorities if the family did not follow the clinics instructions.

The boy was eventually found to have a respiratory illness. A judge has told the childs parents that the state wants them to regain custody of their children, but it was unclear when that would happen.

We love our children, we love them, Ms Beck told another local TV station. If our children needed help, we would absolutely help them.

The New York TimesThe Georgia state legislature has passed a bill banning abortion at six weeks, when a heartbeat is detectable.

As many women are not aware of their pregnancies at the six-week point, and this heavily restricts abortion beyond the federal guidelines in Roe v. Wade, the decision is being publicly opposed and denounced by pro-choice groups and public figures like Alyssa Milano, an actress and activist.

House Bill 481, or the Living Infants Fairness and Equality act was passed by both the Georgia House and Senate, to the praise of Governor Brian Kemp.

This bill, expected to be signed into law by Kemp, would ban all abortion after six weeks except in the cases of rape, with a police report, incest, or medical emergency.

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 bill extends the definition of natural persons under the law to include the foetus as an unborn child at the point where  the existence of a detectable human heartbeat is detectable. Due to that designation, women who receive abortions after six weeks in Georgia, and those who provide them would, in theory, be able prosecuted.

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The State Senate affirmed Georgias commitment to life and the rights of the innocent unborn, said Kemp, via statement. I applaud the members who supported the heartbeat bills passage for protecting the vulnerable and giving a voice to those who cannot yet speak for themselves.

Georgia, if Kemp signs the bill into law, would join Kentucky and Mississippi in having some of the most restrictive abortion laws in America, although those laws have yet to be enforced as they are challenged by civil rights groups on their constitutionality. The Georgia ACLU has also announced plans to sue.

The bill's passing sparked calls for mobilisation and protest from Ilyse Hogue, pro-choice activist and NARAL president, who encouraged women to "raise your voice". Gynaecologist and writer Dr. Jennifer Gunter took a more radical position, claiming "If [HB481 is] signed into law, it will kill women".

Other women, like pro-life activist and president of anti-abortion group Live Action, Lila Rose, are celebrating the passing of the bill. Rose said, in response to Milano's activism, "These are human lives - somebodys sons and daughters. Abortion destroys children & degrades women - and the abortion industry alone profits."Donald Trump has issued a new permit for a controversial oil pipeline that critics say will devastate local communities and prove disastrous for the environment.

The move comes in spite of a federal judge blocking the Keystone XL project in November, saying the government had not fully considered oil spills and other impacts, and must conduct another review.

The president said the new permit replaced the previous one granted two years ago, with a spokesman explaining that it dispels any uncertainty about the project.

It is intended to speed up the development of the pipeline, which is designed to transport crude oil from tar sands in western Canada to the US Gulf Coast.

Specifically, this permit reinforces, as should have been clear all along, that the presidential permit is indeed an exercise of presidential authority that is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act, said the White House spokesman.

Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Show all 20 1 /20 Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Donald Trump sits in the living room at Mar-a-Lago in 1993. The following pictures show the interior of the Mar-a-Lago estate. Many of them are from before Trump bought the property in 1985 but, as the newer pictures show, he hasn't done much with the place Rex Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home The dining room at Mar-a-Lago under Trump. The following pictures show the interior of the Mar-a-Lago estate. Many of them are from before Trump bought the property in 1985 but, as the newer pictures show, he hasn't done much with the place Rex Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home The dining room at Mar-a-Lago in 1967. The following pictures show the interior of the Mar-a-Lago estate. Many of them are from before Trump bought the property in 1985 but, as the newer pictures show, he hasn't done much with the place US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home The dining room at Mar-a-Lago under Trump in 2015 The Washington Post/Getty Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Function room at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Donald Trump sits in the living room at Mar-a-Lago in 1993. Rex Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home The living room in Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Master bedroom at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Library at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Cloister at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Entrance hall at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Spiral staircase at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home The dining room at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Patio at Mar-a-Lago in 1928 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Cloister at Mar-a-Lago in 1967 US National Park Service Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Mar-a-Lago in 2018 Getty Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Mar-a-Lago in 2018 Getty Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Mar-a-Lago in 2018 Getty Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Mar-a-Lago in 2018 Getty Inside Mar-a-Lago - Trump's holiday home Mar-a-Lago in 2018 AFP/Getty

But Stephan Volker, a lawyer for environmentalists who sued to stop the project, called Mr Trumps action illegal, and vowed to seek a court order blocking project developer TransCanada from moving forward with construction.

President Trump has launched a direct assault on our system of governance, said Mr Volker.

Calgary-based TransCanada said in a statement that Trumps order clarifies the national importance of Keystone XL and aims to bring more than 10 years of environmental review to closure.

Mr Trump has been clear that he wants to create jobs and advance US energy security, and the Keystone XL pipeline does both of those things, said Russ Girling, TransCanadas president and CEO.

Keystone XL will create thousands of jobs and deliver crude oil to US refineries in the safest, most efficient and environmentally sound way, the company said.

An appeal filed by the company, which says Keystone XL has been studied more than any other pipeline in history, is pending.

The US Chamber of Commerce welcomed the action, and said review after review had found the project could be environmentally responsible.

But Anthony Swift, director of the Canada project for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, said the pipeline was a bad idea from day one and it remains a terrible idea.

If built, it would threaten our land, our drinking water, and our communities from Montana and Nebraska to the Gulf Coast. And it would drive dangerous climate change, he said.

 Donald Trump says he isn't going to 'shoot undocumented immigrants but shooting immigrants would be very effective'

Keystone XL, first proposed in 2008 under President George W Bush, would begin in Alberta and go to Nebraska, where it would join with an existing pipeline to shuttle more than 800,000 barrels a day of crude to terminals on the Gulf Coast.

After years of study and delay, former President Barack Obama rejected the project in 2015, but Mr Trump reversed that decision soon after taking office in 2017. A presidential permit is needed because the project crosses a US border.

Environmental groups vowed they would continue fighting the presidents decision.

By personally approving the climate-killing Keystone XL pipeline, President Trump is showing complete contempt for the law and the idea of leaving a livable planet for future generations, said Kieran Suckling, executive director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Well stop Trumps latest unhinged assault on the environment in court once again.

Additional reporting by APDonald Trump has said a Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq will be moved to less restrictive confinement ahead of his trial.

Eddie Gallagher stands accused of stabbing to death a wounded prisoner of war and shooting at innocent civilians, according to The Navy Times.

In a tweet on Saturday morning, Mr Trump indicated Gallagher would be moved to more comfortable accommodation.

"In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court," he wrote

"Process should move quickly!"

Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Mr Trump appears to be responding to a request from a number of congressmen for the Navy to review the conditions of Mr Gallagher's confinement.

His tweet comes after Republican congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina tweeted that he had spoken to the president over the phone about moving Gallagher.

In a later tweet, he wrote: As I've said from the start, I believe Chief Gallagher will soon have a fair and impartial trial.

"But until proven otherwise, it's appropriate that he be treated as a decorated soldier who still has the presumption of innocence."

Mr Gallagher, 39, is currently jailed at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar military prison in California and is facing multiple charges of war crimes.

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The 19-year Navy veteran is accused of stabbing to death a wounded 15-year-old Islamic State fighter who was in his care, according to a charge sheet obtained by CNN.

he is also allegedly charged with shooting at innocent civilians and posing for an unofficial picture "with a human casualty".

In addition, he is charged with flying a drone over a human casualty and wrongfully possessing and using the painkiller Tramadol Hydrochloride, according to the charge sheet obtained by CNN.

Mr Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Additional reporting by APThe "citizen reporters" at TruNews typically pump out racist and antisemitic conspiracy-laden articles about reptile people plotting a government takeover and secret death squads that perpetrate mass shootings, all while counting down to "the second coming of Jesus Christ."

But on Thursday night, the right-wing fringe website scored one of its biggest stories yet: an interview with Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Jr  the president's eldest son, business heir and hype man  spoke to TruNews correspondent Kerry Kinsey at his father's Grand Rapids, Michigan, rally on Thursday.

"Look who we've got, Don Jr," Mr Kinsey says at the outset. "This is great."

In the five-minute interview that followed, Mr Trump Jr rehashed tried-and-tested talking points about fake news, the deep state and Hillary Clinton, as Mr Kinsey teed up milquetoast questions. As the conversation wrapped up, Mr Kinsey made a final request: "Would you tell your dad that TruNews loves your dad and we always give him a fair shake?"

Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs

"I'll do that, guys. Thank you so much. Have a great day," Mr Trump Jr responded.

Researchers at Right Wing Watch, a project from the nonprofit People for the American Way, have tracked TruNews for years and have described its founder, Rick Wiles, as a "crazed conspiracy theorist" obsessed with the end times.

"Wiles regularly promotes conspiracy theories about President [Barack] Obama, the federal government and secret powerful forces working to shape world events and lead to the end of days," his Right Wing Watch profile reads. "He also frequently criticises LGBT rights and immigration."

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A spokesperson for Mr Trump Jr, who has his own history with conspiratorial thinking, said he had not planned to do the interview, nor had he and his representatives vetted the outlet.

"This was not a pre-planned interview and Don had never heard of TruNews or had any awareness of their views until this very moment," the spokesperson, Amanda Miller, said in the statement.

She said Mr Trump Jr was scheduled to talk with Fox News host Sean Hannity and, while he was waiting for that interview to begin, nearby reporters began asking him questions. He did interviews with several outlets, Ms Miller said.

"Unfortunately, he did not have an opportunity to run a full FBI background check on each and every one," she said.

The Trump campaign did not respond to questions about how TruNews gained access to the Michigan rally or whether the outlet was granted press credentials to cover it.

 Anderson Cooper fact-checks fake news tweet by Donald Trump Jr

However, this was not the first time TruNews managed to get some face time with the Trump family. In September, at a news conference about Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, the president himself took a question from a TruNews reporter, who asked Mr Trump for a preview of the "great deal" that would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Observers, in turn, wondered how the reporter even gained admission to the briefing.

The White House did not respond to questions about TruNews and its access to news conferences. The outlet also did not respond to a request for comment late on Friday night.

The TruNews archive reads like a greatest hits collection of far-right conspiracy theories, a veritable potpourri of Nazi references and fear mongering about secret cabals.

In articles and broadcasts past, the site has claimed the Las Vegas shooting, which was the deadliest in modern US history, was carried out by a secret death squad from a "gay/lesbian Nazi regime" and asserted that white Americans are being pushed out of their country by a "brown invasion." Numerous articles on the site have declared Mr Obama a "demon from hell"  or worse. After Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston in 2017, TruNews declared the storm punishment for the city's "affinity for the sexual perversion movement."

Yet, TruNews is not the lone conspiracy platform that has found an audience in the White House.

Alex Jones, on his website InfoWars, long claimed that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax. But that did not stop Mr Trump from appearing on Mr Jones' show during his presidential campaign.

"Your reputation is amazing," Mr Trump said then. "I will not let you down."

Just over three years later, Mr Kinsey, a representative from another fringe site, vied for the president's attention. At the end of the interview with Mr Trump Jr, Mr Kinsey turned back to the camera and signed off. It sounded like even he could not believe what had just happened.

"Kerry Kinsey here for TruNews in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with Donald Trump Jr," he said. "Wow, how 'bout that."

The Washington PostCandidates in Ukraines presidential elections have ended formal campaigning ahead of Sundays vote, one of the most unpredictable in the countrys history.

According to electoral law, Saturday was formally designated a day of silence from campaigning and political advertising. But the leading candidates did what they had done throughout the campaign  pushed the rules to the extreme, and then some.

On Saturday morning, the incumbent Petro Poroshenko held a prayer morning on Saint Volodymyr Hill in Kiev. An official briefing by the presidential press-service said it was a non-campaign event being held for the wisdom and unity of the Ukrainian nation.

Meanwhile, television screens across the country flickered with the face of the campaigns surprise favourite, showman Volodymyr Zelensky.

None of the days programming on the national 1+1 TV channel formally referred to a presidential candidate  only Mr Zelenskys on-screen alter-ego Vasily Goloborodko and the narrator in a documentary about Ronald Reagan, an actor who happened to become president. But it was an audacious circumvention of the law that seemed to bear the clear imprint of Ihor Kolomoisky, the channels controversial oligarch owner and Zelensky backer.

At a campaign rally in western Ukraine on Thursday, Mr Poroshenko accused Mr Kolomoisky of funding his two main rivals, Mr Zelensky and Yulia Tymoshenko.

The Ukraine frontline  in pictures Show all 6 1 /6 The Ukraine frontline  in pictures The Ukraine frontline  in pictures A Ukrainian serviceman rests on the frontline in Shyrokyne, Ukraine. The sea side resort on the Azov seashore has been reduced to rubble after two and half years of artillery fire between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces Pierre Crom/Getty The Ukraine frontline  in pictures A Ukrainian serviceman walks in Shyrokyne Pierre Crom/Getty Images The Ukraine frontline  in pictures Camouflage netting and a Ukrainian flag in Shyrokyne Pierre Crom/Getty Images The Ukraine frontline  in pictures A warning board warns local fishers of the dangers of sea mines on the Azov sea Pierre Crom/Getty Images The Ukraine frontline  in pictures A Ukrainian serviceman patrols Pierre Crom/Getty Images The Ukraine frontline  in pictures A dog walking in an abandoned former movie theater Pierre Crom/Getty Images

He may have fled abroad, but he is moving two pieces on the election chessboard, Mr Poroshenko said.

Overall, voters will have to choose from a record 39 candidates.

Some are campaigning to raise their profiles. Others  like the ex-minister trying to find a wife  are campaigning to raise a laugh. The majority of the names seem to be filler candidates, funded by leading candidates with the aim of getting more representatives into sensitive monitor positions in polling stations. Or, alternatively, to confuse voters away from rivals (eg the candidacy of Yury Tymoshenko, whose name is nearly identical to Yulia Tymoshenko.

Only three of the list  Zelensky, Poroshenko and Tymoshenko  have a chance of making it through to the next round. And all of them have been accused of using dirty tricks.

If the campaign is anything to go by, the election will likely see a run-out of the most time-tested methods of voter manipulation, from bribing voters with pension payouts and cheap vegetables, to more brazen voting falsifications around the polling booths themselves.

A lot of attention has focused on the use of so called election grids (setki), in which on-ground agitators are paid to recruit supporters to a candidates cause. Political experts surveyed by The Independent suggested such schemes could sway the vote by between 5-10 per cent.

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The practice is illegal under Ukrainian law, but opponents have accused Mr Poroshenko of rolling out the scheme on a mass scale in order to rescue his presidential bid.

Last week, Ms Tymoshenko directly accused Mr Poroshenko of imitating Ukraines disgraced former president Viktor Yanukovych by buying votes with 1,000 hyrivna (30) payments to agitators.

According to Arsen Avakov, the nationalistic interior minister who has been manoeuvring himself as an unlikely guardian of Ukraines election, Mr Poroshenkos campaign has accounted for 60 per cent of verified election violations. But Ms Tymoshenkos campaign is hardly squeaky clean either, responsible for most of the remaining 40 per cent.

Frontrunner Mr Zelenskys campaign has not been associated with more of the cruder, and more expensive, manipulation techniques. This is likely as much a consequence of more limited campaign resources. But their choice of novel manipulation techniques  including the use of the candidates televisual reach to project his fictional character at the expense of opponents  raises other questions.

 Donald Trump Ukraine imposing martial law: 'we do not like what's happening'

Major violations on the day are unlikely to go unnoticed, with civil society organisations closely monitoring the voting process.

But the participation of militarised groups raises the spectre of a different type of scrutiny. Nearly 400 members of the National Militia, an ultra-nationalist movement, for example, have registered as monitors of the vote. They have promised to seize ballot boxes if they detect cheating.

Others have speculated that Ms Tymoshenko may bring out her loyal supporter base in a new Maidan protest if, as expected, she is pushed into third place, behind Mr Zelensky and Mr Poroshenko, and out of a second-round run-off scheduled for 21 April. On a talk show on Friday, Ms Tymoshenko distanced herself from such reports.

I know that the situation is being pumped up aggressively  talk about new Maidans, uprisings, military confrontations, she said. I can say that there will be nothing of the sort.

Mr Avakov has said his ministry had a battle plan to keep order on Sunday, including fast reaction patrols and a police presence at every polling station. Overall 78,000 police officers and 130,000 interior ministry officials will be employed on the day.Alexander Hug says he never expected the Ukrainian conflict would develop into a prolonged war.

The former face of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine  and for a long time one of very few straightforward actors in the unscrupulous spaces of Ukraines war zone  Mr Hug initially only signed up to the job for six months.

Had he known the stint would last for a fraught five years, he says, he would not have gone near it.

Now, he says he fears another five years of conflict would entrench war in the lives of the youngest generation  and is urging Ukraines presidential hopefuls to show much greater clarity about what they plan to do about it.

Unfortunately, I havent seen anything in any of their positions that recognises the new reality that has developed in the east, he says. Whoever wins these elections will have to deal with these issues. They have to think about what happens the day the guns go silent.

In the course of the election campaign, the three leading candidates have offered high rhetoric, but scarce detail about how to end a war that has cost upwards of 13,000 lives.

Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Show all 32 1 /32 Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists of opposition parties burn flares during a rally demanding to break an agreement with Russia on the use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait, in front of the parliament building in Kiev Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps light flares during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev after Russia seized two of their armored artillery vessels and a tug boat in the Black Sea AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian Nationalists demand to break the diplomatic relations with Russia and nationalization of Russian property in Ukraine EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian activists burn flares during their rally in front of Russian Consulate in Kharkiv EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Seized Ukrainian ships, small armoured artillery ships and a tug boat, are seen anchored in a port of Kerch Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, announced, on 25 November, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council that they will introduce martial law in Ukraine for a period of 60 days and appeal to the Parliament to consider the move Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Russia seized two small-sized 'Berdiansk' and 'Nikopol' armored artillery boats. The 'Yany Kapu' tugboat has forcibly been stopped Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Children from an orphanage volunteer to help the city defenders strengthen trenches on Ukraine's Army positions near the village of Rybatske 25 km from Mariupol AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Policemen guard at Russian consulate during a protest action in the Black Sea Ukrainian city of Odessa AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 With relations still raw after Russias annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the capture of three Ukrainian naval vessels risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict. Graphic explains how the naval incident unfolded on a map Graphic News Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists of far-right parties burn flares in front of the parliament building in Kiev during a rally to support the Ukrainian navy Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A Ukraine army APC moves toward on position at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian Nationalists sign a banner with a slogan reading like 'Not retreat and not surrendering!' EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists glue Ukrainian flag on the fence of Russian consulate AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A volunteer with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A National Guard serviceman extinguishes a torch thrown by a protester during a rally against the seizure by Russian special forces of three of the Ukrainian navy ships Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A protester throws a smoke grenade during a rally in front of the embassy of Russia in Kiev AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Protestors set up paper ships on the tires during their rally near of Russian embassy building in Kiev EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A man extinguishes a burning car of the embassy of Russia Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Paper boats are seen placed during a protest Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA

Petro Poroshenko is officially committed to the February 2016 Minsk peace accords. It is a deal which delivers a ceasefire in name and a roadmap of reintegration, but which both Ukraine and Russian-backed forces seem resigned to ignore. The president has also campaigned strongly on tough military credentials, and presented himself as the only candidate able to push back on Russian aggression.

The other two frontrunners, Volodymyr Zelensky and Yulia Tymoshenko, seem to suggest a different, if untested approach. Both have talked in vague terms about a new deal based on the unratified 1994 Budapest referendum, where Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom were supposed to guarantee Ukraines territorial integrity in exchange for it dropping nuclear weapons.

It isnt clear how the alternative is supposed to work, says Hug.

The former chief monitor, who played a part in drafting the Minsk accords, says Minsk remained the best technical basis to end the war. But the accords were at best an interim agreement for an emerging conflict. New work is required to make them relevant again, he contends.

We probably need an add-on to Minsk given how much reality has moved on inside the conflict zone, he says. Not a replacement, but a new holistic vision that doesnt just concentrate on the security aspect, but on many of the other conflicts that are stacking up.

The ongoing isolation of the conflict zone, and physical and emotional scars of war, threaten to create new divisions between people living either side of the contact lines, he says. Despite the assertions of Russian propaganda, the differences didnt exist before 2014, but the direction of travel now meant that the worst predictions of the propaganda risk coming true.

In his time as OSCEs man on the ground in eastern Ukraine, Hug made several interventions in support of the beleaguered populations living near the contact line.

In particular, he will be remembered for his actions in the seaside town of Shyrokyne in early 2015. For weeks, local residents hadnt seen an end to fighting despite a ceasefire; it hadnt happened because both sides were worried that halting fire would see the other gain ground. Hug arrived in town and put his body quite literally on the line, appearing between the two armies to ensure they stopped fighting.

A former Swiss military officer, Hug says would often delve into lessons he learned as an officer in Bosnia in the 1990s and later as part of a monitoring mission in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

We probably need an add-on to the Minsk agreement given how much reality has moved on inside the conflict zone Ex deputy head of the OSCE Ukraine Special Monitoring Mission Alexander Hug

But the Donbass experience was more intense than the worst bouts of either of those conflicts, he said. His time in office saw one of his monitoring team killed, blown up by a mine, and at one point he was stuck for three and a half hours hours in ferocious crossfire that saw 40 mortars explode around his convoy and shrapnel destroy one of the armoured vehicles. That was the worst moment, he says.

But, he says, aspects of this conflict make its resolution much simpler than others.

There are no differences in religion and so far there are no irrevocable differences in worldview between the populations, he says.

Of course, the longer the war goes on, the harder it will be to unwind. The danger is that the conflict will be maintained not by bullets but by an entire generation who only know war.

Ending the fighting was the simplest part of the jigsaw requiring political decisions mostly in Moscow, but also Kiev, he says. Bringing people together was much harder.

Hug refuses to be drawn on how long either stage would take.

At the beginning, I made predictions based on reasonable people making reasonable decisions given whats at stake, he says. I thought someone would stand up and make themselves heard. But I was proven wrong.Israeli soldiers have killed at least four Palestinians, three of them minors, as violence flared along the border between Gaza and Israel during rallies to mark the anniversary of year-long protests against a crippling blockade on the Strip.

Gazas health ministry said Mohammed Saad, 20, died from shrapnel wounds after coming under fire from Israeli forces early in the morning. Three 17-year-olds, named locally as Adham Emara, Tamer Abu-Kheir and Bilal Najjar, were later killed by Israeli fire during the rallies.

Save the Children said that the deaths of the three teens raised the total death toll of children to over 50 since the marches erupted in March 2018.

Over 300 people were also injured on Saturday, including 86 children, 29 women and six journalists.

The Israeli army said 40,000 rioters and demonstrators had gathered at several locations along the fence on Saturday hurling stones and setting fire to tyres. The army added that some had thrown grenades and explosive devices at the security border.

Gunfire crackled as groups of youth wielding flags dashed towards the heavily fortified fence, while some threw stones with slingshots. Tear gas canisters rained down into the crowds, while some were dropped overhead by drones. Later in the afternoon, small groups set fire to tyres, sending plumes of black smoke into melee.

Paramedics on the front line at Malaka, east Gaza, told The Independent that they had begun receiving several people injured with live bullet wounds to their legs from the early afternoon.

Dr Diaa Abu Hussein, head of the emergency medical services in the area, said that at least one journalist and one medic had been hit.

Two of our ambulances were targeted directly with tear gas directly, he said. We have received several live bullet wounds to the lower limbs.

Protestors gather near the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP)

Many had feared Saturdays rallies would be the crescendo to a year of violence that has seen over 260 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, and tens of thousands wounded in the weekly protests.

According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the injuries have sparked a slow motion medical crisis in the besieged enclave which has struggled to treat the influx of gunshot wounds.

Save the Children urged the Israeli army to revise its rules of engagement related to the use of live fire against minors, saying that over 50 children had been killed, 6,000 injured and 21 had their limbs amputated over the last 12 months.

Since March 2018, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have marched towards Israel each week, protesting against a 12-year Israeli blockade and demanding the right to return to their lands they were forced from during the conflict which surrounded the creation of Israel in the 1940s.

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Over half of Gazas 2.2 million population live under the poverty line, while youth unemployment has soared past 65 per cent and is one of the highest in the world. The United Nations has warned the 25-mile besieged enclave will be uninhabitable by 2020.

The UN has also accused Israels army of committing possible war crimes for targeting children, medics and journalists with sniper fire. The military has defended its use of force saying the protesters have launched incendiary kites and explosives over the border threatening Israeli civilians who live nearby.

At the marches, protesters, injured in previous rallies or wars, headed towards the gunfire, chanting as they held their crutches aloft. Families with small children had also gathered, in spite of the dangers.

I lost my leg, my home and my entire family in the 2008 war and have been unable to find work since then which is why Im here, said Mahmoud Moussa, 30, from Gaza City who was a tiler before his right leg was amputated.

Living here is worse than being buried underground. Gaza is a like a big prison. I swear the protests would stop if they lifted the blockade and we could find some work, he added.

 Great March of Return: Injured Gazans still receiving rehabilitation treatment one year on from protest

To his right a family from Shujaiyya in northeast Gaza were clambering down sandbanks in the rain. The youngest, just five years old, was crying from the tear gas.

I have six children, I have no job, I rely on donations and aid. My eldest daughter is 11 and has lived through three wars already. That cant be normal, said Salem Salam, 40, the father.

We are dying a slow and miserable death. It is better to demand our rights and get it over and done with.

The conflict has piled pressure on the two warring sides at a fraught time. Over the last week tensions reached breaking point, after a long-range rocket fired from Gaza destroyed a family home in central Israel on Monday, injuring seven people including a baby.

Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Show all 9 1 /9 Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent Gaza protests: Wounded patients being treated at MSF clinic Bel Trew/The Independent

Israel, who blamed Hamas the militant group that controls the Strip, launched retaliatory airstrikes. Armed factions within Gaza, fired back with rockets.

An Egyptian security delegation furiously shuttled between the two sides to nail down a ceasefire in time for the mass rallies over the weekend, fearing a bloody day at the border might spill into another war.

No formal agreement was reached before the protests began. However, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, who attended the Malaka rally, told The Independent a message had been sent via the Egyptians that protesters would be peaceful as long as Israel held their fire.

He called Saturdays rallies a test that would determine Hamass response to Israel in the coming weeks.

A Palestinian protester waves the national flag near the border with Israel east of Gaza City (AFP/Getty)

Based on todays reaction we will decide what to do in the coming days. We dont want a war, we are defending ourselves ... the one who has the control to end this is Israel, he added.

Hamas had sent out text messages to people on local mobile networks warning the youth on the border not to approach the fences to avoid enemy traps. At the marches, men on loud speakers repeated the warning to those heading to the front.

Abdel-Salem Haniyeh, the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was also at the protests and said they would remain peaceful depending on Israels response.

We dont want a war but it depends on the Israelis, he told The Independent.

From the first, the main achievement of these rallies is to make it clear to the world that there is a problem here that we have a right to return to our lands, he added.It is eight years since I attended a protest in the West Bank where unarmed Palestinian activist Mustafa Tamimi was killed after being shot in the face with a tear-gas canister at close range by the Israeli army. Horrified by the brutal injustice of his death, I attended Mustafas funeral days later. I witnessed the Israeli army shoot the tear gas canisters that killed Mustafa at his grieving family, as they mourned at his graveside.

It often feels that so little has changed since then, and that only the list of Palestinian dead has grown longer. Israel continues to kill Palestinians with impunity, and I never cease to be outraged by the British governments shameful diplomatic silence and its failure to condemn the Israeli government for its actions.

In the last year alone, the Israeli state has killed 194 Palestinians, including 41 children, during the weekly Great March of Return protests that began in Gaza on 30 March 2018. Although a UN report has now suggested that Israels actions could constitute war crimes, UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt abstained on a vote at the UN last month that would have held Israel responsible for its intentional use of lethal force against civilian protesters.

The most infamous of these civilian deaths was that of Razan al-Najjar, a 21-year-old nurse who was shot in the chest by the Israeli army while wearing her white medics uniform as she attended to injured protestors in the Gaza strip.

Britains failure to condemn this potential war crime has undoubtedly further emboldened the Israeli state. This week, Israel killed another medic; teenage volunteer medic Sajid Muzher was shot in the abdomen while giving medical attention to protestors in a Bethlehem refugee camp. Young enough to be a student in the sixth form at the school I teach at, Sajids death hangs particularly heavy in my mind.

Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Show all 10 1 /10 Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Fire and smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Smoke rises above buildings in Rafah in the Gaza Strip following Israeli airstrikes AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinians are reflected in a mirror as they stand by the rubble of the office of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip A Palestinian stands by the rubble of the office of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinian boys watch as others inspect a mosque that was damaged in a nearby Israeli air strike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect their home after it was damaged in a nearby Israeli air strike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AP Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinian men point to an insurance sign amid the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Gaza City in the late afternoon on March 25 shortly before Israel launched airstrikes in the city AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Fire and smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AP

The failures of this government to intervene in these crimes only highlights how important a grassroots Palestinian solidarity movement truly is. After all, we must never forget that while it was Thatchers Conservative government who supported South African apartheid to the very end, it was ordinary British people who stood in solidarity with the struggle of South Africans in their fight for equal rights and freedom for all.

Just like South Africa then, the UKs solidarity movement has repeatedly shown that many people in this country will refuse to stand on the sidelines as the British government allows Israels actions to go unchecked.

Tens of thousands of protestors marched through London in 2009 after 400 Palestinians were killed by Israels Operation Cast Lead offensive. In 2014, these demonstrations had grown exponentially; the killing of 1,900 Palestinians in the Gaza strip saw 150,000 people take to Londons streets once again.

Yet the UKs Palestinian solidarity movement has been noticeably muted in recent months; demonstrations outside Downing Street last year in solidarity with Gazas Great March of Return saw only around 2,000 activists in attendance, and a protest outside the Israeli embassy this weekend is likely to be much the same size.

There could of course be a myriad of reasons why this is the case. But it is increasingly clear that the antisemitism crisis that has rocked the Labour Party in recent months has deflated the confidence of Labour Party members like me who would have previously taken part in mass demonstrations against Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories.

This is not to deny, of course, the very real, abhorrent cases of antisemitism that do exist within Labour, which must be vociferously challenged. But many now feel that these have become even more difficult to root out because of the way antisemitism has often been conflated with anti-Zionism by those who seek to shut down legitimate criticisms of the Israeli state.

The Palestinian solidarity movement must not be afraid to speak out in the face of such attacks. We need more grassroots actions like those taken by members at the Labour Party conference in 2018, when the hall was filled with delegates waving Palestinian flags and chanting Free Palestine as a motion was passed unanimously agreeing to freeze arms sales to Israel, were a Corbyn government to be elected.

Corbyn himself could make a bold statement if he agreed to speak at a national demonstration in London on Saturday 11 May, just as he did in 2009 and 2014 before being elected Labours leader. This could reaffirm Corbyns long-standing commitment to Palestinians liberation, and generate the confidence needed to build a mass solidarity movement once again.

As Palestinians in Gaza take to the streets this weekend to mark the anniversary of the Great March of Return, Israel is unlikely to respond with either caution or restraint, making the UKs grassroots solidarity movement as important as ever. We must never underestimate the powerful message this international solidarity sends to Palestinians struggling everyday against their oppressors.Dancing in the dark: Theresa May arrives onstage to the sound of Abba at the Tory party conference last year in Birmingham.

British Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that the UK would leave the EU on March 29 more than 100 times. Brexit D-Day came and went and it hasn't left yet. The 1,010 days since the Brexit referendum have been marked by many bizarre moments. Here are 10 of the strangest.

1. The Referendum itself

Pundits were flabbergasted by the result of the June 2016 vote. While the tiny British territory of Gibraltar announced first with a 96pc vote to stay in the EU, it was a freak result and Remainers looked on with horror as the night wore on.

The writing was on the wall when it was announced Sunderland voted Leave by 61pc.

2. The Tory Leadership Race

David Cameron's resignation sparked a bitter contest. The favourite, Boris Johnson, ultimately didn't run and Michael Gove - who denied stabbing Mr Johnson in the back by entering the race himself - was eliminated early. It came down to Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May. Mrs May was the last one standing.

3. 'Brexit means Brexit'

Mrs May had promised that "Brexit means Brexit" and she set out her vision on how it would play out in her Lancaster House speech. She set out red lines of leaving the single market and customs union, denying herself wriggle-room in later talks.

4. Disastrous snap election

Mrs May lost her Commons majority in June 2017 after her decision to hold a snap general election. It left her relying on DUP support, making passing the Brexit deal all the more difficult.

5. The 'bulletproof' backstop

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the UK government's commitment to avoid a hard Border in Ireland was "politically bulletproof" in December 2017. He may have jumped the gun on that, with the so-called backstop - which hardline Brexiteers and the DUP oppose - causing much of the misery since.

6. Trump's Brexit interventions

Donald Trump - a pal of arch Brexiteer Nigel Farage - said as far back as 2016 the UK would be "better off" outside the EU. He has since indicated he wants an early trade deal with the UK. And Mr Trump has been openly critical of Mrs May's approach to talks most recently during his Oval Office meeting with Mr Varadkar earlier this month.

7. May's bizarre conferences

At the Conservative Party conference in 2017, she suffered the indignity of being handed a P45 by a prankster and coughed through most of her speech. Last year, she danced on stage to the tune of Abba's 'Dancing Queen', poking fun at her own awkward dance moves during a trip to Africa.

8. Coveney, Ross and the border

In January, the Irish Independent revealed how Tanaiste Simon Coveney warned Transport Minister Shane Ross not to discuss the possibility of Border checks in Ireland in public.

Mr Ross had bungled a question and their subsequent conversation was caught on tape.

9. 'Special Place in Hell'

European Council President Donald Tusk questioned in February if there was a "special place in hell" for those who promoted Brexit without a plan.

Mr Varadkar, who was with him at the press conference at the time noted Mr Tusk would get in "terrible trouble" with the British press for the intervention. He wasn't wrong.

10. Westminster Chaos

Mrs May cancelled a vote on her Withdrawal Agreement at the last minute in December.

As the clock ticks down to Brexit, it subsequently failed to pass three House of Commons votes - the latest being yesterday.

There have also been failures to pass indicative votes to support a second referendum, Britain staying in the Customs Union, or leaving without a deal. Ahead of the most recent vote, 'Newsnight' political editor Nicholas Watt asked one UK cabinet minister why it was being held if it wouldn't pass. The response: "F*** knows. I'm past caring, it's like the living dead in here."Ireland is more than four times exposed to the effects of Brexit than the median of 21 countries ranked by rating agency Standard & Poor's, but there is a silver lining amid the economic clouds.

Most economic forecasters say there will be a big hit to the economy this year with growth slowing dramatically to the region of 1pc-1.5pc from 6.7pc in 2018, and the ratings agency sees a "sizeable shock" due to close economic links.

However, S&P highlighted in a report that some of the upsides of Brexit have already started to emerge as the process has unfolded.

These upside may accelerate if the UK does leave the European Union, especially if there is a no-deal Brexit with no transition period.

Around 4,000 jobs have been created by businesses relocating here, often in the high-paying finance sector from firms such as Barclays which has established its European HQ in Dublin.

That trend could accelerate and while the economic shock from a no-deal Brexit will be severe, the departure of the only other English-speaking country from the European Union will likely see Ireland grab yet more investment.

"We would expect that Ireland's highly flexible economy would reorient trade toward even larger trading partners, such as the remaining EU countries and the US," S&P said.

"We also think that Ireland is well placed to attract some of the foreign direct investment displaced from a post-Brexit UK, should UK-based financial subsidiaries and branches lose their coveted EU passporting rights, which currently enable them to sell financial services in the EU market," the ratings agency added.

Ireland has already weaned itself off export dependence on the UK.

In 1973 when the State joined what was then the EEC, 55pc of exports went to the UK - now that figure is less than 10pc. According to research from economists at the National Treasury Management Agency, the economy is now far more geared to the US cycle than any other.

The potential for higher levels of investment was highlighted earlier this week in a report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The think tank said Ireland would become more attractive to multinational companies once the UK loses tariff-free access to the EU market.

In aggregate terms, the gain from foreign direct investment could amount to around 26bn, which would represent an increase of 3.3pc over the current stock of Irish FDI, it said.

Gains from this would be concentrated in the computer, electronic and optical products industries and would boost exports by 2.8pc over 10 years, the ESRI said in its report.Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill (centre) attends a Border Communities Against Brexit protest on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald watches on between two mock customs officers as the Border Communities Against Brexit group hold a protest along the border (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A woman attends a Border Communities Against Brexit protest on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Border Communities Against Brexit holding protests on Old Belfast Road in Carrickcarnon on the northern side of the Irish border, between Newry and Dundalk Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

HUNDREDS of people have taken part in a number of mass demonstrations on the border in opposition to Brexit.

Border Communities Against Brexit organised the protests to mark the day after Britain had been due to leave the European Union.

Border demonstrations took place along a number of crossing points in Co Tyrone, Co Louth, Co Donegal, Co Fermanagh, Co Cavan and Co Monaghan.

Demonstrators set up a mock check-point on the Old Dublin Road in Carrickcarnon which was manned by people dressed as customs officers.

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The road was closed to members of the public as protesters carried anti-Brexit placards and EU flags.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald was joined by party vice-president Michelle O'Neill and Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein Assembly member Conor Murphy.

Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon warned a crash Brexit is "increasingly likely".

He said: "A border in the past meant this road was closed for over 40 years and this community was divided.

"We won't allow the very hard right-wing Tories and the ERG (European Research Group) and especially the DUP to destroy this community and bring us back to days when this was an economic wasteland."

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Around 300 people gathered at the border on a road that was closed during the Troubles.

Many similar protests were staged on various border points between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Colin Harvey, a professor of human rights law at Queen's University Belfast School of Law, said he is against any attempt to "undermine or attack" the Good Friday Agreement.

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He said: "We have long experience of people trying to put walls in our way and we take them down.

"If anybody attempts to put barriers on this island again they are coming down. Any obstacles on this island will be removed.

"We as a society are used to people putting up mountains for us to climb and we will continue to climb them. There will be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

"We are going to be the generation who ends the major division on this island, who can achieve the unification of our own country and we are going to get there."

Ms McDonald said: "We are at a very dangerous moment where we inch ever closer to the real possibility of a crash and a chaotic Brexit.

"At this stage people should understand how serious that would be for all of us.

"The reality is that Brexit in any form is a disaster for the island of Ireland."

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She also accused the DUP of being "seduced" by Westminster.

She added: "The people who live in the north of Ireland wish to continue in a society that is someway prosperous, that's stable and many people identify not just as Irish but also as Europeans. They did not consent to Brexit.

"They will never, never, never give up on that point either."

Local student Aine Quinn, who lives along the border, said Brexit will bring economic chaos to the area.

She said: "Yesterday was supposed to be Brexit day and today we are no clearer on what that means than we were three years ago.

"What we do know is that there are no good outcomes for us. The British Government tried to dismiss us as a small issue among other big issues.

"The main problem for me and my community is the free movement of people, whether to work, study or trade."Theresa May has tumbled to defeat yet again, despite the EU setting out the consequences of that choice in the clearest possible manner. The door to an orderly exit by May 22 following the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement is now officially closed.

Given the scale of the defeat, we are therefore on to the next stage, which was announced by Donald Tusk, the European Council president, who will convene an emergency meeting of EU leaders on April 10 to ascertain the next steps. That is two days before the April 12 deadline - but in practice, say senior EU diplomatic sources, the real deadline for British decisions is Monday, April 8, to give time to circulate paperwork around EU capitals and ambassadors. Time is tight.

There has been an audible disconnect in recent weeks between Brussels and London over the likelihood of no deal - with Brussels repeating that it is the most likely outcome, but Westminster feeling much more sanguine given the size of majority opposing it in the House. But next week, we will see how able and willing the UK parliament is to take the necessary steps to avoid a hard exit on April 12, by requesting a long Article 50 extension period.

That starts with agreeing to hold EU elections on May 23, but that in and of itself will not be sufficient. As the European Council conclusions from earlier this month stated, the UK must also "indicate a way forward". In other words, there needs to be a plan.

EU sources have hinted that the threshold for that plan is reasonably low, but that does not mean it is non-existent.

There are hardline voices in the European Council, led by the powerful figure of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who are deeply uncertain of the wisdom of a long extension.

The indicative votes in the UK parliament this week did not create a clear majority for any other option, and given the infighting between the soft Brexit factions, there is absolutely no guarantee of clarity emerging next week. Or if it did, whether Mrs May or a caretaker Tory prime minister could back a deal which is essentially a Labour Brexit with minority Tory backing - a red Brexit, with a dash of blue. Not the other way round.

If paralysis continues, there is then the prospect - even presuming the UK parliament has accepted the need to hold EU elections - that the prime minister arrives in Brussels a week on Wednesday with nothing.

The only clear "plan" is for the Tories to use a longer transition period in order to have a leadership contest - and probably elect a harder-line Brexiteer prime minister who would likely need to have a general election. In short, months more chaos and uncertainty. That remains a deeply unattractive proposition to many in the EU, and for businesses that have made no-deal plans and closed early for holidays, for example.

At the same time, the prospect of an EU member state in political freefall that is also in the process of looking to exit the EU raises fears of "infection" in the EU political processes at a time when the EU is looking to reform itself. As European Parliamentary elections loom there will also be influential voices, including perhaps Mr Macron, wondering if a clear display of the costs of populism might not hurt their chances at the polls.

This is a scenario in which even powerful allies of the UK, like Angela Merkel, may not be able to hold the line against those arguing the prudent course for Europe is to cut the cord. The European Council is not a rubber-stamp. Despite its hefty majority against a no deal, parliament needs to understand it is much closer to the no-deal cliff-edge than it realises.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]An Grianan is the largest working organic arable farm in Ireland at 2,400 acres

When the biggest organic farm in the country went on the market a few years back, it caught the attention of high-profile buyers from near and afar.

In the end, the Donegal farm, An Grianan, was purchased for 17.4m in 2017 by a young farmer, Karol McElhinney (39), who was born and bred just a short trip down the road in Ballybofey.

Located at Speenoge, Burt, the land was reclaimed from Lough Swilly in the 1970s by a Dutchman, making it the largest working organic arable farm in Ireland at 2,400 acres.

It was on the nearby Glenmore Estate that Karol set up his highly successful renewable energy business that has seen him create eco-friendly fuel and fertilisers.

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His interest in farming dates back to his childhood spent visiting his grandfather's farm.

"I didn't grow up on a farm - my father worked with my uncle in his drapery business. My grandfather had about 30 acres of land and for as long as I can remember, I just loved farming and always wanted to own land and livestock," he says.

When Karol bought An Grianan, it was already an organic farm, and he made the decision to retain its organic status.

"I embraced the challenge and also converted Glenmore Estate to organic production. Our main business focus at Glenmore is renewable energy and as organic farming is a complementary discipline, it seemed like an obvious fit," he says.

Organic trends

European organic farms are, on average, twice the size of conventional farms, and organic farmers tend to be considerably younger, so in this respect, Karol is on trend with the organic movement.

In 2017, there was an increase of one million hectares of land being farmed organically in the European Union. With An Grianan and Glenmore Estate combined, Karol is farming 1,163ha, which presents many challenges.

"Farming on this scale lends itself to adopting the most innovative technologies available, and the integration of the renewable energy facilities coupled with production systems of the farm allows us operate a farming enterprise with a variety of different ecosystems," says Karol.

Certified by the Irish Organic Association (IOA), the reclaimed land at An Grianan is low-lying and flat and houses the organic dairy unit, which is beside Inch Lake and Inch Wildlife Reserve, with a National Parks and Wildlife office also on the farm.

All farmyard waste manure is removed from the farm and processed through an anaerobic digester unit before being spread on the land, thus significantly reducing any risk to the nearby lake. The dairy herd are Holstein, crossed with Fleckvieh and Danish Reds.

"Most organic dairy herds are crossbreeds, as pure dairy breeds are not always suitable for organic conditions, especially with lower levels of concentrates being fed as required in organic farming," says Karol.

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"By cross breeding, we obtain good hybrid vigour; our annual yields are in the region of 7,000 litres, with cows having between 7-10 lactations. In organic farming, the focus is on the welfare of the animal and sustainability of the entire farming system.

"We AI the cows and use sexed semen to reduce the male calves born into the dairy operation. This helps with our climate mitigation strategy and keeps the production unit as efficient as possible."

Like other organic dairy farms, the aim is to produce as much milk as possible from the cheaper sources, such as grass and forage, and they average 4,120l from the herd annually.

"We are planning to build a custom-designed housing unit with a focus on animal welfare, increasing space to roam around and allowing cows to express their natural behaviour by giving them access to milking robots whenever they choose.

"Animals will also be able to roam freely into sheds for shelter as required."

Milk is destined for the north-west processor Aurivo.

The nearby Glenmore Estate is in conversion to organic production with the IOA and is home to the beef and sheep enterprises.

"We focus on breeds that make sense for this area - for the more upland areas, you need animals that are good on their feet, so we have a flock of pure Lanark ewes, which are a prolific and vigorous breed," says Karol.

"Their coats shelter them from extreme weather and they are very low maintenance, so therefore work well in an organic system. Our beef herd are Aberdeen Angus, once again a hardy breed with a carcase size ideal for market requirements."

They also use AI for the beef unit and, at this time of the year, use a Lely Robotic Vector feeder to feed the herd. Animals are weighed to establish proficiency of feed conversion and profitability for finishing stock.

"We are trying to introduce precision farming into all aspects of what we do to ensure efficiencies, which are important when farming at this scale," says Karol.

"We are aiming for self-sufficiency in terms of production and plan to have a closed system which we hope to achieve by the end of 2019.

"The next stage of the jigsaw is to expand our cereal production to ensure we produce as much feed as possible ourselves, which is challenging in Donegal as our growing season is considerably shorter. In organic systems, the aim is to be as self-sufficient in feed as possible and our goal is to reduce reliance on external inputs."

Biodiversity

Ecology is one of the core principles of organic farming and individual farms are encouraged to attain ecological balance through the design of farming systems, establishment of habitats and maintenance of genetic and agricultural diversity.

Karol is working with the IOA to design a tailor-made 10-year biodiversity plan to enhance the unique ecosystems located around the farm.

"The project will focus on the wider agro-ecological environment, including enhancement of diverse agricultural landscapes, biodiversity, climate, air and water. While this is outside the scope of certification, we are very excited about this plan and feel that it will make a real difference to the ecological performance of our land," he says.

The farm includes 3,000 acres of forestry, a mix of premier woodland and silvo-pastoral agro-forestry. There is a 10-year plan in place to improve the extensive hedging network across the farm, coupled with the introduction of agro-forestry to provide improved shelter belts and nesting habitats.

"In the interest of health and safety, we obtained a licence from the Department to cut hedgerows and remove some trees at An Grianan, which did attract some negative press. Last year at Glenmore, we planted almost 60,000 trees, including 700 mature trees, and this year we are starting an extensive planting programme at An Grianan in line with increasing biodiversity on both farms," says Karol.

In agreement with the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), over 400ac of grazing land is set aside from October 15 to April 15 every year to overwintering greylag geese and whooper swans, who travel over 1,500km to make it their home.

"From the roadside, it looks like sheep grazing, but when you get up close, you are amazed to see this flock of birds tirelessly grazing the land. We get lots of people stopping by to watch them in action," says Karol.

"From a management point of view, it works well for us in an organic system as they are great at eating slugs, worms and weeds."

Rural economies

Karol employs over 70 people from the local area to work in the farming and renewable energy company.

"We have a great dedicated team on board to help achieve our varied goals, and they contribute to a dynamic sense of community in the business," he explains.

His wife Chantelle, also a Ballybofey native, works off farm as a nurse. She has an interest in horses and keeps 20 mares at Glenmore Estate.

"Chantelle has established a sport horse breeding programme," says Karol. "She has sourced mares from all over Europe. Our emphasis is on quality and we aim to breed high-class foals to sell at weaning.

"Last year, we had foals by For Pleasure, Cornet Obolensky, Diamante de Semilly, to name a few. They were sold all over the world and we are excited to see how that will develop."

Currently, they are preparing to apply for planning permission to build a farm shop to sell a range of organic products direct to the public.

"As part of our business plan, we looked at traffic volume and over 25,000 cars pass An Grianan every day, so we feel that there is a market there to supply our organic meat and additional organic products.

"Being so close to the border, there are real concerns with =, and we really don't know what will happen so it is in our interest to try to build a sustainable business selling local product to local people, operating a birth-to-fork system."Independent News & Media (INM) has announced profits of 24.1m for 2018, ahead of market expectations, with CEO Michael Doorly saying the group is moving to introduce a paid model for some online news potentially from the end of 2019.

However, the results also show a number of one-off costs including 3.5m of legal bills associated with investigations by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) and the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).

Mr Doorly said he expects the ongoing cost of engaging with those processes to be lower this year - in the 2m to 3m range - with fewer court dates anticipated. INM's directors' and officers' liability insurance will also limit the financial impact, he said.

Speculation in the market that INM itself could be a target for takeover by a larger European media business was prompted by its low share price, Mr Doorly said. There was no indication major shareholders were minded to sell, he added.

Financial results for 2018 published yesterday show INM recorded a profit before tax of 24.1m for the 12 months to the end of December 2018, beating expectations but down 15.4pc from 2017.

INM is the biggest private sector media business on the island of Ireland, with titles including Independent.ie, the Irish Independent, 'Sunday Independent', 'Sunday World' and 'Belfast Telegraph'. The 3.5m in legal costs are linked to the high-profile investigations currently underway into INM by the ODCE and DPC, prompted by whistleblower allegations about corporate governance at board level in INM and alleged data leaks.

"The company is co-operating with the inspectors and the DPC in their respective investigations," the results state.

INM's total revenues last year were 191m, down 2.1pc. The fall was primarily driven by a decline in total print and online advertising revenues of 8.8pc, a 6.3pc decline in circulation revenues and a decline in commercial printing revenues. However, distribution revenue increased by 26.5pc, and INM clocked up better revenues in its classified businesses, led by CarsIreland.ie where revenues grew by 18.2pc and margins improved.

CarsIreland's model can be replicated for other segments of the market, Mr Doorly said. In addition, INM plans to introduce a subscription model for its digital products - including paywalls for some content - which is to be in place in the last quarter of 2019 or early 2020.

INM chairman Murdoch MacLennan said the business had made progress implementing a new strategy dubbed INM@21.

"We have recorded a financial performance for 2018 ahead of market expectations and I can assure you that despite the challenges facing the industry the board and senior executive team of your group are both determined and confident that we are heading in the right direction to build a sustainable business for the future and to create shareholder value," he said.Property prices in the capital were flat over the last year, according to a leading estate agency.

DNG said its latest quarterly market report found that average prices in Dublin rose by just 0.9pc in value in the year to this month.

Prices were unchanged in the first three months of the year.

Apartment values across the city increased only marginally in the three months to March.

Over the last year the price of apartments is up 1.4pc, according to the DNG House Price Gauge.

The estate agency said the data continues a trend of moderation in the rate of growth that has been evident over the last few months.

Central Bank lending limits were cited as the main reason prices have stagnated in the capital. They have risen so much over the past few years that buyers can no longer afford to borrow enough to buy them.

A greater supply of new homes is also depressing prices. However, starter homes favoured by first-time buyers saw stronger price appreciation than the average, driven by strong demand.

The report highlights how homes in Dublin valued up to 300,000 increased by 3.3pc over the last year.

Properties over the 500,000 level only increased by 0.1pc over the same period.

Homes valued above that level remain 44pc below their peak level.

On the other hand, properties priced between 300,000 and 500,000 have recovered approximately 75pc of their value.

Only west Dublin saw an increase in values during the first quarter, with other areas of the city recording small decreases in the period.

Chief executive of DNG Keith Lowe explained that there are two primary factors influencing demand and prices in the resale market.

These are the Central Bank's mortgage lending rules and the increase in new dwelling completions across the capital.

DNG said we are now in a period of price stabilisation in the Dublin residential market.FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg has admitted the social media giant has too much power over free speech and needs greater regulation.

In an article published in the Sunday Independent, Mr Zuckerberg has called on governments around the world to shoulder responsibility in regulating four key areas.

These include: harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.

Mr Zuckerberg said: People shouldnt have to rely on individual companies addressing these issues by themselves.

His comments come months after Facebook admitted it had taken large sums of money from foreign groups that tried to influence Irish voters before the countrys abortion referendum.

The company is now under increasing pressure to prevent its platform being misused by people interfering in elections.

In the piece in the Sunday Independent, also being published simultaneously in a number of other leading newspapers around the world, the Facebook founder writes: We need a more active role for governments and regulators. After focusing on these issues for the past two years, I think its important to define what roles we want companies and governments to play.

By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve whats best about it  the freedom for people to express themselves and entrepreneurs to build new things  while also protecting society from broader harms.

Addressing the issue of harmful content, he writes: We have a responsibility to keep people safe on our services. That means deciding what counts as terrorist propaganda, hate speech, and more. We continually review our policies with experts, but at our scale well always make mistakes and decisions people disagree with.

He added: Lawmakers often tell me we have too much power over speech, and frankly I agree. Ive come to believe that we shouldnt make so many important decisions about speech on our own. So were creating an independent body so people can appeal our decisions.

Were also working with governments, including French officials, on ensuring the effectiveness of content review systems.

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For the first time, the Facebook boss has also openly called for GDPR-style privacy rules to be replicated around the world.

But Mr Zuckerberg adds that regulation should also guarantee data portability which means if you share data with one service, you should be able to move it to another.

Facebook is no stranger to Europes year-old data privacy regulation. Ten of the 15 statutory inquiries launched in recent months under GDPR by Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon relate to Facebook or its subsidiaries, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The social media giants European operations and those of all of its divisions, are regulated in Ireland.

Mr Zuckerbergs move comes days after Facebook announced that it would require all political ads in the upcoming European Parliament elections to have a Paid For By sticker on each one.

The ads will also have to show information such as the campaign budget associated with an individual ad, how many people saw it and their age, location and gender.

Other tools aimed at protecting the integrity of the upcoming elections include the requirement for anyone running political adverts related to the elections to provide proof that they are in the country where the ads will be targeting Facebook users.

Addressing transparency, Mr Zuckerberg writes: Facebook already publishes transparency reports on how effectively we are removing harmful content, and he says I believe every major internet service should do this quarterly, because it is just as important as financial reporting.

He adds that he is looking forward to discussing these issues with lawmakers around the world.Defence: The suggestion that Mike Lynch was in the business of conning HP is unreal, his lawyer told Londons High Court. Photo: PA

Hewlett-Packard (HP) bought big data firm Autonomy with the aim of making it the centrepiece of a plan to transform HP from a computer and printer maker into a software-focused enterprise services firm, a shift that rival IBM had already pulled off.

But a year later HP wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8bn (7.8bn), saying it had uncovered serious accounting improprieties.

This has led it to pursue Britain's biggest-ever fraud case.

HP is suing Autonomy founder Dr Mike Lynch, once hailed as Britain's answer to Bill Gates, along with his former finance chief Sushovan Hussain for more than $5bn.

Dr Lynch denies any wrongdoing and says HP's mismanagement was responsible for the failure of the acquisition. Mr Hussain also denies any wrongdoing.

HP's lawyers told the court when the case opened this week that Autonomy had inflated its true value through a series of fraudulent transactions, such as selling hardware at a loss and so-called round-trip deals - a type of barter with no real commercial rationale - masterminded by Dr Lynch.

In his opening argument for Dr Lynch's defence, barrister Robert Miles QC said HP had only discovered a small number of historical deals which were said to have some or other wrongful feature, despite spending several years and huge sums of money on its search.

"All the deals now attacked were real commercial deals with real counterparties. The suggestion that Dr Lynch was in the business of conning HP is unreal," he told London's High Court.

"HP, on the other hand, was a vast but floundering company."

Dr Lynch also faces criminal fraud charges in the United States, which carry a maximum term of 20 years.

Mr Hussain has been convicted of fraud in a US case related to the deal.

A year after acquiring Autonomy, HP threw out CEO Leo Apotheker, the architect of the deal which was supposed to transform the computer and printer maker HP, one of Silicon Valley's original companies, into a more profitable group centred on business software and services.

Mr Apotheker was replaced by Meg Whitman, who planned to refocus the company on its core hardware strengths after an outcry from shareholders over the new strategy and a steep decline in HP's share price.

"Autonomy was left as HP's unwanted stepchild," said Mr Miles.

Both Mr Apotheker and Ms Whitman are expected to appear as witnesses in the London trial.

As the case opened on Monday, HP's lawyer Laurence Rabinowitz QC said the US company had been led to believe it was buying a fast-growing, pure software company.

He told the court that Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain had knowingly been involved in "widespread and systematic false accounting" to create a materially false picture of Autonomy's finances.

Autonomy had engaged in "revenue-pumping" by encouraging customers to buy its products in exchange for Autonomy buying goods from them that it did not need, restructuring deals to produce upfront licence fees, and covertly selling pure hardware not even programmed with its software at a loss, Mr Rabinowitz said. Dr Lynch's lawyer told the court that it was absurd to think the 53-year-old was making detailed, day-to-day accounting decisions.

Rather he relied on a finance department overseen by an audit committee and the company's auditors, Mr Miles said.

Mr Miles also said it was impossible to understand why Dr Lynch would have taken an executive position at HP after the deal if he really had committed a huge fraud with the United States company as its victim.

"The case that we're now hearing being advanced entails that Dr Lynch must have been monumentally dim and, as you'll see, there's no chance that he is," Mr Miles said.

Dr Lynch attended the court session but is not expected to be questioned until around July.

Mr Miles also told the court that the $5bn figure for which Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain are being sued was not based on HP's own commissioned audits, which had not found a basis for writing down Autonomy in the months after the acquisition.

Hewlett Packard Company in 2015 split into two separate publicly traded companies - HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

The case is expected to last until the end of the year.

ReutersThe cover of Irish author Niamh Boyce's new novel shows a group of cowled figures striding across a bleak winter landscape. It's reminiscent of A Handmaid's Tale, though the world in which this story is set is not an imagined future but an equally aberrant past.

The inspiration for Boyce's novel took place 600 years ago in Kilkenny, when a wealthy noblewoman by the name of Dame Alice Kytler was arrested and charged with witchcraft. The incident was unusual for the time. Witch-hunts would not become widespread for another two centuries in Europe, but Ireland was regarded as a godforsaken country, and Pope John XXII despatched Richard Ledrede here in 1317 with authority "to extirpate witchcraft and sorcery".

Bishop Ledrede was soon approached by the sons of a local knight, Sir John le Poer, who accused their stepmother, Alice, of poisoning their father and bewitching him to disinherit them. He was her fourth husband, and all three predecessors had died in mysterious circumstances, leaving their wealth and property to her. It was the ideal breeding ground for rumours of female wickedness.

In 1324, an inquisitorial court was set up to establish her guilt, and, since he was fanatically preoccupied with black magic, Ledrede duly found that Kytler was leader of a coven of witches, who held nocturnal meetings at which they sacrificed animals to summon demons. It was even said she had a familiar called Robin with whom she had sex.

The accusation of sexual intercourse with spirits was new for the time, but would become popular much later once the inquisition was in full swing. Controversially, Kytler and her fellow witches were tried under Canon Law, which permitted torture, rather than English Common Law, which treated witchcraft as just another criminal offence, and delays in getting approval for this move meant Kytler was able to escape to England, thanks to her wealth and powerful allies. Her suspected accomplices were not so lucky. The other members of the alleged coven were arrested and tortured. Naturally, all confessed. Some were whipped through the streets of Kilkenny; others banished and excommunicated; the only one to die was Petronelle de Meath, Kytler's maidservant.

She admitted under duress to consorting with devils, and, having refused an offer to recant and receive a lesser punishment, was burned at the stake for heresy on November 3 that year. In Her Kind, Petronelle and her daughter, Basilia, take turns to tell that tale.

In its concern for the mistreatment of vulnerable women in a male-dominated society, Her Kind covers some of the same thematic ground as Boyce's first award-winning novel, The Herbalist, which detailed the social threat posed by female sexuality in rural Ireland in the 1930s. This one showcases the same penchant for telling historical detail.

There is a particularly vivid portrait of mediaeval Kilkenny, divided as it was back then into the Gaelic "Irishtown" and the "Hightown" of the colonists. The wild innocence of the midsummer fair, with its "traders, jugglers, fortune tellers, dancers, hagglers, pipers and rhymers", is juxtaposed with a visit to the cathedral, where the bishop preaches of how witches "worshipped demons, performed obscene rites, spat on the Holy Cross... they also committed sodomy, bestiality and necromancy. There wasn't a whisper, the bishop had them in his thrall".

It's a superstitious country, of "banshees, ghost horses and changelings", and Petronelle imagines his invective as a "river of poison" coursing through the town, whilst never imagining that it will touch her, too. The women laugh at first when the absurd accusations begin, though, once arrested, Petronelle does begin to wonder if the greedy, scheming Kytler really is a sorceress.

Some supernatural elements would have livened up the book enormously, but of course there are no such things as witches. They only exist in the head of Ledrede, a somewhat one-dimensional villain, who, when he has carnal thoughts, wonders which of the local women has put them there. In one telling phrase, he wonders of women "what went on inside their heads and who had authority over it".

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Who has authority over the women's heads in this book is the novelist herself, who has free rein to bring them back to life. In that, she's not wholly successful. Nothing is known of Petronelle except her name and the date of her death, making her a promising blank canvass as a narrator, but Boyce fails even to provide a psychologically convincing explanation as to why she turned down a final chance to be spared, and the book, it must be admitted, does drag a little in places.

It's half over before Ledrede makes his entrance, and many of the more interesting parts of the Kilkenny witch trials are dealt with perfunctorily, with strands left undeveloped.

"Lies were hard to stem," notes the luckless Petronelle at one point. "They excited people more than the truth." In fact, the scholarly writing on this curious piece of Irish history is much richer and more engrossing than this slice of fictional resurrection really captures.My Tribe (RTE1) is a bilingual series that purports to tell you about different kinds of music and their devoted fans, but this week's first instalment came across more like a fashion shoot than anything else.

Rockabilly was its supposed subject, but I learned nothing about this early form of rock 'n' roll or its links to country music, rhythm and blues and bluegrass. Instead I got to see a lot of the frocks worn by rockabilly fan Sorcha, which were certainly eye-catching if somewhat beside the point.

However, the filmmakers were so taken by them and by the flash suits sported by Sorcha's hubby Christian that they kept showing us artful shots of the natty duo promenading about the town.

Sorcha, to be fair, did say that her reason for loving rockabilly was that it "instantly brightens your mood", but that was as insightful as the analysis got - aficionado Eamonn informing me that the music "touches you, it connects with you", while similarly smitten Jenny assured me that it "comes from the heart".

The fans also spoke fondly of Teddy boys, which was odd given that they were all too young to have had any recollection of them, but this was a film in which arcane fads were viewed as style accessories for a subsequent generation.

As for the music, ah shure, you can't have everything, even in a series that's supposedly about music.

And music was almost beside the point, too, in Slan Leis an gCeol (RTE1), despite the fact that its subject, accordionist Tony MacMahon, was one of the most celebrated exponents of traditional Irish music for nearly half a century. But the tunes played second fiddle here to the darker and bleaker notes being sounded in the musician's verbal utterances.

The problem, though, was that with no guiding narrator to provide information and lend context, the viewer had to try and piece the story together from what MacMahon was telling us, which was presented to us in bemusingly fragmented form.

So did the musician, who is 80 this year, suffer from Parkinson's or, as he told Joe Duffy on Liveline in 2015, was it something else? And was he also still contemplating assisted suicide, as he had said on that same Liveline show?

And what about the wife and eldest son who, he said, "don't speak to me today"? Was she the "dark-skinned" and "beautiful" woman he had met when he was a student in the College of Surgeons? And did he pursue his medical studies? These and many other questions remained frustratingly unanswered.

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That's because we were continually inside MacMahon's head, which wasn't a comfortable place to inhabit. A self-declared depressive ("the black dog") and sufferer from bipolar disorder, he came across as relentlessly self-absorbed, even when acknowledging the toll that had been exacted on his loved ones by his selfish quest for fulfilment, whether musical, social or personal.

Cathal O Cuaig's film was a hard watch, indeed distressing for anyone who has valued MacMahon's contribution both to traditional music and to RTE's coverage of it down through the decades. And too little music was played here to compensate for the overall mood of angry despondency conveyed by its subject.

Pose (BBC2), on the other hand, pulses to the beat of music, whether in the stage acts performed by young the wannabes or via the vibrant late 1980s soundtrack to this latest Ryan Murphy series. A trans take on Murphy's smash hit Glee (with echoes of Fame, too), this depicts a New York subculture I knew next to nothing about, but the opening episode was so winning and so fond of its quirky characters that I soon wanted to discover more about them.

The cast of unknowns, mostly LGBT themselves, are very good, especially MJ Rodriguez as Blanca, who sets up the House of Evangelista for waifs and strays in search of dancing fame, and Indya Moore as Angel, a sex worker who embarks on a relationship with a married white executive from Trump Towers.

But the series pays due attention to all the lost boys and girls trying to find their niche in an uncaring world and it does so with empathy, wit and some terrific musical set pieces.

Dancing with the Stars (RTE2) was full of set pieces, too, but its cast of low-level Irish celebs were nothing to write home about and I watched last Sunday night's finale merely out of professional duty. As it happened, I thought runner-up Johnny Ward was by far the best dancer, but what do I know?

The success of Brendan O'Connor's Cutting Edge (RTE1), which has returned for a new season, has always depended on the quality of its panellists, and I still miss Al Porter, who's clearly in media limbo.

But Brian Kennedy was excellent this week and interacted engagingly with journalist Alison O'Connor and actress Norma Sheahan. It made for a sparky and interesting hour, nudged along expertly and genially by the host.

Scripted by Arthur Mathews, The Road to Brexit (BBC2) was a one-off skit, with Matt Berry mulling over Britain's hostile attitude to its European neighbours. I chuckled a few times at the codology, while feeling it could have been much funnier.

Meanwhile, the peerless Fleabag (BBC1) just keeps getting better and this week found new depths with an extraordinary confessional scene in which the main character (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) laid bare her soul to the priest (Andrew Scott) she's been fancying for the last four episodes.

An earlier scene with her father was very affecting, too. This is no ordinary sitcom.Brigid Partridge who took on the name Sister Liguori when she joined the convent in Australia

WHEN a young Irish nun fled her convent one foggy night barefoot and dressed only in her nightgown, she could not have known that she was about to spark a deep sectarian war.

Nor could the escapee, Brigid Partridge, have known that 100 years later her grand niece Maureen McKeown would be so inspired by her story and would ensure that her extraordinary life would never be forgotten.

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Maureen's book 'The Extraordinary Case of Sister Liguori', has just secured film rights to be made into a movie, catapulting her aunt's story to the world stage.

Set in the backdrop of the smouldering mistrust between Catholics and Protestants in Australia, Maureen tells the story of how young Brigid moved from Co Kildare at the age of 17 in the early 1900s and became a teaching nun for the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

Sectarian bitterness was especially evident in Australian society after the First World War coupled with the War of Independence back home in Ireland. All that was required to ignite the situation was a spark. That spark, was Brigid.

After fleeing from her convent, Brigid would be declared insane by the Catholic Bishop in Australia, a warrant would be issued for her arrest and Australia would battle to fan the sectarian flames that Brigid ignited across the country in the 1920s.

"Brigids story is unbelievable and yet it is completely true," Maureen told Independent.ie.

"I was fascinated from the moment I came across my great aunts story. In 2011, I was doing some family research and I came across an article from a newspaper in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales on 'The Nun in the Nightgown', which was about my great aunt and I was so surprised to learn about her.

"We were aware that there was a nun in my dad's family who went to Australia but that was all. I was overwhelmed and fascinated by her story."

Maureen travelled to Wagga Wagga with her two daughters to try and unravel more details about her great aunt, who had become known as Sister Liguori.

She visited the Blessed Virgin Mary convent where her great aunt had escaped from almost 100 years earlier.

There, Maureen discovered that Brigid's discontentment in the convent grew after she was demoted from a teacher and this led to her eventual escape.

Having taught for six years, she was given a bad assessment as a teacher and the Mother Superior effectively demoted her to take charge of the refectory along with cleaning duties which continued for two years. I think she felt demoralised after having the status of being a teaching nun."

It was following this demotion, that Brigid fled the convent in the middle of the night, wearing only her nightdress.

She took refuge in the house of a Protestant family who shielded her from the wrath of the Catholic Church.

They refused to disclose the nun's whereabouts to the Catholic authorities, sparking a media storm in Australia.

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The Grand Master of the Orange Order in New South Wales was then contacted and placed Brigid with a Presbyterian Minister and his wife to act as her guardians.

In retaliation, the Catholic Bishop swore before a Chamber Magistrate that Brigid was insane and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

After Brigid was located in a Sydney suburb, she was arrested and taken to the 'Reception House for the Insane' in Darlinghurst.

A week later, she appeared before the Lunacy Court and was declared sane and released.

However, having received no apology from the Bishop for the slur cast on her character, she turned to the courts for redress.

But taking on the Bishop meant taking on the Catholic Church.

Brigid then turned once again to those who helped her after she fled the convent and the Protestant community gave her the support to sue the Catholic Bishop.

In an age of bitter sectarian feeling and ready tempers, an unholy war raged around her as the enmity between the two sides, rooted in history and religion, reached fever pitch. In July 1921, the pavements outside Sydneys Supreme Court were lined with hundreds of people, mostly women, hoping to gain admission to one of the most sensational cases in the history of the Australian Law Courts.

"Wagga Wagga was completely divided in two," Maureen said.

"The Protestant side was protecting her and keeping her away from the Catholics. I was totally stunned by the sectarianism I discovered that was going on in Australia at that time as well."

Brigid never got her public apology but neither did she ever return to her religious life.

Maureen, who is a mother-of-five and lives in Downpatrick, Co Down, said that her great aunt's story helped her overcome challenges in her own life.

Maureen was traumatised for years after suffering a heart attack when armed masked men tied her and her daughters up during a burglary at their home in 2007.

Five years later she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) after noticing some symptoms while she was working on her exhaustive research into Brigid's story.

"Because of those so and so's (who took part in the robbery), everywhere I went, I saw masked men in my head. Without realising it, I think that I was doing the research as a means of distraction.

"I became so totally absorbed in the story that I couldnt let it be and just had to write it. I had to convince myself that I could write a book as I'm not a writer and Ive never attempted to write a book before.

"And it was devastating to learn about my Motor Neurone diagnosis  but, again, the first thing that kept me going was that wee story and I thought, Im going to see that to the end. Telling my family was the hardest part and it took a while for us all to absorb the shock. I had the choice of dying with MND or living with it. I chose living.

"Like Brigid I found strength at my weakest moment. With renewed gusto, I finished my book. My dream was realised but something more wonderful happened when my book caught the eye of local writer-director Colin McIvor, fresh from the success of his award winning film Zoo, which was set during the Belfast Blitz. Colin was impressed the first time he heard my great aunts story and a deal was immediately clinched to take it to the big screen."

'The Extraordinary Case of Sister Liguori' by Maureen McKeown is available on Amazon now.

More details can be found at: www.theextraordinarycaseofsisterliguori.comRiding high: Labaik, ridden by Ruby Walsh, jumps the last fence on the way to winning the Supreme Novices Hurdle in 2017. Photo: Sportsfile

The contest between the Criminal Assets Bureau and convicted drugs dealer John Boylan for possession of Cheltenham racing festival winner Labaik is set to enter the final furlong next week.

Labaik won the opening Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the festival in March 2017 under jockey Jack Kennedy.

Trained by Gordon Elliott, it was returned at odds of 25-1 but landed a big gamble for the horse's supporters, with the bookies in west Dublin and Kildare particularly stung by the result.

The stunning performance caught many off guard as twice before it had refused to race, displaying a temperamental streak.

Meath-based trainer Elliott joked in the aftermath of the race that Labaik had been lined up to run in Naas as it "wouldn't be as embarrassing if he refuses" at that racecourse.

John Boylan, aka John Power, of Forest Hill, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, but originally from Lucan, is fighting a claim by CAB that he bought Labaik from the proceeds of crime.

Boylan said previously he was 90pc owner of the horse.

None of the others involved in the horse is in any way linked to crime.

In an affidavit to the High Court, CAB says Boylan is involved in drug dealing in the Clondalkin area of Dublin and has convictions for the crime.

Labaik won 125,000 in prize money when winning at Cheltenham.

It had won four of its previous nine races but had refused to start in three others.

The horse has been sidelined since suffering a leg injury at the Punchestown festival the following month.

The horse was purchased for a six-figure sum as a yearling but after an unspectacular start to its career was sold in the summer of 2016 to its current owners for a fraction of the original cost and switched to the Gordon Elliott stable.

CAB obtained an interim court order allowing the bureau to hold the seized passport for the horse.

Boylan has brought his own proceedings against CAB claiming losses arising out of the injury sustained by Labaik at Punchestown.

The High Court heard Labaik had been expected to be sold for between 300,000 and 400,000, having been purchased for 29,290.

In its claim, CAB is seeking to have Labaik declared as the proceeds of crime, along with a 2013 Mercedes Benz, bought from the UK for 32,669.

CAB says Boylan is the beneficial owner of the car but he claims it is owned by his girlfriend, Naomi Kinsella, against whom the proceedings are also being brought.

The horse was purchased with money from a joint account of Boylan and Kinsella, the majority of the price being paid through a credit transfer by him.

An animal feed company, called Forest Hill Animal Feeds, was also set up which is registered in the name of a Boylan associate who is also involved in criminality, counsel said.

The case is being heard before Ms Justice Carmel Stewart.

It was adjourned previously to allow CAB officers to be cross-examined by lawyers for Boylan.Junior Cert student suspended for sourcing cannabis on Instagram may return to school, judge rules

A man who slapped his two-year-old daughter in a Cork shopping centre, prompting two concerned female shoppers to immediately alert gardai, has been fined 700.

The 46-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found by Cork District Court's Judge Olann Kelleher to have slapped the child as she struggled to get out of a shopping trolley.

However, the man - who is not Irish - was described in court as being a devoted father and husband and has no previous convictions.

A medical report sought on the child, who was two years and 10 months old at the time of the 2017 incident, subsequently found no injuries whatsoever.

The court was told the man had moved to Ireland with his family so that his little girl could grow up learning English.

He was described as hard working and a good provider for his family.

The father had at all times denied slapping his daughter.

Judge Kelleher said he found the facts proven against the man.

"The extent of the slapping amounted to assault," he said.

"It is fair to say that he has not co-operated fully with the Probation and Welfare Service (PWS)."

The judge noted that the PWS said it felt it no longer had a role to play in the matter.

Tusla had been liaising with the man's family since the incident was brought before the courts.

Judge Kelleher imposed a fine of 350 on each of the two charges.

The defendant had appeared before Cork District Court on a charge of assaulting his daughter at a Cork shopping centre on July 23, 2017.

Judge Kelleher previously said that, while he found the facts proven against the man in respect of the assault matter, he wanted to consider alternatives to recording a conviction.

"This is a very, very sad case," he said.

He noted that, after the incident, the two female shoppers were so concerned for the child they contacted gardai.On trial: The accused Patrick Quirke (50) at court with his wife Imelda. Photo: Collins

Mary Lowry's brother has told the Tipperary murder trial Patrick Quirke called Mary "a right bitch" and said she had not given him or his wife Imelda any support following the tragic death of their son Alan (11).

Eddie Quigley claimed Mr Quirke had told him if Ms Lowry went to the month's mind, he would "personally remove her from the church."

He also told the trial that in the days after Bobby Ryan went missing, he had been assisting in searches when Ms Lowry's brother-in-law Jimmy commented: "This wouldn't happen if Martin Lowry [Mary Lowry's late husband] was alive."

He was annoyed by the remark, saying: "I felt the blame was being put on Mary."

Farmer Patrick Quirke (50) of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bobby Ryan (52), a part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight on a date between June 3 2011 and April 2013.

Mr Ryan had been in a relationship with Ms Lowry at the time of his disappearance. Mr Quigley told the court that in August 2012, in the days after the death of Mr Quirke's son, he had been up on the roof repairing the lead valleys when he heard loud shouting between his sister Mary and Mr Quirke.

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A week or two later, he was at the farm getting materials for fixing the roof when Mr Quirke approached him.

"He said 'your sister is a right bitch', she didn't support him or Melly [Mr Quirke's wife Imelda]."

Mr Quigley told the court he had replied to Mr Quirke: "Do you not think Mary has enough to deal with?"

Mr Quirke then told him that he only wanted "friends and family, good friends" at his son's month's mind mass and if Mary went he would "personally remove her from the church himself."

"I said that was his choice, him and his wife. The conversation ended then," Mr Quigley said.

Under cross-examination by Bernard Condon SC, for the defence, he told the court he recalled a conversation with Mary Lowry's mother-in-law Rita Lowry at Fawnagowan, around Christmas 2010.

Rita had told him Jack, Mary's son, had told her his mother "came home late". Mr Quigley said he had mentioned this to Mary later but had advised her to "keep it to herself".

Mr Quigley was asked about evidence he gave yesterday in which he said that on the day of Mr Ryan's disappearance, he had gone to Fawnagowan and that Mary and Michelle Ryan, Bobby's daughter, were there.

Asked if he was sure about that because Mr Condon said he understood Michelle had remained in the woods until "well into the night", Mr Quigley said she had come up to Mary's house that evening "for a short period of time".

Mr Condon asked Mr Quigley if he had ever seen the tank where Bobby Ryan's body was found prior to 2013 and he replied he saw a trough but the ground was covered with top soil and mud and he didn't know a tank lay underneath.

Asked about phone calls between him and his sister Mary - one an eight-minute call on the evening before Bobby Ryan was recorded as being missing, at 9.05pm -Mr Quigley said he could not recall why she had phoned him but said he spoke to his sister on a regular basis.

Meanwhile Mr Condon asked about a remark Mr Quigley had told the court about earlier, which had been made during searches for Mr Ryan, on the Tuesday after his disappearance on June 3, 2011.

He said he had brought Mary to a psychic in Nenagh that Monday because "she wanted to see if that would help in any way."

The following day, he was in a car along with Jimmy Lowry, driven by Pat Quirke to go on the search when Mr Lowry made the comment: "This wouldn't happen if Martin Lowry was alive."

"I didn't like him saying it," Mr Quigley told the court.

Mr Condon put it to Mr Quigley he had said it had annoyed him and he got out of the car and slammed the door.

Mr Quigley agreed, saying: "I felt the blame was being put on Mary."

Asked about an incident where Mr Quirke talked about the deceased, Mr Quigley said Mr Quirke "hadn't good things to say about Bobby Ryan", adding: "Mr Quirke was trying to get across to me that Bobby Ryan was a DJ and the boys [Mary's sons] were being left alone." Mr Quirke told him Bobby Ryan was involved in music and out late at night and "would be a man for the women."

Mr Condon put it to him that he had said: "Mary will make up her own mind about what she wants to do and you and me won't change that", and Mr Quigley agreed he had.

Later Mr Bowman asked what Mr Quirke's demeanour had been during this exchange and Mr Quigley replied that he was "angry".

Under cross-examination, he agreed that when he had twice approached his sister and asked her if she was having an affair with Patrick Quirke she had denied it to him and had become "cross." Asked when she had told him, Mr Quigley said it was "a good while later".

The trial continues.Emergency workers at the scene of the incident in Mulhuddart

A MAN has died following a suspected stabbing incident at a house in west Dublin.

Gardai were called to a house at Castlecurragh Heath in Mulhuddart shortly after 6pm on Saturday evening where a man, aged in his 20s, was found with apparent stab wounds.

He was treated at the scene by emergency workers but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Gardai later arrested a man (20s) in connection with the incident.

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He is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Finglas Garda Station.

The body of the deceased man remains at the scene and the Office of the State Pathologist has been notified.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station 01-6669000 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.The mother of an Italian man left paralysed in an unprovoked attack in Dublin has thanked the country for the support they received following the tragedy.

Simonetta Nasi addressed Ireland in a letter read on The Late Late Show on Friday, thanking people for the help she received in dealing with the attack which left her son Guido paraplegic.

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Guido, who was 17 at the time, was hit with a bottle in Fairview Park in 1999, after he chased a group of young boys who had stolen his wallet and apprehended one of them.

Simonetta penned a letter which was read by a translator on the programme. In the letter, the 76-year-old said that because of her own health issues, she feels this may be the last opportunity she has to thank the people of Ireland for their support.

Im here in Dublin this weekend because I want to thank you and show you how I have thought of you during these years, it read.

I am taking this opportunity because it may be the last time I have to do so because of my own illness.

I do not think about why this happened I just think about how I can help Guido to accept his new condition, with all of his dreams still alive in his head as they were on the night of July 30, 1999. Its not easy. Its difficult to plan a future when it is so completely different from what you had imagined.

Guido, was also left visually impaired by the attack, but neither him nor his mother have ill-feelings towards Ireland, which was the first country the now 36-year-old ever visited alone.

The Turin natives letter continued that life was made more difficult by her sons attack but that she is grateful for the help both she and her son received in coming to terms with reduced capabilities.

The reason you are also important is you helped us to survive this tragedy, to accept life and to help Guido to believe in his remaining capacity, it said.

There are no words to show our gratitude to the people of Ireland for what you have done. Since the day of the attack this country has shown us great solidarity in helping us. We felt a great big hug from young and old.

We will never forget the help we received from victim support and all of the staff and volunteers and Irish tourists assistance service. Thank you all for everything; it has been a pleasure knowing such a wonderful country."

Later in the year, Guido, who is able to use a keyboard modified with visual aids, is set to release the memoir he wrote, detailing the attack he was the victim of.

A major Italian publisher bought the rights to the book , Una Vita Spezzata, which translates to A Shattered Life.The producers of a controversial prison escape movie have hit back at critics claiming the project is providing jobs and a boost to the economy.

Based on the 1983 escape of 38 IRA inmates, 'Maze' is currently being filmed in the old Cork prison and stars Love/Hate's Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Rebellion's Barry Ward

Earlier today Austin Stack, the son of murdered Chief Prison Officer Brian Stack, said he was "sickened to the core" that the Irish Prison Service (IPS) would be involved in such a project.

Commenting on the fact that one prison officer died during the escape and two others were shot and wounded, Mr Stack said: No right thinking arm of the State should be involved in a project that will essentially glorify the death of a prison officer.

However the movie's producers and the Irish Film Board have hit back at the comments in a joint statement released to Independent.ie this evening.

They said the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has a proven record in supporting the Irish filming industry through the provision of prison facilities for both fictional and non-fictional recording.

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They claimed the project in Cork has been widely welcomed in the city for creating employment opportunities and providing investment in local business and services.

Jane Doolan, producer of the film, said the drama focuses on the relationship between an inmate and a prison officer and is essentially a story about peace.

She welcomed the involvement of the IPS: "Making this film would not be possible without the support of our financiers the Irish Film Board, RTE, Film Vast Sweden.

"The local assistance of Film in Cork and the Irish Prison Services has enabled us to keep the production in Ireland facilitated by the use of the decommissioned prison."

The Irish Film Board added: "We're very confident that the experienced team behind Maze will deal very sensitively with this story. The Irish Prison Services have a strong track history in supporting film and TV production where possible, which ensures Irish stories can be told realistically on screen.

"In supporting film production across the country they are also helping to create employment opportunities and encouraging investment in local business and services."

A spokesman for the Prison service also defended the decision to allow former Cork Prison be used as the location for the film.

"The IPS has a proven track record in supporting the Irish film industry through granting access to prison facilities.

"The project in Cork was providing employment opportunities and investments in local businesses and services."More than 1,000 people turned out yesterday for a rally to protest against An Posts decision to close the existing post office in Liberty Square, Co Tipperary, and open a new branch at Thurles Shopping Centre. Photo: Eamonn McGee

Pressure is growing on Communications Minister Richard Bruton to intervene in a stand-off between An Post and Thurles residents over a plan to re-locate the local post office from the centre of town to a shopping centre.

More than 1,000 people turned out yesterday for a rally to protest against An Post's decision to close the existing post office in Liberty Square, Co Tipperary, and open a new branch at Thurles Shopping Centre.

"Thurles is fighting back," the protesters were told amid calls for local TDs to meet with Mr Bruton as soon as possible.

Mr Bruton has previously said he will not intervene, while An Post said the 700 metre move to Thurles Shopping Centre will happen later this year.'Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is correct the budget for An Garda Siochana  1.76bn  is large but there is a difference between an overall budget and an efficiently spent budget.' Photo: Collins Photo Agency

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has used this weekend's clock change to acknowledge EU proposals on daylight savings time could present "challenges" to Ireland.

'Summer time' will commence at 1am tomorrow, when clocks should be put forward one hour.

Mr Flanagan used his reminder of the change to provide an update on EU plans to scrap daylight savings time, the twice-yearly time change.

There are fears that it could result in two time-zones on the island of Ireland if the UK doesn't also adopt the proposals post-Brexit so that Northern Ireland will be included.

The plan moved a step closer during the week after MEPs voted to back the proposal.

The suggestion was first put forward in September 2018, however, a compromise was agreed to see any implementation deferred until April 2021.

Mr Flanagan said that discussions between EU member states were still ongoing.

He said Ireland was among a large number of countries that had argued that more time was needed to consider the proposals in order to allow co-ordination with neighbouring jurisdictions.

He said: "It is important to acknowledge that if the UK were to adopt a different position, this would present particular challenges for the island of Ireland.

"Any position adopted by Ireland will be informed by this important consideration."

The Government is awaiting a report on public consultation carried out here about the plan to get rid of daylight savings time.

Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune, who backs the idea, said benefits would include improved outcomes for "road safety and economic benefits".German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will heap pressure on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over plans for a no-deal Brexit border in crunch talks next week.

Renewed chaos broke out after Westminster once again rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.

The move prompted the European Commission to say it is now "fully prepared" for a "likely" no-deal scenario on April 12.

European Council President Donald Tusk immediately moved to call an emergency EU summit two days before the new cliff-edge Brexit date of April 12.

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The Opposition wants Mr Varadkar to use his meetings with the two EU heavy-hitters to seek assurances on the Border amid mounting fears of a crash-out Brexit.

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Mr Varadkar's meeting with Ms Merkel comes after she demanded at the recent EU summit more clarity on how the Border question will be dealt with and on what plans were in place.

A senior Government source last night conceded that both Ms Merkel and Mr Macron will want assurances on protecting the integrity of the single market.

The source said that the German and French leaders were likely to use their meetings with the Taoiseach to "exchange views on what we do if UK doesn't ratify".

"I am sure they'll want assurances from us about protecting the integrity of the single market," the source added.

However, they insisted there would be no discussion on reopening the Withdrawal Agreement.

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Another source said both meetings will be "serious" and there will be discussions on all possible Brexit outcomes, including a no-deal scenario.

They insisted it was "extremely positive" that the meetings were taking place "at such a critical juncture".

The Taoiseach will travel to Paris on Tuesday for a meeting with the French president and will meet with the German chancellor two days later.

Officials in Berlin refused to be drawn on Ms Merkel's position on the measures the Irish Government will have to take to protect the single market.

A source said she was visiting Dublin next Thursday due to Ireland's importance in the Brexit process. They pointed out that she had "always said that Brexit without a deal is in no one's interest", and added: "this position is still the same".

Ms Merkel is understood to have raised the Border issue at the recent EU summit meeting. Mr Varadkar later denied it amounted to pressure on the issue but also said that "hard questions are asked and answered at European Council meetings".

Last night, Fianna Fail's Brexit spokesperson Lisa Chambers said: "It's clear that there's pressure now to start planning for the impact of a no-deal Brexit." She cited reports in recent days outlining how the EU will be required to immediately apply its rules and tariffs at borders with the UK if there's no deal.

EU officials have said controls will have to be carried out on the island of Ireland, while suggesting it may not involve physical infrastructure and checks could potentially take place away from the Border. The Government here has accepted that there will be "difficult discussions" with the European Commission if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Ms Chambers said she believed such conversations were already happening and "the time has now come" for the Government to give the Irish people the details. "What actually is required of Ireland? What are Germany and France saying? What are the Commission saying?"

She said: "Businesses need to know, farmers need to know, citizens that travel across the Border every single day, they need to know".

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said that Mr Varadkar should make it "crystal clear" to Ms Merkel and Mr Macron that there can be "no future EU-UK trade deal that does not guarantee an open Border on the island of Ireland".

In the wake of the latest humiliating Commons defeat of her Brexit deal, Mrs May said the UK would have to find "an alternative way forward".

She said this was "almost certain" to result in a delay to Brexit and the UK having to stage elections to the European Parliament in May.

Mr Varadkar said a no-deal Brexit was a "growing possibility" and it's up to the UK to say how it will avoid it.

He said it's not clear that the UK "has fully understood that no deal is not off the agenda". He said the EU should be open to a long extension should the UK reconsider its approach.SINN Feins popularity has plummeted weeks after party leader Mary Lou McDonald posed behind a controversial banner reading England get out of Ireland at the St Patricks Day parade in New York City.

Ms McDonald was roundly condemned by political leaders after she was photographed behind the sectarian banner. Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the banner was offensive, divisive and an embarrassment and called on Ms McDonald to grow up.

Now, the latest public opinion poll shows Sinn Feins support has nose dived five points with the party holding 13pc of the vote. In comparison, Fine Gael remains unchanged at 31pc while Fianna Fail is up one point to 25pc.

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In same opinion poll in February, Sinn Fein increased its support by five points to 18pc but the party has failed to hold on to any of those games in the wake of the St Patricks Day parade controversy.

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Despite on going Brexit concerns over the Irish border, Sinn Fein has also failed to negotiate an agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which would see the Northern Assembly restored.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Business Post/Red C opinion poll shows small gains for the Independent Alliance 3pc (+1), The Green Party 3pc (+1), the Social Democrats 3pc (+1) and Solidarity-People Before Profit 2pc (+1). The Labour Party remains unchanged at 5pc.The Taoiseach's trip to this year's elite Davos forum in the Swiss Alps cost taxpayers almost 19,000.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and six aides attended the World Economic Forum for two days in January.

The event - which gathers millionaires and world leaders - drew ire from some over its well-heeled attendees using private jets to converge on the town to discuss climate change.

The Government used the Government jet at a cost of some 16,065 to bring the Fine Gael leader, the minister and six others to and from Switzerland.

Mr Varadkar also availed of a 700-a-night hotel room to attend Davos.

Both he and his chief of staff had rooms in the four-star Sporthotel for two nights, which cost a total of 2,455, with the Fine Gael leader's room costing 320 more than his aide.

The latest travel records published by the Government show that the delegation also paid 271 for a briefing room in the same hotel during the January event.

A spokesman for the Taoiseach's department said costs were in line with last year's event and said it is not possible to book rooms independently of the forum.

"The price of these rooms was set by the provider and reflect demand for accommodation in Davos during the World Economic Forum," he said.Our selection of 30 of the best Irish food products - listed below in no particular order - was made on the basis that the products are popular and reasonably widely available to consumers. We excluded fresh products such as meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables and drinks, all of which are undoubtedly due a list of their own. There are so many wonderful Irish food products now that this was a very hard list to compile and could easily have run into the hundreds!

1 St Tola cheese

st-tola.ie

There are so many brilliant cheeses being made in Ireland at the moment that they warrant a 30 Best list all of their own - there's no reason for cheese lovers to look outside the island, (Sheridan's has the best selection, bar none.) But the cheese that comes up over and over again when Irish people are asked to name their favourite is the mature St Tola Ash, made in The Burren from goat's milk. It is elegant, full-flavoured and capable of holding its own against any cheese in the world.

2 White Mausu peanut rayu

whitemausu.com

Katie Sanderson's amazingly spicy, peanut-y condiment is a contemporary classic that's done more to liven up the everyday eating of many Irish people than almost any other product that we can think of. Have it with roast chicken, in a sandwich, or with eggs and greens for instant elevation.

3 Gubbeen salami

gubbeen.com

Gubbeen salami is not exactly a secret, but perhaps it should be even better known than it is. Keep a length of it hidden at the back of the fridge, under some wilting lettuce, and you'll always have something interesting to add to sandwiches and pizzas.

4 Pizza da Piero Pizza Bases

pizzadapiero.ie

Speaking of which, why on earth would you even think about ordering in a greasy pizza from a chain when you can make your own - almost from scratch! - using these excellent Dublin-made bases and whatever toppings you like. Their pizza sauce is pretty good too, but the bases are a Friday night essential.

5 Glenilen Butter

glenilenfarm.com

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We do dairy very well in Ireland, and our butter is the envy of the world. Basic creamery butter is a great product and Kerrygold has legions of loyal fans across the world. But delicious Glenilen, hand-made from the milk of grass-fed cows on Glenilen Farm in Cork, which costs a little more, is in a league of its own and worth keeping a small stash of, just for yourself.

6 Cuinneog Buttermilk

cuinneog.com

Cuinneog butter, traditionally made in Co Mayo, is another gorgeous Irish butter that you'll find in some of Ireland's best restaurants. A by-product is this tangy buttermilk, essential for baking and marinating chicken.

7 Smoked Fish from Sally Barnes'

Woodcock Smokery woodcocksmokery.com

Sally Barnes' smoked Irish wild salmon is exceptional, but the price-point and availability mean that it can only ever be a rare and delectable treat. The good news is that Sally smokes other fish too, including kippers, haddock, mackerel and pollack, and they are not as pricey. She's also experimenting with ray.

8 Frank Hederman Smoked Salmon

frankhederman.com

Hederman smokes his organic Irish salmon the old-fashioned way at his traditional smokehouse in Belvelly, Co Cork; the flavour of the beechwood makes it both distinctive and delicious. Wild Irish salmon is available sometimes, too.

9 Highbank Orchard Syrup

highbankorchards.com

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Canada may have its maple syrup, but we have Highbank's organic apple syrup from Co Kilkenny which is even better - tangy and sweet at the same time - and can be used in dressings, baking, and cooking, whenever a little apple-y sweetness is required.

10 Happy Pear Basil Pesto

thehappypear.ie

Whether or not you are a fan of the chirpy twins from Greystones, their sunrise swims and their handstands, and whether or not you enjoy eating in their cafes, you'll know that their basil pesto is something that you should always have a tub of in the fridge, to use as a pasta sauce or dip, or to up your sandwich game.

11 Mezze Lavosh Flatbreads

mideastmezze.com

Inspired by the Middle East but made in Ireland, from extra virgin rapeseed oil, salt and unbleached and wholemeal flours, these flatbreads are perfect for dipping and as vehicles for just about anything tasty. We'd happily eat them on their own too. The za'atar and seaweed versions are particularly good.

12 Barry's Tea

barrysteas.ie

Barry's beats all-comers when it comes to a cuppa, judging by the number of packets of it that are shipped around the world to ex-pats who just can't live without it. The only debate is whether you prefer the Classic or Gold Blend.

13 O'Neill's Dry-cured Bacon

oneillsbacon.ie

We Irish love our pork products, and bacon is a subject on which people have strong opinions. But the thought of a bacon sandwich made with dry-cured bacon from O'Neill's in Enniscorthy is the one that sets more hearts pounding than any other.

14 Jane Russell's Sausages

janerussells.ie

These handmade sausages are a national favourite, reminding those who eat them of the way that sausages used to taste, before mass production got in the way of flavour. Jane Russell produces them in Kilcullen with prime cuts of Irish pork using recipes handed down by her great-great-grandfather, Edmund Burke.

15 Inch House Black Pudding

inchhouse.ie

Everyone has their favourite black pudding - Kelly's, McCarthy's, Annascaul and Clonakilty all have their champions - but for our money the square pudding from Inch House in Tipperary, made with fresh pig's blood, is the one that delivers in terms of flavour, spicing and texture. We also like the smoked pudding from Hugh Maguire, The Smokin' Butcher

16 Goatsbridge Trout Caviar

goatsbridgetrout.ie

The freshwater caviar from Mag and Ger Kirwan's family trout farm in Co Kilkenny is a luxurious product that you'll encounter in some of Ireland's best restaurants, but that you could also buy a little tub of all for yourself and eat with a dainty silver spoon.

17 Velvet Cloud

velvetcloud.ie

The sheep's milk yoghurt from the Flanagan family's farm in Co Mayo has many culinary uses and is popular with chefs, but we like to eat it just on its own, perhaps with a little honey or granola or berries for breakfast. It's lush and delightfully tangy at the same time, and may suit people who have trouble digesting dairy products.

18 Achill Sea Salt

achillislandseasalt.ie

Why buy imported salt when we have this beautiful product, produced by a family business on Achill Island?

19 Jack Rabbit Tsunami

jackrabbit.ie

Chef Ian Marconi developed this killer condiment - an umami-packed fresh blend of chilli, tomato, black garlic and a host of spices which he describes as a "fire-roasted BBQ sauce" - for his catering business, before deciding that it deserved a wider audience. Launched only a couple of months ago, Tsumami and the other sauces in the range, including a Hot'n'Herby salsa, are flying off the shelves and the number of outlets growing by the day.

20 Keogh's Crisps

keoghs.ie

What can we say? Keogh's crisps are the absolute business - our favourite flavour is Atlantic Sea Salt and Irish Cider Vinegar - and we love the fact that you can trace the potatoes used to make them to a particular field. We still have a soft spot for Tayto, mind

21 James Whelan Butchers Beef Dripping

jameswhelanbutchers.ie

All credit to butcher Pat Whelan for bringing beef dripping back from the wilderness and introducing a new generation of Irish cooks to the wonders of potatoes roasted in dripping. Even more sublime is the Wagyu dripping, which we used in a toad in the hole recently to very good effect.

22 Wildwood Vinegars

wildwoodvinegars.com

Artist Fionntan Gogarty has turned what started as a recession business in Co Mayo into one of the most well-regarded artisan food businesses in the country; look out for his distinctive slender bottles in independent retailers. Our favourite is the smoked blackberry balsamic, but there are a couple of dozen flavours, all delicious.

23 Kilbeggan Oats

kilbegganorganicfoods.com

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If you think that you don't like porridge, the organic oats grown on the Lalor family's farm in Co Westmeath may convince you otherwise. The fine oats make a creamy porridge that's as wholesome a start to the day as is possible.

24 The Wooded Pig charcuterie

thewoodedpig.ie

Engineer-turned-pig farmer Eoin Bird went to Italy to learn how to produce this superb range of Irish charcuterie - salamis, coppa and chorizo - from the free-range porkers that he rears on his family farm in the Boyne Valley. As good as any import.

25 Green Saffron Spices and Sauces

greensaffron.com

Arun Kapil's range of spice mixes and sauces is one of the great success stories of Irish food in recent years; we love how they make it so easy to produce properly tasty curries and dahls in a hurry.

26 Murphy's Ice-Cream

murphysicecream.ie

Murphy's started out in Dingle and now has shops in Dublin, Galway and Killarney. The ice-cream is made using only fresh dairy milk, local cream, free-range eggs and organic sugar, flavourings made from real ingredients and contains no preservatives. Murphy's even makes its own sea salt from Dingle sea water and uses Dingle rain water in its sorbets. There are other great Irish ice-creams, but Murphy's range of flavours is hard to beat.

27 Killowen Farm Yogurt

killowen.ie

This live yogurt is made from the milk of the Dunne family's own herd of cows, with real fruit and just a little sugar. No additives or preservatives are used. It is simple, and simply delicious. You'll find the yogurt under the Dunnes Stores Simply Better brand too.

28 The Lismore Food Company

Biscuits thelismorefoodcompany.com

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Lismore's range of sweet and savoury biscuits is exceptional. We particularly like the seaweed caraway savoury biscuit - lovely with cheese - and the dark chocolate and cardamom, which combines two of our absolute favourite flavours.

29 Rhoda Cocoa Chocolate

rhodacocoa.com

Rhoda's hand-made bars of chocolate are sophisticated and delicious; our favourite is the dark chocolate with spices, Morello cherries, and pistachio. But the dark chocolate with crystallised ginger and almonds comes a close second.

30 Red Rooster Coffee

davenportcoffee.com

There's a lot of guff spouted about coffee these days, but if you are looking for a brew without palaver, try a few of these small-batch roasts from William Davenport's family business in Loughrea, Co Galway. We have a particular fondness for Bantams' Brew, a classic mocha/java blend, strength four, made in a cafetiere.There was a time when having a family and a career was considered to be 'having it all'. Now, there's more of a realisation that the job spec for high-flying career woman mum is not one, but two jobs, and a lot of juggling is required to make it work.

When it comes to wine, the very top qualification is a Master of Wine, and there are just 384 MWs (as they are known) in the world; and of those, 131 are female. I have no idea how many of them are mothers, but the four female MWs in Ireland are all mums. With four young boys, Harriet Tindal is the most recent member of this very exclusive club, joining Lynne Coyle of O'Briens Wine, Barbara Boyle of Wine Mason, and Jane Boyce of James Nicholson Wine in Belfast.

With three stages to complete over a number of years, the dropout rate is high and the pass rate is notoriously low. For her research, Harriet looked at the area of women in wine in Australia, and in particular, the obstacles they face which prevent them from moving up the ranks in the industry. "It's actually more to do with family and commitment to family that makes it more difficult for women to succeed as wine makers," she says. "I started off slightly on the feminist, 'men are bad' side of things and then realised that it's not men, it's the physical attributes of a woman, having to have a baby and being tied down by children and family commitments that seemed to be the biggest problem. It was an eye opener for me."

Added to that, Harriet found that women typically strive for what is known as 'exceptional status' and because of that, they go for more high-profile roles with greater visibility. However, as the wine industry in Australia is already saturated with top tier graduates in wine studies - about 100 from Adelaide University each year - this compounds the problem.

Getting up at 5am to study before dropping the children to school, coming home to practice blind tasting, and then starting a day's work was all part of the schedule that Harriet needed to stick to in order to reach 'exceptional status', but a very understanding husband and a supportive work environment made it possible. "I'm really lucky to work for a family business," says Harriet, who, along with her brother William, works in Tindal Wine Merchants.

"My father has given me a long leash to have children and do a Master of Wine, knowing that I'll come back and be loyal forever and work really hard. I've had two children while I've been working in the company and it was hard."

Also celebrating an outstanding achievement is 'Ireland's Best Sommelier', Julie Dupouy, who represented the country at the recent 'World's Best Sommelier' competition in Antwerp and was rated eighth in the world. So to all the wonderful women in wine, and in Ireland, cheers, and happy Mother's Day.

Grapevine

Spanish Wine Week starts on April 8 and Lynne Coyle MW will be hosting a five-course dinner matched by five wines from Spanish female winemakers at Wilde at The Westbury on April 10. If you're a fan of bubbly, I'll be hosting a tasting of five amazing cavas in Urchin at Cliff Townhouse on April 11 and there will be plates of charcuterie, cheeses and olives. I'd love to meet you! Details at spanishwineweek.ie

Bouchard Pere et Fils, Meursault 'Les Clous' 2015

55 approx, 13pc, from Searsons, Dublin; Bradley's Off Licence, and 1601 Off Licence, Cork; and online nationwide from searsons.com

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Harriet Tindal's pick for Mother's Day is a "pared back, mineral driven Meursault which has a deliciously textural oatmeal and apple core. Nutty on the finish."

M de Minuty Rose 2018

20-23, 12.5pc, from Morton's, On The Grapevine, Jus de Vine, all Dublin; and Avoca Dunboyne

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A delicately coloured Provencal rose, this blend of Grenache and Cinsault smells of summer flowers and has fresh, crunchy red fruit, a touch of orange peel and a skein of minerality on the palate.

Castellore Organico Organic Sparkling Rose

13.49, 11.5pc, from Aldi

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With a whisper of pink rose on the nose, this organic, vegan-friendly sparkling rose is soft and ripe with flavours of raspberry, strawberry and redcurrant flavours, touched with a hint of spice.What do the statements below have in common, and which is the odd-one-out?

1. The sun rotates around the earth.

2. Deaf people have low intelligence.

3. Autism is an emotional disorder caused by cold mothers.

4. Severe non-speaking autism involves an inability to understand language; and an intellectual disability, ie, a low IQ.

Answer: All four statements - once accepted as fact - have been proven to be incorrect. Statement 4 is the odd-one-out, because it's still widely believed. But we know it's false, because more and more non-speaking autistic people are acquiring age-appropriate communication - for the first time in history - through learning to point at letters.

What these historically misunderstood people say about their condition is overthrowing the prevailing dogma, which equates non-speaking with a failure to understand. ('Non-speaking' here includes minimal, non-reliable and nonsensical speech.)

The most famous severely autistic non-speaking person is Japan's Naoki Higashida, who communicated his memoir when he was 13 by pointing at an alphabet board. His book was translated and published in 2013 by KA Yoshida and her husband, the author David Mitchell, as the bestselling The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism.

A film version, due out next year, will add momentum to the Copernican revolution required in our understanding of severe autism, if we are to get to the truth of this perplexing, complex, neurological condition, which expresses itself differently in every individual who has it.

Also leading the charge in this new, from-the-inside-out understanding of severe autism, is 22-year-old non-speaking American, Ido Kedar. Kedar's memoir Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out of Autism's Silent Prison, written between the age of 13 and 15; and his work of fiction from last year, In Two Worlds, the first novel ever published by a severely autistic non-speaking person - are revolutionary.

*****

Severe autism is an extreme disability. People with Asperger's Syndrome and 'high-functioning' autism have far greater potential to live independent lives than severely autistic people, who are an entirely different subset on the spectrum.

Alongside having restricted, or non-existent, communication through speech, severely autistic people often need help performing the simplest of practical life skills. Their tendency to erratic, impulsive and uncontrollable body movements and behaviours, and their extreme sensory sensitivity and concomitant stress reactions to their environment, necessitate 24-hour supervision. (There is no question of a severely autistic adult being capable of taking a bus and safely heading off on their own into town for the day.)

The prevailing theory is that severe autism entails not only intellectual disability (major cognitive impairment and low IQs), but also a language processing disorder. In other words, the widespread view is that severely autistic people can't understand what's said to them, let alone read. Entire professions - including psychiatry, psychology, speech and language therapy, and special education - base their interventions on this theory of severe autism.

Caoimh, my non-speaking 15-year-old son, is amongst the first Irish pioneers to dig their way out from the buried world of severe autism, into full communication through the use of a letter-pointing finger.

Caoimh is so severely disabled in terms of his care needs, that by the time he turned 14 - when adolescent anxiety tipped him into dangerous self-injury and violence - I had no other choice, as a single parent with another son called Fiach, but to battle publicly with the HSE until they provided residential care for Caoimh.

Caoimh has settled greatly over the last year with the help of the many therapists and social care staff who work with him. The process of moving into care was made infinitely easier by the fact that he, before leaving home, had learned to communicate by pointing at letters.

On admission into his residential service, Caoimh underwent yet another psychological assessment (he has had many down the years). Currently, more and more professional question marks are being raised over the accuracy of the tools used to measure IQ in severe autism, with large numbers of psychologists now conceding that we are probably drastically underestimating intelligence. Caoimh's new psychologist agreed to let him use his letter board to spell out answers to her questions.

In doing this, she presumed cognitive competence instead of intellectual disability, and used a testing tool that is normally reserved for people who can answer questions through speech.

Caoimh is not able yet to hold his letter board himself. It must be held for him, at a particular angle. Since he can't cross his midline with his right hand, and since he has difficulty raising his hand high, his board must be held quite low, and over to his right; if it is put directly in front of him, or too high up, he is incapable of accessing the letters on the left or at the top of the board.

Despite Caoimh's need for a person, trained in his letter-pointing method, to hold his letter board for him, the psychologist was easily able to see that it was definitively Caoimh answering the increasingly difficult questions that she put to him, not his assistant.

The upshot is that it is now professionally verified that Caoimh can communicate at a highly intelligent, self-aware level. Caoimh's therapists and social care staff communicate with Caoimh in this way. He fills out his own questionnaires, and describes the nature of his multiple disabilities. The guess work has largely been taken out of his case. At school, Caoimh is now also typing, to show his comprehension of honours-level Junior Cert subjects.

*****

Until Caoimh acquired letter-pointing skills at age 12, his communication was limited to expressing basic needs and wants through the use of pictures. He was 'locked in'. No one knew Caoimh's true intelligence; he had no way of showing it; and he was kept at remedial level education.

In the 18 months previous to Caoimh achieving, at last, a way to communicate all of his thoughts, I taught him, almost daily, to incrementally develop control over his hand and arm movements, until he had mastered the ability to accurately point to letters on a large metal stencil. I didn't have to teach Caoimh how to spell: he already had advanced literacy and vocabulary, which was all self-taught, since no one had deemed him sufficiently intellectually equipped to be taught to read.

In deciding to talk to Caoimh, when he was 10, as though he had the understanding of a non-disabled 10-year-old; and in committing to help him learn the movement control necessary to point at letters, I was going against what professionals had been telling me for years about Caoimh's type of autism - that it was 'low-functioning', and that Caoimh would always have the comprehension of a young toddler. The process of teaching my son to letter point involved me looking beyond the judgments about his observable behaviour, and turning the theories I'd been steeped in, inside out.

It involved me acting on my hunches about the intelligence that I'd been catching glimmers of for years in Caoimh - beneath his frantic pacing and vocal droning, his bizarre repetitive movements, his glazed-over eyes, his tantrumming and bolting, his incapacity to consistently follow instructions, to write, brush his teeth, fasten zips and buttons. I got Caoimh on the letter board using the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) by developer Soma Mukhopadhyay.

*****

Tito Mukhopadhyay - Soma's 30-year-old son - was one of the first severely autistic speech-disabled people to have his high intelligence and spelling-to-communicate ability definitively proven. The name of Tito's book, How Can I Talk if My Lips Don't Move? conveys the trap imposed on the severely autistic by the erroneous theory of intellectual disability/language processing disorder.

That old theory - imposed from the outside by non-autistic professionals, via their interpretations of severely autistic behaviours - is on the tipping point of being ousted by descriptions of severe autism from the severely autistic.

Pointing at letter boards and typing, these trailblazers proclaim that the professionals have got it catastrophically wrong. They insist that average to high intelligence in severe autism is the norm, not the exception; and that the professional misunderstanding of severe autism is having tragic and tortuous consequences. It is consigning millions of individuals to the lifelong, isolating, 'locked-in' state of having no means to show their real intelligence.

*****

As more and more severely autistic non-speaking people acquire communication, their sensory and neurological differences to 'neurotypical' people are becoming clear. For example, synaesthesia seems to be far more prevalent in the severely autistic than the neurotypical population. In this state, the senses merge, allowing highly sensitive autistic individuals to 'smell' words, 'taste' emotions, and even see what the rest of us can't - such as the patterns created by the vibrations of music.

This tendency, combined with the habit of linguistic compression - shaped by how slow and painstaking letter pointing is for Caoimh - results in enigmatic writing, such as this: "Stone people intuit mist easier than right people. Visions are dancing amongst us. Mist permeates even minds that are really closed."

By 'stone people', Caoimh means severely autistic people like himself. By 'right people', he means neurotypicals. He's describing the sensory wonders of the place that Kedar calls Autismland: the world that the severely autistic person must struggle to get at least one foot out of, in order to be able to participate in our world, and so learn to navigate two worlds.

Kedar calls the withholding of communication "a crime against humanity". Let's hope we heed the clarion call of these previously trapped trailblazers; and do our utmost to liberate severely autistic people into real communication.

In their own words...

"I'm awestruck by Ido Kedar's books. Hope presents its bright face on every page. Hope sometimes leaves stone [severely autistic] children, making us despairing. How amazing to find an autistic, chinwagging, non-speaking author!

"Stone children rot because meaning rots. Meaning, not sorrow, calms autistic people. Ido's writing has the power to make real the stone mechanisms that govern us. Ido murmurs mostly about worn-out theories that hold us in prison; in dark nets, in always hoping for our escape. In too many 'nots' we fight to have acknowledgement of our intelligence. Hope has movement, to ease repeating answers to my roaring knowledge.

"My hope dapples wondrously. Ido cares about his fellow worried autistic prisoners. That is why I admire him so much."

Caoimh Connolly, age 15.

"It is a weird illness and symptoms are easily read as poor receptive language but it is poor body control, I am sure.

"We think. We understand. We know. We have to sit and flap and make gibberish and then we are seen as retarded. Maybe there are some retarded autistic people but not as many as you think. We fail intelligence tests because we are suffering from an output disorder. We are in there, but so blocked, and only a few of us have been shown the way out."

Ido Kedar, from Ido in Autismland

World Autism Awareness Day is on Tuesday

For more information on the campaign by families to help disabled people communicate, see Unitedforcommunicationchoice.or.They're all at me and I'm at myself too.

The man drilling a hole in the shop, just across the road from the pub, is putting me off my writing.

But I was reared over a busy pub. We slept sound when there were 20 musicians going full belt underneath us. Sometimes the walls used to tremble like they do in earthquake zones. The lad playing the spoons blended into the background sounds of my mind, even if he didn't quite find the rhythm of the music he so desperately wanted to become part of. I am on the spoons today.

But back when I was a boy every door banging, counter knocking and every broken glass was our jingle jangle.

I took no notice. I was a boy Buddha in the middle of a busy thoroughfare in downtown Tokyo. If I was a sleepy boy-god then I would be known as the heavenly transmitter of the most serene of serenenesses.

But today I'm like a dog. Every noise gets to me. Nature and the animal kingdom have conspired to do my head in.

The dogs from across the way were barking all night. I was reared on a street where every second house kept greyhounds at the backs of the houses. Our backway was an eclectic symphony of howling hounds. I could nod off in a kennel on death row in the pound.

The magpie who barks down the chimney through the cowl is back. I never liked him anyway but now I'm thinking of buying a gun. But why am I so contrary today and so out of tune with the town?

A car beeps. It's an affront. The across-the-street shouts are an intrusion.

The man doesn't say thanks when I drop the money into the collection box. He says, "Sure you have plenty of it." I was going to go straight over to the pub for a tin opener, rip the box open and redeem my donation.

Like I was saying, the animals are after me now. The cat who is not ours and is as feral as any African tiger has peed in the porch. Cats' pee smells worse than cheap perfume. I'll be scrubbing and scrubbing.

The man sucking on an e-cigarette vapes in my direction. He says cats' pee never rightly goes away. I should be shooting him down for invading my air space. But I didn't and I didn't roar at the cat, or clap my hands like gunshot to frighten off the magpie who is warming his arse on my chimney after eating a big feed of singing birds.

So now you are probably saying to yourself, he doesn't bother to attack anyone, or any animal, but instead he takes it all out on us, the readers, who are paying money to this man to tell us his troubles and we having more than enough troubles of our own.

I can't sleep in silent hotel rooms. The television has to be switched on, a window opened up. I have met over the pub people who told me the sound of silence is deafening.

I often write in the middle of teeming, screeching stadiums when the clock is not my friend. I enjoy the apres match. The buzz gets me going. But today the dropping of a pin is a bomb. I have moved just now from the front of the house to my old bedroom over our pub. It's in the middle and upstairs but through the skylight I can hear the high-pitched beeping sound of a lorry backing back into Iceland, the shop.

The house phone rings. It's a man asking me if I want to buy a machine for slicing the opaque from meat into economic and transparent thin.

I tell him we don't do food in John B's and that it takes us all we can do to cook our own dinner. But he keeps on going anyway. He wasn't listening. I try to be nice to people who are selling stuff as I was a salesman one time. Cold calling can be tough going when the people you call to are cold.

The man goes on for about seven minutes even though I tell him we do not do food on three occasions. I want to bite through the phone line.

Back out again. Two men who have just left the church are having a deadly laugh about a particularly gruesome murder.

I spot a woman going into the doctor and there's nothing wrong with her. She's only going in for a free chat, free tea and a read. But what's it to me? What should it be to me? Why is she annoying me?

The gangly boy nearly knocks me down when he bolts from one betting shop to the next.

I know it's only the world but the world will not sit still and let me think.

There's this book I read called 'The Green Platform' by Declan Coyle. Declan says the first 90 seconds of the day are the most important. You start off positive and you stay positive.

I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, so I come up with a brilliant plan.

I go back into my old bed, in my old room, in my old home.

The windows are open wide now, and the sounds of the busy Friday street come roaring in, invited.

I think then of the lines from Brendan Kennelly:

Begin again to the summoning birds/ to the sight of light at the window,/

begin to the roar of traffic/

all along Pembroke Road.

The old house is empty now but it's still home away from home

I am the guardian of the boy who was once me. The hum of bar was a lullaby and the roaring of drunks was a bedtime story. I hear the swinging clothes line in the yard and it is a ship's rigging creaking in the breezes of 'Treasure Island'. The clanging of the rolling beer barrels on the way to tapping are the last bells before bed.

I fall asleep for 10 minutes. Like a baby. And when I wake up, I begin all over again. I push the bed out from up against the faded wallpaper and I get out the other side. This time I resolve to make the remade day happy.

The deadline though is fast approaching. What will I write on this beautiful March morning?

You have just read the beginning.Brexit has not even happened yet and it appears to have claimed its second prime minister. Theresa May had the UK's exit from the EU to thank for her rapid elevation to the position - now she has it to blame for taking her to the brink of departure.

May has signalled she will not remain in office for the next stage of the Brexit negotiation, promising to leave if MPs backed her deal. It goes without saying that this is not what she wanted - as she told MPs on Wednesday night: "I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to secure a smooth and orderly Brexit." But, let's be clear, her foreshortened reign in No 10 is entirely her own doing.

The UK prime minister's entire approach to the Brexit process has been difficult and intransigent, immune to compromise and flexibility. She wasted months sticking to the meaningless line "Brexit means Brexit", and when some illumination finally came, in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017, it deliberately played up to the Brexiteer side of her party, ignoring the more than 16 million people who voted Remain.

Her strategy of "no deal is better than a bad deal", together with the Eurosceptic she appointed as Brexit secretary to deliver it, David Davis, set an antagonistic tone with Brussels for the entire negotiation period.

Under her direction, the government had to be dragged to the Commons to agree to a meaningful vote on the final deal. Her decision to call an election in April 2017 was reckless, yes, but also narcissistic - a hubristic attempt to grab more power so she could dictate a Brexit that was a far cry from the unifying message she set out when she stood in Downing Street on her first day as prime minister in July 2016.

May's 2017 election campaign was autocratic - warming to the theme of that notorious 'Daily Mail' front page that claimed she would "crush the saboteurs".

And when, as it turned out, she squandered the Tory majority at that election, May should have been humbled by the electorate's verdict of a hung parliament - which was clearly a vote against a hard Brexit and against her purported stance of being "strong and stable".

Instead, she ploughed on as if she had won a landslide majority of more than 100. There was no consulting with parliament, no consensus-building. After securing the withdrawal agreement with Brussels last November, the Brexiteer wing of her Conservative Party moved against her and tried to unseat her in a confidence vote - which she went on to win.

At that point, May could have finally freed herself of the Eurosceptic shackles and reached across the House of Commons for a consensus around her deal, or a version that would win a broad support. Instead she refused to budge from her position that MPs had to either back her deal or face a no deal.

Despite that deal being defeated time and again in the Commons, and despite her government being held in contempt of parliament, the prime minister refused to make concessions. Incredibly, Wednesday's debate on indicative votes, which May's government even tried to block at the 11th hour, was the first opportunity the House of Commons had had to have an open debate on what Brexit actually means, 1,006 days after the UK voted to leave the EU.

May has refused to countenance at any stage that she is to blame for closing the deal on Brexit - that was clear in her statement in Downing Street last week in which she pitted MPs against the public, and again last weekend when she refused to set out a timetable for her own departure after being asked by Brexiteers at Chequers.

This week, a minister suggested that the way May has been hounded over her own exit was misogynistic, and that a male prime minister would not be bundled out of office by his MPs. I don't think that's true. Yes, Margaret Thatcher was forced to quit after pressure from her ministers, but she had refused to listen and be flexible - much like her woman PM successor.

Male premiers have also been pursued by their own side: Tony Blair by Gordon Brown; Gordon Brown by Blairite ministers; David Cameron, effectively, by the Eurosceptic wing of his party. What may be the case is that both May and Thatcher - women rising to the top of the male-dominated world of politics - have become more resistant to change and compromise because those may be seen as "female" traits. Perhaps they have felt they have something to prove.

However, it is the case that a more politically astute politician, whether male or female, would have done a better job at getting the UK to the door of Brexit than Theresa May.

Political leadership is about strength and stability - but it is also about being nimble and seeking consensus, particularly when your central mission is in trouble. May told her MPs at the 1922 committee this week: "I have clearly heard the mood, I won't stand in the way." Her failure to read the mood until now has ultimately been her downfall.

 Independent News ServiceTheresa May's third hefty Brexit defeat makes a no-deal exit in 13 days a very real threat. And one simple fact screamed out of the vast fog of confusion over the past week: a no-deal Brexit means a return of the Irish Border - the only thing open for discussion is where and how controls would be imposed.

Up to nine days ago, no-deal Brexit day risked happening yesterday, March 29. Then a dramatic EU leaders' summit moved the no-deal Brexit goalposts by a fortnight to April 12.

Reaction to news of the latest UK parliament vote across the EU was both swift and decisive.

Martin Selmayr, the EU Commission's most senior civil servant, instantly ramped up pressure on the UK with a pithy tweet which left nobody in any doubt: "April 12 is the new March 29."

The policy-guiding Commission was equally trenchant, though it tended more to official language. There was a statement of "regret" at the outcome, a re-statement of the new April 12 deadline, and then a clear message that, if the UK wanted to avoid a no-deal Brexit, the next move was up to London.

"A no-deal scenario on 12 April is now a likely scenario. The EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a no-deal scenario at midnight on 12 April," the EU Commission said.

Expand Close Pro-Brexit demonstrators march past the Houses of Parliament. Photo: AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

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It further insisted that "the EU will remain united". The Commission also warned that the benefits of the Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, will "in no circumstances be replicated in a no-deal scenario".

It also said: "Sectoral mini-deals are not an option."

None of this is good for Ireland and the Taoiseach will have lots to say when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin on Thursday.

Mr Varadkar naturally wants to see this game vastly slowed down with no rush to a no-deal conclusion.

In a late-night session at the fateful summit on March 21, Mr Macron struck a hawkish tone, arguing that there was little point postponing the evil day of inevitable rupture.

Speaking to reporters in France yesterday, he was equally tough. "If the British haven't agreed by April 12, we're heading towards no deal and a hard Brexit with all its consequences," the French president said.

The Taoiseach will hope for more help from Ms Merkel.

She was more emollient at that decisive EU summit nine days ago, stressing the need to work right up to the end to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

Yesterday, positive signals continued to come from Berlin as one of her key allies, foreign affairs parliament committee chairman Norbert Rottgen, said he favoured the UK being given a long extension provided they could show how they would use it.

He did not necessarily see the UK having to commit to a second referendum or a general election to get more time.

The Taoiseach can fulminate all he likes - though he does have good grounds.

The Democratic Unionist Party's insistence that Northern Ireland cannot be treated differently to Scotland, Wales and England is infuriating nonsense. That party's joint hegemony over the North's politics with Sinn Fein in unique political structures created for a specific purpose is a key piece of evidence that the North is, was and always will be, treated differently to the other constituent parts of the UK. Armed soldiers on the North's streets for 30 years is another serious clue.

Equally, the mendacious 'playing both sides' of their brief Tory allies, like Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, does not bear too much thinking about.

The problem now reverts to the old crux that only two out of the following three things can co-exist:

1. The UK leaving the EU customs union and single market;

2. No special status for Northern Ireland;

3. Keeping the Border open.

The nearest we came to stretching and bridging that trio was the backstop.

But, as the Commission has clearly stated, all side deals, like the backstop, fall.

The Taoiseach now faces the defining test of his stewardship.

He has a hard sell to do in all the EU capitals ahead of an EU leaders' summit on April 10 in Brussels. The battle to prevent any return to the bad old days of the Border has now begun.Classic comedy fans are now running out of analogies to draw with Brexit.

The Black Knight from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', with his overconfidence and refusal to give up despite being rendered limbless has been drawn upon to describe British Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to repeatedly returning to Brussels seeking a better deal in the Withdrawal Agreement.

The Pythons were again the inspiration for suggestions their dead parrot sketch was akin to Mrs May's repeated attempts to pass that deal through Westminster.

And the hilarity, confusion and exasperation of Abbott and Costello's 'who's on first base' adequately sums up the chances of explaining the indicative votes system in the House of Commons.

Unfortunately, Laurel and Hardy aren't still around to portray Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson nightly on the West End stage.

But the humour is becoming dark as the gallows of Brexit approaches.

Mrs May is still living to fight another day, even though MPs rejected her EU withdrawal agreement on the day the UK was due to leave.

In a bizarre twist, Britain is now likely to have to hold European elections, even as it flounders around seeking a way out of the bloc.

All of the options for a deal have now been examined and the inability of the British parliamentary system to find any sort of resolution makes a mockery of their democracy.

The likelihood now is the UK will leave the EU in a fortnight's time without a deal.

A no-deal Brexit makes the concept of a backstop guarantee of no hard Border redundant. There have been supportive noises coming from EU leaders about protecting the Good Friday Agreement.

However, their priority will always be protecting the single market.

The Government has repeatedly reassured us there was solidarity across the EU towards our plight as the only member state with a land border with the UK - added to by the weight of history between these islands.

Talk is cheap.

The crunch was always going to come when Brexit came down to the wire.

The EU's heavy-hitters, Angela Merkel of Germany and Emmanuel Macron of France, will hold meetings next week with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to discuss plans for the implementation of some sort of border.

Chancellor Merkel displayed her frustration at a lack of planning for a border at last week's EU summit. The tone has now dramatically changed.

The fear was always that EU leaders would sell us out in the interests of protecting the trading bloc.

Burying our heads in the sand isn't going to make this problem go away.

The Taoiseach is facing a defining fortnight, not just for his own leadership, but Ireland's relationship with the European Union.Budding artists and photographers from Louth Meath Education and Training Board's schools, colleges and training centres got the chance to display their work in the Robert Ballagh Art Competition at the Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, recently.

The leading Irish artist travelled to Drogheda for the opening of the exhibition which featured the winning artworks which he selected. The photography section is adjudicated by internationally renowned Drogheda Photographer, Des Clinton.

The competition, which is now in its fourth year ,is open to students and learners attending all of LMETB's 17 Secondary Schools, 3 Post Leaving Cert Colleges, 3 VTOS Centres, 9 Youthreach Centres, and Ard Ri and Faughart Community National Schools.

Competition Organiser, Paul Mc Cann from O' Carolan College, Nobber and Ardee Youthreach, explained that the reason he along with Declan Clarke and Deidre Harrington of Scoil Ui Mhuiri founded the competition was to provide an opportunity for budding artists across LMETB's education providers to showcase their talents and to achieve some recognition for same.

LMETBs' Director of Schools, Fiona Kindlon praised the students for their outstanding work. She also complemented their parents and teachers for their mentoring and encouragement. Cllr. Sharon Tolan, Chair of LMETB, congratulated all involved and complimented the beautiful work on display.

Robert Ballagh expressed his delight at the high standard of entries this year, describing them as a feast for the eyes. He stated that the creative process was a great confidence booster and that submitting, winning, and having your work framed and put on show in a gallery, reinforced this confidence boost in the best possibly way. He congratulated the winners and wished them every success in their future artistic endeavours.

The winners, their families and teachers were brimming with pride as they collected their prizes of art packs sponsored by Cregal Art. The Droichead Arts Centre proved to be an excellent venue and Paul McCann thanked Collette Farrell, Tony Conaghy and all of the staff in the Droichead Arts Centre for hosting the event, Mary Creavin Ludden from Creagal Arts Supplies for donating the prizes, and Conor Thorne of Dealg Design in Ardee for the excellent framing job. Finally he thanked Robert Ballagh and Des Clinton for judging the competition.

The thirty winning entries were on display in the exhibition.An alleged IRA member accused of raping two teenage boys at a Republican safe house in Co Louth has told his trial he had consensual sex with one of the complainants years later.

The man (45) said he had stayed at the boys' home about "half a dozen" times for up to two nights on each occasion in the early 1990s while working a casual job.

He told John Fitzgerald SC, defending, that he got to know the two boys through this work, but denied sexually abusing them. The man said he finished this work in the 1990s and met one of the complainants, by chance, years later.

The accused said this male revealed to him he was bisexual and they subsequently had a consensual sexual relationship over a few months.

The man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of sexual assaulting and anally raping two boys in Co. Louth on dates in the early 1990's and in 2001.

The man told Mr Fitzgerald he had noticed that the complainant with whom he had had a sexual relationship seemed "distressed" during their final meeting.

He said the complainant informed him he had told another person he had been sexually abused by him (the accused). The man said this was the last time he saw that complainant.

When asked by his counsel if he had anally raped either boy or slept in a bed with them, he replied: "Absolutely not".

Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, put it to the man that a large number of people had "invented" his "strong and long presence" at the home. The man replied that "it would appear so" and agreed that he was "victim of a series of unfortunate lies".

When asked if any family member had a reason to be a false witness against him, the man responded that the father may not have "supported or liked" people who are gay.

He denied he had decided to run a "smear campaign" against one of the complainants to get around the allegations he was facing in the trial. He told Mr Gageby he was not lying about his relationship with that complainant.

Earlier, Detective Garda Seamus Nolan agreed with Mr Fitzgerald that his client had never been arrested for any "alleged subversive activities".

The detective agreed that gardai had had no intelligence that the accused was involved in any paramilitary organisation until the complainants came forward with their allegations.

He agreed with Mr Fitzgerald that investigators had taken statements from another man who had recalled going on camping trips with the two complainants but had never met the accused.

On the opening day of the trial, Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, said in his opening speech to the jury that both complainants in the case lived in a large home owned by a "dedicated republican" and that it began to be used as a safe house.

A man told Mr Gageby that he lived in the house in Louth in the 1980s and 1990s to which IRA volunteers would be brought during the night and stay for a few days or weeks.

He said the accused man first came to stay in the house around 1991 or 1992. The accused became part of the family and that he looked up to him as a "big brother figure".

The man said that the accused began to abuse him when he was 13 or 14 year's old. He said he woke up to find the accused assaulting him.

He said he would push the accused away from him when he woke up and that the accused would apologise for his actions. He said that after the first occasion the accused asked him not to tell anyone about what happened and talked about his experience in the IRA.

He said that the house had a reputation for being haunted and that on one occasion the accused had claimed to have seen his bed lifting up on its own. The accused was told by the owner of the house to go sleep with the boys if he was really afraid and he slept in the complainant's room with him.

The man said that he went camping with the accused in a nearby field and that he fell asleep in the tent after becoming intoxicated. He woke up to find his head pushed down and the accused assautling him. He said the accused told him to be quiet and to stay still. He said he felt confused about what was happening aside from that he knew he "was being broken in every way imaginable".

The man said that in 2001 he was living on his own in another part of Co Louth when the accused arrived to his door. The accused convinced him to go for some drinks and while out he apologised for the things he had done to him years ago.

He said that they went back to his house and that he remembers sitting on his couch while drunk. He said the next thing he knew he was face down in his bed and the accused was assaulting him..

He said that he did not agree to any of this occurring.

He said that he turned to alcohol in a bad way in the aftermath of these incidents, but said he had been sober for ten years.

On the second day of the trial, the second complainant told Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, that the house he lived in as a teenager was used to house people on their way to "missions" across the border.

The man said that in 1992 on the night he turned 17 he went camping with his older brother and the accused. He said he woke up to discover the accused groping his penis and scrotum.

He said that a couple of weeks later the accused said he did not want to sleep in his bedroom anymore as he had seen his bed "floating". He said the owner of the house told the accused he could share with one of the boys and the accused asked the complainant if he could sleep in his bed.

The man said he woke up to find the accused pushing his face into the pillow and sexually assaulting him. He said he struggled and managed to get the accused off him after 30 seconds.

He said that when he tried to leave the room the accused stopped him and told him that if he informed anyone of what had happened then he would be "found on a border road". The witness told Mr Gageby that when it came to "that organisation" there was no way to take that other than as a threat.

The man said that he had a conversation in 2002 with the other complainant in the case about the incidents they allege happened. He said that he realised if he had told someone about the alleged events at the time then he might have saved the other man from abuse.

Earlier in the trial, the first complainant rejected what was put to him by John Fitzgerald SC, defending, that he had been in a relationship with the accused and had engaged in consensual sexual activity on the night in 2001 he alleges he was raped. The complainant was aged in his early 20s at this time.

The man said he had been fully sure that the accused would admit his guilt and not put him through having to give evidence. He said that there was no relationship ever and that the accused was a sexual predator who preyed on him with alcohol to get his own way.

He said that it had taken 13 years to build up the strength to come forward to gardai. He said that he would see the trial through "even if it kills me".

The trial has reached closing stages before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury.A large crowd gathered in Carlingford on Sunday evening for the candlelight vigil in memory of the three visitors to the village who tragically lost their lives the previous weekend.

Villagers and those from the wider north Louth area joined representatives of the families of Ruth Maguire, Shane McAnallen and Martin Patterson to remember the three young people whose deaths had brought sorrow to their families and communities.

Five hundred candles were distributed to the crowd who gathered in silence in the car park overlooking Carlingford Lough as the local choir provided music. Fr Brian MacRois, PP. offered prayers for the grieving families 'in this time of shock, loss and pain.'

Michael McAnallen, father of Shane, thanked all those who had gathered to offer their condolences to all the families.

Cllr Conor Keelan, chairperson of the Dundalk Municipal District and Cllr Antoin Watters of the Cooley Community Alert, spoke of how the peninsula had been plunged into grief following the deaths of the three people who had visited Carlingford on the St Patrick's bank holiday weekend.

Thirty year old Ruth Maguire, who lived in Newcastle and worked as a nursing assistant in Daisy Hill Hospital, had been attending a hen party with a group of friends on Saturday night and was reported missing after becoming separated from the group. A major search was launched and her body was recovered on Monday afternoon.

Friends Shane McAnallen and Martin Patterson were killed in a single vehicle car crash on the 173 Carlingford to Omeath road on Monday, March 18.

All three had been involved in Bryansford GAA Club and its hoped that links can be established between the Co Down club and those in north Louth in the future in their memory.

The vigil was also attended by representatives of An Garda Siochana, Greenore Coast Guard, The Irish Coastguard Service, Kilkeel RNLI, HM Coastguards, Dundalk Sub Aqua Search and Recovery, the emergence services, and Red Cross.Representatives of Louth County Council, who were in New York for the St Patrick's Day period, were briefed on Tourism Ireland's extensive promotional programme in the United States for 2019 when they met with senior executives from Tourism Ireland during their visit.

They heard how Tourism Ireland has prioritised North America as a market which offers a strong return on investment in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure.

Experiences in Louth and Ireland's Ancient East will be included in promotions aimed at the 'culturally curious' and 'social energiser' audiences who are being targeted with distinctive vacation experiences, events and special offers tailored to their interests.

'We were delighted to meet with the representatives of Louth County Council and to have the opportunity to brief them about the extensive promotional programme we are undertaking in the United States this year,' said Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland's Head of North America and Australia.

'In 2018, we welcomed a record 2 million North American visitors to the island of Ireland. Looking to the year ahead, we are confident that our strategy - combined with more airline seats than ever before from the US, as well as the strength and competitiveness of the vacation experience right around the island of Ireland - will deliver further growth,' she said.

The group from Louth also travelled to Pikeville Kentucky, where they met with city officials and visited many of the area's attractions. The two cities paired up as 'twin cities' in 2014, and the two groups are already planning for Pikeville officials to visit Ireland for a second time in the next 18 months. The link was established thanks to the late Dr Pearse Lyons.Land prices in Louth are the third highest in the country, according to the Irish Farmer Journal's Agricultural Land Price Report 2018.

The report found that the 2018 land price in the county stood at 13,169 per acre, making Louth the third most expensive county to buy land, behind Dublin and Kildare.

While prices are still considerably lower that the 2007 peak of 30,000, this is the fourth consecutive year that the county's land values have risen and last year's jump represents a 4.6% increase.

The Farmers' Journal report noted that 'Louth once again has one of Ireland's strongest land prices.'

With prices ranging from 9,477 to 17,852 per acre, 57% of purchased land sold for over 14,000 per acre.

The top price of 17,852 an acre was realised by an impressive 33 acre farm at Rogan's Bend near Kilkerley.

A substantial 168 acre farm at Carrickbaggot was withdrawn from auction while a ten acre holding at Tallanstown sold for 135,000.

The majority of farms for sale at 56% went to public auction, with 44% of these being sold under the hammer and 56% being withdrawn.

As is traditional, supply was once again very scarce in the county with just 608 acres offered to the market, down 12% on the 783 acres offered last year.

Coupled with the county's proximity to Dublin and the good quality of land on offer, meant that competition for land is strong.

Louth, at 43%, has the second highest proportion of businesspeople buying land, behind Dublin on 46%.

The next biggest group was beef farmers at 29%, followed by dairy farmers at 14% and tillage at 14%.

A total of sixteen farms were offered for sale in the county, the second lowest number in the county.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Meath, 2018 proved a difficult year as land prices fell over 15% to 9,983 per acre while in Monaghan prices were also down to an average of 8,842 per acre.One of Ireland's leading interior design companies, Architectural Spaces, which is located in Creative Spark Dundalk, is opening their new design studio to creative homeowners and professionals.

The company, which was founded by Grainne O'Neill in Galway in 2001, is one of the leading design companies in the west of Ireland and is now expanding its business on the east coast.

Since its foundation, this brilliantly creative and highly sought-after team have designed and worked on many prestigious residential and commercial projects, specializing in private homes and renowned establishments, including some of Galway's leading hotels and restaurants.

'We are looking forward to working on new and challenging projects that are bold, exciting and demand our accumulative experience, skills and dedication,' says Grainne.

At the core of their design studio in Dundalk is a library of two hundred of the latest sample books from top design houses such as Designer Guild, Osborne & Little, Anthology, Harlequin and many more, making it a one-stop shop for those looking to source materials from rugs to wallpaper.

'Our library is contemporary, new and extensive, showing the very latest designs in fabrics for curtains and blinds, rugs, lights, wallpaper, paint samples and more.'

'As Interior Designers we found it virtually impossible to find a Finishes Library that was contemporary, accessible and housed everything we needed under one roof,' explains Grainne. 'As a result, we found ourselves spending almost more time with suppliers than with our clients or on site. Therefore, we established our design library where everything we required was to hand and kept up to date and fresh.'

'It houses the latest and freshest designs from shows in Paris and London, all hand-picked and selected by our design team. Homeowners can book a consultation online with one of our in-house designers to create personalised schemes and finishes for your own design project, this individual service is by appointment only.'

Designers, Engineers, Architects and other interested professionals can become a member of the design library by simply signing up online.

'Whether you're a homeowner or a professional you can avail of an exclusive discount on finishes with express ordering when purchasing through us,' she says.

With the guidance and advice of the team from Architectural Spaces local homeowners and businesses can ensure that they have an Instagram-ready interior to enjoy and share,

for more information visit their website to check out some of the stunning projects they have worked on at www.architecturalspaces.com or follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.Two men, one with an address in Shankill and the other in Wicklow town, ran a 'Ponzi scheme' in which they induced dozens to invest over 5 million in a forestry investment scam, a court has heard.

Garret Hevey (43), Brookdene, Shankill, and David Peile (42), Avondale Court, Ballyguile, Wicklow, were involved in Arden Forestry Management (Arden FM) between January 2014 and mid-2016 during which 143 foreign investors were induced to deposit approximately 5.5 million into the company's accounts.

Piele previously had a Bray address.

Detective Inspector Catharina Gunne told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last week that these investments would have required around 858 acres of land to be serviced but the company only owned 30.2 acres of land when the fraud came to light.

The court heard that in company documentation sent to investors, Hevey used the pseudonym James Baker and Peile went by the name David Marshall. Hevey was in charge while Peile was second in charge and there were a number of others employed in trying to attract investors.

Accounts linked to the firm showed that out of a figure of 501,332 transferred to Hevey, 281,613 of this was spent on Google Ads.

Gardai began investigating the company in June 2016 when one investor, Kari Wahlstrom, discovered that Arden were not the registered owner of the land he had invested in.

Mr Wahlstrom, a Finish national, had invested 52,000 in February 2016 and in May he contacted the company and asked to visit what had been identified as his investment. He also asked to be taken to the land registry.

On May 17, 2016, Peile emailed Hevey saying 'sh*t, he wants to visit the land registry, how do we get over that?'

Insp Gunne told the court the victim did visit Ireland and met Hevey and Peile.

He was taken to a forest in Frenchpark, County Roscommon, and was happy with it but when he asked to go to the land registry office he was told there was no time.

On returning to his home in Greece, he carried out his own inquiries with the land registry and was 'dismayed' to find the land registered to someone else, Insp Gunne said.

Hevey, who set up the company in November 2013, pleaded guilty to dishonestly inducing investment in Arden FM between January 1, 2014 and June 13, 2016.

He also pleaded guilty to three charges of inducing individuals by deception to make payments on dates between September 2015 and May 2016.

The court heard that Peile joined the company in 2015. He pleaded guilty to dishonestly inducing investment in Arden FM between January 1, 2014 and June 13, 2016 and pleaded guilty to two charges of inducing individuals by deception to make payments on dates between September 2015 and May 2016.

Insp Gunne told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that investors received a welcome pack which promised returns on their investment on the basis of income received from government grants, thinning of the forest and potential future sale of the forest.

Det Insp Gunn said there was in fact only 32 acres of forest that was purchased for 61,000 and the company was not eligible to a grant as the trees were older than 20 years old. The grant was only available in the case of forests planted in the last 20 years.

She confirmed that the company was incorporated in November 2013 and Hevey was one of the directors. A main bank account was opened in January 2014.

Det Insp Gunn said investors received a total of 271,000 in pay outs and when the company account was ultimately frozen by gardai as part of their investigation, a total of 1.98 million remained in the bank account. She said that 1.5m was transferred from Arden to a bank account in Dubai, of which both defendants were beneficiaries. After a freezing order was placed on the Arden FM Ltd account, Peile opened up an account with Barclays bank. A further 817,000 was lodged to this account by 35 investors who had tried to lodge to the frozen account and were given details of the second account.

The court heard that a virtual office was set up on Trinity Street in Dublin city centre and Hevey arranged for any mail addressed to this office to be re-directed to his home.

Det Insp Gunn disagreed with Sean Guerin SC, defending Hevey, that she was wrong about describing the offence as a Ponzi scheme and suggested that the evidence is not consistent with that description. 'I will just say that the same parcel of land was sold over and over again to investors, so I believe and I stand over the fact that I was investigating a Ponzi Scheme,' Det Insp Gunn replied.

Det Insp Gunn agreed with James Dwyer SC, defending Peile that his pleas of guilty were 'very valuable pleas' as a trial could have 'run for weeks and weeks' and all of the investors would have had to be flown in to give evidence.

Judge Melanie Greally adjourned the case for mitigation to be heard and remanded both men on bail. A date of May 4 was set for mitigation to be heard.We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to formClement de Stael from Ecotrail International, Viktoria Varecza and Fiona Dunne from Tourism Ireland and Fred Verdier from Wicklow County Tourism at the launch of Wicklows Ecotrail run in Paris.

A trail run starting and ending at the seafront in Bray will take in Bray Head, the Great Sugarloaf, Powerscourt Waterfall, Killruddery, The Wicklow Way, Lough Tay, the Vartry Reservoir and other scenic spots.

Wicklow is to become the 10th destination worldwide to host the prestigious International Eco Trails nature race event.

On Saturday, September 28, trail runners from around the world will take on a selection of challenging routes of 17km, 42km and 80km.

'This event will be a truly scenic feast,' said Fred Verdier from Wicklow County Tourism. 'Exclusive access to the world renowned Powerscourt and Kilruddery Estates will very much enhance the experience for the participants. Any running enthusiast should have this event on their "must do" list.'

Aoife O'Driscoll, marketing and communications manager for Powerscourt Estate, said: 'We at Powerscourt Waterfall are excited to be part of this world first for Ireland which has enormous potential to highlight Wicklow and Ireland as a premier tourism and trail running destination.'

Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, has also expressed his support for the venture.

'The concept of Ecotrail offers a truly international exposure and is ideal to promote the Wicklow Outdoors brand. The platform will give Wicklow twelve months on constant exposure through the various Ecotrail events held around Europe. Furthermore, the Eco-friendly concepts fits perfectly to our destination,' said Mr Curran.

Ecotrail was first organised in Paris 10 years ago t oconnect the city with the outdoors with a stunning finish on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. The event has an eco-responsible ethos and each event is committed to reducing litter, minimising environmental impact, and promoting public transport.

Other cities to have hosted Ecotrail are Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Brussels, Geneva, Florence, Madrid and Funchal (Madeira).

The Wicklow Ecotrail was launched over the St Patrick's weekend as part of Ecotrail Paris running race.

'We are absolutely delighted to welcome Wicklow into the Ecotrail family,' said Jean Charles Perrin, Ecotrail founder and CEO of Ecotrail International. 'Trail Running is one of the fastest-growing sport in the world, and Wicklow is a fantastic addition to our destinations. Having seen the beauty of Wicklow late last year, Ecotrail Wicklow might just become one of our most popular events.'

For route maps or to sign up, visit ecotrail.com.Genealogy service Ancestry.com has recently released fascinating information on records relating to the Irish Famine which provide an intimate and disturbing view on a defining moment in Irish history.

From descriptions of the failed potato crop to calls for more sources of employment for starving people, the description of Wicklow's starving have come to light following a new study into Famine Relief Papers from 1844-1847.

The Relief Commission and subsequent relief committees around Ireland were formed just prior to the official beginning of the famine to oversee relief efforts, distribute food, collect information and advise the government on the famine, the people and aid efforts.

Soup kitchens were set up, but in 1847 the government shut them down, anticipating a better crop which never materialised. Another piece of the relief plan was creating government work projects, so that those who were able could earn money to buy food.

During the Great Famine, over one million people died, and a further million left Ireland. More than a century and a half later, Ireland's population had still not returned to pre-Famine levels.

Hand-written letters and documents contained in the Famine Relief Papers help to provide first-hand accounts of the levels of destitution faced by starving people in Wicklow.

On December 23, 1846, the secretary for James Boyle, superintending engineer for County Wicklow, sent a report detailing the conditions in the Arklow area. His report highlighted how public works in the region had helped with public morale.

'Destitution has long since prevailed among the peasantry - It has reached the small farmer of one to five or six acres - is rapidly overtaking those holding larger tracts - and dismay had begun to seize those of greater standing - but now that there is a prospect - a certainty of the petty holder being employed in the midst of his family in the useful work of tillage and of providing for food instead of being degraded into little better than the rank of a pauper or an object of charity the spirit of the entire people have been improved.'

On February 9, 1847, Lieutenant John R Anderson RHA, inspecting officer for the Relief Commission, wrote a letter to the Commission detailing his inspection of Moyne. In his letter he detailed a snow storm affecting the area and his fears that many families could be dead in their homes without anyone realising.

'I left Rathdrum early this morning with a view of proceeding to Moyne to meet its relief committee according to appointment, but from the very great quantity of snow that has fallen I reached this place with great difficulty, had literally to dig the horse out at some places wherever the snow has drifted and was some feet deep in fact many of the roads of this mountainous district are almost impassable. I regret to inform you, that I was informed by the Secretary of the Relief Committee of this place that they have only six hundred weight of meal left and though more that been ordered I fear no carts will reach this place as long as the storm lasts, what the consequence will be God only knows. I heard of one family that were laying in a bed as they had neither food nor fuel. I believe there are many other similarly situated who would perish were it not for private benevolence and in this mountainous wild district it is to be feared many many perish unheard of.'

On June 16, 1847, John Donoghue, sub inspector of constabulary in Tinahely, forwarded a report by Constable John Norris concerning the refusal of Rathdrum and Arklow fever hospitals to admit a travelling pauper.

'I have to state that on the 11th just a travelling pauper named Honor Kirwan and her child dropped on the highway near Aughrim both being ill with fever and lay on the side of the road till the following day when I reported the case to Jeremiah Gaol. The warden who had them conveyed to Rathdown Fever Hospital immediately but being refused admittance there they were sent back to this place and left on the crops roads at Aughrim the most part of the night and then put into a shed, on the following day (Monday) I informed Doctor Atkins of the case who gave a certificate stating the poor woman has fever and was a fit object for the Fever Hospital.'

The letter goes on to state the women was refused admission to the fever hospital and eventually Constable John Norris and two other men procured her a shed for the woman and her child.

On October 6, 1846, JC Walker of the OPW, wrote a response to a letter sent to the Commission regarding the despair in Arklow.

'In reply to your letter of the 9th instant stating that great despair prevailed at Arklow, I am directed by the Board to inform you that the County Surveyor will be directed immediately to report upon the works to be undertaken there.'

Ancestry's Joe Buggy said that the documents and letters sent at the time of the Great Famine provide a great insight into the conditions endured across the country at the time.

'Documents and letters sent to the Famine Relief Commission provide a unique insight into the level of destitution, pain and hunger around Ireland during this time. From the collection, one can sense the rising panic, with stock and food levels rapidly running out and committees pleading with the commission for help. Through the collection, it is now possible to search for family names and local areas to see how exactly people were affected by the turmoil of the Great Famine.'

Ancestry contains the largest collection of family trees in the world, with over 100 million family trees from over 100 countries. It also provides access to a broad range of documents and files that are vital in genealogy research.

In previous years, Ancestry has completed new research into Irish collections, including records of Irish convicts sent to Australia and an interesting look at Irish first names that are becoming endangered.It's drama time again in Tullylease as the group of gifted local actors turn their attention to 'Pull The Other one', a side splitting comedy from the pen of Norman Robbins.

The show went down a treat on its first outing with the audience treated to lots of laughs, witty one liners, innuendoes and misunderstandings along the way. Albert Perkins, played by Patrick Larkin, is blessed with a loving wife, Muriel, played by Joan Larkin, but is cursed with a fearsome mother-in-law, Beatrice, played by Sheila O'Keeffe.

When his friend Hilary Armitage, played by Sean Biggane, writes to him reminiscing about the good times they used to have, Beatrice reads the letter and determines to remove her daughter instantly from the clutches of this evil sex-fiend. Albert has a hard time explaining that, in fact, the letter is perfectly innocent.

When Hilary turns up wearing a blonde wig and a glamorous evening dress, Albert's troubles are far from over. In a weak moment, he agrees to model for a girl student at the local Art School. And Hilary, anxious to make amends for the misunderstanding he has caused, offers to deputise for Albert at bell ringing practice at St Humphrey's.

Both these acts of kindness bring further disaster in their wake. Albert's friend, Will played by Joe Collins, desperately tries to help him out but, along with doddering old priest Fr. Nookey, played by Mike O'Connell, only adds to the confusion.

'Pull The Other One' will be staged on this Thursday, March 28th, Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st at 8pm in Tullylease Community Centre. Tickets available at the door.National Tree Week 2019 will commence next Sunday and already a great range of events have been planned throughout the County of Cork.

As Irish people, our native trees and woodlands have occupied a very important space in our psyche and there is again a growing understanding of the importance of looking after our native trees and environment as a whole as to a large extent it is trees that have the potential to look after us as we tackle the issue of climate change.

While thankfully in County Cork, our forest cover is above that of the national average, which presently stands at 11.07%, Ireland fails to rank even in the top 140 countries in the world in terms of forest cover- the European average forest cover per nation stands at 37% for example.

Tree Week provides this opportunity for people to get out and about and meet others who care about our trees and the folklore and knowledge that they have bestowed on us as an Irish people.

With thanks to the Tree Council of Ireland Cork County Council is in a position to provide native trees for free to a number of different community groups and organisations and it is not too late to put in a request and organise a local event.

Simply send the request to conor.nelligan@corkcoco.ie or phone 021 4285905.

Events organised to date for National Tree Week range from Ballydehob, Schull and Bantry in West Cork to Carrigaline, Cobh and Kilmurry and these promise to be very exciting, particularly with the wonderful pick-up in weather that we have been experiencing these past few days.

For many in Cork, the name Ted Cook is synonymous with Trees and during Tree Week 2019, with thanks to the Kilmurry Historical and Archaeological Association, Ted will lead a walk of Warrenscourt Woods near Kilmurry on Saturday, April 6 at 2pm.

The walk will take around two-and-a-half hours and everyone is welcome to attend and indeed to bring along a picnic.

For full details of all Tree Week Events 2019 taking place in County Cork visit https://treecouncil.ie/cork.

Farming for Nature award scheme

Trees are an important part of our landscape, both urban and rural. With regard to rural landscapes and good heritage practice, it is the country's farmers that often do us proud in how they maintain and value the full biodiversity of the lands that they manage.

In recognising the important role that so many farmers play in safeguarding natural heritage, a Farming for Nature Award Scheme has been put in place.

One of the key aims of the awards is to share positive stories of how farming and nature can work hand-in-hand with the hope of creating new role models for sustainable farming across Ireland. People can log on online at www.farmingfornature.ie/awards/nomination and make their nomination. The Awards are intended for farmers who have made a significant contribution to the protection or enhancement of nature on their farm and/or in their locality; are farming in a manner that is agriculturally, economically and socially progressive; have shared their passion with others (eg through walks, local media etc., and have a record of engagement with other stakeholders.

The award is supported by Bord Bia's Origin Green programme and the deadline for nominations is the Saturday, May 12.

Thatched Houses of County Cork

On Thursday April 4, attention will be turned to tradition craft in the world of heritage, with a focus on the Thatched Houses of County Cork - the title of a talk being given by County Archaeologist Mary Sleeman in Blarney Secondary School, Blarney, commencing at 8pm.

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge, rushes, or heather, and layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof.

It is a very old roofing method still in use in many parts of the world. The talk is an illustrated tour of the many different types of thatch house still to be seen in County Cork together with an explanation of the history of thatching.

The event is being organised by the Blarney and District Historical Society and all are welcome to attend.

Stone experts to deliver workshop

On Saturday and Sunday, April 6/7 attention will turn to the traditional building craft of stonework with a two-day workshop taking place at Bessborough, Mahon.

This workshop will be run by Christian Helling, Julia Gebel, Ken Curran and in association with experts in their field Carl Kennedy, Jim Fahy, Mathew Maw, Victor Franchet and Daniel Henkel.

These trainers all have expertise in traditional stonework in Cork city, local sources for stone and quarries, work fashions and styles and stone conservation techniques.

The event will include practical demonstrations on topics covering lime and hot lime mortar, architectural stone carving, letter cutting, dry stone walling, pebble mosaic, stone repair and maintenance, installation of cut stone elements and an opportunity to work on a limestone arch construction'.

The workshop is aimed primarily at heritage groups and organisations, members of the public and property owners.

For further information; details of pricing and to book a place visit www.eventbrite.ie/e/set-in-stone-traditional-stone-workshop-tickets.Saturday will be 'crunch time' for a Blarney woman who is hoping that her cookery skills will earn her a trip to the culinary capital of the world.

Corrine Austin will go head-to-head with amateur chefs from across the country in the final of a competition aimed at discovering Ireland's best home cook - with a trip to Paris worth more than 3,000 awaiting the winner.

The 2019 Le Crunch sponsored 'Apple of My Eye' competition challenged people to put their culinary prowess and imaginations to the test to come up with mouthwatering original recipes using apples.

Since January the panel of judges, including top Irish chef Adrian Martin have been inundated with entries, with Corrine among the chosen few to make it to the final at Dublin's Cook's Academy this weekend.

Adrian said the panel was looking forward to meeting the finalists in person and getting the opportunity to taste their creations.

"We've been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the entries and we're looking forward to meeting the finalists for our final cook-off. I personally can't wait to try some of the dishes. The imagination and creativity that has been shown so far in the competition has been amazing," said Adrian.

Corrine said she hoped the competition would help pave the way for her to realise her ultimate ambition of cooking professionally.

"I am an avid foodie, amateur chef and food blogger and love experimenting with new flavours and trying different cuisines.

"Cooking has been a great passion of mine from a very young age and I am enthusiastic about starting my own home catering business," she said.The response from the Government on the issue of estates being taken in charge is akin to the Mrs Brown's Boys catchphrase 'That's Nice'.

That was the view of Cllr Kevin Conway (Ind) who told the Blarney Macroom Municipal District meeting that he was "less than impressed" but "not surprised" by the reply they had received from Eoghan Murphy, Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

A letter had been sent to the minister querying issues concerning estates being taken in charge. However, the reply councillors received back was that the Department had received the letter thanking them for it. It also stated that it 'has been referred to the relevant section in the Department'.

Cllr Conway said: "I am seriously worried about estates which were built in the 1970s and 80s where there is a green area as that is still owned by the developers. This is something that needs to be addressed by Cork County Council. What we need to do is talk with Niall Healy, who is the co-ordinator between Cork City and Cork County Council."

"It seems that Cork County Council are saying that they have no legal standing on this situation," he added.

Cllr Bob Ryan (FF) said the issue is arising where there are difficulties transferring to freehold titles. Cllr Conway said Cork City Council will go onto lands where they have no legal standing on the green area.A 30-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged in relation to a serious assault which has left a 73-year-old man in a critical condition in a Cork hospital.

Jonathan O'Driscoll, with an address of Coolcower House, Macroom, but originally from Dan Corkery Place in the town, was charged with assault causing harm to Christy O'Callaghan at Sleaveen East, Macroom, on March 21st.

Mr O'Driscoll was charged at a special sitting of Bantry District Court on Saturday.

Det Alan O'Sullivan gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr O'Driscoll and told the court that the accused replied "I'm sorry" when the charge was put to him after caution.

Solicitor for Mr O'Driscoll Flor Murphy said that his client was seeking bail, but Insp Eamon Brady said that gardai were objecting to bail because of the seriousness of the charge against Mr O'Driscoll.

Judge Con O'Leary granted the Garda application and refused bail. He remanded Mr O'Driscoll in custody to appear again at Bantry District Court on Thursday.

A native of New Street in Macroom, Mr O'Callaghan was sleeping in his van near Fitz-Gerald's Funeral Home when he was assaulted in the early hours of March 21st.

Mr O'Callaghan is well known in greyhound racing circles, having trained a number of winners of the Irish Laurels, including Standard Images who won in 1995, and he also won the race in 1975, 1982 and 1983.The results of a snap online Facebook poll have shown that the overwhelming majority of participants are in favour of re-establishing the former Mallow Town Council.

The authority was one of 80 Town Council's scrapped in 2014 under the Local Government Reform Bill, which the then Environment Minister Phil Hogan described as "the most radical reform of local government in 100-years.'

The key measure of the bill saw all Town Councils abolished, with the overall number of local authorities operating across the country reduced from 114 to 31.

Instead a system of municipal districts was established for local areas within County Council's, with the total number of councillors across the country being cut from 1,627 to 949.

While some welcomed the move, others felt that it would reduce grassroots representation and make it more difficult for the public to access their local public representatives.

Last year the Labour party - which ironically was part of the Government that made the decision to abolish town councils - introduced a bill in the Dail seeking their re-establishment in urban areas with a population of at least 5,000 residents and with 1,000 or more dwellings in a clearly defined urban area.

Despite Government opposition, the bill received the support of the Dail paving the way for the possible restoration of town councils.

The online poll, conducted by Mallow-based Corkman correspondent Eugene Cosgrove over a 24-hour period last week, revealed there was overwhelming support at local level for the return of the local town council.

Of the 507 people who responded to the poll, 501 indicated they would be in favour a town council returning to Mallow.

One respondent, a long time resident of Canon Sheehan Place summed up the sentiments of many when she said that the town council should return as it "always had the finger on the pulse and they (the councillors) were there to listen and assist in all matters".

Quoting the late Tip O'Neill, who famously said 'all politics is local' another respondent commented that Cork County Council "was not interested in local issues", while one unnamed former town councillor admitted he was not surprised with the huge vote supporting the return of town councils.

He said the current system had resulted in a deficit of "both representational and administrative accountability" as a result of the reduced number of local councillors on the ground.

Former Fine Gael Mallow Town and Cork County councillor Noel O'Connor said it was a "sad day" for Mallow when the town council was dissolved and supported the move to reinstate it "in the best interest of Mallow and its people."

Another man who served on both the town and county council, Labour's Jerry Mullally, agreed that the town council should be reformed.

He pointed out the authority controlled its own annual budget, put money aside to benefit Mallow projects and that as a result Mallow had, at one stage, the lowest rates in the county. He pointed out that funding for the municipal districts was now distributed over a far wider area.

Pat O'Brien, who served on the town council for five years, said he was in favour of its return saying local councillors were more in touch with the people of Mallow and able to see at first hand the issues of local interest. However, not everyone was in favour of the town council returning, with one of the six people who polled against its return saying it was solely to blame for the controversial town plaza, which he said "had created traffic congestion in the town centre and is forcing people out of town to shop."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.New figures have revealed that the price of agricultural land in Cork dropped by four per cent during 2018 compared to the figure for the previous year.

That's according to the 12th annual Irish Farmers' Journal Land Price Report, which provides a comprehensive breakdown of agricultural land prices across each county.

The report, which is used by the Government and the Central Bank as the official guide to land prices across the country, showed the average 2018 price for land in Cork stood at 11,200 per acre, compared to the figure of 11,444 recorded for 2017.

Interestingly, the 2017 figure had represented a 16 per cent increase on the price recorded for 2016 of 10,053. For the second year in succession the report showed that Cork also brought the most land of any county to market during 2018 at almost 9,500 acres, an increase of 25 per cent on the 2017 figures of 7,134 acres. Last year's total was almost back to the level recorded in 2016 of 9,317 acres.

The report found that dairy farmers purchased more than half of the land sold in Cork last year. Business-people were also active, with residential holdings close to urban centres proving popular for those with a farming interest.

This was a trend reflected across the country, with more than 17 per cent of land parcels sold during 2018 purchased by those with business interests - with the average price paid more than 12,000 per acre reflecting what the report's authors said were "the lengths to which those with business interests were willing to go" to secure land.

In some notable instances this price was well exceeded, with the highest being a 101- acre farm in Douglas which sold for 5.8 million, or 58,000 per acre.

Nationally, the report showed the average price of land stood at 9,072 per acre in 2018, a slight decrease of 0.18 per cent on the figure 9,088 in 2017.

The 2017 figure was the highest for three-years and was the first time the average per-acre selling price had risen above the 9,000 mark.

However, the triple whammy of extreme weather events, poor beef prices and the threat of Brexit has resulted in an 11 per cent reduction in the amount of land brought to market in 2018 to 70,296 acres, down from 78,350 in 2017.

In turn just 45 per cent of the land offered to market was actually sold, with the total value of land transaction across the Republic last year standing at 305 million, down from 313 million in 2017.

The report found that the difficult weather conditions were a "significant factor" in this decline with snow and the fodder crisis in the spring and the summer drought having an impact on demand as land became a secondary concern, particularly in dairy dominated areas.

Broken down into agri-sectors, the report found that dairy farmers were paying an average of almost 10,000 per acre and while they account for just 14 per cent of the total number of farmers, they accounted for almost a quarter of all purchases in 2018.

Beef farmers are paying just 8,000 per acre and while they outnumber their dairy counterparts by an almost four to one they account for just 33 per cent of sales, with the report saying this highlighted the "financial disparity and spending power" between both sectors.

Tillage farmers are paying more than 11,500 per acre, making up just 2.5 per cent of sales with the report claiming that despite being restricted by land quality, expansion by dairy farmers is leaving them with no choice but to compete on price.

Forestry once again proved to be a big player, with lucrative premiums and tax-free income on clear fell meaning that pensions funds, private investors and farmers are increasing regarding forestry as a solid, low-risk investment.

This, according to the report, has served to increase the base price of marginal land in many parts of the country.

11 reasons why land is not selling

* No neighbours: Having interested farmers in the locality is the first step.

* Unrealistic Expectations: Just because higher prices are seen in close proximity doesn't mean the holding will make a similar price.

* Brexit: Has caused uncertainty with reduced enquiries and demand for land.

* Finance: The fodder crisis and subsequent drought, increased costs on farms during 2018.

* Commodity Prices: A poor year for beef reduced profitability and sentiment.

* Sentiment: There is a definite correlation between sentiment and land sales.

* Quality: "Good land will sell" is typical phrase you will hear - farmers selling poorer-quality ground are at the mercy of interested neighbours.

* Location: Areas with traditionally strong farmers and top quality land will more likely have a greater chance of selling.

* Age demographic of farmers: A noticeable trend emerging is the correlation between the lack of young farmers and reduced sales in that area.

* Size: There is always higher competition for smaller holdings under 40 acres.

* Weather: The extremes of last year's weather conditions pushed up costs on Irish farms and reduced their ability to access finance and made purchasing land a secondary priority in some cases.The Millstreet Boys School who celebrated their Confirmation with the Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne at St Patricks Church, Millstreet

The Millstreet Girls Presentation National School on their Confirmation day with the Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne. Photos: John Tarrant

Patrick Gilbourne and Sophia Serreli with Bishop Browne, Canon John Fitzgerald and teachers Mary Murphy and Richard Browne

Ideal weather conditions greeted the recent Sacrament of Confirmation ceremony hosted at St Patrick's Church, Millstreet.

A total 97 boys and girls representing Millstreet, Cloghoula and Cullen schools convened for the ceremony for their big day, with the spacious church packed to capacity for the special occasion attended by Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne.

Families and extended family members came from many parts of Ireland and overseas convened for the joyful event.

The occasion was made all the more enjoyable by girls from the Millstreet Presentation Convent School who sang the hymns through the impressive ceremony.St. Brigid's Drama 70th Anniversary production of Phillip Barry's "The Philadelphia Story" is entering the final weeks of rehearsal. This forthcoming production will be performed in the Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell St. on five nights, Tues 9th- Sat 13th April, at 8pm.

This play is a classic romantic comedy set amid American high society in the 1930s. The drama centres around headstrong Tracey Lord, a wealthy socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive tabloid gossip columnist. Her playboy ex- husband's arrival on the eve of the marriage is due to a surreptitious invitation, by an unknown party, with the intention of sabotaging the wedding event. Equally, the gossip columnist is not a universally welcome participant in the big day preparations.

"The Philadelphia Story", a sharp witty play which explores family dynamics, human frailty and class prejudice, had large number of strong roles to be filled. St. Brigid's Drama Group are always looking to encourage new acting talent onto the stage and once again the group are confident their audiences will be well pleased with the performances.

The director undertaking this production, Camilla Healy, has excelled performing in highly successful St. Brigid's productions of recent years such as last years "Steel Magnolias" but also takes with her a wealth of experience from her time in professional acting capacity of previous years in Dublin theatre productions.

The cast includes Pola Campbell, Rob Mulroy, Conor Byrne, Aoife Duffy, Colin Churchill, Rosaleen Sampson, Donald Mullen, Barbara Carr, Brendan Murray, Karl Flood, Paddy Mc Guigan, Eimear O'Kane, Gerry Brennan, Genevieve Noone , Eliza Matthews.Broomfield: Anti-Litter Initiative in Broomfield & District - The same roads are entered this year as were entered last year. Please play your part, and help secure the Gold Medal again this year. If you want a litter picker, please contact Gerard on 087 2729154.

Contact me

Contact Gerard on 087/2729154 or E-mail: starinaghgerard1@gmail.com if you have an item for this column, the deadline for which is 12 noon on Friday. Thanks for your co-operation as always.

Best wishes

The best wishes of the association and community is extended to all who are hospitalised or ill at this time. We wish you a speedy recovery.

Tir na n-Og Active Retirement

The next Tir na n-Og Active Retirement social evening in Teach Raithneach will take place on Friday, 5th April, starting at 6 pm. All over 55's welcome. Come along, meet old and new friends and neighbours, and participate in the activities. Refreshments served.

Important National Dates

Mother's Day is on Sunday, 31st March. Step up to the mark lads, make the dinner!

National Spring Clean, promoted by an Taisce, runs for the entire month of April.

National Tree Week

National Tree Week is from Sunday 31st March to Sunday 7th April. A tree planting ceremony will take place at Teach Raithneach, Starinagh, Collon on Saturday, 6th April at 12 mid-day, in memory of all those from the community of Broomfield and district and the wider community who passed away during the last year. Everyone welcome, especially those families and their extended families who were bereaved during the last 12 months. Light refreshments will be served afterwards in Teach Raithneach. The theme for this year's Tree Week is 'Plant for our Planet'.

Birthday congratulations Seamus

Congratulations to Seamus (Rusty) Reilly, Collon who celebrated his birthday recently. It was a significant birthday, every birthday is! No word of a party, yet.

A Little Bit of History

Congratulations to Tom Barron, Glasallen, a member of the victorious Navan U-18 rugby team that annexed the Leinster title on St. Patrick's weekend. The Navan side defeated Wexford side Gorey by a score of 21 to 19. Well done to all involved.

Set Dancing News

A great nights Music and Set Dancing was enjoyed by all in attendance in Mathew's Lounge, Collon on Monday night last 18th March. Hosted by the Teach Raithneach and Sandpit Set Dancers to celebrate Deireadh Seachtaine Feile Phadraig, sets, sean nos and waltzes were danced. Musicians Paddy and Oliver were in fine fettle, as usual, while Fear an Ti John called the sets.

Set dancing classes continue on Monday nights in Teach Raithneach and on Thursday nights in Sandpit Hall, both classes start at 8.30pm and light refreshments are served. Contact Gerard on 087 2729154 or Jim on 087 9161903 for details.

Star performance by Andrews Duo

The Fosters Duleek and District League's Doubles Darts Competition saw Tullyallen father and son duo John and David Andrews take the honours after a hotly contested final. Well done to John and David, both members of the Morning Star Darts Team, a thoroughly deserved win. Is this a record? The Duleek and District Darts League completes its 44th year in existence this year and is acknowledged as on of the best in the country. Well done to all involved.

Booking Teach Raithneach

To Book Teach Raithneach, contact Alice on 087-9360018. The Teach Raithneach Eircode is A92 W283

TUS vacancy

A TUS vacancy exists with Broomfield and District Residents Association. The work programme involves care-taking duties in and around Teach Raithneach, as well as the maintenance and up-keep of a number of amenities throughout the District. If you think you are eligible to participate in this scheme then please contact the Gerard on 087 2729154 for more information. Self referral forms are available. These allow you to self-refer to Meath Partnership, the body who have responsibility for implementing the TUS Scheme in this area.

Broomfield Bonus Ball Lottery Draw

Draw Date: 20/03/2019. Bonus Ball Numbers were: 09, 04 and 23. No Jackpot winner! Next Week's Jackpot: 5,350. This week's 20 winners: Christy Mongey, Kellystown; Jim Finegan, Termonfeckin; Marie Lynch, Balgathern; Paddy Rafferty, Rathbran; Stephanie Matthews, Collon. Promoters: Josie Mongey, Mary Rafferty, Sheila Matthews Gerard Weldon and Teach Box. Next Draw Date: 27/03/2019

Monasterboice

Contact me

If you have any news relevant to Monasterboice, be it personal, such as weddings, birthdays etc, club or organisation related, please contact me at paddyholdcroft@gmail.com or on 0862039501.

A Monasterboice message from Nicola

It's that wonderful time of year again, time to release some hedgehogs back to the wild. Hedgehogs are a protected species and these little ones were all in rehabilitation over the winter, for one reason or another, under licence from NPWS. They're to be released back to where they were originally found but in some cases this isn't possible, so they need to find a new neighbourhood.

If you are a landowner and would be interested in having the privilege of some spiky butts setting up home near you, let me know and we can discuss to see if your area is suitable. There are some terms and conditions but these are only to ease their readjustment back to the wild and to give them the best possible chance.

They, along with most flora and fauna in today's crazy world full of crazy people, need all the help we can give them.

Many thanks, Nicola Carroll

Guides go Bingo

The Monasterboice Girl Guides are running a mega bingo on Friday, April 5th in Drunshallon Forge. This event is to raise monies to help fund Maire Taylor, who hopes to do voluntary work in India this year. This will be the first time that the Guides will have someone volunteering in India and all concerned are seriously proud of Marie.

On the night, doors will open at 7.30 and all will commence at 8pm. There will be cash prizes and tickets are a meagre 10 each, with kids gaining entry for free. Can't get more decent than that and all for a great cause.

Tidy Towns

Don't forget that coming up is the annual Spring Clean Day, in association with An Taisce National Spring Clean event. The Spring Clean day is Saturday, April 6th from 10am to 12.30. Meeting points at 10am include Monasterboice Inn car park, Tenure Church, Fieldstown Church, Harestown school and the Valley Inn car park. See the Facebook page for full details.

Drumshallon Forge

For our literary friends, we have both a monthly book club and weekly creative writing group held at the peaceful and beautiful backdrop of Drumshallon Forge.

The book club is one Monday evening per month, 8pm to 10pm. Fee is 5 per meeting. Contact Lisa on 086 161 4465 for next meeting.

CREATIVE WRITING - every Thursday morning 10am to 12 noon. This group provides an opportunity for both prose and poetry writers of all levels of experience to have their work reviewed and critiqued by others. Fee of 5. Contact Lisa on 086 161 4465.

The Drumshallon Forge is located just north of the Piperstown Equestrian Centre, Ballymakenny Road, Grangebellew, Co Louth, A92 DF7X.

Contact us by email: drumshallonforgeheritagecentre@eircom.net and find us on Facebook.

N. Mairtin Lotto

Results 20.03.19, numbers: 03,12,17,20, jackpot not won. 17,000 this week. Match 3 Numbers 150 shared by Moira Bellew, Susan Callan, Gary McCabe and John McGrane.

Mullary Cemetery Lotto

Saturday, March 16th, winning no was 3. Winners were Jackie Ryan and the Campbell family.

Clogherhead

Contact me

Contact me on 089 200 5305 or email me at delaney.deirdre@gmail.com for all notices to be included in paper. Thank you. The Clogherhead Development Group is online at www.clogherhead.com.

Callystown NS Enrolment

Enrolment for the year 2020 in Callystown NS is now taking place. You may contact the school during school hours by telephone 041 98 22873 or call personally. Thank you.

Yoga with Gra

Another new class in the Community Hall, Clogherhead is Yoga With Gra. These classes are on Wednesday 9.30 - 10.30am and Saturday 10 - 11am and are becoming very popular with the ladies and gentlemen are welcomed as well. Please txt Grainne O'Kane on 086 8290835 to book these classes which are 'gentle flow hatha yoga'.

Togher Chaerobics

Sit and get fit with Togher 'chaerobics' classes by Carmel, as heard on LM FM, in Tullydonnell School Hall every Tuesday at 7.30pm. Fee per night is 8 or 40 for six classes. For further information contact Carmel ph: 0863282748.

All weather party

The latest craze at the all weather pitch in Clogherhead is to hire it out by the hour for your child and their friends. Contact 086 8242024 / 086 8568283 for further details.

Clogherhead bingo

Don't forget bingo continues every Monday night in the Community Hall, Clogherhead starting 8.30pm. There are two jackpots as well as 10 other games to be played.

St. Colmcilles Pastoral Area SVP

If you need assistance or help please phone either of the numbers listed below: 086 0390612 / 041 9835914.

Your request will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner.

Community Hall, Clogherhead

Monday: 4.30-5.30 Campbell Academy of Irish Dance; Bingo: 8.30pm Tuesday, first of every month: 8pm; Clogherhead and Walshestown ICA Guild meeting: 2nd Tuesday of every month at 8pm; Development Group meeting: Wednesday, 9.30 - 10.30am, Yoga With Gra; 10.30am-3.30pm, Ferrard Day Centre; 5-6.30p.m. Miriam McCarthy School of Irish Dance; Thursday: 9.30-11.30 a.m. parent and toddler group: 2pm indoor bowls; Friday: 3p.m. Danceworx; Saturday: 10 - 11a.m. Yoga With Gra.

To book the hall for any event, please phone Carainn on 087 2767511 after 7pm thank you.

There are three rooms for rent in the hall and also kitchen facilities and any event can be catered for: business meetings and presentations, arts and crafts, weddings, Christenings, Birthdays, Communions, Confirmations and Funeral Receptions.

Get Well Greetings

A speedy recovery is sent to all parishioners who are ill, either at home, in hospital, and in the various convalescence and respite homes in the area.

Sincere thanks are also extended to those who care for them there.The Cheltenham Gold Cup Daffodil Day Business Lunch 2019, with the help of sponsors and supporters, raised almost 20,000.

The event in the Westcourt Hotel included a drinks reception followed by six live races from Cheltenham, a three-course meal small auction and an amazing raffle, all prize items kindly donated by very loyal supporters.

The atmosphere in the room was electric as guests roared their chosen horses across the winning post, the charity race tipster for the day was Mr Bernard Woods whose carefully selected horses won the charity a lot of extra money, Auctioneer for day was Mr Giles Belton who turned all the donated auction items into almost  8000.

The lunch also hosts the now famous "Best Dressed Business Man Award" won this year by Mr Simon Mc Cormack, the judge Mrs Carmel McCarthy picked him because of this tweed outfit. The 2019 Gold Cup winning table was, Eamon McAvienue, Andrew Towel, Martin Healy, Phil Codd, Eamon Fergus, Noel Carr, Donal Grennan and Don Hammond as they were the lucky holders for the winning horse "Al Boum Photo" .

Fundraising days like these don't happen by chance they need the help of valuable volunteers, Paula Belton, Geraldine Meegan, Giles Belton, Bernard Woods, Hilary Lynch, Maeve Smith and Karen Healy.

Every year, the Irish Cancer Society holds its fundraising event Daffodil Day, to raise money to help those affected by cancer - whether they have the disease themselves or someone in their family does.

Up to 200,000 people would have been impacted by the Cancer Society services. Without the Daffodil Day they wouldn't be able to deliver that.

The Daffodil Day night nurse service is a free service for people who are very seriously ill with cancer and may have come to the end of their cancer journey. They will want to spend time at home and not be in a hospital environment. A qualified Daffodil Day nurse will go to their home, at night time.

It is fantastic support for patients and family that they are going to get the level of care they need support, and emotional support. They also have Care to Drive, which involves transporting cancer patients to and from their hospital treatment and involved 6,000 journeys last year.

The ICS also offers financial aid to help take the pressure off people. Last year, they gave over 1 million in grants. They work with cancer support centres like the Gary Kelly Centre for counselling and delivered over 200,000 in grants to cancer support centres.

Their Survivors Supporting Survivors initiative is a one-to-one programme funded through Daffodil Day, where someone who has gone through the cancer journey is there to help and support others. feedback has shown that this can be hugely powerful for people.

The freephone national cancer helpline (1800 200 700) is staffed by qualified Daffodil Day nurses.Three handguns, ammunition and drugs have been discovered in the roof area of a former pub at the Parkview soccer ground.

Gardai mounted an extensive search of the premises under the Misuse of Drugs Act and came across the weapons under tiles in the roof.

The Detective, Crime and Drugs units swooped last Thursday, smashing open the locked doors using an angle grinder to force their way into the empty premises.

The finds are now being examined by technical staff within An Garda Siochana.

It is believed the premises closed some months ago.

It is not known how long the guns were hidden under the tiles or how they got there.

The facility is also accessible from a nearby unlit alleyway.

Almost two dozen gardai were involved in the operation that also saw the armed unit on standby.

It is believed that cocaine was also found at the scene.

Local residents in the Parkview area watched on in surprise as the raid took place, continuing for a number of hours.

The garda investigation will now centre on how the guns got there and where they originated and if they are linked to tbe ongoing criminal feud in the town.

The discovery, which has been deemed significant, comes in the same week when four new gardai have been posted to Drogheda in a further boost to numbers.

The lack of resources in the town has been highlighted on a number of occasions in recent months.

At the recent Joint Policing Meeting in Millmount, local and national politicians called for more resources for the town to combat the ongoing gangland drug war. It was proposed to write to Commissioner Drew Harris on the matter.Cystic Fibrosis National Awareness Week takes place from Monday 8th April to Sunday 14th April.

Karen & Aogan at the Glenside would like to invite you to their 65 Roses Charity Dinner in Henrys Restaurant on Tuesday 9th April from 7pm. Tickets are priced at 65 for two tickets and include a 4-course dinner and glass of Purple prosecco.

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetically inherited disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. Ireland has the highest incidence of Cystic Fibrosis in the world - around 1 in 19 Irish people are said to carry one copy of the altered gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis. All profits on the night will go to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. CF Ireland (CFI) is a voluntary organisation that was set up by parents in 1963 to improve the treatment and facilities for people with Cystic Fibrosis in Ireland. You can purchase tickets through Eventbrite or book your table online www.glensidehotel.ie/henrys.html. You can also email reception on info@glensidehotel.ie.

Karen is also looking for donations for raffle prizes for the night so please email karen@glensidehotel.ie. All proceeds from the raffle will go directly to CF Ireland.South Drogheda and East Meath Fianna Fail Councillor, Stephen McKee, is calling for greater co-operation between Louth & Meath County Councils to develop the South Drogheda and East Meath area.

'It is clear that there needs to be greater co-operation between Meath and Louth County Councils to ensure that the South Drogheda area receives the investment and services it needs so that it reaches its full potential.

'Though there was no change to the County boundaries in the recent review, recommendations were made for greater co-operation and planning between both County Councils. This needs to start with meetings between Drogheda and East Meath area Councils to discuss and progress plans for the area. I have tabled a motion to Meath County Council calling for this to happen with immediate effect' stated McKee.

'I have worked hard alongside Meath County Council to deliver projects in South Drogheda such as the Beamore Road Pedestrian Crossing, the footpath at Deepforde and bus bays at Grange Rath and I continue to lobby hard for the area. It is also clear that Meath County Council have put some energy and resources into improving the commercial and business growth of the East Meath area.'

'Nevertheless, it is obvious that much more needs to be done particularly in relation to the proper planning of housing developments, road infrastructure, traffic management and footpaths. This can only effectively happen with closer co-operation between Louth and Meath County Councils. I am working alongside my colleague James Byrne in Louth to ensure this happens' concluded McKee.

Hall gets bus commitment

Michelle Hall, Labour's local election candidate in Drogheda Rural, says a commitment has been secured from the National Transport Authority to develop and extend the current Bus Eireann Route 189.

The timetable for the new service will be designed to include a service to connect with trains to Dublin, expanded timetable for Sundays and holidays and a later evening service.

"Over the past number of months, I have been canvassing locally about the lack of a proper public transport infrastructure in the Termonfeckin and Clogherhead areas. I gathered almost 1500 signatures either in person or online and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all these residents for their support." said Michelle.

Over 3m spent on maintenance

The demand for social housing has increased significantly over the past number of years and this coupled with a decrease in the government budgetary allocation to Louth County Council is placing unprecedented demands on council housing finances, according to Louth County Councillor Pio Smith.

Cllr Smith said " The social housing stock across the county is aging and in particular the housing units in Drogheda. In 2018 we seen that Louth County Council did not have the money to cover the cost of maintenance for many social housing tenants, some of whom are still waiting for work to be done to their homes. I fear that we may be in a similar situation again in 2019 if the government do not step in and take responsibility for the outstanding land loans on the council books and provide extra funding for maintenance.

"In total the council spent 3,156,409 on some form of maintenance to council houses in 2018 and approx 1m of that was spent in Drogheda. This type of spending is simply not sustainable from the current funding received from central government and I believe people will face significant waiting time for maintenance into the future."Sinn Fein TD for Louth Imelda Munster has questioned in the Dail why Louth County Council has been instructed to cease issuing loans under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme, despite the popularity of the programme, which assists middle to low income families who are first time buyers and have been refused mortgages by banks.

Deputy Munster questioned Tanaiste Simon Coveney on why the government has instructed the council to cease issuing loans, given the ongoing housing emergency, and the fact that this is one of the very few schemes aimed at assisting people in lower wage brackets to buy their own homes.

Deputy Munster said: "Louth County Council confirmed that they have received instructions to cease issuing loans under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme.

"These are the very same loans that Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy said would assist middle to low income families and first time buyers who have been turned down by banks.

"Over half of the 200million fund has already been drawn down, just one year into the three year scheme, which is an indication of the dire need for this fund.

"Minister Coveney dodged the question, refusing to give me a straight answer. Is he suggesting that Louth County Council is making this up? The fact is that it's true. They have been told to cease issuing loans at a time when for many low to middle income first time buyers this is their only option for buying a home. The government needs to explain this.

"There's been enough ducking and diving by the Minister for Housing and his colleagues.

"It's time we got a straight answer on this."Cooperation among cooperatives is one of the operating principles of credit unions. Nowhere is this more evident than through the support received by the Irish League of Credit Unions International Development Foundation (ILCU Foundation) from Drogheda Credit Union.

The ILCU Foundation is sharing the ethos and knowledge of the Irish movement with credit union movements in Africa in the spirit of 'people helping people'. Drogheda Credit Union generously donated 30,000 to the ILCU Foundation as part of their international social responsibility commitment to support the development of credit unions' in developing and low-income countries.

The ILCU Foundation is providing financial and technical support to help develop strong, sustainable and secure credit union movements in Ethiopia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone and countries in Eastern Europe. As the charitable arm of the Irish credit union movement, the ILCU Foundation is helping to support credit unions in the same manner that the American and Canadian credit unions movements helped to support the founders of the Irish credit union movement when they were setting up the first credit unions back in the 1950s. The work of the ILCU Foundation focuses on building the capacity of the staff and volunteers in our partner movements and also providing financial literacy training for members in rural communities. Last year the ILCU Foundation supported almost 500 credit unions that serve over 140,000 members, their families and their communities.

Geraldine Gilsenan, Chairperson of Drogheda Credit Union noted that "We are proud to support the ILCU Foundation. Our support will allow the Foundation to educate and upskill the credit union staff and volunteers to develop their respective credit union movements. We know the value of the credit union in our communities and it's good to be able to help others and give them the opportunity to be able to save and borrow money as a means to reducing poverty. Regardless of the continent or country the credit union ethos is the same the world over - it's not for profit and people helping people."

Alan Moore, CEO of the ILCU Foundation, said "With the continued support of Drogheda Credit Union, and credit unions across the island of Ireland, the ILCU Foundation has been able to provide access to savings and loans for people who live in some of the world's poorest countries. Credit union membership has a positive impact on the poor and marginalised in society; it improves their quality of life, provides access to education and helps them to escape a life of poverty. This is the same model that the Irish credit union movement has been using throughout Ireland, for over 50 years. I would like to thank Drogheda Credit Union and their members' for their support. "A proposal to compel third level institutions to provide sexual consent classes or risk losing funding was floated last week after it was recommended in a Government-commissioned report.

The report, which was sought by the Minister for State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O'Connor raised concerns about the levels of sexual assaults happening on Irish college campuses.

One of the key recommendations is that colleges and universities should make workshops and classes on consent and sexual violence available to students.

This is in theory a positive proposal but in reality is just lip service. There is no doubt that there is a need for awareness about sexual consent and of course sexual assault which every young person knows is a crime, but if we are to wait until they start college to address it, then this could be problematic.

The matter of consent has never been more discussed and this is a good thing, but at the very heart of the issue, is the fundamental issue of right and wrong. This needs to be addressed by parents and educators long before a teenager goes off to college. It should be part of everyday learning, just like any other topic that may crop up along the way - a life lesson.

The number of incidents of sexual violence recorded on college campuses was a contributing factor to having this report drawn up, and they cannot be ignored, but should be treated just as any other criminal act.

Certainly the fact that any such crime is committed on a college campus should not render it less serious, but this needs to be impressed upon students.

If there is a misconception that it is in some way, more socially acceptable, then this is what needs to be addressed, not token gesture consent classes, which incidentally, would not be attended by those most likely to offend.

Consent classes cannot realistically be made compulsory in any third level institution. The students are adults and while even if classes were available, I don't think they would help combat the actions of any potential sexual predators.

We're probably not talking attackers in the bushes here, but rather incidents of assault reported on campus accommodation where the issue of consent would be raised, but both need to be addressed long before the college years, for everyone's benefit.Fintan Kelly will appear in the National Opera

Enniscorthy actor, Fintan Kelly, will be taking to the stage of Wexford Opera House next month for a starring role in Stagemad Theatre Company's production of 'Howie the Rookie'.

The story will bring the audience on a white-knuckle ride through a Dublin nightmare where there is a very fine line between friend and foe.

The highly charged production will have it all; at times funny and light-hearted, at other times dark and sombre, it will touch on a wide variety of human emotions.

Penned by Mark O'Rowe and directed by James Power, who is artistic director of Stagemad Theatre Company, the show highlights the immense talent of Kelly who is fast earning a reputation as one of Ireland's foremost actors.

Equally, Rowe enjoys a reputation as a writer of immense talent whose work is thought-provoking and inspiring in equal measure.

Critics have been hailing the show as 'a great night out' and for local theatre-goers here in Co Wexford it will provide a great opportunity to see one of the county's top actors participating in a brilliant production.

The play is based around the character Howie Lee (Kelly) who gets dragged into a bizarre feud of honour involving a scabies-infested mattress against 'the Rookie Lee'.

The feud spirals out of control and ends in personal tragedy.

The Rookie has problems of his own: massively in debt to a terrifying gangland figure for killing his prized Siamese fighting fish, he readies himself for a hideous revenge until he is championed from an unlikely quarter by his one time enemy.

The play will be staged on Thursday and Friday, April 4 and 5, at 8 p.m.

Tickets, priced 15, are now on sale now at the National Opera House box-office on 053 9122144.

The box-office is open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and can also be accessed online at www.nationalopearahouse.ie

A spokesperson for the venue said early booking is advisable.The importance of the work done by the Hope Centre in Enniscorthy and the Irish Cancer Society was highlighted in exemplary fashion in the town on Daffodil Day.

A number of events were held to raise money for the society and the organisers of the respective initiatives expressed delight at their success.

The Hope Centre itself held a very well attended coffee morning that saw people from the town and surrounding areas gather to show their support for what is one of the most important community based support initiatives in the county.

The Hope Centre offers support and advice to people from all over Wexford and the south east who are affected by cancer.

However, similar coffee morning events were also held in the Presentation Centre and in Monageer Hall as part of the Daffodil Day series of events.

Daffodil Day is the main annual fundraising event on the Irish Cancer Society's yearly calendar and it regularly raises thousands of Euro to enable the organisation continue its invaluable work within communities all over the country.

The main organisers in Enniscorthy were delighted with the support the events received from the general public who donated flowers for the day and who helped out as sellers and collectors.

The money raised will be used by the Irish Cancer Society to continue its work in combating one of the most prevalent illnesses in Irish society.

The money is used to invest in cancer research and providing care and support to people who are ill.There was huge excitement at Glynn Community Centre as budding young artists from across the locality gathered to compete in the area final of the Community Games Art and Handwriting competition.

A total of 42 kids aged from tots up to 14 arrived for an afternoon of art and there was great excitement as things got underway.

After the kids bid a fond farewell to their parents, it was down to business as they gathered their supplies and did some practice runs.

The kids were given a theme to draw about and according to Glynn Community Games Chairperson Melanie Ryan, the standard was really high this year.

'There was great excitement here,' she said. 'The kids were given three hours to complete their masterpiece, but as you can imagine, quite a few of them finished early. Some of them, particularly the older ones, took it quite seriously though and took their time to create some brilliant pieces. We had a great mix of girls and boys this year which we were delighted with.'

After the art competition, 12 of the kids stayed on to take part in the handwriting competition as well. The winners in each age category in both competitions will now go forward to the county finals which take place in Castlebridge on March 30.

Upcoming events for Glynn Community Games include swimming, drafts, gymnastics and a table quiz. Those interested in getting involved can contact Melanie on 086 3377531.The appalling events that unfolded in Christchurch have shocked the world but, amid the horror, the reaction of the leaders and people of New Zealand offer a sign of hope in our increasingly divided and angry world.

As the United States staggers onward under the alienating leadership of Donald Trump and the UK wades through Brexit, it is easy to despair for the state of the modern world which has rarely seemed so riven by hate and fear.

That hatred was highlighted in the starkest possible manner by the shooting of 100 innocent worshippers as they prayed in two New Zealand mosques two weeks ago.

Fifty of these people - ranging in age from just three to 71 - are dead, slaughtered by a psychopathic fanatic in service of a deranged racist creed.

Political leaders across the world - especially in the US - often struggle to cope with such tragedies. Look at Theresa May's woeful response to the Grenfell Tower fire for one notable recent example.

The absolute opposite is the case in New Zealand where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been a model leader in the most trying and difficult of circumstances.

From the outset of the tragedy, Ms Ardern has rallied and united her grieving country while denying the racist savage behind the mass killings what he and his disgusting ilk most crave - attention.

Ardern's call to focus on the names of the victims and to banish the name of their murderer from discussion was a powerful one and it has been embraced by the people of New Zealand.

So too has her message of unity and her emotional efforts to reach out to the Muslim community that has been so utterly devastated by the killings.

The displays of unity in New Zealand have been both moving and striking.

Biker gangs have volunteered to guard their "brothers and sisters" in mosques across New Zealand while, all over the country, teenage school students performed an emotional Haka in tribute to the victims.

The crazed racist maniac who carried out the killings sought to divide the country and spark a race war.

He has failed and failed utterly. Rather than dividing New Zealand, his actions have served to unify the nation in sympathy and horror.

Jacinda Ardern and her Government - who within six days of the mass murders had moved to ban automatic weapons - deserve great credit for their leadership.

Their immediate decision to brand the killings as an act of terrorism - rather than the tepid terminology often used to label acts of far-right white racist violence - is also notable and it is an example others should follow in the future.

Racists and terrorists thrive on division and attention. In denying them both, the people of New Zealand have provided the world with a perfect example of how we can defeat those who seek to terrorise us and tear our communities apart.

In these awful days the people of New Zealand deserve more than just our sympathy, they deserve our greatest respect.Students from Colaiste Bride in Enniscorthy have a taken a stand against climate change to raise awareness around the need for people to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

The students protested as part of an international 'climate action' event that saw young people all around the world taking to the streets to highlight their concerns about environmental issues.

Geography students in the Enniscorthy school walked out of the classroom to protest against the Irish Government's lack of action regarding climate change. Speaking to this newspaper about the protest the students' geography teacher, Jennie Doocey, said: 'Students are studying climate change and now realise that it is a reality; we have only 12 years to reverse the course of the damage we have already done and our students are frustrated that our Government has taken no action to tackle this problem and protect their future.'

The worldwide protest was sparked by the actions of Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg, who single-handedly started the campaign by protesting on her own outside her parliament.

Her protest spurred others into action and the students in Colaiste Bride were happy to give their support to the campaign and voice their concerns.

One student involved in the protest said adults need to adopt a more responsible approach.

'What use is learning the facts if adults ignore them?' asked the student.

The protest march in Enniscorthy was organised by Ms Doocey and her geography teaching colleague, Ms Sinnott.The Irish Heart Foundation has this week launched a new free community CPR training programme called Hands for Life which will see a local training session delivered at the Grand Hotel in Malahide, next month.

The programme, which is supported by Abbott and ESB Networks, was launched in Dublin by heroic nurse Aoife McGivney who recently intervened and saved the life of a bus driver who was suffering a cardiac emergency.

Hands for Life will offer free CPR training to 100,000 people in local communities throughout Ireland over the next two years.

Locals in Fingal can sign up for a training course on April 13 at the Grand Hotel in Malahide by visiting www.HandsForLife.ie:

Hands for Life training courses are free and open to all adults aged 18 and over. Communities, groups and clubs who have 30 or more people interested in a free Hands for Life training course can contact the Irish Heart Foundation directly on 01 668 5001 or handsforlife@irishheart.ie to arrange a training course in their locality.

The training course takes just under one hour to complete and attendees will learn how to recognise a cardiac arrest, how to perform compressions, including hands-on practice on a CPR training mannequin and how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

You will also learn how to respond to a choking emergency and how to recognise a stroke.

Speaking at the launch, Aoife McGivney said: 'The day started out like any other for me, getting on the bus to work in the morning. But before long, I found myself on the footpath on O'Connell Street performing CPR on the bus driver.

'Thankfully, he survived and nobody was hurt.

'I was lucky enough to know what to do in the situation and my training kicked in instinctively.

'I know first-hand how important it is to know CPR and that it can be the difference between life and death. I hope that others will be inspired by my story to learn CPR through the Irish Heart Foundation's Hands for Life free community CPR training courses, supported by Abbott and ESB Networks.'The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has a network of almost 230 shops throughout Ireland including shops in Balbriggan, Malahide, Rush and Swords

This week SVP has launched a campaign urging people to come forward to volunteer in their shops to help with customer care, general housekeeping, merchandising, sorting and pricing clothing and other donated items.

Lynn Byrne manager of the SVP East Region Shops says that volunteering in Vincent's shops creates memories and is a great benefit to someones's life experience.

She said: 'It can enhance your skills and knowledge and you get to meet new people. Also by donating your time, talents, and passion you are making a real difference in your local community.

'There is no barrier to volunteering in terms of age , gender or nationality and to learn more we are asking people to call into their local Vincent's shop or telephone (01) 884 8217 or go online to svp.ie/shops.'

Vincent's shops are a hugely important aspect of the service SVP provides to those who seek its assistance. Not only do the shops provide goods at affordable prices, they also provide an income source for the Society, which is directed back into the local community. Profit generated by the shops is recycled into local SVP Conferences to assist local people.Irish Water is commencing works to improve the security of water supply to over 20,000 residents and businesses Balbriggan.

Irish Water says it is working in partnership with Fingal County Council is constructing a new 6km water main from Jordanstown Reservoir to Kilsough Reservoir in Balbriggan which will benefit homes and businesses in the area. These works will commence on 25 March, 2019 at the Five Roads Junction on the R132 and will progress towards Balbriggan in phases. The works are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Once completed this project will improve the security of supply and ensure that there are less unplanned water interruptions while providing the capability to meet future demands for housing and business in Balbriggan. This project is being delivered alongside similar projects in Malahide and Howth, representing an Irish Water investment of 21.7 million to improve water supply in these communities.

Irish Water has planned the works in short sections in order to limit disruption. Traffic management will be in place over the course of the works so as to minimise traffic disruption. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times. Works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water shut offs. The works will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by John Craddock Limited/TES (NI) Joint Venture.

Speaking about the project, William McKnight, Irish Water, said: 'The construction of a new 6km water main in Balbriggan is vital to ensure a safer and a more secure water supply to homes and businesses in the area and will also support the economic and social development of the area. The works in Balbriggan form part of a significant investment of almost 22 million by Irish Water to improve the water infrastructure in Fingal. Upgrading the water infrastructure will ensure that customers in Howth, Malahide and Balbriggan will have a more reliable and secure supply which will result in fewer disruptions to their water supply. Irish Water understands this type of work can be inconvenient and we will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise any disruption these works may cause.'

Residents in the areas of the works have been notified and customers can call the Irish Water customer helpline on 1850 278 278 with any questions in relation to the works.Donabate Portrane Community Council has welcomed an admission from Fingal County Council that is it possible for it to put a temporary moratorium in place on new large-scale residential developments.

Although the count council said it was not prepared to impose such a moratorium on the peninsula, the community council said this was a 'significant admission, and is contrary to a number of claims made about the proposed moratorium'.

The community council has vowed to keep battling to get the infrastructure improved on the peninsula. The pledge comes after a motion calling for a temporary moratorium on new large-scale residential developments was defeated by councillors on the Balbriggan/Swords area committee of Fingal County Council.

The motion called for a short moratorium to be put in place by the council in respect of any further new large scale development until such time as the infrastructure currently under construction has been completed.

The motion, proposed by Cllr Paul Mulville (SD) was brought as the infrastructure in Donabate has 'passed beyond breaking point', according to the community council, and 'to recognise the extreme burden under which the residents of the peninsula are being placed under as a result of the volume of development'.

The meeting was told the motion does not concern development which is already in receipt of planning.

Councillors were told in a report from the Fingal County Council chief executive that it is within the power of the council to introduce a short moratorium on further large-scale development until the infrastructure has caught up.

The reasons given for not doing this were that it would not be prudent, that any such refusal of planning would be overturned on appeal by An Bord Pleanala, and that there is no policy basis either at Local Area Plan or County Development Plan level to allow for a moratorium.

However, Donabate Portrane Community Council said this amounted to a claim that there is there is no need for a moratorium as there is sufficient infrastructure currently in place to permit further development over and above that is already ongoing or permitted.

A community council spokesperson said: 'This view is out of touch with the realities of what the residents of the peninsula face day in day out.'

Donabate Portrane Community Council said it was pleased at the confirmation that a moratorium can, in fact, be put in place.

A spokesperson for Donabate Portrane Community Council said this confirmation should 'for once and for all deal with the arguments which have been made by some that the notion of a moratorium was in some way illegal or ultra vires the powers of the council'.

The spokesman added the community council was disappointed at the outcome of the vote, but it will keep pressing for a moratorium.

It also noted that the act of pushing for a moratorium has raised awareness of the issue.

Donabate Portrane Commnity Council proposed a ban on new planning permissions being granted for large-scale projects until as the Donabate Distributor Road is complete and the existing road at the railway bridge has been widened, which is a condition attached to the granting of permission for the National Forensic Mental Health Hospital in Portrane. The terms of the motion were endorsed at a public meeting.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  Thirty undocumented Filipino workers bound for the Middle East were barred from leaving the country by Immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a press release Saturday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said the workers - 18 women and 12 men - were about to board their flight Friday when they were prevented from doing so by the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU).

BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the workers initially claimed they would be visiting friends or relatives in Dubai.

He said they were able to present tourist visas and return tickets, however, inconsistencies in their stories made officers suspicious, and turned them over to the TCEU for a secondary inspection.

The BI said the passengers later admitted they were going to work abroad, adding their travel documents were given to them by a handler who met them outside the airport.

They were then turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation where the filing of trafficking charges against their recruiters would be facilitated.

BI-TCEU Chief Erwin Ortanez said 29 of the Filipinos would be working as waiters and waitresses in various Dubai hotels, while one was bound for Baghdad to work as a kitchen supervisor.

All but one passenger had valid tourist visas issued by the United Arab Emirates' Interior Ministry.The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council has argued for more devolved powers for local government.

While a debate rages over the future structures of local government with the Taoiseach recently floating the idea of a directly-elected Dublin Mayor in charge of the entire Dublin region currently run by four local authorities, the Fingal County Council chief executive, Paul Reid said the focus of the debate should not be about who runs local government but the powers that should be devolved to the regions.

Fingal County Council Chief Executive Paul Reid has stated that the debate surrounding Local Government in Ireland needs to extend from just the focus on who runs the sector to a debate about what services could be further devolved from Central Government.

Addressing a conference organised by the Centre for Local and Regional Governance, recently, Mr Reid said compared to other countries from around the world, Irish local authorities had fewer services devolved from Central Government.

In his presentation entitled 'Who Runs Local Government', Mr Reid said councils currently had responsibility for areas such as Housing, Planning, Roads and Transport, Waste Management and Water Services.

However, other nations such as Canada and Denmark also controlled sectors such Education, Healthcare/Hospitals and Social Services, he said.

Mr Reid said: 'The question as to who runs Local Government is not the only one. We should also be asking what Central Government services should be devolved to Local Government.'

In terms of funding, Ireland is below the OECD average, ranked behind other European nations such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, Mr Reid pointed out.

Mr Reid added that despite the lower level of fiscal autonomy compared to other OECD countries, one of the core strengths of Irish Local Government was 'implementation' at local level.

'The drivers and skills of our sector are very different to others,' he stated.

'While the private sector has a relentless focus on cost and customer experience and the civil service prioritises policy development, Local Government in Ireland is focused on investing in local communities and enabling business,' he added.

Mr Reid said: 'Another key strength in the Local Government sector was the collaborative approach on many issues between the management and the elected representatives in terms of economic development, community development, FDI attraction, tourism and libraries.'

Concluding his presentation, Mr Reid reiterated the key point that the debate needs to extend from who is in charge to also what further services should be devolved.Pictured at the awards was Lily Anderson, Roisin Smyth and Preethigae Kumaresan from Loreto Balbriggan who won the Intermediate category with their business Page Keepers and their teacher Eadaoin McGuiness, Paul Reid, CE of Fingal, Oisin Geoghegan, Head of Enterprise, Fingal, Rick OShea and Mayor of Fingal Anthony Lavin. (pic by Orla Murray/SON Photo

Teenage entrepreneurs from three local schools have won a place representing Fingal at the Student Enterprise Programme (SEP) National Finals in Croke Park on Friday, May 3.

Every September through LEO Fingal, entrepreneurial secondary school students begin their business journey as they are encouraged to research, set-up and run their own real-world businesses.

The enterprise education initiative delivered by the 31 LEOs in local authorities, is the most successful student enterprise programme of kind in the country. An estimated 26,000 students from 490 schools around the country begin their entrepreneurial journey every year with the help of their teachers, student enterprise co-ordinators and Local Enterprise Office. Fingal accounted for 2,700 of these students, making the Fingal competition by far the biggest in the country.

The students from 29 Fingal schools were all competing at the County Final last week at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown.

All students started up their own real-life business in a structured programme where they learned real business management skills.

In the Junior Category, the students that will represent Fingal at the National Finals in Croke Park are from Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together with a business called 'SpecRest', which is a device for conveniently storing eyewear.

In the Intermediate Category, Loreto Balbriggan scooped the top award, with their project called 'Page Keepers', a system to help book readers. The girls will be representing Fingal in Croke Park in Intermediate category.

In the Senior Category of the competition, Fingal will be represented on May 3 by 'Bee Kind' of St. Fintan's High School in Sutton. This is an innovative business set up to enable homeowners to attract bees which in turn helps our environment and eco-system by encouraging pollination. The winner in the senior category also scoops the grand prize of the coveted two-day educational trip to Barcelona, where the students and teachers will mingle with enterprising Spanish students that are engaged on other EU-funded enterprise development programmes.

As well as the biggest competition in the country, Fingal also boasts the most generous prize fund, thanks to the sponsors of the programme: One4All Multi-store Gift Cards, The Blanchardstown Shopping Centre and the Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education & Training Board (DDLETB). Representatives from these sponsors were present on the day announcing the winners: Nicola Roche from One4All presented the Innovation Award (won by Concrete Creations from Blakestown Community School); Niamh Garrahan from Blanchardstown Centre presented the Best Display Award (won by kafoodle Bakery from Loretto Balbriggan); and Aisling Crowley from DDLETB presented the Enterprising School Spirit Award (won by Luttrellstown Community College).

Other award winners included the Dragon's Den Award Comfort Writing from Mount Sackville in Chapelizod; Social Media won by Bobblehats from St. Fintans' High School in Sutton.A young mum from Malahide has described how difficult the emotional impact of cancer is, as she and An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar launched the Daffodil Day appeal, which got underway last Friday.

Sarah Murray from Malahide is the face of the Daffodil Day campaign this year, was shocked when she was diagnosed with cancer aged 32.

Her daughter was just one when Sarah noticed a swelling under her arm that turned out to be breast cancer. She had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Sarah said: 'The chemo and radiotherapy were very tough, but it was the period after treatment I found the most difficult.'

'People expect you to go back to normal. But for me, that's when the reality of what I had gone through really hit me. I was very anxious and depressed and found it hard to cope. I felt my body had betrayed me and was constantly worried about the cancer coming back.

'I got a lot of support from the nurses on the Irish Cancer Society's free Nurseline and in their Daffodil Centre. It helped so much to talk to someone who understood what I was going through and could answer my questions.

'I called the Nurseline again recently when I was worried about my check-up and it helped calm me down. Talking is so important, because recovery isn't just physical, it's mental too.'

Averil Power, Chief Executive of the Irish Cancer Society said: 'Thanks to our fantastic supporters, Sarah had someone to turn to when she was struggling to cope. Unfortunately, increased demand means not everyone who needs our help is getting it. Each day in Ireland, 150 people are diagnosed with cancer. We want to be there for every one of them with free support from our nurses and counselling sessions in local cancer centres nationwide. But as 98% of our funding comes from donations, we cannot do that without a strong Daffodil Day. That's why this year, we're calling on communities all over Ireland to come together, support cancer patients and ensure no-one has to go through cancer alone.'

Bernadette Lavery, MD, Boots Ireland said: 'Staff in our 87 stores are showing their support for people affected by cancer on Daffodil Day. Many stores are holding fundraisers and customers can buy a daffodil pin instore or add a donation to their bill to help raise funds.

'Boots staff come face to face with people affected by cancer every day and we understand how difficult it can be. As well as raising funds we do our best to offer support through local services such as the Boot Irish Cancer Society Information Pharmacists, who are trained specifically to provide information and advice on cancer, and our Beauty Cancer Advisors, who help women manage the visible side effects of cancer.'

You can still support Daffodil Day by buying a pin from a local volunteer, your local Boots store, or donate at www.cancer.ieA teenager who hit the director of Oberstown Children's Detention Campus on the head with a metal bar and smashed up the centre has been jailed for four years.

Michael Ward (19) with an address at Gleann Riada, Strokestown Road, Co Longford, pleaded guilty to criminal damage, assault causing harm and assault while attempting to commit theft at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus, Lusk, Co Dublin, on May 29, 2017.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ward is currently serving a four-year sentence, with the final 12 months suspended, for offences of criminal damage also committed at Oberstown.

Garda Vincent Tierney told Pieter Le Vert BL, prosecuting, that on the evening in question Ward asked a staff member at Oberstown if he could use the bathroom.

On their way to the bathroom, Ward began jostling with the staff member who initially thought he was joking. Ward told him not to "take this personally" and they began to struggle.

During the struggle, Ward grabbed the man's security fob. He then pulled a broken piece of a ceramic plate from his shorts and said: 'Don't f***ing come near me.'

Ward and a number of other youths barricaded themselves in an office and armed themselves with metal table legs. The staff member observed Ward break a sink off the wall of the staff bathroom and smash it over the toilet.

Campus Director Pat Bergin arrived to the scene and attempted to prevent the removal of bars from the office door's smashed window.

Ward reached through the window and swung the metal bar, hitting Mr Bergin in the head and causing him to start bleeding.

Ward removed a radiator from a wall and used it as a battering ram to get into a hallway. He and two others obtained an angle grinder from a maintenance shed and used it to cut their way through the campus fence.

He was brought back to Oberstown after the escape and told gardai that he had walked to his grandmother's home in Crumlin, Dublin after getting through the fence.

He said that the incident was not planned and that he had not intended to strike Mr Bergin in the head.

The total cost of the damage done to Oberstown was 17,135.

Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a four year sentence for the assaults and a concurrent sentence of five years for the damage.

She suspended the last year of both terms after taking into consideration his effort to rehabilitate, his early guilty plea, his young age and his apology.

Ward has 56 previous convictions, including convictions for theft, burglary, handling stolen property, criminal damage and public order offences.

Gda Tierney accepted the assertion of Dean Kelly BL, defending, that while 'obviously the behaviour described in your evidence is appalling', Ward could be a 'charming' young man.

Mr Kelly said the incident was not a 'prison break' but was rather a case of three young men 'going wild'.

He said that Ward walking across Dublin in the dead of night to his grandmother's house was not the act of a 'master criminal'.Devastation in Malawi following Cyclone Idai which has left locals without clean water or food

A spokesperson for the Gorey Malawi Health Partnership has expressed his disappointment for the people of Malawi in East Africa, following the severe cyclone that hit the area and caused extreme wind and rain resulting in widespread fatalities.

Cyclone Idai, which has been described as the worst disaster the Southern Hemisphere has ever experienced, has devastated the area as flooding has engulfed the landscape.

'Malawi quite simply does not have the capacity to respond to a disaster of this nature,' said the spokesperson Peter Harrington of Gorey Malawi Health Partnership.

He added that 'this will have a direct affect in reducing the funds available for ongoing and future education and health spending'.

People have been left displaced, and the extreme weather has destroyed any crop potential that may have come about during the harvest season.

The Gorey-Malawi Health Partnership was formed in 2016 and it stands as the clinical partner of the Health Research Group, which aims to improve clinical care and education about chronic diseases in Malawi.

Since the partnership began, members have developed a strong relationship with people on the ground in Malawi, as a co-ordinator Joe Gallagher has visited the area many times. The team are thankful to report that none of their employed workers have been hurt during the cyclone.

The spokesperson described this disaster as 'substantial', adding that 'Malawi always struggles to provide the needed infrastructure when disaster strikes' and the government there do not have the capacity to mobilise resources now.

With clean water and food scarce, the spokesperson explained that people in Gorey cannot possibly imagine anything of this scale being a reality here, and it is going to take 'months or even years for Malawi to return to the baseline'.

The spokesperson suggested to those in Gorey who want to help, that there are a number of charity agencies active on the ground in the cyclone areas. One in particular is GOAL, and the charity is providing urgently needed items including food supplies, healthcare, mosquito nets and cooking utensils and are in need of more donations in order to reach more people.

To donate to the cause, visit goalglobal.org/donate and select the option 'Cyclone Idai Crisis'.Knockmullen Retail Park in Gorey has been sold to an Irish investor for 1.33 million.

The purchase of the busy retail park will net the private investor a net initial yield of 9.66 per cent.

The deal for Knockmullen Retail Park, handled by Stephen Conway of Colliers International, shows the attractive returns being secured on retail units outside of Dublin.

Knockmullen Retail Park has a rent roll of 139,000 but if two vacant office units were rented out this would increase.

Described as a high yielding investment opportunity Knockmullen Retail Park was built in 2005 and comprises eight modern units, six retail units together with two own door office units on the first floor.

The entire extends to just over 20,000 sq ft, with unit sizes ranging from approximately 1,500 sq ft up to 9,150 sq ft, arranged around a generous customer car park with rear access and staff parking.

The park enjoys a good tenant line-up, with occupiers including; Dominic Smith Expert Electrical, Sally Salon Services and Bray Vet. A number of new tenants were confirmed in 2017 which helped broaden the pool of customers and drove footfall in the park. According to Stephen Conway it also helps illustrate the continued demand for well located retail parks that enjoy proximity to busy market towns.

Mr Conway said: 'A number of asset management opportunities are available to the incoming purchaser, who will be able to increase the rent roll by letting the vacant office units and through expected uplifts on upcoming rent reviews and expiries.'

Colliers International achieved 1.33 million for the park, a slight increase on the initial quoting price of 1.3m.

The sale price equates to the net initial yield of 9.66 per cent and a low capital value of just 65 per square foot.

He described the general profile of enquiries as 'being predominantly local, domestic investors who are familiar and comfortable with regional investment opportunities. The high yield achieved, low capital value on a per sq ft basis, together with the asset's value add potential well illustrates the incredible value can be still be found for investors willing to look outside core, city centre locations'.Martin Sponger Fortune (winner), Bartle Sinnott (club chairman) and Phil Redmond (runner-up) at the Oulart-The Ballagh GAA Mayoral Campaign fundraiser in Oulart Community Centre

A fundraising initiative organised in aid of Oulart-the Ballagh GAA club has raised a staggering 134,161.68 for the club.

The Mayor of Outlart-The Ballagh campaign was held over the last five months and culminated in the winner being announced in the local community hall before a capacity crowd.

Speaking to this newspaper about the event the club's Irish officer, Breda Jacob, said it was a fantastic initiative that the entire community got behind.

'It began last November and there were two candidates,' said Ms Jacob.

The candidates, Phil Redmond and Martin Fortune, had two teams working with them and they organised a wide range of events throughout their campaigns.

The events included coffee mornings, a night at the dogs and fodder sales.

There was a great buzz in the community centre on the final night where Mr Fortune was announced as the winner.

Such is the regard in which both candidates are held within the locality and the community spirit of the overall event that people throughout the parish supported both candidates equally in respect of attending their various events.

As one person said: 'It was all for the good of the community.'

A club spokesperson said everyone is delighted with the 'phenomenal success' of the event and she thanked everyone who supported the campaign over the last five months.

In addition to the announcement of mayor the club also acknowledged members who won senior all-Ireland medals with the county's senior and minor hurling teams, and the camogie team in 1968: Paddy O'Connor and Tom Byrne (minor); Christy and Mick Jacob (senior); and Margaret Leacy (camogie).

The club honoured the five players by presenting them with special awards on the night.Forty-nine year old father of four, Rory Carty from Belvedere Grove in Wexford town underwent his second kidney transplant from a deceased donor in September of last year after five years of receiving dialysis treatment.

He previously underwent a kidney transplant in February 2000 which lasted 13 years before he had to commence dialysis treatment in October of 2013.

Rory had to avail of hospital dialysis which required him travelling to Dublin three times a week, undergoing treatment for 3.5 hours at a time, progressing to 4.5 hour treatments, a gruelling regime that continued for over three years.

All this time he was getting up at 5 a.m. to start his taxi journey to Dublin for treatment while picking up other patients on the way and not returning home until around 8 p.m. in the evening.

He found the long days very tiring and they took their toll on him physically with the result that on the days in between dialysis treatment he was too exhausted to do anything.

Rory was then trained in how to undergo haemodialysis at home and he found that this gave him a much better quality of life as he would start his treatment around 10 a.m. and have everything completed by 3 p.m., allowing him the comfort of making a cup of tea and sitting down to relax in the afternoon.

This was in contrast to the gruelling travel and long days he had to endure while receiving hospital dialysis treatment.

Rory was born in Liverpool to Wexford parents who moved back to Ireland when he was 12 years old. He has three grown grown sons and one daughter aged between 17 and 24 years. His youngest son is in Leaving Cert year in school. He is looking forward to becoming a grandfather for the first time this August.

His recent transplant which took place six months ago, has been going well. Rory composed two poems about his dialysis and his gift of life experience and has written to the donor family anonymously through a transplant coordinator.Irish Kidney Association volunteers will be distributing organ donor cards and selling forget-me-not flower emblems in various locations around County Wexford during Organ Donor Awarness Week from March 30 to April 6.

The annual initiative is held to increase public awareness about the importance of organ donation and a to raise funds for the Kidney Association which assists and supports hundreds of dialysis and transplant patients and their families throughout the country.

On Saturday, March 30, volunteers will be out in force at Tesco in New Ross and Aldi supermarkets in New Ross, Wexford, Enniscorthy and Gorey.

On Thursday, April 4, they will be at Pettitts SuperValu in St. Aidan's Shopping Centre, Wexford and the Centra store in Irishtown, New Ross.

On Friday, April, organ donor events will be held at Pettitt's SuperValu in St. Aidan's and on Saturday, April 6, at Pettitt's SuperValu, St. Aidan's and Wallace's SuperValu in Wellingtonbridge.

The well-known radio and television presenter Ray D'Arcy is this year's ambassador for organ donor awareness week, having taken over the baton from Claire Byrne who fronted last year's campaign. Ray previously served as ambassador two decades ago.

Under the campaign slogan # Have the Chat, Organ Donor Awareness Week 2019 is encouraging the public to support organ donation for transplantation by letting loved ones know their wishes and to keep a reminder of their decision visible by carrying the organ donor card and permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver's licence or downloading the 'digital organ donor card' APP to their smartphone.

Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Association, Mark Murphy said the organisation is delighted to have Ray D'Arcy lending his support again after first fronting the annual campaign 21 years ago.

The IKA is the organisation responsible for the promotion and distribution of the organ donor card in Ireland through Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI), the organ procurement service of the HSE.

The association's charitable activities include the provision of a 13-double bedroom, free accommodation facility for patients and their families in the grounds of Beaumont Hospital with plans under way for the development of a similar facility at Cork University Hospital.

Patients, who would otherwise be unable to travel on family holidays due to the constraints of dialysis treatment, can avail of IKA holiday centres in Tramore, Killarney and Tralee.

The association also provides patient advocacy, advice, counselling, financial aid and health promotion through sport and the provision of kidney patient information and education through its head office in Dublin and its 25-branch network of volunteers nationwide, including Wexford.

There are approximately 550 people in Ireland awaiting life-saving heart, lung,liver, kidney and pancreas transplants and thanks to the gift of organ donation, almost 4,000 transplanted people in Ireland are enjoying extended life.Oleg Ivenko as Rudolf Nureyev in The White Crow

Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes ventures behind the camera for the third time to dramatise the rise of Soviet Union ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and his 1961 defection to the west.

Interspersed with colour-bleached flashbacks, The White Crow is a beautifully poised study of creative genius in flux and the meticulously choreographed dance sequences are on pointe.

David Hare's sombre and respectful script pirouettes back and forth in time to dizzying effect.

Consequently, dramatic momentum loses its sure footing early into the excessive 127-minute running time.

Nureyev's notorious outbursts are tastefully diluted to a few choice scowls and, surprisingly, the film doesn't clearly verbalise why the dancer took the anguished decision to abandon his fiercely protective homeland.

Too much is left unsaid despite a solid, muscular performance from Russian dancer Oleg Ivenko, who makes his feature film debut as Nureyev and speaks in both English and his native tongue.

Fiennes's picture opens on a Trans-Siberian train in 1938 where a baby boy is welcomed into the world in humble and chaotic surroundings.

At the age of 17, Rudolf (Ivenko) is taken under the wing of revered dance instructor Alexander Ivanovich Pushkin (Fiennes).

Rudolf is self-confident to the point of arrogance, boasting that it will not take long till everyone knows his name.

Pushkin's wife Xenia (Chulpan Khamatova) invites the cocksure dancer to stay at their apartment during his tutelage and manipulates the situation to seduce Rudolf behind the back of her unsuspecting husband.

However, Rudolf's appetite is not restricted to women and he kindles a smouldering desire for fellow dancer Yuri (Sergei Polunin).

In 1961, Nureyev travels to Paris with members of the Kirov Ballet.

It is the first time since the Cold War that the company has performed in the west and security is tight.

Nureyev defies the edicts of his KGB handlers to savour the seductive delights of the capital in the company of French dancer Pierre Lacotte (Raphael Personnaz) and his friend Clara Saint (Adele Exarchopoulos).

By chance, Clara is a close acquaintance of the French minister of cultural affairs, who could oil bureaucratic cogs and facilitate a claim for political asylum.

The brutal tug of war between east and west culminates in a tense finale at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, where Nureyev attempts to slip from the grasp of his minders with the international media swirling around the departures hall.

The White Crow is a handsomely crafted biographical drama, which lacks that all-important pas de deux with the lead character's inner turmoil as he musters courage to defect.

Supporting performances show similar artful restraint.

At its very best, dance conveys powerful, raw emotion through movement and gesture.

Fiennes's impressive picture repeatedly holds back when we ache for it to cut loose.The Presentation Centre in Enniscorthy is a hive of activity at the opening of the Open Call exhibition

The fourth annual Open Call exhibition at the Presentation Centre in Enniscorthy is a showcase of more than 100 pieces of work by professional and amateur artists from around the country.

Submissions were received this year from all over County Wexford and locations further afield, including Sligo, Drogheda, Letterkenny, Kerry, Cork, Carlow, Kilkenny and Dublin.

The theme was left open to allow the artists free rein to express their personal creativity and the organisers were amazed by the standard and diversity of the entries.

The exhibition offers amateur artists a chance to see their work in a gallery setting, to celebrate with the community and to network with other creative people including professionals.

The official opening by Maria Nolan was attended by more than 100 people including visiting artists. The Dublin-based alternative rock/punk/jazz band started the proceedings with an intimate acoustic set.

Ms. Nolan spoke highly of the Presentation Centre staff and acknowledged the near impossible talk undertaken by visual arts manager Lisa Byrne, visual arts marketing associate Larry Dunne and their technical assistant John Byrne in hanging 110 pieces.

The award for 'Lisa and Larry's Top Pick' was won by Kiara Lyer with 'Fishy'; the Open Call Creativity Award went to Sarah Boyce with 'Somewhere in Between'; the Most Creative Submission prize went to Tony Davis with 'Catmandoo'; Geraldine Walsh won a Highly Commended award for 'Grazing Under Mount Leinster' and another Highly Commended award went to Gwenda Wallace with ' Waiting, Platform 1 Enniscorthy'.

The winner of the Best Submission award was Laura Gibney with 'That's No Way to Say Goodbye'.

The Presentation Arts Centre thanked the exhibition sponsors including the Riverside Park Hotel, Arts & Crafts in Slaney Street, Enniscorthy, Wexford County Council and Enniscorthy Municipal District.It was a trip of a lifetime and one that a group of Kerry children won't forget for a long time as they travelled to the US to perform live at one of the key political events of the St Patrick's day celebrations.

This group is made up of five children, all who play music, dance and sing. They are Grace, Colleen, Olivia and Sean Angland, brothers and sisters from Killarney; and Noirin Healy from Glenflesk.

They range in age from seven to 12 years, and despite their young ages, they have been performing together for a number of years.

Last week, they brought their talent to the US, when they performed at the St Patrick's Day Breakfast in Boston, hosted by Senator Nick Collins at the Cruiseport in south Boston.

The group was first seen by State Representative Ed Coppinger, who recommended them for this prestigious event as far back as September 2018.

They were then invited to send video recordings and photographs, and in January 2019 they got the honour of an invite to perform in Boston by Senator Collins.

Their one-hour show was put together by Martina O'Neill Angland, and from January to March, Martina spent many nights each week training the group.

They then performed in some local venues before departing for Boston.

In Boston on St Patrick's Day, the group performed for over 600 people, including politicians, their families and friends.

During the performance, they were interviewed and recorded on live television. They also had an invite to the St Patrick's Day breakfast, in which they listened to many political speeches and took part in singing plenty Irish songs with those attending.

"It was an amazing opportunity and one that they will remember forever. We had a great trip, and they did their county proud and showcased our Irish talent," said Martina.Kiwi Country Clothing, the cold and wet-weather clothing specialists, make their first-ever appearance in Tralee next week with a special pop-up shop in the Brandon Hotel from April 4 to 6.

From waterproof wools to socks and gloves, with untold health benefits for everyone from diabetics to people undergoing chemo, it's a treasure trove of nature's finest materials - all on offer in the temporary Tralee store.

The company is the brainchild of Elizabeth McGuinness, who has lived in New Zealand for 14 years and wished to return home to give the Irish the benefit of the sheep country's know-how.

"If Irish people thinks it rains a lot here, you'd want to spend a bit of time in New Zealand!" she joked.

"The Kiwi Country range will dress you head-to-toe in very warm and dry garments, including coats, socks, sweaters, hats and leggings."

Possum merino is one of its key fabric mixes, which can only be sourced in New Zealand. A blend of superfine merino lamb's wool and eco-friendly possum fibre; it is 55 per cent warmer than merino; 40 per cent warmer than cashmere; does not pill or ball; needs little or no washing; and lasts for years. Regardless of outside temperature, it keeps body temperature at 36.6 degrees.

Take it from Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth recently received a note of gratitude from Buckingham Palace for the fingerless possum merino gloves the palace said greatly enhanced the Queen's horse-riding experience of late, keeping her cold hands warm.

To get a full idea of the benefits of the Kiwi Country Clothing range, simply pop-in to the Brandon Hotel pop-up next week!It was good for our souls to hear the kind and empathetic words from New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern after the brutal murder of 50 people praying in two mosques in Christchurch.

She is a beacon in the midst of so much darkness and evil. It's worth comparing her gentle and kind words with the bombast we hear and see every day on radio and television.

Last week I tuned into the Nigel Farage Show on LBC, which is a London-based national phone-in and talk radio station. His modus operandi is anything but mannerly and respectful. He sneers at those who think differently than he. It's non-stop denigration of everything to do with the European Union. He manages to whip up a nasty style of nationalism that is very worrying. He harps on on every occasion he gets to tell his listeners that Angela Merkel is the ruler of Europe. All the time the innuendo is that mighty Britain twice defeated the Germans and under no circumstances are they now going to surrender to Germany.

It is all shocking and nasty, worrying too. He also has a trick of calling his opponents by their family names. It's always Juncker and Tusk. Although he is no friend of the prime minister of the UK, nevertheless he refers to her as Mrs Theresa May.

In the United States Patriot Radio, based in Phoenix Arizona, blares out nastiness on a daily basis. Presenter Mark Levin has a listenership running into the millions. Every day he hurls abuse at those with whom he disagrees. He is an avid Trump supporter. He calls people by the nastiest names and comments on the physical appearance of those who have different political views than he. In mid-March after Democrat Beto O'Rourke announced his candidacy for the Democrat ticket for the 2020 US presidential race, Levin called him Beto O'Dork.

Over St Patrick's weekend I watched 'Get me Roger Stone' on Netflix. The documentary tells the story of Roger Stone and his role in the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Roger Stone is a household name in the US. As a young man he worked on Richard Nixon's presidential campaign. In January this year he was arrested at his home in Florida by the FBI in connection with the Robert Mueller investigation and charged in an indictment with witness tampering. The film footage includes clips of Stone speaking foul language and using obscene gestures. Stone's mantra is: 'Attack, attack, attack, never defend', and: 'Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack'.

Maybe it is because I am opposed to the right-wing philosophy of the Nigel Farages and Roger Stones of this world that I find their tone and manner most unbecoming. But surely it is abundantly clear that they and their followers are becoming exceedingly vulgar and nasty.

Last week a Conservative Brexiter, who came across to me as arrogant and so full of his own imperial importance, was talking to the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg. He referred to what Conservative Remainers were doing as 'political idiocy'. When Kuenssberg challenged him and asked him if he was saying that his fellow Conservatives were idiots he immediately toned down his imperial manner, realising his mask had slipped.

Jacinda Ardern's decision never to utter the name of the alleged Christchurch murderer is a fine and noble way to treat such barbarity.

It is regularly bandied about that politics is a dirty game but can or should it really be as 'dirty' as it has become?Joe Mackessy, Finchley and Tarmons West, Tarbert, died peacefully in the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London on February 16, 2019.

Joe Mackessy was born on April 22, 1931, in Tarmons West, Tarbert to Thade and Mary Mackessy nee Healy.

He was the sixth child in a family of 12.

He attended Tarbert National School and Listowel Secondary School. Joe left school at 16 years and went working on a farm in Listowel for two years. He came from a farming background and at a young age, a work ethic was instilled into him which remained with him throughout his life.

In 1949, at 18 years of age, he emigrated to England. Firstly, he worked for Joe Murphy (the Grey) in Manchester for five years. It was during this time he met John Murphy (the Green) who persuaded Joe to work in London for him. In 1954, he continued to work for John Murphy and Sons Ltd and spent all his working life there.

He loved his work and treated his colleagues with great respect and was very good to them. He was honest and hard-working, and made life-long friends in the "Murphy" fraternity.

In 1955, he met Mary Ryan from Emly, County Tipperary, in the Galtymore, Cricklewood. They married in 1956 and had five children. Joe loved life and, most of all, people. He was "a people's person".

He was happiest with a cigarette, a pint and having the craic! He loved card-playing and all music. He read The Kerryman every week and travelled regularly to Croke Park to see Kerry play, followed by a trip to Tarbert and, of course, Listowel races every September. Joe loved his car and drove home two to three times a year and as late as September 2018, at the age of 87, he drove to Kerry from London.

In his retirement, Joe still continued to keep close contact with all things happening in J Murphy and Sons through his son, Daniel, and grandson, Tadhg, who both work for the company. He wanted to know about all new contracts and current affairs in the company.

Above all, Joe was a devout Catholic and his faith was very important to him; he never missed Mass at the weekend. His faith was a great source of comfort and solace, during his brief illness. A special thanks to Judy, Siobhan, Fiona and Sr Kathleen, who were a constant help and support to Joe in his final days. Thanks to all the hard-working staff of the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, for all the kindness, care and attention shown to Joe, the family and friends. Joe was predeceased by his brothers, Timmy (Birmingham), Paddy (Tarbert) and Johnny (Ballyline). He is survived by his sons, Joseph and Daniel; daughters, Caroline, Janet and Helen; nine grandchildren; his brothers, Con (Tarbert), Tom (London), and Jim (New York); his sisters Mary (New York), Lila (Tarbert), Helen (Florida), Kitty (Birmingham) and Noreen (New York); son-in-law; daughter-in-law; nephews; and nieces.

The huge turnout for his funeral in both London and Tarbert was testament to his character: Joe was held in very high regard by all who knew him.On hand at the Doonas Sheep Farm at Lough Accose, Glencar, was Darragh Mc Cullough from RTEs Ear to the Ground to help launch a new Agri Loan product called Cultivate with six Credit Unions in the Kerry/Cork region. The Doonas have been farming in the area for four generations, included from left, Kieran with his Son Jamie, Donal Doona, (Dad) and Shane Doona. Photo by Valerie OSullivan

Kerry and Cork Credit Unions are working together to support local farmers with the launch of a new Agri Loan product called 'Cultivate'. The Credit Unions involved are Cara, Killarney and Listowel in Kerry, and Ballincollig, Bantry and Kanturk in Cork.

Since its introduction, Cultivate has proved very popular with farmers with nearly 20m in loans issued to farmers. The Cultivate farm loans are for a wide variety of purposes, everything from working capital, cash flow, farm development, livestock purchase, farm machinery purchase, rural enterprise funding, and start up farm finance.

The Cultivate package offers loans up to 50,000 for a variety of purposes. The loan rate is competitive and the term of the loan can be up to 7 years. Loan protection insurance is also provided on the loan at no additional charge.

Brendan Heneghan, former Regional Manager with Teagasc, said: "We hope that farmers will look to their local credit unions as an alternative for farm finance. After all, credit unions are embedded in their local communities and are in a position to lend to those living or working locally."

Information available from any of the participating Credit Unions or on www.cultivate-cu.ie.The Diocese of Kerry revealed this week it received one complaint regarding Bishop Eamonn Casey, who served as Bishop of Kerry from 1969 to 1976.

The Diocese has refused to provide further details about when this complaint was made saying only that it is a "historical concern"; that the matter had been referred to the HSE and Gardai and that the victim was offered support from the Diocese of Kerry. Meanwhile, the Diocese has also revealed that, since 2013, there have been 23 allegations of abuse in the Diocese - all of which have been referred to the authorities.

Full disclosure of all the Diocese of Kerry's records in relation to Safeguarding were included in the 2013 Safeguarding Audit, as carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding in the Catholic Church. This report shows that 67 allegations were received by the Diocese from 1975 to 2013, all of which were reported to the civil authorities.

Clerical sexual abuse support group 'Minister And Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors' is critical of the response from the Diocese of Kerry to the current controversy surrounding Bishop Casey following the Catholic Church's stated commitment to greater openness and transparency. The Diocese of Kerry's statement comes as controversy surrounds the Kerry Bishop amid allegations he abused his niece for more than a decade.

The details of the abuse by Bishop Casey were revealed by his niece Patricia Donovan in an interview with Kerry journalist, Anne Sheridan, in national media this week.

It also emerged this week that two settlements for child sex abuse cases were also made against Bishop Eamonn Casey. The two victims had accused him of abusing them in the 1950's and 1960's. One of these was settled through the Residential Institutions Redress Board.

This is the first time that Bishop Casey has been named as one of the priests whose actions were dealt with by the redress board. The victim had taken High Court action but this was struck out in 2005 after the case was settled at the Redress Board.

The second victim settlement was paid out by the Limerick Diocese after a woman took High Court proceedings in 2016 which were settled after Bishop Casey died in March 2017.

The accusations by his niece came to light in 2005 when she contacted gardai. She alleged that the initial abuse occurred while he served in the Diocese of Kerry and continued over a decade.

The DPP ultimately decided that no charges should be brought in relation to Ms Donovan's allegations. At the time of her complaint Bishop Casey, who was also born in Kerry, was based in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in England having spent six years in exile after his affair with a married woman - with whom he fathered a son - came to light in 1992. After the complaints came to light he returned to the Galway Diocese as this was the last diocese where he had served.

He was not allowed public ministry during this time.

Both Limerick and Galway Dioceses confirmed that they had received complaints about Bishop Casey but when first questioned on the issue the Diocese of Kerry said it did not disclose this information.

In a subsequent statement provided to The Kerryman this week the Diocese of Kerry said that custom and practice within the Church has been not to name and discuss individuals in relation to Safeguarding concerns.

Revealing such information could interfere with the work of the Gardai and the Child Protection Service, they said.

While the allegations against Bishop Casey date back many years it was only on Tuesday afternoon that the Diocese of Kerry finally revealed that a complaint had been made to them about him.

"Given that information relating to Bishop Casey is now in the public domain, we can confirm that one historical concern regarding Bishop Casey was received by the Diocese. This information was forwarded to the Gardai and the HSE and the person concerned was offered support by the Diocese," said a spokesperson for the Diocese.

The lack of information from the Kerry Diocese has been criticised by the support group 'Minister And Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors' who said they were aware of complaints about Bishop Casey.

The group said it had dealt with two alleged victims of the former Bishop of Kerry, both of whom were based in the UK.

A spokesperson for the UK based group - which deals with victims of clerical child sex abuse victims in Ireland and the UK - Dr Margaret Kennedy, said that a recent Vatican commission spoke about "openness and transparency" but that the first time the issue has come up in Kerry the Kerry Diocese "slammed" the door.

"People are asking questions and we don't know what the Kerry Diocese knew. The question is are there other cases?" she asked.

"We don't like that the church is playing games with the language. We are not asking them to discuss individual cases, we are asking them about Bishop Casey," she said.There was certainly a maroon and white tint to recent St Patrick's Day parades in Canada and the United States as two men with strong Cromane roots were the Kingdom's representatives.

Sean O Se, now living in Toronto and one of the main organisers behind Toronto's St Patrick's Day Parade, was the first international Kerry connection discovered this year after he was interviewed on the Canadian CP24 news about what people could expect from this year's parade.

Mr O Se was interviewed by CP24 reporter Brandon Gonez at the pre-parade breakfast in The Sheridan Centre.

"It's an integral part of the Irish calendar in Canada. It's the most diverse St Patrick's Day in the world. We have people here from all backgrounds, and everyone becomes a little bit Irish for the day," said Sean.

In more evidence to prove that there is a Kerry connection almost everywhere you look in the world, there was another Cromane connection to be seen in another St Patrick's Day Parade, this time in New York City.

Stephen Sullivan, who works as the Battalion Chief in the Fire Department in New York (FDNY) and survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, was given the huge honour of being named the Grand Marshall of the Emerald Society in last week's parade.

Stephen - whose parents are Stephen and Joan Sullivan, who emigrated from Cromane back in the 1960s - had his achievement recognised locally by the people of Cromane in The Kerryman last week.

"Heartiest congratulations to Stephen Sullivan on his Grand Marshall role," Patrick Casey wrote.

"He is the son of Stephen and Joan, Sea Breeze, Cromane Lower and New York. All in Kerry are very proud for the family and wish them all the best for the future."She may have just missed out on first place, but Mercy Mounthawk student Niamh McMahon student can still hold her head high after a brilliant showing at a national public-speaking competition last week.

The Tralee student was amongst over 300 students from 180 different secondary schools who travelled to the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare last Sunday.

To reach the final of the HSBC Ireland-sponsored Soroptimist Girls' Public Speaking Competition, Niamh had successfully progressed from a number of increasingly difficult local and regional heats. After a hugely impressive performance in the final, it proved not to be for Niamh, however, just losing out to Waterford student and overall winner Holly Rogan.

"The energy, enthusiasm and talent shown by the finalists today is a testament to the impressive candidates we saw throughout all stages of the competition," said Moya Murphy, National Convenor, Soroptimist International Ireland.

"We would like to thank the participants for their dedication and effort, and we hope that the experience will give them the confidence to achieve their potential and realise their aspirations in the future," she added.Monday marked an historic day for Tralee with the county capital beginning a twinning arrangement with the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour.

The twinning - which has been in the works since mid 2018 - is the first time an Irish town has been twinned with a town in Palestine.

Last June, councillors on Kerry County Council backed a motion from Sinn Fein Cllr Pa Daly proposing the twinning deal, which passed unopposed.

It was subsequently approved by the members of the Tralee Municipal District Council.

Since Cllr Daly's motion was passed both sides have been engaged in negotiations over how best to formalise the future relationship between the two towns.

These talks came to a successful conclusion on Monday when Mayor of Tralee Cllr Graham Spring and Mayor of Beit Sahour Jehad Khair signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a twinning relationship between Tralee and Beit Sahour.

The signing ceremony - which took place at Kerry County Council's chambers at County Buildings in Rathass on Monday - was also attended by Ambassador of the State of Palestine in Ireland Ahmad Abdelrazek.

To celebrate the twinning agreement and to welcome the Palestinian delegation to Tralee, the Kerry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (KIPSC) organised a public event on Monday evening at Kerins O'Rahillys GAA Club in Tralee.

The speakers at the event included the Mayor of Beit Sahour and fellow Beit Sahour Council Representatives, as well as Tralee Sinn Fein Councillor Pa Daly and the National Chair of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Presentations were made to the Palestinian delegates with a large number of members of the public on hand to watch the proceedings.

The Chair of KISPC John Loughrey, said it was a great honour for the Kerry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign to host the delegation after such an historic event.

"We would like to thank Cllr Pa Daly for putting forward the twinning motion and the members of Kerry County Council for supporting it," he said.

"The event was an important addition to the delegation's visit, and gave local people the opportunity to learn about life under occupation in Palestine, and to show solidarity with the delegation," said Mr Loughrey told The Kerryman.A meeting concerning the crisis in GP care in the district has heard how people are having to wait three weeks to be seen at some GP surgeries.

Personal accounts from people who have had very good and very distressing experiences in GP surgeries were shared at the meeting, which was attended by around 40 people.

Organised by Cllr Michael Sheehan, he said scores of people sent messages to him in advance of the meeting online outlining their grievances with the under pressure GP service locally.

Cllr Sheehan said he hopes the meeting is the first of many to take place throughout Ireland over the issue. Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patient's Association said said a two-tier health service exists in Ireland, one for medical card patients and another, more accessible one for private healthcare patients. He said many nurses and doctors are ashamed to say in public that they work in the Irish health system.

Adamstown GP Dr Catherine O'Donoghue said there are a lot of concerns in the area concerning registering with GP surgeries and getting into GP surgeries. 'It's no accident that this is where we are. There were significant cuts of 38 per cent under Fempi. It was all due to the bank crisis.'

She urged people to attend the pharmacy if they can't get an appointment or look up undertheweather.ie. Dr O'Donoghue advised people to ring in early and if they can't get a slot attend CareDoc.

Responding to a complaint that doctor's receptionists seek information from patients, she said it is very helpful to give the receptionist information about the patient's medical problem, 'If I know the patient's medical background and I know what's going on it helps me get in the sickest patients first. Usually if things are too private to say at reception, say it's anything from men's problems, to women's problems, to stress; that will cover those kids of things.'

She said: 'We are in a massive time of change, there is no doubt about that. There wasn't any difficulty in practices in the area ten years ago. Today we can only take on certain workloads. In my own practice for five years now I will (only) take on patients who are nearer to me than any other surgery. I am getting to the stage where I cam struggling to take on people in the same household.'

She said when all the costs of running a practice are taken into account there is significantly less left for the GP at the end of the week, making it less enticing for new GPs to take over old practices. 'This is a systems failure. It's not just New Ross, it's in many parts of the country.'

Paperwork and doing jobs that could be done by nurses and GP staff means doctors can't see as many patients as they otherwise could, she said. 'In the North nurses do bloods, height and weight over the phone in some areas.'

Dr O'Donoghue said she is not aware of any doctors surgeries closing in the area in the past decade. 'I think there are about 30 jobs in general practice in the New Ross area. I am not aware of any lay-offs in the last ten years apart from where a practice has closed due to a retirement.'

Dr O'Donoghue said expanding the free U6 free visit card patients system would be huge pressure on doctors.

Cllr Sheehan said people from New Ross have to travel to Wexford, Waterford and Duncannon to see a GP. 'This is an economic issue too. They have to go out of town to spend their money. More and more people are travelling and something could happen on the way. Also some people may not have the 70 for CareDoc. Because of changes there is a great fear out there and people are at their wits' end.'

A man in attendance said he sympathised with nurses, but felt GPs are making large incomes. 'I went in sick as a dog looking for an antibiotic to a GP surgery in New Ross and was run out like a dog. The doctor ran me out.'

Local elections Labour candidate Bridin Lyng said: 'I think doctors are extremely overworked. I have three children and I find they try as best they can to help me.'

A call was made for CareDoc doctors to be able to access patient files and the need for a minor injuries unit in towns like New Ross was also raised. One woman said: 'People are lying on acute beds recovering after a hip surgery. Three weeks is unacceptable to be seen and mental health is the Cinderella of the healthcare system. It affects a large number of people in our community.'

A man in attendance said the amount of paperwork doctors have to do is crazy. New Ross GP Mark Walsh said: 'We have an issue getting appointment to see doctors, It's frustrating for us. I am not working for 40 years for people to say they are waiting three weeks.'

He said 1,386 people made appointments at his surgery last year and didn't turn up. 'There are people who just abuse the system. If you can't make an appointment, call. Also how people interact with their practise nurse of doctor is an issue. The vitriol on the phone they get. I am here to defend my staff. They really are dedicated and they put up with dreadful things on the phone with people trying to bully them.' Mr McMahon said it is unacceptable for people to behave this way. 'You can be worried and upset but it's unacceptable. It's an awful boat to be in sometimes for patients.' Dr O'Donoghue said doctors only get between 40 and 200 for medical card and free GP card patients a year. She said the GP is there for their patients, especially someone who is having suicidal thoughts.Irish Kidney Association volunteers will be distributing organ donor cards and selling forget-me-not flower emblems in various locations around County Wexford during Organ Donor Awareness Week from March 30 to April 6.

The annual initiative is held to increase public awareness about the importance of organ donation and a to raise funds for the Kidney Association which assists and supports hundreds of dialysis and transplant patients and their families throughout the country.

On Saturday, March 30, volunteers will be out in force at Tesco in New Ross and Aldi supermarkets in New Ross, Wexford, Enniscorthy and Gorey.

On Thursday, April 4, they will be at Pettitts SuperValu in St. Aidan's Shopping Centre, Wexford and the Centra store in Irishtown, New Ross.

On Friday, April, organ donor events will be held at Pettitt's SuperValu in St. Aidan's and on Saturday, April 6, at Pettitt's SuperValu, St. Aidan's and Wallace's SuperValu in Wellingtonbridge.

The well-known radio and television presenter Ray D'Arcy is this year's ambassador for organ donor awareness week, having taken over the baton from Claire Byrne who fronted last year's campaign. Ray previously served as ambassador two decades ago.

Under the campaign slogan # Have the Chat, Organ Donor Awareness Week 2019 is encouraging the public to support organ donation for transplantation by letting loved ones know their wishes and to keep a reminder of their decision visible by carrying the organ donor card and permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver's licence or downloading the 'digital organ donor card' APP to their smartphone.

Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Association, Mark Murphy said the organisation is delighted to have Ray D'Arcy lending his support again after first fronting the annual campaign 21 years ago.

The IKA is the organisation responsible for the promotion and distribution of the organ donor card in Ireland through Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI), the organ procurement service of the HSE.

The association's charitable activities include the provision of a 13-double bedroom, free accommodation facility for patients and their families in the grounds of Beaumont Hospital with plans under way for the development of a similar facility at Cork University Hospital.

Patients, who would otherwise be unable to travel on family holidays due to the constraints of dialysis treatment, can avail of IKA holiday centres in Tramore, Killarney and Tralee.

The association also provides patient advocacy, advice, counselling, financial aid and health promotion through sport and the provision of kidney patient information and education through its head office in Dublin and its 25-branch network of volunteers nationwide, including Wexford.

There are approximately 550 people in Ireland awaiting life-saving heart, lung,liver, kidney and pancreas transplants and thanks to the gift of organ donation, almost 4,000 transplanted people in Ireland are enjoying extended life.Thanks to a strong turnout at a recent meeting to consider the future of Dolly's Cottage in Strandhill, the heritage museum and craft shop will remain open.

The future of the cottage was in jeopardy as numbers of volunteers tasked with running it had been dwindling over the past number of years.

Originally owned by the Higgins family until 1970, the site was purchased by Strandhill ICA after the passing of Dolly. Since then it has been run as a Heritage Museum by volunteers from the guild.

Dolly was a keen Irish Countrywomen's Association woman and since the beginning of the ICA Guild in Strandhill in 1965, when it was founded by Ita McMorrow and Kathleen Parkes.

WIth small numbers in the ICA Strandhill guild currently, doubts increased as to the sustainability of the cottage for this year's tourism season.

Secretary Margaret Mulrooney told the recent meeting that at the time of the purchase, the women did not have a mortgage and many did not have a job.

"These women had the foresight to buy the cottage under the auspices of the ICA and to use it both as a Heritage Museum and Craft Shop open every summer. It was also used as a base for the guild's meetings."

Ms Mulrooney said volunteers had been an important part of running Dolly's Cottage and she stressed that volunteers could be male or female and the most important thing was for people to be able to offer 'consistent time'.

"For the last few years our energy has gone into keeping Dolly's open and running it as a musuem and you don't have time to fill in a form for the ETB or to get a trainer in," Ms Mulrooney told The Sligo Champion.

"The ICA is seen as being old fashioned and for older people, for retired women. Younger women don't know about it for a start. One meeting won't solve anything, but we're really pleased at the enthusiasm from the men and women."

Ms Mulrooney likened the pressures of running the cottage to having a second home.

"It's kind of hard to keep another house going because that's how you feel. Is it flooding, or is it damp."

Though aware of various grants available, Ms Mulrooney admits that members are struggling to just maintain the cottage and keep it open. Thanks to last week's meeting however, offers of expertise in various fields have been put forward.

"Now other women in positions know about different schemes and social media.

Then there was an offer of painting the place and a plumber who said he can do whatever plumbing we needed."

Ms Mulrooney said along with volunteering at the museum, these practical offers of help are invaluable.

"They're so important because we don't always have someone to call on. The future is well on its way to being safe. Many of the women at the meeting were there to join the guild."

She added, "We had a lot of men and women there who would be happy to give up three hours per week during the summer.

"So, maybe we will get it open for a longer period of time."

Volunteers can be male and female and all the guild ask is for three hours per week or every two weeks or month, from 11am to 2pm or 2pm to 5pm.

Volunteers can meet and greet the visitors and give a brief history of the cottage with training provided at the beginning of the summer.

"We need reliable volunteers, those who will arrive when they say and those that have a passion for our own living history, locally and nationally."Next month two best friends will attempt their biggest challenge yet - Everest Base Camp.

Paul McGarry and Martin (Scruffy) Duffy will travel to Nepal to trek to Mount Everest's Base Camp all in the name of charity. Funds raised from the trip will go towards Samaritans and Northwest Hospice, two charities very close to the friends' hearts.

With an ascent of close to 18,000ft over nine days, the men will encounter altitudes of over 5,300 metres, and, if that wasn't enough, the duo hope to attempt to break a Guinness World Record while they're there.

McGarry tells The Sligo Champion that he hopes to take part in an exercise class when they reach their destination in order to complete the record.

"Base Camp is 17,500ft and then we'll go to 18,519 feet and that's where we're going to give our record attempt a lash. Eight of us are going to do a fitness class, a bit of fun," he explains."

The last record attempt was done just below Base Camp.

The men have been in preparation for the challenge for approximately a year, with Scruffy seeing it as a way to mark his milestone birthday this year, along with overcoming various other challenges.

"We started off with the Camino and I was always looking at these sites and wanting to come out of my comfort zone," explains Scruffy, who has suffered with anxiety for some time.

Creating awareness for the charities by completing the challenge is what is most important for the pair, with all monies raised staying local.

"Raising money and if it inspires one person, if people saw how far I've come from nine years ago, I was twice the size," admits Scruffy.

Intense training under the watchful eye of Mickey Downes at Warriors Fitness, paired with hiking Knocknarea with 10kg sandbags has resulted in the men being confident in their preparations.

However, McGarry was dealt a blow just last month when he broke his ankle descending Carrauntoohil.

"I couldn't work for six weeks so I just decided to rehab it as much as I could, and pushed myself. This time it has worked for me. I don't do things in half measures."

Always adopting a positive outlook, the care assistant says he broke his ankle at 'the perfect time'

"If I broke it last week I wouldn't be able to go and if it happened over there I'd have to be airlifted"

Overcoming this set back, McGarry and his travel partner are now just looking forward to reaching 'the pinnacle'.

"I'm looking forward to reaching Base Camp and putting down a photo of my dad who passed away last year, feeling closer to him up there," admits Scruffy.

The men will also be marking their achievment by sticking down a 'Love Sligo' flag.

But, the unpredictable reaction to conditions is the main thing playing on the men's minds.

Scruffy says, "The funny thing is, we'll do all this training and you get there and you just don't know how your body will react to conditions."

Father of three McGarry knows progress will be slow in reaching their destination but is looking forward to it, along with meeting the people .

"It's going to be very slow, it's not a race, it's one foot in front of the other."

With most of the physical preparation done, Scruffy says it is now down to mental strength.

Admittedly the men say they are two 'very different people' with Scruffy citing Paul as someone who 'never knows when he's beaten' and Paul commending Scruffy for the development of his mental toughness.

"For the two of us, it's all about personal development and to reach out to people and tell them anything is possible. If you decide to do something don't kick it down the road," says Paul.

The pair fly to Kathmandu on April 14th with an all Irish contingent and return on April 30th.IT Sligo Students' Union hosted a walkout last Thursday as part of the Union of Students in Ireland's national campaign called 'Fund The Future'.

USI say that immediate investment is needed to secure a sustainable future for higher education in Ireland and has warned the government that continued delay in addressing the deficit in third level funding is not acceptable.

Students gathered at the entrance to the campus and were joined by members of SIPTU, TUI and FORSA.

In a joint statement, the Coalition for Publicly Funded Education said:

"Government has long since acceded to the fact that higher education in Ireland is chronically under-funded.

"The Department of Education and Skills has accepted the findings of the detailed analysis of the scale of the funding deficit that was carried out by various expert groups on their behalf.

"If urgent action is not taken, there's a real risk that today's 7 and 8-year old primary school students will not have sufficient college places available to them in 2030 when the demographic bulge peaks with an additional 40,000 students seeking to access third level."

IT Sligo Students' Union President, Vanessa Molloy said: "Seventy per cent of students at IT Sligo are in receipt of the SUSI grant and while the cost of living is rising there has been no raise since grant supports were slashed in 2012.

"This has put pressure on the Student Assistance Fund, there has been an increased number of applications and a large number of students have not received support from this fund. In addition, due to a lack of resources there have been long delays in the administration of this fund which in turn has left students in serious financial difficulty."

Vanessa said she was pleased with the turnout which also included some lecturers.

The FundOurFuture is a campaign organised by the Union of Students in Ireland as part of the Coalition for Publicly Funded Education, which includes: Forsa, SIPTU, ISSU, TUI, IFUTThe postgraduate grant was wiped out completely in 2012: no meaningful supports have been put back in place since says the SU.

Between 2008-2015: There was a fall in state funding in higher education of 38%. since 2016, only a fraction of this has been replaced. State funding has decreased, while student numbers have increased.Over 90 students and teachers from local primary schools participated in a Green-Schools/Irish Water 'Walk for Water' event at Rosses Point to mark World Water Day 2019.

The students walked four kilometres carrying as much water as they could, to highlight water scarcity and experience the journey travelled every day by women and children to access clean water in affected countries.

Last Thursday in Rosses Point students learned about how important access to clean water is and what actions they can take to help ensure a clean water supply is available globally.

Green-Schools Manager, Cathy Baxter, highlighted the importance of the event: "This is our seventh year holding Walk for Water events to celebrate World Water Day. Each year we can see the difference the experience makes for the attending students; they go home with a greater awareness of what water scarcity is, how important conservation and sustainable development has become and, of course, with a greater appreciation for the beautiful surrounds of places like Rosses Point."

The event was a key part of the Water theme of the Green-Schools programme, which is supported by Irish Water. The Sligo students incorporated a #2minutebeachclean into their walk, which took them from The Den in Rosses Point on a four kilometre loop.

Toni Bourke, Regional Communications Lead, Irish Water said: "Helping the next generation to understand that the importance of conserving water is a key part of our role in safeguarding Ireland's water supply, so we are delighted to be partnering with An Taisce's Green-Schools Water Theme for the sixth year running. The Walk for Water is a creative way for the students to understand that clean water is a precious resource and that we all need to take action to conserve it."The search for Ireland's best home cook has seen hundreds of entries from budding chefs across Ireland over the past month and Maureen Griffin from Wicklow town has made it to the national final, taking place at Cooks Academy in Dublin this weekend.

The Le Crunch judges have been inundated with suggestions of recipes for any number of dishes that use apples as one of its main ingredients, with a trip to Paris worth 3000 for the overall winner. So far the judges, including one of Ireland's best young chefs, Adrian Martin, have been genuinely amazed at the variety and imagination shown by entrants.

'I love expressing my love for people through the dishes I serve,' said Maureen. 'I think it's a really common attribute of Irish people. From funerals to parties, Irish people show they care by producing delicious foods in great quantities. Dishes full of heart and soul and of course a dash of love.'

Secret recipes, family classics and modern twists on traditional dishes have all been sent in as Le Crunch seeks to find Ireland's most imaginative and creative new chefs.

The national final will take the form of a cook-off in Cooks Academy in Dublin. The finalists will be put to the test to see who can whip up the best apple recipe and win the title of Ireland's Best Home Cook.King Felipe VI of Spain, President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, First Lady Juliana Awada and Queen Letizia of Spain attend a reception hosted by Spanish Royals at the Four Seasons Hotel during day two of the official visit of the Spanish Royals on March 26, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Fotonoticias/Getty Images)

King Felipe VI of Spain (L) and Queen Letizia of Spain (2L) receive Argentina's President Mauricio Macri (R) and wife Juliana Awada (2R) for an Gala Dinner at the Royal Palace on February 22, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Borja Benito - Pool/Getty Images)

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and wife Juliana Awada (L) offer a reception in honour of King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain (R) at El Pardo Palace on February 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump (L) welcome President Mauricio Macri of Argentina and the first lady of Argentina, Juliana Awada (R), to the White House shortly before meeting in the Oval Office April 27, 2017 in Washington, DC

Chinese President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan welcome Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada at the welcoming banquet for the Belt and Road Forum on May 13, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jason Lee - Pool/Getty Images)

Brigitte Macron, wife of Emmanuel Macron, President of France, and Juliana Awada, wife of Mauricio Macri, Presidentof Argentina, leave the boat "Diplomat" on the river Elbe as they take part in the G20 Summit Spouse Programme on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany

Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and First Lady Juliana Awada arrive to attend a concert at the Elbphilharmonie philharmonic concert hall on the first day of the G20 economic summit on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany

First Mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz (R) welcomes Juliana Awada (L), wife of President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, during the partner program of G20 summit at the Hamburg Town Hall prior to the partner program of G20 summit on the second day of the G20 summit on July 8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany

Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and First Lady Juliana Awada arrive to attend a concert at the Elbphilharmonie philharmonic concert hall on the first day of the G20 economic summit on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany

Its not every day you see a first lady arrive to a state dinner in a shimmering sequin mini-dress with beaded trim, sauntering in with the confidence of a veteran supermodel alongside a visiting dignitary, but Juliana Awada isnt your average anything.

Argentina's first lady the has long been admired by style bibles like Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, but she is garnering more mainstream recognition as the appetite for international style icons continues to grow.

Throughout the week, Awada and her husband, Argentinian president Mauricio Macri, have been hosting a state visit from Spains Queen Letizia and King Felipe, and with Letizias accepted position as the worlds best dressed royal; their pairing has been made for a fashionable feast. Awada arrived to a reception at the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires in a dress from Argentinian label Menage a Trois, of which she has long been a fan.

Under any circumstances, it would be considered an experimental option, but perfectly showcased her confident personality opposite Letizias knee-length strapless cocktail dress.

Expand Close King Felipe VI of Spain, President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, First Lady Juliana Awada and Queen Letizia of Spain attend a reception hosted by Spanish Royals at the Four Seasons Hotel during day two of the official visit of the Spanish Royals on March 26, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Fotonoticias/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp King Felipe VI of Spain, President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, First Lady Juliana Awada and Queen Letizia of Spain attend a reception hosted by Spanish Royals at the Four Seasons Hotel during day two of the official visit of the Spanish Royals on March 26, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Fotonoticias/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, she greeted the royals, with whom she has a long-standing friendship developed over an increase in official visits over the years, wearing a red pleated ankle length dress by Dior, accessorising with a matching bubble clutch and satin heels.

Women elevated to powerful positions of global influence in their respective countries have used their profiles to boost the fashion industry, balancing the delicate art of diplomacy, a skill she mastered in her many years working for her familys textiles business and although her rise to prominence has only occurred over the last four years, she has been in training for a global role her entire life.

Most womens style evolves notably throughout their time in the public eye, but Julianas uniform in 2019 is still in keeping with her first foreign visit to meet The Netherlands Queen Maxima in white tweed Chanel suit. It is the perfection execution of expensive aspiration without being too ostentatious.

Since her husband was elected president in 2015, she has been pictured setting the tone with Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron, who have, until now, often held the majority of the headlines. Her appearance is one of the style highlights of the annual G20 summit: in 2017, she arrived to a concert with her husband in a semi-sheer beaded black dress and while attending an event with the other partners, she looked effortlessly glamorous in a patterned midi dress and her hair tied in its signature half up-half down style.

Awada is, as her wardrobe suggests, no shrinking violet. Shes an Oxford-educated businesswoman and philanthropist and wed Marci, who is 15 years her senior, in 2010 and theirs is a very modern family. It is her second marriage and his third and she has the hallmarks of classic first ladies like Jackie Kennedy with the perfect amount of contemporary influence. A true style icon for our times.George Clooney, who has called for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by Brunei. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA

George Clooney has called for a boycott of the five-star Dorchester in London and other luxury hotels owned by Brunei after the tiny oil-rich nation announced new laws making homosexual acts and adultery punishable by death.

Since Wednesday anyone found guilty of homosexuality or cheating on a spouse could be whipped or stoned to death in the south-east Asian country, which has a population of about 430,000.

The laws also introduced amputation of hands or feet as punishment for robbery.

Through the investment agency the Dorchester Collection, the Sultan of Brunei owns The Dorchester, 45 Park Lane and Coworth Park in Berkshire.

Two of Hollywood's best-known hotels, The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills, are also under its control.

Hollywood star Clooney said: "Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?"A house lies in ruins after being hit by a rocket in Mishmeret, central Israel (AP)

The Israeli military has said it is reinforcing its troops along the Gaza border and calling up reserves after a rocket attack on an Israeli home.

Military spokesman major Mika Lifshitz said two armoured and infantry brigades are being mobilised and that there is a limited drafting of reserves under way following the attack, which destroyed a house and left seven people wounded in central Israel.

She said the military has concluded that Gazas militant Hamas rulers fired the rocket from one of their launching pads in the southern part of the coastal strip, near Rafah.

Maj Lifshitz said it was a self-manufactured rocket with a range of about 75 miles.

Expand Close Seven people were hurt in the blast (AP) / Facebook

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The attack prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a trip to Washington.

The rocket destroyed a residential home in the farming community of Mishmeret, north of the city of Kfar Saba, wounding six members of a family.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people overall, including two women who were moderately wounded. The others, including two children and an infant, had minor wounds.

Its a miracle that nobody got killed, said Assi Dvilanski, a paramedic who was one of the first responders at the scene.

Mr Netanyahu held emergency consultations with military officials back in Israel and decided to cut his visit short, cancelling a planned address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and meetings with US congressional leaders.

He said: There has been a criminal attack on the State of Israel and we will respond forcefully.

Expand Close Shoes are seen inside a car near a house hit by a rocket in Mishmeret (AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Shoes are seen inside a car near a house hit by a rocket in Mishmeret (AP)

In a few hours I will meet with President Trump. I will return to Israel immediately afterward.

Anticipating a strong Israeli response, Gazas Hamas leaders have apparently gone underground.

Witnesses reported seeing Hamas evacuating its personnel from government premises. Hamas also announced that its Gaza chief, Yehiya Sinwar, had cancelled a scheduled public speech.

Israel also shut down its main crossings into Gaza and imposed restrictions on fishing off the Gaza coast.

Mondays attack came 10 days after rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israels densely populated commercial capital of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military at the time struck back and the sides appeared to be hurtling toward another confrontation. But Gazas Hamas leaders said the rocket was fired accidentally and calm was quickly restored.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Mondays attack, but it would seem to be much harder to dismiss the latest incident as another misfire.Palestinians protest next to the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, as it is seen from its Israeli side REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

Palestinian demonstrators take cover from Israeli gunfire and tear gas during a protest marking Land Day and the first anniversary of a surge of border protests, at the Israel-Gaza border fence east of Gaza City REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A third young Palestinian has died as tens of thousands of protesters gathered near the Israeli border to mark the first anniversary of weekly demos in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza's health ministry said Tamer Abu el-Khair, 17, was shot in the chest in the southern city of Khan Younis and died in hospital.

Earlier on Saturday, Adham Amara, 17, was hit in the face by Israeli gunfire and died in a protest camp in east Gaza City.

At dawn, before the protests began, Mohammed Saad, 21, was hit in the head by shrapnel and died.

Expand Close Palestinians protest next to the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, as it is seen from its Israeli side REUTERS/ Amir Cohen / Facebook

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The health ministry said 64 protesters have been injured by live fire.

As the crowds swelled throughout the afternoon in response to Gaza's Hamas rulers' calls for a large participation, dozens of protesters approached the fence, unfurling Palestinian flags and throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli troops.

The protest came at a sensitive time for Israel and Hamas.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of ex-army chiefs who have criticised what they say is his failed Gaza policy.

In the final stretch of the campaign, he needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas.

He took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza.

Hamas faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of worsening conditions after more than a decade of Israeli and Egyptian border closures.

The fence protests, which began exactly a year ago, have been aimed in large part at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza.

Protest organisers say the weekly event will continue into a second year, and proposed one for next Friday.

That comes despite an announcement by Hamas on Saturday afternoon that Egypt, mediating between the militant group and Israel, has brokered a deal to ease Gaza's blockade in exchange for calm.

The emerging deal would see Israel allow more goods into Gaza, expanding its fishing zone off the coast and other economic incentives.

But Hamas says the marches will continue until the closure is fully lifted.

The Israeli military estimated 30,000 Palestinians were gathered at the marches on Saturday.

"The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tyres on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence," it said in a statement.

It added that soldiers were responding with "riot dispersal means" and firing in line with standard procedures.

According to a Gaza rights group, 196 Palestinians have been killed in the demonstrations over the past year, including 41 minors, and thousands were wounded by live fire.

An Israeli soldier was also killed in the context of the marches.They have matched the choreography and expression step-by-step, and we are stunned. People on social media say their mind is blown too.

2. Salman Khan Comes To Saroj Khan's Rescue, Gives Her Work After She Said She Has No Projects

Now, Salman Khan has come to her rescue. It is said that when Salman Khan got to know about this, he asked her to meet him. After a meeting on Thursday, he promised to work with her.

3. Keeping Up With The Tradition, Priyanka Chopra Threw Cake At Audience During Steve Aokis Concert

Just in case you didnt know, DJ Steve Aoki is known for throwing cake at the audiences during his shows. Caking is like an honour bestowed on his die-hard fans. So, this time at his Los Angeles concert, Priyanka Chopra along with Jonas Brothers hung out with the DJ. Keeping up with the tradition, they all threw cakes at the audiences and seemingly had the most fun while doing so.

4. Taimur Ali Khan Trumps Ranveer Singh! Kareena Kapoor Says Her Son Is More Stylish Than Him

When Kareena Kapoor was recently awarded the most stylish (female) award, in her acceptance speech, she went on to say that her son Taimur is the most stylish man alive. He is more stylish than Ranveer Singh, she declared.

5. Jackie Chan Hosts A Special Dinner For Sonu Sood As They Gear Up For Kung Fu Yoga 2

Now, it seems the talks for Kung Fu Yoga 2 are on. Sonu Sood met with Jackie Chan and filmmaker Stanley Tong in Dubai, and now it is said that the trio is all set to kick off the sequel. Jackie Chan arranged for a special dinner for Sonu Sood recently.A dog is a mans best friend and the most loyal one too. A pet dog has defied all odds to save his masters from a wild cat like a tiger. In Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, a pet dog saved his owners lives by holding a tiger off. Times of India reported a couple from a nearby village had entered the Kanha forest in search of their cow which belonged to the village deputy sarpanch. The sun had set by the time they reached the Jhangul beat in Mandlas Bamhani range.

After walking a few metres when they saw a tiger feeding on another animal. The grazers Kunjiram Yadav and his Phoolwati told the forest officials that the tiger kept snarling at them for sometime and when the couple didnt leave, the wild animal attacked them.

Photo: Times of India

Yadav was attacked with claws however, before the main injury his pet dog came to the rescue. He stood between the tiger and the dog and started barking furiously. Upon seeing a barking dog, the tigers became confused and stepped back.

This gave the couple sufficient time to run away. Miraculously, the dog also caught up with them in a few minutes. Yadav and his wife were then hospitalised. A forest officer speaking to TOI said, Wild dogs in the jungle dont bark. So, they may have been surprised.

Yadav received several stitches for his injuries.

Photo: BCCL/Representative

In another incident, a dog named Toto has refused to move from the hospital door waiting for his owner to return though, he had died. Fatima Rodriguez, a member of a local animal protection organization, said that anyone who adopts him should keep him locked in because he will always find a way to come back to the hospital to look for his dead owner.

The bond between a dog and his owner is truly unmatchable.

Another mountain dog had most likely become the first ever canine to climb 23,000 ft high Himalayas after he befriended an expedition group.

Don Wargowsky, a Seattle-based mountain guide who was leading a Kathmandu-based Summit club met the 45-pound dog who appears to be a mix of a Tibetan mastiff and a Himalayan sheepdog. The team members met the dog when they were coming down from a successful summit of Mera Peak which is located at a height of 21,247 ft.Honesty is something that we rarely get to see these days and when it comes to money, people instantly get selfish. But this one security guard from Telangana proves that 'honesty is the best policy' with his kind action.

The security guard named Mahinder, deployed at the office of the Telangana Deputy General of Police (DGP), found an unclaimed wad of cash totalling Rs 10,000 at an ATM in Jagathgirigutta.

Reuters

To find Rs 10,000 would be tempting for some, but Mahinder chose the right path and rushed to the police station to lodge a complaint.

According to reports, the guard had gone to a Bank of India ATM near his residence in Anjaiah Nagar to withdraw cash when he came across an unclaimed wad of cash.

Mahinder met Inspector Jagathgirigutta K Srinivasulu and explained to him how he had come across the unclaimed currency notes.

Reuters

He then handed over the cash to the inspector and left. An inquiry was launched to identify the account holder who had left the ATM booth without collecting his money.

It is believed that delay by the ATM machine in dispensing the cash may have led the account holder to believe that the machine was not in operation prompting him to leave without waiting for the machine to dispense the cash.Actor Vidyut Jammwal in a still from Chuck Russells film Junglee. The message behind the films story is praiseworthy, and the hand-to-hand action from Jammwal (partly choreographed by him) is exciting. (photo provided)Vanita Gupta (left), Indian American president and CEO of the Leadership Conference Education Fund, speaks as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Steve Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, look on during a press conference to announce a multi-state lawsuit to block the Trump administration from adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census form. Critics of President Donald Trump's administration's decision to reinstate the citizenship question contend that it will frighten people in immigrant communities from responding to the Census. The Trump administration has stated a citizenship question on the Census will help enforce voting rights. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)Indian Americans Prajakta Patel (center) and her husband Rakesh Patel (right) are shown with their sons. Two of the boys were kicked off a Delta/Korean Air flight because their severe peanut allergy could not be accommodated. (Prajakta Patel photo via Facebook)New Yorks financial regulator is asking two Nordic banks for detailed information about their transactions with Danske Bank as part of a burgeoning investigation into global money laundering.

The two banks, Nordea Bank of Finland and SEB of Sweden, must also give New Yorks Department of Financial Services (DFS) more information about their work with Mossack Fonseca, a law firm that set up tax shelters for wealthy individuals around the world, according to a source, citing letters sent to the banks this week.

The broad request for information came the same day that Swedbanks chief executive was fired after investors said she had played down the seriousness of the banks exposure to the scandal. The bank also reportedly withheld information from regulators including the DFS.

Theres no indication that Nordea or SEB are a target of the investigation. But the DFS letters, as described by the source, suggest the regulator wasnt satisfied with the information it received after a similar request in February.

A spokesman for the DFS declined to comment. In an emailed comment sent by spokeswoman Afroditi Kellberg, Nordea said it is co- operating closely with authorities in all the countries where we operate.

Combating financial crime is part of our daily operations, said Nordea. In cases where we see suspicious transactions, we report it to the authorities for them to take forward.

An SEB spokesman said the bank has continuous contact with the authorities that supervise the markets.

SEB chief executive Johan Torgeby said this week that his bank had found no indication that we have systematically been used for money laundering.

Still, Mr Torgeby said: I can never guarantee that we have never been the victim of a financial crime or money laundering.

Revelations that Danske Bank helped move much of 200m in mostly Russian money to the western banking system has broadened into one of the biggest money-laundering scandals in history.

As authorities have dug into the matter, other banks in the region have come under scrutiny. The DFSs letters in February focused on Mossack Fonseca, whose secret files about wealthy clients were stolen and leaked on a mass scale in 2015.Cork and Shannon passengers flying to the US east coast with Norwegian Air International airlines next month will have to be bussed to Dublin for a second week running, the airline has said.

Norwegian had said in response to the suspension of Boeing 737 Max planes by European aviation authorities, which are used on its Cork and Shannon routes to the US, that it would transport passengers by bus to Dublin, where they will fly on different Boeing aircraft.

Originally the affected flights were from Shannon from April 1-10, and Cork flights from April 2-9. The firm said when the first batch of flights were affected that it was actively working on more permanent measures to operate normal services from April 11.

However, it has now confirmed that, as it currently stands, the bussing to Dublin arrangement will remain in place beyond April 10. Despite no aircraft being available for the Cork and Shannon passengers, Norwegian is to begin its Dublin-Toronto route tomorrow.

Shares in Norwegian, which is estimated to be losing out on up to 1.5m a day during the Boeing crisis fell more than 5.5% in Oslo. The firm has 18 of the grounded 737 Max aircraft in its fleet, and has asked Boeing for compensation.

A spokesman said: We have a good dialogue with Boeing and were confident to reach a constructive agreement.

Boeing has been under intense scrutiny after two 737 Max crashes since October killed 346 people.

The initial findings of a probe into the Ethiopian Airlines crash suggest a malfunction of the same system as in the Lion Air disaster in Indonesia in October, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing findings from the planes flight data. Travel giant TUI warned that the grounding of the aircraft will cut its profit.

TUI is the biggest 737 Max operator in Europe after Norwegian, with 15 of the planes in its fleet of 150 aircraft. Eight more of the jets were scheduled for delivery by the end of May.

Shares in the Anglo-German firm plunged as much as 11% after it warned full-year profit will take a 200m hit should its 737 Max fleet remain grounded until July.

Stuart Gordon, an equities analyst at Berenberg, said: I fully expect they will try and get compensation from Boeing as was the case with the Dreamliner issue in 2013. The question will be how much.

Worldwide groundings of the 737 Max have struck a major blow to Boeing, which has lost billions of dollars in market value since the grounding of the planemakers largest seller.

Additional reporting by BloombergShares in H&M surged after the ailing Swedish clothing retailer reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations on lower clearance sales.

The shares rose as much as 16% after the company pulled back on discounts, compared with the fire sale it held a year earlier. The gains may have been spurred by short squeezes, when a bit of good news spurs investors who have bet against the stock to rush to reverse positions. The shares have still lost more than half their value since their 2015 peak.

The company showed some signs of coming to grips with increased competition from online retailers like Zalando and low-price competitors including Primark-Penneys. Until now its efforts have been plagued by logistics and distribution mishaps, fashion misjudgments, and weak sales in physical stores. H&M has been introducing garments at lower prices to try to avoid massive discounts later.

Its still a shaky market, said chief executive Karl-Johan Persson. Were still in a transition period, but we believe in gradual improvement.

Sales growth accelerated so far in the second quarter, rising 7% in local currencies in March compared to 4% in the first quarter. The Stockholm-based company said it expects markdowns to be even less significant in the three months through May.

However, the amount of unsold products is building up again. The CEO also said the unsold garments have a better composition as theyre mostly garments that the retailer can sell in spring and summer.

H&M plans to reduce its store count in Europe by 50 shops this year, and Mr Persson said the retailer will probably keep retrenching in Europe until 2025.Wow Air helped turn tourism into Icelands biggest cash cow, fuelling a boom that dragged the nation out of its financial collapse more than a decade ago.

That all came to an end this week, when Wow was forced to cease operations after it was unable to find backers to cover its losses. Icelanders are now assessing the damages and the most dire forecasts predict a potential plunge of as much as 2.7% in GDP.

The crisis in 2008 resulted in a drop in GDP of more than three times that magnitude, but it would still be a terrible hit for an economy thats already experiencing a sharp slowdown and is further threatened by restive trade unions.

This will be a blow, especially over the next months, said Kristofer Oliversson, owner of hotel chain Centerhotels. Its happening at a very bad time.

The currency plunged as much as 1.4% on the news, prompting the central bank to intervene on the currency markets. Fuelled by spectacular nature and the popularity of television shows like Game of Thrones, tourism now accounts for 8.5% of the economy, employing 30,000 people.

Wow Air was founded by Skuli Mogensen, a former tech businessman, in 2011, just as the country was recovering from the collapse of its banks. By the end of last year, it had become a player to be reckoned with in the market for cheap flights between Europe and the US, while at the same time denting its most established local rival, Icelandair.

Like other failed European carriers, the company had been struggling amid pinched margins due to fluctuating fuel costs and over-capacity in the industry. Mr Mogensen tried but failed to save the airline, holding talks with potential rescuers, including Icelandair and US private equity firm Indigo Partners.

The grounding left thousands of passengers stranded, with other airlines such as Icelandair, EasyJet, Norwegian, and Wizz offering to help. The government also activated contingency plans and issued a statement seeking to offer reassurances about the consequences for the local economy.

A total of 1,100 Wow employees were dismissed  representing the biggest number of jobs lost in a single day in recent Icelandic history  and many more employees in the tourism sector are now expected to be out of work.

Stefan Broddi Gudjonsson, head of research at Arion bank, now says the Wow Air debacle could cause tourist numbers to drop by as much as 16%.Oil headed for its best quarter in almost 10 years as the production cuts by Opec and its allies and the loss of barrels due to US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela countered a wobbly demand outlook.

Futures rose as much as 2.4% after US Federal Reserve Bank of New York president John Williams downplayed the chances of a recession in the worlds largest economy.Ireland and other EU states must support a long extension of the Brexit deadline if the UK significantly shifts its approach to leaving the EU, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted.

Europe, he said, must be open to a long extension of Article 50 if the UK decides to fundamentally reconsider its approach to Brexit.

However, he said it is up to the UK to indicate how it plans to proceed in order to avoid the UK crashing out of the EU. His comments came after the withdrawal agreement was defeated for a third time in the House of Commons yesterday.

Mr Varadkar said: The Government notes the decision of the House of Commons to reject the indicative withdrawal agreement.

It is now up to the UK to indicate how it plans to proceed in order to avoid a no-deal scenario. The European Council has agreed unanimously that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.

He also insisted Ireland has been preparing intensively for a no-deal scenario but nobody should underestimate the difficulties it would present for all countries, including the UK.

It is not clear that the UK has fully understood that no-deal is not off the agenda. Rather, its a growing possibility, he said.

Mr Varadkar welcomed the decision of EU Council president Donald Tusk to call a council meeting on April 10.

It is now incumbent on the UK to chart a realistic way forward for consideration at that council meeting, he said.

I believe we must be open to a long extension should the United Kingdom decide to fundamentally reconsider its approach to Brexit and put back on the table options previously ruled out. I believe that will result in a generous and understanding response from the 27.

Mr Varadkar will meet French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel next week, but emphasised Ireland should back a long Brexit extension if the UK alters its position.

His comments came in the wake of a further humiliating defeat for British prime minister Theresa May. MPs voted 344 to 286 against the latest proposed deal.

Last night, there were signs of changing positions, with DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds saying he would stay in the EU and remain rather than risk Northern Irelands position.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the best option for Ireland now is a soft Brexit and an extension, while Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald said that, amid the disarray in Britain, the interests of Irish citizens, the economy, and the peace process are in the balance.The new creative director and chair for the Galways European city of culture project have failed to inspire confidence in the light of fundraising figures, according to the citys former mayor.

Fine Gael councillor Padraig Conneely said the game is up for Galway 2020 in the light of the latest financial report showing the project is far short of its 7m private sponsorship target.

Galway 2020 has spent more than 330,000 of a budget of 2.8m last year on professional, legal and audit fees, external advisors and other expenditure, according to the financial report for 2018 presented to Galway county councillors.

 Reminder  If you have completed the Wave Maker volunteer application form but not yet booked your face-to-face meeting you can do so by logging in to your MyVolunteerPage via the link below. There are some places left for next week. https://t.co/WPOlwomGrm#galway2020 pic.twitter.com/ZJ0IKN27ay  Galway 2020 (@galway2020) March 29, 2019

The project is still relying heavily on the Governments promised 15m, 6m from Galway City Council and 2m from Galway County Council  which accounts for half of the original bid book budget of almost 46m.

Cllr Conneely said it was anticipated that appointment of new chair Arthur Lappin, and creative lead Artichoke, headed by Helen Marriage, in January of this year would renew confidence, after a series of resignations and setbacks last year. He said the financial report for 2018 was disturbing, with no clear breakdown and a question mark over high professional, legal and advisor fees and a sum of over 60,000 for unspecified other expenses.

Professional fees amounted to almost 176,000 last year, external advisers cost 47,579 and rent and rates amounted to 111,458, according to the report for the Galway Cultural Development and Activity CLG.

Total direct programme funding amounted to more than 978,000 of a budget of 2.8m, largely drawn from Government and local authority support, with 29,687 in sponsorship and other.

It is understood there will be no open call for further projects for Galway 2020 amid continuing concern about budget cuts for the existing bid book projects. Sister 2020 European capital Rijeka in Croatia recently announced an open call.

Speaking at an Arts Council conference in Galway earlier this week, Ms Marriage did outline Artichokes work in Britain with what she referred to as these strange and wonderful people called artists who are seers of the future.

Galway 2020 said the appointments of Mr Lappin as board chair, Artichoke under the leadership of Helen Marriage and Sarah Coop had been strategically significant for successful delivery and had been widely welcomed by cultural practitioners and others across the sector.

It said a large fundraising drive is underway, with local, national and international packages, but negotiating packages took time.

As is normal for projects of this scale, it is envisaged that the fundraising drive will continue throughout 2019, into and during 2020, with funding realised throughout the entire duration of the project, it said.

In January, almost 60 Galway-based theatre practitioners formed a collective, Theatre 57, to draw up a long term arts strategy for the city, in the absence of any clear long-term strategy associated with the European capital of culture and beyond 2020.Arlene Harris talks to mums about the challenges and joys of rearing a large family

WHETHER you have one child or 10, Mothers Day is always special. But while there was a time when 2.4 children was the norm, these days it seems big families are becoming more commonplace.

Indeed, TV personality Vogue Williams, who recently welcomed her first child, claims that parenting is such as easy task that she and her reality TV star husband Spencer Matthews plan to have lots of children.

And the Dublin woman isnt alone  the Beckhams have four children, Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools have five and, not to be outdone, Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana are soon to be welcoming a fifth child as a sibling to their four teenagers.

So what is it about having lots of children that makes these well-known families keep adding to their brood? Ahead of Mothers Day, we asked mums and experts about the joys of having a big family.

Suzanne and Donal OSullivan from Cork always wanted a large family as they envisaged a busy and fun childhood for their children  Dan , seven, Emily, five, JJ, four, and Ella May, 17 months.

I have eight siblings, and while it was crazy growing up with so many children, it was good crazy, says Suzanne.

I thought we might have five or six children, but I think four is our magic number. My siblings and I are very close and we had so much fun growing up.

Donal is from a family of four who are close in age, so we wanted the same for our children and we wanted to be young parents so didnt wait around.

My kids are great  well behaved and mannerly, but they can fight a lot too. But what I notice and love about them being so close in age is how much they look after each other. They are all really caring and have so much fun. We went on a camping holiday last year to France and made such amazing memories. They are so innocent and fun-loving, and I love that.

Jeanne Delbarre and her husband Simon also have four children  Gabriel, nine, Tristan, six, Lucien, five,and Henri, one. The French woman, who lives in Dun Laoghaire, had two siblings but grew up with her cousins living nearby.

Simon has seven siblings, so both were used to a busy childhood and wanted the same for their own boys.

For me, growing up was fun as there was always someone to play with, says Jeanne, who runs her own clothing business online  www.kidsintweed.com.

I have always had admiration for large families. They are beautiful.

Our average day is very busy, bsut there is always a lot of love. The kids entertain each other and there is a clear separation between them and the adults  which wasnt the case when we only had one  family life is easier when everyone knows their place and they have to share a lot, their bedrooms, toys, the TV, and Xbox, so they learn to compromise and take turns.

While it might be frustrating for them, it is amazing life training and we love watching them play and invent games together. They are such a little gang and really look out for each other, so its beautiful to see.

BOYS WORLD: Jeanne Delbarre with husband Simon and children Gabriel, Tristan, Lucien and Henri.

Katrina OBrien lives near Slane with her husband John and their five children  Matthew, 12, Sara, nine, Lorcan, five, Cillian, four, and Lauren, two. Having grown up with seven siblings, she always wanted lots of children and says her husband loved having babies around the house.

I think I always wanted a big family  we didnt sit down and come up with a figure, but I just knew I wanted more than three, she says. And John adores little babies  even now we have finished having our own, youll still find him holding a baby or minding our friends children when we visit.

I have five sisters and two brothers, and while I keep in regular touch with my brothers (one who lives abroad), I see my sisters all the time (two live close by) and this is why a big family counts. I really want my children to experience the closeness, support and love I experience with my siblings. Hopefully, they will find this in each other  although some days it seems that couldnt be further in the distance.

Katrina, who gave up her job as a vascular physiologist after the birth of her fifth child, says while each day is very busy, with her four-year-old son rising at 5.30am, she wouldnt change a thing.

There are many positives to a big family, she says, and along with the children having a close bond, they always have someone to play with.

Its so cute watching them play hide and seek, and Sara asks Matthew to help with her homework when I am busy.

On the downside, it can be hard financially  but you have to make it work. And while I dont want to always be telling my kids about the value of money, I dont want them to think they can get everything they ask for. Also, the noise level can be something else  with five kids wanting to talk at the same time, it can be so difficult to hear. And of course, booking holidays for a family of seven can be difficult too.

But when it comes to Christmas or birthdays, the excitement is shared by everyone  so while I would tell parents to be prepared, accept help and plan ahead.

We are so happy with our children  we planned for all of our babies and were so lucky that they were all born so well and healthy.

CLOSE BOND: Suzanne OSullivan, with her children, JJ, Dan, Ella May and Emily at their home in Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

Suzanne also says having a big family can be costly, but the sacrifices are worthwhile.

August with its preparation for school is a very expensive time and while after-school activities are also expensive, these are done by our own choice, she says.

We manage our money well and dont overspend on material things  so our kids want for nothing, but are not spoilt.

I try and live in the moment with my children as these are the formative years and I want to be there for them as much as I can.

Children need so much support and its hard to divide your time between them but I try and give them all one-on-one time whenever possible. They are all so different and require support at stages  I really try my best to be mindful of this.

Joanna Fortune, psychotherapist and author of 15 Minute Parenting, says it is difficult to ensure every child gets the same amount of attention, but it is important to be aware of their needs and to always be fair.

Whether you have two children or 12 children, it is simply not possible to give everyone equal amounts of attention and you will drive yourself to distraction even trying, she says.

Instead, try to ensure that everyone gets the attention they need when they need it. Not all of your children will have the same physical or emotional needs at the same time, so focus on who needs what and when. That way you are parenting in a fair and balanced way. Maybe thats more about approaching parenting with equity rather than equality in mind.

Be it large busy families or busy classrooms, I always encourage the adults in charge to take time to reflect on whose name they have not called aloud that day. It can be easy to stay just below the surface in a big crowd but sometimes  not always  this can be at the cost of having your needs noticed and responded to. Some children are very well able to get their needs met and bring themselves to your attention one way or another, but some need help and to be encouraged with that.

Child psychologist Peadar Maxwell agrees: Its always possible to get lost in a family because of where you fall in the order of siblings if youre quiet or well behaved or in a family that doesnt do a lot of things together, he says.

Obviously parents who have many children are more likely to be busy and distracted leaving a quiet or independent child to just get on with it or maybe not having the time to devote to a sensitive soul.

It really is a balancing act where the parents of all configurations of families need to have their own interests, passions and dreams and make sure that the whole family does whole-family things fairly frequently.

Joanna says large families can be very supportive and offer a great network for siblings.

Bigger families can offer their own sense of community and children will grow up with a large support network, she says.

Sure, there is added expense and parents will feel a tsunami of demands, but there is also the joy of watching the children entertain each other, play and grow up together. Siblings may fall out and argue, but they can also be each others best friends.

Big and small families can be equally fun, caring and supportive, says Peadar.

At the end of the day, it is not how many people are in your family, it is whether or not you spent time together growing up and put effort into staying in touch as you grow, says the Wexford-based expert.

Mother-of-four Jeanne Delbarre sums it up: Im sure people feel sorry for me and all my boys  its funny how someones dream can be someone elses nightmare.The parents of a seven-year-old boy against whom an unfounded allegation of sex abuse was made claim that the way the school principal over-reacted, and Tuslas absolute refusal to delete the file, has destroyed their lives, writes Michael Clifford.

One day in 2017, two seven-year-old children had a typically innocent encounter in a school playground. The ultimate outcome of the incident, which lasted for about a second, has been trauma for one of the families, serious questions around training for school principals, and whether or not it is correct that a record be kept on a child wrongly accused of sexual abuse.

It happened on February 10, 2017 during big lunch at the primary school which is in Munster. Both children agree on the basic facts. The girl came up to the boy. He had just turned seven, she was a little older. She told him he had a nice hat. He responded by poking her in the private part.

She told the teacher who informed the principal. Some three months earlier, there had been a separate alleged incident between the two. The girl had told her mother one weekend in November that the boy had grabbed her in the genital/private area at lunchtime. It is unclear whether the girl used the word genital. The boy had no recollection of any such event.

Nobody else saw it and it was not recorded on the CCTV trained on the school yard. The teacher was not told about it on the day it allegedly occurred. There is no evidence that it ever happened apart from the girl telling her mother at least one day later. The schools policy on such matters is on the record.

Sexualised behaviour displayed by an individual child, or occurring between children is inappropriate. Should such behaviour occur in school, it: Will arrange meetings with the parent(s)/ guardian(s) of the child/children involved. May, if deemed appropriate, seek advice from the HSE.

Most professional opinion would say that the allegation here didnt even constitute sexualised behaviour between a six-year-old (as the boy was then) and a girl of seven.

Either way, the matter was handled according to policy. Parents were spoken to and, in a class on SPHE (Social Personal and Health Education), the teacher mentioned the issue of good and bad touches in the school yard.

The parents of both children met and there was no problem. The girl attended the boys birthday party a few weeks later. And then, in February, the incident with the hat occurred. It was caught on CCTV and is, as related by both children, spontaneous and instantaneous.

The principal decided to make an official report to Tusla. He filled out a standard intake form to report child protection and welfare concerns. In it, he provided a narrative of the two incidents.

He submitted the report on February 13, 2017. In Tusla, they saw immediately that this was not something to worry about. The social worker who completed the form noted: Allegation unfounded  normal sexual exploration. Referral closed at intake.

Three days later a letter was dispatched from Tusla to the school principal. It read: The Child and Family Agency has assessed that this alleged incident does not meet the threshold in respect of alleged abuse. The definition of sexual abuse is an abuse that occurs when a child is used by another person for his or her own sexual gratification or arousal.

The two children involved in this alleged incident are seven years old.

As advised during my phone call touching between children of such a young age is not outside the realms of normal sexual exploration.

"I want to clarify that normal sexual exploration involves naive play between two children and one of the key aspects of this behaviour is its tone. There should not be any coercive or dominating aspects to this behaviour.

The boys parents are adamant the principal overreacted and went well beyond the schools stated policy. Yet the board of management backed up the principal. In response to a complaint from the boys family, the board wrote that it was the considered view of the BOM that the principal has followed all procedures and that he dealt with the matter in consultation with Tusla and the schools protection policy.

That statement would appear to be at variance with the facts and the schools policy as outlined above. The familys next issue was with Tusla. Their son was now on file at the Child and Family Agency as being the subject of an allegation of sexual abuse.

Requests that the file be deleted on the basis that it was an unfounded allegation concerning a seven-year-old were rejected. The family appealed this decision. The appeals officer wrote to the family with a decision, saying she cannot agree to destroy this data and file as it has been correctly created in response to a report of a concern for a child, in accordance with Tuslas own policies and procedures.

The letter went on: I wish to acknowledge to both of you the obvious difficulty experienced by you and by (boys name) following the report made by his school to Tusla. It appears that while Tuslas own involvement was short-lived with a clear outcome for (boys name) which indicated no cause for concern, unfortunately other communications and decisions related to his former school have unfolded which have caused you significant difficulties. These issues however fall outside the scope of this appeal.

By the time of the appeal, the parents had moved their three children from the school. They had also felt compelled to move from their GAA club because of ties to the school. They also moved church because of connections between a priest and the school.

Tuslas position is curious. The Irish Examiner asked Tusla to specify the policy or legislation that demanded the retention of a record such as this. The agency responded with a statement (on this page) which did not address specifics.

Data protection law in this area emphasises proportionality. Article 5 of the GDPR data legislation states that data must be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.

How long should a record of an unfounded allegation of sexual abuse against a seven-year-old  dismissed immediately within the agency  be kept?

There are issues here for how schools deal with allegations and how Tusla retains records. For the family concerned, the whole affair has had a life-altering effect.

It destroyed us, the boys father told the Irish Examiner. I dont say that softly. We have had to change school, club and even the church we go to. Two of my kids have spent time in therapy over it. My son is a soft guy and now hes afraid to go near anybody. He did nothing wrong.

When they grow up, at some point theyre going to look back on it and say daddy you did nothing about it. But I have all the files that show what went on. I know what happened. I know how we were treated.

Tusla response to questions regarding retention of records

The Irish Examiner submitted the following questions to Tusla:

1. Are all files concerning reports of allegation retained in Tusla, irrespective of the age of an alleged perpetrator, or a finding that an allegation is unfounded?

2. In the case of minors, does this also apply?

3. Is there any projected point at which a file would be deleted, such as when a minor reaches 18?

4. If such records are kept, under what policy is it done, and where is any such policy published? Equally, if it is done under the Childcare Act, could you direct me to the section?

5. If such a policy exists, has it been in any way altered since the introduction of GDPR in terms of data retention?

6. Does Tusla have any deletion policy?

RESPONSE FROM TUSLA:

Tusla processes personal data for the stated purpose for which is it collected, under consent or other legislation to which Tusla is required to adhere. The legislation to which Tusla is obligated to operate within is complex, including and not limited to, the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Children First, and data protection legislation.Therefore, a particular set of circumstances may arise where complex legal and regulatory consideration is required in order to achieve a resolution to a matter.Tusla has a Record Management Policy which sets out a number of record retention limits, up to and including in perpetuity.Legislation does not provide prescriptive retention periods for records but rather a framework within which multiple rights and statutory obligations must be balanced and apportioned.The skies had been, in aviation parlance, severe clear for Dennis Muilenburg since he took the helm at Boeing four years ago. With air traffic increasing 6% annually, orders were booming, and revenue in 2018 topped $100bn (88bn) for the first time in the companys 102-year history.

Competitor Airbus SE has been distracted with the humiliating commercial flop of its A380 flagship and a bribery scandal thats led to a huge management turnover. With Boeings stock price tripling during his tenure, its market value soared above $200bn, making it the largest US industrial company. Its used the newfound clout to pursue acquisitions and ambitious projects such as a flying car.

The only cloud was the crash in October of a 737 Max 8 jet operated by Indonesias Lion Air. That tragic but seemingly isolated incident has emerged as the turning point in a new narrative after a second deadly accident of the same model, in Ethiopia, on March 10.

Its a scenario every chief executive officer fears: Public panic over product safety puncturing a carefully groomed corporate reputation. For Boeing, the pressure is acute: The 737 is a cash cow that accounts for a third of its profit.

Regulators in the EU, China, India, Australia, Singapore, and Canada quickly grounded the plane, and dozens of airlines have stopped flying it. British tabloids The Sun and the Daily Mail dubbed the Max 8 the death jet. Fleeing investors quickly trimmed over $20bn from Boeings market value.

Muilenburg had to call US President Donald Trump to reassure him the plane is safe after he sent an off-message tweet decrying modern airliners as too complicated. Nonetheless, Trump and the US Federal Aviation Administration belatedly ordered the jets grounded on March 13.

The two accidents werent identical, and there are still many unknowns. But as incomplete information rockets around the world, Boeing and the slow-to-act FAA looked isolated in a new era of airline safety in which other countries no longer wait patiently for American guidance.

What were looking at here is almost a rebellion against the FAA, says Sandy Morris, an aerospace analyst at Jefferies International Ltd in London. Its the first time Ive ever seen this happen.

Muilenburg, an engineer whose blond crew cut gives him the look of a Nasa astronaut, has followed a protocol of limiting communications about investigations until clues are painstakingly gathered and the accidents cause is unmistakable.

So far, the man and the mission seem at odds in the view of some public relations experts. Boeings brief statements read like an engineer and a lawyer wrote it together, says Erik Bernstein, vice-president of Bernstein Crisis Management in Monrovia, California.

If Boeing were his client, he says, hed put the CEO on a 737 for the world to see, and advise him to show more empathy for nervous passengers. (In a memo to employees, Muilenburg extended deepest sympathies to the families of the 157 people killed on the Ethiopian flight and said were committed to understanding all aspects of this accident.)

The Max jets are still a small part of the global airline fleet. The first commercial delivery of a Max was in 2017 to a Lion Air subsidiary. Boeing has since delivered about 370 from a backlog of more than 5,000 orders.

The Max is an updated version of the 737, a model introduced almost as an afterthought in 1967  it was dubbed the baby Boeing at a time the plane-maker was more focused on jumbos.

Its since become the workhorse of the industry even though Airbus was first out of the gate with a more fuel-efficient jet, a redesign of its popular A320. As Airbus picked up massive orders for the plane, dubbed the A320neo, Boeing pursued a similar strategy, adding newer engines and making other changes to the 737 to keep pace.

Production of the 737, mostly the Max version, is due to ramp up to more than two a day this year. The plane generates $1.8bn a quarter in profit, according to Melius Research analyst Carter Copeland. Thats 37% of Boeings $19.6bn 2018 gross profit.

The Lion Air crash stirred rumbles that Boeing had skimped on investments, pushing an ageing design past its limits. While the A320 and 737 are similar in size, there are notable differences, making the upgrade more complex for the US company.

The 737 is a far older design than the A320, which came to market at the end of the 1980s and boasted innovations like fly-by-wire controls. The 737 also sits considerably lower to the ground, so fitting the larger engines under the wings was an engineering challenge.

Boeing raised the front landing gear by a few inches, but this and the larger engines changed the planes centre of gravity and thereby its lift. Boeings response for the 138-230-seat Max was a piece of software known as the Manoeuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

It intervenes automatically when a single sensor indicates the aircraft may be approaching a stall. In the Lion Air Max 8 that crashed just two and a half months after it was delivered, the pilots were baffled when the tool meant to stabilise the plane pushed the nose down dozens of times, exerting more and more force until they lost control. All 189 people aboard died when it plunged into the Java Sea.

Data from the doomed flight suggested that the so-called angle-of-attack vane provided a faulty reading to the crew of Lion Air Flight 610. Many veteran 737 pilots first learned of the flight-control changes in the Max 8 in the aftermath of the crash, and some were furious with Boeing for omitting any description of them from most flight manuals.

Some said Boeing should have required special training  some thing its often loath to do because that adds costs for airlines, says former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune, who also managed the 737 programme at Boeing.

Its a selling point that a new model doesnt require pilots to get extra certification. We had lots of discussions like this with the FAA, he says. Its a give-and-take process, and Boeing normally is pretty aggressive.

Still, there were enough oddities in the Lion Air accident  such as worsening maintenance issues repeatedly missed by its technicians  that it was largely viewed as an isolated incident.

That is, until the Ethiopian jet dropped from the sky six minutes after departing from Addis Ababa. The plane flew erratically, as with Lion Airs flight, and the pilots asked to return to the airport soon after takeoff.

Following the latest crash, Boeing sent engineering leaders and sales executives around the globe to answer questions and explain a software upgrade they hope to roll out in coming weeks. The update, which takes about an hour to download, will make sure the MCAS compares data from two angle-of-attack vanes instead of relying on a single potentially faulty sensor.

There will be limits to the number of times the system can nudge the nose down and to the amount of force it exerts. The redesign has been tested in multiple flight-simulator runs and flights, but it must also be certified by the FAA.

For all the rush to judgment, it isnt known if the software was even an issue in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. Eyewitnesses say they saw smoke beforehand, suggesting something else went wrong. Still, the plane-maker could have avoided some of the blowback by moving faster to fix the software, says Peter Lemme, a retired Boeing engineer who designed the automated flight controls on the 767.

Back in November, Boeing had enough information to know that MCAS needed some fixes, he says. Why didnt they get a software update out back then, as a priority, to make sure it would never be a factor again? Whatever held them back has cost them dearly.

The FAAs reticence to ground the Max didnt sit well with some passengers or airlines  including Ethiopian. The carrier said on March 13 that it will ask European air-safety experts to analyse the black boxes from the crashed jet, in a remarkable suggestion that US authorities might not be able to be trusted to determine the cause of the disaster after so firmly saying that the model is safe to fly.

Boeing has weathered safety questions about the 737 before, notably in the 1990s, when the crash of a United jet in Colorado Springs killed 25 people and another of a USAir flight near Pittsburgh resulted in 132 fatalities. The crashes sparked questions about uncommanded movements of the rudder. Boeing redesigned a valve that US regulators suspected as a cause, and the plane remained a best-seller.

Boeing also emerged largely unscathed from the grounding of the 787 Dreamliner in 2013, after two battery fires. The jets returned to service three months after the second blaze.

If the same happens to the Max, it might cost less than $1bn to reimburse customers for lost revenue and make design updates, says Copeland, the Melius analyst.

The greater risk is to the reputation and future sales of a jet that was just establishing its bona fides with airlines. Many of these customers, such as Lion Air, are upstarts that dont have a long history with the 737.

The largest Indonesian carrier plans to cancel a $22bn order for additional Max jets as a rift with Boeing widens. Chinas regulator was the first to ground the Max, a move that may linger in the minds of the 100m or so Chinese wholl fly for the first time this year.

The country is Boeings most important customer and, aside from Airbus, its most dangerous potential competitor. Boeing may ultimately decide to become its own competitor. The decision by Muilenburgs predecessor, Jim McNerney, to update rather than replace the 737 was controversial, with some executives pushing for an all-new plane.

That costly option could be back on the table if Max sales slow down. How the Maxs dinged reputation might affect Boeings long-term product strategy must now be addressed by Muilenburg  who received $18.5m in compensation in 2018  and the companys board, which includes such influential and politically connected members as a former US trade representative and a retired admiral, and next month will add Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations. As Gary Weissel, managing officer with Tronos Aviation Consulting puts it: I dont know how much more you can eke out of this design.It was conspiracy theory central in the Dail on Wednesday. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was on the receiving end of a battering from opposition leaders Micheal Martin, Mary Lou McDonald, and Brendan Howlin over events at last weeks EU Council meeting.

As you might remember, it was reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron piled the pressure on Varadkar to cough up an explanation as to how he intends protecting the single market in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

In Brussels, amid the febrile atmosphere, Merkel raised the issue of the Irish border, noting the difficulties of protecting the Belfast Agreement in a no-deal situation, according to sources familiar with the notes of the meeting. As a result, it was agreed that plans on how to deal with the Irish border in the event of a no-deal Brexit were to be discussed urgently between the European Commission and Irish Government officials.

Crucially, reports of such concerns emanated not from the Irish media but from the British and European press, so a divergence of opinion was emerging.

In a situation eerily reminiscent of former taoiseach Brian Cowens denials of an IMF bailout in 2010, only to be found out, the protestations from the Irish Government are beginning to ring hollow.

Only after those reports about the Merkel pressure emerged did Varadkar and his ministers even concede that early and tentative discussions have begun with the EU about how to ready for a no-deal.

You see, Varadkar, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, and the rest of their Government have always officially maintained that no plan exists on how the border (the integrity of the EU single market) would be protected on the island of Ireland should Britain crash out.

No way, hell no, definitely not, has always been the response. While confirming that talks have commenced, but in the vaguest and most unspecific terms, Varadkar appeared to revert back to the well-trodden script, saying that any talk of preparations for a hard border returning is akin to conspiracy theory.

In regard to Deputy Micheal Martins questions, the deputy sought some particular date and information in regard to preparedness, as he did yesterday, also, said Varadkar.

I asked my officials to check that out and we will provide it for him, if it exists. I do not know if it does exist, but if that data does exist, we will provide it to the deputy. In fairness, I cannot do so if it does not exist.

With the greatest respect to the deputy, I do not think he can accuse people of partisanship when he engages in it himself regularly. Whatever standard one seeks is the standard one should set. There are plenty of examples of partisanship from Fianna Fail, and Deputy Martin as leader. I do not need to provide examples, because the deputy will be able to find them without much research. In terms of the conspiracy theory, the conspiracy theory seems to be that we have a secret plan for a hard border between north and south that we are not sharing with people. That is a conspiracy theory. It is not true. We have no secret plan, insisted the Taoiseach.

In regard to the talks and discussions with the European Commission on no-deal planning, or on what we would do to avoid a hard border and protect the single market and the customs union, in the event of a no-deal, as I said at the weekend, they have been rough, they have been preliminary, and they are really only going to start when we end up in a no-deal scenario. There are no documents that I have seen, if they do exist. They happen at official level and I am not party to them. I have given no specific instructions to officials, he said.

Martin was not buying it: I am not talking about conspiracy theories. It is a long-standing practice for government to instruct its officials when it is in discussions on an issue.

The Merkel revelation, which first appeared in the Financial Times, has certainly placed strain on Government denials that no planning has been undertaken to plan for the worst of worst scenarios.

As one senior civil servant told me recently, we plan for all scenarios, no exceptions. Such a statement was backed up by a conversation I had with a minister the other night.

The minister said:

Of course there is a plan. There is a massive game going on; we just cant talk about it, for obvious reasons. We just have to hold the line for now: this is a critical time.

So, on one hand, we have the Taoiseach and Tanaiste shouting down any suggestion that there is planning to ensure the border between the EU and Britain would be protected in the case of a no-deal, and, on the other, we have statements to the contrary.

Politically, the Government can say little else, for fear that it gives ammunition to those in Britain who are perfectly happy with a no-deal, crash-out Brexit. Fine Gael does not want to go down in history as the party that reintroduced a hard border on the island of Ireland, so even if it is barely credible, they are sticking to their line.

But, as Cowen and his now deceased finance minister, Brian Lenihan, learned to their cost, deceiving the public can blow up in your face and rob you of any credibility. I liken it to another episode. When the euro currency was under severe strain in 2012 and 2013, rumours abounded that plans were being readied to reprint the punt.

Questions were asked, queries were made, and denials aplenty came back at us, only for the story to be confirmed a year later that, actually, very detailed plans were readied, in case they were needed.

To our faces, our queries were rejected as piffle by officials and politicians, because the plan was so top secret.

So, while the Taoiseach can decry questions and queries about plans to restore the border and label them as mere conspiracy theories, such refutations are becoming increasingly unconvincing. Especially when many of his own ministers are openly saying there is a plan for that very scenario. While there may be legitimate reasons for seeking to hold the line, the risks are high, as history taught Fianna Fail in 2011: The public doesnt take kindly to being lied to so brazenly.The hardy monks used to winter in Ballinskelligs. Theyd come in from the Rock as the weather turned nasty at the darkest time of year. And then, when the Skellig could no longer be inhabited at all, they moved lock, stock and barrel into Ballinskelligs and established an abbey.

The monks were no fools. They knew when they had stumbled across Paradise. These days, the South Kerry hamlet of Ballinskelligs attracts the multitudes in the summer rather than the monks in the winter. Its an area blessed by nature. McCarthys ancient castle is at the tip of the elliptical-shaped beach.

The sandy rim of Ballinskelligs Bay loops around to Waterville village and onto the dark slopes of Coomakista. You could be in Vietnam, or a hidden island in the South Seas. When the sun shines on the bay youd be hard pressed to find a better place to be this side of Hawaii.

Unfortunately, you cant eat the scenery. In recent decades, the Iveragh peninsula, in which Ballinskelligs nestles, has suffered depopulation, lack of investment, flight from the land, all the symptoms of the decline of rural Ireland.

Some decline is inevitable. But throughout the country communities are mobilising, innovating, resisting. However, recent travails in Iveragh highlight another aspect to rural decline and raises serious questions about whether or not planning law is fit for purpose in todays world.

The only hotel in Ballinskelligs, Cable OLearys, sits high above the beach. Its in poor nick, having been around in one form or another for the guts of a century.

A local family, the OSullivans, who made good in construction in New York, bought the hotel a few years ago. Big plans. Expand, go up a single storey to three. Throw in a gym. Build it and they will come year-round. Where better to spend a winter break?

A meeting attended by around 500 people last week heard that those plans are now in shreds. An Bord Pleanala has refused permission, following an appeal in which two objections persisted. One of the objectors is believed to a well-to-do person who has retired to the area. Another is from an address in Kenmare, about 65km away.

There is huge local anger that a plan to pump life into the area, provide jobs and brighten the future, can be killed by two individuals acting in their own self-interest.

A letter read out at the meeting from the developer Kevin OSullivan stated that he shared the anger of all the other locals. He feels he now has no choice but to close the existing hotel as it is no longer viable and in danger of falling into disrepair.

Most of the 300 or so owners of holiday homes in the area, including TD Alan Kelly, are in favour of the development. But the wishes of the vast majority are redundant in this instance.

Ironically, some of the nearby holiday home developments were decried as entirely inappropriate by conservation bodies when built during the boom.

About a mile or so from Ballinskellings, near Reenroe beach, stands the skeletal concrete frame of another hotel, built in the 1970s, and abandoned within a few years. This represented a local mans ill-timed vision; a leisure and hotel complex for a wealthy country before the country became wealthy. Over a decade ago, a plan emerged by a large company to redevelop the building.

That foundered on one objection, from a man living in Canada who owned a holiday home nearby. The shell is still there, a decrepit monument to one mans folly and anothers insistence that his needs were greater than those of the local community.

In nearby Caherciveen, there was a small boost earlier this year when it was announced that Aldi was coming to town to create 20 jobs. The peninsula is without any German or British multiple outlet.

In the last few weeks, apparently on the last day for lodging objections, Kerry County Council received one. The objection was submitted by a planning consultant on behalf of a client. At the very least, this threatened delay to yet another attempt to inject life into a rural outpost. On Thursday, with local anger piping, and the inevitability of the objectors identity being unmasked, the objection was withdrawn.

Many on the peninsula have invested hope in the greenway. If you build this they will come in their multitudes. The Greenway is proposed to run along an old railway line from Glenbeigh down to Caherciveen and onto Renard Point, from where the ferry departs for Valentia Island. The 32km cycleway, including viaducts, tunnels and spectacular scenery, has massive potential.

The chairman of the local development group, Frank Curran, told the Irish Examiner last year that the project would be a game-changer for the area.

We could have hundreds of thousands coming into the area every year and 70 or 80 jobs created directly, he said.

It would a huge boost for B&Bs as well, and this is not plucking figures out of the sky. Weve seen that in the likes of Waterford where the greenway is a big success. The great thing is that it is sustainable, eco-friendly and not weather dependent. It could really make a serious difference.

Of the fifty or so landowners along the route, around a dozen are objecting. The project has already been delayed by at least four years. Informed opinion has it that maybe half the objectors are open to compromise. That leaves less than half a dozen who claim to be making a stand on principle.

Collectively, a handful of individuals are managing to frustrate, delay or kill off projects in an area that is struggling desperately to stay alive. On the face of it, all of these objections are entirely based on the self-interest of the individuals.

The planning laws in this State are nominally based on the common good, as defined in the landmark 1963 Planning Act. Where lies the common good in the projects outlined in this column?

Arguably, the common good was not served in rural areas such as South Kerry in the last 50 years through the proliferation of one-off housing. In many of these instances, exceptions became the rule, as local politicians pandered to farmers and landowners.

If the common good had been served, towns like Caherciveen wouldnt have been hollowed out and would now be in a better position to tackle decline. But we are where we are. In planning terms, there must now be a requirement for rural decline and economic imperative to receive far greater concern than heretofore.

This does not have to lead to compromise in terms of broad planning principles. But if more than lip service is to be given to tackling rural decline, it is an issue that demands immediate and serious attention.This weeks news that there are more than 10,000 people homeless in this rich country can hardly be seen as anything other than a dereliction public duty. That the appropriate response  outrage and shame  came mostly from what,

in Irish terms at least, might be called the left, suggests our commitment to social justice is another veneer covering a less attractive reality.When one of the red lights on a car dashboard starts flashing, any sensible person will stop and check the owners manual. If the alarm signals something less than critical, many of us will press on, hoping against hope that whatever needs fixing can wait. Sometimes, we get away with that; sometimes, we dont. What might have been a minor problem escalates to something significant and often eye-wateringly expensive.

It there was a red light linked to our direct provision system, it would be flashing so brightly, so persistently, that it would be impossible to ignore. Direct provision is how we look after those who arrive here and ask for asylum. There are approximately 6,000 people, including over 1,500 children, living in almost 40 centres around Ireland. The litany of concern grows.

Late last year, the ombudsman had received 84 formal complaints from those living in direct provision. Of those, 49 related to the Department of Justices Reception and Integration Agency, which administers State-provided accommodation. Due to the lengthy application and appeals process, families and single people can live for years in one of these centres. They do so on the most basic kind of weekly income  38.80 for adults, 29.80 for children. Calls to end the system have intensified, as it requires almost unlimited optimism not to see it as a deliberate, nod-and-a-wink disincentive to those who might seek refuge here.

Trump mocks asylum seekers, mimicking them saying, "I am very afraid for my life, Im afraid for my life." Then he says, "its a big fat con job."  Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) March 29, 2019

In some instances, opposition to the establishment of centres has intensified, too. The Shannon Key West hotel, in Rooskey, on the Leitrim/Roscommon border, was to host 80 people before it was the target of a fire attack. Just before Christmas, a Donegal hotel earmarked for asylum seekers was similarly attacked. That Moville attack gave our better angels a chance to step forward and the town held a rally to let the world know that asylum seekers were welcome.

In another incident, the Department of Justice is examining the circumstances around the death of an asylum seeker early this week. The body of a man, understood to have been from Eritrea, was found near the Hazel Hotel, in Monasterevin, on Tuesday morning. He had been living at the centre for more than six months.

This week, asylum seekers at the Clonakilty Lodge direct provision centre held a protest, because they claim they were not told of a visit on Monday by the Minister of State for Equality, Immigration, and Integration, David Stanton. This may not seem a critical issue, but it is symptomatic of poor relationships undermined by mistrust.

It is unlikely that any of the 28,300 Irish nationals who emigrated from Ireland in the year to April 2018 have sought asylum in the country they moved to. Had they, and had they been afforded the welcome we offer asylum seekers here, the outrage needle would quickly reach the red zone.

We seem uncomfortable with, if not unequal to, this challenge. That is not tenable, as immigration, driven by poverty, violence or, more and more, climate change, will only increase during the coming years and we need to prepare properly before a scandal becomes a crisis.Trump shows his political skills against the Democrats Robert Mueller, he of the unimpeachable credentials, darling of the Democrats and scourge of Trump, has, after an investigation lasting nearly as long as Ken Starrs against Clinton, found Trump innocent of all charges. Unimpeachable even.

So now what do the Democrats do? Continue to flog a dead horse and run the very serious risk of alienating not only the Trump hardliners, but reasonable middle of the road Americans as well. Or back off and resort to discussing the issues.

I recently wrote that only Beto ORourke could possibly take on Trump and win in 2020. Now I am not so sure, especially as ORourke is also continuing like the headless chickens of the rest of his party, in spite of all, to turn over every stone in an attempt to nail Trump on Russian collusion and obstruction of justice.

Trump has not been the perfect president: he has torn up the Iran treaty, has provocatively approved the transfer of the Israeli capital to Jerusalem, and listens to hawks like John Bolton and Elliot Abrams who want to invade Venezuela.

Yet he has made sensible and positive moves by talking to North Korea and by seeking detente with Russia.

No amount of wishful thinking by the West is going to defang Putin. He is armed to the teeth with as many if not more nuclear weapons than the US. Europe gets 40% of its energy from Russia which is quite entitled to defend its patch in Crimea and Ukraine, as the West is entitled to spread its sphere of influence to Cuba and other contiguous territories.

But it was Russia which defeated Islamic State and it has now so many powerful emerging countries pivoted towards it, such as China, India and Turkey, that it is nothing short of international suicide for the West to think it can control it.

Trump sees this clearly. As such he is a far-seeing figure like Eisenhower and Nixon before him in foreign policy matters.

He may be crude and vulgar but he is a politician of estimable skill and if the American economy continues to improve he will be extremely difficult to beat in a little over 18 months time.

Maurice OCallaghan

Stillorgan

Co DublinCookie Preferences Cookie List

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We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.(CNN)  Six months after New Zealand Prime Minister John Key took office in 2008, he was dining in Beijing's Great Hall of the People with the Chinese Communist Party leadership.

A free-trade agreement had been signed just months earlier and, in a jubilant mood, then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Key that Chinese-New Zealand relations were at their "best in history."

A decade later, it has taken New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern nearly 18 months in office to visit China.

As she prepares to finally touch down in Beijing on Sunday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, relations between the two nations are looking far more complicated.

"New Zealand is committed to sustaining a constructive and comprehensive relationship with China," Ardern said on Monday when she announced the trip.

But Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center, said over the past few years more and more issues have come between the two countries.

"Some of those issues are due to how China itself has changed," he said.

Growing tensions

The China-New Zealand relationship is one that Ardern's predecessors have taken care to foster.

Key visited the country six times during his eight years as leader. Under Prime Minister Helen Clark, New Zealand in 2008 became the first developed country to sign a free-trade agreement with China.

Today, China is New Zealand's largest trading partner. Two-way trade between the countries was valued at more than $19 billion (28 billion New Zealand dollars) in 2018, according to New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade. China is also New Zealand's second-largest tourism market and largest source of international students.

However Wellington's ties to Beijing have raised alarm bells with the United States, New Zealand's longtime ally.

Along with Washington, New Zealand is a member of the exclusive intelligence sharing community known as "Five Eyes," which also consists of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

In an extraordinary statement to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in April 2018, former U.S. government analyst Peter Mattis said New Zealand's membership should be reviewed given its relationship with Beijing.

"Australia and New Zealand both face substantial problems with interference by the Chinese Communist Party. In both cases, the CCP has gotten very close to or inside the political core, if you will, of both countries," Mattis told the commission.

Juggling the relationship with the U.S. and China has become increasingly difficult for New Zealand, with relations between the two giants souring amid U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating trade war.

Tensions with Beijing reached a new level in 2018 when New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau blocked Chinese technology company Huawei from providing 5G technology to one of the country's major telecommunication companies, Spark.

The U.S. has been putting pressure on its allies and diplomatic partners to ditch Huawei over security concerns, a move which has been regularly condemned by Beijing.

Speaking to CNN in February, Andrew Campbell, a spokesman for Ardern, said the relationship had suffered some "irritation ... because of the GCSB's decision regarding Huawei."

When asked whether Huawei would be on the agenda this weekend, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang evaded the question.

Ardern on the back foot

In recent months, Ardern has found herself under greater pressure from opposition politicians and critics to defend the strength of New Zealand's relationship with China.

In February, Ardern was forced to deny that China was deliberately dragging out the visa process for New Zealander diplomats and postponing trips by officials to Beijing.

The same month, local media reported an Air New Zealand flight to Shanghai was mysteriously forced to turn back to Auckland on discovering that its paperwork referred to the disputed island of Taiwan.

At the time, Ardern denied it was a "relationship" issue with China, saying instead it was an administrative error.

But the postponement of a major Chinese-New Zealand tourism event that same month  which Ardern put down to a scheduling issue  also added to speculation of a rift.

Ardern's trip also comes at a sensitive time for New Zealand, just two weeks after the terrorist attack against two mosques in Christchurch in which 50 people died. She even said she would be cutting her trip to China short, as it didn't seem "appropriate" to be overseas at such a time.

Following global praise for her handling of the tragedy, the New Zealand leader has come under pressure from human rights group to raise the issue of China's crackdown on Uyghur Muslims with Xi. Up to two million Uyghurs have reportedly been detained in detention centers in the western region of Xinjiang, according to U.S. government reports.

"Given I've raised it before, that should give you an indication," she said when asked by reporters this week.

Prior to her trip, a spokesman for the Prime Minister denied again that she was concerned about the relationship with China worsening under her leadership. "China is one of our most important and far-reaching relationships. Our relationship is mature and resilient," the spokesman said.

China researcher Young agreed with the official line.

"I think if the relationship really was deteriorating in that way, then it would be far clearer. I think China would be a lot more blunt in the message if it was wanting to send a message," he said.

Wider strains

Increasingly, the Pacific  a region where New Zealand has long been a significant player  is shaping up to be a new battleground for influence.

China has promised billions of dollars of aid and support in the region and, if it follows through, could overtake Australia as the biggest donor to the Pacific nations.

New Zealand has also been ramping up spending. Last year, the government announced it would boost aid in the region by 714 million New Zealand dollars ($484 million) as part of its "Pacific Reset" strategy  a move commentators said was at least partly driven by China's growing influence in the area.

"Our eyes are wide open to New Zealand's decreasing influence in the Pacific and we are committed to resetting our approach to working with the Pacific," Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said in June last year.

Despite the numerous points of friction, Stephen Jacobi, the executive director of the New Zealand China Council, isn't panicking. Instead, Jacobi said, the biggest fear is that tiny New Zealand becomes irrelevant.

"The reality is we are a small country and the Chinese don't get up every day thinking about how they can do nice things for New Zealand," he said. "That means we need to be careful in the way we do things  but we are never going to agree on everything with China."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "New Zealand's special relationship with China is on the rocks. Can Jacinda Ardern's Beijing trip save it?"Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29)  Makati City Mayor Abby Binay is confident her reelection will be easy despite being pitted against her brother Junjun Binay.

"Mainit lang ang panahon. Mukha namang 'di magiging mainit ang labanan (Only the weather is hot. It looks like it's not going to be an intense fight)," Abby Binay said Friday, the first day of campaigning for local candidates.

Her proclamation rally was fiesta-like, with sing-and-dance performances to entertain thousands of Makati residents in the audience.

She was joined by her father, Vice President Jejomar Binay who is gunning for a seat in Congress to represent the first district of Makati.

Abby Binay stressed she doesn't see the 45-day campaign period as a challenge because of her good performance in the past three years as Makati Mayor.

"Pakiramdam ko nakaungos ako dahil sa tatlong taon na nakapaglingkod ako ng tama. So parang ito, chill chill lang tayo sa darating na 45 days," she said.

Translation: "I feel that I have an advantage because of the three years that I was able to serve the public well. So now, we can chill for the next 45 days."

Her younger brother, Junjun Binay, chose to have his proclamation party Saturday afternoon, telling CNN Philippines in a text message that he does not want to inconvenience people because of the traffic it may cause.

The former Makati Mayor was supposed to run for re-election in 2016, but was removed from office by the Office of the Ombudsman over graft charges. The Binay family fielded Abby Binay to take his place and she won.

Junjun Binay earlier told CNN Philippines he is banking on his father to keep his word about being neutral in the 2019 elections. The Binay patriarch meanwhile said he went back to the campaign trail because he is ready to join politics now and believes he can do more. When asked why run for congressman, he said there are no other vacant posts because his daughter Nancy is already in the Senate.

Abby and Junjun Binay are up against four other candidates for the mayoral post: Carmel Alanzalon, Renato Bondal, Wilfredo Talag, and Ricardo Yabut.

Nearly 400,000 voters will choose the next leader of financial hub Makati City.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29)  The first phase of decommissioning of fighters and weapons of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is now underway as the Bangsamoro autonomous region formally took off Friday.

The Bangsamoro interim parliament held its inaugural session in Cotabato City, where MILF Chairman Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim announced that his group has submitted the initial list of combatants and weapons up for decommissioning.

"Last Monday, the MILF already submitted the complete list of its combatants and weapons to the international decomissioning body for decommissioning representing the first phase of a process," Murad said during the region's historic inaugural ceremony held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex

Twelve thousand combatants will be decommissioned during the first phase of the process. The group, however, has yet to release the exact figure for the firearms.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who led the inauguration rites, assured a "smooth" implementation of the process.

"We do this ensuring the smooth and effective implementation on the annex of normalization, which includes the decommissioning of former MILF combatants," the chief executive said.

The Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) composed of foreign and local experts, in a statement Friday, credited the rebel group as well as the Philippine government for the move.

"In the steadfast aspiration of enduring peace, the decommissioning will render possible the transition of MILF combatants, ensuring them the opportunity to pursue productive lives as civilians, in the peaceful communities of Bangsamoro," the statement read.

The body said it will be working with the Joint Normalization Committee and the Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their communities to ensure steady implementation of the process.

The rebel group's decommissioning is part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro undertaken with the national government. Under the peace agreement, the first phase shall take place when the Bangsamoro government is set up.

CNN Philippines Correspondent David Santos contributed to this report.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30) - The suspect in a hit and run incident that happened along Marcos Highway has surrendered.

Pasig City Police Chief Col. Rizalito Gapas told CNN Philippines Saturday they have Adrian King Carlos in custody.

Carlos said he is taking full responsibility for his "irresponsible" driving.

The video of the incident went viral on social media earlier this week.

It showed Joseph Belen and his partner Rosalina Ugto traveling along the highway on their motorcycle, when they were hit by a speeding car.

Belen suffered from leg injuries because of the incident, while Ugto suffered from a head injury and fell into a coma.

Gapas confirmed Ugto passed away last night.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  Malacanang speaks up on the issue of a journalist's arrest, saying her profession does not warrant her preferential treatment.

In a statement released Saturday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was again "peddling her repudiated accusation that the Administration is behind her criminal prosecution and arrest."

Ressa was arrested on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after she arrived from the United States.

She was released later that day after posting a P90,000 bail over charges of violating the Anti-dummy Law.

Panelo added Ressa continued to lie about her rights being violated.

"In truth and in fact due process has been observed. The fact alone that after she was criminally charged, a preliminary investigation was conducted, and after a finding of probable cause an information was filed in court, shows she was accorded her statutory right," he said.

Ressa's posting bail is also proof of the presumption of her innocence, said Panelo, adding her attacks against President Rodrigo Duterte's administration makes her "walking testament of the robust exercise of the freedom of the press and of expression in the land."

"She cannot be using her arrest as a violation of the freedom of the press and make it as an excuse to attack the government. She wants a special treatment owing to her being a journalist. She wants her profession to shield her from accountability of a wrongdoing that she could be guilty of."

Panelo went on to say Ressa should focus "on her defense and be truthful on her present situation."

"She cannot forever hide behind the freedom of the press every time she commits what probably is a transgression of law as determined by the investigating prosecutor and the judge handling her case," he said.

Ressa has posted bail seven times. She is facing a total of 11 complaints and cases.

She called the mounting cases in a span of one year and three months as "forum shopping" in the part of the government. Other former and incumbent executives of Rappler have also posted bail for the same criminal case.

"Sad day for me. Apparently the Philippine government isn't satisfied with arresting just me. ... They're not criminals, neither am I. The fact that the government tries to label us as criminals is itself criminal. This is the weaponization of the law," she said in a chance interview after posting bail.

She said this is proof of the intimidation of the media.

"This shows you how hard it is to be a journalist today," she told CNN Philippines Friday.

Prosecutor Randy Esteban said Rappler's executives were being charged for allowing a foreign company to intervene in the management and operation of Rappler, Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corp. in violation of the Anti-Dummy Law. Only Filipino citizens can own media entities in the country.Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli border on Saturday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, testing a fragile truce only 10 days ahead of an Israeli general election.

A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in clashes east of Gaza City, the Gazan health ministry said, while 59 were wounded, including 13 from live fire.

Earlier, another Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in an overnight demonstration ahead of the main protest, the ministry said.

Egypt had sought to mediate between Israel and Gazas Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence and avoid the sort of deadly response from the Israeli army that has accompanied past protests.

Clashes so far appeared limited, but warnings to stay far back from the heavily fortified fence that marks the border were not being heeded by all.

We will move towards the borders even if we die, said Yusef Ziyada, 21, his face painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

We are not leaving. We are returning to our land.

Dozens of Palestinians were seen approaching the border fence east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip at around midday (0900 GMT) before retreating as Israeli troops fired tear gas.

The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers and burnt tyres.

Further south, an Egyptian security delegation visited a protest site east of Gaza City. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya also visited the site.

The citys mosques used loudspeakers to call on people to attend, and buses shuttled protesters to sites in rainy weather.

Israels army said most demonstrators were remaining away from the fence.

Approximately 40,000 rioters and demonstrators are currently gathered in several locations along the Gaza Strip security fence, it said in a statement.

The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tyres on fire. In addition, grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence in a number of different incidents.

It said soldiers were responding with riot dispersal means and are firing in accordance with standard operating procedures.

Israels army had not commented on the death in the overnight demonstration, but late Friday said explosive devices were thrown at the fence throughout the evening.

A tank struck a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip in response, it said.

 Important message 

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturdays protest a very important message sent from Gaza today to all parties, mainly the Israelis and the international community.

Gazans today are gathering here, thousands and thousands of people peacefully, to raise their voice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza, he told AFP.

Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weekly demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

The anniversary comes only days after another severe flare-up of violence between Israel and Hamas. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm.

The timing is especially sensitive for Israel, which holds a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has at the same time faced political pressure over accusations of being soft on Hamas.

The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war that accompanied Israels creation.

Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state and that its actions have been necessary to defend the border.

It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers use of live fire has come under heavy criticism.

Last month, a UN probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionally fired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes.

 Rocket strike 

Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the protests.

Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gazas only other gateway to the outside world.

The UN says more than 90 percent of Gazas water is unsafe for drinking and residents receive less than 12 hours of mains electricity a day.

Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fence and demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers and clashed with soldiers.

Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float them over the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes and farmland.

The Israeli army has increased its presence along the border in recent days deploying several thousand troops, including dozens of snipers.

On Monday, a rocket fired from Gaza struck a house north of the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv, wounding seven people.

In response, Israel struck dozens of Hamas targets, drawing further rocket fire before calm was restored.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30)  Lights will be out at the Malacanang Palace tonight, as it joins a global movement to call for the cutting down on the use of plastics.

"March 30 tonight, we will join the rest of the world in switching off our lights for Earth Hour," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Since 2007, the Earth Hour has made people turn their lights off for an hour to spread awareness on environmental issues. This year's worldwide event happens at 8:30 p.m. and focuses on the reduction of plastic waste.

A study conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) showed that the Philippines is among the top five contributors of plastic waste in the world's oceans, along with China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

"We therefore call on everyone to cut down the rampant use of plastics as we continue to aspire for a clean, safe and healthy environment," Panelo said.

This is a developing story. Please refresh page for updates.SALEM, Ore.  Governor Kate Brown has announced her pick for Oregon's next Secretary of State following the passing of Dennis Richardson, revealing on Friday that prominent former lawmaker Beverly Clarno had accepted the position.

Bevs career is marked by her trailblazing spirit, focus on fiscal responsibility, and a commitment to Oregonians, said Governor Brown. Bevs experience as a legislator and as a manager of a large government organization is key to the success of the programs and employees the Secretary of State oversees. Im confident that Bev will continue the legacy of accountability and integrity that Secretary Richardson left on the office of Secretary of State."

Today I appointed former state legislator from Redmond Bev Clarno as Oregons Secretary of State. Bevs career is marked by her trailblazing spirit, focus on fiscal responsibility, and a commitment to Oregonians. https://t.co/K0XpdCW58f  Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) March 29, 2019

According to Brown's office, Clarno served as a state legislator from Redmond for more than a decade  occupying both positions of Speaker of the House and Senate Republican Leader over the years. She was also appointed Director for Region 10 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by President George W. Bush.

Clarno also spent time as a hog farmer and cattle rancher, real estate broker and appraiser before winning her first election to state office in 1988. She was a lawmaker up until the 2003 session.

I'm honored by the confidence that Governor Brown has placed in me and pledge to be a good steward of the office. I know there is not a Republican way or a Democrat way to oversee electionsthere is only a fair and honest way. There is not a Republican way or a Democrat way to audit state agencies, there is only a fair, thorough, and honest way. I will administer the key functions of this office in a way that will earn the trust and faith of all Oregonians, said Clarno.

Clarno is expected to take the oath of office within the next several days, with a ceremonial swearing-in set for the week of April 1.

Brown was required to choose a Republican for the position under state law. However, Brown stipulated that she would only choose a Republican who would promise not to seek re-election in 2020  saying that she wanted the new Secretary of State to focus on overseeing a fair election (one of the position's primary duties) instead of running for office.

After Richardson's death, Republican lawmakers made a list of five recommendations to Brown for filling the vacancy. Clarno was not on that list.

Nevertheless, a statement from Republicans following Friday's announcement did not clearly indicate any hard feelings regarding the choice:

The position of Secretary of State is so important in keeping Oregons government and elections fair and transparent. It is my hope that Bev Clarno continues the legacy left by Secretary Richardson and uses the position to be a strong advocate for good government, including continuing to audit state agencies and show Oregonians what is really happening in their state government, said Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger (R-Grants Pass).

Under the late Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, audits of a number of Oregon's state agencies found evidence of mismanagement, lack of oversight, and major inefficiencies that still require overhaul.SISKIYOU COUNTY, CA-- There have been 314 cases of measles reported in 15 states since January and Siskiyou County is concerned about that.

Oregon and California have both seen cases. Of the 16 cases California has seen, 6 have been in Northern California. Siskiyou County is issuing a MMR vaccination advisory because of the outbreak.

Measles is highly contagious. It spreads through the air after a cough or a sneeze from an infected person. Measles can be deadly, but it is preventable with a vaccine.BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- A former night shift employee of a mental health treatment center in the Beaverton area has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a patient.

The OregonLive/Oregonian reports 28-year-old Christopher Zeisler, who worked as a mental health technician at Cedar Hills Hospital, was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Washington County Jail on suspicion of first-degree sexual abuse.

It wasn't known if he had a lawyer to speak for him.

Prosecutors say in court documents that Zeisler sexually abused the woman in December 2018, two months after he began working at the Cedar Hills-based facility. The county sheriff's office said Zeisler was no longer an employee there by the time he was arrested.

The sheriff's office says the woman was under Zeisler's care when she said she was abused.SALEM, Ore. -- A national movement to change the electoral college voting process is making waves here in Oregon.

"If Oregon joined onto this and other states joined onto this, there could be a very real impact in who wins the presidency," Eugene resident Dan Lawler said.

That's what supporters of the National Popular Vote movement are hoping for.

So far, 13 states and the District of Columbia have already passed bills to honor the national popular vote.

"Every single state that has passed it so far has been a blue state," Oregon State Professor Christopher Stout said.

States that have joined this movement have decided to cast their electoral college votes that would normally be reserved for whoever wins the vote in their state to the person that wins the popular vote across the entire nation.

Stout said it will be difficult to get states with smaller populations on board.

"States like Idaho would be giving up a disproportionate advantage to vote for such a thing," Stout said.

So if Oregon passes Senate Bill 870 and joins other states in honoring the popular vote, supporters of this bill said that casting your ballot could have a lot more weight in the future.

However, some people could still feel left out.

"What they're going to be thinking is that their vote and their voice in government is controlled by a couple of urban pockets in specific states in the U.S., and I think that's a valid concern," Lawler said.

Either way, Lawler said he thinks this movement is a reflection of a growing issue across the nation.

"I think the fact that this issue is becoming such a big thing that so many people care about is very reflective of how a lot of Americans have been feeling in the past few years," Lawler said. "We'll see if it becomes something that influences the next election."

The Oregon Senate is set to vote on this bill sometime next week.

What do you think about the bill? Let us know in the poll below:1 of 2

Lenovo Z6 Pro first smartphone to come with 100-megapixel camera



The upcoming Lenovo Z6 Pro could be the first smartphone to market with a 100-megapixel camera if a new statement by the company is to be believed. A post by Lenovo VP Chang Cheng on Weibo where he suggests that the Z6 Pro will come with a mammoth 100-megapixel sensor. This isnt too much of a stretch after we heard recently from Qualcomm that 100-megapixel+ camera sensors are likely by the end of 2019. However, Lenovo hasnt got the best track record at backing up their own claims.



The brand stated that the upcoming device will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and up to 12GB of RAM. Chang Cheng used a hashtag in his Weibo post that translated to a billion pixels - or 100-megapixels.



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Question: Is it too late to contribute to my retirement savings for 2018? Answer: Its too late to contribute to a 401(k)you had to make those contributions by the end of the calendar year. But you still have until April 15, 2019, to make 2018 contributions to several other types of retirement savings accounts: A Roth or traditional IRA. You can contribute up to $5,500 for 2018 to an IRA (or $6,500 if you were 50 or older in 2018). If your 2018 modified adjusted gross income was less than $135,000 if single, or $199,000 if married filing jointly, you can contribute to a Roth IRA (the contribution limit starts to phase out if you earned more than $120,000 if single or $189,000 if married filing jointly). With a Roth, you can withdraw the money tax-free after age 59 . There is no income limit to put money into a tax-deferred traditional IRAalthough if you have a retirement plan at work, there are income limits to be able to deduct your contributions on your taxes. See How Much Can You Contribute to a Traditional IRA in 2018 for more information. Also see the IRSs IRA Contribution Limits guide.

Spousal IRA. You generally need to have earned income from a job to put money into an IRA for the year, but if your spouse works and you dont, he or she can contribute to an IRA on your behalf. You can both contribute up to $5,500 for 2018 (or $6,500 each if you were 50 or older), but the total contributions cant be more than your joint income from working for the year. See Contributing to a Spouses IRA in Retirement for more information. IRA for a kid. If you have a child who earned income from a job in 2018, he or she can contribute to a Roth IRA. (The earnings will be tax-free after the child reaches age 59 1/2, or he or she can tap the contributions anytime without taxes or penalties.) Theres no minimum age requirement to contribute to an IRA, but the child cant contribute more than he or she earned from working in 2018 (up to the $5,500 limit). If the child is a minor, you usually need to sign forms to set up a custodial Roth IRA. See Helping Young Workers Open a Roth IRA for more information about the long-term impact of contributing to a Roth when children are young. Self-employed retirement savings plan. If you earned any income from freelance work or self-employment in 2018, you have until April 15, 2019, to make tax-deductible contributions to a solo 401(k) or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)in addition to making IRA contributions. See Comparing Self-Employed Retirement Plans for more information.Yahoo reports:

At just 37, Pete Buttigieg has deployed to Afghanistan, graduated from Harvard, learned seven languages and serves as mayor of a Midwestern American city.

Now the Millennial Renaissance man is seeking to become the first openly gay president of the United States  and the youngest  a longshot 2020 prospect whose odds appear to improve by the week.

I was listening to a live recording of the popular US Politics Gabfest podcast and was amazed by how many people in the audience cheered when Buttigiegs name was mentioned.

In theory someone who has never held higher office that Mayor of a small city (301st by population in the US) should have no chance. But hey Trump never held any elected office before President. The rules have changed.

Buttigieg happens to be gay but isnt campaigning as an identity politics activist (which upsets some on the left). His military service, earnestness, and sheer intelligence has gathered him a cult following.

He draws sharp contrasts with Trump on multiple fronts including age, government experience, military service, campaign style, and intellectual curiosity, she added.

Every single thing about him is in diametric opposition to the president, she said.

Buttigieg is relishing his breakout moment, fuelled by a star turn headlining a recent town hall that saw his national profile skyrocket.

Bookish and smart, he refutes the charge that hes too young and inexperienced to compete in the diverse Democratic field, or against Trump himself.

I have more years of government experience under my belt than the president and more military experience than anybody to walk into that office on day one since George H.W. Bush, he said at the event, broadcast by CNN.

So I get that Im the young guy in the conversation, but I would say experience is what qualifies me to have a seat at this table.

Not lacking confidence.

In Iowa, Buttigieg surged from one percent support to 11 percent and third place in Emerson Pollings survey released Sunday, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders and ahead of more prominent candidates like senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.

One huge advantage Buttigieg will have is no voting record on national issues to attack.

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CNBC reports:

The United States became the worlds biggest oil producer in 2018, and over the next five years, the nation will take aim at becoming the top oil exporter, according to the International Energy Agency.

IEA forecasts U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products will nearly double, hitting about 9 million barrels per day by 2024. At that level, the U.S. will surpass Russias shipments and threaten to unseat Saudi Arabia, the current top exporter.

Thats incredible. For decades the US was totally dependent on oil from the Middle East. Now they will be producing more than Saudi Arabia thanks to fracking technology.

Pulling ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia in exports would further erode their influence in the oil market.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have formed an alliance in recent years, coordinating oil production among OPEC and other oil-producing countries. The so-called OPEC+ alliance has capped output for much of the last two years, helping to boost oil prices after a punishing downturn.

OPEC is basically a cartel. The less market power they have, the better it is for consumers.

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(CNN)  A Norwegian museum has agreed to return thousands of artifacts and human remains to Easter Island, after they were taken by explorer Thor Heyerdahl during two expeditions in the 20th century.

Consuelo Valdes, Chile's Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, and the explorer's son, Thor Heyerdahl Jr., signed an agreement at a ceremony in Santiago stating that the collection would be returned. The items taken from Easter Island, known in the local language as Rapa Nui, include human bones and carved artifacts, according to the AFP news agency.

The ceremony coincided with a state visit to Chile by Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja.

In a statement, Valdes said: "As a Ministry, we have the mission to respond to the fair demand of the Rapa Nui people to recover their cultural heritage. This is a commitment that we have undertaken with responsibility and in a dialogue with the community of the Island."

"Today, a further step has been taken through this historic agreement with Norway, which will allow the return of pieces of a very deep symbolic and cultural value for the Island," Valdes added.

Martin Biehl, director of the Kon-Tiki museum, said, "Our common interest is that the objects are returned and, above all, delivered to a well-equipped museum."

Biehl added that the return of the remains and artifacts "will take time," AFP reported.

Heyerdahl, who died in 2002 aged 87, was most famous for his 1947 journey across the Pacific Ocean with a crew of five, on a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki. Heyerdahl hoped the expedition would support his theory that the early settlers of Polynesia were prehistoric South American people, while most scholars believed they migrated from Southeast Asia.

Heyerdahl visited Rapa Nui in 1955 and again in 1986; his son, Thor Heyerdahl Jr., accompanied him in 1955. "The repatriation is a fulfillment of my father's promise to the Rapa Nui authorities, that the objects would be returned after they had been analyzed and published," Heyerdahl Jr. said at the ceremony in Santiago.

In November, a delegation from Rapa Nui traveled to the United Kingdom to appeal for the return of an eight-foot statue or "moai" taken by the British in 1868. The statue, known as Hoa Hakananai'a ("lost or stolen friend"), is currently displayed at the British Museum in London.

Tarita Alarcon Rapu, governor of Rapa Nui, said, "It is the right time to maybe send us back (the statue) for a while, so our sons can see it as I can see it."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Norway to return Easter Island artifacts taken by Thor Heyerdahl."Bounnhang Vorachith (second from right), general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, inspects Saysettha Comprehensive Development Zone in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, March 7. Xinhua-Yonhap





A senior North Korean official met Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith and discussed expanding ties between the two countries, Pyongyang's state-run media said Saturday.



Ri Su-yong, who is in charge of international affairs at the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), arrived in Laos, Wednesday, after spending a day in Beijing for a layover on his way to the Southeast Asian country.



"Bounnang Vorachith expressed full support for the efforts made by the WPK and the government of the DPRK for the building of a powerful socialist country and peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world," Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency said.





North Korean ruling party senior leader Ri Su-yong, part of a visiting delegation led by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, visits the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1. AP-YonhapKathmandu [Nepal], Mar 30 (ANI): Three banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), committed over Rs 7,800 crore as a loan for Nepal's biggest hydropower project, during the two-day Nepal Investment Summit which concluded here on Saturday. The construction of 900 megawatts Arun-III Hydroelectric Project, in Sankhuwasabha district in eastern Nepal, is being undertaken by Indian company SJVN.SBI committed Rs 6,560 crore, the Everest Bank committed Rs 812.61 crores, while the Nabil Bank committed Rs 487.58 crores as a loan for the hydropower project, totalling Rs 7,859 crore, said an official statement. The construction company SJVN has been given until June 2019 to wrap up the financial closure for the construction of the infrastructures for the project.The foundation stone for the mega project was laid down jointly in May last year by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli. The estimated cost of the project, which will be completed within five years, stands at US $1.04 billion. The project will produce around 4,018.87 million units of electricity per year, once inaugurated.The project is being developed on a build-own-operate and transfer (BOOT) basis by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun 3 Power Development Company (SAPDC), a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.SJVN was established in 2013 with an aim to plan, promote, organise and execute the Arun-III power plant. SJVN signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the execution of the project with the Government of Nepal in March 2008.With the deal finalised and the construction underway, the SJVN will be running the power plant for a concession period of 30 years, following which the ownership will be transferred to the Government of Nepal. It will provide 21.9 per cent of free power to Nepal during the concession period.According to estimates, the project will generate 3,000 jobs during the period of construction in both India and Nepal. The two-day summit was attended by foreign delegates from over 40 countries out of which 120 were from India and 265 from China. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)No humans have walked on the moon since 1972, when the Apollo 17 crew left the lunar surface.

Since then, returning to the moon has been an almost perennial refrain among U.S. presidential administrations. This week, Vice President Mike Pence announced the Trump administration aimed to send astronauts to the moon within the next five years.

But why?

Its not a universally popular idea. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who walked on the moon in 1969, has famously worn shirts emblazoned bluntly with his preference toward Mars for any future crewed space exploration. Given the limitations on NASAs budget, some think resources would be better used for a push toward the red planet.

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And the timing of a moon landing may be seen as a political exercise, as it would occur around the end of the Trump administration, should the president be reelected, said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at market research firm Teal Group.

Today at the #HumansToMars Summit I brought up a new idea. Oh wait. I've had it for a while. GET YOUR ASS TO MARS #GYATM pic.twitter.com/Sth8EV0oNc  Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) May 10, 2017

But NASA has said a so-called lunar gateway in orbit around the moon could help astronauts explore the lunar surface more thoroughly than during the Apollo era. And last year, a team of scientists directly observed definitive evidence of water ice at the moons poles, buoying hopes that it could be used as a resource not only for astronauts on the moon, but also those journeying to Mars or other destinations.

The moon isnt the ultimate goal, said Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical, describing it as a stepping stone.

The idea behind a lunar outpost is that astronauts could have a home base from which to perform studies in lunar orbit and also conduct shorter missions to the moons surface.

Weve only touched the surface of it, Forczyk said. We really havent done much. Its equivalent to landing at LAX and saying youve been to Los Angeles.

From there, NASA could work its way up to building a sustainable presence  or permanent base  on the moon, Forczyk said. That base could allow astronauts to train for longer-term operations on other planets, such as Mars. And further exploration and mining of the moons resources, such as water ice, could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, which could be used in propellant farms to fuel rockets going elsewhere in the solar system.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an interview with The Times in February that the agencys Space Launch System rocket, which is intended to take a crew to the moon and beyond, will be powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Development of that rocket is behind schedule and over budget, leading Pence to indirectly chasten its builder, Boeing Co., by saying that the Trump administration was not committed to any one contractor to get back to the moon.

A return to the moon might not necessarily be solely a government endeavor. Pence noted Tuesday that if a commercially developed rocket was the only way to get to the moon in the five-year time frame, then commercial rockets it will be.

The potential for commercial partnerships means private firms such as Jeff Bezos Blue Origin or Elon Musks SpaceX could one day play a role.

Musk has long espoused his goal of colonizing Mars and making humans a multiplanetary species. To accomplish this goal, his Hawthorne firm SpaceX is building a massive spaceship called Starship and a rocket booster called Super Heavy. The company is testing a prototype of Starship at its Boca Chica facility in Texas.

Earlier this week, NASA said it will conduct ground tests on five prototypes of deep-space habitats developed by companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing. Renderings of the habitats largely look somewhat similar to smaller versions of the International Space Station and would remain in orbit around the moon.

Last year, the space agency chose nine companies, including one in Mojave, that could be eligible to bid on future contracts to take science experiments to the surface of the moon. Each of these companies is responsible for building robotic lunar landers.

But a true return to the moon will cost money, and analysts say the current NASA budget of $21.5 billion wont cut it.

If we were really serious about sending astronauts on several missions to the moon, we would be jacking up NASAs budget by at least double or more and nobodys doing that, Caceres said.

Every administration wants to go back to the moon and no administration wants to actually put the money down that it will take to do that, he said. Everybody wants to aim high and re-create the spirit of American can-do-ism that we basically saw during the Apollo era.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

Twitter: @smasunagaMany are likely to misconstrue Stephanie Alison Walkers new play Friends With Guns as a forceful defense of gun ownership. They couldnt be more wrong.

Second Amendment issues are peripheral to Guns, which is having its premiere with the Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood. Walker sounds a warning against the dangers of unbridled fanaticism, whether liberal or conservative in nature.

At its heart, the play is most cogently and pressingly about female empowerment, that most unsettling of worldwide political forces. From the Middle East to the American heartland, fundamentalists decry feminism as anti-Scriptural, anti-male and devastating to the status quo. Walker masterfully addresses that trend, inverting audience expectations with devastating skill.

Shannon (Kate Huffman), a struggling real estate agent, is the neurotically anxious mother of two young boys. Her husband, Josh (Brian Graves), by contrast is an apparently easy-going guy whose relationship with Shannon hasnt been ruffled by dissension.

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But when Shannon meets laid-back mom Leah (Arianna Ortiz) at the park, Shannon believes she has finally found her tribe. That feeling seems confirmed when she and Josh join Leah and her husband, Danny (Christian Telesmar), for dinner.

LA THEATER: Our weekly column on whats new on the small stage 

The politically liberal foursome appear to be natural soulmates. However, when Josh learns that Danny and Leah keep a small cache of guns locked in their garage, hes beyond outraged  unable to continue a friendship with gun people, no matter how congenial. And when Josh later learns that his wife has been joining Leah on secret visits to a gun range  a practice that has allowed Shannon to lay aside her fears and embrace life as never before  he becomes progressively unhinged.

Director Randee Trabitz, a longtime collaborator of wildly offbeat solo artist John Fleck, knows how to navigate the unexpected, and Walkers script presents its fair share of surprises. Trabitz nails down every laugh early on, then sneakily builds the tension to a level that will floor you.

Ortiz and Telesmar are winning in their roles, but Huffman and Graves do the heavy lifting. Huffmans Shannon progresses from perfectionistic timidity to euphoric self-confidence, while Graves Josh spans from the agreeable to the appalling.

Friends With Guns is a subtle, savage feminist parable  a cautionary tale of the peril that may await women who dare to venture outside their accepted roles. The terror here is a monster whos so innocuous, appealing and just plain likable  until hes not.

         

Friends With Guns

Where: The Road on Magnolia, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood

When: 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, extended through May 11

Tickets: $34

Info: (818) 761-8838, www.RoadTheatre.org

Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Support our coverage of local artists and the local arts scene by becoming a digital subscriber.

See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.This is a busy time for wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista. Hes currently training for his much-anticipated return to the ring with a match in WrestleMania 35 on April 7. Hes expected to appear in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame when it is released on April 26.

And he was recently at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, for a well-received work-in-progress sneak preview of the action-comedy Stuber, which opens July 12.

Directed by Michael Dowse, the film stars Bautista as a cop who enlists an Uber driver played by Kumail Nanjiani to shuttle him around Los Angeles as he attempts to crack a big case on the same day he has had corrective eye surgery.

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Ever since Bautistas big-screen breakthrough in 2014s Guardians of the Galaxy, hes amassed an impressive filmography including Spectre, Hotel Artemis and Denis Villeneuves Blade Runner 2049. (Hell soon be appearing in Villeneuves upcoming Dune.)

He also made headlines when he staunchly defended Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn after the writer-director was removed from the third installment when provocative old tweets were resurfaced.

Gunn subsequently signed on to make the next Suicide Squad movie for Warner Bros. and DC, and Bautista has been expected to join the ensemble. Earlier this month, following an outpouring of support from the Guardians cast, Gunn was reportedly reinstated for Guardians duty. (As with much of whats expected from the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Endgame, the news has not been officially confirmed by the studio.)

This week Bautista got on the phone for a few minutes from Tampa, Fla., where he lives, to discuss the positive response to Stuber and this very hectic time. Even in a brief call, Bautistas candor and emotional openness  he audibly choked up talking about the recent loss of one of his dogs  sets him apart from whatever stereotype one might want to apply.

Kumail Nanjiani, left, and Dave Bautista attend the Stuber premiere at the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festival at Paramount Theatre on March 13 in Austin, Texas. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for SXSW)

Hows everything going with your training? Had you always thought that you might wrestle again?

I did. Ive actually been pursuing this for years. I always said that Id never wanted to be in the ring past 50, I felt like thats just too old to be wrestling. And here I am. And since you asked, Im a bit beat up. Ive been training to not only be in shape but Ive been in the wrestling ring as well, so Im just a little banged up. Its just too old, you know, the wear and tear and everything. I was lucky I got out and was in pretty good shape considering  I had a bunch of injuries, bunch of surgeries, but I wasnt living my life in pain or anything. So this might be pushing it a little bit.

It was really an important thing to me that I wrap up my [wrestling] career the right way. I put a lot into my career, and I was really proud of it.

But it was really an important thing to me that I wrap up my career the right way. I put a lot into my career, and I was really proud of it. I just felt like there was no closure on it. So it was a personal thing for me. It really was a big deal for me to come back.

I was at the Stuber premiere in Austin for South by Southwest and I was so struck by how moved you seemed by the movie. You seemed genuinely emotional during the Q&A afterward. What was that night like for you?

Well, what Im so emotional about as far as that movie, one, Im really proud of it. The quality of movies that I do is extremely important to me. I dont want to do [crap] movies, I just dont want to do them. And, you know, you take certain jobs and sometimes you know youre not crazy about what is written on the page and youre hoping that you can be a little flexible with it and the director will give you that creative freedom. But you never know cause some directors are just real control freaks and they want you to stay on page.

But anyway, what Im most proud of with that film is not my performance, its Kumails performance. Kumail is, I love this guy  like, I really have such a love for him as a human being. Hes such a good person and hes so talented and I dont mind him shining in that film. Im proud to say that he steals that film for me. I dont care, cause its still a good quality film ... I cant wait for people to actually see this and see him just killing it, man. Hes got such a great range and hes much more than just a funny guy. Hes just so much more than that.

Dave Bautista, left, as Vic and Kumail Nanjiani as Stu in Stuber. (Mark Hill / 20th Century Fox)

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In the movie you get to show not only more straightforward comedy than you have before, but also a more emotional side in your scenes with Natalie Morales as your daughter. Was it exciting for you to show people things they hadnt seen from you before?

It was, it was actually really exciting for me to play like a dad for once, and also a dad with a dad bod. And maybe I notice it more than other people, but Michael Dowse  what I really loved about him right off the bat is that he saw me as an actor, like he really wanted to strip everything that Im known for away. He didnt want me to look muscle bound, he wanted me to look like a big guy, a big bull, but he just wanted to put me in a fat suit. I was like, Really? You want to put me in a fat suit? He said, Yeah, if youre willing. And I was like, I love it. He wanted me to grow out my hair. I said, You know, it doesnt grow out that great, its a little thin on top. He was like, Well if you dont mind, you know, wed really love you to look different than youve ever looked in a film.

And I just loved that he wanted me to play a character. He saw me as a character actor and that goes a long way with me. I feel like thats credibility as an actor. Thats respect as an actor. And for me, thats what Ive been searching for.

With everything else you have going on, theres also the news that James Gunn has been reinstated to Guardians of the Galaxy. You were so outspoken when he was removed from the project, how does it feel to have him back?

Ive known for a while, and I had this idea that I wanted to do it as a celebration video. And it wasnt to try to rub it in anybodys faces and open up that can of worms, I just wanted, it was a celebration thing. But on the day that it was announced, it was the same day that I lost one of my dogs to cancer. We finally had to say goodbye to her and it just, I was just so crushed. I still am. This was just a week ago and I was so crushed.

I havent really been back on my social media because, even though its like a big deal to me, I just dont feel like celebrating anything. Im just not in that mood. Like my dogs are like my children, and my baby girl, she fought cancer for two years. And we lost her. And thats why I didnt have a public celebration. But if you know how hard I fought for him, that is how much him being back means to me. And you can imagine. Its a huge statement.

And the fact that he, and it looks like you, are going to be involved with Suicide Squad now as well. In a way, it feels like he came out ahead.

He really did. And I think it was good for his soul because James  he said that there was so much pressure on him, these last years doing Guardians, that he said he finally after kind of the mourning period, after he got over the hurt, he said he got to be an artist again. He got to just step back and just start writing and creating and he felt kind of the weight of the world was off his shoulders. So after that initial grieving period where he just felt like the world kind of landed on top of him, I loved hearing him say that, that he just got to be an artist again.

Mark.Olsen@latimes.com

Follow on Twitter: @IndieFocusJordan Peeles Us is designed to get people talking. The director acknowledged as much while dodging a question about the films meaning at its SXSW premiere. My favorite thing is the idea that people will leave ready to have a conversation  with whoever theyre with.

The movie-going world has taken up that challenge. Us has spurred discussion and speculation about the movies twist ending and what it really signifies on internet message boards, in megaplex lobbies and seemingly everywhere else in the week since its release.

In an effort to sort through the fruits of those conversations  the wildest theories and most intriguing insights  the Los Angeles Times convened Mark Olsen, Justin Chang, Sonaiya Kelley and Jen Yamato for a discussion on our office messaging platform. Spoilers abound in the conversation below.

MARK OLSEN Just like anyone, we left the theater with questions and we cant stop talking about them. How long can a person survive on raw rabbit? Are there tunnels underneath the entirety of the United States? I have found myself particularly obsessing over the significance of a T-shirt for the punk band Black Flag, worn once by a carnival worker in the 1980s and again on a bratty contemporary teenager. The bands distinctive Raymond Pettibon-designed logo echoes the images of 11:11 that recur throughout the movie, but to me the shirt also points toward how things come back, often in ways that cant be anticipated. What once signified rebellion returns as a commodity, or, as with Hands Across America, what once was a tepid benevolence becomes something dark and malevolent. Can you understand the kind of rabbit holes this movie sends people down?

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Justin, you just re-watched the movie yesterday. What jumped out at you on a second viewing?

JUSTIN CHANG Those rabbits certainly hopped out at me on second viewing. The first time I saw Us, I was too enthralled by the sheer wealth of ideas Jordan Peele was toying with  and also too floored by his razor-sharp horror technique  to give much though to the bunnies beyond the possibility that Peele had somehow managed to turn around a stealth sequel to The Favourite. The rabbits are, of course, an emblem of a failed government experiment that sought to control the actions of the untethered by means of the tethered. They are a stand-in for the great human multiplicity that the tethered represent. And of course, speaking of rabbit holes, they are a sly allusion to Alice in Wonderland, another story about a young girl who ventures into a world gone topsy-turvy.

What else jumped out at me? Once again, the astounding dual performance of Lupita Nyongo as both Adelaide, a woman reliving her childhood trauma, and Red, a scissors-wielding doppelganger with murderous revenge in her heart  only this time, of course, I watched the movie knowing the more complicated truth, that Red is in fact Adelaide and Adelaide has been Red all along. What seemed the first time like an ingenious final twist revealed itself the second time, almost entirely through Nyongos acting, as strikingly direct, even obvious: Watch Adelaides cries of No, no, no when the doppelgangers first show up and youll realize youre not just hearing fear, but also guilt. Listen to the guttural grunts in her voice after she stabs one of her assailants to death and you will hear the deep, primal rage of a woman who has never forgotten her treacherous roots.

The ending of Us: Jordan Peele on who the real villains are 

MARK OLSEN Sonaiya, you mentioned an original The Twilight Zone episode that seemed to be a not-so-secret formative text to the movie. (And a nice bit of cross-promotion to Jordan Peeles revived vision of the show?)

SONAIYA KELLEY Right, Jordan Peele has not been shy about the fact that he was inspired to write this movie by an early episode of The Twilight Zone called Mirror Image. I went back to watch the episode, which follows a young woman who is driven to the brink of insanity when she is confronted with her own smiling doppelganger in an empty bus station. Toward the end of the film, she basically delivers a monologue about the possibility that each person on earth has their own copy and that only one person can exist, which provides almost a full foundation for this film.

As for the rabbits, one thing I hadnt noticed until the second watch was how in the beginning, right after young Addy comes face to face with her counterpart, before the credits roll, the shot changes to a close-up of a caged rabbit, which is a nice bit of foreshadowing as to her fate.

JEN YAMATO Mirror Image is a fantastic blueprint for what Peele does in Us for a few reasons. For one, the set-up is relatively simple  a young woman waiting with a suitcase at a bus depot questions her own sanity  so the suspense comes from a very internal performance, and from the viewer paying close attention to seemingly mundane details. Whats more, like many of Rod Serlings Twilight Zone vignettes, it has the confidence not to provide all the answers we want. And thats how Us builds its own original, expansive mythology.

We get bits and clues of what tethered behavior looks like, but no scientific explanations of how it all works. We see the tunnels where the tethered live  Peele calls this place The Underpass  but not how far those tunnels reach, if they get WiFi down there, if theres a convenient Amazon.com drop-off location for all the bulk orders of red jumpsuits and single driving gloves and brass scissors Reds been placing ... and that ambiguity, whether fully intentional, makes us fill in the blanks.

But to debunk one of the wildest of all those internet theories, Ill make my stand: Jason is 100% not Pluto. It doesnt make sense! I cant get on board.

MARK OLSEN Well get to Jason and Pluto in a moment.

SONAIYA KELLEY So I just realized Jordan Peele has a tell in his filmmaking technique. With Us, when the credits roll over the pan-out shots of the rabbits with the creepy song playing, it foreshadows Adelaides capture, and the shot/location is not revisited until the end when the real Red returns to the underground holding area. And with Get Out, when that creepy Sikiliza song is playing over the credits, its a shot of the forest where the final action takes place in the end with Rose and Chris. Very small thing, but I wonder if itll carry over in his future films?

MARK OLSEN I think Jordan Peele does give the feeling that everything that is packed into his films, Us in particular, is all very planned out and intentional. I think thats one of the reasons people are parsing Us so closely. Nothing feels accidental, even as the film feels sprawling and a bit messy.

Jordan Peele wants Americans to face their demons in Us 

JEN YAMATO Heres my craziest personal theory, after (only) two viewings: What if what we know of the Underpass and the tethered isnt quite correct? We only learn about the secret failed government experiment from Reds explanation to Adelaide of how the shadow people came to be. Its what she thinks happened; it is her subjective understanding. Well, she also thinks throwing a giant holding-hands murder party is going to correct decades of systemic abuse and neglect. What if she doesnt have the full picture herself?

Righteous as Reds odyssey is in her own way  she is herself a survivor and a leader, and from her perspective the tethered uprising is a valid and just action  shes also gone a bit batty down there all these years, and her sense of morality and justice is still grounded in the false optimism she absorbed, through 9-year-old eyes, from America circa 1986. Us has neither a morally reliable protagonist nor antagonist, which is what makes it so powerful a text to unravel.

MARK OLSEN I think this idea is so great, Jen. And it points toward one of my favorite things about the movie, that you actually can view the whole story from a perspective where the tethered are the heroes, like the rebel alliance fighting for freedom.

Which leads us to what may be the whopper of theories circulating around the internet: that somehow young Jason and his tethered Pluto were actually switched just like Adelaide and Red sometime before the story began. I thought this was a preposterous idea at first, but I may be coming around to it. Justin, watching the movie again, did this seem plausible?

JUSTIN CHANG I eagerly await Jens rebuttal, but yes, after seeing the movie again, the notion that Jason and Pluto have already swapped places before the movie opens strikes me as not just plausible, but also eye-opening. It clarifies the strange unease that sets in when the Wilsons arrive at their vacation home  a home they come back to every year, which is crucial  and the suggestion that whatever is afflicting Jason (played by the remarkable Evan Alex), his lack of mental focus and physical coordination, is a recent development. It explains the strange physical and psychological bond that Adelaide and Jason (or rather, Red and Pluto) seem to share throughout the whole movie, the sense that they both know or suspect something the rest of us dont.

Most of all, it makes sense of a scene that briefly drove me mad the first time I saw it: Shortly before the movies climax, how does Jason, walking backward, manage to dictate Plutos movements and send him to his fiery death? Well, if Jason is in fact Pluto and vice versa, then the until-recently tethered boy might still exercise some residual control over the newly tethered ones footsteps. What others have criticized as an example of the movies incoherence, its conceptual overreach, now feels like a crucial piece in a brilliant overall design.

SONAIYA KELLEY I just dont think the timeline makes sense. How would Pluto and Jason swap places? While they are back at their vacation home every year, this must be the first year Adelaide (really her tethered doppelganger) returns to the boardwalk, or many of the foundations of the film fall apart. I think Jason, though he struggles to focus, is way too articulate and curious to have formerly been tethered. I think Jason finally managed to catch on after he was kidnapped by Red (really Adelaide). He must have overheard her conversation with his mother during their struggle and noticed something amiss. I think Jason is the youngest so his imagination is still relatively unspoiled. He learned in the closet that Plutos movements mimic his; the scene with the car fire was likely just quick thinking.

JUSTIN CHANG: Hmm, Sonaiya, that all makes sense as well. Im curious; what do you and Jen make of the burn scars on Plutos face? They offer perhaps the strongest (and most disturbing) evidence for the Jason-is-Pluto theory, which is that every time Jason has been trying in vain to make his magic trick with the lighter work, in the sunken place Pluto has been matching his movements  and burning his face in the process.

SONAIYA KELLEY I hadnt even connected Jasons lighter trick with Plutos burns. I just took Reds claim that he was attracted to fire at face value.

JEN YAMATO Agree with Sonaiya: The rest of the movie doesnt support this admittedly intriguing theory. But I do think Jasons mannerisms are a reflection of a secret tethered identity; he is half-tethered, after all! Where Zora takes after dad Gabe and would rather lose herself in digital distractions, Jason shares his moms sensitivity to the shadows.

The Jason-Pluto relationship is interesting and potentially informative, because it provides a contrast in the mechanics of the tether according to age. I assumed that the younger you are, the stronger your tether was to your other half. As you grow older  and develop a stronger sense of free will as an individual  the power of the tether weakens.

That might explain why Adelaide and Red as young girls in 1986 were drawn toward one another like magnets in the funhouse, but by their teenage years that tether had been warped like a bad signal. When tethered Adelaide dances The Nutcracker above ground, Human Red is resistant to and resentful of the link but still connected to the dance  even if exactly how the connection works remains a mystery.

Getting to the bottom of that how could also explain the burn marks on Plutos face. Maybe whoever is above ground controls their counterpart below  because the government experiment to achieve the opposite has utterly failed? Give us the prequel that explains it all!Even for the often anything-goes, underground Los Angeles punk scene, this night felt unexpected.

Mariachi trio La Victoria had just played traditional Mexican classics by Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez and Selena, and drag queens followed with lip-sync performances before longstanding queer punk act Limp Wrist took the stage.

Wigs flew as the drag queens crowd-surfed over the audience, who safely carried them above the circle pit, all while singing in unity: I love hardcore boys, I love boys hardcore!

Club Scum on this night last March was celebrating its second anniversary, an evening that once again merged incongruous worlds with cohesive ease. Since its inception in 2016, founders and East L.A. natives Rudy Bleu, 40, and Ray Hex-Ray Sanchez, 30, have made it their mission to provide a safe space for punks in the LGBTQ Latinx community.

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Club Scum turns 3 this year and began the celebration with a drag pageant Friday at Club Chico, where two performers moved on to battle for the crown Sunday at the Regent in a full-blown party.

The sold-out night will boast a rare appearance from Hunx and His Punx with support from an eclectic mix that includes electronic artist DJ Irene, Mexican rock act Cremalleras and local punks Trap Girl, among others.

Yet the Club Scum experience is beholden to no one sound or genre.

Ive always been into house music so being able to have DJ Irene  the lineup is very obscure and sometimes doesnt make sense, but it has all elements of music and experiences, Sanchez said.

Portrait of Rudy Bleu, 40, behind Ray Sanchez, 30, in front of Club Chico, where they host a monthly event night known as Club Scum. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

As much as Scum is punk, its also very heavily Latinx, Bleu added. I just think its punk in ways thats not traditional, and we push boundaries as far as performance and the music we play and the DJs we book.

Bleu and Sanchez have been hosting their inclusive party on the last Friday of every month at Club Chico in Montebello. Both Bleu and Sanchez were already active in the punk community by DJ-ing events, creating DIY zines and organizing shows when they decided to create an event that encompassed their backgrounds and inspirations.

For us, it was really important that it happen in the Eastside, East L.A. Montebello area, because thats where we grew up, and the whole point in doing it was that we wanted this party for people in the neighborhood, Bleu said.

I was just tired of being in queer punk spaces that were so white, Bleu continued. Id done queer dance parties that were more on the fringes of punk, but they were just so white, and theres this huge community here that we felt needed representation and the space to gather and create and dance.

Daniel Lopez Jr., 28, performs as Lady Forbidden and first began to do drag at the age of 16 under the guidance of the late Martin Medrano, otherwise known as Ms. Martin, with the latters family, Flawless Victory. (In drag culture, a family is a safe community where queens foster one another under the tutelage of a mother figure to compete against other families.)

Lopez frequently collaborates with Bleu and Sanchez at Club Scum by hosting, performing and scouting new talent as well as helping with logistics. Lopez became involved when his partner, 28-year-old Andrew Sanjose, was booked to perform drag under the stage name Fasique. Sanjose invited Lopez, and when they arrived, Bleu asked Lopez to host Club Scum.

It was honestly one of the best things thats happened to me, Lopez said.

Lopez is a longtime veteran of the L.A. drag community, and when not helping with Club Scum, Lopez performs with the DoomHaus drag family.

As a seasoned queen, Lopez said Club Scum differs from the West Hollywood LGBTQ scene by specifically focusing on intersectionality and celebrating people of color.

The thing that stands out is there is more than four or five brown people in the room  I love going to a dance party and seeing people that look like me, seeing people that make me feel comfortable and accept me for who I am. That is part of the whole Scum experience, Lopez said.

Moreover, Club Scum aims to include drag styles, performers and identities that dont fit into stereotypes.

The performances are really diverse, we do have a lot of the crazier queens who do more extreme numbers, like doing punk songs or industrial stuff, but then we also have traditional queens who will turn out a traditional drag performance, Bleu said.

These are queens that are usually rejected in West Hollywood or are not really given any [opportunity] because their drag just doesnt fit the aesthetic there, Sanchez said. People will be like Oh my God gross, shes spitting blood  fake blood. I feel like the performances that we book is like literally watching a punk band. You get that same satisfaction, that same energy.

Club Scums celebration of the anomalous  within a community that is already marginalized  has greatly contributed to its success. The work has resonated beyond the L.A. area and evolved into remote events in New York, Mexico City and San Francisco. A prior pop-up in S.F. was so popular Club Scum was invited to come back and establish a quarterly residency this year.

The Bay has been really receptive to it, and the first time we did Scum we were both really nervous up there because we were not sure what it was gonna look like, and then it was crazy, Bleu said. I remember being almost moved to tears because I just looked at the crowd and I felt like we were at Chico, and it was like, all these cool brown queer kids singing along to songs, and dancing all crazy, and everyones sweaty, it just felt like home.

Ultimately, creating a home and family for misfits is the core value for Club Scum.

Its a safe space, its a good space, its like a family party, Lopez said. Its more intimate. Yeah, we do get new people, but you know everybody, and even if you dont know them youre a family. Its a very touching place.The Rolling Stones have postponed their forthcoming No Filter North American tour because doctors have told lead singer Mick Jagger he needs treatment for an unspecified medical condition.

The group announced the postponement in a statement Saturday.

I hate letting our fans down, and Im hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour but am looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can, Jagger, 75, said in the statement, which also said his doctors expected him to make a full recovery.

When Jagger spoke to The Times in November when the group announced the North American tour dates for 2019, he said that even though band members were well into their 70s, they werent discussing retirement.

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Weve been quite happy doing these shows the way were doing them, Jagger said. Nobodys really talking about stopping. But sometimes its hard to believe youre still doing it.

The No Filter tour was slated to open April 20 in Miami and reach Southern California for a May 11 stop at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The 17-date itinerary also included a May 4 show in New Orleans that was to be a centerpiece of the 50th annual Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Promoters have advised ticket holders to retain those tickets for expected rescheduled performances when Jagger is cleared to resume touring.It is not a surprise to find that Paul Scheer talks fast. He doesnt have time not to.

As a performer, writer, director and/or producer at the center, middle or edge of a wide variety of creative projects  mostly but not exclusively in the world of comedy (mainstream and fringe)  Scheer, 43, keeps up a career that would make a bee feel like a slacker.

You will have seen him on television, with his his gap-toothed smile, in good wigs (Showtimes Black Monday, whose first season concludes Sunday), bad ones (as in his Adult Swim action parody NTFS:SD:SUV) or with no wig at all, as a regular in FXs The League or in recurring roles on ABCs Fresh Off The Boat and HBOs Veep. You may remember him from Human Giant, the great MTV sketch show he made with Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel and Jason Wolliner, or on the bigger screen in The Disaster Artist.

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The Internet is awash in his work and presence.

You may have heard him, as a voice on Adventure Time or Big Mouth, or on one or both of his podcasts. How Did this Get Made?  which he has hosted since 2010 with his wife, comedian-actress June Diane Raphael, and comedian-actor Jason Mantzoukas  is about terrible movies, and Unspooled, which he cohosts with film critic Amy Nicholson, is about ostensibly great ones.

Paul Scheer (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Hes onstage too, at Largo with his Hanging with Paul Scheer, which he describes as a show-and-tell show, like a dinner party with props, or at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, where he improvises regularly. For that matter, you may have read him: Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History, his latest series for Marvel Comics, written with Nick Giovannetti, began appearing in early March.

The benefit of what we get to do, for as long as were here, is to try everything we possibly can, Scheer told me recently. I think podcasting has made me a better writer; what Ive learned from comic book writing has made me a better director.

The night before, he had wrapped shooting on a film called Happily, in which he acts alongside Jon Daly, Al Madrigal, Joel McHale, Natalie Morales, Charlyne Yi, Shannon Woodward, Kerry Bishe and Breckin Meyer. Two of his fingernails were painted black for the part.

Was there comedy in your household as a child?

Im an only child, I was home alone a lot, watching a ton of TV, ran around the front lawn talking to myself. My dad showed me a lot of comedy, and would show me R-rated movies but cut out scenes of sex and violence  so I remember watching a bootleg copy of Beverly Hills Cop that was missing 30 minutes. He knew I loved Eddie Murphy so much. Watching Saturday Night Live with him Sunday mornings was, like, the best memory for me.

How did you get started in comedy yourself?

I grew up on Long Island. My parents were divorced and my dad would be, like, Lets go see stuff in the city. And so we would go to this church basement and see Chicago City Limits, a short-form Whose Line Is It Anyway? improv show. And I fell in love with it. They had classes, and my dad would drive me into the city and I would pretend I was a college student because it was not cool enough to be a high school student. [Later, attending] NYU to become a teacher, I got that creative itch, and I fell back in with them. I would tour Friday, Saturday, Sunday, then go back to school Monday through Thursday.

Then the Upright Citizens Brigade came to town  Ian Roberts, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Amy Poehler. They were on a fifth-floor walkup of, like, an abandoned hardware store; I remember seeing Asscat, which was their staple show  its Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch and Adam McKay. They were doing 40 minutes off a one-word suggestion. I started taking classes with them, and as their theater was building up, they were, We want you to do shows. UCB was nothing back then, but it was the totally right choice. I made my best friends there, I learned more there. I got to audition for Saturday Night Live, I started to do bits on Conan. A whole world opened up.

UCB seems to be at the center of intersecting webs of comedy.

Tuesday nights it was Comedy Death Ray, which is stand-up, and Wednesday nights, us doing our improv show, and Friday nights it was a full-on sketch show, and then Saturday another standup show. So the theater had this mix-and-match. I think [sketch] people were originally like, Oh, stand-ups are out for themselves. And what I realized is that, no, everybody wants to be asked to do something, everybody wants to be in.

UCB has this mentality of We want to throw the ladder back down. Thats something thats been important for me. Collaborating is the most fun, to be able to sit down and not feel so much ownership. Its joint ownership. Id rather have a successful thing that five people feel invested in than one persons, like, Youre working for me.

Does that come from a grounding in improv and sketch work?

I think it does come from that thing of UCB, where Im doing lights one night, Im in the booth selling tickets another night. Or the idea of, Hey, can you jump in the show, so-and-sos sick? You would intern there, teach classes  it was like this comedy kibbutz. Everybody was helping everyone else. Why not be like that, why not work with your friends? I know that when I work with people I really love, I know how to write for them, and I also know I can vouch for them  You can cast this person.

Black Monday is a comedy, but youre doing some layered acting there.

I wanted to do something a little more out of my wheelhouse. Keith is a guy thats in the closet, but he also has all the affectations you would see normally on Wall Street. But you open him up and he has this inner life, and almost every person he interacts with, its different. To Mo [Don Cheadles character], its a little bit like hes a sycophant; to a group of people, hes like that jocky bro dude; to [Andrew Rannels character Blair Pfaff ], its this competitive thing; to his boyfriend, its real honest; to his wife, its this weird, terrible relationship. Its one of the most fulfilling things Ive ever gotten to do.

Andrew Rannells, Paul Scheer and Don Cheadle in Black Monday. (Erin Simkin / Showtime)

How did you get into podcasting?

Scott Aukerman [Comedy Bang Bang] was, Hey, Im starting this podcast company. No one had podcasts at that point. And one night I was at a party and Jason was there, and June and I had just seen Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. We were talking about it, and Jason said, Thats a podcast. And I was like, Want to do it? It was no stakes. Nobody knew what it was. My life is asking for favors  Hey, will you come do the show?

Back in the early days, it was hard; now its part of a round of doing press. To me, its just another way to do a live show. Its disposable, to a certain degree. Its relaxed.

And the bar to entry is set refreshingly low.

Its the same way with movies now; everything is relatively easy to do. Its hard to do something you think is going to work  all you can do is decide to do it. We did that podcast for years before it clicked over in a way that I was, like, Oh, people listen to this? We sold out the Brooklyn Academy of Music a couple months ago, two shows back to back.

Is it necessary to find the person youre married to funny?

It would be very hard not to, but June is somebody I look up to in so many ways. As a pure performer she is amazing. And she really makes me laugh; shes so uniquely voiced that it never ceases to entertain me. You need that, especially when youre raising two kids. And in the last couple of years, the voice shes taken on in the world of activism and social change  being with June, Im getting on buses, Im doing volunteer work, Im organizing events, shes made me a lot more active and a lot more conscious.

Paul Scheer with Seth Rogen in The Disaster Artist. (Justina Mintz / A24)

Are your kids funny?

Yeah, they are. Differently funny. My 2-year-old has a sense of timing that legitimately cracks me up. And my older son is climbing trees, hes been trying to fly in the house, hes a ninja, hes Spider-Man. We do bits with them, so sometimes its hard to parent, because if we are reprimanding, it seems like a joke, because weve done it as a joke. Ill be hugging my 4-year-old, like, I hate you kids.

Has the recently enlightened time were living in changed how you work?

I always felt myself to be aware of social issues, you know  Im a liberal, I live in California, Ive lived in New York. And I think this movement has opened me up like this much more. [Makes a widening gesture.] I hate when people are like, Can we hug? Can we be funny any more? Yes.

Its so myopic. I listen more than I ever have; I see how something someone is doing onstage that I think is benign could not be benign. My wife is amazingly smart and so I can be incredibly dumb with her and ask questions  were so afraid to look dumb, we dont ask questions. With June, Im like, Is this OK?

But if you can lose being embarrassed, and attacking people for making mistakes, were in a good zone  you make repeated mistakes, thats a whole different thing. Have I done stuff onstage I would never do now? One million percent. Thats also because Im growing as a performer. Hopefully we grow as people and we grow as performers.The longtime manager of the CBS Employees Federal Credit Union has been charged with stealing more than $40 million, which he allegedly spent on gambling, private jets and expensive cars, authorities said Friday.

Edward Rostohar, 62, of Studio City was arrested March 12, the same day he was suspended from work and his wife called police to say her husband was leaving the country, according to court documents.

He has been charged with two felony counts of bank fraud and aggravated theft identity. If convicted as charged, Rostohar faces up to 32 years in prison and a $1-million fine, according to Nicola Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. His arraignment is set for April 18.

According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Rostohars alleged scheme began nearly 20 years ago. He told authorities that before he started working at CBS Employees Federal Credit Union he had been an examiner with the National Credit Union Administration, a federal agency that regulates credit unions. Rostohar said his insider knowledge helped him escape scrutiny.

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The scheme involved a series of payments Rostohar made to himself over the years using his position as a manager, Hanna said in a news release. Some were online payments, while others were checks made payable to himself.

According to court documents, Rostohar was first exposed March 6 when a credit union employee discovered a $35,000 check made payable to Rostohar. When the employee conducted an audit, the person discovered $3,775,000 in checks made payable to Rostohar. Those checks included the forged signature of another employee, who did not give consent.

When Rostohar was arrested, he admitted that he stole money from the credit union, prosecutors said, first by paying monthly balances on his personal credit cards using credit union money. He also said he would forge his co-workers signature on credit union checks and deposit them into his personal account, court documents show.

An NCUA investigation showed a potential loss to the credit union of $40,541,130.

Rostohar reportedly lived a lavish lifestyle. He told authorities that he gambled away much of the money and spent a significant amount on traveling by private jet. He said he bought expensive watches and gave his wife a weekly allowance of $5,000. In addition, he said he purchased two cars and paid a $5,000 monthly mortgage on a home in Reno. He started a business in Reno in December 2018 and wrote tens of thousands of dollars worth of checks to himself to cover the costs of the business, prosecutors said.

Officials with the NCUA announced that it has liquidated CBS Employees Federal Credit Union and discontinued its operations after determining that it was insolvent with no prospect of restoring operations on its own. University Credit Union, located in Westwood, has assumed CBS Employees assets, loans and all member shares.

esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com

@LATBermudezAll northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway in Burbank were reopened Saturday more than 12 hours after a motorist led police on a wild pursuit that ended with a standoff and the arrest of the driver.

The man was taken into custody shortly after 10 p.m. Friday after hitting several vehicles while driving the wrong way on the freeway, authorities said.

The pursuit began about 7:30 p.m. and turned into a standoff near the Buena Vista Street exit, shutting down both sides of the freeway for hours as police worked to calm and negotiate with the driver, who had barricaded himself in the car with a knife, said Officer Rosario Cervantes with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Just after midnight, the CHP confirmed the southbound lanes of the freeway had reopened.

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At some point during the standoff, the man stumbled out of his car and was hit by what appeared to be rubber bullets. He lay on the ground, squirming and moving erratically, before a group of officers surrounded him and pinned him down.

He was taken to a hospital by paramedics. His condition was not immediately available.

The northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway between Alameda Avenue and Buena Vista Street were reopened about 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

KABC-TV Channel 7 reported that blood was seen running down the drivers-side door. Cervantes said she could not confirm whether authorities had opened fire. The suspect also had a knife, which he appeared to be waving out the car window in video from news helicopters overhead.

The suspect could be seen moving inside the vehicle as hundreds of vehicles were stranded, some just a few feet from the scene of the standoff.

The chase began near Big Tujunga Canyon Road and Oro Vista Avenue in Sunland-Tujunga following reports of a reckless driver.

It ended in a head-on collision after the driver entered the 5 Freeway going in the wrong direction. During the pursuit, he was erratic, swerving on surface streets and ramming into vehicles, including at least one police car.

Authorities said it was not clear what led to the chase.

Traffic was jammed throughout the area as officers directed vehicles caught on the freeway onto surrounding streets. The freeway remained completely closed until midnight, when the southbound side reopened.

BREAKING: We are on the 5 south at Buena Vista where an INSANE pursuit has just come to an end in NB lanes. 5 fwy is shut down in both directions, people are out of their cars. Shots have been fired, suspect has been ramming police and apparently cutting himself. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/Vc4D6sbkeK  Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 30, 2019

Traffic is backed up along San Fernando & Buena Vista as cars get diverted off the I-5. Major gridlock all around. #pursuit pic.twitter.com/pI5zcxycAi  Veronica Miracle (@ABC7Veronica) March 30, 2019

esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com

@LATBermudezIn a forcefully worded ruling, a federal judge in San Diego on Friday struck down a state law banning gun magazines that hold more than 10 bullets, handing gun rights advocates a sweeping victory.

U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled that the California law violated the 2nd Amendment rights of gun owners and issued an injunction barring state officials from enforcing it, invoking the nations Colonial past as well as recent cases from around the country in which gun owners ran out of bullets while confronting intruders in their homes.

He concluded that the state law effectively made criminals out of ordinary citizens and was an overreaction to high-profile gun crimes.

Bad political ideas cannot be stopped by criminalizing bad political speech, he wrote. Crime waves cannot be broken with warrantless searches and unreasonable seizures. Neither can the government response to a few mad men with guns and ammunition be a law that turns millions of responsible, law-abiding people trying to protect themselves into criminals. Yet, this is the effect of Californias large-capacity magazine law.

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The ruling may not have come as a surprise because Benitez, an appointee of President George W. Bush, in 2017 had granted a preliminary injunction stopping enforcement of the law  a decision upheld last July by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., which filed the suit along with several gun owners, said the ruling reaffirmed gun-owning rights.

This comprehensive and detailed ruling recognizes that these magazines have great value as self-defense tools, and confirms that the government bears a very high burden to justify a law that infringes on the right to keep and bear arms, Michel said in a statement.

The state attorney generals office said in a statement that it was reviewing the ruling.

We are committed to defending Californias common sense gun laws, the statement said. We are reviewing the decision and will evaluate next steps.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also weighed in, saying in a statement that the ruling was indefensible, dangerous for our communities and contradicts well-established case law. I strongly disagree with the courts assessment that the problem of mass shootings is very small. Our commitment to public safety and defending common sense gun safety laws remains steadfast.

The lawsuit was filed in 2017 on behalf of gun owners who either wanted the magazines for self-defense or already owned them and didnt want to be forced to give them up.

In his 86-page opinion, Benitez concluded that larger-capacity magazines are lawful arms under the Constitution and said the state did not have a strong enough reason to infringe on the constitutional rights of gun owners. He said the magazines are used for self-defense and are legal in 41 states and under federal law.

State law for years had banned selling or buying large-capacity magazines, though people who owned them were allowed to keep them. In 2016, the state passed a law that banned possession of the magazines, which led to the lawsuit. In addition to determining the law violated the 2nd Amendment, Benitez also said forcing residents to give up lawfully acquired magazines violated the Constitutions ban on taking property without just compensation.

In the opening pages of the ruling, Benitez recounted three instances of home invasions. In two examples, women fired at the intruders but ran out of bullets. In a third case, a woman fired multiple rounds with a gun in one hand while she held a phone in the other to call police.

Benitez ended his ruling by harking back to the nations founding.

This decision is a freedom calculus decided long ago by Colonists who cherished individual freedom more than the subservient security of a British ruler, he wrote. The freedom they fought for was not free of cost then, and it is not free now.

The issue may not be fully resolved because judges in other states have issued different rulings, potentially setting up a scenario in which the U.S. Supreme Court would have to ultimately decide.

Moran writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.A plan to require resident-only parking permits in a Balboa Peninsula neighborhood in Newport Beach has been placed on hold after two members of the California Coastal Commission appealed the citys decision, saying the plan would cut off visitor access to nearby Newport Harbor.

Residents of the Finley Tract, an enclave of 192 homes, have complained that employees of the recently renovated Lido Marina Village shopping center across Newport Boulevard have crowded the neighborhoods public streets, where parking is free.

In December, city staff approved a plan to offer up to three permits per household in the tract, a triangle-shaped area bordered by Newport Boulevard to the east and canals to the northwest and southwest that connect to Newport Harbor. The city took the action  which set aside a few short-term public parking spaces  more than a year after conducting a study of street parking in the surrounding neighborhood.

When staff members presented the studys findings to the Newport Beach City Council in 2017, they predicted the Coastal Commission would disapprove of the residents-only parking plan on the basis that the permits would restrict harbor access. This meant the city would have to show that the permit program would not affect the ability of nonresidents to find adequate public parking in areas outside of Finley Tract.

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Coastal Commissioners Donne Brownsey and Steve Padilla have appealed the councils action. A commission spokeswoman said an appeal hearing had not yet been scheduled.

City observers found that at various times in May, June and August 2017, neighborhood streets were packed  but few of those vehicles belonged to employees of Lido Marina Village. They found that 92% of available parking spaces were occupied. They also counted how many pedestrians crossed Newport Boulevard and concluded that by June the people parking in Finley Tract who did not work at the shopping center outnumbered those who did.

Lido Marina Village previously directed its employees to park on site but reversed that in 2017 not long after the roughly 30 upscale shops and restaurants emerged from a years-long remodeling project.

A mail-in survey showed strong resident support for permits by about a 4-to-1 margin.

Despite low numbers of nonresident parking in the Finley Tract, occupancy rates are high, and residents complain to the city that their quality of life is negatively impacted, a Coastal Commission planning staff report said.

If the city were to issue the maximum three permits per home, there would be 576 permits for 102 spaces.

The establishment of a preferential parking permit district with a No parking anytime, except by permit restriction would do little to alleviate the current use of on-street parking by residents, who, according to the city, already compete with each other for the available on-street public parking spaces, the report said.

But the city-approved parking restrictions would greatly impact the availability of existing public parking supporting public access to the Newport Bay waterfront in the neighborhood and supporting public access to coastal waters and the nearby visitor-serving commercial area.

Newport Beach has only one residential parking permit program in a waterfront coastal zone. It is on Newport Island and dates back to 1982.

Davis writes for Times Community News

carlos.lozano@latimes.comA San Diego-based Navy SEAL charged with killing an injured ISIS fighter in Iraq was released from a military brig and restricted to the base Saturday night, the SEALs attorney said, the same day President Donald Trump moved to intervene in his case.

Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday morning: In honor of his past service to our country, Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly!

The move comes after months of advocacy from Chief Special Warfare Operator Gallaghers family and from Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and other lawmakers.

Earlier this week a group of 40 lawmakers signed a letter and held a news conference, asking Trump to act on behalf of Gallagher, who has been held at the Navy Consolidated Brig Miramar since his arrest Sept. 11.

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Its great news and Congressman Hunter appreciates the presidents leadership and direct involvement on this important issue, Hunter spokesman Michael Harrison said Saturday. Despite this positive news, there is work to do and Congressman Hunter is actively engaging with the Gallagher family in requesting the Navys relocation accomplish the goals of a fair trial, access to his family and Eddies overall well-being.

Gallagher is charged with multiple war crimes based on allegations from fellow SEALs that, during deployment in 2017, he killed a teenage Islamic State fighter who was brought to his unit for medical treatment. He is accused of stabbing the fighter in the neck.

He is also charged with shooting indiscriminately at civilian noncombatants, hitting two of them. Navy prosecutors say Gallagher tried to intimidate witnesses once he found out he was under investigation  the reason he was placed in pretrial confinement.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty, denying all charges. Some of his advocates say he is innocent, while others say that if he did those things he should not be punished for what happens on a battlefield.

Gallaghers wife, Andrea Gallagher, has been asking Trump to become involved in the case for weeks. She appeared on Fox News and One America News Network on separate occasions.

She said Saturday that the president had answered her prayers.Our family is thrilled with the presidents declaration to step in and release my husband, she said. For us, its a symbol of the presidents loyalty and faithfulness to the military and military families. We feel this is a small step to justice.

Details of the transfer were unclear early Saturday. Navy officials said they were aware of the tweet but no orders had come down yet from the White House. Gallaghers attorney, San Diego-based Phillip Stackhouse, said Saturday he thought Gallagher could be released the same day.

The timeline is still being worked out, he said. One would hope that when a directive has been issued by the president it would happen quickly, so our anticipation is that it will happen today or tomorrow.

Gallaghers advocates have complained about the conditions of the brig. His lawyers and family have argued he has been prevented from getting medical care and from visiting with family and legal counsel.

Stackhouse said Gallagher probably would be released on a sort of house arrest, in which he would be restricted to a local military base, except to attend medical appointments. He also might be restricted from communicating with witnesses in the case, Stackhouse said.

Gallagher is focused on his upcoming trial, Stackhouse said. Hes thankful for all the support hes getting in the public.

Gallaghers trial, originally scheduled to begin in February, was delayed until May 28. If convicted of the most serious charge  premeditated murder  Gallagher faces up to life in prison.

Dyer writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.Alex Jones, the Austin-based provocateur embroiled in several lawsuits filed by parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said in a deposition released Friday that his conspiracy thinking was a kind of mental disorder.

Jones, who repeatedly claimed on his internet and radio show InfoWars that the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax, told lawyers he almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though Im now learning a lot of times things arent staged.

Jones blamed his mental state on the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything begins  you dont trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they dont know what reality is.

The admission came toward the end of the three-hour deposition recorded in a downtown Austin law office March 14 in one of several lawsuits brought in Austin, Connecticut and Virginia against Jones by parents of children killed in the shooting. The suits contend that Jones repeated claims that the shootings were staged showed a reckless disregard for the truth and for the distress and real harm he was causing the parents, piling torment on their tragedies.

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So long before these lawsuits I said that in the past I thought everything was a conspiracy, and I would kind of get into that mass groupthink of the communities that were out there saying that, Jones said. And so now I see that its more in the middle. All right? So thats where I stand.

But under questioning by Houston lawyer Mark Bankston, Jones continued to display a fundamentally conspiratorial frame of mind.

The deposition offers a revealing look at Jones state of mind at a moment of maximum peril for an Austin original. Since summer, Jones has been stripped of major social media platforms for InfoWars because of the content of his posts, and has playing defense in multiple courtrooms.

He was a local cable-access cult figure who built a vast national audience on radio and online by declaring most every major national calamity since 9/11 as a false flag or inside job, all with a manic, riveting and often entertaining style. With the rise of President Trump, the once anti-establishment icon became a kind of underground auxiliary to Fox News, building support for Trump with his audience and creating news narratives that complement the presidents own taste for conspiracy thinking.

Throwing fuel on the fire, Jones on Monday questioned the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeremy Richman, one of the Sandy Hook parents who has sued him for defamation in Connecticut. Richmans body was found that morning in the Newtown building where the neuroscientist had created a foundation, named for his daughter Avielle, to encourage brain research into the causes of violent behavior. The states chief medical examiner has confirmed his death was a suicide.

I mean, how do I get a fair trial with stuff like this? Jones said on InfoWars. Ive never said this guys name. Never said his name, until now. And obviously first, its we dont know, hes got gunshot wounds or whatever. Now its, well, apparent suicide. I mean, is there going to be a police investigation? Are they going to look at the surveillance cameras? I mean, what happened to this guy? This whole Sandy Hook thing is, like, really getting even crazier.

We have no idea whether he was even murdered at this point, Jones said Monday of Richmans death. Why would some anti-gun guy do this? This is really sad. My prayers go out to him and his family, and we wish for the truth of whatever really happened here to come out. We dont know yet. And well see the corporate media say outrageous lies, but its what they do.

The deposition of Jones was ordered by state District Judge Scott Jenkins in the case of Scarlett Lewis, whose son was one of 20 first-graders, along with six educators, shot to death Dec. 14, 2012, by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother and himself. Lewis is suing Jones for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Under questioning by Bankston, Jones sought to deflect responsibility for years of claims that the shootings were a hoax staged to inflame public opinion and undermine gun rights, by blaming others whose outrageous and unsupported reports he relied on  I was going off what other people were saying  and suggesting that it was his right and responsibility as a pundit under the 1st Amendment to present alternative points of view that he had found on the internet.

Its painful that we have to question big public events, Jones said. I think thats an essential part of the 1st Amendment in America.

But, even as he said he has come to believe over the years that the Sandy Hook shootings were real, he continued in the deposition to voice conspiratorial suspicions that the whole truth about what happened remained hidden.

I think weve agreed before that Sandy Hook was real. It was not staged. It was not phony. You were wrong about that, Bankston said.

Well, I want to be clear, Jones replied. I believe children died. I believe there was a mass shooting. I still think that there was a man in the woods in camo  and just a lot of experts Ive talked to, including retired FBI agents and other people and people high up in the Central Intelligence Agency, have told me that there is a cover-up in Sandy Hook.President Trump has signed a new order granting permission for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, marking the White Houses latest effort to jump-start one of the most controversial infrastructure proposals in recent U.S. history.

The presidential permit signed Friday gives TransCanada, the Calgary-based firm behind the project, permission to construct, connect, operate and maintain the pipeline in U.S. territory. The order appears aimed at addressing a ruling from a federal court judge in Montana last fall, who halted the project after finding that the Trump administration had inadequately considered the environmental impacts of the project before allowing it to move forward.

That ruling faulted the State Department for not doing a sufficient review as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. But because that law applies to agency actions, as opposed to those by the White House, the president may be able to sidestep the issue by granting the permit himself rather than delegating the cross-border permit to the secretary of State.

Christopher Guith, acting president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, praised the decision to grant a new permit.

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Were pleased to see action that will help clear the way for development of the Keystone XL pipeline, Guith said in a statement. The Keystone XL pipeline is one of the most studied pieces of infrastructure in American history.

However, the move does not address a separate legal hurdle that the project faces in Nebraska, where the state Supreme Court is considering a challenge that landowners have brought against the pipeline route approved by the Nebraska Public Utilities Commission.

Last falls federal court decision was a rebuke to Trump, who had vowed to support the pipeline and who signed an executive order days into his presidency restarting the project after the Obama administration had halted it over environmental concerns.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, in Montana, issued a 54-page ruling that found that the State Department had simply discarded prior factual findings related to climate change from the Obama administration in its zeal to further Trumps goal of letting the pipeline move forward. In doing so, the administration ran afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires reasoned explanations for government decisions, particularly when they represent reversals of well-studied actions.

An agency cannot simply disregard contrary or inconvenient factual determinations that it made in the past, any more than it can ignore inconvenient facts in the present, Morris wrote, citing case law.

The court decision did not permanently block a federal permit for Keystone XL. But it required the administration to conduct a more complete review of potential adverse impacts related to climate change, cultural resources and endangered species, as well as reevaluate the effect of current oil prices on the viability of the pipeline. The court basically ordered a do-over.

At the time, Trump called the ruling a political decision.

I think its a disgrace, he told reporters, adding that the pipeline could generate thousands of jobs. I approved it; its ready to start.

TransCanada also said at the time that it had no plans to abandon the project. We have received the judges ruling and continue to review it, company spokesman Terry Cunha said in a statement. We remain committed to building this important energy infrastructure project.

President Trump has been clear that he wants to create jobs and advance U.S. energy security and the Keystone XL pipeline does both of those things, Russ Girling, TransCanadas president and chief executive, said in a statement Friday. We thank President Trump for his leadership and steadfast support to enable the advancement of this critical energy infrastructure project for North America.

The decade-long saga over the Keystone XL pipeline, which would stretch nearly 1,200 miles from Hardisty, Canada, to Steele City, Neb., has been full of legal twists and turns. Envisioned in 2008 as a way to connect Canadas oil sands fields with Gulf Coast refineries, the project has died and been resurrected more than once.

Native American tribes and Oklahoma oil magnates have weighed in. Opponents chained themselves to a truck carrying pipe and were arrested. Residents of Nebraska and other states fought the company over land rights. Environmental advocates have objected over concerns about the effects on wildlife.

The Keystone XL (the initials stand for export limited), which aims to extend the firms existing Keystone pipeline, would transport as much as 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day through a 36-inch pipe. In the United States, the XL pipeline would stretch 875 miles through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

The Obama administration approved the southern leg of the overall pipeline that began operations in January 2014, easing a bottleneck between Cushing, Okla., and refineries on Texas Gulf Coast.

The project has met sustained opposition from environmental advocacy groups arguing that it would be especially damaging to the climate because it would mean extracting thick, low-quality oil from Canadas oil sands, with tree-cutting and energy consumption as part of the process.

In 2015, on the eve of the international climate talks in Paris, the Obama administration announced that it was halting construction on the remainder of the pipeline, arguing that approval would compromise Americas effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The United States, Obama said, was now a global leader in pressing for climate action. And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership, he said.

The decision to deny the pipeline permit came after the completion of a long-awaited final environmental impact statement  11 volumes of analysis released in 2014.

Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin write for the Washington Post.The white pickup truck had just pulled in to the parking lot when Gregory Ganci was walking out of the medical center in shackles and chains.

Not that the prisoner knew it at the time, but the truck had a handgun and $2,800 in it. The engine was idling, and there wasnt anyone sitting in the drivers seat. It was about 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The 52-year-old Ganci was scheduled to be sentenced for a series of violent felonies, including convictions for kidnapping, robbery and intimidating a witness. He would likely get heavy time. It was possible, even likely, he wouldnt be eligible for parole.

Ganci had demonstrated he was not a fan of captivity; hed had fugitive warrants out for him in California and Illinois in the past. He was being escorted by a lone Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer to an unmarked car that would head for the Clark County Detention Facility. Then hed go to court and hear his fate.

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But there was the Chevy Silverado. Just sitting there. Tempting. The owner of the truck, Peter Snovitch, was outside the vehicle wiping the wheels down and waiting for his employee to come out of the building.

And so, in the city of long shots, Ganci took a gamble. He made a break for it, police say.

Robber steals cash from Bellagio and escapes in a Chevy parked in valet area 

Snovitch had just arrived at Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging that morning  his first of four appointments scheduled that day. He owned The Best Detail  an auto detailing shop he started 10 years ago. The 28-year-old said that when Ganci appeared at his truck, he was startled by the large man in the blue jail jumpsuit.

He looked like a terrorist, Snovitch said. Im 62 and 210 pounds, and he looked double my weight.

Ganci was actually closer to 300 pounds, police said, but that hadnt seemed to slow him down. He had bolted from Officer Phong Nguyens custody and jumped into the cab of Snovitchs truck, police said. Ganci slammed the door, hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot toward the street while Snovitch chased him.

Then Snovitch heard three gunshots.

Nguyen had pulled out his Glock handgun and fired it, police said. The bullets hit the drivers side door and window. One struck Ganci in the left triceps, they said.

But Ganci appeared undeterred. Snovitch said he was worried the fugitive would find the gun and money in the truck. He told police officers about that. But Snovitch also knew something else: The chase could end up being short-lived.

Las Vegas police surround a white pickup truck outside the Golden Nugget hotel-casino. Police say a man heading to his sentencing stole the truck and tried to escape, even after being shot by an officer, but ran out of gas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye / Associated Press)

The truck was already almost out of gas, he said. The fuel light had come on just as I had pulled into the parking lot. I was planning on fueling up at a Chevron a few blocks away.

Ganci turned right onto busy Maryland Parkway and hit traffic, literally, according to police. Among those in the traffic  a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department prisoner transport van. The light was red. The runaway driver didnt seem to care.

He slammed a black sedan in front of him. Reversed, hitting a car behind him. Then slammed into the sedan again. And again. In a video police released Friday, it looked like he was aggressively parallel parking. Las Vegas Police Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank said four cars were damaged.

Oh my gosh, an unidentified voice says on video taken from a vehicle making a left turn off Maryland Parkway.

Finally, the white truck squeezed through the left lane and tore down Maryland Parkway before hanging a right on Karen Avenue, according to a map released by police.

Hank said units had been sent from downtown and northeast command to pursue the truck. Nguyen also had gotten into his unmarked car and turned on lights to chase the suspect.

Nguyen, 25, has been on the force since 2016, Hank said. Police are reviewing why the officer was not wearing a body camera, he added.

Hank said Ganci drove a variety of streets.

According to a map, Gancis route first took him down a street past Valley High School, which had been in session since 7:10 a.m. By the time he made a couple of turns, he was on Fremont Street, driving past auto dealerships and vacant lots.

Police reported no injuries during the pursuit, but Hank said it couldve been worse if the fugitive had found the handgun in the trucks console.

He kept driving, though. Past fast food joints and motels  the Stratosphere looming in the distance and the downtown casinos drawing closer. Soon his route took him by weary motels, their facades weathered and beaten despite feeble efforts by the marquees to sell a lie: Welcome Nice Rooms, The Gables advertised on its sign, despite a chainlink fence and boarded-up windows.

A lot of them were bought by a speculator, Ronald Corso said. I guess theyre still speculating.

Corso runs 11th Street Records off Fremont Street. The shop wasnt open when the runaway truck drove by, but he said it sounded like the chase would fit right in with Vegas lore.

Police said the chase lasted 13 minutes and covered close to 11 miles. Hank said Ganci finally ran out of gas outside the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino and was treated by arresting officers at the scene before being taken to University Medical Center.

Vegas Escapes: The inside scoop on great steaks, new shows, a no-show and, of course, parking 

Gancis luck had run out. And about 1,100 feet away stood the jackpot: a Chevron gas station. About 1,500 feet farther was the Clark County Detention Center.

He will now face new charges, including escape by prisoner, grand theft of a vehicle and felony evading police. Hank said new procedures in prisoner transport would be put into place after Gancis escape.

But on Thursday, Ganci stood before District Judge Doug Smith to be sentenced for the earlier charges.

I know you. I know your reputation, he said to Smith, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. And Id rather took a bullet yesterday than come see you.

Ganci was sentenced to five consecutive life terms, no parole.President Trump plans to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to three Central American countries in retaliation for what he called their lack of help in reducing the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.

The move confirmed Saturday against El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras deepens the White House confrontations with Latin America over a surge in irregular migrations, including asylum seekers and others.

Trump has already warned that he could close the southern border  or at least large stretches of it  unless Mexico takes steps to halt migrants heading north.

The State Department said Saturday that it would be ending ... foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle, a region representing El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The aid affects nearly $500 million in 2018 funds and millions more left over from the prior fiscal year.

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Trump has threatened for months to cut assistance to the three nations, igniting a fight inside the U.S. government with officials who say the funds actually help slow migration. The money goes to programs to address what authorities call the root causes of migration  issues such as poverty, a lack of jobs and violence.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, faced court challenges over its effort to divert funds for more border wall construction under a national emergency declaration.

On Friday night, during a trip to Florida, Trump said governments in Central America werent doing enough to slow migration. The number of apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border has been soaring, with more than 76,000 migrants taken into custody in February. Many are Central Americans seeking asylum.

Ive ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras and El Salvador. No more money is going there anymore, Trump told reporters on Friday. We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and were not paying them anymore because they havent done a thing for us.

Trumps comments came just a day after Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security, signed what the department called a historic memorandum of cooperation on border security in Central America.

Over the last year, Trump has seized on the formation of giant caravans of U.S.-bound migrants as evidence that Mexico and Central America are doing little to discourage migration.

Authorities in the region have said they are taking what measures they can under their laws. Mexico, for example, has offered thousands of temporary humanitarian visas to migrants permitting them to stay and work in the country.

Raul Lopez, vice minister of justice in El Salvador, said in an interview last week that the flow of migrants from his country was actually slowing.

We see that as proof that our investment  and the investment of the international community  in social issues is working, he said. U.S. assistance has had a positive impact in reducing migration from El Salvador, but we need more help to continue this fight.

Border Patrol apprehensions are far less than their peak of 1.6 million in 2000, but the Trump administration says the flows have changed in character. While most migrants used to be Mexican men who could be easily deported, now they are often asylum-seeking families who are entitled to protections under federal law.

Border Patrol agents have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by the arrival of large numbers of Central American families and children, many of whom are being quickly released into local communities because of a lack of detention space.

Congressional Democrats visiting El Salvador on Saturday said they were extremely disappointed about the aid cutoff.

The presidents approach is entirely counterproductive. It will only result in more children and families being forced to make the dangerous journey north to the U.S.-Mexico border, said the statement from the delegation, which included Rep. Eliot L. Engel (N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The announcement of the aid cutoff comes as a new caravan of about 2,000 Central Americans and Cubans is crossing Mexico. Trump has threatened to close the border next week because of the rising flows of migrants.

The Washington Posts John Hudson and Nick Miroff contributed to this report.The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments about whether federal courts should be required to defer to the executive branchs interpretation of its own rules, if that interpretation is reasonable. This may sound like a technical, legalistic dispute  and it is  but the wrong decision could make it vastly harder for the federal government to protect the public.

If courts start to second-guess executive-branch agencies reasonable interpretation of their own rules, it will be easier for business and other interests to undermine efforts to protect the environment, keep workplaces safe and promote public health. Deference to agency interpretations also makes sense because those charged with enforcing federal laws typically possess more expertise than federal judges and can set national standards.

The case argued on Wednesday grows out of a challenge by James L. Kisor, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, to a decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to limit the disability payments he could collect for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The dispute turned on an interpretation of language in a VA regulation. In ruling against Kisor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that, even though the rule in question was open to several meanings, the court would defer to the interpretation made by the Board of Veterans Appeals.

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To the maximum extent possible, agencies should proactively publish their regulations  and their interpretations of those regulations.

In deciding to defer, the appeals court followed a 1997 Supreme Court decision, Auer vs. Robbins, in which the justices unanimously held that an agencys interpretation of its own regulations is controlling unless plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulations being interpreted.

Kisors lawyer asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Auer decision and a 1945 decision, Bowles vs. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., on which it relied. Some justices were receptive. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch suggested that having judges, not agency officials, interpret ambiguous regulations would better serve the interests of the least and most vulnerable among us, like the immigrant, like the veteran, who may not be the most popular or able to capture an agency the way many regulated entities can today.

But Justice Stephen Breyer countered that overruling Auer would look like a judicial power grab and would involve judges in interpreting from scratch hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of interpretive regulations, some based on technical or scientific considerations with which judges arent familiar. Breyer also noted that, under the Auer decision as it has been recently interpreted, judges can set aside regulations that are unclear, unreasonable or inappropriately considered. No one is suggesting that federal courts abdicate their responsibility to strike down regulations that are clearly illegal.

Representing the Trump administration, Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco argued for a similarly pragmatic approach. One of the advantages of the 1945 precedent, he told the court, is that when there are multiple reasonable interpretations of a regulation, the choice of which one to adopt is made by a single more politically accountable agency, rather than in dozens and perhaps hundreds of different district courts across the country.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Gorsuch suggested that always putting judges in the drivers seat would benefit vulnerable people. But its far more likely that allowing judges to substitute their own interpretation for that of an agency  even if the court accepts that the agencys interpretation is reasonable  will weaken regulatory protections and create confusion.

In suggesting that the VAs interpretation of the rule should prevail in this case, we arent saying that administrative agencies always operate in a transparent and responsive way. There would be less litigation about how to interpret ambiguous regulations if agencies revised them to remove confusion. Congress also is at fault for enacting vague or open-ended statutes that encourage improvisation by agencies, just as it bears the blame for inaction on important issues (such as immigration) that tempts presidents to overreach with executive action.

Finally, the Administrative Procedure Act provides for a process by which many regulations dont take effect until after notice and a period of public comment. Its true that not all legal determinations by regulatory agencies are preceded by notice and comment. Some arise in adjudication of claims such as Kisors. But to the maximum extent possible, agencies should proactively publish their regulations  and their interpretations of those regulations. Thats a better cure for confusion than a power grab by the courts.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand FacebookA Times story last July reported on allegations that secret cliques of violent, tattooed sheriffs deputies continue to operate in stations around Los Angeles County and that one may have played a role in a fatal shooting in 2016. County leaders reacted with alarm, and appropriately so, because it had been generally thought that these sorts of dangerous deputy gangs had been stamped out following a series of reforms several years earlier. It was necessary to find out if they had returned, or if indeed they had never left. Then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell promised a study and he was immediately joined by county lawyers, the inspector general and the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission in a task force to get to the bottom of the issue. We expected to be learning their preliminary findings just about now.

So it was startling to hear what the Board of Supervisors and the commission had to say about the status of the inquiry in recent days. Had it been completed? No. Was it in progress? Kind of, but not really. What had happened to it? No one was quite sure. The task force had agreed at some point to hire a consultant to do the real work, and they had spent some weeks interviewing candidates but then stopped. They were somehow slowed by the 2018 sheriff election  although just why that would be the case is unclear. New Sheriff Alex Villanueva, in office since December, said no one had informed him about the process or asked him to participate.

Meanwhile, a brawl last September at the East Los Angeles Sheriffs station involving a group of deputies that called themselves the Banditos resulted in the hospitalization of some younger members of the department, as reported by WitnessLA.com. Injured deputies filed legal claims against the county last month.

So much for the quaint notion that violent deputy cliques no longer exist.

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Oh, but theyre just expressing inter-generational rivalries between training officers and trainees, Villanueva told the oversight commission last week, and with his strong leadership everything will be set right.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has a long history of violent gang-like deputy groups beginning in the 1970s.

You can save yourself a lot of money on your studies, Villanueva told the commission, because that is going to be the conclusion of the whole thing. This is hazing run amok.

So there are no deputy gangs? No, the sheriff said. There were in the 1980s, but not now. But communities believe they are being victimized by deputy gangs, a commissioner said. No, you dont know what the community thinks because you have not done a statistically valid survey, the sheriff said.

This is a combination horror show and farce. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has a long history of violent gang-like deputy groups beginning in the 1970s, and the problem isnt just hazing of fellow employees that gets out of hand. This is also about deputies brutalizing members of the public. A federal judge in 1991 branded a Lynwood station group called the Vikings a neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang that committed unconstitutional acts, tacitly authorized by department leaders. Other such deputy gangs were spotlighted by the landmark Kolts Commission in 1992 and again by the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence in 2012.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Jail deputies from competing floors in Mens Central Jail brawled with each other and brutally beat inmates and even visitors without just cause. The county continues to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to plaintiffs  both in and outside the department  who say they have been victimized by deputies acting as part of cliques like the Banditos. One female deputy said she was assaulted and harassed after declining a demand by Banditos for sex.

A 2013 probe led to the firing of seven deputies associated with the Jump Out Boys, whose tattoo depicted a skeleton holding a revolver. Deputies involved in shootings would alter their tattoos to add new wisps of smoke coming from the gun.

Various reports and studies have concluded that patrol deputy cliques  or subgroups, or gangs, or whatever you want to call them  run their stations, scoff at direction from department headquarters, protect their members with a code of silence and encourage the use of force against members of the public as part of their initiations. These are fundamental problems in policing, and the failure to complete a report on these gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department is a fundamental failure of leadership and oversight.

That latter failure, at least, can be swiftly remedied. Supervisor Hilda Solis demanded that the effort to get answers be put back on track. It is appalling that such a reminder was necessary. It is essential that a competent study be completed  without any more foot-dragging.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and FacebookTwelve years ago, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) called on then-President George W. Bush to recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide. He asked that the history of the Ottoman governments extermination of 1.5 million Armenians be written into the record so future administrations making foreign policy would take that genocide into account.

Schiffs resolution passed in committee. But after powerful American politicians of both parties enabled a lobbying blitz by the Turkish government, Schiffs resolution never made it to the House floor.

When you think about what we have against us  the president, a foreign policy establishment that has condoned this campaign of denial, Schiff said at the time, against that you have the truth, which is a powerful thing but doesnt always win out.

Schiff, now chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is faced with another campaign of denial.

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Whatever the legal niceties, for most sane observers, the Barr letter is the latest entry in the administrations effort to, shall we say, avoid a reckoning.

This time, whats being denied is not the past but the present. President Trump and his huffy apparatchiks in Congress and the media insist on trying to skirt whats self-evident: the facts of Trumpworlds commitments to the Kremlin.

These have emerged in public testimony (Michael Cohen), in emails in the public record (Don Jr.s), and the many indictments and court documents produced by the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, which delivered its Trump-Russia report to the attorney general on March 22.

Because persisting in denial means censoring anyone who tells the truth, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have been calling on Schiff to resign.

All week they waved Atty. Gen. William Barrs meager and fuzzy four-page letter, claiming it faithfully represents Muellers findings, which Barr says runs some 400 pages.

Of course, we need to see the actual Mueller findings to see how faithful Barrs letter is. But legal analysts from Jed Shugerman (Fordham Law) to Ken White (former federal prosecutor) to Neal Katyal (Georgetown Law) have questioned Barrs use of weasel words and his delay in turning over the whole report to Congress.

Against that you have the truth.

So on Thursday, Schiff, as he has done many times before, patiently spelled out the state of play between Trumpworld and the Russians to the members of the Intelligence committee and anyone watching on C-SPAN.

There was none of Barrs fuzziness or torque in what Schiff said. He didnt hypothesize. He didnt speculate. He just laid it all out.

The Russians offered dirt on a Democratic candidate for president as part of what was described as the Russian governments effort to help the Trump campaign, he said.

When that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, the presidents son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help. Instead that son said that he would love the help of the Russians.

Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience in running campaigns, also took that meeting. The presidents son-in-law also took that meeting. They concealed it from the public. Their only disappointment after that meeting was that the dirt they received on Hillary Clinton wasnt better.

And Schiff kept going. Through Manaforts offer of campaign information in exchange for debt forgiveness; through his offer of campaign polling data to someone linked to Russian intelligence; through Jared Kushners attempt to open a Russian back channel; through Trumpworld contacts with the GRU (a hostile intelligence agency); through denied-but-true Moscow Trump Tower negotiations and the promulgation of a new and more favorable policy toward the Russians as Trump sought the Russians help  the Kremlins help to make himself a fortune.

Call me crazy, Schiff said, but it all strikes me as immoral, unethical, corrupt  and, yes, as collusion, even if it isnt part of a criminal conspiracy.

Throughout his incantation, Schiff repeated the phrase: You might think its OK that as he walked through the facts. Since he delivered the litany, no one has called him on a single error. And yet, Republicans on the committee seemed to find all the evidence of Trumps treachery OK.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

So thats it. We can all agree on what happened. The president encouraged computer crimes. Trumpworld has a pattern of back channeling with, digging dirt with, murky real-estate dealing with and swapping favors with Kremlin types. And Trumpworld lies about it.

Whatever the legal niceties, for most sane observers, the Barr letter is the latest entry in the administrations effort to, shall we say, avoid a reckoning. Barr has suppressed Muellers findings, and he may have spun them hard, letting Trump spin that spin and claim, laughably, that hed been, Totally EXONERATED. (Barr letter: The report does not exonerate Trump.)

The American people arent buying the presidents tweet, at least not yet. For any conclusion that big, we need the real report. And, according to a CNN poll this week, 87% of Americans want all of the Mueller findings released to the public, including 80% of Republicans.

In the meantime, if youre interested in understanding the Trump-Russia findings, ignore what Barr wrote. Watch the Schiff speech instead.

Twitter: @page88A prominent member of the House from the San Fernando Valley faces criticism for serving as one of the embattled presidents biggest tormentors in Congress. Right now this is happening to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), but it also happened to James E. Rogan, the lawmaker Schiff defeated in 2000 after Democrats spent a then-record sum to unseat the Glendale Republican who helped prosecute President Clinton in his 1999 Senate impeachment trial.

Currently, letter writers opinions of Schiff, who has long insisted that there is evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians in the 2016 presidential race, are split between those who say Atty. Gen. William P. Barrs summary of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs report brings disgrace on the congressman, and those who defend Schiff. In 1999 and 2000, after the Senate acquitted Clinton, the reader opinions published in the L.A. Times were tilted against Rogan, perhaps indicating the dissatisfaction that resulted in Schiff first being elected to the House.

Here is a selection of those letters from 1999 and 2000.

On Jan. 19, 1999, a reader from Glendale stood behind his congressman:

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Principle: a rule or standard, esp. of good behavior. As the representative for my district, Rogan may lose for taking a stand on principle, but he is already a winner in my book. Those who support the president should refer often to the definition of principle, as a reminder of what they will never see in him.

On Feb. 5, 1999, another reader from Rogans district said his representative wasnt serving his constituents:

Rogan actually follows his conscience through this impeachment drive? His conscience should dictate the very essence of why he was elected to the House of Representatives in the first place: to represent his constituents, not spearhead a partisan vendetta. Can he and the other House managers be so dimwitted as to think that the voting public will suffer a memory lapse of the impeachments evil whos who when it comes to the 2000 election?

In the March 14, 1999 edition, a reader from Encino took issue with Rogans conduct during Clintons Senate trial:

Rogan wins the award for, on the floor of the Senate, hurling the battle cry, None of your damned business! at the presidents counsel. This occurred when the presidents lawyers asked, as is appropriate, to see the excerpts from the witnesses depositions the House managers intended to use in final arguments.

Intemperate, unjudicial, Rogan helped formulate and lead an impeachment inquiry that should never have been started, was ineptly conducted and brought everlasting disgrace upon the House of Representatives. It is no wonder that the Senate, as Rogan complains, treated the House managers like a bunch of serfs.

On Feb. 11, 1999, a reader from Bermuda Dunes praised Rogan and his fellow House Republicans:

In the disgraceful episode now taking place in Washington, few people will survive untarnished. ...

The only people who have acted honorably and honestly have been the House managers, including our own Rep. James Rogan. They were thorough and eloquent and presented a case that was difficult to refute. Rogan and the other House managers may lose the battle but they can spend their lives looking in the mirror without shame.

After the election, a reader from Pasadena offered his take on why Schiff defeated Rogan in a Nov. 16, 2000 letter:

James Rogan didnt lose because he prosecuted President Clinton.  He lost because he was a Newt Gingrich Republican. He also started early with a stream of smears and whined smear when Adam Schiff playfully rebutted point by point.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and FacebookGood morning. Im Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, March 30, 2019. Lets take a look back at the week in Opinion.

A normal president would appreciate the weight of his words in the aftermath of something as politically charged as Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation, and express either the magnanimity or the contrition that the occasion demands, always with an eye on whats best for the country. But we do not have a normal president, and after Atty. Gen. William Barr declared on Sunday that Muellers report lets the president off the hook legally, Trump and his supporters have been out for blood  especially Adam Schiffs.

The soft-spoken Schiff may seem an unlikely annoyance to a president as pugnacious as Trump. But over the last two-plus years as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee and now as chairman, the representative from Burbank has like a persistent prosecutor poked holes in the Republicans defenses of Trump, even declaring that the evidence points to likely Trump campaign collusion with Russia. Now, with Barr saying the Mueller report doesnt support that, Schiff has been called everything from a liar to pencil neck.

My first thought hearing Kellyanne Conway calling on Schiff to resign today for (get this) dishonesty, and reading Trumps tweet demanding that Schiff step down, not as Intelligence Committee chairman, but from Congress altogether, was that the residents of his district who have overwhelmingly reelected him since 2000 might have something to say about that. Senior editorial writer Michael McGough says the Republicans calling on Schiff to resign are being disingenuous, but the chairman nonetheless has some explaining to do:

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Trump calls the Mueller report a total exoneration. It isnt, and McGough warns the president against pardoning Paul Manafort or any other aides: Clemency for Manafort, [Michael] Flynn et al would give rise to suspicions, fair or not, that they were being rewarded for their loyalty to the president or perhaps even for their silence. Would Trump be foolish enough to stoke such suspicions by issuing pardons? L.A. Times

Also on the Mueller report: Harold Meyerson says a favorable conclusion by the special counsel still doesnt change the fact that Trump is the most dangerous president in history. Republican advisor Scott Jennings warns that further investigating Trump risks imperiling any future Democratic administration. Investigative reporter Seth Hettena reminds us that whether Trump committed a crime isnt the only thing that matters. The editorial board welcomes Muellers findings (at least the ones we know about) as good for the president and good for the country, but says that the question of whether Trump obstructed justice remains unresolved.

In a world without President Trump, this would be regarded as a major disaster: The largest lake in California is drying up, yet lawmakers act as if theyve never even heard of the Salton Sea. The editorial board includes this reminder of how grim the future looks for the Salton Sea and the nearby residents who face toxic dust storms: The dimensions of the failure were for many years merely theoretical, but they became real in the winter just past. As the rain and snow washed away drought and at least temporarily diminished environmental problems in the rest of the state, the contraction of the Salton Sea accelerated. Increasing salinity kept the lake from sustaining even the salt-hardy tilapia. The birds failed to appear. L.A. Times

Whats with the all the dystopia, Democrats? The election of 1864 occurred during Americas darkest hour, but listening to the Democratic presidential candidates, youd think we were living through another civil war instead of 4% unemployment. The moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is not that there is no wolf, but rather that warnings should be saved for when the beast actually arrives, writes Matt Welch. The presidents apocalyptic fantasia is disreputable on its face, and leads to bad policies. Democrats should resist the temptation to emulate what they despise. L.A. Times

Do this so horse racing isnt banned in the United States: Stop overmedicating from birth, train on tracks that arent just dirt, and run horses on courses that arent only counterclockwise ovals. Other countries maintain thriving horse racing scenes, and the United States can too if it makes badly needed reforms after the recent spate of deaths at Santa Anita Park. New York Times

Reach me: paul.thornton@latimes.comGov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials questioned the continued state service of a former agency administrator accused of nepotism and retaliating against a whistleblower, but stopped short Friday of calling for her resignation.

A state audit this week criticized Christine Baker, without naming her, for her actions as executive director of the state Department of Industrial Relations before she retired in March 2018. The report said she circumvented state civil service rules in hiring. It also alleged she sought to retaliate against whistleblowers who raised concerns about the directors actions.

In January, just days before leaving office, then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Baker to the state Fraud Assessment Commission, which allocates funding to prosecutors handling cases of workers compensation insurance fraud.

A prominent Democrat in the Bay Area, Baker has been a fixture in state government for nearly four decades and was one of Jerry Browns first appointments when he made her director of the Department of Industrial Relations in 2011 just after he took office.

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The governor appoints members to the commission who serve four-year terms or until the governor appoints a replacement, according to the panels website.

A Newsom spokesman declined Friday to say whether he would take action against Baker, but questioned her remaining on the Fraud Assessment Commission.

Christine Baker, former executive director of the state Department of Industrial Relations, now serves on the state Fraud Assessment Commission. (File)

The allegations in the report are egregious, and those who violate the public trust in this manner should not be in state service, said Jesse Melgar, a spokesman for Newsom.

The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Department of Industrial Relations play a critical role in securing just working conditions for Californians, Melgar added. The allegations made public earlier this week were all the more troubling because the agencies involved exist to prevent retaliation against employees who exercise their rights in the workplace.

Although the fraud panel is appointed by the governor, it operates in the office of state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who also voiced concerns through a spokesman about Baker staying in her post.

While the commissioner does not make appointments to the Fraud Assessment Commission, given the seriousness of these allegations he has severe reservations about Ms. Bakers capacity to continue service, said Byron Tucker, a spokesman for Lara.

Baker, a Berkeley resident, has denied that she engaged in nepotism or gave her daughter special treatment, and was defiant Friday about any suggestion that she step down from the commission, which meets three or four days a year. Members are paid $100 for the days they work.

The Brown administration was fully aware of the report when they appointed me, Baker said in an email. The report is one-sided and there is pending litigation separate from the audit report and I cannot comment further.

I have not heard from the Newsom administration and I support them completely, she added.

A representative of Brown did not respond to requests for comment from the former governor on Baker.

The report sent to Newsom on Tuesday by State Auditor Elaine Howle alleged that an unidentified director pre-selected her daughter for a role in her own department, precluding consideration of and competition from other potential applicants, and that the daughter did not have the requisite qualifications for the job and did not follow the application rules to which all candidates.

A department director consistently engaged in misconduct by using the influence of her position to circumvent Californias longheld civil service hiring process when she orchestrated personnel decisions that benefited her daughter, Howles report said.

Baker sent her supporters a lengthy rebuttal to the auditors allegations this week, arguing that her daughter had worked for another state agency that she left in good standing, so she was eligible and qualified to be hired back at a similar position.

She said she asked the hiring manager if her daughter could be hired as I would have done for anyone I knew who was qualified and wanted to work for DIR, especially at a time when all divisions were struggling to hire more staff.

Baker also denied the allegations of retaliation.

The staff members who prepared the auditors report clearly do not understand the distinction between retaliation and setting the record straight on personally damaging misinformation, Baker wrote.

Baker said the report is unfair to her daughter.

In hindsight, I deeply regret that she chose to work at the department  which she was lawfully entitled to do, whether or not I was director, Baker said, adding that Howle was misled by a band of people that organized to take me down.

Sign up for our Essential Politics newsletter 

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Twitter: @mcgreevy99A Burbank man under federal investigation since 2017 for his alleged involvement with a prescription drug ring was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of immigration fraud.

The U.S. Attorneys office is accusing 44-year-old Armen Simonyan of unlawfully gaining U.S. citizenship and lying on his passport application. Ben Barron, a federal prosecutor, said Simonyan was already under investigation for his alleged ties to a series of sham medical clinics that were issuing fraudulent drug prescriptions, prompting investigators to look into his immigration history.

Simonyan had been out on bail relating to the drug investigation at the time of his arrest this week.

Barron added that Simonyan is also wanted in Armenia for passport fraud.

He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the grand jury indictment, Simonyan first arrived to the United States in September 1997 under a travel visa and reportedly had a fake Armenian passport with a stolen identity, Rafayel Khachatryan. He previously applied for a visa using his real information but was denied.

The following year, he applied for asylum under his real name but using a fake date of birth, according to the indictment.

Officials said he made numerous false statements in his application and in the sworn testimony he gave to an immigration officer. Simonyan claimed he was born in Azerbaijan and was fleeing from the country after the murder of his parents.

[He] falsely stated that his mother had been hacked to pieces  that his father had been killed during ethnic violence in the early 1990s. the indictment states.

He also claimed to have entered the United States by crossing into the country from the Mexican border.

Authorities said he was actually born in Armenia, his parents are still alive and he came to this country on a flight into Los Angeles International Airport.

Simonyan went on to give more false statements about his past when he applied for permanent residency in December 2002, according to the indictment.

The U.S. Attorneys office is seeking to revoke Simonyans naturalization.

If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. He also faces a maximum of 60 years in prison if hes convicted in the drug-ring case.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_TrucA North Hollywood family got a brief scare last month after an 8-year-old girl was bitten by a baby rattlesnake in the Burbank Hills.

Kathryn Campa was visiting her brother in the 3000 block of Trudi Lane on the night of April 23 when, sometime around 9 p.m., she heard her daughter Brooklyn screaming something had bitten her foot.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone and there was a baby rattlesnake right there coiled next to my car, Kathryn Campa said. I see the baby rattlesnake and think right away, oh my gosh, they give too much venom because they cant control it.

She said the family rushed Brooklyn to an emergency room, and she was then transferred to another hospital with a pediatric intensive-care unit, where she could be monitored overnight.

Hospital staff eventually concluded that the bite Brooklyn received was dry, meaning the snake didnt release its venom, and that she wasnt in any further danger.

Brooklyn Campa, 8, was sent to a pediatric intensive care unit after being bitten by a rattlesnake outside of a Burbank Hills home. (Courtesy of Karen Careaga)

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, snakes are beginning to awaken from their hibernation as the weather starts to warm up. Snakes are not restricted to wilderness areas and can venture into residential neighborhoods.

Snakes bites are most prevalent between April and October, according to the department.

In the event someone is bitten by a potentially poisonous snake, the department said people should seek immediate medical attention and remove any clothing or jewelry near the bite site that may constrict swelling.

The department also said its not advisable to use a tourniquet, ice the wound or attempt to suck out the venom.

Campa said her daughter has since fully recovered from the bite, but there have been some lingering effects.

She had a nightmare the other night, she said. Her first rattlesnake nightmare, a snake was chasing her.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_TrucA Costa Mesa man who was previously barred from Orange Coast College, where he was a student, is being sought by police on suspicion of violating a restraining order by communicating with a protected person, police said.

Robert Bouton McDougal, 23, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of violating a protective order on March 14, according to court records. As of Friday, no hearing had been scheduled in the case.

McDougal is aware of the warrant and charges against him and he has not been seen at home in over a week, the Costa Mesa Police Department said in a bulletin Thursday night, adding that he has been uncooperative with law enforcement in the past and has attempted to flee from officers on multiple occasions.

Police did not provide details of the allegations against McDougal, though they did say the alleged violations are related to his earlier issues with OCC.

In March 2017, a judge issued a restraining order at the behest of college officials, barring McDougal from entering the Costa Mesa campus or contacting a chemistry instructor.

College officials have said McDougals problems at the campus began in February 2017 when he repeatedly asked the instructor to retake an exam with the help of a calculator after receiving a lower grade than he had expected. McDougal had received a B, according to court documents.

The instructor declined the request.

A week later, according to school officials, McDougal barged into a class , prompting campus security to escort him out. According to a police report, McDougal evaded officers, ran back inside and sprinted in circles around the classroom.

Police said campus security officers eventually used pepper spray to subdue McDougal after he kicked them.

On March 7, 2017, McDougal was suspended from all Coast Community College District facilities until March 2019, according to college officials. But days later, he was arrested on suspicion of carving a swastika and a racial slur into the hoods of two OCC security vehicles and slashing their tires. He was booked into Orange County Jail and later posted bail.

Prosecutors alleged McDougal returned to the campus several times in violation of the protective order.

McDougal filed a civil lawsuit against the college in March 2018, alleging negligence, emotional distress, assault, battery and false imprisonment on the part of the college and school officials.

McDougal, who has been diagnosed with autism, first enrolled at the school in 2014.

OCC was grossly negligent in handling this situation, according to a claim filed with the college in August 2017. OCC harassed Robert and discriminated against him because of his disabilities. The damage to Roberts image and reputation is irreparable.

McDougal pleaded guilty in July 2018 to one count of felony vandalism and eight misdemeanor counts, including resisting a peace officer, disobeying a court order and vandalism. On Aug. 29 he was sentenced to six months in jail and received three years formal probation for vandalizing the two campus security vehicles and violating an order to stay away from the campus.The man accused of murdering 11-year-old Linda OKeefe of Newport Beach in 1973 and of multiple sexual assaults against minors pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday.

James Alan Neal entered the plea during his arraignment in Orange County Superior Court.

Neal, 72, of Monument, Colo., is charged with one count of murder while committing or attempting to commit sexual assault on a child, as well as five felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 14, according to the county district attorneys office. The charges carry possible sentencing enhancements for multiple victims.

Neal could face a maximum sentence of 82 years to life in state prison if convicted, the district attorneys office said.

Neal was arrested Feb. 19 in connection with the strangulation death of Linda, who disappeared while walking home from summer school in Corona del Mar on July 6, 1973.

Her body was found the next day in a ditch off Back Bay Drive.

In 2018, Newport Beach police piqued public awareness of the long-cold case with a social media campaign called Lindas Story.

A match in a genealogical DNA database helped authorities home in on Neal as a suspect, authorities said. Then, using surveillance methods, investigators were able to get DNA from Neal that connected him to evidence from the crime scene, according to prosecutors.

On March 11, Neal was extradited to Orange County from Colorado and was booked into Orange County Jail without bail.

Prosecutors this month charged Neal with three additional counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child allegedly committed in Riverside County between July 1995 and July 2000. Two more counts are related to crimes against another child in Riverside County between March 2002 and March 2004, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said the victims in the more recent cases came forward after Neal was connected to the high-profile OKeefe case.

In light of the newer cases, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said this month that his office is absolutely looking for possible additional victims.

Neal is scheduled back in court June 14.Glendales economy is thriving thanks to increased local business activity, but the growth is leaving some residents behind, Mayor Zareh Sinanyan said during this years annual State of the City address on Thursday.

Hosted by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, the address traditionally focuses on highlights from the previous year, as well as city plans for the future.

An individuals career determines a persons ability to achieve all of the goals that they set for themselves, said Sinanyan, explaining why he thinks the economy is at the forefront of many residents minds.

This past quarter, the city saw a 4.6% sales tax revenue increase compared to the same quarter from the last fiscal year, bringing in an additional $477,853 for the city, Sinanyan said.

Partially driving the windfall is a recent influx of businesses to the area, including Dunkin Donuts, Five Guys restaurant, Good American clothing line and Super King Market, he added.

When Nestle left the city last year  taking more than 1,000 jobs with it  an economic panic seized the city, the mayor said. Less than a year later, Glendale-grown tech startup ServiceTitan announced it will be moving into the international companys old digs at 800 N. Brand Blvd.

Also poised to add more to the citys coffers is a 2018 voter-approved sales tax increase known as Measure S. Set to go into effect in April, Glendale officials predict it will raise $30 million for the city annually.

An impetus for raising the sales tax to the state maximum of 10.25% was that it would maintain local control of generated funds, according to Sinanyan.

If the state or county raised taxes before Glendale did, a large portion of those funds would have funneled out of the city, he explained.

This sales tax increase was not what we wanted, it was what we needed, Sinanyan said. If we didnt do it ourselves, someone else would have done it for us.

Despite the past years economic success, we know that our community keeps aging, and some of our community members cant make ends meet, Sinanyan said.

That reality has put issues like affordable housing and homelessness, with a particular focus on how seniors are affected, at the top of City Councils priorities, he said.

Besides launching a committee focused on senior needs, the city broke ground last May on a 66-unit, affordable senior-housing project called Vista Grande Court. Construction on the project is slated to wrap up this fall.

An ordinance passed in February called Right to Lease requires landlords to provide tenants with a one-year lease and to pay relocation fees if rents are raised past 7% and the tenant decides to leave. Its passage represents a culmination of the councils multiyear effort, which gained renewed traction in November, to address rising rents in the area.

Beyond the economic landscape, Glendale is defined by its robust arts and culture scene and maintained parks, Sinanyan said.

Last May, the citys parks department renovated about seven trails in Brand Park. The trails had been damaged by fire service activity in 2017 when wildfires ravaged the surrounding area.

Sinanyan praised Glendales fire and police departments for their work. In 2018, the fire department responded to more than 20,000 calls and transported over 15,000 people to local hospitals, according to city data cited by Sinanyan. Its average response time was four minutes and 26 seconds. Individuals suffering from cardiac arrest were resuscitated at a rate of 37%, which is 17% above the county average, according to the data.

During the same year, the police received 118,193 calls for service. Its average average response time was four minutes and 11 seconds, according to city data cited by Sinanyan. Violent crimes in the city dropped by 26% last year, according to the data.

Its a good, positive way to talk about our city, said Judee Kendall, chief executive of the citys Chamber of Commerce, of the event that also awards local businesses and their owners for their contributions to the city.

[The councils] focus on business is what we as the Chamber are most interested in, Kendall said, and we see that as very significant because the city is very pro-business.

Select local residents and businesses were honored at the luncheon.

Glendale Chamber of Commerce 2018 Honorees

Woman of the Year: Betty Porto, Portos Bakery & Cafe

Man of the Year: David Ho, Jr., owner and president, Pacific BMW

Organization of the Year: Glendale Assn. of Realtors

Business of the Year: Pegasus Home Health Care

CEO of the Year: Alice Issai, Adventist Health Glendale

lila.seidman@latimes.com

Twitter: @lila_seidmanStudents in grades K-12 who attend school located within the service area of Foothill Municipal Water District  primarily in La Canada Flintridge, Montrose, La Crescenta and Altadena  are invited to enter the eighth annual Water is Life art contest.

The future requires that we all use water wisely. This theme of conservation and stewardship should be reflected in the artwork, according to a news release issued Monday by FMWD General Manager Nina Jazmadarian. Her agency co-sponsors the contest with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Judges will consider artworks in three age groups: K-3, 4-6 and 7-12. The grand prize winner in each category will capture a $100 prize and their teacher will be given a $50 gift card.

Local winning entries will be submitted to MWD for consideration for use in the 2019 Water is Life Student Artwork Calendar.

The deadline for contest submissions is Monday, April 15. To learn more, visit fmwd.com.

carol.cormaci@latimes.com

Twitter: @CarolCormaciAspiring young artists with an interest in water conservation are invited to take part in the Foothill Municipal Water Districts seventh annual K-12 student art contest themed Water is Life.

Students who attend schools within the FMWDs service area, which includes La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose and Altadena, are eligible to participate. The deadline for submissions is April 2.

This artwork by Vivienne Norris, then a fourth-grade student at Crestview Preparatory School, captured 1st place in her grade category during the 2017 Water is Life contest sponsored by Foothill Municipal Water District. (Courtesy of FMWD )

Judges will consider contest entries by grade groups K-3, 4-6 and 7-12. The student who captures the grand prize in each group will receive $100 and the sponsoring teacher will be given a $50 gift card. The winning entries will be forwarded to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for a second round of competition, from which winners will be chosen for inclusion in a 2019 calendar.

To learn more about the contest, visit www.fmwd.com.

carol.cormaci@latimes.com

Twitter: @CarolCormaciLa Canada residents interested in potentially staving off home break-ins by installing a video-doorbell answering system may now do so more affordably, after the City Council on Tuesday approved a joint rebate program with Ring.com.

The city will offer a $50-per-household subsidy, to be matched by the Santa Monica-based company for a total $100 rebate for La Canada customers who purchase a unit through the companys website using a special promotional code.

The contract between the city and Ring will last for 120 days or until the $5,000 the City Council designated for the program runs out. After that, the council will decide whether to continue the program by dedicating more funds toward the effort.

In an interview Thursday, city staffer Christina Nguyen said La Canada officials had yet to sign an agreement with Ring, which would mark the start of the promotional offer.

Nguyen recommends residents call City Hall at (818) 790-8880 to confirm when the rebate program is scheduled to start.

Once the program begins, residents can email lacanada@ring.com and provide their shipping address. In return, they are assigned a unique one-time promotional code that takes $100 off the total cost of a unit purchased online. The company will also offer another $30 discount for additional cameras and doorbell units purchased and a 20% discount on accessories listed on its website, both applied at checkout.

The technology allows homeowners to see on their cellphones, by means of a video installed at a door or strategic location, anyone who rings the doorbell or triggers the camera. They can also talk to that person remotely through their smart device.

Recent versions of the software allow users to post videos of potential suspects on social media sites, share information on crimes or warn neighbors of suspicious activities. In a Feb. 13 meeting of the city Public Safety Commission, Sgt. John Gaw of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Departments Advanced Surveillance and Protection Unit said the systems are effective at scaring off most would-be burglars.

On Tuesday, Councilman Greg Brown said he has a unit at his home and was notified earlier in the meeting someone was at his own front door.

I could have pressed a button and talked to them. They dont know whether youre home or across the country  its pretty amazing technology, he said.

City weighs benefits of buying, selling its own electricity

Also Tuesday, the council discussed the possibility of entering a Community Choice Aggregation program that would allow local governments to purchase and sell electricity to residents instead of relying on traditional investor-owned utility procurement, such as Southern California Edison.

Carl Alameda, the citys director of administrative services, explained there are currently two different CCA programs La Canada could join. The countys Los Angeles Community Choice Energy program would create a joint powers authority for member cities that would be governed by a board of directors comprising one representative from each city. Municipalities must decide whether to enroll by a Dec. 27 opt-in deadline for inclusion in the program that would begin in January 2018. The cities of South Pasadena, Alhambra, Sierra Madre, Calabasas and Rolling Hills have signed up to be members.

The city of Lancaster Choice Energy CCA program model would let La Canada contract as an associate member under the city and fellow original member city San Jacinto, also under a joint powers authority, with the Lancaster City Council acting as board of directors. The city of Pico Rivera has joined this program.

Both models would let members operate on one of three tiers based on how much green-sourced energy theyd want to use  the first equivocates the 28% currently used by Edison, while the second provides 50% green energy and the third 100%  with increasing costs for higher tiers.

Alameda clarified that even if the city opts in, Edison would continue to provide transmission and distribution services, power line maintenance and customer billing. Benefits include potential rate savings of about 5.4% starting out, reduction in the use of nonrenewable power and access to fully renewable energy.

But the cost savings could be canceled out as Edisons own energy contracts become cheaper in time, or as L.A. County turns to member agencies to pay back a $10-million loan the county Board of Supervisors offered to start the program. A future vote by the California Public Utilities Commission could also seek to impose fines or increases for CCA cities whose withdrawal from Edisons customer base would constitute a financial loss to be picked up by cities who remain SCE customers.

Its not fair, in Edisons view, to distribute that to customers that decide to stay in, Alameda said.

Another concern is that joining a CCA would add a layer of administration to an already complicated accountability structure and muddy the waters in residents minds about the citys perceived responsibility for supplying power, Alameda said. Also, Edison could deprioritize its investment in the infrastructure of cities who withdrew to join a CCA.

Council members decided more discussion was needed, and expressed an interest in hearing from Edison representatives and CCA organizers and member cities.

City Manager Mark Alexander said hed determine whether opting in by the Dec. 27 deadline would bring any significant benefits to the city and schedule a study session at a later date.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine

UPDATES:

3:38 p.m.: This article was updated with information regarding the timeline of the Ring.com rebate.

This article was originally published at 5:25 p.m. on Oct. 18.Its all systems go for La Canadas Jet Propulsion Laboratory, after Caltech was awarded a $15-billion contract from NASA to extend operations for another five years, with options for five one-year extensions, officials announced Friday.

The contract extends the agreement between NASA and Caltech, which manages the 177-acre campus located in the northernmost part of the Arroyo Seco watershed, beyond its current expiration date of Sept. 30, 2018, according to a news release issued by JPLs communications team.

The new contract is set to begin on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2023, with a potential extension through 2028  for a total value of $30 billion. The purpose of the contract is to develop and sustain core competencies in support of NASA-sponsored work in the areas of Earth and planetary sciences, heliophysics, astrophysics as well as aeronautics and space activities, including the development of spacecraft and instruments, officials said in the release.

Caltech will continue to manage NASA-sponsored programs that carry out peer-reviewed research, NASA partnerships with other government agencies, academia and the private sector and will also oversee the operation, research and management of NASAs Deep Space Network.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardineThe Los Angeles County Public Works Departments effort to remove sediment build-up from behind Devils Gate Dam has been an uphill battle thats lasted nearly a decade as the agency has dealt with environmentalists lawsuits and ongoing public scrutiny.

Now, as county engineers move forward with their four-year plan to remove 1.7 million cubic yards of dirt and Station fire debris from Hahamongna Park, theyll have a new challenge on their hands  La Canada Unified School District parents.

On Tuesday, a small but determined group of parents attended the regular meeting of the school board, where a presentation on the sediment removal process was on the agenda. They shared their worries about the potential health impacts to students of the 425 round-trip truck trips proposed in the project.

Their main objection was that the countys environmental review did not analyze the amount of ultrafine particulate matter recent studies have shown is emitted from diesel trucks and has cancer-causing potential.

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy science teacher and LCUSD mom Elizabeth Krider said current standards dont recognize ultrafine particulate matter, having a diameter of .1 micron or smaller, because scientific studies showing higher health risks than previously imagined are fairly recent.

When the environmental analysis was done [the county] used an old equation, Krider said. The best thing we can do  is to persuade them to incorporate the new science, to think about reducing the truck trips or changing the type of truck  because you dont want our kids to be the experiment.

School board President Kaitzer Puglia assured parents district officials are just as concerned. LCUSD has submitted formal comments and passed board resolutions about the potential health risks of the hauling route being near so many La Canada educational institutions, including La Canada High School.

Chief technology officer Jamie Lewsadder said the district purchased air quality meters and will soon begin collecting baseline data that students can potentially use in their own science classes.

Parents said theyd scheduled a meeting with a field representative from L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger to share the data and see what more could be done. Last year, Barger made a motion to reduce the amount of sediment removed from 2.4 million cubic feet to 1.7 million.

San Fernando Valley Pediatrician and LCUSD parent Dr. Elizabeth Evans said the World Health Organization recently declared small-particle air pollution was the No. 1 risk to children worldwide. She thanked the district for promising to monitor air quality.

You cannot rely on the companies that are doing this work to tell you if they are meeting air quality standards or not. We need to have that information ourselves, she said.

Together, officials and parents promised to enlist help from researchers, possibly from USC and the neighboring Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in gathering data that could help them in their fight.

Sinnettes contract extended

With no objections Tuesday, board members extended Supt. Wendy Sinnettes contract with La Canada Unified through July 31, 2022, with an annual salary of $260,916.

Sinnettes new earnings reflect a 2% pay increase over her previous $255,800  a raise granted to all employees in the Confidential, Managerial, Supervisory and Administrative Assn.

Because that increase is retroactive to July 1 of this year, the superintendent will receive the retroactive pay as a one-time lump sum of $6,821. Board members enthusiastically supported the extension.

Wendys phenomenal, and its great shes willing to stick around another four years, said board member Dan Jeffries.

Im very grateful and fortunate to be able to work with all of you, Sinnette told board and cabinet members.

YMCA to offer school-site fitness for district employees

Full-time LCUSD employees will soon be able to take small group training sessions provided by YMCA of the Foothills on the district school campuses, after board members approved allowing Supt. Sinnette to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Y.

Under the agreement, all full-time teachers, classified employees and administrators are eligible for free individual Y memberships (to be renewed annually), which entitles them to take part in the school-site classes, explained YMCA of the Foothills chief executive Tyler Wright.

Somebody asked me a few months ago, Whats in it for you? Wright said. Whats in it for us is a better community, a better educational institution, better teachers and better students  isnt that enough?

Independent PE classes at LCHS 7/8 shaping up

In other news, school board members continued to discuss an option that would allow La Canada High 7/8 students who were elite athletes or had doctors excuses to opt out of regular physical education classes while still meeting state standards.

One method would be to provide a standards-aligned online course of study students could take on their own time. That, along with the regular state-mandated physical fitness test, would meet California Education Department mandates, said Assistant Supt. of Educational Service Anais Wenn.

Wenn and Sinnette explained students who opt out would not be allowed to remain on campus during sixth period, to avoid creating a need for staffing or supervision. Board members directed Wenn to continue refining language with the districts legal counsel before bringing the item back for approval.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardineSeven horses draped in brightly colored silks thunder across the shadow of the splendid San Gabriel Mountains in a breathtaking combination of beauty and speed.

The small crowd is silent.

Im holding my breath, says race-goer B.J. Ravitz.

Its the first race at Santa Anita Park in nearly a month, a close contest, powerful animals dueling down the stretch, dirt flying, jockeys bobbing, high drama.

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There are few cheers in a sea of stares.

Everyone is worried about the horses, said Abe Ravitz, the husband of B.J. All Im thinking is, if anything untoward happens today 

The race ends clean, all seven horses crossing the finish line, and only then is there audible applause from the crowd, a reaction seemingly generated by the one outcome that everyone here is betting on.

No horse died.

OK, said racegoer Frank Reynoso, taking a deep breath. Thats one.

It was that kind of a tightrope afternoon Friday as Santa Anita opened its doors for the first time since March 5, after 22 horses died in a little more than two months of its winter/spring meet, a 214% increase from the same span the year before.

The Stronach Group, owners of the track, has since made minor modifications to a track that was badly compromised with the unseasonably rainy winter weather. They also have revised medication policies and proposed prohibiting jockeys from using the whip unless for safety reasons.

But because there was no clear reason for the deaths, there could be no clear answers. Thats why so many people showed up at the track Friday with nerves jangling and fingers crossed.

For now, there is relief. In eight races, there were no fatalities, which brought a giant collective sigh. But everyone agrees that the healing of whats arguably Southern Californias most picturesque sporting venue is just beginning.

This is going to take a while, said horse owner Samantha Siegel, sitting in a near-empty terrace section. The public is probably a little shell-shocked at whats going on. Weve gotten a lot of bad exposure from everywhere. Were going to need to go a long time without having something horrible happen.

The crowd was reminded of the trouble before even entering the track, as several dozen protesters stood on a grassy area outside the front gate waving signs and chanting.

You say the track was safe to use but nothings changed, you bet, they lose, they sang.

One of the signs read, Stop Killing Horses. One of the protesters was dressed in a horses head, and the message was clear.

Horse racing needs to be abolished said Heather Hamza, leading what she called a group of concerned citizens backed by the group known as Horseracing Wrongs. The world is watching this track. Every horse that is killed here will make big headlines. We need to be part of those headlines because were telling them to stop it.

Hamza and her group urged the race-goers to look beyond the beauty of the sport.

When youre watching a horse race, its magnificent, its beautiful, its breathtaking, she said. But that doesnt mean theres not a dark, dirty, gritty underbelly behind it.

Once inside, fans were met with the usual promising announcements  Welcome to Santa Anita Park! The track is fast and the turf course is firm!  and folks cheered the return of ailing trumpeter Jay Cohen. But it wasnt the same.

While the typically loud racetrack cheering returned in later races, there was a pall over the place as everyone tried to adjust.

1 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 14 Valentina Pereira, 2, left, tries on her dads jockey helmet, Tiago Pereira, right, before his race as Vincent Talamo, 2, watches while holding a racing program as Santa Anita resumes racing at Santa Anita Horse Park in Arcadia, Calif., on March 29, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 14 Fans cheer on their horses while watching the sixth race as Santa Anita opening day resumes racing at Santa Anita Horse Park in Arcadia, Calif., on March 29, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 14 Horses go through early morning training as Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 14 Amanda Lundberg protests the reopening of the horse racing at Santa Anita Park. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 14 Protestors rally against the reopening of the horse racing at Santa Anita Park. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 14 Bugler Jay Cohen, who is playing his 31st year, starts race day as Santa Anita resumes racing. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 14 Horsesbarrel out of the gate as racing resumes at Santa Anita Park. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 14 Marckies Water, left, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, comes in third and Beach View, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, comes in second during the seventh race at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 14 Discrete Stevie B ridden by Aaron Gryder wins the first race as racing resumes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Were saddened by everything that has happened, said Reynoso, a retiree. The sport is so great, the horses are so beautiful, its been hard to see.

Reynoso paused and added, But theyre going to race whether were here or not, and we love it here, so were coming.

In the first race, Reynoso bet on a horse named Ride Out The Storm.

That could be a great name for what could happen here, right? he said.

The horse finished fifth, 16 1/4 lengths behind Discrete Stevie B, ridden by jockey Aaron T. Gryder, who later said he was just glad to be back.

I love getting on the horse, the feeling that I get, becoming one with them, the fast speed, communicating with them, I love it all, Gryder said. Its unfortunate what happened, but they are not only taking care of the things that might be wrong, but theyre being proactive so that other things cant occur.

Gryder was asked if he was holding his breath for his horses health. He said no, implying that it would be impossible to ride with death on your mind.

Thats not something that can be thought about, he said. I want only the best for these animals. Theyve given me the best in my life.

Gryder added, Everybody wants the same thing  horsemen, jockeys, trainers, backside, management. Everybody cares most about the safety of horse and riders.

Doug ONeill, a two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer, echoed that sentiment from his suite.

For the first time in my more than 30 years here, I saw today where the majority of horseman are on the same team rooting for each others horses to compete well and come back safe, he said. We just want horses to be safe, and were taking it one race at a time.

Even after the eight races had gone off safely, Santa Anitas boss agreed it had been a difficult day

Its hard to get excited about being back when we had such a bad run of catastrophic injuries, said Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer for The Stronach Group. You have to really look at yourself and say, are we doing the right thing, how can we get it better, how can we improve it?

He acknowledged the somber atmosphere was not only expected but almost by design.

It was kind of a quiet introductory, he said. It wasnt like we went out and marketed and said, Cmon on back here.

So, once again, theyre off and running at Santa Anita. But to where, who knows?

Sign up for our daily sports newsletter 

bill.plaschke@latimes.com

Get more of Bill Plaschkes work and follow him on Twitter @BillPlaschkeVenezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido risked arrest to cross the border into Colombia on Friday to appear at a massive benefit concert.

The concert and Guaidos appearance were part of a campaign to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to let tons of humanitarian aid into his country. The same day, on Venezuelas border with Brazil, the aid showdown led to the deaths of two people after Maduros troops opened fire on indigenous activists.

Guaido appeared at the end of a Live Aid-style concert that attracted more than 200,000 people. Later he spoke out against Maduro at a news conference with Colombian President Ivan Duque, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Paraguayan President Mario Abdo.

The heads of state joined diplomats, musicians and others who streamed into this border city, site of the U.S.-backed effort to undermine Maduro by forcing the entry of massive supplies of food and medicine into the country.

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The news conference took place in front of a warehouse, stocked with aid for Venezuela, on the Colombian side of the Tienditas bridge. Guaido said more than 1 million volunteers were ready to distribute aid throughout Venezuela, but did not explain how it would get through, given Maduros vow that its poisonous contents would never enter the country.

Guaido denounced the dictatorship of Maduro and proclaimed that Venezuela was poised for liberty.

Guaidos decision to cross into Colombia could subject him to arrest in Venezuela, where he is under investigation and has been forbidden to leave.

Whether Maduros government would risk arresting Guaido remains to be seen. The Trump administration would likely view such a move as a provocation.

U.S. officials, who are backing Guaido and calling for Maduro to step down, have warned the Venezuelan government that it could face serious repercussions should any harm come to Guaido.

Guaido, 35, is the leader of the opposition-dominated National Assembly. He was little known even in Venezuela until he declared himself president on Jan. 23, reportedly with U.S. encouragement.

He denounced Maduro  who won reelection in a disputed vote amid a crumbling economy  as a usurper. The Trump administration soon recognized Guaido as Venezuelas legal president.

Hours before the benefit concert and a dueling one on the other side of the Colombia border, a clash over aid deliveries on Venezuelas border with Brazil left at least two dead, according to U.S. officials.

Venezuelan troops opened fire on an indigenous group from the village of Kumarakapay that was seeking to get aid into the country a day after Maduro closed the border with Brazil, according to news reports.

Elliott Abrams, the Trump administrations special representative for Venezuela, said Friday that the two killed near the Brazil border were Venezuelan citizens. Abrams, speaking to reporters near aid stockpiles in Cucuta, called the killings a crime and a disgrace.

In his comments at a blockaded bridge to Venezuela, Abrams seemed to recognize that the policy of trying to force aid into Venezuela in the hope of hastening Maduros ouster might not succeed.

What do we do if the  former government of Maduro does not fall tomorrow? We continue.

The U.S. strategy seems dependent on a possible move by the Venezuelan armed forces to defy Maduro and allow the food and medicine brought by U.S. Air Force cargo jets to enter via the Colombia border.

Guaido recently ordered the military to allow the aid in. But the military top brass has repeatedly affirmed its support for Maduro, despite some recent, limited defections.

Satellite images show how aid is blocked from reaching Venezuela 

In Cucuta, a city of about 800,000 long tied economically and socially to Venezuela, Friday was a day both of spectacle and of mounting uncertainty.

Concertgoers, both Colombian and Venezuelan, began arriving early to the venue, set up alongside the blockaded Tienditas bridge leading to Venezuela. Many carried Venezuela flags or caps with the national colors. Some had painted their faces with the Venezuelan national colors  yellow, blue and red.

The site offered views of both Venezuela and the warehouse complex where the hundreds of tons of U.S.-donated aid was stored.

Many attendees were music lovers, there for more than 30 acts, but this was a clearly political event called for by the opposition and backed by British billionaire Richard Branson.

This is a message for Maduro, said Jaime Salas, 43, who said he crossed from Venezuela and was selling Venezuelan flags and other items with the colors of his homeland. He should listen to the people. It is time for Maduro to go.

In Caracas, Venezuelas capital, authorities appeared to cut television transmission of the concert, and internet coverage was spotty.

The Maduro government held its own hands off Venezuela concert on its side of the Tienditas bridge. The event did start at 3 p.m. local time, about five hours after it was projected to begin. Local news reports estimated the crowd at about 1,000. Maduro had also vowed that his government would deliver thousands of boxes of foodstuffs for the poor of Colombia.

Venezuela has for years suffered from a lack of food and medicines, contributing to an exodus of some 3.4 million people, many of them in recent years, according to the latest United Nations estimates.

Maduro has dismissed aid efforts as a cheap show and prelude to a U.S. invasion.

His government this week halted air and sea travel to the island nation of Curacao, another hub for international aid, and has threatened to close the border with Colombia.

Food isnt just a dire need in Venezuela  it has become a major political tool 

John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, has labeled the left-wing governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua the troika of tyranny, leaving no doubt that the Trump administration seeks changes of leadership in all three long-time adversaries.

Pinera and Abdo, who appeared with Guaido, are among the right-leaning heads of state  along with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro  who have emerged in the aftermath of the so-called pink tide of center-left leadership that briefly held sway in much of Latin America.

Maduro has accused the Trump administration of seeking to grab Venezulas oil and reassert U.S. hegemony throughout the region.

The Trump administration, which is openly and aggressively supporting Guaido and advocating the removal of Maduro, is throwing its weight into the border mix by dispatching Abrams to Cucuta.

Abrams has a long, controversial background in covert operations to overthrow leftist governments on behalf of Republican presidents, and his recent appointment to the Venezuela portfolio raised eyebrows.

Vice President Mike Pence is also heading to the region, expected to arrive in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Monday.

Pence on Friday joined fellow evangelical Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham, in a conference call prayer session for Venezuela.

Lets be sure to pray, especially in the next few days ... for the people of Venezuela ... people of faith, Pence said on the call, which organizers said involved the participation of more than 1,300 people.

Let us pray to God, Graham said, to give wisdom to the vice president and in the decisions he is making.

Let us pray there will be peace in Venezuela and new elections.

Staff writer McDonnell reported from Cucuta and special correspondent Kraul from Bogota. Staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington and special correspondents Mery Mogollon in Caracas and Liliana Nieto del Rio in Cucuta contributed to this report.Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied in the Gaza Strip on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of their mass protests along the Israeli border, as the territorys Hamas leaders largely restrained the crowds ahead of a hoped-for cease-fire deal.

Demonstrators largely kept their distance from the border, though small crowds of activists approached the perimeter fence and threw stones and explosives toward Israeli troops on the other side. The forces responded with tear gas and opened fire, killing three Palestinians and wounding 64.

Hamas had pledged to keep the crowds a safe distance from the fence as Egyptian mediators were working to cement a deal that Hamas hopes will ease a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the crowded territory. Hamas officials say Israel is offering a package of economic incentives in exchange for calm along the volatile border.

Khalil Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said the group had received positive signs from the Egyptians. He added that the Egyptian team was to return to Israel on Sunday to continue the talks. We will continue our marches until all our goals are achieved, he said.

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Saturdays protest comes at a sensitive time, with Israel and Hamas, bitter enemies that have fought in three wars and dozens of smaller skirmishes, both having a strong interest in keeping things quiet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of former army chiefs who have criticized what they say is his failed Gaza policy. With a lack of alternatives, Netanyahu has been forced at times to rely on Hamas to maintain stability along Israels volatile southern front.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Netanyahu needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas. Netanyahu took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza.

Hamas, meanwhile, faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of worsening conditions after more than a decade of the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. The two countries imposed the blockade in 2007 after Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israels destruction, seized control of Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

The blockade has helped drive unemployment over 50%, led to chronic power outages and made it extremely difficult for Gazans to travel out of the territory.

Earlier this month, Hamas violently suppressed several days of public protests, staged under the slogan, We want to live, over the dire conditions.

Speaking on the groups Al Aqsa TV station, Hamas top leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, praised the protesters. With this big turnout, our people say, We want to live!

His use of the protesters slogan appeared to be aimed at diverting the recent criticism of his group. Hamas blames the blockade and punitive measures by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority for worsening the living conditions.

The yearlong border protests have been aimed in large part at breaking the blockade, but havent delivered major improvements.

Saturdays demonstrations were held at five rallying points along the border with Israel. Dozens of volunteers in fluorescent vests were deployed to restrain demonstrators, and cool rainy weather also appeared to moderate enthusiasm.

But as the crowds swelled throughout the afternoon in response to Hamas calls for a large turnout, dozens of protesters approached the fence, unfurling Palestinian flags and throwing rocks and explosives toward Israeli soldiers. The Israeli forces responded with tear gas and live fire.

The Israeli military estimated 40,000 Palestinians were at the marches.

The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tires on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence, it said in a statement.

In his own statement, Netanyahu praised the armys preparation and performance in maintaining calm.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 17-year-old protester died immediately after being shot in the face in east Gaza City. In the evening, the ministry said, another 17-year-old died elsewhere hours after being shot in the chest.

A third protester, also 17, succumbed to his wounds and died in the late evening.

Though bloodshed was not avoided, it was far less than previous high-profile protests. More than 60 people were killed during intense protests on May 14, the day the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

As Saturdays protest was winding down, organizers vowed to continue the marches and said they would gather again as usual next Friday.

The military released video footage showing large crowds of protesters gathered near the fence and hurling objects.

Some of the video showed a group of activists going up to the fence and hurling stones at the other side. In another video, a youth could be seen trying to pull apart barbed wire along the fence.

The army also said it caught two Palestinian youths who had tried to cross the border with a knife. The youths were returned to Gaza through a border crossing.

Earlier Saturday, Gaza health officials said Israeli troops shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian man near the perimeter fence, hours before the mass rally.

The army said that about 200 Palestinians rioted during the night along the fence and that the army used riot dispersal means against them.

The marches were initially organized by grass-roots activists who were calling for a mass return to ancestral homes in what is now Israel.

Hamas quickly took the lead in the protests, using the gatherings to call for an easing of the blockade.

The border marches routinely ended in confrontations, with some of the Palestinian demonstrators burning tires, hurling firebombs or setting off explosives and Israeli troops firing live rounds and tear gas.

According to a Gaza rights group and a count by the Associated Press,196 Palestinians were killed in the demonstrations over the last year, including41 minors, and thousands were wounded by live fire. An Israeli soldier was also killed.

Israel says the army has been defending the border. The army accuses Hamas of using the large crowds as cover and encouraging demonstrators to hurl explosives, incendiary balloons and grenades across the border. But Israel has come under heavy international criticism for the large number of unarmed people who have been killed or injured.

Egypt has repeatedly tried to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, stepping up efforts in recent days after a Gaza rocket struck a house in central Israel earlier this week, injuring seven Israelis and threatening renewed escalation.A middle-aged woman from Maryland, USA has become the first person living with HIV to donate her kidney to an HIV negative person in arguably huge medical breakthrough.

Nina Martinez traveled from Atalanta to Maryland and was wheeled into operating room Johns Hopkins Hospital, Maryland in USA on Monday, March 22, to make a difference in someone's life.

The 35-year-old medical consultant disclosed she acquired tested HIV positive when she was only six through blood transfusion in 1983 as reported by Washington Post on Thursday, March 28.

Society perceives me and people like me as people who bring death. And I cant figure out any better way to show that people like me can bring life, she said ahead of the surgery.

READ ALSO: Tiwa Savage accused of subbing Wizkid in new song, she denies

Nina Martinez who donated her kidney. Photo: CNN News.

Available statistics show at least 116 organ transplant from deceased HIV donors to HIV negative recipients since 2016 in the US, but the latest development is considered strange given sensitivity of kidney.

Recently, London-based patient was confirmed HIV-free following a bone marrow transplant from a HIV-resistant donor.

Doctors had to perform numerous tests on the said patient and they could not find a single trace of the AIDS virus three years after the bone marrow transplant procedure.

READ ALSO: 15 Rare But Remarkable Images Of The Royal Family

Meanwhile, the family of a deceased man identified as Zakhele has come forward, claiming that he died because he believed Pastor Alph Lukau had healed him of HIV - According to the man's sister, he stopped taking his anti-retro viral medicine after the 'resurrection pastor' prayed for him - Zakhele believed he was healed but the virus ended up claiming his life a couple of months ago Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1229954-man-dies-pastor-lukau-allegedly-heals-hiv.html

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Top 4 Reasons to Get Tested For HIV in 2018 on Legit TV:

Source: Legit.ng- Top Nigerian actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekehindes has taken to social media to celebrate her first child, Princess

- Princess clocked 22 on March 30, 2019

- The film star made sure to share gorgeous photos of her child with glowing words to celebrate her

There is nothing more precious than seeing ones child grow up to become a beautiful lady or handsome young man. Parents often sacrifice a lot for their kids and want to see them become better people.

Birthdays are a special time in ones life to celebrate achievements while being thankful for growth.

Top Nigerian actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, recently took to social media via her Instagram page to celebrate her first child, Princess, on her birthday.

Princess clocked 22 on March 30, 2019, and the film star made sure to make the day a special one. Omotola described her daughter as a treasure whose good and kind heart will never be taken for granted.

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The actress took it a step further by also praying for her child as she asked God to bring great and purposeful people her way.

She wrote: "I cant keep calm..... Today is @tolar_ek s Birthday!!! . What a special treasure you are. Your kind and Good heart will Never be taken for granted. God will Only bring Great, Kind and purposeful people your way. I love you Prin prin  . You shall Continue to be the Head and Never the tail. God bless you and Congrats!!!"

See her post below:

READ ALSO: The Most Amazing Models From The '80s And How They Look Now

Congrats to the birthday girl.

Meanwhile Legit.ng previously reported that the movie star and her daughter recently stepped out looking gorgeous for a high society wedding in Lagos.

The pretty pair stunned in two different shades of pink with matching headgear popularly known as gele.

The two clearly had a great time at the wedding celebration as Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde took to her Instagram to share numerous photos in which the two posed with celebrities like Toke Makinwa, Chigurl and the mother of the bride, Mo Abudu.

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better.

Top Beautiful Daughters of African Presidents - Mnangagwa, Buhari and Dos Santos | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng- Imams and senior Islamic from across the nation has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to deal with terrorism in the country

- The religious leaders also lamented about the increasing level of criminal and illegal activities in the north-east

- The group of clerics also used the opportunity to congratulate the president on his re-election

Imams and senior Islamic scholars from the 36 states of the country on Friday, March 29, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to extensively deal with terrorist activities in the nation.

The group of religious leader led by Professor Shehu A.S. Galadanci, the head of National Mosque Abuja, said that kidnapping, and other criminal activities are also other problems the north east has been battling with, Vanguard reports.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

The group also used the opportunity of the visit to congratulate the president on his re-election, saying Buhari had an overwhelming victory.

The group said: We thank the Almighty for gracefully and graciously placing Your Excellency in this exalted and elevated position as the leader, the President of this country.

"Thanks be to Him also for giving us this wonderful country with numerous bounties such as fertile land, minerals and human resources.

This group of Ulama who represent the entire Ulama in this country are here today to congratulate Your Excellency Sincerely for your overwhelming victory at the presidential poll that took place a few weeks ago.

This victory, no doubt, demonstrates that the desire of the majority of Nigerians is to ensure the continuity of your administration to the next level.

After congratulating Buhari, they said they hope the issues of Boko Haram and other illegal activities are wiped out in the country.

They added: We wish to request your excellency that a few additional terrorist activities that have started to spread in this country such as kidnapping...

We hope you will deal with them in the same way you are dealing with Boko Haram.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Buhari on Friday, March 29, met with leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was gathered that the meeting between the president and the CAN leadership was held behind closed doors at the Council Chamber of the State House. NAN also gathered that the religious leaders were in the villa to congratulate Buhari on his re-election for another four years term.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have upgraded to serve you better.

What has changed in Nigeria since the last election? Legit TV

Source: LegitGhanas minister for railway development, Joe Ghartey, has commendably eulogised the Nigerias minister for transport, Rotimi Amaechi for his hardworking after the duo went to inspect railway projects and facilities from Lagos to Ibadan.

Ghartey, who was in Nigeria alongside some parliament members from his home country, admitted that even though he works hard, Nigerias Amaechi works even harder, and this was evident with the level of work that has been completed within a short period of time.

Speaking with Legit.ng on a train ride from Lagos to project sites in the neighbouring states, the Ghanaian minister confirmed that the Chinese consultants described the former Rivers state governor as a workaholic.

READ ALSO: Senators-elect caution Buhari, say Tinubu men must not be allowed to take over NASS

He said: The work that has been done here so far is very impressive. I am happy for Nigeria, at the same time, Im also happy for Ghana. Nigerian and Ghana are intertwined and so far, what Nigeria has done is impressive.

In Ghana, we have the old narrow gauge which we are trying to upgrade to a new standard gauge. Nigeria is a little ahead of us in terms of development but Ghana is also catching up.''

Asked what he has learnt from his visit to Nigeria, he said: Im really impressed with the ministers hands on approach. I work hard, but he works very hard. The Chinese consultants and contractors have said to me that the minister pushed them.

He pushed them to achieve what they didnt think they could achieve. What theyve done is what they themselves thought they couldnt do.

I think that its all about the leadership, because the minister works alongside the presidency. Im happy that our African leaders are reaching the point where they realise that transportation is one of the keys to economic development.

In his remarks during the train ride, Amaechi revealed plans by the federal government to ensure that the new standard gauge is accessible for all Nigerians even though the fares are yet to be decided.

He said: The Ghanaian minister is here to see what weve done and probably supervise us. We will go back to them and see what theyve done too.

''The key thing is the bi-lateral relationship between both countries, and if we partner well, we will enjoy the benefits together because its a bit intertwined.''

He also explained how the layman will enjoy this newly-improved standard gauge, saying: We have not fixed the price, how much we want people to pay; from Lagos-Abeokuta or from Lagos-Ibadan, but it will certainly be cheaper than the roads.

We have so far maintained the Abuja-Kaduna project, for over two years now and people have been asking is this Nigeria?'

Ahead of President Muhammadu Buharis formation of new cabinet members for his second term in office, Legit.ng correspondent also asked the transport minister if he would gladly retain his office and he was quite positive.

The minister said: After God, were at the mercy of the president, we do whatever he says. If the president says so, I will. Its not about enjoying work as the transport minister, its a directive from the president and if he says I should continue, why not?

Nigerian transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi with Ghanaian minister on the latter's visit to Nigeria

Source: UGC

Senator Gbenga Ashafa, the chairman, Senate committee on land transport, was also present to witness the inspection alongside other dignitaries.

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Meanwhile, the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had received Joe Ghartey, his Ghanaian counterpart in charge of railways development, who was on a visit to Nigeria to inspect the federal government's construction works.

Amaechi, the former Rivers state governor, was expected to take Legit.ng correspondent alongside other journalists across the railway construction sites in Lagos to show the level of progress made by the transport ministry.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better.

Rotimi Amaechi gives a summary of the Buhari Administration | Legit TV

Source: LegitUPDATE: Train crew spotted man walking on tracks, sounded horn but could not avoid fatal collision

A 35-year-old man died after he was hit by a train Friday night, the Lehigh County Coroners Office said.

The victim was pronounced dead at 10:24 p.m. on the railroad tracks east of Route 100 in Macungie, Coroner Eric Minnich said in a news release Saturday.

Authorities were not immediately identifying the victim, pending notification of his family.

The cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries suffered in the collision.

The manner of death -- accidental, suicide, homicide, natural or undetermined -- remained pending further investigation, Minnich saaid in the release.

Macungie police and the coroner's office were continuing to investigate.

Minnich was appointed interim coroner on Wednesday by the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners. He succeeds Scott Grim, who resigned Feb. 28 to become administrator of the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Violent Death Reporting System.

Minnich, who had been first deputy coroner, is running unopposed as a Democrat for a four-year term as coroner this year. The Municipal Primary is May 21 followed by the Municipal Election on Nov. 5.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.A Laois mother has gained a new lease of life after brain surgery reduced her Parkinsons Disease symptoms by up to 80%.

Martina Sinnott from Raheen started experiencing symptoms in 2000. It took three long years before she was diagnosed.

A serious brain operation in London this time last year proved successful and Martina is finding her feet again, getting back to her hobby of walking every day and living her life with minimal medication and bundles of energy.

She is a member and assistant secretary of the East Midlands branch of the Parkinsons Association of Ireland. The group has over 80 members with many from Laois.

Her husband John Sinnott is the chairperson of the group which meets weekly in Abbeyleix and offers support, explores hobbies, goes on summer outings and has a Christmas party every year.

The mother of four has fought Parkinsons head on with the support of her husband, family and everyone at the East Midlands Parkinsons group.

I started getting symptoms first around 2000 and I used to do an awful lot of walking and suddenly enough my toes started to curl in. That was my very first symptoms, I was blaming shoes, I was blaming socks, I was blaming everything and then I got a very bad chest infection which I never had in my life before.I started losing power on my right side and eventually, I got a diagnosis.

Some people say you must have got an awful shock but it is nearly a relief in a way because at least now I had a name for it.

You go into your doom and gloom when you get this diagnosis first you think its the end of the world. I picked myself up I dont know how long it took but eventually one day I was sitting around at home looking at all the things I couldnt do any more. I said there has to be more to life than this so I contacted Fas and did a six-month full-time computer course, she said.

Martina got a job she loved and stuck with it for six years before driving every day got too much for her.

I gave up work and things were progressing pretty fast. About two years ago I decided, the medication wasnt working as well as it should have and I decided with my neurologist that we would see if I was suitable to have the deep brain stimulation surgery.

The doctor in Tallaght was able to do all the assessments here in Ireland and I turned out to be suitable. I went over to London and had my surgery this time last year just a week before Easter, she said.

Martina's surgery was successful and her whole life has turned around since.

I wasnt able to get out of the bed in the mornings without taking an injection and I was on tablets every three hours and thats all gone I don't know myself.

In June last year they took me off all the tablets and I have nothing now except a patch once a day. It has given me a new lease of life, I am back walking two miles a day the difference is unreal, she said.

The local branch of the Parkinsons Association has been a huge support to Martina throughout her journey and now she is encouraging anyone affected to get in touch.

The Parkinsons Association will have an information stall at Laois Shopping Centre, Portlaoise on Saturday, April 6 from 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm.

Chairperson, John Sinnott, said the group is a fantastic support system.

You can feel at home in the group because it is non-judgemental. If you are having an off day everybody understands and nobody will judge a person thats the glory of the group. The support is there without judgement. The awareness event is to let people know we are there and what we are trying to achieve, he said.

Members of the East Midlands branch of the Parkinson's Association of Ireland with tutor Maureen Culleton at their weekly support community meet up inthe Gort na nOir community building in Abbeyleix Picture: Alf Harvey

MORE: Laois mother who received the gift of a lifetimeIrish malt is a true expression of the land in which the barley is grown, the farmers who farm it, and the maltsters who malt it.

In essence, it is akin to what the French prize so highly in wine making; terroir. It is an incredible product which is unique to this Island.

Simply, by its very nature, Irish malt cannot be produced anywhere else in the world. This is why it is so frustrating when Irish-grown grain is not the star ingredient in Irish beers and spirits.

In Ireland, there is no legal requirement to list where the ingredients on alcoholic drinks are from, and even more surprisingly there is no requirements to list any of the actual ingredients that go into making the drink on the label at all.

This, naturally causes a significant problem for allergy suffers who may unexpectedly find nut traces, dairy products or other allergens in their glass.

There is also a broader issue to be discussed. Shouldnt drinks that pride themselves on their Irish legacy and are heavily marketed as such have some responsibility when it comes to sourcing ingredients that are from Ireland?

In light of recent investigations into questionable claims of provenance in the Irish food industry, do we need to demand transparency in where our beers and spirits base ingredients come from too?

It is understandable that if a bottle says Irish whiskey, the consumer might rightly believe that the grain used to make this whiskey comes from Ireland, but this is not the case.

Some drinks producers will say that we do not produce the specialised grain required in Ireland, or that our harvests can be inconsistent which can increase the cost of the grain or render it unavailable.

The truth is Ireland has the capacity to produce excellent grain for both brewing and distilling, and also has the capacity to produce specialised grain and malt if there is a demand for these products.

This is an important issue, not just for the optics that a product that claims to be Irish is made from Irish or mostly Irish ingredients  but if brewers and distillers choose to use Irish grain, they are directly contributing to the livelihoods of Irish tillage farmers.

The growth in the craft drinks industry has the potential to create a demand for Irish-grown grain and for this demand to positively impact directly on farmers lives.

Recently, at a forum at the Alltech Craft Crews and Food Festival organised by The Guild of Agricultural Journalists, Colm Fingleton from the Irish Grain Growers made this very point. He commented that grain growing in Ireland is in crisis, with many farmers struggling to continue due in part to pressure from imported produce.

As small producers who understand the struggle of running artisan businesses, Irish craft brewers are in a position to support other artisan producers by buying Irish grain.

As consumers we can demand this from the brewers we support.

At the same forum, David Walsh-Kemmis from Ballykilcavan Brewery made another compelling point  that the cost of barley in a bottle of his beer amounts to between 3c and 4c.

David is in an almost unique position in Ireland as he grows his own barley, sends it to be malted and then buys his malt back to brew his beer.

He admits that, realistically, this approach adds costs to his production but firmly believes that the advantages far outweigh the additional costs and that what seems like a few cent when we break the costs down to individual bottles can make a huge difference to the grain growers and ultimately the person who drinks his beer.

Overall, using Irish grain is mutually beneficial, for farmers, brewers and consumers.

Consumers get an excellent product, brewers get to use superb, high-quality ingredients and farmers have a sustainable business model.

The increased use of Irish grain may even spawn ancillary industries such as maltsters. This should be the way forward for all Irish craft drinks.

Judith Boyle is a qualified chemist (MSc) and accredited beer sommelier. Susan Boyle is a playwright, artist and drinks consultant. See www.awinegoosechase.com. Both sisters are proud to be fifth-generation publicans. Their family business is Boyles bar and off-licence in Kildare town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.Failte Ireland will invest 15.5million through the local authorities to boost the attractiveness and tourism appeal of up to 62 towns across the country.

Through the scheme, Leitrim County Council, will be able to bid for funding of between 250,000 and 500,000 to develop up to two towns in their area which have the potential to become a destination town for tourists.

With Failte Ireland research consistently showing that attractive towns and cities are key motivators for overseas holidaymakers coming to Ireland, the new scheme will provide funding to councils to enhance public spaces such as squares, streetscapes and markets in a way that will engage tourists and enhance their experience in key towns.

This could include spaces for food and craft markets, areas for town centre events, public art displays as well as orientation and signage to help visitors explore a towns local heritage.

The destination towns will need to demonstrate their capacity and appeal to attract more international visitors to stay overnight and have at least one visitor attraction of scale, a range of things to see and do for two days and a selection of accommodation.

The scheme will officially open in April for applications from local authorities and will close in September. Failte Irelands regional teams will work with each Local Authority to identify towns in every county which have the potential to grow their tourism economy.

Also read: Bringing Leitrim and the Wild Atlantic Way to GermanyLIMERICK city students have nabbed themselves two places in the grand finals of a national fashion innovation competition by transforming disposable rubbish into one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces.

Students at Colaiste Nano Nagle, on Sexton Street, are through to the national finals of Junk Kouture, an all-island competition that challenges secondary school students to turn everyday waste materials into original works of couture.

We are incredibly proud of our students and their teachers, Sarah Nestor, art teacher, and Suzanna Donoghue, home economics teacher, Colaiste Nano Nagle principal Sinead Moloney said.

Both teachers worked collaboratively to unleash the full potential of the girls.

We are now really looking forward to supporting the girls in the grand finals, she added.

Romeing the Nile, which uses disposable towels and wipes to question our throwaway society, was created by students Abbie OKeeffe, Lauren Kelly and Feruza Rameto.

The group was inspired by the destructive nature such disposable materials have on the earth and its inhabitants, while paying tribute to the art, architecture and sculpture of ancient civilisations that worshipped the earth.

Wipe Out, inspired by the waste products left behind by using face and baby wipes, was created by student designers Nancy Ekhator, Leah Cosgrave and Nikoletta Kosma.

Fashion designer Olivier Rousteing and Beyonce were the main inspiration for their piece, which also used a collection of hard materials like bolts and jewellery to give the piece an armoire effect.

Now in its ninth year, Junk Kouture blends together fashion, design, engineering and sustainability into a creative contest for students. At the Southern regional finals, held at the University Concert Hall Limerick, 1,500 entries were whittled down to 85 designs to progress to the national finals in May.

A design created from 300 milk cartons cut, tessellated and connected together was crowned the overall winner of the competition last year.

Since it was launched, the competition has captivated over 24,000 students, 7,000 teachers and 100,000 audience members.

The Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture Grand Final takes place on May 2 at the 3Arena. More info can be found on boijunkkouture.comA WOMAN has been awarded 20,000 by the Labour Court for discrimination after she went on pregnancy-related sick leave while working for a hair salon in County Limerick.

The complainant, Helen Ahern, who worked in the barber section of Crocs Hair and Beauty, in Clarina, was previously awarded 6,000 by an adjudication officer.

The officer determined that the business had discriminated against the complainant by not offering her the same hours of work on her return to work following a period of absence due to pregnancy-related illness.

Both Ms Ahern and the respondent, Teresa Cross (Shanahan), owner of the salon, appealed the adjudication officers decision.

Ms Cross, who has been owner of the salon since 2010, appealed on the basis that the officer erred in fact and in law, while Ms Ahern appealed on the grounds that the award was too low.

The Labour Court hearing took place on January 23 this year.

Ms Ahern, who commenced working for Crocs in December 2013, told the court that she announced her pregnancy in February 2015 to Ms Cross.

She alleged that Ms Cross replied: I know, your arse is fatter and you are very young.

Sarah Treacy, of Peninsula Business Services, representing Ms Cross, denied that Ms Ahern was subjected to any form of discrimination and that Ms Cross denied the alleged comments that were made when Ms Ahern announced her pregnancy.

That April, Ms Ahern commenced sick leave due to pregnancy-related illness, and was certified fit to return to work by a doctor in July 2015, she stated.

When she told Ms Cross she wished to return to work, she said she was told that she could work four hours per day. She told the court that she was anxious to return to her normal hours.

The complainant alleged that her employer said that she was not reliable and as she would be commencing maternity leave before Christmas, she would have to be replaced and that it was too much hassle.

The complainant stated that the respondent advertised for a part-time stylist/barber in the local newspaper in August 2015, which she claimed was her position.

Ms Treacy said it was notable Ms Ahern was on illness benefit prior to and after the July meeting, and that she must have been deemed medically unfit to work.

Ms Ahern said that she had to continue claiming the benefit as she had no other income, she said in cross-examination.

When asked about the four hours a day, she indicated that those hours would not suit her due to the costs involved in travelling for so little reward.

Ms Cross said at the time of this claim, there were a number of staff members on maternity- and sick-leave. She said she worked around the complainant and did what suited her.

She said that on occasions, she had to close the salon due to staff shortages at this time. In relation to the July meeting, she said the complainant said that as she would be absent again, she was only seeking a few hours work.

Michael Purtll BL, instructed by Frances Twomey & Co solicitors, asked Ms Cross about the newspaper advertisement. She said that she needed workers and the complainant was out on sick leave.

She said that the complainant had no fitness to work cert, that she attempted to contact Ms Ahern and that she made no effort to contact her.

Ms Cross said she was receiving sick certs from the complainant and, therefore, she could not compel Ms Ahern to work even though she had work available for her, the Labour Court heard.

The Labour Court found the respondents evidence unsatisfactory and lacking in candour in many material respects and the complainant gave honest evidence to the best of her recollection.

The court said it was satisfied that the respondents efforts to seek a new employee when Ms Ahern was ready to return to work after her illness undermines the respondents credibility.

The court said that an inference of discrimination had been made and the onus of proving the contrary shifts to the respondent.

Having considered all of the evidence in this case, the court is fully satisfied that the respondent has failed to discharge the burden that it bears. Accordingly, the complainant is entitled to succeed.

The court determined that the adjudication officers award should be increased to 20,000 for the effects of the discrimination suffered by the complainant.A LIMERICK student made the finals of a national speech writing competition for an inspiring piece of work on womens rights.

Bernitta Ohaa, a student at Villiers Secondary School, was highly commended in the national ActionAid Speech Writing Competition 2019.

Ten student finalists emphatically delivered their speeches in front of a panel of judges at the final, held in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.

This is the fifth year of the Speech Writing Competition, ActionAid Ireland chief executive Siobhan McGee said.

We received our most entries to date and are humbled by the effort and enthusiasm that goes in to every entry.

This years finalists displayed excellent knowledge and understanding of the importance of championing womens rights across the globe, she added.

The competition is part of ActionAids womens rights programme, funded by Irish Aid, which promotes engagement with the Irish public to raise awareness about these global issues.

The womens rights programme, which was nominated for a Dochas innovation award in 2018, works to end early girl marriage, prevent gender-based violence, gain land rights for women and help children receive an education.

ActionAid Ireland uses a Behaviour Change approach to this work in Ethiopia, Kenya and Nepal; the approach has helped participating women and girls, men and boys, and traditional and cultural leaders to move away from damaging behaviours.

The speeches were judged on delivery, writing skills and understanding of the topic.

Limerick student Bernitta gave an inspiring speech on womens rights but was just pipped to the post by the two winning students, Clodagh Boyce and Kirsten Soney-Ituen.A JUDGE dismissed a legal action taken by a Limerick woman who claimed she was injured when she slipped on a wet floor at a supermarket in the city.

Noreen Casey, 44, of Bay 6, Clonlong, Southill sued the Dunnes Stores following an incident at its Childers Road store on November 6, 2015.

Ms Casey told her barrister Jack Nicholas she had paid for some items at the tills when she decided to return to the deli counter to get a spoon for her grandchild.

She said she injured her left knee and ankle when she slipped and fell after she turned and walked away from the counter.

She was walking in a straight line when her leg goes from under her, said Mr Nicholas.

Ms Casey said two members of staff assisted her after she fell but that she declined further help before leaving the store.

When asked how she is now, she told Mr Nicholas she still suffers some pain in her leg and continues to take some Paracetamol.

Being cross-examined by Donal ORourke BL, representing Dunnes Stores, the plaintiff accepted she was injured in a road crash a number of years ago and that she received damages as a result of the accident.

While she insisted the floor was wet, she accepted the members of staff who assisted her following her fall stated it was not immediately afterwards.

The two employees told the court they checked the floor following the incident and found no evidence of dampness, condensation or any other hazard.

The floor was examined  there was no wetness, it was not damp, there was no condensation, said Mr ORourke.

There was nothing on the floor, we checked it, said one of the workers.

Mr ORourke said it was Dunnes Stores case that Ms Casey fell as she turned and that what happened was simply an accident for which it could not held liable.

Having viewed CCTV footage of the incident, Judge Sean ODonnabhain said he was satisfied there was no spillage (on the floor) and that Ms Casey fell as a result of an accident.

He added that the evidence of the Dunnes Stores employees was consistent with the footage and that the company was not liable for what happened.

The witnesses have a correct recollection of what happened, he said as he proceeded to dismiss the action. Judge ODonnabhain awarded Dunnes Stores its costs.THERE will be sessions full of stanzas throughout the month of April, as 26 events and 44 performers take hold in the city.

The Limerick Writers Centre officially opened poetry month this week.

And over the 30 days of next month, Limericks biggest and brightest poetry festival will fill the street and intimate venues of Limerick.

The centre has teamed up with Limerick City and County Council for the festival, which will celebrate the citys thriving poetry and spoken word scene.

This year, for the first time, there will be poet laureate attached to the festival.

The first man to get the honour this year is Kenmare-based poet John Sexton, who last year received his seal of office from Mayor James Collins.

Mr Sexton will be visiting a number of schools across Limerick, giving them the experience of seeing poetry as a living art form that anyone, no matter what age, can participate in.

And even more excitingly, he will be writing a special poem for Limerick, written by the people of Limerick themselves.

For the last few months, the Writers Centre have received words, lines and phrases which sum up what Limerick means to them.

Mr Sexton will edit and compile these submissions into one poem for Limerick, entitled Limerick Is....

It will be read at the end of the month.

Dominic Taylor, the founder of the Limerick Writers Centre, said their festival is slightly different to others.

We continue to encourage and challenge people to look at and use poetry as an antidote to the turmoil and chaos we continually see around us. In this imperfect world, poetry can be a refuge, a beacon, a repository of energy from which we can draw. It is our hope that through events like these, poetry is given a higher profile and seen and read in places not typically associated with poetry, he said.

As part of the festival, the now famous Poetry Wall installation will be on place on the wall of the Exchange in Nicholas Street.

It will give a home to 30 poets and 30 poems for the month.

Among the performers in the city will be Welsh poetry trio the Rockhoppers, American poet Sandy Yannone, while two events will celebrate the celebrated local poet Michael Hartnett, who died 20 years ago this year.RESCUE crews prevented two separate river emergencies in Limerick on Friday night, as teams responded to two incidents at the same time.

The Limerick Land Search Team received reports of a woman in distress near the Abbey River at 10.11pm on Friday night.

As the team responded, one of the groups members was less than a minute away from the site.

The crew member was able to get to the scene quickly and talked the woman away from entering the water.

Thankfully a successful result for the unit this evening, Limerick Land Search Team Calvin Prendergast said.

At the same time, Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention also had a successful intervention with an incident on the River Shannon.

Gardai and the National Ambulance Service were also in attendance.

If you have been affected by this story contact

Aware (1800 80 48 48)

The Samaritans (116 123)

Pieta House (1800 247 247)

The Limerick Land Search Team (085-1800922)A 98-YEAR old true GAA legend, who delighted Limerick fans with his enthusiasm for his county when the senior hurlers took home the Liam MacCarthy Cup last August, has sadly passed away.

John Hunt, a native of Athea, County Limerick, travelled almost 6,000 km from Chicago to watch his beloved Limerick take on Galway in the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final last August.

With deep sadness we regret to inform you of the passing of a true GAA legend, John Hunt. We extend our sincerest and deepest sympathies to his entire family and friends on their great loss. May he Rest In Peace https://t.co/HcjP0pfWxI March 30, 2019

One of his dreams come true last August when he travelled back to Ireland to watch his native Limerick win the Liam MacCarthy Cup after a 45 year wait, the Limerick Hurling Club in Chicago said.

Mr Hunt was one of the founding members of the GAA club and he was named as the first chairman of the club in 1959.

John will never be forgotten in The Chicago Limerick Hurling Club. You are in our thoughts and prayers, the club said.

Following the All Ireland Final, John Hunt welcomed the team back to Limerick from the front of Colbert Station when the victorious hurlers were welcomed home to the city after their win.

An elated Mr Hunt also went on to steal the show on the RTE Late Late Show, when he was given the chance to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup after a 45-year wait.

Speaking with the Limerick Leader last August, Mr Hunt said the historic win had brought him untold joy.

As far as Im concerned, the way I feel now, everyone of those players should go straight to heaven, John said. .

Straight through. Ill tell you, because they have brought joy to the Limerick man all over the world. Whether he was in New York, San Francisco, Dubai, it makes no difference; they brought joy to the Limerick man.

Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis.



Children with poor oral health are nearly twice as likely to find it difficult to socialise with others, The Hidden Impact of Oral Health on Childrens Lives Global Report reveals.

In the first-ever global study looking at the wider impacts of oral health on childrens lives, Pepsodent Toothpaste has produced evidence that the quality of a childs oral care has repercussions beyond just health.

The report which was released as part of the annual World Oral Health Day celebrations by the brand, also found that tooth decay and other oral health diseases can cause knock-on effect on the potentials of children.

According to the report, children with poor health dont just suffer bad breath, cavities and pain; poor oral health in childhood also causes hidden damage which limits their overall potential during education and beyond.

The report is based on new research commissioned as part of the brands ongoing mission to actively improve oral health for children and adults worldwide.

Speaking on the benefits of oral health for children, Head Dentistry Division, Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria, Dr Bola Alonge noted, Oral care puts tooth decay and other oral diseases in check just as it helps to boost the potential of children and make them participate actively in academic and extra-curricular activities. The well-being of children should be handled with a sense of purpose; thus it is vital to make them appreciate oral hygiene from tender ages. This will help to protect their future.

Speaking on the research Dr Timi Akinmuda, a renowned dentist of the Blanche Dental clinic stated Children not going for routine checkups are twice as likely to experience pain. Most childrens dental visits are for oral health problems, not check-ups, thereby contributing to them linking dental checks to anxiety.

Most parents & children also claim to brush twice a day, but some parents occasionally reward their children with skipping brushing. These children are more likely to suffer from pain. We must therefore instill the importance of habitual and proper twice a day brushing

Speaking on the findings of the research, Category Manager (Oral Care), Unilever Nigeria Plc, Toluwaleke Salu said: The results from the paper make a compelling, evidence-based case that a childs oral care has a link with self-esteem. Parents should therefore take their childrens oral health seriously by ensuring their children brush twice a day regularly to prevent the repercussions. 

She added: Ultimately, Pepsodent Toothpaste has been able to prove the impact of oral care on a childs confidence and sense of self-worth by showing that a healthy smile takes you further.

Speaking on the reason the research was carried out by the brand, Feranmi Muraina, Brand Manager Pepsodent Unilever Nigeria said We believe this evidence offers the society new, more compelling reasons to pay attention to brushing their teeth and can drive real behaviourial change around prevention, not firefighting, when it comes to oral health

Pepsodent is a brand of Unilever Nigeria, Pepsodent Toothpaste promises the power of 3 toothpastes in 1 and protects the whole family against cavities.



The Inspector General of Police, Ag. IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu has approved the posting of a new commissioner of police to Akwa Ibom State.

The newly posted police commissioner, CP. Zaki Ahmed, who is the 27th commissioner of police in Akwa Ibom State, took over from CP Bashir Makama who has been redeployed to Ogun State.

The commands public relations officer DSP MacDon Ogbeche who disclosed this in a press statement issued over the weekend said CP. Zaki until his redeployment to Akwa Ibom state was the commissioner of police, Rivers State.

Ogbeche in reeling out the CPs profile said, The Police Boss for the State holds a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Sociology from the Usman-Danfodio University, Sokoto and a Masters Degree in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (MLC) from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.If you are spending the weekend at the South Llano River State Park you may have noticed 42,000 pounds of avocados have hit "guac" bottom.

Texas Parks and Wildlife posted on social media sites Friday afternoon that park employees had collected bags of avocados littering the river near Junction after a crash caused the tasty fruit to spill into the river.On this date in ...

1919: The "homeliest man in the United States Marine Corps" arrived in Albany for a visit, on his way back to New York City to be married. While fighting overseas, Johnny McNamara of White Plains was given the derogatory label by the rest of the Corps and became depressed until he received a care package from the homefront with a warm sweater and a "sweet note." He deciphered the sender's address and name  Violet Goodman of Manhattan  and aimed to make her his, which only led to more ridicule from his fellow fighting men ... until they arrived back in New York City and Violet was waiting at the pier and waving. "Are you really the homeliest man in the whole Marine Corps?" a reporter asked McNamara at Albany's Union Station. "Everybody in the corps says so," he replied, "but to keep me from walloping some of them they add  'but Johnny you got a swell girl for a wife.' "Three months into the Democratic presidential primary battle, the contest has emerged as one of the most wide open in a generation - with multiple candidates showing staying power, enthusiastic crowds at events and money pouring into campaign coffers.

The biggest remaining variable is former vice president Joe Biden, who is moving toward an expected announcement in late April, amid questions about his long record and ability to navigate the modern political landscape.

But the opening stretch has brought some clarity.

As part of the most diverse presidential field ever, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has become the policy pacesetter, while Sen. Kamala Harris of California has demonstrated star power. Both are building organizations prepared to engage in a long race.

One of the uncertainties as the year began - whether Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont would be able to rekindle the excitement that greeted him in his 2016 campaign - has received a resounding reply with a solid group of supporters and impressive fundraising numbers. Many Democratic strategists, including some for other candidates, regard him more seriously today than they did at the outset.

Another question was whether former congressman Beto O'Rourke of Texas could transition his losing 2018 Senate bid into a serious presidential campaign. That was partly answered in the first 24 hours of his candidacy - when he announced he had raised $6.1 million, the biggest haul of any candidate's first day and a sign that he would be among the beneficiaries of a new model of online fundraising.

At the same time, Democratic voters, in their zeal to find an alternative to President Donald Trump, have shown a willingness to look beyond the traditional profile of a potential president - with Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, surging from obscurity to become a factor and, last week, drawing more Google searches than anyone else in the field.

The leftward swing of Democratic voters has been reflected in the issues that have dominated in the past several months, including Medicare-for-all, the Green New Deal climate change proposal and reparations for descendants of slaves, among others. But more-moderate candidates have different views, foreshadowing a battle that will play out in coming months.

As those ideological tussles await, the collective field has continued to be overshadowed by a president who has been at the center of the country's attention for nearly four years and probably will be until November 2020 - and possibly beyond.

The biggest single event of the quarter - and one that eased some pressure on Trump - was special counsel Robert Mueller III's report, which did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's campaign during the 2016 campaign.

The Mueller report has not been made public yet, but already its reported findings - and Attorney General William Barr's decision that a charge of presidential obstruction was not warranted - have changed the parameters for 2020: Democrats probably will have to try to defeat Trump the old-fashioned way - at the ballot box - rather than with an assist from prosecutors or an impeachment process.

The field now numbers 16, and several other people are deciding whether to join the race. The span of the candidates - by gender, race, age and ideology - has highlighted that Democrats are a party in transition, navigating a new landscape and a potentially narrow path through the electoral college.

"Honestly this is the most interesting, unfathomable and formidable field that I can remember," said David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic strategist. "Really, really substantial candidates. Different profiles and approaches. And no clear indication yet which will prevail. It makes for a great campaign. And Democrats need the campaign to sort these things out."

The field includes some of the most accomplished and also some of the least experienced politicians, whose ages cover four decades, from Sanders, 77, and Biden, 76, at one end to Buttigieg and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, both 37, at the other. Trump is 72.

The size of the field, however, complicates the Democrats' efforts to draw a clear contrast with the president. At this point, candidates are busy introducing themselves while Trump has a megaphone to attack them collectively.

Amy Dacey, a former chief executive of the Democratic National Committee, said she worries that no central message is emerging. "The Democratic Party has to show that we're the alternative to the current power structure," she said.

One pressing indicator will be the first-quarter fundraising reports that will begin to emerge before the April 15 deadline. They will not only stratify the field in ways the polls do not but also tell the story of the near-revolutionary way Democrats fund their candidacies.

What once was a world dominated by bundlers and big checks from wealthy individuals is now one in which tens of thousands of small contributions from citizens can continue to fuel campaigns. Sanders used that system to stay in the 2016 race until its end, and O'Rourke did the same during his Senate race.

"The ability to raise millions of dollars in small in increments has become critical," said Guy Cecil, who chairs Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC. "That is a huge change even from four years ago."

The populist mood of Democratic voters also has forced a second notable change in fundraising: Super PACs, which had become a fixture of campaigns and provided a vehicle for rich donors to have a greater effect, have been almost nonexistent this time. But for those who cannot count on the grass-roots, small-dollar support, fundraising remains a time-consuming and laborious part of campaigning.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey spent time in California's Silicon Valley, while Harris has been locking down big donors and holding fundraisers in money hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas and Hollywood. Warren, whose attacks on big banks and corporations have limited her ability to raise large contributions, has tried to turn that problem into an asset, pledging not to hold any such fundraisers.

Biden has been fretting about whether he would be able to raise a large sum of money from the start. His aides have been contacting past supporters, seeking updated phone numbers and making sure donors would be ready. But he hasn't been alone on a ballot since 2008 and, never a prolific fundraiser, he could be hamstrung by a new fundraising environment that rewards candidates who can amass quick sums online.

"What an inversion of how campaigns have been funded before," said Dan Pfeiffer, an adviser to President Barack Obama and co-host of "Pod Save America." "Biden is a former vice president who has been in politics for years - probably knows every bundler, every big donor that has been in politics for decades. And he's worried about being outraised by a former three-term congressman because of online fundraising."

Democratic strategist Jim Messina noted that with expensive states such as California and Texas now near the front of the campaign calendar, there is an even greater premium on the ability to raise sizable amounts of money. "The party that hates money - we just made it more important," he said.

Perhaps because of their diverse challenges, the campaigns have employed vastly different strategies. Some are running a national race, while others have focused more on early voting states. Some are releasing policy after policy, while others are holding listening tours. Some mention Trump often while others treat him like Voldemort, he who shall not be named.

Warren has built up a political battleship of more than 100 staff members - including 65 placed in four early voting states and four advisers helping her pump out policy - albeit one that will require strong fundraising to sustain. Her campaign has kept track of almost everything, including how many people attend her events, the number of selfies she has taken (more than 12,000, at a rate of 450 per hour) and questions she has fielded from voters (199).

Her policy proposals have been aimed at what she calls deep structural changes in the economy and the political system. Yet Warren is also in the unusual position of having her standing decline from pre-campaign expectations, to the point that last week her campaign manager sent out a fundraising appeal spelling out why she is electable.

Harris has drawn among the campaign's largest and most diverse crowds, building upon an ability to ignite a bulwark of the party's base: African American women. She recently announced a plan to significantly increase teachers' pay, a proposal pleasing to another cadre of Democratic voters. But questions remain about her more conservative record as a California prosecutor.

Sanders's resilient corps of supporters - demonstrated at giant rallies in multiple states - has surprised others in the race.

"His strength feels much deeper and more concrete than I anticipated," said a senior staff member in a rival campaign. "That's the biggest thing that feels most telling in this quarter."

Sanders, like Trump, is scrappy and combative, and his ardent, vocal following is intent on antagonizing his rivals. His huge grass-roots fundraising operation will keep him fueled indefinitely. That has spawned fears by some opponents that, like Trump in 2016, he could win primaries with a relatively small plurality in a crowded field.

O'Rourke has started at a frenetic pace, hopping on top of any countertop he could find and quickly cramming several months of campaigning into his first 10 days. During that period, he logged 2,366 miles behind the wheel of a rented Dodge Grand Caravan, holding 51 events across eight states and answering 357 questions from voters.

But fatigue with O'Rourke - and his ability to get Vanity Fair cover treatment - is palpable among rival campaigns. Aides have noted that Harris, too, has stood on chairs, and that Warren has spoken far more specifically about issues. An aide to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York gamely noted that she, like O'Rourke, has run a 5K race. When Gillibrand posted a video online of her lifting weights in a T-shirt - one with the phrase "Just trying to get some ranch," an homage to a viral moment when an Iowan interrupted her appearance in search of salad dressing - it got 1.2 million views.

At this early stage, Democratic enthusiasm about the candidates is one of the most consistent themes and potential positives. One man flew from San Francisco to Waterloo, Iowa, to attend a party for O'Rourke. Two gay men, on their third date, drove eight hours from Tampa to Georgia to see Harris.

"The only conclusion anybody should draw right now is they shouldn't draw any conclusions," said Joel Benenson, a top strategist for Obama and Hillary Clinton, the past two Democratic nominees. "The last campaign we really only had two candidates all the way through. Last time we had a contested race was 2007 and '08. And that started smaller and winnowed down quickly. I can't think of a Democratic field comparable to this."

- - -

The Washington Post's Annie Linskey and Chelsea Janes contributed to this report.LANSING  Women shouldn't consume alcohol during pregnancy, and a piece of legislation would like to drive that point home further.

Passed recently in the Michigan House of Representatives, House Bill 4112 would require businesses that serve alcohol to prominently hang signs that warn of the dangers of drinking while pregnant. HB 4112 is sponsored by Rep. Hank Vaupel, a Fowlerville Republican, who chairs the House Health Policy Committee.

The signs would have to contain the message: "Pregnancy and alcohol do not mix. Drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy can cause birth defects." The goal of the bill is to lower the risk of babies being born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FASD).

The state Liquor Control Commission already provides signs to establishments that say alcohol cannot be sold or served to anyone under the age of 21. The pregnancy message would be added to that sign.

Restaurants could add the message to menus, rather than hanging a sign in the business.

According to a House Fiscal Agency analysis of the bill, 19,300 businesses would be required to display the signs. The agency concluded the bill would not have a significant fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs or any other unit of state or local government.

The exact number of people suffering from FASDs is unknown, as FASDs can be difficult for doctors to properly diagnose, especially when the symptoms are more mild. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 10 pregnant women reported using alcohol in 2015.

Proponents of the bill argue that it would represent a cost-effective, minimally invasive government intervention that will produce a tangible reduction in the occurrence of FASDs.

No arguments opposing the bill were offered in committee.

HB 4112 has been referred to the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee.Investigators scouring black box data believe an automatic anti-stalling feature was engaged before a Boeing 737 MAX jet crashed and killed 157 people in Ethiopia, an administration official said Friday.

The feature, known as MCAS, also was a factor in the October crash in Indonesia, according to investigators. The investigators said inaccurate information from an outside sensor led MCAS to force the nose of the plane down over and over again.

Pilots proved unable to regain control and prevent disaster, and the Lion Air flight eventually crashed in the Java Sea, killing 189 people.

Boeing on Wednesday detailed a software update it said will make MCAS more reliable and less powerful. They also said all MAX pilots would be required to get new training.

Previous evidence found at the Ethiopian crash site showed equipment on the 737 MAX's tail was positioned in a way that would push the plane's nose downward, consistent with the black box finding.

Experts have also said satellite tracking data showed the Ethiopian Airlines plane taking an unusual, upward and downward flight path before it crashed, similar to the MCAS issues with the Lion Air crash in Indonesia.

It was those two pieces of evidence that U.S. officials cited in grounding the planes, after most of the rest of the world had already done so.

Investigators had been scouring the flight data recorder to assess whether MCAS' played a role in Ethiopia. They were essentially trying to see if on-the-ground evidence was consistent with the detailed technical picture gleaned from the black box.

It was, the administration official said.

That's important, because it helps establish that the plane's anti-stall technology is, as experts had predicted, implicated in the crash. But the ongoing investigation will also offer insights into the role the pilots themselves played. The information from the black box was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Nine days after the Indonesia accident, on Nov. 7, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an international emergency order warning that Boeing had discovered an "unsafe condition" that is "likely to exist or develop" in other planes.

The FAA directive said if erroneous data is received by the 737 MAX jet's flight control system, the plane's nose could be pushed down repeatedly. Failing to address that "could cause the flight crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane," pushing the nose down and leading to "significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain," according to the notice.

The notice told pilots that if bad data causes problems to appear, they should "disengage autopilot" and use other controls and adjust other switches to fly the plane.

Ethiopian Airlines officials said their pilots completed all FAA required training before they began flying the 737 MAX jets. Ethiopian's pilots were also briefed on the FAA directive after the Lion Air crash.

Boeing also issued a bulletin Nov. 6 that described how 737 MAX pilots should override the automated system suspected of causing the Lion Air crash.

"It begs more questions about why this crew didn't react properly . . . It also begs to ask why did it happen much earlier on this flight than in Indonesia?" said Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB investigator and FAA safety manager.

Both flights struggled to gain altitude; and both appeared to ascend and descend before crashing. The Ethiopian flight altitude was abnormally low shortly after takeoff from the airport at Addis Ababa. Preliminary data collected by Flightradar24 suggests that the aircraft, which crashed six minutes after takeoff, failed to climb more than 1,000 feet.

"It was at a lower altitude, much lower altitude. And it was airborne for less than half the time" than the Lion Air jet, Guzzetti said. "That is a difference that needs to be explained."

By comparison, the Lion Air flight crashed 12 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta. It was supposed to reach a cruising altitude of 27,000 feet, according to the preliminary report, but the aircraft struggled to gain altitude, limiting the crew's room to gain control before the plane plummeted into the ocean at a reported 450 mph.

As part of their effort to get the planes flying again, Boeing has detailed a software fix that will address concerns that have been raised about the MCAS system in the preliminary investigation of the Lion Air crash.

Boeing's update will change how the system previously worked by relying on feeds from two "angle of attack" sensors, rather than the current one, before it engages. In addition, the system will have more limits on how often it will engage. Boeing also will make changes that prevent the anti-stall program from angling the plane's nose too far downward in its attempts to correct for a possible stall.

- - -

The Washington Post's Lori Aratani, Ashley Halsey III and Luz Lazo contributed to this report.London

On the day Britain was supposed to extract itself from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a third crushing defeat on her exit plan, effectively setting the Brexit process back to the beginning almost three years after Britons voted to leave.

And as routine as defeat has become for May, Friday's vote also underscored Parliament's failure to find a way out of Europe.

Now another deadline for departure is looming, with no clear way forward, raising fears that the country is moving closer to an economically damaging, potentially disastrous exit from the European Union without a deal.

By choosing a symbolic day for the vote, May hoped to whittle down opposition among pro-Brexit lawmakers to her unloved solution on a deeply divisive issue. But despite asking Parliament to vote on only half of her deal  the immediate divorce terms  May's gamble failed.

On Monday, it will be Parliament's turn again. Lawmakers will try to tighten their grip over the process, with the aim of mustering a majority for an alternative path, and then challenging May to make it work.

"The implications of the House's decision are grave," May said, after her loss by the emphatic margin of 58 votes. "I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House."

That was taken as a hint that she is contemplating a general election that would shake up the composition of the House of Commons. But May refused to be more specific.

May's plan would eventually take Britain out of Europe's main economic structures but give it control over immigration from continental Europe.

Brexit hard-liners fear her plan could still keep Britain too closely tied to the bloc, while pro-European critics prefer closer, long-term trading links with Europe, or no Brexit at all.

If Parliament remains deadlocked next week, Britain will face a stark choice: either run headlong into a no-deal Brexit on the new deadline of April 12, or return to Brussels to request another extension from the bloc's leaders.

But as European leaders made clear two weeks ago, the government will have to put forth a strong reason for the delay  presumably time to hold either a general election or, less likely, a second public vote on Brexit, as the process of leaving the European Union is known.Beginning Monday, citizens who arrive for Laredo City Council meetings will have to go through one of two metal detectors directly before entering the council chambers  either through the City Hall first floor lobby, or through the council chamber entrance on Flores Avenue.

Citizens who have a license to carry and wish to enter the council chamber during a designated council meeting will be given a key to place their handgun in a gun locker before entering the council chamber. They can use the same key to retrieve their handgun when they leave the chamber. Only law enforcement will be excepted from this process.In 41 prefectural assembly elections announced Friday for April 7 polls, the winners have been decided without voting in a large number of constituencies.

More than half of all constituencies were without a vote in 12 prefectures, far exceeding seven prefectures from four years ago.

This situation has arisen because of a continuing serious shortage of candidates for local assemblies nationwide. Voters who cannot vote are expressing disappointment, and even the winners deplore the fact that they can not demonstrate their presence.

In Yamagata Prefecture, there were nine no-vote constituencies out of 17.

In Akita Prefecture (14 constituencies), the number of no-vote constituencies reached a record high of eight.

Among them, in the Daisen city and Senboku-gun constituency (five seats), Rokuro Oyama, 59, of the Liberal Democratic Party, the only newcomer among five candidates, received word of his win at his election office, but his smile was awkward.

There were 10 candidates in the 2007 election, which was the biggest battleground in the prefecture. Nevertheless, the constituency finally fell into a no-vote contest in this election.

At an open debate of the five candidates held by the local junior chamber on March 21, only 30 local residents showed up at the 450-seat hall, probably because word had spread that there would be no voting.

"Without voting, I do not know how much voters support my policies," Oyama said.

Voters have mixed feelings. One 69-year-old farmer rushed to Oyama's office and said, "I'm happy for his win, but it would be better if he made appearances around the local area during the election campaign so he could voice our various opinions to the prefectural government."

In the Yamagata Prefecture polls, about 40 percent of voters were denied the opportunity to cast their vote.

There was also a no-vote in the Sagae city and Nishimurayama-gun constituency (three seats), where two constituencies were united, even though the total seats decreased by one from the last election.

A 78-year-old man said, "I want more young people to come forward for the sake of the local community."RABAT, Morocco - Visiting a country used as a launch point for Africans and others trying to reach Europe, Pope Francis took aim Saturday at the world's hardening anti-migrant sentiments and said problems could never be solved by "raising barriers" or "fomenting fear of others."

Morocco has a minuscule Roman Catholic population, but the North African country - separated from Spain by a mere eight-mile wide strip of water - served as a fitting stage for Francis's emphasis on migration.

For Francis, it has become a personal priority that has gained more urgency amid shut-the-door political movements in the United States and across Europe.

Francis also used the visit to highlight Morocco as a moderate example of Islam, and made a case for Christian-Muslim cooperation just two weeks after hate-fueled mosque shootings in New Zealand that claimed 50 lives.

Francis delivered the last of his two speeches Saturday at a Catholic charity that aids migrants, and he met with several from various African nations who typified some of the region's mass migration trends: trying to make it to Europe and waiting for their chance. The migrants at the charity included five young children, who danced for Francis in a short performance.

"Every person has the right to the future," Francis said, at one point looking at those children.

The pontiff, entering the seventh year of his papacy, has become an outlying voice advocating that migrants be welcomed with open arms - a stance that is rare now among political leaders across the West.

But the message was particularly resonant in Morocco, which last year became the primary passageway for migrants trying to reach Europe after the European Union and the hard-line Italian government worked to close off other routes across the Mediterranean.

Moroccan officials have indicated that smuggling networks have shifted, too.

Migration numbers to Europe are down drastically from the peak in 2015. But individual countries still feel pressure. Morocco has faced criticism from humanitarian groups for allegedly rounding up undocumented migrants and transferring them to remote parts of the country.

Spain, meantime, has faced its own dilemmas: Anti-migration sentiment is on the rise ahead of April 28 general elections. And authorities in Barcelona in January prohibited a humanitarian ship from leaving port for a migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean.

Francis, in a recently conducted interview with a Spanish journalist, called it an "injustice" that the Open Arms boat had been prevented from operation. Other governments across Europe have taken steps of their own to curtail the work of NGO rescue vessels.

"Why do they do it?" Francis asked. "To drown them?"

Francis has repeatedly placed migration at the center of his papacy. In 2016, after a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, he ushered 12 Syrian refugees back to Rome aboard the papal plane.

But his remarks Saturday took a broader aim, as Francis described his philosophies on migrants: how they can be exploited; how they should be encouraged to learn the local language; how migrants can only integrate with the absence of "fear and ignorance."

"We know that it is not easy - for those who arrive and for those who receive them," Francis said.

The 27-hour trip is Francis' latest outreach to the Muslim world, following visits to Egypt in 2017 and the United Arab Emirates last month.

Francis described Morocco as a "natural bridge between Africa and Europe," and he was greeted at the airport by King Mohammed VI. The two leaders took separate vehicles - the popemobile and a Mercedes limousine - to a never-completed 12th century mosque, where Francis spoke about improving "mutual understanding" between Christians and Muslims.

"It is likewise essential that fanaticism and extremism be countered by solidarity on the part of all believers," said the pope, who later in the day visited an institute that trains imams and also offers programs for women.

In an joint declaration, Francis and King Mohammed VI made an appeal for another area that has been a hotbed of tensions, calling on Jerusalem to be preserved as a "symbol of peaceful coexistence."

The comments echoed previous statements from the Vatican, which has long advocated for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinian territories. But it comes after recent tensions between Jews and Muslims over a holy site in the city.

Francis and the Moroccan king described Jerusalem as a place where "mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated" among Christians, Muslims and Jews.

"It is our hope, therefore, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed," the short declaration said.Public notices have been part of Americas fabric since the early days of the United States.

In Michigan, though, our public foreclosure notices have been lacking helpful language that used to provide important information to not just the homeowner being foreclosed, but for others in the community.

Its because of litigation against the attorneys placing the foreclosure notices, and it has resulted in notices that dont adequately protect consumers becoming the norm.

The Huron Daily Tribune is joining the Michigan Press Association, Teamsters and Michigan Court Officers and Deputy Sheriffs Association in supporting House Bill 4306, proposed by State Rep. Triston Cole, R-Antrim County.

HB 4306 would amend a section of the Revised Judicature Act to expand public notice for mortgage foreclosures to include information that previously was long-standing practice in the industry to put in notices. Its non-statutory language that assists borrowers, lenders and the public. For borrowers, it would include information about assistance programs. For homeowner, it would help foster higher bids.

Many states specifically require notices contain more information like this to protect the borrower and potential bidders for the property.

Consistent with prior practice and other state and federal laws, the proposed legislation would include the following additional notice requirements:

 Information on how a borrower can contact the lender and attorney representing the lender; information for borrowers in active military service.

 Information on how the borrower can reference the Michigan State Housing Development Authoritys website for information about local resources; street address of the property; and information about auction sales and bidding process, including closing time.

Earlier this week, we ran a column from Brad Thompson, the publisher for Detroit Legal News. He put this situation into perfect context when he said that at time in our democracy when disinformation, half-truths and intentional misdirection are rampant, it can not be more critical to find reliable methods of maintaining an informed citizenry. Public notices  the concept of which has been around since the 17th Century  have served as one such method since before our countrys founding.

We urge readers to call our local representatives and urge them to support HB 4306 to expand public notice for mortgage foreclosure sales to assist all affected parties in making informed decisions.

You can call State Rep. Phil Green at 517-373-0476 if you live in Huron or Tuscola counties, and State Rep. Shane Hernandez at 517-373-0835 if you live in Sanilac County.

Upper Thumb readers  as well as all Michigan residents  deserve to have detailed, informative public notices.Vatican City

Pope Francis has issued sweeping new sex abuse legislation for the Vatican City State and Vatican diplomats that requires the immediate reporting of allegations to Vatican prosecutors, as he seeks to create a model policy for the Catholic Church.

The mandatory reporting provision, while limited in scope to Vatican officials, marks the first time the Holy See has put into law requirements for Catholic officials to report allegations of sex crimes to police or face fines and possible jail time.

Francis also issued child protection guidelines for Vatican City State and its youth seminary, acting after the global sex abuse scandal exploded anew last year and The Associated Press reported that the headquarters of the Catholic Church had no policy to protect children from predator priests.

While the new norms only cover Vatican City State, affiliated institutions and the Holy See's diplomatic corps, they were still symbolically significant and were welcomed by a former seminarian whose case helped spark the reform.

"I see this as something positive," Kamil Jarzembowski told the AP.

The law for the first time provides a Vatican definition for "vulnerable people" who are entitled to the same protections as minors under church law. The Vatican amended its canon law covering sex abuse to include "vulnerable adults" in 2010, but never defined it.

According to the new definition, a vulnerable person is anyone who is sick or suffering from a physical or psychiatric deficiency, isn't able to exercise personal freedom and has a limited capacity to understand or resist the crime.

The issue of whether "vulnerable people" can include seminarians, religious sisters or other adults who are emotionally dependent on clergy has come to the fore in the wake of the scandal over ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a once high-ranking American cleric who molested seminarians, and revelations of priests and bishops around the world sexually preying on nuns.

The new law covers all personnel who live in or work for the Vatican and any abuse that occurs in the Vatican, the 110-acre city state in the center of Rome and its other territories, as well as the Holy See's vast diplomatic corps.

The Vatican's own ambassadors have figured in some of the most scandalous cases of sex abuse in recent years, with papal representatives accused of groping, distributing child pornography and sexually abusing minors in their far-flung posts.

The provisions to punish them criminally are now contained in the city state's criminal code, and are separate from the canon law which also imposes canonical penalties, such as defrocking, for predator priests worldwide.

The law now requires any Vatican public official who learns of an allegation of abuse within the law's jurisdiction to report it to Vatican prosecutors "without delay." Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to $5,615 or, in the case of a Vatican gendarme, up to six months of prison.

Information obtained during confession is exempt from the reporting requirements, in keeping with Catholic doctrine.

"With this document the Vatican wants to send a message that it takes these crimes seriously, wants to prosecute them, to avoid cover up, and also to create an atmosphere that prevents these crimes from happening in the first place," said Ulrich Rhode, a canon law professor at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University.

Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability, an online database about clergy abuse, said any law that protects even a single child is to be applauded. But she faulted its limited scope as reinforcing the Vatican claim that it is only responsible for protecting children in the city state.

"Let's hope (Francis) finds the courage soon to enact new, sweeping laws in this larger jurisdiction," she said.

Many of the law's provisions answer long-standing victim complaints about how they are treated by the church, while also ensuring that the accused are entitled to a defense and efforts to restore their reputations if the claims are not substantiated.

The legislation requires that victims be welcomed, listened to and provided with medical, psychological and legal assistance, and sets the statute of limitations at 20 years past the victim's 18th birthday.

They must be kept apprised of the investigation, a significant point given that victims are usually kept in the dark about canonical sex abuse investigations.

Victims and their families are to be protected from any retaliation.

Mimicking some provisions in place in the U.S. church, the guidelines require background checks for Vatican staff and volunteers working with minors and calls for safe environment training for all Vatican personnel.Maryland transportation officials are pushing for new toll lanes that they say would provide the only affordable traffic relief for the Washington suburbs by allowing motorists to buy their way out of backups on the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270.

But the idea is drawing criticism from leaders in Montgomery and Prince George's counties who say they and residents have been left out of discussions of where and how the lanes should be added - or whether they're the best way to alleviate the traffic misery. In particular, they say, they have been given mixed messages about the risk to homes and businesses if the highways are widened to accommodate up to four new lanes each.

While campaigning for reelection in September, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, told a toll lane opponent in a videotaped exchange at a Gaithersburg parade, "Not a single house is ever going to be taken down."

But Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn has softened that stance. The governor, Rahn has said, asked him to "prioritize and incentivize" bidders to spare homes in their design proposals - wording that some critics say undermines what many had taken as a promise.

Local officials say they have heard from residents worried about whether to try to sell their homes before they could be torn down or end up with a highway sound wall in their backyard.

Montgomery County Council member Tom Hucker, D-District 5, chair of the council's transportation committee, said the state has ignored local concerns on a "relatively radical" proposal.

State officials "basically said they're going to plunge forward," Hucker said. "That has created an enormous amount of fear and anxiety in Silver Spring and elsewhere."

Prince George's County Council chair Todd Turner, D-District 4, said he sees state officials "giving themselves some wiggle room" about potential impacts on adjacent communities.

"There are serious concerns," Turner said. "This has been a top-down approach from the state saying how we need to solve this issue . . . We need to be engaged in this process, and not in a perfunctory kind of way."

Discussion about the state's tolling plan has heated up in recent weeks as state transportation officials briefed the Montgomery and Prince George's councils in advance of public workshops scheduled for April. The meetings are intended to seek public input on seven alternatives that the state has kept for detailed analysis as part of a federally required environmental impact study.

The remaining options focus on choosing between a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane system, which carpoolers may use free, and express toll lanes that require all users to pay. The state recently abandoned transit-based options, such as building dedicated bus lanes.

Next month's public airings probably will not provide the details many residents want. State transportation officials say they won't know if any homes, businesses or private parcels would be affected - or how much it would cost to spare them - until they receive the bidders' design proposals in summer 2020.

"I believe it's doable to not take any homes," Rahn said in an interview Thursday. "I'm hoping the designs avoid all the homes, but we won't know until we get their proposals."

Overall, state officials have said I-270 has more right of way than the Beltway. Rahn said he doesn't "see any areas" along I-270 where homes or businesses would need to be taken.

He told the Prince George's council that "in some cases I think there will be land - land - but not necessarily homes" required for Beltway widening.

The study so far has focused on I-270 between the Beltway and I-370 in Gaithersburg and on the Beltway between the George Washington Parkway in Virginia andRoute 5 in Prince George's, including the notoriously traffic-choked American Legion Bridge. Another part of the study beginning in April will examine adding lanes further north on I-270, between I-370 and Frederick. The Beltway analysis will extend down to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, near the National Harbor.

Rahn said the study will show the number of homes and businesses that would need to be demolished in a "traditional footprint" for each scenario. However, he said state officials believe the bidders will find "shockingly innovative" ways to avoid more properties, such as by cantilevering some lanes over others. He said proposals will be awarded extra points in the selection process for sparing homes.

If all goes according to plan, Rahn said, construction could begin in mid-2022. The opening dates - construction is expected to be staged - would depend on the designs chosen, he said.

Hogan surprised local officials when he announced the highway expansion plan as a public-private partnership in September 2017. He said the state could get $9 billion to $11 billion worth of toll lanes at no cost by partnering with companies that would design, build, finance and operate the lanes' construction in exchange for keeping the long-term toll revenue.

It would be the biggest public-private partnership in the country, Hogan said, and would provide the only affordable relief from backups that extend seven to 10 hours daily.

Another proposal to add toll lanes to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway is on hold unless the state can gain control over the federal government's 19-mile segment of the 29-mile roadway, Rahn said.

Officials in Montgomery and Prince George's say they remain perplexed why the state scrapped the idea of expanding transit, such as beefing up MARC commuter rail or building the long-studied Corridor Cities Transitway bus system in the I-270 corridor.

Moreover, they say, it does not make sense to focus first on expanding the southern portion of I-270 when it is the northern section that bogs down daily where the highway narrows near Clarksburg.

Rahn said not enough motorists are projected to use the toll lanes north of I-370 to pay for their construction. That requires staging the expansion so toll revenue from the Beltway and lower part of I-270 could pay for building the lanes north of I-370, he said.

The state also has made a "huge investment" in the area's transit network, Rahn said, noting construction underway on the light-rail Purple Line inside the Beltway and the state's additional contributions to rehabilitate the aging Metro system.

Even so, he said, expanding transit would not meet the traffic-relief needs under study because that would require ongoing state subsidies and would not alleviate freight traffic.

The tolling plan is also getting attention in the Maryland General Assembly. A legislative proposal that would have allowed counties to veto state tolling projects in their jurisdictions recently died in the House.

Del. Kumar Barve, D-Montgomery, who chairs the House Environment and Transportation Committee, said the proposal would not have passed in the Senate because of concerns that it would set a bad precedent statewide.

However, he said, he and other lawmakers concerned about the toll plan's potential impacts on residents are pushing the Senate to pass other legislation recently approved by the House. It would require the state to complete environmental studies on projects before evaluating public-private partnership proposals on them. That, Barve said, would ensure that projects don't gain too much momentum before being properly vetted.CARACAS, Venezuela - After two Russian military planes landed near Caracas this month, the Trump administration issued stark warnings over President Nicolas Maduro's ties to the Kremlin. But a vessel that arrived in the waters off Venezuela's Caribbean coast a day earlier offered a more telling sign of a deepening relationship that is so alarming to Washington.

Venezuela has the world's largest known oil reserves, with transport and sales of its thick, sludgy crude long dependent on chemical thinners purchased from the United States. After Washington barred U.S. companies from selling them to Venezuela in January - and warned foreign companies to follow suit - Maduro faced a dire predicament: How would he stave off the industry's total collapse?

Like manna from Moscow, an answer arrived in the form of a red-and-black tanker, the Serengeti, that loaded a cargo of thinners off the coast of Malta before arriving in Venezuela on March 22. The company that chartered the vessel: Russia's state-run oil giant Rosneft.

"Relations between Russia and Venezuela are excellent," Alexey Seredin, minister counselor at the Russian Embassy in Caracas, said in an interview. "At the moment, we are working to strengthen cooperation."

The arrival of vital diluents is only one part of an expanding Russian footprint in Venezuela. Moscow is dispatching military personnel and equipment and is acting to offset U.S. sanctions by shipping Venezuelan crude to India for processing. The Kremlin is poised to increase wheat sales and dispatch more medical aid. This month, Venezuela also announced the opening in Moscow of a regional headquarters for PDVSA, its state-run oil giant.

Next week, Seredin said, a senior delegation from Maduro's government will arrive in Moscow to discuss Russian investments in Venezuela's mining, agricultural and transport sectors. Seredin added that the arrival of 99 Russian military personnel on March 23 was part of an effort to maintain Maduro's defense apparatus, which includes Sukhoi fighter jets and antiaircraft systems purchased from Russia.

In a televised event Friday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez inaugurated an "Armed Force Center of Flight Simulations" for Russian helicopters.

"This center, and we say it humbly, can only be found in Venezuela and Russia," he said.

He also announced plans for a Russian Sukhoi MK2 simulator in the Venezuelan city of Barcelona, and insisted that a long-delayed plant to produce Russian rifles would open soon" in Maracay.

In an era of generally warming ties between the Trump administration and Moscow, Russia's deepening involvement in Venezuela is creating a flash point by challenging the U.S. effort to force Maduro from office.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he is likely to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela. Earlier in the day, national security adviser John Bolton was more pointed, issuing a statement that condemned the "introduction of Russian military personnel and equipment into Venezuela" as a "provocative" act and a "direct threat to international peace and security in the region."

Elliott Abrams, the special envoy for Venezuela, declined Friday to elaborate on Bolton's suggestion of military intervention.

"There are a lot of things we can do in economic terms, in terms of sanctions," Abrams told reporters in Washington. "We have options, and it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand. They don't."

With more than 50 nations recognizing National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader, Maduro is managing the country's new status as a pariah state by largely operating outside the Western systems of trade and finance, while turning to Russia, and to a lesser extent China and India.

Russia's backing of Maduro in the face of the U.S. effort to depose him is increasingly being compared to the Kremlin's intervention in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad. In 2015, Russian involvement turned the tide in Syria's civil war, preserving Assad's power and elevating Moscow into a seeming kingmaker in the Middle East.

"There is an understanding that [Venezuela] is a rather serious test for Russia's ability to act in defense of its interests globally," said Dmitri Trenin, head of the independent Carnegie Moscow Center think tank.

It is unclear whether Russian intervention will be enough to counter the nationwide blackouts and gasoline shortages aggravating the humanitarian crisis that has left millions without access to enough food and medicine. Russia's pockets, many argue, are not deep enough to keep Maduro in power.

Yet, coupled with Chinese support, Russia's efforts have appeared at least to ease some of the immediate pressures. The arrival of Russian military personnel this month appeared to signal Moscow's willingness to ramp up its backing of Maduro, as well as ready his war machine at a time when the Trump administration has not ruled out a military intervention.

"It's an ideological chess game. Russia does not need Venezuelan oil," said Russ Dallen, a Florida-based managing partner at the brokerage Caracas Capital Markets. "Venezuela is far from their supply lines. It was more an opportunity to stick their finger on Uncle Sam's eye in the U.S.'s backyard."

China - another Maduro benefactor - has offered more-subdued support. Last week, Beijing barred Guaido's representative from a scheduled meeting in China of the Inter-American Development Bank, prompting the multilateral lender to cancel the event. Last month, China joined Russia to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution, drafted by the United States, calling for a new presidential election in Venezuela.

Yet Chinese officials - eager to defend their investment in Venezuela - have for years played both sides of the fence by holding regular meetings with Maduro's opposition. In February, Chinese diplomats held talks with senior opposition officials in Washington, according to two people familiar with the meetings. The opposition's pitch: Your investments will be safe if Maduro falls.

On Friday, Maduro's government announced a Chinese gift of 65 tons of medical supplies. The announcement came on the same day that the Red Cross said it would begin distribution next month of large-scale aid for 650,000 Venezuelans facing the worst conditions.

"This aerial bridge that we are building with China represents an important investment in our people," Maduro's industries minister, Tareck El Aissami, told reporters in Caracas.

Russian cooperation with Venezuela dates to arms deals struck with Hugo Chavez - Maduro's predecessor and socialist mentor. Between 2006 and Chavez's death in 2013, Venezuela bought nearly $4 billion in Russian military equipment, including an estimated 5,000 MANPADS surface-to-air missiles.

Military cooperation led to massive Russian investments in Venezuela's oil sector, and a willingness to extend loans on favorable terms. In early December, two nuclear-capable, long-range Russian Tu-160 bombers arrived at the international airport outside Caracas. The Russian aircraft later took part in joint exercises.

But Russia has far less potential firepower to theoretically deploy in Venezuela than it brought to bear in Syria - in part because Venezuela is so far away. Russia has no full-fledged military base in the region, and its only aircraft carrier is out of commission.

"There will be political, moral support," said Fyodor Lukyanov, a Russian foreign policy analyst who has advised the Kremlin. "But Russia can't send an armed contingent over there. It's just not realistic."

Yet economic lifelines may be more important for Maduro's survival. The U.S. sanctions issued in January blocked Venezuela from selling its crude to the U.S. refineries designed to process its high-viscosity crude. This month, shipping in and out of Venezuela has been chaotic amid nationwide power blackouts. But at least one tanker left Venezuela for India, carrying Venezuelan crude to a partly Russian-owned refinery, said Dallen, the Florida-based broker.

Before the U.S. sanctions, Venezuela exported crude to the United States and imported the gasoline refined from it. The sanctions left Maduro struggling to address a sudden shortage of gas. Ivan Freitas, a PDVSA union leader, said that reports from port workers with access to vessel schedules show that Rosneft delivered at least one shipment of 300,000 barrels of gasoline to Venezuela last month, with roughly 1.6 million more barrels expected to arrive but not yet confirmed.

"Rosneft has become the savior of PDVSA," Freitas said. "The company's help is buying time . . . for Maduro."

Rosneft did not respond to a request for comment.

Russian assistance extends beyond the oil industry. Last month, Moscow delivered 7.5 tons of medical supplies and pledged to ship 7.7 tons more. Though of minimal help in light of the massive problems confronting understaffed, undersupplied and deteriorating hospitals across Venezuela, the Russian aid provided Maduro with a public relations coup.

Inside the Ana Francisca Perez de Leon Hospital in eastern Caracas on Friday, its pro-Maduro director, Zayra Medina, said the Russian aid arrived Feb. 23, escorted by a Russian man, a translator and a man with a video camera. She said the hospital went through the supplies in about 10 days.

"We hope they keep helping us," she said. "I feel happy knowing we're not alone. Russia is helping us save lives in the middle of a storm."

- - -

Faiola reported from Miami and Troianovski from Moscow. The Washington Post's Anna Fifield in Beijing and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.Every hedgehog has its thorn.

Two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people not to "kiss or snuggle hedgehogs" because of a salmonella outbreak, the federal health agency announced that six more people in three more states, including Virginia, have fallen ill after coming into contact with the prickly pets.

As of Friday, 17 people nationwide have been infected with a strain of Salmonella typhimurium that the CDC first warned in January could be linked to pet hedgehogs.

No one has died, but two people were hospitalized.

"Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that contact with pet hedgehogs is the likely source of this outbreak," the CDC said in an investigation notice.

In Virginia, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors legalized household hedgehogs in January - just days before the CDC issued the first notice that it was investigating the salmonella outbreak in connection with the creatures. A separate effort to do the same in the District of Columbia failed in December.

It doesn't appear that the recent legalization of pet hedgehogs in Fairfax County is linked to the two cases reported in the state based on information from the Virginia Department of Health.

Both of the people sickened lived in the southwest region of Virginia and "one definitely had hedgehog exposure," said Maribeth Brewster, a department spokeswoman.

"Washing hands after handling and cleaning up after these types of pets and all pets can reduce the likelihood of illness transmission," she added.

Other states where people have been sickened with the salmonella strain include Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The largest number of cases come out of Minnesota and Missouri, with three each.

Elaine Becker, who has cared for more than 100 hedgehogs over the years through her work at local animal rescues in Roanoke, Virginia, said having pet hedgehogs has become a recent fad. People have become enamored with the cute creatures but don't know how to care for them. Household hedgehogs are usually in cages and running on wheels, where poop can get stuck on their feet, she said. Pet owners should clean out hedgehog cages weekly and pick up droppings daily - preferably with gloves to avoid getting sick.

"After touching any animal or raw food wash your hands," said Becker, also a member of the Hedgehog Welfare Society and International Hedgehog Association. "You wouldn't let your kid play with raw chicken and then let them stick their hands in their mouths."

Hedgehogs have become so popular that many have their own social media accounts. The spike in hedgehog demand has also lead certain jurisdictions recently to lift bans on having them as pets.

Officials identified the salmonella strain in the recent outbreak after studying samples collected from eight hedgehogs in Minnesota, including three that were in the homes of two people who got sick. Most of those who have fallen ill appear to be young children, according to the CDC.

Of the people interviewed, 13 out of 15 said the had contact with a hedgehog before they fell sick, but the CDC said it has not identified a common supplier that may be the source of the outbreak.

"Hedgehogs can carry Salmonella germs in their droppings while appearing healthy and clean," the CDC warned.

But some longtime lovers of the pincushions incarnate say the recent CDC hedgehog warning is hogwash.

Zug Standing Bear, who has cared for more than 500 hedgehogs in 20 years through his rescue based in Colorado, said the recent warning from the CDC echoes an alert the agency sent in 2012. That year, the CDC reported 20 cases of salmonella - including one death - in eight states where a hedgehog was in the house of someone sickened.

Standing Bear said the hedgehog-related illness could be random statistically and it shouldn't deter people from responsibly owning one as a pet.

Becker said the recent CDC alert unfairly singles out hedgehogs. Many household pets, such as turtles and birds, can carry salmonella, Becker said. Following common sense hygiene rules and doing research before buying a hedgehog - or any pet - can prevent problems.

"They can make wonderful pets, but they're not for everyone," Becker said. "If you can't handle the poop and feeding them meal worms, get a stuffed animal."After President Donald Trump vowed to take credit for shutting down the government over border wall funding during a televised Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders in December, West Wing aides sprung into overdrive to clean up the mess.

Taking ownership of a shutdown was considered verboten in Washington and the overwhelming consensus was that the president had screwed up.

But Trump was elated with the media coverage that followed.

"This is why I was so great on the Apprentice," he told a startled then-Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during a phone call the next morning, crowing that the ratings of the meeting were "great."

Ryan said he did not know such government meetings scored ratings - or that they were released within 12 hours, according to aides familiar with the call who requested anonymity to describe the private conversation. Trump told Ryan that everyone watched and that Trump was dominating the TV - and that made the meeting a success.

After more than two years in office, Trump continues to view his presidency through TV ratings and news coverage, while assessing the worthiness of his allies by how they perform during cable news hits.

Since Attorney General William Barr said last weekend that the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election found no conspiracy between the president's campaign and Moscow, Trump has seemed most interested in how the findings are playing on TV.

He has reveled in the falling ratings of networks he claims unfairly covered the Russia investigation while celebrating his allies in conservative media who joined him in calling special counsel Robert Mueller's probe a "hoax" all along. Trump has checked ratings daily, according to his aides, and has bragged to senators and others that Fox News is doing better than competitors like MSNBC and CNN.

"Wow, ratings for 'Morning Joe,' which were really bad in the first place, just "tanked" with the release of the Mueller Report. Likewise, other shows on MSNBC and CNN have gone down by as much as 50%. Just shows, Fake News never wins!" he tweeted Thursday.

Trump's numbers are exaggerated but ratings for several of the Fox News shows supportive of the president went up in the days following the release of Barr's summary of Mueller's report, while ratings for their competitors on MSNBC and CNN went down.

Lawmakers have learned that when they go on TV, oftentimes the president has been watching and since the release of Barr's summary of Mueller's report, he has been watching closely.

When he attended the weekly Senate Republican lunch on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Trump opened his remarks by telling senators that he appreciated them defending him on TV, before he called the probe "two years of bulls---."

At the private lunch, Trump immediately turned to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and commended him for his television appearances earlier that day, according to attendees.

"He just said, 'I saw you on TV and you did a good job,' " recalled Kennedy.

The president has spoken more to senators about what they argued on TV defending him during the special counsel's probe than the actual conclusions of the case, according to people familiar with the conversations. And Trump has repeatedly told aides how the television coverage has changed, remarking favorably that the chyrons are not always about the Mueller case anymore.

Republican lawmakers have grown accustomed to Trump's predilection to obsess over TV and the coverage of him - and have adapted.

While negotiating with Democrats in December on a potential deal to reopen the government, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump did not yet know the details of his new immigration idea. He planned to first pitch the idea to Laura Ingraham - whose show he would go on later that week - and Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs, among other TV hosts. If they were on board, Graham said, Trump would be far more likely to support such a deal. If they weren't, Trump would be unlikely to support it. The deal never went anywhere. A spokesman for Graham did not respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had aggressively tried to pitch White House staff on association health care plans without luck in late 2017. So instead he went on Fox News on a Friday night and made his pitch. Soon, Trump tried to call him, intrigued by the idea and endorsed the proposal after meeting with the senator, according to White House officials who requested anonymity to describe the conversations.

Marc Short, the president's former congressional liaison, and now the vice president's chief of staff, brought Trump a long list of reasons - including more military spending - to sign a spending bill last year. But Trump had watched some of his top allies torch the bill on TV for not having enough money for his border wall and complained that if the bill was so good, why weren't lawmakers saying that on news programs?

Short then told Hill leadership offices that if they wanted Trump to sign the bill, they should get on TV and make the case.

Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, are frequently called by the president - partially because they are often on TV defending him. "My warriors," he calls the two men who have been influential in shaping administration policies. In a recent meeting with Republican lawmakers, Trump referred to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., as a "patriot" and a "great American" for his fierce defenses of the president on Fox News, according to people who heard the remark.

One reason Ryan struggled with Trump was because the president would often call him early in the morning to talk about what was on "Fox and Friends," and Ryan was not usually watching or versed on the particulars of the show.

On a recent Friday, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., was on Fox News, defending his vote to uphold Trump's emergency declaration at the border. Not long after his cable news appearance, Barrasso had a voice mail from Trump, asking him to return his call. Several lawmakers said they have received calls before they could even get off set.

"He thanked me for the vote," recalled Barrasso. "It's an important vote (about) border security, the crisis at the border and we'd been at the White House the day before. So he called about that."

That instance wasn't a unique circumstance. Back in December, when Barrasso was on CBS' "Face the Nation," Trump called him up not long after, telling the senator that he was "making a good face for the party, making the case for the country and the importance of what we are doing with jobs and the economy, national security, border security."

Asked whether Trump offers critiques on his television performance, Barrasso laughed and responded: "No, not to me. Maybe to others."

But a number of members know it's the best way to get a call from the president.

"I think other members, when they're on, they hear from him as well," Barrasso said.A cold front is expected to bring cool weather back to the San Antonio area Saturday night into Sunday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Melissa Huffman said temperatures will reach up to the mid 70s on Saturday, then fall into the 40-degree range as winds increase and shift to the north Saturday night.

RELATED: Things to do in S.A. this weekend

If people put up their jackets, theyre going to want to get them out, Huffman said. If you have outdoor plans its best to get them done Saturday morning.

A 20 percent chance of rain is expected in the afternoon as the potential for a band of showers comes with the cold front.

On Sunday, Huffman said, high temperatures will struggle to make it out of the upper 50s. Winds will be pretty breezy between 10 and 20 miles per hour, she said.

People planning to attend outdoor events are advised to dress in layers.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

Any chance for rain in the area is expected to be mostly south of San Antonio.

A warming trend begins Monday and continues through Thursday, with high temperatures increasing between 5 to 10 degrees each day.

If people dont like the cold they don't have to worry, it wont hang around for long, Huffman said.The San Antonio Independent School District board meeting Monday was exciting for our principals, teachers and parents as we outlined plans for 18 of our schools to partner with nonprofit organizations they had selected  each with a particular expertise to help further the schools mission.

While SAISD has had in-district charters for 20 years, these schools represent the next generation; along with greater autonomy and flexibility in implementing their program, they also have a formal agreement for ongoing collaboration and counsel from their nonprofit partner.

For example, Carroll and Tynan Early Childhood Centers is partnering with the HighScope Educational Research Foundation, a nationally recognized expert in early childhood research and curriculum that has worked across the U.S. and the world to improve education since its founding more than 50 years ago.

These agreements are based on the successful model of CAST Tech High School, which had its 1882 Innovation partnership approved by the Texas Education Agency commissioner in spring 2018, resulting in a significant increase in funding for the school.

CAST Tech is part of the Centers for Applied Science & Technology network and has greatly benefited from an advisory council that provides ongoing support and resources for the school, including industry professionals who mentor students and volunteer their time to work with teachers. The result is a high-performing school that is a strong draw for both students and teachers.

The teachers and parents in the schools with new partnerships overwhelmingly voted to become an in-district charter  surpassing the states requirement of a majority in favor.

These are not just the well-known specialized schools  14 of the 18 schools with new partnerships are ones that serve their neighborhood.

These partnerships are just one example of our efforts to ensure that every school in SAISD is best serving every student in our district.

Forty-five schools in SAISD now offer dual language programs  and that number will increase to 48 by next school year. Studies show that dual language programs fully close the achievement gap between English learners and native English speakers.

We now have nine schools with the renowned International Baccalaureate framework, and SAISD is the only district in the county with IB at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

We have many high-quality options for students, and we are attracting families that had never considered SAISD in the past.

We have more students graduating from high school on time than ever before, more students college-ready, and more students going to college.

For the first time, we are getting attention across the state and across the country for the work we are doing to transform this district and accelerate learning for our students. The efforts of our staff are being recognized, and we are noted as one of the fastest improving districts in Texas. The data is showing a strong upward trajectory, and we are on track for our goal to be a B district by 2020.

We are able to do this because of the commitment of our school board. Each trustee is an integral part of the community, with a strong belief in the abilities and possibilities for each and every child. Their vision and their determination to do what is truly in the best interest of each child is driving the positive change within our district and making SAISD a highly viable option for our families.

Pedro Martinez is the San Antonio Independent School District superintendent.The Texas school finance system should guarantee every student the same educational opportunity in schools that are funded to meet increasing state and federal requirements. And every district should have the same ability, regardless of its tax rate, to provide every student with that education, while considering the needs of the student and the district itself.

The proposals now before the Texas Legislature address the states inequitable and inadequate system in different ways. Most of the proposals have merit. But we must not lose sight of our long-term goals, and we must strive for a system that will be resilient in both good and bad economic times.

The underlying issues

Districts do not have an equal opportunity to educate their students. Few of the more than 1,000 school districts in Texas have the funds to provide the quality education that the Texas Constitution and Legislature require.

Local property taxes provide most of the funding for the Texas school system; the state provides additional support from its general revenues. This shared system of finance has surface appeal  both school districts and the state have the responsibility and duty to provide for their students education.

The equity problem in Texas is caused by a combination of the great reliance Texas places on school district property taxes and the wildly varying amounts of property  and property value  per student in Texas districts. Because of differing property values, a penny tax rate will raise only $5 per student in some districts in Texas but $200 per student in wealthy districts. So at a $1 tax rate, the low-wealth district will raise $500 per student and the wealthy district $20,000 per student.

This means that the poor district has no real flexibility to raise money to support its schools, while the wealthy district can tax at very low rates and still fund its programs. These differences would not matter if Texas did not place so much of the burden on local taxpayers  about 60 percent of total revenue for schools comes from their property taxes. The state has tried to compensate for these differences by sending more state money to low-wealth districts than to the high-wealth districts.

Historically, the fundraising disparities among school districts have thrust poor districts into a cycle of poverty. Because low-wealth districts had both higher tax rates and lower revenues per student, they were less attractive to businesses and to higher-value residential projects. The lack of these higher-tax-generating businesses and homes hampered the ability of the districts to generate funds  decreasing the districts attractiveness even more.

The other major problem in Texas school finance is the funding level  its far below what is necessary to educate our students. Texas ranks around 40th of the 50 states in per-student funding. Yet given its growth, size and concentration of high-needs students, Texas has the greatest need for funds.

Texas has never done a thorough study of the revenue needed per pupil to meet the states standards. Experts conclude the revenue is $1,000 to $3,000 per student lower than what is needed to meet the states increasingly high standards. The need is $13,000 per student per year, and the reality is only $10,000.

Meanwhile, federal, state and local governments have put additional duties on districts to provide for students, a challenge given Texas comparatively low levels of social services.

Proposals in the Legislature

These proposals contain a mix of changes to the system, including property tax reductions; property tax caps; required increases in school employee salaries; per-student increases; increases in per-pupil funding in special programs; and studies of the actual costs of providing an education in Texas.

The proposed property tax reductions require minor cuts in the tax rates that school districts can charge, replacing the lost funds with state money. And most proposals increase funding for districts at any tax rate. Those provisions would be positive for students, while helping districts and their taxpayers.

However, a strict cap on property tax revenues will remove the ability of districts to enhance their programs to meet student needs, causing long-term damage to the education system.

Higher salaries for employees will help the districts hire and retain better teachers and other employees, benefiting all students. However, requiring that the funds go directly to the teachers instead of through the state formula wastes money on wealthier districts that could pay for the raises with a minor tax rate increase.

Increasing state funding for all schools is the most equitable way to spend that money, and the proposals to do that are positive. Unfortunately, those proposals can be tied to special provisions that retain advantages for wealthy districts and remove some of the special considerations for educating students in expensive areas of the state.

Prekindergarten for low-income students and English learners is long overdue in Texas and is universally seen as a positive for long-term progress and equality of opportunity. Proposed funding for dual-language programs is also positive. But few of the proposals will increase the funding for all students who are below grade level or have special identified needs.

Surprisingly, Texas has not conducted a thorough study of how much it would cost for a high-quality school system that meets federal, state and local requirements. Some proposals do require that study  and it should be conducted.

Increasing per-student funding would cut the amount in property taxes that wealthy districts have to share with other districts, which is called recapture. This is a boon for several districts and legislators. However, removing recapture has two negative characteristics. Recapture makes the system much more equitable and efficient, directly addressing the inequities that led to the first two state school finance losses in the Texas Supreme Court, in 1989 and 1991. And recapture enriches the entire state system by providing, on average, $200 to $300 per student for the rest of the states districts.

The give-and-take of the political process will play out, resulting in a mix of proposals that have some educational and political support. But I fear that what we do now, amid a positive economic forecast, will not survive the next economic downturn.

What should be done

The long-term goal is simple. The state should provide every district with the same ability to raise the necessary funds for its students  at any tax rate  after considering all the costs of the district and its particular mix of students.

At the least, funding levels should be determined by a thorough study of the needs of Texas, and the additional costs of special programs should be brought up-to-date and consistently reviewed.

Our children, our state and our future deserve it.

Al Kauffman is a law professor at the St. Marys University School of Law, teaching courses in education, constitutional law, and federal and state procedure. He was the lead attorney for the Edgewood plaintiff school districts in the school finance cases from 1984 to 2002.The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

View ResultsLocal Fine Gael Councillor, Gerald Farrell, has called on Irish Water to provide funding to replace the water line running from the N63 junction up the Rathcline road from Lanesboro town, a two-mile stretch.

Cllr Farrell said the pipes have been continually bursting for many years , with up to fifty houses and the local Fermoyle national school affected. He said the problem is due to old clay pipes in need of replacing.

On St Patricks weekend alone, there were five bursts. It has been going on for years now. There were plans to do something with it five or six years ago, but there was no funding at the time, Cllr Farrell told the Leader.

He said it simply doesnt make sense for Irish Water to be continually paying a private contractor to fix the bursts and suggested it would cost less in the long run to just replace the line.

Cllr Farrell said the burst pipes are also affecting the local roads, with leaks resulting in water coming up through the road. He then called on Irish Water to do what they did for Ballymahon town recently and completely replace the line.

Farrell said the issue has been raised with the Longford county council and a letter sent to Irish Water.The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton TD has today (Saturday March 30) encouraged people to mark Earth Hour 2019 by switching off their lights between the hours of 8.30pm and 9.30pm.

Earth Hour is a global movement, which started off in Sydney in 2007 as a symbolic lights out movement, since then Earth Hour has grown, becoming an annual worldwide event in which millions of people take part from over 180 countries around the globe.

It inspires people to take action for our planet and the environment and has gained the support of many social media influencers and celebrities who encourage people to take part.

It is more than just an event, it is a mass movement that has achieved massive environmental impact, including legislation changes by harnessing the power of the people.

Public buildings in Ireland will be switching off for the event such as, Ross Castle, Rock of Cashel, Trim Castle, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Leinster House/Government Buildings and the Custom House.

Minister Bruton said, Earth Hour is a great opportunity to reflect on our individual impact on the environment. We have a very small window of opportunity, whereby we can change the trajectory and set ourselves on a sustainable footing. We must make urgent changes. I am determined that the government will take the lead, but we will need each individual person to also contribute.

Although Earth Hour is a nonprofit organisation run by WWF, crowd funding has enabled environmental work to be carried out across the planet. Some of this work involves:

The planting of half a million trees in order to protest deforestation of ecosystems across the globe, in Uganda

Pushing a bill through congress with over 120,000 signatures, which focuses in on protecting the countrys seas from oil pollution in Russia.

Protecting 3.4 million hectares of the sea, in Argentina, which raises the percentage of sea protection from 1% to 4%

Earth Hour gives people the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint, which greatly affects the climate and will therefore lower the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere.

To participate in Earth Hour, all you have to do is switch off your lights from 8.30pm to 9.30pm this evening.The publication of the 20 million Slaintecare Integration Fund will support the delivery of community healthcare in Longford, Cllr Micheal Carrigy has said.

The Fund will be open to applications from both the public and voluntary sectors and will focus on testing new models of care with a focus on community care.

Successful applications will facilitate a shift in care to the community or provide measures to help people avoid hospital.

Cllr Carrigy said: This is a really exciting opportunity for health and social care sectors here in Longford to pitch their ideas to Slaintecare.

"The Integration Fund is looking for initiatives that help support us in meeting our ultimate goal of reducing waiting lists and reducing waiting times.

I encourage local interested parties to check out the guide to the application process on the Department of Health website.

The entirety of the 20m Integration Fund has to be spent in 2019 so this is a great opportunity for local health services to demonstrate leadership and help realise the aims of Slaintecare implementation."

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: Slaintecare is our ten year cross party plan to significantly improve and modernise the health service.

However, we certainly dont think we have a monopoly on good ideas, and we now want to hear directly from health and social care providers on how we can better provide care in the community.

Through this 20m Integration Fund, we can put good ideas into action and share best practice to help care for people closer to home and keep them out of hospital.

Minister for Health, Simon Harris said: Slaintecare will reform Irelands health and social care service to create a modern, responsive service that offers the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Central to this is our goal to shift the majority of care from the acute to the community setting in order to bring care closer to home for service users.

Today, we are asking those within the health and social care sector at large to pitch their ideas to help deliver this Slaintecare goal. Finding, supporting and scaling innovative new ways of providing care is fundamental to delivering Slaintecare, the Fine Gael Minister said.

Applications are to be submitted via email to PitchToSlaintecare@health.gov.ie.Creed launches new 10m scheme to conserve native freshwater pearl mussel

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., today launched a new 10m scheme to fund the conservation of the native freshwater pearl mussel. The launch took place in Ardgroom, Co. Cork and is the latest in series of EIP/locally-led environmental schemes funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) under Irelands Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020. In total, DAFM Ireland has committed 59 million to these schemes over the lifetime of the RDP.

The Freshwater Pearl Mussel is an endangered species which is found in near-pristine freshwater habitats. They are Irelands longest living animal, living for up to 140 years, they are filter feeders and can help to maintain and improve water quality. European populations have declined by 90% over the past century and face extinction unless action is taken. This Programme seeks to address the key pressures on the mussel by using a results based approach on farms within the eight SPA catchments.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Creed said; This programme is one of our flagship results-based schemes under our RDP which we marked from the start as a key priority. I am delighted that the new programme has now begun and is open for applications by farmers. I am very pleased that we selected a project team of such high quality to deliver this scheme and am impressed by the ambition that is shown. This project has the two-fold benefit of delivering both biodiversity and water quality improvements. Protecting our water quality is at the core of this project and improvements made to water quality will not only benefit the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, but will benefit the wider environment for generations to come.

This new locally-led programme brings farmers, farm advisors, scientists and researchers together to deliver a targeted landscape level intervention which places the farmer at the heart of the process. Farmer consultation was a key element of the development process for the programme and the opinions and feedback collected from hundreds of farmers were incorporated into the final design.

The Project Manager, Patrick Crushell says that; The management of farmland has a direct influence on water quality and priority is creating high quality farmland habitats that work for the farmers and deliver real socio-economic benefits to the areas concerned. We are honoured to be chosen to deliver this programme by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and expect to deliver a scheme using the 10 million funding in a way that makes a real difference in these special places.

Concluding the Minister said; The farming community is of course central to the success of this scheme. They are the primary custodians of our rural environment. I encourage them and the wider community in all eight catchments, to play a role and be aware of how their actions can contribute to improving water quality. What is learned here will be shared, through the EIP network, with similar communities throughout Ireland and will help to improve water quality in other sensitive catchments.

Note to Editors:

 The European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP)/locally led schemes are funded Irerlands Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP). These locally led schemes promote local solutions to specific issues and involve the establishment of Operational Groups to develop ideas, or take existing ideas/research and put them into practice by being working towards the resolution of a practical problem. The Pearl Mussel Programme is the second largest scheme after the Hen Harrier programme.

 The programme is targeted specifically at farmers with designated land and should provide interested farmers in the eight SPA pearl mussel catchments with an important additional income stream

 The catchments included in the Pearl Mussel Programme are: Blackwater, Caragh and Currane in County Kerry, Ownagappul in County Cork, Bundorragha in County Mayo, Dawros and Owenriff in County Galway and Glaskeelan in Co. Donegal.

 The programme is a collaborative effort and the Pearl Mussel Team will be supported by an extensive team of hydrologists, ecologists, fieldworkers and farm advisors who will support the roll-out of the programme on the ground. DAFM, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, EPA, Teagasc, LAWSAT and other experts will help guide and support the project in the years ahead.

 The programme is now open for application and an expression of interest form can be obtained from the Pearl Mussel Project

o Website: www.pearlmusselproject.ie

o Email: info@pmproject.ie

o Phone: 064 664 0685Family & Parenting, School & Education, Arts & Culture, Travel & Local Attractions

By Meg Parisi Published: March 30 2019

Check out Discover Long Island's Washington Spy Trail itinerary, fun for the whole family

Day 1. Execution Rocks: Take a boat excursion to Execution Rocks lighthouse just off Sands Point to learn how British colonial authorities are said to have executed Rebels by chaining them to the rocks at low tide, allowing the rising water to drown them. As added torture, the bones of those previously executed were left for the new captives to contemplate. The three hour tour leaves from Port Washington Town Dock on Main Street in Port Washington. Return for an early dinner at a seafood restaurant and evening stroll/shopping in the quaint village.

Day 2. British Occupation and a Network of Spies: Long Island was a center for spy activity during the Revolutionary War and many here were credited by General George Washington for the behind the scenes help they gave in winning the war. Although Long Island became a captured British stronghold early in the war at the Battle of Long Island, the spy ring here (also called the Culper Spy Ring), was extremely active despite extreme danger, due to its close proximity to British military headquarters in New York. Discover the fascinating tale of one of Americas most important secret spies, Robert Townsend (Culper, Jr.) during a visit to the Townsend family home at Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay. Lunch in Huntington Village and hike and swim at Target Rock National Refuge, which gets its name from a large rock there that the British used for target practice during the Revolutionary War.

Day 3. American Resistance: Visit the Huntington Militia Arsenal where you can experience what life was like for the Common soldier and his family during the Revolutionary War. Also nearby in Huntington is the 1750 David Conklin Farmhouse, which survived the advance of the British who overtook the town during the American Revolution. See where Sybil Conklin lived with her children while her husband, David, was held prisoner by the British. Then explore history at the Huntington Historical Societys Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building on Main Street.

Day 4. Center of Spy Activity: Take a guided kayak tour, or a Discovery cruise, of the Stony Brook/Setauket area. This part of the Long Island Heritage Trail was the center of spy activity for the Revolution. The spies here supplied General George Washington with the information needed to prevent the British from capturing Newport, Rhode Island, where the French fleet was stationed. Whaleboat man Caleb Brewster carried messages across Long Island Sound where Benjamin Tallmadge, leader of the ring, waited to carry them to Washingtons headquarters. Visit the Brewster House in East Setauket. Stop for lunch at the Country House Restaurant, rumored to be haunted by a young girl accused of treason during the war. Then take a cemetery tour where patriots from the Revolutionary War are buried.

Day 5. Retracing Footsteps: Visit Sagtikos Manor in West Bay Shore. British soldiers and top ranking officers stayed at the manor. But when the war was won, President George Washington toured the area to thank the loyal Patriots, and according to his personal journal, also spent the night at Sagtikos Manor. Have lunch in Babylon Village before an afternoon trip to Long Islands famous ocean beaches.

**For more information on the trail, click here.Massachusetts State Police are asking for the publics help identifying two women who stopped and fought in the middle of Route 128 Friday morning.

Cell phone footage of the altercation shows the women exiting their cars, which are stopped in the middle of the busy highway, and getting into a physical fight. State police said the incident happened when one woman cut the other off around 10 a.m.

During a live-streamed press conference Friday evening, State Police Lt. Michael Harvey told reporters that the situation couldve been a lot worse.

They literally stopped right in the middle of 128, a heavily traveled roadway, he said. That couldve led to a crash or them getting struck.

Massachusetts State Police are investigating after two women were caught on video fighting in the middle of Route 128 in Danvers on Friday morning: https://t.co/nCPJxhbjUa (: Katherine DeLeo) #7News pic.twitter.com/2Rnpb2IsvL  7News Boston WHDH (@7News) March 29, 2019

No one was hurt during the altercation, according to police.

Authorities believe they have identified one of the women involved and hope that tips from the public will lead them to the second woman.

No tip is too small to be able to piece it together, Harvey said.Authorities have identified two women involved in a road rage incident that happened in the middle of Route 128 in Danvers Friday morning and are considering pressing charges against the drivers.

Massachusetts State Police said the operator of one of the involved vehicles  a Subaru Outback  was a 33-year-old Gloucester woman. The driver of the second car  a Nissan Altima  was identified as a 64-year-old woman from Beverly.

No charges have been filed yet in the case, but state police said charges are being considered and will be determined upon consultation with the Essex County District Attorneys Office.

The womens names have not been released.

Authorities said the incident happened after one car cut the other off. Cell phone footage captured by witnesses shows the two women stopping in the middle of Route 128, exiting their cars and getting into a physical altercation.

State police asked for the publics help identifying the women and said the cell phone videos captured identifying information on their vehicles, which helped them find the drivers.An Uber driver was arrested early Saturday morning after Massachusetts State Police said he raped a female passenger in Boston.

Authorities received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted by an Uber driver on Storrow Drive near the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston around 1:15 a.m. Police investigated and placed the driver, identified as 37-year-old Daudah Mayanja of Waltham, under arrest.

Mayanja was charged with two counts of rape and booked at the Brighton Barracks before being transported to the Boston Barracks and held on $25,000 bail pending his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court Monday, state police said.

The victim was brought to an area hospital for treatment and State Police Crime Scene Services personnel and a state police chemist collected potential evidence for forensic analysis.A week after 60 gravesites at a Jewish cemetery in Fall River were vandalized with anti-semitic slurs, another city memorial was defaced  this time, one that honors three young fallen soldiers.

The Herald News reported that three Patriot Elm trees were planted at Fall Rivers Memorial Grove in North Park last Memorial Day in honor of three fallen soldiers. The mother of one of the young men discovered that the trees had been torn up on Thursday and reported it to police.

The part that is so heartbreaking about it is this Memorial Grove has all come through donations, Jo-Ann Mello, mother of Army Spc. Scott A. Andrews, told the newspaper. People have donated their time and talent to set this up so beautifully for us. I feel bad that it has been desecrated like this.

Andrews was killed in Afghanistan by an enemy improvised explosive device in June 2010.

There has been a spate of vandalism at memorials throughout Massachusetts over the past several weeks.

Last week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh spoke out against the recent vandalism of monuments for fallen police officers and World War II veterans after someone splashed oil on several memorials at Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan, including a monument dedicated to slain Boston police officers.

A day earlier, the World War II Memorial at Castle Island was similarly desecrated, police said.

And last weekend, at least 59 gravestones were tagged with swastikas and anti-Semitic language at the Hebrew Cemetery in Fall River. That act is now being investigated as a hate crime, police said.

In North Park, the Memorial Grove also honors Army Pvt. Michael E. Bought, who died in April 2006 while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Army National Guard Sgt. Robert Barrett, who died by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in April 2010, according to the Herald News.

Director of Veteran Services Raymond Hague told the newspaper that the young trees were snapped and the supports strewn around the area.

Its not good. I dont know what motivates people. But well replace them. Just like fallen soldiers there is another soldier thats following behind to replace them, he told the Herald News. We have more trees than dummies.Massachusetts State Police have identified the victim in Friday afternoons fatal crash in Middleborough as 32-year-old Jennifer Ryan of New Bedford.

Authorities said Ryan was driving on Interstate 495 north near Exit 3 around 3:40 p.m. when, for reasons still under investigation, she lost control of her 2004 Ford Explorer, causing it to crash into a tree in the median.

The vehicle caught fire and became fully engulfed, according to state police. Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.The National Institute for Occupational Safety is seeking public input on ways to encourage the countrys more than 1 million firefighters to participate in a voluntary national registry designed to track cancer rates in a profession that exposes them through skin contamination and inhalation to numerous carcinogens.

Part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIOSH was authorized by 2018 legislation to develop and maintain a registry of volunteer, retired, paid-on-call and career firefighters to monitor firefighters cancer rates and to make the results public.

A five-year study conducted by NIOSH of nearly 30,000 firefighters from the Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco fire departments found firefighters to have a greater number of cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths.

The National Firefighter Registry is designed to build and expand on such research and to include population groups - women and minorities - under represented in earlier studies.

It is said researchers will use information from the registry to raise awareness about better ways to protect firefighters from known cancer risks, including advancements in the design and care of personal protective equipment and practices that can lower firefighters exposure to hazardous substances.

Firefighters put their lives on the line to ensure our safety in emergencies, but their jobs may also put them at risk for long-term health effects such as cancer, said Dr. John Howard, NIOSH director, in a prepared statement.

Firefighters are said to be at increased risk for digestive, lung, throat, and urinary cancers, according to the CDC.

Information sought for the registry may include basic demographic information, according to the NIOSH, number of years and time period(s) as an active firefighter, number of fire incidents attended, details of any cancer diagnosis, additional risk factors such as smoking or drug use, and relevant medical history.

The CDC has said it is considering three different strategies to recruit participants into the registry including open enrollment, recruiting through professional organizations as well through fire departments to contact members who worked during a specific time period.

The public can comment through May 28 on the Federal Register, the Daily Journal of the U.S. Government.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on the World Trace Center exposed an estimated half million people, including many first responders, to toxic dust and fumes linked to dozens of cancers. The exposure has resulted in many related deaths.A 32-year-old New Bedford woman was killed Friday afternoon when her car went out of control and crashed into a tree on the median of Route 495 in Middleboro.

The Massachusetts State Police said in a release that the car burst into flames after the initial crash at 3:40 p.m. and was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene and extinguished the flames.

Investigators said the woman was driving in the northbound lane of the divided highway just south of Exit 3 when she lost control of the vehicle.

The unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene. She was alone in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

The incident remains under investigation by the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Sect6ions, Crime Scene Services and state police detectives attached to the Plymouth District Attorneys Office.

The highway was closed for more than four hours for investigation and cleanup.SPRINGFIELD  Homicide detectives are at a Kingsley Street address Friday evening after two bodies were found earlier in the day.

Ryan Walsh, spokesman for the Springfield Police Department, said in a news release that the discovery of the bodies late afternoon Friday does not represent a threat to the public.

Walsh said the Hampden district attorneys office has taken jurisdiction over the case.WESTFIELD  Westfield State University trustees have called a special meeting Tuesday in response to the facultys vote of no confidence in President Ramon S. Torrecilha.

An agenda for the meeting says only that the 11-member board will meet in a private executive session to discuss a recent complaint received by the Board of Trustees Chair. The agenda cites as justification a section of state law that allows boards to withdraw into executive session to discuss complaints or charges brought against a public officer.

The meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. at the Horace Mann Center administration building on the Westfield State campus.

There are no other items on the agenda. The most recent scheduled meeting was in February. The next scheduled meeting is in April.

C. Margot Hennessy, professor of ethnic and gender studies and president of the Massachusetts State College Association union local at Westfield State, said faculty members will likely have something to say following the meeting and their own meeting with trustees.

A few weeks ago, 211 out of 219 faculty members voted no confidence in Torrecilha, citing, in the unions words, lack of cooperative leadership and his authoritarian and bullying style. The faculty said Torrecilha created a campus culture of dismissing faculty and staff input and concerns.

The vote came as faculty awaits both state approval and a rank-and-file ratification vote on a new contract.

At the time, the university released a statement from board of trustees Chairman Kevin Queenin, who said Torrecilha has had his full support through his tenure and through the negotiating process.

The Board recognizes and appreciates the presidents strategic oversight to improve the Universitys overall direction and community engagement in just three years, Queenin said. His significant accomplishments in elevating the Universitys academic profile, replacing open faculty and staff positions at a time when other organizations are not, and increasing Financial Aid and private fundraising to support student success all speak loudly to the Universitys exceptional good fortune in having a leader of Dr. Torrecilhas caliber and intellect.

On Friday, university spokeswoman Tricia M. Oliver shared little detail about Tuesdays trustees meeting and referred questions to the agenda document.

Torrecilha has been president at Westfield State for three years. He took over in the wake of former President Evan Dobelles dismissal over financial irregularities involving credit cards and travel expenses.

Westfield State University has 5,000 full-time undergraduate students, 600 part-time undergraduate students and 800 graduate students. The in-state cost of attendance, with housing and food, is $25,120 a year. The out-of-state cost is $31,200, according to the colleges website. The average student debt after four years is $27,000.A luncheon meeting can be nothing more, or it can be a sign of a strategy that could have a profound effect on the 2020 presidential race.

Elizabeth Warrens meeting with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was bound to attract attention as analysts try to sort out the Democratic Party landscape for the 2020 presidential election. Described by the Boston Herald as a rising star, Ocasio-Cortez has become a central figure in the partys shift to the left and its embrace of platforms that may appeal to left-wing voters but displease those in the center or moderate right.

Ocasio-Cortez endorsement is considered valuable in what shapes up as a crowded and complicated Democratic field. She hasnt promised even to make an endorsement, which makes her bargaining position even stronger.

Warren has met with the New York representative before. Her outreach to the first-term legislator could produce political benefits - but it does not come without risk.

Ocasio-Cortez belongs to the Democratic Socialists of America. Her socialist views are well-known and, to her credit, she does not run or hide from them. A label traditionally deemed anathema to national candidates is now quite appealing and fashionable - in some quarters.

Her ascent underscores how winning the Democratic nomination and capturing the presidency may require two uniquely separate skill sets. Warrens pursuit of Ocasio-Cortez support implies the Massachusetts senator will campaign with an eye on the partys left wing.

The alternative would be a preemptive shift to the middle as a bid to win voters who dont buy left-wing politics but are looking for options other than President Trump.

Whichever Democratic candidate survives the nomination and contests Trump will face an electorate that is not, on an Electoral College basis, enthralled with the left wings agenda. Trump won 30 states. Ocasio-Cortez politics may help in key swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where Trump victories cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election, so she cant be dismissed by any serious Democratic candidate.

An easily labeled leftist Democratic candidate will hear the cheers in New York and California, which any Democrat figures to win, anyway. But the cheering stop might stop when the campaign swings to the South, West or parts of the Midwest, and thats where Trump won the election.

Moving away from the left, on the other hand, risks being perceived as a compromise or capitulation to Trumps embrace of the right. Creating distance with the left could cost someone like Warren the nomination and any chance of taking on Trump at all.

This conundrum keeps the door open for former Vice-President Joseph Biden, who is seen as a moderate in comparison to candidates such as Warren and activists such as Ocasio-Cortez. Biden has his own obstacles, though.

For one thing, hell be 78 by Inauguration Day. Democrats who yearn for theirs to be the party of the future may struggle with a candidate whose Senate career began during the Nixon Administration in 1973.

Moreover, Bidens connection with the Obama Administration will help in some constituencies, but not necessarily to swing voters who went Republican in 2016.

The Democratic Partys challenge is to find a candidate who can satisfy not only the partys shift to the left, but the nations shift to the right. Warrens first challenge is to win the nomination, where support from legislators such as Ocasio-Cortez might help.

Thats only the first half of the challenge of unseating an incumbent president, though. Remember Warrens otherwise nondescript lunch with her colleague as a first hint of where the Massachusetts senator is aiming her attention.SPRINGFIELD  Jose Delvalle on Friday was found not guilty by reason of mental illness in the stabbing of a city police officer in the lobby of police headquarters in May 2017.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Francis E. Flannery allowed the prosecutions petition to commit Delvalle, 23, to Bridgewater State Hospital for a 40-day evaluation.

Defense lawyer Anna-Marie Puryear had asked that Delvalle instead be sent to a secure facility run by the state Department of Mental Health.

State law sets up procedures for further commitment after the initial 40 days at Bridgewater.

Delvalle was competent to stand trial Friday because his mental illness was controlled by medication, Flannery ruled after hearing from a staff member of the court mental health clinic. Delvalle chose a jury-waived trial.

Assistant District Attorney Janine M. Simonian and Puryear both requested that Delvalle be found not guilty by reason of mental illness. Flannery was given reports by medical personnel who evaluated Delvalle.

Simonian said Delvalle has schizophrenia that is presently controlled by medication. Puryear said when Delvalle is taking his medicine he is not a danger. He was not taking his medication when he assaulted Officer James Burgos.

Burgos testified he was working at the front counter, behind the protective glass, when Delvalle came in to the police station. Burgos asked Delvalle if he wanted to fill out a report about anything and Delvalle didnt answer. Burgos said he told Delvalle to sit on the bench in the lobby.

When a delivery person brought in food for the prisoners in the police department cells, Burgos came out through the door next to the front desk to get the food. He testified at that point Delvalle came over and punched him.

I thought I was just punched, Burgos said. He said he heard metal hit the ground and saw Delvalle had dropped knife.

Burgos said the knife broke the skin and caused a bruise below the protective vest he was wearing.

There was blood on the floor, but it was not from him, Burgos said. The blood had not been there before Delvalle came over and hit him with the knife, Burgos said.

Lt. Jeffrey Martucci said surveillance video showed Delvalles flight out of the lobby, east on Pearl Street, past the Salvation Army and into the Friends of the Homeless shelter. Personnel there as well as Burgos identified Delvalle.  ,     Mediapool.bg,         ,     -  .

   - ,       .           18:00 .Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur due to microbes such as bacteria overcoming the bodys defenses in the urinary tract. They can affect the kidneys, bladder, and the tubes that run between them. UTIs are one of the most common types of outpatient infections in the United States, leading to more than 8.1 million visits to the doctor every year. The urinary tract consists of the upper and lower urinary tract. The kidneys and ureters make up the upper urinary tract, and the urethra and bladder make up the lower urinary tract. UTIs have different names depending on where they occur. For example: A bladder infection is called cystitis.

A urethra infection is known as urethritis.

A kidney infection is called pyelonephritis.

Symptoms Share on Pinterest Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography/Getty Images The United Kingdoms National Health Service (NHS) notes that symptoms can depend on whether a person is experiencing an upper or lower urinary tract infection. In adults Lower UTIs affect the bladder or urethra and can cause: a frequent need to urinate

pain, discomfort, or burning sensation when urinating

a sudden urge to urinate

cloudy, strong-smelling urine that may contain blood

the sensation that the bladder is not fully empty

feeling unwell, tired, and achy Upper UTIs affect the kidneys and ureters. As well as the symptoms above, they can cause: a fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher

confusion

agitation

restlessness

pain in the back and sides

chills and shivering

nausea and vomiting In males Males and females share the same symptoms. However, 2021 research suggests that males had a higher chance of experiencing symptoms that affect the lower urinary tract. It is worth noting that this study involved 1,256 people from a single community in Japan, so the findings may not apply to other populations. In children Additional symptoms in children include: a high temperature

appearing generally unwell  for example, babies may appear irritable and not feed well

vomiting

wetting the bed or themselves In older adults or those with a catheter Additional symptoms of UTIs in older adults or those with a urinary catheter include: wetting themselves

new shivering

new shaking

agitation

confusion

Causes The Urology Care Foundation notes that different bacteria live on the skin or around the rectum and vagina. When the bacteria enter the urethra, it can travel to the bladder. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) , the body usually flushes out the bacteria before reaching a persons bladder. However, in some cases, the body is unable to do so, resulting in a UTI. UTIs most commonly occur due to the following bacteria: Escherichia coli

Protus mirabilis

Enterococcus faecalis

Staphylococcus saprophyticus

Klebsiella pneumoniae People of any age and sex can develop a UTI. However, some people are more at risk than others. The following factors can increase the likelihood of developing a UTI: being sexually active

having difficulty fully emptying the bladder

having a condition that causes a blockage in the urinary tract, such as kidney stones

having diabetes

having recently used a catheter

having had a previous UTI

having vesicoureteral reflux, a condition that causes the urine to flow backward

having poor hygiene In females The NIDDK notes that females are more likely to develop UTIs than males. This is because females have a shorter urethra, meaning the bacteria have less distance to travel to the bladder. Additionally, the urethra is closer to the rectum, where the UTI-causing bacteria is present. Going through menopause and using birth control methods, such as diaphragms or spermicide, can also increase the chance of developing a UTI. Is pregnancy a risk factor for a UTI? According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, pregnant people have a higher risk of UTIs than other people. Changes in the body during pregnancy can cause changes in the urinary tract. Learn more about UTIs in pregnancy here. In males Males share the same risk factors for developing a UTI. However, having an enlarged prostate is a male-specific risk factor. An enlarged prostate can block or obstruct the usual flow of urine.

Complications In some cases, lower UTIs can lead to pyelonephritis. This is a sudden and severe kidney infection. Symptoms include: fever

flank pain

vomiting

nausea

burning urination

increased frequency and urgency to urinate

fatigue

shaking

chills

mental changes If a person suspects they have a kidney infection, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible. Recurrent or long-lasting kidney infections can cause permanent damage. Some sudden kidney infections can be life threatening, particularly if bacteria enter the bloodstream in a condition known as septicemia. They can also increase the risk of pregnant people delivering infants prematurely or with a low birth weight.

Prevention There are several measures that an individual can take to reduce the risk of developing a UTI, including : drinking 68, 8-ounce glasses of water per day

emptying the bladder fully when urinating

urinating after sex

wearing loose-fitting clothing and cotton underwear

keeping the genital area clean

avoiding the use of perfumed products on the genitals The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests taking showers instead of baths and avoiding douching. Females should also wipe from the front to the back to help avoid spreading the germs from the rectum to the vagina. In addition, if a person experiences frequent or recurring UTIs, they should talk with a doctor about switching birth control methods. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists mentions that cranberry pills and unsweetened cranberry juice may help decrease the chance of contracting UTIs. However, research is ongoing. Individuals should contact a doctor if they develop UTI symptoms, especially if they have developed symptoms of a potential kidney infection.

Diagnosis A doctor will usually diagnose a UTI after asking about a persons symptoms and testing a urine sample to assess the presence of white blood cells, red blood cells, and bacteria. In some cases , a doctor may culture the urine to identify the type of bacteria causing the infection. If someone has recurrent UTIs, a doctor may request further diagnostic testing to determine if anatomical or functional issues are the cause. Such tests may include: Diagnostic imaging : This involves assessing the urinary tract using ultrasound, CT and MRI scanning, radiation tracking, or X-rays.

: This involves assessing the urinary tract using ultrasound, CT and MRI scanning, radiation tracking, or X-rays. Urodynamics : This procedure determines how well the urinary tract stores and releases urine.

: This procedure determines how well the urinary tract stores and releases urine. Cystoscopy: This allows the doctor to see inside the bladder and urethra with a camera lens inserted through the urethra via a long thin tube.

Treatment A healthcare professional will prescribe antibiotics to treat UTIs, regardless of a persons sex. The type of medication and length of treatment will depend on a persons symptoms and medical history. People should always complete the full course of treatment to make sure that the infection is fully clear and reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance. UTI symptoms can disappear before the infection has completely gone. To cure a UTI that has occurred due to problems within the urinary system, a healthcare professional will need to diagnose the underlying issue. If the person is seriously ill, they may need to be admitted to a hospital to ensure they consume sufficient fluids and receive the correct medication. People may also need to go to the hospital if they are: pregnant and are otherwise ill

an older adult

have cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, or other medical problems

have kidney stones or other changes in their urinary tract

recovering from recent urinary tract surgery To help treat and prevent recurrent UTI infections, a healthcare professional may: suggest changing birth control methods

prescribe a single daily dose of antibiotics for 612 months

prescribe a single dose of antibiotics to take each time a person has sex

Home remedies There are several suggested remedies that people with a UTI can try at home. The NIDDK says drinking fluids and urinating frequently can help flush bacteria from the body, and using a heated pad for short periods can help relieve discomfort.

A person should contact a doctor if they develop symptoms of a UTI. Without treatment, UTIs can lead to a sudden and severe kidney infection which can be life threatening. The NIDDK advises people to seek care immediately if they develop: severe pain in the back near the ribs or lower abdomen

vomiting

nausea

feverATLANTA

March 30, 2019

Atlanta

Anurag Singh

Fangyi Gu

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

8 a.m. to noon EDT

ROSWELL

/PRNewswire/ -- Painful sores in the mouth and throat are one of the most common adverse side effects caused by radiation therapy, which is a mainstay of treatment for most cancers of the head and neck. This condition, known as oral mucositis, frequently causes quality-of-life issues such as difficulty swallowing or eating and interrupted sleep, and often necessitates prescription of opioids or other analgesics for pain control. New research from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, to be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019 in, reports that administering radiation treatments in the morning as opposed to later in the day can significantly reduce severity of mucositis and its related impacts."Acute oral mucositis is not only extremely painful for patients, it also interferes with their care and recovery in a number of ways, from impaired nutritional intake and treatment delays to higher chance of infection, hospitalization and use of opioids, which comes with a host of additional side effects and risks," says senior author, MD, Professor of Oncology and Director of Radiation Research in Roswell Park's Department of Radiation Medicine. "And while these factors double the costs of supportive care in comparison to milder cases, the few prevention and treatment options available for this condition have limited efficacy and/or supporting evidence."Hypothesizing that timing of radiation treatments could be impacting the severity of mucositis, the team studied patterns of oral mucositis in 190 head neck cancer patients treated at Roswell Park. They found a significant association between radiation treatment timing and oral mucositis severity in head and neck cancer patients."We found that the severity of oral mucositis increased as the time at which radiation treatments were administered got later, peaking at early afternoon," says Dr. Singh. "Our findings highlight a simple and easily implementable solution for reducing severe oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients, and one that may have significant clinical and quality-of-life benefits for patients."The authors believe this is the first study to find significant variation of oral mucositis severity by treatment timing."Identifying an optimal time of a day for radiotherapy may substantially prevent severe oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients," says first author, MD, ScD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park, who will present the findings during a poster session at AACR 2019. "Further studies are worthwhile to confirm our findings, and to find optimal treatment times for individual patients."AACR 2019 presentation details: Abstract 4860 / 4  Association between timing of radiotherapy and severity of oral mucositis in head-neck cancer patients Georgia World Congress Center, Section 18This release is also available on the Roswell Park website: https://www.roswellpark.org/media/news/all-timing-hour-radiation-treatments-can-affect-mucositis-patients-headneck-cancersRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a community united by the drive to eliminate cancer's grip on humanity by unlocking its secrets through personalized approaches and unleashing the healing power of hope. Founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, it is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. Learn more at http://www.roswellpark.org, or contact us at 1-800-(1-800-767-9355) or ASKRoswell(at)RoswellPark(dot)org.SOURCE Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterUPPER THUMB  Lawmakers and environmental experts were pleased with President Donald J. Trump's decision this week to reverse a 90 percent spending cut for a Great Lakes cleanup program.

During a rally in Grand Rapids on Thursday, President Trump announced he would reverse part of his administration's own budget plan, which had proposed a 90 percent spending cut for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Associated Press reported.

President Trump said he would fully fund the cleanup program, offering the $300 million the program has typically received.

Within weeks of President Trump's budget proposed cutting the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative drastically, 59 members of Congress sent a letter to House appropriators requesting that full funding be restored in this year's budget.

The letter was organized by Reps. Debbie Dingell and Dan Kildee, both Michigan Democrats, Mike Kelly, a Pennyslyvania Republican, and Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican.

"The Great Lakes continue to bring people together. We are grateful for the bipartisan support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has received, rejecting the proposed cuts to a program that is producing results," said Chad Lord, policy director, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. "The proposed GLRI budget cuts are a non-starter for the region, and (the) letter is a clear indication that a strong, bipartisan group of representatives agrees. We know the GLRI is producing results, with new miles of stream open for fish, toxic sediment being cleaned up, and beaches open for swimming once more."

"But we also know we can't cut funding now because we have more work to do and projects will only get harder and more expensive the longer we wait. This letter shows there is strong support for restoring funding in FY2020," he added.

U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, who represents the state's 10th Congressional District, said he was pleased with President Trump's support.

"Since coming to Congress, I have strongly advocated for full Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding and upgrading the Soo Locks both in Congress and to the president directly, and I am glad we are seeing concrete results," Mitchell stated in a news release. "Our Great Lakes are a national treasure, and the GLRI supports critical projects that improve water quality, combat invasive species, protect the Great Lakes ecosystem, and more. I will do everything in my power to ensure  as I have the last two years  that my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee include full funding in their final bill."

"I am also glad the president made reference to the request for further funding of the Soo Locks upgrade project in his budget, which shows he understands the importance of this project, as any failure at the locks would have a devastating ripple effect on our nation's economy and national security."

The 10th District consists of Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, St. Clair, Lapeer and northern Macomb counties.Valaitis named new CEO of Women and Families Center

MERIDEN  Wayne Valaitis, MPH, has been named the new chief executive officer of the Women and Families Center.

I am very happy to be joining this outstanding organization and group of professionals. WFC has a rich history of providing an array of human service programs in south central Connecticut, Valaitis said in a news release. I hope to spring off that foundation and help the agency grow with positive and empowering programs that meet the needs of the individuals and families of the communities we serve and enable everyone to achieve their highest potential.

WFC is a community-based nonprofit that provides direct social service to individuals and families throughout the Greater Meriden region, Middlesex and New Haven counties. The organization offers enrichment and support programs for both youth and adults, including before and after school programs, short-term housing for young adults, employment and training programs, and sexual assault crisis services, according to the release.

Valaitis experience includes serving as executive director of Boys and Girls Clubs in North Carolina and New York, and as executive director of Literacy Volunteers and later FSW Inc.

Terry Giovannucci, president of the WFC board of directors, said in the release that the board is delighted to welcome Wayne Valaitis to the WFC family. We are confident he will be instrumental in providing strategic direction leading WFC to an even more impactful role in the community, providing expanded services, and addressing the needs of our community members.

Scholarships available for musculoskeletal care-related education

The Orthopaedic Specialty Group Education Foundation is offering six $2,500 scholarships to New Haven and Fairfield county residents pursuing post-secondary training (four-year or advanced degree) in a musculoskeletal care-related field, according to a release. The scholarships will be applied to tuition and educational expenses, it said.

The foundation was established in 2009 to foster humanitarian outreach and education related to musculoskeletal care at home and abroad, the release said. To apply, visit www.osgpc.com and look under OSG Education Foundation for details. Submission deadline is May 17.

CTGLC sets Business Networking Breakfast

HARTFORD  The Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will hold a Business Networking Breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. April 4 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, 200 Columbus Blvd.

Attendees should park in the hotel/convention center and bring parking ticket inside to be validated. To register, visit http://members.ctglc.org/events.

Women Redefining Retirement to meet

MILFORD  Women Redefining Retirement will meet at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Golden Hill Rehabilitation Pavilion, 2028 Bridgeport Ave.

Activities will include assembling Easter baskets to benefit the children of Covenant to Care. Members are asked to bring individually-wrapped candy and small non-food items to fill the baskets. Food donations will benefit the Milford Senior Center.

New members welcome. Visit the group on Facebook or go to wrrofmilford@google.com.The American Legion is spitting mad that some members of Congress have removed the black POW/MIA flags from their office entrances and replaced them with transgender equality flags.

The Legion issued a press release Friday expressing "extreme displeasure" with the swap. National Commander Brett Reistad said he takes no issue with members of Congress honoring additional groups but, he added, "it should be in addition to, rather than instead of our heroes."

"These servicemen and servicewomen went missing while defending all Americans. Their flags should not go missing as well," Reistad said in the release.

The National Center for Transgender Equality sent flags to all members of Congress to commemorate the International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. According to media reports, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, swapped out their POW/MIA flags for the banners.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court granted a government request to lift an injunction against a proposed ban on people with gender dysphoria serving in the U.S. military, a decision that will allow the policy to go into effect April 12.

Two days later, the House voted 238-185 on a nonbinding resolution opposing the policy. In a floor speech Thursday, Pelosi called the ban "an act of cruelty."

"There is no moral justification for this ban, which violates every value of our American democracy and betrays our fundamental belief in fairness, dignity and respect," she said.

Reistad said every member of Congress should honor POWs and those missing in action by showing the flag. Lawmakers should ensure, he said, that it is "properly and permanently displayed outside their offices."

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime.Airmen Have Five Days to Get Immunized After Vaccine Exemption Is Denied or They Face Punishment, Air Force Says

The service required all active-duty troops to become fully vaccinated by Nov. 2 after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in...



By Breitbart, March. 29, 2019





Rhodes spoke to author Nathan Thrall for a feature article titled, How the Battle Over Israel and Anti-Semitism Is Fracturing American Politics. The headline describes politics, but Thrall focused on policy debates within the Democratic Party, which has seen the rise of an assertive anti-Israel constituency in recent years. That constituency has included overtly and unabashedly antisemitic critics, largely but not exclusively from the Muslim community.When Sgt. 1st Class Ofren Arrechaga was killed in Afghanistan in 2011, his wife Seana vowed to follow the plan the couple had for their family: She would remain a stay-at-home mom to raise their son, now 11.

She continues to do that, thanks to the compensation and health benefits provided to widows and widowers of service members who die in the line of duty.

Seana Arrechaga was 22 when her soldier died, and she continues to grieve. She doesn't date. But not simply out of respect for Ofren. She doesn't see the point, she says, because dating could lead to marriage. And if she remarries before she turns 55, she would lose thousands of dollars a month because of a law that would stop her annuity payments when she tied the knot.

"A lot of people assume that we are well taken care of," said Arrechaga of Gold Star spouses. "And we are, to a point. But to not be able to remarry, to lose benefits, seems unfair."

Three combat veterans in the House of Representatives want to change the law and allow military widows and widowers to retain their survivor benefit payments if they remarry  a proposal spouses say would let them raise their families and retain a connection they want to the military.

The bill, H.R. 1911, or the Sgt. First Class Brian Woods Gold Star and Military Survivors Act, would also extend child care assistance to surviving spouses and give continued access to base facilities such commissaries, exchanges and fitness centers to those with dependent children who remarry .

And it includes a provision to cover the cost of transporting the bodies of those killed in combat to their hometowns for services and later, to a national cemetery, if the family requests it.

Currently, the government pays for one trip.

The legislation is needed, said co-sponsor Michael Waltz, R-Florida, because it would ensure that "Gold Star families of our fallen are cared for by giving their children and spouses the lifelong benefits they deserve."

"The knock on the door that initiates a family into the Gold Star community is the most dreaded moment in a military family's life," Waltz said in a release. "From that moment forward, these families deserve our best and most meaningful commitment in honor of their loved one's sacrifice for our freedom and security."

"Gold Star families should have the peace of mind that comes with knowing child care and funeral expenses are taken care of and that they will receive the nation's lifelong financial support," said Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and co-sponsor.

The bill is named for Woods, a Special Forces senior medical sergeant and former Marine who served with Waltz. He died Aug. 16, 2009, from wounds received during a patrol in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, and was survived by his wife Elizabeth and two young daughters, one aged 5 and the other 8 months at his death.

Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joe Kent lost his wife, Navy Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon Kent, in a suicide bomb attack in Manbij, Syria, in January. As a military retiree, he will retain access to military bases and health care for life.

But he was stunned to learn during the course of his casualty assistance communications that he  and all surviving spouses  lose monthly income if they remarry. He said the law itself reads like something "straight out of the 1950s."

"If a woman remarries, the guy she marries is now responsible for her. It's that kind of mentality," Kent said. "If you look at the stats, most are women widowed in their 20s, so you are telling a young lady, with maybe with a kid or two, she will be financially penalized."

For Gold Star spouses who have found new loves, some have gotten married and forfeited their annuities. But many are opting to live with new partners without exchanging vows to ensure they will continue to receive benefits.

Arrechaga said if the bill becomes law, it would show survivors that the country continues to want to care for them. "I just don't even think most people know that this is an issue," she said.

Similar legislation was proposed in both the Senate and the House in 2017 but never made it out of the chambers' respective Armed Services Committees.

In 2016, a measure was defeated largely based on the price tag, estimated at $1 billion over 10 years.

H.R. 1911 has yet to be assessed for cost. It would provide annuity payments to those surviving spouses who have remarried starting with the month the legislation was signed.

"At the end of the day, is the government really saving money by taking away that stipend? There's not a ton of survivors," Kent said.

Co-sponsor Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, said he is committed to ensuring that the legislation passes this year. It builds, he said, "on important progress made last year."

"Our Gold Star and surviving family members deserve a commitment for life," Bacon said.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime.For the entirety of his Marine Corps career, Donnie Dunagan feared his fellow Marines discovering his pre-Corps life. The last thing he wanted was to be known forever as "Major Bambi." It was a nightmare he'd harbored for 21 years of Marine Corps service  and it almost came out just weeks before retirement.

Donnie Dunagan as a Marine Corps officer in 1974. (Donnie Dunagan)

Dunagan was a Marine recruiter's dream  except he was never recruited. He was drafted into the Corps in 1952, which certainly made his life interesting, but it was already interesting. As a young child, Dunagan's family struggled with poverty in Tennessee. After young Dunagan won $100 in a talent competition, the family moved to Hollywood where he became something of a child star. His last role was as the voice of Disney's beloved baby fawn, the title role of Bambi.

His Hollywood past was a sharp contrast to his teen years. He earned money as a lathe operator in a boardinghouse before being drafted into the Marine Corps. But he took to the life of a Marine. He was promoted 13 times in his 21 years, which was a record at the time. He was also the youngest drill instructor to ever don the campaign hat. All the while, he harbored a secret he was desperate to keep from his fellow Marines.

This f**king adorable secret could have wrecked him.

He fought three tours in Vietnam and over the years earned a promotion to Major along with a Bronze Star and three Purple hearts. A few weeks before he was set to retire from the Corps, secret intact, he was called into his CO's office. The CO wanted him to "audit the auditors"  and When the Major asked when he would ever have the time to do what his commander asked, the CO patted a big red folder and said:

"You will audit the auditors. Won't you, Maj. Bambi?"

His secret finally caught up to him.

Things like this don't just go away when you're a Marine.

"I have some holes in my body that God didn't put there. I got shot through my left knee. Got an award or two for saving lives over time," Dunagan told StoryCorps. "But I think I could have been appointed as the aide-de-camp in the White House, it wouldn't make any difference  it's Bambi that's so dear to people."

MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY:

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7 real excuses troops use that no NCO ever believes

We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.This 2015 episode cover the expedition efforts of Andree, who hoped to succeed in reaching the North Pole where others had failed by doing it by air. With a seemingly endless positivity, he and two other men hoped to earn bragging rights for Sweden by reaching the pole.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comIn two straight offseasons, the Padres have acted out of character with the splashy free agent signings of Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado. Those same players took it upon themselves this Spring to back one of their own. Per ESPNs Jeff Passan, Hosmer and Machado met with Padres owner Ron Fowler over dinner, lobbying for the promotion of young star Fernando Tatis Jr. Fowler was apparently amenable to the idea as Tatis Jr., 20, made the Opening Day roster, as did top pitching prospect Chris Paddack, 23.

In whats become more-or-less boilerplate around the league, teams have taken to holding presumably-ML-ready prospects in the upper minors for the first few weeks of the season, thereby gaining an extra year of team control. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most obvious current example, while the White Sox finagled a workaround by signing Eloy Jimenez to an extension, prompting concerns over the use of this practice as negotiating leverage. The Padres decision to go against the grain was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise fiscally conservative marketplace.

After all, they arent considered favorites for postseason play. But there is a certain harmony to kicking off this era of Padres baseball with Machado and Tatis Jr. together on the left side of the infield, and after spending big on Hosmer and Machado, theres an argument to be made that now is the time to maximize their odds of competing. The move costs the Padres the possibility of a seventh season of team control down the line, but theres baseball being played today in San Diego, and it certainly make for a better show with Tatis Jr. in the lineup.

Through two games, Tatis Jr. has three hits in six at-bats while batting sixth in the order. Paddack, 23, is expected to make his debut on Sunday, getting the start at home against the Giants.WEXFORD TOWNSHIP, MI  A Battle Creek man tried to swallow heroin and crack cocaine after he was located by police in Northern Michigan.

Demico Lovell Clark, 46, is facing multiple drug charges after the Traverse Narcotics Team (TNT) arrested him in Wexford Township on March 24.

Police began investigating Clark when they received information that he was transporting illegal narcotics to Wexford County to sell.

TNT detectives and troopers from the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post, including a K-9 unit, located the suspect and confirmed he was in possession of suspected quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.

The suspect was taken to a medical facility for observation after he attempted to swallow the suspected heroin and crack cocaine, according to police. He was then lodged in the Wexford County jail.

Clark was arraigned in the 84th District court of Wexford County on several charges including:

Delivery of Heroin

Delivery of Crack Cocaine

Conspiracy to Deliver Heroin

Conspiracy to Deliver Cocaine

Tampering with/Destroying Evidence

Maintaining a Drug Vehicle

Resisting and Obstructing Police

He was given a $500,000.00 cash bond at his arraignment.

The Traverse Narcotics Team is an eight-county multi-jurisdictional investigative team under the direction of the Michigan State Police.

It is comprised of officers from various law enforcement agencies in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Kalkaska, Antrim, Missaukee, Osceola, and Wexford counties.GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Grand Valley State University experts Friday, March 29, reported that indoor air quality tests, prompted by a manufacturers toxic pollution, found health risk from exposure low and negligible.

The purpose of the air sampling on Pew Campus Grand Rapids was to determine potential airborne concentrations of ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen, in indoor air.

Experts say the results were very low, either below or just above the detection limit.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has been investigating the elevated emissions of ethylene oxide from Viant Medical, a global medical device maker that operates on the citys West Side, near campus.

It is highly unlikely that even one GVSU person will contract cancer because of ethylene oxide from Viant, said Ed Aboufadel, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs, during a presentation for faculty and students at the Seidman College of Business.

Aboufadel moderated a panel of members from GVSUs Viant Team on the results primarily for around 50 faculty and staff members.

He said their team agrees with DEQ that the measured and modeled concentrations do not pose a short-term health concern for faculty and students at the Grand Rapids campus.

The additional lifetime cancer risk, while not zero, is too small to warrant concern, he said, reading the conclusions from the test results.

On Feb. 7, Grand Valley announced it hired an independent company, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc., to test the indoor air quality at the Bicycle Factory, Seidman College of Business, Richard M. DeVos Center, and Winter Hall.

DEQs announcement Jan. 11, that it was expanding air quality testing around Viant, located at 520 Watson St. SW, triggered the independent testing. The toxin is used by Viant to sterilize medical equipment.

State modeling indicates that elevated concentrations of the ethylene oxide could be present in the air moving into West Side neighborhoods near Viant. Thats where the Kent County Health Department is studying incidences of cancer.

On March 6, a 100 people attended a meeting hosted by DEQ at GVSUs Eberhard Center to discuss the air pollution coming from Viant. Prior to the meeting, Viant wrote neighbors it would shut down the sterilization facility.

In the past two years, DEQ has issued four air pollution violation notices to the company and says monetary fines are likely.

Rick Rediske, an environmental chemistry professor on the panel, said their team is confident in the conclusions made based on data from air quality modeling supported by the indoor air quality testing.

He said they also tested some different buildings such as Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall for a cross section, given the different air intake systems, as a control.

Each of the four targeted campus sites were tested twice over a 24-hour period from Feb. 16 until Feb. 17 and March 16 until March 17.

On Thursday, March 28, in conjunction with DEQ, a third round of testing - indoor and outdoor - was done at the Bicycle Factory and DeVos Center. Those results are not yet available.

Panelist George McBane, a chemistry professor, told the audience that what matters for what they are trying to investigate is the total amount of ethylene oxide that people are exposed to over a long time, so individual measurements on a day arent so crucial.

For somebody who is working at these exposures for 35 years, eight hours a day, the additional cancer risk comes out roughly between two and four extra cases of cancer per 100,000 people for our range of buildings, he said, noting briefer exposures means an even smaller risk.

The public health intervention threshold, the level of additional risk caused by exposure to a carcinogen that merits a regulatory agency like DEQ saying we have to do something is taken to be 1 in 10,000.

McBane, an assistant dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said DEQ has computed that the risk for neighborhoods on the West Side was about 15 in 10,000.

He said the numbers are higher for them because of lifetime continuous exposure and because they may have lived there as children.

He said your normal risk of getting cancer in America is 38 percent.

All of the people at GVSU have these estimated cancer risk exposures that are well below that 1 in 10,000 individual risk but thats not the case for people over on the West Side, McBane said.

It is those folks on the West Side that are driving DEQ to take a relatively assertive stance on Viant.

DEQ says Viant has been cooperative. Viant spokesperson John Truscott previously told MLive the company is having independent experts review the DEQ air dispersion modeling.

Following the presentation of test results Friday, experts fielded questions from the audience.

Cheryl Dunn, professor and Associate Director of the School of Accounting, got her questions answered regarding the levels of the toxin in the Seidman College of Business and the other Pew Campus buildings, and whether they rise and fall.

She said at the DEQ meeting she couldnt her questions answered.

The March air sampling at the Seidman Center found concentrations of 0.088 microgram per cubic meter, slightly above the labs analytical limit of detection of 0.078.

The three other sites were also above that threshold but still considered an acceptable range: Bicycle Factory, 0.14; Winter Hall, 0.086; DeVos Center, 0.11. Finkelstein Hall, a control site, did not test above the detection level.

Several people commented they were pleased because they got so much more out of this meeting than the last one, said Paulette Ratliff-Miller, an accounting professor, also housed in Seidman.

I came today because Ive been on these two campuses for 12 years and I just wanted to know what the outlook is. I am not going to worry about coming to work every day.

Anna Walz, an associate professor of marketing, diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2017, had a handful of questions.

For example, Is there any increased risk due to our cars sitting outside in the parking lot all day? I go home and put my five kids under 8 in my vehicle. Is there any chance I should think twice about this? Should I air out my car before I get home?

The answer was no. Given her breast cancer, she also asked about her Seidman office being by the door in close proximity to Viant and if that put her at greater risk for cancer as well as a colleague diagnosed with multiple myeloma around the same time.

I cant say it is impossible, but I can say it is extremely unlikely, McBane said.

Aboufadel told the audience the test results do not mark the end of the process.

"The university is committed to continuing to follow developments of the situation, including the new data (third tests) and see what the enforcement resolutions are going to be from DEQ,'' he said.

"We have already invested $25,000 in testing. We are serious about this and we want to make sure that we get this right.''

For more information GVSU released on the test result, click on this link.

Other panelists included: Dave Huizen, occupational health and safety program director; Deb Alderink, occupational safety and health manager with Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc.; and Tammi VanTil, air dispersion consultant and president of Madison Consulting.PLAINFIELD TWP, MI  A man died in a house fire that his girlfriend was able to escape in Iosco County.

The fire occurred about 1:05 a.m. on Friday, March 29 at a home located in the 4800 block of Kokosing Road in Plainfield Township.

According to Michigan State Police, a 26-year-old woman called 911 to report that she was able to escape the burning home, but her boyfriend was still inside.

Responders located 34-year-old Kip Hodges, of Hale, dead inside the home.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death and the incident remains under investigation.

The MSP Fire Investigation Unit is investigating the cause of the fire.

Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Plainfield Township Fire Department, Iosco County EMS and Iosco County Central Dispatch.US National Security Advisor John Bolton has been flooding Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino with messages asking him to "do the right thing," playing the "Good Cop" to his own "Bad Cop."

Bolton's most recent "do the right thing" tweet implores Padrino and the army to "protect the Constitutional order from Maduro's usurpation of democracy"  though US special envoy Elliott Abrams admitted earlier this month that Juan Guaido's self-appointed presidency was technically in violation of Venezuela's constitution, until he unilaterally opted to change it.

"Mr. Bolton, I tell you that we are doing the right thing," Padrino responded in a televised address. "Doing the right thing is doing what's written in the constitution... Doing the right thing is respecting the will of the people."

Bolton has been tweeting at Padrino all week  and those are just the messages he's sent publicly. The Venezuelan military's refusal to throw its support behind Juan Guaido, the opposition leader turned self-appointed US-backed "interim president," is clearly a thorn in his side.

"We call on the Venezuelan military to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the citizens of Venezuela," Bolton tweeted in a statement in which he also "cautioned" "actors external to the Western Hemisphere"  i.e. Russia, mostly  to cease their "provocative actions" lest the US be forced to "defend and protect" its interests.

Also on rt.com Venezuela regime-change champion John Bolton says US wont tolerate foreign meddling in the country

Padrino does not seem interested in Bolton's love letters, however, denouncing Guaido as "a self-proclaimed outlaw."

"We, the soldiers of the Motherland, do not accept the president imposed in the shadow of dark interests," he said.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!Haiti opposition calls for renewed street protests against US-backed president

Haiti opposition calls for renewed street protests against US-backed president

Mass protests in Haiti may renew after leading opposition groups united over the common goal of ousting President Jovenel Moise, whose government the protesters accuse of corruption. Earlier, at least 26 people were killed and dozens injured amid clashes between activists and security forces. The protests first erupted in February after a court report accused senior officials of misappropriating billions of dollars in aid received from Venezuela. Haiti is also suffering from a deteriorating economy and a lack of security, with gang violence on the rise.Source : RT - Daily news



By AP news, March. 30, 2019





PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared Friday he is likely to shut down Americas southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration. Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasized, I am not kidding around.





It could mean all trade with Mexico, Trump said when questioned by reporters in Florida. We will close it for a long time.Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of Washington, DC, to oppose the upcoming NATO ministerial meeting in the US capital. The demonstrators also decried the continued US involvement in the Venezuelan political crisis.

The march was aimed at showing "mass popular opposition to NATO, wars, racism and US aggression against Venezuela," National Mobilization's Steering Committee, a loose ad hoc coalition of activists representing dozens of peace movements and action groups, said in a statement.

The demonstrators gathered at the Lafayette Square in front of the White House and then marched through the area, stopping near the offices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Organization of the American States (OAS), which the demonstrators also held partly responsible for the "imperialist" policies of the West. They also walked past the Washington mayor's office to address the local issues and the Customs & Border Enforcement office to highlight the plight of the Latin American asylum seekers coming to the US.

The protesters were holding placards and banners that read: "No to NATO, No to war and racism", "Unite to fight NATO's racist wars", "NATO Bombs=Slavery in Libya", "NATO Killed One Million Iraqis" and "Shut Down NATO'S War Crimes."

Some slogans also referred to the continued US pressure on Venezuela, where Washington supports a self-proclaimed "interim president", Juan Guaido, who seeks to depose the elected leader, Nicolas Maduro. The slogans read: "Hands off Venezuela" and "No war on Venezuela" as well as "US Sanctions Caused Venezuela's Crisis."

The meeting of the NATO foreign affairs ministers is scheduled for April 3 and 4. It will be held in Washington DC to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!More than 1,300 male and female volunteers stripped naked to take part in a mass photoshoot in Valencia, Spain, by famous nude photographer Spencer Tunick.

The group gathered in the center of the Spanish city on Saturday and stripped to their birthday suit in the name of art and female empowerment. The New York-based photographer, who is renowned for his work with naked bodies, said the shoot was in aid of Valencias IntraMurs cultural festival.

Participants were pictured in various positions that placed the men on the ground and the women standing over them, intended to represent the latter group as the wiser of the two sexes.

With these works there was an abstract narrative throughout  women empowerment and sort of a new beginning, explained Tunick. Not so much equalizing the men and the women but actually the women rising above the men as the wiser of the two sexes.

Also on rt.com Playboy model arrested for naked crucifix photoshoot at the Vatican

The photographer has created more than 90 nude art installations in cultural hubs around the world including the Sydney Opera House, the Place des Arts in Montreal, Mexico City, and the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Venezuela's US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, was given the royal treatment by officials in Miami-Dade, who gave the self-proclaimed 'first lady' the key to the county.

As Guaido drums up support for his cause on the ground in Venezuela, he passed the baton of liaising with Washington to his wife, 26-year-old Rosales. Rosales, an activist and journalist who married Guiado in 2013, had already met with US President Donald Trump, VP Mike Pence, and First Lady Melania Trump.

After rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs in Washington, Rosales headed to Florida. On Friday, she again made headlines after she was welcomed by Mayor Carlos Gimenez and local lawmakers at Miami-Dade County Hall.

Rosales addressed the officials, speaking about her desire to "restore" humanity in Venezuela and stop the "massacre" of children in her country, which has been plagued by a severe economic crisis and political turmoil as her husband tries to seize power.

Local media came with reports fawning over Rosales, describing her as a "potent force in Venezuela's opposition to the Maduro regime."

The elated mood of the gathering culminated in Gimenez giving Rosales the symbolic golden key to the county in a festive ceremony. Gimenez said that he sympathized with Rosales because he himself was born in Cuba and has first-hand knowledge of totalitarianism, dictatorship, and socialism  despite only being six when he was brought to the US.

Also on rt.com Running country like a business: Trump calls Venezuela company, but is it a Freudian slip?

Guaido has been recognized by the US, its allies in the region, as well as several European countries as the legitimate representative of the Venezuelan people. Washington was the first to recognize the self-declared 'interim president'. Since then, it has sought to boost the credibility of Guaido, who, despite enjoying broad support from US allies, has been denied recognition by Russia, China, and Turkey, who stand by Venezuela's elected president, Nicolas Maduro.

Trump has repeatedly said that "all options" remain on the table with regards to Venezuela, including military intervention. US special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, known as a coup mastermind for his role in assisting the Contra rebels in Nicaragua and being involved in the 2002 failed coup attempt in Venezuela, has been leading the charge to oust Maduro from power. His efforts have been coupled with those of US National Security Advisor John Bolton, whose recent call for the Venezuelan defense minister to defect was rejected in no uncertain terms.

In addition to increasing political pressure, Washington continues to suffocate Caracas with sanctions that have already crippled its economy. It has been reported that the US State Department told foreign oil trading houses and refineries that they should cut operations with Venezuela beyond what is dictated by the existing sanctions unless they want to face sanctions themselves.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!Over 30 killed in series of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan

Over 30 killed in series of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan

Afghan authorities reported over 30 fatalities in a series of clashes involving Taliban fighters. Mortar shells killed four students on Saturday and injured 17 people in Andar district of eastern Ghazni province amid a battle between Taliban and security forces. Nine police troops were killed in a separate Taliban attack on a security checkpoint in Ghazni city late on Friday. At least 12 security troops were killed in the fighting for the Arghanj Khaw district of the north-eastern Badakhshan province, which started on Thursday night and resulted in the militants taking control of the area. Four police officers were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Zabul in southern Afghanistan on late Friday.Source : RT - Daily newsPalestinians continue to stage massive rallies along the Israel-Gaza border, as part of the resistance campaign launched exactly one year ago. A protester is said to have been killed by Israeli troops just hours before.

 21-year-old Palestinian man died in the hospital on Saturday, after he was shot while protesting near the border fence the night before, Gaza health officials said.

The IDF told the media that it had not heard about the incident. The army earlier reported that it attacked a Hamas military post in Gaza, and said that militants were hurling explosives during a riot near the border.

Meanwhile, thousands of protesters holding Palestinian flags have gathered across the border fence to denounce the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza.

Several groups of Palestinians made attempts to charge at the border fence, while Israeli security forces launched tear gas at the protesters.

Also on rt.com Terrible massacre: Israel kills 59, injures 2,771 Gaza protesters as US embassy opens in Jerusalem

Saturday marked one year since the massive protest campaign was launched. The months-long standoff with the IDF left at least 189 Palestinians killed, and more than 6,000 wounded, according to the UN.

The protests intensified last May after US President Donald Trump announced his controversial decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This was part of his promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. The step was warmly welcomed by the Israeli government, but fervently denounced by Palestinians. It also received a mixed reaction among Washingtons Western allies, who pointed out that the decision is only likely to fuel tensions in the region.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) was texting "like teenager" with the president of the pro-Israel lobbying body and talked about unifying Senate against the boycott of Israel, his leaked speech at an AIPAC meeting reveals.

The audio of the closed-doors meeting has been obtained and published by the Intercept on Saturday. Booker spoke before the members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at the organization's annual policy conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

Booker were one of the few Democratic presidential hopefuls who appeared before the AIPAC as many skipped the event after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) stirred up the party with criticism of the lobbys influence in US politics.

The candidate thanked the AIPAC president Mort Fridman for his "leadership and his friendship," the audio reveals, and shared with the participants the details of their cozy relationship. Fridman and him, Booker stated, are trying to keep in touch and "text message back and forth like teenagers."

Booker voiced his strong rejection of anti-Semitism, which comes in different forms, according to him  namely the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The BDS is a global movement focused on pressuring Israel to end occupation of the Palestinian territories and violation of human rights. Such pressure on Tel Aviv is unacceptable, Booker stressed.

"Let me be clear. Anti-Semitism is un-American. It is anti- American. It violates, most deeply, our commonly held values, and we must take steps on the global stage against vicious acts that target hatred."

"That is why I'm a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 720, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which opposes international efforts to encourage BDS while protecting First Amendment rights," Booker added.

Also on rt.com House Dems ignore base, battle Trump for Israels approval with anti-boycott law as AIPAC looms

The controversial bill discourages US companies from joining any organizations in boycotting Israel. While it received a sizable support, human rights activists have raised concerns over such legislation, while others criticized it as an attempt from the Dems to win Israeli lobby over Donald Trump.

Booker, however, stressed that bipartisan unity was very important in supporting Israel and seemed to be quite offended with the remarks of Vice President Mike Pence, who praised President Trump as the greatest friend of Tel Aviv ever just before the latter recognized Israeli sovereignty over occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Both Democrats and Republicans can and should love Israel  and can actually get together through this, Booker argued.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!Several Russian banks have joined the China International Payments System (CIPS), to ease operations between the two countries, according to a senior official at the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

As for the cooperation on payment systems, a range of banks are already connected to CIPS, allowing to facilitate payments routing procedure, Vladimir Shapovalov, who heads a division dealing with foreign regulators at the CBRs international cooperation department, said earlier this week during the international Russian-Chinese forum.

Also on rt.com Russia's alternative to SWIFT payment system poised to eclipse the original  MP

Meanwhile, the regulator hopes that Chinese counterparts pay more attention to Russias own SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) alternative, SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages), as it can further boost bilateral trade, the official added.

Russia is actively demonstrating the SPFS network, which was created in 2014 in response US threats of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT, to foreign partners, including China after its export version was finished late last year. The first system transaction involving a non-bank enterprise, was made by Russian oil major Rosneft in December 2017. Some 500 participants, with major Russian financial institutions and companies, have already joined.

Also on rt.com Yuan the Conqueror: Chinese currency poised to become global heavyweight, economists say

On Thursday, the CBR announced that the Russian alternative to SWIFT made significant progress as it already complies with international standards and foreign players can be integrated in it. Some foreign banks already joined the SPFS, according to the CBR deputy governor Ksenia Yudaeva.

SWIFT is an international payment network that allows information about financial transactions to be sent and received around the globe. Over 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries are connected to the network.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business sectionWomen across Russia are posting racy photos in solidarity with a female teacher who was reportedly fired for a social media photo in a swimsuit, which her boss and some parents found inappropriate for her job.

The online flashmob dubbed 'Teachers are people too' was launched in support of a female school teacher from the city of Barnaul in southern Siberia. Tatyana Kuvshinnikova, 38, told reporters that she was fired after she posted a picture of herself wearing a short purple cocktail dress and high heels on her social media account. Some parents, as well as her colleagues and boss, reportedly found the photo too racy. The woman, who teaches Russian language and literature, also posed in an evening gown and a one-piece swimsuit in other photos.

The news sparked a public outcry, with many siding with the teacher and saying there is nothing wrong with the photo. Women, including current and former teachers, are now sharing their own shots in bras and swimsuits.

"We have a right to private life: to swimsuits, piercings, tattoos, hobbies and other things we may like," one woman wrote. "Keep in mind that we can have various social roles. And we don't drag our private life to schools."

"Yet another controversy over a teacher in a swimsuit Why do people see evil in it? Or a bad subtext?" another asked.

The Education Ministry ordered the local authorities to investigate whether the school was right to fire the teacher. Meanwhile, the sacked woman has already found allies in the nation's parliament. "It's not a reason to fire somebody," lawmaker Yelena Drapeko, who sits on the Culture Committee, said, blasting the school's actions as "unabashed sanctimony."

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!The leader of the Spanish far-right party, Vox, is taking a page from Donald Trumps immigration policy, by calling for a wall to stop an influx of immigrants coming into the country and wanting someone else to pay for it.

Santiago Abascal is calling for insurmountable walls to be built along Spains borders to stop the wave of illegal immigrants coming from North Africa to blackmail the European Union, and claims Morocco should foot the bill.

The politician put forward the proposals in his recently published book, while also calling for the army to be deployed and given the necessary orders to defend the borders in Ceuta and Melilla  the two entry points into Spain from the North African coast until the wall is erected.

READ MORE: Build a wall along Sahara to stop migrants  Trump reportedly urged Spain to be like him

Abascal said he also wants to build a psychological wall against illegal immigration across Europe. The 42-year-old claims the mental wall would consist of informing immigrants that those who enter illegally in Europe will never be able to regularize their situation nor will they have the right to stay, nor will they have social assistance, nor will they be given a health card.

Furthermore, Abascal said he wants to stop NGOs from helping migrants that gain entry to the country and prevent the organizations from rescuing people when they get into trouble at sea. He went on to accuse the NGOs of collaborating with the mafia to rescue people from the African coast for human trade.

Also on rt.com Hundreds of migrants storm barrier between Spain and North Africa (VIDEOS)

The Vox party is gaining popularity in Spain for its harsh stance on gun laws, abortion, same-sex marriage, illegal immigration and radical feminism. Polls suggest it will be the first far-right party to win seats in Spanish parliament since the late 1970s in next months general election.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!Ukrainians will choose from 39 candidates this Sunday, but one name has received a huge amount of attention despite not being on the ballot  Vladimir Putin. The contenders seem to be unable to stop talking about him.

Of course, the leader of Ukraine's powerful neighbor is not unworthy of the voters' attention. But some candidates may have gone too far shaping their campaigns around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For instance, Petro Poroshenko, the incumbent Ukrainian president struggling to stay in office, states in non-ambiguous terms that he is running against Putin. "Who is my opponent? I don't hesitate to say this openly, since others are afraid to do it. It's Putin."

The message was also given a prominent place during a big event in which the Ukrainian president announced his candidacy in January. Displays showed banners featuring him and his Russian counterpart with the slogan: "Either Poroshenko, or Putin." Some observers, including Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, snickered, asking if Putin was aware he was running.

Other candidates may not be running against Putin, but had their Putin moments too  mostly to explain how they would be able to talk to the Kremlin "alpha dog". Vladimir Zelensky, a front-runner according to opinion polls, had to explain this week why he once offered to kneel before the Russian president. (It's OK, it was a desperate plea for peace, not some act of groveling.) Yulia Tymoshenko, a potential second round run-off participant, promised a face-off with Putin, with the US, France, Britain, and China behind her. Oleg Lyashko, the extravagant pitchfork-wielding head of the Radical Party, said he'll bring "steel balls and nerves" instead of Poroshenko's "flexible backbone" to the negotiating table.

Also on rt.com Milking it: Ukrainian populist right-wing politician brings cows to picket government (VIDEO)

However, the job that all these people crave so much will primarily require dealing, not with Putin, but with boring things like the economy, the labor drain, and the growing influence of right-wing nationalists.

This year, Ukraine has to pay over US$15 billion to foreign creditors, which amounts to a third of its budget and will require borrowing at least $4 billion more, according to government plans. The country's economy is growing again, but it's far from pre-Maidan levels, after shrinking by a half over 2014-15. The country lost much of its industrial capacity, which relied on the Russian market to stay afloat, and failed to find a replacement in Europe.

The government estimates that 3.2 million Ukrainian citizens work in foreign nations on a permanent basis, while 7 to 9 million are employed as seasonal guest workers outside of the country. Ukraine's entire labor force is about 20 million and continues to shrink along with its population.

There is also political instability. A resent Gallop poll said Ukraine holds the world record in terms of public mistrust in its government, with just nine percent saying they have some trust. This is down from 24 percent in 2014, when Poroshenko was elected for his first term. The polling agency found Ukrainians despising the government and overwhelmingly certain that the upcoming vote will be rigged.

Also on rt.com Ukrainian radicals clash with police outside Poroshenkos office, give ultimatum to president

The country has also tilted noticeably to the right after years of fervent nationalist propaganda from the leadership. Right-wing paramilitary groups allegedly acting under the umbrella of powerful officials like Poroshenko himself or Interior Minister Arsen Avakov are now a force to be reckoned with  and increasingly accepted by the public as a viable alternative to corrupt and inefficient law enforcement.

Deep corruption, rampant poverty, and aggressive nationalism were not things Ukrainians wanted when they took part in mass protests in 2013. They wanted political reform and European living standards, not necessarily in that order. Five years on, the people who want to lead the country into the future are busy measuring who would be the toughest on Putin.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.As US crude exports soar, an unexpected issue is plaguing domestic producers, and it could completely derail the countrys oil boom.

Two South Korean refiners have canceled the delivery of US crude oil cargoes that were due to arrive in January and February this year, Bloomberg reported earlier this week. It cited unnamed sources from the industry as saying the refiners had been concerned about the quality of the crude. Quality could at some point become a bigger problem for US producers.

Also on rt.com Venezuela may divert US-bound oil to Russia & China

Its all because of the pipelines, Bloombergs Serene Cheong, Sharon Cho, and Alfred Cang write in an analysis of the issue. There is a massive pipeline network carrying crude oil from the US shale patch to the Gulf Coast ports where it is loaded on tankers and sent to Asia, with South Korea emerging as the biggest buyer of US crude so far this year.

Yet with so many pipelinestrunks and branchesthe oil gets contaminated with various undesirable things, from oil residue to heavy metals, pipe cleaning agents, and a group of compounds called oxygenates. These last ones are particularly worrying for refiners, it seems.

Oxygenates, including ethanol, are added to gasoline during the production process in order to reduce carbon emissions and soot. However, they have no place with the crude oil yet to begin being processed at a refinery as they can have a negative effect on the quality of the fuel eventually. Whats more, some other contaminants can affect the refining equipment as well.

All this justifies the cancelation of the cargoes by SK Innovation and Hyundai Oilbank and highlights a potential problem whose solution is, to date, non-existent. The way to solve this problem would be to have a separate pipeline infrastructure for every type of oil produced in the shale patch but this is impossible at the moment. This is how oil is transferred to the field to the export terminal in the Middle East, and this makes its quality more stable, one analyst told Bloombergs reporters.

In the case of the canceled cargoesboth sold by BPthe oil came from one shale play, the Eagle Ford. The Eagle Ford is a lot closer to the Gulf Coast than North Dakota, home of the Bakken shale, and yet it got contaminated during its journey to the tanker. While absent in the Gulf of Mexico, where the pipeline infrastructure is more consistent than the network onshore, the problem could become serious and potentially undermine the competitiveness of US oil in a small and unfought for victory for Middle Eastern producers vying for a bigger market share in Asia.

Also on rt.com United States squabbles over new Iran sanction waivers

Yet one of these cargoes did get sold, to a Chinese independent refiner, Bloombergs sources said. Teapot refiners have different refinery configurations and their quality requirements are, apparently, not as strict, so even contaminated oil can find a home. Yet this would not solve the problem.

Since the surge in US tight oil formation crude output, there have been persistent quality issues, particularly on consistency, John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services told Bloomberg. What does it mean for US exporters? They need to tighten up the specs or face pressure from buyers for further discounts.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.comUS President Donald Trump has ordered to cut all aid programs for the so-called Northern Triangle nations over the migrant inflow into the US. Washington is often criticized for worsening the conditions that force people to flee.

We are carrying out the Presidents direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle, a State Department spokesperson told the media. We will be engaging Congress as part of this process, she added.

Earlier, Trump himself told journalists that he ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore. He also accused the Central American countries of not doing a thing for us. The president also turned to Twitter to lambaste the three nations, along with Mexico, over their failure to stop illegal immigration into the US.

He then also threatened to close the US' southern border or at least a large section of the border next week while slamming the Democrats for what he called the weakest immigration laws anywhere.

Also on rt.com Mexico border closure very likely and would be a 'profit-making operation' for US, Trump says

The move seems to be a sudden about-face as, just earlier this week, US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen visited Mexico and Honduras to sign new partnership agreements. On Wednesday, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, who ordered his department to act on the presidents direction, told the House that Trump instructed him and Nielsen to develop a set of programs that reward effective outcomes, that reward good leadership, that get us to a place where we actually achieve the outcomes."

Meanwhile, the presidents move has already seen some resistance from lawmakers. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a top Democrat in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denounced Trumps order as a "reckless announcement" and called on both Democrats and Republicans to reject it, while arguing that American aid advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens.

While Trump blames the Northern Triangle nations for failing to stop illegal migration to the US, it was Washington that greatly contributed to the causes of the modern political and economic crises that drives people out of the three Latin American countries.

Also on rt.com Trump-bashing Iraq war architect Elliott Abrams to lead US regime change in Venezuela

For about a century, the US ruthlessly interfered in the internal affairs of these countries while pursuing its own interests. Back in 1954, the US helped a military junta to overthrow Guatemalas democratically elected president, who sought a land reform that would favor the local population at the expense of American companies, which had their financial interests in the Latin American country.

An uprising against the US-backed regime sparked a bloody civil war. In the following years, the US consistently supported the Guatemalan military in spite of being well aware of its human rights abuses. In El Salvador, Washington supported another military regime as well. The situation there also spiraled into a civil war in the 1980s, which saw the Salvadorian military shooting their opponents as well as civilians en masse. However, the US continued to actively pour billions of dollars into the tiny country to support the local regime.

In Honduras, the US businesses ravaged the national economy and pillaged the nations resources for decades while strengthening the countrys military. Continuous American interventions have destabilized the region and let organized crime thrive in the vacuum of power.

Also on rt.com US responsible for misery & horrors forcing people to flee Latin America  Chomsky

Now, stricken by poverty, crime and corruption of the US-backed governments, the Northern Triangle nations have become a major source of the immigrants seeking to move to the US.

Cutting the funds to the programs aimed at stemming migration could possibly make the situation even worse. Most recently, the Mexican Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero warned that a 20,000-strong mother of all migrant caravans is gathering in Honduras and is preparing to move towards the US through Mexican territory. A smaller caravan consisting of some 2,500 migrants is already on its way heading north.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!US President Donald Trump reportedly proposed that North Korea transfer all its nuclear weapons to the US, a denuclearization template borrowed from Libya before the NATO intervention and brutal murder of its leader.

The second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February wrapped up early, ending with a big question mark over the future of the talks and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the wake of the Vietnam meeting, Pyongyang and Washington offered different accounts of what actually transpired, with the White House alleging that North Korea demanded all sanctions be lifted from it. Pyongyang insisted that it was talking only about partial relief. The essence of the talks was kept under a veil of secrecy.

Also on rt.com US wants N Korea to take irreversible steps to de-nuke, similar to Libyas denuclearisation

Reuters reported on Friday that it got access to a secretive plan that, in Washington's view, would potentially lead to a breakthrough in the stalled talks. The agency reported that the plan was similar to the one touted by US National Security Advisor John Bolton and was modelled after Libya.

READ MORE: After what happened to Libya, should North Korea think twice about ditching nukes?

Trump reportedly handed over copies of the plan, in English and in Korean, to Kim during their meeting on February 28. The North Korean side has never commented on the content of the bargain, but it apparently did not sit well with Kim, and the working lunch scheduled for the same day was cancelled.

The plan as outlined by Reuters envisions a complete dismantling of Pyongyang's "nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program" as well as "related dual-use capabilities." Had North Korea given in to the US' demands, it would also have to destroy "ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities." The US demanded that Pyongyang agree to give full account of its nuclear program and provide unimpeded access for international inspectors to the sites. Building new nuclear-related facilities would be prohibited and all scientists working at the old nuclear facilities would be assigned to the commercial sector.

After the summit ended with no deal, Washington attempted to salvage the talks, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying in early March that the US is looking to send a delegation to North Korea soon.

Pyongyang took a pause after the failed summit as hopes of rekindling the momentum between the US and North Korea faded. In the first public assessment of the meeting on March 15, a senior North Korean diplomat decried the stand the US took at the talks as "gangster-like," hinting that Pyongyang might withdraw from the talks altogether and renew nuclear and missile tests.

If the US indeed proposed to North Korea a refurbished version of the Libyan disarmament model, it would mean that Trump backtracked on his own promise to avoid that specifically. In May last year, Trump was forced to disavow Bolton, who has been peddling the Libya-style denuclearization of North Korea since the early 2000s, after the hawkish national security advisor proposed it again, drawing anger from Pyongyang.

Libya struck a deal with the US to hand over its nuclear program components in 2003. Eight years later, it was ravaged by civil unrest backed by NATO-led bombing, which resulted in the ouster and murder of the country's long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!US judge annuls Trumps order to expand drilling leases to Arctic & Atlantic areas

US judge annuls Trumps order to expand drilling leases to Arctic & Atlantic areas

A federal judge in Alaska has overruled US President Donald Trumps plan to open large areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas drilling leasing. US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason explained her decision to scrap the White House plans for energy dominance by saying that the president just hasnt the right to add any areas to the leasing program under US law as only Congress can do that. The leasing prohibitions imposed by the former president, Barack Obama, will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress, the judge said in her ruling.Source : RT - Daily newsThe US is projecting its own plans against Venezuela on Moscow, surmising about military contingents and operations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that Russian specialists have clear and open goals in the country.

It looks like Washington is judging by itself, trying to ascribe its own plans it has against this country to Moscow. Yet again, they arrogantly announce they have all option on the table, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday. She added that Russian specialists in Venezuela are not military contingent which Moscow made clear from the very beginning.

The US unsubstantiated alarm over an imaginary Russian military contingent deployed to Venezuela is an example of the utmost hypocrisy, given its own activities in South America.

It would be nice to know, what the numerous American military instructors are doing in Venezuelas neighbor  Columbia? Zakharova wondered. And why is the White House eagerly calling its other neighbor  Brazil  to NATO, in violation of the charter and very name of the North Atlantic treaty?

Also on rt.com US lecturing Russia to keep out of Western Hemisphere is hubris & hypocrisy on steroids

DETAILS TO FOLLOWThousands of protesters are rallying across France as Yellow Vest demonstrations show no sign of abating on their 20th week despite authorities banning many locations. A heavy police presence can be seen throughout the country.

In Paris, protesters gathered in two locations, forming a joint column. The Yellow Vests are now marching towards Trocadero square.

The march has been largely incident free so far, yet a thick plume of smoke was observed a couple of times near the demonstrators. It was not immediately clear, however, if it was tear gas or not.

At least 25 people have been detained in Paris, according to the first official figures from the citys police.

Minor clashes between riot police and the Yellow Vests occurred in the city of Avignon, where protesters were allowed to demonstrate only in one location. Following the brief scuffles, the protest continued peacefully.

In Bordeaux, a group of vandals attacked a bank, smashing its windows with iron bars while thousands marched peacefully through the streets of the city.

The protesters are also seeking to show solidarity with Genevieve Legay, a 73-year-old anti-globalization activist, injured in Nice last weekend. We are all Genevieve! an online appeal for the protests reads.

Legay was one of those who braved a blanket ban on protests in Nice and got pushed down by a police officer, receiving a head injury, according to the city's prosecutor.

While the injury caused outrage by itself, French President Emmanuel Macron managed to add insult to it when earlier this week he squarely blamed Legay for the incident.

When one is fragile and risks being shoved, one does not go to places that are declared off-limits and one does not put oneself in that kind of situation, Macron said, wishing speedy recovery  and perhaps a kind of wisdom.

The remark drew anger from the activist's family and fellow protesters, who accused Macron of being patronizing and disrespectful, as well as of whitewashing police violence.

Also on rt.com Macron divides Yellow Vest protesters into goodies & baddies during school visit

Like this story? Share it with a friend!Representative Image

The government has again extended its deadline to impose retaliatory customs duties on 29 US products, including almond, walnut and pulses, till May 2. A notification of the finance ministry said that implementation of increased customs duty on specified imports originating in the US has been postponed from April 1, 2019 to May 2, this year.

The government has extended this deadline over half a dozen times since June 2018, when it decided to impose these duties in retaliation to a move by the US to impose high customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products.

India is pushing the dates as both sides are negotiating a trade package to boost bilateral commerce. But earlier this month, the US decided to withdraw export incentives being provided by them to Indian exporters for certain goods under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.

Extension of these benefits were part of the negotiations between India and the US among other issues. These incentives are expected to be withdrawn from May 2. Domestic exporters are jittery over US' decision to withdraw these incentives as they export goods worth USD 5.6 billion under GSP programme. About 1,900 items including from chemicals and engineering sectors avail these sops.

The government is considering to send a delegation to the US earlier next month to hold discussions on ways to resolve all trade-related issues.

Both sides were holding two-track discussions to increase trade in short and medium term, and identify long-term trade potentials.

India is pressing for exemption from high duty imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their GSP programme, greater market access for its products from agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering sectors.

On the other hand, the US is demanding greater market access through cut in import duties for its agriculture goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT and communication items. India has stated that it would be difficult for them to cut duties on IT products.

As part of the imposition of higher import duties, New Delhi has notified higher tariffs on several products. While import duty on walnut has been hiked to 120 per cent from 30 per cent currently, duty on chickpeas, Bengal gram (chana) and masur dal will be raised to 70 per cent, from 30 per cent currently. Levy on lentils will be increased to 40 per cent, from 30 per cent.

India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were USD 26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Indian indices ended higher on the last trading day of the current financial year 2018-19, with the Nifty finished above 11,600 level.

At close, the Sensex was up 127.19 points at 38,672.91, while the Nifty was up 53.90 points at 11,623.90. About 1429 shares advanced, 1185 shares

declined, and 162 shares are unchanged.

During the financial year, the Sensex climbed 17 percent and Nifty50 gained around 15 percent. S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,672.91, up 127 points while the broader Nifty50 closed above the crucial 11,600 level at 11,623.90, up 54 points.

Here's a look at the top 10 stocks which moved the most last week:

Jet Airways: up 42.75%

Shares of Jet Airways rallied nearly 19 percent after founder Naresh Goyal on March 25 quit as a board member, with the lenders taking control and deciding to infuse Rs 1,500 crore immediately into the ailing airline. Etihad Airways has shown interest in bidding for Jet Airways and has already approached the State Bank of India-led consortium for the same, sources told CNBC-TV18.

American investment firm TPG is also interested in the cash-strapped airline, said the sources. It may make its bid with a partner fund. TPG had also shown interest in a stake in JetPrivilege in 2018. Apart from TPG, lenders have also reportedly reached out to the Tata Group for a potential investment in Jet Airways.

Dewan Housing: up 16.5%

Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) soared over 12 percent during the week amid reports that Piramal Group and Baring Private Equity (PE) are in talks to acquire a majority stake in the company.

GMR Infra: up 13.79%

Shares of GMR Infra spiked 13 percent last week, it is raising Rs 8,000 crore from Tata Group, GIC and SSG Capital by selling a significant stake in its airport business, and is now evaluating demerger of the vertical into a separately listed entity. The board has in principle okayed and advised us this the way forward, said Sushil Kumar Modi, Group CFO, Strategic Finance of GMR referring to the demerger.

TTK Prestige: up 12%

TTK Prestige shares rallied nearly 5 percent intraday on March 29 after the board approved of a bonus issue, but the stock rallied 12 percent for the week. The kitchen appliances maker, on March 29, said the board approved and recommended the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share for every five shares held, as on a record date to be determined.

"The bonus issue of equity shares will be subject to approval of the shareholders and any other applicable statutory and regulatory approvals," it added.

Balkrishna Industries: up 9%

Shares of tyre maker Balkrishna Industries added 9 percent for the week. The company said it is working on a Rs 2,000 crore expansion plan in India to meet the increasing demand of its products globally. The company is planning to set up a modern carbon black manufacturing facility at its plant in Bhuj, Gujarat.

"The company is working on a Rs 2,000 crore expansion plan," BKT's Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Poddar said

Power Finance Corporation: up 8.84%

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on March 28 completed the acquisition of a majority stake in REC by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government, an official said. The transaction has helped the government meet its disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for the current financial year.

"The entire consideration of Rs 14,500 crore for acquiring 52.63 percent equity of the Government of India in REC is paid by PFC through RTGS (real-time gross settlement) mode this morning," an official said.

Jindal Steel & Power: up 7.83%

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on March 29 he had a productive working dinner the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the worlds two largest economies.

Trade talks with China are progressing "very well", US President Donald Trump said, as top negotiators from the two countries on March 28 began meetings to resolve their tariff war with a working dinner.The meetings will lasted the entire day of March 29.

"Steel demand is expected to be robust in coming months. Steel prices saw a correction because raw material prices costs were high," Naveen Jindal said.

Jindal also said that international prices of steel would determine the outlook for coming months in the domestic market.

State Bank of India: up 7.62%

State Bank of India shares gained more than a percent intraday on Thursday after Credit Suisse lifted earnings estimates on expected stronger net interest margin. While maintaining outperform call with a price target at Rs 350, Credit Suisse said growth remained healthy and SBI's margin will expand further going ahead.

According to the investment firm, SBI may look to raise Rs 10,000 crore of capital at an opportune time for higher growth. Credit Suisse revised its FY19-21 earnings per share (EPS) estimates upwards by 4-5 percent on stronger NIMs & deferred capital raise.

Titan Company: 1 lakh crore market cap

The market capitalisation (m-cap) of Titan Company surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time ever. With a rally of over 3.50 percent, the m-cap of the company jumped to Rs 1,00,985.70 crore on March 29, up from Rs 98,073.70 on March 22. Before closing 0.69 percent up at Rs 1,137.50, the scrip scaled its all-time high of Rs 1,146 on Friday.

Vodafone Idea: down 43%

The telecom company said in its BSE filing that it is planning to raise Rs 25,000 crore via a rights issue. Vodafone Idea has proposed to issue 2000 crore new shares through a rights issue. Considering they currently have about 870 crore shares now, its a massive dilution. The ratio of the rights issue is at 87:38, meaning for every 38 shares held, you have the right to buy 87 shares. The issue price is at Rs 12.5  a massive discount of 56 percent from the current price of Rs 28.50.

The board also fixed April 2 as the record date for the purpose of determining the shareholders who will be eligible to apply for the issue.American historian Henry Brook Adams once said, A teacher affects eternity. Many success stories have an inspiring teacher that ignited a spark in a deserving student who then used it to achieve great heights.

Today we cover one such bright young software engineer. Vishvesh Chauhan was inspired and encouraged by his teacher Avijan Dutta, who was a fund manager before he took to teaching, to look at markets as a career. Chauhan has never looked back since then.

Son of a retired police officer from Daman, Chauhan credits his father for instilling discipline and hard-work -- the twin pillars he attributes to his trading success.

Chauhans excellent technical analysis skills, coupled with his knowledge of data science and computing skills, makes him a lethal trader -- one who you would not like to bet against in the market.

He, however, has had his shares of failures, but like every successful person he has used it as a stepping stone and learning experience to move forward.

Related stories

In an interview with Moneycontrol's Shishir Asthana, Chauhan walks us through his journey as a trader, pausing at various hurdles he faced and finally taking us through his trading strategies.

Edited excerpts

A: I am a software engineer with an MBA in finance based out of Surat. Coming from Gujarat, the stock market was not an alien subject, but my introduction to the market was pragmatic.

During my MBA course, we had a professor -- Avijan Dutta, who was from IIM Ahmedabad and a fund manager in his previous avatar. It was he who gave us an inside tour of the market.

In one such assignment, I analysed a software company called i-Flex Solutions (now Oracle Financial Services Software), which was trading at around Rs 300 per share. I liked the stock because the company wrote software for banks to run their core operations. Given the computerisation of banks, I figured out that there would be no demand-side issues for the company. My price target for the company was Rs 1,200 over the next four years. However, we were in the midst of the biggest bull run (2004-08) and i-Flex hit my target in a matter of months.

I saw the magic unfold in front of my eyes and wanted to learn more about the market. I approached my professor and asked him how I could learn more about the market. He told me that fundamental analysis is only one small segment of the overall market and directed me towards technical analysis.

In the final year of two-year full-time MBA, I did a very detailed project on technical analysis putting my software knowledge to use. I downloaded the bhav copy from both stock exchanges and fed it into open-source software, which uses various technical indicators to throw up simple trading strategies. While my project was selected as the best, the stocks I had picked during this assignment doubled in a short span of time.

After the course, I decided I would like to be a technical analyst. What also tilted my decision was what my professor told me. He said that analysts are among the highest paid professionals.

A: My first job was with one of the biggest retail brokers in the country. After the initial learning process, thanks to hand-holding by my bosses, I picked up the art and science of technical analysis. Those days I was good at picking up short and medium-term trends.

All throughout, my focus was on price and volume. I was taught that irrespective of whether you are a promoter, analyst, trader, fund manager or insider you can do only two things when you come to the market: buy or sell stocks. Now, if you trade in large volumes, you will leave your signature on the market.

Reading price and volume data gives an insight into what the smart money is doing. I have always looked to read the price and volume data to understand the force behind the price action.

Having said that, one needs to know that the market is nothing but a mass psychology reflector. There are three emotions  fear, greed and hope  prevalent in the market at all times. One can only take unbiased decisions in the market if he is detached from these emotions.

Now, markets have an inherent structure. The puzzle is to crack the structure. If you can do it, you can forecast overall behaviour to a large extent, though you may never always be right.

Trading techniques can be developed using these structures. However, there is a flaw in such technique. The flaw is the bias that comes with this strategy. In order to remove these biases, I decided to codify the system. But coding the system is a huge task, if one wishes to incorporate all parameters.

I started out by simplifying the process and came out with my own definition of trends. For instance, if the market does not break a three-day low, I would call it a short-term uptrend. If it crosses the 20-day high, I would call it a medium-term trend. I started introducing such codes into my system, which helped me my trading system evolve during my initial days.

I know it may sound like I am boasting, but my accuracy rate was 85 percent in those days. I could give a buy or sell call with a Rs 3-5 points stop-loss on the indices. I initiated a sell call just days before the market hit the lower circuit during the 2008 crash.

While my calls were doing well, working with a retail broker had its limitation as retail clients are generally interested only in an Rs 10-15 points move.

I then changed jobs and moved to the institutional broking side of a multinational bank. Here the hope was that I would be facing bigger clients who may be interested in larger price moves. This was early 2009 and I was disseminating buy calls with a target of 20 percent and a stop-loss of three percent.

I still remember a Tata Steel call I recommended with an upside target of 20 percent. The head of fundamental research of this multinational bank said that the company will not have any earnings in future. Next day, the stock moved 20 percent in a single day.

With each passing day, I was getting confident of my skills and felt ready to manage larger sums of money. As luck would have, my previous boss called me to ask if I was keen on managing a technical PMS (portfolio management services) fund. The offer came with a 100 percent increase in salary.

A: My entry into fund management coincided with the market trending sideways. All throughout my career as a technical analyst, I was able to predict the market very well as it was either trending up or down. I had never been through a sideways market.

I was buying breakouts and they were failing. I was shorting breakdowns and the market would trade in a range. I did not help that I was managing large sums of money. This impacted me emotionally as I come from a middle-class family and this was the first-time I was dealing with such huge sums of money.

Over the next one-and-a-half years the market trended sideways. At one time, my portfolio was down 20 percent but I closed the year with a loss of around five percent. I finally realised I was not that great. My boss called me and said that the returns were not acceptable.

A: During my stint as a fund manager, I completed a certificate course in Applied Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Quantitative Finance. This gave me a strong insight into the math behind the finance. It helped me learn volatility forecasting and modelling, swaps, option pricing, et al. Basically, it taught me that there is more to markets than trading directional moves.

My new found interest helped me secure a job in Reuters and I was based out of their Sydney office. The job required interaction with treasury heads globally, translate their technology requirements and then work with the coding team to provide solutions. The job tested a mix of my software and quantitative finance skills. But even as I was working, I tested my currency trading skills against some of the best in treasurers across the globe. The results made me do a rethink on whether I should give myself a second chance to become a trader.

Debt free and with decent savings, I decided to start my own trading firm, which could later be scaled to a hedge fund. However, life had other plans for me.

Around November 2013, my wife delivered twins 28 weeks into her pregnancy. Both boys were on a ventilator for the next three months and even after that there were multiple complications which kept us preoccupied for all of 2014. Though I was able to trade well, the medical bills were fast eroding my capital.

With my emotional risk capital shrinking, I had to accept destiny and decided to join Monarch Networth Capital as head of their trading desk in Mumbai.

A: Till this point, my transition has been from a technical analyst to a fund manager to a system developer and finally to a systems trader.

In my over three years at Monarch, I put to use all my learning and traded options consistently without a single losing month. Over the years, I learnt that my strength is in predicting directional moves and using my quantitative skill to predict volatility. For an options trader, the two essential tools are a view on the direction of the underlying and a view on volatility.

We regularly trade four-to-five systems, which help stabilised our monthly return around 2-3 percent.

There is a step-wise process by which we trade for each strategy. It starts with running a scanner based on quantitative models that have been developed by me. The output of this scanner is a list of stock that have a high probability of unidirectional moves.

The second step is to check the volatility range of each stocks. This can be based on either Implied Volatility Rank (IV Rank) or IV Percentile.

Recently, we initiated a trade in Yes Bank where the IV percentile was 90 and another in IndusInd Bank with an IV percentile of 15. Both had cleared the filter of prospective stocks for a big move, but had different IV percentiles, so they had to be treated differently.

We initiated the Yes Bank trade when the stock was trading around Rs 170 per share. Since the IV Percentile was high, it suggested a strong move. We sold a 1:2 ratio call spread of 220 and 240 strikes (bought one 220 call and sold two 240 calls). At the time of initiating the trade, the risk on the trade was Re 1, or Rs 1,750 per lot. We exited from the trade when the spread touched Rs 15. In the case of IndusInd Bank, which had a lower IV, we went long on the future contract and hedged it with a put contract.

Understanding volatility is very important for an options trader. It is said that volatility is mean-reverting. While it is true, volatility also seeks extremes. Since volatility moves in a range, it can be mean-reverting in a range. But when it moves out of that range, it enters a new range where the mean also shifts.

Volatility is stickier on the lower side of the range. For instance, consider volatility of the Nifty, which generally moves between 10 and 24. However, it can spend months in the 10-11 range than at higher ranges.

Despite the precautions we take in picking up a stock, I have found that my trades can still go wrong.

This is where the third part of our process kicks in  adjustment and management of the trade. Every option structure has a different hedging mechanism. Each trade has to be handled on its own merit. The idea is to lock in the loss as soon as possible. The beauty of trading options is that you can hedge and protect your trades using a variety of methods.

A: We also trade the index using a shorter term strategy, where our main concern is direction, intensity and volatility. There can be various combinations of these three variables. We can have a situation where the trade direction is short but volatility and intensity are high. There can be around 9-10 such combinations and we are ready with a strategy to deal with each.

On March 13, the Bank Nifty had a very high open interest at 28,500, but this was challenged and the market moved up to 28,600. The underlying was showing a lot of strength, but 28,700and 28,800 strikes were witnessing good amount of call writing. Volatility was high and we expected the 28,700 and 28,800 strikes to be challenged.

The best way to trade this situation was to create a call back spread, where you sell a call of a lower strike and buy two calls of higher strikes in a back spread. The key here is that one should not look at the expiry payoff, but at shorter timeframe of T+2 or T+3.

While trading indexes, I have an inter-index offsetting position. Though this does not give me large profits, it helps curb my losses.

A: On expiry day, we generally trade a risk-defined short Iron Butterfly  selling one at-the-money (ATM) call and put and buying one out-of-the-money (OTM) call and put. An ideal case would be a 200-point Iron Butterfly available at Rs 180, then the risk will be only 20 points. Since option prices decay faster on expiry day, we have found this structure to work well for us.

The most important thing to note in trading using this strategy on expiry day is Pinning the Strike which is basically getting the strike price where the strategy will be initiated.

Like on May 31, 2018, the market suggested that FII holding limit in HDFC Bank would increase. The expectation was that Bank Nifty would open higher and it did. However, it soon started correcting and so did the HDFC Bank.

But data showed an increase in open interest in HDFC Bank call options, even as the price was going down. In Bank Nifty, the open interest increased from two lakh to 27 lakh contracts. Data suggested that Bank Nifty may shoot up, so we created a 200-point Iron Butterfly, which was 300 points away from where the market was, at a cost of Rs 180. Within an hour, the market moved higher and we covered the trade at 80 points, giving us a quick Rs 100 profit per lot.

But like all traders, even I am subjected to greed. I took another 200 points Iron Butterfly, 100 points away from the strike that I had created earlier. But the market kept on moving and this short Iron Butterfly, which was created at 160 points, was booked at 190 points. As this position was bigger than the earlier one, it took away a portion of the earlier loss. But without this structure, we would have incurred a bigger loss.

We do initiate a lot of intra-day trades, but these are all spreads which define our risks. Here too we look at the volatility before entering a trade.

For example, if the volatility is in the lower quartile of the last 52-week range, then we know that the market is not nervous. We look to sell at-the-money (ATM) straddles  selling an ATM call and put.

If on a five-minute chart, we get a sell trade, then we look to create a short strap position, wherein if the underlying is expected to go down, we sell two call options and one put option, which may be one strike apart. So, if the Nifty is at 11,200, we would sell one 11,200 put and two 11,300 calls.

In all our trades, we follow our four trading steps. The first is scanning our list of most liquid stocks. Two, look for where they are on the volatility spectrum. We then pick up an option structure through which we would initiate the trade. Finally, when we are in the trade, we look to actively manage to maximise profits.

A: For me, a quant trader should have five important skills  strong mathematical knowledge, good in statistics and programming, have a wide understanding of option instruments and decent communication skills.

Since trading is all about maths, I am not talking about arithmetic skills, but about the ability to play around with numbers. So, if I were to reduce the number of days in a Black & Scholes model, then that person should know how it will impact option premium. So, inquisitiveness is necessary.

Statistics is about understanding the terms and their relationship with options. A person becomes very objective if his understanding of statistics is strong. If one were to ask what is the probability of the price covering a distance of three standard deviations, then that person should confidently say that with a 99 percent chance this can be achieved in only two percent of cases. Artificial intelligence or machine learning is all about statistics and about fitting the regression line, or in laymans terms following the markets price.

Programming is the most difficult but is an important skill that a quant trader should possess. If on a 15-minute candle there is a sell signal and if on the daily chart of the same underlying there is a certain behaviour, I should know how the market behaved during previous occasions.

My edge is the ability to process such information at a faster pace. In a single trading day, there are 375 minutes, so if you include all stocks and instruments associated with it across all expiries, we would have 3.75 lakh data points. In a span of 10 years, it would be 48 crore data points. A normal SQL (Structured Query Language) query cannot go through such data fast enough. I have spent over a month to learn a new language that can scan through the data fast enough to retrieve the information I need in a matter of 0.6 seconds.

Your ability to scan through the data will provide you an edge in the market. I will be at an advantage, if I knew beforehand how the Bank Nifty behaved when its open interest spiked by 20 percent in the at-the-money strike, which occurred with an implied volatility (IV) spike of two percent. The behaviour of the market in the past will give me an edge against those who are unaware of it.

The fourth skill is the ability to know which instrument class to trade under various situations. If you do not understand the nitty-gritty of option Greeks and its behaviour under various situations, you would be missing out on the opportunity to trade with the most optimal instrument. In our trading, we work on managing the second derivative Greeks like Volga and Vanna, which requires a robust knowledge of option structures.

Finally, if you are working in a business that requires client-servicing, you need strong communication skills, especially when it comes to a complex product like quant-based options trading.

A: Coming from a software background, I like coding various strategies. At present, my strategies are semi-automated. I would like to take a six-month sabbatical to fully automate them. The aim is to manage Rs 100 crore fund, which does not look too far away from where we are currently placed.One thing that I learned in my journey is to take nothing for granted, both in life and in trading. Which is why I prefer trading options as it gives me the flexibility to emerge profitably even if I am wrong.BJP chief Amit Shah on March 30 filed his nomination papers for his maiden Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, currently represented by L K Advani.

He later asserted in a rally that people saw in Prime Minister Narendra Modi a leader they had been waiting for the last 70 years. In what is being seen as a demonstration of his political heft and status as the second most powerful person in the party after Prime Minister Modi, a road show and a rally was held which was attended two ex-BJP chiefs -- Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari -- besides allies like Shiv Sena's Uuddhav Thackeray, SAD's Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party's Ram Vilas Paswan.

Prior to the filing his nomination, a well-attended four-kilometre road show from Sardar Patel statue in Naranpura to Prabhat Chowk in Ghatlodia saw Shah in an open vehicle along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and other local leaders.

After that, Shah drove to Gandhinagar and submitted nomination papers to Gandhinagar District Collector S K Langa in presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, besides Singh, Thackeray and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

At a public gathering before the road show, the BJP chief said, "This election will be fought on only one issue, and that is who will lead this country. When I ask who will lead the country, from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Gandhinagar, only one word is heard, that is: Modi, Modi, Modi."

Showering praise on Modi, he said the prime minister's leadership was something people were waiting for 70 years.

"Why was this trust formed in just five years? Why has a Gujarat chief minister, who had not even contested a panchayat poll before becoming the chief minister, became the favourite of the entire country in just five years? It is because people saw in Narendra Modi a leader that they had been waiting to have for the last 70 years," Shah said.

"The question before the country is who can assure security to the country? Only one person, only one party can assure this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and NDA government can assure security to the country," the BJP chief said.

Shah's Lok Sabha poll debut from Gandhinagar replacing the party patriarch 91-year-old Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from the seat since 1998, marks a generational shift in the party.

Political watchers believe that the absence of Advani at Saturday's events indicated that the veteran leader may not be very happy with the turn of events, but it also underscored the rise and rise in Shah's stature since he took over as the party's chief in 2014 and plotted its unprecedented electoral success in assembly and local polls.

At the rally, Rajnath Singh asked if former prime minister Indira Gandhi can be credited for liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan, why should not Prime Minister Modi be credited for the Balakot air strike.

Badal and Paswan also praised Modi, asking the people to bring back the NDA for another term at the Centre, while Thackeray said differences between the two saffron allies had been resolved.

"Some people were rejoicing that the two parties with the same ideology are fighting with each other. We had some 'manmutav' (bad feeling) and 'matbhinnata' (difference of opinion). But when Amit Shah came to my house and we sat and held talks, all the issues were resolved," he said.

Gadkari claimed that whatever happened in the last five years under PM Modi's leadership "did not happen in 50 years".

Jaitley said Gandhinagar is an important seat for BJP and that was the reason why Shah was given the ticket.

"Amit Shah has filed his nomination papers for Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat today. The top leadership of BJP and NDA has come here in his support which shows the importance this constituency has for us," Jaitley told reporters after Shah filed the papers.

"This is the parliamentary seat represented by leaders like Purshottam Ganesh Mavalankar, L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. That is why the party has fielded its national president from here. He will win this seat with a record margin and will win all the 26 seats in Gujarat again," he said.

As an MLA, Shah had represented Sarkhej constituency. After delimitation, he was an MLA from Naranpura. Both these seats were under Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

"I am fortunate that the BJP has made me the candidate from Gandhinagar seat which was represented by Lal Krishna Advani, Atalji and Purushottam Ganesh Mavalankar," Shah said.

"Today, Gandhinagar is among the most developed seat in the country and I will humbly and from the bottom of my heart try to carry forward the legacy of Advaniji," he said and also tweeted his thanks to his party's senior leaders and allies for their presence at the events.

Noting that he used to paste posters in Gandhinagar during polls as an ordinary BJP worker, and has now become its president and candidate for the general election, Shah said, "It is possible only in the BJP."

"If you remove BJP from my life, then what is left is zero. Whatever I have received, learnt and tried to give to the country and the state is what was given to me by the BJP," he said.

Shah's decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls is seen as his effort to demonstrate that he was willing to lead from the front and also to energise the BJP cadres in Gujarat where the party had won all 26 seats in 2014 but has seen its rival growing in strength since.The affidavit filed on March 30 by BJP chief Amit Shah while submitting his nomination papers for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat showed that his assets had grown over three times in the last seven years.

According to the affidavit, the movable and immovable properties of Shah and his wife stood at Rs 38.81 crore, up from Rs 11.79 crore in 2012.

The Rs 38.81 crore figure included inherited property, both movable and immovable, of Rs 23.45 crore, the affidavit states.

While Shah had Rs 20,633 cash in hand at the time of filing the papers, his wife possessed Rs 72,578.

As per the affidavit, Shah and his wife had Rs 27.80 lakh in several savings accounts, and fixed deposits of Rs 9.80 lakh.

Shah and his wife have a cumulative income of Rs 2.84 crore as per their latest Income Tax Returns (ITR).

Shah's affidavit mentions his sources of income as salary received as Rajya Sabha MP, rent on properties and income from agricultural activity.

In 2017, when Shah contested the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat, he had declared assets worth Rs 34.31 crore. The latest affidavit, thus, puts the rise in his assets at Rs 4.5 crore since 2017.

While fighting the 2012 Assembly polls, Shah had declared that he along with his family, including wife Sonalben and son Jay (who was a dependent at the time), owned movable and immovable assets worth Rs 11.79 crore.

In Saturday's affidavit, Shah has mentioned that he and his wife's annual incomes, as per ITR of 2017-18, stood at Rs 2.84 crore, which comprised Rs 53.90 lakh for Shah and Rs 2.30 crore for Sonalben.

The income of Shah's wife more than doubled in a year as her 2016-17 ITR placed her annual income at Rs 1.05 crore.

Shah's income as per his 2016-17 ITR was Rs 43.68 lakh.

The affidavit goes on to inform that the BJP chief and his wife do not own a car.

It also stated that Shah had not pursued his Bachelor of Commerce degree beyond the second year.

Shah has further declared that though four criminal cases were pending against him, he has not been convicted in any of them.

These four pending cases against Shah comprise two each registered in West Bengal and Bihar.

The first one was registered in West Bengal over an inflammatory speech during the municipality polls this year.

The second, pending before a metropolitan magistrate in Kolkata, was a defamation suit.

The third, registered in Muzaffarpur in Bihar in 2017, was regarding a YouTube video showing Shah hoisting the national flag while wearing shoes.

The fourth case was registered in Begusarai in Bihar in 2015 for making some remarks against Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, the affidavit said.The Congress announced the candidature of Ulhas Patil from the Raver Lok Sabha seat where he will take on sitting BJP MP Raksha Khadse.

Raver is with the NCP, as part of the alliance between the two principal opposition parties in Maharashtra, but has been given to the Congress, NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said.

Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan said Patil's name was announced by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge here.

Last week, the Congress and NCP decided to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively in Maharashtra.

Both parties decided to leave two seats each from their quota for other allies.

Accordingly, the Congress was to contest 24 and NCP 20 Lok Sabha seats.

With Raver coming into the Congress' fold, the party will now contest 25 seats against the NCP's 19.

In another development, Praveen Gaikwad, who was earlier associated with the Maratha outfit Sambhaji Brigade and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), joined the Congress.

Congress sources said he could be fielded from Pune Lok Sabha seat.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on March 30 criticised JDS and Congress leaders for organising a protest outside the Income Tax Office at Bengaluru for conducting searches on PWD contractors and engineers. Stating that the disproportionality of the reaction of the Congress and the JDS raises a needle of suspicion, Jaitley said "If no politician has been searched, no minister has been searched, then why the protest?"

"The Bengaluru case is a text book method of the UPA on 2 fronts: use government money, round trip it through contractors and beneficiaries to enrich themselves and then lip sympathy for federalism destroying it whenever the opportunity arises. This is a very transparent self goal," Jaitley said in his blog titled 'The UPA makes corruption a cause'.

Led by Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, the Congress-JDS ruling combine organised a protest in front of the Income Tax department at Bengaluru on Thursday against a statewide crackdown on his partymen and others.

Jaitley said that it was unprecedented that the chief minister of a state joined the street protest against income tax searches with a political motivation.

"The disproportionality of the reaction of the Congress and the JDS raises a needle of suspicion. Was the minister's nephew a PWD contractor to whom largesses have been given  a case of nepotism? The CM and the ministers who joined the protest need to answer these questions," Jaitley said.

Even as the JDS and Congress leaders in the state alleged that ministers had been searched, the best evidence they could provide for was that the nephew' of a minister was searched, Jaitley said, adding that even the tax authorities have issued a statement saying that no MP, MLA or minister was searched.

Questioning whether states' attitude is threat to federalism, Jaitley said federalism is not merely the rights of the states. Indian federalism entails India as a union of states.

"The rights of the union are equally important. Security of India, sovereignty, dealing with terrorism, managing the borders, custom check points, income tax enforcement are all amongst the several constitutional powers of the union.

"If the states stand in way of any of them it is guilty of breaching federal norms. Can a state barge its police into the customs area and direct the customs as to what is to be done? This would be a threat to federalism," he said.

Jaitley said many states have stopped giving police security to income tax authorities when they conduct their operations.

"Alternatively, when state police is asked for, the information is leaked out to the political government and it reaches the targets of the operations. Tax authorities increasingly have to rely on central forces. In the Kashmir valley recently, searches were conducted under the governor's rule after 17 years. These taxes are meant for the welfare of the poor in India," he added.Union minister Giriraj Singh on March 30 trained his guns at Jignesh Mevani, who has been canvassing for his CPI rival Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai, blaming the young Dalit leader from Gujarat for the attacks on migrants from Bihar in the western state last year.

An indignant Mevani hit back saying he would sue the BJP leader for defamation and alleged that in the backdrop of the "silence" of the ruling BJP in Gujarat, during the anti-migrant violence, Girirajs outbursts were tantamount to "ulta chor kotwal ko daante" (the thief reprimanding the policeman).

"What is this Jignesh Mevani doing here in Begusarai. He was involved in attacks on Biharis who were forcibly driven out of Gujarat. He abetted those responsible for the dishonour that our mothers and sisters had to suffer in that state," Singh who reached Begusarai on Friday after spending several days in a sulk over not getting a chance to seek re-election from his Nawada seat - tweeted.

"I am going to lodge a defamation case against Giriraj Singh. He has the nerve to blame me when his party, which is in power in Gujarat, was solely responsible for the unfortunate events that took place there," Mevani told PTI over phone from Begusarai.

"I had openly condemned the role played by Vijay Rupanis government and questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had ruled Gujarat for long and owed his rise to national prominence in a large measure to the love and affection he received from the Hindi belt," he said.

Mevani, who shot to fame with the massive stir he had launched in Gujarat against atrocities committed by cow vigilantes on Dalits engaged in the profession of skinning of dead cattle, has been camping in Begusarai for three days, canvassing in favour of the former JNU students union president, often leaving the local populace touched with the smattering in local dialect that he has picked up.

Currently an Independent MLA in Gujarat, Mevani also pointed out "I was, in fact, actively involved in the efforts to protect migrants from RSS-backed goons. We had come out in support of the drive launched by Hardik Patel, who had issued a helpline number."

"I had tendered apologies on behalf of the people of Gujarat when I came to Patna in October last year to take part in a CPI rally. I did so because I felt revulsion towards the apathy shown by Rupani and Modi whose silence displayed a sense of thanklessness for the migrant workers who have toiled to make Gujarat what it is. Giriraj has left me appalled," he added.

"Anybody can check on youtube. I spoke for just a few minutes but must have used the term 'namak haram' for Modi about a dozen times, in the context of the anti-migrant violence," Mevani said.

Asked whether he thought the Union minister had confused him with Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who has often been blamed for the attacks on migrants, Mevani said "it could be. But as someone who has seen it all with his own eyes, I can vouch that even he was being made a scapegoat. It was all at the behest of the BJP-RSS combine"..Representative image

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Perhaps the most surprising development in the automobile space came towards the end of the week. A renowned name in power generation who as late as November 2018 reaffirmed plans of an electric vehicle foray suddenly backed out. This weekly wrap talks in detail about this sudden exit in addition to all the important development during the week.

German luxury carmaker BMW on March 28 launched 530i M Sport in India , priced at Rs 59.2 lakh (ex-showroom). The model now comes with a petrol engine, is locally produced at Chennai and is Bharat Stage-VI compliant, BMW said in a statement.

The company already sells diesel variant of the model in the country. The 530i M Sport comes with technologies such as a display key, which allows drivers to maintain round the clock contact with their car.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on March 28 said it will increase the price of its passenger and commercial vehicles by Rs 5,000 to Rs 73,000 from April to partially offset the impact of rising input costs. The price of the company's vehicles will rise by 0.5 percent to 2.7 percent from next month due to the hike, the company said in a statement. Eicher Motors -owned niche bike maker Royal Enfield on March 27 said it has launched all new Bullet Trials Works Replica range in India. The Bullet Trials 500 is priced at Rs 2.07 lakh, while Bullet Trials 350 is tagged at Rs 1.62 lakh (ex-showroom). The bikes come with various features like dual channel anti-lock braking system (ABS), trimmed mudguards, a single seat and luggage carrier. Bajaj Auto Indias third-largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, has seen a shake-up in its top management , with senior executives appointed in three positions while a 12-year veteran has exited. The Pune-based company appointed Sarang Kanade to replace Eric Vas as President of the Motorcycles business. Vas will now head the Urbanite business unit.The board of Maruti Suzuki , India's largest car maker, has approved the companys plans to source its mini SUV Brezza from Toyota , without having to invest in its partner's capacity. The Brezza will be manufactured at one of the two factories of Toyota Kirloskar Motors from 2022.

The board also approved the reappointment of Kenichi Ayukawa, the serving Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki, for a period of three years with effect from April 1.

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group company -- JSW Energy, has decided to shut down its electric vehicle (EV) business venture even before it rolled out one of several EVs it had planned to produce and sell.

While the street welcomed the news, pushing the JSW Energy stock up by 5.52 percent on March 29, market watchers are completely surprised.

Because as late as November 2018, Prashant Jain, Joint MD and CEO, JSW Energy, in a conference call reaffirmed the company's plans of pumping Rs 6,500 crore into the EV business, which according to Jain had a gestation period of 3-4 years.

The company had even signed not one but two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Gujarat and Maharashtra to set-up manufacturing units that would rollout EVs in 2020.

The company also said that discussions were progressing with various technology and design engineering providers and leading global OEMs (original equipment makers) for suitable partnerships to roll this forward.

One of the team of 33 employees that JSW Energy employed for its EV foray was a Hyundai veteran Rakesh Srivastava. The latter, who spent more than six years with Hyundai and part of successful models like i20, Creta and Grand i10, was appointed director sales and marketing for electric vehicles.

We are in discussion with our partners for various tie-ups. We are feeling more and more confident and will be coming up with a robust plan, which we will stick to, Jain said.

But the hour-long board meeting convened on March 29 laid to rest the three-year long preparation of the group, leaving behind more questions than answers.

A one-paragraph statement released on March 29 said, JSW Group and JSW Energy have always embarked on new business opportunities keeping a balance between growth aspirations and prudent risk management. In this context, given higher-than-anticipated uncertainties associated with the EV business, the Board has, after careful evaluation, decided not to pursue this business and maintain capital cushion for growth opportunities in power and other related businesses.

So, what changed in five months? One reason could be governments stand on providing subsidy to EVs. Under the revised plan, the government has refused to provide subsidy to private passenger EVs.

Phase II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (FAME-II) earmarks Rs 10,000 crore towards setting up infrastructure and provides for direct subsidy. But the subsidy is for vehicles that will be used for commercial application and not for personal use.

Removal of subsidy for personal cars will lead to a direct price spike of Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh from April 1. Personal cars constituted more than 90 percent of the 3.3 million passenger vehicles sold last fiscal.

Demand from commercial buyers have shown a marked drop over last year. The same from players such as Uber and Ola have been on a declining trend as increased vehicle supply has hit earnings of operators.

Given the reluctance of commercial drivers to switch to EVs, this segment won't churn out enough sales to make business a viable option in the medium term.

Another reason could be the high rate of competition. Almost every manufacturer have declared plans to deploy EVs in their line-up beginning 2019. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Renault, MG Motors, Kia Motors, Honda and Toyota are formulating their EV plans. Market leader Maruti is adding more models to its portfolio.

Although minuscule to the conventional petrol and diesel space, the EV market will see lots of competition in the next 3-4 years, just enough to push new and unrecognised players out of the market.Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared on March 29 he is likely to shut down America's southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration. Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasized, "I am not kidding around." "It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned by reporters in Florida.

"We will close it for a long time."

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north, he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the US.

The US and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump tweeted Friday morning, "If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week."

In Florida, he didn't qualify his threat with "or large sections," stating: "There is a very good likelihood I'll be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me."

He said several times that it would be "so easy" for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the US illegally, "but they just take our money and 'talk.'"

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

"If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that," Nielsen said. "So it's on the table, but what we're doing is a very structured process based on operational needs." The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trump's possible action would apply to air travel.

Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday told the board of the cash-strapped IL&FS to submit details of the group's dues.

The matter has been adjourned till the next hearing on April 8.

The Delhi-based appellate tribunal also said that there would be no stay on the government's resolution plan for the companies of IL&FS. However, all steps regarding resolution of the group companies would have to be cleared by the appellate tribunal, it added.

On Friday, the lenders of IL&FS asked the tribunal to direct the "amber" companies to discharge their dues to senior secured financial creditors.

Under the resolution plan, the government has categorised IL&FS group companies into green, amber and red categories based on their financial positions.

Firms classified as "green" would continue to meet their payment obligations, while "amber" category firms can meet only operational payment obligations to senior secured financial creditors. Those under the "red" category are the entities which cannot meet their payment obligations at all.

Further, as the next hearing would take place in April 8 -- the next financial year, the banks exposed to the IL&FS debt have also got a breather from provisioning as IL&FS defaults still cannot be declared as non-performing assets (NPA), people in the know of developments said.

As the fiscal calendar changes on March 31, 2019, banks will not need to make provisioning for ILFS defaults as NPAs, at least for now, they said.

The NCLAT in an earlier order restrained banks from categorising their exposure in IL&FS as NPA without its permission.

ILFS, across various companies, has defaulted on around Rs 15,000 crore of loans in this fiscal ended March 31, 2019. This would have entailed provisioning of nearly Rs 5,000-9,000 crore by banks, depending on the norms followed by each bank, in classifying these as NPAs.

The NCLAT, however, has prohibited banks from classifying IL&FS loans as NPA without its permission. The central bank had contested the NCLAT order and sought relief, which was denied by the appellate tribunal.

The RBI plea will now be heard by NCLAT in April 8 along with other things pending in the case.

Last year, the Central government superseded the management of the beleaguered company through a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order and appointed a six-member board led by Uday Kotak, MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, to restore its financial solvency.

Key public sector lenders and undertakings, such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the State Bank of India, have a 25.34 per cent and 6.42 per cent stake, respectively, in the firm which has around Rs 91,000 crore in long-term debt.

Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article.Contempt and defamation are two sections of laws that are very important for any upcoming journalist, activist or any concerned citizen. Considering the importance of these topics, Moneylife Foundation in collaboration with Adv Jamshed Mistrys International Legal Alliance (ILA), had organised a talk by senior counsel Mihir Desai to discuss matters of contempt and defamation in India.

Mr Desaid says, defamation is the general term for a legal claim involving injury to ones reputation caused by a false statement of fact and includes both libel (defamation in written or fixed form) and slander (spoken defamation). It can be intentional when done on purpose by means of slander, or by accident in the forms of an innuendo, which has a hidden meaning. Laws against defamation carry a heavy penalty as well as require an apology to be published by the newspaper or organisation that has made the defamatory remark, he said.

Contempt of court can be defined as an action that a person takes in contradiction of an earlier order passed by the Court. Mr Desai says, Contempt can either be civil or criminal, though criminal contempt has become more common these days. A journalist or any common citizen for that matter can openly criticise a judgment passed by the court but questioning motives of the judge for an order or affiliating the reason for a certain judgement to corruption for instance, can be attributed to contempt of court.

In his talk, the senior counsel stressed on how the right to reputation must be protected by the Constitution but it should not come at the cost of freedom of speech.

Historically, defamation laws have offered greater protection to public officials. In part, they have done this through the notion of insult. Criticism of a politician or other holder of public office is defined as an insult to the office itself. Public officials often have the advantage of having access to funds or taxpayers money, which can be used to file a defamation suit. Often there are harsher penalties for those who are found to defame public officials.

In cases involving public officials, public figures or matters of public concern, a plaintiff must prove that the statement was false. In cases involving matters of purely private concern, the burden of proving truth will be on the defendant. This does not mean that every detail that is published must be perfectly accurate to avoid liability. If the journalist happens to get a few minor details wrong, it will not necessarily negate the truth of the statement so long as the issue at hand is substantially true.

During the seminar, Debashis Basu, founder trustee of Moneylife Foundation shared a few examples of key defamation cases, which were used by Moneylife in fighting a defamation case filed by National Stock Exchange (NSE).

One of the cases discussed was the famous R Rajagopal V State of Tamil Nadu. This was landmark case for news agencies and magazines as the Supreme Court of India ruled that a magazine had a right to publish an autobiography written by a prisoner, even without his consent or authorisation. The concerned prisoner, Auto Shanker had been convicted of six murders and sentenced to death.

While serving his sentence in prison he wrote his auto-biography and expressed his wish that it be published in the Tamil magazine Nakkhreen. The court in its judgement of the case observed that it was important to strike a balance between the Freedom of the Press and the Right to Privacy.

It further observed that the state and its officials do not have the right to impose prior restraints on the publication of materials that may be defamatory to the state.

Presenting the few landmark cases, Mr Basu stressed how important it is for a journalist to first understand the tenets of Responsible Journalism as expressed by Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, before writing a story and then much later searching for the appropriate case law to fight a suit of defamation.

There was also brief discussions on Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit. SLAPP suits are a common tool that are intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defence until they abandon their criticism or opposition. This phenomenon, which is used world over came into the Indian context when retired Central Information Commissioner (CIC) wrote a letter to the President of India alleging how the Government has been repeatedly using SLAPPs to delay the disclosure of information as well as to intimidate individual commissioners. In his letter, he had mentioned how there are around 1700 writ petitions, most of them filed by government institutions in which the respondents are either the Information Commissioners or the Information Commission who are the respondents.

Both Mr Desai and Mr Mistry felt that free speech is necessary as it enables the media to hold governments and individuals accountable and freedom of speech should also protect the right to offend within reasonable limits, for instance to legitimately criticise the rich and powerful.

Mr Desai concluded, The co-relation of media and defamation is a wide topic having a very broad perspective. One important fact to learn from the session was that it falls upon the person who brings a defamation lawsuit to prove that the defendant published a statement that has harmed the reputation of the plaintiff or that the statement was published with some level of fault. Whether the statement was accurate to the minutest details is not important to avoid liability, as long as the statement is providing facts.In China, you can run, but you cant hide.

Whether youre walking down the sidewalk, browsing an internet chat forum or having a conversation with a friend, the red eye of the party is always watching.

The Chinese have to keep their mouths shut and their eyes closed when it comes to any wrongdoings by the government. Not only because the government prevents citizens and journalists alike from speaking ill about the party through censorship (and suspicious disappearances), but the information they have access to is strictly regulated.

Unless a citizen has been overseas, or has the know-how to access the dark web, chances are they dont know about the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, the Falun Gong, or even the Dalai Lama. Any attempt to search information will be met with an error page, and search engines that would reveal the truth (i.e. Google) are strictly banned.

This is a long-established tactic of the communist party intended to keep their image as an all-powerful, but benevolent force pristine and intact. A scheme that has been incredibly effective.

Download your free report to learn how to invest in lucrative biotech stocks. Plus, youll receive a free subscription to Money Morning.

The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws

But in recent years, with the progression of technology, the methods of surveillance have become more advanced. And the Chinese people are being pushed further and further down by the thumb of totalitarianism.

As the Roman historian Tacitus astutely observed, the more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. An assertion that is absolutely true of Chinas latest attempt at total control  the social credit system.

The system, which has already been rolled out in numerous cities and provinces, basically involves each citizen starting with a number of points (whether that be 100 or 1,000) and retaining or losing them depending on how good of a citizen they are.

If your credit rating is high, you reap the benefits. Which can sometimes involve perks like free gym memberships and cheaper public transport fares. But more importantly, a good score allows you to remain as an equal member of society.

Conversely, the implications of a sub-par credit rating are dire. If your score drops too low, you face travel and public service restrictions, and your university and job prospects are seriously impacted.

A score can be brought down by acts like littering, jaywalking, unpaid or late bills, domestic abuse and traffic infringements. And last year alone, China banned people from buying plane or train tickets 23 million times due to low social credit.

Nationwide rollout by 2020

By 2020, the government plans to roll out the system nationwide, with the help of internet giants Alibaba and Tencent. This is a move that will no doubt push China into a terrifying new era of connectivity, with cameras on every street corner, and private companies indiscriminately sharing the personal data of users with the government. By 2020, there will truly be nowhere to hide.

Already in one Chinese province, Hebei, a WeChat program alerts citizens when they are within 500 metres of someone who is on the blacklist. Another county, Puan, warns callers when they are about to speak to someone who has lost too many credit points:

Hello, Puan County Peoples Court reminds you that the person you have dialed has been included in the list of discredited individuals, please be careful if you associate with him!

In light of this newfound power, and other incidents of China meddling in foreign politics, nations around the globe are becoming rightly wary of Chinas wandering gaze. This is why weve seen so much commentary in the news about governments barring Chinese companies like Huawei from gaining access to global communications networks.

But the reality is that China is internationally revered (or demonised) for their technology capabilities for good reason. Theyre ahead of the curb when it comes to telecommunications, particularly when it comes to technology that allows them to spy more effectively.

With that said however, its not all bad. While most of the time Chinas determination to be number one leads to exploitation, sometimes it can result in marvels in technology never before seen.

According to Chinas state-run CTGN for example, a surgeon in China recently performed the worlds first remote brain surgery on a patient with Parkinsons disease. The surgeon, Dr Ling Zhipei, performed the three-hour surgery from Hainan on the patient who was located in Beijing  approximately 3,000km away.

The surgery was able to take place through a computer connected to a 5G network powered by China Mobile and Huawei.

As Dr Zhipei told CTGN:

The 5G network has solved problems like video lag and remote control delay experienced under the 4G network, ensuring a nearly real-time operation. And you barely feel that the patient is 3,000 kilometers away.

Of course, communist state-run media is often unreliable. But theres no doubt that were getting closer to a world where 5G allows us to routinely defy the laws of place and time. Once the issue of latency is solved, the AI, or robotic device being used by the surgeon can do its job without lag. A development which opens up many new doors when it comes to different industries doing work remotely.

Right now, 5G is entering its final stage of development, and countries all over the world are competing to be the first to make it commercially viable. China for example has allocated 60% of their US$256 billion tech budget in 2019 to advancing telecommunications and 5G in particular.

Japan, the US and South Korea are the other main countries in the race to launch 5G by 2020. But that doesnt mean theyre the only ones.

Australia is also fast catching up when it comes to being one of the first nations to roll out 5G. And the infrastructure for one technology in particular, which Harje has dubbed hypernet in his latest research report, can already be seen in various places around the country.

This new hypernet technology is 800 times faster than the NBN, is completely wireless and most importantly, puts us in the running to challenge China when it comes to communications.

Aside from that, its also an incredible opportunity for investors to jump into the next greatest innovation in tech before it takes off.

As Harje writes in his latest report released earlier this week, each time the internet has evolved, like the advent of the World Wide Web in 1991 and the creation of 4G technology in the 2000s, massive opportunities for wealth creation arise.

When Tim Berners-Lee created the internet for example, it resulted in catastrophic stock gains that in one case exceeded 83,000%.

While this may sound farfetched, Harje believes the ASX-listed countries helping to build the hypernet infrastructure have the potential to quadruple your money in the next 1218 months. Even tech giant, Qualcomm believed the hypernet rollout will create $12.3 trillion in new wealth by 2035.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and global governments are all waiting with bated breath, open wallets in hand. If youd like to get in alongside them, and beat the Chinese government at their own game, you can read Harjes just-released report, right here.

This week in Money Morning

Did you hear the news? Google is jumping head first into a $250 billion industry  online games. Word on the street is that Facebook is also going into e-commerce. And as Harje wrote on Monday, this is all part of a larger trend that investors have the opportunity to get in on

To learn more, click here.

Smart classrooms that beam knowledge into students headsalmost entirely automated farmsmankind having the ability to fly

These were all predictions made in 1899. And they got it all right. Because as Harje wrote on Tuesday, the data revolution were about to see will allow some of the greatest technology leaps mankind has ever seen.

To learn more, click here.

Like the researcher Paul Baran, who came up with the idea for the internet, Elon Musk also has plans to save humanity from all-out war. He wants to colonise Mars. Although many people find this idea farfetched, as Harje wrote on Wednesday, its ideas like these which will take us into the next era of humanity. And Harje thinks hes found another one which you can invest in

To read the full story, click here.

Right now were hearing many calls for limits on big tech. Its not an entirely original idea. People have sung that tune before. For centuries in fact, weve seen success, have grown jealous, and then have wanted to stand in its way. We call it tall poppy syndrome here in Oz. But as Harje wrote on Thursday, the absence of competition would be mark the end of society.

To learn why, click here.

Australias oldest investment partnerships shutting its doors. Yes, JCP  the once $10 billion fund  is selling off assets and returning cash to investors. Why, you may ask? Well on Friday Harje explains his controversial theory.

To learn more, click here.

Until next week,

Katie Johnson,

Editor, Money Weekend

PS: In this free report, Kris Sayce reveals his five-step booster system you can use to potentially super-charge your retirement pot in 2019 and beyond. Download now.Lorain police are due for a 3 percent pay raise this year, according to a ruling by a labor mediator.

The ruling states the department is critically understaffed  an issue that could affect safety in the city, the police union president said.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lorain Lodge No. 3 and the city administration previously approved a three-year work contract for officers.

The agreement set pay for 2017 and 2018 and stated they later would negotiate a wage increase for 2019.

Talks began last year, but the union and administration split when the FOP proposed a 3 percent raise, and the city management suggested 1 percent, said Kyle Gelenius, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police.

The sides went to binding conciliation and Conciliator Robert G. Stein issued a ruling March 15.

Lorain Safety-Service Director Dan Given sent the ruling for consideration at the April 1 Lorain City Council meeting.

The administration pitched a 1 percent wage increase, arguing that it would cost the city an additional $91,000 to pay members of the police union.

Stein sided with the union, awarding a 3 percent raise retroactive to Jan. 1.

But the ruling highlights at least two other factors, Gelenius said.

Lorain police officers make less money than police in other cities, such as Amherst, North Ridgeville, Avon and Avon Lake, and Lorain County Sheriffs Office deputies, according to Steins summary of the union position and his conclusion.

What the facts and evidence demonstrate here is a matter of safety for a community on the long road to recovery, Stein wrote. The Police Department is critically understaffed, experiencing low levels of recruitment and very high turnover that manifests itself into serious problems related to community safety.

Later in the ruling, he said the officer recruitment and retention problems are extraordinary.

Lorain is hemorrhaging officers who leave to go work for better pay in cities with less serious crime, Gelenius said.

The Lorain Police Department has authorized strength up to 113 officers, but the duty roster now is in the upper 80s, he said.

The road patrol is becoming a safety concern of epic proportion, Gelenius said.

Police officers and command staff also must fill in for dispatchers because the communications staff also has vacancies that should be filled, he said.

This fall, police and the city administration will begin negotiating the next work contract for police, Gelenius said.

Those agreements usually have three-year terms.

City Council needs to realize if they dont do something when we go into negotiations in the fall, they can expect more officers to leave and less cops on the streets, Gelenius said.

He credited Mayor Chase Ritenauer for recognizing the problem as part of this years State of the City Address.

I hope to make progress in our staffing and the low morale issues that are currently plaguing our police department, Gelenius said. At this point, the mayor is working with us and I thank him for his leadership on this issue.

But at this point, it is something that needs to be addressed.Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

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Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.You can sue the media for ...Foothill Leadership Academy Image View Photos

Sonora, CA  Without the supportive recommendation of county education staff, a Mother Lode school seeking to renew its charter will make its case before the Tuolumne County Board of Education.

According to meeting documents for next Mondays special meeting of the Tuolumne County Board of Education (TCBOE), Superintendent of Schools Cathy Parker and staff are recommending that the trustees deny the Foothill Leadership Academy (FLA) application for a five-year charter renewal application on numerous grounds and order the school to discontinue operations at the close of the 2018-19 school year.

BOE attorney Scott Holbrook, a partner at the Sacramento offices of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR), will present the staff report and related performance metrics, all incorporated within the 21-page resolution for denial.

As reported here, the BOE office held a public hearing last month during which the board heard positive feedback from the FLA community. Public comments continue to be accepted. Within the past two weeks, academy administrators had an additional opportunity to present its education program to the board at another public meeting.

Patterns Of Lower Academic Achievement, Noncompliance

Speaking with Clarke Broadcasting, Parker explains that while a primary consideration for the denial is that increases in pupil academic achievement for all groups served by FLA are far below that of other public schools in the district schools, ongoing noncompliance in several areas also weighed heavily in, some reported here. As recently as March 20, Parker points out that her office cited FLA administrators for using accounts payable procedures to pay staff members who are legally required to be payroll employees.

For those of us who are public schoolspublic entities, we are obligated to follow the rules that are put in place by our legislative offices, Parker shares earnestly. It is reflected in the MOUthe petition, and that does not just go for fiscal compliance, it goes for operational compliance, it goes for academic performance compliance  it goes for everything that falls under being a school.

She continues, That is what needs to be taken seriously. I do not think that the leadership at Foothill Leadership Academy does not take it seriouslywe are not gauging whethertheir intentions were true or not. That is beyond question. I really believe they wanted to have the best school for their kids. I truly believe that with all my heart. They are good people.

However, Parker states with a hint of true frustration, This pattern of under-performance for kids in academics, the lack of [making] correction; to continuously violate the MOU and the petition; to violate state and federal laws as it relates to paying their employees and delivery of services for special education students is very concerning. She adds, It is to the point that we felt we could not recommendthe renewal of this petition.

It will be up to the board to approve the denial resolution or to do nothing, which would trigger an automatic five-year charter renewal. Should the trustees side with county staff, FLA will then have the opportunity to appeal the charter denial to the State Board of Education.

Mondays meeting will open to the public following a closed session that will begin at 4:15 p.m. In anticipation of a sizeable public attendance, the meeting venue is Sonora High School Library (430 S. Washington St.).Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 65F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Areas of patchy fog. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.Firefighters found a charred body inside a home that caught on fire in Houston's East End Friday evening.

The Houston Fire Department received a call of a fire in the 400 block of York Street just before 7 p.m.

IN COURT: Four men learn their fate in Houston-area armored truck heists

Upon entering the home, spokesman Mario Gallegos said, firefighters found a body so burned that they could not identify the gender or age.

Arson and Houston Police Department investigators are examining the cause of the fire and identity of the deceased person.

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.Houston police are investigating a shooting Friday night that left a man dead in the Gulfton area of southwest Houston.

Officers responded to a shooting call at about 9:45 p.m. and found the man, whose identity has not yet been released, dead near an apartment complex in the 600 block of Atwell Street. He is described as in his 20s.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox

Police had not collected any suspect descriptions Friday evening, though investigators were searching the area for home surveillance footage that may have captured the shooting.

"Neighbors in the area heard what they believe might have been a gun shot or fire cracker sound," said Cullen Duncan of the Houston Police Department. "We believe he was struck at least the one time."

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Editor's Note: This story originally published in 2014:

In death, everyone can hear you ramble on YouTube.

A video featuring Texas man Boyd Bushman, a former Lockheed Martin and Texas Instruments engineer who died Aug. 7 at age 78, describing his encounters with "aliens" while working at Area 51 has been making the rounds on social media and news sites.

In the video, shot by an aerospace engineer named Mark Q. Patterson and posted Oct. 21, Bushman shows several out-of-focus and blurry photos taken with a disposable camera of what he claims are aliens.

"There are two groups of aliens," said Bushman, who has more than 25 patents registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, most of which are held by Lockheed Martin. "They divide them into two groups. One group are wranglers, and the others are rustlers  the ones who are stealers of cattle. The two groups act differently. The ones that are wranglers are much more friendly, and have a better relationship with us."

Bushman claimed the "aliens"  which definitely share no resemblance to the common conception of extraterrestrials shown in, say, this alien prop on Amazon or any B-movies from the 1950s  are about five feet tall and use telepathy to communicate with others while flying saucer-shaped aircraft.

The Lewisville native described most of the "aliens" he encountered as "friendly" while showing photos of their dead bodies.

A biography accessed through Internet archiving site Wayback Machine says Bushman worked at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, working in "advanced aircraft concepts" and developing laser, electro-optical sensor and power systems.

He also purportedly worked at Texas Instruments to create "laser guided smart bombs, Tank Mounted Infrared FLIR systems, focal plane arrays and GPS Systems."

jfechter@mysa.com

Twitter: @JFreportsRussian claims last week that theyve been exonerated by Robert Muellers final report make my skin crawl. But they highlight the critical question of how the U.S. and Russia can begin to move back toward a saner relationship.

Frankly speaking (as Russians like to say), the first step is for Russia to stop pretending that it didnt meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin got caught red-handed, one could say, and if it keeps claiming otherwise, the Russians obstruct the dialogue they say they want.

Moscow shouldnt misjudge the moment. The special counsels report affirmed the judgment of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia meddled in the 2016 race. Muellers strongest cases, in fact, were the indictments that detailed how 13 operatives from Russias Internet Research Agency manipulated social media and 12 GRU officers hacked Democratic Party information and passed stolen emails to WikiLeaks.

Russian commentators were nearly as jubilant as the White House after Attorney General William Barr released his summary of Muellers findings. Significant taxpayer resources went into disproving an obvious fake, crowed a Foreign Ministry statement. The agents of conspiracy have been discredited, tweeted Alexey Pushkov, a foreign-policy expert in Russias parliament.

President Donald Trump may enjoy the Kremlin fist pumps. But theyre the wrong way to restart a serious dialogue between Moscow and Washington.

Andrey Krutskikh, the Kremlins leading cyber expert, dropped a hankie in an article last week in the Moscow newspaper Kommersant. He proposed that the two nations resume depoliticized expert dialogue about cybersecurity, like the quiet conversations that took place during the Obama administration.

Russia has nothing to fear  nor do we have anything to conceal, Krutskikh said. He said the U.S. should agree to disclose the secret pre-election contacts between the U.S. and Russia in 2016 about U.S. concerns over the intrusion into its electronic infrastructure.

This sounds dubious; Russia was conducting a covert action against the U.S., which means that it was deniable. Moscows statements in 2016 would reinforce its claim that it didnt do what U.S. intelligence and Muellers indictments say it did.

Chris Painter, who was the Obama administrations top cyber diplomat, told me Wednesday that a resumption of working-level contacts about cyber would be fine. But he cautioned against any top-rank contacts about cyber issues now, because they might allow Russia to pretend the 2016 cyberattacks didnt happen.

If you resume high-level dialogue, that says everythings OK  no harm, no foul, Painter explains. This would be a mistake, he argues, because it would allow Moscow to whitewash what has happened.

What about a broader conversation between the U.S. and Russia  dealing with big, potentially explosive problems like Ukraine, Syria and nuclear arms control? As with cyber issues, the answer is that the two sides need to talk, but they need to build a solid foundation.

We should begin in a modest way, not with a full-up arms-control negotiation, but by starting an ongoing dialogue about strategic stability, argues Stephen Hadley, who was national security adviser for President George W. Bush. He suggests a range of confidence-building measures that might seek to avoid confrontations in outer space and cyberspace.

A warier view comes from Tom Donilon, who was national security adviser under Barack Obama. He thinks the U.S. shouldnt engage Russia until its own house is in better order  with full disclosure of the Mueller report on what the Russians did in 2016, better protection for U.S. election security, and repair of Americas damaged alliances in Europe.

Trump administration officials argue that their Russia policy is based on U.S. interest. Theyve imposed sanctions when necessary but also tried to keep open channels between Trump and Putin. If officials have plans for any major post-Mueller opening, they dont say so.

If Russia wants lasting improvement in its relations with America, it should stop its Trumpian gloating about the Mueller report and start rebuilding the basics of trust. Muellers apparent affirmation that there was no collusion creates some space for better relations, but if Trump supporters are Moscows only champions, any reset with Russia will blow a fuse.Cathartic, it was not.

The relentlessly plodding Mueller report finally ended after a 22-month whodunit that climaxed to the sound of pffft.

There is no evidence of collusion between Russia and Donald Trumps presidential campaign, special counsel Robert Mueller concluded. But just in case Democrats needed a crumb to sustain them in further pursuit of a longed-for conspiracy, Mueller added that his findings (or lack thereof) do not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.

What this means remains to be discovered since the report has yet to be released. What little information that Congress and the public have thus far comes from Attorney General William Barrs four-page summary.

Surprised by the conclusion? Shocked? Hardly. Most Washington insiders on my daily rounds gave up the collusion delusion at least a year ago. Short of a video showing Trump and Vladimir Putin fist-bumping and chanting, Collusion, collusion, collusion, ha! an indictable charge against the president seemed increasingly unlikely.

The vast majority of other Americans surely stopped fretting about collusion and even Russias interference with the election, the latter of which Mueller did confirm, long before that. Sustaining suspense for two years isnt possible in the age of Twitter and Instapots  the slow cooker thats fast!

Yet  and yet, again  the show goes on. Indeed, in the swamp, the show never ends. Always gurgling with gossip and innuendo, Washingtons croaking and hissing denizens slither and slander along rivulets of intrigue, coiled in wait for conspirators, canards and the occasional coo-coo bird. Mueller may have drained away some of the sleaziest serpents, including the axis of deceit that includes Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and Roger Stone. But as one who has lived among Floridas marshes and South Carolinas Lowcountry, I can aver that the swamp persists.

Thus, it would seem that Trump has been vindicated. Even some Democratic leaders are ready to accept Muellers findings, including Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who said Tuesday that the investigation is a chapter thats closed.

Hallelujah? Not quite. Other Democrats are still hoping to find fresh threads to unravel once  and if  the Mueller report is made public. Among media sleuths, the consequential question is why Mueller didnt pursue a charge against Trump for obstruction of justice. After all, Trump did ask then-FBI Director James Comey to end his investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to Comey.

Muellers answer, as Barr has related it, was that the evidence didnt meet the standard for an indictment. If this sounds familiar, its because Comey said much the same thing about Hillary Clinton when the FBI completed its investigation into whether she had committed a crime by using her personal email account and server for classified information while secretary of state. Though Comey was deeply critical of Clinton and her staff for being extremely careless, he said her actions didnt meet the standards set by previous department investigations. Commenting on Comeys report, Trump tweeted on July 2, 2016:

It was just announced-by sources-that no charges will be brought against Crooked Hillary Clinton. Like I said, the system is totally rigged!

Not so rigged today, apparently.

Free at last from the investigation that has dogged him since taking office, Trump wasted no time in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. On Tuesday, his administration announced that it wants a federal court to fully invalidate the Affordable Care Act. And in the spirit of his bully pulpit, he said somebody ought to investigate the origins of collusion allegations, as well as those in the media who he said advanced the conspiracy.

Trump has been building his case for at least two years that the media are the enemy of the people, and most journalists have heard from his most avid supporters  either through social media or, in some instances, in person. This has always been a dangerous game for the president to play, but it cant go unsaid that many prominent media organizations gave disproportionate attention to the Mueller investigation, in large part filling in gaps through speculation, supposition and hypotheticals.

No doubt, this necessary conversation will take place in newsrooms across the country, even as the swamp continues its cycle of life and decay. Meanwhile, Americans can find solace in the investigations close and what may be only a brief holiday from hostilities. Its campaign season after all  and the swamp is hungry.

kathleenparker@washpost.comSan Antonio City Council just discriminated against Chick-fil-A.

By choosing to exclude the popular fast-food chain from the San Antonio International Airport, the council sought to make a values statement about supporting gay marriage and the LGBTQ community. But in slamming the door on Chick-fil-A, council showed its own intolerance for opposing views and beliefs.

It didnt reject Chick-fil-A because of its treatment of workers or customers or the quality of its food. There is no allegation of bias here. Council rejected the company because of a disagreement about values and what constitutes marriage. And that is a very slippery slope for a governing body to follow. Slippery enough to prompt an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton. We suspect that investigation is mostly motivated by politics, but this was an unforced error by council, and basic principles about fairness have been violated.

Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays because of its values. This might have been a practical consideration in the council decision to not allow the business into the airport. Businesses there might reasonably be excepted to be open every day.

But to exclude a company specifically for its views is something else entirely and is antithetical to the council values purported to be on display here.

We believe the Supreme Court got it right in its decision to uphold gay marriage. If two people love one another and want to make a lifelong commitment, we are all for it.

Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy sees it differently. His comments opposing gay marriage in 2012 set off a national firestorm, and many people still remember them.

Also, Chick-fil-As charitable foundation has supported groups antagonistic toward homosexuality.

These are all fair reasons for customers who support gay marriage to eat someplace else. But they are not good enough reasons to ban Chick-fil-A from the citys airport. The company does not discriminate against its customers or its employees. Its not refusing to provide chicken sandwiches, nuggets or strips to gay couples or not hire someone because of sexual orientation or gender. It is a popular restaurant. The city should judge the restaurant on its business merits, not the social and religious views of its executives.

In a sense, this is the other side of the coin of the Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple. We believe that baker should provide equal service to all customers regardless of his personal views on gay marriage. The city should treat Chick-fil-A like any other business regardless of its legacy opposing gay marriage.

Whats the alternative? We wonder what a closer look at the political views of many of the executives whose firms are doing business with the city might reveal. Would the council then view them as ripe for exclusion, though many city residents likely share the same views?

There are, no doubt, thousands and thousands of businesses in this community whose owners have differing political, religious and social views. Some informed shoppers make choices based on these factors. But choosing not to support a business because of its labor practices or its owners political views is far different from a city banning a business from its airport.

San Antonio prides itself on its broad anti-discrimination ordinance  incorrectly in the crosshairs at the Legislature in yet another potential blow to local control  but how is this not discriminatory?

The Supreme Court has upheld gay marriage, and that should be honored. It is the law. But since when is it required that everyone be in personal agreement?

The City Council should rethink this one.Mayor Ron Nirenberg deserves a second term.

He deserves more time to deliver on his abundance of vision for San Antonio. He deserves more time to work with new City Manager Erik Walsh on a range of complicated issues. He deserves more time as mayor because he is an excellent representative of this community  articulate, forthright and passionate. Nirenberg deserves re-election because he exudes calm, confidence and compassion. All are necessary qualities for a mayor.

Nirenberg faces a slew of challengers this spring, none of whom match his knowledge of city government and his vision. They are mainly perennial candidates or little-known residents who genuinely want to improve San Antonio but lack the political experience and policy understanding for the job.

The challenger perceived to be the most significant, District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse, has no compelling vision for city government, backed recent deleterious charter changes, is far too close to the public safety unions and is dogged by separate past allegations of domestic violence involving an ex-wife and his current wife.

Even before the reporting of the domestic violence claims, which are disconcerting, Brockhouses support of the charter changes made him a poor choice for mayor. Those changes  in the two of three amendments that passed  limit the pay and tenure of San Antonios city manager and give the fire union the sole right to declare arbitration. They have endangered the citys credit rating  Fitch has already downgraded the city  and destabilized the community, prompting the retirement of City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

The propositions were the creation of the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, whose leader has called Brockhouse our guy. Hardly surprising since Brockhouse had been a consultant for the fire and police unions prior to his election to City Council. But heres a question voters should wonder: Just how independent could the fire unions guy be as mayor for the entire city when the city and union have yet to arrive at a contract?

Brockhouse has been a bit confusing about the charter changes. He endorsed all three and yet has said he wants to revisit the limits on city manager pay and tenure. He has also expressed reservations about Proposition A. It did not pass, but it would have dramatically lowered the signature threshold for referendums, opening the door for special interests to have their way at City Hall. Meanwhile, Nirenberg fought the charter changes with everything he had.

So, yes, it might be a two-person race, but there is such a chasmic qualification gap between the candidates, there really is no choice. Its Nirenberg all the way.

As we mentioned earlier, Nirenbergs greatest strength is his vision. Its evident in his endorsement of an Alamo master plan that will bring proper reverence and dignity to this hallowed ground in the heart of downtown. Its evident in his burgeoning transit plan, ConnectSA, which will go to voters in November 2020 if he is re-elected. Its evident in the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, an aspirational policy to reduce heat-trapping emissions in this community. Its evident in his creation of a Housing Policy Task Force, which seeks to identify long-term housing solutions for those displaced by gentrification.

Nirenberg deserves more time to make these policy ideas real.

We do have a criticism, though. As visionary as Nirenberg is at the 10,000-foot level, he has been painfully slow to get down to the nitty-gritty of being mayor. Too often, he has allowed small issues to fester and become much larger symbols of perceived city imperiousness in the community. Consider the ongoing litigation over development around the restored and iconic Hays Street Bridge, but also the lengthy feud between the city and Bexar County over the countys new Justice Intake and Assessment Center at the jail, and a failure to recognize community angst over former City Manager Sheryl Sculleys compensation of $475,000.

A more hands-on approach is necessary, but the good news is Nirenberg has shown that in recent months. In Walsh, he selected a city manager who has broad community support. He has committed to finding a way with the county on the justice center, and the city has made overtures to the community about the Hays Street Bridge. Nirenberg deserves more time to navigate these complicated issues.

Because of his deep understanding of city government and policy, his vision to address some of the most glaring challenges facing this fast-growing community, his steady hand during challenging times and his thoughtful leadership, we recommend Ron Nirenberg for another term as mayor. He has promised voters a city they deserve, and in turn, he deserves more time to deliver on this promise.Has anyone noticed that those in the anti-vaccine crowd most likely had all their immunization shots years ago with no ill effects?

Wayne Haymes, Leon Valley

Again, no decency

Our president, who was haunted by phantom bone spurs multiple times, seems now to be haunted by the ghost of Sen. John McCain. And only one Republican senator has been able to find the courage to speak.

This brings back scary memories of the early 1950s when Sen. Joseph McCarthy attacked phantom communists and it took too long for someone to stand up to him.

So, in the words of the courageous Boston lawyer Joseph Welch, I will help us remember, You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?

John Olmstead

GOP, then and now

Recently, there has been a spate of attempts to argue that the party in support of African-American rights is not the Democratic but the Republican. Two such arguments are made: When the Lyndon Johnson-supported civil rights act was passed in 1964, more Republicans voted in support than Democrats, and it is the Republicans who are on that side of the question.

However, in 1964, a significant minority of Democrats were Dixiecrats  the very people who would soon become Republicans. One could not expect Dixiecrats to support such legislation. Such an argument implies no difference between 1964 and today.

A second such argument is that the Republicans are the party in support of black rights because it was Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves  as if there were no difference between 1863 and 2019.

The important truth today is that the track record of the Republican Party in recent years, with its constant efforts at voter suppression, is anything but supportive of civil rights legislation.

Richard S. Pressman

Reparations slope

Reparation made to whom exactly? I find this idea permeated with errors in judgment. Why, on its surface, should the United States pay for a war crime committed by the Confederate states in rebellion?

Moreover, the descendants are so diluted after five generations or more that no one might be able to claim to be 100 percent a child from slavery. Additionally, as our personal injury law demands, what percentage of culpability should be assigned to the Portuguese, the English, the French, the Confederacy and, finally, the United States and the person for not having escaped such tyranny?

What a slippery slope! Might I have my government seek to give me back my familys 100,000 hectares of a Spanish land grant? How about our subjugation of all women?

I know what or who my DNA says I am, but the genetic code only runs in the background of my body as my mind or spirit runs in the foreground and determines for most who I really am.

Rick Reyes, Boerne

Beto will burn out

Hopeful conjecture is the only way to define Beto ORourke and his meteoric rise in politics.

Beto is a white man with a Hispanic nickname, but he is as white as most whites, except that he speaks Spanish and is a former El Paso representative who went to Columbia University in New York City.

Beto is a human comet flavor of the year who will soon burn out, and its supremely doubtful hell win the Democratic Socialist primary, let alone the 2020 presidency.

The quantity of Democrat runners will be the Democrats downfall in 2020. Nothing like having 20 to 30 primary candidates who all are socialist wannabes. It most likely will be another lesson in futility for Beto and the party.

Peter Stern, Driftwood

A big zero

I read that the liar in chief was gigging Beto ORouke about his hand gestures when he announced he is running for president.

What a clown! Like he doesnt use hand gestures? My favorite one the liar in chief uses is when he forms a zero with his stubby little index finger and thumb with his right hand! Thats what he is  a big zero!

Keith MacFarland

Texas should be next

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on executions in California stating, The intentional killing of another person is wrong and I will not oversee the execution of any individual. Our death penalty system has been, by all measures, a failure.

This exciting news followed last years declaration by the Washington Supreme Court that the death penalty was unconstitutional in that state.

There are currently several bills in the Texas Legislature concerning the death penalty, with HB 246, which would repeal it outright, and two other bills that would address a defendants criminal responsibility as a co-conspirator in certain capital felony cases.

I am hopeful Texas will soon join the 30 other states in our precious union who have abolished this unconscionable practice.

Mardi BaronPolitical parties that participated in the July 2018 harmonised elections met yesterday and appointed chairman of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) Justice Selo Nare and chairperson of the Gender Commission, Margaret Sangarwe Mkahanana, as co-chairs of National Dialogue.

At least 18 parties attended the meeting at State House in Harare.

Briefing the media after the meeting, President Mnangagwa said the parties adopted recommendations made by thematic committees and a launch of the actual dialogue will be held in the first week of May.

The meeting and dialogue of political parties is part of President Mnangagwas broad-based approach towards nation-building and national healing, which will see Zimbabweans finding each other on the national question.

We had very serious and focused discussions this morning with the heads of political parties. All together we were 18. We have resolved that the question of moderator or convenor shall be two; the chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Justice Selo Nare and the chairperson of the Gender Commission, Margaret Sangarwe Mkahanana, will be the other co-chair of the dialogue, he said.

We have agreed on the programmes that the three committees have recommended.

We have adopted the recommendations they have made between now and the launch which is going to happen during the first week of May. These committees are going to put content into the launch for the actual dialogue on issues that we have identified.

So we are happy that we are moving together with the rest of the political parties, except one or two who have not, but we and other political parties constitute the majority of the people in this country. If you put our vote Zanu PF and that of the others the six percent, two percent, one percent we are over 60 percent.

President Mnangagwa said he was happy that the parties agreed as Zimbabweans that they should sit together to interrogate the challenges the country is facing.

He said the political leaders had also suggested that it was necessary to visit the victims of Cyclone Idai together and demonstrate that when a disaster of that nature strikes, Zimbabweans can rise and demonstrate their concern together.

We have agreed that in the course of next week all the political parties participating in dialogue shall all be brought together to visit affected areas in Chimanimani and Chipinge. I think this is a very good idea.

Justice Nare said political parties would be required to submit two names, a male and a female, of their representatives to the dialogue coordinating committee by Tuesday next week.

Meanwhile, the most loved opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has stuck to his guns refusing to take part in the so-called National Dialogue citing insincerity on the part of the Zanu PF strongmen.

At least five opposition political parties, which initially joined the discussions, have pulled out, accusing the President of having dirty hands.

Violet Mariyacha, leader of the less known United Democracy Movement (UDM), this week became the fifth party to walk out of the talks following Nkosana Moyos Alliance of Peoples Agenda (APA), Daniel Shumbas United Democratic Alliance and Noah Manyikas Build Zimbabwe Alliance, as well as Peoples Progressive Party of Zimbabwe, led by Timothy Chiguvare.

The parties accuse Mnangagwa of insincerity, saying the talks would not amount to anything as long as MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa was not part of the initiative.

Moyo announced APA would stay out of the talks because they were saddened by recent statements made by Mnangagwa at a Zanu-PF rally in Masvingo.

We observed with dismay as he (Mnangagwa) spoke in the most unpresidential manner, among other things bragged about having deployed the army that as we know killed people, APA said.

More worrisomely, he openly threatened that anyone, who according to him, engaged in acts of disorderliness would have their life shortened.

Moyo said such statements by Mnangagwa did not show any seriousness in building bridges in the politically-volatile Zimbabwe, ravaged by two rounds of State-sponsored violence since the July 2018 elections.

APA said without Zanu-PF and MDC Alliance in the same room, the talks would not yield anything and were, thus, a waste of time.

Zanu-PF and MDC-A must be present. Let us recall the official voting statistics at presidential level, ED 50,6%, NC 44,3% (and the) rest 4,9%. If the idea of national dialogue is to try and bring the nation to a place of cohesion, then it should be self-evident that a platform that excludes either Zanu-PF or MDC-A cannot be considered as a serious undertaking towards creating national cohesion, Moyo said.

Chiguvare wrote to Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, saying he would not be taking part in the national dialogue.

We would like to wish the nation a fruitful dialogue and hope to partake in future national events, he said in the letter dated February 21.

Already, Joice Mujurus National Peoples Party has snubbed the talks, saying unless they were convened at a neutral place by an independent convener, they viewed them as inconsequential.

Chamisa has been brawling with Mnangagwa ever since he narrowly lost the hotly-disputed July 30 presidential election  whose result he vigorously challenged at the Constitutional Court (Con-Court).

The youthful opposition leader even went to the extent of accusing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of manipulating the poll results in favour of the Zanu PF leader.

But Mnangagwas victory was upheld by the Con-Court, which ruled that Chamisa had failed to provide evidence that he had won the election.

In the meantime, Mnangagwa and his government are battling to turn around the countrys sickly economy.

As a result, Zimbabwe is now in the throes of a mega economic crisis which has resulted in much suffering and anger among citizens who accuse the government of introducing a raft of measures which have further burdened them instead of alleviating their pain.

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsMDC factions led by party president Nelson Chamisa and secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora clashed at the weekend during ward elections, which were conducted countrywide.

Chamisas faction, which, according to party insiders, took control of most wards, was accused of imposing candidates.

At least fifteen members of the party were injured in Harare on Sunday during the running battles, which were the latest to hit the MDC as it gears up for the elective congress to be held in May.

There are fears that the violence could intensify this weekend when the party conducts district elections.

Winners from district elections will attend the congress to be held on May 24 to 26, together with provincial leaders.

In Mbare, Epworth and Kuwadzana, supporters of provincial chairperson Eric Murai and his rival Wellington Chikombo clashed after the provincial leaders proxies lost during the ward elections.

Chikombo, a Chamisa loyalist, is vying for the chairpersons position at provincial level.

About 15 people were injured in the clashes. Most of the injured belonged to Murais camp, a senior MDC official said.

However, Chikombo denied there were running battles saying: We dont do clashes; we do congratulations in the party of excellence.

Murai could not be reached for comment.

There were also clashes in Bulawayo, where those aligned to MDC national chairperson Tabitha Khumalo were denied entrance into ward congress venues by security personnel.

Khumalo, who is associated with Mwonzora, is reportedly eyeing the vice presidency alongside current vice presidents Welshman Ncube and Morgen Komichi.

Vice national chairperson Tendai Biti is also in the running although his name is also featuring among those tipped to land the national chairpersons position. An internal MDC report on the incident prepared by Ward 10 Councilor Sinikiwe Matha Matanda, which was seen by the Zimbabwe Independent on Tuesday, narrated events that led to the clashes.

The ward chairperson Khalazani Ndlovu came with her fellow wing leaders to my house and we filled in forms for the structures. They left around 4pm ostensibly to hand in the list of candidates to the office as it was approaching deadline at 4pm as communicated, the report reads.

We then received a cellphone call from the wards organising secretary for the womens assembly saying Khalazani was taken by the security at the office and they were surprisingly saying the positions were filled with people who are pro-Entumbane-Makhandeni Member of Parliament Dingilizwe Tshuma. Security there forcefully took all documents including ward copies.

They tore all the documents and as if it was not enough, a marauding gang of five came to my house and demanded copies of structures I had. I refused vehemently as I am aware that security has absolutely nothing to do with structures. Structures belong to the organising department and as a result of this, we as Ward 10 disown structures handed in drawn up by security. Bona fide structures are still in the original books and papers written on the day of congress as left by the ward chair Khalazani and her team when transcribing.

She further said the conduct of the security details shows that they are factional and are a danger to the MDC.

Security must focus externally that is why the party has always been infiltrated there. They are clueless, Matanda said in her report, which was sent to the partys organising secretary Amos Chibaya.

MDC members who participated in the ward congresses in Masvingo province also accused Chibaya who is linked to Chamisa  of imposing candidates for key positions.

We dont know what is happening here. They are just handpicking people and putting them into positions behind our backs, we are tired of that. They also prefer candidates who can give them money. We are not happy at all, a party member from the province said.

The whole province is corrupt. We have some party members who openly said they were going to vote Zanu PF in last years general election and yet we now see them getting into positions. We dont want that.

MDC Masvingo provincial secretary for administration Peter Chigaba dismissed those who complained about the processes as fake party members.

Those are not genuine party members. MDC people respect procedures and they dont rush to the press if they have issues, he said.

Chibayas mobile phone was not reachable this week, while party spokesman Jacob Mafume was not answering calls.

 Zimbabwe Independent

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsPRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has picked Foreign Affairs & International Trade Minister Rtd Lt-General Sibusiso Busi Moyos wife as the new chairperson of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

Mnangagwa has since written to the Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) of parliament informing it of his decision to appoint Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo as Zacc chairperson.

Zanu PF and MDC chief whips Pupurai Togarepi and Prosper Mutseyami are part of the 26-member SROC.

The development comes as the Parliamnets committee is in the middle of selecting eight other members of the commission from a large pool of 130 applicants vying for the posts.

These include former newspaper editors Geoffrey Nyarota and Tommy Sithole; former clerk of parliament Austin Zvoma and ex-MDC MPs Jessie Majome, Gabriel Chaibva and Blessing Chebundo.

Mnangagwa dissolved the previous anti-graft body chaired by Job Whabira in January this year following claims of ineffectiveness and corruption by the very commissioners.

Mnangagwa has pledged to deal with rampant corruption in the country, although critics dismiss it as lip service.

Of the 130 names, the SROC will shortlist 12 for interviews.

Mnangagwas decision has, however, left the committee sharply divided after some of the members argued that she was not the most suitable candidate because she is married to the Foreign Affairs minister.

The MPs expressed their reservations at a meeting at parliament on Tuesday last week.

According to sources who attended the meeting, MDC members of the SROC argued that Matanda-Moyos appointment would raise serious questions about her impartiality since her husband is a cabinet minister.

An MP who sits in the SROC said: Mudenda read the letter to us and afterwards there was a heated debate over the issue and when Mudenda realised that he was losing the debate amid fierce resistance from MDC MPs who felt that the appointment would be inappropriate, he decided to put the matter to vote.

MDC legislators then requested for more time to research on Matanda-Moyo, but Mudenda stuck to his guns and ordered the vote to proceed. The reason for his stance was that he had been given the instruction to ensure that she is approved immediately. MDC MPs abstained from the vote, but Zanu PF MPs went ahead and unanimously approved of her.

Matanda-Moyo has been a High Court judge since 2013

Before her appointment as a High Court judge, Matanda-Moyo was the president of the Labour Court and at one stage, she was director of public prosecutions in the Attorney-Generals Office.

 Zimbabwe Independent

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsPOLICE have approved an anti-sanctions demonstration by war-veterans scheduled for Saturday.

The former liberation war fighters notified the police early this month, of their intention to petition the US embassy in Harare, demanding that its government removes sanctions imposed on leading figures in the Zanu PF administration.

We have no objection to your holding an Anti-Sanctions Vigil at the American Embassy on the 29th of March from 1400hrs until they give a positive response.

We trust and pray that your event will be a success although the regulating authority still reserves the right to stop the event should it turn out to be a public order threat or violate any Zimbabwean law, reads the police statement in part.

The United States has maintained targeted restrictions on individuals mainly within the ruling Zanu PF party renewing them annually arguing Zimbabwe poses a threat to its foreign policy.

US President Donald Trump extended sanctions on the country by a year over unusual and extraordinary policies which are a threat to US foreign policy.

Trump in the executive order last month said the sanctions will remain in place until the Mnangagwa and his government respects basic human rights and institutes media as well as economic reforms.

Zanu PF officials have over the past two decades blamed sanctions for an economic crisis that has driven most citizens into poverty over the last two decades.

But the US has hit back arguing the targeted measures have not affected Zimbabwes ability to trade but bad policies and toxic politics are among the things Harare needs to correct.

The European Union and Canada have also maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe. Since former President Robert Mugabe was removed from power in November 2017, Harare has tried to woo the international community with a charm offensive.

However the shooting of six people by the army in August last year and the military crackdown that left at least 17 protestors dead in January this year seem to have emboldened Western power in particular to keep Mnangagwa at an arms length.

Mnangagwa has received support from the African Union and Sadc on his calls for the removal of the sanctions with South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa turning into a shrill proponent for the lifting of the measures.

 NewZimbabwe

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsOur mini-fundraiser for Water Cooler is on! As of this hour, 193 donors  our goal is 300  have already invested to support Water Cooler, which provides economic, political, and zeitgeist coverage, to help us all keep our footing in todays torrent of propaganda and sheer bullsh*t. Independent funding is key to having an independent editorial point of view. Please join us and participate via Lamberts Water Cooler Tip Jar, which shows how to give via credit card, debit card, PayPal, or even a check in the US mail.

Saving snow leopards in Russia BBC (furzy). What a clever approach. And the snow leopards are so handsome!

Tasmanian devils adapting to coexist with cancer BBC

66-million-year-old deathbed linked to dinosaur-killing meteor ScienceDaily. Kevin W: Ugh! Another way to die horribly  by tiny glass beads coming in at 100-200 miles per hour.

EU Parliament backs ban on single-use plastic products DW (J-LS)

Climate Change and the Death of the Small Farm New Republic

BofA, Wells Fargo sour on blockchain American Banker. Quelle surprise!

Arizona cops release bodycam footage of lead-up to storming home over child with high fever NBC. Kevin W sent an earlier reports of this story. This version omits a key fact: the kid hadnt been vaccinated and the doctor was worried that he might have meningitis, which is why the doctor wanted him to go straight to the ER. Plus social workers and police are now in a no-win situation. There have been enough cases of failure to intervene in abuse and neglect cases generating bad outcomes and a public/press outcry that many feel pressured to intervene in borderline cases. This part is based on court documents:

Later that day, the childs fever reportedly broke, and the parents decided not to take him to the ER. After the mother phoned the doctor, the doctor phoned the police.

So the doctor didnt trust the mothers account and called the cops and said the child had a life threatening condition. The police were put in a position where they had to Do Something. And given that the father had refused the let the cops see the child as requested on two visits and had not opened the door (he could have brought the kid outside if he didnt want to let the police inside on the second police attempt to assess the child, since by then the father should have worked out the cops were not going to let this go), the police had reason to be concerned about the degree of resistance from the father.

Could the Ancient Jewish Practice of Shmita Be a New Tool for Sustainable Ag? CivilEats (Glenn F)

White Americans Food Choices Are Contributing Disproportionately to Climate Change PSMagazine. What white people are you talking about? I dont eat this stuff and I dont know anyone who does (well save a 90+ year old couple). This includes many years of observation of grocery carts in Manhattan :-). The problem with talking about large sets (like men versus women) is that the differences within a set are greater than the ones between sets.

EAT-Lancets Plant-Based Planet: 10 Things You Need to Know Psychology Today. This illustrates why I am skeptical of nutrition science. I could go on for pages as to how astrology is more scientific. You cannot track accurately what people eat over long enough periods of time to conclude anything. However, we do need to be eating further down the food chain.

China?

India

Brexit

MPs deliver Brexit Day blow to May Financial Times

UK faces new Brexit crisis after lawmakers reject Mays deal Associated Press (Bill B). A workman-like overview.

Brexit: Theresa May ponders fourth bid to pass deal BBC. Help me. A 58 vote margin is way bigger than the magnitude of loss of several of the indicative vote options.

Cabinet ministers tell May to embrace no deal after third Brexit defeat in Parliament Telegraph

As lawyers here like to say, For the avoidance of doubt (guurst):

No-deal scenario on 12 April is now a likely scenario. The EU has been preparing for this since 12/2017. Now fully prepared. We will remain united. Benefits of WA, including transition period, will not be replicated in no-deal scenario. Sectoral mini-deals are not an option. pic.twitter.com/JJndIjMtTy  European Commission  (@EU_Commission) March 29, 2019

Theresa May: An Obituary Jonathan Pie, YouTube (Kevin W)

Frexit? Italeave? After watching Brexit, other European countries say no thanks. https://t.co/M3qvk4dR4T  The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 30, 2019

Ecuador legalized gangs. Murder rates plummeted. Vox (Kevin W)

Secret tape increases pressure on Trudeau in SNC-Lavalin affair BBC

Syraqistan

ISIS prepped Baghdadi escape years before defeat Asia Times (resilc)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Lawmakers Call for Termination of NSA Domestic Surveillance Program Wall Street Journal

Tesla Model 3 hack shows new cars can snitch on owners after a wreck The Verge

Trump Transition

Will the Supreme Court Finally End Gerrymandering? Rolling Stone (resilc)

Cheese wall on U.S.-Mexico border Reuters (resilc)

Health Care

The doctors strike that nearly killed Canadas Medicare-for-all plan, explained Vox. Bob B: I remember the doctors strike well. I was a pre-teen and my mother had been sick with jaundice. I was terrified that the doctors would not help her. Moi: A difference now is a lot of doctors are not happy with the current US system, particularly the rise of corporatized medicine.

RussiaGate

2020

Is DONE Competent Enough to Conduct Neighborhood Council Elections? If Not, Why Not? Tony Butka, LA Citywatch (Kevin W). A vignette on (mis)managing local elections, with a shout out to NC.

Norway: Low Oil Pressure Caused Viking Skys Engine Blackout Reuters. Guurst: For want of a brain a ship was lost.

Facebook finally responds to New Zealand on Christchurch attack Guardian (David L)

Airline regulators knew about Boeing 737 MAX nosedive issue 2yrs ago RT (Chuck L)

Missing 737 Sensor Becomes Focus of Ethiopian Crash Probe Bloomberg

iFixit Teardown Reveals Apples New AirPods Are Disappointingly Disposable ars technica

Vermont governors office promotes remote Amazon jobs in Vermont VTDigger (martha r)

UserFriendly: ROFL Amazon is crapifying.

Lyft Shares Plunge 10% in 4 Hours from Pop to Close Wolf Richter

OxyContin-Maker Owner Maligned Opioid Addicts, Suit Says Wall Street Journal

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour:

And a bonus (guurst):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.Our mini-fundraiser for Water Cooler is on! As of this hour, 190 donors  our goal is 300  have already invested to support Water Cooler, which provides economic, political, and zeitgeist coverage, to help us all keep our footing in todays torrent of propaganda and sheer bullsh*t. Independent funding is key to having an independent editorial point of view. Please join us and participate via Lamberts Water Cooler Tip Jar, which shows how to give via credit card, debit card, PayPal, or even a check in the US mail.

Yves here. Note that New York State is also going after the personal wealth of the Sacklers, arguing that the family both made illicit transfers from Purdue Pharma as well as illegally hiding money in foreign bank accounts. But that is an uphill battle.

By Andrew Pollis, Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University. Originally published at The Conversation

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter recently announced that the state had reached a US$270 million settlement with Purdue Pharma, the largest manufacturer of prescription opioids. The settlement resolves the states claims against Purdue over costs incurred in addressing the opioid crisis and allows Purdue to avoid a trial that was scheduled for May.

So the natural question arises: What does this development mean for the 1,700 or so cases brought largely by city and county governments against Purdue and a swath of other pharmaceutical-industry defendants?

My advice for other plaintiffs and opioid victims, based on my nearly three decades studying and practicing civil litigation: Dont get your hopes up.

Purdues Potential Bankruptcy

Most of the outstanding cases have been consolidated into so-called multidistrict litigation in Ohio. The courts judge, Dan Polster, has pushed hard for a settlement.

So will these cases follow Oklahomas lead and reach a settlement?

Not so fast.

Rumors have swirled around Purdues possible plan to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors, including the plaintiffs in the opioid cases. That plan may make sense to Purdue given that the ongoing litigation could result in judgments in the tens of billions of dollars  presumably far in excess than the combined net worth of the family that owns the private company, the Sacklers.

But a bankruptcy filing would create havoc for any prospect of near-term settlement for the outstanding opioid cases. An automatic stay would be issued that would bring all pending U.S. litigation to a screeching halt  including the bellwether multidistrict trial, which is set for October.

A bankruptcy judge with no familiarity with the case would suddenly find herself responsible for resolving perhaps the largest mass litigation of its kind in history in terms of monetary size. That judge would have to approve any new settlement involving ongoing litigation in other jurisdictions and would likely require it to be global. Thats a herculean task  just ask Polster, who had hoped to settle the cases before him by now.

At the same time the alternative is also unthinkable in which all of the claims against Purdue would potentially relocate to the bankruptcy court where Purdue files. In other words, all 1,700 or so cases  including the multidistrict litigation and the state lawsuits  would be lumped together before the bankruptcy court to be resolved there.

That court could choose to send them back for trial to the courts where they originated but still would have ultimate authority to determine how much each creditor and plaintiff would end up with.

Oklahomas Settlement

A bankruptcy filing by Purdue could also pose problems for the settlement with Oklahoma.

Although Oklahoma claims that its settlement is secured against a possible bankruptcy filing  and Purdue reportedly committed to delay any filing  its likely the other plaintiffs would challenge it. Why should Oklahoma get a large settlement while all the other states with pending litigation are forced to accept the scraps following Purdues bankruptcy?

After all, there is nothing unique about Oklahomas case except that it was the first to come to trial. I dont think a bankruptcy judge would feel warm and fuzzy about affirming a disproportionate settlement that would benefit one state to the detriment of all the other plaintiffs.

If the plaintiffs are crafty, theyll try to force Purdue into bankruptcy by filing what is known as an involuntary bankruptcy petition. All it takes is three creditors with claims against a potentially insolvent company  such as three of the hundreds of states, counties or cities that are suing Purdue  to ask a bankruptcy court to assume control of its assets.

And in this case, the Oklahoma settlement could be deemed an attempt  legally called a preference  to benefit one creditor at the expense of others. Thus Oklahoma would lose whatever security interest it may have, as well as any money it received, within 90 days of such a bankruptcy petition. Those assets would return to the estate for division among all unsecured creditors.

Whats in it for Purdue

So why did Purdue settle with Oklahoma rather than file for immediate bankruptcy protection?

Clearly, in my view, its not ready to file  but didnt want the Oklahoma trial to start either. A cynic might wonder whether Purdues owners received profit distributions within the last year and are waiting to file for bankruptcy after the so-called lookback period expires. During the lookback period, creditors can claw back certain types of payments made within the year before the filing. For insiders like the Sackler family, the lookback period is a full year rather than 90 days  as it is for Oklahoma.

In any event, the Oklahoma settlement proceeds may well end up much lower than the settlement agreement provides. So the Oklahoma attorney general may have scored a political victory in announcing the settlement, but it remains to be seen whether his constituents will actually see the money  and, if so, how much and when.

Knowing that, its hard to imagine any significant further settlement activity, at least until another case gets within a month or two of trial. And, if Purdue does file for bankruptcy, the opioid cases may never get that close to a trial again.

And that, of course, means that the various states and local governments that have brought lawsuits will have to continue to bear the cost of opioid-related treatment and services for the foreseeable future.A two-decade old state regulatory loophole may threaten regulators ability to fine PG&E for any of the North Bay wildfires, NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit has learned.

A standard like this is going to make it less likely that youre going to be able to protect against fires  theres no doubt about that, said Steven Weissman, a former regulator with the California Public Utilities Commission.

The apparent loophole is part of the CPUCs vegetation clearance standard, known as Rule 35, which specifies how close trees can be allowed to remain near utility power lines. Some 50 million trees grow along PG&Es 100,000 mile network of power lines crisscrossing Northern California.

Since any one tree near a line has the potential to spark a wildfire, Rule 35 calls for an 18 inch buffer zone between trees and lines and that clearance extends to four feet in high fire risk zones.

But theres an exemption for mature trees  even in high-risk fire zones -- to grow as close as six inches from power lines.

The exemption was incorporated when the vegetation clearance rule was first adopted by the commission in 1997. At the time, PG&E argued to regulators that without an exception, the utility would have to needlessly cut down 54,000 mature trees that posed no safety risk.

In response, the commission exempted any mature tree from what was advertised as an 18-inch clearance standard, as long as it had limbs and a trunk sturdy enough not to sway or come closer than six inches to a line in reasonably foreseeable local wind and weather conditions.

Weissman says the resulting standard is not only watered down and vague, it doesnt really pass the logic test -- skyscrapers sway in heavy winds -- how many trees are not going to sway in a heavy breeze?

NBC Bay Area showed the exemption to State Sen. Jerry Hill, who has long attacked the utilities commission for a lack of oversight. He wondered whether it could explain regulatory inaction in the North Bay fires in 2017, despite Cal Fire having blamed many of them on trees hitting power lines in high winds. PG&E has argued those winds were unforeseeably fierce  an assertion Hill suspects could be tied to the loophole.

A free pass, is what it looks like to me, Hill said about the exemption. A branch within six inches of a high voltage wire -- that could easily, by wind or other conditions, cause a catastrophe or disaster.

At a hearing on March 12, Hill pressed state regulators about whether the loophole applies to high risk fire zones, exempting the utility from the recently imposed four-foot clearance standard between trees and power lines.

Am I interpreting that correctly? Hill asked Lee Palmer, CPUCs deputy director of safety enforcement.

Yes, you are interpreting that correctly and it was an oversight, Palmer said.

Hill then asked whether the loophole may be behind the commissions lack of action against the utility to date, despite Cal Fires having blamed many of North Bay fires on tree contact with PG&E powerlines.

Its almost, I want to say, a get out of jail free card, Hill said.

I dont know if I would go that far senator, Palmer said, but did not elaborate on its impact on the commissions North Bay fire case. Palmer assured Hill that regulators are looking at closing the loophole going forward, and utilities will now be cutting trees farther away from power lines going forward with the expectation that change is coming to Rule 35. 

In a recent filing with a federal judge overseeing its probation in the San Bruno gas explosion case, PG&E said that cutting trees to a strict buffer zone could take a decade and cost as much as $150 billion.A judges proposal to order PG&E to fully comply with all state standards to keep trees clear from power lines is unworkable, the utility argues, and would almost guarantee probation violations given that it simply cannot always know when millions of trees might suddenly pose a risk to power lines under the current rules.

U.S. Judge William Alsup  who is overseeing the companys five-year probation in the case stemming from the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion -- is set on April 2 to determine what new conditions he will impose on PG&Es probation to prevent further wildfires. He has lashed out at the utility for failing to do enough to prevent deaths and destruction caused over the last two years, when the state has been hit with unprecedented firestorms.

One of his proposed conditions is to order the utility to fully comply with all state regulations governing how close healthy trees can come to power lines  including a new rule that trees cannot be closer than four feet from lines in high fire risk areas.

PG&E of course has no objection to complying with these (and all other) laws and regulation, the company told Judge Alsup in a federal filing.

But the trouble, PG&E argues, is some rules require interpretation. Worse, its not possible for the utility to know for sure it is in compliance given that more than 50 million trees stand near 100,000 miles of its power lines.

Grafting civil regulations specifying a line-tree clearance buffer onto the terms of a federal criminal probation is inconsistent with the fundamental goal of probation, which is to facilitate rehabilitation and to prevent additional criminal conduct, the company argued, because healthy trees can become diseased or damaged in an instant.

A constant state of perfect compliance could therefore only be achieved by engaging in extensive clear-cutting that is not required by state law, is not legally, financially or practically possible and is not required by the courts revised conditions, the utility told Alsup. Requiring perfect compliance with state civil regulations as a condition of probation against this backdrop will likely result in probation violations.

The regulations give utilities discretion to determine the risk in specific cases, the company told the judge. In this case, compliance will involve assessment of millions of trees over PG&Es vast service territory.

The court, the utility argues, should leave that kind of case by case evaluation to regulators and Cal Fire officials equipped to exercise the necessary professional judgment, especially on this scale.

The utility says the court should either drop the condition or require that state officials make a finding first before intervening. Critics say thats improbable at the moment, since state regulators do not currently perform ongoing audits of PG&Es vegetation management program.

Still, the utility argues that a federal court should not interfere.

A federal probation court should not take on the prerogative of finding civil violations of state regulatory laws when the state regulator itself has not made any findings of violation. Doing so would improperly supplant the authority of expert regulators and risk inconsistent determinations.

The company said it reserved the right to object to another one of the judges proposed probation conditions  that it stop issuing dividends until it can show it has complied with state regulations and standards.

PG&E has already suspended dividends and will not pay any dividends at least until it emerges from bankruptcy, the utility told Alsup.

But doing that indefinitely, it says, would mean its ability to raise equity capital would be substantially constrained, which in turn would impair its ability to make the investments and improvements needed to carry out its duty to provide safe and reliable service and reorganize in a way that benefits all Californians.The push to open a large homeless center in the middle of San Francisco's Embarcadero is attracting a lot of attention, and money.

People are donating to competing GoFundMe accounts as both sides dig in for the first of what could be a string of fights over helping the homeless.

NBC Bay Area's Sam Brock shows what the city is looking to do to open these centers in neighborhoods throughout San Francisco.On the orange hillsides of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in the high desert of Northern Los Angeles County, State Park Interpreter Jean Rhyne seemed like a woman trying to swat a swarm of bees.

Everywhere she turned on the trails winding through the glowing fields of orange poppies, someone was somewhere they shouldnt be. The second she chided someone for walking off the trail, someone else would head south.

"Do not walk in the flowers," Rhyne yelled exasperatedly above the afternoon wind. "Do you guys want to kill the flowers in the park?"

NBC Bay Area

The parks massive bloom has so far this Spring attracted thousands of visitors clamoring to witness the spectacular colors draping the hillsides like a bright orange blanket. By the afternoon of a day last week, the line of cars entering the preserve stretched down to the highway. And really, who can blame them with the seldom-seen sight of blooming poppies turning green landscapes into hills of fire, which is how early Spanish explorers described them.

The flowers this year benefitted from fall rains which then turned into steady winter rains which fueled the steady germination. The hills full of poppies, along with colorful fiddlenecks, lupine, forget-me-not, goldfield and blooming joshua trees has created a visual wonderland of nature just 15 miles from Lancaster.

Rhyne described this years flowers as a "near super bloom"  rating them a solid nine-and-a-half out of ten. 2008 was slightly better, she said, while 2017 was the parks last big bloom  and the one that nearly pushed park staff to the limit as 164,000 visitors showed up.

NBC Bay Area

"We really did get PTSD from it," Rhyne said. "We jokingly call it poppy traumatic stress disorder."

That year, Rhyne said, visitors frequently wandered off trails, wearing dirt paths into the poppy fields as they positioned for photos. She pointed to a barren spot leftover from 2017 where the photographic subjects had worn away the foliage with their bottoms.

Rhyne blamed the blossoming of social media for inspiring people to veer off the trails to snap photos of themselves laying in the poppies, standing in the poppies  sitting on the poppies.

"Its called ego-tourism,'" Rhyne said of the offenders. "Theyre not here for a hike, theyre here for a picture."

But even with the chaos of 2017 in the rearview mirror, no one couldve predicted what happened last week when a pair of sightseers landed a helicopter in one of the parks poppy fields. The couple got out of the helicopter and began walking around, only to make a quick retreat to the skies as California State Parks Rangers tried to intercept them. No one has yet been caught.

NBC Bay Area

"It can be stressful trying to remind people to stay on the trail," said volunteer Laurie Mohning, reciting the parks mantra; "Dont doom the bloom."

The hassle of crowds and traffic didnt deter Richard Smith who along with his wife made the trek from Idaho. The couple walked along the paths lined with golden colors stretching along the distant hills.

"It just looks like the hand of God," Smith said, "its absolutely amazing."

NBC Bay Area

State Park officials are trying to spread the word about the parks regulations; no dogs, no drones and no picnicking on the paths. Yet even though park staff are stretched thin keeping visitors in check, they said there are 1700 acres worth of reasons to overcome the hassles and experience the sight.

"Beautiful colors, of yellows, oranges, blues, slight breeze and the birds are chirping," Smith said. "Cant get any prettier."A tree caught fire, shuttles shut down and festivalgoers walked for miles to leave Ultra Music Festival. Two days left.

Ultra organizers held a press conference Saturday morning to address the "logistical problems" that occurred after the Friday festival ended early Saturday.

On Twitter, #FyreFestival2 has been one of the most popular hashtags in South Florida  mostly posts complaining about the transportation meltdown and sarcastic remarks by people who were not surprised about what occurred.

Fyre Festival is notorious as a failed event heavily promoted on social media that promised upscale accommodations, gourmet food and distinguished headliners at an exclusive location in the Bahamas.

It didn't quite happen like that in the Bahamas as revelers' expectations were met with cheese sandwiches, rudimentary lodging and the lack of attendance by famous people  not to mention being stranded for hours on end.

In Miami, however, the large-scale problems were limited to the first day's end. Seemingly endless posts on social media criticize the Ultra festival organizers for not preparing adequately for the tens of thousands of people who flooded Virginia Key.

There's only one way in or out of Virginia Key by land: the Rickenbacker Causeway  unless you bought a three-day ferry pass costing $150 to travel by sea.

"Many of you experienced challenging transportation conditions leaving the festival," Ultra said in a statement. "This is unacceptable and inconsistent with the high standards you have come to expect from us. For this, we are sorry."

Thousands of people attempted to leave on the designated shuttles at the same time  waiting hours. Other thousands of people wanted to walk the three miles across the bridge to reach taxi/ridesharing pick-up points on the other side. According to numerous accounts of the events on social media and in local reports, shuttles shut down due to mass confusion and disarray.

Entertainment Reporter Kelly Blanco has you covered on this weekends events in South Florida.

One Twitter user wrote that arriving at the festival was easy. Leaving was "TERRIBLE." People were "banging on the buses begging to just let people in."



"We probably watched 20 buses pass us with absolutely no one in them," the Twitter user wrote. "It was straight chaos."

Officials anticipated tens of thousands of people to join the party scheduled from Friday to Sunday featuring high-profile artists such as Marshmello, David Guetta, deadmau5 and Afrojack.

The festival welcomed millions over the years to downtown Miami's Bayfront Park until commissioners voted against a contract to retain the festival at that location  opting to relocate it to Virginia Key, instead.

Ultra organizers posted their game plan for the rest of the weekend on Twitter. They said they have allocated additional resources and additional training for all transportation staff and volunteers. Additionally, they have added new transportation information at each shuttle hub and around the festival grounds.

Organizers say they also improved infrastructure around the bus loading process.

Lastly, organizers encouraged festivalgoers to stick around and hang out. They are adding "post 2-am activities including extended food, drink, and merchandise vendor hours, art installations, secret performances, and other attractions."

Also, though it's not clear how it occurred, a tree caught on fire.

Fireworks caught a tree on fire at @ultra #ultra2019 all the shuttles got shut down and we had to walk the whole bridge back to our cars or homes. pic.twitter.com/78uBs9nhCJ  Marcos (@mcc_candx) March 30, 2019

Ultra Music Festival chief of security Ray Martinez said the fire was a small brush fire that was quickly put out without damage or injuries. Though some festivalgoers suggested fireworks started the fire, Martinez said the cause is not yet known.

The transportation issue originated when people began leaving early and buses were not prepared  a problem that compounded as time went on, according to Martinez.

"We recognize we have to make adjustments and improve the way our plan is working," Martinez said. "We're hoping for, again, a fabulous show on day two and, obviously, improvements in our transportation plan as we learn from being here on a new site on how to make the adjustments and move forward."

Organizers met with police and fire department officials overnight to discuss how to prevent a similar situation on the second day. More than 55,000 people attended the first day that ran from 5 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday, according to Martinez.

The last people to get off the island left just before 5 a.m.Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, of El Paso, officially kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday with three rallies in Texas. The first was in his hometown.

"This state and its 38 electoral votes count like they have never counted before. All of us have a seat at the table. All of us matter," ORourke said.

He spoke for more than 30 minutes in the middle of downtown El Paso. O'Rourke, who has been criticized for being light on policy, discussed universal health care, immigration and citizenship for DACA recipients. He also talked about voting rights.

"Every single citizen must be able to vote, and every vote must count. As president, I will sign into law a new voting rights act. Together we will end gerrymandering. We will get big money out of our politics and, all across this country, we will have automatic and same-day voter registration," he said.

Tiffany Essl drove in from Dallas to see O'Rourke.

"He gives us hope. He stands for everything I believe in," Essl said.

Terrance Groves came in from Tuscon, Arizona. He has not yet decided who he is supporting.

"Just kind of get a feel for everything because we need change," Groves said.

From El Paso, O'Rourke headed to Houston and Austin.South Korean President Moon Jae-in will travel to the United States in two weeks for a summit with President Donald Trump on stalemated North Korean nuclear diplomacy.

It would be their first meeting since Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi last month collapsed due to disputes on U.S.-led sanctions. The breakdown of that summit put Moon, a liberal who has shuttled between Washington and Pyongyang, in a difficult position on how to further engage North Korea and facilitate the nuclear diplomacy.

Moon's office said Moon will visit the United States on April 10-11 to discuss how to strengthen their countries' alliance and achieve North Korea's complete denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The White House said Trump and first lady Melania Trump will welcome Moon and his wife Kim Jung-sook to the White House on April 11. It said in a statement the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea "remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region."

Earlier this month, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui threatened to pull out of the nuclear negotiations with the United States citing a lack of its corresponding steps to match some disarmament measures North Korea took last year. She said Kim would soon decide whether to continue the talks and his moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.

South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers in a private briefing Friday that North Korea has nearly completed its work to restore a long-range rocket launch facility that it had partially dismantled last year at the beginning of the nuclear diplomacy, according to Kim Min-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

The lawmaker also cited the National Intelligence Service as saying the North's uranium-enrichment facility at its main nuclear complex remains operational. The NIS said it doesn't comment on intelligence assessments provided to lawmakers.

Citing analyses of commercial satellite imagery, many civilian experts in the U.S. have previously given similar assessments on the North's Tongchang-ri launch facility and the Yongbyon nuclear complex. But there have been no reports that North Korea is preparing for a long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test anytime soon.

Before their summit, Kim Jong Un sent a letter to Trump heaping praise on him and making clear that he only wanted to negotiate with the president, current and former U.S. officials told NBC News. Officials across the U.S. government and in allied governments worked to stop Trump from giving up too much in negotiations, they said.

"A huge amount of energy was devoted to avoiding disaster," one former U.S. official said.

Moon's push to expand ties with North Korea and resume dormant inter-Korean economic projects is in doubt as U.S. officials maintain that sanctions on North Korea would stay in place unless the country takes significant denuclearization steps.

North Korea recently withdrew its entire staff at a frontline liaison office with South Korea before sending some of them back to the office. Seoul's Defense Ministry said Friday that North Korea hasn't responded to its offer 11 days ago to hold military talks to discuss planned joint searches for Korean War dead at their border area.

Also Friday, South Korea received the first two of the 40 F-35A fighter jets that it has agreed to buy from Lockheed Martin by 2021. The F-35A jets that arrived at an airport in southern South Korea have become the country's first stealth fighter jets. North Korea has previously called the introduction of F-35A aircraft a plot by Seoul to attack North Korea.

Some experts say North Korea still hopes to keep diplomacy with the United States alive because it is desperate to win sanctions relief to revive its trouble economy.

In a possible reflection of its resolve to press ahead with its engagement policy on North Korea, South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday reiterated its position that it will push to hold a regular summit with North Korea and realize Kim's promise to travel to Seoul.Three people were killed and 17 injured in shootings across Chicago since Friday.

Friday night saw five people shot, one fatally; eight people were shot and one killed Saturday; and seven were shot on Sunday, one of them fatally.

A double shooting Sunday afternoon left a man dead and a boy wounded in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. They were driving at 1:20 p.m. in the 2600 block of West 55th Street when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside started shooting, Chicago police said.

The man, 21, was shot in his head and later died at a hospital, police said. The Cook County medical examiners office has not released details about the death. The boy, 16, was shot in the shoulder and treated at the same hospital, police said.

In another fatal shooting, a man was killed and a woman wounded early Saturday in the Avalon Park community on the South Side.

Bud Clarke, 34, and a woman were arguing with a man in the 8400 block of South Stony Island Avenue, authorities said. The argument turned physical and the man, 46, fired shots at them, police said. Clarke was struck in the chest and the woman, 51, in the ankle.

They were both rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center, where Clarke died and the woman recovered, authorities said. A gun was recovered at the scene and the suspect was arrested, police said. Charges were pending Sunday morning.

The first fatal shooting of the weekend claimed the life of a 24-year-old man Friday evening in South Side Englewood.

A witness told investigators the man was walking at 7:15 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Harvard Avenue when a dark-colored car drove up and someone inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was struck in the head and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died, police said. The medical examiners office has not released his name. No one has been arrested.

In nonfatal gun violence, a 62-year-old man was shot Friday night while selling corn in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. He was outside at 9 p.m. in the 2000 block of West 50th Street when he heard gunfire and realized he was shot in his abdomen, police said.

The target of the shooting was believed to be the mans grandson, who was present, according to a law enforcement source. No one is in custody, police said.

The mans granddaughter said he was selling corn alone on the street, which hes done for over a decade. She said the shooter targeted him in the drive-by attack for selling his corn to anyone  including rivals of the gang that fired the shots.

She also said they targeted him to send a message to her brother.

They meant to hit him, she said. It was a message. Theyve robbed him before. Were just grateful it wasnt as bad as it could have been He doesnt bother nobody.

Last weekend, a person was killed and 14 others wounded in citywide shootings.Illinois could lose more than $18 million in funding if it doesn't accelerate the processing times on food stamp applications within the next month, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said.

The USDA, which administers the food stamp program, sent the Illinois Department of Human Services a letter stating that the state agency has until April 21 to significantly improve timeliness or develop an effective strategy to make it happen, the Chicago Tribunereported. The state agency has pledged to fix the food stamp, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, problems, which it says happened under former Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration.

"The new administration is working quickly to rectify this issue by addressing SNAP application processing issues at our local offices and filling caseworker vacancies," the department said in a statement. "We take our responsibility to ensure Illinoisans have access to reliable food assistance very seriously and we will look for any and all opportunities to provide better service to our customers as we move forward."

Eight @ 8 on March. 30, 2019: Week In Review

Illinois is among the 10 worst states for timeliness rates, according to USDA. Around 1.8 million residents in Illinois are using SNAP for groceries  most of them children, the elderly or people with disabilities.

Diane Doherty, executive director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition, advised the state to work swiftly to fill caseworker jobs as well as clerical positions, which are partially the cause of processing delays. State workers have told her there are 400 openings at local benefits offices, she said.

Doherty noted the state's rocky implementation of an automated system that was supposed to simplify the application process but has instead compounded the workload. Her organization, which operates a hotline, said SNAP applicants have called to complain that their applications are taking a month longer than they should or that their benefits are being voided when they shouldn't be.

"They fix one problem and then another one pops up," Doherty said of the system, which was developed by Deloitte for about $200 million in mostly federal funds. "With all the money that we've spent on this technology you'd think that there would be better efficiencies."An Illinois state trooper has died after being involved in a head-on crash on I-94 westbound near Libertyville early Saturday morning.

The trooper was identified as 36-year-old Gerald Ellisan 11-year veteran of the Illinois State Police District 15 in Downers Grove.

The incident took place around 3:25 a.m., police said. Ellis "was on-duty in his squad car traveling home on I-94 westbound near milepost 16.75 in Green Oaks, when a wrong-way driver, who was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes, struck Trooper Ellis head on," the press release stated.

Ellis was transported to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead just after 4 a.m., the Libertyville Fire Department said.

The driver and sole occupant of the other vehicle involved in the accident also succumbed to his injuries, Acting Director Brendan Kelly said.

A look at the procession set for Illinois State Trooper Gerald Ellis, 36, who was struck and killed early Saturday in a crash on I-94 westbound near Libertyville .

Trooper Ellis left behind a wife, two children, parents and a brother. A source close to the family says he attended Western Illinois University after serving in Iraq.

According to Illinois State Police, donations may be made to Ellis' family by visiting the Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation website, or via U.S. mail to the following address:

Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation

P.O. Box 8168

Springfield, IL 62791

"By doing what he did today he saved lives," said Kelly in a press conference. "On behalf of the governor and the people of this state, it is nearly impossible to express the depth of my sadness and condolences to the entire Ellis family his friends and the ISP family."

A procession was set to take place Saturday morning, leaving from intersection of US Route 21 (Milwaukee Avenue) and Condell Drive (Libertyville, IL) to the Lake County Coroner's Office, police said.

I ask everyone to consider the fragility of life each and every time you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, Kelly went on to say.

The crash comes two days after Trooper Brooke Jones-Story was struck and killed by a semitrailer near Rockford.

This is the second ISP trooper killed in two days and the third killed out of 17 struck this year, authorities confirmed.

Not since 1997 has the Illinois State Police lost two troopers in this many days. It has been 66 years since we have lost three troopers in a single year and its still only March," Kelly expressed. But know this, our hearts may be broken but our resolve is not.

The investigation remains ongoing.For the third time this year, Illinois State Police are in mourning after a trooper was killed in the line of duty early Saturday morning.

Officials say that Trooper Gerald Ellis was driving his vehicle on Interstate 94 when he was struck head-on by a driver travelling in the wrong direction on the highway near Mile Marker 16 in Lake County.

Trooper Ellis was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the other vehicle also perished in the crash, according to police.

This loss is bitter salt in an open wound, ISP Acting Director Brendan Kelly said.

Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies honor fallen Trooper Gerald Ellis with a procession Saturday morning.

Ellis death is the second the department has had to deal with in the last three days. Trooper Brooke Jones-Story was killed Thursday when she was struck by a semi-trailer near Rockford. Earlier this year, Trooper Christopher Lambert was struck and killed while investigating a traffic crash near Glenview.

The three trooper deaths are the most in a single year in the last 66 years, according to the department. A total of 17 state troopers have already been struck by vehicles this year alone, and in 15 of those cases, drivers were violating Scotts Law, which requires drivers to move over for police vehicles.

How many more of these tragedies have to occur at the hands of drivers making dangerous choices behind the wheel? Kelly said.

Police hope that the tragedies of the last few days will be a wake-up call to motorists.

Theres only two ways this stops: people drive safely or troopers stop patrolling, Kelly said. And there is nothing, no one on Earth or in heaven or hell that will ever keep these troopers from doing the job they swore to do.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash, and whether alcohol was involved in the collision.The results of a recent study are not surprising to Willowbrooks mayor and many residents fighting to make sure Sterigenics stays shut down for good.

Air quality testing equipment stood outside the suburban Sterigenics facility Friday. Its been six weeks since the plant was open for business.

Steve Leopoldo lives nearby.

"Its terrifying," he said. "I fear for my children my wife, my family."

A study released by the Illinois Department of Public Health is reinforcing residents concerns. It shows that the cancer rates are in fact higher in people living near the shuttered sterilization facility that for 34 years, put the known carcinogen, ethleyene oxide, into the air.

Sri Rao also lives near the facility.

"Its pretty scary you know, especially the high incident rates in women and children," Rao said.

According to the states study, more cases of breast cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma were found in women living near Sterigenics. Prostate, pancreatic and ovarian cancers are also higher here than in other parts of the county. The study also finds more reports of lymphoma in children.

"We live here and we have to fight for our community," Leopoldo said.

Sterigenics denies having any connection to cancer.

"While the heightened incidence rates for certain types of cancers in Willowbrook warrant closer study, it is unreasonable to use the findings as evidence of any link between ethlyene oxide, Sterigenics and the Willowbrook area," it said in a statement.

But who's to blame isn't the most pressing problem, Leopoldo said.

"Can I say it's directly to them? No. But I can say a lot of people on my block have cancer," he said.

People here tell NBC 5 the fight is nowhere near finished.

Theyre working with lawmakers in Springfield to prevent Sterigenics from reopening--and any other companies like it that produce known cancer-causing gases.When the gunman began to attack the Al Noor mosque, Ahmed Alayedy scrambled to get to the nearest emergency exit. He was the first one there.

"I tried to open the door," he said. "But it doesn't open."

Alayedy and other survivors of the March 15 mosque attacks in New Zealand have described to The Associated Press a scene of confusion and terror at the door on one side of the main prayer room, in the first accounts of the role the door played.

Alayedy said so many people began crushing him against the door that some of his ribs cracked. Another survivor, Khaled Alnobani, says he thinks as many as 17 people may have died trying to get out through the door.

Investigators have likely examined a new electric locking system installed on the door in the days before the attack. The mosque says an electrician disabled that system the day before the attack, although some of those who escaped question whether that was the case. What is clear is that nobody managed to open the door that afternoon.

With the gunman in the middle of the room, the door represented the only escape route for those on one side of him, at least until people started smashing windows to get out.

Fifty people were slaughtered by the gunman at two Christchurch mosques during the attack, including 42 who died at Al Noor. Alayedy and others say that if the door had been wide open like it typically was during Friday prayers, many more people might have escaped.

Shagaf Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury which oversees the mosque, said the door was closed and latched much like the front door of a house. He said it wasn't locked, although worshippers may have believed it was in the confusion.

He said an electrician had tested the new electric locking system on Thursday, and then disengaged it for Friday prayers. He said that to open the door, somebody needed to turn a lever. It was just happenstance, and perhaps the cool weather that day, he said, which meant the door wasn't wide open as usual.

"On any other Friday, the door would be open," he said. "But on this Friday, nobody opened that door."

He said he agreed that more people would have escaped if the door had been open.

"If it had been completely open, it would have been easy for people to get out," he said. "But nobody was prepared for this. We were prepared for an emergency like a fire or an earthquake, and people would still have time to get out. This is something totally different. You don't put this in your emergency plan."

Alayedy said that in the confusion, he can't be sure if he simply failed to turn the lever properly or if something else stopped the door from opening.

Alnobani, said he, too, tried to open the door and it didn't work, and he's familiar with the lever. He said he believes the door was electronically locked. Simply pushing a button next to the door would have unlocked it, he said, but nobody knew about the new system.

Khan said the mosque was in compliance with regulations, which require emergency exits to be clear from objects, easily accessible, and unlocked.

Police said the scene examination is part of their investigation and they will not be commenting while the investigation is ongoing.

Robert Wright, the Christchurch City Council head of building consents, said in an email the mosque was in compliance with the Building Act at the time of the attacks and had a valid certificate known as a "Building Warrant of Fitness."

Alayedy, 30, said that on the day of the attack, he'd been listening to a holy speech by imam Gamal Fouda when he heard six or seven shots. He thought it was an electrical fault at first but then heard screaming and ran for the door.

"All the brothers come in behind each other, on top of each other," he said.

Because he couldn't open the door, he said, he tried punching the hexagonal piece of glass in the lower part of the door. When that didn't work, he drove his knee through it, shattering the glass, and then kicked it out. He crawled through and ran for safety.

Alayedy, a chef from Jordan who moved to New Zealand nine years ago, said he thought about his family back at their house as he ran. His pregnant wife, his 3-year-old son, and the baby daughter they hope to have within the next couple of weeks.

Behind the mosque, Alayedy said, he began helping people to escape over a fence but couldn't get over it himself because of his injured ribs.

Another survivor provided a second escape route near the door by diving through a window with his arm wrapped around his eyes. Tarik Chenafa said he heard a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat and knew right away it was a semi-automatic weapon from his two years of compulsory military training in the Algerian army.

"I know someone is coming to kill us," he said.

Alnobani said that when he first came to the mosque that Friday, he'd noticed the side door was shut and considered opening it but then saw there were some older worshippers. It was a little cold and windy outside, he figured, so he left it alone.

Alnobani said he also managed to crawl through the door's smashed glass and run. He returned to help rescue a young boy whose father was shoving him through the opening, he said, and then helped the father as well.

"I tried to save the child, and I thought maybe I lose my life," he said. "But I am just alone," he said, adding "He had more than me to lose."

When he tried to help a third person through the opening, Alnobani said, that man was shot. The gunman walked out of the mosque to get another gun from his car, Alnobani said, and began shooting at him when he returned. But he managed to escape, and then drove two injured people to the hospital.

The gunman acted quickly, mowing down people on both sides of the mosque. On the side opposite from the closed door, some worshippers were able to escape, but the gunman also killed many others as they tried to leave.

"And he was actually standing behind them, and he was shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting," Fouda, the imam, told the AP after the attack. "Tragedy. Tragedy."

Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, has been charged with murder in the attack. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 5.

Chenafa said he's still sad and confused, and finds it hard to sleep. And he doesn't know what to believe about the door.

"There will be a lot of waiting to find out the truth," he said.Flights canceled and thousands stranded trying to find a way home - that's what passengers who flew with budget airline "WOW Air" are now dealing with. The company suddenly announced its bankrupt and completely shut down earlier this week.

"You don't think the airline is going to collapse, and if it did, you would think they would notify you," said Farmington resident Annie Santaniello.

Santaniello and four friends planned their trip to Iceland months ago and each paid a few hundred dollars roundtrip. She says while they'd never flown with WOW Air, she had friends who had. They warned her that they didn't have the best experience, that the plane had been delayed for quite a bit. But Santaniello and her friends were traveling to Iceland on a budget, and a budget airline seemed like a good way to cut down on costs.

"We knew going into it that it was a budget airline, not to expect anything over the top. It was going to get us from point A to point B," said Newington resident Kim Parsons.

So when they had more than a two-hour delay in Boston, it's something they expected.

"We weren't very surprised when we each got an email saying the flight would be an hour late," said New Britain resident Jess Lucey.

The women say the flight itself was uneventful. They arrived Tuesday and were set to leave Saturday, so they took in as much as they could. On Thursday, they were setting out to do more sightseeing when Parsons received a text from a friend.

"He said, 'Did you fly WOW Airlines?' And I said, 'Yeah, why?' and he said, 'No joke, the company just ceased flying,'" said Parsons. "We sort of went into a panic. Oh my God. What are we going to do? We didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was this really happening?"

The women say they never received a text message or email from WOW Air. They went to the website and saw a banner at the top that said "WOW AIR has ceased operation. All WOW AIR flights have been cancelled."

"We still have not heard from them. We all contacted our credit cards to try to dispute the charges," said Santaniello.

WOW Air says on their site that "passengers whose ticket was paid with a credit card are advised to contact their credit card company to check whether a refund of the ticket cost will be issued."

The women called a different airline, Iceland Air, to see if they could get a flight out on Saturday as planned. They say the person they spoke to was very helpful and managed to get them a flight out with discounted tickets called "Rescue Fare." Instead of flying to Boston though, they'll fly to JFK. They'll have to rent a car to get back to their vehicle in Boston.

"I'm very happy we found out early. We were able to get in contact with them early so that we did get on a Saturday night flight which is the day we planned to leave instead of these Tuesday night flights," said Parsons.

Looking back, to their departing flight in Boston, the women said they did hear something strange that they brushed off at the time.

"We were finally getting boarded. We heard the two flight attendants talking to each other and one said, 'Don't worry. It's almost over.' We thought they meant their shift but looking back on it, we think they meant the company," said Marlborough, Massachusetts resident Victoria Shiebler.

They say the experience with WOW Air has been a frustrating one.

"There was no process to help out in terms of how to get back home. It's, 'Hey, fend for yourself, dispute the charge with your credit card company,'" said Hartford resident Rachel Meddar.

"We were only here four days. What are the odds that an airline is going to go out of business and leave us stranded?" said Parsons.

Despite the stress, the women say they're not allowing it to ruin their vacation.

"It's been worry-free since now we know how we're getting out of here," said Lucey.A mother and her boyfriend accused of taking her three kids from Waterbury during a Department of Children and Families supervised visit and leaving the country with them have been extradited back to Connecticut.

Waterbury Police detectives extradited Crystal McGrath and Lester Joy back to Connecticut on Friday with the assistance of the United States Marshal's Service, police said.

On February 16, McGrath and Joy took McGrath's three children from a DCF supervised visitation in Waterbury, according to police. They then left the state and ultimately left the country with the children.

After a lengthy investigation, McGrath, Joy and the children were found in Mexico, police said. The three children were found safe and DCF assisted in returning the three children to their guardian.

The United States Marshal's Service and Mexican Federal Police transported McGrath and Joy to Denton County Sheriff's Department in Texas, where they have been awaiting extradition back to Connecticut, police said.

Waterbury Police applied for and were granted arrest warrants for both McGrath and Joy. Each are facing multiple counts of custodial interference and risk of injury. They are each being held on a $500,000 bond pending arraignment in Waterbury, officers added.To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories across North Texas, each Saturday and Sunday we'll revisit 5 stories from the previous week and capsulize them in this digest with the most recent updates.

In our 5+5 format, we'll publish the first 5 on Saturday morning and the second 5 on Sunday.

Racing Against Time, DEA Agents Snatch Deadly Drug From Suitcases at DFW Airport

NBC 5 Investigates learned on March 26 the Drug Enforcement Agency recently intercepted a passenger with two suitcases containing fentanyl, a powerful and dangerous drug agent have never before seen on a commercial flight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Click here to read more on the exclusive story.

[[507706972 ,C]]

Throat Cancer Can Be Treated If Caught Early



Former Dallas Cowboys player Michael Irvin is being tested for throat cancer, which he wrote about on Instagram Tuesday. Doctors say that throat cancer is rare and if it's caught early, it can be treated with minimally invasive surgery. Click here to read more on this story.

Former Dallas Cowboys player Michael Irvin's throat cancer scare shines a spotlight on head and neck cancer awareness.

Drunk Driver Slams Into Couple's Home, Insurance Company Goes Silent

A drunk driver crashed into Richardson couple's home, destroying their fence in the process. When they couldn't get an insurance company to pay for the broken fence, they called NBC 5 Responds. Click here to read the story.

A drunk driver crashed into Richardson couple's home, destroying their fence in the process. When they couldn't get an insurance company to pay for the broken fence, they called NBC 5 Responds.

Arlington Police Drone Helps SWAT Nab Wanted Man

Arlington police are crediting their drone Aviation Unit in helping SWAT officers make an arrest while serving a narcotics warrant earlier this month. According to the department, on March 15 SWAT officers were serving a warrant when a known offender attempted to escape arrest by jumping out of a bedroom window. To read more about this story, click here.

Video released by the Arlington Police Department shows how their Aviation Unit, a drone, can be used to help capture a man attempting to avoid capture during the execution of a drug warrant.

Blind Artist Uses Touch and Texture to Create Paintings

Next month, LSA Burger in Denton will kick off their Fourth annual mural art project, transforming their rooftop into a massive art showcase. Each year, six artists are featured, but there's one artist that stands out above the rest. To read more about this story, click here.

LSA Burger in Denton will kick off their fourth annual mural art project next month, transforming their rooftop into a massive art showcase.

Check back and look for 5 more stories on Sunday.Authorities in the Houston area say a pizza delivery driver was shot and killed as he returned to his car after delivering a pizza at an apartment complex.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office says the shooting occurred Thursday evening at a complex in northern Harris County and involved two suspects who were seen running from the parking lot.

The driver, who worked for Papa John's Pizza, has not been identified. KTRK-TV in Houston reports that he was 45 years old.

He was found on the ground between two cars.

Authorities say the person who ordered the pizza is not considered a suspect and it wasn't immediately clear if robbery was a motive in the shooting.

Investigators are checking surveillance cameras in an effort to identify the suspects.A 25-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping and murdering a New Jersey woman who went missing in Columbia, South Carolina, after a night out with friends.

Investigators said Nathaniel David Rowland killed Samantha Josephson, of Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, in the early hours of March 29 and dumped her body in a rural area outside Columbia.

Large amounts of her blood and Josephson's cell phone were found inside his car, according to investigators. Authorities also found a container of liquid bleach, window cleaner and sanitizing wipes.

Josephson was a senior at the University of South Carolina with hopes of continuing her education at Philadelphia's Drexel University, according to her family.

Instead, the 21-year-old was found murdered by a group of hunters, Columbia police said.

Officials suspect Josephson accidentally climbed into Rowland's car thinking it was the Uber she had been waiting for in the 5 Points section of Columbia.

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write these words this morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death," USC president Harris Pastides said in a statement to students.

Josephson's father posted on Facebook that he "will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life."More power outages hit Venezuela on Wednesday after the nation's worst blackouts earlier this month, knocking out water pumps and forcing some Caracas residents to spend hours searching for bottled water in the few shops that were open or to fill up containers at springs in the city's hills.

Frustrated Venezuelans wondered how long they would have to endure the new outages, which started Monday and again shut down schools, offices and factories in a country whose economy has been shrinking for years despite its oil wealth. The power crisis has sharpened a political struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who urged supporters to protest as a response to Venezuela's deteriorating infrastructure.

"We can't be passive," said Guaido, who announced a protest campaign titled "Operation Liberty" that includes planned demonstrations on Saturday and on April 6.

On Wednesday morning, a new disruption to the power grid left 91 percent of the country offline, reversing a "partial recovery" since the start of the latest nationwide blackouts, according to Netblocks, a group that monitors internet censorship. By afternoon, the flow of power remained erratic, returning in some areas only to go off again in a pattern that is now familiar.

"It comes and goes. Last night it came back at ten o'clock at night and at five o'clock in the morning it left again. It hasn't come back since," said Luis Jose Vargas, a 48-year-old baker carrying a container of water filled from a brook.

"With water," Vargas said, "it's the same."

As the outage stretched into evening, people howled with anger in the street and from apartment windows in one neighborhood where the power, which had returned for some hours, went out yet again. Some cursed Maduro.

Nancy Villasinda said she spent more than four hours trying in vain to find a shop selling water. The government had said city water pumps were starting to work again, but then another power cut hit, Villasinda said.

"I suppose that's why we still don't have water," she said.

Maduro's government said schools and state offices and industries were closed Wednesday as workers tried to restore electricity. Few shops in Caracas, the capital, were open and many streets were clear of the usual weekday traffic. The government ordered schools and businesses to remain closed on Thursday.

Maduro said the outage was caused by a sniper attack on the nation's electrical system using a long-range gun in a telephone call broadcast on Venezuela's state television Wednesday. He said the damage was "worse than any Venezuelan could have imagined" but that he hoped to have good news about the restoration of power in the coming hours.

He also announced a march Saturday to rival Guaido's, dubbed the "Operation in Defense of Liberty," and urged pro-government groups, some of which are armed, to ensure there is "zero guarimba," a reference to opposition protests.

"We're never going to give up," he vowed.

After the last blackouts started on March 7, the situation became increasingly desperate for many Venezuelans when water pumps stopped working without power. Looters ransacked hundreds of businesses in the city of Maracaibo. The blackouts eased nearly a week later, but many areas only had intermittent power even after the government said the problem was solved.

Maduro, who is backed by Russia, says he is the target of a U.S.-led coup plot and accuses the U.S. and the Venezuelan opposition of sabotaging the country's decrepit power system. U.S. officials and Guaido say the accusation is an attempt to divert attention away from years of government mismanagement.

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaido as interim president, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate, and has stepped up sanctions and other diplomatic measures in hopes of forcing him to give up power.

On Wednesday, Guaido's wife was welcomed at the White House as part of a tour to rally international support for the Venezuelan opposition.

"We are with Venezuela," President Donald Trump said at the start of a meeting with Rosales and other opposition figures. "What's happening there should not be happening."

Associated Press journalist Juan Pablo Arraez contributed from Caracas.The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel.

"We need to work toward a clean sweep," Border Patrol Deputy Chief of Operations Richard Hudson said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press sent to sector chiefs Thursday. "This should be our daily battle rhythm."

Agents are still doing medical screenings and criminal checks, but the decision means thousands of families will be released without first going through U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, which manages their deportation cases.

The Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas and the Yuma, Arizona, sector earlier announced that agents would begin to release families on their own recognizance. A Border Patrol official not authorized to speak on the matter said Wednesday that El Paso and San Diego planned on doing the same. Some sectors were not part of the change, including Tucson, Arizona and El Centro, California.

Families are typically released with notices to appear in immigration court due to legal restrictions on detaining them and lack of holding space. Until now, Customs and Border Protection has detained them briefly before turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, generally within 72 hours, to be released pending the outcome of their immigration cases.

The move came as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wrote to Congress asking for emergency funding for humanitarian and operational needs, and the ability to detain families together as long as necessary to deport people faster.

"The volume of 'vulnerable populations' is unsustainable. Our system has been able to cope with high numbers in the past, but the composition of today's flows makes them virtually unmanageable," she wrote.

Arrests all along the southern border have skyrocketed in recent months. Border agents are on track to make 100,000 arrests and denials of entry at the southern border this month, over half of which are families with children. To manage the crush, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reassigning 750 border inspectors from their usual duties at the ports of entry to help Border Patrol keep pace with arrivals in between ports of entry. The head of the agency held a press conference in El Paso on Wednesday to say the breaking point had arrived.

But federal lawmakers have fought over whether there is a "crisis" at the border, particularly amid President Donald Trump's push for a border wall that he claimed will solve all the immigration problems. Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday the evidence shows the immigration system is cracking under the strain.

"The sad reality is that we now have a virtual open border for any migrant who crosses with a minor, and our border security enforcement has been reduced to a mere speed bump for migrants on their path to long-term occupancy in the United States," he said, adding border officers are being asked to perform an impossible task with no help from Congress.

And along the border, officials were working to manage the families that had been suddenly released. Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls said was city is working with various non-governmental organizations to make sure families released by the Border Patrol have temporary housing, food, medical care and help with traveling to their intended destinations.

Most immigrant families coming to the U.S. don't plan on staying in the border towns they cross through, but rather to meet up with family throughout the country.

"Focusing on the humanitarian effort is the most important focus for the city, Nicholls.

The Yuma Sector has over the last two years seen an extraordinary spike in the number of immigrant families who turn themselves in. Yuma Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Carl E. Landrum said Thursday that agents have arrested 30,000 people in the relatively small sector since October 1.

The facility in Yuma has the capacity to temporarily hold 410 people. Until Thursday, ICE had been picking all of these families up and taking them to Phoenix and Tucson to be processed. But the numbers have swelled so much now that ICE doesn't have enough resources to pick everybody up, so Border Patrol agents themselves are releasing families in Yuma.

"It is overwhelming us locally, as well as overwhelming the system nationally," Landrum said.

"The sheer volume of family units crossing the border has overwhelmed ICE's limited transportation resources; combined with a requirement to detain these individuals for no more than 20 days, the agency has no option but to expeditiously arrange for their release," ICE spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez said in a statement.

The agency makes "every attempt to coordinate the release of these individuals with NGOs that provide assistance with basic needs, but the heavy influx in recent months has inundated these organizations as well," Rodriguez said.

Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat contributed.The Republican in the last undecided U.S. congressional election ignored repeated warnings from his son against hiring a shady political operator now accused of illegally collecting voter's ballots in a rural North Carolina county and casting the GOP campaign into limbo, the younger man testified Wednesday.

Contradicting congressional candidate Mark Harris' public statements that he never suspected his campaign deployed an operative in rural Bladen County who collected ballots by the bundle and turned them in when he wanted, John Harris testified at a special state elections board hearing that he'd warned his father about Leslie McCrae Dowless' operation repeatedly since mid-2016.

John Harris said his warnings were overridden because local Republicans recommended Dowless to Mark Harris, who was gearing up for a primary rematch against incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger. His parents met with Dowless in April 2017, when the operative insisted his method for maximizing mail-in vote results was legal and grounded in local relationships.

"I think they were lied to and they believed the person who lied to them," John Harris said of his parents. "I will also say, they were weighing what I had provided in terms of analysis against other people that they respected who endorsed Mr. Dowless' behavior. Do I agree with their ultimate assessment? No. I thought what he was doing was illegal. And I was right."

North Carolina's elections director said Monday that Dowless conducted an illegal and well-funded ballot-harvesting operation while working for Mark Harris during the 2018 election cycle. Dowless' workers in Bladen County testified at the special state elections board hearing that they were directed to forge signatures, collect blank or incomplete ballots voters handed over, and even fill in votes for local candidates who hadn't earned them.

Some Bladen County residents also raised their suspicions in sworn affidavits that Dowless also may have discarded the ballots of Democrat Dan McCready's supporters. He trailed Harris by 905 votes out of about 280,000 cast in November's election, but the race wasn't certified after allegations against Dowless surfaced. The hearing has produced no testimony showing ballots were discarded.

Dowless declined to testify this week after the elections board refused to grant him immunity from prosecution based on what he might say. Dowless has felony convictions for insurance fraud and perjury, but Harris and his chief campaign consultant said those charges were missed in a brief background check.

John Harris said he did not have a significant role in his father's campaign and assumed campaign staffers and consultants had a duty to keep an eye on Dowless' performance.

Mark Harris previously told The Associated Press he sought out and hired Dowless because he delivered votes, including for a Republican rival in the 2016 GOP primary. Harris said he discussed with an attorney after that primary whether to challenge Dowless' incredible results for a GOP rival with mail-in ballots in Bladen County. Dowless' methods in the 2016 general election were referred to federal prosecutors, who took no action.

Since October, John Harris has worked in the civil division of the same U.S. Justice Department office in Raleigh. He said he was testifying voluntarily in his capacity as a private citizen and not as a Justice Department employee. Mark Harris appeared to tear up during his son's testimony.

John Harris testified that he initially warned his parents about Dowless after reviewing voting data immediately after his father's 2016 primary loss. Mark Harris had lost a Republican primary that June in which GOP rival Todd Johnson, who used Dowless in that campaign, scored 98 percent of the mail-in ballots cast in Bladen County.

In November 2016, John Harris forwarded a Republican fundraising email amid a vote-counting fight in the close North Carolina governor's race. The email claimed that a Democratic Party voting fraud scheme in Bladen County had been uncovered, based on a complaint by Dowless of misdeeds by a local black empowerment organization.

Mark Harris reacted to the email with a reply to his son: "Amen! But interestingly enough, the guy who made the claim, Dowess (sic), is the same guy that Johnson paid to run the "absentee ballot program" for him! Guess he didn't like the Dems cutting into his business!"

Mark Harris is expected to testify Thursday. The elections board is expected to either declare him the winner in the 9th congressional district or order a new election after the multi-day hearing.Taking drastic action over illegal immigration, President Donald Trump moved Saturday to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, whose citizens are fleeing north and overwhelming U.S. resources at the southern border.

The State Department notified Congress that it would look to suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations, which have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

Amplified by conservative media, Trump has turned the caravans into the symbol of what he says are the dangers of illegal immigration  a central theme of his midterm campaigning last fall. With the special counsel's Russia probe seemingly behind him, Trump has revived his warnings of the caravans' presence.

Trump also has returned to a previous threat he never carried out  closing the border with Mexico. He brought up that possibility on Friday and revisited it in tweets Saturday, blaming Democrats and Mexico for problems at the border and beyond despite warnings that a closed border could create economic havoc on both sides.

"It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws," Trump tweeted Saturday. "In less than one hour, and then a vote, the problem would be solved. But the Dems don't care about the crime, they don't want any victory for Trump and the Republicans, even if good for USA!'

As far as Mexico's role, he tweeted: "Mexico must use its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA. Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border! This will also help us with stopping the Drug flow from Mexico!"

When reporters asked Trump on Friday what closing the border could entail, he said "it could mean all trade" with Mexico and added, "We will close it for a long time."

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new group of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable and suggested a visit to the border within the next two weeks.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke out Saturday against cutting off aid to Central America, declaring that "foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens."

And a group of House Democrats visiting El Salvador denounced the administration's decision to cut aid to the region.

"As we visit El Salvador evaluating the importance of U.S. assistance to Central America to address the root causes of family and child migration, we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region," said the statement from five lawmakers, including Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The President's approach is entirely counterproductive."

The Trump administration has threatened before to scale back or cut off U.S. assistance to Central America. Congress has not approved most of those proposed cuts, however, and a report this year by the Congressional Research Service said any change in that funding would depend on what Congress does.

Short of a widespread border shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under U.S. law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Border officials are also planning to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the border to wait out their immigration cases, said an administration official. The official said right now about 60 migrants per day are returned and officials are hoping to send as many as 300 per day. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about internal plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said. He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way."

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesn't act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have.

Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce in San Diego, said the mere threat of border closures sends the wrong message to businesses in Mexico and may eventually scare companies into turning to Asia for their supply chains.

"I think the impact would be absolutely devastating on so many fronts," said Mier y Teran, whose members rely on the Otay Mesa crossing to bring televisions, medical devices and a wide range of products to the U.S. "In terms of a long-term effect, it's basically shooting yourself in your foot. It's sending out a message to other countries that, 'Don't come because our borders may not work at any time.' That is extremely scary and dangerous."

Associated Press writers Peter Orsi, Elliot Spagat, Colleen Long, Catherine Lucey and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.A Florida man has been charged in the cold case killing involving a 28-year-old woman.

A U.S. Marshall's Task Force says Jonathan Adolfo Espinosa has been charged with second-degree murder and sexual battery in the 2012 death of Shirley Zerna

The victim was found dead in an apartment complex. Investigators believed she overdosed after a night of partying, but a medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.

NBC 2 News reports he was arrested this week and being held in the Fort Lauderdale area until he is transported to Lee County to stand trial.

Records did not list an attorney who could comment on the charges.Here are the top stories from the past week from the NBC 6 Weekend Digest:

DeSantis Suspends Fees, Penalties for SunPass Customers

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended fees and penalties for SunPass customers until June, the Florida Department of Transportation announced Friday.

While FDOT will continue to suspend fees and penalties until June 1, final reminders are being sent to TOLL-BY-PLATE customers that include transactions through the end of December 2018.

For more information, click here.

Frustrated Sunpass customers say theyre being overcharged and told they have just weeks to pay up. Customers have reported receiving hefty bills in recent weeks and are being told they have until March 31 to make the payment.

Woman Caught on Camera Kicking Dog in Elevator Gets Probation

A woman who was caught on camera last year kicking a dog in an elevator has been sentenced to probation.

Keevonna Cante Wilson, 24, was arrested back in September after surveillance cameras captured her repeatedly kicking and abusing a small dog at the Artech Condominiums in Aventura.

Wilson was sentenced Friday to four years of probation, said her attorney, Robert Resnick. She must also write a letter to the court addressing the animal abuse and pay $2,700 to cover the costs of veterinary services to take care of the injured dog.

For more information, click here.

NBC 6 Reporter Steve Litz is in Aventura where a woman bonded out of jail after allegedly abusing a dog. *WARNING* Some viewers may find the surveillance video to be disturbing.

Venezuela Opposition Leader's Wife, Fabiana Rosales, Meets Leaders

The wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido met Miami city leaders on Friday part of a multi-city tour to drum up support for her husband and opposition government aiming to oust dictator Nicolas Maduro.

"I have always asked God to protect the people of Venezuela, to give us the strength to go on," Fabiana Rosales said in Spanish. "Today, Venezuela can be a great example for the world, and I know that the results of Venezuela, which we will see very soon, will be an example for the nations of the world never go through what Venezuela is going through today."

For more information, click here.

Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, spoke with NBC 6 in an exclusive interview.

Paralyzed Teen Athlete Takes First Major Steps Towards Recovery

A local teen lacrosse player faced the possibility of never playing or even walking again. But thanks to the help of a dedicated medical team from two local hospitals, hes ready to thrive again.

Chase Lalonde, the captain of Fort Lauderdales Westminister Christian Academy took a near career and life-ending blow to his spine during a match on March 2.

I was hit in the back and I just fell straight back, lost feeling, I said crap, Im done, Lalonde said.

For more information, click here.

A lacrosse player is walking again just weeks after being paralyzed. NBC6s Trina Robinson explains.Police with guns drawn broke down the door of an Arizona home and ordered three children into the custody of the Department of Child Safety because the parents had refused to take their son who has a fever to the hospital.

Sarah Beck brought her 2-year-old son to Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and was told he had a temperature of more than 105, according to reports by the Chandler Police Department.

The doctor believed the child could be suffering from a "life-threatening" illness that could not be tested for at the clinic, so she told Beck to take the toddler to the hospital, a police report said. The mother was reluctant because the boy wasn't vaccinated and she feared "possible repercussions," the report said.

When the doctor found out the child had never made it to the hospital, she called the DCS who contacted the Chandler Police Department because "there was a present danger to (the childs) health/wellbeing and that he required immediate medical attention," police said.

When police arrived, Beck and her husband, Brooks Bryce, wouldn't let them into the house.

"While on scene, DCS obtained a court order for the temporary custody of the two-year-old child," said a statement from police. "The parents continued to ignore all attempts from DCS and officers to speak with them on the telephone or at the front door."

After one final warning, police broke down the front door.

"They said Brooks, you have to come out of your house right now  We have to check on them, and I said, 'hes doing fine, his temperature is 100 degrees. He's safe, hes asleep, could you please just leave us alone, Bryce told NBC affiliate KPNX.A teenager was sitting on his moped in front of a house in Brooklyn when a group of five people assaulted him and took his ride, police say.

One person has been arrested Saturday in the robbery in Bushwick on Thursday: Ramon Garcia-Disla, 26, who lives on the block where the 17-year-old was attacked, the NYPD said.

Garcia-Disla was charged with robbery, gang assault and assault. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

Another suspect was arrested Thursday after the attack and the moped was recovered, police said. A 16-year-old boy was charged with robbery, possession of stolen property, possession of marijuana and driving violations.

The teen was attacked on Knickerbocker Avenue, police said. The teen was attacked with a metal pipe and a wooden stick, police say, a knife was also brandished.

The teen was hospitalized in stable condition with a cut to his head, police say.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof, who died in October but who was still elected posthumously in a state Assembly seat race, died of a heart attack, an autopsy released Thursday said.

Hof, 72, was found dead at the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada, just north of Pahrump, on Oct. 16, NBC News reported.

The Nye County Sheriffs Office released the results of his autopsy, which listed his cause of death as "acute myocardial infarction" or a heart attack, and the manner of death was determined as natural.

The heart attack was due to cardiovascular disease, and other significant conditions listed were diabetes and obesity.California's Department of Motor Vehicles didn't properly prepare for customers lining up to get new federally approved drivers' licenses, leading to hours-long wait times last year, state auditors said Wednesday.

But the long lines that angered motorists and state lawmakers alike merely highlighted significant underlying weaknesses including outdated computers and problems with scheduling appointments, the auditors said.

The finance department auditors said the DMV had "significant deficiencies in planning and implementation" as Californians began updating their drivers' licenses to meet new federal security standards known as Real ID. Airport security checkpoints won't accept cards without special markings required by the federal government after Oct. 1, 2020. California residents must apply in person at DMV offices to get the new cards.

The resulting delays were symptoms of the department's "significant weaknesses in its underlying governance structure and organizational culture," auditors found.

They found a long list of problems including inconsistencies in overseeing field offices, ineffective communications, poor budgeting, inadequate staffing of service windows, missed opportunities to improve customer service, and a lack of employee training.

It is difficult for customers to quickly and consistently reserve appointments, auditors found, with variations in availability depending on location and problems with motorists reserving duplicate appointments.

Outdated computers, poor connections and inadequate maintenance led to computer failures that stalled customers' ability to get services, the auditors said.

"Without strengthening the underlying foundation supporting its operations, DMV will continue facing challenges in efficiently and effectively delivering services to its customers," auditors concluded.

Department officials agreed with the audit findings. They are required to submit a detailed correction plan within 60 days and update it every six months until the problems are solved.

Acting director Kathleen Webb said the department is "committed to reengineering business practices and reducing wait times" and is already taking steps including increasing self-service options and better monitoring its computer system.

Auditors said the department could accept credit card payments and use more text message notifications to improve customer service.

Webb said the DMV will seek more money to carry out some of the recommendations.

Republican Assemblyman Jim Patterson of Fresno said DMV officials had years to prepare yet started making Real ID a priority only months before the rollout in January 2018.

He was upset by findings of delays due to staffing shortages and scheduling problems and questioned the department's claim that wait times are down to 30 minutes. There still are regular reports of longer waits before customers can even start the process, he said.

"This audit explains what the public and the Legislature have known for some time  the DMV directors were asleep at the switch for a decade leading up to the Real ID rollout and customers paid the price with exploding wait times," he said in a statement.

Patterson said the state needs to reform the department "from the ground up" or "the DMV will continue to fail."

Former Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the audit in September because of long lines and wait times at DMV field offices. He acted a day after a computer outage hampered more than a third of DMV offices for several hours, preventing about 70 offices from processing driver's license, identification card and vehicle registration matters.

New Gov. Gavin Newsom also has a "strike team" looking at ways to improve the DMV.

The audit examined the DMV's information technology and customer service, but the department also mishandled about 23,000 voter registrations under the state's new "motor voter" law, which took effect nearly a year ago and lets residents automatically register to vote. The DMV sent the secretary of state's office incorrect information for thousands of voters, mostly affecting customers' vote-by-mail, language and political party selections.To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories in San Diego County, each Saturday we'll revisit five stories from the previous week and capsulize them in this digest with the most recent updates.

1. 'Era More of Less, Ended': Former Panda Team Leader Doubts Return of Beloved Animals

You likely heard the news about the last two giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo going back to China sometime next month. But did you see NBC 7's Melissa Adan's report on the reaction of the man who was there at the beginning? Don Lindburg described the cries of the first panda cub to be born in the U.S. He shared his thoughts with NBC 7 about the news that the breeding program he helped launch is ending.

The former giant pandas team leader at the San Diego Zoo said it might be the last time the world famous zoo will have pandas. NBC 7's Melissa Adan has more on why he thinks that.

2. Rideshare Passenger Dies in DUI Crash

Many people use a ride-share service because they want to avoid driving under the influence. For one San Francisco man, he was killed last weekend in what police say was a DUI crash while using a rideshare service. As NBC 7's Omari Fleming reports, in an even more tragic turn of events, the passenger who was killed was using a seatbelt while his friend who survived the crash did not.

NBC 7's Omari Fleming spoke with friends and family of the victim.

3. Local Investors Claim Poway Man Orchestrated Ponzi Scheme

Investors across San Diego County say their relationship with Christopher Dougherty started with a financial opportunity pitch that promised them modest but dependable returns on their investment.

Dougherty offered an investment opportunity in an organic beef ranch in Alpine. He touted new housing projects and a marijuana cultivation plan as another solid investment.

But years later, eleven investors tell NBC 7 Investigates they have seen very little, if any, return on the millions of dollars they invested with Dougherty.

NBC 7 Investigates filed the report and then NBC 7 Responds produced the video below offering advice on how to protect yourself from falling for a similar scheme.

Following reports of a local man who was accused of taking millions in a Ponzi scheme, some fear of falling into the same traps. NBC 7's Consumer Bob has more on how to avoid these investment scams.

4. Mom Loses Dream Car, Gifts in Dealership Fire

"Tears. My heartfelt reaction was tears," Crystal Marrone said of the moment she found out her SUV was one of those destroyed when a fire spread through the cars awaiting service at the Bob Baker Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Ram. Management said they believe the dealership was targeted and the fire was set. As NBC 7's Artie Ojeda reports, Marrone was devastated about the loss of special items she was storing in her SUV.

NBC 7's Artie Ojeda spoke to a woman who lost her, which was more than just an SUV, and some special cargo that was in the back.

5. Fleeing Driver Runs Right Into Off-Duty Officer's Backyard

It was a bizarre twist to a pursuit near the U.S.-Mexico border when the driver trying to get away ended up running into the backyard of an off-duty law enforcement officer. As NBC 7 Liberty Zabala showed us, the wrong-way driver crashed and then took off running. Unfortunately for him, he ended up in the backyard of an off-duty officer who warned him to keep running.

A chase ended in a crash after CBP agents began pursuing a truck fleeing the San Ysidro Port of Entry. NBC 7's Liberty Zabala has more.A man was discovered dead Saturday in Burke, Virginia, after Fairfax County Police said he drowned in Lake Braddock while trying to save his dog.

Nghia Trinh, 28, of Burke, was walking his dog on a path next to the lake when it got loose, police say. Witnesses reportedly saw Trinh go in to the water after the dog.

Trinh went underwater and didn't come back up, police said.

Both the Fairfax County Police Department and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to a call for a drowning in the 9400 block of Goshen Lane at about 5 p.m., police said.

After 40 minutes, Trinh's body was recovered from the lake and pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the dog was found and is OK.

The medical examiner will determine the exact cause and manner of death, police say.Police in Prince George's County, Maryland, have released photo and video surveillance of a man they say has robbed five businesses in the past 10 days.

The string of robberies began on March 17, when the suspect robbed a pizza store in Oxon Hill. During that robbery, he pulled out a gun and demanded cash.

After that, cameras captured the same man robbing a convenience store on Branch Avenue in Temple Hills on March 23. Witnesses said they saw the man change outfits after the robbery.

Police said the man is also connected to robbing a separate pizza store on Temple Hill Road in Prince George's County on March 24.

Then, the spree picked up, police said. The suspect allegedly robbed a convenience store on the 6000 block of Marlboro Pike in District Heights on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, the suspect robbed a pawn shop on the 5000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Seat Pleasant.

At the final robbery, the suspect was again photographed, this time wearing a distinctive orange hat and black and white scarf.

Surveillance video released by Prince Georges County detectives Friday shows the suspect on the days of the Temple Hills and Seat Pleasant robberies.

Prince Georges County Police encourage anyone with tips on identifying the suspect to reach out by calling 301-772-4905 or 1-866-411-TIPS. They are offering a cash reward for information.A 10.5 acre solar farm is upsetting residents of a neighborhood in Capitol Heights, Maryland.

Construction crews began work on the site of the new Sol Systems farm on Old Central Avenue in February.

While some neighbors recall being notified of public meetings about the proposed site, others said they were never notified.

Residents told News4 they are concerned about how Sol Systems is clearing the land that was formerly forest and how it could impact wildlife and stormwater runoff.

"You know, seeing the deer. They've been on my deck in the front ... We get excited every time we see them," resident Adie Green said.

"Just tearing up nature. Tearing up the ground. Just look at it. It's terrible," resident Larry Robertson said.

Prince George's County officials said the county will be monitoring runoff from rainwater and cooling systems into the nearby waterways.

Sol Systems says the solar farm will produce about 2.5 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power about 300 homes.

It also estimates the farm will generate $1 million in county tax revenue.

Still, neighbors say, they would like to keep the solar farm out of their sight.

"[They] gotta put some trees back there to hide that ugly, ugly, ugly look," Robertson said.What to Know Almost three years after Britons voted to leave the EU, the date and terms of its departure are up in the air

The EU granted Britain a delay to the scheduled March 29 exit date to April 12, or May 22 if Parliament approves the proposed divorce deal

British Prime Minister Theresa May offered up her job in exchange for her Brexit deal Wednesday, telling colleagues she would quit within weeks if the agreement was passed and Britain left the European Union.

May's dramatic concession that "there is a desire for a new approach - and new leadership" was a last-ditch effort to bring enough reluctant colleagues on board to push her twice-rejected EU divorce deal over the line.

It looked like it might not be enough, as a key Northern Ireland party said it would not be supporting the deal.

May's announcement came as lawmakers held an inconclusive series of votes on alternatives to her unpopular deal. It was the first step in an attempt by Parliament to break the Brexit deadlock and stop the country from tumbling out of the bloc within weeks with no exit plan in place.

May has been under mounting pressure from pro-Brexit members of her Conservative Party to quit. Many Brexiteers accuse her of negotiating a bad divorce deal that leaves Britain too closely tied to the bloc after it leaves.

Several have said they would support the withdrawal deal if another leader took charge of the next stage of negotiations, which will determine Britain's future relations with the EU.

In a packed meeting of Conservative legislators described by participants as "somber," May finally conceded she would have to go, although she did not set a departure date.

"I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party," she said, according to a transcript released by her office.

Anti-EU lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has clashed with May throughout the Brexit process, said she had been "very clear" that if Britain leaves the EU as foreseen on May 22, she will quit soon after.

He said the prime minister had been "very dignified."

"She put her case well, and reiterated that she had done her duty," he said.

It was unclear whether May's offer to resign would be enough to win backing for her deal, which was defeated by 230 votes in January and by 149 votes earlier this month.

High-profile Brexiteer Boris Johnson announced soon after May's statement that he would support the agreement, which he has previously called a "humiliation." Johnson is a likely contender to replace May as prime minister.

But other hard-liners said they would continue to reject the deal, and Northern Ireland's small but influential Democratic Unionist Party refused to budge in its opposition to the deal.

The DUP's support was seen as key to persuading other Brexiteers to back the deal. But the staunchly pro-British party fears a provision designed keep an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit would weaken the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.

"We cannot sign up to something that would damage the Union," DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News.

Asked if the party might abstain instead, DUP lawmaker Nigel Dodds tweeted: "The DUP do not abstain on the Union."

Two years ago, Britain triggered a countdown to departure from the EU that ended Friday, March 29, 2019. With that date approaching and no Brexit deal approved by Britain, the EU last week granted a delay. It said that if Parliament approves the proposed divorce deal this week, the U.K. will leave the EU on May 22. If not, the government has until April 12 to tell the 27 remaining EU countries what it plans to do: leave without a deal, cancel Brexit or propose a radically new path.

With May clinging to her Plan A  getting her deal approved  lawmakers this week seized control of the parliamentary timetable for debate and votes Wednesday on a range of Brexit alternatives.

The results underscored the divisions in Parliament, and the country, over Brexit. None of the eight plans received a majority of votes. The most popular were a proposal to remain in a customs union with the bloc, which was defeated 272-264, and a call to hold a public referendum on any divorce deal, which fell by 295 votes to 268. Both ideas got more support than the 242 votes secured by May's deal earlier this month.

A call to leave the EU without a deal was supported by 160 lawmakers and opposed by 400.

The plan is for the most popular ideas to move to a second vote Monday to find an option that can command a majority. Parliament would then instruct the government to negotiate it with the EU.

May has said she will consider the outcome of the votes, although she has refused to be bound by the result.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay urged lawmakers to back May's deal, saying the ambiguous result "demonstrates that there are no easy options here."

Barclay said he had introduced a motion to have Parliament meet Friday if needed for a vote on May's agreement, but it remained unclear whether it would go ahead. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said he would not accept another vote on the twice-rejected deal unless substantial changes were made.

Wednesday's votes produced inconclusive results, but could push Britain in the direction of a softer Brexit that keeps Britain closely tied economically to the EU.

That would probably require the U.K. to seek a longer delay, although that would mean participating in May 23-26 European Parliament elections.

Many EU officials are keen to avoid the messy participation of a departing member state.

But the chief of the European Council told European lawmakers that the EU should let Britain take part if the country indicated it planned to change course on Brexit. Donald Tusk said the bloc could not "betray" the millions of Britons who want to stay in the EU.

"They may feel they are not sufficiently represented by the U.K. Parliament but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber. Because they are Europeans," Tusk said.

Gregory Katz, Tobie Mathew and Raf Casert contributed.Alex Jones, who claimed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was staged, may now be blaming his opinion on a form of psychosis he had in the past where I basically thought everything was staged ... even though Im learning a lot of things arent staged.

According to published reports, those claims were made earlier this month when Jones was grilled during an Austin, Texas, deposition taken in connection with one of the lawsuits brought by parents of some of the 20 children killed in the 2012 shooting.

Gunman Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother and six educators during the mass shooting, killed himself as police approached the school.

Jones spent more than three hours answering questions posed by lawyers in a suit claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress brought on behalf of Jessie Lewis, one of the slain children, by his mother, Scarlett Lewis.

The Lewis suit is just one of several lawsuits against Jones and others pending in Texas, Virginia and Connecticut.

The video of the deposition was posted in two parts on YouTube.

Jones often ran his hands through his neatly trimmed beard and short hair and took deep breaths, which he loudly exhaled.

At one point, as he was questioned about people debunking his theory and the debates that followed, Jones said I dont live, eat, breathe and sleep this stuff. If I had it all over to do, I would have done a better job. I didnt do it on purpose to be malicious.

It was not long after the shooting that Jones maintained on his InfoWars program that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, part of a government attempt to pass laws that would limit the right to bear arms.

Jones has claimed the school shooting was staged by paid actors who faked the childrens deaths.

The Austin American-Statesman said Jones told the lawyers during the Texas deposition, Its painful that we have to question big public events. I think thats an essential part of the First Amendment in America.

But, even as he said he has come to believe over the years that the Sandy Hook shootings were real, he continued in the deposition to voice conspiratorial suspicions that the whole truth about what happened remained hidden, the American-Statesman reported.

I think weve agreed before that Sandy Hook was real. It was not staged. It was not phony. You were wrong about that, said Mark Bankston of the Texas law firm of Farrar and Ball, representing Lewis, said, according to the Statesman.

Well, I want to be clear, Jones replied, according to the Statesman. I believe children died. I believe there was a mass shooting. I still think that there was a man in the woods in camo. ... And just a lot of experts Ive talked to, including retired FBI agents and other people and people high up in the Central Intelligence Agency, have told me that there is a cover-up in Sandy Hook.

Asked toward the end of the deposition whether people should be accountable for the people they hurt, Jones replied sometimes people claim theyve been hurt when they havent been. So you have to look at the agenda behind things. You have to balance things about why has the mainstream media lied so much, why our governments lied so much, the fact that the public doesnt believe what theyre told anymore, and are we going to criminalize questioning Jussie Smollett or WMDs or babies in incubators. And it really is the fact that weve allowed the government and institutions to become so corrupt that people have lost any compass of whats real.

Bankston asked Jones about the assertion by his lawyers at a pretrial hearing in his 2017 child custody case that in his on-air persona, Jones was a performance artist.

So I want to ask you, I want to know, Bankston asked. When you were making these claims about Sandy Hook, were you being a journalist, or was this all performance art?

When I say things on air, I believe it, Jones said.

Bankston asked Jones about his relationship with Wolfgang Halbig, described as a former Florida school security officer.

Halbig, according to The New York Times, promoted a baseless tale that Avielle Richman, one of the first-graders killed in Sandy Hook, was still alive.

Just this week, Richmans father, Jeremy took his life near his office of the Avielle Foundation at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization that studies brain science.

Earlier this month, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis gave families of the slain children the right to interview Jones under oath for five hours as part of the lawsuit discovery process. She also recommended the case be moved to the complex litigation docket in state Superior Court in Waterbury, where she will be sitting beginning Sept. 1.

In another matter, a federal judge in Virginia refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against Jones by the Georgetown Law Schools Civil Rights Clinic on behalf of Brennan Gilmore. Gilmore was a counterprotester who filmed the car attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured 36 others during the 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va.This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.SHELTON  Shelton High School Headmaster Beth Smith has been placed on administrative leave, according to Superintendent of Schools Chris Clouet, who did not disclose the reason for the move.

Clouet said Friday that he informed Smith of the decision Thursday at the Board of Education administrative office building the previous day.

It is true that (Smith) is on paid administrative leave until further notice, but the circumstances of that decision are a personnel matter, and I cannot comment further, Clouet said.

Clouet did say he was concerned and extremely disappointed in the false reporting on this matter by various media outlets.

I made this decision to place her on paid administrative leave for her benefit and the benefit of the school district until this is resolved, said Clouet.

Board of Education Chairman Mark Holden said Friday that Clouet informed board members midday Thursday about the move.

Assistant Principal John Skerritt is acting principal while an investigation of Smith begins.

Holden said the board has not received any details on the issues surrounding Clouets decision on Smith.

There will be a thorough investigation, said Holden, and if the Board of Education needs to action, we will do so.

Holden also disputed reports of Smith, a longtime member of the Shelton school system, being arrested, saying that he has heard nothing of an arrest or of anyone being escorted from the high school by law enforcement.

Clouet met with her (Thursday) and he was the one who made the decision that she should be placed on administrative leave, with pay, Holden said.

In the meantime, Holden said he had tremendous confidence in (Skerritts) ability to cover what needs to be covered during this process.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.comWASHINGTON  Linda McMahon, the WWE co-founder turned political player, is stepping down as head of the Small Business Administration after two years of relative obscurity  or bliss  as an uncontroversial member of President Donald Trumps Cabinet.

Trump made the announcement late Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with McMahon seated by his side on a beige sofa beneath crystal chandeliers.

She has been a superstar, Trump told reporters.

Asked by Trump what was the highlight of her two-year tenure at the SBA, McMahon said: The highlight has certainly been the fact that you asked me to take on this position. It has been an honor to serve the country in your Cabinet, serve in the administration and the people of the United States. ... We had great outreach to the community of small businesses.

Trump promised a replacement soon, saying the person would be somebody thats really good and someone that we know very well.

The relationship between Trump and Linda McMahon  and her WWE mastermind husband, Vince  goes back to the 1980s. The McMahons famously poured $6 million into outside groups supporting Trumps 2016 campaign.

McMahon, 70, joins a virtual brigade of Trump Cabinet members and high-office holders heading to the exits after the 2018 election put the House in Democratic hands and was widely reported as a personal rebuke to Trump.

But unlike former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who left under an ethical cloud, or former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who endured months of verbal abuse by Trump, McMahon is leaving with her head held high.

Several media outlets reported Friday that McMahon would join the America First Action superPAC, devoted to supporting Trumps presidency and 2020 re-election bid. It spent $36.4 million in the 2018 election, virtually all of it aimed at defeating Democratic candidates, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

On behalf of all Connecticut Republicans, I thank Linda McMahon for her service to the nation, said J.R. Romano, chairman of the state Republican Party, in a statement. President Trump was wise to choose Linda to run the SBA, and the nation was lucky to have her. The entire small business sector is better off after her two years in government.

Perhaps the only thing McMahon did in Washington to raise eyebrows was the secretive purchase last year of a penthouse condo overlooking Rock Creek Park for $8.4 million, then the highest price paid for such property in the D.C. area.

On Friday, McMahon told reporters she had visited all 50 states, 68 district offices, and met with more than 800 businesspeople. On those trips, she vigorously promoted Trumps American-jobs agenda and stressed the importance of small business in achieving that goal. In Connecticut, according to SBA data, 342,443 small businesses employed 735,788 people  49 percent of the states total employment.

But small business in Connecticut has not completely caught up to the levels prior to the Great Recession of 2008. The small-business workforce is down 2 percent in firms employing 20 to 99 employees, and down 8 percent in firms employing 20 or less, according to Census data.

Nationwide, the SBA approved $33.1 billion in loans in fiscal 2018  nearly double the amount of 10 years ago.

Even though larger cities are having problems with storefront vacancies as online sales soar, McMahon sounded a bullish note on the future of small business.

Optimism is there, it is palpable, she said. Businesses are taking Trump tax-cut money and investing it in jobs and wage increases, she said, adding: It is incredibly powerful.24 year old security researcher Zammis Clark avoided jail time by pleading guilty to hacking into Microsoft and Nintendo servers and stealing confidential information.

This case serves as an important reminder for developers and publishers that no company is truly immune to being hacked, and should take proper precautions to protect their data.

As reported by The Verge, Clark was charged on multiple counts of computer misuse offenses in a London Crown Court on Thursday.

He was a former employee at the anti-malware company Malwarebytes and was also involved in the Vtech data breach from 2015.

Clark originally gained access to Microsoft's servers back in January 2017 and was subsequently arrested in June of the same year after he uploaded malware to the company's network.

He was bailed shortly after without any restrictions on computer use, and went on to hack Nintendo's internal network in March 2018.

Using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and similar software to gain access to game development servers at Nintendo, Clarke was able to access development code for unreleased games.

During this period, he was able to obtain 2,365 usernames and passwords, until Nintendo found out its servers had been hacked a few months later in May.

The estimated costs of damages to Nintendo range between 700,000 ($913,000) and 1.4 million ($1.8 million) and Microsoft estimated its own damages to be around the $2 million.

Clark was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. A Serious Crime Prevention Order has also been granted for five years, carrying an unlimited fine of up to five years of jail time if breached.Cells belonging to the body's own immune system can help fight tumours. For several years now, this has allowed oncologists to use medications known as checkpoint inhibitors to encourage T cells to eliminate tumor cells. Last year the two scientists who discovered this therapeutic approach were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

While doctors are enjoying some initial successes with this method, especially with regard to melanomas and several other types of cancer, immunologists and cancer researchers are working to develop the approach further. What they have in mind is a vaccine that would cause cancer-repelling T cells to multiply in the body, thereby strengthening the body's immune defences. The big question is which molecules are suitable for a vaccine? Researchers working in the team of Manfred Kopf, Professor of Molecular Biomedicine, have now developed a method for identifying such molecules.

The search for a rapport between immune cells and tumor cells

Since on the one hand tumours differ greatly from patient to patient, and on the other no two people (except identical twins) have the same immune system, future immunisation against cancer is a complex example of personalised medicine. The goal is to develop an individual vaccine for each patient.

Potential vaccines include pieces of proteins, known as peptides, that are found only in tumours due to a mutation. Because T cells are specific and always recognise only one particular peptide, just as a key fits only one lock, a further prerequisite for a vaccine of this kind is that the patient has T cells capable of recognising these cancer peptides in the first place. So before doctors can immunise a cancer patient, laboratory tests must be conducted to search for corresponding pairs of T cells and peptides. A peptide that is recognised by a T cell can be used for personalised immunisation. The vaccine should then activate the T cells in the body that recognise only that peptide (and thus tumour cells). These T cells should ultimately wipe out the tumour.

The ETH researchers' method makes it possible for a laboratory to determine which T cells recognise which peptide. Up to now this has been incredibly difficult. The scientists used tumours in mice to show that their approach works. Next, they want to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach in dealing with tumours in humans.

Every patient gets their own set of reporter cells

At the heart of this new method lies a collection of several million reporter cells, each one of which presents on its cell surface one of many peptides found in a tumour. The reporter cells are designed to turn green as soon as a T cell interacts with it due to recognition of the presented peptide. This enables the scientists to identify those tumour peptides that the T cells of a cancer patient recognises. This involves mixing the collection of reporter cells with T cells taken from the patient's tumour, isolating the reporter cells that turn green and identifying the peptide they carry.

Since each person (and each vertebrate generally) has a unique immune system, and since each tumour carries a unique pattern of mutations, the scientists must produce a different set of reporter cells for each patient. "One option is to determine the tumour's genetic sequence and compare it with the gene sequence of the patient's healthy cells," Kopf says. This lets the researchers determine the extent to which the tumour differs from healthy tissue and then transfer the genetic information with precisely these tumor-specific differences into the reporter cells.

Experimental test

As Kopf explains, "Other scientists are using computer predictions to try and find out which cancer peptides are suited to this type of immunization. But this approach is only as good as the algorithms used - and at the moment, they aren't very reliable. By contrast, we have developed an experimental test that assures us that the T cells recognize patient tumor peptides."

Initial tests involving a breast cancer model in mice showed Kopf and his colleagues that their method works. In immunized mice, the immune system did indeed attack the tumor; in the non-immunised mice that the scientists used as a control, this did not happen.

The scientists already patented this method five years ago. In 2015, their promising discovery won them ETH Zurich's Spark Award. Their work was recently published in the specialist journal Nature Immunology.

To develop commercial applications for the technique, the scientists founded an ETH spin-off called Tepthera. This start-up plans to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach also using tumors in humans.

Just as interesting for autoimmune diseases

"Essentially, our technique and personalized immunization hold out promise for the treatment of all cancers - especially in combination with checkpoint inhibitors," Kopf says, adding that the technology could also be used in the research and treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes.

Unlike healthy people's immune system, the immune system in people who suffer from autoimmune diseases attacks not only foreign or mutated cells, but also the autoimmune patient's own body cells. In the case of many of these conditions, it is not yet known against which native molecules the autoimmune response is directed. This is something that can now be researched using the new method. In contrast to cancer, where the idea is to use immunization to activate the killer cells, for autoimmune diseases the aim is to develop a vaccine that tempers the immune system.

Source: https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2019/03/individual-cancer-immunotherapy.htmlThe bond between a parent and their child is forged within the first few weeks of life. The nurse places the baby in their parents' arms where it will be comforted and rocked for countless hours of their newborn life. For parents whose babies are born premature or with complications, these bonds are harder to establish as the baby needs to be hooked up to a variety of wires to be constantly monitored. Illinois professor Naresh Shanbhag is part of a team, led by former Illinois professor John Rogers, working to replace the wires with a patch that would allow parents to hold their little one while it's being monitored.

When a baby is placed into a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), its vitals are continuously recorded through electrodes placed on the skin with wires attached to monitoring platforms. Explained in-depth in this article, published in the journal Science.

"Wired electrodes with their rigid interfaces can hurt the baby's tender skin," said Shanbhag, the Jack S. Kilby Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "They make it hard for parents to hold their child or to adjust their position. Today's health monitoring systems present a barrier in establishing parental and neonate connection, which can delay or inhibit the baby's growth."

This project emerged as a collaboration between Shanbhag and Rogers within the SONIC (Systems on Nanoscale Information fabriCs) Center. The group was formed to develop Shannon and brain-inspired models of computation for designing intelligent systems in emerging nanoscale technologies. One of the key research outcomes of the SONIC center was the concept of bringing computation to the sensor (in-sensor computing) in order to eliminate the energy cost of data transfer. Shanbhag and Rogers' project was one of the many successful SONIC projects in the area of in-sensor computing.

"Our goal was to replace the current monitoring technology with an alternative that could yield the same accuracy, precision and measurement while taking away the disadvantages of the tapes and the wires," said Rogers, currently the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University. "We worked in close collaboration with medical doctors and CSL to figure out a better way."

The group developed a wireless, battery-free sheath that can be laid on the skin and then gently peeled off when needed. The paper-thin patch is the combination of four technologies: wireless power and data transfer, efficient onsite data analytics, time-synchronized data streaming from multiple sites, and enabling visual inspection of the skin interface while also allowing magnetic resonance imaging and x-ray imaging of the neonate.

The ability to wirelessly transfer power was crucial. Wires were part of the problem with conventional monitoring and batteries would cause the same issues. In addition to powering itself the patch would need to gather the medical data (temperature, heart rate, electrical heart patterns, blood oxygenation, etc.) and then process the data locally to reduce the amount information that needed to be sent wirelessly to the monitors. This is where Shanbhag and his student Pourya Assem's algorithms were put to use.

"We developed efficient algorithms to process data in real-time on an on-site microcontroller," Shanbhag said. "The device has limited computational resources so we had to choose the most information-preserving computations to implement."

Data is collected through two separate patches on each neonate (NICU patient), generally on the child's back and then either their chest or foot. Since there is multiple data streams the information must be synchronized before it can be processed and streamed to the monitors. Even with these three other technologies, if the patch gets in the way of the medical staff it won't be of much use. The patch must also allow staff to observe the skin in addition to allowing for x-rays and magnetic resonance images to be taken.

In order to be sure the patch the researchers created worked it had to be tested. The devices were deployed at the Lori Children Hospital in Chicago on NICU patients whose parents agreed to the research. To make sure they were getting accurate measurements the patches were placed on neonates who were also hooked up to the conventional wired system to compare the data readings. The patients involved in the research were also surrounded by nurses, neonatologists, and dermatologists to ensure everything ran smoothly. So far 90 babies have used the patches and helped validate the patches as a feasible alternative to the current technology.

"The NICU in particular is an area that urgently needs new technology," said Rogers. "Everyone - nurses, parents, neonatologists - agrees on this point. The transition to a wireless approach represents an attractive solution, but also a daunting engineering challenge, given the fragility of the patient population and the extreme requirements in data precision and operational reliability."

Use of the devices has expanded to a NICU at Prentice Women's Hospital, also in Chicago, and NICUs across the globe are reaching out to Rogers and other contributors to deploy the patches at their locations. Later this year 10,000 units will be distributed in Zambia supported by the Gates Foundation and the Save the Children Foundation.

While this is the most visual project coming from former SONIC researchers, it is just one of many that are still being worked on.

"This project demonstrates that combining innovations in materials, sensors, circuits, architectures and algorithms in unique ways can lead to impactful research outcomes," said Shanbhag. "The future of such technologies has immense possibilities as we seek to harness their potential to enhance wellness and to positively impact lives."

Source: https://csl.illinois.edu/news/csl-professor-contributes-improved-care-nicu-babiesNew research demonstrating the clinical utility of Bio-Rad's Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) powered liquid biopsy will be presented this week during the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, March 29-April 3. Many of the studies rely on the sensitivity, speed, and cost-effectiveness of ddPCR technology to measure blood-based tumor biomarkers in a reproducible way.

Cited in more than 900 liquid biopsy publications, ddPCR technology is often employed by cancer researchers and oncologists to track disease progression and determine therapy response, but it is yet to be ascertained whether changing therapies based on this timely information translates to improved patient outcomes. A large phase 3 study currently underway is addressing that question by analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in plasma using ddPCR technology. Below we highlight this study and other notable research that will be presented during this year's AACR Annual Meeting.

Liquid biopsy could be superior to tissue biopsy in predicting breast cancer therapy response

Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and her collaborators used ddPCR technology in their investigation of the benefits of tracking drug-resistance mutations in the ctDNA of patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

In the phase 3 study, researchers measured mutations in two genes implicated in drug resistance. Their study included 334 plasma samples and 434 archival tissue samples from 669 patients treated with either chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus abemaciclib. The researchers found a correlation between the presence of resistance mutations and response to abemaciclib in ctDNA, but not in tissue samples. They also found that while the addition of abemaciclib was beneficial for all patients, those with resistance mutations benefited more.

"These findings lend support to the use of ctDNA and liquid biopsies to identify molecular alterations that could help inform treatment choices," Tolaney said.

The next step is validating these data in prospective clinical trials.

This poster (abstract #4458) will be presented on Tuesday, April 2, 3-5 PM in Room B312.

ctDNA could be a predictor of surgery success for malignant pleural mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive, but relatively rare, tumor associated with asbestos exposure. Most patients with MPM are over 70 years old, so surgery can be risky and may not improve outcomes. Luke Martinson, PhD, of the University of Leicester, and his colleagues conducted a proof-of-principle study to understand the potential use of ctDNA as a prognostic biomarker for surgical success for these patients.

The scientists compared genetic differences between tumor and normal tissue in 11 patients with MPM and developed a ddPCR assay that could detect MPM-specific ctDNA. Next, they tested patient blood samples collected before surgery. Results showed that patients with MPM-specific ctDNA had a worse prognosis after surgery.

"Detection of ctDNA requires highly sensitive methods and ddPCR technology was ideally suited to help us answer the question of whether or not the ctDNA status was informative of patient survival," said Martinson.

The researchers hope to confirm the preliminary findings with a larger cohort. If validated, ctDNA would represent one of the few known prognostic markers for MPM.

This poster (abstract #1349) will be presented on Monday, April 1, 8 AM-12 PM in Section 18.

Detecting therapy resistance in HER2-negative breast cancer

Continuing work presented at last year's American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, researchers are examining whether changing therapies may be effective for patients with advanced breast cancer when mutations are detected in their ctDNA. This is the first large-scale effort to monitor resistance mutations and personalize breast cancer therapy in real time, according to Francois-Clement Bidard, MD, PhD, of the Institut Curie, Paris, the study's author.

This phase 3 clinical trial, run in more than 80 French cancer centers, has enrolled 1,000 patients with estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who were treated with endocrine therapy. Using ddPCR based liquid biopsy tests -- done both before and during treatment -- the researchers are tracking the emergence of ESR1 mutations linked to endocrine therapy resistance. While the study is still ongoing, preliminary results indicate that ddPCR technology can rapidly detect the presence of ESR1 mutations.

"Droplet Digital PCR is the only cost-effective solution that enables us to track the onset in real time of ESR1 mutations in thousands of serial ctDNA samples," said Bidard.

If this study determines that switching patients with ESR1 mutations to a new treatment is more effective, ddPCR could potentially be applied in the clinical setting to continually monitor patients and help physicians know when to make that switch.

This ongoing study will be presented on Monday, April 1, 1:35-2 PM during Session SY31.

Bio-Rad's new scATAC-Seq solution and FDA-cleared QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit will be on display at Bio-Rad's booth (#2627). In addition, Bio-Rad will showcase its new ddPCR Multiplexing Supermix for detection of multiple targets. To learn more about Bio Rad's ddPCR technology, visit the booth or bio-rad.com/digitalPCR.Our gut microbiome - the complement of bacteria we carry around in our intestines - has been linked to everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and even neurological disorders and cancer. In recent years, researchers have been sorting through the multiple bacterial species that populate the microbiome, asking which of them can be implicated in specific disorders. But a paper published today in Nature addressed a new question: "What if the same microbe is different in different people?"

It has been long known that the genomes of microbes are not fixed from birth, as ours are. They are able to lose some of their genes, exchange genes with other microorganisms, or gain new ones from their environment. Thus, a detailed comparison of the genomes of seemingly identical bacteria will reveal sequences of DNA that occur in one genome and not others, or possibly sequences that appear just once in one and several times over in others. These differences are called structural variants. Structural variants - even tiny ones - can translate into huge differences in the ways that microbes interact with their human hosts. A variant might be the difference between a benign presence and a pathogenic one, or it could give bacteria resistance to antibiotics.

Drs. David Zeevi and Tal Korem, initially in the lab of Prof. Eran Segal in the Weizmann Institute of Science and then in their present positions in Rockefeller and Columbia Universities, developed algorithms that systematically identify structural variants across human gut microbiomes. The researchers began with microbiomes from nearly 900 Israeli subjects, in which they succeeded in identifying over 7,000 variants. Next, they formed a collaboration with Dutch researchers from the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, and they looked for these variants in the microbiomes of a large group of Dutch subjects. Most of the structural variants they had identified in the Israeli subjects could also be found among the Dutch ones, despite the differences in genetics and lifestyle between the groups.

The scientists next asked whether any of the structural variants they had identified are associated with health or disease. The group turned up more than 100 that were associated with risk factors for disease. Many of these associations were again replicated in the Dutch cohort.

In one case, individuals who had a certain variant present in the genome of a particular microbial species in their microbiome were 6 kg thinner and had a 4 cm narrower waist, on average, than individuals who had the same microbe - but one that did not harbor that particular variant. The scientists then analyzed the genes encoded on this variant and found that it gives the bacterium the potential ability to turn certain sugars into a substance called butyrate. Butyrate is a small fatty acid that smells like rancid butter (thus its name, from the Ancient Greek for "butter"); despite its odor, butyrate has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and a positive influence on metabolism. This ability, say the scientists, could help explain the weight difference between those carrying bacteria with and those without the structural variant.

The finding suggests the method the group developed could help researchers pinpoint the connections between our microbiome, health and disease in significant ways that might be missed with other means. "The real potential of this approach," says Zeevi, "is that it allows us to look for the actual mechanisms behind the associations we find."

Segal estimates there may be tens of thousands of structural variants within the human gut microbiome and thousands of these could be associated with disease and disease risk. Since the makeup of the microbiome has been implicated in so many different syndromes and disorders, this research could have a lasting impact on the search for better, more targeted probiotics for treating disease.The beginning of the end started with violent shaking that raised giant waves in the waters of an inland sea in what is now North Dakota.

Then, tiny glass beads began to fall like birdshot from the heavens. The rain of glass was so heavy it may have set fire to much of the vegetation on land. In the water, fish struggled to breathe as the beads clogged their gills.

The heaving sea turned into a 30-foot wall of water when it reached the mouth of a river, tossing hundreds, if not thousands, of fresh-water fish  sturgeon and paddlefish  onto a sand bar and temporarily reversing the flow of the river. Stranded by the receding water, the fish were pelted by glass beads up to 5 millimeters in diameter, some burying themselves inches deep in the mud. The torrent of rocks, like fine sand, and small glass beads continued for another 10 to 20 minutes before a second large wave inundated the shore and covered the fish with gravel, sand and fine sediment, sealing them from the world for 66 million years.

This unique, fossilized graveyard  fish stacked one atop another and mixed in with burned tree trunks, conifer branches, dead mammals, mosasaur bones, insects, the partial carcass of a Triceratops, marine microorganisms called dinoflagellates and snail-like marine cephalopods called ammonites  was unearthed by paleontologist Robert DePalma over the past six years in the Hell Creek Formation, not far from Bowman, North Dakota. The evidence confirms a suspicion that nagged at DePalma in his first digging season during the summer of 2013  that this was a killing field laid down soon after the asteroid impact that eventually led to the extinction of all ground-dwelling dinosaurs. The impact at the end of the Cretaceous Period, the so-called K-T boundary, exterminated 75 percent of life on Earth.

This is the first mass death assemblage of large organisms anyone has found associated with the K-T boundary, said DePalma, curator of paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History in Florida and a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. At no other K-T boundary section on Earth can you find such a collection consisting of a large number of species representing different ages of organisms and different stages of life, all of which died at the same time, on the same day.

In a paper to appear next week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he and his American and European colleagues, including two University of California, Berkeley, geologists, describe the site, dubbed Tanis, and the evidence connecting it with the asteroid or comet strike off Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. That impact created a huge crater, called Chicxulub, in the ocean floor and sent vaporized rock and cubic miles of asteroid dust into the atmosphere. The cloud eventually enveloped Earth, setting the stage for Earths last mass extinction.

Its like a museum of the end of the Cretaceous in a layer a meter-and-a-half thick, said Mark Richards, a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of earth and planetary science who is now provost and professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington.

Richards and Walter Alvarez, a UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School who 40 years ago first hypothesized that a comet or asteroid impact caused the mass extinction, were called in by DePalma and Dutch scientist Jan Smit to consult on the rain of glass beads and the tsunami-like waves that buried and preserved the fish. The beads, called tektites, formed in the atmosphere from rock melted by the impact.

Tsunami vs. seiche

Richards and Alvarez determined that the fish could not have been stranded and then buried by a typical tsunami, a single wave that would have reached this previously unknown arm of the Western Interior Seaway no less than 10 to 12 hours after the impact 3,000 kilometers away, if it didnt peter out before then. Their reasoning: The tektites would have rained down within 45 minutes to an hour of the impact, unable to create mudholes if the seabed had not already been exposed.

Instead, they argue, seismic waves likely arrived within 10 minutes of the impact from what would have been the equivalent of a magnitude 10 or 11 earthquake, creating a seiche (pronounced saysh), a standing wave, in the inland sea that is similar to water sloshing in a bathtub during an earthquake. Though large earthquakes often generate seiches in enclosed bodies of water, theyre seldom noticed, Richards said. The 2011 Tohoku quake in Japan, a magnitude 9.0, created six-foot-high seiches 30 minutes later in a Norwegian fjord 8,000 kilometers away.

The seismic waves start arising within nine to 10 minutes of the impact, so they had a chance to get the water sloshing before all the spherules (small spheres) had fallen out of the sky, Richards said. These spherules coming in cratered the surface, making funnels  you can see the deformed layers in what used to be soft mud  and then rubble covered the spherules. No one has seen these funnels before.

The tektites would have come in on a ballistic trajectory from space, reaching terminal velocities of between 100 and 200 miles per hour, according to Alvarez, who estimated their travel time decades ago.

You can imagine standing there being pelted by these glass spherules. They could have killed you, Richards said. Many believe that the rain of debris was so intense that the energy ignited wildfires over the entire American continent, if not around the world.

Tsunamis from the Chicxulub impact are certainly well-documented, but no one knew how far something like that would go into an inland sea, DePalma said. When Mark came aboard, he discovered a remarkable artifact  that the incoming seismic waves from the impact site would have arrived at just about the same time as the atmospheric travel time of the ejecta. That was our big breakthrough.

At least two huge seiches inundated the land, perhaps 20 minutes apart, leaving six feet of deposits covering the fossils. Overlaying this is a layer of clay rich in iridium, a metal rare on Earth, but common in asteroids and comets. This layer is known as the K-T, or K-Pg boundary, marking the end of the Cretaceous Period and the beginning of the Tertiary Period, or Paleogene.

Iridium

In 1979, Alvarez and his father, Nobelist Luis Alvarez of UC Berkeley, were the first to recognize the significance of iridium that is found in 66 million-year-old rock layers around the world. They proposed that a comet or asteroid impact was responsible for both the iridium at the K-T boundary and the mass extinction.

The impact would have melted the bedrock under the seafloor and pulverized the asteroid, sending dust and melted rock into the stratosphere, where winds would have carried them around the planet and blotted out the sun for months, if not years. Debris would have rained down from the sky: not only tektites, but also rock debris from the continental crust, including shocked quartz, whose crystal structure was deformed by the impact.

The iridium-rich dust from the pulverized meteor would have been the last to fall out of the atmosphere after the impact, capping off the Cretaceous.

When we proposed the impact hypothesis to explain the great extinction, it was based just on finding an anomalous concentration of iridium  the fingerprint of an asteroid or comet, said Alvarez. Since then, the evidence has gradually built up. But it never crossed my mind that we would find a deathbed like this.

Key confirmation of the meteor hypothesis was the discovery of a buried impact crater, Chicxulub, in the Caribbean and off the coast of the Yucatan in Mexico, that was dated to exactly the age of the extinction. Shocked quartz and glass spherules were also found in K-Pg layers worldwide. The new discovery at Tanis is the first time the debris produced in the impact was found along with animals killed in the immediate aftermath of the impact.

And now we have this magnificent and completely unexpected site that Robert DePalma is excavating in North Dakota, which is so rich in detailed information about what happened as a result of the impact, Alvarez said. For me, it is very exciting and gratifying!

Tektites

Jan Smit, a retired professor of sedimentary geology from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in The Netherlands who is considered the world expert on tektites from the impact, joined DePalma to analyze and date the tektites from the Tanis site. Many were found in near perfect condition embedded in amber, which at the time was pliable pine pitch.

I went to the site in 2015 and, in front of my eyes, he (DePalma) uncovered a charred log or tree trunk about four meters long which was covered in amber, which acted as sort of an aerogel and caught the tektites when they were coming down, Smit said. It was a major discovery, because the resin, the amber, covered the tektites completely, and they are the most unaltered tektites I have seen so far, not 1 percent of alteration. We dated them, and they came out to be exactly from the K-T boundary.

The tektites in the fishes gills are also a first.

Paddlefish swim through the water with their mouths open, gaping, and in this net, they catch tiny particles, food particles, in their gill rakers, and then they swallow, like a whale shark or a baleen whale, Smit said. They also caught tektites. That by itself is an amazing fact. That means that the first direct victims of the impact are these accumulations of fishes.

Smit also noted that the buried body of a Triceratops and a duck-billed hadrosaur proves beyond a doubt that dinosaurs were still alive at the time of the impact.

We have an amazing array of discoveries which will prove in the future to be even more valuable, Smit said. We have fantastic deposits that need to be studied from all different viewpoints. And I think we can unravel the sequence of incoming ejecta from the Chicxulub impact in great detail, which we would never have been able to do with all the other deposits around the Gulf of Mexico.

So far, we have gone 40 years before something like this turned up that may very well be unique, Smit said. So, we have to be very careful with that place, how we dig it up and learn from it. This is a great gift at the end of my career. Walter sees it as the same.

Reference:

DePalma, Robert A.; Smit, Jan; Burnham, David; Kuiper, Klaudia; Manning, Phillip; Oleinik, Anton; Larson, Peter; Maurrasse, Florentin; Vellekoop, Johan; Richards, Mark A.; Gurche, Loren; Alvarez, Walter. Prelude to Extinction: a seismically induced onshore surge deposit at the KPg boundary, North Dakota. PNAS, 2019

Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of California  Berkeley.Sorry!

This content is not available in your regionFrankfurt:

The European Union is moving to require cars and trucks to have technology that would help keep drivers from speeding as well as data recorders that would document the circumstances of accidents. Those were among the safety features included in a provisional agreement announced Wednesday by the EU's executive commission.

The package would mandate so-called intelligent speed assistance, which recognizes speed limits using mapping systems and help drivers observe them by restricting engine power.

The driver can override the system by pushing harder on the gas pedal. But the onboard data recorder could further deter speeding by registering the car's speed.

"Every year 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads," said Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Commissioner responsible for internal market and industry. "We can and must act to change this."

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-country EU, said that the features would be required on all vehicles on European roads from 2022.

The other safety features would include systems to warn drivers if they seem drowsy and against distractions such as smartphone use.

Cameras and sensors would be required to avoid accidents while backing up and to help keep a car in a lane.

For cars and vans, the deal requires advanced emergency braking, which can detect obstacles and push the brake pedal if the driver does not responds in time.

And another system would help bus and truck drivers avoid hitting cyclists in their so-called blind spots.

Although properly adjusted mirrors should allow truck drivers to see to the side, Germany's transport ministry has pushed for the measure to reduce deaths of cyclists and pedestrians.

Much of the technology already exists and is available on more expensive cars.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association welcomed the EU's agreement but said vehicle technology needed to be supplemented with better road infrastructure and measures to encourage safer driver behaviour.

"This challenging piece of legislation will no doubt be instrumental in further improving road safety - something all auto makers are fully committed to," said ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert.

"At the same time vehicle technology alone will not be sufficient. For maximum effect, policy makers must now push for a fully integrated approach to road safety; combining vehicle technology with better road infrastructure and safer driver behaviour."

The association warned in December that intelligent speed assistance should be introduced only gradually. It said the technology was hampered by too many false readings due to out-of-date maps and poor sign visibility.

The measures announced Wednesday were agreed on in negotiations between European national governments, the commission, and the European parliament. The provision political agreement is subject to formal approval by the European parliament and EU leaders.New Delhi:

Hours ahead of the announcement of Board exam results, the Bihar Board BSEB website crashed on Saturday. The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is all set to declare the Intermediate Class 12 Result for all the three streams i.e. Arts, Science and Commerce on March 30, 2019. Soon after the official announcement, students can visit the official website of the board i.e. bsebssresult.com, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

This is the first time, the Bihar Board is releasing the results in a record number of 28 days. The evaluation process was started on March 2, and the board is going to declare the results on March 30, 2019, said the official.

How to check BSEB Class 12 result 2019?

For the convenience of the students, we have mentioned the steps through which the candidates can download the results once they are officially announced:

Step 1: Visit the official website of the board - biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

Step 2: Enter your roll number, date of birth and other details.



Step 3: Click on the 'submit' button.



Step 4: Check your BSEB Class 12 Result 2019.

Step 5: Download soft copy / take a printout for future use.

Last year, a total of 12.07 lakh students had appeared for the Intermediate exams. In the Inter science exam, 45 per cent passed while in the commerce 82 per cent students have passed. Similarly, in the arts stream, 42 per cent students have passed.

About Bihar Board:

Popularly known as the BSEB Board, the Bihar School Examination Board is the apex body when it comes to secondary and higher secondary education in the state. As the name suggests, the BSEB manages and conducts the annual board exams for matriculation and intermediate level school students. The Board Exams for class 10 and class 12 students are generally conducted in the month of February and March. Apart from this, the BSEB also conducts others centralized exams like Diploma in Physical Education, Certificate in Physical Education and Teachers Training Examination on such terms and condition as laid down by the State Government.New Delhi:

The BSEB has declared the Bihar Board Class 12 Results for all the three streams i.e. Arts, Science and Commerce today. This year's overall pass percentage is 79.76 per cent. While Arts has a total pass percentage of 76.53, Commerce and Science witnessed a pass percentage of 93.02 and 81.20 respectively.

This year, the Bihar Board Class 12 Intermediate Exam 2019 was conducted from February 6 to February 16, 2019. This is the first time, the Bihar Board will be releasing the results in a record number of 28 days. The evaluation process was started on March 2, and the board is going to declare the results on March 30, 2019, said the official.

How to check BSEB Class 12 Intermediate Result 2019?

For the convenience of the students, we have mentioned the steps through which the candidates can download the BSEB Class 12 Result 2019 once they are officially announced:

Step 1: Visit the official website of the board - biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

Step 2: Enter your roll number, date of birth and other details.



Step 3: Click on the 'submit' button.



Step 4: Check your BSEB Class 12 Result 2019.

Step 5: Download soft copy / take a printout for future use.

In 2018, out of the total 12,07,978 students who appeared in the board exam 6,31,241 students passed the exam with a 52.95% overall pass percentage which was an improvement from the dismal pass percentage of 2017.

About Bihar Board:

Popularly known as the BSEB Board, the Bihar School Examination Board is the apex body when it comes to secondary and higher secondary education in the state. As the name suggests, the BSEB manages and conducts the annual board exams for matriculation and intermediate level school students. The Board Exams for class 10 and class 12 students are generally conducted in the month of February and March. Apart from this, the BSEB also conducts others centralized exams like Diploma in Physical Education, Certificate in Physical Education and Teachers Training Examination on such terms and condition as laid down by the State Government.New Delhi:

After Nishad Party snub, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party on Saturday named another Nishad community member as its candidate from the coveted Gorakhpur seat in Uttar Pradesh. Ram Bhuwal Nishad is the SP candidate from Gorakhpur. Ram Bhuwal Nishad had been two-time MLA from Kaudiram Assembly seat, now Gorakhpur rural, and had also been the fisheries minister during BSP chief Mayawati's government in 2007. The SP also announced that Ram Kumar will be its nominee on the Kanpur seat.

Earlier this week, Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav held a press conference in Lucknow, with Nishad Party leaders besides him, and announced that the Nishad party would be part of the UP gathbandhan.

For the 2018 bypolls, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati jointly fielded alliance candidates on the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats, held by chief minister Yogi Adityanath continuously for over two decades, and his deputy Keshav Maurya. And in a shock result, both the candidates won leading to the strengthening of the SP-BSP alliance.

The victory was astonishing in Gorakhpur, where the Samajwadi Party fielded Praveen Nishad of the Nishad Party, an eastern Uttar Pradesh grouping with support from the OBC Nishad community, on a Samajwadi Party symbol. Praveen Nishad's father Sanjay heads the Nishad Party.

Speculations were rife that Praveen Nishad would again be given the Gorakhpur seat, but SP chief Akhilesh Yadav made no such announcement. Miffed over the delay in the seat-sharing arrangement, the Nishad Party decided to pull out of the coalition. Sources also say the Nishad Party is angry at not getting the Gorakhpur seat despite them getting the shock victory there.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad said, "Akhilesh Yadav had said he will make announcement on seats for our party. But they did not put our name on poster/letter or anything. My party workers, authorities, core committee were upset".

"So the Nishad party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently," he added.

In what could be seen as a possible opportunity for a tie-up with other political biggies, Nishad also stated that they can look for other options as well.

The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad, also known as Riteash Nishad, media in-charge of the party told news agency PTI in Gorakhpur.

"There was a conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol whereas the Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added.

The party workers were not willing to contest on the Samajwadi Party symbol and many of them began quitting, he said. "So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday, it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he said.

(With PTI inputs)New Delhi:

With just two weeks left for the General Elections 2019, leaders of several political parties have been shifting sides. Keeping in mind the vote-bank politics, political biggies are trying to keep the big names under their banner in a bid to shield support from the public. The latest such instance is Sambhaji Brigade member Pravin Gaikwad, who joined Congress in the presence of Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Chavan and KC Venugopal in Mumbai on Saturday.

"Mumbai: Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad joins Congress in the presence of Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Chavan and KC Venugopal," the news agency ANI reported.

Mumbai: Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad joins Congress in the presence of Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Chavan and KC Venugopal pic.twitter.com/ByOZEmGq3H a ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

The development comes a day after Gaikwad, irked over delay in facilitating his entry into the party, criticised the Congress for ignoring social activists like him. Gaikwad also withdrew himself from the race of Congress candidature as the process of decision making for Pune seat was delayed.

"While Bollywood actress Urmila Martondkar got a ticket within hours of her entry into party, activists like him have been ignored by the party. Therefore, I have decided to withdraw myself from the race for ticket," Gaikwad alleged on Thursday.

Gaikwad, who is a close associate of NCP president Sharad Pawar, serves as the head of Sambhaji Brigade, an extremist Maratha organisation based in Maharashtra, which demands reservation for the Maratha community and inclusion of Marathas in Other Backward Caste (OBC) category along with free education for Maratha children and registered marriages instead of religious ceremonies.

The outfit was also involved in multiple agitations including vandalism of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, attack on Waghya's Statue on Raigarh Fort and Ram Ganesh Gadkari bust vandalism among others.New Delhi:

After addressing multiple rallies in Odisha and Telangana on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi head to Assam on Saturday. The prime minister will address two rallies in Assam in Gohpur under Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency and Moran under Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency. PM Modi will address Moran at 12:50 pm on March 29 at Polo Club Ground. He will campaign in Gahpur at 2:50 pm on the same day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is in full poll mode in Assam with the top brass holding public meetings in the state. Earlier this week, BJP chief Amit Shah also addressed a rally in Koliabor, from where BJPs ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has fielded Moni Madhav Mahanta as Lok Sabha candidate.

Amit Shah on Thursday said voting Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to power would ensure an Assam free of illegal migrants.

He also criticised the Congress for an undeclared poll pact with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) only to secure the political future of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogois son.

Shah took a swipe at the Congress for a secret seat-sharing arrangement with AIUDF in order to further dynastic politics in Assam. The alliance was done in the interest of Gogoijis son, he said.

He was referring to Gaurav Gogoi, incumbent MP from Kaliabor and the former CMs son, who is the principal Congress rival of Mahanta.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting from Majuli assembly constituency.

Assam will vote in two phases on April 4 and 11. The BJP is contesting on 91 of 126 assembly constituencies of the state leaving 24 seats for Asom Gana Parishad and rest for Bodo People's Front and other smaller parties.New Delhi:

In what could be a blow to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh, the underdog who defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Gorakhpur in the 2018 Lok Sabha bypolls may switch over to the BJP.

For the 2018 bypolls, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati jointly fielded alliance candidates on the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats, held by chief minister Yogi Adityanath continuously for over two decades, and his deputy Keshav Maurya. And in a shock result, both the candidates won leading to the strengthening of the SP-BSP alliance.

The victory was astonishing in Gorakhpur, where the Samajwadi Party fielded Praveen Nishad of the Nishad Party, an eastern Uttar Pradesh grouping with support from the OBC Nishad community, on a Samajwadi Party symbol. Praveen Nishad's father Sanjay heads the Nishad Party. Earlier this week, Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav held a press conference in Lucknow, with Nishad Party leaders besides him, and announced that the Nishad party would be part of the UP gathbandhan.

Speculations were rife that Praveen Nishad would again be given the Gorakhpur seat, but SP chief Akhilesh Yadav made no such announcement. Miffed over the delay in the seat-sharing arrangement, the Nishad Party decided to pull out of the coalition. Sources also say the Nishad Party is angry at not getting the Gorakhpur seat despite them getting the shock victory there.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad said, "Akhilesh Yadav had said he will make announcement on seats for our party. But they did not put our name on poster/letter or anything. My party workers, authorities, core committee were upset".

"So the Nishad party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently," he added.

In what could be seen as a possible opportunity for a tie-up with other political biggies, Nishad also stated that they can look for other options as well.

The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad, also known as Riteash Nishad, media in-charge of the party told news agency PTI in Gorakhpur.

"There was a conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol whereas the Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added.

The party workers were not willing to contest on the Samajwadi Party symbol and many of them began quitting, he said. "So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday, it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he said.

(With PTI inputs)New Delhi:

In yet another controversial statement, National Conference (NC) leader Muhammad Akbar Lone on Saturday said that terrorists should help him in fighting the ensuing 2019 Lok Sabha Elections against the BJP. Addressing an election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, Lone further said the NC will stop the Saffron Party to form the government in the state. The outspoken NC leader also assured that he will continue to speak in the language of terrorists even after he emerges victorious in 2019.

This is not the first time that Lone has made such anti-National statement. He has made several provocative remarks in the recent past.

Last week, Lone, who is also NC's candidate from Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, said that he will be abusing those who hurl abuses at Pakistan. He also raised pro-Pakistan slogans while addressing a public rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara on March 25.

With this, the BJP dashed a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Jammu and Kashmir, seeking to disqualify Lone's candidature from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. In the letter, BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur, requested the CEO to take serious note of Lone's speech, which was widely available on social networking sites.

In February last year, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed a ruckus with Lone raising pro-Pakistan slogans in response to BJP's slogans against the neighbouring country. In December 2017, Lone had courted another controversy by claiming that BJP and People's Democratic Party (PDP) leaders eat beef and pork together.

General Elections in Jammu and Kashmir is scheduled to take place in five phases on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6, 2019. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 23, 2019.New Delhi:

BJP president Amit Shah, whose party is in power since 2014, on Saturday predicted massive victory for the saffron party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and claimed to win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. Shah, who held a road show along with Union Minister Rajnath Singh before filing his nomination from the Gandhinagar constituency, said that not the BJP but the Congress needs to give answers even in 2019.

Speaking exclusively to News Nation, Shah said, "In BJP, not leaders but workers fight the elections. We will not just repeat the 2014 Lok Sabha elections performance but also win all the 26 seats with much more difference."

When asked on Opposition parties asking questions from them in the same manner, they used to ask in 2014 when the Congress was in power, Shah said, The Congress party is still standing in the witness box. They need to answer whether they want to giver befitting response to the terrorists and Pakistan. Whether they want to revenge the martyrdom of soldiers.

Earlier in the day, Shah addressed BJPs Vijay Sankalp Rally which was also attended by top leaders of NDA, including Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, SAD leader Prakash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan.

Speaking at the rally, Shah said that Narendra Modi was the leader the country was looking for the past 70 years. "There's only one PM, one party that can provide security to this country. That is Narendra Modi, and BJP," Shah said asking people to vote for the BJP.New Delhi:

Sonakshi Sinha, a prominent Bollywood actress and daughter of Shatrughan Sinha, who recently quit the BJP to join the Congress, has accused the saffron party of not respecting her father and other senior members, including LK Advani. Speaking to news agency ANI, Sonakshi said that he (Shatrughan Sinha) was little late and that he should have resigned long back.

Being a party member from the beginning, from the time of JP Narayan ji, Atal ji, and Advani ji, my father has a lot of respect within the party, but I feel the entire group hasn't been given the respect they deserve. I think he has done it a bit too late, should've done it long back, the actress said.

Sonakshi said that what her father did was his choice and backed her decision, saying, "I think if you're not happy somewhere you must bring a change and that is what he did.

She also expressed hopes that her father would be able to do more good work in Congress and wont feel suppressed. I hope in this new association with Congress, he'll be able to do more good work and not feel suppressed, she added.

Shatrughan Sinha had on Thursday announced that he will quit the BJP and joined the Congress party in the auspicious period of Navratri that begins on April 6. Sinha, a sitting MP from the Patna Sahib in Bihar, has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. He announced the painful decision after the BJP fielded Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the constituency he has been representing for the decades.

Associated with the BJP since the 1990s, Sinha fell out with the party's leadership in the recent past, complaining it has become a "one-man show and two-man army"-- a reference apparently to the duo of Modi and Shah.

Sinha, a champion of democracy and freedom of speech, has repeatedly asserted that he would seek re-election from the Patna Sahib constituency even if it could be as a candidate of a different party. The actor-turned-politician has served as a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and is serving his consecutive term as an MP from Patna Sahib.New Delhi:

Tej Bahadur Yadav, a former Border Security Force (BSF) jawan who was removed after he highlighted the poor quality of rations served to the armed forces, has announced that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking to the media in Rewari on Friday, Yadav announced he will campaign on a platform of anti-corruption against Modi.

The Tribune quoted Yadav as saying he was approached by several parties to join them, but he would contest as an Independent.

I want to highlight how the government has failed forces, especially the paramilitary forces. The PM is seeking votes in the name of jawans, but the CRPF men killed in Pulwama are not even given the martyr status by the government, Yadav said.

Yadav alleged: I was being harnessed by the administration in Varanasi while filing my nomination, so I decided to apply online, adding that I have support of the locals in the holy city.

Yadav had uploaded a video on social media in 2017, complaining that poor quality food was being served to the troops in icy, mountainous region along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.



He was later dismissed on the charge of indiscipline.

In January, 22-year old son of Yadav was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his residence at Rewari in Haryana. It is learnt that Rohit Yadav allegedly shot himself in his room at their residence in Madhu Vihar locality of Rewari. The local police got a phone call that Rohit had committed suicide.

New Delhi:

Is Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoors rumoured wedding headed to a path parallel to that of Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohlis surprise wedding in Italy? After the recent rumours that Malaika and Arjun have decided to walk down the aisle this April 19, a new report now states that Ranveer Singh has been chosen to be the best man. While we have no word of mouth by the stars themselves, an earlier report by DNA After Hrs first suggests that Malaika and Arjun have reportedly told their teams to keep themselves free for the wedding as they wanted it to be an extremely private affair with only close friends and family.

Dad Boney Kapoor had also denied the wedding rumour speculations telling a daily that there is no truth in the story. Despite all this, speculations just dont seem to stop trailing the two. A Bollywood Hungama source now reports that for the Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoors wedding, which is supposedly going to take place this 19 judging has now included Arjuns bromance best Ranveer Singh to be the best man for their Christian wedding in Mumbai.

While the extent of truth to this report is unknown, we are certain Ranveer Singh will make the best, best man in their rumoured soon-to-be Christian wedding given how the charismatic actor drops magic spells everywhere he steps.

Just days ago, Malaika Aroras sizzling picture in the Maldives also led many to believe that the fitness beauty is vacationing with her friends as part of her bachelorette party. While the two have never officially come clean about their relationship, comments such as "Yes, now I am. Earlier, I wasn't" (Arjun Kapoor) and "I guess everyone wants to move on and find love and companionship with people they can relate to. And if you do, I think you are just lucky. If you can do that, I think you are lucky to find that second chance at being happy (Malaika Arora) are just impossible not to miss.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

A blast has occurred near Jawahar Tunnel in Banihal on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The blast happened in a Santro car when a convoy of security forces was passing nearby. However, no casualties have been reported so far. CRPF sources say the prima facie blast in the car seems to be a cylinder explosion, CRPF convoy was at a significant distance from the explosion site and it does not appear to be a terror attack, news agency ANI reported. There were more than 40 CRPF personnel travelling in the bus, according to reports. The driver is absconding and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have started an investigation into the matter.



"Today around 10.30 am, an explosion took place in a civil car near Banihal, Jammu and Kashmir while CRPF convoy was on move. The car caught fire and slight damage was caused in the rear of one of the CRPF vehicle. No injuries were caused to CRPF Personnel. Incident being investigated," CRPF said in a statement.





On February 14, at least 42 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 30 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded.

More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Friday said that Pakistan was refusing to acknowledge the damage caused by the Air Force fighter jets in Balakot even though the proof existed in the form of bombed-out Jaish-e-Mohammed camp. The IAF chief quoted an iconic Bob Dylan track when asked about Pakistan denying any damage in the February 26 air strike by IAFs Mirage 2000 fighter jets in response to the Pulwama attack in which over 40 CRPF soldiers were killed.

"It is there in front of you (Pakistan), but you dont want to see it...I can only recall Dylan, And how many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesnt see; the answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind..," The Hindustan Times quoted Dhanoa as saying.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 42 CRPF personnel and injured dozens of others in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. In response to the attack, India launched a counter-terror operation and conducted air strike in Balakot inside Pakistani territory.

IAF claimed it destroyed a major terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed - the terrorist organisation which took the responsibility of the Pulwama attack. However, Pakistan accepted that Indian fighter jets did enter Balakot but denied any damage as claimed by India.

A day after India's air strike, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) even tried to carry out a Balakot-like attack against Indian military targets but failed miserably.

"On February 27, the Pakistani Air Force with its package of more than 20 planes led by the American F-16s along with the French Mirage-IIIs and Chinese JF-17, fired 11 H-4 1,000 kg bombs from ranges of around 50 km inside their territory at military targets at three locations but failed to hit any of them," news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

A civilian was critically injured on Saturday as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Mohammad Mushtaq was hit by splinters of a mortar shell which exploded near his house at Narala village in Mankote sector, the officials said. They said the critically injured civilian was rushed to hospital

A defence spokesman said the Pakistani Army initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortar and firing by small arms from across the border in Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors at around 2000 hours. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly, he said, adding that the cross-border firing between the two sides was still continuing intermittently. Seven persons, including three soldiers, were killed in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch since India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

There was a brief exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces at 1 am in Tangpawa village of the Kokarnag area in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday. A joint search operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and the Army is underway.

On Friday, as many as two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Sutsu village of Budgam district. There was heavy firing from both sides and four security personnel were injured.

On Thursday, one terrorist was killed in an encounter in Handwara area of north Kashmirs Kupwara district. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Armys 30 RR and CRPF are carrying out the joint operation. Earlier in the day, three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Keller area of Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian district. CRPF, Army and Jammu and Kashmir police had launched a joint operation in the area. On Wednesday, terrorists shot dead a civilian in Kachdoora village of Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian district. He was identified as Tanveer Ahmed (24) from Bemnipora, Shopian. Police have registered case has been registered and an investigation has been started. Security forces have cordoned the area to nab the attacker.New Delhi:

National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday stirred controversy by raising doubts over the death of 40 CRPF soldiers in Pulwama attack. In a purported video shared by news agency ANI, Abdullah is heard saying, ahow many jawans have been martyred in Chhattisgarh? Has Modi ever paid tributes to them? However, those 40 who died in Pulwama, I have my doubtsa.

#WATCH Farooq Abdullah, NC: Kitne sipahi Hindustan ke shaheed huye Chhattisgarh mein? Kya kabhi Modi ji vahan gaye unpe phool chadhane ke liye?........magar vo 40 log CRPF ke shaheed ho gaye, uska bhi mujhe shak hai. pic.twitter.com/cK3M1u67Nn a ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

Earlier, Farooq Abdullah had accused BJP of staging drama of attack on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot.A He mocked the BJP saying aonly treesa fell during the air strikes. aSome say 300 were killed, some say 500 were killed while some say 700 were killed. No one was killed there. Not even a hen was killed. Only trees fell there and now, Pakistan have filed a case there that they should be given compensation for trees,a he said while addressing party workers in Budgam district ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections.

On February 26, the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s Mirage 2000 fighters armed with SPICE 2000 satellite-guided bombs had struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's Balakot training camp in response to the gruesome terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Being touted as the Surgical Strike 2.0, the airstrike killed "a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups of jihadis" at the alleged terror camp in Balakot, Indiaas foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said.A

Earlier, Farooq Abdullah filed nomination papers from Jammu and Kashmiras Srinagar-Budgam constituency. Farooq Abdullah filed the papers at Deputy Commissioneras office in Srinagar and was accompanied by NC vice president Omar Abdullah, party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and various other party leaders.A

Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 11 and polling would be held over seven phases through May 19, followed by counting of all votes on May 23. The assembly elections in four states a Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh a will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will not be held along with the general elections. Since the J&K has been dissolved, the EC is bound to hold fresh polls there as well within a six-month period, which will end in May. A The Centre and the state administration, being managed by the Centre-appointed Governor, are against holding the two elections together.

However, all political parties in the state favoured simultaneous polls during a meeting with the Election Commission earlier this week.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Westminster Courts Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, who was delivering the verdict at the bail hearing of Nirav Modi made a revelation on Friday that the fugitive diamantaire was trying for Vanuatu citizenship. "He was attempting to become a citizen of Vanuatu and that is some way away for someone trying to run businesses, which may indicate he has the interest to move away from India at this important time," the judge said.



On Friday, the court rejected Nirav Modi's bail plea. This is the second time when his bail plea has been rejected by the court. He will remain behind bars as London's Westminster Magistrate court has fixed April 26 as the next date of hearing. In the next hearing, he will be produced through video conferencing.



"Clare's offer is not substantial security in a case where a billion dollars is said to be lost. These are early stages of the case and there are major inconsistencies in some witness statements. Looking at the case as it is today, I do find substantial grounds to believe he would fail to surrender based on his lack of community ties, as his son has gone to the US, and the large resources he could draw on," the judge said.



Indian agency officers were seen showing thumbs up and shaking each others hands after the judge refused Modi's bail plea, reports ANI.

While refusing plea of 48-year-old Modi, who faces the possibility of extradition to India, Westminster Magistrates Court Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said 'no sufficient ground for giving conditional bail'.

Earlier, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - on behalf of Indian authorities  told the court that Modi threatened to kill an eyewitness and tried to bribe another Rs 20 lakh to evade arrest. The CPS also submitted the additional file of evidence in court.

Looking more dishevelled and dressed in a similar white shirt as his first court appearance last week, Modi was brought to the dock to be produced before Arbuthnot and sat behind a glass enclosure as the hearing got underway.

Modi's defence team, led by barrister Clare Motgomery, who was also the barrister for former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case - opposed the CPS claims of Modi being a flight risk and stressed that in fact Modi sees UK as a "haven where his case will be fairly considered".

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

More than a month after Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds terror camps inside Pakistan, the Pakistan Army has taken a group of journalists to the site, according to the reports. The journalists have interviewed more than 300 children at a local mosque and record videos. They were given access to some nearby sites. They were taken at 10 am, and stayed there until 3.30 pm. The entire area was cordoned off by a platoon of frontier corps, the Pakistan paramilitary force, The Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

Balakot is some 80 km from the Line of Control near Abbotabad where Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in hiding by covert U.S. forces who had also sneaked into Pakistan to carry out the operation, catching the entire Pakistani military unawares.



The site of airstrikes is said to be spread over 6 acres and journalists were given access only to a limited area. The remaining area was kept off limits. It is also not clear whether the children at the site were local residents or brought by the Pakistan authorities for a photo opportunity, source told The Indian Express.



On February 26, the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s Mirage 2000 fighters armed with SPICE 2000 satellite-guided bombs had struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's Balakot training camp in response to the gruesome terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district . On February 14, at least 42 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 30 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded.

More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir.

Earlier, reports claimed that Pakistani security officials prevented journalists from visiting the site. India handed over the dossier to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan in New Delhi on February 27 with specific details of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)'s complicity in the Pulwama attack.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

The jackfruit tree found in most parts of India is one among the staple foods eaten both as a dish and a fruit. This largest tree-borne fruit suited for the low tropical lowlands with its spikes can sometimes be mistaken as the worldas smelliest fruit, durian. A recent article published by the Guardian aJackfruit is a vegan sensation a could I make it taste delicious at home?a described the jackfruit as aajust a spectacularly ugly, smelly, unfarmed, unharvested pest-plant native to Indiaaa and this description has not gone down well for the people of Kerala.

While it is unclear if the daily mistook jackfruit for a durian, the description of the jackfruit has ignited a hot, Twitter debate lashing out on the daily not just from Keralites themselves but from other jackfruit-eating neighbour states.

Lashing out on the daily for its so-called aignorancea, one user wrote, it has been relished as fruit, jam, chips, as part of curries/thorans, for generations in Kerala. There are entire food festivals held just around this fruit, for God's sake! Ignorance should be no excuse for casual racism, it reeks more than jackfruit. or durian (heard of that?)aa. While people from other parts of the country who relish jackfruit also jumped in for support of the fruit. One user wrote, i'm from the north of india and jackfruit is quite popular there: as a fruit (yummyyy), as a vegetable, even as street food. clearly these people @guardian need to hire people who have at least heard of researchingaa.

Check out some the tweets here:

If you liked the Guardian jackfruit piece we cannot be friends. Ever. a Ranjani M (@poyetries) March 29, 2019

@jackfruit the ubiquitous 'chakka'. I remember in Kerala , starting summer this vegetable /fruit found its way into every dish that you had to run mile to avoid getting it in your plate .Every part was food, unripe ripe, pericarp, seed ,pulp, chammini... a sarath chandran (@pockyarsarat) March 28, 2019

I mean, I just tried some delicious jackfruit biryani in Kolkata but is it really food until White vegans have eaten it? a Srilata Sircar (@SircarSrilata) March 28, 2019

I'm also particularly annoyed coz I had to return from Chennai just as the jackfruit season was starting and got to eat very little of the delicious aromatic fruit that was selling everywhere Y a Niranjana Ramesh (@niranjwrite) March 28, 2019

So maybe donat be that cynical about a vegetable/fruit/main meal that has existed years in other cultures @zoesqwilliams and @guardian. Maybe update the article? It helps to represent food valued in other cultures better. Also, aduriana is smelly not jackfruit. a Shashika Bandara (@shashikaLB) March 28, 2019

Left to rot, smelly, spectacularly ugly, unharvested? This is inaccurate and we know since this is a staple in our cuisine/s, @guardian. Food racism much? https://t.co/cM9FXvzAYo a Dilini Algama (@dilinialgama) March 28, 2019

For all the Latest Lifestyle News, Food News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Baddan Singh alias Baddo, a 50-year-old criminal facing a life sentence for at least 10 cases including killing a lawyer in 1996, being a dacoit and more had an Andy Dufresne escape from the police custody Thursday afternoon while he was being taken to a Ghaziabad court. The gangster reportedly duped six cops who were escorting him back to prison after a court hearing in Meerut with a lure of a liquor party in a hotel.

Baddo took the cops, who were escorting him, to a hotel on Dehli road in Meerut where his accomplices had thrown a liquor party. We have detained seven policemen, including an inspector, but they are still not in their senses. Baddo was lodged in Fatehgarh jail and was on way to a court in Ghaziabad in connection with hearing of a case. Nearly 10 cases, including those of murder and dacoity, are lodged against him. We hope to arrest him soon, said Nitin Tiwari, Senior Superintendent of Police, Meerut. Those detained are constables Omveer, Santosh, Sunil, Rajkumar, Bhupinder and Ihetashamam and police inspector of Farrukhabad, Deshraj Tyagi, said Nitin Tiwari according to MSN.

This convicted badass criminal, one straight out of Prison Break was arrested by the Meerut police last year. The convict was initially reported to have been in Meerut jail for nearly one month but was later shifted to Fatehgarh jail in Farrukhabad district after receiving threats on his life.

For all the Latest Offbeat News News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Chennai:

With ISRO having launched over 300 satellites including those of other countries from Indian soil, seeds are being sown for the country to become a big player in commercial space, a top official of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, said Friday. India with its space pedigree and track record of launching more than 300 satellites from Indian soil, it was ideally positioned in garnering the large growth in space domain, chairman and managing director of Antrix Rakesh Sasibhushan said here.

He was addressing a gathering at a session Building on Discontinuities in Digital and Technology at the CII annual regional meeting and summit on Industry Future Forward.

Noting that there was a booming presence of startups in the space sector, he said it is something that adds to the fact that space is affordable for many industries to come into.

So, the seeds are being sown for India to become a big player in the commercial space, he said.

With space technology undergoing a transformational phase in India, he said it was traditionally looked upon as demanding low volume, risk business with low returns and it was deterrent for many industries to look up at space even though it played important role in digital communication.

But today, many things have changed and new technologies have enabled smaller, cheaper and more efficient satellites, he said.

Stating that space-based services were delivered by big satellites which weigh four or six tonnes taking several years to build and costing hundred millions of dollars, he said out of the six-tonne satellite, 60 per cent of the weight comprises the propellants.

With the development of microelectronics, miniaturisation has led to the development of space hardware into small units and the 60 per cent of weight which I had said earlier is not required because electric propulsion system has come and so satellite weight has come down nearly by 50 per cent, he said.

He said large satellites were getting replaced by constellation of small satellites and thousands of satellites were circling the earth at a very low orbit so that the problem of latency in voice and data delivery was solved.

A whole new business model is evolving and one can see particular technology of small satellite constellations replacing the larger big satellites of previous era happening in front of the eyes in next few years itself, he said.

Referring to a Morgan Stanley report, the CMD said the global space industry currently valued at around USD 350 billion was expected to touch USD 1.9-trillion industry by 2040 and this was a huge growth for the industry.

With the space industry recording a growth of two-three per cent, he said it was expected to post a double-digit CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) in near future.

So, that is a lot of opportunity, he said. India offers a significant demand for satellite-based services and the demand for broadband-based connectivity was also increasing rapidly, he said.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Berlin:

A new project offers to pay volunteers nearly 13 lakh rupees to lie in bed for 60 days to help scientists study how weightlessness affects the human body, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) said. Effective countermeasures against bone and muscle atrophy must be developed if astronauts are to live for long periods of time in space or on the Moon and Mars. DLR in collaboration with the European Space Agency(ESA) and NASA, has launched the Artificial Gravity Bed Rest Study (AGBRESA).



The study will investigate the use of artificial gravity as a possible means of preventing the negative effects of weightlessness on the human body, DLR said in a statement.



During the three-month study, two thirds of the test participants will be 'rotated' each day while lying in the DLR short-arm centrifuge in the: envihab aerospace medical research facility. "This bed rest study conducted by DLR, NASA and ESA offer space researchers from all over Europe and the USA the opportunity to work together and jointly acquire as much scientific knowledge about human physiology as possible," Dittus said.



The 12 female and 12 male volunteers will spend 60 days in the beds, according to DLR.



They will remain there for 89 days, including the pre-test and recovery phases. All experiments, meals, and leisure pursuits will take place lying down during the bed-rest phase.



The participants will be restricted in their movements, so that the strain on muscles, tendons and the skeletal system is reduced.



The beds are angled downwards towards the head end by six degrees. This will simulate the displacement of bodily fluids experienced by astronauts in a microgravity environment.



"Both effects are similar to what astronauts experience in space," said Leticia Vega, Associate Chief Scientist for International Collaborations for NASA's Human Research Program.



"Although the effects of weightlessness are primarily investigated on the International Space Station, analogues such as :envihab are helpful when studying certain research topics under controlled conditions on Earth. These findings will later be validated on the ISS," Vega said.



"AGBRESA allows us to address the issue of muscular atrophy caused by weightlessness. But other stresses such as cosmic radiation, isolation, spatial restrictions and other issues are on our research agenda as well," said Jennifer Ngo-Anh, team leader in Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA.



Human physiological research in weightlessness or under simulated conditions is not only important for astronauts to be able to maintain their health and performance in space, but also for people on Earth.



Space medicine therefore also encompasses health research for terrestrial applications, in all areas of prevention, diagnostics and treatment.



"In a world first, we will be using the centrifuge to test whether, during a long-term bed-rest study, artificial gravity can be used to prevent or counteract the physiological changes experienced in a weightless environment," said Jens Jordan, Director of the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine.



A large number of experiments will be conducted for this purpose on, among other things, cardiovascular function, balance and muscle strength, accompanied by cognitive tests and invasive examinations such as muscle tissue biopsies, microdialysis, measurement of electrical muscle activity and regular blood sampling.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

As the Trump administration tightened its noose over the authoritarian regime of Venezuela, a top American diplomat said there has been a considerable amount of cooperation from India on the US efforts to restrict the export of Venezuelan oil. I would say that we have had contacts with Indian companies and with the government of India, and that we have found there to be a very considerable amount of cooperation, which we are very happy to see, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said.

The Trump administration has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as oil-rich countrys interim leader against President Nicolas Maduro.

As part of its effort to squeeze the Maduro regime, the US had asked countries, including India, across the world to stop importing oil from Venezuela or face American sanctions.

Several Indian companies have stopped importing oil from the country.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has appreciated Indian cooperation in this regard.

Early this month, the Venezuelan Oil Ministry had said that it has suspended export of oil to India.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had expressed hope that India will supports its efforts in Venezuela by not purchasing oil from the "authoritarian" Maduro regime. The issue was discussed in a meeting with the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Pompeo told reporters at a news conference in Washington, without providing insight into it. "We are asking the same thing of India as we are of every country: Do not be the economic lifeline for the Maduro regime. So we talked about (Venezuela) I certainly won't characterize the conversations; they're private conversations," Pompeo said in response to a question.



"In the same way that India has been incredibly supportive of our efforts in Iran, I'm confident that they too understand the real threat to the Venezuelan people. We had a good conversation around that," Pompeo said.

At a news conference, Pompeo said the nations that support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are, by the nature of this "illegitimate" regime, carrying out the very foreign interventionism of which they accuse others.

"Today, the United States is drawing a clear line between those who aid the forces of repression and those who give life to the Venezuelan people's democratic dreams. There is no ambiguity here about the truth," he said.

Similar kind of warning to other nations was issued by US National Security Adviser John Bolton.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he would stop new sanctions on North Korea. He said the country was suffering and he valued his relationship with its authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un. "They are suffering greatly in North Korea. They're having a hard time in North Korea," he said. "And I just didn't think additional sanctions at this time were necessary. Doesn't mean I don't put them on later but I didn't think additional sanctions at this time were necessary," he said.

Trump shed light on his tweet a week ago that took Washington by surprise in which he said he was rolling back sanctions on North Korea that the Treasury Department had planned.

A month after his latest summit with Kim ended in stalemate in Vietnam, Trump said he got along "very well" with the young leader, adding: "We understand each other." "I think it is very important you maintain that relationship at least as long as you can," Trump said.

Earlier, the White House had said, US President Donald Trump is ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again for denuclearisation talks.

Donald Trump had said that he is very, very disappointed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if reports that work is underway to rebuild a long-range rocket site are confirmed. Speaking to reporters, Trump said its too early to see if the information about work at the North Korean site is true. Warning hed be disappointed, he added: I dont think I will be, but well see what happens. Trump and Kim met last week in Vietnam to negotiate on getting rid of North Koreas nuclear arsenal, but the summit broke up early with no progress.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton told ABC News that Trump's walk out from his meeting with Kim was "friendly" and it is not a reflection that the talks broke down.

I don't really think it broke down. I think the president did exactly the right thing, he said, referring to the failed summit between the two leaders in Hanoi in Vietnam on February 26 and 27.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive Mohammed Ali AlQaed headed the 20th GCC eGovernment Executive Committee Meeting  hosted during 24th and 25th of March by Oman. The highly esteemed meeting was attended by chief executives and general managers of GCC eGovernments. During the meeting, the implemented resolutions of the General Secretariats report were viewed.

The committee also discussed the status of the eGovernment Strategic Guidelines- second phase. Bahrain presented a study in the field of eGovernment Strategic Guidelines where Dr. Khalid Ahmed AlMutawah  Enterprise Architecture & Information Technology Director at iGA  addressed the measures and requirements of the next phase.

The committee presented - during the meeting - a study of utilizing framework agreements with ICT suppliers  provided by the Sultanate of Oman. It also discussed a proposal on developing the GCC Portal that the United Arab Emirates presented. After viewing the agenda of the 15th meeting for the National Center of Computer Emergency Response Committee, the committee approved the recommendation put forward.Monday

The Valley Shore Toastmasters: meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Madison Senior Center (cafe), 29 Bradley Road. Email valleyshoretm@yahoo.com or visit http://valleyshore.toastmastersclubs.org.

Tuesday

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Tuesday Morning Leads Group: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

The Rotary Club of Hamden: meets each Tuesday. For meeting time and location please visit the calendar section of their website at www.hamdenctrotary.org.

The Nutmeg Chapter of Toastmasters International: meets at 7 p.m. at The Willows Care and Rehab Center, 225 Amity Road, Woodbridge. Visit http://764.toastmastersclubs.org.

The New Haven chapter of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America: meets at 6 p.m. at Brazis Restaurant, 201 Sargent Drive, New Haven. Dinner is $30. Call 203-234-9542.

The Rotary Club of New Haven: meets at 12:15 p.m. at the Graduate Club, 155 Elm St. Call 203-624-3197.

The Rotary Club of North Haven: meets at 7:15 a.m. at the Breakfast Nook, 448 Washington Ave. Visit www.nhrotary.org.

Wednesday

The Rotary Club of Branford: meets from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. at the Parthenon Diner, 374 E. Main St., Branford. Call 203-315-2444, ext. 450.

Cheshire BNI Networking Chapter: meets at 7 a.m. at Temple Beth David, 3 Main St., Cheshire. Call Bob Davidson, 203-271-7991.

The Devon Rotary: meets at 7:30 a.m. at the Bridge House Restaurant, 49 Bridgeport Ave., Milford. Visit www.devonrotary.org.

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Wednesday Morning Leads Group: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

The Rotary Club of Guilford: meets at 12:15 p.m. at The Maritime Grille, 2548 Boston Post Road, Guilford. Call 203-453-0774.

The Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association: meets at 11 a.m. at 192 Dixwell Ave. Call 203-562-2193.

The Rotary Club of Wallingford: meets at 12:10 p.m. at the Library Wine Bar and Bistro, 60 North Main Street. Call 203-235-3816.

North Branford Rotary: meets at 6 p.m. at Nataz, 2025 Foxon Road. Call 203-484-7707.

The Greater New Haven Breakfast Club: meets at 8 a.m. at Clarks Pizza & Restaurant, 68 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Email info@rosnerdoherty.com.

The Rotary Club of West Haven: meets at 12:15 p.m. at Apps Ristorante, 283 Captain Thomas Blvd.

Thursday

Quota International of New Haven: a service club attending to the needs of the hearing impaired and disadvantaged women and children, meets at 6 p.m. at the Graduate Club, 155 Elm St., New Haven. Call 203-732-3200.

The Seymour Oxford Rotary Club: meets at 7:15 a.m. at Route 67 Diner, Klarides Village, Route 67 in Seymour. Fellow Rotarians and all interested persons are invited to attend. Contact Nancy Valentine at nvbv@hotmail.com or 203 734 6945.

The New Haven Lions Club: meets at 7 p.m. at Brazis Italian Restaurant, 201 Food Terminal Plaza. Public is invited; for information, call Jim Traester at 203-288-6648.

The Madison Rotary Club: meets at 8 a.m. at the Madison Senior Center, 29 Bradley Road. Call Robert Anderson, 203-907-9032.

The Clinton Rotary Club: meets 6:30 p.m. at Clinton Country Club, Old Westbrook Road. Call Dee Tully at 860-388-7013.

The East Haven Rotary Club: meets at 5:45 p.m. at Twin Pines Diner Restaurant, 34 Main St., East Haven.

The Milford Rotary Club meets: from 12:15-1:15 p.m. at Gusto Restaurant, 255 Boston Post Road. Visit www.milfordrotary.org.

The Cheshire Rotary Club: meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Waverly Inn, 286 Maple Ave., Cheshire. Visit www.cheshirerotary.org.

Friday

The Orange Rotary Club: meets at 12:15 p.m. at Racebrook Country Club, 246 Derby Ave. Call 203-799-2327.

The Woodbridge Rotary Club: meets at 7:30 a.m. for a breakfast meeting at Country Corner Diner, 756 Amity Road, Bethany. For more information, call Mary Ellen LaRocca at 203-389-3429.

The Legislative Action Committee of the Milford Chamber of Commerce meets: visit the calendar section of its website at www.milfordct.com.

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Friday Morning Leads Group: meets at 11 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

Send notices of business events to Business Datebook, New Haven Register, 100 Gando Drive, New Haven 06513 or email to business@nhregister.com, at least a week before the event.Even as Connecticuts overall economic outlook is clouded with uncertainty, the New Haven-area economy is showing a resiliency that is dumbfounding to economist Donald Klepper-Smith.

The latest edition of the New Haven Registers Economic Scorecard shows five economic indicators headed in a positive direction and three that are negative. But it is numbers not found in the current Scorecard that Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners and author of the Scorecard, said really are indicative of the regions underlying economic strength.

Klepper-Smith said the New Haven area has recovered 139 percent of the jobs that were lost during the during the 2008 recession. By comparison, the Connecticut economy as a whole has recovered just 81 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession, making it the worst state in New England in terms of employment recovery, he said.

To break that down even further, the New Haven area lost 17,700 jobs in the last recession, Klepper-Smith said. Since then, the region has added 17,700 jobs and gained an additional 7,000 jobs, he said.

The key reason for the continued strength of the New Haven area, according to Klepper-Smith, is driven by two employment categories.

The New Haven area has an education- and health care-driven economy, he said. Youre creating good jobs in the areas that it counts.

The region added 4,500 jobs in health care, education and construction last month compared to February 2018.

To some, the so-called eds-and-meds economy seems virtually recession-proof. Enzennio Mallozzi, managing director for the Colliers Internationals Stamford office, said one reason is that no matter what the economic conditions are, there is always a need to serve the aging populations.

And when the economy turns downward, people are looking for ways to separate themselves from the pack, Mallozzi said. Going back to school and getting another degree is a way to do that.

Although Klepper-Smiths assessment of the New Haven-area economy largely is positive, he said one of the negatives in the latest edition of the Scorecard bears watching: The 8.5 percent decline in consumer confidence compared to January 2018.

We could be starting to see peaking in consumer confidence, he said. The question is whether what we saw in January is a temporary blip or something that is part of a trend.

Real disposable income and median single-family home price also were headed in a negative direction. Of the two indicators, the decline in median home price was the more dramatic, falling 7.4 percent or $15,750 from where it was in January 2018 to $196,500 during the same period this year.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.comKENT  A town resident who has called Kent home for around 25 years might be forced to leave when a judge rules on his possible deportation on April 3.

Tino Santiago is known by many in the community as a friend, always willing to help out those in need. But now, he faces possible deportation after he was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents around 9 a.m. on Feb. 26.

ICE agents picked up Tino Santiago as he was headed to Kent Center School to pick up his 14-year-old son, according to 19-year-old Jordan Santiago, one of Tino Santiagos sons.

On Wednesday, a judge is set to decide Tino Santiagos fate during a hearing at 1 p.m. The hearing will be at the U.S. District Court in Hartford.

That will be the final decision on whether he stays here, or theyll send him back to Mexico, said Jordan Santiago in an interview on Saturday.

Lawyers representing Tino Santiago could not be reached for comment. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Public Affairs could not immediately be reached for comment.

Tino Santiago is from Oaxaca, Mexico. He is married and has three sons  ages 7, 14 and 19.

Jordan Santiago said his family has been collecting documents to prove his father has paid his taxes. He said his father has held a steady job as a chef at a local restaurant for 25 years.

He has a massive reputation around the community, Jordan Santiago said. Everybody loves him. Without him, it wouldnt be the same.

Kent resident Susan Forbes said in an interview Saturday she has known Tino Santiago for about 25 years and has always been close with him and his family. She recalled when her husband died about a year ago and Tino Santiago helped her move out of her house into a condo.

He does a low of work for the people in Kent and people around Kent, Forbes said.

Tino Santiago has been detained since he was picked up in late February and is being held in a facility in Greenfield, Massachusetts, his son said.

Jordan Santiago said his family believes his fathers two driving under the influence arrests, in 2008 and 2016, were possibly what caught the attention of ICE.

Maybe they see the first one and let it go. Or maybe they didnt see it, he said. But then the second one comes up, and they decide to pick him up.

Jordan Santiago said people in the community have been supporting his family. He said school counselors have been helping his two brothers. He said although the 14-year-old didnt see their father get detained, he has been been the one most impacted by it.

Its especially taking a toll on him, Jordan Santiago said. He wakes up in the middle of the night scared, he thinks people are stalking him.

Jordan Santiago, who has Type 1 diabetes, said he and his two brothers, who are autistic, were born in the United States. Jordan Santiago said the stress of what has happened with his father landed him in the hospital with a very low blood sugar one day.

Its been very up and down because of all the stress right now, he said.

He said since his father is the familys sole provider, they would all have to move with him if he gets sent back to Mexico. He said that terrifies him since he relies on medicine to keep his diabetes under control.

Were a low-income family. Were unable to really afford a lot, Jordan Santiago said. If we go to Mexico and I cant get my insulin, I could pretty much just die.

Forbes said the town has been rallying around the Santiago family.

Im very fond of Tino, Forbes said. People in Kent know him, they like him. Hes friends with everybody. Were trying to do what we can.The Wellspan Philhaven Center for Autism and Disabilities in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, hosts a class that allows students to learn, while innocently playing with Legos.

The Legos are used to teach social skills to students with autism, likeNORWALK  A 22-year-old man sped away from one officer as another held him at gunpoint after a traffic stop became complicated, police said.

The incident began just before noon Thursday when two officers of the Norwalk Police Strategic Narcotic Enforcement Team saw a car parked illegally in the bike lane just outside Norwalk Superior Court on Belden Avenue.

Police said the officers had to knock on the car window multiple times to get the drivers attention. Once they got the drivers attention and began speaking with him, the officers detected an odor of marijuana from inside and asked him to turn the vehicle off.

The driver, later identified as Brandon Rivera, of the Bronx, New York, did not respond well to the commands, police said. He began to argue with the officers and refused to turn his car off, according to police.

As one officer continued to speak with Rivera, the other went the passenger side door and unlocked it through the opened window. As he reached to turn the car off, though, Rivera threw the car into drive and sped off with the officer still in the passenger seat, police spokesperson Sgt. Sofia Gulino said.

(Rivera) began to accelerate at a high rate of speed, the engine was revving as he fled from the courthouse. He began changing lanes abruptly, looking at the officer instead of the road, so the officer removed his firearm and pointed it at Rivera, ordering him to stop the car, Gulino said.

At first, Rivera failed to comply with the officers command, police said, but he eventually came to a stop near the intersection of Burnell Boulevard, about a half-mile down the road.

The officer in the passenger seat continued to hold Rivera at gunpoint until his partner could catch up to the vehicle on foot. Rivera needed to be tackled to the ground, Gulino said, as he struggled with the officers as they tried to handcuff him.

Neither officer was injured in the incident. Rivera suffered bruises to the face and arm, but refused medical attention.

A K9 unit was later called in to search Riveras car, which was found to be coated with loose marijuana shake, Gulino said.

Rivera was charged with reckless driving, second-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer, possession of a controlled substance, improper parking, operating a vehicle without a license and disobeying the signal of an officer. He was held on $100,000 bond and given a court date of April 11.UPDATE: 4-year-old reported missing has been found Safe in Sodus

SODUS, N.Y. -- Deputies in the Finger Lakes have asked the public for help finding an endangered 4-year-old girl from South Carolina.

Aubri Lynn Henning lives in South Carolina with her father. The girl was reported missing after her mother, Nakisha M. Harris, picked Aubri up on March 6 and fled to New York, said the Wayne County Sheriffs Office.

Deputies are now searching for Aubri in the Finger Lakes -- over 800 miles north of her home.

Aubri was last spotted in Sodus, Wayne County with Harris, her mother, deputies said. Investigators believe the mother & child are still near Wayne County or Seneca County.

The minor child is in immediate need of protection, deputies said.

Nakisha M. HarrisProvided

A warrant for Harris arrest has been issued in South Carolina.

Heres how deputies described Aubri and Harris:

Aubri is 3 feet tall and weighs about 45 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Harris, 30, is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Deputies asked anyone with information about the missing girl to call the Wayne County Sheriffs Office at (315) 946-9711.I was at the MIT EmTech Digital 2019 conference. There was a lunch discussion which involved nuclear energy. A supercomputer and Artificial intelligence expert said that Nuclear Power was great except for the dangerous nuclear waste. Someone else at the table talked about using breakthroughs with rockets to send nuclear waste into the Sun or for nuclear waste to be dropped to the bottom of the ocean. These very intelligent people who have deep knowledge various technical topics have been misguided on key aspects of energy technology.

The truth is nuclear energy is already the safest energy based upon its historical track record. There were highly publicized incidents with nuclear power (Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima) but only Chernobyl had actual nuclear energy related deaths. Nuclear Power has generated about 85000 TWh over about 50 years of operation. Nuclear power has saved about 3 million lives. Nuclear power is generating over 2500 Terawatt hours per year. This is saving 50,000 to 100,000 people per year from air pollution deaths.

Nuclear waste is mainly unburned nuclear fuel. Used nuclear fuel is very hot and radioactive. Handling and storing it safely can be done as long as it is cooled and plant workers are shielded from the radiation it produces by a dense material like concrete or steel, or by a few meters of water. We do not have to go to more extreme measures to deal with what is already safe.

All unburned fuel and waste from commercial nuclear energy contained. How about the waste from other types of energy? Particulates from incomplete burning of coal, oil gas go into the air and everyone and every living creature on the planet breathes some into our lungs. In China, India and other countries, air pollution is like everyone smoking several cigarettes per day. This means the waste from coal, oil gas is breathed every day by babies, asthmatics and the elderly. This is why the deaths from outdoor air pollution about 3 million people per year. This does not include water pollution. All the mercury in fish is mainly from coal pollution. Mercury and toxic metals from fossil fuel air pollution no . It will stay dangerous for millions of years.

While standing exposed and very close to nuclear waste is dangerous, this does not happen. The fuel is stored at nuclear facilities. Nuclear facilities tend to be several square miles of land. The nuclear waste is about 100-200 tons per year per facility. However, Uranium is denser than lead. The 200 tons of material could fit into your garage.

The various types of coal pollution is measured in billions of tons, millions of tons or thousands of tons. 7.6 billion tons per year of coal becomes more CO2. The carbon from coal gets two Oxygen molecules added. Fossil fuel emissions (including cement production) accounted for about 91% of total CO 2 emissions from human sources in 2014. This portion of emissions originates from coal (42%), oil (33%), gas (19%), cement (6%) and gas flaring (1%).

Nuclear Energy has been 10-20% of world electricity for four decades. This energy has prevented the use of coal and natural gas for electricity generation. Solar and wind have only recently reached 1-3% of world electricity. Nuclear Power has generated about 85000 TWh over about 50 years of operation. Nuclear power has saved about 3 million lives. Nuclear power is generating over 2500 Terawatt hours per year. This is saving 50,000 to 100,000 people per year from air pollution deaths.

Cement and Steel Used for Solar and Wind vs Nuclear Power

For every 10 tons of cement we produce, we release 9 tons of CO2. The average CO2 intensity for the steel industry is 1.9 tons of CO2 per ton of steel produced. Taking into consideration the global steel production of more than 1.7 billion tons, the steel industry produces over 3.5 billion tons of CO2.

A 1970-vintage U.S. nuclear power plants needed 40 metric tons (MT) of steel and 190 cubic meters (m3) of concrete per average megawatt of electricity (MW(e)) generating capacity. For comparison, a typical wind energy system operating with 6.5 meters-per-second average wind speed requires construction inputs of 460 metric tons of steel and 870 cubic meters of concrete per average MW(e). Wind needs ten times more steel than nuclear and almost five times more concrete. Solar farms need even more steel and concrete than wind to generate the same power.

Wind turbines are about 50 stories tall and the blades are like the wings of a jumbo jet. Solar and wind take up way more land than nuclear power. Solar on building roofs cause more deaths because roofing is the fifth most dangerous profession. Falls cause deaths in solar and wind.

James Conca at Forbes cites Caithness Windfarm Information Forum 2013 (Wind Farm Accidents and Fatalities). James has written and provided additional information to my articles on deaths per terawatt hour. In England, there were 163 wind turbine accidents that killed 14 people in 2011. Wind produced about 15 billion kWhrs that year, so using a capacity factor of 25%. Wind produces 1,000 deaths per trillion kWhrs produced (the world produces 15 trillion kWhrs per year from all sources).

In 2011 coal produced about 180 billion kWhrs in England with about 3,000 related deaths. Nuclear energy produced over 90 billion kWhrs in England with no deaths. In that same year, America produced about 800 billion kWhrs from nuclear with no deaths.

The global averages in energy-related deaths are much higher than in the USA. Coal produces 100,000 deaths per trillion kWhrs (China is the worst), natural gas at 4,000 deaths, biomass at 24,000, solar at 440, and wind at 150. Using the worst-case scenarios with the highest estimates for eventual radiation-related deaths from Chernobyl and Fukushima would increase nuclear to 90 deaths per trillion kWhrs produced. Nuclear would still be the safest energy source.

Handling Unburned Nuclear Fuel

Water can provide both cooling and shielding, so a typical reactor will have its fuel removed underwater and transferred to a storage pool. After about five years it can be transferred into dry ventilated concrete containers, but it can safely remain in the pool indefinitely  usually for up to 50 years.

Currently, the majority of used fuel is not recycled. Reprocessing used fuel to recover uranium and plutonium avoids the wastage of a valuable resource. Most of the used fuel  about 96%  is uranium, and up to 1% is plutonium, with the remaining 3% being high-level waste. Both reprocessed uranium and plutonium have been recycled into new fuel. Plutonium mixed with uranium in their oxide forms is known as mixed oxide fuel (MOX).GUILFORD  Dr. Tro Kalayjians father had just flown in from California for his granddaughters birthday on Dec. 26, 2018, but he wasnt feeling quite right.

My dad, he doesnt really say anything, Kalayjian said of his father, Kevork Kalayjian, 68, but he was a little short of breath. We literally had to stop while we were in the airport.

When they got home, Kalayjian took out the portable ultrasound device, called Butterfly iQ, he had just bought. Hes on the bed and I have the probe on him and his heart muscle is very weak, Kalayjian said. So Im immediately very concerned.

He sent the echocardiogram he took via his smartphone app to his fathers doctors. I literally texted it to his cardiologist and his primary care doctor, Kalayjian said. This is pretty huge. Literally within seconds, everybody sees whats going on.

The doctors decided Kevork Kalayjian needed to go to Hackensack Hospital for an emergency catheterization. I didnt want everybody to freak out, Tro Kalayjian said. He had no symptoms at the time. He had no active pain or shortness of breath.

If somebody comes into the ER and says, I kind of have shortness of breath  and all the tests were negative, its easy to miss whats going on, he said.

In fact, Kalayjians father had a 99 percent blockage in the widow maker, he said. A widow maker is the dire nickname given to a blockage in the left anterior descending artery, which supplies blood to the front and bottom of the left ventricle. Thats the main pump of blood to the body. If its blocked, usually its a big heart attack, Kalayjian said.

In my dads case, it was throughout the artery. They had to put two long stents in there. His right coronary artery also was 85 percent blocked. The interventional cardiologist said Kevork Kalayjian was basically a ticking timebomb, his son said.

Kalayjian, who has no financial interest in the portable ultrasounds manufacturer, Butterfly Network of Guilford, has no doubt the device saved his fathers life. I dont think he would have gone to the ER, Kalayjian said. His symptoms were transient, and they resolved.

Kalayjian, who has a practice in Tappan, N.Y., and is on staff at Greenwich Hospital, is a major supporter of ultrasound. Ive been patiently waiting for this probe to come out, he said. Right around Christmas I got the new ultrasound and Im like  a boy with a new toy.

Kalayjian was so excited about the Butterfly iQ because of its portability, ease of use and flexibility. Basically the old technique is very delicate.  Theyre these delicate probes that are ridiculously expensive.

The Butterfly costs $1,999 plus a subscription to be able to store images in the HIPAA-compliant cloud, according to a company spokesman.

Dr. John Martin, chief medical officer of Butterfly Network, said traditional ultrasound machines, which can cost from $25,000 to $100,000, rely on piezoelectric crystals, which have different sizes and shapes to scan different parts of the body. They act like a speaker system. You have the bass, midrange and treble frequencies, he said.

Instead, the Butterfly uses a silicon chip with 9,000 miniature little drums  that move and create sound waves, Martin said. Its literally one probe. Its one device where before we had to carry around three.

The Butterfly also is sturdier. Ive already dropped it, and it works, Martin said.

Butterfly Network has sold thousands of the units since it went on the market in October, a spokesman said. Kalayjian believes it should become standard equipment for every doctor, physician assistant and nurse practitioner. I think right now even most physicians dont know how to use ultrasound, he said. All of them need to drop their stethoscopes and pick up ultrasound.  Its much more powerful and much more accurate than a stethoscope.

Martin said Butterfly has artificial intelligence tools that enable it to learn how to understand the images. We dont make the diagnosis. We assist in the diagnosis, he said. The company is also developing algorithms to measure the volume of urine in the bladder and fluid in the lungs.

This device is changing the way we practice medicine, Kalayjian said.

Martin said that in every single disease state, ultrasound has a role. He said Kalayjian saved his dads life, theres no doubt about it.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382MIDDLETOWN  In day-long testimony that left him emotionally drained, a Whiting Forensic Institute nursing supervisor repeatedly denied Friday he had ever abused a severely mentally ill patient in his care.

Defendant Mark Cusson testified that William Shehadi, the man he is accused of assaulting, is my friend.

He buried face in his hand after saying, I miss Bill.

Guided by one of his two defense attorneys, Cusson reviewed surveillance video taken inside Whiting in March, 2017, and rejected any suggestion he had kicked Shehadi, spilled water on him and then mopped his head, or overturned his mattress and pressed down on it with Shehadi trapped beneath it.

Cusson is one of 10 Whiting employees who were fired after the videos surfaced.

He is on trial in Middlesex Superior Court for eight counts of felony cruelty to persons and eight counts of disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor, the most charges leveled against any of the 10.

It was the second time since the trial began on Monday that jurors views the grainy and often murky video.

But unlike their first viewing earlier this week when they were shown the video with no explanation of what they were seeing, on Friday Attorney Kevin Smith repeatedly asked Cusson to lay out his version of what occurred inside Shehadis room in Unit Six.

Cussons commentary also allowed the defense team to highlight another key issue for them: Shehadis behavior.

Shehadi was committed to Whiting in 1995 after he murdered his father but was subsequently found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Even as he professed his friendship for Shehadi, Cusson detailed a list of behaviors, including using language not often heard in a courtroom.

A doctor who testified earlier this week said Shehadi suffered from a broad range of mental illnesses, including paranoia.

In testimony to a General Assembly committee in 2017, his brother and conservator Al Shehadi said William has become increasingly psychotic [and] divorced from reality.

He has difficulty speaking and now suffers from a range of autism spectrum symptoms including inflexible ritualistic behavior.

Cusson said Shehadi is often incontinent and soils himself sometimes as often as five times a day and frequently urinates on himself.

He lashes out at hospital personnel by kicking, biting and scratching, Cusson said, and frequently screams, upsetting other patient in the unit.

Cusson said he had come to know when William (whom he often referred to as Bill) was becoming upset, or what Cusson called antecedent behaviors, and had developed various methods to try to head off an outburst.

One such treatment Cusson mentioned involved putting his feet on Williams bed, which Cusson said Shehadi liked.

If that didnt immediately work, Cusson said he would put one foot behind Shehadi and the other in front to help calm him.

In one instance caught on tape, Cusson overturned Shehadis empty bed three times to try to distract him and in doing so defuse an outburst.

That said, Cusson said he had to be wary around Shehadi.

He is accused of grinding his groin into Shehadis face, but he denied doing so because, Hes a biter.

Relying on the surveillance videos has its problems.

As one indication of how murky the videos are, there were several times Cusson said he could not identify Whiting personnel shown on the tapes.

Norman A. Pattis, the lead defense attorney had said Thursday he hoped he could complete his case on Friday and that he and Assistant States Attorney Jeffrey Doskos could make their closing statements on Monday.

But that timetable proved too optimistic.

Doskos did not even get to begin his cross-examination of Cusson before court adjourned late Friday afternoon.

Whats more, Pattis told Judge Jose A. Suarez he has two additional problems, which have or could scramble his plans.

First, he said Whiting personnel who have been subpoenaed by the defense have been told they will have to use vacation or risk going without pay if they take time off to testify on Cussons behalf, Pattis said.

He also said the workers were told if they had been subpoenaed by the state they would have been paid automatically.

It was not immediately possible late Friday to verify that statement.

More pressing for Pattis is hearing scheduled for Tuesday at Superior Court in Bridgeport.

Pattis is defending provocative radio talk show Alex Jones in a lawsuit brought by several parents of the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre, which Jones has claimed was faked.

Pattis told Suarez the news media want to bring cameras into the courtroom to record the lawsuit proceedings.

The judge who is presiding in that case has scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Tuesday to weigh the merits of the medias request, Pattis said.

He asked Suarez to reach out to the judge about postponing the hearing until the Cusson case is resolved.

During the luncheon recess Friday, Suarez said he had spoken to his colleague in Bridgeport and explained the situation.NEW HAVEN  Wandering around the Yale University campus, visitors might notice a sign that reads -41 ETHNIC STUDIES FACULTY and $50 MILLION FOR WHAT? pasted alongside pie charts that break down the demographics of Yales teaching staff.

The sign reflects concern the university has failed to adequately support its Ethnicity, Race & Migration program, and questions the use of $50 million pledged to faculty diversification in 2015.

Now, the university faces further scrutiny as 13 tenured professors withdraw their services from the ER&M program. The faculty members announced the move in a release Friday, citing  administrative disinterest in the program, and the pattern of unfulfilled promises by the University. The Yale Daily News first reported the story.

The withdrawals leave ER&M with no tenured faculty or professional leadership, the release said.

Alicia Schmidt Camacho, a professor who has chaired the program, said the decision comes after years of continued concern about the sustainability of the ER&M program and a lack of meaningful action on the part of the university administration. Though the university has acknowledged the problem and promised the program regular institutional status multiple times over the past 20 years, it never realized those assurances, Camacho said.

Another one of the program professors , Daniel Martinez HoSang, said the program lacks basic functions associated with most academic departments, including hiring power, participation in the promotion process and an ability to count on basic resources.

The university administration has denied us the ability to be a sustainable program by failing to move us out of this temporary, irregular status, Camacho said.

Whats resulted is a program that has essentially been sustained by voluntary labor for the past 20 years, HoSang said. In other words, professors must fulfill all regular commitments to their official departments in addition to working with ER&M, which the administration treats as an extracurricular.

Though administrators have repeatedly promised the ER&M program regular faculty members, it has failed to follow through, Camacho said. Its really a matter of broken promises.

HoSang felt the effect of one such broken promise. Two years ago, Yale offered him an appointment to the ER&M program and to the American Studies department, he said, and he moved across the country to take the job. Later, he discovered his appointment was solely with American Studies, he said.

Over the past eight years, at least four hires have undergone such an experience, HoSang said.

But a statement from Yale President Peter Salovey tells a different story when it comes to hiring. Last year, we hired two new senior faculty into the [ER&M] program, and we expect to hire two additional senior faculty this year, it says. The statement does not expand on the exact affiliation of those faculty members with ER&M and whether they also serve other departments.

In the statement responding to the faculty members decision to withdraw ER&M services, however, Salovey pointed to the two new program hires and described a very high rate of growth [in the ER&M program], in keeping with the five-year, $50 million effort the university has undertaken to improve the diversity and excellence of its faculty.

We greatly value the work of our faculty colleagues in ER&M, and we regret their decision to withdraw from it, and in this manner. Yale will make sure that affected students are given the resources and support they need, and we remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached that works well for everyone. ... It is my great hope we can discuss the future of ER&M in a spirit of collegiality: the program and its wonderful students deserve no less, the statement said.

We dispute the contention that there have been senior appointments made to ER&M, said HoSang, who added that though the Yale website may list professors as part of ER&M, he has seen university documents that show that no faculty are officially in the program.

Moreover, with an administration that is indifferent at best and hostile at worst to their work, the university has struggled to retain faculty that is valuable to the ER&M program, said HoSang, who has watched colleagues leave for other institutions with better opportunities in their fields.

The administrations failure to officially recognize the work a professor does with ER&M as part of their official evaluation makes matters worse, HoSang said. Theres no official mechanism for the ER&M as a program to then play a role in the promotion process.

The 41 faculty mentioned on the campus sign refer to professors who have volunteered time to the program but not remained at Yale, Camacho said.

Emily Almendarez, a junior at Yale and double major in ER&M and environmental studies, is an organizer for the Coalition for Ethnic Studies and Faculty Diversity, formed earlier this semester to fight for full departmental status of the Ethnicity, Race, and Migration major and full support of ethnic studies faculty, according to their Facebook page.

The universitys lack of support for ER&M, a program that serves many students academic needs, is frustrating, Almendarez said. Not only has Yale lost many well-recognized faculty important to the ER&M program, but in some cases it has failed to make faculty members feel comfortable pursuing tenureship at the university, she said.

At the same time as the university has failed to support the program, student interest in ER&M classes has increased tremendously, Camacho said, resulting in an unsustainable dynamic.

We could not responsibly meet our obligations to our students or to our colleagues, Camacho said of the decision to withdraw. We felt we had no choice in the matter.

Challenges within the ER&M program represent just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to faculty diversity, which marks a universitywide, systemic problem, Camacho said.

Camacho and the other 12 faculty members withdrawing services make up a group that said it has repeatedly brought forth concerns about challenges for faculty of color to the administration. Camacho described those challenges as three-fold: they pertain to a difficult climate in the faculty members fields of study, racial animus toward underrepresented faculty and questions about the fairness of the review and promotional procedure.

Based on information about faculty demographics on Yales website, the number of black arts and sciences ladder faculty decreased from 25 in 2005 to 22 in 2017. During the same time frame, Asian-American Arts and Sciences ladder faculty increased from 43 to 60, and Hispanic or Latino from 16 to 27.

White personnel still made up over 70 percent of that same group, however, numbering 497 in 2005 and 485 in 2017.

Also in 2017, the university had just one Native American ladder faculty member in Arts and Sciences.

Were seeing continued loss of black, Latinx and Native faculty, Camacho said. Its absolutely a matter of major concern.

Even when the university hires personnel, Camacho described a sheer lack of willingness to pluralize the leadership. Not only are faculty of color underrepresented in leadership positions, but Yale is also bereft of intellectual representation for fields like African-American studies, she said.

In 2015, Yale pledged $50 million toward faculty diversification as part of the Faculty Excellence and Diversity Initiative (FEDI). But Camacho and HoSang have alleged a lack of transparency in how that money has been used.

Whats more, the administration did not consult professors associated with the ER&M program about how best to use the $50 million, HoSang said, even though its an issue in their wheelhouse.

In 2018, Yale issued an update on FEDI: In year three, 15 new faculty appointments were made in collaboration with this initiative, bringing our three-year total to 65 recruitments campuswide.

But according to HoSang, We dont see any impact on the actual demographics. He pointed out to a 2014 Yale Diversity Summit report, which described problems for faculty of color as systemic and gave clear recommendations for how to address them.

Almost no action was taken on that report, HoSang said. Though the university announced FEDI funding the following year, the professor sees the move as inadequate. We havent seen any evidence of the funds that address these issues, said HoSang, who is frustrated with the administrations seeming indifference.

Almendarez said she stands with the faculty in their decision. Their commitment ... to be there fully present for their students is embodied in their choice, she said, adding its not the professors who let her down  its the structure.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.comThe osprey, known as the raptor with wings, is making a comeback in the state, and a transportation agency in South Jersey is trying to help the cause.

Representatives from Atlantic City, the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department, and Stockton University announced on Friday a program to build nesting boxes to help with the osprey resurgence.

The osprey is a bird found in South Jersey that is a descendant of the raptor. According to the Conservation Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, the osprey population in one area was at just 50 pairs, down from 500 in 1974. Since then, conservation efforts have been made, and 88 pairs were counted near the Great Bay in Atlantic City in 2018.

Steve Mars, a senior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, speaks about the installation of new Osprey Nesting Boxes along the Atlantic City Expressway, Friday, March 29, 2019. The Osprey Nesting Boxes are made possible by the Roadway Environmental Advancement Initiative through the South Jersey Transportation Authority. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance MedLori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Med

South Jersey Transportation Authority is building and placing the nesting boxes as part of its Roadway Environmental Advancement Initiative, and will install the boxes on and around the Atlantic City Expressway. Other nesting boxes have been made to help support other species such as the American Kestrel, Bluebirds, Monarch Butterflies, and bats.

I think we need to take care of the environment around us and we make it a point that whether it is to maintain and pick up trash along the road, to building an osprey nest, we need to take care of the environment that were responsible for and that touches our road every single day, said SJTA Executive Director Stephen Dougherty.

Dougherty said there were osprey nests above a billboard in which the SJTA was responsible for and was working with a billboard operator and partner on the expressway. The executive director said the osprey nests were potentially in trouble and every time somebody went up to change the vinyl and the ad, the birds would get agitated and, at times, preventing them from changing the sign.

We figured lets do the best thing by everybody and build the nest and help relocate the birds and continue to build the population up, Dougherty said.

Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam thinks the ecological impacts of the osprey nesting boxes will benefit the city.

We are seriously making inroads into having the community look at this town as an island with the natural beauty that it offers, Gilliam said. Today signifies the city of Atlantic City and its partners, the SJTA, is showing that we do care about our environment, and a friend to the ecosystem.

Workers with Conservation Wildlife install a new Osprey Nesting Box along the Atlantic City Expressway in Atlantic City, Friday, March 29, 2019. The Osprey Nesting Boxes are made possible by the Roadway Environmental Advancement Initiative through the South Jersey Transportation Authority. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance MedLori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Med

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tipsThis story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: chalkbeat.org/newsletter

Newarks new schools chief has big plans for the districts $1 billion budget  but he needs your support.

Superintendent Roger Leon unveiled his new administrations first budget proposal this week, which included plans to restore programs for gifted students and adult learners, reopen shuttered schools, and replace the teaching materials used in classrooms. To help fund those initiatives, he asked voters to approve a 2 percent property tax increase next month  the first time Newark residents will vote on the districts budget in over two decades.

We are asking to have the citizens of Newark to vote yes on the budget, Leon said at a Wednesday evening presentation. These are dollars and programs and services that our students have longed for, that they need.

Leons presentation was long on promises but short on details, which he said would be fleshed out in a strategic plan later this year. But even as he sketched out his vision for the district, he also described financial threats that could imperil his plans.

About a quarter of Newark Public Schools revenue next school year will go to charter schools, whose funding flows through district budgets in New Jersey. The district budgeted for a $10 million increase in charter costs. But if Newarks charter enrollment grows to its full projected size in 2019-20  a possibility that officials acknowledge is unlikely  the district will come up $24 million short. Its a serious enough concern that Leon traveled to Trenton Wednesday morning to ask lawmakers for more money.

Newark schools are getting a 3.15 percent boost in state aid this year, part of Gov. Phil Murphys plan to gradually increase education spending. Yet, as Leon pointed out to the state assembly members, that raise is smaller than last years and still leaves the district with $174 million less than what it is owed by the state, according to a funding formula that has not been properly enacted for nearly a decade. At the same time, the districts enrollment grew by about 1,000 students this year, Leon said.

Meanwhile, the district faces several legal settlements and penalties incurred by previous administrations  including a $48 million fine from the IRS  that could come due unless some other remedy is found. As Leon told lawmakers, he inherited legal challenges that would scare most school districts.

The district managed to balance next years budget, in part by ending some after-school programs and cutting more than two-dozen unspecified school support positions, officials said. But more drastic measures  including hundreds of teacher layoffs  could become necessary if the districts worst fears materialize, such as the greater-than-expected charter growth or the massive federal fines, officials warned in their pitches for more state aid and higher taxes.

Its means closing schools, Leon said at the Newark hearing. It means high unemployment.

Those worst-case scenarios do not appear probable, at least in the near future. Valerie Wilson, the districts school business administrator, noted that charter schools do not usually reach their full projected enrollments. And Leon acknowledged that the doomsday scenario of school closures and widespread layoffs are not where we are right now.

In recent years, the district has faced gaping budget holes due to flat funding under former Gov. Chris Christie, declining enrollment, and rapid charter school expansion. Leons predecessors responded by closing schools, cutting staffers, and scaling back services for students and parents  moves meant to save money, as well as eliminate some positions and programs that were deemed ineffective.

Now, Leon wants to reinstate some of those personnel and programs.

His plan calls for a reorganization of the districts central office that would reboot 11 departments  including English and math, gifted and talented, and career and technical education  that were ended or consolidated by previous administrations. Leon, who worked in the school system for 25 years before becoming superintendent last July, said he watched many of those departments disappear over the years.

The timeline of that overhaul is unclear, as is the cost and whether it will require new hires. Budget documents simply say pending availability of funds.

Leon, who has tended to announce big plans without sharing many details, declined to be interviewed. He and Wilson referred questions to a district spokeswoman, who did not respond to a list of detailed queries.

The plan Leon outlined Wednesday also allocates $5 million to reopen several shuttered schools, including Harold Wilson and Newton Street, currently occupied by central-office employees. Those employees would return to the districts downtown headquarters, requiring a $3.6 million expansion of those offices.

He also proposed numerous academic investments, including $10 million for new curriculum materials and $10 million for 107 additional teachers along with other school workers. He vowed to bring back adult education, such as Spanish and GED courses, and to revamp the districts special education and bilingual programs.

Both educators and non-instructional staff, such as school guards and cafeteria workers, will receive new training, Leon said. A new superintendents leadership academy will help top teachers and administrators move into bigger leadership positions, he added. A budget document lists topics the academy will cover, including Microsoft Office software, telephone and email etiquette, and time management.

Leon told lawmakers his plans will jumpstart student learning, which he said remains limited even after aggressive reform efforts by his predecessors. (Before a downtick last year, the districts test scores and graduation rate rose steadily for several years.)

The academic achievement levels in the district after multiple superintendents are in dire need of improvement, Leon said, and require significant investments in curricular materials, programs and services to begin the road to recovery.

The Newark school board approved Leons budget on Wednesday. Now, Newark voters will decide whether to sign off on a $2.7 million tax hike to help fund Leons plan on April 16, when they will also choose three new school board members. If they vote down the tax increase, which would raise education-related property taxes to about $1,953 for the average homeowner, then the city council and possibly the state education commissioner would decide whether or not to allow the increase, officials said.

Danielle Farrie, research director at the Newark-based Education Law Center, said the district will remain dramatically underfunded based on the state formula  even if it gets slightly more state aid and local revenue this year.

Even if they arent making cuts, she said, the district is still not at level of resources where they should be.Ken Gibson, Newarks first black mayor, elected in the wake of the citys turbulent riots, died Friday.

He was 86.

Propelled to leadership after the Newark riots tore at the city in 1967, Gibson helped establish a foundation for black political power. He served as the citys mayor from 1970 to 1986 and was the first black mayor of a major northeastern city.

Mayor Ken Gibson was our beloved, unflappable, trailblazer hero who never sacrificed principles for political expediency. With that warm and friendly cheeky smile, Ken was a mans man, former Mayor Sharpe James, who succeeded Gibson, said Friday. He wore Newark, honesty, integrity and courage on his sleeves. As my friend, confidant and mentor, Mary and I will miss him dearly.

Gibson was married to his wife, Camille, for 15 years. He leaves behind four daughters and a brother. Gibsons first wife, Muriel, a nurse, died in December of 1983.

He always thought that if you could help somebody, then thats what you should do, Camille Gibson told NJ Advance Media. Thats what he thought being the mayor was. He was very happy to do that.

Elected in 1970, when Newark was still just three summers removed from its devastating 1967 riots, Gibson served for 16 years, during an era that was difficult not only for Newark, but for American cities in general.

And while he was sometimes faulted for lacking the dynamism of his successor in City Hall, Sharpe James, history later came to view Gibson as a competent and well-meaning civil servant who stabilized Newarks finances, improved the health of its citizens and fought the good fight during difficult times.

He gets a lot of credit for holding things together when things could have easily fallen apart, the late Bob Curvin, who spearheaded Gibsons 1970 campaign and later became the director of the Ford Foundations Urban Poverty Program, once said about Gibson.

He became a national spokesman for the plight of Americas cities, appearing on the cover of Time Magazine and becoming the first African-American elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1976.

Although the quote was not originally his  he freely admitted borrowing from former City Hall spokesman Donald Malafronte  Gibson became famous for saying, Wherever the central cities are going, Newark is going to get there first, which became a rallying cry for those who would fix the ailing city.

Before the riots, we were just a bunch of black guys running around making trouble, Gibson once said. After the riots, it became fashionable (for whites) to be with us.

By the time he departed City Hall in 1986, he was the longest-serving mayor in the citys history.

He cultivated a vision of what Newark needed during a difficult time, the late Clement Price, a history professor at Rutgers-Newark once said of Gibson. He stands among Newarks most important mayors in the 20th century.

Born in 1932, Gibson grew up in Enterprise, Alabama. He came to Newark with his family when he was eight years old. He lived in the Central Ward with his mother, a seamstress, and his father, a butcher. While attending Central High School, he picked up extra money playing a saxophone in a local band.

He later attended the Newark College of Engineering, now the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and worked as an engineering aide for the New Jersey State Highway Department. He then began working as an engineer for the Newark Housing Authority and began getting a taste for politics as the treasurer of the United Essex Civic Association.

He would quickly rise to local prominence, running his first mayoral campaign in 1966. He lost but finished with 15,000 votes  a total that stunned everyone, no one more so than Gibson. Then came the riots.

The election of a black mayor then seemed almost inevitable. Even more white voters were leaving Newark and certain influential whites realized the city needed a black leader.

Ken Gibson is part of Newarks history. He led the city during a difficult time, worked hard to find common ground among the citys diverse population and his contributions laid the foundation for Newarks recovery," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said in a statement. "Ken was a true Newarker who influenced me as a public servant and, most importantly, he was a friend.

Former Newark Sharpe James joins former New York City mayor David Dinkins, former Newark mayor Ken Gibson and Senator Cory Booker before Ras Baraka is sworn in as Newark mayor during a ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. 7/1/14 John O'Boyle / The Star-Ledger SLSL

In the 1980s, Gibsons political ambitions expanded statewide. He ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1981 and 1985, but lost both times.

Soon, he found himself in trouble.

In 2002, Gibson pleaded guilty to tax evasion based on charges that he bribed Irvington school officials to get a $5 million contract to manage the districts $50 million school construction project. He was also accused of overbilling the district in the process. Gibson vigorously defended himself and was never convicted of a crime relating to his time in office.

He received three years of probation.

Speaking to NJ Advance Media in 2017 during the 50th anniversary of the Newark riots, Gibson said he was seeing the citys reputation finally recover.

The citys rep really got to be bad because of the disturbances in 67," Gibson said. "Trying to overcome that is very difficult. It never goes completely away. It gets better, though, he said from his home.

Mayor Ras Baraka said Gibson was helpful to him when he was first elected in 2014.

He set the stage for every African American elected official in this state. We stand on his accomplishment and grow from his challenges, Baraka said. On behalf of the residents of this city, we say thank you Mayor Gibson for your years of sacrifice and service.

His wife said he may be remembered as a historical figure but he was a sweet man at heart.

I think he was probably the best, sweetest and nicest man that anybody could know and love. He was a good father, a good husband," she said. I havent spent a day without that man in 40 years. I just dont know how I am going to get through it, either.

NJ Advance Media staff writers Karen Yi and Barry Carter contributed to this report, which contains prior reporting from former Star-Ledger staff writers Jeffery C. Mays and Brad Parks.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.NORTH BERGEN  A man involved in a three-man home invasion crime was arrested in Oklahoma and extradited to New Jersey, officials said.

Ariam Ante, 38, was taken into custody by North Bergen police on Wednesday. Ante was charged with robbery, conspiracy, burglary, aggravated assault and weapons offenses in connection to the armed robbery on Oct. 3 of last year.

Ante, of North Bergen; Mark Benavides, 29, of North Bergen; and Aliquan Johnson, 20, of Jersey City, committed the armed robbery at an occupied home in the area of 41st Street and Liberty Avenue, cops said. Ante was armed with a handgun, officials said.

Police initially arrested Benavides and Johnson; Ante was aware he was wanted and went into hiding, officials said.

North Bergen detectives worked with the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force to find Ante, who was arrested in Oklahoma and turned over to United States Marshals for extradition to New Jersey, officials said.

Ante was remanded to the Hudson County Jail and is being held without bail.

Anyone with further information can contact the North Bergen Police at 201-392-2100.JERSEY CITY  A person was stabbed outside of a local bar, cops say.

The incident occurred outside of Brendas Bar, 269 Ocean Ave., around 12:15 a.m. Friday, Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said.

The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Wallace-Scalcione said.

No further details were available.A Spring Lake Heights borough councilman was charged with securities and wire fraud Thursday, after federal investigators said he bilked his Manhattan investment firm out of $4.5 million and stole $700,000 from individual investors to pay for his own wild spending.

The Republican councilman, Richard Diver, 62, resigned from his position on Thursday, the borough administrator said in an announcement that also included a brief statement from Diver.

Effective immediately, I am resigning from the SLH Borough Council, the statement read. My health dictates that I must focus on my well-being. Thanks to all

Diver, whose name rhymes with liver, made no mention of the charges, the announcement by Borough Administrator John Barrett noted that the resignation fell on the same day that the federal Securities and Exchange Commission announced civil charges against Diver.

Apart from the civil case, federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced Divers arrest Thursday on related criminal charges for a scheme said to have lasted from 2011 to this past December.

Those charges include a single count of wire fraud charging he improperly diverted the $4.5 million from his firm to his personal checking account, and one count of investment fraud for allegedly over-billing clients a total of $700,000 in fees, the proceeds of which he also wired to himself, according to an announcement by Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Richard Diver occupied a position of great responsibility and great trust at the asset management company that employed him, Berman stated in the announcement. As alleged, he betrayed that trust, stealing from the company and defrauding its clients, all to fund his lavish personal spending.

Diver worked as chief operating officer for M&R Capital of Manhattan.

The announcement said the president of the investment firm was alerted to the over-billing scheme by clients who noticed improper deductions from their personal accounts. After being confronted with the complaints by the firms president in December, Diver admitted that the funds he had stolen were consumed by his own wild spending, the announcement said.

Reached by phone on Friday afternoon, Diver declined to comment.

A spokesman for M&R, Terry Rooney, said Friday that Diver was fired from the firm in December.

The unconscionable actions of Richard Diver have hurt many people, most particularly his family, read a statement from Rooney on behalf of the firm. He will have to live with the consequences. Fortunately, none of the clients of M&R Capital Management have been financially impacted by his misbehavior. We continue to provide our clients with the same high-level service which is the hallmark of our separately managed account programs.

On the wire fraud charge, prosecutors said Diver faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines that could amount to millions of dollars based on the amount he is charged with stealing. If convicted of investor fraud, Diver faces a maximum of five years in prison and fines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, a federal financial regulatory and enforcement agency, is seeking restitution with interest, and other penalties.

As alleged, Diver lined his own pockets by stealing from hundreds of advisory clients, until his scheme was exposed by an investor who asked the right questions about charged fees, Marc Berger, director of the SECs New York regional office, said in a statement.

A spokesman for the SEC, Kevin Callahan, said Diver had not named a lawyer as of Friday and appeared to be representing himself.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys office, Nicholas Biase, said Diver was released on a personal recognizance bond of $150,000 on Thursday. Biase said Diver was represented by Sarah Baumgartel, a federal public defender, who did not immediately respond to a message Friday evening.

Diver is not the only Spring Lake Heights councilman to be arrested recently. Former GOP Councilman Robert Merriken, who did not run in November after failing to win his partys endorsement, was arrested twice in 2018 on drug-related charges following motor vehicle stops in Neptune and Brielle.

Both sets of charges were later dismissed. Before then, however, several of Merrikens council colleagues voted to censure him and called for his resignation. Diver was among them.

Ill say this: if hes found guilty, he should be punished to the full extent of the law, Merriken said of Diver on Friday. If hes found guilty.

Diver had been one of six members of the all-Republican borough council in Spring Lake Heights, a borough of just under 5,000 residents on the inland side of neighboring Spring Lake in southern Monmouth County. Mayor Thomas OBrian is a Democrat.

Diver was elected to the first of his two terms in 2010. Then, after a 3-year stint off the council, he won a second 3-year term in 2016. His term set expire on Dec. 31, 2019.

To fill the unexpired term, the county Republican committee will present three candidates to the council to decide on Divers replacement, said Barrett, the borough administrator.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.UPDATE: Man mistaken for Uber driver charged with kidnapping, killing college student from N.J.

A 21-year-old University of South Carolina college student from New Jersey is dead after she was reported missing in Columbia, South Carolina, according to her family and school officials.

Samantha Josephson, of Robbinsville, was last seen around 2 a.m. on Friday near the USC campus, the Columbia Police Department said. Police said she was with friends before she got into a Chevrolet Impala. She was reported missing after her friends couldnt get in touch with her.

When she didnt show up at her downtown residence and didnt answer repeated phone calls, her friends became concerned and notified CPD, police said in a statement.

News of her death was reported early Saturday on social media by her father and later confirmed in a statement from the university. Police have not released any details of the circumstances surrounding her death.

Contd: Special Victims Unit investigators believe that shortly after 2:00 a.m., Josephson was seen getting into this newer model Chevy Impala along Harden Street. Family & friends have been trying to locate her ever since. Again, call @MidlandsCrime 1-888-CRIME-SC w/your tips. pic.twitter.com/3211Wjx6PK  Columbia Police Dept (@ColumbiaPDSC) March 30, 2019

Samantha is no longer with us, her father posted on Facebook Saturday morning.

I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life, Seymour Josephson wrote. It is extremely hard to write this and post it but I love her with all my heart. I could continue to write about her but it kills me. I sit here and cry while looking at the picture and write this.

It is with tremendous sadness and of a broken heart that I post this! I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest... Posted by Seymour Josephson on Saturday, March 30, 2019

Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death, USC President Harris Pastides said in a statement. Times like these leave me searching for words of wisdom and comfort. However, I take solace that the Carolina Family is here to embrace those who are hurting.

NJ Advance Media reached out to the Columbia Police Department but they did not release additional information.

Local news outlets reported that Josephson was set to graduate in May with a political science degree. She had planned to go to Drexel University law school in Philadelphia.

The Robbinsville Township Facebook page posted a message expressing condolences to the family on behalf of Mayor Dave Fried and other township officials.

Our thoughts, prayers, boundless grief and endless support are with Seymour, Marci and Sydney at this unimaginable time, the message said.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom.The Ocean County Prosecutors Office is investigating what they say was a suspicious death in Lakewood on Friday.

A womans body was found in an apartment after she had been reported missing, according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office.

Lakewood police Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said the woman was found in an apartment on Monmouth Avenue.

Lakewood police and the prosecutors office declined to release any additional information on the investigation.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The most important division in our country today isnt between red and blue states. It is between green states and not-green states. President Trumps war on the environment places great responsibility on states to carry the climate fight and build a green wall protecting residents from Trump. An increasing number of states are rising to that challenge, and with the Green New Deal marking the first federal action on climate change in 10 years, we have reason for hope.

Climate change is already damaging the planet. Last year was the fourth hottest on record. Oceans are warming 40 percent faster than previously thought, generating more powerful and frequent extreme weather. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives us 12 years to reduce carbon emissions before the worst effects of climate change become irreversible.

The good news is growing public awareness of climate impacts, and state leaders continue to stand up for our environment. Twenty states, including New Jersey, plus Puerto Rico, have joined the United States Climate Alliance, committing to climate objectives of the 2015 Paris Accords from which President Trump withdrew the nation. Climate Mayors, with 379 members, serves a similar role for cities.

Patches of green advocacy have surfaced in red states. Cities such as Austin, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana were rewarded for their work reducing air pollution and expanding renewable energy as winners in the American Cities Climate Challenge, sponsored by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Some states embraced natural resources despite political leanings. Iowa adopted wind energy so aggressively it generates 37 percent of its electricity from wind, the highest share nationally. Kansas follows with 36 percent. Green states with Republican governors, such as Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont, advance green solutions. An offshore wind auction in Massachusetts produced a record-breaking $405 million.

Regional efforts reducing emissions have emerged. RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, includes New Jersey among what will be 11 states once Virginia joins. New Democratic governors in the Midwest may help revive the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. The Western Climate Initiative includes five western states. Twelve states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, joined the Transportation and Climate Initiative focused on green jobs and reducing transportation emissions.

Even on the federal level we are seeing progress with the Green New Deal, an aspirational plan setting strong goals moving us forward nationally on climate change.The Green New Deal calls for modernizing transportation infrastructure, de-carbonizing manufacturing and agricultural sectors, making homes and buildings more energy- efficient and increasing land preservation. The plan emphasizes equity and diversity, assuring a healthy environment and a thriving green economy driving job growth will reach all communities.

The Green New Deal is a 10-year plan that would not become law until the Trump administration is replaced, lining it up with the IPCCs 12-year tipping point for irreversible climate impacts. Trump and the right-wing echo chamber continue to attack the Green New Deal with outrageous lies such as prohibiting cow ownership and banning air travel. Trump wants to rally opposition because the plan is already catching on with a public increasingly alarmed by climate change.

New Jersey residents worry about climate damage, and the potential impact of 13 proposed power plants and pipelines. The Green New Deal offers hope we can change for the better in a state already suffering. We are 17 times more likely to experience another storm like Hurricane Sandy. Flooding at high tides and under full moons is worsening. Asthma and Lyme disease rates have increased. New fossil-fuel projects would raise greenhouse gases 32 percent. The Green New Deal complements our work with the Empower NJ coalition to block fossil-fuel infrastructure, providing clean-energy alternatives to reach 100 percent renewable energy in New Jersey and nationally.

The Green New Deal echoes Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, providing hope for the environmental movement in the same way the original gave hope to a nation confronting the Great Depression. Roosevelt understood public demand was paramount. In a quote passed down in many forms, FDR once told a roomful of people meeting on the New Deal they had his support, then said Now, make me do it. The message is the same on fighting climate change, that whether its Gov. Murphy or the next president, its up to us to make them do it.

Jeff Tittel is director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.WASHINGTON  On Saturday, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker travels to Los Angeles to address the Human Rights Campaigns dinner in Los Angeles. The following month, hes in Houston to participate in the first-ever forum to address the chief concerns of women of color.

Both groups are among the most loyal Democratic voters. In 2016, Hillary Clinton received the votes of 77 percent of those who said they were gay, lesbian or transgender and 94 percent of the votes of black women, according to network exit polls.

Hes doing what you do if youre running for president, which is talk to every large group you can, to reach out to every organized group of voters who you believe might fall in line with your message and agenda, said Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan Universitys Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship.

Booker, D-N.J., earlier this month joined fellow Democrats in both houses on Wednesday in introducing legislation that would extend the anti-discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.

In a CNN town hall meeting on Wednesday, he promised to reverse President Donald Trumps decision to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military, and likened the fight for full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people to the battle for equality fought by blacks a half-century ago.

Im very conscious when I walk onto that Senate floor all the people that had to fight to give me the rights for my generation of African Americans, and the folks who marched for my rights and fought for my rights were the full rainbow of America, Booker said.

I will take on the larger fight of uniting this country, like we did for civil rights, for workers rights, for womens rights, I will unite this country in the fight to make sure that LGBTQ Americans and all Americans have justice and equality under the law, he said.

Then on April 26, Booker will be one of several Democratic hopefuls appearing at a presidential forum sponsored by She the People, a national network of women of color.

Aimee Allison, founder of the group, said women of color played a decisive role in helping Democrats take back the House last fall, and the partys presidential candidates should concentrate on energizing them in 2020 rather than go after more moderate voters who backed President Donald Trump.

We are the core base of the Democratic Party, Allison said. We have distinct ideas about the policies and issues that a presidential candidate needs to care about, particularly in the age of Trump.

Such issues, she said, include immigration, voting rights, and criminal justice.

Turnout among minority voters, especially black women, helped propel Doug Jones to an upset victory in an Alabama Senate race. Such an increased turnout could boost Democratic chances of winning in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Florida, she said.

There hasnt been a practice of engaging the strongest Democrats, Allison said. We want the candidates to make their case for us and give us an opportunity to deeply engage. If we care, data shows were the group that can deliver victory.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

TORONTO, March 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada House Wellness Group Inc. (CSE: CHV) (Canada House or the Company) is pleased to report its financial results for the fiscal quarter ending January 31, 2019. All amounts are stated in thousands of Canadian dollars.



Financial Highlights:

Revenue for the three months ending January 31, 2019 was $1,176, an increase of $386 or 49% compared to $790 in the prior year.

EBITDAS (1) for the three months ending January 31, 2019 was a deficit of ($1,497) compared to ($1,131) during the same period in the prior year.

for the three months ending January 31, 2019 was a deficit of ($1,497) compared to ($1,131) during the same period in the prior year. Loss and Comprehensive loss was ($3,263) for the three months ending January 31, 2019 compared to ($4,785) for the same period in the prior year, an improvement of $1,522 or 32%.

Cash position was $2,638 compared to $8,953 as at April 30, 2018 and $4,259 as at October 31, 2018. During the quarter, the Company spent $2,192 on production-related capabilities and secured $650 of new financing from the exercise of warrants and a private placement.

Working capital was $754 compared to $6,670 as at April 30, 2018 and $3,355 as of October 31, 2018.

Of the $8.6 million of convertible debentures issued in December 2017, $1,170 remained outstanding as of January 31, 2019. The conversion price of these debentures is $0.40/share.

(1) EBITDAS is comprised of Loss and Comprehensive Loss for the Year plus Depreciation and amortization plus Interest, Taxes, Impairment and Stock Based Compensation. EBITDAS is a non-GAAP measure and, as such, does not have a standardized meaning and may not be comparable to other companies' similar non-GAAP measures, but is considered by the Company to be a useful measure of cash-flow from operations.

This is the third consecutive quarter revenue has increased by approximately 50% compared to comparable period in the prior year, says Chris Churchill-Smith, CEO. During the quarter ending January 31, 2019, we planted our first crop, and we expect to be harvesting our first premium craft cannabis by June, 2019. As revenue increases, we intend to add an additional 160,000 s.f. of capacity, in a modular fashion as we sell-out our existing production capacity, concludes Mr. Churchill-Smith.

Business Highlights for the Quarter:

Announced that it received approval from Health Canada to sell Cannabis, effective December 21, 2018, in accordance with sections 27 and 289 of the Cannabis Regulations under the Cannabis Act. This approval comes by way of amendment to the license held by the Companys wholly owned subsidiary and Licensed Producer, Abba Medix Corp. (Abba Medix), to include the sale of dried cannabis, cannabis oil, seeds, cannabis plants, and fresh cannabis for medical purposes.

Abba Medix completed the harvest of four batches of premium medical cannabis at its Pickering, Ontario facility and submitted them for lab analysis.

Canada House Clinics, entered into a strategic partnership with Peak Pharma Solutions, leveraging its new clinic branding and organizational changes to position itself for accelerated growth. Canada House Clinics superior clinic operation, trusted by physicians for medical cannabis referrals, will be able to access proven pharmaceutical industry sales experts to educate more physicians about the benefits and advantages of referring patients to CHC.

Provided details of Abba Medix Corps acquisition of all the assets of an Alberta based cannabis production license applicant, including approximately 54 acres of property in the town of Vegreville, Alberta. The acquisition includes two properties located, approved for cannabis production by the county and assigned the zoning of Marijuana Processing Facility-Direct Control District. The property is serviced with natural gas, water, sewer, and power and the vendors Standard Cultivation and Processing Application, which is currently in the review and security stage with Health Canada, as well as an approved conceptual scheme, site surveys, geotechnical survey, and Development Permit Application.

Initiated the process for its Pickering facility to become EU-GMP compliant through discussions with a European based consulting firm and acquiring a software licensing platform to support EU GMP compliance.

Announced a new medical cannabis partnership with HelloMD, a leading online cannabis telehealth company to support Canada Houses 2019 growth through expanded access to practitioner-led advice. Canada House Clinics will deploy HelloMDs white-label telehealth platform to supplement its own practitioners services and telemedicine capabilities. The turnkey and on-demand nature of the HelloMD offering will allow Canada House Clinics to handle growth spikes when patient demands exceed its own internal practitioner supply and also take advantage of HelloMD evening and weekend availability.

Canada House Wellness Group Inc.

Canada House is the parent company of Canada House Clinics Inc., Knalysis Technologies and Abba Medix Corp. The Company's goal is to become a marketplace leader through strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions to create a fully integrated cannabis therapy company. For more information please visit http://www.canadahouse.ca or www.sedar.com

For further information, please contact:

Boom Capital Markets

Steve Low

647-620-5101

steve@boomcapitalmarkets.com

Canada House Wellness Group Inc.

Chris Churchill-Smith

CEO

514-313-0102

chris.smith@canadahouse.ca

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to, among other things, the Companys clinic, production and technology businesses, its future plans, the Companys markets, objectives, goals, strategies, intentions, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as may, will, could, should, would, likely, possible, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe, plan, objective and continue (or the negative thereof) and words and expressions of similar import. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Material assumptions used to develop forward-looking information in this news release include, among other things, the regulations related to cannabis use under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations and the act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, passed by the Canadian Federal government, making cannabis legal for recreational use by October 17, 2018; Company liquidity and capital resources, including the availability of additional capital resources to fund its activities; level of competition; the ability to adapt products and services to the changing market; the ability to attract and retain key executives; and the ability to execute strategic plans. Additional information about material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements may be found in the Companys most recent annual and interim Managements Discussion and Analysis under Risk and Uncertainties as well as in other public disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.It seems the upcoming Nokia X71 smartphone has allegedly paid a visit to Geekbench and in doing so has revealed a few more details about the hardware it sports. The midranger from the Finnish company HMD Global should be launched in Taiwan on April 2; the device spotted on Geekbench might be just for that particular market.

4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Education , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Human 2.0 , Ice Lake , Intel Evo / Project Athena , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker

Of course, before we delve into a Geekbench sighting, we have to mention that all the details below have to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism, due to the potential false and manipulated records that pop up on the database. MySmartPrice noticed the Geekbench listing for the HMD Global Nokia X71 and now we can add a few more details to the forthcoming smartphone's supposed specifications.

Along with the reported triple rear cameras that contain a 48 MP sensor and the punch-hole selfie camera, it seems the Nokia X71 could surprisingly come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, which is an older SoC compared to the Snapdragon 710 or Snapdragon 712 we expected. The SD 660 is considerably slower than the SD 710 in regard to both the CPU and GPU performance, with the former featuring an Adreno 512 while the latter has an Adreno 616.

But its not all potentially bad news, as the Geekbench report for the Nokia X71 shows it operates on Android 9.0 Pie and this particular device has 6 GB RAM, which is twice as much as the single-SIM international variant of the Nokia 6.1 from 2018. Score-wise, the single-core score was 1455 points and the multi-core score was 5075 points, so not quite in the same ballpark as the Samsung Galaxy S10+ but in the right area considering the chosen dated chipset.The White House, Washington, D.C., March 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jim Forbes

Director of Communications, Prison Fellowship

(304) 780-5628 (cell)



The White House, Washington, D.C. Prison Fellowship, the nations largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump proclaimed April 2019 as Second Chance Month for the second consecutive year. The Second Chance Month proclamation was signed by the President at the White House late Friday.

We are thrilled that President Trump has taken another bold move in helping Prison Fellowship and more than 270 organizations fight for those who have paid their debt to society, said James Ackerman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Prison Fellowship. After signing the historic FIRST STEP Act into law in December of 2018, President Trump continues to stand up for those who face tens of thousands of barriers to education, jobs, housing, and the things they need to lead a full and productive life. This will help us to continue fighting for those 70 million Americans with criminal recordsone in three adultswho wish to regain their dignity and make important contributions to society.

We applaud President Trump for continuing to recognize and celebrate our returning neighbors, said Craig DeRoche, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy for Prison Fellowship. This second proclamation gives us hope in our work to help people with a criminal record reach their God-given potential in life. The barriers placed on people who have paid their debt to society wastes human potential and adds to recidivism, ultimately jeopardizing public safety. By declaring April 2019 as Second Chance Month, this enables us to further educate Americans about these obstacles and work toward solutions that will unlock second chances and create more flourishing communities.

To view a copy of the 2019 Presidential Proclamation, click here.

About Prison Fellowship

Prison Fellowship is the nations largest outreach to prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. With more than 42 years of experience helping restore men and women behind bars, Prison Fellowship advocates for federal and state criminal justice reforms that transform those responsible for crime, validate victims, and encourage communities to play a role in creating a safe, redemptive, and just society.

Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that Ferrari is being much more open in 2019.

In the former Maurizio Arrivabene era, the Italian team operated a closed door policy when it came to communication and the press.

But Vettel doesn't think the new media policies operated by Mattia Binotto will make him any faster this year.

"Not unless your articles give me some points," the German smiled to France's L'Equipe.

In Bahrain this weekend is Louis Camilleri, the new Ferrari CEO in the wake of Maurizio Arrivabene's 2018 death.

He was happy to see Ferrari return to the top of the times on Friday.

"I think the strength of the team is that we are all calm," Camilleri is quoted by Sky Italia.

"Above all I think we have understood almost everything that happened in Australia," he said.

"The others are strong but we are positive. I think in the past there was too much pressure and when there is pressure, things start to get difficult."

(GMM)Zandvoort looks set to get the green light for a F1 race in 2020.

Speculation about the return to the calendar of a Dutch grand prix has been rife in recent days ahead of a March 31 deadline imposed by Liberty Media.

Kolner Express newspaper now reports that the deal is essentially done.

The report said a late July race date for the Dutch GP could be to the detriment of the German grand prix, which is yet to agree a new deal with Liberty.

"It is getting closer," Jan Lammers, a former F1 driver who is the spokesman for the Zandvoort race organisers, told Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.

"The promoters, and the people who want to invest, are giving gas to the project," he added.

(GMM)Tejshree Thapa, a human rights lawyer who helped to expose the scope of mass rapes in the war-torn Balkans and South Asia and to build the legal arguments for the prosecution of those rapes as crimes against humanity, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 52.

Her family said she died at Mount Sinai Hospital of multiple organ failure.

Ms. Thapa, who was born in Nepal and based in The Hague, had spent 11 years, including the last nine, as a senior researcher with the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch. In 2017, she was among the first human rights workers to travel to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and document the Myanmar militarys ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.

She made her mark in the 1990s as an investigator with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She headed a unit that investigated mass rape and sexual enslavement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and helped win the landmark Foca cases, named for the Bosnian town where sexual crimes were committed against Muslim women in 1992 and 1993.

Her work resulted in the convictions and imprisonment of eight Serb paramilitary leaders and their supporters. The Foca convictions upheld a precedent set in 1998 by a similar tribunal after the Rwandan genocide, which established rape as a crime against humanity, and they expanded the definition of crimes against humanity to include sexual enslavement.So at the end of a long day of gripping drama, Mrs. May was still prime minister, and she wasnt finished. She would put her twice-rejected deal to another vote on Friday, she declared, but only the withdrawal agreement part of it, which sets out the conditions of the divorce, including the controversial backstop arrangement that the E.U. insists on to ensure that no border is raised between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

Mrs. May left the heart of the agreement unchanged for the third vote, which was defeated Friday afternoon, 344 to 286. The implications of the Houses decision are grave, said Mrs. May.

It would all be splendid theater if it were not so fateful for Britain and for Europe. Had Mrs. May prevailed, Brexit would have been moved back to May 22. But without parliamentary approval for the deal, the E.U. declared the deadline a scant two weeks from now.

It was not over, however. The Parliament was set to hold another series of votes on the various options this coming Monday . And while they were all rejected on Wednesday, there was a chance that members would reconsider at least the two that attracted the most votes  another Brexit referendum or a customs union between Britain and the E.U. If it appeared that Parliament was moving toward an agreement, the bloc would very likely agree to a longer extension.

Historians will no doubt find many reasons the mother of parliaments has been in such spectacular disarray for so long on so critical a matter. One is the inherent contradiction in asking Parliament to carry out an ill-conceived referendum when a majority of the legislators, and the prime minister, were never in favor of Brexit. There has also been considerable discussion about the insularity and exceptionalism that has run through the entire debate on Brexit, in which the Continent figures as an alien and unwelcome imposition on an antique notion of Britishness.When I first moved to Southern California, I was struck by the Friday afternoon conversations in which colleagues discussed their weekend hiking plans the way New Yorkers would talk about where they might have brunch. Almost everyone hiked, and they were eager to extol the merits of favorite trails.

I soon came to understand that this reflected something larger: the importance of Californians relationship with the outdoors. The climate was not a punch line, but a reality that shaped lifestyles. Only after years of reading history did I appreciate the extent to which the natural world has always been intrinsic to Californias identity.

So the exuberant embrace of this years super bloom, an exceptional show of wildflowers coloring normally barren hillsides and desert valleys, makes perfect sense. The wildflower hotlines and daily website updates, the Instagram selfies in poppy fields, the pilgrimages to find the rare ghost flower, represent the latest iteration of traditions that date back to the 19th century, when thousands of hikers took to the Southern California foothills every weekend.Its been nearly a year since Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, to loud cries that it would bring nothing but woe to the United States and our interests in the Middle East.

So far, the result has been closer to the opposite.

That much was further made clear thanks to excellent reporting this week by The Timess Ben Hubbard. Irans financial crisis, exacerbated by American sanctions, he writes from Lebanon, appears to be undermining its support for militant groups and political allies who bolster Iranian influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Well, heavens to Betsy. When the Obama administration negotiated the nuclear deal, the president acknowledged that sanctions relief for Tehran would inevitably mean more money for groups like Hezbollah. But he also insisted it wouldnt make much of a difference in terms of Irans capacity to make mischief in the Middle East.

Hubbards reporting suggests otherwise. Iran can no longer finance civilian projects or credit lines in Syria. Hezbollah fighters and Palestinian militants arent being paid, and their families are losing subsidized housing. Even Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has complained publicly about the effects of U.S. sanctions.FRONT PAGE

An article on Thursday about the collapse of an effort to legalize marijuana in New Jersey misstated one of Nia Gills former positions. She was president pro tempore of the State Senate, not speaker of the assembly.

NATIONAL

An article on Friday about a rally held by President Trump in Grand Rapids, Mich., misstated the last year a Republican won Michigan in a presidential election before 2016. George Bush won Michigan in 1988; President Trump was not the first Republican to win the state since 1984.

BUSINESS

An article on Thursday about a decision made by McDonalds officials not to lobby against minimum-wage increases misstated the given name of a McDonalds worker in Kansas City. He is Terrance Wise, not Terrence.

ARTS

An article on Thursday about Vincent van Goghs time in London described incorrectly which museums van Gogh visited there. He saw paintings now in the Wallace Collection, then on display elsewhere, but did not go to the museum of that name, which opened in 1900.When the meteor smashed into waters near what is now Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula, it left a giant crater known as Chicxulub and prompted upheavals thousands of miles away, including what is now North Dakota. Within hours and perhaps minutes of the titanic collision, sea creatures were swept inland by tsunamis and earthquakes, tossed together and deposited with a diverse array of landlocked life, including trees, flowers and vanished types of freshwater fish.

Image Robert A. DePalma, a paleontologist at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History and a graduate student at the University of Kansas. He has mined a fossil site in North Dakota secretly for years. Credit... Robert DePalma/University of Kansas

The jumble was swiftly entombed, and exquisitely preserved. Permeating the deposit were tiny spheres of clay and glass, known as tektites, which formed as molten rock, ejected by the impact, showered from the sky.

In the paper, the researchers argue that the fossil bed captures the Chicxulub impacts immediate ramifications for life on Earth. It appears to be the best-ever snapshot of that day, one that advances the scientific understanding of the full nature and extent of biotic disruptions that took place, the authors write.

The lead researcher, Robert A. DePalma, is a curator of paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, in Florida, as well as a graduate student at the University of Kansas. Thirty-seven years old, he was granted access to the rich fossil bed by a rancher in 2012, then mined it secretly for years. His efforts are detailed in an article in The New Yorker that was posted online on Friday.

Gradually, Mr. DePalma shared his findings with top scientists, some of whom have now joined him as co-authors. They include Walter Alvarez, a geologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who pioneered the idea decades ago that the dinosaur extinction was the result of such a cosmic impact.The former president of the University of Oklahoma, David L. Boren, is being investigated over allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a student from 2010 through 2012, according to officials and a news report.

The allegations against Mr. Boren, 77, who was once the states governor and a United States senator, surfaced in November, and the university sought the help of the Atlanta law firm Jones Day to investigate, a university spokeswoman said.

Separately, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was asked on Thursday by the university police to help in the investigation of Mr. Boren and James Hall, a former vice president for development at the university, a bureau spokeswoman said on Friday.

Mr. Boren could not be reached for comment on Friday night. His lawyer said he denied the allegations. Mr. Hall could not be reached on Friday night; he has denied any wrongdoing.The steering wheel will be among many standard components in 2021.

That is the claim in Bahrain of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, as more details of the sport's new regime leak out following recent meetings.

However, a new Concorde Agreement isn't done yet.

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri told Sky Italia in Bahrain: "We all participated in the discussion about the regulations for 2021, but we have not yet agreed.

"I hope for F1 that we arrive at an agreement, even if there are still many difficulties before then," he added.

Among the plans for cost-cutting are a surprising plethora of standard parts.

They reportedly include brakes, wheel rims, crash structures, the driveshaft, throttle pedal, pitstop equipment and even the steering wheel.

(GMM)[Read the latest edition of Crossing the Border, a limited-run newsletter about life where the United States and Mexico meet. Sign up here to receive the next issue in your inbox.]

A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in United States custody last December was suffering from a bacterial infection that was so advanced she probably would have been visibly sick for many hours, said several physicians who reviewed a newly released autopsy report of her death.

By the time the girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, arrived at a childrens hospital in El Paso with seizures and difficulty breathing, she already had severe blood abnormalities, according to a part of the report that summarized her condition in the emergency room of the Childrens Hospital at the Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus.

The new findings were released on Friday by the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner. Customs and Border Protection officials and lawyers for the girls family have sparred over whether the severity of her infection  with a common streptococcus bacteria  should have been recognized and whether she should have been taken for medical care more quickly.WASHINGTON  Just two days after a federal court struck down work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas and Kentucky, the Trump administration approved similar requirements in Utah on Friday.

The administration acknowledged that some Utah residents might lose coverage, but said that others would become healthier and gain financial independence because they were working.

In approving a Medicaid waiver for Utah, the Trump administration is reaffirming its conservative priorities, defying critics and inviting another round of litigation.

Under the new Utah program, 70,000 to 90,000 adults will become eligible for Medicaid, and they can begin applying for coverage on Monday. The waiver has a novel feature to control costs: Utah can freeze enrollment of newly eligible beneficiaries if the projected costs of their coverage exceed the funds appropriated by the State Legislature.WASHINGTON  On a former trading floor in an office tower in Rosslyn, Va., with sweeping views of the Potomac River, the Trump 2020 campaign is settling in. It has about 40 staff members and counting, reported $19.2 million in cash on hand in its last report and has spent $4.5 million on online ads since December.

It is a long way from Mr. Trumps first presidential race, which came together in the summer of 2015 and was run as a taped-together operation, with a few desks strewn across an unfinished floor of Trump Tower.

But one thing is missing from the high-powered but traditional campaign operation underway in Rosslyn: a candidate who abides by tradition.

In a speech to a conservative group this month, as Mr. Trump described what he had in mind, he made a point of recounting how I got elected, by being off script, adding, If we dont go off script, our country is in big trouble, folks. And at a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday, Mr. Trump illustrated what he meant, delivering an 80-minute stemwinder in which he lashed out at familiar targets who fostered the collusion delusion and offered the in-depth rehash of his 2016 victory that is a staple of his rally speeches.WASHINGTON  The Trump administration took an important step on Friday in its push to restrict access to abortion and contraception, announcing that it would give as much as $5.1 million in family planning funds to a nonprofit organization funded by allies of the Catholic Church.

The grant from the Department of Health and Human Services went to the Obria Group, a Southern California-based nonprofit that describes itself as being led by God and that aims to siphon patients  and money  away from Planned Parenthood.

The grant to Obria, which includes $1.7 million in the first year and the prospect of that amount in each of the next two years, represents a fraction of the total amount of family planning money awarded by the department on Friday. But both supporters and opponents of abortion rights cast it as a potentially significant move to try to defund medical clinics that provide abortions, such as those affiliated with Planned Parenthood.

The funding comes from Title X, which subsidizes birth control, cancer screenings and other medical care for four million low-income patients. While Title X funds do not pay for abortion services as a method of family planning, affiliates of Planned Parenthood, which receive a significant portion of the programs funds, perform abortions using other funds.LONDON  If you ask British voters what sort of plan for leaving the European Union they support, you tend to get hesitant, vague answers.

But ask them what they oppose and you hear forceful clarity. No to Prime Minister Theresa Mays deal. No to leaving the European Union without a deal. No to remoaners, as tabloids call those who want to stay in the bloc.

No to Ms. May herself, whose approval ratings are deeply negative. No to her rival and leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, whose poll numbers are even worse.

In a recent YouGov poll asking Britons whether Ms. May or Mr. Corbyn would make the better prime minister, the runaway winner was not sure.ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates  The Louvre Abu Dhabi might seem to have all you could ask for in a world-class museum. Its acclaimed design shades its galleries under a vast dome that appears to hover over the waters of the Persian Gulf. Inside are works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, Monet and van Gogh, Mondrian and Basquiat.

Yet the work that the Louvre Abu Dhabi once promised would anchor its collection is conspicuously absent: Salvator Mundi, a painting of Jesus Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.

Few works have evoked as much intrigue, either in the world of art or among the courts of Persian Gulf royals. First, its authenticity as the product of Leonardos own hand was the subject of intense debate. Then, in November 2017, it became the most expensive work ever sold at auction, fetching $450.3 million from an anonymous bidder who turned out to be a close ally and possible stand-in for the ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Now, the painting is shrouded in a new mystery: Where in the world is Salvator Mundi?

Although the Abu Dhabi culture department announced about a month after the auction that it had somehow acquired Salvator Mundi for display in the local Louvre, a scheduled unveiling of the painting last September was canceled without explanation. The culture department is refusing to answer questions. Staff of the Louvre Abu Dhabi say privately that they have no knowledge of the paintings whereabouts.Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter.

WASHINGTON  In a major legal blow to President Trumps push to expand offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by Mr. Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean and parts of the North Atlantic coast was unlawful.

The decision, by Judge Sharon L. Gleason of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, concluded late Friday that President Barack Obamas 2015 and 2016 withdrawal from drilling of about 120 million acres of Arctic Ocean and about 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress. She wrote that an April 2017 executive order by Mr. Trump revoking the drilling ban is unlawful, as it exceeded the presidents authority.

The decision, which is expected to be appealed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, immediately reinstates the drilling ban on most of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska, a pristine region home to endangered species including polar bears and bowhead whales where oil companies have long sought to drill. Along the Atlantic coast, it blocks drilling around a series of coral canyons that run from Norfolk, Va., to the Canadian border which are home to unique deepwater corals and rare fish species.

In addition, Fridays ruling by the judge, an Obama appointee, has broader implications for Mr. Trumps effort to push drilling across the American coastline and on public lands.The technique, unchanged for centuries, is time-consuming. Small slices of natural straw, tinted with textile dyes, are split, blade by blade, with a knifelike tool. The pieces are then flattened with a burnishing bone and cut to size to be assembled into a decorative pattern and glued onto a surface. Unlike wood, straw requires no varnish or lacquer, Ms. de Caunes said. Its texture is naturally resistant to the effects of time and catches the light to stunning effect.

It is a process that, she said, has not changed since the 17th century, only the glue.

When it comes to value, the quality of the workmanship is the major factor. You start with a humble material that is fed to farm animals, used to stuff chairs or strewn around a barn, Ms. de Caunes said. From there, to appreciate that the final product is luxurious and expensive requires a certain degree of culture.

In January, at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, Ulysse Nardin presented the first high-complication timepiece to use straw marquetry on the dial.

We have had a long tradition in metiers dart dials, but this was the first time we tried straw marquetry in one of our complicated watches, Augustin Nussbaum, the companys head of product development, said in a telephone interview from its headquarters in Le Locle, Switzerland.Mr. Rodrickss academic approach to both projects has been influenced by his training. He studied fashion in Los Angeles and Paris before working as a designer in Mumbai, where he also taught a class on the history of world costumes at SNDT Womens University. He took a break in 2000, at the age of 40, for two internships: one, on conserving pre-21st century garments, at Lisbons National Museum of Costume and another, on modern garments, at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, under its director, Valerie Steele.

On Exhibits

Mr. Rodricks and Mr. Marrel have amassed an 800-piece collection, ranging from a seventh-century Apsara, or female spirit of the clouds and waters, found in a Colvale field where a Buddhist monastery once stood, to one of Mr. Rodrickss own successes: the Goan Kunbi sari, using a weave that had died out under Portuguese rule and he repopularized in 2011.

The pieces are stored at a house they own in the Goan capital of Panaji, while the museums development continues with the assistance of Arvind DSouza Architects, a local firm, and Eka Archiving Services of New Delhi. (Its board of trustees includes well-known names like the celebrated author Amitav Ghosh, who lives part-time in Goa.)

When Moda Goa opens this winter, it is to include a library and 16 galleries of exhibits tracing Goas sartorial history from pre-Portuguese times to its current role as Indias happy-go-lucky beach escape. Among the galleries will be one dedicated to the pano bhaju, and one, secured by a bank vault door, to display gold jewelry. Even the swimming pool has been covered and turned into a display area for a range of saris.Bahrain GP 2019

DRIVERS

1 - Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)

2 - Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

3 - Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Q: Charles, it's your first ever pole position in Formula One, your second grand prix with Ferrari, you've looked in control all weekend, and you've got the job done.

Charles LECLERC: Yeah, I'm extremely happy. Obviously in the last race I was not very happy with my qualifying - I did some mistakes in Q3 - and I really worked hard to try to not do the same mistakes here. It seems we did quite a good job, a front-row lockout and yeah, extremely happy.

Q: How hard is it to come to grand prix tracks and be up against a four-time world champion in the same car and try and get that task and take that [pole]?

Leclerc: It's obviously extremely hard because Seb is an amazing driver and I've learned a lot from him and I will probably learn all year long with him. But today I am very happy to be in front of him, so yeah, it's a good day for me.

Q: And the plan tonight.

Leclerc: Oh, going to sleep and work hard for the race tomorrow.

Q: Sebastian, you line up on the first row of the grid. You had to use an extra set of tyres in Q2. Did that compromise your last run and leave a bit of safety there?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, of course. You have to first of all make it to the end. Maybe I was a bit shy in the second sector but in the end I think Charles did a very good job today and he deserves to be on pole, so happy with the one run I had at the end to get second and it puts us in a good place for tomorrow.

Q: And I guess happy to think that pace in Barcelona and what happened in Melbourne, to come here and dominate so far this weekend with Ferrari?

Vettel: Yeah, definitely. As I said that's the main thing. I also said to the team that the main thing is that we got the job done, so this weekend the car felt a lot better all throughout the weekend, and it's only getting better. Hopefully we can carry that into the race tomorrow.

Q: Good luck tomorrow. Lewis, you had a job this weekend; Ferrari have been on a different level. I guess you can be happy that you got closer but the hard work starts tomorrow again?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, definitely. I really enjoyed qualifying and it was great to see the progression for us over the weekend. The Ferraris have been incredibly quick. Charles did an incredible job, so congratulations to him. It was very close between me and Sebastian. The last lap, there was a little bit of time there, but that's the fun of the whole game. Tomorrow's the important day and it will be interesting to see how we do but we're going to give them a good fight that's for sure.

Q: Do you still believe you can win this race after the pace they've shown this weekend?

Hamilton: They've shown incredible pace but it doesn't mean that they can't be beat. We're going to work at it; we'll just keep our heads down and see what happens.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Charles, many congratulations, a huge day for you. Can you just describe your emotions right now?

Leclerc: Well, a lot of emotions. I'm trying to stay as cool as possible because, unfortunately, there are no points awarded for the pole position and all points will be awarded tomorrow. So, of course I'll enjoy the moment, it has been a great day and a great weekend overall until now for us, and I hope it will continue tomorrow. The target now is to focus on the race and try to do the best race possible - but obviously it's amazing to be here.

Q: You were fastest in all three segments of qualifying. You set a new track record. Leave anything on the table or was that last lap in Q3 perfect?

Leclerc: Yeah, I think you can always do better. I am overall very happy with my lap in Q3. I think that was my weakness in the first race and yeah, I was disappointed after qualifying because of this. Today I am very satisfied. I think I put all three of my best sectors together, which is what I wanted. Then, of course, you can always do better but I'm extremely happy.

Q: Sebastian, compromised in Q3 by getting just that one run. I was just wondering if we could get a few thoughts from you about the turnaround by Ferrari from Melbourne two weeks ago. You're now first and second on the grid and it wasn't the same back there.

Vettel: No, I mean obviously we're both much happier with the car this weekend. I think, the credit really goes to the team because it's a team effort. I mean, in the end, we didn't feel very happy with the car in Melbourne and the team has done very, very hard work trying to understand why, and I think we had some answers coming here, proving today that we are running at the front and fighting for pole. Locking out the front row for Ferrari is, yeah, a great testament of their work, first of all. Happy, obviously, not exactly my day but that's how it goes, so I look forward to tomorrow.

Q: And a quick word about the man on your left?

Vettel: Well congratulations, I said to him earlier to suck it in, enjoy it. It's his day in the end of the day. Certainly my day was not ideal but even, I think, with an ideal day, it would have been very difficult to beat him today. So, welll done. My first pole is a while ago but certainly it's a day you never forget.

Q: Lewis, pole position in Melbourne two weeks ago, third today. A few thoughts from you about how that session went and the performance of the Mercedes.

Hamilton: Firstly, congratulations to Charles. He did an incredible job, really really happy for him. The first pole is a dream that you set for yourself when you're young. It only comes once, so he truly deserves. it. I had a pretty good session in general. Yesterday was a real struggle. All weekend we've seen incredible pace from the Ferraris. Honestly I didn't know if we'd be as close as we were at the end because they were pulling some serious speeds on the straights, which is generally where we lost a lot of the time today. It was just in straight line. Great turnaround for them. I think my sessions went relatively smoothly. I've got the extra tyre for tomorrow, which I'm happy about and yeah I'm just excited because it was a close battle and that's really how it should be. Three-thousandths, or whatever it was between myself and Sebastian. I definitely had it in that lap, the excitement of being on the edge and kind of having it and not having it is what makes it exciting. I couldn't have done the same time as Charles, so we've got work to do but tomorrow is where the points are bagged. So, we will just focus, keep our heads down, try to maximise our strategy and our tyres tomorrow.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) Question to Lewis and Sebastian: when you had your first pole, you won. What are your expectations for Charles tomorrow?

Vettel: I think we both hope he doesn't win! Straightforward! Obviously we're racing for the same team, so I think for both of us, we're hoping to have a strong race tomorrow. If you start one-two, you want to finish one-two, so yeah, that's the objective for tomorrow. Nevertheless, it's a long race. I think taking care of the tyres will be crucial. I think on one-lap pace we looked very, very strong this weekend so far, so yeah, quali was all about confirming that and for the race I think it will be a very, very close battle with Mercedes - and also Red Bull.

Q: Lewis, anything to add?

Hamilton: I commented earlier on his laps. He was quickest in every session so its very clear he had the pace and did a great job.

Q: Do you think you have the pace to beat them tomorrow?

Hamilton: From my pace yesterday, no - but I made changes to the car overnight and during the day today so I'm hopeful the car is in a better position. This is honestly a weak circuit for me. That's why I'm a little more upbeat - because I had a deficit fo three-tenths at least all day yesterday to Valtteri and managed to turn that around a little bit. The race here last year was quite strong. Ultimately, I had a gearbox penalty but now we're in a much better fighting position. It's very, very hard this race. It's very tough on the tyres and it's a physically-challenging circuit It is incredibly challenging for the car as well, so I just hope that there's some excitement tomorrow - one way or another.

Q: (Ben Anderson - F1 Racing) To both Ferrari drivers: Mattia Binotto clarified yesterday that it's very important that the two drivers are not fighting, taking risks and battling each other. So in that context, how will you approach the start and turn one in tomorrow's race, considering that you're on the front row?

Leclerc: Well, to be completely honest, we haven't done the pre-race meeting yet so at the moment I don't know. If you ask me, I will do absolutely everything to keep my first place but obviously, as you said, we are a team also, we need to work together and this will work, for sure.

Vettel: I think it's pretty clear that from the team's point of view we got the front row today and we obviously have a very very tough race ahead of us tomorrow so I think we need to work as a team and try to make sure we stay first and second. I think the order is irrelevant for the team so I think it's pretty clear. Obviously Charles starts ahead so he has the advantage of pole position and then we will see how it goes.

Q: (Christian Menarth) Sebastian, can you explain what happened in the first run in Q2, that you have to do the second run, and did you feel that you lost the tyre set already yesterday because you took a set of softs less than the others?

Vettel: No, nothing to do with the strategy yesterday and this afternoon. Obviously it was a bit hectic in Q2 and I was just in an unfortunate slot which sometimes is very difficult to control so I got unlucky and didn't have an option other than following Daniel for the lap and it was very marginal so we had to go again and then we lost a set that we were planning to run in Q3. Not ideal, preparing qualifying and I committed to one run at the end and it was crucial to get that lap to the finish. Second, I think, is alright. Obviously I was hoping for more but I think that is how the day went. I'm quite happy so for tomorrow I think it should be a new day and a different start.

Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Motor und Sport) Seb, can you tell us what problems you had? You seemed to have a few lock-ups in Q1 and Q2.

Vettel: Yeah, I think overall the car was very strong so far this weekend. I've been a little bit more vocal about the rear not being exactly where I wanted it to be. Maybe Charles felt a little bit more confident all weekend but I think our qualifying slipped away a little bit with what happened in Q2 so you lose the rhythm a little bit. It wasn't ideal but it's not about, at this point, sitting here now, being P2, is not about arguing here and arguing there. I think you have to give credit to the pole-sitter, especially as it's his first pole, so again, congrats and the focus should be on Charles today.

Q: (Jacques Deschenaux - Grand Prix Guide) Charles, you are the second youngest pole man in the history of Formula One after Sebastian and the first from Monaco. Did you imagine one month ago that your career with Ferrari would begin and be launched so quickly?

Leclerc: Not really. I didn't have any particular expectations from it. I was completely aware of how much of a big step there is, obviously team-wise and also competition-wise because obviously the drivers I'm fighting with now are the best so yeah, I didn't have any expectations. I'm extremely happy that it has started like this but again, as I said, it's only qualifying. I hope I will end up and have strong points tomorrow which is the most important (thing) so yeah, we will see, but I am extremely happy to start like this.

Q: (Ben Anderson - F1 Racing) Lewis, you mentioned the struggles yesterday and this track not being a particularly strong one for you. What is it about this circuit that you find difficult and that the team has found difficult this weekend?

Hamilton: I don't really know where the performance has gone. As I said, a lot of it is on the straights, if not all of it. So somehow they've managed to find a lot more speed on the straights but I think for us, the car has felt OK. It's just I'm just thinking that over the years it's not been a circuit that particularly suited our car, for whatever reason, but I think we got into quite a nice place today and as I said, I think it's the straight (line) speed was really where we lost a lot of time. In sector one, we're losing three tenths, two tenths, whatever it is, just on the straightline speed, so that's a significant amount. We've got work to do but I think the race pace was better for Valtteri yesterday, he had a really good long run. I think he had the best on the soft, I believe, so I'm hopeful that we have that performance tomorrow.

Q: (Luigi Perna - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Are you confident with your race pace, in the case of Ferrari on soft tyres and in the case of Mercedes on the medium tyres and what does the strategy depend on, a one or a two stop strategy? What does it depend on?

Leclerc: Yeah, I am satisfied with the race run we have done yesterday, also with the softs. I think it was pretty close between Valtteri, I think, did a long run on soft and myself so yeah, I think we are pretty strong on that and then on the one stop or two stops again, we will review that tomorrow morning before the race so for now, I don't know.

Vettel: Nothing to add.

Hamilton: You will find out in the morning!After Match Day I told Meijers leadership that I have to go to Alabama because my fiance is contractually obligated to go there, Mr. Ansorge said. I think the fact that we were engaged made it more serious for them. He wasnt just my boyfriend. I wasnt just running away to be in love and do something crazy.

Another benefit to proposing on Match Day is that the couples closest friends and family are already present for the ceremony. This makes it easier to keep the other reason for their presence a surprise.

I guess I should have known what was happening because most people had five or so family members in the crowd and I had almost 30, Ms. Davis said.

If there is a downside to this new tradition its the timing. Many couples have no time to plan a wedding when at least one person is moving (most likely two) and starting a new job.

Sometimes I work 80, 85 hours a week, Mr. Ansorge said. We just picked up our lives and moved to Alabama, and I started a new job. It seems like a lot to put on a wedding on top of us. Luckily we have no pressure from family or friends to set a date, so we havent yet.

Mr. Sanders felt the same way. We dont want that long of an engagement, but it would be a lot to get married right now, he said. Next year Ill be starting my intern year. Then I want to do a fellowship after that. We got to one light at the end of the tunnel, but there are more tunnels. Well do it when it feels more manageable.[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

At Morgan Stanley Childrens Hospital in New York City, the 58 tiny beds for sick newborns are almost always filled. But nurses who work there say there are often too few of them to provide all of the care the babies, and their worried families, need.

One of those neonatal intensive care nurses, Shanna Murphy, says she has not forgotten the new mother who got upset when she felt her crying infant was being ignored. Ms. Murphy, 28, said she wanted to soothe the baby, but she had her hands full with another patient whose condition had become unstable and required near-constant monitoring.

Im often put in a situation where Im having to choose between patients and not able to fully support my families, Ms. Murphy said. We have a family-centered care model, but I cannot do that under these current conditions.

Now, she and more than 10,000 nurses are demanding a sharp increase in their ranks at three of the citys biggest hospital systems  Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore. Their union, the New York State Nurses Association, has threatened to strike over staffing levels, an issue that has become an increasing source of contention at hospitals around the country.Experts say that, under President Trump, airstrikes have surged in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, as well as in Somalia. In Yemen, it is unclear to what extent the Americans, as opposed to the Saudi-Emirati coalition, are responsible. In Afghanistan, the number of American strikes that killed or injured civilians more than doubled in the first nine months of 2018 compared with the corresponding period in the previous year and killed more than 150 civilians, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Mr. Trump has also eroded constraints on civilian casualties.

Since taking office, he has rescinded rules that required the military and the C.I.A. operating outside of hot battlefields like Afghanistan and Iraq to limit their targets to high-level militants rather than foot soldiers. He also, by eliminating an elaborate interagency approval process, gave military commanders more authority to order drone strikes.

Yet, even under the previous rules, no matter how precise the weapons, how careful the planners and how skilled the fighters, mistakes, faulty intelligence, even calculated decisions often led to civilians being killed. The official data ranges from none to maddeningly vague, and the safeguards to mitigate civilian deaths are insufficient.

The military adopted an elaborate system under the Obama administration to minimize civilian casualties, including a requirement that forces have near certainty that no civilian will be harmed before launching an attack. But reporting by The Times and others in 2017 showed that the Pentagon had killed far more civilians in Iraq than it acknowledged.

The Obama administration estimated that over its two terms drone strikes had killed between 64 and 116 civilians in 542 airstrikes outside the major war zones. Micah Zenko, co-author of a new book, Clear and Present Safety, calculated the real tally at roughly 324.

Drones, for all their faults, are less indiscriminate than B-52s or almost any other weapon. But they are also a seductive tool, potentially tempting presidents and military commanders to inflict grave damage without sufficient forethought.

A lack of transparency and accountability for c ivilian deaths helps enemies spin false narratives, makes it harder for allies to defend American actions and sets a bad example for other countries that are rapidly adding drones to their arsenals. It could also result in war crimes, as some critics have claimed.Matt Hildreth

Columbus, Ohio

The writer is the founder and chairman of RuralOrganizing.org.

To the Editor:

Paul Krugman is correct that reviving declining regions is really hard . It is made more challenging when those regions, such as the rural Appalachia where I live, are not realistic about the past, and therefore cannot move to the future.

The population of my county peaked about 1950, then steadily declined, with the exception of a small upward blip in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the result of strip mining coal. The heyday of mineral extraction is over, and, as with many rural communities, we do not have quick access to Interstates and commercial air hubs, and so cannot attract any business, including agriculture, that relies on transportation.

We do not have the amenities that attract younger people, and few that are attractive to tourists. We cannot support our current population or attract new folks. We must be honest with ourselves.

Judy A. Pearce

Wise County, Va.

To the Editor:

A modern business enterprise simply cannot function today without fast, reliable broadband internet service. Cities have it. Rural America by and large does not, at least not without significant expense. If the countryside can be wired as effectively as the city is, then arbitrage in land values and labor costs will quickly improve things for us folks out here in the sticks.

Stephen G. Smith

Kensington, Ohio

To the Editor:

It is in Americas economic interest to demonstrate the political will to begin to revitalize our rural communities, regardless of how difficult it may seem. Hopefully, we will not wait until the countrys economy is negatively affected by its failure to address the needs of its rural citizens. I agree with Brian Dobson of the Rural Policy Research Institute, who states that metropolitan and rural America need each other .

We certainly should not throw up our hands and say that nobody knows how to reverse the heartlands decline. Mr. Krugman and I may not know how to reverse the devastating economic trends in rural communities, but if there were the political will among our elected officials, they would engage the economists, policy institutes, agriculture scholars, scientists and rural citizens and commit the needed resources and effort to make a difference.

Mr. Krugman mentioned the presidential candidates visits to rural Iowa and other states. Hopefully, they and others would acknowledge the economic decline in rural America as an American problem and speak to the needs of rural voters.The news that just seven black students were offered admission to Stuyvesant High School, the most celebrated public school in New York City, is an embarrassment.

It should also be a call to action for state lawmakers, who hold the power to change an admissions process that shuts out black and Latino students from New York Citys eight selective specialized high schools, which can provide a crucial path to success.

The major reason is a state law known as the Hecht-Calandra Act that requires the three largest schools  Stuyvesant, the Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School  to use a single exam as the sole criterion for admission. That law was passed in 1971, as the city weighed measures to increase enrollment of black and Hispanic students at the schools amid a broad push for racial integration. Whatever the laws original intent, the effect has been to limit the number of black and Latino students.

It has also spawned a cottage industry in which parents  including Asian New Yorkers living in poverty  feel compelled to spend thousands of dollars on test preparation over several years to give their children a shot at one of these coveted seats. Other students have little chance to compete.What are the effects of being born of rape in the name of genocide? How are mothers who survived this brutal violence in Rwanda dealing with the trauma and complexities of their lives and the long-lasting, multigenerational impact of what was done to them?

In 2018, I returned to Rwanda to revisit some of the families I met 12 years before when I began a project documenting the stories of women who were raped during the 1994 genocide and the children born of those horrific encounters. The mothers have now disclosed to their children the circumstances of how they were conceived, and the children are speaking for the first time as adults , reflecting on being called children of the killers while they were growing up.

Between April and July 1994, an estimated 800,000 people, a vast majority of them members of the countrys Tutsi minority, were killed in the space of 100 days in the small central African country of Rwanda by Hutu militias known as Interahamwe. Thousands of Tutsi women were violently and repeatedly raped. Thousands of children were conceived during those rapes; many of their mothers contracted H.I.V./AIDS during the same brutal encounters that left them pregnant.There are plenty of paradoxes to the effort to keep the bison from getting to Fort Peck. The first is that brucellosis is typically transmitted in the aborted fetus and fluids of an infected cow. Transmission by bulls is unlikely. That means the five bulls sent to Fort Peck as a token of cooperation have spent most of their lives being quarantined at great expense for a disease they dont spread.

The next shipment of Yellowstone bison tentatively scheduled to go to Fort Peck, possibly later this year, is also all bulls. This is a good way to not build new herds, which may be the point. But Mr. Magnan, fish and game director for the tribal nations, isnt complaining. He hopes that taking the males through the quarantine process will persuade officials that the reservation can handle the females, too.

Another incongruity has to do with the lack of evidence implicating any bison at all in transmission of brucellosis. In an authoritative 2017 study, scientists traced the genetic lineage of the Brucella bacteria in 27 cattle herds infected around Yellowstone since 1998 and found bison not guilty on all counts. The culprits in every case were elk. There are, however, no plans to contain or cull elk. But unlike bison, elk dont compete with cattle for grazing rights on public lands.

The Montana state veterinarian, Marty Zaluski, argues that the genetic study means nothing, except that elk interact with cattle more than bison do. It defies logic to say that Brucella bacteria in bison magically do not affect other animals, he said, adding that a Brucella infection in a cattle herd in South Dakota in the 1980s was most likely from bison. The state has also delayed use of the Fort Peck quarantine facility, he said, because we dont have jurisdiction  its an independent sovereign nation and not subject to state regulation. That means the state might have no way to enforce an order for testing or euthanasia.

The Fort Peck tribes have offered to sign an agreement to accept state jurisdiction over quarantined animals, Dr. Zaluski acknowledges. My concern is all of these agreements are severable, and possession is nine-tenths of law, he said. Its ultimately extremely difficult for me to go into an agreement that potentially jeopardizes Montanas disease control program when we know those agreements can be severed.

The notion that Native Americans wont keep their word is also moderately paradoxical. Since 1492, said Mr. Magnan, Europeans have made promises and reneged on everything, and yet they hang it on us? He doesnt bother to add that the 19th-century annihilation of bison was in large part a deliberate campaign to destroy and displace the Plains Indians. Or that restoring bison to the tribes at Fort Peck and elsewhere, after 150 years, ought to be one of the easier acts of reparation for the United States to undertake.

The bison deserve better, too. They are an integral part of the Great Plains landscape they helped create, and their patchy way of grazing is beneficial for water resources, for plant growth and for plant and animal diversity. Keeping them locked up in Yellowstone turns them instead into glorified zoo animals.Ina Garten, the wildly popular author of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, told me that she and her husband, Jeffrey, go to the same restaurant over and over again until we just cant do it anymore, then we go to another restaurant over and over again until we just cant do it anymore. And that can last two years. Shes 71, hes 72 and they werent quite this set in their ways decades ago, she said.

Because the couple lives near New York City, acquaintances are always asking her about the latest, greatest place to eat there. Havent a clue! she told me. Once in a while well try a hot new restaurant, and then well go there for two years.

I surveyed several restaurateurs: They didnt find her habits unusual. Older diners, they said, are more likely to be regulars  and the most frequent regulars at that.

Thats not just because we tend to have more money. Its also because were tired of being invisible.

If youre under 50 and definitely if youre under 40, you have yet to experience how you disappear over the years, especially if youre not a looker and all the more so if youre a woman. Sustained gazes, casual glances and solicitous words go disproportionately to the young. To age is to feel as if pieces of you are falling or fading away, so that you somehow take up less space in the world. So that youre harder to see.

But not by restaurants that know and value you. To them youre luminous.

Danny Meyer, the restaurateur and hospitality guru behind Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack and so much more, brought up something that one of the past centurys most prominent tastemakers would say. James Beard famously told people that when he was stopped in airports and asked what his favorite restaurant was, he answered: Its the same as yours, Meyer recalled. Its the one that loves me the most.

If thats true to some extent for all epicures, Meyer said, its all the truer as they age.

He has noticed something else, too, a quirk that I think goes hand in hand with older diners disinclination to wait 90 minutes for a table at a thronged establishment, to jostle for the hosts attention, to submit to cooking thats about a self-conscious chefs strenuous inventiveness as much as our simple pleasure. The newfangled cocktail lists, which we all have, are less exciting to people in their 50s, who by that time know what their favorite cocktail is, Meyer said. They dont mind all the imaginative craft cocktails. But they also want to know that youll do a great job of making their go-to cocktail. Were not looking to trade up. Were all about commitment.JERUSALEM  The Israeli archaeologist Yuval Gadot is not a mushy guy. But in October, when he pulled a 2,600-year-old seal impression out of the ground in the Givati Parking Lot excavation in the City of David, he was very emotional.

Dr. Gadot says it took him and his fellow archaeologist, Dr. Yiftach Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, only a few minutes to read the ancient Hebrew on the clay bulla, which dates to the middle of the seventh or beginning of the sixth century B.C., judging by the style of writing on it and the pottery found next to it. It reads: lNatan-Melech Eved haMelech, or to Natan-Melech, the kings servant. Natan-Melech is a name that appears only once in the Bible, in the Second Book of Kings.

When you find something like this its very exciting, he told me. It gives flesh and bones to things that are very distant stories.

Of course, it is impossible to say with certainty that the Natan-Melech of the Bible is the Natan-Melech of the clay. But it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together, including the style of writing and the dating of the pottery found next to it, which date to the First Temple period, when the biblical character would have lived, said Anat Mendel Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem.SEATTLE  Staff members gasped four years ago when Dan Price gathered the 120 employees at Gravity Payments, the company he had founded with his brother, and told them he was raising everyones salary to a minimum of $70,000, partly by slashing his own $1.1 million pay to the same level.

The news went viral and provoked a national debate about whether efficient capitalism could have a heart. Some Americans lauded Price for treating employees with dignity. However, on Fox Business he was labeled the lunatic of all lunatics, and Rush Limbaugh declared, I hope this company is a case study in M.B.A. programs on how socialism does not work, because its going to fail.

So I came to Seattle to see what had unfolded: Did Gravity succeed or crash?

There were bumps, no doubt about it. A couple of important employees quit, apparently feeling less valued when new hires were close to them in pay. The publicity forced Gravity, which processes credit card payments for small businesses, to hire additional people to handle a deluge of inquiries. Worst of all, Prices brother, who owned a stake in the company, sued and alleged that Price hadnt consulted him on decisions.GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  It was going to be epic, like those Roman triumph celebrations where the generals would ride in on a chariot decorated with gold and ivory, so drunk on power that a slave would have to walk behind, holding a wreath over the generals head and whispering in his ear, Remember you are mortal.

Against all odds, Donald Trump had won the day, leaving his enemies stunned. The president had wrested the No Collusion headline he dearly craved, and Thursday he would claim his laurels. It was a moment to strut and gloat and curse and insult. From the presidents point of view, which is the only point of view that matters to him, it looked like Watergate in reverse.

This was the night for Smugness Maximus.

Looking out at the sea of red MAGA hats, a cockier-than-usual Don Jr., who opened for his father, said that this week MAGA stood for Michael Avenatti Got Arrested. The bend-the-knee mood was best summed up by the T-shirt of a man with a goatee and neck tattoo: BITCH IM THE PRESIDENT!

Michigan was the place to rub it in, because it will always be remembered as a place Hillary forgot. It was strange, though, to have the victorious Vulgarian spewing bile right across the Grand River from the resting place of Gerald Ford, whose museum here offers words associated with Ford that seem quaint by Trump standards: Trustworthy, Respectful, Team Player, Compassion, Steady Leader.But, as anyone who goes to the border discovers, you cant ignore the past. Talk to people in Northern Ireland, and theyll bring up events from decades, or even centuries, ago, with a visceral emotion that would make you think theyd happened just last week. Investigators are still churning up the soil, searching for the bodies of people who were murdered during the Troubles and buried in secret graves.

Make no mistake: The border is a scar.

And the scar is about to open. Brexit has foundered, in no small measure, on the question of how to cope with the Irish border. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised future technological innovations that would allow for a frictionless customs border, but for the moment, that is magical thinking. Under the withdrawal agreement rejected for a third time on Friday both the United Kingdom and the European Union are committed to a backstop, which, in the event that they have failed to negotiate a future relationship by the end of 2020, would prevent the abrupt reintroduction of a hard border. But that is, at best, a temporary measure.

Will the violence return? It already has. In January, a car bomb exploded in Derry. This month, a dissident group claimed responsibility for several unexploded letter bombs that were sent from Ireland to London and Glasgow.

I dont believe that we will see a return to the full-blown violence of the Troubles. The paramilitary groups that oppose the Good Friday Agreement are marginal players, with none of the resources or popular support that empowered the I.R.A. and others. But then, conflicts seldom start because most of the population wants them to.

The Troubles ignited in the first place, in large measure, because limited acts of violence were met with irrational escalation. Station a customs man at a border crossing, and kids are going to throw rocks at him. So you bring in the cops to stand guard. Then some fool with a rifle shoots a cop. What happens next?

One solution, which the European Union proposed last year, was to shift the border, for customs purposes, into the Irish Sea, so Northern Ireland and the Republic could trade without barriers. The British government rejected this idea on the grounds that doing so would undermine the unity of the United Kingdom. Its a further measure of the Brexiteers naivete that they dont realize that by forcing Northern Ireland to choose between the United Kingdom and Europe, they may have inadvertently hastened the eventual reunification of Ireland.

Some prominent Irish Republicans have already called for a referendum on the question of Irish unity. How strange to think it could be Brexit that finally gets the British out of Ireland  an outcome that three decades of appalling violence failed to achieve.Politics has always loved a good odd-couple story. That the cable combatants James Carville (the Bill Clinton strategist) and Mary Matalin (the Bush and Cheney operative) were married in real life held a certain novelty and quaintness in the relatively tame Beltway soap opera of the 1990s. It could also be marketable. The Carville-Matalin political-enemies/life-partners routine reaped them a fortune of book, speaking, TV and endorsement deals.

But the love-over-politics plotline seems to be another casualty of an administration that has torched even the most time-honored of Washington chestnuts. Far from anything uplifting, the ballad of George and Kellyanne has provided a running background mishegoss to the main noise. George will tweet, with increasing disgust, about the president; people (who pay attention to these things) will notice, and the media will cover it, especially when he takes on a matter relating to presidential scandal, including impeachment, which he had experience with as a prime mover against Bill Clintons presidency two decades ago.

Its also hard to look away when George seems to implicitly  or explicitly  chastise those who still support and enable Mr. Trump (for example , his wife). Members of Team Kellyanne jump on Twitter to retaliate, on her behalf. Trumps 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale , said George was a bad husband, and Eric Trump called his actions horrible. George told The Washington Post that he was compelled to tweet about the White House so I dont end up screaming at her, meaning Kellyanne. All totally normal!

At first, it was impossible not to wonder whether the Conways were staging some elaborate marital feud, tailor-made to gin up maximum publicity in the attention vortex that is Donald Trumps White House. Were they positioning themselves for some kind of post-White House reconciliation act? You could imagine the joint memoir or reality show or live stage possibilities.

But it is also impossible not to wonder whether their joint memoir is being written in real time, and we are watching a life partnership fracture on Twitter, a casualty of a third wheel in the marriage  Donald Trump.

This is the part of the story where we call in the authorities to remind us that (slowly, everyone) no one really knows what goes on in the privacy of a marriage. Hey, I dont live in their house, Mr. Carville cautioned when I reached him by phone in Louisiana, where he and Ms. Matalin have lived for 12 years in apparent harmony (and if not, it would be off-brand, so they would never tweet about it). They might be the happiest people or the saddest people in the world, Mr. Carville said of the Conways. Or maybe somewhere in between, like everyone.The United States Supreme Court has weighed in on affirmative action in college admissions several times, helping shape the policy through the decades. Here are some of the key cases:

Decided on April 23, 1974

Marco DeFunis Jr. v. Odegaard

Marco DeFunis, a white man, argued that he was denied admission to the University of Washington Law School because the school had prioritized admitting minority students who were less qualified, saying that this violated the Fourteenth Amendments equal protection clause. He sued a state education official as well as the schools admissions committee, and successfully gained admission to the school.

By the time the United States Supreme Court considered the case, DeFunis was already in his last year of law school and the court ruled that the case was moot. Though the court chose not to address the issues within the case, it was the first case heard on affirmative action since the policy was established in the 1960s.

Decided on June 26, 1978

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Alan Bakke was rejected twice from the medical school at the University of California, Davis. Mr. Bakke, who is white, argued that the schools affirmative action policy to reserve 16 out of 100 spots for qualified minority students violated the equal protection clause as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Supreme Court ruled that the racial quota system used by the university did violate the Civil Rights Act and that Mr. Bakke should be admitted. But Justice Lewis F. Powell acknowledged in his opinion that a state had legitimate interests in considering the race of applicants, and that a diverse student body could provide compelling educational benefits.We want to continue to support the wonderful people, businesses and communities we have come to love in the Peach State, according to the letter, which was dated Thursday and addressed to the governor and the speaker of the House of Representatives. But we will not do so silently, and we will do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women if H.B. 481 becomes law.

The American Civil Liberties Union also promised to go to court if the bill becomes law.

For 50 years the Supreme Court has said that banning abortions before the point of viability is unconstitutional, Sean J. Young, the legal director of the A.C.L.U. of Georgia, said on Saturday. Every judge that has heard a challenge to such abortion bans has struck them down.

A spokesman for Mr. Kemp could not be reached on Saturday. The governor campaigned on a promise to sign tough abortion laws and said he welcomed the chance to fight for life at the Capitol and in the courtroom. On Friday, he praised lawmakers for their leadership and courage.

We stand up for the innocent and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, he said on Twitter. The legislatures bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state.

The bill would effectively change the limit on abortion in Georgia to six weeks from 20 weeks. The measure allows exceptions to prevent death or serious harm to the woman, in cases in which the pregnancy is medically futile because the fetus would not be able to live after birth, and in cases of rape or incest in which a police report has been filed.

Genevieve Wilson, a spokeswoman for Georgia Right to Life, said the group supported the measure until exceptions were added.

While H.B. 481 contains some strong personhood components, such as declaring babies in the womb natural persons, we are very saddened that it also denies equal justice and equal protection for subclasses of children in the womb, she said on Saturday.An Illinois woman is facing federal charges of forced labor after the F.B.I. raided her home and discovered 33 Guatemalan immigrants, some of whom were made to work and pay thousands of dollars as a debt for helping them stay in the United States, the authorities said this week.

The F.B.I. searched the home of the woman, Concepcion Malinek, in Cicero, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Tuesday morning after interviewing immigrants who described an abusive living situation in which Ms. Malinek exerted control over their every move, according to a criminal complaint. The authorities said they found 19 adults and 14 children, as well as documents apparently outlining the immigrants debts to Ms. Malinek, 49.

The immigrants who spoke with the F.B.I. said that Ms. Malinek, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Guatemala, either helped pay for their plane ticket to Chicago or allowed them to tell immigration authorities that they would be staying at her house after they crossed the United States-Mexico border, according to the complaint. When the immigrants arrived to Ms. Malineks home, it said, she told them that they owed her thousands of dollars for her assistance.

Some of the immigrants, who were not named in the complaint, told the F.B.I. that Ms. Malinek charged them for rent, child care and transportation to a factory where she arranged for them to work, according to the complaint. One man said he slept in the basement of Ms. Malineks home and that she did not allow them to leave the basement unless they received her permission. The man and his 15-year-old daughter, who lived on the ground floor, were allowed to see each other only for limited periods of time, the complaint said.As I scrolled through them, shock rose from my gut to my sternum. Was I looking at a prison, or a 19th-century battlefield? Those pictured betrayed little emotion and certainly none of the bravado broadcast by their tattoos: South Side Hot Boy, Something Serious, $elfmade.

After considering the inmates privacy, audience sensibilities and our inability to provide more context for the specific incidents depicted, The Times determined that few of these photos could be published. But they could be described.

St. Clair is known to be a deeply troubled institution in a state with an overcrowded, understaffed, antiquated prison system. Alabama has one of the countrys highest incarceration rates and, as measured by the most recent counts of homicides available, its deadliest prisons, according to a report by the Equal Justice Initiative , a nonprofit civil rights organization in Montgomery. Suicide is epidemic as well  there have been 15 in the past 15 months.

For years there have been complaints that St. Clair inmates are heavily armed  some for self-protection  and allowed to move freely about the compound. In fact, St. Clair is more deadly now than it was in 2014, when the Equal Justice Initiative br ought suit against it for failing to protect prisoners. There have been four stabbing deaths there in seven months.

Last June, the group said the prison was failing to comply with a settlement agreement.

Prison officials dispute that, saying the Alabama Department of Corrections is committed to improving safety and security. The department has requested money to raise salaries and increase the number of officers. Multiple law enforcement agencies recently teamed up to conduct a contraband search at St. Clair that recovered 167 makeshift weapons, said Bob Horton, a department spokesman.

But as of October, the prison was still severely short staffed, with more vacancies than actual officers.The prosecutor whose office dropped disorderly conduct charges against the actor Jussie Smollett defended the decision, saying her office was uncertain it had enough evidence to gain a conviction and wanted to focus on bigger crime in Chicago, she wrote in an op-ed.

The prosecutor, Kim Foxx, the Cook County states attorney, wrote in an op-ed in The Chicago Tribune on Friday that she welcomed an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter.

The case involved Mr. Smollett, a star of the television show Empire, who claimed he was a victim of a hate crime in Chicago. Mr. Smollett, who is black and gay, told the authorities that he was attacked in January by two men who yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him, tied a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him.

[Read about key questions in the Jussie Smollett case.]

Nearly a month later, he was arrested by the police, who maintained he had staged the assault and falsely reported it. Initially there was an outpouring of support for Mr. Smollett but as the story turned, so did public sentiment. Mr. Smollett, who denied the allegations, was charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct but on Tuesday the Cook County States Attorneys Office dropped all of the charges.His words and the setting on the street that connects El Paso with Ciudad Juarez symbolized what his campaign said would be one of Mr. ORourkes themes  a unifying vision for bridging divides to unite Americans from all walks of life.



But the speech by Mr. ORourke, a former three-term member of Congress, comes at a time of extraordinary discord over immigration, with a surge of migrants trying to enter the United States and President Trump threatening to seal off the border next week.

El Paso has been a flash point for much of that unrest, with hundreds of migrants now being held in a makeshift encampment under a bridge near where Mr. ORourke was speaking.

The encampment, where immigration officials are detaining people behind razor wire with little hot food, was set up last week when El Pasos main border processing center reached overflow capacity following the largest influx of migrants in years.

Acknowledging the plight of the migrants, Mr. ORourke said, Let us remember that every single one of us, including those who are just three or four blocks from here detained under the international bridge  behind chain-link fence and barbed wire  they are our fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like our fellow human beings.

Mr. ORourke, who also held rallies Saturday in Houston and outside the states capitol in Austin, stressed not only immigration but also health care, education, climate change, criminal justice reform, the economy, voting rights and racial inequality. All are topics that have emerged as major issues in the effort by Democrats to unseat Mr. Trump in 2020.WASHINGTON  The Drug Enforcement Administration secretly collected data in bulk about Americans purchases of money-counting machines  and took steps to hide the effort from defendants and courts  before quietly shuttering the program in 2013 amid the uproar over the disclosures by the National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, an inspector general report found.

Seeking leads about who might be a drug trafficker, the D.E.A. started in 2008 to issue blanket administrative subpoenas to vendors to learn who was buying money counters. The subpoenas involved no court oversight and were not pegged to any particular investigation. The agency collected tens of thousands of records showing the names and addresses of people who bought the devices.

The public version of the report, which portrayed the program as legally questionable, blacked out the device whose purchase the D.E.A. had tracked. But in a slip-up, the report contained one uncensored reference in a section about how D.E.A. policy called for withholding from official case files the fact that agents first learned the names of suspects from its database of its money-counter purchases.

That instruction, it said, was intended to protect the programs sources and methods; criminals would obtain money counters by other means if they knew that the D.E.A. collected this data.Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., under pressure to respond to allegations that he touched and kissed a former Nevada assemblywoman, Lucy Flores, went on the defensive Sunday morning with a sweeping statement saying he did not believe he acted inappropriately but acknowledging that he had made expressions of affection during his years on the campaign trail.

In his statement, he emphasized that not once  never  did I believe I acted inappropriately, but pledged to listen to any accuser. He did not describe in detail the expressions of affection, but said there were also countless handshakes, hugs and attempts to support and comfort people he met.

I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear, Mr. Biden said. But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will.

[Who is Lucy Flores? A look at her career in politics and social justice activism.]

Mr. Biden, who is expected to announce in April whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field, issued his statement two days after an essay by Ms. Flores was published on Friday in New York Magazines The Cut. Ms. Flores, a Democrat, said she was 35 at the time of her encounter with Mr. Biden, who was then vice president.Indeed, Mr. Gaetz  known as Baby Gaetz in Tallahassee to differentiate him from his more powerful father  made his reputation back home as a serious, if combative, legislator who played an instrumental role helping Mr. Scott, then the governor, kill efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

He also joined with Democratic lawmakers to push marijuana legalization, and he persuaded his father in 2015 to join Democrats to pass a law that removed Floridas ban on adoptions by same-sex couples. He initially supported Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, for president in 2016 before jumping over to Mr. Trump. His father was a Bush supporter, and his younger sister worked on the Bush campaign as a video producer.

Mr. Gaetz is also a passionate champion of animal rights. On the day of the Cohen tweet, he sent text messages to offer condolences to Mr. Schale after his dog died. When he served in the Florida House, he pushed to end greyhound racing.

Matt has played both the hero and the villain, said Ryan Wiggins, a Republican political consultant who worked on his first congressional campaign. I suspect he probably enjoys the reactions he gets when he makes peoples heads explode on the national stage.

With a promontory chin and crooked grin, Mr. Gaetz cultivates an air of genial menace, like a netherworld Jay Leno. His email handle in college was Gaetzofhell, a classmate recalled.

His transition to Washington was bumpy. In early 2017, at a lunch for the incoming freshman class at the Capitol, he complained to table mates about how tough it was to be a backbencher and railed, in four-letter fashion, against the House Freedom Caucus  now his allies  for being a bunch of obstructionists, according to a person sitting nearby.

I would end my days exhausted, Mr. Gaetz recalled. I was unable to rationalize what I had done to make progress. If you cant impact an outcome in this town you are an extra in the movie, and I do not want to do that.JERUSALEM  When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down for an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network in a hotel in Jerusalem earlier this month, he made a remark that was perhaps the most revelatory of any in his nearly one year in office.

An evangelical Christian, Mr. Pompeo had just returned from tours of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the ground where Jesus is said to have been crucified and buried, and of tunnels beneath the Western Wall, by the holiest site in Judaism. The interviewer posed a question around a biblical tale about a queen who saved Jews from slaughter by a Persian official: Did Mr. Pompeo think President Trump had been raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace?

As a Christian, I certainly believe thats possible, Mr. Pompeo said. It was remarkable  so we were down in the tunnels where we could see 3,000 years ago, and 2,000 years ago, if I have the history just right  to see the remarkable history of the faith in this place, and the work that our administrations done, to make sure that this democracy in the Middle East, that this Jewish state, remains. I am confident that the Lord is at work here.

White evangelical Christians are a powerful force in the Republican Party. Vice President Mike Pence is a staunch believer and former President George W. Bush is an adherent, too.KABUL, Afghanistan  The longtime motto of the American-led mission in Afghanistan that it stands shona ba shona, or shoulder to shoulder, with its Afghan ally no longer applies to that allys national security adviser.

American officials in Afghanistan have repeatedly walked out of or refused to attend meetings with the Afghan presidents most senior war adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, over controversial remarks he made on a visit to the United States this month, senior officials and diplomats in Kabul confirmed.

[To follow the peace negotiations in Afghanistan, sign up for the weekly At War newsletter.]

The public airing of the Afghan frustration with the United States has created an impasse that threatens to further isolate President Ashraf Ghani at a delicate stage in negotiations with the Taliban, which his government has yet to participate in. At the same time, the Taliban insurgency has continued unabated, with Afghan forces that are still largely reliant on the United States bracing for what could be the most consequential fighting season in years.

It has also resulted in a bizarre reality in which Zalmay Khalilzad, the veteran American diplomat leading the talks, praises the Talibans deputy leader as a patriot for participating in peace talks but struggles to find common ground with Afghanistans elected government, which is propped up by 18 years of American money and led by a president who spent half his life in the United States as a citizen.The United States, in fact, sought to stop Italys joining of the Silk Road.

This week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was saddened by the development. On Thursday, Luigi Di Maio, Italys deputy prime minister and the political leader of the Five Star Movement, met with National Security Adviser John R. Bolton at the White House.

Mr. Di Maio told reporters that he assured the Americans that the China deal was purely about commerce and that Italy remained firmly in the political orbit of the United States, which has vastly more money invested in the country than China does.

In the months before the deal, Mr. Di Maio repeatedly visited China, and nearly made a deal in November, Italian officials said. All along, the Italians said, they heard barely a peep from top officials in the United States, and by the time Mr. Boltons spokesman went public against the deal earlier this month, it was too late.

A senior government official, speaking on background to discuss internal deliberations, said Washington would have engaged sooner if it had understood that Italy planned to officially join the new Silk Road, which it sees as a strategic threat.

The official said the chaotic nature of Italian politics and the fact that visits to Beijing had become the norm for European leaders made it harder to discern what the Italians were up to.

Indeed, already 16 central and eastern European countries, including 11 members of the European Union, have formal business relations with China.

The Chinese have essentially bought the port of Piraeus, outside Athens. The new deal will now also allow it access to critical Italian ports, like Genoa and another in Trieste, which has a rail link reaching right into the heart of Central Europe.michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today, after months of trying and failing to put forward a deal for how the U.K. could leave the European Union, Theresa May had one final thing to offer: herself. Its Monday, April 1.

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Hello?

michael barbaro

Oh, hello. How are you, Ellen?

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Im great.

michael barbaro

Im so sorry that weve had technical difficulties this morning.

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Not to worry.

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It wouldnt be The Daily if we didnt have a little technical difficulty. O.K., so here we go, Ellen. Tell me when you are ready.

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O.K. Ellen Barry is a Times correspondent in London.

ellen barry

So last Wednesday, in the middle of the day, Theresa May called her party members to Committee Room 14, which is a big committee room somewhere in the bowels of Westminster Palace. It was quite unclear what this was about. There was loads of speculation that she would perhaps fire her chief negotiator for Brexit, who is widely despised by right-wingers in her party.

archived recording The worlds cameras are trained on the British Parliament, waiting for a Brexit breakthrough. For many, the workings of this House appear increasingly mystifying. But after months of Brexit paralysis, could things be starting to move?

ellen barry

So at five oclock, Conservative lawmakers began crowding into this room. And it was, by all accounts, stifling and completely packed. The minister for international development couldnt even get in there and was watching through the keyhole. And it is traditional in these gatherings that when the prime minister comes in, people bang on the tables with their hands. Its kind of like a tribal drumbeat. And so then, the room went silent. The door closed. The room went silent. And what was said in there was said only to each other. But meetings like this leak like sieves. And 

archived recording In a closed meeting with conservative M.P.s, Theresa May said shes prepared to make the ultimate move.

ellen barry

Gradually, the outside world came to know that the thing that she was prepared to offer in exchange for their votes was herself.

archived recording She concluded by asking everyone in the room to back her deal to allow for a smooth and orderly Brexit.

ellen barry

She basically said, Ill make you a deal. If you vote for this, if you vote for the withdrawal agreement and get it through, then I will step down as prime minister.

michael barbaro

Brexit for my head.

ellen barry

Basically.

michael barbaro

Ellen, how did all of this happen? How did Theresa may end up being at the center of Brexit?

ellen barry

So the funny thing is that Brexit was never Theresa Mays issue. She kind of kept her head down, but she was a Remainer. She voted to stay inside the European Union and really just stayed out of the whole public debate over Brexit, to a great extent. And it was really somewhat by accident that she became prime minister.

archived recording David Cameron is back in Downing Street, a happy man after a surprise election victory. Against most predictions, his party has won a slim but outright majority.

ellen barry

It started with David Cameron, who was basically hoping to stop a hemorrhage of M.P.s from switching sides and going to UKIP, which was the Brexit party.

archived recording (david cameron) We will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice.

ellen barry

And he made a gamble.

archived recording (david cameron) To stay in the European Union on these new terms or to come out altogether. It is time for the British people to have their say. It is time for us to settle this question about Britain and Europe.

ellen barry

It was essentially to kind of assuage the hard right of his party. He thought he could essentially throw them a bone and get them onside. And he did so expecting that the country would vote to remain. And it just came as a staggering surprise on June 23rd of 2016 when the results came out. And it was 52 to 48 percent for leaving the European Union.

archived recording (david cameron) The British people have voted to leave the European Union. And their will must be respected.

ellen barry

And because David Cameron had been squarely opposed to leaving the European Union, he then announced that he was going to step down as prime minister, rather than lead the country through the process of leaving.

archived recording (david cameron) I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction. I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months. But I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.

michael barbaro

So why does Theresa May end up taking his place, if she had been a Remainer  if shed been opposed to Brexit?

ellen barry

So Theresa May ended up taking his place because the men who were the obvious front-runners to be his successors took each other out in the political fistfight that followed. And I suppose she was appealing in a sense that she was quite different from all of those top Tory men. Theres a phrase they use at Balliol College, which is the tranquil assurance of effortless superiority.

archived recording (theresa may) Some people would say, sometimes, life as a vicars daughter isnt  it can have its ups and downs.

ellen barry

Theresa May is nothing like that  I mean, not on any level.

archived recording (theresa may) But I feel hugely privileged, actually, in the childhood that I had.

ellen barry

She was the daughter of a small-town vicar, and the granddaughter of two ladys maids, and the great-granddaughter of a butler. So she came from a family with a really long sense of public service and duty.

archived recording Whats the naughtiest thing you ever did? archived recording (theresa may) Oh, goodness me. Well, I suppose, gosh. Do you know? Im not quite sure. archived recording There must have been a moment. archived recording (theresa may) Well, nobodys ever perfectly behaved, are they? I have to confess when me and my friends used to run through the fields of wheat, the farmers werent too pleased about that.

ellen barry

So she seemed like one of the grown-ups in the room, at the time. Someone who could potentially bring the country back together after an incredibly difficult and divisive referendum campaign.

michael barbaro

So the men who create Brexit essentially self-immolate. And the party turns to Theresa May.

ellen barry

Yes. She cast herself as someone who was trying to do the least damage. I mean, instead of projecting enthusiasm about the mission of Brexit, she tended to express a sense of duty that she had taken on the job. She was going to finish the job.

archived recording (theresa may) We are living through an important moment in our countrys history. Following the referendum, we face a time of great national change. And I know, because we are Great Britain, that we will rise to the challenge.

ellen barry

But it didnt take long for her to start making serious blunders around Brexit, because it turned out that she is one of the worst retail politicians that Britain has ever seen.

archived recording (theresa may) I know that the public sector has had to carry a heavy burden. The private sector has played its part, too. But with government, businesses and the public sector working together, we have bounced back.

ellen barry

She is wooden. She is unable to speak off-script. She cannot generate warmth. She seems congenitally unable to generate warmth.

archived recording (theresa may) Brexit means Brexit. And we are going to make a success of it.

ellen barry

She went out on the stump and repeated, kind of robotically 

archived recording (theresa may) Brexit means Brexit.

ellen barry

 a set of phrases that she had been briefed on.

archived recording (theresa may) Because Brexit means Brexit.

ellen barry

And she earned the nickname the Maybot, because she was seemingly unable to come up with different answers, even when the same question was asked her repeatedly.

archived recording (theresa may) Well, the reason Ive been saying Brexit means Brexit is precisely because it does. And to be very clear  archived recording This is what history looks like. The official letter formally starting the process of Britain leaving the European Union is delivered.

ellen barry

So she made a series of very significant blunders that year. One of them, maybe the most important one, is that she triggered Article 50.

archived recording (theresa may) The Article 50 process is now underway. And in accordance with the wishes of the British people, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.

ellen barry

Which started the clock ticking towards an end date  an exit date of March 29.

archived recording (theresa may) This is an historic moment, from which there can be no turning back. Britain is leaving the European Union. We are going to make our own decisions and our own laws.

ellen barry

As soon as she started that, the E.U. had an enormous advantage in the negotiations.

archived recording (theresa may) This is a decisive step, which enables us to move on and finalize the deal in the days ahead. These decisions were not taken lightly. But I believe it is a decision that is firmly in the national interest.

ellen barry

She also, as a general matter, played her cards incredibly close to her vest throughout the negotiation. So the country really didnt know where she was going with this process until quite late last year, when she shared her withdrawal agreement with the country.

archived recording (theresa may) When you strip away the detail, the choice before us is clear: this deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings about control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our union, or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all.

ellen barry

And it went over like a lead balloon.

michael barbaro

And why was that?

ellen barry

Well, she laid out a series of red lines that were, in fact, very hard Brexit red lines. No one knew, up until that point, that she was planning to exit the customs union and the single market.

archived recording (theresa may) And because we will no longer be members of the single market, we will not be required to contribute huge sums to the E.U. budget. The days of Britain making vast contributions to the European Union every year will end.

michael barbaro

And why is that, ultimately, a blunder?

ellen barry

Well, they had no solution for what would turn out to be the fatal problem with that plan, which is Britain is not an island. There is a land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. And you cannot just walk away from the customs union without creating some kind of a border. And of course, that open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic had been the subject of a 30-year armed struggle and a hard-fought peace agreement. So to gloss over it was not looking at the problem, which was going to block this thing at the end.

archived recording (theresa may) The choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to the Northern Ireland backstop.

ellen barry

But the way she squared the circle with the Irish border is to create something called the backstop. And what the backstop means is that the entire of the U.K. would remain in the customs union until such a time that there is a solution to the border problem, which could easily be never. And this is why she lost her Brexiteers. Because they said, well, this is just a way for us to stay in the European Union, subject to their regulations, indefinitely, because there is no provision for the United Kingdom leaving the backstop unilaterally. So they just saw themselves as being stuck at the mercy of Europe indefinitely.

michael barbaro

Wow, thats the first time I understood the backstop. Thank you.

archived recording 1 The fact is that her deal isnt really a deal. Because what it actually does is postpone everything. It doesnt settle anything. It actually guarantees more uncertainty, which is terrible for business. And its not even Brexit. archived recording 2 It is not Brexit at all. And theyre pretending that it is.

ellen barry

So what she begins to do is try to persuade the country to compromise. But it is extremely late in the game. And she hasnt laid the groundwork for a compromise. Much of her energy went to keeping the hardliners onside. And as soon as she published her withdrawal agreement, she lost them.

archived recording Theresa May still believes theres a battle to be won in Brussels. A growing number of British M.P.s dont. The view from Europe is of a nation increasingly at odds with itself.

michael barbaro

And how does may respond to all these condemnations and men who are essentially beating her up?

ellen barry

This is such an irritating, maddening group of people that  I dont know. A lot of Britons, during this period, their heart went out to her. Because any normal person would just throw their hands up and walk away from this nightmare of a job. But shed just wake up in the morning and dust herself off and set aside her personal feelings and say 

archived recording (theresa may) I believe with every fiber of my being that the course I have set out is the right one for our country and all our people.

ellen barry

 again and again 

archived recording (theresa may) From the very beginning, I have known what I wanted to deliver for the British people to honor their vote in the referendum.

ellen barry

 I have committed to delivering Brexit to the British people.

archived recording (theresa may) The British people just want us to get on with it. They are looking to the Conservative Party to deliver  to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole U.K.

ellen barry

And thats what Im going to do.

archived recording (theresa may) Im going to do my job of getting the best deal for Britain. Im going to do my job of getting a deal that is in the national interest.

ellen barry

She stuck with it, and she stuck with it. And she seemed unwilling to give up.

archived recording (theresa may) And am I going to see this through? Yes.

[music]

ellen barry

Until last week.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. So bring us back to this Committee Room number 14. What do we know about what Theresa May said as she offered her own head to members of the Conservative Party as this final gesture?

ellen barry

This was the way it was described by George Freeman, who was her former policy adviser. She, with tears not far from her eyes, said, I promised I would deliver the Brexit agreement. She said, Ive made many mistakes. Im only human. I beg you, colleagues, vote for the withdrawal agreement. And I will go. He said there was silence in the room. And it was incredibly sad.

[music]

ellen barry

After she finished speaking in this committee room, there were several M.P.s who were hardline, holdout Brexiteers who got up and said, publicly, that they were now going to back her deal.

michael barbaro

Wow, so this seems to be working?

ellen barry

Yes. For the next 45 minutes to an hour, journalists were on Twitter just counting the number of Brexiteers that were changing sides. And you had people like Boris Johnson, who  I think he had compared her deal to a suicide vest at one point. This is what he said to The Daily Telegraph: I feel very, very sorry. And though it fills me with pain, Im going to have to support this thing. So he flipped sides. Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Brexiteer bannerman, tweeted out that half a loaf is better than no bread. In other words, he was willing to give up some of his Brexiteer credibility to get behind Theresa May and give her his vote. And you just began to see this happening again and again. They were flipping. And I think it got up to something like 30 or 40 people were indicating that they were changing sides. And it looked, somehow, that at this last moment, in this last Hail Mary pass that she had thrown by offering her resignation, she might have just gotten it over the line.

archived recording (john bercow) Order. Order.

ellen barry

But sometime after 3 oclock on Friday, March 29 

archived recording (john bercow) The ayes to the right, 286. The noes to the left, 344. So the noes have it. The noes have it.

ellen barry

Parliament rejected her withdrawal agreement for the third time by a vote of 344 to 286.

michael barbaro

So she just fell short?

ellen barry

Yeah, she fell short.

archived recording (john bercow) Point of order. The prime minister. archived recording (theresa may) Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it should be a matter of profound regret to every member of this House that, once again, we have been unable to support leaving the European Union in orderly fashion. The implications of the Houses decision are grave.

michael barbaro

So this offer to give up her own prime ministership in exchange for Brexit  essentially, Parliament said to her, not even that is enough.

ellen barry

It wasnt enough.

archived recording Good evening from Westminster. If the prime minister had had her way, the United Kingdom would be leaving the E.U. in one hours time. Today should have been Brexit Day. Thats what Theresa May had promised. But instead, she 

ellen barry

And this is the absurd trap that weve all been in  that here is an impossible task that doesnt get done and doesnt get done. And yet nothing changes. Theres no off-ramp. And so Brexit still isnt done. And Theresa Mays still the person in charge of it. You imagine that she was ready to walk away. And you could see it on her face. She looked like a different person. She looked younger. She looked  I dont know. She just didnt look strained anymore. But actually, shes not free. Its not done. And shes going to have to start all over again, in the morning.

michael barbaro

Ellen, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

ellen barry

Thank you.

[music]

michael barbaro

Heres what else you need to know, today.

archived recording (donald trump) Ive ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore.

michael barbaro

Over the weekend, the Trump Administration said it would drastically cut financial aid to three Central American countries in retaliation for what he said was their failure to stop the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.

archived recording (donald trump) We were paying them tremendous amounts of money. And were not paying them anymore. Because they havent done a thing for us.

michael barbaro

The $500 million in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras was originally designed to address the root cause of migration  violence, lack of jobs and poverty. And its elimination could ultimately backfire, triggering even more migration to the U.S. And New York will become the first city in the country to charge drivers for using its streets, in an attempt to reduce congestion and raise money to repair its subway system.

archived recording (andrew cuomo) You have to get fewer cars driving into Manhattan. The traffic is so bad. I cant tell you how many days, myself, I just get out of the car and walk. Because its so much faster.

michael barbaro

Under a plan adopted by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature on Sunday, drivers will be charged a fee of at least $10 to drive below 60th Street in Manhattan.

archived recording (andrew cuomo) Buses in Manhattan, I think the average is now down to, like, four miles per hour.

michael barbaro

The fees, known as congestion pricing, are already in use in London, Stockholm and Singapore, where they have cut both traffic and air pollution. In New York, they are expected to raise $1 billion a year for the citys subway system.

archived recording (andrew cuomo) And its a little bit of a chicken and an egg. You need a viable, functioning mass transit system so people get out of their cars and feel comfortable taking the mass transit system. And thats the point behind congestion pricing.

[music]

michael barbaroAmong the dozens of registered candidates, broad name recognition and a populist proposal to cut natural gas prices propelled Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, into the top tier of contenders.

Younger voters and those disillusioned with traditional politicians have channeled their anger into supporting the quirky, social media-based campaign of Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian without political experience who plays the president in a popular television show.

Mr. Zelensky has appealed to eastern voters by speaking Russian in public and on his television show. But, paradoxically, Russias military intervention five years ago has weakened the pro-Russian bloc in Ukrainian politics. Russian-leaning politicians lost millions of voters to Russias annexation of Crimea and support for eastern separatism.

For Mr. Poroshenko, whose backing mostly comes in the west, a deep recession eroded support for the post-revolution government.

Mihailo Strashok, 72, relies on a food bank to supplement his meager pension and takes a glum view of the governments calls for support and for sacrifice in a time of war.

We wont sacrifice our bodies and souls he said, for these bandits in power.Thirty men were sentenced on Saturday to between 10 years and life in prison for planning a suicide bombing on a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria and other charges, court officials said.

The authorities said at the time of their arrest that the defendants had embraced the ideas of the Islamic State and had received training abroad and in Egypt.

Twenty of the defendants who appeared in court did not react to the sentences, and there was no immediate comment from the lawyers representing them. The other 10 are still on the run and were sentenced in absentia.

The attack on the church did not take place. But minority Christians have faced a series of assaults in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt in recent years.NAHAL OZ, Israel  Tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to the borderland between Gaza and Israel on Saturday for a largely peaceful protest marking the first anniversary of demonstrations that have frequently led to violent clashes with Israeli troops.

Despite efforts by both sides to minimize casualties, hundreds of protesters rushed the fence, some hurling homemade bombs, and three were killed.

After a round of violence on Monday that began when a rocket fired from Gaza wounded several Israelis north of Tel Aviv and ended after Israel spent a day pounding targets in Gaza, neither side was eager for a new war, least of all Israel, which is 10 days away from elections.

Egyptian intermediaries worked with both sides to keep the situation from boiling over, and Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza, deployed scores of people in orange vests to keep most demonstrators at least 300 yards from the fence, the distance Israel had demanded as a buffer.JERUSALEM  I want to tell you about a piece of clay the size of my pinkie fingernail and the color of ash. It is called a bulla, and it is what the people of the ancient Near East used before the invention of rubber bands or paper clips. They would roll up their papyrus, wrap cords around the bundle and secure it all with a bit of clay. The clay would then be stamped with a seal  the primitive version of a John Hancock.

This particular bulla was dug out of the ground in October by an archaeologist named Yuval Gadot. In the many years hes been spading the earth in this city, Dr. Gadot, a professor at Tel Aviv University, has found several bullas.

This one is special. This bulla connects to a whole context, a whole world, that we have been uncovering in this spot, Dr. Gadot explained.

The spot hes talking about is the City of David  the mound of ancient Jerusalem  which archaeologists have been trying to uncover for 150 years.

When most people think of Jerusalem they think of the walled Old City: the place that contains the Western Wall and the Aqsa Mosque and the Via Dolorosa and inspires more religious fervor than perhaps anywhere else on earth. But the Jerusalem of the Bible is a modest, narrow ridge just outside the walls. Yuval Baruch, the Jerusalem regional archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, described it this way: Jerusalem was the capital of Judean kings and that capital was located in what we call today the City of David.

Archaeologists have been engaged in a ferocious debate about whether a king named David literally built his palace here. Dr. Gadot, who belongs to the school of archaeology known as biblical minimalism, is skeptical. But almost all agree on the big picture, which is that the 11-acre mound is the seat of the Davidic dynasty, which begot what we now call Jewish civilization.

Yuval Gadot at the edge of the Givati Parking Lot dig, where he found the bulla. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

You cannot cast doubts over the importance of this place. This is the acropolis of Israel, Dr. Gadot said.

There is just one problem. The acropolis of Israel is being unearthed in East Jerusalem, which much of the world does not regard as belonging to the state of Israel. And it is being unearthed, at least in part, beneath the homes of Palestinians, from land that those Palestinians want to be incorporated into their future state.

If any archaeological dig in this part of the world is bound to hit on ethnic, national and religious fault lines, this one is the Middle Eastern equivalent of the San Andreas. Because in Jerusalem, the contest over the citys past is part of the war over its future.

Workers on the afternoon shift, digging underneath houses near the Shiloach Pool, in the Silwan neighborhood. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

The archaeologists hard at work uncovering ancient Jerusalem are not consumed with borders and politics. They arent looking up. They are looking down, at olive pits and shards of clay, and thinking about what they tell us about the past.

They say this latest find, this bulla (the discovery of which has not been previously reported), is from the middle of the seventh or beginning of the sixth century B.C., judging by the style of writing on it and the pottery found next to it. This was the period when the First Temple stood in Jerusalem, the heyday of the Judaic monarchy. It was the period when Jews were not yet Jews but Judahites, when they worshiped their God by slaughtering animals, when many among them still secretly practiced magic and prayed to idols  more than 500 years before the Jew now known as Jesus was born.

A name has been stamped into its surface. If you read ancient Hebrew, the words are easily decipherable: lNatan-Melech Eved haMelech, or to Natan-Melech, the kings servant. Natan-Melech appears in the second Book of Kings as a chamberlain in King Josiahs court.

Natan-Melech himself is a kind of a mystery, said Dr. Gadot. But what he was a part of  a very developed monarchy that expressed itself through bureaucracy and writing  is hugely significant. We hear about the big empires in Mesopotamia, but for the creation of our civilization, this is the cradle.

David Beeri on the underground Pilgrims Road. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

Queen Victoria dispatched Charles Warren to dig here in 1867, and archaeologists have been digging ever since. Starting in the 1960s, excavations became more systematic and a clear vision of the city in its different historical periods began to emerge.

Among the bonanza of finds: bullas with the names of two characters from the Book of Jeremiah; a large stone building from the 10th century B.C. that some have theorized was King Davids palace; a pool from the first century A.D. that many believe is the pool of Siloam, mentioned in the Gospel of John as the place where Jesus healed the blind man; eggplant seeds from the early Islamic period; coins, cooking vessels and an engraving of a menorah left behind in a 2,000-year-old drainage channel by Jewish rebels hiding from the Romans; an ancient Roman road that may have taken hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims up to the Second Temple.

Donations have poured in, including from Americans, both liberals like the tech entrepreneur Marc Benioff and conservatives like the financier Roger Hertog. Rabbi Erica Gerson, who has given over $1 million to the project with her husband, Mark, said, There is no other sight in Israel that can as effectively and authentically bring to life the 3,000-year-old connection between the Jewish people and our homeland.

Before he was assassinated, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin declared that 1996 would be celebrated as the Trimillennium of Jerusalem  in other words, the 3,000th anniversary of King David conquering the Jebusite city and establishing the capital of his kingdom. When I asked David Friedman, the current American ambassador to Israel and a religious Jew, what the place meant to him, he said, without hesitating, Everything.

Jerusalem was a divided city after Israels 1948 war for independence. The West was Israeli. The East was a Jordanian-ruled Palestinian city. Then came June 1967, and the Arab-Israeli War that tripled the size of Israel and transformed its national psychology. Israel annexed East Jerusalem and overnight, Jerusalem became a united, ethnically divided, city. According to Israel, all of Jerusalem is its capital. According to international law, East Jerusalem is occupied territory. The area is majority Palestinian. And thats precisely where the dig is located. Source: Bing (satellite imagery); Economic Cooperation Foundation Database (map boundaries). Terrestrial Jerusalem (dig site and Palestinian populations).

Yet as far as the state of Israel is concerned, East Jerusalem is the equivalent of Tel Aviv, said Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli lawyer who founded Terrestrial Jerusalem, which supports dividing the city as part of a future two-state solution.

Those Jewish Israelis for whom Jerusalem means something far more than territory are determined to keep all of the city under Israel sovereignty. And they are willing to undertake extreme measures to make it so.

That is where the City of David Foundation comes in.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews praying at the Western Wall and Palestinians at prayer at Lions Gate, both in the Old City of Jerusalem. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

This nationalist, religious organization plays three roles, which many see as deeply contradictory. First, it established and operates the City of David national park; more than 600,000 tourists visited last year to view the excavations. Second, though the archaeological dig is carried out under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the foundation  together with the government of Israel, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Tourism and the prime ministers office  underwrites it.

Third, and most controversially, it acquires homes to help settle Jewish families in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, especially Wadi Hilweh, where the dig is located.

David Beeri founded the organization in 1986, and everyone who lives here knows his name. Some think he sees himself as a modern successor to King David himself  down to the fact that his wife, like the biblical kings first wife, is named Michal. Those who despise him and those who adore him agree on one thing: He is a visionary who has transformed this citys landscape and, perhaps, its future borders.

When you try to figure out just how he pulled it off, things get very muddy very quickly.

David Be'eri at home in the City of David. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

Mr. Beeri, who is 65, was born in Israel to parents who survived Auschwitz. When he was a young man, he served in Sayeret Matkal, the most prestigious unit of the Israeli military. His commander was Yoni Netanyahu, the prime ministers older brother.

In the 1980s, he was asked to help command a new, elite counterterrorism unit, called Duvdevan, which would send Israeli soldiers undercover as Arabs to Palestinian neighborhoods. (If youve seen the TV series Fauda you get the picture.) The village of Silwan, which includes the neighborhood known variously as the City of David and Wadi Hilweh, was one of the main places he would patrol.

It was a dangerous job. But hell also tell you that those years were a gift. I heard from the Arabs about King Solomon, King David. They knew the historical meaning of this place, he told me.

One day I came to Michal and I said: Michal, this is the City of David. This is our historical capital. And here I cannot walk here as a Jew? Im going to change it. Im going to leave the army and bring back tourists and visitors to this place. One day we are going to live here.

School children visiting the City of David, which has become a tourist attraction. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

More than 20 years later, he does. The Beeris live inside the national park, in a home above an ancient cistern.

Mr. Beeri rarely gives interviews, but he has made headlines twice in the past decade. Once in 2010, when he ran over two Palestinian boys who were part of a group throwing stones at his car with his 12-year-old son. (The boys survived their injuries; Mr. Beeri said he feared for his life.) He made news again in 2017, when Israels right-wing government awarded Mr. Beeri the Israel Prize  the countrys equivalent of the Medal of Honor  hailed as one of the greatest builders of Jerusalem during the modern era.

Mr. Beeri said that when he moved to the neighborhood in 1991, he was the first Jewish resident there since the 1930s. Today, because of his organization, there are around 1,000 Jews living among some 5,000 Palestinians.

Jawad Siyam, a prominent Palestinian activist who runs the Wadi Hilweh Information Center and lives just across the street from the entrance to the City of David site, told me that in Jerusalem, Mr. Beeri is more powerful than Netanyahu himself.

Jawad Siyam, a Palestinian activist, standing near a partially collapsed lot next to one of the entrances to the excavation site. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

The official City of David Foundation story is that the acquisition of the land for the dig was all kosher. The people who work for the group will show you photographs from the 1910s and 1930s in which the ridge looks sparsely populated. They will tell you that the Palestinians who live there now are squatters. They will say that much of the land was bought in the 1920s by the philanthropist Baron Edmond de Rothschild and that the foundation reclaimed lands that were rightly his.

City of David, 1936 Temple Mount Western Wall Approximate extent of dig site N City of David, 2016 Temple Mount Western Wall Approximate extent of dig site N City of David, 1936 Temple Mount Approximate extent of dig site Western Wall N City of David, 2016 Temple Mount Western Wall Approximate extent of dig site N The Library of Congress (1936 photo); 2016 photo courtesy of the City of David Archive

They will insist that the way they acquired homes was completely legal. That they were bought outright from East Jerusalem Palestinians (local Palestinians will tell you stories of bags with dollars handed over in the dead of night; of sellers jailed or beaten as collaborators by other Palestinians), or that they relied on Israels Absentee Property Law, which was passed in 1950 as a way of allowing the state to acquire Palestinian homes that were abandoned after 1948.

A partial view of the East Jerusalem village of Silwan. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

They tend to talk about the project as the kind of gentrification, typical of any cosmopolitan city, where one wealthier group pushes out a poorer one.

Suffice it to say that this is not how many legal experts, local monitoring groups or the Palestinian residents see things.

For starters, they believe that archaeology is being used as cover for a land grab. The archaeological site is the tool to delete the village that is here, said Yonatan Mizrahi, who runs the anti-occupation group Emek Shaveh and gives his own critical tours of the site.

The foundation, he said, has degraded archaeology in Jerusalem from science that can teach us about our shared past into a divisive tool which pits peoples and ethnic and religious groups against each another.

Second, they see the convergence of the government, which is meant to look out for all Jerusalemites, and the City of David Foundation, which has a clear political agenda, as inherently corrupt. They say that the Absentee Property Law was abused by both the government and the foundation.

The law, which in Israels fledgling years was a necessary evil, became an unmitigated evil. The abuse of power was so stark in East Jerusalem that the Israeli Supreme Court recently acknowledged this and restricted its application somewhat, said Mr. Seidemann, the lawyer. Indeed, in 1992, the Rabin government issued a report that exposed collusion over property transfers between the state and various nationalist organizations, including the City of David Foundation.

But even if it is all technically legal, where is the justice or political wisdom in such a strategy? Its hard to overstate how moving it is for Jews to connect to Davids Jerusalem, said Dan Shapiro, an ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama. But any project that seeks to embed Jewish families in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, in the absence of any progress toward two states and a plan to share the city, has a clear political intent, which is to cement permanent Israeli control. And that isnt good for anyone who still has hope for a resolution.

That view, once reliably centrist, now seems left-wing in Jerusalem politics, where the City of David Foundation seems to have unalloyed backing. When I asked Nir Barkat, the former mayor of Jerusalem and a leading Likud politician, if he sees the Jewish families of the City of David as settlers, he called the label absurd. (Mr. Siyam, the activist, called the former mayor a slave of David Beeri.)

From my perspective Jews can live anywhere they want in the world, Mr. Barkat told me. They can live in Pittsburgh, they can live in Jerusalem, they can live in Paris. They can buy property anywhere they want in the world. And you want to tell me they cant do that in Jerusalem? I will defend any Jew who wants to live anywhere he wants in the world. Including and firstly in the capital of the state of Israel.

The difference is that when a Jew buys an apartment in the 18th arrondissement, her presence does nothing to hurt her neighbors national aspirations. Whats more, Jewish and Muslim neighbors in Paris, at least in theory, have the same rights and representation.

A Palestinian youth near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

This is not the case for the more than 300,000 Palestinians of East Jerusalem, of whom a vast majority remain in legal limbo, citizens of no country. They are considered permanent residents of Jerusalem, which entitles them to the same social services and health care as other Israelis, but they cannot vote in national elections. They can vote in municipal ones and run for city council, and since they constitute almost 40 percent of the population of the city, they could be a major force. But 99 percent boycott the vote.

None of this  especially the fact that the City of David Foundation is also a settlement enterprise  makes the archaeologists who work or have worked on the dig happy. They are quick to point out their independence, that their salaries are paid by their universities, and that their job is not tourism, but to carry out a dig to the highest possible scientific standards.

Archaeology is always political, said Gabriel Barkay, a prominent Israeli archaeologist: Sneezing in Jerusalem is an intensive political activity. You can do it into the face of an Arab, into the face of a Christian, into the face of a Jew. To the left or the right.

But Mr. Barkay, a Holocaust survivor and no dove, thinks that the City of David Foundation has made a serious error in pushing for Jewish settlement in the neighborhood. Archaeological sites are cultural treasures, he said. No one should live there.

But they do.

Miryam Basher, a Palestinian high-school math teacher, is one of them. Her house is just down the road and a world away from the entrance to the City of David.

Though she has several heavily laden lemon trees in her front yard, the walls of her home have gaping cracks  the result, she told me, of the digging taking place beneath her feet to uncover the underground Pilgrims Road, which the foundation hopes to open to the public in a few years.

Ms. Basher said her parents built the house in 1963 and that the cracks started appearing only three years ago. She has moved a large armoire against the wall with the biggest one because she is nervous it will cave in.

Miryam Basher showing cracks in the walls of her home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

There was injustice before and after the dig, she told me over homemade lemonade. But now you feel the occupation in your house. You dont feel comfortable in your home. Im not sure your readers can imagine our lives.

Why not move? Given the location of her home, I suspect it would fetch a high price. Would she ever consider selling it?

They could give me a million dollars and even if they demolished this house Id live on the stones, she replied.

Shoshi Tropper is a Jewish mother of five who lives down the road from Ms. Basher. She and her husband moved to the City of David 11 years ago because, she told me, we wanted to live somewhere meaningful. Though her car has been stoned more than once, she said, Its a normal life and we really love it.

Shoshi Tropper, a Jewish mother of five, moved with her husband to the City of David 11 years ago. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

From outside maybe we seem like fanatics, as settlers, full of hate. But in our life, we are liberal, full of love. What of her relationships with her neighbors? Were a Jewish community and we live inside a big Arab community. Were neighbors, she said, and we get along well. She showed me a red sweater that she said a Palestinian neighbor had knitted for her daughter.

They are talking about coexistence, said Mr. Siyam when I asked him about relationships between the Jewish and Palestinian residents. You know what kind of coexistence? The kind you have with your donkey or your dog.

I dont know how to argue about whether King David was here or not, he continued. That doesnt give them the right to kick me out of this neighborhood.

There is a strong case to be made that the modern should always trump the ancient, even on an archaeological gold mine. That the needs of people living in a particular spot in the here and now are far more important than uncovering the lives of those who once did.

Fakhri Abu Diab is a 57-year-old Palestinian resident of Silwan and an activist who once served more than a year in jail for protesting the dig. His home, like dozens of others in his part of the village, is under threat of demolition because it was built without a permit  a permit he said he spent years trying in vain to get.

He has nothing against King David, he said. If King David lived here 2,000 years ago, he said, then I am the grandchild of King David  an idea he considered an honor. But he argued that the history doesn't justify what is happening to his neighborhood today.

People are much more important than stones, he told me.

But what happens when the prerequisite for agreeing to a compromise with people in the present is a renunciation of the stones that are the legacy of your peoples past?

Many of the opponents of the dig arent just arguing that it is unjust and an abuse of the law. They are saying that the archaeological discoveries have been faked and that there is no evidence of a Jewish civilization here.

All of it is lies, said Iman Rajabi, who lives 300 feet downhill from the Pool of Siloam, at the bottom of the dig. We sat at her mother-in-laws house and drank tea. All of it is Islamic. There are no Jewish antiquities. They dig. They place stuff. And they convince the world. Its all lies.

As for the Temple, she insisted that there never was one. For sure the Jews are lying. This is the pretext for taking Al Aqsa, the mosque that was built on the spot where the ancient Jewish temples once stood, and is the third holiest site in Islam.

Relatives of Iman Rajabi at their home. Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

When I asked Jawad Siyams deputy at the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, Sahar Abbasi, about ancient Jewish roots in Jerusalem, she said: You should for sure focus on if, if, if  if there is any kind of history. Because with Israeli archaeology, nothing was proved.

Even a graduate of Birzeit University, the top Palestinian university, standing with me at the Western Wall  the remnant of the retaining wall of the Second Temple  told me she could not utter the word temple, because it would give credence to a Jewish claim. Its like saying the word cancer, she said.

It wasnt always this way. A 1925 booklet put out by the Waqf, the Jordanian authority that oversees the Temple Mount, marketed Al Aqsa Mosque thus: Its identity with the site of Solomons Temple is beyond dispute.

Blame goes to Yasir Arafat for planting the lie about Jewish history. During the Camp David summit in 2000, he reportedly said to President Bill Clinton that Solomons Temple was not in Jerusalem, but in Nablus, deep in the West Bank. In 2010, a senior Palestinian Authority official put out a report saying that the Western Wall has never been a part of what is called the Jewish Temple.

And a softened version of it has trickled down to purportedly neutral organizations like Unesco, which in a 2016 resolution on Jerusalem referred to the holy site solely as Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram al Sharif, put references to the Western Wall in scare quotes, and called on Israel to stop all archaeological excavations.

For Western liberals who like to imagine that this conflict is exclusively about borders, this denialism is a wake-up call. Some people I spoke to compared it to the denial of the Holocaust.

Mr. Barkay, the archaeologist, who survived the Budapest ghetto, even thinks that Temple denial is more serious than Holocaust denial.

Perhaps that is because what is at stake is the Jewish indigenous claim to the land of Israel.

If someone comes to me and denies the Holocaust, do I have a question? No. Because I saw the number of my father, his number from Auschwitz, Mr. Beeri told me. I want the next generation to be like I was with the number of my father. I want them to dig, to find. When you find a coin and you can read the date you have no question. Its not a story I tell you.

Mr. Seidemann, the lawyer, believes that the City of David should not be part of sovereign Israel in a two-state solution. David Beeri and I will oppose each other and say your dream is my nightmare and my nightmare is your dream. he said. They are blind to the cruelty of occupation. But the finds are another story. The reason we can engage is that I see what they see. Thats my Mayflower. Thats my Plymouth Rock.

There is a concept in Judaism of Jerusalem shel-malah and Jerusalem shel-matah: Jerusalem of above and Jerusalem of below, referring to the distinction between the heavenly and earthly cities. Humanists like me tend to believe that the earthly Jerusalem has suffered brutally at the hands of those zealous about the heavenly one.

It is why I always loved the poem Tourists by Israels former poet laureate, Yehuda Amichai, which is set by a gate at Davids Tower in Jerusalem:

You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head theres an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head. But hes moving, hes moving! I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, You see that arch from the Roman period? Its not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man whos bought fruit and vegetables for his family.

But a week in this place made me think a bit differently about the relationship between the two Jerusalems. The earthly one divided, but the heavenly one  at least some of it  is not. After all, one man, David, is both the king of Israel, a prophet of the Muslims and the progenitor of the line that gave the world Jesus.

Every person I spoke to sounded as if they knew him. He was a stone-thrower; a hero; a statesman; a sinner; a poet; a warrior; a romantic; a lying, cheating bastard.

Perhaps King David himself is the shared territory  a flawed shepherd who once united a nation and is claimed by everyone who wakes and sleeps in Zion.South Africa: Human Settlements to hand over houses in PE

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

outh Africans have been urged to become more energy efficient by changing their usage behaviour and using complementary energy sources. While the usage of alternative energy strategies can minimise the impact of load shedding or grid outages, they can also assist households to save money, energy experts from the Council for Scientific a... See moreWITH ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNING HEATING UP, the international media is beginning to focus its attention on Russias role in interfering with elections, and the Finnish governments defensive response. Russia has faced allegations of using an army of trolls and bots to spread misinformation about electoral candidates across Europe, as part of an effort to swing public opinion toward more right-wing, pro-Russian parties.

Several outlets this week covered the ongoing attempts of the Finnish government to counter such efforts, which involves giving training sessions on how to identify and counter misinformation.

In other news, it was recently revealed that prisoners in Finland have been receiving training in artificial intelligence in order to prepare algorithms for tech startups. One tech magazine explored this scheme in-depth, questioning whether the practice counts as prison reform or exploitative labour.

Meanwhile, a popular online publication delved into Finlands worsening gambling problem, while several tech-focused publications have been covering the news that the Finnish government will be overseeing and attempting to regulate Bitcoin transactions.

Russias neighbour Finland mounts defenses against election meddling

Bloomberg

The country that shares a bigger border with Russia than the rest of the European Union combined is ramping up its defenses against the threat of foreign meddling in its April 14 election.

Finland has always had a love-hate relationship with its much bigger neighbor. A history of tension and bloody confrontations has given way to a strong trading partnership, and the countrys diplomatic role as a bridge between Russia and the West is one reason why its capital was picked for last years summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

But with evidence of Russian interference in Western politics mounting, the euro areas northernmost member state remains on high alert. Social media influence campaigns or direct cyber-attacks are already thought to have impacted key votes such as the U.S. election in 2016 and the U.Ks Brexit referendum.

One shouldnt be gullible, Antti Hakkanen, justice minister in Finlands caretaker government, said in an interview in Helsinki. Well need to be prepared to ward off election interference if it becomes necessary. The risk is real.

Hakkanen says Russia is eager to incite mistrust toward authorities, boost local anti-EU forces and drive a wedge in European unity in all possible ways.

In Finland, Russian trolls are suspected by cyber experts of looking favorably on the Finns Party, an anti-immigration, euro-skeptic movement that suffered a schism after appointing a hard-liner as leader. In a phone interview, Party Secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo denied the allegations, saying the movement had not received any support from Russia.

Original article appeared in Bloomberg on 28/03/19 and can be found here.

Inmates in Finland are training AI as part of prison labour

The Verge

Prison labor is usually associated with physical work, but inmates at two prisons in Finland are doing a new type of labor: classifying data to train artificial intelligence algorithms for a startup. Though the startup in question, Vainu, sees the partnership as a kind of prison reform that teaches valuable skills, other experts say it plays into the exploitative economics of prisoners being required to work for very low wages.

Vainu is building a comprehensive database of companies around the world that helps businesses find contractors to work with, says co-founder Tuomas Rasila. For this to work, people need to read through hundreds of thousands of business articles scraped from the internet and label whether, for example, an article is about Apple the tech company or a fruit company that has apple in the name. (This labeled data is then used to train an algorithm that manages the database.)

Thats no problem for articles in English: Vainu simply set up an Amazon Mechanical Turk account to have people do these small tasks. But Mechanical Turk is not really that useful when you want to do something [with the] Finnish language, Rasila says, and the company had only one trainee tagging lots of data in the Finnish language.

We saw that and said, okay, this is not going to be enough, he adds. The Vainu offices happen to be in the same building as the headquarters of the Criminal Sanctions Agency (CSA), the government agency that oversees Finnish prisons, and so, says Rasila, the founders had an idea: Hey, we could actually use prison labor.

The partnership started about three months ago and Vainu is now working with two different prisons, one in Helsinki and one in Turku. Vainu shipped 10 computers to these prisons and pays the CSA for each task the prisoners complete. The amount is comparable to how much the startup would have paid for a task done on Mechanical Turk, though the CSA is responsible for figuring out how much of that goes to the prisoners, as well as selecting the inmates who do the data classification.

Original article appeared in The Verge on 28/03/19 and can be found here.

Finland has a worsening gambling problem

Calvin Ayre

Finland has been trying to clean up the countrys gambling industry, introducing new regulations to help oversee gambling activities. According to a recent survey, though, those efforts may not be enough and lawmakers, as well as gambling operators, need to get more involved in order to protect Finnish gamblers.

Over the past couple of years, gambling addiction and problem gambling in Finland has continued to rise, according to the survey, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The ministry had sought to determine how merging the three state-run gambling operators into one entity had impacted gambling and gamblers. The study was ultimately conducted by the Institute for Health and Welfare in conjunction with Helsinki University, Statistic Finland and Peliklinikka, a problem gambling prevention organization.

The survey saw participation from around 2,600 Finnish citizens aged 18 and older. Yle, a Finnish media outlet, points out that problem gambling among males has declined over the past several years, but gambling addiction and problem gambling has become more severe.

In 2017, Veikkaus was running the countrys national lottery. It merged with gaming machine operator Ray and horse betting operator Fintoto that year, ostensibly to provide better oversight of gambling activity in Finland and to reduce the instances of excessive gambling.

Original article appeared in Calvin Ayre on 28/03/19 and can be found here.

Finlands regulatory watchdog plans to supervise local bitcoin operations

Bitcoin News

On Monday, the Helsinki-based peer-to-peer crypto exchange Localbitcoins announced it is adding several different identification processes in order to improve AML and KYC requirements. The move to bolster the new customer verification procedure follows Finlands Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) mandating supervision over exchange operations.

The BTC trading platform Localbitcoins specializes in peer-to-peer and over-the-counter bitcoin exchange throughout nearly every major city in the world. Years ago, the Helsinki operation was well known for providing a platform that allowed people to trade in a private fashion. In those days, traders could swap fiat for bitcoins or vice versa without the KYC processes involved with other exchanges.

However, over the last two years, Finlands regulations and newly introduced policies have made it harder for many crypto businesses to allow trading without verification. In February, Localbitcoins notified customers that changes were coming due to the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) that was enforced by the European Union. Now, this week, the company based in Southern Finland says the FSAs new exchange supervision mandate has made it impose even stricter AML/KYC guidelines.

The companys blog post on March 25 details that Localbitcoins will soon be supervised by the countrys FSA. The blog post adds that the Virtual Currency Service Providers (VCSP) Act will provide legal status for cryptocurrencies. [The VCSP Act] should improve significantly Bitcoins standing as a viable and legit financial network, Localbitcoins announcement notes. The trading platforms post also explains that the team has launched a new registration process and users will still be able to begin trading the day they sign up. The new system administered will inhibit the creation of phony accounts as well.

Original article appeared in Bitcoin News on 27/03/19 and can be found here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@helsinkitimes)

Image Credit: LehtikuvaKalinga Literary Festival, British Council Come Together For 5 Films for Freedom' In Bhubaneswar

Religious institutions in Bhubaneswar to reopen for devotees from this date

Odisha: Another sitting BJD MP quits party ahead of LS polls

Bhubaneswar

oi-PTI

Bhubaneswar, Mar 30: Biju Janata Dal MP and former Union Minister Arjun Sethi Saturday resigned from the regional party after he was denied ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

BJD president had replaced the eight-time MP from Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency with Manjulata Mandal, the wife of sitting party MLA Muktikant Mandal.

The 78-year-old Sethi has submitted his resignation letter to Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik. He has also quit as Member of Parliament as well as from the post of Bhadrak district BJD president.

IT search at DMK treasurer Durai Murugan's residence

Sethi said "I wanted to meet Naveen Patnaik but was not given an appointment. I waited for four hours but failed to meet him. At this old age, it was embarrassing that I had to wait for so long."

"I am pained that neither I nor my son was given ticket to contest in the ensuing polls," Sethi told reporters.

He claimed that Patnaik had earlier assured him to consider his candidature or giving ticket to his son.

Bhadrak Youth BJD president Durga Prasanna Das, a supporter of Sethi, also resigned from the party.

Sethi, who was Union Minister for Water Resources in the A B Vajpeyee Ministry from 2000 to 2004, is the fourth BJD MP, to have resigned from the party.

Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh and Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo have already resigned from the BJD.

While Panda, Majhi and Singh have joined BJP, the BJD president has not accepted the resignation of Deo. Sethi was yet to take decision on his next course of action.

Sources said Sethi may also join BJP, if the saffron party makes him a candidate from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat. BJP was yet to announce the name of its candidate from Bhadrak (SC), Jagatsinghpur (SC), Jajpur (SC) and Mayurbhanj (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

At least five sitting MLAs have also resigned from the BJD and joined BJP following denial of renomination.

The BJD has expelled three leaders from the party for anti-party activities ahead of the polls in Odisha.

"BJD president Naveen Patnaik today expelled Siba Prasad Gouda and K Ramkrishna from Gunupur constituency in Rayagada. Besides, Kanhu Singh from Banki constituency in Cuttack district has also been expelled from the party. The trio has been expelled from the party for their indulgence in anti-party activities," BJD state secretary Bijay Nayak said in a release.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 16:37 [IST]Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat polls to be held in 8 phases from March 5-19

Explained: What is Model Code of Conduct, when does it come into equation?

Modi absolved of violation of poll conduct charge: Has EC delivered a one-sided order?

Debates

oi-Deepika S

The Election Commission of India on Friday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mission Shakti speech saying it did not break the Model Code of Conduct.

It was state-owned Doordarshan News that shot the PM's address but the logo of the channel was deliberately not displayed in the final feed to avoid violating the Model Code of Conduct.

However, several Opposition leaders from across party lines had accused PM Modi of using government machinery to advertise "Mission Shakti" and appropriate an achievement by the country's space scientists and the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

By giving a clean chit to much debated speech, has the Election Commission delivered a one-sided order? What's your take

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 8:46 [IST]Honours are even today, which way will wind blow in 2022: P Chidambaram on bypoll results

A-SAT to boost sagging fortunes of the BJP: Chidambaram

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Mar 30: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday slammed PM Narendra Modi's Mission Shakti speech and said, "The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret."

In a tweet, Chidambaram also said, "Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP."

India shot down one of its satellites in space on Wednesday with an anti-satellite missile to demonstrate this complex capability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced, making it only the fourth country to have used such a weapon.

Chidambaram backs Nyay scheme, says nobody questioned Modi's Rs 15 lakh math

Declaring India has established itself as a global space power after the success of the operation 'Mission Shakti', Modi said the missile hit a live satellite flying in a Low Earth Orbit after it traversed a distance of almost 300 km from earth within three minutes of its launch.

The announcement was made by the prime minister in a broadcast to the nation on television, radio and social media.

Several opposition parties had complained to the Election Commission alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). However, the EC has given a clean chit to Modi's speech.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 12:09 [IST]Air Marshal NS Dhillon appointed as new chief of Strategic Forces Command

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Mar 30: Air Marshal Navkaranjit Singh Dhillon has been appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) which is responsible for the management of India's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.

Air Marshal Dhillon would replace Air Marshal Jasbir Walia who was the head of the SFC since 1 August 2016.

The SFC manages and administers all strategic forces by exercising complete command and control over nuclear assets, and producing all contingency plans as needed to fulfill the required tasks.

Dhillon, born on January 2, 1961, joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) as fighter pilot in 1981. He has a total 3,700 flying hrs to his credit of which 3,100 hrs are exclusively for flying MIG 21.

Navkaranjit Singh Dhillon, who was promoted as Air Marshal in June 2016, is an alumnus of St Francis School, Amritsar; Sainik School, Kapurthala; and Khalsa College, Amritsar. He is a graduate of National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College and National Defence College.

Air Marshal Dhillon was the topper of the fighter strike leader course at Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE). Later, he served as directing staff at the TACDE in the capacity of head of the Training and Deputy Commandant. He has commanded a MIG-21 squadron and has been the chief operations officers of a premier flying base.

He also commanded a helicopter base in DR Congo as part of UN Peace Keeping Mission. Dhillon served as Principal, Director Air Defence, and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (inspection) at Air Headquarters.

What is Strategic Forces Command, its responsibilities?

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) forms part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA). It is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile. It was created on January 4, 2003, by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Government. Air Marshal Teja Mohan Asthana became its first commander-in-chief.

[IAF inducts advanced multi-mission Chinook helicopters]

It is the responsibility of the Strategic Forces Command to operationalize the directives of the NCA under the leadership of a Commander-in-Chief who is a three-star rank officer. It will have the sole responsibility of initiating the process of delivering nuclear weapons and warheads, after acquiring explicit approval from the NCA. The exact selection of the target area shall be decided by the SFC through a calibrated, cumulative process involving various levels of decision-making, and with formal approval by the NCA.

The SFC manages and administers all strategic forces by exercising complete command and control over nuclear assets, and producing all contingency plans as needed to fulfill the required tasks. Since its inception, the SFC's command, control and communication systems have been firmly established, and the command has attained a high state of operational readiness.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 20:41 [IST]Disrupt polls in every J&K constituency: Pakistans latest directive

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: The Intelligence Bureau has sounded yet another alert stating that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba would look to disrupt the polls in various parts of the country.

In an earlier alert, accessed by OneIndia, the IB had said that both the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad are activating their sleeper cells/modules across the country to strike ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In the latest alert, the IB says that Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Saleem Parey has focused his resources on Jammu and Kashmir. It further says that the modules in Bandipora have been activated and he has directed two persons to carry out the attack.

Article 35A constitutionally vulnerable, hampering development in J&K: Jaitley

The alert says that there is a clear directive from Pakistan to disrupt the polls which is being held amidst very high security in the state. Pakistan wants to ensure that the polls are disrupted in as many constituencies as possible.

In this backdrop, Pakistan would look to keep the border busy, while terrorists could carry out strikes in the Valley and even infiltrate into it. The alert says that it is not just the Lashkar-e-Tayiba which would look to carry out strikes. Smaller groups such as the al-Badr too have been tasked to strike in the Valley.

There is a major concern regarding the security in the Valley, especially during the poll season says an officer with the IB. This is one of the main reasons, why the Election Commission decided that the elections in the Anantnag constituency.

The seat has been lying vacant since 2016 after Mehbooba Mufti vacated the same after she became the chief minister. Most of the attention is on this seat as it comprises the four districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama. These areas have been infested with terrorists and have been dangerous areas for the security forces to operate.

The decision to conduct the election in phases was taken on the basis of the feedback by the security forces. Security officials explained the difficulty in conducting the elections in Anantnag.

The recent suicide strike at Pulwama was also cited as one of the reasons.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 15:22 [IST]Farooq Sahab suggested me to speak with Pakistan but I will speak to the youth: Amit Shah in Srinagar

If normalcy to be brought in Kashmir, Article 370 has to be reinstated: Farooq Abdullah

Doubt if 40 jawans killed in Pulwama: Farooq Abdullah

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, Mar 30: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday sparked a fresh row raising doubt over the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama last month.

Speaking to media, the NC leader said, "Kitne sipahi Hindustan ke shaheed huye Chhattisgarh mein? Kya kabhi Modi ji vahan gaye unpe phool chadhane ke liye?........magar vo 40 log CRPF ke shaheed ho gaye, uska bhi mujhe shak hai. (How many Indian jawans were martyred in Chhattisgarh? Did PM Modi went there to pay floral tribute to those martyrs.... 40 personnel of CRPF were martyred, I have doubt about it)."

Farooq Abdullah faces political greenhorns in prestigious Srinagar LS seat

Earlier this month, the NC leader had said that the aerial attack was carried out to "rebuild Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image.

"I know one thing when I was in Parliament in last days...The PM and its government's image was dropping down rapidly because of unemployment, poor condition of industries, farmers distress, Demonetisation had also badly affected country and all this was going against him .... so there one thing simmering in Parliament that he will do something, a small minor attack on Pakistan to prove that he means business and see this has happened," he had said.

As many as 40 CRPF jawans were killed after a Pakistan-based terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their convoy in Pulwama district on February 14. Days after this attack, India Air Force (IAF) carried out the air strike on terrorist training camps in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 15:57 [IST]TMC delegation to meet Election Commission in Delhi today; To request for early bypolls in Bengal

EC seizure in a day stood at Rs 580 crore and Gujarat contributed the bulk of it

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: Seizures by the Election Commission has hit Rs 580 crore in a single day. As on March 27, the total seizures including freebies and cash stood at 1,253 crore.

The rise was largely due to the seizure of 100 kilograms of narcotics, which was valued at Rs 500 crore in Gujarat.

The progressive seizure report updated on Friday suggests that the all India seizures so far included Rs 250 crore cash, Rs 122 crore worth liquor, drugs worth Rs 676 crore, precious metals worth Rs 183 crore. Other freebies seized were valued at Rs 22 crore.

Appoint election commissioners through collegium system: Former CEC

What is most alarming is the rise of drugs that have been seized. Until the Gujarat seizure, Punjab topped the list of drug seizures valued at 92.45 crore. However the seizure at Gujarat valued at Rs 676 crore, left Punjab far behind.

In terms of the overall seizures, Gujarat is now top on the list. The seizures from this state have been valued at Rs 506 crore. The next is Tamil Nadu with seizures valued at Rs 153 crore. Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have reported seizures of Rs 143 crore and Rs 120 crore respectively. Punjab's tally stands at Rs 117 crore.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 9:05 [IST]The students signed up for a full day of robotics.

National Guard Brings Robotics, STEM Education to Pittsfield High School



Shannon Kennedy, Elise Wellman, and Kendra Castagna built the winning robot. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  As a child, Elise Wellman played with Lego robotics.

But on Friday, it was a whole lot different game.

National Guardsmen dropped a box full of parts with a manual. She and her fellow Pittsfield High School students were told to open to a page that just had pictures.

Now build a remote-controlled robot that will open a mailbox, pull a block out, and then transport it to another location, they were told.

"This is really tricky but we figured it out. It can be challenging but we overcame the challenge," Wellman said.

In fact, Wellman's team of her, Shannon Kennedy, and Kendra Castagna built the best one. Wall-e, as they named the robot, completed the course in under two minutes.

"We did well. We got a minute and 54 seconds and the next person got over three minutes. Hopefully, nobody gets under that time," Castagna said as they waited for the last couple of teams left to finish.

The next team's claw fell off right near the end of course. The last group was on pace but stumbled in controlling the robot's direction, which was done through a camera mounted on the robot and broadcasted to a screen for the students to view. Wall-e had won.

The day was part of the Massachusetts National Guard's Urban Search and Rescue Seminar. For the last two years, the Guard has taken the science, technology, engineering, and math program (STEM) to schools throughout the state.

"STEM isn't always boring. It's not lab work it is something hands-on, something more physical," said Spec. Luis Diaz, the school program coordinator for Massachusetts.

A handful of members of the National Guard were on hand to help but overall, the goal was to have the students figure every step of the way themselves. They had to do the wiring and coding to make sure the remote control worked -- a particular challenge for Wellman, Kennedy, and Castagna as they had to systematically figure out how the wiring went together only to figure out that they had a faulty piece.

"We finally got the claw to move a certain way, we were trying for so long," Castagna said.

They built the robots with small parts, requiring the students to work together in order for it all to come together properly. And they had to communicate as one student manned the controls and another watched the video feed to direct them where to go.

"We have a bucket of parts and we give the kids a mission. Hey, your objective is all through remote control and video feed, find something retrieve it and bring it to a safe point," Diaz said. "They started with just parts and they had to do their own wiring, reconfiguring, and pre-planning."

Some 40 students had taken part in it voluntarily. P.J. Hunt is the local National Guard liaison and had suggested bringing the program to the school to a guidance counselor. STEM Coordinator Maureen Boino then took it from there and it didn't take long before enough students had signed up.

"They learned teamwork. They learned what to do to troubleshoot if something goes wrong and how to go back and fix it and make it better. They've learned how to do a little bit of programming, how to actually build a functioning robot to complete a task, and to take direction. It is OK to make a mistake and that's really important for our youth these days, to learn from their mistakes," Boino said.

"The camaraderie that has come out of this amongst these 40 kids has just been really amazing. They are helping each other."

Diaz referred to the program as a "Trojan horse" for STEM. He said the program is designed to be fun and hands-on to help get students interested in it. Kennedy said she signed up for that type of experience. She knows she wants to go into engineering but exactly what field is still a question.



It required a lot of trial and error just figuring out how to build a robot that will accomplish the mission. But, eventually, every team put what they created to the test. "I want to go into engineering so I thought it would be a good experience to see if some type of robotic engineering would be something I'd be interested in doing," Kennedy said.

Castagna, on the other hand, has an interest in civil engineering. But that may change after Friday's experience.

"Getting to see this definitely made me interested more," she said, later adding that she enjoyed "seeing the before and after, the accomplishment is cool, knowing that you created it."

The daylong competition is new for Pittsfield High School but one PHS teachers want to bring back again. Computer Teacher Lynn Gracie-Rogers has been interested in robotics, has some in her classroom, and hopes to see more students get involved. But, there really hasn't been much of a robotics program at the school for a number of years.

"I think this is amazing. I wish we can do it every year," Gracie-Rogers, adding that she is particularly interested in getting more girls into coding and computer programming.

Bringing it back another year is only one piece of what is happening at Pittsfield High School for STEM technology.

Physics teacher Tamala Sebring is putting together the details on bringing robotics into the curriculum. She's been working with General Dynamics on a potential sponsorship that will bring robotics into the daily classroom.

"Currently we have a computer-assisted drafting class that is one semester long and we have the intro to engineering class that runs concurrently. Then we switch. It is rather difficult to just do CAD or just do engineering. We're actually looking at taking the two classes and teaching them together and using the robotics to facilitate that," Sebring said.

"The kids could learn how to draft, draw up plans on the computer, and they can build the robots and do some testing."

Sebring said there had been some level of robotics in the past but it was more of a club. This would be a full class the students could take.

"It will be a lot of problem-solving but it will also help the kids learn why they need to learn computer science, how they can put science and math together and make it do things," Sebring said.

Boino said the STEM education at Pittsfield High School is growing by "leaps and bounds."

"We tried to have a robotics program here probably eight to 10 years ago. Things changed, it didn't continue. We are trying to rebuild the STEM program here and it is growing by leaps and bounds. Pittsfield High is really great at providing a very strong STEM education right now," Boino said.Rahul should be sent back to school to know what ministries exist under Centre: Giriraj Singh

Giriraj blames Jignesh Mevani for attacks on migrants in Gujarat

India

oi-PTI

Patna, Mar 30: Union minister Giriraj Singh Saturday trained his guns at Jignesh Mevani, who has been canvassing for his CPI rival Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai, blaming the young Dalit leader from Gujarat for the attacks on migrants from Bihar in the western state last year.

An indignant Mevani hit back saying he would sue the BJP leader for defamation and alleged that in the backdrop of the "silence" of the ruling BJP in Gujarat, during the anti-migrant violence, Girirajs outbursts were tantamount to "ulta chor kotwal ko daante" (the thief reprimanding the policeman).

"What is this Jignesh Mevani doing here in Begusarai.

UPA-1 conducted 11 surgical strikes, but never boasted about it: KCR

He was involved in attacks on Biharis who were forcibly driven out of Gujarat. He abetted those responsible for the dishonour that our mothers and sisters had to suffer in that state," Singh who reached Begusarai on Friday after spending several days in a sulk over not getting a chance to seek re-election from his Nawada seat - tweeted.

"I am going to lodge a defamation case against Giriraj Singh. He has the nerve to blame me when his party, which is in power in Gujarat, was solely responsible for the unfortunate events that took place there," Mevani told PTI over phone from Begusarai.

"I had openly condemned the role played by Vijay Rupanis government and questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had ruled Gujarat for long and owed his rise to national prominence in a large measure to the love and affection he received from the Hindi belt," he said.

Mevani, who shot to fame with the massive stir he had launched in Gujarat against atrocities committed by cow vigilantes on Dalits engaged in the profession of skinning of dead cattle, has been camping in Begusarai for three days, canvassing in favour of the former JNU students union president, often leaving the local populace touched with the smattering in local dialect that he has picked up.

Currently an Independent MLA in Gujarat, Mevani also pointed out "I was, in fact, actively involved in the efforts to protect migrants from RSS-backed goons. We had come out in support of the drive launched by Hardik Patel, who had issued a helpline number."

"I had tendered apologies on behalf of the people of Gujarat when I came to Patna in October last year to take part in a CPI rally. I did so because I felt revulsion towards the apathy shown by Rupani and Modi whose silence displayed a sense of thanklessness for the migrant workers who have toiled to make Gujarat what it is. Giriraj has left me appalled," he added.

"Anybody can check on youtube. I spoke for just a few minutes but must have used the term 'namak haram' for Modi about a dozen times, in the context of the anti-migrant violence," Mevani said.

Asked whether he thought the Union minister had confused him with Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who has often been blamed for the attacks on migrants, Mevani said "it could be. But as someone who has seen it all with his own eyes, I can vouch that even he was being made a scapegoat. It was all at the behest of the BJP-RSS combine".

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 16:09 [IST]Congress in alliance talks with Sharad Pawar's party, others for Goa polls

In the Goa assembly all 40 MLAs are crorepatis

Goa issues guidelines for int'l passengers: RT-PCR test, self-isolation must for travellers from 12 nations

Goa Congress hit by several resignations on day of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's visit

Priyanka Gandhi promises 30 pc quota in jobs for women in Goa, calls BJP 'anti-women'

Goa assembly bypolls: Congress declares two candidates

India

oi-PTI

Panaji, Mar 29: The Congress Friday announced two candidates for the assembly bypolls in Goa next month, naming former minister Mahadev Naik from Shiroda and fielding Sudhir Kandolkar from Mapusa.

By-elections are scheduled in Shiroda, Mapusa and another assembly constituency Mandrem on April 23. The same day voting will take place for the two Lok Sabha seats in the coastal state.

Naik, a former minister who had quit the BJP last month, will contest from his traditional Shiroda assembly segment in North Goa.

Also Read | Hours after quitting MGP, Pawaskar inducted in Goa Cabinet



All-India Congress Committee General Secretary Mukul Wasnik cleared the names of both the candidates, who were earlier in the BJP, in a statement released in New Delhi.

The opposition party is yet to announce its candidate for the Mandrem assembly seat.

The by-elections in Shiroda and Mandrem were necessitated after their sitting Congress MLAs resigned and joined the ruling BJP.

The Mapusa seat fell vacant following the death of its sitting MLA Francis D'Souza of the BJP.

The BJP has already announced its candidates for the three by-elections.

Its candidate Subhash Shirodkar is in the fray in Shiroda, while the party has fielded Joshua D'Souza from Mapusa.

BJP leader Dayanand Sopte will contest from the Mandrem assembly constituency. Another assembly constituency, Panaji, fell vacant after the death of its MLA and former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17.

However, the Election Commission is yet to announce the Panaji bypoll date. The effective strength of the 40-member Goa assembly currently is 36.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 12:27 [IST]Here is another angle of Congress, AAP alliance in Delhi

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, March 30: The proposed alliance between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is changing colours day-by-day.

Few developments on Friday added a new colour to it. Punjab AAP leaders met party supremo Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in New Delhi in which Kejriwal asked the party leaders that they should dispel rumours that there will be an alliance with the Congress in Punjab.

The meeting was attended by with AAP Punjab chief Bhagwant Mann, eight of the 13 Lok Sabha candidates declared by the party and the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Harpal Singh Cheema.

AAP- Congress alliance in offing

It's notable that the meeting comes after Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh told the Congress high-command that he is not in favour of an alliance with the AAP.

Kejriwal also told NDTV in Vijaywada that the AAP needs the alliance with the Congress in Haryana, but not in Delhi.

Another Angle in Delhi

Sources tell One India that it is factionalism within in the Congress that has prevented any decision till now over alliance with the AAP in Delhi.

A Congress insider says that it is anti-Sheila Dikshit camp that wants to forge an alliance with the AAP in Delhi.

Congress Delhi in-charge PC Chacko and former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Ajay Maken have been batting for the alliance with the AAP. Former Delhi Chief Minister and DPCC President Sheila Dikshit is against any tie-up with Kejriwal. Though she has stopped expressing her views over the issue, her Working Presidents-Haroon Yusuf, Devender Yadav, and Rajesh Lilothia- have been speaking up her views.

On Friday, Lilothia said that the Congress does not need the support of another party to win Lok Sabha elections.

He said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi has appointed Working Presidents to strengthen the party and not for forging the alliance.

The rivalry between Maken and Sheila is since decades and well-known. Sheila camp had also registered protest over a phone survey, carried out through Shakti app of the party, on the directions of Chacko. The survey sought views of around 52,000 Delhi Congress workers on whether they supported the party's alliance with the AAP in Delhi or not without taking Sheila into confidence.

"The tug of war within the Congress over alliance with the AAP in Delhi is not for the Lok Sabha elections but for the Delhi Assembly elections. Sheila knows that if the Congress goes solo and wins even a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections then all the credit will go to her. This will ultimately make her stronger and will have more say in the next Delhi Assembly elections, in which again the Congress has nothing to lose as it did not win even a single seat in 2015 Delhi elections. The anti-Sheila camp also realises this and does not want to see Sheila taking all the credit," says the Congress insider.

The AAP had won 67 seats out of 70 seats in 2015 Delhi Assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had bagged the remaining three seats.

AAP doing the right thing by going solo? Here's what Delhiites have to say

The insider adds that the popularity graph of the AAP in Delhi is on a downward trend and it suits Sheila.

"No matter how much the AAP leadership exudes confidence of winning all the seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi, but it realises a fact that even if the party wins a single seat then also it would be a great achievement," he says, adding that when the Delhi Assembly elections will be held then the AAP is unlikely to repeat the success of 2015 and its loss will be a gain for either the Congress or the BJP.

"So, Sheila has nothing to lose in the Lok Sabha elections as well as in the Assembly elections. This is not being liked by her political opponents and they want to join hands with the AAP in the Lok Sabha elections in the name of defeating the BJP without thinking about the loss and profit of the Congress. As a matter of fact, they don't want to see Sheila winning. "

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 9:11 [IST]India no longer weak, will give befitting reply to anyone threatening its territorial integrity: Rajnath Singh

In Parliament today: Rajnath Singh to make statement on chopper crash that killed Gen Rawat

If Indira Gandhi is credited, why should Modi not be?: Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Deepika S

Ahmedabad, Mar 30: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked the crowd why PM Modi should not get credit for the decision to carry out air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot, which destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp.

Singh spoke of the air strike, comparing PM Modi's achievement to that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, under whose leadership India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 war, a result of which was the fact that Bangladesh was created.

"After the war, our leader A B Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi in Parliament. She was also praised all over the country," Singh added.

Why the Lucknow battle may not be a cake-walk for Rajnath Singh

Referring to the Pulwama attack, the home minister said, "When our 40-42 CRPF soldiers lost their lives in a fidayeen attack, Modiji gave a free hand to our forces."

"If Indira Gandhi can get the credit of dividing Pakistan in 1971, why shouldn't Modiji get the credit for what he has done in Balakot," Rajnath asked.

He then said that the opposition Congress hadn't shown that spirit for when PM Modi gave the armed forces the go-ahead to carry out the "pre-emptive, non military" strike in Pakistan's Balakot.

Referring to the Pulwama terror attack which the Jaish-e-Mohammed took full responsibility for, Rajnath Singh said, "When over 40 of our CRPF soldiers lost their lives in a suicide terror attack, Modiji gave a free hand to our forces."

"Should he not be given credit for that?" he questioned.

India has carried out 3 air strikes in last 5 years: Rajnath Singh

The rally at Gandhinagar, which was also seen as a show of strength of the BJP-led NDA, was organised because Amit Shah takes over from LK Advani to contest from the constituency by filing his nomination papers today.

Advani, a veteran leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was a member of parliament from Gandhinagar for over 25 years. Atal Bihari Vajpayee too, contested and represented Gandhinagar for a brief time.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 14:13 [IST]Incorrect and denied says ED after reports of officer probing Nirav Modi case is relieved

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: A controversy erupted as the main investigating officer (IO) in the Nirav Modi money laundering case was relieved of his charge by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai, an order overturned by the agency headquarters here within minutes.

The order divesting joint director Satyabrat Kumar of the charge of Mumbai zonal unit-I of the ED was issued by its top officer in the western zone, Special Director Vineet Agarwal, on Friday when Kumar was in London with regard to Modi's bail hearing in the extradition case.

As soon as the news came out, sources said, ED director Sanjay Kumar Mishra cancelled the order in Delhi and restored the charge to Kumar.

Nirav Modi & Vijay Mallya to share same jail cell in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail?

Kumar, an Indian Revenue Service officer of the Customs and Indirect Taxes service, was divested of his charge by Agarwal on the technical ground and rule that no IO can continue at one post beyond five years and no order for his continuation was issued by the ED headquarters.

Special director Agarwal, in his signed order, relieved Kumar from all the investigations, including the $2-billion PNB Bank fraud case against Nirav Modi, and handed over the additional charge of Kumar to his immediate superior authority of Additional Director (western region), who also sits in Mumbai.

The order, however, allowed Kumar to continue probing coal blocks allocation cases as he was appointed IO in this case by the Supreme Court and no officer can be changed without the apex court's permission.

Sensing the controversy being generated over the abrupt removal of the IO in this crucial case being monitored at the top level of the government, the ED headquarters cancelled the order immediately.

Nirav Modi's defence team even uses his pet dog in attempt to win bail

This cancellation will be followed by an approval of extension of tenure of Kumar which has already been sent for clearance to the department of revenue under the Union finance ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the sources said.

The ED also issued a clarification through its Twitter handle. "Certain media reports have been appearing that Joint Director supervising investigation in the case of Nirav Modi has been relieved. This report is not correct and denied," it said.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 10:19 [IST]Till when does a father have to take responsibility of his child: SC clarifies

Indians looking for extramarital affairs are happy with Supreme Court: survey

India

oi-Shubham Ghosh

New Delhi, March 30: Many Indians are thanking the country's Supreme Court nowadays from the core of their hearts. In fact, a recent survey has said that the apex court's striking down two colonial-era rules -- Section 377 and 497 of the Indian Penal Code -- has pleased a lot of people (nearly 70 per cent) and they feel these changes "will liberate people from their marriage burden and help in having love affairs out of wedlock", Quartz said in a report recently.

The survey was carried out across India on Valentine's Day by Gleeden, an extramarital dating site that has five lakh users in India. Therein, married individuals look for affairs partners.

Bipin Rawat suggests SC order on decriminalising gay sex may not be implemented in Army

According to the Quartz report, a third of the respondents of the survey who said the changes would be liberating were women.

Gleeden reported that in the past six months, there has been a 45 per cent hike in same-sex encounters among the site's subscribers. According to a press release by Gleeden, this fact proves that once Section 377 was decriminalised, people were freer to express their sexual preference and to pursue homosexual or bisexual encounters outside their marriages.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 14:57 [IST]As Mamata Banerjee takes swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Cong says such posturing for personal ambition will help BJP

Rahul Gandhi in centre of Cong posters for Jaipur rally; call for him to become party chief again

Is Rahul Gandhi killing NYAY before its birth?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, March 30: Congress President Rahul Gandhi has started giving interviews to media organisations in a bid to push Congress ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

However, a deep analysis of his interviews portends that they may prove counterproductive.

For example, in his interview to Hindi daily Amar Ujala, Gandhi says that the idea of the Nyuntam Aay Yojna (NYAY), or Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme, came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs. 15 lakh promise made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul Gandhi promises to scrap Niti Aayog, revert to Planning Commission if voted to power

"His two three ideas, like depositing Rs 15 lakh into the bank accounts of people, were good, but Modi lied. We have taken his idea and will be depositing Rs. 72000 per year into the bank accounts of poor once our government is formed," says Gandhi.

A Delhi Congress functionary on the condition of anonymity tells One India that politics is all about perception and using a negative one like Rs 15 lakh promise for your ambitious scheme just before Lok Sabha elections may boomerang.

"Announcing that the NYAY is inspired by Modi 's Rs. 15 lakh promise is like killing your own baby before birth. When the common people don't have faith on what politicians say then who is going to believe you that the NYAY won't be like Rs. 15 lakh jumla (idiomatic expression)? " says the young Congress leader.

It is notable that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said in 2015 that Narendra Modi's 'promise' as the party's PM candidate that each Indian would receive Rs 15 lakh when black money would be repatriated from abroad was a jumla and should not be taken literally.

The Opposition leaders, including Rahul, have been attacking Prime Minister Modi over non-fulfilment of Rs. 15 lakh promise.

It has become so negative that even the staunch supporters of Prime Minister Modi have devised funny ways to demand that he should be re-elected as prime minister.

Short videos made by Modi supporters are being shared on social media platforms like WhatsApp wherein they are heard saying that until the Prime Minister gives them Rs. 15 lakh they won't let him step down.

The Congress functionary expressed apprehensions that the BJP 's IT Cell may use its covert digital army to publicise that Rahul has admitted that NYAY is inspired by Rs 15 lakh jumla.

When asked how and when the NYAY would be implemented if the Congress forms the government, Rahul tells the Hindi daily, "We will not implement (NYAY) suddenly at 12 o 'clock like the GST. Neither will we implement it like demonetisation arbitrarily. It will be implemented stepwise and in stages in a planned manner. When the Congress forms the government then a survey will be conducted and a report will be prepared on its basis... "

Our manifesto will reflect people's voice, not one man's: Rahul Gandhi

The miffed Congress functionary reacted by saying, "What a normal reader would assume after reading Rahul's interview? He will be perplexed thinking about what type of survey? What type of report? He should have given a detailed answer by choosing the right words."

He opined that the majority of the readers would think that like Prime Minister Modi, Rahul also wants to garner votes in the name of NYAY and does not have a blueprint to implement it.

"When you say that a survey will be conducted, a report will be prepared then actually you are giving excuses in advance that after forming the government you will pass the time and the NYAY would be subjected to the bureaucratic delays," said the Congress leader.

Rahul has also said in the interview that many subsidy schemes will either be scrapped or curtailed in order to implement the NYAY.

Noted Professor of Economics at MIT Abhijit Banerjee, who was consulted by the Congress over NYAY, has also told Times Now that implementation of NYAY scheme will mean that lots of current welfare programmes will have to be scrapped.

Rahul does not rule out contesting from second seat, says party will take a call

He also said that NYAY scheme will have to be funded by new taxes. In other words, the middle class will have to bear the cost of Congress' political adventurism.

Interestingly, Rahul has shared this interview from his official Twitter handle.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 9:22 [IST]If normalcy to be brought in Kashmir, Article 370 has to be reinstated: Farooq Abdullah

JKSSB SI Recruitment 2021: Last date to apply for 800 Sub Inspector posts, direct link here

J&K: Terrorists shoot dead a civilian in Baramulla

India

oi-Vikas SV

Srinagar, Mar 30: Terrorists on Saturday shot dead a civilian in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla. The incident took place at Main Chowk in Baramulla.

The motive behind the attack is not known as yet. The victim was a chemist by profession, as per reports.

On Wednesday (March 27), terrorists shot dead a civilian in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian. The incident took place at Kachdoora village in south Kashmir's Shopian district. The victim has been identified as one Tanveer Ahmed Dar, 24-years-old, from Bemnipora. Dar was fired upon by masked gunmen near Masjid Noor at Kachdoora village this afternoon

On March 19, a 25-year-old man was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of J&K. The terrorists fired upon Mohsin Wani near his residence in Reshipora area of Tral in the south Kashmir. Wani succumbed to injuries on the way to a hospital.

[Special Police Officer shot dead in Shopian]

On January 28, a terrorist had reportedly shot at a civilian in J&K's Pulwama region. The person was identified as one Tariq Ahmad Wani from Reshipora. Last year in October, unidentified terrorists shot a man in Srinagar's Hyderpora area. The victim, identified as Muhammad Amin Dar, sustained grievous gunshot wounds and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 17:45 [IST]Who was MP Abani Roy? The senior RSP leader who passed away at 84

Jangipur constituency in WB: Even BJP has fielded Muslim candidate in this Cong stronghold

India

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Kolkata, March 29: The schedule for the 17th Lok Sabha election was announced by the Election Commission on Sunday, March 10. The election will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19 with the results to be declared on May 23. Of all the states in the country, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will witness elections in seven phases.

Here we take a look at all the Lok Sabha constituencies (42) of Bengal and how parties have fared there over the years.

LS poll 2019: Maldaha Dakshin remains one of Cong's last bastions; can opponents win it?

Constituency: JANGIPUR

Date of election: April 23 (Phase 3)

The Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district of Bengal comprises the following seven segments: Suti; Jangipur; Raghunathganj; Sagardighi; Lalgola; Nabagram (SC) and Khargram (SC)

What happened in 2014:

The Jangipur constituency has remained a battleground between the Congress and Left over the years. It was from this constituency that former president Pranab Mukherjee had won both his Lok Sabha terms in 2004 and 2009 although he did not complete the second term as he became the president in 2012. His son Abhijit Mukherjee won the by-election to become an MP from this seat. He won again in 2014 and continued for five years.

Mukherjee received 3,78,201 votes in 2014 while his nearest rival Muzaffar Hossain of the CPI(M) got 3,70,040 votes. The Trinamool Congress finished third with its candidate Sk Nurul Islam getting 2,07,455 votes. The BJP's Samrat Ghosh finished fourth with 96,751 votes.

Total electors in Jangipur constituency in 2014 were 13,87,260.

Vote share:

The Congress's vote-share in Jangipur in 2014 was 33.79 per cent while that of the CPI(M) was 33.06. The TMC ended with 18.53 per cent and the BJP with 8.64 per cent vote share.

History of Jangipur constituency results: A battleground between Congress and Left

Jangipur has been witnessing parliamentary elections since 1967 and of the 14 times so far (including the 2012 by-election), both the Congress and the Marxists have won the seats seven times each. However, the Congress's vote-share was down to its lowest in the seat in 2014 after 34.7 per cent that it received in 1971. The BJP has fielded its first Muslim candidate, Mafuja Khatun, in Bengal in this seat and she is a former CPI(M) MLA from South Dinajpur district.

Jangipur has a high concentration of Muslim voters and all of Mukherjee's opponents are from the minority community.

The Left had initially not given a candidate from this seat but later gave the nomination to Zulfiqar Ali. With a narrow margin of 8,000 votes in the last parliamentary election in this seat, can Mukherjee continue to keep one of the last remaining Congress bastions this time?

Candidates contesting from Jangipur in 2019:

TMC: Khalilur Rahman;

BJP: Mafuja Khatun;

Left: Zulfiqar Ali

Congress: Abhijit MukherjeeFrom plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much

What does the meeting between Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad mean for India

JeM using US made rifles in Kashmir

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: The security forces have recovered sophisticated weapons from two top Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists who were killed in an encounter at Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

The forces recovered one M 16 and one AK rifle from the terrorists following the encounter. Other material to were seized. The operation was part of a crackdown on JeM modules following the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred.

The US made rifle has been used on various occasions by terrorists of the JeM.

Officials say that the recovery of this sophisticated weapon makes the link clear between the Pakistan army and terrorists in the Valley.

Disrupt polls in every J&K constituency: Pakistan's latest directive

This is the third time that the M4 Carbine has been seized in the Valley. The last time the weapons was recovered was following an encounter involving Talha Rashid, the nephew of JeM chief, Maulana Masood Azhar.

Prior to this, a similar weapon was recovered following an encounter with Usman Haider, who was also the nephew of the JeM chief.

It may be recalled that a picture of a terrorist by the name Sameer Tiger holding the rifle at Pulwama had gone viral. However it was learnt that Tiger, who was part of the Hizbul Mujahideen had borrowed the weapon to pose with it.

This weapon is extensively used by the United States Armed Forces and is largely replacing the M 16 rifle. The M4 is capable of mounting the M203 and M320 grenade launchers. The M4 is capable of firing in semi-automatic and three-round burst modes (like the M16A2 and M16A4), while the M4A1 is capable of firing in semi-auto and fully automatic modes (like the M16A1 and M16A3).

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 16:44 [IST]From taking dip in Ganga to offering prayers to Lord Shiva, check out pics of PM Modi's visit to Varanasi

Left MP tweets pic of bindi packets carrying PM Modis face and BJP symbol ahead of LS polls

India

oi-Shubham Ghosh

New Delhi, March 30: The Lok Sabha elections are not far away now. April 11 will see the country going to the first phase of polling of the all-important election. And as the polls draw near, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen all the more, campaigning for his government and party.

Modi's supporters are keen to see him coming back to power for the second term and support is pouring in for him at various nook and corner of the country.

Now, even a bindi manufacturer has come up with products that have Modi's face printed on the wrappers. The wrapper did not take time to viral on the social media. Even the ruling BJP's symbol - the lotus - has been printed on the bindi wrappers.

Railways serves tea in 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' cups, withdraws after backlash

Mohammad Salim, the sitting Left MP from Raiganj, West Bengal, who is also contesting from the seat this time, tweeted on Wednesday, March 27, a photo of the bindi wrappers with Modi's face and captioned it: "So the Paytm brand ambassador is now the face of Paras Fancy Bindi too. #ModiHaiTohMumkinHai".

So the Paytm brand ambassador is now the face of Paras Fancy Bindi too. #ModiHaiTohMumkinHai pic.twitter.com/NLsu3FjKV7  Md Salim (@salimdotcomrade) March 28, 2019

There have also been instances where people have printed election campaign statements on their marriage invitation cards to canvass support for Modi and the BJP.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 12:54 [IST]As Mamata Banerjee takes swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Cong says such posturing for personal ambition will help BJP

Rahul Gandhi in centre of Cong posters for Jaipur rally; call for him to become party chief again

Lok Sabha Elections 2019 updates: Anti-BJP front gains momentum, Naidu meets Sonia Gandhi

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 19: Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre. He reached Lucknow after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav. The Telugu Desam Party chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Uttarakhand today with a visit to Kedarnath shrine. The prime minister is also expected to offer prayers at Badrinath tomorrow before returning to Delhi in the afternoon. The prime minister's visit to the holy shrine came a day before the last phase of the marathon Lok Sabha elections.

Fifty nine parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections and the results will be announced four days later, on May 23.

Stay tuned for the Lok Sabha elections 2019 UPDATES:Massive explosion on Jammu-Srinagar highway; What caused the suspicious blast

India

oi-Vikas SV

Jammu, Mar 31: A massive explosion near the Jawahar Tunnel on Jammu-Srinagar Highway left the people panic-stricken as it triggered memories of the February 14 terrorist attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama, South Kashmir.

The blast took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district around 10.30 am on Saturday. A CRPF vehicle was slightly damaged and a private car went up in flames after an explosion. It was later found that the blast was apparently caused by a gas cylinder. There were no casualties in the incident.

According to a preliminary investigation, the blast near Tethar village, seven km from Banihal town in Jammu region, occurred after one of the two gas cylinders in the Hyundai Santro model caught fire. Banihal sub-divisional police officer Sajad Sarwar said the vehicle, which was on the way to Jammu from Srinagar, was completely gutted in the fire.

[Two dead, around 30 Injured in grenade blast at Jammu bus stand; Hizbul behind the attack]

A CRPF vehicle, which was passing through the highway at the time of the incident, suffered slight damage in the rear side, but all the personnel on board escaped unhurt, Sarwar said.

On February 14 this year, a terrorist attack took place on this very highway near Pulwama in South Kashmir. Over 40 security personnel were martyred when a JeM terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into a large CRPF convoy. The security on this highway has been beefed up manifold since the Pulwama attack.

The probe into Saturday morning's explosion is underway and the terror angle has not yet been ruled out officially. The driver of the private car remained untraced and is believed to have escaped the scene after his vehicle caught fire, a PTI report said. The officer said the police had started an investigation and forensic experts had also been summoned to help the investigation.

[JeM terrorist linked to Pulwama attack mastermind arrested in Delhi]

"It has not been established whether it was a (terror) attack or not. It has also not been established why the vehicle caught fire. No explosive of sorts, but nothing can be said (at the moment)," J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik told reporters in Jammu on Saturday.

OneIndiaNews with PTI inputs

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Story first published: Sunday, March 31, 2019, 0:34 [IST]Monitoring group constituted to weed out terror sympathisers in govt offices

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Mar 28: In a bid to curb terror funding, the Union Government has set up a multi disciplinary Terror Monitoring Group.

The group has been constituted with an aim of taking coordinated action in all cases that relate to terror and terror financing. This group would identify all persons involved in terrorism. After these persons are identified, coercive action would follow.

The group would comprise the ADGP, CID, J&K Police, representatives of the CBI, NSA, CBTD and CBIC. This group would meet on a weekly basis and submit an action taken report.

India welcomes UN resolution against terror financing, calls Pakistan serial offender

An MHA official explained to OneIndia that the group would help identify not just terrorists, but sympathisers as well. A close watch would be kept on government employees and teachers as well, who have found to be sympathetic towards terror groups, the officer also explained.

If found to be involved, the group would conduct a thorough investigation and then action would follow. While the security forces are busy with over ground workers and terrorists, there has always been a concern regarding the sympathisers, especially those who work in government offices. It is necessary that the cases against such persons need to be taken to a logical conclusion, the officer explained. This group would look into the minutest of details and help weed out terrorism in all forms, he further said.

This action becomes all the more necessary in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigation Agency and Income Tax Department probing terror funding cases. It has been noticed in several cases, that the funds are reaching separatists and terrorists through various sources. One primary source has been teachers and government officials. This had gone unnoticed for long explains the officer, while stating the need for such a group.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 10:14 [IST]Railways to probe wings, BJP has scant regard for institutions: Omar

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said reports about prosecution withholding critical information about the Samjhauta Express blast case from the court was a reflection of the respect the BJP-led central government had for institutions of the country.

"The judge presiding over the special NIA court has himself said that the prosecution withheld critical information that would have allowed a guilty verdict to be passed. Clearly, this government has no respect for institutions," Abdullah told reporters at a press conference here.

The former chief minister said the disrespect for the institutions was seen across the length and breadth of the government.

Dastardly act of violence remained unpunished for want of evidence: Court in Samjhauta case

"Whether NITI Aayog chairman being hauled up by the Election Commission for giving political statements or the way they have treated Reserve Bank of India and reduced it to a subsidiary of the government, rather than an independent body.

"We are yet to see a decision from the Election commission of India where the Prime Minister uses a space-related announcement to further the BJP's campaign. And now what we have seen with the courts and the way in which Samjhauta trial has been sabotaged by withholding the evidence," he said.

Abdullah said even the railways was being used to campaign for the Prime Minister.

"I don't know how effective the chowkidar slogan will be for the BJP, that only time will tell, but the fact that railways is circulating cups with chowkidar written on them and the Election Commission is powerless to do anything about it, is a reflection on independence and how the institutions have been weakened.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 10:25 [IST]Separatist Shabir Shah used JeM terrorist to collect money handed out by Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: From attaching a house belonging to Kashmir separatist, Shabir Shah to imposing penalty on hawala operatives, the Enforcement Directorate continued its action in the terror funding case.

The Enforcement Directorate has identified several properties in Delhi and 30 in Jammu and Kashmir, which belong to the separatists. On Friday, the ED attached a property in Srinagar linked to separatist, Shabir Shah in connection with a 14 year old terror funding and money laundering case.

The property is located in Effandi Bagh in the Rawalpora area of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, and the central probe agency issued a provisional order to attach the asset under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Delhi court defers hearing on separatist leader Shabir Shah's bail plea till April 2

The action is part of a multi-agency crackdown launched by the government against separatists and militant operatives functioning from Kashmir Valley.

The ED said the asset is being "held in the name" of Shah's wife and daughters. The seized asset is valued at Rs 25.8 lakh, the agency said.

It added that Shah, currently in judicial custody in Delhi's Tihar Jail, is "involved in carrying out illicit activities along with his accomplice Mohd Aslam Wani, who is an activist of banned militant organisation JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad)".

"Shah was using Wani as a carrier for collecting hawala money sent by his Pakistan-based sympathisers through hawala operators...," the agency said.

Property a gift:

Records show, the ED said, that this property has been gifted to Shah's wife and daughters by his sisters-in-law in 2005, which was purchased in their name by his father-in-law in 1999.

However, in spite of repeated opportunities given to Shah's father-in-law and sisters-in-law they failed to justify the sources of fund to acquire the property, the agency claimed.

Investigation has also revealed that Shah is the de-facto owner of the property purchased through unexplained source of fund by his father-in-law, it alleged.

NIA, ED, IT probe suggests Kashmir separatists sat on a pot of gold

The ED said its probe revealed that Shah "was in touch with Hafeez Sayeed, chief of banned outfit Jamat-ud-Dawa based in Pakistan and that he had been receiving money for carrying out separatist activities in JK and has acquired various properties through a maze of dubious transactions".

Shah and Wani were arrested by the ED in 2017. Wani was granted bail by a court in January 2019.

Background:

The case dates back to August 2005 case when the Delhi Police's special cell arrested Wani (37), an alleged hawala dealer, who had claimed that he had passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

Wani was arrested allegedly with about Rs 63 lakh, received through hawala channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition on August 26, 2005.

During questioning, he had told the police that Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e-Mohammad area commander in Srinagar, Abu Baqar, and the rest was his commission.

An amount of Rs 63 lakh was earlier attached by the ED.

Wani, who hails from Srinagar, had also claimed that he had delivered around Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his kin in multiple instalments over the past year and in absence of Shah he used to deliver the money to his wife Bilquees Shah, it said.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 13:50 [IST]UPA-1 conducted 11 surgical strikes, but never boasted about it: KCR

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Hyderabad, Mar 30: The UPA-1 carried out 11 surgical strikes, but never boasted about it said K Chandrashekhar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana.

Addressing a rally at Miryalguda, Rao said that when he was part of the UPA-1, 11 surgical strikes were carried out, but they did not claim credit for it. He further said that he had never seen such 'golmal' politics in his life. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of speaking blatant lies.

Calling the BJP as a party of pseudo Hindus, he said that they would not win more than 150 Lok Sabha seats this time. The Congress on the other hand would end up with 100, he said. He said that the BJP comprises pseudo Hindus and added that he is a real Hindu, who lives life religiously for his sake and not for the sake of the voters.

Why KCR decided not to have assembly and Lok Sabha elections together

Commenting on how the chaiwala had been replaced with chowkidar, Rao asked, what Modi had done for the SC/STs and BCs. Why has a ministry for BCs not set up at the Centre, despite there being demands for the same, he asked.

He further reminded TPCC chief, N Uttam Kumar Reddy of his pledge about quitting politics, if the TRS came to power for a second time in the state. He also said that Reddy had vowed not to shave until the Congress came to power. Instead he is contesting the elections again, despite making a vow, Rao said.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 8:57 [IST]British MPs reject Brexit deal for third time

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

London, Mar 29: British MPs have rejected for a third time Prime Minister Theresa May's deal for leaving the EU, voting against the text negotiated with European leaders by 344 votes to 286.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told AFP ahead of parliament's third vote on May's twice-rejected Withdrawal Agreement with the other 27 EU nations that uncertainty associated with a Brexit extension was better than May's way forward.

[Theresa May to resign before next Brexit negotiation]

"My message to MPs from all parties is to vote against this deal," Khan said after meeting a group of EU nationals at a university in east London. "I appreciate that may lead to a bit more uncertainty, but I'd rather have a short period of uncertainty with a good future." Khan has focused his energy in the past year on preparing London's massive financial district for the consequences of a potentially abrupt and chaotic no-deal ending to Britain's 46-year involvement in the European project.

He admitted that no-one entirely knew -- or was fully ready -- for the eventuality of the sides splitting apart without any safety mechanisms in place to cushion the blow. The Bank of England warned in November that the UK economy could shrink by eight per cent within months of a messy divorce.

Britain must present the EU with an alternative proposal by April 12 if May's deeply unpopular deal is rejected for a third time. The Withdrawal Agreement's approval on Friday would give the UK parliament until May 22 to get all the accompanying legislation passed. Failure to do so could still theoretically result in the sides breaking up without a deal.

Khan is a member of the opposition Labour party who backs calls for May to put up any pact approved by parliament up for confirmation in a national vote that would also include the option of staying in the bloc.

"Rather than a group of MPs deciding our future, who by the way have changed their mind, the British public should be allowed a say," Khan said. "MPs get not just one say, but a second say and now a third say, yet the British public are not allowed a final say on whether we accept the deal negotiated by the government with the option of staying in the European Union." He called May "incompetent" and the government's handling of the entire process "shambolic".

"I think we can all agree that Brexit has been a complete and utter mess." He added that the European leaders he has been in talks with since Britons voted to leave in 2016 would still like to see voters change their minds and reverse Brexit in the months to come.

"When I speak to leaders from across Europe, whether it's in France, whether it's in Germany, whether it's in Brussels, what is clear to me is that nobody want to punish us," said the London mayor. "Everybody is heartbroken we are leaving."

(with PTI inputs)Is China the reason why Pakistan opted to skip Summit for Democracy hosted by Biden?

Pak, China team up again, say UN counter-terrorism mechanism being politicised

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

United Nations, March 30: The international community seems to have been deeply polarized over the United Nation's (UN) counter-terrorism machinery. While India and many western countries have been trying hard to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, countries like China and Pakistan feel that "politicizing" the international body's counter-terrorism machinery would weaken the regime through compromise and warned against "forcefully moving" a resolution in the UN Security Council.

According to reports by Pakistan media, the country's ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi said that mechanisms like FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and 1267 Sanctions regimes (ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee) should not be used as political tools by some to fulfil their own geopolitical goals.

Chini-Pakistani bhai bhai: China names three towns as sisters to Pakistani cities

"There is also a need to make these institutions more inclusive of the wider membership in their decision-making processes," she was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, March 28, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing that "forcefully moving" a resolution directly in the UNSC weakened the authority of the UN anti-terrorism committee.

"This is not in line with resolution of the issue through dialogue and negotiations. This has reduced the authority of the Committee as a main anti-terrorism body of the UNSC and this is not conducive to the solidarity and only complicates the issue," he said.

On Wednesday, March 27, the US moved a resolution in the UNSC directly, seeking to list Azhar as a UN-designated global terrorist. Two weeks ago, the US, Britain and France had also moved a similar resolution but China used its discretionary powers to put a hold on it. Beijing promised to review the situation, including the allegations that India has brought against Azhar, and reconsider its stand on the resolution.

Xinjiang crackdown: China thanks Kazakhstan for 'support'

Lodhi also said on the occasion that Pakistan has been the "principal victim" of terrorism, including that supported from abroad.

"But this has not diminished my country's resolve to eliminate this scourge," she said.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 16:14 [IST]Women should be part of Afghanistan peace process, feels actor-humanitarian Angelina Jolie

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

United Nations, March 30: Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie has expressed disappointment over the absence of women in the talks that are currently underway to give peace a chance in the war-ravaged state of Afghanistan. Speaking before ministers and diplomats in the United Nations on Friday, March 29, the 43-year-old pushed for the inclusion of women in the peace talks.

Peace talks started between the Taliban and US late last year and the latest rounds concluded earlier this month. However, the women folk is apprehensive that it could lose their freedom which found some prominence after the US-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001 and allege that its voice is getting sidelined, Afghanistan's TOLO News reported.

'No comments' from Angelina Jolie after visit to Rohingya camps in Bangladesh

"In Afghanistan thousands of women have recently come together in public risking their lives to ask that their rights and the rights of their children be guaranteed in peace negotiations that so far they have been allow no part of," Jolie, a former UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) Goodwill Ambassador, said during a ministerial meeting on UN peacekeeping, the report added.

She said the international community's response on the issue is alarming. "There can be no peace or stability in Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world that involves trading away the rights of women," said the special envoy for the UNHCR.

On Thursday, March 28, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction cited the Taliban as saying that though might consider more liberal policies towards women, the chief negotiator has said that the constitution that protects women's rights creates an obstacle on way of peace.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 13:54 [IST]UP deputy CM describes Congress' Nyay' scheme as 'anyaay yojana'

Lucknow

oi-PTI

Lucknow, Mar 30: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Saturday described the Congress' Nyay scheme as "anyay (injustice) yojana", saying that the scheme is "laughable" when compared to the welfare schemes implemented by the BJP.

"The public is able to see all the 'anyaay' done by them (Congress) in their Nyay scheme. This is a type of 'anyaay yojana', as in the period of more than 70 years of Independence, you (Congress) ruled the country for almost three-fourths of the period, but never thought about the betterment of the people, especially the poor," Sharma told PTI.

"The worst impact of the 'anyay yojana' will be visible in Amethi (Rahul's constituency), where the 'raj gharana' (royal family) will lose the parliamentary election this time by a margin of few lakh votes for the first time, and the flag of the BJP will fly high," the minister said.

IT search at DMK treasurer Durai Murugan's residence

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on Monday announced that Rs 72,000 per year will be given as minimum income to 5 crore poor families if his party is voted to power in Lok Sabha polls, asserting that it would be a "final assault" on poverty.

Pointing out that the Congress had been saying 'garibi hataao' (eradicate poverty) for the past several years, Sharma wondered what the grand old party had done to achieve the goal.

In 72 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader alleged, the Congress was not able to give even Rs 72 and only raised 'garibi hatao' slogans. "The Congress is trying to misguide the people of the country by showing dreams of giving Rs 72,000 per year."

"This only shows their disappointment and desperation vis- -vis the various developmental works carried out by the BJP government in the last five years," he said, adding that the people of the country would now say "Rahul bhagaao".

Sharma said the Nyay scheme seemed "laughable" when compared to the welfare schemes implemented by the National Democratic Alliance for the poor.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 16:48 [IST]JKSSB SI Recruitment 2021: Last date to apply for 800 Sub Inspector posts, direct link here

CTET December 2021 admit cards to be out shortly: How to download

No maternity leave for ad-hoc female professors: HC seeks reply

New Delhi

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, Mar 30: The Delhi High Court sought a response of the Delhi University (DU) on a plea which alleged that the varsity was not providing maternity leave to its ad-hoc female professors. The petition, by a female professor of Aurbindo College here, contended that under the Maternity Benefit Act she was entitled to six months leave, but the varsity did not grant her the relief as she was not a permanent employee and was employed on an ad-hoc basis.

She also claimed that the Supreme Court had held that maternity benefits are available to all irrespective of the type of employment -- permanent or contractual.

Taking note of the submissions made by the petitioner, Justice Suresh Kait observed that according to the apex court judgement and the act, she was entitled to maternity leave and asked the lawyer for DU to take instructions on the issue.

For speedy disposal of cases, change in attitude needed: HC

With the direction, the court listed the matter for further hearing on April 10.

In her plea, the woman has claimed that she had sent several representations to the university since January 4 seeking grant of maternity leave as her expected date of delivery was February 22.

However, no response was received from DU and meanwhile, she gave birth on February 3.

Since then she has been on leave without pay as the varsity did not sanction her request for maternity leave, her lawyer told the court.

Delhi HC upholds Associated Journals' eviction from Herald house

DU's lawyer told the court that her contract was renewed every four months and at present it stands expired on March 18.

The lawyer also said it was a policy decision of the varsity to provide the benefit to only its permanent employees.

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 10:35 [IST]Bihar Board Class 10 result 2021 to be declared soon

BSEB 12th result 2019: Direct link to check Bihar Board inter result 2019

Patna

oi-Vikas SV

Patna, Mar 30: Bihar Board inter result 2019 or BSEB class 12th exam result has been declared on BSEB official website www.biharboardonline.in. The direct link to check the Bihar class 12th result is given below.

BSEB or Bihar School Examination Board announced Bihar Board class 12th Result 2019 at the BSEB Patna office this afternoon.

Bihar Board class 12 exams were held between February 6, 2019, and February 16, 2019, and the practice exams were conducted between January 15 and January 25, 2019. Over 3 lakh students appeared for the BSEB intermediate exams 2019 which were held across 1339 centres in 38 districts.

Link to check BSEB (Bihar Board) 12 Result 2019: Click Here

Other than this site, the BSEB class12th results can also be checked on at biharboard.ac.in or biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in or www.bsebbihar.com

To check BSEB class 12th result at indiaresults.com: Click Here

To BSEB class 12th result can also be checked on www.biharboardonline.in: Check Here

Steps to check BSEB class 12th result:

Go to biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

On the home page, click on the results tab.

From the drop-down menu, click on XII Result 2019.

When you click on the result link, it will redirect to a new page

Now, enter your roll number and other details as asked in the form and click on the submit button

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Story first published: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 21:32 [IST]New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (Source: AP)

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by representatives from 59 nations, including her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. The event also drew tens of thousands of people to attend.

In her speech, Ardern said, "violence and extremism in all its forms is not welcome here".

The world has been stuck in a vicious cycle of extremism breeding extremism and it must end,

We cannot confront these issues alone, none of us can ... The answer lies in our humanity. But for now we will remember the tears of our nation and the new resolve we have formed.

We each hold the power - in our words, in our actions, in our daily acts of kindness - let that be the legacy of the 15th of March, Ardern added.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the attacks as "one of New Zealand's darkest days". It is the deadliest mass shooting in modern New Zealand history.

Security was tight around the service and New Zealand remains on high security alert. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said it was one of the largest security events ever conducted by the police.

New Zealand has established a royal commission of inquiry into security agencies in the wake of the attacks.

On March 15th, an attacker armed with semi-automatic weapons rampaged through two mosques in the quiet New Zealand city of Christchurc, killing 50 worshipers and wounding dozens more./.New Managers

PROFILES: Proxy P, GaoTeng Asset Management

Proxy P rolls out three new energy funds

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Proxy Global Energy invests in oil and natural gas companies. Proxy Renewable Long/Short Energy invests in renewable energy and energy tech. The management team, which includes Hans Berglund and Dan Lindstrom first came together as proprietary energy traders at Fortum Generation, the Swedish energy utility company. Based on that experience, the team has created its energy strategies, which provide exposure to the energy market while aiming for low overall volatility in the portfolio.

For Proxy Long/Short Energy, the portfolio management team identifies its investment targets thematically, based on an assessment of macro factors that impact the energy market. "Our analysis always starts from the energy side of things," Dan Lindstrom says in an interview with Opalesque New Managers . "As a team, we have expertise there and then we build on that by considering fundamentals and other qualitative and quantitative factors to build our thesis on a given investment." For Proxy Global Energy and Proxy Renewable Long/ Short Energy, the process is essentially the same but, Lindstrom says, by isolating specific parts of the energy sector, investors can have more specific exposures to the energy market. "We were speaking with investors that really wanted a pure renewables exposure, for example.

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The key players of the Financial Planning Software market are making moves like product launches, joint ventures, developments, merges and accusations which is affecting the market and ICT Industry as a whole and also affecting the sales, import, export, revenue and CAGR values. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. It also presents the company profile, product specifications, production value, Contact Information of manufacturer and market shares for company.With the slowdown in world economic growth, the Financial Planning Software industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Financial Planning Software market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 14.47% from 580 million $ in 2015 to 870 million $ in 2018, ResearchforMarkets analysts believe that in the next few years, Financial Planning Software market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2023, The market size of the Financial Planning Software will reach 1695 million $.This Report Focuses On Top Manufacturers In Global Market: SAP Advicent Advisor Software (ASI) Envestnet, Inc SunGard - now part of FIS Sungard Availability Services Advizr eMoney Advisor Sigma Conso Prevero Unit4 PreveroRequest Sample Copy of the Report @This Report covers the Major Players data, including: shipment, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the Major Players. If you need more information, please contact ResearchforMarketsType Segmentation: General Type Special TypeIndustry Segmentation: Enterprise School HospitalChannel Segmentation: Direct Sales DistributorBrowse Full Report with TOC @Table Of ContentSection 1 Financial Planning Software DefinitionSection 2 Global Financial Planning Software Market Major Player Share and Market OverviewSection 3 Major Player Financial Planning Software Business IntroductionSection 4 Global Financial Planning Software Market Segmentation (Region Level)Section 5 Global Financial Planning Software Market Segmentation (Type Level)Section 7 Financial Planning Software Market Forecast 2019-2023Section 8 Financial Planning Software Segmentation TypeSection 9 Financial Planning Software Segmentation IndustrySection 10 Financial Planning Software Cost AnalysisSection 11 ConclusionMake an Enquiry Before Buying@Study Highlights1. To analyze the market size of the market and infer the key trends from it.2. Industry Chain Suppliers of Financial Planning Software market with Contact Information3. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Financial Planning Software Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies4. To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments of the Financial Planning Software market5. Extensive analysis of the key segments of the industry helps in understanding the trends in types of point of care test across Europe.Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Research for Markets:Research for Markets indulges in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.Contact:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsTel: +44 8000-4182-37 (UK)Email: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.comGlobal Upcoming Software Security Market will multiply at impressive CAGR of 32.48% by 2023 & Top Key Players are Cisco Systems, CA Technologies, Check Point Software Technologies, IBM, Microsoft and Salesforce.com

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Upcoming Software Security Market is expected to reach $35.85 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of around 32.48% during the forecast periodUpcoming Software Security Market: Global Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends, and Forecasts up to 2023Overview:Security software comprises a group of security products. The scope primarily includes several areas like data protection, compliance, architecture, e-mail security, web security, governance, data loss prevention, security information and event management, and identity and access. In addition, the security software solution provides various features that include encryption, endpoint monitoring, identity and access management, intrusion detection, vulnerability scanning, and application and messaging security. Security software are gaining more traction among large enterprises because they help protect business-critical information from unauthorized access and data theft. Security software enable organizations to keep their computer systems protected from various threats such as malware, worms, and other potential threats.Request For Free Sample @With the increasing demand for the integrated security group, the market is witnessing high growth rate during the forecast period. End-users primarily prefer those vendors that provide integrated and converged security suites, as against opting for different security suites that may lead to integration issues. Therefore, there is a high adoption of solutions with better integration.Market Analysis:According to Infoholic Research, the Global Upcoming Software Security Market is expected to reach $35.85 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of around 32.48% during the forecast period. The ubiquity of the Internet and the constant need for employees to be online are contributing to the increased vulnerability to cyberattacks, as is the fact that ever-more physical items are connected to IoT. Another factor driving the demand for AI-based security solutions is the shortage of cybersecurity professionals. In the US, there is a shortage of more than 200,000 cybersecurity professionals. In addition, with an increase in rapid technology changes and the high adoption rate of BYOD has fueled the growth of the market during the forecast period.Market Segmentation Analysis:The report provides a wide-ranging evaluation of the market. It provides in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and supportable projections and assumptions about the market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions based on the vendors portfolio, blogs, whitepapers, and vendors presentations. Thus, the research report serves every side of the market and is segmented based on regional markets, type, applications, and end-users.Countries and Vertical Analysis:The report contains an in-depth analysis of the vendor profiles, which include financial health, business units, key business priorities, SWOT, strategy, and views; and competitive landscape. The key and the prominent vendors covered in the report include Cisco Systems, CA Technologies, Check Point Software Technologies, IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com. Most of the major players are in the American region. The vendors have been identified based on the portfolio, geographical presence, marketing & distribution channels, revenue generation, and significant investments in R&D.The counties covered in report are the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, India, China, and, Japan. Among these, Japan, the US, and China are expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period (2017-2023) owing to an increase in the penetration rate of connected devices and growing mobile software security segment.Competitive AnalysisThe report covers and analyses the Global Upcoming Software Security Market. Various strategies, such as joint ventures, partnerships, collaborations, and contracts, have been considered. In addition, as customers are in search for better solutions, there is expected to be a rising number of partnerships. There is likely to be an increase in the number of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnership during the forecast period.The report includes the complete insight of the industry, and aims to provide an opportunity for the emerging and established players to understand the market trends, current scenario, initiatives taken by the government, and the latest technologies related to the market. In addition, it helps the venture capitalists in understanding the companies better and take informed decisions.Regional AnalysisAmericas is the dominating region, which holds the largest share of the Global Upcoming Software Security Market owing to the presence of major players in this region. In addition, they have the largest base for technological innovations and adoption, one of the global producers of the automation equipment, and is the home to several domestic industries. Asia Pacific (APAC) is among the fastest growing regions in the Global Upcoming Software Security Market. The region boasts of major developing economies with focus on increasing data centers and the growing penetration rate of connected devices. In addition, the government is focused on ICT infrastructure development owing to the increasing demand of safety and security of the information. EMEA is third largest contributor in the Global Upcoming Software Security Market owing to the increasing demand of automated communication systems.Buy This Premium Report Now @BenefitsThe report provides an in-depth analysis of the Global Upcoming Software Security Market aiming to reduce time to market for products and services, reduce operational cost, improve business efficiency, and operational performance. With the help of upcoming software security, various organizations can secure their crucial information, and increase productivity and efficiency. They can be installed either on-premises or even through the networks of the vendors. In addition, the solutions are proven to be reliable and improve scalability. The report discusses about software, services, service models, end-user, and regions. Further, the report provides details about the major challenges impacting the market growth.Table of Contents1 Industry Outlook 101.1 Industry Overview 101.2 Industry Trends 101.3 PEST Analysis 112 Report Outline 112.1 Report Scope 112.2 Report Summary 122.3 Research Methodology 132.4 Report Assumptions 133 Market Snapshot 143.1 Total Addressable Market 143.2 Segmented Addressable Market 143.3 Related Markets 153.3.1 AI 153.3.2 Cognitive Security 164 Market Outlook 164.1 Overview 164.1.1 Market Definition  Infoholic Research 174.2 Market Trends and Impact 174.3 Market Segmentation 184.4 Porter 5 (Five) Forces 185 Market Characteristics 195.1 Evolution 195.2 Value Chain 20Read More @About Kenneth Research:Kenneth Research is a reselling agency providing market research solutions in different verticals such as Automotive and Transportation, Chemicals and Materials, Healthcare, Food & Beverage and Consumer Packaged Goods, Semiconductors, Electronics & ICT, Packaging, and Others. Our portfolio includes set of market research insights such as market sizing and market forecasting, market share analysis and key positioning of the players (manufacturers, deals and distributors, etc), understanding the competitive landscape and their business at a ground level and many more. Our research experts deliver the offerings efficiently and effectively within a stipulated time. The market study provided by Kenneth Research helps the Industry veterans/investors to think and to act wisely in their overall strategy formulationContact UsName: DavidEmail : Sales@kennethresearch.comPhone: +1 313 462 0609Organ Transplant Immunosuppressant Drugs Market Aims Bigger with Technological Innovations Near Future

Organ Transplant Immunosuppressant Drugs Market

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Immunosuppressant is a drug used to suppress immune responses through various mechanisms. It is used in organ transplant to prevent the body from recognizing or attacking the transplanted organ. Immunosuppressant drugs can act by preventing and treating graft-versus-host disease and can minimize destruction of affected tissues in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. There are two types of immunosuppressant drugs: induction drugs and maintenance drugs. Induction drugs are antirejection medicines that are used during the transplant, whereas maintenance drugs are antirejection medicines intended to use for long term.For In depth Information Get Sample Copy of this Report @Global Organ Transplant Immunosuppressant Drugs Market: DriversIncreasing number of patients that require organ transplants is expected to boost the organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market. For instance, according to the U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, in 2017, 34770 organ transplants were performed in the U.S. and over 114000 patients were in need for organ transplantation.Moreover, increasing approval for new products is expected to boost the organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market growth. For instance, in April 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Thymoglobulin (anti-thymocyte globulin (rabbit) produced by Sanofi. Thymoglobulin is intended to use in conjunction with concomitant immunosuppression in the prophylaxis and prevention of acute rejection in patients receiving a kidney transplant.However, decreasing number of organ transplantation due to shortage of organs may hinder growth for the organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market. For instance, according to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in 2015, only 30,973 organ transplants from 15,064 donors were performed in the U.S., while over 121,000 candidates were in need for organ transplantation.Global Organ Transplant Immunosuppressant Drugs Market: Regional AnalysisOn the basis of region, the global organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.Increasing cases of kidney disorders in the U.S. is expected to propel growth of the organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market in North America. For instance, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), in 2016, 19,061 kidney transplants were performed in the U.S. compared to 17,878 kidney transplants in 2015. Therefore, the number of kidney transplants increased by 6.6% in 2016.Inquire Here Before Purchase of Research Report @Moreover, increasing number of pipeline studies to develop drugs for organ transplant rejection is expected to contribute to growth of the market. For instance, in November 2018, Temple University, in collaboration with Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, initiated phase 4 clinical trial for Tacrolimus Extended Release Oral Tablet to evaluate dosing strategies for de novo once-daily extended release tacrolimus (LCPT) in kidney transplant recipients. The study is expected to be completed by August 2019.Europe is expected to witness significant growth in the market over the forecast period. The growth is attributed to increasing product launch by key players in this region. For instance, in 2013, Roche Group launched two new highly-sensitive therapeutic drug monitoring tests for immunosuppressant medicines  tacrolimus and cyclosporine worldwide (except U.S.). Therapeutic monitoring for immunosuppressive drugs is a major part of transplant medicine and is crucial for maintaining the health of patients with organ transplantation for longer period.Key player operating in the organ transplant immunosuppressant drugs market include, Astellas Pharma, Genzyme Corporation, Accord Healthcare Ltd., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novartis AG, Mylan Laboratories, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc., Belcher Pharmaceuticals LLC, Leo Pharma As, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Panacea Biotec Ltd., Strides Pharma Global Pte Ltd., and Hoffman La Roche.Global Organ Transplant Immunosuppressant Drugs Market TaxonomyBy Drug ClassCalcineurin InhibitorsAntiproliferative AgentsmTOR Inhibitor (Mammalian Target of Rapamycin)SteroidsImmunosuppressant AntibodiesBy Therapeutic Organ Transplant TypeHeart TransplantKidney TransplantLiver TransplantLung TransplantPancreas TransplantOthersBy Distribution ChannelHospital PharmaciesRetail PharmaciesOnline PharmaciesBy RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaMiddle EastAfricaAbout Coherent Market InsightsCoherent 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 UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comAllergy Treatment Market is Anticipated to Grow at a CAGR of 6.3% by 2025 Top companies like Merck KGaA (Allergopharma), GlaxoSmithKline, Allergy Therapeutics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Merck Co. & Inc., ALK-Abello A/S

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Allergy treatment market is expected to reach $40,360 million by 2025, registering a CAGR of 6.3% from 2018 to 2025.Allergy is a major health concern across the globe. An allergic reaction is a hypersensitive response of the immune system to the allergens present in the environment. Substances or allergens, which are more potent to cause an allergic reaction include mold, grass, pollen grains, peanut, egg, soy, and others. In addition, according to the WHO, by 2050, 1 in 2 people are expected to suffer from allergies. Further, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology concluded that the rise in prevalence of allergies in the industrialized world is estimated to continue for more than 50 years worldwide. This is predicted to boost the growth of the allergy treatment market.Download Free Sample Copy of Report@Major Key Players in this report are: Merck KGaA (Allergopharma), GlaxoSmithKline, Allergy Therapeutics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Merck Co. & Inc., ALK-Abello A/S, Sallergenes Greer, Allergan plc, Sanofi SA, Johnson & JohnsonRise in preference toward over-the-counter drugs for allergy treatment and surge in self-medication by consumers are the major factors that drive the market growth. In addition, innovative developments in the field of allergy immunotherapy (AIT) such as advent of sub-lingual, allergen specific immunotherapy, further accelerate the growth of the global allergy treatment market. However, increased preference toward the use of biosimilars to treat allergies and safety & efficacy concerns regarding the side effects of anti-allergy drugs are anticipated to hamper the growth of the allergy treatment market. On the contrary, increased R&D investments by the manufacturers toward the development of novel anti-allergy treatment medications is expected to create lucrative opportunities in future..Global Allergy Treatment Market is research report of comprehensive nature which entails information in relation with major regional markets, current scenarios. This includes key regional areas such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, etc. and the foremost countries such as United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @The Global Allergy Treatment Market report attempts to build familiarity of the market through sharing basic information associated with the aspects such as definitions, classifications, applications and market overview, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, raw materials and more. Furthermore, it strives to analyze the crucial regional markets, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate. It also discusses forecast for the same. The report concludes with new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.It assists readers in understanding the key product sections and their future. Its counsels in taking well-versed business decisions by giving complete intuitions of the market and by forming a comprehensive analysis of market subdivisions. To sum up, it also provides confident graphics and personalized SWOT analysis of foremost market subdivisions.Purchase Complete Allergy Treatment Market Report @This statistical surveying report presents comprehensive assessment of the global market for Allergy Treatment, discussing several market verticals such as the production capacity, product pricing, the dynamics of demand and supply, sales volume, revenue, growth rate and more.Table of Content:Global Global Allergy Treatment Market Research Report 2019-2024Chapter 1: Industry OverviewChapter 2: Allergy Treatment International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of Allergy TreatmentChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of Allergy Treatment Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of Allergy Treatment Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Allergy Treatment MarketChapter 10: Development Trend of Allergy Treatment Industry 2019-2024Chapter 11: Industry Chain Suppliers of Allergy Treatment with Contact InformationChapter 12: New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Allergy TreatmentChapter 13: Conclusion of the Global Allergy Treatment Market Research ReportAbout Us:Qurate Business Intelligence delivers unique market research solutions to its customers and help them to get equipped with refined information and market insights derived from reports. We are committed to providing best business services and easy processes to get the same. Qurate Business Intelligence considers themselves as strategic partners of their customers and always shows the keen level of interest to deliver quality.Contact Us:Nehal ChinoyRunwal Platinum,Ramnagar Colony, Bavdhan,Pune, Maharashtra, India-411021IN +919881074592info@qurateresearch.comIce Glass Global Market Research Report 2025

Ice Glass Global Market Research 2025

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Ice Glass Report by Material, Application, and Geography Global Forecast to 2022 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).Access more details about this report at:The report firstly introduced the Ice Glass basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.Purchase a copy of this premium research report at:The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) Basic Information;2.) Asia Ice Glass Market;3.) North American Ice Glass Market;4.) European Ice Glass Market;5.) Market Entry and Investment Feasibility;6.) Report Conclusion.Inquire further details about this report at:About Research 2 Reports:Research2Reports Market Research Company offers custom syndicated market research reports with market analysis, consulting services Market research reports by Research2Reports depends on survey analysis covers a magnitude of factors, industry research, market size, forecasts, financial growth, pricing trends, competitive insights of market segmentsContact Us:Organization: Research2reportsOffice No. 212/213, B Block 2nd Floor,Parmar Chambers,Sadhu Vaswani Road, Pune  411001Phone Number: 020 - 2612 6969Email: info@research2reports.comRead More Industry News:Research 2 Reports offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Office No. 212/213, B Block 2nd Floor,Parmar Chambers,Sadhu Vaswani Road, Pune  411001By CAROLYN HAX (Adapted from a recent online discussion.)

Dear Carolyn: After years of living with hand-me-down furniture we got in college, my husband and I recently bought a house and invested in some nice furniture.

And now he is obsessed with keeping the furniture pristine. I'm all for good furniture care, but it's really irritating when we sit down to eat dinner or watch a movie and his attention is focused on some perceived scratch or something. I've tried asking him in the moment if right now he could just focus on dinner/the movie/me, but he seems unwilling or unable to do it.

He also keeps bringing up handprints he thinks he sees on the leather couch, which he thinks are due to my sunscreen, but (1) I've started showering as soon as I get home to deal with the sunscreen issue, and (2) I can't even see these handprints.

I'm starting to feel lonely and alienated because it feels like he cares about the furniture more than me. What to do?

-- Lonely

Hax: Have nice slipcovers made ... and wear them?

I'm sorry. It's not funny. And it's plainly more serious than a scratch on the table.

Please tell your husband what you observe and how you feel, explicitly.

And consider the possibility this new stage of your life with him and your deeper investments -- your permanence -- have triggered an anxiety disorder in him, maybe one that has been there all along, but not so severely that either of you noticed, or that he couldn't compensate for? The narrowness and intensity of the preoccupation points that way, at least, and you make no mention of his being like this in any way before.

If he won't cooperate -- with talk, with screening and with treatment as appropriate -- then your options are limited, unfortunately, to steps you can take unilaterally, but you do have a lot of room to make clear to him what the stakes are for you emotionally.

And you have room to follow through on doing what you need to make a healthy and appealing life for yourself, including to suggest replacing some furniture with distressed styles; living in your home and on your furniture as you see fit, after stating beforehand your intent to do so; seeking therapy, solo if he won't go with you; and, after you feel satisfied that you've exhausted all other avenues to make your home feel like home again, exploring separation. I hope for both of your sakes that he's open to addressing the problem well before it comes to that.

Dear Carolyn:

I'm leaving my job to head to graduate school, and at my goodbye party, a group of my superiors chipped in and gave me $500. This feels strange. Of course they didn't say it came with any strings. Can I take this gift?

-- Taking Money

Hax: If they gave you a watch or some other, more traditional parting gift, then youd accept it, right? And write a nice thank-you note? This sounds to me like a particularly useful substitute for an office goodbye -- or good luck or happy-retirement -- gift. Accept and enjoy.

Email Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com, follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carolyn.hax or chat with her online at 9 a.m. Pacific/noon Eastern time each Friday at www.washingtonpost.com.

(c) 2019, Washington Post Writers GroupThe Rose City is hosting the Goddess of Pop this fall. As a certain mustachioed plumber might say: Mamma mia!

(This may also be the reaction youd expect from Meryl Streep fans.)

The Moda Center has announced that Cher will debut the fourth leg of her Here We Go Again tour in Portland on Nov. 19. The performance will be the pop legends 69th since September, when she kicked things off in Auckland, New Zealand.

What originally began as a 12-date engagement in Australia grew to include New Zealand, another 30-date run in North America, followed by 19 stops in Europe and now another 13 performances in the U.S. (with time for a pit stop in Canada.)

Cher is touring in support of her 26th studio album, Dancing Queen, which, as you might guess from the title, is a 10-track tribute to the songs of Swedish pop sensations ABBA. And, yes, both the album and tour are meant to complement Chers appearance in last years Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

But thats not to say the show will merely serve as a showcase for the new stuff.

According to aggregated set lists from dates so far, you can expect to hear hits like If I Could Turn Back Time, I Got You, Babe and, yes, Believe.

The pre-sale for the Portland stop of the Here We Go Again tour begins April 2 at 10 a.m. for Citi Card members. General sale begins April 5 at 10 a.m.

Prices for the Moda Center show havent been announced yet, but tickets in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, New York, where Cher will perform April 15 and 26, are hovering around $85.A Gladstone man led authorities on a 36-mile-long chase in southern Oregon on Tuesday before he was arrested and two days later climbed into the ceiling of the jail in which he was being held and caused extreme damage while trying to escape, according to the Jackson County Sheriffs Office.

Someone reported 28-year-old Shadow L. Newman was driving erratically and into oncoming traffic around 5:20 pm. Tuesday near Oregon 62 and East Vilas Road in Medford. Newmans red Honda Civic was also seen nearly causing a head-on crash in White City and cut off an ambulance near Eagle Point, the sheriffs office said.

A Jackson County deputy saw the Honda around 5:30 p.m. along Oregon 62 near Shady Cove, and the car sped away while the deputy tried to pull the driver over, the sheriffs office said.

Newman kept stopping in the middle of the road at times to yell at the pursuing deputy and then would speed away again, reaching speeds as high as 90 mph, the sheriffs office said.

The Honda at some point caught on fire. The deputy used a driving maneuver to push Newmans car off the road, the sheriffs office said. Once the car was stopped, deputies used a Taser on Newman because he wouldnt comply with their orders. He was then arrested and later booked into the Jackson County Jail.

Its not clear why the car caught fire.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Newman on Thursday got into a locked utility closet in his holding cell and climbed into the ceiling between the jails first and second floors. Its not clear why there was a utility closet in his cell.

Newman crawled to above the jail lobby almost falling through the ceiling multiple times, the affidavit said. Deputies were able to retrieve him, but its not clear how from the court documents.

At some point, Newman is accused of kicking a deputy in the knee.

During the attempted escape, Newman caused extreme damage to the suspended ceiling and tiles, electrical lines and equipment, the affidavit said.

Newman faces accusations of attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, reckless endangering, first- and second-degree criminal mischief, attempted second-degree escape, assaulting a public safety officer and harassment.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.Oregons chief medical examiner will step down Monday after a short but tumultuous tenure beset by conflict with several top prosecutors and capped by ongoing finger-pointing over who failed to secure a forensic autopsy in the death of an infant who stopped breathing at a Eugene day care.

The dispute between state and county officials exposes continued dysfunction despite a 2017 pledge under Oregon Gov. Kate Brown that all child care deaths must receive comprehensive investigations.

But after 9-month-old William Cannon died in August 2018, no alarms unified law enforcement agencies to coordinate their response. Ineffective communication in the days after he died meant that the pathologist who performed his autopsy was not a state medical examiner trained to look for signs of trauma that could indicate a crime.

As of Monday, the Lane County district attorneys office blamed the state medical examiner, Dr. Michele Stauffenberg, for refusing to conduct a forensic autopsy. Stauffenberg asserts a hospital autopsy was sufficient because doctors who cared for William did not express concerns about foul play. The Multnomah County medical examiners office, the bureaucratic middle-man in the case, contends that Eugene police never requested an autopsy from them. Eugene police declined to comment.

Its impossible to know what bearing the lack of a forensic autopsy may ultimately have on Lane County prosecutors decision to pursue criminal charges in Williams death. However, the case remains under criminal investigation. The day care owner has not been accused of wrongdoing.

On Friday, an attorney for Williams mother said she was unaware of government in-fighting over whether the state should have conducted an autopsy. She said doctors told the family immediately after his death that no medical examiner would perform an autopsy but provided no rationale.

Doctors told the family the baby died because his heart stopped and his brain lacked oxygen, but offered no explanation as to what caused what they described as a brain injury, said Alexander Pletch, a Portland lawyer representing the family.

The mother remains concerned that the lack of a forensic autopsy could jeopardize any potential criminal case.

She was understandably confused about why that would be the case and upset. Pletch said.

Stauffenberg, 58, will return to her former position of deputy state medical examiner.

Oregons regulation of day cares has become a major political issue since The Oregonian/OregonLive began spotlighting safety gaps and lax enforcement two years ago. The governors hand-picked child care administrator, Miriam Calderon, pledged reforms in October 2017 following the death of an infant at a Northeast Portland day care. The news organization reported this month how state regulators chose not to publicly disclose Williams death, which occurred amid last years contentious gubernatorial race, because they said the case was under criminal investigation.

Brown on Friday declined to address whether her mandate for thorough investigations is being fulfilled. The state medical examiners office is a branch of the Oregon State Police, which reports to Brown.

Governor Browns highest priority is keeping Oregon children safe, spokeswoman Lisa Morawski said in a statement. When a child tragically dies, the Governor expects all agencies involved to work together to ensure a thorough investigation.

Autopsies an issue

The day William was found unconscious, Stauffenberg was in Pendleton with her boss and four district attorneys to address a widening rift between her office and law enforcement -- including on the issue of autopsies.

Stauffenberg had worked at the medical examiners office for only a year when she rose to the top post in February 2018. She swiftly changed longstanding practices established by her predecessor, Dr. Karen Gunson, who led the office for nearly two decades and was generally revered among law enforcement and prosecutors.

She was pretty clear when she came in that she was going to run things differently, said Eric Nisley, the Wasco County District Attorney, in reference to Stauffenberg.

Among other things, Stauffenberg insisted that police agencies stop transporting bodies in patrol vehicles. The practice became an issue last summer after Stauffenberg discovered that Malheur County law enforcement transported two bodies across the state in a pickup truck with a canopy that lacked air conditioning or refrigeration. She also crafted new rules intended to keep law enforcement officials in a designated viewing area during autopsies at the state office in Clackamas.

Her changes made scientific sense, several district attorneys interviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive unanimously agreed. But many said the new procedures surprised officers who drove hours to Clackamas for an autopsy because Stauffenberg hadnt looped them in about changes before they arrived.

Some district attorneys also say they encountered resistance from Stauffenbergs office when they requested autopsies. Under state law, a medical examiner or district attorney may order an autopsy performed in any death requiring investigation. Some district attorneys say they had to personally contact the medical examiners office to push for an autopsy when subordinates were initially told no.

We dont request them just on a whim, and I think they were being treated as though they were being requested on a whim, Malheur County District Attorney David Goldthorpe said.

The growing tension over Stauffenbergs changes prompted the meeting in Pendleton. During the Aug. 22 meeting, Stauffenberg verbally agreed that if a district attorney requested an autopsy in the future that she would honor that request, according to her direct supervisor, Police Services Bureau Major David Anderson, who attended the meeting.

Two days later, William died. Stauffenbergs office did not perform a forensic autopsy. Officials involved in the case have blamed one another for why it didnt happen.

Plausible alternative

Autopsies in Oregon are exceedingly rare. The state ranked 49th nationally between 2013-2017 in the percentage of deaths that resulted in an autopsy, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Autopsies were completed in only 3 percent of Oregon deaths during that span, a rate that is about one third as frequent as autopsies in Washington and California.

Gunson, Stauffenbergs predecessor, asked lawmakers in 2017 for money to hire more medical examiners to address the growing pressure of the states population boom and drug overdose crisis. But short-staffing remained an issue after she left office.

During the same month that William died, government officials were publicly blaming short-staffing for slow autopsy results.

An autopsy by a state medical examiner trained in forensic pathology is the gold standard for a criminal case, said Josh Marquis, the former Clatsop County district attorney. An autopsy conducted by someone who lacks such specialized training could be picked apart by a defense attorney if a case advances to a criminal trial.

The defense will have a forensic pathologist review records and be prepared to testify, Marquis said. Theyll suggest a scientifically plausible alternative.

Dr. Clifford Nelson, a deputy medical examiner who works for Stauffenberg, said that generally forensic autopsies may not find anything that doctors trained to detect child abuse have not already discovered during their own examinations of a child while the patient was still living. But forensic pathologists are trained to look for signs of trauma that others may miss, he said.

Some of the things that we would look for, they wouldnt necessarily look for in trying to find a cause of death, he said.

The best option

Governor Kate Brown, left, and Director of Oregon's Early Learning Division Miriam Calderon, right, pledged fixes to the state's oversight of daycares. The Oregonian/Courtesy photo.

Authorities arrived at a Eugene day care Aug. 22 after receiving reports of an unresponsive infant. William was transported to OHSU Doernbecher Childrens Hospital, where he died two days later.

Unexpected infant deaths in Lane County almost always result in autopsies by a Eugene-based deputy state medical examiner to rule out foul play, said District Attorney Patricia Perlow. Under Stauffenbergs predecessor, the body would be transported from Portland back to Lane County for an autopsy.

Perlow initially told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Stauffenberg refused to complete a post-mortem exam despite repeated requests from a Eugene police detective.

In a March 25 email, Perlow provided a statement from a subordinate who wrote that Detective Cliff Sites attempted multiple times to persuade Dr. Stauffenberg to do a post but she continued to refuse the autopsy request.

She had the opinion that the death was from a brain injury and that autopsy would not demonstrate anything further, the email said.

Perlows email also said Sites contacted Lane County officials on Aug. 28, four days after the death, to express frustration.

In an interview, Perlow criticized the decision not to perform a forensic autopsy. I just cant imagine a decision to not do that, she said.

But state and Multnomah County medical officials dispute Lane Countys characterizations. And Perlow, upon additional questioning, walked back her offices statements.

Stauffenberg declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that she relied on conversations with doctors who treated William at OHSU. Stauffenberg had been told Williams death was natural, according to Anderson, her boss.

He said Stauffenberg had no recollection that she ever spoke to a Eugene police detective nor that she had ever learned of an autopsy request.

The decision to refer jurisdiction to OHSU was made after consultation with the attending doctors at OHSU and with consideration that OHSU was better positioned to perform this type of autopsy, Stauffenberg said in a statement. In reviewing the case I firmly believe this was the best option to ensure the most thorough analysis of this case.

An OHSU spokeswoman said the decision about a forensic autopsy ultimately falls to the state. If the examiner decides not perform one, doctors will offer to complete an autopsy for the family, Tamara Hargens-Bradley said in a statement.

The goal of an autopsy performed by OHSU/Doernbecher pathologists is to understand the patients disease process, not for medicolegal determination of cause and manner of death, she said.

If a Eugene police detective had asked for an autopsy in Williams death, the request would have passed through the Multnomah County medical examiners office because the death occurred in Portland.

The county examiners chief death investigator, Kimberly DiLeo, said her offices notes do not say that any detective requested an autopsy from the state. Such a request would have been documented, she said.

Instead, DiLeo said, the notes say a Eugene detective called once -- on Aug. 28, four days after William died -- to ask questions about CPR and 911.

By then, Stauffenberg had already declined to perform an autopsy. An OHSU pathologist completed the autopsy Aug. 27.

The autopsy report, obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive from attorneys representing Williams family, says that he was a normal 9-month-old with no developmental abnormalities. He was diagnosed with a diffuse acute hypoxic-ischemic brain injury with cerebral edema and the report referenced an unexplained prolonged cardiac arrest -- medical terminology for someone whose brain was swollen and deprived of oxygen and whose heart stopped for a prolonged amount of time.

Perlow on Friday said only Sites, the Eugene police detective, could clarify what requests were made for an autopsy.

A spokeswoman for the Eugene Police Department said officials would not comment.

This is an active, open criminal investigation and we do not want to jeopardize the case, Melinda McLaughlin said.

Great pathologist

Stauffenberg told lawmakers in February that she was excited about the future of the medical examiners office under her leadership.

The office was rolling out a new records system, pursuing national accreditation and preparing to meet increased demand.

Outside the statehouse, concerns persisted about Stauffenbergs leadership. Anderson, the state police major, said he heard from Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson who wanted to meet after an interaction with her deputy district attorney and Dr. Stauffenberg could have been better.

Other people approached Boardman Police Chief Rick Stokoe, who serves in a governor-appointed seat on the medical examiners advisory board. Stokoe said he called State Police Supt. Travis Hampton and was assured concerns about autopsies were being addressed.

Stauffenberg sent statewide officials a letter on March 20, dated one day earlier, announcing she had decided to step down to focus on doing autopsies and teaching medical students and pathology residents. She will return to her former position as a deputy state medical examiner, a post that paid her $48,000 less a year.

The offices most junior member, Dr. Sean Hurst, will take the helm through June on an interim basis.

The changes were so sudden that no one informed the advisory board, two current members told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Im truly shocked, Stokoe said.

Thats news to me, said Mark Steehn, a Milwaukie funeral director who also serves on the board.

The governors office also was not notified about the changes before they occurred, Morawksi, the spokeswoman, said.

Oregon State Police have not provided documents about Stauffenbergs performance or self-demotion in response to a public records request.

Anderson said the decision to step down was Stauffenbergs alone.

Dr. Stauffenberg is a great pathologist who loves forensic pathology, he said. It was the other areas of being chief that she decided werent for her.

Fedor Zarkhin of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Molly Young and Brad Schmidt

myoung@oregonian.com

bschmidt@oregonian.comAs Jive Softwares vice president for finance, Kate Johnson would sit for hours on end in meetings with a succession of prospective investors  pitching them on her company and answering the most detailed questions on its operations and outlook.

Whole days would go by in which Johnson would see just one or two other women pass through the Silicon Valley boardroom where Jive was hosting the investors. The men who came in seemed not to see her, either.

On more than one occasion I would be bypassed, to even shake my hand, recalls Johnson. Investors assumed she was an administrative assistant, or junior staffer, and would walk right by her to greet her male colleagues.

The behavior disturbed Johnson but it didnt discourage her. She would extend her hand anyway, make sure they knew who she was, and compel them to treat her as an equal during the ensuing conversation.

I would just force the issue, Johnson said. Its their ignorance. Not mine.

Four years later Johnson is now chief executive of one of Portlands biggest tech companies, a marketing automation firm called Act-On Software. Shes one of several women running some of Oregons most prominent and best-funded tech businesses, including Puppet, Portlands biggest young tech company, and Ampere, an ambitious chip company run by former Intel President Renee James.

Its a pronounced reversal after decades when the number of women running big Silicon Forest businesses was rarely much above zero.

I cant think of a single one, said longtime Oregon startup investor Debi Coleman. Shes overstating things a bit  Coleman herself was CEO of Oregon circuit board manufacturer Merix Corp. from 1994 to 1999, having previously served as chief financial officer of Apple.

But if Coleman wasnt unique, she was close to it. A 1990 history of the Silicon Forest by Portland State historians Gordon Dodds and Craig Wollner mentioned zero female technologists in 193 pages and just nine women overall. (Most of those nine were wives of Oregon executives or politicians.)

Silicon Forest companies with female CEOs Some of the Oregons most prominent tech companies are run by women. Act-On Software, Portland: CEO Kate Johnson; online marketing technology. Ampere Computing, Portland and Santa Clara, Calif.; CEO: Renee James; computer chips for data centers. Iotas, Portland: CEO Sce Pike; home automation technology for apartments and renters. Nvoicepay, Beaverton: CEO Karla Friede; automated invoice services. Palo Alto Software, Eugene: CEO Sabrina Parsons; technology for business planning and marketing. Puppet, Portland: CEO Yvonne Wassenaar; automation software for managing data centers and other large computing networks. Ruby Receptionists, Portland: CEO Jill Nelson; Outsourced receptionist services for small businesses and professional firms. Zapproved, Portland: CEO Monica Enand; Online legal discovery and data collection services. Outside Oregon, prominent female tech CEOs include Ginni Rometty, IBMs chief, and Safra Catz, who shares the title of CEO at Oracle with Mark Hurd. Longtime Intel Oregon executive Aicha Evans is now CEO of a Silicon Valley autonomous vehicle startup, Zoox.

Women didnt get hired as CEOs because boards of directors and venture capital firms were overwhelmingly male, Coleman said, and wouldnt consider candidates who didnt conform to a predetermined stereotype.

While women remain underrepresented in technical roles, Oregon has a number of top-notch female executives in human resources, finance and other roles within the states tech companies. That may help explain the number of women running the states tech companies today.

In the past, though, Coleman said she didnt see many paths for women to advance. And those that were available werent ideal.

Most of my opportunities came when the guy in front of me failed, Coleman said. Youre not the first choice but youre there when they need you.

One step forward

The proliferation of female CEOs comes despite an utter lack of progress in efforts to improve the gender balance across Oregon tech. Census data shows fewer than 1 in 3 Oregon tech workers is female. Startlingly, thats a far smaller share of Oregons technology workforce than women occupied 25 years ago.

That may be surprising but it isnt unusual. Historians have noted that women played key roles in the early days of computing. They were supplanted in recent years by men who had more exposure to computers as children and as emerging gender biases made software in particular a stereotypically male profession.

The history may be similar in Oregon, perhaps augmented by the range of jobs at Tektronix  the states largest tech employer for most of the Silicon Forests history. Tek was a highly diversified research and manufacturing company, producing everything from oscilloscopes to color printers to office furniture. In its heyday, it had women in a variety of roles.

That said, Teks attitudes toward female leadership were by no means progressive. The corporate newspaper, Tek Talk, published an anonymous letter in 1956 noting that women werent receiving comparable pay and were being given subordinate positions to men.

Am I planning a career in the wrong company? I hope not, the female author wrote, according to research published in Marshall Lees authorized history of the company. Lee says there was a very high number of women working at Tektronix at the time, and though he does not quantify that number he says more and more women came in subsequent years.

Assembly at Tek's Sunset plant. (Photo courtesy VintageTek)Photo courtesy VintageTek

Tektronix opted not to publish a corporate response to the letter. In the ensuing discussion, one unnamed supervisor wrote that he hates to see talent wasted, even if female, according to Lees research, but could not recall offhand any woman supervisor in the plant who was outstanding.

Among the women running Silicon Forest companies today, there is hope that their success in breaking through the glass ceiling may at last promote diversification across Oregon tech.

Those kind of changes dont happen from the bottom up. They have to come from the top down, said Karla Friede, CEO of Beaverton financial technology company Nvoicepay. She sold the business earlier this month to a Georgia company called Fleetcor.

Tech is among Oregons biggest industries and may be its most economically vital. And its still overwhelmingly run by men.

Silicon Forest employers say they want to diversify but progress has been slow. Women say companies have failed to develop a pipeline for women to advance and havent made diversity a genuine priority.

The lack of diversity in the tech industry is by no means unique to Oregon. Big companies like Google, Apple, Intel and others remain dominated by men  and largely by white men.

That means women and other underrepresented groups have been disproportionately excluded from some of the nations best-paying jobs. In Oregon, female tech workers earn about 69 cents for each dollar men make.

The issue is especially acute among the executive ranks  and not just in tech.

Among 18 of the largest publicly traded companies in Oregon and Southwest Washington, just two have female CEOs  Portland General Electric and Schnitzer Steel Industries. Among the Fortune 500 nationally, just 25 have female CEOs.

In addition, women working in Oregons tech industry lament that many companies have yet to improve their workplaces, long plagued by harassment, stereotyping and sexist behavior.

It feels like people leave cultures when they feel like theyre not welcome, said Friede, adding that an unfriendly environment can chase women out before they ever have a chance to advance. Women vote with their feet.

Continuing the move forward

Yet Friede said she has seen a genuine interest in a more diverse workforce among technology investors and managers. She said change is happening slowly, accelerating as women move into leadership roles and begin implementing changes  and conveying their own experiences to younger entrepreneurs.

So perhaps it makes sense that women would leapfrog into the executive ranks even before making headway within the engineering and developer roles that make up the bulk of many tech companies jobs.

If you had to pick one thing that I think matters most its having diversity at the top levels, said Yvonne Wassenaar, a veteran technology executive hired in January as CEO of Portlands biggest young tech company, Puppet.

She said that if prospective employees see a board of directors and executive team dominated by men, women perceive that as a signal advancement would be difficult. And when they see diverse leadership, Wassenaar said they see that as a sign a company is open to diversifying.

As a female CEO I guarantee you it will be easier to attract female talent, she said.

During her career, Wassenaar said shes had many male colleagues and friends who proved excellent coworkers. Even among the supportive ones, though, she said colleagues would sometimes make an off-putting comment  oblivious to how it sounded to her.

There are a lot of behaviors that people have that they dont realize are coming across as microaggressions or exclusions, Wassenaar said. Among those men, though, many were receptive to suggestions on how to do better.

What makes for an inclusive environment is the ability to listen, and be wrong, and the desire to learn, she said.

Indeed, Portland State University management professor Meredith Woehler said companies need a broad commitment to diversity if theyre really going to change. One CEO cant do it alone.

Woehler said academic research shows that a single executive from an underrepresented group, or even a handful of them, may continue to be seen as outliers within a company. She said change is most likely to come when the entire company shares a commitment to diversify.

Any executive has a lot of power, Woehler said, but really theres not a whole lot they can accomplish if those around them are opposed.

Megan Bigelow, president, co-founder of PDX Women in Tech, said the recent progress is a good sign but she isnt sure its indicative of a more open local tech community.

I do not believe that a women-led company is a silver bullet, as it largely depends (on) the company culture, hiring and recruiting practices that thrive under her leadership, Bigelow said in an email. It is also important that, as a community, we do not expect women CEOs to carry the entire burden, as it should be equitably shared amongst all leaders in the community.

Kate Johnson, Act-Ons CEO, said women thinking about the future of their careers shouldnt rule anything out.

I didnt feel that being a female should hold me back from moving up in my career and so Ive always approached situations that way, Johnson said.

Though its still much harder for women to reach the executive ranks, she said its a problem that has more visibility today. The obstacles are real, but Johnson said women shouldnt let them get in her head and hold them back.

You cant change everything at once, she said. So youve got to focus on what you can change.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699Memorial Presbyterian Church will host a dialogue with the Rev. Matthew Schramm at noon Sunday, April 7 in Mayton Hall, following the 10:45 a.m. worship service.

Schramm will discuss his recent trip to Niger, his time spent with Memorial Presbyterian Church's affiliated missionaries, Michael and Rachel Ludwig, and the church's partners in the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN).Though it has been relaunched and remade several times since its founding in 2005, the organization now known as the Midland Business Alliance Innovation Center still strives toward its goal of nurturing entrepreneurship in the Midland Community.

The center's main function is to provide prospective entrepreneurs with a space to learn about funding options and network with other professionals within their industries. Businesses can also rent space within the center to use as a primary work location, or place to connect with other entrepreneurs.

"Our primary goal is to help start-ups and small businesses grow and succeed," said Innovation Center Director Melissa Farley.

Farley has served in the role since November 2018. She had previously been in charge of the Small Business program of the Midland Chamber of Commerce.

Serving a similar purpose under the name MidMichigan Innovation Center, the organization was absorbed by Midland Tomorrow in October 2016. Soon after, Midland Tomorrow would merge with the Chamber of Commerce to form the Midland Business Alliance.

Formerly located on Austin Street, in February 2018 the center moved to its current location within the Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center, located at 3417 W. Main St.

The center is open to non-members, with day-passes costing $10 and 10-day passes costing $85.

Virtual memberships start at $100 per month, and include access to on-site professional conference rooms, printing and copying capabilities at a lower cost than day passers free wireless/direct internet capabilities and discounts to all the center's events.

Full memberships cost $350 per month and add a dedicated workspace with locking filing cabinet and physical mailbox with mail service.

A large amount of networking opportunities are available due to the center's connection with the Midland Business Alliance, Farley said. The center regularly hosts networking and learning events, including the upcoming "Entrepreneur Week," a series of events taking place between Monday, April 1 and Friday, April 5.

The eight events scheduled include:

Patent Camp -- April 1, noon-1 p.m.Business Model Canvas Workshop -- April 1, 6-7 p.m.A luncheon featuring a speech by Don Tocco, founder of Tocco & Associates, a business leader, artist, writer and motivational speaker -- April 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Family Business Forum -- April 2, 6-7:15 p.m.Women in Entrepreneurship -- April 3, 6-7:30 p.m.Small Business Luncheon: Cybersecurity -- April 4, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Northwood Spring Pitch -- April 4, 6-8 p.m.WakeUp! Midland -- 7:30-9 a.m. Farley said the series is meant to be a sort of "relaunch" on the Innovation Center after many of the Midland Business Alliance's programs were put on hold for the past year and a half to focus on the organization's strategic plan.

"The goal of (Entrepreneur Week) is to get people excited about entrepreneurship and to let people know that we're here," Farley said.

The center currently hosts 15 active members, not including people from the general community who have been helped by the program. Students of Northwood University also regularly use the center's resources, Farley said.

Some of the older members, such as Midland Solar Applications, have been with the center since its beginning more than a decade ago. Other organizations currently enrolled as members include the Northern Michigan Mobile Child Care Advocacy Center, Organibliss and Aberro Creative.

Aberro Creative, which Farley calls one of the center's greatest "success stories," has been involved with the Innovation Center since the companies launch on Oct. 1, 2013.

Taking its name from the Latin word meaning "to wander, stray or deviate," Aberro is a marketing agency that specializes in a variety of creative services, including brand identity development, web design, graphic design and video production, said co-founder Dustin Neumeyer.

Along with high school friends Steve Cronk and Drew Schafer, Neumeyer decided to pursue the mutual interest in entrepreneurship the three shared when he returned to Midland after a few years living in Chicago following his graduation from Northwood University.

The company would spend the first four of its five and a half years of existence within a space provided by the Innovation Center when it was located at 2007 Austin St. Neumeyer said the center's purpose is to help new businesses "find their way."

"For us, it provided us with a space to get set up relatively quickly," Neumeyer said. "For us to set up there allowed us to get up and running really fast, and allowed us the flexibility to either grow within that space or, if things took off really fast, to then look at moving out into the community. Ultimately, we decided to spend more time (at the center) because of the resources they were providing, and how we wanted to grow our business."

Aberro Creative now operates out of a location at 127 McDonald St. in downtown Midland. Though not as involved with the center as he was in the past, Neumeyer still serves the organization that helped him get his entrepreneurial start, running the "Bootstrappers Breakfast" program -- a gathering of local entrepreneurs where people can discuss issues facing the community and how to fix them -- that takes place on the third Tuesday of every month."

Having been there for so long, and being a product of the Innovation Center, we really believe in what they're trying to do," Neumeyer said. "For anybody who has either the aspirations of being an entrepreneur, or if they're just starting, that can be a really good resource.

"Midland is kinda going through a bit of a transformation, and highlighting these local entrepreneurs and some of the work that they're doing is really exciting, and something the community should be proud of."Punjab Forest School Bahawalpur Jobs 2019

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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 an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted.The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Wednesday, March 27

11:52 p.m. -- A 39-year-old Ingersoll Township woman reported that her 42-year-old friend took her vehicle. After investigating, deputies learned that the 39-year-old had only paid $300 out of $600 for the vehicle. The friend came to her house with the key and took possession of the vehicle. The vehicle was titled to the 42-year-old. Deputies advised the 39-year-old to take her friend to small claims court.

10:04 p.m. -- Deputies responded to a report of a verbal argument at a Lee Township location involving a 17-year-old girl and her 38-year-old mother. The argument started because the girl wanted a bottle of conditioner to take a shower and the mother told her no. The 17-year-old agreed to respect her mother and the issue was resolved.

10:04 p.m. -- Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Ingersoll Township.

9:11 p.m. -- Officers performed a warrant arrest in the 1200 block of Wildwood Street.

8:57 p.m. -- A 44-year-old Homer Township woman was assaulted by her 21-year-old boyfriend at their residence. The man was arrested by deputies and transported to the Midland County Jail.

7:08 p.m. -- Officers performed a warrant arrest in the 2100 block of Wisconsin Street.

6:26 p.m. -- A 34-year-old Ingersoll Township woman reported she was being harassed by her 46-year-old male neighbor. She did not want deputies to contact him, and was referred by deputies to the courts in reference to obtaining a personal protection order.

5:21 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of East Lyon Road and Bayliss Street.

3:44 p.m. -- Officers responded to an animal complaint in the 4000 block of Wellness Drive.

3:09 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash causing property damage in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Wackerly Street.

1:28 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to an Edenville Township home in regards to a welfare check on a 77-year-old man. He was found to be living in a poor state and seemed confused. Emergency service teams were contacted and transported the man to the emergency room. A deputy contacted Adult Protective Services and the Midland County Public Guardian's office to possibly assist the man.

1:23 p.m. -- A deputy spoke with an 81-year-old Lincoln Township man in the lobby of the Midland County Law Enforcement Center who reported that an unknown subject opened up a Verizon account in his name and tried to have an iPhone shipped to New Jersey. The phone was instead sent to the man, who had mailed it back to Verizon. It is not known who opened the account and the incident is under investigation.

12:56 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a Homer Township gas station due to a report of an irate customer causing a scene and refusing to leave the store. Deputies made contact with a 27-year-old Lee Township woman who was upset because she asked for $20 to be put on a prepaid card for gas but told the clerk the wrong pump. By the time she got to the right pump it had timed out. She was mad because the money would take 24 hours to be refunded to her. The deputy explained her legal options in the civil court and asked her to leave at the request of the store's management, which she did.

12:55 p.m. -- A deputy responded to the scene of a collision between a vehicle and a dog on a roadway in Jerome Township. There was no damage to the vehicle, though the dog was killed. The 28-year-old dog owner recovered her dog from the roadway.

11:12 a.m. -- Officers responded to an animal complaint in the 1100 block of Mill Street.

9:56 a.m. -- Officers performed a death investigation in the 500 block of Columbia Road.

8:54 a.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash causing property damage in the area of James Savage Road and Waldo Avenue.

2:02 a.m. -- Deputies responded to a vehicle on fire in Jerome Township. There were no injuries.A two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Buttles Street and George Street left three passengers with minor injuries and damaged a nearby utility pole on Saturday.

The crash occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m. after a pick-up truck traveling on George Street ran a red light, striking an oncoming vehicle on Buttles Street on its passenger side, causing it to crash into a utility pole, said Jeff Krauss of the Midland Police Department.Paducah Police are requesting the public's help identifying a man shown here in surveillance video, who was allegedly involved in an assault outside a local nightclub.

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Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted.Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The United Nations special envoy in Libya, Ghassan Salame, citing the mismanagement and corruption by the political class in Libya, has expressed his disapproval as to how public funds are spent, including income from the sale of 1Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros have been charged with tax evasion following a three-year probe of the groups finances, according to the Associated Press. The district prosecutor in Reykjavik indicted the musicians on Thursday for submitting false tax returns and evading upwards of 151 million Icelandic Krona, or $1.2 million, between 2011 and 2014.

The band and their attorney shared a statement with Pitchfork on Thursday in which they claimed that their former accountant was at fault for the missing taxes, saying they have always had the full intention to comply with their financial and tax obligations, and they thought they always did. The members of Sigur Ros are musiciansnot experts on bookkeeping and international finance, their attorney Bjarnfredur Olafsson told the AP.

The new charges come after the band was investigated for and subsequently cleared of tax evasion last year. The band claimed their accountant was responsible then, too, but they were still required to repay an unknown sum of money to the Icelandic government as a result of the investigation.

These new charges have resulted in assets of the four members being frozen, including residential properties with a total value of $6.5 million. Two thirds of the assets belong to frontman Jon Thor Birgisson, while the rest belong to the other members Georg Holm, Kjartan Sveinsson and Orri Pall Dyrason, the three of whom owe more than $700,000 in taxes between them. A court date has not been set for the band.

Sigur Ros last made headlines when Dyrason, the bands former drummer, resigned from the band following allegations of sexual assault. They also recently announced a new box set and reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album Agtis Byrjun.NEW YORK (AP)  The Rolling Stones are postponing their latest tour so Mick Jagger can receive medical treatment.

The band announced Saturday that Jagger was told by doctors he cannot go on tour at this time. The band added that Jagger is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible.

No more details about 75-year-old Jagger's condition were provided.

The Stones No Filter Tour was expected to start April 20 in Miami.

Other stops included Jacksonville, Fla; Houston; the New Orleans Jazz Festival; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; East Rutherford, N.J.; and Chicago.

Jagger says in the statement he hates letting the fans down but he's "looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can."

Tour promoters AEG Presents and Concerts West advise ticketholders to hold on to their existing tickets because will be valid for the rescheduled dates.

By MESFIN FEKADU, AP Music WriterMOUNT HOLLY SPRINGS -- As a girl, she couldnt wait to get away.

As a 69-year-old woman, Carmen (Redmond) James realizes her modest little neighborhood is nothing short of historic -- and shes fighting to preserve it. She only wishes she wouldve asked many more questions about her community, which just happens to be a nearly-forgotten jewel in Pennsylvanias African-American history.

The nexus of this post-Civil War African-American community in the heart of Cumberland County was the Mount Tabor AME Zion Church, now a dilapidated log structure off Cedar Street in Mount Holly Springs.

At its height, it was the spiritual and community center of several hundred African-Americans who had settled along Mountain Street after the Civil War. They came for jobs in Mount Holly Springs paper mills.

The log-structured church was erected on its stone foundation in 1870. It remained active for the next hundred years, as generations were baptized, married and buried here.

Of the estimated 60 African Americans resting in the nearby cemetery once called colored, there are seven United Stated Colored Troop soldiers who fought in the Civil War. At least two of them were liberated slaves, Cumberland County historians say.

For our little town, to have seven U.S.C.T. troops in a cemetery, to me, is like a sacred thing, James said.

WATCH: Carmen (Redmond) James in her own words:

But moving here in 1951 and spending her childhood here until 1969, James said it was just home -- and a confining one at that.

We were growing up, and we could hardly wait to get away, she said. Its like anybody. You want to be able to go and move to the big city and make more money.

But in 2003, James returned.

In recent years, she has joined forces with the Cumberland County Historical Society and the Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul Project to recover, document and memorialize the African-American history here.

The church sat untouched until 2016, when volunteers from the Heart & Soul project learned of its history by recording the oral stories of community members.

The oral histories included those of the surviving members of the Gumby family, one of four African-American families that can trace their roots to the founding of the church and community here.

Harriet Gumby, 87, still lives in the family home off Mountain Street. Her history is among those recorded by the project.

Her grandfather was a Civil War veteran, former enslaved person, and her family story says he built the church for the growing African-American community here in 1870.

The church lasted until 1970. But as the African-American community here dwindled, with families moving away after the paper mills shuttered, the house of worship was eventually shuttered, too.

Its front door was literally nailed shut, and the structure itself became overgrown with trees and vegetation.

But what was inside was perfectly preserved.

The archeological-like excavation going on will catalog artifacts and hopefully locate unmarked African-American graves in a lost, overgrown cemetery.

At the height of summer, you couldnt even see it, Lindsay Varner, Community Outreach Director with the Cumberland County Historical Society, said of the church.

But it was like a time capsule. Everything was still inside, she added. There were pews. There were hymnals. Fans from the last funeral they had. Everything was still sitting there. It was like they had their last service, they shut the door, and no one ever came back.

That was until Varner and former Mount Holly Springs borough councilwoman Pamela Still heard the Gumbys story and received the familys permission to enter the church.

Still crawled in through a church window in 2016, discovering a centurys worth of African-American culture.

Since then, the effort to recover, record and memorialize as much of the history as possible has been running in high gear.

On Saturday, volunteers, family members, neighbors and officials were excavating a site adjacent to the church, looking to recover artifacts that would further contextualize the community history here.

In an overgrown wooded area to the rear, a medium was rubbing two sticks and walking paces in a supernatural effort to divine the location of unmarked African-American graves in a lost cemetery separate from the one that has been fenced-in and preserved.

James said she witnessed the funeral for one of the last people buried in the lost cemetery. It was for a neighbor lady she and everyone else referred to as Aunt Betty."

In her minds eye, James said she can see the funeral procession as if it were yesterday. Aunt Betty was the first person she ever knew who died. And James watched from her bedroom window as the Sunday-best-clad mourners snaked up the hill toward the burial plot, carrying Aunt Bettys coffin.

Its just one of many indelible scenes from a childhood James now treasures as both idyllic -- and historic.

She was never allowed comic books. There was no listening to soap operas on the radio. And on Sundays, families went to church, then sat on their front porches the rest of the day.

But on any day other than the Sabbath, the kids could play all day in the fields behind the church.

There was a time this tiny section of the equally-small Mount Holly Springs was her whole world, one James couldnt wait to escape.

Now, she wishes shed spent more time talking to her elders, learning her neighborhoods rich past.

Older and wiser now, James knows this is much more than home.

Its history.

We could have lost this history entirely, Varner said.

Theres no danger of that now.

The archeological-like excavation going on now will catalog artifacts and hopefully locate those unmarked graves in the lost, overgrown cemetery.

And on the site of the church, there will be a lasting memorial, still to be finalized, to commemorate and honor the African-Americans who made a home and built a community here in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Our No. 1 goal when we started was to at least save the history and memory of the church, Varner said. Something will be here to memorialize the site.

For more on the ongoing efforts to recover and preserve this history, visit MtTaborPreservation.com.

Of the estimated 60 African-Americans resting in this Mount Holly Springs cemetery once called colored, there are seven United Stated Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War. At least two of them were liberated slaves, Cumberland County historians say.

More on the mining of central Pa. history is here:Two years ago, Sean Anthony Atkins was accused of fatally shooting Tyson Hettenschuller outside a Chambersburg home during a fight between mutual friends.

On Friday, a Franklin County jury confirmed that Aktins, now 20, fired the fatal shot. However, instead a guilty verdict on first degree murder as charged, the jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

The Herald Mail reported that the trial lasted four days, with Atkins arguing he thought Hettenschuller, 19, was reaching for something metal in his waistband, causing him to shoot in self defense.

The pair were with other friends in the first block of Garber Street when a fight broke out. The fight was over $45 worth of marijuana, the outlet reported.

Public Opinion previously reported that police asked Atkins if he felt in fear for his life during the fight. Atkins responded no, according to court documents.

A first degree murder charge would have meant a mandatory life sentenced for Atkins. The charge involves a level of intent for find guilt, per the Pennsylvania criminal code. Voluntary manslaughter means the killing is done if the person is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from provocation.

It could also mean that the person intentionally kills the victim under the belief the killing is justified, but his belief is unreasonable, according to the criminal code.

Voluntary manslaughter is a first degree felony.The driver of the vehicle that killed two Warwick High School students and severely injured another might soon be fighting charges in criminal court, but she now has to answer a civil suit filed against her earlier this month.

First reported by LancasterOnline, the parents of 17-year-old Megan E. Keeney filed a lawsuit against Debra Slaymaker-Walker on wrongful death and survivor action claims. Robert and Wendi Keeney also sued State Farm, the insurer for the Beebe family, whose son was driving the car Keeney was in during the crash.

The suit, filed in Lancaster County Court on March 12, demands a jury trial and requests compensatory and putative damages, and underinsured motorist benefits.

The crash occurred at approximately 3:19 p.m. Oct. 26, 2018, police said previously. Rylan Beebe, 17, was in the drivers seat of a stopped 2013 Chevrolet Sonic 4D with Jack R. Nicholson, 16, and Keeney as passengers.

Slaymaker-Walker, 63, was driving a 2016 Kia Sportage in the area at the time, and crashed into the Sonic going between 73 and 77 mph, police said. Officials working on Slaymaker-Walkers criminal case have said she crashed into several other vehicles prior to hitting the Sonic, and had fled from police prior to the crash.

Nicholson died as a result of the crash, and Keeney was hospitalized with injuries but ultimately died on Oct. 28, 2018.

Slaymaker-Walker faces third degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide, aggravated assault and other related charges in connection with the crash, according to online court dockets.

The lawsuit, written by the Keeneys attorney Anthony Georgelis, states that Keeney and Nicholson died from multiple traumatic injuries from the crash, and Beebe suffered serious injuries as well.

The lawsuit also clearly states that Nicholson and Beebe were acting in a reasonable, prudent, safe, careful and lawful manner at the time of the crash.

The blame for the crash is put solely on Slaymaker-Walker, who owed other motor vehicle operators and passengers (including Keeney, Nicholson and Beebe) a duty to use and exercise reasonable and prudent care when driving and operating the Sportage on the public and/or shared roadways, the lawsuit states.

The three counts filed against Slaymaker-Walker include two counts of wrongful death by negligence and recklessness, one for each of Keeneys parents. A third count of survival action by negligence and recklessness was filed on behalf of Keeneys estate.

The family argues that Keeney consciously experienced severe physical, mental emotional and psychological pain and suffering due to Slaymaker-Walkers actions. They also argue that Slaymaker-Walkers actions brought the family significant costs involving Keeneys treatment and funeral, and losses of companionship and support of and from their daughter.

The final count of the lawsuit is on behalf of each parent and Keeneys estate, against State Farm and the Beebe family.

The lawsuit states that Slaymaker-Walkers car was underinsured in regards to the losses suffered by Keeney and her family. The family demands judgement against State Farm and the Beebe family for underinsured motorist benefits.

LancasterOnline reported that the Keeney familys attorney Anthony Georgelis said the family isnt seeking a specific amount, but the claims meet the threshold for a jury trial.

Georgelis also clarified to the outlet that the Beebes are only named in the lawsuit due to State Farms policy compelling them to do so.

Slaymaker-Walker scheduled to be in court on April 6 for a status conference on the criminal charges.SUNBURY  An unwed, pregnant teacher likely would not had been fired from a Catholic school if she would have agreed to get married, officials of the Harrisburg Diocese say.

Sister Mary Anne Bednar, principal of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School near Shamokin, made that point Friday during a Northumberland County court hearing.

So did the Rev. Edward James Quinlan, the secretary of education for the diocese. We always try to work with employees, he said.

That was among the testimony Friday at a two-hour hearing before Northumberland County Judge Hugh Jones on a motion by Naiad Reich for an injunction that would reinstate her.

The judge withheld a decision pending the receipt of briefs. The case would not be over even if he does not issue an injunction. Thats because Reich is seeking monetary damages if shes not reinstated.

Her lawyer, Timothy A Bowers, on Wednesday amended the complaint to include an allegation his clients termination violated the federal Civil Rights Act.

The diocese is accused of discrimination by firing a female, pregnant, qualified teacher employed in a non-ministerial capacity. Reich is not Catholic.

Bowers reserved the right to file an additional amendment pending the exhaustion of claims with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Much of the testimony during the hearing dealt with the relationship between the church and Catholic schools.

They are a direct mission of the church, Quinlan said. Lay teachers such as Reich must abide by the rules of the diocese, he said.

Having a child out of wedlock and declining to be married are violations, he said. The contract Reich signed spells that out, Bednar said.

When told the problem was she was cohabitating and not married, Reichs response was she would not be forced into marriage, the principal testified.

She was unaware of the pregnancy and the cohabitation until Reich told her she was due in June, she said.

Reich acknowledged in her testimony the diocese has religious standards that prevent her from teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes and that she had no guarantee of being offered a contract for next year.

The court ordering her reinstatement would cause terrible confusion in the minds of students because it would conflict with what is taught in the classroom, Quinlan said.

It is essential the church set the requirements for teachers, he said.

Reich on Nov. 30 was notified verbally she was fired as an English teacher in the 8th, 10th and 11th grades with the formal letter of termination sent Dec. 4.

Dismissal was required because a satisfactory resolution was not attained, Bednar said. Reich was given the opportunity to resign, she said.

Bednar, who has been principal since Aug. 1 after transferring from Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, said she was too new to have evaluated Reichs teaching abilities.

She and school board chair, the Rev. Andrew J. Stahmer, testified there was no vote to reinstate as member Tony Varano had told the media.

Im pleased with the record developed, was Bowers assessment of the hearing. I feel we are in a strong position to take our case forward.

Reich, whose boyfriend Matt Graboski sat through the hearing, said she also was pleased.

Bowers stepped in and said any comments would come from him. He later said his client is doing well with the pregnancy and looking forward to being a mom.

Her health insurance remains in force through July 31 and she is being paid through the end of her contract at the direction of Bishop Ronald W. Gainer.

Reich testified she will not have insurance for postpartum care.Anyone who follows the news knows that we, as a society, frequently debate where personal autonomy ends and where the states right to intervene begins. Whether the issue is who we marry, what books we read, what substances we consume, when we reproduce, the question is the same: do we decide, or does the government?

All of these issues concern intimate facets of our existence and the struggle is to find the right balance between a persons interest in controlling his own destiny and the states interest in protecting people from bad decisions.

There is perhaps no more intimate decision facing us than how we die.

From my perspective, we have, thus far, failed to strike the correct balance and we allow the state to be much too intrusive into a persons final moments.

While we dont like to dwell on the issue, when we force ourselves to think it through, I am sure that virtually everybody would prefer to die on their own terms. They would probably prefer to avoid unbearable and unending physical pain, and they would likely choose to die surrounded by loved-ones rather than alone, in the middle of the night, tethered to tubes and machines.

That is why I am re-introducing my Death with Dignity bill, which give people that choice.

The personal inspiration for this bill came after a close family members battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. After long and aggressive treatments, they lost their battle with cancer. If any pet owner in America had forced a dog or cat to endure such treatment, they would be charged with animal cruelty. Yet human beings are, under current law in Pennsylvania, condemned to suffer unspeakable agony with no legal recourse.

My death with dignity bill would allow people who meet certain requirements to obtain medication that they themselves could take to end their life.

To qualify, the patient must be terminally ill, have no realistic hope of recovery and have less than six months to live. All of this must be certified twice, by the patients physician and by a second, independent physician.

Further, my bill requires that in most cases the patient must administer the medicine themselves, meaning nobody else participates in actually ending the patients life.

Sometimes bills such as mine are referred to as assisted suicide bills. This is a misnomer. The patients in these cases have no interest in committing suicide. They desperately want to live, but they arent going to. For them, death is a foregone conclusion. My bill gives them, and them alone, some choices regarding how they die.

In the states where this is already legal, we have seen no evidence that third parties attempt to exert undue pressure on patients to speed up the dying process. Additionally, most of the people who get the medication do not take it right away. Again, they want to live. Just having the medicine seems to provide the comfort and sense of control that some patients need to carry on.

Some patients never actually take the medicine and, instead, die naturally. Most of those who take the medication only do so in the last few days, when their suffering becomes truly unbearable.

In addition to the findings I have mentioned regarding states where death with dignity is legal, there is something else. Even many vocal opponents of legalized end-of-life choice often take advantage of their states law when they find themselves or a loved one in an end-of-life situation. To be honest, I dont begrudge them. Like I said, none of us truly know how we would react if faced with such a jarring and difficult situation.

It is time Pennsylvania joins states like Oregon, Washington, and Vermont in our approach to compassionate care at the end of life to include the option for a respectful death on ones own terms.

Senator Daylin Leach represents the 17th Senatorial District, which includes parts of Montgomery County and Delaware County. For more information visit www.senatorleach.com/newsroom.After 22 months, hundreds of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, the Mueller probe has ended with yet more questions to answer. It is true that he was specific about one item: the investigation did not find evidence that the President or his campaign colluded with the Russians.

That is good news for the President and good news for the country.

Some Trump supporters and Trump, himself, have misconstrued that decision into a blanket exoneration and a condemnation of the entire Mueller probe. This is just dead wrong.

History will show that one of the most valuable results of the Mueller probe was to confirm Russian interference in the 2016 election. A total of 26 Russian nationals have been indicted along with three Russian companies with ties to oligarchs and the Kremlin itself. Candidate Trump never acknowledged what the intelligence community suspected as far back as 2016: Russians messed with our democracy and tried to tilt the election to the candidate of their choice.

To this date, the administration has made no effort to stop this mayhem in the future. None.

The other glaring distortion coming from the White House is that Trump has been cleared of obstruction of justice. In the actual words of the Mueller report: While the report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

Hold on, here Mr. President. The Congress and the American people reserve the right to review the entire report to discover just what evidence caused Mueller to keep that charge open.

As to those who suggest that the probe was illegal or a witch hunt, consider the series of suspicious dealings with Russian operatives occurring at the time the probe began.

There were intimations of a business deal involving Trump Tower Moscow. There was a strange dump of Russian-fed Wikileaks information during the Democratic convention. There were dealings and meetings with Russians and the now famous meeting at Trump tower in which Donald Jr. was actively seeking dirt on Hillary Clinton.

These activities would have been enough for any FBI under any administration to initiate an investigation. The fact that Mueller did not find the needle of culpability in this haystack of intrigue does not make the investigation any less valid.

On the obstruction of justice matter, the FBI went into investigation mode only after the President fired its director and stated publicly it was because of the Russian probe.

Recently, a pundit used this analogy:

Lets say a TSA trained dog began sniffing excitedly at a travelers suitcase. The traveler pulls out a gun and shoots the dog. Do you think maybe the TSA should investigate what that guy had in his suitcase?

The President shot the dog and bragged about firing Comey  get this  to a contingent of Russians in the Oval Office.

While all these actions are appalling, lets take a breath here.

Mueller says there was no collusion and it is time to accept that. He is less definite about obstruction but it may be time to let that go as well.

In politics, perception is reality and the Trump team is spinning a perception that he is free and clear of impeachable offenses.

The reality is that Team Trump is buying into Trumps Im-the-victim-here schtick and most other voters are exhausted by the melodrama. Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed her political acumen once more when she announced  even before the Mueller report - impeachment would be a long drawn out affair that would have polarized the country even worse than it is today.

Better to get on with the Presidential election campaign and put all remaining questions and charges squarely before the voters as they decide how best to move the country forward.

This does not mean President Trump can simply wash his hands of any further entanglements. Like Pontius Pilate, he will be held responsible for his actions.

The enduring principle that must prevail is that no man is above the law.

What will follow the Mueller Report is a thorough review of all findings; not just a four-page report from the Attorney General.

Throughout the Mueller investigation, cooperating witnesses painted a picture of transgressions that may or may not involve the President himself. As a result, a Grand Jury remains robustly active and the Southern District of New York is reviewing a number of potential financial and campaign violations.

While the Congress should pick its next battles wisely, the criminal justice system will continue to do its job.

It is in the interest of all Americans that both perform well and that truth prevailsMeet the director of one of Philadelphia's newest co-working spaces, CIC Philadelphia in University City. There's a reason she's wearing black. Read more

Sally Guziks favorite song is Johnny Cashs Man in Black. But why thats relevant to her heading one of the regions newest co-working spaces, CIC Philadelphia, can wait.

Theres a reveal far more important to Philadelphians: The first "C" in CIC is for Cambridge, as in Massachusetts, where they root for the New England Patriots and compete for Philadelphias tech and life sciences talent.

Guzik knew how that could be a sensitive topic around here, and trod lightly when she first arrived last April to pitch the kind of innovation center  the "I" and "C" in CIC  that she had in mind for what was then just a construction site on Market Street in the heart of University City.

I talked about the history of Boston and Cambridge while being mindful of not leveraging that to the fullest extent because Philadelphia is a very prideful city, too, she said laughing. And not everyone wants to hear, We want this city to be like this other city.' "

Open since November, CIC Philadelphia is now about half-full with 78 companies  memberships start at $300 a person a month. When two more floors open in the fall, it will have capacity for about 500 companies no larger than 100 employees each.

What Guzik wants most, she says, is to create entrepreneurial opportunity for the underrepresented populations outside the glass walls of CIC Philadelphia, a tenant at 3675 Market St., the newest building at uCity Square. Thats why Guzik intends to pretty much always wear black while on the job here.

The black for me is always making sure that were looking at things in terms of equity and inclusion," said Guzik, 30, a first-generation college graduate with blue-collar Pennsylvania roots.

She cited a line from her go-to Cash song, despite the ill-fitting gender: 'Till things are brighter, Im the man in black.'"

***

Guziks route to Philadelphia began in Turtle Creek, a small Pennsylvania borough just outside Pittsburgh where Westinghouse Electric was a major employer. Guziks grandfathers were part of its payroll. In that hard-working community, she said, residents dont have a lot of access to resources, to education or health care, addiction is pretty prevalent  and violence and abuse.

After attending what is now Chatham University, where Guzik majored in womens studies and Latin American history, she would go on to work as a doula, a translator for women who did not speak English, an aid to teen mothers, a manager of partnerships and outreach for an urban forestry nonprofit, and a volunteer with Teach for America in Houston.

Then she and her husband, T.C. Jones, a writer, headed to Miami, where Guzik pursued a masters degree in global strategic communications at Florida International University and, concurrently, helped launch CIC Miami in 2016. At the time, CIC, founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Tim Rowe, was in only two other cities outside Massachusetts: St. Louis and Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Philadelphia would become its sixth campus  super-appealing to Guzik, who wanted to move closer to family still around Pittsburgh and to try something new. She pitched a position that didnt exist at any of the other CIC locations, something she recounted during a recent interview at the Market Street location, which was developed by the University City Science Center (also a tenant), Wexford Science & Technology, and Ventas.

I think we need someone who really focuses on community engagement and relationship building at least six months before we even open a center, she told her bosses.

She got her wish -- Guzik was sent north as CIC Philadelphias first senior community engagement lead.

CIC includes a wet lab provided with partner BioLabs. There are also venture capital firms and another Guzik-driven CIC first: a social impact cohort of nonprofits housed for free. A Venture Cafe, operated by the Science Center but within CIC space, provides a weekly mini-conference open to the community at large.

Earlier this month, Guzik was promoted, becoming the youngest CIC site director.

***

Dynamic. Excited. Passionate.

Thats how Guzik was described by Kim Carter, vice president of strategic partnerships at the Enterprise Center, a West Philadelphia nonprofit providing business training and access to capital to entrepreneurs, many of whom are minorities.

A refreshing change Carter said of Guziks listening tour when she first got to town. She visited the Enterprise Centers commercial kitchen, sampling products.

Four months later, CIC paid $10,000 for five of the Enterprise Centers food entrepreneurs to participate in its launch party, Carter said, emphasizing the valuable opportunity to showcase in front of a whole, completely different crowd of people  tech-oriented. Our entrepreneurs dont typically have access to that.

Coded by Kids is a five-year-old nonprofit that provides coding classes to kids ages 8 to 18 in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware. It is now also one of Guziks social impact agencies at CIC Philadelphia, which is sponsoring an internship program for Coded students to work on websites for local businesses and nonprofits, said Danae Mobley, Codeds chief marketing officer.

I think she actually has a vested interest in making the city better," Mobley said of Guzik.

As for when the woman in black might start wearing other colors, Guzik said not soon.

I always want to be the person that reminds people of those things we need to be working on to be better.The owner of a London office building negotiated a lease with a company that wanted all eight floors. To his surprise, his bankers at ING Groep NV shot it down.

ING balked because a single tenant, WeWork Cos., would be responsible for paying all the rent. And the Dutch bank isn't alone. Increasingly, lenders in Europe are cooling toward the co-working giant, which started with six floors in a tenement-style building in New York's SoHo district nine years ago, and now has 45 million square feet (4.2 million square meters) of office space around the world. For context, that's nearly equal to all the office space in downtown Philadelphia.

A number of banks and investors that have financed WeWork-leased buildings are cautious about doing more. The following account of how lenders are backing away from WeWork in Europe is based on interviews with executives from 17 banks, credit funds, landlords and real-estate debt brokers, who asked not to be identified discussing a specific company.

A representative of ING declined to comment on the London loan decision.

The rapid rise of WeWork coincides with major changes in the way we do business. The company has cashed in on the gig economy, with its demand for flexible, short-term work space. Its focus on casual, funky design chimes with the spread of urban hipster culture, which even blue-chip companies now want a piece of. Many startups, flush with venture capital, have found that WeWork's offices are a good fit.

As it helped transform the commercial real-estate market from Boston to Bangkok, WeWork caught the eye of SoftBank Group Corp. The Japanese conglomerate first put money into the company in 2017, and has committed more than $10 billion to date. After its latest investment, WeWork announced a valuation of $47 billion.

"A lot of lenders have an allocation. For some of them, that allocation to WeWork is now full"

WeWork is now partly a victim of its own success. It's already the biggest private occupier of commercial real estate in London and New York, and some banks in Europe say they are reluctant to build up more exposure to a single company. Its business model- locking in space on long-term leases, then filling it with short-term tenants-has been hard for others to embrace.

Even SoftBank's backing has a downside. In January, it put an additional $6 billion into WeWork, but backed away from a plan to spend $16 billion for a controlling stake. That decision spooked some lenders.

"When you have an investor saying it's going to commit massive amounts, and then the reversal is so great, you would naturally be concerned about what has gone on to cause that," said Simon Brooks, co-head of structured property finance at Investec Plc, a real estate lender that has financed two WeWork buildings in London.

WeWork executives acknowledge that they have to build up their relationships with banks. After all, the company loses a lot of money -- $1.9 billion last year. Its $702 million bond has a junk rating. Granit Gjonbalaj, WeWork's chief development officer, said the company is "continually strengthening" those ties. "The more we engage with them, the more they realize the positive impact that WeWork is having on real estate," he said by email.

But Vice Chairman Michael Gross disputed the premise that lenders are shying away from the company.

"There's been a tremendous amount of deal flow where assets have gotten resold or refinanced with WeWork as a major tenant," Gross said in an interview. As this track record grows, "it gets easier and easier for us." The company hasn't made big changes to the guarantees or tenant incentives it offers in an effort to appease lenders, he said.

The risk is that if more banks follow ING's lead, WeWork could struggle to keep up its rapid expansion in Europe. Worldwide, the company lists 630 locations in 30-plus countries. This rate of growth is an important basis of the company's high valuation and sets it apart from its competitors. For example, IWG Plc, owner of the Regus serviced office brand, has a market capitalization of just 2.2 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) despite having more locations than WeWork and making a profit last year.

London is the world's biggest city for co-working, making it a prime market for WeWork. Many of the banks, credit funds, insurance companies and other lenders that make up the commercial real-estate debt market have already financed at least one WeWork building, and are now weighing up how many more they want to do.

"A lot of lenders have an allocation," said David Barry, a director for debt advisory at broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. "For some of them, that allocation to WeWork is now full.''

The concept of co-working itself complicates lenders' valuation of buildings, especially when one tenant takes most of the property. The mismatch between WeWork's long-term leases and its short-term tenants could become a problem if office rents fall and customers decamp to cheaper digs.

Even lenders that are willing to talk publicly about financing WeWork buildings acknowledge there are challenges.

"We don't do 100 percent co-working," even if the borrower is willing to pay a higher rate of interest, said Thomas Koentgen, deputy chief executive officer at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, one of the biggest lenders for U.K. commercial real estate. The bank has financed buildings where co-working providers accounted for a smaller share of the rent; Koentgen didn't say if WeWork was among them.

WeWork also runs into resistance because the parent company itself typically doesn't sign leases. It creates separate companies, known as special purpose vehicles, to handle individual buildings. For lenders in countries, including the U.K. and Germany, whose lending regulations place a heavy emphasis on the credit-worthiness of the company paying the rent, this extra corporate layer is a concern.

As a private company, WeWork also doesn't have to disclose as much financial information as its public rivals, and banks don't always get all the details they'd like to have when deciding whether to make a loan, according to the executives who spoke about the matter. Much of the available information about the company's books comes from documents provided to its bond investors.

"If we have a top-notch company renting the building and we can be sure that the cash flow is safe for 10 or 15 years, that's a different thing to placing your underwriting on a tenant whose credit-worthiness isn't clear," said Michael Windoffer, head of real estate cross-border business at Hamburg Commercial Bank AG.

To be sure, some lenders will consider lending against buildings in a prime location, or where WeWork accounts for a smaller share of the rent, the executives said. Bank of Ireland Group Plc recently made a loan secured against the No. 1 Poultry building, a stone's throw from the Bank of England in the heart of London's financial district, even though all the office space is leased to WeWork. The presence of a long-term corporate tenant can also help win over lenders, according to Shawn Kaufman, senior director of debt strategies at Nuveen Real Estate, which has financed two WeWork properties in Europe. Such companies often have a stronger credit rating than the co-working firm itself, making it easier for banks to get comfortable, he said. These tenants account for about 32 percent of WeWork's customers.

After arriving in London in 2014, WeWork spent years persuading landlords that its brand of fashionably relaxed office design, emphasis on community and pay-by-the-month flexibility would be a winner. It worked, as shown by the nearly 50 properties the company operates in the city.

The company is now directing that sales pitch at banks. Part of the pitch is to encourage lenders to look beyond the eye-watering losses caused by rapid expansion to evidence that the business model is working. Existing locations make money, and have an average occupancy rate of 80 percent. Revenue more than doubled last year to $1.8 billion.

And ride-hailing companies Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., which have also ridden the gig economy wave, show that losses aren't necessarily an impediment to a high valuation -- and a potential initial public offering. WeWork hasn't yet given any indication of when it might sell shares.

"A lot of it is an education process," WeWork's Gross said. "We're creating a category, a new form of utilization of commercial space."

---

Bloombergs Donal Griffin, Ellen Huet and Hayley Warren contributed to this report.A Jeep Wrangler comes off the final production line at the Toledo North Assembly Plant in Toledo, Ohio on Friday, November 16, 2018. (Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press/TNS) Read more

Americans bought 524,000 small, starter pickup trucks last year-about 1,400 a day-but not one of them had removable doors.

In a few weeks, that small but noteworthy gap in the market will be filled by the Jeep Gladiator, an all-new rig that represents Fiat-Chrysler's initial bid to buccaneer its way back into one of the industry's hottest segments.

The long awaited Gladiator is drastically different from rival trucks-and it's not just the doors. To further motor en plein air, the windshield folds down and the hardtop comes off. The tailgate can be locked at a half-lowered position to better support a stack of plywood. And the manual transmission is standard-which these days is about as on-trend as an eight-track stereo.

"There's nothing like it out there," TrueCar analyst Eric Lyman said. "A lot of people are going to look at it and say, 'Wow, that's the coolest truck I've ever seen.'"

It's as if Jeep designers snuck a bunch of left-field ideas onto the assembly line, the kind of concepts that today's milquetoast auto industry filters out by rote. Cost-saving synergies from consolidation, regulation and general loss-aversion have led to fewer risks, and thus a mean reversion in design and capabilities. That's why those of us not in pickup trucks are increasingly driving small, round SUVs powered by four-cylinders-sexified turtles, as my colleague Hannah Elliott calls them.

The Gladiator is decidedly not that. It's an aesthetic antidote for the homogenous parking lot, and arguably a strategic one, too.

"A lot of these trucks are interchangeable-not necessarily different other than the sheet metal," explained Jeep marketing head Scott Tallon. "We sweat the details on how to package and deliver something that's different and unique. Those little nuances I think are really what's going to set it apart."

Jeep isn't taking orders yet, but it is taking names and e-mails from prospective customers. So far, that list of "hand raisers" is longer than any for a Jeep in recent memory, the company said.

Idiosyncrasies aside, the Gladiator checks the standard truck boxes, too. Its standard V-6 is good for 285 horsepower and tows up to 7,650 pounds. It's full of gear ties and a bunch of bins in the cockpit that lock, in case one wants to leave the doors off while at dinner. The bed is sturdy enough to hold 1,600 pounds, roughly the equivalent of a cow, seven dirt-bikes or 20 Labrador Retrievers. These are the specs Jeep will need if it wants to find favor with truck buyers.

Specifically, Gladiator will be trying to steal market share from Toyota's Tacoma, which has dominated the small truck game for decades. Toyota attributes its success to safety, reliability and persistence. "To be honest, we've never been able to meet demand," said Tacoma marketing head Don Johnson. "We have a lot of faith in our product, our consumers and our heritage."

Johnson doesn't seem worried. He said he expects the Gladiator to win less than 50,000 buyers a year, a "niche" market full of consumers who might have otherwise bought a different Jeep.

Fiat-Chrysler does expect up to 15 percent of people planning to buy its Wrangler SUV to opt instead for the Gladiator, which is made in the same plant and has essentially the same layout and interior. But some Gladiator buyers will be Jeep owners who would have otherwise strayed entirely. Strategic Vision, an auto consultancy, said that right now roughly 10 percent of Jeep owners trade in their rig for a pickup truck every year.

"It's better to have them in our segment, than going to a Tacoma or (Ford) Ranger," said Bill Golling, president of Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

For those already in love with a Jeep, it's hard to overstate their ardor. Here's Harwood Loomis, a semi-retired architect in Connecticut: "Die-hard Jeep people like Jeeps because they are unique and better at off-road performance than anything else." Loomis has nine vintage paragons of the marque ("some of which actually run," he said), but a particularly soft spot for the Jeep Comanche, a pickup made in the mid-1980s that could carry more than 2,200 pounds. "Nobody but Jeep had ever conceived of a vehicle like this," he gushed.

Truck makers are always yammering on about loyalty. The folks who buy tough-guy rigs like the Ford's F-150 tend not to stray when it comes time for a new ride, a level of product stickiness typically reserved for smartphones. But the small truck space is more capricious. Folks shopping for something that looks like a Gladiator are more likely to switch things up than those keen on other genres of the auto market, according to Cox Automotive. And Strategic Vision said those who already drive a pickup are more Jeep-curious than owners of any other type of vehicle.

All of which bodes well for the Gladiator. TrueCar's Lyman expects Gladiator to take a large number of customers away from truck brands, a rare coup known in Detroit as conquesting. There's a big but largely silent group of people who deeply want a truck, but could never justify the expense. They've been waiting for the Gladiator.

"It's functionality for fun's sake and that's going to appeal to a certain buyer," Lyman said. "It doesn't come with some of the baggage of a full-size pickup truck."

Can this rig conquest? We'll soon see, but we gather they named it Gladiator for a reason.

---

Bloombergs Gabrielle Coppola contributed to this report.Theres a positive way to look at the fact that the new DC Universe superhero movie Shazam! is set in Philadelphia but filmed (mostly) in Toronto  you know your city has truly arrived when Hollywood is using other cities as a body double.

Another benefit  people will think our public transportation system is awesome. A Shazam! chase scene purportedly set on the Market-Frankford line is remarkable for the glistening white-tile stations and spacious trains full of people so polite they can only be Canadian.

But there is authentic Philly footage in the movie. Star Zachary Levi, who plays the title character, flew in for a day in December to shoot some legitimate local stuff. The filmmakers, he said, wanted to anchor the Shazam! characters with a location that was indelibly Philadelphia.

The Rocky steps, of course.

That was my first time in Philadelphia, and, wow. What a feeling to be standing on those steps. What a sight! Of course, that view is so iconic. Like everybody else, I grew up on the Rocky movies, and the stairs are so famous. It was really cool to be there in living color, looking straight down the street at William Penn, Levi said. (Speaking of William Penn, his statue makes quite a cameo in Shazam!, which uses CGI to play around with certain local landmarks, like the LOVE sculpture.)

Hollywood has been trying for nearly 20 years to make a big-screen version of DCs Shazam!, about a orphan/foster-home teen named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who transforms into a powerful superhero (Levi) when he says, "Shazam.

In a way, the delays worked in Philadelphias favor. When the character was reinvented in 2012 (believe it or not, in the 30s, he was known as Captain Marvel), he was given a Philadelphia address. And when the movie was finally greenlit two years ago, Philadelphia was retained as the ostensible setting, even if most of the shooting was done in Toronto.

So Shazam! is a tale of two cities, and also a tale of two actors inhabiting the same role. Levis challenge is to project the aura of an apparently adult superhero while playing a teen boy grappling with his new grown-up body and new powers.

I didnt really go and watch the canon of body-switching movies, but in a way I didnt have to. Ive seen Big so many times that I sort of know it by heart, and its just ingrained in me. Its one of my favorite movies, and Ive always wanted to play a role like that," Levi said.

What I appreciated about what Tom Hanks brought to that role," he said, "is how he gets you to go on that journey because hes making it seem as real as possible  the idea of a kid whos suddenly in this other body.

Levi said he and Shazam! director David Sandberg were thinking not only of Big but of movies like it in terms of spirit. Levi believes he got the part when he met with Sandberg and found they were on exactly the same page about the tone they envisioned for Shazam!  funny, with just a bit of darkness around the edges. Its something of a shift for DC, which is known for darker takes on superhero fare, like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But Shazam! is aimed almost squarely at children. DC has surely seen Marvel  not to mention its own lighter fare, like Aquaman and Wonder Woman  make billions of dollars on movies that are more family-friendly.

Hilarious and creepy. Like the Amblin movies we loved growing up. Goonies and Gremlins. We certainly tried to capture that, said Levi, whose scenes are mostly on the hilarious side. Creepiness is allocated to Mark Strong, the British actor who plays the movies villain, and who has been a reliable heavy in movies like Kick Ass and Robin Hood.

My job basically was to have fun. And then you have a genius like Mark Strong. When the movie needs to be a little darker hes able to handle that.

Shazam! is tracking to open pretty big  in the $50 million range. Its an origin story that leaves plenty of room for sequels, and though Levi has heard nothing official, he said the studio will have to strike while that iron is hot, and while the teen cast is still teen.

Theyre not going to look like they look for very long. Theyre growing like weeds, Levi said.

Levi also doesnt know whether hell be invited back for another season of the streaming series The Marvelous Miss Maisel. He played a love interest for the title character, and the most recent season ended with their relationship in limbo.

I can neither confirm nor deny, but I can confirm that I honestly dont know, he said.

What he does know is that his acting options look pretty good, and after plugging away at this craft for 20 years, hes suddenly reached a pinch-myself plateau of good fortune.

I know the experience of acting the way most actors know it. Its a hand-to-mouth life, most of the time. Ive been super-blessed now to be able to take care of myself and my family. And Ive been able to find people who believe in me and roles that Im right for. And now Im in a superhero movie thats opening on thousands of screens around the world. Ive been able to check off so many bucket lists, Ive lost track.Tobacco companies are throwing parties featuring carefully targeted young influencers, who are encouraged to share photos of their glamorous tobacco-sponsored adventures with friends and followers on social media. Read more

Big Tobacco is increasingly using social media to find new ways to hook young people on smoking, circumventing decades of laws restricting the marketing of traditional cigarettes to minors.

In major cities around the world such as Rio de Janeiro, Cairo, Jakarta and Milan, tobacco companies have been holding extravagant events with names like K_Player and RedMoveNow that were designed to connect with young people. Often featuring alcohol, live music and attractive hosts, these lavish events spare no expense as they seek find new buyers for their tobacco products.

The problem? Those party-goers are carefully targeted young influencers, who are encouraged to share photos of their glamorous tobacco-sponsored adventures with friends and followers on social media using appealing hashtags like #iamonthemove, #decideyourflowand #mydaynow. And although the influencers are over 18, their social media followers can be much younger.

This exploitation of social medias organic reach is one of the findings from a global research project Ive been working on since 2016 with more than a dozen different scholars. The anti-smoking advocacy group Tobacco-Free Kids noticed a lot of photos of young people with cigarettes turning up in their online scans of global social media and asked me to look into it.

My own research focuses on how to rigorously research online culture using natural observational techniques, something that this study definitely required.

My teams task was to monitor, report upon, and analyze the programs behind the hashtagged social media posts of young people smoking. What we learned about tobacco companys current advertising surprised us.

Skirting marketing restrictions

Tobacco companies have always had a knack for finding creative ways to skirt regulations intended to curb marketing to young people.

In 1971, the U.S. Congress banned tobacco ads from television and radio. In response, companies invested heavily in outdoor advertising and magazines. In 1997, the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement banned tobacco on outdoor and billboard ads. In response, tobacco money flowed into sponsorships of sports, music and other events. These type of event sponsorships were banned, with some exceptions, in 2010, at the same time wider restrictions on youth marketing were also introduced.

No matter the medium, the messaging was often the same: find ways to reach new and young potential smokers. As documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library reveal, tobacco executives have long believed that the continued survival and success of their companies depends on one thing: convincing young people to buy their products.

In 2005, the World Health Organization banned tobacco advertising in 168 signatory countries. By 2010, the U.S. had closed a lot of Big Tobaccos favorite advertising and tobacco loopholes.

With conventional media mostly off-limits, what was Big Tobacco to do? Like the Marlboro Man, the unregulated Wild West of social media rode to the rescue.

The perfect marketing medium

Social media fits Big Tobaccos advertising needs to a T.

At least 88 percent of American youth say they use social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram regularly, and the technologies are notoriously difficult to regulate.

With Tobacco-Free Kids financial support, I assembled a growing team of researchers to investigate. Our work is ongoing.

My team collected a plethora of social media data and also conducted interviews with a range of tobacco brand ambassadors, party attendees, influencers, and industry insiders from around the world. What we found was an astoundingly effective use of social media by a range of different tobacco companies to connect with the next generation of potential cigarette smokers.

While tobacco companies were careful to abide by the letter of the law  the influencers involved in these posts were all of legal smoking age in their countries  social media has a public setting that makes it an effective and largely unregulated form of broadcast.

Legally, anyone age 13 or over can have an Instagram or Facebook account. Our netnography  a type of qualitative social media inquiry that focuses on cultural contexts, social structures and deeper meanings  only looked at public posts, images that any 13-year-old with an account could see.

Training camps and pop-up parties

Our investigation uncovered a range of promotional activities and a web of public relations and advertising agencies that cleverly leveraged the strengths of social media to keep tobacco advertising under the radar of existing regulation.

We found tobacco companies in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines recruiting nano-influencers of just 2,000-3,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram and encouraging them to post about their tobacco-sponsored adventures.

In Indonesia, we found brand ambassador training camps that lasted two full weeks and were run by the domestic tobacco company Gudang Garam. At these camps, young nano-influencers were paid generous fees, taught about cigarette brands images, and then provided lessons about how to better maintain their social media feeds.

Public relations agencies in Uruguay taught their influencers how to take pictures of cigarette packages in ways that best accentuated their brands, offering tips on lighting, hashtags, and the best time to post them for maximum impact.

Some companies used Facebook pages to recruit young people to attend their parties. After answering a few questions on the Facebook page, for example, responders were enrolled in a mailing list resulting in invitations to cool pop-up parties and edgier events.

At those parties, young people were greeted by attractive attendants who offered them cigarettes and encouraged them to pose with floor designs modeled after cigarette brand logos. After snapping pictures, they were encouraged to post them on their social media feed using the partys decisiveness and action-oriented hashtags. The result was unquestionably a new form of cigarette promotion.

These activities clearly violate the spirit of the existing agreements not to indirectly advertise to young people. You can call it stealth, undercover or guerrilla marketing if you wish. Whatever its name, this is 21st-century cigarette advertising that reaches millions of young people around the world.

Exploiting social media

Our research has not only helped shine a light on Big Tobaccos unchecked use of social media, it has also informed a recent petition to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requesting it to investigate and enforce these novel forms of cigarette advertising.

Although it might be difficult for governments to keep on top of media in these rapidly changing times, they must do so if they hope to prevent global smoking rates and their consequent health problems from rising once again. Indeed, with leadership change in the Food and Drug Administration, new and tighter regulations on tobacco and vaping in the United States are already being cast into doubt.

Social media provide an incredible advance in communications that democratize communications in unprecedented ways.

However, that openness is easy to exploit by marketers with dubious motives.

Robert Kozinets is Hufschmid Chair of Strategic Public Relations at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. This aricle originally appeared on The Conversation.It is common wisdom that nobody ever wished he'd spent more time at the office when he's at death's door.

That certainly makes sense, but Michael Ent, a social psychologist at Towson University, did what researchers do when confronted with unproven beliefs. He wondered if it was true. Then he tried to find out.

He and Mary Gergis, a nurse who also teaches at Towson, asked hospice nurses what dying people really talk about at the end of their lives. The 124 nurses from the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association who responded to an online survey said patients are often more consumed with worries about how their families will fare after their deaths than they are with their own fates. They are about as likely to savor lives well led as to grapple with regrets. Many are worried about legacy and finances, a sign, Ent thinks, that some of them do indeed wish theyd worked more, or at least done a better job of managing their money.

Ent said the information, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Death Studies, could be helpful to caregivers. Some may be reluctant to push patients to engage in "life review" -- end-of-life discussions of life history that have been shown to help alleviate anxiety and depression. "Sometimes patients might feel that it's intrusive for a stranger to start asking them about their personal lives," Ent said. However, if patients bring up some of the topics the nurses mentioned, that could be an opening for a deeper conversation.

Ent, whose wife is a nurse who has worked with hospice patients, said he was interested in what we could learn from the dying. Most of the academic studies he was able to find were more focused on practical aspects of support for the dying than on trying to harvest their wisdom. He couldnt find anything about which subjects were on their minds. He read The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, written by a Buddhist hospice founder, but Ent wanted to do something more concrete and systematic. He read The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, also written by a hospice worker, and particularly questioned the top regret: I wish Id had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

Again, Ent was skeptical. "I couldn't imagine that being a top deathbed reflection," he said.

For the survey, Ent and Gergis asked the nurses to list up to five reflections they heard most frequently from hospice patients. He concedes it would have been better to talk to patients themselves, but said privacy rules make them harder to reach. The nurses' answers covered a wide range, from regrets to pride to faith in an afterlife. I dont want to be a burden was a common sentiment, and many patients worried about how survivors would cope after they died. Some wished they had taken better care of themselves. Some said they were ready to go, while others wished for more time. They were thinking about whether their lives had mattered.

Ent categorized the comments and found that concern about loved ones was the most common response. Half of the nurses mentioned it. Regrets  these included people who thought theyd worked too much  came up 42 percent of the time, compared with 36 percent for gratitude. Concerns about legacy were cited by 29 percent of the nurses. Some of those people wished they had achieved more. About the same number of nurses said patients often said they were not ready to die (29 percent) as said they were ready (28 percent).

Ent said that the survey results show that hospice workers may want to spend more time allaying patients' fears about how their deaths will affect family members.

He also thinks that research on what dying patients regret could help healthy people plan for the inevitable. Maybe fewer of us would be blindsided by our deaths if we talked more openly about mortality. Better financial planning could prevent many of the worries about unpaid bills.Owner P.K. Sindwani, left, carries a stack of "Ship of Fools" by Tucker Carlson, as assistant manager and book buyer Sarah Danforth, holds a bunch of "Becoming" by Michelle Obama at Towne Book Center & Wine Bar in Collegeville, PA on March 26, 2019. Read more

It is Book Store Quiet in here, a window-wrapped sanctuary of calm in a fancy shopping center with a Wegmans facing the front door. The childrens section is always busy, with Curious George and Harry Potter tales flying into the hands of suburban Philadelphia moms, dads, and grandparents.

But walk anywhere near The Wall Of Doom, as the political book section can best be described, and prepare to be bloodied.

There have been fights in the stacks. Shoppers fire verbal mortar shots toward assistant manager Sarah Danforth. (She dodges grenades by pleading political neutrality.) Aggrieved liberals and conservatives even attack Mr. Mild Mannered himself, owner P.K. Sindwani, a 60-year-old bespectacled former accountant who has run Towne Book Center and (soon-to-be) Wine Bar for a decade in the pharmaceutical corridor of western Montgomery County.

This is no way to live. And yet, this is life in the Age of Trump. In just the two-odd, very odd years since Donald Trump became president, even the once-dreary politics section of a suburban shopping center bookstore has become a war zone.

It is hard to imagine a more perfect microcosmic setting for our hyper-polarized American political culture. The store, which I first visited a decade ago as independent merchants were struggling to keep pace with Amazons e-books, is in Upper Providence Township. Despite a majority of registered voters being Republican in 2016, more voters here picked Hillary Clinton over Trump.

Just as Trumps ascension to the White House blasted a deep schism into the body politic, so have spirits soured to extremes in this store. The merchandise is more incendiary, too, fed by a short-attention-span news cycle that has fueled a tsunami of quick-hit books from Washington-scandal-hungry publishers.

Before Trump, customers were content with a single table on which half the titles were fairly milquetoast conservative-leaning scholarly reflections, and the other half suitably vanilla offerings from the left.

Today, customers demand titles being churned out with sometimes only a few months lead time: a tabloid-and-Twitter-like smorgasbord of here-today, gone-tomorrow salacious bestsellers, each forecasting either deliverance or doom.

House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia, sits alongside HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE, The Deep State, FASCISM, and a book whose title is simply spectacular, LIARS.

Sindwani and Danforth say they pick the books based on what customers seem to want and what they think might do well in the store. The extreme-sounding stuff has sold best, bringing customers with sometimes unbridled passions to the checkout counter, too.

I get yelled at, Sindwani said in his characteristic near-whisper, during a visit a few days ago. Mind you, he is hardly some fringe-provocateur; Sindwani walks around in a tweed jacket and is always fretting about how to keep the store profitable against click-and-buy competitors like Amazon. (He is opening a wine bar a few weeks from now, which will make his the first store in Pennsylvania to offer booze with books.)

There was pretty nasty talk at his old bookstore, in nearby Trappe, back during the Bush v. Gore presidential race that ended with the Supreme Court declaring George W. Bush the winner in 2000. But the latest incivility, begun after the 2016 election, has been exquisitely pitched.

"I had people come in and get mad at me for even having Hillary Clintons book, he said. His stock answer: An apology and, We have Trump books as well. The Trump ones sell quicker.

Another example: Alec Baldwin came out with a book, and I had his cutout  you know how hes dressed up [as Trump] in Saturday Night Live? Sindwani said. Somebody actually got mad at me for having that.

A guy yelled at us for not having a poster of Melania Trump, while we have a poster of Michelle Obama for her book, Becoming," Danforth, his right-hand-woman, added. "I had to straight-up tell a guy I was not talking with him about the president the other day when he came up saying a publisher should never publish something that goes against the president.

What, exactly, might bring the warring sides together?

Danforth had hoped, when John McCains biography came out a year ago, it would be embraced by all. Instead, it went largely unsold. (If thats not a perfect metaphor for the death of the pre-Trump Republican Party, I dont know what is.)

There has been one book, though.

Michelle Obamas memoir, which is now said to be on track to be the bestselling memoir in the world. It has been hugely popular with conservatives and liberals in the store.

Theyre people who come in, buy one copy of the Tucker Carlson book and at the same time buy Michelle Obamas book, Sindwani said.

Amazing, both say.

Another ray of hope? Political book sales have been on the decline in recent months, they say. Apparently even partisan anger can develop a short consumer shelf life.

Lets rejoice. But with the new wine bar almost ready, lets also hope this doesnt mean drunken fistfights over the Berenstain Bears.Demetrius Anderson, a Philadelphia native, was arrested in New Haven, Conn., in March because federal authorities in Pennsylvania said a clerical error caused him to never serve a 16-month prison sentence for crimes he committed in 2001 and 2003. Read more

Demetrius Anderson, a 43-year-old Philadelphia native who faced returning to prison to complete a sentence more than 12 years after he was mistakenly freed early, will not have to go back to jail, his lawyer said Saturday.

After outcry over Andersons recent arrest in Connecticut, federal officials gave Anderson credit for his time at liberty since his release in November 2006, said Michael Dolan, Andersons lawyer.

I expect it to be rescinded on Monday, Dolan said.

In 2005, Anderson, who now lives in New Haven, Conn., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to counterfeiting and identify theft and was sentenced to up to 16 months in prison. That federal sentence would begin after Anderson completed serving time in Connecticut for similar charges.

But when Anderson was released in 2006 from Connecticut prison, state officials failed to notify federal prison officials due to a clerical error, and Anderson went free. Anderson said he went about rebuilding his life in New Haven and currently works with the citys parks and recreation department and for a nonprofit in human resources.

Andersons arrest was ordered after the U.S. Marshals in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania conducted an audit and discovered the unserved sentence. Marshals arrested Anderson at his New Haven apartment.

Dolan, the attorney, said he spoke with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Friday and was told that Anderson would be given credit for living a crime-free life since his release. But he has not seen anything in writing yet from U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond, who issued the sentence and also signed the warrant for Andersons arrest.

Federal authorities could not be reached for comment Saturday.Homicide detectives on Saturday continued to investigate a double shooting in North Philadelphia that left one man dead and another hospitalized.

Just before 11 p.m. Friday, responding to a report of a person with a gun, officers arrived at the 3000 block of North 10th Street and found a 41-year-old man who was shot in the head. Officers transported the man, whom police had not yet identified publicly, to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m.

Officers found a second shooting victim at Percy Street and Glenwood Avenue, just a few blocks from where they discovered the first victim. The second victim, a 38-year-old man whose name was not released, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including to the right foot, buttocks, and right thigh. Paramedics transported him to Temple Hospital. He was in stable condition on Saturday afternoon, according to police.

The investigation is ongoing; there have been no arrests and no weapon recovered, police said.Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks to a crowd at Penn State University in State College, Pa., Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Several hundred were in attendance for O'Rourke's three state inaugural campaign. (Kalim A. Bhatti/For the Inquirer) Read more

(Bloomberg)  Beto ORourke officially launches his 2020 presidential campaign on Saturday in El Paso, using the backdrop of his Texas home town on the Rio Grande River to declare hes the best Democrat to take on President Donald Trump.

The former three-term congressman and a darling of left-leaning voters is expected to tick off his campaign priorities  what his campaign terms a unifying vision for bridging divides  in characteristically earnest style. Joined by wife Amy and their three children, hell then travel to events at Texas Southern University in Houston and at the state capitol in Austin.

ORourkes charisma and relative youth grabbed national attention when he nearly defeated incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterms. He was the recipient along the way of publicity and campaign contributions from around the country.

The ORourke-Cruz contest was the most expensive Senate race ever, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Democrat pulled to within 2.6 percentage points of Cruz after outspending his Republican opponent by $79 million to $46 million. Cruz won his first Senate race, in 2012, by 16 points over a former state lawmaker.

Symbolic Location

El Paso, separated by the Rio Grande from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, has a leading role in Trumps quest to extend a wall along the entire southern U.S. border.

Today we started building the big beautiful wall right on the Rio Grande, Trump said at a rally in El Paso in February, the first he held after a bruising government shutdown over border funding. At a competing event across town, ORourke declared that We are not safe because of walls, but in spite of walls.

After the close race against Cruz, the challenge for ORourke, 46, will be to maintain his popularity as other declared candidates gain national name recognition. Hell also face pressure to develop a more detailed policy platform to prove that he can do more than rally crowds with inspirational but vague speeches.

Among the topics expected to be touched upon on Saturday are climate change, criminal justice reform, health care, immigration and the economy.

Born to Run

The Texas Democrat announced his candidacy in a March 14 video, nearly synchronized with the publication of a Vanity Fair cover story that detailed his own agonizing over whether he should enter the race, and a much-mocked assertion that Man, Im just born to be in it.

As he officially ramps up his campaign, ORourke is polling in the top tier of a diverse set of nearly 20 Democrats hoping to challenge Trump in 2020.

ORourke  his given name is Robert Francis ORourke  has already sprinted through early primary and caucus states. Hes held town hall meetings in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

The candidate has drawn media attention for attracting large crowds and for the record-breaking $6.1 million he raised in the 24 hours after his announcement video. His campaign has shunned money from political action committees, and emphasized strong support from small online contributions.

Tapping into ORourkes grassroots appeal, volunteers will host more than 1,000 parties in every U.S. state and territory to watch a live-stream of Saturdays rally, which is expected to start around noon EDT, according to his campaign.

Read More: Beto ORourke Jumps Into Crowded Democratic Race for President

But as the early buzz over his candidacy recedes, ORourke is finding that, unlike his 2018 Senate bid, his Texas brand of progressive politics may not be far-left enough for a nationwide contest.

This time, hes facing Democratic competitors angling to be seen as more progressive on health care, energy and the economy. For instance, ORourke says he supports universal health care coverage, but stops short of endorsing so-called Medicare for All, a proposal that may mean the end of the private health insurance system in the U.S.

ORourkes free-wheeling speaking style, viewed as part of his appeal, has also caused some early problems. Hes apologized for joking at several events that his wife has been raising their kids sometimes with my help.

Some Democrats have also questioned why they should support someone who could be considered an example of white male privilege. Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who narrowly lost the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018, told MSNBC she believes race may be playing a role ORourkes rising popularity after his failed Senate run.

Top Tier

Abrams questioned why she and former Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum havent received the same attention, though they also narrowly lost statewide races. Both are black, while ORourke is white.

The two other likely Democratic candidates polling higher than ORourke are also white men, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday, at a time when Democrats electoral success depends heavily on turnout from women and minority voters.

The poll showed ORourke at 12 percent among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, behind former Vice President Joe Biden at 29 percent and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 19 percent. California Senator Kamala Harris, a black woman, was the preferred candidate of 8 percent or respondents.

Hungry for a candidate to take on President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic leaners put the three Bs  Biden, Bernie and Beto  at the top in a race where age, race and gender take a back seat to electability and shared views, said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll, in releasing the survey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Ros Krasny

2019 Bloomberg L.P.The scene along Atlantic Avenue March 21, 2019, an area called "Night of the Living Dead," in Atlantic City. Read more

ATLANTIC CITY  Shirley Everett, 79, is shopping. Just plain old shopping for a couple of folding carts and, as things develop, a new shower curtain. These days, out on Atlantic Avenue, that can be a dicey act.

Across Tennessee Avenue, out in front of EZ Super Mart store, a 51-year-old homeless man recently out of jail and a teen who says hes a heroin addict are waiting for their chance at a few bucks  most likely, they each said separately, by acting as low-level go-betweens for drug dealers waiting on the other major shopping done these days on Atlantic Avenue: weed, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy.

Its around noon on a Tuesday. Business as usual.

I just do what I have to do and keep moving, Everett said, browsing fabrics with her daughter Nan Moore inside Lots Corner store, one of many generic discount and convenience stores along an avenue once home to stores like Lit Bros. and Boston Shoes.

The facade reads LOTS CORN R on Atlantic; from Tennessee Avenue, the sign is down to LOTS COR R."

It did not used to be this way on Atlantic Avenue.

You had a lot of little stores where you could shop and sit at a counter, Moore recalled. Were talking about years ago when Atlantic City was Atlantic City. I dont know what happened.

City Council President Marty Small calls the state of Atlantic Avenue, two blocks from casinos and the Boardwalk, Night of the Living Dead and Zombie City. Store owners say drug dealers intimidate employees and customers as they ply their trade, and the homeless and the resorts many alcoholics urinate or even defecate in their doorways.

Others say shopkeepers are enablers, looking the other way as dealers camp in their doorways or duck inside to finish transactions behind glass store fronts covered with posters.

Robert Rynkiewicz, director of the Free Library, itself a welcoming haven for homeless and others, says employees face a gantlet of corner drug and loitering activity to even cross Atlantic at Tennessee Avenue, where another block down, the new hipster coffee shop and beer hall stand ready.

Prospects look better elsewhere in town, such as around Stockton Universitys campus, where big names like ex-Eagle LeSean McCoy and DJ Envy are scouting investments.

But the worn tale of two cities narrative stubbornly remains, nowhere more blatant than Atlantic Avenue, in the heart of this casino towns fledgling downtown. Its a place where casino levies pay for fancy facades and signage for 24-hour adult stores.

My thing is this, thats our downtown, says Small. For us to really be a next-level city we have to pay attention to it. ... You have zombies walking up and down the street. Its not acceptable in other cities. Why is that acceptable in Atlantic City?

For the last month, a brigade of a dozen people  led by AtlantiCare case manager Vinnie Kirkland, City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, and outreach foot soldiers drawn from city and transit police, Volunteers of America, and Jewish Family Services  have left their offices to walk the troubled stretch of Atlantic Avenue between 1 and 3 p.m., five days a week.

Every day I see some of the same people, says Kirkland, who works in the Healthplex at 1401 Atlantic. I say good morning to them. And I say good night to them. Once in a while theyll come inside.

Theyll just go and stand there

Spend time on Atlantic Avenue and it becomes clear that those pegged as the problem  the so-called zombies themselves  know better than most that they, and the place, need help.

Just ask the people the outreach brigade encounters. Vaughn Blakeley, 45, helps a friend, Jessica Santiago, with her grocery bags for a few dollars. Hes looking for Dasha Brown of Volunteers of America, to help with housing; hes been on a waiting list for a year.

"Its a shame, " says Santiago. You cant bring your kids. I dont want them seeing this type of stuff.

David Appenzeller, 44, was once an alcoholic fixture outside the liquor store in Renaissance Plaza, a dismal shopping center with a Save-A-Lot considered so inadequate the state paid a consultant $157,000 to plan a supermarket from scratch in another part of town.

Wearing a cheery pink jacket and blue hood over long blond hair and bangs, Appenzeller greets Kirkland near the bus station.

Uh oh, says Vinnie, I was looking for you.

"I"m not going to lie. I drank this morning," Appenzeller concedes.

Through Kirkland, Appenzeller entered a partial day program, got health insurance and a place over on Massachusetts Avenue. He wholeheartedly appreciates the help.

He was a hard nut to crack, Kirkland says, but hes actually doing better. He does show up for all his appointments, which is really good for what were trying to do out here.

Atlantic Avenue, like David Appenzeller, may be improving.

In a recent sting, undercover police arrested nine people for selling or possessing drugs in the usual spots, such as outside Popeyes. They could probably do that every day between Ohio and South Carolina Avenues. There are two crane-like eye in the sky surveillance cameras trained on Atlantic Avenue.

Sgt. Brian Shapiro, whose family once owned Boston Shoes on Atlantic Avenue, patrols as part of the Tourism District. On this afternoon, he said, I dont see any individuals breaking the law in front of me right now.

In a resort city where casinos come and go, where sea level rises as property values decline, where sturdy neighborhoods grapple with fallout from decisions in which they have no say, that may count as progress on Atlantic Avenue, especially relative to its problematic sister one block closer to the Boardwalk, Pacific Avenue, home to the prostitution trade, where shifts wrap up around dawn.

Remember the Wire?

Kirkland admits its a bit like Hamsterdam, the police-tolerated drug market from HBOs The Wire. One evening, an officer with a clipboard could be seen talking to a man stationed outside Popeyes, an encounter that led not to an arrest but to a friendly handshake.

Some on Atlantic, like Joey Amaro, say they used to congregate in Hamsterdam-like Browns Park, on the towns outskirts. Reclaimed with playground equipment, landscaping, and orders banning nuisance violators, Browns Park now seems a respectable city square. Which may be contributing to Atlantic Avenues problems.

At least we knew where they were and they werent out here, says Kirkland. Browns Park is now free for children to play , for weddings, concerts and movies in the summer. But no doubt the problem has shifted.

Its one person at a time anteing up faith and practical help, Shabazz says. Police will issue citations leading to banning people from the corridor, as was done in Browns Park. The city will direct stores to remove posters blocking views inside.

Many of us live here, we go to the stores, says Sandra Festa, director of Atlanticares Healthplex, which, among other services, runs a lobby fruit and vegetable pantry. Were a little bit tired of it not being safe for our employees. And its not healthy.

Im coming in tomorrow

Officer Jose Gonzalez keeps donated socks, jackets, shoes, and blankets in his police SUV, making him a popular figure among the citys homeless and addicted. He takes a long-term approach.

In theory, this should be a business district, he says. Theres a lot of people loitering. Most people are stubborn, where the first interaction is not going to work. You have to be somewhat sincere with them.

Help can be a security deposit, a spot in rehab, a trip to a day center like Turning Point, programs offering job training or free college.

A Volunteers of America van finds John Fego, 40, outside the library, courtesy of a bus ticket received upon leaving Ocean County jail after serving a shoplifting sentence. VOA is funded to return ex-offenders to home counties. Fego ends up in intake on Pennsylvania Avenue. A computer lab and a library of donated books awaits.

Nearby, Kirkland sees Nasheema Thornton pushing a stroller with two toddlers. Shes also looking to circle back with Dasha Brown, to help close one frustrating security deposit gap.

Its needed out here and it helps, said Heiko Fehr, 45, a former landscaper struggling with addiction who met Kirkland while in the hospital with a leg infection. It changed my life, Ill tell you that.

Im coming in tomorrow, he says to Kirkland.

Ill be there, Kirkland says.

Food 4 Less

Muhammad Zia, owner of Food 4 Less, knows dealers basically use his store as an office. Running for City Council, Zia has turned over use of his cameras to police, signed multiple complaints for trespassing, says his cashier has been beaten.

I banned the people from the store, but after a few hours, they come back again, Zia said.

Inside Casino City Barber Shop, Eric Younger, 45, gets his beard trimmed by Jackson Poul. Up early for work, Younger sees a lot of stuff on Atlantic Avenue. A lot of people should take what theyre offering," he says.

Home sweet home

But Atlantic Avenue still tempts entrepreneurs, as it has since the time of Mr. Peanut, and sure enough, Lorrayne Peters and Eric Coursey are working on the former beauty shop they rented for $1,000 a month for a takeout place with Peters home cooking.

She seems unconcerned with problems on Atlantic Avenue, maybe just unaware, and brims with the optimism of those about to realize their dreams. Even on Atlantic Avenue, in the heart of enigmatic Atlantic City, its still possible.

Ill be renting this, said Peters. Its called Home Sweet Home Cooking. Im still willing to come to Atlantic City. I look forward to coming here, actually.President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a visit to Lake Okeechobee and Herbert Hoover Dike at Canal Point, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump says he will close the nation's southern border, or large sections of it, next week if Mexico does not immediately stop illegal immigration. In a tweet, Trump ramped up his repeated threat to close the border by saying he will do it next week unless Mexico takes action. Read more

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  Taking one drastic action against illegal immigration and threatening another, President Donald Trump moved to cut U.S. aid to three Central American nations whose citizens are fleeing north and declared he is likely to close America's southern border next week unless Mexico halts the flow of migrants.

Though Trump has previously threatened to close the border and has not followed through, his administration moved to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The State Department said in a statement that it will work with Congress to suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations, which have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

The president emphasized "I am not kidding around" about closing the border, even though such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries.

"It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned on Friday by reporters in Florida. "We will close it for a long time."

Amplified by conservative media, Trump has made those caravans the symbol of what he says are the dangers of illegal immigration, making them a central theme of his midterm campaigning last fall. Now with the special counsel's Russia probe seemingly behind him, Trump has revived his warnings of their presence.

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new group of migrants heading north , he gave a definite timetable and suggested a visit to the border within the next two weeks.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be "an unmitigated economic debacle" that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

Trump followed up tweets on Friday with similar sentiments on Saturday that Democrats and Mexico are to blame. In one tweet he contended: "It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws. In less than one hour, and then a vote, the problem would be solved. But the Dems don't care about the crime, they don't want any victory for Trump and the Republicans, even if good for USA!'

As far as Mexico's role, he tweeted: "Mexico must use its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA. Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border! This will also help us with stopping the Drug flow from Mexico!"

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke out Saturday against cutting off aid to Central America, declaring that "foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens."

And a group of House Democrats visiting El Salvador denounced the administration's decision to cut aid to the region.

"As we visit El Salvador evaluating the importance of U.S. assistance to Central America to address the root causes of family and child migration, we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region," said the statement from five lawmakers, including Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The President's approach is entirely counterproductive."

The Trump administration has threatened before to scale back or cut off U.S. assistance to Central America. Congress has not approved most of those proposed cuts, however, and a report this year by the Congressional Research Service said any change in that funding would depend on what Congress does.

Short of a widespread border shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the U.S. might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under U.S. law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Border officials are also planning to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the border to wait out their immigration cases, said an administration official. The official said right now about 60 migrants per day are returned and officials are hoping to send as many as 300 per day. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about internal plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump's latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups toward remote sections of the border.

"We want to have a good relationship with the government of the United States," Lopez Obrador said Friday. He added: "We are going to continue helping so that the migratory flow, those who pass through our country, do so according to the law, in an orderly way."

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, tweeted that his country "doesn't act based on threats" and is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have.

Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce in San Diego, said the mere threat of border closures sends the wrong message to businesses in Mexico and may eventually scare companies into turning to Asia for their supply chains.

"I think the impact would be absolutely devastating on so many fronts," said Mier y Teran, whose members rely on the Otay Mesa crossing to bring televisions, medical devices and a wide range of products to the U.S. "In terms of a long-term effect, it's basically shooting yourself in your foot. It's sending out a message to other countries that, 'Don't come because our borders may not work at any time.' That is extremely scary and dangerous."

___

Merchant reported from Houston, Lucey from Washington. Associated Press writers Peter Orsi in Mexico City, Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Colleen Long, Catherine Lucey and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.WEST CHESTER  The Chester County commissioners are expected to approve a proposed 2022 budget that includes no increase in the current property tax millage rate and a long-sought new forensic coroners facility. The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the $688 million spending and revenue plan at their business session on Wednesday. Under the []Rushad Iskandarov Wins 2019 EPT Sochi High Roller (~$120,000)

March 30, 2019 Lisa Yiasemides

Rushad Iskandarov, an experienced online poker player of four years, has taken down the 2019 EPT Sochi High Roller and Iskandarov achieved several firsts in doing so. This is his first title and he managed to do it the first time he has sat down to play a live tournament. Not only that but he is the first Azerbaijani to win an EPT event.

Interestingly, Iskandarov found himself heads up with Elvin Sarkarov, who is also from Azerbaijan. With two players left, history had already been made. Speaking to the winner after the dust had settled, the father of two explained that he plays poker online regularly but doesnt usually have time to play live. He made this trip with some of his oldest friends and they wanted to combine a holiday with playing poker.

To be honest it was very, very stressful! It was challenging to be playing against such good players," the champion added.

2019 EPT Sochi High Roller Official Results

Place Player Country Payout (RUB) Payout (USD) 1 Rushad Iskandarov Azerbaijan 7,840,000  $119,351 2 Elvin Sarkarov Azerbaijan 5,579,000  $84,935 3 Maksim Bukreev Russia 3,650,500  $55,575 4 Pete Chen Taiwan 2,807,000  $42,734 5 Valery Yantsevich Belarus 2,222,500  $33,835 6 Sergey Kolyasnikov Russia 1,739,500  $26,482 7 Ramon Collilas Spain 1,368,500  $20,834 8 Irshat Shaykhov Russia 1,071,000  $16,305

PSPC champion and PokerStars ambassador Ramon Colillas finished in 7th place

2019 EPT Sochi High Roller Final Day Action

Out of the 84 hopefuls who took part, nine finalists were still in contention at the start of the third and final day. There was a slew of eliminations early, with Daniil Kiselev busting on the very first hand of the final. Less than 15 minutes later, Irshat Shaykhov joined Kiselev on the sidelines. He had a bad run, losing ace-queen to Sergey Kolyasnikovs queen-jack suited after Kolyasnikov raise-called his all in preflop. This left Shaykov short and he was gone just a few hands later.

Ramon Colillas was out next, finishing in seventh after losing a flip with ace-ten to Elvin Sarkarov, who was holding pocket-fours. Colillas couldnt recover after a four landed on the flop and the Team PokerStars Pro and PSPC winner receives 1,368,500 ($21,036) for another deep run this year.

With six left, things slowed down in terms of eliminations and it wasnt until after the first break that Day 1 chip leader Kolyasnikov was eliminated. Kolyasnikov had certainly made his presence known as one of the most active at the table, but had gotten fairly short by the time he moved all in from under the gun with king-ten. Sarkarov isolated all in over the top with ace-jack suited in late position before Iskandarovs looked down to see pocket kings in the hole. The kings held up and the huge all in was certainly one of the defining moments in Iskandarov's tournament to put him joint top of the chip counts for the first time.

Next to fall was Valery Yantsevich who made it as far as fifth, followed by Pete Chen in fourth. The most experienced player in the running at this point had battled hard throughout the final and the majority of hands he had won were taken down without showdown. It all came down to a flip in the end, with Chens losing to Sarkarov with pocket fours to ace-queen. He added another 2,807,000 ($43,148) to his already impressive live tournament results.

Pete Chen closes in on $2.5M in lifetime winnings after finishing in 4th place

That left three and again, the onlookers didnt have to wait long before another all in meant the end of Maksim Bukreevs hopes. Iskandarov went all in on the button and Bukreev woke up with ace-queen in the small blind. The shortest stack at this point, he quickly got it in and had the best of it with Iskandarov turning over queen-ten. However, Iskandarov hit broadway by the river and Bukreev's run ended in third place. He took home 3,650,500 ($56,112), which is his biggest score to date.

After a brief recess, Iskandarov and Sarkarov sat down for what turned out to be an epic heads up battle. Over three hours and fifteen minutes, the chip lead swung back and forth with both challengers vying hard for the win. In the end though, Sarkarov was eliminated after bluffing all in on the river on a paired board and running into Iskandarovs trip fives. It was a great effort from the chip leader coming into the final table and he took home 5,579,000 ($85,755) for finishing as runner-up.

Rushad Iskandarov wins 2019 EPT Sochi High Roller

That concludes nine days of PokerNews coverage from the EPT in Sochi. On April 25, the European Poker Tour will set up shop in Monte Carlo. PokerNews will be on the ground to bring ten days of continuous live coverage. Check the Live Reporting section for continued coverage of poker tournaments around the world.A Look Back at the 12 PokerNews Cup Champions

March 29, 2019 Jason Glatzer

The 2019 PokerNews Cup is heading to Finix Casino, located on the Greek border in Kulata, Bulgaria on May 9-19. This marks the 13th edition of our exciting and much-anticipated event. Twelve players from around the world can lay claim to being PokerNews Cup champions. Can you remember them all?

Dory Zayneh: 2007 PokerNews Cup Australia Champion

The PokerNews Cup began more than a decade ago with its inaugural event taking place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia in October 2007. A total of 428 entrants ponied up the A$3,000 buy-in to create a prize pool of A$1,198,400 ($1,066,410).

Australia's Dory Zayneh defeated countrymate Kenny Ng heads up to claim the A$300,000 ($266,959) top prize. More than a decade later, this remains Zayneh's only live tournament cash, according to The Hendon Mob.

Dory Zayneh

Darren Kramer: 2008 PokerNews South Africa Open Champion

Building upon the success of the inaugural event, the PokerNews Cup headed to three different stops in three different continents the following year in 2008. The first event of 2008 took place at Montecasino in South Africa with 175 entrants buying in for $3,353 to create a $502,233 prize pool.

Darren Cramer won the tournament for $140,575 after beating Chris Convery (second - $95,826) in heads-up play. This was Kramer's first six-figure cash. He has gone on to notch four more and now has nearly $1.1 million in live tournament cashes, good enough for third place on South Africa's All-Time Money List, according to The Hendon Mob.

Darren Kramer

Erich Kollman: 2008 PokerNews Cup Austria Champion

The PokerNews Cup then headed to Europe for the first time, taking place at Concord Card Casino in Salzburg, Austria with a reduced buy-in of 220. A total of 201 players battled it out for a share of the 120,600 ($192,115) prize pool.

For the third straight PokerNews Cup, the event was won by a local player with Austrias Erich Kollman claiming the top prize of 31,160 ($49,638).

Kollman has gone on to amass more than $1.73 million in live poker tournament winnings, putting him sixth on Austria's All-Time Money List.

Erich Kollmann

Nali Kaselias: 2008 PokerNews Cup Australia Champion

During the last stop of 2008, the PokerNews Cup headed back to where it all began - Melbourne. A total of 410 entrants battling it out in the A$2,200 buy-in tournament for a chance to win a share of the A$820,000 ($563,079) prize pool.

The trophy stayed on local soil once again when Australia's Nali Kaselias notched his first live tournament cash in a big way by winning the event for A$250,000 ($171,670). Kaselias has yet to match this poker success as it remains his largest cash to date.

Nali Kaselias

Marc Naalden: 2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine Champion

The following year, in 2009, the PokerNews Cup headed to two stops with the first taking place at the Alpine Palace Card Casino on the majestic ski resort in Hinterglemm, Austria. The event featured a 1,500 buy-in and the 129-entrant field created a 172,054 ($233,585) prize pool.

For the first time in PokerNews Cup history, the event was won by a foreigner when the Netherlands Marc Naalden triumphed for 46,474 ($63,094).

The final table was an international affair with players from eight different nationalities battling it out, showing the PokerNews Cup had truly gone global.

Marc Naalden

Con Tsapkounis: 2009 PokerNews Cup Australia Champion

The PokerNews Cup then returned to Melbourne in what would turn out to be the last PokerNews Cup until its return five years later. The A$2,200 event attracted 381 entrants to generate a A$762,000 ($661,045) prize pool.

Australia's Con Tsapkounis won the tournament for an impressive haul of A$250,000 ($216,878), which still remains his biggest cash to date by far.

Con Tsapkounis

Hanh Tran: 2014 PokerNews Cup Vienna Champion

The PokerNews Cup made its triumphant return after a five-year break to the Montesino Pokertainment Centre in Vienna when 367 players competed, with 75 rebuys tallied, for a 90,675 ($115,420) prize pool in the 250 buy-in event.

Austria's Hanh Tran was crowned the tournaments champion for 19,010 ($24,198) after agreeing to a three-way deal at the final table with Austria's Fabian Gritsch (12,610; $16,051) and the Czech Republic's Lubos Trembecki (10,000; $12,729).

Hanh Tran

Christian Krupp: 2015 PokerNews Cup Rozvadov Champion

The following year, the PokerNews Cup returned with a bang to Europe's largest poker room, Kings Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic which hosted the 250 buy-in Main Event. The 200,000 guarantee was smashed after a massive field of 1,230 entrants bought in and made 235 rebuys. That brought the prize pool grand total up to 310,499 ($355,498).

Germany's Christian Krupp won the lion's share of the prize pool after besting countrymate Torsten Wichtrup in heads-up play to claim the top prize of 57,473 ($65,802) for his biggest live tournament cash.

Christian Krupp

Daniel Can: 2015 PokerNews Cup Rozvadov Champion

Ever hear of a nine-way final table deal? That is exactly what happened at the second PokerNews Cup of 2015 at King's Casino. That's right, the final table ended before it even began with all nine players agreeing to a deal.

Germanys Daniel Can was credited the win and took home the trophy and a prize of 17,105 ($17,898) with the other eight finalists securing payouts of between 9,814 and 16,822.

The 250 buy-in event was also the first in PokerNews Cup history to feature overlay when the 689 entrants and 131 rebuys failed to meet the 200,000 guarantee.

Daniel Can

Timur Caglan: 2016 PokerNews Cup Rozvadov Champion

For the third stop in a row, the PokerNews Cup was held in Rozvadov for its first stop of 2016. The event was in high demand with 904 entrants and 200 rebuys generating a 235,980 prize pool.

Germanys Timur Caglan won the tournament for 44,695 ($49,864) after beating Ronny Voth in heads-up play.

Caglan, a regular player at King's Casino, went on to win a WSOP Circuit ring at the same venue in 2017 for 62,539 ($67,541).

Timur Caglan

Ryan Van Sanford: 2016 PokerNews Cup Borgata Champion

Later in 2016, the PokerNews Cup switched things up and ventured to Atlantic City, New Jersey for a $2,150 buy-in event as part of the WPT Borgata Poker Open. This marked the first time the festival headed to North America with the event previously taking place only in the continents of Australia, Africa and Europe.

The event attracted 119 entrants to generate a $222,324 prize pool with 18 players cashing for at least $3,492.

It was a tough final table with both Christian Harder and Barry Hutter in contention for the trophy and the $68,676 top prize.

However, it was another notable player in Ryan Van Sanford finding gold in the end.

Ryan Van Sanford

Holger Bansner: 2017 PokerNews Cup Rozvadov Champion

In 2017, the PokerNews Cup returned to King's Casino for a fourth time.

It appeared for a while that Caglan would become the first two-time PokerNews Cup champion after having the chip lead when making a four-way deal with Holger Bansner, Benjamin Benoit, and Daniel Novak.

Indeed, Caglan was able to secure the top prize of 28,300 ($33,208) but ultimately finished runner-up to Bansner when the two played for the remaining 2,000 that was reserved for the winner. Instead, Bansner made history himself by winning the event for 24,098 ($28,277).

"I didn't care much about those 2,000, but I really wanted another trophy," 2016 champion Caglan said after the defeat.

Holger Bansner

With no PokerNews Cup in 2018, the popular event is set to make its 2019 return in Kulata, Bulgaria in May. You can check out the complete PokerNews Cup Kulata schedule below.

2019 PokerNews Cup Kulata Schedule

Date Time # Event Guarantee Buy-in Re-Entry Starting Stack Levels Played until Reg. Closing Level May 9 7 p.m. NL Hold'em - Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 20 min winner 10 levels 9 p.m. 1 NL Hold'em - Deepstack Turbo 220 1x 20,000 15 min winner 10 levels May 10 5 p.m. NL Holdem - Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 20 min winner 10 levels 7 p.m. 2 PL Omaha 550 unl. 30,000 20 min winner 10 levels May 11 3 p.m. 3 NL Hold'em 330 1x 20,000 20 min winner 10 levels 7 p.m. NL Hold'em - Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 20 min winner 10 levels May 12 2 p.m. NL Hold'em - Turbo Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels 5 p.m. 4 NL Hold'em - PNC High Roller - Day 1A 100,000 1,100 2x 100,000 45 min 10 levels 12 levels 7 p.m. 5 NL Hold'em 330 1x 20,000 20 min winner 10 levels May 13 2 p.m. NL Holdem - Turbo Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels 5 p.m. 4 NL Holdem - PNC High Roller - Day 1B 100,000 1,100 2x 100,000 45 min 10 levels 12 levels 7 p.m. NL Holdem - Turbo Satellite to PNC Main Event 5 seats 60 unl. 15,000 20 min winner 10 levels May 14 2 p.m. NL Holdem - Turbo Satellite to PNC High Roller 2 seats 120 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels 5 p.m. 4 NL Holdem - PNC High Roller - Day 1C 100,000 1,100 2x 100,000 45 min winner 12 levels 7 p.m. NL Holdem - Turbo Satellite to PNC Main Event 5 seats 60 unl. 15,000 20 min winner 10 levels 9 p.m. 6 NL Holdem - Turbo 330 1x 20,000 15 min winner 10 levels May 15 2 p.m. NL Hold'em - Satellite to PNC Main Event 5 seats 60 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels 3 p.m. 4 NL Hold'em - PNC High Roller - Day 2 100,000 1,100 2x 100,000 45 min FT - 6 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Day 1A 100,000 550 1x 50,000 30 min ITM 12 levels 9 p.m. 8 NL Hold'em - Turbo Knockout (150+50) 220 unl. 20,000 15 min winner 10 levels May 16 1 p.m. NL Hold'em - Satellite to PNC Main Event 5 seats 60 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels 3 p.m. 4 NL Hold'em - PNC High Roller - Final Day 100,000 1,100 2x 100,000 45 min winner - 4 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Day 1B 100,000 550 1x 50,000 30 min ITM 12 levels 7 p.m. NL Hold'em - MEGA Satellite to PNC Main Event 10 seats 60 unl. 15,000 15 min winner 10 levels May 17 1 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Day 1C 100,000 550 1x 50,000 30 min ITM 12 levels 4 p.m. 9 NL Hold'em - Super Turbo Knockout (50+150) 220 unl. 20,000 15 min winner 10 levels 7 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Turbo Day 1D 100,000 550 1x 50,000 15 min ITM 12 levels May 18 1 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Day 2 100,000 550 - - 40 min FT - 4 p.m. 10 NL Hold'em - Deepstack - Day 1 220 unl. 50,000 30 min ITM 10 levels May 19 2 p.m. 7 NL Hold'em - PNC Main Event - Final Day 100,000 550 - - 40 min winner - 3 p.m. 10 NL Hold'em - Deepstack - Day 2 220 unl. 50,000 30 min winner 10 levels 4 p.m. 11 NL Hold'em - Cool Down 120 unl. 20,000 15 min winner 10 levels

* Schedule subject to change at tournament director's discretion.The China-Pacific Island Countries Agriculture Ministers Meeting is held in Nadi, Fiji, March 29, 2019. China and the Pacific Island Countries agreed here on Friday to strengthen their mutually-beneficial cooperation in the field of agriculture. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)

NADI, FIJI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China and the Pacific Island Countries agreed here on Friday to strengthen their mutually-beneficial cooperation in the field of agriculture.

The decision came after a successful meeting held in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city, between China's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu and his counterparts of the Pacific Island Countries such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

In the Nadi Declaration issued after the one-day meeting with the theme "seizing the opportunity of jointly contributing to the Belt and Road Initiative, advancing the practical agricultural cooperation between China and Pacific Island States", the ministers said that they discussed issues of common interest relating to agricultural development and adopted the Nadi Declaration of the Agriculture Ministers' Meeting of China and the Pacific Island Countries.

"We believe that China and the Pacific Island States enjoy a great potential for agricultural cooperation thanks to our mutual complementarity, and our further cooperation will be significant to enhancing peoples' well-being and deepening our comprehensive strategic partnership that features mutual respect and common development," the ministers said.

The ministers agreed to better align with each other's agricultural development strategies and plans, and jointly formulate the 2020-2022 Action Plan on Agricultural Cooperation of China and Pacific Island Countries, which will identify the direction and priorities for their agricultural cooperation, facilitate resource pooling, leverage complementary strengths, and promote shared growth in agriculture.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in agricultural technology and encourage and support agricultural research institutes in enhancing exchanges, building joint laboratories, jointly applying for funds from international organizations and the Chinese government, and carrying out collaborative research, with a view to serving agricultural development of China and Pacific island countries.

They agreed to expand cooperation in agricultural investment and trade. Upon mutual agreement, they will hold agribusiness meetings as deemed necessary in China and the Pacific Island Countries to build business cooperation platforms. Upon mutual agreement, they will encourage and support Chinese enterprises in investing in tropical crops, e-commerce, and logistics in the Pacific Island Countries, and expanding the export of local produce to China, so as to help host countries to extend agricultural value chains.

The ministers also agreed to strengthen South-South Cooperation (SSC) in agriculture with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Agricultural experts and technicians will be selected and dispatched to the Pacific Island Countries for technology demonstration and training with financial support from the SSC Trust Fund contributed by the Chinese government.

They also stressed the importance of fisheries cooperation.

"We will conduct fishery policy exchange and cooperation in regional fishery management organizations, step up fisheries resource and marine biodiversity conservation and capacity building, and jointly combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing," the ministers said.

They agreed to encourage businesses of China and Pacific Island Countries to conduct investment cooperation in fisheries to build infrastructure, develop mariculture and fish processing and trade, and increase value addition of the fishery sector.

They believed that the mechanism of Agriculture Ministers' Meeting plays a significant role in guiding agricultural cooperation between China and the Pacific Island Countries, and agreed to hold the Second China-Pacific Island Countries Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in 2022 in China.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]Uri Gilboa Wins 2019 EPT Sochi Main Event (~$420,000)

March 30, 2019 Will Shillibier

Uri Gilboa has won the PokerStars European Poker Tour Sochi Main Event for 27,475,000 (~$420,000) after defeating start-of-day chip leader Zakhar Babaev in an all-Israeli heads-up contest.

Gilboa has now become the first-ever Israeli EPT champion and at 61 years of age, the consensus here at Casino Sochi is that he is the oldest EPT champion ever as well.

Wearing a t-shirt form the 'Rocky' film franchise throughout the later stages of the poker tournament, his friends told him not to change his t-shirt for luck.

It must have worked because Gilboa now adds over $400,000 to his career earnings.

2019 EPT Sochi Main Event Official Results

Place Player Country Payout (RUB) Payout (USD) 1 Uri Gilboa Israel 27,475,000  $412,125 2 Zakhar Babaev Israel 16,737,000  $251,055 3 Maksim Pisarenko Russia 11,865,000  $177,975 4 Ivan Ruban Russia 8,953,000  $134,295 5 Vyacheslav Mizun Russia 7,091,000  $106,365 6 Serafim Kovalevsky Russia 5,390,000  $80,850 7 Francisco Benitez Uruguay 3,850,000  $57,750 8 Dmitry Yurasov Russia 2,625,000  $39,375

Uri Gilboa

"I'm glad that I'm the first Israeli winner," Gilboa told PokerStars' Joe Stapleton shortly after his victory. "You have to know that the standard of Israeli poker is becoming tremendous. We've had a lot of achievements at the WSOP and at other European tournaments. I know I'm the first, but for sure I'm not the last."

"Never give up. You can start, you can study and it's an amazing game. I love it."

An experienced bridge player, Gilboa first started playing poker eight years ago and says that playing bridge on the national scene helped him a lot.

"I'm self-taught. I love to learn and I'm improving all the time. I learn from my mistakes, from others and from other very good young Israeli players."

"Never give up. You can start, you can study and it's an amazing game. I love it."

2019 EPT Sochi Main Event Final Day Action

2019 EPT Sochi Main Event Final Table

Six players returned to Casino Sochi on Friday, March 29 to play down to a winner and try to become an EPT champion. Eventual runner-up Zakhar Babaev started the day with a commanding chip lead ahead of the other five players. Gilboa came into the day in the middle of the pack and benefited from two major missteps from opponents.

The first came from Vyacheslav Mizun who shoved with ace-high into the pocket jacks of the Israeli player. Jacks held and Gilboa was up into second place in the chip counts. Shortly after, it was Serafim Kovalevsky who became the first elimination of the day. He ran pocket sixes into the pocket eights of Babaev to bust in sixth who now sat with more than half the chips in play.

Babaev could have been forgiven for sitting back and letting the other players fight it out, but instead, he turned it up a notch, running an audacious bluff with seven-deuce against Ivan Ruban to move even further ahead.

However, what goes up must come down and the second of Gilboa's pivotal hands was to come against Babaev. Babaev held ace-five and after check-calling on flop and turn, where he had the nut flush draw, he check-jammed on a blank river. Gilboa snap-called with queens allowing him to close the gap. On the very next hand, Babaev's formerly monster chip lead was gone with the two Israeli players level in chips.

Runner-up Zakhar Babaev

Maksim Pisarenko and Mizun both doubled either side of the break, with Babaev managing to eke out a chip lead once more, but Gilboa once again closed the gap with the elimination of the plucky Mizun who doubled five times today alone. Mizun had flopped a set but Gilboa turned a flush draw to send him to the rail.

Both Gilboa and Babaev continued to slug it out, trading pots as the chip lead swung between the two of them before Ruban was eliminated in fourth place. He lost a classic race with queens against Babaev's ace-king after the latter flopped an ace.

By this stage, Pisarenko was slipping, keeping himself in contention with a series of shoves. But he never looked like breaking the Israeli duopoly at the top of the chip counts and was eliminated by Gilboa when shoving his last six big blinds.

From the day's play so far, this was the heads-up battle most neutrals would have been hoping for and it didn't disappoint. Babaev appeared to only have one gear and kept the foot firmly on the gas. Gilboa kept him firmly at bay before the first all-in confrontation.

Babaev had flopped top pair against Gilboa's flush draw, and Babaev couldn't look as the turn and river bricked and he doubled into the lead.

Zakhar Babaev can't bear to look as he doubles through Uri Gilboa

"It ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward."

After coming into heads-up play as the chip leader, some players may have rolled over under the pressure of Babaev, but credit to Gilboa he stayed in it even as the chip lead continue to switch between the two of them.

But just over 30 hands into heads-up play, and as the contest looked to draw on, it all came to a crashing halt with Babaev three-betting all in for 92 big blinds with ace-nine only for Gilboa to have opened with ace-king.

Gilboa held and on the very next hand cleaned up the final six big blinds of his compatriot to eliminate him and seal the victory just before 8 p.m. local time.

In his victory interview, Gilboa says that he was spurred on by a particular Rocky quote that stuck with him over the course of the tournament.

"It ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward."

Uri Gilboa Wins EPT Sochi Main Event

That concludes nine days of PokerNews coverage from the EPT in Sochi. On April 25, the European Poker Tour will set up shop in Monte Carlo. PokerNews will be on the ground to bring ten days of continuous live coverage. Check the Live Reporting section for continued coverage of poker tournaments around the world.3.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) flatly stated that Congress would get the whole Mueller report, even the redacted sections.

Adam Schiff Vows To Get The Mueller Report

Schiff said during an interview with MSNBCs Rachel Maddow:

Were going to compel the release of the report. This report is all going to come out and its just going to reflect more poorly on the attorney general if when it does come out, and we look at the difference between what he redacted and what was under those redactions it shows an effort to cover up or conceal either evidence of impropriety of evidence of a lack of morals or ethics or judgment and that is shy of criminality or in the case of obstruction of justice is criminality. Were going to compel this. This is a fight that is worth going to the mat on.

Bill Barr and his confirmation said Ill be as transparent as possible as much as the law or policy would allow, if he was true to those words, as Jerry Nadler said, he wouldnt be saying Im cutting all the grand jury material. He would be saying Congress, Im going to the court tomorrow to seek their permission to send it all to you. And Ill tell you this, the other areas he redact about classified information, we get that all the time. Information about pending investigation matters gave hundreds of thousands of pages that were both open investigation and investigation material that reflected on the privacy of third parties and if you dont think so, ask Peter Strzok or Lisa Page how they feel about that.

Video:

Watch this clip of Adam Schiff and youll understand why Trump is so afraid and Republicans are doing everything they can to try to get rid of him. Rep. Schiff is Trumps worst nightmare. https://t.co/kNUIRZgnev pic.twitter.com/cXL2ekkQ7x  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 30, 2019

Trump isnt going to be able to hide the full Mueller report from the House Intelligence Committee. Trumps delusions of claiming total exoneration while hiding the evidence have been shattered. Bill Barr has carried Trumps water, but he cant keep the report from Congress. When the full report is released, it is going to expose not just Donald Trump, but the stooge behavior of Bill Barr.

Donald Trump is starting to understand that he isnt going to get away with his big Mueller report con.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook710 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  U.S. Attorney General William Barr plans to issue a redacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Muellers nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April, he said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday.

Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own, Barr wrote in the letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

He said he is willing to appear before both committees to testify about Muellers report on May 1 and May 2.

Mueller completed his 22-month investigation probe into whether President Donald Trumps campaign colluded with Russia on March 22.

On Sunday, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress that outlined Muellers main findings. Barr told lawmakers that Muellers investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in its election interference activities.

Mueller left unresolved the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Barr said that based on the evidence presented, he concluded it was not sufficient to charge the president with obstruction.

He said his four-page letter on Sunday was not, and did not purport to be an exhaustive recounting of Muellers investigation and said he believes the public should be allowed to read it and judge for themselves.

I do not believe it would be in the publics interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or release it in serial or piecemeal fashion, he wrote.

Lawmakers have since been clamoring for more details, with Democrats calling for a full release of the report and some lawmakers urging a deadline of April 2.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is released, including secret grand jury information, intelligence sources and methods and information that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

He said Trump has the right to assert executive privilege on some materials but that Trump has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me.

Because of that, he said, there are no plans for the Justice Department to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

At a rally on Thursday in Michigan, Trump celebrated the end of the investigation and what he called lies and smears and slander.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bill Trott)WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would end the collection of Americans phone records by the National Security Agency in an effort to undo a widely criticized security measure passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The NSAs sprawling phone records dragnet was born in secrecy, defended with lies and never stopped a single terrorist attack, said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, one of the bills main sponsors.

He and three other lawmakers introduced their bill to overhaul the Patriot Act in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, calling the data collection program unconstitutional.

The Patriot Acts counter-terrorism measure, Section 215, allowed the NSA to collect Americans telephone data in bulk.

Lawmakers accused the NSA of poor oversight of the program after years of records had to be deleted for violating the law.

The program, first disclosed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, has been shut down for six months, the lawmakers said.

The bill is sponsored by Wyden, Republican Senator Rand Paul, Republican Representative Justin Amash and Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren.

(Reporting by Chris Sanders in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)453 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will probably talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela.

We will probably be talking at some point, Trump told reporters after the White House warned Russia and other countries backing President Nicolas Maduro against sending troops and military equipment to Venezuela.

Ill be talking to a lot of people  perhaps President Putin, perhaps President Xi of China, Trump said.276 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

One of my favorite book titles is that of Tom Moylans 1986 study of utopian literature: Demand the Impossible.

He explains, if memory serves, that he saw those words spray-painted on a wall in the Paris streets during the 1968 mass rebellions. The phrase stayed with him, clearly, as it has with me

The phrase has been re-echoing for me given recent events highlighting both the abiding death-driven GOP politics of greed but also a new ambitious Democratic politics. This evolving attitude in the Democratic Party eschews the cautious and insufficient incrementalism of even Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign in favor of a far more humane and imaginative politics of possibility. This fresh Democratic politics is rooted in not just concrete reality, but in actually existing practices in countries around the globe and even in the United States, in states such as Washington, governed by the trailblazing Jay Inslee. One factor in this evolution may be the loosening of the stranglehold of American Exceptionalism among Democrats as well as its waning force in United States culture overall.

Last week, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forced a sham vote on a resolution of the Green New Deal, Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn excoriated the Democrats ambitious blueprint, saying, The Green New Deal is chockful of utopian ideas but completely devoid of concrete plans to implement any of its overreaching policies. He dismissed the plan as a radical environmental policy that includes Medicare for all, free college, and guaranteed jobs.

Yet, while the resolution wasnt actual legislation, many of the bold ideas involved in the Green New Deal, such as transitioning U.S. energy production to largely renewable sources, raising the marginal tax rate for earned income over $10 million 70% (it was 90% during Eisenhowers presidency and 71% during Nixons), providing government-funded college education, healthcare for all, and more, are all objectives being realized in other nations and even undergoing implementation in the United States.

A society with these characteristics is not just NOT impossible. Its more than possible; its reality in many countries.

Germany, a nation that already generates 41% of its energy from renewable sources, recently announced a plan, expected to be adopted by the government, to shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants by 2038 in order to meets international commitments to address climate change. This plan came on the heels of a previous decision, made after Japans 2011 Fukushima disaster, to shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022 (12 of 19 have already been shut down).

BOOM. Its possibleand actual.

But, of course, the cultural and political mentality would need to overcome the arrogance of American exceptionalism that has so long dominatedand occludedthinking in the United States.

What do I mean by American exceptionalism?

American exceptionalism has a long history in our culture. As Harvard Professor Stephen Walt explains, typical manifestations of this belief presume that Americas values, political system, and history are unique and worthy of universal admiration and imply that the United States is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage. They rest on the belief that the United States is a uniquely virtuous nation, one that loves peace, nurtures liberty, respects human rights, and embraces the rule of law. Americans, Walt says, like to think their country behaves much better than other states do, and certainly better than other great powers.

This belief is so powerful that it distorts our national vision and, because it prevents us from truly assessing where we fall short, hinders our ability to address dimensions of our culture gravely in need of amelioration.

Take a recent example in which Senator Bernie Sanders dared critique the U.S. healthcare system because the cost of a birthing a child is $12,000 compared to $60 in Finland.

Without missing a beat, Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., tweeted, Health care costs are too high that is true but comparing us to Finland is ridiculous. Ask them how their health care is. You wont like their answer.

Well, Finlands representative to the U.N. Kai Sauer quickly responded: Finland has a high performing health system, with remarkable good quality in both primary and hospital care. The country also achieves good health status at relatively low level of health spending. Additionally, Sauer noted that the United Nations describes Finland as having the worlds third-lowest infant mortality rate and the lowest maternal mortality, measures typically used to evaluate a nations healthcare systems overall. The United States has the worst overall child mortality rate compared with 19 other wealthy nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to a study published last year in the journal Health Affairs.

The US is the most dangerous of wealthy, democratic countries in the world for children, according to the studys lead author, Dr. Ashish Thakrar.

Haleys reflexive quip exemplifies this American exceptionalist attitude that prevents us from seeing what is possible and actual, thus rendering reality impossible in our political discourse. We dont even see our own failings to recognize we can do better.

In 2016, such thinking was rampant. When Sanders would bring up the fact that countries like Denmark did provide college education and healthcare for its citizensnot for free but through taxationhe was roundly skewered, accused on shows like Morning Joe and Hardball for making a political gaffe and not understanding that Americans dont want to be Scandinavian.

Even Clinton jumped on the bandwagon, declaring, We are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America.

Leaders like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who do not fear being labeled Euorpean socialists, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who has raised the minimum wage in his state and instituted measures to achieve a green economy and address climate change while growing the states economy, are changing this narrative.

They see possibility because, at least in Inslees case, he is creating the reality, re-defining America and, indeed, the Democratic Party.

In demanding the impossible, they are making a new American reality.1.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said on Saturday that attorney general William Barrs four-page summary is essentially meaningless and that Robert Muellers actual report will likely be a dramatic document containing compelling evidence of Trumps crimes.

In an interview on MNSBCs AM Joy, the former federal prosecutor said, Bill Barrs summary assertion will mean nothing at the end of the day because the evidence will speak for itself.

In those 400 pages, without even counting the attachments, Bob Mueller will have done a thorough job and we will all see what it is he found, Kirschner added. And when he cant clear the president of obstructing justice, I suspect what he found is going to be pretty dramatic.

Video:

Kirschner said:

I would say, Joy, thats contrary to the May 2017 appointment letter which set out the jurisdictional mandate, the scope, if you will, of Bob Muellers investigation. And it was worded much more broadly than that. In the first of three paragraphs, it said that Bob Mueller is directed to investigate any contacts or coordination between members of the Trump campaign and Russia. Thats a fairly broad mandate. So I dont understand and I dont think any of us will ever understand until we see the full Mueller report. Why Bill Barr would try to constrict the actual scope of Bob Muellers investigation? But what I remain confident of is that in those 400 pages, without even counting the attachments, Bob Mueller will have done a thorough job and we will all see what it is he found. And when he cant clear the president of obstructing justice, I suspect what he found is going to be pretty dramatic.

Innocent people dont stage massive cover-ups

All along, through his Twitter tantrums and repeated efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation, Donald Trump has behaved like a man who knows hes about to be exposed as a criminal.

William Barrs four-page summary  which he is now backing away from  may have painted a rosy picture for Trump, but if it was so reflective of the full Mueller report, then they would have released all of the special counsel findings immediately.

Instead, the administration is behaving as they have all along, like people who know theyre guilty and are working tirelessly to conceal the facts.

The longer the Trump administration refuses to release the full report to Congress and the American people, the more hollow their victory laps look and the more it looks like theyre staging a massive cover-up.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter1.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

House Democrats are planning to vote on a resolution next week that will condemn the Trump administrations renewed push to destroy the Affordable Care Act.

According to CNN, House Democrats will vote Tuesday on a resolution condemning the Trump administrations decision to call for the elimination of the entire Affordable Care Act.

The actions taken by the Trump Administration seeking the invalidation of the ACAs protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and later the invalidation of the entire ACA, are an unacceptable assault on the health care of the American people, the resolution reads, according to the report.

Democrats are urging the Justice Department to reverse its position in agreeing with the ruling of a federal judge in Texas that invalidated Obamacare.

In a statement, Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, I hope Members on both sides of the aisle, including the many Republicans who pledged in advance of the last election not to abandon those with pre-existing conditions, will join in supporting it and making the Houses position in support of the law clear.

Its doubtful that Republicans will do anything other than follow in lockstep with Donald Trump, as they have for the past two years.

Democrats are smartly turning the focus to health care ahead of 2020

In 2018, the most important issue to voters was health care. Its largely the reason Democrats made historic gains in the House of Representatives.

With the administration renewing its push to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and take health care coverage from millions of Americans, health care is likely to be even more important in 2020.

The Democratic vote on health care next week may be largely symbolic, as CNN noted, but it will put congressional Republicans on the record on an issue that bipartisan majorities of the American people rank most important.

Either the GOP stands with the majority of the country  and the millions of Americans who count on the ACA for life-saving care  or they follow along with Trumps dangerous and petty push to destroy everything with Barack Obamas name on it.

If they choose the latter, American voters are likely to send more Republicans  and Donald Trump  packing come November 2020.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter2.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  The top Republican on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said on Friday that Attorney General William Barr would break the law if he released Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia report without redactions, as Democrats are demanding.

The lawmaker, Representative Doug Collins, also criticized the panels Democratic chairman Jerrold Nadler for not accepting Barrs offer to testify in early May, but said he looked forward reviewing the Mueller reports classified material with Nadler.

Barr plans to make public a redacted copy of Muellers nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April, if not sooner, he said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday.

Attorney General Barr is following his word in publicly releasing the special counsels report to the maximum extent permitted by law and department policy, Collins said in a statement on Twitter.

(Nadler) stands alone in setting arbitrary deadlines for that release and in calling the attorney general to break the law by releasing the report without redactions, he added.

Collins was referring to a statement issued earlier by Nadler in which the panel chairman reiterated a Democratic demand that Barr provide Congress with an unredacted version of the report and underlying evidence by April 2.

Nadler had also said he would take Barrs offer to testify on May 1 and May 2 to Senate and House committees under advisement but wants Barr to testify immediately.

I also welcome the attorney generals testimony before the committee on May 2, Collins said.

(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Grant McCool)4.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Republicans in Congress have begun a witch hunt, as they have started to plan their own probe into top Obama-era officials and the 2016 election.

The GOP is obviously anxious to move past special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign. So now they are starting to investigate the investigators, according to a new report in The Hill.

The idea is now very popular within the Republican caucus, and has the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

Even though Muellers report hasnt been released yet, Republicans say that Attorney General William Barrs letter proves that Mueller did not establish that Trump or members of his campaign coordinated or colluded with Moscow in its election interference.

Republicans believe that the FBI and DOJ, the top people took the law in their own hands because they wanted Clinton to win and Trump to lose, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said recently on Fox News.

He said that he will be looking at abuse of the FISA warrant application process and the counterintelligence operation into Trumps campaigns. He also said that there will be a lot of inquiry as to how this all happened.

GOP senators have already identified the former Obama officials who will be at the top of their lists to question. They include former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director James Brennan, and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

According to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee:

The Judiciary Committee has primary jurisdiction and doing oversight of the Department of Justice and the FBI and so that  is something we need to do. Trying to find out how this thing got off the rails and hopefully prevent it from happening again.

Cornyn said he is most interested in talking to Comey, saying:

I think Director Comey is probably near the top of the list. Hes the one who said that his intention of leaking memos of his conversation was designed to prompt the appointment of a special counsel. It just strikes me as some vindictiveness and animus toward the president motivating a lot of the action.

Graham added that Comey would be called to publicly testify and will answer for his time as FBI director.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a close ally of Trumps, wants a list of former Obama officials communications to be made public, including any communications from President Obama about investigating the Trump campaign. Paul is also calling on Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to testify under oath.

We need every ounce of information about the people at the very top of our intelligence community that were promoting the inclusion of this fake dossier, Paul said. We based this investigation on a lie. We should investigate who the liars were.

Republicans Are Desperate to Cover Up Trumps Collusion and Crimes

Since Democrats took control of the House, Republicans are now looking to the Senate to try to cover up the findings of the Mueller report by investigating the investigators. But this wont work.

Donald Trump has called the Mueller probe a witch hunt but of course it isnt. On the other hand, what Republicans are planning to do with their investigations of Obama-era officials truly is a witch hunt, because there is no wrong-doing there for them to find.

Soon the Mueller report will be released, and the Republican efforts to cover up Trumps collusion and crimes will become known to all the world. And nothing they try to do will be able to stop it. Truly the GOP is fighting a losing battle, and in all likelihood, after the 2020 elections, the American people will throw them out of power.872 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Stacey Abrams of Georgia is now a national powerhouse in Democratic Party politics, but few people know about it.

After narrowly losing the governors race in the Peach State in November Abrams has quietly built a massive political network that will make her an instant force once she decides what her next move will be. She has told supporters she will announce soon whether shell run for president or senator or something else.

Stacey Abrams is set to reveal soon whether shell run for president or senator or something else. But in recent months, the Democrat has mounted an effort to expand her donor and political network that will make her an instant force whatever she decides https://t.co/qA9tWNOw7o  POLITICO (@politico) March 30, 2019

But no matter what she does next, Stacey Abrams will be a force to reckon with.

Over the past few months she has been traveling the country and holding meetings with top Democrats in many key states. She has also met with all the leading candidates for president.

On top of that, Abrams is building a large amount of political goodwill by appearing on the big-ticket fundraising circuit, where has been successful in raising large amounts of money for other Democratic candidates and office-holders.

Abrams has been the main speaker at major donor events for the Democratic National Committee, the progressive collaborative Way to Win, and others.

She has also been discussing her political future with top Democratic donors, getting their feedback while also getting commitments for their help, if needed.

Abrams has said publicly shes considering running for a Georgia Senate seat against Republican Sen. David Perdue, but she also has not ruled out running for president.

The great deal of attention shes received about a potential presidential bid shows how she has moved in the past year from being an unknown to being a rising Democratic star.

Not only has she attended dozens of Democratic events across the country, but she also received a great deal of praise for her performance delivering Democrats response to President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech in February.

She has also stoked the buzz about her next political move by holding meetings with national figures like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer former Vice President Joe Biden.

Abrams is also being discussed as a vice-presidential candidate, and Biden has been floating the idea of naming her as his running mate if and when he makes a formal announcement hes running for the White House in 2020.

If she decides to run for a Georgia Senate seat she could help Democrats take back control of the upper chamber in 2020.

Im trying to encourage her to run for the Senate, and Im hoping she will, said Elizabeth Bagley, a major Democratic donor and former ambassador to Portugal who spoke recently to Abrams. Shes amazing. So bright, very personable, very strategic.

Whatever she decides to do, one thing is certain: Stacey Abrams is now a major player in Democratic politics and her future is very bright.192 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

As his political situation becomes more desperate, Donald Trump has begun to threaten even more desperate moves to stop the influx of undocumented immigrants at the Mexican border.

Yesterday Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, or at least large sections of the frontier, if Mexico doesnt immediately stop all illegal immigration coming into the United States from the region.

Then this morning the Trump administration announced it is cutting direct U.S. aid to three Central American countries, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The State Department issued a statement saying that it will suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the three countries which are the homes of many of the migrants who have been coming to the U.S. border seeking asylum.

Neither Donald Trump nor anyone within his administration gave any explanation for this latest move. Trump has spoken in the past about punishing the three countries and has made slowing immigration from them one of the core issues of his presidency.

The announcement comes as Trump threatens to shut down the U.S. border with Mexico over immigration.

If the president does shut down Americas southern border next week it will hit the economies of both the U.S. and Mexico. Trump, however is still talking tough, saying, I am not kidding around. He said that he could stop all trade with Mexico.

Trumps base is feeling let down because he hasnt kept his main campaign promise: to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration. He has repeatedly threatened to close the border if he doesnt get his way.

Yesterday he posted a series of tweets on the subject of immigration, writing:

The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S. through their country and our Southern Border.

Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week.

This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and talk. Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!

Trumps Tweets Are Filled With Lies and Empty Threats

As he tries to make U.S. trade policy through Twitter, Donald Trump is continuing to use his main two weapons: lies and empty threats. For some reason he thinks that doing this will help him get his way, but it never has.

Donald Trump is a failed president, with no successes on either immigration or trade policy, and his latest desperate moves clearly prove it. He is trying to shore up his base, but all he is really doing is proving to the majority of American voters that he should not be president.

It is now just 584 days until the next presidential election on November 3, 2020. Lets hope that America can survive that long without any further damage being done to our country by the current occupant of the White House.619 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

The right-wing viewers of Fox News are very unhappy with the networks chief legal analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano right now. And they have taken to Twitter to express their extreme displeasure with what Napolitano had to say about Bill Barr, the Mueller report, and comments made by Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

In a recent interview Napolitano admitted that Rep. Schiff was correct when he said that Donald Trump may have committed obstruction of justice, and there is evidence of that in the report issued by Mueller when he concluded his investigation a week ago.

Appearing yesterday with Fox Business host Neil Cavuto, the conservative Napolitano stunned the Fox host by saying:

I think that Congressman Schiff is correct. In that report will be evidence of the existence of a conspiracy. Not enough evidence to prove the existence beyond a reasonable doubt. In that report will be evidence of obstruction of justice, interfering with an FBI investigation for a personal gain. But not enough evidence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

Needless to say, with Trump bashing Schiff during his recent Michigan rally, and GOP House members calling on him to step down as committee chairman, Fox viewers were shocked at Napolitanos comments. So for the past 24 hours they have been venting their rage by posting hostile tweets, calling the judge a closet leftist among other things.

You can see some of the rage tweets below, including far-right conservative gadfly Larry Klayman writing, Has Fox News Napolitano Gone Leftist Mad!

Hes being blackmailed after disclosing the GCHQ involvement in the Trump spying ordered by Obama. Its night and day from that day forward. I beleive someone may have threatened him or his family. He is a common sense man. Hes being threatened. Feel bad for him. Pray for him.  JewelryDistrict (@JewelryDistrict) March 29, 2019

I lost all respect for this dude letting his dislike for Trump cloud his judgement.  Brandon (@oldtoothlessli1) March 29, 2019

Judge Napolitano is a VICIOUS RINO  who is seeking to IMPROVE HIS PERSONAL VALUE by playing BOTH SIDES  mark hayes (@markhay67446093) March 29, 2019

Judge Napalitano sounds more like Janet Napolitano all the time. This guy was once a Tea Party advocate. Now, he sounds like the typical mainstream media FAKE NEWS leftist. Why do I think FNC mgmt convinced him to advocate for their hidden agenda.   JVS (@Stone1V) March 29, 2019

Can someone check to see if he went to law school. Sure is dumb for a smart man.  Bob Zgonc (@ZgoncBob) March 29, 2019

Time for FOX to get rid of Napolitano.. Ive noticed the last few months he is starting to push his views to the left far left!!!!  Grammies (@LinnTammy) March 29, 2019

Republicans in Congress seem to have lost their minds over what they think was the total exoneration of Donald Trump by the Mueller Report. Of course, none of them have seen a single page of that report, and are basing all of their conclusions on a Barrs short letter.

All week Trump and his supporters have been escalating their attacks on all of Trumps Democratic critics to include absurd demands for apologies. They have demanded the resignation of Schiff, and even created an enemies list.

But now Trump and the Republicans have to deal with the fact that the chief legal analyst for Fox News AGREES with Adam Schiff.

Not only that, but last night on Rachel Maddow, Schiff made very clear that the full Mueller report WILL be coming out for the American people to see. This means that Republicans and Fox News viewers will have to get used to the facts of this case which are very detrimental to Donald Trump.

As Judge Napolitano said:

In the Mueller report will be evidence of the existence of a conspiracy.

CLICK HERE to watch the full Napolitano interview933 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Lost in all the noisy drama and aftermath of Attorney General William Barrs release of his controversial four-page summary of the Mueller report was news that the U.S. in February recorded its largest monthly budget deficit in the history of recording such figures. According to Bloomberg, the budget gap for February was $234 billion, exceeding the previous record of $231.7 billion registered seven years ago when the nation was still recovering from the Great Recession.

This news represents an important revelation for assessing exactly where President Trumps economic policies are leading us as a nation and what the economys trajectory portends for the ordinary citizens, those of the 99 percent, living in the United States.

In short, Trumps policies arent helping, and the prospects arent looking good.

So much for trickle-down economics and the ever-recycled myth that tax cuts pay for themselves.

A large driver of this deficit are, perhaps not surprisingly to anyone not clinging stubbornly to the myth of trickle-down economics, the 2017 Trump tax cuts. The month of February witnessed a 20 percent decline in corporate tax revenue. In 2017, before the tax cuts went into effect, corporate tax receipts at this point in year totaled $87.4 billion, compared to $59.2 billion to date this year, a 33 percent decline.

Reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, saving corporations some $13 billion in taxes, was to spur economic growth, create more jobs, and induce companies to raise wages. While Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin trumpeted that 90 percent of working adults would experience an increase in pay tied directly to the tax cuts, in fact only 4.3 percent of workers in Fortune 500 companies have received either a one-time bonus or an increase in wages. Businesses have reaped nine times more in tax cuts than what they have passed on to workers.

And regardless of the tax benefits they receive, corporations not operating efficiently will continue to shutter plants, as GM did with its Lordstown plant, demonstrating again that corporate windfalls dont create jobs, dont trickle down, and dont help workers.

In the meantime, the failed promises and increased deficits become the very fodder the GOP needs to fuel its ongoing quest to assault ordinary Americans by slashing entitlements.

The ballooning deficit resulting from the Trump tax-cuts, for example, cultivated a fertile context for Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to loudly renew their insistence that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are necessary to address the out-of-control deficit their own policies immediately exacerbated. Far from benefitting workers, these tax cuts, which were supposedly to trickle down, just keep cutting workers and increasing economic precarity, not prosperity. How about we measure that?

Last December, heading into the government shutdown, Trump sought to freeze the pay of federal workers. Recently he proposed slashing the salary and benefits of postal workers.

These measures do not seem to index a world growing prosperous because enormous tax cuts pay for themselves and generate prosperity.

Indeed, Trumps proposed 2020 budget calls for significant cuts to education and services, even though we know, for example, that investing in education promises to serve the health of the economy overall as well as helping individuals increase their earnings over the course of their lives, thus also creating more tax revenue. In short, these cuts are harmful to ordinary citizens as well as the overall health of the economy.

Moreover, despite Trumps claims to the contrary, ordinary citizens are not experiencing tax relief because of the Trump tax cuts. Only one in five taxpayers are reporting they are paying less, while 29 percent indicate their tax bills have increased.

So while the economy might seem to be humming along with Trump touting record-low unemployment rates and booming corporate profits, we need to recognize, of course, that those metrics used to gauge the health of the economy in no way measure the well-being and security of the American worker or the degree to which the working class shares in the fruits of their labors manifested in the success of the overall economy. Indeed, shares of GMs stock surged some 9 percent after the announcement of layoffs last November, underscoring the diametrical disconnect between corporate and shareholder interests and those of the mass of Americans overall.

The Trump administration claims that the current budget deficits are due to accelerated benefits of the recent tax cuts and that the cuts will pay for themselves with future growth.

As Jason Easley has reported, though, in the pages of PoliticusUsa, the economic forecasts are expecting growth to slow continually over the next few years, declining to as low as 1.1 percent in 2020.

So, the record budget deficit set in February does not bode well for the average American, and this budget deficit is just the most recent manifestation of the consequences of Trumps tax policies and budget proposals.

And, as is typical under Republican rule, the more Republicans grow the deficit, the more they call for slashing spending.

Once again, the same same dangerous script is unfolding.On the 20th anniversary of NATOs military intervention in Yugoslavia in March 1999, Russias Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement denouncing it as an act of aggression against a sovereign European nation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry not only misrepresented the reason for NATOs air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, but also substituted fact with fiction throughout the statement.

The Autonomous Province of Kosovo was forcibly separated from the rest of the country under the propagandistic pretext of thwarting the allegedly unfolding humanitarian disaster. In reality NATO became a trigger for a real human tragedy, a smokescreen hiding the anti-Serb ethnic cleansing that caused over 200,000 non-Albanians to leave their homes, the statement read.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denied that NATOs intervention came as a response to the unfolding ethnic cleansing of Kosovos Albanian population by the Serbian security services. We find this conclusion to be false, actually flipping the facts to claim that NATO provided a cover-up for the ethnic cleansing of Kosovos Serbs.

This part of Kosovos history, however, has been well documented. As international organizations and investigations of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia have found, the ethnic cleansing of the Kosovo Albanians started a year before NATO bombed targets in Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Apartheid-Style Rule

The Kosovo Albanians had endured apartheid-style rule in virtual silence, the International Crisis Group reported in March 1998.

Even when Serbia stripped Kosovo of its autonomy in 1989, Kosovos shadow president Ibrahim Rugova mounted a non-violent resistance to the state repression of the ethnic Albanians that demanded political rights and autonomy but not independence.

The Kosovo Albanians built a parallel society, with its own political structure, educational institutions, social aid networks, a shadow police force, and even a council for collecting taxes. This society existed completely outside the Serbian state, but its work was well documented. Albanian human rights organizations had collected thousands of pieces of documentary and photographic evidence of daily abuses by Serbian police in the province. Many of the archives were confiscated and destroyed by the Serbian authorities during raids and crackdowns on human rights defenders in Kosovo, but the documentation work continued. The founder of the Council for Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms in Kosovo, Adem Demaci, showed this reporter the sizable archives of his organization in Pristina in June 1997.

One of Rugovas main goals was that Kosovos autonomy, and the political rights of its Albanian population, be restored peacefully. He pleaded with the international community to negotiate with Belgrade on behalf of the Kosovo Albanians fearing that some of the restless and frustrated young Kosovars may resort to armed resistance (authors interview with Ibrahim Rugova in June 1997). But when ten years of peaceful resistance did not gain sufficient international support to improve the situation of the Kosovo Albanians, the Kosovo Liberation Army was formed in 1996 and obtained arms from Albania, where scores of weapons had been looted during unrest in 1997.

The Bloody Crackdown

The plight of the Kosovo Albanians captured international attention on February 28, 1998 when Serbian paramilitary forces launched what the International Crisis Group called a brutal offensive against alleged ethnic Albanian (Kosovar) separatists in Kosovo in Drenica region that left 80 people dead, including children.

At that time, the Serb military police and the Yugoslav National Army started a campaign, with what a Brookings author described as ham-fisted repression tactics against civilians and the Kosovo Albanian armed insurgency. They killed innocent civilians and send a flood of refugees to neighboring countries -- 42,000 by June, 100,000 by August, and over 200,000 by October 1998.

Intensive international diplomacy and negotiations with Belgrade to prevent another Bosnia in the Balkans, including threats to bomb Yugoslavia, led to an agreement to allow a 2,000-strong Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitoring force in Kosovo to ensure Belgrade complied with UN demands.

Despite the presence of the OSCE Verification Mission and attempts by a U.S. congressional delegation to visit Kosovo (Belgrade blocked its entry), Serbian police atrocities against the ethnic Albanian population continued. In January 1999, the BBC publicized the gruesome pictures of what appeared to be a mass execution of 45 ethnic Albanians by Serbian policemen in the village of Racak, just 16 miles south of the capital, Pristina. BBC correspondents said that the victims, mostly men between the ages of 18 and 65, were not in uniform and most were too elderly to be Albanian fighters. A woman and child were reportedly among the victims.

This massacre sped up the international negotiations, but at the Rambouillet (February 6-23) and Paris (March 15-19) conferences, Serbia did not accept the Contact Groups interim political settlement and NATOs plan to enforce it with armed peacekeepers. The Contact Group was composed of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the U.S. NATO threats to start a military campaign against Slobodan Milosevics regime did not deter Serbia from launching Operation Horseshoe, a brutal offensive that displaced hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians.

Just two weeks before NATOs military intervention, Yugoslav forces poured into southwestern Kosovo, reported the Baltimore Sun, and shelled villages, sending thousands of ethnic Albanians out of the area on tractor-pulled wagons. The situation with refugees at the border with Macedonia was already grim, said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata during a visit to Washington.

The NATO Intervention

Serbias failure to sign a peace plan for Kosovo and the acceleration of its military offense against the KLA and Kosovo Albanian civilians was the reason NATO launched air strikes against targets in Serbia and Yugoslavia. Its Operation Allied Force started on March 24, 1999. Human Rights Watch documented ethnic cleansing against the Kosovo Albanian population, that it assessed as planned by the Serbian authorities prior to NATOs intervention. HRW reported that the abuses after March 20, 1999 were a continuation and intensification of the attacks on civilians, displacement, and destruction of civilian property carried out by Serbian and Yugoslav security forces during 1998 and the first months of 1999.

The humanitarian disaster unfolded when the OSCE withdrew its monitors four days before the bombing. Serbian police and military raided villages, rounding up ethnic Albanians and executing them en mass. The killings in the village of Bela Crkva, planned well in advance, according to reporting at the time, happened on March 24-25, as soon as NATOs Operation Allied Forces began.

The list of Kosovo war victims, compiled by the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre and the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, contains the names of 13,517 people who were killed or went missing between January 1998 and December 31, 2000, including civilians and members of the armed forces on both sides. The list includes 10,415 Albanians, 2,197 Serbs, 528 Roma, Bosniaks and other non-Albanians.

The majority of them were ethnic Albanian civilians, 8,661 people, who were targeted and killed by Serbian security forces before and during NATOs intervention, which lasted 78 days. Most of the listed 1,797 civilian Serbs were killed or disappeared after the NATO operation when Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo.

The unfolding ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, as the bombs were falling on Belgrade, Novi Sad and a number of military targets in Kosovo, was of such proportions that it turned between 1.2 and 1.45 million Kosovo Albanians into refugees in Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro or internally displaced persons.

Human Rights Watch wrote about the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians over the period of March  June 1999: In the twelve weeks that followed, Serbian and Yugoslav military, police, and paramilitaries expelled more than 850,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, internally displacing several hundred thousand more. Many were robbed and beaten as they were forced from their homes, which were frequently looted and burned. Scores of women were raped. Thousands of adult males were detained, and many of them were executed, in some cases together with women, children, and the elderly...In more than a dozen mass killing sites, government forces tried to hide the evidence by destroying or removing bodies. The brutal campaign against ethnic Albanian civilians came to a halt only after the withdrawal of Yugoslav soldiers and Serbian police and paramilitaries and the entry of NATO forces on June 12, 1999.

Afterwards, around 150,000 Serbs and Roma left the province. Some of them were expelled by Albanians, while others, particularly local collaborators of the Serbian security forces, some of whom Roma, departed out of fear of revenge or fled from advancing NATO troops. According to the 1991 Yugoslavia census, there were 194,190 Serbs in Kosovo.

The European Center for Minority Issues estimated in 2013 that approximately 146,128 Serbs were residing in Kosovo. These statistics show that despite a sizeable exodus of members of the non-Albanian population after the conflict, the total number of Serbs living in Kosovo was reduced by about a quarter.

These events, as well as the previous developments related to the conflict in Kosovo, are described in great detail in Tim Judahs book Kosovo: War and Revenge (Yale University Press, 2000).

Accounts by journalists, monitors and international organizations clearly show that the ethnic cleansing which took place before and during the Kosovo conflict was directed specifically at the ethnic Albanians, not at the ethnic Serb, though some KLA fighters were also implicated in war crimes. Crimes committed by Serbs against Kosovo Albanians were tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. In 2016, after the ICTY wrapped up its mission, a special tribunal was established in the International Criminal Court to investigate some members of the KLA for committing war crimes against ethnic minorities and political opponents.Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains.Get the SC business stories that matter.

Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free.Columbia/Myrtle Beach Managing Editor

Andy Shain runs The Post and Courier's newsrooms based in Columbia and Myrtle Beach. He was editor of Free Times and has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Charlotte, Columbia and Myrtle Beach.The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication.Political Editor

Schuyler Kropf is The Post and Courier political editor. He has covered every major political race in South Carolina dating to 1988, including for U.S. Senate, governorship, the Statehouse and Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune.Its probably not a good idea  and it cant be great for productivity  but thats not stopping a lot of Washingtonians from doing it.

Im talking about getting high at work.

One in four marijuana users who are employed admit to doing this within the past year, according to a new survey of cannabis consumers in Washington, Oregon and Colorado, three states where recreational weed is legal.

One in four also said theyve gotten high before work  Im guessing its the same one in four, but the survey doesnt specify.

The marketing communications firm Quinn Thomas, which has offices in Seattle and Portland, funded the survey, which was conducted by polling-and-opinion outfit DHM Research. A representative sample of 900 cannabis consumers were interviewed  300 in each of the three states  from Jan. 8 to 14. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent.

"There is a lot of information out there about the cannabis industry and its regulatory structure, but not much is known about consumers," said Zach Knowling, vice president at Quinn Thomas, in an email. "We felt our experience researching and reaching unique audiences could build greater understanding of who they are."

Tokin efforts

Washington and Colorado both legalized recreational use of marijuana through voter initiatives in 2012, becoming the first states to do so. Oregon followed in 2014.

The survey shows that after legalization, many cannabis consumers increased their usage. In Washington 44 percent of respondents said they are now regular consumers of pot (daily or a few times per week), compared with 36 percent who said they consumed that much prelegalization.

With legalization, it seems that marijuana has entered into the mainstream. Indeed, the survey data show that recreational-cannabis consumers look pretty much like the average American. They are a close match to the U.S. average for household income and educational attainment. In the three states that were surveyed, pot users match the general population breakdowns in terms of race and ethnicity, age, political-party affiliation and other demographic factors.

There is one significant exception: Gender. Cannabis consumers skew male by about 60 percent, according to the survey.

Social stigma

Even though marijuana is legal and widely popular in the three states surveyed, the great majority of users (79 percent) still feel there is some lingering social stigma attached to it.

Only about half say they are completely transparent with family and friends about their use of the drug.

Even if folks feel some social stigma still exists, a lot of marijuana users arent exactly secretive about it  at least thats true in Seattle, where the passing smell of pot smoke has become one of the defining characteristics of city sidewalks. While the great majority of those surveyed said that home is the primary place they consume cannabis, more than one in six said they typically get stoned away from home.

Survey respondents expressed a need for accurate information regarding safety and health of cannabis use, and just about half (49 percent) said they trusted their local retailer for that. In comparison, only 38 percent said they trust their health-care provider.

"Staff at dispensaries are the most trusted source of information about cannabis, well above doctors and public health officials. That surprised us," Knowling said. "Theres an opportunity for state officials and health care experts to increase their role, particularly because consumers told us they want more information."

Smoking is the most popular method of cannabis consumption  a little more than half said thats how they usually use it. Only 18 percent typically consume edibles, which ranks second, followed by vaping and topicals (oils or creams), in that order.

A large percentage of consumers surveyed reported a modest household income, so its not surprising that 62 percent pointed to price as one of the two most important factors when purchasing marijuana (THC potency came in second, at 45 percent). Still, consumers overwhelmingly said they want the retail experience of buying pot to be more like going to a nice wine shop than to a convenience store for a six-pack.

Low-income avocation

Speaking of alcohol, nearly a quarter of survey respondents said the reason they use cannabis is as an alternative to liquor. But the two most common reasons selected for pot use are reducing stress and anxiety, and reducing pain.

One remarkable finding of the survey is that lower-income folks spend the most on marijuana. One quarter of consumers with a household income of less than $25,000 spent more than $500 in a year. As you go higher up the income ladder, the likelihood of spending that much money on pot gets progressively lower. In light of that finding, Washingtons 37 percent sales-tax rate on marijuana seems particularly burdensome to people with lower incomes.

While the survey shows that getting stoned at work is a fairly commonplace activity, so is drug testing. Twenty-one percent of respondents said theyve been subjected to a drug test that checked for cannabis within the past year. And just about the same number said they stopped getting high for a while in order to pass the test.

It worked for most. Nine percent indicated that they still failed the test.St. Paul reminds us that baptism is our union with Jesus in Good Friday and Easter. St. Paul writes, "God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ  by grace you have been saved  and raised us up with Him" (Ephesians 2:4-6).

I Corinthians 15 is known as the "Resurrection Chapter." In this Chapter, St. Paul proclaims the certainty of the resurrection of the body. The resurrection of Jesus is not an idle tale. Hundreds of eyewitnesses, including St. Paul himself, provide testimony to the Truth.

Jesus resurrection guarantees of our own promised resurrection. St. Paul reminds us that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we will not be raised from the dead. Which means that we are still in our sins and doomed to die; our faith is a joke, and our preaching of Jesus is nonsense. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

If in this life only we hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. St. Paul asks, "Why would people suffer for the name of Jesus, or be baptized on behalf of the dead, if there is no resurrection of the dead?"

What exactly does St. Paul mean by "being baptized for, or on behalf of, the dead" (I Corinthians 15:29)? This verse of Scripture has prompted much speculation and not a little superstition. In the middle ages, for example, it is reported that a believer might lay under the bed of an unbeliever who had recently died. A priest would ask the dead person if they desired to be baptized and forgiven of sins. The living believer would answer in the affirmative from under the bed and the dead person would be baptized.

St. Paul is not advocating for the practice of baptizing corpses. Nor is he encouraging people to get baptized, vicariously, by proxy, in the place of a deceased person. Baptism is for the living, not the dead; unless by "dead" we mean "dead in our trespasses."

"Baptism for the dead" is most likely a reference to discipleship, cross-bearing, and martyrdom. One of the meanings of baptism is identification. In baptism, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. In baptism, a Christian is identified with those who are persecuted for the faith of Jesus; the martyrs, who are willing to die for Christ, because they believe in the resurrection.

Consider the following illustration provided by Mark Van Bebber. "The strength of Alexander the Greats army was the Greek phalanx. The way the phalanx would work is as follows: the soldiers would make several long lines. The men in the front would carry a large shield that would cover the soldiers from head to foot. Each of the men lined up behind the shield would carry long spears, which they would rest on the shoulders of the men in front of them. Thus, they would approach their enemies in unison and virtually walk right over them. If the man in the front of the line should be killed, the second man would simply drop his spear, pick up the shield and the lines would continue on their march. That second man would pick up the shield on behalf of (or in the place of) the dead soldier who once carried it."

Dead in our sins, we are baptize into the promise of Easter. Convinced of the resurrection, we too suffer and die for the name of Jesus. Convinced of the resurrection, and our future life in heaven with Christ, we too take up the shield of those who have been persecuted and martyred for the faith. Since the resurrection is true, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. In Christ, we are dead and alive. Jesus was baptized for the dead, and so are we.T he 2018 Farm Bill gave the go ahead for producers to grow industrial hemp.

Despite living in an age of instant information, that news is taking a while to reach some people.

An Oregon truck driver was arrested on Jan. 24 and faced spending the rest of his life in prison for transporting hemp.

State law enforcement claimed the cargo contained almost 7,000 pounds of what was considered marijuana, even if the cargo contained less than the federal legal limit for THC  the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Hemp contains little of the substance.

Maybe it was state agencies reluctance to let go of what they were, at the time, calling the biggest bust in their history, but it was four days before the driver was released.

Last week, charges were dropped against two men who were arrested in Osage County Oklahoma for transporting nine tons of hemp. Prosecutors there too initially claimed it was high-THC marijuana. The two men were released after tests proved otherwise.

In Ohio, highway patrol troopers seized 55 gallons of CBD oil  an oil derived from hemp plants.

Hemp, which was previously under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Justice, is now regulated under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The plant has multiple uses. Getting high from it is not one of them. The flowers and seeds can be processed into CBD, or cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating compound found in marijuana and hemp. The stalks can be processed for fiber to make paper, cloth, rope, wood-like material or hemp concrete.

A little closer to home, confusion comes in more benign but baffling forms.

When Ted Galaty, who runs Hemp Maze Minnesota, was trying to promote a Minnesota Department of Agriculture informational forum on industrial hemp, Facebook blocked the post due to violating its "illegal products" policy.

Even if some agencies and policies arent keeping up, the hemp industry is on the rise, and Minnesota has a head start.

In 2014, President Obama signed a farm bill that allowed farmers to grow hemp under USDA and state supervision. Minnesota was one of 30 states to follow by allowing hemp cultivation projects.

Before federal hemp legalization in 2018, 41 Minnesota growers were authorized to cultivate hemp on about 1,200 acres under a state pilot program.

The new legal status of hemp will now allow any prospective grower to cultivate the crop. Minnesota growers still have to submit cultivation plans to the USDA through the state Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

They must also demonstrate the product they plan to grow contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

Cultivators can now get loans for equipment or seeds and will be allowed to insure hemp crops under the Federal Crop Insurance Act  all of which they couldnt legally do before the 2018 farm bill. Growers should also be able to transport their crop across state lines  regardless of some misguided state law enforcement policies.The National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) is an annual three-day competition and networking event for students enrolled in horticulture programs at two- and four-year colleges and universities from across the nation. Each year, a different host location is selected, which gives the participants a chance to see different parts of the country and increases the level of difficulty for some of the outdoor competitions. Students demonstrate their skills in real-world, competitive events coupled with student workshops.

Sixty-four collegiate teams and a total of 788 students participated in 29 individual and team competitions at CSU. Five RCTC horticulture students participated in seven events: annual & perennial identification, arboriculture, exterior landscape design, landscape plant installation, plant problem diagnosis, truck & trailer operation, and woody ornamental plant identification.

Brice Bias competed in one individual event and two team events. Karl Grebe competed in two individual events and two team events. Elizabeth Prigge, Izaak Thielke and Brittany Wilcox each competed in one individual event and one team event.

Bias and Grebe competed in the truck & trailer operation as a team. Grebe and Thielke competed in the Arboriculture team event. Bias, Prigge and Wilcox competed in the Landscape Plant Installation. These three individuals worked as a team, finishing the install project in 54 minutes with 66 minutes to spare. Landscape install teams have 120 minutes to finish the project.

The Brigham Young UniversityProvo team won again! It is difficult for a team of five to compete against a team of 40, but the RCTC team did well.

Brittany is looking forward to traveling to Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich., next year to compete. Whats the weather like in Michigan in March?

The National Association of Landscape Professionals awarded a total of 68 scholarships to horticulture students from across the nation. Congratulations to Karl Grebe for receiving the David J. Frank Landscape Contracting Career Builder Scholarship. The David J. Frank Landscape company is headquartered in Germantown, Wis.

In addition to the competition, there is a large career fair with employers from across the nation looking for employees. For more information about career opportunities in the horticulture industry, visit the website landscapeindustrycareers.org. The site includes testimonials and short videos on the various industry specialties.

I want to thank our team sponsors, Maier Tree and Lawn and Weller Brothers Landscape.

Maier Tree and Lawn is a professional urban forestry and lawncare company. Maier Tree and Lawn is a Davey Tree Company doing business in southeast Minnesota for several years now. Visit www.forestandtree.comto learn more about the professional tree and lawn services offered.

Weller Brothers landscape is new to Rochester. Brent and Cole Weller started their company in Sioux Falls, S.D. Brent recently moved to Rochester to open a new location. Visit wellerbrothers.com/locations/rochester-mnto learn more about the professional landscape services offered in Rochester.

Visit the RCTC Horticulture Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RCTCHort, to see photos from this years event.Sure, many of Burtons films  from "Pee Wees Big Adventure" to "Beetlejuice" to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"  have featured the same blend of fantasy, whimsy and visual spectacle one finds under the big top. And, yes, the circus is the setting of his latest movie, a live-action re-imagining of the much-loved 1941 Disney animated film "Dumbo." But actual circuses have never been his thing.

"Its funny, but I truly never liked the circus," Burton, 60, said on a recent afternoon, clad from head to toe in black and radiating an impish, hyper-caffeinated vibe. "Youve got animals being tortured, youve got death-defying acts, and youve got clowns. Its like a horror show. Whats to like?"

There is one thing Burton does appreciate about the circus, though: the idea that it represents a thrown-together family of oddballs. "This idea of feeling weird and wanting to join this mixed family of misfits and weirdos  thats sort of the appeal of it," said Burton, who, over the years, has created his own rotating circus of collaborators, several of whom _ including Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green  star in "Dumbo." "Making films is a dysfunctional family. That was the lure of the circus for me."

While the titular giant-eared flying elephant takes center stage in Burtons "Dumbo," now as a CGI creation, the underdog pachyderm is placed in an entirely new story, featuring Colin Farrell as a wounded World War I vet who returns to a struggling circus run by DeVitos ringleader and helps train the baby Dumbo, while Keaton plays a ruthless businessman who tries to exploit the elephants special talents for his own ends. The film is just the latest in a string of live-action remakes of Disney animated hits, including 2017s "Beauty and the Beast," 2016s "The Jungle Book" and 2010s Burton-directed "Alice in Wonderland," with "The Lion King" due this July.

"When I heard Tim Burton was doing Dumbo, I thought, What a gorgeous marriage of material and imagination that would be," said Farrell. "For 20-plus years now, Ive been a fan of his. There was an element of wish fulfillment to it. I leapt at the opportunity."

"The whole movie is very Tim  he understands the heart of the misunderstood, and Dumbo is the perfect example for that," said Green, who plays a French trapeze artist. "He was like, Yeah, this is "Dumbo," but it cant be too sweet. He still wanted an edge and something real, not rainbows and unicorns and all that."

As a newcomer to Burtons troupe, Farrell was fascinated to watch the director at work. "Hes very frenetic," Farrell said. "Hes all over the place, and there are a lot of gestures and unfinished sentences. Every cell in his body vibrates with energy. To give birth to the worlds hes given birth to  its a deep well of creative strength and imagination that he draws from."

Having appeared in several of those worlds, Keaton and DeVito have a deep familiarity with Burtons way of working. Both starred in Burtons 1992 superhero sequel "Batman Returns," with Keaton as the caped crusader and DeVito as the villainous Penguin. Keaton also played the title character in 1988s "Beetlejuice," while DeVito appeared in 1996s "Mars Attacks!" and 2003s "Big Fish."

Along with separate interviews with Farrell and Green, The Times spoke with Burton, Keaton and DeVito about reuniting to re-envision a Disney classic. Despite the more than 25 years that have elapsed since their last collaboration, the three shared an easy, joking rapport, with Burton gently teasing DeVito for having tripped on some stairs at a press conference for the film in Mexico City a few days earlier.

"Break a leg," Burton said to the actor, deadpan.

"Thank you," DeVito responded with a laugh. "I told you I always throw myself at the press."

Q: What were all of your histories with the original "Dumbo"? Was it a movie you remember connecting with as a kid?

DeVito: Ive seen it a lot. My sisters took me when it played in theaters when I was a kid in Asbury (Park, N.J.). We had five movie theaters, and they used to re-run all kinds of stuff. Id go to those theaters every weekend. Thats where I first saw "Dumbo." Then, of course, I have three grandkids, so, over the course of the years, it became one of their favorites.

Keaton: I didnt have that experience Danny had. I never really knew "Dumbo" from seeing it. It was just kind of like, "Yeah, I know what it is." I grew up seeing movies on television because we lived fairly far from, like, these little mill towns (in Pennsylvania). To go to Pittsburgh  there was like one car and seven kids, so there was no way.

Burton: I loved it growing up. But you know, I didnt love it necessarily as the best movie  I just loved the idea of it. That idea of a character that is weird and doesnt quite fit in, being taken in by a large family. "Dumbo" felt like it was for people that feel like that. It was a very simple symbol for all of that.

DeVito: We all have that. I mean, I have it big time. When Id walk into a room, no matter where I was, people would look at me and Id feel very self-conscious. I felt like a very odd creature-y looking kind of person. I wanted to go behind things, not be seen. And, ironically, the thing that really gave me confidence and a whole other outlook on myself was when I got up on stage in front of people and found this thing that I suddenly loved to do. That was my magic feather. So I relate to that in a big way with "Dumbo."

Keaton: I always felt like I fit in, and I had a lot of friends. But my friends were as diverse as you could get, therefore, I never felt like I was in a slot and I always felt a little bit outside. Not in a disturbingly bad way, but I think almost everyone has that general feeling.

Q: Michael and Danny, in the years since you first worked with Tim, has he changed a lot or is he pretty much still the same guy?

Keaton: Theres definitely a consistency. From the very first time I worked with him, I thought, This guy sees something  I just have to get on his train. However, I will say that what I notice now is hes calmer. Its a huge job, and that undertaking is a lot to put on your shoulders, but it never really felt hectic. And Id forgotten how funny he is.

DeVito: Theres always a certain amount of kinetic artistic energy thats flowing through him. From the beginning, when I met him on "Batman Returns," what you noticed is the visual language that he has. I remember his office was filled with these amazing drawings of every character and where he was going with it.

Hanging out with him on the set, I get the feeling that were part of his paintbox. He gives you leeway and you can go various ways to give him what colors he wants. But everybody is serving the master that hes serving. Thats what makes it exciting.Ombre Ga'chong

As we head into the Christmas and New Year season it is imperative that all residents take an extra moment and adjust and increase their perso Read moreGREAT RISK: People walk on a flooded path in a village along the National Road No. 6 in the Pungue River Basin, Mozambique, March 23. After the country was hit by Tropical Cyclone Idai, the rise of the water level of the river has caused floods and massive destruction. Xinhua/Zuma Press/Tribune News ServiceMusic could be heard and smiling faces could be seen Saturday as the community celebrated the memory of Pottstowns leading civil rights activist.

Newstell Marable Sr. was honored by friends, family and community members at a luncheon at Spring Hollow Country Club Saturday.

Marable, who came to the Pottstown area as a young man from the deep South, was a civil rights activist on numerous local issues through his life including the closing of Jefferson Elementary School, integrating segregated pools in the area; advocating for the opening of Gruber Pool and replacing it when it closed; confronting instances of racism in Pottstown and Boyertown and a champion for keeping the Ricketts Community Center open for all.

A pillar of the community throughout his life, Marable was honored Saturday with addresses from current NAACP Pottstown Chapter President Johnnie Corson, state representatives and Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence.

Lawrence, who served as the keynote speaker for the event, noted the importance of Marables work in the community and how the successes of others rest upon Marables shoulders.

He was a distinguished community activist and leader here so Im just here to pay tribute to him, said Lawrence. We all stand on the shoulders of others. So despite the fact that I didnt know him, my success comes from the people before me who have helped. We all have to reach back and help everyone else along.

Lawrence was joined by state Reps. Tim Hennessey and Joe Ciresi as well as state Sen. Katie Muth.

Ciresi and Hennessey presented Millicent Marable, Newstells wife, with a proclamation representing all of Newstell Marables accomplishments and honors.

Among those honors was the new naming of a portion of Route 100 to occur in May. Newstell Marables name will be attached to a part of Route 100 that spans between Route 422 and Upland Square Mall on State Street.

For those like Corson and Bishop Everett Debnam, who knew Marable, the luncheon was a personal experience.

Newstell is already in a GPS. Hes in Gods GPS. He was Gods persistent servant, said Johnnie Corson, current president of the Pottstown Chapter of the NAACP. Newstell Marable was not afraid to sit, if need be, he was not afraid to march and he was not afraid to run. When you work with somebody like that, thats history. Youre walking with history.

I met him in 1987. We worked hand-in-hand in trying to open up doors that were closed to the community. We were able to get Boyertown and Pottsgrove School District to close the schools on Dr. Kings birthday. We did crusades and were activists in and around the community,  said Debnam. Its a great time to commemorate him for all the work that hes done and many people who are here today are benefactors of his sacrifice.

The luncheon concluded with a presentation to Millicent Marable and closing remarks from Rev. Garrison Lockely of Bethel AME Church.

In summation of the event, Newstells own words were printed on the back of a program distributed to all the guests which read:

A clash of opinions brings about new opportunity. You cannot solve a problem if you do not have the courage to mention it; then, together you wrestle it with integrity and maturity. Keep the faith. When you talk to your enemies, you have a chance to make new friends.POTTSTOWN  That officials have been struggling with discipline and behavior issues at Pottstown Middle School for the last several years is no secret.

But when bullets ripped through a West Street home one Sunday evening in an incident connected to what police and school leaders say is a long-running dispute among eighth graders, the discussion reached a whole new level.

Parents such as Krystal DiPietro, who last year organized a large group to alert the school board to ongoing bullying problems at the middle school, posted on social media that it was only a matter of time before something escalated to this point.

I told them last year (almost exactly a year to the day) that the issues Pottstown middle and high school are having are only going to get worse. I asked them to be proactive and not reactive but here we are, she posted.

Now there is more media coverage than before I really hope this forces the school board and the superintendent to do the right thing by all these students and staff that have to brave these hallways on a daily basis, she posted.

Others charge the police with being ineffectual as well.

The school district and the police department knew that this was going on and allowed it to continue to the point were it elevated to a shooting, Jessica Hill-Robinson posted on The Mercurys Facebook page. What were they waiting for a murder or a suicide?

These are all legitimate questions, so we put those questions to Pottstown Police and School officials.

Police Response

Police Chief Michael Markovich, who has been in officer in Pottstown for 20 years, said his officers frequently arrest misbehaving students outside the school. Because they are minors, their names and the specifics of the charges are usually not released.

But Markovich did release data on juvenile arrests over the past four years.

A Mercury analysis shows an overall 32 percent drop in arrests in 12 criminal categories ranging from forcible rape to curfew violations over the last four years; although there was a 16 percent increase in arrests from 2017 to 2018.

The analysis also shows a clear uptick in arrests as students enter the age groups of 10 to 12 years of age and 13 to 14.

The kids being picked up by police now are getting younger and have less respect than they did 20 years ago Markovich said.

You see them walk down the middle of the street, obstructing traffic and bumping passing cars. I have seen them go up onto porches and kick peoples doors, he said.

Currently, police have one resource officer who divides his time between the high school and middle school; and it might be time for us to talk to council and the school board about adding another, Markovich said.

He also said in the past, police officers shot video of kids on the street and put a full shift into the area of the middle school, including officers on foot and on bike patrol, at dismissal time.

Shooting video helped and it might be time to do some of those things again, but that will probably cost a lot of money in overtime, he said.

More Female Offenders

Markovich said another trend the department has observed is more violent behavior among teen girls.

This is the case in the dispute which led to the home on West Street being shot up as both sides of that situation are female, and previous arrests have been made involving those individuals, Markovich confirmed.

Another example can be found in the March 20 stabbing on High Street in which police allege a 33 year-old man was stabbed in a conflict with a group of four young women.

Arrested were Nashay Walker, 18; Candace Borders, 21; Tiera Griffy, 23, and a juvenile female whose age was not disclosed. All four are from Pottstown.

Parents Making it Worse

Markovich also observed that police get less help from parents than they used to.

By the time police get involved, they are coming in on the tail-end of a dispute that has some history and its not always easy to tell who is at fault, Markovich said. Sometimes you just have to arrest everyone involved. It might not seem fair, he acknowledged.

We need help from the parents, but there have been times when we call them and they make things worse, Markovich said. Weve had officers see parents who are actually encouraging the kids to fight and thats very frustrating.

School Response

Stephen Rodriguez is also very frustrated. And he is not alone.

I was on the phone this morning with a teaching professional who was literally in tears telling me that all the good things we are trying to do in the middle school the public is just ignoring because of this, he said during an interview Thursday.

Rodriguez, Middle School Principal Brian Hostetler and Director of Community Relations John Armato met with a reporter to discuss the incident and the school districts tactics for dealing with bullying and bad behavior.

Rodriguez says that contrary to the narrative on social media, that the district did not do nothing in terms of the running dispute that erupted in gunfire.

We have followed up multiple times to try to deal with this particular conflict, he said.

The Mercury received no response to a message offering an opportunity for an interview and comment sent earlier this week to the parent who said it was her home that was the target of gunfire.

Middle School Discipline

On the discipline side of the equation, Rodriguez said since he has taken the helm at the district, the middle school added a dean of students, Beth Burkhimer, and a security guard.

And, since 2014 when the fifth grade was put into the middle school, two assistant principal positions have been added. Currently, Kim Boswell is the assistant principal for the fifth and sixth graders; and Mike Ishler is the assistant principal for the seventh and eight graders.

But as one-year veteran Hosteler recently pointed out to the school board, those key positions have seen a lot of turn-over in the past two years, as well as a lot of turn-over in teachers.

At the March 21 school board meeting, Hostetler said nearly 40 percent of the staff has been there less than five years and another 5 percent are retiring this year. Further, there have been seven different administrators in the building in the last 18 months, Hostetler included.

Two years, ago, middle school teachers complained to The Mercury that discipline was administered inconsistently. Hosteler said he is working now to ensure that the discipline is consistent so the data reflects that.

So when he presented four years of discipline statistics to the school board at the March 21 meeting, he warned that the figures might be open to different interpretations.

Interestingly, the 2018-2018 school year shows the highest number of discipline referrals, and those two years coincide with the lowest number of arrests by borough police.

That said, Hostetler told The Mercury he would estimate that 95 percent of the students do the right thing 90 percent of the time. I would say its about 3 to 5 percent not following the rules.

Support and Positive Behavior

Although the school district does not put all its eggs in one basket in terms of teaching appropriate behavior, a lot of those eggs are in a district-wide curriculum called Social Emotional Learning, or SEL.

It succeeds a program called Restorative Practices, and Rodriguez said SEL is like Restorative Practices on steroids.

Hostetler said SEL not only follows the Restorative Practices methodology for resolving conflicts, it also involves coping strategies for dealing with issues in the moment, and not just after-the-fact.

Perhaps more importantly, it guides children through identifying and talking about the feeling  anger, frustration, discouragement  that is fueling a behavior and how to process it best.

I sat in on one teacher-led scenario where a student took something from a friends locker; they needed a pen, Rodriguez said by way of example. In that kids mind, she just borrowed it and planned on returning it, but the other friend can look at that as you stole my stuff, and they work through how a misunderstanding can get blown out of proportion.

Pottstown begins teaching these concepts in elementary school but Hostetler told the school board that while middle school-age students understand the concepts, they struggle with putting them into practice, with regulating themselves and their behavior.

That behavior is reinforced by giving out Trojan Tickets to well-behaved students who get to attend Terrific assemblies, said Hostetler.

Focus on Girls

Schools officials have also made note of the uptick in violence among the female students.

Hostetler said the YWCA Tri-County Area has a club for girls called Girls in Charge, and another one called Girls Today, Leaders Tomorrow, both of which empower girls by showing them what leadership looks like, and providing them with good role models.

A program called Girls on the Run, which began with some fanfare a few years ago and helped girls prepare to run a 5K as a confidence-building exercise petered because the funding disappeared, Rodriguez said.

Another YW program called The Art of Yoga Project is teed up to start next year.

A program is called i-Succeed is conducted after school, providing enrichment programs for students who might not otherwise get them.

Mentors and Counselors

Also in the planning stage is a program called WEB, which stands for Where Everyone Belongs. It is staged by the Boomerang Project and funded through a Pennsylvania 21st Century Learning grant and teaches seventh and eighth graders how to be mentors and role models to incoming students.

From the first day of school, theyll show them how to open lockers and where everything is, said Hostetler. It will be a year-long thing.

Two adult mentor programs are being undertaken; the Created for Greatness Series by Pottstown activist David Charles, and the Molding Men program spearheaded by Terrance Shawell.

Charles program is a work in progress, its very relational said Hoistetler, noting that Charles is trying to let the students take a leadership role and determine the direction they want to head in, rather than being dictated to by an adult.

Additionally, the middle school has two school counselors, who are in charge of two grades each and are geared more toward the students academic needs, said Hostetler.

Last year, the district added two additional counselors provided by Creative Health, who are more tapped into the students emotional needs.

And that can be in-school, evolve to involve the whole family through wrap-around services, Rodriguez said.

Creative Health CEO Andrew Trentecost is also spear-heading a new initiative called The Hub, said Rodriguez. It will gather the various agencies in town and specific troubled students will be discussed.

And maybe the YWCA will say, Ill take that student, I have a program that can help, or maybe there is a Creative Health program that can help, Rodriguez explained. It will be solutions-oriented and will focus on the middle school.

So there is no shortage of programs and efforts to get behavior at the middle school under control, but it remains an open question how many of them work.

That can be a hard thing to measure, said Rodriguez, who noted that when prevention works, it is invisible because the behavior you are trying to stop isnt happening.

Nevertheless, he said the district continues to evaluate its efforts and remains open to new ideas, or ways to improve existing programs.

Family is Key

Rodriguez and Hostetler both said family and home life is often the driving force behind a students behavior.

We can model all the appropriate behavior we can squeeze in between 8 a.m. and 2:25 p.m., but if it isnt being reinforced at home, everything were doing in school begins to unravel as soon as the child gets home, Hostetler said.

And it doesnt help, said Rodriguez, when, as Markovich noted, parents are not only encouraging appropriate behavior, but are actually escalating conflicts.

We have had parent encounters and actual parental involvement, when adults are beating up on students, Rodriguez said.

How do you get students to behave appropriately when the adults dont? Hostetler said.

The Role of Social Media

New to the age-old equation of hormones and teen angst that is middle school is the technology of our age, said Armato.

When you and I went to school, if there was a conflict at school, it usually didnt follow you home, he said. Maybe it cropped up again at the playground or somewhere else, but its very different now.

Thanks to the wonders of Instagram, Twitter and yes, sometimes even still on Facebook, conflicts can be all-day every day, with a whole crowd of students joining in, empowered by the detachment of the platforms to say things they might not in person.

We block social media on campus, said Rodriguez. But I can guarantee you, at 1 in the morning, this stuff is still going full-tilt, on social media said Armato.

Lets remember, said Rodriguez, the thing that has brought us all here today didnt happen at school. It happened on a Sunday at someones house.

Rally and Protest

As so often happens in Pottstown in the wake of a shooting, a rally to try to pull the community together is being organized.

The Band Against Bullying rally will be held on Sunday, April 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Smith Family Plaza opposite Pottstown Borough Hall on High Street.

On Thursday, April 25, a peaceful protest is also being planned for Pottstown High School from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. prior to the next scheduled Pottstown School Board meeting.Michael Auslin, an Asia expert at the Hoover Institution, examines what I consider the most important foreign policy issue of our time  U.S. relations with China. Auslin believes this may be crunch time for these relations.

Auslin is happy with President Trumps China policy so far:

The Trump administrations full-court press against China is going strong, buttressed by a dramatic shift in opinion among the foreign-policy community, now increasingly critical of Beijing. Trade talks are continuing, and for the nonce, the administration does not seem to setting itself up for a quick deal that will be all smoke and no fire.

Moreover:

Trump continues to tighten the screws on Huawei [the Chinese smartphone maker whose equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans], a campaign which has run into numerous obstacles from allies wary of taking on China. Washington got some support this week from London, which released a report slamming Huaweis 5G security vulnerabilities. While the Brits continue to shy away from a full ban on Huawei for their 5G network, the highlighting of Huaweis empty promises to fix security weaknesses helps Trumps broader argument that the company cant be trusted.

Finally:

[F]or the third straight month, U.S. naval vessels (this time, including a U.S. Coast Guard ship) transited the strategic Taiwan Strait, sending messages to China that American warships wont be deterred from sailing throughout the region. While the freedom of navigation operations wont change Chinas policy in the South China Sea, nor will they frighten Beijing into giving up its new bases in the Spratly and Paracel Island chains, the forward-leaning operations of the U.S. Pacific Fleet are a welcome turnaround from the Obama-era reticence to antagonize China.

Thats the good news. However:

The longer the trade spat goes on. . .the closer to the election it gets, and the pressure on the president to show some type of success will grow.

Chinas economy is slowing down due in part to Trump turning the screws, but its leadership may choose nonetheless to resist a deal for now in the hope that Trump will make concessions as the election nears and/or that the Democrats will regain the White House and grant even more concessions (if they dont fold completely).

Auslin concludes by warning that a U.S. backdown will only embolden Beijing, which will make the (likely correct) assumption that it has absorbed everything the Americans are willing to throw at it, and now can move ever more aggressively ahead. Thats why were entering crunch time for U.S.-China relations.Among the high former Obama administration officials who have disgraced themselves by their public comments since leaving office, John Brennan deserves special recognition. Marc Thiessen has done us the favor of making the case in the Washington Post column The Trump-Russia collusion hall of shame (accessible via the link at Jewish World Review). Thiessen renders this damning judgment:

Put aside the rogues gallery of reporters and pundits who assured us that Donald Trump had conspired with Vladimir Putin to steal the presidency. What is most insidious are those who did have access to classified intelligence and led Americans to believe that they had seen what we could not: actual evidence of Trump-Russia collusion.the most sinister of all is John Brennan, who used his authority as former CIA director to suggest that Trump was a traitor and a compromised Russian asset. After Trumps Helsinki summit, Brennan declared he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. When challenged by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press, Brennan stood by his assessment. I called [Trumps] behavior treasonous, which is to betray ones trust and aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim.

In his concluding paragraph, Thiessen puts it this way: He is among the worst of the worst, the Trump-Russia collusion hall of shame. Placing Brennan among the worst of the worst, Theissen is probably saving room for former FBI Director James Comey. Julie Kelly, it should be noted, also focuses on Brennan in the American Greatness column Brennan the menace.

In Brennans many television appearances pronouncing President Trump a traitorous Russian stooge, one could hardly miss the rabid hatred beneath Brennans pronouncements. Given his former responsibilities, the thin smile and spittle flecked visage of the man might send a shiver down your spine.

Among the most valuable retrospectives published of our ordeal so far are Jeff Carlsons long Epoch Times account The inside story of Spygate. Long story short in the terrific accompanying graphic (below). I also commend Lee Smiths characteristically excellent Tablet column focusing on the media  System fail (For [the media], Russiagate is an extinction level event).

Yesterday our friends at at the Washington Free Beacon finally came through with the Brennan supercuts video we (I) have been awaiting (below). It is posted with Andrew Kugles story on Brennan and in the FOX News story here.

Ian Schwartz has posted the video of Brennans appearance on MSNBC following the release of William Barrs summary of the Mueller report here at RealClearPolitics. He seems to have made the transition from foaming at the mouth to flop sweat. To pass judgment on the foul doings of the Obama administration, that this man served as Director of the CIA is not all ye know about the Obama administration, not by a long shot, but (to paraphrase John Keats) it is all ye need to know.

Quotable quote: I dont know if I received bad information but I suspected there was more than there actually was. I am relieved that its been determined there was not a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government over our election. I think that is good news for the country. I still point to things that were done publicly, or efforts to try to have conversations with the Russians that were inappropriate, but Im not all that surprised that the high bar of criminal conspiracy was not met.When I was growing up, any 12-year-old could accurately describe the Monroe Doctrine. I dont suppose that is true anymore. Instead, we have John Kerryin my estimation, one of the least capable men ever to engage in American public lifeassuring us that the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.

Russia took advantage of that assurance to send around 100 specialists to aid Venezuelas bankrupt socialist regime. The Trump administration is not amused.

The White House on Friday warned Russia and other countries backing President Nicolas Maduro against sending troops and military equipment to Venezuela, saying the United States would view such actions as a direct threat to the regions security. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been given a list of options to respond to Russias growing presence in Venezuela in support of Maduro, including new sanctions, said Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special representative for Venezuela. We have options and it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand here. They dont, Abrams told reporters at the State Department.

Elliott Abrams has a long track record as a hero of democracy. Mike Pompeo is rapidly developing one.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week said Russia has to get out of Venezuela and said all options were open to force Russia to do so after two Russian air force planes carrying nearly 100 military personnel landed outside Caracas. Trumps national security adviser John Bolton issued a second warning on Friday in a strongly worded formal statement. We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations, Bolton said.

Most Americans probably dont realize that this has been going on for a while. Cuba was, of course, the epicenter of foreign influence in the Americas, kept afloat for decades by the USSR. But more recently, Russia, China and Iran have all sought to take advantage of the anti-American, socialist Maduro regime to establish a strategic foothold in the Americas.

Historically, American foreign policy would have responded aggressively to such infringements pursuant to the Monroe Doctrine. But the Obama administration supinely acceptedand perhaps welcomedthe infiltration of forces hostile to the United States. Once again, the Trump administration is standing up for America by resisting hostile powers, just miles from our shores.

The Russian specialists apparently are trying to help Maduros armed forces repair surface-to-air missiles that have been disrupted or damaged by electricity outages. There is a certain irony there. Venezuelans are starving, millions have fled the country, and electricity has become a scarce commodity. The least significant aspect of this breakdown of Venezuelan society is that it has rendered the militarys ground-to-air missiles inoperable. When the end comes for Nicolas Maduro, it wont be from the air. It will be on the ground, as Venezuelans finally rise up in anger to cast off the leftist yoke.

Given the insanity of the Democrats attacks on President Trump, I probably should mention that this is one more instance where he has stood up against Vladimir Putins regime, contrary to the practice of Barack (After my election, I have more flexibility [to give away the store on missile defense]. I will tell Vladimir.) Obama.Were it not for Brit Humes valuable Twitter feed, I wouldnt know that Byron York has recorded a Ricochet podcast with former Trump attorney John Dowd regarding the Mueller investigation. Byron comments: Boy, was there a lot going on behind the scenes. He accurately describes the interview as [a] peek inside the epic battle of the presidency with the presidents attorney.

Dowd is a formidable attorney with a record that requires no embellishment. He isnt out to win friends or influence people. I hear his comments to be authoritative. Byron does an outstanding job. I rate the interview four wows. The whole thing is full of news and quotable quotes, but Im going with the one below.

When the Democrat hacks and their media allies assert that Muellers report/conclusions are just the end of the beginning, they arent thinking of the implications of the facts Dowd vividly reviews with color and insight, but they should be. From Trumps perspective, we must indeed have a long way to go and they arent going to like it one bit.

Quotable quote: Its probably the greatest fraud ever committed against the people of the United States. It was very, very frustrating for the president and it did interfere with his ability to do his job.The management of Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, has said that it would take every necessary step to resist fraudulent execution of a judgement purportedly gotten by Innoson Motors.

PREMIUM TIMES on Friday reported how the motor company claimed it had been mandated by the court to take over the bank.

GTB and Innoson Motors have for years been locked in a long-running legal tussle over a controversial business deal.

While the bank claimed that the company deployed fraudulent means in its deals, the motor company denies the claim.

The controversy took a new turn Friday when Innoson released a press statement claiming it had an order of the court to take over assets of GTB.

But in its response, Erhi Obebeduo, company secretary of the bank, said the bank would resist any attempt to execute any such illegal or fraudulent execution.

The attention of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (the Bank} has been drawn to statements circulating in the news and social media in respect of purported enforcement of a Judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State at one of its branches in Anambra State, the bank said.

The Bank as a law-abiding corporate citizen is taking all necessary legal steps to address this situation and ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out.

It is important to state that the Judgment allegedly in issue is in respect of Garnishee Proceedings against the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board domiciled with the Bank and not against the Bank as an entity.

GTB assured its customers that all was well and that it remains committed to providing best-in-class customer experience to all its valued Customers.On Sunday, March 24, 2019, P.A.G.E. Book Connoisseurs organised an evening of readings and conversation with Chigozie Obioma, whose second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities, was just published in Nigeria by Parresia. It was a very rewarding encounter with Obioma, who was born in Akure, Ondo State, to an Igbo family of 12 children. He studied English Literature at Cyprus International University (CIU), Northern Cyprus. Because he made a First Class in his set, he was chosen as the student commencement speaker on June 23, 2011. In his speech, Obioma spoke eloquently about the necessity of courage, diligence, hard-work and gratitude. He made a solemn promise to make good use of all he had learnt from CIU. As a story teller, he has been steadily fulfilling that promise. He was 27 years old in 2015 when his first novel, The Fishermen, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Among other prizes, the novel has won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, the Los Angeles Times Award for First Fiction and Nebraska Book Award for Fiction. Before then, he was in Ledig House in New York for a residency and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he completed an MFA in creative writing. He writes occasionally for The Guardian of London, Newstatesman among other publications. Chigozie Obioma is an assistant professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, state of Nebraska, USA. In the course of his conversation with KUNLE AJIBADE, Executive Editor/Director of TheNEWS and PM NEWS, the edited transcript of which is published here (including an interview AJIBADE had with him on March 10, 2019 by email), Professor Wole Soyinka, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, made a video call to the gathering, congratulating the author on his second novel, and his literary achievements so far. Obioma was grateful for Soyinkas kind words.

Ajibade: Were you strongly drawn to literature very early? You speak Igbo, Yoruba and English fluently. How have these languages expanded your creative imagination?

Obioma: I was born in Akure in 1986 to a family of an Igbo banker who was transferred to the city that same year, with a promotion in the Central Bank. Hence, the name: Chi-Go-Zie, which was intended as a statement on the auspicious circumstances around my birth. I acquired almost all three languages at about the same time, Yoruba becoming more dominant than others for a long time, until our parents forced us to learn Igbo. I think that the languages add certain eccentricities to my diction. There are times when I use a specific tonality or flair that one can only attribute to a particular language other than the English language. But these languages can also be stifling sometimes. I speak Turkish too and when I first learnt it, I recall how difficult it was to communicate extemporaneously in English for a while.

Ajibade: In the acknowledgement page of An Orchestra of Minorities, you thank your unnamed father for being your researcher, copy editor and your champion. Apart from helping you to research the work, how did he help to develop your interest in creative writing and public affairs?

Im an ontologist  one who is interested in the metaphysics of being. I probe the peripheral, the cosmic questions of life and being, and the result is always that I see a cast of these characters who are unlucky, marginalised, or vulnerable, to use your words. But I wont say that I linger on this for too long.



Obioma: It is simply because he doesnt like to take credit for anything and to even be named or thanked. To a great extent, my parents  especially my father  were instrumental in my developing into a writer. First, he helped me cultivate a fecund mind by telling me stories frequently and then he provided the books to help enrich that landscape of my imagination. I wrote for The New York Times last year about how I came to writing, first through the stories they told me and eventually by becoming obsessed with reading.

Ajibade: Benjamin, the narrator of your first novel, The Fishermen, is earthy, while the narrator of your second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities, is an ageless, omnipresent chi, who moves smoothly between our world and the metaphysical realm. I find the innocence of Benjamin and the experience of this elemental chi very striking. Obviously, these are deliberate, strategic artistic choices. Could you explain these choices and how they have helped you to achieve what you set out to do in the two novels?

Obioma: Indeed, they are deliberate. I have often been drawn to alternate ways of story-telling. In The Fishermen, my intention was to have the narrator tell the story by association  that is, to try to understand phenomena by first comparing them with other things; things that he understands more as a child. Thus, to fully comprehend why his father leaves the house frequently to look for food, he has to associate it with the eagles trips to hunt for food. For An Orchestra of Minorities, I wanted to look at the questions of fate and destiny through the prism of the Igbo worldview. By having the chi as a narrator  a 700-year-old reincarnating spirit  I was able to chronicle landmarks of Igbo history from the first encounter with the Europeans to the Biafra war. But also, by being loquacious and wastefully confessional, the chi is able to discuss various aspects of the Igbo odinani  from the process of childbirth to the metaphysical plain of the ancestors.

Also, Im always looking to play with narrative techniques in ways that feel fresh or new to me. To that end, the chi works both as a first and third person throughout the novel. There are times when while within its host, Chinonso, it is speaking in the first person, but when the chi goes into the metaphysical space, it speaks in the third person.

Ajibade: I can see that you intermesh the historical with the fictional in your two novels. You dont bother to change or invent new names for MKO Abiola, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, Oliver de Coque, Mary Onyali, Jay Jay Okocha, Sani Abacha, names of towns, villages and their streets, etc., etc. What effects do you want this naked realism to have on your readers?

Obioma: I have said that I work in the dualism mode  that is, based on the Igbo fundamental axiom that where one thing lies, another thing lies beside it too. In essence, the Igbo believe that there is no distinction between the world of the living and the dead. In the same way, I believe there is not much distinction between the three realms in my fiction: the realm of the real, of the fictional, and of the extraordinary. Hence,the comingling. But there is also the need to situate the realist parts of the novels in specific historical contexts  for The Fishermen, the 1990s Nigeria, and for An Orchestra of Minorities, the 2000s. I think The Fishermen would not have been possible without that specific context, as the encounter with MKO serves as a major turning point in the lives of the Agwu boys.

Ajibade: As you tell your stories, you slot in critical opinions about Nigerian political, cultural and economic problems. How much of topical issues should a novelist accommodate in his or her fiction?

Obioma: Im not sure how much as I feel its the prerogative of individual writers. But I will say that I myself do not set out specifically to tackle political or economic problems in my fiction. When I have such opinions, I put them out as non-fiction. But I believe that when you look straight at a distant hill, if your sight is good enough, you will see other things and not just the hill. This is to say that these questions come through my side vision; they creep into my work because Im writing about these specific historical moments and the milieu of the characters themselves. Chinonso, having to go to such an underdeveloped country as Cyprus to go to school, is only possible because of the lack of dependable educational possibilities in Nigeria.

Ajibade: What is responsible for your attraction for the stories of the vulnerable, the neglected, and the marginalised, in your novels?

Obioma: Something existential, something indescribable. Im an ontologist  one who is interested in the metaphysics of being. I probe the peripheral, the cosmic questions of life and being, and the result is always that I see a cast of these characters who are unlucky, marginalised, or vulnerable, to use your words. But I wont say that I linger on this for too long. The boys in The Fishermen are very different in class status from Chinonso Olisa of An Orchestra of Minorities. They are upper middle class children whose father works for the Central Bank of Nigeria. So, it is only after they encounter the vision-seeing madman that their lives are changed.

The Fishermen was, in some ways, based on the experience of growing up in a rather large family by Nigerian standards. The realities of growing up with such a crowd and coming to understand the vicissitudes of siblinghood and the sacredness of consanguinity in the Igbo/Yoruba culture inspired the novel. But so also was nostalgia for childhood days and the Nigeria of that time.



Ajibade: In what ways are parts of The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities recreations of your own life experiences?

Obioma: The Fishermen was, in some ways, based on the experience of growing up in a rather large family by Nigerian standards. The realities of growing up with such a crowd and coming to understand the vicissitudes of siblinghood and the sacredness of consanguinity in the Igbo/Yoruba culture inspired the novel. But so also was nostalgia for childhood days and the Nigeria of that time. Growing up, I was awakened to the campaign of Moshood Abiola and I wanted to capture that seminal moment in the novel as well. For An Orchestra of Minorities, I was inspired by the real life version of Chinonso, who was defrauded by agents to move to Northern Cyprus only to find that he had been defrauded of everything he had. That shock, that disappointment, the unravelling that it inspired in him, was integral to the construction of the novel. So, my answer would be that it wasnt necessarily my experiences, but rather, the consciousness of all the experiences that Im aware of, whether they are mine or of others, or even of imagined others.

Ajibade: Why do you make God ponderously silent about the lumbering forces of human history and the darkly ambiguous nature of humankind in An Orchestra of Minorities?

Obioma: I think its not exactly clear whether or not the Supreme Being is silent or not in the novel. It does not however speak audibly. But thats also the mystery of this not fully known entity in the Igbo imagination. That said, I wanted the chi to have an uninterrupted flow of testimony throughout as it will be inhibiting other voices across time, it was necessary to have a full autonomy of speech uninhibited by any interlocutory interferences whatsoever.

Ajibade: William Shakespeare writes in King Lear: As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their spot. Your narrator shares this crippling, pessimistic view of life. I know that this is contrary to the world-view of your narrator, but dont you think that the drama of Chinonsos life would have been different if you, his creator, have imbued him with the idea that our destiny is largely in our hands as human beings?

Obioma: Indeed, were I writing a realist novel within the framework of the Western worldview, it would be, of course, the case that the character will have full agency. But in the Igbo worldview  which is the framework for the novel  agency is fluid. When someone does something, the outcome, if unpleasant, is often attributed to the weak nature of the persons chi. This is to say that agency is dualised between the physical efforts of the human being and the metaphysical efforts of his chi. Within this framework, Shakespeare is right, and the axiomatic principle of the novel form with its provenance in the Judeo-Christian Western tradition  is moot.

Ajibade: The reader empathises with Chinonso, the ill-fated, tragic figure, in An Orchestra of Minorities when he is humiliated in the house of Chief Obialor; when he is duped by Jamike Nwaorji; when he is imprisoned for four years in Cyprus on trumped-up charges; and when he suffers the indignity of deportation to Nigeria, where he is later detained by the Nigeria Police. We know that he has lost his senses in Cyprus, so he is a raving madman by the time he sets ablaze the pharmacy of Ndali, the love of his tangled life. The haunting metaphor of a neurotic Chinonso running away in his car on the highway and the constant refrain of chi, the narrator  I have seen it many times- tell the reader that humanity is doomed to a recurring cycle of tragedy. And that there is nothing we can do about it. I think, in the end, you dont purge the reader of this emotion. Shouldnt there be a redemptive release from the bondage of this dark vision, this tragedy?

Obioma: You go deep here and make valid points about the decidedly bleak nature of the chis account. But the current state of our people, even of the world, is bleak. And Chinonso himself is a truly unfortunate man, one whose chi fails him time and again. I think stories like his  as that of the real life man who inspired his story  are true, and should be told as fiction too. I think thats where the greatness of Shakespeare comes in. He told tragic stories where people rise and fall in a steep decline. In those stories, there is no release but simply life expressed in crystalline truth.

Ajibade: Tell me about the process of writing An Orchestra of Minorities. Did you read some books for inspiration before you started writing it? How long did the writing take? What kind of queries did you receive from your readers, including your editors?

All the time I was writing The Fishermen, I was thinking about this story that would be told by a chi who is like 700 years old, and who has been coming and going for so long. It was a very strange idea even to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it came together. Putting down the story on paper probably took like two years but, cumulatively, I would say probably even five years.



Obioma: I speak with a lot of my friends who are writers who say they dont have knowledge of where the story is going; they just start, and the story writes itself. They arrogate, in some way, agency to the muse  whatever that is. But Im a control freak. So, when a gem of an idea comes to me  itcould come at any time; it could just spring up from a casual discussion with a friend  when it comes, I just grab the idea and I begin to think about it, an incubation period when I try as much as possible not to write anything down with the exception of some phrases that would eventually be incorporated, or some cosmetic things. But the actual plot, I dont write down. I wait for the idea to incubate in my mind; it could take from two weeks to three years even. Ill just be thinking about it all the time and eventually I come to a point where the story shapes itself and feels fully formed, and I just sit down. Its like delivering a baby.

I usually would write down the whole plot sequence at a go. For The Fishermen, for instance, I remember this rainy day in Cyprus when I began writing the story early in the morning, and Ididnt get up from the seat till 6 p.m. I poured everything down. The expansion of the project is what takes time. But, at that time, most of the work had been done internally during this incubation period. Thats how I write fiction. The same happened with An Orchestra of Minorities. All the time I was writing The Fishermen, I was thinking about this story that would be told by a chi who is like 700 years old, and who has been coming and going for so long. It was a very strange idea even to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it came together. Putting down the story on paper probably took like two years but, cumulatively, I would say probably even five years. I thought about the book for two years before I wrote anything down.

With respect to the question on research, indeed I have an authors note on the second to the last page of the book where I recommend some materials on the Igbo cosmology and religion. Indeed, I like to say that Ive read almost everything that anybody has written about Igbo cosmology, especially the concept of chi. Sadly, the scholarship on that is very minimal. Chinua Achebe has an essay, then theres a dissertation someone wrote in the 1980s. Its a deep research on the chi and I also did field research with my dad; we went to various places in Abia where Im from. I read extensively because its not fantasy. This is bearing fidelity to the actual worldview of the Igbo people and I was going to be berated if I got anything wrong.

Ajibade: What about your editors, what queries did they raise, and how did you respond to them?

Obioma: Well, I was very lucky to have three wonderful editors working on the book. I sold the book to US, UK and Australian publishers simultaneously. I would have worked with my former Nigerian publishers at the same time but I decided to leave them, so it took some time before I finally convinced my good friend, Azafi, to publish the book. I have to say that we went about three rounds wherein they would send queries and, after having read them, I would rework certain things. Its a book thats cosmic and is doing quite a number of things; it is a bit complex. My UK editor had to read some books to be able to understand the cosmological part. But theres the human story. The personal story of the novel is that its a love story  a doomed love story, I have to say, between this very poor poultry farmer and this girl, a student of pharmacology, and his entanglement with her becomes his undoing. That story is one of the things we mostly worked on. I took care of the cosmological part.

Ajibade: Your description of poultry farming is detailed and precise in An Orchestra of Minorities. Did you research poultry farming or you just imagined it?

Obioma: Generally, I dont do research for writing. I vaguely had the idea of writing a cosmological novel long before I got the idea for writing An Orchestra of Minorities but I thought I would do research. That dissuaded me from pursuing it then. It probably would have been the first book before The Fishermen but I had to do this before that. But for other parts, it was a chore to do research. For the poultry farming, I did a little bit of research. I went to a farm and all that, but I think most of it was my imagination. Now, this is why I dont do research and also the reason why I dont write about a place that Im in. If Im living in, say, Lagos, its going to be very difficult for me to write a fiction about Lagos. The reason is because I trust so much in the power of the imagination and in hindsight that if Im writing about this particular moment, I would become more documentary; I would be writing about the very obvious details but if I chose to write about this moment later in the evening when its ended, then everything becomes just your memory and can never be 100 per cent accurate. It becomes more mouldable; you shape it into anything. Thats when the most obvious details trickle in and, for me, these are the obvious details that make fiction most interesting.

For instance, someone asked me about the details of the feather falling; Chinonso flinging the chicken into the river and a feather falling on him and touching his hand. Thats something that I may not have witnessed because one of the farms I went to, a chicken jumped and some of its feather fell off. If I were taking notes then, I would just have written that the chicken jumped and the feather fell. But later on, I imagined that the feather fell on me. Because of that I really shy away from research.

Ajibade: You were a very young writer thirsting for sunlight when your first novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, how has that achievement helped you?

Teaching creative writing is often like trying to ask a healthy man to stand up straight. They can stand alright, thats not the problem. The problem  or, rather  what you want is for them to stand completely straight, and still. This is difficult to do, and most often than not, the person trying to teach students to do this cannot himself stand up completely straight. This is the biggest challenge.



Obioma: As I said, I always think of more books than one, so the idea of An Orchestra of Minorities was already in my mind before The Fishermen was published. I hope Im not being too modest when I said I didnt really give a damn about how The Fishermen would do. The anxiety of the second book: I hear a lot of people say that the success of the first book can, in many ways, inhibit your writing the second book because, in many ways, you now have a precursor, so you want to top that in terms of reception. I didnt have that much pressure.

Ajibade: Elif Shafak, the Turkish writer, in her brilliant, luminous and piercingly honest TED talk, The Revolutionary Power of Diverse Thought, says, among other things, that tribalism shrinks our hearts, it shrinks our minds too. What are your own thoughts on the relentless attack on diversity and multiculturalism, and the bewildering wave of populism and nationalism in Europe and America today?

Obioma: I try my best not to get involved in US politics. I used to be on Facebook, and during the 2016 election, I just couldnt stand it anymore. Months towards that election, The New York Times wanted me to do an essay on Donald Trump. I did not. In primary school, we studied the qualities of a leader in our Civics class. I think that President Donald Trump doesnt have the qualities, sadly. There was something that someone said that I will not forget in an article: he said the greatest flaw of the current president is that hes opening himself up to the public and he has no emotional ability to withstand what that means; that Obama was gracious even to his critics. And that spoke to me because, as you said, I was very young when The Fishermen came out. I didnt know anyone, I was a recluse. I wasnt in the community of Nigerian writers. Following the success of the book, a lot of people came at me with one thing or the other. I hate to read praise about my work; For example, the stuff about The New York Times review, I didnt read it for a long time. To the people who were writing nasty stuff about me, sometimes I would fire back until I realised one day that I should stop responding. That I dont have to be on Twitter to respond to what they were saying. But, sadly, President Trump doesnt know how to do that. If a two-year-old calls him an idiot, he would reply and they would start sparring. I think its an embarrassment.

Ajibade: You once said that you would be much happier in the 17th or 18th century Igboland than the Igboland of 21st century. What kind of frustration, what kind of anxiety, what kind of nostalgia, made you say that? In other words, what problems do you have with modernity?

Obioma: Let me begin with the last phrase. I think quite a lot of people confuse material modernity with modernity itself. When the Europeans came to Igboland andYorubaland  our first contact was in the 15th century with the Portuguese, then the British came in the 17th century  they saw everything that we were doing and they dismissed it as backward, uncivilised. The irony at the time was that most places in Igboland had an egalitarian system that was extremely democratic. The idea of the chi as the narrator of An Orchestra of Minorities comes from that. The Igbo were very egalitarian. But the British, at the time, had a monarchical system where one person, because of some consanguinity, an accident of birth, became a leader. Sometimes from five years old, you are the king and starts behaving anyhow. Which is more superior or meaningful? But they came here and said we were so backward, we were inferior.

Material modernity is different. Look at some places in the world  Saudi Arabia, for instance. Those Arabs have not changed their culture one bit, but they use aeroplanes. Nothing has been made that has invented something new. Everything that has been invented has only occasioned processes that were already there. For instance, people were travelling before aeroplane; it only made travel faster. People were communicating before phone, its just easier now. So, I dont really believe in the so-called modernity that has been imposed on us from foreign ways. Thats not to say that our culture was perfect; there was the killing of twins and a few other things. Thats why I said I would prefer to be an Igbo man, unadulterated in the 17th century than now.

Ajibade: You teach creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. What are the challenges of teaching creative writing?

Obioma: Teaching creative writing is often like trying to ask a healthy man to stand up straight. They can stand alright, thats not the problem. The problem  or, rather  what you want is for them to stand completely straight, and still. This is difficult to do, and most often than not, the person trying to teach students to do this cannot himself stand up completely straight. This is the biggest challenge. I know I have spoken in parables here. What Im really saying is that you teach the technical stuff, you teach a sense of how fiction works, the cosmetics effectively, but it is difficult to create that part in a students consciousness from whence the deepest and most profound fictional ideas come if they dont already have it.

The other challenge is that writing is a big gamble, and youre teaching people to go into this world of gamble and try to win their way through it. It is not an easy thing to do and there are times when you want to ask them to hide their pens and put on a lab coat, but you cant do such things. Youre their teacher!

Picture credit: Ayodele Efunla/TheNews.Pope Francis heads to Morocco on Saturday for his second visit in less than two months to a mostly Muslim country amid warming ties with the Islamic world.

The pontiff became the first pope to set foot on the Arabian Peninsula in February when he visited the United Arab Emirates, and signed a document aimed at boosting links between Muslims and Catholics.

After his arrival in the Moroccan capital Rabat, Francis will visit an institute for training Muslim preachers as part of the North African countrys efforts to promote moderate Islam.

Later Saturday, the pontiff is set to meet migrants at a Rabat-based centre run by a Catholic charity.

In recent years, Morocco has emerged as a gateway for thousands of Africans seeking to reach Europe via neighbouring Spain.

On Sunday, Francis is to meet with local priests and lead a Mass at a Rabat stadium. The Vatican estimates that there are around 23,000 Catholics in Muslim-majority Morocco.

I come as a pilgrim of peace and fraternity, in a world that greatly needs it, Francis said in a video message addressing Moroccans ahead of the two-day visit.

This journey also offers me the invaluable occasion to visit the Christian community in Morocco and to encourage its progress, he added.

Francis described migrants as representing an appeal to build together a more just and fraternal world.

Some local clerics have voiced concerns about the situation of an estimated 100,000 migrants in Morocco.

My biggest worries are concerning the rights of migrants, Santiago Martinez, the archbishop of Tanger in northern Morocco, said at a news conference earlier this month.

Sometimes we lose hope and I hope that the papal visit will bring some development, he added.

The papal trip will be the first by a pontiff to Morocco since then Pope John Pauls visit in 1985.

Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has espoused religious tolerance, and called for more dialogue between Muslims and Catholics. (dpa/NAN)Community Health Workers in many African countries are increasingly complaining about their welfare.

Their major concern is that they are being sidelined and undermined, and worst still, underpaid, reports GroundUp, a South African based news medium.

We do the same work as nurses and even more, yet we are labelled as uneducated, it is painful, says community care worker Leamah Sixholo.

She was speaking to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) representatives during a dialogue in Braamfontein late last year, according to the report.

Our concerns are never heard. We are underpaid, she said.

Ms Sixholo said care workers were often forced to use their own money to buy uniforms and equipment. Care workers treated patients without gloves and masks which made them vulnerable to diseases such as Tuberculosis, she added.

Unfortunately, such experience as narrated by Ms Sixholo has become a common norm in many African countries.

The Role Of Health Workers

Community health workers, for most people living in rural Africa, serve as the link between structured health facilities and communities.

For more than four decades, community health workers (CHWs) have been globally recognised by the World Health Organisation as a vital element of primary health care coverage, and consequently, a significant component to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Essentially, they provide life-saving integrated community case management diagnosis and treatment for pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and other diseases, which can be deadly for children under the age of 5.

They contribute to epidemic preparedness and response; deliver vaccinations that have brought the world much closer to being polio-free, among other vaccine-preventable diseases, according to WHO.

But still, these roles remain predominantly voluntary, with limited training options or financial spur needed to encourage delivery of quality health services.

I want to ask the honourable minister and all policymakers, in most African countries, community health workers are not paid, so how can you make them accountable  what are you doing to educate them? Senait Fiseha Alemu, a community health worker asked during a panel discussion recently at the Africa Health Agenda International Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

Diane Gashumba, Rwandas health minister, opened the first plenary session on access to care, in conversation with Mrs Alemu, a Health Extension Worker from Ethiopia, on the second day of the three-day biennial event held at the Kigali Convention Centre.

The discussions focused on a range of interventions that would help motivate the community health workers, including performance-based remuneration, education, professional development opportunities as well as placing emphasis on the importance of community recognition.

Mrs Alemu expounded challenges she faces while serving 9,000 families in her district, noting that she walks one to two hours by foot some days to visit patients.

The Nigerian side of the story

Two years ago, the Nigerian government said it had concluded plans to engage 200,000 voluntary health workers to improve delivery of immunisation, antenatal care and other health services in rural areas. The announcement followed the flag-off of a scheme to revitalise about 10,000 healthcare centres across Nigeria.

Ten months down the line, PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed how Grace Diache, a trained nurse struggled to deliver services in a deplorable condition.

The 49-year-old mother of three was the only qualified health worker at the only health centre in Edikwu-Icho, a swampy community of about 2,500 people in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State.

Dominated by Tiv speaking people, the agrarian community is cut off whenever it rains, as five-foot deep flood water covers the only road that links it with the outside world.

Assisting Mrs Diashe at the centre, then, were three community extension workers. They all worked day and night with no shifts.

According to the nurse, the centre attends to about 15 patients from the community and its environs daily. In a month, she said, she takes about 25 deliveries.

Unfortunately, Mrs Diache could not be reached on phone to confirm the present situation of things there.

But while the government shuffles plans to provide adequate personnel and train health extension workers, the inability of PHCs to meet up with their design continues to force women in Nigeria to patronise untrained traditional birth attendants, despite the grave risks involved.

According to a survey conducted by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in Nigeria, one in 13 women dies during pregnancy or childbirth.

Keying into WHOs Guideline, the way forward?

During AHAIC 2019, held between March 5 and 7 in Kigali, WHO launched a new guideline on health policy and system support to optimise community health worker programmes in alignment with the organisations Workforce 2030 global strategy on human resources for health.

The guideline lists 15 policy and effective workforce strategy recommendations ranging from CHW selection, training, management, and integration, to implementation and evaluation considerations at policy and local levels.

Regarding pay, the guideline makes a strong recommendation for a financial package based on the number of hours worked and job demands and suggests that countries move away from performance-based incentives.

The guideline also made a similar strong recommendation to provide paid CHWs with a written agreement specifying roles and responsibilities, working conditions, pay and workers rights.

The report suggests a general services training with an emphasis on practical experience, using e-learning where relevant.

In terms of financing, we know that the health system is built from the top, not the bottom, Githinji Gitahi, the CEO of Amref Health Africa stated.

In Nigeria for instance, the responsibility of PHCs rests largely on the local governments while the federal and states cater respectively for secondary and tertiary hospitals.

This means the bulk of the money remains at the top. Mr Gitahi said because of this, community health systems, which are a component of primary health care, suffer from a lower availability of resources.

While the guideline is not meant to instruct governments on what to do, Mr Gitahi said, it is meant to give recommendations.

Achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 now will be rooted in the support of strong primary health care systems that will not only promote health and prevent disease but strengthen the capacity and welfare of CHWs, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video message on the opening day of the event.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Health of Rwanda and the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref Health Africa), the AHAIC 2019 encapsulated the greatest health challenges facing Africa under the theme 2030 Now: Multi-sectoral Action to Achieve UHC in Africa.The police in Lagos have arrested a cleric for raping teenage boys.

Chizemdere Ezuma, a reverend, was arrested in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State

Bala Elkanah, the Lagos police spokesperson, said in a statement Friday that the suspect, who is also the founder of Jesus Intervention Household Ministry, forcefully penetrated the boys through the anus.

According to the statement, a case of defilement of a minor was reported to the Ejigbo Police Station by a citizen and investigations revealed Mr Ezuma as the perpetrator of the crime.

Mr Ezuma of the Jesus Intervention Household Ministry was said to be part of a syndicate raping teenagers in the community and has been at large for about three months but often sneaks into his residence through the back door.

However, on March 21, the police said it received credible information that the reverend father snuck into his residence, making the police to lay a siege of his residence.

Having discovered that police have cordoned his house, the reverend hid himself in the ceiling for two hours. He was however arrested, the police said.

Investigation has it that Reverend Prince Ezuma brought in about 15 boys into his apartment where he forcefully penetrated them all through the anus.

Some members of the neighbourhood revealed that the reverend usually washes six bedsheets daily whenever he brings in little children, suspected to be his sex partners.

Upon interrogation, the police said Mr Ezuma revealed that he is HIV positive and has been receiving treatment for over three years.

Despite his health status, the reverend kept on raping teenagers with some of them infected with HIV, the police said.

One of the victims of the reverends defilement, a 16-year old, Ikem Anthony Shedrack, was infected around October 2018, Mr Elkanah said.

Police said its investigations showed that Mr Ezuma gives the teenagers N2,000 each time he rapes them and that he would be charged to court soon.

Another Arrest

On Friday, the Lagos police also said they arrested one Ajayi Akintunde, a 29-year-old teacher at Fazir I Omar Senior High School, Iwaya, Yaba, for allegedly having oral sex with a female SS2 Student for marks.

The police said they are still investigating the matter.God bless Nigeria.

The short sentence appears a seemingly harmless one, one which many Nigerians say in a deeply religious country.

However, on Friday, the statement led to a tug of war between top lawyers involved in one of Nigerias most controversial court cases.

Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the counsel to Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, made the statement in court in reaction to Fridays ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

Mr Awomolo prayed for God to bless Nigeria in reaction to the judgement and attitude displayed by the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar.

In a charged atmosphere, the prosecution counsel, Aliyu Umar, would however, have none of it. He questioned Mr Awomolos intention for making such statement and later suggested there was a religious connotation to the prosecutions stance.

How It Started

Friday had been fixed by the tribunal for the defence team to raise their no case submission that Mr Onnoghen had no case to answer in the charges filed by the federal government.

Mr Onnoghens team of lawyers had asked the tribunal to approve their application, which was intended to ensure that the case against the chief justice ended without having him defend himself.

Led by Mr Awomolo, the lawyers presented a well-marshalled argument to support their submissions that the evidence brought forward by the prosecution were very defective.

They argued that the case against their client was such that no reasonable tribunal would adjudicate in a manner that favours the prosecution.

Mr Awomolo argued that the charge and the evidence brought by the prosecution were presented in a manner that negated the laws under which the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was created.

Mr Onnoghens assets declaration submitted to the CCB is the basis for his prosecution with the government arguing he failed to make some declarations.

Mr Awomolo argued that count one of the charge which bordered on the failure of Mr Onnoghen to submit an asset declaration form between 2005 and 2015, was brought without any document from the CCB to prove its point.

Mr Awomolo also submitted that the CCB acted against its own rules when it presented a set of bank documents addressed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, during its nearly 24-hour investigation of Mr Onnoghens case.

These among other arguments formed the basis of Mr Awomolos submissions to support his claim that the CCBs charge was not valid and the same could not be acted upon by the tribunal.

Mr Awomolo described the documents addressed to the EFCC as a set strange piece, that had no relationship with the instant case.

After concluding his argument, the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, acknowledged the intellectual industry with which the defence team tabled its points.

Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the tribunal

Mr Umar was so encouraging that Mr Awomolo ended by saying that he only decided against requesting for an apology from the prosecution, for bringing the charges, because he was willing to confront the matter with the calmness of his client.

Prosecution Speaks

In response, the prosecution counsel tried to dissuade the tribunal from allowing the requests made by the defence.

The prosecution lawyer, Aliu Umar, described the defects mentioned by the defence as a problem that only affected the internal communication within the bureau.

He said the issues bothering on internal communication within the bureau cannot form part of reasons why the defence should assume that their case had not been proven.

Mr Umar insisted that the charge against Mr Onnoghen bothered on two major issues: the assertion that he failed to submit his declaration form, till December 2016 and that he left out some issues in the form; an allegation described by the prosecution as amounting to a false declaration of asset.

The Verdict

After both parties had laid down their arguments, the tribunal chairman, Mr Umar, promised to return at 1:30 p.m. to give a verdict on the no-case argument of the prosecution.

Mr Umar returned at exactly 1:30 p.m.

In his ruling, he described the issues earlier called internal communication by the prosecution, as Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) of the CCB.

According to Mr Umar, the SOP was very contradictory and had not been respected by the current CCB leadership because they were designed to satisfy the selfish motives of the former CCB leaders under its immediate past Chairman, Sam Saba.

The present board chaired by Isa Mohammed has not adopted the standard operational procedures (SOP). In essence, the standard procedure of the Bureau is not used currently at the Bureau because it was authored by the former administration at their own interest.

The constitutional provisions are superior to the SOP which is internal. The Bureau is not bound by it, Mr Umar said.

Consequently, Mr Umar agreed with the submissions of the prosecution that the SOP which were internal in nature, could not override the provisions of the constitution.

He ruled that the allegations against Mr Onnoghen had been proven by the defendants submissions in his statement to the bureau.

Mr Umar said the submissions by Mr Onnoghen were strong enough to warrant opening his defence.

Speaking in Arabic, Mr Umar said the only person deserving a special reverence in life was God Almighty. He added that the tribunal viewed all Nigerians as equal and would not ascribe to any man a special treatment, regardless of his position in the country.

Tensions rise

After delivering the verdict, Mr Awomolo requested for copies of the ruling and some time to study same.

Mr Umar responded saying he would direct the registry to provide the copies but added that the case was going to be adjourned till Monday.

Mr Awomolo then repeated his request for time to study the ruling and advise Mr Onnoghen on the next step.

He said the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act allowed them to request for an adjournment, not exceeding 14 days.

But Mr Umar would not adjust the date for the next hearing. His reason was that the matter had been heard on a day-to-day basis, as required by ACJA, since the start of the case.

Subsequently, Mr Awomolo whose mood had slowly began to change attempted to persuade the tribunal and pleaded with the bench not to oppress them.

Give us, Give us, Give us, Mr Awomolo said emphasising his legitimate request for time.

In a reaction, Mr Umar, who himself is enmeshed in a corruption scandal, denied the allegation that the tribunals bench was seeking to oppress the defence.

Without making further comments on the next date of hearing or closing the session formally, the tribunal chairman left the conference room of the tribunal, almost unnoticed.

God help Nigeria

Mr Awomolo, who was speaking while Mr Umar left, thanked the tribunal chairman and added a prayer for God to bless Nigeria.

Lawyers from the defence and prosecution already present at the tribunal. Members of the defence team include, Kanu Agabi, Adegboga Awomolo, Wale Olanikpekun, CHris Uche among other senior lawyers.

He was still speaking when suddenly miffed by the words of the defence, the prosecutor, Aliu Umar, snapped at the defence team.

The tone of language soon became confrontational, with both parties talking back at each other for almost 30 seconds.

While addressing journalists, the defence team described the ruling as an outright demonstration of injustice and accused the tribunal of importing arguments that were not raised by the prosecution.

He brought his personal opinion into a judgement, said Mr Awomolo who added that Nigeria was on sure path to destruction if any court should hold that Fridays judgment of the CCT was legitimate.

When the prosecutor began addressing journalists, he made a comment which suggested his reasons for the outburst a short while earlier.

Why should you (Mr Awomolo) be saying that God help Nigeria. Of course God has always helped Nigeria. What is the meaning of that? Mr Umar queried.

Mr Umar insisted that the tribunal was just in its approach to the issues. He reiterated a point earlier made by the tribunal chair that only God should be regarded as higher than any man.

As they approached the car park, another round of argument ensued.

Although it was not clear what the reason for the fresh argument was, the confrontation took a religious connotation. Mr Umar was insisting that he was a proud northerner and Muslim.

I am from the north and I am proud of it. I am a Muslim and I am proud of it, Mr Umar said.

There have been allegations that Mr Onnoghen is being so treated by the federal government because he is a Southern Christian. The person favoured by the presidency to take over as chief justice from Mr Onnoghen, Tanko Muhammad, is a Northern Muslim like Mr Buhari.

President Buhari has been repeatedly accused by some Southern and Christian leaders of being unfair in his appointments, an allegation the presidency has always denied.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Whether that allegation by some Nigerians influenced the prosecutors remark on Friday was not clear.

Reacting to the prosecutors remark, however, a lawyer who was obviously among the defence, tried to explain to Mr Umar that they were not referring to him and that nothing was said to warrant such an outburst.

Still angry about the argument, Mr Umar continued talking in anger, returned to his car and drove off.Ghanaian authorities scrambled Friday to forestall a further escalation of a deportation row that has gripped both their country and Nigeria in recent weeks.

Kwame Takyi, comptroller-general of Ghana Immigration Service, came calling at his Nigerian counterpart Mohammed Babandedes office in Abuja on Friday afternoon, during which both countries discussed issues surrounding deportation of one anothers citizens.

The visit comes a week after Nigeria deported four Ghanaians to Accra. The News Agency of Nigeria reported that no formal explanation was publicly rendered for the deportation, which was approved by Abdulrahman Dambazau, the interior minister.

A month earlier, Nigeria had protested mass deportation of at least 723 of its citizens between 2018 and February 2019. The Nigerians were accused of illegal stay, cybercrime, prostitution and other social vices.

Eighty-one Nigerians were deported on alleged cybercrime and illegal stay in January, while 115 have so far been deported in February on the allegation of overstay and prostitution, NAN reported, adding that Nigerian ambassador to Ghana, Michael Abikoye, strongly protested the action to the Ghanaian government in Accra.

Nigerias objection to the removal of its citizens from Ghana and failure to publicly state the offences of the four deported Ghanaians had fueled speculation that the March 22 decision might have been done in retaliation.

A warning sounded

Details of the meeting between the Ghanaian immigration chief and his Nigerian host were not immediately made public Friday, but multiple immigration officials in Abuja said it was an interaction that elevated Nigerias standing on the global stage.

Mr Takyi said his visit to Nigeria was to reiterate his countrys special relationship with Nigeria, and quell the raging tension around deportations, an immigration source told PREMIUM TIMES.

A source said Nigeria made it clear that the manner with which its citizens were being treated by Ghana was unacceptable, especially when both countries were widely assumed to be harbouring special diplomatic relations.

The official, who pleaded anonymity because he was not an authorised personnel to publicly discuss the meeting, said Nigeria took the high ground in its handling of Ghanaians, especially on an issue that Ghana had long been found wanting.

Whenever they deported Nigerians, they usually do so by road, and then dump them at Seme Border, they have done this many times in recent years, the senior immigration official said. But when we deported their citizens, we buy tickets for them and put them on the plane back to their country.

The official said many Nigerians often suffered serious torture and injuries in the course of being transported by road from Ghana to Seme Border, an act considered inhuman and a violation of extant international conventions on rights.

Mr Takyi urged a return to the era of seamless relations between Nigeria and Ghana, noting that both countries can achieve a lot through brotherly cooperation.

Mr Babandede acknowledged the mutual benefits inherent in such relationship but ultimately made it clear that specific demands that Nigeria should cease further deportation of Ghanaians would have to be escalated to higher authorities within the Nigerian government for consideration.

Sunday James, a spokesperson for the Nigerian Immigration Service, did not immediately return multiple telephone calls and text messages seeking comments about the meeting between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Legitimate bickering

Both Nigeria and Ghana have enjoyed special relationship for decades, but are no strangers to deportation crisis. In the early 1980s, thousands of Ghanaians were forcibly removed from the country by the Shehu Shagari administration, triggering in a chaotic exodus that fueled tensions in the sub-region for years.

Nigeria accused Ghanaians of taking increasingly unavailable jobs and accused many of constituting a nuisance in Lagos and other parts of the country.

Both countries have, however, come a long way since the 1980s fallout, and the latest crisis appeared legitimate on both sides, according to foreign affairs expert Williams Fawole.

Both countries appear to have serious reasons to deport persons not complying with existing laws in their respective jurisdictions, Mr Fawole, a professor of international relations at Obafemi Awolowo University, told PREMIUM TIMES Friday night.

Mr Fawole said it was not uncommon for Nigerians to overstay their citizenship in Ghana, or for Ghanaians to stay beyond a permitted period, even though the ECOWAS Treaty has clear provisions on migration in member countries.

ECOWAS only permits you to stay 90 days without regularising your stay within member countries, Mr Fawole said. But if you do not do that within that period, then you are liable to be deported.

Mr Fawole said Ghanas explanation for deporting Nigerians was tenable, saying citizens must be encouraged to respect existing laws in any country they live.

It is not a matter to split our hairs about, Mr Fawole said.

He said Mr Takyi might have visited Nigeria to further explain why such a high number of Nigerians were deported, but not necessarily to plead for Ghanaians who might not be living in Nigeria legally or those found to have contravened the laws of their host country.

It is okay to remove any misgivings that might exist, Mr Fawole said. However, I do not see this escalating into a serious diplomatic crisis between the two countries.Newly elected APC lawmakers must tow the party line or be whipped out of the party, Bola Tinubu has said

Mr Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, said that party discipline would be upheld in addressing the leadership tussle of the 9th National Assembly.

Mr Tinubu said this while speaking with journalists in Lagos on Friday after a prayer programme organised by Islamic and Christian clerics to mark his 67th birthday.

Party discipline is key, we must be discipline in the party. We were a little careless in 2015. We created the opportunity for serpent to get into our party and that did not allow Nigeria to make the desired progress.

You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip.

It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave. You have the freedom to choose but the freedom does not give you as a minority to go and collaborate and protrude our mandate given to you to another party who was our opposition and who is still our opposition.

We would not take that this time, no matter who you think you are. That is how it is built. Why do you want to deviate from what has been structured?

We look at our reward system equally, zone by zone, he said.

The APC leadership recently declared support for Yobe senator, Ahmed Lawan to become the next Senate President. Lagos lawmaker and Mr Tinubus protege, Femi Gbajabiamila, was also endorsed to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The move was condemned by other APC lawmakers including Borno senator, Ali Ndume, who seeks to be the Senate president. Mr Ndume has vowed to continue with his ambition, saying he enjoys the support of many of the elected APC senators.

A Gombe senator, Danjuma Goje, is also in the race to be Senate President.

The APC enjoys a clear majority in the incoming Senate, winning over 60 of the 109 Senate seats.

The party is expected to produce the Senate president, but as it happened in 2015, a different candidate other than that endorsed by the party leadership may emerge the winner of the topmost legislative position.

While both Messrs Lawan and Gbajabiamila were endorsed for the positions in 2015, Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara emerged the Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively.

The two winners later defected from the APC to the PDP.

Tinubu speaks on his past

Also at the event on Friday, Mr Tinubu said that his life as a politician at 67 had been a fulfilling journey.

When I joined politics, there were a lot of uncertainties because it was during the military regime. There were lots of struggles but my concern is about people and the future of my country.

My mother stood by me when I told her then that I was joining politics. She told me to be ready to take all sorts of insults whenever they cross my way. May her soul rest in peace, he said.

The struggle was tough. It created a justice on June 12 election of MKO and some people deserted the camp, the struggle, the spirit.

We have stayed with this struggle. We know democracy is not easy but it is the only system of government that we chose.

Ever since, it has been a very fulfilling journey. There is always the twist and turns in politics.

Today, we endure, we persevere, we think, adjust, collaborate, merged and became single party just like yesterday, he said.

Mr Tinubu said that the APC was in government for the common man.

You will think that APC had been on for twenty years but is not up to six years. We went through compromises because we know that if we form a good alliance of progressive thinkers and believers in the ideology of common man, we will be able to serve the people.

It is not by criticism alone. You have to have the opportunity to even change the life of the people and quality of their standard of living.

So, we stood by it, we persevered persistently, uttered our voice, offered our recommendations, and then we are here. And today I am extremely happy that we are in government for the common man.

The only way to change Nigeria from penury is to fashion out our own organic economic strategy and plan that will continue to cater for all, he said.As the tenure of the eighth National Assembly comes to an end soon, Nigerians are mounting a last-minute pressure on the federal lawmakers to bring an end to budget secrecy in the parliament.

Nigerias National Assembly traditionally hides its budget from the public, despite a relentless nationwide campaign against such practice.

The campaign, tagged #OpenNass, began in 2015.

The current assembly published a breakdown of its budget only once, in 2017, after much pressure from the public through the #OpenNASS campaign.

Nigerians, once again, have taken to the social media to revive the campaign, with the hope that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, can still abolish the budget secrecy.

Mr Saraki failed in his bid to return to the Senate in the just concluded 2019 election, while Mr Dogara (PDP/ Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency, Bauchi State) has been re-elected as a member of the House of Representatives for a fourth term.

The #OpenNASS campaign is spearheaded by BudgIT and other civil society organisations in the country.

Skyrocketing Budget

BudgIT said in March on Twitter that between 2003 and 2018, NASS budget skyrocketed from N23.3 billion to N139.5 billion, with zero accountability.

It added, Overall, @nassnigeria has less than 10,000 staff but its yearly allocation is higher than annual budgets of 21 states with more than 4 million people combined.

In 2015 Appropriation Act, a whopping N150 billion was allocated to the National Assembly which consists of 469 members (109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives), excluding legislative aides and other workers.

The N150 billion allocated to the National Assembly at that time was enough to fund the capital votes for 20 Ministries, Departments and Parastatals (MDAs), an analysis by PREMIUM TIMES had shown.

BudgIT issued a statement, earlier in March, this year, calling on Mr Saraki and Mr Dogara to take steps to make the budget of the assembly accessible to the public.

Aside from the lawmakers being ranked as worlds top-paid legislators, at public expense, the annual budget of the National Assembly is a one-line statutory transfer which is neither reviewed by any authority nor, at very least, made accessible to the public, thus enabling unbridled corruption, BudgIT said in the statement, signed by its Communications Associate, Shakir Akorede.

At this age of digital governance plus global calls for transparency in public institutions, it is a national disrepute that the parliament has refused to eschew anti-democratic practices, as it continues to bury its yearly allocations under the hallowed chambers.

More disappointing is the fact that, despite Nigerias membership in Open Government Partnership and tons of pledges by Senate President Bukola Saraki to run an open NASS, the National Assembly immediately relapsed into its default setting after a breakdown of the budget was made public in 2017, thanks to public pressure.

Asserting that the 2017 record must be made permanent, we are making a renewed demand from the leadership of the eighth assembly to fully redeem its promise. Starting again with the 2019 budget, a line-by-line breakdown of the NASS allocation must be made public going forward.

It is worth the call that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara should leave behind a great legacy, one that history would never forget, by truly and finally opening NASS, BudgIT said.

Concerned Nigerians

A Twitter user, Franklin Odukwu (@odukwufrank), called on other Nigerians on the social media site to ask @bukolasaraki, @iamekweremadu and their representative at the Senate to open the books on @nassnigeria.

Transparency is the right of all Nigerians, Mr Odukwu said.

Another Twitter user, Adegbite Bolaji (@omoobaadebola) appealed to Mr Saraki to make the budget of the National Assembly public, for posterity sake.

A civil society organisation, EiE Nigeria (@EiENigeria) tweeted that since Mr Saraki was not returning to the Senate, he could use the opportunity to #OpenNASS.

#OpenNASS was what @bukolasaraki campaigned on going for that Senate President post and he got there & forgot power is transient and its always about what legacy one leaves behind.

I asked this question before and I ask again, what would Senate President Saraki be remembered for? said Aisha Yesufu (@AishaYesufu), the co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG).

One great deed may at times tend to erase or atone for a million wrongs. Senate President Bukola Saraki @bukolasaraki, this might be one of them. You can #OpenNASS within the next two months that remain of your tenure, said a Twitter user, Bamidele Atiba (@DeleAtiba1).

Another Twitter user, Coker Adeniran (@Deniran1), said many Nigerian politicians were comfortable retiring to the National Assembly because of lack of accountability in the parliament.

If we are going to move forward as a nation, we have to ensure accountability in NASS, and we need to strategically place truthful people there, Mr Adeniran added.

On course

Mr Akorede of BudgIT told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that the #OpenNASS campaign was making some progress, but that Nigerians need not relent on it.

Mr Akorede said Mr Saraki has given his words that the National Assembly would publish its budget once the 2019 federal budget is passed.

He said Mr Saraki has accepted to have a dialogue session with BudgIT, although no date has been fixed yet.

Our stand remains that the National Assembly before Saraki and Dogara leave, its a promise, they made a promise, and nobody knows who comes in next as Speaker and Senate president.

Before they leave, they should fulfill that promise, they should make the 2018 and 2019 budget of the National Assembly open, and we would be able to take it forward from there with whoever becomes the head of the National Assembly in the next dispensation.

We are now looking at legislation that would compel the National Assembly and, of course, other government agencies to make their annual budget open. But we want the National Assembly to lead by example.

If you are representing the people, the people should be able to know how much you are receiving and how much you are spending, and on what.

It is going to be difficult to achieve accountability if there is no transparency, Mr Akorede said.

Mr Akorede said #OpenNASS is not just about making the National Assembly budget accessible to Nigerians.

The National Assembly, he said, should use electronic voting in their legislative proceedings so that Nigerians could know how each of the federal lawmakers votes on a particular issue before them.

The campaign, he said, is also asking for the National Assembly to avail Nigerians with lawmakers attendance record in the assembly.

Nigerians, in the past, were kept in the dark on how much a senator ends as salary and allowances, until the senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, revealed in March last year that he and his colleagues were receiving N13.5 million monthly as running cost.

Mr. Sani said the running cost did not include a N700,000 monthly consolidated salary and allowances which they also receive.

Nigerians were outraged by the revelations.

The lawmaker, Mr Sani, also spoke on the controversial constituency projects for federal lawmakers.

The constituency project itself is given on a zonal basis and almost every senator will go with a constituency fund of about N200 million, but it is not the cash that is given to you.

You will be told that you have N200 million with an agency of government for which you will now submit projects equivalent to that amount. And it is that agency of government that will go and do those projects for you.

Mr Sani said the process of executing the projects was fraught with fraud.The Vice-Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State, Dapo Asaju, has expressed his disaffection over what he described as overindulgence of the students by their parents, and has warned about raising the next generation with the same corrupt and indisciplined ethos that has ruined Nigeria.

In a strongly-worded message to parents and guardians of the students of his institution, Mr Asaju, a professor, who expressed worry over the growing culture of drug use and sexual abuse among teenagers across various campuses, said the situation has degenerated due to failure of parents to take decisive action against their children, even when they are found wanting.

While confirming to PREMIUM TIMES that he authored the letter which has gone viral on social media, Mr Asaju said his action was informed by the insubordination of some parents in the affairs of the university.

He said many parents whose children and wards are facing one disciplinary action or the other want to use their influence to stop trials, and that one parent had even sued the university for suspending his 400-level son who sexually abused two female students in a classroom on the campus.

Mr Asajus letter was in reaction to protests among some parents who had complained that their children were being treated like secondary school students.

He said students are no longer punctual in schools and faculties, and that rather than being chastised by their parents, they are further indulged.

He said the aftermath of a meeting held between the university management and the parents forum on March 16 on the campus had revealed complaints of some parents that their children were no longer performing well. He, however, said efforts to right the wrongs were still being rebuffed by the same parents.

He said; My brother, I am very sad over what our universities are becoming. If faith-based institutions can be experiencing all these immoral habits, how much more of public institutions.

Our parents think their children only do well when they flout rules and regulations simply because they claim they have paid fees. It is quite unfortunate, but when parents have failed in their responsibilities, where else do we run to? I am afraid of the future of this country, if right-thinking men and women do not rise to salvage the situation. Our societal problems have been traced to the homes and until the homes are fixed, we will just be working in vain.

Mr Asaju, who also complained about the failure of the institutions proprietor, Anglican Church on Nigeria, to adequately fund the institution, said the university will not degenerate to a place where immorality thrives under his watch.

He added that the rules will be strictly adhered to and that whoever is not comfortable can withdraw their children.

The excerpt of the letter is presented below:

Dear Parents,

Greetings. It is not likely that I will post any message on your platform after this.

I must express my shock at the behavior of some parents and their messages against the VC and the University in recent times.

It is not common for VCs to exchange words with parents or students over matters of University rules, discipline and morals. Im not sure you individual parents interacted with your VCs where you studied. My simplicity and availability has been abused and that has to be withdrawn forthwith.

You sent your children to Ajayi Crowther University believing that they will get good education and sound morals. The discipline here is nowhere near that of some sister Christian Universities which are oversubscribed. The developments going on here academically, spiritually and infrastructure-wise has been much improved and works are ongoing to make things better. Students ought to have some endurance and not be spoilt with claims and rights that shouldnt be fought over.

*What happened recently?*

1. ACU would have resumed for second semester on 25th Feb. Due to the shift in date of elections, we changed resumption to 16th March (more than two weeks) yet many students resumed many days after the deadline! And you want us to tolerate that? Parents who habour students when they ought to be in school are themselves not disciplined. You cant raise next generation with the same corrupt and indisciplined ethos that has ruined Nigeria. We eventually allowed all late comers in after keeping them waiting outside gate for few hours as punishment for them to learn how to obey rules of punctuality. Parents who disobey rules and set bad examples do not expect red carpet treatment just because they paid fees for their childrens education.

2. A student committed sexual immorality and confessed in writing to have had sex with two female students in classroom and was placed on suspension pending trial yet the Parents proceeded to sue the University and post insults against the University, forgetting that we have rules and that the two girls also have parents who have been hurt, and innocent students who might be badly influenced.

3. You complain about light, water, etc. We put on generator for students between 6-8am, 10-1pm and 6-10pm daily in addition to when PHCN gives power supply. We spend N3.7m monthly on PHCN bill and buy 20,000 liters of diesel monthly to run ten generators, totaling about 8million Naira per month yet the University does not receive one kobo in subventions from the proprietor, Anglican Church. We forget that even in our homes do we always have light?

4. Do you know that the hostels, except one, do not belong to the University and that we remit the rent to the owners who do not maintain the facilities? We spend our own money to carry out repairs in hostels that do not belong to us. In this last semester we have spent about 5 million Naira to repair facilities including providing alternative water system, purchase 185 fans, sockets, toilets, nets, etc.

5. You parents decided that we should compel your children to observe daily library hours, which is one reason students are complaining. Be it known that in a three floor library in which we have invested over 30 Million Naira in recent accreditation exercise, you will hardly find five students reading there. They are all busy with their phones: browsing rubbish. They dont read except a few serious ones who end up with good grades. Many end up in third class. Some hardly attend classes for up to a week yet they turn up for exams and are disallowed. They think that once they paid fees, they are entitled to be passed. Bad homes produce bad students.

6. Recently Deans reported that less than 10 students were found in their respective faculties during a period when more than 1,600 students should be in class. Your children are mostly unserious. They want to play around with opposite sex unchecked, they want to go to town to smoke hemp or prostitute. But we gated them and as a result the University is now well rebranded.

6. We decided to lock hostels during lecture periods in order to force them to go to class or library. But you parents protested asking for freedom that will eventually destroy the moral and academic lives of these children. You same parents who have your children elsewhere obey the more stringent rules at Covenant and Babcock Universities, etc and you want Anglican Churchs University to tolerate trash!

Based on your protest we have after one days trial, reopened the hostels at all hours and released your children to choose whether to study or sleep in hostel when they should be in classes. They now have freedom to choose whether to fail or pass. We shall henceforth not treat them, in your words, like Secondary school students. Some of you will bear the consequences of your indiscretion. But we will not allow anyone teach us how to run our system.

7. Parents who find it difficult to abide by our rules and regulations are kindly advised to withdraw their children. We are not desperate to keep any student here. We will sanction hemp and drug users, those who bully others and want to behave like cultists and sexual perverts. Those who cant train their children well will not be allowed to corrupt other children here.

8. May I advise that no parent should call me on phone on any matter concerning students henceforth. The Dean of students will attend to the public on complaints.

I wish you all the best and may you and your children do that which is right in the sight of God and for the future good of the coming generations. Amen.

Rt. Rev. Prof. Dapo Asaju,

Vice-Chancellor,

Ajayi Crowther UniversityThe Consumer Protection Council has begun an awareness campaign on the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) across major cities in Nigeria where cigarettes and shisha are openly sold.

On Thursday, the agencys officials  accompanied by police officers  visited the popular old Ojota motor park in Lagos and nearby garages, as well as the Classique and Vibe lounges in Oregun, were Shisha is sold to patrons, to enforce the law.

Babatunde Irukera, the CPC director general, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that given that the council is mandated by law to enforce all enactments aimed at protecting consumers, like the NTCA, and mindful that tobacco products pose grave health risks to consumers, the agency resolved to enforce all the enforceable provisions of the Act.

However, we also considered it necessary to sensitise tobacco dealers and the public to the provisions of the law before we commence full enforcement, he added.

Earlier, the agency had conducted the same exercise in Port Harcourt accompanied by officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), visiting the Waterline motor park where they met traders and retailers at Bob Izua motor park, the Rivers State Transport Company, and Elechi neighbourhood. The team also visited the streets leading to the Sani Abacha Way in GRA Phase 2.

Lounges visited for the enforcement of shisha ban include Ace Lounge, Kelly Sport Bar, Casablanca Bar, and Cubana Lounge among others.

In as much as ignorance of the law is not an excuse, we always sensitise and encourage businesses to voluntarily obey extant legislation, rules and regulations. Often, it is when that fails that we resort to full enforcement of the law, Mr Irukera, a lawyer, said.

Last month, the CPC had embarked on a similar exercise in the federal capital territory.

The National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015 regulates and controls the production, manufacture, sale, advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products in the country.

In 2017, the Nigerian government introduced nine regulations in the NTCA that would be implemented.

The regulations included the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products to and by anyone below 18 years; ban of sale of cigarettes in single sticks, cigarettes must be sold in packs of 20 sticks only; smokeless tobacco shall be sold in a minimum of a pack of 30 grammes; ban of sale or offer for sale or distribution of tobacco or tobacco products through mail, internet, or other online devices.

The rest were the prohibition of interference of the tobacco industry in public health and related issues; prohibition of smoking in public places; prosecution of the manager of a public place who permits smoking; prohibition of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and tobacco products compliance with the specified standard for content as set out by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria.

The CPC awareness campaign also involved impending enforcement of the ban on the smoking of shisha, which, incidentally, is not captured in the NTCA.

But Mr Irukera said the Nigeria Industrial Standard for Tobacco and Tobacco Products prohibits the use of flavouring substances, with the potential to initiate or appeal to children, in the manufacture of tobacco products like cigarettes, shisha and a host of others.

Preliminary examination has shown that shisha is mostly flavoured, hence violates the provisions of the said standard, he said.

That explains our impending enforcement activity with respect to shisha. Again, like the case of other tobacco products, we are using the ongoing exercise to draw attention to the fact that flavoured shisha violates extant regulations, and we will soon commence full enforcement against same.

Oluseun Esan, the programme coordinator for the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Friday commended the action of the CPC.

We thank the agencies especially the CPC who took the lead for standing with the Nigerian people, Mr Esan said.

We ask that they should not rest on their oars and that all enforcement agencies take it upon themselves to regularly enforce the provisions in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. We will continue to look out for it.

Nigerias tobacco control bill was passed into law in 2015 but enforcement has remained a challenge because several sections of the bill required the approval of the regulations by the National Assembly.

Mr Esan said the National Assemblys Committee on Delegated Legislation has begun calling on stakeholders to attend an Interactive Session on the regulation.

We call on the Committee on Delegated Legislation in the National Assembly to consider the health, safety, and future of the Nigerian people; to stand on the part of the masses against the tobacco industry who makes profits at the expense of the health and live of the Nigerian people, he said.

We call on them to approve the Regulations as it is, without watering down the provisions. Nigeria is one of the least regulated countries in Africa when it has to do with tobacco. The TI (tobacco industry) makes a lot of profit at the expense of the lives of the citizens and regrettably, they pay insignificant taxes which is also one of the lowest in Africa.

The CPC said its awareness campaign is a continuous exercise and that, afterwards, a full enforcement of the NTCA across the country would begin.

Nobody has been arrested in the course of the ongoing exercise, said Mr Irukera.

But when we commence full enforcement in the near future, violators will be arrested, where necessary, and non-conforming products will be removed from the market, in line with the provisions of the Councils enabling law.The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and its Ghanaian counterpart have begun reconciliatory talks over the recent deportation of four Ghanaian nationals by Nigerian authority.

The NIS Public Relations Officer, Sunday James, made this known in a press statement in Abuja on Saturday.

He said the Comptroller-General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, had played host to the visiting Comptroller-General of Ghana Immigration Service, Kwame Takyi, accompanied by the Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, Rashid Bawa.

The meeting, which held behind closed doors, appeared to be a conciliatory meeting following the deportation of four Ghanaian nationals from Nigeria to Ghana.

Mr Babandede, when contacted, confirmed the meeting saying details of a further meeting was being worked out by the Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and Ghana.

There is no cause for alarm as both countries will resolve issues between both countries diplomatically, he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, had authorised the deportation order of the four Ghanaian nationals over alleged violation of provisions of the Immigration Act and Regulations.

This is in line with the powers vested on the Minister of Interior in Section 45(1) and (2) of the Immigration Act 2015, Mr James said.

The visit comes a week after Nigeria deported four Ghanaians to Accra.

NAN reports that no formal explanation was publicly rendered for the deportation, which was approved by Mr Dambazau.

A month earlier, Nigeria had protested mass deportation of at least 723 of its citizens between 2018 and February 2019. The Nigerians were accused of illegal stay, cyber-crime, prostitution and other social vices.

81 Nigerians were deported on alleged cyber-crime and illegal stay in January, while 115 have so far been deported in February on the allegation of overstay and prostitution.

NAN reports that Nigerian ambassador to Ghana, Michael Abikoye, strongly protested the action to the Ghanaian government in Accra.

Nigerias objection to the removal of its citizens from Ghana and failure to publicly state the offences of the four deported Ghanaians had fueled speculation that the March 22 decision might have been done in retaliation. (NAN)The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal office, on Friday, arraigned Floriana De Stefani, an Italian, and Stella Ndubusi Ogboru before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on a five-count charge bordering on forgery and stealing of a property belonging to a company, Waterside Properties Limited.

This was stated in a statement signed by the EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade.

One of the counts reads: That you, Mrs. Floriana De Stefani and Stella Ndubusi Ogboru, sometime in the year 2015 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, with dishonest intention, forged document titled, Deed Of Assignment Dated 1983 Prepared By Rosamond O. Bakare, purported to have been entered between Mr. E.A. Abayomi Lowo on behalf of Waterside Properties Limited, on the first part and the late Luca Signorelli and Mrs. Floriana De Stefani, on the second part.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.

In view of their pleas, prosecuting counsel, Ahmed Yerima, asked for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in prison.

Defence counsel, O. Adebola, however, moved the bail application of the defendants and prayed the court to admit his clients to bail.

Mr Yerima confirmed to the court that the application was served on the prosecution on Thursday.

Consequently, Justice Dada granted the defendants bail in the sum of N250,000 with one surety each in like sum, who must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court and must show evidence of tax payment in the last three years, which must be verified by the court.

They were also ordered to submit their international passports to the EFCC, failure of which they should be remanded in prison. The defendants were also ordered to be released to their counsel pending the determination of the case.

The case has been adjourned to May 6, for the commencement of trial.Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja, on Saturday awarded certificates to 141 graduating students for its 2017/18 academic session.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the university at its 7th Convocation ceremony held in Abuja, said a total of 109 students in various courses graduated with a first fegree.

Also, 32 students graduated from both the postgraduate diploma and Masters degree programmes for 2017/2018 session.

Ten out of the 109 undergraduates made first class while 48 made Second Class Upper among others.

In his address, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, said that the school had over the last 10 years offered courses in five key colleges, namely, Arts, Education, Management Sciences, Natural Sciences and the Post Graduate college.

According to him, there were over 30 undergraduate and 15 Post Graduate programmes currently in the university, which have passed the National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation and resource verification in 2019.

He noted that the school was working tirelessly to establish a College of Law in its next academic session and a College of Medicine in its subsequent academic session.

He said: We are working with the Association of Catholic Lawyers and Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners to realise these dreams.

Our overall goal in all courses in the university is to combine both theoretical and professional approaches in all disciplines of the university.

For example, we are working with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria to accredit our Accounts Department so that the graduates can become Chartered Accountants immediately they graduate.

In this way, we are preparing our students not just to pass but also for the future as professionals in their fields of study.

Mr Ichoku also said that the school was working with international organisations to establish Veritas Radio and Television stations in the Department of Mass Communication.

He further explained that the project, which is expected to cost N35 million, would give the opportunity for Mass Communication students in the school to learn communication hands-on.

While congratulating the graduating students for their achievements, he urged them to apply all they learnt in the schools to their everyday life.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Governing Council of the institution, Godfrey Onah, said that the focus of the present Governing Council of the school was to consolidate on the successes of previous councils by stabilising the University.

He said that the main goal of the council was also to move the school properly into its second phase of development.

The focus is to vigorously pursue the commencement of professional programmes in Law, Medicine, Pharmacy and Engineering.

Conscious of the peculiar character of the university as a Catholic school, we are equally working towards the establishment of an Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology.

We believe that the school needs to expand its physical facilities to accommodate the establishment of these programmes which are yearnings of many, he said.

Onah urged the graduating students to go into the labour market, as ambassadors of the school and make positive and meaningful impact.

NAN reports that the students graduated from the colleges of Education, Humanities, Management sciences, Natural Applied sciences and social sciences in both undergraduate and Post Graduate fields.

(NAN)Over a months after the presidential election was concluded, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the candidacy of one of the candidates, former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke.

The court ruled that Mr Duke was the authentic candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the February 23 election.

The court affirmed the ruling earlier granted by the Court of appeal, Abuja division, which nullified a ruling against Mr Dukes candidacy at the Federal High Court.

Mr Duke had emerged winner of the partys primaries conducted in October, after he polled 812 votes to defeat a former minister, Jerry Ghana, who closely followed with 611 votes.

But a judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, Hussein Baba-Yusuf, on December 14 sacked Mr Duke as the SDP flagbearer and declared a former minister, Jerry Gana, as the candidate of the party in the election.

Mr Duke and his faction challenged the ruling in court and was reinstated in January.

Following that reinstatement, Mr Gana approached the Supreme Court to contest the ruling

In a ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court awarded a fine of N3 million in favour of Mr Duke, against Mr Gana.

The judgment was delivered by the Supreme Court presided over by Justices Ejembi Eko, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Amiru Sanusi, Paul Galumje and Uwani Aji, the Punch newspaper reported.

Although the SDP participated in the February 23 elections, the party was not among the first five candidates with the highest scores.The Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano, on Saturday inaugurated a modern fish feed production plant valued at N1.2 billion in Onitsha to boost fish business in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the private plant is owned by Grand Cereals Ltd., a Nigerian integrated foods company that produces and markets consumer food products.

The firm, which is a subsidiary of Nigerias oldest and versatile conglomerate, UAC Nigeria Plc., produces Vital Fish Feed brand.

Mr Obiano commended the firm, saying the project was an outcome of an earlier engagement between the government and the firm in 2015.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Solo Chukwulobelu, said his administration was already partnering with the firm to integrate farmers into the project.

According to him, we are already working to ensure that the basic raw materials including maize, sorghum and cassava are sourced within the state.

The governor said the project fell within the agriculture and industry pillars of his administration and would help generate employment for the people of the state.

We expect the facility to expand to employ more people and to ensure that the state is self-sufficient in fish production, he said.

Mr Obiano said his government would work closely with the company and other manufacturing firms within the Ogbaru Industrial Layout, where the firm is located to solve the problem of power supply.

We are ready for more investors; we will like your Gala factory to come to Anambra because we are looking for investors, he said.

In a remark, the Acting Deputy Managing Director, Grand Cereals Ltd., Sanjeen Jain, explained that the company would begin production of 2,500 tonnes of fish feeds per month.

In spite of its production capacity, Mr Jain said Nigeria currently has a supply gap of about 2.1 million tonnes of fish.

He said the location of its factory in Onitsha would bring fish feed closer to the farmers in the Southern markets, improve availability all-year round and further improve quality.

Mr Jain commended the efforts of the state government at various levels to develop agriculture and farmers output via their various programmes.

Grand Cereals will continue to contribute its own quota to the development of agriculture value chain in Nigeria, he said.

Mr Jain, however, said that prospects in the aquaculture sector could improve if government sustains its ban on the importation of frozen fish and poultry products into Nigeria and aggressive action against smugglers.

He called for the provision of new fish farming estates with laid-out farming plots and support services with accelerated grant of Certificates of Occupancy for small and medium-sized farmers.

Mr Jain also called for special support to feed millers in terms of tax holidays and easier access to credit from CBN/BOA, especially those that are currently providing extension services and market development programmes.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, who commended the company for sighting its factory in the state, said the plant would assist the state government build its fish value chain.

He expressed confidence that in the next six months, fish sold in the state would be produced within.

Mr Mbanefo further assured the firm of the continued collaboration of the ministry to achieve Mr Obianos vision in the fish sector.

Also speaking, the National President of Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rotimi Olibale, urged Grand Cereals to continue to partner farmers to tackle challenges in the business.

Mr Olibale said the Vital Fish Feeds produced by Grand Cereals were of good quality and were being recertified yearly to maintain the quality. (NAN)Lagos State Government says it has ordered investigation into the death of a child, and allegations of patients poaching by some doctors from state general hospitals to their private clinics.

The State Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, also said that the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) had shut private hospital, HJ Clairoowen Medical Centre and Maternity where the child allegedly died.

According to Mr Idris, investigations are ongoing on the operations of the facility whose documents showed that it has not been registered with HEFAMAA or certified for the purpose of healthcare delivery.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this followed a March 27 publication by Adeola Adetunji, accusing a doctor at the Alimosho General Hospital, Igando, of professional misconduct

Mr Adetunji had sought justice following the death of his 15-month-old twin daughter, Taiwo Adetunji, at the private clinic in Lagos.

He had alleged that the private clinic was owned by a paediatrician, who also is an employee of the state government working at the General Hospital, Igando.

The ministry will make known its findings in due course and mete out appropriate sanctions to anyone found culpable in the unfortunate incident.

We will like to assure citizens of our resolve to continuously address the issue of patient poaching and ensure that residents have unfettered access to quality healthcare service without exploitation.

As a government, the wellbeing of citizens is of utmost importance to us and this is the main thrust of our social contract with the people.

The Lagos State Government is a responsible and responsive government, and we will not rest on our oars to ensure that justice, in this case, is served without let or hindrances, he said.

The commissioner urged members of the public not to patronise any health facility not bearing the HEFAMAA logo.

He also urged the public to channel complaints and petitions in respect of unprofessional conducts by healthcare providers or health facilities to the HEFAMAA Office, Room 514 Ministry of Health, Alausa, Ikeja.

We wish to also note that it is against the norm and highly unethical for general hospitals or any government health facilities to refer patients or cases to private health facilities.

The general public is therefore to take note of this and report any health worker or government facility who indulge in this unprofessional act, Idris said.

In its reactions, the State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) called for an improvement of the countrys hospital referral system, saying it was key to patient management.

Its chairman, Saliu Oseni, said: The attention of NMA, Lagos has been drawn to a publication by Mr Adeola Adetunji who alleged professional misconduct by one of our members at the Alimoso General Hospital, Igando.

Though, the association has yet to receive an official complaint from the victim, it will be inhumane to ignore such weighty allegation especially as it involves loss of life.

We are aware of the pain this irreparable loss has caused the family.

The case is already being investigated by a panel set up by the state government and the association is following the events with keen interest.

This event has once again reminded us of many inadequacies in our health sector begging for urgent review.

Our referral system must be improved upon, simplified and made known to the public as patient referral remains a key part of patient management. 

The chairman said the association would ensure that the circumstances surrounding the incident was unravelled.

According to him, the case is being investigated by a panel set up by the state government and the association is following the events with keen interest.

He, however, called on the general public to continue to have faith in the health sector.

Justice will not only be done, but shall be seen by all to have been done as the association believes strongly in professionalism, he said. (NAN)Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti says South West leaders must adopt new methods if their quest for restructuring of the country is to be realised.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor, who spoke in Ado Ekiti at a national retreat of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) which he hosted, said the current tactics being used in agitating for restructuring was defective.

According to him, the Yoruba race needs to be more tactical if it is indeed desirous of actualising its desired restructuring .

He urged the proponents of restructuring in the region to liaise with other zones on how to actualise the plan.

There are those who entertained fear on this issue of restructuring and whether this is legitimate or not, we must reach out to them because we are not an island onto ourselves.

We dont need to be shouting on the roof tops before we get it, but if we want to do it alone, the agitation will fall, he said.

The governor also expressed dismay at the voter apathy in the South West region in the last election, saying a total of 16.2 million were initially registered in the region while the number of those who voted was not impressive.

He said: In the last presidential poll, Ekiti registered 909,000 voters, only 381,000 voted.

In Osun 1.67million registered, only 737,000 voted; Ondo, 1.8 million registered, 586,00 voted; Oyo, 2.7 million registered, 891,000 voted; 2.36million registered in Ogun, 605,000 voted and Lagos with 6.3million, only 1.56 million voted.

This might be caused by deficit of trust or fraudulent multiple registration, but whatever the case was, as long as we remain a constituent part of this country, ARG should reflect on this and act appropriately

If it was as a result of deficit of voter education, then the ARG and governments need a lot to do.

Religion also affected us because some people were brainwashed to vote based on religious consideration.

Mr Fayemi also expressed the readiness of the APC governors in the region to work with the governor-elect of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, in the overall interest of the region.

Mr Makinde emerged victorious on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, who were represented at the retreat, called for a return to the values of the old western region.

The National Chairman of the group, Wale Oshun, reiterated the need for restructuring and advised that it should be taken to the front burner to benefit the Yoruba race.

He also canvassed for true federalism, urging political leaders in the region to take a firm stand to protect the rights of the Yoruba race.

Our leaders who know that restructuring is an issue that is germane must speak up the way the ACF used to speak on some national issues, he said.

(NAN)For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.



"At McDonald's, we strive to connect with our customers by showing up in ways that matter to them," said Lizette Williams, Head of Cultural Engagement & Experiences, McDonald's USA. "Prior to launching the Black & Positively Golden campaign, we spent time with our African-American customer base and heard from them on what's most important. We are leveraging this platform to shine a brilliant, powerful light on Black culture and excellence in a way that matters most to our consumers. This is the largest African-American campaign we have launched in 16 years and it continues to demonstrate our longstanding commitment to this community."

The new campaign is brought to life in partnership with McDonald's Black Owner/Operators nationwide. These entrepreneurs bring positive economic opportunities to the neighborhoods they serve in numerous ways, including hiring directly from the community, providing scholarships and engaging in other philanthropic activities.

"McDonald's has long supported African-American communities. We maintain a commitment to our neighbors through various parts of our business  including scholarship partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, generational wealth-building with franchisee training and partnering with minority suppliers," said Nicole Enearu, a second-generation Owner/Operator and member of McDonald's U.S. Marketing African-American Consumer Market Leadership Committee. "Through our new Black & Positively Golden campaign, we aim to further connect with and inspire the African-American customer."

Continuing the growing momentum of the brand's economic impact and commitment to diversity, Enearu is one of 300 African-American McDonald's franchisees representing more than 1,500 restaurants.

In an effort to reach consumers in places where they already live, work and play, Black & Positively Golden commences a yearlong commitment to the YWCA USA, supporting the organization's Women's Empowerment 360 Program, an initiative designed to empower women of color who aspire to be entrepreneurs. Currently, more than 70% of participants are African-American. McDonald's financial support will help empower approximately 5,000 up-and-coming businesswomen across the U.S. with education curriculum and other tools needed for success.

The commitment with YWCA USA officially kicks off tonight, in the celebrated and largely African-American Leimert Park neighborhood with an interactive, community event at the YWCA Greater Los Angeles. The event will feature a transformative empowerment mural created by LA-based artist Enkone. Attendees will help co-create the community mural by adding their own words of affirmation. There will be an appearance by actress/comedienne Yvonne Orji, a special performance by multi-platinum recording artist Normani and more. The one-of-a-kind event will shine a light on African-American culture and demonstrate the power words have to inspire Black excellence.

"As part of our commitment to the community, we are excited to kick off Black & Positively Golden with an expanded commitment to the YWCA, an organization that shares McDonald's core values," Williams said. "McDonald's has restaurants in many communities that are also served by the YWCA, and we have local ties to the organization. For instance, we've supported their Chicago chapter for more than 30 years. With their focus on women entrepreneurs of color, the partnership is a great fit and we're thrilled to extend our support nationally."

"We are honored that McDonald's has chosen to extend their partnership with us. The community-led event and mural project is incredibly special. The mural will live at one of our centers, located in a historic, predominantly African-American community, and will stand as a beacon of positivity and empowerment," said Faye Washington, CEO and President of the YWCA Greater Los Angeles.

In conjunction with the YWCA launch event, McDonald's will debut the campaign with a 60-second anthem television spot on Saturday, March 30, during the 50th NAACP Image Awards. Consumers will also engage with campaign elements in some of their favorite and most trusted digital, print, radio and broadcast outlets all year long. Understanding the importance of social media for engaging the African-American audience and especially millennials, the brand launched a new Instagram channel for the Black & Positively Golden campaign - @wearegolden, highlighting moments of positivity, exciting programs and consumer experiences, as well as people who are shining examples of Black excellence in the community. The channel also provides resources to help uplift communities through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

The Black & Positively Golden campaign also will be supported through a series of events throughout 2019. First up is McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour set to kick off in late April, followed by consumer experiences at BET Experience and Essence Festival. In addition, Black & Positively Golden will provide $60,000 in scholarships to foster educational empowerment among HBCU students through its partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund. For more information visit TMCF.org/McD.

For more information on McDonald's new Black & Positively Golden campaign, follow @wearegolden on Instagram.

About McDonald's USA

McDonald's serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to more than 25 million customers every day. Ninety-five percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.

SOURCE McDonalds USA

Related Links

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DENVER, Pa., March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- If condition is king, expect a red carpet to be rolled out on April 3 as Morphy's presents a regal auction line-up of antique signs, gas globes and early license plates in a 746-lot Automobilia & Petroliana Auction. The high-octane selection includes many entries from collections that were established back when petroleum-related items in pristine condition were easier to find.

Boyce Moto Meter Authorized Service Station tin flange sign with image of young woman in Art Deco attire, lithographed sides in condition 8.75+ and 8.5, respectively. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000 Left: 1905 leather/aluminum Michigan license plate issued to Packard Motor Co., used before the state actually produced license plates, only known example of its type, estimate $10,000-$15,000. Right: Six early Rhode Island passenger license plates from a group lot of 40 that span the years 1904-1966 (with only two years not represented), estimate $20,000-$30,000

"Many signs in this sale would be hard to improve upon. They would be considered upgrades for even the finest of known private collections," said John Mihovetz, Head of Morphy's Automobilia & Petroliana division.

A case in point is the outstanding double-sided Shell Motor Oil die-cut Motor Oil sign dated 1931. With strong crimson and orange coloration, the clamshell-shape sign is rated a solid 9.5 out of 10. Estimate: $3,500-$5,000

A very rare British double-sided die-cut porcelain sign for Morris Trucks is designed as a head-on view of a radiator emblazoned with the slogan "Buy British and be proud of it." One of the best examples of its type that Morphy's experts have ever seen, it could achieve $3,000-$5,000.

Big, bold and all-American is the way to describe a supersized Ford V8 porcelain dealership sign. At 75 by 40 inches, it had to be designed as two parts that fit together seamlessly  Henry Ford wouldn't have had it any other way. In beautiful 8.75+ condition, it is estimated at $15,000-$25,000.

Advertising signs featuring stylish ladies have always commanded a premium price, and there are two such signs worthy of special mention in the sale. A Boyce Moto Meter Authorized Service Station tin flange sign with the image of a young woman in Art Deco attire comes has a $15,000-$25,000 estimate; as does a circa-1907 double-sided die-cut tin flange sign advertising Pennsylvania Oilproof Vacuum Cup Tires with the image of a well-dressed woman of that era.

A fantastic collection of antique and vintage license plates takes collectors on a virtual coast-to-coast motoring trip. Apportioned into 181 lots, the collection includes very early plates that are nearly impossible to find nowadays. For example, there's a grouping of 40 Rhode Island passenger plates with the same three-digit number  394  starting with the first-issue 1904 production run and ending in 1966. Only two years are missing from the series: 1918 and 1946. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000. Another extreme rarity, a 1905 leather and aluminum Michigan plate was in use before the state actually produced license plates. It was issued to the Packard Car Company and used from 1905 through June 1907. In 9.0 condition and the only known example of its type, it is expected to make $10,000-$15,000.

Petroliana collectors never tire of pretty Polly, the vibrantly hued parrot mascot for Polly Premium Motor Oil. Posed on her perch, she graces the front of a scarce one-quart Polly can graded 8.9. It will take more than a cracker to take Polly home. The pre-sale estimate is $2,500-$4,500.

A fantastic array of gas pump globes awaits bidders, including a 15-inch single-lens globe for Beacon Gasoline. Finished in bright primary colors with an appealing graphic of a beaming lighthouse, this extremely rare globe could reach $7,500-$15,000.

In all, there are 85 stunning gas pump globes from which to choose. An excellent example of an etched one-piece Independent brand Royal Gasoline globe is graded 9.0 and estimated at $4,000-$6,000; while a Jones Bros. Red Hat Gasoline globe on its original metal body has a $2,500-$4,500 estimate. A quaint reminder of the early days of "filling stations," an all-original Correct Measure 5-gallon visible gas pump is expected to make $3,000-$5,000.

Media Contact:

Dan Morphy

[email protected]

877-968-8880

SOURCE Morphy AuctionsFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- There's good news for Fort Lauderdale's neighbors who are choosing the Sun Trolley as their car-free transportation alternative. The Sun Trolley's NW Community Link is now providing more service in the mid-day by operating two vehicles instead of one from 11:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., and the Neighborhood Link route has been modified to reduce wait times at its most popular destinations!

"Sun Trolley's top priority is offering premier customer service and ensuring our routes and schedules serve as many riders as possible," said Robyn Chiarelli, Executive Director for the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association. "We are continuing to improve our services to maintain the Sun Trolley as the top, affordable transportation option."

The free NW Community Link operates weekdays from 6:20 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. By doubling the number of trolleys servicing this route in the mid-day, the Sun Trolley's NW Community Link will serve more riders while simultaneously decreasing wait times. This route now provides neighbors, who are commuting for both work and pleasure, with all-day connectivity to the Broward County Transit Central Terminal and the Tri-Rail Station.

The route alignment for the free Neighborhood Link route has been modified to provide a quicker, more direct connection between downtown Fort Lauderdale and LifeNet4Families, which are two major destinations served by this route. The Neighborhood Link operates weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.

"These improvements to the Sun Trolley's service support our shared vision of creating a multimodal city that depends less on cars and more on alternative forms of transportation," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor and CRA Chairman Dean J. Trantalis. "We salute Sun Trolley on enhancing its operations to fulfill the transportation needs of city residents and visitors quickly and efficiently."

Both the NW Community Link and the Neighborhood Link are funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, Broward County Transit, the City of Fort Lauderdale, the Northwest-Progresso-Flagler Heights Community Redevelopment Agency (NPF-CRA), and the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (TMA).

To hop on board the Sun Trolley, wave at the driver from a safe location anywhere along the route, signaling that you would like to board. To learn more about the Sun Trolley, visit www.suntrolley.com or call (954)-TROLLEY to speak to a neighbor support representative 24/7, 365 days per year. To track the trolleys in real time, download the free Trolley Tracker App on your Apple or Android device. Like what Sun Trolley is doing? Show it here.

ABOUT TMA (Transportation Management Association)

Founded in 1992, the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (TMA), a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, manages the Sun Trolley and the Riverwalk Water Trolley. Approximately 30,000 passengers per month utilize the TMA's six routes connecting residents, tourists and working professionals from Fort Lauderdale's neighborhoods to Broward County Transit, Tri-Rail and Brightline, as well as destinations such as Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Broward County Courthouse and the Galleria at Fort Lauderdale. TMA services are provided without regard to race, color, or national origin. SUN TROLLEY  is not affiliated, endorsed by, or associated with FDOT's SUNRAIL  trademark.

CONTACT: Aimee Adler Cooke (954) 732-0754 (or) [email protected]

SOURCE Transportation Management Association

Related Links

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ROCKLAND, Mass., March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the U.S. and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved MAVENCLAD (cladribine) tablets for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting disease (RRMS) and active secondary progressive disease (SPMS). MAVENCLAD is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for RRMS and active SPMS that provides two years of proven efficacy with a maximum of 20 days of oral treatment, during a two-year period.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8485951-emd-serono-mavenclad-fda-approval/

Because of its safety profile, use of MAVENCLAD is generally recommended for patients who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, an alternate drug indicated for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), and MAVENCLAD is not recommended for use in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). The MAVENCLAD label includes a boxed warning for potential risk of malignancy and risk of teratogenicity. The label appropriately defines the relevant associated contraindications.

"Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young and middle-aged adults," said Belen Garijo, CEO Healthcare and Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "We feel privileged to introduce MAVENCLAD into clinical practice in the United States. MAVENCLAD opens a new way to treat MS  a treatment that requires a maximum of 20 days of oral therapy to deliver two years of efficacy to a patient. This approval is a testimony to our long-standing commitment to people living with MS."

"As an investigator in the clinical trial program, I am pleased MAVENCLAD will now be available to patients in the U.S. With short treatment courses with pills taken for no more than 10 days in a year and no injections or infusions, MAVENCLAD is an efficacious new treatment option for MS," said Thomas Leist, M.D., PhD, Director, Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Center at Jefferson University Hospitals, Philadelphia, PA. "Nearly one million individuals are afflicted with MS in the U.S. alone, according to a recent National MS Society sponsored study. MAVENCLAD is a welcome new oral treatment option for this heterogeneous and often unpredictable disease."

Eighty-five percent of people living with MS are initially diagnosed with RRMS, characterized by attacks of new or increasing neurological symptoms. Most people with RRMS will eventually transition to a secondary progressive course in which there is a progressive worsening of neurologic function over time.1 SPMS can be further characterized at different points as either active (with relapses and/or evidence of new magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] activity) or not active.

"The FDA approval of MAVENCLAD is excellent news for people living with RRMS and active SPMS. MAVENCLAD offers a new and effective option for some of those patients with an oral dosing schedule unlike any other treatment currently available," said June Halper, CEO of the Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC). "People living with MS should have the ability to work with their clinician to choose a treatment with a dosing schedule that supports their lifestyle. CMSC congratulates EMD Serono for their dedication to bring MAVENCLAD to the U.S. as the first short-course oral treatment option for the community."

In the clinical trial program, 1,976 patients received therapy for a total of 9,509 patient years, of which the mean time on study including follow-up was approximately 4.8 years and 24% of the follow-up was for eight years. MAVENCLAD demonstrated clinical efficacy across key measures of disease activity, such as annualized relapse rate (ARR), disability progression and MRI activity:

Patients experienced a 58% relative reduction in the ARR with MAVENCLAD compared to placebo (0.14 vs. 0.33, p<0.001).

81% of patients were free of relapses after two years of short-course oral treatment with MAVENCLAD, compared to 63% of patients who received placebo (p<0.05).

Patients treated with MAVENCLAD had a 33% reduction in risk of 3-month confirmed disability progression as measured by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) compared to placebo (p<0.05).

Patients taking MAVENCLAD experienced a lower median number of T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced brain lesions and new or enlarging T2 brain lesions compared to patients with placebo (0 vs. 0.33 and 0 vs. 0.67, p<0.001).

The most common (>20%) adverse reactions reported in the pivotal Phase III study, CLARITY, were upper respiratory tract infection, headache and lymphopenia. Serious adverse reactions reported in the clinical program included malignancies (0.27 events per 100 patient-years) in MAVENCLAD treatment arms, compared to placebo patients (0.13 events per 100 patient-years), and herpes zoster infections (2.0% vs. 0.2%) and oral herpes (2.6% vs. 1.2%).

Following the administration of two treatment courses, additional courses of MAVENCLAD are not to be administered. Re-treatment with MAVENCLAD during years three and four may further increase the risk of malignancy. The safety and efficacy of reinitiating MAVENCLAD more than two years after completing two treatment courses has not been studied.

EMD Serono is committed to helping support patients prescribed MAVENCLAD. Over the course of 16 years, the company's comprehensive patient support program in the U.S., MS LifeLines, has had over four million touchpoints with patients, care partners, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to support our goal of providing one-on-one assistance to U.S. patients prescribed an EMD Serono MS therapy. MS LifeLines is now expanding to help patients prescribed MAVENCLAD and offers personalized patient support, including assistance with navigating insurance questions and additional resources that may be able to assist patients who are uninsured or underinsured.

The U.S. approval of MAVENCLAD follows its approval in over 50 countries, including the European Union (EU) in August 2017.

For more information on MAVENCLAD, and prescribing information including the boxed WARNINGS, visit www.MAVENCLAD.com.

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

About MAVENCLAD (cladribine) Tablets (10 mg)

MAVENCLAD, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 29, 2019, is the first short-course oral therapy for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting disease (RRMS) and active secondary progressive disease (SPMS). MAVENCLAD is not recommended for use in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) because of the risk of malignancy. Patients should follow healthcare provider instructions including cancer screening, contraception and blood tests. The approved dose of MAVENCLAD is 3.5 mg per kg body weight over two years, administered as one treatment course of 1.75 mg per kg per year, each consisting of two treatment weeks. The mechanism by which cladribine exerts its therapeutic effects in patients with multiple sclerosis has not been fully elucidated but is thought to involve cytotoxic effects on B and T lymphocytes through impairment of DNA synthesis, resulting in depletion of lymphocytes. MAVENCLAD causes a dose-dependent reduction in lymphocyte counts followed by recovery.

Because cladribine is cytotoxic, special handling and disposal instructions should be followed.

MAVENCLAD has been approved in over 50 countries, including the European Union (EU), Canada, Australia and Switzerland, for various relapsing MS indications. Visit www.MAVENCLAD.com for more information.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the central nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease in young adults. It is estimated that approximately 2.3 million people have MS worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common symptoms of MS include blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs and problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of MS are the most common.

EMD Serono, Inc. and Multiple Sclerosis

For more than 20 years, EMD Serono has been relentlessly focused on understanding the journey people living with MS face in order to create a meaningful, positive experience for them and the broader MS community. However, there is still much that is unknown about this complex and unpredictable disease. EMD Serono is digging deeper to advance the science.

About EMD Serono, Inc.

EMD Serono - the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the U.S. and Canada - is engaged in the discovery, research and development of medicines for patients with difficult to treat diseases. The business is committed to transforming lives by developing and delivering meaningful solutions that help address the therapeutic and support needs of individual patients. Building on a proven legacy and deep expertise in neurology, fertility and endocrinology, EMD Serono is developing potential new oncology and immuno-oncology medicines while continuing to explore potential therapeutic options for diseases such as psoriasis, lupus and MS. Today, the business has approximately 1,300 employees around the country with commercial, clinical and research operations based in the company's home state of Massachusetts. www.emdserono.com

1 National MS Society. Secondary progressive MS (SPMS). www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/Types-of-MS/Secondary-progressive-MS. Accessed March 2019.

Your Contact

Alice McGrail 1-781-681-2886

SOURCE EMD Serono

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A jury in Contra Costa Superior Court today awarded $21.4 million to the families of two brothers who died of cancer as a result of their exposure to the known cancer-causing chemical benzene. The trial lasted over four weeks with the jury deliberating for roughly 3 days.

Mary Alexander, co-counsel for the families, said "This oil company has been held accountable for their negligence in putting profits before people. The tremendous verdict will help ensure protection of consumers as it sends a message that any company that fails to warn about toxic chemicals in the products they sell, such as benzene which causes cancer, will be held responsible."

The families of Gary Eaves and his brother Randy Eaves filed a lawsuit against Union Oil which made the benzene-containing rubber solvent the brothers regularly worked with at their jobs in a tire manufacturing plant. The brothers were longtime employees of the plant and exposed to large amounts of benzene in their work. Gary was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in June of 2013 at the age of just 59. Randy was first diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in June of 2016 also at the age of 59.

Union Oil was accused of failing to warn Gary or Randy of the potential dangers of benzene exposure. The jury sided with the plaintiffs who contended that the oil company knew that the solvents they sold contained benzene. The plaintiffs also contended the defendant knew, or should have known, that benzene exposure was extremely hazardous and cancer-causing.

The families were represented by Mary Alexander of Mary Alexander & Associates, P.C., Scott Frieling of Allen Stewart, P.C., and Rajeev Mittal of Waters Kraus & Paul.

The case is Regina Eaves et al. v. Ashland Inc., et al., Contra Costa Superior Court Case No. C16-00815.

About Mary Alexander & Associates

At the law firm of Mary Alexander & Associates, we are proud of our record and tradition of excellence. Preparing thoroughly for trial is the trademark of our firm, and we build innovative courtroom exhibits and technology to help juries understand even the most complex legal matters. Our innovations, creativity and preparation have allowed us to achieve an outstanding record of success. We are justifiably proud of the verdicts and settlements we have obtained for our deserving clients.

Media Contact:

Joe Marchelewski

(310) 462-2252

[email protected]

SOURCE Mary Alexander & Associates

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NEW ORLEANS, March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH).

In 2014, class action lawsuits were filed in federal court against the Company's subsidiary, United Behavioral Health ("UBH") on behalf of over 50,000 mental health and other patients for breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful denial of benefits relating to UBH's denial of coverage for treatment using flawed and overly-restrictive internal guidelines.

On March 6, 2019, the Court in the consolidated suits ruled that UBH was liable for the claims, stating in part "the evidence at trial established that the emphasis on cost-cutting that was embedded in UBH's Guideline development process actually tainted the process, causing UBH to make decisions about Guidelines based as much or more on its own bottom line as on the interests of the plan members, to whom it owes a fiduciary duty," also sharply criticizing its medical directors for being "deceptive" under oath.

Recently, on March 18, 2019, Ohio's attorney general announced that he had filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth's OptumRx unit, based on overcharges of nearly $16 million for prescription drugs.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether UnitedHealth's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to UnitedHealth's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.

If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of UnitedHealth shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-unh/ 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.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

[email protected]

1-877-515-1850

1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

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Washington, March 30 : US Attorney General William Barr has told Congress to expect a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation by mid-April, "if not sooner."

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr said in a letter to top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Attorney General also said he's willing to appear before both panels to testify about the Mueller report on May 1 and May 2.

Mueller wrapped up his nearly two-year investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election by submitting a report to Barr last week.

Barr sent Congress and made public a four-page summary on Sunday, stating that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

The special counsel, meanwhile, did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice, according to Barr's synopsis. The attorney general concluded Mueller's findings are "not sufficient" to support a charge.

Democrats are pushing for the complete release of Mueller's report as well as Barr's appearance before Congress to get a clearer picture of the special counsel's investigation.

Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is released.

He also said there are no plans to submit the report to the White House.Brussels, March 30 : In wake of Friday's defeat of the Brexit deal in the British House of Commons, the European Commission has said the EU is now "fully prepared" for a no-deal Brexit.

The European Union "regrets the negative vote in the House of Commons", the European Commission was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Friday.

"It will be for the UK to indicate the way forward before that date, for consideration by the European Council," it said in a statement, adding, "a no-deal scenario on April 12 is now a likely scenario".

"EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a "no-deal" scenario at midnight on April 12," it said.

"The EU will remain united. The benefits of the Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, will in no circumstances be replicated in a 'no-deal' scenario. Sectoral mini-deals are not an option," the Commission stated.

British lawmakers earlier on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, which has already been rejected twice in Parliament since January, Xinhua reported.

After the vote, May said that the implications of the outcome are "grave".

"In view of the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the House of Commons, I have decided to call a European Council on 10 April," Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, wrote on Twitter.Los Angeles, March 30 : When Senator Kamala Harris speaks on Saturday at the Human Rights Campaigns dinner here, she will be sandwiching it into a prolific schedule of fundraising this weekend as Sunday night at midnight is the first deadline of the 2020 US presidential race.

The Democratic presidential candidate of Indian and Jamaican descent, would be at four of these fundraising events. Sunday midnight is the end of the first quarter, and two weeks later campaigns will have to publicly report how much they raised in January, February and April and who gave it to them, variety.com reported.

A number of showbiz donors say that they want to meet the candidates and see who emerges from the still-growing field, including former Vice President Joseph Biden, who has yet to announce whether he will run but who would likely be a top draw among Hollywood's veteran political players.

Harris has been the most prolific in courting high-dollar donors at traditional fundraising receptions. She will be hoping to drive up her total. On Saturday, she is scheduled to attend a reception at the Pacific Palisades home of writer-producer-director Jenni Konner and writer-director Richard Shepard, with tickets starting at $1,000-per-person. Co-hosts include Ali Adler, Jessica Alba, Mindy Kaling, Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Shauna Weiss.

It will measure her campaign's strength, viability and interest, and Harris is likely to lead other candidates in the money primary when it comes to the amount she has raised from showbiz sources.

Other candidates -- Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is enjoying a publicity surge as the 2020 favorite longshot, was here on Friday attending private meetings before appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher".

Earlier in March, he was at Hillcrest Country Club, as part of a series of meet-and-greets with a group of L.A. donors.

Senator Cory Booker also last week did a swing through Los Angeles and raised money at four different fundraisers.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders have focused almost solely on raising huge sums online.

But Harris has a head start in the money primary. She's bypassing the introductory meet-and-greets that have been common in the past few months in favour of events where attendees are sure to write checks.New Delhi, March 29 : The 2019 Human Development Report (HDR), with its focus on inequality, will be released around this year's last quarter, the UNDP said.

The report will provide a comprehensive picture of the many forms of inequality that are shaping the 21st century. In a statement, the United Nations Development Programme acknowledged that today's world remains deeply unfair.

It said: "The life and prospects faced by a newborn in a poor country or in a poor household are radically different from those of wealthier children. In all societies, long-standingorms of inequality persist while gaps are opening in new aspects of life".

In his blog post, UNDP HDR Office Director Pedro Conceicao said the report will use a framework that looks beyond income (considering inequalities in health, education, tech and exposure to economic and climate-related shocks) and beyond averages (painting a more accurate and timely picture of the state of inequality).

It will also seek to look beyond today by taking a long-term view of inequality and by identifying trends and making projections.

"We are witnessing both convergence and divergence in human development. For instance, in many countries today, gaps have closed when we talk about access to primary education. But differences between children in poor and wealthy households are widening in both early childhood and quality of education.

"These inequalities will have lifetime consequences, particularly given the rapid technological changes, which are likely to impact labour markets. This is just one example of why our analysis of inequality must go beyond income, beyond averages and beyond today," Conceicao explained.

The first HDR in 1990 shifted the economic growth-centric paradigm to the one that also includes giving people opportunities and freedoms to live the lives they would value.

As of March 9, the HDR Office's Statistical Advisory Panel, had brought together prominent members from the statistical community and addressed many aspects of the statistical production for the 2019 report on inequality.Washington, March 30 : US President Donald Trump has threatened to close the country's border with Mexico to trade for a "long time" and insisted that America has run out of detention space for undocumented immigrants.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop all illegal immigration coming into the US through our Southern Border, I will be closing the border, or large sections of the border, next week," he said in a tweet on Friday.

Speaking to the media later on Friday in Florida, Trump said: "We have the weakest, most pathetic laws... We have run out of space. We can't hold people anywhere. Mexico can stop it so easily," CNN reported.

Trump's remark comes as the Department of Homeland Security and border officials have said that their resources have become strained.

Earlier this week, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said the "breaking point has arrived" for the US immigration system.

Over the last two weeks, the CBP announced that they will be releasing migrants in Arizona, as well as the Del Rio sector and Rio Grande Valley region of Texas.

More people are expected to be apprehended at the border by the end of March than any month since 2008, the agency said.

The Justice Department has not commented on the legality of closing the border or any portion of it, as described in the President's tweet.

Though border closures are rare, they're not unprecedented, CNN reported.

In 1985, the abduction of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and subsequent threats against customs agents prompted then-President Ronald Reagan, in agreement with the Mexican government, to close nine border crossings on the southern border.Malappuram : March 30 (IANS) Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, the supreme leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday asked the Congress high command to end uncertainty over whether their President Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad, or not.

IUML is the second biggest ally of the Congress-led UDF in Kerala.

"Thangal has today got in touch with the top national Congress leaders to see that the final decision of Gandhi contesting from Wayanad be made without any further delay," strongman and sitting Malappuram Lok Sabha member P.K.Kunhalikutty.

"Our stand on this remains the same, we wholeheartedly welcome Gandhi to Wayanad, now we all wish the decision is made on this quickly, without any more delay," said Kunhalikutty, after a meeting here.

The news that Gandhi will contest from the hilly district of Wayanad in north Kerala has been doing rounds for sometime now.

When the news first broke there was a frenzy among the Congress workers and also the leaders, but with every passing day, that frenzy has turned into desperation, with both, the Left forces and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking pot shots on why no decision has come through.

With the indecision, this has become the topic for trolls, besides cartoons appearing everyday in the vernacular media.Baramulla, March 30 : This Lok Sabha constituency, spread over 15 assembly segments in three districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora, will see a triangular contest in the first phase of the 2019 general elections.

The voting segments of the constituency include the far-flung Gurez and Karnah assembly segments which remain closed due to heavy snowfall for nearly three winter months each year.

The constituency also includes big towns like Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara, Handwara and Bandipora.

The voting population is predominantly Muslim, with a small minority of Sikh voters concentrated in and around Baramulla town.

Kashmiri Pandit voters of the constituency migrated out of the Valley in the early 1990s. Some members of this community, however, still live at a few places in the constituency.

Although there are nine candidates in the fray, the main contest for Baramulla Lok Sabha seat is going to be between Muhammad Akbar Lone of the National Conference (NC), Raja Aijaz Ali of the Peoples Conference (PC) and Abdul Qayoom Wani of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Congress has fielded Farooq Mir from Baramulla, but it would mainly be the firebrand Engineer Rashid who would provide the fireworks during the poll campaign in the constituency as an independent candidate.

He represented the Langate seat in the state assembly that was dissolved by state Governor Satya Pal Malik last November when President's Rule was imposed in the state.

If the turnout at Engineer Rashid's election meetings is an indication of his voter support, then he could ruffle a few feathers.

Former IAS officer Shah Faesal has decided that his party will not contest the Lok Sabha elections. He had earlier said he would stand as a candidate from this Lok Sabha constituency.

The National Conference's Muhammad Akbar Lone has represented Sonawari in the assembly.

Lone recently stirred a controversy by justifying his earlier act of raising a 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan. This statement was criticized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he launched the BJP poll campaign in Jammu on Thursday.

The seat was represented in 2014 by Muzafar Hussain Beg of the PDP. Beg has chosen not to seek re-election from Baramulla this time.

The entry of the PC candidate, Raja Aijaz Ali who belongs to the Uri border area and is himself a Pahari, has posed challenges for the NC.

Sajad Lone, the president of the PC has strong influence in Handwara and Kupwara segments of the constituency.

Thus, the PC candidate is likely to poll Shia Muslim votes, especially in the Pattan assembly segment that was represented by Imran Raza Ansari of the PDP in the last assembly.

Ansari has since joined the PC.

The PDP's Abdul Qayoom Wani belongs to Tangmarg segment of Baramulla constituency. The PDP's support base has definitely come down after the collapse of the PDP-BJP ruling coalition in the state in June last year.

But, writing the PDP off so far as Baramulla is concerned would be a mistake.

The party still has the potential of getting votes in many segments of the constituency.

For instance, the PDP's Abdul Haq Khan, who represented the Lolab in the assembly, continues to be a crowd puller as he is believed to have retained his vote base in the constituency.

Support bases and pockets of influence notwithstanding, the fortunes of the contestants in Baramulla will depend on the voter turnout on the polling day.

Voting percentages have been very low in urban areas of the constituency ever since the separatist violence started in the Valley.

In border areas like Uri, Gurez and Karnah voters have been coming out in good numbers to exercise franchise during the last 32 years.

The fortunes of the winners would, therefore, mostly depend on the number of votes they poll in these border segments.

Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency goes to the polls in the first phase of the 5-phase Parliamentary elections in J&K on April 11. The vote count will be on May 23.

There is a total of 13,12,148 voters and 1,749 polling stations.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in <mailto:sheikh.abdul@ians.in>)</mailto:sheikh.abdul@ians.in>TUNIS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The preparatory meetings of the 30th Arab summit continued Friday in Tunis to consolidate joint Arab action.

At the headquarters of General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, Arab foreign ministers' preparatory meeting for the summit started Friday to discuss political, economic and security challenges facing the Arab region at this critical stage.

On Thursday evening, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui met with the Secretary General of the Arab League (AL) Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.

During their meeting, the two officials discussed a number of issues related to the agenda of the Arab summit and the draft statement to be issued by the Arab foreign ministers meeting.

Jhinaoui said that the existence of the AL is important and imperative as a space that brings together all Arabs and allows their leaders to meet and discuss Arab issues, according to a statement released by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

Tunisia, as an integral part of the group, will spare no effort to ensure the success of the 30th Arab summit, he added.

The Arab summit spokesperson Mahmoud Khemiri told media on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral decisions on the occupied territories (in Syria and Palestine), including the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, will be addressed at the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers.

The spokesperson affirmed the Arab consensus on the refusal of the U.S. president's decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Height because it violates the UN charter as well as international rights and resolutions, including the UN Security Council Resolution 242 and 497.

He said the latest developments in Syria were on the agenda, but the issue of reinstating its membership in the AL is not for now, noting that its natural place is within the AL.

The agenda of the Arab foreign ministers' preparatory meeting will include developments in the Palestinian cause in the light of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, efforts to support the struggles of the Palestinian people and their right to establish an independent state.

Khemiri said the meeting will shed light on the situation in Yemen, Iraq and Somalia, adding that the Libyan file would be strongly present at this summit.

Tunisia would host a quadripartite meeting as part of the Arab summit in the presence of the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the Arab League to discuss ways of implementing the roadmap and organizing free elections in Libya before the end of this year.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]Amethi, March 30 : It's 8 p.m. and Kushi Ram, a resident of Baraulia village, is preparing to go to go to save his farm from the menace of the stray cattle that damage his crops.

In the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' season, the farmers of Amethi seem to be the new watchmen thanks to growing menace of stray cattle.

Showing the hoof marks in his filed, Kushi Ram told this visiting IANS correspondent: "The hoofmarks of the cattle point to the damage to the crop. They ate up all the wheat I had sown. I had to sow all over again."

Surekha Devi, another resident of the Baraulia village, said that she was building a temporary fence of Babool tree branches and twigs around her field.

She said that the thorny plants make the process arduous. "If I don't put up the fence, there will be no wheat to even consume for my five-member family," she said, adding: "I want to protect my crops, so there is little choice. I cannot afford a barbed wire fence."

Venugopal Das, a Dalit from Nara village in the district in the Musafirkhana area of Amethi, blamed the Yogi Adityanath government for the menace.

"They should have made some arrangements against the stray cattle," rued Das, adding that the problem lay in farmers pushing their non-milch cows out of their villages.

The farmers of Amethi, cutting across political lines and castes, claim the menace of stray cattle had worsened after March 2017 when BJP-led Yogi Adityanath assumed office in Uttar Pradesh.

Das pointed out that owing to the fear of vigilante groups, the collapse of local cattle markets and fairs, fall in the value of non-milch cows and bullocks and the campaign against illegal slaughterhouses has led to a situation where both men and women with lathis in their hands are forced to guard their crops during the day and night or stay on the machans built on their fields.

Pointing to his fields, Jagadish Singh asked: "Can you see any crops here? They have been completely destroyed. Now I fear for feeding my family for the rest of the year."

Singh has seven members in his family. He said he produced around 200 quintals of rice and around 120 quintals of wheat from the land. "But as the entire wheat crop has been destroyed I have suffered a huge loss this season," he lamented.

A resident of Dadra village, Bajrangi, confessed he pushed out a male calf earlier this year as he did not have enough feedstock. "I could not feed it, so what to do? I had no option put to push him into another village," he said.

Farmers at the local market said there has been a drastic fall in the sale of non-milch cows and bullocks as there are no takers.

Ali Rehman of Korwa village in Amethi said that it was good that cow slaughter came to a halt but an alternate system should have been put in place to prevent vigiliantism.

"We have seen the news and read in the newspapers how people were lynched on suspicion of transporting the cattles to slaughter houses," Ali said.

He complained that the state government's plan to build shelters for stray cattle is a non-starter.

While travelling through Amethi, several such shelter houses were found incomplete with just a shed and without any fences. One also found several shelters being run by farmers through crowd funding.

On Friday, during Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's trip to Faizabad and Rae Bareli, several farmers complained about the menace of the stray cattle, adding they had now become the chowkidars of their fields through the day and night.

In turn, Priyanka urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay heed to the grievances of the farmers.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)New Delhi, March 30 : Corporates opposing the RBI's February 12 circular on loans resolutions have submitted to the Supreme Court that the Inter-Creditor Agreement (ICA) among banks as a possible debt resolution framework has failed to take off as the relevant institutions like LIC, HUDCO, IFCI, IIFCL, NIACL, SIDBI, GIC are not signatory to it.

The companies have slammed the slow progress of the inter-creditor arrangement among the banks saying it is a non-starter due to the absence of relevant members even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has endorsed its utility.

The ICA is seen as helping the debt defaulters to avoid bankruptcy proceedings and a possible debt resolution mechanism.

The ICA is a non-starter because 49 out of 85 lenders (that is 58 per cent) have so far not signed the agreement even after the expiry of eight months, and 10 of the non signatories are government-owned financial institutions and major lenders in the Infrastructure sector -- LIC, HUDCO, IFCI, IIFCL, NIACL, SIDBI, GIC, the pleaders' their submission stated.

"None of the Non Banking Financial Companies/Asset Reconstruction Companies (NBFCs/ARCs) are party to the ICA, without whom the agreement mechanism will not be effective," the companies further added.

The petitioners said: "In its written submission, the RBI has endorsed the ICA as a possible debt resolution mechanism in its submissions to the Supreme Court, since it is aimed at helping debt defaulters to avoid bankruptcy proceedings and requires only 66 per cent approval of lenders."

Indian banks, who are trying to sell their troubled assets are part of the ICA.

A group of banks, including public sector, private sector and foreign banks, signed an inter-creditor agreement in 2018 to push for the speedy resolution of non-performing loans on their balance sheets as per which a majority representing two-thirds of the loans within a consortium of lenders should now be sufficient to override any objection to the resolution process coming from dissenting lenders.

Under ICA, minority lenders who suspect they are being short-changed by other lenders can now either sell their assets at a discount to a willing buyer or buy out loans from other lenders at a premium.

The inter-creditor agreement is aimed at the resolution of loan accounts with a size of Rs 50 crore, anything above that are under the control of a group of lenders.

It is part of the broader "Sashakt" plan approved by the government to address the problem of resolving bad loans.

ICA Chairman Sunil Mehta is of the opinion that disagreement between joint lenders is the biggest problem in resolving stressed assets. Many debters and lenders believe that the holdout problem, where the objections of a few lenders prevent a settlement between the majority lenders, will be solved through the inter-creditor agreement.

Such an agreement may persuade banks to embark more quickly on a resolution plan for stressed assets. This is an improvement on the earlier model, which relied solely on the joint lenders' forum to arrive at a consensus among creditors.

However, the companies approaching Supreme Court against the February 12 Circular on loan resolutions said this alternate mechanism is not taking off.

Indian banks have been forced by the RBI to recognise troubled assets on their books, but their resolution has remained a challenge.

Supreme Court has heard a bunch of petitions across the sectors -- Power, Ship-building, Sugar, Telecom -- opposing the RBI's February circular.

A two-judge bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice Vineet Saran is hearing a bunch of petitions moved by power, sugar, and ship- building companies challenging the RBI's circular.

On February 12, 2018, the RBI had asked banks and other lenders to either execute a resolution plan for big stressed accounts or file insolvency petitions against them in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).The benefits of diversity in the workforce are known to give companies a competitive edge and this, in turn, enables higher growth. A 2018 McKinsey & Company Report, "Delivering through Diversity", found out that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21 per cent more likely to experience financial returns above their national industry means than the companies in the fourth quartile.

While the research findings point towards positive correlation between financial performance and greater inclusion of women in leadership roles, it is essential to address the issue of gender disparity in education as this sector helps in developing professional capacities in both men and women.

As the world moves closer to covering the gender gap in education, with only 5 per cent of the gap remaining, one of the issues which mask under gender parity in education is the lower participation of both men and women which is preventing the world from fully utilising the human capital.

The Global Gender Gap Report, 2018 (WEF, 2018) points out that globally, there were on average 65 per cent girls and 66 per cent boys who were enrolled in secondary education and only about 39 per cent girls and 34 per cent boys who were participating in tertiary education. Thus, the gender gaps cannot be completely closed until the participation increases in education at all levels.

Further, to the issue of the lower overall participation, particularly in the tertiary sector, is the fact that although there are more females graduating than males globally, when it comes to the skills for the lucrative jobs, women tend to lag behind men.

According to the Global Education Monitoring Report Gender Review (UNESCO, 2018), in countries such as Chile, Ghana and Switzerland, women account for less than one-quarter of all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) degrees. Among the South Asian countries, India has about 42 per cent tertiary graduate females pursuing a STEM programme, which is much higher than many developed countries. The only few countries where the majority of STEM graduates are females are Algeria, Tunisia and Albania.

In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, when the in-demand skills in the job market include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, these gender gaps in STEM studies, if left unchecked, will broaden gender disparities across the industries. Currently, there is a significant gender gap among the AI professionals, with only about 22 per cent of them being female and 78 per cent being male. Regional analysis across the globe reveals that the top three countries where AI talent is the most prominent are United States, India and Germany - along with a significant gender gap in AI skills biased against women (WEF, 2018).

Industry-level workforce data for the gender gap indicates that the top three sectors where the proportion of men is much greater than women are manufacturing, energy and mining sector and software and IT services. Out of these, the third sector employs about 40 per cent of the AI professionals in total workforce, with women accounting for just 7.4 per cent of the AI talent pool. The other two sectors have a very low percentage of AI-skilled workforce.

Another sector where the share of professionals possessing AI skills is high is education, accounting for about 19 per cent of the total workforce - of which women account for just one-third of the male talent pool. However, education is also one of the few sectors where the number of women working are greater than the men.

If the current trend of male domination in STEM disciplines at the college level or in acquiring emerging skills at the workplace continues unabated, it can lead to wider gender disparities across industries due to the rising demand for the AI skills, irrespective of being a traditionally male or a traditionally female oriented sector.

Efforts towards achieving gender parity in education beyond enrolments, to take account of equality in choosing skills which are a gateway to employment opportunities, will help in creating a gender-equal workforce in the future and greater financial gains.

Addressing the gender disparity issue in education not just results in financial improvements for businesses, and greater growth, but also helps in achieving better development outcomes.

For instance, in the health sector, there is a global shortage of 17.4 million healthcare workers, including 2.6 million doctors, 9 million nurses and midwives (WHO, 2016). While women form the majority of the sector's workforce, they are primarily clustered in the lower-level positions, with senior positions being held by men.

Efforts to attract more males to nursing courses and elevating the status of care related work can help to break the feminisation of the nursing profession and address the shortage of workforce to some extent. For women to move up to senior positions amidst the rapidly digitising technology, efforts towards reskilling them can close the gender gaps in senior positions.

As for improvements on other fronts, the water and sanitation sector, for instance, faces a significant shortage of qualified professionals. While the importance of involving both men and women in management of water and sanitation facilities has for long been recognised globally, mostly men are still seen as the primary decision makers.

Thus, alleviating gender inequalities in education can bring out more qualified female professionals in the decision-making roles.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness. He can be contacted at amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in <mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in> and tweets @kautiliya. Deepti Mathur, senior researcher at large, Institute for Competitiveness has contributed to the article)</mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in>(Amit Kapoor can be contacted at amit.k@ians.in <mailto:amit.k@ians.in>)</mailto:amit.k@ians.in>Washington, March 30 : House Democrats will vote on April 2 on a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's decision to call for the elimination of the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare.

The resolution was introduced on Friday by freshman Democratic Representative Colin Allred of Texas, CNN reported.

"The actions taken by the Trump Administration seeking the invalidation of the ACA's protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and later the invalidation of the entire ACA, are an unacceptable assault on the health care of the American people," the resolution said, calling for the Justice Department to reverse its position in agreeing with the ruling of a Texas judge that invalidated Obamacare.

In a filing with a federal appeals court, the Justice Department said on Monday night that it agreed with the ruling of a federal judge in Texas that invalidated the health care law which was signed into legislation by former President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

Repealing the law would have far-reaching consequences -- way beyond disrupting coverage for the millions of people who get their health insurance on the exchanges or through Medicaid expansion.

Obamacare saves senior citizens money on their Medicare coverage and prescription drugs. It lets many Americans obtain free birth control, mammograms and cholesterol tests.

The law also allows children to stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they turn 26.

On Friday night, Allred told CNN: "I'm proud to lead this resolution and to assure Americans that this Congress will not allow people with pre-existing conditions to go back to the days where they could be thrown off their health care just because they got sick."Tokyo, March 30 : Once an iconic brand, Sony is now going to slash its mobile division workforce by half by 2020 in the wake of stiff competition and poor sales.

The move could result in roughly 2,000 staffers either losing their jobs or getting shifted to a new department at Sony.

"Sony's share of the smartphone market has fallen sharply in recent years - from more than three per cent in 2010, according to the research portal Statistica, to less than one per cent currently.

"It has struggled to compete against leaders Apple, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies, all of which are racing to develop new 5G devices," the Nikkei Asian Review reported late on Friday.

The Tokyo-headquartered company would cut smartphone sales in Southeast Asia and other areas to focus on markets like Europe and East Asia.

"The company's smartphone sales for fiscal 2018 are projected to come in at a dismal 6.5 million units, half the previous year's figure and just one-sixth that of five years ago.

"In fiscal 2014, Sony pulled 1,000 employees from its smartphone operations but sales have plunged faster than expected, necessitating a further round of cuts," the report added.

Some of the Japanese employees hit by the decision would be transferred to other divisions in the company, but the firm would offer voluntary retirement in its Europe and China operations.Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee accompanied by party leaders Partha Chatterjee, Amit Mitra, Firhad Hakim and Abhishek Banerjee, releases the party's manifesto ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Kolkata, on March Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, March 30 : A folk theatre or Jatra troupe in West Bengal is travelling to all corners of the state staging a production that highlights Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's ambitions to play a big role in national politics after the Lok Sabha polls.

The production, 'Mamatar Daake Dilli Chalo' (Mamata Beckons, March to Delhi), is holding sell-out shows in far off villages and towns coinciding with the election campaign.

Jatra (in Bengali) or folk theatre is a popular art form in Bengal even in this digital age. Known for its loud and melodramatic delivery on stage, it brings alive productions ranging from historical or mythological subjects to social drama.

Also portrayed are current events having a traction with its captive audience.

The production by Lokbandana Opera depicts Banerjee's political journey with the climactic scene bringing out her ultimate dream of 'Delhi Chalo'.

"The shows have started post-Diwali and will continue close to the elections. The play shows Didi's (Banerjee) entire journey stressing on the January 19 Brigade Parade ground rally where she gathered the opposition political leaders," Sita Ghosh, who plays the Bengal Chief Minister in the Jatra, told IANS.

Ghosh, 49, has been associated with Jatra since childhood. She earlier worked with Notto Company, one of the best known Jatra troupes. She has stepped into the shoes of Banerjee on stage twice in the past.

Her work 'Maa Maatir Lorai' showed Banerjee's struggle in her initial political career and 'Banglar Masnad-e-Mamata' (Mamata on Bengal's throne) was staged after she became the Chief Minister in 2011 after ending 34 years of CPI-M led Left Front rule.

Asked about the special preparations she had to take for the present role, Ghosh said: "This time it is different as she is the Chief Minister now and she is also aspiring to be the Prime Minister. It is a matter of pride for me to get into all the nuances and play the role.

"I am no longer an ordinary person. On stage I am the CM and I get a different voice," the Kolkata resident said.

The theatre veteran feels the things a person cannot say otherwise can be enacted on stage.

The troupe has been visiting various parts of the state. She is looking forward to shows in Bardhaman district and other places.

The protagonist revealed that the production has Trinamoool's backing. She also appreciated the government's support for Jatra artistes.

"Before coming up with the production we had to take permission as it talks about Didi," she said.

Ghosh mentioned that as the play throughout talks about Banerjee, the Trinamool members are showing interest in it. Also, the shows are pulling a huge number of audiences.

"There is a different flavour in Jatra. But working on a political play is very different from other productions. Now I am familiar with various details of our CM," she added.Lucknow, March 30 : A day after the Nishad Party pulled out of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, its President Sanjay Nishad said on Saturday that it will soon decide on whether to fight the coming polls on its own or in an alliance.

Commenting on the reason why his party pulled out of the SP alliance, he told IANS: "Mayawati was against the alliance and she does not want our party to rise in the state."

He said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo was also not allowing the Nishad Party symbol to be put on hoardings along with the SP-BSP-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) symbols.

Sanjay Nishad said that even SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was "not clear on whether to give tickets to our candidates or not".

The Nishad Party had announced the alliance with the SP on Tuesday at a joint press conference here with Yadav.

Sanjay Nishad's son, Pravin won the 2018 by-polls from Gorakhpur, a seat earlier represented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The SP gave the ticket to Pravin Nishad after it had stitched together an alliance with the Nishad Party and the Peace Party.

Speaking about the party's future, Sanjay Nishad said: "The core committee is holding a meeting today (Saturday) and we will decide whether we will contest alone or in alliance with other parties."

On Friday, he met Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janata Party state unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey, fuelling speculation that the Nishad Party will contest in alliance with the saffron party in the state.

To a question if the Nishad Party will repeat the 2018 poll results against the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, he said: "They won the 2018 by-polls after the two lakh voters of the Nishad Party transferred their votes to the SP and the BSP."

He said Rambhuyal Nishad, who was the BSP's candidate in the 2014 elections came in at the third position while the SP's Ramjati Nishad was second.

The SP has named Rambhuyal Nishad from Gorakhpur as the party candidate this time.Gandhinagar, March 30 : Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hit out at opposition parties and said that the differences between the BJP and Sena have ended.

Addressing a gathering before BJP President Amit Shah filed his nomination papers, Thackeray said it was Hindutva and nationalism that had brought the two parties together again.

"There were differences but they have been overcome. All the controversies have come to an end. Hindutva and nationalism are the ideological core of both the parties," he said to cries of "Bharat Mata ki Jai".

"My father (Bala Saheb) used to say that Hindutva is our breath and we cannot live without it."

He said some political parties were celebrating when the BJP and Shiv Sena had differences but were taken aback to see him here in Gandhinagar on Saturday.

"There are 56 opposition parties who have joined hands but their hearts have not yet met. We have one leader. Who is your leader? Who will be your Prime Minister? Everybody is an aspirant there and infighting has already begun for the post," he said.

Thackeray said: "We had our own issues and we raised it (with the BJP). We don't believe in the culture of backstabbing. I have come here to support wholeheartedly."Qalat : , March 30 (IANS) An insider attack on a police checkpoint in Afghanistan's Zabul province left nine police personnel dead on Saturday, officials said.

A member of provincial council Ata Jan Haqbayan said the attack happened in Shahr-e-Safa district in the early hours of Saturday and attackers fled the area after killing nine police.

The Taliban confirmed the incident and claimed in a statement that eight security personnel were killed and another captured alive, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement also added that seven supporters of the Taliban group were involved in the attack and all joined the outfit's fighters around Shahr-e-Safa district.Srinagar, March 30 : An explosion destroyed a car on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Banihal district on Saturday, sparking panic and slightly damaging one of the CRPF vehicles moving as part of a convoy, authorities said.

The police said the explosion occurred inside a private car at Tethar area of the highway near Bannihal town around 10.30 a.m., destroying the vehicle.

"The explosion appears to have been caused by a gas cylinder inside the car but this is based on preliminary examination of the car's wreckage," a police officer said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said the blast took place when a CRPF convoy was on the move on the highway.

"The car caught fire and slight damage was caused to the rear of one of the CRPF vehicles. No injuries were caused to CRPF personnel. The incident is being investigated," the CRPF said in a statement.

Police said that the car driver, the lone occupant, had escaped. Officials said a hunt had been launched to arrest him.

Police confirmed there was no loss of life in the incident.

On February 14, a suicide bomber devastated a CRPF vehicle at Pulwama, killing 40 troopers. The attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group.

Authorities had then decided not to allow any civilian vehicular movement on the highway when convoys of the Army and security forces move on it.

It wasn't clear how the car came on to the highway when the CRPF convoy was on the move on Saturday.New York, March 30 : A travelling piano placed in a transparent cargo van voyaged through New York City, making stops at various locations and inviting people to play it as a special way to mark the annual World Piano Day.

From Midtown Manhattan's Lincoln Centre and Bryant Park, to downtown's Union Square and Chinatown, the piano on Friday attracted passersby who happened to be amateur pianists or piano lovers to get inside the van and show their musical talent and passion.

In 2015, German pianist Nils Frahm declared the 88th day of a year as the World Piano Day, as modern standard pianos have 88 keys. It has been celebrated in dozens of cities around the world over the past years.

Many people were attracted towards the van by the piano's beautiful melodies, taking photos and cheering for the performers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Launched by Universal Music Group, an American global music corporation, the event also celebrated the global release of Chinese pianist Lang Lang's new album Piano Book, a collection of pieces he has loved and played since childhood.

As the first new album in three years from the globally celebrated piano virtuoso, the Piano Book aims to bring classical music to a global audience and spread the message that classical music is universal, according to a press release.

The travelling piano echoed Lang Lang's ambition to share the joy of making music and inspire people from all backgrounds to fall in love with the piano, as he believes that "music makes life better".Los Angeles, March 30 : Musicians Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading of Liverpool-based band Her's died in a car crash earlier this week while on their U.S. tour.

The news of their demise was confirmed by the band's label, Heist or Hit,reports variety.com.

Apart from Fitzpatrick and Laading, their manager, Trevor Engelbrektson, died in the accident, which occurred Wednesday.

"It is with overwhelming sadness that we regretfully inform you that Liverpool band Her's, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading and their tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson tragically passed away in a road accident in the early hours of Wednesday, 27th March whilst travelling to a show in Santa Ana, California," read a statement on behalf of the band's label.

According to social media posts, the band had been touring the U.S. and were preparing to head home. Her's had performed in Phoenix and were travelling to Santa Ana, Calif.

And as per the local reports, the accident happened on Interstate 10 after a Nissan pickup collided head-on with a Ford van, with one of the vehicles travelling in the wrong direction.Moran : , March 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the whole country was happy with India's bombing of the terrorist camp in Pakistan but not the Congress and also the terrorists.

"The Indian armed forces for the first time killed the terrorists in their own territory. While the whole world stood by India, the Congress family have lost their sleep," Modi told an election rally here in Assam's Dibrugarh district.

"Recently our scientists made significant achievements in space technology and we became the fourth nation to have such technology," he went on.

"But the Congress leaders were in tears. Today India is walking together with the superpowers of the world and the Congress is worried," he said.

"Now you have to decide whether you want a strong government or a government run by people stained (by allegations of corruption)," he said.

Showering appreciation for the Moran community, the Prime Minister said that India cannot strengthen itself unless Assam was strengthened.

Modi also slammed the earlier Congress government for what he said was its apathy towards the tribals in the tea community.

"They do not like this chowkidar but they also don't like the chaiwala. They don't even like to look into the eyes of the chaiwala. Only this chaiwala can understand the pain of the chaiwala," he said.

He was clearly referring to some of the flagship schemes launched by the BJP government in Assam for the benefit of the tea tribes.

The Prime Minister alleged that various development projects got delayed when the Congress ruled Assam. "It is our government that has completed many of the long delayed projects."

The Prime Minister slammed the Congress for the Assam Accord and said that his government was working to ensure its implementation.

"Our government is also seriously considering a proposal to grant ST status to six communities of Assam. However, in doing so we will ensure that none of the existing tribals are affected," he added.Mumbai, March 30 : Even as it tries to stave-off a proposed mass leave by a section of pilots, Jet Airways on Saturday said it has the requisite number of aviators to man its fleet currently under operation.

"Operations on Monday are unlikely to be impacted," an official said.

"We have taken a note of the advisory sent by a section of the pilots. We are engaged with them and hope to receive their complete support," a senior airline official told IANS.

"Their dues will be paid. However, there is a delay due to the March fiscal end, severely compounded by the weekend. The dues might be delayed for some days but everyone will be paid."

According to the official, the airline currently has "enough" pilots to support its current level of operations.

"We have other categories of pilots to man our fleet. Operations on Monday are unlikely to be impacted," the official said.

In a statement, the airline said that it remained committed to honour its obligations towards all its employees, including pilots and engineers.

"The Board along with our lenders, are working continuously towards a strong turnaround plan, which will enable the airline to restore normalcy to its operations," the statement said.

"Jet Airways remains grateful to its pilots, engineers and members of its senior management for their patience and understanding during these trying times."

The call to non-cooperation was given by members belonging to the Jet Airways pilots' union who decided to refrain from operating flights if their dues and clarity on the company's resolution plan were not given by March 31.

Accordingly, the over 1,000 member group of pilots affiliated to the pilots body may chose to refrain from flying duties if they are not provided with proper information on the company's financial resolution plan.Gandhinagar, March 30 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Prakash Singh Badal on Saturday heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his decisive nature and also on BJP President Amit Shah for his extraordinary organisational abilities.

Addressing a gathering here before Shah files his nomination for the Gandhinagar seat, Badal said that security in the wake of India's strikes against Pakistan will be the major issue in the upcoming elections.

"Modi has done so much of service to the nation and has taken the nation's name high due to his decisive nature.

"Under his leadership, the security of the country is totally intact. With surgical strikes and then the aerial strikes, he has taken the name of India high. The biggest thing was there was no casualty to our forces in the operation. He has also crushed the militancy effectively," Badal said.

The former Punjab Chief Minister, as the oldest and reliable ally of the party, said Modi has brought a major change in the country and prayed to God that Modi should return as the Prime Minister.

The veteran leader also hailed Shah for his organisational skills and dubbed him the world's biggest organiser.

"He is not a man but is an 'institution' of sorts. His entire life was a lighthouse. He is the world's biggest campaigner and organiser," Badal said.

He said after Modi, it was Shah who should be credited for the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said while the ruling party has Modi, the opposition had no one.

"Even when an Assembly elections takes place, every party or coalition projects a leader as its chief ministerial candidate but the opposition does not even have a prime ministerial candidate for the coming Lok Sabha polls," Badal added.New Delhi, March 30 : An Indian man has been killed and his wife injured after they were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich in Germany, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Saturday.

"Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant's brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Sushma Swaraj wrote on Twitter.

She told the Indian mission in Munich to take care of the couple's children.Washington/New Delhi, March 30 : Garima Sethi, the widow of Indian pilot on Lion Air flight that plunged into the sea in October claiming 189 lives, has accused Boeing of "playing with lives" and said the second crash involving the same model could have been prevented if appeals to ground the 737 Max 8 fleet were given more weight by the airline and others.

Sethi, wife of 31-year-old Bhavye Suneja, told the Washington Post that January wasn't the first time when she pleaded with Lion Air and Indonesian authorities to ground the model which was later blamed for the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on March 10.

She said that Lion Air officials told her in January -- two months before the Ethiopia crash -- that they needed more information on the Boeing model to take such a step. In addition, the officials told Garima Sethi that Boeing had reassured them that the aircraft was safe.

The October 29 crash near Jakarta opened global probes into potential problems with an anti-stall system on the popular Boeing plane.

Sethi, 31, said that a second crash of a Boeing Max jet in Ethiopia could have been prevented if the appeals by the victims' families were given more weight by Lion Air and others.

"We tried to do our part, but nobody heard us."

Talking about the Ethiopia crash, Sethi said: "It was altogether the same story. I don't have any words."

She said she was distressed to learn that the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed had been delivered by Boeing in mid-November, after the Lion Air disaster. "They were playing with lives."

A spokesman for Lion Air and Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee declined to comment on Sethi's views.

Boeing had repeatedly assured that the 737 Max was safe but it was grounded globally after the EthioApian Airlines crash.

A preliminary report from Indonesian experts released in November focused on possible flawed readings by an anti-stall feature on the 737 Max. Investigators believe the system redirected the nose of the plane downward, leaving the cockpit crew unable to override the autopilot commands.

A similar scenario is being investigated as the potential cause for the EthioApian crash, the Washington Post said.

Sethi's husband Suneja was a methodical pilot and a stickler for pre-flight inspections, she said. On October 29, the plane he was about to pilot had experienced mechanical issues on its previous flight.

Sethi said that after the October crash, Suneja's colleagues told her that Lion Air's pilots had received no training on the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), the anti-stall software.

Indonesian officials said last year that Boeing's manual for the new plane did not fully describe the system or how to disable it, according to the report.

During a meeting with Lion Air officials, Sethi said she urged them to ground the Max planes. "We suggested if it was a software glitch, why not ground it for a while?"

"I'm just looking for justice," Sethi said, adding that whoever was at fault "should claim their mistakes".

Some of the families of Lion Air victims have filed lawsuits against Boeing, but Sethi said she has not decided whether to pursue a legal claim.Patna: Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Chairman Anand Kishore and Bihar Education Department Chief Secretary R.K. Mahajan release the state's Class 12 intermediate result 2019, in Patna on March 30, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Patna: Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Chairman Anand Kishore and Bihar Education Department Chief Secretary R.K. Mahajan release the state's Class 12 intermediate result 2019, in Patna on March 30, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Patna, March 30 : After a drastic fall in the pass percentage for the last two years, 79.76 per cent students who took Class XII examinations of the Bihar School Examination Board this year have passed, results announced on Saturday showed.

"We have ensured cheating-free examinations and results were out in record time," said Board Chairman Anand Kishore.

About 81.20 per cent students appearing in the science stream, 93.02 per cent in the commerce stream and 76.53 per cent in the arts stream examinations have passed.

About 13 lakh students appeared in the examinations this year.

In 2017, nearly 70 per cent students failed in Class XII. The number was 47 per cent in 2018.Mumbai, March 30 : Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has finally quit the BJP, feels that the Congress is the political future of India.

Q: So you have finally done what we knew for some time?

A: (laughs heartily) Raaz ki baat jo sab jaante the. Open Secret. Yes, I have joined hands with Soniaji, Rahul and Priyanka. I am now a part of the Congress.

Q: Why?

A: Why? Why did I choose to join Congress? It was a decision taken after much deliberation and thought. And why not? The Congress is the party that brought us kicking and dragging into free India. It gave us national legends like Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ...

Q: That was in the past. Where are the leaders of that stature in the Congress now?

A: Well, we could give the same argument for the BJP. I joined hands with them (BJP) because of the great leaders like L.K. Advaniji and Atal Bihariji. Leadership has to change. Today the Congress is in the hands of Rahul Gandhi.

Q: He was trolled mercilessly until very recently?

A: But Rahul has evolved in the past year or so. He is no longer ridiculed. Besides his sister Priyanka has also joined hands with Rahul. We have to give him a chance. I was happy when he spoke to me and said he is very happy to welcome me to the party.

Q: Yes, you and Urmila Matondkar?

A: The more the merrier. I think the Congress is the political future of India. It saw India through its toughest times. It's time to give them another chance.

Q: So what prompted you to make the move from BJP to Congress?

A: Many factors. I was not being treated properly by the BJP. When they announced Ravi Shankar Prasadji as their candidate from my seat in Patna, something gave way inside me. I ceased being a loyal soldier of the BJP. Not that I intend to badmouth anyone from the BJP. I respect the senior leaders. They are my colleagues and friends and I am not into the politics of mudslinging. I hope they feel the same.

Q: Your daughter Sonakshi feels you should have left the BJP long ago?

A: (laughs) Achcha. When did she say that? How sweet of her! I am in Muscat where they're honouring me as a cinematic legend. My family has been advising me to do the right thing in my political career. And not just they. My dear family friend Lalu Yadavji also wanted me to join hands with the Congress.

Q: Do you think the Congress will accord you the respect you deserve?

A: I feel welcomed here. As you know, I was unhappy with my position in the BJP for a long time. The party leadership knew I was unhappy. No one came forward to speak to me. There was no dialogue at all. It was as if they had shut me out. I didn't have to suffer this humiliation. But I stayed on out of loyalty. But now I feel it's time to move on.

Q: What are you plans as a Congress member?

A: To serve the country and to end the culture of intolerance that has taken over the nation. If you criticize a government policy, you are not anti-India. If you say Kashmir is burning, you are not pro-Pakistan.

(Subhash K. Jha can be contacted at jhasubh@gmail.com)New Delhi, March 30 : An Indian national has been stabbed to death and his wife injured in an attack by an immigrant near Munich in Germany, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Saturday.

"Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant's brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Sushma Swaraj wrote on Twitter.

The attacker, believed to be a 33-year-old migrant from New Guinea, was arrested and a kitchen knife used to stab the couple was secured, reports said. His motive for targeting the couple remained unclear.

Authorities said that an investigation was underway.

Sushma Swaraj appreciated the work done by the Consulate General of India in Munich and asked them to take care of the couple's children.Ghazni : , March 30 (IANS) At least four students were killed and 17 others, including two teachers, sustained injuries as a mortar mine struck a school in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Saturday, officials said.

According to provincial government spokesman Aref Nuri, the mortar mine struck Mullah Noh Baba school in Andar district, Xinhua news agency reported.

It hit the school when fierce fighting was going on between government forces and the Taliban militants, according to villagers, saying no one knew which side fired the mortar.

Civilians mostly bear the brunt of war in the war-battered Afghanistan as 3,804 civilians, including 927 children were killed and over 7,100 others injured in 2018, according to a report of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released here last month.Aalo : , March 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of siding with corruption and sought to differentiate between "55 years of power pleasure" and "five years of service to the people."

Modi said at a BJP rally here in central part of Arunachal Pradesh that he has been trying to build a new India for the last five years.

"There is a difference between 5 years of service to the people and 55 years of power pleasure. The Congress takes the side of corruption -- whether it is in government in Delhi or in any state," he said.

Drumming up support for his party candidates contesting the two Lok Sabha seats -- Arunachal East and Arunachal West and for the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly -- Modi said, "It is an old habit of the Congress of taking the people of the country for granted."

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju is seeking re-election from Arunachal West. Rijiju's main rival is former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki of the Congress.

Alleging that Congress leaders do not care for the people of Arunachal or their emotions, Modi said, "I have been trying to build a new India for the last five years. I am happy that I have been able to make Arunachal the driving engine of New India."

"This Chowkidar has got the opportunity to bring Arunachal to the railway and aviation map after seven decades of independence. I have also got the opportunity to connect Delhi with the Express train to Arunachal after seven decades," he said.

"When I see the daughter of Arunachal in the SWAT squad of Delhi Police, I feel proud. When I see the daughter of this land conquer Everest, I feel proud," Modi said, as BJP supporters chanted his name.

Accusing the Congress of speaking the language of the leaders of the terrorist organizations, Modi said, "You saw their (Congress) attitude during the surgical strikes and when India killed terrorists on their turf. When our scientists impress the world, they (Congress leaders) mock them. They discredit everything the Indians are proud of. They treat terrorists as their own. They are all praised in Pakistan."Srinagar, March 30 : National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pressing buttons for everything including the A-Satellite missile to portray himself as some kind of a Hanuman.

Addressing a convention of party workers here, he said: "The Prime Minister is trying to portray himself as a Hanuman by pressing the button for the launch of A-SAT missile."

He said the credit for the A-Satellite mission goes to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in whose tenure the anti-Satellite mission was completed.

Abdullah wondered whether a similar button had been pressed resulting in the shooting down of a MI-17 chopper in which six Air force personnel and a civilian were killed in Badgam district.

He said Modi had failed to create jobs for the people.

"He had promised to give two crore jobs to the youth each year. Where are those jobs? He promised to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG, but nothing happened.

"The BJP once had the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as its main agenda. That was forgotten after the air strikes by the Indian Air Force.

"Many Indian soldiers were killed in Chhattisgarh, but Modiji never went to meet their families. When 40 CRPF jawans were killed in Pulwama, Modi raised a storm," Abdullah said.New Delhi, March 30 : After fielding controversial self-proclaimed godman Swami Om as the Lok Sabha candidate from the New Delhi constituency, several Hindu outfits have announced that they will take on the AAP in at least five seats in Delhi.

Speaking to IANS on Saturday, Mukesh Jain of Dara Sena said the group had decided to launch the candidates due to the "anti-Hindu" stance of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"We have launched Swami Om and throughout the country we have decided to field at least 50 candidates," he said. "In Delhi, we will filed candidates in five seats."

Asked why they were not supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jain said the BJP had its own limitations.

"They are against Kejriwal, but are not as vocal. They have their own limitations. We are and will be vocal against Kejriwal," he said.On actress Urmila Matondkar's Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among the family and her supporters this afternoon. Image Source: IANS News

On actress Urmila Matondkar's Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among the family and her supporters this afternoon. Image Source: IANS News

On actress Urmila Matondkar's Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among the family and her supporters this afternoon. Image Source: IANS News

On actress Urmila Matondkar's Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among the family and her supporters this afternoon. Image Source: IANS News

On actress Urmila Matondkar's Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among the family and her supporters this afternoon. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, March 30 : Hours after she was nominated the Congress candidate for Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar was targeted by trolls on Saturday.

On her Wikipedia profile page, some miscreants changed her name, religion and other details, sparking a furore among her family and supporters this afternoon.

For starters, she was rechristened 'Mariyam Akhtar Mir', who was married to a Kashmiri businessman and model Mohsin Akhtar Mir in 2015.

Point No. 8 in her changed profile proclaimed: "After her 'nikaah' (Muslim marriage ceremony before a cleric), she has changed her name legally' to Mariyam Akhtar Mir".

It went even further citing her parents as Shivinder Singh and Rukshana Sultana, implying she was a second generation in the family to have an inter-religious Hindu-Muslim wedding.

"This is sheer nonsense perpetrated by some mischievous anti-social elements. Wikipedia should take action against them," said her shocked father Shrikant Matondkar.

"For Urmila, this is purely an ideological fight for upholding democratic ideals and her strong convictions. She would never stoop so low as to discuss the family or relatives of her opponents on such platforms," said her father.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that "this effectively proves that the Bharatiya Janata Party considers her a 'serious contender' and not a lightweight as some of their leaders have been claiming".

Sawant had posted almost a prophetic tweet on Friday after Urmila's candidature was announced: "The moment the Congress declared her candidature, the BJP got so terrified of imminent defeat that their Dirty Tricks Department has started raising her marriage in social media. Should we remind dirty minds of BJP about the marriage of Dharmendraji (with) Hemaji?"

Unfazed by the trolls, Urmila is busy campaigning in the constituency which sprawls through the thickly populated suburbs of Malad-Kandivali-Borivali-Dahisar, in north-west part of Mumbai.

"In just two days, we have witnessed record crowds turning up to meet and greet her. Our candidate is getting similar or even better response than Govinda (2004). We are besieged with requests from all localities where people clamour for a 'darshan' of Urmila even before she files her nomination papers," said Mumbai North District Congress President Ashok Sutrale.

Referring to the trolling, he pointed out that Urmila is getting a warm, spontaneous and enthusiastic welcome from people belonging to all castes, communities, speaking different languages and hailing from different economic strata of society.

"This is not surprising. She is the first and probably the only woman candidate anywhere who's a beauty with brains, making her a very formidable challenger to her political opponents," said global media consultant Charu Satam.

He said "the vicious comments" against her, coming barely hours after her name was announced is an indicator that the nefarious troll army of the BJP is unnerved by her very presence in the electoral fray.

Following intervention of some people, the original Wikipedia page was restored with the necessary corrections.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)Patna, March 30 : Taking an indirect swipe at CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who will contest for the BJP from Bihar's Begusarai constituency, on Saturday said his fight is against "desh ka gaddar" (traitor).

Addressing the leaders and workers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Begusarai, Singh said: "I am sure that people of Begusarai will not only defeat them (traitors) but also give them a befitting reply."

He insisted that his fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is "not against any party or candidate" but against the anti-nationals.

Without naming opposition leaders including Kanhaiya Kumar, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president, the Union Minister said those demanding proof of IAF's air strike in Pakistan are not connected to reality and have no idea of people's pulse.

"I have come to Begusarai to defeat the traitor... Anti-nationals are dreaming to win the election from Begusarai," he said.

After expressing his unhappiness and reluctance over being given ticket from Begusarai and not Nawada, his traditional constituency, Singh has now been camping there, meeting party workers and supporters in the district.

He is expected to file nomination papers on April 9 in Begusarai.

As per the seat-sharing deal with the other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents in Bihar, the Nawada seat, represented by Giriraj Singh, has gone to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.La Paz, March 30 : India has expressed interest in investing in the lithium industry of Bolivia, home to vast untapped mines of the mineral that is used in rechargeable batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles.

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales held wide ranging talks on ties in sectors like space, mining, information technology, pharmaceutical and traditional medicines, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted on Friday.

This is the first high-level visit by an Indian leader to the country since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Kovind, on a three-nation Latin American tour to strengthen India's ties in trade, investment and renewable energy, told Morales Indian companies with their cutting edge technologies can help Bolivia develop lithium products.

Kovind and Morales also attended the Bolivia-India business forum in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, Efe news reported.

Morales said Bolivia had nearly $4.5 billion guaranteed investments to industrialise lithium with at least 14 processing plants. He said 20 more plants are in the pipeline that will provide "consumables" to the processing industry and seven others to use the byproducts, including those intended to produce medicines.

Kovind also participated in an India-Bolivia business meet where business representatives of the two countries signed $32 million agreements.

Bolivia, earlier in a report, claimed the country had the largest lithium reserves in the world with at least 21 million tons in Uyuni only.

The Morales government in February chose Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group as a strategic partner for several lithium processing projects, for which it is expected to invest $2.3 billion.

Moreover, state-run Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos and Germany's ACI Systems have a joint venture for extracting lithium in Uyuni with an investment of $900 million.

Lithium is mostly used in chargeable batteries whose popularity and usage are also growing in military and aerospace applications.

The collaboration in lithium extraction for multiple industrial usages was one of the common interests of Kovind and Morales, the report said.

The Bolivian President said India ranked third in overall export from Bolivia. Last year, export was worth $723 million, especially in gold and import from India stood at $571 million with a positive balance for the South American nation.Sangli : , March 30 (IANS) The political fire was finally doused in Sangli Lok Sabha constituency with the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) announcing the candidature of Congress leader Vishal P. Patil, here on Saturday.

"We have nominated Vishal P. Patil who will contest the elections under our banner and symbol," SSS President Raju Shetti told mediapersons, ending the suspense over this crucial seat in western Maharashtra.

Representing a famed dynasty of Sangli, Vishal Patil is the younger brother of ex-Union Minister of State Pratik P. Patil and grandson of the legendary Maratha leader and former Congress Chief Minister Vasantrao "Dada" B. Patil.

Regarded as the "political guru" of Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, the late Vasantrao Patil served twice as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra before becoming the Governor of Rajasthan.

His widow, Shalinitai Patil (88), was an influential political personality in her own right, both in the state and the Centre.

The Sangli parliamentary seat, a traditional bastion of the Congress which held it from 1962 till 2014, was snatched away by Sanjay Kaka Patil of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last general elections.

This time, Sanjay Patil will again contest against Vishal Patil, who would leave no stone unturned to wrest back the family stronghold.

The seat suddenly became controversial earlier this month when the Congress allocated it to the SSS as part of the seat-sharing arrangement in the 56-party Grand Alliance.

Miffed by the constituency changing hands, Pratik Patil quit the Congress in a huff, while his brother Vishal Patil threatened to contest as an Independent candidate if the Congress did not support his candidature.

Following hectic talks and burning the midnight oil with former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and others engaging in the fire-fight, a compromise formula was worked out, paving the way for the SSS to nominate Congressman Vishal Patil as its candidate.

Son of four-time former MP, the late Prakashbapu V. Patil, Vishal Patil is a respected political figure in western Maharashtra, who's involved with sugar mills and is the director of the local district cooperative bank. He is also a prominent name in the milk cooperatives in the region.Beijing, March 30 : At 8:30 p.m. sharp (Beijing time), lights on major landmarks as well as in houses were turned off in several cities across China in commemoration of "Earth Hour" on Saturday.

"Earth Hour", a global initiative launched by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2007, has became a popular movement worldwide.

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on every last Saturday of March, individuals, communities, enterprises and government departments around the globe are encouraged to switch off lights.

All over China, lights were out on landmarks, including Beijing's Olympic Towers, The Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, Wuhan's historic Yellow Crane Tower as well as Yinli Plaza in Shenzhen, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The event aims to alert people about the loss of the biodiversity and the urgency to protect the integrity of the ecosystem, Jean-Paul Paddack, WWF's Global Initiatives Director said in an interview before the lights went out at the Olympic Tower in Beijing.

In China, the state strategy of building an ecological civilisation has made tremendous progress, he said.

China has been leading the way in the global efforts in finding a development model for man and nature to live in harmony, he said underlining the importance of China's role at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Beijing next year.

In recent years, China has been intensifying efforts to tackle environment issues, pushing for transformation and upgrade of its industries like new energies, said Zhang Qian, vice-executive chair of China NGO Network for International Exchanges, co-organiser of Earth Hour in the country.

Besides themed exhibitions and galleries, Earth Hour in China has engaged a wider public interest through interactive campaigns. In Wuhan, rock musicians joined the event by unplugging their electric guitars and using Chinese traditional instrument Zheng at a music festival.

In Shanghai, tourist cruises on the Huangpu River and 20 skyscrapers on both banks went dark. "We hope the Earth Hour can go beyond the 60 minutes, for everyone to make personal effort in turning the eco-consicous actions into a habit and the habit a culture," said Lu Lunyan, Vice-Executive Director of WWF China.

The participation scale of the Chinese public online and offline has set a new record this year, according to the organisers.Kolkata, March 30 : The All India Trinamool Congress on Saturday launched a new video series on social media using the hashtag 'Pradhan Mantri Hisab Do'.

The party shared on AITC Twitter handle the first video, which highlights two stark pictures from Haryana and West Bengal.

The one-minute video first shows a girl from Haryana's Rewari village wanted to study but had to quit as there is no school in her village.

"I had to walk 14-15 km so I quit school. The central government talks about 'Beti Padhao' (educating daughters) but they couldn't build a school here," the girl complains in the video.

She then asks: 'Hai iska koi hisab?'(Can this be accounted for?).

After which, the video highlights the development work done in West Bengal.

It underlines the state government's 'Sobuj Saathi' scheme for distribution of bicycles to students of class IX to XII studying in government schools.

A woman from rural Bengal is seen explaining how the bicycle her daughter got from the state government as part of the scheme, conceived by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is enabling her to attend school regularly, even though it's quite far away.West Midnapore: BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Ghatal, Bharati Ghosh during an election campaign in West Bengal's West Midnapore, on March 30, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

West Medinipur: Dev alias Deepak Adhikari, Trinamool Congress candidate from Ghatal during an election campaign ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Medinipur district of West Bengal on March 30, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, March 30 : Bharati Ghosh, former IPS officer and BJP candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha seat, on Saturday took a dig at Trinamool MP Deepak Adhikari aka Dev for not raising developmental issues in English in Parliament.

Reacting to Ghosh's allegation, Dev said he would not be cowed down by such criticism and added he would continue to speak in Bangla as he was a Bengali.

"I will continue to speak in Bengali (Bangla) and raise the issues in Bengali during parliamentary sessions, if I get your blessing again," he said.

Ghosh also termed Trinamool's sitting MPs -- veteran actress Moon Moon Sen, Bangla film stars Tapas Paul, Dev and actress Sandhya Roy -- as "non-performing asset" by saying they did not participate in most debates in Parliament and had a low attendance.

"Dev is a good human being and shines on silver screen. But he attended Parliament only 11 times in the last five years and had participated in only two debates," Ghose said, adding like Dev, Moon Moon Sen, Tapas Paul and Sandhya Roy were non-performers.

She wondered how will the Trinamool government serve the people with these non-performing assets. "Parliament is for English-speaking educated people. If he cannot talk in English or present his prakalpa (project) in English, he can invite me. I can do that for him," she told reporters.

Ghosh, once a favourite of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reportedly fell from grace and sought voluntary retirement after she was transferred as Commandant of the West Bengal Armed Police's third Battalion. Her application was accepted in January 2018.

Ghosh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in February.

Dev had raised his voice for Ghatal Master plan in Parliament in Bangla. According to him, the plan has been approved, but funds are yet to be allocated.

Dev also said he has worked with Ghosh when she served the district as the Superintendent of Police and had no complaints against her.

"Yes, my attendance in Parliament was relatively less, but I tried to work for people of Ghatal with honesty and devotion. I met flood victims even leaving my sister's marriage function and offered nine trucks of relief materials," he said.New Delhi, March 30 : Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "monumental mismanagement" of the economy, the Congress on Saturday said his "reckless decisions", including that of demonetisation and the hasty implementation of a "flawed" GST, had turned it into a "gasping" and "struggling" economy instead of a "galloping" economy.

"The fact is that there has been monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy under his (Modi's) watch. It is not a galloping economy, it is a gasping economy, a struggling economy. The Indian economy has also suffered because of the reckless decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially demonetisation," Congress leader Anand Sharma said in a press conference.

He said that Modi would have to give an account of what he did to the economy and how "tens of millions of jobs were destroyed" by his government post demonetisation.

Sharma added that time has come to punish Modi and his government for mismanaging the economy and "destroying the credibility of Indian data".

"Narendra Modi had made certain promises to the people of India. A betrayed nation is now questioning his betrayal, non-performance, non-delivery and non-creation of two crore jobs per year which has actually put a dark shadow over the future of our young people and their aspirations.

"The farmers are now asking questions about the non-fulfilment of the government's commitment to give 1-1/2 times the price as per the cost of the produce," Sharma said.

He added that the Prime Minister was "running scared" of the real issues but the Congress was determined not to allow him to get away.

"It is important that the Prime Minister comes back to the real issues. We are making it absolutely clear that the Congress will not allow the Prime Minister to hijack the narrative by talking about non-issues and playing with the people's emotions," the Congress leader said.Our employees helped people save their homes while they were losing their own.

Tampa used car dealership Car Credits Corzones de Car Credit charitable organization has selected the Housing and Education Alliance as its monthly winner for March 2019. Corzones de Car Credit, a program which recognizes Tampa Bay area charitable organizations for helping those newly immigrated to the country, awarded the Housing and Education Alliance $2000.

Housing and Education Alliance (HEA) opened in 2002 with the goal of providing home buyer education. Their mission is to not only enable people to buy a home, but to keep it. To date, they have helped over 40,000 Tampa families through home buyer education classes which are required for down payment assistance.

This is not the first time that the Housing and Education Alliance has been recognized for their work in the Tampa Bay community. The HEA was also the recipient of the PBS Nonprofit of the Year award, and their founder and executive director, Syliva Alvarez, was appointed to the Federal Housing Administration by Obama as a result of the HEA's work.

The HEA has weathered huge setbacks and challenges in large part, Sylvia Says, to their employees commitment to serving the community. In 2008, Sylvia had to make the difficult decision to shut down the agency as a result of the financial crisis. "We waited until after the holidays to make the announcement, in consideration for our employees and their families. It still chokes me up thinking about the day after we made the announcement. We showed up the next morning, ready to pack up the office, and found a parking lot full of cars. When we got inside we found everyone there working. I said to them, 'you heard what I said yesterday, right? We're gonna have to shut down." One employee stood up, followed by another, saying that they were going to stay and work as volunteers."

As a result of the generosity of their employees, Sylvia says, they were able to help even more families during the housing crisis of 2008. Our employees helped people save their homes while they were losing their own.

When asked where she gets her passion for helping others achieve ownership, Sylvia said that it stems from when she communicated with realtors for her parents, who immigrated from Cuba, when she was 9. She still remembers how proud they were when they were able to buy their first house.

Sylvia said that they will be using the $2000 awarded by Corzones de Car Credit toward their marketing efforts so that they can continue to reach more people.

Corzones de Car Credit recognizes one Tampa Bay area charitable organization for their exemplary work in helping people who are new to the Country. Monthly winners receive a $2,000 check from Car Credit Tampa and in December a charity will receive $10,000 at the 2019 Corazones de Car Credit Gala. Car Credit Tampa has four Tampa Bay area locations and offers Guaranteed Auto Approval to people with no credit or bad credit in an effort to help them build credit and live the American Dream. For more information about Car Credit Tampa, visit carcredittampa.com.PRP is a concentrated portion of a patients own blood that is rich in growth factors and healing properties. Applied to any area of the body needing revitalization, PRP helps to spur new cellular growth and boost blood flow for an impressive range of benefits.



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CNY Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery offers both surgical and non-surgical procedures to help patients achieve their cosmetic goals, including Botox, dermal fillers, laser skin rejuvenation, laser hair removal, SculpSure non-invasive body contouring, and more.

About Dr. Anthony Deboni

Dr. Deboni is a recognized expert in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery with particular interest and experience in aesthetic surgery of the breast and body contouring. His notable accomplishments include board certification with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, membership with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, clinical instructor of surgery at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, and clinical instructor of otolaryngology at Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY.

Dr. Deboni is a recognized leader in breast and body aesthetic surgery. He came to Syracuse in 1998 and quickly established his expertise in breast surgery, being the first to perform the microsurgical TRAM flap breast reconstruction procedure. Dr. Deboni rapidly became known as a regional expert in breast and cosmetic surgery, and was invited to speak at a several regional and national conferences. In 1997, he was the first in the area to be awarded appointment to the National Advisory Council for Leaders in Breast Aesthetics (NOVO) and was invited by Allergan Medical to advise on advancing the science in breast aesthetics.

About Dr. Gregory Baum

Dr. Baum is a recognized expert in both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery with an emphasis on breast surgery. His noteworthy accomplishments include board-certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, chief of plastic surgery at St. Josephs Hospital in Syracuse, NY, clinical instructor of surgery at University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, and membership with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Dr. Baum has lectured extensively throughout Central NY on topics in cosmetic surgery, breast reconstruction, skin cancer treatment, and skin care. He was appointed to the advisory panel for Skinceuticals by L'Oreal in 2012 and was appointed to the National Advisory Council for Leaders in Breast Aesthetics in 2012 by Allergan. He was sought after for his advice in advancing the science of breast aesthetics; participation in this national forum is by invitation only and is based on overall excellence in plastic surgery and a commitment to superior outcomes.It was time to align our brands visual identity to the modern, global organization we have become. Were not only an Australian organization any more, we are a global company now, with global solutions, and we feel our new brand identity reflects that well" Tina Mucha, Global Marketing Manager

Those familiar with Omnitronics, will associate their suite of mission critical communications equipment and dispatch systems with a rusty red brand identity reminiscent of the Australian outbacks red iron-rich dirt that has inspired the organizations passion for rugged and reliable systems that withstand the harshest of conditions, no matter what.

After 35+ years in operation, Omnitronics has expanded their footprint globally with systems installed in over 35 countries worldwide.

The re-brand is a strategic decision, with the company deliberately moving away from the rusty-red color scheme to a modern, fresh, blue corporate identity.

It was time to align our brands visual identity to the modern, global organization we have become. Were not only an Australian organization any more, we are a global company now, with global solutions, and we feel our new brand identity reflects that well," states Omnitronics Global Marketing Manager Tina Mucha.

Omnitronics CEO John Florenca adds: Our commitment to high quality, long lasting and reliable systems remains but we want our customers and partners to know that we are evolving from an engineering house to a genuine and trusted partner of software and services. Were proud of our history and were excited about the opportunities that are arising from changes in technology and our industry.

The re-brand is being rolled out globally in March 2019."Human trafficking is a hard subject to talk about for anyone, said Nathan Earl, Founder and Director of Ark of Freedom Alliance, but when we begin talking about the trafficking of abandoned, runaway or thrown-away youth, it becomes too heavy for many to wrap their minds around, let alone take action to prevent it.

While the human trafficking epidemic can affect anyone regardless of age, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, or country of origin, young people experiencing homelessness are at greater risk of exploitation and violence, according to Earl. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that as many as one out of every six young people abandoned, thrown away or otherwise experiencing homelessness will be exploited for sex and or labor.

The reality is that our youth are under attack, said Earl, Night on the Streets: Ending the Trafficking of Homeless Youth was conceptualized to intervene by educating the masses in a way that was digestible, responsible and action-oriented, while raising money to operationalize our street and school-based prevention.

Earl knows all too well about the vicious reality of life on the streets having survived trafficking and sexual assault himself as a young person caught up in the life' and losing his fiance to a violent crime in September of 2016 here in Fort Lauderdale. He and other survivors led a candlelight vigil to remember those lost to the trafficking epidemic while listening to the story of one LGBTQ young person who chose to sleep in a dumpster rather than face the dangers of sleeping in traditional adult homeless shelters.

Concurrently, service providers from across the tri-county area participated in a collaborative youth fair to identify and assist youth experiencing homelessness, substance abuse disorders, mental health challenges and other vulnerabilities that put them at greater risk for exploitation and violence.

National, state and local organizations supported the innovative, experiential event and accompanying youth fair. Underwriting and sponsorship investments were offered by Safe Shelter Collaborative, produced by Caravan Studios, a division of TechSoup; NBC 6 PRIDE, Clear Channel Outdoors, Heidi Schaeffer M.D. Charitable Trust; Holman Enterprises; Holy Cross Hospital; Childrens Services Council of Broward County; Redefining Refuge; Zonta Club of Pinellas County; CHANCE program of Citrus Health Network; More too Life, Inc and the Behavioral Health Center at Memorial Regional Hospital, DoubleTime Digital, LCC Events and Tepino Branding. Hands on Broward served as the volunteer partner.

Attendees experienced a live art installation by world-renowned urban artist, Nathan Delinois, aka Nate Dee, live performances by Jenny Love and DJ Guy St-Jean, an eclectic assortment of food trucks, face painting and a scavenger hunt that educated participants about human trafficking as they played along. Night on the Streets: Ending the Trafficking of Homeless Youth raised just under $20,000 in its inaugural year with one child victim of exploitation identified. More information on the event can be found at http://www.NightontheStreets.org.The story rolls off of the tongue for an easy read that welcomes repetitive readings that children tend to love

Down Syndrome advocate Lisa Van Drese hopes her new book, Maxwell Goes to the Zoo ($10.49, paperback, 9781498478267), sparks discussion between children and their caregivers about people who are different. Maxwell has Down Syndrome, but this aspect is downplayed in the text. The story is primarily about a boy enjoying his trip to the zoo with his mother, the same as many other children.

Van Drese hopes that children enjoying her story will see how much they have in common with Maxwell, and learn to see the qualities they share with others, rather than the things that make them different.

The story rolls off of the tongue for an easy read that welcomes repetitive readings that children tend to love, said Van Drese.

Lisa Van Drese is the mother of two children finishing up her BA in English from the University of Phoenix. She has previously authored magazine articles and has plans to earn a Masters degree in Creative Writing. She is currently working on her second book, Down Syndrome: One Mothers Truth.

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. Maxwell Goes to the Zoo is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

The number-one market for audiobooks in Spanish published by companies in Spain and Latin America used to be the U.S., but that has changed in recent years. A study conducted over the winter by Javier Celaya, founder of Bilbao, Spainbased Dosdoce.com, revealed that consumer behavior is quickly shifting and publishers are adapting.

The study, Profile of the Spanish Audiobook Market, was published in March and surveyed publishers in Spain and Latin America that account for about 95% of Spanish-language audiobook sales. In 2018, the reporting publishers biggest market was the combined markets of Spain and Mexico, then the U.S. The publishers surveyed predicted that in 2019, Spain alone will be their biggest market, with sales there estimated to be as high as 7 million. They predicted that Mexico will be the second-largest market, followed by the U.S., then the rest of Latin America.

The sales growth in these areas is being spurred by the same factors that have led to strong audio sales gains in the U.S. With better technology and more streaming options, consumers have greater access to digital audiobooks than they used to, and that has led audio publishers to significantly increase their output in the past couple of years, with virtually all audiobooks produced in digital format. In 2017, 6,000 audiobooks were published in Spanish; 8,000 were published in 2018; and more than 10,000 are expected to become available in 2019. These figures might seem small compared to the roughly 50,000 audio titles released in English last year, but the English-language market is larger and more mature.

Celaya tells PW that where the titles are being produced is also changing. In the past, most of the titles came from Spain, and audio readers tended to have Castilian accentsnot necessarily the most appealing for the Latin-American market. In 2019, 60% of new titles in Spanish will be produced in Latin America with Latin American accents, he says. This should also be more appealing for the U.S. market, as most Hispanics come from Latin America.

Celaya explains that the categories that are popular for Spanish-language audiobooks tend to mirror the categories that sell well in print in each of the markets. In the U.S., nonfiction does much better than fiction, which is not surprising since nonfiction books in Spanish do better in the U.S. than fiction, he notes. In Spain and Latin America, fiction is the top category, followed by self-help/business and romance/erotica. Celaya cautions publishers looking to expand into Latin America or Spain not to consider the U.S. Hispanic market as representative of all Spanish-speaking markets.

The research revealed that subscription platforms such as Audible, Kobo, Scribd, and Storytel have become the main sales channels for audiobooks in Spanish in Spain and Latin America. The second-most-popular sales channel is apps such as Downpour, Google Play, iTunes, and Libro.fm, which allow users to buy individual titles. Streaming platformssuch as Apple Music, Deezer, Napster, and Spotifycome in third. Unlike in English-language markets, libraries are still a very underdeveloped channel for sales of Spanish-language audiobooks, placing them in fourth place. But efforts undertaken by library-lending platforms such as eBiblio and eLiburutegia in Spain, as well as Findaway, Hoopla, Odilo, and OverDrive in the U.S., are rapidly increasing sales of audiobooks in this channel.

Celaya notes that he is planning a second study of the Spanish-language audio market that will include about 40 U.S. publishers that produce audiobooks in Spanish. The study will include traditional publishers as well as companies that specialize in audiobooks. Results of the survey are due to be released in the third quarter of this year.Deal of the Week: St. Martins Believes in Bruce Greysons After For a high-six-figure sum, George Witte, St. Martins editor-in-chief, won at auction North American rights to Bruce Greysons After: A Skeptical Scientists Journey to Understand Life, Death, and Beyond, which explores near-death experiences. Witte has great confidence in the book, planned for winter 2021, because, he said, millions of readers read Raymond Moodys Life After Life and Eben Alexanders Proof of Heaven. He added, Greyson takes a scientific approach to the question of life, death, and beyond. Based on 45 years of research and interviews with more than 1,000 people, Greyson, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, suggests that consciousness is not produced by the brain and may continue after death. Doug Abrams at Idea Architects brokered the deal. Across the pond, Transworld also paid six figures at auction to secure U.K. and Commonwealth rights from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein.

FROM THE U.S.

Tor Pays Up for a Space Trilogy

In another six-figure deal, executive editor William Hinton and editor Diana M. Pho of Tor Books have bought Maurice Broadduss debut space opera trilogy, which was pitched as The Expanse meets Black Panther and explores an intergalactic Afrofuturist empire. The deal was brokered by Jennifer Udden of Barry Goldblatt Literary for world rights. The first installment is set to publish in 2021. Broaddus is a science fiction and horror author living in Indianapolis, where he also works as a community organizer.

Tim McGraw and Jon Meacham Sing for Random House

Kate Medina snapped up North American rights to Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation from CAA. Described by the publisher as a celebration of America and the music that has inspired us, Songs is authored by an unlikely duo: Tim McGraw, one of the biggest touring artists in country music, and Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prizewinning biographer and historian, author of the bestselling titles American Lion, The Soul of America, and Thomas Jefferson, among others.

Lupita Nyongos Picture Book to S&S

CAA sold Academy Awardwinner Lupita Nyongos first book to Zareen Jaffery at Simon & Schuster. Sulwe, a picture book, illustrated by Vashti Harrison (Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History), was inspired by Nyongos childhood in Kenya and tells the story of a little girl who learns to embrace her own beauty. The book, to be published in October, was written entirely by Nyongo, an agency representative said, adding that she spent many hours working with the illustrator.

Ecco Prevails in 10-Way Auction for a Debut

Megan Lynch wrestled away North American rights to Of Women and Salt in a 10-house auction brokered by Marya Spence and PJ Mark at Janklow & Nesbit. The debut from Gabriela Garcia, a Rona Jaffe Award recipient, traces a lineage of Latin-American mothers and daughters across the diaspora. This is a rare debut novel that is as emotionally powerful as it is formally inventive, Lynch said. It moved me to tears even as its structural high-wire act left me breathless.

David Mamet Goes to Bombardier Books

David S. Bernstein, associate publisher of Bombardier, an imprint of Post Hill Press, signed a deal with AGI Vigliano Literary for two works by playwright and author David Mamet (Chicago). A collection of Mamets novellas, Three War Stories, will be published in September. December will see the publication of The Diary of a Porn Star by Priscilla Wriston-Wranger, as told to Mamet and with an afterword by him.

S&S Signs On to a Revolution

Emily Graff at Simon & Schuster preempted North American rights to Teen Vogue columnist Lauren Ducas How to Start a Revolution: Young People and the Future of American Politics from Monika Woods at Curtis Brown. After the 2016 election, Duca started to question everything she knew about the government and began a quest to learn more, according to the publisher. She spoke with hundreds of young people who had similar political awakenings, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and David and Lauren Hogg, survivors of the mass shooting at Parkland, Fla.s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Dominican Flair Entices Harper Perennial

Nick Owen of the Barcelona-based Pontas Agency sold world English rights to Amber Oliver at Harper Perennial, in a preempt, to A Taste of Sage, a debut novel by Y.S. Seraph. Seraph draws on her Dominican background to create a story that merges romance with cooking and includes recipes. As foodie culture grows, Oliver said,we believe that this is a perfect crossover.

Behind the Deal

As it marks its 45th anniversary, Graywolf picked up its fourth book from Claudia Rankine, a scholar and poet with a long and distinguished list of credentials. She is a 2016 recipient of the MacArthur genius grant, a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, the winner of the 2014 Jackson Poetry Prize, the Frederick Iseman professor of poetry at Yale, and a contributing editor of Poets & Writers. Graywolfs Jeff Shotts signed the deal for world rights with Frances Coady at Aragi.

The essays in Just Us: An American Conversation, set to be published in September 2020, take place in transitionary spaceson airplanes, at a diversity training session, in a therapists officewhere presumed neutrality gives way to American cultures overwhelming whiteness, the publisher said. Rankine questions what it means in these spaces to interrogate white privilege, well-meaning liberal politics, white male aggression, the implications of blondeness, white supremacy in the White House, the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, and the alarming move toward Brexit.

The press has done well with Rankine: it has shipped more than 300,000 copies of her 2014 NBCC Awardwinning Citizen: An American Lyric and has just published her first play, The White Card.

MOVIE DEALS

 Francis McDormand and Plan B Productions have optioned Miriam Toews Women Talking for feature development. The novel is a fictional response to real events in a remote Mennonite community. The Wylie Agencys Sarah Chalfant brokered the deal.

 The Queens Gambit by Walter Tevis (The Color of Money, The Hustler) was sold to Netflix, with two-time Oscar nominee Scott Frank as writer, director, and executive producer. William Horberh is a cowriter. Susan Schulman negotiated the deal for her eponymous agency.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS

 The Barcelona-based Pontas Agency is having great success with Eloisa Diazs Repentance, for which it closed five deals in two weeks. Rights to the English-language Argentina-set literary whodunit have sold in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and in the U.K., where Weidenfeld & Nicolson bought world English rights.

 The Bookseller reported that Stephanie Lands Maid was sold to Womens Publishing House in Vietnam by Itzel Hsu at the Grayhawk Agency, on behalf of Jeff Kleinman and Melissa White at Folio Literary Management.

 Sophie Kinsella returns to her blockbuster series with Christmas Shopaholic for Transworld, The Bookseller reported. Larry Finlay acquired British Commonwealth rights from Araminta Whitley at the Soho Agency.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.I can easily see why poets took to Twitter, says poet Eduardo C. Corral, whose Yale Younger Poets Prizewinning Slow Lightning was a hit in 2012 and whose second book, Guillotine, is forthcoming from Graywolf in 2020. He maintains an active presence on the platform, which he says mimics the ways poets think: Click, click, link, linkthats something were always doing in our heads, too, with words. Were clicking on them to see where they take us, the different pathways. I think poets intuitively know that the first hyperlink was a word itself.

With a generation of digital natives coming of age as readers and writers, the stereotype of a brooding teen clutching a worn copy of Ginsberg is being replaced by one of a teen using Holy! Holy! Holy! as a bio line on Instagram or tweeting about an odyssey in the supermarket. Still, the debate over poetrys futuredigital or otherwisepersists; a 2015 article in the Washington Post suggested signs pointed to the demise of the form, but in 2018, the Atlantic assured us that far from going extinct, as it was once predicted, poems are viral, vitaland invincible.

The curious influx of how-to guides to reading poems, some with glib titles acknowledging the forms contentious place in literary life (among them, 2016s The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner and Dont Read Poetry, due in May from Stephanie Burt, who is interviewed on p. 31), appear less a symptom of poetrys uncertain future than a side effect of its having a larger readership than ever. Indeed, the National Endowment for the Arts reported a substantial increase in the portion of U.S. adults who read poetry, from 6.7% in 2012 to 11.7% in 2017; in 2017, there were an estimated 28 million poetry readers.

Social media is at the center of poetrys viral vitality. Though Twitter revolutionized the distribution of tiny texts, other platforms used to share visual and written content, such as Instagram and Tumblr, have spurred the development of new ways of transmitting and consuming digital writing. A glance at the common poetry hashtags on Instagram#Poetry, #WritersOfInstagram, or the edgier #WordPornsuggests an audience ready to identify, share, and interact with fellow readers and writers. That these labels often appear alongside their desired outcomes#Inspire, #Succeed, #PoetryIsNotDeadsuggests the wish-fulfilling power of placing work online.

Finding readers of poetry in the flesh (and getting them to purchase books by poets in airports or bookstores) has historically been challenging, but a growing number of digital poetsamong them Atticus, Rupi Kaur, and R.H. Sinhave nurtured and developed their readerships through digital platforms, drawing the attention and endorsement of major publishers and celebrities alike. These poets have been described as managing a symbiotic relationship between the writing and its audience, which translates to a kind of ready-made marketing strategy for publishers and booksellers.

Connection, Community, and Controversy

Kaur, whom the Atlantic dubbed a poet-entrepreneur and whose book Milk & Honey sold more than 3.5 million copies, got her start as a performance poet, opening her Instagram account in 2013 after a breakup. She gained a small following posting poems and artwork and has watched the exponential growth of her readership over the past few years; she now boasts more than 3.6 million followers.

I have strong connections with the women in my community and neighborhood, says Kaur, who lives in Toronto. Suddenly, I was having those same connections globally. Women were responding to these pieces. Some of the women are now my close friends. Their responses were Whoa, Im not alone. 

In her own poetic practice, Kaur says, she emphasizes the importance of separating the art from the business, remaining conscientious about the platforms role (and her millions of followers) in shaping her writing. Over the years, Ive distanced myself from it, she notes. I realize that when I had fewer people watching, I was more raw and vocal. When the numbers started to grow, I started to overthink things. I felt more pressure to be correct and perfect all the time.

As soon as youre on social media, youre branding yourself, says Paisley Rekdal, Utahs poet laureate, whose sixth collection, Nightingale, is coming out in May from Copper Canyon Press. Every day, Im trying to ask myself what kind of person Im trying to be on social media, because I know that person isnt really mewhat kind of role model for my students, what kind of political citizen, what kind of literary citizenwhile at the same time recognizing that Im selling my work as poet laureate, or as university professor, or as writer Paisley Rekdal. All of these are things that Im promoting, so somewhere down there is me.

Poet Danez Smith, who uses the pronoun they, is the author of Dont Call Us Dead and has more than 35,000 followers on Twitter. They say they dont see the platform as serving a critical function in their identity as a writer. Nevertheless, they cite social media as having a positive effect on their practice. Its maybe made me more comfortable in things that I was already doing in my work, in reaching people through a language that is common and colloquial, and finding the lyric within how we talk to each other when were not trying to be poets; realizing there is a poetics within that as well. Social media lets people see that the poets they like are just real people who have regular thoughts and are also politically engaged and can think about more things than a line break. Its a way to engage with poetry where you dont need any type of academic or educational privilege. And if people can see their favorite poets just being casual fans of poetry, then maybe poetry can also be for them.

Social medias ability to casually connect audiences with similar interests, or to mobilize entire communities, is perhaps its most powerful attribute. Rekdal says that in the past, she has used Facebook and Twitter for a range of written projects. Ive asked questions for translation help, and Ive gotten it. There was research I did on my nonfiction book The Broken Country that I would not have been able to do without putting out a call and getting names from people in the community. There are things I couldnt have done as a writer, or that would have taken more time, without social media. Rekdal is currently drawing on digital networks to organize an all-Utah poetry festival.

Poet Rachel McKibbens, author of Blud, who co-owns a restaurant and runs a successful poetry series in Upstate New York, argues that social media has been central to finding and maintaining her community. She called on this community in December, drawing attention to poet Ailey OTooles widespread plagiarism of lines from McKibbens and other poets, which turned into a poetry scandal that made headlines. The resulting Twitter storm prompted the cancelation of OTooles forthcoming book.

I did not expect that post to grow as fast as it did, McKibbens says. I didnt really understand the extent of the plagiarism at that point. It wasnt until the other Twitter members joined in the fray and started closely examining not just the poetry but interviews. What hurt the most about the plagiarism is that the choice of lines taken were very lived, very survived experiences. It leveled me in a way I was unprepared for, and it kept growing as the days progressed.

The ease of digital poetry consumptionand the widespread recirculation of fragments and lines on Twitteris one of the platforms chief draws and one of its most potentially problematic features. Once a line is removed from its original context, it is open to misreading or even misattribution, as poet Marty McConnell, a friend of McKibbens, knows. Marty learned the hard way by writing a poem called Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell, a poem that is now attributed to Frida Kahlo, McKibbens says.

One of the books I recommend my students read is So Youve Been Publicly Shamed, about what happens to you after a media takedown, Rekdal says. I read a tweet one time, and I thought that it was a perfect summation of Twitter: Twitter is like playing tag, and every day, you just pray to God youre not it. 

Echo (and Narcissus) Chambers

But despite social medias seemingly endless array of channels for discourse on poetry, and the countless shapes such discourse can take, some poets wonder whether social media may be limitingwhether, due to algorithms or their own narrow tastes, they may be responsible for creating poetic echo chambers on the web.

What I fight against myself, personally, is, does it become groupthink? Corral asks. Does it become that were all sharing the same kinds of poets and aesthetics and links? One of my teachers, Alberto Rios, says, The task of poet is, when theres a loud noise over there, to turn and look away from the noise. 

Youd think that thered be an infinite number of links, an infinite number of conversations going on, Rekdal says. And yet, in a weird way, it still feels like there are five or six books that we end up talking aboutfive or six topics. Im not sure if thats the algorithm speaking or not. Shouldnt this be a bigger conversation, just because of the sheer number of voices? Why are we still having only the same conversation?

What McKibbens describes as top-40 easy-listening poetry is an aesthetic narrowing that poets and readers of poetry might not even be aware of.

Pieces can go viral, which is great, but that doesnt represent the true breadth of what poetry is and can do, largely because of the format in which we read certain types of work and not others, Rekdal says. This is not to say that the poems that work online are terrible. It just means that [social media] slowly but surely changes the way in which we imagine a successful aesthetic to work. It can have a kind of effect on our very syntax. And I dont think we really fully appreciate that.

Byte-Size Ballads

Just how differently readers process whole poems (or endless fragments) digitally versus on the physical page remains another unanswered question about poetry on social media. I wonder how engaging with so many microbits of language every day affects us, Smith says. How much reading time or brain space Im putting in. If Im on Twitter for an hour, sometimes I look up and think, Okay, how many words did I read and how many pages of a book does that add up to? I think it is good practice to pull yourself away from it and really consider how much time youre spending living in a digital space when there is so much in the living, tangible, walking, waking world.

But, Rekdal notes, theres no going back. Everyone has to live with it at some level, even if youre the writer who decides youre never going to be on these social media platforms. There are certain types of work we wouldnt have been able to have without the printing press, so there are many things that social media is going to change and amplify.

Kaur posits that criticism of social medias influence on poetry may have more to do with resistance to democratizing a form that wasnt always democratic or accessible to all. Its similar to how, for a time, people only read hardcover books, and mass paperback was created for those who couldnt afford them, she says. Social media has married poetry to a nontraditional platform.

Ive read every essay, every critique that this is all throwaway poetry, or that its the death of poetry, McKibbens says. But theyve been saying that of anything that makes a form popular. Poetry and storytelling didnt begin with Byron, I promise.

Maya C. Popa is a poet and PWs Poetry Reviews Editor.Australia: The federal government has committed A$15m towards the construction of park-and-ride facilities at Mango Hill and Ferny Grove stations on the Brisbane suburban network.Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

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We're sorry, this article is not currently availablePorterville, CA (93257)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 57F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 51F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.A Seat at the Table, a crossover event with Grady college and Terry college, taught male and female students how to earn their place at the table and what to do with it once they are there.Ola, which is now present in seven cities in the UK, said its easy-to-use app would transform commuting experiences in these areas providing the community with greater travel choice as well as quicker and easier access to cabs.

IMAGE: Ola offered customers in Liverpool free rides on green tuk-tuks in a limited time period, as part of a promotional campaign. Photograph: Courtesy, Ola UK

Ola may be facing hurdles in Karnataka, the state where it was born, but the home-grown ride-hailing major is expanding fast in the UK where it had entered seven months ago.

The SoftBank-backed company has unveiled its services in three cities in the UK - Liverpool, Birmingham, and Reading - after obtaining the taxi and private hire licences from the local councils.

Ola is now present in seven cities in the UK.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company is planning to launch in more cities across North England and the Midlands in the coming months, it said in a statement.

Thanks to the positive word-of-mouth from both driver-partners and passengers who experienced our offerings in Cardiff, Bristol, Bath, and Exeter, we received requests from users across the UK to introduce the Ola platform in their cities, said Ben Legg, managing director of Ola UK.

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company, which competes with US-based Uber, offered customers in Liverpool free rides on green tuk-tuks (three-wheeled motorised vehicle) last week in a limited time period, as part of a promotional campaign.

The firm said its easy-to-use app would transform commuting experiences in these areas providing the community with greater travel choice as well as quicker and easier access to cabs.

In the UK, Ola is the only app that offers black cabs and private hire vehicles (PHVs), giving both the driver-partners as well as the users, more choice.

As part of its pledge to empower drivers on the platform, Ola said it offered the highest share of revenue, charging just 10 per cent commission to black cabs and 15 per cent to PHVs, compared with 25 per cent charged by competitors.

We are determined to work with local authorities to help communities grow and achieve enhanced transportation access, safety and mobility goals across UK, said Legg.

Last week, the Karnataka government had banned the services of Ola for six months in the state after the transport department found that the firm was operating bike taxis illegally.

The ban, however, was lifted after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy intervened on the matter.

The firm had to pay the government Rs15 lakh towards fines.Clare Montgomery, Modi's barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi failed in his second attempt to get bail in his extradition case at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London despite his defence team trying hard to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to care for a pet dog.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot on Friday declined the bail application of the 48-year-old prime accused in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case on the grounds that he did pose a "substantial" flight risk and that he lacked "community ties" with the UK.

Clare Montgomery, Modi's barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail.

"He did have a son at Charterhouse (school in London) who has now gone to a university in the US and as a sign of ageing parents, led Modi to get a dog instead.

None of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out to flee the country," Montgomery claimed.

Britain has a long-held reputation as a nation of animal lovers.

"It is nonsense to say that he is a flight risk. He does not have a safe haven open to him and he has not travelled or applied for citizenship elsewhere - he only qualifies for leave to remain in this country," she added.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, stressed that Modi posed a significant flight risk and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence if he were released.

Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian government's arguments, noting the "very unusual" evidence she had seen at this early stage in the case of interference with witnesses and destruction evidence in the form of mobile phones and a server.

Montgomery, who along with Anand Doobay of Boutique Law makes up a very similar defence team as that of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case against India, told the court that her client was willing to put up 1 million pound as security -- doubling of the 500,000 pounds figure offered at the first bail hearing last week.

She also offered to submit to several "stringent conditions", including Modi wearing an electronic tag to be monitored regularly.

The tag was claimed to be even better than reporting to any police station but Modi was also willing to submit to even that requirement.

As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Montgomery said that Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up and switched on at all times, submit to complete travel restrictions and also surrender all his residence permits, including for Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE.

The defence team also attempted to counter additional CPS evidence, submitted on Friday by the joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team, that claimed Modi had made death threats to witnesses in the PNB fraud case, many of whom had been forced to leave India to hide away in Cairo, Egypt.

"All of the witnesses who make varying claims have been in India since then and cooperating with the authorities," said Montgomery.

The CPS was able to challenge Modi's defence claims that he had not travelled out of the UK since January 2018, when he allegedly arrived in Britain to establish the global headquarters of his diamond business.

CPS barrister Toby Cadman told the court that in fact he had flown out to New York as recently as last month.

"That aside, he has known about these matters for some time but has not cooperated with authorities in any way. Now that the (extradition) process has started, there is an even greater risk of his fleeing (the UK)," Cadman submitted.

The judge agreed that she did not feel that the conditions met with Modi's statutory right to bail in such a case and directed Modi to be remanded in custody to appear for a remand hearing via video call on April 26, required within a four-week period of an accused being remanded in custody.

Modi will remain at the Wandsworth prison in south-west London during that period, where he can hold sessions with his legal team to deliberate on the course of the extradition case.

His lawyers have urged the judge to allow them more that the few hours a week allowed by the jail, one of the UK's most overcrowded prisons.Before the MCC came into effect, Modi was busy laying stones, cutting ribbons, and unveiling plaques across the country.

Shine Jacob and Indivjal Dhasmana report.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi addresses a meeting after the launch of a Kalashnikov rifles manufacturing facility in Amethi, March 3, 2019. Photograph: PTI Photo

In a race against the clock, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi inaugurated over 50 projects worth at least Rs 2 trillion (excluding the Rs 75,000 crore per annum PM Kisan Scheme) and his Cabinet has cleared 94 proposals in 16 days -- all to beat the model code of conduct.

After the code came into effect, the government cannnot announce programmes or welfare measures.

Modi was busy laying stones, cutting ribbons, and unveiling plaques across the country.

He inaugurated projects such as a Kalashnikov rifle manufacturing facility in Amethi, bestowed manna worth Rs 33,000 crore (Rs 330 billion) to Bihar, and inaugurated the National War Memorial at India Gate.

On March 8, the PM launched a series of development projects in five Uttar Pradesh cities, including his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi.

Among the decisions taken by the Cabinet was a new electronic policy, which aims to create a $400 billion electronic-manufacturing ecosystem by 2025 and generate 10 million jobs.

It also cleared a software policy, which lays out a five-year road map to create 3.5 million jobs and promote 10,000 start-ups with an initial budget of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion), besides power projects worth Rs 31,000 crore (Rs 310 billion).

The rush began around February 15, in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and roughly around the time of the launch of the country's fastest train, the Vande Bharat Express from Delhi to Varanasi.

At Gorakhpur, Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, or PM Kisan, under which around 120 million poor farmers will get Rs 6,000 a year directly into their bank accounts.

On opening the factory that will make the latest series of Kalashnikov rifles, he said: 'Our troops have certainly received a great lead in the encounters with terrorists and Maoists with the 'Made in Amethi' AK-203 rifles. The factory is also bringing new employment opportunities for the youth of Amethi and is also opening a new path for the development and security of the country.'

In two visits to Varanasi, Modi gave the final touches to projects of Rs 4,000 core to Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 40 billion to Rs 50 billion) including projects in health, sanitation, connectivity, power, and housing.

Reports said his visit to Lucknow on March 8 saw around Rs 65,000 crore (Rs 650 billion) worth of projects taking shape.

These included the unveiling of a new 660 Mw electricity generation and distribution unit and the inauguration of the Lucknow Metro Rail project.

In Jharkhand, the PM laid the foundation stones of hospitals in Hazaribagh, Dumka and Palamau and launched a few rural water supply projects.

Anxious to keep a focus on Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Modi visited Kanyakumari and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu and Kalaburagi in Karnataka.

As many as nine projects were inaugurated in Kalaburagi and Kancheepuram alone, among them a highway project, a LNG terminal, and the electrification of railway lines.

In urban transport, several metro and road projects got their final touches.

These included metro projects in Nagpur, Patna, Lucknow, Agra, and Ahmedabad.

In top gearHoned and utilised in-house for over three years, the engineering major's new arm - L&T-Nxt - will focus on AI, IoT, vitual reality and cyber security among other fields of digitisation.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Construction to engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced a five-year strategic initiative - L&T-Nxt - that will focus on artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), geo-spatial enterprises, and cyber security.

The announcement comes at a time when L&T is trying to expand its technology footprint through a sweet and sour takeover of Mindtree.

Disruption has become the new order as we embrace frontier technologies, and our businesses are leapfrogging into entirely new realms powered by the tremendous benefits of digitalisation and analytics, said S N Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director, L&T, referring to the efforts of the company to embrace digitalisation.

L&T, through its current construction, EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) and manufacturing businesses, has made one of the largest deployments of IoT, analytics and AI in the industrial sector in areas such as finance, human resources, labour, and plant material among others.

The company is shifting its focus to accelerating top line and bottom line growth while at the same time expanding its potential for value creation by adopting a fresh mindset and building a new structure from the ground up.

L&T-Nxt will at present be driven by J D Patil, a senior executive vice-president (defence business) and member of the board.

L&T-Nxt has been honed and utilised in-house for over three years now and we felt that it was a good time to take this capacity to our customers across the industries, he said.

Patil said there would be little overlap between the kind of services catered by L&T-Nxt with that of the groups existing software and technology arms, L&T Infotech (LTI) and L&T Technology Services (LTTS).

He did not foresee any immediate plans to list the entity.

The idea, he said, was to provide existing and new engineering customers higher efficiency and digital-led value addition to services.

The L&T-Nxt team currently comprises a few hundred employees and will grow further as the business vertical develops.

We see new technology businesses and sunrise enterprises as prime constituents with the latent upside for rapid and substantial value creation.

Both LTI and LTTS are among the better favoured technology providers in the mid-cap IT space.

Analysts are not entirely sure how L&T groups technology ambition is intended to pan out if they seek to keep these two companies (which also address a number of group clients) separate from this new initiative.

Last week, Subrahmanyan had said even if Mindtree didnt come into the its fold, the group wouldnt have any immediate plans of consolidation among its IT companies.

After acquiring 20.3 per cent from Mindtrees key shareholder V G Siddhartha, L&T on Tuesday said its open offer for Mindtree would open in May.

L&T will spend an additional Rs 5,030 crore in the open offer to acquire another 31 per cent from Mindtrees shareholders to take majority control in the company.

It plans to buy 15 per cent additional shares from the market at the same price.Saffronart managed the auction of Nirav Modi's art collection, raising Rs 593 million for the government.

Founder Dinesh Vazirani tells Avantika Bhuyan how he built Saffronart into an institution.

IMAGE: Golly-Wog by the late legendary artist F N Souza from Nirav Modi's art collection fetched Rs 13.8 million. Photograph: Kind courtesy Saffronart

It's a sun-kissed November afternoon.

I enter the newly refurbished environs of The Oberoi, New Delhi, to meet Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and co-founder, Saffronart.

It's a long walk through the lobby and down to the lower level, where Saffronart's gallery is housed, right next to the buzzing patisserie and delicatessen.

As I enter, a melange of works -- modern and contemporary -- comes into view.

Subodh Gupta's This Side is the Other Side -- a magnificent cast bronze Priya scooter with stainless steel and chrome-plated milk cans hanging on the side -- shares space with a signature G Ravinder Reddy polyester resin fiberglass head, Devi.

Other significant works include Jars, an oil on canvas by Arpita Singh, Untitled (head) by F N Souza and Pearl Diver's Embrace by Anju Dodiya.

As I walk around, the air-conditioning, on full blast, casts a wintry chill, belying the sunshine outside.

Vazirani walks in, and we sit down to a much-needed cup of coffee -- a frothy cappuccino for him and an Americano for me.

Warmed by the brew, with oatmeal cookies and coconut macarons from the deli as accompaniments, I ask Vazirani about the 18-year journey of the auction-house.

Launched in 2000 -- a time of dial-up modems and patchy connectivity -- Saffronart was one of the four niche online brands that formed part of the startup, Planet Saffron, started by Vazirani and his wife, Minal.

The other three included Saffron Soul for holistic medicine, Saffron Style for fashion, with Mehr Jesia and Tina Tahiliani curating the content, and Saffron Space for interiors.

"It was a crazy time. Our office space was swarming with people, ranging from Ayurvedic doctors, models, artistes, interior designers, and more. It was becoming difficult to manage four brands, and we felt like we had to focus on one thing," he says.

It was a tough decision to shut Planet Saffron down in 2003, but in hindsight, Vazirani feels it was a sensible thing to do.

The decision to focus on art came naturally to the couple, both being avid collectors.

"As entrepreneurs, failure is difficult to accept. But we thought, let's give it one more push and see if Saffronart can work by itself," he says.

And, all the groundwork -- meeting clients, international exhibitions -- came together, with the venture taking off in 2004.

"When I look back, I feel pushing on required courage. But if you do something with passion, courage is incidental," he says.

However, the initial years of Saffronart were not without their share of challenges.

The Internet was slowly making inroads into people's lives, but there was a general wariness about making online transactions.

The Vazirani duo was told by nearly everyone around that no one will buy art online.

There was a perception that art, being an extremely tactile medium, needed to be viewed at close quarters.

Ignoring the naysayers, the two set out to create a model that would satisfy themselves as collectors.

"We were frustrated with galleries at that time, with no publications, information or research material available. We thought let's solve this problem for others like us," says Vazirani.

So they set out with the goal of educating people and arming them with tools, such as condition reports and provenance, to make the right decisions.

The nearly two-decade-long journey has changed Vazirani in many ways, in the way he views entrepreneurship, and also his perception of art.

"Not all of it is good, but it's definitely a learning," he says.

More than anything what has kept him going is a sense of adventure, the idea of encountering a new and different work every day.

"It's not the same as seeing the same mobile phone being reproduced every day. That discovery itself gives you a rush," he says.

In the last 18 years, Saffronart has sold 30,000 paintings, and Vazirani remembers them all, including the prices.

"It's so crowded up there in my head," he laughs.

But because of that experience, he is able to view each painting in its context now.

"The more you see the more you learn, and the better decisions you can make. It gives you context -- this work was exhibited at the MET, this one has not been exhibited at all. This knowledge helps you. It's been 18 years of crowding my head, but that memory stays on," he says.

As he sips on his coffee, Vazirani recounts the significant milestones.

A proud moment for Minal and him came in 2006 when the Harvard Business School produced a case study on Saffronart.

"I did my MBA from Harvard, so going back to that classroom and standing on the other side was a lovely experience," he says.

The next one was reinventing Saffronart after the financial crisis of 2008, when there was no sizeable market for art.

"How do you sustain a global organisation, with offices in New York, Delhi, Mumbai and London in such a scenario? That brought in a lot of introspection. We diversified to best utilise the platform, and the excellent people that we had, by doing furniture, jewellery and vintage cars," he says.

One outcome of that was Saffronart's move into the live auction space in 2013, with its first such sale in Mumbai, Francis Newton Souza: Works from the Collection of Keren Souza Kohn, which combined online, room and phone bidding.

The same year, the company also diversified by launching StoryLTD, an online auction and e-commerce platform to serve a broader base of art and collectibles buyers, with many no-reserve auctions in the categories of rare books, vintage furniture, jewellery, and more.

This has become a more experimental platform for those who are looking for affordable art, but find the atmosphere of a gallery too intimidating.

I ask him if the online platform will make the offline space redundant?

"No," pat comes the answer.

In his opinion, the two formats go hand-in-hand and complement one another.

"In India, unlike in other countries, people learnt to purchase art online and offline at the same time... around 2000. For them, the comfort level with online is quite high. But live auction offers a certain sense of drama; it gives certain collectors a sense of confidence, of seeing the process pan out in front of them. But we do only two live auctions a year, and most are for charity," he says.

These various mediums have also given him a sense of how the Indian collector is changing.

For instance, today, one can see young and aspiring collectors from tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well.

"Collectors have gone through a journey. The biggest lesson was in 2009 after the financial crisis. The worldwide auction market for Indian art, in 2007, was $150 million, which collapsed to $40 million," he says.

This led the average collector to realise that art was a long term asset.

But more than that, it was a legacy to be left behind for future generations.

"They realised that art was not like stocks, which was what it was being treated like earlier. There was a certain weightiness attached to it; one needed time and patience to appreciate it," says Vazirani.

"Today, collectors are more educated. They are not speculators. There is a difference between the two."

Having crossed the milestone of Rs 3 billion in turnover, Vazirani is thinking of moving onto the next phase.

"A friend of mine asked where do you want to go next. I said, I want to build Saffronart as a strong international company. And he remarked, 'That's where you are wrong. After 18 years, you are not building a company, but an institution -- the mindset for both is different, the metrics for the latter are more long term'."

That statement propelled Vazirani to think seriously about getting into art education -- both for art history and vocational training.

"One day, I want to have a museum," he says wistfully.'It won't be possible for Modi to win the 2019 election.'

IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party workers in Bengaluru with Narendra Damodar Modi masks. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

Sudhakar Reddy, general secretary of the Communist Party of India, has criticised Congress national President Rahul Gandhi and other regional parties over the breakdown in talks to form a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

His statement came after it became clear that the so-called Mahagathbandhan, or the Grand Alliance of Opposition parties to take on Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 election, will not materialise.

At of now, the electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh will see a three-cornered fight, with the BJP on one side and the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on the other, with the Congress bring up the the third force.

Similarly, in West Bengal, there is a four-cornered fight among the Left Front, the Trinamool Congress, the BJP and Congress.

Even as he hit out at the Opposition parties for their failure to forge a common front against the BJP, Reddy feels Modi won't get a majority and that there will be a fractured verdict.

"The next prime minister of India will be from an Opposition party and not the BJP," Reddy tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

You have said that the Opposition leaders are unwilling to make sacrifices in order to defeat the BJP. Who do you hold responsible for this?

The Congress is responsible to some extent.

The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party too rebuffed them.

Rahul Gandhi, instead of acting as a central leader, became dependent on Congress state leaders to take decisions on Opposition unity against the BJP.

There was a lukewarm and adamant attitude from the Congress which harmed Opposition unity.

Till last year it looked like the entire Opposition would come together to defeat the BJP. What changed subsequently?

As a matter of fact, before three months too, it was all right.

From the Left angle, we have been saying from the beginning that an all-India Mahagathbandhan was not possible before the elections.

We wanted an all-India broad understanding among the Opposition to take on the BJP.

We had to put up one-to-one candidate in as many states as possible.

In some states it was not possible, like West Bengal and Kerala where the Left has a strong presence.

We were expecting that the Congress will adjust with the Left parties.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Since the Congress did not adjust with the Left, the BSP and SP took an adamant attitude against the Congress in UP.

Still, we believe the votes will go to Opposition parties which have a bigger chance to defeat the BJP.

Are you saying the SP-BSP snubbed the Congress because the latter snubbed the Left in West Bengal and Kerala?

I think so.

In the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh state elections, the Congress did not adjust with the BSP.

Later, these two parties (the SP and BSP) supported the Congress in Madhya Pradesh (to form a government).

The Congress should have taken some initiative in UP to form an alliance with them, but they did not do that.

Does the Congress feel threatened by regional parties?

The Congress is overconfident of winning the 2019 elections.

This happened after the results of the three assembly elections of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which they won and where formed the government.

They think that the Congress alone can win in as many seats as possible.

It is this arrogant attitude that is harming them.

But no election survey has suggested that the Congress is going to win.

Exit polls also did not say that the three states will be won by the Congress.

Almost all of them predicted that the BJP will win in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

But that did not happen.

So the Congress does not take such polls seriously.

Even in a state like Karnataka, an alliance happened because of the liberal attitude of the Janata Dal-Secular.

In 1996, then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao stitched an alliance with the BSP in Uttar Pradesh and damaged the Congress vote bank permanently. How can the Congress make the same mistake again?

Rahul Gandhi is not taking a decision (on the alliance).

He has left the decision to the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit.

It was too late as the SP-BSP had decided on an alliance.

These parties supported the Congress in Madhya Pradesh where it was strong.

So in return the Congress should have supported the SP-BSP in Uttar Pradesh where they are weak. They should have reciprocated.

Why will the Congress go for an alliance with these parties if it doesn't benefit from it?

That is true, but somehow the SP-BSP tactically thinks the Congress gets the upper caste votes.

These votes don't get transferred to them even if they tie up with the Congress.

I was told that this is one of the reasons why the SP-BSP alliance doesn't want to accommodate the Congress.

Can the Opposition defeat Modi in 2019?

There are two reasons why we believe that there will be no increase in terms of percentage of votes for Modi.

In fact, there will be a reduction because of unemployment, failure on (curbing) black money and attacks on Dalits and minorities.

By what percentage the vote share of Modi will fall, I cannot say, but definitely it will be not more than 10 per cent.

But because of nationalism and jingoism they will get 5 per cent more votes or get new voters's votes.

Still, there is a big chance that the Opposition parties will win in spite of them not coming together.

The SP-BSP will get a majority in Uttar Pradesh and in many states it will be the non-BJP parties that will win and get a majority.

There is a possibility they will come together and form the new government.

I feel strongly that it will not be possible for Modi to win the 2019 election.

In some states he will win, but not all states.

Who will lead the Opposition's charge?

It is the question of policies that is more important than an individual.

When Dr Manmohan Singh became prime minister, nobody thought before the election that he will become PM.

When H D Deve Gowda became prime minister after the 1996 election, nobody thought he would be the one.

The BJP once went with L K Advani as the next prime minister, but they did not win.

In 2014, the BJP won because of the massive failure of the Congress.

Modi and his charisma only added to it.

I don't think his charisma alone won the BJP the election in 2014.

How will the polarisation of votes affect the outcome?

In Bihar, there will be polarisation between two fronts.

In West Bengal, there will be polarisation among three fronts.

In some states like Assam, Delhi, Haryana, they will be in a good position because of polarisation.

Even in Punjab, I don't think the BJP will win as it will go to the Congress.

The so-called polarisation will not benefit the BJP.

Modi calls the Mahagathbandhan mahamilavat.

This is all normal talk they use when the Opposition unites.

When the BJP does an alliance, it is a holy alliance.

In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena abuses the BJP day in and day out.

They did not get the JD-U's (Janata Dal-United support on the Ayodhya issue, but still they went with them.

So, mahamilavat is the BJP and not the Opposition parties.

Sharad Pawar says the BJP will emerge as the largest party, but Modi will not be PM.

The next prime minister of India will be from an Opposition party and not from the BJP.

The BJP may be the single largest party, but not with a majority and there will be a fractured verdict.

Anti-Modi and non-BJP parties will be in a majority.

Some 69 per cent of the electorate voted against Modi in the 2014 election. What per cent of votes do you think he will get this time?

I believe 75 per cent of India will vote against Modi in 2019.A Central Reserve Police Force vehicle suffered slight damages when a private car exploded after one of its gas cylinders caught fire on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday, police said.

IMAGE: Security personnel inspect the mangled remains of a car which exploded near a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Banihal, in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmi. Photograph: ANI

There were no casualties in the incident that occurred near the Jawahar Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district around 10.30 am.

The incident triggered memories of the February 14 vehicle-borne suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 40 personnel.

According to a preliminary investigation, the blast near Tethar village, 7 km from Banihal town in Jammu region, occurred after one of the two gas cylinders in the Hyundai Santro model caught fire.

Banihal sub-divisional police officer Sajad Sarwar said the vehicle, which was on the way to Jammu from Srinagar was completely gutted in the fire.

A CRPF vehicle, which was passing through the highway at the time of the incident, suffered slight damages in the rear side, but all the personnel on board escaped unhurt, Sarwar said.

Around 10 vehicles were reported to be part of the convoy.

IMAGE: A CRPF vehicle, which was passing through the highway at the time of the incident, suffered slight damages in the rear side. Photograph: ANI

"Another gas cylinder was found lying near the vehicle but no explosive substance was found," the officer said, but did not ruled out a terror angle.

The driver of the private car remained untraced and is believed to have escaped the scene after his vehicle caught fire, he said.

"It has not been established whether it was a (terror) attack or not. It has also not been established why the vehicle caught fire," Governor Satya Pal Malik told reporters in Jammu. "No explosive of sorts, but nothing can be said (at the moment)."

The officer said the police had started an investigation and forensic experts have also been summoned to help the investigation.

"Efforts are also on to identify the driver of the vehicle for questioning," he said.The Pulwama terror attack was a gift to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the elections and it was 'alright' to carry out surgical strikes on terror camp in Pakistan, former chief of Research and Analysis Wing A S Dulat said on Saturday.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to the martyred CRPF jawans, who lost their lives in Pulwama terror attack. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

"I think it is, I mentioned this before, I think it was gift from the Jaish to the BJP or to Modiji. Because of elections. It was inevitable that something would happen. Something would be done. So, the surgical strike deep inside Pakistan was alright," he told reporters in Hyderabad.

He was asked how he assessed the present government's handling of the Pulwama terror attack and about the way ahead.

Dulat said nationalism is alright if it is looked at broadly but it may not be good if it is seen narrowly.

"The larger point I am making is that what is sufficient is patriotism. We need not stress on nationalism. Because, the indications worldwide are, in the past also, that nationalism can lead to war," he said.

Dulat, who was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Asian Arab Awards 2019 organised in Hyderabad by the Indian Economic Trade Organisation, was asked about his comments that nationalism is unbalancing the world.

Dulat quoted a former president of France as saying that "we should shed our prejudices. Otherwise, it leads to nationalism and nationalism means war."

Another foreign leader had said, "nationalism is wrecking my patriotism."

"The point I am trying to make is that if you look at nationalism broadly, it is alright. If you start looking at it narrowly, then it starts affecting people," he said.

In his speech earlier, Dulat stressed the need for promoting peace.

He praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her "they are us" comments in the aftermath of attacks at mosques in that country.

Referring to the "they are us" comment, he said the words should set an example for the world, that ultimately everybody is one and the "whole business of nationalism is going to take this world nowhere".

He favoured talks with Kashmiris and also with Pakistan as the way forward.

"We need to talk. We need to talk to the Kashmiris. We need to talk ultimately to Pakistan also. There is no other way," Dulat said. He was asked what should be the way forward for Indian government to deal with such kind of issues (terror and others).

Asked why no solution has been reached (Kashmir issue) even after 60 years and the way ahead, he recalled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as having said the government then was a "signature away" from reaching an agreement.

"If you recall, Manmohan Singh while demitting office said that they were only a signature away from reaching an agreement. Dr Manmohan Singh and Musharraf or India and Pakistan, if that agreement had been reached and that agreement actually was an agreement on the Line of Control, then I think we would have had about 15 years of peace in Kashmir," Dulat said.'Political parties and leaders understand the impact the new media can have on outcomes.'

'From treating them as broadcast tools five years ago, now they look at them as arsenal that can potentially change electoral outcomes.'

Yuvraj Malik reports.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Pixabay

Gone are the days when rallies and speeches were considered paramount for winning elections.

While these continue to be important means for politicians to get their message across to the public, one more medium -- social media -- has emerged as an integral part of the electoral battle.

With the general election round the corner, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and even upstarts in the space such as ShareChat and TikTok are buzzing with political conversations -- conversations that the parties are hoping to leverage to woo the electorate.

With 500 million Internet users, which is about half of India's electorate, no party can afford to ignore the digital space.

In fact, they are all using new media tools, especially the highly intricate user profiling by Facebook and Google, to disseminate their poll propaganda.

"Political parties and leaders understand the impact the new media can have on outcomes. From treating them as broadcast tools five years ago, now they look at them as arsenal that can potentially change electoral outcomes," says Naman Pugalia, founder of FourthLion Technologies, a company that offers analytics and marketing for political campaigns.

There are several ways of using the digital space for campaigning.

These include paid advertisements on Facebook, Google, YouTube and other online publishers, and disseminating political propaganda over private groups on Facebook and WhatsApp.

The third is the more traditional SMS-based campaigning that takes place closer to poll dates.

Of these, the formal route is paid campaigns on social media.

Facebook and Google, the two most popular digital platforms, have amassed tonnes of data on users, which gives advertisers access to intricate user profiles.

Today, any advertiser can target its campaign to a very precise audience -- say, 18 to 20 year olds who watch Game of Thrones, or audiences in Bengaluru who do not speak Kannada.

Whether it is brands of political parties, online profiling is now used in all campaigns.

A typical media campaign can be broken down into three parts -- campaign planning, campaign setup and optimisation, and post-campaign analytics.

Campaign planning is when the advertiser decides what channels, Web sites and media to use.

Deciding the target audience comes next. Demographic data points like age, gender and location, users' interests and affinities are used when selecting the audience for a campaign.

Facebook uses 'Facebook Campaign Manager', a dashboard-cum-analytics tool for running ads.

After identifying the target group, marketers feed in the demographic details and several other levers in the analytics tool to define the right audience.

Then the campaign is pushed online. Using the same dashboard, advertisers are able to see precise user engagement data, including ad views, number of clicks, page views, time-spent, likes and shares.

Based on the response, campaign managers can alter the target audience even while the campaign is on.

"When it comes to ad campaigns, political parties work like brands. They hire an agency to create ads, a media agency to manage the media portals like TV, print, etc, where the ads will be pushed, and then run organised campaigns," says a digital marketer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The other, and often less measured, area where election messaging is on the rise is Facebook pages and private chats groups.

In some cases, these pages, often with lakhs of followers, are managed by professional teams and may not be directly linked to a political party.

And this is where questionable party propaganda flows.

"Political parties figure out which influencers can be used for trolling, pushing propaganda and posts," says a Delhi-based political analyst who did not wish to be named. "They pay a bunch of agencies to nurture groups and online communities."

Ever since it was revealed that Russia used Facebook to influence the 2016 US presidential elections, the social media giant has been under pressure to prevent the spread of fake news and disguised propaganda.

Last month, Facebook introduced new guidelines for political ads and said that all such ads will carry a disclaimer, the name of the entity running them as well as the one paying for the ad campaign.

The Election Commission of India has also acknowledged the often dubious role of social media in the run-up to the elections.

Announcing the poll dates, the EC said all such political ads on social media will have to be pre-certified by it.

The EC and the government's information technology departments are currently consulting with major social media platforms to execute this process.'It would be surprising if the US were not detecting or observing the launch site and aware of activities preparing for the test'

IMAGE: Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Interceptor missile being launched by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) missile test 'Mission Shakti' engaging an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a 'Hit to Kill' mode from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha, on March 27, 2019. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

The Pentagon has strongly denied the reports that the United States spied on India's anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test by sending a reconnaissance aircraft from its base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to monitor the development.

It, however, said the United States was aware about India's first test-fire of an anti-satellite missile.

"No US assets were spying on India. In fact, the US continues to expand its enduring partnership with India, resulting in enhanced interoperability and stronger economic ties," US Defense Department spokesperson Lt Col David W Eastburn said.

Aircraft Spots, which monitors military air movements, had said that a US Air Force's reconnaissance aircraft from its base in Diego Garcia went "for a mission in the Bay of Bengal to monitor India's anti-satellite missile test".

This was interpreted by many that the US spied on Indian ASAT test.

"I don't think that it implies coordination between India and the US," astronomer Jonathan McDowell from the prestigious Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said on the Aircraft Spots report.

"This implies that the US intelligence community were aware of the test in advance because to some extent they're spying on India," he alleged.

"Everybody spies on their friends as well as their enemies. That's the way the world works these days. It would be surprising if the US were not detecting or observing the launch site and aware of activities preparing for the test. So one assumes that they knew it was coming," he claimed.

McDowell, who is a staff member at the Chandra X-ray Center and author and editor of Jonathan's Space Report, an e-mail-distributed newsletter documenting satellite launches, said he has not looked into the issue of the aircraft, but it is certainly not surprising that the US would fly a sensor aircraft to try and observe the test.

The Pentagon, however, strongly denied the spying allegation.

"It's a relationship so strong that no topic is off limits," Eastburn said.

"Both nations enjoy shared principles regarding our respect of sovereignty, free and fair trade, adherence to international norms, and peaceful resolution of disputes," he said.

Air Force Space Command Commander Lt Gen David D Thompson told lawmakers Thursday that the US was aware that India's ASAT test was coming.

"First of all, we knew it was coming because of flight bans that India had announced and information they published previously. The launch occurred at 1.39 AM EST," he told members of the powerful Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces during a Congressional hearing.

"First of all, it was detected, characterised and reported by Air Force Missile Warning systems and Airmen at Buckley AFB. Immediately after the test (it struck the target vehicle), the Joint Space Ops Center and USAF 18 Space control Squadron began collecting information about the breakup of the vehicle," Thompson said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday announced that India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite missile by shooting down a live satellite, describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space super powers.

The test made India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.Contributed photo

SALISBURY  When winter is again vanquished and spring begins to brighten northwestern Connecticut, our thoughts will inevitably turn to spring cleaning of many types as we seek a transformative sense of renewal as dramatic as the one washing across the landscape.

The most influential lifestyle transformation figure on the popular culture landscape is Marie Kondo, the entrepreneur and media star who has become a household name through the popularity of her KonMari Method of tidying, decluttering and reorganizing homes as a way of transforming lives for the better. Her Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo is a hit, and the pop culture lexicon now employs the term KonMari as a verb describing any type of salutary cleansing.A dead sperm whale that washed ashore in Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia's Sulawesi province had nearly six kilograms (13.2 lbs) of plastic waste in its stomach, November 19, 2018.

Early this month, the United Nations celebrated World Wildlife Day with a focus on oceans and marine wildlife.

The focus was appropriate given the large number of marine species which are regarded by scientists as either endangered or vulnerable around the world.

The Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed more than 700 marine species or subspecies as either endangered, or vulnerable. Vulnerable means being close to being endangered.

Many of the endangered marine animals can be found in East Asia and the Pacific.

Among them are well-known animals such as whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and tuna fish.

In one extreme case, tuna fish are being driven to the point of extinction in the South Pacific by illegal Chinese fishing.

Humansand not just from Chinahave destroyed much marine life through overfishing, industrial development, and chemical pollution, some of it caused by pesticides.

Add to this the man-made warming of ocean waters caused by greenhouse gases as well as a proliferation of plastic waste littering coastal waters in Asia.

Plastic waste floating in ocean waters is turning out to be the most difficult environmental challenge facing many Southeast Asian nations.

A new study on ocean heat waves

Meanwhile, under the water, trends look ominous.

A new report published on March 4 by the journal Nature Climate Change showed that ocean heat waves are occurring more frequently than they did in the last century.

As the Reuters news agency explained, most previous studies on the impact of climate change on the oceans have focused on a gradual rise in the waters temperatures.

Those temperatures hit a record high in 2018, causing some fish to swim toward the cooler water of the North and South Poles.

The new study prepared by a team of scientists from seven nations is the first to study marine heat waves, which are defined as lasting for at least five days at temperatures far above average.

The heat waves pose threats to fish, coral reefs, and other forms of marine life and could disrupt the livelihoods and food supplies for millions of people.

Saving sharks

Despite the negative image that many people have of sharks, they provide benefits to their ecosystem. But they, too, are threatened not only by heat waves and pollution but also by the practice known as finning.

As described by the environmentalist Mark Carwardine, finning is the gruesome practice of cutting off a live sharks fins and throwing the animal back into the sea, where it dies a slow and painful death.

For more than a thousand years, shark fins have been used by Chinese communities around the world as a key ingredient in shark-fin soup.

A number of countries, including China, have banned finning. And as far back as 1991, 28 airlines agreed not to transport shark fins.

China has banned the use of shark-fin soup at banquets, although the practice apparently continues to take place at some private events.

Danny Mok of The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Feb. 12 that shark fins were among luxury items worth millions of dollars that Hong Kong customs police seized last month.

During a 27-day effort to tackle cross-border smuggling into China before and during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, Hong Kong customs officials arrested more than 1,200 people engaged in the smuggling operations.

The smugglers were dealing in endangered wildlife species, including pangolin scales, as well as ivory tusks and ivory products, orchids, and shark fins, which altogether were valued at an estimated $9.4 million.

This seemed to indicate that some among Chinas growing middle class still value shark fin soup as a delicacy and status symbol.

But Simon Denyer of The Washington Post reported on Feb. 15 that based on government figures and private surveys, consumption of shark fin soup in China had fallen by about 80 percent since 2011.

At the same time, however, the consumption of shark fin soup had risen in some other countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, according to Denyer.

In a report published in 2018, WildAid, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization focused on reducing the demand for illegal wildlife, listed the main markets outside China for shark fins as Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong.

Oceana, a non-profit organization established in 2001by leading foundations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, says that sharks play a key role in protecting coral reefs by removing predatory fish such as groupers that feed on herbivores.

Coral reefs provide homes and protection to thousands of fish species.

The good news

Despite the growing threat to marine life caused by climate change, the proliferation of plastic waste and pesticides, overfishing, and industrial development, there is some good news.

Public awareness of the threat to marine wildlife has grown in a number of Asian countries, thanks to the work of governments as well as that of local and international nonprofit organizations.

Thailand awakened to the threat to marine wildlife caused by plastic in early June last year when a pilot whale washed ashore in canal in southern Thailand.

A Thai rescue team attempted to remove all of the plastic but failed, and the whale died. Veterinarians discovered that the whale had swallowed some 80 pieces of plastic waste. It had mistaken the bits of plastic for food.

Thailand, which had been slow to deal with plastic waste, now plans to ban the use of very thin single-use plastic bags in 2022. This is to be followed by a ban on single-use plastic glasses and straws three years later.

But when it comes to sharks, Thailand as well as Indonesia and Malaysia continue to be part of a group of countries that have not yet banned shark finning, according to a report dated 2017 from the nonprofit organization WildAid.

Dan Southerland is RFA's founding executive editor.A Myanmar villager is rushed to the hospital after being wounded by gunfire in Outthagan village, Mrauk-U township, western Myanmar's Rakhine state, March 29, 2019.

An armed clash between Myanmar soldiers and rebel Arakan Army (AA) fighters in a village in Mrauk-U township in western Myanmars violence-ridden Rakhine state on Friday left two villagers dead and seven others injured, local residents and a Rakhine lawmaker said.

The latest skirmish in a conflict that heated up late last year came as a government spokesman gave a partial tally of casualties. Fighting has claimed the lives of 58 AA soldiers, 27 policemen, and a dozen civilians, while displacing 17,354 people, Presidents Office spokesman Zaw Htay said.

Area residents blamed the government army for Fridays carnage in Aukthakan village, though both Myanmar and Arakan forces denied responsibility, saying they are trying to avoid civilian casualties in their ongoing clashes.

The villagers told RFAs Myanmar Service that a combined force of Myanmar Army and police fired their weapons from a location near Teinnyo bridge into the village located east of the bridge in northern Mrauk-U township.

Local witnesses said the joint military and police force came from the direction of Teinnyo village along the Yangon-Sittwe Highway and fired into a shop about a half-mile from the entrance of Aukthakan village, killing one woman and seriously injuring another woman who is in critical condition at Sittwe Hospital.

The deceased woman, 25-year-old Sabai from Kone Baung village in Yan Byae township, operated an eatery with her family near the highway.

The soldiers came from the direction of Teinnyo village to Aukthakan, said Aung Moe Linn, Sabai's husband. They started firing soon after passing our shop. My wife was hit, and I couldnt save her because I was hiding in another part of the shop. When I went to look at her, I found her dead.

Kyaw Thein Htun, secretary of Mrauk-Us Ga Yunar Hlaing blood donors group, said he helped transport the injured woman, Pauk Sa, to Mrauk-U Hospital, though she was later transferred to Sittwe Hospital.

We tried to save the one who was still alive and carried her to hospital, he said. The patient was wounded on her head and on the right side of her chest. She had another wound on her right thigh.

A 70-year-old man was also killed by gunfire as government troops entered the village for clearance operations, said Rakhine state parliament lawmaker Tun Thar Sein, who represents Mrauk-U township.

Two of the other wounded villagers are being treated at a hospital in Teinnyo village, while the remaining four are in Mrauk-U Hospital, residents said.

There was no battle

Colonel Zaw Min Tun of the Myanmar militarys information committee told RFA that he did not have any information about the dead and injured civilians, and that government troops had responded to initial shots fired by the AA.

It was around 7:15 a.m., he said. There was a military column assigned for security moving towards Aukthakan, and AA members fired from the north of the village. Then, when our troops fired back at them, they ran into Aukthakan village. 

Myanmar soldiers chased after the Arakans to clear them out and were attacked by an AA landmine explosion at the entrance to the village, he said.

RFA could not independently verify whether the shooting was reciprocal.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said Arakan soldiers had not engaged in hostilities with the Myanmar Army and accused government forces of concocting the story.

We didnt have any clashes with government troops, he told RFA. There was no battle that involved us in that area.

I think the Myanmar military is committing atrocities against the local Rakhine population based on racially motivated hatred, he added. They are committing a war crime.

Rules of engagement

When asked what the Myanmar military is doing to prevent civilians from becoming casualties, Zaw Min Tun said superior officers have issued orders for soldiers to avoid nonmilitary targets per the rules of engagement specifying the circumstances and limitations under which the forces will engage in combat with the enemy.

In the military, there is a hierarchy for administration, he said. There are also different levels in giving orders and supervision. There are also commanders of different ranks who monitor whether the rules are being followed on the ground.

Zaw Min Tun also said that the AA has used villagers as human shields during the armed conflict in Rakhine on 16 occasions since fighting between the two forces picked up in early January.

But Khine Thukha said the AA has always been cautious about causing civilian causalities.

Avoiding civilian causalities during armed conflict is our top priority, so we always avoid fighting in the villages, he said. We always issue warnings repeatedly beforehand if we take action on something, so I can say that we are fighting fairly. We are doing our best to protect civilian lives.

Lawmaker Tun Thar Sein said that rank-and-file government soldiers do not always follow orders from above.

Many civilians ran away in fear when they heard the shooting, he said of the gunfire in Aukthakan village. The military views whoever runs away with suspicion. I think this is how it had happened. Orders from the top arent followed properly at the bottom.

When residents of nearby villagers heard the gunfire in Aukthakan, they fled their homes to take refuge in other communities.

On Friday evening local time, the Myanmar military commanders office said soldiers had detained five people from Aukthakan suspected of being AA members and were interrogating them at a police station.

At a press conference on March 25, Myanmar military spokesmen said soldiers had attacked villages and civilian homes that AA troops used as covers as well as sites near ancient temples that the Arakans used as bases from which to launch offensives.

The AA meanwhile said it would try to take the cases of the Myanmar militarys attacks on Rakhine civilians to The Hague-based International Criminal Court for prosecution for committing what it called war crimes.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Naypyidaw, Jan. 7, 2019. Credit: AFP Zaw Htay gives figures

The same day as the attack in Aukthakan village, Presidents Office spokesman Zaw Htay held a news conference in Naypyidaw about the hostilities between Myanmar forces and the AA, an ethnic armed organization fighting for greater autonomy in Rakhine state.

A total of 103 clashes have occurred between the two armies since Jan. 4, the day on which Arakan soldiers launched deadly attacks on police outposts that killed 13 officers. The Myanmar government responded to the incident by labeling the AA a terrorist group and instructing its forces to crush the ethnic army.

The armed assault led to an escalation in fighting, resulting in an increase in casualties on both sides as well as civilian deaths.

Since that time, there have been 58 AA soldiers killed, 27 policemen killed, and 12 civilian deaths, Zaw Htay said.

He also said 26 police officers and 20 civilians had been injured.

The Myanmar military said it would issue its own casualty list at a later unspecified date.

Zaw Htay also said there are now more than 17,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine due to the fighting, though local relief and disaster management workers estimate the number to be as high as 22,000 with about 16,000 housed in temporary camps across the region.

IDP camps are scattered here and there around the region, he said. They should be in convenient areas so people can get effective management and support, such as food and health care.

Some Rakhine-based civil society organizations are working together with the state government and Myanmars Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement to provide supplies and services at several camps, he said.

Relief workers have told RFA that they cannot travel to certain areas of Rakhine because of safety concerns amid the fighting, and that the growing number of IDPs in camps face acute shortages of food, drinking water, and other basic supplies like tarpaulins.

Reported by Min Thein Aung and Kyaw Lwin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (L), also known as Mother Mushroom, stands trial at a courthouse in the city of Nha Trang in south-central Vietnam's Khanh Hoa province, June 29, 2017.

A U.N. committee has issued a report highly critical of the Vietnamese government, demanding Hanoi stop jailing activists and journalists for speaking out against state policies, while also condemning Vietnam for executing high numbers of people guilty of minor crimes after unfair trials.

These criticisms came as the U.N. Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations on Thursday of the most recent of three periodic reports on Vietnam, in which the committee reviewed civil and political freedoms.

The Committee regrets the severe restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression in the State party, including through laws and practices that appear not to comply with the principles of legal certainty, necessity and proportionality, said the committee in the report.

It cited offenses to freedom of expression in art, state control over the media, a 2018 law on cyber security and finally arbitrary arrest, detention, unfair trials and criminal convictions, including of human right defenders, journalists, bloggers, and lawyers, for expressing criticism of State authorities or policies

The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), an NGO based in Paris praised the findings of the report.

The U.N. Committee gives a stark but utterly realistic assessment of the policies and practices used by Vietnam to suppress civil and political rights and reinforce the Communist Partys absolute control said VCHR President Vo Van Ai.

The international community should take heed of the UN experts conclusions and impress upon Vietnam that business as usual cannot continue unless the Vietnamese government commits to substantive legislative and political reforms.

The report explored several areas of concern, including the need for independent bodies to observe, promote and protect human rights, more clear terminology in Hanois counter-terrorism efforts, and a framework for non-discrimination.

The report also advocated the right of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and participation in public affairs.

Concretely, the UN experts recommend that Vietnam ensures political pluralism, holds transparent and genuine elections, promotes media freedom and respects the right to form independent trade unions and NGOs in order to fully implement the ICCPR, said Vo Van Ai.

The only way this can happen is for Vietnam to abolish article 4 of the Constitution on the political monopoly of the Communist Party, as its citizens insistently demanded during the Constitutional reform in 2013, he said.

The report also said that Vietnam used the death penalty too often, even for drug-related crimes, which under international law are not deemed as the most serious.

The report pointed out that the government essentially had the power to put anyone to death for any reason.

Reuters quoted committee member Marcia Kran as saying The number and the identities of persons sentenced to death are kept secret by the authorities which means it is possible for dissidents to be targeted and sentenced to death without due process."Afghanistan's controversial Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has escaped unhurt from a suspected Taliban attack that killed one of his bodyguards, police said.

A regional police spokesman said attackers ambushed Dostum's convoy on March 30 on the way from Mazar-e Sharif, a city in Balkh Province, to Jawzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.

Munir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor of Balkh, said on March 31 that Taliban militants attacked the convoy at two points, in the Char Bolak and then Faiz Abad district.



A statement by Afghanistan's army says four Taliban were killed, and seven others wounded, during the two assaults.

On Twitter, a Taliban spokesman said its militants had carried out the attack and claimed four of Dostum's bodyguards had been killed.

The apparent assassination attempt on Dostum comes eight months after the ethnic Uzbek former warlord avoided injury in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport.

That attack, which was claimed by Islamic State, took place as he returned home from more than a year in exile in Turkey after he was accused of being involved in the rape and torture of a political rival. Dostum denied the charges.

Dostum, accused of human rights abuses, remains a powerful figure in Afghanistan. His Junbish Party is supported mainly by his fellow ethnic Uzbeks.

Dostum has joined the election team of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, one of several contenders in a presidential election scheduled for September 28.

With reporting by Reuters and AFPLiberal environmental lawyer and government critic Zuzana Caputova has defeated her opponent by a wide margin to become Slovakias first female president.



With nearly all the ballots counted early on March 31, Caputova had 58.4 percent of the vote in the runoff election. Maros Sefcovic, an independent backed by the ruling Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party, had 41.6 percent.



Sefcovic, a European Commission vice president and a former member of the Communist Party, conceded to Caputova just before midnight on March 30. Sefcovic is also considered pro-Europe but has said Slovakia should retain some decision-making powers for itself.

Sefcovic congratulated Caputova on her victory.



Caputova thanked voters in a speech she gave in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian, and the language of the Romany minority.



She told supporters she saw her election as a signal for change.



Caputovas victory bucked a trend that has seen populist, anti-European Union politicians make gains across the continent.



Caputova won the elections first round two weeks ago with more than 40 percent of the vote. Sefcovic secured more than 18 percent.



Corruption and change have been the main themes ahead of the runoff vote, which takes place a year after journalist Jan Kuciak, who investigated high-profile fraud cases, and his fiancee were murdered at their home.



Five people have been charged with the murders of Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova.



The killings ignited the biggest protests in Slovakia's postcommunist history.



Caputova campaigned to end what she calls the capture of the state "by people pulling strings from behind.



Slovakia's president wields little day-to-day power but appoints prime ministers and can veto appointments of senior prosecutors and judges.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpaThe European Union has called on Russian authorities to stop targeting Tatars in Russian-annexed Crimea.

A court in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, said on March 29 that since March 27, 23 Crimean Tatars had been arrested and placed in pretrial detention until May 15, on charge of belonging to the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group.

An EU spokesperson said in a March 30 statement that the European Union expected "all illegally detained Ukrainians to be released without delay."

"The European Union expects the Russian Federation to end these practices and to take all necessary steps to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms can be exercised by all in Crimea, without discrimination on any grounds," the statement added.

Since Russia seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014, Russian authorities have prosecuted 31 Crimean Tatars for allegedly belonging to Hizb ut-Tahrir.

In February, the branch of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Black Sea region launched probes against eight alleged members of the group accused of plotting to seize power in Crimea.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a global organization based in London that seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate.

The group can operate legally in Ukraine.

However, Russia's Supreme Court banned it in 2003, branding its supporters "extremists."

Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they describe as a campaign of repression by the Russian-imposed authorities in Crimea who are targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar community and others who have spoken out against Moscow's takeover of the peninsula.

Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after sending in troops, seizing key facilities, and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by at least 100 countries. Moscow also backs separatists in a war against government forces that has killed some 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.In her opening remarks, Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Honorary President of the ASEAN Women's Circle of Hanoi (AWCH), welcomed the guests to the event, which is the first of its kind to be hosted by the MOFA in collaboration with the AWCH and the Informal Gender Coordination Group (IGCG) to increase exchange and connection between Vietnamese female diplomats and their foreign colleagues.

Ambassador Nga extended her best wishes for the attendees on the belated International Womens Day, saying that the event provided an opportunity to honour the talent and innovation of women in modern life.

She also treasured the female diplomats support in facilitating Vietnams international integration as well as ensuring gender equality in the country.

For her part, Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam, Maria Jesus Figa Loez Palop, highly appreciated the organisation of the event, which has helped to tighten the solidarity among female diplomats.

As the Co-chair of the IGCG, she pledged to continue providing support for Vietnam in promoting the countrys development and gender equality.

Participants at the gathering were invited to enjoy a mini fashion show featuring delicate Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese long dresses) samples of Hanoi-based designer Lan Huong, and a jewellery collection of designer Thu Huong.

The mini show introduced the arts of silk weaving and jewellery making in Vietnam to the international guests, thus contributing to advertising the quintessence of Vietnamese traditional crafts.

Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga (R) exchanges talks with delegates at the event (Photo: MOFA)

Girls cat-walking in Ao Dai designs by designer Lan Huong

Participants admire the elegant charm of Vietnamese Ao Dai at the gathering (Photo: MOFA)Angelina Jolie, actress and UNHCR Special Envoy, arrives to address a meeting of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial: Uniformed Capabilities, Performance and Protection at the United Nations in New York, March 29. AFP-Yonhap



Actress and activist Angelina Jolie warned Friday that the world "will remain stuck in a cycle of violence and conflicts" as long as nations continue to put almost every other issue ahead of women's equality, rights and participation.



Jolie, who is a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, added in a keynote address to a ministerial meeting on U.N. peacekeeping that "denying half a population representation in peace negotiations or in government is not the route to long-term stability."



There are many examples around the world of successful and inspiring women, she said, "but women and girls are still the majority of the victims of war," over half the world's refugees, and "the vast majority" of victims of rape and sexual violence.



If the world accepted the principle that those affected by a problem should be charged with determining a solution, Jolie said, "then the majority of the world's peace negotiators, foreign ministers and diplomats would be women."



But she quickly added: "We all know the reality."



The reality, Jolie noted, is that unequal power relations, "abuse of power, gender bias, violence and lack of justice" have kept many women in subordinate and vulnerable positions internationally.





Actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, Assistant-Secretary General for Africa, Bintou Keita (left), and Lieutenant Commander Marcia Andrade Braga, United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year arrive at the United Nations in New York, March 29, to attend a meeting of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial: Uniformed Capabilities, Performance and Protection. AFP-Yonhap



In her speech to the annual meeting of foreign and defense ministers, the Oscar-winning actress focused primarily on women, but she also talked about the importance of multilateralism and the growing refugee crisis.



Declaring herself a patriot who loves the United States, Jolie said she believes "in an America that is part of an international community."



"Countries working together on an equal footing is how we reduce the risk of conflict," she said. "It is how we avoid the need to send the men and women of our militaries to fight and sacrifice overseas."



However, "we live at a time of blatant disregard for the laws of war that forbid attacks on civilians," shed continued.



Jolie pointed to missile strikes on schools and hospitals, families bombed in their homes, chemical weapons dropped on neighborhoods, besieged areas unable to get aid and mass rapes.



"We seem incapable of upholding minimum standards of humanity in many parts of the world," Jolie said. "That this comes at a time when humankind is richer and more technologically advanced than ever before is all the more painful."





Angelina Jolie and from left, Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, and Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt attend the premiere of the motion picture fantasy "Dumbo" at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, Loews Hollywood Hotel in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, March 11. UPI-YonhapU.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has said that Attorney General William Barr should send Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report to Congress without redactions.

"As I informed the attorney general earlier this week, Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands," Nadler said in a March 29 statement issued after Barr said he would release the nearly 400-page report by mid-April after redacting sensitive material.

"Our progress is such that I anticipate that we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner," Barr said.

Mueller officially closed his investigation when he submitted the report on March 22. Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress two days later detailing Mueller's "principal conclusions."

The special counsel did not find that the Trump presidential campaign coordinated or conspired with Russia to win the election, Barr wrote, and did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided on their own that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to establish that the president committed obstruction.

Barr said in his letter that some pieces of information must be redacted before the report is released, including secret grand-jury information and intelligence sources that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

At a rally on March 28 in Michigan, Trump celebrated the end of the investigation and what he called "lies and smears and slander."

Based on Reuters, AFP, and APDemonstrations have been held across Romania to voice support for a former top Romanian prosecutor who has been banned from leaving the country or talking to journalists as part of a probe.

Some 1,000 people turned out in Bucharest on March 30, shouting messages of support for Laura Codruta Koevesi, a former anticorruption prosecutor.

Rallies were also held in other cities including Cluj, Sibiu, and Timisoara.

On March 28, the Romanian body that investigates prosecutors and magistrates announced the restrictions on Koevesi, whos been charged with heading a criminal group. She denies wrongdoing.

Koevesi is considered a front-runner to become Europe's leading corruption-fighting official, despite opposition from Romania's ruling Social Democratic Party.

As Romania's chief anticorruption official, she successfully prosecuted hundreds of lawmakers for graft. The government engineered her dismissal last year, claiming mismanagement.

EU Parliament President Antonio Tajani on March 29 expressed concern about the situation, adding that parliament "stands by its candidate" to head the European Prosecutor's Office, a new office that will fight fraud.

With reporting by APTensions between Washington and Moscow over Venezuela continue to rise.

Russia on March 30 dismissed U.S. concerns about "specialists" it has sent to Venezuela under a military cooperation deal.

"The Russian side clearly stated the purpose of the arrival of its specialists to Caracas. This is not about any 'military contingents'," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Her comments came a day after U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton warned "actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela."

Two Russian military planes landed in Venezuela a week ago and offloaded troops and equipment, ratcheting up international tensions amid a standoff between Venezuela's government and the opposition.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela, with Russia saying its troops will stay as long as needed.

Earlier on March 30, Rosoboroneksport, Russia's state arms exporter, said it had opened a training center for military helicopter pilots in Venezuela.

Venezuela, Russia's largest client in Latin America, has already received "a significant amount of Russian arms and military technology," Rosoboroneksport added.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. Russia, along with China, backs President Nicolas Maduro.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFPTaliban militants have taken control of the Arghanj Khaw district center in Afghanistan's northeastern province of Badakhshan after two days of intense fighting, officials say.

At least 12 members of the security forces were killed and another five were wounded in the fighting, local officials said on March 30.

The spokesman of the local governor told RFE/RL that the fighting continued in the Arghan Khaw district.

"We're committed to take it back, local forces need more support from the central government," spokesman Nek Mohammad Nazari said.

He said an unknown number of Taliban fighters were killed in the clashes.

Abdollah Naji Nazari, a member of Badakhshan's provincial council, told RFE/RL that Taliban control over Arghanj Khaw had led to concern that the militant group could attack Badakhshan's capital, Faiz Abad.

Over the past three years, the militants have also taken control of Badakhshan's Warduj and Yumgan districts.

Meanwhile, at least eight Afghan police were killed in a Taliban attack in the southern Zabul Province, provincial council chief Ata Jan Haq Bayan said.

The Taliban continues to stage daily attacks on Afghan security forces despite being engaged in talks with the United States aimed at ending the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan.

The government in Kabul has been absent from the negotiations, with the Taliban insisting it will not engage with a Western "puppet."

Last week, Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid warned that the Taliban would wage an intense fight in the coming year and told Afghan forces to be ready.

With reporting by dpa and AFPOne Ukrainian soldier was killed and four wounded in what the Ukrainian military has called an escalation of attacks by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, one day before the country votes in the first round of its presidential election.

In a statement on March 30, the Ukrainian military said the situation in the region had "escalated significantly" over the past 24 hours, accusing the rebels of utilizing heavy weapons banned under the Minsk peace agreements.

The Ukrainian military said its forces had killed four separatist fighters and wounded six more.

Since April 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv's forces and the Russia-backed separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed at resolving the conflict -- have contributed to a decrease in fighting but have failed to hold.

In Ukraine's presidential election, thirty-nine candidates are vying for the post, but only three are given a realistic chance of winning: the incumbent Petro Poroshenko, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has been the surprise of the campaign, leading in all opinion polls.

Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV comedy series about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, has tapped into public frustration in Ukraine over the pace of reforms and fighting corruption.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will face off on April 21.

Based on reporting by AFP and UNIANSometimes Irish eyes do smile and reward the persistent with a surprise, such as this completely unexpected sighting of a mature Bald Eagle along a power line in Ashaway.Kim Hyun-chong, the new No. 2 deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, heads to Terminal No.2 at Incheon International Airport before departing for Washington, Saturday. Yonhap





A senior South Korean presidential official departed for Washington, Saturday, to meet with U.S. officials to prepare for the summit between the two countries' leaders slated for next month.







Kim Hyun-chong, the new No. 2 deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, headed to the U.S. for meetings with White House National Security Council and congressional officials.





Throne room, circa 1900-1920.



By Robert Neff





The Boston Sunday Post, November 29, 1903.

On Jan. 29, 1903, a small Wisconsin newspaper, the Daily Telegram, printed an article it had found in the Japanese Gazette that captured the world's attention for the next decade  the story of Emily Brown.



According to the article, Emily Brown, the daughter of an American missionary in Seoul, was to be crowned Empress of Korea after her wedding to Emperor Gojong later that month. Once crowned, she would give up her former name and adopt the Korean name of Om, meaning "Dawn of the Morning."



The article went on to note that "in consideration of the important part her majesty will play in politics of the Corean court, the government of Japan will send a member of the Mikado's family to represent his empire  Sir Claude MacDonald will represent Great Britain, and there will be three representing the United States government including Minister Horace N. Allen."



Over the next couple of months the story of Emily Brown's wedding to Emperor Gojong captivated not only the American press but also the press in Europe. No one had ever heard of this simple American girl and many were eager to learn more, especially her past. Fortunately, the American newspapers were able to supply it.



The Wisconsin newspaper that broke the story was also one of the first to publish her past:

"Emily Brown was born in Appleton [Wisconsin] about 1860, her father, Rev. Herbert Brown, being a Presbyterian missionary, who lived here only a few months and her mother a remarkably beautiful woman.



"When Emily was about 15 years old her father went as a missionary to Corea and is said to have been the first Protestant missionary to settle in the capital city of Seoul. His wife and child went with him.



"Emily sang in the mission church and, learning the language rapidly, came to be used as an interpreter in church dealings with the government. Her beauty was reported to the Emperor and he commanded her to enter his harem, which she indignantly refused to do.



"About two years later she concluded to accept the Emperor's protection and went to live in the palace after securing from the Emperor a solemn promise of marriage when affairs of state would permit. This promise was kept soon after she bore the emperor a son."



It wasn't until October that the first tantalizing account of the wedding was published in The London Daily Mail.



It described the houses of Seoul as being all closed by royal decree and the citizens of the city kneeling at their doors, a new broom in each hand symbolizing their subjection, as the royal wedding procession passed.





King Gojong (later emperor), 1883-1884.



Perhaps the best known and fullest account of the wedding appeared in the Boston Sunday Post on Nov. 29, 1903:

"At the entrance to the palace were stationed a great squad of the imperial guard, who, armed with hatchets at the end of poles, prevented the throng from crowding in too close. All along the proposed line of march similar guards were placed. In the narrow streets immediately surrounding the palace the Emperor's army awaited a signal to march.



"The signal was finally given. At the head of the procession moved the generals of the army and the most favored troops. When a thousand or more soldiers had passed, trumpets blared, the palace gates were thrown wide open, and in glittering helmets and armor of five hundred years ago out marched the Emperor's bodyguard.



"Following the bodyguard came the attendants in dazzling silks and waving plumes.



"Finally with a deafening din of drums, two chairs emerged. In one of these chairs sat the Emperor Yi Hi [Gojong] and in the other Emily Brown, Empress of Corea.



"Never before had a civilized being been appareled as she was. From head to foot she was covered with gems and silk so thick that they fell in folds like heavy woolen cloth.



"Above the royal chairs waved a banner with a flying dragon fourteen feet long. Under the banner was an immense red parasol, indicating to the people that their monarch had shared his power and throne with the woman by his side."





"Korea Through Western Eyes."

The American public, especially young women, was infatuated with the life of this young American girl and her life of pomp and splendor. Living in a 400-year-old palace with 500 guards and 2,000 retainers apparently appealed to many young women. The American embassy in Seoul was flooded with hundreds of letters from applicants, foreign and American, who desired to become wives of Korean nobility.



"The fact the Emperor already has somewhere between ten and 100 wives deters the applicants for wifehood not at all. From their letters they seem to feel that what would be entirely disgraceful in the countries of their birth would become the proper thing here.



"Photographs, too, have been received by hundreds. Most of them are of women who are pretty, and the letters accompanying them lay great stress on this fact. That the Korean standard of beauty differs materially from that of Western nations is another thing, which the fair applicants overlook."



Of course, being a foreign empress was dangerous. In 1903, an article in the Russian newspaper Novoe Vremya claimed that several Korean officials were plotting to murder her. This story was also picked up in the United States:



"The courts, both in Peking and Tokio, have shown the new empress the highest honors, and she has so far managed to hold her own, though her path is beset by many dangers, and only the other day she was saved from the fate of her predecessor by the arrest of several Korean ministers and high dignitaries who were suspected of being concerned in a plot against her."



Perhaps, in answer to these perceived threats, an editorial in The Sketch wondered at what the political result of the union would bring: "The Monroe or some similar doctrine may be invoked to justify America in seizing Korea in the interests of the American woman and children, to save them from the aggressive Muscovite or [the] aspiring [Japanese]."



When Emperor Gojong abdicated his throne, Emily's plight became dire and newspapers portrayed her as "riding astride on a diminutive donkey"  her status no longer regal. The humiliation of her fate ended with her death in 1911. An American paper reported:



"Emily Brown was the Emperor's favorite wife, and her son was made the heir apparent, and, but for the annexation of Korea by Japan, he would have become Emperor on the death of his father."



Emily Brown's story is interesting but, unfortunately, it is just that  a story. There was no Emily Brown. Like all captivating stories, it was filled with half-truths and outright lies (there are actually three versions of the story).





Throne room, circa 1899/1900.Ferry passengers to Isla Mujeres get red light, green light security inspection

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  Passengers arriving at the Ultramar ferry terminal for Isla Mujeres will be subject to increased security protocol, similar to those used in airports.

As of April 1, Ultramar says they will begin a new security protocol in order to guarantee the safety of tourists and residents of Isla Mujeres.

Arturo Baez, operations manager of Ultramar confirmed the announcement, which was made during an operations council meeting in the Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo. He explained that the new provision will come into effect as of April 1, and is in compliance with the new official provisions on safety.

Photo: Riviera Maya News

He explained that by provision of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, all maritime terminals must adhere to the new security system adding that passengers at the Grand Port terminal will be subject to a random inspection using the red light, green light system.

If a passenger presses the button and receives a red light, they, along with their belongings, will be subject to an inspection.

Baez added that the Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo are looking to implement a similar system in the Isla Mujeres terminal in a bid to stop the trafficking of prohibited substances including weapons.Governor reports ATM theft gang broken up in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  In a weekly report by state governor Carlos Joaquin, he says that the recent arrest of two men in Cancun has led to the discovery of equipment used to crack open stolen ATMs.

During his televised message of security progress, the governor reported that the capture of two members of a gang known for ATM heists was the result of the security checkpoints placed throughout the city.

He explained that that arrest allowed police to find the address where they were able to recover parts of other ATMs and specialized equipment used to crack them open.

This arrest was made March 24 when the driver of a Jeep tried to evade a checkpoint. After a police chase, the vehicle was stopped and the two men inside arrested. An inspection of the vehicle yielded the discovery of a recently stolen ATM. It was found emptied.

Carlos Joaquin said that due to that arrest, police broke up a gang of thugs adding that We want more of these success stories against crime showing that in Quintana Roo, we make them pay.By Do Thanh Hai





Do Thanh HaiSidney, MT  Sasha Marie Hinds, 30, made her initial appearance in court in Sidney at 10 a.m., March 29. Hinds appeared before Sidney City Court Judge Luke Savage who advised Hinds of the charges against her. Hinds requested a public defender, but declined to have a probable cause hearing. Judge Savage bound the case over to District Court. Hinds' next court appearance will be in the 7th Judicial District Court in Sidney on April 15, 2019. Bail remained set at $1,000,000. Hinds is being held at the Richland County Detention Facility.

Hinds was arrested and charged with Deliberate Homicide and Aggravated Assault in connection with the death of her 2-month old daughter, Kylie Ann Hinds, and the stabbing of Brendan James Sheehan. Hinds was arrested by the Billings Police Department based on a Sidney City Court warrant after being released from a Billings hospital. Bond was set at $1,000,000. Hinds was held in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility pending extradition back to Sidney.

On March 16, 2019, at 8:28 a.m. officers with the Sidney Police Department and the Richland County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to an apartment in Sidney for a welfare check on a baby in the custody of Hinds who was described as having "mental problems". Officers gained entry into the apartment and discovered Hinds and the unresponsive infant in the bathroom. The infant was immediately transported to Sidney Health Center. Hospital staff attempted to resuscitate the child, but were unable to do so.

Additional officers responded to the scene and discovered a second victim, Brendan Sheehan, 20, in another apartment building with a single stab wound to the abdomen. Sheehan was transported by ambulance to Sidney Health Center for treatment. Sheehan, who resided with Hinds and the infant, told investigators that he and Hinds had consumed methamphetamine the previous night. Hinds began behaving violently toward him and the baby that morning. Investigators also interviewed a second child who was present in the apartment that morning who described seeing Hinds' strange and violent behavior toward the infant and Sheehan. The second child described feeling afraid of Hinds and ran to a neighbor to call for help.

Hinds was also taken to Sidney Health Center for treatment due to her continued erratic behavior, and was later transferred to a Billings hospital where she was hospitalized for several days.

Sidney City Court Judge, Luke Savage, reads and explains the charges to Hinds. Judge Savage bound the case over to District Court for a April 15th appearance.

A post-mortem examination of the infant was conducted, and the preliminary cause of death was determined to be due to multiple deep, penetrating, wounds to the chest.

First, we wish to extend our deepest condolences to Kylie's family. The magnitude of this tragedy is hard to comprehend, and has significantly impacted the Sidney community. We would also like to express our appreciation to Sidney Health Center, Richland County Ambulance Service, St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings Police Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, and the Richland County Sheriff's Office for their assistance in this investigation.Nishad Party quits 'Mahagathbandhan' in UP

Gorakhpur/Lucknow, Mar 30 (PTI) In a jolt to the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party Friday parted ways with the fledgling anti-BJP alliance and said it could "look for other options". "The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad alias Riteash Nishad, media in-charge, Nishad Party, told PTI in Gorakhpur.

"There was conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol where as Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added. The party workers were not willing to contest on the SP symbol and many of them began quitting, he said. "So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he added.

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When asked whether Pravin Nishad, MP, will also quit Samajwadi Party, he said, "I don't know about it." The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls. The win had been remarkable, as Gorakhpur was considered a bastion of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who had represented the parliamentary constituency several times before.

A Nishad Party insider said that though SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said he will make announcement on seats for the party, "They did not put our name on poster/letter or anything. Our party workers, authorities, core committee were upset." "So, the Nishad Party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently and can look for other options as well. The party is free now," he said.

When contacted, SP national spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI that he has no information of any such decision of the Nishad Party. It was just three days back that the Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party in a press conference in Lucknow on Tuesday had announced that it will be joining the grand opposition alliance in the state.

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The day the Nishad Party announced its decision to join the alliance, Sanjay Nishad had said at a press conference that, Our constitution, youth and farmers' futures are in grave danger. People voted for a 'jumlebaz' party cause of their false promises. Modi and Yogi promised many things for Nishad community but nothing was done. The Nishad community will now give full support to the SP-BSP alliance in all the state.

The Nishad Party, sources said, is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some seats including Gorakhpur.Seven held, over 100 kg of smuggled gold seized

Mumbai, Mar 30 (PTI) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has claimed to have busted a massive gold smuggling racket with seizure of 106.9 kg of gold and arrest of seven persons here. Acting on a tip-off, its sleuths seized 75 kg of smuggled gold concealed in two vehicles in Mumbai's Dongri area recently, and detained Abdul Ahad Zarodarwala, Shaikh Abdul Ahad and Shoeb Zarodarwala.

Shoeb Zarodarwala and Abdul Ahad Zarodarwala allegedly admitted that they had received a total of over 200 kg of smuggled gold from one Nisar Aliyar. They sold smuggled gold in the wholesale market for a commission and one of their customers was Raju alias Manoj Jain who had bought around 100 kg of smuggled gold from them in the past, the two told DRI sleuths.

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The sale proceeds were sent through "non-banking channels" (hawala) and they had sent Rs 12 crore through one Aaquil Fruitwala to Dubai, they allegedly revealed. Nisar Aliyar, when summoned by the DRI, allegedly confessed that he had smuggled more than 200 kg of gold into India from Dubai by concealing it in containers of brass scrap. Apart from Zarodarwalas, he had also sold around 30 kg of smuggled goods to one Happy Dhakad, he said.

A total of 106.9 kg of gold and Rs 1.81 crore in cash have been seized during the probe so far, the DRI said. Aliyar, Shoeb Zarodarwala, Abdul Ahad Zarodarwala, Shaikh Abdul Ahad, Dhakad, Jain and Fruitwala were arrested and remanded in judicial custody while further probe is on, it said.Water woes: Why not cloud seeding, asks Madras HC

Madurai, Mar 30 (PTI) The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court Friday asked the central and Tamil Nadu governments why could not they try modern artificial methods such as 'cloud seeding' to generate rain to tackle drinking water shortage. Also, the court asked why were the governments not establishing more desalination plants on various coastal areas to overcome water scarcity.

Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar shot these questions while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the governments to store water on a war-footing and direct the departments concerned to provide drinking water regularly. The judges wondered as to why the governments could not set up more desalination plants by tying up with corporates under the corporate social responsibility initiative.

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Also, the petitioner sought to create awareness among the people about the water crisis through the media. With rainfall scarce and water-table depleting, the petition said, the governments should use new methods like cloud seeding to tackle scarcity. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on April 10.Election Commission of India

Chandigarh, 30 March: Election Commission of India (ECI) issues instructions regarding Separate Bank Account to be opened by each candidate for election expenditure. Disclosing this here today Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab Dr. S. Karuna Raju stated that In order to facilitate monitoring of election expenditure, each candidate is required to open a separate bank account exclusively for the purpose of election expenditure.

This account shall be opened any time at least one day before the date on which the candidate intends to file his nomination papers. The Account Number of this bank account shall be communicated by the candidate in writing to the RO at the time of filing of his nomination. Dr. Raju said that all election expenditure shall be made by the candidate only from this bank account. All money to be spent on electioneering shall be deposited in this bank account irrespective of its funding from any source including candidate's own fund.

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A certified copy of the account statement of this bank account shall be given by the candidate to the District Election Officer (DEO) along with the statement of the account of expenditure at the time of filing of the Abstract Statement, after declaration of results. Wherever the candidate has not opened the bank account or not intimated the bank account number, the RO shall issue a notice to all such candidates to comply with the Commission's instructions

He further said that the bank account can be opened either in the name of the candidate or in joint name with his election agent for the purpose of election expenditure. The bank account should not be opened in joint name with any family member of the candidate or any other person, if he/she is not the election agent of the candidate. The bank account can be opened anywhere in the state. The accounts can be opened in any of the banks including co-operative banks or in the post offices.

S. Karuna Raju

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The existing bank account of the candidate should not be used for this purpose as it has to be a separate bank account for election purpose. The DEOs will issue suitable instructions to all banks or post offices to ensure that they open dedicated counters for election purpose to facilitate prompt service to the candidates in opening of bank accounts. They should also allow withdrawals and deposits from the said account on priority during the election period.

CEO further said that the Commission has issued Instruction No, 761 instruction/201 1/EEM dated 07.04.2011 that the candidate shall incur all election expenses by crossed account payee cheque, from the bank account opened for election purpose. However, if the amount payable by the candidate (s) to any person/entity, for any item of expenditure, does not exceed Rs. 10,000/- during the entire process of election, then such expenditure can be incurred in cash, by withdrawing it from the bank account opened for the purpose of election.

All other payments are to be made by account payee cheque from the said bank account. The candidates are required to deposit all the amounts meant for election expenses in the separate bank account opened for the purpose of election and all their election expenses are to be incurred from the said account. The Commission has clarified that if the separate bank account is not opened before nomination for election expenses or any amount is spent, without depositing the same in the said bank account, it will be treated that the candidate has not maintained the account-in the manner prescribed

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He said the Commission has also directed that in the interest of transparency and accountability, the candidate(s) shall also not receive any donation or loan in cash, in excess of Rs. 10,000/- from a single person or entity during the election process and all donations/loans in excess of Rs 10,000/- shall be received by the candidate by account payee cheque or draft or by account transfer and the candidate(s) shall maintain the full name and address of such persons/entities, which shall be mentioned in relevant columns of day-to-day accounts and the abstract statement of election expenditure.



Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest carmaker by sales, plans to recall 16,487 Veloster hatchbacks sold in the United States and Canada to fix faulty software, a U.S. government agency said Saturday.







In its investigation into fires in Hyundai vehicles that were not involved in crashes, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that faulty software in the 2013 Veloster built from April 26, 2012, through Oct. 16, 2013, could lead to engine stalling or even fires.







"The engine management software may cause premature ignition of the air/fuel mixture in the engine. The resulting excessive cylinder pressure may damage the (1.6-liter turbo) engine (of the Veloster)," NHTSA said.







Dealers will update the software at no cost to owners, and Hyundai will begin notifying affected owners of the vehicles on May 13, it said. (Yonhap)

Growers that use temporary or seasonal foreign guest workers must provide those workers with clean and safe housing and transportation to and from the worksite plus nominally priced meals or free access to cooking facilities.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that growers may be liable under Title VII, the federal employment discrimination law, if those accommodations are provided in an unlawfully discriminatory manner, even where the growers delegate those non-farm matters to a labor contractor.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued two Washington State fruit growers and now-defunct Global Horizons, the labor contractor the growers retained to recruit workers from Thailand under the H-2A guest worker program. Employers may use temporary or seasonal foreign workers where there is an inadequate supply of domestic workers to perform the work. The law requires employers to provide H-2A workers with housing, transportation, and meals.

The growers agreed to share responsibility with Global Horizons for managing the Thai workers work at the orchards. Global Horizons was contractually responsible for the Thai workers housing, transportation, and meals or access to cooking facilities.

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The EEOC claimed the Thai workers were assigned to more demanding work than the growers Mexican employees and forced to work in worse conditions. The Thai workers, unlike their Mexican counterparts, also allegedly were provided unsanitary and unsafe housing, transportation, and cooking facilities.

The appellate court held that the growers could be jointly liable with Global Horizons for any discrimination in non-orchard-related matters, even though the growers had delegated those matters to Global Horizons. The trial court order to the contrary was reversed.

The appeals court adopted a multi-factor framework, developed and applied by courts in other contexts, for determining whether two entities are joint employers. Whether an entity is a joint employer, said the court, depends on the control the entity exercises over the details of the work or other matters in which the worker allegedly suffered discrimination. That includes such factors as whether the worker can decide when and how long to work and whether the work is part of the hiring entitys business.

Both the trial court and the court of appeals concluded that the growers and Global Horizons were joint employers for the purpose of the alleged discrimination the Thai workers suffered in their orchard-related work. But what about non-orchard-related matters?

[I]n a typical employment relationship, the employer does not have control over non-workplace matters such as housing, meals, and transportation, the court acknowledged. The H-2A guest worker law, however, placed ultimate responsibility for providing those accommodations on the growers. The growers contractual delegation of those statutory responsibilities to a contractor did not excuse the growers from potential liability as a joint employer in such matters.

If the Growers were dissatisfied with the quality of Global Horizons services, they could have demanded changes, withheld payment, or ended the contract with Global Horizons altogether. The power to control the manner in which housing, meals, transportation, and wages were provided to the Thai workers, even if never exercised, is sufficient to render the Growers joint employers as to non-orchard-related matters.

The court then ruled that the growers could be liable for discrimination that allegedly occurred in non-orchard-related matters if they knew or should have known about Global Horizons alleged discrimination and failed to use their power to correct it. The court ruled that the EEOC had alleged that one grower had the requisite knowledge because the Thai workers allegedly complained to officials at the grower about their substandard conditions and the Mexican workers better treatment.

The case was returned to the trial court to allow the EEOC to get evidence that the other grower also knew of the discrimination in the non-orchard-related matters and for further consideration of the alleged discrimination in both orchard- and non-orchard-related matters.

An employer that outsources functions of its operations the employer is legally required to provide its workers may be jointly liable for unlawful discrimination in which its contractor engages of which the employer knew or should have known.

Dan Eaton is a partner with the San Diego law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek where his practice focuses on defending and advising employers. He also is an instructor at the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business where he teaches classes in business ethics and employment law. He may be reached at eaton@scmv.com. His Twitter handle is @DanEatonlaw.This year Sacramento presents another spring season full of ideas for homeowners associations  some bad, some good, and some well-intentioned but needing revision.

Senate Bill 323 is a recycle of last years SB 1265, a bill vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September 2018. SB323 would add burdensome new elements to the HOA election process and dictate to HOAs who could or could not serve as directors. The bill is as bad an idea this year as it was last year. As Gov. Brown wrote while vetoing its predecessor, SB323 takes a once-size-fits-all approach, but not all homeowner associations are alike. If changes to an election process are needed, they should be resolved by the members of that specific community. Associations should set their board eligibility standards, not Sacramento.

SB652 addresses the conflict between architectural conformity and religious observance. Does a Jewish mezuzah or Christian cross violate rules banning alteration of doorways? SB652 would add a new Civil Code 4706, prohibiting associations from limiting or prohibiting display of religious items on entry doors of a members residence. There is no limitation on size, number, or appearance of doorway decorations, as long as they are religious. Perhaps some reasonable limit could be stated. Coauthored by 16 legislators, it awaits committee assignment.

SB434, authored by Sen. Bob Archuleta of southeastern L.A. County, proposes to add a new Civil Code 5382. The proposed statute would require managing agents to produce the associations records and property (manuals, transponders and keys, for example) within a certain time after termination and/or association request. Managers could not hold association records hostage, if, for example, they claimed the HOA owed them money. There is no penalty for non-compliance, and managers would not be required to produce email correspondence unless it had previously been given to the association. The bill is a good idea but should include correspondence as part of the HOAs records. The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary and Housing committees for hearing.

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SB754, authored by Sen. John Moorlach of Orange County, would make technical amendments to Civil Code 4230. Section 4230 currently allows association boards after 30 days notice to the membership to delete CC&R provisions which relate only to developer marketing or completion of the project. SB754 would increase the required notice to 60 days and also allow deletion of provisions solely related to the developers planning of the project. The bill awaits committee assignment.

SB222 proposes to add a new protected class, veteran or military status, to Californias anti-discrimination laws by amending several Government Code Sections. Authored by Sen. Jerry Hill of the San Francisco area, it awaits hearing in the Judiciary Committee.

Assembly Bill 446 would if adopted add a new protected class, domestic violence victim status, to Californias anti-discrimination statutes. However, the bill does not define domestic violence victim status. Civil Code 1946.7 allows domestic violence victims to break their leases, and perhaps that statute might somehow lead to a definition, to avoid a vague and therefore less helpful statute. Authored by Assembly member Steven Choi of Irvine, it is pending hearing by the Housing and Community Development Committee.

To review legislation or laws, or contact a bills author or your representative about proposed new HOA laws, the official California Legislature web site is www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

Kelly G. Richardson CCAL 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. Send questions to Kelly@richardsonober.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.Q: I am a HOA board member, and our management company contract is coming up for renewal. We realized we have no formal way of evaluating how they are doing. I was wondering if in your dealings with homeowners associations you have come across a checklist or evaluation instrument.

B.T., Encinitas

A:I dont have a standard checklist, because each association has different priorities and needs, and evaluation of management should be customized to the uniqueness of each community. I relayed your question to a number of management company owners and officers, and I hope you find their responses helpful.

Brian Davidoff, CEO of Ross Morgan & Company, said it is all about responsiveness: Respond, respond, respond...service is all we offer!

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David Brock PCAM, co-owner of Beven and Brock, said evaluating a management company might involve three major questions: Are the managers credentialed, does the company provide transparency in financial reporting and potential conflicts, and is the company responsive and accessible?

Managers also evaluate prospective clients. If I ask the board members who their landscaper is and no one knows (when they see them at a minimum weekly and sign their checks monthly), that tells me they are not as involved in their communitys governance as they should be said Kelly Bunnell, PCAM, President of Bentley Community Management.

Last years Community Associations Institute President John Hammersmith PCAM, CEO of Hammersmith Management in Colorado, said I have always viewed the relationship between board and management as a partnership, and the evaluation process should be viewed the same way. It is important that both the Board and Management understand how each can work to improve the relationship and the ultimate outcome; a better community. To him, the most important items are how board and management treat each other, communicate, support each other, and allow each other to disagree. He said that both managers and board members come to meetings prepared, that managers should follow through, and directors should establish and communicate expectations.

We feel the three important items are financial accounting, board member training and technology, said Michelle Burge, CFO of Powerstone Property Management. She added, reviewing internal financial controls is an important factor and shows the companys dedication to risk management and detailed financial practices. A management company can also set itself apart by providing educational programs and innovative technology. High client and employee retention rates also demonstrate that the company excels in its management practices.

Regarding potential new management, Joe Winkler, Chief Marketing Officer of Keystone Pacific Property Management, suggests associations develop a specific scope of work and then see if a candidate company submits a boilerplate proposal or rather something specifically tailored to the association. Winkler suggests that boards discuss their challenges with management candidates, (thereby giving the management company the opportunity to demonstrate how closely they listen), and ask to interview the specific manager the company would assign to the HOA.

Thanks to the above management leaders for their advice. In my view, management is all about service, accuracy, competency, and integrity. Look for credentials, reputation, and indications of commitment to the HOA housing sector. Dont judge a management firms solely based on price. Look for quality and responsiveness, not bargains, and make sure that management meets the particular communitys needs.

Kelly G. Richardson CCAL 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. Send questions to Kelly@richardsonober.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.Networking is a profession, become a professional at it.

OK, hotshot, that has a nice ring to it if you are an extrovert, working the room, glad-handing the need-to-meets, easy with a quip, along with an inflated sense of importance and tall (that leaves me out).

But what if you are an introvert? Many people are, and they also deserve to make career connections and advance their professional futures, so who can help the shy? Meet Karen Wickre. Her new book is Taking the Work out of Networking. She contends that the problem with traditional networking is that it is often seen as phony and transactional. It is hard work to dive in and fit in. Personally, standing next to a group where I really dont know anyone and waiting to be acknowledged is painful. I feel like a ghost.

Wickre says, Networking is less like hunting and more like farming. You are trying to start a relationship, to find some commonality, some place you can both stand without stepping on the others toes.

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One of my pals, Cliff Boro, uses the line (he got it from a famous venture capitalist), You need to drill wells when you dont need the water. Again, easy for him to say, he is a world-class networker, he knows everyone. Another pal of mine is an insurance salesman, my name comes up every eight to 10 weeks, and I get invited to lunch. He is just keeping me warm.

Wickre defines herself as an introvert. What she means is that after a day at work, she needs to go home, regroup, have quiet time and breathe. At the other end of the spectrum, some folks get to 5:30 p.m., and they are ready to go out for the evening, to a networking event and beyond. (I have never understood the after party  perhaps because I am asleep at 9:30 p.m.)

Wickre is sociable but on her own terms. Her days are not filled with lunches and coffees, but she still seems to have a large network which she measures by quality v. quantity. We all have a large number of acquaintances, but most of us can really only count friends on one hand.

Wickre applauds the introvert. She says that his nature leads to him being a better listener. If you lob in a few questions to someone, expressing interest in the answers, you may find that they can talk for quite some time. But you can also be shy, uncomfortable, embarrassed and awkward  and still be willing to jump off the Oceanside pier into the surf (pushed, perhaps).

Finally, Wickre suggests that the introvert should be curious. This character trait needs to be developed and needs to be sincere. I like hearing the other persons stories. I am genuinely interested. But while I write a public column, putting myself out there every week, I am also reluctant to talk too personally in a group of people. I think careful and caring probing and listening is an excellent model for beginning the networking dance. I try to talk less at the beginning. The introvert can be a good observer, but you need to share  otherwise you are merely a voyeur.

Unfortunately, you also need social media. But, caution. Telling someone you are eating a steak in the Delta lounge at JFK on your way to Paris is frankly stupid and does not encourage any kind of meaningful reciprocal networking.

She favors the loose touch for maintaining relationships -- just periodically lobbing one in. But dont broadcast  (like the sending the same happy new year message to 568 contacts from your Outlook list on Dec. 31.)

One thing we introverts like to do is to be seen at the event, cocktails only, showing them you were there and when they go into dinner, you are gone girl. Give or get two business cards and adios. She recommends a follow-up at your convenience email, with a reminder (You remember me, I was the fellow in the blue cape with the red hair opening a pot dispensary).

She likes LinkedIn. The recruiters like it. I hate it. But she says it works.

In the final analysis, we all have a public persona and a private one. Lets keep it that way.

Rule No. 601: Hi, dont I know you from somewhere?

Business

Neil Senturia, a serial entrepreneur who invests in early-stage technology companies, writes weekly about entrepreneurship in San Diego. Please email ideas to Neil at neil@blackbirdv.com.San Diego Countys jobless rate rose in January after months of historic lows, according to state labor data released Friday.

The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, up from a revised 3.1 percent in December and 3.6 percent a year ago. It was lower than statewide average, 4.8 percent, and 4.5 percent for the nation.

Increasing unemployment was attributed to a loss of retail jobs, nearly 9,000, after the holiday season. Hospitality was also affected, shedding 4,100 jobs.

Things look better on an annual basis. In the last 12 months, San Diego County employers added 22,300 jobs. Still, thats fewer than 26,600 at the same time last year.

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Employers are still struggling to fill jobs, much like they were in 2018, said Genine Wilson, a vice president at staffing agency Kelly Services.

About 45 percent of San Diego County job postings require a bachelors degree, her staffing agencys analytics showed, but only around a quarter of applicants have one.

We are still dealing with jobs being there that are going unfilled. Its not a matter of lack of jobs, Wilson said. Its a matter of some of the unemployed not having the skills to fill the available jobs.

There are some signs the job market might be cooling. National job hiring in February, also released Friday, showed fewer jobs added than expected. Yet when the recent job numbers are adjusted for seasonal swings  such as substantial temporary hiring during the holidays  the number of jobless shrinks.

Lynn Reaser, chief economist for the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University, said the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in January when seasonally adjusted, up from 3.4 percent in December.

San Diegos latest jobs report showed a lot of red, but the reality is not nearly as gloomy, she said. Much of the decline was seasonal, such as in retailing, transportation, and tourism.

Overall for the year, education and health services had the most new hires in San Diego County with 6,900 positions. The category includes jobs in colleges, universities and professional schools, as well as social assistance positions in health care.

Other growing industries were leisure and hospitality with 6,300 jobs, professional and business services with 4,700 jobs and government with 3,200 jobs.

The biggest loser was trade, transportation and utilities, shedding 2,000 jobs. Positions in that category include motor vehicle parts dealers, retail at clothing stores and department store jobs.

Employers statewide last month added 8,000 jobs. Thats down from 19,700 jobs added in December.

State labor officials do not seasonally adjust jobless rates for individual counties, but the unadjusted numbers show San Diego County had one of the lowest rates at 3.8 percent in Southern California.

Los Angeles County unemployment was 4.9 percent; Orange County was 3.3 percent; San Bernardino County was 4.5 percent; and Riverside County was 4.8 percent.

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phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

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New Tijuana condo towers will hit record heightsSan Diego Gas & Electric is rolling out time of use rates that will eventually affect the monthly bills for about 750,000 of the utilitys residential customers.

But will the switch affect the nearly 155,000 residential customers who have rooftop solar systems on their homes?

Yes, but the full answer is complicated.

The vast majority of solar customers will eventually move to time of use rates but some have the option to stay on a more traditional tiered-rate structure that is considered more financially attractive than time of use  it all depends on how long ago they activated their rooftop solar systems.

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It really varies on the residential side, said Edward Randolph, the Energy Division Deputy Director for the California Public Utilities Commission, which has directed the states investor-owned utilities to adopt time of use rates, also known as TOU. Thats why (solar customers) need to contact their utility to find out their exact circumstance.

And circumstances have been changing quickly, in Californias energy landscape.

Many customers  those with solar installations as well as those without  had just gotten used to the latest iteration of tiered rates and adopting TOU means a transition to a different pricing plan.

Under tiered pricing, customers pay a set rate per kilowatt-hour for the electricity they consume. They pay more when their household exceeds a predetermined baseline allowance and if they use more than 400 percent of their baseline, they pay a high usage charge that is even higher.

But under TOU, the day is broken into segments. And instead of one set price regardless of time, the price fluctuates depending on when demand peaks on the system. The most expensive time of the day is 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.  a time that coincides with people coming home from work and firing up their appliances.

The distinction between tiered rates and time of use is an important one for rooftop solar customers to keep in mind.

Solar and the grid

Among the attributes of installing rooftop solar perhaps the biggest selling point is a billing mechanism called net energy metering, or NEM.

Under net metering, when a rooftop solar system generates more energy than the homeowner is actually consuming, the customer can sell the excess energy back to utilities such as SDG&E via the grid at the retail rate and receive credits on their bills.

Since the price of electricity on a tiered rate remains constant throughout the day, solar customers can count on the price of the excess electricity they generate also remaining constant. For example, if the tiered rate for a homeowner is, say, 25 cents a kilowatt-hour in the summer months, the homeowner will get credited at that rate when his or her system generates excess electricity.

Under a TOU plan, though, prices shift during the course of the day  high during on-peak hours and low during off-peak.

But your rooftop solar system is generating most of its electricity when the sun is shining and thats when the lower off-peak prices are in effect.

For example, under SDGEs default TOU plan, the off-peak price during the summer months is 21 cents a kilowatt-hour. Thats 4 cents less than the tiered rate of 25 cents a kilowatt hour.

Although there are some exceptions, its generally accepted by solar experts that rooftop solar customers get a better deal under tiered rates than time of use.

Thats because most rooftop solar generation throughout the day comes during low-priced periods and then the sun sets just as prices shoot to their highest levels.

Tiered rates are going to save a solar customer more money, no question about about it, said Brad Heavner, the director of policy at the California Solar and Storage Association, the states largest solar trade group.

But when changes were made to the states net metering rules in 2016 (called NEM 2.0), it included migrating residential solar customers to TOU.

Time of use is going to be a critical element in integrating renewable resources into the electric grid, Randolph said. That helps us make better use of the renewable energy after its generated.

Click here to see SDG&Es prices for time of use rates as well as prices for tiered rates

The California Solar and Storage Association, acknowledges that TOU is a done deal.

Time of use squeezes the margin (for solar customers) but its necessary to sustain solar going forward, Heavner said. We want to be good citizens. We recognize that we need to adapt to a changing grid, so (TOU) is necessary and well live with it.

There are some customers, though, that see TOU as preferable. Some opt for time of use because they own electric vehicles and they find it financially attractive to use their electricity to charge their vehicles during low-priced, off-peak hours (such as after 9 p.m.).

SDG&Es time of use rates for residential solar customers are the same as the TOU for residential customers without solar. State law says utilities cannot assign rates to solar customers that are higher than those for non-solar customers.

Heavner said while TOU pricing is not as favorable as tiered rates for many, the difference is small enough to still entice customers who are considering solar to put panels on their roofs.

The great migration begins

Of the 154,148 residential NEM customers in SDG&Es service territory, about 24 percent of them are already on time of use.

The remaining 76 percent are on tiered rates and will be contacted by the utility about the rollout to TOU.

SDG&Es strategy is similar to the much larger effort the utility has already started with non-solar customers  explaining the move from tiered rates to TOU and sending them emails and notices in the mail that explain pricing and options.

The transition will come in phases. Some residential solar customers have already been contacted and the first group is expected to complete the change to TOU in April.

Just like non-solar customers, NEM customers will be offered a default time of use plan by SDG&E (called TOU-DR1) that in addition to on-peak and off-peak periods also offers a super off-peak rate for some segments of time.

And just as with customers without solar, NEM customers can also opt for another, simpler, plan that breaks the into just two periods  on-peak and off-peak.

SDG&E officials expect the rollout to be complete by the spring of 2020.

But wait  there is a way to stay on tiered rates

There is, however, a way some existing solar customers can stay on tiered rates if they prefer.

When the CPUC established the new NEM 2.0 rules, it allowed customers who installed solar under the original net metering policy to be grandfathered in for 20 years from their original enrollment date.

For solar customers in the SDG&E service territory, the 20-year rule applies to those who activated their systems before June 29, 2016.

Randolph said the commission instituted the 20-year rule as an issue of fairness to solar customers who invested in a solar installation on their homes  a purchase that can frequently run to $20,000 or more, depending on the size of the house.

When they installed the panels, they were looking at the financing and the payback of those panels based on the rate structure at the time, Randolph said. Ultimately, the commission made the policy determination that the most equitable way to treat those customers was to give them the option of staying on the old rate structure.

After the 20 years are up, customers must move to time of use rates.

If youre a customer who installed solar a few years ago, youre probably going to want to stay on those tiered rates and not get shifted over to TOU, Heavner said.

But what if you installed solar on your home after June 29, 2016?

Heres another part of the story thats complicated.

Customers who activated their rooftop solar systems between June 29, 2016 and March 30, 2018 were defaulted to standard, tiered rates rather than TOU.

They can stay on tiered rates for now but eventually, they will migrate to time of use  either five years from the date their system activated or June 2021, whichever comes first.

That was done because when the CPUC established NEM 2.0, SDG&E was going through its general rate case  the long and involved process in which the commission decides how much an investor-owned utility can collect from ratepayers in a three-year period.

With TOU periods still in flux at the time, those customers were put on tiered rates with a five-year stipulation.

All customers who installed rooftop solar after March 31, 2018, have been placed on time of use.

What if you are considering installing solar on your rooftop? Once you pull the trigger and get your installation up and running, you will be placed into TOU rates.

Commercial SDG&E solar customers are already on time of use pricing plans.

The battery storage fix?

The switch to TOU may lead some rooftop solar customers to make the financial investment in pairing their installations with battery storage systems.

Heres why:

With battery storage, homeowners can save up the energy generated by the sun during the day and then use it later, when the sun goes down and solar generation wanes  and, critically, during that 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. time period when the cost of electricity can be more than twice the price.

For example, go back to SDG&Es default time of use rates. The off-peak price when solar generation is surging is 21 cents a kilowatt-hour during the summer months. The on-peak price between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. is 43 cents a kilowatt-hour.

With a battery, a residential solar customer can use that electricity that was generated at 21 cents and run his or her appliances as soon as they get home from work, thus avoiding the 45-cent price between 4 and 9 p.m.

Or, the customer with battery storage can save that solar generation that cost them 21 cents a kilowatt-hour during the day and send it back to the grid between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. and get their credit at 45 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Batteries are much more attractive under TOU rates, Heavner said.

San Diego solar customers seem to agree. Residential SDG&E customers have paired batteries to their solar panels at roughly more than twice the rate seen in the service territories of Southern California Edison and PG&E.

Battery storage can be pricey. In 2017, a typical solar battery storage system cost about $6,200 but after federal and California incentives, the figure can be reduced by about $4,000.

However, the statewide rebate program for installing a home battery  called the Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP  currently has a wait-list for customers in San Diego because the residential sector burned through the areas allotted $6.9 million in April 2018.

But additional funding is expected to come via the CPUC.

Theres a certain amount budgeted and they ran out of that money, but theyre putting more money back in so its still a good idea to go on a wait-list, Heavner said.

 Under the direction of the the California Public Utilities Commission, San Diego Gas & Electric will switch many of its residential customers to time of use rates, in which the price of electricity depends on when customers use it.

What is time of use?

Unlike a tiered-rate structure in which customers move into higher pay bands as they use more electricity, under a time of use, or TOU system, customers pay different prices per kilowatt-hour depending on when they consume power.

How it works: The more electricity you use when the states power grid has less resources at its disposal, the more you pay. Conversely, if you use electricity when demand is relatively low and there are more sources available for grid operators to manage, you pay less.

Peak hours: Under TOU, the most expensive time of the day runs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thats when energy demand spikes, as customers come home from work and run their appliances and  especially in the summer  turn on their air conditioners. Conversely, off-peak segments are priced considerably lower because renewable sources like wind and solar in particular are surging at that time in the day.

Heres an example: Under SDG&Es default time of use plan, electricity during on-peak hours between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. costs 43 cents per kilowatt-hour during the summer season (June 1 to Oct. 1). But outside those hours, the off-peak price drops to 21 cents per kwh. And during super off-peak hours, the price falls to 16 cents per kwh.

Why the move: The shift to time of use rates was initiated by the Legislature, which in 2013 passed Assembly Bill 327 to reform residential rates, and the California Public Utilities Commission, largely to help integrate more renewables into the electric grid. SDG&E rolls out its plan this year. Edison and PG&E will start in the fall of 2020 and are expected to finish by 2021.

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewskiCurrently a parking lot for Petco Park VIPs, the asphalt rectangle sandwiched between the Padres stadium and an MTS parking garage is once again being looked at for a major project.

The site in question, known as Ballpark Village Parcel D, received a large density bonus from San Diegos City Council on Tuesday. Council members voted unanimously to reinstate an expired provision that allows the owners  JMI Realty and Lennar Homes (operating as Ballpark Village LLC)  to build something nearly double the size normally allowed.

The decision paves the way for a big, stadium-adjacent development, although specifics are unknown.

This would allow the developer to develop a larger project than would otherwise be permitted on the site, said Jeff Zinner, senior project manager with Civic San Diego, the citys downtown planning agency. It facilitates the developers ability to market and develop plans for a specific Parcel D development.

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Located southeast of Park Boulevard and south of Imperial Avenue, Parcel D is a cornerstone of the 24-block ballpark district surrounding Petco Park, and one of the last areas ripe for development. JMI Realty, former Padres owner John Moores real estate company, master-planned the East Village district, which voters approved in 1998 with the idea that financing for the stadium would come from taxes generated by surrounding development.

The parcel in question is governed by the terms of whats called the Ballpark Village Owner Participation Agreement. The contract dictates land uses and owner obligations, including affordable housing stipulations and a $4 million payment for the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge. It was originally executed by the citys former redevelopment agency in January 2006, and is currently managed by Civic as the agency was dissolved in 2012.

The agreement included a provision that gave JMI and Lennar the option to transfer density from the ballpark to the parcel, increasing the total building area by 804,032 square feet. That allowance, however, expired in 2016, and only recently became of renewed interest to the owners.

In August, JMI President John Kratzer petitioned Civic San Diego in a letter to have the density bonus reinstated, noting that the city would collect more tax revenue from a larger development on the site. Kratzer also explained some of the reasons why the firm let its 2016 deadline lapse.

(Ballpark Village LLC) was actively negotiating the development of a proposed convention hotel with Marriott International, Inc. in 2006-2007, but these negotiations were ultimately terminated due to uncertainty created by allegations of potential violations  by former Centre City Development Corporation President Nancy Graham, he wrote in the letter. The investigations  were not completed until 2008, so the sites timeframes were significantly delayed by these events.

Then, in 2008, a severe economic downturn further impeded the firms ability to market the property, Kratzer said. Instead, JMI and Lennar focused their attention on the adjacent Ballpark Village parcel, Parcel C, which they sold to Greystar in 2015. That site at Park Boulevard and 12th Avenue is now home to the 37-story Park 12 apartment complex that towers over Petco Park.

Tuesdays council action suggests a renewed interest in whats left of the long-promised village  and hints at a major development on the horizon. However, no project has been submitted to Civic for formal consideration, Zinner said. JMI did not respond to requests to discuss its plan for the site.

Business

jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruinThe new owner of Horton Plaza is embroiled in a legal tussle with a small-business owner who exited the downtown shopping center late last year  and millions are at stake.

The parties are real estate investment firm Stockdale Capital Partners and Burgerim franchise owner Irwantio, Inc. They are suing each other in San Diegos Superior Court over the terms of a broken lease, with both sides alleging the other is at fault.

Stockale, which last year purchased the 900,000 square-foot retail center and also operates the city-owned Horton Plaza park next door, lodged the first complaint on Jan. 30. It filed suit against Irwantio for illegally terminating its 10-year lease at a standalone pavilion in the park. Friday, the business owner countered in a newly filed complaint that it was duped into signing its lease, and that the past and present operators failed to run the property according to the standards spelled out in the agreement.

The franchise owner is asking for a minimum of $1 million in damages, while Stockdale claims to be owed the balance of the lease term (or rent through August 2027).

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The legal battle is taking place as the once acclaimed Horton Plaza mall, which first opened in 1985, prepares for its second act as a fancy office park. Stockdale purchased the downtown property in August for $175 million with the stated plan to reuse most of the retail center for a modern employment hub. That plan is on hold, however, until the city signs off on a new agreement that would allow for more office space on the site. As it stands, the Horton Plaza Owner Participation Agreement requires a minimum of 600,000 square feet of retail on the site.

In the interim, the urban mall has turned into a retail ghost town with most tenants leaving as their leases expire. In January, the United Artists theater closed its doors after a 33-year run. It was followed soon after by the shuttering of Claires accessories. That leaves just a small collection of businesses still open at the site, including Macys, Jimbos and 24 Hour Fitness.

Burger joint Burgerim operated out of a standalone pavilion created during the renovation of Horton Plaza park. (Courtesy/CoStar)

Burgerim, meanwhile, shut up shop at Horton Plaza after just 13 months in business. The fast-casual burger franchisee, owned by Djulianto Irwantio and Lena Lazuardi, signed its lease in May 2017, opened in November of that year and closed in December of the following year. It temporarily took over a 1,500 square-foot kiosk in Horton Plaza park built as part of the city of San Diegos $18 million investment in, and expansion of, the park. Under terms of the aforementioned owner participation agreement, Stockdale is required to operate, maintain and program the city-owned park.

But in court documents, the Burgerim proprietor claims to have been duped by previous mall-owner Westfield into signing its lease. The business says it was led to believe that the outdoor shopping center would be revitalized, that the park would programmed with a number of events and that its venue was in a desirable location. Instead, Irwantio alleges that it got a space adjacent to public bathrooms where the homeless bathe and that mall operators turned a blind eye to security incidents.

Conditions have progressively worsened, such that, before (Irwantio, Inc.) was forced to exit the space, (the business) faced daily issues with homeless individuals. These conditions created an unwelcome environment for both customers and employees, the suit states.

Stockdale Capital Partners declined a request to participate in this story, but court documents highlight a different version of events. The firm, in its complaint, argues that Irwantio stopped paying rent in November 2018, did not respond to multiple notices and illegally abandoned its restaurant venue. Its suing the Irwantio business and Oren Loni, who is listed as a guarantor, for breach of lease and rent owed. A copy of the lease shows that Irwantio agreed to pay minimum rent starting at $112,000 per year and going up to $151,607.52 per year in 2027  increasing on an annual basis  along with a percentage of gross sales, depending on business. Stockdale did not say how much in total its owed.

Separately, the real estate investment firm is being sued for similar reasons by specialty grocer Jimbos Naturally, which has been a tenant at Horton Plaza since 2012. The local company first filed suit against Westfield last May for breach of contract and amended its complaint earlier this year to include Stockdale.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruinThe regions largest home builder has acquired a huge piece of land alongside Interstate 15 in Rancho Penasquitos and is preparing to build 324 single- and multi-family homes for middle-class families.

Lennar Homes of California bought the 29.93-acre parcel at 10955 Carmel Mountain Rd. from Atlantic Pacific Companies in early February for $52.14 million, according to information provided by the county assessors office. The transaction was disclosed by the buyers representative, Cushman & Wakefield, on Thursday.

After a four-year entitlement process, Lennar is looking forward to creating more homes in a central part of San Diego, said Kevin Nolen, a director with Cushman & Wakefield.

The new homes, some of which will be completed by the end of 2020, are said to be designed for entry-level buyers, although prices are not being disclosed. The for-sale residences will range in size from 1,324 square feet to 2,034 square feet, and will have two to four bedrooms. There will be 99 single-family homes, 105 triplex homes and 120 townhouses.

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This new community will allow residents to own homes in the community they serve, while also offering mortgage and lending options with a wide variety of programs for first-time homebuyers, Nolen said.

Lennars Penasquitos property accounts for around three-quarters of a bigger, 41.5-acre workforce housing development known as Pacific Village, which was approved by San Diegos City Council one year ago. Lennar and Atlantic Pacific were partners on the project, although the latter owned all of the land until last month.

In total, the Pacific Village development calls for 601 residences spread across the southern parcel now owned by Lennar, and the smaller, northern parcel still owned by Atlantic Pacific.

Lennar is handling all of Pacific Villages infrastructure needs, although Atlantic Pacific, which specializes in rentals, will build the 277 apartments on its 11-acre site.

Pacific Village replaces the now-demolished, 332-unit Penasquitos Village apartment complex at the northwest corner of the 56 Freeway and Interstate 15.

The previous complex was home to roughly 200 Section 8 recipients. The developers covenant with the city required that they provide relocation assistance to, and cover moving expenses for, the residents who were receiving federal rental assistance.

The real estate firms also committed to providing 115 subsidized, low-rent units. Sixty of the apartments at Pacific Village will be subsidized for low-income households. The other 55 subsidized apartments will be offsite at other projects owned by the developers.

The project did not originally include subsidized housing, but organized labor advocates successfully lobbied for several concessions that were only finalized in the days before Pacific Village went before the City Council in March of 2018.

In addition, Lennar and Atlantic Pacific will make $10 million worth of community and infrastructure improvements. The enhancements include updated sidewalks and landscaping, and a sound wall along Interstate 15. There will also be a new bike lane along Carmel Mountain Road and new traffic signals along Carmel Mountain Drive.

Business

jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruinOne Paseo, San Diegos most anticipated  or possibly, most dreaded  development, is officially, though just barely, open for business. The full scale and impact of the 23-acre, city within a city wont be felt for months, if not years, to come.

Saturday, developer Kilroy Realty will remove construction fences from One Paseos retail component, which spans 96,000 square feet, and invite the public in to take a look.

However, the expansive Carmel Valley project at 12860 El Camino Real, just east of Interstate 5, will showcase just one retail tenant, the boutique bohemian fashion shop Van de Vort. Thirteen additional stores or restaurants will open on March 16. The projects 608 luxury residential units wont be ready until later this year. The office buildings are slated for completion sometime next year.

The retail portion spans 96,000 square feet and is meant to have a country-meets-coast vibe. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Still, adults are invited to walk the grounds, and kids can climb on top of a massive log structure, aptly called The Log, in the center of the property. Ambassadors will also be on site to answer questions and give out tote bags. Free parking is also readily available. The debut marks the first time that the general public can scrutinize in person the once controversial site, which is still very much under construction and may still be a sensitive topic for nearby residents afraid of One Paseos traffic implications.

Surely this partial preview is not the first impression originally engineered by the powerhouse real estate investment firm behind the project. But Kilroy Chairman John Kilroy, whose father founded the company in 1947, is no less proud of his urban-esque suburban development, which he said will likely cost closer to $1 billion than $500 million when all is said and done. The publicly traded company has in the past estimated a total project cost of $675 million ($470 million for retail and residential, $205 million for office).

Im an optimist, so I have to look at what weve created here, what its going to do and how its really going to transform this area and bring it to a whole different level, Kilroy said during a sit-down interview last week. Im very prideful of that. I think (One Paseo is) going to be a major success as measured by residents, and the business community and others in San Diego who will come visit.

Retailers prepare for an industry preview party on Feb. 28. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

After years of costly setbacks  the executive estimates that close to $60 million went up in smoke  Kilroy, whose firm purchased the land in 2008, is choosing to look at the bigger picture. That picture, as he sees it, is a live-work-play setting that promotes everything San Diego leaders have advocated for years: dense housing, environmentally conscious buildings and a way of life thats less centered around the car.

Visitors this weekend will see some of that vision on display. Though they may not be able to literally taste anything, patrons can use their other senses to fill in some of the blanks as the retail centers country-meets-coast decor and its comfortable outdoor nooks should leave them wanting more. Eventually, Kilroy even hopes to win over his biggest naysayers. Opponents of the project sought to kill it through a referendum effort in 2015, but eventually settled for something with a much smaller retail and office footprint.

I think this is going to create something where people who were supporters of the project are going to say, Hey, this is better than we thought, Kilroy said. And people who were antagonistic toward the project  remember this is not the original project. I think were going to find the vast majority of people who were against the project are going to feel pretty positive about it.

One Paseos soft opening may also work in the developers favor.

As much as they would love to open up, rolling it out slowly is good for them so they can make sure everything is the right experience for consumers, said Miro Copic, a SDSU marketing lecturer who tracks the retail sector.

Residential buildings under construction at the One Paseo. The first batch of luxury apartments is scheduled to open in June. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

And traffic on Del Mar Heights Road, which is the neighbors No. 1 concern, should be less of an issue at launch, given the limited shopping and dining options, Copic said.

Of course, Kilroy Realty had hoped that more of One Paseos flagship venues would greet shoppers during a grand opening; it was originally scheduled for March 1. Rain and delays with tenant building permits washed away those plans.

Instead, Van de Vorts soft opening on March 9 will be trailed by a dozen or so openings the following weekend, including the second San Diego locations for trendy spinning fitness studio SoulCycle and artisan ice creamery Salt & Straw.

One Paseo Retail Openings

March 9

Van de Vort

March 16

Curbar

Drybar

Faherty

Joe and the Juice

Marrow Fine

Nathan West

Salt & Straw

SoulCycle

Susies Cakes

The Butchery

Urban Beach House

West of Camden

Whiskey and Leather

Future

Blackbook Bikini

Blue Bottle

BodyROK

Byrds Nest

Color Counter

Cava

Harland Brewery

International Smoke

Juice Crafters

Le Macaron

Mizukiyama Sushi

Motion Stretch

North Italia

Parakeet Cafe

Pigment

Sephora

Shake Shack

Shop Good

Specs Optometry

Sweetfin Poke

Tender Greens

Tocaya Organica

URBN

Vibe Flow Yoga

Ways & Means Oyster House

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruinThe San Diego Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a four-story, 125-room hotel for a vacant 2-acre site near San Diego State University.

Neighborhood leaders have expressed support for the proposal, especially an agreement by the developer to share 25 of the hotels 125 parking spaces with the nearby College-Rolando library branch.

City officials said a shared-parking pact makes sense because the hotels heaviest use of the spaces will be during evening and overnight hours, while the librarys heaviest use will be during morning and afternoon hours.

Plans for the 68,000-square-foot hotel, which is expected to be a Hampton Inn, include a pool, breakfast area, conference room and gym located on the ground level.

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City officials said the project would revitalize the area and provide needed hotel accommodations for tourists and families visiting students who attend the university.

The site has been vacant since a church that occupied it was demolished in 2017. Nearby residents say the site, while fenced off, has become a magnet for trash dumping and homeless people.

College Lutheran Church had occupied the site since 1955. A historical assessment determined that alterations to the building had been too significant to warrant preservation. The church had a shared-parking agreement with the library branch.

The site is on the north side of Montezuma Road between Reservoir Drive and El Cajon Boulevard.

It is bordered by the library to the west, single-family homes to the north, a shopping plaza anchored by a Ralphs supermarket to the east, and a mix of residential apartments and commercial uses to the south.

In October 2017, the College Area Community Planning Group unanimously supported the proposal.

Jose Reynoso, the groups chairman, noted Thursday that community support is contingent on the shared-parking agreement with the library, which has only 15 on-site spaces for patrons now.

The community is very excited to see a hotel in this location, he said. We think its a small demand to require the property owner to share its access off Montezuma and 25 parking spaces with the city for library uses.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrickA proposed 40-story apartment development in East Village got high marks Wednesday from the design committee of downtowns planning agency, Civic San Diego.

The 613-unit complex would have a six-story building, a seven-story building and a 40-story tower reaching 400 feet. The proposed buildings, at the corner of Park Boulevard and Broadway, are spread apart to avoid an earthquake fault through the center. The area in between the buildings would be turned into green space for residents.

If approved, it will be one of the tallest residential towers in the city, and the fifth-most residential units for a downtown complex. A timeline for construction is not set but could be approved within the next 12 months.

Design committee members praised the project from developer Liberty National Corp. for making good use of a site that had an earthquake fault on it, as well as slopes on every side. The site is bounded by Park Boulevard, 13th Street, Broadway and C Street.

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We are getting a very dense project, committee member Jennifer Ayala said. Unlike another block, not too far away, with a flat site and no fault and no restrictions. Look at what we were able to get on a site with a bit of creativity.

Getting downtown developers to build denser developments is a focus of the agency, but doesnt always work. Developer JPI in September proposed a 318-apartment project on a full block site in East Village that could have held up to 900 apartments. Civic San Diego ended up approving the project when JPI added 50 more apartments.

Rendering of the Park and Broadway building at night. (Civic San Diego)

Architect Bob Lisauskas of Baltimore-based CallisonRTKL said it tried to use the earthquake fault at Park Boulevard and Broadway as an opportunity.

Its almost a canyon of green space, he said.

Plans including fencing around the green space but committee members were concerned the public would not have access. Some ideas were having part of the space opened to the public or having set hours when the public is allowed access.

I would love to see that available to the public, during the daytime at least, said member Theodore Shaw. It can be a real amenity for not just residents and shoppers, but people that come through the neighborhood.

This is the second major East Village tower proposed this year by San Diego-based developer Liberty National Corp. Its other proposed project is a 40-story tower on the south side of B Street.

Both projects will not include low-income housing on site, and the developer will instead pay millions in inclusionary housing fees. It will pay $4.8 million in fees for the Park and Boulevard project.

Mark Schmidt, principal of Willmark Communities, is listed as a corporate officer on the project. In July, Willmark paid a $4.75 million dollar settlement to a group of tenants that alleged the company had a practice of unlawfully retaining security deposits of tenants, or levying bogus charges when tenants moved out. Willmark denied any wrongdoing. Efforts to reach Schmidt were unsuccessful.

The Park and Broadway project intends to include 18,852-square-feet of commercial space and 634 parking spaces. The 60,182-square-feet is located next to a stop on the San Diego Trolley and near San Diego City College.

Next for the project is a second meeting in front of the design review committee, then a meeting in front of the entire Civic San Diego board where it could get full approval.

Rendering of a skydeck at the proposed Park & Broadway condo tower (Civic San Diego)

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phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

ALSO

Is San Diego County done building single-family homes?

San Diego County apartment rush continues. More than 4,500 planned for 19

New Tijuana condo towers will hit record heightsA developer has proposed putting a new condo tower on the same property as one of San Diegos most historic buildings.

J Peter Block Companies would put the 12- to 13-story building on the land behind El Cortez, currently used by residents, on the south side of Beech Street. The proposal calls for 104 condos on a 20,000-square-foot spot roughly 22 feet from the El Cortez lot.

While it might seem surprising to historical buffs, a building has been planned on the site for nearly 15 years. A parcel split was allowed on the site in 2004 and a building was approved for the site in 2008, only to be delayed because of the recession.

On Wednesday, officials from the Design Review Committee of downtowns planning agency, Civic San Diego, got their first look at the project. There are still a number of approvals before construction could begin, including another design review, a meeting with the full Civic board and a public meeting.

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Some residents have voiced displeasure in the past about the project blocking views, but no public comments were made at the meeting.

Steve Altman, who has lived in the Discovery Condos across the street from the El Cortez for 12 years, said after the meeting he felt the project didnt seem like it fit on the site and was frustrated it didnt contain retail.

Overall, the project really cramps the site, he said.

A rendering of 777 Beech St. from the sky (Civic San Diego)

Architect Taal Safdie, of the San Diego firm Safdie Rabines Architects, said the design was meant to complement the El Cortez. She said the design mimics the historic building with a central tower and two wings.

The concept of the building was really created in respect to the El Cortez, she said.

The proposal calls for two-story townhouses to surround the building, except for where the lobby would be on Beech Street. Other plans call for 206 parking spaces in five underground levels, balconies, outdoor space on the seventh floor and a ground floor courtyard.

The El Cortez was a hotel built in 1927 that has been converted to condos. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is said to have had the first outside glass elevator in the world. It was the tallest building in San Diego for more than 30 years.

Design committee member Jennifer Ayala said she liked the landscaping of the proposal, design elements and its placement.

I appreciate the respectful gestures to the El Cortez, she said.

Blueprint of proposed condo tower behind the El Cortez building (Civic San Diego)

Plans for the condos include seven studios (414 to 1,353 square feet), 75 one-bedroom units (729 to 1,812 square feet) and two units that are two-bedrooms (2,565 to 2,960 square feet).

Low-income housing will not be included on site, instead J Peter Block Companies will pay $1.56 million in inclusionary housing fees.

A rendering of 777 Beech at night. (Civic San Diego)

Business

phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

ALSO

Is San Diego County done building single-family homes?

San Diego County apartment rush continues. More than 4,500 planned for 19

New Tijuana condo towers will hit record heightsAt $250,000, the price tag for a National City home is hard to beat. But its about the size of a studio apartment and falling apart.

Listed for sale on L Avenue is a 500-square-foot lot, with a 94-year-old house occupying 98 percent of it.

Depending on how you look at it, it is either the last gasp of a market that has overheated or a screaming deal in a region that has largely stopped building single-family homes.

Listing agent Nicole Kaemerle said the home is located in a nice area, and the cost to rehab the property  now completely gutted  may not be too expensive because it is so small.

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Honestly, the most run down property on this street was this property, she said. I think it is pretty reasonably priced. Its your own lot. Its not connected to anything.

The home, located at 1725 L Ave., is in extreme disrepair and has the smallest lot size of any single-family property for sale in the county. White paint is chipping off the exterior of the 490-square-foot home, windows are broken, there are signs of water damage, and all thats left of the interior is the wooden frame.

Despite all the work likely involved in making the property livable, it has a few positives in the competitive San Diego market. The home is not in a Mello-Roos tax district, where a special tax is levied in addition to property tax to pay for infrastructure. Nor is it subject to any homeowner association fees.

New single-family homes are becoming more of a rarity in San Diego County, which has seen a shift to multifamily construction as developers choose to build higher density projects. The county had 3,389 building permits pulled for single-family homes in 2018, down 15 percent from the previous year, said the Construction Industry Research Board.

This 500-square-feet home listed for sale on L Avenue in National City, list for $250,000.00. The inside of the home has been gutted down to the studs. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Gary Kent, a La Jolla-based real estate agent, said a better value would be a resale condo that is around the same cost, in a different neighborhood, with less work needed.

If youre going to find (a single-family house) in the $250,000 range, that fits the bill, he said of the National City home. But its not a great area, its a small lot, small house, one bedroom, beat up.

Financing for a buyer would be difficult because the home is gutted, likely requiring a cash sale.

Property records show the National City home, packaged with three other adjacent homes, together sold in late 2018 for $860,000 to a Los Angeles County-based corporation called David A Thompson MD Inc Profit Sharing. Kaemerle said the owner eventually plans to sell the remaining homes.

A $250,000 house for sale in West Virginia (Trulia)

There are eight homes for sale in San Diego County that are 500 square feet and under, although most are in areas that are more than an hour commute from downtown San Diego. Several of the properties, which could be considered cabins, are in Palomar Mountain, Campo and Spring Valley.

The most expensive tiny home, at $1.3 million, has similar dimensions to the National City house  but with ocean views. The home, at 4541 Orchard Ave. in Point Loma, is 448 square feet but has a lot size of 8,115-square-feet.

Heres what $250,000 could get a buyer in other markets:

5153 Babbit Dr., Troy, Michigan  This three-bedroom, two-bathroom house sits on a 10,018-square-foot lot. The home, built in 1969, is 1,656 square feet. The suburban colonial-style Detroit home has a pool, fireplace and was remodeled four years ago.

4402 Staunton Ave SE, Charleston, West Virginia  This 1,976-square-foot home on a 1.38-acre lot has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Built in 1946, the home boasts a two-car garage and a deck that overlooks the large backyard.

805 11th Street, Arapahoe, Nebraska  This three-bedroom, two-bath house has a beauty salon with three styling chairs on the first floor, as well as a hot tub, patio and tanning bed. Built in 1975, the .30-acre lot is close to several schools.

2730 S Avondale Ct., Sioux Falls, South Dakota  This three-bedroom, two bath 1,845-square-foot house sits on a 8,341-square-foot lot. Built in 1995, the house has vaulted ceilings and a basement.

1101 N Haven Cir., Lynn Haven, Florida  The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is 1,978 square feet and sits on a 5,340-square-foot lot. Built in 2009, the home is in the suburbs of Panama City.

Business

phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

ALSO

Is San Diego County done building single-family homes?

San Diego County apartment rush continues. More than 4,500 planned for 19

New Tijuana condo towers will hit record heightsFour months after revamping the style and service model of his flagship restaurant Urban Solace, owner and chef Matt Gordon announced Tuesday that he is closing the North Park eatery as well as its sister restaurant, Solace & the Moonlight Lounge in Encinitas.

The restaurants final day of service is Wednesday, March 13. Gordon could not be reached for comment, but wrote about the plan to close in an email on Tuesday afternoon.

It is with a heavy heart that I write to you today, he wrote. We have come to the very difficult decision that Solace Restaurants have run their course here in San Diego.  It has been an uphill battle for quite some time now, and its just time to move on.

Last fall, Gordon announced plans to dramatically revamp the North Park restaurant, which opened in fall 2007. He expanded breakfast/brunch service from one to seven days a week, and he reinvented the dinner menu to a shareable plates concept to supplement a hopefully more robust social bar experience for diners. The changes were accompanied by an interior refresh.

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In January, Gordon talked to the Union-Tribune about the challenges he faced as a traditional restaurateur in a changing marketplace. The fine dining industry is in transition and traditional dinner menus were no longer as popular with diners, particularly with younger patrons who prefer a more social dining and drinking experience.

Adding to this challenge was the evolution of North Park over the past decade. When Gordon and his wife, Young Mi, opened Urban Solace nearly 12 years ago, the neighborhood was more oriented toward sit-down restaurants. But in recent years, a number of bars, quick-service and fast-casual eateries have crowded the market, making it harder to compete in a more traditional, service-heavy style.

Urban Solace continued to attract loyal and older crowd for its dinner service and Sunday brunch, but sales were declining just as labor and food costs were on the rise.

Gordon and Mi also refused to compromise on the quality of their sustainable and natural ingredients. The North County couple was committed to a from-scratch, preservative-free menu because that is how they feed their children.

The closure of Urban Solace and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge, which opened in 2011, follow the closure of a third restaurant owned by the couple, Sea & Smoke, which operated in the Flower Hill Plaza shopping center from 2013 to 2016.

In his email, Gordon said he and his wife are grateful for the support theyve received over the years.

We love you all and thank you and San Diego in general for the wonderful 12 years that we were able to live out our dreams, he wrote.

Urban Solace at 3823 30th St. in North Park and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge at 25 East E St. in Encinitas will be open for service through March 13. To say goodbye to longtime guests, the Gordon family will be at the North Park location from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and at the Encinitas location from 7:30 p.m. to close.

To help empty the bar and pantry, bills will be discounted by 25 percent. Visit barsolace.com.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com. Twitter: @pamkragenSan Diegos second miniature Target is now open for business at 3029 University Avenue in North Park.

The small-format store is part of the retailers big push into urban neighborhoods  and onto college campuses  where its full-format locations wont fit. The new Target location takes up 35,200 square feet, or around 100,000 square feet less than the retailers big boxes.

The North Park Target, which replaced the former Wangs restaurant, quietly greeted its first customers on Wednesday, and will celebrate its grand opening on Sunday. The stores product selection is said to be tailored to neighborhood residents and includes a specialized collection of baby apparel, health and beauty items, and home essentials.

The venue also features a CVS Pharmacy, as well as ChargeItSpot kiosks for guests who need to power up their mobile devices (at no cost) while visiting.

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In San Diego County, Target now operates 24 stores and employs more than 4,000 people. The brand, which opened its first small-format San Diego store in South Park in 2015, plans to expand locally with three more mini stores in Ocean Beach, Spring Valley and on UC San Diegos campus.

Target North Park is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays; its open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruinThe maker of OxyContin and the companys controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nations deadly opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller.

It is the first settlement to come out of the recent coast-to-coast wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue Pharma that threaten to push the company into bankruptcy and have stained the name of the Sackler family, whose members rank among the worlds foremost philanthropists.

The addiction crisis facing our state and nation is a clear and present danger, but were doing something about it today, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said.

Nearly $200 million will go toward establishing a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, while local governments will get $12.5 million. The Sacklers are responsible for $75 million of the settlement.

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In settling, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company denied any wrongdoing in connection with what Hunter called this nightmarish epidemic and the worst public health crisis in our state and nation weve ever seen.

The deal comes two months before Oklahomas 2017 lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other drug companies was set to become the first one in the recent barrage of litigation to go to trial. The remaining defendants still face trial May 28.

Opioids, including heroin and prescription drugs such as OxyContin, were a factor in a record 48,000 deaths across the U.S. in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oklahoma recorded about 400 opioid deaths that year. State officials have said that since 2009, more Oklahomans have died from opioids than in vehicle crashes.

Other states have suffered far worse, including West Virginia, with the nations highest opioid death rate. It had over 1,000 deaths in 2017.

In a statement, Purdue Pharma said the money that will go toward addiction studies and treatment in Oklahoma will help people across the country. CEO Craig Landau said the company is committed to help drive solutions to the opioid addiction crisis.

Plaintiffs attorney Paul Hanly, who is not involved in the Oklahoma case but is representing scores of other governments, welcomed the deal, saying: That suggests that Purdue is serious about trying to deal with the problem. Hopefully, this is the first of many.

But some activists were furious , saying they were denied the chance to hold Purdue Pharma fully accountable in public, in front of a jury.

This decision is a kick in the gut to our community, said Ryan Hampton, of Los Angeles, who is recovering from opioid addiction. We deserve to have our day in court with Purdue. The parents, the families, the survivors deserve at least that. And Oklahoma stripped that from us today.

Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin in the 1990s and marketed it hard to doctors, making tens of billions of dollars from the drug. But the company has been hit with lawsuits from state and local governments trying to hold it responsible for the scourge of addiction.

The lawsuits accuse the company of downplaying the addiction risks and pushing doctors to increase dosages even as the dangers became known. According to a court filing, Richard Sackler, then senior vice president responsible for sales, proudly told the audience at a launch party for OxyContin in 1996 that it would create a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition.

Earlier this month, Purdue Pharma officials acknowledged that they are considering bankruptcy . But Oklahomas attorney general said the company gave assurances it will not take such a step in the near term. And he said the settlement money is bankruptcy proof  that is, its not at risk in the event Purdue declares bankruptcy.

Lance Lang, a 36-year-old recovering user from Oklahoma City, said he is glad some of the settlement will go toward helping those still suffering from addiction.

My heart breaks for those that weve already lost. Ive buried several myself, said Lang, who now helps recovering users find housing. But I also know we have waiting lists of dozens and dozens for our facilities, and the state has waiting lists of hundreds and hundreds of people who need help right now.

But Cheryl Juaire, whose 23-year-old son Corey died of an overdose in 2011, said she was devastated to hear about the settlement.

Jauire, who lives in Marlborough, Massachusetts, had been organizing a group of hundreds of mothers to go to the first day of the trial and stand outside with photos of their dead children. She said a complete airing of the facts is the only way to fully hold Purdue to account.

A settlement is a huge disservice to the tens of thousands of families here in the United States who buried a child, she said. Thats blood money from our children.

Members of the Sackler family are defendants in some of the lawsuits but were not actually parties to the Oklahoma case. The company said the family nevertheless voluntarily contributed to the settlement. We have profound compassion for those who are affected by addiction, the family said in a statement.

The Sacklers are major donors to cultural institutions, and the family name is emblazoned on the walls at many of the worlds great museums and universities. In the past few weeks, as the accusations have mounted, the Tate museums in London and the Guggenheim Museum in New York have cut ties with the family, and other institutions have come under pressure to turn down donations or remove the Sackler name.

A Massachusetts court filing made public earlier this year found that Sackler family members were paid at least $4 billion from 2007 until last year.

Purdue Pharma has settled other lawsuits over the years, and three executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 2007. But this is the first settlement to come out of the surge of litigation in the past few years that focuses largely on the companys more recent conduct.

More than 1,400 federal lawsuits over the opioid crisis have been consolidated in front of a single judge in Cleveland who is pushing the drugmakers and distributors to reach a nationwide settlement.

___

Follow the APs complete opioid coverage: https://www.apnews.com/OvercomingOpioids

___

Read Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunters full statement about the states settlement with Purdue Pharma: https://apnews.com/685994c1a8064c15bdbd2f3bf280ec87

___

Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press reporters Adam Kealoha Causey and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City; Claire Galofaro in Louisville, Kentucky; and Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas contributed to this report.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Apple plans to hire 20 percent more engineering workers in San Diego than it pledged to bring on-board back in December, making the city a principal engineering hub for the iPhone maker.

The company and San Diego city officials announced the boost in hiring at a press conference Wednesday at an Apple store in University City. The company said over the next three years it would hire 1,200 workers  up from the 1,000 future jobs earmarked for San Diego in December as part of a nationwide expansion announcement.

The company said it expects to hire 170 of those 1,200 San Diego workers by the end of this year.

Apple operates retail stores in San Diego County  opening its first outlet in the region in 2001. The local stores employ 600 people. But Apple hasnt had a significant engineering workforce in the region to date.

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Establishing an engineering footprint in San Diego will pit Apple against Qualcomm in competition for wireless talent at a time when the two companies are fighting a brutal, global legal war over the patent royalties that Qualcomm charges for access to its cellular inventions.

Wednesdays press conference came as a San Diego jury heard its third day of testimony in a lawsuit where Qualcomm accuses Apple of infringing on three non-essential smartphone patents. The trial is expected to continue through March 15.

A much bigger jury trial for the two companies begins April 15 in San Diego federal court where billions are at stake.

Kristina Raspe, Apples vice president of global real estate and facilities, didnt identify engineering specialties that Apple is looking for in San Diego.

We will have new positions distributed across all of our specialty engineering fields, including hardware and software technologies, she said. While we havent settled on a location, so dont ask, plans are underway to develop a campus that will feature hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space, lab space and research space.

But cellular technologies likely will be an area of focus for Apple. The company has been advertising for engineering workers in San Diego in recent months, including jobs involving components used in smartphones.

There are 46 positions currently open in the San Diego region on Apples website. Of those, roughly 30 involve wireless technologies. Job titles include cellular modem firmware engineer, cellular modem software architect and wireless system-on-a chip design verification engineer.

It is certainly (cellular) modem jobs. We have seen the posts for the engineering talent that they are looking for, said Jim McGregor, a principal with industry consulting firm Tirias Research. And lets face it, this isnt new. All of these companies have facilities all over the world because they are going after the talent that is there.

Analysts have speculated for years that Apple intends to design more of its own components that go into smartphones. It used to buy cellular modems  chips that manage data transmissions between mobile phones and cellular networks -- from Qualcomm but last year switched exclusively to Intel for its latest iPhone models.

The loss of Apples business, along with the ongoing legal battles, have hurt Qualcomms financial results. The cellular technology giant laid off roughly 1,500 employees in San Diego last year.

Qualcomm aims to make a comeback with the roll-out of new fifth generation 5G wireless networks beginning this year.

At the start of this transition, analysts believe Qualcomm has a lead over rivals, including Intel, in 5G technologies. Qualcomms 5G modems will power more than 20 devices released this year, including smartphones from Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi, OnePlus and LG.

Intel told analysts that its first 5G chip will begin showing up in devices sometime in 2020. .

In the legal war, Apple contends Qualcomm has concocted a scheme to overcharge for its patents in violation of anti-trust law and patent laws, among other things.

Through its Asian contract manufacturers that assemble iPhones, Apple stopped paying patent royalties to Qualcomm in early 2017, trimming roughly $2 billion in annual revenue.

Qualcomm says its cellular inventions contribute significantly to what makes an iPhone valuable to consumers. For access to Qualcomms intellectual property, Apple paid $7.50 per phone, according to testimony in a recent U.S. Federal Trade Commission anti-trust trial.

At Wednesdays press conference, city officials applauded Apples decision to create an engineering hub in the region.

I think what this says is companies are recognizing our tremendous talent pool and the synergies we have with our universities and the innovation ecosystem, said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. It will attract more companies, and that is only good news for San Diegans who are looking for that economic opportunity.

Asked about Apples battle with Qualcomm, Faulconer said we are proud to have Apple grow in San Diego, and we are tremendously proud of Qualcomm and what they have meant and will continue to mean in San Diego for decades into the future.

Obviously, there are lawsuit issues that are happening right now, but it is good for our city when we continue to grow great, quality companies, he said.

Apple is expected to lease space initially in the University City/Eastgate Mall area while exploring longer term options for its location in San Diego County.

Apple - with its vision, its brand and its products - could make a home anywhere across the globe, said San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. Chairwoman Janice Brown. By selecting San Diego, they are showing that they value a place that prioritizes a rich talent pool, inclusive economy, and commitment to changing the world for the better.

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mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973People with mental illness swing in and out of doctors offices every day, but their ailments often go unnoticed and untreated. Bogged down by busy work schedules, general physicians dont have the time  or the expertise  to dig into mental illness.

The result is a large population of sick, yet untreated, people in America. Now, a new startup in San Diego  founded by a well-known tech entrepreneur  is bridging the gap between the doctors office and real psychiatric care.

The company, called Concert Health, makes it easier for doctors to link their patients with therapists and psychiatrists. Unlike popular mental wellness startups like TalkSpace and BetterHelp, which offer talk therapy online, Concert Healths platform fits into the existing health care system. Thats critical, both for the business and the patients, because the services can now be reimbursed by Medicare and many insurance companies.

Concert Health was founded by Spencer Hutchins, 37, who s best known locally for co-founding the fast-growing virtual reality startup Reflexion Health. That company brought physical therapy into the home by using video game technology to guide and monitor exercise. The company uses Microsofts Kinect spatial camera to track and analyze patient movement during physical therapy sessions, and videos of the sessions are sent to therapists for review.

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As co-founder and former CEO of Reflexion, Hutchins raised nearly $12 million in startup capital (on top of funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and grew the team to employ 20 people.

Hutchins left Reflexion in 2015 and started working on the concept for Concert Health shortly after. Although incorporated in 2016, Concert got to work last year, Hutchins said. What inspired his idea for the new business? The broken health care system.

The problem

The Affordable Care Act changed a lot of things about the health care system, one of which was a shift toward the pay for performance model. The idea here is that doctors should get paid based on patient outcomes instead of process. This shift spurred a slew of data collection efforts because doctors and clinics needed to provide evidence of their success.

One such effort was the suggestion that doctors regularly screen their patients for mental health issues like anxiety or depression. When patients go in for their annual check-up, for example, they might be asked to take a questionnaire that gauges their risk for mental health issues.

If you go to Kaiser or Sharp here in San Diego, then these questionnaires are part of your annual wellness exam, Hutchins said. These are important because many people dont bring up this stuff in their exam.

Dr. Prabhdeep Singh, a physician at Imperial Valley Family Care Medical Group, said the questionnaires used at his clinic have uncovered a lot of untreated individuals who needed care.

Mental health issues are some of the most underrecognized in primary care, Singh said. Im not talking about the person crying in your office because a loved one has passed away, or because theyve lost a job. Anyone can pick that up. But the vast majority of patients with mental illness are high functioning, so its difficult to recognize them.

In the United States, about 45 million adults have a mental illness such as anxiety or depression  thats nearly 1 in 6 adults. Among these adults, a 2016 study found that 60 percent didnt get treatment during the previous year: no medication, no talk therapy, no support groups.

When doctors do recognize mental health issues, Singh said the first course of action is usually prescription medication. Its often effective and it only takes a few minutes to write a prescription and get the patient on their way.

But not every condition can be treated with a tablet, and there are other techniques that could help empower the patient to feel better, Singh said.

Sometimes, a doctor might know a psychiatrist to whom they can refer the patient. The process is burdensome and time-consuming, Singh said, requiring multiple phone calls from the doctors themselves and triage nurses. And in the end, the onus is on the patient to follow through to schedule an appointment with the psychiatrist, and often the patient bows out.

How Concert bridges the gap

Unfortunately, behavioral health has long been separated from primary care, so there isnt much infrastructure connecting psychiatrists to medical doctors. But collaborating is in the patients best interest, according to several studies. Thats why in 2018 a new Medicare reimbursement code was created to help doctors get paid for coordinating mental health treatments with therapists, psychiatrists, and case managers. This means doctors can get paid for their time getting patients in the right hands. But that doesnt solve the problem that doctors are always short on time.

Concert Health basically takes a ton of work off doctors plates. The company has a staff of 15 therapists (who all work remotely) who can deliver screening, assess the severity of a patients symptoms, and provide therapy. When cases are particularly serious, the therapist can connect the patient with psychiatrists, who are better equipt to handle such cases and can write prescriptions when necessary.

All doctors have to do is connect the patient with Concert Health. Once they do that, the doctors office can bill the insurance company or Medicare for their work, and Concert Health will ensure the patient gets the care they need. Concert Health gets a cut of the reimbursement.

Traction so far

Concert Health has about 15 customers, Hutchins said, including Imperial Valley Family Care Medical Group. The company has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round and is in the middle of raising a $2 million seed round right now.

Neal Bloom, an angel investor at Tech Coast Angels, has invested in Concert Health in both rounds.

Its always hard for an investor to find a company where the team is good, the opportunity is good, and the timing is right, Bloom said. Capturing this new Medicare billing code is a really big deal. (Concert Health is) the first mover capturing that, so Im like, Lets go. Lets go right now.

Business

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeilingA 5-year-old tech startup founded in downtown San Diego has been snatched up for $43 million by Salt Lake City-based education technology company Instructure.

Portfolium, which employs 32 people in San Diego, makes portfolio software for college students and new graduates seeking jobs. The company is keeping its local office  and all of its employees, said Portfoliums founder and CEO Adam Markowitz.

The acquisition means Instructure, a public company with a market cap of $1.5 billion, will make San Diego its first California outpost. The edtech company has offices all over the globe, including in Chicago, Budapest and London.

Portfolium makes software for academic institutions that allows students to create digital portfolios to showcase their projects, skills and credentials to potential employers. The company also offers student assessments and job matching services. More than 4 million students from about 3,600 colleges, universities and high schools have used the service.

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The acquiring company, Instructure, makes a teaching platform called Canvas that competes with older offerings like Blackboard. The company is used by more than 4,000 educational institutions and corporations. After the acquisition, Porfoliums software will live inside Instructures platform.

Portfolium is still at the early stages, and so part of the acquisition is based upon their feedback that weve received from common customers and organizations out in the market, but theres still a huge opportunity moving forward to expand, said Instructures CEO Dan Goldsmith on a recent earnings call.

Portfolium raised about $8 million in a series of financing rounds since its launch. The company was sold for $25.8 million in cash, with the remaining $17.2 million in stock.

Markowitz, who founded Portfolium in 2014 when he was 27, answered questions about what happened behind-the-scenes of the deal. Here are some excerpts:

Portfoliums founder and CEO Adam Markowitz (Courtesy/ Portfolium)

How did the Instructure deal come about?

Weve been partners of Instructure since 2016, which essentially gave them front-row seats to view our progress and rapid growth. They were able to closely follow our 300 percent revenue growth last year as we doubled our number of customers, and of course continue to have big plans for 2019 and beyond. The partnership evolved into a serious discussion around acquisition, or in other words, Portfolium was bought, not sold.

Was this the exit strategy you were shooting for from the beginning?

When youre fundraising, a common and appropriate question from investors is, Whats your exit strategy? Acquisition was always in the back of my mind, but never in the front dictating strategy. We stayed focused on our vision and always prioritized execution above all else. I knew that if we continued to execute on our vision, there would ultimately be exit opportunities down the road simply because of how important the mission is to so many people and companies.

How does your role change after the acquisition?

Portfolium will continue to execute as part of the Instructure family. Im now the general manager of Portfolium at Instructure with the same focus on execution and continued growth as we integrate and accelerate our combined objectives.

What was the turning point where Instructure decided acquiring Portfolium was a smarter idea than partnering?

With so many shared customers, success stories would often surface organically and be shared from both Portfolium and Instructure customer success and sales teams out in the field. Customers would tell us how they loved the combined and integrated solution that our partnership allowed, and so we started pursuing an even deeper partnership in this regard. In those discussions, it became obvious that both our companies were aligned not just on vision, but also culturally, which was very important to me. Of all our accomplishments, Im most proud of the culture my team has created and maintained over the years.

Will the San Diego Portfolium presence change at all?

Were staying in San Diego and will continue to grow here. Weve been in San Diego since the beginning  starting in my apartment, then in the EvoNexus incubator before moving into our own office at Symphony Tower. We have no intention of leaving. San Diego has been good to us and were proud to be another great success story for the city.

Your team said they see this acquisition as a win for the San Diego startup scene?

The acquisition is a huge win for a city thats been behind us from the beginning, and one that we couldnt be prouder of. Were thankful to our initial investors like Seed San Diego, and to our advisers, and fellow San Diego startups. For those looking to start their own companies here, my team and I hope that they can look at this acquisition and find inspiration in the fact that you really can start something in your garage or apartment and grow it into something of incredible value. We also hope it attracts even more venture capital to San Diego, as its another proof point that great exits do happen here.

Related reading:

Why San Diego missed the first wave of tech unicorns, and whats changing now

Busy doctors can miss mental health crises. Can this San Diego startup help?

Silvia Mah to lead startup accelerator Connect as new president

Business

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeilingAfter nine years of proceedings, Qualcomm received a bit of good news last week in its global fight with antitrust regulators.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Thursday reversed a 2010 ruling that certain parts of Qualcomms patent licensing business practices violated Japanese anti-monopoly laws.

The move revokes a cease and desist order previously issued by the commission, which Qualcomm challenged in Tokyo High Court.

The court delayed the order and required the commission to hear more evidence. After 37 hearings, the commission changed course and found that Qualcomms cross-licensing provisions did not have a tendency to hinder fair competition and therefore didnt violate the Japan Anti-Monopoly Act.

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Qualcomm filed a notice of the Japan reversal with the federal court in San Jose, where a bench trial wrapped up in January in the U.S. Federal Trade Commissions lawsuit accusing Qualcomm of violating anti-monopoly laws.

A federal judge has yet to issue a ruling in the case.

Over the past few years, Qualcomm has been fighting a sprawling legal war with regulators and Apple over the way it licenses patents to its cellular inventions.

Last weeks reversal in Japan marks the second time that a regulatory agency has stepped back from a decision against Qualcomm. Last year, Taiwans Fair Trade Commission settled with the San Diego company and that dramatically lowered a previously imposed fine.

Qualcomm is still appealing judgments in South Korea and the European Union. A trial in Qualcomms legal battle with Apple  which includes many of the same issues raised by regulators  is expected to begin April 15 in San Diego federal court.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission objected to Qualcomms practice of requiring smartphone makers to cross-license their own patents royalty-free as part of getting access to Qualcomms intellectual property.

According to Qualcomm, cross-licensing protects both parties from potential infringement lawsuits.

We are very gratified to learn that after years of considering the evidence and applicable legal authority, the Japan Fair Trade Commission has concluded there was nothing improper about Qualcomms cross-licensing program, said Don Rosenberg, Qualcomms general counsel, in a statement.

Business

mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973The past two years have been tough on Qualcomm shareholders, as legal battles and a slowing smartphone market have weighed down the San Diego companys stock price.

On Tuesday, Qualcomm executives gave their perspective on the direction of the company going forward at its annual shareholder meeting, touting the potential of ultra-fast 5G wireless networks to help turn around the prospects of the cellular technology firm.

Obviously over the last year or two years we have seen a number of legal and regulatory challenges, Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf told shareholders. I would encourage people to think about what is on the other side of this and who is best positioned to benefit from the transition to 5G.

In the more than two years since Apple and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed lawsuits against Qualcomm over its patent licensing business practices, the companys market value has plunged from $97 billion to $66.4 billion.

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During that span, the company also sidestepped a hostile takeover attempt by rival Broadcom and abandoned a proposed $43 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors after Chinese regulators balked at approving the merger.

Since the NXP deal failed in July, Qualcomm has repurchased $22 billion in its own shares and focused on 5G technologies. These new 5G networks will begin rolling out this year in the U.S. and elsewhere. Theyre expected to deliver uber fast speeds and imperceptible transmission delays to myriad products ranging from smartphones to connected cars to smart cities infrastructure to automated factories.

5G will usher in what we think is an invention age, and Qualcomm creates many of the technologies that are required to enable that transition, said Mollenkopf.

More than 30 electronics firms are expected to release 5G devices based on Qualcomms technology this year, including smartphones from Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, ZTE, OnePlus and others.

How Qualcomm gets paid for this wireless research and development work is at the center its legal fight with Apple and regulators.

Mollenkopf said It is important that the company defend what the shareholders own and the value of its intellectual property. .

The company has managed fight on several legal fronts while continuing to invest in 5G technologies so it can take advantage of all this tremendous economic change that will occur with 5G after these (legal) issues are done, he said.

Asked by a shareholder to rank the most important lawsuits and outline scenarios if Qualcomm is successful or not, General Counsel Don Rosenberg pointed to the FTC case and the upcoming Apple trial in San Diego federal court as having the most potential impact.

A bench trial in the FTC case wrapped up in late January. Both sides are awaiting a ruling by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh.

Rosenberg said Qualcomm believes the FTC failed to prove that the company violated anti-monopoly laws. Still, if the opportunity presents itself, the company would be willing to settle the case before Kohs decision.

But one way or another that is going to be determined very soon, and that will have some significant impact moving forward, said Rosenberg.

An adverse ruling in the FTC lawsuit could require Qualcomm to change its business model around patent licensing, though it likely would appeal, Rosenberg said.

A jury trial in the Apple lawsuit is slated to begin April 15. Asian contract manufacturers that build iPhones stopped paying patent royalties to Qualcomm more than two years ago at Apples behest. A victory would result in billions in back payments to Qualcomm and affirm the validity of its patent licensing contracts.

Meanwhile, Apple and the iPhone assemblers say Qualcomm has overcharged for its cellular patents for years. They are seeking reimbursement for these alleged overcharges, which could add up to billions of dollars.

In addition, other companies that license Qualcomms patents could stop paying if the jury finds in favor of Apple.

If we lose, we are going to have to appeal and ultimately win, but we will not collect the billions of dollars that I talked about, and will have to see what happens in terms of others and what actions they take, Rosenberg said.

Business

mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973Just two weeks after the departure of its head honcho Greg McKee, San Diegos oldest startup accelerator Connect has appointed a new president. To lead the helm, the nonprofit chose Silvia Mah, a prominent angel investor and business accelerator executive in San Diego.

Mah will join Connect full time as president on April 1. In her role, she will oversee Connects Springboard program, along with the organizations business development and financials. Mah will also oversee all programs and operations at their new diversity-focused Connect All incubator set to open this spring in Chollas Creek.

Mah is best known locally for her support for women entrepreneurs. Shes the founder of Hera Labs, a San Diego-based startup accelerator for women-owned businesses, and has been serving as its executive director since 2012. Shes moving into a business advisory role at Hera, Mah said, and the organization is now on the hunt for a new executive director.

Mah said shes staying on as a partner of Ad Astra Ventures, a startup accelerator and venture fund she co-founded last year with Allison Long Pettine and Vidya Dinamani.

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Through her various roles, Mah said shes helped more than 500 women launch or grow their startups, and has helped female founders raise more than $5 million in growth capital.

Silvia is a respected and passionate leader in the entrepreneur community in San Diego and beyond, and her experience and commitment to innovation will be a significant asset to Connect, said Tim Scott, executive chairman at the nonprofit. Her varied experiences, from earning a Ph.D. in marine molecular biology to the founding of Ad Astra Ventures, make her an excellent fit for Connect. I know she will substantially benefit the growing leadership team and be a wonderful champion for increasing Connects support of entrepreneurs all over San Diego County.

Mah said Connects deep history in San Diego was an appealing factor in her move.

San Diego has a strong history of innovation in the high tech and biotechnology sectors and Connect has been an integral part of this equation for over three decades, Mah said. I look forward to working with the Connect internal team and board of directors to continue its legacy with a lens of collaboration, innovation and inclusion.

Last month, Connects former president and CEO McKee announced his departure after five years leading the nonprofit. McKee went on to found a $50 million investment fund called Torrent Ventures, which plans to invest in San Diego-based software companies.

Mah wont be the only new recruit at Connect, however. The organization said it will continue to add executive leadership positions to complement Mahs role as president.

Related Reading:

CEO exits startup accelerator Connect to launch $50M tech fund

Calling all minority and low-income entrepreneurs: this startup accelerator needs you

Startup accelerator for women emphasizes revenue, capital

Business

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeilingSan Diego is a biotech town, a military town, and a tourism town. Its not a software town, is it?

After years of stagnation, San Diego is seeing a barrage of startup activity in the tech scene. In recent months, two tech startups earned billion-dollar valuations, making them the first software unicorns spotted locally in decades. Seismic won the title in late December, while TuSimple  only 4 years old  reached unicorn status last month.

The news caps months of unusually high venture capital deals in local tech, with at least $320 million funneling into tech startups in less than three months. For context, tech companies only brought in $164 million combined for the first nine months of 2018. Once a ghost town for tech investors, San Diego just became home to two new VC groups: Blueprint Equity and Torrent Ventures. The region also piqued the interest of larger investor groups like PeakSpan Capital, which just closed a $265 million fund and has recently invested in six San Diego companies.

The bubbling activity is bewildering to some in the business community, who long ago acclimated to the idea that San Diego is a place where science rules supreme, while software tends to flounder. And its true the biotech industry still rakes in the lions share of venture money. But San Diegos tech scene is not what it used to be, and new players are coalescing into a hub with considerable speed.

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What is a tech unicorn?

A privately held startup valued at over $1 billion. Once as rare as a unicorn, sightings are increasingly common. There over 300 unicorns worldwide, roughly half of which are based in the US.

Why did San Diego miss the last train of tech unicorns

Theres no denying that this traction is new. When internet-age software took off in Silicon Valley, San Diego wasnt even trying to catch the train. Fast-moving startups like Uber and Airbnb built empires by merely taking existing businesses  taxis and hospitality, for example  and tailoring them for the smartphone age. Leveraging the explosion of mobile phones and cheap cloud computing, they ballooned from babies to giants in record time. And so a wave of tech startups followed suit, picking off low-hanging fruit by bringing the worlds old businesses online. Square tackled point-of-sale systems, Lending Club took banking, and so on.

In this wave of tech, San Diego largely didnt come out to play. Eric Otterson, whos been entrenched in local tech for the past two decades as managing director of Silicon Valley Bank, said the citys culture at the time was likely to blame. After the dot-com bust left technologists disillusioned, San Diego suffered an additional blow in the early 2000s  the implosion of Peregrine Systems, one of the citys most successful software companies at the time. Massive fraud charges crumbled the enterprise, and 1,400 people lost their jobs. Experienced engineers and upper management either ended up in Silicon Valley or at companies like Qualcomm and WebSense, where low-risk culture is king.

These are companies whose product lead time and criticality required six-sigma processes (no room for errors) and very low-risk cultures, said Otterson, managing director of Silicon Valley Bank. This was unlike the prevailing high-risk behavior in software companies up north, where the idea was to get the product out, then ask for forgiveness and upload a patch later.

Low-risk culture extends beyond San Diegos tech giants, though. The citys most established industries  life science and defense  are anything but fast moving. If Facebooks strategy is move fast and break things, San Diegos is something like: slow down, buddy ... and dont break anything.

San Diegos tech culture remained sluggish for a decade after Peregrines collapse, until the rise of ServiceNow. That company was one of the first to the software-as-a-service trend, and they grew fast as a result. But after raising more than $80 million in growth capital, the startup decided to relocate its headquarters to Silicon Valley.

The departure of ServiceNows executive team became a sore point among local tech entrepreneurs, who pointed to it as an illustration of San Diegos failure to support a unicorns growth.

When successful software companies died or moved, it was a big blow because there werent a lot of others to take their place, said Doug Winter, CEO of Seismic.

Today, ServiceNow is a public company with a $43 billion valuation. For context, San Diegos lauded tech giant Qualcomm is valued at $64 billion. Such successes are rare, and San Diego missed an opportunity to have a software anchor at home.

What changed in San Diego?

Over the past five years, however, the tech scene started to percolate. A group of ragtag software founders  many of whom were in their 20s and 30s  started a volunteer-led organization called Startup San Diego to try and rally a community around tech. Their first annual gathering only attracted a couple hundred people in 2012. Last year, however, theyd grown San Diego Startup Week to over 4,400 attendees.

Combine that with waves made by Mike Krenn, the popular president of San Diego Venture Group, since he took the job in 2014. As one of only two employees at the nonprofit, Krenn has launched multiple loud marketing campaigns to boost the technology brand of San Diego. He opened an office in the heart of San Franciscos business district and offered it up as a beachhead for San Diego entrepreneurs pitching VCs in the valley. The effort was backed by the City of San Diego with a $20,000 check.

And in 2016, Krenn launched a campaign to steal talented engineers from Silicon Valley, which included a digital billboard on one of the Bay Areas busiest (and most gridlocked) freeways. The sign baited technology workers with one-liners like Todays surf report: San Diego is better. Theres no way to measure how effective that campaign was at relocating tech talent to the region. However, the young venture capitalists at Blueprint Equity recently cited Krenns efforts as influential in their decision to locate a new $50 million tech fund in San Diego.

The support for a startup community in San Diego is mirroring local economies all over the globe, as cities attempt to replicate Silicon Valleys success. Startup Week events, for example, are popping up in every major city. But a series of events in San Diego primed the economy for a sudden uptick in startup growth.

Otterson points to a couple of timely layoffs at major companies like Qualcomm during 2015, which unloaded a pool of talent into the ecosystem.

A younger workforce started to think the risk of jumping out to do your own thing was comparatively more interesting, Otterson said. And with companies like WebSense and Active Network moving jobs out of the city, there was now a ready workforce of engineers to join them. Out of tech giants like Qualcomm and ServiceNow came the founders of some of San Diegos best-known startups: HouseCall, Netradyne, RockMyWorld, Dreamtsoft, Yembo, and many others.

These local catalysts had impeccable timing, however, and theres no doubt that macroeconomic factors played a huge part in San Diegos technology surge.

How macro forces shaped San Diegos tech scene

Layoffs at major tech corporations happened during a period of strong economic recovery. Unemployment is at an all-time low and knowledge workers  especially those working in technology and engineering  are in high demand. Its not scary to work for an unpredictable tech startup when job offers are piling up on LinkedIn. If the company goes under, workers can jump to the next opportunity.

The whole ecosystem throughout North America is very healthy, said Paul Barber, a tech venture capitalist at JMI Equity who invests in startups all over the country. Were seeing the lowest employment rate in 50 years, especially for those college-educated in tech.

The demand for workers has driven tech giants like Google, Amazon and Walmart to establish satellite offices in new cities, including San Diego.

For these companies to grow, they cant do everything in one location, Barber said. Theres not unlimited talent.

The expansion of these legacy companies into secondary markets like San Diego primes the city for startup growth, according to Winter, Barber, and Otterson.

The larger, experienced companies provide training that feeds the growing needs of our local companies, both for engineers and sales teams, Otterson said.

How advancements in technology played a role

Economic factors aside, the tech scenes growth in San Diego (and worldwide) has much to do with the evolution of software itself. Thanks to cloud technologies like Amazon Web Services, Microsofts Azure and IBM Cloud, companies are less expensive to get off the ground.

Those three things alone have virtually eliminated half our problem, said Jerrod Bennett, co-founder of Dreamtsoft and ex-ServiceNow architect. Even 15 years ago, you had to stand up whole data centers and server farms to get a product from ideation to prototype. And thats just the computers. Today, you can be a software entrepreneur with just a laptop.

This accessibility has democratized technology, allowing eager entrepreneurs in any city to get started on their ideas. From here, many seek growth capital from startup investors to fund their early development.

San Diegos dearth of VCs  especially in tech  is well-documented and a near-constant topic among local entrepreneurs. But even that is starting to change.

The success of Silicon Valley has created huge pressure on wages, housing and infrastructure, and many people dont want to be in that game, Barber said. The Bay Area is still thriving, but its success makes places like San Diego, Austin and Denver attractive because costs are lower there.

To be clear, San Diegos tech scene has a long way to go. It does not rival powerhouse cities like San Francisco or New York, nor is the local tech scene growing as rapidly as fledgling tech hubs like Austin. But as they say in business, you should only compare yourself to who you were yesterday. For San Diego, the traction in tech is a big leap from where the startup scene has been.

How to keep San Diegos momentum going

San Diego has two distinct advantages as a new startup city: its a nice place to live and its only a one-hour flight to San Francisco. In the Internet-age  in which software entrepreneurs can work and live anywhere  these factors matter.

When all the barriers to starting a company are broken down, all thats left is to ask ourselves is: where do we prefer to be? Bennett said. And San Diego ranks high on that list.

The citys pleasant weather was the cornerstone of a popular new campaign to attract millennial tech and science talent from competitor cities. The new campaign, paid for by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., targeted cities experiencing brutal winters this year, such as Boston and New York City.

But San Diego needs to do more than advertise the citys most obvious assets if it wants to keep up the momentum, Barber said. The citys business community should welcome outside companies like Apple and Google who are opening satellite locations in San Diego, and not disown companies like ServiceNow who moved their executive teams but maintain a large presence here.

Big companies of the future will be multi-site, Barber said. Whether their headquartered here or not isnt important anymore. We need these companies, because theyll hire and train entrepreneurs for the next 10 years. We should be welcoming them with open arms.

Winter added that business leaders should also start thinking of San Diego as more than a biotech town.

Software is the next big wave for the global economy in general, Winter said. If San Diego wants to stay near the front and be a great place to live, then we should be encouraging and nurturing the software industry. Just like you dont put all your money in one stock, a city should diversify its industries of focus.

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeilingQualcomm is working with a San Diego software startup thats trying to stamp out Internet fakery by flagging photos and videos that have been tampered with.

The duo has ambitions of one day helping online communities sort real content from the fictitious.

The startup, called Truepic, can recognize whether a photo or video has been manipulated, and says its software can be used to fight the rising problem of deep fake videos made with artificial intelligence, or AI. Equally intriguing, however, is Truepics ability to certify when images and videos are real  a powerful tool for citizen journalists and news organizations, along with businesses worldwide.

Until recently, creating computer-generated videos was a difficult task reserved for Hollywood producers. But last year, crafty developers began experimenting with software tools that could be used by the masses, including a program called FakeApp that allows users to create doctored videos by swapping out the faces of people.

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The victims of deep fakes have largely been famous women, whose faces are often swapped with porn actresses to create realistic-looking sex tapes. But doctored videos also have the potential to disrupt politics. Last May, a viral video of Donald Trump showed the president offering advice to the Belgium people on the issue of climate change. As you know, I had the balls to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, and so should you, he appears to say. It turns out the video was made by a Belgian political party using video manipulation tools.

Deep fakes  a term that plays on the AI phrase deep learning  have risen up during a time of rampant misinformation campaigns online. Riots in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, for example, were fueled by fake stories and online rumors designed to incite and influence political opinion.

Fake news is pervasive and only getting worse, said Craig Stack, co-founder of Truepic.

Why Qualcomm is interested

Qualcomm has been toying with modifying video using AI for years now, said Sherif Hanna, who led Qualcomms product marketing team for the past seven years. Hanna said the company was chewing on many futuristic applications, including a video conferencing tool to aid communication between people speaking different languages.

The idea was to manipulate peoples faces so that, for example, you look like youre speaking Mandarin when really youre speaking English, Hanna said.

But Qualcomm quickly realized this kind of technology could be dangerous in the wrong hands, Hanna said, and started to look for ways to make sure video and photo manipulation could be kept in check.

Executives at Qualcomm first heard of Truepic when the local startup made headlines last June for raising $8 million from venture capitalists. The tech giant got in touch with Truepics founders, Stack and Jeffrey McGregor, to see if they could work together on research and development. Interestingly, Hanna ended up leaving Qualcomm to join Truepics staff shortly after meeting the founders.

Qualcomm spokesman Keith Kressin said the company is working with Truepic to optimize the startups image verification software on their Snapdragon chips.

Qualcomm Technologies will enable Truepic to access additional device information to further improve the security and performance of Truepics image-verification technology, Kressin wrote in an email.

How does the Truepic technology work?

The startups technology works in a few different ways; one is by controlling the original capture of the photo or video by getting people to use their app. This feature is designed for those who want to prove their image is real.

As soon as you press the shutter button, were transferring that data directly to Truepics secure server, said McGregor, who leads as Truepics CEO. Once the image or video lands, we run our certification process on it. We ensure theres been no editing or manipulating. We attach our own metadata to it, and then we store it in perpetuity on our server. So we always have the original copy.

Stack added that 22 different tests are run on the photo or video within 5 seconds. The image, data and security checks are then written into a blockchain to prevent tampering.

Whats better than having this certified by one server? Having it certified by thousands, Stack said.

Users can export a verified and watermarked version of the image, with the Truepic stamp signaling to others that the photo can be trusted. A six-digit code is tied to the image URL, so viewers can double-check what theyre seeing with the verified image on the Truepic server (this prevents scammers from being able to duplicate Truepics watermark).

Stack said the new partnership with Qualcomm could make their technology more secure.

Right now, were still relying on the phones software to give us the image from the camera, Stack said. We can further enhance security if the technology runs directly on the chip.

The partnership with Qualcomm is still in its early days, but Hanna said the implications of such a relationship could be monumental for Truepic. In theory, any smartphone maker using Qualcomms chips could have access to the Truepic technology without having to download their app. For example, the cell hones built-in camera might have a Truepic mode that would allow users to capture authenticated photos and videos, should they choose.

Whos already using it?

Today, the Truepic app is used by doctors, hospital workers and citizen journalists in Syria to document attacks on civilians. The app was used by 16-year-old Muhammad Najem, whose September video (a message to President Trump asking that he protect children like me from chemical attacks) has been seen more than a million times. Stack said the U.S. Department of State is also training citizen journalists in the Middle East to use the Truepic app in their reporting.

Here is my message to President Donald Trump. Transcript in my next tweet.@realDonaldTrump



https://t.co/h8zuNeeK1k pic.twitter.com/EEydR0jIEH  muhammad najem (@muhammadnajem20) September 7, 2018

Stack said the company is in talks with social media companies  including one extremely prominent one  where fakes and forgery can quickly spread. The Truepic app is already used by Reddits popular Ask Me Anything Q&A subjects.

While Truepics fake-news-fighting agenda seems altruistic, the startup also big plans for businesses to use the tool. Thats likely wise, as media companies and citizen journalists arent known for being big spenders. There are many industries, however, that could benefit from photo verification tools: insurance companies verifying photos tied to claims; home rental companies certifying their pictures are accurate and recent; health and beauty companies to legitimize before and after photos; eBay sellers that wish to satisfy a buyers concerns.

Stack was tight-lipped about Truepics existing customers, but the company is on track to rake in $4.5 million in 2019 revenue and has more than 100 clients. Thats not too shabby considering the company was founded in 2015.

The company has raised a total of nearly $10 million in startup capital and employs 25 people at its San Diego headquarters.

Truepics software can identify picture fraud. In this example, Hanna tried to fool the system by taking a picture of a picture on a computer screen to pass it off as authentic. But Truepic caught it and it failed verification. (Courtesy/ Truepic)

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brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeilingHeld for the fourth consecutive year, the festival is jointly organised by the Hanoi People's Committee and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, featuring 100 cherry blossoms trees and 20,000 branches, plus various kinds of local flowers modeled into famous landscapes and symbols of the two countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of Hanoi municipal People's Committee, Ngo Van Quy, said that the festival continues to introduce and promote Japanese cultural beauty and people to the locals of Hanoi, helping to further strengthen the understanding, trust and cohesion between the people of the two countries.

It is also an opportunity to exchange experiences and cooperate in the fields of culture, education, health, tourism and economy between Hanoi and Japan, Quy added.

During the weekend, various activities introducing the Japanese and Vietnamese cultures will take place at different spaces in the pedestrian zone around Hoan Kiem Lake from Friday evening to the end of March, offering an attractive cultural space for Hanoians and tourists.

On the opening night, the public were treated to a range of special art performances by both Japanese and Vietnamese artists, as well as enjoying the beauty of Japanese cherry blossoms.

Following are some pictures from the festival captured by Nhan Dan Online correspondent Duy Linh:

The festival features 100 cherry blossoms trees and 20,000 branches, plus various kinds of local flowers.

The cherry blossoms, though having undergone a long process of transportation, are still fresh and vibrant in the spring sunshine of Hanoi.

In its 4th season, the festival has become a regular cultural event, contributing to promoting exchanges and cooperation in all aspects between Vietnam - Japan in general and Hanoi - Japan in particular.

Many famous destinations in both Vietnam and Japan are recreated with flowers at the festival.

The number of cherry blossoms is nearly twice that of last year, which makes the display space more vivid, lively and attractive.



The festival is open freely for visitors to enjoy flowers, take photos and join the culture spaces of both countries.As pressure builds to bring easily accessible public transit to the airport, some San Diego County leaders are pressing for more immediate, less costly solutions than a proposed Grand Central Station and people mover that could take years to build.

In a meeting Friday that brought together elected leaders from around the region, attendees were briefed on current efforts to craft a long-term vision for a transit connection to the airport  a plan that contemplates a Grand Central hub on Navy land with a people mover system that would whisk passengers to Lindbergh Field.

While the costs of such an ambitious project are still unknown, it will likely be in the billions, says Hasan Ikhrata, chief executive of the San Diego Association of Governments and an outspoken cheerleader for the project that also has the support of San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

If you live in San Diego County and want transit to be a viable option to the airport, you have to make sure you can access the airport from anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, Ikhrata told the group. Most important to this proposal is a transit hub that will have the future transit system and buses and shuttles coming into it. We still need to achieve that performance objective and think big. Yes, it will take time and it will cost a lot of money, but no major project doesnt take time and doesnt have cost overruns.

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A 2-month-old airport connectivity subcommittee, which represents governmental entities and transportation agencies from around the county, is working toward reaching consensus on a more refined plan by June. Fridays gathering was one of several meetings that are being held to hash out the transit issue.

I really support the long-term big, bold vision but I also want a more immediate solution to get to the airport, said Jewel Edson, deputy mayor of Solana Beach.

Paul Jablonski, CEO of Metropolitan Transit System, broached the idea of a free shuttle bus that would operate between the airport and the Old Town transit center where the trolley stops. The San Diego Regional Airport Authority is currently exploring such an option as a pilot program to gauge interest.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond asked that SANDAG add the Santa Fe Depot to the mix of sites being considered as a transit hub for bringing passengers to the airport. He suggested that something like shared driver-less vehicles could begin operating sooner than later to test the popularity of what could be a more costly people mover system.

Maybe these autonomous cars could start sooner at Santa Fe station because Grand Central wouldnt come out of the ground for five years, he said. They could come straight up Harbor Drive first as a test program. And you could even give them their own lane from Santa Fe Station. And once Grand Central evolves, wed have proven technology.

Another near-term possibility is adding additional Coaster trains to increase the frequency of service between North County and downtown San Diego from every 45 minutes to 30 minutes, said North County Transit District Chief Executive Matthew Tucker. There currently is no funding, though, for the new trains.

Thats not good enough, said Ikhrata, who repeatedly reminded the group gathered at Barona Resort & Casino to not abandon bigger-picture goals.

The frequency has to run every five to 10 minutes. Youre not going to have people wait with their bags longer than that, Ikhrata said in an interview following the meeting. Doing something for easy and cheap, thats not going to do it. If you want people to use transit to come to the airport, you need to provide an option that is as good as, if not better, than the car. You dont do that by adding a bus here or there, you do that by making sure every resident in every part of the county can get to that airport with one transfer.

Ikhrata and Faulconer are hoping that the Navy will consider letting the region locate a Grand Central Station on its SPAWAR property as part of an ambitious effort to also develop housing and commercial space on the freeway-adjacent site. SANDAG and an undisclosed number of other bidders are waiting to hear back from the Navy on what direction it plans to pursue for its base.

In the meantime, SANDAG solicited proposals from developers on the financial feasibility of the Navy base location and, alternatively, other potential sites near the airport. The agency is expected to unveil the results of that request later this month at another meeting of the airport subcommittee.

Funding for the transit project remains an open question, but Ikhrata acknowledged that the public would have to contribute. That likely means a new sales tax increase to fund not only a Grand Central Station but other transit and highway projects well into the future. SANDAG currently finances large transportation projects with sales tax money, known as Transnet, which is supplemented with state and federal funds.

The intensifying discussion about bringing transit to the airport grew out of a heated debate last year about an environmental analysis prepared by the Airport Authority for its $3 billion plan to expand Terminal 1. Agencies from throughout the county roundly criticized the environmental report for neglecting to address a plan for bringing mass transit to the airports two terminals.

Since then, with prodding by Faulconer, the agencies are now collaborating on a plan. And the Airport Authority, in addition to rewriting its environmental impact report, has committed to reserving space near Terminals 1 and 2 for a transit station that could serve whatever sort of people mover or light rail system is ultimately embraced.

I think what today is showing is that people involved in this conversation are really interested in seeing immediate term improvements in terms of transit connectivity to the airport, said Colin Parent, executive director of Circulate San Diego. And there are some concerns that this conversation about big, bold future ideas may prevent us from focusing on doing some things more immediately.

But that doesnt mean you cant plan for a grand central, big iconic project. That sort of planning, though, shouldnt come at the expense of more immediate action.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisbergFour developers will compete to build some form of budget lodging on Pacific Highway, with the goal of providing more affordable overnight accommodations near the water.

The Port of San Diego, which has faced criticism from the state Coastal Commission for the lack of lower priced lodging near San Diego Bay, solicited proposals in January for a variety of options  from a motel or hostel to a micro concept like ultra-small pod hotels  on a 3-acre site near its headquarters building.

Proposals were also supposed to include certain extra amenities like a kitchenette, free WiFi, laundry facilities, free parking and possibly shuttle service to the nearby airport.

Located between California and West Palm streets, the development site consists of a parking lot and a 10,000-square-foot portion of a port annex building.

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While the solicitation initially attracted the interest of dozens of potential bidders, just the four companies ultimately submitted formal proposals on Thursday, the deadline set by the port. Only one of them  Hotel Investment Group  is based in San Diego County.

The San Diego developer, whose portfolio includes a number of local mid-scale hotels, is partnering with San Diego-based Shiva Management Inc. on a proposal to build a five-story,199-room hotel on the Pacific Highway site, said Chief Operating Officer Darshan Patel. Among the companys San Diego hotels is the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites in Mission Valley.

Patel said Thursday that his partners did not want to reveal any more details about the substance of their proposal. The port also did not make public the individual submissions. The agencys next step is to determine by next week whether all four of the proposals meet the ports development requirements.

Although staff hasnt completed its formal review, all four of the proposals seem to be responsive, said Penny Maus, department manager, real estate-business development.

She pointed out that because developing low-cost lodging is a niche market, the port is pleased with the response it got.

On some of our larger projects, we receive about an average of five proposals so to receive four is a big deal for us and the outreach we did across the country to promote the opportunity.

It is possible that San Diego port commissioners could make a decision by as early as May, Maus said.

One of the companies submitting a proposal was Boston-based Sleep Box, a 3-year-old firm that has created modular prefabricated rooms for sleeping. Most recently, it installed a micro hotel or nap lounge as its been called, consisting of 16 sound-insulated rooms in Terminal A at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia.

Another bidder, the Santa Monica-based California Real Estate Regional Center, describes itself as an EB-5 hotel financier and developer, meaning that it takes advantage of foreign investment for its projects.

Representatives of three of the four bidders could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

As part of its request for proposals, the port is offering financial assistance amounting to more than $6 million in fees previously paid by two hotel developers in lieu of providing low-cost lodging as a part of their projects built near San Diego Bay.

The ultimate development of a low-cost motel or hotel may serve to mollify the California Coastal Commission, which has regularly pushed the San Diego Unified Port District to create more affordable options for overnight lodging near the coast.

The ports years-long tussle with the commission focused largely on Harbor Island, where there are plans to eventually build 500 hotel rooms  but with no low-cost lodging. The port ultimately sued the coastal agency, challenging its legal authority to require low-cost accommodations.

The commission prevailed last fall when a state appellate rejected a lower courts ruling that the Coastal Commission had overstepped its authority by requiring the provision of low-cost lodging as part of its consideration of a Harbor Island hotel proposal.

In pressing for more affordable accommodations, the Coastal Commission has pointed out previously that of the more than 8,000 overnight accommodations - most of those hotel rooms - that exist on port-controlled tidelands, less than 3 percent are considered lower cost. The only low-cost options the commission identified are 237 recreational vehicle sites at the Chula Vista RV Resort.

Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisbergBoard the Wild Arctic simulator at SeaWorld, and youre transported via a jet-helicopter to a frozen landscape, the journey punctuated with a few twists and turns along the way.

But after more than two decades, it seems that the ride has run its course as the San Diego marine park looks to eventually remove it and replace it with a new attraction.

While SeaWorld has confirmed that it is planning a replacement for the the simulated helicopter ride, it is silent on what it will be.

The simulators are almost 25 years old, so were looking to replace the ride experience at the attraction, said park spokesman Dave Koontz. It would be another ride but arctic-themed.

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The new ride, he added, will be under 30 feet in height.

Dan Sehlhorst, a project manager with SeaWorld, made a brief presentation on plans for Wild Arctic earlier this month at a meeting of the Mission Bay Park Committee, but he revealed little more than what Koontz described.

The new attraction is expected to arrive in 2021. In the meantime, SeaWorld is busy preparing for some other new rides the park is hoping will appeal to thrill-seeking theme park enthusiasts. It will open its new Tidal Twister coaster in May, and its next mega attraction will be in 2020 when it will unveil the Mako dive coaster, described as the parks tallest roller coaster yet.

When the helicopter simulator opened in 1997, a Union-Tribune reporter described the journey as beginning with a wild ride on a simulated jet helicopter that terminates at Base Station Wild Arctic. Along the way, passengers are treated to dramatic vistas of rocky glaciers and snowy ice floes.

In a recent post on the Behind the Thrills blog, the author describes the simulator as showing its age and notes that the projection graphics are definitely lacking.

In addition to the helicopter ride, Wild Arctic is also home to five beluga whales, four Pacific walruses, three harbor seals and one ringed seal. In addition, the attraction offers two interactive programs: one, where guests wear wetsuits to experience the habitat of the beluga whales and feed and touch them; and a second one that is a behind-the-scenes experience with the beluga whales and walruses.

New SeaWorld signage (Courtesy of SeaWorld)

SeaWorlds focus lately hasnt been entirely on new attractions. As it celebrates its 55th anniversary, the park recently completed new entry signage that is designed to make the park more vibrant and welcoming.

SeaWorld, says the new sign, welcomes you to a world of wonder.

Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisbergA center for airline passengers, Tijuana has never been notable for its volume of air cargo traffic. Now a former mayor has set about to change that.

Carlos Bustamante Anchondo said he is seizing on the citys strategic location  next to California, with existing airline connections to Mexicos interior and China  with an eye towards turning Tijuana into a major air cargo hub, both for domestic and international routes.

Today, Bustamantes long-planned Matrix air cargo and logistics park will take its first step, launching operations inside a former airplane repair hangar that rises next to Tijuanas A.L. Rodriguez International Airport. Facilities include a newly built Mexican customs inspection area and a bonded distribution center.

The initial traffic will be air freight that up to now has been processed at the Tijuana airport. But the plan is to quickly grow as express carriers and freight forwarders find they can save time and money by making deliveries directly to Tijuana rather than their current practice of flying in an out of the Los Angeles International Airport, then crossing the goods by truck into and out of Mexico.

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Proponents of greater cross-border integration are praising the facility as an important piece of infrastructure for the San Diego-Tijuana region, where private and government initiatives have looked for ways to streamline passengers and commerce across the international border.

Just west of the cargo facility is the Cross Border Xpress, a privately operated sky-walk between San Diego and the Tijuana airport. About two miles to the east is the planned Otay East Port of Entry, envisioned as a toll facility planned and operated jointly by the United States and Mexico. Farther east in Tecate is a project for a future cross-border commercial rail crossing.

The air cargo facility, is a dynamic piece to the dynamic puzzle here, said Eduardo Acosta, San Diego-based vice president of R.L. Jones Customhouse Brokers.

Alan Bersin, a project consultant who is a former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and previously chaired the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, is calling it a game changer.

Bersin and other advocates of the new cargo facility say the current uncertainty over U.S. trade agreements  and new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, the European Union and Canada announced last week by President Donald Trump  could have some effects, but not alter the long-term prospects.

Bersin said the presidents approach to trade could affect negatively the U.S.-Mexico air cargo portion of the Matrix facility, if it is sustained. But the Asia-Mexico component, which is a significant part of the project, would not be affected, he added.

Protectionist U.S. trade policies would benefit Mexico and the Tijuana air cargo facility, as Mexicos trade relationship with other countries continue to grow, said Paola Avila, chair of the Border Trade Alliance and vice president of international business affairs at the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Under these conditions, shipping products out of Mexico to Asia...may be a better option for U.S. companies, she said.

With air cargo far more expensive than cargo that is transported on container ships, it has to be very high-value stuff, said Arnold Maltz, a professor of supply chain management at the Arizona State Universitys W.P. Carey School of Business.

Bustamante said he first thought of the idea 20 years ago. But back then, there was probably not as much high-value manufacturing, and the sourcing would have been more North American than it is now, Maltz said.

The launch of the Tijuana facility comes days after the start of SkyBridge Arizona, an air cargo e-commerce hub based out of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and aimed at the Mexican market; the facilities include both a U.S. customs inspection area and a Mexican customs pre-clearance operation under the same roof.

Bustamante said he has worked closely with the Mexican government to design the customs inspections area of the Tijuana air cargo facility. They wanted a model for the future of air cargo terminals in Mexico, Bustamante said. The hope is to eventually add a U.S. Customs facility to inspect goods headed for the United States, Bustamante said.

To operate the facility, his company, Inmuebles Especializados Matrix, has formed a joint venture of experienced U.S. and Mexican companies with long experience in handling air cargo: Mercury Air Group and Braniff Air Freight.

The potential clients? Consumers in Asia eager for fish and fresh produce from northwest Mexico that is delivered by air freight services. In the other direction, the sector of the maquiladora industry in Baja California that produces everything from airline parts to medical equipment and relies on the timely delivery of high-value components from Asia, Europe and the United States

Bustamante is counting on the growth of e-commerce as another potential source of growth for his facility.

Air cargo traffic in Mexico is a fraction of that in the United States, with processing facilities heavily concentrated far from the border in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

Tijuana airports processing capacity has up to now allowed for only a limited amount of air freight processing: about 16,000 tons annually, or about a tenth of the volume processed annually by San Diegos airport, according to a study by Bersins consulting firm, BorderWorks Advisors, LLC.

Bustamante, who was mayor of Tijuana from 2010 to 2013, said the air cargo facility is a dream some two decades in the making, and many doubted hed succeed.

Im stubborn, Bustamante said in an interview last week. I said Im going to see it through, though they told me I was crazy.

He is CEO of Grupo Bustamante, a Tijuana company that includes land development, construction, industrial parks and the 422-room Grand Hotel. Since the 1990s, he has also held a concession from Mexicos federal government on a 65-acre plot of land adjacent to the Tijuana airport.

Bustamante originally formed a joint venture with a Hong Kong-based company to build an aircraft maintenance and repair facility on the property, which is adjacent to Tijuanas airport, investing some $60 million investment that eventually foundered. Bustamante said his federal government concession also allows him to develop an air cargo facility.

But development of any kind on the property was frozen for 13 years in a dispute with the airports private operators over concession agreements. Bustamante said the dispute was resolved three years ago, and in 2015, the Mexican airline Volaris opened an airplane maintenance facility in part of the Matrix structure.

The new air cargo facility occupies the rest of the space.

Bustamante said he has been in talks with several global freight forwarding companies, including DHL, Federal Express, and United Parcel Service.

Though operations are beginning this week, the facilitys formal inauguration wont be until July, Bustamante said. Were not competing with San Diego, were creating something new, he said. A lot of the 747s, fully loaded cant land in San Diego. Your airport closes at 11 at night. This is 24 hours.

On Thursday, there was little to see outside the new facility, where two small cargo planes were parked outside, and groups of workers were busy moving equipment. The activity would soon start, Bustamante said, as he stepped past the facility with a confident spring in his step.

You can tell by this, he said and smiled, that Im a patient man.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleThe son of a high-ranking Baja California state government official is facing drug smuggling charges after he was stopped at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with cocaine and heroin inside his vehicle.

Sarkis Padres Hodoyan was taken into custody on May 17 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who stopped him in the pre-primary lanes as he was headed northbound with his 6-year-old daughter.

Padres is the son of Alfonso Padres Pesqueira, Baja Californias Public Works Secretary.

In an interview Friday with Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias, a Tijuana news agency, Padres said his son acted as a blind mule who was crossing the border to purchase a car part and had no knowledge that the drugs had been planted in the vehicle.

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Padres told the agency that his son works as a financial advisor and had never had this kind of problem.

CBP officers found the drugs last month after a narcotics detection dog alerted to a suspicious odor in Padres silver Audi SUV. According to the complaint filed in San Diego federal court, officers found 15 kilograms of cocaine and 2 kilograms of heroin concealed in a hidden compartment of the SUV.

The compartment was described as a cut void between the rocker panel and the front seat mounting posts. Also found was an after-market GPS tracker concealed in the center console, the statement said.

Padres told agents from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations that he was preparing to sell his vehicle and recently had a mechanic in Tijuana service the vehicle to help it pass California inspection.

Padres also told the agents that his mechanic had said the vehicle needed a replacement rack and pinion system, and that he was heading for Daves Auto Wrecking in Otay Mesa to purchase the used parts. Padres told the agents that Daves Auto Wrecking workers were going to install the parts, according to the complaint.

But a representative of Daves Auto Wrecking later told HSI agents that they did not have the part in stock.

Padres has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody. He agreed to not ask for bail at this time.They are known as gaviotas  gulls  and they are the bane of thousands of long-suffering border crossers who line up every day at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry. In the lingo of binational commuters, gaviotas are those drivers who push their way into long queues that lead to the busy international crossings.

As the gaviotas test the tolerance of their fellow car-bound crossers, Tijuana police are cracking down on the practice that can lead not only to frayed nerves but also to accidents and angry confrontations.

In recent weeks, authorities have been stepping up patrols, erecting new barriers and posting inspectors at critical intersections and medians where gaviotas are known to make sudden appearances.

Now the city is preparing to go a step further  amending the citys transit code to make cutting into the border lanes a serious traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of some 1,300 pesos, about $68. Tijuana councilman Rogelio Palomera has been working with the Tijuana Police Department on a draft that he expects to submit to the council in coming days.

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Right now theres a lot of disorder, Palomera said. The aim is to establish order.

The disorder typically occurs during the morning rush hour, or on Sunday afternoons when lines to get to the U.S. inspection booths can stretch for miles into Tijuana streets that lead to the crossings.

Rather than drive to the back of the line, gaviotas approach through adjacent empty lanes, or from intersections that feed into the line. Some will pleadingly ask to be let in, but those who are more brazen will jump median strips and defy police barriers, and sometimes will collaborate with indigents who hold up the line for a few pesos so the gaviotas can cut in.

The situation has increasingly gotten out of hand in recent months, say commuters such as Jerry Jackson, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana and crosses on weekdays to his job in downtown San Diego. Before youd see maybe one or two gaviotas and it wasnt upsetting, theyd ask for permission, you knew that it was a person who was late or had an emergency, Jackson said. But now you have 50 cars trying to cut in in a very aggressive manner.

A driver tries to cut into the line of vehicles waiting to enter the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Friday morning. (Courtesy)

On Thursday morning, transit inspector Marcos Gonzalez Alvarez was standing guard, keeping order in the long line of drivers that stretched toward the border, ensuring that no one crossed the temporary police barrier set up for the rush-hour period. They should be more conscientious, and line up like everybody else, he said of the gaviotas. Theyre just not respectful, people spend two, three hours in line, and they come and want to cut in.

Marco Antonio Sotomayor, Tijuanas public safety secretary, said the city government wants to ensure not only that commuters are ensured a stress-free crossing  but that visitors to the city arent left with a negative impression. Imagine a tourist who spends three hours in line, and unfortunately because there is no order, someone forces their way ahead of them into the line, and they have to wait longer, Sotomayor said. Maybe they wont come back.

Near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Chela Ortega said she has noticed the difference in recent days. Im seeing the police paying more attention, said Ortega, who does a brisk business selling burritos to weekday morning commuters on their way to the United States. For about two weeks, theres been more order, its slow now, but its more peaceful.

Some crossers admitted to having been occasional gaviotas or enabling friends who wanted to jump into the line.

Josue Vicente Palafox, 23, who waited Wednesday morning to cross at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, admitted he has at times cut into the line  or helped his friends do so. Sometimes, among pals, you contact each other, and say, Hey, whats up, are you in line? Pasale , go ahead of me, he said.

Yes, its irritating, but Ive also done it, when Im late, or when the lines have been really long, said Jackson, whose Friday morning commute entailed a one-hour, 45-minute wait at the border.

Officers assigned to the tourist section of the Tijuana Police Department process people rounded up at the port of entry who were allegedly engaging in illegal activities in the long line of cars waiting to go in to the US. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

While many gaviotas cut in line unassisted, others get help from indigents who walk among the lanes of northbound vehicles. Known on the border line as traperos, they brandish rags and offer to wipe cars for a few pesos. Some also offer their services to the gaviotas, helping the drivers force their way into the line.

They wait there by the side of the road, waiting for a client, said Arnoldo Rios, 23, a Tijuana resident and frequent crosser at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. One of them stands in front of the cars, while the other lifts the barrier.

In response to the rising number of complaints, Tijuana police have stepped up patrols and sweeps of the area, and those arrested are largely the traperos, whose nickname is derived from the Spanish word for rag.

The largest recent operation took place on Aug. 5, when officers picked up more than 100 people in the border lanes leading to San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, two of them on suspicion of peddling drugs. On Thursday, they detained 22 suspects found wandering the border lanes and disturbing citizens waiting in line to cross to the United States, according to a news release.

One of them was Felipe Becerra Lopez, 34, who said he earns his living cleaning cars and is addicted to crystal meth. He said he has been detained in this manner about 20 times. Inside his black backpack, police found two syringes, a small glass pipe, cigarette papers, as well as tools that could help him break into a vehicle.

Becerra and others picked up by police Thursday morning faced a range of charges  from begging in a public right of way to urinating in public to littering. Many of them are consuming drugs in public, said Alfredo Torres, the shift commander. These are the kinds of people who are causing the problem, stopping traffic.

Watching the drama that unfolds has become something of a sport for those inching forward in the line.

They communicate through Facebook pages such Como Esta La Linea Tijuana, which counts nearly 300,000 members, They publish photos and videos of the offending gaviotas, cheering when a police officer intercepts a driver and orders him to the back of the line. They alert fellow commuters that a gaviota is about to strike.

Theyre never going to change, these people need a life lesson, one commuter wrote recently. They are, and always will be, gandallas. People with no values!! Added another: Its a reflection of how they manage their lives.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleIn an era of fortified fencing, one new proposal aims to blur the international border between San Diego and Tijuana.

Architects, developers, and urban planners from the United States and Mexico are examining the tightly packed, heavily crossed areas that straddle the busy San Ysidro Port of Entry in a first-of-its-kind study by the Urban Land Institute of San Diego and Tijuana that looks at both sides as a single entity.

The all-volunteer team of nine professionals spent three days walking these neighborhoods where the two countries converge, talking to business and property owners to get a feel for the areas challenges and opportunities.

On either side of the border, its a big mystery whats on the other side, San Diego architect Frank Wolden, said on Wednesday afternoon as the group stepped past the decaying strip of fast food outlets, money exchange houses and mobile phone shops that line San Ysidro Boulevard. The whole idea is in years and years of talking about this as a combined region, very little has been invested in doing much about that.

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At a Friday presentation of the preliminary findings by the group, known as a technical assistance panel, participants spoke of turning the area into a world destination with local flavor that would include breweries, wineries and other small businesses that invite passers-by to linger.

Right now, its a place where you want to cross and drive away from, said study participant Beryl Foreman, executive director of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association.

Suggestions for the San Ysidro side included the creation of a hostel hotel for U.S. volunteers traveling to Mexico; the creation of a Friendship Park plaza; and redevelopment of the aging city-owned San Ysidro Service Center into a regional welcome center.

For Tijuana, participants recommended the redevelopment of the Viva Tijuana plaza, a vast mall near Mexicos El Chaparral Port of Entry with many shuttered businesses. They envisioned a mobility corridor to connect foot traffic from the border to nearby medical facilities at a planned center at New City and the Pueblo Amigo mall, that has seen growing numbers of medical offices.

As San Ysidro property owner Miguel Aguirre listens, merchant Sunil Gakhreja, the owner of Sunny's Perfume explains how a pedestrian bridge connecting the trolley to PedWest has taken away foot traffic from San Ysidro Boulevard, where he has a perfume shop. (Sandra Dibble / San Diego Union-Tribune )

The $35,000 study was commissioned by the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce and the Border Fusion Group, supported by property and business owners in Tijuana and San Diego.

Similar studies have been conducted by the Urban Land Institute, or ULI, in a number of San Diego neighborhoods, as well as south of the border. In previous studies, volunteer experts have looked at ways to revitalize downtown Tijuana and spur development on land adjacent to the Baja California Center, a convention facility that straddles Rosarito Beach and Tijuana.

But this latest effort is the first by ULI involving a cross-border area, one that Border Fusion founder Miguel Aguirre has long championed, and where he has called for measures that could instill an international strategic sense of place.

A major objective of the study is to understand the experience of thousands of pedestrians who cross between Tijuana and San Diego on a regular basis, a category that includes students, workers, shoppers, tourists and patients seeking medical treatment. The experts looked at ways to enhance their experience as they confront an uneven, often disconnected maze of walkways to get to their destinations.

The study comes amid much development activity at the border, especially on the Mexican side, where ambitious private plans to create a major medical tourism center by the border crossing are taking shape.

The study is not an official document that has to be adopted, but now you have something coherent, professionally developed, so that we can go to authorities and say, Lets get on board, now we have a plan to make it happen, said Border Fusion advisor Flavio Olivieri.

This small, intensely crossed section of the border has been in a state of metamorphosis for several years with the upgrade and expansion of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The multi-phase $741 million U.S. federal project expands both the northbound vehicle and pedestrian inspection processing capacity of the port, the busiest in the Western Hemisphere.

According to figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an average of 23,000 pedestrians a day crossed northbound through the port last month through two different entry points located to the east and west of the vehicle lanes.

More than 60 percent of those crossers were processed at PedWest, an entry that opened in Juy 2016 and currently operates with 10 northbound lanes. Within weeks, authorities are expected to expand the pedestrian crossing capacity on the eastern side from eight lanes to 22 with the opening of a new PedEast inspection facility. The tentative opening date is July 31.

For Sunil Gakhreja, the owner of Sunnys Perfume on San Ysidro Boulevard, the opening of PedEast offers hope that foot traffic from Mexico will return to their shops, which saw a dramatic drop in customers following the opening of the western entrance.

Im surviving because of my repeat customers, Gakhreja told the ULI group, saying 99 percent of his clients are from Mexico.

Santiago Lim, who manages a family-owned parking lot in San Ysidro, said the ULI study brings more attention to an area that has been long overlooked by authorities and investors. Its such an important point in the country, and hasnt been given the importance it deserves, he said.

The ULI study, which is scheduled for final release in July, comes two years after the non-profit North American Research Partnership called for the creation of border economic micro-zones at similar pedestrian areas all along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The NARP study, which was sponsored by Border Fusion, called for a formal designation of these economic micro zones through legislation and bilateral agreements that could bring resources and create awareness of their importance.

San Ysidro and Tijuana are the largest, most complex case of these economic micro-zones, said Erik Lee, NARPs executive director, who joined the group last week in walking through the area. Lots of communities have similar issues along the border, that are very complicated to maneuver, very congested, he said.

At the same time, they are historically, commercially culturally unique areas for the United States and Mexico, and should be recognized at a bilateral level.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleThis weeks In Depth story looks at the data and research behind border security and how it might inform a decision on funding additional barriers along the southwest barrier.

Reporter Kristina Davis shares how she tackled the assignment.

Q: The controversy over a border wall isnt new. Why write this story now?

A: It is an issue that has long been raging in this country, and it is a story that the Union-Tribune has written in one way or another several times over the years. But my editors thought it was worth re-exploring in light of the partial government shutdown. It is whats dominating the public conversation right now, and its been a frustrating conversation, I think, for everyone. It has been difficult to cut through the political and emotional rhetoric on both sides to have a measured examination of the facts.

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Q: What are you hoping to accomplish with this story?

A: My goal was to lay out the facts  based largely in data and government reports  to give a glimpse of what is going on at the border now and put that into context with where weve been historically. What essentially needs to happen in deciding how to approach a proposed border wall is a cost-benefit analysis  weigh the pros, cons and risks and determine how much a wall is worth. This story doesnt attempt to go anywhere near providing an answer, but hopefully some of the findings can help inform such a debate. Though the difficulty with this conversation right now is that it is being posed in extremes and along such partisan lines. Is the answer zero wall? Status quo? Fifty, or 100 additional miles? The span of the entire border?

Q: What did you find challenging about this assignment?

A: The issues are extremely complex, and it was impossible to have a comprehensive look at everything related to the border. I recognize there are many areas that are not addressed in this story; I was limited by time and space and, in some instances, a lack of publicly available data or research.

Q: Have you had much personal experience with the border?

A: Yes. I grew up in Tucson, Ariz., and traveled frequently to Mexico. My journalism career often leads me to stories related to the border. Ive done ridealongs with Border Patrol in Arizona, spent time with officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and two months ago toured the entire 14 miles of fencing in San Diego with Border Patrol. As a federal law enforcement and courts reporter here I frequently write about drug trafficking, organized crime, immigration and human trafficking.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavisIn President Donald Trumps public push for $5.7 billion to extend existing border fencing by 215 miles, he has painted a dire picture filled with deadly drugs, violent criminals and bloodshed.

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats argue the border crisis Trump is referring to either doesnt exist or was manufactured for political reasons. Besides, they contend, a wall wouldnt solve many of the problems Trump has identified.

It is a debate filled with facts  facts offered by each side that tend to support their own perspectives and agendas.

The truth  as it often does  lies somewhere in between.

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It doesnt help that immigration is an incredibly complex issue, one that Congress has struggled to agree on and failed to comprehensively reform for decades.

Here is what the data, research and expert analysis show.

Two-thirds of the 1,933-mile southwest border is not divided by any type of man-made barrier.

The majority of that gap is in Texas, where the Rio Grande acts as a natural obstacle of sorts and swaths of private land extend to the international line.

In Texas, 91 percent of the state is without any fence or wall, compared with 36 percent of New Mexico and 18 percent of Arizona, according to 2017 Border Patrol data.

Californias border with Mexico is the most heavily fortified, with all but 23 miles fenced to some degree. In the unfenced areas, mountains and treacherous wilderness areas act as natural barriers.

The types and condition of fencing along the southwest border vary greatly. Taller, stronger pedestrian fencing is concentrated around cities and towns  in some areas three layers deep, such as Friendship Park  while rural areas typically have barriers designed to keep vehicles from driving through but are easy for people on foot to breach.

The border along Texas, particularly the Rio Grande Valley  where Trump visited earlier this week  has in the past several years become the hotspot for illegal crossings.

The regions Chief Border Patrol Agent Raul Ortiz told Trump during his visit that while there are 55 miles of fencing already in the sector, 90 percent of the illegal traffic occurs in areas without fencing.

1 / 11 To most, concrete walls like these are how they imagine the border between the U.S. and Mexico. However, a variety of different fencing types are used, based on the environment. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 11 In the far Western end of the border, the border wall extends into the Pacific Ocean, separating International Friendship Park and the Playas de Tijuana (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 11 Razor wire tops most of the border wall that separates San Diego from Tijuana. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 11 Two Border Patrol agents keep an eye on the border, as seen from the Mexican side at Playas de Tijuana. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 11 Along populated areas, the border wall is filled with murals, graffiti and other forms of art (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 11 Much of the work on the border has been replacing fencing that has fallen in disrepair. Here workers set in a new section in Tijuana. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 11 Older sections of the wall like these are the target of ongoing repairs. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 11 Here, an older part of the border fence shows graffiti. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 11 In Calexico, the border wall allows for sand to pass through, and also allows agents to monitor both sides of the border 10 / 11 An example of vehicle fencing in Andrade, California, which is just outside of Yuma, Arizona. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 11 Steep cliffs, rocks and chaparral serve as a natural border wall in some parts of California. This is an aerial view in southeastern Imperial County (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Fencing helped slow and shift illegal immigration in San Diego  but only when combined with increased enforcement and use of technology.

San Diegos border with Mexico was largely without any barrier before the 1950s. Residents on both sides of the border at that time remember crossing easily back and forth  to work, to visit family, to play.

Some barbed wire was strung up in more populated areas, but it was easily breached. It was more of a visual reminder of the border line than an actual deterrent.

The scene on the border changed dramatically by the 1980s as Mexican migration spiked, largely single men crossing for economic opportunity. Thousands would gather on any given night in Tijuana and wait to cross illegally under cover of darkness. They would run into the U.S. in droves, overwhelming Border Patrol agents. (Border Patrol polices the areas between legal ports of entry, while Customs and Border Protection officers enforce vehicle and pedestrian traffic entering at the ports of entry.)

The primary fencing that covers the 14-mile stretch between the Pacific Ocean and Otay Mountain started going up in 1989, constructed of Vietnam-era landing mat up to 10 feet high.

But, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the primary fence, by itself, did not have a discernible impact on the influx of unauthorized aliens coming across the border in San Diego.

So Operation Gatekeeper was launched in 1994 during the Clinton administration, focusing on the first five miles of border. The campaign brought increased manpower to the area and deployed agents in three layers at the border, first to deter illegal entry and then apprehend. Vehicle checkpoints were set up inland. Agents were also much better equipped with night vision goggles, portable radios, light towers, and all-terrain vehicles. Technology such as seismic sensors came into play.

A secondary layer of fencing came in 1996.

Apprehensions in San Diego dipped significantly, cut in half from nearly 484,000 in 1996 to nearly 284,000 in 1997.

With the border hardened in San Diego, migrants headed east, with apprehensions in the El Centro Sector spiking in the late 1990s as a result. More fencing was constructed there, and illegal crossing routes moved to Arizonas remote deserts.

But with the shift to remote wilderness areas came an increase in migrant deaths.

San Diego is in the middle of replacing its aging primary border fence.

The landing mat barrier was initially praised by border authorities, but it has been easy to scale and for power tools to rip through.

The Obama administration began planning to replace the first 14 miles of the fence in San Diego in 2009, and the project was later funded under Trump.

The new fence, 18 feet tall, is made of hollow steel bollards placed closely together, filled with concrete and topped by a metal plate.

Trump pointed to the project during a recent White House news conference: In San Diego and in areas of California, we just finished brand new walls, beautiful walls, steel walls, and they wanted them badly  They really needed it, they were having tremendous problems. So we built the brand new wall in San Diego, and its working really well. You should go and look at it, its amazing. Its incredible how well it works.

In a news conference last year, Ronald Vitiello, then the acting deputy commissioner of CBP, said requests for new border barrier systems came from agents in the field.

The truth is walls work: the data show it and agents know it, Vitiello said.

However, the Government Accountability Office in 2017 reported that the U.S. didnt have a reliable way to measure how well fencing along the border was working.

Border Patrol agents who work the line are excited about the taller, stronger new barrier, especially the fact that it is see-through, unlike the opaque landing mats. It is one of the reasons Trump has said his previous calls for concrete walls have morphed into plans for steel slats.

Any assessment on the effectiveness of San Diegos new barrier is premature, as the construction is only halfway finished. The new fence has been scaled or otherwise breached numerous times in the past several months.

A similar replacement project was recently completed in Calexico, although at a height of 30 feet.

In July, Congress approved $251 million in funding to replace the secondary fence  made of metal mesh  but construction has not yet begun. Other plans to replace some existing fencing and build some new miles of fencing were also funded at that time, primarily in Texas.

Agents also continue to rely on a vast network of seismic sensors and remote cameras to patrol the line. The technology helps deploy agents more efficiently to where they are needed, especially in remote areas.

Migration through the southwest border as a whole has steadily declined  not just in areas with fencing.

In fiscal 2018, Border Patrol apprehended about 396,500 unauthorized immigrants at the southwest border  10 percent of those in the San Diego Sector. That is a dramatic downturn compared to a peak of 1.6 million apprehensions in 2000.

Much of the decline can be attributed to a steep drop in Mexican migration. Many have found it harder over the past few decades to find well-paying jobs in the U.S. due to the economic recession that followed the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and later the housing market crash. The economy in Mexico, in turn, is more stable than it was during massive crossings in the 80s and 90s.

Greater enforcement is also believed to be a factor, with more emphasis on border security and advancements in technology since 9/11.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security  which is developing better ways to measure the effectiveness of border security  available data indicate that the southwest land border is more difficult to illegally cross today than ever before.

The 2017 report suggests 55 to 85 percent of those trying to cross illegally between the ports of entry are caught, and about 55 to 75 percent are deterred from making a subsequent attempt after being returned to their home country.

While apprehensions these days are similar to those seen in the early 1970s, they are ticking back up, with a 30 percent increase last year compared to the previous year.

The nature of migration has changed, shifting more from economic migrants to asylum seekers of all ages.

When a single man or woman from Mexico who comes illegally to work or visit family in the U.S. is apprehended, returning them used to be a relatively straightforward matter. If they werent being criminally charged for their entry, they would be detained for maybe a day and walked back across the border.

But the face of todays migrant has dramatically changed to Central American families and unaccompanied minors fleeing rising gang violence, corrupt governments and extreme poverty. Many are claiming persecution in their home countries as a reason for wanting to resettle in the U.S.

An asylum claim sets off a whole different legal process, starting with an interview in which the migrant must show a credible fear of persecution if returned. If that is passed, the civil process handled in immigration court can take years.

Officials encourage migrants to present themselves at a U.S. port of entry to ask for asylum. Many migrants, including those in the caravan camped out in Tijuana, are trying to do just that. However, U.S. authorities have limited the number of asylum applicants they will see on any given day  between 30 and 100 at San Ysidro  creating an unofficial line that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico.

Many migrants, desperate to enter the U.S., have taken to crossing the border between the ports, giving themselves up to Border Patrol agents immediately and claiming asylum.

In fiscal 2018, nearly 93,000 migrants  14 percent of those who crossed between the ports and 31 percent of those who presented at a port of entry  claimed a credible fear, according to CBP.

The Trump administration has said it would like to detain asylum seekers but there isnt enough detention space, especially for the growing number of families, and laws and legal rulings put restrictions on how children can be detained. Many migrant families seeking asylum are released into the community as they go through the legal process.

December was a record month for families arriving between the ports of entry, with 27,518 family members apprehended by Border Patrol, along with 4,766 unaccompanied minors. Ninety-five percent of those family members are from the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Border authorities say some adults are lying about being related to children they are traveling with, causing concern about child sex and labor trafficking. From October 2017 to May 2018, more than 700 migrant children were taken from adults claiming to be their parents, including more than 100 children under age 4, the Los Angeles Times reported.

But many of those adults turned out to be grandparents, uncles or other relatives, and some had to sue for DNA tests to prove they were in fact related  including the lawsuit by a Congolese mother, known in court documents at Ms. L.  that sparked the landmark family separation litigation based in San Diego.

A small percentage of unauthorized immigrants caught trying to illegally cross into the U.S. have been convicted of a crime.

In fiscal 2018, Border Patrol apprehended 6,259 people with some kind of known criminal record. It is not clear how many of those apprehensions occurred on the border with Mexico versus Canada. But even if all of those apprehensions occurred on the southwest line, that would account for 2 percent of total apprehensions there.

CBP breaks down the data by crime type, although some people have multiple convictions.

Just over half of the prior convictions were for illegal entry into the U.S.  a crime often charged as a misdemeanor. About 1,000 were for DUI. Drug and gun convictions totaled about 900. About 500 were for assault, battery or domestic violence, while 328 were for burglary, robbery or theft and 78 for unspecified sexual offenses.

Three were for murder.

Besides immigration offenses, the data does not specify how many crimes were committed in the U.S. versus another country, or when.

Also last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which enforces civil immigration law, made about 158,500 administrative arrests for immigration violations against people in the country both illegally and legally. Of those, 87 percent had U.S.-based criminal convictions or pending charges.

Nearly half of those  46 percent  included immigration-related offenses such as illegal entry.

The most common crimes were for DUI, drugs or traffic offenses, while about 2,000 were for homicide and another 2,000 for kidnapping. Sexual assault accounted for 5,350 charges or convictions, sex-trafficking offenses for 1,739 and other sex offenses for 6,888.

Using ICE arrests to extrapolate how many immigrants in the U.S. have serious criminal backgrounds can be misleading because a high priority is put on finding and deporting unauthorized immigrants or visa holders with criminal records.

Determining how many people in the U.S. illegally commit crime while here has always been a challenge because there is no official data collected regularly on the subject and there are hundreds of thousands of criminal justice jurisdictions across the nation.

Studies on the issue have shown that the nations population of unauthorized immigrants is less inclined to commit crime than Americans, and those in the country legally even less so.

A 2018 study by the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute looked at 2015 conviction data in Texas, finding there were 56 percent fewer criminal convictions of unauthorized immigrants than native-born Americans. The rate for legal immigrants was 66 percent below Americans.

The study did show that unauthorized immigrants were more likely to be convicted of gambling, smuggling, vagrancy and kidnapping but those crimes account for 0.18 percent of all convictions in Texas in 2015.

Another study published in the journal Criminology last year suggested there was less crime in areas with higher populations of unauthorized immigrants.

Certainly, a handful of killings by unauthorized immigrants have been spotlighted recently, including one last month of a police officer shot to death near Modesto after pulling over a driver. The suspect is in the U.S. illegally, has allegedly boasted of ties to a street gang and has two prior DUI arrests.

Drugs are mainly entering the U.S. through the ports of entry.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the lead agency in multinational drug trafficking investigations, reported in its 2018 assessment that Mexican cartels largely prefer using passenger vehicles and semi-trucks to smuggle hard narcotics through the ports of entry  not through areas in between.

The assessment is based on seizure trends, as well as on intelligence sources that include undercover investigations and wire-tapped cartel business communications.

The trial of Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, happening now in Brooklyn, has detailed the powerful organizations preference for using everything from cars and trucks at the ports to trains, airplanes, boats and submarines to smuggle drugs.

The DEA notes that Mexican cartels still sometimes smuggle drugs in backpacks through remote crossing routes.

While it is unknown exactly how many drugs are entering the country due to the nature of illicit smuggling, seizure data has traditionally been considered a good indication of such trends.

For the first 11 months of fiscal 2018, nearly 67,300 pounds of methamphetamine were seized at the ports of entry, whereas nearly 10,400 pounds were seized by Border Patrol agents at points between the ports, CBP reports.

Similar seizure ratios are seen for heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.

The U.S. Attorneys Office has said about 80 percent of the fentanyl coming through the southwest border enters through the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry in San Diego.

A large amount of fentanyl is also arriving in the U.S. mail or through services such as FedEx, direct from China where the deadly synthetic heroin and its precursors are manufactured.

The one exception to the port trend seems to be marijuana. Last year, nearly twice as much was seized by Border Patrol than at the ports.

Mexican cartels, especially the Sinaloa, also rely on tunnels. Several that were complete or under construction, with advanced rail and lighting systems, have been found along the border in San Diego, considered to have good clay soil for such engineering. Many went under existing fencing.

Two were found in the San Diego Sector in fiscal 2018, according to the Border Patrol. While tunnels are often used for drugs, agents in 2017 found one after about 30 unauthorized immigrants emerged from a vacant lot in Otay Mesa.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis

UPDATES:

12:40 p.m. Jan. 15: This article was updated to specify that ICE administrative arrests pertain to those with U.S. criminal convictions and charges.

This article was originally published 5 a.m. on Jan. 13.Daniel and Martin Castillo, both farmers back in Guatemala, joined the migrant route through Mexico to the U.S. border  hoping to find jobs and build lives safe from crime. But after enduring two consecutive attacks this week at a Tijuana migrant shelter, the brothers from the Quetzaltenango region said they are more frightened than ever.

We fled a violent situation there, and we find the same thing here, said Daniel Castillo, 28.

The Pueblo Sin Fronteras caravan has brought much attention in recent days to the issue of Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty and hoping to find asylum in the United States. While more than 200 presented themselves in recent days at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, untold numbers of Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans remain in Mexico  some still waiting to cross, others opting to stay in Mexico.

With no legal immigration status in Mexico, they are highly vulnerable people, they dont have money, they dont have anything, said Soraya Vazquez, of Espacio Migrante, a Tijuana nonprofit.

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Guatemalan migrants Daniel Castillo and his wife, Yuri Azucena Villagrana, at the Caritas shelter in Tijuana this week. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune )

The caravan, criticized by President Donald Trump, was the largest such group of Central American migrants to have crossed Mexico in recent years. Traveling in a group has been a means of self-protection for those undocumented migrants who are preyed upon by criminals and corrupt officials; but for organizers, it has also been a means of raising awareness of the situation.

Caravan members did it to be safe crossing through Mexico, they did not do it to engage with U.S. immigration policy, said Ev Meade, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. Its really a small number thats attracted a disproportionate amount of attention.

Caravan leaders said that the group swelled to close to 1,700 at one point, but by the time it reached Tijuana late last month, the total was closer to 400.

Days after the caravan has dissipated, many participants who have remained in Mexico say they continue to need protection. In Hermosillo, capital of Sonora state, 15 caravan members launched a hunger strike on Monday outside the offices of Mexicos National Migration Institute, saying that Mexican officials have yet to comply with a commitment to grant humanitarian visas that would allow them to live and work in Mexico for an extended period.

As long as you have legal status, and some security that youre going to keep it for awhile, youre not going to be quite as susceptible to being preyed upon, said Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America.

This week, Vazquez of Espacio Migrante helped raise bus fare to the state of Sonora for three Honduran brothers, all caravan members who want to stay in Mexico, while their family members cross the border and ask for U.S. asylum. But they are eager to get out of Tijuana, where they feel unsafe, and hope for jobs as farmworkers in Caborca.

About 80 people were still debating this week whether to ask for U.S. asylum, said Erika Pinheiro, an attorney with Al Otro Lado, a nonprofit group with offices in Tijuana and Los Angeles that has been advising caravan participants. On Monday, she laid out the possibility of asylum in Mexico as she addressed some two dozen caravan members  an option Central American migrants have increasingly sought.

Caravan member Jenny Carolina Lopez, of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, hopes to stay in Mexico and find work in Tijuana. (Sandra Dibble / The San Diego Union-Tribune )

Among those listening was Jenny Carolina Lopez, 28, a former housekeeper from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula who said she already has been deported from the United States to Honduras three times. I have faith that God will open doors for me, so that I can stay here and find a good job, she said, planning to stay in Mexico.

In Tijuana this week, two attacks on a shelter south of downtown Tijuana served to underscore the dangers some continue to face. The assaults targeted the modest Catholic-run Caritas Tijuana shelter, located in the middle of a low-income hillside neighborhood rising from a narrow street known as Canon K.

The first attack came at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday, when shelter occupants were awoken by six armed assailants  some with their faces covered  who stole money, cellphones, identification documents and clothes.

When the attack occurred, a group of 11 transgender caravan members preparing to seek asylum at the San Ysidro Port of Entry were among those at the shelter, but said they were in a separate area with a strong lock. Though they escaped harm, they quickly left to find shelter elsewhere. On Tuesday, they continued to await their opportunity to present themselves at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to a caravan spokesman.

Early Monday, a dozen migrants sharing rooms on the top floor were jolted awake by smoke and flames: someone had barred their door with a mattress, and set it on fire. There is no justification for this, said Leticia Herrera Hernandez, the shelters director. These are aggressions against people who are completely defenseless.

While no suspects have been caught, Herrera believes that the attacks are coming from people in the neighborhood who dont want the shelter there. Tijuana police have since posted a patrol officer outside, but that didnt prevent someone from hurling a rock at the building when a San Diego Union-Tribune photographer stopped by early Tuesday afternoon.

In the meantime, Martin and Daniel Castillo remained at the shelter with their wives because they have nowhere to go.

Weve tried to look for work, so we can rent a house, but we cant because we dont have documents, Daniel Castillo said.

Herrera said that as victims of violence, the Castillos could be granted permits to live and work in Mexico.Two suspects threw a canister of tear gas into the El Barretal shelter from the street outside, causing temporary discomfort and confusion to some Central American migrants sheltered inside, according to Mexican federal police.

Central American migrants at El Barretal in eastern Tijuana were just getting ready to go to bed around 9 p.m. Tuesday night when the non-lethal chemical agent was thrown from outside and detonated near an area for women and children.

Video from the scene, taken by one of the migrants and posted to the social media accounts of the nonprofit Pueblo Sin Fronteras, shows federal police guarding the single canister while witnesses described how it caused women nearby to cough.

I couldnt breathe, said Jose Rodriguez, shortly after the incident. Minutes later, via WhatsApp, he said the air was improving, but that about four to five women and one young girl were seriously coughing from the effects of the chemical agent.

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Federal police said no one was seriously injured or transported to the hospital. Several police agencies and the Tijuana Fire Department responded.

Tijuana municipal police searched for the suspects in the streets surrounding the shelter, but no one has been taken into custody.Carrying blankets and backpacks, a group of 356 Central American migrants arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday, joining dozens of other arrivals from a large caravan that has been making its way to the U.S. border.

But even as authorities scrambled to find bed space for them in the citys migrant shelters, Baja California officials reported that yet another group numbering about 200 was aboard buses traveling through the neighboring state of Sonora and expected to arrive in Tijuana within hours.

The migrants, most of them from Honduras, are among thousands of Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence who are currently making their way to the U.S. border in caravans that give them protection from criminal gangs and corrupt officials as they cross Mexico. Many have said they hope to turn themselves over to U.S. authorities at ports of entry and ask for asylum.

We hope that (President) Trump sees our tranquility, and sees the needs that we have, said Mario Gonzalez Soriano, a 42-year-old subsistence farmer and evangelical pastor from Honduras who left behind his four children and pregnant wife. We want to give our families a better life, and for that reason, we risk even death.

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The buses delivered the caravan members to the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen near the U.S. border. From there, many walked to Playas de Tijuana, getting their first look at the U.S. border fence.

1 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border, many climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 19 U.S. Border Patrol on all terrain vehicles observed nearby as many of the Central American migrants climbed the fence along the U.S. Mexico border at Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border in Playas de Tijuana, a few climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on walking for Playas de Tijuana along a road near the U.S. Mexico border fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 19 A few from the Central American migrant caravan that arrived in Tijuana venture for an up close look of the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 19 A group of men looked towards the U.S. Mexico border where a small group of U.S. Border Patrol agents were observing from. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop for a meal left walking for La Playa. One individual threw his arm up at the site of seeing the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after being offered a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. One man split a single shoe lace to use on both his shoes before the walk to La Playa Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus. After a brief stop in Tijuana left walking for Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border, many climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana, where a small group of men prepare to setup a shelter not far from the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in La Playa Tijuana, where many climbed the fence and some peered through the bollard fence looking at U.S. Border Patrol agents on the north side of the fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 19 A group of men looked towards the U.S. Mexico border where U.S. Border Patrol agent were observing from. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on walking for Playas de Tijuana along a road near the U.S. Mexico border fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on foot walking for Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and waited in line to receive a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and waited in line to receive a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

As U.S. Border Patrol agents watched, some of the youngest and most agile climbed tall bollards that form the first part of the barrier, a couple of them briefly dropping down on the U.S. side before climbing back to Mexico.

Most just stood in the sand, some playing in the waves, others getting a first look at the country they have traveled thousands of miles with hopes of entering.

Its everybodys dream, everybody wants to live in America, said a 42-year-old Honduran migrant who gave only his first name, Yarle. He lived in the United States for 32 years, but was deported three years ago, and has been surviving in El Progreso, Honduras as a bilingual teacher.

President Trump has been harshly critical of the caravans, and has sent troops to the border in anticipation of the arrival of the migrants. He has ordered that anyone caught crossing illegally be barred from even applying for asylum.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that on Tuesday it would be closing three lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and one at the Otay Mesa Port of entry to install port hardening infrastructure equipment. The move was in preparation for the migrant caravan and the potential safety and security risk that it could cause, a statement said.

Late Tuesday, at Playas de Tijuana, U.S. authorities were seen installing new layers of mesh fencing on the beach.

Tuesdays group, whose members arrived in nine buses, was mostly comprised of men, but included 36 women and 12 children, according to a tally by the Tijuana city government. They had been offered transportation from Guadalajara, and split off from the larger group that is continuing to make its way to the U.S. border, and late Tuesday were making their way through the state Nayarit, hundreds of miles away.

Shortly after arriving Tuesday morning, members of the group swarmed the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen that offered them a meal. The plan was to spread them in several shelters run by church groups or civic organizations, said Cesar Palencia, the citys director of migrant services.

Shelter capacity in the city is about 1,400, he said. But many shelters currently are over capacity, especially those serving women and children, as growing numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans have come to Tijuana in recent months with plans to seek asylum in the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have said they are unable to keep up with the large volume of asylum seekers, and as a result prospective applicants must wait for several weeks before they are even admitted for processing. The migrants themselves maintain a notebook with a waiting list, which in recent weeks has grown to 2,500.

The arrival of the caravan members has been stirring anxiety of those already on the list. If they come and start making problems, they might close the border and then nobody will be able to cross, said Arlette Alvarez, 32, who came to Tijuana from the southern Mexican state Michoacan with her three children five weeks ago.

Erika Pinheiro, an attorney with the group Al Otro Lado, said the list itself is of questionable legality and added if they really cared about addressing this, they wouldnt be deploying military, theyd be deploying asylum officers to the border.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleLike their fellow Americans in Bahia de los Angeles, Jo Anne Butler and Ray Ball kept returning, year after year, drawn by the small-town feel, the areas stark natural beauty, the warm Gulf of California waters that lapped almost at their door, friends said.

But the shooting deaths of the two U.S. retirees together with their dog early Saturday at their waterfront house south of town has shattered the tranquility of this community some 380 miles from the U.S. border. Sustained largely by tourism and fishing, Bahia has a year-round population of 1,000, but is also a part-time residence for more than 100 Americans, according to local authorities.



For the record: This story has been updated to correct a previous version stating that Ray Ball had been shot 18 times. Authorities said he had been shot nine times, with 18 entry and exit wounds.

We have no memory of having a shooting here, said Tom Mitchell, a San Diego resident who has had a home in Bahia de los Angeles for four decades. This has taken it to a level that no one here has experienced.

Friends and authorities said Monday that the killings appear to be over a boat  a 22-foot McKee Craft with a Yamaha 250 outboard motor that the couple kept at their house and frequently used for fishing excursions.

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It was an attempted robbery, and an individual went to defend his property, and thats when they shot him, said Octavio Lopez, the delegado, or top local government official, in a telephone interview from Bahia de los Angeles. This is the first time weve had something like this happen.

A neighbor who remained fearful and asked that his name be withheld said he had been awoken at about midnight by gunfire that sounded like somebody pounding on a metal roof. Looking outside, he saw a SUV pulling a boat toward the water, and the thing just buried itself in the sand.

Unable to move the vessel, the thieves abandoned it, said the neighbor. He then heard them fire more shots, he said.

Realizing this was Balls boat, two neighbors went to investigate, and found the couples bodies in the house, near a back door. Neighbor Roger Mears, the former off-road racing champion, was the first to discover his friends had been killed, said his wife, Carol. This has been devastating, she said.

An initial report by the Baja California Attorney Generals Office recorded the deaths at 2:46 a.m. Saturday. Authorities said he had been shot nine times, counting 18 entry and exit wounds. They said that Butler was shot twice in the left leg. Their dog, a black labrador named Bart, was shot once. Investigators found 12 shell casings from a 9mm weapon at the scene.

Jo Ann Butler and Ray Ball are pictured together in this section of her blog describing their lives in Bahia de los Angeles. (Mccutchen, John R. / )

Butler, 69, and Ball, 72, were not married but had been a couple for about 14 years. She was a former school teacher and accomplished artist, while he had worked as a contractor, and was a gifted craftsman who built custom furniture, said Bill Boyce, a friend of Balls since college days and part-time resident of Bahia de los Angeles since the 1980s.

Its so surreal and beautiful, Boyce said of the quiet community. Every day you wake up and it just grabs your soul.

Jo Anne Butler wrote in a blog for family and friends that Ball had first come to Bahia in the late 1980s and fell in love with the beauty and the world-class fishing. After visiting in 2003, she said that she had become equally captivated.

A lifelong craftswoman specializing in stained glass, Butler wrote that the natural beauty of this place is a constant source of ideas and inspiration.

A year ago, she sold her house in Escondido, and they purchased a new home in Prescott, Arizona. But they also kept their house in Mexico.

Authorities are not discussing the chain of events leading to the killings, saying that they remain under investigation. But friends and neighbors said that it appeared that Ball had heard a noise, and gone to check, holding a bat in his hand. He apparently was shot as he opened the back door, they said.

Ray was a guy who would have protected his place and his belongings, this was not surprising to me that he was trying to protect what he had, said Boyce.

This was so out of character for our community, said Mitchell, another longtime friend and neighbor. These guys didnt hesitate to kill. They basically murdered both of them.

In January, another U.S. citizen was killed in Bahia de los Angeles. Charles Crabtree was struck repeatedly with a hammer on his head and body outside his trailer in the Campo Amigo park. The 28-year-old suspect was captured, and is currently behind bars, authorities said.

On Monday, community members met with the municipal delegate, and the local police commander, pressing for a greater law enforcement presence. Bahia de los Angeles is part of the municipality of Ensenada, and on Wednesday, residents are expecting to meet with Mayor Marco Antonio Novelo.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleMexicos four presidential candidates focused on the countrys ties with the United States during a debate in Tijuana Sunday night, vowing that if elected, they will defend Mexicos dignity as it navigates an uncertain new era in bilateral relations.

President Donald Trump will have to learn to respect us, this I can guarantee, said Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the left-of-center candidate who is a strong front-runner in most polls.

We need to recast the relationship with the United States, said Ricardo Anaya, of Mexicos right-of-center National Action Party, the PAN, who has been running in second place.

Held at the Tijuana campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California six weeks before the countrys July 1 election, the debate was titled Mexico and the World.

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But it largely focused on Mexicos relationship with the United States, with topics that included the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the return of deportees, treatment of Central American migrants traveling to the U.S. border, the production of opioids in Mexico, and the southbound smuggling of U.S. weapons.

1 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (right), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (center), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (center right). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 19 Mexicos presidential candidate Jaime el Bronco Rodriguez Calderon (center) with his wife Adeline Avalos (center left) and their children. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 19 Supporters of the PAN group in Mexico walk outside the area of the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 19 Mexicos presidential candidate Jaime el Bronco Rodriguez Calderon (raising his hand) arrives with his wife Adeline Avalos (center left) and their children. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (left), gets out of his vehicle and puts on a coat as he arrives at the second debate at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 19 Supporters of presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rally outside the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC). | Alejandro Tamayo  The San Diego Union Tribune 2018 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), with his wife Juana Cuevas (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 19 Near the Autonomous University of Baja California several sit down to watch the debate at Cerveceria La 22 Otay. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 19 Several media outlets wait for the arrival of the presidential candidates to the second of three debates at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), arrives at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), with his wife Juana Cuevas (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (right), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (left), with his wife Beatriz GutiZrrez MYller (on the right). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 19 Supporters of the PAN group in Mexico wave flags outside the area of the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 19 Near the Autonomous University of Baja California several sit down to watch the debate at Cerveceria La 22 Otay while others watch from the sidewalk. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Organized by Mexicos National Electoral Institute, this was Mexicos first presidential debate conducted in a town hall style that included questions from a live audience.

Also for the first time, one of the moderators was a U.S.-based journalist, Leon Krauze, who is an anchor in Los Angeles for Univision. His co-moderator was Yuriria Sierra, a Mexican broadcast journalist.

The debaters included Lopez Obrador, often referred to as AMLO. He is a former mayor of Mexico City making his third bid for the presidency and backed by coalition of three parties called Together We Will Make History.

His chief rival, Anaya, formerly served as national president of the PAN and is being backed by a coalition of the PAN and two smaller left-of-center parties in a coalition called Forward Front for Mexico.

In third place in most polls is Jose Antonio Meade, a Yale-trained economist who has served in a number of high-level federal government posts, at one point as Mexicos foreign minister but most recently as secretary of finance in the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto. He is running as the candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or the PRI, with two smaller parties in a coalition called Todos Por Mexico, or All for Mexico.

Trailing in a distant fourth place is the independent Jaime Rodriguez Calderon, the tough-talking former governor of the northern state of Nuevo Leon. A second independent candidate, Margarita Zavala, dropped out of the race last week.

What we saw was the narrative of this election, there is a fierce competition for second place, between Anaya and Meade, said Rafael Fernandez de Castro, a political scientist and director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego.

While Anaya stood out for his debating skills, he overplayed his hand in attacking Lopez Obrador, Fernandez de Castro said, adding that Meade came across as the most sophisticated with the greater vision.

The debate had its colorful moments. At one point, Rodriguez urged Lopez Obrador to hug Anaya and Meade. Anaya, who frequently relied on visual aids, held up a photograph showing the Mexican president shaking hands with Trump, calling the invitation to Los Pinos, Mexicos White House, an unacceptable error after Trump repeatedly attacked Mexico during his campaign.

As the candidates squared off in the universitys gym, local VIPs, students and members of the media were in separate areas, watching the debate on screens. With the campus barricaded, crowds of political supporters of the different candidates waved flags on the street outside. They also gathered across town in the citys Rio Zone, where several bars overflowed with people watching the debate.

Tijuana was an apt setting for the debate, a city of some 1.8 million residents that on a daily basis experiences both the challenges and advantages of being on the U.S. border. The citys geographic location puts it at a cross-roads for migration and drugs. And while Tijuanas export-oriented factories have been booming, its homicide rate has reached unprecedented levels as drug traffickers battle for control of the neighborhood drug trade.

Lopez Obrador said he plans to create an economic zone along Mexicos northern border whose provisions would include doubling the minimum wage. He also said he wants Mexicos National Migration Institute to be based in Tijuana.

While critical of Trump, Lopez Obrador said he is in agreement with the North American Free Trade Agreement, adding that we need to take advantage of the relationship with the United States, a relationship of friendship and mutual respect.

Though he has never held elected office, Meade is by far the candidate with the most experience in high-level government posts. He also stressed the importance of Mexicos trade with the United States and other countries. It helps us, it creates employment, he said.

In many ways, the event, which was streamed and televised live, was more about style than substance. A campaign fact-check group, Verificado 2018, listed no detailed proposals during the hour and 26 minutes of the debate. It tallied 19 mentions of Trump, two mentions of the border wall, and 30 attacks by one candidate on another.

The most frequent attacker was Anaya, who at 39 is the youngest of the candidates, and his target was often Lopez Obrador, who at 64 is the oldest candidate. Anaya accused Lopez Obrador of outdated views and using erroneous facts. The problem is not age, it is the ideas, you need to get updated, Andres Manuel, Anaya said.

Lopez Obrador accused Anaya of corruption, and called him a contemptible Richie Rich, and said both he and Meade represented the power mafia that he has vowed to dismantle if elected to the presidency.

Meade was asked to justify the controversial invitation extended by the Mexican president in 2016 to Trump, who was then the Republican candidate; an invitation was also extended to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who declined. Asked whether it was a mistake to receive Trump, Meade said, judging by the results, no. He pointed out that while the U.S. has pulled out of other international agreements, the Trump administration is continuing to negotiate NAFTA.

INEs first presidential debate was held on April 22 in Mexico City, and focused on issues of corruption, public safety and democracy. The third and final debate will be held on June 12 in Merida, with a focus on economic development, poverty, inequality and climate change.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleA temporary migrant shelter in far eastern Tijuana closed Tuesday.

The shelter, known as El Barretal, opened in late November 2018 to provide members of the Central American caravan a place to live when conditions in a shelter closer to the U.S. Mexico border became overcrowded and miserable because of heavy rain.

Leonardo Neri, a federal volunteer and the shelters coordinator, said the closure of the site has been planned for weeks. Government officials have been assisting the last remaining residents find more permanent housing solutions within Tijuana, he said.

At the beginning of December, there were more than 3,000 people from the Central American caravan in this place, said Neri. He emphasized that local, state and federal officials have been working to place the migrants in more permanent shelters or assist them with finding other living arrangements.

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There were about 100 people  fewer than 10 of them children  living there as of Friday, according to a shelter volunteer.

In November, a caravan of more than 6,000 mostly Central Americans arrived in Tijuana. Mexican federal officials estimate a caravan of another 13,000 is currently traveling through Mexico for the U.S.-Mexico border, but they are hoping to persuade a majority of the group to find work in southern or central Mexico.

Neri said the federal government has not designated a place for the next caravan to shelter when they arrive in Tijuana.San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is traveling to Boston on Friday to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he plans to advocate for stronger economic ties and cross-border commerce in North America.

Faulconer is chairing a new group created under the auspices of the mayors conference, the Alliance on Trade in the Americas, which aims to have ongoing dialogue about key economic issues among American, Canadian and Mexican cities, according to a statement from his office on Thursday.

The mayors announcement comes amid a recent decision by President Trump to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, saying their industries pose a threat to U.S. national security.

The president has also been critical of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, involving the United States, Canada and Mexico, which has been under renegotiation by the three parties. The top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said earlier this week that the president now favors conducting negotiations separately with Mexico and Canada.

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A Republican, Mayor Faulconer has spoken frequently about the importance of trade and ties with Mexico, and has been a strong supporter of extending and modernizing NAFTA. There has never been a more important time for San Diego and Tijuana to champion international trade, the mayor wrote in an opinion piece published in the San Diego Union-Tribune in March.

Faulconers proposal for a mayors trade alliance was broached early this year at a Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C. A lot is happening on the federal level, with all the negotiations, said Denice Garcia, director of international relations for the mayor. But the discussions are not trickling down to the people that are doing work on the ground, thats why the mayor saw this as an opportunity to speak out and be heard.

Members of the new mayors trade group are expected to meet regularly, by phone and in person, with the goal of raising public awareness about the advantages of trade between the countries, and to discuss and explore common border issues and exchange best practices, said the statement released Thursday from San Diego City Hall.

Faulconer is scheduled to chair a special forum at the conference on Saturday that will focus on the newly formed alliance. Expected to participate are the mayors of Edmonton, Canada; Mesa, Arizona, Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleA new documentary film about the migrant caravan that made international news late last year will begin showing Friday in downtown San Diego.

Stuck in Tijuana, by filmmaker Charlie Minn, is scheduled to show for at least one week at Theatre Box, 701 Fifth Ave.

This is a film thats really about humanity, Minn said. I hope people who see it will appreciate that they have a roof over their heads and that they know where their next meal is coming from.

Last year, a caravan of 6,000 migrants from Central America arrived in Tijuana in November seeking asylum in the United States. For most of them, the journey stalled there amid political controversies and shifting asylum rules and procedures. Some took jobs in Mexico, some crossed the border illegally, and others returned to their home countries.

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Minn said he was drawn to the story when he heard President Donald Trump refer to some of the migrants as criminals. I wanted to see for myself, he said.

He came away sympathetic to the asylum-seekers. Most of them seemed to me to be good people, he said. They are just trying to ask for the opportunity for a better life.

Minn, who lives primarily in New York, has done two-dozen documentaries, including several focused on the border. One of them, Mexicos Bravest Man, is about Julian Leyzaola, a police chief in Tijuana and Juarez who survived multiple assassination attempts.

Another of his films, 77 Minutes, is about the 1984 mass shooting at the McDonalds in San Ysidro, which left 21 people dead and another 19 injured. The title refers to the time that passed before a police sniper killed the lone gunman, raising questions about whether authorities should have reacted faster.

Minn considers himself a victim-driven filmmaker, and he said Stuck in Tijuana fits that mold. The people I met have been victimized twice: once in their homeland and again when they got to the border, he said.

Among those interviewed in the documentary are two local journalists who cover the border, Wendy Fry of the Union-Tribune and Jean Guerrero of KPBS.

Minn said ticket prices during the engagement at Theatre Box will be cut in half (except on Tuesdays, when tickets are already low, $5). Im trying to put a human face on a desperate situation, he said, and I want as many people as possible to see this film.

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.comState police in Tijuana arrested two men and a woman on suspicion of killing two Honduran teenagers who were part of the Central American caravan, according to Baja Californias attorney generals office.

Although authorities said the Honduran victims, aged 16 and 17, were not targeted because of their affiliation with the migrant caravan, the incident highlights the dangers faced by young people traveling alone, and stuck in limbo in a dangerous city between the violence they fled in their homeland, and the United States, where they hoped to ask for asylum.

A third victim survived the attack and is assisting police with the investigation, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

The teenagers were part of a group of unaccompanied minors fleeing gang violence in Honduras, according to those familiar with the investigation. It was not immediately known whether they tried to present themselves at the San Ysidro Port of Entry only to be turned back, as has happened with other youths.

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Prosecutor Jorge Alvarez said the teenagers were on their way Saturday to the Benito Juarez shelter from the Casa YMCA, a facility for unaccompanied minors, where they met some women who lured them to an area frequented by drug users.

The topic of conversation came up of Hey, what are you guys doing? and one of the victims told the women: Were on our way to go cash a check, Alvarez said. But that was not true. They did not have a check.

Alvarez said the women offered to take the teenagers to a place to have sex with them.

Now, these females have it in their minds that these guys either have money or they are going to go get money, Alvarez said.

When the group arrived at a location where they planned to have sex, one of the women called two men, who arrived and immediately began asking the youth about the money they mentioned, he said.

We think the motive at that point was likely robbery, said Alvarez.

The teenagers were beaten, strangled and stabbed and their bodies were dumped in a Tijuana alley in the Zona Central part of the city and discovered by police over the weekend. Those arrested were identified only by their first names  Esmeralda, Carlos and Francisco Javier  as it is customary in the Mexican judicial system not to release defendants last names until they are convicted of crimes.

One of the minors managed to escape by telling the attackers he would go retrieve some money for all three victims. However, the two minors, whose names are being withheld because of their age, were killed before the third victim could return.

The three suspects, arrested Monday, are awaiting a court hearing before a judge for arraignment, Alvarez said.

Alvarez said the bodies of the victims were identified by their clothing and distinguishing marks on their bodies. He said they were well known among the caravan.

We cant confirm if this is part of a systemic or organized activity. It appears to be a random act of robbery. They saw the opportunity that these guys had some money so they brought them over to this location, he said.

A statement from the government of Honduras offered condolences to the bereaved families of the children and said they were offering assistance in bringing the childrens bodies back home to Honduras.

We reiterate the call to Honduran nationals that they not risk their lives and the lives of their families on the dangers that the migratory route represents, where migrants are exposed to being victims of traffickers, the statement read in Spanish.

Alvarez stressed the attack appears to be random and not part of a larger organized criminal group.

Theres no indication they were specifically targeted because they were caravaners, he said. Them meeting up with these women on the streets was completely happenstance.

The news unnerved many in the caravan.

Marvin Antonio Garcia, 26, from Honduras, said when people first saw the news last night on Facebook about the killings, they were worried and sad.

We know its very dangerous for children to be out on these streets like this, Garcia said. We think its so much better than in Honduras, but maybe we face some of the same problems here as in Honduras. We are sad because these are our countrymen, our people.A schoolteacher from North County, a factory worker from Riverside, and an engineer from Bonita were among hundreds waiting for up to three hours at Tijuanas A.L. Rodriguez International Airport on Sunday morning to vote in Mexicos presidential election.

The hope is that we can see a change, said Patricia Van Sickel, 60, of Rancho Penasquitos. Registered to vote in Mexico City, she was preparing to cast a ballot for Ricardo Anaya of Mexicos National Action Party, the PAN.

Unable to make it back to the countrys capital in time, the English as a Second Language teacher instead joined the long line that snaked for much of the day through the airports lobby, spilling onto the sidewalk outside.

Waiting to vote were mothers pushing strollers, airline passengers pulling luggage, groups of friends on vacation and a dozen nuns wearing full habit. Literally feet from the border, the station also proved convenient for many Mexicans living in southern California  both dual U.S. and Mexican citizens or U.S. legal residents.

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As in other Mexican presidential elections, the National Electoral Institute set up special polling stations across the country for voters in transit  often at bus stations, airports, even hospitals. Early Sunday, a half-dozen Tijuana special stations were mobbed with these voters.

Among them was Maria Candida Ramirez Serrano, who was preparing to cast her ballot at the Tijuana airport after a three-hour wait that followed her two-hour drive from Riverside County.

Its worth it, said Ramirez, 59, a U.S. resident who drove down from Corona with her brother. She moved to the United States from Puebla four years ago, after she couldnt find work as a topographical engineer, and now works in a warehouse.

At last, were going to see justice done, well have opportunities for everyone, said Ramirez, who was preparing to cast a ballot for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the populist left-of-center front-runner who has been leading most polls.

Farther down the line, Marco Pena, a 26-year-old electrical engineer who is a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen, said he had no faith in Lopez Obrador, and planned to vote for Anaya, the PAN candidate.

Anaya is the least bad, choice, said Pena, a Bonita resident originally from Guadalajara who worries about a Venezuelan-style government in Mexico if Lopez Obrador wins.

Though 6 p.m. was the scheduled closing time for polls across the city, workers manning a special station with 750 ballots at the Tijuana Cultural Center, (Cecut) in the Rio Zone were forced to close the line after they ran out of ballots in the early afternoon, turning away about 30 people.

A crowd also converged early Sunday at a special station set up near downtown, at the foot of the replica of Tijuanas historic Agua Caliente Tower. Among those waiting patiently was Ramon Cerrato, a 43-year-old construction worker from Santa Ana.

Though he has lived in the United States for 27 years, he has maintained close ties to his native Zacapu, Michoacan, where his mother still lives. He was going to vote for Lopez Obrador, he said, because I trust him more than the others.

Mexicans living abroad have since 2006 had the option of casting votes by mail in their countrys presidential elections. This years election for the first time allowed them to register without returning to Mexico, and more than 180,000 had done so by May, according to the Electoral Institute.

But several in the line said they had not been able to fill out the proper forms before the deadline, and driving across the border was a easy option. And one woman said she registered, but never received the ballot.

Antonio Moreno Padilla, casting his ballot at the Tijuana Cultural Center, was among a group of 200 people who drove down from Los Angeles to cast ballots in Tijuana, according to a report in the Tijuana newspaper, Frontera.

Many of us drive down for the simple reason that we want to give ourselves the privilege of voting in our Mexico, said Moreno, a native of Michoacan.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleTwo Honduran teenagers with the migrant caravan were killed and their bodies dumped in a Tijuana alley over the weekend, according to a Baja California prosecutor.

The killings highlight the dangers faced by Central American migrants, especially unaccompanied minors, waiting in Mexico to ask for asylum with the United States.

The identities of the boys have not yet been released.

The teenagers, approximately 16 and 17 years old, showed signs of being stabbed and strangled, according to a statement from the office of the Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Baja California, which is the prosecutors office for Baja California.

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A third victim survived the attack, according to the prosecutors.

Prosecutor Jorge Alvarez said the bodies were discovered around 7 p.m. Saturday on public roads in the Quintana Roo alley of Zona Centro in Tijuana.

Investigators said the minors were leaving a shelter for unaccompanied children on the Boulevard Cuauhtemoc and heading to the downtown area of Tijuana.

A statement from the government of Honduras offered condolences to the bereaved families of the children and said they were offering assistance in bringing the childrens bodies back to Honduras.

We reiterate the call to Honduran nationals that they not risk their lives and the lives of their families on the dangers that the migratory route represents, where migrants are exposed to being victims of traffickers, the statement read in Spanish.

Alvarez said the initial investigation showed robbery was a possible motive

Its possible robbing them of their mobile phones was the motive, or they thought these young people were carrying money, he saidPrime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the successful test-firing of an anti-satellite missile did not violate the model code of conduct, the Election Commission said Friday night. The EC took the decision based on the report of a committee of officers which found that the prime minister did not violate the provision of 'party in power' in the poll code.

"The committee has, therefore, reached the conclusion that the MCC provision regarding misuse of official mass media...is not attracted in the instant case," the commission said, citing the report of the committee constituted to look into the case.Model code of conduct is in place for the April-May parliamentary election and some state polls.

India shot down one of its satellites in space on Wednesday with an anti-satellite missile to demonstrate this complex capability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced, making it only the fourth country to have used such a weapon. Declaring India has established itself as a global space power after the success of the operation 'Mission Shakti', Modi said the missile hit a live satellite flying in a Low Earth Orbit after it traversed a distance of almost 300 km from earth within three minutes of its launch.

The announcement was made by the prime minister in a broadcast to the nation on television, radio and social media. Several opposition parties had complained to the Election Commission alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). PTIThe arrest of a Baja California murder suspect believed to be a lead operative in a totoaba trafficking ring linked to the Sinaloa cartel has raised faint hopes that authorities can somehow save a marine species on the brink of extinction.

The odds have been and continue to be low for the vaquita, a small porpoise that calls the waters in the Upper Gulf of California home. With fewer than 30 left in the world, the vaquita are not likely to survive beyond the first part of next year unless something changes soon, scientists say.

High demand for totoaba swim bladders, or maw, that can sell for up to $20,000 each in China led to a booming illegal fishing trade involving Mexican drug cartels. Because the kind of nets used by totoaba fisherman often accidentally catch and drown other marine life, demand for totoaba has been devastating to the already tiny vaquita population.

Oscar Parra Aispuro was arrested early last Thursday morning as the target of a special operation by Baja Californias State Preventive Police. Authorities had a warrant for his arrest since the beginning of the year in connection with the murder in San Felipe of a member of the Mexican military.

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According to multiple Mexican news reports citing Mexican government sources, a security camera at a nearby business captured footage of Parra shooting the soldier after a road rage incident escalated.

Officials found Parra and two body guards on the San Felipe-Mexicali highway in a Toyota Tacoma truck and a Honda Civic carrying an assortment of weapons including three AR-15s, an AK-47 and three hand guns, police said. Police also found 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The Mexican federal prosecutors office is working on the case, police said.

According to Mexican news outlet El Universal, the initial charges filed against Parra and his guards are weapons- and drug-related, and the men will have a hearing on Thursday morning to determine how the case will proceed.

It is not yet clear whether Parras alleged affiliation with totoaba trafficking will come up in the case or whether his arrest will have any impact on the vaquitas future.

The Mexican government has implemented bans on fishing using gillnets, the type of net used to catch totoaba, as a way to save the vaquita and offered fishermen compensation for not fishing. Last year, it backed a high-risk plan to capture vaquita using a team of international scientists in the hopes of breeding a pair in captivity, but the operation was abandoned after one vaquita died from stress.

None of these has proven effective as the number of porpoises has continued to decline.

One conservation group, Sea Shepherd, has worked for the past five years to search for and remove illegal gillnets from vaquita-inhabited waters. The organization is launching its Operation Milagro V this week, which is much earlier in the fishing season than in years past because the vaquitas situation has become so critical, said Carolina Castro, a spokeswoman for Sea Shepherd.

If officials decide to press Parra for information about the totoaba trafficking network and his connections to Chinese smugglers in Tijuana and Mexico, and if Parra decides to cooperate, Mexican authorities could have a way to disrupt the trafficking chain, said Andrea Crosta, founder of the Elephant Action League, an organization focused on intelligence gathering related to wild life crime that has studied the international totoaba smuggling network.

If authorities arent able to stop the trade network further up the chain, other traffickers will likely take Parras place, and illegal trade in totoaba maw will continue unabated, Crosta said.

It would be an incredible missed opportunity not to use him now to stop the next season, Crosta said. I hope they will do it. I really dont know.

Crosta emphasized that many mistakenly think of environmental- or wildlife-related crime as something softer than crime associated with other kinds of trafficking.

Wildlife crime and environmental crime is not just about animals and a few poor people trying to become rich, Crosta said. Its about very serious organized crime exploiting the fisherman as well, and profiting, making millions of dollars out of illegal wildlife products. The players are very, very serious players.

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kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on TwitterA video posted to YouTube by the environmental group Sea Shepherd shows about two dozen small Mexican fishing boats attacking the groups vessel in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.

Men aboard small fishing boats can be seen surrounding the environmental groups vessel, the Farley Mowat, and throwing glass bottles and other items at it.

The Sea Shepherd group says the Mexican fishermen were fighting against the protection of the vaquita marina, a small porpoise on the worlds most endangered list.

The fishermen threw oars, dead fish, weights, bottles of Tabasco sauce, and at one point can be seen in the video emptying a container of gasoline near the Farley Mowat, as if trying to douse it with gas, according to both the video and a spokeswoman with the Sea Shepherd environmental group.

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Sea Shepherd spokeswoman Carolina Castro said no one was injured in the incident neither the poachers nor our crew, she said.

In the video, the crew of the Farley Mowat is seen yelling at what they call angry poachers to get back and using a hose to blast water at the fishermen in an attempt to repel some of the smaller boats.

Some footage appears to have been originally posted to Facebook by the group of Mexican fishermen. In that video, fisherman can be seen and heard yelling in crude language for the Farley Mowat to leave the remote waters. The man who posted the video did not respond to a Facebook message requesting comment.

The incident took place in the Sea of Cortez, in a vaquita refuge, where fishermen are not allowed to lower gill nets.

The vaquita is facing extinction because of illegally set gill nets used to catch totoaba, a fish considered a delicacy in China that sells for top dollar.

At one point during the incident, the fishermen dropped a gill net in front of the bow of the Sea Shepherd, temporarily immobilizing it while five men illegally boarded the Farley Mowat and began looting, Castro said.

Mexican Navy officials were embedded on the vessel and more forces arrived by air to encourage the Mexican fishing boats to disperse.

No arrests were made.

Sea Shepherd will not be deterred by violence, said Captain Paul Watson, the founder of the environmental group. Our mission is to prevent the extinction of the vaquita porpoise and we will continue to seize the nets of poachers in the Vaquita Refuge. Sea Shepherd salutes the quick responsiveness of the Mexican Navy in defusing a dangerous situation.

The group says less than 30 vaquitas remain alive in the Gulf, the only place they have ever existed. The marine mammals were discovered in 1958 but are now the worlds most endangered marine mammal mostly because of the difficulty in preventing illegal poaching in the remote Gulf of California.

Sea Shepherd began patrolling the area in 2015 to observe and protest the illegal fishing. Scientists want Mexican environmental authorities to ban possession of nets in the whole area and conduct patrols to enforce the ban.

Currently, authorities patrol by air, but fishermen in high-powered small water crafts often make it to shore and evade enforcement.Tijuanas local news scene saw an abrupt changing of the guard this week, with the sale of the independent cable channel Sintesis and new leadership at its helm.

After 33 years, owner and founder Carolina Aubanel Riedel announced her resignation Monday on the channels 7 p.m. newscast, saying Ive made one of the most difficult decisions of my life.

She took with her some of the best-known faces of television news in the city of some 1.8 million residentslongtime anchor Fernando Martinez, anchor, news director and reporter Jose Ibarra, and reporter Rocio Galvan.

It was 33 years of fighting against all odds, said Galvan, who like other staff members only learned Monday of Aubanels resignation. I think it was very painful for her to have to leave.

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The station recently began transmitting in San Diego through KSDY Channel 50.4.

Through the years, Sintesis has seen several generations of talented reporters pass through its ranks.

Galvan said Sintesis had been struggling financially, leading to layoffs of several journalists in recent years. But Aubanel also told us she was very tired, Galvan said.

Sintesis occupied a very important place, under Aubanels leadership, said Rafael Liceaga, whose three-minute commentary about public participation has been a regular feature of the Monday newscast.

It was one of the few places that did not have a bias, Liceaga said of Sintesis. In his 15 years collaborating with Sintesis, he added, I was never, ever told what to say.

On Tuesday, the new owners identity was made public. It is businessman and ex-mayor Carlos Bustamante, who is Aubanels former husband. The stations new general manager is their youngest child, Arturo Bustamante, a 33-year-old communications graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana.

Carlos Bustamante said the new ownership signals a generational change for Sintesis, and will bring in some new voices. The new format will have a little bit more politics, and a little bit more opinion, though the news programming will remain impartial, he said

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleFor weeks, Thomas Markle has been a hunted man  chased down by paparazzi stalking his every move  buying cigarettes, driving a car, sharing some pizza. Interest has only intensified in recent days, fed by growing speculation about his attendance at daughter Meghans royal wedding.

But it has now become official: The retired Hollywood lighting director, who lives in a gated costal community by Rosarito Beach, wont be there to give away the bride at Windsor Castle on Saturday, when the 36-year-old U.S. actress is scheduled to marry Britains Prince Harry.

Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding, Meghan Markle said in a statement released early Thursday from Kensington Palace. I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health.

The issue of Thomas Markles participation in the wedding has been the subject of great interest in recent days  especially across the Atlantic  and brought much media attention to this coastal strip that spans Rosarito Beach and Tijuana and home to many U.S. retirees.

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Journalists from the United States, England, Spain, Germany, and France have been arriving in search of Markle, contacting Gil Sperry, editor of the Baja Times.

Were all really sympathetic with him, Sperry said, adding that much of the interest in the wedding has come from outside, and that locally, the news had generated little interest among Markles fellow U.S. ex-pats.

For weeks now, paparrazzi have mounted 24-hour guard outside Markles residence overlooking the Pacific Ocean, going so far as to rent a nearby house. The handful of photographers posted outside on Wednesday said they hadnt had a sighting in two weeks, but nobody was preparing to leave. Its the biggest story in the UK right now, said one.

Said to be shy and private, Markle had been expected to walk his daughter down the aisle during a ceremony at St. Georges Chapel. He was to arrive before the wedding, along with his ex-wife and Meghans mother, Doria Ragland, and meet Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and his future son-in-law.

But just a day before Kensington Palace announced these arrangements two weeks ago, Markle had arrived in a Red Cross ambulance at Rosarito Beachs public hospital, the Hospital General, suffering from chest pains.

In the ensuing two weeks, a series of reports have cast serious doubts about whether Markle would be flying to England to accompany his daughter on her wedding day. A strong blow to those plans came last weekend, when The Mail on Sunday, a London tabloid, revealed that Markle had participated with a Los-Angeles based celebrity photographer for a series of staged photos around Rosarito Beach.

The photos, which have been widely published, showed Markle at an internet cafe looking at an online story about his daughter; getting exercise in an open area; at a local Starbucks reading an Images of Britain book and being measured for a suit.

David Flores, 17, is a Rosarito Beach high school student who was asked to measure Thomas Markle in a staged photograph. (Sandra Dibble/San Diego Union Tribune )

On Monday, the day after The Mails story, Markle told the celebrity news site TMZ that he would not be attending the wedding as he didnt want to embarrass his daughter. But by Tuesday, a new TMZ report said Markle would be attending the wedding, despite suffering heart problems. Yet on Wednesday, Markle underwent heart surgeryreportedly to implant three stentsand Markle would be unable to attend for medical reasons, the site reported.

After weeks of silence, Kensington Palace issued Meghan Markles brief statement Thursday, which offered no details as to the health problems nor where Thomas Markle was being treated.

The only official information about Markles health came in a statement by the Baja Californias Health Secretariat, which said Markle arrived at 6:37 a.m. on May 3, complaining of chest pains that had started four hours earlier.

Doctors said Markle suffered from chronic hypertensive cardiac disease, the statement said, adding that he was offered treatment. Nevertheless, he voluntarily checked out on the afternoon of May 4, in order to continue his care at a private facility, the statement said.

Like other U.S. citizens treated at the hospital, Markle was offered transportation to the border, but declined, a hospital source said, and said he intended to pursue treatment in Mexico. If Markle has chosen to do so, Tijuana has a number of private hospitals that offer heart surgery.

But there has been no confirmation that Markle has remained in Baja California, and a May 10 photograph reportedly showed him outside a bank in Los Angeles.

A street view of the oceanfront house where Thomas Markle is said to live in a coastal enclave near Rosarito Beach. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union Tribune )

Back in Mexico, the pursuit has not ended. At a Rosarito Beach party events shop, employee David Flores Carrillo has been a much-sought interview subject after appearing in staged photographs that showed him taking Markles measurements.

A 17-year-old high school student, Flores said he had no idea that this was the father of the future British royal bride when Markle showed up with a photographer one morning as he was sweeping in the front of the shop on Guerrero Boulevard. It so happened that a tuxedo shop just upstairs was closed, and so they asked Flores if he could take Markles measurements.

I didnt give it much importance, as there are many American retirees in Rosarito, he said, adding that Markle supplied the tape measure and left him a $15 tip.

But with television crews and photographers regularly showing up to interview him in recent days, teachers tell me that Im famous, he said, shrugging off his newfound status. But Im not.

On a cobblestone street outside Markles residence on Wednesday, little was going on, and nobody answered Markles door. But three photographers lingered by their vehicles, prepared to pounce at the slightest sign of activity.

Still, royal weddings are not for everyone. Gary McTherron, who lives down the street, said he had never met Markle, and no intention of watching the ceremony on television. I have no opinion about it either way, McTherron said as he drove away. I dont care.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleYefri Montero left Honduras last March with $75 in his pocket, fleeing poverty and gang violence in Tegucigalpa, dreaming of finding work and safe haven in the United States.

But like growing numbers of Central Americans arriving in recent months at the Tijuana-San Diego border, the 19-year-old has decided that for now, hell stay in Mexico rather than try to cross.

The door hasnt opened, I dont have family there, and I hear theyre deporting people, he said one day last week, as he prepared to start a factory job on Monday in Tijuana.

Undeterred by the Trump administrations increasingly restrictive asylum policies, citizens of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala continue to arrive in Tijuana to seek admittance to the United States. But migrant advocates in the city are seeing scores of others now looking for ways to stay in Mexico.

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Like Montero, many are doing so with humanitarian visas that allow them to work and live in Mexico for one year, with the possibility of extending. Many are qualifying for the status because they have been crime victims in Mexico.

Mexicos National Migration Institute, INAMI, which issues the humanitarian visas, last week denied a request for an interview, and declined to provide numbers of how many of these visas had been issued, either nationally or at a local level.

But migrant advocates say that dozens, if not hundreds, are staying in Tijuana, often legalizing their status through the visas and other means rather than attempt to enter the United States; others are remaining in the city and working without documents.

Theyre saying, I dont want to go there just to be deported, so its better for me to stay in Mexico, and find a job, said Cristina Reyes, an attorney at the Casa del Migrante, a Tijuana migrant shelter run by Catholic Scalabrinian missionaries.

Since May, the Casa has worked with 54 Central American migrants who are seeking to legalize their status. While Salvadorans often arrive with a document that allows them to be in the country, those from Honduras frequently do not, Reyes said. But in many cases Hondurans qualify for humanitarian visas, almost always because they have been victims of crime, she said.

Also staying in the region are dozens of participants in the Pueblo Sin Fronteras Caravan that drew the ire of President Trump last spring as it made its way across Mexico.

Of those who reached the Tijuana-San Diego border, 248 caravan participants sought asylum in the United States, while another 60 to 80 have opted remain behind, said Gina Garibo, the organizations special projects director. As of last week, 34 had pending applications with Mexicos National Migration Institute in Tijuana, she said.

Several caravan members and others interviewed in Tijuana last week said earning dollars and connecting with family in the United States remained powerful lures to crossing the border. But staying in Mexico was preferable to the likelihood of detention and deportation at the hands of U.S. authorities.

Gina Garibo of Pueblo Sin Fronteras speaks during a meeting with members of the caravan who have stayed behind in Tijuana. (David Maung)

Despite Tijuanas high homicide rates, several Central American migrants said they they felt far safer in Tijuana than areas across from Texas such as Tamaulipas, where they can be targeted by criminal gangs who kidnap and extort them.

Those with work permits have begun finding employment in the citys numerous maquiladora factories, while others have found jobs in bars and restaurants, on construction sites, in car washes and other places where employers dont always demand to see their documents.

There are some places that take advantage of the situation, because they know these people are undocumented, and work extended hours for terrible pay, Garibo said.

Zonia Alfaro was among several dozen Pueblo Sin Fronteras Caravan members granted humanitarian visas by the Mexican government in Hermosillo, and subsequently moved to Tijuana because she knew there was employment. Believe me, I have suffered, but here I am with a job, she said. Im not about to leave Tijuana.

Though sad that she is separated from her teenage children, who remained behind with her mother in Escuintla, Guatemala, she was upbeat Wednesday. She now works at a company that manufactures cereal boxes, and has found a room to rent in the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood.

Byron Hernandez Flores, 27, a farm worker from southern Honduras who also arrived with the Caravan, has been working two jobs  washing dishes at a sushi restaurant and as a part-time school janitor. His reasons for leaving Honduras were economic, and he knows he stands no chance of remaining if he turns himself in to U.S. authorities.

But as a crime victim in Tijuana  an assailant took a weeks earnings  he expects to soon receive a one-year humanitarian visa.

Soraya Vazquez, a longtime migrant activist, says Central Americans have been coming to Tijuana for years, but typically did not remain in the city for long. But now more are staying in the city as U.S. immigration policies have been hardening under President Trump.

People keep coming, they come in small numbers, said Vazquez, an attorney who is collaborating with the group Espacio Migrante. Because they look similar to Mexicans, and are for the most part Spanish-speaking, their presence often receives little notice, she said.

How the tougher U.S. immigration policies will ultimately play out at the border is still being defined. Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Attorney General, recently has issued new restrictions on asylum applications that make it harder for Central Americans fleeing gangs and domestic violence to even submit petitions.

At the same time, the United States has been pressing Mexico to sign a safe third country agreement that would allow U.S. authorities to turn back asylum seekers from Central America and other areas and require them to seek asylum in Mexico.

Even without the agreement, asylum applications received by the Mexican Commission For Refugee Assistance has been skyrocketing  from 1,292 petitions in 2013 to 14,596 last year, with applications expected to to rise even further this year.

Safe third country or not, I think Mexico is going to be a place where more people are seeking protection regardless of whether there is an agreement with the United States, said Maureen Meyer, an immigration specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America. Given that there is such an anti-refugee climate in the United States, people may increasingly consider Mexico as the place to be at least for the medium to short term.

Manuel Orellana, 37, said he tried to make a go of it in Honduras when he was deported from Florida in 2011 after overstaying his visa. With his savings, he opened a small grocery in San Pedro Sula, but soon became targeted by Mara gang members who demanded extortion payments.

When he refused, leaders ordered him killed, and he went into hiding. In 2013, he tried to leave Honduras, but was deported by Mexican immigration officials after he sought their help for an eye injury.

After two more years in hiding in Honduras, he returned to Mexico, this time asking for asylum. When his petition was granted last year, he bought a bus ticket for Tijuana.

I came with the intention of crossing, hoping that someone in the United States would understand that my situation is delicate, he said. But then I understood, that I wouldnt be able to cross.

The onetime university student is now working in a car wash, renting a room and volunteering at the Casa del Migrante. By living frugally, he manages to send money to support his seven-year-old daughter, his princesa who remains behind in Honduras.

I trust in God that all will be well, but I dont feel completely safe, he said. Its not like being at home.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleThe emerging architecture, design, art, culinary and cultural scenes of Tijuana will take center stage on Friday in a day-long event hosted by the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

We felt that people on this side of the border really dont know about this resurgence thats been taking place in Tijuana, said foundation president Margit Whitlock. Theyre building like crazy, they have an amazing culinary scene, they are making all kinds of craft beer, its kind of like South Park.

The tour, called Feast for the Heart: The Tijuana Renaissance, is the foundations first in Tijuana, and is a fundraiser for the organization. It includes a VIP bus tour from San Diego for 100 people already sold out  as well as a ticketed evening culinary fair reception at Tijuanas hilltop cultural center, the municipal Casa de la Cultura. It will be followed by a two-hour forum featuring speakers from both sides of the border.

The organizers are stressing the cross-border ties that connect Tijuana and San Diego. According to the program, the two cities are increasingly seen as a single urban region and economic zone with diverse backgrounds and common interests. So the question must be asked: Are we really one city or two?

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Speakers at the evening forum include some key actors in Tijuanas changing urban scene, including developers, architects, urban planners, as well as a historic preservationist.

Whitlock said the idea for the tour came about last year after she and other members of the foundations board of directors accepted an invitation to visit the city from the Bustamante Realty Group, which represents many of the citys high-end developments. We were just blown away by the quality of the architecture, Whitlock said.

Tickets for the culinary fair reception, (from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) and for the forum, (from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.), can be purchased at the door at the Casa de la Cultura above downtown Tijuana, Avenida Paris 5, Colonia Altamira. The cost to attend both is $75; $20 for students. A ticket for the forum alone is $20.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleIt has been 3,009 days since Esperanza Ramos two teenage sons were kidnapped in Tijuana.

On the morning of June 16, 2010 her boys  aged 18 and 17  were dragged out of their Jetta while driving to school. Kidnappers demanded the family pay a $500,000 ransom. The Ramoses desperately tried to find the cash but it was futile.

The boys are presumed dead, the kidnappers have not been arrested for the crime, and the family still waits for answers.

The last eight years have been a constant battle to get local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the case, Ramos said. The authorities here are completely apathetic, she said.

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To add insult to injury, the local police kept her sons Jetta during the investigation.

They didnt even want to give us the car back, Ramos said.

So when Ramos heard that federal officials from Mexico City responsible for reforming the countrys criminal justice system were visiting Tijuana Tuesday morning, she was joined by more than 200 crime victims throughout Baja California. She sat in the front row of the forum holding pictures of her missing sons, Jose and Edgar. Others filled the first two rows with their own pictures and signs demanding answers about the desaparecidos, or disappeared.

They attended what the Mexican government is calling a peace forum, an outreach campaign designed to connect crime victims to policy makers to address the countrys rising crime rates and shrinking confidence in the countrys legal system.

Those in attendance included relatives of those murdered by drug cartels, retired teachers accusing corrupt officials of spending their savings, LGBTQ activists demanding protection for Mexicos transgender population, and dozens of relatives of people who have been kidnapped in Tijuana.

Tuesdays headliner in Tijuana was the man responsible for the reforms: Alfonso Durazo, a Mexican Senator who was recently appointed by President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to oversee public security. Lopez Obrador takes office Dec. 1.

The idea of all of the forums is to listen to you and design policies to prevent future tragedies like the ones you are living, Durazo told the crowd at Universidad Iberoamericana in Tijuana.

Information collected during the forum will lay the foundation for new criminal justice policies the Lopez Obrador administration will implement to reduce crime and increase the quality of life in Mexico, Durazo said.

Some of the proposed policies from previous forums include reforming municipal police departments by increasing minimum salaries and improving training.

The president-elects team has also proposed legalizing marijuana and limiting amnesty to non-violent criminals connected to the drug trade.

The incoming administration also plans to change Mexicos approach to fighting the flow of narcotics by going after cartels finances instead of arresting senior cartel members, Durazo added.

In the first forum, held in Juarez on August 7, Lopez Obrador personally asked attendees to embrace forgiveness. Other forums have been held Morelia, Torreon, Curenavaca, and Acapulco.

But the people of Tijuana were more interested in justice.

No forgiveness without justice, members of the crowd chanted during parts of the forum.

Others shouted, Where are our children, and No more false promises.

The city is among the most violent in Mexico. There were 960 homicides in 2016 and 1,744 last year. This years numbers are on pace to surpass last years total, according to data from the Baja California Attorney Generals Office.

Durazo took notes and listened as speakers discussed different issues facing Tijuana.

They asked Durazo to prioritize prosecution of violence against women, migrants and the gay community. Others suggested the government stop using the military to combat local crime.

Durazo conceded that Mexicos crime problem is a long and complicated one with no simple solution. But he vowed immediate change to how law enforcement responds to crime.

This problem did not happen overnight and it would be irresponsible for me to say that it will be resolved overnight, he said. What will be immediate, is the quality of response from the government to the victims and the effort of the government to start working on those cases.

Officials hope to have a recap of Tuesdays forum ready later this week and plan to have a detailed list of proposals ready within two weeks.

Ramos has already waited eight years. She remains cautiously optimistic.

I hope something comes out of this, she said. At least Id like to know what happened to them.

Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or TwitterThe smell is what hits you first within a block of Baja Californias Medical Examiner office in Tijuana.

Its the unmistakable odor of rotting corpses, and a grim indication of a city overwhelmed by unprecedented levels of violence.

Officials in Tijuanas medical examiners office, an agency known as SEMEFO, have asked the state government for additional funding after operating for several months at nearly double its capacity for cadavers, on the heels of last years record violence.

Law enforcement officials on both sides of the border said the spike in violence is mostly because of lower-level drug dealers fighting over street corners.

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Judge Salvador Juan Ortiz Morales said the issue was urgent and called on the state government of Baja California to fund an additional refrigerator to hold an extra 100 bodies.

There are days where the smell is worse than others, said Marcela Lopez, who works in a laundromat downwind from Tijuanas SEMEFO.

The agencys capacity is between 130 to 150 bodies, but Dr. Cesar Raul Gonzales Vaca, the states director of SEMEFO, told Spanish-language media this week that the office is receiving at least double that amount. He said, at times, it is quadruple the capacity with up to 20 cadavers daily, or up to 600 bodies a month.

In 2018, the agency received more than 2,700 bodies, he said.

For families, who have lost loved ones, it means long waits and confusion because of a lack of personnel to assist members of the public during one of the worst moments of their lives.

There is order, but it does not happen fast, said Beatrice Espinoza who was at the SEMEFO on Friday to reclaim the body of a family member who had passed away more than a week ago.

Espinoza said she had been jumping through bureaucratic hoops since Tuesday with no one available at SEMEFO to explain the process to her as she tries to plan a funeral and retrieve her family members body. She declined to say how her loved one died.

I know its not the fault of the people who are working here. They are trying very hard with the resources they have, she said. Still, for me, Id rather just grieve and not have to come back here four times to sort out the paperwork because they dont have the personnel.

The facilitys 26-member staff, which includes 12 medical examiners, has struggled to examine the hundreds of bodies that have arrived since January 1.

About half of the autopsies are conducted on homicide victims, but medical examiners also must certify the causes of death of involuntary manslaughter victims and accidental deaths that could be suspicious.

Right now, Im just sad and I havent given much though to anything else, said Kimber Villa, who was waiting for her older brothers to come identify the body of her youngest brother.

She said he died accidentally in his home.

Its harder though because you wonder: How is he being treated in there? said Villa, still in shock about her brothers death.

Arturo Mendoza, who works at a funeral home nearby, said the facility has been struggling day and night with staffing issues, especially after increasing the hours they are open to the public.

Sometimes, people have a hard time getting their loved ones body back just because they have a lack of staffing, he said.

By law, SEMEFO will wait 15 days for the body of a loved one to be recovered before the deceased is buried in Tijuanas common grave.

With more than 2,500 homicides last year, the city of Tijuana, population of approximately 1.8 million, is one of Mexicos most violent places, as drug cartels compete for control over northern trafficking routes.

Gonzales said sometimes family members are afraid to come identify the bodies of their lost loved ones for fear of inserting themselves in police investigations.Silver Mining Stocks Fundamentals

The major silver miners have rallied higher on balance in recent months, enjoying a young upleg. Thats a welcome change after they suffered a miserable 2018. Times are tough for silver miners, since silvers prices have languished near extreme lows relative to gold. That has forced many traditional silver miners to increasingly diversify into gold. The major silver miners recently-released Q418 results illuminate their struggles.

Four times a year publicly-traded companies release treasure troves of valuable information in the form of quarterly reports. Required by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, these 10-Qs and 10-Ks contain the best fundamental data available to traders. They dispel all the sentiment distortions inevitably surrounding prevailing stock-price levels, revealing corporations underlying hard fundamental realities.

While 10-Qs with filing deadlines of 40 days after quarter-ends are required for normal quarters, 10-K annual reports are instead mandated after quarters ending fiscal years. Most silver miners logically run their accounting on calendar years, so they issue 10-Ks after Q4s. Since these annual reports are larger and must be audited by independent CPAs, their filing deadlines are extended to 60 days after quarter-ends.

The definitive list of major silver-mining stocks to analyze comes from the worlds most-popular silver-stock investment vehicle, the SIL Global X Silver Miners ETF. Launched way back in April 2010, it has maintained a big first-mover advantage. SILs net assets were running $362m in mid-March near the end of Q4s earnings season, 6.1x greater than its next-biggest competitors. SIL is the leading silver-stock benchmark.

In mid-March SIL included 21 component stocks, which are weighted somewhat proportionally to their market capitalizations. This list includes the worlds largest silver miners, including the biggest primary ones. Every quarter I dive into the latest operating and financial results from SILs top 17 companies. Thats simply an arbitrary number that fits neatly into the table below, but still a commanding sample.

As of mid-March these major silver miners accounted for fully 97.7% of SILs total weighting. In Q418 they collectively mined 75.5m ounces of silver. The latest comprehensive data available for global silver supply and demand came from the Silver Institute in April 2018. That covered 2017, when world silver mine production totaled 852.1m ounces. That equates to a run rate around 213.0m ounces per quarter.

Assuming that mining pace persisted to Q418, SILs top 17 silver miners were responsible for about 35% of world production. Thats relatively high considering just 28% of 2017s global silver output came from primary silver mines! 36% came from lead/zinc mines, 23% from copper, and 12% from gold. 7/10ths of all silver produced is merely an other-metals-mining byproduct. Primary silver mines and miners are fairly rare.

Scarce silver-heavy deposits are required to support primary silver mines, where over half their revenue comes from silver. They are increasingly difficult to discover and ever-more expensive to develop. And silvers challenging economics of recent years argue against miners even pursuing it. So even traditional major silver miners have shifted their investment focus into actively diversifying into far-more-profitable gold.

Silver price levels are best measured relative to prevailing gold prices, which overwhelmingly drive silver price action. Q418 saw the worst Silver/Gold Ratio witnessed in nearly a quarter century! The SGR collapsed to 86.3x in late November, an extreme 23.8-year secular low. The raw silver price fell under $14 in mid-November, a major 2.8-year low. With such a rotten silver environment, silver miners had to struggle.

The largest primary silver miners dominating SILs ranks are scattered around the world. 11 of the top 17 mainly trade in US stock markets, 3 in the United Kingdom, and 1 each in South Korea, Mexico, and Peru. SILs geopolitical diversity is good for investors, but makes it difficult to analyze and compare the biggest silver miners results. Financial-reporting requirements vary considerably from country to country.

In the UK companies report in half-year increments instead of quarterly. Some silver miners still publish quarterly updates, but their data is limited. In cases where half-year data is all that was made available, I split it in half for a Q4 approximation. Canada has quarterly reporting, but the deadlines are looser than in the States. Some Canadian miners trading in the US really drag their feet in getting quarterly results out.

The big silver companies in South Korea, Mexico, and Peru present other problems. Their reporting is naturally done in their own languages, which I cant read. Some release limited information in English, but even those translations can be difficult to interpret due to differing accounting standards and focuses. Its definitely challenging bringing all the quarterly data together for the diverse SIL-top-17 silver miners.

But analyzing them in the aggregate is essential to understand how they are faring. So each quarter I wade through all available operational and financial reports and dump the data into a big spreadsheet for analysis. Some highlights make it into this table. Blank fields mean a company hadnt reported that data by mid-March, as Q4s earnings season wound down. Some of SILs components report in gold-centric terms.

The first couple columns of this table show each SIL components symbol and weighting within this ETF as of mid-March. While most of these stocks trade on US exchanges, some symbols are listings from companies primary foreign stock exchanges. Thats followed by each miners Q418 silver production in ounces, along with its absolute year-over-year change. Next comes this same quarters gold production.

Nearly all the major silver miners in SIL also produce significant-to-large amounts of gold! Thats truly a double-edged sword. While gold really stabilizes and boosts silver miners cash flows, it also retards their stocks sensitivity to silver itself. So the next column reveals how pure these elite silver miners are, approximating their percentages of Q418 revenues actually derived from silver. This is calculated one of two ways.

The large majority of these top SIL silver miners reported total Q4 revenues. Quarterly silver production multiplied by silvers average price in Q4 can be divided by these sales to yield an accurate relative-purity gauge. When Q4 sales werent reported, I estimated them by adding silver sales to gold sales based on their production and average quarterly prices. But thats less optimal, as it ignores any base-metals byproducts.

Next comes the major silver miners most-important fundamental data for investors, cash costs and all-in sustaining costs per ounce mined. The latter directly drives profitability which ultimately determines stock prices. These key costs are also followed by YoY changes. Last but not least the annual changes are shown in operating cash flows generated and hard GAAP earnings, with a couple exceptions necessary.

Percentage changes arent relevant or meaningful if data shifted from positive to negative or vice versa, or if derived from two negative numbers. So in those cases I included raw underlying data rather than weird or misleading percentage changes. This whole dataset together offers a fantastic high-level read on how the major silver miners are faring fundamentally as an industry. They definitely struggled in Q4.

SILs performance certainly reflects the challenges of profitably mining silver when its price languishes so darned cheap. In 2018 SIL plunged 23.3%, amplifying silvers own 8.6% loss by 2.7x. Silvers weakest prices relative to gold in almost a quarter century wreaked havoc on silver-mining sentiment. Investors didnt want anything to do with silver miners, and their own managements seemed almost as bearish.

In Q418 silvers average price dropped 12.9% YoY to just $14.53. That was disproportionally worse than gold, which saw its average price decline 3.8% YoY. Such deep lows exacerbated the pall of despair that is plaguing the silver-mining industry. While production decisions arent made quarter by quarter, it sure felt like the seriously-weak silver prices were choking off output. Production is the lifeblood of silver miners.

The SIL top 17s collective silver production fell 3.9% YoY in Q418 to 75.5m ounces. Interestingly thats right in line with what the major gold miners of GDX experienced that quarter, a 4%ish YoY slide when adjusted for mega-mergers. The major silver miners could be experiencing a peak-gold-like decline in their silver production. Peak silver isnt discussed as much, but world silver mine output has been shrinking.

According to the Silver Institutes latest annual World Silver Survey current to 2017, world silver mined supply peaked at 895.1m ounces in 2015. It nosed over a slight 0.7% in 2016, but accelerated sharply to another 4.1% drop in 2017. So the SIL top 17s output contraction in Q418 is just continuing this trend. Silver mining has been starved of capital since 2013, when silver plummeted 35.6% on a 27.9% gold collapse!

Silver-mining stocks have been something of a pariah to even contrarian investors for much of the time since then. Thats left their prices largely drifting at relatively-low levels, making it more difficult to obtain financing to expand operations. Investors havent been interested in silver-stock shares, leaving miners wary of issuing more to raise capital with stock prices so low. That can really dilute existing shareholders.

With the major silver miners unable or unwilling to invest in developing new silver mines and expansions to offset their depleting output, it has to decline. 11 of the 15 top SIL components reporting Q418 silver production mined fewer ounces than in Q417. All 15 together averaged silver output shrinkage of 3.4% YoY. Thats a sharp contrast to these same miners gold production, which grew an average of 7.9% YoY.

In overall total terms, the SIL top 17s 1.4m ounces of gold mined in Q418 still slipped 1.5% YoY. But with total silver production sliding more than gold, the major silver miners long ongoing diversification into the yellow metal continued. At the bombed-out silver prices of recent years, the economics of gold mining are way superior to silver mining. The traditional major silver miners are painfully aware of this and acting on it.

Silver mining is as capital-intensive as gold mining, requiring similar large expenses to plan, permit, and construct new mines, mills, and expansions. It needs similar fleets of heavy excavators and haul trucks to dig and move the silver-bearing ore. Similar levels of employees are necessary to run silver mines. But silver generates much-lower cash flows than gold due its lower price. Silver miners have been forced to adapt.

The major silver miners continued their trend of diversifying into gold at silvers expense in Q418. SILs largest component Wheaton Precious Metals was a great example of this. It used to be known as Silver Wheaton, a pure silver-streaming play. Back in May 2017 it changed its name and symbol to reflect the fact it would increasingly diversify into gold. In Q217 WPM streamed 7,192k and 80k ounces of silver and gold.

Back then fully 61.9% of WPMs sales still came from silver, qualifying it as a primary miner. Fast-forward to Q418 and WPMs silver output plunged 27.1% YoY to 5,254k ounces! But its gold mined rose 10.5% YoY to 107k ounces. That pushed the implied percentage of WPMs revenues down to just 36.8% silver, way below the 50% primary threshold. Like it or not, the silver-mining industry is increasingly turning yellow.

This strategic shift is good and bad. The major silver miners growing proportion of gold output is helping these companies weather this long dark winter in silver prices. But lower percentages of sales generated from silver leaves their stock prices and SIL less responsive to silver price moves. Silver stocks leverage to silver is the main reason investors buy them and their ETFs. Their shift into gold is really degrading that.

In Q418 the top 17 SIL silver miners averaged just 39.6% of their sales from silver. Only Pan American Silver, First Majestic Silver, Silvercorp Metals, and Endeavour Silver qualified as primary silver miners with over half their revenues from the white metal. While still low, that 39.6% average of SIL was actually considerably better than Q417s 36.0% despite the ongoing transition into gold. But thats not a trend shift.

In Q417 SILs components included Tahoe Resources, which was bought out by Pan American Silver in mid-November. Tahoe owned what was once the worlds largest silver mine, Escobal in Guatemala. It produced 5,700k ounces in Q117! But Guatemalas government shut it down after a frivolous lawsuit by anti-mining activists. I last discussed the whole Tahoe saga in depth in my Q318 essay on silver miners results.

By Q417 Escobals production had dropped to zero, leaving Tahoes silver purity at 0.0%. That dragged down the SIL top 17s average, leaving it artificially low. But Pan American buying Tahoe for both its gold production and hopes of convincing Guatemala to allow Escobal to reopen killed Tahoes stock and purged it from SILs ranks. Endeavour Silver edged into the top 17 to take its place, with 59.6% of sales from silver.

If Tahoes silver purity is excluded from Q417s overall calculation while Endeavour is added, SIL would have averaged 39.9%. So in comparable terms Q418s 39.6% remains a declining trend. Primary silver miners continue to get rarer, they may even be a dying breed. That has forced SILs managers to really scrape the bottom of the barrel to find components to fill their ETF. Thats what happened with Korea Zinc.

This is no silver miner, but a base-metals smelter! In mid-March it commanded a hefty 13.2% weighting in SIL, over 1/8th the total. Ive searched and searched, but cant find English financial reports for this company. But in 2017 it reported smelting 66.2m ounces of silver, a 16.6m quarterly pace. I bet theres not a single SIL investor looking for base-metals-smelting exposure! Global X really ought to remove it entirely.

The capital allocated to Korea Zinc could be spread across the remaining SIL components proportionally, reallocating and modestly upping their weightings. But the fact Korea Zinc even ever made it into SIL is a testament to how rarified the ranks of major silver miners have become. That wont reverse unless silver mean reverts dramatically higher relative to gold and remains at much-better price levels for years on end.

With SIL-top-17 silver production sliding 3.9% YoY in Q418, the per-ounce mining costs shouldve risen proportionally. Silver-mining costs are largely fixed quarter after quarter, with actual mining requiring the same levels of infrastructure, equipment, and employees. So the lower production, the fewer ounces to spread minings big fixed costs across. SILs major silver miners indeed reported far-higher costs last quarter.

There are two major ways to measure silver-mining costs, classic cash costs per ounce and the superior all-in sustaining costs. Both are useful metrics. Cash costs are the acid test of silver-miner survivability in lower-silver-price environments, revealing the worst-case silver levels necessary to keep the mines running. All-in sustaining costs show where silver needs to trade to maintain current mining tempos indefinitely.

Cash costs naturally encompass all cash expenses necessary to produce each ounce of silver, including all direct production costs, mine-level administration, smelting, refining, transport, regulatory, royalty, and tax expenses. In Q418 these SIL-top-17 silver miners reported cash costs averaging $6.46 per ounce. While that surged 37.0% YoY, it still remains far below prevailing prices. Silver miners face no existential threat.

The major silver miners average cash costs vary considerably quarter-to-quarter, partially depending on whether or not Silvercorp Metals happens to be in the top 17 or not. This Canadian company mining in China has negative cash costs due to massive byproduct credits from lead and zinc. So over the past couple years, SIL-top-17 average cash costs have swung wildly ranging all the way from $3.95 to $6.75.

Way more important than cash costs are the far-superior all-in sustaining costs. They were introduced by the World Gold Council in June 2013 to give investors a much-better understanding of what it really costs to maintain silver mines as ongoing concerns. AISCs include all direct cash costs, but then add on everything else that is necessary to maintain and replenish operations at current silver-production levels.

These additional expenses include exploration for new silver to mine to replace depleting deposits, mine-development and construction expenses, remediation, and mine reclamation. They also include the corporate-level administration expenses necessary to oversee silver mines. All-in sustaining costs are the most-important silver-mining cost metric by far for investors, revealing silver miners true operating profitability.

The SIL-top-17 silver miners reported average AISCs of $13.28 in Q418, surging 31.0% higher YoY! That is troubling, climbing vexingly close to silvers latest major secular low of $13.99 in mid-November. While Q119s average silver price of $15.55 so far is much better, these profit margins are still tight for a long-struggling industry. Thankfully the major silver miners cost structure is better than that number implies.

The highest AISCs by far in Q4 came from SSR Mining, which was formerly known as Silver Standard Resources. They climbed another 11.7% YoY to nosebleed levels of $20.45 per ounce! But thats not a normal situation. SSRM too is shifting into gold, gradually winding down its old Pirquitas silver mine. As it depletes, there are fewer ounces to spread its fixed costs of mining across which drives up per-ounce costs.

Excluding SSRM, the rest of the SIL top 17 reporting AISCs in Q418 averaged a more-reasonable $12.48 per ounce. And these major silver miners providing AISC outlooks for 2019 projected similar levels near $12.70. This is still on the high side, as the SIL top 17s AISCs ran $10.14, $10.92, $10.93, and $13.53 in the preceding four quarters. But $12.48 is still profitable even with silver seriously languishing relative to gold.

Silver-mining profits really leverage higher silver prices, and big earnings growth attracts in investors to bid up stock prices. In Q418 silver averaged $14.53 per ounce. At the SIL top 17s average AISCs ex-SSRM of $12.48, that implies the major silver miners as an industry were earning profits of $2.05 per ounce. Those are going to grow majorly this quarter. The almost-over Q119 has seen silver average $15.55.

With Q4s AISCs among the highest silver miners have reported in years, they could very well decline in Q1. But assume they remain stable near $12.48. That implies the major silver miners earned about $3.07 per ounce in Q1. A mere 7.0% quarter-on-quarter silver rally could catapult silver-mining profits a massive 49.8% higher QoQ! This awesome profits leverage to silver is why silver stocks amplify silvers upside.

Of course the greater a silver miners exposure to silver, the more its stock will surge as silver advances. First Majestic Silver had the highest silver purity in Q4 at 63.7% of its revenues derived from silver. Thus AGs stock should thrive with higher silver prices. But SSR Minings mere 12.5% silver purity pretty much leaves silver irrelevant. As SSRM is overwhelmingly a primary gold miner, higher silver wont move the needle.

So investors who want classic silver-stock exposure to leverage silver uplegs need to be smart about how they deploy capital. While buying SIL is easy, it is dominated by primary gold miners. And who on earth wants over 1/8th of their investment wasted in a giant base-metals smelter? The greatest gains in future silver uplegs will come in the stocks with the most silver exposure. They are what investors need to own.

Despite slowing silver production and their ongoing diversification into gold, the major silver miners still remain well-positioned to see huge profits growth as silver marches higher. Especially the primary ones. But with silver hammered to major secular lows in Q418, the accounting results of the SIL-top-17 silver miners were quite weak. 3.9%-lower production combined with 12.9%-lower average silver prices wasnt pretty.

The following accounting comparisons exclude SILs largest component WPM. For some reason it waits until the end of March to report Q4 results, which is incredibly disrespectful to its shareholders. Q4 data is getting stale with Q1 ending. Theres no excuse to delay reporting with modern automated accounting systems gathering all data in real-time. For workflow reasons I had to write this essay before WPM reported.

Ex-WPM, the SIL top 17 sold $3.4b worth of metals in Q418, which was down 10.9% YoY. Given lower silver production and much-lower silver prices that was relatively good. But cash flows generated from operations collapsed 52.5% YoY to $444m in Q4. That means less capital available to finance mine expansions and new mine builds. Overall corporate treasuries at these companies fell 33.0% YoY to $2.6b.

Surprisingly the hard-GAAP-earnings picture actually improved over Q417, though still remained weak. Excluding WPM, the SIL-top-17 silver miners lost $202m in Q418. That cut in half Q417s total losses of $412m. But both quarters accounting profits were skewed by big non-cash impairment charges. When lower-silver-price forecasts reduce economic reserves at mines, those perceived losses must be recognized.

AG wrote off $168m of its mines carrying value on its books in Q418 due to lower reserves driven by lower metals prices. The grades within individual ore bodies vary widely. Silver that is economic to mine at $20 might not be worth extracting at $15, so companies have to cut their reserves and flush those non-cash losses through their income statements. PAAS reported a smaller $28m impairment charge as well.

Together these two $196m writedowns alone accounted for 97% of the major silver miners Q4 losses. But even without them most of the other SIL top 17 still reported mild-to-moderate GAAP losses with the silver prices so darned low. The comparable Q417 results had big writedowns too, primarily $547m by Volcan to meet new accounting standards demanded by another company that bought 55% of its stock.

While the major gold miners had no excuse for their huge impairment charges in Q418 since gold was stable last year, silver miners did since silver was hammered. As silver mean reverts higher with gold and outpaces its rallying, the major silver miners GAAP profits will improve radically. That will attract in a lot more investors, especially to the primary silver miners. Those capital inflows ought to drive massive gains.

Silvers last major upleg erupted in essentially the first half of 2016, when silver soared 50.2% higher on a parallel 29.9% gold upleg. SIL blasted 247.8% higher in just 6.9 months, a heck of a gain for major silver stocks. But the purer primary silver miners did far better. The purest major silver miner First Majestics stock was a moonshot, skyrocketing a staggering 633.9% higher in that same short span! SILs gains are muted.

The key takeaway here is avoid SIL. The worlds leading silver-stock ETF is increasingly burdened with primary gold miners with insufficient silver exposure. And having over 1/8th of your capital allocated to silver miners squandered in Korea Zinc is sheer madness! If you want to leverage silvers coming huge mean reversion higher relative to gold, its far better to deploy in smaller purer primary silver miners alone.

One of my core missions at Zeal is relentlessly studying the silver-stock world to uncover the stocks with superior fundamentals and upside potential. The trading books in both our popular weekly and monthly newsletters are currently full of these better gold and silver miners. Mostly added in recent months as these stocks recovered from deep lows, our unrealized gains are already running as high as 87% this week!

If you want to multiply your capital in the markets, you have to stay informed. Our newsletters are a great way, easy to read and affordable. They draw on my vast experience, knowledge, wisdom, and ongoing research to explain whats going on in the markets, why, and how to trade them with specific stocks. As of Q4 weve recommended and realized 1076 newsletter stock trades since 2001, averaging annualized realized gains of +16.1%! Thats nearly double the long-term stock-market average. Subscribe today for just $12 per issue!

The bottom line is the major silver miners are struggling. With silver falling to nearly a quarter-century low relative to gold in Q4, the miners results were naturally weak. Mining costs surged as production kept waning, reflecting the ongoing trend of major silver miners increasingly diversifying into gold. But silver-mining profits are still primed to explode higher as silver continues climbing in its young upleg with gold.

There arent enough major primary silver miners left to flesh out their own ETF, which is probably why SIL is dominated by gold miners. While it will rally with silver amplifying its gains, SILs upside potential is just dwarfed by the remaining purer silver stocks. Investors will be far-better rewarded buying them instead of settling for a watered-down silver-miners ETF. Their stocks will really surge as silver continues recovering.

Adam Hamilton, CPA

So how can you profit from this information? We publish an acclaimed monthly newsletter, Zeal Intelligence , that details exactly what we are doing in terms of actual stock and options trading based on all the lessons we have learned in our market research. Please consider joining us each month for tactical trading details and more in our premium Zeal Intelligence service at  www.zealllc.com/subscribe.htm

Questions for Adam? I would be more than happy to address them through my private consulting business. Please visit www.zealllc.com/adam.htm for more information.

Thoughts, comments, or flames? Fire away at zelotes@zealllc.com . Due to my staggering and perpetually increasing e-mail load, I regret that I am not able to respond to comments personally. I will read all messages though and really appreciate your feedback!

Copyright 2000 - 2019 Zeal Research ( www.ZealLLC.com )

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.



Myanmars Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to rule on an appeal filed by lawyers for two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in prison for their reporting on Myanmars brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.

Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo remained in Insein Prison while their lawyers attended the courts first hearing on their appeal in the capital, Naypyitaw. The prisoners wives also came to the court hearing, bringing their young children.

The reporters convictions for violating the countrys Official Secrets Act have been condemned by rights groups, Western governments and global press associations. They also have highlighted freedom of expression problems in Myanmar, even after it transitioned from military rule to an elected government under Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Supporters of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo contend the two were framed because of official displeasure over their reporting on the crackdown by security forces on members of the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state.

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More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh following the crackdown, which began in August 2017. Critics have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing, or even genocide, on the part of Myanmar security forces.

The Supreme Court appeal contends that lower court rulings involved errors in judicial procedure. An appeal in January to a lower court was rejected on the grounds that the reporters lawyers failed to submit enough evidence to prove that Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were innocent.

Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said Tuesday that in a 1 1/2-hour submission to the court, he cited 13 grounds on which he believed judicial procedure had been violated.

Tuesdays decision by the court means the reporters lawyers will meet again with the judge, who could sustain the appeal if he determines that legal procedure had been violated. In that case, all the rulings from the lower court would be vacated, which could result in the reporters being freed, or having their sentences reduced, or facing new judicial action, according to Khin Maung Zaw.

If the appeal is dismissed, the actions of the lower courts would remain valid. It appears the law could still allow some further opportunities for review of the case, as well as the opportunity to ask for a pardon.

No date was set for the next appearance before the judge.

Today, we hoped together for the best and believed that our family could be united as soon as possible, said Chit Su Win, Kyaw Soe Oos wife.

Pan Ei Mon, Wa Lones wife, said she believed the judge would rule according to reason on the basis of the arguments put forward by the mens lawyers.

I dont quite understand well about the judiciary, she said. But I simply want to be united with my husband and I want both of them to be home as soon as possible.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.The date for the U.K.'s departure from the European Union was seemingly chiseled in stone  March 29, 2019. When it finally arrived with no Brexit, Europeans could only shake their heads in frustrated disbelief.

They saw three years of bluster on how Britain would leave the EU on its own terms dissolve Friday with the last of three votes in Parliament that failed to approve Prime Minister Theresa Mays divorce deal, leaving an uncertain course.

There was no game plan. Well, no strategy, Philippe Lamberts, a key member of the European Parliaments Brexit steering group, said of the British approach in an interview with The Associated Press.

Few in Britain would disagree.

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For decades, the bloc was the target of ridicule in Britain for what was perceived as European hubris and an inefficient bureaucracy. But on Friday, there was very little gloating on the continent as May failed to get the deal through the U.K. Parliament, sending London deeper into the Brexit morass.

We have resisted the temptation to position the (EU) Commission in terms of sentiments, said EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas. We dont do that.

The EU called another emergency summit for April 10, two days ahead of a new withdrawal date. A chaotic no-deal departure scenario is expected to be costly to U.K. businesses and inconvenient at its border. May said there would be grave implications.

The EU doesnt want to inflame passions even more, because it also stands to suffer, with hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of jobs at stake for a U.K. exit without transitional measures in place.

In Brexit, everybody loses, said Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka, a vice rector of the College of Europe, speaking at a branch in Natolin, Poland. Brexit diminishes both the EU and the U.K.

There was frustration among EU officials who felt that they and their star negotiator Michel Barnier did their part and Britain didnt.

Even Nigel Farage, a British driving force behind Brexit and staunch EU opponent, has nothing but admiration for Barnier who kept 27 nations aligned as one while Britain, as one, crumbled into chaos.

Oh, in terms of doing his job. Goodness gracious me. Look, you know, I wish he was on my team and not their team, Farage, a member of the European Parliament, told the AP.

Almost three years after the June 23, 2016, Brexit referendum, the British government and Parliament seem to be still at a loss over what they really wants from the EU.

Britain is at a dead end, said Nathalie Loiseau, who was Frances Europe Minister until she resigned this week to run in the May 23-26 EU elections. Europeans have other priorities than having to wait until the U.K. takes a decision.

What also is in tatters is a European admiration of Britain as a symbol of a well-run parliamentary democracy, with its sometimes brilliant discourse and vigorous debate.

Lamberts said he was stunned at how Mays Conservative Party as well as those in the Labour Party seemed to act in their own interests, rather than the needs of the country.

Its the inability to build compromise, Lamberts said. Thats it. Party above country, in the most brutal sense of the word.

Manfred Weber, a European lawmaker from Germany and center-right candidate to head the European Commission, said the repeated rejection of the deal highlighted a failure of the political class in Great Britain  theres no other way to describe it.

Some saw Fridays events as another blow to Britains international standing.

The British have given the world a great deal, from modern parliamentarism to the world title in the discipline of muddling through, historian Michael Stuermer wrote in a front-page commentary in German daily Die Welt.

Now, however, the damage to the countrys reputation is unmistakable.

___

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.A German court has ordered weekly magazine Der Spiegel to pull passages from an article that said an exiled Iranian opposition group engaged in torture and psychoterror, saying the article didnt support the allegations.

The Hamburg state court said in its ruling that it would fine the magazine 250,000 euros (about $282,000) if the passages about a Mujahedeen-e-Khalq camp in Albania werent removed.

Der Spiegel told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday it was considering whether to appeal. The passages from the Feb. 16 issue still appeared online.

The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq welcomed the ruling, saying the article spread a wealth of lies and false allegations about the group.

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The ruling came at a difficult time for Spiegel. An internal investigation revealed in December that a star reporter for the magazine fabricated parts of multiple stories.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.A Turkish employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul appeared in court Tuesday charged with espionage and attempting to overthrow the Turkish government in a case that further frayed ties between the two NATO allies.

The trial against Metin Topuz, a translator and assistant for the Drug Enforcement Agency at the consulate, opened in Istanbul nearly a year and a half after his arrest in October 2017. He has been held in pre-trial detention since then.

Topuz is accused of links to U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the Turkish government blames for the 2016 coup attempt, and faces a life sentence if convicted.

I never betrayed my country or my nation as its been claimed, a weeping Topuz said in court. The charges against me are humiliating for me and my family. I am innocent.

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The 59-year-old Turkish national told the court he had never had any relations with the treacherous group, referring to Gulens network, which Turkey considers a terror group.

Topuzs arrest led to the suspension of bilateral visa services between the U.S. and Turkey for more than two months in 2017 and is one of several contentious issues that have increased tensions between Ankara and Washington.

In the 78-page indictment, Topuz is accused of links to police officers and a prosecutor who led a 2013 corruption investigation that implicated top Turkish officials.

The Turkish government accuses those officers of links to Gulen and of attempting a judicial coup through the investigation. Among the 30 complainants against Topuz are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former ministers.

During my 25 years of work with the DEA, I have met many police officers and public officials, exchanging numbers and business cards, Topuz said in his trial testimony.

Topuz began working at the consulate in 1982 as a switchboard operator and was promoted to work as an investigative assistant and translator to the DEAs American personnel in Turkey a decade later.

He explained to the three-judge panel that his work for the DEA involved contacts with Turkish security forces, especially narcotic officers, in drug-related investigations and informational exchanges on combatting drug use. Topuz said he was also involved in security preparations during visits by U.S. presidents.

Topuz argued that the prosecutor only took into account contacts he had with officers allegedly linked to Gulen and ignored conversations he had with hundreds of other officers.

Topuz said he communicated for work with public employees of the Turkish state and cannot be expected to know or identify officers with alleged links to Gulen.

I would never have thought Id be blamed for my translation work, he said.

Hes also accused of privacy violations and illegally recording personal data. The indictment includes telephone calls, text messages, CCTV frame grabs with suspected police officers, along with testimonies from four witnesses and two suspects.

Topuz called witness statements against him imaginary, baseless and slanderous.

Speaking to journalists before the trial, Topuzs lawyer, Halit Akalp, said the defense team would request his release.

Our expectation is Mr. Topuzs release, the lawyer said.

Once an ally, the Turkish government declared Gulen and his network a terror group in 2014 following the anti-corruption investigations. Tens of thousands of police officers have been dismissed and many were arrested for alleged links.

Turkey is demanding that the U.S. extradite Gulen, who lives in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania.

Diplomatic relations crumbled last summer and precipitated a fall of the Turkish national currency over the detention of an American pastor. Erdogan had previously suggested that Turkey would release Pastor Andrew Brunson in exchange for Gulen.

Brunson was convicted of terror links but allowed to go home to the U.S. in October, removing a major irritant in fraught ties.

A top U.S. official in February said the diplomatic missions single most important priority was securing the freedom of our unjustly detained employees.

Mete Canturk, another Turkish employee of the consulate, is under house arrest in a related investigation. Hamza Ulucay, a Turkish translator of the U.S. mission in southern Adana province was convicted of terror-related charges earlier this year but released from prison.

U.S. diplomats, including Charge dAffaires Jeffrey Hovenier and Istanbul Consul General Jennifer Davis, were attending the three-day hearing, which is expected to continue until Thursday.

I want my freedom, my happiness, Topuz said.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Another person has been charged with killing a 26-year-old man in southeast Iowa.

Authorities say 30-year-old Caesar CJ Davison, of Chicago, was served Thursday with an Iowa murder warrant as he was returned from Illinois. Des Moines County court records dont list the name of an attorney who could comment for him. Hed been held in Illinois for a parole violation, and he denied while being questioned there that he was involved in the Iowa slaying.

Prosecutors say Davison conspired with four other people to kill Demarcus Peanut Chew, who was fatally shot in a car outside his mothers Burlington apartment on Sept. 10, 2017.

One of them, Antoine Spann, pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after making a deal with prosecutors. Spanns plea agreement says he must testify against any others charged in the slaying.

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Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.A young Chicago off-duty police officer was gunned down in a parked car by a man who was looking for a Hispanic person to attack after a confrontation at a fast-food restaurant, the citys police chief said Monday.

I guess he settled for the first Hispanic he saw, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.

Murder charges were filed in the weekend slaying of John Rivera . The 23-year-old was repeatedly shot while sitting in a car with three friends after visiting a pizza bar early Saturday in Chicagos River North area. Another person was injured.

The alleged gunman, Menelik Jackson, 24, of South Holland, was charged with murder and attempted murder, along with Jovan Battle, 32, of Chicago.

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Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke ordered the two men held without bond.

Both gentlemen pose a real and present threat to the victims, the live victims in this case, this community and every other human being on the planet that they come into contact with, the judge said.

Assistant Public Defender Christopher Anderson, who is representing Battle, said his client was denied the opportunity to make phone calls at the police station. He added Battle is unemployed and receives Social Security assistance for bipolar disorder and depression.

Attorney Robert Willis said Jackson has an associates degree and works at a specialty auto parts shop.

Battle met up with Jackson and a third individual to track down the people involved in the altercation at the restaurant, Assistant States Attorney James Murphy said. He added Battle pointed at the car Rivera was in several times before the suspects approached the vehicle.

Surveillance camera video clearly shows Jackson pulling out a handgun and aim directly at the drivers window of the car Rivera was sitting in, Murphy said.

Johnson said Jackson had tried to become a police officer in 2017, which he described as disgusting.

He said Jackson, who is black, was looking for revenge after a dispute with Hispanic men on a party bus at a nearby McDonalds. An hour later, around 3:30 a.m., shots were fired into the parked car. No words were spoken, according to police.

Rivera had been a Chicago officer for nearly two years.

Johns a sweetheart. Hes an angel, said friend Jennifer Navarro, 23. Why would someone just want to take his life away like that? He had a whole life ahead of him.

Investigators are searching for the third man who was with Battle and Jackson during the shooting, Johnson said.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.A former Goodwill employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for secretly recording bathroom videos of workers at a suburban Indianapolis store.

WRTV-TV reports Ritchie Hodges was given his punishment Thursday. As part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, the station says Hodges agreed to the destruction of his desktop computer, laptop and external hard drives that had been seized during the investigation.

Police were called to the Goodwill store in Fishers in February 2018 after a worker found a hidden camera.

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Several employees of Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana have sued the organization , saying it failed to protect them Hodges. The registered sex offender in 2012 was convicted of child pornography and voyeurism for using a hidden camera in a bathroom in Boone County.

___

Information from: WRTV-TV, https://www.theindychannel.com/index.html

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Massachusetts State Police are searching for a suspect in connection with a shooting at a hotel in suburban Boston.

Police say they initially responded to a reported active shooter situation at the Crown Plaza in Natick around 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The hotel was evacuated while authorities searched for possible suspects and victims.

Authorities say they are still looking for a possible gunshot victim who is no longer at the scene. They were unable to find any victims at the hotel.

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More information on what prompted the shooting was not immediately known.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.The owner of a Maryland farm is going to trial after dozens of horses were found dead and decaying as more than 100 others were neglected and starving on her property.

The Daily Times of Salisbury reports 75-year-old Barbara Pilchard is set to appear in court Tuesday morning on charges of animal cruelty, neglect and abuse.

Pilchard was indicted last summer after authorities responding to a report of decaying horse corpses at the 2-acre farm on the states Eastern Shore saw the severity of the situation.

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said previous allegations of horse neglect against Pilchard werent sufficiently supported by evidence.

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He says the living horses were starving and had broken into the home in an attempt to find food. They were placed with rescue groups.

___

Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., https://www.delmarvanow.com/

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Gold Price Sharp C-Wave Drop?

Clive Maund sees some rough waters with gold and discusses how to play it. I have not been happy about the pattern that has been forming in gold since it plunged rather rudely and sharply around the end of February. The concern that was engendered by that plunge and the accompanying momentum breakdown, that we can see on gold's latest 8-month chart below, were allayed by its managing to stabilize above its parabolic uptrend line and then rise off it. However, the rally this month has been hesitant and unconvincing, and it is now becoming clearer that it may be a B-wave bear Flag to be followed by a C-wave breakdown through the parabolic uptrend support line that would lead to a sharp drop probably towards or to the support shown in the $1240 area, where it would stabilize before later reversing to the upside again. If this is the scenario that is set to unfold, it is likely to happen soon, as the bear Flag looks about complete.

Obviously a near-term $70 or so drop by gold will inflict some pretty heavy damage on many precious metals stocks. We therefore require a strategy or strategies to deal with it. Basically the choice is to set close stops that take you out of most precious metals sector investments if gold breaches the parabolic uptrend, or alternatively, if you want to stay long, the losses can be cancelled out by hedging using Puts, using perhaps a mix of Puts in gold proxy GLD (SPDR Gold Trust) and in the gold miners 3X leveraged bull ETF NUGT (Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X Shares), where it should be noted that spreads are considerably wider than with GLD, and there are other possibilities.

If you get taken out of your positions due to such a drop, you then aim to buy them back at a better price as gold arrives at the support shown on our chart. Note that what is set out here overrides most comments made on individual stocks, which is because they are like sheep and tend to all move together during bigger sector moves. Finally, if you agree with what is set out here, you don't need to wait to take this evasive action, and sell at lower prices by being taken out by stops, and also pay higher prices for Puts, you can take evasive action immediately. The scenario set out here would only start to be negated by a gold breakout above the top line of its bear Flag.

Posted at 7.40 am EDT on 27th March 2019 on CliveMaund.com.

Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years' experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. 2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts provided by the author.

CliveMaund.com Disclosure: The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.



A South Carolina man accused of driving around a college campus without pants on has been arrested.

Winthrop University police Lt. Charles Yearta tells The State newspaper that 23-year-old David Nathaniel Atkinson was arrested Saturday and charged with indecent exposure.

Yearta said two students looking out the window of their dorm before 8 p.m. saw a man without pants in a car.

Yearta said Atkinson isnt a student at Winthrop University and has no known affiliation with the school in Rock Hill.

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York County Sheriffs Office spokesman Trent Faris told the newspaper that Atkinson was released Sunday after posting $10,000 bail. It wasnt immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

The newspaper reports that Atkinson was previously convicted of indecent exposure in December 2016 in Alamance County, North Carolina.

___

Information from: The State, https://www.thestate.com

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is riding in the back of a rented minivan to his last event of the day in South Carolina, munching on cold french fries and critiquing his stage performance so far.

The enthusiastic crowds of hundreds whove packed his first two stops have been much larger than the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and his team expected. Its wonderful, he says, but the cheering and prolonged applause are messing with his delivery. Sometimes he neglects to pause, and his next words are drowned out. Other times people start clapping when he doesnt expect it.

I need to relearn the timing of my stump speech, Buttigieg says. Ive been used to a format where I go in, theres 50 people, I do my little spiel and then we have some Q&A and hopefully they walk away impressed. Now every one of these things we put on the calendar as a meet and greet is turning out to be a rally.

Buttigieg, a veteran and Rhodes scholar, was the longest of long shots when he announced a presidential exploratory committee in January. No mayor has ever been elected president, much less one from a community of roughly 100,000 people in the middle of America, and Buttigieg is barely old enough to be eligible for the job.

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But his underdog bid is gaining momentum, and the clean-cut guy known to most people as Mayor Pete can feel it. Now he has to figure out how to turn one of the first surprises of the nascent race for the Democratic nomination into a full-fledged presidential campaign  and one that isnt remembered as a mere quirk.

The buzz helps, Buttigieg says. But you want to make sure that you have enough substance and enough organization that any kind of flavor-of-the-month period is something you can outlive.

Besides the crowds and the cheering, Buttigieg has seen increasing national media attention, from Fox News to MSNBC and his second appearance on ABCs The View. After a breakout performance in a CNN town hall earlier this month, Buttigiegs team says he raised roughly $600,000 from 22,000 donors in just over 24 hours. He has now received enough individual contributions to qualify for a spot on the Democratic debate stage this summer.

But theres still plenty of work to do, starting with raising money and hiring staff. Buttigieg said his goal early on was to raise $1 million by the end of the first quarter on March 31, adding, Were definitely there. Hes fairly confident theyll have the funds needed for a healthy operation, at least in the early stages. But he also wants to show well when all candidates first-quarter totals become public  the first time this cycle that campaigns are required to file campaign finance reports.

I think we benefit from the fact that its graded on a curve, Buttigieg said. No one is expecting us to raise as though I were a senator from Florida or from a big city. But weve got to show that we can compete at this level.

Buttigieg also plans to double the size of his roughly 20-person team in the new few weeks, in preparation for an official campaign launch. He doesnt have an advance team - those campaign staffers who coordinate events on-site before the candidate arrives, hang campaign signs and ensure someone is capturing emails and phone numbers for every person who walks in the door.

Volunteers and local Democratic officials handled most of those duties during Buttigiegs swing Saturday through South Carolina, site of the Souths first primary. Instead of professionally printed banners, someone hung poster boards with messages handwritten in black marker urging attendees to tweet photos and video using several different hashtags and Twitter handles. When Buttigieg took questions from the crowd in Rock Hill, there were no microphones for people in the audience, forcing him to ask a woman at the back of the gymnasium to shout her question  twice  so he could hear.

None of that seemed to bother voters. After his event in Columbia, Christina Goodwin, 32, called Buttigieg exciting and said hed moved into her top three list, along with Sens. Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, despite her misgivings about supporting another white man for president in 2020.

Goodwin, like other voters, said shes been picking up bits of intriguing information about Buttigieg through social media that have piqued her interest. That he learned to speak Norwegian, for instance, so he could read more books by a Norwegian author, Erlend Loe. Buttigieg, who speaks seven languages, demonstrated some of his language skills when a Norwegian media crew showed up to ask questions after the Columbia event. (He also speaks French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Dari and Maltese, the language of his fathers home country.)

Buttigieg also plays piano and has been known to join local performers on stage in South Bend  video of which sometimes pops up on social media. When he was applying to his alma mater, Harvard, he won the Profiles in Courage essay contest with a piece about an independent then-congressman from Vermont whom he admired: Bernie Sanders. They would speak years later, when the senator called in 2017 to encourage him to drop out of the race for Democratic National Committee chairman, which Buttigieg later did.

Buttigieg believes hes gaining support because people are looking for something different and a more hopeful message to combat President Donald Trump.

The openly gay former lieutenant in the Navy Reserve uses his stump speech to talk about how political decisions have shaped his life, and how much is at stake in 2020. He recalls writing a letter to his family before he deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 so they could read it if he didnt return. He also talks about his marriage to his husband, which exists by the grace of a single vote on the U.S. Supreme Court - a line that generated some of his biggest applause during his trip through South Carolina.

Friends Catherine Paquin, 36, and Jonah Burrell, 37, attended Buttigiegs stop in Greenville wearing Mayor Pete 2020" T-shirts they bought off Amazon.com.

Burrell, who is gay, said its really cool to have an openly gay man in the race, but its not the main reason hes supporting Buttigieg.

That calm demeanor, the way he speaks is smart, Burrell said. You can tell he thinks about all his answers. Hes done his research.

And those doubters who say Buttigieg doesnt stand a chance?

I think they underestimate him, Paquin said.

Wrapping up his remarks in Greenville, Buttigieg noted thats happening less these days than it did a few months ago, when hardly anyone knew his name.

I dont know whether we can pull this off, but Im feeling pretty good about it, he said.

___

Follow Sara Burnett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sara_burnett

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.When Florida authorities shut down 10 massage spas last month and charged hundreds of men with buying sex, they broke a longstanding pattern of meting out minor charges and punishment for owners, letting patrons off scot-free and turning a mostly blind eye to signs of human trafficking.

An Associated Press review of state records over the past decade shows that while police officers and sheriffs deputies in Florida have investigated hundreds of individual massage parlors within their own counties for illegal sexual activity, it was usually low-level massage therapists who were arrested, while owners mostly were exempted or charged with misdemeanors resulting in fines and probation. Johns usually were not charged at all.

In stark contrast, the investigation announced last month spanned several jurisdictions between Palm Beach and Orlando and focused heavily on the possibility of widespread human trafficking. Several spa owners, most of them women originally from China, were charged with felony racketeering and money laundering and could face years in prison.

Authorities also charged 300 men accused of being patrons, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former Citigroup President John Havens. Authorities say Kraft was twice recorded on video engaging in and then paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, located in a shopping center in Jupiter. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

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Florida has more than 8,600 licensed massage therapy establishments. Its difficult to know how many of them sell sex, based on the records. Nationwide, the anti-trafficking advocacy group Polaris estimates there are 9,000 massage establishments with therapists who are trafficked from other places and forced to provide sex acts.

The AP reviewed records from more than 150 Florida Department of Health cases involving massage parlors whose licenses had been revoked, suspended or voluntarily surrendered in the past decade.

Of the spas that lost their licenses, almost 40 percent had massage therapists involved in sexual activity, the AP found. Sex cases were found statewide, in 26 of the states 67 counties, with the tourism-heavy Orlando area having the most.

Few of the cases resulted in charges of human trafficking, and those that did ended with only minor punishments.

In 2017, Mi Cha Jones, owner of the Jee Jee spa in Miami Beach, was charged with two felony counts of human trafficking and one felony count of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Jones was sentenced to only two years of probation after pleading guilty to the latter count in 2018.

Nearly five years ago, investigators found clear evidence of prostitution and a potential sign of human trafficking  women living on the premises  at the O Asian Wellness Spa and Massage in Boca Raton. The spas owner was facing a minimum of four years and maximum of 35 years in prison, but was sentenced to only nine months in jail and probation after a plea deal. None of the johns who patronized the parlor were charged at all.

In 2013, an inspector found three rooms with beds, clothes, computers, cellphones, desks and a refrigerator full of food at Serenity Massage in Tampa. The owner admitted massage therapists were living there but was ultimately only fined. There was no indication any investigation into human trafficking was ever launched.

Florida Department of Health spokesman Brad Dalton said revoking a spas license is the most severe punishment available to the departments Board of Massage Therapy. Any action above that would have to come from law enforcement, Dalton said.

A tougher stance is being championed by Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, whose agency spearheaded the current investigation after receiving a tip from a state health investigator.

When I saw the videos of the women being used ... I began to change my whole thoughts and view of it, said Snyder, a former state lawmaker who sponsored a 2012 bill that made human trafficking illegal in Florida. He was elected sheriff that same year.

Still, it remains to be seen whether anything will truly change.

No one has yet been charged with human trafficking, something Snyder said can be difficult to prove, especially if women dont testify against their abusers. He said many of the women fear deportation, even though they could be eligible for a visa if they cooperated. They also fear traffickers will harm their families back home, he said.

And while hundreds of men identified as johns have been accused, Kraft and others have been charged only with misdemeanors that prosecutors have offered to drop if they agree to participate in a diversion program. Jail time for johns, what Snyder sees as the holistic answer to stemming human trafficking, looks highly unlikely.

Still, the sheriff says he hopes the national spotlight that has shone on the Kraft case will make other potential clients think twice before risking a visit to an illicit massage parlor.

I have come to understand that as long as there is a demand, there will be a supply, he said. Even if the demand diminishes microscopically and a few women in some forlorn province in China are not enticed to come here under false pretenses and trafficked, it will all be worthwhile.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Follow Terry Spencer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/terryspen

___

This story corrects that Kraft, Havens and many others accused were charged but not arrested. With AP Photo

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.In a story March 26 about Felix Sater, an associate of President Donald Trump, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of a company named in a lawsuit against Sater. The company that was sued is Bayrock Group Inc., which is owned by Sater, not Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate company founded by Tevfik Arif where Sater was an executive.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Lawsuit: Sater looked to launder cash through Trump projects

A lawsuit says a Soviet emigre who worked on real estate deals with President Donald Trump plotted to use Trump-branded skyscrapers to launder money allegedly stolen from a Kazakhstan bank

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By MICHAEL R. SISAK

Associated Press

A Soviet-born convicted felon who worked on real estate deals with President Donald Trump was accused in a lawsuit Monday of plotting to use Trump-branded skyscrapers to launder money allegedly stolen from a Kazakhstan bank.

BTA Bank and the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan, allege Felix Sater conspired with the son of the citys former mayor to use some of the $440 million to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Sater, who was due to testify before Congress this week about his work with Trump, started pushing the Moscow project in 2005 and tried to kick-start it during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, but it was never built.

The bank also alleges Sater helped the mayors son, Ilyas Khrapunov, mask $3 million as down payments on three condominiums in Trump SoHo, a New York City hotel Sater helped develop as an executive at Bayrock Group LLC.

Sater arranged for Trump and Khrapunov to meet and discuss potential investments, the lawsuit said, avoiding any suggestion that Trump engaged in impropriety or that he was aware Sater and Khrapunov allegedly stole money.

Saters lawyer said Tuesday in a written statement that the bank had hired a Sater-owned company to recover some of the assets and that the lawsuit is cheap and desperate retaliation after that company sued over an unpaid bill.

Saters company helped the bank recover more than $50 million in stolen assets and was owed $10 million for the work, lawyer Robert Wolf said. The bank said in a court filing it did not know Sater was connected to the asset-recovery company until he said so in a deposition.

Messages were left with representatives for Trump and his company, the Trump Organization. Khrapunov is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan. His lawyer noted that all claims against him regarding alleged money laundering have been dismissed by federal courts in New York and California.

Saters work on the Trump Tower Moscow project has made him a key figure in the House Democrats investigations into Trumps ties to Russia. The congressional probes are moving forward after Attorney General William Barr on Sunday said that special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence Trump colluded with Russia to influence the election.

Saters public testimony, however, will wait.

The House Intelligence Committee postponed Saters appearance, scheduled for Wednesday. It wasnt clear whether he would still meet with the House Judiciary Committee in a closed-door session Thursday.

Khrapunovs father-in-law, former BTA Bank chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov, is accused of embezzling billions of dollars from the bank and funneling the money into offshore entities. The lawsuit said that, once caught, he turned to Khrapunov to monetize and launder remaining assets.

Khrapunov knew Sater through his family and asked him to join the scheme in 2011, the lawsuit said. Sater had been involved in coal extraction and oil drilling ventures with Khrapunovs family and attended Khrapunovs 2007 wedding to Ablyazovs daughter, the lawsuit said.

Sater and two other people are named as defendants, along with five companies. They include Bayrock Group Inc., a company owned by Sater that is separate from Bayrock Group LLC, the real estate company founded by Tevfik Arif where Sater worked as an executive. Bayrock Group LLC is not a defendant in the lawsuit.

In addition to the money laundering allegations, Sater is accused in the lawsuit of stealing $40 million for himself and an associate.

Sater, 53, is among the more colorful characters in Trumps orbit. He served 15 months in jail in the early 1990s and permanently lost his stockbrokers license for stabbing a man in the face with the stem of a broken margarita glass at a Manhattan bar.

A few years later, he got caught in a $40 million pump-and-dump stock fraud, turned states evidence against two New York crime families and then continued providing the government with information related to national security and other matters.

In another Trump connection, BTA Bank hired his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017 to help with litigation over Ablyazovs alleged embezzlement but dumped him within two months because it says he did absolutely nothing of value. Sater and Cohen worked together on the Moscow project in 2016.

___

Follow Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.NASA has nixed the first all-female spacewalk over a spacesuit sizing issue.

Astronaut Anne McClain was supposed to float out of the International Space Station this Friday with newly arrived Christina Koch, to replace old batteries. But McClain pulled herself from the lineup because theres not enough time to get two medium suits ready for them. Koch will go out with a male crewmate, Nick Hague.

NASA spokeswoman Brandi Dean said Tuesday that McClain trained before flight in both medium and large spacesuits. She wore a medium when she went out on her first spacewalk last Friday and was supposed to switch to a large this week. But after last weeks spacewalk, she decided that a large would be too big.

It would have taken 12 hours to get another medium spacesuit ready and potentially compromised safety, according to Dean. These spacewalks are months late, and with cargo deliveries coming up, NASA wants to keep everything on track.

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In 54 years of spacewalking, women have only gone outside with men. Thats because men have always outnumbered women in space. As women continue to make up a greater percentage of the astronaut corps, more gender records will be set and not just in spacewalking, Dean noted.

McClain, Koch and Hague are part of NASAs Astronaut Class of 2013, the only time there have been the same number of women accepted as men. NASA chose four women and four men that year.

Koch and Hague will continue the battery-swapping work that McClain and Hague began last Friday outside the space station. Old nickel-hydrogen batteries in the solar power grid are being replaced with new, powerful lithium-ion batteries.

McClain will get another shot at spacewalking April 8 when she ventures outside with Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. There are six U.S. spacesuit tops on the station  or hard upper torsos, as NASA calls them  with two considered spares. Both Hague and Saint-Jacques take large.

___

The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.President Donald Trump plans to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to three Central American countries in retaliation for what he called their lack of help in reducing the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.

The move was one of Trumps harshest yet as he escalates a confrontation with Mexico and Central America over a surge in irregular migration, largely involving children and families seeking asylum.

Trump has already warned that he could close the U.S.-Mexico border - or at least large stretches of it - in the coming week unless Mexico takes further steps to halt the northward flow of migrants.

The State Department said in a statement Saturday that it would be ending . . . foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle - a region encompassing El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The move would affect nearly $500 million in 2018 funds and millions more left over from the prior fiscal year. The money was destined for Central America but has not yet been spent.

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Trumps action was the culmination of a months-long battle in the U.S. government over the aid program, which grew substantially under the Obama administration and was intended to address the root causes of migration - violence, a lack of jobs and poverty.

Some Trump administration officials thought the program had failed to achieve enough results and in recent months have been looking into alternatives. But the presidents decision to cut off the remaining funds appeared to take many people by surprise. It came just a day after Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen signed what the department called a historic memorandum of cooperation on border security in Central America.

One former U.S. official said there was chaos in the State Department and U.S. embassies as officials tried to figure out whether they had to cancel existing contracts or simply not renew them. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.

The number of apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border has been soaring, with more than 76,000 migrants taken into U.S. custody in February, most of them from Central America. On Friday night, during a trip to Florida, Trump faulted governments in the region for the increase.

Ive ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras and El Salvador. No more money is going there anymore, Trump told reporters. We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and were not paying them anymore because they havent done a thing for us.

Democratic officials, aid groups and former officials said Trumps action could boomerang by shrinking or eliminating some of the very programs keeping would-be migrants in Central America.

Ironically, our goals of having people stay and thrive in El Salvador are very similar to the current administrations, said Ken Baker, chief executive of Glasswing International, which runs education, health and entrepreneurship programs in El Salvador and receives funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Through our programs, weve been able to provide opportunities and the belief that they [would-be migrants] can thrive here.

The key is to get to them before they leave for the United States, he said. When youre talking about the problem at the border in the U.S., its already too late.

Jim Nealon, a former U.S. ambassador to Honduras, said that Trump doesnt seem to understand the way the Central American aid program works. The U.S. government doesnt give the money to foreign governments, but rather to programs designed and implemented by the U.S., with the cooperation of governments and civil society, he said. Much of the aid is administered by nonprofit groups.

He also said Central American governments are not seeking to send their citizens to the United States. To the contrary, they already cooperate with us in trying to deter migration. But they cant prevent their citizens from leaving the country.

Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are among the poorest countries in the hemisphere, and among the most violent in the world.

Over the past year, Trump has seized on the formation of giant caravans of U.S.-bound migrants as evidence that Mexico and Central America are doing little to discourage irregular migration. On Saturday, he warned in a tweet that he would close the southern border unless Mexico used its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA.

Authorities in the region have said they are taking what measures they can under their laws. Mexico, for example, has offered thousands of temporary humanitarian visas to migrants, permitting them to stay and work in the country.

Raul Lopez, vice minister of justice in El Salvador, said in an interview Friday that the flow of migrants from his country was actually slowing.

We see that as proof that our investment - and the investment of the international community - in social issues is working, he said. U.S. assistance has had a positive impact in reducing migration from El Salvador, but we need more help to continue this fight.

It was unclear whether Congress would try to block Trumps decision to shift the Central American aid elsewhere. A delegation of congressional Democrats visiting El Salvador on Saturday called the administrations move counterproductive and said they would do everything in our power to push back on the presidents misguided approach to Central America. The group included Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Congress appropriates the money spent by the U.S. government, but the president has some wiggle room to reprogram funds, according to congressional staffers.

Adam Isaacson, a senior official at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy group, said U.S. presidents have shied away from reprogramming money because it irritates lawmakers, who can retaliate by declining to fund key administration projects. Its just a strong, strong custom in Congress, he said. If you go against our will on this, we will get you in the next appropriations bill.

Unauthorized crossings of the U.S. border have hit their highest level in a decade, although they are still well below the peak of 1.6 million in 2000. But the migrant flow has changed in character. Most migrants used to be Mexican men who could be easily deported, but now they are asylum-seeking families that are entitled to certain protections under federal law.

Border Patrol agents have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by the arrival of large numbers of Central American families, many of which are being quickly released into local communities because of a lack of detention space.

The announcement of the aid cutoff comes as a caravan of about 2,000 Central Americans and Cubans is crossing Mexico. Trump has threatened to close the border in the coming week because of the rising migrant flow.

The president has also declared a national emergency to divert funds for construction of a giant border wall, but he is facing court challenges. Immigration analysts say a wall would do little to stop the flow of asylum seekers, who typically surrender to U.S. officials to petition for relief as soon as they reach U.S. soil.

The Washington Posts Anna-Catherine Brigida in Mexico City and John Hudson and Nick Miroff in Washington contributed to this report.

First published in The Washington Post

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.On Tuesday (26 March), the old general, Gaid Saleh, appeared again on Algerian state television to read a statement, with great difficulty and many errors. He was keen to start, as usual, by warning the Algerian people that their protests might be exploited by hostile local and external forces, which resort to suspicious manoeuvres aimed at destabilising the country, without specifying who these forces are.

This is because ambiguity is exactly the aim, to create a siege mentality in order to ensure obedience from the protesters. Then, after some hypocritical praise of the protesters, he moved to propose what the ruling gang sees as a constitutional and sound solution to the crisis, which is the application of Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution.

Article 102 or the Magic Solution General Ahmed Gaid Salah

But what is contained in this article that makes it a solution to all problems? Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution states:

When it is impossible for the President of the Republic to exercise his functions due to a serious and chronic illness, the Constitutional Council shall meet, and after ascertaining the fact of this impediment by all appropriate means [] shall appoint the President of the Council of the Nation to serve as an Acting Head of State for a maximum period of forty-five days.

Thus, instead of overthrowing the hated president and his illegitimate government, and building the democratic system demanded by workers, peasants and revolutionary youth in the streets, they will simply replace the president with the President of the Council of the Nation. This manoeuvre is just another desperate attempt to save the regime, which is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the President of the Council of the Nation is Abdel Qader bin Saleh, who is a member of the same regime the protesters demand to be overthrown. He has had many official functions, including ambassador of the ruling gangs regime, and has defended their policies. In fact bin Saleh was originally appointed onto the council by Bouteflika himself.

The gangs plan is to sacrifice the sick president and replace him with one of the pillars of the very same system. They aim to give the illusion of change so that nothing changes. This manoeuvre is worthy of all the contempt with which the masses received it on the streets. Even the liberals, reformers and many other symbols of the old regime tried to distance themselves from the proposal as it would be political suicide.

But in spite of everything, the ruling gang did not make this concession happily, or in response to the demands of the liberals in parliament and air-conditioned rooms, but were forced to do so out of fear of the popular movement in the streets and strikes in the workplace and universities. This alone is another great lesson, which will raise the confidence and consciousness of the masses.

Deja vu The outgoing Abdelaziz Bouteflika

It is clear that the Army is trying to regain control and take the initiative to save the system as a whole, even by sacrificing some of its symbols. In order to succeed, they move cautiously and combine threats with concessions. They flirt with the popular movement and offer suggestions for solutions. This is the age-old tactic known as carrot and stick.

Watching the manoeuvres of the generals and listening to their speeches, one cannot help but feel that we have already lived through this experience before. In a certain sense, this is true. There are many similarities between what is taking place today and the Egyptian Revolution.

In Egypt, at first, the leaders of the military establishment also wore the mask of a smiling friend of the revolution. The Army also made all sorts of promises, both possible and impossible. They sacrificed some symbols. Their agents, and some naive people, raised slogans like: The people and the army are in the same camp. However, once the Army regained the initiative, they revealed their real ugly face and imposed a bloody dictatorship on workers, peasants and revolutionary youth. We should learn from this experience, and be careful!

What happened in Egypt is no exception and can be repeated in Algeria. Why? Because when the class struggle intensifies, and society is divided into two conflicting camps  the revolutionary camp and the counter-revolutionary camp  society eventually reaches a stage where it becomes necessary to resolve the conflict in favour of one side or the other. Society cannot remain in a constant state of effervescence forever. Either the working class can overthrow the old order and take power into their hands, or capitalism will regain its lead and take revenge on all those who dared to threaten its sovereignty.

The working class in Algeria today, as we saw in Egypt, have delivered heavy blows against the power of the bourgeoisie and its state. However, it does not yet understand that it is able to sweep away the old regime. The workers do not yet have the necessary organisation and programme to seize power and take the levers of the economy under their control. At the same time, the capitalist class has lost control and is no longer able to govern in the old way, with the same old faces and institutions.

At this moment, a kind of temporary vacuum has emerged, which sooner or later must be filled by someone or some organisation. As the military establishment, for the time being, is the only group that is organised and has arms in hand, it could well try to fill this vacuum. It seeks to do this in the interest of the capitalist class as a whole, but to do this, could seek to take political power off of the capitalist class, even sacrificing some of the symbols of that class (Mubarak, Morsi, etc., in Egypt; Bouteflika, Ouihya, etc., in Algeria). The Army may even use violence against certain components of the same class, as we saw in the attitude of the army toward the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

The liberal solution to the crisis

Not far from the ruling gang stand a fragment of the old, abandoned politicians and those waiting for their share of the cake. There are also those who escaped the sinking ship early and a variety of people who all come within the spectrum of liberals and reformers. These people, until recently, were participating in governments, or standing close to the ruling gang, begging for crumbs from time to time. Now they have become revolutionaries too, and have established themselves as leaders and spokespersons of the revolutionary masses. They have begun to propose all sorts of solutions, whose common denominator is to maintain the existing order and create a consensus for the benefit of all.

The liberals and reformers think they are very realistic. They hate the ruling class, which they consider too selfish, stupid and unable to maintain their own system, so they volunteer to do the job instead. They also hate the working class and the revolutionary youth, because they consider them extremists and adventurers, so they try to convince them to be patient and realistic. However, if the masses are not convinced, these liberals will support the army in crushing the movement under the banner of democracy and national interest.

This is what the so-called opposition parties are doing in Algeria today. After the revolution broke out and the class struggle intensified, they shouted in unison for all to listen to the common interest, to establish a government of national unity (the unity of those who have and those who have not) and to install well-known national figures (loyal figures to the bourgeoisie), and so on. These fake friends are more dangerous to the revolution than the obvious enemies, so we must fight against them just as we fight against the ruling gang and its regime.

Despite their pretensions of realism, these liberals are the most fooled by delusions and utopias. No illusion seems impossible to them. They believe that the existing system can be reformed and that capitalism can be built without exploitation, poverty and unemployment. They think that serious and lasting improvement in the living and working conditions of the masses can be achieved under capitalism. The only thing they do not believe in is the ability of the working class, the majority of society, the real producers of all wealth, to run society without that minority of parasites living without working, that is, without the owners of banks, big land owners and capitalists. For them, this is the only thing that seems impossible, unreasonable and contrary to all laws.

The revolutionary perspective to achieve the final victory

Let us be clear: In the current situation there is absolutely no possibility of building a bourgeois democracy in Algeria, like those weve seen in the advanced capitalist countries after the success of the bourgeois revolutions. The Algerian bourgeoisie, like its counterparts in the former colonial countries, is weak, parasitic, and has entered late on to the scene of history. This means it can never play the same role as the bourgeoisie in England or France did in the past. The bourgeoisie in Algeria, and its political representatives from the liberals, reformists, Islamists, etc., are totally incapable of carrying out the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution. At the same time the crisis of world capitalism today does not give any room for the bourgeoisie to give the necessary economic concessions which could form the basis for a bourgeois democracy as we know it in the advanced countries. In fact for this same reason bourgeois democracy in those countries is also going through a crisis.

This task, in our time, falls on the shoulders of the Algerian working class. The working class today represents the majority of the population, and its a young, strong and self-confident class. It is the real producer of the wealth in factories, oil wells, mines, ports, railways, airports, etc., and the only one capable of leading the rest of society  the oppressed, poor peasants, petty bourgeois and downtrodden layers  to seize power and achieve democratic demands. At the same time as this, however, they would not be able to wait and will raise demands of expropriating the property of the landowners, capitalists and imperialists and placing them under the democratic control of the workers themselves according to a plan that serves the interests of society as a whole.

But if the working class does not seize power, and the revolution stands in the middle of the road, all the monsters of the old regime will soon return to capture society and stifle its development.

Therefore, the only way forward for the unfolding Algerian revolution is that the working class take the lead at the head of all other oppressed layers to defeat the ruling gang and its state. They must build a new state, based on trade unions, councils of the working class, poor peasants, revolutionary soldiers and revolutionary youth. Representatives must be democratically elected by councils in factories, neighbourhoods, barracks and villages and controlled by and revocable by the masses at any moment. Only a state like this will be able to implement a democratic socialist plan, which will give bread to the hungry, work for the unemployed and shelter for the homeless. Only a state like this will carry out the slogans of the revolutionary people: dignity, freedom and social justice.

This is the perspective that all revolutionaries must strive to achieve. The first step in the direction of achieving it, is to begin to immediately establish revolutionary Marxist cells wherever there are revolutionary youth and the working class. They must raise the banner of socialism high to help workers and young revolutionaries see it and to rally around it. Ultimately, they must build a revolutionary leadership with the best elements who have led the revolutionary struggle in recent weeks.In October of last year, scientists David G. Victor and Charles F. Kennel wrote in an article for the journal Nature that for nearly a decade, international diplomacy has set a goal of stopping global warming at 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, the authors strongly criticized this goal, stating that, ..it has allowed some governments to pretend that they are taking serious action to mitigate global warming, when in reality they have achieved almost nothing. As well, the authors proclaimed that scientifically there are much better ways to measure how human activities have impacted the average global surface temperature beyond the 2 degree celsius standard.

Now, a recent article by Petra Tschakert of Penn State University in University Park has also denounced the target as being utterly inadequate and wants to revise the target to 1.5 C. In an article published in the journal Climate Change Responses, she warns that the lower limit is necessary to protect coral reefs, prevent sea level rises and maintain the presence of ice during Arctic summers.

Tschakert is not the only expert who has warned that a decreased temperature increase target is necessary. In fact, during a recent meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Fifth Assessment Report, most of the panels members seemed to agree. However, whether or not this new goal is achievable remains to be seen. Indeed, some researchers already believe this goal is impossible as emissions have gone from bad to worse and will likely result in a 3 C temperature increase by 2100.

However, in a new book titled Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by Gernot Wagner of the Environmental Defense Fund and Martin L. Weitzman at Harvard, the authors seem to suggest that there might be an alternative. In a proposal they call the Copenhagen Theory of Climate change, The New York Times reports the authors suggest we should be asking people to volunteer to save our climate by taking small, individual actions.

The motivation behind the name of their proposal (Copenhagen) refers to the ability of the Danish government to convince half of its residents to commute to work by bicycle each day. As The New York Times reports, A half-century ago, the citys inhabitants were becoming almost as reliant on cars as people anywhere else. But after the oil crisis of the 1970smany Copenhagen residents made a personal commitment to ride bicyclesout of moral principle, even if that was inconvenient for them.

If people in other parts of the developed and developing world could be convinced to make such a commitment, this polycentric approach for coping with climate change could yield real results. But, as the Times warns, the world is diverse and complicated and in order to combat climate change and global warming, we will need to establish a global, concrete framework with consequences for those who choose not to play by the rules.

(Photo courtesy of Andreas Kambanis)On Thursday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) quietly signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. Many claim the law would allow corporations or individuals to use their religious beliefs as a defense when sued by a private party. Opponents of the bill believe that the law essentially legalizes discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals and couples , given that they would not be legally protected if business owners refused to serve these individuals.

In a prepared statement, Pence said, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action and the Act is an effort to recognize that freedom.

Though the Act was signed to little fanfare, the potential repercussions are not small. For example, leaders of the Christian Church (Disciplines of Christ) sent a letter to the governor in which they stated the organization leaders were reconsidering holding their 6,000-person general assembly in Indianapolis because of the legislation. As well, organizers of Gen Con, one of the largest gaming conventions in the country, has also stated that it may stop holding its event in Indiana, which could be a possible $50 million loss to the city.

Even the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard, stated the passage of the religious freedom bill sent the wrong message about the state. In his own prepared statement, Ballard wrote, Indianapolis strives to be a welcoming place that attracts businesses, conventions, visitors and residentsWe are a diverse city, and I want everyone who visits and lives in Indy to feel comfortable here.

Already, some businesses have gone beyond threatening to enact real changes. For example, Angies List CEO Bill Oesterle, has said his firm will no longer expand its headquarters in Indianapolis. In an interview with The Indianpolis Star, Oesterle said, Were going to be very vocal on this issue and I dont feel we can do that if we are taking state money. We dont want to be bound by commitments in that deal given the current atmosphere in the state (government). Indeed, Oesterle went further to say the bill has caused national embarrassment (for Indiana).

Additionally, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee (D) also stated that city employees will no longer use taxpayer money to fund trips to Indiana. According to Bloomberg News, other high profile individuals and companies who have come out against the law include Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, Salesforce.com Inc. CEO March Benioff as well as CEO of Yelp Inc. Jeremy Stoppelman and co-founder of PayPal, Max Levchin.

(Photo courtesy of nathanmac87)Obesity is often associated with a high prevalence of psychopathological conditions such as depression and anxiety. Thus, it is no wonder that weight loss surgery can improve a persons mental health, including his or her body image, self-esteem and self-concept. Beyond gains in well-being, weight loss surgery can also prevent the development of type 2 diabetes as well as reduce a persons risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer.

Now, two new studies from researchers at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York City and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have shown that there are other benefits for obese patients who undergo weight-loss surgery.

In the first study, presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, obese patients who went through weight loss surgery were shown to have better joint replacement outcomes. Led by Dr. Emily Dodwell and her colleagues, the researchers recruited obese patients who required a hip or knee replacement. The patients were divided into two groups, one of which underwent weight loss surgery, while the other group did not.

Upon analyzing the cohorts, Dr. Dodwell found those who received weight loss surgery prior to their joint replacements did better than those who did not. And using a mathematical model to stimulate the outcomes and costs of each treatment path, she determined that weight loss surgery prior to joint replacement is likely a cost-effective option from a public payer standpoint in order to improve outcomes in obese patients. Subsequently, she advocates that health care systems that do not currently include weight loss surgery as a covered benefit, should do so in order to improve patients outcomes.

Though study co-author Dr. Alexander McLawhorn notes that sometimes obese patients with severe joint pain cannot delay a replacement procedure, he adds, Ideally, a team approach would be used to treat morbidly obese patients in which various health care professionals are in place to help a patient lose weight

In the second study from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers found that obese patients with asthma who had weight-loss surgery showed a significant reduction in serious asthma flare-ups. Though the authors did not provide specific information on the patients weights before and after surgery, study lead author Dr. Kohei Hasegawa and her colleagues write, Asthma exacerbation decreased by half after bariatric surgery and remaining significantly lower for at least 2 years.

Though the study authors did not find that weight loss surgery directly causes a reduction in asthma symptoms (they only found an association), obesity is known to cause inflammation from excess fat cells and asthma is also linked to inflammation. Still, more research must be done to determine a causal pathway if it exists. Regardless, it is clear that obesity affects many health variables and if a person is experiencing difficulty losing weight, its best to speak with a doctor sooner rather than later.

(Photo courtesy of spablab)Although President Donald Trump vowed he wouldnt take a paycheck from Washington, he has and the rest of his rich cabinet members are too. The cabinet is compiled of elite United States citizens. Together they make up the richest cabinet in U.S. history (worth nearly $11 billion). So, what is Secretary of State Rex Tillersons net worth and how much is he making in Washington?

Rex Tillersons Profile:

Net worth in 2017: $330 million

Profession: Secretary of State

Age: 65

Source Of Wealth: Exxon Mobil

Residence: Bartonville, Texas

Citizenship: U.S. Citizen

Marital Status: Married; Renda St. Clair

Education: University of Texas, Austin

Rex Tillersons Career

Rex Tillerson was born on March 23, 1952 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He grew up in a conservative, traditional family and spent his time as a child in groups like the Boy Scouts of America. Tillerson became an Eagle Scout in 1965. He went on to earn a Bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas in 1975 and landed a job at Exxon Mobil immediately.

Tillerson got his start at Exxon as a production engineer. He is truly an example of working your way up the corporate ladder. After being a production engineer for 14 years he went on to be the general manager of the central production division of Exxon. By 1995 he was named President of Exxon Yemen Inc. and Esso Exploration and Production Khorat Inc.

Just three years later Tillerson became a vice president of Exxon Ventures and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited. This gave him responsibility over Exxons holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea. In 1999 he was named the executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company and by 2004 he became the president and director of ExxonMobil. And, two years after that, he was elected chairman and CEO of the company.

Now, Tillerson has cut his ties with Exxon Mobil in order to serve as President Donald Trumps Secretary of State. How will switching careers change affect Tillersons overall wealth and how much does the Secretary of State make each year?

Rex Tillersons Net Worth

Rex Tillersons net worth is estimated to be $330 million, according to Forbes. In 2015 he made nearly $25 million with his annual salary as CEO of Exxon Mobil and his investments. What many people dont realize, however, is how much Tillerson has given up to become Secretary of State.

Secretary Tillerson had no background in politics. In fact, the only place hes worked since he graduated college in 1975 was Exxon. He had to step down from his position with the company, of course, but Tillerson has had to make a number of other sacrifices as well.

For his job at Exxon Tillerson received a $180 million severance package. There are a few stipulations though. If he decides to follow his time in Washington by working with another oil or gas company he will forfeit his scheduled trust payments (his retirement). If this happens the money will go to charities helping to fight poverty or fighting disease in developing countries.

To avoid any conflict of interest Tillerson also offered to sell 600,000 of his Exxon Mobil shares (valued at $54 million). He wont completely have to withdraw from the stock market though. Due to a law that passed under George W. Bush, Tillerson can invest his holdings in permitted properties during his time in office.

Exxon isnt the only place Tillerson has stock either. It is reported that he had nearly $500 million in global assets before taking the office of Secretary of State. At least $200 million are Exxon-related holdings but he also has stock holding in Russian and Chinese companies (all $50,000 or under). The Texas native also has large holdings in Texas municipal bonds and a beautiful $25 million home he shares with his wife.

Tillerson is among the ranks of the richest presidential cabinet in history. With a net worth of $330 million he is still only third richest. He comes just behind Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross ($2.5 billion) and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos ($1.25 billion).

Now the former Exxon executive will be making a base salary of $186,600 per year, though it wont likely affect Rex Tillersons net worth greatly. What he chooses to do after his time in office (and how it affects his wealth) will be interesting to see but, until then, hell be collecting a paycheck in Washington.

Photos: CNN and The Legacy ProjectThumbtack Review

If you are in the market for a new job you may have run across the website Thumbtack like I did. Thumbtack is a site where you can list your abilities and employers reach out to you about jobs or projects they would like to have done. After looking for freelance work for some time I decided to try it out, which lead to this Thumbtack review.

All in all, Thumbtack is an okay tool for finding work but it isnt great. Personally, Ive not been able to find any projects or jobs that Ive felt Ive been a good match for.

How Thumbtack Works

To get started on Thumbtack you must set up an account. This is usually a pretty quick process and it is completely free. The most time consuming part is checking off your abilities. My profile, for instance, has writing, editing, Spanish translation, photography, videography, photoshop, editing film, graphic design and a number of other abilities listed underneath my skill set. In my experience, the more skills you are able to list the better.

Thumbtack Communications

Once youve set up your account Thumbtack will begin sending you customer requests. Essentially, Thumbtack will send you an email that looks like this:

One great thing about Thumbtack is the company reviews each customer to make sure that their request is legitimate. The company is also able to provide you with a great description of each job or project.

Taking the Job

Once youve received an email detailing the position or the project at hand you decide whether or not you want to take it. If you decide you are both qualified and interested in the position or project you can send the customer a quote for your services. You will send a personal message to the customer with a quote and Thumbtack will send the customer your Thumbtack profile, complete with your past experience.

Landing a Job Through Thumbtack

By now youve sent your quote and the customer now has the chance to review it and compare it to other quotes theyve received from other Thumbtack professionals. If you get the job the customer will contact you and you both will be able to work out the details of the job through Thumbtack, email, text, over the phone or in person (based on the customers preferences). When you get hired, let Thumbtack know and they will add it to your profile, making it more likely that youll land future Thumbtack jobs.

Downfalls of Thumbtack

After reading the process of finding a job through Thumbtack you may be thinking that it sounds like a pretty flawless way to find a job or new project. However, the biggest con (for me and many others) is that in order to high someone through the website you have to have Thumbtack credits.

Thumbtack credits cost money. Although signing up for Thumbtack services is completely free, you will have to pay to bid for jobs. The company, however, offers package deals on credits, which you use to bid on jobs. For example, when you buy 12 at a time you get 10 percent off (costing you about $1.50 per credit).

Thumbtack Overview

All in all, it seems that Thumbtack is ideal for small business owners looking to kickstart their business or add clients to their business. However, I do not believe that Thumbtack is an ideal tool for finding reliable, steady work. The services offered by Thumbtack are similar to the services offered by sites like Fiverr and Upwork but I would not solely rely on Thumbtack for full-time employment.

Have you had any luck using Thumbtack to find work? What kind of work did you find?

Photos: Renata Preto and Thumbtack.comPopulations with a high prevalence of AIDS-immunocompromised people are more likely to see the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to a study coauthored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and published in PLOS One.

"People with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to opportunistic bacterial infections and are therefore frequently prescribed antibiotics to prevent or treat these infections," said Nina Fefferman, a professor in UT's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and coauthor of the study. "This increases the exposure of those bacteria to antibiotics, giving them more chances to evolve to become resistant to the medication and contributing to the current serious public health threat of drug-resistant diseases."

The research was led by Ashley DeNegre, who at the time of the study was an ecology and evolutionary biology PhD student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Kellen Myers, research assistant in UT's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the UT-based National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, also participated in the research.

For the study, scientists used mathematical models to integrate and extend results from many previous studies to consider the effect on the emergence of antibiotic resistance in two populations: the African nation of Swaziland, where there was a reported HIV/AIDS prevalence of 27.4 percent of the population, and Indonesia, in southeast Asia, where there was a much lower reported HIV/AIDS prevalence of 0.46 percent.

The results provide a better understanding of epidemiological patterns in populations with a high number of immunocompromised people due to AIDS and HIV, with special attention to low-income communities in the developing world.

"This work will hopefully help inform public health decision makers about how antibiotic stewardship should be tailored differently in high-prevalence AIDS-affected communities to help combat the rising global risk of drug-resistant infections," said Fefferman.Staten Island residents have another reason to apply insect repellent and obsessively check for ticks this spring and summer: the population of a new, potentially dangerous invasive pest known as the Asian longhorned tick has grown dramatically across the borough, according to Columbia University researchers. And the tick -- which unlike other local species can clone itself in large numbers -- is likely to continue its conquest in the months ahead.

"The concern with this tick is that it could transmit human pathogens and make people sick," explains researcher Maria Diuk-Wasser, an associate professor in the Columbia University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, who studies ticks and human disease risk.

In a new study appearing in the April issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, Diuk-Wasser and colleagues provide the most exhaustive local census of the new species to date -- and suggest the Staten Island infestation is far more advanced than previously known.

The researchers found the species Haemaphysalis longicornis in 7 of 13 parks surveyed in 2017 and in 16 of 32 in 2018. In one park, the density of the ticks per 1000 square meters rose almost 1,698 percent between 2017 and 2018, with the number of ticks picked up in the sample area rising from 85 to 1,529. They also found the ticks on anesthetized deer from the area.

The news comes less than a year after the New York City Department of Health announced the discovery of the first member of the species in the city -- a single tick -- found on southern Staten Island last August.

The tick, native to Asia and Australia, had been identified in the months prior to the Staten Island sighting in New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas and just a few weeks earlier in Westchester County. The Westchester sighting prompted a number of state senators to send a letter urging state health officials to act aggressively to stop the spread of the new species.

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Public health officials are particularly concerned because the longhorned tick is notorious for its ability to quickly replicate itself. Unlike deer ticks, the common local variety known for carrying Lyme disease, the female Asian longhorned can copy itself through asexual reproduction in certain environmental conditions, or reproduce sexually, laying 1,000-2,000 eggs at a time. They are typically found in grass in addition to the forested habitats that deer ticks prefer, adding a new complication to public health messaging. The Columbia analysis suggests that the public warnings may have come too late.

"The fact that longhorned tick populations are so high in southern Staten Island will make control of this species extremely difficult," says Meredith VanAcker, a member of Diuk-Wasser's lab who collected the data as part of her Ph.D. thesis. "And because females don't need to find male mates for reproduction, it is easier for the population to spread."

The threat these new arrivals pose to human health is still unknown. In Asia, there have been reports of ticks passing on a virus that can cause a number of diseases, including hemorrhagic fever and ehrlichiosis, a bacterial illness that can cause flu-like symptoms and lead to serious complications if not treated.

The arrival of the species on Staten Island adds another unwelcome dimension to the region's tick woes, which have grown dramatically in recent years. Thanks to an expanding deer population, Lyme disease spread through deer ticks has reached epidemic proportions in some areas of the Northeast. Deer ticks (also called black-legged ticks) are capable of disseminating six other human pathogens.

The first Asian long-horned tick in the U.S. was identified in New Jersey in 2013. A large population was later found on sheep in Mercer County, New Jersey. Diuk-Wasser became aware of the potential danger when a doctor at a Westchester clinic removed a tick from a patient and sent it in for identification. The discovery of the first human bite prompted widespread alarm.

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By then, the Columbia team was already in the midst of an extensive "tick census" on Staten Island to determine how the landscape connectivity between urban parks influenced the spread of disease.

The Asian longhorned is easy to miss because it resembles a rare native species of rabbit tick. VanAcker spent months combing areas of Staten Island for ticks, dragging a square-meter corduroy cloth over leaf litter and examining it every 10 to 20 meters Diuk-Wasser, post-doctoral student Danielle Tufts and other members of the Diuk-Wasser lab found huge numbers of them on the bodies of unconscious deer that had been captured and anesthetized by wildlife authorities.

VanAcker found her collections were overflowing with the new species, leading to publication of the current study in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Her work on landscape connectivity, slated to appear in the June issue of the same journal, drives home the difficult decisions facing policymakers as they attempt to arrest the spread of the new species and others like it.

"The easier it is for deer to maneuver through urban landscapes between parks, the more likely the ticks are to spread to new areas," Diuk-Wasser says. "This suggests that the emphasis on urban wildlife corridors has a previously unappreciated downside for human health."

This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Using proteins derived from jellyfish, scientists assembled a complex sixteen protein structure composed of two stacked octamers by supercharging alone. This research could be applied to useful technologies such as pharmaceutical targeting, artificial energy harvesting, 'smart' sensing and building materials, and more. Computational modeling through XSEDE allocations on Stampede2 (TACC) and Comet (SDSC) refined measurements of structure.

Red blood cells are amazing. They pick up oxygen from our lungs and carry it all over our body to keep us alive. The hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells transports oxygen by changing its shape in an all-or-nothing fashion. Four copies of the same protein in hemoglobin open and close like flower petals, structurally coupled to respond to each other. Using supercomputers, scientists are just starting to design proteins that self-assemble to combine and resemble life-giving molecules like hemoglobin. The scientists say their methods could be applied to useful technologies such as pharmaceutical targeting, artificial energy harvesting, 'smart' sensing and building materials, and more.

A science team did this work by supercharging proteins, which means that they changed the subunits of proteins, the amino acids, to give the proteins an artificially high positive or negative charge. Using proteins derived from jellyfish, the scientists were able to assemble a complex sixteen protein structure composed of two stacked octamers by supercharging alone, findings that were reported in January of 2019 in the journal Nature Chemistry.

The team then used supercomputer simulations to validate and inform these experimental results. Supercomputer allocations on Stampede2 at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and Comet at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) were awarded to the researchers through XSEDE, the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"We found that by taking proteins that don't normally interact with each other, we can make copies that are either highly positively or highly negatively charged," said study co-author Anna Simon, a postdoctoral researcher in the Ellington Lab of UT Austin. "Combining the highly positively and negatively charged copies, we can make the proteins assemble into very specific structured assemblies," Simon said. The scientists call their strategy 'supercharged protein assembly,' where they drive defined protein interactions by combining engineered supercharged variants.

"We exploited a very well-known and basic principle from nature, that opposite charges attract," added study co-author Jens Glaser. Glaser is an assistant research scientist in the Glotzer Group, Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. "Anna Simon's group found that when they mix these charged variants of green fluorescent protein, they get highly ordered structures. That was a real surprise," Glaser said.

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The stacked octamer structure looks like a braided ring. It's composed of 16 proteins -- two intertwined rings of eight that interact in very specific, discreet patches. "The reason why it's so hard to engineer proteins that interact synthetically is that making these interacting patches and having them all line up right such that they'll allow the proteins to assemble into bigger, regular structures is really hard," explained Simon. They got around the problem by adding many positive and negative charges to engineer variants of green fluorescent protein (GFP), a well-studied 'lab mouse' protein derived from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish.

The positively charged protein, which they called cerulean fluorescent protein (Ceru) +32, had additional opportunities to interact with the negatively charged protein GFP -17. "By giving these proteins all these opportunities, these different places where they could potentially interact, they were able to choose the right ones," Simon said. "There were certain patterns and interactions that were there, available, and energetically favored, that we didn't necessarily predict beforehand that would allow them to assemble into these specific shapes."

To get the engineered charged fluorescent proteins, Simon and co-authors Arti Pothukuchy, Jimmy Gollihar, and Barrett Morrow encoded their genes, including a chemical tag used for purification on portable pieces of DNA called plasmids in E. coli, then harvested the tagged protein that E. coli grew. The scientists mixed the proteins together. They initially thought the proteins might just interact to form large, irregularly structured clumps. "But then, what we kept on seeing was this weird, funny peak around 12 nanometers, that was a lot smaller than a big clump of protein, but significantly bigger than the single protein," Simon said.

They measured the size of the particles that formed using a Zetasizer instrument at the Texas Materials Institute of UT Austin, and verified that the particles contained both cerulean and GFP proteins Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), which measures the energy transfer between different colored fluorescent proteins produce fluorescence in response to different energies of light to see if they are close together. Negative stain electron microscopy identifed the specific structure of the particles, conducted by the group of David Taylor, assistant professor of molecular biosciences at UT Austin. It showed that the 12 nm particle consisted of a stacked octamer composed of sixteen proteins. "We found that they were these beautifully shaped flower-like structures," Simon said. Co-author Yi Zhou from Taylor's group of UT Austin increased the resolution even further using cryo-electron microscopy to reveal atomic-level details of the stacked octamer.

Computational modeling refined the measurements of how the proteins were arranged into a clear picture of the beautiful, flower-like structure, according to Jens Glaser. "We had to come up with a model that was complex enough to describe the physics of the charged green fluorescent proteins and present all the relevant atomistic details, yet was efficient enough to allow us to simulate this on a realistic timescale. With a fully atomistic model, it would have taken us over a year to get a single simulation out of the computer, however fast the computer was," Glaser said.

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They simplified the model by reducing the resolution without sacrificing important details of the interactions between proteins. "That's why we used a model where the shape of the protein is exactly represented by a molecular surface, just like the one that's measured from the crystallographic structure of the protein," Glaser added.

"What really helped us turn this around and improve what we were able to get out of our simulations was the cryo-EM data," said Vyas Ramasubramani, a graduate student in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. "That's what really helped us find the optimal configuration to put into these simulations, which then helped us validate the stability arguments that we were making, and hopefully going forward make predictions about ways that we can destabilize or modify this structure," Ramasubramani said.

The scientists required lots of compute power to do the calculations on the scale that they wanted.

"We used XSEDE to basically take these huge systems, where you have lots of different pieces interacting with each other, and calculate all of this at once so that when you start moving your system forward through some semblance of time, you could get an idea for how it was going to evolve on somewhat real timescales," Ramasubramani said. "If you tried to do the same kind of simulation that we did on a laptop, it would have taken months if not years to really approach understanding whether or not some sort of structure would be stable. For us, not being able to use XSEDE, where you could use essentially 48 cores, 48 compute units all at once to make these calculations highly parallel, we would have been doing this much slower."

The Stampede2 supercomputer at the TACC contains 4,200 Intel Knights Landing and 1,736 Intel Skylake X compute nodes. Each Skylake node has 48 cores, the basic unit of a computer processor. "The Skylake nodes of the Stampede2 supercomputer were instrumental in achieving the performance that was necessary to compute these electrostatic interactions that act between the oppositely-charged proteins in an efficient manner," Glaser said. "The availability of the Stampede2 supercomputer was at just the right point in time for us to perform these simulations."

Initially, the science team tested their simulations on the Comet system at the SDSC. "When we were first figuring out what kind of model to use and whether this simplified model would give us reasonable results, Comet was a great place to try these simulations," Ramasubramani said. "Comet was a great testbed for what we were doing."

Looking at the bigger scientific picture, the scientists hope that this work advances understanding of why so many proteins in nature will oligomerize, or join together to form more complex and interesting structures.

"We showed that there doesn't need to be a very specific, pre-distinguished set of plans and interactions for these structures to form," Simon said. "This is important because it means that maybe, and quite likely we can take other sets of molecules that we want to make oligomerize and generate both positively charged and negatively charged variants, combine them, and have specifically ordered structures for them."

Natural biomaterials like bone, feathers, and shells can be tough yet lightweight. "We think supercharged protein assembly is an easier way to develop the kind of materials that have exciting synthetic properties without having to spend so much time or having to know exactly how they're going to come together beforehand," Simon said. "We think that will accelerate the ability to engineer synthetic materials and for discovery and exploration of these nanostructured protein materials."The wage rate index increased by 0.5% or 0.5 point to reach 109.5 in the 4th quarter of 2018 from 109.0 in the 3rd quarter.

Main changes registered in the sub-indices from 3rd Quarter 2018 to 4th Quarter 2018 are:

Transportation and storage +2.9% Administrative and support service activities +2.9% Wholesale and retail trade +1.4% Information and communication +1.2% Manufacturing +1.1% Agriculture, forestry and fishing -2.9% Public administration and defence; compulsory social security -0.8% Human health and social work activities -0.8%

The wage rate index for the general government sector which accounts for around 34% of the total weight of the wage rate index decreased by 0.6% to reach 103.7 in the 4th quarter of 2018 from 104.3 in the 3rd quarter, mainly explained by recruitment of new employees.

The index for the public sector which comprises general government and public enterprises and accounting for around 46% of the wage rate index, decreased by 0.1% or 0.1 point from 107.1 in 3rd quarter 2018 to 107.0 in 4th quarter 2018.

The index for the private sector which accounts for around 54% of the total weight of the wage rate index increased by 0.9% or 1.0 point from 110.6 in 3rd quarter 2018 to 111.6 in 4th quarter 2018.

Wage Rate Index  Year 2018

The wage rate index for the year 2018, worked out as the average of the quarterly indices went up by 4.4% or 4.5 points to reach 108.3 in 2018 from 103.8 in 2017. The wage rate index for the general government sector increased by 1.5% or 0.5 point to reach 104.3 in 2018 from 102.7 in 2017.

The index for the public sector for the year 2018, worked out to 106.8 compared to 103.6 for the year 2017, representing an increase of 3.2% or 3.3 points.

The index for the private sector for the year 2018, worked out to 109.6 compared to 103.9 for the year 2017 representing an increase of 5.4% or 5.7 points.

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LinkedInCalifornia is not a place well-known for its abundance of water. In fact, as NBC Los Angeles reports, drought has been a constant struggle in The Golden State for decades. The wet winter that California is currently experiencing is not completely unheard of but it's a significant enough event that it's getting widespread coverage. Over the last decade, California has been suffering droughts far more frequently than in the past, with Science News stating in 2014 that that year's drought was the worst one the state had faced in twelve hundred years. The wet winter that California currently has to thank for the end of its 2018/2019 drought is a uniquely interesting atmospheric phenomenon that shows how dynamic the world's climate system can be.

The Curious Case of the Atmospheric River Storm

Everyone knows what rivers are - those long bands of fresh water that stretch from mountain or hillside straight down to the sea. What fewer people are aware of is that rivers of water vapor also existing within the atmosphere. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an atmospheric river is a band of water vapor that is narrow, sort of like a river within the sky, along which water vapor from the tropics is transferred. Atmospheric rivers bring much-needed moisture to a region like California in the form of rainfall or snowfall (as is the case this winter), with estimates of the amount of moisture contained within the atmospheric river at approximately fifteen (15) times that of the entire Mississippi River, according to Vox.

How the Atmospheric River Affects Weather

Weather within a localized system is the short-term state of the atmosphere at any given time. Atmospheric rivers are a regular occurrence in California, with the state experiencing one to two of them a year which brings the water within the state to a level which will support the population. The absence of these atmospheric rivers is likely to bring about drought just as much as the presence of one is likely to end a drought. However, as with any sort of intense weather system, these atmospheric rivers can lead to adverse conditions for residents. Heavy rainfall or snowfall can lead to extensive flooding and property damage. Loose soil resulting from the death of trees through the drought or through man-made fires that California is also prone to, can easily be eroded, leading to mudslides that can cause serious injuries and claimed 26 lives in 2016.

Predictability of Atmospheric Rivers

Meteorologists have managed to predict the formation and path of hurricanes, but not atmospheric rivers. Some years, California may experience two, three, or even more atmospheric rivers, while other years have one or none. It's in these lean years that drought is likely to affect the state more than usual and lead to tunnel collapse and work place injuries. But that's not the only problem facing the collection and storage of water in the state. The influx of rain from these atmospheric storms, if properly managed, could potentially offer solutions to drought in those lean years. Sadly, based on reports by the LA Times, it's estimated that as much as 80% of the water from these atmospheric river storms are diverted to the Pacific and never get caught and stored for later use.

Water Management in Desert Regions

California, being a desert region, needs to be more proactive with its water management. There is no reason why such a wet winter should be mourned when the state inevitably descends into drought again. Better care should be taken to capture rain or snowmelt as it occurs to store it for those non-rainy days. While this is a major concern, especially in the recent years where droughts have increased in their intensity, it would require a lot of sacrifice by the residents of the state to conform with what needs to be done. In the end, people's necessity for water may eventually drive them to take advantage of wet winters when they occur to stave off the drought that will inevitably follow. Steps have already been taken by some local bodies within the state to reduce runoff, but those measures need to be more widespread to truly make a difference.According to Moroccos energy minister Aziz Rebbah, with the signing of this cooperation document, Vietnam and Morocco will join together in their efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable development.

He stressed the importance of strengthening Vietnam-Morocco ties in this area so to encourage developed countries to respect their environmental protection commitments and agreements. Sustainable development for future generations is also a common perception of Vietnam and Morocco, the official said, asking both sides to concretise the newly signed cooperation deals with specific actions.

For his part, MONRE Minister Tran Hong Ha affirmed that Vietnam determines green, sustainable and environmentally friendly economic development as a very important task, highlighting the need for the two countries to enhance collaboration and experience sharing in order to step into a new stage of green growth with low carbon emissions.

He voiced his wish that Vietnam and Morocco will make fast and solid steps towards taking the lead in accelerating cooperation in terms of natural resources, the environment and sustainable development, contributing to materialising the agreements reached between the two sides.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy signed a MoU on the establishment of a Sub-Committee for Cooperation in Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).

The SCCCI establishment aims to further strengthen bilateral commercial and industrial ties on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and in accordance with the terms of the MoU and current national laws, regulations and policies in each country.

On the occasion, representatives of the two ministries also signed another MoU on bilateral cooperation. Accordingly, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, the two sides agreed to step up trade and industrial cooperation to facilitate bilateral trade and the exchange of knowledge and technology in the industrial sector. They will also strengthen the exchange of information on business opportunities between the two countries, especially in potential sectors such as farm produce (coffee, pepper and olives), seafood, garment and textile, footwear, fiber, mobile phones and components, computers, electronic products and components, phosphates, and coal.

In addition, the two sides reached a consensus on the establishment of a Vietnam-Morocco Working Group on trade and industrial cooperation to regularly coordinate and solve issues related to bilateral cooperation in this field. They will also work together to study and propose strategies to enhance bilateral trade and industrial ties.

On the afternoon of March 28, leaders of Vietnams Da Nang city and the Council of the Moroccan city Tangier signed a MoU on the formation of friendly relations and cooperation between the two sides.

Under the MoU, the two sides agreed to establish friendly and cooperative relations within the jurisdiction of each party, on the basis of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, and accordance with policies and laws of Morocco and Vietnam, as well as with international treaties to which the two countries are signatories. They also agreed to promote cooperation and experience sharing in the fields of seaport management and development and tourism promotion.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnamese NA Committee for External Relations Nguyen Van Giau highly appreciated the role of the Moroccan Ambassador in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Ambassador in Morocco in contributing to connecting the two localities, and especially the efforts made by the two cities.

He expressed his belief that the establishment of friendly relations and cooperation will be a very good foundation for the two cities to exchange experience and exploit each others potentials and strengths in the future, thus contributing to strengthening Vietnam-Morocco relations.A Contra Costa County Superior Court jury has awarded $21.4 million to the families of two brothers who died from cancer after getting exposed to the deadly chemical benzene while working at a tire manufacturing plant in Arkansas, the familys lawyers said.

The jurys decision Friday came after three days of deliberation and a four-week-long trial, according to legal representatives with Mary Alexander & Associates and Scott Frieling of Allen Stewart.

Brothers Gary Eaves and Randy Eaves regularly worked with rubber solvent that contained benzene at the Cooper Tire & Rubber Facility in Texarkana for several decades, said Mary Alexander, a co-counsel representative. The trial was held in Contra Costa County because Chevron  which merged with Unocal, formerly known as Union Oil  is headquartered in San Ramon.

From 1973 to 1977, and from 1987 to 2013, Gary Eaves worked as a green tire hauler and handler in the plants curing department, where he hauled uncured truck tires to and from a booth where operators sprayed the tires with the solvent, according to a 2016 court filing. From 1977 to 1987, Gary Eaves also worked as a spray booth operator, where he sprayed the inside and outside of the tires with the solvent.

Gary Eaves was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in June 2013. He was 59 at the time of his diagnosis. He died on July 12, 2015.

His brother, Randy, was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in June 2016, also when he was 59. He died on March 27, 2018. The court filing did not detail Randy Eaves duties handling the solvent.

Their families filed a lawsuit against Union Oil, which created the solvent that the brothers handled at the manufacturing plant.

Relatives alleged that Union Oil failed to warn the brothers of the dangers of working with solvents with benzene.

The chemical sprayed onto their unprotected skin while handling the solvent, Alexander said, and Union Oil never told the plant or its workers to wear respirators or protective clothing, and never advised workers to handle the chemical inside of a ventilation booth.

They did not ship the solvent with material safety data sheets or any other data that reflected the solvent contained benzene that causes cancer, Alexander said.

Chevron officials provided a one-sentence statement to The Chronicle in response to the decision, stating, We do not believe that Unocal had any role in the claimed injuries and we are evaluating the jurys decision and the courts rulings in this matter.

Alexander said Fridays decision is a message that corporations that put profits before people will be held accountable if they are negligent in their business operations.

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 Eaves families, who live in Arkansas, stayed in the Bay Area through the weeks-long trial. Alexander said they felt relieved the oil company is being held responsible for the deaths of the Eaves brothers.

That was very gratifying for them, Alexander said of the family.

Alexander said Union Oil representatives are responsible for paying the $21.4 million bill as the primary defendant in the case, despite it technically not existing anymore. Union Oils trial costs were paid for by Chevron, she said.

She said oil representatives will have an opportunity to appeal the jurys decision, which may delay that process.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavorDeanne Fitzmaurice/The Chronicle

A judge authorized the San Francisco Police Department on Friday to release personnel records of officers involved in serious use of force, sexual assault and other misconduct.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulmans decision came just weeks after the San Francisco Police Officers Association sought to block the department from releasing misconduct records, claiming the passage of SB 1421 applied only to records before the transparency law took effect on January 1.More than 100 demonstrators marched through the Mission District Saturday, many draping Palestinian flags over their backs, to rally in solidarity with people living in Gaza and to call for an end to what they call an open air prison in Palestinian territories.

The marchers unfurled a massive Palestinian flag and carried it down Mission Street from the 24th Street and Mission BART station, past vendors sprinkling chili and lime on fruit cups, past the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and past produce markets where customers juggled plastic bags of avocados and corn in their arms while taking videos on their cell phones of the passing throng.

People, people, choose a side, human rights or genocide? the demonstrators chanted, and When people are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back.

Dozens of San Francisco police officers escorted the roving crowd and walked along marchers on their trek through the Mission District.

Amane Eid, 22, was one of the dozens of marchers with a Palestinian flag draped around her shoulders, chanting along with the group that called themselves brothers and sisters of those who live in Gaza.

Jana Asenbrennerova / Special to The Chronicle

Its awesome to come here and see so many diverse people supporting us. It shows people are caring and opening up to Palestine, Eid said, raising her voice over the Celia Cruz music blaring across the street.

Under the flag tied at her collarbone, the words Palestine will be free were written in red ink on a black t-shirt, and a pair of eyes that appeared to peer back at anyone looking at her shirt.

Eid said her family is from Beit Hanina, a village in Palestine. She said she hoped the San Francisco community listens to the stories.

Im here to show support of my county. It shows were still thinking about them from a different country. I know it means a lot to them back home, Eid said.

Reem Assil, 35, pushed a stroller with her 1-year-old son, Zain, strapped in and riding along with a Palestinian flag secured to the stroller. She waved as she navigated throngs of people carrying handmade signs.

Assil said the demonstration was her way of protesting the inhumane living conditions she said residents in Gaza have experienced for decades. Assil, who identifies as Palestinian-Syrian and now lives in Oakland, said she still has relatives living in Gaza, including most of her grandfathers side of the family and many cousins.

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.

Their quality of life is always on the fringe of life or death, she said. My son just turned 1 and we continue to fight because I want him to know that he comes from a long line of resilient people who are fighting to live.

She pointed to the white and black scarf wrapped around her sons neck, calling it a kufiye. It serves as a symbol of resistance and almost sort of a belonging to a tribe, she said

I cant go back to my homeland and I cant visit my family. All I hear is the stories from afar, she said. But being with people here who are in solidarity with the Palestinians is powerful, because weve been alone in this.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavorWe now have close to 20 candidates and potential candidates crisscrossing the country in pursuit of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, while the one person with the best chance of winning is right in front of us: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Lets check the list.

She is already the best-known Democrat in the nation.

She has a proven legislative record.

And she has proved that she can unite the partys disparate factions.

Her election success in leading House Democrats back to power shows she has a grasp of what sells in swing states as well as blue outposts.

And no one can outdo her when it comes to raising money.

Most important, for all the abuse Republicans heap on San Francisco values, Pelosi is the one politician President Trump fears.

Hes quick with a condescending nickname for just about all his opponents, but not Pelosi. And with good reason  she dealt him the worst defeat of his presidency when she stood firm as Trump shut down much of the government over Democrats refusal to pay for his border wall.

As for issues: The Affordable Care Act, which helped nearly 20 million Americans obtain health care, may be known as Obamacare, but Pelosi is largely responsible for getting it done. That alone speaks louder to Americas middle class than any of the issues being touted by the Democratic candidates.

As an aside, we wouldnt have to detail any new Secret Service agents to candidate Pelosi. As speaker of the House, she already has about 18 bodyguards.

I know, because they all showed up with her at my birthday party at the Venetian Room the other night.

Past, present, future: It was a real study in contrasts the other night when former Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, were in one room at the Marines Memorial Theatre and Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was in another.

Both events were sold out, but that was about all they had in common.

None of the attendees at the Brown event looked to be under 65. None of the attendees at the Buttigieg event looked to be over 45.

The Buttigieg people took the stairs. The Brown crowd lined up for the elevators.

I have to say, Buttigieg turned out to be a refreshing break from some of the other candidates making the rounds. But then, how can a gay, Harvard-educated, Rhodes scholar, Afghan war veteran not be interesting?

I brought tech investor Ron Conway with me to the meet and greet before the appearance. Conway immediately began peppering Buttigieg with questions like he was conducting a job interview.

Why are you running? What are your issues?

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Buttigieg listened for a minute before cutting him off, saying, With all due respect, thats what I want to talk about.

For my money, Buttigieg is the best vice presidential candidate running.

Happy birthday to it: A tip of the hat to Golden Gate Park, which is celebrating its 149th birthday April 4.

Its one of the few things in the city that is older than I am.

Its not as famous as New Yorks Central Park, but the gap is closing: The 4/20 celebration brings pot smokers from everywhere.

Theres a lot to be said for having a park with something for everybody.

Friends in low places: Congratulations to President Trump for having escaped Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation without being charged with a crime. In the meantime, five ex-Trump aides were convicted of various offenses, and a sixth (Roger Stone) is under indictment.

If Trump rides his vengeance campaign to re-election, as he seems intent on trying to do, hell travel down Pennsylvania Avenue for his inauguration in a limo with a license plate made by one of his former friends.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.comThe former head of the California Department of Industrial Relations in Oakland, which enforces state laws that protect workers, engaged in gross misconduct over nearly seven years by consistently orchestrating personnel decisions that favored her daughter, according to a report issued by the California State Auditor.

It said she also falsified documents, attempted to identify and retaliate against suspected whistle-blowers and referred to employees by racial, ethnic, or age-related characteristics.

The report issued Tuesday did not name the department or director, but a spokesman for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, confirmed it was the industrial relations department, which it oversees, and its former director, Christine Baker.

The department has nearly 3,000 employees and administers wage and hour laws, workers compensation, occupational safety and health (Cal/OSHA) and apprenticeship standards. Baker joined the department in 1985. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her to head it in 2011.

The 39-page report describes how the director allegedly used her influence to have her daughter hired and promoted into positions she didnt qualify for and protect her daughter from supervisors she didnt agree with. In 2014, the daughter complained about a supervisor to her mother over a weekend, and that supervisor was reassigned on Monday. The report called the transfer punitive in nature.

For much of 2015 through 2017, the daughter allegedly submitted time sheets for 40-hour workweeks when email and computer records show she produced no substantive work, the report said. During this period, she worked for the information technology department headed by Bakers brother, mostly from home. The report suggested that the state try to recoup $129,329 in pay for work she did not perform. It has not yet.

Reached at her Berkeley home, Baker said, Most (of the report) is untrue. Under her leadership of the department, the state of California did major reforms to the workers comp system. Theres always going to be detractors. I was railroaded into this audit. She added, There is a band that wanted to make me look very bad, take me down. Its complicated.

The report sheds light on Bakers sudden and unexpected resignation one year ago. But it raises questions about why it took so long for the report to be made public. The Brown administration knew of the auditors findings before Baker resigned, and the auditor issued a nonpublic copy of the report to Brown, key legislative leaders, and the heads of the state personnel and human resources divisions in May.

Just before leaving office in January, Brown appointed Baker to a position on the California Fraud Assessment Commission, which allocates funding for insurance-fraud prosecution. The position pays $100 per day of meetings plus travel expenses.

Brown also appointed Bakers former boss, David Lanier, to the post of chairman of the State Compensation Insurance Fund board, a part-time position that pays $58,633 a year. Lanier, a longtime Brown confidant, was secretary of the Labor and Workforce Agency  a Cabinet position  from 2011 until January, when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Julie Su to replace him.

The auditors report said that the secretary of the agency overseeing the department violated the law by sharing information about its investigation into the department with the target of the investigation and her brother after he was told not to. State Auditor Elaine Howle declined to name anyone in the report, citing whistle-blower protection laws. But the secretary of the agency during Bakers tenure was Lanier.

Baker confirmed that her daughter is Julianna Baker and her brother is James Culbeaux. Both left the department after she did. Culbeaux worked for the department for 34 years and was its chief information officer before she became director, Baker said in an email. Once she became director, she asked that he report to the labor agency, not her. Culbeaux and Julianna Baker could not be reached for comment.

Baker said she couldnt elaborate because of litigation. A former department employee, Socorro Tongco, is suing Baker, Lanier and other state employees for wrongful termination. The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, claims Tongco was fired because she cooperated with an investigation into alleged nepotism.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra is defending Baker, the department and the other defendants.

The state auditors office administers the California Whistleblower Protection Act. In early 2015, it said it received credible allegations involving the director and her daughter, who worked in the same department in various jobs from November 2011 until April 2018. The auditor asked the agency that oversees the department to investigate the allegations and report back within 60 days, by June 2015.

The agency did not provide a final investigative report to the auditors office until a year after the deadline, the report said. During that year, the auditor received more complaints and the office started its own investigation. Howles staff sifted through more than a million emails and interviewed dozens of people. Twenty people out of 40 or 50 we interviewed were fearful of retaliation, Howle said.

The auditor provided the Brown administration with a draft of its investigation results in March 2018, Howle said.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

On Friday, March 30, 2018, Baker announced her resignation in a brief letter to employees and departed. The following Monday, a former employee went looking for a reason and found a notice on the State Auditors website. Under upcoming reports it said, I2015-1060  Investigative Report  California Department of Industrial Relations. Est. Release Date April 10, 2018, according to a screenshot.

Employees involved in the investigation eagerly awaited its release. The next morning, however, that notice disappeared. The auditors office said then and now that the notice was posted in error.

In May, the auditor gave a nonpublic report on its investigation to Brown, legislative leaders and others. That report was identical to the one released Tuesday, except the latter includes a status update on the auditors recommendations.

During the investigation, the director tried to confirm the identity of a suspected whistle-blower by instructing an employee to review more than two years of email messages between that person and department employees, the report said.

Howle said she kept the report private for nearly a year to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation. Although the director had already resigned by the time it was released privately, that doesnt mean there couldnt be other people who could retaliate, she said.

She said she also wanted to give the agency time to implement its recommendations to prevent similar offenses. In the report, she said, we do not yet see evidence that the agency has acted with appropriate rigor to remediate the effects of the directors behavior and has not fully implemented any of the recommendations we made.

Su, the agencys current secretary said in a statement, This report raised serious concerns. Among the many important roles that the Labor Agency plays in securing just working conditions for Californians, our job is to prevent retaliation against employees who exercise their rights in the workplace, which makes any retaliatory conduct within the agency all the more unacceptable.

Newsoms office did not respond to requests for comment. Brown could not be reached.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpenderCrunch time may finally be here for Oroville Dam, which is expected to send water over the repaired concrete spillway this week for the first time since the structure partially collapsed in 2017 and engulfed the region in crisis.

State water officials, who manage the 770-foot-high dam, said storms this week will probably force them to open the floodgates to control water levels in the reservoir, which is brimming after several winter storms and heavy snowfall in the mountains.

A storm is forecast to hit the Oroville area early in the week, with peak rainfall late Tuesday, followed by another, stronger storm later in the week.

The reservoir, on the Feather River about 75 miles north of Sacramento, is currently three-quarters full, but if the storms fill it above safety levels and the spillway is needed, dam officials are confident the chute will hold.

Were preparing for it, said Erin Mellon, spokeswoman for the California Department of Water Resources. There is still water entering the system, plus we have a lot of snowpack. We want to make sure we have adequate space in the reservoir to handle the inflows.

The dams main spillway failed so spectacularly during heavy rains in February 2017 that managers turned to an emergency spillway, which poured water over a mostly barren hillside that quickly eroded, as the deluge cascaded down the hillside.

A team of independent engineers blamed the failure on weakened concrete, poor drainage and a history of shoddy maintenance, including a failure to adequately review for problems. It raised concerns about the rest of Californias aging water infrastructure.

The department spent $1.1 billion rebuilding the complexs two faulty spillways, pouring enough concrete to fill 372 Olympic-size swimming pools, reinforcing the concrete with 12.4 million pounds of steel rebar.

The half-mile-long main spillway, where the initial fracture occurred, is now as wide as a 15-lane freeway and averages 7 feet thick compared with 2 feet in the original 1960s version. It is capable of handling up to 270,000 cubic feet of water per second, way more than dam operators ever expect to release and nearly twice the capacity of the old chute, which could handle only 160,000 cubic feet per second.

The new 3,000-foot-long spillway has steel pillars anchoring the structure 15 to 25 feet deep into bedrock and a modernized drainage system. The old spillway had only 5-foot-deep piles holding it in place.

The work on the 50-year old dam, a primary source of drinking and irrigation water in California, was the biggest and fastest construction project in recent state history.

The main spillway has been fully reconstructed, Mellon said. We've used the best engineering minds and practices in the reconstruction and we have done it under the oversight of state and federal regulators and independent experts.

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 hillside that serves as the emergency spillway has also been armored with concrete and a retaining wall. Final touches are still being worked on, but Mellon said the reservoir would have to rise 51 feet above its current level before the emergency chute would be used, a highly unlikely prospect based on this weeks forecast.

In preparation for use of the main spillway, construction equipment and a temporary haul road made of compacted dirt below the structure were removed as a precaution.

Mellon said the agency will give the public at least a 24-hour notice before using the spillway.

The Trump administration recently rejected $306 million of the $639 million California requested from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in reimbursements for the spillway repairs. It means only about a third of the cost will be picked up by the federal government.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimriteThis domain name expired on 2021-12-12 06:12:50 Click here to renew it.San Francisco has become better known for rising housing costs and homelessness than the innovation, beauty and diversity that make it special to those of us who call it home. Nearly every Bay Area community is feeling these challenges.

Staggering home prices coupled with the rising cost of living are pushing low- and middle-income families out of the region. The Bay Area leads the nation in outward migration, according to a recent study. These are our teachers, artists, first responders and so many of our other neighbors.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

Among the hardest hit by San Franciscos increasing costs are the older adults who are more likely to live on a fixed income.

Our citys cost of living increases show no sign of slowing, adding to the financial squeeze that plagues Californias older adults. We cannot continue to ignore this problem.

Today, 17 percent of San Franciscos population is over 65 years of age. That figure is expected to nearly double over the next three decades.

Emma Marie Chiang / TNS

Neither the Bay Area nor California as a whole is prepared to care for this growing older adult population, which includes our moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents  and many of us.

The regions resources available for this aging population fall severely short. Further, a shrinking caregiver workforce limits the availability of staffing for in-home care and assisted-living facilities.

The scarcity of affordable housing is causing older adults to flee our city and the region at an alarming rate. Their departure is not only because of evictions, but also because the fixed incomes they survive on offer little or no breathing room to cover mounting rents. Rising housing costs have left nearly 70 percent of San Franciscos low-income older adults spending more than a third of their monthly income on rent, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. For housing costs to be considered affordable, the total costs, including utilities and insurance, should not exceed 30 percent.

Many local assisted-living facilities burdened with similar rising costs must choose between shutting down and moving to a more affordable region. Sky high-rents, along with the hefty cost of providing residents with proper care and employees with a living wage, have left many of these facilities struggling to remain in operation.

A severe shortage of qualified caregivers exacerbates the problem. To meet growing demand, California will require more than 200,000 additional personal care aides and roughly 13,000 additional certified home health aides in just the next five years, according to the state Employment Development Department.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom advocated in his first State of the State address, California must begin to tackle aging issues, such as affordable housing, social isolation and the demand for in-home care, to protect older adults in the Bay Area and around the state.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2018

With more resources, older adults can remain in their homes and established communities without compromising their quality of life and their ability to age with dignity.

Significant change will not happen without your support. Contact your legislator today to find out how he or she is working to protect the citys older adults who have helped shape the San Francisco we love.

Jeannee Parker Martin is the president and CEO of LeadingAge California and spearheads the Age On. Rage On. campaign to call for a master plan on aging in California. David Berg is president and CEO of Sequoia Living, which operates residential communities in San Francisco and across the Bay Area.It took only minutes from the release of Attorney General William Barrs four-page memo about the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election for the harsh spotlight to turn to media coverage of the past two years. The Trump White House and its echo chambers at Fox News and beyond instantly tried to use Barrs letter to discredit anything and everything that was written and said about Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation and where it might lead.

Barrs semi-cryptic disclosure about the still-secret report of nearly 400 pages was that Mueller did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government during the campaign. Barr further noted that the special counsel did not draw a conclusion about whether obstruction of justice occurred  though Barr and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, who had overseen Muellers work, concluded on their own that it did not.

With those morsels of quasi-vindication, Team Trump went feral, especially against the media.

The president quickly claimed total and complete exoneration, though even Barrs meager account of the Mueller report explicitly stated that the president was not being exonerated on obstruction of justice. Trump called the probe an illegal takedown that failed. The piling on continued, mostly from the right, but also from the left.

Conservative writer Rich Lowry said the biggest three losers from the report, which, notably, neither he nor the many other instant commentators had read, were: the media, the media, the media. Trumps adviser/mouthpiece from Fox News, Sean Hannity, vowed to hold every liar, every propagandist, every conspiracy theorist accountable. From the left, Glenn Greenwald said, If theres no media reckoning for what they did, dont ever complain again when people attack the media as fake news or identify them as one of the countrys most toxic and destructive forces.

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Sean Davis of the Federalist was headlined, A Catastrophic Media Failure.

But was it? Consider these three points:

 The Mueller report has not been made public. The fact that the special counsel did not find sufficient proof of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian actors meddling in the election does not necessarily mean there was no evidence of wrongdoing. Also, Muellers deferral to Barr on the difficult issues of law and fact was accompanied by evidence on both sides of the question. Barrs predisposition to clear the president of such an allegation before ever bothering with the details was spelled out in a 19-page memo in June 2018, which may well have been one of the reasons he got the job  and should have required his recusal from this decision.

 Do not conflate the drive-by punditry one sees every night on cable news (whether Fox, CNN or MSNBC) with real journalism. The currency of those panels is extrapolation and speculation. Do you want to get invited back on prime time, whether youre a politician, former intelligence or law enforcement official or columnist? Then leave your caution and nuance at home.

 Perhaps most importantly, there has been some significant journalism over the past two years that has exposed the White House lies, the persistent clandestine contacts between Trump campaign operatives and Russians, the extent of Russian hacking and social media trolling on candidate Trumps behalf, and the dealings over Trump Tower Moscow well into 2016 even as Trump was insisting he had no business interests in Russia. One of the dangerous aspects of this delegitimize-the-media effort of the Trump propaganda campaign is its obvious motive to cast doubt on the journalists who are doing their job as watchdogs and truth tellers.

In fact, the Washington Post and New York Times shared a Pulitzer Prize in national reporting last year for their deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nations understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elects transition team and his eventual administration.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested the Times and Post should return the prize for their exaggerated and hysterical reporting on Trump and Russia. Donald Trump Jr. said their Pulitzer should be converted to #fakenews awards.

I just re-read the 20 pieces that constituted the winning Times-Post entries. Those stories stand the test of time. Taken individually and as a body of work, they inform the American people in detail on what their government would not: about how the Russians employed a fake army of Americans to inflame and sway the electorate; how the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner concealed his meetings with the Russians, how the White House ignored warnings about the conflicts of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn; about the presidents refusal to accept the intelligence communitys evidence of the Russian threat; about how Donald Jr. reacted with glee to an email offering Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton. (It must be noted that Junior released those emails only after he knew the New York Times had them and was about to publish).

Those Times-Post Pulitzer-winning reports are chock-full of well-documented anecdotes suggesting collusion and obstruction that may yet be corroborated in the Mueller report if and when it is made public.

It is not surprising that Trump would use the Barr memo to reiterate his refrain that the mainstream media truly are the Enemy of the People and the Real Opposition Party, as he tweeted. Accountability always has been the enemy of Donald J. Trump, who has made more than 9,000 false or misleading statements during his presidency, according to the Washington Post fact-checkers. Nor is it surprising that his characterization of the Barr report as total and complete exoneration is yet another readily provable falsehood.

His campaign against the press, so eagerly taken up by the Hannitys and Gingriches in his orbit, is as strategically savvy as it is a disservice to the public interest. Barr told Congress on Friday that he would forward the nearly 400-page report, or truncated version of it, by mid-April. Each day that goes by is only going to solidify the certitude among his base of supporters of his simplistic narrative, based on a few dozen words out of potentially hundreds of thousands, that he was wronged.

The same Donald Trump who castigated Mueller as conflicted and on a witch hunt now praises the special counsel on the basis of the attorney generals mini memo.

Keep this in mind as the nation awaits  demands  a more fulsome report from the special counsel whose team issued 2,800 subpoenas, interviewed more than 500 people  and obtained indictments or convictions against six former Trump advisers, including his campaign chairman: Mueller agreed, unambiguously, with the U.S. intelligence communitys assessment that the Russians did engage in a sophisticated effort to influence the election on Trumps behalf.

Now think back to Trumps standing next to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last year, when the president of the United States openly doubted his own intelligence agencies against the word of a Russian president about the 2016 election interference.

The pursuit of the reasons behind Trumps genuflection to a tyrant from a hostile nation is not only legitimate, it is imperative. The absence of a prosecutable conspiracy does not absolve Trump and his associates in the many other angles of possible malfeasance that Mueller and journalists have pursued.

Lets wait for the full Mueller report to draw judgment on whether the journalists who have been digging beyond the party line represent a failure or a manifestation of their role in a democracy.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChronGas prices are bouncing up. So are bridge tolls. San Franciscos car insurance rates, parking charges and auto break-ins are infamously high. If there was a further inducement not to drive, heres another: congestion pricing.

The concept finding favor with transit planners and environmentalists would charge drivers a fee for entering the downtown area. The benefits would bring the city more money for public transit and give paying drivers more room on the streets. Other blessings include less pollution, fewer dangers from zooming cars and quicker transit travel times.

Everyone would win, backers say.

Its all good unless you have a hard time paying up. Critics arent sold on what translates as a tax on low-income drivers. There are significant details to work out: what to charge ride-share goliaths like Lyft and Uber, how to treat commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks, and where the money goes from congestion fees. Get ready for pressure for carve-outs for hybrids and electrics, drivers with disabilities, and unsuspecting tourists and conventioneers.

Remember, this is San Francisco.

The results of such schemes elsewhere have been mixed. Law-and-order Singapore has had such a system since 1975, and Milan and Stockholm have fine-tuned plans over the past 12 years. London began charging to enter its central core in 2003. Most use a tracker system similar to FasTrak commute devices on Bay Area bridges, dispensing with toll booths or barriers.

The results have generally led to lower traffic levels, though the money flows havent lived up to expectations. New York City is battling over a proposed system that would need state approval, but there are trouble signs there that could find an echo here. Suburban towns want credit for their drivers who pay bridge tolls and the towns are demanding a share of the congestion money be spent on BART-style commute rail, not the city subway system that needs serious repair.

As with New York, San Francisco would need permission from Sacramento, where opponents such as major auto clubs and trucking associations are cool to the idea. Biggest of all is how drivers feel about another levy in the name of a traffic cure. Voters last year rejected a repeal of a gas tax increase, suggesting they favor spending more money on traffic improvements. Local bond measures for BART and other transportation upgrades have also passed.

Putting up a toll where none existed may be a higher hurdle. Before San Francisco takes another step, there needs to be a persuasive case for congestion pricing beyond theories and comparisons with faraway cities with very different transit and road conditions.

Driving already is costly and inconvenient, enough so that new buildings are designed without garages, street lanes are blocked off for bike riders and gas stations are vanishing. The citys official Transit First policy is a guiding directive that already downplays driving, making the idea of an additional tax punitive and unnecessary without a more compelling argument.

Getting around in a car can be a maddening experience in San Francisco. Plenty of financial and logistical disincentives to driving are in place. An additional burden on those who need to drive is not a panacea to the daily quagmire.

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.SACRAMENTO  Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking $168 million to hire more than 1,100 new employees at the California Department of Motor Vehicles and make other changes to reduce long wait times at DMV offices.

The request, made by his administration Friday to the chairs of the legislative budget committees, came two days after a state audit concluded that a reactive culture at the DMV was to blame for poor customer service and the faulty rollout of a new identification card last year.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the governors Finance Department, said the funding proposal was developed in consultation with staffers who conducted the audit and members of the strike team Newsom assembled in January to fix the DMV.

Visitors to DMV offices last summer reported waiting as long as six hours for service while the agency struggled to process applications for Real IDs, a new drivers license that the federal government will require as a form of identification for passengers on domestic airline flights beginning in October 2020.

About $135 million of the requested funding would be for new positions, including 970 temporary workers to help process Real ID applications. The DMV has already hired about 900 temporary workers to deal with the increased workload.

Newsom also wants to add 178 permanent jobs to the department  half in call centers and other customer service positions and the rest to improve areas including training, technology and public affairs.

Palmer said an estimated 20 million people will need to visit a DMV office in the next 17 months to get a Real ID, which can only be done in person.

We are anticipating a wave of Californians who are going to need to come in, he said.

The remaining $33 million that Newsom is requesting would allow the DMV to begin credit card transactions at its offices by the summer, add 200 more service kiosks where customers can renew their vehicle registration and complete other basic tasks, and boost its media campaigns for the Real ID.

It also includes a $1 million proposal to shut down DMV offices for a day in June to train all staffers on ways to reduce wait times.

Assemblyman Phil Ting, the San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, said he agrees that the DMV needs more resources to fix its problems.

But at this point, I dont have confidence in the department or the leadership team that they know how to spend the money properly, he said.

Ting pointed to promises from DMV officials last year that they would use tablets to assist people while they waited in line and adopt a texting notification system so people could leave and return when their number was called. The audit found that both programs had been sparingly implemented.

Newsoms office posted a job application this week for a DMV director to replace Jean Shiomoto, who retired in December. Ting said he would be looking for other changes that the strike team plans to make when his committee holds a hearing about the DMV funding request April 9.

In January, Newsom also asked the Legislature for another $40 million to cover overtime and extended hours at DMV offices. That funding has yet to be approved.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseffA online fundraiser pooling money to support Mayor London Breeds proposal to bring a 200-bed Navigation Center to the Embarcadero brought in over $82,000 in just over 24 hours.

William Fitzgerald of San Francisco launched the fundraiser Thursday morning in response to a rival campaign on the GoFundMe website thats raising money to hire attorneys to help block the Navigation Center.

That campaign, called Safe Embarcadero for All, was started nine days ago by Neel Lilani, a resident of the Watermark, a condominium building across the Embarcadero from where the center would be built. The money Lilani raises would be used to hire the Zacks, Freedman & Patterson law firm.

We are worried that the rushed process puts the political goal of building a large Navigation Center ahead of legitimate concerns about public safety, drug use, and other problems that a large shelter may bring to the community, the group says on its GoFundMe page.

By Friday afternoon, after nine days of fundraising, the opposition campaign brought in just over $70,000 from 174 donors.

The pro-center page eclipsed that amount in just over a day, with over $75,000 raised from almost 1,000 people. On Friday, tech CEOs Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Jeff Lawson from Twilio each donated $10,000 to the Navigation Center campaign. GoFundMe itself donated $5,000 on Thursday.

The response has been crazy, Fitzgerald said. There are a lot of good people in this city who believe that people deserve housing and the resources they need to get off the streets.

The money raised will be donated to the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness, which supports the Navigation Center.

The next public meeting on the Navigation Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. on April 3 at the Delancey Street Foundation, 600 the Embarcadero.

 Dominic Fracassa

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider @dominicfracassaMichel Bacos, the valiant French pilot who was forced by terrorists to fly his jetliner to Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, but refused to abandon Jewish passengers before an audacious rescue by Israeli commandos, died Tuesday in Nice, France. He was 94.

His death was announced by Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, where Bacos lived.

Michel bravely refused to surrender to anti-Semitism and barbarism and brought honor to France, Estrosi said. Michel was a hero.

Celebrated in films and books, the swashbuckling rescue by Israelis disguised as Ugandan soldiers culminated a harrowing week in which hijackers from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Germanys Baader-Meinhof Gang seized control of Air France Flight 139 less than eight minutes after it lifted off from Athens on June 27, 1976. The plane had stopped there on its way from Tel Aviv to Paris.

The plane, carrying more than 240 passengers and a crew of 12, was diverted to Libya to refuel, then directed to fly more than 3,500 miles to Entebbe, where it landed with only 20 minutes of fuel remaining.

Three days later, the hijackers freed the 148 passengers who were neither Jewish nor Israeli. They threatened to kill the rest unless 53 prisoners being held in Israel and other countries on terrorism charges were released. The planes crew was also permitted to depart.

There was no way we were going to leave  we were staying with the passengers to the end, Bacos (pronounced bah-COSE) told the Israeli website Ynetnews.com in 2016. This was a matter of conscience, professionalism and morality. As a former officer in the Free French Forces, I couldnt imagine leaving behind not even a single passenger.

As he recounted to the BBC that year, I told my crew that we must stay until the end, because that was our tradition, so we cannot accept being freed. All my crew agreed without exception.

Three planeloads of troops from the Israel Defense Forces carried out the rescue operation on the night of July 4. Three of the remaining 106 passengers and one Israeli commando, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, were killed. He was the elder brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Netanyahu tweeted this week that Bacos had stayed with the hostages through all their hardships, until IDF soldiers  led by my brother Yoni  freed him in a daring operation.

I bow my head in his memory, he added, and salute Michels bravery.

Bacos, who was 52 at the time, recalled in interviews that the ordeal started with a commotion that he could hear through the cockpit door.

Eight minutes after the takeoff from Athens, I heard noise in the passenger cabin, then screams, he said. First I thought there was a fire on board. The chief engineer opened the door of the pilots cabin and found himself nose to nose with the chief hijacker, a German, armed with a pistol and a grenade.

If you stay still and do nothing suspicious, Bacos quoted the German as saying, no one will be hurt.

The hijacker had his gun pointed continuously at my head and occasionally he would poke my neck not to look at him, Bacos said.

We could only obey the orders of the terrorists, he added.

After the plane landed in Uganda, Bacos insisted on his right, as the pilot, to visit all the hostages. They included a pharmacist, a doctor, a welder, a teacher, a gas station owner, a lawyer, a microbiologist, an economist, a nurse, a computer engineer and at least one woman who had survived the Holocaust. All were being held in a dusty, derelict passenger terminal.

Seven terrorists and 20 Ugandan soldiers were also killed in the raid when a convoy of Israeli commandos arrived in darkness disguised as a motorcade carrying Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator who had welcomed the hijackers.

I lifted my head, and I saw a soldier dressed like a member of the Ugandan army with a white hat, and he said in Hebrew: Listen, guys, weve come to take you home, Bacos, who had often flown the Israel route and understood the language, told the BBC.

I didnt believe what I was seeing, he added. Even now I cant describe it  seeing the soldier. It was as if an angel had come down from the sky.

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.

Returning to Israel in their military transport plane, the commandos fetched Bacos from the cabin. Your place is not here, he recalled a soldier telling him, but in the cockpit.

Michel Bacos was born on May 3, 1924, in Egypt, where his father worked at the Suez Canal. France had been the majority stockholder in the canal corporation.

Michel joined the Free French Forces as a teenager during World War II and was stationed in Morocco as a naval aviation officer.

I fought the Nazis, he said. I knew precisely what fascism was all about. The genocide is a horror that none of us had forgotten.

In the 1960s, he ferried passengers and supplies between West Berlin and West Germany, where he met his wife, Rosemary, a flight attendant. She survives him along with their three sons and many grandchildren.

Bacos retired from Air France in 1982.

He was decorated for bravery with Frances National Order of the Legion of Honor. He was also honored by Israel, Bnai Brith International and the American Jewish Committee.

He was played by Eddie Constantine in the 1977 television movie Raid on Entebbe and by Brontis Jodorowsky in the 2018 feature film 7 Days in Entebbe.

Bacos allowed himself a two-week break after the hijacking. But once back from vacation, he requested a specific destination for his first flight: Tel Aviv.

Sam Roberts is a New York Times writer.It seems that a pair of opposing GoFundMe campaigns centered on a proposed homeless Navigation Center in San Francisco has garnered a lot of attention this week, with two big tech names  and a tech company  weighing in with their money.

Both Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson contributed $10,000 each to the "SAFER Embarcadero for ALL" campaign Friday, to support the construction of a homeless navigation center slated for Seawall Lot 330 and the Coalition on Homelessness.

"This isn't about the money; it's about the soul of our city, fighting for our most vulnerable citizens, and supporting our leaders like @LondonBreed," wrote Lawson in a tweet about his donation, encouraging others to donate.

READ ALSO: Silicon Valley's largest city wants to house the homeless in floating apartments

Benioff similarly took to his Twitter page Friday to promote the "SAFER" campaign to his followers, writing: "Homelessness is our number [one] crisis and it requires all of our attention and resources." He has been a vocal supporter of Prop. C, a passed measure that looks to generate up to $300 million for homeless programs through raising taxes on big businesses, such as his own Salesforce company.

The GoFundMe team also contributed an additional $5,000 to support the fundraiser, with CEO Rob Solomon stating that he felt that the tech industry isn't doing enough about the homelessness issue, and that the company "wanted to do our small part."

The fundraiser was initially started Thursday by William Fitzgerald, and began as a parody. The "SAFER" campaign was in direct opposition to another campaign, the "Safe Embarcadero for All" campaign  note the slight name difference  which was launched earlier this week to stop the construction of the aforementioned navigation center.

That first campaign opposed the 200-bed center, and claimed that nearby residents were not given the opportunity to give input on its location, stating that Mayor London Breed was being "allowed to steamroll over communities just to pursue a campaign promise."

"This undemocratic process has left us no choice but to pursue legal options to ensure that the City adheres to normal environmental and building rules designed to protect health and safety," the "Safe Embarcadero for all" campaign stated on the GoFundMe site.

In its early stages, the group attracted its own share of big-ticket donations, including anonymous gifts of $10,000, $5,000 and a number of $1,000 donations to hire attorneys in its legal battle against the center's construction.

READ ALSO: Big city mayors seek more money to fight homelessness

"It was kind of brazen," Fitzgerald said of the campaign to oppose the navigation center. "They're (trying to stop) a shelter in the neighborhood, and these are the same people who complain about homelessness all the time."

By Friday, the two campaigns were in a standoff of sorts, with the group opposing the center reaching $70,100 of its $100,000 goal from 174 donors (as of this reporting), and Fitzgerald's group raising $74,005 of its $100,000 goal from 957 donors, in just one day.

Fitzgerald told The Chronicle that he was inspired to set up his own campaign thanks to another hot-button issue that dueled it on competing GoFundMe pages. In that instance, a GoFundMe page was set up by supporters of President Donald Trump who were looking to fund the border wall through donations; an opposing group, cheekily named "Ladders to Get Over Trump's Wall" countered with its own fundraiser for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at ddeguzman@sfgate.com.

Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news.Microsoft took control of 99 websites that it said Iranian hackers had used to try to steal sensitive information from targets in the United States, according to court documents unsealed last week.

By taking over the sites, Microsoft can stop future cyberattacks and monitor how previously infected computers were compromised, the company said.

The hackers specifically directed their attacks on people in Washington, Microsoft said in the filing. The hacking group typically has targeted the personal email accounts of people working in both the public and private sectors, including dissidents and workers in government agencies, Microsoft said in court documents.

People working in the Treasury Department and similar agencies in other Western governments were among those targeted, according to a person with knowledge of the attacks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Treasury Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, oversees economic sanctions against Iran.

Microsoft sued the hackers in the U.S. District Court in Washington and asked to gain control of the sites, saying the hackers had harmed its brand and the value of its trademarks by impersonating its products to trick victims. On March 15, Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted a temporary restraining order that let Microsoft take over the websites.

Microsoft said the hacking group, which it calls Phosphorus but is also known as APT 35 and Charming Kitten, had been linked to Iran. The group uses a technique known as spear phishing, sending email and social media links to victims while imitating the personas of people or institutions they may know. That either prompts the users to click on links that install malware that lets the hackers spy on the victims computers, or prompts the victims to enter their login credentials, which the hackers then later use to log in to official systems.

The Iranian hackers faked the look and language of several Microsoft products, including LinkedIn, OneDrive and Hotmail, Microsoft said in the documents.

By seizing the sites, Microsoft set up what is known as a sinkhole, which lets it monitor the traffic that otherwise would have been captured by the hackers.

While weve used daily security analytics tracking to stop individual Phosphorus attacks and notify impacted customers, the action we executed last week enabled us to take control of websites that are core to its operations, Tom Burt, a Microsoft security executive, said in a blog post.

Microsoft has used this legal and technical approach before, including for fighting the botnets that spit out spam email. It also used the approach against Fancy Bear, a hacking group widely considered to be affiliated with Russian intelligence, which Microsoft said had targeted think tanks and political groups in the United States and Europe.

Karen Weise is a New York Times writer.Some of the most valuable tech startups are preparing to go public, starting with Lyft on Friday. The initial public offerings promise to generate big paydays for the startups employees and investors. Here are some of them.

Lyft: The ride-hailing service, which has branched out into scooters and bike-sharing, among other ventures, was worth about $25 billion when it started trading Friday. The value of each stake in Lyft is based on a pre-IPO share price of $72.

$2.26 billion: Rakuten, Japanese e-commerce firm.

$1.34 billion: General Motors, automaker.

$1.34 billion: Fidelity, financial firm.

$1.1 billion: Andreessen Horowitz, venture capital firm. Andreessen Horowitz, founded a decade ago, is one of Silicon Valleys top venture capital firms, having invested in Instagram and others. Its poised to win big with this years IPO wave: It owns stakes in Lyft, Pinterest, Slack and Airbnb, all of which are expected to go public this year or in 2020.

$924 million: CapitalG, investment arm of Alphabet, Googles parent company.

$603 million: Logan Green, co-founder and CEO.

$416 million: John Zimmer, co-founder and president.

$111 million: Floodgate, venture capital firm. Ann Miura-Ko, a co-founder of Floodgate, was one of the first investors in Lyft when it went by its original name, Zimride.

$478,000: Valerie Jarrett, former adviser to President Barack Obama.

Uber: The worlds biggest ride-hailing company, which also does food delivery, self-driving cars and electric bikes, may be worth about $120 billion when it starts trading this year. Thats when well find out how much its investors and employees could make. Uber, Pinterest, Slack and others are expected to go public in the coming weeks and months. All three have filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission but have not yet detailed ownership stakes as part of those filings.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO.

Benchmark, venture capital firm.

GV, venture capital arm of Alphabet. GV was formerly known as Google Ventures. The largest tech firms have for years invested in startups as a way to get a foothold in emerging technologies. Ubers autonomous vehicle efforts put it in competition with Alphabet, leading to an ugly legal battle.

Fidelity, financial firm.

Microsoft, tech company.

Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, sovereign wealth fund.

SoftBank, Japanese conglomerate.

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO. Kalanick stepped down as CEO in 2017 after months of questions over his leadership of the company, which had become a prime example of Silicon Valley startup culture gone awry.

Toyota, automaker.

Pinterest: The social media company, which lets people create digital pin boards, is the rare unicorn that is not hemorrhaging cash. Private market investors last valued it at $12 billion.

Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO. Silbermann has not followed Silicon Valleys playbook of chasing growth at all costs: By avoiding a move fast and break things culture, Pinterest has avoided the scandals that have hurt some of its Silicon Valley peers.

Evan Sharp, co-founder.

Paul Sciarra, co-founder.

Bessemer Venture Partners, venture capital firm.

Andreessen Horowitz, venture capital firm.

FirstMark Capital, venture capital firm.

Fidelity, financial firm.

Valiant Capital Management, investment firm.

Postmates: The delivery app was last valued at nearly $2 billion by private investors.

Bastian Lehmann, co-founder and CEO.

Sean Plaice, co-founder.

Sam Street, co-founder.

Tiger Global Management, investment firm. The hedge fund was among the earliest Wall Street firms to invest in private startups, making bets on SurveyMonkey, Spotify, Juul, Glassdoor and Eventbrite.

Spark Capital, venture capital firm.

Founders Fund, venture capital firm.

BlackRock, financial firm.

Slack: The workplace messaging company was valued at $7.1 billion by private investors in 2018, but investment firms recently have offered to buy its shares at a price that values Slack at $13 billion.

Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and CEO. Butterfield helped found Flickr, the photo-sharing site that Yahoo eventually bought.

Cal Henderson, co-founder and chief technology officer.

Accel, venture capital firm.

Andreessen Horowitz, venture capital firm.

Vision Fund, Japanese conglomerate. Vision Fund is led by SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate. Its founder, Masayoshi Son, believes that our lives will be dominated by robots, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, and he has been investing in the companies he thinks may build that future, as varied as transportation, food, work, medicine and finance.

Social Capital, venture capital firm.

Stephen Grocer, Grant Gold and Erin Griffith are New York Times writers.Vincent Zaleski is an instinctive overreacher: It's hard to define what he wants, but he knows it's just out of his grasp. His cousin Anton Zaleski is the opposite: He's an introvert, and he wants his world to shrink as much as possible.

There is only one way these two can have a common purpose, and that is through the magic of zeros and ones. The digital realm is where dreams both grandiose and infinitesimal can coexist, and in Kim Nguyen's "The Hummingbird Project," the cousins can realize their respective goals by ripping off their boss, an alpha female bent on dominating the world of high-frequency stock trading.

Jesse Eisenberg, the go-to actor for neurotic, misfit schemers with flawed genius  he has played both Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Luthor, after all  is Vincent. Alexander Skarsgard is Anton. Their plan: Install their own high-fiber optic network in a 1,000-mile straight line from the Kansas Electronic Exchange to Wall Street so they can get potential stock sales microseconds before everyone else, and thus resell it at a slightly higher price, a plan that can net them pennies per share but more than $200 million a year.

Problem is, Anton has developed much of that technology for Eva Torres (Salma Hayek in a scene-chewing role), the CEO of a company in New York City that depends on getting the fastest stock info. When the cousins quit and strike out on their own, Eva is obsessed with thwarting their efforts by any means necessary. She can make a pretty good case that she owns Anton's technology, and the Zaleskis might be committing industrial espionage.

"The Hummingbird Project"  the title comes from the time it takes for a hummingbird to flap its wings, about 0.15 of a second, which is the advantage the cousins are seeking  is at once an offbeat comedy and a satisfyingly weird thriller. For example, it has all you'd ever want to know about the equipment needed to lay high-fiber cable and enough technobabble to populate the screenplay of a "Star Trek" film.

Also strange is that this is a genre film with no strong rooting interest. Hayek's Eva, wearing silver-frosted hair and an elegant business wardrobe, brings a force and energy in her own Meryl Streep/"The Devil Wears Prada" kind of way, and you'd be forgiven for rooting for her, the villain, instead of the dysfunctional and off-putting Zaleskis. At one point Eva has her private helicopter fly her to rural Pennsylvania just so she can deliver a threat; a few minutes later she's airborne again, flipping the bird as she ascends.

Ultimately, it is Eisenberg who finds the truth in Vincent, and the film itself. In his quest to shorten time, he finds that it is the world's most precious commodity.WASHINGTON  Border officials are trying to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.

It is the latest attempt to ease a straining immigration system that officials say is at the breaking point. Hundreds of officers who usually screen cargo and vehicles at ports of entry were reassigned to help manage migrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asked for volunteers from non-immigration agencies within her department, sent a letter to Congress this past week requesting resources and broader authority to deport families faster, and she met with Central American and Mexican officials.

The efforts are being made while President Trump is doubling down on threats to shutter the U.S.-Mexico border entirely, a move that would have serious economic repercussions for both the U.S. and Mexico but wouldnt stop migrants from crossing between ports. On Saturday, the administration announced it was cutting aid to to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the Central American countries home to most of the migrants.

Right now, a total of about 60 asylum seekers a day are returned to Mexico at the San Ysidro and Calexico stations in California and at the El Paso port in Texas to wait out their cases, the official said. They are allowed to return to the U.S. for court dates. With a backlog of more than 700,000 immigration cases, asylum seekers can wait years for their cases to progress, and officials say some people game the system in order to live in the U.S.

Officials hope to have as many as 300 people returned per day by the end of the week, focusing particularly on those who come in between ports of entry, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The process so far has been slow-going, and such a sizable increase may be difficult to achieve. The plan has already been marred by confusion, scheduling glitches and an inability by some attorneys to reach their clients. In San Ysidro alone, Mexico had been prepared to accept up to 120 asylum seekers per week, but for the first six weeks only 40 people per week were returned.

Plus, U.S. officials must check if asylum seekers have any felony convictions and notify Mexico at least 12 hours before they are returned. Those who cross illegally must have come as single adults, though the administration is in talks with the Mexican government to include families. Children are not returned.

Colleen Long is an Associated Press writer.CARLSBAD, San Diego County  It was a long time coming, this child support payment.

But nearly 50 years after a judge awarded Toni Anderson child support, the now 73-year-old Carlsbad woman took her ex-husband back to court  and won her bid to force him to pay up. The settlement tally, including interest: $150,000.

Married in 1966, Toni Anderson and her husband Don Lenhart split up a few years later. She was left to raise their young daughter. In 1970, a Los Angeles judge awarded child support, money to be paid until daughter Lane Lenhart was 21. The order was $210 a month to start, then dropping to $160 a month.

Anderson said her ex-husband made an initial payment but the check bounced. Then he left the country, she said, and she gave up on the money.

A single mother, Anderson went to work as an interior decorator, eventually running her own company. She said it was a struggle beyond struggle for years and years, and she worked 24/7. Money was tight. So was the time she had to spend with her little girl.

But she made it work.

Fast-forward to a few years ago. Anderson handed her business over to her daughter and moved to Carlsbad in 2015.

Last year, she had an epiphany: She was still owed child support and knew California had no statute of limitations barring her from chasing the payment.

She Googled her ex, she said, and found that he was living in Oregon. She also dug up that old court order.

Anderson headed to the Vista courthouse, ready to be laughed at. But staffers at the Department of Child Support Services welcomed her, she said. They said we will do everything we can to get you this money, Anderson said.

This year, she hired San Diego family law attorney Sara Yunus. At first, the attorney questioned the case, until Anderson showed her the certified award dating back to 1970. All was in order.

I looked at it and I told her, You are entitled to every single penny of this, Yunus said.

With interest and attorneys fees, a child-support bill that would have amounted to roughly $35,000 decades ago ballooned more than four times over, Yunus said.

A Vista Superior Court commissioner recently agreed last to adopt the parties settlement agreement as an order of the court. Yunus said the case settled for $150,000, to be paid in part with a large initial sum and the rest over the next year and a half.

Through his attorney, Don Lenhart issued a statement that he was glad to pay Ms. Anderson the child support that was owed and I wish her only the best in the future.

Teri Figueroa is a San Diego Union-Tribune writer.WASHINGTON  In a major legal blow to President Trumps push to expand offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge in Alaska ruled that an executive order by Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban drilling in the Arctic Ocean and parts of the North Atlantic coast was unlawful.

The decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason found that President Barack Obamas 2015 and 2016 withdrawal from drilling of about 120 million acres of Arctic Ocean and about 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress. She wrote that an April 2017 executive order by Trump revoking the drilling ban is unlawful, as it exceeded the presidents authority.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

EL PASO, Texas  Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke declared that immigrants make the country safer as he staged rallies across Texas on Saturday to formally kick off his 2020 White House bid, looking to shore up his conservative home state and champion the border at a time when President Trump has threatened to shut it.

The former congressman, who represented El Paso for three House terms until last year, began the day addressing 1,000-plus supporters in his hometown, across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He was holding events at historically black Texas Southern University in Houston later and in the shadow of the red-granite state Capitol in Austin.WASHINGTON  President Trumps decision to revive the fight over the Affordable Care Act has stirred a political and policy debate among Republicans on how best to approach the divisive issue heading into the 2020 election.

Failing to repeal and replace the ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, is one of the biggest shortcomings of the presidents first term. It left Republicans with a broken campaign promise, dismal approval ratings and a narrative they havent been able to shake  that they dont support protecting those with preexisting medical conditions from high-cost care. In some races, it cost Republican seats last fall, flipping House control to Democrats.

For Trump, the reset he wants is clear. The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care, he said on Capitol Hill . You watch!

But among Republican senators, theres reluctance to embrace Trumps new priority. Usually tight-lipped Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was given little advance notice of the presidents new push, spoke volumes when asked about it. I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing, McConnell told Politico.

And in the House, its a mixed bag. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy initially panned Trumps move, questioning the timing that collided with Trumps bounce from the end of special counsel Robert Muellers probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. But the GOP leader does see value in kick-starting a health care debate, said a person granted anonymity to discuss the situation. House Republicans continue to be asked about it back home and a new GOP health care bill could improve their standing with voters, the person said.

Whats unclear is whether a Trump-Care bill will emerge from the White House or Capitol Hill to replace the Affordable Care Act or if the presidents push for a policy outcome fades to little more than a topic for the campaign trail.

Stung by the Democratic gains in November and sparked by another ACA legal challenge that could make its way to the Supreme Court, the president dug into the issue this past week, deciding to fight. He feels that it is an important battle to take on, said two people familiar with White House thinking who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The president has been actively engaged in conversations about health care, dialing up lawmakers in the House and Senate, and the White House is expected to lay out further details on his goals in the coming days. But in truth, there is no grand Republican plan on Capitol Hill to replace Obamacare.

Lisa Mascaro and Catherine Lucey are Associated Press writers.The Rolling Stones are postponing their latest tour so Mick Jagger can receive medical treatment.

The band announced Saturday that Jagger was told by doctors "he cannot go on tour at this time." The band added that Jagger "is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible."

No more details about Jagger's condition were provided.

The Stones' No Filter Tour was expected to start April 20 in Miami. The tour was scheduled to come to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on May 18, marking the band's first Bay Area appearance since May 2013.

Jagger says in the statement he hates letting the fans down but he's "looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can."

Tour promoters AEG Presents and Concerts West advise ticket holders to hold on to their existing tickets because they will be valid for the rescheduled dates.SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A legal precedent was set Friday night regarding the release of police records created in California before Jan. 1, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California said.



ACLU senior staff attorney Kathleen Guneratne said an appeals court in California ruled that six Contra Costa County agencies must release police conduct records created before the start of the year, if requested.



Those six agencies had sued to block the release of records created before Jan. 1 when Senate Bill 1421, a police transparency law, went into effect.



The San Francisco Police Officers' Association also mounted a legal challenge to the new law.



Absent a ruling by the California Supreme Court, the ruling Friday night is final, Guneratne said.



"In our opinion, we welcome it because it really answers a call we have raised for clarity for other trial courts across the state," Guneratne said.



The appeals court ruling follows a decision earlier in the day requiring San Francisco police to release records created before Jan. 1.



Sometime earlier in the day, the San Francisco Police Officers' Association, the union representing officers, withdrew its legal challenge in the case.



"After consultation with our legal counsel, the San Francisco Police Officers' Association has dismissed its Superior Court action regarding the retroactive implementation of SB 1421," the union said in a statement.



The union's concern, it said, was only to protect the privacy rights of its officers, which is being addressed in a different case.



Union officials said they believe all police agencies need to comply with eligible requests for records.



Guneratne said the public has a right to know about police misconduct and police officers want the public to trust them, which the new law may foster.





Copyright  2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.A 16-year-old boy was arrested Friday afternoon in connection with the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl Thursday night outside the West Oakland BART station, BART officials said.



The suspect was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m., outside his Oakland home by Oakland officers working with BART police, authorities said.



The name of the girl who died has not been released. The suspect and victim knew each other, officials said.



The shooting occurred at 10:30 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot on the 7th Street side of the West Oakland station. The girl was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, BART officials said.



Authorities have not released information on what led to the shooting, but said the incident began on Oakland streets and ended at the BART parking lot.



The suspect was identified using statements from witnesses and an arrest warrant was issued Friday morning, according to a release from BART.



The shooting was captured on BART surveillance video, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said.







Santa Clara County reported a second case of measles within one week on Friday, saying a county resident contracted the infection while traveling abroad.



Public risk from the case is very low, according to the county, which is contacting everyone who may have come into contact with the person.



The case is unrelated to one reported on Tuesday involving an international traveler who visited 20 locations in the county last week.



County public health officials said the rate of measles vaccination in Santa Clara County is very high, so most people are protected from the infection. People with weakened immune systems or unvaccinated children are at higher risk.



County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said to call a doctor immediately if anyone who may have contracted measles experiences fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose and a rash beginning on the face.



Health officials also reminded anyone planning international travel to make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations.







A Solano County Superior Court jury convicted a defendant Thursday of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter between 2010 and 2015, the Solano County District Attorney's Office said.



Cliff Collins Jr., 47, faces 114 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 13 for the 14 counts of sexual assault.



The victim, who testified during three days of the trial, was between 12 and 17 years old when the assaults happened.



Collins molested the girl after her mother went to work but the assaults escalated to forced rape and copulation, the District Attorney's Office said.



The girl's mother learned about the sexual assaults when she overheard a telephone conversation between her daughter and her daughter's best friend in 2016, the District Attorney's Office said. The mother notified police and Collins was arrested in 2016.



Collins was convicted of 14 of the 15 sexual assault charges.







An El Sobrante man who died in a one-alarm house fire early Sunday has been identified by the Contra Costa Coroner's Office as 58-year-old Daniel Coleman.



Flames had already consumed the one-story home at Heath Drive and Greenbrae Court by the time crews arrived about 3:45 a.m., Contra Costa County Fire Protection District officials said.



The blaze likely originated in the home's attic, according to fire officials. The house was otherwise unoccupied and Coleman was the only victim. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.







A female pedestrian was killed while running in front of vehicles near Sonoma State University Thursday night, the California Highway Patrol said.



The collision happened around 9:15 p.m. on Petaluma Hill Road just north of Curtis Drive east of Rohnert Park city limits, CHP Officer David deRutte said.



A Napa man driving a 2004 Dodge Durango south on Petaluma Hill Road struck the female and remained at the scene, deRutte said.



Cotati police and Sonoma State University police responded to reports of a female pedestrian running in front of passing vehicles. When the CHP arrived, they learned from emergency responders that the woman had died, deRutte said.



The woman's name is being withheld until her next of kin is notified, deRutte said. Witnesses to the collision or anyone with information are asked to contact the CHP at (707) 588-1400.







Police in Petaluma are investigating the deaths of two people Thursday as a murder-suicide.



On Thursday at around 4 p.m., officers with the Petaluma Police Department responded to a residence in the 800 block of Echo Court to a report of two people that appeared to be deceased.



Responding officers located a man and a woman inside the home and confirmed they were both deceased, police said.



Both subjects appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.



Detectives determined the deaths appear to be the result of a murder-suicide, police said.



As of Thursday night, investigators were working with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office to confirm the identity of the two individuals and their relationship with one another.









Copyright  2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.While receiving Canadas Ambassador for Climate Change Patricia Fuller in Hanoi on March 29, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committees Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh thanked the Canadian Government for its cooperation and assistance to Vietnam in different fields, including adaptation to climate change and environmental protection.

Vietnam considers climate change a serious challenge to its sustainable development, Politburo member Binh said, adding that the country has made a lot of efforts to overcome this challenge such as creating a firm legal framework for actions to cope with climate change and improving public awareness of climate change.

Vietnam is implementing a strategy on renewable energy development until 2030 with a vision through 2050, under which the government has encouraged the mobilization of all social resources for renewable energy development and increased the proportion of renewable energy in the national power system, he said.

The Party official proposed Fuller has a stronger voice so that the Canadian Government would continue supporting and sharing experience with Vietnam in developing clean energy, stepping up cooperation between businesses in renewable energy development as well as providing technological consultancy and finance for the Southeast Asian country.

Fuller affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Canada in the region. Vietnam is one of the countries which are the hardest hit by climate change so it needs suitable policies to adapt to and minimize adverse impacts from climate change, she stressed.

The ambassador also expressed her wish to promote cooperation with Vietnam in developing clean energy, applying high-technologies, improving coastal communities ability to adapt to climate change, assisting the sustainable development of the fishery sector and protecting the maritime environment.OAKLAND (BCN)



A man arrested Wednesday after a 4-year-old boy was shot in the head in East Oakland was charged Friday with child abuse, having a firearm as a felon, and criminal storage of a firearm, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.



The shooting was reported at about 2 p.m. in the 2400 block of Ritchie Street. The boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and police detained the boy's mother and 37-year-old Terrence Wilson for questioning.



Wilson and the boy's mother said he had been watching TV alone in the bedroom when the gun was fired, according to court documents. Police located the gun on the bedpost when they arrived, and have not confirmed whether the child shot himself.



Wilson said he had slept with the gun under the pillow the previous night, and forgotten to remove it when he woke up late to take his children to school, according to a probable cause statement. The boy's mother said she knew there was a gun in the house, but did not know where it was kept.



According to the probable cause statement, Wilson told police he purchased the gun on the street in San Francisco two weeks before and was aware he was not allowed to have a firearm.



The statement also says Wilson has prior convictions for second-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime in Stanislaus County in 2003, and three felony convictions for insurance fraud and grand theft in Stockton the same year. The convictions make him ineligible for probation under the state's "three-strikes" law.



The probable cause statement says Wilson also told police he was familiar with the gun's safety mechanisms, but had left the trigger unlocked after losing its keys. Police later determined the gun had been reported stolen.



Police released the boy's mother after interviewing her. Police said Friday evening that the boy is in critical but stable condition.





Copyright  2019 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 man was hospitalized after a person attacked him Thursday night on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in the city's Mission District, police said.



The reportedly unprovoked attack happened around 8:05 p.m. on a 14-Mission bus near Mission and 19th streets, according to police.



After the attack other bus passengers helped push the male suspect off the bus, police said. The suspect then fled on foot.



The victim, a 29-year-old man, suffered injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.



A detailed description of the suspect was not available. Police were unable to apprehend him.





Copyright  2019 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)



Officers arrested two teens this week, suspected of committing a string of robberies involving a shotgun earlier this month in San Francisco, police announced Friday.



According to police, the robberies all occurred on March 8 in and around the city's Inner Sunset neighborhood.



The first happened around 6:30 a.m., when officers learned a male victim had been walking on the sidewalk near Eighth Avenue and Noriega Street when a male suspect jumped out of a vehicle, armed with a shotgun, according to police.



The suspect demanded the victim hand over his property and the victim gave the suspect his phone and wallet.



Just minutes later, another victim was walking near Ninth Avenue and Lawton Street when a male suspect again jumped out of a vehicle, armed with a shotgun, and demanded the victim's property. The victim complied, police said.



A short while later, around 7:10 a.m., a female victim was walking in the 400 block of Warren Drive when a male suspect got out of a vehicle with a shotgun and demanded her property.



The victim, however, said she didn't have anything and the suspects fled. The victim was able to take a picture of the vehicle the suspects fled in, according to police.



In all three incidents, the victims described the suspects as young males driving a white SUV, with at least one of them being armed with the shotgun.



After an investigation, on March 12, the vehicle used in the armed robberies was located in Pittsburg. Inside, investigators found property from one the victims, police said.



The vehicle's discovery then led investigators to two 17-year-old boys in Oakland.



The two boys were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery, assault with a firearm, among other offenses, police said. They've have been booked into the San Francisco County Juvenile Justice Center.





Copyright  2019 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)



Richmond police are investigating a fatal shooting Thursday evening in the city, police said Friday.



The shooting was reported at 6:13 p.m. at Second Street and Chanslor Avenue. Police responded and found 36-year-old Jorge Ponce with multiple gunshot wounds.



Ponce was pronounced dead where police found him. Police have not released any information about a suspect or motive in the shooting.



Anyone with information about the slaying is asked to call Detective Sagan at (5100 620-6622.





Copyright  2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.The 2019 Niche rankings of the 50 best neighborhoods to live in San Francisco are out. Good luck finding some of them  even with a map.

To be sure, many of the usual suspects are back. There are Telegraph and Russian hills at Nos. 6 and 37 respectively. Perennial stroller set favorite Noe Valley is still going strong at 22. The well-heeled will be reassured that Pacific Heights and Buena Vista Heights made the grade, but perplexed by swanky Sea Cliff's absence.

According to Niche  the analysis and ranking site for schools, cities and suburbs  the fifth best neighborhood in San Francisco is some place called "Showplace Square." Where is Showplace Square, you ask?

Showplace Square is a light industrial space wedged between I-280 and Potrero Avenue at the foot of Potrero Hill. It's really not square-shaped  more like a triangle missing one of its corners.

"Living in Showplace Square offers residents an urban feel and most residents rent their homes," Niche says.

Actually, almost every neighborhood in San Francisco "offers an urban feel," according to Niche, even St. Francis Wood with its staid estates and manicured lawns.

"In St. Francis Wood there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops and parks," says Niche.

We haven't been to St. Francis Wood lately. Must have changed.

Even if you cut Niche some slack for relying too heavily on boilerplate descriptions, it can be difficult to identify some of the neighborhoods included in the top 50.

MORE: Bay Area housing market cools, but it's still nuts

The more obscure ones are included in the above gallery.

As for the No. 1 neighborhood in San Francisco according to Niche, it's the former U.S. military post, the Presidio. Great views, beaches, trees, historic landmarks abound, and there's virtually no crime.It's that time of year when airline schedules begin to shift from one season to another, so there's plenty of route news this weekend. United will kick off new transatlantic, transborder and transpacific service from San Francisco this weekend, will introduce a new international cabin class, and will add or shift a number of domestic routes; Norwegian is moving a pair of international routes to new U.S. airports, including SFO; other new or increased international service is starting at Delta, American, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Finnair, Air Italy and British Airways; on the domestic side, Delta and American are also kicking off some new routes this weekend.

United's new international service out of San Francisco International beginning this weekend includes daily 787-9 Dreamliner flights to Amsterdam; these were supposed to operate year-round, but the airline recently decided to make SFO-AMS a seasonal route and switch seasonal San Francisco-Munich service to year-round status instead. The Amsterdam flights will continue through October 25. TravelSkills will be taking that inaugural trip this weekend and will file a complete report. United already flies to Amsterdam from four other hubs  Chicago, Houston, Newark and Washington Dulles. Have you been to AMS lately? Tell Chris what to see and do in his two short days there there via email.

On April 1, United will beef up its San Francisco-Seoul presence by increasing flight frequencies from seven a week to 11; the extra departures will use a 777-200ER. Meanwhile, United's San Francisco-Papeete, Tahiti and San Francisco-Auckland routes, which were previously designated as seasonal only and due to stop this weekend, are now going to operate year-round. As of this weekend, both routes will get three flights a week, with a 787-8 to Tahiti and a 777-200ER to Auckland. United is also adding a new transborder route this weekend, kicking off twice-daily year-round service from SFO to Toronto with 737-800s- a route currently served only by Air Canada.

United is also officially introducing its new Premium Plus premium economy cabins on a number of international routes. From San Francisco, Premium Plus debuts this weekend on 777-300ERs to Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tel Aviv and Tokyo Narita, and on United's 777-200ERs from SFO to Auckland, Beijing, Frankfurt and Paris. SFO-London Heathrow flights will see the new cabin starting April 29. Premium Plus also makes its debut on several United international routes out of Newark and Washington Dulles this weekend. And United just started flying its newest widebody  the Boeing 787-10  on flights from Newark to Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. Tune in to TravelSkills on Sunday for Tim Jue's review of a recent Premium Plus trip to Auckland!)

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, low-cost transatlantic carrier Norwegian is moving its Oakland-London Gatwick flights to San Francisco International this weekend in an effort to tap more of the business travel market. The airline will offer five flights a week on the route and has increased the number of Premium Class seats on its 787-9s from 35 to 56. Elsewhere, Norwegian is pulling out of its Ft. Lauderdale-London route this weekend and moving it to Miami International instead, offering daily departures. (By the way, although the collapse of Iceland's WOW Air last week might make travelers wary of European low-cost carriers, Norwegian reportedly secured another $350 million in investment capital several weeks ago, which should be enough to allay concerns about its financial state for now.)

Los Angeles International is getting a couple of new international operators this week. Air Italy, which is financially backed by Qatar Airways, is due to start flying from LAX to Milan Malpensa four times a week on April 3, using two-class A330-200s (and it plans to launch SFO-Milan service four days a week on April 10). The carrier currently flies to Milan from Miami and New York. And Finnair started operating three flights a week this weekend between LAX and Helsinki, the only non-stop service between the two cities. Finnair, a member of American's Oneworld alliance, will use an Airbus A350 on the route.

It's a big weekend for new international service out of Seattle-Tacoma International. On Sunday (March 31), Japan Airlines kicks off new service between SEA and Tokyo Narita, offering daily year-round departures with a 787-8 and providing new competition on the route for Delta and ANA. Then on Monday (April 1), Cathay Pacific comes to town with an Airbus A350-900, inaugurating four flights a week from SEA to Hong Kong; and Delta starts its fifth Asian route from Seattle with four flights a week to Osaka, Japan, using a 767-300ER.

In other international route news, American Airlines this weekend launches new daily seasonal service from Phoenix to London Heathrow, along with seasonal daily service from Chicago O'Hare to Athens and daily year-round flights from Charlotte to Munich. On April 2, American starts daily seasonal flights from Philadelphia to Edinburgh, Scotland. On the downside, American this weekend dropped its year-round service from PHL to Munich, and it decided not to operate summer seasonal service this year from PHL to Glasgow, PHL-Frankfurt, New York JFK-Dublin, JFK-Edinburgh or Chicago-Manchester.

Elsewhere, Delta partner KLM this weekend started flying three times a week from Boston to Amsterdam and Virgin Atlantic on April 1 will add a second daily Boston-London Heathrow departure (a daytime flight). British Airways adds a new U.S. gateway on April 4 when it launches twice-weekly 787-8 flights from London Heathrow to Charleston, S.C.  the first-ever international non-stops for that city. And Southwest Airlines took Mexico City off its route map this weekend with the elimination of its four daily flights there from Houston Hobby.

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On the domestic side, United this weekend finally launches new service out of Washington State's Paine Field north of Seattle, operating four United Express E-175 flights a day to San Francisco International and two a day to its Denver hub. Other new United domestic routes beginning this weekend include Los Angeles-Eugene, Oregon; LAX-Madison, Wisconsin; LAX-Pasco, Washington; and Denver-Flagstaff, Arizona. United is also continuing its ongoing shift of some regional routes from Newark to its Washington Dulles hub this weekend, including service to Elmira, N.Y. and Manchester, N.H. But United this weekend eliminated its Los Angeles-Dallas/Ft. Worth E-175 flights.

On April 2, American Airlines begins new domestic daily service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to California's Monterey Regional Airport, continuing through the summer season until November 3. Also on April 2, American kicks off daily year-round flights from DFW to San Luis Obispo; new daily service from Los Angeles to Louisville and Tulsa; and daily service from Chicago O'Hare to State College, Pa., and to Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.

Delta Air Lines will jump into the Boston-Cleveland market on April 1 with three daily roundtrips and will increase its Boston-Pittsburgh schedule on April 2 from four flights a day to five.

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.JOHANNESBURG  Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said Saturday, nearly double the number from the previous day.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa cited national health director Ussein Isse, who declared the outbreak of the acute diarrheal disease on Wednesday with just five cases.

So far no cholera deaths have been confirmed, the report said. Another Lusa report said the death toll in central Mozambique from the cyclone that hit on March 14 had risen to 501. Authorities have warned the toll is highly preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies.

The cholera cases have been found in the port city of Beira, whose half-million residents and especially those in crowded, poor neighborhoods are at particular risk.

The World Health Organization has said some 900,000 cholera vaccine doses are expected to arrive on Monday, with a vaccination campaign starting later in the week.

Cholera is spread by contaminated food and water and can kill within hours if not treated. The disease is a major concern for the hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors in the southern African nation now living in squalid conditions in camps, schools or damaged homes. Some drink from contaminated wells or filthy, stagnant water.

Doctors Without Borders said other suspected cholera cases have been reported in the areas of Buzi, Tica and Nhamathanda but the chance of spread in rural areas is smaller because people are more dispersed.

Officials have said Cyclone Idai destroyed more than 50 health centers in the region, complicating response efforts.VALLETTA, Malta  Three teenage migrants were charged in Malta on Saturday with seizing control of a merchant ship and using force and intimidation against the crew, which is considered a terrorist crime under Maltese law.

One of the accused was identified during the arraignment in Valletta, the capital, as Abdalla Bari, a 19-year-old from Guinea. The other two are a 15-year-old from Guinea and a 16-year-old from Ivory Coast, who as minors could not be identified.

They are suspects in the hijacking in the Mediterranean last week of the El Hiblu 1 merchant oil tanker. The captain has said that migrants his crew had rescued began to riot and threaten violence when they saw the ship was returning them to Libya. They forced it to turn north toward Europe.

The suspects pleaded not guilty. Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech denied a bail request, noting that civilian witnesses had yet to testify, including the captain and crew, and that the accused had no ties in Malta or means of paying bond.

The minors told the court that they are secondary school students, while the 19-year-old said he had been studying sociology before leaving his country.

Under Maltese law, unlawfully seizing control of ship is punishable by a prison sentence of seven to 30 years.

The cargo ship was heading from Turkey to Libya when it was asked Tuesday to divert its course to rescue nearly 100 migrants in distress.

The hijacking was described by Italys hard-line interior minister as an act of piracy. Some aid groups, however, called it an act of self-defense against Europes immigration policies, which try to ship desperate migrants back to Libya, where they often face beatings, rape and torture in detention camps.

Stephen Calleja is an Associated Press writer.Blog Archive December 2021 (5) November 2021 (15) October 2021 (15) September 2021 (14) August 2021 (8) July 2021 (9) June 2021 (4) May 2021 (12) April 2021 (14) March 2021 (18) February 2021 (16) January 2021 (20) December 2020 (17) November 2020 (12) October 2020 (16) September 2020 (13) August 2020 (16) July 2020 (11) June 2020 (3) May 2020 (13) April 2020 (9) March 2020 (17) February 2020 (17) January 2020 (17) December 2019 (19) November 2019 (22) October 2019 (27) September 2019 (23) August 2019 (20) July 2019 (23) June 2019 (24) May 2019 (22) April 2019 (26) March 2019 (22) February 2019 (20) January 2019 (21) December 2018 (26) November 2018 (19) October 2018 (26) September 2018 (24) August 2018 (22) July 2018 (28) June 2018 (23) May 2018 (23) April 2018 (25) March 2018 (24) February 2018 (21) January 2018 (29) December 2017 (26) November 2017 (21) October 2017 (24) September 2017 (23) August 2017 (25) July 2017 (27) June 2017 (25) May 2017 (23) April 2017 (20) March 2017 (20) February 2017 (21) January 2017 (22) December 2016 (23) November 2016 (21) October 2016 (21) September 2016 (21) August 2016 (22) July 2016 (24) June 2016 (26) May 2016 (26) April 2016 (27) March 2016 (29) February 2016 (25) January 2016 (26) December 2015 (28) November 2015 (27) October 2015 (29) September 2015 (23) August 2015 (25) July 2015 (19) June 2015 (17) May 2015 (15) April 2015 (19) March 2015 (19) February 2015 (16) January 2015 (21) December 2014 (16) November 2014 (20) October 2014 (22) September 2014 (20) August 2014 (24) July 2014 (27) June 2014 (26) May 2014 (27) April 2014 (20) March 2014 (25) February 2014 (19) January 2014 (23) December 2013 (24) November 2013 (19) October 2013 (22) September 2013 (20) August 2013 (21) July 2013 (17) June 2013 (16) May 2013 (14) April 2013 (19) March 2013 (16) February 2013 (12) January 2013 (14) December 2012 (20) November 2012 (17) October 2012 (14) September 2012 (14) August 2012 (20) July 2012 (15) June 2012 (15) May 2012 (17) April 2012 (16) March 2012 (6) February 2012 (7) January 2012 (6) December 2011 (12) November 2011 (14) October 2011 (16) September 2011 (9) August 2011 (12) July 2011 (8) June 2011 (11) May 2011 (11) April 2011 (11) March 2011 (10) February 2011 (12) January 2011 (17) December 2010 (16) November 2010 (10) October 2010 (21) September 2010 (21) August 2010 (24) July 2010 (36) June 2010 (19) May 2010 (14) April 2010 (15) March 2010 (13) February 2010 (6) January 2010 (3)Page Content

French employment law differs from that of other countries, including the United States, so companies that are doing business in or are looking to do business in France but are unfamiliar with French law need to know several frequently overlooked requirements. This article provides an overview of 10 mandates that foreign companies might not know.

1. Written Employment Contracts

French law requires written contracts only in specific cases, such as for fixed-term or part-time contracts. However, it may require a written contract with the applicable collective bargaining unit. For employers, a written contract makes it possible to include certain provisions in the agreement, especially with respect to intellectual property rights, confidentiality and noncompetition clauses. The employment contract must be drafted in French.

2. Protection Against Dismissal and Severance Pay

In France, there is no concept similar to employment at will. An employer must always have a legally fair reason to fire an employee, and it generally must follow a specific procedure that includes an invitation to a predismissal meeting, a predismissal meeting and a dismissal letter. In every dismissal except in the case of serious misconduct, the employer must pay a dismissal indemnity, calculated according to the employee's average pay and his or her seniority at the company. If the dismissal is not justified, the employer may have to pay an additional indemnity, which is capped by French law and depends on the dismissed worker's seniority, salary and the harm he or she suffered.

3. Notice Periods

In most dismissal cases, except in the case of serious misconduct, the employee has a right to a notice period. The legal notice period depends on the worker's seniority at the company, and collective bargaining agreements usually require a notice period of one to three months. The employee can request a shorter notice period, in which case he or she won't be paid for time not worked.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

4. Statutory Vacation

Employees are entitled to 30 days of paid vacation per year. Collective bargaining agreements can provide more paid vacation days or more leave based on an employee's seniority.

5. Working-Time Regulations

The law caps a five-day workweek at 35 hours, and an employee can't work more than 10 hours in any workday. Hours worked beyond 35 hours are overtime, paid at an increased rate.

6. Continued Pay During Sickness

French law does not require employers to pay workers during the first three days of sick leave, although a collective bargaining agreement can provide otherwise. After the third day, an employee on sick leave receives 59 percent to 66.66 percent (depending on the family situation) of his or her pay, which comes from the French social security system. On the seventh day of sick leave, employers must supplement the social security pay so that an employee receives, at a minimum, 90 percent of his or her full pay for the next 30 days and 66 percent for the following 30 days. Collective bargaining agreements often provide for more pay.

7. Maternity and Parental Leave

New mothers can take up to six weeks of paid maternity leave before a baby is due and up to 10 weeks after a baby is born. New mothers may get longer leave if they deliver multiple children or if two or more children are already living at home. New fathers can take three days of paid leave after a child's birth and up to 11 days during the first four months after the birth.

Those adopting children have 10 weeks of paid leave or 22 weeks if they adopt more than one child.

8. Minimum Wage

As of Jan. 1, France's minimum wage is 10.03 euros (approximately U.S. $11.39) an hour. However, collective bargaining agreements often provide higher minimum wages.

9. Noncompete and Nonsolicitation Provisions

Employers can require former workers to sign noncompetition agreements only if the company can prove that doing so is necessary to protect the company's interests. In addition, the employer must pay a worker until the noncompetition agreement expirestypically about 30 percent of the worker's pay. Such agreements can last only a limited time, usually for one year. Employers should consider whether it makes financial sense to require a noncompetition agreement.

10. Works Councils

Companies that have employed at least 11 workers for a full year must create a committee of elected employees who present concerns and complaints to company leaders.

In companies with at least 50 employees, the committee's role is more substantial: It consults with company leaders on decisions regarding the company's organization, management and general operations. It also oversees social and cultural activities for employees.

Claire Dieterling is an attorney with Taylor Wessing in Munich and Paris.Page Content

Employers in South Africa with rigid disciplinary procedures that form part of a collective agreement or employees' terms and condition of employment face the risk that noncompliance with these procedures may result in severe consequences, including that they have waived their right to discipline employees.

Collective agreements often include time periods within which disciplinary proceedings must start or be held. Failure to comply with these periods may result in the disciplinary proceedings being declared of no force and effect. This was confirmed by the Labour Court of South Africa in the decision of SAMWU v. City of Cape Town and Others in which the judge set aside an arbitration award, found that the employer's failure to comply with its collective agreement constituted procedural unfairness and invalidated the disciplinary proceedings. The judgment reiterates that collective agreements are peremptory and as such, compliance with their provisions is required and not at the discretion of the employer.

This case once again cautions employers against creating additional and onerous obligations for themselves in collective agreements. The courts have repeatedly followed the 2006 decision in Avril Elizabeth Home, finding that flexibility should be acknowledged in the exercise of discipline and encouraging employers not to adopt rigid, criminal model internal disciplinary proceedings.

The SAMWU and Avril Elizabeth Home decisions were referred to and applied by the bargaining council in Public Servants Association of South Africa obo Sepuru v. COGTA. In this case, the employer delayed taking disciplinary action against an employee for a period of more than 381 days from the date on which the employee was issued with notice of the allegations of misconduct. The delay was notwithstanding the provisions of the collective agreement that required that disciplinary action be taken within 10 workdays from the date of serving the charges on the employee. The employee referred a dispute to the bargaining council alleging that the employer had waived its right to take disciplinary action against him, given the failure to institute disciplinary proceedings within the 10 days stipulated in the agreement.

Referring to the decision in SAMWU, the commissioner confirmed that a deviation from the peremptory provisions of a collective agreement result in the disciplinary proceedings being of no force and effect. In this instance, the commissioner found that while the disciplinary action had started within the stipulated period, it had not been completed and continued to be delayed for more than a year. As the disciplinary hearing had started, the commissioner found that the employer had not waived its right to discipline the employee. However, the employer had failed to act promptly and fairly. It had delayed completing the hearing for more than 381 days and this delay was unreasonable. The commissioner directed the employer to complete the disciplinary action within 60 days from the date of the award.

The High Court of South Africa came to a similar conclusion in the case of Viedge v. Rhodes University and Others in which an employee brought an urgent application to have disciplinary action against him declared unlawful. The employee argued that he was contractually entitled to a procedurally fair disciplinary process in accordance with the employer's policies, which were an extension of his employment contract. He challenged the process on the basis that the disciplinary hearing was not conducted in accordance with the employer's applicable policy that required the appointment of a chairperson at a specified level and that noncompliance with the policy constituted a breach of his contractual right to a fair disciplinary procedure. The High Court found that the employer's failure to comply with the policy was a breach of the employee's contract, rendering the disciplinary action taken against him unlawful and void.



These judgments are a clear warning to employers to avoid incorporating rigid disciplinary procedures in their collective agreements and/or employment contracts. Employers are encouraged to implement flexible disciplinary procedures.

Gillian Lumb and Zola Mcaciso are attorneys with Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in Cape Town, South Africa.  2019 Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.

"It's not the roadway, it's not the way it's lined, it's not the layout of it, it's not the engineering of it, it's not the traffic volume on it, it's not the trucks, it's not the speed limit. It's the...STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  This much is clear for a purported Colombo crime family associate from Staten Island known by the moniker Mumbles:

Joseph Rizzo likely faces time behind bars for keeping tabs a bit too closely on a government witness at an alleged mobsters behest.

Rizzo, 51, has pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to stalking conspiracy, stemming from his actions over several months in 2017 and 2018, said prosecutors.

In July of last year, authorities announced the arrests of Rizzo and four Brooklyn residents with alleged mob ties  Jerry (Fat Jerry) Ciauri, 59; Vito (Victor and The Mask) DiFalco, 63; Salvatore Disano, 48, and Joseph Maratea, 42.

Ciauri and DiFalco are inducted members of the Colombo family; Disano and Maratea are associates, said authorities.

The foursome operated loansharking and illegal gambling businesses in South Brooklyn, said prosecutors.

A criminal complaint said Ciauri and an individual listed as John Doe, ran a loansharking business.

Doe collected the repayments on extortionate extensions of credit and gave part of the cash to Ciauri, the complaint said.

Authorities said Doe later began cooperating with the government in the hope of receiving leniency at his sentencing on a racketeering plea.

At some point between July and August of 2017, Doe didnt have the money Ciauri claimed he was owed, said the complaint. Ciauri began threatening the man over the phone and once vowed to shoot him, prosecutors said.

Doe distanced himself from Ciauri, and on Dec. 6, 2017, Ciauri sent three text messages to the mans wife in rapid succession.

One text contained a photo of the mans car parked near his home, the complaint said.

Telephone records for that day showed Rizzo and Ciauri had exchanged nine text messages, starting early that morning, said authorities.

Rizzo lives a few blocks from Doe, leading authorities to believe he had sent Ciauri the photo of Does car, which Ciauri texted to the wife, the complaint said.

Afterward, authorities wiretapped Ciauris cell phone.

Over the next several months, Ciauri and Rizzo exchanged multiple text messages, in which, authorities said, Ciauri asked Rizzo to monitor Doe and his car.

For example, at 11:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2018, Rizzo texted Ciauri, Everyone In The House. Ciauri responded, Nice[.], the complaint said.

In an intercepted phone call on Jan. 21, 2018, Ciauri told Rizzo to pass around later; take a picture for me, said the complaint.

The next day, Rizzo sent Ciauri what authorities believe was a photo of Does car, said the complaint.

Several months later, on June 3, 2018, Doe saw Rizzo driving by slowly in a white SUV, the complaint said. He believed Rizzo was surveilling him, said the complaint.

Doe told officials he was stressed out and fearful due to Ciauris text messages to him and his wife, and because he had seen Rizzo and others watching him and his home, the complaint said.

In exchange for his plea, Rizzo faces up to five years in prison when sentenced. A date hasnt been set.

Raymond L. Colon, Rizzos lawyer, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ciauri, meanwhile, recently pleaded guilty to racketeering, including acts of collecting credit through extortion, said prosecutors.

DiFalco, Disano and Maratea pleaded guilty to racketeering.

Prosecutors said DiFalco and Maratea ran a loansharking business and extorted victims to collect debts.

Disano helped Ciauri collect debts through extortion, said authorities.

The four Brooklyn defendants each face up to 20 years behind bars when sentenced.

The pleas were announced by Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBIs New York Field Office and Police Commissioner James P. ONeill.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A utility pole damaged in a crash Friday has been addressed by Con Edison workers.

Work to address the pole and eliminate the risk of danger for a nearby property and pedestrians was completed by 8:45 a.m. Saturday, according to a Con Ed spokesman.

No outages occurred before or after the work was completed, he said.

Emergency personnel responded just before 6 p.m. Friday to a crash reported at 49 Narrows Road North in Arrochar, where a driver reportedly cracked the wooden pole, about 10 feet from the front door of a home along the well-traveled byway.

One person was transported to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, as a result of the crash, an FDNY spokesman said.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A former Staten Island priest who resigned three years ago amid accusations of paying a sex-master with church funds has now officially been suspended and asked to step away permanently.

According to the March 28 print edition of Catholic New York, Rev. Peter Miqueli is prohibited from mass and administering church sacraments after he allegedly violated a 2016 order mandating he avoid any and all persons or situations that could endanger (his) obligation to perpetual continence or any and all conduct that might cause scandal to the faithful or that would receive publicity in the media...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan also recommended Miqueli seek voluntary dismissal from the clerical state, according to the article, which did not provide details as to how Miqueli violated the order.

The article was placed on page 16 of the newspaper, and could not be found online. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment.

Miqueli resigned at the end of 2015, following a lawsuit that accused him of stealing at least $1 million from parishioners at two churches, including his current parish, St. Frances de Chantal in Throggs Neck, N.Y.

Several worshippers claimed Miqueli, 55, used their money to fuel BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism) sex romps with his sex master, Keith Crist, according to the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Miqueli previously served at St. Sylvesters R.C. Church, Concord; Holy Family R.C. Church, Willowbrook; St. Clares R.C. Church in Great Kills, and St. Ritas R.C. Church, Meiers Corners.

An investigation by the Bronx District Attorneys Office found allegations of criminal conduct by Miqueli, including misappropriation or theft of millions of dollars from the parish over several years, to be unsubstantiated. Authorities did, however, determine St. Frances de Chantal Church improperly dispersed $22,000 in reimbursements to Miqueli from parish accounts, and ordered the former priest return the funds.

The Church at the time said they investigated claims of paying a prostitute, but was not able to substantiate the claims.

Months after Miqueli resigned from the church, he was forced to testify in the misdemeanor assault trial of Tatyana Gudin, the girlfriend of Crist who who was accused of pushing Miquelis alleged sex-master through a window in Manhattan, according to the New York Post.STATEN ISLAND -- As the federal government readies to begin construction on the long-awaited East Shore Seawall, some frequent Island visitors of the South Beach Boardwalk worry about losing a beloved recreation and scenic area for years.

They fear construction of the seawall could take longer than expected and end up costing much more.

And so far, the city and Army Corps of Engineers does not appear to have a plan to keep at least a part of the area open for frequent visitors.

Fourty-six-year-old Jackie says she is skeptical of the planned construction. She said she is worried about both funding and finding a new place to go once the boardwalk closes.

What happens when the money runs out? It almost always does. Then will we ever get the boardwalk back or will it be a useless eye sore forever? I dont mind going to the Conference House to be by the water, I just dont want to lose [the boardwalk] forever, Jackie said. But I guess we will see.

Travis residents Tom and Carolyn frequent the FDR Boardwalk several times during the week, especially since the pair retired 10 years ago.

Carolyn, who grew up in South Beach, said she remembers when Seaside Boulevard was the place to go  there were bungalows, rides, and the boardwalk was bustling.

The East Shore seawalls construction, though it hasnt begun yet, worries her even though she understands why its being built.

Im not happy about it because lets be honest, the city will take years longer than they said, Carolyn said, her husband Tom agreeing.

Dominick DePinto of Grant City feels the same  hes worried about the length of time it will take but understands why the work is being done.

Well suffer, but its for the better, DePinto said, adding that the condition of the existing boardwalk is deteriorating, so the new boardwalk will be a welcome improvement when complete.

Jim Phelan said the inconvenience is for the greater good. Phelan, a 10-year member of the Staten Island History Hunters, goes down to the beach at least once a week with his mental detector in the hopes of finding interesting pieces of history. It really depends how far the construction will continue at the same time. Hopefully they dont do it all at once so that people can still enjoy whats here, Phelan said. (Staten Island Advance/Kristin Dalton)

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law marking the final steps before construction can start on a seawall along Staten Islands East Shore.

The project is one of the most significant and costly measures aimed at protecting the borough from future storms.

The barrier will stretch from Fort Wadsworth to Oakwood Beach and includes a buried seawall with a raised promenade through a portion of Miller Field.

Construction on the seawall is expected to begin at the end of this year and into early to mid 2020 and will likely be completed in 2024.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' planned seawall and levee system for Staten Island's East Shore.Third-Party-Submitted

PROJECT STILL IN DESIGN PHASE

The Parks Department said it would work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project, to consider how community members will be impacted by this plan.

However, when pressed on whether the agency plans to keep part of the boardwalk open or creating a space residents could use during construction, Parks said it was too early to say.

Its too early to say what the plans will be, said Parks spokeswoman Anessa Hodgson. The project is still in design, as we move forward we will work with (the Army Corps of Engineers) to consider how community members will be impacted by this plan.

The Army Corps of Engineers is currently in the design phase of the project and said it was too early to provide a final rendering of the project.

The agency said the design phase of the project involves surveys, mapping, utilities, physical modeling, interior drainage, and other project design elements.

But the Army Corps emphasized that the boardwalk and promenade will be completely closed and replaced during the project, although the project will be in separate areas rather than doing construction all at once.

The agency said contracts will be awarded for different areas. The first contract is expected to be awarded in February 2020.

The Natural Resources Management Act, which Trump signed into law, included Congressman Max Roses (D-Staten Island) legislation, which provides needed access for New York City and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to federal land -- Miller Field -- for the construction of the seawall.

Funding for the project was already appropriated and authorized by the federal, state, and local governments.

Sen. Charles Schumer secured $730 million in funding last year for the Army Corps. It was transferred into the then-recently passed federal budget deal for storm mitigation projects.

Rose said securing funding for the project was the first step, but now working with the community will be the next challenge.

Getting the legislation passed and funding secured to finally build the East Shore Seawall was just step one. And while thats a major step, now the real work begins to make sure the community is fully engaged with the Army Corps before and during construction to ensure disruptions are minimized and the project is done right and on timeand Im going to be there every step of the way to make sure that happens, Rose said.

A spokesperson for Schumer said: Senator Schumer worked hard to deliver the money needed to build this vital flood-protection wall, and we will stay focused to see that (the Army Corps) spends this money wisely, moves quickly and has all the resources needed to get the job done.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance in locating a 16-year-old West Brighton girl who was last seen on Wednesday.

Jahliya Zeigler, 16, was last seen at her residence on the 800 block of Henderson Avenue, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner for Public Information.

Zeigler is described by police as a black female, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 120 pounds.

She has brown eyes and black hair, according to police, and was last seen wearing a gray sweater, multi-colored sneakers and gray pants.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then entering TIP577.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Authorities have arrested at 25-year-old Playboy model in connection with the killing of a California psychiatrist who was found dead in the trunk of his car in Las Vegas earlier this month, according to published reports.

The Californian reports that Kelsey Turner, a model known for racy photos that appear on Playboys Italian website, has been arrested for allegedly killing Dr. Thomas Burchard, a 71-year-old psychiatrist. Turner has also appeared in mens magazines, like Maxim" according to the Daily News.

The doctors body was found by police after they responded to a call about an abandoned vehicle near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area entrance, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The investigation conducted by LVMPD Homicide Detectives determined 25-year-old Kelsey Turner was involved in the incident," said The Metropolitan Police Department in a statement.

It hasnt been made clear how authorities identified Turner as a suspect, reports the Independent.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of the Rolling Stones early songs repeats the lyric: This could be the last time, and that may very well be the case for their pending tour.

In fact, fans in this case, surely arent getting what they want or need.

The iconic rock and roll band has left hordes of fans across the country disappointed with the Saturday announcement that the upcoming North American tour has been postponed. The move was made because of Mick Jaggers need for medial treatment, said the bands publicist in a written statement.

Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment, the bands publicist said. The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible. Once again, huge apologies to everyone."

Jagger added in a statement posted on Instagram: Im so sorry to all of our fans in America and Canada with tickets. I really hate letting you down like this. Im devastated for having to postpone the tour, but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can."

Those who purchased tickets received an e-mail today announcing that new tour dates will be announced, and their tickets will be valid for future shows.

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the band declined further comment about Jaggers medical condition.

Among the 17 postponed concerts between April 20 and July 29, were two concerts at New Jerseys Metlife Stadium.To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.

We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.

A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!As classrooms across the country embrace digital textbooks, one Sydney school has declared the e-book era over and returned to the old-fashioned hard copy version because it improves comprehension and reduces distraction.

For the past five years, Reddam House's primary and junior high school classes have used e-textbooks on iPads. But the consistent feedback from the students has been that they preferred pages to screens.

Teachers also found the iPads were distracting and did not contribute to students' technology skills, prompting the school to announce that students should no longer use digital textbooks, and must revert to hard-copy versions instead.

Reddam House school has dumped digital textbooks, deciding to use the hard-copy version instead Credit:Edwina Pickles

"We hadn't completely gone away from hard copy," said principal Dave Pitcairn. "We kept year 11 and 12 hard copy. When [students] got to year 11, and now had the comparison between digital and hard copy, they preferred the hard copy."These emotions and views don't start with social media companies but are amplified by them," she says. "But as a society we need to think seriously about what we can do because something has broken in a big way." The decision to leave a child unvaccinated, she points out, is not just a threat to them, individually, but also to the so-called "herd immunity" - the resistance among any given population to a disease. The Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School, where a measles outbreak caused by an unvaccinated child infected more than 20 people, in Brooklyn, New York. Credit:New York Times "I think it is irresponsible to not vaccinate," she says, given measles is deadly in one in every 1000 cases, while infection can damage the entire immune system and lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Although Larson admits Rockland County's public ban is perhaps a step too far, "I wouldn't wait until there is a crisis", she says. "If I were in government I would seriously consider putting requirements in place. Going to school, I don't think it's unreasonable to say a child needs to be vaccinated because they put others at risk."

Rebecca Whitfield (not her real name) has just returned to her home in the English county of Hampshire with her partner and three-year-old son from a five-week trip to Thailand (she eschewed travel jabs). A therapist, Whitfield decided not to vaccinate her son after seeing the children of friends react badly to jabs but also, she says, because he was born two months premature and she did not want to subject him to any more needles once he left hospital. Ann Rowland sorts immunisations as she waits for a patient in Portland, Oregon. Credit:New York Times "The way we live our life is to stay well and really focus on being healthy," she says. "There are vaccinations now for things that wouldn't even make a child that ill. I don't want him to suffer, obviously, but he never gets ill. I really don't understand this need to protect ourselves from things that won't do our child too much harm." Stressing she is "pro-choice rather than anti-vaccine", she admits she has been criticised for her approach and lost one friend altogether. Another mother from an affluent area of south London (who also wishes to remain anonymous), says she, too, is wary of admitting that she hasn't vaccinated her five-year-old daughter.

"There's not enough information out there," she says. "You're just told, if you don't vaccinate your kids they'll get measles, and you're a stupid hippy. You're chastised by the health system if you don't do things by the book, in the same way as if you don't breastfeed. It's really hard as a parent to navigate." Certainly, the public health community has little time for such arguments. According to Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, "one unvaccinated child is one too many" and recent measles outbreaks are a sharp reminder of how serious the disease can be. A nine-year-old rolls up her sleeve for a vaccination in Oregon in February of this year. Credit:New York Times "We need to cut through the fake news, with evidence-based, easy-to-understand health advice for patients," she says. "They should feel equipped and confident to challenge any spurious claims they might encounter so that they can make sensible, informed decisions about the long-term health and well-being of their children." The spectre of British doctor Andrew Wakefield, drummed out of the British medical profession for his 1998 paper that made a link between MMR and autism, still looms large over the vaccine info-wars.

Twenty years on, he has rehabilitated his reputation in the US to such an extent that he is in a relationship with supermodel Elle Macpherson, and has amassed avowed supporters who fervently believe his professionally debunked claims. Anna Merlan, a US-based journalist and author of a forthcoming book, Republic of Lies, on the rise of conspiracy theorists in America, has interviewed Wakefield, shadowed him giving talks on a cruise ship and attended a sell-out screening of his documentary, Vaxxed, in New York. "He is very charismatic and feeds into long-standing suspicions [in the US]," she says. Whenever asked about his exile from Britain, she says he is "able to skilfully talk about it as a vendetta against him by a medical establishment who felt he was getting too close to the truth". Del Bigtree, a producer and co-writer of the film Vaxxed, is filmed at the premiere in New York on April 1, 2016. Credit:New York Times Campaigners hope such voices will soon be muted. Earlier this month, Facebook agreed to ban adverts with anti-vaccination content while Instagram says it will also introduce controls.After 11 years, Bimberi youth detention centre's "grandma" is retiring.

Narelle Hargreaves has been an official visitor for children and young people in the territory for more than a decade, visiting detainees at Bimberi every fortnight and seeing children in out-of-home care every other day.

Official visitor for child and young people Narelle Hargreaves with her farewell gift from the young people of Bimberi youth detention centre.

Her job is to take the concerns of young people to management, to advocate for them and to oversee the solutions being implemented.

The problems can range anywhere from wanting a nice shampoo, to not liking their bunk mate. Sometimes they need new shoes, or have queries about their medication. Ms Hargreaves hears concerns about staff members, access to school, and having visitors.The 14 Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) were made in Spain by Constructions y Auxiliary de Ferrocariles and for me are works of art just as surely as if our National Gallery had somehow (at many, many times the cost of these LRV bargains) bought our city 14 Spanish masterpieces, seven, say, by Velazquez, and seven by Goya.

And sure enough, now that one actually sees them, the Fabulous 14 trams, being trialled, beetling to and fro along Northbourne Avenue, my fancy is vindicated. Over and above what light rail achieves as a practical people mover there is something about it, in its Civic to Gungahlin manifestation that gives our city (still in so many other ways bogged down in the olden days of the 1960s) a swish, 21st-century feel. The vermilion trams give metropolitan gaiety and enable the city to at last swagger a little.

The bean counting opponents of light rail have never been able to appreciate this. They know nothing about art. Culture is wasted on them.

In my wild (but discerning and award-winning) aesthetic fancy I have always argued that one way to think of the dashing, crimson trams of our coming light rail network is to look at them as city-enhancing works of art.

Mention of art and of the National Gallery of Australia brings me to the way in which the usual fungal philistines (so many of them, predictably, writing to The Canberra Times from Yarralumla) are complaining about the giant melting wax candle sculpture that has just gone on display at the gallery.

They, the philistines (who can be relied upon to anyway dislike all modern sculpture, whether it melts or endures) yodel that $1 million (the reputed costs of Urs Fischers towering Francesco 2017) is wasted on a work of art that is going to melt away to nothing.

Even if Francesco actually did melt away to nothing (but as I understand it the wax of the giant figure of a man bent in the quintessential 21st-century pose of someone absorbed by his smartphone will be recovered and reused) the criticism of an artwork for being only temporary, passing, evanescent is odd and daft.

All performances of fine music are by their very nature evanescent. A typical Canberra Symphony Orchestra performance may only entertain its audience for two-and-a-half hours (and may for example contain a Beethoven symphony that only lasts for 42 exhilarating minutes). At the Sydney Opera House Mozarts The Magic Flute may, from the moment its figurative wick is lit (with the opening bars of its overture) to the moment its last melody melts away, be over and done in two-and-three-quarter hours. Meanwhile lit-up, waxen Francesco 2017 is going to endure and charm onlookers for six whole months!

Whatever artist Urs Fischer is trying to achieve with his waxen giants (as usual the ANGs own published descriptions of Fischers work are too pretentious and masturbatory to be of any help) I am rather moved by the notion of a sculpted human figure that, like a flesh and blood human figure, over time melts (decaying, wizening and withering) and then goes the way of all flesh, of all wax.ACT drivers were fined a record amount for speeding offences detected by mobile speed cameras in 2018.

More than $10.2 million in fines was collected from speeding drivers last year, from Canberra's eight mobile speed vans, up from $6.5 million the year before.

There's been a more than 300 per cent increase in fines issued for speeding since 2014. Credit:Andrew Sheargold

Figures from the Justice and Community Safety Directorate revealed more than 30,000 speeding tickets from mobile cameras were handed out to drivers, an increase of almost 10,000 from 2017.

In four years, speeding fines from mobile cameras increased by almost 350 per cent, up from 6776 issued in 2014."I've been in my current place for 12 months and had a housemate move out and a new one come in, and our real estate agent said we had to pay a new bond in full and get our old bond back," Ms Patteson said. "I'm still waiting for it to come through, and I think it will still be a long time before I see it returned. I don't expect to see it for another few weeks." Ms Patteson said she's been put at financial risk due to the long wait time for the bond. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Ms Patteson said previous bonds had been returned to her in other times of the year relatively quickly. She said the long waiting period for the current bond to be refunded has left her severely out of pocket.

"It's put me at risk. I'm self-employed as an artist and I also have a casual job, so I don't have a regular week-to-week income," Ms Patteson said. "The bond is a lot of money, and it's incredibly frustrating." To compound the delay further, Ms Patteson said after returning the bond form to the real estate agent, it wasn't lodged with the bond office for two weeks. She said the bond form was only sent to the office after she repeated inquired about it. "I haven't been offered an explanation as to why. If I didn't say anything about it, it wouldn't have been lodged at all."

ACT Tenants Union executive director Deb Pippen said real estate agents or landlords holding on to bond forms for long periods of time was a factor in the long delays. "Lots of people assume that landlords and real estate agents would act in the interests of tenants, and that's not necessarily the case," Ms Pippen said. "A lot of tenants aren't aware that they can make the claim to the bond office themselves and get the bond back quicker." Better Renting ACT executive director Joel Dignam said the start of the year was the busiest time for the rental market. He said it was concerning many renters had to wait for weeks to receive their bond. "It's an expensive experience moving house, and people will struggle with just the cost of moving, let alone a new bond, and the sooner they get the old one back, the better," Mr Dignam said.

Real estate agent and owner of Little Bird Property Heidi Rosin said there had been many instances where bond office staff were unable to find the relevant forms. "The issue that we're finding across the board is when we go to refund the bond to the tenant, the bond officer often comes back and says they can't find the forms to start with," Ms Rosin said. "In other words, they don't know where the money is it's allocated to the tenant, and it does raise some concerns." Ms Rosin said in most cases bonds are returned in full to the tenant. "Broadly speaking there might be a delay in lodging the bond forms if repairs need to be carried out and the tenant has to agree to it," Ms Rosin said.An increasing number of drone users are being busted flying in breach of aviation rules in the ACT, and the regulator is set to catch even more using new surveillance technology.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said of the five infringements issued by the authority in Canberra since the start of 2016, three had come in the first three months of this year. All involved private operators.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority remotely piloted aircraft systems inspector Simon Denby with the new surveillance technology the authority is using to monitor the illegal use of drones. Credit:Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The three 2019 offences  hazardous operation in Civic, operation over 400 feet in Reid and operation within three nautical miles, or 5.5 kilometres, of an aerodrome at Mount Ainslie  all attracted a $1050 fine.

The other two infringements  flying over a populous area in Parkes in 2017, and operating a drone within 30 metres of a person not associated with the operation in Reid in 2016  resulted in fines of $900.A convicted hacker is selling implantable microchips able to store data including credit card details, and more than 100 Canberrans have signed on to the new technology.

More Canberrans are purchasing microchips to implant in their bodies containing credit card details and security passes.

Chip My Life, an Australian company which imports the technology and sells it domestically, has sold more than 100 microchips to ACT residents since operations began in 2016.

The microchips are the size of a grain of rice and are implanted into the webbing between the thumb and forefinger in a procedure that takes less than a minute.

The procedure can be carried out by specialists in Sydney, and a Canberra-based clinic is slated for the coming months.Researchers tracking the migration patterns of a hawk that breeds in Namadgi National Park have recorded the longest ever round-trip migration by the species.

In December 2017 the swamp harrier, which the ornithologists have nicknamed Harry, was fitted with a satellite tracker that has revealed the bird's very different winter home and its complex migration patterns.

Harry the swamp harrier, whose migration habits a team of Canberra researchers are studying. Credit:Susan Trost

Birds like Harry, who breeds about 1000 metres above sea level at Gudgenby in Namadgi National Park, would rarely be seen by Canberrans.

There are only two known breeding pairs of swamp harriers in the ACT, but until now, nobody knew where they went after spending six months a year in the national park.Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Australia signed, every child has a "right to know" his or her birth parents. Children of sperm or egg donors also have the right to know the identity of their donor once they are adults. Catherine Lynch, president of Adoptee Rights Australia, is advocating for no fault discharges of adoptions. Credit:Nick Moir But any child who is adopted in Australia -at any age - is issued with a new birth certificate that records the child's adoptive parents as "if the child were born" to them. It deletes any reference to the child's biological parents. Katrina Grace Kelly, a News Corp columnist formerly known as Grace Collier, had her adoption discharged last year and a new birth certificate issued in her new name. "Collier was a fiction, a fraud, an identity created by the Victorian Government in the forced adoption era," she wrote last year announcing that the person known as Grace Collier no longer existed.

"I feel like I have been let out of prison," she told The Sun-Herald. "Being adopted was the worst thing; it ruined my life." Ms Kelly founded Cribmates, an organisation for people who wanted to discharge adoptions, and the Facebook page Adoption Reversal, this year. Since then, she's been approached by dozens of people interested in a discharge, a term she said relates to the fact that an adopted child was historically seen as a chattel or a possession. Until recently many people didn't know they could have an adoption reversed, she said. While it involves cumbersome paperwork it was easier than many people thought. The laws governing a discharge vary across states, and South Australia's are the most progressive following a change in legislation last year.

But in every case, the adoptee has to prove why something decided for them as a child should be reversed. In most jurisdictions, the law says an adoption can only be discharged where there was fraud, duress or special circumstances. Now Adoptee Rights and Adoption Reversal are pushing for "no fuss, no fault, no fee discharge" similar to no fault divorce. Dr Lynch, a solicitor who lives in Bowral, said the decision to seek a reversal should not have to be seen as a reflection on the adoptive family. "Adoption is a lottery. Some people like myself have had really wonderful, caring, loving, generous and loyal adoptive parents," she said. "There is a cohort of adoptees who say, 'I just want to have my identity back'. They say, 'We didn't consent to it, we were children, but after the age of 18 we should be able to get out of that transaction if we want'," Dr Lynch said.

Often those interested in a discharge had been in touch with their biological families for many years, and had relationships with both sets of parents. Many adoptees such as Dr Lynch would not seek one. And the decision to apply was often deeply upsetting for many adoptive families. There around 250,000 adults who were adopted living in Australia today. The Australian Institute of Family Studies' report says that in the decades prior to the mid-1970s, it was common in Australia for babies of unwed mothers to be adopted. At its peak in 197172, there were almost 10,000 [local] adoptions, it found. Until recently, discharges were rare - only one ever few years in a state - and were sometimes initiated by the adoptive family who wanted to return the child to the state. Ms Kelly said that the erasure of an adopted child's identity when they were issued with a new birth certificate was effectively removing the natural rights that every other person who is not adopted takes for granted. Everyone else had the right to know their identity, their biological ancestry, and the true circumstances of their birth.

"We have the right to live our own authentic identity," Ms Kelly said. "A true birth certificate is the most fundamental document you can have as a human being. "If someone has the right to change their gender, why don't I have the right to live my true identity?" Only last week, Mr Hammersley came closer to discovering the real identity of his biological father. Both his parents died years ago. He has recently finished chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but doesn't know yet whether it is successful.Fledgling political party Keep Sydney Open has accused the national broadcaster of unfairly and inaccurately calling it one of the losers of the NSW election.

The ABC labelled the party, which campaigned against lockout laws and for pill testing at festivals, a loser alongside Labor and its former leader Michael Daley, the Nationals and the Liberals' Bruce Notley-Smith, who lost the seat of Coogee.

Keep Sydney Open founder Tyson Koh, pictured with fellow candidate Jess Miller, said the ABC was wrong to brand he party one of the losers of the NSW election. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Tyson Koh, the partys lead candidate for the Legislative Council, said the assessment was not accurate.

I dont know how anyone could say that a political party thats only been around for one year potentially getting a seat in the Legislative Council is a loser, Mr Koh said.The City of Sydney has declared war on casino operators, with a councillor describing The Star and the James Packers new Crown casino as a two-fingered salute to Sydney.

Philip Thalis, an architect and member of Clover Moore's Independent Team, said the casinos, situated either side of Darling Harbour, were the legacy of poor planning processes.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover said she had concerns about The Star's proposed 237-metre tower. Credit:The Star

These twin totems of greed, with their overblown towers, now dominate this part of the harbour, he said.

Cr Thalis said The Stars proposed 237-metre tower would be more than 200 metres higher than its neighbours, acting as some megalomaniacs sundial, progressively casting its shadows across Pyrmont and the waterfront.A 61-year-old south-west Sydney woman who had been claiming Centrelink benefits for 23 years was found with almost $250,000 in cash in a safe.

Last week Rebecca Assie, from Padstow, pleaded guilty to dealing with money reasonably believed to be the proceeds of crime, as well as to conspiring with four others to dishonestly cause a loss to a third person - in this case, Centrelink.

The guilty plea comes after Centrelink launched an investigation with the Australian Federal Police into a welfare fraud scheme that police say was organised and facilitated by Assie and her late husband, Jamal Elali.

Between February 8, 2013, and September 3, 2015, Assie conspired with her husband and four others to fraudulently obtain welfare payments from Centrelink, totalling $137,397, for her so-called "customers", in exchange for cash.

In the police statement of facts, Assie completed parts of Centrelink forms with and without her husband's help, that led to successful, false claims for the Carer's Allowance for her "customers".A few days of rumbling tummies, being late for school because of public transport and the odd broken bones are insignificant compared to stifling the attributes they will need.  Sue Whereat, Kirribilli

Initiative, adaptability, problem solving and confidence will be more important than those extra academic marks .

I fully endorse the editorial in your paper ("Stressed out parents need a path forward", March 24). The world our present school children will move into will be very different to that of their parents.

The Coalition in NSW won the election, but the environment was the loser ("Historic win for Premier", March 24).

In spite of pollsters telling us that the environment, including climate change, was a major concern, the people of NSW voted for a Coalition with a very poor record on the environment.

This means four more years of inaction on climate change and renewable energy, more land clearing, clear felling of native forests, continued under-funding of our national parks, coal seam gas wells in the Pilliga and further inaction on fixing our rivers.

The environment is not some side issue, but the bedrock of our survival on this planet. If we do not recognise this fundamental truth, will our descendants even have a future?  Sue Proust, Camden Head

Dear Premier, hopefully you have had one enormous scare. Is it too much to hope that you will now start listening to the people, rather than the developers, and leave the Powerhouse alone and forget the stadium knockdowns?Scott, or "Scotty" as he let students call him, directed rock videos for popular '80s bands including the Divinyls, Mental as Anything and the Choirboys and was one of the most popular teachers at Cromer High. Scott would drive male students to the beach in his blue panel van, invite them to parties at his house and give them alcohol and drugs, including cocaine and heroin, before sexually assaulting them. Another student, Geoff McGuinness, who started at Cromer High three years earlier in 1983, says he was first sexually assaulted by Scott in year 7. McGuinness says a number of the assaults occurred on school grounds, in the back of Scott's panel van and, on one occassion, in the shower at Scott's Bilgola home. "One of the assaults occurred at the school talent quest and I ended up upstairs with [Scott], it was the drama control room, and he pulled out a bag of speed and chopped up two lines and I had a line and then went and sat down and went 'What's just happened?' And that was the start of it," Mr McGuinness, now 48, says.

Peter Wayne Scott leaves Downing Centre Local Court in 2013. He has been convicted of multiple child sex offences. Credit:Dallas Kilponen "After that, [Scott] was everywhere you'd turn, he'd drive some of us to sport, sometimes you'd be walking to school and he'd drive past and pick you up." "When I look back I can see his patterns. He'd have a couple of us in his car and I knew it was happening to [another student] because he'd either drop him home first and I'd be trapped or he'd drop me off first and [the other student] would be alone with him. "But it was never spoken about, it was like it was too embarrassing I guess, to talk to each other about it." For Mr Churchyard, the first assault happened when he was in year 7.

Mr Churchyard remained in Scott's roll call class until Scott left Cromer High. Scott continued to work as a teacher at Mullumbimby High School and Kingscliffe TAFE and, after the first abuse allegations emerged in 1999, as an administrative assistant at Byron Bay High School. A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said Scott was removed as a teacher in 2010. "An investigation occurred in 1999 in relation to allegations to events in 1980 and Mr Scott was removed from teaching duties," the spokesman said. "He returned to duty as a teacher when those allegations were not sustained. Mr Scott was removed from duty in 2010 when further allegations were received. These matters became the subject of criminal proceedings. Mr Scott did not return from duty and ceased employment with the department." In 2014, Scott was found guilty of child sex offences, and sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in jail, with a non-parole period of seven-and-a-half years. Scott denied all allegations against him and denied knowing some of the victims. "These acts were carried out by a teacher who adults trusted and who students thought was 'cool and nice'," Judge Sarah Hugett said during sentencing. "He is appropriately described as a sexual predator." Mr Churchyard says his experience led to alcoholism and drug addiction that lasted until his early 40s. "Almost immediately after the assaults started I began experimenting with alcohol and drugs, and that continued throughout high school," Mr Churchyard says. "The problem escalated over a period of time until my relationships were floundering, I had three young children under the age of 5 and I stopped drinking in [about 2006].

"I had a period of abstinence up until 2012 when the trials started and that's when I started drinking again. Then in 2013 I had a drug overdose and it was near fatal." Mr Churchyard joined NSW Police after finishing the HSC and held various positions as a plain-clothes officer, a member of the counter-terrorist command and a detective in the homicide squad. He resigned when his alcoholism and drug abuse were getting out of hand. "The reason I got to that point of having an overdose is the shame, the guilt, the pain. You want to be anywhere but sitting in that," Mr Churchyard says. "I resigned at the peak of my illness, I was very sick and a detective in the NSW Police Force wasn't a position I deserved to occupy at the time." He has now finished his medical degree and recently started working as a general practitioner in Taree, and says he has been sober for several years. "I think it's my obligation to tell my story so someone else might come into a healing space," Mr Churchyard says. "I just want to emphasise that if you're a victim, remember you did nothing wrong, seek help and get the support to get into a better space."

In Australia, nearly one in 10 girls and one in 22 boys have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 15. Two-thirds of sexual offence victims in NSW last year were children. Many survivors of child sexual abuse have similar experiences, according to Daryl Higgins, director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University. "Common themes are issues with substance misuse, problems with relationships, identity, difficulties with sexual relationships. Issues with mood and wellbeing, depression and anxiety are very common," Professor Higgins says. "Often perpetrators will use their position of power and authority to reinforce that the event was shameful and had something to do with the young person themself, that they brought it upon themselves, and that stays in the mind of the victim." Mr McGuinness says at least some of the teachers "had to have known that something was going on", including Scott's partner at the time, a part-time art teacher at Cromer High.

"I'd been surfing one day and there were a few of us there in [Scott's] house afterwards, and I was in his shower and he came in and sexually assaulted me. [Scott's partner] was pregnant at the time and when he walked out I heard them having a really big screaming match; it was in her face as well," Mr McGuinness says. Professor Higgins says many of the institutions where there were recurring cases of sexual assault had structures where adults had plenty of chances to develop relationships with children away from other adults. "So how does it happen? I think very easily. I don't think any organisation is doing enough and no organisation will arrive at a place where they're safe and there's nothing more they can do, it's a constant journey and about being constantly aware of risks." The Department of Education spokesman said its sexual abuse reporting policies and investigative powers have changed significantly since the 1980s. While schools always had an obligation to report allegations of criminal conduct, the guidelines were much more detailed today. Mr McGuinness says his mother suspected something was wrong, but he brushed aside her concerns. "What was I going to say? It was like you were ashamed of yourself for what had happened, like it was your fault."

The first time Mr McGuinness spoke about the assaults was to police in 2009 . He says Scott put him on the path to becoming a drug addict. "He was the first one that gave me drugs, it's where it all started," Mr McGuinness says. "We'd smoke pot with him all the time and snort coke and snort speed on occasions, and then I think it was around my 15th birthday or just before that, he took me down to Jamieson Park in Narrabeen and rolled a joint and said he was putting cocaine in it, but I passed out after it, and the first time I had heroin after that I was like 'so that's what he put in there'. "That certainly started me on the path to becoming a drug addict, that's where it all began, with him back in school. I'd been using heroin for nearly half my life when I stopped, since I was 18 years old." Mr McGuinness says he didn't work for more than a decade but has recently opened a construction company and is working with his father and son. Since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse delivered its final report in 2017, the NSW government has changed the way it handles such cases, including bringing in maximum life sentences for persistent child abusers. It has also joined the National Redress Scheme, which aims to "ensure that institutions take responsibility for the abuse that occurred on their watch". This has included reforms to civil litigation to make it easier for survivors to sue these institutions.Gawd, politics is a hard game. One day you are going to be premier of the state, next you are told your political career is over. Such, of course, is the case with Michael Daley, who was thrown into the deep end four months ago when Luke Foley suddenly resigned. Daley was going well, right up until the catastrophic last week, with the low-light being his shocker gaffe over Asians with PhDs taking the jobs of Australian kids. Some of the Liberals have gaffes too, one of Daleys supporters was quoted in the Herald this week, and they just skate over it. We take people out the back and shoot them.

Labor leadership candidate: Chris Minns. Credit:Janie Barrett

And so they do, at least creating a vacancy.

After all is said and done, and the federal election is out of the way, the person most likely to be the next leader of the ALP is Chris Minns, the 39-year-old member for Kogarah, with a background as a former president of Young Labor and graduate of Princeton, with a masters in public policy. Yes, Jodi McKay, the highly admirable member for Strathfield, might argue the toss but as it stands, I am told, Minns has the edge despite not being the preferred candidate of the Sussex St party machine. If Minns does get it, expect him to take strong stands on a few issues from the first. He will be for pill-testing at festivals. He will be against lockout laws. And he will be strongly focused on re-engaging with the multicultural community.But while they were torpedoed by their own hubris, she took the spoils even from those who had actually campaigned to Leave. A premiership that arguably should have been Boris Johnson's by rights was snatched from him amid Brexiteer feuding .

First, it will acknowledge that she was handed a poisoned chalice in June 2016 when David Cameron walked away from the wreckage of his referendum campaign. Such a close vote to leave was never going to be easy to deliver, especially for someone who voted to stay in the European Union. True, she was never an enthusiastic Remainer and her unwillingness to surface in the campaign beyond one major speech earned her the derisive sobriquet "the submarine" in Downing Street.

May was never required to pitch to party members and therein, perhaps, lay the seeds of her future difficulties. It was not immediately apparent that she was a spectacularly poor communicator. Indeed, her speech in Downing Street on the day she became Prime Minister was confident even if it did not seem especially Tory, at least not in the post-Thatcherite sense. It seemed to hark back to a type of paternalistic Conservatism not heard for some time.

She promised to tackle "the burning injustices" that afflicted many in the country and to which the Brexit vote was ascribed. Her constituency was the "just about managing" families and her watchword was "a mission to make Britain a country that works for everyone". They were noble sentiments but even then it was apparent that she would be hard-pressed to push through an ambitious social program when she had to deliver Brexit.

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At the time, 2 long years ago, it might not have seemed such a daunting task. May seemed not to have appreciated how all absorbing it would become. In her first address to the party as Prime Minister in October 2016 she announced, without cabinet discussion, that the process for leaving would begin the following March. This would start the two-year clock, which ran out on Friday but, as we all now know, is still ticking.

It is said that May announced the date in order to have something to say at the conference without first making sure the country's Brexit ducks were all in a row. To begin with she had intended to use executive powers to trigger Article 50; but this led to her being bogged down in a protracted legal battle that ended with the Supreme Court ruling against the government. It was an unnecessary distraction; one of many. When it came to it, however, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to begin the withdrawal procedure.It has been almost 12 years since three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished while on a family holiday in Portugal.

Despite investigations from Portuguese and British police, countless public appeals and an ongoing Scotland Yard investigation, the case remains unsolved.

Madeleine McCann disappeared when she was three years old on a family holiday in Portugal. Credit:REAL MADRID TV

However, a US expert says fresh analysis of DNA evidence could be the lead investigators need to help crack the case.

If you have a case thats important and your goal is to solve it, one would think youd pursue all possible avenues, said Mark Perlin, the chief scientist and executive officer of Cybergenetics.Rome: Pope Francis has issued a highly anticipated law for Vatican City officials and diplomats overseas to tackle sexual abuse, setting up what is intended to be a model for the Roman Catholic Church worldwide by requiring, for the first time, that accusations be immediately reported to Vatican prosecutors.

The Vatican characterised the law  and accompanying pastoral guidelines  as a reflection of the most advanced thinking on preventing and addressing sexual abuse in the church.

The law, dated March 26, calls on church authorities to listen immediately to people who say they are victims and to report any credible allegations to prosecutors.

Those who fail to report could be subjected to financial penalties and jail time.On the ground, Iraqi troops were fighting street to street with IS militants. In the air above, intensive airstrikes from the US-led coalition, including Australia, helped keep the terror group pinned down. IS itself was counter-attacking with artillery and huge vehicle bombs, while its snipers used the roofs of tall buildings to target advancing Iraqi troops. Our last phone call with Sheikh Ahmed [the brother of Sheikh Mohamed Ghanim al-Saffar, known to everyone in the family simply as Uncle Mohamed] was on June 11 - two days before the bombs fell - recalls Amjad al-Saffar, a family elder speaking from Mosul. Had the Australian military asked the family, they would have learned that, at 35, the death toll was considerably higher that day. That phone call was very risky, because he and I were forced to be outside, under a blanket to avoid the [mobile phone]s light from being seen. "IS would cut your throat if they found your mobile - there was no compromise at this point of the siege. The bombardment was very heavy in Shifa and Rifai [neighbourhoods]. And throughout the call, he said, Pray for me.

With the electricity now cut off and nobody able to recharge their phone, the family could not call out again. Two days later, the deadly strikes hit Uncle Mohameds home. Responsibility unclear In January, after a year-long investigation, the Australian Defence Force confirmed that one of its air strikes, "or nearby Coalition airstrikes ... may have caused civilian casualties". After the airstrike. Australia insisted that three "enemy personnel" were in the building, and four more in a neighbour's courtyard, "armed with heavy weapons". The air strike was called in by Iraqi forces on the ground and, according to Australia, "was in full compliance with the law of armed conflict and applicable rules of engagement".

But despite the identity of the Saffar family being made public both locally and by Airwars, within 24 hours of the original attack  and despite a year-long investigation by the ADF into the event  the Saffars insist that no Australian official has ever spoken with any family member about the incident. Loading Instead a mathematical formula was used by the ADF to determine that between six and 18 civilians may have been killed ... based on an assessment of population densities, as RAAF Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld put it in February. It's understood that the ADF used a Collateral Damage Estimation to come to its estimate of casualties. This is a mathematical formula based on anticipated casualties resulting from the percentage of a structure destroyed. Had the Australian military asked the family, they would have learned that, at 35, the death toll was considerably higher that day.

When I saw Kareema shortly afterwards, she was in shock, saying, Uncle, I think no one from our family survived! recalls Amjad al-Saffar. At the age of 53, he has had to assume the role of family elder following the deaths of so many relatives. We found out later that a second missile had hit our house while many of our family members were alive. Except for those killed or injured on the first floor because of the collapse of the roof, many in the shelter below were still alive  and the second missile killed them all. The house had only a small basement shelter which the women, children and elderly used, while all the men had to shelter on the ground floor during attacks, he says. It was only a one-floor house and the family believed it was therefore less at risk of bombing. The biggest urban military assault since World War II, the battle of Mosul, eventually resulted in the defeat of IS in July 2017. But victory came at a terrible price for the thousands of civilians still trapped within the city.

An honourable family The Saffar family were well respected in their neighbourhood of West Mosul, a crowded, ancient city, many of whose streets were only accessible on foot. They had lived there for several generations. There were eight families devastated that day in June 2017, and I name them now: the Mohamed family; the Ammar family; the Ahmed family; the Arzaq family; the Ayser family; the Raed family; the Nadia family; and the Saleh family, Amjad al-Saffar says, listing nuclear families within the larger Saffar family. The two imams, Mohamed and Ahmed Ghanim al-Saffar were pillars of the local community and a thorn in the side of their IS occupiers. The Arabic caption describes them as "Martyrs of The Hunchback", a nickname for Mosul. Surviving relatives have agreed to share the photographs and stories of some of those killed that day, so that Australians might better understand their loss.

Brothers Mohamed and Ahmed were the imams of two local mosques, pillars of their community. Like other members of the family, they were also a thorn in the side of Islamic State. IS was always against them because of their outspoken nature, and even before ISs occupation they had received threats. They were then forced to stay at home, they couldnt leave Mosul because of death threats by IS, recalls Amjad. Another relative, Ayser, had worked for Mosuls election centre prior to ISs capture of the city. The terrorist group had put a price on his head. He was wanted by IS, and was forced to hide at my sisters house in the narrow streets of al-Shifa. Ammar Ghanim, aged 61, was an economist by trade, married to Ahlam, 56. They had two young daughters, Shahad and Sara (aged 13 and 10). Ghanim, aged 16, was their only son. A keen student, he had been named after his grandfather. The entire family died.

Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohamed al-Saffar was also a popular figure in Shifa. He ran the local blood bank, mobilising the community whenever donations were needed. Raed died alongside his wife Asma, and their three grown sons Wisam, Mustafa and Bilal  and 15-year-old daughter Fatima. Nine-year-old Ameer had spent a third of his short life in a city occupied by IS. There were few opportunities for fun, though Ameer loved attending the mosque where his uncle Mohamed preached. He was luckier than his sisters Teba, Rehma and Reem. The IS occupation meant that girls and young women were effectively prisoners in Mosul, unable to leave their homes. Ameer, aged nine, had spent a third of his life under Islamic State occupation when he died. He was one of 14 children killed on June 13, 2017. Fire and collapse It would take relatives more than three weeks to recover the bodies of Ameer, his sisters and the others killed that summer day.

Amjad al-Saffar was first able to visit the site on June 15, while fighting was still raging in the neighbourhood. He was accompanied by a brigadier with the Iraqi Army and a lieutenant-colonel from Mosul Civil Defence, at great risk to their own safety. There was still a hope that some of the family might have survived. I reached the bombed house and found the hole which Kareema had used to escape. And we kept shouting, calling the names of our family members, but without any response. It was then we realised that all of them had been killed, and that there was no hope or possibility of anyone being alive. The shelter was completely burned, and the effects of the fire could be seen everywhere. An Iraqi soldier walks past a wall of debris during the offensive to retake West Mosul in the northern summer of 2017. Credit:Kate Geraghty The roof had also collapsed onto the first floor, which had killed all of the people there, including Haj Raed and my brother Ayser and my sister. This meant they were killed in the first missile while the rest had been killed inside the shelter by the second missile. It would take another three weeks before the dead could then be recovered.

We were only able to evacuate the bodies on July 5, because IS snipers were still active, and the brigadier told us it was very risky to go back. Loading The citys civil defence team also needed to bring in a heavy digger. As Amjad filmed the recovery process, he saw a sight which still haunts him today: When they raised a section of the ruin I saw my own elder sisters body  Arzaq  which split into two pieces right in front of my own eyes. I fell down crying. Mass funerals were needed to cope with the dead: We placed three bodies in each shroud according to their size, and in total we used 13 or 14 shrouds. We held the funerals over two days at the mosque in the Wahda neighbourhood in [East] Mosul.

Shameful and bad people Relatives had assumed from early on that the strikes which killed their families had been conducted by the US-led Coalition. But until recently there had been no confirmation  nor any indication of which ally or allies might have carried out the attack. Loading I asked the Iraqi Army brigadier from the beginning, who bombed the house? He said it was missiles but he refused to confirm any additional information, says Amjad al-Saffar. The level of accuracy of the bombing had always indicated to us that the attack couldnt have been by Iraqi forces, because the house was targeted twice at the same point without any damage to the neighbouring building, and with very high accuracy.

The family also disputes claims that the house or the nearby areas was being used by IS fighters. There are three reasons which disprove this claim, argues Amjad. Kareema was inside the house [at the time of the first strike] and she confirmed there were no IS fighters. Secondly, when we recovered the bodies, we found only our family members without any strange bodies [IS fighters]. And finally, the house was very small, just one storey tall, and it was impossible for IS snipers to use it, especially when compared with neighbouring buildings of two and three floors. In addition, I didnt find any spent bullets or the bodies [of fighters] in the house or nearby. The family still have heard nothing from any Coalition force, including Australias.

Never, no one contacted us. The only contact came from the press, for example investigators from The New York Times in late 2017. They [Australian military] have said there were 18 victims only. But they never contacted us, because they are shameful and bad people. The ADF has refused to comment or elaborate on its actions, referring queries back to its written statement and a January press conference. A girl walks across a street surrounded by debris and destroyed buildings in West Mosul after fleeing Islamic State in June 2017. Credit:Kate Geraghty Following the ADFs announcement of its involvement in the deadly strike, the remaining Saffar family members at least now know that Australia was partially responsible for the 35 deaths that day. But more answers are needed.

We are realistic. I recently met with all the surviving family members, and we agreed that there are three things we wish for, says Amjad al-Saffar. Firstly we need far more information on why this house was targeted. According to the Australians it was bombed following an Iraqi government request. So we need to know the justification which the Coalition used to attack it. We also hope to receive an official and clear apology to the surviving relatives from the Australians. And we ask for proper compensation, not the limited sum we hear may be on offer. So we are asking them to apologise, and for fair compensation. According to Australian legal experts consulted by Airwars, there may be two obstacles for the family ahead. The first is a possible limit on how long after an event any redress can be sought, though in this case the ADF only declared responsibility earlier this year. Compensation offers from the Australian government may also be as low as $2500 for each victim, it has been suggested. As Amjad al-Saffar notes: Its a very low amount, with the cost of living in Iraq these days so high.Tehran, Iran: Iranians will "resist" the Trump administration's acceptance of Israeli control over the occupied Golan Heights, Iran's president said on Friday, adding his voice to that of many Arab nations, including a number of US allies, who have denounced the US decision.

Tunisians take their coffee on a rooftop coffee shop, in the old city of Tunis, Tunisia. Credit:AP

Tunisia, meanwhile, said it would coordinate with fellow Arab countries to contain the fallout from the US decision.

Hassan Rouhani said the US move is "trampling on international regulations about the Golan." Iranians, too, "should resist and that way gain victory" over the US and Israel, he said.

Israel seized the Golan in the 1967 Mideast War after Syria used the strategic plateau to shell northern Israel for years.4 smart ways to use security to power the business of the future

In the new era of work, our relationship with the workplace is defined by flexibility and mobility. Employees are working across the home, office, and blended spaces more than ever before, as well as working varied hours to suit the modern work schedule. This new hybrid workforce model holds the potential for more diverse talent and better productivity, but it also comes with its challenges  one being how to ensure security, health, and safety in the workplace. Strong and smart security ecosystem While nearly one-third of companies report that theyve implemented a hybrid model, according to a recent survey by STANLEY Security, many still have much to do to prepare their office for the future. Building a strong  and smart  security ecosystem is crucial in preparing for the future. As such, businesses should consider technologies that help protect their people, as well as safeguard their assets, optimise their operations, and secure their network. 1)Protect your people Implementation of a security ecosystem combines health, safety, and security hardware and software solutions seamlessly Nearly 60% of mid-market and enterprise businesses across the UK and US report that the health and safety of their employees and customers are a primary concern when implementing modern and hybrid working models. This begs the question: How can businesses create a safe and healthy work environment when 59% are planning to bring employees back on-site in some capacity within the next 18 months? The answer lies, in part, in the implementation of a security ecosystem that combines various health, safety, and security hardware and software solutions seamlessly. Integrating platform Nearly half (46%) of business decision-makers say they are interested in adopting an integrated platform such as this. This means integrating traditional and digital security solutions, then leveraging the data and insights they produce to further enhance the workplace experience. Take this example: With employees and visitors moving in and out of the office at different times, a business may lack oversight of occupancy or density levels, people flow, workspace scheduling, visitor check-in processes, and more. However, with visitor management, access control, and other building/business systems integrated, employees can reserve a workspace for a specific date and time and be granted access to the building. Leveraging AI and machine learning Visitors can pre-register, answer a health screening questionnaire, and receive a mobile credential before arriving. Once the visitor arrives on-site, the system can alert the respective department  all without the close contact typically required for traditional visitor check-in processes. When layering artificial intelligence and machine learning on top of the data, a business may identify trends in people flow and opportunities to optimise congested areas. They may also see that certain rooms within the building get more use than others and leverage these insights to manage their space more effectively. All of this is powered by a security ecosystem that can help a business better protect its people while realising other benefits in the process. 2) Safeguard your assets Businesses are concerned about the security of their assets when it comes to the hybrid workforce model Even more, businesses are concerned about the security of their assets when it comes to the hybrid workforce model. About 72% of leaders say this is, in fact, their primary concern with the hybrid approach. This figure isnt surprising when you consider the impact of the pandemic, which left many businesses closed either temporarily or permanently, with few people allowed on-site to manage facility operations. As a result of the pandemic, we saw tech adoption accelerate at an astonishing rate  simply because businesses had to implement cloud and remote technologies to survive during a time when buildings were closed indefinitely. Remote management and visibility This was particularly true for security solutions, such as cloud video surveillance and cloud access control solutions like wireless IoT-connected locks. Nine out of 10 businesses (91%) report that they have already implemented cloud security technology; of those, nearly half (48%) stated that this was due to the pandemic. These technologies allow for remote management and provide visibility into business operations at the same time. In a retail setting, for example, cloud video surveillance allows businesses to identify and track not only criminal activity, but also foot traffic patterns, peak operating hours, staff shortages, and more. Loss prevention strategy When integrated with the retailers point-of-sale (POS) system, businesses can gain greater insights into their traffic counts, end cap effectiveness, loyalty card activity, and a variety of POS exceptions, such as high-dollar transactions, repeated transactions, excessive returns, employee discounts, and more. For retailers especially, a security ecosystem means a more efficient loss prevention strategy that helps safeguard assets and profits. 3) Optimise your operations The future of work is still very much a work in progress, but one thing is clear: Businesses are looking for ways to increase efficiencies, drive cost savings, and, ultimately, optimise their operations  especially now with the challenges posed by price inflation. A relatively untapped opportunity for businesses to achieve these goals lies within their security infrastructure. Security technology and solutions gather incredibly rich data which, when unlocked, can help businesses understand how their buildings are being used, when the busiest times are, where there are highly trafficked areas, and more. Leveraging cloud video surveillance systems, businesses could identify emerging staff training needs Cloud video surveillance systems For example, by leveraging the insights produced by cloud video surveillance systems, businesses could identify emerging staff training needs, which could ultimately result in improved employee satisfaction and reduced attrition. However, much of this data sits untouched within the infrastructure, leaving businesses unaware of the opportunities in front of them. 44% of businesses that currently use a cloud security system for its primary use say they want to know how else this technology can be utilised, and an additional 20% arent even aware that it could be used in other ways. AI and analytics The interest in adoption is promising for the office of the future, especially when we see that the majority of businesses (78%) would consider using AI and analytics technologies to optimise their operations, helping their business to operate more effectively and efficiently. The increase in adoption of cloud technology  paired with the rise in interest in AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics  could make it possible for businesses to uncover invaluable insights from their security infrastructure and leverage them to adapt and build business resilience. 4) Secure your network Advanced technology help businesses improve their cybersecurity, making it harder for hackers to gain entry With cyber threats becoming more prevalent, businesses are increasingly looking to secure their networks and protect their data. More than half (54%) of those surveyed expressed interest in using AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics to secure their network by identifying and eliminating cybersecurity threats. Advanced and automated technology can help businesses improve their cybersecurity, making it harder for hackers to gain entry to the larger corporate network. Modern cybersecurity tools that use AI and machine learning can detect anomalies in network traffic or alert and act on suspicious behaviour. Cybersecurity software For example, if an IoT device suddenly begins broadcasting and establishing connections with multiple devices, cybersecurity software could detect this abnormal behaviour, send an alert, and suspend traffic or quarantine an endpoint immediately  saving precious time during a potential breach. A single data breach could result in widespread distrust from workers and customers, potentially leading to decreased business as well as litigation issues. As such, businesses need to take action to update and strengthen their defences so that they can avoid downtime and continue to operate with peace of mind. Prepare your business for the future Businesses will continue to look for more ways to extract value out of their existing infrastructure, including their security technology. For many, the tools to do so are already in place, its just a matter of unlocking the insights with a security ecosystem. With such an ecosystem  one that helps protect a business people, assets, and network, while optimising operations  companies can better safeguard the future of their workspaces and usher in the new era of work with confidence.The Deputy PM said the Vietnamese government provides every possible support for domestic and foreign investors, especially those with strong financial and governance capacity as well as experience in banking, to take part in restructuring weak Vietnamese banks.

He told the guest that the government advocates finding partners to sell or restructure the CBBank, which will be decided by the Cabinet and the PM based on suggestion made by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

The government and investors want the most feasible and beneficial solution to parties concerned, he said.

The host asked Adachi and collaborators to continue discussing their offer plan with the CBBank and the SBV to submit to the government and the PM for consideration.

As a number of investors are also interested in CBBank, he urged J Trust to take relevant steps soon.

Apart from CBBank, he also welcomed J Trusts involvement in restructuring other credit organisations in Vietnam.

Adachi, for his part, said J Trust now offers commercial banking, retail finance and debt collection services across Asia, from Mongolia to Indonesia. It successfully revived several financial-consumption companies and restructured weak banks in the Republic of Korea and Indonesia.

If permitted, J Trust not only wants to contribute capital but also technology to CBBank and will do its best in the effort, he said, expressing his hope that the Vietnamese government and the SBV will create favourable conditions for the success of its negotiations and transaction.

He told the Deputy PM that with experience in working for the Japanese Finance Ministry and bringing official development assistance-funded projects to Vietnam since 1997, he wished to further contribute to bilateral ties.(Image credit: NASA)

During the Expedition 59 mission to the International Space Station, astronauts are doing a series of three spacewalks.

On March 22, 2019, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nick Hague took a spacewalk to replace some aging nickel-hydrogen batteries with new lithium-ion batteries. One week later on March 29, Hague and NASA astronaut Christina Koch did similar work on their spacewalk together, replacing a second set batteries.

The third spacewalk of Expedition 59 will take place on April 8, when McClain and Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques will work to establish a redundant power supply to the Canadarm2 robotic arm and upgrade the station's wireless networks.

See photos of the astronauts working in space in this gallery! We'll update this gallery with the latest spacewalk photos once the astronauts beam more of them down to Earth.India's unexpected launch of an anti-satellite missile test this week sparked surprise (and some alarm) among international and aerospace-industry experts. The test's success makes India the fourth country capable of destroying an enemy satellite, after the U.S., Russia and China. But how does that technology work?

An anti-satellite weapon, or ASAT, is anything that destroys or physically damages a satellite. That's the broad definition.

"The problem with defining an ASAT is that since most space technology is dual-use, ASATs come in many non-overt forms," Joan Johnson-Freese, professor of national security affairs at Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, said in an email to Space.com.

Related: Boycott Indian Launchers? Industry Reacts to India's Anti-Satellite Weapon Test

.@DRDO_India successfully launched the Ballistic Missile Defence #BMD Interceptor missile, in an Anti-Satellite #ASAT missile test #MissionShakti engaging an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a Hit to Kill mode from the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island pic.twitter.com/n5DEWLQpSpMarch 27, 2019 See more

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Wednesday (March 27) that the country had pulled off an ASAT missile launch that same day. The launch, " Mission Shakti ," likely struck an Indian satellite in low Earth orbit, turning the object into debris.

ASATs take many shapes, but the clearest examples follow kinetic-kill models, in which an object in space or on the ground is sent to collide with an orbiting satellite, destroying both object and target with the energy of the crash.

But an ASAT doesn't need to be airborne. "If the intent is to stop the transmission of information from the satellite to the ground, taking out the ground station achieves the same goal, without the space debris," Johnson-Freese said.

A maneuverable satellite could be directed to smash into another satellite, too. A laser , if used to "temporarily dazzle or permanently 'blind' a satellite by destroying its sensors," would also be considered an ASAT weapon, she added.

The Press Information Bureau India tweeted this image of Wednesday's (March 27) "Mission Shakti," the country's first test-fire launch of an anti-satellite weapon. (Image credit: Press Information Bureau India/ Twitter

India used a kinetic-kill ASAT, said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That method produces a cloud of debris that may last days, weeks or even a year in space before disintegrating in Earth's atmosphere, McDowell told Space.com.

"As you hit that satellite and shrapnelize it, the pieces will get different amounts of velocity added to it in different directions," McDowell said. "So, if you take the satellite orbit and add or subtract velocity, some of it will re-enter right away. A lot of it won't change that much and will stay in this low-altitude orbit, but the small pieces will have relatively high drag," meaning they will burn up faster.

"The drag depends on your surface area to your mass ratio," he added. "And typically, when you shrapnelize a satellite, the resulting pieces have fairly large area relative to their mass. They're like little flat plates, and so they re-enter relatively quickly. Some pieces will have gotten added velocity, and so they will end up in elliptical orbits  and those pieces will stay in orbit longer."

The capacity to destroy a satellite and the creation of an unexpected debris field are major concerns for all countries, especially the U.S., which has the most assets in orbit, Johnson-Freese said.

"India's recent testing of its ASAT capability likely represents a feeling by other countries, specifically India in this case, that the weaponization of space is forthcoming, and India doesn't want to be left out of the 'have' category if arms-control agreements are eventually reached," Johnson-Freese said.

India's recent testing of its ASAT capabilities was developed through missile defense technology, she added. With slight modification to missile defense capabilities, weapons can also target satellites. And most countries with ASAT capabilities have followed this route, especially because this is "politically acceptable," while other ASATs haven't been acceptable, Johnson-Freese said.

The type of anti-satellite weapon used in Mission Shakti has similar  although not entirely the same  technology as anti-ballistic missile weapons that the U.S. military fired in a March 25 intercontinental missile defense test from Vandenberg Air Force Base , McDowell said.

Reactions

Some applauded Modi's announcement, and others viewed it as a political move to bolster poll numbers ahead of India's upcoming election. Voting is due to begin on April 11, with the final ballot cast more than five weeks later, on 19 May, according to the BBC . India is the world's largest democracy.

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, tweeted on Wednesday that Modi was trying to "reap political benefits" with this news.

Besides its potential electoral benefits, this move also draws the world's attention to the changing landscape of spaceflight. Jonathan Marcus, defense correspondent at the BBC, called this announcement "yet one more aspect of the trend towards the militarisation of space."

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science-advocacy organization based in the United States, also expressed concern over the launch in a Wednesday statement . "India's test comes against a backdrop of a languishing international effort to ensure space remains a peaceful and secure environment," said Laura Grego, a senior scientist in the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Right now, we are not up to the challenge presented by the increasing spread and sophistication of anti-satellite and space weapons."

An editorial section of the Indian digital publication ThePrint offered many contrasting perspectives on Mission Shakti.

Upasana Dasgupta, a researcher at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, expressed concern that India could be liable on an international level if any shrapnel damages another country's spacecraft.

Some spaceflight and defense officials praised the ASAT launch, however. "It signifies two things: India is capable of identifying a satellite threat and is also capable of intercepting it," DRDO Director General Avinash Chander said in the same editorial section.

"India has to be fully equipped for war  whether it is subsurface, surface, air or space warfare," Satish Dua, former chief of integrated defence staff of the Indian army, said in another editorial. "Space pervades all warfare as it enables intelligence and surveillance, information warfare, [and] cyber domain[s]."

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine touched on testing that creates space debris in a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on NASA's proposed budget on March 27.

"Debris ends up being there for a long time. If we wreck space, we're not getting it back," Bridenstine said. "And it's also important to note that creating debris fields intentionally is wrong ... because some people like to test anti-satellite capabilities intentionally and create orbital debris fields that we today are still dealing with. And those same countries come to us for space situational awareness because of the debris field that they themselves created.

"And that's being provided by the American taxpayer, not just to them, but to the entire world for free," he added. "The entire world [has to] step up and say, 'If you're going to do this, you're going to pay a consequence.' And right now, the consequence is not being paid.""We believe this is now a new era of superconductivity," Russell Hemley, a materials scientist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., told a crowd of researchers March 4 at the American Physical Society's March meeting.

Images lit up the screen behind him: a schematic of a device for crushing tiny things between the superhard points of opposing diamonds, graphs of temperature and electrical resistance, a glowing ball with a rough, black "X" slashed across its center.

That last image was the embodiment of the new era itself: a tiny sample of lanthanum superhydride (or LaH10) squeezed to pressures similar to those found partway through Earth's core and heated with a laser to temperatures approaching a brisk late-winter day in New England. (That's scalding heat by the standards of superconductivity research, usually conducted in extreme laboratory cold.) Under those conditions, Hemley and his team had found, LaH10 appears to stop resisting the movement of electrons between its atoms. It apparently becomes, as Hemley termed it in his APS talk and in a paper published Jan. 14 in the journal Physical Review Letters, a "room temperature superconductor." [6 Important Elements You've Never Heard Of]

Frozen science

Back in 1911, the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered that at extremely low temperatures, certain substances exhibit unusual electrical properties.

Under normal circumstances, an electric current passing through a conductive material (like a copper wire) will lose some intensity along the way. Even the very good conductors we use in our electric grids are imperfect and fail to transport all the energy from a power station to your wall outlet. Some electrons just get lost along the way.

But superconductors are different. An electric current introduced into a loop of superconducting wire will continue to circle forever, without any loss. Superconductors expel magnetic fields, and therefore powerfully push away magnets. They have applications in high-speed computing and other technologies. The problem is that the sorts of extremely low temperatures at which superconductors usually operate make them impractical for common use.

Hunting without a map

For more than a century, physicists have hunted for superconductivity in warmer materials. But finding superconductivity is a bit like striking gold: Past experience and theories might tell you broadly where to look for it, but you won't actually know where it is until you do the expensive, time-consuming work of checking.

"You have so many materials. You have a huge space to explore," said Lilia Boeri, a physicist at Sapienza University of Rome, who presented work after Hemley exploring the possibility of superconductors even warmer than LaH10, and explaining why materials like this are superconductive at extreme pressures.

In 1986, researchers uncovered ceramics that were superconductive at temperatures as high as 30 degrees above absolute zero, or minus 406 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 243 degrees Celsius). Later, in the 1990s, researchers first looked in earnest at very high pressures, to see if they might reveal new kinds of superconductors.

But at that point, Boeri told Live Science, there still wasn't any good way to determine whether a material would turn out to be superconductive, or at what temperature it would do so, until it was tested. As a result, critical temperature records  the temperatures at which superconductivity appears  stayed very low.

"The theoretical framework was there, but they didn't have the ability to use it," Boeri said.

The next big breakthrough came in 2001, when researchers showed that magnesium diboride (MgB2) was superconductive at 39 degrees above absolute zero, or minus 389 F (minus 234 C).

"[Thirty-nine degrees] was pretty low," she said, "but at that time was a major breakthrough, because it showed you could have superconductivity with a critical temperature that was twice as high as what was previously thought possible."

Crushing hydrogen

Since then, the hunt for warm superconductors has shifted in two key ways: Materials scientists realized that lighter elements offered tantalizing possibilities for superconduction. Meanwhile, computer models advanced to the point where theorists could predict in advance precisely how materials might behave in extreme circumstances.

Physicists started in the obvious place.

"So, you want to use light elements, and the lightest element is hydrogen," Boeri said. "But the problem is hydrogen itself  this cannot be made superconducting, because it's an insulator [a material that doesn't typically allow electricity through]. So, to have a superconductor, you first have to make it a metal. You have to do something to it, and the best thing you can do is squeeze it."

In chemistry, a metal is pretty much any collection of atoms bonded together because they sit in a free-flowing soup of electrons. Most materials that we call metals, like copper or iron, are metallic at room temperature and at comfortable atmospheric pressures. But other materials can become metals in more-extreme environments. [The World's Most Extreme Laboratories]

In theory, hydrogen is one of them. But there's a problem.

"That requires much higher pressure than can be done using existing technology," Hemley said in his talk.

That leaves researchers hunting for materials containing lots of hydrogen that will form metals  and, hopefully, become superconductive, at achievable pressures.

Right now, Boeri said, theorists working with computer models offer experimentalists materials that may be superconductors. And the experimentalists pick the best options to test out.

There are limits to the value of those models, though, Hemley said. Not every prediction pans out in the lab.

"One can use calculations very effectively in this work, but one needs to do that critically and provide ultimately experimental tests," he told the assembled crowd.

Hemley and his team's "room temperature superconductor," LaH10, appears to be the most exciting result yet from this new era of research. Crushed to about 1 million times the pressure of Earth's atmosphere (200 gigapascals) between the points of two counterposed diamonds, a sample of LaH10 appears to become superconductive at 260 degrees above absolute zero, or 8 F (minus 13 C).

A diagram shows the diamond-anvil cell device used to crush the lanthanum and hydrogen together, along with the chemical structure they form under those pressures. (Image credit: (Left) APS/Alan Stonebraker; (Right) E. Zurek, adapted by APS/Alan Stonebraker)

Another run of the experiment described in the same paper appeared to show superconductivity at 280 degrees above absolute zero, or 44 F (7 C). That's a chilly room temperature, but not too difficult a temperature to achieve.

Hemley ended his talk by suggesting that, down the road, this high-pressure work might lead to materials that are superconductors at both warm temperatures and normal pressures. Perhaps a material, once pressurized, might remain a superconductor after the pressure is released, he said. Or perhaps the lessons about chemical structure learned at high temperatures might point the way to superconductive low-pressure structures.

That would be a game changer, Boeri said.

"This thing is basically fundamental research. It has no application," she said. "But let's say you come up with something that works at pressure, say, 10 times lower than now. This opens up the door to superconducting wires, other things."

Asked whether she expects to see a room-temperature, room-pressure superconductor in her lifetime, she nodded enthusiastically.

"For sure," she said.

Originally published on Live Science.The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's new "50 Years from Tranquility Base: Humanity's First Visit to Another World" exhibit highlights artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission.

Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 mementos are among the flown artifacts now on display as part of a new exhibit dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The Apollo 11 "50 Years from Tranquility Base" display case was installed on Monday (March 25) at the Washington, D.C. museum, opposite its Space Race gallery on the first floor. The exhibit offers a look at almost two dozen artifacts that flew on board the July 1969 Apollo 11 mission that landed Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the Sea of Tranquility on the surface of the moon.

"'50 Years from Tranquility Base: Humanity's First Visit to Another World' highlights some of the smaller artifacts the crew needed to live and work on their way to and on the moon. Of particular interest are Neil Armstrong's Omega chronograph, which hasn't been on public display for over 20 years at least, and some of the items found in Armstrong's purse ," said Jennifer Levasseur, a curator in the space history division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Related: The Risk of Apollo: Astronauts Swap Harrowing Tales from NASA's Moon Shots

"50 Years from Tranquility Base" exhibit includes the so-called "Armstrong purse" and some of the Apollo 11 artifacts it held as discovered in Neil Armstrong's closet after his death. (Image credit: Smithsonian via collectSPACE.com)

The Armstrong purse, as the museum's staff have come to call it, was a temporary stowage bag used as a catchall on board the Apollo lunar module to temporarily hold small loose items as needed during the flight. (The astronauts referred to it as the "McDivitt purse" for Apollo 9 commander Jim McDivitt, who came up with the idea.)

Before jettisoning the Apollo 11 lunar module "Eagle," Armstrong also used the purse to collect some spent equipment from inside the moon lander to bring back to Earth as his personal souvenirs .

"This bag, which is part of the display along with some of its contents, was found in Armstrong's house after his death. Most of these items are on loan from [Neil's widow] Carol Armstrong, but one of them, perhaps one of the most meaningful in terms of how the astronauts documented the mission, is the first to be formally donated as well," explained Levasseur in a statement provided to collectSPACE.com.

An Apollo 11 Data Acquisition Camera is reunited with its 16mm film magazine as last used together aboard the lunar module Eagle in the new "50 Years from Tranquility Base" exhibit. (Image credit: Smithsonian via collectSPACE.com)

"The Data Acquisition Camera, a 16mm movie camera, has been reunited with the film magazine used during the mission to record Armstrong's first steps on the moon from the lunar module window  a reunion 50 years in the making," said Levasseur.

In addition to the camera and the purse, the new exhibit also displays Armstrong's crewman optical alignment sight used during the docking of Eagle to the command module "Columbia" after the moon landing, an emergency wrench from aboard the lunar module and his waist tether.

The "50 Years from Tranquility Base" exhibit also returns to public view artifacts that were previously displayed in "Apollo to the Moon," one of the National Air and Space Museum's original galleries that was closed in November 2018 as work began on a seven-year renovation of the building. "Apollo to the Moon" will be replaced by a new permanent exhibition, "Destination Moon," set to open in 2022.

"Even before the multi-year renovation showed visibly to the public, we knew it was critical to have exciting and new ways of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission inside the museum to accompany our program plans for the entire Apollo 50th . Not only are we touring a preview of the new 'Destination Moon' exhibition (opening in Seattle in April), we also wanted to show some of our most significant Apollo 11 artifacts," said Levasseur.

The display case includes the contingency soil sampler used by Armstrong to collect the first lunar material off of the moon, a lunar sample return container (or "moon rock box"), an inflight exerciser used by the Apollo 11 astronauts and a replica of the U.S. flag assembly that Armstrong and Aldrin deployed at Tranquility Base .

Other Apollo 11 artifacts include a pen and penlight flown on the first moon landing mission, the toothbrush and sunglasses used by command module pilot Michael Collins, and even samples of leftover space food with the scissors that were used to open the meal packages.

Visitors can also get a look inside the Apollo 11 command module (soon to be on display at Seattle's Museum of Flight ) via an interactive "Columbia 3D" feature on a touchscreen positioned alongside the artifacts.

In addition to the new exhibit, the National Air and Space Museum also plans to debut Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit later this year. The suit, which has been off public display since 2006, has been the subject of a full conservation effort.

"This '50 Years from Tranquility Base' display case reminds us of the care with which engineers, scientists, and others worked to prepare each element of the astronauts' journey to the moon," said Levasseur. "The journey wasn't just 240,000 miles, but the 50 years since, as this museum continues its caring for the nation's lunar legacy."WASHINGTON  The U.S. military's early warning and surveillance network on Wednesday at 1:39 a.m. EST detected India's missile launch aimed at one of its own satellites in low Earth orbit.

"We were aware," said Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson, vice commander of Air Force Space Command.

Once the launch was detected, "we immediately started providing notification to satellite operators," Thompson said on Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on strategic forces.

Related: India Says Anti-Satellite Test Created Minimal Debris. Is That True?

The anti-satellite weapon test carried out by India's Defense Research and Development Organization was code named "Mission Shakti." A missile launched from the ground slammed into a satellite at an altitude of about 300 kilometers.

Thompson declined to specify the exact elevation as it might be classified. He noted that the International Space Station was "not at risk."

The issue was raised at the hearing by the subcommittee's ranking member Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) who asked Thompson about the risk that such tests might pose to U.S. and allied satellites.

Thompson said the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, detected the launch. The National Space Defense Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado; and the 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, also supported the effort. "No other nation or other military, or civil agency could have detected, characterized and warned" about a threat in space, he said.

In response to Heinrich's question on whether DoD supported a "code of conduct" for space activities, Kenneth Rapuano, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, said the Pentagon is "involved in discussions internationally" about the use of anti-satellite weapons but noted that space security is an effort led by the State Department.

"We have participated in non biding confidence building measures associated with activities in space," he said. "We are proponents of safe and sustainable space and the minimization of space debris."

Speaking with reporters after the hearing, Thompson said these types of tests are "always concerning and pose a risk certainly to our satellites and all satellites." Any time a test like this occurs, "it's a concern," said Thompson. "It's not just a matter of whether it's a risk to our satellites, but when they generate debris that might be there for a long time, it might have cascading effects."

The Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg, which is part of U.S. Strategic Command, maintains a space catalog that tracks debris and other objects. The center operates the Space Surveillance Network, a worldwide system of ground-based radars along with ground-based and orbital telescopes.

The dangers of space debris also came up on Wednesday at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee's commerce justice and science subcommittee.

NASA Administrator James Bridenstine said there is a need for better space situational awareness and debris tracking. He warned the problem could get worse if more countries start testing anti-satellite weapons. "Debris ends up being there for a long time," Bridenstine said. "If we wreck space, we're not getting it back."

Destroying a satellite intentionally and creating debris is "wrong," he insisted. "Some people like to test anti-satellite capabilities intentionally and create orbital debris fields that we today are still dealing with. And those same countries come to us for space situational awareness because of the debris field they themselves created." The space situational awareness provided by the U.S. military is paid by the American taxpayer and offered to the world for free, he said. "So the entire world needs to step up and say, 'If you're going to do this, you're going to pay a consequence.'"



UPDATE 30th March - First set of correct dialogue teaser answers filled in.





Joan and Landrys illicit love affair continues to impact the two opposing groups that season two appears to be building up towards that fateful Friday 13th. On one side, Philip may have cut himself a new look in an attempt to put the regicide behind him, but with the return of his son, Louis, comes the return of his past too. Including the freshly exhumed body of his queen along with evidence of the fact that her lovers child managed to survive after all, which only serves to bring his all-consuming rage bubbling to the surface once again. Unable to make too public a deal of the issue  pun intended  he instead starts to systematically eradicate every last trace of his wife from the palace, starting with her wardrobe. Here is a man who does not know how to move on.Interestingly, Philip refers to Louis as a wolf this week while asking him to set up a highly secretive, yet important investigation for him. As you may know, his sister Isabella is the sibling known as the She-wolf of France in later years after her political manoeuvring due to her intolerable marriage to Edward II. I suppose, from a certain perspective, there is tenuous link between the two situations, and theres no denying that they did do things differently in the middle ages, but you would have to be a cold-hearted bastard to actually contemplate what Louis has on his plate right now. Even so, he is not complaining as he steps up and starts sorting shit out in biblical fashion.As for the other camp, I am enjoying the new recruit direction they have taken with Landry as he pushed too many Templar rules, too far last season for there to be any other realistic approach than being expelled from the Order. Having seen a few more episodes ahead of this one, Im happy to see that this initiate status is not a quick or easy process for him either. And not only does he have to train hard, getting to know his new comrades and how to work with them, but he also exorcises a few ghosts along the way too. So, I am glad that this isnt a single episode work through for Tom Cullens character, I needed to see him naturally get back to that place where he forgives himself for his past and is able to be comfortable with others relying on him again. A belief in God and being handy with a sword is only part of being a Templar Knight, there is a reason why they call each other brother, and that level of trust and connection is a two-way street.Another upside to the various forms of initiate training we are a party to is of course Talus, their battle-hardened instructor. Mark Hamill has been a genius piece of casting for the series; its a fabulous role made all the more enjoyable for him being behind that scarred and gruff bearded face. His characters barely concealed pleasure in setting particularly difficult tasks for Landrys group of newbies when they displease him is sight well get used to quite quickly, as well as him keeping a close eye them when they are not actively working out in the yard too. As I said above, the initiates are not on a swift journey to the top, they get things wrong in the heat of the moment, especially Landry and especially in this episode, all of which Talus is not going to let slide any time soon. He is, however, a fair man, so when he gives us one of his rare, proud smiles like he does early on in the first half of this episode, I swear youll be grinning right along side him too.airs on Monday 1st April at 10pm on History. Below are some teasers to see you through until then, as usual, if you want to have a guess at who said what to whom I will fill in any correct answers. Dont forget to come back afterwards to vote in our poll and discus your thoughts on the episode.Mar 30th, 2019

Next month in the UK, Coca-Cola is launching its first-ever Coca-Cola brand energy drink simply named Coca-Cola Energy. The product is going to feature its own unique look and have a great Coca-Cola taste alongside ingredients to give you a convenient boost in energy.

Coca-Colas Great Britain and Ireland general manager Jon Woods says Our strategy is to offer people a wide range of drinks to meet different lifestyles and occasions and Coca-Cola Energy is the latest example of that.

The upcoming Coca-Cola Energy will be available in two variants with a regular version as well as a sugar-free. When it comes to nutrition, the regular Coca-Cola Energy is going to have 26g of sugar, while the no sugar option marked with a black rim will of course have no sugar.

Both versions of Coca-Cola Energy are made with guarana, no taurine, B vitamins, and of course caffeine to help increase energy. Coca-Cola Energy gets its caffeine from naturally derived sources, providing a reasonable amount of 80mg per 250ml can similar to Red Bull.GREENWICH  A woman who worked previously as the director of youth and families at the Greenwich YMCA has been accused of embezzlement at another branch of the YMCA in Rye, N.Y.

Lee Ann Borg, of Croton, N.Y., was arrested Tuesday, accused of stealing more than $190,000. She was making personal purchases with the Rye YMCA corporate credit card, according to the Westchester County district attorney.

She allegedly abused (her) authority by making personal purchases from retail stores for items such as prescription medication, clothing and other personal items as well as several thousand dollars in gift cards deposited into her PayPal account for her personal use, a statement from the district attorneys office said.

She was charged with one count of grand larceny in Rye City Court.

Borg worked at the Greenwich YMCA for four years, as a personal trainer; director of membership, programs and wellness; and youth and families director, according to her LinkedIn page. She also volunteered at the Byram Archibald Neighborhood Center in Greenwich.

Borg began her position at the Rye YMCA in 2016. Financial discrepancies were discovered at the Rye YMCA, and law enforcement was contacted.

Borg was also previously a director of youth and family at the YMCA in Stamford.

The Rye YMCA issued the following statement:

Early last year we discovered that the Rye YMCA had been the victim of fraud related to the misuse of a YMCA-issued corporate credit card, and we reported the matter to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, a former employee of the Rye Y was charged with Grand Larceny. We expect to be fully reimbursed for our loss by our insurance carrier, and we have taken corrective measures to make sure this does not happen again. For more than 105 years, the Rye Y has served our community with distinction as an organization committed to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Among our highest priorities is being an ethical, trustworthy, and well-run nonprofit, and we will continue to build on that legacy of service. At the request of the DAs office we will not be commenting further, because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

There was no immediate comment from the Greenwich Y.In 2017 Storm Irma, a category 5 Hurricane the size of France, ripped its way across the Atlantic. It was the second costliest hurricane on record, and among the areas hit hardest were the Caribbean islands of Saint Barthelemy, Anguilla, Antigua and Saint Martin.

At a hotel cocktail bar on the island of Saint Barthelemy, a waitress tells me the force of the storm was so violent and unpredictable a fridge from the beachside hotels basement kitchen was found thousands of feet away on top of a mountain, while the light wicker furniture on the decking stayed put.

But two years on from the storm, the tiny French territorial island (known better to Brits as St Barts) is mostly open for business again. That includes one of its finest luxury spots: Le Sereno.

The Lowdown

Le Sereno pool

First founded in 1972 as the Sereno Beach Hotel (it was renamed by its new owners in 2002) Le Sereno reopened in December 2018 after an extensive rebuild and refurbishment.

Found on the quieter north east side of the the island, the hotel enjoys a prime location on the Grand Cul de Sac beach of St Barts, a shallow, sheltered lagoon protected by a natural bank of rocks where the turquoise water is deliciously warm and shallow enough to stand up in 200 yards out.

The promise is laid back luxury - and this is exactly what you get. St Barts might be famed as a playground for the super-rich (over the hill you'll find the flashy Eden Roc, owned by Pippa Middleton's in-laws, still a building site after the storm) but this is an unpretentious sandy feet hotel with a distinctly intimate feel - where no-one will sniff if you order a Pina Colada and Camilla the hotel cat will come over for a head scratch at dinner.

Le Serenos revamp, which includes a brand new spa, wellness suite and open-plan restaurant, honours the sleek minimalism and muted shades of its original interior designer Christian Liaigre, the Parisian mastermind who previously designed homes for Karl Lagerfeld and Calvin Klein.

Every detail, from the sleek pool - which is made using Sukabumi stone from Indonesia to make the water look the same colour as the lagoon beyond it - to the natural taupe and white striped loungers, feels in harmony with its surroundings. Which is just as well, because the surroundings are dreamy.

The rooms

A Grand Suite Plage room at Le Sereno

There are no losers here - whether you opt for a cosy Bungalow Piscine or a luxury Villa, which comes with a private pool, every room faces out towards the main event: the beach.

Le Sereno Villa with a private pool

I stayed in one of the most popular rooms, the Grand Suite Plage, a spacious split-level set-up with an ocean-facing sundeck, four-poster bed draped in white mosquito nets and smooth, Brazilian walnut floors.

The rooms at Le Sereno are luxurious but understated

The Christian Liagre-designed furniture in each room is minimal, using muted mushrooms and greys, drawing the eye towards the bright blue ocean through the large sliding glass doors.

The bedding is soft white cotton made especially for Le Sereno by luxury French linen company D. Porthault and the pillows are made near Le Sereno's twin hotel in Lake Como, Italy. You should sleep like a log.

A private sundeck looking out onto the lagoon

Getting up early for a morning coffee on your sundeck (theres a Nespresso machine, naturally) to watch wild sea turtles popping up for air and Pelicans swooping over the bay in search of fish, is the definition of the hotel's overarching theme: serenity.

And yes, you will probably feel disgustingly smug.

The food

Dinner at Le Sereno

Overseen by Michelin-starred chef Alex Simone, Le Sereno boasts one of the island's destination restaurants, where locals and holiday-goers alike flock for lunch with an ocean view. The menu is Mediterranean, with pasta and fish dishes including a delicious Paccheri alla Norma with smoked eggplant, burrata, ricotta and tomato and a lobster linguini.

If the weather's not too windy you can book a table to dine on the beach. And - as this is a French island - breakfast each morning begins with a basket of freshly-baked croissants.

Things to do

Le Sereno is situated in the Grand Cul de Sac

St Barts is tiny, only 25km, and largely has a quietly chic, Riviera feel to it. Though there's nothing quietly chic about a Sunday afternoon spent at nearby Nikki Beach, where the super-rich roll up in their yachts to drink, party and spend.

By 4pm most of the tables are crowded with dancing feet, and every ten minutes a thousand-euro bottle of champagne is carried out with music and sparklers.

Otherwise, the island capital of Gustavia is a great place for a stroll (and a super yacht snoop) on the marina before dinner up the hill at hotspot Bonita - try and book a table with a harbour view.

But the best part of a stay at Le Sereno is exploring the lagoon. A highlight of my stay was getting up each morning around 7am (London jet lag makes this easier), wobbling out on a paddleboard and watching the sea turtles swimming underneath me.

If that doesn't make you feel relaxed, nothing will.P ooches have been parading down the runway today at a doggie fashion show held at M Victoria restaurant in celebration of London Dog Week.

Think pups in diamonte, denim waistcoats and very smart leopard print bow-ties indeed.

The inaugural London Dog Week (March 25-31) is aimed at making the capital a more dog-friendly place by raising awareness of the dog world and promoting the benefits of the connections between owners and their furry friends.

LDW co-founder, Aneka Johnson said "London is viewed as one of the loneliest cities in the world, yet dogs are natural people magnets and if we can use their ability to connect people across the capital, then we think it's a great way for people to forge friendships. I really believe that dogs are instrumental in making London less lonely."

Meanwhile co-founder, Lois Mallet Walker said: "I know both myself and Aneka have both gone through mental and physical health challenges and our dogs have really helped us through it. Sharing the power of how dogs are therapeutic and can help you keep a healthy frame of mind, alleviate stress and anxiety in addition to uniting its owner with the local community, is the message we want to spread throughout London."T he latest hotel to throw open its doors in the cultural vortex of SE1 is The Dixon, a 193-room hotel on Tooley Street. It sits in a handsome Grade II listed red brick building that served as a Magistrates Court and Police Station from 1905 to 2013.

The Dixon is named after John Dixon Butler, the buildings original architect, and opened in February 2019 as part of Marriotts luxury boutique Autograph Collection. Art is a primary focus: search out the witty homage to the buildings location and past along with the work of many contemporary artists.

Where is it?

The Dixon is in SE1, one of Londons most vibrant postcodes and stands in the shadow of The Shard and Tower Bridge, just steps from The Thames. London Bridge Station and Tower Hill are both within half a mile and theres plenty of London life right on the doorstep for culture-seekers, foodies and sightseers.

Style

The design brief was to reflect life in SE1  both past and present - while combining the history of the building with its modern reincarnation. London design teams M Studio and twenty2degrees have come up with a playful and entertaining approach: glass handcuffs subtly mixed into the vast shimmering chandelier in the reception hall or walls embedded with original cell keys sit well with the buildings original wood panelling and dramatic staircase.

The colour scheme of grey and teal blues is lifted by splashes of acid yellow and vivid artworks and theres plenty of glass and metal.

Great care has gone into the art, some of it borrowed on rotation from Anise Gallery and all chosen for its connection to SE1. Original black and white mugshots of prisoners who once stood in the dock are modernised with a single vivid flower in their lapel and there are fabulous photographs of George Orwell and Charlie Chaplin  former SE1 residents  with the 21st Century addition of colour-packed floral jackets.

The lobby staircase / Paul Winch-Furness

Facilities

The hotels gym is well used during the week by the predominantly North American corporate guests. One of the two former court rooms is now the Courtroom Bar while the Provisioners, a wonderful restaurant and cafe has the footprint of the original 20 holding cells marked on the floor. Local planners would not allow The Dixon any outdoor space but Potters Field Park is almost next door and, of course, the entire South Bank is outside.

Extra Curriculum

The Dixon scores a bullseye for its culturally diverse location where guests are in pole position for London life. Borough and Maltby Street markets, Tate Modern, National Theatre and Shakespeares Globe, and the Hayward Gallery, Bridge Theatre and Old Vic: if youre bored in SE1 then you probably arent trying hard enough.

A view over Tower Bridge (Paul Winch-Furness ) / Paul Winch-Furness

Food & Drink

SE1 is a foodie area, rammed with restaurants and cafes and offering stiff competition so it was a wise move for The Dixon to go into partnership with Clive Watson for their all-day restaurant Provisioners.

Watsons impressive CV includes co-founding Riding House Cafe in Fitzrovia and The Blixen in Old Spitalfields Market and he has brought his own love of mid-Century European design to the Provisioners. Black and white floors, curving low chairs and pastel pink booths are under a candy-stripe ceiling. Watson is still perfecting the space, toning down the lighting for example, but he has assembled a flavour packed menu (generously-sized steaks, truffled Sardinian culurgiones, slow-cooked lamb shoulder) served by an enthusiastic and likeable team.

Breakfast is buffet and a la carte, traditional and also hipster heaven: a vegan fry up, extensive range of non-dairy milk, avocado and halloumi flatbreads and Shakedown coffee, roasted on site and something that the hotel takes great pride in.

The Courtroom Bar / Paul Winch-Furness

The Courtroom Bar is a beauty, a clever adaptation of the space with a sunken bar where once the judges sat. For a quiet post work meeting in an atmospheric and well-designed space with a thoughtful cocktail menu, its a winner.

Which Room?

Rooms are either in the original building featuring high ceilings and Edwardian mouldings or in a new extension with contemporary furnishings in brighter colours. Five categories stretch from Guest Rooms up to The Orwell Suite. Guest Rooms are compact with well-sized showers and pleasing pops of colour in chubby chairs. Many rooms can interconnect.

201 is a favourite, an Executive Room with original bay windows (all windows are double glazed). Some rooms have views to Tower Bridge while The Orwell Suite has a good view of The Shard.

All rooms are well stocked with minibars and generous toiletries, complimentary tea and coffee making facilities and water. There are ironing boards, safes and excellent WIFI throughout the hotel.

The Londx Suite / Paul Winch-Furness

Best for

In the first few months of operation The Dixon has attracted a large corporate base, many of them working nearby at More Place on Tooley Street or in The City. The Marriott connection brings travellers from North American and Asia but The Dixon should also appeal to weekenders from around the UK, couples and families, for its wonderful location and informal atmosphere.

DetailsA 25-year-old man who was fatally stabbed, prompting armed police to seal off a mosque as they hunted for suspects, has been named by police.

The suspects remain at large after fleeing the scene, Metropolitan Police confirmed.

Detective Chief Inspector Garry Moncrieff said: "This murder investigation continues at pace. The attack happened in Cunningham Place opposite Elmton Court.

"A number of people were the area around the time that this happened. We need anyone who saw what happened or was present in the aftermath to get in touch. Anyone with mobile phone or dashcam footage before or after the attack is also requested to contact police.

The victim is the 31st person to be stabbed to death in London this year / Jeremy Selwyn

"There have been reports of two male suspects seen leaving the area towards Park Road and into a nearby mosque. Did you see these two individuals?

"My team are busy working around the clock to trace and apprehend those involved and bring them in for questioning. A review of local CCTV footage, forensic analysis at the scene and searches in and around the scene continue.

"Understandably those in the local area will be alarmed and concerned about this brutal attack. Extra police will be in the area and on hand to speak to the public about any concerns they may have."

The suspects are thought to have run towards Regent's Park and London Central Mosque immediately after the stabbing.

The victim is the 31st person to be stabbed to death in London this year.

The suspects washed their faces and hands alongside worshippers before changing clothes and fleeing / Jeremy Selwyn

Witnesses said the suspects washed their faces and feet alongside members of the mosque, before changing clothes in a toilet and fleeing.

Mr Visitor's death came less than 24 hours before a man in his 40s was fatally stabbed in his car on Friday afternoon outside Clapham Common tube station, in south-west London.P ro-Brexit supporters have descended on Westminster for a second day of protests over the delay to the UK leaving the European Union.

Police were on the scene as hundreds of yellow vest protesters marched from Whitehall to Parliament Square before moving to Westminster Bridge and then Trafalgar Square.

Transport for London were forced to divert or cancel seven bus routes in response to the impromptu demonstration.

Met Police said it was engaged with a "roaming protest" and working to minimise disruption.

A pro-Brexit yellow vest protester, wearing a mask depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, demonstrates in London. / REUTERS

At around 4pm on Saturday TfL said Whitehall was partially blocked between Horse Guards Avenue and Trafalgar Square due to a "public disturbance"

It follows the previous days protests were thousands of Leave supporters gathered at Westminster on the UKs scheduled date for departing the EU.

Police and protesters faced off at Downing Street as a large crowd of pro-Brexit and Tommy Robinson supporters gathered in Whitehall.

Pro-Brexit yellow vest protesters demonstrated for a second day. / REUTERS

It came after the Prime Minister suffered a third Commons defeat when her Withdrawal Agreement was rejected on Friday.

Pro-Brexit yellow vest protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament. / REUTERS

Five people were arrested at the march, police said.A wall which had been accused of "segregating" children from adjoining private and social housing in south London has been knocked down.

Henley Homes, which is behind the development in Kennington, had said it had no objection to all residents using communal play areas.

Walls and fences between the two estates had previously been seen as separating children who lived in each development: Wren Mews, which comprises 36 social housing properties, and the Baylis Old School estate, which comprises private owners and shared ownership residents.

The developers removed the blockade on Friday in a move that was welcomed by those living in the area.

Jane Bloomfield, 43, a private owner on the Baylis Old School estate, told BBC news she was pleased there had been "such quick action".

"I really hope this signals a much more collaborative way of working between all groups to help serve the residents, and children in particular," she added.

Other residents said they were "very happy", though a small few were said to "not like this approach and decision".

The move has also been welcomed by Lambeth Council and the owners of the social housing, according to reports.

The CEO of Henley Homes, Tariq Usmani, said previously: "As a company, we have absolutely no objection to the residents of Wren Mews, a freehold owned and managed by the Guiness Partnership, having access to the play areas and amenities of Baylis Old School.

"I am acutely aware of what social exclusion means; the reality of the experience is very clear in my mind."

After this he said action would be taken, which has resulted in the wall being taken down.

The controversy had been commented upon by MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and also London's mayor Sadiq Khan.M Ps have reported being abused by Brexit protesters around Parliament during a march in Westminster today.

Cross-party MPs claimed they had been called a traitor by demonstrators during Fridays march, which saw thousands of people descend on Westminster.

Some claimed they had been warned to "take great caution" as they left Parliament on Friday.

MP for Edinburgh South West Joanna Cherry QC said she felt relief at being able to make it home.

The SNP MP said: Very relieved to be safely back to my base in London. Was abused by trailing ends of the Leave Means Leave protest as I walked home. Called a traitor.

Told to go back to my own country. Such a contrast from [the] Peoples Vote March last weekend.

Protesters in London on Friday / Getty Images

While Labour MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy said on Twitter she was accosted outside Parliament before the vote.

Lisa Nandy / Getty Images

She wrote: Today outside Parliament I and others were accosted by people shouting f****** traitor as we tried to get in to vote.

Our staff were advised to leave the building for their own safety. There were armed police everywhere. This is not normal."

Danielle Rowley MP tweeted: While the far right are marching outside parliament, MP's are being advised to take great caution as they leave, and some have received horrific abuse and threats - this is a disgusting whipping up of hate."

Thousands of Brexit protesters march in central London / PA

Parliamentary staff had earlier been emailed advising them to leave Parliament before the protest began, according to reports.

The Metropolitan Police told the Standard they had not received any criminal reports from MPs about alleged abuse.

Replying to Ms Cherry, MP for Glasgow South Stewart McDonald said: This is the worst Ive seen it yet. Venomous abuse & threatening behaviour. I passed someone this morning yelling at a woman to get out of my country. In fairness, the pro-Brexit protesters who are here daily tend to be forthright but polite. This is a different crowd all together.

Friday's march saw huge crowds of activists with Union Jack flags, placards and banners fill the roads outside Parliament.

The March to Leave, which began in Sunderland two weeks ago, arrived in Parliament Square this afternoon.T heresa May is considering bringing her Brexit deal back to the Commons for a fourth vote next week and has hinted that she may call a general election if Parliament cannot agree a way forward.

I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House, she told MPs who voted her deal down again on Friday. Her remarks appeared to signal that she is prepared to call a General Election to try to break the deadlock.

Mrs May said the vote would have grave implications and that failure to support her plan was "almost certain" to involve an extended delay to Brexit, with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament in May.

Mrs May will not be able to bring her deal back to the Commons for a fourth attempt until MPs have taken part in the second round of a series of indicative votes on alternatives to the deal.

One idea being mooted at Westminster, was that if one option did emerge as a clear favourite there could be a final run-off vote with Mrs May's deal.

The Prime Minister is consulting senior ministers over the weekend on the way ahead after MPs voted on Friday to reject the Withdrawal Agreement by a majority of 58.

Pro-Brexit supporters burn an EU flag in Trafalgar Square / PA

Following the defeat on what was supposed to be Brexit day, Labour called on Mrs May to finally accept that her deal was dead and to call a general election.

But Downing Street sources have made clear she has not given up hope of getting it through Parliament, despite having already suffered three crushing rejections by MPs.

One source pointed out that the scale of the reverse was significantly less than the previous occasions as a number of prominent Brexiteers, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Iain Duncan Smith and Dominic Raab, fell into line.

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London 1 /26 In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London A man comes face to face with a police officer PA A pro-Brexit protester faces off with police during a demonstration outside Downing Street REUTERS Pro-Brexit supporters burn a EU flag near to Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters stand in the road at Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters confront police officers securing the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters face off with police REUTERS Demonstrators march holding flags and placards during a pro Brexit rally Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster AP A man takes a photo of a Metropolitan Police officer AP Police officers clash with demonstrators Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster, AP The pro-Brexit protest was attended by thousands AP One protester wearing a Guy Fawkes march AP Police officer secure the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters stand near police AP Demonstrators clash with police officers Getty Images A far-right protester is detained by police REUTERS A Pro-Brexit supporter wearing a Donald Trump mask in Whitehall PA PA Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally Getty Images

"We continue to believe that the deal the PM has negotiated is the best outcome for the country and we will continue to seek a way forward," the source said.

However Nigel Dodds, the deputy leader of the pro-Brexit DUP, who Mrs May had been hoping to persuade to back her deal, said he would rather remain in the EU than support it.

"I would stay in the European Union and remain rather than risk Northern Ireland's position (in the UK). That's how strongly I feel about the Union," he told BBC2's Newsnight.

Brexit: Crowds attend Leave protests in Westminster

On Monday, MPs will stage a second series of "indicative" votes on alternatives as backbenchers, led by Tory former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, again take control of Commons business from the Government.

In the first round of votes on Wednesday none of the eight options considered - including a customs union with the EU and a "confirmatory second" referendum - was able command a majority.

However discussions between the various groups of MPs involved were expected to take place over the weekend to see if they could coalesce around one of the various proposals - most probably for a "softer" Brexit.

Rebel Conservative Brexiteers who backed the deal on Friday did so because they feared that - with the pro-EU Commons taking control - the alternatives were either a much softer Brexit - or no Brexit at all.

In Europe, however there was alarm that, with time running out, the UK was heading for a no-deal Brexit.

The result of the vote means that the Government has missed an EU deadline to secure an extension of the Brexit process and leave with a deal on May 22.

Mrs May now has until April 12 to go back to Brussels with new proposals and seek a longer extension to the negotiation process, or see the UK leave without a deal that day.

As European Council president Donald Tusk called an emergency summit for April 10, the European Commission said a 'no-deal' break on April 12 was now "a likely scenario".

Irish premier Leo Varadkar whose country is likely to be the remaining member state hardest hit by no-deal said that it was up to Mrs May to come forward with a plan to prevent that happening.

"It is not clear that the UK has fully understood that no deal is not off the agenda. Rather, it's a growing possibility," he said.B ritain may need a government of national unity if Theresa May cannot deliver on Brexit, a Tory former cabinet minister has warned after the Prime Minister's deal was rejected.

Nicky Morgan said a cross-party coalition may be the only way to break the deadlock after MPs again rejected the Prime Ministers Withdrawal Agreement by 344 to 286 votes, a margin of 58.

The Commons is due to hold a second round of indicative votes on Monday on alternatives to Mrs May's plan amid warnings that Westminster is rapidly running out of time to resolve the crisis and speculation over a fresh General Election.

With Mrs May determined to bring back her deal for the fourth time, Mrs Morgan said if MPs were able to coalesce around one alternative it may need a unity government to implement it.

Conservative Party MP Nicky Morgan / AFP/Getty Images

"If the Government refused and Theresa May felt she could not implement what Parliament had identified as a way of leaving the EU, then I think we would have to think very hard about whether a cross-party coalition, group of people, whatever, could do that in order to make sure that the UK does leave the EU in an orderly fashion," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

The former education secretary - touted as a possible "unity" prime minister - added: "It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it.

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London 1 /26 In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London A man comes face to face with a police officer PA A pro-Brexit protester faces off with police during a demonstration outside Downing Street REUTERS Pro-Brexit supporters burn a EU flag near to Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters stand in the road at Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters confront police officers securing the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters face off with police REUTERS Demonstrators march holding flags and placards during a pro Brexit rally Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster AP A man takes a photo of a Metropolitan Police officer AP Police officers clash with demonstrators Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster, AP The pro-Brexit protest was attended by thousands AP One protester wearing a Guy Fawkes march AP Police officer secure the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters stand near police AP Demonstrators clash with police officers Getty Images A far-right protester is detained by police REUTERS A Pro-Brexit supporter wearing a Donald Trump mask in Whitehall PA PA Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally Getty Images

"There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue."

However, the idea was rejected by Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis, who insisted that Mrs May's deal was still the best way to deliver an orderly withdrawal from the EU.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis / AFP/Getty Images

"A national government is not the answer. It doesn't change the parliamentary maths and the fact that when MPs have voted they have consistently failed to come to a conclusion," he told Today.

His comments come after Labour deputy leader Tom Watson also suggested the time had come for a national unity government in an interview with Prospect magazine.

TODO: define component type apester

He said: "I prefer Labour governments and I hope we never get to a point where our economy or security is so in peril that we get a government of national unity."T he prominent pro-Remain Tory MP Dominic Grieve could face deselection after he lost a vote of no confidence by his local Conservative association.

The chairman of the Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association Jackson Ng said the no confidence vote motion was passed at the association's annual general meeting.

"Our members had a robust discussion with our MP, Dominic Grieve QC on Brexit before voting on a motion of confidence in him as our MP, which, I can confirm with a heavy heart that he failed to retain," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council."

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London 1 /26 In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London A man comes face to face with a police officer PA A pro-Brexit protester faces off with police during a demonstration outside Downing Street REUTERS Pro-Brexit supporters burn a EU flag near to Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters stand in the road at Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters confront police officers securing the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters face off with police REUTERS Demonstrators march holding flags and placards during a pro Brexit rally Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster AP A man takes a photo of a Metropolitan Police officer AP Police officers clash with demonstrators Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster, AP The pro-Brexit protest was attended by thousands AP One protester wearing a Guy Fawkes march AP Police officer secure the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters stand near police AP Demonstrators clash with police officers Getty Images A far-right protester is detained by police REUTERS A Pro-Brexit supporter wearing a Donald Trump mask in Whitehall PA PA Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally Getty Images

Mr Grieve, a former attorney general, was one of the MPs behind the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business to stage a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May's deal.

Brexit: Crowds attend Leave protests in Westminster

The opposition in the constituency to Mr Grieve is reported to have been organised by the former Ukip candidate who stood against him in the 2017 general election, Jon Conway.

A number of Conservative MPs swiftly criticised the no confidence vote after it was announced late on Friday.

Senior Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "deeply disappointing".

He tweeted: "Few in Parliament have contributed as much to public life as Dominic Grieve. As attorney general and chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee he has served our country dutifully for decades. He deserves thanks and praise, not this. Our party and country would be poorer."

Former minister Alistair Burt said it was an "extraordinary decision", adding: "A quality colleague, brave enough to challenge, but fundamentally a Conservative through and through. Where on earth are we heading with situations like this?"

Former Tory MP Anna Soubry, who was also at the forefront of the Remain wing of the Conservative Party until she defected to join the Independent Group, branded the vote "disgraceful".

She tweeted: "More evidence that the uncompromising dogmatic right is running the @Conservatives #DominicGrieve is one of the finest, most courageous Parliamentarians ever - who has always put his country first & championed all his constituents."

Several Labour MPs also voiced support for Mr Grieve.

Stella Creasy said the country's politics "would be poorer without his input".

She said: "I'm in a different political party to Dominic. We disagree on many things. I doubt Beaconsfield conservatives could find someone more experienced, more capable and more principled than him for their MP."C hannel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has come under fire after he remarked that he had never seen so many white people in one place as he reported on pro-Brexit protests in central London.

The broadcaster, 71, made the controversial comments as he described the scene near 10 Downing Street where crowds of Leave supporters had gathered on Friday night to protest the delay to Britains exit from the EU.

Speaking live from Parliament, Snow said: Weve just got these pictures in which were taken nearby. Police are now wearing riot gear.

Police dogs are patrolling. The mood has changed.

We cannot confirm whether any arrests have been made.

Controversial remarks: Jon Snow delivering a broadcast outside Parliament on Friday / Channel 4

It has been the most extraordinary day. A day which has seen Ive never seen so many white people in one place.

Its an extraordinary story there are people everywhere, there are crowds everywhere.

March 29 had been the scheduled exit date for Britain to leave the EU and pro-Brexit supporters, including some led by Tommy Robinson, had marched in central London in protest. It came after the Prime Minister suffered a third Commons defeat when her Withdrawal Agreement was rejected again by MPs.

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London 1 /26 In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London A man comes face to face with a police officer PA A pro-Brexit protester faces off with police during a demonstration outside Downing Street REUTERS Pro-Brexit supporters burn a EU flag near to Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters stand in the road at Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters confront police officers securing the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters face off with police REUTERS Demonstrators march holding flags and placards during a pro Brexit rally Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster AP A man takes a photo of a Metropolitan Police officer AP Police officers clash with demonstrators Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster, AP The pro-Brexit protest was attended by thousands AP One protester wearing a Guy Fawkes march AP Police officer secure the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters stand near police AP Demonstrators clash with police officers Getty Images A far-right protester is detained by police REUTERS A Pro-Brexit supporter wearing a Donald Trump mask in Whitehall PA PA Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally Getty Images

The protests continued into the evening and clashes broke out between some protesters and police as tensions ran high. Scotland Yard said five people were arrested including one who allegedly assaulted a police officer.

The broadcaster faced a backlash online from critics after clips of his remarks were posted on social media. One wrote: Dear @JonSnowC4 I was there yesterday and guess what? I am not white.

Sikh Conservative Amandeep Singh Bhogal tweeted pictures from the march with the caption: I have never seen so many PATRIOTS in one place. No one tell Jon Snow...

Others defended his comments, with one sharing images of the crowds with the caption: Jon Snow is right.

A Channel 4 News spokeswoman said: "This was an unscripted observation at the very end of a long week of fast moving Brexit developments.

"Jon has covered major events such as this over a long career and this was a spontaneous comment reflecting his observation that in a London demonstration of that size ethnic minorities seemed to be significantly underrepresented.T he UK will be "at the top of the queue" for a trade deal with the US after Brexit, one of Donald Trump's most senior aides has said.

John Bolton, the president's national security adviser, said Mr Trump was "eager for the will of the British people to be carried out, and he is even more eager to do a trade deal".

The veteran US politician also attempted to assuage widely-held concerns over the potential damage from a no-deal Brexit, highlighting how Britain would be able to boost transatlantic trade.

"People who worry about the United Kingdom crashing out of the European Union - they are going to crash right into the United States," Mr Bolton told Sky News.

"We are standing here waiting to make a trade deal with a UK independent of the EU."

In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London 1 /26 In pictures | Pro-Brexit march in London A man comes face to face with a police officer PA A pro-Brexit protester faces off with police during a demonstration outside Downing Street REUTERS Pro-Brexit supporters burn a EU flag near to Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters stand in the road at Trafalgar Square PA Pro-Brexit supporters confront police officers securing the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters face off with police REUTERS Demonstrators march holding flags and placards during a pro Brexit rally Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster AP A man takes a photo of a Metropolitan Police officer AP Police officers clash with demonstrators Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters clash with police after their rally in Westminster, AP The pro-Brexit protest was attended by thousands AP One protester wearing a Guy Fawkes march AP Police officer secure the gates of Downing Street AFP/Getty Images Pro-Brexit protesters stand near police AP Demonstrators clash with police officers Getty Images A far-right protester is detained by police REUTERS A Pro-Brexit supporter wearing a Donald Trump mask in Whitehall PA PA Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally Getty Images

Mr Trump has predicted that trade between the US and UK will increase "very substantially" after Britain's departure from the EU.

Speaking earlier this month, he said that Brexit had been negotiated "badly" but he would like to see the "whole situation work out".

"We are talking with them about trade and we can do a very big trade deal with the UK," he said.

Former US president Barack Obama drew the ire of Brexiteers in the run-up to the 2016 referendum by saying Britain would be "at the back of the queue" to negotiate a trade deal it left the EU.

Brexit: Crowds attend Leave protests in Westminster

Mr Bolton told Sky News: "This isn't the Obama administration; Britain will be at the top of the queue for us."

The prospect of a wide-ranging post-Brexit free trade deal with the US has not been universally welcomed in Britain.

Some critics have warned that Washington could demand unfettered access to the UK for American farmers to UK consumers, potentially damaging British producers.T he Independent Group has applied to form a new political party called Change UK.

They are hoping to stand in European elections, should Britain still be in the EU on the April 24 deadline.

The splinter group was formed after 11 Conservative and Labour MPs left their parties to form a new centre grouping.

But who are the Independent Group and what does becoming a political party really mean?

The Independent Group enjoying a meal at Nando's / ChukaUmunna/Twitter

Who are the Independent Group?

The Independent Group was founded by former Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith and Chuka Umunna.

They were later joined by Labour defector Joan Ryan and ex-Tories Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston.

When and why did they form?

The group formed on February 18 after they said the Labour Party leaderships failures over Brexit and anti-Semitism had left them no choice.

The three former Conservatives joined two days later, saying they could not stay in a party in the grip of hardline Brexiteers and the Democratic Unionist Party, Mrs Mays Northern Irish allies in the Commons, and blamed the Prime Minister for the abandonment of one-nation politics and Tory modernisation.

What do they stand for?

Spokesman Chuka Umunna unveiled the groups vision in a 50-page pamphlet earlier this month.

He said it was time for a new "progressive" party to change British politics and outlined the six key values that he believes progressive politicians could "rally around.

The Streatham MP included bold proposals including a compulsory form of "national service" for school leavers, state funding of political parties, and ending excessive pay in the boardroom.

But he said the document was not a manifesto or the official policies of our group.

The group intends to drum up a manifesto through touring across the country.

What does becoming a party mean?

The group have submitted an application to the Electoral Commission to become a party.

This process can take several weeks.A nimal rights activists who descended on a Jamie Oliver restaurant were removed by police for being aggressive towards diners and overstepping the mark.

Around 25 Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) protesters barged into the Brighton Jamies Italian restaurant holding signs, flowers and a fake piglet on a plate as people ate their dinner.

One protester made a speech saying: We would like everyone to think about who they are eating.

The way that animal flesh is presented and advertised makes it easy to forget they were once even an animal, let alone that they were a thinking, feeling individual."

Police said that armed police attended the scene on Friday night but they were not involved and no firearms were drawn.

Police were called to remove the protesters on Friday evening. / DxE Brighton

Others held signs with photos of animals and the words I want to live, 'It's not food, it's violence! and '"Humane' slaughter is a lie.

Around 15 minutes after the protesters entered the restaurant police arrived to remove them.

DxE claimed in a statement that police shoved someone to the ground and threatened arrest.

Protesters held signs while others made speeches while patrons ate dinner. / DxE Brighton

A spokesman for Sussex Police said most of the protesters were outside the restaurant when they arrived.

It was allegedly a peaceful process, he said.

There were a couple inside that were removed and they continued the protest outside.

Police said many of the protesters remained outside the restaurant after being asked to leave. / DxE Brighton

They were quite aggressive to customers while they were trying to eat dinner.

They were merely protesters that overstepped the mark slightly, a bit in your face to patrons in the establishment that we dont take too kindly to.

He added that no arrests were made.

Around 25 protesters stormed the Jamie's Italian restaurant before being removed by police. / DxE Brighton

A DxE spokeswoman said some customers showed support of the protest while others got violent

One customer shoved an activist and grabbed her bum then attacked another activist who intervened.A ngry EU nationals trying to stay in the UK after Brexit have said the Governments new online settlement status scheme has fallen over on its first day.

The EU Settlement Status Scheme opened on January 21 but was fully rolled out on Saturday to grant post-Brexit residency to EU citizens and their family members, who have until June 30, 2021 to apply.

A Home Office spokesman said the site was "performing well" and thousands of applications had been received don Saturday morning.

But, many vented their frustration on social media saying they were able to start the application process through the app but were then redirected to an error page that said there was a problem with the service.

Emilio Casalicchio tweeted a screenshot of an error message that read: sorry, there is a problem with the service.

He wrote: Excellent stuff from the UK Home Office. My dad just tried to apply for #SettledStatus and this was the result. Scheme open from today.

Another tweeted:  UK Home Office says the #SettledStatus scheme is working just fine. I beg to differ. Been trying for the last 3 hours only to get Access Denied or another error message. Nicely done.

David Sunderhauf wrote: Trying to upload documents to prove I lived in the UK for >5 years. I hope this UK Home Office website error isn't indicative of the outcome of my #SettledStatus application.

While Natasha Kirk said: Yep! I've tried via mobile app, my laptop & I even thought I'll do the postal option to see if I can do it that way & I get an error message for that too. They knew this day was coming & the influx. Why was it not prepared properly? Bit like Brexit then! #SettledStatus #Shambles

A Home Office spokesperson said: The EU Settlement Scheme is live and performing well this morning and weve received thousands of applications so far.

We are seeing a high volume of people on the site today, but there is plenty of time for EU citizens to make an application and there is extra support available for those who need it, including through our Settlement Resolution Centre.

Millions of EU nationals are expected to secure their right to stay in the UK through the Settlement Scheme.

ON Saturday, the EU settlement scheme opened to citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are in the European Economic Area (EEA) but not EU member states, as well as those from Switzerland.

Following the full launch, applicants can use a wider range of documents as proof of their identity and nationality, while those who do not wish to, or cannot, use a mobile phone ID verification app will be able to send in a passport or other document by post.A mock check-point was set up on the Irish border as hundreds of people took part in mass demonstrations in opposition to Brexit on Saturday.

The protests were organised by Border Communities Against Brexit to mark the day after Britain had been due to leave the European Union.

Border demonstrations took place along a number of crossing points in Co Tyrone, Co Louth, Co Donegal, Co Fermanagh, Co Cavan and Co Monaghan.

Demonstrators set up a mock check-point on the Old Dublin Road in Carrickcarnon which was manned by people dressed as customs officers.

The road was closed to members of the public as protesters carried anti-Brexit placards and EU flags.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald was joined by party vice-president Michelle O'Neill and Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein Assembly member Conor Murphy.

Ms McDonald said: "We are at a very dangerous moment where we inch ever closer to the real possibility of a crash and a chaotic Brexit.

"At this stage people should understand how serious that would be for all of us.

"The reality is that Brexit in any form is a disaster for the island of Ireland."

Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon warned a crash Brexit is "increasingly likely".

He said: "A border in the past meant this road was closed for over 40 years and this community was divided.

"We won't allow the very hard right-wing Tories and the ERG (European Research Group) and especially the DUP to destroy this community and bring us back to days when this was an economic wasteland."

Around 300 people gathered at the border on a road that was closed during the Troubles.

Many similar protests were staged on various border points between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Colin Harvey, a professor of human rights law at Queen's University Belfast School of Law, said he is against any attempt to "undermine or attack" the Good Friday Agreement.

He said: "We have long experience of people trying to put walls in our way and we take them down.

"If anybody attempts to put barriers on this island again they are coming down. Any obstacles on this island will be removed.

"We as a society are used to people putting up mountains for us to climb and we will continue to climb them. There will be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

"We are going to be the generation who ends the major division on this island, who can achieve the unification of our own country and we are going to get there."

Ms McDonald accused the DUP of being "seduced" by Westminster.

She added: "The people who live in the north of Ireland wish to continue in a society that is someway prosperous, that's stable and many people identify not just as Irish but also as Europeans. They did not consent to Brexit.

"They will never, never, never give up on that point either."

Local student Aine Quinn, who lives along the border, said Brexit will bring economic chaos to the area.

She said: "Yesterday was supposed to be Brexit day and today we are no clearer on what that means than we were three years ago.

"What we do know is that there are no good outcomes for us. The British Government tried to dismiss us as a small issue among other big issues.U K pub chain Samuel Smith's has reportedly banned customers from using mobile phones, iPads and laptops.

A memo sent out to managers and put on display at a pub in Rochdale said the brewerys policy is not to allow customers mobile phones, laptops or similar inside our pubs, according to the Manchester Evening News.

It states: If a customer receives a call then he or she should go outside to take it in the same way as it is required with smoking. Whether outside or inside, tablets and iPads must be prohibited.

Customers must not be allowed to receive transmitted pictures of sport or download music apps on the brewerys premises either inside or outside.

The brewerys policy is that our pubs are for social conversation person to person.T he UK's most tattooed man has hit out after a tattooist known as Dr Evil was jailed for carrying out illegal body modifications on customers.

Body Art, whose full name is King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite, has campaigned for regulation of body modification procedures for years and said his community is appalled at the sentence handed to Brendan McCarthy.

McCarthy, based in Wolverhampton, was jailed for more than three years for carrying out ear and nipple removals and splitting a customer's tongue.

He pleaded guilty in February to three counts of causing grievous bodily harm and weeks later was handed a 40 month prison sentence.

"It's been very mixed emotions," Body Art, 39, who was one of McCarthy's clients, said.

"I'd say on the borderline of literally unstable emotions of everything you can possibly imagine from extreme sadness to extreme anger.

Brendan McCarthy was sentenced to 40 months prison. (Aaron Chown/PA ) / Aaron Chown/PA

"Brendon was not a danger to public and acting in the interest of the public. We are people who want these things done."

Body Art said he was placed in an unusual position in 2017 when West Midlands Police registered him as a victim of McCarthy despite him not wanting to press charges.

When asked to submit a summary to be supplied to the Crown Prosecution Service he said he decided instead to write in defence of Brendan.

"I didn't give a statement complaining against Brendan, I complained against the police, saying that I did not see myself as a victim," Body Art said.

The charges police had brought against McCarthy on his behalf related to a transdermal implant, a disc used to hang jewellery off, being placed under the skin on his forehead.

They were later dropped.

Brendan McCarthy performed a transdermal implant procedure on Body Art. ( King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite) / King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite

McCarthy, described as widely respected also removed one of Body Art's ears, shaped the other ear, and removed both of his nipples, but refused his other requests, such as removing one of his toes.

Body Art said McCarthy was also "totally against" eyeball staining, a procedure he has had done, in which the whites of the eyeball are tattooed.

He added that the sentence would not deter people from getting body modifications "underground or abroad" and had instead reinforced issues that they are seen as "freaks" within society.

"I personally see us as a 'trans' community, " Body Art added, "not trans by gender or trans by sexuality, but we're transforming our bodies and we're in a body that doesn't fit to society's lifestyle regulations.

"Brendan was forced to plead guilty to GBH when we've given consent because the law states that we can't give consent.

"Under law he's a criminal, under law we're victims of crime - that surely can't be right."

Body Art said people in the medical and judicial industry were too quick to assume body modifiers were suffering from mental illness.

King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite at Ripley's Believe It Or Not in 2014. / Getty Images

"You can have five nose jobs or tummy tuck after tummy tuck after liposuction and still not be happy with yourself," he said.

"We're the opposite - we are happy amending our bodies but they're very quick to say we are the ones suffering from some form of rare body dysmorphia.

Body Art has been been campaigning for years to get the laws around body modification regulated.

"I could just go have a procedure done today, tomorrow, next week and the people performing the procedure are breaking the law but I'm not," he said.

One of the key issues he wants amended is to allow people to give to give consent to modify their bodies, drawing a distinction between cases such as male or female genital mutilation.

It's going to take a massive campaign to get the law changed, he said.

I'm advising people amongst our community to contact their ministers of parliament to write to the ministry of justice about their future body mod procedures.

Hopefully we can log a judicial review of these out of date laws that have been a nightmare to Brendan and his family and the rest of my community.D emocratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke has called for unity as he held a major rally in El Paso, Texas, which has been the centre of Americas immigration debate this week.

Mr O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, kicked off a series of three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Mr Trump threatened to close the US border with Mexico as soon as next week.

Speaking in El Paso, a few hundred yards from the border with Mexico, Mr O'Rourke decried the Trump administration's immigration policies and the president's call for a border wall.

"We'll find security not through walls," he declared to cheers from several hundred supporters as he officially launched his presidential campaign.

Before switching to Spanish to finish his speech, Me O'Rourke denounced what he called Trump's policies of "fear and division" and accused the president of seeking "to keep us apart and to make us afraid of one another."

Beto O'Rourke hugs his younger sister Erin O'Rourke after speaking at his presidential campaign. / AP

"Let's remember, every single one of us are fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like fellow human beings," he said.

Mr O'Rourke's rally in El Paso was long-planned, but the city became central to America's immigration debate this week.

US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told reporters in El Paso on Wednesday the southern border system was at breaking point because of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day.

Mr Trump, who is still determined to build a barrier along parts of the southern border, said on Friday: "There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me."

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks at his presidential campaign kickoff. / AP

He has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office.

His latest threat had workers and students who frequently cross the border worried about the potential disruption to their lives.

Mr Trump and Mr O'Rourke held duelling rallies in February in El Paso, which is already divided from Mexico by steel fencing.

The President wants it reinforced and hundreds of miles of additional fencing built along the border.

Beto O'Rourke greets supporters. / AP

Mr O'Rourke opposes any new border structures and opposition to Mr Trump's border wall and immigration policies has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

"We are safe not despite the fact we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers - we are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers," Mr O'Rourke said in El Paso on Saturday.

Mr O'Rourke, who announced his White House campaign on March 14, shot to national prominence last year in an unexpectedly close race against incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

His Texas rallies will be watched via livestream at more than 1,000 locations across America, according to his campaign.P resident Donald Trump has threatened to close the nation's border with Mexico or large sections of it if Mexico does not halt illegal immigration at once.

Questioned on the potentially drastic step, which would affect both nations' economies, the president said in Florida: "We will close it for a long time. I am not kidding around."

He has previously threatened to close the border - including at a rally in Michigan on Thursday night - but his comments on Friday were different as he gave a timetable.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop all illegal immigration coming into the United States through our southern border, I will be CLOSING the border, or large sections of the border, next week," the US president said in a tweet on Friday.

"This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and 'talk'."

The White House did not immediately comment on whether his possible action would apply to commercial and air travel, but a substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities and both nations.

A senior Homeland Security official suggested Mr Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families crossing the border from Mexico, although many of those families request asylum under US law.

Those seeking asylum are not deemed illegal simply by their arrival.

Pedestrians walk towards the U.S.-Mexico border / Getty Images

The official said the US might close designated ports of entry to redeploy staff to help process parents and children.

Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

Democratic and Republican legislators have clashed over whether there is a "crisis" at the border, particularly amid Mr Trump's push for a border wall, which he claims will solve immigration problems.

The president called on Congress to immediately change what he said were weak US immigration laws, which he blamed on Democrats.

Cars queue up as they wait to be inspected by US border patrol officers / REUTERS

Arrests along the southern border have rocketed in recent months. Border agents are on track to make 100,000 arrests and denials of entry there this month, more than half of them families with children.

To manage the crush, US Customs and Border Protection is reassigning 750 border inspectors from their usual duties at the ports of entry to help Border Patrol keep pace with arrivals in between ports of entry.I SIS bride Shamima Begums husband has said she is alone and heartbroken after losing all three of her children.

Islamic Sate fighter Yago Riedijk, 27, who is being held in a Kurdish-run detention centre in northern Syria, married Ms Begum when she was 15 after she ran away from her home in Bethnal Green, east London to join ISIS four years ago.

In an interview with The Times, Riedijk, who is from the Netherlands, said the couple are living a nightmare after the death of their third child  a baby son who was born in a Syrian refugee camp in February. The baby was less than three weeks old when he died.

The couples first two children, a girl and boy, died of malnutrition as infants.

Islamic Sate fighter Yago Riedijk at a detention centre in Syria / BBC

She was devastated, Riedijk told the newspaper. Me and her, we loved them so much its a nightmare. Its the worst thing that could ever happen.

He also recalled how easy it was to love Ms Begum. We got very close very quickly. She was the perfect wife. She was so young and innocent, he said.

Riedijk said it was ridiculous to suggest his wife had a deeper role within Isis and said she barely left the house apart from when he took her to the park or the market.

Riedijk was found by the BBC in the detention centre in Syria in early March and told the broadcaster that he wanted to return to the Netherlands with Ms Begum and be a family.

Civilians evacuated from IS stronghold Baghouz at a screening area. / AFP/Getty Images

The pair fled Baghouz, the group's last foothold in eastern Syria, as its territory collapsed in recent months.

Riedijk, who ended up in the detention centre after surrendering to Syrian fighters, faces a six-year jail term for joining a terror organisation if he returns to the Netherlands after being convicted in his absence in summer 2018. His Dutch citizenship has not been revoked. Ms Begum has been stripped of her UK citizenship by the Home Office to prevent her from returning to London.

Ms Begum fled to the al-Hawl refugee camp from Baghouz around the same time as Riedijk surrendered to the Syrian fighters but she has since reportedly moved on elsewhere as she feared for her life.A couple is celebrating being able to wed after same-sex marriage was legalised in the Cayman Islands.

The ruling on Friday came after a court case brought by British-born Vickie Bodden Bush and Caymanian Chantelle Day.

The pair, who adopted a daughter together in England, had been refused a marriage licence in April last year.

Ms Bodden Bush, 48, is in the country on a work permit and was denied a spousal visa.

While Ms Day, 32, was not recognised as mother to their daughter in the Cayman Islands, so took the action to be able to receive the same rights and protections as heterosexual couples.

After the lengthy battle, the Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands modified the Marriage Law with immediate effect on Friday to allow same-sex marriage.

He found that the rights to a private and family life, free conscience and equality had been violated.

It was ruled the dignity of the petitioners would only be restored by allowing them to marry.

"Love wins," said Ms Day as she left court, the Cayman Compass reports.

Peter Laverack, a barrister at 5 Essex Court, acting on behalf of the petitioners, said: "Chantelle's and Vickie's relationship finally has been recognised.

"For too long they and their daughter were denied what loving couples and ordinary families take for granted.

"The Chief Justice's judgment beautifully combines the common law and European Court case law, with a healthy dose of common sense.

"Equality means equality. Love is love."

The ruling might also have implications for others British Overseas Territories which do not allow same-sex marriages.

Legal teams believes it will set a precedent which they will have now have to follow in permitting them.T wo people have died as tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied in the Gaza Strip on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of their mass protests along the Israeli border.

The territory's Hamas leaders largely restrained the crowds ahead of a hoped-for cease-fire deal.

Demonstrators largely kept their distance from the border, though small crowds of activists approached the perimeter fence and threw stones and explosives towards Israeli troops on the other side.

The forces responded with tear gas and opened fire, killing two Palestinians and wounding 64.

Protesters wave their national flags in front of teargas fired by Israeli troops near fence of Gaza Strip border with Israel. / AP

Hamas had pledged to keep the crowds a safe distance from the fence as Egyptian mediators were working to cement a deal that Hamas hopes will ease a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the crowded territory.

Dozens of volunteers in fluorescent vests were deployed to restrain demonstrators, and cool rainy weather also appeared to affect enthusiasm.

But as the crowds swelled throughout the afternoon in response to Hamas' calls for a large turnout, dozens of protesters approached the fence, unfurling Palestinian flags and throwing rocks and explosives toward Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli forces responded with tear gas and live fire.

A Palestinian woman reacts after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli forces during a protest marking Land Day and the first anniversary of a surge of border protests. / REUTERS

The Israeli military estimated 40,000 Palestinians were gathered at the marches.

"The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tires on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence," it said in a statement.

Hamas officials say that Israel is offering a package of economic incentives in exchange for calm along the volatile border.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said the group had received "positive signs" from the Egyptians.

Palestinian protesters run for cover from tear gas canisters during fired by Israeli forces. / AFP/Getty Images

He added that the Egyptian team was to return to Israel on Sunday to continue the talks.

"We will continue our marches until all our goals are achieved," he said.

Saturday's protest comes as Israel and Hamas, bitter enemies that have fought three wars and dozens of smaller skirmishes, both indicating a strong interest in keeping things quiet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of ex-army chiefs who have criticized what they say is his failed Gaza policy.

Protestors gather near the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, marking first anniversary of Gaza border protests east of Gaza City. / AP

With a lack of alternatives, Mr Netanyahu has been forced at times to rely on Hamas to maintain stability along Israel's volatile southern front.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Mr Netanyahu needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza.

Hamas, meanwhile, faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of worsening conditions after more than a decade of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

The two countries imposed the blockade in 2007 after Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel's destruction, seized control of Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

The blockade has helped drive unemployment over 50 percent, led to chronic power outages and made it extremely difficult for Gazans to travel out of the territory.

Speaking on the group's Al-Aqsa TV station, Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, praised the protesters. "With this big turnout, our people say, `We want to live!"

The fence protests, which began exactly a year ago, have been aimed in large part at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza, but haven't delivered major improvements.MERIDEN  The City Council on Monday will discuss joining other municipalities objecting to Gov. Ned Lamonts proposal for electronic tolls.

Republican Minority Leader Dan Brunet submitted a resolution opposing tolls after a discussion with Mayor Kevin Scarpati, Democratic Majority Leader David Lowell and City Manager Tim Coon.

(Dan) basically said, it helps send a message to the state of Connecticut that we are against tolls, Scarpati said.

Scarpati added the city doesnt have the jurisdiction to take action against the tolls, but acknowledged it is Brunets privilege to put it on the council agenda.

The state has the final say, Scarpati said. No matter what resolution we approve, its not going to stop it.

In his resolution, Brunet mentions the numbers of city residents who commute on local highways and the potential for increased traffic on local roads as drivers attempt to avoid tolls.

The residents of Connecticut deserve the establishment and maintenance of a world class transportation infrastructure, but the costs of implementation of such infrastructure ought not be largely funded by those who can least afford to pay it, Brunet states. Whereas, road and bridge work costs for construction are fifth highest in the country and administration costs are the highest in the country with no resolve.

Following a lengthy, heated debate the Southington Town Council voted against taking action on a resolution opposing tolls during its March 25 meeting. The councils five Democrats prevailed over four Republicans in a move that blocked a vote on the actual resolution.

Southington Republicans said it was important to show town governments opposition while Democrats argued that the issue wasnt within the councils jurisdiction.

State Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat representing Berlin and Southington, attended the meeting. He said the resolution was premature since there were several toll proposals in the General Assembly.

The bill is not formed yet, Aresimowicz said. Nobody knows. The bill is not finalized. Theres three different proposals.

mgodin@record-journal.com

203-317-2255

Twitter: @CconnbizCountries & Areas

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Read also: Romania, Bulgaria considering setting up a joint working group to reduce import of old cars

Earth Hour Marking is part of a campaign to raise awareness over the effects on the environment of the use of electricity and, at the same time, to make everyone accountable for meeting climate change commitments.

The International Earth Hour has been celebrated on the last Saturday of March since 2007.

AGERPRES .Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said at Snagov, Romania, on Friday that he had talks with Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila about the two countries' defence co-operation, and also about the target of passing the 10 billion-US dollar mark in bilateral trade.

Read also: Romanian Gov't House to turn off lights to celebrate Earth Hour

"At the end of 2018, our exchanges were worth around 6.4 billion US dollars. We have long wanted for the trade figures to reach 10 billion (...), we want very much to reach and then exceed the 10-billion mark," Oktay told a news conference on Friday with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, according to an official translation.

He also mentioned that the Romania-Turkey Economic and Trade Co-operation Commission will meet in Istanbul this April, also taking about the inauguration of a hospital in the Romanian city of Constanta.

"Close co-operation between our health ministers, who participated in the meetings this evening, emphasises once again the importance we attach to co-operation in the area of healthcare in our countries," said Oktay.

About defence matters, he mentioned concrete steps having been taken.

"We also discussed a great deal about national defence co-operation, and we had an opportunity to make important decisions with Prime Minister Dancila to design concrete steps in developing this co-operation. We very much want the relationship we will have in the defence industry to further develop and further deepen our strategic association," said the Turkish vice president. He added that "all Turkish companies are ready to share their experience in the area of national defence."

"Our relevant authorities are doing their utmost to complete the legal framework to facilitate our relationships, and we think about how to make continuous the momentum of growth between our countries."

At the same time, Oktay said he spoke with the head of the Romanian executive about "terrorist organisation FETO, which is a danger to security and public order". "We attach great importance to co-operation with Romania in this area," he said.

Oktay also called Romania an example.

"We are very grateful for the help and support that Romania has offered to our country. We trust that this behaviour of Romania will be an example for the other member states of the European Union", the Turkish vice president said. AGERPRES .SOUTHINGTON  Local businessman and entrepreneur Curtis Robinson is the 2018 recipient of the UNICO gold medal award for his charitable work in town and throughout the state.

The Plantsville resident said he was elated and surprised when a group of UNICO members showed up at his door earlier this month to notify him of the award. Officials with the Italian-American service organization said they were impressed with all Robinson had done for groups such as Bread for Life, Southington Community Services and the Fire and Police departments.

God has been so good to me, Robinson said. I know how it is to walk the street and be hungry and have nowhere to go.

He tries to help anywhere people feel they need a piece of the loaf of bread God has given me.

Robinson, 76, grew up in Alabama. As a black teen, he faced discrimination. His mother, fearing that the Ku Klux Klan would hurt him after a run-in at his job, sent him by bus to Boston. Robinson said he got off at the wrong stop and ended up in Hartford with little money, no job and nowhere to live at age 16.

He got a job at an Asylum Avenue hotel, saving money and buying a small grocery store at age 18 for $7,500.

I didnt know what to do, I didnt know how to price anything, Robinson said. I found out the hard way.

By age 27 he owned 13 apartment buildings and later bought the hotel where he got his first job as a dishwasher.

People didnt know how I knew how to fix the dishwasher. They didnt know I was there when they put it in, Robinson said.

He and his wife Sheila moved to Southington 20 years ago. Locally, theyve funded meals for poor children, equipment for emergency services and sponsored Bread for Life programs.

William Dellavecchia, co-chairman of UNICOs selection committee, said he was impressed with the resume of Robinsons accomplishments, but even more impressed when he met the man.

What a humble individual he is, Dellavecchia said. The write up we received was very impressive, but to me, the individual, he goes beyond any write up.

Potential gold medal award winners are nominated by UNICO or community members. Dellavecchia and others score them on criteria such as community participation and charitable work.

Curtis of course scored high on every one of them, Dellavecchia said.

The award will be presented at the groups dinner on May 15 at the Aqua Turf Club.

Robinson is writing a book about his life called From the Back of the Bus: The Curtis D. Robinson Story.

His experience struggling in his early years leads him to try to help anyone he can.

God made Adam and Eve, he said. Theres only one race: the human race.

jbuchanan@record-journal.com

203-317-2230

Twitter: @JBuchananRJWALLINGFORD  A rank-and-file police officer was among the top 10 highest compensated town employees last year.

Police Officer Jeff Acheychek earned $154,813 in 2018, according to information prepared by the town comptrollers office. That puts him ninth on the list.

Police Lt. Sam Soukup also made the top 10. At $172,035, Soukup was the third highest paid town employee in 2018.

Police Chief William Wright said Friday that both Acheychek and Soukup do a tremendous amount of extra duty at construction jobs that need police for traffic control.

Theyre paid by contractor, and it goes into their gross earning but not toward their pensions.

Its an opportunity afforded them through their collective bargaining agreement, Wright said. Both take full advantage of opportunities presented to them to work at their discretion."

Six of the top 10 wage earners were Wallingford Public School administrators.

Superintendent of Schools Salvatore Menzo came in at No. 1, at $199,912.

Other highly compensated school district employees include Assistant School Superintendent Carrie LaTorre at No. 4, Lyman Hall High School Principal Joseph Corso at No. 6, Special Education Director Laura Klimaszewski at No. 7, Assistant School Superintendent Danielle Bellizzi at No. 8 and Sheehan High School Principal Enzo Zocco at No. 10.

Public Utilities Director Rick Hendershot came in second on the list at $180,000, and Comptroller Jim Bowes rounds out the list in fifth place.

LTakores@record-journal.com

203-317-2212

Twitter: @LCTakores

Wallingford top 10 highest paid town employees, 2018

Prepared by Wallingford Comptrollers Office

1. Salvatore Menzo, Wallingford Public Schools Superintendent: $199,912

2. Richard Hendershot, Public Utilities Director: $180,000

3. Samuel Soukup, Police Lieutenant: $172,035

4. Carrie LaTorre, Assistant School Superintendent: $157,945

5. James Bowes, Comptroller: $157,708

6. Joseph Corso, Lyman Hall High School Principal: $155,382

7. Laura Klimaszewski, WPS Special Education Director: $155,382

8. Danielle Bellizzi, Assistant School Superintendent: $155,000

9. Jeffrey Acheychek, Police Officer, $154,813

10. Enzo Zocco, Sheehan High School Principal: $152,100In early 2019 a new version of the Chinese 8x8 ZBL 11 assault gun was seen undergoing operational evaluation in a rural testing area that was very cold and covered in snow. It was later revealed that this upgrade contained an automated turret for the 105mm gun that, obviously, used an autoloader. On top of the turret was a new version of the 12.7mm machine-gun RWS (remote weapons station) used on many Chinese armored vehicles. The upgrade also included has new armor protection and a lot more automation inside as well as new sensors (including hi-res exterior vidcams) to enable the three-man crew to operate in combat without ever sticking their heads out to look around. The new version was seen maneuvering over snow-covered terrain, both open areas and forest. In both cases the vehicle maneuvered into position and then fired one or more rounds from its 105mm gun at targets apparently representing enemy positions. Details of the new autoloader and fully automated turret have not been released but Russia has used a similar system in their new T-14 tank design.

The ZBL 11 has a crew of three, 30 rounds of 105mm ammo and at least 500 rounds for the 12.7mm machine-gun. There are also 12 smoke dischargers on the turret for laying down smoke if the vehicle has to hide quickly. Over a hundred of the ZBL 11 have been built and they are showing up more frequently in Chinese infantry brigades, providing front line support for infantry who are equipped with wheeled or tracked IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles).

The original version of this ZBL 11 assault gun entered service in 2011. That original ZBL 11 had a small turret containing a 105mm gun, for providing direct fire support for troops. There was already an artillery version, carrying a 122mm or 155mm howitzer in a larger turret. There are several other versions, and apparently more on the way.

The ZBL 11 assault gun and artillery versions are based on the older ZBL 09 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle., Similar to the American Stryker, the basic ZBL 09 is a 21 ton vehicle that has a crew of three and carries seven passengers. The vehicle is 8 meters (25 feet) long, three meters (9.2 feet) wide and 2.1 meters (6.5 feet, to the hull roof) high. It's amphibious and has a top water speed of 8 kilometers an hour. On roads, top speed is 100 kilometers an hour, and max road range on internal fuel is 800 kilometers. The infantry carrier version has a turret with a 30mm autocannon.

The ZBL 09 entered service in 2009, and some combat brigades have or are being equipped with it, to operate somewhat like the American Stryker brigades. China has been developing new wheeled armored vehicles for over a decade. Until the ZBL 09 these were all based on Russian designs. The ZBL 09, however, borrows more from the West. Still, some of the more recent (five years ago) Russian type designs were interesting and instructive.

Back then, for example, the 18 ton, 6x6 WMZ551A model was given a new turret. The vehicle has a crew of three and can carry nine more troops. Using technology and weapons obtained from Ukraine, the new vehicle was equipped with a 30mm autocannon, instead of the 25mm one. More importantly, the new turret has an improved fire control system (containing a laser range finder, and a vidcam that shows the vehicle commander what the gunner sees.) This is apparently related to earlier Chinese efforts to upgrade its BMP1 tracked infantry fighting vehicles with BMP3 turrets from Russia. These also have the 30mm cannon. The main problem with all these upgrades was money. The government wanted Chinese-made weapons to be used, as they are cheaper, and supply is more assured. But the Chinese manufacturers didn't want to move up to the 30mm autocannon design just yet. Many Chinese generals believed that the Chinese 25mm autocannon is sufficient. All that has changed.

There was always agreement that an improved fire control system was a good thing. But there was not much space available inside a BMP. Some export models of the BMP3, when equipped with a thermal imager, had to mount some of that gear on the outside of the vehicle. There was also agreement that wheeled armored vehicles for the infantry might be a better investment.

The Chinese have been observing American success in Iraq with the Stryker and LAV wheeled combat vehicles. Chinese designers eventually concluded that the roomier internal layout of Western vehicles did serve a useful purpose, and the ZBL 09, and all the electronics installed in it, are an example of what the Chinese learned.

The new version was inspired by open source discussions by Chinese weapons developers and troop commanders about how to proceed with new developments in vehicle automation. The ZBL series is produced by NORINCO, a state-owned arms manufacturer that has a great deal of flexibility in developing new weapons. As long as NORINCO does it quickly and at a competitive (for export sales as well as the Chinese military budget) price they can try all sorts of ideas that would take a lot longer to get approved and built in the West. The Chinese custom is to procure new weapons in small quantities and allow for extensive use by troops before ordering larger quantities. This is most evident in the development of new warships as well as armored vehicles and combat aircraft. If the Chinese encounter a lot of problems, as they did with nuclear submarines, they will spend decades working out the problems they encountered.Proving that learning is a lifelong journey, three staff from the Faculty of Education, Health, Nursing and Social Services at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology will graduate with a Master of Applied Professional Studies (Vulnerable Peoples) this week.

The graduation ceremony will take place at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua on Tuesday, April 2, and involve 550 graduands including Jayne Conning, Sandra Crawford and Richard Brown.

Richard and Jaynes research projects had a more personal focus, whereas Sandras involved the nursing profession.

Richards research focussed on offering insight in to appropriate support for bereaved parents.

Jaynes research explores dyslexia and its impact on dyslexic learners. It was inspired by her own journey of raising a child with dyslexia and she says her objective was to provide a better understanding of the disorder.

Dyslexia is commonly misunderstood in the community and, disturbingly, amongst educators at all levels. I want to help raise awareness of dyslexia, and most importantly, to aid dyslexic learners to understand their dyslexia and the many benefits of being dyslexic.

Jayne says she had previously enjoyed learning about vulnerable people and she wanted to continue to explore this area.

Taking the vulnerable peoples path was an interesting learning journey. We learned about what it means to be vulnerable and that we are all vulnerable at times, this is dependent upon a multitude of factors.

During my postgraduate diploma I looked at several vulnerable populations, these included solo mothers studying for a nursing degree, and obesity in student nurses. I thoroughly enjoyed broadening my knowledge and understanding of these populations and how we can best support them to good health and academic success.

Jayne says she is looking forward to celebrating with her family after all the hard work.

My family have patiently and lovingly supported me while I spent many hours on the computer, they deserve this as much as I do.

She will be joined on stage by her peer Sandra Crawford, who recently joined the nursing department at Toi Ohomai.

Sandra says she had to complete a research protocols paper not long after starting with Toi Ohomai and expected it to be heavy-going and possibly boring.

However due to the incredible tutor and his amazing way of teaching, I actually found it to be an exciting topic. So, I enthusiastically embarked on the Master of Applied Professional Studies dissertation last year.

Through my own experience of leaving a nurse role, to come into nurse education, I chose the research question: What are the key challenges in transitioning from nurse clinician role to nurse educator role?

She says the aim was to find out how to best support and prepare nurses during this time of transition.

The main support has been from the incredible supervisor I had, whose prompt responses enabled me to have the guidance I needed. With a fellow nurse, who was also working on her dissertation last year, we were able to be mutual support for each other, which was helpful.

Sandra says the highlight of conducting her research was interviewing 17 participants.Bay of Plenty

If you love working out doors and in a small team then we have the role for you. We are needing someone who has either maintenance...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nzThe cast for the NZ tour of CATS, the musical, has been announced which starts in just two weeks.

The talented cast includes actors and singers from Australia and New Zealand, under the direction of former Shortland St star Geraldine Brophy and choreography by Dancing with the Stars winner, Stefano Olivieri.

The cast has extensive backgrounds in musical theatre, stage and television through to live concerts with stars such as Adele.

This re-imagined production will, spectacularly, feature a set inspired by Christchurch post-earthquake.

Set in a dilapidated Victorian theatre with fallen roof dome, open to the elements, it's a dangerous, precarious place fit for a ritual and transformed by the moon. The song script offers hope for "another chance" and is filled with emotion and whimsy.

Producer Ben McDonald says the cast represents some of Australia and New Zealand's finest talents.

"The production of CATS is a darker, more sensual and spitty show," says McDonald.

"We have purrs but scratch, reveal ugly sides and exquisite beauty. We are manky in our magnificence. Our task is to re-imagine faith, hope and charity... feline and human, for the pleasure of our audience."

Cats is based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.



Playing the coveted role of Grizabella, made famous by Elaine Paige, is one of New Zealand's most experienced stage actresses, Eilish Moran. She has appeared in more than 70 productions at Chrischurch's prestigious Court Theatre as well as on television and in film, her recent credits including TV3's Hope and Wire and the short film Run Rabbit directed by Robyn Paterson.



Old Deuteronomy, the kind leader of the Jellicle Tribe, will be played by Australian triple threat Brendan Lovett whose career spans film, television and stage.

He has appeared in supporting roles in films that have won Best Feature at both The New York International Film Festival and The London International Film Festival as well as being nominated himself for Best supporting Actor at the London International Film Festival.

On stage he has worked in Australia and The UK as well as touring extensively throughout Europe in both straight and musical theatre.



In-demand New Zealand actor Phil Grieve makes a welcome return to the stage as Bustopher Jones, the distinguished, aristocratic tomcat whose lifestyle has made him round and plump!

Grieve was last seen on stage in Auckland at Pop-up Globe, playing pivotal roles in seasons of Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. He is also well known for his film work, with credits including Disney's Pete's Dragon, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit.



Playing the fiery, unkempt criminal Macavity is Christian Girardi, an Australian dance and theatre performer who has recently returned from the States where he's been working for Disney, while in the role of the magical Mr Mistoffelees is Joel Houwen whose stage credits include the Sydney Theatre Awards, Opera Australias The Nose at the Sydney Opera House, and most recently, making his Broadway Stage debut in Red Bucket Follies.



This fabulous cast also includes Jake Tyler as Munkustrap (Adele Live Concert); Sabrina Martin as Demeter; Ailis Oliver Kirby as Bombalurina; Rose Pickard as Jemima; Sophie Morris as Jellylorum (Sophie in Mamma Mia!, Sandy in Grease: The Arena Spectacular Live); Shaan Kloet as Rumpleteazer; Jane Strickland as Victoria; Greg Jarema as Rum Tum Tugger; Cole Johnstone as Mungojerrie; Jeremy Hinman as Shimbleshanks; Steven Ray as Gus.



As of 2018, CATS is the fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history, and was the longest running Broadway show in history from 1997 until 2006 when it was surpassed by The Phantom of the Opera.

The first Tauranga show on April 30 at Baycourt Theatre is sold out, however tickets are still available for the second show on May 1 through Ticketek.Sir Keith Park led Britains main air defence forces against Germanys Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in World War II, saving the country from a looming land invasion, and now he is to be memorialised with a bronze statue in his hometown  Thames.

The statue of Sir Keith Park is to be raised on April 4 outside the Thames War Memorial Civic Centre and formally recognised with an unveiling ceremony on April 27 at 11.00am. All are welcome to attend, and given the date so soon after ANZAC Day, wear a poppy if you would like to.

For details of ANZAC Day dawn parades and services, see the council website.

Minister of Defence Hon. Ron Mark and the UKs defence attache to New Zealand, Commander Guy Haywood, will be among the dignitaries at the ceremony, which will also feature an air force honour guard, a flypast of classic military planes from the NZ Warbirds Association and afterwards, a presentation on Sir Keith Park by aerial warfare specialist Dr Adam Classen.

Be in to win a free training flight out of the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield in Thames with the Hauraki Aero Club and discover what Sir Keith found so thrilling about flying. Enter the draw immediately after the unveiling ceremony and the lucky winner will be drawn after Dr Classens presentation. The winner must be present to claim the prize.

The statue was made as a result of a bequest from Yvonne Elizabeth (Betty) Hare, requesting that a bronze memorial to Sir Keith Park be placed in Thames.

Betty Hare passed away in September 2017 and in her will left $200,000 for the bronze statue of Sir Keith to be created.

Her niece, Wendy Hare is one of the executors of Betty Hares estate.

As a proud New Zealander my aunt felt Sir Keith deserved greater recognition in his homeland, Wendy Hare says. She felt strongly there were many New Zealanders who have done great things on the world stage but arent well recognised in their home country. My brother (Ralph Hare) organised the bronze and Ive stepped in to help with the unveiling, she says.

Our family has roots in the Coromandel and my brother farms here. 

The Hare family also has a military history. Betty Hares father William John Hare (Wendys and Ralphs grandfather) served initially in WWI as a stretcher bearer but soon ended up in the Royal Navy as he was from a family of boat builders. He was also Chairman of the Coromandel County Council for some years.

Bettys mother was born in Wales and trained as a nurse and volunteered to go to France to tend wounded soldiers. She met William, they were married in Britain and after the war moved to New Zealand, took up farming in the Coromandel near Coroglen and raised a family.

Sir Keith Park was born on June 15, 1892. He landed with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and then served on the Western Front and was wounded. After his recovery he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and later commanded No. 48 Squadron.

Between the wars, Sir Keith remained in the Royal Air Force and soon after World War II began he was promoted to air vice-marshall and given command of No. 11 Group of the RAF Fighter Command, responsible for the defence of London and south-east England during the pivotal Battle of Britain.

Germanys failure to defeat the RAF was their first major defeat of the war and prevented a land invasion of Britain.

A senior RAF commander during the Battle of Britain, Air Vice Marshall Arthur William Tedder (who later in the war was second-in-command of the Allied forces in western Europe), says of Sir Keith:

If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I dont believe it is recognised how much this one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world.

Sir Keith Park later led the air defences of Malta, for which he was knighted in 1942. He went on to command British air forces in the Middle East and by the wars end he commanded Allied air forces in South-East Asia.

After the war, Sir Keith moved back to Auckland and worked in the civil aviation industry, he persuaded the government to buy land in Mangere to establish Auckland International Airport at its current site and he served as an Auckland city councillor for three terms.

Sir Keith Park passed away in Auckland on 6 February 1975. The airfield at Thames is named in his honour, as are a high school and a display hall at the Museum of Transport and Technology (Motat) in Auckland. A statue of him was unveiled in Waterloo Place, London, in 2010.

Read more about Sir Keith on Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand website.Police are responding to a serious crash on the Kopu-Hikuai Road on State Highway 25A in the Coromandel area.

A police spokesperson says they were alerted to the crash at around 12.50pm.

Initial indications are that three cars are involved and there are injuries.

The road is blocked.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area and to expect delays.Esther Richards is in a race with political and public sentiment.

If she loses the race, it could cost her a few precious weeks of life, and perhaps lead to a very unpleasant end.

After two years of remission, Esther has just learned her brain tumors have returned.

I am not afraid of dying, because I believe in God, she says. But I am very afraid of the way I will die. An oncologist told her it wont be nice, and it wont be peaceful. That prognosis is adding heat to Esthers support for the End of Life Choice Bill.

The cancer wont kill me, and the brain tumors wont kill me. What it does is shut down my organs one at a time. She says she will end up bed-ridden, her muscles atrophied, wearing a nappy and fed through tubes.

Unfortunately, her first bout of cancer four-and-a-half years ago meant that painkillers that would ordinarily work for anyone else would not work on her. She is in the six per cent of patients for whom the drugs dont work.

I would be in serous pain throughout the ordeal, she says. It might take the top off the pain, but would not relieve me of the pain.

In the end, she says, it would come down to palliative care  something called terminal sedation. They put you into a coma and remove all of your feeding tubes so you die.

Esther, however, wont wait for that. I will become a suicide statistic, she says, because I dont intend to live long enough to suffer the hideous end they have prescribed me. I will take my own life.

One of Esthers problems is the time frames involved. She doesnt know how long she has, and she is banking on a swift passage into law for ACT leader David Seymours End of life Choice Bill. She has long championed the right of the terminally ill to have control over their end.

I need something to focus on while I wait for my death to come, she says.

Esther has a best-case scenario worked out. The Justice Select Committee, which received 35,000 submissions on the bill, reports back to parliament early next month and gets a positive hearing at its second reading, sparking a referendum alongside next years general election and a third reading in 2021.

Then, if approved, it would be a year to 18 months before the processes are put in place so doctors can start work, she explains.

With a typical booming laugh, Esther says the End of Life Choice Bill might just help if her cancer takes a long time to kill her. Yes, I could still be here in time to use the legislation. And apart from that, I want this matter sorted so others dont have to suffer.

Esther ticks all of the boxes and all of the criteria under the proposed legislation. Shes a New Zealand citizen over 18 suffering a terminal illness likely to end her life within six months. More generally, she has a grievous and irremediable medical condition undergoing an advanced state of irreversible decline and she understands the nature of assisted dying and the consequences.

With boxes ticked, the doctor has to determine, amongst other things, that the patient isnt being pressured, and then encourage them to talk it through with family, friends or others. A second doctor will be asked for an opinion and a third if necessary.

Its a complex process for a difficult and complex issue. The criteria is strict to avoid recklessness, disadvantage to the vulnerable or abuse. But in the end, as the preamble to the bill suggests, it allows people who so choose, and are eligible under the bill, to end their lives in peace and with dignity, surrounded by loved ones.

I have had control over the rest of my life, says Esther, so why cant I have control over the end of my life?

She doesnt spend all day thinking about her condition - shes focused on fighting for this bill. I have my own Facebook page, I have made contacts all around the world and we encourage each other.

She is not a person willing herself to die. I want to live, she says. I get enjoyment out of every day and I have friends and family who love me.

Without the End of Life Choice Bill, Esther Richards will make sure she is in a position to control the end of her life.

I will probably die a couple of months before I needed to, she says. If the legislation was in place, I would leave it to the last couple of weeks. And it will be as peaceful as she can make it.

Because I believe in God, I know I will have peace in the end.A Mount Maunganui property currently on the market has caught the eye of those interested in its history.

The Pitau Road house was once a two-bedroomed cottage on the Tobacco Crop Rotoehu Plantation in the Pongakawa Valley.

Joy Edmonds, who grew up in Pongakawa, remembers her parents buying it around 1958, when she was about nine years old.

While we played outside, they wandered in and out of these houses which had been put up for tender, explains Joy.

The next thing I remember is coming with my parents to Pitau Road and seeing it up on 44-gallon drums. It became our holiday home.

In 1932, some 20 of the small homes were built to accommodate unemployed married men and their families who came to work in the Pongakawa Valley tobacco plantations.

The great depression of the 1930s had provided the impetus for the tobacco growing scheme.

Under the Small Farms Scheme, the Department of Agriculture established unemployed men and their families on five-to-ten acre tobacco farms that had been surveyed from a wilderness of fern and scrub in the Pongakawa Valley.

The men were paid 37/6 a week, from which they paid five shillings rent. The following year, 20 more houses were built.

None of the men were farmers, having come from Auckland with previous occupations such as a university lecturer, a newspaper editor, waterside workers and many other trades.

However, the tobacco families were a lively group and organising dances and card evenings as well as cricket and football matches. They lobbied the government for a school, with the Pongakawa Valley School starting in a tobacco barn.

The tobacco farms produced well for three or four years, but the natural fertility of the soil became exhausted and the crop declined in quality.

In 1937, the NZ Forest Service was given 24,000 acres of Crown land between Rotoehu and the Pongakawa Valley upon which to plant pine trees. In 1939, the government abandoned the tobacco farming scheme altogether.

We only had our house for a couple of years, and sold it around 1960, says Joy. Underneath we had a garage and bunkrooms for my four older brothers.

The Pitau Road property has had two owners since then, and is now on the market with Bayleys.

The Mount is full of many properties with interesting histories, says Bayleys CEO Simon Anderson. There are baches along most streets and around each corner with special memories for our people, and 17 Pitau Road is certainly one of those."Disqualify from holding any public office the citizen Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaido Marquez," Amoroso said, following the investigation into his declaration of assets.

The decision will be "for the maximum period established in the decree with the scope, courage and strength of the law against corruption," Amoroso said.

The law "implements the disqualification sanctions of the execution of public sanctions for a maximum of 15 years" to public servants enveloped in irregularities, according to Amoroso.

The investigation began in February, when Venezuelan authorities started an asset audit on the accounts of the opposition leader.

The inquiries began "because it was believed he hid information from his personal assets declaration while also receiving money from national and international entities that were not justified," Amoroso said.

He added that they would continue the "procedure to verify assets and the administrative fine sanctioning process" established in the anti-corruption law.

At the same time, the documents will be sent to the public prosecutor to begin corresponding actions, Amoroso said.

According to Venezuela's constitution, members of the National Assembly are required to fulfill their duties exclusively.

Guaido "has systematically violated our Magna Carta," Venezuelan laws and the rules of procedure and debate in Parliament, Amoroso said.

According to Amoroso, Guaido "has usurped public functions and committed actions with foreign governments that have harmed the Venezuelan people, public assets, creating harm to social peace, democratic stability and the constitutional order."

Amoroso said that since 2015 Guaido has made 91 foreign trips without authorization from the National Assembly at a cost of more than "VEF310 million (about US$94,000)."

The opposition leader has been out of Venezuela for a total of 248 days since winning a seat as federal lawmaker, according to the comptroller.

Self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaido called Amoroso's claims "a farce."

In his opinion, the national comptroller "doesn't exist," and as such "no disqualification exists; the Venezuelan Congress is the only one who can designate a comptroller."

Guaido pointed out that the comptroller was appointed by the National Constituent Assembly and not by the National Assembly in contempt, which is the governing body.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Dominos delivery driver was punched in the face and had his car stolen while making a delivery Thursday night, according to Syracuse police.

At approximately 10 p.m., the 30-year-old driver arrived at 109 McAlister Ave., a vacant property owned by the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, to deliver an order, police said. When he arrived, two men approached him, he told police. One of the men punched him in the face and the two men stole his car, police said.

Officers later found the car unoccupied a little more than a block away on Webster Avenue, police said.

The drivers injuries were minor and he was not taken to the hospital, police said.

Police ask anyone with information to call (315) 442-5222. All calls will remain confidential. Anonymous tips may also be submitted using the SPD Tips app.Sometimes desperate times call for drastic measures.

And sometimes a scarecrow just wont do.

In March 1949, farmers and sportsmen were fed up with the thousands of crows that roosted nightly in a 1,000-acre section of muckland near Montezuma. Newspapers estimated as many as 400,000 crows inhabited the area.

Some called the infestation the black menace, and residents intended to do something about it. Something that involved dynamite.

Crows have always been an issue in Cayuga County.

Auburn city officials have wrestled with the crow population for more than 100 years. In the 1920s, city workers brought Roman candles for children to fire off to scare the birds away. In the 2000s the city staged crow hunts and ignited controversy.

Barely a mind is laid to rest that has not since childhood days accumulated a memory of experiences with crows. They have accompanied us through life as a friend who has a way at times of becoming a nuisance, columnist Walter Foulke, of the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser, wrote in 1974.

Crows are known for their intelligence, but for a lot of folks the high-pitched caws and messy droppings are a nuisance. But in 1949 the farmers and sportsmen in the Montezuma area believed that crows threatened their way of life.

Farmers throughout the area grew tired of having their crops destroyed, the Cato Citizen reported. They grew tired of these black vulture-like birds that wing their way home to roost each night on their lands.

Sportsmen worried about the effect crows had on local game, especially waterfowl, whose eggs crows enjoyed feasting on.

Before another harvest could be ruined by the crows, farmers and sportsmen formed an alliance and declared war.

They reached out to the state Conservation Department and came up with a plan.

Sportsmen, under the supervision of the state police and the Conversation Department, would literally blow up 1,000 acres of Montezuma muckland, using 500 shrapnel bombs. Each bomb would contain a half stick of dynamite surrounded by shards of shrapnel. In total the plan called for four cases of dynamite, a half-ton of shrapnel and 3,000 feet of primer.

The bomb would be detonated on the evening of Saturday, March 26, 1949, after the crows had settled in for the night, their heads tucked into their wings, unaware of their pending doom.

It was expected that the blast would kill at least 2,000 crows. Any injured birds would be taken care of the next morning by roving bands of riflemen, who would humanely put the birds out of their misery.

To get approval for the plan, Cornell University would receive 300 crow carcasses for their research.

The sportsmen gave their plan an official-sounding military name, Operation Crow Extermination.

The trap was perfectly set. Conservation officials were on hand to oversee everything.

Crows fly above a field along Bluefield Road in the Cayuga County town of Fleming Feb. 25, 2019. Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.comLauren Long | llong@syracuse.com

But the plan ignored one thing: crows are smart.

Hundreds of sportsmen were stunned that afternoon, when the crows started roosting in a different spot, just far away enough to be out of the killing zone.

Members of the Montezuma Rod and Gun Club opened fire with their shotguns at the birds, attempting to shoo them into the mined field.

But the wary crows only hopped from one tree to another and even this last-ditch effort was abortive, the Southern Cayuga Tribune wrote.

As evening turned to night, the decision was made to proceed with the explosion.

The blast was terrific and rattled windows and dishes all over the countryside.

But not a single crow was killed, they had all roosted in another plot, about a mile away from the dynamite site.

Operation Crow Extermination was described as a dismal failure.

Needless to say, there were many red faces yesterday, when not a single dead bird was found, the Citizen-Advertiser wrote.

The birds hoodwinked us and there is no disputing the fact, J. Edward McGuire, president of the Falcon Sportsmens Club, admitted the next day.

Some of the sportsmen put out a theory that the crows may have had a sensitivity to the nitroglycerine in the dynamite, which caused them to roost somewhere else that night.

Newspapers had a field day.

The crows were noisy today but had no formal comment, the Utica Observer-Dispatch said.

The cry of Caw, Caw, Caw changed to Haw, Haw, Haw, the Cato Citizen joked.

One editorial writer went so far as use the story to describe President Harry Trumans Cold War strategy.

The crows represented the Soviet Union, bringing their unwanted way of life to Eastern Europe, or the farmers fields. The United States was represented by the sportsmen, who threaten to destroy the Soviet Union, the crows, if she does not cease her depredations upon others rights.

Besides their embarrassment, the operation cost the sportsmen about $150 in supplies and they had to apologize to Cornell for not delivering the promised dead crows.

The struggle between man and crow would continue.

The headline from the March 28, 1949 edition of the Post-Standard after the failure of Montezuma's "Operation Crow Extermination."

NOBODY CROWING ABOUT IT

The story of the sportsmens defeat to the wily crows of Montezuma was impossible for Upstate New York newspapers to ignore, and most ran a story about it.

Almost all of them included a crow-related pun headline.

Here are some of the best:

Caw, Caw, Caw changed to Haw, Haw, Haw

Crows Give Sportsmen the Bird as Dynamite Booby-Trap Flops

Haw, Haw, Cry 400,000 Foxy Crows Eluding Trap

Crows Have Caws to Celebrate; Dynamite Failed to Get Em

Field Blasted to Kill Crows That Arent There

Wanted: Those Old-Fashioned Scarecrows

Sportsmen Got Bird, Not the BirdsPresident Donald Trumps opposition to aid for Puerto Rico has sparked a partisan stand-off over a major disaster bill covering much of the United States, threatening to derail the legislation when it faces a critical Senate vote Monday.

The stalemate has caused days of acrimonious finger-pointing on all sides with no resolution in sight. Now it threatens to indefinitely delay the bill, which provides more than $13 billion in much-needed recovery funds for everything from volcanic eruptions in Hawaii and wildfires in California, to hurricanes in Florida and Georgia and flooding in the Midwest, among other calamities.

"Many states are currently bearing heavy burdens in the wake of powerful natural disasters," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said this week as he urged support for the GOP's emergency spending bill. "Many communities are still literally underwater."

But Democrats oppose the GOP legislation, contending that the $600 million it contains for Puerto Rico's food stamp program ignores broader needs on the island. They are accusing Trump and the GOP of indifference toward Puerto Rico as the territory continues a nearly two-year recovery from Hurricane Maria, arguing the Trump administration has been slow to make funding available.

"The president's refusal to help Americans in Puerto Rico not only delays an important disaster bill that many other states are relying on to speed their recovery efforts, it discriminates against over three million Americans who reside in Puerto Rico, and that's wrong," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Republicans, for their part, say Democrats are grandstanding over Puerto Rico and in the process blocking much-needed assistance to the rest of the United States, including the Midwest, where recent flooding ravaged farms and drinking water supplies in Iowa, Nebraska and elsewhere. The issue threatens to become entangled in the 2020 presidential campaign, as Republicans warn of political consequences for Senate Democrats campaigning for president in Iowa if they oppose flood aid the state desperately needs.

And Trump dismisses Democrats' complaints, arguing that his administration's support for Puerto Rico has been second to none.

"I've taken better care of Puerto Rico than any man ever," Trump, who has repeatedly argued against increasing aid to the island, said on the White House lawn Thursday as he prepared to depart for a rally in Michigan. "Puerto Rico has been taken care of better by Donald Trump than by any living human being. And I think the people of Puerto Rico understand it."

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello recently described Trump as a "bully" and threatened during an interview on CNN to punch him in the mouth.

The congressional impasse has already led to cuts of about 25 percent to the food stamp benefits received this month by the 1.3 million Puerto Rico residents - 43 percent of the island's population - who rely on the program. If Congress does not pass the funding soon, those people will again be forced to survive on the reduced food stamp allocation.

The island's government has also had to cut the size of a supplemental cash benefit to the food stamp program that many elderly Puerto Ricans say they use to buy basic necessities, such as detergent and tooth paste.

Rossello is pushing Congress to include in the disaster bill additional federal assistance for reconstruction projects, such as money for debris removal, and other measures that were included in legislation passed by House Democrats in January.

Senate Democrats have embraced the House-passed bill, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars more for Puerto Rico than the Senate GOP version. But Republicans say that given the president's opposition to additional spending for Puerto Rico, they cannot support additional funding after already persuading him to go along with the $600 million increase for food stamps as the price for passing the much-needed disaster bill, which has languished in one form or another since last year.

The dispute over Puerto Rico came to a head in the Capitol on Tuesday, when Trump joined Senate Republicans for a closed-door lunch, where he railed against additional hurricane funding for the island, contending that it has already received more disaster money than some states.

At the same time, at a private Senate Democratic lunch nearby, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was arguing for the need to defend Puerto Rico, saying that if Trump gets away with depriving Puerto Rico of needed money he could target New York or California next. At the same lunch, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., gave an impassioned speech reminding colleagues that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens who need their support. The senators' comments were recounted by a person familiar with them who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private remarks.

Republicans exited their lunch convinced that the president would not agree to any additional money for Puerto Rico. And Democrats exited theirs determined to stand firm in their demands for more. In the days since no progress has been evident in talks between the two sides. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Thursday the negotiations had stalled.

The dispute has put Senate Democrats who are running for president in a delicate position, as they have to explain to Iowans why they are opposing money for recovery in that state. Asked about the issue as she campaigned in Iowa on Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she hadn't seen the final text of the bill, but that "it's important to me that we are covering disasters for everyone including the disasters here in Iowa and Puerto Rico."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also campaigning Friday in Iowa, offered a defense of the Democratic position, while holding out hope that the issue would get resolved in a way that provides the relief needed for the Midwest as well as Puerto Rico.

"I think in the end, the end product will fund both. I think the fight is just over what the numbers are and I think the Republicans know that," Klobuchar said. "The idea we cut off Puerto Rico because the president doesn't like it is pretty outrageous."

But Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., the states former governor, said that his contacts in Puerto Rico would prefer that Congress pass the bill as it exists so that they can get the food stamp help they want without further delay. Of Democrats, Scott said: This is all politics, them trying to make political points.The National Womens Hall of Fame has responded to the Town of Seneca Falls threat to pull funding over its upcoming induction of actress and activist Jane Fonda.

Since its incorporation in 1969, the Hall has helped bring thousands of visitors to the region each year and has been an economic generator for the Town of Seneca Falls and the entire Finger Lakes Region, the hall said in a statement Friday. "The National Womens Hall of Fame has always honored and respected the Towns important decisions to stand up for what was not historically deemed popular. The Hall is forever grateful for the steady hand that has always guided the Town to celebrate womens achievements.

We are, however, disappointed that we have not had the opportunity to meet with the Town to discuss its proposed resolution or the basis behind it. The National Womens Hall of Fame board welcomes the opportunity to create an open dialogue to discuss the Towns concerns. We believe that all voices should be heard before there is such a drastic step as the proposed resolution. Thats what democracy, and the efforts of womens suffrage, are all about.

The statement comes in response to Seneca Falls Town Supervisor Greg Lazzaros proposed resolution this week to end the towns partnership with the Womens Hall of Fame. The 50-year-old hall, built in Seneca Falls, N.Y., honors the site of the historic 1848 womens rights convention and honors advocates for womens rights every year.

Lazzaro argued that the town shouldnt support the hall if it inducts Fonda.

Jane Fondas actions of bringing medical supplies to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, deriding our POWs, and posing, and posing for pictures atop missile-launchers designed to shoot down American planes brought divisiveness to our country and to this day to our Vietnam Veterans and it is viewed by virtually all Veterans as treason to this country, Lazzaro wrote in the resolution.

Out of respect for the Towns many veterans who proudly served our nation any support for this outrageous induction choice should be vehemently opposed.

According to WHEC, the town of Seneca Falls says it has given $278,750 to the National Womens Hall of Fame since 2010 and has secured a $420,000 grant. If approved at a board meeting on Tuesday, the resolution will end any financial donations, cooperation and in kind services during all events associated with the National Womens Hall of Fame immediately.

Its unclear how much funding the hall relies on from the town.

Fonda was announced earlier this month as among the 2019 inductees in the Womens Hall of Fame, along with late Rep. Louise Slaughter, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, attorney Gloria Allred, civil rights activist Angela Davis, composer Laurie Spiegel, AIDS researcher Flossie Wong-Staal, and others. An induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14 at the del Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, near Seneca Falls.

Fonda, whose father was actor Henry Fonda, is an Oscar-winning and Emmy-winning actress known for roles in 9 to 5, Barbarella, Grace and Frankie, Monster-in-Law and The Newsroom. She also has Upstate New York ties, attending the Emma Willard School in Troy and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie; her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, is buried in Ogdensburg Cemetery.

But its her political activism that remains controversial, decades after she was nicknamed Hanoi Jane for sitting on an anti-aircraft gun in 1972 to protest the Vietnam War. While promoting her 2018 documentary, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, she apologized for her actions.

I am just so sorry that I was thoughtless enough to sit down on that gun at that time. The message that sends to the guys that were there and their families, its horrible for me to think about that, she said last year. Sometimes I think, Oh I wish I could do it over because there are things I would say differently now.Georgia state legislators on Friday passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bills, which would prohibit the termination of a pregnancy after a fetal heartbeat is detected - as early as six weeks, before many women know they're pregnant.

The vote came shortly after state Rep. Ed Setzler, a Republican, who sponsored the legislation, called it an effort to establish full legal protections for fetuses and said it was an attempt to outlaw abortion "in the highest courts of the land."

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who released a statement praising lawmakers for "their undeniable courage" in passing the legislation, is expected to sign the bill into law. The American Civil Liberties Union promised legal action if he does.

"Governor Kemp, if you sign this abortion ban into law, we will sue and see you in court to fight this blatant attack on the rights and dignity of Georgia women and families," the organization said in a statement.

The bill attracted national attention and prompted fierce protests from abortion rights advocates, as Setzler called for Republicans to pass the measure so that Kemp can "recruit the best legal team in the nation" to gut the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

The legislation narrowly made it through the Georgia House on Friday, receiving 92 votes, one more than it needed to pass. Seventy-eight representatives, including some Republican lawmakers, opposed the measure.

The Georgia Senate passed the bill earlier this month on a party-line vote.

Setzler said "common-sense Georgians" had prevailed.

"This bill recognizes the fundamental life of the child in the womb is worthy of legal protection," he said.

Activists rallied at the statehouse to protest the legislation, chanting "shame" and "dissent" while clad in the red cloaks and white bonnets of characters in "The Handmaid's Tale," a book and TV series that depicts a dystopian future where women are enslaved to rear children. The protesters have been an almost daily presence, along with heavy security.

On the other side, some opponents of abortion have said the bill is not strict enough. The executive director of Georgia Right To Life, Zemmie Fleck, sent a letter to the group's supporters Tuesday asking them to urge lawmakers to oppose the measure, arguing that the bill's exceptions for medical emergencies, rape and incest, when reported to police, are discriminatory toward the unborn.

"We are saddened that the bill discriminates against classes of innocent human beings," Fleck wrote.

The day before the vote, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who was part of the historic wave of Democratic women elected to Congress in 2018, encouraged state leaders to oppose the legislation.

Other prominent advocates - including Stacey Abrams, a rising star on the left who unsuccessfully ran for Georgia governor in 2018, and Hollywood activists such as Alyssa Milano - used social media throughout the week to ask legislators to reject the restrictions in Georgia. Labor organizer Ai-jen Poo - along with executives from Coca-Cola, Amazon and 90 other Georgia business leaders - signed a letter saying the measure would "take the state in the wrong direction." (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

After the vote, more cries of "shame" echoed in the chamber.

"This is an all-out assault on the reproductive health and safety of Georgia women," said Laura Simmons, the Georgia director for the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America. "This cruel, unconstitutional bill is part of an extreme GOP agenda to strip freedoms from women and could not be further from the values that most Georgians hold."

Those looking to expand access to abortions said they were alarmed that Setzler was also pushing to establish "personhood" for fetuses, granting full legal protection to fetuses and, critics say, putting those rights before the rights of women. The bill includes a provision allowing people to claim fetuses as dependents on state tax returns after a heartbeat is detected, which further boosts assertions of personhood.

Georgia is one of at least 11 states, including Texas and Florida, to introduce "heartbeat bills" this year.

Conservative and religious groups have said they hope a flood of state-led legislation - largely from the South and Midwest - will push the Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling in Roe v. Wade. Many are optimistic about their chances since President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined the Supreme Court.

But lower courts have quickly struck down the measures. This month, Kentucky's governor signed a similar bill that a federal judge swiftly blocked. In January, an Iowa state court did the same to a 2018 law.

In North Carolina on Tuesday, another federal judge overturned a state law prohibiting abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy - which is Georgia's current law - calling the ban unconstitutional.

Also this week, in Mississippi, the latest state to enact a fetal heartbeat law, abortion rights supporters filed a lawsuit challenging the ban. The Center for Reproductive Rights asked a federal court to block the law before it takes effect July 1.

"Let's call this law what it is - a near total ban on abortion," Nancy Northup, the group's president and CEO, told The Washington Post. "We will keep taking them to court until they get the message."

Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the state Democratic Party, said women of color and low-income women will "carry the disproportionate burden" of the abortion restrictions.

I trust women to make the decision thats right for them and their families, she said. I vow to stand with the people of Georgia in fighting this bill.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post  Story by Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and Reis ThebaultLONDON (AP)  U.K. lawmakers on Friday rejected the governments divorce agreement with the European Union for a third time, leaving Britain just two weeks to decide between a long delay to Brexit and an abrupt no-deal departure from the bloc.

The House of Commons voted 286-344 against the withdrawal agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU, rebuffing her plea to "put aside self and party" and "accept the responsibility given to us by the British people" to deliver Brexit.

Amid business warnings that a no-deal Brexit could mean crippling tariffs, border gridlock and shortages of goods, a visibly frustrated May said the vote had "grave" implications.

"The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12 April  in just 14 days' time," she said. "This is not enough time to agree, legislate for and ratify a deal, and yet the House has been clear it will not permit leaving without a deal. And so we will have to agree an alternative way forward."

Had the deal been passed, Britain would have left the EU on May 22.

The EU said the rejection of the divorce terms made a no-deal Brexit "a likely scenario" and called an emergency summit for April 10 to decide what to do next.

An EU Commission official said the 27 remaining EU nations were "fully prepared for a no-deal scenario at midnight 12th of April"  Britain's deadline to chart a new course.

Almost three years after Britain voted in June 2016 to leave the EU, and two years after it set its departure date for March 29, 2019, British politicians remain deadlocked over Brexit. Like the country as a whole, they are split between those who want a clean break, those who want to retain close ties with the bloc, and those who want to overturn the decision to leave.

Last week, to prevent Britain from crashing out, granted an extension to May 22 had the divorce deal been approved by Friday  or to April 12 if rejected.

The 58-vote margin of defeat for the deal Friday was narrower than in previous votes in January and March, but it still leaves the government's blueprint for exiting the bloc in tatters.

May's deal was voted down even after the prime minister sacrificed her job in exchange for Brexit, promising to quit if lawmakers approved the agreement and let Britain leave the EU on schedule. With the deal's rejection, she will face pressure to step aside and let a new Conservative leader take over negotiations with the EU.

The government had also warned pro-Brexit politicians that rejecting May's deal could see Brexit delayed indefinitely.

May's arguments moved some previously resistant Brexit-backers to support the deal. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  a likely contender to replace May as Conservative Party leader  tweeted that rejecting it risked "being forced to accept an even worse version of Brexit or losing Brexit altogether."

But the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, with 10 seats in the House of Commons, refused to back the agreement because it treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the U.K.

Parliament voted on the legally binding, 585-page withdrawal agreement that May struck with the EU late last year, setting out the terms of Britain's departure  but not on a shorter declaration on future ties that was also part of the accord between the two sides.

Removing the political declaration from the Brexit vote altered the deal enough to overcome a parliamentary ban against asking lawmakers the same question over and over again.

May also hoped severing the link between the two parts of the deal would blunt opposition. That gamble failed to pay off, as opposition lawmakers said if amounted to voting for a "blind Brexit" with no idea what would happen next.

With May's deal as good as dead, lawmakers who favor a "soft Brexit" plan to hold votes Monday in an attempt to find a plan with majority support.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Parliament had a "responsibility to find a majority for a better deal for all the people of this country."

Business groups, who have been sounding the alarm for months about the damage a no-deal Brexit could do, urged lawmakers to avert disaster.

"All eyes are now on Monday to discover what Parliament is for," said Josh Hardie, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. "The U.K.'s reputation, people's jobs and livelihoods are at stake. No deal is two weeks away."

If lawmakers back a new proposal, Britain would need to seek a new delay to Brexit from the bloc to implement it.

The EU has indicated it could grant Britain an extension of up to a year if it plans to change course and tack toward a softer departure. That would, however, require the U.K. to participate in elections for the European Parliament in late May  something both the bloc and the British government have sought to avoid.

The political morass has left Britons on both sides of the debate frustrated and angry. Some Brexit supporters, who had planned to be celebrating Friday, were protesting instead.

Thousands converged on Parliament Square as lawmakers voted inside, waving Union Jack flags and singing, "Bye-Bye EU."

Retired charity worker Mandy Childs, one of a band of hard-core Brexit supporters walking across England to London under the slogan "Leave Means Leave," said she felt "heartbroken."

"We were told over a 100 times by a British prime minister that we would be leaving on the 29th of March, 2019," she said.

To do that, promise the British people that and then say Actually, no, we need to just put it back  absolute betrayal. And how dare she?The big picture: Russias Roskomnadzor agency delivered a letter to ten popular VPN providers on Thursday, giving them two options: block websites blacklisted by the government, or join the blacklist and have services cut off. Its a minefield for the VPN providers to walk through, with Russian citizens internet freedom on the line.

For years, the Russian government has slowly been restricting the internet access of its users, blocking everything from LGBT forums to LinkedIn. They do this by maintaining a database of restricted content, and by forcing search engines and ISPs to deny access to these websites and services through tough legislation. Historically, users have been able to bypass these laws with VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other anonymizer services like Tor.

In July 2017, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill granting Roskomnadzor the ability to add VPN providers that didnt comply with the blacklist database, to the blacklist database. Its a more serious threat than it sounds  because all Russian ISPs comply with the database, attempts to access VPN servers would be blocked. The threat prompted many VPN providers to leave the country and others to comply, but this is the first time Roskomnadzor is taking action.

Of the ten VPN providers targeted; NordVPN, ExpressVPN, TorGuard, IPVanish, VPN Unlimited, VyprVPN, HideMyA**, Hola VPN, OpenVPN and Kaspersky Secure Connection (the only Russian-owned VPN on the list); two have already decided on their course of action.

TorGuard has already (voluntarily) wiped all their servers in the country, and left Russia. VyprVPN has taken the opposite stance and will not comply with Roskomnadzor but will continue providing service, or at least it will try to.

Our core mission is to keep the internet open and free, and therefore, we will continue to provide uncensored access to the internet in Russia and around the world. We will not cooperate with the Russian government in their efforts to censor VPN services. VyprVPN operator Golden Frog stated in a blog post. Theyre safe from physical or legal action, as they dont have any servers or offices in Russia, but its unclear if they can circumvent ISPs blocking their IP addresses.

Hopefully VPN providers can get around the ban somehow; well have to wait and see. But with the government even considering temporarily disconnecting Russia from the global internet entirely, the future looks bleak.Patients who are eligible to take statins to lower bad cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart attack or stroke do not take them.

A study found that a total of 1,511 adults in the United States do not receive statin treatment despite meeting the criteria for the cholesterol-lowering drug. More than half of the number or 59 percent admitted that their doctors never recommended the medication.

Researchers surveyed 5,693 people for the study. They published their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Wednesday, March 27.

Why People Are Not Taking Statins

The study also identified that African-American women and those who do not have insurance are more likely to report that their doctors never offered or recommended statins. Meanwhile, patients in cardiology practices more often receive cholesterol-lowering medication than those in primary care.

The researchers admitted that some of the patients surveyed might have been offered statin, but do not remember talking about it with their doctors. Corey Bradley, the lead author of the study and researcher at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in South Carolina, said that this is still a problem.

"[W]e believe that if the patient did not remember the conversation, the discussion likely was not an effective one," he commented.

The study also discovered that a significant number of patients who were offered to take statin either declined (10.1 percent) or discontinued (30. 7 percent) taking the medication. Many said that they are worried about the possible side effects of the drug.

Ann Marie Navar, the senior author of the study and an assistant professor of Medicine at Duke Clinical Research Institute, explained that there is a lot of misinformation that might be preventing people from taking the drug.

"Although there are risks associated with statins, the public fear of side effects is out of proportion to the actual risks," she stated. "Misconceptions about statins are everywhere and are fueled by false information on the internet."

The research, however, revealed that 59.7 percent of patients who discontinued using statins is open to using them again. The researchers hope that this will encourage doctors to discuss the benefits of the treatment and convince patients to take the medication.

Statin Use

Statin is a class of drug that aids in lowering the amount of low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol in the blood. Studies have proven that the use of statins can lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

While there is evidence that taking the medication can lead to type 2 diabetes, the Food and Drug Authority said that the risk is small. The benefits promised by statin "outweighs" the very small chance of developing diabetes.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A woman from Atlanta became the first-ever HIV patient to donate and have her kidney transplanted to another person who also has the disease.

Nina Martinez, 36, gave up one of her kidneys to help save the life of a fellow HIV patient. The surgery was successfully carried out by doctors at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

Both Martinez and the recipient of her organ, who has requested to remain anonymous, are now doing well at the hospital.

A Medical First

Martinez said she contracted HIV in 1983 when she was just a 6-week-old baby. She was given a blood transfusion with what was believed to be a tainted supply. This was during a time when people running blood banks did not routinely test blood donations for potential infections.

HIV sapped much of her health, but she refused to let the disease bring her down. She chose to remain positive throughout the years.

"I really want people to reconsider what living with HIV means," Martinez said. "If anyone is proof that you can live a lifetime with HIV, that is myself. I've been living with HIV for 35 years -- pretty much the length of the epidemic in the United States."

Martinez's courage in facing the disease impressed her doctors at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Dorry Segev, one of the surgeons who conducted the organ transplant, believes the landmark operation is a celebration of medical care for HIV patients and how much it has evolved over the years.

Meanwhile, Dr. Christine Durand, a professor of medicine and oncology at the medical facility, said the surgery challenges people to look at disease differently.

Before Martinez's operation, doctors thought that HIV patients are too much at risk of having kidney disease for them to even be considered as organ donors. They were also more likely to have damaged kidneys because of their use of antiretroviral drugs.

However, newer forms of HIV medications have been shown to be safe for kidneys. This allowed researchers to examine the feasibility of an HIV-to-HIV organ transplant, where both donor and recipient are still alive.

Dr. Durand said Martinez and the kidney recipient are both thankful for the surgery. They are now being observed for potential long-term outcomes of the procedure.

Martinez explained that she was inspired to donate her organ while watching an episode of the popular TV drama Grey's Anatomy. She said she was also excited to become part of medical history.

"I knew that I was the one that they had been waiting for," the HIV patient noted. "For anyone considering embarking on this journey, it's doable.

Reducing HIV Infections In The US

In his recent State of the Union, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized the need to eliminate HIV transmissions in the country by 2030.

To meet this goal, the Health and Human Services Department unveiled a new initiative to lower disease infections among Americans by as much as 90 percent over the next 10 years.

As of the moment, there are over 1 million people in the U.S. suffering from the debilitating disease. Dr. Segev said Martinez's successful operation offers many of these HIV patients at least "one less stigma" linked to their illness.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A study warns that more people around the world might contract Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and other mosquito-borne diseases in the next 30 years.

According to researchers, climate change is placing more than half a billion people at risk. The problem will not be isolated to the tropics either; areas like Canada and Northern Europe where mosquito-borne diseases are currently unknown will be a hotbed for yellow fever and tiger mosquitos.

Climate Change-Driven Mosquito Disease Transmission

The team created mathematical models of climate change and used predictions of future climate change under different emission scenarios to create a map where and when populations would be at risk of mosquito-borne diseases.

Right now, the researchers said that about 6 billion people around the world are at risk of mosquito-borne diseases for a month or more each year. However, by 2050, more than half a billion more would be at risk of transmission.

They explained that climate change is pushing cooler weather further into the pole, making areas such as Canada and Northern Europe hospitable to mosquitos and their pathogens.

"These diseases, which we think of as strictly tropical, have been showing up already in areas with suitable climates, such as Florida, because humans are very good at moving both bugs and their pathogens around the globe," explained Sadie Ryan of the University of Florida, the lead author of the study.

The study also found that climate change might also see a decline of certain mosquito-borne diseases, especially in countries nearer to the equator. While yellow fever and tiger mosquitos move upward and spread across Europe, the risk of disease might decrease in west Africa and southeast Asia where the mosquitos will find the climate in tropical countries too hot.

Planning Should Begin Now

The researchers explained that the goal of the study is to encourage governments and public health officials to begin preparing before the mosquitos arrive in areas unaccustomed to the pathogens. They hope that the study would lead to the creation of a global health plan suited for the changing climate.

"Newly exposed populations tend to see erupting epidemics," added Ryan, "and for the diseases we have seen recently, like Zika, first exposures tend to have worse outcomes, in terms of symptoms, and public health response, so we should be on the lookout for those new areas, under any future scenario."

The study was published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases on March 28, Thursday.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Digging deeper into Facebook's core history will be much more difficult now ever since the social networking giant "mistakenly" deleted some of Mark Zuckerberg's old posts.

On March 30, Business Insider reported that some of the crucial posts in Zuckerberg's profile regarding company acquisitions, which were previously public, have now disappeared, including posts from 2007 and 2008.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Facebook said some of the 34-year-old chief executive's posts were deleted a few years ago due to "technical errors."

These posts were not restored because the work needed to do so was allegedly "extensive and not guaranteed to be successful."

When asked about the full extent of the deletion, the spokesperson said they did not know how many posts in total were deleted.

Furthermore, the spokesperson said information about past announcements and company news have been archived publicly on the Facebook blog and on Newsroom, a repository of old blog posts and announcements.

Missing Facebook Posts

Meanwhile, Tech Times checked out Zuckerberg's timeline and confirmed that the posts from 2007 and 2008 have vanished. If users try to search for the year 2008 or 2007, only the posts from 2006 will be shown.

One of the missing Facebook posts was about the death of Josef Desimone, the company's head chef who died in a motorcycle accident in 2013.

Another missing post was about News Feed, which was launched by Facebook in 2006. Zuckerberg had a blog post that attempted to quash backlash against News Feed, and this blog post was entitled "Calm down. Breathe. We hear you."

Technically, past announcements can still be found, but what Facebook does is redirect users to Newsroom, which contains an incomplete archive of posts.

To reach specific blog posts, users must know specific keywords and search for it on Google or scroll through thousands of Facebook's posts over the years.

Ultimately, the effect of the disappearance of Zuckerberg's posts is to make the company's records more obscure and more difficult to track than ever before.

This isn't the first time Facebook deleted some of Zuckerberg's posts. In November 2016, public posts about the media on his account, as well as posts about the role of Facebook in the elections, all disappeared and were deleted.

A spokesperson told The Verge that the removal was "an accident" and then restored those posts back to public.

Crucial Acquisitions And Future Plans

Some missing posts were about Facebook's acquisition of Instagram in 2012. News reports linked a post from Zuckerberg's profile back then, but now the post has become inaccessible.

In previous posts, Facebook announced that it was committed to building Instagram more "independently," but the source to prove this has now disappeared.

Such posts are crucial, as Facebook has gotten more involved in how Instagram is run. For instance, a reverse-engineering specialist dished out the news that the photo-sharing app is testing direct messaging for the web.

This comes on the heels of reports that Facebook plans to create an inter-application messaging system for Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, which will be the first of its kind.

In fact, all these apps would receive end-to-end encryption should this plan be set into motion.

In early January, however, Facebook said the unified messaging application won't arrive anytime soon. Zuckerberg said the company is still thinking through how to go about with the integration.

"There's a lot more we need to figure out," said Zuckerberg.

Brian Solis | Flickr

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.It was only a matter of time. Valve has now confirmed the Valve Index, the Portal maker's own virtual reality headset coming this May.

The announcement came in the form of a page dedicated to Valve Index going live on Steam and follows a bevy of leaked images and rumors in several months past. The page features the first official image of the VR headset and little else. A caption reads, "Upgrade your experience. May 2019."

Valve Index

Not much else is known beyond the name, its release month, and what it looks like. Valve did not share any details on pricing, technical specifications, or other special functionalities. Based on the official teaser image, it'll have at least two built-in sensors or perhaps cameras on the headset itself. There also appears to be interpupillary and viewing distance adjustment notches.

There is no indication about whether or not Valve will include the SteamVR Knuckle controllers as part of the Valve Index package, but it's likely. The page is empty at the moment. There's no mention of the three Valve-produced VR titles cofounder Gabe Newell has been advertising since 2017.

The Valve Index wouldn't mark the first time Valve has experimented with VR. The company previously worked with HTC for the development of the latter's Vive VR headset and integrated it into the Steam ecosystem.

Valve vs Oculus

With the Valve Index scheduled to come out this May, 2019 is poised to be significant year for new VR consoles. Oculus announced two new headsets slated for spring, namely the Oculus Rift S and the Oculus Quest. The Rift S will be an upgraded version of the current Rift with built-in tracking, higher-resolution optics, and an improved strap. The Oculus Quest, on the other hand, will be a standalone headset powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip.

The Valve Index might launch right around the release of Oculus' two new headsets, which puts both companies on interesting positions. The real question is how Valve plans to market its upcoming headset to gamers when there is already a bunch of choices available, some of them decently affordable. Make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Crowley fast food institution PJ's Grill will be leaving its home of 27 years to venture across North Parkerson Avenue into a bigger building and the bigger world of casual dining.

The new PJ's Grill will still offer all the old favorites like their Cajun burger, frozen lemonade, poboys and salads, but will be expanding their menu to offer more casual dining options along with limited-time favorites like plate lunches and barbecue.

"I'm probably a little biased, but we're going to be the nicest restaurant in this town. We're going to keep our same menu. We're still PJ's Grill. Good food fast is what got us here and we're going to stay with that," said Peter Boulet, who co-owns PJ's Grill with his wife, Stacie Boulet. "We will upscale our inside menu while having a limited menu in the drive thru to keep drive thru times fast. We're upscaling our facility so we're upscaling our menu, too."

According to Boulet, things will largely remain the same. You will still be able to go up to the counter to order and get your food as quick as possible. However, there will be tables to seat 60 people inside comfortably and there will be servers to bring customers their food when things get busy.

The most notable additions are the two massive rice bins that were bought from Jimbo Hundley, a farmer from north of Crowley. The bins were originally purchased by Hunley's father in 1959 and now two of them will act as covering for outdoor seating at the new grill. The outdoor seating area, which will also be a makeshift "rice museum" with history, pictures and other memorabilia covering the walls, should be able to fit 40 people, according to Peter Boulet.

"Crowley is the rice capital of the world, so we thought, why not. People want outdoor seating while they eat these days, but right now we have to go to Lafayette for that, so why not bring it to Crowley," Stacie Boulet said.

PJ's Grill started back in 1989 as a double drive thru before moving to its longstanding location on West Parkerson Avenue. The new location will be across the street in the Young's Centre and will have a bar that will serve soda, beer, wine and an alcoholic take on the restaurant's famous frozen lemonade using locally made rice vodka, J.T. Meleck. The Boulets have been leasing the location since they moved into the nearly 50-year-old former Burger Chef in 1992.

The new location was built from the wood of an old grain mill in Pennsylvania and purchased through Garber Farms. The 3,500 square foot restaurant, excluding the outdoor seating, will employ their 24 current employees and Boulet said they will probably hire 40-to-50 new part-time and full-time employees.

The new PJ's Grill is scheduled to have a soft opening the week after Easter, with the old location closing on Good Friday. Peter Boulet said they hope to officially open the following week on April 29. He also added that they could not have done this move or all they've accomplished without the support of the community over the years and are excited to share this new venture with the community.

"We have used all local people in building our new restaurant. It's locally owned. As a local businessman for 30 years, I know how important the local economy is and having local support. We're just so thankful for that," Peter Boulet said.The Baton Rouge man involved in the crash last month that killed Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Shane Totty has received a traffic citation from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.

Devin Burke, 26, was cited for failure to yield from a private driveway on Feb. 1, 2019. Totty had been escorting a funeral procession on the 6400 block of Jones Creek Road when he was struck.

Sheriff's Office spokesperson Casey Rayborn Hicks said Friday that more-serious charges are not expected for Burke.

+26 Shane Totty dies after BR officer's motorcycle hit in funeral procession -- a year after he was shot A Baton Rouge police officer has died from injuries sustained when a pickup truck plowed into his motorcycle during a funeral procession late 

Totty joined the Baton Rouge Police Department in June 2014. A year before the fatal crash, Totty was shot in the face while responding to a call in south Baton Rouge. He had recently recovered from his injuries when he was hit during the funeral procession.

The East Baton Rouge District Attorneys Office is receiving all investigative documents for further review.At a meeting of LSU's President's Task Force on Greek Life, Task Force Chairman and LSU Foundation Director Rob Stuart, right, delivers recommendations for changes to fraternities, in wake of the death of LSU student and Phi Delta Theta fraternity pledge Maxwell Gruver, 18, who died of alcohol poisoning and aspiratioon after an alleged 2017 hazing incident, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at the LSU Foundation Building. Other members listening are, from left, LSU Dean of Students Mari-Fuentes-Martin, Kappa Sigma House Corporation representative BJ Billeaudeaux and Vice-Chairman and Dan Layzell, LSU Executive Vice-President for Finance & Administration/CFO.Just when you thought Louisianas politicians would give their tax-raising ways a rest, a bill has been filed that would close to double the sSuperintendent Shaun Ferguson shook up the leadership ranks of the New Orleans Police Department on Friday, replacing the commanders whose districts cover the French Quarter and Uptown as part of roughly a dozen personnel moves meant to set the tone for his time as the citys top cop.

The promotions and other personnel shifts are Fergusons most public moves yet aimed at leaving his mark on a force whose reins he inherited in January from Michael Harrison, who retired as NOPD superintendent to become the police commissioner of Baltimore.

The changes  which take effect this weekend  are raising the profile of some tenured veterans, such as Sabrina Richardson and Octavio Baldassaro, by moving them to more prominent positions with greater responsibilities.

At the same time, some of the department leaders shifting to less prominent roles have recently drawn unwanted attention from the new top brass.

Rearrangements at the top of the citys police force are common when a new superintendent takes over. It is an opportunity to build a leadership team of trusted allies in an agency with sometimes cutthroat internal politics.

Its also a chance to lower the visibility of officers under an unflattering spotlight, such as when  months after taking office in 2010  Superintendent Ronal Serpas switched commanders in the lone police district whose citizen satisfaction score had dropped in an annual survey.

Youre beginning to put your fingerprint on the organizational culture, and you are beginning to put your future into play, Serpas said Friday when asked about the reasons for such changes. The movement is expected  and natural.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell appointed Ferguson to the chiefs post held since 2014 by Harrison, who received praise for improving the reputation of the force under an ongoing federal reform agreement while also posting sharp drops in murders and other violent crimes last year.

Ferguson was appointed just ahead of the busy Carnival season, when the NOPD is tasked with protecting hundreds of thousands of visitors. Its likely he wanted to wait until the dust settled after Mardi Gras to start moving people around.

Two of the citys eight districts will have new commanders. A deputy chief and the leader of the forces office in charge of complying with the conditions of the reform agreement, known as a consent decree, also had to be replaced after they went to Baltimore with Harrison.

Among the most notable changes was the appointment of Cmdr. Doug Eckert as the leader of the Uptown-based 2nd District, which is responsible for much of Uptown and Gert Town. He had been serving as head of the Criminal Investigations Division, which is in charge of homicide and rape detectives across the city.

He will be replacing Jennifer Dupree, who will lose her unclassified rank of commander and return to her Civil Service-protected rank of lieutenant while being stationed in the 3rd District, which patrols Gentilly and Lakeview.

Meanwhile, as reported earlier, Cmdr. Nicholas Gernon of the French Quarter and Central Business District-based 8th District will be replaced by Lt. Octavio Baldassaro, who is being promoted to commander. He has been leading the investigations unit in the 1st District, which includes Mid-City and Treme.

Gernons next assignment will be overseeing the crime lab, property handling and evidence processing personnel, replacing Cmdr. Darryl Albert.

Alberts ouster from that post comes after an investigation into his possibly violating the department's policy prohibiting retaliation.

The complaint that triggered the probe has been deemed unfounded, according to documents provided by Albert's attorney, Donovan Livaccari of the Fraternal Order of Police. But Ferguson has still not reviewed that finding and indicated whether he agrees with it.

The NOPD on Friday said Albert would lose his unclassified rank of commander, return to his Civil Service rank of captain and head a section that houses the canine and horse-mounted units.

Gernon was recently investigated about his handling of a Louisiana State Police complaint regarding the roadside manner of an off-duty sergeant under his command who was pulled over by a trooper in November.

But Gernon will retain his unclassified commander rank, suggesting that the change in the 8th District was more about giving Baldassaro a shot in a higher-profile position.

Ferguson on Friday said Gernons background as a former homicide investigator makes him ideal for his new role, especially at a time when the NOPD plans to build its own in-house DNA crime lab after Hurricane Katrina destroyed a prior facility handling that function. Currently, its lab work is processed in partnership with the State Police Crime Lab.

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Duprees removal as the 2nd District commander comes amid an internal investigation into whether she drove a take-home vehicle out of the permitted 40-mile radius during a time in which was also taking care of a sick relative, sources said.

NOPD officials did not elaborate on the decision to replace Dupree.

The changes at the districts were accompanied by the reshuffling of personnel higher up on the chain of command.

Eckerts replacement atop the Criminal Investigations Division will be Cmdr. Regina Williams, who has been serving as the second-highest-ranking member of the Public Integrity Bureau after a stint as a supervisor of sexual violence investigators.

Assuming Williams old position will be Sabrina Richardson, who is being promoted from the rank of lieutenant after supervising sexual violence investigators as well.

Cmdr. Otha Sandifer, who had been the second-in-command atop the division overseeing implementation of the consent decree, will be promoted to deputy superintendent to occupy the post left vacant by the departure of the section's former boss, Danny Murphy.

Murphy joined Harrison in Baltimore. Sandifer's bureau will now be called the Professional Standards and Accountability Bureau.

Sandra Contreras, a lieutenant heading the investigations unit at the 3rd District, will be promoted to commander to fill Sandifers old spot.

Meanwhile, Paul Noel will be promoted to the position of chief deputy superintendent, placing him just below Ferguson in the hierarchy and above other deputy superintendents.

The new deputy chief of staff will be Dante Bidwell, who has helped manage the consent decrees implementation. He will replace Eric Melancon, who is joining Harrison and Murphy in Baltimore, which is under its own federal consent decree.

Fergusons reconfigured leadership takes office at a time when internal, year-to-date violent crime statistics are off to an encouraging start.

As of Friday afternoon, there had been 24 homicides reported in New Orleans this year  half as many as at the same time in 2018, when the city registered a 47-year low in murders, according to agency figures.

There were also seven fewer nonfatal shootings reported in the city this year as of Friday afternoon than on the same date 12 months earlier.

Still, several high-profile incidents this year have kept crime and public safety on the minds of residents.

A deadly shootout in the Central Business District pitted police against a suspected armed robber and left five bystanders wounded. And an attempted traffic stop this month ended with a stolen car barreling into a beauty salon, killing two people in the vehicle and one in the business, which caught fire.

Shortly before a closed-doors promotional ceremony Friday, Ferguson expressed confidence that his new leadership team will fulfill the twin goals of building on 2018's drop in violent crime while achieving compliance with the costly consent decree.

These are the moves we believe will continue ... the significant progress weve made, Ferguson said.

Cantrell, who elevated the 21-year NOPD veteran Ferguson to the top job, noted how all of Fridays moves were made from within the departments ranks.

He has demonstrated that, as I have believed since day one, we have what it takes within our police department to continue to serve the citizens of New Orleans at the highest level possible, she said.As an audience of thousands cheered them on, three students from Warren Easton Senior High School made history Friday morning, performing onstage on their first visit to the Saenger Theater as they sang a hip-hop song based on events surrounding the Boston Tea Party.

We dont want your tea/as good as it may be/ We dont want taxation/without representation, the group rapped while dancing and wearing American Revolution-era blue and brown overcoats, as the crowd clapped and whistled.

The students were part of a group from 14 schools around Louisiana and Mississippi who performed for an audience that included not only their peers, but cast members from "Hamilton: An American Musical," the extraordinarily popular hip-hop style show about American founding father Alexander Hamilton that's now on stage at the Saenger.

It was amazing, said Benjamin Sulcer, an aspiring actor and 10th-grader at Warren Easton, after the students' show. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After their Saenger debuts, the young performers were also among 2,600 students and teachers from 41 high schools throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama who got to see a matinee performance of "Hamilton" for only $10.

Its one of the most incredible things, seeing these kids who maybe have never been in a theater before get up there and show what theyve got, said actor Nik Walker, who plays Aaron Burr, the vice president who killed Hamilton in a duel. And our performance is for them. Its really special, because it was made for them. It was written in a language they understand.

Fridays program was the result of EduHam, a special integrated curriculum about Alexander Hamilton and the nations founding that aims to make history more appetizing to high school students around the country.

The program is a partnership between "Hamilton" producer Jeffrey Seller and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New York City Department of Education and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a New York-based nonprofit.

It first began in 2015, when Miranda offered $10 tickets as a way to make "Hamilton" more accessible to more than 20,000 low-income students in New York City.

A year later, the Rockefeller Foundation pledged $6 million to expand the initiative, bringing resources to school districts in cities where "Hamilton" tours. The five-year program, which will eventually make theater a teaching lesson for 250,000 kids from schools with low-income students, offers a chance to interact with the cast and learn about the shows history before seeing a matinee performance.

Before the students see the show or prepare their own performances, their teachers guide them through a hands-on class project using Gilder Lehrman Institute resources to introduce people, events and documents of the founding era.

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Students also learn how Miranda incorporated primary sources into the songs he wrote for the show, which follows Hamilton, an orphan originally from the Leeward Islands, from his first encounter with Burr, through the Revolutionary War to his rise as a lawyer and eventual role as the nation's first secretary of the treasury.

The unconventional show, which is sung and rapped in a high-energy, fast-paced hip-hop style, won Best Musical and 10 other Tony Awards in 2016.

Inspired by a 2004 biography of Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow, the show delves into the private life and public actions of a relentlessly active figure who dreamed of an independent country that would provide equal opportunity to future generations and who would rather be divisive than indecisive in achieving those goals.

Among the documents the students studied  and which the show is based on  are a love letter from Hamilton to his fiancee, Elizabeth Schuyler, and a first edition of the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 letters written to newspapers in the late 1780s by Hamilton and others to urge ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Students also got a look at the only known letter written by Hamiltons son, Philip Hamilton, to his father.

Using that material and other research, the students then created their own performance pieces that included songs, rap, poetry, scenes and monologues. A select group of students were then invited to perform on stage at the Saenger.

Popular figures represented in Fridays student performances included Hamilton and Burr. And in an upbeat rap, NET Charter High School student NaJaeh Sterling sang about Maria Reynolds, who was part of one of the first sex scandals in American political history when she had an affair with Hamilton.

But lesser-known figures also showed up in the kids performances, including African American soldiers who fought in the American Revolution; they were represented in an Abolitionist Gospel song performed by Calvin Butler, from Baton Rouges Lee Magnet High School.

Daniel Morgan, a leading battlefield tactician of the Revolutionary War, was the subject of a guitar-and-flute performance by Juda Wolf and Gabrielle Abate, teenagers at Destrehan High School.

When reviewing materials in their schools, students also studied "founding mother" Lucy Knox and African American poet Phillis Wheatley.

Usually, the founding history is like the castor oil of education  youre told, 'Take this, its good for you.' But thats not a good way to buy in, said James Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute. This lets them take hold of the material and make it their own, and thats what its all about.Performing Seal, 1950, sheet metal, paint and steel wire. 83.8 x 58.4 x 91.4 cm Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Loan Accession number: EL1995.7 A 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Copyright Agency, Australia Photo Nathan Keay. Courtesy MCA Chicago Credit:Nathan Keay Rower was 13 when his grandfather died in 1976, and 24 when he set out to safeguard his legacy by establishing the Manhattan-based foundation. He remembers working in the artist's workshop (a term Calder preferred to the more lofty-sounding "studio"), where tables were permanently strewn with tools and materials. "The grandkids were often in his studio, but if we were screwing around, he'd kick us right out," Rower says. "It wasn't a place for fun and games, it was a place to do work." Alexander Calder, Toaster, c. 1942, wood, wire, and stone, with electrical wiring. Credit:Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, NY / AA Artres Travelling between America and Paris during the 1920s and '30s, Calder joined an influential group of avant-garde artists that included Joan Miro, Fernand Leger and Piet Mondrian. In the wake of a visit to Mondrian's studio in 1930, Calder brought abstraction and movement together by fashioning the world's first suspended sculptures. His friend, Marcel Duchamp, christened them "mobiles". They were, said one critic, "abstract paintings using air as their canvas".

"Calder was the one who really made art move," says NGV curator Miranda Wallace. His kinetic works, she says, were "a precursor to all those concerns in art from the '60s to today, which is much more about how you participate, the immersive environments in art, how art is very much about the relationship between the viewer and the object". Alexander Calder, Black Beast, 1940, sheet metal, bolts, and paint. Credit:Calder Foundation Part of Calder's genius is that he remained really relevant throughout every decade of his creativity. Sandy Rower In his sweeping, art-filled office overlooking a pocket of downtown Manhattan, Rower stands me beneath one of his grandfather's mobiles, its suspended shapes improbably balanced in non-symmetrical triumph. "This is an $18 million mobile, but let's pretend it's not valuable," he jokes, as he gently nudges the 3.7-metre-wide artwork into motion.

Alexander Calder, Little Spider, c. 1940, painted sheet metal and wire. Credit:Ana Lee "Calder's intention was that we have this contact, we have this closeness with his work," he says. "It's about your engagement. You can look away for a moment and look back and it's changed ... If you open up your heart to it, you see, wait, this is a different experience. His work is about a reaction, an actual experience that you have with it." Fearing that my own actual experience will involve a costly collision with the valuable artwork, I duck as its lower arm swings back towards me. Suddenly, I know how Jean-Paul Sartre felt when, during a visit to Calder's studio, a mobile became "violently agitated right beside me ... and swept past my nose" just when he thought he was out of reach. Alexander Calder, The Brass Family, 1929, brass wire and painted wood. Credit:Denis Y. Suspitsyn NGV staff face particular challenges in mounting many of the nearly 100 works in the show, Wallace says. "His work is so hard to install because you don't really understand how far they'll extend and how much space they'll occupy."

It wasn't something that seemed to trouble galleries during Calder's early years, when exhibition images show works jostling and overlapping, threatening to become entangled. Calder  "a maximalist"  probably would have loved it, says Wallace. "It's very much like his house ... His studio is a real mess  there is stuff everywhere." Alexander Calder, Jean-Paul Sartre, 1947, ink on paper. Credit:Calder Foundation In a photograph of the Calder kitchen taken in 1950, a packet of Corn Flakes shares a cluttered corner with artfully constructed cooking utensils that are as gorgeous as they are practical. The exhibition includes cutlery, a brass toilet roll holder in the shape of a hand and a rudimentary toaster that bears testament to the artist's practical side. Having lived through the Great Depression, Calder was, says Rower, "a recycler/reuser his entire life". "He led a very spartan lifestyle. He drove station wagons because they were handy. He wore the same suits from the 1940s that he wore in the '70s." Alexander Calder, necklace, c. 1940, brass. Credit:Calder Foundation

His pockets were filled with odds and ends  glass, stones, pieces of string  that might be transformed into art at any moment. He once described himself as "a junk man of bits of wire and all the prettiest stuff in the garbage can". Timber packing crates that were used to transport his sculptures were later broken up to become canvases, the nail holes still visible beneath the paint. The dramatic jewellery pieces he made for friends and family combine the splendour of Aztec treasures with the drama of dress-ups. When Tiffany's and Cartier proposed editions of Calder jewellery, he declined the potentially lucrative offers. "He felt that the object had to be imbued with his energy," Rower says. "It was really key that it be made by his own hands. If there were going to be more pieces of Calder jewellery in the world, he would make them." Of the five toasters Calder made in his quest for the perfect piece of toast, the NGV inclusion, a quirky construction of wire, wood and stone made in 1942, is Rower's favourite. "Now if I wanted to toast bread, I'd go buy a toaster," he says. "Calder didn't buy a toaster, he made one. But he didn't just make a toaster, he made five different toasters to toast bread differently. He was experimenting with how do you get the toast to be just the way you want it to be." It's a delicious insight into Calder the man. In his 690-page biography of the artist's first 42 years (part two is yet to be published), art critic Jed Perl paints him as a larger-than-life character who combined a love of dancing, parties and bad puns (a habit he indulged during a stint as a journalist/illustrator for the National Police Gazette) with a deeply thoughtful approach to art. The laws of physics, the movement of planets and the experience of nature were all subjects that occupied Calder and informed his work. As Perl writes: "The scientific imagination and the artistic imagination had developed side by side in his life."

Fascinated by science and mathematics, the young Calder resisted the artistic heritage of his father and grandfather, both classically trained sculptors, and opted to study mechanical engineering. This interest in how things worked would later inform his art, when his cleverly constructed kinetic sculptures turned the family tradition on its head. Fittingly, it was his depictions of the circus that first defined him as an artist. In the late '20s, while living in Paris, he began to construct Cirque Calder, a collection of miniature performers and props that he carried around in suitcases, mounting performances at various homes and studios over the years. During gatherings that became hot-ticket cultural events attended by the likes of Le Corbusier, Mondrian, Jean Cocteau and Miro, Calder the ringmaster would bring the circus to life using a complex system of strings and levers. "It went for two hours, it was a real performance," says Wallace. "You know, we're obsessed now with performative art and he was doing it in the '20s." Though Cirque Calder is now too fragile to travel, elements of his circus-related output are coming to Melbourne. "We're kind of creating a mini circus," says Wallace of the section of the show that brings together drawing, painting, wire sculpture and tiny performers fashioned out of assorted offcuts.

But playful though Calder's work might sometimes appear, Rower cautions against underestimating his intent. "To me and my family, 'play' is a four-letter word," he says. "It's a terrible word to use about Calder, because it implies a lack of rigour ... People look at his work and they think they understand what it's about ... it's not about looking at some shapes  'oh, that's a nice shape, oh, that's a pretty colour' ... all that takes away from his work." Rower grew up surrounded by Calder's creations but says heading the foundation "has brought me so much closer to his work". He tells me about feeling his grandfather's guidance still and a recent dream in which he finally unlocked a puzzle about the origins of a particular work. "It's kind of mysterious," he says. "If I feel like we should follow this path, then we go down this path." When I ask what Calder might make of his work with the foundation, Rower says he'd be "tremendously proud, tremendously overjoyed".

For this was a man who felt things deeply, as a young Rower realised after seeing his grandfather in tears during a gathering where the music of his youth was being played. "It was shocking to me, here I am 12 years old, and my grandfather, this larger-than-life character, was sobbing at this music from when he was in his 20s," Rower recalls. "And it was really startling, it really woke me up that his emotions could be so open and accessible." In the works that Calder left behind  from a spiral-eyed portrait of Jean-Paul Sartre, to a chicken made from discarded coffee tins and a family of acrobats fashioned out of wire  there is joy, ingenuity and a bustling exuberance. "Calder definitely felt that art should not be lugubrious," Rower says. "He wasn't a fan of artists who were putting all their psychological turmoil into the canvases. Humans have so many challenges, so to make art that was so heavy  he went in the other direction." Look up, and you'll see what he means. Like those mobiles that dance on the barest of currents, Calder will leave you smiling.A lucrative industry is springing up around "breast implant illness", with some doctors charging women thousands to remove implants with no guarantee the surgery will make them better.

Social media is fuelling an explosion in the numbers of women scared their breast implants are making them sick and deciding to have them removed, with online support groups for breast implant illness (BII) numbering in the thousands and growing every day.

But there is a lack of strong scientific evidence for whether breast implants are causing the clusters of unexplained and debilitating symptoms attributed to BII, two leading Australian plastic surgeons say.

Breast Implant Illness (BII) is gaining notoriety as a catch-all for unexplained symptoms in women with breast implants.

Rising numbers of implant patients are reporting unexplained or vague illnesses and symptoms, including auto-immune diseases, allergies, migraine, chronic fatigue, joint pain, depression, heart and kidney problems and hair loss, said Associate Professor Anand Deva, head of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Macquarie University.Who would have thought a once-derelict car park could soon become one of Canberra's dining hot spots, complete with edgy street art and greenery aplenty.

That's exactly what we can expect at Woden with the transformation of the ground floor of the multi-storey car park on Bradley Street.

The Bradley Street Precinct at Westfield Woden includes six new restaurant offerings and is just weeks away from opening.

Six new restaurants will begin serving meals and pouring beers in the long-awaited Bradley Street Dining precinct from April 18.

Canberrans have been given a taste of what's to come at the new Westfield Woden precinct, set to dish out everything from a pub schnitty to fresh sushi.A spray of fake gunfire crackled out from armoured vehicles in Fortitude Valley on Friday night  aimed at giant fake monsters.

Production on Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla vs. Kong, which sees the fearsome mutated dinosaur and the mighty gorilla pitted against each other, made its way to Brisbane this week.

Wickham Terrace Car Park has been booked out for several days for filming atop the heritage-listed car park's open roof.

Godzilla vs. Kong, due to be released in 2020, will star Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things, True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard and Baby Driver's Eiza Gonzalez.A 77-year-old man has been rushed to hospital in far north Queensland after almost drowning in a swimming pool.

The man was pulled from the pool, believed to be at a Cairns resort on Cannon Street, at about 6pm on Friday night.

He was rushed to Cairns Hospital under emergency lights and sirens in a critical condition.

A Cairns Hospital spokeswoman said the man had stabilised overnight.A Queensland nurse who felt defamed when a colleague incorrectly reported she was drunk or high on the job waited too long to sue her accuser, according to a judgment.

Monique Jillian Natalie Herdy claims a notification made to the health ombudsman in November 2016 falsely implied she was so intoxicated after inhaling a painkiller and nail polish that she was singing, dancing and talking to herself.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency looked into the report made by respondent Carly Targato and investigated whether Ms Herdy had any conditions that affected her capacity to work.

In December 2017, the organisation found no action should be taken.

Ms Herdy said the report was "highly defamatory" and damaged her reputation as a health practitioner.More Australians are reporting online extremist or pro-terrorism material to Australia's internet safety watchdog in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

There were 50 people killed in the attack on March 15, 17 minutes of which was live-streamed on Facebook by the alleged terrorist.

A Muslim man walks past a makeshift memorial on the walls surrounding the Al Noor Mosque following the Christchurch attack. Credit:Jason South

Since that time, complaints made to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner about online posts advocating a terror attack, promoting or inciting crime and those which contain extreme and offensive content have increased by more than 300 per cent.

In the two weeks after the massacre, 122 reports were made compared to 36 reports made for similar reasons in the two weeks prior to the attack.Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Bill Shorten stands on a metal stairway in Australias biggest brewery and tries to convince the assembled workers that the coming election will not be an empty exercise. Whatever you do, you get a politician at the end of it, he concedes, drawing a few smiles from the crowd, but his speech is heavy with warnings about the importance of every ballot paper. How you vote has a direct effect on the laws and conditions you get at work, he says. There is a connection. If you think that everythings going up in Australia but the wages, your vote can change that. If you want to see energy bills get under control, your vote can change that. Shorten worries in private about the apathy among voters who have seen six prime ministers over a dozen years. Here, in front of about 100 workers at the Lion brewery in western Sydney, he is trying to give meaning to the election to be fought on May 11 or May 18. He seems to feel his greatest challenge is to persuade Australians that it matters. Labor leader Bill Shorten has served two terms as Opposition Leader. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Shorten projects his voice over the conveyor belts and palletisers. He tells the workers he wants Australia to be a manufacturing nation. He knows their salaries and conditions are good but he says they may have family members in retail and hospitality where the penalty rates have been cut. He talks about Medicare, hospitals, schools, restoring penalty rates and lifting the minimum wage. He promises to force companies to hire more apprentices. The applause is polite but not effusive. Everyone can see the television cameras. They know this is merely a warm-up for the election campaign. A few want to take a selfie with the candidate, but there is none of the manic energy of the 2007 campaign, when Kevin Rudd shocked his own side with his popularity. The wariness in the audience is given voice when Shorten takes questions. One worker asks about negative gearing and gets an assurance that Labors tax increase will allow anyone with an existing rental property to keep claiming a concession. When the public questions are over, someone asks Shorten whether she can trust Labor to stop asylum seekers coming by boat. He assures her she can, but she is not convinced. An older man asks him to do more to help grandparents who have to take custody of their grandchildren but do not get as much support as foster parents. Shorten asks for the mans details so his office can respond in more detail.

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There is no doubt Shorten is match fit for the election. Five-and-a-half years after he became Opposition Leader, he is tantalisingly close to becoming prime minister. To stumble now would be to lose the unloseable election, a spectre so grim he will not rest until polling day. Im hungry to start the work, he tells The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald. Shorten has a long list of what he wants to achieve in government to deliver real progress in peoples lives. Fifteen years of education. That means genuine, universal access to preschool, he says, reeling off the first item on the list as we travel from Sydneys west to Sydney Airport. Bill Shorten poses for a selfie during a marginal seat visit in Melbourne. Credit:AAP Weve got to tackle the challenge of dementia and aged care, weve got to help people deal with it better. In the big health fights that people have in their life, weve got to make sure they dont feel financial burden on top of the health challenge. I really want any kid from any postcode in Australia to get all the options  TAFE or university, whatever dream they want to pursue. I want merit and how hard you work to be the passport, not how rich your parents are. Theres more.

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Weve really got to be one of the best countries in the world at so much, he says. Why shouldnt we be the best at healthcare and education, why shouldnt we be the best at climate change? We should be an energy superpower. We should have a more independent foreign policy. We should close the gap with the first Australians. Its all about opportunity and fairness. I want every Australian to have opportunity and every Australian to receive fairness. And theyll do the rest. Loading Stone by stone, Shorten and his team have added so many promises they now have a mountain to climb if they win power. They vow to restore penalty rates, change the law to raise the minimum wage, hold a plebiscite on a republic, raise $32.1 billion over a decade from changes to negative gearing and raise $56 billion from changes to tax refunds on dividend imputation. Not least, they promise to spend billions of dollars on energy projects while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, in a Parliament that has swung wildly on climate change over two decades. Shorten will not admit he is promising too much. He plays down the risk of a traffic jam in Parliament for his crowded agenda. Well just keep advancing. You can get things done if you want to, he says. As proof, he nominates the National Disability Insurance Scheme, an idea he backed in his earliest days on the Rudd frontbench.

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Rudd, of course, took power in 2007 with a wish-list so long he had to launch dozens of reviews rather than taking immediate action. Shorten insists he can avoid that. Youve got to go in with a clear agenda, Shorten says. And were outlining it. Love us or hate us or be somewhere in between, you cant say were not working out the issues now. We havent been an opposition whos coasted on the mistakes of the government. The government clings to the hope that voters do not like Shorten, given polling that shows more voters disapprove of his performance than approve of it. While voters do not crowd around him when he walks down the main street of Burwood in the electorate of Reid a short time after the brewery visit, there is no sign of hostility. Shorten approaches workers and shoppers outside the Westfield on Burwood Road, striking up conversations and introducing them to the Labor candidate, Sam Crosby. One of the pedestrians, Hana Shahim, asks for a photo with him. Ive always voted Labor, she says. Nobody offers a stronger endorsement. Bill and Chloe Shorten. Credit:Paul Jeffers The campaign will change this dynamic. The media pack will be bigger, the pressure on Shorten will be higher and the risk of encountering an unhappy voter will be greater. One other difference will be the presence of Chloe Shorten. While Chloe has many other calls on her time, not least family in Melbourne, Labor is hoping to have her on the campaign as often as possible, in the belief that Australians warm to her and Shorten himself campaigns better with her.

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Shortens friends believe he is a stronger campaigner than Prime Minister Scott Morrison and will emerge triumphant in a matter of weeks. With a solid Labor campaign, they say, he might achieve a swing of more than a dozen seats. Helped by a bad Coalition campaign, the swing might reach 20. There are no such boasts from Shorten himself. He is careful not to look like he is taking the result for granted, even though he thinks the Coalition has become a tribe of warring clans that are incapable of running a government. His team assumes the government will rely more heavily on scare campaigns and negative advertising when the election is underway in earnest. Shorten knows how a scare campaign works. He wounded Malcolm Turnbull at the last election with the false claim that the government was privatising Medicare and will revive the health funding message at the election to come. He insists, however, that he wants to give Australians something to vote for, not just vote against. He takes this message to the Holmesglen campus in Melbourne, where he tells students he would put more money into TAFE and increase the cost of visas for skilled foreign workers. Bill Shorten, flanked by two Labor candidates, speaks to students and teachers at Holmesglen TAFE. Credit:Erik Anderson The message about foreign workers causes unease in the crowd, given some of the students are from overseas and pay fees for their training in the hope of becoming permanent residents one day, but Shorten makes no apology for putting a priority on locals. His pledge to increase the number of apprenticeships is central to his policy platform. As in Sydney one day earlier, Shorten uses his Melbourne visit to try to motivate his audience to vote for change. Again, apathy is the enemy. Whether he is talking about wages or healthcare, he ends his sentences with three words: Your vote matters.

AdvertisementPauline Hansons One Nation not only skirts too often in racist territory, but has been revealed to have sought to auction for millions of dollars influence over Australias world-leading laws restricting gun ownership to Americas notoriously powerful firearms lobby, the National Rifle Association.

Credit:AP

The duplicity and ignorance of Senator Hanson are evident in her risible attempt to paint a three-year journalistic investigation as foreign government interference in an Australian election, and her appalling flirtation with the notion that the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded by a lone man armed with a semi-automatic weapon, was a political conspiracy to undermine gun ownership.

Although Senator Hanson has since said Port Arthur was not a government conspiracy, she and her gormless acolytes have proved they merit no place in Australias parliaments.

It is lamentable it has taken such a controversy to convince Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare the Liberal Party will urge voters to preference One Nation below Labor. Refusing to put the party last indicates his desperation as he leads a minority government into an election he is expected to lose.Rabat: Pope Francis said on Saturday that problems of migration would never be resolved by physical barriers but instead required social justice and correcting the world's economic imbalances.

Francis, starting a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VI's efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in God's name.

Pope Francis is greeted by Morocco's king. Credit:AFP

In recent months, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries and the United States.

US President Donald Trump, has vowed to fulfil his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico and on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States.Palm Beach: US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the US border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.

US President Donald Trump. Credit:AP

Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasised, "I am not kidding around."

"It could mean all trade" with Mexico, Trump said when questioned by reporters in Florida.

"We will close it for a long time."By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Major public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has sold 13.01 per cent stake in PNB Housing Ltd (PNBHF) to General Atlantic Group and Varde Partners for Rs 1,851.60 crore.

The new investors picked up about 6.5 per cent stake each in the housing finance company by investing Rs 925.80 crore. PNB said that it sold 1,08,91,733 equity shares each in PNB Housing Ltd to General Atlantic Group and Varde Partners at Rs 850 per share.

The transactions are subject to satisfaction of customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Post these transactions, PNB would continue to hold strategic stake of 19.78 per cent of the paid-up capital of PNBHF (as on 31 December 2018) and shall continue as a promoter and strategic shareholder of PNBHF, the lender said in a statement.

As on December 31, 2018, PNB held 32.79 per cent stake in PNB Housing Finance. The public sector bank also informed that it has sold its entire stake (42 lakh unlisted shares) in Experian Credit Information Company India. The bank, however, did not disclose the sale consideration.

Shares of PNB Housing Finance were trading 3.39 per cent higher at Rs 857.60 apiece on BSE on Friday, while shares of Punjab National Bank were trading with gains of 0.52 per cent at Rs 95.85 on BSE.Photo: REX/Shutterstock/REX/Shutterstock

Its still three months before the first Democratic debate, nearly a year before Super Tuesday, and he hasnt even declared yet, but poll after presidential poll continues to show 76-year-old former vice-president Joe Biden leading an enormous, diverse, and talented Democratic field.

Its almost poetically appropriate. Biden carries himself with the confidence of a winner, despite not having won, or even come close to winning, either of the previous presidential primaries hes entered. He is the guy whose self-assured conviction that his authority will protect him from rebuke has always preceded him into any room, whose confident sense of his own entitlement repels potential objection like Gore-Tex repels rain. He is the gaffe-master, the affable fuck-up, and also, oddly, the politician whos supposed to make us feel safe. He is the amiable, easygoing, handsy-but-harmless guy whos never going to give you a hard time about your own handsiness or prejudice, whos gonna make a folksy argument about enacting fundamentally restrictive policies.

For his whole career, Bidens role has been to comfort the lost, prized, and most fondly imagined Democratic voter, the one whos like him: that guy in the diner, that guy in Ohio, that guy whos white and so put off by the changed terms of gendered and racial power in this country that decades ago he fled for the party that was working to roll back the social advancements that had robbed him of his easy hold on power. That guy who believed that the system worked best when it worked for him.

Biden is the Democrats answer to the hunger to make America great again, dressed up in liberal clothes. The New York Times Jamelle Bouie has in fact argued that Bidens racial politics have offered a form of Trumpism on the left, a liberal cover to white backlash. To that I would add, he has provided liberal cover to anti-feminist backlash, the kind of old-fashioned paternalism of powerful men who dont take womens claims to their reproductive, professional, or political autonomy particularly seriously, who walk through the world with a casual assurance that mens access to and authority over womens bodies is natural. In an attempt to win back That Guy, Joe Biden has himself, so very often, been That Guy.

Now it seems, That Guy is widely viewed as the best and safest candidate to get us out of this perilous and scary political period. But the irony is that so much of what is terrifying and dangerous about this time  the Trump administration, the ever more aggressive erosion of voting and reproductive rights, the crisis in criminal justice and yawning economic chasm between the rich and everyone else  are in fact problems that can in part be laid at the feet of Joe Biden himself, and the guys weve regularly been assured are Democrats only answer.

Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, 18 years after Brown v. Board of Education, less than a decade after the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, and just three years after the Supreme Court case Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education would actually force many schools to fulfill the promise of integration put forth by Brown. Biden took office less than three weeks before Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court and a couple of years before the term sexual harassment would be coined by Lin Farley.

It was a period of intense partisan realignment, in response to the upheavals of the 1960s and early 70s, in which the American left was nervously coalescing around the interests and increased liberties of racial minorities and women, the populations who were forming what would be the most reliable part of its base.

The right, meanwhile, was sucking strength from a backlash against disruptive social movements, growing fat and drunk on the language of piety and family values that would undergird its ultraconservative defense of the old power structures, self-righteously fueling up for the Reagan era. Republicans had, for the foreseeable future, won white men  Americas original citizens, the ones around whom our narratives and priorities are calibrated.

Rather than lean into an energetic defense of the values of liberty, equality, and inclusion that might define their role against the racist and anti-feminist backlash of the era, the Democratic Party appeared anxious to distance itself from being the feminized mommy party, and shunt to the side  rather than vigorously advocate for  the priorities of women, especially poor women, and people of color.

The party continued to be represented and led by mostly white men. And while officially Democrats remained on the progressive side, supporting reproductive rights, civil rights, and affirmative action, a contingent of Those Guys, Joe Biden notable among them, made folksy rationalizations for abrogating, rather than expanding and more fiercely protecting, new rights and protections. Those Guys soothed; Those Guys were familiar; Those Guys enjoyed their own power and wanted to reassure everyone that it wasnt really going to be so dramatically reapportioned.

A young Joe Biden was reliably anti-abortion, claiming that Roe v. Wade went too far and that he did not believe that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body. He voted consistently for the Hyde Amendment, the 1976 legislative rider which forbid government-funded insurance programs from paying for abortion, making abortion all but inaccessible to poor people. In 1981, he proposed the Biden Amendment, prohibiting foreign aid to be used in any biomedical research related to abortion. The next year, he supported Jesse Helmss amendment barring foreign NGOs receiving United States aid from using that aid to perform abortion. Biden was one of two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary to vote for the 1982 Hatch Amendment, which would have effectively nullified Roe by turning abortion rights back to federal and state legislatures. At the time, he expressed concern about whether he had a right to impose his anti-abortion views on the nation. Then he went ahead and imposed those views anyway.

Over the decades, Biden has evolved on the issue, yet into the 1990s and 2000s, he voted for the so-called Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. And he regularly declined to fully support the Freedom of Choice Act, which would have banned the wide variety of oppressive state restrictions on abortion.

Bidens stances against womens full reproductive freedom have been key to how he has proudly presented himself to the public. Even in the years since he has officially become pro-choice, hes retained the sensibility first reflected in his comments about how women shouldnt be wholly in charge of their own decisions, writing in his 2007 memoir that even though hed vote against a constitutional amendment barring abortion, I still vote against partial birth abortion and federal funding, and Id like to make it easier for scared young mothers to choose not to have an abortion. His is the language of restrictive authority dressed up as avuncular protectionism.

Biden wasnt simply a comforter of patriarchal impulses toward controlling womens bodies. Though he campaigned in 1972 as a strong supporter of civil rights, and initially voted in favor of school busing legislation intended to integrate schools in both the North and South, Biden changed his tune a couple of years into his Senate tenure. Faced with angry pressure from white constituents rearing back from integration measures that would mean busing white children into black neighborhoods, Biden previewed his anti-abortion agreement with Republican Jesse Helms by siding with him on anti-busing measures, calling the approach to school integration a bankrupt concept and asinine policy. Bidens anti-busing stance offered an out for his Democratic colleagues, several of whom also turned on busing, helping to defeat the legislation.

In later decades, Bidens legislative efforts reinforced other kinds of racial disparities. In 1988, he co-sponsored legislation that enacted mandatory-minimum sentences for drug possession, including higher sentences for those in possession of crack over powder cocaine, a ruling that specifically targeted poorer African-American and Latino populations, while letting wealthier white drug users off the hook. He wrote the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act signed by Bill Clinton, which helped strengthen and codify what has become the United States carceral state, and was an enthusiastic supporter of Clintons punishing welfare-reform policy. Biden was one of his partys transmitters of what Bouie has called sensitivity to the fears and anxieties of his white constituents.

But even those constituents  those guys in diners, worried about jobs and mounting debt  havent always been served by him. Biden, the senator from Delaware, where many credit card companies and banks are incorporated, has long advocated on behalf of those financial entities. This is one of the ironies of his role as blue-collar Everyman; that guy is regularly screwed by the very companies Biden represents. As beneficiary of enormous campaign donations from his home states financial behemoth MBNA, in 1999 Biden voted to repeal Glass-Steagall legislation that, since 1933, had separated commercial and investment banking, paving the way for the financial crisis. Biden was one of a handful of Democrats to oppose a measure that would have required credit card companies to warn consumers of the risks of only paying the minimum due on their credit card bills and worked against legislation that would have increased protections for those whose debts mounted thanks to medical bills and for those in the military.

In the mid-2000s, he was a major Democratic supporter of a bill that made it harder for individuals, many of them struggling with enormous credit card debt, to declare bankruptcy. In a 2002 negotiation over the bill, Democrats added an amendment that targeted anti-abortion protesters, a move that both sweetened it for Democrats and made it less palatable to Republicans. (In a livid letter to the New York Times, calling the bankruptcy bill unconscionable and noting that it particularly imperiled female-headed households and used abortion as a strategic wedge, Elizabeth Warren, then a Harvard Law professor and advocate for consumer reforms, wondered whether politicians like Mr. Biden  believe they can give credit-card companies the right to elbow out women and children so long as they rally behind an issue like abortion? The message is unmistakable: on an economic issue that attracts millions of dollars of industry support, women have no real political importance.)

Then, of course, there was his stewardship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which hit its infamous nadir with the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas. Biden was reluctant even to let Anita Hill testify as to how Thomas had repeatedly sexually harassed her, since  as he would explain afterward  he had given his word to a Republican colleague, in the Senate gym, that hed make sure Thomass confirmation was speedy. When Hill did testify, and was treated with disrespect and disregard by leering and patronizing Republicans on the committee, Biden did not defend her or rebuke them; he permitted her ill treatment. Perhaps most crucially, he declined to call any of the three women  Rose Jourdain, Angela Wright, and Sukari Hardnett  who were willing to testify about their own experiences of Thomass inappropriate behavior, and thereby corroborate Hills claims.

In talking to the Washington Post the year after those hearings, Biden would offer up a pretty good description of the forces that have shaped the political universe, and his role in it, through his decades in political life. That last hearing was not about Clarence Thomas, it was not about Anita Hill, he told E.J. Dionne. It was about a massive power struggle going on in this country, a power struggle between women and men, and a power struggle between minorities and the majority, and its a reflection of the schizophrenic personality of the American public now with regard to both those issues, feminism and race.

Biden is correct that these have been the major power struggles. What he seems less willing to admit is that over and over again, he has been on the wrong side of them.

To be fair to Biden, that is not the whole story of his political career. Because, yes, he has done good and progressive things as well. He has, in many ways, truly evolved. Biden pays lip service to supporting abortion, though he has also said, even as a pro-choice senator, that abortion is always wrong, and his spokesperson declined to tell the New York Times, this week, whether or not he still supports a ban on federal funding for abortion services. As vice-president, Biden famously became an engaged supporter of gay marriage. He has worked to extend the Voting Rights Act and amendments to the Fair Housing Act. In 2010, he supported a bill that reduced those sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. He has voiced some support for $15 minimum-wage measures and has said that the vote he regrets most was the one to repeal Glass-Steagall legislation.

His great feminist achievement was the Violence Against Women Act, a crucial piece of legislation that Republicans remain eager to let lapse, and which is understood in many circles to have been a form of repentance for Bidens horrifying failures regarding Anita Hills testimony. He works with an Obama-founded organization called Its On Us, the premise of which is that it is mens responsibility to stop sexual assault and harassment. Even in that, though, Biden is That Guy: the paternalistic lawmaker for whom it is perhaps easier to write legislation protecting women than it is to simply listen to, believe, and take seriously women, their stories of harassment, or their decisions about their own bodies and health care.

Biden has managed to squeak out some mild expressions of regret for the impact of the crime bill and his role in the Hill hearings. But most of them feel empty, as if he is unwilling to acknowledge the active role he actually played. In his 2007 book, Biden continued to call school busing a liberal train wreck. He was willing to defend the crime bill up through 2014. More recently, as his party  finally  shows some meager signs of being willing to move away from That Guy and toward policy and representation that better serves and acknowledges its actual base, he has grown more vocally critical of his crime legislation, but oddly not of himself and his role in it. This January, at a Martin Luther King Day event in New York, Biden said passively of the crack-powder sentencing disparities, It was a big mistake that was made.

There was similar denial of his own active role  his own power  just this week, at an event at which Biden refused to acknowledge any degree to which the grotesque treatment of Anita Hill was on him. She paid a terrible price, Biden said on Tuesday. To this day, I wish I could have done something. Biden has repeatedly commented in recent years that he owes Hill an apology, yet has never bothered to pay her the respect of proffering one directly. Hill herself has described a family joke: When the doorbell rings when theyre not expecting company, she says, We say, Is that Joe Biden coming to apologize?

But his remarks about Hill and his failure to account for his own shortcomings during her testimony  his unwillingness to take issues of harassment seriously, despite his work with Its On Us  are only amplified by his actual behavior toward women. This week, Lucy Flores has written about the discomfort that she experienced when Biden touched her oddly before joining her onstage at a political event, days before the 2014 Nevada election in which she was running for lieutenant governor. Her account is not of anything violent, or overtly sexual; she is simply describing an experience of being with Joe Biden that is so widely understood as his thing that there are internet memes and photo galleries dedicated to images of this leading Democrat weirdly touching women in public: smelling their hair, kissing the tops of their heads, holding them very close by their shoulders. What makes Floress account different is only that shes outlined the degree to which this behavior isnt cute or acceptable.

The gross physical familiarity and disrespect radiated toward her by a man in her field, in a public space, treating her body as if it was his to smell and squeeze and kiss, is classically, casually  even while non-cataclysmically symptomatic of the daily, easy belief that men can treat womens bodies as accessible, without regard to the comfort or desires of the women in question. It is also further evidence that Anita Hills testimony  grounded as it was in the notion that unwanted, inappropriate verbal and physical contact is unacceptable in a professional context  left no impression on him. Heres the truth: If Joe Biden had ever done two minutes of actual thinking about the harm hed helped to inflict on Hill, on women, and on the nation in handling of those hearings, he wouldnt still be doing this kind of thing.

Bidens willingness to be That Guy has not worked against him; it has aggressively worked for him. When he was running in the 2008 Democratic primary, Biden made a set of crude remarks about his competitor and Senate colleague Barack Obama, whom he called the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. It was the paternalistic phrasing of Americas inner That Guy. And when Barack Obama won his partys nomination, becoming the first African-American major party nominee for the presidency, Biden was selected as his running mate, surely and absolutely as That kind of Guy who would comfort Those other Guys and let them know that this president was going to be friendly to them. Obama won. And Joe Biden got a new lease on progressive life.

As vice-president, Biden surged in popularity. Obamas fondness for him radiated a kind of nonabrasive reassurance that no one was mad at That Guy! Biden became the man who profited from the very biases he expressed.

Which is why it was particularly galling last week to hear rustlings about how Biden might enter the 2020 race with a commitment from former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to be his running mate. Bidens camp had apparently tried a similar gambit back in 2016, when he was debating entering the race against Hillary Clinton, and was briefly buoyed by a floated rumor that he might run alongside his longtime critic, Elizabeth Warren, a woman who was then still being pressured (as Abrams is now) to mount her own presidential campaign.

Neither of these rumors seems to have originated with the women in question; this week, Abrams shot down the pre-primary double-ticket fantasy, noting I think you dont run for second place. That Warren would have been remotely interested in a similar stunt was equally implausible. But the willingness of someone near the Biden camp to suggest these prospects was emblematic of exactly the way not only Joe Biden, but the Democratic Party as a whole  and in fact, the nation, through its history  has behaved in its eagerness to build fundamentally white, male power on the labor and creativity of nonwhite, non-male populations. It also shows an eagerness to use the participation of women and people of color to paper over the sins of the dominant power structures past, of Joe Bidens past.

To some degree, the appeal of Biden makes sense. Disruption of social order is scary, eruptive, discombobulating. Middle-of-the-road white men feel safe to a country that was built by and around them. But the lasting power of a politician like Biden shows what happens when a period of reflexive comfort stands for too long. Because when you behave as if your party isnt actually committed to fighting on the side of the disenfranchised, you dont fight on the side of the disenfranchised.

Much of what Democrats blame Republicans for was enabled, quite literally, by Biden: Justices whose confirmation to the Supreme Court he rubber-stamped worked to disembowel affirmative action, collective bargaining rights, reproductive rights, voting rights. (Just look at Georgia, where curtailed voting rights may have helped Brian Kemp ascend to the governors mansion, where this week he praised and may soon sign a six-week abortion ban, leaving Stacey Abrams conveniently free to be Joe Bidens imaginary running mate.) In his years in power, Biden and his party (elected thanks to a nonwhite base enfranchised in the 1960s) built the carceral state that disproportionately imprisons and disenfranchises people of color, as part of what Michelle Alexander has described as the New Jim Crow. With his failure to treat seriously claims of sexual harassment made against powerful men on their way to accruing more power (claims rooted in prohibitions that emerged from the feminist and civil-rights movements of the 1970s), Biden created a precedent that surely made it easier for accused harassers, including Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh, to nonetheless ascend. Economic chasms and racial wealth gaps have yawned open, in part thanks to Joe Bidens defenses of credit card companies, his support of that odious welfare-reform bill, his eagerness to support the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

In other words, a Supreme Court and decades of federal legislation shaped in part by Joe Biden and his party have managed to reverse many of the achievements of the 20th centurys most transformative social movements: the very achievements that had provoked the kind of backlash that politicians like Joe Biden were put in place to quell.

Very often, we are told  by people on television and in political media, perhaps by the people in our social circle and our families  that Joe Biden is the only way that Democrats can win in 2020. Its a version of what we have been told over and over and over again for 50 years. But when I look at these last decades, I dont actually see how much weve won with a party run by Those Guys. I see how much weve lost.

Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: AS one-sided as the contest for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat seems to be in the upcoming General Elections, it was not always a clean sweep for the All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in the past.

The Parliamentary Constituency, which now comprises Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura and Bahadura Legislative Assembly constituencies, was earlier a Congress bastion. Prior to the grand old party, during the 1952 general elections the leftists dominated the political scene -- not just in the Old City but in the whole of Hyderabad.

The 1952 Hyderabad Legislative Assembly elections, which were held in the aftermath of the armed struggles for Telangana, showed that the Muslims of Old City had dominantly voted for the leftists and the Communist-led Peoples Democratic Front which won two constituencies in Old City.

However, in 1957, the disappointment of the Old City citizens at the inefficiency of the communists led it to switch loyalties to the Congress. The formation of Andhra Pradesh state also ignited hope among citizens that the Congress-led government would redress their grievances.

In 1962, the MIM which was banned after the accession of erstwhile Hyderabad State for carrying out a genocide in the region, re-entered the political frame eyeing to capture the split Communist voter base. Though in that years general elections it made an incursion into Congress vote and could not fully succeed in consolidating the minority vote.

Polarisation of 1970s

Experts note that it was in 1967 that the electoral battle was polarised, more so, with the entry of the Jana Sangh Party, which went on to appeal to the majority voter base. It is evident in the result of the 1977 elections, held during the last phase of Emergency. Though Congress had won the Hyderabad Parliamentary seat, the MIM maintained its lead in all the Old City constituencies except Karwan.

The polarisation also started affecting the communal harmony in Hyderabad with any minor incident involving a disagreement with members of two communities snowballing into a full-fledged riot. These riots, first of which occurred in 1978, were observably occurring around the dates to elections to Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assembly and Municipal Council. Reports claim between 1978 to 1985 there were 14 incidents of communal riots, mostly concentrated in the Old City, which killed over a 150 people.

The political scale shifted in 1984, when AIMIMs fomer chief Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi won the Parliamentary Seat seat as an Independent and with a narrow margin of 3,481 votes.

As expected, AIMIM fared better in the Old City, than in Vikarabad, Tandur and Chevella, which were making the competition for AIMIM fiercer and margins, narrower.

Delimitation of constituencies in 2008 saw the exclusion of Vikarabad, Tandur and Chevella from the Hyderbad LS seat, with majority segments under the AIMIMs influence. In the last Assembly elections, the MIM retained six of the Assembly constituencies falling under LS seat with the lone exception of Goshamahal, which went to BJPs Raja Singh.

Where it all began

The delimitation of constituencies in 2008 saw the exclusion of Vikarabad, Tandur and Chevella from the Hyderbad Lok Sabha seat. AIMIMs weaker presence in these segments worked in their favour ever since and their margins of victory from the Hyderabad seat went up. In 2018, MIM retained 6 of 7 Assembly constituencies under the Lok Sabha seatAre you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label.8-Year-Old in Custody After Threatening Babysitter With Knife, Stealing Her Car

An 8-year-old from Kentucky was taken into custody after he threatened his babysitter with a knife and stole her car, deputies said.

Deputies from the Christian County Sheriffs Office responded to a call on March 29 about a boy who was acting out of control. They said that the boy was not able to drive further when the car became stuck in the mud, reported Fox 17.

JUST IN: 8-YEAR-OLD STEALS CAR: A child was just taken into custody after threatening a woman with a knife and stealing her car.  WZTV FOX 17 News, Nashville  2019329

When officers approached him, he reportedly used obscene gestures toward the deputies.

Authorities said the boy is currently undergoing a mental evaluation. It is not clear whether the child will be charged.

The babysitter was reportedly uninjured from the incident.

Children threatening or committing violence while armed have been regularly reported in the media.

In October 2018, an Oregon teen was sentenced for killing his mother with a knife as well as injuring his sister. Ezekiel Holmes, who was 12 at the time of the attacks, stabbed both his mother and sister repeatedly with a kitchen knife in their family home in Ashland in January 2017, reported News 10.

He was subsequently charged with murder, attempted murder, and assault to the first degree and eventually admitted to the assault. The court kept Ezekiels case in the juvenile system.

During sentencing, prosecutors said Ezekiel had been playing violent video games for a period of time before the attack, as well as read violent graphic novels, reported Mail Tribune.

#Update: More details have been added to the story, including that Ezekiel had been playing violent video games for a  Mail Tribune  20181015

Despite this, Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Ruby Herriott said the motive was still unclear. He said, We also know his mother took his computer away due to grades for school.

The judge said Ezekiel had no finding of psychotic disorder, while prosecutors said he no history of violence and no prior referrals to police, reported the news website.

Ezekiel, who is 15 this year, will stay in the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority until he turns 25.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, most threats by children and adolescents are not carried out. Instead, they make these threats as a way to talk big or tough, or a way to get attention.

Sometimes these threats are a reaction to a perceived hurt, disappointment, or rejection, the organization said in an article.

The organization said that if parents, teachers or adults are concerned with a childs serious threat, it should not simply be dismissed. They should immediately talk with the child to determine whether the child is at risk.

If the child refuses to talk, acts defensively, or continues to express violent and dangerous thoughts, they should undergo an assessment by a mental health professional, the organization added.

Children who have made serious threats must be carefully supervised while awaiting professional intervention. Immediate evaluation and appropriate ongoing treatment of youngsters who make serious threats can help the troubled child and reduce the risk of tragedy, the article reads.An American Airlines; plane is taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on March 11, 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

American Airlines Indefinitely Suspends Flights to Venezuela

American Airlines is indefinitely suspending its flights to Venezuela, as the country continues to struggle with political turmoil and unrest.

The airline will continue working with team members, union leaders and other key stakeholders to restart service when conditions are right, a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday, March 28.

American Airlines had temporarily suspended its flights to the country earlier this month after its pilots union urged its workers to deny trips in the wake of a travel advisory issued by the U.S. State Department.

A number of airlines have stopped their flights to the South American country because of security concerns and disputes over money they say the Venezuelan government owes them.

By Soundarya J in Bengaluru and Tracy RucinskiBy Express News Service

HYDERABAD: While the State government declared April 11 a holiday, many of its migrant workforce and students whose voter ids read addresses from all over the country remain in a fix. Especially for the IT sectors eclectic mix of millenial voters -- who are quite intent on exercising their franchise -- travelling back home to vote is only becoming difficult.

In a recent survey by the Inshorts news app had also shown that over 45 per cent of millenials were not keen on going back to their native place to vote due to the cost and time involved. Add to that the fact that this year, the elections are being held in a phase-wise manner.

Since the election will be held in a phased manner, I would get a holiday on April 11 in Hyderabad, however in my constituency in Kerala, the elections will be on April 23 when I wont get a leave, noted Nimisha K, a techie.

Barsha Chetia, a millennial voter, shared, I wanted to change my voter ID card to Hyderabad but could not do it within the stipulated time. To go back and vote in Jorhat which is also going to election on April 11 is impossible as the travel itself takes two days.

As Cyberabad sees an increasing number of migrants, the problem seems to be affecting a large number of urban workforce and students who do not want to transfer their votes from their native place.

It is not feasible to change voter ID as it is the only local ID card linking us to our native place, added Priya B, another voter.Attorney General nominee William Barr testifies on the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 15, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Attorney General Barr Expects to Release Mueller Report to Congress By Mid-April, If Not Sooner

The Department of Justice is expected to release a redacted version of the Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on his Russia probe by mid-April, if not sooner, the attorney general said on March 29.

In a letter to Congress, Attorney General William Barr updated lawmakers with the progress of the report, saying that they are making the appropriate redactions with the assistance of the special counsel.

NEW: AG Bill Barr told Congress today that he anticipates releasing special counsel Robert Muellers report by mid-April, if not sooner. The report is nearly 400 pages, Barr says pic.twitter.com/JhkaT3Rpqa  Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) March 29, 2019

I share your desire to ensure that Congress and the public had the opportunity to read the Special Counsels report, he wrote. His letter was addressed to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)

This update comes as lawmakers and members of the public call for the release of the final report. Barr has already sent a four-page summary (pdf) of the principal conclusions on March 24, which did not find proof that Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

It also concluded that the special counsel didnt provide enough evidence to substantiate that the president obstructed justice.

Barr said his redactions are related to sensitive material that by law cannot be made public, material the intelligence community identifies as potentially compromising sensitive sources and methods, material that could affect other ongoing matters, including those that the Special Counsel has referred to other Department offices, and information that would impact on third parties personal privacy and reputational interests.

He added that the departments current progress with the redactions would put them in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner. Barr says later in the letter that the report is almost 400-pages long, without counting tables and the appendices.

Barr continued that, Although the President would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

The attorney general also offered to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1 and the House Judiciary Committee May 2 after the redacted report is released.

On March 25, six committee chairs in the House of Representatives wrote to Barr (pdf), demanding that he made Muellers report available while giving him a deadline of April 2.

Your four-page summary of the Special Counsels review is not sufficient for Congress, as a coequal branch of government, to perform [its] critical work, the Democratic chairs wrote.

They also drew Barrs attention to a resolution passed on March 14H. Con. Res. 24calling for the release of the report.

Nadler reiterated the Democrats deadline for the report in his response to Barrs March 29 letter.

As I informed the Attorney General this week, Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. The deadline still stands, Nadler wrote.

As I informed him, rather than expend valuable time and resources trying to keep certain portions of this report from Congress, he should work with us to request a court order to release any and all grand jury information to the House Judiciary Committee.

Read my response to AG Barrs latest letter here: pic.twitter.com/NmuFkWBE0N  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 29, 2019

On the other hand, Grahams response to Barrs update was, I appreciate the update from Attorney General Barr on the status of the Mueller report.

The Attorney General has indicated that he would be available to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1st, 2019, he said.

I appreciate the update from Attorney General Barr on the status of the Mueller report. The Attorney General has indicated that he would be available to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1st, 2019.  Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 29, 2019

I look forward to hearing from Attorney General Barr on May 1st, he added.A woman stands at a Huawei booth featuring 5G technology at the PT Expo in Beijing, China, on Sept. 28, 2018. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull recently revealed that Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE were barred from Australias 5G network as a "contingency" should relations sour between the two countries. (Reuters/Stringer)

Australias 5G Ban on Huawei, ZTE a Safeguard in Case Relations with China Deteriorate, Says Former PM

Australia banned Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE from having a hand in building its 5G network to hedge against adverse contingencies in case friendly relations with the Chinese regime deteriorated, says former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The two Chinese tech giants were banned from providing 5G technology to Australia on national security grounds under Turnbulls government shortly before he resigned in August 2018. The difference between 5G networks and 4G or 3G networks is that in a 5G network, every component of the network can access every other part of the network, which could leave a network vulnerable.

Turnbull said the decision to ban was no criticism of either company or their technology but was a reality of the nature of 5G technology and potentially volatile politics.

We have to, in an uncertain world, hedge against contingencies where people who we have friendly relations with, we may not necessarily be friends with in the near future, he said in an interview with South China Morning Post this week.

There are a number of countries that have the capability, [and] China is obviously one, to inflict adverse consequences on Australia.

Canada is currently experiencing what could be described as adverse consequences due to relations with China getting rocky after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou last December at the request of the United States. Not only were two Canadians in China detained in what is widely seen as retaliation for Mengs arrest, but China is now blocking imports of Canadian canola.

The Australian government said in a guidance statement to carriers last year that it was introducing measures to mitigate national security risks to 5G networks. One identified risk was that of involving vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law. While the original statement did not mention China or name any companies, Huawei later confirmed on Twitter that both it and ZTE had been blocked from providing 5G network equipment.

The United States, Australia, and New Zealand, all members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, have banned Huawei from developing their 5G networks. The other two members, Canada and the U.K., have not implemented bans, although the U.K. recently criticized Huawei for serious security vulnerabilities.

The board overseeing Huawei equipment in the U.K. released a report on March 28 saying it could give only limited assurance that the long-term security risks can be managed in the Huawei equipment currently deployed in the U.K. They also said Huawei made no material progress to correct security flaws in its equipment that were brought up in a similar report from 2018.

The ban in Australia left only Finlands Nokia and Swedens Ericsson to supply equipment for the nations 5G network. Turnbull said it beggars belief that there were no Five Eyes vendors that could compete.

I think that was a big oversight on the part of previous American administrations. There is a lot of blame to go around frankly and that is something that has got to be addressed, he said.

US Takes Hard Stance

The U.S. administration has adopted a hard stance against the Chinese regime in the name of national security. They have banned Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, and have warned other nations against using Huawei technology.

The administration has charged Huawei and several of its subsidiaries in a pair of indictments for alleged fraud, money laundering, violating trade sanctions, theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice.

Earlier this month, the United States warned Germany and other countries that there would be less intelligence sharing if they allow Huawei technology into their 5G network, reports the Wall Street Journal. Germany has announced it would not ban Huawei from the countrys upcoming 5G auction, and instead has increased the security requirements vendors need to meet.

The caution was directed at Canada as well, says a Canadian intelligence expert.

I think the cautions offered by the U.S. ambassador to Germany and others concerning Huawei and the 5G network are the most immediate of warnings to Canada about our countrys prospects vis-a-vis Canada-U.S. relations, said David Harris, a lawyer and 30-year veteran of national security and intelligence affairs.

Responding to questions on the warning, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News Radio that the presence of Chinese equipment in a countrys network would mean Beijing would have access to potentially sensitive data.

When you talk about this happening in countries like Poland or Germany or the U.K., were very concerned about that, not only for American security because we have information stored, too, but for the security of their own people, Pompeo said.

Harris, currently the director of the International Intelligence Program of INSIGNIS Strategic Research, said that given the threat to Canadas interests, the Canadian government should have banned Huawei a long time ago, a suggestion that echoes other Canadian security experts.

It is hard for me to believe that a company such as Huawei would not do the bidding of the Chinese government and would not build traps, back doors into its technology on behalf of the Chinese government, former CSIS director Ward Elcock told CBC.

Under Chinese national security laws, companies are required to support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence work. While Huawei denies that Beijing is using their technology to install back doors and spy, security experts and governments have expressed security concerns over possible future threats presented by the regimes many intelligence laws.

It is public record that under Chinese cybersecurity law, Chinese companies like Huawei are required to provide, essentially, access upon demand with little to no process to challenge that, FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing U.S. indictments against Huawei on Jan. 28.Vice President Joe Biden presides over the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2016. (Senate TV via AP)

Biden Responds to Alleged Kissing Incident From 2014

Former Vice President Joe Biden responded to claims that he inappropriately kissed a Nevada political candidate in 2014.

Lucy Flores, a former Nevada state representative and the 2014 nominee for the Nevada lieutenant governor, alleged that Biden kissed her on the back of the head. She wrote about the alleged encounter for New York Magazine, titled, An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden.

I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. Why is the vice president of the United States touching me? Flores stated. I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified.

She continued, He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head.

Biden spox statement on the NY mag piece pic.twitter.com/73IkByoosK  Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) March 29, 2019

Flores said Bidens behavior made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused.

Even if his behavior wasnt violent or sexual, it was demeaning and disrespectful, she said of the former Democratic senator from Delaware.

Her claim comes as Biden, who has been described as an early Democratic frontrunner for the 2020 presidential election, is believed to be preparing to announce if he will run for office.

This was an incredibly difficult thing to do, but something that felt necessary. It took awhile before I found the words and the support that made me feel like this was finally a story I could tell. https://t.co/Sr5Go3xuTe  Lucy Flores (@LucyFlores) March 29, 2019

A spokesman for Biden, Bill Russo, said on March 29 that he doesnt recall the 2014 incident that Flores had described.

Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes, Russo said in a statement.

He added that Vice President Biden was pleased to support Lucy Floress candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event.

Lucy Flores, the former Democratic nominee for Nevada lieutenant governor, on Friday accused former Vice President Joe Biden of what she described as an inappropriate encounter when he campaigned for her in 2014 https://t.co/HxMnT9ycv4  POLITICO (@politico) March 29, 2019

Biden, he said, believes Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections.

He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best, his spokesman stated.

On March 19, Biden called six of his supporters and told them he is running for president while asking them to line up major donors so he can start gathering contributions, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Biden wants to outpace Beto ORourke and Bernie Sanders in what some call the money primary to enhance his standing, the source said.

In an average of early 2020 Democratic primary polls from Real Clear Politics, Biden is polling ahead of 14 Democrats who have announced their 2020 bids for president.

Recently, he made a verbal slip during a speech at a Delaware Democratic Party dinner said, I have the most progressive record of anybody running for theanybody who would run.

President Trump responded to Bidens verbal gaffe.

Joe Biden got tongue-tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly deliver a very simple line about his decision to run for President, the president wrote on Twitter on March 18. Get used to it, another low I.Q. individual!

The Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.Cause of Death Revealed for 7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Who Died in US Custody

A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died of a bacterial infection while she was in U.S. Border Patrol custody in late December.

The El Paso County Medical Examiners office in Texas said on March 29 that Jakelin Caal Maquin, the girl, died more than one day after she was apprehended by Border Patrol agents with her father, reported The Associated Press.

An autopsy found that traces of streptococcus bacteria were found in the girls lungs, spleen, liver, and other organs, AP reported, adding that she had a rapidly progressive infection that led to organ failure.

The clinical course and autopsy finding are those of a rapidly and progressive infection, with prompt systemic bacterial spread, the autopsy report stated, reported KVIA.

After her death, her father, Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz, signed a form that said she was in good health. They boarded a bus at around 4:30 a.m. from the Antelope Wells port of entry for the Lordsburg station.

Her father said the girl was vomiting after the bus left at around 5 a.m., the Border Patrol stated.

The initial screening revealed no evidence of health issues, the Department of Homeland Security said, according to a previous Epoch Times report. During the screening, the father denied that either he or his daughter were ill.

During the 90-minute bus trip, Jakelins temperature reached 105.7 degrees Fahrenheit. She was revived by a medical worker, according to AP.

When the bus arrived in Lordsburg, she was flown to a hospital in El Paso, where she was later pronounced dead.

Border Patrol Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that the agents who responded to the case are deeply affected and empathize with the father over the loss of his daughter.

We cannot stress enough the dangers posed by traveling long distances, in crowded transportation, or in the natural elements through remote desert areas without food, water and other supplies, McAleenan said in a statement.

Father Responds

Caal said that Border Patrol agents did their utmost to save Jakelin.

Guatemalan Consul Tekandi Paniagua stated on Dec. 15 that he had no complaints about how Border Patrol agents treated him and his daughter.

Caal, however, disputed reports that said he didnt give water or food to his daughter before they were detained by agents.

Jakelins father took care of Jakelin, made sure she was fed and had sufficient water, his lawyers said in a statement. She had not suffered from a lack of water or food prior to approaching the border.

At the time, the White House said the girls death was tragic.

Our hearts go out to the family and to anyone whos suffered any type of danger and peril that they see so often when they make that trek up from the southern border, Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, said.Logos of U.S. online news and social networking service Twitter displayed on computers' screens on Nov. 20, 2017. (Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese Twitter User Detained for Exposing Social Problems on Platform

A Chinese rights activist was recently detained for sharing articles about social issues in China on Twitter, in the latest instance of the regimes crackdown on citizens use of the overseas social media platform.

Sun Yuanping was summoned by police in the city of Shijiazhuang in northern Chinas Hebei province on March 22 and detained for seven days.

Sun, who works at a Hebei consultancy firm, often bypasses Chinas internet firewall to draw attention to social injustices in China. For instance, he has tried to help victims of faulty vaccines, and campaigned for the exoneration of Niu Shubin, a young man who was executed after being wrongly convicted for rape and murder in 1995.

Police charged Sun with inciting disorder, and issued an administrative penalty decision ordering his seven-day detention, which accused him of sharing inappropriate comments about political issues many times on Twitter for no good reason.

Twitter is banned by the the regimes internet police, but many dissidents and other Chinese overcome censors to access it.

After Suns arrest, his Twitter account went offline. It is believed Chinese authorities forcibly closed his account.

Suns case is the latest in a string of arrests since authorities started clamping down on Chinese dissidents comments on the American social media site in August last year.

In December, Twitter user Liu Hongbo from Yangzhou city in eastern Chinas Jiangsu province was sentenced to six months in prison for posting more than 400 tweets which allegedly defamed the Chinese Communist Party and party leaders.

In October, independent commentator Wang Yajun was detained for ten days for his Twitter activity. After his release, he tweeted, Twitter, its time to say goodbye!

Gao, another rights activist from Hebei province, told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that the Chinese regime has recently been further tightening its control over the internet.

Even sharing sensitive posts or liking posts by authors targeted by the authorities may trigger a warning from police, he said.

Gao said that police came to his residence because he had liked posts by two authors on the authorities blacklist.

[The police] asked me to unlike the posts and write a statement of repentance, he said.

Gao explained that many rights activists in China switched to using Twitter and Facebook because their posts on Chinese social media platforms are quickly deleted by censors. He himself had just started using Twitter and Facebook, but so far one of his Facebook accounts has already been disabled by authorities.

Meanwhile, Chinas internet police has also created many Twitter accounts to drown out dissident voices on the platform.

Independent journalist Gao Yu, a close friend of Sun Yuanping, wrote in a recent tweet: How many Twitter accounts belong to the Partys mouthpieces? How many belong to internet police?

The number of fifty cent party on Twitter is as many as mosquitos in summer. It is an invasion into the freedom of press, and unabashed trampling on human rights.

The fifty cent party is a nickname for the army of internet trolls hired by the Party to steer online discussion in favor of the regime and criticize dissent.The statue of Thomas Jefferson, former president and Founding Father, on the campus of Hofstra University in New York state. (Removal of the Thomas Jefferson Sculpture at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York/Change.org)

College Students Want Thomas Jefferson Statue Removed From Campus: White Supremacist Icon

Students at a New York college said that a statue of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson should be removed from campus.

Hofstra University students participated on March 29 in an event dubbed Jefferson Has Gotta Go!

According to a media advisory obtained by the conservative blog Campus Reform, the activists gathered to expose the culture of bias and discrimination, and demand the state be removed.

[Jefferson Has Gotta Go!] isnt just about a statue, Miranda Pino, a former board member of the Hofstra College Democrats, told Campus Reform. Yes, the removal of the statue is important, but it is about what the statue represents: a legacy of racism and bigotry on college campuses.

today at 2pm in Breslin 217, celebrate one year of @TJHasGottaGo . jefferson has STILL gotta go! come listen to demands and accounts. #JeffersonHasGottaGo! #Breslin217 pic.twitter.com/CriOdgFj3f  klaus deserves better (@queer_jock) March 29, 2019

The Hofstra College Democrats want the statue to be removed and [we] stand with the Jefferson Has Gotta Go Campaign, added Brynne Levine, the groups president.

The statue, if not removed entirely, should be moved into a museum to provide historical context to Jeffersons actions, according to some students.

Jeffersons values aided in the construction of institutionalized racism and justified the subjugation of black people in the United States, a student who identified himself as JaLoni Owens wrote in a petition in 2018. Jefferson has been embraced as an icon by white supremacist and neo-nazi organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and online white supremacist chat rooms.

Owens, a Black Lives Matter activist and public affairs intern at Planned Parenthood once wrote that racism can cause post-traumatic stress disorder.

Whiteness remains to be the biggest threat to our survival and continues to permeate every single facet of our lives, from the institutions we must navigate to interactions with our white counterparts. I am dealing with whiteness every time I leave the comfort of home, he wrote in the essay.

Im in defense mode all the time and its exhausting. The result is extended periods of time where I am filled with nothing but rage, where it feels like I am always on the brink of crying, where I feel so vulnerable that I cannot handle seeing people who do not look like me, where even spending time with the white people that I call my friends induces racial anxiety.

Hofstra College Republicans President Chris Kostulias previously told Campus Reform that the statue should stay after he launched a counter-petition.

I believe the statue should stay because of the magnitude of Jeffersons accomplishments. We all acknowledge he was a flawed in aspects, sadly a byproduct of his time, he said.

According to the student newspaper, school leaders were confronted over the Jefferson statue in May 2018. Owens, told the leaders: What do we have to do, or what do we have to say for students of color to finally be as valuable as our white counterparts?

University President Stuart Rabinowitz said that every single student mattered to him.

After he said that, students turned around and held signs in the air that read, Black Lives Matter! Does Hofstra agree?

Black Lives Matter was a reaction to the senseless killing of a number of young black people by police officers. Thats where Black Lives Matter comes from. I think its a bit of a stretch to say Black Lives Matter applies to the Jefferson statue. Secondly, of course black lives matter, and thirdly, this doesnt add to the conversation, Rabinowitz responded.

I am certainly dumbfounded as to what you really want to accomplish. If you really want to accomplish something, why dont you talk to us and not turn your back on us and hold up a sign and remain mute? Free speech is free speech, but on a pragmatic matter  Its not gonna get the statue removed.

Hofstra officials didnt respond to the latest protest over the statue but Rabinowitz wrote in a blog post later in May 2018 that the statue would remain where it is.

On the one hand, Thomas Jefferson articulated the best of our ideals in the Declaration of Independence and was a defender of freedom in helping to create a new nation: the United States of America. That he was also a man of his time, unable to fully implement the bold vision articulated in the Declaration and the Bill of Rights, is, viewed through a contemporary lens, difficult to understand or forgive, Rabinowitz wrote.

Yet few of our founding fathers were able to live out the dream they had sketched out, which was the unprecedented vision of a free and equal world. Their words were, in many ways, far ahead of their time and certainly ahead of their actions.

He added, And still, today, the founding fathers represent the duality of the American character and the difficulty of our history: freedom and oppression, equality and injustice, in issues of race, gender, religion, and origin, that we have dealt with since our founding and will deal with for years to come. Yet in the documents most critical to our national character these men of their time laid out a vision of a world in which all people are created equal. It is this vision we celebrate and honor in our Founding Fathers, even as we wrestle with their human and indefensible failings.

While the statue would remain in place, the university president said that he was convening a task force with other administrators and teachers to consider further dialogue and education about our founding fathers, the Atlantic slave trade and Western expansion; to think about what freedom and equality mean at the University; and to consider how we use history to advance understanding and build a better, more just world.Democratic Senator Introduces Bill to Abolish Undemocratic Electoral College

A Democratic Senator has introduced legislation that would abolish the Electoral College in the latest effort by the party to change or get rid of longstanding norms.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced on March 29 that a package of election reform bills he was introducing included one that proposes a constitutional amendment to switch presidential voting to a popular vote instead of through the Electoral College, a system of vote allocation designed to combat majority rule.

Its time to end the undemocratic Electoral College, and to ensure a pathway to full voting representation for all American citizens, regardless of whether they live in Portland or Puerto Rico, Merkley said in a statement.

Constitutional amendments may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by the latter.

If an amendment is proposed, its sent to states for their consideration via a letter of notification to each governor, who then formally submits the amendment to their state legislatures.

Constitutional amendments need to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, or 38 out of 50 states.

Merkleys package also includes a bill that would establish a commission to develop proposals to let American citizens in Washington, Puerto Rico, and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands vote in federal elections.

There are roughly 4 million Americans living in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American territories who do not have representation. They should have the opportunity to have their voices heard in Congress, Merkley said in a statement.

Push to Change Traditions

Merkleys package of bills is part of a push by Democrats to change longstanding tradition in the wake of President Donald Trump being elected in 2016.

Besides abolishing the Electoral College, party leaders are also pushing to pack the Supreme Court.

That proposal, bandied about by most presidential candidates and former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder, would feature the next Democrat elected president adding seats and possibly term limits to the nations highest court.

The proposal gained steam after Trump was able to nominate two conservatives to open seats on the court. With the two oldest members of the court being liberals, its possible the president will get to fill at least one other seat, regardless of whether he wins re-election.

Holder voiced support for court packing in early March, repeating a talking point that Republicans stole a seat after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) held open one of the seats in 2016 following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. McConnell referenced the so-called Biden rule, noting that former Sen. Joe Biden said in 1992 that presidents shouldnt get to nominate judges to open seats during a presidential election year. If a president did so, Biden added, then the Senate should delay considering the nomination until past the election.

Some will criticize such a decision and say that it was nothing more than an attempt to save a seat on the court in hopes that a Democrat will be permitted to fill it, but that would not be our intention, Biden said at the time. It would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is underway, and it is, action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over.

Holder, like many Democratic leaders, left out Bidens advice.

Given the Merrick Garland situation, the question of legitimacy is one that I think we should talk about, Holder said. We should be talking even about expanding the number of people who serve on the Supreme Court, if there is a Democratic president and a Congress that would do that.

Holder, who has decided not to run for president in 2020, said that if he were president, he would seriously consider adding two seats to the Supreme Court to make up for Mitch McConnells power-grabbing antics.FISA Investigation Compromised Americans Privacy, Says Rep. Louie Gohmert

In this episode of American Thought Leaders, Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek sits down with Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). We talk about the conclusion of the Russia collusion probe, in which special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion, as well as the many questions that remain about the FBIs investigation of the Trump campaign.

We also talk about the need for an investigation into potential FISA abuses by the FBI, as well as a review of the FISA process to make sure Americans privacy is protected.

Mr. Jekielek: Lets talk a little bit about the big item of the day: the Mueller report. The findings have been summarized. The conclusion has been no obstruction, no collusion on the side of President [Donald] Trumps campaign for president. Whats your take on all this?

Rep. Gohmert: Well, its what most of us knewthat there was no collusion between anybody with the Trump campaign and Russia trying to affect the election. You know, obviously, the Trump campaign wanted to win the election and affected in that way, but never colluded with the Russians. And, in fact, it was a big joke the day he said, Hey, Russia if youre listening  You know, something about the emails. But the truth is that there was more colluding between the Democrats and the Russians.

Early on, I didnt even realize that [Christopher] Steele hadnt been to Russia in years. He did his so-called investigation by phone. He didnt even know for sure who he was talking to, you know, what kind of minions of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was he talking to. He didnt know. And, of course, that came out later among the FBI and the DOJ. And so they knew for at least the last two or three warrants they got, that Steele was not trustworthy. They couldnt rely on himthe FBI would no longer consider him trustworthy. They also knew that the one story by Michael Isikoff was totally based on Steelesyou know, we call it the dossier so much. I used to think dossier sounds so official, you know; now, its become a pejorative because of how badly abused it was.

Thats why I was calling the Mueller investigation the Mueller dossier, because it is a pejorative nowthe way its been used. But theyve wrapped our country in this scandal that didnt exist for two years, and its time to bring it to an end. And I really believe if [Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein had been left to his own situation there, without having a new AG, I doubt that we would have a report even now. I just know Mueller wanted to drag this thing out as long as he possibly could and, hopefully, to destroy Trumps election in 2020.

Mr. Jekielek: So youve never been a big fan of this investigation. What about now with the results?

Rep. Gohmert: No, Im still not. I mean, it still reeks of Muellers bias and prejudices against the man that refused to hire him 24 hours or so before he took up the role of special counsel. A proper, ethical prosecutor doesnt investigate to exonerate. Thats not his job. His job is: If there is evidence of a crime, you investigate that crime, and if you find evidence that amounts to probable cause that a crime was committed and that this person committed the crime, you present it to a grand jury, and you get an indictment if you establish probable cause, and then you go to court and you get a conviction. Thats the prosecutors jobnot to exonerate. So, it was a typical slap by a man often without conscienceRobert Mueller. Yes, I know theres some Republicans who say, Oh, yeah hes completely [someone] everybody trusts and respects. I dont. Because apparently, I know him better than the people that are saying that. But to say we found no evidence of collusion, but this does not exonerate him. That wasnt his job. That was nothing more than a slap at President Trump. Thats all. Its not his job to say, We exonerate. You dont find a good prosecutor ever saying, Well, we may not have found evidence that hes guilty, but we sure arent exonerating. You dont say that. You say, Theres not enough evidence. Even as bad as [former FBI Director James] Comey washis statement was that, You know, gee, there is evidence here, but no good prosecutor would ever pursue Hillary Clinton. He was wrong about that.

I think its good that the investigation has come to an end. And look, I know there are people like in our committee hearing today who are heralding all the indictments of all the Russians. There is not one case that the special counsel brought or that he handed off that couldnt have been done without all the millions of dollars in the special counsels office. Everything they did, including looking at Cohen and finding things he was guilty of. Any of that could have been handled by the DOJ (Justice Department) without a special counselevery bit of it.

Mr. Jekielek: Right. So, you mentioned exoneration. Now, the president has said total exoneration. A number of other people said this is actually a complete exoneration. Whats your take on that?

Rep. Gohmert: Well, if youre the person thats had the colonoscopy, figuratively speaking, for the last two years, then it would feel likeand its not inappropriate to say that its an exoneration, because thats the way they should feel. Theres nothing there. But, of course, theres some bitterness, I think, from Mueller and [Andrew] Weissman and some of their lackeys that they didnt go forward with an obstruction of justice [case]. But mostly everybody who pays attention to the news knows that Rosenstein volunteered to wear a wire. I thought he might deny it when it came public, but he didnt deny it. He said, Oh, I was joking. We know he wasnt joking. And, in fact, my understanding before [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe ever did the interview went public was that Rosenstein was being confronted by McCabe and [former FBI agent Peter] Strzok and some of these others, and they were fussing at him because, Youre not one of our team, youre not a team player. You did this memo that justified the firing of Comey.

And being challenged that he wasnt on the team that was wanting to take out Trump, he responded, Oh, yeah. You know, in essence, I am a team player. Im one of you guys. I am with your team. Ill even wear a wire if you want me to. Ill wear a wire in and record the president. And according to McCabe, yes, he was serious and he brought it up at a subsequent meeting a second time. Now, my understanding before that went public was that he did bring it up a second time, and that it was a meeting where he was still trying to prove that Im part of the team thats trying to take out Trump. And so he says, By the way, I was serious. Ill wear a wire, and Ill record the president and something to that effect. And McCabe  there was apparently three people at that meeting, and McCabe immediately had a meeting with his deputies after that and said, You wont believe it. And again not quoting, but basically saying, You wont believe Rosenstein just brought up again. Hes willing to wear a wire into the Oval Office to show hes one of our team trying to take out the president.

So, thats where we are. Rosenstein needs to go. And, yes, I know [Attorney General William] Barr had Rosensteins agreement on the summary that they did, and on the fact that there is not adequate evidence for obstruction, anything to prosecute. But, again, as long as [former Attorney General] Jeff Sessions was there when Jeff was gone and it was [former acting Attorney General] Matt Whitaker, they didnt really have anybody that would stand up for what was right against Rosenstein. And so Im not sure if we had not gotten a new attorney general that seems to say, You know, look, if you got something, lets go prosecute; if you dont, please dont drag this out two more years.

And Im surmising here, but knowing Mueller as I do, I dont believe he would stop the investigation if Rosenstein were still acting AG or basically acting as the deputy, with Matt Whitaker just giving him free rein. I dont think he would have stopped now. I think he would have just kept going. But now, theyve got a real AG and it didnt make sense to just keep spending millions of dollars.

Mr. Jekielek: In the aftermath of the report being summarized, the House Judiciary Committee voted 220 in a rare fully bipartisan vote to approve a resolution that will give Congress all the records on the FBI obstruction of justice and counterintelligence probes against the president. Tell me a little bit about how that came about and how its even possible.

Rep. Gohmert: The resolution was basically going after any information, transcripts, recordingsanything regarding Rosensteins statement that he was willing to wear a wire and take down the president. So it was unanimous, but from two entirely different standpoints. From the standpoint of the Republicans, this sounds like an attempted coup. They were sitting discussing the treasonous act of trying to eliminate a sitting president from the office of president. This is so serious; we need to have more information about it because Rosenstein wasnt being truthful. It didnt appear to me that he was truthful at the time, any more than he was about some other things.  So from the Democratic standpoint, theyre looking at it saying, Well, if Rosenstein was willing to wear a wire into the Oval Office in order to use the 25th Amendment to try to take out a president, he must have really thought the president was crazy. Therefore, we need all of those conversations, we need to find out who was really pointing out how crazy, and what actions were they discussing of the president, which was evidence that he was not fit to remain in office.

Mr. Jekielek: There are recordings of all these discussions?

Rep. Gohmert: No, we dont know that. Well, the NSA probably has recordings of everything we dont know about. But as far as recordings of that, I think it may fall in the category of official statements by Hillary Clinton. They dont want any recordings because she may have said something that might incriminate her, and they dont want any recordings when they interviewed her. Thats a little sarcasm there, but I think its true. They didnt record Hillary when they were questioning her because they were afraid she might have incriminated herself. But, anyway, thats probably part of the deal that Bill Clinton worked out with Loretta Lynch when they met in that tarmac meeting. Again, surmising.

Mr. Jekielek: Right. So, whats next now that the Mueller report is out and the investigation is over? You mentioned a little bit earlier about the other side of the cointhe other collusion. What do you think the next step is?

Rep. Gohmert: I do think we need to get to the bottom of what happened with the FISA court, with the pursuit of warrants, with the unmasking of so many Americans names. [Former Deputy Attorney General] Sally Yates and others who shouldnt have been in a position to unmask names. And then we find out now, there was an order back  a motion in order back in 2012. I didnt know about it until just the last few weeks.

Mr. Jekielek: What is that?

Rep. Gohmert: It was a motion to allow greater revealing of classified information, which included unmasking, and transcripts, and information around the unmasking to people that were not previously allowed to get that information. And one of the reasons was: if it helps this person understand more about the issue theyre working on; well, that could be anything.

Mr. Jekielek: Very broad.

Rep. Gohmert: That is so broad. I had no idea that they made a motion and got a court to order secretly that they could. Its been declassified for public review, but I didnt see it until just the last couple of weeks. But when I read that language andIve read a lot of language as a judge and as a chief justice, and its why I read so much of the language here in Congresswords mean things, but when you say something like, If it helps them understand the information theyre reviewing, something of that sort, that could be anything. Thats anybody, anything.

And, apparently, we didnt know it went back this far but back to 2012, during the Obama administration, they could spread classified information to people that should never have really gotten it, but for the ridiculous motion in order of the court.

And another issue, and I was talking with [Rep.] Jerry Nadler about this today, that you know you guys need to join us. And, yeah, Im OK if we throw out the FISA courts, but at least, we have got to rein in their power. I mean it is basically a star chamber. And when I came to that conclusion was after WikiLeaks released a motionwell, its an application for a warrant affidavit on which it was based and a subsequent order of Verizon. Our constitutional obligation, when I was a prosecutor, is to get a warrant. You have to show some number of probable cause issues, but you also have to describe with particularity the item, the places to be searched, and the specific particularity the items to be seized and with the warrant. And if you go back and read the application, the affidavit, and the order, it basically says we just want all this information, everything Verizons got on every single person in America. And, you know, the affidavit says, Yeah, we really need every bit of information Verizon has. And then the judge signs off, going, Yeah, give them every bit of information youve got on every single customer theyve got. And Im going, There is no particularity, theres nothing specific in here. This is not the way warrants are supposed to work. I was so deeply offended, and thats what really awoken me about weve got to do something about this.

This is way too much power. And when you realize that those FISA hearings for warrants are ex parte; theres only one side. There is nobody representing the interest of the person to be searched or wiretapped, whatever, and theres really no person looking out for the Constitution, because it sure isnt the prosecutor. We used to think we have a Department of Justice, theyll look out for the Constitution. Well, weve seen they dont; they look every way they can, especially in the Obama years, to override it, and they were successful. So, anyway, that whole system has to be reviewed.

You know that we didnt always have a FISA court: this secret court. If you had things that pertained to national intelligence or international investigations that might harm national security, you had to talk to the judge in chambers and make a full showing why it was so critical. And back then, prosecutors were nervous. Is this judge going to allow us to keep this secret? And so they really had to make a strong case once they had the FISA court. Now, we find out that 99.9 percent of the time, apparently, they waltz in and get whatever they want signed in the way of a warrant. We shouldnt have a court like that.

And the thing that really frustrates me and sets all the warning sounds out for me is the fact that we had one or more FISA courts that signed these four warrants regarding the Trump campaign and they were lied to. There was a fraud committed upon their court. These people knew for at least three of the warrants they sought that Steele could not be trusted. And the FBI didnt trust him and they moved him out as somebody  They never told the court that. They lied and kept saying he was trustworthy. And they knew the Isikoff story was based on Steele. It wasnt a corroborating piece of evidence. Yet they used that as corroborating evidence, while knowing it wasnt. It was a complete fraud upon the FISA court.

The fact that whoever that judge or judges are have not put any of those lawyers in jail tells me the FISA system is broken. Any judge worth their salt would have called these lawyers in and said, Youve got to show cause why you shouldnt go to jail for the fraud you committed upon my court. That hasnt happened. Weve heard nothing like that happening. And I feel sure we would have, if it had happened. And we would have known when certain people went to jail for the fraud upon the court. None of thats happened, so that tells me the FISA court system is broken. We do not have appropriate judges in the FISA system. Somethings got to be done to protect Americans constitutional rights.

Mr. Jekielek: Are you calling for an investigation of the FISA process? Right now, theres all sorts of congressional investigations, exploring all sorts of facets of the president and his family, and so forth. Are you suggesting you would want more investigations?

Rep. Gohmert: Thank you for asking that, because I do want a thorough investigation of the FISA courts. Theyve been around long enough. Lets see what have they been doing. How many cases like the Verizon case do we have, where there was no particularity, the constitutional requirements were not metnot even close to being metand yet, you had a judge willing to just sign away Americans constitutional rights. So, I do think that. And thats basically what I was bringing up to Chairman Nadler today.

I hope that we can work in a bipartisan way on this, because it is a threat to Americans privacy and for the Democrats, privacy used to be a big deal. Now I saw when they took the majority back in January of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. And then, during the Obama years, privacy really took a back seat to so many other things. But it used to be that Republicans like me that are very concerned about constitutional rights and Democrats like Jerry Nadler were very concerned about privacy rights and the abuses of a much too powerful federal government.

And I saw during the Obama years, they were ready to protect everything [Obama] did and never speak negatively about anything the administration did. But there were abuses then, clearly. And we really do need to come together as two parties and come back to the basic concerns that many of the Democrats had about privacy, about civil liberties, about civil rights. I mean, nobody on that whole Judiciary Committee would ever support a hero like Martin Luther King Jr. being wiretapped. Of course, that was Attorney General [Robert F.] Kennedy who supported that. But those kind of abuses back in the Hoover days, I thought we had gotten far enough away, but we find out were not.

Those things are still going on, maybe now, with a FISA court order but very great concerns. I remember when we took up the reauthorization of the Patriot Act provisions, there was one about allowing surveillance, wiretapping, listening in on Americans. And it was not supposed to ever happen unless an American was talking to a known foreign terrorist, a known foreign terrorist organization representative. And then there was this second part that said or engaged in clandestine intelligence activities. Clandestine intelligence activities. And I asked one of the DOJ back then, What does that mean? Does that mean if a person stands behind their curtain and watches their neighbor do something? I mean, its clandestine. Theyre gathering intelligence on their neighbor. Is that the kind of thing that allows you to wiretap an American citizen? Oh, no, no. Well, as it turns out, they use everything they can to get wiretaps whenever they want. Its a problem.

Mr. Jekielek: So, any final words before we finish up?

Rep. Gohmert: No, but we do need to investigate how things could go so grossly wrong as they have, that led to the effort to take out Donald Trumpfirst from getting elected and then as Strzok called it, the insurance policy, in case he did get elected to take him out. And you know were just very, very fortunate they were unsuccessful in doing that. They have been attempting a coup using lawfare to try to do it. Thank God, it didnt work.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

American Thought Leaders is a new Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.Gary Sinise Gives a Smart Home to Ex-Green Beret Who Lost Both Legs in Afghanistan

The content is not available due to expiration.By Express News Service

KOCHI: Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), along with a delegation, is on a visit to Southern Naval Command (SNC) from Friday to Sunday, as a part of an official visit programme to India. On Saturday, the Commander SLN held discussions with Vice Admiral A K Chawla, AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Southern Naval Command, on subjects of mutual interest to both navies.

He was thereafter given a presentation on the activities conducted by the SNC, focussing mainly on training - this being the Training Command. At present, 95 SLN officers and 67 sailors are undergoing training at various establishments and units under the SNC.

On completion of his visit to Kochi, the Commander SLN and his delegation will proceed to the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala. Currently, 17 SLN cadets are undergoing training at the INA.Brian Kemp, then Republican gubernatorial candidate, attends the Election Night event at the Classic Center in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 6, 2018. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Heartbeat Abortion Ban Heads to Georgia Governors Desk

ATLANTAWatchful eyes now turn to Georgias Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, wondering when he might sign a heartbeat abortion ban that he supported and helped push through.

The Georgia House gave final approval Friday, March 29, to legislation outlawing abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, sending the bill to Kemp. If enacted, itd be among the strictest abortion bans in the U.S.

Signing the toughest abortion law in the country was a campaign pledge of Kemps during his run for governor last year.

Georgia values life, Kemp said in a statement Friday. The legislatures bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state.

Georgia values life. We stand up for the innocent and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. The legislatures bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state. I thank these lawmakers for their leadership and applaud their undeniable courage. #gapol  Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) March 29, 2019

The measure was approved by just one vote more than the majority needed to pass out of the House: 92 votes from the 180-member chamber.

Following the vote, a tense situation erupted when law enforcement confronted several Democratic lawmakers and protesters speaking against the bill in the halls of the Capitol, threatening to arrest people if a crowd didnt disperse and stop chanting shame.

Georgia joins a string of other GOP-controlled states moving to enact strict abortion bans, with the ultimate goal of getting a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. A heartbeat can be detected in an embryo as early as six weeks before many women know they are pregnant.

The bill would make exceptions in the case of rape and incestbut only when the woman files a police report firstand to save the life of the mother. It also would allow for abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable because of serious medical issues.

Our efforts to protect life do not end here. We must work to ease the adoption process, find loving homes for those in foster care, protect the aging & vulnerable. Together, we will ensure that all Georgians are safe & have the opportunity to live, grow, learn, & prosper. #gapol  Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) March 29, 2019

Republican Rep. Ed Setzler, the bills author, said it was a commonsense measure that seeks to balance the difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child.

In Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant signed a heartbeat abortion ban on March 21, despite a federal judges ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions there.

Kentuckys law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed it March 14, in response to a challenge by the ACLU.

A state judge found Iowas heartbeat abortion ban to be unconstitutional in January.

If signed and not blocked in court, the Georgia law would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

By Ben NadlerJussie Smollett Prosecutor Kim Foxx Claims Mayor, Police Superintendent Mishandled Case

Kim Foxx, the lead prosecutor in the Jussie Smollett case, now claims that the case was not solid and that public statements by officials led to her offices unusual agreement with the actor.

Smollett, known for starring in Empire, claimed that at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29, during a polar vortex, he was attacked by two white supporters of President Donald Trump. During his return from a Subway sandwich shop, Smollett said that the men tied a rope around his neck and poured bleach in his eyes while shouting slurs and a pro-Trump statement.

A weeklong investigation led to Chicago police detectives arresting two black brothers who Smollett had hired as his trainer. After several days in custody, the brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, confessed to detectives that Smollett paid them $3,500 to help him fake a hate crime.

Smollett was arrested in mid-February on charges of filing a false police report.

But all charges against Smollett were inexplicably dropped against the actor on March 26, a decision heavily criticized by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, and the Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association. President Donald Trump said the FBI and Department of Justice will review the unusual agreement, which didnt include Smollett admitting to any wrongdoing.

Foxx initially said shed recused herself from the case but later said she had merely separated from it, and an assistant district attorney in her office was put forward as the man who made the decision to drop the charges. That prosecutor, Joe Magats, said that the case against Smollett was solid, noting: We didnt exonerate him.

Magats, asked by a CBS reporter if he believed that Smollett was guilty, replied: Yes.

Contradicting one of her top deputies, Foxx said in an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune on March 29 that the case was not solid.

There were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain. In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction. For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain, Foxx wrote. It wasnt clear which public statements from officials she was referring to, but it may have included comments made by Johnson during a press conference announcing Smolletts arrest.

Smolletts allegedly false police report filing cost the city an estimated $130,000 or more.

It was an extensive investigation that required a lot of review of cameras. There was technical assistance provided by external agencies, but itll likely only include Chicago expenses and not expenses incurred by the FBI and other technical experts we brought in for analysis, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the New York Post.

But Foxx said that her office wants to focus on people of whom we are afraid rather than people at whom we are angry.

I was elected on a promise to rethink the justice system, to keep people out of prison who do not pose a danger to the community. I promised to spend my offices finite resources on the most serious crimes in order to create communities that are both safer and fairer, she wrote in the op-ed.

As a public figure, Smolletts alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could. None of that, though, should detract from two facts that must be able to coexist: First, falsely reporting a hate crime is a dangerous and unlawful act, and Smollett was not exonerated of that in this case. Second, our criminal justice system is at its best when jails are used to protect us from the people we rightly fear, while alternative outcomes are reserved for the people who make us angry but need to learn the error of their ways without seeing their lives irrevocably destroyed.Supporters of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders during a campaign rally at Great Meadow Park in Fort Mason in San Francisco, Calif., on March 24, 2019. (Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Large Percentage of Democrats Think Socialism Didnt Really Get a Chance to Succeed, Poll Shows

Democrat voters are more likely to think of socialism as a system that didnt get a chance to succeed rather than one that has failed, according to a recent Rasmussen poll.

Forty-four percent of likely Democrat voters agreed more with the characterization that socialism has never really been given the chance to succeed, while 35 percent picked the answer that it is an economic and political system that has failed in the past. More than a fifth, 21 percent, were undecided.

Democrats have long held a majority or near-majority positive view of socialism, polls have shown. In 2018, 57 percent of Democrats and those leaning Democrat had a positive view of socialism compared to 53 percent in 2010, Gallup reported. Among Republicans, on the other hand, only 16 percent viewed socialism positively in 2018, virtually unchanged from the 17 percent in 2010.

A February 2019 Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll showed that 49 percent of registered Democrat voters said the American economy should be mostly socialist, while 64 percent of registered voters at large said they believed the Democratic Party backs a socialist system, The Hill reported.

The results, however, also depends on who is asking whom, and how. A February Fox News Poll, showed only 43 percent of registered Democrat voters had a favorable view of socialism.

The poll also showed that only 25 percent of moderates had a positive view of socialism, making the issue a non-starter in general elections.

WATCH: @BillHemmer @SandraSmithFox spoke with @AndyPuzder on the latest FOX poll on Capitalism vs. Socialism: "Your poll shows that people are starting to wake up and say 'Woah, like I said, this is not what we signed up for.'" #nine2noon pic.twitter.com/3g02ydAmCh  America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) February 14, 2019

That could explain why most of the Democrats running for president in 2020 are going out of their way to clarify that they are not socialists, despite at least four of the leading candidates running on platforms largely consisting of socialist policies.

Trump Call

President Donald Trump has taken many an opportunity to condemn socialism, declaring in his 2019 State of the Union address that America will never become a socialist country.

In February, he said that the twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere and, frankly, in many, many places around the world.

Vice President Mike Pence called the 2020 presidential election a choice between freedom and socialism, during his March 1 CPAC speech.

Trump further pointed out the overlap of Democrats with socialist policies in his CPAC speech the day after.

Democratic lawmakers are now embracing socialism, they want to replace individual rights with total government domination, he said. Socialism is not about the environment. Its not about justice. Its not about virtue. Socialism is about only one thingits called power for the ruling class.

Attempts at Socialism

The idea that socialism has never really been given the chance to succeed is one of the most common arguments of contemporary socialists, who usually dismiss the self-identified socialist past and/or present governments and states of, among others, China, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Algeria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Congo, former Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, Mongolia, Mozambique, Poland, Romania, Somalia, Russia, Ukraine, South Yemen, former Yugoslavia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Nicaragua, Uruguay, El Salvador, and, in recent years, Venezuela, as not really putting in place real socialism.A facade of the Westminster Magistrates court is seen in detail, in London, Britain,on March 20, 2019. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

London Court Told of Death Threat as Denies Indian Billionaire Bail

LONDONFugitive billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi was denied bail in a London court on Friday, following his arrest last week on charges over his alleged involvement in a $2 billion fraud at Indias state-run Punjab National Bank.

The 48-year-old, who denies the charges, faces possible extradition to India where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure to take a firm stance on the case ahead of national elections in April-May. The two Modis are not related.

There are substantial grounds to fear failure to surrender, magistrate Emma Arbuthnot told a Westminster court, adding that Modis application in 2017 for a visa to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu exacerbated those concerns.

While denying the bail, the judge observed that there is a substantial loss to the bank.#NiravInjail@itsmunish https://t.co/oOmkk6RYxB  India Today (@IndiaToday) March 29, 2019

A witness has alleged that Modi threatened to kill him and had also offered around 2 million Indian rupees ($29,000) as a bribe to offer false testimony, Toby Cadman, a lawyer representing the Indian government, told the court.

London court told of death threat as denies Indian billionaire bail https://t.co/87yXVVGjcR pic.twitter.com/Onlc5lx4k3  CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) March 29, 2019

The prosecution also allege that mobile phones and a server containing evidence critical to the fraud case have been destroyed at the request of Modi, Cadman said.

Clare Montgomery, a lawyer representing Modi, said there was no evidence to support the claims of witness intimidation.

Modi, whose diamonds have adorned Hollywood stars such as Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson, is among those accused in Indias biggest banking fraud, which has shaken confidence in the countrys state banking sector.

London Arrest

The diamond magnate was arrested in the Holborn area of central London last week after he went into a bank to open an account and a member of staff contacted police.

Modi was not a fugitive, was leasing a property in London under his own name and had made arrangements to surrender voluntarily on March 25, Montgomery, the lawyer representing him, told the court.

Punjab National Bank executives and government investigators have said that a lone middle-aged manager, later aided by a young subordinate, engineered fraudulent transactions totaling about $1.8 billion from 2011 to 2017.

PNB, Indias second-largest state-run bank, said in 2018 that two jewelry groups headed by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had defrauded it by raising credit from other Indian banks using fraudulent guarantees issued by the PNB rogue staff.

Choksi has also denied wrongdoing.

The guarantees were sent to overseas branches of banks, thought to be almost all Indian, that would then lend money to the jewelry firms.

Modi and his family left India in January 2018, Indian officials have said, before the fraud came to light.

Wearing a white collared shirt and moustache and stubble instead of the clean shaven look familiar before his arrest, Modi smiled and nodded at the judge before being led away.

His next scheduled appearance before the court is via video link on April 26.

By Lawrence WhiteA U.S. Navy SEAL (C) watches Iraqi army scouts during weapons training in Fallujah, Iraq, on July 26, 2007. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Will Soon be Moved to Less Restrictive Confinement: Trump

The decorated Navy SEAL, Eddie Gallagher, who is accused of war crimes in Iraq, will be moved to less restrictive confinement soon, President Trump announced on Saturday, March 30.

Trumps announcement appeared to respond to what Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said during a Fox and Friends interview on Friday.

In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly! Trump stated.

In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly! @foxandfriends @RepRalphNorman  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2019

This man spent 20 years of his life, he spent 15 of it as a SEAL, he volunteered to serve this country overseas, not once, not twice, but eight times and the least they can do is have him in confinement if they need be and let him have  medical treatment, let him get his proper legal defense team together, Norman told Fox News during the interview.

Watch the latest video at foxnews.com

Gallagher is accused of killing a teenage ISIS fighter under his care and then holding his re-enlistment ceremony with the corpse. Navy prosecutors also accuse Gallagher of shooting two civilians in Iraq and opening fire on crowds. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

His lawyers have said he did not murder anyone and that disgruntled SEALs made the accusations because they wanted to get rid of a demanding platoon leader.

A military judge last month postponed Gallaghers trial by three months after defense lawyers asked for more time to go over the prosecutions evidence. The trial was reset for May 28.

He has spent six months in detention at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in California.

The SEAL insists he's innocent. The Navy keeps fighting his release from the brig.  Navy Times  20181019

On March 18, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and 17 other House Republican members of the House sent a letter (pdf) to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, raising concerns about the conditions of Gallaghers confinement at a Navy brig in California.

Crenshaw is a retired Navy SEAL who lost sight in his right eye after being hit by an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

I joined 17 of my colleagues in asking the Secretary of the Navy to review the conditions of Chief Petty Officer Edward Eddie Gallaghers pretrial confinement. Everyone deserves access to basic needs while awaiting trial. Read more about our efforts: https://t.co/Ru05widpQM  Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) March 21, 2019

In the letter, the House members said Gallaghers family and friends reported that he had not had sufficient access to his defense attorneys. They also said they got reports he was not receiving enough food or adequate medical care.

Chief Gallagher is a decorated warfighter who, like all service members, is entitled to the presumption of innocence while awaiting court-martial, the letter said.

We therefore request that you review the underlying reasons for co-locating pretrial and post-trial confinees at Consolidated Brig Miramar and whether the current arrangement fundamentally disadvantages Chief Gallagher and other pre-trial service members. Furthermore, we request that you consider whether other locations are more appropriate for pretrial confinement, read the letter.

The Associated Press contributed to this reportA Central American migrant is taken in custody by Border Patrol after crossing the US-Mexico border fence from Tijuana to San Diego as seen from Playas de Tijuana, in Baja California state, Mexico, on March 21, 2019. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

Obamas DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson Acknowledges Crisis at the Southern Border

Jeh Johnson, the former homeland security secretary during the Obama administration, said on several recent television appearances that there is a crisis at the Southern border, adding that the number of apprehensions has surpassed anything he had seen during his time as the departments head.

By anyones definition, by any measure, right now we have a crisis at our southern border, Johnson said during an interview on Foxs Cavuto LIVE on March 30.

According to the commissioner of CBP, there were 4,000 apprehensions in one day alone this past week, and were on pace for 100,000 apprehensions on our southern border this month. That is by far a greater number than anything I saw on my watch in my three years as Secretary of Homeland Security, he added.

The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Kevin McAleenan, said during a press conference this week that federal agents caught 4,117 people who were either trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally or through a border crossing on March 26.

Two weeks ago, I briefed the media and testified to Congress that our immigration system was at the breaking point, he said. That breaking point has arrived this week.

Johnson shared similar remarks in another interview with MSNBC on March 29. He said, I know that 1,000 [apprehensions] overwhelms the system, I cannot begin to imagine what 4,000 a day looks like. So we are truly in a crisis.

The former homeland security secretarys remarks follow President Donald Trumps comments that he would close the southern border if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.

Theres a very good likelihood that Ill be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me, he said on March 29.

The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

.through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

.the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week. This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and talk. Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019

Trump reiterated this in a series of tweets on March 29. He said, Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs.

If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week, he added.

Overcrowding

ICE and Border Patrol is currently facing major issues with overcrowding at their detention facilities. McAleenan explained that two-thirds of the inflow are children and families from Central America who are almost guaranteed to be released to remain in the U.S. indefinitely even though 8590 percent of them will eventually have their asylum claim denied.

He said this is different from the high numbers in the 1990s and 2000s, as last time we had crossings near this level, they were almost all adults from Mexico who could be swiftly repatriated.

In order to relieve overcrowding at many facilities, agents have started releasing illegal immigrants immediately upon apprehending and processing them, McAleenan said.

For the first time in over a decade CBP is performing direct releases of migrants, he said. This is in a limited capacity, its very reluctantly, and it represents a negative outcome for enforcement.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told the House Committee on Homeland Security that the border situation is spiraling out of control.

In February, we saw a 30 percent jump over the previous month, with agents apprehending or encountering nearly 75,000 aliens, she said. This is an 80 percent increase over the same time last year. And I can report today that CBP is forecasting the problem will get even worse this spring as the weather warms up.

She added that the CBP is on track to arrest almost 1 million illegal aliens at the border this year.

Former Obama Border Patrol Chief Shares Similar Views

Former Border Patrol chief in the Obama administration, Mark Morgan, shared similar views as Johnson, saying that there was an undeniable state of crisis at the border.

Its absolutely a national emergency, Morgan told Fox Businesss Mornings with Maria on March 21. What we are talking about right now is part of the continued catch and release. Its a little bit different than before.

He explained that previously anyone caught by border patrol agents would be turned over to ICE, who then releases them according to immigration policies. But now this does not happen because of overcrowding at border patrol and ICE detention facilities.

Now, border patrol agents are having to release illegal aliens into the interior of the United States. Theyre overwhelmed, Morgan said, adding that after the illegal aliens are released you never hear from them again.

Morgan, who was also a former FBI agent, thinks loopholes in asylum laws and the incentives of being in the United States are generally to blame for the level of crisis.

The intelligence will show you theyre not fleeing violence and persecution like a lot of the talking points, he said. Actually violence in Guatemala, [and] all Central American countries, are way downhomicide rates overall.

He continued, Theyre coming for two reasons economic equality [and] family reunification. And they know because of our asylum laws, they step one foot on American soil, theyre allowed in never to be heard from again.

The Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab contributed to this report.One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson (L) arrives at a press conference together with James Ashby (far R) and Steve Dickson (centre R) in Brisbane, Australia, on March 28, 2019. (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Pauline Hanson Says NRA Scandal is First Case of Severe Foreign Political Interference in Australia

Nationalistic Australian Senator Pauline Hanson staunchly defended herself and colleagues on March 28, over controversial video footage that was aired in an explosive Al Jazeera documentary.

Senator Hanson, leader of the One Nation Party, told Australians at a media conference at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Brisbane that the footage was an elaborate stitch-up orchestrated by the Islamist media network of the Qatari government, Al Jazeera.

Today is the day of shame on the Australian media who have been sold a story that is too good to be true, and you took it hook, line and sinker, Hanson said on her first public appearance after recovering from a tick bite. Media across Australia had been blinded by the hate and bias towards One Nation and myself, and rushed to report on heavily edited footage.

Please watch my full response to the disgusting Qatari funded, Islamist Al Jazeera hit piece. On the eve of a federal  Pauline Hanson's Please Explain  2019327

Let me make it very clear to the Australian people. I have never sought donations or political guidance from the NRA.

Hanson claims she and her staff were hotly pursued by an undercover reporter for the Islamist organisation Al Jazeera, Roger Muller, who had posed as a gun rights lobbyist for Gun Rights Australia. It has since been revealed that Gun Rights Australia is a fake advocacy group. Hanson said after she turned down his ceaseless invitations to attend events in the United States with links to gun lobby groups, Muller started approaching her staff. He eventually went ahead to prearrange for her chief of staff, James Ashby, to provide a guest speech at a Congressional Sportsmens Foundation event in the United States without her prior agreement. It was on this trip that some of the video footage was taken.

Hanson said she had been the one to approve the trip for Ashby and One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson, thinking they could go to visit with the National Rifle Association in the United States to learn campaigning techniques, meet with other elected officials at the Congressional Sportsmens Dinner, and learn about the power and economy of the United States.

Such visits are common practice among political parties, Hanson said adding how, unlike the major political parties, her staff did not travel at the expense of taxpayers.

In the video footage, which was first broadcast in Australia on the ABC on March 26, Dickson and Ashby were allegedly conversing with gun lobby groups as Muller secretly taped their conversations. The video showed the men discussing what One Nation could do if it had millions in donations, presumably from the lobby group.

Dickson and Ashby were also shown apparently speaking on multiple occasions about watering-down gun laws in Australia.

However, Senator Hanson explains the comments aired have been taken completely out of context.

Steve said some stupid things or inappropriate things but I know Steve. Steve is a family man, she said. Hes a good man and Steve Dickson would never ever want to water down the gun laws in Australia, the same as I wont.

Let me make it very clear to everyone in this country. One Nation will never water down gun policy in this country, Hanson added. One Nations firearms policy is one of the strongest and most widely accepted policy in the country. It is stronger than the new laws put forward by the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, because One Nation want to take guns off criminals and those on terror watch lists.

Demoted on the Ballot

Statements shown in the documentary show a timely response from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who vowed to put One Nation below the opposition left-leaning Labor Party on the centre-right Liberal Partys how-to-vote card for the upcoming May federal election. Hanson called Morrison a fool for having handed the keys to the Lodge to [Labor Opposition Leader] Bill Shorten.

Morrison said the decision was spurred by Hansons statement in further video footage in which she appeared to question whether the Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy.

Hanson later said the heavily edited video did not represent her views on the 1996 tragedy. There is no question in my mind that Martin Bryant was the only person responsible for the murders of 35 innocent lives, and my belief stands today that he should have faced the death penalty, she said.

Under Australias preferential voting system, Morrisons announcement would mean many moderate or conservative Liberal voters would in effect be favouring the left-leaning Labor party over One Nation, provided they follow the how-to-vote card.

LABOR / LIBERAL PREFERENCE DEAL ANNOUNCEDIts come as a shock to most people across the country, but Scott Morrison  Pauline Hanson's Please Explain  2019328

Hanson predicted the change in order of preferences by Morrison would pave the way for a Shorten Labor government.

Foreign Interference Questioned

This is Australias first case of severe political interference from a foreign government, Hanson said at the press conference. Qatar is a government that enforces Sharia law, public floggings, genital mutilation, suppression of women, and stoning.

This is a political attack by Al Jazeera in cooperation with the ABC, she added. If the ABC had any ethical bone in their body, they would refuse to put this unfair and unbalanced story to air tonight.

Earlier in the week, One Nation had said in a statement, Al Jazeera are a state-owned propaganda arm of the Qatari government that supports Islamic extremist groups and are not a legitimate media organisation. It said the party had referred the media report to the Australian Federal Police.

Hanson added that Al Jazeera had refused to release the unedited covert recordings, and that she would continue calling for their release to clear One Nations name.

Al Jazeera journalist Peter Charley said he would be delighted to release all the recordings, labelling suggestions the report has been dubbed as preposterous.

Australias spy agency, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), is currently conducting an investigation into Al Jazeera, according to The Guardian, of which the ABC would have been aware.

It's far from vindication, but Andrew Bolt is the only journalist who's taken the time to report the facts on this  Pauline Hanson's Please Explain  2019327

The ABC defended its decision to air the documentary, saying when the Qatari state-owned media organisation approached them, the public broadcaster acquired the footage in accordance with its usual proceedings.

An ABC spokeswoman said on March 26 the report was consistent with ABC editorial policies and an independent Al Jazeera investigation.

The ABC assesses all content on its merits, ensuring it is consistent with all ABC editorial policies, including recognised standards of accuracy, impartiality, integrity and fair and honest dealing, she told the Australian Associated Press.

The second part of the Al Jazeera investigation was broadcast nationally on the ABC on Thursday night and available online throughout the day.

Minor Parties Respond Differently

Nationals leader Michael McCormack said he was comfortable with One Nation being above Labor on his partys how-to-vote cards.

Im quite happy with the National Party members determining at a local level  where they put their preferences, McCormack, who is also the deputy prime minister, told reporters in Darwin.

Australian Conservatives Senator Cory Bernardi told Sky News he would not fall for the smokescreen of blaming a foreign media organisation. Pauline Hanson needs to give these two blokes the flick, he said.

Additional reporting by AAP reporter Matt CoughlanPolice in Arizona Kick in Door to Bring Sick Boy to Hospital

PHOENIXOfficers wielding pistols and ballistic shields kicked in the door of a suburban Phoenix home in the middle of the night to bring a sick 2-year-old boy to a hospital after his mother refused a doctors advice to get him to an emergency room for what was thought to be a potentially life-threatening illness.

The doctor called child-welfare authorities on Feb. 25 after the mother didnt show up at the agreed-upon emergency room, leading police in Chandler to knock on their familys door to check on the condition of the boy, who earlier in the day had a fever of 105 degrees (41 Celsius) and was suspected to have meningitis.

The parents, who said the boy was improving after his fever broke, refused repeated requests by officers to open the door, so authorities got a court order allowing them to take temporary custody of the boy. Once inside, authorities discovered that the boys 4- and 6-year-old siblings also had been vomiting, so another order was obtained to take the older children into temporary custody.

A month after the encounter, parents Sarah Beck and Brooks Bryce still dont have their children back.

Police have recommended to prosecutors that they file child abuse charges against the parents, who werent arrested as a result of the incident.

Nicholas Boca, an attorney representing the boys mother, declined to comment on why the three children havent been reunited with their parents, citing laws that prevent him from providing information that specifically identifies the parties in the case.

The parents say their child was not in danger and police had no right to come into their home.  12 News  2019228

Bryce declined a request by The Associated Press to comment, and his attorney, Tim Nelson, didnt return a phone call seeking comment on his clients behalf.

While police said the forced entry was justified to tend to a child with a possible dangerous illness, critics say the door-breaking was more fitting for drug dealers, not parents who made a medical decision for their child.

The removal of Sarah Becks Children by busting in her door with guns drawn in the middle of the night was clearly unnecessary and well beyond reasonable force,' the statement read. https://t.co/8aiXbNCNCz  AFAC (@1stfam_advocate) March 28, 2019

An attorney representing the mother said the boy, as it turns out, ended up having a respiratory infection, not meningitis.

A police report said the mother brought the boy to a medical office in Tempe where a doctor told her to get further treatment at a hospital.

Though the mother initially refused to do so out of fear of the repercussions of not having the child vaccinated, she eventually agreed to take him to an emergency room. The doctor, who had learned that the mother had ignored the medical advice, then called child-welfare authorities, according to the police report.

Once officers were inside the familys home, they found a shotgun, unsecured, in the parents bedroom.

Authorities contend that the 2-year-old boy needed immediate medical attention for a high fever. His parents insist that he had been feeling better before he was taken away in a late-night raid.  Washington Post  2019329

Chandler police declined to comment on the encounter with the couple, but a statement released several weeks ago said that officers were acting under a law that lets a court order the temporary removal of children who are believed to be suffering from abuse or neglect.

State law also lets police officers use reasonable force to enter a building where such children are believed to be located.

Court documents from the case, like other removal proceedings in Arizona, arent available because they arent considered to be public record.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety declined to provide any specifics on the case, such as whether it was proper for an officer to kick in the door.

Boca said the forced entry was traumatic to the family. That type of force is reserved for violent criminals, not a house full of young sleeping children, Boca said.

By Jacques BilleaudA Boeing 737 MAX 8 takes off during a flight test in Renton, Wash., on Jan. 29, 2016. (Jason Redmond/File Photo via Reuters)

Regulators Knew Before Crashes That 737 MAX Trim Control Was Confusing in Some Conditions: Document

SINGAPOREU.S. and European regulators knew at least two years before a Lion Air crash that the usual method for controlling the Boeing 737 MAXs nose angle might not work in conditions similar to those in two recent disasters, a document shows.

The European Aviation and Space Agency (EASA) certified the plane as safe in part because it said additional procedures and training would clearly explain to pilots the unusual situations in which they would need to manipulate a rarely used manual wheel to control, or trim, the planes angle.

Those situations, however, were not listed in the flight manual, according to a copy from American Airlines seen by Reuters.

The undated EASA certification document, available online, was issued in February 2016, an agency spokesman said.

It specifically noted that at speeds greater than 230 knots (265mph, 425kph) with flaps retracted, pilots might have to use the wheel in the cockpits center console rather than an electric thumb switch on the control yoke.

EASA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ultimately determined that set-up was safe enough for the plane to be certified, with the European agency citing training plans and the relative rarity of conditions requiring the trim wheel.

In the deadly Lion Air crash in October, the pilots lost control after initially countering the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a new automated anti-stall feature that was pushing the nose down based on data from a faulty sensor, according to a preliminary report from Indonesian investigators released in November.

The flight conditions were similar to those described in the EASA document, a source at Lion Air said. The source said that training materials before the crash did not say the wheel could be required under those conditions but that Boeing advised the airline about it after the crash.

Boeing declined to comment on the EASA document or its advice to Lion Air, citing the ongoing investigation into the crash.

Ethiopias Transport Ministry, Frances BEA air accident authority and the FAA have all pointed to similarities between the Lion Air crash and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster this month. But safety officials stress that the Ethiopian investigation is at an early stage.

Not Physically Easy

The crashes have also heightened scrutiny of the certification and pilot training for the latest model of Boeing Cos best-selling workhorse narrowbody, now grounded globally.

In the EASA document, the regulator said simulations showed the electric thumb switches could not keep the 737 MAX properly trimmed under certain conditions, including those of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, according to the Indonesian preliminary report and a source with knowledge of the Ethiopian air traffic control recordings.

The trim system adjusts the angle of the nose. If the nose is too far up, the jet risks entering a stall.

Additional procedures and training needed to clearly explain when the manual wheel might be needed, according to the document. The EASA spokesman said that was a reference to the Boeing flight crew operations manual.

An American Airlines Group Inc flight manual for 737 MAX pilots dated October 2017 said the thumb switches had less ability to move the nose than the manual wheel.

The manual, which is 1,400 pages long, did not specify the flight conditions in which the wheel might be needed.

The trim wheel is a relic of the Boeing 737s 1960s origins and does not appear in more modern planes like the 787 and Airbus SE A350. It is not often used, several current and former 737 pilots told Reuters.

It would be very unusual to use the trim wheel in flight. I have only used manual trim once in the simulator, said a 737 pilot. It is not physically easy to make large trim changes to correct, say, an MCAS input. Youor more than likely the other pilothave to flip out a little handle and wind, much like a boat winch.

The EASA document said that after flight testing, the FAAs Transport Airplane Directorate, which oversees design approvals and modifications, was concerned about whether the 737 MAX system complied with regulations because the thumb switches could not control trim on their own in all conditions.

FAA declined to comment on the European document. A trim-related equivalent level of safety (ELOS) memorandum listed in its 737 MAX certification document is not available on the FAA website. The agency declined to provide it to Reuters.

Confusing Signals

The night before the Lion Air crash, different pilots on the same plane faced a similar problem with MCAS and tried to use electric trim to counteract it, according to the preliminary report from Indonesian investigators.

After the third time MCAS forced the nose down, the first officer commented that the control column was too heavy to hold back to counter the automated movements, the preliminary report said.

Former FAA accident investigator Mike Daniel said that to prevent stalls, the control column was designed to require more force for a pilot to pull back than to push forward.

Boeing on Wednesday said software changes to MCAS would provide additional layers of protection, including making it impossible for the system to keep the flight crew from counteracting it.

On the 737 MAX, Boeing removed the yoke jerk function that enabled pilots to disable the automated trim system with a hard pull on the control column rather than hitting two cut-out switches on the center console.

In a blog post on his personal website, former Boeing engineer Peter Lemme said that could make things harder for a pilot in a crisis.

In the scenario where the stabilizer is running away nose down, the pilot may only fixate on pulling the column back in response, he said. They may not be mentally capable to trim back or cutout the triminstead they just keep pulling.

Ultimately the crew the evening before the Lion Air crash stopped the automated nose-down movement with the cut-out switches and used the wheel to control trim for the remainder of the flight, the preliminary report said.

That was the proper procedure to deal with a runaway stabilizer, according to Boeing.

However, current and former pilots told Reuters that the way the trim wheel and other controls behaved in practice compared with in training may have confused the Lion Air crews, who were also dealing with warnings about unreliable airspeed and altitude.

MCAS activation produces conditions similar to a runaway trim, but the training is not done with a stick shaker active and multiple other failures, which make the diagnosis much more difficult, said John Cox, an aviation safety consultant and former commercial pilot. The stick shaker alerts pilots to a potential stall by vibrating the control column.

Reuters this month reported that an off-duty pilot in the cockpit on the night before the Lion Air crash spotted the runaway stabilizer problem, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Boeing on Wednesday said changes to the MCAS software would help reduce the crews workload in non-normal flight situations.

By Jamie FreedThis undated photo provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections shows Thomas Kokoraleis. (Illinois Department of Corrections/File via AP)

Reputed Ripper Crew Member, Killer Released From Prison

CANTON, IllinoisA man convicted of murder as a suspected member of the notorious Ripper Crew that killed as many as 20 Chicago-area women in the 1980s has been released from prison, according to a statewide alert sent Friday morning, March 29.

Thomas Kokoraleis, now 58, was one of four men accused of being part in the notorious satanic cult, Ripper Crew, that abducted, tortured, mutilated, and killed women. He was initially sentenced to life in prison in 1984.

Family of murder victim reacts to the release of Thomas Kokoraleis, a suspected member of the notorious Ripper Crew, who was sentenced for the rape and murder of their sister and daughter. WATCH: https://t.co/6Mv3SD0YdW pic.twitter.com/008E3JTp9V  FOX 32 News (@fox32news) March 29, 2019

But a plea deal was struck during an appeal that allowed for his release this week. The option for such an early release infuriated victims families.

An alert from Illinois victim notification system was issued at 6:22 a.m. Friday noting Kokoraleis had been released.

His whereabouts werent immediately known but he has three days to register at a new address, and his address will become public record as part of Illinois sex offender registry, state officials told the Chicago Tribune.

Records show he was held at the medium-security Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton, about 30 miles west of Peoria.

Kokoraleis was convicted in the 1982 slaying of 21-year-old Lorraine Lorry Ann Borowski. A judge sentenced him to life in prison, rejecting prosecutors request for the death penalty. But a state appeals court reversed the conviction in 1986, citing legal errors.

The court ordered a new trial, but Kokoraleis instead pleaded guilty in exchange for a 70-year prison term.

Holding a photo of her daughter, Lorraine Borowski spoke tearfully at a Friday news conference about the final moments of Lorry Anns life. She added that her family will spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulder.

Her murderer did not receive the justice that he deserved, but I believe in God and I have no doubt that God will deliver the final judgment, Borowski said.

Mark Borowski was 14 when his sister was abducted and killed. He said through tears that he was shaking at the thought Kokoraleis is walking free.

I hoped this day would never come, but unfortunately nothing more could be done to prevent his release, he added.

Jason Sweat, spokesman for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, said the state was legally required to release Kokoraleis because he had served the maximum possible amount of time on that sentence.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lindsey Hess said Friday that Kokoraleis had completed his maximum sentence required by law and is no longer under the agencys supervision.

Kokoraleis wont have to follow typical parole conditions because he completed the mandatory supervised release period while in prison.

Relatives of some victims fought back when they learned in late 2017 of Kokoraleis expected release. Their efforts led to an 18-month delay of his initial parole date.

Kokoraleis is likely the only member of the four-man gang with a chance to rejoin society.

His younger brother, Andrew, was executed by lethal injection 20 years ago, before Illinois eliminated the death penalty. The other two men, Edward Spreitzer, and Robin Gecht, have used all of their eligible appeals, though Gecht will be eligible for parole if he lives to be 89.By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Government Law College student Anusruthi SS who bagged the first places in English elocution and debate at the Kerala University Youth Festival is unlike the other winners. Her view on service and society are a class apart from the other participants. Also, this is her first English elocution competition. "I studied in a Malayalam medium government school till Class X. I was mocked for my lack of English fluency when I joined a private school later in the city," says Anu. She recollects an incident from school, "I was not able to deliver a self-introduction in Class XII, but now I stand as a winner. This is a moment of pride for me."

Her mother and grandmother are her biggest cheerleaders. "My mother always says the one who never fails is not the winner but the one who does not get defeated is the winner. Her words had influenced me throughout my life," she says.

Anu supplements her piggy bank by emceeing at various functions. "I was an anchor on Kairali TV, but right now I'm concentrating more on academics," she says.

This law student finds ample time for NGOs and social activities. She currently works as a student legal advisor for an NGO that works for autistic children. "Desire is the cause of pain and I feel my ethics came from my life. The society is constrained by a set of mottos. We all have a goal but no humanism," says Anu.

Swami Vivekananda, Gautama Buddha and APJ Abdul Kalam are her biggest inspirations. "Their down-to-earth nature influences me. I personally believe in humanity over everything and the ethics of legends on humanity has enlightened me. Service these days had become a burlesque. Service according to me, is a duty and responsibility," she opines.

Anu aspires to be a civil servant. "I may not be able to make a change in the society but I can set myself as an example," she says. She wants to do selfless service for the society, especially for the orphans, those who are preys of human and sex trafficking. "I was brought up by the help of sponsors including Faizal Khan, managing director at NIMS Medicity and Fathima Miraz. The best return gift to those who have helped me is service," Anu says. She plans to associate with the UN to work for children.Eric Garcia ended up in a coma after an alleged fight with his daughter's boyfriend in Austin, Texas, on March 23, 2019. He passed away on March 29, 2019. (Eric Garcia and his family need our help./GoFundMe)

Texas Dad Dies After Reportedly Defending Daughter From Violent Boyfriend

A Texas father who was fighting for his life after defending his daughter from her violent boyfriend passed away.

Eric Garcia of Austin was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries after his daughters boyfriend got upset with him and assaulted him on March 23, witnesses told the Austin Police Department. Garcia was in a coma at the hospital and passed away on March 28.

So Eric Garcia moved into the light this evening. He was surrounded by his loved ones, and he will be deeply missed by many. Much love to the Garcia family in this time, a family friend wrote in an update on a GoFundMe fundraising page launched to raise money for the family.

The situation took place at Garcias house when he confronted his daughters boyfriend, 24-year-old Jamie Apodaca, after overhearing him calling the girl derogatory names during an argument, CBS Austin reported, citing a police statement. Garcia then asked Apodaca to leave his house.

Apodaca did so but returned and got into an argument with Garcia that turned physical.

The father entered the room where the two of them argued, and the victims daughter says Apodaca struck her father in the upper body, police said in an affidavit cited by KEYE. Apodaca allegedly struck Garcia several times inside the home, and punched his daughter, causing one of her teeth to fall out of her mouth.

The daughter told investigators her father attempted to fight back, but Apodaca struck him, causing him to fall to the ground, KEYE reported, citing the police.

The dispute continued outside the residence, KEYE reported, where Apodaca allegedly punched Garcia, causing him to fall and hit his head on concrete leaving a blood stain behind.

His heart quit beating on the driveway and it took over 15 minutes with the paramedics to get his heartbeat back, the family wrote on a GoFundMe page.

Garcias injuries included a skull fracture, an inter-cranial trauma, and a herniated brain, according to KXAN.

It was really shocking and its been a really tough couple of days just kind of hoping that he pulls through but knowing that he probably wont, Garcias friend Rock Schouman told the news outlet.

He tried to split up a fight. He was such a quiet, nice, humble person, you know. He didnt really deserve what happened to him, Schouman told KXAN.

Schouman set up a Facebook donation page, where he wrote: please donate as much as you can spare to help this gentle soul on his fight for his life.

On Thursday, Schouman reacted to the death of his friend, saying: So with the day turning to evening, Eric Garcia passed through the light as he shuffled off this mortal koil. May you feel peace and love my friend..R.I.P.

Megan Garcia, who appeared to be his partner, also took to Facebook, writing: It hurts to say these words Eric, amazing Son, Father, Friend, Husband is flying with the angels above. He fought so hard as he always hasthrough more obstacles than most.

He did all he could to help all of our daughters with the best of intentions and a whole and loving heart. He will missed by so many, immeasurably and beyond what words could ever be described.. His love for his daughters and his family will never be forgotten. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your support during this dark time. To my daughters: His light and loving spirit will shine through you He loves you more than anything, she added.

Apodaca was arrested and booked into Travis County jail after being charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member, assault causing bodily injury, and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a family member.

The Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.Time and the University

Commentary

One day, when email was catching on as a normal mode of studentfaculty communication, a student approached me after class to inquire about my health.

She explained that since I had taken more than 24 hours to reply to her email, she thought I must be in the hospital or something. It was then that it hit home that it was a new day.

Office hours, when a few hours a week are set aside for students to visit a professor in his officea given time and placewere over. Now, I was expected to be accessible all the time and wherever I was. My time was no longer my own. It was one way in which technological advances were making the uninterrupted focus and concentration needed for scholarly work ever more difficult to sustain in the modern university.

This experience came to mind when I read an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, which argued that the knowledge economywith its new technologiesundervalued uninterrupted concentration and overvalued convenience and flexibility. His new article asks, Is Email Making Professors More Stupid?

Put differently, the concern is that professors are less able to address the central research and education functions of the university.

As universities equipped their faculties with personal computers, email accounts, and word processors, they cut out most of the administrative support they provided for faculty. Professors could type and send their own memos, letters, and expense claims. They learned to type up their own syllabi and other course materials. They became accessible, not only to colleagues they collaborated with in their areas of research, but also to students, administrators, and the world beyond.

Faculty life, says Newport, now means contending with an unending stream of electronic missives, many of which come with an expectation of rapid reply. Demands increased on a professors time and attention, making email into a kind of digital water torture for the scholar struggling to think without interruption.

In the rest of the world, professors are a privileged group, with high status and low workloads, so their complaints about being interrupted by emails may look self-serving and elicit little sympathylike the grumbling of the affluent about how hard it is to get good help these days.

Theres much to complain about in higher educationfor example, its skyrocketing cost, the ideological conformity, and intolerance of conservative or Christian viewpoints, the coddling of students, the growth of bureaucracy, and full professors who leave much of the teaching to their junior colleagues and graduate students, among other issues.

I want to suggest, though, that we take seriously Newports argument about the negative impact of email and what he calls the hyperactive digital distraction and onerous administrative burdens that strangle productivity and make people miserable.

The issue goes beyond the work satisfaction of an elite. The deterioration in working conditions about which professors complain reflects and furthers the decline in quality and the increase in costs of higher education. The universitys benefit to society and the culture deteriorates, while its corrosive effects on society increase as the costs go up. Email enables this decline and is one expression of it.

Decluttering or Reducing Workload?

The growth in university bureaucracy makes matters worse. The University of Michigan, often cited as an example of this expansion, has a vice-provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer who is paid some $400,000 per year and has a staff of nearly 100. Such expansion reflects political pressures, legal requirements, and accreditation standards.

It increases the costs of higher education, but also burdens the time and attention of faculty with tasks, trainings, bureaucratic goals, assessments, and visions.

All this activity required an increased flow of communication between administration and faculty that email made possible. Newport cites a 2014 faculty time-use study that found the average professor spent a little over 60 hours a week working, with 30 percent of that time dedicated to email and meetings.

Faculty time was filling up with busy work, Newport notes. Research and teaching were being squeezed. The monastic environment in which scholarship had thrived was giving way to a workplace in which scholars became middle managers. Focused thought gave way to distraction.

Theres an urgent need for administrative decluttering, Newport argues. The work culture of universities needs to change so as to provide professors more uninterrupted time for thinking and teaching, and require less time on email and administrative duties.

Newport mentions two famous professors who came up with their own personal solutions. Donald Knuth, one of the worlds most famous computer scientists, is an emeritus professor at Stanford. As of Jan. 1, 1990, he no longer had an email address, relying instead on snail mail letters, which an administrative assistant prioritizes to separate urgent correspondence from the rest. He reviews the latter about once every three months.

Another approach, adopted by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, is to shirk administrative responsibilities by cultivating a myth of irresponsibility, making sure that no administrator would rely on him to take on administrative responsibilities that could be assigned to a colleague.

Both Knuth and Feynman were exceptionally distinguished. Knuth was both an emeritus professor (i.e., retired) and had his own assistant, something afforded few professors these days, unless they are administrators. The Feynman approach is obviously unfair and depends on having a thick skin. In Newports words, it rewards those few individuals who happen to be born with an unusually low level of agreeablenessenforcing an implicit niceness tax on everyone else.

Newport recommends instead a general restructuring of workloads so that the amount of time a professor is expected to devote to service is made specific and explicit; thus, the tradeoffs are made clear and service expectations vary, according to the professors career stagecreating new courses, working toward tenure, running a department, and so on.

Thats the approach I have generally experienced, however imperfectly, subjectively, and arbitrarily administered. The difficulty is that few professors are as brilliant or distinguished as Feynman or Knuth. Not all will use the work time that such methods free up by increasing their deep thinking, focus, and concentration. Some will spend the time, on or off their computers, in even more distracting activities.

Professors who attract well-funded research grants will as likely be relieved of teaching as of service responsibilities. They use grant money to buy themselves out of teaching courses.

No Easy Solutions

There are no easy solutions, from the point of view of professors or of those who pay for them. Higher education must renew its commitment to education and research, to enhancing and transmitting the knowledge and wisdom of our culture.

A place to start is to ask whether burgeoning administrative tasks and use of email help or hinder achieving the fundamental purposes of the university and its contribution to society and the common good.

Paul Adams is a professor emeritus of social work at the University of Hawaii and was a professor and associate dean of academic affairs at Case Western Reserve University. He is the co-author of Social Justice Isnt What You Think It Is and has written extensively on social welfare policy and professional and virtue ethics.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveils the original iPhone at the Macworld Conference on Jan. 9, 2007 in San Francisco. Jobs is one of many Americans who failed many times, until he succeeded wildly. (Tony Avelar/AFP/Getty Images)

Tolerance for Failure Is an American Value

Innovation creates wealth but needs trial and error

A Michael Jordan advertisement, aired in 1997, resonated with Americans: Ive failed over and over and over again in my life, he says, and that is why I succeed.

Jordan was a phenomenal success from the get-go, but Nike marketers knew viewers would respect perseverance and relate to failure. His message bears repeating given that the United States faces external competition amid rapid economic change.

Competition and change underline the need for technological innovation, since it enables a higher standard of living and keeps a nation ahead of the pack. However, innovation only takes place when entrepreneurs are willing and able to experiment and accept a high likelihood of failure along the road to success.

Tolerance for failure, as a social value and in policy, is pivotal for American exceptionalism. This respect for charting ones own course, taking risks, and eventually garnering self-made success remains a distinctly American idea, a la Steve Jobs of Apple fame.

Another hero and proud American in this tradition is Jim Blanchard, the Louisiana man whose activism made gold ownership legal in 1974 and who became a dynamic precious-metals entrepreneur. He was a paraplegic, due to a car accident in his youth, but he never let that stop him as he supported free enterprise around the world. Such was his passion, he hosted the worlds leading capitalist thinkersincluding Friedrich Hayek, Ayn Rand, and Margaret Thatcherat his annual conference in New Orleans.

As documented by the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of Americans disagree that success is pretty much determined by forces outside our controlin contrast to the global average of 38 percent and 31 percent in Germany. A similar majority of Americans are optimistic and believe working hard and applying oneself is the key to success. They value freedom to pursue goals without state interference, versus European majorities who favor a state to ensure no one in society is in need.

The Right to Try Act, signed by President Donald Trump in May 2018, was one manifestation of this American way of thinking, as it rattled the medical cartel. As Jane Orient wrote in an Epoch Times op-ed, calling for much broader leeway, If innovators were allowed to take risks, our descendants might view 2018 medicine the same way that we see the treatments of 1789.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

The un-American, risk-averse tack is paternalism: treating people as though they were children and limiting their choices out of fear they will harm themselves. For example, municipal and central governments around the globe, including a few in the United States, still refuse to let individuals contract with ride-sharing providers such as Uber and Lyft.

This condescending approach leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. By helping people, often by siding with established cartels, we tend to keep people helpless and dependent on status-quo provisions. Paternalism prohibits not only failure but maturation and economic development.

The impacts of impeding creative destruction are grave and have already arrived. If even sharing a ride in someones car is supposedly too risky, how likely are regulators to stand by and accept a necessary revamp and decentralization of the financial sector?

Charles Koch is one of the most successful U.S. entrepreneurs of the 20th and 21st centuries. In his partly biographical book, Good Profit, he notes that since taking the reins of his fathers company in 1961, the volume of regulation and litigation has soared. Few people know that his business ventures, particularly in the early decades, had major ups and downs, and sometimes he feared he would lose it all. Despite a tumultuous path, he doesnt lobby for mandates or subsidies, since he believes them to be bad profit and unsustainable.

Economists Sound the Alarm

A March 4 report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Technological Innovation and Economic Growth, crystallizes the specter of paternalism in the United States. James Broughel and Adam Thierer, both senior research fellows, wrote, Negative cultural attitudes about technology and its disruptive effects could threaten economic growth and human well-being. Paternalist policies risk triggering economic stagnation, decreased economic dynamism, and lower living standards.

There is little to no dispute among economists regarding the merits of innovation, particularly for consumer purchasing power. However, the benefits are not immediately apparent to the naked eye or the general public. There is always the temptation to step in and protect near-term losersboth for benevolent and self-serving (crony) reasons.

Broughel and Thierer also document what can be described as a neo-Luddite movement, which calls for a broad de-growth movement that cracks down on innovation and avoids a jobless future. Less work and more leisure, what a disaster!

This lurking problem of paternalist policies appears to have motivated the Mercatus Center report, which stated, Short-term disruptive aspects of technological change are real and deserve attention. In other words, dislodged workers and industries will lobby for protectionism, which must be opposed. Keeping their welfare in mind, though, the presence of disruptions exacerbates the need for fluid labor and capital markets to facilitate swift transitions to new opportunities.

Ahead of the Red Dragon

If the United States is to remain the dominant world power, it will have to outdo the Chinese Communist Party, which is meddling and spreading its influence far and wide. The key distinction the United States has over China is respect for private property and market forces, along with a populace accustomed to both.

China may be in a precarious long-term position, but for the meantime it is stimulating technological growth through government investment, subsidies, and prizes, as explained by Charles Duan of the R Street Institute. In his February policy paper, he warns against a heavy emphasis on intervention and patents in the United States and instead calls for more aggressive competition for technological advances: It is a basic American value that capitalist competition is the default driver of economic success.

Policies are largely downstream from culture. That means upholding the values that made America great and ensuring her policies remain consistent. Former President Barack Obamas famous You didnt build that line runs counter to the American entrepreneur who takes pride in his achievements. So too does the paternalism the line infers.

Fergus Hodgson is the founder and executive editor of Latin American intelligence publication Antigua Report. He is also the roving editor of Gold Newsletter and a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.Pipes destined for the Keystone XL pipeline are stacked in Gascoyne, North Dakota, on April 22, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Alex Panetta)

Trump Signs Executive Order Authorizing Keystone XL Pipeline

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 29, that authorized the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline with a facility in Montana.

Fridays permit replaces one that was granted in March 2017.

TransCanada can start working on the Keystone XL pipeline in Phillips County, Montana, which is located just south of the U.S.-Canada border, reported pipeline website North American Oil & Gas Pipelines.

The permit comes two years after he first approved it, and its more than a decade after it was proposed. It was a frequent target of environmentalists, who physically attempted to block its construction.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, I hereby grant permission, subject to the conditions herein set forth, to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline pic.twitter.com/sTksA3XVWx  Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox) March 29, 2019

In November, a judge blocked the project, saying the Trump administration hadnt considered potential oil spills and other environmental impacts of the pipeline. The pipeline would ship crude oil from tar sands in western Canada across the continent to the Gulf Coast of the United States.

For the avoidance of doubt, I hereby revoke that March 23, 2017, permit, Trump wrote on March 29, reported The Hill.

I hereby grant permission, subject to the conditions herein set forth, to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline  to construct, connect, operate and maintain pipeline facilities at the international border of the United States and Canada at Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States, the executive order read, according to a tweet of the order from a Vox reporter.

A spokesperson for the White House said the new permit dispels any uncertainty.

Specifically, this permit reinforces, as should have been clear all along, that the Presidential Permit is indeed an exercise of Presidential authority  that is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act, the spokesperson added to the political news website.

TransCanada, the firm constructing the pipeline, stated that President Trump has been clear that he wants to create jobs and advance U.S. energy security, and the Keystone XL pipeline does both of those things, AP reported.

He added that the construction of Keystone XL will create thousands of jobs and will boost crude oil delivery to American refineries. The firm said: the project can be built and operated in an environmentally sustainable and responsible way.

The White House executive order wont have an immediate impact, said opponents.

It would be highly unlikely that any court would allow an end-run on its well-considered injunction thats been affirmed by the Ninth Circuit (Court of Appeals). The likelihood of that is virtually non-existent, Stephan Volker, an attorney for environmentalists, told AP.

Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for Montana halted construction of the Keystone XL in November 2018, Reuters reported.

Trump also signed an executive order to hasten the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was met with protests in late 2016. According to Fox News, North Dakota had to spend $38 million in policing the protests.Cars queue up in multiple lines as they wait to be inspected by U.S. border patrol officers to enter from Mexico into the U.S., at the San Ysidro point of entry, in Tijuana, Mexico, on March 29, 2019. (Jorge Duenes/Reuters)

Trump Threatens Closure of US-Mexico Border Next Week to Stem Asylum Surge

WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, FloridaPresident Donald Trump threatened on Friday, March 29, to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.

Theres a very good likelihood that Ill be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office and has yet to follow through. However, this time the government says it is struggling to deal with a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America who travel through Mexico.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials warned that traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts 750 border personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers who are turning up between official crossing points.

Make no mistake: Americans may feel effects from this emergency, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement. Nielsen said the personnel shift would lead to commercial delays and longer waiting times at crossing points.

Some of those delays were already being felt on both sides of the international border.

On Friday afternoon, the wait was longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas, with long lines of freight trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States, according to a Reuters witness.

Nielsen and other U.S. officials say border patrol officers have been overwhelmed by a dramatic increase in asylum seekers, many families who arrive in large groups fleeing violence and economic hardship in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

March is on track for 100,000 border apprehensions, DHS officials said, which would be the highest monthly number in more than a decade. Most of those people can remain in the United States while their asylum claims are processed, which can take years because of ballooning immigration court backlogs.

Nielsen warned Congress on Thursday that the government faces a system-wide meltdown as it tries to care for more than 1,200 unaccompanied children and 6,600 migrant families in its custody.

Mexico played down the possibility of a border shutdown.

Mexico does not act on the basis of threats. We are a great neighbor, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter.

Siamese Twins

A border shutdown would disrupt tourism and commerce between the United States and its third-largest trading partner, with trade totaling $612 billion last year according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wed be looking at losses worth billions of dollars, said Kurt Honold, head of CCE, a business group in Tijuana, Mexico, in response to Trumps threat.

A shutdown could lead to factory closures on both sides of the border, industry officials say, because the automobiles and medical sectors have woven international supply chains into their business models.

We are Siamese twinswe are so entangled together, said Alan Russell, chief executive of the Tecma Group, an outsourcing firm.

Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 5.7 percent on worries that the border closure would disrupt exports to the top U.S. pork market.

U.S. ports of entry recorded 193 million pedestrian and vehicle-passenger crossings last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As president, Trump has legal authority to close particular ports of entry but he could be open to a legal challenge if he decided to close all of them immediately, said Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Democratic Barack Obama.

Trump is trying to convince Congress to sign off on a revised trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that his administration negotiated last year.

Trump launched his presidential bid in June 2015 with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, saying Mexico was sending rapists and drug runners into the United States.

He said on Friday, Mexico should do more to prevent Central American migrants from reaching the United States.

Its very easy for them to stop people from coming up, but they dont choose to do it, he said.

Lopez Obrador said on Thursday tackling illegal immigration was an issue chiefly for the United States and the Central American countries to address.

Trump has so far been blocked by Congress in his attempts to tighten asylum laws or fund a proposed border wall, one of his signature policies. He has declared a national emergency to justify redirecting money earmarked for the military to pay for building a wall.

By Yeganeh Torbati and Jeff MasonWhen it comes to boating, Sgt. Dan Semosky just wants people to follow the dam rules.

Semosky, a state police trooper stationed in Oxford, is also the marine patrol liaison to the Lake Zoar Authority, a multi-town organization tasked with promoting water quality and safe boating on Lake Zoar.

Four towns border Lake Zoar  Monroe, Oxford, Newtown and Southbury  and the lake runs from the Stevenson Dam to the Shepaug Dam.

The marine patrol boats hit the water in late May, and Semosky said he and others who patrol the lake look for everything from reckless boating to boating under the influence to boaters who dont have proper personal flotation devices (more commonly known as life jackets).

He said theres one offense officers deal with a lot.

We do have a real problem with people approaching too close to the dams, he said.

Though its not yet prime boating season, Semosky and others who patrol the areas waterways are looking ahead to people hitting the water and encouraging them to boat safely.

Boating can be a fun way to enjoy nature, but experts said it can be dangerous.

According to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, there were nine boating-related deaths in Connecticut in 2017, the most recent year for which numbers were available, and 18 injuries. In one of those cases, 52-year-old Randall Pineau, of Newtown, was killed on Lake Zoar when a ski boat collided with a pontoon boat he was in. The operator of the ski boat was later arrested.

Hoping to avoid tragedies, state and local authorities are not just planning to patrol, but to educate boaters before they take to the water.

Next month, the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring a nine-hour boating and personal watercraft safety course at Masuk High School, 1014 Monroe Turnpike.

The class is coordinated by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Education is a big part of promoting boater safety, said Jerry Desmond, boating education coordinator for the DEEP boating division.

DEEP taught more than 3,000 people (boating safety) last year, he said.

Among the information Desmond and others are spreading include state boating regulations, particularly those governing life jackets. In Connecticut, anyone on board a manually propelled vessel  such as a canoe, kayak or rowboat  must wear certain types of U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets between Oct. 1 and May 31. Also, life jackets must be worn by anyone riding on a personal watercraft, anyone being pulled behind a boat and anyone 13 or younger.

However, Desmond said that its just a good rule of thumb for anyone on any boat to wear a personal flotation device.

The real issue we always stress about boating safety is to wear a life jacket, he said, adding that the devices are especially important for boaters braving the water now. The weather is still cold and cold water causes shock and hypothermia. When people hit the water (after falling overboard), they can become debilitated very quickly.

Another problem is boating under the influence, Desmond said. Adults are considered under the influence of alcohol if their blood alcohol content is at .08 and those younger than 21 are considered under the influence if their blood alcohol is at .02.

In Connecticut, the penalty for a first boating under the influence charge can include a fine between $500 and $1,000, a one-year suspension of boating privileges or six months in jail plus probation requiring 100 hours community service. Penalties get worse with subsequent offenses.

We really encourage people not to drink and drive a boat, Desmond said.

He said DEEP is constantly taking measures to make sure people stay safe on the water, including through its classes, its boating safety web site, patrols and education programs.

Were just constantly doing outreach, Desmond said.WESTPORT  A Shelton man who formerly worked at Honda of Westport was arrested on numerous charges, including pocketing down payments, keeping an insurance check and even obtaining a car loan using his deployed sons information.

The defendant, Ryan Riggs, 40, of Perry Avenue, Shelton was released on $15,000 bond after appearing in Norwalk Superior Court this week. He is due back there on May 1.

Police said Riggs was arrested Thursday on a complaint filed Jan. 14, 2019 by the dealership accusing him of pocketing a $5,000 cash down payment on a car. Police also believe he cashed another check for more than $1,000 that another customer had given him also as a down payment.

They charged him with third-degree larceny.

While police were investigating this case they learned that Riggs was involved in a car accident in Ansonia on Dec. 4, 2018. At that time the car he was driving was owned by Honda of Westport and rear-ended.

Riggs told police he owned the car and gave them his personal information. The other drivers insurance company then sent Riggs a check for $4,353.55 which he cashed on Dec. 26, 2018 and kept the funds.

As a result he was charged again with third-degree larceny.

Police in Ohio also informed Westport authorities that Riggs son filed a complaint claiming his father defrauded him. The son said he learned on his credit report that his father obtained a car loan in November 2017 using the sons name and personal information.

As a result, Westport police added a second-degree forgery charge and third-degree identity theft charge to the pending cases.

Riggs is the second Honda of Westport employee to be accused of stealing from the dealership in the past year. Ivo Ivanov, 46, of Greenwich, was charged last August with two counts of third-degree larceny. Ivanov was accused of stealing more than $15,000 worth of customers down payments.NORWALK  From a halfway house, to a proposed residential re-entry center, to the center of a lawsuit in federal court, the property at 17 Quintard Ave. has been surrounded by uncertainty for years.

And while theres been a relative lull in the litigation and permitting on the property, small glimpses of activity  cars parked illegally outside, work crews in and out  and what some allege is a lack of transparency from City Hall have neighbors on edge.

In February 2018, Firetree Ltd. applied to the city of Norwalk to turn its Quintard Avenue property into a sober living residence  the last news many said theyve officially heard. While site work has taken place since, according to city records, Firetree still has to get an official rooming license from the city in order to open and has not submitted its application, according to Deanna DAmore, the citys health director.

But a sober home was not Firetrees original intent for the property, which has sparked debate for more than five years. Plans for the 2,700-square-foot home on the quiet South Norwalk street became especially contentious when Firetree proposed a residential re-entry center, a halfway house for federal inmates nearing release.

It was voted down so people walked away in 2017  I remember walking out of that vote, we were all patting ourselves on the back, were saying, wow, we beat the system, neighbor Frank Felicissimo said of the residential re-entry center. We thought it went away.

The city, though, along with the neighbors, questioned Firetrees application to operate as a halfway house and is in the middle of ongoing litigation over the matter. Instead, Firetree began the process of opening a sober living home to those recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, which was the use on the site, though under different owners, from 1975 to 2015. Unlike a halfway house, no medical treatment or health services would be offered on site. The sober house model can provide a safe place for people to live in early recovery, according to Karen Ablondi, the vice president of the nonprofit Connecticut Alliance for Recovery Residences.

Because a sober house had previously operated out of the home, under the ownership of Pivot Ministries, and Firetree only sought to increase the number of beds from 15 to 17 residents, plus a house manager, the city reasoned it was a permitted use.

Firetrees application for the prisoner residential re-entry center was a change in the character of the preexisting use at the Subject Property and constituted an unlawful change in Pivots prior use, Norwalks Corporation Counsel Mario Coppola wrote in a September 2018 email to multiple Quintard residents and forwarded to The Norwalk Hour. However, Firetrees propose(d) use as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center is a similar use and a mere increase in the amount of business done pursuant to the nonconforming use is legally permissible.

Citing the ongoing litigation between the city and Firetree, Coppola declined to comment further.

Firetree Ltd. and its attorney did not respond to request for comment. Firetree is also the subject of a Pennsylvania lawsuit, filed by that states attorney general. It alleges the nonprofit diverted charitable assets, did not keep accurate records and falsely filled out IRS forms, the Reading Eagle reported in 2017.

A look back

It was Norwalk Area Ministries (later Pivot Ministries), in April 1975, that first applied to change the use of the building to a drug rehab center and were given a certificate of occupancy in 1976, according to city records. By 2008, a rooming house license listed that the property had seven units with 16 occupants.

Around 2014, the faith-based organization sold the property to Firetree, a Pennsylvania-based halfway house operator, though Pivots name allegedly appeared with Firetrees on initial paperwork, confusing Quintard residents.

It was around that time neighbors said they began noticing construction on the house and started asking questions.

Thats when everything started unfolding and we started seeing that the purchase was Pivot Ministries/Firetree and everything started coming undone, neighbor Nick Koukidis said.

Firetree contacted the city in September 2014 about its intentions for the site, according a copy of a letter that was sent to Mayor Harry Rilling, Chief of Police Thomas Kulhawik and then-Common Council President Douglas Hempstead.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that Firetree Ltd., has submitted an offer to provide Residential Reentry Center services or halfway house services for federal offenders releasing to Fairfield County, Connecticut, the letter read.

Firetree purchased the property for $429,000 in July 2015 and spent more than $630,000 in renovations, according to court documents. In February 2016, Firetree was issued a five-year contract, worth up to $5.5 million, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to provide residential reentry center services and home confinement services at 17 Quintard.

As Firetree neared the end of its work, however, the city denied the organization a certificate of occupancy, stating that turning it into a residential re-entry center would be a change in its use.

We have determined that the proposed use is an unallowed change from the pre-existing nonconforming use, Aline Rochefort, the citys zoning enforcement officer, wrote in a letter to Firetrees attorney Thomas Cody in February 2017.

The decision came amid growing public pressure from the neighbors, as well as local and state politicians. In December 2017, the Federal Bureau of Prisons terminated its contract with Firetree and a day later, filed the sober house application with the city.

Meanwhile, Firetree appealed the decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals, but was denied in 2017. A lawsuit against the city followed, alleging discrimination against future residents of the halfway house, many of whom Firetree claimed were disabled  and therefore a protected class according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act  due to their substance abuse disorders.

The lawsuit is ongoing in federal court in Hartford. Both parties are expected back in court this spring and summer.

Remaining concerns

A sober house is a place where people recovering from alcohol or substance abuse can live after treatment if the feel they need support before living on their own again. Despite the fact that the proposed sober house plans would bring the home to a similar, previous use, the neighbors said they are still uneasy with the specter of a halfway house hanging over their heads. Despite the citys efforts in federal court to block Firetrees more extreme use of the site, the neighbors feel shut out of the process and distrustful of the citys motivations.

More than a dozen residents gathered in early March at the home next door to the Firetree house to air their concerns over the propertys future.

When something like this is happening, you look at it and you say how can this happen? How can so many departments of town sort of not know each others hand, how can the mayor say one thing to one person, one thing to another person? neighbor Jeffrey Deitz said.

One of the concerns many residents raised was fitting 17 people into one home in a primarily residential area. Neighbors said that they didnt believe Pivot had that many people there at one time, even if the city license they received allowed it. They also raised concerns about transitioning from a house run by a faith-based organization that was part of a treatment process to a standalone sober home.

If they were placed in an appropriate location its a great program, but just not in this neighborhood. Its not appropriate. Its going to be different than what it was before (with Pivot), said Maria Salkie, who lives next door.South Africa: Correctional Services takes on over 900 learners

Correctional Services has welcomed 905 youths enlisted in for the departments 2019 Learnership Programme.

We are in dire need of dedicated, patriotic and action-oriented young intellectuals, who will contribute to building the kind of prosperous and successful society we envisage We want to wish these men and women everything of the best, said Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha.

He said the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) needs to intensify the programme, which he described as one of the pillars of the National Skills Development Strategy. The programme, Masutha said, will not only to generate skills but will alleviate poverty and unemployment to keep youth away from crime and contribute, particularly, to the development of young offenders.

We would like to employ all of you permanently, in line with our operational needs as well as the applicable appointment criteria. Correctional officials must have several personality traits in order to deal with inmates, and handle the stress of long hours in an institutional environment.

One of the most important traits for a successful correctional official is tact, or sensitivity, in knowing how to interact with others, he said.

The youths were welcomed at the departments Zonderwater Training College after having been successfully enlisted.

The learners will follow the Correctional Services Learnership NQF Level 4 curriculum for 12 months, with three months of theoretical learning at the Zonderwater and Kroonstad colleges and nine months of experiential learning under the guidance of mentors at correctional centres.

The Correctional Official NQF 5 qualification will commence in 2021. After successful completion of the one-year training programme in different aspects of corrections, these men and women will be armed with skills that will open up employment opportunities for them in the department.

Masutha said the DCS Learnership Programme will also contribute to alleviation of unemployment among graduates in South Africa. In the long-term, he said, the programme will assist in the professionalization of the department and lay the foundation for a more adequately equipped leadership for the future.

The departments training colleges in Zonderwater and Kroonstad cater for 1 032 students, with 492 and 540 students in the respective centres.

Over the next two years (2019-2021), this programme will result in the employment of 2 064 professionals, which will bolster the smooth running of the department.

The DCS is continuously losing experienced officials on a monthly basis, which has resulted in a serious shortage of staff, said Masutha.

Each learner will receive a monthly stipend of R3 500.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2019 kicked off in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, on March 28, 2019. Lee Jong-heon, Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) sat down for an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online, in which he emphasized the great potential that China, Japan and South Korea have for further cooperation under the forums theme of Shared Future, Concerted Action and Common Development.

Lee mentioned two aspects related to the ultimate goal of this years BFA. The short-term goal, in his opinion, should be to stabilize unpredictable relations between all countries. Secondly, he said it was important to create a shared political vision of peace and prosperity in the mid-to-long-term.

When it comes to the implications of the 2019 BFA under the backdrop of slowed world economic growth and the uncertainty surrounding global business and trade, Lee pointed out the importance of cooperation among different economic entities. He explained that the current precarious state of the world economy under rising protectionism and unilateralism would further endanger the fragile global economic system.

Promoting regional coordination between China, Japan and South Korea is one of the most important topics discussed during the forum. Lee reaffirmed the vast potential these three countries have, noting, The combination of all three countries population, GDP and trade volume is approximately one-fifth of the world total.

Lee noted that the three countries need strategic thinking, and focus on what is important for a shared future of peace and prosperity. We need to establish sustainable and stable trilateral cooperation mechanisms without being influenced by unstable political difficulties, especially bilaterally, he stressed.

The secretary-general also shared his opinion on the construction of Hainans Free Trade Zone and Free Trade Port, stating that the establishment of Hainans free trade system is a good start for the Belt and Road Initiative, noting that it could become an important link between Japan, South Korea and China.By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Not letting up his verbal attack on his bete noire N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the assurance for the security of future by Naidu is not for the people but for his son Nara Lokesh.

Addressing an election rally at Santhanuthalapadu as part of his whirlwind electioneering in Prakasam, Kadapa and Chittoor districts on Friday, Jagan said Naidus promise of price stabilisation fund of Rs 5,000 crore has never materialised. But, doing real estate business in name of Capital City, Naidu ensured Rs 1 lakh crore stabilisation fund for his son Lokesh, he claimed.

Stating that in the last five years, only growth was in debt burden on farmers, unemployment, belt shops in villages, number of land grabbers and land encroachments, the YSRC chief questioned Naidu why the accused in call money case were not punished. Why no action was taken against the MLA, who dragged a woman officer by her hair? Where was the assurance of security? he demanded to know.

He said even lands of Amareswara temple in Amaravathi were encroached in the name of Capital City. On farmers issues, Jagan said the TDP regime failed to ensure remunerative prices, especially for tobacco, turmeric and sugarcane farmers. Naidu should introspect before making claims. The only thing he did was to increase the debt burden of farmers and destabilise thrift groups by not clearing debts in time, he said.

Making fun of TDP claims, the YSRC chief said as they failed to keep any of the 650 promises made during last elections, now they are reluctant to post their election manifesto on even party website. They purchased 23 MLAs and now they fear to go to people and has to import leaders from Delhi to support them, he said.

Ridiculing claims of security, Jagan in Badvel of Kadapa district questioned, why confidential data of people, including bank accounts and Aadhaar number were found in Seva Mitra App of TDP. In Mydukur, he accused TDP candidate Putta Sudhakar Yadav of bagging Polavaram project subcontract on nomination basis. Naidu wants people to watch Mahanayakudu film by his brother-in-law, but stops Lakshmis NTR, he observed.

Meanwhile, Jagans mother YS Vijayamma, addressing election meetings at Kanigiri and Kandukur in Prakasam district, urged people to support her son, whose foremost concern is peoples welfare. Though our family has suffered tragedies, we never gave up on people, who trusted and blessed us, she said.Photo via www.auntmarthas.org

SPRINGFIELD  Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday that he has nominated Marc D. Smith to become the next director of the Department of Children and Family Services, the states principal child welfare agency.

Smith is currently in charge of foster care and intact services at Aunt Marthas Health and Wellness, a nonprofit agency that contracts with the state to provide certain child welfare services. A resident of Joliet, he holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice from Illinois State University and a masters in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Murali Krishna CH By

Express News Service

Director Ram Gopal Varmas Lakshmis NTR is in the middle of controversy after Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered stay on its release until April 15 as the films content is resonating with the election heat. However, the film has hit the screens as scheduled in Telangana and USA on Friday and you have a fair idea what to expect from this RGV and Agasthya Manju directorial.

Starring P Vijay Kumar, Yagna Shetty and Sritej, the film is the third biopic about Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao (NTR), the legendary actor and the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, releasing this year.

While the two other biopics  NTR Kathanayakudu and NTR Mahanayakudu starring Balakrishna depicted NTRs film and political sojourn, the third part is all about how his son-in-law and incumbent Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister ganged up with his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and staged a coup against the actor-turned-politician by causing a split in the Telugu Desam Party. In a way, the films content has raised several questions as the story remained an enigma until now.

Lakshmi Parvathi (Yagna Shetty), who grew up idolising NTR (P Vijay Kumar) volunteers to write his biography. Impressed with her literary abilities, he readily agrees to her idea and the duo keep meeting regularly to talk about the book.

NTR, who was living in a lonely loft battling depression after the demise of his wife, believes that Lakshmi will fill the void in his life and approaches her with a marriage proposal. Lakshmi, who is already married to Veeragandham Subbarao, an oral storyteller and has a child, was in a quandary, but decides to separate from her husband and agrees to marry NTR.

Their marriage news doesnt go down too well with NTRs son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu (Sritej) and he urges NTR to give it a second thought for the sake of the party.

However, NTR is persistent about getting married and keeps his family members at bay. Naidu blames Lakshmi as a potential heir to the party and executes a plan to reduce NTR to nobody with the help of his family members, a media baron and the MLAs. What follows is the events that led to the political coup at Viceroy hotel in August 1995 in Hyderabad causing mental trauma to NTR that finally led to his demise.

While we have seen the two biopics of NTR that delve into various facets of his personality, Lakshmis NTR has a story waiting to be told from a different perspective and RGV has presented it in his own style. Stories like this ring hollow and pretentious if not done intensive and extensive research. It seems RGV has done a quantum of research to make the film an engrossing saga loaded with emotions and passions.

Although the film has an interesting premise, the first hour seems lightweight as the director takes his own sweet time to establish the characters, build chemistry between the lead pair and cripples it with a slow pace.

The second hour, though becomes something else as RGV presents the viceroy coup with Chandrababu Naidu as the backstabber, who runs a faction to oust NTR from power.

The penultimate 30-40 minutes looked like a hurried hotch-potch of scenes stitched together by sequences which had no interrelation with each other. Sample this, Chandrababu says NTR kept him away from party affairs and hasnt been on talking terms for insulting Lakshmi Parvathi with his words. But, thats not the case. The climax seems stretched out with a lot of melodrama.

With a broad spectrum of emotions, ranging from a powerful leader to a victim of circumstances, Vijay Kumar impresses with his power-packed and nuanced performance as NTR. He looks so natural and acts with great ease. The other noticeable character is Lakshmi Parvathi, played by Yagna Shetty. She acts with all heart, especially in the second hour as she breaks down while reading an article in a newspaper about her alleged influence in NTRs decisions and projecting her as his potential successor.

The film is powered by Sritejs calibrated performance and he breathes life, and fire, into the character of Chandrababu Naidu. Overall, Lakshmis NTR traverses the unexplored events that happened in the life of NTR. Despite its sluggish pace, the film makes for an interesting watch.

 Murali Krishna CH

muralikrishna.db

@newindianexpress

@onlymuraliTwenty-two students at Trinity Lutheran School in Edwardsville put on their production of Holmes on the Range Friday, once in the afternoon as a dress rehearsal for their classmates and the final show is set at 7 p.m. for parents and other guests.

Based loosely on the novel with the same name, the drama/comedy/murder mystery is set at Bicuspid Manor, a beautiful hunting lodge high in the Bighorn Mountains. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson, are called to investigate the deaths of Sy Raited, Bobby Eager, Edgar McMuffin and maybe more.Eye on the Sky!

As predicted, we are in the throes of some moderate to major flooding. With more rain scheduled, this will hold through most of next week. However, we must remember that these detours should not prevent you from going to your favorite place to watch the waters go by. Many of the businesses are open for your patronage during this trying time.

Also, the sky is the path that many of our international guests will be joining us over the next two months. We are busy doing sales missions, trainings and trade shows to connect the international traveler to our Great Rivers & Routes tourism area. This past week, we met with many Chinese delegates and operators to talk with them about how to connect China to the Midwest.

We also had some great travel journalists in the area, with one hitting Route 66 in 66 hours in Illinois. While it was a whirlwind of a visit, we did showcase some of the great finds in Collinsville, Edwardsville, Alton and the region. We also have several more groups of journalists planned from Mexico, Germany and more.

Back to the home front, this time of year is the perfect time to hit the trails, like the many managed by MCT. Dust off the bike or walking shoes and step out to the many possible outdoor adventures in the region. Dont forget that many tourism partners will need your support during this flooding season. We track closures and detours at www.RiversandRoutes.com for you to know where you can get around any detours. This weekend, there are many events to consider and attractions to visit. Do your part to celebrate the spring season and also help our communities being impacted by the high waters by visiting their businesses.

Stawar is president and CEO of the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, which works for the vested interests of hospitality partners in Madison, Jersey, Greene, Calhoun, Montgomery and Macoupin counties. This is a weekly column provided by the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau that discusses the impact of tourism on our region.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Teuku Faizasyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 09:16 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8730cdc56 3 Opinion Indonesian-foreign-policy,foreign-policy,diplomacy,Jokowi-administration,Retno-Marsudi,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,Indo-Pacific,international-relations Free

After traveling for 13 hours, plus staying overnight in Suva, Fiji, I arrived on March 14 in Funafuti, Tuvalu, as a special envoy of Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi. I was assigned to ensure the participation of high ranking officials from the government of Tuvalu in the Indonesia-South Pacific Forum (ISPF) in Jakarta on March 21.



The long flight and a rare opportunity to visit island states in the Pacific Ocean provided a good chance to reflect on Indonesias foreign policy under President Joko Jokowi Widodo and the strategic diplomatic conduct under minister Retno.



Quite frankly, a tendency to label Indonesian foreign policy under President Jokowi as lackluster and deficient in new strategic ideas prompted me to look carefully at the foreign policy over the past four years.



In the public domain, there is a suggestion that lately Indonesias interest in playing a leading role at regional and global levels is weakening. This argument is built on what seems to be President Jokowis selective attendance at international summits.



His absence at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is often argued as an example of such failings. His emphasis for diplomacy to bring more tangible benefits for Indonesia, particularly in the trade and investment sectors, is also perceived as oversimplification in interstate relations.



Foreign policy should be seen in its totality or comprehensiveness within which different sets of actors contribute, in their respective capacity, to the attainment of any diplomatic objective.



Hence, the presence or lack of presence of the Indonesian President at the UNGA, is not a determining variable to assess the level of activism in Indonesian foreign policy and diplomacy.



Suffice to say that there are numerous studies on the efficacy of summitry as a diplomatic means.



There are cases where a summit can help break an impasse, as shown during the series of summits in the 1980s between former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev and former United States president Ronald Reagan to bring the nuclear arms race under control.



In contrast, the two series of summits in Singapore and Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been unable to produce tangible results. They carry more symbolism of a growing personal relationship between the two leaders. Unfortunately, the summit in Hanoi which was supposedly an opportunity for President Trump to win accolades was clouded with news of progress on the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.



In fact, any prospect of a resolution to the Korean Peninsula conflict cannot be disentangled from competition for influence between the US and China in the Asia-Pacific region. The region is witnessing a new surge in competition for sphere of influence between the two major powers; a reminder of old contests for supremacy or the great power competition during the Cold War.



Indo-Pacific has become the new mantra in conceptualizing the complex dynamic and the way forward in the Asia-Pacific region; alas from various kinds of lenses. Among the many strands of the Indo-Pacific conception, countries in the region  big or small  are encouraged to shelter in one of the two big tents, under the US (Quad) or China.



The competition for influence is also a spin-off from the ongoing contest of ideas of governance at global level, between the liberal international order (the West) and the so-called authoritarian powers (mostly referring to China and Russia). It is also predominantly a contest of development model between the international economic order (Washington Consensus) and the Chinese economic model (Beijing Consensus).



During the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, Nov. 18, 2018, US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. stressed the importance of maintaining a unified alliance structure, as a means of countering emerging threats and preserving democratic values globally. The statement is a clear pronouncement of a dividing line between democracy and authoritarian powers.



Indonesia is concerned that the contending proposal for a new regional construct will only create division among countries in the region. To that end, Indonesia engages in a series of dialogues with various countries and regional players, including ASEAN, as well as with relevant stakeholders to find a synergy and common denominators in the Indo-Pacific conception.



The holding of the High-Level Dialogue on Indo-Pacific on March 20 in Jakarta served that very purpose. Government officials from 16 countries, members of the East Asia Summit, took part in the dialogue. Moreover, the ISPF is part and parcel of Indonesias diplomatic overtures in the Asia-Pacific region within the framework of Indonesias strategic outlook of the Indo-Pacific.



Tuvalu is a case in point, where an island state in the South Pacific becomes an arena for competition among foreign actors over time. The airstrip in Funafuti was built by the US during the Second World War, to provide the allies with a stronghold against the Japanese war campaign in the Pacific theater. Taiwan has opened a so-called embassy in Funafuti and helped build a government office building and disburse a large amount of development assistance.



Hence, it is a stark reminder of deep-seated animosity between China and Taiwan, beyond the Taiwan Strait.



Tuvalu and other island states in the Pacific, such as Kiribati and Nauru are also affected by climate change. My visit to Tuvalu has enabled me to witness firsthand their challenge in mitigating the adverse impact of climate change.



As an archipelagic country which is vulnerable to climate change, Indonesia shares their concern.



The ISPF provides Indonesia with a new vehicle to engage with countries in the South Pacific by focusing mainly on two priority areas. First, on infrastructure development  a precursor to better connectivity and economic progress.



Second, on blue economy  an important component for attaining sustainable economy and environmental protection.



Back to back with the ISPF, Indonesia organized a business forum.



The business forum would enable business communities from Indonesia and the South Pacific to compare notes on economic potential and discuss together ways and means to increase their economic engagements.



In a nutshell, Indonesian foreign policy and diplomacy under President Jokowi and under the stewardship of minister Retno continue to serve its very own purpose, namely promoting Indonesias national interests. In an era when global competition is prevalent, Indonesia will have to play a constructive role to find the right balance.



As a final thought, todays diplomacy is part of a cyclical process, building on the milestones of the long years of diplomatic conduct and derived from the central tenets of Indonesian foreign policy stipulated in the preamble to the Indonesian Constitution.

***

The writer is adviser to the Indonesian foreign minister for political and security affairs and former Indonesian ambassador to Canada.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 09:06 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873087bac 1 Editorial #2019PresidentialElection,#2019GeneralElections,anies-baswedan,Jokowi,MRT-Jakarta,urban-development,Jakarta-administration,#Editorial Free

The launch of the countrys maiden MRT system in Jakarta has regrettably descended into political bickering, with the elections right around the corner, between allies turned-rivals President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, particularly on the issue of fares.



Their supporters also jumped into the ring, with Jakarta Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Gerindra Party politician M. Taufik each proposing low fares. They eventually reached a compromise, setting the fares between Rp 3,000 (21 US cents) and Rp 14,000, depending on the distance of the trip.

Jokowi, who is seeking reelection, has also claimed credit for the MRT, saying the modern transportation mode would not be here without him as Jakarta governor and his then-deputy, Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. Delivering a counter punch, Anies sent a love letter to thank all MRT Jakarta employees for their hard work.



Political analysts agree that Jokowi took advantage of the MRT to bolster his electability, while Anies responses were a much-needed investment as he sets his sights on the 2024 presidential race and a second gubernatorial term in 2022.



The unnecessary politicization of the MRT only shows the shortsightedness of our elite, while in fact the megaproject is a long-term investment with the aim of serving the public well and solving mobility problems facing metropolitans.



Jakarta still has a long way to go to build an MRT system that can rival those of big cities in other parts of the world like Singapore, Tokyo, New York or even New Delhi. Jakarta still has to raise a lot of money to fi nance the second phase of the MRTs north-south lane and east-west route.



It will take the eff ort of several presidents, governors, MRT Jakarta directors and thousands of workers to complete the dream MRT system. And dont forget the subsidy that millions of taxpayers have to bear and the land many residents have to give up to realize the MRT.



The fi rst phase, a 15.7-kilometer route connecting Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and Hotel Indonesia traffi c circle in Central Jakarta, cost Indonesia Rp 16 trillion.



The second phase, which will expand the existing route to Kampung Bandan in North Jakarta, is estimated to cost an even higher Rp 22.5 trillion, because it will have more underground stations along its 8.3 km route.



MRT Jakarta has targeted to complete the second phase in 2024, 12 years after its groundbreaking during the term of Fauzi Bowo. It may also take about the same time to build the east-west route connecting Cikarang in Bekasi and Balaraja in Tangerang, but just recently Jokowi said he wanted the project to go in parallel with the second part of the south-north lanes construction.



Indeed sacrifice is a must for Jakartans if they want to brag about a sophisticated, iconic public transit system that will solve their long-standing traffi c malady. A lot more work will have to be done and for this reason everybody, especially politicians, has to put the MRT beyond politics.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Sat, March 30, 2019 07:09 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873085c2e 2 Health Science,scientists,mosquito,health,#health Free

Scientists have known for decades that mosquitoes are attracted to the lactic acid contained in human sweat, but in the era before advanced genetics, the precise mechanism had remained a mystery.

Now, a team of researchers at Florida International University have discovered the olfactory receptor that allows the disease-carrying insects to hone in on our odor -- and how to switch it off.

They published their work on the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known for spreading deadly illnesses like Zika, dengue and yellow fever, in the journal Current Biology on Thursday.

The team, led by FIU biologist Matthew DeGennaro, identified the guilty receptor as Ionotropic Receptor 8a, or simply IR8a, through a process of elimination that began in 2013 when DeGennaro was able to create the world's first mutant mosquito, removing a gene to investigate how its absence affected the insect.

Tasked with investigating IR8a, DeGennaro's PhD student Joshua Raji began by carrying out an exposure experiment using his own arm, and found the mutant mosquitoes were significantly less attracted to him than wild ones.

The outcome was confirmed through testing on 14 additional subjects.

Read also: Dengue kills more than 100 people in Indonesia

"People have been looking for a receptor for lactic acid since the 1960s," DeGennaro told AFP.

The findings could offer a roadmap for a new generation of attractants that lure adult specimens into traps for population control, as well as advanced repellants that make people invisible to mosquitoes -- though that could be some way away.

"It'll take years, but we are definitely a step closer," said DeGennaro.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Ubud, Bali  Sat, March 30, 2019

Indian writer Tishani Doshi has long been aware that India is a dangerous place for women based on incidents she read about in newspapers.

Initially, the author, who was born in Chennai (previously known as Madras) in 1975 and currently lives in Tamil Nadu with her husband, writer Carlo Pizzati, said she could not really grasp the danger on a visceral level because she lived a safe and privileged life.

However, the tragic death of her friend, Indian perfumer Monika Ghurde, changed everything.Jakartas new Argentinian grill, bar and cafe Sudestada recently opened in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Being an Argentinian grill, Sudestada is sure to please carnivores. During a family-style luncheon with fellow Jakartan journalists, The Jakarta Post sampled some of Sudestadas signature dishes, among them hand-cut beef empanadas, matambre and ojo de bife.

Hand-cut beef empanadas are fried stuffed dough pockets filled with minced beef. Well-seasoned and balanced with a few types of herbs, the empanadas are said to be made with a special family recipe which is passed down from the chef owner Victor Tabordas grandmother.

As Taborda spent his childhood helping out in his fathers steakhouse, he also loved helping his grandmother creating empanadas. Growing up, Taborda became strongly rooted in the concept of Argentinian asado, a cherished family gathering around the grill in Argentina.

The Argentine-style outdoor fire pit, the asador, can therefore be found at Sudestada. Meanwhile, the show kitchen inside the restaurant features a charcoal grill known as a parrilla, obtained from a fine producer in Argentina, La Vaca Tuerta.

The grill, as expected, produces most of the crowd-pleasers offered by Sudestada, which means powerful wind in Spanish. One of them is matambre, or grilled rose meat, where rose meat is explained as the thin layer of meat between the ribs and the skin. Another one is ojo de bife, or Angus rib-eye served with potato foam and grilled vegetables. All these beef dishes match well with chimichurri, dubbed Argentinas national go-to condiment.

Chimichurri, a type of oil-based sauce made with loosely chopped parsley and garlic is apparently one of Sudestadas prized dishes. Apart from being served at the table for dipping, it is also used to season grilled meats, giving a balanced effect to the savory, hearty and smoky meats.

Another one that comes out of Sudestadas parilla is thick crusted pizza such as the napolitana (tomatoes, oregano and green olives), pepperoni (beef pepperoni) and fugazetta (cream based, oregano and onions).

Now questioning whether this is Argentinian or just another European restaurant? Taborda told the Post that his mother was Italian, and that Argentinian food was influenced by Italian culinary traditions.

Read also: Peter Luger, New York-style steakhouses are now storming Tokyo

The Post visited the new Argentinian restaurant in the second week of its soft opening, but many visitors have been coming in, whether for a quick lunch or coffee and remote working on weekdays.

Along with the food that suits its target market's palate, it is seemingly the homey grand Argentinian house-style that attracts customers, as well as its spacious outdoor courtyard and the invitingly quaint patio next to a reflection pool.

Those who do not eat beef shall not hesitate to dine in Sudestada, as the restaurant is also popular for its pulpo con papas y salchicha (roasted octopus), pollo asado (grilled chicken stuffed with cheese) and spinach and ricotta empanadas, for instance.

However, it will be difficult for those who plan to skip dessert, to actually skip the dessert. The ones that made me the weakest are churros con dulce de leche and alfajores, the shortbread cookies with dulce de leche filling. The latter could be served with coffee or bought at Sudestadas coffee corner.A Sharadhaa By

Express News Service

Ason who is keen to go abroad in pursuit of his dreams. Family who fears the empty nest syndrome. Londanalli Lambodhara narrates this emotional tale with doses of satire. With a subject and theme that stand out, the director manoeuvers the story into a light-hearted direction.

Better known as a late latif, Lambodhara (Santhosh) aspires to go to London. A strong believer of astrology and a follower of guru Ekadantha (Sampath Raj), a newspaper columnist, Lambodhara decides to meet him personally when the newspaper stops the column.

Will Ekadantha come to Lambodharas rescue in finding a suitable job in London? This forms one part of the story, which also highlights the separation pangs between parents and children. The other part of the story is about him being framed as a terrorist and how he proves his innocence.

While director Raj Surya uses humour generously in the first half, he loses track in the second half where, in a bid to stretch the films length, he repeats scenes. All the viewers are left with are unnecessary gags by Sadhu Kokila. Sampath Kumars role as a modern day astrologer stands out. Theres an equally good act by Achyuth Kumar, who plays the role of a father.

For being a first-time actor, Santhosh has picked up the right subject. But the newcomer has lot of room to work on his body language, particularly expressions. In her short role, Sruthi, who plays Reshmi, a childhood friend of Lambodhara, manages to impress. An extension of this particular character would have added more value to the film. The rest of the characters, including Sudha Belawadi and Vijaylakshmi Upadhay provide good support.

Medleys by Pranav Iyengar are simple. But theres not much work by cinematographer Phanidhar Revanu, even though he had the opportunity to shoot in London. Special mention to the dialogue writer, Prashanth Rajappa, who keeps the audience smiling with his good one-liners. Londonalli Lambodhara is good in most parts, but is left to the audience as to how they look at the subject.

Cast: Santhosh, Shruti Prakash, Achyuth Kumar, Sudha Belawadi and Vijaylakshmi

Director: Raj SuryaShare this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) -  Sat, March 30, 2019 21:15 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309a4d1 1 Art & Culture certificate,film,filmmaker,local-movie,cinema Free

The government is set to intensify certification for qualified filmmakers as part of an effort to bolster a blossoming film industry.

Education and Culture Ministry Director General Hilmar Farid said such state-sponsored certificates recognizing filmmakers competence would be useful in ensuring the quality of Indonesian cinema.

The certification would only strengthen the countrys film sector, Hilmar said on Wednesday,as quoted by Antara.

Article 74 of Law No. 33/2009 on national cinema stipulates that every filmmaker must prove their qualifications through a state-sponsored certification process.

Read also: Anang backs down on music bill

Hilmar went on to say that the government had the obligation to monitor the quality of cinematic works produced by the countrys cineastes as it maintained the rapid growth of the film industry in the last five years.

The ministrys statement comes on the heels of controversy surrounding draft legislation on music proposed by the House of Representatives in January. Musicians panned the draft bill as they feared the government would clamp down on artistic freedom.

Film Censorship Board chairman Ahmad Yani Basuki approved the certification initiative, saying that such certification was essential since it would encourage filmmakers to make more films about Indonesian culture.

Films with stories revolving around our wealth of culture will prove to be popular in both domestic and international markets, Ahmad said, while urging the countrys filmmakers to pay more attention to local cultures.

The 69th National Film Day, which is set to be commemorated by the Education and Culture Ministry on March 30, will see President Joko Jokowi Widodo award certificates of competence to several filmmakers. (rfa/kes)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 14:11 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87308d9c3 1 Lifestyle Kiehls,skincare,New-York-City,jakarta,store,Senayan-City,beauty Free

Marking the 10th anniversary of Kiehls in Indonesia, the New York-based pharmacy and company has opened its biggest boutique in Asia-Pacific at Senayan City mall, Jakarta.

The store presents modern elements and classic nods to New York, from the red bricks to the LED screen that features the Brooklyn Bridge.

Caroline Foo, general manager of LOreal Luxe Division, which oversees Kiehls, said that the boutique offered the most personalized products and experiences within the 137-square meters store.

We work hard to remain alongside current innovations and to stay relevant, said Foo in the store opening event on Thursday.

Venny Septianita, brand general manager of Kiehls Indonesia, said, From the minute a customer enters the store we want them to feel welcomed, in an unexpected way. The uniqueness of this boutique here is everything, its very personal.

Read also: LOreal underlines the importance of online presence for beauty industry

We will also collaborate with local artists in the future to make it more special, she added.

In its 10th year, Kiehls has 10 boutiques in 21 locations of Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan and Bali, while the online store is also available.

The company collaborated with UNESCO in an effort to conserve Borobudur temple in 2015 and is involved in orangutan conservation in Wehea, East Kalimantan.

Founded as a single pharmacy in 1851, Kiehls is known to use naturally derived ingredients.

What has really helped us stay relevant and modern in the business landscape today is that Kiehls always personalizes its service and moves along side with innovations to meet consumer needs, said Foo. (wng)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin (Kyodo News) Tokyo  Sat, March 30, 2019 09:07 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873088b0d 2 Lifestyle Taro-Kono,names,language,culture,Japan Free

Foreign Minister Taro Kono indicated Friday that the ministry would consider breaking with its tradition of reversing Japanese names in English and some other foreign languages.

Kono, who is fluent in English, drew a contrast with Chinese and Korean names that are used in the same order regardless of language, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae In.

"The prime minister is Shinzo Abe (not Abe Shinzo as in Japanese) and I'm Taro Kono (not Kono Taro). We need to think about whether Japan should follow the Japanese way of pronunciation," Kono told reporters.

Kono, who often prefers communicating in English with his counterparts during official talks, did not give further details. It is customary for Japanese people to put their given names before surnames when they use foreign languages such as English.

"It's natural to discuss whether (such a change) should be made, including whether it should be in time for the emperor's accession ceremony (in October) or the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics (in 2020)," Kono said.

Read also: Legislative candidate becomes viral sensation because of name: Maximum Weight

Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30 -- the first living Japanese monarch to do so in about two centuries -- and Crown Prince Naruhito will succeed him the following day.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 23:02 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309d258 1 Food Malbec-World-Day,wine,Argentina,Argentinian-wine,Malbec Free

Recent additions to the few Argentinian restaurants in Jakarta has signaled a growing appreciation for the cuisine of the Latin American country. One of the reasons could be the penchant for beef and seasoning that suits Indonesians palate.

However, a meal of Argentinian cuisine is not complete without a glass of Malbec wine, a red varietal that is most widely cultivated in Argentina and also a good pair for beef as well as hearty fish dishes and game meats.

Argentina is now synonymous with Malbec, the Argentinian Embassy told The Jakarta Post. Malbec is the most widely cultivated grape variety in Argentina with more than 41,000 hectares planted, with exports increasing by 375 percent in 11 years from 2006 to 2017.

Failing to grow well in its country of origin France due to being disease-prone and rotting easily, Malbec has found its home in Argentina.

The southern hemisphere country celebrates the wine variety by organizing Malbec World Day every April 17 since 2011 through Wines of Argentina, supported by its ministry of foreign affairs, Argentinian embassies around the world, the Argentine Agency for Investment and International Trade and the Argentine Wine Corporation (COVIAR).

Malbec is considered an easy-to-drink crowd pleaser, with hints of spice and acidity.

The Spruce Eats describes the wine as typically medium to full-bodied, with plum, blackberry and black cherry notes.

Read also: Hold the Merlot: Perus mystery wine seeks a spot at your table

Among the Malbec wines available in Jakarta are Barrel Select Malbec, Reserva Malbec and Privada Malbec from Bodega Norton and the Terrazas Malbec Reserva range from Terrazas de los Andes. Both brands hail from Mendoza in Argentina, famed for its Malbec and other red wines.

Taking part in the annual Malbec celebration, Moet Hennessy Indonesia will be introducing the Terrazas de los Andes pairing program titled Terrazas Beef and Wine. The promotional event will also be run in collaboration with several establishments such as Ruths Chris Steak House, GIA and Boca Rica in Jakarta and The Savage Kitchen in Bali. Special wine tasting events will take place as well. (sop/mut)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Yulia Savitri (The Jakarta Post) Palembang, South Sumatra  Sat, March 30, 2019 19:07 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309446c 1 Food Srivijaya-Coffee-Foundation,coffee,South-Sumatra,South-Sumatran-coffee,Srivijaya-Coffee-Exploration Free

Coffee originating from South Sumatra is not considered a major commodity nationally or internationally. In addressing this issue, the Srivijaya Coffee Foundation arranged a roadshow across nine coffee-producing regencies and cities in South Sumatra.

The roadshow aims at exploring the potentials and development of the provinces coffee.

Titled Srivijaya Coffee Exploration 2019, the roadshow, initiated by the foundation alongside Indonesian coffee ambassador coordinator Salama Sri Susanti, runs for 10 days from March 25 to April 5. With a starting point in Palembang, the first destination is a coffee plantation in Segamit village in Semendo district, Muara Enim regency.

Participants of Srivijaya Coffee Exploration 2019 pose for a photo. They visited coffee-producing cities and regencies for the roadshow, which was organized by the Srivijaya Coffee Foundation. (JP/Yulia Savitri)

The roadshow will also visit coffee plantations in the regencies of Lahat, Empat Lawang, Musi Rawas, South Ogan Komering Ulu, Ogan Komering Ulu and East Ogan Komering Ulu and the cities of Pagar Alam and Lubuklinggau.

Apart from checking out the [coffee] farmers preparation for the great harvest in the upcoming May to June period, we also wish to see the provincial administrations support during the pre-harvest process. Furthermore, we will take a look at coffee shops that are growing in the region, Muna Suud, chief organizer of Srivijaya Coffee Exploration 2019, told The Jakarta Post.

Muna went on to say that the main mission of Srivijaya Coffee was to improve the quality, quantity, continuity and credibility of South Sumatran single-origin coffee. While the endeavor provides first-hand observations of coffee plantations along with their problems, it also hopes to invite related parties to team up in promoting and restoring the glory of South Sumatran coffee.

Read also: Sumatran coffee in a nutshell

The third assistant of the South Sumatra governor, M. Edwar Juliartha, said the governor, Herman Deru, fully supported the Srivijaya Coffee Foundations initiatives. He also said he hoped that Srivijaya Coffee Exploration 2019 could successfully deliver its objectives to coffee stakeholders at the roadshows destinations and beyond.

Hopefully the administrations of the coffee-producing cities and regencies can promote their own coffees together with the provincial administration, said Juliartha.

Salama, the leader of the coffee explorers team, said another purpose of the roadshow was to introduce the Indonesia Coffee Ambassador program throughout South Sumatra and inspire everybody to love coffee, especially the single-origin types from their own areas.

The roadshow will also reach coffee businesses at all levels, from farmers and small and medium enterprises to baristas and coffee shops.

This approach is expected to synergize coffee business from its upstream to downstream levels, from beans to cups. In the end, the objective is to increase South Sumatra coffee consumption, said Salama. (mut)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Sat, March 30, 2019 22:12 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309bfcf 1 Art & Culture bedhaya-ketawang,surakarta Free

Sacred dance bedaya ketawang is commonly performed in a short version with a duration of 30 minutes to an hour.

However, on April 1, bedaya ketawang will be presented in full for two hours as part of the tingalan jumenengan (coronation anniversary) of Paku Buwono XIII at Surakarta Palace in Central Java.

Nine dancers have regularly practiced for a week, except on Friday night, said palace official Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Haryo (KGPH) Dipokusumo, adding that the dancers have always been accompanied by abdi dalem (royal servants), especially when they had to perform a prayer procession for a successful performance.

Unlike previous years, this year's tingalan jumenengan will feature a kirab budaya (cultural parade) that will begin at the palace at 2 p.m. People will have the chance to see Paku Buwono XIII during the parade as the king and his queen will join the parade in a horse-drawn carriage, while relatives and the kings siblings will follow suit.

Read also: King's coronation anniversary celebrated with sacred dance in Surakarta

The palace only has one horse-drawn carriage, Kyai Garuda Kencana. It was built during the era of Paku Buwono VII in 1836, though it was first used by Paku Buwono XI, said KGPH Dipokusumo. We also allow other parties, such as the Surakarta government, to use the horse-drawn carriage for cultural events in the city.

Meanwhile, Kanjeng Adipati Sosronegoro, chief committee of the event, said around 4,000 people will participate in the parade as it also involved people from Yogyakarta, Semarang in Central Java, Madiun city in East Java and Ponorogo regency in East Java. Paku Buwono XIII will perform several cultural processions before the parade, including tingalan jumenengan, Sosronegoro said. Wed like to revive our tradition.

Surakarta Cultural Agency head Kinkin Sultanul Hakim said the local government supported the tradition as tingalan jumenengan had attracted a number of visitors. A lot of people from outside Surakarta come to this city to watch the bedaya ketawang performance, said Kinkin. (wir/mut)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) -  Sat, March 30, 2019 17:01 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873093226 1 Lifestyle Tommy-Hilfiger,Lewis-Hamilton,fashion,TommyxLewis,united-states,Formula-One Free

American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton have released the Spring 2019 TommyxLewis capsule collection as part of a cooperation.

It marked the second collection designed by Hamilton, five-time Formula One World Champion and the global mens brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger. The racing driver and designer first collaborated on the Fall 2018 collection.

For Spring 2019, Lewis and I were inspired by the edgy street-style of Los Angeles, fusing West Coast style with the classic American cool DNA of our brand, said Hilfiger.

Collaborating with Tommy continues to be an inspiring journey of discovery, celebrating self-expression and individuality, said Hamilton. It has been incredible to see our creativity come to life through every piece of the collection, fusing my personal style with the American heritage of the brand.

Read also: CFDA and PVH double down on diversity with new fashion industry report

The new collection features apparel, footwear, accessories, underwear, swimwear and socks in bright colors, such as pink and purple, alongside staple Hilfiger colors of red, white and blue.

Oversized graphics and logos, presented with CREATE X UNITY prints, seem to be in line with the current trend that goes back to the 1980s and 1990s. Sporty and streetwear influences are posed subtly, such as through side strip pants and oversized silhouettes. Meanwhile, dip-dyed grading is said to be inspired by Los Angeles street-style.

Lewis and I are both inspired by everything around us and we have channeled this into truly unique looks. Ive loved watching Lewis evolve in the world of fashion design and I look forward to presenting our new collection with him to fans around the world, said Hilfiger.

The Spring 2019 TommyXLewis collection will be available at Tommy Hilfiger stores in Jakarta in early April. (wng)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Palembang, South Sumatra  Sat, March 30, 2019

On the campaign trail, President Joko Jokowi Widodos running mate Maruf Amin has continued to encounter skepticism about his age, with many believing his is too old to run for office and that he will have problems connecting with millennials.

During a campaign stop in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Friday, Ma'ruf squeezed into his packed schedule a meeting with young voters from Islamic boarding schools, where he stated that, using the standards of the World Health Organization, he was still "middle aged".

I am not old yet, as according to the WHO, old age is from 80 years old to 100. I am still middle-aged as my age is between 60 to 80 years, said Maruf, who turned 76 on March 11.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019

Insurance companies are looking to their agents to sell more policies to Indonesians.

Insurance agents still make a huge contribution to insurance companies premium income, Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI) executive director Togar Pasaribu said.

According to the AAJIs unaudited data, insurance agents contributed 39.5 percent to total premium income last year, a 0.9 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase from the previous year.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 15:45 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873090bee 4 City Depok,police,robbery,violence,assault Free

A woman named Barbie Arlifsyani Botan, 21, has claimed she never intended to extort Yogi, 21, whom she met on Facebook, after the latter fell victim to a violent robbery in which police allege she acted as bait by pretending to be a widow.

Yogi was allegedly beaten and robbed by Barbies husband Hartono and their friends at her house in Depok last week.

I did not have the intention to extort him. He often sent me photos of his genitals that made my husband angry. I was told [by my husband] to lure him to the house, said the mother of two at the Depok Police office on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

Yogi and two of his friends were allegedly beaten by Hartono and his friends before their possessions were taken. The group allegedly also extorted the victims for a sum of money to get their belongings back.

Criminal investigation unit head at Depok Police Comr. Deddy Kurniawan alleged that the group had planned to trap Yogi to rob him.

The case started when Yogi met Barbie on Facebook. Through their online conversations, Barbie allegedly told Yogi that she was a widow and as their relationship grew closer she invited him over to her house, Deddy said.

However, when Yogi arrived, he and his two friends were allegedly held up, beaten and had their belongings stolen by Hartono and the couples friends who had waited in the house.

Police had named Barbie, Hartono and their friends named Iwan Darmawan, Wahyu Hidayat, Angga Hazhari, Zaen Alrasyid and Armando Yudho as suspects in the case. They were charged under Article 365 of the Criminal Code on violent robbery, Article 368 on extortion and Article 170 on assault with maximum penalty of nine years in prison. (vny)Nithya Gnanapandithan By

Express News Service

Walking out of the theatre after watching Jordan Peeles Us, I knew that I loved it but couldnt immediately put into words what about it appealed to me.

Once I started ruminating on it, I was better able to articulate what I liked, but the cracks in its foundation became more obvious at the same time. This in no way detracts from the enjoyment of the film in the moment. And if you, like me, dont dig too much as youre watching and are able to overlook lapses in logic, this movie will certainly be a rewarding experience.

Having said that, this is the second feature film of the man who made Get Out, so its hard to avoid trying to read into it. To look for deeper meaning. Especially since this is also a more ambitious film than Peeles debut, and hes filled it with both easter eggs and exposition. If hed avoided the latter, the film would in all likelihood have been the better for it.

As for the easter eggs and references, they are aplenty. And a lot of it is drawn from pop culture and cinema itself: the very first shot is of an old school CRT TV and videotapes next to it with titles like Goonies and Nightmare on Elm Street; then theres the throwback to the opening of The Shining in the scene that introduces us to the family at the centre of the film; Michael Jacksons Thriller plays a role too (and gets an interesting call back at the end)... the list goes on.

Us joins the long list of spooky films that are based on the idea of doppelgangers. Lupita Nyongo plays Adelaide Wilson who, as a child, has an encounter with a look-alike. In the present day, she and her family  husband Gabe (Winston Duke), daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and son Jason (Evan Alex)  return to the same spot on a summer vacation and find themselves accosted later that night, in their home, by a family of doppelgangers.

This film at this point turns into a home invasion thriller/horror, and a very effective one at that. The scene where Adelaides counterpart, Red, explains whats going on is an especial stand out. In it, and throughout the film, Nyongo is excellent. Shes brilliant in both the roles and successfully gets us invested in these two distinct characters.

Speaking of dual roles, nearly everyone gets a shot at one, and the performances are universally good. Duke is pitch-perfect as the dorky dad, and his interactions with his daughter are a delight. Wright Joseph, who plays the latter, is, in her role as Umbrae, the spookiest of the doppelgangers. Elizabeth Moss appears in a supporting role and makes quite an impression. I particularly enjoyed (as strange as that it is to say) the fate that befalls her white family (who are friends of the Wilsons).

The use of an Alexa-like voice-activated home assistant in that sequence is inspired, and that whole segment had me switching between laughing out loud and being horrified several times over. This applies to the film as a whole too, which will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Peele.

The music by Michael Abels and the sound design deserve a special shout-out as well. The way Lunizs I Got 5 on It is used, once in the beginning to establish the Wilsons family dynamics, and then again in remixed form for that incredible cross-cut sequence in the final showdown between Adelaide and Red, is simply genius.

If Get Out had Peele taking on race through a horror film, here he does the same with class relations. Or more broadly, Us deals with how the comfort, and even happiness, of those who are privileged is bought at the cost of those not so fortunate. But when you try to dissect this theme, you realise that the messaging is muddled.

This film will still get people talking about these issues, and that is important too. It is just unfortunate that his very ambition has made Peele stumble. Get Out will remain the better film, but Us is, despite all its lapses in logic and confused themes, still a worthy sophomore effort.

Director: Jordan Peele

Cast: Lupita Nyongo, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan AlexShare this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Karangasem, Bali  Sat, March 30, 2019 14:54 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87308dfdd 1 National Dutch,Dutch-citizen,Norwegian,Mount-Agung,bali,Volcano,hiking Free

Volunteers and search and rescue officials have rescued two foreign tourists who had got lost during their hike from the rumbling Mount Agung in Balis Karangasem regency amid increasing volcanic activity.

The tourists, a Dutch national identified only as Frank, 22, and his Norwegian friend Georgee, 21, had lost their way on the slope of the volcano on their way back. The team found them on Friday evening around 1.5 kilometers from the volcanos crater.

When found, they were in a weak condition and running out of food, Karangasem Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Ida Bagus Ketut Arimbawa told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The two were found following information from local residents who had reported hearing people calling for help and giving lighting signals. Residents and a search and rescue team then set out to look for them.

They were taken to the nearest police station to be questioned and reprimanded that hiking the mountain is prohibited, Arimbawa said.

He did not elaborate on when the tourists had started their hike to the volcano, which is currently closed for hiking because of volcanic activity. However, there are many access routes to Mt. Agung from various areas in Karangasem.

Signs have been installed on many hiking tracks. Anyone seeing them when entering [knows that it is] prohibited to continue the hike. But we cannot watch all access routes to the mountain, Arimbawa added.

Bali authorities have prohibited any hiking activity since Mt. Agung showed heightened volcanic activity in 2017. The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has warned people to stay outside the danger zone within 4 km from the crater.

Mt. Agung has repeatedly erupted since 2017. The most recent eruption took place on Thursday evening with a column of ash into the sky. Although it was not visible from the volcanos observatory, residents living in other parts of Karangasem witnessed the spewing of ash. On March 17, Mt. Agung erupted twice within a day, spewing ash between 500 and 600 meters high. The eruption followed another eruption on March 15, when the volcano spewed volcanic ash up to 1,000 m high. (rin)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 22:37 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309cb85 1 Politics Joko-Widodo,2019-presidential-debate,2019-presidential-election,#2019PresidentialElection,#2019GeneralElections,#PresidentialDebate,TNI,Indonesian-Military,defense Free

Presidential candidate Joko Jokowi Widodo shrugged off a concern expressed by challenger Prabowo Subianto, who questioned the capability of the Indonesian Military (TNI) to protect the country.

The retired army general said Indonesias defense is too weak because the budget allocated for defense was too small, claiming that all of our money is flowing overseas.

I think Pak Prabowo does not have faith in our military. As a civilian, I have great faith in our military, Jokowi said.

Jokowi went on to mention that command centers in Natuna regency, in Riau Islands as well as in Sorong, West Papua, showed how Indonesia was ready to anticipate a foreign threat.

Instead, the former businessman said Indonesia should be concerned about possible internal conflict.

According to information from defense strategists, there is no threat of foreign invasion in the next 20 years. What is more important is domestic conflict, which will be amplified by technology, Jokowi said.

Our defense budget is Rp 107 trillion, the second-biggest after the Public Works and Housing Ministry. This is not a joke, even though some improvement is needed. he added.

Prabowo was quick to question the claim, saying that the budget allocated for the military was no more than 1.5 percent of the state budget. (fac)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 16:51 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873091b44 1 World Presidential-Debate,foreign-affairs,governance,Jokowi,Prabowo-Subianto,migrant-workers,labor-rights,overseas-voters,#2019GeneralElections,#2019PresidentialElection Free

Migrant CARE, a labor rights advocacy group, has called on presidential candidates Joko Jokowi Widodo and Prabowo Subianto to address the protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the upcoming debate, an issue both sides have failed to comprehensively highlight on previous occasions.

Jokowi and Prabowo are due to square off in the next presidential debate on Saturday night, which will focus on the themes of ideology, governance, security and foreign affairs.

Previous debates that had focused on themes of human rights and employment had not adequately discussed the protection of migrant workers, said Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo.

"The marginalization of the agenda [...] shows that this issue remains 'hidden' in the agenda of the 2019 election," he said in a statement on Friday.

Some main issues relevant to the agenda include the implementation of regulations based on the 2017 Migrant Labor Protection Law, which stipulates the enactment of government regulations (PP) on legal, social and economic protections two years after the law is passed.

The government is also yet to renegotiate bilateral agreements with destination countries such as Malaysia as the basis for continued migrant worker protection.

Wahyu said tonight's debate was a strategic opportunity for either camp to impress overseas voters, who are to head to the polls earlier than the in-country electorate. Overseas voting will be open from April 8 through 14.

Data from overseas election committees (PPLN) show that from the 2.05 million eligible voters overseas, the largest number of voters are located in areas with large constituencies of migrant workers, with 558,873 voters registered in Malaysia, followed by Taiwan (277,065) and Hong Kong (180,232).Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 21:57 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309b4b1 1 Politics Prabowo-Subianto,Presidential-Debate,#2019PresidentialElection,#2019GeneralElections,#PresidentialDebate,caliphate,Islamic-caliphate,radicalism Free

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto clarified during the fourth presidential candidate debate on Saturday that he was not in any position to support the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia, an accusation recently thrown at him.



Prabowo, who was born from a Christian mother, said the accusation was cruel and did not make any sense.



I am sure Pak Jokowi is a Pancasilaist, patriot and nationalist. But I wonder if you realize, that some of your supporters have accused me of supporting the creation of a caliphate? Prabowo asked incumbent candidate Joko Jokowi Widodo during an ideology-themed session.



My mother was a Christian. I was born from the womb of a Christian, he added.



The retired army general reiterated his stance by saying that altering Pancasila, the state ideology, had never crossed his mind.



Since I was 16 year old, I [have been] defending Pancasila. I risked my life, how could I be accused of [trying] to change Pancasila? Thats cruel, he said.



Prabowos support among conservative Muslims, including former sympathizers of the now-banned Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), had led to rumors that he planned to turn Indonesia into an Islam-based state if elected.



In response, Jokowi said he believed his rival was a Pancasilaist, nationalist and patriot. However, he mentioned that false accusations had been thrown at him as well.



When it comes to accusations, Ive also been accused of many things in these past four-and-a-half years, including that I am a communist. This is normal. Ive never responded to these accusations, Jokowi said. (fac)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, March 30 2019

The launch of the countrys maiden MRT system in Jakarta has regrettably descended into political bickering, with the elections right around the corner, between alliesturned- rivals President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, particularly on the issue of fares.

Their supporters also jumped into the ring, with Jakarta Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Gerindra Party politician M. Taufi k each proposing low fares. They eventually reached a compromise, setting the fares between Rp 3,000 (21 US cents) and Rp 14,000, depending on the distance of the trip.

Jokowi, who is seeking reelection, has also claimed credit for the MRT, saying the modern transportation mode would not be here without him as Jakarta governor and his then-deputy, Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. Delivering a counter punch, Anies sent a love letter to thank all MRT Jakarta employees for their hard work.

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Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 30, 2019 08:50 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8730875d1 1 Politics MUI,Indonesian-politics,Jokowi,Joko-Widodo-Maruf-Amin,Prabowo-Subianto-Sandiaga-Uno,#2019GeneralElections,#2019PresidentialElection,2019-presidential-election,cebong,kampret,#PostScript Free

Civility is not always the norm in political discussions.

Case in point is the increasingly rampant use of slurs used by Indonesian social media users to insult those who do not share their political views.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) recently asked people to refrain from using the words cebong (short for kecebong or tadpole) and kampret (small bat) to describe supporters of President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, respectively.

The use of these terms should not be used because it violates ahlakul karimah [manner], said the MUIs head of international relations division, Muhyidin Junaidi, on Monday as reported by kompas.com. The terms, he added, were especially inappropriate in public spaces, including majelis taklim (religious congregation).

Muhyidin said calling people with opposing political views names was needless and might tear the nation apart.

But since when did the words cebong and kampret become political? What do the larval stage of a frog and a winged mammal have to do with politics?

The two words became popular shortly after the 2014 presidential election, arguably the most polarizing one in the countrys history. It is safe to say that the popularity of the two words was triggered by and, at the same time, further deepened political polarization in the country.

Jokowis tadpoles

The word cebong is used by Prabowo supporters to insult Jokowis supporters simply because the latter is known to keep frogs in the ponds of the Presidential Palace in Bogor, a habit which dates back to his days as mayor of Surakarta, East Java.

In an episode of popular talk show Mata Najwa, his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, revealed that Jokowi took tadpoles from the ponds and released them when they turned into frogs. The episode aired on Feb. 24, 2016. Since then, Kaesang often uses the word cebong as a joke.

The term cebong was later used to attack supporters of Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama ahead the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. Ahok, who now goes by BTP, was a close ally of Jokowi. At that time, Ahok was in a race against Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and now-Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Anies was backed by Gerindra, Prabowos party.

One common phrase uttered during this period is Cebong mana paham? (A tadpole would not understand) -- implying that Jokowis supporters was of low intelligence. Opposition figure Rocky Gerung famously said all cebong in a pond had a collective IQ of 200.

Bila anda dibully oleh gerombolan beringas ber-IQ 200 (digabung satu kolam), tertawalah sekeras-kerasnya. Itulah cara menghormati badut:)  Rocky Gerung (@rockygerung) August 27, 2017

But the word seems to have gained traction after National Mandate Party (PAN) patron Amien Rais used the words in his political speeches.

Kampret

The origin of how kampret entered the political discourse is vague.

Kampret is often been used as a common curse word, mostly in Java because the word in itself means small bats in Javanese. Bat in Indonesian is kelelawar, not kampret.

Writer and avid social media user Denny Siregar wrote in his blog that he once asked his friend the reason why kampret was used to refer to Prabowos supporters. His friend answered that it was because bats slept in an upside-down position, much like the logic of Prabowos supporters.

According to novelist Okky Madasari, kampret is a derogatory twist on KMP. In 2014, Prabowos coalition was named Koalisi Merah Putih (Red and White Coalition).

Other than the MUI, many other parties have called for an end to the use of such slurs as cebong and kampret in political discussions. But with election day fast approaching, the calls have largely fallen on deaf ears.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 31, 2019 06:11 988 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87309ef26 1 News aviation,#aviation,study,post-graduate-education,University-of-Indonesia,Education Free

The University of Indonesia (UI) launched a masters degree in aviation management on Friday.

According to a statement received by The Jakarta Post, the program will be run in collaboration with Coventry University, a public research university in the United Kingdom.

The aviation management degree is part of the Master of Management School in the Faculty of Economics and Business, and classes will be held in the UI Salemba campus in Central Jakarta.

Comprising 16 courses, including a final dissertation, the joint program involves four semesters through special and night classes. Lecturers from Coventry University will administer a number of courses over a two-week period in UI Salemba, allowing students to get additional exposure without the need to travel overseas.

Read also: US, Indonesia encourage university research partnerships

The program is said to combine approaches and perspectives from the UK and Indonesia, specifically in aviation and Asian management areas, and focus on the critical elements of running a company in the aviation sector.

The curriculum has been designed in a systematic structure and comprehensive competency to help graduates compete in the global market.

Moreover, it is hoped the program will generate credible and highly skilled leaders in the industry.

Coventry University is proud to be launching this exciting new master program with our key partners  UI and CSE Aviation," said Coventry University director for enterprise and innovation Paul Fairburn in the statement. "As an entrepreneurial university with a reputation for working with business, this is a significant step in supporting the future of Indonesian aviation. It clearly illustrates the significant commitment to building long-term relationships, and support the strategic priorities of this dynamic, growing economy. (jes/kes)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Nedi Putra AW (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, March 30, 2019 12:09 989 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87308bec1 1 News 3Nada-and-Friends,children-band,music Free

Age-appropriate music for children can be hard to come by, let alone childrens groups. Amid this scarcity, however, a childrens group from Malang, East Java, released a mini album on Sunday, March 24. The group is called 3Nada and Friends, and consists of Gizel (guitar), Bulan (bass), Nana (vocal), Dzaky (vocal), Amey (keyboard) and Bintang (drum). They are all elementary school students in Malang.

Members of children's band 3Nada and Friends at the launch of their mini album 'Sebuah Langkah Awal'. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)

3Nada and Friends mini album is titled Sebuah Langkah Awal (An Early Step), and was made independently by a group of musicians and creative workers in Malang.

Norman Tjio, a guitarist from indie band C-Four, which is based in Malang, was one of the music arrangers for the mini album that comprises three songs namely "Hey", "Kenangan Indah" (Sweet Memory) and "Dengarkan Doaku" (Listen To My Prayers).

The childrens band leans toward rock, a choice of genre that is not very common in their age group.

Isa Aprilia, producer of 3Nada and Friends, told The Jakarta Post that the band members were her students at a music school she ran.

They have been studying music since they were in kindergarten, said Isa.

She added that the children had learned to play different kinds of music, but that rock excited them the most.

They began by covering a number of songs from Metallica, Genesis and Indonesias God Bless at several performances, and from there became confident that they could create their own mini album in 2019, said Isa.

The three songs on the mini album, "Hey", "Kenangan Indah" and "Dengarkan Doaku" share messages about caring for one another, happy childhood memories and being thankful to ones parents, respectively.

Read also: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/08/27/contest-seeks-to-provide-children-with-age-appropriate-songs.html" target="_blank">Contest seeks to provide children with age-appropriate songs

The band has also created music videos that can be watched on YouTube. The band hopes to inspire other children to use their spare time in positive ways, to socialize and communicate with each other more and be less dependent on gadgets.

Norman Tjio said the band members talent impressed him, but expressed concern the band might not last very long, as the children would grow up, pursue formal education or maybe move to different cities with their parents.

I also feel that most childrens interest in learning music has declined, said Norman.

He nevertheless felt that 3Nada and Friends had brought hope to the Indonesian music scene. (mut)2 hours ago

Are These 3 Old-School Companies Worth A Fresh Look?

In the flurry of newly public companies posting big price gains, its easy to overlook long-established companies like Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL), Goodyear (NASDAQ: GT), and Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) that are flashing technical and fundamental strength. Its true that companies that went public within the past 15 years are often among the markets biggest gainers.

Read ArticleBy IANS

TOKYO: If you need to visit urinal frequently in the night, get your blood pressure checked as researchers say it may be a sign of hypertension.

"Our study indicates if you need to urinate in the night -- called nocturia -- you may have elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in your body. If you continue to have nocturia, ask your doctor to check your blood pressure and salt intake," said study author Satoshi Konno of Tohoku Rosai Hospital in Sendai, Japan.

ALSO READ | Common heart drug may up sudden cardiac arrest risk

The study examined the link between nocturia and hypertension in the general Japanese population.

The researchers enrolled 3,749 people who had an annual health check in 2017. Blood pressure was measured and information on nocturia was obtained through a questionnaire.

Nocturia (one or more nocturia events per night) was significantly associated with hypertension, showed the findings presented at the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS 2019).

The risk of hypertension rose significantly as the number of nocturia events per night increased.

"We found that getting up in the night to urinate was linked to a 40 per cent greater chance of having hypertension. And the more visits to the toilet, the greater the risk of hypertension," Konno said.By Online Desk

MUMBAI: Congress on Saturday released a booklet containing "100 Mistakes" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party also termed Modi BJP's 'Shishupal' (a character in the Mahabharat).

The booklet was released by the Maharashtra State Congress Committee.

In its booklet, Congress said the dream of 'Achhe Din' collapsed fatally in every sector and aspect. The common man was taken for a ride on the pretext of false promises, it added.

"Though the BJP government was in clear majority in 2014, they were unsuccessful in governing with diligence. Now is the time, the common man must elect their representatives on the basis of truth. For this, the mistakes done by the Modi government should be accounted for," the stated in its booklet.

Elaborating on the term 'shishupal', the Maharashtra Congress said: "Narendra Modi often quotes from ancient Indian epics. One such important character is Shishupal from Mahabharat. Lord Shri Krishna had promised his aunt (mother of Shishupal) that he will forgive Shishupal for his first 100 mistakes. However, after that there will be no forgiveness. Similar is the case with the Modi government. The citizens of this country have overlooked 100 mistakes in the last five years."

The Congress also highlighted the Rafale fighter jets deal as a mistake and alleged irregularities in the deal.

"The Indian government signed a contract with the France Government in 2016 to purchase the Rafale Fighter Aircraft. According to this agreement, the Modi government countered Rs. 58 Thousand Crores for 36 aircraft. This deal was signed with triple amount compared to the Congress-led coalition government. Apart from that, why pressure was made by Modi on France to make Anil Ambani the Offset Partner of Dassault Aviation?"

Congress also called Modi a looter, adding that there is a suspicion behind changing the previous Rafale contract to save the business of a friend (Anil Ambani) from dark shadows. The looter Modi extended crores of public money to benefit only his multi-millionaire friend, Congress alleged.

"On the one hand, the Indian government company, Hindustan Aeronautics has earned its name across the globe for making aircraft, while on the other hand, Reliance has zero experience in the production of the defence sector. Moreover, this company had got into this sector a few months ago before Modi made a contract.

(With ANI inputs)Patong underground cable project hits delays

PHUKET: A lack of information provided by state-owned internet and communications company CAT Telecom has forced the project to install power and communication cables along the Patong beachfront to be delayed.

constructionpatong

By Waranya Prompinpiras

Saturday 30 March 2019, 10:32AM

I.M.P Consortium has until Mar 5, 2020 to complete the work, which comprises installing power lines and communications cables, including a fibre-optic main, underground along three kilometres of the Patong beach road. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

Surapol Buakaew, Director of Patong Municipality Engineering Division, declined to reveal exactly what information was required from the company.

However, he did confirm that Patong Municipality cannot even hold its public meeting to inform local residents and business owners about the details of the project until the information is provided by CAT.

The information is critical to the project, Mr Surapol explained.

The plan that has already been drawn up must now be fixed, he told The Phuket News on Friday (Mar 29).

I have not even organised the public hearing yet because the plan has a little problem, and it cannot be used. The contractor will have to amend the plan before we can proceed, he added.

Mr Surapol said he could not even estimate when the adjustments to the plan would be complete.

I have asked the contractor to finish it as soon as possible, he said.

After this, I will talk with local residents and business owners. Patong Municipality will invite the Patong Police to the discussion also because this project will affect traffic and parking areas, Mr Surapol said.

When work does begin, the contractor will bury the power lines and telecom cables along the beachfront only 50 metres at a time, Mr Surapol assured.

We will not do all three kilometres at the same time, but only 50 meters per time, said Mr Surapol.

Under the B228 million contract, joint-venture I.M.P Consortium has until Mar 5, 2020 to complete the work, which comprises installing power lines and communications cables, including a fibre-optic main, underground along three kilometres of the Patong beach road from the Pak Bang Canal at the southern end of the beach to Haad Patong Rd near Loma Park.Vox Pop: Members of Theatrix speak out

This month I want to share with you what local members of Theatrix have to say about learning and practising acting. Now, none of these people are professionals with a career in acting, and they all come from very different backgrounds.

ArtThe-Plays-the-Thing!

By Joel Adams

Saturday 30 March 2019, 10:00AM

Maybe you remember Guy from last months article. In addition to the great personal benefits of acting he relayed last time, he told me, From childhood we learn to serve others and when it comes to doing something for our own sake, we hear too often: I dont have time. When are we going to make time? When we are sick and old?

We see people jogging around the dam, windsurfing at the beach or drinking with friends in a pub. They find time for themselves. And I too have found it in learning improv and taking acting lessons. When you attend a play or an improv night, its about entertainment, of course, but its also about watching people who know how to serve themselves.

Modt, a young Thai lady who recently took to the stage for the first time in her life with us in Surprise!, one of the plays in Love Bites, our dinner theatre evening of short comic plays on love and marriage, said, The biggest thing I have gained from my participation in a play is confidence. I didnt think I would be able to do it, but I overcame that fear through rehearsals and finding out that practice makes perfect. Well, maybe not perfect yet, but definitely better.

Its very difficult for me to put myself out there emotionally, but playing the role of Esther in Surprise! helped me understand and become her. In addition, it made me believe that I can do anything that I put my mind to.

Theatre has also helped me socialise and has brought me a lot of new friends, people I might not have seen or talked to if I wasnt in the play. Its been wonderful meeting new people, exchanging new ideas and just having general conversation.

Its also a great getaway activity. Usually after work Id just go home and have dinner, but being around the theatre has given me a lot of energy and motivation, making me feel free as if I am in another world. Acting has now become my favourite activity and my newfound hobby.

Unlike watching a movie, when watching live theatre there is a real social element to it: talking with others about the play and motivating the actors through your laughter, tears, applause and more. There is a connection you wont find in watching a movie.

Gigi from Belgium, an accomplished and multitalented lady who has successfully sailed around the world, is also a lifelong theatre enthusiast. She had this to say: I have been acting with Theatrix for the last four years, from its earliest beginnings here in Phuket, because I learned a long time ago that participating in theatre on a regular basis increases my ability to perform better. Being part of a dynamic group and practising an activity like this that I enjoy thoroughly are elements that I value as a person.

Through practising improv and participating in live performances, I embrace my creative side and continually allow it to grow. And, dont forget, the positive reaction of an audience is exhilarating!

From practising improv and theatre in general, you increase your skills in public speaking and create synergy through performing with other people. A key to good acting is listening before talking, which is key in our personal and social relations as well.

Anything live is way better than watching movies. There is a human involvement that just never happens in other more passive activities. As a youngster, I had the chance to go and see many plays which created the passion I have for theatre. At university, directing my own theatre group was a fulfilling experience, and still playing today is part of my lifestyle. I love it!

Regularity is key to improving your skills in any domain and I have been committed to acting for many years and hopefully will be for many years to come.

Andre from England, one of our regular improvisers and actors, told me, When I was seven in school, I was elected to be a vicar in a marriage ceremony scene. I decided to imitate a comedian called Dick Emery who did a funny rendition of a typical upper class English vicar with big teeth. The breakthrough moment came during the performance when I noticed everyone was laughing.

From that point on, I realised that people seemed to respond to something that I didnt really understand myself, and yet seemed to happen when I performed. Its the magic effect of mass approval. Ive been hooked ever since.

An added, unbargained-for benefit of acting happened when I was in a play directed by my girlfriend. In the play I got to snog a very attractive young lady. That was a bit much for me, kissing another lady in front of my girlfriend, but she was fine with it. The lady and I always came away from it red-faced, but it was fun, I must admit.

This is one of the things about acting that is so great. Not the fact that you sometimes get the chance to kiss a pretty girl (although it was good), but that you have to let go of that puritanical judge that otherwise suppresses the life energy in people by insisting they always do the right thing.

Acting works when it liberates people from their subjective heaviness. It takes us out of our overworked heads and into our feelings and even our hearts. It shows us that we are all fundamentally the same, living lives of both suffering and enjoyment.

Acting brings us together and shows us ourselves and that everything is really all right.

Come and join Theatrix on Saturday, Mar 30 at Shanti Lodge at 7pm for another fun and interactive improv night.

Joel Adams is building a vibrant theatre community right here in Phuket. You can contact him at theatrixphuket@gmail.com or by phone on 093 6490066. Facebook: Theatrix GroupA way to help during the holidaysEjaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: With Congress president Rahul Gandhi cited to have played a masterstroke in proposing a scheme Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) as minimum income guarantee scheme of Rs 72000/- annually to poor families - if the party is voted to power, the Chhattisgarh Congress on Saturday unveiled its plan to brand the proposal by taking it to the grassroot level and poor voters across the state.

The Congress will start the Nyay Yatra on Sunday from the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, where the first phase of polling will be held on April 11. It will start from Kirandul in Maoist-affected Dantewada district after performing the religious puja at Danteshwari temple on March 31. The Chief Minister and the state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel will flag-off the yatra at Kirandul, said Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, the Chairman of state Congress Media Cell.

The responsibility for the successful conduct of the Nyay Yatra has been given to the Mahila Congress, Youth Congress and NSUI  the student wing of Congress party. It will cover the entire ninety Assembly constituency during the Lok Sabha campaign.

The local legislators, peoples representatives, Congress party office bears, cadres and workers from the district to the booth levels will participate in the Yatra when it reaches their respective areas. There will be public meet at selective places through the journey of the yatra, Trivedi added.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) however questioned the Congress move on whether the economy will sustain or afford such ill-conceived scheme.MONTREAL - Quebecs pension fund manager could play an outsize role in whether SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. eventually pulls up stakes for the United States.

The engineering and construction giant told federal prosecutors that its Plan B in the event of criminal prosecution on corruption charges is to move its headquarters south of the border and shed more than 60 per cent of its 8,700 Canadian jobs, internal documents reveal.

Quebecs Caisse de depot et placement holds a roughly 20 per cent stake in SNC-Lavalin, making it far and away the biggest shareholder. The pension fund also has a $1.5-billion loan agreement with SNC-Lavalin stipulating that the firm must remain rooted in Montreal until at least 2024, though refinancing may be an option.

The roughly $1.18 billion in company shares held by the Caisse  which has a mandate to grow Quebec business  gives the pension fund extra clout at the boardroom table, said Altacorp Capital analyst Chris Murray said. The loan, while partially paid off, adds leverage to a pension fund whose investing pedigree carries respect.

A 20 per cent shareholder has some pretty significant influence, Murray said.

The Caisse also aims to grow its investments, making a move to the U.S. potentially more attractive as conflicting mandates collide, said Karl Moore, an associate professor at McGill Universitys business school.

SNC being one of our larger firms, it would absolutely fall within [its] mandate and the Caisse would not want them to move. On the other hand, as good business people, they might see that as the best course.

They absolutely would have a pipeline to [CEO] Neil Bruce, Moore added.

Last month Caisse chief executive Michael Sabia said the pension fund would be a rock for SNC-Lavalin and ready to boost its stake in the company, barring any technical barriers.

The Caisse declined to comment for this story.

Internal SNC-Lavalin documents  part of a PowerPoint presentation for prosecutors last September and obtained by The Canadian Press  state that criminal prosecution will likely have very negative consequences for Canadian employees, shareholders, pensioners, customers and other groups.

Earlier in the week, the firm walked back a statement by its chief executive, who said he never cited the protection of 9,000 Canadian jobs as a reason the construction giant should be granted a remediation agreement.

Opinions vary on the impact of an exit by the 108-year-old company.

SNC-Lavalin is working on the five biggest infrastructure projects in the country, according to trade magazine ReNew Canada. Those contracts alone amount to $52.8 billion, and include projects for Bruce Power and the Darlington nuclear plant in Ontario as well as the Site C dam in B.C.

It will be sad, very sad, because we will lose decision centres, we will lose key jobs and all of the impacts on the accounting firms and law firms, said Michel Nadeau, a former Caisse executive.

Local construction contractors and suppliers would likely find work for other firms while sought-after SNC-Lavalin layoffs would quickly be snapped up, he said.

But the disruption would still be sizable, according to Murray. You just cant take something of that magnitude out of the system and not expect there to be impacts. Companies in this story: (TSX:SNC)CALGARYWOW Air, the Icelandic budget airline that ceased operations on Thursday leaving passengers stranded on two continents, could be a cautionary tale for other budget airlines, according to a Canadian business professor.

The small carrier that specialized in ultra-cheap travel between North America and Europe faced bankruptcy after ongoing financial troubles over the last six months.

On Wednesday, the company grounded six planes set to leave late that evening from Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, New York, and Baltimore. By Thursday, the airline told passengers there would be no further flights. Passengers were left with no compensation and were advised to check with other airlines for flights to their next destinations.

But back in Canada, Marvin Ryder, a professor from McMaster Universitys business department, said WOW Airs sudden collapse shows the challenges of operating a business on the thin margins of a budget carrier.

You live and die then, if youre an entrepreneur, by your success in this business, and WOW had been showing some cracks in the foundation back in 2018, Ryder said. The percentage of seats sold on a plane were not going up. The revenues were not going up. But their expenses were going up. Thats always a bad thing to see.

Ryder said the owner of WOW Air let the company bleed cash by letting unprofitable routes continue.

Read more:

Travellers stranded after Icelandic discount airline WOW collapses

Journey from hell: British Airways passengers endure 3-day transit nightmare

Flying can be a nightmare for passengers. Know your rights

In comparison, Flair Airlines, Canadas only independent ultra-low-cost airline that launched in 2017, seems to be in better shape, Ryder said. The company discontinued some routes last month to some destinations in the United States, including in Florida and California.

That actually, to me, is a good sign, Ryder said.

This is an airline thats tracking its load factors  keeping track of how full the planes are, where ... people want to fly. And if you offer a route and it turns out people dont want to fly it, youve got to cut your losses and move on. And so I think in that sense, Flair is demonstrating better management then we saw in the case of WOW.

Julie Rempel, a spokesperson with Flair Airlines, said the company is always looking for ways to keep the budget airline sustainable.

We are constantly looking at our schedule, and we have made adjustments to our schedule to make sure that we remain in a net profitable situation, Rempel said.

Calgary-based aviation expert Rick Erickson said hes shocked the Icelandic budget airline went out of business after it had already been established for the last few years.

The fact that these folks have come to some grief was a little surprising given that, you know, theyve been at this game for four or five years, he said, noting the most challenging period for an airline, economically speaking, is within the first 12 to 18 months.

You would have thought that the business plan would have been worked out and that the pockets would have been deep enough that they got through the most difficult period.

But he said travellers looking to book cheap flights dont necessarily need to be that worried, depending on who theyre booking with.

Its just an unfortunate reality ... air carriers come and go, Erickson said. And it could be as simple as just a higher cost of fuel that was enough to really throw their business plan off and they just werent able to accommodate the higher cost of operating aircraft versus the revenue theyre bringing in.

Erickson said most Canadian budget airlines, particularly WestJets Swoop, have the advantage of being backed by a major company.

Swoop is a totally different animal, Erickson said, adding he doesnt believe its likely it will to go under any time soon.

I dont think there are any parallels between WOW and Swoop in terms of finance, he said. If I was thinking about buying an ultra-low-cost ticket nearly a year from now, I would have no issue buying from Swoop.

But with WOW, he said he might have looked a bit more closely before booking a ticket.

Karen McIsaac, a spokesperson for Swoop, said in an emailed statement that the company isnt concerned about its economic stability.

We remain confident, based on the demand we see in our markets and our performance to date, that the ultra-low-cost model continues to be viable, McIsaac wrote.

However, travellers looking to book budget trips outside of Canada should do their research, both experts say.

Its sort of a gut call  you have to take a look to see whats out there in the press, who, if anybody, is advertising the fact that, Hey, the carrier may not be in business next week, Erickson said.

Ryder said booking flights, as with anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Thats the old rule ... If youre trying to save a buck and go for one of the cheapest (flights) possible, understand this is a risk that you might be running, especially if it is truly an independent airline (that) has no other source of revenue, Ryder said.

To me, I feel safer booking a flight with Swoop than I do on Flair because Ive got the power of WestJet standing behind Swoop. Theres just nothing standing behind Flair.

With files from The Associated Press.

Read more about:EDMONTONWhen Albertas political party leaders square off in a debate before voters head to the polls on April 16, there will be one notable exception.

A preliminary proposal sent out to the parties by the media consortium organizing the debate, obtained by Star Edmonton, suggests the showdown is to take place April 4, and includes four leaders.

Not among them is Derek Fildebrandt, leader of the Freedom Conservative Party and MLA for Strathmore-Brooks.

A spokesperson for the consortium said in an email Friday that Fildebrandt wasnt invited because his party does not meet the consortiums criteria for participation.

If someone is elected to the legislature under their current party banner, they would be included, the email read.

Fildebrandt was elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2015. After the Wildrose merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to become the United Conservative Party, Fildebrandt left caucus to sit as an independent after a number of controversies and legal issues. The FCP formed under Fildebrandts leadership in 2018 and has 30 candidates running in the election.

Read more:

Whos running in your riding? Check out our interactive Alberta election 2019 map

Derek Fildebrandt becomes leader of new Freedom Conservative Party in Alberta

Bernier warns Alberta separatists they are flirting with disaster

While the four parties that were invited are not named, its likely they include the Alberta New Democratic Party, the UCP, the Alberta Liberal Party, and the Alberta Party.

During an interview with Star Edmonton on Friday, Fildebrandt called the prospect of being excluded incredibly undemocratic and ridiculous.

We are a recognized party by Elections Alberta, we are a recognized caucus of the Alberta Legislative Assembly, with the same status as both the Alberta Party and the Liberals, he said.

Fildebrandt also noted that he is an elected member of the legislature, while the Liberal Partys leader, David Khan, is not.

The news comes in the middle of a busy campaign for all parties.

During the debate, many eyes will be on NDP Leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Jason Kenney, whose parties lead all others by a wide margin.

When Star Edmonton reached out to Cheryl Oates, Notleys director of communications, for comment, she said, We are looking forward to debating the other leaders.

Albertans deserve a good debate, but its also important that that debate is fair. Our hope is that the debate will include all of the parties that were represented in the last legislature.

Fildebrandt said its up to the consortium who joins the debate. However, he hadnt received any notice from the consortium on if hed be included or not as of Friday morning, nor had he received a debate outline from the group.

Were going to fight like hell, Fildebrandt said. Im not taking no for an answer, our partys not taking no for an answer. This would be a move to artificially curb and control the options for Albertans.

According to the leaked consortium document, the debate will take place in Edmonton at CTVs studio. The media consortium includes CBC, CTV, Postmedia, and Rogers Media.

The debate will be livestreamed on TV, broadcast on radio, and be available online as well, the document states. Media members will make up the panel, which will pose questions on likely everything from health care to pipelines.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the leaders will debate issues and make their case to voters on why theyre the best fit to lead the province for the next four years.

When people go to buy a car, theyre not presented with an option of just two colours, Fildebrandt said. They get to pick what kind of car, what make, they get to pick what kind, what colour. We are a multi-party system, there are five parties currently represented in the legislative assembly.

Fildebrandt described the FCP as a jacked-up F350 with cold-air intake that runs on raw bitumen.

Read more about:Toronto filmmaker Maja Zdanowski was super excited this week to receive an expenses-paid invitation to screen her directorial debut, In God I Trust, at next months Beijing International Film Festival.

Delight turned to disappointment two days later. A festival spokesperson told her the invite was being withdrawn due to political problems between Canada and China, fallout from the ongoing Huawei affair that has soured relations between the two countries.

This was the first movie Ive ever directed, Zdanowski, 38, told the Star. Shes a former Vancouver resident who recently moved to Toronto.

It was a chance to showcase a Canadian film to a huge Chinese audience. And then, within a span of 48 hours, it got taken away. Its now super disappointing.

The colourful invitation she received Monday from the China Film Culture Institute of the Beijing Film Academy spoke of the great honour of inviting her to showcase her excellent film at the festival, which runs April 12 to 19.

The letter promised to cover Zdanowskis airfare and hotel costs, a benefit worth thousands of dollars.

Read more:

Rare interview with Huawei founder is part of charm offensive against U.S.-led security concerns, says expert

Former diplomats warn global relations crumbling as Canadians mark 100 days in Chinese prison

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Less than two days later, she received a one-line email from the festival rescinding the invitation, saying that because of the politics we cant receive the Canada film (sic) this year.

While Zdanowski attempted to puzzle out the meaning of that, an email arrived Friday afternoon. It blamed the reversal on the ongoing feud between Canada and China, sparked by the arrest in Vancouver last December of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei.

The arrest, made on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department, has caused a rift in Canada-China relations that has threatened trade in canola, seafood  and now film, too.

A Beijing Film Fest spokesperson named Songke told Zdanowski in an email that although China has strict censorship rules, theres nothing in the film  a tense race relations drama set in Northern Idaho  that would have prevented the festival from screening it.

We like this film very much, Songke wrote.

We have made every effort  Its not the film itself that has political problems, its going abroad (Im sure you heard about Huawei). So we are very sorry.

Songke closed by offering to recommend In God I Trust to other Chinese film festivals when the environment improves.

Zdanowski said she appreciates the candour of the Beijing officials, but shes unhappy to have been drawn into a battle thats not of her making.

I kind of feel bad for the festival. They really liked my film and they were really supportive of it. They tried to push the film to go through, but it just got denied.

In God I Trust has been well received by other festivals around the world. It had its world premiere in December at the Whistler Film Festival in B.C., which has a trailer for it still on its website.

Zdanowski has also taken her film to the Omaha Film Festival and next week will screen it at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, ironically at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd.

In God I Trust had been submitted to the Beijing fest by Telefilm Canada, a Crown corporation that helps fund and promote Canadian productions. But Telefilm says theres little it can do in this case.

We arent implicated in the festivals programming decisions, but simply facilitate the submissions of Canadian films, said Telefilm spokesperson Andreane Leblanc in an email. She was speaking on behalf of Francesca Accinelli, Telefilms national promotions and communications director.

This process is managed between the festival and the film teams. We therefore do not have any more details to provide on this particular case.

Attempts to reach spokespersons for the Beijing International Film Festival and the Chinese embassy in Ottawa were unsuccessful.

Read more about:MONTREALGroups defending the rights of minorities and women came together Friday to denounce Quebecs new legislation restricting the wearing of religious symbols.

Seven organizations including Amnesty International and the provinces main womens federation attacked the secularism bill as discriminatory.

France-Isabelle Langlois, Amnesty Internationals director for French-speaking Canada, said the Coalition Avenir Quebec bill contravenes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In renouncing our international commitments, we undermine our international credibility, she told a news conference in Montreal.

The legislation tabled Thursday would prohibit public servants in positions of authority  including teachers, police officers, Crown prosecutors and prison guards  from wearing religious symbols. People currently in those jobs would be protected by a grandfather clause.

Idil Issa, vice-president of the Fondation Parole de femmes, which represents women from visible minorities, said Muslim women wearing the hijab will bear the brunt of the laws impact. She said she fears they will be stigmatized and even subjected to violence in everyday life.

Read more:

Quebec teachers, religious groups denounce governments secularism bill

Opinion: Secular dress code looms for Quebec

Quebec Premier Francois Legault defends limiting court challenges of upcoming secularism bill

Are we prepared as a society to tell an aspiring police officer that she will never enjoy the privilege of protecting her community? Issa asked. Are we prepared as a society to tell a teacher that she will be the last of her kind? Are we prepared as a society to tell a young civil servant that she has reached a glass ceiling and that roles of authority will forever be denied her?

And if we are, are we prepared as a society to lose some of our best and brightest or to watch their dreams be deferred?

The groups are asking that the bill be withdrawn, but they acknowledge the battle will be difficult because the government has invoked the notwithstanding clause to block possible court challenges.

Membership of the Federation des femmes du Quebec, the provinces most prominent womens group, has been divided over the hijab in the past, but the organization came out strongly against the bill this week. It said the legislation would oppress Muslim women and limit them to a ghetto professionally and socially.

This law contributes to the creation of public spaces that are collectively hostile to them, federation vice-president Marlihan Lopez said Friday.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said she has received messages that she called very aggressive, even violent sometimes after speaking out against the bill Thursday. I ask everyone to be very careful and to keep in mind that we are talking about human beings, she told reporters.

She said that as a politician she is accustomed to receiving abusive messages. I am even more worried by those, Im thinking of the children, who are in the schoolyard who will perhaps be judged, she said.

Read more about:The controversial Ford government appointee put in charge of overhauling the agency responsible for Ontarios student standardized testing, says he is worth his $140,000 salary.

In his first in-depth interview since being named to the post, Cameron Montgomery defended his credentials, saying his 25 years working in education, a PhD in educational psychology, and experience as a researcher, make him a very good fit to chair the board of directors at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).

He said the full-time job  it was previously a part-time position for which his predecessor earned less than $4,000  comes at a time when EQAO is working towards modernizing its tests, and the agency prepares to take on a stronger and broader role.

My full-time position comes within the framework of a new vision, said Montgomery, whose past experience includes working as an assistant professor of education at the University of Ottawa, assisting students with special needs at Centre Jules-Leger and researching student and educator stress.

The government is committed to EQAO and what EQAO does as an independent agency is assess to support learning. So its a serious mission, its a vital mission for our society, and it requires a full-time chair.

At a news conference on March 15, Education Minister Lisa Thompson said the Progressive Conservative government will be reforming the EQAO, which administers tests in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 10 to assess reading, writing and math skills. But specific details about what that will look like have not yet been released.

Read more:

Tories defend turning $3,600 part-time EQAO gig into a $140,000-a-year patronage job for a defeated ex-candidate

$140K-a-year EQAO job for failed PC candidate sparks criticism

Opinion | Doug Fords simplistic solution to declining math scores wont work

Were going to give it a stronger, broader mandate, she said in an announcement that included numerous other changes to the education system. We will work with Dr. Montgomery to modernize this agency. We will update what it evaluates and how it evaluates the success of our education program. We know that EQAO standardized tests are unpopular with parents, students and teachers throughout this province  and theres good reasons for that. But rest assured, we will be addressing them. I look forward to what EQAO can do for our education system with a fresh focus and energy.

The daily operations of the EQAO, which is also responsible for making recommendations on improving public education, are led by professional staff headed by a CEO, who reports to the board. Meanwhile, the board of directors is responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the agency, and is accountable, through its chair, to the minister of education.

News of Montgomerys three-year appointment, which was made public in February, ignited controversy and sparked headlines. His predecessor, former NDP education minister Dave Cooke, earned a per diem of $225, which last year amounted to just $3,600, leaving some questioning Montgomerys high salary.

Montgomerys ties to the PC party  he stepped aside as a candidate so former ombudsman Andre Marin could run in a 2016 byelection in Ottawa-Vanier and in the last provincial election was narrowly defeated in the battleground riding of Ottawa-Orleans  had some calling it a patronage appointment. And, concerns were raised that choosing a former PC candidate for a newly created full-time job could make it challenging for the agency to maintain its arms-length relationship with the province.

On Friday, Montgomery downplayed those concerns, but he added, Were definitely always open and willing to collaborate with the ministry and our other partners.

His primary goal will be to run an effective board that provides strategic direction and guidance once the agency knows what its new mandate will be. And, he said he will act as a liaison between our independent arms-length agency and the ministry.

That liaison role is extremely important, he said. This is a full-time position. Its got a lot of actors, a lot of moving parts and the board needs to ensure that were moving in the right direction for modern-day society and students needs.

Although the government has repeatedly expressed concerns with reading, writing and math scores, Montgomery said he has no specific goals to try to boost those scores. Rather, he said, the agencys goal is to support student learning through assessment.

The agency is working towards modernization, which could mean replacing paper tests with computer-based testing, which would be faster to score. Currently, it takes EQAO months to generate reports for parents and educators, but new technology could allow the agency to provide full reports within weeks. And, depending on what technology is used, some information could be available instantaneously, such as scores from a multiple-choice component of a test.

Information is power and the quicker (parents and educators) get that, the quicker they know about the students results, the better.

Montgomery called the position a real honour and a privilege. He will be commuting between his home in Ottawa and Toronto, where he has rented an apartment at his own expense.

Im totally enthused by this opportunity, he said. I am listening  to all stakeholders, parents, children, school boards and other agencies.Note - May 10, 2019: This article is subject to legal complaint by Matthew Green.

Ontarios police complaints system is taking a step backwards with new legislation that will reduce the independence of its investigations, says the departing head of the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

Gerry McNeilly  who has been the OIPRD director since the watchdogs creation in 2008  left his role Friday, the same week Doug Fords government passed its Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act (COPS) governing policing and civilian police oversight.

While the new law includes much-needed changes, McNeilly said it backtracks on a major, positive move the watchdog would have made under the Liberal governments 2018 policing overhaul: in-house investigation of all complaints by 2023, making their probes fully independent.

Regarding conduct investigations, one of my concerns with the legislation is that it pushes too much back into the police arena, McNeilly said in a sit-down interview with the Star during his final week.

For me, I have to say, its a step backwards from where we were going and where we have been.

The OIPRD  which will be renamed as the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency  investigates individual public complaints about police and conducts systemic reviews on major police issues. A common criticism of the watchdog is that while it screens every complaint it refers the majority of complaints back to the police service in question to conduct an investigation.

In 2017-2018, the OIPRD referred 1,153 complaints back to the same police services, retaining just 119.

Acting on a recommendation made by Ontario Court of Appeal judge Michael Tulloch following his recent review of police oversight, the previous Liberal government passed legislation that required the OIPRD to become within five years the sole body to investigate public conduct complaints. The OIPRD was beginning to work toward that when the Doug Ford government pressed the brakes on the Liberals plan.

The newly passed COPS Act instead still allows for the watchdog to send complaints back to the service where they originated.

With all due respect, McNeilly said, I think the police shouldnt police themselves. I think its absolutely necessary to have civilian oversight.

McNeillys departure comes after a whirlwind few months for the watchdog, including the release last week of a major report into the police practice of strip searching. It was the watchdogs fifth systemic review, each one a resource-intensive endeavour that examines a larger policing issue.

In December, the watchdog released a scathing report into the Thunder Bay Police Service, the result of a two-year investigation that concluded systemic racism exists within the force, impacting how Indigenous deaths are investigated. The report, which called for the reopening of nine sudden death cases due to inadequate investigations, is among the accomplishments McNeilly said he is most proud of.

Read more:

Toronto police conduct far too many strip searches, says damning report from Ontarios police watchdog

Scathing police watchdog report calls for reopening of nine sudden death probes in Thunder Bay

OIPRD review reveals policing gone wrong during the G20 summit

His departure also caps a period of uncertainty for the organization amid changing government and legislation. Although he knew his term was officially up on March 31, McNeilly said there were backroom conversations suggesting he would be kept on longer as the new governments police oversight laws took force.

McNeilly was instead taken aback when he was given what he feels was insufficient notice  30 days  to wrap up and clear out. For selfish reasons, he said, I would have liked to be involved to bring in some of the changes.

I would have liked to have been given some time to plan my exit, McNeilly said. I would have appreciated some professional courtesy.

Brian Gray, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General, said that in early 2018 the prior government advised McNeilly he would be reappointed until the end of this month.

As with any organization, regular changes in leadership are healthy and provide the opportunity to bring new perspectives to the role, Gray said, adding the recruitment process for a new director will be underway shortly.

The watchdog announced Wednesday that Sylvana Capogreco, who has been the OIPRDs senior counsel and deputy director, will become the interim director effective Monday.

Among the changes McNeilly said he is glad to see in the new legislation is the removal of the distinction between serious and less serious misconduct, a designation the director had to make when a complaint of wrongdoing was substantiated. In cases deemed less serious, the issue was often resolved informally with no disciplinary tribunal.

In October 2016, Matthew Green launched a judicial review of his OIPRD complaint about an unlawful strip search by Toronto police, after the watchdog deemed it less serious misconduct, leaving Green unable to know how the officer who ordered the search was punished. He later lost the review and was denied leave to appeal to Ontarios Court of Appeal.

Under the new legislation, substantiated misconduct is presumed to be serious, McNeilly said.

Thats very positive, and its something Ive been advocating for, he said.

McNeilly is also pleased to see the continued ability to conduct systemic reviews, which allow the watchdog to examine an issue more thoroughly than individual complaints. But the agency will need greater resources if it wants to continue to do them well  he regularly felt like he never had enough.

He cited a lack of resources as the reason he was unable to conduct a systemic review of police officer mental health that he said hed do in 2016 following the suicide of a Toronto police officer. Not being able to complete that is one of my regrets in leaving this job.

And while he doesnt want to enforce his own agenda on his successor, McNeilly said he does believe a systemic review should be done into how police investigate sexual assaults. We had many complaints about that, he said.

The first systemic review his agency conducted, into Torontos 2010 G20 summit, helped establish the newly created watchdog. Though it was a major challenge, McNeilly now sees it as a big highlight of his tenure.

The watchdogs report into the infamous weekend  which saw the largest mass arrest in Canadian peacetime history  concluded police made unlawful arrests, used excessive force and infringed on charter rights.

In the days after the summit, the OIPRD was flooded with 357 complaints.

Quickly, I didnt have enough staff. Quickly, we had to get some part-time staff to help, McNeilly said. I had never done a systemic review, I didnt know what it entailed. All I knew was that in addition to the 357 individual complaints, I had to do something else, because this just didnt go well.

In the years since the OIPRD was created, hes seen an overall improvement in relations between his office and police. Officers who were once resentful have become more accepting, he said.

Most police officers will say we welcome (civilian oversight) because it brings some fairness.

A key part of ensuring all parties experience fairness is working to uphold neutrality, McNeilly said. Because he is a former executive director for Legal Aid Manitoba, and a past chair responsible for establishing the Board of Inquiry for the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, McNeilly said he could have been perceived as being an advocate.

Early on, he said he realized he had to take off his advocate hat and be neutral.

Whoever comes after me, the one thing that I hope will never change is that that person will maintain neutrality, he said. That person will not be pro-police. That person will not be pro-community. That person will not be pro-government. That person will be neutral, independent to carry out his or her duties in accordance with the legislation.By PTI

JAMMU: A civilian was critically injured Saturday as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Mohammad Mushtaq was hit by splinters of a mortar shell which exploded near his house at Narala village in Mankote sector, the officials said.

They said the critically injured civilian was rushed to hospital.

A defence spokesman said the Pakistani Army initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortar and firing by small arms from across the border in Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors at around 2000 hours.

The Indian Army retaliated befittingly, he said, adding that the cross-border firing between the two sides was still continuing intermittently.

Seven persons including three soldiers were killed in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch since India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.LONDONIf you ask British voters what sort of plan for leaving the European Union they support, you tend to get hesitant vagaries.

But ask them what they oppose and you hear forceful clarity. No to Prime Minister Theresa Mays deal. No to leaving the EU without a deal. No to remoaners, as tabloids call those who want to stay in the bloc.

No to May herself, whose approval ratings are deeply negative. No to her rival and leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, whose poll numbers are even worse.

In a recent YouGov poll asking Britons whether May or Corbyn would make the better prime minister, the runaway winner was not sure.

British politicians turn out to have a similar problem making any choice at all. On Wednesday, lawmakers said they would seize control of Brexit by holding votes on eight different ways forward  then voted them all down.

Like the electorate, Parliament turned out to oppose everything. The result is chaos and drift.

Read more:

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There is more than indecision or gridlock at play here. Britains breakdown, though particularly acute, represents a much wider phenomenon.

Across Western democracies, politics are increasingly defined by opposition  opposition to the status quo, to the establishment and to ones partisan rivals.

People have always organized more easily around what theyre against than what theyre for, but this is different. Politics have grown viscerally tribal and voters instinctively destructive.

This trend, driven by social change, economic upheaval and technological disruption, is worsening some of democracys gravest problems.

It is feeding partisanships rancour and intransigence, as voters organize around opposing the other side. It is deepening instability, with elections that fracture parties and eject whoever holds power. And it is driving populist revolts, as citizens clamour to tear down establishments and status quos.

Across Europe, mainstream parties have splintered, weakening centrist leaders and empowering hard-line populists. In the United States, all-out partisan warfare has made co-operative governance unthinkable.

The trend is captured best by Frances Yellow Vest protesters, who can agree only on their anger at their status quo and distrust of institutions. Their tear-it-all-down ethos has left them, despite their impressive power to mobilize, politically inchoate.

This is happening everywhere, said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard University political scientist, referring to the collapse of what scholars call Schumpeterian democracy, named for Austrian theorist Joseph Schumpeter. Long the basis of modern democracy, in which establishments managed popular will and sought a common good, it is giving way to a new system that is both primal and distinctly 21st century.

For better and worse, the moderation, policy stability and informal checks imposed by the establishments monopoly over access to elected office are disappearing, Levitsky said. With social distrust and political chaos rising, he added, This is going to be a major challenge going forward.

A new kind of divide

In 2015, political scientists Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster identified a mystery: Americans expressed record levels of party loyalty and party-line voting, but were less likely than ever to identify as Republican or Democrat. How could people be simultaneously at their most partisan and least supportive of their own party?

The answer, they found, was a rising force called negative partisanship. Americans increasingly voted based on their fear and distrust of the other side, not support for their own.

This had a more destructive effect than merely widening partisan divides. It weakened parties, now less able to draw on a united base or enthusiasm for an affirmative agenda. And it empowered whoever would promise to tear down the other side.

This has generated an electorate that is more biased against and angry at opponents, and more willing to act on that bias and anger, political scientist Lilliana Mason wrote in a book-length study of the change, which she credited to the parties growing socially and demographically homogeneous.

Parties organized around opposition have proved to be less able to govern. Republicans ran for three consecutive elections on opposition to Obamacare. But after taking the White House and both houses of Congress, the party failed to unite around any plan to replace it.

In Britain, Brexit has been animated by opposition to the EU, rather than any clear alternative to membership.

The politics of destruction tend to lead to breakdown. Parties might do well in one election by promising to crush the other side  as Republicans did in 2016 and Britains Labour in 2017  only to suffer their own humiliating defeat in the very next cycle.

In Britain, every major political figure has higher disapproval than approval ratings, leaving politics rudderless. While polls are not so dire in the rest of Europe, the trend is similar.

The revolt against everything

Voters are rejecting more than their opponents  economic, social and demographic change have sparked uprisings against any perceived fixture of the status quo.

The 2008 financial crisis, along with skyrocketing income inequality, have stalled wages and social mobility across the West.

When people hold low trust in government and low or static expectations for their future lives, according to research by The Gallup Organization, support for populist, anti-establishment politics surges.

Research by Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk found that as inequality rises, citizens become less likely to believe that their government is truly democratic  undermining legitimacy of the system itself.

This anger, studies suggest, can be as much about dollars and cents as about fear of losing status relative to ones neighbours and losing control of ones future  a backlash layered with whites growing fears of demographic change.

Populist parties, rising steadily since the civil rights movements of the 1960s, have surged amid recent immigration booms by championing nativist fears of lost national identity, and railing against establishments as having sold the people out.

Brexit channelled these sentiments, framing the EU as the ultimate establishment, and immigration as a perilous threat. So did European and American populists, running on hardening borders and retaking control from corrupt elites.

But no set of renegotiated trade and visa arrangements could deliver on Brexits underlying promise of restoring a sense of order that, for some supporters, came from long-gone social orders. So no plan can win the support to prevail.

Populist parties have suffered similarly Pyrrhic victories across the West, following their stunning successes in 2015 and 2016 with setbacks and stalls. Still, the underlying outrage and distrust remain, leaving mainstream politics unable to fill the vacuums opened by populists.

Collapse of the old way

From the birth of liberal democracy through the late twentieth century, said Levitsky, political establishments more or less controlled access to elected office.

Change, much of it technological, has ended that era. Outsider candidates can raise money online, running without the consent of party chiefs or groups like organized labour. They can reach voters through social media, circumventing gatekeepers and mainstream media.

The rise of primaries in the United States since the 1970s, and outsider parties in Europe, further weakened mainstream parties control over ballots. Voters, not establishments, now control access to office.

This, of course, is democratizing. But it is also destabilizing, Levitsky said. Self-interested establishments often blocked popular ideas and minority groups. But they also formed what the French call a cordon sanitaire  quarantine  against nationalist or far-right politics.

This quarantine has begun to crack, with right-wing populists claiming to represent the true will of the people against mainstream parties that want to suppress that will. Their battle for control has deepened voters sense that democracy itself is at stake.

In Britain, supporters of Brexit often see delays and setbacks as proof that elites never really intended to allow popular will to prevail. Mainstream leaders, including May, have warned that revoking Brexit would shatter Britons already-tenuous faith in their democracy.

Talk of remaining has become a political third rail even as polls suggest it now has majority support. Lawmakers are scrambling for any Brexit plan with a public mandate when none appears to exist.ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATESThe Louvre Abu Dhabi might seem to have all you could ask for in a world-class museum. Its acclaimed design shades its galleries under a vast dome that appears to hover over the waters of the Persian Gulf. Inside are works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, Monet and van Gogh, Mondrian and Basquiat.

Yet the work that the Louvre Abu Dhabi once promised would anchor its collection is conspicuously absent: Salvator Mundi, a painting of Jesus Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.

Few works have evoked as much intrigue, either in the world of art or among the courts of Persian Gulf royals. First, its authenticity as the product of Leonardos own hand was the subject of intense debate. Then, in November 2017, it became the most expensive work ever sold at auction, fetching $450.3 million (U.S.) from an anonymous bidder who turned out to be a close ally and possible stand-in for the ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Now, the painting is shrouded in a new mystery: Where in the world is Salvator Mundi?

Although the Abu Dhabi culture department announced about a month after the auction that it had somehow acquired Salvator Mundi for display in the local Louvre, a scheduled unveiling of the painting last September was cancelled without explanation. The culture department is refusing to answer questions. Staff members of the Louvre Abu Dhabi say privately that they have no knowledge of the paintings whereabouts.

The Louvre in Paris, which licenses its name to the Abu Dhabi museum, has not been able to locate Salvator Mundi, either, according to an official familiar with the museums discussions with Abu Dhabi, who declined to be named because of the confidentiality of the talks.

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Officials in the French government, which owns the Louvre in Paris, are eager to include Salvator Mundi in a landmark exhibition this fall to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardos death and say they are still holding out hope that the painting might resurface in time. (A representative of the Louvre declined to comment.)

But some Leonardo experts say they are alarmed by the uncertainty about the paintings whereabouts and future, especially after the announcement from Abu Dhabi that the painting would go on display to the public.

It is tragic, said Dianne Modestini, a professor at New York Universitys Institute of Fine Arts and a conservator who has worked on Salvator Mundi. To deprive the art lovers and many others who were moved by this picture  a masterpiece of such rarity  is deeply unfair.

Martin Kemp, an Oxford art historian who has studied the painting, described it as a kind of religious version of the Mona Lisa and Leonardos strongest statement of the elusiveness of the divine.

I dont know where it is, either, he added.

Noting that it was never clear how Abu Dhabi might have acquired the painting from the Saudis in the first place  whether by a gift, loan or private sale  some have speculated that Crown Prince Mohammed might simply have decided to keep it. The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment.

The 33-year-old crown prince may not be the paintings first royal owner. Believed to have been painted about 1500, Salvator Mundi was one of two similar works listed in an inventory of the collection of King Charles I of England after his execution in 1649, Kemp said. But the painting disappeared from the historical record in the late 18th century.

The painting sold at the record auction later turned up in the collection of a 19th-century British industrialist. It had been so heavily painted over that it looked like a drug-crazed hippie, Kemp said, and it was attributed at the time to one of Leonardos followers. In 1958, it was sold out of that collection for the equivalent of $1,350 in todays dollars.

The claim that the painting was the work of Leonardo himself originated after a pair of dealers spotted it at an auction in New Orleans in 2005 and brought it to Modestini of NYU.

She stripped away overpainting, repaired damage made by a split in the wood panel, and restored details. Among other things, one of Jesus hands appeared to have two thumbs, possibly because the artist changed his mind about where the thumb should be and painted over the original thumb. It had been exposed by scraping later on, and Modestini covered the thumb she believed Leonardo did not want.

Its new attribution to Leonardo won the painting a spot in a retrospective of his work at the National Gallery in London in 2011. Two years later, a Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev, bought it for $127.5 million  less than a third of what he sold it for in 2017, when it was auctioned in New York by Christies.

The Louvre Abu Dhabis failure to exhibit Salvator Mundi as promised has revived doubts about whether it is Leonardos at all, with skeptics speculating that the new owner may fear public scrutiny.

An expert on Leonardos paintings, Jacques Franck, sent letters to the office of President Emmanuel Macron of France, raising doubts about the attribution. Macrons chief of staff, Francois-Xavier Lauch, wrote back that the president was very attentive to the preoccupations.

Others have argued that the painting was so extensively restored by Modestini that it is as much her work as Leonardos.

Nonsense, she said, calling these ridiculous claims.

Auction house contracts typically include a five-year authenticity warranty. But the extensive public documentation and debate before the 2017 sale would make it difficult for the buyer to recover the payment by challenging the attribution to Leonardo.

The anonymous buyer at the auction in New York, Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, was a little known member of a distant branch of the Saudi royal family with no publicly known source of great wealth or history as a major art collector. But he was a close friend and confidant of Crown Prince Mohammed. A few months after the auction, the royal court named Bader as the kingdoms first-ever Minister of Culture.

Christies initially sought to guard Baders identity so closely during the bidding that it created a special account number for him that was known only to a handful of the houses executives. But contracts and correspondence obtained by The New York Times showed Bader to be the anonymous buyer.

U.S. officials familiar with the arrangement later said Bader was in fact acting as a surrogate for Crown Prince Mohammed himself, the true purchaser of Salvator Mundi.

The crown princes aggression and impulsiveness have recently come under new scrutiny in the West after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded he ordered the killing in fall of dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was ambushed and dismembered by Saudi agents in a consulate in Istanbul. But by the time of auction, the crown prince had already shown a taste for pricey trophies, paying $500 million for a yacht and $300 million for a chateau in France.

As a Times article about Baders role in the auction was about to be published in December 2017, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, possibly to deflect attention from the Saudis extravagant spending, tweeted that Salvator Mundi would be coming to its collection.

Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed is a close ally of Crown Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia. And the chairman of Abu Dhabis department of culture and tourism, Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, is a top lieutenant of the emirates crown prince.

In June, Mubarak announced with great fanfare that Salvator Mundi would go on display as part of the museums permanent collection in September 2018. Having spent so long undiscovered, this masterpiece is now our gift to the world, he said in a statement reported in the Emirati-owned newspaper, The National. We look forward to welcoming people from near and far to witness its beauty.

When September came, however, the exhibition was cancelled without explanation and never rescheduled.

Museum officials said that only Mubarak could answer questions about the painting; a spokesman for Mubarak, Faisal al-Dhahri, said that neither Mubarak nor the ministry would comment.

In the meantime, any clues to the movements of Salvator Mundi have the art world abuzz.

One person familiar with the details of the paintings sale said it had been sent to Europe after the completion of payment. And Modestini said she had heard from a restoration expert that he had been asked by an insurance company to examine the painting in Zurich last before further shipping.

But the examination was cancelled, and the Zurich expert, Daniel Fabian, declined to comment.

After that, said Modestini, the trail goes completely cold.

Read more about:MONTREALYoshua Bengio is worried that innovations in artificial intelligence that he helped pioneer could lead to a dark future, if killer robots get into the wrong hands.

But the soft-spoken, 55-year-old Canadian computer scientist, a recipient of this years A.M. Turing Award  considered the Nobel Prize for computing  prefers to see the world though the idealism of Star Trek rather than the apocalyptic vision of The Terminator.

In the Star Trek, there is a world in which humans are governed through democracy, everyone gets good health care, education and food, and there are no wars except against some aliens, said Bengio, whose research has helped pave the way for speech- and facial-recognition technology, computer vision and self-driving cars, among other things. I am also trying to marry science with how it can improve society.

Bengio was expounding on the promises  and perils  of AI on a recent day while sitting in his small, cramped office at the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, a research centre he founded that has made Montreal a global centre for AI. Next to him was a whiteboard covered with complex mathematical equations, along with a warning for the cleaners written in French: Do Not Erase.

Erasing those equations could come at a heavy cost for humans as well as machines.

Bengio, a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal, is self-effacing. But his work in an area known as deep learning  teaching machines to learn in a way inspired by how our brains compute, he says  has already affected our daily lives in countless ways, making it possible for Google Translate to convert a sentence from French to Mandarin or for software to detect cancer cells in a medical image.

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He and his researchers are also harnessing AI to discover molecules that could cure diseases, to detect gender bias in textbooks and to predict when natural disasters will happen.

Cherri M. Pancake, the president of the Association for Computing Machinery, which offers the $1 million prize, credited Bengio and two others AI luminaries who shared the prize, Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, with laying the foundation for technologies used by billions of people. Anyone who has a smartphone in their pocket has felt their impact, she said, noting their work also provided powerful new tools in the fields of medicine, astronomy and material sciences.

Despite all the accolades, Bengio recoils at scientists being turned into celebrities. While Hinton works for Google and LeCun is the chief AI scientist at Facebook, Bengio has studiously avoided Silicon Valley in favour of a more scholarly life in Montreal, where he also co-founded Element AI, a software company.

Im not a fan of a personalization of science and making some scientists stars, said Bengio, a self-described introvert, who colleagues say is happiest when hunched over an algorithm. I was maybe lucky to be at the right time and thinking the right things.

Myriam Cote, a computer scientist who has worked with Bengio for more than a decade, described him as an iconoclast and freethinker who would feel stymied by the strictures of Silicon Valley. A communitarian at heart, she said, he shuns hierarchy and is known for sharing the profits from his own projects with younger, less established colleagues.

He wants to create in freedom, she said. Citing the credo of student rebels in 1968 in Paris, where Bengio was born, she said his philosophy was: It is forbidden to forbid.

That, in turn, has informed his approach to AI.

Even as the late Stephen Hawking, the celebrated Cambridge physicist, warned that AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization, and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has cautioned it could create an immortal dictator, he has remained more upbeat.

We need to pursue scientific knowledge or all we will do is run against a wall, he said. But we need to do it wisely. Referring to the use of algebra to compute the angles of missiles, he added: You cant blame the inventor of algebra for war.

Nevertheless, at a time when Facebook algorithms have come under criticism for their influence in the 2016 United States election and fears are growing that robots could use AI to target humans without human oversight, Bengio is acutely aware that his innovations risk becoming Frankensteins monsters. As a result, he said, he supports regulating AI, including an international treaty banning killer robots or lethal autonomous weapons.

But he dismissed the Terminator scenario in which a machine, endowed with human emotions, turns on its creator. Machines, he stressed, do not have egos and human sentiments, and are not slaves who want to be freed. We imagine our creations turning against us because we are projecting our psychology into the machines, he said, calling it ridiculous.

The son of Sephardic Jews from Casablanca, Morocco, who emigrated to Paris in the 1960s, Bengio traced his interest in AI to his childhood, when he hungrily devoured the science fiction books of Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke.

He said his imagination was particularly kindled by the relationship between man and machine in Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey. A teacher who spends every day teaching a machine about the world resonated with me, he said. Science fiction was a way to dream about the future.

At the age of 11, he recalled, he began programming by plugging numbers into a calculator. Asked to recall the most formative memories from childhood, he suddenly paused and made an unlikely confession.

I dont have a good memory  Im good at reasoning, not at memory. Thats why I was drawn to math and computer science as you dont need to memorize anything.

Bengio attributed his success to his socially conscious parents, noting that his father, a pharmacist who directed theatre, and his mother, who managed artists, gave him and his brother the freedom to think for themselves.

It appears to have worked. His brother, Samy, one year younger, runs a research group at Google Brain, an AI research team. The two were practically twins, he said, collaborating on research and exchanging ideas.

When he was 12, the family moved to Montreal, where his maternal grandparents were living. While pursuing his masters and doctorate in computer science at McGill University in the late 1980s, he recalled, he was drawn to the work of Hinton, who was striving to develop intelligent computers based on neural networks, mathematical algorithms that can learn tasks on their own by analyzing vast swathes of data

It wasnt just some mathy thing or computer science, but about understanding human intelligence to build intelligent machines. Postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bell Labs followed.

Bengio recalled that he, Hinton and LeCun laboured on neural networks for decades, even as many in the computer science establishment dismissed them as dabblers in a form of dark magic with few if any practical applications. For Bengio, ignoring the naysayers and bucking conventional wisdom came naturally.

The big dreams of building intelligent machines faded in the late 90s and people thought, Oh, its too hard  lets just use our algorithms to solve concrete problems, he recalled. I guess I am not sensitive to what people care about at a particular time, and I believed in what I was doing.

While their trailblazing work transformed the field  and turned him into an AI superstar  Bengio still delights in spending time with students, whom he describes as a family. He is divorced and has two grown children, one of whom has gone into AI. He spends his rare free moments reading Spinoza and walking in the woods near his house.

Unimpressed by scientific prizes or riches, Bengio stressed that complacency and overconfidence were the enemies of scientific progress.

Being self-confident is not enough, he said. You can be self-confident and wrong.RIVNE, UKRAINEThe target lived on the sixth floor of a cheerless, salmon-coloured building on Vidinska Street, across from a thicket of weeping willows. Oleg Smorodinov found him there, rented a small apartment on the ground floor, and waited.

He had gotten the name from his two handlers in Moscow. They met at the Vienna Cafe, a few blocks from the headquarters of Russias domestic intelligence agency, and handed him a list of six people in Ukraine. Find them, they told Smorodinov, and he set off. He was already boasting to friends that he was a spy.

Each person on the list was assigned a code name related to flowers. One was brier. Another was buttercup. The target, a man named Ivan Mamchur, was called rose. To Smorodinov, he was a nobody, an electrician who worked at the local jail. To the handlers in Moscow, though, he was significant.

Drenched in blood up to his elbows, they told him.

The surveillance was uneventful. At 7 each morning, Mamchur left his wife and daughter, rode his bicycle to work, and returned each evening at 6. Like clockwork, Smorodinov recalled.

Then, on Sept. 16, 2016, Smorodinovs phone buzzed with a text message from Moscow.

The rose has to be picked today, he remembered it saying. Tomorrow, it will no longer be relevant.

In the grim hallway outside the mans apartment, Smorodinov positioned himself, a cigarette in one hand and in the other, a pneumatic pistol modified to fire real bullets and fitted with a silencer.

As Mamchur emerged from the elevator, Smorodinov called his name and fired until the magazine was empty.

Mamchur did not fall immediately, but turned toward his assassin, stumbling a few steps before gasping.

It was not me, he said. Im not guilty.

Then he dropped to the concrete floor.

Smorodinov fled to Moscow, where his handlers treated him to dinner at a Japanese sushi chain. For his work, they bought him a Mercedes van, pictures of which he posted on social media. But they withheld a portion of a promised $5,000 (U.S.) because he had left the murder weapon in Ukraine.

At the time, Smorodinov was not certain why they had asked him to kill Mamchur, but now he thinks he knows.

It was revenge, he told me. Most likely revenge.

They Murder People.

I met Smorodinov last October, during his trial at the Rivne City Court in Ukraine, about two years after the murder.

The proceedings seemed like a formality. Everyone seemed bored. Violence is normalized in Ukraine.

For months, I had been travelling in Russia and Europe, reporting on the poisoning last year in England of the former Russian spy Sergei V. Skripal. It had touched off a geopolitical confrontation. Britain and its allies enacted sanctions and expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats after blaming the nerve agent attack on two officers from Russias military intelligence service, the GRU.

For Ukraine, Russian interference was an old reality. Russian special forces had seized Crimea in February 2014, and since then, the Kremlin has supplied arms, funding and troops to fuel a separatist war in eastern Ukraine that has cost 13,000 lives.

Assassinations happen frequently in Ukraine. Officials there say teams of Russian hit men operate freely inside the country.

For the intelligence services, as bad as this sounds, murdering people is just part of the workflow, said Oleksiy Arestovych, a retired officer in Ukraines military intelligence service. You have a workflow, you write articles. They have a workflow, they murder people.

The Skripal poisoning had woken the West up to this. In Britain, authorities are now reviewing the cases of several Russians whose deaths on British soil were not initially deemed suspicious. In the United States, a bipartisan group of senators recently introduced legislation that would require the State Department to determine whether Russia should be deemed a state sponsor of terrorism.

Russian officials have denied their countrys involvement in the Skripal poisoning. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin knew of neither Mamchur nor Smorodinov.

Liquidators

Rivne is a proudly anti-Russian city in western Ukraine with a monument that bears the spectral faces of the 21 local sons who have died in the fighting still underway in eastern Ukraine against the Russian-backed separatist groups.

Smorodinov, 51, is an ethnic Russian who moved to eastern Ukraine as a teenager. He later fought with the same separatists loathed in Rivne.

In the first of our three meetings at the jail where he is incarcerated, Smorodinov unfolded a map of central Moscow that he had drawn from memory on graph paper. He pointed to a pencil-shaded block labelled Vienna Cafe, around the corner from a square representing the headquarters of Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor of the Soviet KGB

This, in general, is where I met with my handlers, in the cafe, he said.

Smorodinov has never been an intelligence officer, or so he says. Though he had once served in the Soviet navy and worked for a few years as a police officer, he has dedicated much of his adult life to organized crime, having done time in prison for bribery and extortion. Between prison stints, he worked as a sex trafficker, a former criminal associate told me.

Smorodinov is trying to persuade prosecutors in the Mamchur case, and me, that he was an unwitting assassin, duped by the two mysterious handlers. He said he understood that his mission was to document Mamchurs movements. The murder was supposed to have been carried out by a team of what he called the liquidators.

Liquidators only work for one day, an hour, two, three, not more, he said. They work under the principle that they dont exist. As soon as they arrive, theyre gone to a different city.

An inconvenient fact in this scenario is that during his stay in Rivne, his accomplice, Kostya, identified by investigators as Konstantin Ivanov, brought him two guns, one of which had a silencer. In their communications, alluding to the code names of the targets, the two men referred to the guns as watering cans.

Smorodinov insisted that even as he fired the shots into Mamchur, he thought it was a charade, a way for his employer to test his mettle. The bullets could have been blanks, he said.

It is not an especially convincing defence. Alexander Gatiyatullin, who headed the criminal gang Smorodinov was involved with in the early 2000s and served time in prison with him, described him as thick-headed, willing to take serious risks without thinking much about the consequences.

Weeks before Mamchurs murder, Gatiyatullin said, Smorodinov confided in him and his wife, claiming that he had been made a lieutenant in the FSB and was working in Ukraine on a special mission.

We laughed and laughed. No one ever took him seriously, Gatiyatullin said. Then this murder of Mamchur happened. I see he posts photos of a Mercedes minibus and I wonder where he got the money for it.

He added: I think some FSB guys called him for a meeting, saw what an idiot he was and thought they could use him.

The List

Prosecutors seem only marginally interested in why Mamchur had been a target. To Ukrainian officials, the answer seemed obvious.

This is part of an interlinked chain of crimes, the main purpose of which is to destabilize the country, Serhii Knyazev, the chief of Ukraines national police, told me.

But it wasnt that simple. From the morning I met him in the courtroom, Smorodinov had talked about a list of six names. They were all Ukrainians, and his first assignment had been to locate each of them. Once he did that, he was sent to Rivne.

I had assumed the people on the list were somehow tied to Russias continuing conflict in Ukraine, that the Kremlin was seeking revenge against individuals tied to the fighting. And as I investigated the names, I learned that they did all share a military background.

But there was a surprise. What tied them together wasnt Ukraine conflict. Instead, it was a different Russian war.

A Different War

In early August 2008, I rushed from Moscow to Tbilisi to cover the conflict breaking out between Russia and the Republic of Georgia. I had never covered a war and hired a driver to take me and a photographer to get as close to the action as possible. It did not take long.

On a road in the middle of a field, we were stopped by Georgian military police officers, who said they were looking for spies. I had gotten out to speak with the officers, when an anti-aircraft battery began firing toward a squadron of Russian Air Force fighter jets, Su-25s, that had appeared in the bright blue sky, pummeling everything in view.

I have a memory of a single Su-25 coming down in flames, floating like a leaf until it hit the ground.

The war lasted only five days and ended with a crushing victory for Moscow. But in many ways, the conflict was an embarrassment for Russias intelligence services. Years earlier, Ukraine had secretly sold sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to Georgia, allowing for the effective defence that I had seen.

Russian officials refused to believe that Georgian soldiers had the skill to operate the systems. Ukrainian troops, they insisted, must have helped.

For Putin  who has described Russians and Ukrainians as one people  it was an act of bloody treachery.

If we find confirmation of this, we will accordingly make contact with the people who did it, he said shortly after the war.

Ukraines Russia-backed Party of Regions, then in the opposition, began an investigation and published the names of Ukrainian soldiers believed to have been involved. One man, described in the report as having participated in military actions, was on Smorodinovs list.

So were two others who appeared in books about the war written by Russian historians. Ukrainian officials confirmed that a fourth man on the list was in Georgia, but provided no details. A fifth man confirmed to me that he was in Georgia, but denied any involvement in the war.

Fortunately, these citizens are alive, Knyazev, the national police chief, told me. At least for now.

Mamchur was third on the list, the only name highlighted in green font.

Smorodinov assumes he will be found guilty of killing Mamchur. He is hoping to be swapped for one of the dozens of Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia, but the Russians have yet to show any interest.

He doesnt understand that no one needs him, Knyazev said. Hes forgotten, written off, a used bullet. Our enemy, unfortunately, has a lot of people like him in reserve.

Read more about:RIO DE JANEIRO - A Brazilian federal judge Saturday overruled a lower court ruling that had banned celebrations called by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to mark the 55th anniversary of the coup that instituted the countrys 1964-1985 military regime.

Judge Ivani Silva da Luz banned celebrations on Friday, saying they were not compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction.

But on Saturday, Judge Maria do Carmo Cardoso overruled da Luz and said there were no objective reasons for prohibiting Sunday celebrations.

Bolsonaro is a former army captain who has sparked controversy with racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments and has praised the authoritarian regime that followed the military overthrow of President Joao Goulart on March 31, 1964.

I do not see any human rights violations nor any violations to the principles of legality, Cardoso said in her ruling.

Military units have hosted similar commemorations in the past, causing no negative impact on the community, she added.

Bolsonaros decision was condemned by human rights activists and social groups that have said they will stage protests in s several cities on Sunday.

A 2014 report by the countrys truth commission concluded that at least 434 people were killed or disappeared during the military regime.PARIS - With Brexit looming and nationalism rising, French President Emmanuel Macrons pro-EU party has launched its campaign for the European Parliament elections.

The centrist Republic on the Move party and its allies held a rally Saturday in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. The group calls itself Renaissance.

Polls suggest Renaissance will be among Frances top two vote-getters in the May election, which takes place in each European Union nation between May 23-26 and in France on May 26. The group appears slightly ahead of Marine Le Pens anti-immigration, far-right National Rally party.

Saturdays Renaissance rally was led by Nathalie Loiseau, who quit this week as Frances European Affairs minister to lead the campaign. Loiseau notably handled Frances Brexit preparations.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and several government officials attended the event.

Some want to make us believe that the past was a better time, they want to come back to nationalism, to Europes demons... dont let them win!, Loiseau said, expressing concerns about the rise of far-right parties in many EU countries.

She pointed to the situation in Britain, where she said sorcerers apprentices pushed for the countrys departure from the EU with no vision, no project.

Now the damage is done. Britain is leaving us without knowing where it goes. Confusion reigns, concerns are growing, she told the rally.

Loiseau said the EU should make fighting climate change and improving its responses to immigration issues the continents top priorities.

We must ensure a more efficient control of our (EU) external borders, by dedicating more personnel and more resources and further assisting countries that are on the front line, she said.

At the same time, she insisted EU must better welcome refugees who are fleeing wars.

Europe has known crisis and needs a renaissance... dont wait for a better Europe. Change it! she concluded to wide applause by supporters, who chanted We will win! We will win!

French voters will fill 79 of the European legislatures 705 seats. Macron hopes his pro-EU vision can inspire voters beyond Frances borders, too. In some EU countries, however, support is growing for nationalist politicians who want to reinstate borders and roll back the European co-operation built up since World War II.

Earlier this month, Macron called for a European Renaissance in an open letter published across the EU. He called on voters to choose a stronger EU and to reject nationalist parties.

The French leaders proposals included creating an agency to protect EU nations elections from cyberattacks and other manipulations and a ban on foreign powers financing EU political parties.

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Angela Charlton contributed to the storyPARIS - The Latest on Earth Hour (all times local):

8:30 p.m.

The City of Lights has turned off the Eiffel Towers nightly twinkle to mark Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to urge more action against climate change.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo dimmed the lights Saturday on the citys most famous monument for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. (1930 GMT). The towers lights normally dominate the Paris skyline after dusk, but are dimmed for major world tragedies and events like Earth Hour.

French President Emmanuel Macron has campaigned to Make Our Planet Great Again, but has faced criticism from those who say his efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions hurt the poor and others who say that his climate policies arent ambitious enough.

Earth Hour events have spread to more than 180 countries since the movement started in 2007.

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8:30 p.m.

Top tourist sites in coal-reliant Poland are turning off their lights at 8:30 p.m. in solidarity with global Earth Hour action calling for better climate protections.

In Polands capital city, Warsaw, the spired landmark Palace of Culture and Science was turning off its night illumination, along with some churches and Old Town walls, all popular tourist venues.

In the southern renaissance city of Krakow, which sees millions of tourists from around the world each year, the central vaulted Cloth Market and the 14th-century red brick St. Marys Basilica al turned off its lights.

The Earth Hour gesture calls for greater awareness and more sparing use of resources, especially fossil fuels that produce carbon gasses and lead to global warming.

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3:30 p.m.

Cities around the world were marking Earth Hour on Saturday night by turning off the lights in a call for global action on climate change.

In Hong Kong, major buildings along Victoria Harbour turned off their non-essential lights at 8:30 p.m., and the citys popular tourist attraction known as the Symphony of Lights was cancelled.

Over 3,000 corporations in Hong Kong signed up for Earth Hour 2019, according to the WWF Hong Kong website. Iconic skyscrapers including the Bank of China Tower and the HSBC Building in Central, the citys major business district, switched off their lights in response to the global movement.

In Taipei, Taiwans capital, the islands tallest building, Taipei 101, joined surrounding buildings in shutting off the lights as part of the Earth Hour event.

Beginning in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has spread to more than 180 countries, with tens of millions of people joining in.JUNEAU, Alaska - A small southeast Alaska community reached 70 degrees last week, which weather data suggests is the earliest point that temperature has been reached in the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Bezenek says Klawock (kluh-WOK) hit the mark March 19.

He says the earliest that records indicate a community in Alaska hit 60 was Jan. 14, 2018, when the temperature at Annette Island, also in southeast Alaska, reached 66.

The U.S. Drought Monitor, which weekly tracks drought conditions, shows much of southeast Alaska with abnormally dry conditions to some level of drought.

Bezenek says the region currently is experiencing an extreme anomaly with blocking highs shunting storm tracks the area typically would get. He says this has allowed warmer air to be pushed into southeast Alaska.CHICAGO - A brewing battle over Chicagos demand that Jussie Smollett recoup the city more than $130,000 for an investigation into his report of a racist, anti-gay attack and the Empire actors apparent determination not to pay it could ultimately land in a civil court, where a jury could have to answer the question that was supposed to be answered in criminal court: Was the attack staged or not?

The first legal skirmish in the wake of a shocking decision by Cook County prosecutors earlier this week to drop all criminal charges against Smollett could come as soon as the end of next week, the deadline for Smollett to send in a money order or cashiers check for $130,106  plus 15 cents. His legal team has signalled he doesnt intend to pay, which will likely prompt the city to sue Smollett in Cook County Circuit Court.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has said the false claims by Smollett damaged the citys reputation, denounced Tuesdays dismissal of 16 felony counts against Smollett as a whitewash. Emanuel said Thursday, as his law department chief sent a letter to Smollett and his attorneys seeking payment for overtime worked by detectives and officers who looked into the actors claim, that demanding he pay would help establish that he did in fact orchestrate the attack.

Smolletts lawyers shot back Thursday, saying it is city officials who owe Smollett an apology  for dragging an innocent mans character through the mud. They added: Jussie has paid enough.

The downside of paying for Smollett is that it would be perceived as an admission of guilt, and hes still adamant hes told the full truth about the incident that he says happened Jan. 29 in downtown Chicago. Prosecutors and police say the evidence is clear that he concocted it as a publicity stunt. The upside of paying now is that there would be no drawn-out process keeping the question of whether hes lying or not in the headlines.

Among the potential downsides for the city: It could end up spending far more in legal fees than its asking Smollett to recoup and can ever hope to get from him. If he doesnt pay the around $130,000 now, the municipal code stipulates that the city could then triple the amount its demanding from Smollett  to more than $390,000.

And while the current mayor seems committed to seeing the process through, his successor may not be. Emanuels in his last days in office. A new mayor will be elected Tuesday.

With charges dropped, Smollett seemed to dodge what would have been emotionally grueling criminal proceedings, culminating in a trial with days of public testimony. All that could be in his future again if he doesnt pay the fine by next week and the city, as expected, files a lawsuit in response.

The issue on which the outcome of a civil trial would hinge would be the same: Does the evidence show that Smollett, who is black and gay, made up the attack about two masked men shouting slurs, wrapping a rope around his neck and pouring a substance on him?

At a civil trial, much of the same evidence would be on display. But to the citys advantage, the threshold of proof will be much lower than it would have been for prosecutors. The city wont have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Smollett staged the attack, only that its more likely true than not true that he did, said Larry Hyman, a Chicago attorney with no ties to the case.

The spokesman for City Halls law department, Bill McCaffrey, wouldnt spell out exactly how the city would respond if Smollett doesnt pay next week, saying the city is not committing to any future legal actions.

The city has sought to reclaim money before over reports that were purportedly false  and succeeded.

A University of Iowa physician, Gary Hunninghake, reported that he was attacked and stabbed while jogging in Chicago in 2010. After contradictions in his account, he eventually conceded hed stabbed himself. A year later, he was ordered to pay more than $15,000 to reimburse the city for costs of the investigation.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

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Check out the APs complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.CHICAGO - Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx is open to an outside investigation into her offices decision to drop all charges against Jussie Smollett, the prosecutor wrote in a newspaper editorial.

Foxx said in a Friday night op-ed for the Chicago Tribune that a review about prosecutors decision to dismiss all 16 felony counts against the Empire actor would help maintain transparency. The dismissal drew an immediate rebuke from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, with the mayor calling it a whitewash of justice .

I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our communitys trust is paramount, Foxx wrote.

Smollett was accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in January.

While Foxx said Tuesdays decision to drop the charges does not exonerate Smollett, as the actor has claimed, she indicated that some of the evidence made getting a conviction uncertain.

In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction, Foxx wrote. For a variety of reasons ... my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.

Police maintain that Smollett staged the attack to promote his career, and Chicago officials have ordered him to pay more than $130,000 to cover the cost of the investigation.

Foxx said Smolletts alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could. But she added that jails should be reserved for those who commit violent crimes.

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Check out the APs complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

INDORE: For 60-year-old Zainuddin Bagwala and his 38-year-old nephew Huzefa Bagwala, the last 11 years have been nothing short of a nightmare. Zainuddin owns Abhinandan Bag Centre in Kothari Market, Indore, from where the cloth was reportedly sourced for stitching the suitcase covers in which unexploded bombs were found on the Samjhauta Express on February 18, 2007.

The cloth was selected by an unidentified man from Zainuddins shop and then stitched by Iqbal Hussain, a tailor, into the suitcase cover at the neighbouring MK Bag Center shop owned by Fakruddin Mohd Hussain, an elderly resident.

An unidentified customer came to our shop possibly in Feb 2007 along with a 22-inch suitcase and selected the cloth for the suitcase cover. The covers were delivered to the customer the next day, Zainuddin said.

A fortnight after a blast rocked the Samjhauta Express on February 18, 2007, killing 68, a team of Haryana police was in Indore at Zainuddin and Fakruddins shops, enquiring about the cover of the suitcases. Little did the Bagwalas know that their lives were about to change forever.

ALSO READ | Congress must apologise for fake Hindu terror theory, says Jaitley on Samjhauta verdict

Once it was confirmed that the cloth was sourced from my shop and stitched at the neighbouring MK Bag Centre, our ordeal started. Me, my nephew Huzefa, my shop worker Puran, MK Bag Centres owner Fakruddin and his tailor master Iqbal became regulars at different police stations and other places in Indore, where we were regularly questioned by the Haryana police. Particularly, Huzefa and Puran (who were present at the shop when the cloth was sourced for stitching suitcase covers) were detained for questioning and, at times, had to even spend 24 hours before Haryana police for questioning, Zainuddin recounted.

When our statements were recorded by the NIA in Delhi, we were shown a set of pictures on the laptop and asked whether the man who purchased the cloth was in that album. Since we no longer remembered details of the appearance of the man, we couldnt give the required inputs to Haryana police or NIA for drawing the sketch of the suspect, Huzefa said.

In the beginning when we were questioned by Haryana police at Indore, some men were brought before us and police asked us to identify whether they included the suspect or not. A local officer later told us that those men were possibly related to SIMI, recounted Huzefa.

After the judgment, Zainuddin, Fakruddin, Huzefa and Puran are relieved and pray that the nightmare doesnt revisit their lives.

Not only have we been under tremendous stress, but have had to shell out thousands of rupees on travelling for court hearings and questionings in Panipat, Delhi and Panchkula. I hope its all over now and we can live peacefully, said one of them.

Repeated questioning

The witnesses were questioned at different locations in Indore and later summoned to Panipat. The Haryana police first investigated the case, which was later taken over by the NIA. The NIA also summoned and questioned them in Delhi. Their last appearance in court was in Panchkula possibly a year and a half back.FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A clock from the beginning of the Nenana Ice Classic has come home to Alaska while the tripod still stands on the river for this years round of betting.

The reason were donating the clock is because our family feels its a part of Alaska history and that it needs to be up here, not with us, Jim Hlavacek said.

Hlavacek, for whom the clock was a family belonging, donated it Thursday to the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Its a clock  its actually a ships chronometer, Hlavacek said. It was manufactured by the Waltham Watch Company which, at the time, was actually one of the largest clock manufacturing companies in the world.

Waltham Watch Company shut down in the 1950s, and Hlavacek, of Salinas, California, wanted to know more about his own Waltham antique. So he sent it to clock collectors in Pennsylvania. Uncovering the serial number on the back, they discovered the clock would have been made around 1913.

This is the kind of thing thats such a treasure here, museum Director Pat Druckenmiller said to Hlavacek as they inspected the chronometer. Housed in a wooden box, the clock face is seated in gold and is protected by a screen, which can be lifted to turn the face over and get the serial number off the back.

Hlavacek initially contacted the museum in November, when he spoke to Angela Linn, in collections. Linn said it was one of those cold calls that you just love to receive.

The chronometer was used to keep time and mark when the tripod dropped through the ice in Nenana. Linn was excited to acquire something so closely tied to the Interior.

I was just blown away, she said.

Hlavacek and Druckenmiller finalized the paperwork at 10:25 a.m. Thursday, shaking hands over the chronometer. Prior to the donation, the museums one other chronometer was from World War II.

Hlavacek inherited the clock from his mother, Pegge Parker Hlavacek, who received it through unusual circumstances as a gift while working at the News-Miner in the 1940s.

One day an old-timer shuffled into the office of the News-Miner with a newspaper bundle under his arm, Parker wrote in her book Alias Pegge Parker.

Her visitor was a man named Charlie Wilson, who presented her with the clock for her coverage of the annual Nenana Ice classics. Supposedly, he should have thrown the clock into the river when the inaugural Ice Classic had concluded, but he took it home instead.

She had wanted to give the clock to the university, but, as Wilson had asked, she kept quiet about it until he died. The clock stayed with her for years.

It was after his parents deaths that Hlavacek inherited the clock, aware of its history from his mothers stories. Hlavacek had visited Alaska twice before arriving Tuesday: once to take a cruise through the Inside Passage and another time, in 2012.

We were here in 2012, and at that time we toured the museum at the university (and) thought it was a wonderful place full of Alaska history, Hlavacek said. So when I decided this clock should be donated, I called the museum.

He said it feels good about bringing the clock to where it needs to be.

Otherwise it just ends up on a garage sale, an estate sale, his wife, Monica Hlavacek, added.

The Hlavaceks went to Nenana while they were in town this week, on the hunt for more information about the clocks history.

The one thing Jim was hoping to confirm was, you know, a purchase receipt of that clock, Monica said.

Hlavacek also wanted to find out what he could about Charlie Wilson, who had given the clock to his mother. The search, however, didnt turn up the information he was looking for.

They said they had a flood in the 60s and that took away everything, he said.

The venture was not entirely fruitless, however.

The couple were able to see a chronometer currently being used for the Ice Classics. Its like seeing double: the same squat, wooden box holding a ships chronometer. Only the manufacturing companys name seems to have changed over the decades.

The clock that they use, one of the two, is so similar to mine, he said.

More than 100 years after the Ice Classic began, the new tripod clock ticks on and Hlavaceks clock will be in the museum, back in the state where Alaskans once waited to see what time it would stop.

Im very happy because finally, the watch is where it needs to be, Hlavacek said.

___

Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.comFAIRBANKS, Alaska - Officials say about half of the largest unit on the Army post in Fairbanks will deploy to Iraq later this year.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the Army announced Friday that the Fort Wainwright soldiers will replace the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

The unit, the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, numbers about 4,500 soldiers.

The Fairbanks soldiers will work to stabilize an area previously controlled by the Islamic State group now known officially by the U.S. and its allies as the Arabic term Daech.

This will be the brigades third deployment to Iraq.

Brigade spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz says leaders havent said which soldiers will deploy. He says the deployment is expected to last about a year, starting this summer.

___

Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.comCAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A prominent Massachusetts shark researcher is speaking at Harvard about his work studying the growing great white shark population off Cape Cod.

Greg Skomal, a scientist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries, will deliver a lecture Tuesday evening at the universitys Museum of Natural History covering the behaviour, ecology, natural history and population dynamics of white sharks. Hell also discuss how scientific research can help sharks and humans coexist.

Skomal has been studying and tracking Atlantic white sharks for more than three decades, especially off Cape Cod.

Officials in the famous tourist destination are launching efforts to mitigate shark attacks ahead of this years beach season. The region dealt with two shark attacks on people last summer, including the states first fatal one in more than 80 years.CHICAGO - When prosecutors dropped the charges that accused Jussie Smollett of orchestrating a fake attack, the outrage was swift and overwhelming. Smollett saw his record wiped clean without offering so much as an apology.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted the decision as a whitewash of justice and billed Smollett $130,000 for the cost of the police investigation. President Donald Trump called it a national embarrassment and promised a federal probe. The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said it was an affront to prosecutors across the state.

But for all of the public fury, the two agencies that handled the case  the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County States Attorneys Office  insist their relationship is strong, even if they didnt agree on the outcome.

Ive heard people saying the relationship is broken and fractured, but that is absolutely, patently false, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. This is like a marriage, and these relationships need work. But at the end of the day, we all at heart are crime fighters.

The person who has taken the most heat for the decision is States Attorney Kim Foxx, who was elected in 2016 on a promise to reform an office that many believed was too quick to help police put minorities in prison. She said she recused herself from Smolletts case before he was charged because she had spoken with a Smollett family member when he was still considered a victim.

Even so, she defended the decision of her top assistant to drop the charges in exchange for Smolletts agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bail payment.

She said Smollett never would have gone to prison because the 16 charges were the lowest possible form of felony, a step up from a misdemeanour, and prosecutors needed to focus their resources on violent crime. She said Smollett was offered the same deal as many other defendants who dont have a criminal record.

Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men who shouted slurs and yelled, This is MAGA country, an apparent reference to President Donald Trumps campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. Smollett also said the men doused him with a chemical and put a noose around his neck.

Police worked for weeks to unravel the case, eventually concluding that Smollett paid two brothers $3,500 to stage the Jan. 29 attack because he hoped it would promote his career.

Prosecutors cannot be influenced by politics or celebrity, and cases should be decided on their merits and independent of police influence, Foxx told television station WGN.

Even though Smolletts case did not call for jail time, his alleged actions were nothing short of despicable and shameful, said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago Law School professor who has long criticized what he calls the cozy relationship between the police department and previous states attorneys.

Smollett should have been made an example, including requiring him to admit his actions, said Futterman, who also praised Foxx for scrutinizing cases more closely.

The actor maintains his innocence and says he was unfairly treated by police.

Foxxs office also should have explained its decision to police before charges were dropped as a common courtesy, Futterman said.

Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson learned of the decision shortly before it became public, while attending a police cadet graduation ceremony.

Foxx told WGN that she spoke to Johnson both during the investigation and after her offices decision to drop the charges.

I think our relationship is one of mutual respect, she said. We share a commitment to this city.

Guglielmi credited Foxx with changes that have improved the relationship between police and prosecutors and improved the chances of obtaining convictions, including teaching officers how to write better reports. He also said she put prosecutors inside police districts every day to get involved on the front-line level on cases such as gun offences.

Even so, rank-and-file police officers were infuriated by the Smollett decision. The Fraternal Order of Police planned to protest the dismissal Monday outside the states attorneys office, but said nobody was available Friday to comment.

Coincidentally, Foxx and Johnson likely owe their jobs to the same case.

Emanuel fired former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in 2015 following the release of dashcam footage showing a white police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who had only a small knife. He hired Johnson, a lifelong Chicagoan and career police officer, to lead the department in 2016, hoping he could help repair trust between the police and residents.

Foxx defeated two-term States Attorney Anita Alvarez, whose loss was attributed to voter outrage following release of the video, which showed officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Alvarez did not charge Van Dyke with murder for 13 months, and the charges came just hours before the video was made public under a court order.

Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder in October and was sentenced in January to less than seven years in prison with the possibility of going free in three years with credit for good behaviour. Three other officers who were charged with lying about the shooting to protect Van Dyke were acquitted by a judge in January.

Futterman questioned Emanuels reaction to Smolletts case, saying the mayor did not address false arrests, civil rights violations and the police code of silence until his hand was forced. He said blaming Smollett for harming the citys reputation is unfounded.

I think this case says more about Smollett than it does about Chicago, Futterman said. This as a solid investigation that the Chicago Police Department can stand behind. I dont see Smolletts own shameful actions as being a stain on Chicago.

Johnson, for his part, says hes ready to put the Smollett case behind him.

Cops are resilient people, he told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday. We go to court all the time and dont get the outcomes that were looking for. Were accustomed to it. ... We move on.

___

Check out the APscomplete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.CHICAGO - The Latest on Jussie Smollett (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is defending Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx, who has been criticized after her office dropped charges against actor Jussie Smollett.

The civil rights leader was in Chicago on Saturday at the Rev. Jesse Jacksons Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. The Chicago Tribune reports Sharpton portrayed Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as a hypocrite. Emanuel has criticized prosecutors actions in the Empire actors case. Smollett was charged with falsely reporting to police that he was the victim of an attack.

Sharpton said there is a marked difference between how they reacted to this and how they reacted to the Laquan McDonald case. Sharpton said there was no outrage when video showing a white officer fatally shooting the black teen was withheld.

Emanuel spokesman Matt McGrath said this isnt worthy of a response.

___

10:15 a.m.

The Chicago Police Department and the Cook County States Attorneys Office insist their relationship is strong, even if they didnt agree on the outcome in Jussie Smolletts case.

When prosecutors dropped the charges that accused Smollett of orchestrating a fake attack, the decision drew a swift backlash from critics, including the mayor and police superintendent. They were outraged that Smollett saw his record wiped clean without offering so much as an apology.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the relationship is like a marriage and sometimes needs work, but both organizations are crime fighters. Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx tells WGN that she spoke to the police superintendent about the decision to drop the case. She says their relationship is one of mutual respect.FRISCO, Texas - The Latest on a standoff following the shooting of a Texas state trooper (all times local):

7:40 a.m.

Authorities say a person suspected of shooting and wounding a Texas state trooper has been taken into custody following a standoff at an apartment complex near Dallas.

Lonny Haschel, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman, said in an email that a SWAT team arrested 42-year-old Bryan M. Cahill, of Frisco, shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday after the nearly 15-hour standoff.

He says Cahill was taken to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries and that hell eventually be charged with aggravated assault of a police officer.

Haschel says Cahill fired shots at officers multiple times during the standoff at the Frisco apartment complex.

He said earlier that a driver  later identified as Cahill  shot and wounded the trooper after fleeing to the apartment complex from an attempted traffic stop Friday afternoon, and that trooper underwent surgery that doctors said went well.

This item has been corrected to reflect that the trooper was shot after reaching the apartment complex, not during the attempted traffic stop.

___

6:25 a.m.

Authorities say a Texas state trooper is recovering following surgery after being shot by a person who fled a traffic stop in a Dallas suburb.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says via Twitter that the shooter remains barricaded inside an apartment early Saturday, more than 16 hours after the shooting.

Authorities say the unidentified trooper had tried to pull over a car for a traffic violation at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

DPS spokesman Lonny Haschel says the driver fled north along a highway to a Frisco apartment complex.

Authorities say after the vehicle stopped, the trooper was shot. Haschel says the trooper underwent surgery and physicians say it went well.

Frisco police say residents who live around the complex where the shooter is barricaded should remain indoors.

___

3:20 a.m.

Authorities say a Texas state trooper is recovering following surgery after being shot by a person who fled a traffic stop in a Dallas suburb.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says via Twitter that the shooter remains barricaded inside an apartment early Saturday, more than 12 hours after the shooting.

Authorities say the unidentified trooper had tried to pull over a car for a traffic violation at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

DPS spokesman Lonny Haschel says the driver fled north along a highway to a Frisco apartment complex.

Authorities say after the vehicle stopped, the trooper was shot. Haschel says the trooper underwent surgery and physicians say it went well.

Frisco police say residents who live around the complex where the shooter is barricaded should remain indoors.

___

This story corrects when authorities say the trooper was shot. It was after the suspect fled to an apartment complex from an attempted traffic stop, not during the stop.In the latest twist in a scandal that has rocked the government, former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould has submitted explosive new materials to the Commons justice committee, including a recording of a tense phone conversation she had with outgoing clerk of the privy council, Michael Wernick, about whether to intervene in the corruption prosecution of Quebec engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin.

Here, we look at some of the most significant passages from her submission, analyzing what they mean and why they matter.

The real issues engaged by this matter  are not, ultimately, about how things are experienced, caucus dynamics, political ambitions, poll numbers, erosion of trust or the role of social media. Rather, the substantive issues raised by this matter are about prosecutorial independence, the rule of law, and certain processes and institutions of our system of democracy.

This is Wilson-Raybould setting the frame she wants her written statement  and the scandal thats been unfolding since February  to be understood in. She presents the matter as above political considerations, and a core principle of our system of democracy. She also takes several digs at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his former principle secretary, Gerald Butts, in their various explanations of the conflict between Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould as one of an erosion of trust and that different people can experience the same conversations differently.

(Ben Chin) said there has to be some middle ground here, because we are heading towards losing these guys [SNC]. My (chief of staff) said that, when it came to prosecutorial independence, there really is no middle ground and that the role for the Attorney General here is clear.

This is Wilson-Rayboulds recounting of a conversation between her former chief of staff, Jessica Prince, and Ben Chin, Finance Minister Bill Morneaus chief of staff. Its a tidy summary of the apparent conflict of PMO and Morneaus office and the former Attorney General  on one side, the economic and job losses if SNC-Lavalin leaves town, on the other the matter of prosecutorial independence. Wilson-Raybould also says Chin told Prince to be careful when using (his) name, after Wilson-Raybould told Morneau that Chin and PMO adviser Elder Marques were mucking around on the SNC-Lavalin file.

On the idea of bringing in external counsel to get advice, my (chief of staff) asked Mr. Butts specifically what question or questions would be asked of the external counsel. He replied, Whether the AG can review the (Director of Public Prosecutions) decision (to not offer SNC a deal) here and, Whether she should in this case? My (chief of staff) asked what if the opinion comes back saying, She can review it, but she shouldnt or simply, She cant review it end of story? Mr. Butts stated, it wouldnt say that. 

One of Butts central points in his defence of PMOs interactions with Wilson-Rayboulds office on the SNC file was that they were simply asking her to get an outside opinion on whether or not she could intervene and grant SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution agreement. Wilson-Raybould and her chief of staff seem to be indicating here that there was never any doubt, in PMOs mind, what that advice would say.

Read more:

A tense conversation, secretly recorded, and repeated warnings of political interference: Inside Jody Wilson-Raybould's call with the Privy Council Clerk

SNC-Lavalin: Read the full text of Jody Wilson-Rayboulds phone call with Michael Wernick

Canadas new top bureaucrat Ian Shugart to take over from embattled Michael Wernick on April 19

I had a telephone call with the Clerk, Michael Wernick, on December 19, 2018  Normally, when I take an important call like this, I would often have a staff member with me to take notes, but in this case, I was alone in our condo in Vancouver. I was anxious to ensure that I had an exact record of what was discussed as I had reason to believe that it was likely to be an inappropriate conversation. So while I typed out notes during the phone call, I took the extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step of making an audio recording of the conversation without so advising the Clerk.

Wilson-Raybould seems to pre-empting criticism here that surreptitiously recording her phone conversation with Michael Wernick without his knowledge was inappropriate. She says that she had never done (this) before this phone call and have not done since. She said that she recorded it to ensure her notes of the conversation were accurate and, given previous interactions with PMO and the Clerk on the SNC-Lavalin file, her strong suspicion that the situation would continue to escalate.

She also said shes releasing the full transcript in direct response to Wernicks repeated assertions that he made no threats to me veiled or otherwise. The recording allows the members of the committee and the public to decide for themselves.

Wernick: Alright  um  well I am going to have to report back before he leaves  he is in a pretty firm frame of mind about this so  I am a bit worried ...

Wilson-Raybould: Bit worried about what?

Wernick: Well  it is not a good idea for the Prime Minister and his Attorney General to be at loggerheads.

Wilson-Raybould: Well I feel that I am giving him my best advice and if he does not accept that advice then it is his prerogative to do what he wants  But I am trying to protect the Prime Minister from political interference or perceived political interference or otherwise.

Wernick: Alright, I understand that  but he does not have the power to do what he wants  all the tools are in your hands so 

Wilson-Raybould:  OK so then  so I am having thoughts of the Saturday Night Massacre here Michael to be honest with you and this is not a great place for me to be in 

This section is from the transcript of the Dec. 19 conversation between Wernick and Wilson-Raybould which most clearly demonstrates the perceived threat  that Trudeau would remove Wilson-Raybould as Attorney General if SNC did not get a prosecution deal. Wilson-Raybould references the Saturday Night Massacre, when Richard Nixons Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General resigned rather than fire the special prosecutor investigating Watergate at Nixons command.

Ok the shite is going to hit the fan

A text message from Jody Wilson-Rayboulds to her former chief of staff, Jessica Prince, after the December 19 phone call with Michael Wernick.

As part of these conversations (around Januarys cabinet shuffle) I did state to both of them (Trudeau and Butts) that I believed that this shift was being made because of a decision I would not take in the SNC-Lavalin DPA matter, which they denied. After much reflection, I decided to take the Prime Minister at his word  However, I did make another decision at this time  that I would immediately resign if the new Attorney General decided to issue a directive in the SNC-Lavalin matter 

Wilson-Raybould confirms the rough outline of the conversation around her shuffle from Minister of Justice to Veterans Affairs Minister described by Butts in his testimony. As of Friday night, Attorney General David Lametti had not issued any such directive in the SNC-Lavalin case.

The Prime Minister stated publicly when issues about the propriety of the governments conduct in relation to the SNC matter arose that my ongoing presence in Cabinet spoke for itself. I resigned the next day and I trust my resignation also speaks for itself.

Wilson-Raybould confirmed she spoke with Trudeau before a Feb. 11 press conference in Vancouver, where Trudeau suggested that Wilson-Rayboulds continued presence in cabinet was a sign of confidence in his leadership. The following day she resigned.

Ultimately Canadians will judge the importance and meaning of what has transpired, and changes and reforms may flow from that. I do think there are clear lessons that have to be considered around the role of the Attorney General, the principles underpinning our democracy, and the appropriate role of political considerations in decision-making, particularly regarding legal questions.

Wilson-Raybould ends by saying she doesnt know that she has anything else to offer a formal process  such as another appearance at the House of Commons justice committee  but says the entire episode has offered an opportunity to strengthen democratic institutions, particularly around the intersection of legal and political issues.

A significant part of the public dialogue about this matter has touched on issues of race and gender and, in particular, there have been undeniable elements of misogyny, much of it aimed at myself. While this is unfortunate, and unpleasant, I also see the benefits this entire episode can bring to building a stronger Canada, and strengthening our civil society.

Unnamed Liberal MPs took shots at Wilson-Raybould in the news media, referencing both her gender and her Indigenous background. Here she fires back, saying for each cynical commentator and commentary, I estimate I have encountered 10 Canadians thinking and acting about what these events mean for the future they are helping to build.

Read more about:Ramananda Sengupta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India on Friday postponed the second meeting on the Kartarpur corridor, scheduled for April 2 on the Pakistan side of the Attari-Wagah border, until certain concerns and clarifications sought by New Delhi were addressed.

These include reports that Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla has been appointed to a 10-member panel aimed at helping Indian pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, in Kartarpur.

Chawla, the general secretary of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, has been linked to a grenade attack on Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar in November, in which three people died, and is also said to be behind the decision to stop Indian diplomats thrice from meeting Indian pilgrims visiting Gurdwaras in Pakistan last year.

Reports said that Pakistans deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned by the MEA on Friday and told that no further talks could be held until Indian concerns were addressed.

According to MEA release, India has sought clarifications from Pakistan on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. India has also shared concerns and sought clarifications on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee to be associated with the Corridor.A demographic shift has left the Spanish countryside with hundreds of ghost villages, telling tales of people like Gustavo Iglesias.

Iglesias, like others in the hamlet of Acorrada in the northern Spanish region of Galicia, moved to a larger town for work, leaving behind a village with six gray-stone houses and two horreos, or grain stores, overlooking a lush valley. His family had lived there for generations, growing wheat and tending to cows, but by the time his father died about 30 years ago, it had emptied out, abandoned and left to crumble.

Now, the 57-year old - who works as a port policeman in Burela, a fishing town on the Galician coast - has joined with other owners to put the hamlet up for sale, trying to give it a new life. The asking price? Just 85,000 euros, or $96,000.

"I'd like someone to buy it and do it up so that it continues to have a life," said Iglesias.

Spain's countryside is dotted with hamlets like Iglesias' that are being sold after their owners abandoned them. For the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who made the reversal of rural depopulation a key policy issue when he came to power last year, such efforts can help stem rural desertification before it tips into crisis territory. Sanchez, who faces a general election in April, will on Friday discuss with his cabinet measures to reverse the trend.

"We need to be aware of the demographic winter that threatens a large part of our territory," he said at a forum on Tuesday. "Half of Spain's municipalities have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and a large part of our territory is at risk of depopulation."

Adventurous foreigners and enterprising Spaniards are starting to be seen as part of the solution as they buy some of the hamlets, taking advantage of bargain prices. Aldeas Abandonadas, an estate agency specializing in such sales, last year sold about 40 villages, with foreign buyers accounting for 90 percent of the transactions. The company recently got a boost after Gwyneth Paltrow flagged one of its villages on her website as a good Christmas present.

"People are coming from all over the world to buy," said Pepe Rodil, a manager at the agency, who pointed to the area's famous food - octopus, scallops, and clams as well as heavy winter bean broths with chorizo and pork and chorizo in cider - as a draw for potential buyers of hamlets like Iglesias'.

There are about 1,500 abandoned hamlets in Spain, said Elvira Fafian, the founder of Aldeas Abandonadas. An increasing number of them are being put on the block since local councils require owners to maintain their properties, which many can't afford to do. The ghost-village phenomenon is likely to grow, she said.

While urbanization is emptying rural areas across large swathes of Europe, the trend is dramatic in Spain. About 53 percent of Spain has a population density of fewer than 12.5 inhabitants per square kilometer - among the worst rates in western Europe. Depopulation is rapidly becoming a campaign issue for the April elections, with the opposition Ciudadanos party last week proposing a tax cut for municipalities with fewer than 8 people per square kilometer. A new political party called Partido Ene has emerged, championing rural Spain and pushing for policies to combat depopulation. It plans to compete in the municipal elections slated for May.

Spain's fertility rate of 1.3 percent in 2017 was the second-lowest in the European Union, after Malta, and the gap in the country between urban and rural births is one of the widest in the EU. A lack of young people means the population isn't replenished, while the regions also lose the entrepreneurs who might have generated employment and driven the local economy.

A recent European Commission report highlights depopulation in rural areas and the pressure on Spain's cities among issues of concern. Madrid, Barcelona and the string of smaller cities along Spain's sun-soaked Mediterranean coast don't yet face the challenges of pollution, traffic congestion and strain on infrastructure seen in mega-cities, but they're sure to surface in the future.

"Lots of experts say that 70 percent of the population is going to live in mega-cities by 2050," Isaura Leal, commissioner for the government on rural depopulation who stepped down ahead of elections, said in an interview in Madrid. "We believe we have the capacity to reverse that process. There is still time."

Tiny steps are already underway. Increasing the reach of broadband internet that allows people to work from home is one measure being studied. Providing incentives for people to move into rural areas is another. In Asturias and Galicia, the local government partly funds the restoration of roofs on traditional houses.

The private sector effort may come from people like Alberto Hidalgo, an advertising and fashion photographer from Madrid who bought a 35-hectare hamlet in northern Spain for 120,000 euros through Aldeas Abandonadas.

On a balmy day in February, he was meeting a pair of local architects to discuss how to convert the place into a spa retreat. Hidalgo and his makeup-artist girlfriend had effectively bought their own valley, whose steep banks are covered with oak, chestnut and eucalyptus trees. The main house sits on the knoll surrounded by stone buildings that they plan to convert into accommodation. Below, an apple orchard tumbles down toward a brook and in the distance, the murmur of a small waterfall complements the lowing of grazing cows.

"We were looking for somewhere where we couldn't see anyone," Hidalgo said.

He has kept in touch with the previous owners, a family whose members had lived there for 118 years. The family's been back to visit after moving to a nearby town and leaving behind almost all their furniture and crockery. Dozens of tools, as well as an old cider press and grape mill, are stacked up in a barn.

Whether it's a desire to preserve Spain's cultural history or because technology now makes it possible to work from anywhere, people are starting to trickle back. Persuading people to move back in significant numbers, though, may be too ambitious, said Luis Antonio Saez, a professor in applied economics at the University of Zaragoza. The best that Spain can hope for is to stem the bleeding.

"Bit by bit, what we'll see is a certain restructuring, rather than a repopulation," Saez said.

For his part, Iglesias, who for decades resisted selling his childhood home for sentimental reasons, said he's ready to do his bit.

"I prefer to sell it, so it can have a life again and people can enjoy it," he said.Sixty-six million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into a shallow sea near Mexico. The impact carved out a 90-mile-wide crater and flung mountains of earth into space. Earthbound debris fell to the planet in droplets of molten rock and glass.

Ancient fish caught glass blobs in their gills as they swam, gape-mouthed, beneath the strange rain. Large, sloshing waves threw animals onto dry land, then more waves buried them in silt. Scientists working in North Dakota recently dug up fossils of these fish: They died within the first minutes or hours after the asteroid hit, according to a paper published Friday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a discovery that has sparked tremendous excitement among paleontologists.

"You're going back to the day that the dinosaurs died," said Timothy Bralower, a Pennsylvania State University paleoceanographer who is studying the impact crater and was not involved with this work. "That's what this is. This is the day the dinosaurs died."

Roughly three in four species perished in what's called the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, also known as the K-Pg event or K-T extinction. The killer asteroid most famously claimed the dinosaurs. But T. rex and Triceratops were joined by hordes of other living things. Freshwater and marine creatures were victims, as were plants and microorganisms, including 93 percent of plankton. (A lone branch of dinosaurs, the birds, lives on.)

Four decades of research buttresses the asteroid extinction theory, widely embraced as the most plausible explanation for disappearing dinosaurs. In the late 1970s, Luis and Walter Alvarez, a father-son scientist duo at the University of California, Berkeley, examined an unusual geologic layer between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods. The boundary was full of the element iridium, which is rare in Earth's crust, but not in asteroids. Walter Alvarez is one of the authors of the new study.

The Hell Creek fossils represent "the first mass death assemblage of large organisms anyone has found" that sits at the K-Pg boundary, study author Robert DePalma said in a statement.

DePalma, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas, began excavating the site at North Dakota's Hell Creek formation in 2013. Since then, DePalma and other paleontologists have found heaps of fossilized sturgeon and paddlefish with glass spheres still in their gills.

They found squid-like animals called ammonites, shark teeth and the remains of predatory aquatic lizards called mosasaurs. They found dead mammals, insects, trees and a Triceratops. They found foot-long fossil feathers, dinosaur tracks and prehistoric mammal burrows. They found fossilized tree gunk called amber that had captured the glass spheres, too.

The site has "all the trademark signals from the Chicxulub impact," Bralower said, including the glass beads and lots of iridium. In the geologic layer just above the fossil deposit, ferns dominate, the signs of a recovering ecosystem. "It's spellbinding," he said.

In the early 1990s, researchers located the scar left by the asteroid - a crater in the Yucatan Peninsula. The impact was named after the nearby Mexican town of Chicxulub. Suggested "kill mechanisms" for the Chicxulub impact abound: It may have poisoned the planet with heavy metals, turned the ocean to acid, shrouded Earth in darkness or ignited global firestorms. Its punch may have triggered volcanoes that spewed like shaken soda cans.

Hell Creek is more than 2,000 miles from the Chicxulub crater. But a hail of glass beads, called tektites, rained there within 15 minutes of the impact, said study author Jan Smit, a paleontologist at Vrije University in Amsterdam who also was an early discoverer of iridium at the K-Pg boundary.

The fish, pressed in the mud like flowers in a diary, are remarkably well-preserved. "It's the equivalent of finding people in life positions buried by ash after Pompeii," Bralower said.

At the time of the dinosaurs, the Hell Creek site was a river valley. The river fed into an inland sea that connected the Arctic Ocean to a prehistoric Gulf of Mexico. After the asteroid struck, seismic waves from a magnitude 10 to 11 earthquake rippled through this sea, according to the study authors.

This caused not a tsunami but what's known as seiche waves, the back-and-forth sloshes sometimes seen in miniature in a bathtub. These can be symptoms of very distant tremors - such as the seiche waves that churned in Norwegian fjords in 2011 after the giant Tohoku earthquake near Japan.

Seiche waves from the inland sea reached 30 feet, drowning the river valley in a pulse of water, gravel and sand. The rain of rocks and glass followed. The tektites dug "small funnels in the sediment laid down by the seiche," Smit said, "so you know for sure they are coming down when the waves are still running upriver." This is preservation, in other words, of a fresh hell.SPRINGFIELD  Wednesday, Representative Andre M. Thapedi, D-Chicago, introduced a transportation modernization program backed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, to raise $2 billion in annual revenue offset with pro-consumer and pro-business reforms.

House Bill 3823 phases out the state sales tax on motor fuel, so consumers will realize a combined 15 cent per gallon Motor Fuels Tax increase. The sales tax swap eliminates a state tax on motor fuel, narrows the price gap between Illinois and neighboring states, and will create consumer savings when gas rises above $2 per gallon.

We do not take tax increases lightly, said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch. That is why the Illinois Chamber drafted, introduced and lead a coalition to support the lock box amendment that passed with overwhelming support in 2016, guaranteeing that funds raised for transportation would be spent on transportation.

The legislation directs the Secretary of State to determine a schedule of registration fees based on the year of the vehicle. The provision aims to ensure drivers with older vehicles, who may drive fewer miles, get less miles per gallon or are less able to afford registration fees, will see a decrease in their registration costs. Many other states have tiered registration fees, including Iowa, Missouri and Michigan. Besides potentially lowering fees for those who are not as able to afford them, HB 3823 includes $2 million in funding for building trades training programs for disadvantaged populations.

To prevent the Motor Fuel Tax increase from hurting the trucking industry, the Chambers proposal eliminates the Commercial Distribution Fee to make Illinois more competitive with surrounding states.

Trucking employs more people than any other industry in the country and this fee has put Illinois at a historic disadvantage since it was instituted by former Governor Rod Blagojevich, said Don Schaefer, executive vice president of the Mid-west Truckers Association. Truckers are the beating heart of Illinois transportation and we need to cultivate an environment where they can drive and thrive.

HB 3823 allocates $600 million for IDOT and $240 million for local governments, which is a 40 percent increase over todays local government transportation funding. It also allocates $670 million for transit.

From the very beginning of our history, Illinois leaders have recognized the importance of transportation infrastructure, starting with canals built six years after statehood, said Rebecca Mason, executive director of the Infrastructure Council at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Two hundred years later, we find ourselves in a dire situation with more than 660 bridges in less than acceptable condition right now in Illinois. We must again invest in our state.

The program bonds $4 billion in funding to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to accelerate bridge improvements enabling the state to begin addressing unsafe transportation necessities immediately.

The reports of bridge conditions on Lake Shore Drive and Interstate 80 have underscored how important it is to invest in our bridges, said Matt Hart, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Association. When bridges are closed or weight-limited, freight traffic has to be re-routed creating more congestion and wear and tear on our vital infrastructure. We need to invest in our bridges to keep them safe, modern and efficient for trucks and traffic.

Additionally, the legislation provides a number of efficiency reforms, including the development of a Type II Noise Suppression program to address noise issues in communities affected by new or expanded roads.

If no significant investment is made in state transportation funding, nearly 40 percent of road miles and 20 percent of bridges will be in unacceptable condition by 2022, said Maisch. We must act now to improve and invest in our infrastructure system to ensure Illinois remains the transportation hub of North America.

The plan increases the Motor Fuels Tax by 15 cents per gallon on July 1, 2019, registration fees and certificate of title fees by $50 on Jan. 1, 2020 for some drivers and decreases fees on Jan. 1, 2021 for others as the Secretary of States moves away from a singular registration fee. The plan also increases the registration fees for electric vehicles to bring their contribution to the roads they travel in line with other vehicles.

We are very thankful to Rep. Thapedi for taking a leadership role in this vital conversation, said Maisch. Together, our modernization program balances revenue increases with pro-business and pro-consumer reforms that will help improve Illinoisans lives and businesses throughout the state.NOIDA, India - Three months after the Lion Air plane her husband was piloting plunged into the sea, Garima Sethi sat with senior officials at the Indonesian carrier in January and urged them - again - to ground the Boeing 737 Max 8.

It wasn't the first time Sethi had pleaded with Lion Air and Indonesian authorities to ground the model. The Oct. 29 crash near Jakarta claimed 189 lives and opened global probes into potential problems with an anti-stall system on the popular Boeing plane.

But Sethi said Lion Air officials at the time said they needed more information to take such a step. In addition, the officials told Sethi that Boeing had reassured them that the aircraft was safe.

Now, she believes a second crash of a Boeing Max jet, in Ethiopia this month, could have been prevented if the appeals by the victims' families were given more weight by Lion Air and others.

"We tried to do our part, but nobody heard us," said Sethi, 31.

A spokesman for Lion Air and Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee declined to comment.

For months, Boeing repeatedly assured the world of the safety of the 737 Max, which was grounded after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa. All 157 people aboard were killed.

A preliminary report from Indonesian experts released in November focused on possible flawed readings by an anti-stall feature on the 737 Max. Investigators believe the system redirected the nose of the plane downward, leaving the cockpit crew unable to override the autopilot commands.

A similar scenario is being investigated as the potential cause for the Ethiopian crash.

Sethi's husband, 31-year-old Bhavye Suneja, was a methodical pilot and a stickler for preflight inspections, she said. He liked to arrive early and go through the checklist. On Oct. 29, the plane he was about to pilot had experienced mechanical issues on its previous flight.

A month after the crash, Sethi returned to a suburb of New Delhi, where she and Suneja grew up. The couple first met through a matrimonial website and began their courtship over coffee on one of Suneja's trips home from Jakarta. Their families approved of the match and they married in July 2016.

Sethi moved to Indonesia shortly after their "big, fat Indian wedding," she said, smiling at the memory.

Suneja was outgoing and charismatic, a technology buff who could hold forth on the merits of different mobile phones and always wanted the newest camera or watch. From the time he was a boy, there was never any doubt about what he wanted to do.

"He simply loved flying," Sethi said.

In Jakarta, the couple would host weekly gatherings of friends and Suneja would cook for the crowd, from biryani to pizza. His peers were drawn to him, too, for a different reason. Although he was the youngest captain in the Lion Air fleet, Sethi said his colleagues would often consult him on safety issues they were facing, prompting long discussions.

Sethi does not know whether any of those discussions involved the 737 Max 8. Last year, her husband completed the practical and computer training necessary to be certified to fly the plane, she said. He called it a "very good aircraft."

After the crash, Suneja's colleagues told her that Lion Air's pilots had received no training on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, the anti-stall software. Indonesian officials said last year that Boeing's manual for the new plane did not fully describe the system or how to disable it.

Suneja's colleagues also told Sethi the disturbing story of the previous flights of her husband's plane. It had flown from Jakarta to Bali, where a malfunctioning angle-of-attack sensor was replaced. When the plane took off again to return to Jakarta, the pilots experienced problems controlling the plane and made a distress call. Only the intervention of a third pilot, who happened to be on the flight, allowed the pilots to disable the MCAS system and restore manual control.

The preliminary report released by Indonesian investigators at the end of November did not mention the third pilot. Sethi said that after investigators briefed the families with a PowerPoint presentation, she and her mother-in-law asked about the omission and urged them to tell the other families and the public, but they demurred.

Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator at Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, said the presence of a third pilot on board the previous Lion Air flight was excluded from the preliminary report because investigators had not yet interviewed him or ascertained his exact role.

"So we heard about it, but it was not yet confirmed," Utomo told The Washington Post.

In January, Sethi returned to Jakarta from Delhi to pack up the apartment she and Suneja had shared. During a meeting with Lion Air officials, she urged them to ground the Max planes. Mediareports said that Boeing was already working on a software fix to the anti-stall system, she noted.

"We suggested if it was a software glitch, why not ground it for a while?" she said.

Meanwhile, families of the victims in Indonesia held protests in front of the presidential palace, urging authorities to ground the Max aircraft, along with other demands. But no action was taken until this month, when countries around the world stopped the plane from flying after the same model crashed in similar circumstances in Ethiopia.

Sethi was out with a friend in Delhi on March 10 when she heard that an Ethiopian Airlines jet had crashed. She immediately rushed home to find out more.

"It was altogether the same story," she said. "I don't have any words."

She was distressed to learn that the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed had been delivered by Boeing in mid-November, after the Lion Air disaster.

"They were playing with lives," she said.

A chartered accountant by profession, Sethi returned in November to her parents' home, a bungalow on a quiet street in a suburb of Delhi. Now her days involve gathering information - about sensors, simulators, training manuals.

"I'm just looking for a type of justice," she said quietly. Whoever was at fault "should claim their mistakes." Some of the families of Lion Air victims have filed lawsuits against Boeing, but Sethi said she has not decided whether to pursue a legal claim.

On Sethi's left hand is a small ring Suneja bought for her in Jakarta, a swirl of gold with a hole at the center that resembles an eye. She said she intends to remember him as a "passionate flier and a good human being."

- - -

Mahtani reported from Hong Kong. The Washington Post's Stanley Widianto in Jakarta contributed to this report.U Khin Maung Lynn, the Joint Secretary of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies, emphasized the need for Asia and the world to share common interests during an exclusive interview with Peoples Daily Online during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference this year.

Under the theme of Shared Future, Concerted Action, Common Development, the BFA annual conference 2019 kicked off in Boao, south China's Hainan Province on March 28. This years forum has drawn over 2,000 delegates including government officials, entrepreneurs and scholars from 60 countries and regions.

This year marks U Khin Maung Lynns second time attending the BFA. He commended the forum as one of the most important events for Asia, which has become greater and more inclusive year after year, with various timely international subjects discussed and contemplated here, he said.

Due to fast advancement in technology and human knowledge, we are interconnected more than ever, he noted, stressing the importance of sharing common interests between nations for future peace and prosperity.

We need to share our views, experience and knowledge, he said, adding that a community of shared future for humankind can only be reached with concerted efforts.

He listed international organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as examples of promoting regional coordinated development. International organizations should work towards a clearer goal by taking specific, coordinated steps to achieve whats best for everyone. Regional peace, security and common development, all of these goals need to be achieved in coordinated efforts, he said.

Myanmar is currently making considerable efforts to introduce 5G across the country. Chinese tech giant Huawei is working closely with Myanmar's authorities to help implement the technology.

U Khin Maung Lynn pointed out that people from Myanmar, especially the younger generations, are very talented in IT and are developing a keen interest in the next big thing: 5G. This presents a great opportunity for young people in Myanmar to learn from and work with Chinese companies like Huawei, to help advance local development of technology and boost the countrys production in agriculture and other industries, he said.

U Khin Maung Lynn also spoke highly of the enormous potential in the Hainan free trade zone and free trade port. With favorable policies to support the development of technology, young talents and entrepreneurs, as well as its ideal location, Hainan will become a major hub for international cooperation and foreign investment, he said.By IANS

NEW DELHI: India and the US have underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terrorist groups.

They made the demand during the 16th meeting of the India-US Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and the second session of the India-US Designations Dialogue which were held on Friday in Washington.

State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan A. Sales and External Affairs Ministry's Joint Secretary Mahaveer Singhvi led their inter-Agency and inter-Departmental delegations, a Ministry statement said.

They discussed counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries and resolved to continue close coordination on this element of the bilateral relationship.

"The Counterterrorism Joint Working Group exchanged views on threats posed by international terrorist organisations as well as ongoing concerns over cross-border terrorism in the South Asia region. Ambassador Sales emphasised US support for the people and government of India in the fight against terrorism," the statement read.

"Both sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take meaningful, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorists and terrorist groups.

"There was a discussion of strengthening cooperation on information sharing and other steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel, consistent with the important provisions and obligations outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2396."

The participants highlighted their efforts on some of the world's most pressing counterterrorism challenges including countering the financing and operations of terrorist organisations, terrorists' use of the Internet, and prosecuting, rehabilitating and re-integrating returning foreign terrorist fighters, the statement said.

The US welcomed India's participation in international efforts to counter financing of terrorism and the two sides shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing sanctions designations against terrorist groups and individuals, it added.CHARIHO: Charihos girls and boys soccer teams both won Division II titles in dramatic fashion. The girls won in penalty kicks and the boys in the final two minutes of double overtime. The football team reached the D-III title game, as did the field hockey team. The girls volleyball team played in the D-II semifinals. Erin vonHousen was All-State in girls cross country.

STONINGTON: Stoningtons boys soccer team earned its second straight Class M state title, closing the season with 21 straight victories. The field hockey team lost in the Class S title game.

WESTERLY: Westerlys girls volleyball team reached the Division III semifinals, losing to eventual champion Scituate. The football team played in the D-II semifinals. The girls soccer team reached the D-III semifinals. Jake Serra and Kaya West were All-State in cross country.

WHEELER: Wheeler boys and girls soccer teams qualified for the Class S state tournament.

Vote

View ResultsBy PTI

GORAKHPUR/LUCKNOW: Barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad Party Friday sprang a surprise by parting ways with the fledgeling anti-BJP alliance and meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

There was no immediate word from either side as to what transpired at the meeting between the Nishad Party leaders including its President Sanjay Nishad with Adityanath in Lucknow.

"The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad alias Riteish Nishad, media in-charge, Nishad Party, told PTI in Gorakhpur.

"There was a conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol whereas Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he added.

The party workers were not willing to contest on the SP symbol and many of them began quitting, he said.

"So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he added.

When asked whether Pravin Nishad, MP, will also quit Samajwadi Party, he said, "I don't know about it."

The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls.

The win had been remarkable, as Gorakhpur was considered a bastion of Adityanath, who had represented the parliamentary constituency several times before.

A Nishad Party insider accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav of backtracking on his promises.

Follow our full election coverage here

"They did not put our name on the posters/letters or anything. Our party workers, authorities, core committee were upset," he said.

"So, the Nishad Party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently and can look for other options as well. The party is free now," he added.

When contacted, SP national spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told PTI that he had no information of the decision taken by the Nishad Party.

Just three days ago on Tuesday, the Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party in a press conference in Lucknow had announced that it was joining the grand opposition alliance in the state.

On the day of the announcement, Sanjay Nishad had addressed a press conference in which he had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him a 'jumlebaz' as well as Adityanath.

"Our constitution, youth and farmers' futures are in grave danger. People voted for a 'jumlebaz' party cause of their false promises," he had said.

"Modi and Yogi promised many things for Nishad community but nothing was done. The Nishad community will now give full support to the SP-BSP alliance in all the state," he added.

The Nishad Party, sources said, is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some seats including Gorakhpur.Buying a car on price alone can be risky.

While bargain-basement models might be affordable to buy, they tend not to be cheap to run, especially if you're constantly having to pay through the back teeth for repeat repair bills.

However, there are some cars that buck the trend. With the help of reliability data, here's a list of the top 10 small, dependable, used motors you can pick up for less than 3,500 that will be relatively breakdown-free and cheap to own.

High iQ: Toyota's dinky little city car topped the charts as the most reliable cheap small motor you can get for less than 3,500

Warranty Direct has tapped into its Reliability Index analysis to reveal the most reliable cars for those on a tight budget.

It's based on 50,000 live policies, tracking how many claims are made for repair bills.

It looks at the frequency and type of faults, the age and mileage of the car and the cost of repairs, before assigning it an accurate index score.

Examples of each model in the top 10 can be found for sale online with less than 60,000 miles on the clock for less than 3,500.

Japanese car brands - which have long been considered the most durable due to their superior production processes and more meticulous testing regimes - dominate the top 10, featuring four times.

Even better news for cash-strapped drivers is that eight out of 10 models in the list (bar the two Honda Jazzes) are low insurance group models, meaning premiums will be low as well as repair costs.

The Vauxhall Agila is one of the most uninspiring modern cars available. But what it lacks in panache it makes up in dependability

The Hyundai Getz is the cheapest form of reliable motoring, with prices on the second-hand market starting from 600

The second-generation Honda Jazz, made from 2008 to 2014, is practical and reliable, according to Warranty Direct

And because these cars are relatively teeny, they all have frugal engines that should make trips to the fuel station fairly infrequent.

Ten most reliable cheap second-hand cars 1. Toyota (iQ 2008-14) Price from: 2,800* 2. Vauxhall Agila (2008-13) Price from: 2,250* 3. Hyundai Getz (2002-09) Price from: 595* 4. Honda Jazz (2008-14) Price from: 3,350* 5. Hyundai i10 (2008-13) Price from: 2,150* 6. Citroen C1 (2005-2009) Price from: 1,350* 7. Hyundai i20 (2009-15) Price from: 2,199* 8. Suzuki Alto (2009-14) Price from: 1,885* 9. Ford Ka (2008-16) Price from: 2,150* 10. Honda Jazz (2001-08) Price from: 995* Source: Warranty Direct *prices based on models for sale on Auto Trader with 60,000 miles or less. Data at time of publish

The Toyota iQ - one of the smallest production models to ever be sold - took the number one spot to be named the most reliable cheap small car.

Based on a year's ownership, they spend an average of just an hour off the road being repaired.

Garage bills to fix these issues amount to an average of just 223.94, with the low number of claims concerning mainly issues with engines.

Following closely in the order is the dependable - but equally mundane - Vauxhall Agila.

While it has lower average repair costs than the Toyota IQ at 115.90, it misses out on first position due to longer repair times and a high number of axle and suspension problems, which accounts for 75 per cent of its claims.

The ageing Hyundai Getz sits comfortably in third place for reliability, but due to owners experiencing more complex issues with its engines and gearboxes its average repair time is significantly higher than the Toyota IQs and the Vauxhall Agilas - over four hours.

Other notable mentions include the Honda Jazz, which features twice - and Suzuki's super-cheap Alto.

The small Suzuki - which cost less than 7,000 when new - has the cheapest average repair costs in the top ten (95.16), however, a high proportion of claims for axle and suspension issues (78 per cent) caused its ranking to slip towards the lower end of the table.

The Hyundai i10 was one of the best-selling cars bought during the scrappage scheme in 2009 - hence the picture here

Built in the same factory as the Toyota Aygo, Citroen's tiny C1 has benefited from the Japanese brand's great reliability track record

The Hyundai i20 is the ideal motor for someone on a budget who needs a little more room than other cars in this list offer

A word of warning about the Alto, though - it performed fairly poorly when it was crash tested in 2009, scoring three stars in Euro NCAP reviews, and that's before the assessment was made more difficult and the majority of new models were give five stars.

Simon Ackers, CEO of Warranty Direct, said the list is a good reference for anyone looking for a low-cost car, but warned that 'all drivers should remember any vehicle can land you with a large bill if they are not regularly checked and professionally serviced'.

A word of warning about the Suzuki Alto - it didn't perform all that well in Euro NCAP crash tests

The Ka is nowhere near as popular as the larger Ford Fiesta - the best-selling car in Britain for the last decade. The little city car is reliable, though

Can't afford the second-generation Honda Jazz that featured earlier in the list? The first generation car is almost as dependable and can be found at lower prices

What about newer cars?

There are plenty of reliability surveys out there, all promising robust data.

The latest to reveal their rankings is another warranty provider, MotorEasy.com, which analysed 47,000 policies covering cars more than three years old over the last two and a half years to identify which brands have the most - and least - durable cars.

It found that Subarus were the most dependable, while Alfa Romeos and Land Rovers were generally likely to go wrong.

How do the stats compare?

Just three in every 100 Subarus needed a claim-worthy repair, with the average cost being 420 over a 12-month period.

In contrast, 43 out of every 100 Alfa Romeos developed a fault each year - at an average cost of 215 per claim.

Almost a third of Land Rover owners - 32 per cent - experience a fault each year, putting the British firm on a par with Chevrolet in the break-down stakes.

Here's the full standings...It is a fraught weekend for our relationship with the European Union, and it will be a fraught week ahead.

So step back and ask yourself this. Which region will be the UK's most important economic partner in 20 years' time: Europe, the US or China?

My guess is that all three will have about the same weight, but with China gradually pulling ahead of the other two.

Extending the hand of friendship: China will be by far the world's largest economy, having passed the US  according to the most recent HSBC projections  around 2028

The prime reason for thinking this is that China will be by far the world's largest economy, having passed the US  according to the most recent HSBC projections  around 2028.

The US will grow substantially faster than Europe, so it will become more important too. Actually, the US is the UK's largest export market, as big as Germany and France combined, though the EU as a whole is bigger than the US.

Of course, Europe will still matter, but whatever happens in the weeks ahead it will matter rather less so than now.

Now focus on China. Which country do you think received the largest amount of investment from China last year?

Well, it was the UK  larger than the US or any European country.

True, last year was a bit unusual, because the US and China had started their punch-up over trade and unsurprisingly Chinese investment there fell sharply.

If you look at the stock of foreign direct investment, rather than the flow in any one year, the US does have the largest pot, but the UK is second. The only other European country in the top rank is Switzerland.

Don't forget China can put its money anywhere in the world.

In Africa, it is building high-quality roads, investing in energy (one-third of its oil comes from Africa), and buying agricultural land.

In the US, it is buying, or at least trying to buy, high-tech companies.

The US is concerned, to put it mildly, that if Huawei installs its kit around the world, the Chinese government will be able to spy on the West

In Europe, it is building stakes in key industries such as the motor business. Just last week, Daimler revealed that it was selling a half-share in its loss-making Smart car to Geely, the Chinese motor firm  which also makes London black cabs and Volvos.

So why is the UK so important to them?

Part of the answer is that we are not the US. We are not in any way a rival to China. Another part is that we are unusually open to foreign investment.

Some would say too open, but right now such investment is most welcome. Another is that many young Chinese people have been educated here, with the UK second only to the US as a destination for Chinese university students.

But there is another part of the answer still. It is that we can be trusted to be impartial.

There was an example of that last week, when the Government-led review of Huawei telecommunications equipment in Britain criticised the company.

It said that problems with its software 'significantly increased risk to UK operators'. But crucially, it made it clear that the problems were basic design weaknesses that made the gear vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

It did 'not believe that the defects identified are a result of state interference'. Huawei is the world's largest producer of telecom equipment, but most of its sales have been within China. It wants to get into foreign markets, and the UK is a key one.

The US is concerned, to put it mildly, that if Huawei installs its kit around the world, the Chinese government will be able to spy on the West.

The daughter of the founder and the company's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, is being held in Canada at US request, and faces extradition.

The UK panel has GCHQ representatives on it. If it makes it clear that there are indeed security problems, but this is not an instance of installing spying bugs, then  well, it is something other countries will listen to.

It was not saying this because the UK wants to cuddle up to China, or conversely support its ally, the US. It was being straight.

There are, of course, real concerns.

The Chinese have different standards and global objectives to the UK  and there is no need to kowtow to them.

Whether we remain the biggest footprint for China in Europe I don't know, but I do know that should be our aim.

And, with so much concern about our place in the world economy as and when this Brexit business eventually subsides, I know something else: trust in international relations will matter more over the next 20 years than it does even now.Continental Building Products Inc (NYSE:CBPX) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November, 12th. The construction company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The construction company had revenue of $127.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.16 million. Continental Building Products had a net margin of 12.12% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 18.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS.

View Continental Building Products' earnings history.Infineon Technologies AG designs, develops, manufactures, and markets semiconductors and related system solutions worldwide. Its Automotive segment offers automotive microcontrollers; 3D ToF, magnetic, and pressure sensors; discrete power semiconductors; IGBT modules; industrial microcontrollers; power and radar sensor integrated circuits (ICs); transceivers; silicon carbide diodes, MOSEFTs, and modules; and voltage regulators for use in assistance and safety systems, comfort electronics, infotainment, powertrain, and security products. The company's Industrial Power Control segment provides bare dies, discrete IGBTs, driver ICs, SIC diodes, and IGBT modules and stacks for home appliances, industrial drives, industrial power supplies, industrial robotics, industrial vehicles, and traction, as well as for energy generation, storage, and transmission. Its Power & Sensor Systems segment offers gas sensors, MEMS microphones, and pressure sensors chips; discrete low-voltage, mid-voltage, and high-voltage power MOSFETs; control ICs; customized chips; GaN power switches; GPS low-noise amplifiers; low-voltage and high-voltage driver ICs; radar sensor ICs; RF antenna switches and power transistors; transient voltage suppressor diodes; and USB controllers for use in audio amplifiers, automotive electronics, BLDC motors, cellular communications infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, human machine interaction, high-reliability components, Internet of Things, LED and conventional lighting systems, mobile devices, and power management applications. The company's Connected Secure Systems segment provides connectivity solutions, embedded security controllers, microcontrollers, and security controllers for authentication, automotive, consumer electronics, government identification document, Internet of Things, mobile communication, payment system, ticketing, access control, and trusted computing applications. Infineon Technologies AG is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Read MoreThomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, national, and international news to professionals through desktop terminals, media organizations, and industry events, as well as directly to consumers. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited.

Read MoreBy PTI

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Saturday framed various charges, including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault, against all accused persons in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha put 21 accused on trial, saying there was prima facie enough evidence against them. All the accused, who appeared before court, pleaded innocence.

Besides rape (376) and criminal conspiracy, the court also framed charges under various sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and other charges.

READ HERE: 5 former shelter home inmates, two others flee care unit; Opposition cries 'conspiracy'

Brajesh Thakur, alleged mastermind and strongman in the case, was charged with serious charges under the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault). Thakur and the employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials, were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty, failure to report the assault on the girls.

The other 20 accused were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors.

The offence carries punishment of minimum 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

ALSO READ | Bihar shelter home victims mostly minors, finds CBI

The court will hold a trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges.

The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act.

On February 7, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi, which would conclude the trial within six months by holding preferably day-to-day hearing.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

The issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).SCHENECTADY  As police were hunting for DuShawn Howard last summer, the suspected shooter penned a letter stating he had shot his girlfriend after she had shot him, according to court papers.

The legal documents also reveal that he later wrote a letter to the state attorney general's office in which he claimed he and everyone else injured in the incident suffered gunshot wounds when the gun went off during a struggle over the weapon.

The letters and his comments during a jailhouse interview with the Times Union seem to the lay the foundation for what Howard's attorney Mark Sacco said Friday will be his client's defense: that the shooting was in self-defense and an accident.

Police and prosecutors dispute that claim. Howard, 49, is charged with shooting Aishah Goodwin, 35, and her two children, a 7-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, at a Union Street home in July.

Howard and Goodwin have a 1-year-old boy together who was inside the home at the time of the shooting but was unharmed.

Howard faces four counts of attempted murder and multiple assault charges as well as weapons offenses and more related to the July shooting and an earlier domestic dispute in which he allegedly punched Goodwin in the face.

Sacco said a pre-trial hearing is slated for April 5 and that the trial will most likely get underway on April 8 before County Court Judge Matthew Sypniewski.

Sacco, who recently took over the case, said the district attorney's office has not made any plea deal offers. Sacco declined to say if his client will take the stand at trial.

Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham is prosecuting the case.

After the July shooting, Howard was traced to a residence a few miles away on Summit Avenue in Hamilton Hill with what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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He was facing misdemeanor assault and child endangerment charges at the time of the shootings.

In a jailhouse interview, Howard insisted that he and Goodwin were shot as they struggled over a .357 revolver. Howard said they were arguing over Goodwin's care for her children, and the times he was left to care for them.

Goodwin, who also sat down with the Times Union, tells a different story.

She contends she was getting their young son dressed as Howard argued with her about something when gunshots rang out.

Though she and her two children were shot, they managed to make it out of the apartment.No one wants to lose money, particularly for retirement. But it happens  people lose track of, or don't know they have, retirement accounts.

It's surprisingly easy to do. People switch jobs, move, change names and the company or plan provider loses track of them. Or an employee can't keep track after a company is sold or a plan is terminated. Some people don't even know they were eligible for a pension, didn't realize they were vested or were unaware they were automatically enrolled in a 401(k).

While an employer should inform employees of their options when leaving, employees sometimes forget to complete the paperwork, said Thomas Nee, co-founder of Compass Point Retirement Planning. There is also little requirement or incentive for companies or plan providers to find beneficiaries.

There's no exact measure of how many unclaimed benefits are out there. But a report released last year by the Government Accountability Office states that between 2004 and 2013 more than 25 million people left at least one retirement plan behind when they left a job.

Here are some tips on tracking down lost benefits:

Check your paperwork

If you have paperwork on an old pension, 401(k) or other retirement plan, this is a good place to start. Contact the company that manages the plan and go from there.

In some cases, you may want to grab old taxes, W-2s or other employment-related documents while you're digging through the paperwork. This documentation can help if the process proves difficult. In some cases, the hunt to find and claim benefits can become very complex and take years, particularly if a company has been sold more than once over the years, said Karen Ferguson, director of the Pension Rights Center.

Contact your old employer

The next step should be contacting your old employer to request information about what retirement benefits you're due. If you cannot find them, search the Department of Labor's website of Form 5500 filings to find out if they are still in business. This form should have contact information for the plan.

Get help

There are a bevy of databases and organizations that can help you find benefits and provide direction:

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The Department of Labor's Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) provides help over the phone and online, including a searchable database for abandoned plans: www.askebsa.dol.gov

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is a federal agency in charge of insuring private-sector pension benefits. If the plan is in trouble, the PBGC steps in. The PBGC said there are more than 80,000 people who earned a pension who haven't yet claimed it. Those unclaimed benefits total more than $400 million dollars, with individual benefits ranging from twelve cents to almost $1 million. The agency provides information over the phone and online, including a searchable database: www.pbgc.gov

State Unclaimed Property: In some cases, the money is handed over to a state's unclaimed property division. Each state maintains its own database but the website missingmoney.com, created by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, can also provide information about each state's programs.

Social Security Administration: The SSA will provide a notice alerting you to potential benefits when you are ready to claim Social Security, but the notice does not guarantee those funds are still there.

The U.S. Administration on Aging's Pension Counseling and Information Program provides free legal assistance to those experiencing a problem.By Express News Service

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modis bail application was rejected for the second time by a UK court on Friday.

The hearing saw prosecutors go on the offensive arguing that the embattled jeweller posed a flight risk and had even issued death threats to witnesses related to his fraud case.

A team of CBI and ED officials were present in court during the hearing.

They handed over a new file of evidence, which was reviewed by Westminster Magistrates Court Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot before the hearing.

Arguing on behalf of the Indian government, Crown Prosecution Service, barrister Toby Cadman told the court that there was a substantial risk that the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank would flee and attempt to interfere with witnesses and evidence.

ALSO READ | Nirav Modi & Vijay Mallya to share same jail cell in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail?

Given the nature and seriousness of charges and the resources available to him, there will be an overwhelming desire to flee the jurisdiction and interfere with the administration of justice, said Cadman.

The CPS barrister then went on to give details of Modis attempt to interfere with witnesses. He said Modi phoned a witness, Ashish Lad, threatening to kill him.

A bribe of Rs 20 lakh was also allegedly offered in lieu of a false testimony.

Likewise, Nilesh Mistry and three other witnesses were targeted. Mobile phones and a server holding material critical to the fraud were destroyed at the request of Modi, raising fears of further destroying of evidence if bail was granted, the court was told.

Due to the nature of his business he has at his disposal diamonds, gold and pearls, added Cadman.

Modis defence team, led by barrister Clare Montgomery, who was also the barrister for former Vijay Mallya in his extradition case, countered the argument that Modi is a flight risk saying he sees the UK as a haven where his case will be fairly considered.

ED vs ED?

In a curious development, the main investigating officer in the Nirav Modi money laundering case was reportedly relieved of his charge by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai. However, the order was soon overturned by the agencys Delhi headquarters, PTI reported.

The order divesting Joint Director Satyabrat Kumar of the charge of Mumbai zonal unit-I of the ED was issued by its top officer in the western zone, Special Director Vineet Agarwal, on Friday when Kumar was in London with regard to Modis bail hearing.

As soon as the news came out, ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra cancelled the order in Delhi and restored the charge to Kumar, reports saidWow Air's last Instagram post before the airline abruptly shut down captures the splendor of Kirkjufell, a postcard-perfect mountain on Iceland's Snaefellsnes Peninsula. But the image quickly became a magnet for sarcastic comments and customer warnings for its origin: It was taken by a stranded passenger unsure of how to get home.

"When your flights get cancelled three weeks before your trip and you don't get refunded" wrote one Instagram user, accompanied by four smiley faces. Another said, "I can think of plenty of words to describe wow airlines and amazing isn't one of them." Yet another posted a giant "F."

Austin Graff, a manager of talent branding and recruiting at The Washington Post, snapped the photo from the Airbnb that he and a friend shared during a jaunt to the island nation. He booked the trip after seeing a Facebook post about cheap Wow Air flights to Reykjavik. His round-trip ticket from Baltimore to the Icelandic capital cost $201. Graff and his companion were supposed to leave Friday.

Graff was first alerted to Wow Air disruptions on Wednesday, when he saw Twitter chatter about cancelled European flights. He began tracking social media closely. On Thursday morning, while eating breakfast at his hotel, he saw a breaking news report of the airline's collapse. Fearing the logistical nightmare ahead - being stuck in a foreign country with a family and job waiting at home - Graff quickly searched the Kayak and Vayama travel sites for a way out.

Within minutes he booked a return flight on Iceland Air. It cost $375, a hefty premium over his original outlay, but he chalked it up as the cost for peace of mind. He was confident he'd just guaranteed his return.

He was wrong.

When it came time to check in for his Iceland Air flight, Graff learned that he and his friend had been placed on standby, likely owing to many other Wow Air passengers scrambling to get back to America.

Graff again turned to the internet for help, googling "stranded wow air passenger."

He was directed to Iceland Air's website, where Wow Air passengers could purchase special, discounted tickets back to the U.S. for $100. But after filling out a Web form and receiving a reference number to share with an agent on the other end of a hotline, Graff was instead greeted by an automated phone recording that referred him back to the website from which he started.

"It was a circle of no human interaction," Graff said.

Iceland Air's website says Wow Air customers can reach its reps on Facebook Messenger and Twitter. Graff tried that, too. And Instagram for good measure. No response, he said.

Iceland Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since Graff's standby flight wasn't scheduled to depart for another day, he drove to the airport in Reykjavik Thursday night in an attempt to get some answers.

Would he get a confirmed seat or remain in standby limbo? Could he get a "rescue" fare for $100? What about rerouting him through Paris or London where there are more flights back to the U.S.?

When Graff arrived at the airport, the Iceland Air desks were deserted. "We went there looking for answers, to talk to a human, but no one was there," he said.

As of Friday morning, Graff was still waiting to hear whether he will fly home. But for others who were already supposed to leave the country, the cost of staying even one extra day could be financially straining, he said.

"Iceland is a beautiful country to be stranded in, but it's so expensive," Graff said.

Like Graff, many of Wow Air's passengers had traveled to Iceland on ultra-low fares, with plans for an inexpensive vacation. But an unscheduled extra night or two at a hotel, along with food and other costs may prove more than an inconvenience.

Locals told Graff he is one of roughly 5,000 stranded Wow Air passengers.

Graff is trying to make the best of the situation.

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"The dad side of me is a little bit stressed - I want to relieve my wife, and my daughter is mad at me that I'm gone," he said. "But the adventure-seeking side of me is excited about this because I may have more to do."

Wow Air gave little warning of its demise Thursday - it was offering sub-$200 fares from Baltimore, Detroit, New York and Boston that day - when it issued an early morning alert announcing that all flights had been canceled and urged ticket holders to look elsewhere to complete their trips.

In a section of Wow Air's alert with the heading "What are my rights?" the airline outlined how some passengers may be entitled to compensation for their canceled flights. Those who purchased travel insurance or who bought their tickets with a credit card that offers travel protection may be able to recoup some costs, Wow Air said, but noted that "such compensation is often limited."

The carrier said it may be obligated to compensate passengers in accordance with European regulations. "In case of a bankruptcy, claims should be filed to the administrator / liquidator," the company said.

The airline's customer support account on Twitter was hit with request after request for help. A litany of apologies in public messages Thursday instructed individual customers to send their booking information through private, direct messages for assistance. Customers complained about canceled flights, demanded refunds and asked for new bookings to continue their journeys.

Passengers who booked Wow Air travel using the app Hopper will receive a refund, Hopper's chief executive, Frederic Lalonde, said Thursday. The company will also cover the cost of rebooking for stranded passengers. Close to 1,000 Hopper customers were affected by the cancellations, the company said. It is reaching out to them through text messages and push notifications through the app.

Icelandair had reached an agreement to buy Wow Air last year. Both airlines had been struggling in the face of higher oil prices, slowed tourism to Iceland, and competition from rivals that offered direct flights to Europe. But the deal evaporated.

A private equity firm also recently discussed investing in Wow Air, but last week the carrier announced the suitor had backed out of the talks. In a last-ditch effort, just one week ago, the company said it had rekindled conversations with Icelandair for a potential takeover, the Financial Times reported.

Based in Iceland's capital city of Reykjavik, Wow Air was founded in 2011, employing about 1,000 people, according to the company's website. The airline flew 3.5 million passengers last year, serving airports in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Israel.

Wow Air's end of operations follows the demise of another European low-budget airline, Primera Air, which folded in October, less than two months after launching regular service between Dulles International Airport and London's Stansted Airport. As with Wow Air, Primera Air's sudden cancellations left many passengers stranded on both sides of the Atlantic.

- - -

The Washington Post's Austin Graff contributed to this report from Reykjavik.Matthew McConaughey is at his dirt bag finest as a good-time Charlie stoner-poet named Moondog in Harmony Korine's "The Beach Bum," a bizarre and transfixing carnival of vulgarity and vice.

In some ways it's the part he was born to play. Whether or not that's a good thing for him, or unsuspecting audiences, is unclear, but McConaughey gives and bares (nearly) all for this film. And it mostly works. Korine, with the help of his innately charismatic star and talented cinematographer Benoit Debie, nearly pulls off an incredible trick having made a flagrant and aggressively R-rated celebration of South Florida hedonism and depravity that's also kind of funny and even, sometimes, oddly sweet and charming.

It's hard not to stress just how strange a movie "The Beach Bum" is, although anyone familiar with Korine's other films, "Spring Breakers" probably being the most mainstream of the batch, won't be all that surprised. He has set this odyssey in and around Miami and the Florida Keys, which have never looked more neon, rotted or depraved.

Moondog is introduced in resplendent glory in the Keys, where the cannabis and women are as plentiful as ocean water and there for the taking, and the bras and tops scarce. He is tanned to a crisp; with a mop of fried, shaggy blond locks framing his nearly unrecognizable face. At times you even forget there's a handsome actor underneath the tacky wraparound sunglasses.

He is a giggling burnout supreme with an ever-present PBR tallboy, who you suspect might be homeless, or at least veering toward that state. Suffice it to say, it comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that he has a wife, Minnie (Isla Fisher), a grown daughter, Heather (Stefania LaVie Owen) and a waterfront mansion back in Miami. "I forgot how rich we are," Moondog opines to Minnie, who is the walking embodiment of trashy affluence. She too is having an affair with a wealthy weed dealer named Lingerie (Snoop Dogg).

But for some reason she loves her loser husband. "He's from another dimension," Minnie coos, as an apparent way of explaining away all of his unconventional ways. He's a genius, we're told, and a celebrated poet whose agent (played by a very over-the-top Jonah Hill) is itching for a follow-up. When things go awry and he loses everything, it's his typewriter that he brings along with him in a silky white sack that he slings casually over his shoulder.

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The success of the whole endeavor might come down to exactly how on board you are with Moondog's pursuit of fun, which starts to seriously curdle during an overextended segment with Zac Efron, who plays a deviant who Moondog goes on an escape-from-rehab bender with. The destruction and havoc he incites starts to feel less like comedy and more like a horror movie. By the time you get to meet Martin Lawrence's Captain Wack, Moondog and the film have truly checked out of planet Earth and settled entirely on this other dimension.

There is a lot of fun to be had living in Moondog's world for 95 minutes, and the film goes down suspiciously easy for something so ugly and amoral. But it's also no wonder why once you're out of the intoxicating haze of Korine's milieu that a bad taste starts to form.

Enjoy the buzz while you can, because the come down is a serious bummer.ALBANY  Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan on Saturday said in a social media post that the city experienced a ransomware cyber attack.

"We are currently determining the extent of the compromise. We are committed to keeping you informed and will provide updates as they become available," she tweeted.

Further details on the attack weren't immediately available, including any specific areas the attack targeted, what it means for city residents and employees, who is being called in to help fight the problem and when it could be resolved.

City spokesman Brian Shea, reached Saturday afternoon, declined to comment.

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A ransomware attack happens when a hacker denies an owner access to a system or personal files, and demands a ransom for the victim to regain access. Typically, ransomware hackers demand payment via cryptocurrency or credit card.

This story has been corrected to clarify that in a ransomware cyber attack, a hacker denies the owner access to system files.Albany

Student protesters and others on Friday staged a call-in during which they phoned officials at the University at Albany, urging them to support of a Jordanian-born former student who has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention since 2018.

And they protested UAlbanys three-year-old College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity for what they view as its participation in the mechanisms of U.S. global dominance and imperialism.

The telephonic event was organized by ICE-Free Capital District, a group opposing arrests and detentions of undocumented immigrants, which have been part of a crackdown by the Trump Administration.

At issue is the fate of Omar Helatat who came to the U.S. from Jordan as a child. His family overstayed their tourist visas, but Helatat fell under the Obama-eras Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which allows undocumented immigrants who were brought here as youngsters to stay.

Helatat was arrested when a former girlfriend accused him of trying to strangle her after he had cheated on her. The charges were later dismissed, though, after the woman wrote a letter in his defense.

Nonetheless, the arrest led to deportation efforts by ICE. Helatat is currently in an ICE detention center in Batavia awaiting an appeal.

ICE-Free Capital District put out the call for the phone action, which included a script that participants could read over the phone.

Hello, I am a community member / UAlbany (student/staff/alum) who is concerned about the unlawful detention and deportation of former UAlbany student Omar Helalat as well as the construction of the new College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, read part of the script.

Callers also want UAlbany leaders to reaffirm their commitment to making the campus a sanctuary zone.

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And they want school officials to Cease the integration of former intelligence officials into UAlbany faculty. The introduction to the group's script contended that the school is helping train the next generation of ICE and CIA agents.

UAlbany spokesman Jordan Carleo-Evangelist said the offices received calls, although the precise amount wasnt immediately clear. The university did receive a number of calls on this issue today and they were brief and respectful, he said. We encourage civic engagement among our students, and we would not expect anything different.

He added that the school of Homeland Security school does not work with ICE. As for training federal agents, he said the colleges alumni work at all levels of government and with industry and nonprofits.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTUThe editorial, "Hypocrisy in the Hollow," March 6, exposed the inconsistency between New York state's ban on gas fracking and the New York Power Authority's decision to use fracked gas to power Empire State Plaza. The Times Union Editorial Board rightly questions how such a decision squares with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pledge to make our electric supply carbon free by 2020.

While I join the Editorial Board in decrying this hypocrisy, I remember my own and others' small hypocrisies. Many of us, though convinced that greenhouse gas emissions are adversely affecting our weather, frequently contribute to the production of those gases for reasons of routine or convenience.New GEICO Board Member Corbin's Career Achievements Serve as Inspiration to Many

When Pionne Corbin recently took her seat on the GEICO board of directors, it was the latest milestone in a career of achievements that began 25 years ago.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190330005001/en/

Pionne Corbin has achieved tremendous success since beginning her career at GEICO as a college senior. (Photo: Business Wire)

Corbin was a senior at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, when she started working at GEICO. She knew GEICO was a growing employer in Fredericksburg and had a reputation for nurturing associates and promoting from within the company.

"I saw a claims adjuster position listed at my college's career services office," she said. "I applied, got the job and began my career at GEICO."

After Corbin earned her economics degree, she was accepted into what is now known as GEICO's Management Development Program (MDP) and received mentoring and training in all aspects of the company's operations.

"All of my formal training in insurance claims and underwriting took place at GEICO," she said. "My informal training came from mentors who provided career advice and presented me with challenges that helped to prepare me for my future roles."

With her MDP training complete, Corbin took on the first of what have been many leadership positions when she was named a supervisor in the claims division. From supervisor to manager to director, Corbin took on more responsibilities and challenges.

"I tell those I mentor that they should not be coy about speaking up and putting themselves forward for opportunities," said Corbin, a wife and mother to two teenagers. "Often, fear of failure makes us our own worst enemies."

In 2013, she was elected assistant vice president of underwriting at GEICO's Buffalo, New York, regional office, which serves GEICO customers in New Jersey and New England. Two years later, she was named head of Buffalo's claims division. In June 2016, Corbin was promoted to vice president of all Buffalo operations, becoming the first African-American to serve as a GEICO regional vice president.







Another first came in 2018 when she was promoted to senior vice president. In this role, she oversees GEICO's operations in the Southeast, the Midwest and in Florida. She was elected to the GEICO board of directors earlier this year.

Her accomplishments have made her an inspiration for many, and Corbin is always keen to encourage new GEICO associates and others.

"Don't be deterred by barriers," she said. "Work hard, produce great results and always have confidence in your ability to achieve goals and exceed expectations."

About GEICO

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company), the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S., was founded in 1936 and insures more than 27 million vehicles.

To make changes, report claims, print insurance cards and purchase additional products, policyholders can access their insurance policy here, connect via GEICO Mobile, phone or by visiting a GEICO local agent.

Homeowners, renters, condo, flood, identity theft and term life coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Commercial auto and personal umbrella coverages are also available.

Visit www.geico.com for a quote or to learn more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190330005001/en/[March 29, 2019] Acasta Enterprises Inc. Reports 2018 Financial Results

Acasta Enterprises Inc. (TSX: AEF) ("Acasta" or the "Company") today announced the release of its consolidated financial statements for the year and quarter ended December 31, 2018, management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) and Annual Information Form ("AIF"). These documents will be posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All values in this news release and the Company's financial disclosures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Corporate Highlights Since assuming operational control of the Company on December 21, 2018, the Company's refreshed Board and management team have set to the difficult task of eliminating excess expenses and inefficiencies related to the previous operating structure. Significant effort has been expended to negotiate arrangements benefitting the Company as a whole and to increase profitability at Apollo Health and Beauty Care Inc. ("Apollo"), the Company's sole operating subsidiary. The Company is focused on streamlining operations to reduce its cost structure and overall Company debt with a view towards enhancing shareholder value over the medium to long term. The Company will continue to explore various alternatives to achieve these ends. Financial Highlights Acasta's 2018 consolidated results included revenues from continuing operations of $176.7 million compared to $173.6 million in the 2017 year. Apollo's consumer products business has established long standing relationships with its customers.

Total comprehensive loss for 2018 was $319.6 million compared to $440.9 million in the 2017 year. These reported losses include non-cash impairment losses from continuing operations of $106.6 million during th year ended December 31, 2018 compared with $200.7 million the 2017 year. The total comprehensive loss also includes losses of $145.3 million from discontinued operations in 2018 compared with $249.7 million in 2017. The Company does not expect further losses from discontinued operations going forward in 2019.

Total debt has been reduced to $74.4 million at December 31, 2018 from $983.9 million at December 31, 2017. The Company's commercial bank credit facility matures on June 1, 2019 and its U.S. credit facility on September 1, 2019. The Company is working with its lenders to extend debt maturities and improve lending terms.



Advisories:

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward Looking Statements This news release includes forward looking statements. All such statements constitute forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities law and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable securities laws. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to statements about other anticipated future events or results, including comments with respect to Company's future financial performance and condition. Forward looking statements are statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions and are identified by words such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" or similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Such statements are based on current expectations of the Company's management and inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, including economic factors. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is presented for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding the Company's business and strategic priorities and objectives. A number of risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual outcomes or financial results to differ materially from the forward looking statements contained in this news release, including, among other factors, those referenced in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018, a copy of which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile. Forward looking statements contained in this news release are not guarantees of future outcomes performance and, while forward looking statements are based on certain assumptions that the Company considers reasonable, actual events could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements made by the Company. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully when making decisions with respect to the Company and to not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Circumstances affecting the Company may change rapidly. Except as may be expressly required by applicable law, Acasta does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward looking statements in this new release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190329005569/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][March 29, 2019] DIPLOMAT PHARMACY SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. - DPLO

ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until April 25, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 26, 2018 and February 21, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Get Help Diplomat investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-diplomat-pharmacy-inc-securities-litigation-1 or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to dscuss your legal options.



About the Lawsuits Diplomat and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On February 22, 2019, Diplomat disclosed the postponement of the release of its Q4 and full-year 2018 earnings as it worked to finalize the amount of an impairment charge, which was "expected to be equal to a significant portion of the PBM's Goodwill and Definite-lived intangible assets, which total approximately $630 million as of December 31, 2018, prior to impairment charges." On this news, the price of Diplomat's shares plummeted over 56%. The case is Riehm v. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. et al, 19-cv-1369. 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. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190329005552/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A month after Indian fighter jets bombed a Jaish terror training facility in Pakistans Balakot, the Pakistan Army, on Thursday, took a select contingent of Pakistani journalists on a guided tour of the spot.

A source said, Pakistan Frontier Corps organised a controlled trip for 8 selected media personnel on March 28 at 10am. They stayed there till 3.30 pm and were allowed to shoot videos.

The onus of securing the Jaish terror pod in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was on the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary unit which comes under Pakistan Army.

The journalists were asked to board a Service chopper and were given partial and controlled access to the area under the supervision of an officer of the rank of Major, a source said. Some portions of the damaged facility were covered with tarpaulin sheets, he added.

The scribes also met 375 students of a madrasa in the area and even shot videos with them, the source said.

Questioning the timing of the guided tour by the Pakistan Army, the source said, What prompted the Pakistan Army to allow access to the spot a month after the air strikes? Also, why take a select group of journalists? By this time the spot would have surely been sanitized of all things that would served as evidence of the Jaish terror training camp and the air strike.[March 29, 2019] CONDUENT SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 7, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. (NYSE: CNDT), if they purchased the Company's shares between February 21, 2018 and November 6, 2018 (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Conduent 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 ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cndt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by May 7, 2019.



About the Lawsuit Conduent and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On November 7, 2018, the Company disclosed negative Q3 and Q4 projected operating results due to "continued suboptimal performance from an inherited legacy technology vendorstem[ming] from the vendor's inability to deliver on service level agreements, lack of responsiveness to Conduent's needs, and poorly structured contract which we inherited" Further, an "outdated and historically under-invested legacy IT infrastructure has caused major disruptions to our operations and impacted clients and delivery performance." On this news, the price of Conduent's 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190329005550/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]SWEDBANK INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Swedbank AB for Possible Securities Fraud - SWDBY

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 Swedbank AB (OTC: SWDBY).

On February 20, 2019, a Swedish television investigative program reported that it had uncovered documents linking the Company to a money laundering scandal with Denmark's Danske Bank involving 40 billion kronor ($4.3 billion) in suspicious transfers between 2007 and 2015. The next day, financial regulators from Sweden and Estonia announced a joint investigation into the matter. Then, on March 28, 2019, the Company announced that its President and CEO, Birgitte Bonnesen, had been dismissed from the Company.

On this news, the price of Swedbank's ADR's has plummeted by almost 30% since February 19, 2019.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Swedbank and/or its officers and directors violated tate or federal securities laws.







If you are a Swedbank shareholder 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 ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/otc-swdby/ 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/20190329005549/en/[March 30, 2019] WuXi NextCODE Launches New State-of-the-art Genetic Analysis Laboratory in U.S. with Illumina's New TruSight 500 Assay

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SHANGHAI, March 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi NextCODE, a global genomic data and insights company, is expanding its laboratory footprint into the U.S. with the opening of a state-of-the-art, CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited genetic analysis laboratory in Woburn, Massachusetts. The new laboratory is geographically close to WuXi NextCODE's U.S. office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "This new laboratory helps us provide our customers with the access to next generation sequencing for clinical trials around the world, under the roof of one single, highly respected organization," says Rob Brainin, Chief Executive Officer of WuXi NextCODE. "Our global lab footprint also ensures a seamless unified workflow with a single chain of custody, from sample management, standard operating procedures, rigorous implementation of quality systems, to analytics and standardized reporting, in the U.S., Asia and the E.U." As the first CAP/CLIA/ISO 15189 certified laboratory in China, the company's Shanghai laboratory already offers comprehensive next generation sequencing (NGS) clinical and discovery research services. WuXi NextCODE has also recently acquired a large scale NGS laboratory in Dublin, Ireland, which is already CAP-accredited and anticipated to be CLIA-certified in the third quarter of 2019. The first oncology panel to be offered in the U.S. lab's CLIA/CAP environment will be Illumina's new TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO 500), which is a comprehensive pan-cancer tumor profiling assay that can support prospective patient enrollment in clinical trials, retrospective exploratory translational research and biomarker discovery applications. The TSO 500 research use only (RUO) test provides comprehensive coverage of established and emerging oncology biomarkers with the ability to provide rapid turnaround time. Thepanel will initially be offered at WuXi NextCODE's newly opened U.S. laboratory and then launched across the company's other global laboratories in Shanghai and Dublin.



TSO 500's comprehensive, integrated next-generation sequencing assay combines a DNA+RNA workflow (when bundled with the TruSight  Tumor 170 RNA panel) from the same FFPE tumor-only sample to accurately, reproducibly and comprehensively identify key somatic variants underlying tumor progression. These variants include DNA variants across 523 genes (including SNVs, indels and copy number abnormalities), and gene fusions and splice variants from the integrated RNA assay of 55 genes. Notably, TSO 500 also measures tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI), features that are potentially key response biomarkers for immune-based therapies. WuXi NextCODE's deployment of the TSO 500 assay allows users full access to raw genomic data for further analysis and future use, in addition to robust standardized variant reporting. "We are very pleased to supply WuXi NextCODE with Illumina's TruSight Oncology 500 assay to enable the company's translational research customers," says Garret Hampton, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Clinical Genomics at Illumina. "We expect that the use of TruSight Oncology 500 will lead to robust biomarker discovery, while also directly supporting oncology-focused therapeutics and companion diagnostic development."

"This assay's comprehensive genomic footprint, speed, accuracy, sensitivity and convenience make it a true game changer in our ability to support our customers' comprehensive oncology panel profiling needs  whether it be for patient selection or stratification in clinical development programs or for biomarker discovery," says Richard Williams, MB BS, PhD and Managing Director and Head of Oncology at WuXi NextCODE. "We are well prepared to help our clients navigate this sometimes-challenging road to regulatory approval for a biomarker-guided cancer treatment, and TSO 500 is central to our strategy to enable our partners to bring the next generation of cancer drugs to patients in need." About WuXi NextCODE

WuXi NextCODE is a global genomic data and insights company with operations in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Dublin, Reykjavik and Shanghai. We serve the world's leading life sciences companies including biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and medical research centers. Our partners all use insights from genomic data to improve health. Our capabilities include providing access to population-scale patient cohorts for research, next generation sequencing (NGS) CLIA/CAP GCP labs globally, and a team of the world's leading A.I. and genomic analysis experts and technologies for organizing, mining and sharing genomic and disease biology data. Visit us on the web at wuxinextcode.com. Meet us at AACR 2019. Find us at booth 3114, or at our presentation and posters to learn more about our full suite of genomic tools and services. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wuxi-nextcode-launches-new-state-of-the-art-genetic-analysis-laboratory-in-us-with-illuminas-new-trusight-500-assay-300821439.html SOURCE WuXi NextCODE

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]Rumors are swirling of a new and improved Nintendo Switch (alongside a more affordable model) that could launch as soon as this year's E3 convention in June. So, we at Tom's Guide sat down and put together a wish list of the hardware upgrades we want Nintendo to add to the successor to its popular portable console.

While some of these options (such as a higher-resolution display) probably won't make it to the cheaper Switch, many of the changes should be applied to both versions, so that neither model feels like a downgrade.

Wireless and USB-C headphone support

Nintendo's hybrid of console and handheld isn't encumbered by wires, so why doesn't it have any provisions for wireless headphones?

It'd be easier to accept that oversight if the Switch didn't support Bluetooth, but the system very clearly does for its controllers. I reckon every Switch owner has been inconvenienced by Nintendo's strange and unusual approach to audio at least once over the past two years, either because of those Bluetooth annoyances, or because the Switch also cannot route sound through its USB Type-C port. (I depressingly discovered this unhappy fact on an international flight with nothing but a pair of Google's wired Pixel Buds at my disposal.) These were massive oversights when the Switch released, and Nintendo ought to do something about them if the company truly is working on any hardware revisions.  Adam Ismail

A sharper screen

The Switch's games are too good for its 6.2-inch, 1280 x 720-pixel LCD screen. While Nintendo has long gotten away with offering underpowered and under-specced hardware, the company can't be so far behind when Sony and Microsoft consoles come in 4K variants. I'm not asking for a Switch with a UHD 4K display  that would be a waste on a portable console  but this console deserves a 1920 x 1080p screen, which would make The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and many other titles even more beautiful than they already are. Oh, and Nintendo, if you really want to make this new Switch a must-buy, toss in an OLED screen for more vibrant hues and inkier black tones.  Henry T. Casey

Better build quality

The Switch is a very pretty, smartly designed console. It also happens to be a very fragile one, judging by the number of quality control issues that have surfaced since launch. The display is clad in a scratch-plone plastic that gets easily scuffed by the system's own dock.

The back cover can warp and bend with excess heat, which is also likely to happen while docked. Our own Marshall Honorof had to send his unit in for a faulty charging port, and ended up losing hundreds of hours worth of saves in the process. (Perhaps that's more an indictment of Nintendo's cavalier attitude toward preserving user data at its service centers, but I digress).

MORE: The Best Phones for Gaming

What makes these issues all the more infuriating is that they're fixable, if Nintendo would simply invest in build quality. Even the cheapest smartphones on sale today shield their screens with Gorilla Glass, and most of them cost far less than a new Switch does. It really is the least Nintendo could do.  Adam Ismail

Better battery life

The Switch's battery life is decent for a portable console, but you're not getting more than 3 hours of Breath of the Wild time on the go unless you have a portable charger handy. That's fine for short commutes, but as someone who regularly hops on cross-country flights, I'd love for my Switch to be able to last a 5- or 6-hour trip without the need for any external gadgets.  Mike Andronico

Customizable backplates

One of the most fascinating Switch communities is its group of modders. There's a small cottage industry of shops selling different-colored Joy-Con shells and backplates, and users are breaking warranty to get in and customize the systems.

But what if Nintendo had its own? Think about it like the Xbox 360's old front covers, or the swappable plates on the company's own New Nintendo 3DS. Make something that can pop on and off without difficulty, let people deck out their systems with new colors, patterns or even licensed characters.  Andrew E. Freedman

A redesigned dock

The dock is central to the Switch's role as both handheld and home console, but there are certainly some tweaks that would make it better. For example, perhaps the dock could be redesigned so that it doesn't scratch the Switch's screen.

Additionally, having an Ethernet built in would allow for more stable connections in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Splatoon 2's competitive online play. If Nintendo could make it a bit smaller for easier traveling, that would also be a huge plus.  Andrew E. Freedman

Make the dock more powerful, too

As of now, the dock is nothing more than a flimsy piece of plastic that charges the Switch and displays onto your TV via HDMI. It's basically a glorified USB-C hub. However, if you fit a discrete graphics card in there and have it act like an eGPU, then you'll be able to run games at optimal resolutions.

And by optimal, I mean 1080p, because some Switch games can't even maintain that resolution while docked, like Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Besides that, if you pump more power into the Switch, it'll make it easier for third-party developers to port their games onto the Switch.  Rami Tabari

An actually portable design

If there's one thing I miss about my Nintendo 3DS, is that I can actually stuff it in my pocket. I'm not expecting the rumored Nintendo Switch mini to be quite that portable, but I would totally spring for a smaller version of the console that isn't as much of a hassle to take out of my bag (and out of its case) every time I'm on the train. The rumored smaller Switch might be aimed at kids, but I wouldn't mind snagging one as a secondary machine to use on my commutes.  Mike Andronico

Fix that kickstand

Ever since I unwrapped my Switch on Christmas Day, I've known I wouldn't use it often in kickstand mode, even though I had intended to. That's because the little rubbery kickstand on the unit is difficult to dislodge, requiring me to jam a fingernail (or credit card) into the point where the kickstand sits against the Switch. This requires so much force that I worry I'm going to break the hinge off, and I've already begun to chip away at the hinge's rubbery coating. Solve this problem with a redesigned hinge, and I might consider upgrading so I could use the console to its full potential.  Henry T. Casey

Credit: Tom's GuideGoogle Pixelbook. (Image credit: Google)

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a civil liberties group based in Washington D.C., filed an amicus brief in the United States vs. Wilson case concerning Google scanning billions of users files for unlawful content and then sending that information to law enforcement agencies.

Bypassing the Fourth Amendment

EPIC alleges that law enforcement is using Google, a private entity, to bypass the Fourth Amendment, which requires due process and probable cause before searching or seizing someones property.

As a private entity, Google doesnt have to abide by the Fourth Amendment as the government has to, so it can do those mass searches on its behalf and then give the government the results. The U.S. government has been increasingly using this strategy to bypass Fourth Amendment protections of U.S. citizens and to expand its warrantless surveillance operations further.

Image Hashes vs. Image Matches

Google and a few other companies have voluntarily agreed to use a database of images hashes from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help the agency find exploited children.

More than that, the companies would also give any information they have on the people who owned those images, given they are users of said companies services and have shared the images through those services.

Image hash values are unique alphanumerical strings of characters that can be associatedwith images. These values are then used to match one image to another and see if the files are 100% identical.

EPIC alleges that Google has gone even beyond this voluntary commitment to help NCMEC find criminals who exploit children by using image hash matching, and its now also using image matching techniques that can look at different files to see whether or not they contain a certain image.

EPIC said this is very different from the first case of hash matching because image matching can result in many false positives (the algorithm can say that a certain file contains the original image, even though it doesnt).

Referring Innocent People to Law Enforcement

EPIC noted that neither Google nor the government has revealed how the image matching algorithm works nor have they revealed accuracy, reliability, or validity of the technique, all of which are required for scientific evidence in court.

EPIC argues that Google or other companies could use similar algorithms to scan not just for images of exploited children, but also for other purposes such as determining if files contain religious views, political opinions, or banned books.

Google was recently involved in a controversy about its development of a censored search engine for China, called Project Dragonfly. The search engine would enable the identification of material that the Chinese government considers sensitive, which likely goes much further than images of exploited children.

A Need for Algorithmic Transparency

In the Carpenter vs. United States case, the Supreme Court recognized that the existing Fourth Amendment standards need to be reexamined in the new digital age. The Court ruled that the government couldnt automatically track individuals locations everywhere they go for long periods of time without a warrant.

If the equivalent of the digital surveillance translated to the physical world meant that the government would have to deploy costly surveillance operations that would rarely happen, then the much cheaper automated digital surveillance shouldnt be permitted without a warrant, either.

EPIC argued in its new briefing that automated scanning of files for various crimes falls into the same category. Even if the scanning of files can be cataloged as private search, the government would need to have virtual certainty that the files it intends to open are the same ones that were scanned by the private company, and this may not be possible. The government cant guarantee that the files identified by Google are the same ones that the user uploaded.

This is also why EPIC believes that algorithmic transparency is critical for software that interacts with the justice system and provides information that incriminates users of various services.KC Health Department blocks landlord from charging illegal fee Renters in Kansas City are thanking social media and the city's Health Department for stopping a landlord from charging an illegal fee.In a letter Thursday to residents at four properties, Landmark Realty said they were "passing on" an annual $20 fee for Kansas City's new Healthy Homes Rental Inspection Program.

Possibly a moment of redemption (and great PR) after this 12th & Oak group dumped someMore importantly, therepresents an election season alliance with Kansas City renter's rights group who are advocating against cost of living increases targeting po'folk.Unfortunately, because activists don't care about economics . . . This defense of low-income residents will most likely serve to spike middle-class rents to an even greater degree . . . Because there is nothingabout capitalism or housing.Check the start of cowtown class warfare or rise of socialism here . . .Overland Park teen charged with assaulting school administrator OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- An Overland Park teen is facing charges after he allegedly assaulted an administrator at his school. Tershon Thomas, 18, faces a charge of battery of a school official.

Life lesson on the topic of growing challenges confronting educators in JoCo when confronting older adult students. Take a look:A Man Was Sentenced To 20 Years For A Swatting Hoax That Ended With An Innocent Person Being Killed A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to starting a fatal "swatting" hoax that led police to kill an innocent man in Wichita, Kansas.

Aftermath of a tragic episode in Sunflower State history after an innocent man who wasn't even participating in an online dispute was mistakenly targeted in a dangerous Internets revenge tactic and ultimately killed by police. Checkit:Kansas City Against Hate Crime

What a hate crime looks like Here's how you know a hate crime. The act leaves a stain, a wretched taint that festers and ferments through generations. It's a toxicity born from the hate. And no amount of criminal prosecution, spiritual cleansing or dramatic gestures of forgiveness by the victims ever completely resolves it.

Medical Crackdown

KS board issues emergency suspension of KC doctor's license KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas Board of Healing Arts announced Friday it has suspended a Kansas City-area doctor's license. The emergency suspension was for Dr. Rebecca S. Hierholzer, who is listed on several hospital websites and is licensed to practice emergency medicine. She's also the founder of a local sexual assault awareness practice.

Cold Case Across State Line

KCK detectives still working to find who shot teen KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is asking for the public's help in solving the murder of a teenager that happened in 2017. December Htoo was only 15 years old when he was shot and killed in November while he was working at a laundromat to help support his family.

Kansas City Shooting Today

Police searching for suspect after man suffers life-threatening injuries in KC shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police are searching for a suspect after a man was shot Friday afternoon in Kansas City's East Side. The shooting happened at about 4 p.m. near Chelsea Avenue and East Truman Road, but details about what led up to the shooting were not immediately available.

Rock Chalk Gunfire Targets Teens

2 taken to hospitals after shooting near Lawrence's Holcom Park Rec complex Two people were taken to hospitals on March 29, 2019, after a reported shooting near the Holcom Park Recreation Center. SOURCE: KMBC Two people were taken to hospitals after a reported shooting Friday afternoon near the Holcom Park Recreation Center.Lawrence police were called at 3:56 p.m.

Show-Me Reform?!?!

Criminal Justice Reforms Advance In Missouri House A Missouri House committee has approved major changes to the state's criminal justice system, including giving judges more leeway in nonviolent crime sentencing. The action Thursday by the House Special Committee on Criminal Justice is just the first step in what its chairman, Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, acknowledges could be a long fight.

More Deets On Local Threat

Man stopped for driving 130 mph said he was heading to White House, needed to return phone to 'leader of the Army' CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Missouri man who threatened President Donald Trump and sped to the White House with a gun had driven 13 hours without stopping before he was pulled over along a West Virginia highway Wednesday, a trooper said.

Quick glimpse at suspected misdeeds and local law enforcement news from across the metro and the region.Developing . . .For many decades now, the only beer you could buy in Kansas grocery and convenience stores was limited to 3.2% alcohol. But on Monday, that 3.2 beer will be a thing of the past. "It's a big step for the groceries and the state of Kansas," says Dennis Toney, an executive with Ball's Food Stores.By Online Desk

On Thursday, when Kunjaram Yadav and his wife Phoolwati entered a jungle in the buffer zone of the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh in search of their missing cow, they were unaware of what was lying in wait for them.

The sun was about to set when they entered the Jhangul beat in Mandlas Bamhani Range. After walking for a while, the couple was stunned to see two tigers guarding their dead cow. Now the challenge was to escape from there. Luckily they had been accompanied by a bodyguard in the form of their pet dog.

The tigers snarled viciously before suddenly leaping at them, the Times of India reported. Seeing the tigers attack his owners, the dog jumped between them and started barking furiously before charging at the big cats.

Taken aback, the tigers paused and stepped back, giving enough time for the couple to beat a hasty retreat. To their surprise, shortly after the incident, the dog also caught up with them. Yadav, who was clawed by the tigers, received several stitches at the local hospital.

Man-animal conflicts near national parks have always been a cause of worry for villagers residing nearby. In many cases, these encounters have turned fatal. This incident may have also had a grim end but for the presence of mind of the pet dog.17-year-old shot to death in Olathe, Kansas A 17-year-old male was shot to death Friday in Olathe, Kansas.

Deadly violence errupts in the Golden Ghetto tonight. Here's the best report so far along with photo from the scene. Take a look:By PTI

SRINAGAR: It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resorted to fearmongering in his election campaign rather than focusing on his five-year track record in governance, says National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, who believes the Congress is the only pan-India opposition party and should have formed regional alliances with various outfits in states, said he is surprised by the prime minister's campaign tack.

"I am surprised that a prime minister who has supposedly a five-year track record to fight these elections on is fighting them on the fear-mongering that it is only Pakistan and terrorists who want him to lose," Abdullah told PTI in an interview.

Abdullah used Modi's speeches in Meerut, Rudrapur and Akhnoor on Thursday to substantiate his point.

Launching his party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, Modi kept the focus on national security, terrorism and how his "decisive" government had shown the courage to conduct a surgical strike in all spheres -- land, sky and space.

"The PM has gone back again to use Pakistan to try and consolidate his election victory. The initial assessment of his three speeches yesterday -- he mentioned Pakistan 10 times, he mentioned jobs only thrice, once each in the three rallies," he said.

Abdullah said it showed where the prime minister's priorities lie and where the narrative is sought to be steered.

"I think it is unfortunate. This country has enough internal problems without the PM trying to drum up support on the basis of fear," he said.

Discussing the apparent failure of the opposition to cobble up a nationwide alliance, the National Conference vice president said he always had reservations about the "Mahagathbandhan".

"I always had reservations about this Mahagathbandhan. I always knew that it is going to be problematic. I had from time to time cautioned some of the bigger opposition leaders not to try to get into this cobbling up an alliance of 15 or 16 parties," he said.

Abdullah asserted the Congress is the only one pan-India opposition party as on date and the party should have formed regional alliances with various state outfits.

"At the end of the day, there is only one pan-India opposition party and that is the Congress. The Congress has to get into regional alliances at the state level with various regional parties. Therefore, this idea of the conglomerate of opposition parties was misleading."

Follow our full election coverage here

"Now, what stakes do I have in West Bengal, Andhra or Telangana or anywhere outside of J&K. Similarly, what stakes does Mamata Banerjee didi have outside of West Bengal, so on and so forth. If anything that needed to be done, it was to work towards putting together regional alliances between the Congress and the regional outfits," he said.

It has happened in some cases and not in others, Abdullah added.

On the tie-up between his party and the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, he said it was not really an alliance.

"We chose not to field candidates from Jammu and Udhampur in order to keep the secular vote from splitting and PDP followed our decision and announced something similar."

"In Srinagar, out of regard for Farooq Abdullah, Congress has decided not to put up a candidate. We will be contesting against Congress in the other three seats of south Kashmir, north Kashmir and Ladakh," he said.

According to Abdullah, the main poll plank for his party is the protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir as enshrined in the Constitution of India.

"The primary issue for us is the protection of Jammu and Kashmir's special status. Yesterday's blogpost by Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) makes it amply clear as to what the intentions of the BJP are. It makes it all the more important that we contest these elections on the commitment to ensuring J&K's special status, particularly enshrined in Articles 370 and 35A," he said.

In a statement that came amid the BJP pressing for early elections to state assemblies in the state, Jaitley said Article 35A, which restricts non-permanent residents to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir, is "constitutionally vulnerable" and also hampering economic development of the state.

Abdullah said his party wanted the voice of people of Jammu and Kashmir to be heard in Parliament and they have put forward their best representatives.

"(Anantnag Lok Sabha seat candidate) Justice (retired) Hasnain Masoodi's judgments on Article 370 are well known and we could not have got anyone better than our party president Farooq Abdullah (for Srinagar constituency)."

"Akbar Lone (Baramulla constituency), whatever you may say or may not say about some of the things he comes out with, he is a fighter. He is not a man who shies away from speaking. We want someone who can stand up and speak in Parliament and be heard," he added.

Jammu and Kashmir has six Lok Sabha constituencies and goes to the polls over multiple phases beginning April 11.editorial@tribune.com

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 29

For the 380-acre Cycle Valley project at Dhanansu, near here, the formalities at the district-level are almost complete. The much-awaited project with facilities such as power grid, industrial park, common effluent treatment plant, sewerage treatment plant, convention centre, dispensary, police station, warehouse, CCTV cameras, rainwater harvesting system and fire station, is expected to be completed by June 2021.

Local cycle industry, however, sees this project as a threat to their existence. They apprehend that for high-end cycles and foreign products, companies will come here to provide required parts and gradually these will devour the domestic bicycle industry.

Avtar Singh Bhogal of Bhogal Sons said we aspire to go for Make in India products. But for high-end, state-of-the-art cycles, many parts are imported from China, Germany and other countries. These companies will get an entry into Indian market once the Cycle Valley is set up. Slowly, for every component, we will start depending on their components. They are waiting for an opportunity to spread their wings in India. If it happens, the domestic bicycle industry will vanish, he said. He said the local industry was not against the development but they were against the entry of foreign products/market.

The foundation stone of the Cycle Valley project was laid in 2016 by the then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. The huge chunk of panchayati land was procured at a cost of Rs 120 crore.

Of the total 380 acres, 30 acres will be provided for setting up a power grid station, 100 acres have already been given to Hero Cycles for development of industrial clusters while the remaining 250 acres will be developed by Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).

Ramtesh Singh Bains, chief engineer, PSIEC, said for the dedicated four-laned Ludhiana-Chandigarh-Dhanansu road, tenders have already been floated and work will be allotted after the Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, regarding the development of the remaining 250 acres, which is with the PSIEC, the tenders will be floated after the elections. We hope the ground work will start from June-July, he said.

Hero Group has already acquired 100 acres and an MoU in this regard was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Pankaj Munjal from Hero Group in January. The Hero Group plans to have a plant with manufacturing capacity of approximately 4 million cycles per annum. Besides, this would provide an employment opportunity for hundreds of workers.

Hero Group will set up an anchor unit for the manufacturing of mobility solutions like bicycles, E-bikes etc and develop industrial park along with ancillary units/vendor units at the Cycle Valley with major national and international manufacturers. The company has been asked to complete the project within three years.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Aggarwal said all issues at the district level were almost complete as regular meetings were being convened by all concerned in PSIEC.

The total cost of developing 250 acres (of PSIEC) will be approximately Rs 400 crore, which includes the cost of panchayati land also.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Beijing, March 30

Shanghai claimed on Saturday that it has become the worlds first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network as China seeks to establish lead over the US and other countries in the race to develop next generation cellular mobile communications.

5G is the next generation of cellular technology with download speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks.

Shanghai has developed what it claims to be the first district boasting both 5G coverage and a broadband gigabit network, the state-run China Daily reported.

Trial runs of the 5G network, backed by state-run telecom carrier China Mobile, officially started the service in Shanghais Hongkou on Saturday, where 5G base stations had been deployed over the last three months to ensure full coverage, the report said.

During a launch ceremony, Shanghai vice-mayor Wu Qing made the networks first 5G video call on a Huawei Mate X, the worlds first 5G foldable, AI phone, it said.

When fully operational, subscribers stand to avail of the same service without having to upgrade their SIM cards, it said.

Huawei, Chinas telecom technology giant, whose revenue in 2018 crossed USD 100 billion, is battling a wave of opposition to its 5G trials from the US and different countries.

The 5G stations are being installed in different parts of China, including Tibet, as part of Huaweis plans to lead the 5G trials despite the opposition.

The US has been pressurising countries it has closer ties to ban Huawei and other Chinese telecom firms from providing gear used to build 5G wireless networks.

Huawei has denied official links with the Chinese government.

China has also protested to the US about its efforts to extradite Huaweis CFO, Meng Wanzhou, who has been arrested in Canada to face prosecution for violations of US sanctions against Iran.

Meng, daughter of Huawei owner Ren Zhengfei has been accused of allegedly misleading banks about the companys business dealings there.

Zhang Jianming, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Informatisation Commission, the local telecom and industry regulator, said Shanghai city aims to build over 10,000 5G base stations by the end of this year, and that figure is expected to surpass 30,000 in 2021.

A comprehensive deployment of the network, which transmits at least 10 times faster than 4G at peak rates, will help develop industrial manufacturing, internet-connected cars, healthcare and smart city management, Zhang said.

Zhang further said that these are all strategically critical industries for both Shanghai and China.

Shanghai also targets to nurture over 100 innovative companies specialised in exploring 5G-related application scenarios, whose industrial output is expected to reach 100 billion yuan (USD14.9 billion) by 2021, he said.

Jian Qin, vice-president of China Mobile, said it has invested the most in Shanghai to date to help the city expand its 5G trial network and related applications.

China Mobile has invested the most in Shanghai to date to help the city expand its 5G trial network and related applications, because it is the most developed city in China with rather solid infrastructure in many aspects, he said.

Liang Zhiqiang, China Mobiles Shanghai deputy general manager, said the citys sound economic environment, systematic industrial outlay, huge market potential and vast talent pool have given it a unique edge in information technology.

In February, Shanghai announced a 5G deployment program in Hongqiao Railway Station, where users will be able to watch live broadcasts of town hall meetings and avail of lightning-quick downloads of high-resolution movies, when mobile devices such as 5G-powered phones and tablets become available.

Apart from speed, 5G also enables high-definition transmissions in real time (which means low latency) and will bolster development in the internet of things industry. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

Some eateries at Panjab University have landed in a soup for preparing food under unhygienic conditions.

Sources said Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar had imposed fine of Rs 10,000 each on three eateries at the university. Two of these were at Student Centre, they added.

The penalty has been imposed for not maintaining hygiene while preparing food.

Sources said teams of health officials checked the eateries at the university under the Food Safety and Standards Act a few months ago and filed a report before the DC.

The DC is empowered to take action in case provisions and rules of the Act are violated after giving an opportunity to the management of eateries where violations were found.

In the report, health officials mentioned that samosa, rajmah, rice and other eatables were not prepared in hygienic conditions and kept in the open, exposing them to flies.

After hearing the versions of the eatery owners, the DC found that there were certain shortcomings, for which a penalty was warranted.

The eateries that have been fined include Pakwaan Meal, and Raj Eatery at Student Centre, and Punjab Sweet Shop in Sector 14.

Sources said some PU students had raised the issue of unhygienic food before the health authorities and demanding implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority rules on the university campus. They had alleged that in absence of regular monitoring, they were facing health issues due to the unhygienic food.Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants from Pakistan were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Nowgam area in the outskirts of Srinagar, on Friday.

A US-made M4 assault rifle was recovered from the possession of the slain militants. A police spokesman said acting on specific inputs that two Jaish militants were hiding in the area, police, CRPF and Army men launched a cordon and search operation in Sutsoo Kalan area of Nowgam in the outskirts of Srinagar in the wee hours of Friday.

As searches were on, the militants opened fire on the search party. The troops retaliated and in the ensuing gunfight, two Jaish militants were killed, he said.

The deceased militants were identified as Ali and Idrees, both Pakistan nationals.editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 29

Three persons arrested by the police late on Thursday night after a shootout at Ballo Majra village were planning to loot an ATM of HDFC Bank in the village.

Sharing the details, SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said during preliminary investigations, the accused revealed that they had planned to loot the ATM and later carry out robberies in other areas.

He said on March 30 last year, the accused had looted Rs 70,000 from a property dealers shop near Nijjar Chowk in Kharar. The SSP added that a case in this regard had been registered at the Kharar police station.

SSP Bhullar said the three accused were identified as Sukhdeep Kumar Sharma, alias Deep, a native of Jind in Haryana and Gurpreet Sharma, both residents of Sirkapda falling under the Sanour police station in Patiala district, and Raman, a resident of Sadlaida village falling under the Shahtalai police station in Bilaspur (HP). All the accused are between 30 and 34 years of age, he added.

He said Sukhdeep had also prepared a fake Aadhaar card by using his photograph Gurpreets Aadhaar card.

SSP Bhullar said further investigations in the case were on and they were hopeful of getting some vital information from the accused.

He said it had come to the fore that Sukhdeep and Gurpreet had been living in the house as tenants for the past more than a year and a half. He said Sukhdeep was earlier running a dhaba (roadside eatery) in the village before taking to crime.

The SSP said a .32 bore pistol with two magazines, two live cartridges, a country-made pistol with one live cartridge, four used shells and a rod had been recovered from the accused. He said a Skoda car, bearing registration number HR 20M 6558, was also recovered from their possession.

The SSP said the police were investigating about the ownership of the car besides the sources of income of the accused as all of them were unemployed. A case under Sections 307, 353, 186 and 34 of the IPC and 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against them at the Balongi police station.Navtej Sarna

Navtej Sarna

Author and former diplomat

IT is truly a privilege to be here, on this spring day, in this invigorating intellectual space of Majha House, in the heart of this historic city that embodies the gypsy soul of Punjab. To be talking of freedom on the 23rd of March in 2019 in Amritsar seems most appropriate.

This year marks the 550th birth anniversary of the most exceptional spiritual master, philosopher and poet Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The times Guru Nanak was born in, in 1469, in the small village of Rae Bhoe di Talwandi, near Lahore, were dark and cruel. People were bound by several tyrannies: there was the tyranny of the ruling class that wielded over them a merciless whip of injustice, discrimination and exploitation. There was also the tyranny of the self-appointed guardians of salvation. The people were at the mercy of the parasitical priestly class, whose interests lay vested in promoting blind faith, moribund tradition and empty ritual.

Guru Nanaks message of universal love, compassion, equality of man and oneness of God was a revolt against these tyrannies. This message is still fresh and relevant 550 years later; the hard-fought freedoms have to be protected daily.

The second milestone is painfully relevant. We are a short distance away from Jallianwala Bagh, which saw, 100 years ago, a horrifying massacre, the worst possible demonstration of colonial oppression, arrogance and violence. Hundreds of innocents were killed and wounded by unprovoked military firing without a warning.

Humiliation was then heaped upon this cruelty. Weeks of martial law followed: illegal detentions, public floggings, the infamous crawling order, bombing of unarmed civilians by aircraft  the people of Amritsar and Punjab suffered all that and more. They had dared to question and protest the Rowlatt Act, the legislation that was an indefensible strangulation of basic human rights, natural justice and the freedom of speech. Such was the cynical British response to the huge Indian effort during World War I, an effort that had been assisted by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

During 1914-19, over 14 lakh men had been recruited into the British Indian army. Punjabs contribution was larger than that of any other province. According to Michael ODwyers statement, 3,60,000 personnel were recruited from the province. One in every 28 men in Punjab was mobilised for the war, while the overall figure for India was 1 in 150.

There was initial enthusiasm and attraction, the chance of a steady income  Rs 11 a month; the prospect of a land grant or pension; the traditional call of honour or izzat. But soon this enthusiasm waned. There was despair, fear and anger at what the soldiers faced. ODwyer resorted to coercive recruitment, setting quotas for local officials to meet. Young men fled their villages and went into hiding; yet he recruited 3,60,000 troops.

The third milestone that we mark today is the day itself. On the 23rd of March, 88 years ago, Bhagat Singh, the most heroic of revolutionaries and all of 23, was hanged to death along with co-revolutionaries Sukhdev and Rajguru, 11 hours ahead of schedule. Not only was Bhagat Singh a supreme patriot and one of the most charismatic figures of the freedom struggle, he was also a thinker and an intellectual giant in the making, as is evident from his surviving writings. He had an instinctive grasp of political ideologies and revolutionary movements sweeping the world and a clear vision for a true revolution in India.

The tradition of revolutionaries did not begin or end with him. Already there had been the Ghadar movement, launched on the west coast of the US. They left their careers and farms, invested their money and their youth, and gave a narrative to the freedom struggle through their literature. Their struggle, however, did not end well  the conspiracy to revolt was betrayed, many were hanged to death or imprisoned for life in the Andaman jails. And in 1940, a man called Udham Singh, steeped in Ghadar literature and the most relentless of pursuers, who called Bhagat Singh his best friend and longed to die like him, assassinated ODwyer in London in a long-pursued revenge for the atrocities in Punjab.

*******

As far as the present challenges are concerned, I have based my choice on the paradigm of perception, the images that first come to mind when we think of Punjab. Let me encapsulate these issues as the three Ds  Daughters, Debt and Drugs.

For years, Punjab has been perceived as a state with a highly skewed sex ratio and a strongly patriarchal mindset. Most unfortunate have been the related phenomena of female foeticide, neglect of the girl child, higher girl child mortality and maternal mortality. The good news is that at one level, we seem to have turned the corner. As per the 2011 Census, the sex ratio has improved to 895 as against 846 in the previous Census, though it still remains low on the list of Indian states.

Womens literacy rate has been growing steadily  70.7 per cent in 2011  and is currently rising at a faster rate than that of male literacy. The work participation rates for women in Punjab, however, are not encouraging  13.9 per cent as against the national average of 25.51 per cent.

The fertility rate in Punjab is down to 1.7  below the replacement level. This is something that scholars will have to look at  is having fewer children simply the result of empowerment of women? How much of a role is played by the preference for the one-son family? Will there be more reliance on in-migration from more populated areas and what will be the socio-cultural repercussions on Punjabi polity and culture of such in-migration? When we combine this with our very clear trend of migrating abroad, the impact could be even more far-reaching.

The second issue is the agrarian crisis, ironical in a state that is known the world over for the Green Revolution that did wonders to the self-confidence of a country that was living from ship to ship of PL480 gift wheat from the US.

The soil which has seen extensive deployment of pesticides is overused. The quality of water is unfit for consumption in nearly 24 per cent of the area and is marginally fit for human and crop consumption in 22 per cent. Water-sharing disputes with other states have exacerbated the crisis. Punjab, however, continues to contribute heavily to the Central pool for wheat and rice.

Over-mechanisation and over-capitalisation of ever smaller holdings add to the burden of high cost of inputs, uncertainties of weather and failure of crops. The grip of commission agents (arhtiyas) on Punjabs farmers is still very strong. These factors have contributed to the indebtedness of the small farmer, leading to suicides.

The third challenge is that of drugs, dangerous not only because of its implications for our present but also for our future  it can destroy the flower of the next generation, besides its destructive impact on the socio-economic fabric of families. The irony is that Punjab is not a producer of plant-based natural substances like opium or cannabis and their derivatives and does not manufacture the precursor chemicals which are processed into synthetic and psychotropic drugs. The demand in Punjab is met from outside the state through a supply network controlled by local, interstate and international criminal gangs. Once again, as during the time of Guru Nanak when invaders came from across the passes, the threat to a large extent comes from the Golden Crescent of the drug lands across the border.

Excerpted from the authors keynote address at Majha House Festival of Literature and Art, Amritsar, on March 23Madabhushi Sridhar

Madabhushi Sridhar

Former central information commissioner

The National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the affidavits of 8,163 candidates out of 8,230, who have contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and discovered that 1,398 (17%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, while during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 1,158 (15%), of 7,810 candidates analysed, had declared such cases against themselves and 889 (11%) were involved in serious criminal cases. And 608 (8%) candidates declared the cases against them. There are 2,208 (27%) crorepati candidates, and Rs 3.16 crore is the average assets of candidates.

The voters now know how many criminals are representing them in Parliament and Assemblies, thanks to organisations like the ADR, intellectual leaders like Prof Trilochan Sastry, socially relevant lawyers like PP Rao and judges like P Venkatram Reddy.

On International Womens Day, the ADR and NEW reported that there were only 9% women MLAs and MPs across the country in 2019. Hundreds of men who declared cases of crimes against women against them were given ticket by key parties, with the BJP giving the highest number at 54. Of 1,642 MPs/MLAs with declared criminal cases, 52 have cases related to crimes against women. The second highest number of such candidates, 37, were given ticket by the BSP, followed by 30 from the Congress.

No politician or party was interested in telling people about their candidates or the selection criterion. No party is ashamed to offer ticket to a person who crossed over to it a night before. Some leaders wait with B form for those who could not procure ticket and hence defect to their party!

It was because of a PIL petition that the candidates are now compelled to reveal their criminal, academic and wealth background. The ADR and the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) filed a PIL before the Delhi High Court to make the electoral process more transparent. The Election Commission (EC) should have required all candidates to disclose background information to the public, but it did not do so, until the Supreme Court mandated it. Ruling that a candidates background should not be kept in the dark in the interest of democracy, the Delhi HC ordered the EC to obtain such information. The Union of India challenged the decision through an appeal to the SC, arguing that the EC and the HC did not have such powers and that the voters did not have a right to such information!

Two significant rulings were given by the court: (1) When the legislature is silent on a particular subject and an entity (in this case, the EC) has been granted implementation authority with respect to such subject, the court assumes that the entity has the power to issue directions to fill such a void until a law is enacted. The court confirmed that Article 324 operates in areas unoccupied by legislation and that the silence of a statute has no exclusionary effect except where it flows from necessary implication. The courts power to issue directions pursuant to Article 324 is plenary. By extension, the EC can issue directions for transparency in the poll process.

(2) Citizens have a right to know about public functionaries, which is derived from the concept of freedom of speech and expression and which includes the right to know about the backgrounds of candidates for public office. The public has a right to know about candidates contesting elections because such rights include the right to hold opinions and acquire information to be informed in forming and disseminating those opinions throughout the election process. The court advanced this point by observing that a democracy strives toward an aware citizenry and misinformation or non-information will create uniformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce. The EC was directed to issue orders to compel each contestant to give information about criminal charges, convictions, any pending cases, assets including those of spouse, liabilities, and educational qualifications.

Judicial wisdom did not appear to be democratic wisdom for politicians. In 2002, led by PM Vajpayee, they responded to the judgment by amending the Representation of the People Act, which required a candidate to provide information as to whether he is accused [or convicted] of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case. Most important, no candidate could be compelled to disclose any additional information, notwithstanding anything contained in the judgment of any court or directions issued by the Election Commission. This is the real face of political parties, whether it be the BJP or Congress, left or centre.

Again the SC examined constitutional validity of Section 33B in the case Union for Civil Liberties and Another (PUCL) v. Union of India and Another. Justice Venkatram Reddy in the 2003 judgment held: Section 33B inserted by the Representation of People (3rd Amendment) Act, 2002, does not pass the test of constitutionality, firstly, for the reason that it imposes a blanket ban on dissemination of information other than that spelt out in the enactment, irrespective of the need of the hour and the future exigencies and expedients, and secondly, the ban operates despite the fact that the disclosure of information now provided for is inadequate. Because of this order, today, every candidate is explaining his/her background through affidavit.

Recently the ADR conducted a nationwide survey involving over 2.7 lakh people that revealed that for 41.34% respondents, distribution of liquor, cash and freebies was an important factor behind voting a particular candidate. But 97.86% interviewees felt that candidates with criminal background should not be elected. But it is sad that 35.89% of them were willing to vote for a candidate with criminal records if the candidate had done good work in the past.

It is the duty of the voter to think if he/she is voting a criminal, or a bankrupt/corrupt or an uneducated criminal or an educated leader.monicakchauhan@gmail.com

New York, March 30

An Indian former Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage girl in the US, according to a media report.

John Praveen, 38, pleaded guilty in February to sexually touching a 13-year-old girl in the Rapid City church, South Dakota over her clothes last year, Rapid City Journal newspaper reported.

Judge Steven Mandel handed down the sentence on Friday after prosecutors asked for the maximum of one year in prison.

Mandel said that was "not adequate" for Praveen's crime, the report said.

He sentenced Praveen to six years in prison, minus 178 days of time served, and said he would be eligible for parole after three years.

The sentencing came after Praveen pleaded guilty to one count of having sexual contact with a child under the age of 16, a crime that carries a maximum 15-year punishment, the report said.

Mandel said if Praveen is granted parole, the parole board could ask Homeland Security to immediately deport him to Hyderabad or have him first serve parole in any state, the report added.

Praveen had joined the Rapid City Diocese for a 10-year assignment in December 2017.

He apologised and told the court he wishes he could take back what he did.

I "send my sincere apologies to the family and the victim about what I have done," Praveen said through tears in court on Friday. He said he knows saying sorry isn't enough, and that he wishes he could take back what he did. He promised to never hurt anyone again.

I "send my sincere apologies to the family and the victim about what I have done," Praveen said through tears in court on Friday.

He said he knows saying sorry isn't enough, and that he wishes he could take back what he did. He promised to never hurt anyone again.

In an emailed statement, Rapid City Bishop Robert Gruss apologised to the victim and her family on behalf of the Diocese of Rapid City, calling Praveen's actions "sinful," traumatic and a betrayal.

"I am deeply sorry that they had to experience these sinful actions at the hands of a priest," Gruss said.

"The pain and suffering of this family have been great. Only those who have been victims of abuse of any kind can understand the trauma. The experience of betrayal is great. Crimes of sexual abuse can never be tolerated, most especially among priests." PTIharinder@tribunemail.com

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has rightly drawn the ire of its special court by failing to go through the basic drill of conducting an identification parade in the Samjhauta Express train blast case. The special judge lamented that a dastardly act of violence remained unpunished for want of credible and admissible evidence. Sixty-eight people, mostly from Pakistan, were killed in February 2007 in the blast on the cross-border train near Panipat. Twelve years after the incident, Swami Aseemanand and three others were acquitted recently. The NIAs shoddy probe dashed the hopes of the victims families, who were expecting justice at long last. The leading investigation agency should be held accountable for the lapses  intentional or otherwise  as its credibility has been severely dented.

Rather than promising to penalise the agency officials who messed things up, the ruling party is using the verdict to take potshots at the Congress. Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Friday accused the opposition party of maligning the entire Hindu samaj by propagating a false story of Hindu terror. What he conveniently didnt mention was that the case was not taken to its logical conclusion, that the perpetrators of the heinous crime  no matter which community they belong to  have escaped the long arm of the law. Indeed, terrorism has no religion, but its more important to ensure that a terrorist does not go scot-free just because he professes a particular faith.

Investigators who let the religious orientation of the accused (or the victims) influence their work should be shown the door. The high-profile case, which was handed over by the Haryana Police to the NIA in July 2010, needs to be reopened in order to plug the gaping holes in the evidence provided by the prosecution. Such corrective measures are imperative to restore the publics faith in the criminal justice system and the national probe agencies.harinder@tribunemail.com

The detention and subsequent release of eminent economist and right to food activist Jean Dreze and two associates by the Jharkhand Police highlight the hurdles faced by social activists. In this case, the episode also brought the spotlight on the tendency of local officials to interpret the Election Commissions Model Code of Conduct selectively. Even as complaints abound about code violation by political leaders, especially those aligned with the ruling alliance, the regulations can become a handy tool to stifle debate.

Local officials in Garhwa district of Jharkhand detained the three activists for about two hours in Bishnupura police station. They were released following an outcry that made itself heard over the din of electioneering. The issue of whether they had been permitted to hold the meeting is now subsumed under the overall shabby treatment of the acclaimed economist, and the apparent propensity among administrators to take action against those critical of the government. A case could well be made that the election season is precisely the time when issues concerning poverty, hunger, and the rights of the poorest get discussed. Impeding such discussions over what, at the most, is a technicality involving the model code, speaks volumes about the attitude of the local administrator towards social activists, even if they are internationally renowned.

Dreze has often pointed to home truths, which have long punctured the official narrative of growth and development. Indeed, his focus is on education, health and right to food, basic rights that are often denied to the poorest. He helped draft the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and the National Food Security Act, 2013. His career has been marked by a devotion to economic research as well as active public action. He should be allowed to have a voice, and it should not be stifled. The country needs to hear what social activists like Dreze have to say. Their opinion should be part of the discourse that allows the voters to make informed decisions as they cast their vote.amansharma@tribunemail.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

Barely 12 hours before preliminary examination for Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch) and other allied services, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday allowed baptised Sikh candidates to wear five religious symbols while appearing in the test.

The High Court also made it clear that it would examine the larger issue of enacting a law for providing exemption to the baptised Sikhs to wear the religious symbols at the time of appearing in any examination.

The Bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill asserted the matter, in its considered opinion, was of public interest as the issue would come up before the court time and again for adjudication and also because a prayer had been made for direction to enact the law for exemption.

Taking up the petition filed in public interest by advocate Charanpal Singh Bagri, the Bench directed that baptised Sikh candidates wishing to wear the five religious symbols while appearing for the preliminary examination on March 31 were required to report at the examination centres an hour before the reporting time.

If upon screening, it is discovered that any such baptised Sikh candidate, is actually carrying within the kara and kirpan, any suspected device, he should be asked not to take the same into the examination centre, the Bench asserted, while directing the uploading of the order on the official websites.

The Bench also made it clear that a baptised Sikh candidate should not be allowed to take the examination with kara and kirpan on his person, if he failed to report at the examination centre an hour before the reporting time and failed to cooperate in the screening process for suspected device, electronic or otherwise.

The Bench also issued notice of motion the State of Haryana, the Union of India and other respondents for April 30. At the asking of the Court, counsel for the Union of India Arvind Seth and Haryana Deputy Advocate-General Ravi Dutt Sharma accepted the notice.

This Bench was especially constituted at 4 pm by Chief Justice Krishna Murari on Saturday, otherwise a holiday, to hear the public interest litigation after Bagri, belonging to the Sikh community, assailed the validity of the condition contained in the announcement issued on March 26 by Haryana Public Service Commission prohibiting candidates from carrying religious symbols.

Bagri submitted that baptised or an Amritdhari Sikh has to wear five kakars -- kes, kanga, kara, kirpan and kachhiara. Referring to Article 25 of the Constitution of India on freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, Bagri added wearing and carrying of kirpan was to be deemed to be included in the profession of Sikh religion.editorial@tribune.com

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has ordered a vigilance inquiry into higher rates for hiring of standard non-AC buses on km basis by Haryana Roadways.

The Transport Department had invited tenders for hiring of 700 buses on km basis. For 510 buses, it received bids between Rs36 and Rs37 per km in 2018. For 190 buses, it received bids between Rs21 and Rs22 per km this year.

The Chief Minister has called for a vigilance inquiry into higher rates for 510 buses. There cannot be two different rates. The terms of reference for the inquiry are being finalised, said an official in the Transport Department.

The tender finalisation process for 510 buses between Rs36 and Rs37 per km was completed between September 19 and 21 last year. The rate included 65 per cent as cost of fuel and 35 per cent for repair and maintenance charges, salary of driver, insurance charges and taxes.

The Haryana Roadways Karamchari Talmel Committee, comprising all roadways unions, had opposed it, terming it as a big scam. It called for a vigilance inquiry in a letter to the Chief Minister in October 2018.

It claimed that Haryana Roadways would incur a loss of over Rs132 crore per year. The employees were on strike from October 16 to November 2 last year to oppose the hiring of buses.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of the strike. On its direction, the employees resumed duty on November 2.

Representatives of various roadways unions had submitted in the High Court their objections to the hiring of 510 buses at higher rates.

Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal, in a complaint to the Governor dated December 25 last year, claimed that the state governments policy of hiring 510 buses would incur a loss of Rs147 crore per year.

He claimed that if the government succeeded in its design, Haryana Roadways would go bankrupt. He alleged that the government had been aiming to give benefits to its favourites.

The process of hiring 190 buses under the km scheme was initiated on February 7. Bids offering a rate of between Rs21 and Rs22 per km were opened on March 5.

In an affidavit in the High Court dated March 13, the government admitted, One thing is clear from this tender that the rates per km asked for are much lower compared to rates received in earlier tenders for hiring of 510 buses, which have been challenged by employees unions.

It submitted that the decision to hire 190 buses would be futile unless the case challenging the scheme was decided by the High Court. The next date of hearing in the case was April 1.

Sticking point: Pricepardeepdhull@gmail.com

Chandigarh, March 30

Senior Congress leaders and their kin are among the contenders for party tickets in Haryana, which sends 10 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Former chief minister and sitting MLA from Garhi Sampla Kiloi, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, could spring a surprise by entering the fray from Sonipat parliamentary constituency, sources close to the senior Congress leader said.

The Sonipat parliamentary constituency, like Rohtak, from where B S Hoodas son Deepender Singh Hooda is the sitting MP, has a sizeable number of Jat voters. It is considered a bastion of Hooda Senior, a four-time MP.

If B S Hooda, who was recently appointed as chairman of Haryana Congress Coordination Committee, wins from Sonipat and his son manages to retain Rohtak, it could make the former a strong contender for the chief ministerial post, the sources said.

The Assembly elections in Haryana are scheduled to be held in October this year.

Besides Deepender Hooda, daughter of Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhary, Shruti Choudhary, is also among the ticket hopefuls. Shruti is eyeing the party ticket from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi is likely to push for the candidature of his son, Bhavya, from Hisar seat.

Senior leaders who are likely to enter the fray include Kumari Selja from Ambala and state unit chief Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa.

Both Ambala and Sirsa are reserved constituencies and have been represented by Selja and Tanwar, respectively, in the past.

Ajay Singh Yadav, Naveen Jindal and Karan Singh Dalal are also eyeing tickets from Gurgaon, Kurukshetra and Faridabad, respectively.

Dalal is likely to face competition from former Congress MP from Faridabad, Avtar Singh Bhadana, who recently returned to the party fold after quitting the BJP.

Meanwhile, the party, which is struggling to keep its flock together amid infighting in the state unit, had planned bus tours across Haryana to present a united face ahead of the polls.

B S Hooda, however, rejected the claims of infighting and exuded confidence that the party would win with a comfortable margin.

The entire Congress is one and united under the leadership of our party president Rahul Gandhi, he said.

The Congress leader also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and Chief Minister M L Khattar-led state government, alleging that they have failed to fulfil peoples expectations.

B S Hooda also alleged that the Centre and the state government have not delivered on promises made to farmers, youths, traders, and other sections.

Deepender Singh Hooda was the sole Congress leader to win a seat in Haryana in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had won seven seats and the Indian National Lok Dal bagged the remaining two.

Voting will be held in Haryana this year in the sixth round of seven-phase Lok Sabha polls on May 12. Results will be announced on May 23. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, March 29

No Aravallis, no votes. This is the latest slogan emerging for the Aravalli belt here this poll season. Irked over the apathy of leaders across the political spectrum towards environmental issues, activists and eco-experts have launched a special leader boycott programme.

Environmentalists are approaching voters in the Gurugram constituency, urging them to opt for NOTA (none of the above) rather than select a candidate during the upcoming parliamentary election.

All of them have vested interests. Talking of the Aravallis, either the majority (of leaders) have land there or stakes in the stone-crushing zones and thus have nothing to say for the protection of the ecosystem from commercialisation. They are not ready to talk about it in their manifestos. The successive governments have destroyed the Aravallis and to save them, we need no government, thus the NOTA, said Jatinder Bhadana of the Save Aravalli initiative.

As part of the initiative, more than a thousand people have become part of the signature campaign against the Punjab Land Preservation Act amendment. The environmentalists have now also started a social media campaign, pressing for NOTA over the issue.

Gurugram has been declared the second most polluted city in the world and our politicians take it so casually, opening up precious PLPA forest land for development instead of fortifying the Aravallis further. In such a scenario, NOTA looks like the only option, said another environment activist, Vaishali Rana Chandra.

Both BJP, Cong to blame

"Both the BJP and Congress have treated environmental issues very shoddily. They don't realise that development and environment must go hand in hand, and not at the cost of the other. Why is it that the final onus of protecting the environment is on the citizens and not the government?" Vaishali Rana Chandra, Environment activistBy PTI

MUZAFFARNAGAR: The residents of a village in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district have threatened to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections over the authorities not paying heed to their demand to construct a bridge over Solani river.

The decision was taken at a panchayat meeting in Yogender Nagar village.

A villager, Pratap Singh, said since the village is located near the river, residents face problems in getting across.

These problems are aggravated during the monsoon season, he added.editorial@tribune.com

lit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 29

BJP candidate from the Kangra parliamentary constituency and Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Kishan Kapoor is touring Chamba district as a part of his campaigning. While talking to The Tribune, Kapoor said that he was getting overwhelming response from the people of Chamba.

The people are remembering the good work I did as a minister. As a minister for transport in the BJP government from 2008 to 2013 I took a decision that women would travel free of cost in HPRTC buses on Rakshabhandan and Bhai Dooj. During my campaigning in Chamba district women acknowledged my decision and promised to support me, he said.

Kapoor said that during his stint as a minister for urban development he took out the rural areas from the Town and Country Planning Department preview. It provided relief to people in rural areas in constructing houses on their own land. However, the previous Congress government reviewed the decision and again brought rural areas under the preview of TCP Department, Kapoor said.

He further said that during his current stint as minister for food and civil supplies minister, he had managed to reduce the prices of sugar being provided under Public distribution scheme (PDS). The food and civil supplies department saved Rs 70 crores on account of procurements and the benefit was passed on to the consumers.

Asked whether he had asked for the party ticket, Kapoor said that he had never applied for the party ticket. After Shanta Kumar, former CM and sitting BJP MP from Kangra, decided to not to contest the party high command asked me to be in poll fray. I am a disciplined soldier of the party and abided by the party decision, he said.

When asked what he intended to do for his parliamentary constituency if he was elected as MP, Kapoor said that he has always been known as a leader who was easily approachable to the people of my region. Anybody is able to approach me anytime even as a minister. I think that is my strength and I shall continue to remain as common man among my electorate, Kishan Kapoor said.

About his vision for the Kangra parliamentary constituency, Kapoor, In case I am elected, I shall try to bring in major infrastructure projects to Kangra region. Improving air connectivity between Delhi and Dharamsala and Dharamsala and Delhi will be my priority. Chamba has been a very remote area.editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Phagwara, March 29

The second day of annual international fest One World being held at Lovely Professional University (LPU), forwarded various entrepreneurship opportunities possible in other countries.

As the theme celebrated this year was International Trade, Commerce and Industry. As many as 3,000 students from 50 countries studying at LPU organised Expo stalls for their respective country, in this context.

Students mutually shared salient features of various businesses of import and export favouring their own countries.They exchanged ideas about their produces, cultures, values, foods, dresses, dances, songs, heritage and historical perspectives.

LPU students imbibed from the fest that the principal exports of one of the poorest considered countries in the world, Liberia are iron ore, rubber, diamonds, and gold.

Yemen imports wheat, corn, rice, meat, pharmaceutical products, sugar and vehicles. Yemen (the word translated as a happy land) acquired the name because its mountains attract rain, making it more fertile than most of the Arabian Peninsula. Morija arts and cultural activities of Lesotho Kingdom educated students about promoting tourism and small-scale manufacturing.

It was exhibited at Sri-Lankan stall that major exports from India to Sri Lanka, include motor vehicles, fuels and oils, cotton, pharmaceuticals, plastic articles, iron, steel, chemicals, cement and sugar.

Students were informed that export process from India to Sri Lanka and other countries is almost same worldwide. Budding entrepreneurs were also forwarded detailed information on how to export from India.

Stident of Sri Lanka exhibited festival of gratitude to Sun Thai Pongal, festival of lightsVesak Poya, and Buddhist festival of dances and richly decorated elephants-Esala Perahera.

Students said: The event makes us practical with an elaborated insight into how world can be one, leaving aside all intrigues and self-interests. We have also come to understand that the unity among human beings lies in their diversity.

Similar information were also readily available about other countries including China, Bhutan, Somalia, Malawi, Mali, Maldives, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mauritius and Tibet.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Srinagar, March 30

A CRPF vehicle suffered slight damages when a private car exploded after one of its gas cylinders caught fire on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday, the police said.

In a separate incident in south Kashmirs Pulwama district, a CRPF jawan was injured in a grenade attack on Saturday, police said.

There were no casualties in the first incident that occurred near the Jawahar Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmirs Ramban district around 10.30 am.

The incident triggered memories of the February 14 vehicle-borne suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 40 personnel.

According to a preliminary investigation, the blast near Tethar village, 7 km from Banihal town in Jammu region, occurred after one of the two gas cylinders in the Hyundai Santro model caught fire.

Banihal sub-divisional police officer Sajad Sarwar said the vehicle, which was on the way to Jammu from Srinagar was completely gutted in the fire.

A CRPF vehicle, which was passing through the highway at the time of the incident, suffered slight damages in the rear side, but all the personnel on board escaped unhurt, Sarwar said. Around 10 vehicles were reported to be part of the convoy.

Another gas cylinder was found lying near the vehicle but no explosive substance was found, the officer said, but did not ruled out a terror angle.

The driver of the private car remained untraced and is believed to have escaped the scene after his vehicle caught fire, he said.

It has not been established whether it was a (terror) attack or not. It has also not been established why the vehicle caught fire, Governor Satya Pal Malik told reporters in Jammu. No explosive of sorts, but nothing can be said (at the moment).

The officer said the police had started an investigation and forensic experts have also been summoned to help the investigation.

Efforts are also on to identify the driver of the vehicle for questioning, he said.

Meanwhile, militants hurled a grenade towards a CRPF bunker near a State Bank of India branch in Pulwama town.

One CRPF man was injured in the explosion, a police official said. The area was sealed off and search operation launched to nab the attackers.

No militant outfit immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.  With PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 29

A day after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a case against Article 35A and blamed it for hampering the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir, two leading parties in the region said the special status had protected the state and warned against any tinkering with the law.

The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the two main political parties in the state which have governed the state in different coalitions for most of the time in the last five decades, came out vociferously in defence of the states special status.

Omar, who called a press conference in the city here to rebuff Jaitleys claim against Article 35A which guarantees the states special status and bars non state-subjects from buying land and availing employment in the state, said the law had saved the state from poverty.

We are not the victims of 35A, 35A gave us protection. If 35A had not protected us, there would have been poverty...compared to entire country, the levels of abject poverty is less in J&K, said Omar, who is the vice-president of the National Conference.

The Article has been in the eye of a political storm since a petition filed in the Supreme Court sought the abrogation of the law and ignited fear among separatists as well as mainstream political parties that such a move will cause a demographic change in the state.

We have been saying it for long that the states special identity and position is in dangerthe danger increased in last five years and since 2015 when the BJP formed the government in the state, Omar said.

He said the Union Finance Ministers claim yesterday was more evidence of the threat to the states special status. The reality has been distorted and wrong perception given that Jammu and Kashmir is in loss because of its special position  the reality is that the entire state, including Jammu, Kargil and Ladakh, has benefited from the special status, Omar said.

The state has faced losses not because of the special status, but because of militancy. Before militancy, there was no problem. Before 1989, Jammu and Kashmir was considered the fastest-growing state. There was no such industry which was not found in the state, he said.

Omar warned that any debate on Article 35A and a related law under Article 370 would also open the question of the accession of the state with the Union of India, describing it as a negotiated settlement.

The PDP of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also reacted sternly to Union Finance Ministers claim against Article 35A and warned the BJP that it was trying to convert constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union into an occupation.editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 29

Tightening of the noose around terror-funding and militancy sympathisers in Kashmir has dried up their sources of money in the Valley.

The funding from across the border and by overground sympathisers of militants has squeezed, official sources said, and many of those who were coerced to fund these groups were happy that they would not have to shell out money for the purpose.

They were scared to shell out money for any of these groups. They are happy that they have got rid of this coercion by militants and those who used to fund them voluntarily, because of their underlying sympathies, have also withdrawn, a highly placed source told The Tribune.

Terror-funding was the main reason that militancy and violence sustained in Jammu and Kashmir. Though attempts were made to strike at the pipeline of terror-funding within the state and from across the border in the past too, the approach was inconsistent and lacked firm backing.

Governor Satya Pal Maliks stance on banning various groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has been hailed by some sections as a liberating moment for innocent Kashmiris who were coerced and harassed by militant outfits and their overground sympathisers, a source said.

Earlier, it was a half step forward and two steps backward approach and that had emboldened the militants and those who supported them.

The government banned the Jamaat and the JKLF recently and jailed some of their prominent workers and leaders to curb militancy.

It had started yielding results and the investigating agencies, particularly the National Investigating Agency (NIA), was hopeful that it would be able to achieve more success in the coming weeks, sources added.

Dealing with iron handshriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, March 30

Actor Sonakshi Sinha has said that she supports father Shatrughan Sinhas decision to quit the BJP and join the Congress, adding that her father "should have done it long ago".

While speaking to Sonakshi at HT India's Most Stylish 2019 awards, she said: It's his decision.

Sonakshi said joining Congress is his choice and she believes the veteran actor will be able to do good work with the party.

She added: Being a party member from the beginning from the time of JP Narayan ji, Atal ji and Advani ji, my father has a lot of respect within the party and I feel the entire group has not been given the respect they deserve. I think he has done it a bit too late, and he should've done it long back.

Shatrughan, a two-time MP from Patna, was denied the BJP ticket from the constituency this time around.

Soon, Shatrughan met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and announced his plan to join the Congress.

Lately, Shatrughan has been openly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

Sonakshi went on to say: I think if you are not happy with how things are going on around you, you should not shy away from change. That's what he did."

The actor-turned-politician tweeted on Thursday about joining the Congress.

He tweeted: Painfully....on the way out of BJP....But hopefully in the best direction under the dynamic leadership of my dear friend Lalu Yadav and the desirable, most talked about leader from the Nehru Gandhi family... the true family of nation builders...

Painfully....on the way out of BJP....But hopefully in the best direction under the dynamic leadership of my dear friend Lalu Yadav and the desirable, most talked about leader from the Nehru Gandhi family... the true family of nation builders... pic.twitter.com/9HSNhf9F1c  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) 28 March 2019

On Friday, he tweeted once again sharing pictures of him with Rahul calling him the "hope of the nation".

"Something amazing has happened after the approval of my dear friend Lalu Yadav ji. Jai Bihar Jai Hind! A new direction, a new friend and a new leadership... God bless... The Rahul Gandhi, hope of the nation," he tweeted in Hindi.

Hamaare ghanisht parivarik mitr Lalu Yadav ji ki anumati aur sahmati se kamaal ho gaya, dhamaal ho gaya...Jai Bihar, Jai Hind!



Sahi disha, nayi disha, naya dost aur naya netritva....God bless @RahulGandhi "The Rahul Gandhi, hope of the nation"... pic.twitter.com/nB9SbqU9NK  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) 29 March 2019

He will join the Congress on April 6.laxmi@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 29

Russia emulated the US in not criticising Indias test of anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) and sought its backing for a legally binding agreement to bar weaponisation in outer space. Russia pinned the blame for the test on the US which, it said, had undermined the entire architecture of international security and strategic stability.

Both Russia and the US are in no position to criticise India for the test since they have also conducted similar tests in the past. Moreover, unlike the case of nuclear weapons, there is no a cartel of five permanent members of the UNSC who have conducted tests and then framed laws such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to keep out newcomers.

Yet there has been a vein of disapproval in both the statements. The US had expressed concern over the debris affecting new launches as well as satellites in the low orbit. Russia too coated its grudging acceptance by highlighting the non-directedness of this test against any specific country as well as New Delhis reassurance of the continuity of its foreign policy to prevent the deployment of weapons in outer space.

Russia said it intends to continue to make every necessary effort to prevent an arms race in outer space through a multilateral legally binding instrument for which it had sought Indian backing.

At the same time, Russia said India was forced to conduct the test because of the substantially degraded situation in the field of arms control due to the destructive actions of the US, which makes other states think about improving their own equal potentials in the interests of strengthening their national security.

Urges US to take responsible stand

Russia urged the US to take a responsible stand and prevent an arms race from unfolding in various regions of the world. It is important to assist the responsible states in maintaining an adequate level of international security and stability, said the Russian statement.uttara@tribuneindia.com

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 29

Residents of Ajanta village have sent out a cry for help. As Marathwada reels under drought, taps in the village of 25,000 have been running dry for the second month in a row, and the creeping summer has the villagers worried.

In a letter to the collector of Aurangabad the district under which the village and the Ajanta Buddhist caves both fallthe villagers accuse the administration of being apathetic to their plight and black market sale of water that goes on in the village.

The letter, signed by 248 villages, has been marked to Fadnavis, Block Development Officer and Tehsildar of the Sillod Taluka. It says that of the 14 tankers of water that is 30,000 litresapproved for its use on February 6, the village gets only about 2-3 tankers, with the rest going to powerful and well-connected farmers.

The drought has also severely affected the Ajanta caves, a UNESCO world heritage site. Sources say tourism is down to 10 per cent. With Ajantas only source of water Ajintha Madhyam Andhari Prakalp or the Ajanta Dam Projectalready drying up, administration has already declared Sillod tehsilunder which the village fallsdrought-affected.

A resident explains the problem thus: Water supply to the village was snapped at the end of January. Fourteen tankers were earmarked on paper since February but actually only two or three come. It takes 25 days for a household to get water. People are queuing up and travelling to faraway ponds and water bodies to get water. Tourism has also been adversely affected. Black marketing is rampant and a barrel of water is being sold for Rs 80 at the village. Its just March now. What will we do in peak summer? The administration is totally unresponsive.

The Tribune had previously highlighted the looming water crisis at the cave complex as Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporations pending dues led to snapping of water supply.

The central government meanwhile calls it a state issue. Union Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons says: The state matters are under the direct jurisdiction of the state tourism department, the central government only supplements. What is to be done by the state government as per the constitution of India can only be done by them. Its a state subject. Water is the responsibility of the state government.

Resident Deputy Collector for Aurangabad Sanjeev Jadhavar said his administration had received the letter.

We have received the communication from the village and I have marked an enquiry to the Zila Parishad to the allegations of black marketing and less release of water.

Maharshtra Tourism Minister Jayakumar Jitendrasingh Rawal could not be contacted for his comments.rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, March 30

A Delhi court on Saturday extended by four days the custodial interrogation of Sushen Mohan Gupta, alleged defence agent arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP choppers scam-related money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which produced Gupta, before special judge Arvind Kumar, had sought extension of his custody by 10 days.

Gupta was arrested by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

EDs special public prosecutors DP Singh and NK Matta told the court that Gupta was interfering with the probe and influencing people who are likely to be witnesses in the case.

Advocate Samvedna Verma for the ED told the court that the volume of documents was huge and the agency required 10 more days to confront documents and some people, including Rajeev Saxena, who recently turned approver, with Gupta.

The defence counsel, however, opposed the EDs submission and said Gupta was already questioned and there was no fresh ground to seek extension of his custody.

The ED officials said Guptas role in the case came to light on the basis of disclosures made by Rajiv Saxena, who had turned approver in the case after he was deported from the UAE and arrested by the agency here.

It is suspected that Gupta had in his possession some payment details in the purchase of AgustaWestland VVIP choppers and the link is to be unravelled, they said. PTIKaramatullah K Ghori By

A friend in need is a friend indeed, goes an old adage. Ask a Pakistani if the dictum is still good and he will say, indeed it is.

Pakistan is proud of its steadfast friend, China. An oft-repeated slogan says the two countries friendship is deeper than the ocean and higher than the Himalayas.

Recently, at the UN in New York, China served a reminder to the world that its commitment to Pakistan was more than sloganeering when it helped its friend, once again, to dodge the UN Sanctions Committee on Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The US, UK and Francesharing membership with China on the committeehad moved a resolution to have the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, declared a global terrorist. However, China scuttled the move on a mere technicality; it needed more time to study and evaluate whether Azhars shenanigans justified a place for him on the ignoble list.

It wasnt the first time that China bailed Pakistan out of a tight corner. It had rendered the same service to its all-weather friend, in 2016 and 2017, to keep Azhar beyond the reach of the sanctions committee on similar technicalities. It didnt think, on those occasions, that there was enough evidence to nail Azhar as a global terrorist, a la Osama bin Laden.

The move against him, this time around, had better credentials. It had the Pulwama carnage in the perspective, which raised the expectations of India and its western friends for a different outcome. By the same token, Pakistan had more to be concerned with the possibility of an outcome qualitatively different than before, which could only raise the stakes against it at a time of a tense, eye-ball to eye-ball, stand-off with India where both are staring down each other in a battle of wrecking nerves.

Pakistan may well have dodged the bullet at the UN, courtesy of its tested friend. But it doesnt make it any easier for it to end the menace of terrorism that has been plaguing it for so long on both domestic and international fronts.

Apart from putting it at loggerheads with immediate neighbours, like India and Afghanistan, the monster of terrorism has exacted a heavy toll in lives and loss of property at home. Pakistani leaders and spokesmen never fail to remind their audience, worldwide, that ever since joining Americas war on terror, 17 years ago, Pakistan has lost more than 70,000 civilians and soldiers in its battles against terrorists, besides incurring a loss of tens of billions of dollars.

Its not only that in China that Pakistan has a reliable foil on the international front but for the first time it has a leader who isnt shy to take on terrorism.

Imran Khans detractors at home may have routinely sullied his image in the past as Taliban Khan for point scoring but he has proved them wrong by taking on the extremist and fascist politico-religious outfitslike JeM and JuD (Jamaat-ud-Dawa), successor to erstwhile LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and headed by the notorious Hafiz Saeedhead on since becoming Pakistans leader last summer.

In the wake of last months Pulwama incident, and the ensuing bloody duel with India, Imran has come down hard on these radical extra-state actors. Days before China throwing his government a lifeline, Imran cracked down harshly on both JeM and JuD, seizing their assets, arresting hundreds of their followers and putting both Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed under house arrest.Azhars son, fire-belching like his fanatical father, has been jailed.

Even the so-called humanitarian and social-welfare activities of these outfits have come under government scrutiny. They will henceforth be overseen by official administrators to ensure they dont use their humanitarian foil for fascist endeavours.

Whats novel in Imrans bid to sever the fiends head is taking all the madrassas (religious seminaries) under government control. These madrassas have been seen as the hatcheries breeding future terrorists. Imrans move is, thus, unique in aiming to drain the swamp.

The long overdue course-correction by Imran on an issue that has had Pakistan in its thrall for over two decades is a stitch in time. The Pulwama attack may have provided him with just the right calculus to go on the offensive against those who have used religious angularities and sensitivities to augment their fascist agendas. Imrans political opponents may blame him for succumbing to outside pressure. Be that as it may, but what hes doing is in the best interests of Pakistan itself.

Religious fanaticism of a rabid species has morphed into a rampant culture of terrorism. Nihilistic preaching from the pulpit has brainwashed a whole generation of Pakistanis and afflicted their psyche in ways unthinkable in Pakistans early years. A young,viciously indoctrinated, college student recently killed his professor in Bahawalpur, central Punjab, because he wouldnt denounce saying welcome

as un-Islamic. Back to the Stone Age?

Karamatullah K Ghori

Former Pakistani diplomat

Email: K_K_ghori@hotmail.comrchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, March 30

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday attached hotel Holiday Inn, valued at Rs 120 crore, located in the upscale Aerocity area in the national capital, in connection with a money laundering case against alleged aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar.

Talwar, who was deported from Dubai in January and arrested by the agency, beneficially owned a company, Wave Hospitality Private Limited that, the ED alleged, used tainted money to construct the hotel, next to the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The multi-storey plush hotel boasts of some of the most expensive boarding and dining facilities in the Aerocity complex that was constructed a few years ago for international and domestic air passengers coming to Delhi.

The agency said a provisional order for attaching the property was issued by it under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED is probing Talwar in a criminal case of money laundering.

The agency alleged that he illegally engaged in liasoning/lobbying with politicians, ministers and other public servants and officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for airlines such as Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways for securing undue benefits for them during the tenure of the UPA government.

He (Talwar) illegally managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09 at the cost of national carrier, Air India, the agency said in a statement.

Investigation revealed that in lieu of securing favourable traffic rights, these airlines made payments of Rs 272 crore to Talwar during 2008-09, it said.

It has been revealed that Talwar created a web of entities owned by him and his family in India and international offshore havens to launder proceeds of crime of Rs 272 crore received from foreign airlines, the statement said.

Part of these payments were made to an account in Bank of Singapore, belonging to a company Asiafield Limited registered in the British Virgin Islands and beneficially owned by Deepak Talwar, it added.

These proceeds were layered through a series of international money transfers, to finally integrate in India in Wave Hospitality Private Limited, a company beneficially owned and controlled by Talwar and his family, in the name of his son, Aditya Talwar, the ED alleged.

These crime proceeds were then utilised in the construction of hotel Holiday Inn in Aerocity, New Delhi, it said.

Talwar is in judicial custody at present and the agency is expected to file its first chargesheet against him before a special PMLA court here on Saturday. PTIrchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, March 30

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed a chargesheet before a Delhi court against alleged lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his son Aditya Talwar in a money laundering case.

The agency told Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann in the chargesheet that Talwar, who was arrested on January 30 and currently is in judicial custody, allegedly acted as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines, causing loss to national carrier Air India.

The court will consider the chargesheet on April 15. EDs special public prosecutor DP Singh and Nitesh Rana told the court that the probe was on and a supplementary chargesheet would be filed later.

The ED earlier told a trial court that it needed to interrogate Talwar to get the names of officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, National Aviation Company of India Ltd and Air India, who favoured foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia.

It claimed that entities directly or indirectly controlled by the accused received exorbitant amounts from Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia and submitted a chart of total USD 60.54 million received by firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008 and February 6, 2009.

His role in some aviation deals during the previous Congress-led UPA regime is also under the scanner. PTIlaxmi@tribune.com

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 29

India today summoned the Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner to register its objection to Pakistan co-opting India-baiting elements in its 10-member committee on the Kartarpur corridor. It has been conveyed that the next meeting on the modalities can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistans response, said government sources.

India is objecting to the nomination of Khalistan elements, including Gopal Singh Chawla, Tara Singh, Besant Singh, Maninder Singh and Kuljeet Singh, on the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. All of them are said to have made provocative statements gainst India. Their appointmentputs a question mark on Pakistan intentions, said sources.

India also raised the flag against Pakistans limitation on the number of pilgrims and their mode of entry, pressing for foot-crossing by 5,000 pilgrims per day. Pakistan opposes foot-crossing, citing infrastructural constraints to limit the daily number of pilgrims at 500-700 and wants to bar corridor access to people of Indian origin with the PIO/OCI card. Given the interest in Punjab regarding the corridor, the government sought to reinforce the impression that India was keen on concluding the agreement at the earliest, but needed clarity in order to bridge substantive gaps on some issues. "The meeting should be substantive and not held just for optics," said sources.

That is why while predicating the next corridor meeting on Pakistan clarifying its stand, especially on the reported inclusion of anti-India elements on the Pakistan committee, the government wants to wait for the response rather than prejudging its intentions.

There cant be any let-up in security. India hopes Pakistan will address security concerns. Once the security aspect is cleared and we get a satisfactory response, we are open and keen to take the discussion forward and conclude it in a meaningful way, claimed the sources.

Indias depletion of enthusiasm was evident a day after Islamabad resorted to its familiar foot-dragging on investigating Pakistani links to the Pulwama terror attack.

In its first report shared with India, Pakistan denied that any of the 54 persons detained were involved in the attacks. It also rejected Indian claims on the location of 22 terrorist training camps and made a conditional offer to India to visit these locations.

There is a gap in perception because India says it took up Pakistan PM Imran Khans offer on Kartarpur corridor because it was open-ended. But India feels the limitation on the number and category of pilgrims, besides the mode of travel, is not in line with the earlier indications.

Hafizs puppet

"Chawla is a puppet of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed. He has publicly advocated use of violence against India" Manjinder Singh Sirsa, DSGMC Chiefrchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, March 30

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted the people of Rajasthan on statehood day.

My best wishes to the state for a bright, prosperous and peaceful future, Kovind tweeted.

Modi also tweeted his greetings. Greetings to the people of state on Rajasthan Day.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said: It is a day to commemorate the valour, strong willpower and sacrifice of the people of Rajasthan. Let us resolve to make our state a haven of happiness, fulfilling aspirations of one and all.

Rajasthan is the largest state in terms of area and was formed on this day in 1949. IANSpardeepdhull@gmail.com

London, March 30

Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi failed in his second attempt to get bail in his extradition case at the Westminster Magistrates Court here despite his defence team trying hard to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to care for a pet dog.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot on Friday declined the bail application of the 48-year-old prime accused in the USD 1-2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case on the grounds that he did pose a substantial flight risk and that he lacked community ties with the UK.

Clare Montgomery, Modis barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to grant bail.

He did have a son at Charterhouse (school in London) who has now gone to university in the States and as a sign of ageing parents, led Modi to get a dog instead. None of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out to flee the country, Montgomery claimed. Britain has a long-held reputation as a nation of animal lovers.

It is nonsense to say that he is a flight risk. He does not have a safe haven open to him and he has not travelled or applied for citizenship elsewhere  he only qualifies for leave to remain in this country, she added.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, stressed that Modi posed a significant flight risk and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence if he were released.

Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian governments arguments, noting the very unusual evidence she had seen at this early stage in the case of interference with witnesses and destruction evidence in the form of mobile phones and a server.

Montgomery, who along with Anand Doobay of Boutique Law makes up a very similar defence team as that of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case against India, told the court that her client was willing to put up 1 million pound as securitydoubling of the 5,00,000 pounds figure offered at the first bail hearing last week.

She also offered to submit to several stringent conditions, including Modi wearing an electronic tag to be monitored regularly. The tag was claimed to be even better than reporting to any police station but Modi was also willing to submit to even that requirement.

As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Montgomery said that Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up and switched on at all times, submit to complete travel restrictions and also surrender all his residence permits, including for Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE.

The defence team also attempted to counter additional CPS evidence, submitted on Friday by the joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team, that claimed Modi had made death threats to witnesses in the PNB fraud case, many of whom had been forced to leave India to hide away in Cairo, Egypt.

All of the witnesses who make varying claims have been in India since then and cooperating with the authorities, said Montgomery.

The CPS was able to challenge Modis defence claims that he had not travelled out of the UK since January 2018, when he allegedly arrived in Britain to establish the global headquarters of his diamond business.

CPS barrister Toby Cadman told the court that in fact he had flown out to New York as recently as last month.

That aside, he has known about these matters for some time but has not cooperated with authorities in any way. Now that the (extradition) process has started, there is an even greater risk of his fleeing (the UK), Cadman submitted.

The judge agreed that she did not feel that the conditions met with Modis statutory right to bail in such a case and directed Modi to be remanded in custody to appear for a remand hearing via videocall on April 26, required within a four-week period of an accused being remanded in custody.

Modi will remain at the Wandsworth prison in south-west London during that period, where he can hold sessions with his legal team to deliberate on the course of the extradition case. His lawyers have urged the judge to allow them more that the few hours a week allowed by the jail, one of the UKs most overcrowded prisons. PTIlaxmi@tribune.com

Tribune News Service & PTI

Jeypore (Odisha)/Kurnool (AP)/Hyderabad, March 29

Launching BJPs poll campaign in Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today targeted Opposition chief ministers besides listing achievements of his government at the Centre.

Speaking at Jeypore in Odisha, Modi referred to the successful anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test under Mission Shakti and said his government had put a chowkidar even in space.

Those criticising the anti-satellite technology will be given a befitting reply in the elections, he said.

The NDA government has been working hard to develop road and rail infrastructure in the state. In the last five years, the government has been able to build homes for eight lakh families, light up houses and provide gas connections to 40 lakh homes, he said.

In Telanganas Mahbubnagar, he said, On April 11, you are not just going to select an MP or vote for a PM, but will be voting for a new India, which will be reflective of the aspirations of Telangana.

Launching a scathing attack on CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, he said the people of the state had fought for a separate Telangana after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, but CM had benefitted his family, instead of the people.

Taking a jibe at the CMs belief in astrology, the PM said Rao got early Assembly election held on the suggestion of some astrologers and then delayed the formation of his cabinet for the same reason.

You tell me whether the people of Telangana will decide the future of Telangana or an astrologer? he said.

At Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, he targeted CM N Chandrababu Naidu by calling him U-turn Babu. The people of Andhra Pradesh know whose coffers are being filled. When this chowkidar sought accounts, U-turn Babu took a U-turn from APs growth and walked out from NDA, he said.

EC gives clean chit to Modis address

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modis address to the nation on the test-firing of an anti-satellite missile did not violate the model code of conduct, the Election Commission said on Friday. The EC took the decision based on the report of a panel of officers after Oppositions complaint. PTIlaxmi@tribune.com

London, March 29

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi was denied bail a second time today as a UK court ruled that there were substantial grounds to believe that he would fail to surrender and also noted that very unusually in a fraud case the accused had made death threats to witnesses.

At the end of the second bail application hearing at the Westminster Magistrates Court in London of the 48-year-old prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ruled that the 1 million his legal team had offered as security for bail as well as the offer to meet stringent electronic tag restrictions on their clients movements failed to convince her to grant bail. She set Modis next remand hearing for April 26 via videolink from jail.

This is a case of substantial fraud, with loss to a bank in India of between $1-2 billion. I am not persuaded that the conditional bail sought will meet the concerns of the government of India in this case, she noted.

The court was told that Modis son, who had been at school in London, had now left for higher studies in the US, which led the judge to conclude that Modi not only had a lack of community ties in the UK but also large resources at his disposal to try and flee the country.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian Government, flagged Modis attempt to acquire citizenship of Vanuatu, a remote island country in the South Pacific Ocean, in late 2017 as a sign of a man trying to evade justice.

Modi, meanwhile, can make a third bail application at the same court but only if the grounds for the bail plea were substantially different.  PTI

India a step closer to securing extraditionrchopra@tribunemail.com

Muzaffarnagar, March 30

The residents of a village in Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar district have threatened to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha election over the authorities not paying heed to their demand to construct a bridge over the Solani river.

The decision was taken at a panchayat meeting at Yogender Nagar village.

Pratap Singh, a villager, said since the village is located near the river, residents faced problems in getting across.

These problems were aggravated during the monsoon season, he added. PTIpardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, March 30

The US is tracking 250-270 objects of debris in the space generated due to Indias anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile test in lower earth orbit, but the International Space Station or ISS is not at risk, the Pentagon said on Friday.

US Strategic Commands Joint Force Space Component Command (JFSCC) said 250 pieces of debris associated with an Indian ASAT launch that occurred on Wednesday are being actively tracked.

Debris from the event is being actively monitored by the JFSCC, and conjunction notifications are being issued to satellite owners/operators in accordance with standard notification processes through the Department of Defenses public space situational awareness sharing website HYPERLINK http://www.space-track.org, it said.

The JFSCC said it will continue to actively track debris associated with the event and issue close approach notifications as required until the debris enters the earths atmosphere.

US Air Force Space Command Commander Lt Gen David D Thompson told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on Thursday that the JFSCC and Air Forces 18 space control Squadron are currently tracking about 270 different objects in the debris field.

Responding to questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, he said the number is going to grow as the debris field spreads out as the US collects more sensor information.

Thompson, however, refrained from giving any further details of the debris.

But we do know the altitude at which it occurred. We immediately started providing public notice on our space track website and will provide direct notification to satellite operators, if those satellites are under threat, he said.

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Thompson said, At this point in time, the International Space Station is not at risk.

The ISS orbits over 100 km higher than the orbit at which India carried out the A-SAT test.

Thats another thing that we do and provide warning routinely. Thats just an example of -no other nationno other military force, no other civil or other body could have detected characterised and begun warning and providing the world, the way we do with air force and other joint assets, Thompson said.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell from the prestigious Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said India acted in a less irresponsible manner than the Chinese in doing the test.

We dont know yet how much debris and how high. The United States has said that its tracking about 250 pieces. But it will take them at least a few days, if not a few weeks to figure to catalog those pieces, he told PTI.

Once the cataloging is done, only then one could analyses how bad the situation is, he added.

Responding to a question, McDowell, who has been following Indias space program since 1970s, described the A-SAT test as a much more aggressive stance even though it is presented as a defensive measure.

This is reflective of the ambitious and military side of the Indian space programme and is in response to the Chinas aggressive space militarisation programme, he said.

Opposed to such tests, McDowell said, the Indian A-SAT test was relatively responsible or less responsible than the Chinese A-SAT test.

Although Im opposed to the test, I think that if youre going to do a test, thats a better way to do it.

There will be debris that ends up in higher orbit but not as much and not as long left. The test at level will ensure that the debris doesnt stay up for long periods of time, in contrast to what happened with the Chinese test, which was much higher up, he said.

So that is relatively responsible. Certainly they (Indians) have learned from the mistakes of the Chinese, said the American astronomer.

He said the Chinese debris  hundreds of pieces in worst possible orbit - are still in the space.

The Indian debris might vanish and burn up when they come down in the next few months, while that of the Chinese might take decades to come down, McDowell said.

Well known space professional, Brian Weeden said China is one reason for Indias test.

India sees itself in competition with China for regional power and prestige and has been internally debating its own demonstration ever since the Chinese A-SAT test in 2007, he said.

The other factor is Indias concern about being one of the have nots for A-SAT weapons like they were for nuclear weapons, in the event of a future ban on A-SAT testing, Weeden said.

But more tests like this risk creating space debris that could impact commercial business models for space, plus many of these new space companies feel strongly about social responsibility, he added. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

More than 10 years after the services of a Civil Judge (Junior Division) were dispensed with, the judicial officer, Amrish Kumar Jain, has been reinstated. The order came following the filing of a contempt petition nearly five months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court not only directed his reinstatement, but also found faults with two of its Judges and its own administrative decision.

As the contempt petition for non-compliance of order dated October 3, last year, came up for hearing before Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, Punjab state counsel placed on record order dated March 8. Among other things, it said the petitioner had been reinstated on his original post with all consequential benefits. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur directed the forwarding of the order to the High Court Registrar-General, with a request for issuing Jains posting order immediately.

Allowing Amrish Kumar Jains petition with all consequential benefits, a Division Bench had asserted that Jalandhars then District and Sessions Judge Gurdev Singh, who went on to become a HC Judge, was apparently not happy with the petitioner. He submitted a detailed report in several annexures to the Administrative Judge to make him biased.

The Administrative Judge, elevated to the Supreme Court subsequently, relied upon the then District and Sessions Judges report to record an adverse annual confidential report without critically examining the background and facts.

Jain, in his petition filed in 2009 through senior advocate Puneet Jindal, was seeking the quashing of adverse ACR, dated June 9, 2008, and order, dated November 26, 2008, whereby his services as a member of the Punjab Civil Services (Judicial Branch), were dispensed with.Chinese Consul General to San Francisco Wang Donghua gives a speech. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

People's Daily Online, March 29 (San Francisco) - Jointly launched by Peoples Daily Online and Peoples Daily Online West USA, the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF), an international gathering aiming to deepen cooperation between bay areas, kicked off on March 29, 2019.

Attracting prominent leaders and experts from renowned metropolitan and bay areas worldwide, the grand event came after the successful establishment of Chinas Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which has been hailed by many scholars and experts as the forth leading bay area in the world, following New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.

China has set a goal of building the Greater Bay Area into one of the worlds leading bay areas. The current world-class bay areas can serve as a reference for the construction of Chinas bay area, said Luo Hua, Deputy Editor-in-chief of Peoples Daily Online.

Echoing Luo, Wang Donghua, Consul General of China in San Francisco, noted the forum is a timely and necessary platform for bay areas to find a new path for their future development, as the global economy has been dampened by rising protectionism worldwide.

Luo Hua, Deputy Editor-in-chief of People's Daily Online gives a speech. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

Globalization and increased open collaboration have led to the booming economic success of bay areas worldwide. International participation from talents and experts from all walks of life, as well as shared success, are the factors that have made this possible. Restricting the flow of technologies and talents will only lead to self-imposed isolation, added the Consul General.

Steven Rockefeller Jr, chairman of PFC & SRJ culture, reiterated his belief in Chinas Greater Bay Area, adding that Guangzhou has been the central city in South China since ancient times, and is a port that has connected China with the world for over two thousand years.

Steven Rockefeller Jr, chairman of PFC & SRJ culture addresses the forum. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

I have high expectation for [Chinas first bay area], as it is a region with the largest economic aggregate in China and is in the vanguard of Chinas bay area economy, he said.

The forum will also introduce a cooperation mechanism by establishing the Global Bay Areas Cooperation Council. The Council builds a platform for the exchange of resources among the global bay areas, thus creating a robust and dynamic global competition which will lead to synergistic development.

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

Read more about GBAF:

GBAF seeks global solutions: Chinese Consul General to SF

The GBAF is a highly relevant one, as it provides us a platform to exchange experience on global bay areas development and seek solutions to problems we face, Wang said during a speech at the forum. [Read more]

GBAF builds a cooperation and exchange platform for global bay areas: Luo Hua

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Editor-in-chief of Peoples Daily Online Luo Hua said that it would be an opportunity for China to build the Greater Bay Area into one of the worlds leading bay areas by learning from the best. [Read more]

Tackling urban development challenges in the bay area: Panel

Figures indicate that in the US, people spend an average of 80 hours per year commuting to work, and Mauvais says that a significant problem for bay area companies is to figure out how to give more time back to their workers. [Read more]

Jim Wunderman: Bay Area Council driven by the vision to coordinate regional development

Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, discussed the role of non- governmental agencies in economic advancement at the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum on March 29, 2019. [Read more]

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area aims for diverse and comprehensive development: expert

Instead of focusing only on finance or tech innovation, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will follow the path of diverse and comprehensive development, said Wang Jun, president of the Academy of Greater Bay Area Studies. [Read more]

US officials react positively to the GBAF

I commend you for your commitment to unite the bay areas of the world for partnership and economic development, noted Eleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor of California in her letter to Peoples Daily Online, the organizer of GBAF. [Read more]

Highlights of remarks by participants of GBAF

"I have high expectations for [Chinas first bay area], as it is a region with the largest economic aggregate in China and is in the vanguard of Chinas bay area economy," said Steven Rockefeller Jr, Chairman of PFC & SRJ culture. [Read more]By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao and other leaders on Friday complained to the Chief Electoral Officer against the IT raids on Thursday. The leaders had staged a protest outside the IT office on Thursday, calling officials BJP agents and the BJPs political wing. The BJP too plans to file a complaint with the EC against Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, saying that he had violated the Secrecy Act by announcing that he knew about the raids.

The Congress complaint said the BJP was trying to create fear psychosis among the people. The BJP is misusing the office of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, whose integrity is doubtful, and who is against the Congress and JD(S). The officer acts as an agent of the BJP by his actions, read the complaint. The income tax department on Thursday raided the residences and office premises and relatives of JD(S) ministers and candidates... to mar election prospects and cause fear psychosis among voters, supporters, leaders and candidates of the alliance partners. It is clear that these actions are at the instance of the PM Narendra Modi who is abusing office for political ends.

Follow our full election coverage here

On its part, the BJP is trying to turn the tables on Kumaraswamy, who had announced on Wednesday evening that several of his party leaders would be raided, and it turned out to be true a few hours later.

Former minister and BJP MLA SA Ramdas told the media on Friday, We are preparing to lodge a complaint against the chief minister as he has failed to maintain the secrets of an elite agency like the IT department. It is in clear violation of the Secrecy Act, to which he is bound while taking oath as chief minister. He should also specify whether intelligence personnel are keeping tabs on the functioning of the IT department.

He recalled Kumaraswamys reaction when there were raids on the houses of film actors and producers in January, that when it comes to raids, everybody is equal before the IT department. He said it is grave that the chief minister was himself leading a mob, in blatant violation of the model code of conduct.editorial@tribune.com

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

Restive farmers in Punjab have launched agitations across the state, forcing all political parties in the fray for the May 19 General Election to sit up and take note.

Their agitation, launched just as the poll scene begins, is likely to force political parties  the ruling Congress, SAD-BJP, AAP and Punjab Democratic Alliance to commit to fulfilling some of their demands.

While the Opposition parties  both SAD- BJP and AAP  have been extending their support to the farmers, the latter are venting their ire against the ruling Congress, for most of their troubles, be it a complete loan waiver or farmers being forced to give blank cheques as security for loans. But they are equally blaming the Centre (BJP-led NDA government of which the Akali Dal is a constituent) for the rise in costs of all farm inputs, poor remuneration of crops and not implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.

The agitations launched now are not in favour of or against any political party. We only want each party to commit that they will take up our cause if voted to power, said Satnam Singh Pannu of Kisan Mazdor Sangharsh Committee. Beginning today, he is leading a Jail Bharo Andolan, wherein 51 farmers will court arrest everyday in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar. Other than this, seven other farmer organisations, led by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), are protesting outside banks each day, demanding that the blank cheques taken from indebted farmers illegally be returned to them. These organisations will also be holding a protest from May 2 to 4 in Patiala (hometown of Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, from where his wife Preneet Kaur is seeking to contest the polls) against the inability of the state government to give a complete loan waiver to farmers.

Other than this, though the cane growers, who protested against the non-payment of their dues by the sugar mill at Dhuri for 20 days, have ended their stir, these farmers have stated that they will re-launch their agitation from April 2, in case their dues (as promised by the administration on March 26, when the dharna was lifted) are not cleared. Today, a case was registered against 100 of these protesting farmers for locking the SDM and other officers in their office, when the agitation was on earlier this week. This has led to widespread condemnation by almost all farmer organisations and they have extended their full support to the farmers against whom case is being registered.

First, the government held back the dues for cane given by farmers to sugar mills. They protested for 20 days and no payment was released. Only when in desperation these farmers took an extreme action of locking officers, the government promised to release their dues. This means that the government had money, but were not willing to release it to us, rued Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), adding that this time they would force each political party in fray to announce and commit to the promises made for farmers.

Jail Bharo Andolan begins todaymonicakchauhan@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 30

Four persons of a family died after consuming poison at the Manko village here late Friday night.

The deceased have been identified as Bakhshinderjit Kaur (45), her three children Jaspreet Singh (18), Harmanjit Singh (12) and Balpreet Kaur (14).

Bakshinderjit's husband Ajit Singh is an NRI and lives in Dubai.

Police said Bakhshinder's son Jaspreet Singh called up their neighbours at 11.30 pm last night informing that they had consumed poisonous tablets.

Rushing to their home, the neighbours took them to a private hospital where all four of them succumbed.

While Ajit Singh is currently in Dubai, he has been informed about the incident.

SHO Adampur said a postmortem is being conducted. The SHO said the reasons for the dire step was not known.editorial@tribune.com

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, March 29

The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Badhni Kalan police station, Inspector Sukhdev Singh, was today suspended for dereliction of duty and negligence.

Moga SSP Amarjit Singh Bajwa said the SHO nabbed two smugglers and robbers on March 25, but he did not initiate any legal action against them for two days. I have suspended him from the service with immediate effect and informed it to the Election Commission, which will now appoint the new SHO, he said.

On March 25, the SHO and his team took into custody two drug smugglers and highway robbers, identified as Prabhjit Singh and Gurpreet Singh, residents of Amritsar, and recovered two cars stolen from Jalandhar and toy pistols from them. However, Sukhdev did not initiate any legal action against the duo, who was also facing seven criminal cases. They were allegedly kept in illegal custody for two days. Sources claimed that one more person was nabbed, but the SHO released him after taking bribe.

On March 27, Ferozepur range IG Mukhwinder Singh Cheena and other senior officers raided the police station and found Prabhjit and Gurpreet locked up. On-the-spot inquiry conducted by the IG and the SSP, prime facie found the SHO guilty of negligence of duty.

Two years ago as well, Sukhdev, posted as SHO at the Badhni Kalan police station, was removed from the post on charges of taking bribe to release a drug smuggler.

No action was taken

Moga SSP Amarjit Singh Bajwa said the SHO of the Badhni Kalan police station, Inspector Sukhdev Singh nabbed two smugglers and robbers on March 25, but he did not initiate any legal action against them for two days.editorial@tribune.com

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 29

After a section of leaders within the SAD (Taksali) urged the party leadership to pull out Gen JJ Singh (retd) from the poll fray from Khadoor Sahib in favour of Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP) candidate Bibi Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the former has put his foot down over the suggestion.

He said, "I reject the suggestion of PEP president Sukhpal Singh Khaira. My candidature was announced first. Two days after the announcement of Bibi Khalras candidature, I got a call from him asking me to pull out of the race. I am also a Panthic face," he said.

He claimed that some people abroad were against his decision to contest the elections. "I am convinced that Khaira is trying to use Bibi Khalras name to get funds from abroad, he alleged.

SAD (Taksali) president Ranjit Singh Brahmpura has also categorically refused to pull out Gen JJ Singh (retd) from the race. Party general secretary Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad said the sacrifice of the Khalra family for the cause of the Panth was immense. He accepted that two Panthic faces would split the votes.singhking99@yahoo.com

BN Goswamy

Unlike his fellow British artists, George Chinnery was not interested in rendering topographical scenes. He wanted to feel the pulse of the land, and that is what set him apart

I stood a wondering stranger at the Ghaut,

And, gazing round, beheld the pomp of spires

And palaces, to view like magic brought:

All glittering in the sun-beam. Mans desires

Are here superbly pampered, 

 From James Atkinson, The City of Palaces, Calcutta, 1824

Nothing quite lands us right in the midst of colonial India, especially of the 18th and 19th centuries, as those countless prints and drawings that artists from Britain and Europe kept producing here. In them one sees what it must have been like to view this vast land of ours  with its maddening variety of people and places, and monuments and terrains, through alien, unaccustomed eyes. For those who came here to these parts, whether as professionals or as gifted amateurs, everything must have been a spectacle: great monuments beginning to moulder and decay, strangely clad men and women bustling about around ghats and in alleys, trades that had all but died out in their own lands plying everywhere with zest, rituals and celebrations of strange character being observed in town-squares and on green fields. Bheesties (water-carriers) and hookah-burdars (huqqa-bearers), mehtars (sweepers) and masalchis (torch-bearers), nor bullock carts and palkis, might have been engaged by everyone who came out here, but they were certainly around: there to be observed and recorded. Piles of pictures were produced, not all of them  although many  were of high quality, and they are all worth paying attention to. Pheroza Godrej, untiring collector and connoisseur, has known this for years as did Pauline Rohatgi, her friend, philosopher, and guide, and, before them, the likes of the gentle and studious Mildred Archer. Over the years they have drawn our attention to these treasures through books and exhibitions, and one learns from them each time.

In many ways, the recently concluded exhibition  curated by Pheroza Godrej  at the Prince of Wales Museum (re-named the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), was different from others before it, for it focussed exclusively on prints and drawings that related to Calcutta. Kolkata Through Colonial Eyes is how it was titled, and not everything in it was from the 200 prints she and Pauline had gifted to the Museum some four years ago. Her own essay and catalogue of the exhibition apart, Pheroza had asked other experts to contribute to the volume. And through their eyes too one sees a lot. One knew of course of the Daniells and Prinsep, of Zoffany and Hodges, of Fraser and DOyly. But I was especially drawn to learning about George Chinnery  the picturesque artist par excellence of Lostys description; one of the greatest of British Imperial artists of William Dalrymples; and my friend, and one of my masters of Frasers  on whom Patrick Conner wrote in the volume.

A man of undoubted talent, Chinnery (1774-1852), who landed in India in 1802, was a bit of a puzzle. As someone, reviewing a relevantly recent exhibition of his works in England, wrote: To us, the experience of empire may have been about power, commerce, and occupation. To many British people at the time it was more a matter of escape, from poverty, family or creditors. In the case of the artist George Chinnery, it seems to have been a combination of all three. Even though he did not begin his career in India by landing in Calcutta, the premier city of the British, he, soon after coming there, became an integral part of the citys expatriate social life. This, of course, apart from being recognised as a master painter and much sought after by young, especially amateur, artists as a mentor. Interestingly, however, Chinnery was not as interested in rendering topographical scenes as so many other artists were, nor especially in portraits which he was extremely good at and which could fetch instant money. Of far greater interest to him was feeling the pulse of the land where he now was. This he liked to do though portraying figures bathing in the river, thatched huts with chattars inserted into the wall, village watchmen, bullock carts, covered boats on the Hooghly River, charpoys and chatties, overgrown tombs , in Conners words.

Like many other artists of his time, however, Chinnery had the unfortunate tendency to run into debts: serious debts, sometimes. He was a Freemason, but not much solace came from that source. He began at one time to live in slovenly quarters that were not considered appropriate by the sahibs. On occasions, he would try and seek help from friends and officials. Circumstances made him move from place to place in a hurry sometimes. He even left India for China, painting portraits and street scenes and landscapes there, and spent years in Macau, the place where he died eventually. But he kept working all the time: drawings, lithographs, and painting. One of the works that he is most remembered, and admired, for is the portrait he made of the two young children of James Kirkpatrick, who was British Resident to the Nizam of Hyderabad, and had gone on to fall in love with and marry the great niece of the Nizams chief minister: a great beauty who bore the name Khair-un-Nisa. The portrait of the young children  brother and sister  was made during the time when they were going to be parted from their parents, forever perhaps, owing to a turn in circumstances, and is imbued with a sympathy rarely seen in portraiture. In his White Mughals, which William Dalrymple wrote essentially with the Kirkpatrick family at its centre, calls the painting of these children one of the masterpieces of British painting in India, and describes it beautifully. After speaking of the setting, and the lovely dresses that the siblings wear, he says: while, Sahib Allum (the young boy) looks directly at the viewer with an almost precocious confidence and assurance, Sahib Begum (his sister) looks down with an expression of infinite sadness and vulnerability on her face, her little eyes dark and swollen with crying.

Chinnery clearly understood the intense sadness of separation, he adds. All this in the midst of A prodigy of power, transcending all/The conquests, and the governments of old,/An empire of the sun, a gorgeous realm of gold, in Atkinsons description of Calcutta.singhking99@yahoo.com

Neepa Sharma

The quiet and graceful country of Armenia is still waiting to break out of its cocoon. A dark past with many wars and a genocide that the world does not want to talk about has not stopped this historically and aesthetically rich country from reaching out slowly to tell the world their story. Armenians hold on to their rich heritage and are extremely country proud. To retain the old world charm, pink stone has been used for new buildings in the capital city of Yerevan. Clean roads, wonderful cafes, fabulous food, amazing sculptures, fountains and history are all around.

Armenia is the oldest Christian country in the world  and became a Christian kingdom in 301 AD. Their faith in the church and religion is all-pervasive. Their reverence to their past is monumental.

The Matenadaran Manuscript museum in Yerevan is the only museum of its kind. It houses ancient manuscripts mostly donated by Armenians from all over the world. During the many wars, and then the genocide, Armenians left the country to wherever they found asylum. Today the diaspora is four million versus the population of Armenians in Armenia at two million. When people fled, they took as much of their rich heritage as they could. Now a lot of their family members are returning heritage items to the country.

The Republic Square is a melting pot of the young and old, beautiful buildings, fountains and people milling around the multitude of eateries.The Cascade steps at Yerevan, which overlook the entire city of Yerevan, is an experience in itself. The War Memorial, The Genocide Memorial, the Vernissage  a huge bazaar spread over two blocks, featuring art, handcrafts, silver, carpets and antiques are some of the other things to see in Yerevan.

Yerevan is said to be the Silicon Valley of Europe. Hundreds of companies have made Yerevan their hub. The streets of Yerevan come alive in the evenings with music and dance at every corner of the city; and its a late night every night.

Being a Christian country, Armenia is full of monasteries steeped in history and stories. Among the popular tourist attractions are the Etchmaidzin Cathedral, the oldest church in the world, the Sevanavank Monastery overlooking the lake Sevan, the Khor Virap monastery, Temple of Gharni and the Geghard Monastery. The gorgeous Sevan lake occupies nine per cent of the total area of Armenia. Other attractions that warrant a visit include the hot spring spouts of Djermuk, the arch overlooking Mount Ararat, where Noah rested his Ark after the deluge, the manmade underground galleries by a possessed Armenian, the Arpaparnas Winery, near the oldest discovered winery in the world (Areni) in the mountains. The best time to visit the country, which offers hassle-free visa on arrival, is from May to September.

The food takes any trip to Armenia to another level. Meats are all important and the shawarmas and kebabs are the highlights of the Armenian cuisine. The sweetbreads and gooey delectable fruit preserves are amazing, besides the regular baklava very different from what is normally available here. Armenian cheese, particularly the smoked string cheese is really good.

The countryside is spotless and a visual delight with red, blue, orange, tulips, poppies, lavender flowers everywhere. The smell of sweet lavender is everywhere. The architecture is distinct  a highly sophisticated palette and a mix of Islamic and European influence is everywhere.

The Vernissage will require a full day to do full justice to what it has to offer.

Things are not expensive in Armenia if you can book tickets in advance.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, March 30

A Canadian artist is building a wall of cheese near the border that separates the US and Mexico in Tecate, California, as a way of denouncing the waste represented by the barrier that American President Donald Trump wants to construct.

While the Trump administration is trying to use billions of taxpayer money to build the wall, the artist, Cosimo Cavallaro, is relying on GoFundMe to acquire enough blocks of expired cheese from the Mexican state of Michoacan to complete his structure, which stands nearly 5 ft tall.

Art unites people, the 58-year-old told Efe news on Friday.

Cavallaro quipped that he would be delighted to receive a donation from Trump, who made the promise of a border wall, the centerpiece of his 2016 election campaign.

I can see the waste in this. Its a little bit of a waste to acknowledge a waste, the artist said of his project.

Beyond the political statement, the main objective of the sculptor and filmmaker is to convey a message of solidarity among people.

Cavallaro said that when he first arrived in Tecate, the sight of the reinforced fence topped with barbed wire left him with a very ugly and depressive vibe, evocative of a concentration camp environment.

US Border Patrol agents are in the area, but they have not interfered with Cavallaros project.

The artists intention is to have the wall extend roughly 300 metres along the border, but the projects final shape depends on how many people donate at his GoFundMe page.

Each block of cheese costs roughly $100.

This is not the first time that Cavallaro has made art from perishable items.

His previous works include a figure of Jesus Christ made from chocolate and a bed of ham.  IANSmonicakchauhan@gmail.com

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, March 30

Have you ever seen Pakistani students performing Garba...well this video of Holi celebrations, which has gone viral, will make you fall in love with these guys.

Moving to new dance style, the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, celebrated Holi cutting across cultural lines.

In a video, which is doing rounds on social media, shows students in Pakistan celebrating the festival with much fervour and seeing their dance style, a person from India said that these Pakistani students are better at performing Garba!

The students, all covered with colours sang and danced in rhythm in circles.

It was overwhelming to see students celebrate Holi amid tensions between Indo-Pak following Pulwama attack.monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Washington, March 30

US President Donald Trump threatened to close the nation's southern border with Mexico next week, amid feud over illegal immigration.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our southern border, I will be closing the border, or large sections of the border, next week," Trump said on Twitter.

He claimed closing off border crossings, key avenues for trade with Mexico, "would be a good thing!" The threat comes a day after Trump criticised Mexico and several Central American nations for not halting illegal immigrants heading north to cross the US border.

"Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action," Trump said in a tweet Thursday. "Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing." "May close the Southern Border!" he added.

The US President's remarks stood in contrast with those of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who has thanked Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for their efforts to help the United States secure the border.

"America shares common cause with the countries of Central America in confronting these challenges," Nielsen said in a statement Thursday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected Trump's criticism.

"We respect President Trump's position, and we are going to help," Lopez Obrador told reporters on Thursday. "This is a problem of the US, or it's a problem of the Central American countries. It's not up to us Mexicans, no."

Trump repeatedly threatened to seal the southern border late last year, when the White House and Congressional Democrats couldn't reach an agreement over his demand for billions of US dollars in funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border, a plank of his 2016 presidential campaign.

IANSExpress News Service

UDUPI AND MANGALURU : A couple from Karnataka, living and working in Munich, Germany, were attacked by an immigrant in the early hours of Saturday, leaving the husband dead and the wife severely injured. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted news of the attack on the couple on Saturday morning and said that she had instructed the Indian mission in Munich to take care of the children of the couple and that arrangements had been made to fly the relatives of the couple out to Germany. The couple have two children, a daughter Sakhishya (15) and a son Shloka (10).

Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashants brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, Swaraj said, in her tweet. Prashant was working as a software engineer in Munich and the couple has two children.

Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on Smithas hometown, Siddapur of Kundapur taluk, as news of the incident spread. Speaking to Express, Sujay, Smithas brother, said his family, including his parents, wife and himself, were leaving for Munich immediately. Smithas father, Dr Chandramouli, is a popular ayurveda doctor in Siddapur, and the family is well known.

Indian couple Prashant and Smita Basarur were stabbed by an immigrant near Munich. Unfortunately, Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant's brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. /1  Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 30, 2019

Several residents who knew the family said that the news had left Dr Chandramouli shattered. We are told that the government will help with arrangements to bring back Prashanths body at the earliest. Smitha is said to be recovering, a distraught Umesh, a relative of Dr Chandramouli, said.

READ | Indian man stabbed to death by immigrant in Munich

Hope Smitha returns home, say residents

Smithais the second child and has two brothers. Ajay, the elder brother works in Dubai while Sujay, is a civil engineer, is working in Siddapur. The family owns a twowheeler showroom and a few commercial complexes in the city, which has a large section of residents with relatives working outside India. The couple had last visited the town around a year ago with their children.

Just five months back, Smithas family had visited her in Munich during a holiday. Smitha completed her graduation at Bhandarkars Arts and Science College in Kundapur and her post graduation at Mangalore University. Prashant studied at the NMAMIT, Udupi. Smitha married Prashant nearly a decade ago. Residents of the small town said that they were praying that Smitha returns home stable and fondly spoke of her as a simple college going girl dedicated to her family.rchopra@tribunemail.com

Palm Beach, March 30

Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he is likely to shut down Americas southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halted all illegal immigration.

Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the President emphasised, I am not kidding around.

It could mean all trade with Mexico, Trump said, when questioned by reporters in Florida.

We will close it for a long time.

Trump has been promising for more than two years to build a long, impenetrable wall along the border to stop illegal immigration, though Congress has been reluctant to provide the money he needs. In the meantime, he has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but this time, with a new surge of migrants heading north, he gave a definite timetable.

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts and other businesses across the US.

The US and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be an unmitigated economic debacle that would threaten five million American jobs.

Trump tweeted on Friday morning, If Mexico doesnt immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week.

In Florida, he didnt qualify his threat with or large sections, stating: There is a very good likelihood Ill be closing the border next week, and that is just fine with me.

He said several times that it would be so easy for Mexican authorities to stop immigrants passing through their country and trying to enter the US illegally, but they just take our money and talk.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggested Trump was referring to the ongoing surge of mostly Central American families heading north through Mexico. Many people who cross the border illegally ultimately request asylum under US law, which does not require asylum seekers to enter at an official crossing.

Short of a widespread shutdown, Nielsen said the US might close designated ports of entry to re-deploy staff to help process parents and children. Ports of entry are official crossing points that are used by residents and commercial vehicles.

If we have to close ports to take care of all of the numbers who are coming, we will do that, Nielsen said. So its on the table, but what were doing is a very structured process based on operational needs.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trumps possible action would apply to air travel.

Trumps latest declaration came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country was doing its part to fight migrant smuggling. Criminal networks charge thousands of dollars a person to move migrants through Mexico, increasingly in large groups towards remote sections of the border. APshalender@tribune.com

London, March 29

Lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a third time on Friday, sounding its probable death knell and leaving Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the very day it was supposed to leave the bloc. The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May's divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year Brexit crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty.

After a special sitting of parliament, lawmakers voted 344-286 against May's 585-page EU Withdrawal Agreement, agreed after two years of tortuous negotiations with the bloc.

May had told parliament the vote was the last opportunity to ensure Brexit would take place and cautioned that if the deal failed, then any further delay to Brexit would probably be a long one beyond April 12. "I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," May told parliament after the defeat. "This House has rejected 'no deal'. It has rejected 'no Brexit'. On Wednesday it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table." "This government will continue to press the case for the orderly Brexit that the result of the referendum demands," she said.

EU calls crisis summit

Brussels: The European Union on Friday, summoned leaders to an extraordinary summit, warning that Britain is now "likely" to crash out of the bloc on April 12 without a Brexit deal.Within minutes of the vote, European Council President and summit chair Donald Tusk tweeted that the EU leaders will meet on April 10 to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc.  PTIBy Express News Service

KOLLAM: Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said the AICC would take a decision on Rahul Gandhis candidature in Wayanad by tomorrow. He said it was their desire to make Rahul contest in Kerala. It is not just Oommen Chandy but we all have demanded him to contest here, said Chennithala. He was speaking to reporters on Friday. He defended the demand and said it was out of a positive thought of getting more seats for Congress in South India which was needed to oust the Narendra Modi Government.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Chennithala admitted the delay in announcing a candidate in Wayanad had created difficulties for all, including the UDF ally Indian Union Muslim League. On the opposition from Left parties on Rahuls candidature, he said the Congress did not take the opposition seriously. The Left has no relevance in the political atmosphere of parliamentary election. Why would they have if it is contesting in less than 40 seats? he said.By Express News Service

KOCHI: For Aluva native Ansari, the yearn for instant internet fame ended up in sour note when he was forced to apologise on social media for a video he posted. He was asked to apologise after KLF Nirmal Industries filed a criminal defamation case for spreading fake videos through social media by falsely claiming the companys coconut oil he bought in Oman was contaminated with paraffin wax.

Ansari CA (36), of Chavarkad Perumbilly, Aluva, has agreed to post his apology as an audio file on Facebook, YouTube and broadcast to all his WhatsApp contacts. Following this, the company withdrew the case and the court ended the legal proceedings.

In December 2017, Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate had started legal proceedings after finding prima facie material in the case. In his apology, Ansari said he was mistaken in spreading a false video and was convinced KLF coconut oil is unadulterated. He said he bought two samples of KLF coconut oil recently and got them tested at the Muscat Municipality Laboratory. The results said the coconut oil was pure and unadulterated.

Paul Francis, MD of KLF Nirmal Industries said coconut oil comprises fatty acid molecules. When the oil freezes below 25 degree Celsius, the fatty acid get sedimented as granules rest at the bottom of the container. In his video, Ansari falsely claimed these sediments were paraffin wax. When his video went viral, KLF suffered heavy dip in sales, Paul said.We want this to be a lesson for people trying to malign reputed products and business houses by spreading malicious rumours just because they have social media accounts, said Paul.By Jeff Murphy, March 29, 2019





WARRENSBURG, MO  With the theme, Milestones, to commemorate the University of Central Missouris rich history, the inauguration of Roger J. Best, Ph.D., as UCMs 16th president takes place Thursday, April 18, in the Multipurpose Building arena. Inauguration ceremonies begin at 1 p.m., and a reception follows immediately in the ballroom of the Elliott Student Union. The public is invited.



Best was named president by the Board of Governors on Nov. 5, 2018. He had served since Aug. 1 of the same year as interim president after Dr. Charles Chuck Ambrose left the post for a new position as chief executive officer for KnowledgeWorks in Cincinnati, Ohio.



After growing up and earning his higher education in Georgia, Best joined UCM in August 1995 as an assistant professor of finance, and climbed the faculty ranks to become a professor in 2005. He was named chair of the Department of Economics and Finance in 2003; associate dean of the Harmon College of Business Administration in 2008; and dean of the college in 2010. Following an extensive restructuring of academic programs, Best began service as dean of the newly formed Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies in 2011. His strong business acumen contributed to Best becoming Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration in August 2017, and concurrent with a university administrative reorganization, he was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2018.



The university is celebrating Bests inauguration as the institution nears its 150th anniversary. Founded in 1871, UCMs sesquicentennial takes place during the 2021-2022 academic year.



More information about inauguration activities at UCM will be available closer to the event. To learn more about inauguration events and to read a more detailed biography about President Best, visit ucmo.edu/inauguration.| By Patricia Fanning

One woman grew up in Brazil eyeing the stars and a career in astronomy. Another grew up in China and studied to be a diplomat before finding that she could use her skills in global markets as an entrepreneur. Both shared their words of advice with attentive listeners during the University of Maryland, Baltimores (UMB) Womens History Month 2019 celebration.

The UMB Roundtable on Empowerment in Leadership and Leveraging Aspirations (UMBrella) Group presented the UMBrella Symposium and Workshops: Be a Catalyst for Change in Your Life and Your Career. To open the event, held on March 13, a large audience was treated to a conversation between UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, and Mei Xu, MA, an entrepreneur who founded Chesapeake Bay Candle and recently launched Mei Xu & Co. LLC. She is a board member of the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation.

(View a video below.)

Their insightful chat was followed by breakout sessions, lunch, and the symposiums keynote speech, Is the Sky the Limit? Astronomer Duilia de Mello, PhD, MS, vice provost and dean of assessment at the Catholic University of America, spoke of her area of research  extragalactic astrophysics  and described the night she made history by discovering the supernova 1997D in a galaxy 58 million light years from Earth.

Megan Meyer, PhD, MSW, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, asks about risk-taking during the question-and-answer session with entrepreneur Mei Xu, MA.

At the 2019 symposium, participants were privileged to hear from two ground-breaking speakers as well as to engage in workshops to inform their own lives and careers because UMBs typical 90-minute program had been expanded into a daylong event.

(View a photo gallery on Facebook.)

These annual celebrations are really a reminder of all that we have done and a reminder theres still so much more to do as we fight to keep workplaces free from sexual harassment and discrimination, said UMBrella founder and chair Jennifer B. Litchman, MA, and as we level our attention on eliminating entrenched systems and structures that even today inhibit true wage equality for women and gender parity in the workplace.

Litchman, who is UMB senior vice president for external relations and special assistant to the president, presided over the symposium. It was capped by an experiential workshop designed to integrate the days lessons into simple mind-body practices. Kathy Flaminio, LGSW, MSW, founder of 1000 Petals LLC, led a large audience in Taking Care of YOU: Self-Care Strategies for Mind-Body & Heart.

The days lessons were numerous as attendees could choose among five breakout sessions led by experts in their fields: How to Recognize Implicit Bias, Kristin Reavis, MD '09, MBS, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; How to Recognize and Respond to Gender-Based Violence, Leigh Goodmark, JD, professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; How to Negotiate, Stacy Smith, JD, director, special projects, Center for Dispute Resolution at Maryland Carey Law; How to be Authentic, F. Emelia Sam, DDS, associate professor at Howard University College of Dentistry; and How to Craft Your Narrative, Laura Wexler, co-founder, The Stoop Storytelling Series.

At the outset, Perman expressed confidence that those in the audience, made up mostly of women, would take away good advice, strategies, and connections. There was an opportunity for questions and answers. During Permans conversation with Xu, the pair covered numerous topics pertinent to the days theme of being a catalyst for change.

Xu repeatedly embraced change, starting in 1989 when Chinas unrest led authorities to dispatch recent university graduates to the hinterlands. She found herself far from Beijing with a boring assignment related to minerals destined for export. I did something unthinkable at that time. I quit, she said.

That decision derailed her decade-long plan to become a diplomat. But it put her on a path to emigrating, earning a masters degree in mass communications at the University of Maryland, College Park, and gaining experience in global trade.

A hiring freeze due to the Iraq War upended her aim for an international banking career. Once again, something happened to my dream, to work for the World Bank, she said, going on to advise listeners about the best ways to handle a setback. In her case, in 1994 she and a partner founded Pacific Trade International. She went on to become chief executive officer of its subsidiary, Chesapeake Bay Candle, and in 2010 was invited by then-First Lady Michelle Obama to design a signature candle to be given to foreign dignitaries.

Like the Obamas, Perman referred to Xu as the candle lady. The two chatted about what became her specialty, discussing how she had grown a business built on that product into a company that sold for $75 million in 2017. Xu outlined reasons for expanding into wellness and marketing facts, including why consumers prefer pumpkin spice, an aroma considered to be an aphrodisiac. She said she expects to use both a knowledge and a love of home decor in her latest venture.

Similarly, de Mello shared with the audience many of her own motivations, such as an early love of science fiction, her dismay in casual conversation that people confuse being as astrophysicist with being a fortune teller, and her determination to pass along her passion for science to the young people of Brazil and beyond.

Our planet is hurting. We need people to care. And thats why I do the work I do, she said.By Online Desk

A 27-year-old woman was allegedly starved to death by her husband and mother-in-law at Oyoor in Kerala's Kollam district, the police said. The victim Thushara, a mother of two, was only being given soaked rice and sugar syrup to eat everyday until she passed away.

An autopsy report revealed pneumonia and other ailments caused by malnutrition as the cause of death. When asked, people in her neighbourhood said Thushara's husband Chantulal (30) was known to raise dowry demands. He also beat her up often.

Thushara had approached the police station many times. Local BJP leaders played mediators on more than one occasion, Mathrubhumi reported.

Chantulal's mother Geetha Lal (55), the other accused, did not allow Thushara to visit any relative or entertain any guest. She would also thrash her daughter-in-law if she disobeyed. All her contacts with the outer world were thus cut. Geetha Lal is also suspected of practising witchcraft, the police said.

The police are planning to move the couples' kids to Kerala Child's Line.Father Solomon seen in a busy Athens neighbourhood.  UNHCR/Christos Tolis

Walking through the streets of Athens, there is a calm about Solomon Haile Mesein that belies the suffering and pain of separation that he has endured for the past nine years.

An Eritrean priest of the Orthodox Church, Father Solomon fled his homeland in 2007, leaving behind his elderly parents, wife and three children. After being temporarily reunited with his family in Kenya, he sought safety in Greece alone in 2010, where he was granted refugee status in 2011.

Not one night goes by without me lying awake, thinking about them, he says in his soft, soothing voice as the traffic rumbles by. I take things one day at a time.

Despite Greek and EU law providing for the right of refugees to family reunification, a raft of hurdles, including time limitations, complicated consular procedures and a lack of guidance, make it difficult for many like Father Solomon to be reunited with their loved ones. Those without full refugee status are not even eligible to apply for family reunification in Greece.

Everyone has the right to be with their family. But, refugee families can easily become separated when they are forced to flee and can spend years apart, says Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR Representative in Greece. Procedures in Greece should be simple enough, so that refugee families approved for reunification can actually reunite.

With help from UNHCR and its partner, the Greek Council for Refugees, Father Solomon has spent years trying to bring his family together again through the correct legal procedures. His application for family reunification was twice rejected by Greek authorities and he is waiting for the outcome of a new court decision on an annulment application made in January 2019.

According to Greek Council for Refugees legal team the rejection is a clear violation of the relevant national and European laws on refugee family reunification, and international law on human rights.

For the state I am just a case, says Father Solomon, sadly. They dont know my face, my person, they dont care.

UNHCR is only aware of a handful of cases being able in recent years to obtain visas and reunite with their families in Greece. In most cases, they have been thwarted by administrative hurdles at the last stage of the procedure. UNHCR has welcomed a government decision from August 2018 on the issuance of entry visas to Greece for family reunification and encourages its effective implementation.

But buoyed by his faith, Father Solomon has not given up hope.

He runs a small worship centre in central Athens with the help of his congregation  even those who have long since found new homes in other European countries. Their support has been overwhelming, says Father Solomon, smiling.

Share on Facebook Share on TwitterKulyk said the Prosecutor General's Office on March 28 summoned Boris Lozhkin, Valeriya Gontareva, Oleksiy Filatov, Kostiantin Stetsenko, and Mykola Zlochevskiy to the prosecutor's office early next week to officially served them with charge papers in the Ukrainian oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko's case.

Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Department of International Legal Cooperation, Head of the Criminal Procedural Management Department Kostiantyn Kulyk says the Presidential Administration of Ukraine is putting pressure on the prosecutor's office to slow down charges against President Petro Poroshenko's allies.

"Bankova [Presidential Administration] is now putting pressure on the prosecutor's office to slow this down now. As long as there is such a confusion, it is paused... I do not fully know what has happened. The information about suspicion notices has been lifted from the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations. It can be removed only in two ways  either as mistakenly registered or suspicions are canceled. I don't know on what grounds the decision was made, it's necessary to ask," he said in an interview to UNIAN.

Read alsoProsecutor Kulyk claims part of documents in Kurchenko case gone

In addition, Kulyk said the Prosecutor General's Office on March 28 summoned former head of the Presidential Administration Boris Lozhkin, former Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriya Gontareva, Deputy Head of Presidential Administration Oleksiy Filatov, co-owner of the ICU investment company Konstantin Stetsenko, and ex-Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mykola Zlochevskiy to the prosecutor's office early next week to officially served them with charge papers in the Ukrainian oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko's case.

"The fact is that yesterday, March 28, we summoned these persons to us with official summonses. In any case, they will be obliged to come on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Anyway, they will be served with these documents. They can say they did not receive them by mail  no problem, we will hand them over at the Prosecutor General's Office," he said.

Kulyk said he had taken sick leave now, but he would be back at work on Monday to conduct legal proceedings. "I took a pause until Monday, I will restore my health a bit and on Monday they should already come. We will hand over these suspicion notices against signed receipt, we will show the evidence base since they have the right to know what the charges are based on. We need to work with this," the prosecutor added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, papers with charges over laundering billions of hryvnias of former President Viktor Yanukovych's "family" have been served by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to Ukrainian oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko's accomplices: former head of the Presidential Administration Boris Lozhkin, former Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriya Gontareva, co-owner of the ICU investment company Kostiantyn Stetsenko, Deputy Head of Presidential Administration Oleksiy Filatov, and others.

In total, 98 persons were served with charge papers, including 12 senior officials of ministries and departments, as well as the National Bank and six heads of regional state administrations in Ukraine.

Via a comment on Facebook on Thursday, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko provided details on charges brought against senior officials in the case opened against fugitive Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, an ally of ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.

Later on Thursday, Larysa Sargan, spokeswoman for Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, and PGO speaker Andriy Lysenko distributed an official statement of the PGO that suspicion notices against former NBU Governor Valeria Gontareva, former head of Presidential Administration Borys Lozhkin, co-owner of ICU Konstantin Stetsenko and deputy chief or Presidential Administration Oleksiy Filatov were announced in violation of law.

The identical statement posted on Facebook by both press officers says the Prosecutor Generals Office informs that "the so-called notification of suspicion of V.Gontareva, B.Lozhkin, K.Stetsenko, and O.Filatov was carried out with violation of procedural legislation, which requires sufficient evidence, an order of the prosecutors' group leader, and personal delivery."

As noted in the statement," none of these requirements were met by prosecutor Kulyk.

Therefore, said persons are not considered suspects in the understanding of Art. 42 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, according to the PGO statement.

The legal assessment of the actions of prosecutor Kulyk will be provided by the State Bureau of Investigation, the spokespersons said.

The official statement of the PGO concludes that "election fever clearly spoils people."

The initial report claiming that the suspicion notices have been issued against top officials was published by a U.S.-based Russian-language news outlet Forum Daily. Later, UNIAN published photocopies of suspicion notices against officials in question the agency received at its disposal.The current SMM mandate expires on March 31, 2019.

The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has extended the mandate of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) by another year.

Read alsoOSCE spots clusters of heavy weapons in Russia-occupied areas of Donbas

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak, recalled that the SMM was mandated to establish and report facts in response to specific incidents and to report incidents, including those concerning alleged violations of fundamental OSCE principles and commitments, throughout Ukraine, the OSCE press service said on March 30.

The official also thanked the SMM observers for their work.

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to the women and men of the Mission, who  for five years now  have been working every day, under challenging circumstances, to carry out their crucial tasks as the principal and largest international monitoring presence on the ground. They deserve our gratitude and our support," Mr. Lajcak said. "The monitors are the eyes and ears of the organization  and indeed, of the international community  and they directly contribute to the prevention of further escalation," he added.

UNIAN memo. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was established on March 21, 2014. The SMM observers work without weapons. OSCE monitors report based of their own observations and established facts.

In particular, observers collect information and report on the security situation, inform about the humanitarian situation and the needs of people in the area and assist other organizations in delivering aid. They also facilitate dialogue among all parties to the crisis and contributed to the maintenance of a ceasefire.

The SMM mandate expires on March 31, 2019. So, the government of Ukraine asked the OSCE Permanent Council to extend it for another 12 months.The recent detentions and the prior searches of their private property, constitute the latest targeting of Crimean Tatars, human rights defenders, and people who have spoken out peacefully against the illegal annexation of Crimea.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) says the European Union does not recognize Russian legislation in the occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and expects the immediate release of 23 Crimean Tatars, illegally detained during searches.

"They are accused of belonging to the organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia but not in Ukraine. The European Union does not recognize the enforcement of Russian legislation in Crimea and Sevastopol and expects all illegally detained Ukrainians to be released without delay," Spokesperson of the European External Action Service said in a statement on March 30.

Read alsoRussia-controlled "court" in occupied Crimea rules to remand all detained Crimean Tatars in custody until May 15

It is noted that a court in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia, has ruled that all 23 Crimean Tatars detained on March 27-28 will be held in pre-trial detention until 15 May.

The recent detentions, as well as the prior searches of their private property, constitute the latest targeting of Crimean Tatars, human rights defenders, and people who have spoken out peacefully against the illegal annexation by Russia of the Crimean peninsula, the report said.

"Such acts corroborate the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which states that 'Crimean Tatars continue to be disproportionately affected by police raids and prosecuted under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings falling short of human rights standards,'" the Spokesperson said.

The European Union expects the Russian Federation to end these practices and to take all necessary steps to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms can be exercised by all in Crimea, without discrimination on any grounds.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russian law enforcers in illegally occupied Crimea on March 27 conducted massive searches in homes of 25 Crimean Tatars, having taken a number of detainees to the FSB office in Simferopol.

The FSB press service claimed the searches were part of the investigation into the Hizb ut Tahrir organization, which is outlawed in Russia. Russian law enforcers later reported on the detention of 22 individuals. Three more Crimean Tatars have been detained in Russia's Rostov-on-Don. "Their houses were searched yesterday in their absence," NGO Crimean Solidarity reported on Facebook on March 28.

Hizb ut Tahrir is not banned in Ukraine.

Ukrainian diplomats are in contact with Ukraine's foreign partners over the new wave of repression against Crimean Tatars in the occupied peninsula on the part of the Russian Federation.

The European Union has called on Russia to stop putting pressure on Crimean Tatars in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

The U.S., UK, and Poland have also addressed the issue, condemning repression, including searches and arrests, and other human rights abuse, and calling on Russia to release Crimean Tatar detainees.Campaigning is prohibited during the 24 hours preceding Election Day.

Ukraine on March 30, Saturday, is observing a pre-election silence ahead of presidential election scheduled for March 31, Sunday.

Read alsoKremlin refuses to answer directly whether Moscow set to recognize outcome of Ukraine elections

According to the law on election of the President of Ukraine, meetings with voters, rallies, demonstrations or pickets, as well as holding debates and press conferences regarding election programs are prohibited in the last 24 hours before the election.

Any manifestations of political advertising in the media or on external media, as well as the dissemination of campaign materials are also banned under the law.

A candidate may start campaigning the day after he or she has been registered by the Central Election Commission (CEC). The pre-election campaign shall end at midnight on the Friday before Election Day, according to Article 57 of the law on the election of the President of Ukraine.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the presidential election in Ukraine will be held on Sunday, March 31. The CEC has approved the final list of 39 presidential candidates. The National Police has already switched to an enhanced mode of security.The enemy employed artillery systems, mortars, cannons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.

Russia's hybrid military forces in the past 24 hours mounted 19 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action, and another four as wounded in action.

Read alsoRussian proxies open fire from banned arms in Donbas on Thursday: Report

"Russian proxy forces 19 times attacked Ukrainian positions, including 16 times using arms proscribed by the Minsk Agreements. The enemy launched a total of one hundred 152mm, 122mm, 120mm and 82mm artillery munitions," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update published on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on March 30, 2019.

Russian occupation forces opened fire from artillery systems, mortars, cannons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms at Joint Forces positions near the towns of Avdiyivka and Popasna, as well the villages of Shyrokyne, Vodiane, Lebedynske, Verkhniotoretske, Pavlopil, Troyitske, Novo-Oleksandrivka, Krymske, Zaitseve, Zolote-4, and Vilne.

As reported, four invaders were killed and another six were wounded.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces also destroyed the Osa-AKM surface-to-air missile system and an automatic jamming system (R-330Zh, Zhitel) of the Russian occupation forces.

From day-start on Saturday, no attacks were recorded on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.The units fired upon by the enemy delivered an adequate response, returning fire from standard weapons.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted two attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on March 30, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action.

Read alsoOSCE extends mandate of Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine by another year

"From day-start today, the enemy twice opened fire from small arms at Ukrainian position near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Pisky," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an evening update on Saturday.

"The units fired upon by the enemy delivered an adequate response, returning fire from standard weapons. Reports on enemy losses are being verified," the press center added.

The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on March 29, Russian occupation forces violated the ceasefire in Donbas 19 times, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action, and another four as wounded in action.Anuja Susan Varghese By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Fr Antony Madassery, a close aide of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is an accused in the nun rape case, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday for possessing unaccounted money. An amount of Rs 9.67 crore was reportedly seized by the Khanna police from Fr Antonys residence at Partappura near Jalandhar in a raid.

In view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the police have deployed more personnel in several parts of the city to monitor the movement of unaccounted cash, noted the officials in a press release on Friday.

It also mentioned they have traced the priests car after they received information from intelligence sources. While conducting the check, three cars were caught - PB-10GB-0269 (Ford Ecosport), PB-02-BN-3938 (Innova) and PB-06-AQ-8020 (Maruti Breeza) - and they were coming from Ludhiana side. A total of six persons, including a woman, were taken into custody.

One of the occupants of the car was Antony, who is the priest of the church at Partappura, said the press release. Partappura is the Generalate headquarters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus, founded by Bishop Franco, and Fr Antony is the director general of this congregation.

ALSO READ | Nun who protested against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal claims threat to life

Madasserry reportedly stayed in Kerala for around three weeks when the bishop was in judicial custody and returned to Jalandhar with him. Fr Antony had also made attempts to defame the victim nun before the case was filed by her in June. He had approached the parish priest at Kodanad church with some letters and documents to defame her in early June, said Sr Anupama, one among the five nuns who had protested demanding the arrest of Bishop Franco.

Meanwhile, Sr Anupama also added these developments are signs indicating those on the side of wrong will always be punished. God has seen all our struggles and fights for justice. We hope Franco also gets punished soon for all his wrongdoings, Sr Anupama added.However, Jalandhar diocesan authorities did not comment on the issue.By PTI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's tweet following a visit to the fish market here, the ruling CPM and BJP alleged that he had insulted the fishermen community and demanded an apology.

The former Union minister, who is trying to score a hat-trick from the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, had visited a fish market in the state capital recently and spoken to the women selling fish there and had also posted some pictures of his visit.

"Found a lot of enthusiasm at the fish market, even for a squeamish, vegetarian MP," Tharoor had later tweeted.

As controversy erupted over the use of the word "squeamish", Tharoor in another tweet quoted the meaning of the word from an online English-Malayalam dictionary "For those Malayali leftist politicians who are currently having difficulty understanding my English"! In another tweet, Tharoor wrote "order delivered" and put its word by word Malayalam translation as "Kalapana prasavichu" (Kalapana has given birth)" to pinpoint the pitfalls in translations.

The CPM and BJP attacked the Congress MP, saying he had insulted the fishing community by his choice of words.

BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan said Tharoor should apologise and said his act of "humiliating" the fishermen community through the social media was "extremely deplorable."

For those Malayali leftist politicians who are currently having difficulty understanding my English! pic.twitter.com/vhOi7hThgo  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2019

He had insulted the fishermen community who had saved several lives during the devastating floods in August last year, the former Mizoram Governor said.

Fishermen have taken out marches in Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode protesting the tweet, saying they had been insulted.

During the August floods last year, it was the fisherfolk who had saved thousands of life, they said and demanded an apology from the two-time sitting MP.

When reporters sought his reaction, a visibly upset Tharoor, said he was busy with campaign work and did not wish to comment.

Tharoor had in February this year recommended Kerala fishermen, whose deeds of courage were the main highlight of the rescue operations during the 2018 Kerala floods, for the Nobel Peace prize.

"It was during the height of this tragedy that fishermen groups of Kerala, at great risk to their lives and potential damage to the boats that are the source of their livelihood, jumped into the fray to save their fellow citizens," Tharoor had written to the chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel committee.By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Keonjhar Police arrested five persons in connection with the murder of former MLA candidate Ramachandra Behera, who was supposed to join the ruling BJD. Police also seized the weapon used in the crime.

Former chairman of Anandpur block and Independent MLA candidate in the 2014 Assembly election from Ghasipura Ramachandra Behera was hacked to death by a group of miscreants at Dhakotha village on Monday night.

Police said Behera was murdered over past enmity with another family in the area.

Behera was murdered for having over two-decade-old rivalry with Prusty family in the area. He was supposed to join BJD and Prusty family members thought that if he joins the party, then he will become a threat to them, Keonjhar SP Jai Narayan Pankaj said.

Police have also seized three motorcycles used in the crime.

A critically injured Behera was rushed to Anandpur hospital.

He died on the way while being shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack.The people of Morocco are gearing up for Pope Francis' arrival in the capital city on Saturday 30 March. As Vatican News' Paul Samasumo awaits the Pope in Rabat, he gives us some context.

By Paul Samasumo

34 years, August 1985 Pope John Paul II visited Morocco at the invitation of King Hassan II. At the time Pope John Paul II was concerned about the status of the Church in Morocco and as well as relations with Muslims.

Fast forward to 30 and 31 March 2019, and you have Moroccos capital city of Rabat, in a state of high expectation and some excitement the people here cannot wait to host Pope Francis. Pope Francis will arrive in Rabat for a two-day visit starting this Saturday.

Listen to our report

Pope Francis has been invited to visit Morocco by the King, Mohammed VI.

With this visit, the Pope continues his mission of promoting relations with Moslems. Increasingly, this is something that is resonating well with Moslem scholars, intellectuals and some Imams.

It is, therefore, no coincidence that one of the main highlights of this visit by Pope Francis will be to the Mohammed VI Institute. The Institute is named after the King of Morocco himself. Many of the students at the institute are from Africa, the Middle East and Europe. They come here for their studies in Islam. It is they who will, in turn, carry to their regions this moderate brand of Islam that Morocco is keen to promote.

In Morocco, Islam is the state religion but the constitution guarantees "to all the freedom to practise their faith." It is, nevertheless, an offence to proselytise.

But Pope Francis is also coming to Morocco as a pastor reaching out to encourage the tiny and diverse Catholic community of about 33 000 -mostly African students here for university studies, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and also some Asian contract workers.By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: Biju Janata Dal MP and former Union Minister Arjun Sethi Saturday resigned from the regional party after he was denied ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

BJD president had replaced the eight-time MP from Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency with Manjulata Mandal, the wife of sitting party MLA Muktikant Mandal.

The 78-year-old Sethi has submitted his resignation letter to Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

He has also quit as Member of Parliament as well as from the post of Bhadrak district BJD president.

Sethi said "I wanted to meet Naveen Patnaik but was not given an appointment. I waited for four hours but failed to meet him. At this old age, it was embarrassing that I had to wait for so long. I am pained that neither I nor my son was given ticket to contest in the ensuing polls," Sethi told reporters.

He claimed that Patnaik had earlier assured him to consider his candidature or giving ticket to his son.

Odisha: Arjun Charan Sethi resigned from Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after his son Abhimanyu Sethi wasn't given a ticket from the party; has joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his son pic.twitter.com/smH346amoB  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

Bhadrak Youth BJD president Durga Prasanna Das, a supporter of Sethi, also resigned from the party.

Sethi, who was Union Minister for Water Resources in the A B Vajpeyee Ministry from 2000 to 2004, is the fourth BJD MP, to have resigned from the party.

Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh and Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo have already resigned from the BJD.

Follow our full election coverage here

While Panda, Majhi and Singh have joined BJP, the BJD president has not accepted the resignation of Deo.

Sethi was yet to take decision on his next course of action.

Sources said Sethi may also join BJP, if the saffron party makes him a candidate from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat.

BJP was yet to announce the name of its candidate from Bhadrak (SC), Jagatsinghpur (SC), Jajpur (SC) and Mayurbhanj (ST) Lok Sabha seat.

At least five sitting MLAs have also resigned from the BJD and joined BJP following denial of renomination.

The BJD has expelled three leaders from the party for anti-party activities ahead of the polls in Odisha.

"BJD president Naveen Patnaik today expelled Siba Prasad Gouda and K Ramkrishna from Gunupur constituency in Rayagada.

Besides, Kanhu Singh from Banki constituency in Cuttack district has also been expelled from the party.

The trio has been expelled from the party for their indulgence in anti-party activities," BJD state secretary Bijay Nayak said in a release.Morocco has opened its arms in welcome to Pope Francis, with most local media hailing the visit as a significant milestone in the life of the Muslim country. The Pope is also seen as coming to console Muslims after the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand.

By Paul Samasumo  Rabat, Morocco

Many Moroccan newspapers have Pope Francis picture splashed on the front pages of their Saturday editions.



The event is being viewed by many Moroccans as a positive event. 'LOpinion', a daily francophone Moroccan newspaper, led with the headline, Pope Francis Among Us. The article finds many parallels between Pope Francis' visit to Morocco and that of Pope Saint John Paul IIs visit in August 1985.



'Pope also comes to console us after Christchurch shootings'



A more interesting and touching angle is the fact that the newspaper sees Pope Francis as one coming to comfort Muslim brothers and sisters after the Christchurch mosque shootings of New Zealand.

Many will no doubt recall the two consecutive terrorist attacks at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday Prayer on 15 March 2019. Fifty people lost their lives in the attacks while fifty others were injured. The gunman was a 28-year-old Australian man, described as a white supremacist.



Notwithstanding the horrific events of Christchurch, many articles in Moroccan newspaper say that it is possible for Christians and Muslims to co-exist in peace.

Listen to our report

Al Bayane calls for co-existence between Christians and Muslims



The Friday edition of French-language 'Al Bayane' newspaper equally called for co-existence on its front page.

Television stations in Morocco have also televised Pope Francis video message that he sent ahead of the visit (with Arabic subtitles). In his video message, the Pope said he was coming to Morocco on "a pilgrimage of peace and fraternity, in a world that greatly needs it."



Pope Francis remarked that both Christians and Muslims believe in God the merciful Creator who created men and women, and placed them in the world so that they might live as brothers and sisters, respecting each others diversity and helping each other in their needs. He concluded by saying that It will be a joy for me to share these convictions directly with you at the meeting we will have in Rabat.



Almost all newspapers also make reference to Pope Francis concern for migrants and portray the Kingdom of Morocco as being in tune with the Pope on this issue.

Foreign investment in Vietnam is beginning to focus more on hi-tech industries, Photo: Le Toan

In late February 2019, the southern province of Dong Nai welcomed a new project from South Koreas Changshin Vietnam Inc., which kicked off the construction of its $100 million footwear factory at Tan Phu Industrial Park. The new 14.3-hectare project follows Changshins previous successful investments. It is expected to produce 27 million pairs of shoes per annum and employ around 12,000 labourers when it is put into operation next year.

The Changshin funding is significant to Dong Nai as it is the biggest foreign-invested project in the province so far this year. Also note-worthy is the number of jobs that will be created, addressing an area where Vietnam is thinking of adopting a new approach in its next-generation foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction strategy by 2030 in labour-intensive sectors like footwear and garments.

New issues, new strategy

Key global trends have been gathering momentum to bring about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In turn, Vietnams new socio-economic development plan and FDI attraction strategy may also be changed to adopt to the new situation.

In this new FDI landscape, low wages are no longer an advantage for Vietnam, unable to compete with other nations in terms of cheap and skilled workforce. The average wage, in India for example, is far less than in Vietnam. When it comes to FDI attraction in hi-tech, Vietnam is much less appealing than India.

Simon Nihal Bell of emerging market investment consultants Armillary said, If Vietnam continues to base strategy on cheap wages, it will lose. As salaries go up, Vietnam will no longer be successful in attracting people to set up factories here to make T-shirts and phones at a low cost. Vietnam needs to work out how to attract people to make things because of skills and high quality, excellent business environment, and accepting high wages.

According to Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-invested Enterprises, funding from the EU and the US are currently lagging behind those from other Asian countries. Thus, Vietnam would need to create a new FDI approach to change the situation. Together with labour, Vietnam needs to take a new approach in the new FDI attraction strategy to bring added value to the economy and better protect the environment as climate change is becoming an increasingly dire threat, he told VIR.

Investment incentives are another issue that needs a rethink. The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, said in a recent report that given Vietnams interest in growing FDI in more innovative, hi-tech fields, the use of tax exemptions and concessionary rates is likely to create a higher cost to the government while delivering fewer of the benefits. Not all FDI priority sectors should necessarily receive incentives. Incentives should be focused on investors who will be most responsive, based on their motivations and an analysis of the cost-benefit trade-off, the report said.

Aware of these issues, Vietnam has been working on adjustments to its new strategy, with new changes in labour quality, investment incentives, links between domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, environmentally-friendly technology, and more, towards increasing competitiveness and productivity, thus better adapting to the new development period.

As shown in the latest version of the strategy, there is a new approach in the pipeline to tackle these issues. In particular, cities and provinces which have difficult socio-economic conditions will be oriented to attract FDI in labour-intensive sectors and outsourcing and assembling at higher levels.

Furthermore, there will be a policy to ensure high-quality supply of disciplined human resources with professional and foreign language skills to replace cheap labour. Also, labour requirements will be supplemented in line with new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs).

The conditions for the investment incentives will focus on output quality and contributions to the domestic sectors: value chain, added value, application and transfer of high-tech, research and development, and innovation, instead of location, sectors, and investment scale.

Evidently, the new FDI strategys expected change in the approach to labour will be a strong message for foreign investors like Changshin Vietnam who are doing and will do business in labour-intensive sectors like footwear and garments, urging them to change.

Harmonising old and new

Despite all this, as old-generation FDI still contributes a great deal to Vietnams economic development, harmonising old and new FDI is the million-dollar question.

Vietnam has seen FDI movement between the earlier stage of FDI attraction and the current period in manufacturing and processing, mining, and agro-fishery-forestry.

In the early stages of FDI attraction, investment in the manufacturing and processing industry mainly focused on hydropower, coal-fired power, oil and gas, apparel, and footwear, as well as motorbike and automobile assembly. During that period, the country licensed many projects on coal and bauxite mining, and introduced policies to boost operations in the extractive mining industry, Mai said.

In the new situation, Vietnam cannot focus on attracting FDI into these sectors anymore. Vietnam has no way but to find new potentials to ensure the countrys sustainable development and cope with Industry 4.0 which requires a strong focus on technology and human resources, he added.

Looking at the energy sector as an example, in the past, Vietnam mainly focused on the development of coal-fired and hydropower to generate electricity. Mai, however, said that there is now no room left for FDI in small- and medium-sized hydropower projects.

He added that the country should no longer encourage FDI in coal-fired power projects. Vietnam now has to annually import tens of millions of tonnes of coal, with the figure forecast to rise to 50 million tonnes by 2030 if the country continues to generate electricity from coal.

Aware of environmental pollution, many countries have removed this kind of energy from their future plans. Thus, Vietnam should encourage FDI in renewable energy where it has advantages, such as wind, solar, and tidal power generation.

In a similar situation, the steel and cement markets are becoming saturated amid growing environmental pollution concerns. In one example, Vietnams annual crush and cull of limestone for cement production  100 million tonnes, equal to the size of a mountain  has endangered native species like the silvery langur, which makes its home on limestone hills.

Industry insiders said that Vietnam should attract FDI in sectors where the country boasts strong advantages and where foreign investors can offer high-tech, new branding, new marketing, and high value that domestic counterparts cannot. These include hi-tech and IT, processing and manufacturing, supporting industries, tourism, and hi-tech agriculture.

Vietnam now has 700,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises, which should be given priority rather than have FDI flow across all sectors both domestically and further afield in equal measure. Then we can clarify which ones require co-operation with foreign companies to create value chains, and what FDI should be lured with investment incentives different from those in the past, Mai told VIR. Furthermore, state management should also change its approach, proactively build e-government, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City being the pioneers.

Flow direction changes

Vietnam knows what it has to do, but balancing the current development demands and sustainable development remains a headache. For example, developing renewable energy is inevitable, but the problem is that the countrys electricity demand is forecast to grow by 15-17 per cent a year in the next two decades. Meanwhile, in the national energy development strategy, renewable energy output will only make up about 5 per cent of the total by 2020.

Despite the challenges ahead, FDI flows have already started to change direction. The manufacturing and processing industry has continued to lure most foreign investors, but they are now focussing more on IT and telecoms, electronics, computers, and refrigeration to benefit from the countrys policies prioritising hi-tech and environmentally-friendly projects.

Meanwhile, FDI in oil and gas, steel, cement, textiles, and footwear has reduced due to market saturation and Vietnams tightening investment policies. Parallel to this movement, the value of manufacturing and processing projects also grew, with the country beginning to attract mammoth projects worth billions of US dollars from Japan and South Korea.

Now, with the new FDI strategy in the final drafting process, Vietnam is pinning its hopes on more high-quality FDI in the future, thus enabling many foreign investors like Changshin Vietnam to have a reasonable approach.The findings were based on flight recorder data and represented the strongest indication yet the system, known as MCAS, malfunctioned in both the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Mar 10, 2019 and the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia. (Photo: AFP/Tony Karumba)

The information is among the preliminary findings from the analysis of the "black boxes" retrieved from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed southeast of Addis Ababa on Mar 10, killing 157 people, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The information retrieved from the plane's voice and data recorders was presented Thursday to US authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the source said.

However, the source said the investigation is still underway and the findings are not yet definitive.

The information was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Boeing and the FAA declined to comment to AFP.

Ethiopian authorities have promised to submit the preliminary report on Flight 302 by mid-April but have already said that there are "clear similarities" between the two Max 8 crashes.

It was yet another blow to aviation giant Boeing, which just this week unveiled a fix to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that Boeing designed to prevent stalls in its new plane.

The aviation company has tried to restore its battered reputation, even while continuing to insist that the MAX is safe.

'MCAS WAS THE PROBLEM'

The family of 31-year-old Jackson Musoni, a Rwandan citizen who died in the Ethiopian Airlines accident, filed a lawsuit against Boeing on Thursday in a court in Chicago, where the company has its corporate headquarters. The suit accuses the aircraft manufacturer of designing a defective system.

The MCAS, which lowers the aircraft's nose if it detects a stall or loss of airspeed, was developed specifically for the 737 MAX, which has heavier engines than its predecessor, creating aerodynamic issues.

The initial investigation into the October Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which killed all 189 people on board, found that an "angle of attack" (AOA) sensor failed but continued to transmit erroneous information to the MCAS.

The pilot tried repeatedly to regain control and pull the nose up, but the plane crashed into the ocean.

The flight track of the doomed Ethiopia Airlines flight, which also crashed minutes after takeoff, "was very similar to Lion Air (indicating) there was very possibly a link between the two flights," FAA acting chief Daniel Elwell told Congress this week.

The FAA grounded the MAX fleet worldwide, but not until two days after most countries had done so.

That delay, along with an FAA policy allowing Boeing to certify some of its own safety features, has raised questions about whether regulators are too close to the industry.

BOEING ON THE DEFENCE

Elwell denied the agency was lax in its oversight, saying, "The certification process was detailed and thorough."

He also seemed to cast doubt on the MCAS as the clear culprit, saying that data collected from 57,000 flights in the US since the MAX was introduced in 2017 revealed not a single reported MCAS malfunction.

However, Steven Marks, the lawyer for Jackson Musoni's family, said information from the recent tragedies, as well as pilot reports, "made it crystal clear that the cause of these two crashes are the same."

"There's no question that MCAS was the problem" and that pilots were not aware of the system, he told AFP.

US pilots complained after the Lion Air crash that they had not been fully briefed on the system.

Musoni was among at least 22 United Nations employees killed in the Ethiopian crash.

Boeing also declined to comment on the lawsuit, but this week unveiled changes to the MCAS system that will be installed worldwide, once the FAA approves.

Among the changes, long in the works, the MCAS will no longer repeatedly make corrections when the pilot tries to regain control, and the company will install a warning feature - at no cost - to alert pilots when the left and right AOA sensors are out of sync.

The company also is revising pilot training, including for those already certified on the 737, to provide "enhanced understanding of the 737 MAX" flight system and crew procedures.Hoang Anh Gia Lai refutes information that Cambodia would take back land from them

A decade ago, the Cambodian government decided to give about 19,000 hectares of land to Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

However, the local communities in Cambodia filed a complaint in 2014 over serious environmental and social effects with the World Banks International Finance Corporation (IFC), which had invested in a fund that financed HAGs ventures in Cambodia and Laos, according to Reuters.

A dispute resolution process was set up, and HAG agreed to stop further land clearance. A year later, HAG agreed to return land that was not planted or cleared, and its concessions were reduced by more than 60 per cent.

Also according to the Highlanders Association and advocacy groups Equitable Cambodia and Indigenous Rights Active Members, which are representing the communities, the country made a decision to take back 742 hectares.

However, according to HAG's representative, until March 28, the company had yet to receive any decision from the Cambodian government on the recovery of 742 hectares of land.

"Cultivation activities at the project proceed as usual," the representative said to newswire dantri.com.vn.

HAG recently sent a notification to shareholders about the final registration date to attend the 2019 annual general shareholders meeting on April 8, 2019 and the ex-right date is April 5. The meeting is scheduled on April 26 in Pleiku, Gia Lai, and will revolve around HAGs production and business activities, and investment in the 2018-2019 period.

HAG and HNG of Hoang Anh Gia Lai closed the March 28 session with a decline. Specifically, HAG decreased 0.18 per cent to VND5,600 ($0.24) per share, and HNG reduced 1.92 per cent to VND15,300 ($0.66) per share.Farmers in Phuoc Thanh Commune, Tuy Phuoc District in Binh Dinh Province prepare seedling for planting in a local forest. - VNA/VNS Photoo Quang Quyet

The steering committee for the national target programme on sustainable development of the forestry sector (Programme 886) held a conference in the central province of Binh Dinh on Friday.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan reported to the conference that the forestry sector had achieved or beaten all set targets in 2018. The national forest coverage expanded by 0.2 per cent from the previous year to 41.65 per cent, with 231,520 ha of concentrated forests planted, surpassing the target by 18 per cent. Total forestry production value exceeded VN32 trillion (US$1.38 billion).

There are around 4,500 enterprises operating in processing wood and forest products, with 1,863 of them directly involved in export. Vietnams wood products have been exported to 120 countries and territories, with main markets being the US, Japan, EU, China and the Republic of Korea. The forestry sector earned $9.38 billion from exports in 2018, up 15.9 per cent year on year.

However, many problems remain, such as deforestation and illegal transport and storing of forest products, which are attributable to the poor performance of local authorities, especially those in the northern provinces of ien Bien and Bac Kan and the Central Highlands.

The northwestern and central highlands regions have large areas of forest land but the pace of forestation in those regions is slower than in others. The planting of protective and special-use forests faced great difficulties due to the shortage of capital and land.

According to Dinh Ngoc Minh, deputy director of the Agriculture Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, after three years of implementation, four out of the 16 tasks set by Programme 886 have been completed two years ahead of schedule, five other tasks have had 90 per cent of the workload done and the remaining seven are being conducted on schedule.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has asked the Government to instruct local administrations to allocate sufficient capital from the central budget and mobilise investment from other legal sources for projects in forest protection and development.

According to the office of Programme 886, the targets set for 2019 are to expand the national forest coverage to 41.85 per cent, increase forestry production value by 5.5-6 per cent and export value to $10.5 billion, while maintaining stable employment for 25 million people.An apparel factory of the Far Eastern New Apparel Vietnam company in Bac Dong Phu Industrial Park of Binh Phuoc province (Photo: VNA)

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agencys correspondent in Paris ahead of an official visit to France by Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the MP said the EVFTA plays an important role in promoting economic and commercial exchange, benefiting both the EU and Vietnam.

She noted that France is the 16th biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, but accounts for less than 1 percent of the Vietnamese market.

France wants to develop strongly bilateral relations in all aspects, so as to enhance Frances position in Vietnam both in friendship links and economic and trade exchange, Stephanie Do said, adding that the French Government has expressed the wish in many high-level visits, such as the visit by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in 2018 and the upcoming visit by President Emmanuel Macron.

The MP said the French-Vietnamese relationship has never been stronger than now, not only in friendship links but also in strategic cooperation across various fields like economy, health care and education.

Mentioning the Vietnamese community in French, which numbers around 300,000, Stephanie Do said more and more Vietnamese French want to join the political scene. She said she had coordinated closely with the Vietnamese Embassy in France and many associations to promote the Vietnamese culture in France and help the French discover the rich and interesting culture of Vietnam.

The MP voiced her hope that the two sides will increase cooperative activities through close ties with the Embassy and representative missions of Vietnam in France.

Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan is scheduled to pay an official visit to France from March 30 to April 3 at the invitation of President of the National Assembly of France Richard Ferrand. This is the first official one by a NA leader of Vietnam after 11 years, aiming to accelerate the Vietnam-France strategic partnership.By Express News Service

MAHBUBNAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made a fervent plea to the people of the State to dump KCR and his family as well as the Congress in the ensuing elections to Lok Sabha.

Addressing an election rally in Mahbubnagar from where DK Aruna is in the fray on BJP ticket, the Prime Minister wanted the people to realise that KCR, after his election to Lok Sabha from this constituency in 2009 had not done anything then or now as chief minister.

He and his family had benefited but you have not, though you had sent him to Lok Sabha. He, his son, his daughter, and his nephew were the beneficiaries of your largesse, Modi said and wondered why KCR had not yet given his explanation for advancing the elections to the Assembly in December last year.

Simultaneous elections to both Assembly and Lok Sabha would have helped the country in saving on huge election expenditure, he noted.

KCR knew that if simultaneous elections take place for both Assembly and Lok Sabha, he would bite dust in both the polls as BJPs stock was on an upward trajectory. That was why he went for early elections basing on the prediction of an astrologer, he said.

Taking exception to KCRs friendship with AIMIM, he said KCR was doing only to derive more political benefit in the polls to feather his own nest for his family to live happily. He came down heavily on the Congress also and said there was not much difference between the grand old party and the TRS. Both are dynasty and family-centric parties and they are more interested in their own welfare than people, he said and pointed out that many leaders were bidding adieu to the Congress and were joining the BJP because they were fed up with its lack of vision and its tainted history.

The Prime Minister said both the TRS and the Congress were working in league with each other and that they were birds of the same feather. Modi wanted people to exercise discretion and vote for a party that would take the country forward. I have come to you to seek your blessings. You have seen how this chowkidar has worked for the last 60 months. A lot remains to be done. We have ensured no terror strikes took place anywhere in the country, except in Kashmir, he said.

Modi, referring to the creation of 10 per cent quota in jobs for economically weaker sections in general category, said that it vindicated the commitment of the NDA for the sections whose problems had remained unattended to.

The reservations are meant for removal of economic inequalities among various sections of the people. Earlier, before the advent of the NDA in 2014, it had been the practice of the Congress dispensation to trigger clashes among castes for political benefit. Ten per cent quota is a historic decision, he said.

Modi took exception to the Congress for trying to convert into a political issue Indias surgical strikes at terrorist hideouts in Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama terror strike.Unable to put up with the loathsome and detestable politics, leaders were leaving the Congress for BJP, he said.

Copying Centres schemes

The TRS govt has been labelling the Centres programmes as that of the State, Modi allegedA dead dolphin lies on a beach of the Atlantic Ocean near Lacanau, southwestern France, Mar 22, 2019. (Photo: AFP/NICOLAS TUCAT)

The Associated Press news agency on Friday (Mar 29) said that animal welfare groups have blamed aggressive industrial fishing for the deaths, but the cause of the spike in numbers remained a mystery.

Theres never been a number this high, Mr Willy Daubin of the Pelagis Observatory was quoted as saying.

Already in three months, we have beaten last years record, which was up from 2017 and even that was the highest in 40 years."

Mr Daubin said 90 per cent of the deaths were caused by accidental capture using industrial nets.

"We have dolphins arriving on the coast with marks, we can prove that it's accidental capture but we cannot detect what fishing gear has contributed to this," he said.

According to AP, the mammals' fins were cut off and their bodies mutilated, while activists said that fishermen commonly cut the body parts of dolphins caught by their net, to save the net itself.

Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy has said he is trying to prevent the dolphins' deaths. His plan includes boosting the use of existing acoustic repellent devices on about 26 trawlers that shoo the dolphins away from the Bay of Biscay, a fishing hub in the Atlantic.

But animal rights group Sea Shepherd claims that many trawlers do not activate the devices unless they are being inspected, for fear that the devices would also chase valuable fish away.

The group also said it believes that noise pollution caused by the devices would make the ocean uninhabitable.

Scientists have predicted the likelihood of dolphins becoming extinct based on current rates of fishing, driven by unprecedented demand for low-cost fish, said Sea Shepherd France president Lamya Essemlali.

Aggressive hake fishing, which was allowed three years ago after a long ban, coincided with the spike in dolphin deaths in the last three years, she added.

Global seafood consumption has more than doubled in the past 50 years, according to the European Commission, a rate that rights groups have branded unsustainable.Seminar on real estate trend in 2019 at VIR headquarters

Despite facing challenges, the real estate market in 2019 is expected to continue on an upward trend, say both experts and investors.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, real estate business was the second largest business sector since early 2018, with the total registered capital of $6.5 billion in 87 newly registered projects.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Hong Son, consulting director of Savills Hanoi, said that in 2019 demand will focus on buying houses and improving the quality of life. Therefore, most homebuyers will pose higher requirements to developers.

Nguyen Hong Son, consulting director of Savill Hanoi

The value of each project no longer lies in the design, but also largely depend on how developers manage and operate the buildings. Therefore, investment in improving building management is becoming indispensable and is a new area for competition between investors.

The integration of new and smart technologies in real estate projects will affect not only the design but also the operation and management of the buildings.

The office leasing segment is also noteworthy. The land funds for offices has dried up, so the shared office/virtual office model will be the trend in 2019.

In addition, Vu Van Phan, deputy director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Construction (MoC), saidthat agency prepares reports to the government to update it on the factors affecting the real estate market so that it can make the necessary adjustments.

Vu Van Phan, deputy director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Construction (MoC)

Of the real estate markets of the 63 cities and provinces, and seven regions, only Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and some other provinces with type 1 or higher urban centres are active, while the countryside or small cities have yet to really develop.

The MoC will support investors, but it is necessary to control the process so that in the future, there will be no problems in managing real estate, especially in resort projects.

"I suppose that in 2019, with the economy forecast to be stable, the real estate market will continue to grow steadily, but focus segments depend on the demand and the location, Phan said.

In the upcoming time, as foreign investors participate in growing numbers, the demand will be larger but will focus on certain localities.

As there are more foreign businesses with good experience and strong finances, the market will become more active. Thus, domestic businesses need to create strategies to take advantage of this opportunity and develop their own brand.

In my opinion, the land plot segment will grow the fastest. The second will be the mid-end and affordable housing segments, Phan analysed.

Besides these observations, general secretary of Vietnam National Real Estate Association Do Viet Chien added that the location is the most important factor in each project.

Do Viet Chien, general secretary of Vietnam National Real Estate Association

Hanoi has about 2,000 hectares of land in the west and is looking for more investors.

In the future, the NorthThang Long area will become an urban development model for other provinces to follow. Countries' economies tend to centre around airports and seaports, so selecting the location will need careful consideration. For instance, Haiphong or Quang Ninh, gathering strength from airport and seaport development, have been developing rapidly.

Nguyen Truong Thang, deputy general director of Dragon Group, shared that in smaller provinces, the demand is also smaller and customers have little experience with green and smart projects. Thus, they prefer land plots or townhouses.Beth Ann Lim, head of SMB Community Engagement of Facebook APAC, addressing the event

On March 30, Facebook entered into a co-operation with the Women's Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) to organise Women Innovation Festival in Hanoi with a series of interesting programmes. It was also an occasion to kick off the third #SheMeansBusiness event.

Through the workshop and talk show, business women inspired other women to be happy and successful in business. These business women also helped other women at the festival to exploit their potential.

Tu Thu Hien, CEO of WISE, said, We are very happy to see that Vietnamese women are nowadays overcoming barriers to earn success and affirm their important role in socio-economic development. WISE and Facebook expect to inspire more and more women by continuing to organise meaningful programmes, including #SheMeansBusiness."

According to the Future of Business report implemented by Facebook, the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 80 per cent of Vietnamese business women on Facebook said the social network is useful for them. They also enjoy the community and the advice they receive. 60 per cent of successful women using Facebook said that they have role models,and 67 per cent said that they are inspired by women.

Beth Ann Lim, head of SMB Community Engagement of Facebook APAC, said that after two years of launching, the #SheMeansBusiness programme helped more than 3,000 women to build and develop their online business and ensure financial security. This year, they will continue to approach more women with the programme in order to provide them with the necessary digital skills to develop their career.Heavy rains caused flash floods in western Afghanistan that killed at least 17 people, destroying homes and sweeping through makeshift shelters that housed displaced families, a government official said Saturday.

Two days of flooding that started Thursday killed 12 people in Jawzjan and two in Badghis, provinces that border Turkmenistan, said Hasibullah Shir Khani, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority. Two others were killed in Herat and another in Sar-e Pul province, he said.

More than 500 houses were destroyed.

The floods worsen an already desperate situation. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced in western Afghanistan from last year's severe drought. Floods in early March caused further destruction and put this year's wheat harvest at risk.

Children waded through muddy, knee-deep floodwaters that flowed through tent camps for displaced people after the rain stopped.

Officials in Herat, which borders Iran, put the death toll higher than the national government. Dr. Abdul Hakim Tamana, head of public health for the province, said eight people were killed and nine injured.

Floods have destroyed hundreds of homes, some historic sites, thousands of acres of farmland, bridges and highways, said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for Herat province.

Aid organization World Vision said in a statement it appeared tens of thousands of Afghans were affected. Some Badghis residents were calling it the worst storm in 20 years, it said.

Iran has also been flooded by torrential rains, overwhelming emergency services in some areas.Argentine lawmakers have proposed legislation to boost oversight of a Chinese space tracking station that has stirred unease among local residents, fueled conspiracy theories and sparked concerns amongst critics about its true intent.

The Chinese-run facility, a space observation station located in Argentina's remote Patagonia region, has a powerful 16-story antenna that is able to help monitor and coordinate China's growing space program.

Six lawmakers, including the Senate majority leader, submitted a bill to create a commission that would monitor "the cooperation agreement" between Argentina and the Chinese government relating to the lunar exploration program.

In January, Reuters reported that the remote 200 hectare (494 acres) station operated with little oversight by Argentine authorities. President Mauricio Macri's former foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, said Argentina had no physical oversight of the station's operations.

The bill, dated March 25, was referred to on the Senate's official website, though the full text of the legislation was not publicly available.

Miguel Angel Pichetto, the majority leader, said in a post on his official Twitter account that he had presented the bill to create a commission to control the space tracking station, run by the Chinese military, located in the central province of Neuquen in Patagonia.

He added that the proposed team would include seven members from the Senate and seven from the Chamber of Deputies, the two houses of Argentina's National Congress.

According to Chinese media, the station's aim is peaceful space observation and exploration. State news agency Xinhua has said it played a key role in China's landing of spacecraft on the dark side of the moon in January.

Argentina's space agency CONAE did not respond to requests for comment. The agency has previously said the agreement between the two countries stated a commitment to "peaceful use" of the project.

An official at the Chinese embassy in Argentina said in an emailed statement that the cooperation between the two countries around the station was "going well", and that delegations and student groups had made "multiple visits" to the facility.

The official told Reuters that China and Argentina were now building a scientific exhibition hall inside the station, which once completed would "serve as a new platform for the dissemination of aerospace knowledge for the local community".

Argentina's Congress debated the space station in 2015, during the presidency of Cristina Fernandez when the deal was approved.

The station, about a 40 minutes' drive from Las Lajas, became operational in April last year. Thirty Chinese employees work and live on site, which employs no locals, Maria Espinosa, the mayor of the town of 7,000 people, previously told Reuters.Social media executives could spend up to three years in prison and their firms fined 10 percent of their turnover if they fail to quickly remove violent material from their platforms, according to a new law proposed by the Australian government.

The March 15 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 worshippers were killed at two mosques was carried out by a suspected white supremacist who live-streamed the killings on Facebook, raising criticism of the role of social media in society.

Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists, Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement. It should not just be a matter of just doing the right thing. It should be the law.

If the law passes, it will be a criminal offense for companies, such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabets Google, which owns YouTube, not to expeditiously remove the abhorrent violent content. Juries would decide whether the content was removed fast enough.

The government will present the law to the parliament next week, its expected final week before the federal election.

Morrison has also said that Australia has created a task force between government and social media companies to tackle the issue and wants to put it on the agenda for the summit of the G20 leaders in Japan in June.

The Australian government said it has met earlier in the week with social media companies, including Facebook, but that the outcome of the talks was not satisfactory.

(They) did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch, Mitch Fifield, Australias minister for communications, said in a statement Saturday.

Facebook on Friday said it was exploring restrictions on who can access their live video-streaming service, depending on factors such as previous violations of the sites community standards.

Facebook earlier this week banned praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism.

Should Australia move with the introduction of the new law, the individual fines of up to 10 percent of global revenues could be hefty.Burundi will continue to block broadcasts from two international media organizations and expand restrictions on their operations, the government announced Friday.

At a meeting in Bujumbura, the president of the National Council of Communication, Nestor Bankumukunzi, said the British Broadcasting Corp. and the Voice of America are no longer allowed to broadcast, effective immediately. The ban is indefinite and extends to journalists, both foreign and domestic, who provide information to either broadcaster.

We are alarmed that reporters in Burundi are now forbidden to communicate with VOA and believe these continuing threats to our journalists undermine press freedom in the country, VOA Director Amanda Bennett said. We stand with the people of Burundi against those who are restricting their access to accurate and reliable news and information.

The BBC condemned the decision, calling it a serious blow against media freedom.

Last May, the Burundi government suspended both news organizations for six months, a week before holding a referendum on a new constitution. The outlets have been off the air since.

Rachel Nicholson, a researcher for Amnesty International, said Burundis government is angry at the broadcasters for different reasons.

The government was upset by a documentary the BBC broadcast last year, she said, about members of Burundis intelligence service operating secret sites where dissidents are detained and tortured.

Burundi has accused VOA of employing a journalist who opposes the government, Nicholson added. Patrick Nduwimana, the former director of Bonesha FM Radio in Burundi, is wanted for participating in deadly violence that preceded the May attempted coup, the National Council of Communications wrote in Fridays statement.

"I think its really worrying to see the government personalize attacks on radio stations. They have such an important role to play, particularly BBC and VOA, particularly in the absence of independent Burundian radio stations operating from within the country, Amnestys Nicholson said. The BBC and VOA have such an important role to play in sharing information with people in Burundi.

In a phone interview with VOA, Willy Nyamitwe, senior adviser to Burundis president, Pierre Nkurunziza, said the news organizations were banned for spreading falsehoods.

Some international media are biased. Everybody knows some reports were fake reports, fake news, Nyamitwe said. So if people cannot even try to speak the truth, but if some people are using some media outlets only to spread lies, what other comments do I have to do?

Nyamitwe also said that Burundi has an open media landscape and that all countries have the right to ban news organizations that spread lies. There are thousands of journalists in the country. There are tens of media houses, radio stations, TV stations, newspapers, media online.

"So I think people are exaggerating thinking that theres no media houses in the country, he said. I do know that even in the United States there are some media houses that have been called biased or fake news media houses.

In its 2018 press freedom report, Reporters Without Borders ranked Burundi 159th out of 180 countries worldwide. It said security forces routinely harass journalists and pointed to the unsolved 2016 disappearance of journalist Jean Bigirimana as evidence of intimidation and violence against reporters.Chinese students who went home for winter break say their visas to return to the U.S. are being delayed.

Students cited in the Chinese press say that at best, their coursework is lagging behind, and at worst, earning their degrees is in jeopardy if they cannot return to school to complete their studies.

The English-language daily Caixin reports that at least 100 students, many of them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, have organized a WeChat to discuss their plight.

Visas shortened

In June, the U.S. State Department shortened the length of visas for Chinese graduate students studying aviation, robotics and advanced manufacturing to one year from five. U.S. officials said the goal was to curb the risk of spying and theft of intellectual property in areas vital to national security.

In November, the Trump administration announced it was mulling whether to subject Chinese students to additional vetting before they attend U.S. schools. The ideas under consideration included checks of student phone records and scouring of personal accounts on Chinese and U.S. social media platforms for anything that might raise concerns about students intentions in the United States, including affiliations with government organizations, a U.S. official and three congressional and university sources told the news agency Reuters.

U.S. law enforcement also is expected to provide training to academic officials about how to detect spying and cybertheft, a senior U.S. official told Reuters. The same training is provided to people in government.

Every visa case is unique, and due to visa confidentiality, we cannot comment on individual cases, a State Department spokesperson wrote in an email when asked to respond to the Caixin article Friday. Our screening procedures for all applicants are constantly reviewed and refined to improve security. If an applicant needs additional screening for whatever reason, we will not issue a visa until that screening is complete. The amount of time it takes to complete this additional screening depends on the individual circumstances of each case.

The spokesperson said Chinese nationals were eligible for five-year visas and that the majority of visa applicants receive full validity visas.

However, regulations authorize consular officers to limit the validity of any visa on a case-by-case basis and as appropriate to the circumstances of each case.

Slowing rate of foreign student enrollment

While the U.S. remains the top destination in the world for more than 1 million visiting students, a third of whom come from China, the rate of enrollment is slowing, according to the Institute for International Education. The rate of new enrollments, specifically undergraduate students, declined by 6.6 percent last year, a trend first seen the preceding year, according to IIE.

Those students bring $42 billion and 450,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.

China and the U.S. are working to strike a deal to lift eight-month-old tariffs affecting $250 billion of Chinese imports to the U.S., and about $110 billion of American exports to China. American and Chinese trade negotiators made progress during candid and constructive discussions Friday in Beijing, said the White House, and will continue talks in Washington next week.A comedian who's never held political office tops the public opinion polls ahead of Ukraine's presidential election, but even he appears to be falling far short of enough support to win in the first round.



Ukrainians on Sunday will choose from among 39 candidates for a president they hope can guide the country of more than 42 million out of troubles including endemic corruption, a seemingly intractable war with Russia-backed separatists in the country's east and a struggling economy.



Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko is running for another term but a poll released Friday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed him with support of just 13.7 percent of the voters.



Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who shot to national prominence by playing the role of president in a television comedy series, topped the poll at 20.9 percent.



Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister making her third run at the presidency, was in third with 9.7 percent.



If no candidate gets an absolute majority of the votes on Sunday, a runoff between the top two will be held April 21. Nearly a quarter of those who intend to vote say they remain undecided, according to the survey.

All the leading candidates advocate Ukraine eventually joining NATO and the European Union, and the election will be closely watched by those organizations for indications of whether Ukraine is developing democratic processes.

Concern about the election's freedom and fairness spiked this week after the country's interior minister said he was looking into hundreds of claims that campaigners for Poroshenko and Tymoshenko were offering money to voters to support their candidates.



Zelenskiy, 41, is famous for his TV portrayal of a schoolteacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral. Even before he announced his candidacy, Zelenskiy's name was turning up high in pre-election public opinion polls, with potential voters seemingly encouraged by his Servant of the People TV series (which became the name of his party).



Like his TV character, Zelenskiy the candidate has focused strongly on corruption. He proposes a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption and calls for a tax amnesty under which someone holding hidden assets would declare them, be taxed at 5 percent and face no other measures. He also calls for direct negotiation with Russia on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.



We are tired of the old politicians who give out new promises, while they themselves only steal and increase corruption, Zelenskiy supporter Oleg Derun said Saturday.



Poroshenko, 53, came to power in 2014 with the image of a good oligarch. The bulk of his fortune came from the Roshen confectionery company, hence his nickname "The Chocolate King.''



Critics denounce him for having done little to combat Ukraine's endemic corruption and for failing to end the war in the east. He has made economic reforms that pleased international lenders, but that burdened Ukrainians with higher utility bills. He did, however, score significant goals for Ukraine's national identity and its desire to move out of Russia's influence. He signed an association agreement with the European Union so Ukrainians now can travel visa-free to the European Union. He pushed successfully for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be recognized as self-standing rather than just a branch of the Russian church.

Poroshenko reinforced the latter issue on Saturday, even though campaigning is not allowed on the day prior to elections, by holding public prayers with the head of the new Ukrainian church.



Poroshenko needs time to complete reforms, which are moving, but slowly, said soldier Ihor Shumeiko, who attended the prayer service.



Tymoshenko is playing heavily to the economic distress of millions of Ukrainians. She has promised to reduce prices for household gas by 50 percent within a month of taking office, calling the price hikes introduced by Poroshenko economic genocide. She also promises to take away constitutional immunity for the president, the judiciary and lawmakers.



She was named prime minister after the 2004 Orange Revolution protests in which she was a major figure. But her image darkened as she and President Viktor Yushchenko quarreled chronically, and she lost to Moscow-leaning Viktor Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential election.



In 2011, she was arrested and charged with abusing power as premier in a natural gas deal with Russia. Tymoshenko said the proceedings were politically motivated revenge, and Western governments voiced concern about her incarceration. She was released amid the disorder of the 2014 overthrow of Yanukovych, and lost a presidential election to Poroshenko three months later.Jointly launched by Peoples Daily Online and Peoples Daily West USA, the GBAF kicked off on March 29, 2019. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

San Francisco, March 29 (People's Daily Online) -- The Global Bay Areas Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF), an international gathering which aims to promote cooperation among bay areas worldwide, has been hailed by US politicians as a resourceful and dynamic platform for cooperation.

Jointly launched by Peoples Daily Online and Peoples Daily West USA, the GBAF kicked off on March 29, 2019.

Attracting prominent leaders and experts from renowned metropolitan and bay areas worldwide under the theme of Connect, Cooperate and Develop, the forum is an international gathering to deepen cooperation between bay areas around the world, including Chinas newly established Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, New York Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area.

I commend you for your commitment to unite the bay areas of the world for partnership and economic development, noted Eleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor of California in her letter to Peoples Daily Online, the organizer of GBAF.

According to Kounalakis, San Francisco is the perfect place to hold such a forum, as the city is home to high-tech industries, new ideas and cooperation between diverse people and companies.

Echoing Kounalakis, Libby Schaaf, mayor of Oakland, sent her congratulations to the forum, noting that global bay areas will benefit if cities connect, cooperate and develop.

This gathering is intended to construct a resourceful and dynamic platform for cooperation and strengthen the leadership position of these bay areas in the global economy, she added.By AFP

American actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate's imposition of the death penalty for gay sex and adultery.

"Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery," Clooney wrote on website Deadline Hollywood.

"I've learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them. But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way," he added.

The nine hotels are located in the US, Britain, France and Italy. Brunei will implement the harsh new penal code -- which also mandates amputation of a hand and foot for theft -- starting next Wednesday.

Homosexuality is already illegal in the tiny sultanate, but it will now become a capital offence. The law only applies to Muslims.

Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but implementation has been delayed as officials worked out the practical details and in the teeth of opposition by rights groups.

In addition to film-making chops that have netted him two Oscars, Clooney is known for his globe-trotting political activism, especially his tireless campaigning to draw attention to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.Moscow's recent raids in Simferopol are part of a broader effort to suppress democratic activists in the Russian-controlled Black Sea Peninsula. That's the assertion being made by Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body that Russia has outlawed.



Crimean Tatars, who are predominantly Muslim, confronted Russian security forces on Wednesday after 20 people were detained in what Russian officials called a sweep for suspected Islamist militants.



Ukraine's representative to the European Union, Ambassador Mykola Tochytskyi, immediately called on European partners to "harshly and decisively" condemn the "illegal" searches of homes and arrests, triggering broad international condemnation by U.S. and EU representatives who believe Crimean Tatars are being targeted for speaking out against Russian rule in the territorially disputed region.



"As I see it, one of the main reasons why we've had the record-high number of people arrested in one day last Wednesday  for all five years since the occupation of Crimea  is the desire of Russian occupants to threaten the community of Crimean Tatars as much as they can," Chubarov told VOA's Russian service. "It's the desire to push the Crimean Tatars out. I don't really see any other explanation of this."

According to Chubarov, Russian security forces not only raided private homes but also detained any local activists who were attending court hearings in support of Ukrainians and Tatars who've been jailed without sentencing.



"They arrested any activists," he said. "Even the ones who stood next to the court building in Simferopol during the two-day trial of jailed Ukrainian sailors, the ones who were livestreaming everything.



"Thanks to them, the international community and the society has learned about what's happening in Crimea," he added. "Put simply, they arrested the most active people, which allows me to infer that they're attempting to isolate everything that's happening in Crimea from the outside world and, at the same time  thanks to the large number of arrests  they're also sending a very clear message to the Crimean Tatars: 'If you don't like it here, leave.' "



The message, Chubarov said, was reiterated by pro-Russian Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, who prior to the 2014 annexation had been an obscure figure in local politics. His Russian Unity party holds only a trio of seats in the regional legislature.



"Aksyonov openly talked about it in a YouTube interview, in which he said that the Council of Ministers of Crimea fully supports the FSB's attempt to put an end to radical underground organizations," said Chubarov. "He finished the interview by saying that anyone who doesn't like Russian Crimea can leave and live happily in other countries. Basically, Aksyonov openly voiced what Moscow is aiming to achieve but doesn't say publicly."

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry immediately protested the arrests, expressing concern that the Russian occupation authorities again chose the so-called "Hizb ut-Tahrir ban" as a pretext for searches.



Russian security forces have targeted members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir group ever since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in a move that Ukraine and almost all of the world view as illegal. The Islamist group is not banned in Ukraine, but Russia and several other ex-Soviet nations consider it to be a terrorist organization.



The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry decried the raids as human rights violations that may represent the start of a new wave of persecution against Crimean Tatars.



As AFP reported, the majority of Crimean Tatars have refused to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship and many are planning to vote in the first round of Sunday's presidential poll.



This story originated in VOA's Russian service. Some information in this report came from AFP.Venezuelans held competing protests Saturday, declaring their support for President Nicolas Maduro, aided by Russia and China, or self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, who is backed by the United States and 50 other nations.



Guaido's followers met in Los Teques near Caracas, while Maduro supporters gathered in the center of the capital for what was billed as an "anti-imperialist rally."

The protests came a day after the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced it had obtained permission to distribute humanitarian aid in the economically distressed nation and will begin doing so within 20 days. The permission would mark a change in the Maduro government's policy on outside aid, which has been blocked from entering Venezuela.



Both Maduro and Guaido have sought to make themselves appear to be the nation's savior by taking control of food and medical aid that Venezuelans desperately need. But the Red Cross says it is remaining neutral. Red Cross officials reportedly met with both Maduro and Guaido about aid distribution before making any announcement.



Meanwhile, Venezuelans suffered their latest power blackout Friday night. It took place around 7 p.m. local time and affected 20 of Venezuela's 23 states, according to social media. The cause of the blackout was not clear, but the country has been experiencing power outages for weeks, causing problems with the water supply, transportation and internet services, according to the French news agency AFP.

Guaido's supporters are specifically protesting the blackouts.



On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in Florida that Venezuela was "a big fat mess," on a day when other White House officials hinted that economic sanctions might be on the way.



Trump took questions from reporters on a wide range of subjects Friday afternoon, including on what the United States would do about Venezuela.



"Venezuela is a big fat mess," Trump said. "Electricity's gone, power's gone, gasoline for cars. When you talk about socialism, take a look at Venezuela."



Earlier Friday, the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a list of options, including economic sanctions, for dealing with the presence of Russian troops in Venezuela. Two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas last Saturday and were believed to be carrying Russian military personnel and equipment.



"I would just say that we have options and that I think it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand here," Abrams told reporters at the State Department.

'Ludricous effort'



Asked about Maduro's announcement this week that Guaido had been banned from Venezuelan politics for the next 15 years, Abrams said, "I don't imagine that Juan Guaido is deeply worried, because the Maduro regime  while it might be around in 15 days, [it] is not going to be around in 15 years. So it's a ludicrous effort on the part of the regime to keep Mr. Guaido quiet."



U.S. national security adviser John Bolton spoke to the Reuters news service Friday afternoon, hours after issuing a statement warning other countries not to send military resources to Venezuela.



Questioned about economic sanctions on Venezuela, which the U.S. envoy to Venezuela had mentioned hours earlier, Bolton said, "We're considering what options to follow through on."



"We're not afraid to use the phrase 'Monroe Doctrine' in this administration," Bolton said, referencing a U.S. policy from 1823 that guarded against foreign interference and colonization in the Americas.



He said any sanctions on Venezuela would be designed "to prevent the Maduro regime from being able to finance itself."



On Wednesday, Trump told a reporter several times, "All options are open," in response to a question about whether the United States was willing to put "boots on the ground" to remove the Russians. Trump added that Moscow was aware of the U.S. stance.U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has a way of attracting attention.

Four months ago, the Minnesota Democrat became the first Somali-American and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress. Her election was heralded by many as a sign of a more diverse generation of politicians coming to power on Capitol Hill.

But just weeks into her first congressional term, Omar ignited a controversy with a tweet invoking an offensive trope suggesting U.S. lawmakers' support for Israel was swayed by money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group.

Shortly after her apology for that tweet, Omar suggested in a public statement that lawmakers held a dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel.

Omar's comments triggered two congressional resolutions condemning hate speech.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including senior Democratic leadership, strongly criticized Omar for making remarks that many felt crossed the line into anti-Semitism.

In a speech on Sunday to the opening session of AIPAC's annual conference in Washington, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland declared that "what weakens us ... is when, instead of engaging in legitimate debate about policies, someone questions the motives of his or her fellow citizens."

The controversy jeopardized Omar's high-profile assignment on the House Foreign Relations Committee while giving a House freshman an unusually high-profile role in a long-running and contentious U.S. foreign policy debate over Israel and its treatment of Palestinians.

But in the Minneapolis-centered 5th Congressional District that Omar represents, the nation's largest Somali-American community sees the controversy differently. The Somali-Americans who watched the election of one-time refugee Omar with pride just a short time ago are now suspicious of and troubled by the negative attention.

WATCH: Controversial Start for Rep. Ilhan Omar

"The reason there is a lot of attention on Ilhan Omar is because a lot of differences came into the Congress a Muslim woman, a hijab woman, an African woman  a lot of differences. That's what brings attention," Somali-American Bashir Jama told VOA recently at Village Market, one of Minneapolis' largest Somali malls.

"We were watching the criticism of Ilhan Omar but we do not believe she is behaving with hatred towards Jewish people. I think that's a misinterpretation against her," Ali Muse, a Somali-American, told VOA.

Somali-Americans make up only part of Omar's racially diverse district. Overall, it's 70 percent white and trends toward a young, urban and highly educated population. The district was the first to elect a Muslim to Congress, sending now-Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to Washington beginning in 2006.

The district also includes the St. Louis Park suburbs that are home to a strong Jewish population. Leaders in the Minnesota Jewish community have been deeply hurt by Omar's allegations but are also aware of the fine line they have to walk to maintain the historically close ties between the Somali and Jewish communities here in Minnesota.

"This is not an attack or critique on Congresswoman Omar because she's a woman of color because she's of Somali descent, because she wears a hijab," said Avi S. Olitzky, a senior rabbi at Beth El Synagogue. But he says Omar's comments are particularly dangerous in a growing atmosphere of anti-Semitism.

"The language really echoed upon anti-Semitic tropes that have been used throughout the centuries, accusations of Jews having dual loyalties to foreign countries  specifically Israel  or Jews with their associations with money and buying political favor," Olitzky told VOA.

Jewish leaders have met with Omar and her staff to follow up on her comments and inform her about their hurtful consequences. They say this controversy should be an opportunity to inform the public about damaging stereotypes and caricatures, not about cutting off informed debate over U.S. foreign policy.

"There is no reason why Israel, Palestine, the United States relationship with Israel should not be the subject of robust debate and discussion," said Steve Hunegs, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. "That's the hallmark of American democracy. But when we descend to ugly comments, or indulgent stereotypes, or casting aspersions, that degrades our democracy."

Hunegs said he showed Omar and her staff a photograph of his cousin, who was killed in action fighting in World War II, to make the point that Jewish families are loyal to the United States and have made considerable sacrifices for that loyalty.

Local Jewish leaders emphasize the ongoing conversation with Omar and her staff is ultimately about seeking better representation for this diverse district while avoiding divisiveness.

"White nationalists seeking to divide natural allies of communities of color or Jewish people from Muslims  if we are challenging or fighting one another as opposed to challenging that ideology, they are able to continue to cause all of our communities harm," Rabbi Michael Latz of the Shirtikvah Congregation in Minneapolis told VOA.

Abdullahi Farah, the executive director of the Abubakar Islamic Center, one of the largest mosques in the Minneapolis area, told VOA the community did not support hateful speech in any form and looked forward to an ongoing dialogue in the community.

Omar's own history, first as a refugee fleeing violence in Somalia to a camp in Kenya and then immigrating to the United States, informs her perspective on democratic debate, Khalid Mohammed told VOA. Mohammed worked on Omar's campaign last year.

"She is a war survivor," Mohammed said. "So when you see her talking about injustices happening across the globe, it's not because she just saying it for the sake of saying it. She deeply cares about it because she'd been through a struggle."

He does not see Omar's challenge to U.S. foreign policy as an attack against Jews, but a criticism of what some see as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's increasingly harsh policies in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"When she talked about Israel, I don't think she was going after Jewish people or their faith," Mohammed said. "She was going after one individual  the prime minister of Israel and the violations that he's been committing for a while and how the U.S. just turned its back on those policies."

Omar could not be reached for comment. In a March 17 Washington Post commentary, Omar said her experience as a refugee informed her desire to find "a balanced, inclusive approach" to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

"When I criticize certain Israeli government actions in Gaza or settlements in the West Bank, it is because I believe these actions not only threaten the possibility of peace in the region  they also threaten the United States' own national security interests," Omar wrote.

Omar's outspokenness has invited more than controversy. Mohammed pointed to an FBI investigation into a death threat against Omar written on the wall of a gas station in her district. Somali-Americans in Minneapolis also brought up a poster at a Republican-sponsored gathering in West Virginia linking Omar with the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. The state party denounced the sign even as Omar called it "the GOP's anti-Muslim display."

Ultimately, Omar's re-election in 2020 could be at risk as voters in the 5th District weigh the consequences of a representative who courts controversy while provoking debate. The district is one of the most Democratic in the nation, meaning that a party primary challenge would be the best opportunity to unseat Omar.

Olitzky said that while his synagogue does not get involved in endorsing candidates, challengers are already eyeing the seat a year and a half ahead of a potential primary.

Olitzky said, "I can probably count five to 10 off the top of my head right now of folks who are already considering running."Japanese refineries have put a halt on imports of Iranian oil after buying 15.3 million barrels between January and March ahead of the end of a temporary waiver on U.S. sanctions, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.

The waiver, which allowed Japan to buy some Iranian oil for another 180 days, expires in early May. However, Japanese refiners want to ensure enough time for all cargoes already loaded to arrive in Japan and for payments to be completed.

We think it would be difficult to keep on lifting Iranian oil after March, a Fuji Oil spokesman said, noting that banks and insurance companies want to make sure all the transactions and deliveries are done well before the waivers expire.

Last oil arrives early in April

The last Iranian oil cargo on supertanker Kisogawa is expected to arrive at Chiba, Japan, April 9, the data showed. The United States last year demanded that nations cut all Iranian oil imports when it reimposed sanctions on the countrys petroleum sector Nov. 4 over Tehrans nuclear program. However, Washington granted temporary exemptions to Irans biggest oil clients: Japan, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Refiners in Japan, the worlds fourth-biggest oil consumer, had stopped loading Iranian oil by mid-September, and only resumed loading in late January after banks received government assurances about processing payments to Iran.

Japan has loaded 15.3 million barrels of Iranian crude in the first three months of this year, which is equivalent to 86,430 barrels per day (bpd) during the six-month waiver period, according to Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations.

This represents a 33 percent drop from an average of 129,300 bpd that Japanese companies lifted between January and September last year before the sanctions kicked in, Refinitiv data showed.

The drop was more than the 20 percent reduction in supplies that Washington was said to have sought from each country over the six-month waiver period.

More oil from US, Russia Mideast

Japan has increased imports from the Middle East, Russia and the Americas as its Iranian imports fell, according to government data.

Japanese refiners have been pushing the government to seek an extension of the U.S. sanctions waivers after the initial exemption period expires.

Japanese officials and their U.S. counterparts met earlier this month in Washington to discuss the U.S. sanctions.

I think the waiver could be extended, but maybe for a smaller volume and for a smaller number of countries, said Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp.

If the U.S. government does not extend the waiver, it could push crude oil prices up significantly as the gasoline season approaches and it could hurt Trumps reputation, he said. On Wednesday, Japan extended state-backed insurance to cover imports of oil from Iran for another year.A Brazilian judge has ruled that the countrys president cannot hold a celebration of the March 31, 1964, coup that established a military dictatorship in Brazil. The coup overthrew a democratic government.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had wanted to mark the 55th anniversary of the coup and had ordered the military to plan a celebration for the overthrow of the government of President Joao Goulart.

Judge Ivani Silva da Luz barred Sundays plans, saying the widely criticized observance was not compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction. The judge added that commemorative dates must be approved by Congress.

Brazilian citizens have been organizing through social media to mount demonstrations Sunday against the military dictatorship and to remember its victims.

During the 21-year-long dictatorship, at least 434 people were killed or disappeared.

No military officials have been prosecuted for any crimes committed during that time.

Bolsonaro has expressed his affinity for dictators on several occasions.A federal judge in Alaska has overturned U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to open vast areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas leasing.



The decision issued late Friday by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason leaves intact President Barack Obama's policies putting the Arctic's Chukchi Sea, part of the Arctic's Beaufort Sea and a large swath of the Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. East Coast off-limits to oil leasing.



Trump's attempt to undo Obama's protections was unlawful and a violation of the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Gleason ruled. Presidents have the power under that law to withdraw areas from the national oil and gas leasing program, as Obama did, but only Congress has the power to add areas to the leasing program, she said.



The Obama-imposed leasing prohibitions will remain in effect unless and until revoked by Congress, Gleason said in her ruling.



Trump's move to put offshore Arctic and Atlantic areas back into play for oil development came in a 2017 executive order that was part of his energy dominance agenda. The order was among a series of actions that jettisoned Obama administration environmental and climate-change initiatives.



Expanded program

The Trump administration has proposed a vastly expanded offshore oil leasing program to start this year. The five-year Trump leasing program would offer two lease sales a year in Arctic waters and at least two lease sales a year in the Atlantic. The Trump plan also calls for several lease sales in remote marine areas off Alaska, like the southern Bering Sea, that are considered to hold negligible potential for oil.



Obama had pulled much of the Arctic off the auction block following a troubled offshore Arctic exploration program pursued by Royal Dutch Shell. Shell spent at least $7 billion trying to explore the Chukchi and part of the Beaufort. The company wrecked one of its drill ships in a grounding and completed only one well to depth. It abandoned the program in 2015 and relinquished its leases.

Gleason, in a separate case, delivered another decision Friday that blocked the Trump administration's effort to overturn an Obama-era environmental decision.



Gleason struck down a land trade intended to clear the way for a road to be built though sensitive wetlands in Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The Obama administration, after a four-year environmental impact statement process, determined that the land trade and road would cause too much harm to the refuge to be justified.

Trump's then-interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, broke the law when he summarily reversed the Obama policy without addressing the facts found in the previous administration's study of the issue, Gleason ruled.Pope Francis is in Morocco as part of his ongoing effort to advance inter-religious dialogue. It is the first visit by a pope to the predominantly Muslim country in 34 years. Just last month the pope visited the predominantly Muslim United Arab Emirates.

Pope John Paul II was the last head of the Catholic Church to visit Morocco in August 1985. Moroccans are seeing the current visit in a positive way and the message that Pope Francis has for them is that Muslims and Christians can peacefully co-exist.

Ahead of the two-day visit, Pope Francis issued a video message for the Moroccan people. He thanked King Mohammed VI for inviting him and Moroccan authorities for their collaboration in making this visit possible.

Francis said that, following in the footsteps of his holy predecessor, John Paul II, he is coming as a pilgrim of peace and brotherhood, in a world that greatly needs it. Francis added that both Christians and Muslims believe in God who created men and women, and placed them in the world so that they might live as brothers and sisters, respecting each others diversity and helping each other in their needs.



Moroccos population is almost all Muslim, with the local Catholic community consisting of some 23,000 faithful. The majority of them are immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The pope will spend only 27 hours in Morocco but he has a busy schedule. On his first day in Rabat, the pope focuses on inter-faith dialogue and on solidarity with migrants.

He will be visiting the Mohammed VI Institute for the training of imams in what is expected to be a significant moment of his visit. It is the first time a pope is welcomed in a school for imams. This is part of the Moroccan kings effort against fundamentalism while promoting a moderate approach to Islam.

On Saturday, Pope Francis also will be meeting with migrants at a center run by the Catholic charity Caritas. There are some 50,000 migrants in Morocco and about 4,000 are looked after by Caritas. The issue of migrants is an important one, as Moroccos proximity to Spain has led many migrants to travel this route to enter Europe.

On Sunday, Pope Francis will visit the Center for Social Services at Temara, just south of Rabat, which used to be a rural school run by Jesuits and is now an important care center for children. The pope will then hold a meeting with religious men and women in Rabat cathedral and lunch with the countrys bishops.

Before returning to the Vatican, Pope Francis will celebrate mass at the citys Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. The mass is expected to be attended by at least half the Catholic population in the country.



Voters in Slovakia are heading to the polls Saturday in round two of the countrys presidential election.

Zuzana Caputova, a 45-year-old environmental lawyer who champions gay rights and opposes Slovakia's ban on abortion, won over 40 percent of the ballots in the first round of the vote two weeks ago.

AFP, the French news agency, reports that recent polls indicate she may gain at least 60 percent of the vote in Saturday's race.

Maros Sefcovic came in a distant second in the first round with 18.7 percent of the vote. The 52-year-old European Commission vice president built his campaign on traditional family-oriented policies. He is backed by the ruling Smer-SD party.

If Caputova wins, she would be the Central European country's first ever female president.

Incumbent President Andrej Kiska is not standing for a second five-year term.More than 3.5 million Syrian refugees migrated to Turkey since the Syrian crisis began in 2011. In January, Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu said that nearly 80,000 of those refugees have become naturalized citizens of Turkey. Roughly 53,000 of which are able to participate in Turkey's elections Sunday. VOA's Tan Cetin spoke to two Syrian-born Turkish citizens to find out what factors play a role in their voting decision and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.A mortar attack on a school Saturday in the volatile southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan killed at least four school students and injured more than a dozen. The assault comes on the heels of the Taliban capturing a strategically important northeastern district in Afghanistan and inflicting fresh casualties on government forces elsewhere in the country.

A provincial government spokesman, Arif Noori, told VOA that two teachers also were among 15 other people injured in the incident. It was not known immediately whether Afghan forces or Taliban rebels fired the mortar shell on the school in the Andar district.

Noori said a government investigation has been launched into the incident.

Fighting has intensified across many Afghan provinces with the advent of spring amid U.S.-led efforts to find a negotiated settlement with the Taliban to end the 18-year-old Afghan war.

Within the past week, about 35 Afghan civilians, including 20 children and six women, have died in conflict-related incidents across the country.

The United Nations has confirmed that almost 90 percent of the casualties were caused by Afghan security forces and U.S. airstrikes. The world body says the armed conflict last year killed more than 3,800 civilians, including 927 children, the highest number of civilian deaths recorded in the past 10 years.

Officials confirmed Saturday that Afghan security forces retreated overnight from the Arghanj Khwa district center in Badakhshan province following fierce clashes with Taliban assailants.

A provincial government spokesman told VOA the fighting killed at least four police personnel. A provincial council member, Tahira Alamyar, said clashes Friday night killed about a dozen Afghan forces. She told VOA Taliban insurgents also captured at least five security forces.

An insurgent spokesman said the Taliban has consolidated its control over the district after overrunning the district police headquarters, seizing several military vehicles and a huge quantity of weapons-equipment.

Separately, officials in southern Zabul province confirmed that at least eight police officers were killed Saturday morning at a security outpost in the Shahr-e-Safa district when one of their colleagues with suspected links to the Taliban turned his gun on them.



A provincial police official told VOA on condition of anonymity that the whereabouts of eight other Afghan forces were not immediately known. A provincial police spokesman, Asif Tokhi, confirmed the incident to VOA but would not share further details immediately.

The post is located on the main highway linking the national capital, Kabul, to southern Afghan provinces.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for what he described as an infiltrator operation that killed eight pro-government forces and detained another.

Afghan officials also confirmed a Thursday night Taliban attack on the provincial capital, Ghazni, killed at least 15 security forces, including a district police chief.

The insurgents had tried to capture the city in August but were beaten back by Afghan forces with the help of American special forces and airstrikes. Most of the districts in the province are controlled or contested by the Taliban.By AFP

BEIJING (China): China announced Tuesday a 7.5 percent increase in military spending in 2019, lower than last year as the country faces an economic slowdown, but still likely to make Asian neighbours nervous.

It is working to provide the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) with state-of-the-art hardware, spending heavily on stealth warplanes, aircraft carriers and other weaponry.

Beijing has also stepped up its rhetoric against any independence movements in self-ruled Taiwan and continues to assert its vast territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea.

The government will spend 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.6 billion) on defence in 2019, after it increased its outlay by 8.1 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan in 2018, according to a government report presented at the start of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Boasting the world's largest army, China's military spending is second only to the United States, which budgeted $716 billion for defence in 2019. Beijing has not posted double-digit spending increases since 2015.

The Communist-led government will make "further efforts to ensure the political loyalty of the armed forces," Premier Li Keqiang said in a speech to the nearly 3,000 members of parliament, stressing the "absolute party leadership" over the military.

Li said the government will "strengthen military training under combat conditions, and firmly protect China's sovereignty, security, and development interests."

The lower spending increase comes as the country's economy is slowing, with the government setting a lower growth target of 6.0-6.5 percent.

"China's military expenditure is coordinated with annual Chinese GDP growth," said James Char, a military expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

"China has other national priorities and an over-militarised national economy can deprive the government of much-needed resources, as what had happened to the former USSR," Char said.

No threat?

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to turn the PLA into a "world class" military by mid-century, has repeatedly called on the army to be combat-ready.

"In Taiwan, you can legitimately worry about the Chinese budget increases, because they coincide with a more aggressive posture towards Taipei," said Barthelemy Courmont, Asia researcher at the Institute for Strategic and Foreign Relations in Paris.

China also faces competing claims in the South China Sea from Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. Beijing also has territorial dispute with historic rival Japan in the East China Sea.

But NPC spokesman Zhang Yesui said Monday China's military spending "doesn't pose a threat to other countries" and is aimed at maintaining sovereignty and security.

High-tech PLA

The Communist Party has focussed on catching up with technology used by armed forces in the United States and western Europe.

Premier Li said China will "speed up efforts to make innovations in defence-related science and technology."

China has built a second aircraft carrier -- its first domestically manufactured one -- and has put it through sea trials in recent months as it prepares to put it into operation.

Beijing is also building new generation destroyer vessels, fighter jets and ballistic missiles, while research is ongoing for the development of electromagnetic railguns and anti-satellite lasers.

Authorities, experts and state media say the PLA needs to improve the pay and living conditions of its troops.

Efforts to professionalise the army and make it ready for warfare require more military exercises, which mean more spending on munitions and fuel.

While Beijing's military spending lags behind the US, it still far surpasses that of other nations -- in 2018, China spent more than twice as much as the third biggest spender, Saudi Arabia ($82.9 billion), and even more than Russia ($63.1 billion) and India ($57.9 billion), according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).African migrants who hijacked an oil tanker after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea seized metal objects and began smashing the ship and threatening crew members after they realized they were being returned to Libya, the ships captain said Friday.

Nader el-Hiblu, the 42-year-old Libyan captain of the El Hiblu 1 ship, said he and five other crew members feared they could be killed during the horror that played out at sea this week. He said the threats by rioting migrants forced him to agree to their demand that he take them to Europe, not back to Libya.

They attacked the cockpit, heavily beating on the doors and the windows and they threatened to smash the boat, el-Hiblu said in an exclusive account given Friday to The Associated Press. He spoke by phone from the ship, which is now docked in Valletta, the capital of Malta.

They went nuts and they were screaming and shouting Go back! Go back! Go back! he said.

Death and desperation

For years, the Mediterranean Sea has been a place of drama and death as desperate people from Africa and the Middle East board unseaworthy smuggling boats with dreams of a better life in Europe. Last year, 2,299 people died in the sea trying to head to Europe. The dangerous journey has killed 311 people so far this year.

The migrants revolted against heading back to lawless Libya, where aid groups say migrants are beaten, raped and tortured on a regular basis in detention camps. Some aid groups called the migrants actions self-defense against Europes inhumane migration policies.

Now, there are fears that some merchant ship captains might become reluctant to save migrants from sinking boats if they fear they could lose control of their ships.

Rescue becomes hijacking

El-Hiblu said the drama began Tuesday afternoon when his tanker was traveling from Istanbul to Libya. He was contacted by a military aircraft flying above  though he isnt sure if it was Maltese or Italian  alerting him of a boat with people who needed help.

He then approached the boat, which he said was carrying 98 men, women and children.

I took the people in the boat and there were six who refused to jump in, fearing that I take them back to Libya, he said. They refused to come with me and they fled while the plane was going after them.

The aircraft then contacted him with a second location and he went there, but lost contact with the plane and the boats, he said.

He then directed his ship to Libya, saying the migrants believed they were headed to Europe and were relaxed and happy and did nothing throughout the journey.

Call for help ignored

At 6 a.m. Wednesday, el-Hiblu alerted Libyan port authorities that he was nearing the coast and requested assistance from coast guard or naval forces, aware that the migrants would become upset at realizing they were returning to Libya.

But help didnt come. When the Libyan capital of Tripoli came into view, about 25 of the male migrants began their attack, he said.

They all brought heavy metal tools and started to beat and smash the ship and threatened that they would leave the ship in pieces if the vessel continued to Libya, he said. It was horror. I didnt care much about the boat, but the crew members.

El-Hiblu called the port in Libya again and told them the crew was heading north toward Europe, saying: they are going to kill me and kill us if we return. We are leaving.

Libyan Coast Guard Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ayoub Gassim said when the Libyan coast guard learned about the hijacking, they sent two boats in hot pursuit over a distance of 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers), but said the tanker was faster than their boats.

El-Hiblu insists, however, that the Libyan coast guard could have reached his tanker had authorities wanted to.

Italy rejects migrants

As the tanker moved north, news started spreading it was heading either toward Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has a strong anti-migrant stance, said Italy would not accept them.

At first, Malta also insisted it would not accept the vessel in its waters.

But Thursday morning, the Maltese armed forces stormed the vessel and detained five men suspected of leading the hijacking, taking them away in handcuffs when the ship docked in Valletta, the capital.

El-Hiblu was incensed, however, at his treatment by a Maltese security officer, who ordered him to take off his clothes for a body search and confiscated his phone. He said he was detained for a couple of hours in a cell in a police station near the port, under suspicions of being a human trafficker.

This filthy country treated me in a very disrespectable way after rescuing 98 people. They dealt with me as a criminal and accused me of illegal migration, he said angrily.

Maltese officials would not comment on the tanker hijacking case as they carried out an investigation. It was also impossible to speak to any of the migrants who had been on the ship to hear their side of the story.Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has revoked royal decorations that had been awarded to ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a document published on Saturday in the royal gazette showed.

The king's order came less than a week after a disputed election in which a pro-Thaksin political party is seeking to form a "democratic front" against a party that wants to keep the leader of a 2014 military coup in power.

The royal gazette document said the king's action was due to Thaksin's guilty sentence in a corruption case in 2008 and his fleeing the country, which was "a highly inappropriate behavior," the document said.

Last Saturday, the king also made an unexpected and cryptic statement on the eve of the March 24 election, recalling a comment made by his late father on the need to put "good people" in power and to prevent "bad people from ... creating chaos."A U.N. watchdog group condemns what it says is Vietnams repression of basic freedoms and gross violations of human rights, including torture and executions for crimes that breech international law.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has examined the records of six countries, including Vietnam during its latest session.



The committee had fulsome praise for the countrys economic achievements, but many criticisms regarding what it sees as an abusive system of governance. Also, it is worried by an apparent dramatic increase in crackdowns against human rights defenders

Committee member Marcia Kran said human rights defenders are harassed, attacked, and held incommunicado in pre-trial detention. She said some have received lengthy prison sentences on bogus charges, and some have been ill-treated in custody as well.

Another area of concern is the reportedly high number of death sentences and executions in Vietnam. The Committee has received reports that 85 people had been executed last year. Kran noted crimes against the state, drug-related crimes, economic and other crimes are punishable by death.

So, the situation is that the number and the identities of persons sentenced to death are kept secret by the authorities, which means that it is possible for dissidents to be targeted and sentenced to death without due process. Others have died in custody and we heard reports that these deaths are then reported by officials as suicide, Kran said.

The panel of human rights experts is calling for a moratorium on the application of capital punishment or an abolition of the death penalty.

The committee found the Vietnamese government is making progress in passing new legislation. Kran told VOA a number of laws have been passed that appear to be protective of human rights.

There is a new law on trafficking that prohibits forced labor. There is, in fact in 2017, there was an amendment to the law on legal aid. So, it expanded the list of persons who could access legal aid. There are also amendments to the penal code and the criminal procedure code on the right to counsel at all stages of criminal proceedings.

Kran said the legal framework shows some signs of improvement on paper. Unfortunately, she noted these laws are not being applied in practice.The URL has been copied to your clipboard

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The United States is calling on China to stop what it calls its growing oppression of people of faith, noting the detention of a million ethnic Uighur Muslims. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story from the State Department.Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

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Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.Its time again for another update on what has recently happened around KDE Itinerary. Together with the last two month summary this also covers the changes of the extraction engine and the KMail integration that will be part of the 19.04 application releases.

New Features

The biggest visible additions have again been in the area of realtime public transport data. In particular its now possible to pick alternative connections for unbound train or bus bookings.

Alternative bus connection options in KDE Itinerary.

Thanks to Aleixs work KDE Itinerary is now also available as Flatpak for x86 and ARM. That provides a convenient way to test KDE Itinerary, even if its still missing the dependencies to do barcode decoding currently.

Nico meanwhile further improved the barcode scanning mode, so by double-tapping on the boarding pass barcode we now not only increase the screen brightness to maximum but also inhibit the lock screen on Android, so you are not that person that stalls the boarding queue with fighting with your phone.

Infrastructure Work

For two larger background work items I have already written separate posts:

KPublicTransport, a new framework to query online services for public transport information. A large part of the work in the past two month centered around aggregating and merging results from different sources there.

Android file opening support in Qt, so we dont need special cases for that.

Theres a few new things in the data extraction system in the KItinerary library too, which will also improve what you see in the KMail plugin with 19.04 for example.

Custom extractors can now also trigger on properties of iCal attachments. This allows us to pick a suitable extractor based on the backend software being used by an airline or travel agency, making the extraction more generic and easier to maintain.

We now have a system for more cleverly merging data from different sources. So far later information always replaced previous information, now we take the better information in cases where we can decide what is better. For example for two QDateTime values referring to the same time, the one having timezone information available is better, same for two ticket elements of which one has a download URL to a barcode while the other one has the barcode content available inline.

Airport detection also got a larger rework. That is, identifying which airport a given string is referring to. Neither are airport names always unique, nor is the string we are given as a suspected airport name always containing exactly that, so this is inherently fuzzy. Here are two examples of the new additional disambiguation steps to improve the detection:

Stuttgart Airport in Germany and Stuttgart Municipal Airport in the US. Cases like this are very hard to distinguish by their name, so we now consider the flight length to pick the most plausible candidate.

Osaka International and Kansai International are both serving the city of Osaka, and are actually easy to distinguish when addressed by their official names. Airport name strings we find in reservation emails often also contain the city the airport serves though, so we get things like Osaka Kansai International. We currently dont have a way to properly disambiguate such cases, but we are now taking non-disputed information from multiple candidates into account. In this example both airports are less than 50km apart and while we might not know exactly where you are traveling, we do know the country and timezone.

We have also added a command line tool to perform the extraction, which is mainly thought to be an easy way to prototype integration with additional mail clients for example.

Fixes & Improvements

Theres lots of smaller changes that are noteworthy too of course:

Timeline elements with a full day scope (hotels, weather forecast, etc) are now ordered correctly in case of timezone changes.

One-dimensional barcodes that are too wide for a portrait mode screen are now rotated.

A number of custom extractors were added or extended.

We no longer keep outdated delay or change/disruption information around when a reservation changes.

The display of rental car reservation in the KMail plug-in is now slightly more useful.

Contribute

As usual a big thanks to everyone who donated test data, this continues to be essential for improving the data extraction. More samples dont only allow us to add extractors for more providers, it also allows us to spot similarities between different providers resulting from the use of the same backend software, and thus enables us to create extractors targeting the backend software directly.

The extractor we created for BCD Travel for example turned out to process a previously unsupported variant of Lufthansa data as well, similarly the Amadeus extractor was able to handle certain KLM emails. Both merely needed minor adjustments to their trigger criteria, and now should also be able to detect data from other providers using these systems.

And to illustrate how even the most unlikely documents can end up being useful: We found the API endpoint for a local transport network now supported by KPublicTransport in the header line of a seven year old PDF website printout.Photo: Amal KS/Hindustan Times/REX/Shutterstock

The 2019 Conference of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), which ends today in Portland, OR  a town equally endowed with bookstores and breweries  capped off its opening day, Thursday, as it always does: By forcing attendees to choose between social revelry and an hour-plus late-evening keynote address.

Considering the boozy alternatives, a conference keynote speech can sometimes feel like filing into a great hall to eat your peas. But this years AWP honoree, Colson Whitehead, chose to focus instead on chicken.

Returning again and again to the metaphor of cooking endless arrays of fried chicken (and returning most often to the recipes of David Chang), the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist delivered a characteristically sprawling and idiosyncratic speech encompassing alternate universes, revenge fantasies, Star Wars, college students, and cultural appropriation. He also reimagined This Is Just to Say as written by an older, crankier William Carlos Williams:

Yeah, I ate the plums Go fuck yourself.

No one dozed during this speech and almost no one ducked out early. The chicken shtick may not have been for everyone, but it sure as hell wasnt dry.

Below, a primer on writing, life, and exquisitely spiced poultry according to Whitehead, whose forthcoming novel, The Nickel Boys, comes out in June, and whose dinner parties must be amazing.

Theres only two kinds of food: food you like, and food you dont like.

Whitehead, whose novels straddle satire, horror, humor, alternate history, speculative fiction, and literary fiction (whatever that means), doesnt really believe in any of these categories. Are we really still talking about all this crap? he asked. (Less and less, but its still fair to ask.) Theres only two kinds of books, shit you like, and shit you dont like. Any author worth their salt is going to borrow and mix ingredients from all of their influences; instead of worrying about how or where their work will be received, You might as well make food that turns you on.

Dont worry about reading other peoples great works. Find your own.

At one point Whitehead referenced W.G. Sebalds The Rings of Saturn, then asked how many people in the crowd had read it, to scattered applause. You guys havent read Rings of Saturn? he said in mock-reproach. But seriously: Dont let anybody make you feel dumb because you havent read something. You can still lead a long and fulfilling life. Curate your own personal library of classics. Youll get to the required reading in good time  when youre ready for it.

Someone more talented than you has done it, so you might as well forget it and trust your own uniqueness.

When he set out to write The Underground Railroad, Whitehead wanted to reread authors like Toni Morrison and Edward P. Jones  to borrow some ingredients. Twenty pages into Morrison, he felt paralyzed and defeated. How could he ever top this? Of course, he couldnt. But instead of trying to outshine the greats, Whitehead accepted that he wasnt better  just different. He could still put his own spin on a slave story, and write the book that only he was qualified to write.

Read and read to find out what kind of writer you want to be. Write and write to find out what kind of writer you are.

Whitehead described himself as a mediocre creative-writing professor who knows his place in the ecosystem and props up a lot of people at AWP (a conference dominated by MFA programs) with his own middling performance. But how many teachers can craft a writing lecture out of fried-chicken recipes and deliver pedagogical koans as powerful as the above? It was the crystallization of the real subject of his speech: Set your expectations high, and meet your heroes in the middle, somewhere between your limitations and your dreams.

Write what you dont know.

Write What You Know is on the greatest-hits album of MFA cliches, along with Kill Your Darlings and Show, Dont Tell. The result? A rash of muted New Yorker stories about suburban adultery. (Note: This opinion is mine, not his.) Whitehead advocated the opposite: Tackle a story that youre scared to begin, that you dont know if you can pull off. (Something like, say, a novel about zombies in New York, a.k.a Whiteheads Zone One.) A writing workshop  like any other room with people in it  is a laboratory of failure. Expect failure on the way to success.

If it tastes like shit, its cultural appropriation.

Back to that chicken: Whitehead knew the stakes were high when he tried to whip up Korean fried chicken; if he failed, he was a cultural appropriator. On the other hand, No ones gonna call you out if you pull it off. No ones coming for Bill Shakespeare, because he didnt fuck Othello up. (Well, some people have.) Its risky to cook up something you didnt grow up making  to push boundaries and genres, or embody a character who is totally alien to yourself. That doesnt mean you shouldnt try. You can write about anything, Whitehead said. Just dont fuck it up.By PTI

BEIJING: An explosion caused by a gas leak ripped through a factory in China's Shandong Province, killing five persons and injuring three others, the second such incident in about a week.

The explosion happened at 9:35 pm (local time) on Friday in a workshop of a perlite factory in the city of Qingzhou.

Five persons were killed and three were slightly injured outside the workshop, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The private factory owner was held by the local police. Initial investigation showed the accident was caused by a leak in a liquefied gas tank. Further investigation is underway.

The incident happened barely a week after one of China's worst recent industrial blast, in which 78 people were killed and 600 others were injured from a chemical plant explosion in the fertilizer factory in Jiangsu province.

Following the accident, the Chinese government has ordered nationwide inspection of chemical industries to prevent large scale factory explosions.By PTI

SUCRE (Bolivia): India has offered $100 million credit to Bolivia after President Ram Nath Kovind held productive and extensive talks with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales here.

Kovind is on a three-day visit to Bolivia, the first high-level visit from India to the Latin American country since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

President Kovind held wide-ranging talks with his Bolivian counterpart Morales on a number of bilateral issues such as economy, space and IT.

The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen political and economic engagement.

"India offered 100 million US Dollar Line of Credit to Bolivia for financing development projects," according to an official statement.

Both countries also agreed on the need for reform of the UN Security Council to make it reflective of contemporary realities, the statement said.

The two sides also signed eight MoUs in various fields, including academics, space and medicine.

"We are happy to have Bolivia as a partner in the International Solar Alliance and welcome the signing of the framework agreement establishing the bond," Kovind said in a statement.

In addition, the two countries signed MoUs in the fields of culture, visa waiver arrangement for diplomats, the exchange between diplomatic academies, mining, traditional medicine, establishment of centre of excellence in IT and bi-oceanic railway project, according to an official statement.

"The two countries agreed to further expand business ties in pharmaceuticals and health care; automobiles and engineering; machinery and textile; and metals and minerals," it said.

President Kovind also addressed the India-Bolivia Business Forum on Friday and said that the two countries have their own economic strengths and they can complement each other in the mutual quest for growth and prosperity.

"Our joint participation speaks of our deep mutual commitment to strengthening business ties. The task ahead for us is clearly cut out. Our political ties are strong and growing, but we have to work a lot more, hand-in-hand to bring our economic partnership to the level of our mutual understanding," he said.

The event was partnered by Bolivian Chamber and Industry groups and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Indian president is accompanied by top executives of 30 Indian companies representing different sectors, including gold, mining, infrastructure, IT, automobile and energy.

"We want their ideas and enterprise to connect with Bolivian commerce and industry, to create new corridors of growth and prosperity," he added.

The President said that, "we have extended e-visa facilities covering business visits to all Latin American and Caribbean countries. We would be happy if our business community were encouraged with easier travel to Bolivia to plan and prospect better, and for us to deepen and strengthen our partnership."By Express News Service

WASHINGTON: The US is tracking 250-270 objects of debris in the space generated due to India's anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test in lower earth orbit, but the International Space Station or ISS is not at risk, the Pentagon said Friday.

US Strategic Command's Joint Force Space Component Command (JFSCC) said 250 pieces of debris associated with an Indian ASAT launch that occurred on Wednesday are being actively tracked.

"Debris from the event is being actively monitored by the JFSCC, and conjunction notifications are being issued to satellite owners/operators in accordance with standard notification processes through the Department of Defense's public space situational awareness sharing website," it said.

The JFSCC said it will continue to actively track debris associated with the event and issue close approach notifications as required until the debris enters the earth's atmosphere.

US Air Force Space Command Commander Lt Gen David D Thompson told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on Thursday that the JFSCC and Air Force's 18 space control Squadron are currently "tracking about 270 different objects in the debris" field.

Responding to questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, he said the number is going to grow as the debris field spreads out as the US collects more sensor information. Thompson, however, refrained from giving any further details of the debris.

"But we do know the altitude at which it occurred. We immediately started providing public notice on our space track website and will provide direct notification to satellite operators, if those satellites are under threat," he said.

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Thompson said, "At this point in time, the International Space Station is not at risk."

The ISS orbits over 100 km higher than the orbit at which India carried out the ASAT test.

"That's another thing that we do and provide warning routinely. That's just an example of -no other nation --no other military force, no other civil or another body could have detected characterised and begun warning and providing the world, the way we do with the air force and other joint assets," Thompson said.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell from the prestigious Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said India acted in a less irresponsible manner than the Chinese in doing the test.

"We don't know yet how much debris and how high. The United States has said that it's tracking about 250 pieces. But it will take them at least a few days, if not a few weeks to figure to catalogue those pieces," he said.

Once the cataloguing is done, only then one could analyses how bad the situation is, he added.

Responding to a question, McDowell, who has been following India's space program since the 1970s, described the ASAT test as a "much more aggressive stance" even though it is presented as a defensive measure. "This is reflective of the ambitious and military side of the Indian space programme and is in response to China's aggressive space militarisation programme," he said.

Opposed to such tests, McDowell said, the Indian ASAT test was "relatively responsible" or "less responsible" than the Chinese ASAT test.

"Although I'm opposed to the test, I think that if you're going to do a test, that's a better way to do it. There will be debris that ends up in higher orbit but not as much and not as long left. The test at the level will ensure that the debris doesn't stay up for long periods of time, in contrast to what happened with the Chinese test, which was much higher up," he said.

He said the Chinese debris hundreds of pieces in worst possible orbit - are still in the space. The Indian debris might vanish and burn up when they come down in the next few months, while that of the Chinese might take decades to come down, McDowell said.

"India sees itself in competition with China for regional power and prestige and has been internally debating its own demonstration ever since the Chinese ASAT test in 2007," he said.

"The other factor is India's concern about being one of the "have nots" for ASAT weapons like they were for nuclear weapons, in the event of a future ban on ASAT testing," Weeden said.

But more tests like this risk creating space debris that could impact commercial business models for space, plus many of these new space companies feel strongly about social responsibility, he added.This content is expired!

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PESHAWAR: People in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday celebrated Holi, coinciding with the beginning of the spring season.

The Department of Auqaf, Hajj, Religious and Minority Affairs (AHRAMA) hosted the festivities.

Around 600 people from the minority Hindu community thronged the Nishtar Hall and celebrated the festival of colours.

The day-long celebrations witnessed the Hindu community perform aarti followed by prayers for the prosperity of the country. Youths dressed in Punjabi attire performed Bhangra (dance).

Chief guest Dr Hisham Inam Ullah Khan, the Minister for Health, said the Hindu community marked the onset of the spring season with enthusiasm.

"Despite our race and religion, we stand united," he said, adding that peace has prevailed and minorities are safe here.

Secretary of AHRAMA Hassan Mehmood Yousafzai, Members of the Provincial Assembly Ravi Kumar, Wazir Zada, Ranjeet Singh were also present at the ceremony.

The MPAs said the celebration of minorities' events will help spread love and peace.

They said that such events will help build understanding that will develop the sense of tolerance and brotherhood.

Mehmood said that such festivals symbolise peace, love and harmony.

There were adequate security measures for smooth and hassle-free celebrations.The new weapon have a deadly effect at long ranges, such as when fighting from mountaintop to mountaintop in Afghanistan.

Several months ago, the US Army announced that they were in the process of developing a new assault rifle which can fire rounds that will hit targets with the impact force of a battle tank. They claimed that the bullets would defeat any body armor, and they hoped that the weapons would be ready for the battlefield in a shorter time than initially thought possible.

Colonel Geoffrey A. Norman, the force development division chief at Army HQ, said in an interview for Task & Purpose that the Army planned on deploying a Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) in fiscal year 2022 instead of the original implementation date of fiscal year 2025.

The new weapon is a replacement for the M249 SAW. While the Army has yet to set out the official requirements for the new system, it is anticipated that the weapon will be lighter, have a greater range, and pack far more punch than the current infantry weapons.

Norman said that the most important new feature would be the significantly increased chamber pressure to ensure that the rounds fired will penetrate all known body armor at a distance of up to over 1,900 feet (600 meters). The aim is to equip the service members in the field with an automatic rifle that fires a bullet at a pressure equivalent to that at which a tank would fire.

The chamber pressure for rifles currently in use is approximately 45KSI (kilopound per square inch), or 45000 PSI. The Army anticipates that the new weapon will have a chamber pressure of 60-80 KSI, which is the chamber pressure exhibited by an M1 Abrams tank.

The Next Generation Squad Weapons Program consists of the NGSAR along with a Next Generation Squad Carbine (NGSC) and a squad designated marksmans rifle. Also included in the program are specialized ammunition and a fire control system.

The Army previously focused its efforts on developing an improved carbine that still fired rounds between 6.5mm and 6.8mm to supersede the M4, but have now shifted priorities toward a beefy and highly efficient automatic NGSAR.

The reason behind this shift, according to Norman, is that the Pentagon is moving its focus from the close quarters combat of Iraq and Syria to the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. The carbine is ideally suited to the brawls of urban environments such as Mosul, but the long-range requirements of taking on ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan require a very different type of weapon.

Norman said that for the past decade the Army had focused on weapons to provide lethal effects on unprotected targets, but now the view has changed. The American soldier needs a weapon that is effective against protected targets, and they also have to have a deadly effect at long ranges, such as when fighting from mountaintop to mountaintop in Afghanistan.

The beefed-up rifle is intended for this purpose and prototypes are currently undergoing testing at Fort Benning in Georgia by the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team. Initially, the weapon will fire the 7.62mm XM11158 Advanced Armor Piercing (ADVAP) round while new specialized rounds are under development.

In April 2017, Gen. Mark A. Milley testified to Congress that the current 5.56mm round does not have the mass to penetrate the body armor worn by the enemy. The alternative would normally be the 7.62mm round, but it is too heavy and has insufficient propellant to travel either fast or far enough to serve the Armys requirements, so the answer lies between the two.

The system that will make all the difference and be the heart of the rifle will be the fire control system, which is being developed independently. It is touted as a miniature version of the systems currently in use by ground vehicles and aircraft.

Read another story from us: Scoping Out The Best Sight For The AR-10 Rifle

While the Armys target of fielding at least two of the new weapons in each squad by 2022 may seem a little ambitious, no one is disputing that the new rifle is sorely needed. Norman noted in the interview that they received the support of the Secretary of Defense and Congress for the new weapon as part of their review of the Armys combat strategy portfolio.

The Army is aware that it cannot replace all of its 80,000 SAW rifles immediately, but intends to get the new variant out to the field as soon as possible.Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said that there was less violence because Hamas had adjusted its use of force. The organizing committee for the protests called for demonstrators to stay at least 200 meters away from the border, not to burn tires and to refrain from tough methods of protesting, a reference to activities such as launching burning kites and molotov cocktails.Mrs. Wilson (WETA and WMPT at 9) Ruth Wilson learns of another woman who claims to have been married to her late husband.The beauty about correspondence is that its frequency is up to both parties. You do not have to answer every email. If you slow down your responses, Miss Manners feels sure that even if your parents dont slow down theirs to match the pace, they will at least afford you the opportunity to say, Oh I didnt think we needed to respond. Dad told us the same news yesterday, so I thought you were just posting.I never viewed my work so personally, not until the day after the bleeding began, when the nurse handed me a paper gown and motioned toward the exam table. All at once, what was happening felt specifically ladyish: the cramps, the stirrups, the matter-of-fact kindness of the office staff, the implied secrecy of the ordeal. It happens to more women than youd expect, the nurse told my husband and me. Its one of those things nobody likes to talk about.The next 20 minutes were uneasy ones for all aboard, as air traffic controllers cleared nearby airspace, the stricken jet circled, and fire and rescue trucks mustered near the runway. The hard landing had caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling. One of the hydraulic systems failed and some of the planes instrumentation was knocked out. (The flight crew reported that they were down to their whiskey compass. Thats the magnetic instrument that sits inside a liquid-filled orb.)In 2013, unbeknown to Mr. Brumfields family, the city of Alexandria was doing a count of its homeless population. A social worker persuaded Mr. Brumfield to reveal his name, and an online search yielded the information that someone had been looking for a man of that name. That someone was Mary Elizabeth Brumfield. The social worker in Alexandria called and told her that her father had been found.She found it in the desert outside Marfa, Tex., where she once purchased a fixer-upper for $800, Liu wrote in a tribute published on the website Literary Hub. She found it in Greece, where she lived in the 1960s with the poet Jack Gilbert during what was described as their unofficial marriage. In Greece, her comforts were limited to three oil lamps and a mattress, according to a profile published in the Indianapolis weekly Nuvo.County police said Friday that Hurtado-Valdez was picked up Wednesday by Mexican police in the border state of Tamaulipas and turned over to U.S. marshals for possible extradition.Police identified the victim as 54-year-old Anthony Williams. Around 6:08 a.m., police were called to an apartment building in the 300 block of 62nd Street NE. Police said Williams, who had no fixed address, was shot multiple times and was unconscious when found.Officers were called around 6:20 a.m. Saturday to the 5000 block of Jost Street in the town of Fairmount Heights in Prince Georges County. Police found the victim, who was later identified as Carmon, shot multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.Elaine Becker, who has cared for more than 100 hedgehogs over the years through her work at local animal rescues in Roanoke, said having pet hedgehogs has become a recent fad. People have become enamored with the cute creatures but dont know how to care for them. Household hedgehogs are usually in cages and running on wheels, where poop can get stuck on their feet, she said. Pet owners should clean out hedgehog cages weekly and pick up droppings daily  preferably with gloves to avoid getting sick.Even without the abuse stuff, this would be important because of the political situation, the polarization, the fraught state of the country, said Rocco Palmo, author of the popular Catholic news site Whispers in the Loggia. Whomever is in D.C. will set an important tone for the church politically on issues of priority  be it abortion, immigration, whatever. This appointment is too big to fail. This is the most significant thing Francis will do in the United States during his papacy.Data pulled from the Ethiopian Airlines flight recorder suggests the so-called MCAS system, which pushes the nose of the jet downward, had been activated before the jet plowed into a field outside Addis Ababa on March 10, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity ahead of an interim official report.The FAA directive said if erroneous data is received by the 737 Max jets flight control system, the planes nose could be pushed down repeatedly. Failing to address that could cause the flight crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane, push the nose down and lead to significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain, according to the notice.But the idea is drawing criticism from leaders in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties who say they and residents have been left out of discussions of where and how the lanes should be added  or whether theyre the best way to alleviate the traffic misery. In particular, they say, they have been given mixed messages about the risk to homes and businesses if the highways are widened to accommodate up to four new lanes each.Now, Bills sees the scandal as a chance to help new leaders. He said he traveled recently to California and the District to talk with national donors and make sure they would still take part in this years races in Virginia  the only state in 2019 where the parties are in a competitive fight over control of the legislature. Bills also wants to make sure national donors avoid candidates who take Dominion money.Prosecutors say police responded to the home of 28-year-old Andrew Finch in Wichita on Dec. 28, 2017, after a caller falsely claimed to be inside with hostages and a gun  a style of prank known as swatting. Finch, unaware of the report, answered the door and was fatally shot on his porch by officers who had surrounded his home.Jeff Neslund, an attorney who represents the McDonald family, said Foxxs actions on the charges against Smollett further damage the system. You know this is a heated case that everyone around the country is watching, so to sweep it under the rug and say were going to dismiss it because he spent two days in community service? The optics are all wrong, he said.Reporter

Lyndsay Jones is a reporter covering education at The News-Gazette. Her email is ljones@news-gazette, and you can follow her on Twitter (@__lyndsayjones).Last year, a group of researchers found that the ice on Everest was warmer than average, and a study conducted four years ago found that ponds on the mountain were expanding with melting ice water, according to the BBC. But its not only melting glaciers that are exposing these bodies  its also the movement of the Khumbu Glacier in Nepal.The Lyrid meteors are expected to peak on the evening of April 22-23, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. About 20 shooting stars are expected at the peak, but the waning gibbous moon  with 88 percent of the moons face illuminated, according to the Naval Observatory  rises at 11:31 p.m. The bright moon could easily wash out the meteors.Beverly, who was 77 now, had told John that she had grown up hearing her father tell a story from his childhood about a Sunday morning when he was in St. Paul Lutheran Church, and a boy had come running inside, screaming that there was a body hanging from a tree in the nearby woods. She had told John about the man who recalled his father taking his Model T Ford to a creek after the lynching, and washing out what he assumed was blood. She had told him about the man who remembered seeing his father lay a gun on the kitchen table and saying, Its over. Now she was telling John that she had gone through her interviews and compiled a list of the people named as being in the lynch mob, 12 in all, one of whom had been a relative.Iran evacuates villages in path of deadly floodwaters: Authorities are evacuating villages threatened by flooding in southwestern Iran, as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have already killed at least 45 people this past week, state media reported. At least 11 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan were being evacuated. "It's estimated that in the next five days about 3 billion cubic meters of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall . . . 1.8 billion of which [is above capacity and] will have to be released," said Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources.A complete overhaul of the program would require Congress to act. In the meantime, the Trump administration does appear laudably willing to change the NFIP administratively. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees the NFIP, is contemplating a Risk Rating 2.0 plan that would charge policyholders according to the specific flood risks associated with the location and structural characteristics of their property, rather than much more general underwriting criteria currently in use. The plan would make use of data gathered by private-sector insurers to use for the public. About half a million people who need flood insurance have dropped out of the program since 2009, and the hope is that more rational pricing will reverse that trend.Simple justice demands that all of the women be released and the charges against them dropped. But that would not address the larger institutional problem, which is the crown princes command of special security forces that have committed multiple crimes, including the murder and dismemberment of journalist and Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. The reported architect of the Khashoggi operation, Saud al-Qahtani, is also alleged to have overseen the torture of Ms. Hathloul, whom he reportedly threatened with rape and murder. Yet this close aide to Mohammed bin Salman has not been held accountable. He is not among those on trial in Riyadh for the Khashoggi murder, and the government is stonewalling the womens accounts of torture.The only conclusion anybody should draw right now is they shouldnt draw any conclusions, said Joel Benenson, a top strategist for Obama and Hillary Clinton, the past two Democratic nominees. The last campaign we really only had two candidates all the way through. Last time we had a contested race was 2007 and 08. And that started smaller and winnowed down quickly. I cant think of a Democratic field comparable to this.It is not clear from the ruling what role Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who were in the majority in the Ray case, played in the Murphy case. They did not join Kavanaughs opinion, nor did they note, as Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch did, that they would have allowed the execution to proceed.MANILA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies are creating a mass of local jobs in the Philippines, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines Ramon Lopez said on Friday.

The bulk of the workers hired by the Chinese companies here in the Philippines are Filipinos, Lopez told Xinhua in an interview.

"That is why we keep on inviting investors, especially from China. These Chinese companies are creating jobs," he said, adding that highly-skilled Chinese workers are also contributing their expertise in the country's ongoing massive infrastructure development.

According to the data from Chinese Enterprises Philippine Association, there are some 50 large Chinese companies operating in the Philippines.

"They are directly hiring more than 14,000 Filipinos while the number of Chinese workers stands at less than 1,300," the association said.

Like any other foreign companies operating in the Philippines, the Philippine official said Chinese companies also bring in their own staff to fill up some management and leadership positions.

The highly-skilled Chinese workers are contributing their expertise in the Philippine government's ongoing massive infrastructure development, Lopez said.

According to the association, local partners of the Chinese companies have created an even larger number of local jobs.

It said that for instance Chinese tech firm Huawei's local partners create 15,000 work opportunities for the Philippines.

"That is understandable. That is basically what we are seeing also and there is no difference from Chinese companies operating here," Lopez said. "But the bulk of the workers are Filipinos."

Lopez also said the fact that now more Chinese companies are investing in the Philippines is a "positive development".

Philippine government statistics data shows that China's investments in the Philippines reached 48.7 billion pesos (930 million U.S. dollars) in 2018, making China the Philippines' top foreign investor.

Lopez was interviewed after attending a China-Philippines business forum where participants discussed the broadening bilateral relations, the Philippines' booming economic growth, opportunities for greater trade, and the strategies, policies, and reforms to improve the Philippine business environment.Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had aggressively tried to pitch White House staff on association health-care plans without luck in late 2017. So instead he went on Fox News on a Friday night and made his pitch. Soon, Trump tried to call him, intrigued by the idea and endorsed the proposal after meeting with the senator, according to White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the conversations.ORourke has said that he wants to run the largest grass-roots campaign this country has ever seen, and he has turned away donations from political action committees. During his first two weeks of campaigning, ORourke attended dozens of events in eight states, usually in small, intimate spaces like coffeehouses and taquerias where voters could shake his hand and ask questions. During the first 24 hours of his campaign, ORourke hauled in $6.1 million, the most reported in that period for any candidate.Francis delivered the last of his two speeches Saturday at a Catholic charity that aids migrants. He met with several migrants from various African nations who typified some of the regions mass migration trends: trying to make it to Europe and waiting for their chance. The migrants at the charity included five young children, who danced for Francis in a short performance.What happened was completely horrific, he said of the groups tactics. I dont think we should ever allow anything or anyone to take Islam as a religion and for them to manipulate it . . . and to shape it the way that they shaped it.Sunejas colleagues also told Sethi the disturbing story of the previous flights of her husbands plane. It had flown from Jakarta to Bali, where a malfunctioning angle-of-attack sensor was replaced. When the plane took off again to return to Jakarta, the pilots experienced problems controlling the plane and made a distress call. Only the intervention of a third pilot, who happened to be on the flight, allowed the pilots to disable the MCAS and restore manual control.

A Russian air force Ilyushin Il-62M jet that arrived with troops and equipment in Venezuela over the weekend is seen at Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas on March 28. (Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)

After two Russian military planes landed near Caracas this month, the Trump administration issued stark warnings over President Nicolas Maduros ties to the Kremlin. But a vessel that arrived in the waters off Venezuelas Caribbean coast a day earlier offered a more telling sign of a deepening relationship that is so alarming to Washington.

Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves, with transport and sales of its thick, sludgy crude long dependent on chemical thinners purchased from the United States. After Washington barred U.S. companies from selling them to Venezuela in January  and warned foreign companies to follow suit  Maduro faced a dire predicament: How would he stave off the industrys total collapse?

Like manna from Moscow,

an answer arrived in the form of a red-and-black tanker, the Serengeti, that loaded a cargo of thinners off the coast of Malta before arriving in Venezuela on March 22. The company that chartered the vessel: Russias state-run oil giant Rosneft.

Relations between Russia and Venezuela are excellent, Alexey Seredin, minister counselor at the Russian Embassy in Caracas, said in an interview. At the moment, we are working to strengthen cooperation.

The arrival of vital diluents is only one part of an expanding Russian footprint in Venezuela. Moscow is dispatching military personnel and equipment and is acting to offset U.S. sanctions by shipping Venezuelan crude to India for processing. The Kremlin is poised to increase wheat sales and dispatch more medical aid. This month, Venezuela also announced the opening in Moscow of a regional headquarters for PDVSA, its state-run oil giant.

Next week, Seredin said, a senior delegation from Maduros government will arrive in Moscow to discuss Russian investments in Venezuelas mining, agricultural and transport sectors. Seredin added that the arrival of 99 Russian military personnel on March 23 was part of an effort to maintain Maduros defense apparatus, which includes Sukhoi fighter jets and antiaircraft systems purchased from Russia.

In a televised event Friday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez inaugurated an Armed Force Center of Flight Simulations for Russian helicopters.

This center, and we say it humbly, can only be found in Venezuela and Russia, he said.

He also announced plans for a Russian Sukhoi MK2 simulator in the Venezuelan city of Barcelona, and insisted that a long-delayed plant to produce Russian rifles would open soon in Maracay.

In an era of generally warming ties between the Trump administration and Moscow, Russias deepening involvement in Venezuela is creating a flash point by challenging the U.S. effort to force Maduro from office.

President Trump said Friday that he is likely to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela. Earlier in the day, national security adviser John Bolton was more pointed, issuing a statement that condemned the introduction of Russian military personnel and equipment into Venezuela as a provocative act and a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.

Elliott Abrams, the special envoy for Venezuela, declined Friday to elaborate on Boltons suggestion of military intervention.

There are a lot of things we can do in economic terms, in terms of sanctions, Abrams told reporters in Washington. We have options, and it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand. They dont.

With more than 50 nations recognizing National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas rightful leader, Maduro is managing the countrys new status as a pariah state by largely operating outside the Western systems of trade and finance, while turning to Russia, and to a lesser extent China and India.

Russias backing of Maduro in the face of the U.S. effort to depose him is increasingly being compared to the Kremlins intervention in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad. In 2015, Russian involvement turned the tide in Syrias civil war, preserving Assads power and elevating Moscow into a seeming kingmaker in the Middle East.

There is an understanding that [Venezuela] is a rather serious test for Russias ability to act in defense of its interests globally, said Dmitri Trenin, head of the independent Carnegie Moscow Center think tank.

It is unclear whether Russian intervention will be enough to counter the nationwide blackouts and gasoline shortages aggravating the humanitarian crisis that has left millions without access to enough food and medicine. Russias pockets, many argue, are not deep enough to keep Maduro in power.

Yet, coupled with Chinese support, Russias efforts have appeared at least to ease some of the immediate pressures. The arrival of Russian military personnel this month appeared to signal Moscows willingness to ramp up its backing of Maduro, as well as ready his war machine at a time when the Trump administration has not ruled out a military intervention.

Its an ideological chess game. Russia does not need Venezuelan oil, said Russ Dallen, a Florida-based managing partner at the brokerage Caracas Capital Markets. Venezuela is far from their supply lines. It was more an opportunity to stick their finger on Uncle Sams eye in the U.S.s backyard.

China  another Maduro benefactor  has offered more-subdued support. Last week, Beijing barred Guaidos representative from a scheduled meeting in China of the Inter-American Development Bank, prompting the multilateral lender to cancel the event. Last month, China joined Russia to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution, drafted by the United States, calling for a new presidential election in Venezuela.

Yet Chinese officials  eager to defend their investment in Venezuela  have for years played both sides of the fence by holding regular meetings with Maduros opposition. In February, Chinese diplomats held talks with senior opposition officials in Washington, according to two people familiar with the meetings. The oppositions pitch: Your investments will be safe if Maduro falls.

On Friday, Maduros government announced a Chinese gift of 65 tons of medical supplies. The announcement came on the same day that the Red Cross said it would begin distribution next month of large-scale aid for 650,000 Venezuelans facing the worst conditions.

This aerial bridge that we are building with China represents an important investment in our people, Maduros industries minister, Tareck El Aissami, told reporters in Caracas.

Russian cooperation with Venezuela dates to arms deals struck with Hugo Chavez  Maduros predecessor and socialist mentor. Between 2006 and Chavezs death in 2013, Venezuela bought nearly $4 billion in Russian military equipment, including an estimated 5,000 MANPADS surface-to-air missiles.

Military cooperation led to massive Russian investments in Venezuelas oil sector, and a willingness to extend loans on favorable terms. In early December, two nuclear-capable, long-range Russian Tu-160 bombers arrived at the international airport outside Caracas. The Russian aircraft later took part in joint exercises.

But Russia has far less potential firepower to theoretically deploy in Venezuela than it brought to bear in Syria  in part because Venezuela is so far away. Russia has no full-fledged military base in the region, and its only aircraft carrier is out of commission.

There will be political, moral support, said Fyodor Lukyanov, a Russian foreign policy analyst who has advised the Kremlin. But Russia cant send an armed contingent over there. Its just not realistic.

Yet economic lifelines may be more important for Maduros survival. The U.S. sanctions issued in January blocked Venezuela from selling its crude to the U.S. refineries designed to process its high-viscosity crude. This month, shipping in and out of Venezuela has been chaotic amid nationwide power blackouts. But at least one tanker left Venezuela for India, carrying Venezuelan crude to a partly Russian-owned refinery, said Dallen, the Florida-based broker.

Before the U.S. sanctions, Venezuela exported crude to the United States and imported the gasoline refined from it. The sanctions left Maduro struggling to address a sudden shortage of gas. Ivan Freitas, a PDVSA union leader, said that reports from port workers with access to vessel schedules show that Rosneft delivered at least one shipment of 300,000 barrels of gasoline to Venezuela last month, with roughly 1.6 million more barrels expected to arrive but not yet confirmed.

Rosneft has become the savior of PDVSA, Freitas said. The companys help is buying time . . . for Maduro.

Rosneft did not respond to a request for comment.

Russian assistance extends beyond the oil industry. Last month, Moscow delivered 7.5 tons of medical supplies and pledged to ship 7.7 tons more. Though of minimal help in light of the massive problems confronting understaffed, undersupplied and deteriorating hospitals across Venezuela, the Russian aid provided Maduro with a public relations coup.

Inside the Ana Francisca Perez de Leon Hospital in eastern Caracas on Friday, its pro-Maduro director, Zayra Medina, said the Russian aid arrived Feb. 23, escorted by a Russian man, an interpreter and a man with a video camera. She said the hospital went through the supplies in about 10 days.

We hope they keep helping us, she said. I feel happy knowing were not alone. Russia is helping us save lives in the middle of a storm.

Faiola reported from Miami and Troianovski from Moscow. Anna Fifield in Beijing and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.Over the past year, Trump has seized on the formation of giant caravans of U.S.-bound migrants as evidence that Mexico and Central America are doing little to discourage irregular migration. On Saturday, he warned in a tweet that he would close the southern border unless Mexico used its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA.Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).Loading The stereotypes - that Chinese consumers had money but no taste - that has changed a lot, says Cheung, noting that the Chinese no longer "love symbols and logos". "They are confident to buy something because they love the designs, the clothes, the quality, not because their friends would think theyre successful or rich. [The Dolce & Gabbana scandal] was a reminder to people China is a big country with a lot of people, they have attitude. The Chinese are increasingly becoming very proud people. According to Cheung, brands are not investing adequate time into listening, and understanding, the Chinese customer.

Ive been going to Europe, to America, to Australia; learning about Western fashion, about the cultures behind the fashion in order to do this job well and help brands expand in China, she says. I talk to all the CEOs constantly, executives and designers all the time to understand their business, so I know how to support them in China. [Brands] need to come to China, to take it seriously and understand the people theyre trying to sell to. Cheung, who believes businesses must have "heart and soul", likens courting the Chinese customer to forging a new friendship: it doesnt happen overnight, and its OK if you embarrass yourself a little bit, so long as you learn from it and the right intentions are there. You can't just make friends because you have one lunch, one dinner - you need to devote time, she says.

Loading The Chinese fashion industry, she says, has become vibrant, so much so that Cheung had to ditch a column in the magazine spotlighting Chinese designers because there were too many of them. Instead, Chinese brands are incorporated into editorial photoshoots with Western brands. "I dont do the column because theyre part of the establishment now, we shoot international labels and Chinese labels and dont differentiate anymore." Cheung sees this confidence in the designer and in the consumer in Australia too, observing that Australian designers are increasingly viewed as more than "local" brands, not an easy feat given the tyranny of distance and climate. "Australian fashion collectively needs to reflect the Australian way of life, which I find very attractive," she says. "It's a big task to do ... [but] the world doesn't need a few more 'brands from Australia', unless you are communicating something that is very Australian."

When she first visited Australia Cheung didn't think there was much of a fashion scene. "Nobody was really interested in fashion, people were very sporty ... in recent years that's been changing. People are more polished, more fashion. That's why I'm going more [to Australia], in the early years there was nothing much related to what I did." A former Goldman Sachs investment banker with a degree in law, Cheung is often lauded for her astute business sense. She launched new Vogue "IPs" ahead of her time, courting millennials and social media. She sees one of the most important parts of her job as staying current, modern and relevant. A lot of media is struggling with 'how to modernise'. For me, I never really sat down to think: How do I modernise Vogue? It comes naturally of you being a member of the world today ... You have to read a lot, look a lot, talk to a lot of people. Staying relevant to the younger generation is something Cheung says comes easily, in part because of her 12-year-old daughter, Hayley. "You cant fool millennials  they see through you if you are trying to appeal to them." Instead Cheung says connecting with millennials, who she calls the next pillars of society, is about genuinely wanting to impact on their lives and, yes, having heart and soul.Using the essential oils of plants and flowers to improve one's health or mood has been practised since ancient Egyptian times. But aromatherapy, as we now call it, is currently having a boom. Hundreds of thousands of Australians are buying and using these botanic compounds in a bid to improve health and wellbeing.

Vara Maranda, who has practised and taught aromatherapy for more than 25 years, confirms that interest in traditional plant-based treatments is growing rapidly.

Studies have found inhaling aromas of rosemary and sage did improve memory slightly. Credit:Stocksy

"I have never seen more people studying aromatherapy and setting up their own companies with natural, plant-based essential oils," she says. "I think it's all part of this lifestyle shift towards natural and organic foods which is going on."

Maranda, a lecturer at Nature Care College in Sydney, says this growth in Australia is in large part due to the work of giant American marketing firms like Doterra and Young Living.Recently released Tourism Research Australia data has revealed a mixed bag for Western Australia as the state recorded a growth in international visitors last year, including a big jump in those on holiday, but also saw an overall drop in the amount spent while here.

Overall there was a 5 per cent growth in international visitors to Australia in 2018. Credit:AAP

The latest International Visitor Study data, released Saturday, showed a 2.1 per cent growth in visitors to WA in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, but also revealed a decline of about 1 per cent in the amount visitors spent  $2.23 billion, as compared to $2.26 billion the year before.

There was also a 5 per cent drop in the number of nights visitors stayed in WA in 2018  24.9 million compared to 26.2 million.

Nationally, there was a 5 per cent growth in international visitors, a 4 per cent growth in the nights spent in Australia, and a 7 per cent growth in visitor spend.Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).After almost nine years clean, former drug addict Elizabeth Gal, 35, considers herself one of the lucky ones.

Despite a long wait for treatment, she managed to get into a long-term rehab and turn her life around after more than a decade living on the streets and smoking or injecting ice and heroin. Since then, she has since reunited with her son and given birth to a second child who has never seen her use.

But she despairs for those who give up after being turned away, adding her voice to the call by more than 20 peak health and community services bodies demanding a funding boost in Tuesday's Federal Budget for the drug and alcohol sector.

Former addict Liz Gal says more funding is needed to address long waiting lists for treatment. Credit:Steven Siewert

"They feel hopeless, and they're really trying - you can hear it in their voice," she said.Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When Malcolm Turnbull told Tony Abbott that there was no way he would ever allow him into his cabinet, it didn't go down well. "Fair enough," replied Abbott in their meeting in the Australian Club in Sydney after the 2016 election, specially brokered by a mutual friend to try to find a peace settlement between them. "You do your thing and I'll do mine," said Abbott. "And you have a lot more to lose than I do." He set about destroying the leader of his party. Then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull on September 14, 2015. Turnbull defeated Abbott in the leadership ballot that night. Credit:Andrew Meares The prime minister had again tried to interest him in a diplomatic posting, but there was only one job Abbott would accept. "I put Malcolm in my cabinet, whatever my judgement about him as an individual, because he was a sufficiently senior politician," Abbott says. "But Malcolm never reciprocated  that was his fundamental mistake. "The first duty of a party leader is to keep his party together. But you can't keep your party together if you appear to have a personal grudge against some of your most senior members. You don't want a cabinet full of sycophants."

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Yet while Abbott's project of vengeance dominated the public debate over the prime ministership for almost the entirety of Turnbull's three years, inside the government it was a different story. Abbott's wrecking tactics cost him the respect and support of an ever-growing number of his colleagues. His visions of a glorious return to the prime ministership faded. This didn't deter him. He only ever thought of a return to the leadership as a bonus. More important than recovering the prime ministership for himself was to wrench it away from Turnbull. And as he threw himself noisily into the effort, a new challenger quietly built his strength. For more than two years Peter Dutton was a close and loyal ally of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen At his desk as immigration minister, Peter Dutton was feeling the constraints of his position. Quite literally. Dutton prized the handsome, antique desk that he'd found  he believed it had once been John Howard's. But Dutton is a big man and the desk was small. To sit at it properly, he needed to balance it on his knees. Bearing Howard's mantle was no light affair, it appeared. Facing him on the wall opposite his desk was an enormous map of Australia and the world to its near north. This was a useful accessory for a minister anxious to track approaching boatloads of asylum seekers.

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But with the restraining desk and the big, beckoning world beyond, surely it could be only a matter of time before Dutton dreamed of bigger things. And so it was. For more than two years he was a close and loyal ally of Turnbull's. When Brisbane-based Dutton, his wife Kirilly, and their young boys visited Sydney during summer, Turnbull would invite the family to visit his harbourside home. Dutton refused to help Abbott. He told his former leader that he shouldn't try to bring down Turnbull, that "Malcolm is very capable of blowing himself up without any help from you". The smarter game for Abbott would be to say nothing, allow Turnbull to fail on his own terms, and perhaps recover some of his previous support in the party. But Abbott was beyond logic, lost in a burning, visceral hatred of Turnbull. Malcolm is very capable of blowing himself up without any help from you. Peter Dutton to Tony Abbott Some outside observers claimed to be certain that Dutton was just a stalking horse for Abbott the whole time, one conservative aiding another against a progressive prime minister. The truth was more interesting. Soon after Abbott launched his full fury on the prime minister in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Dutton told him over dinner that he would not help him destabilise Turnbull, that it was Dutton's best and wisest course to try for as long as possible to make the Turnbull government successful.

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"It wasn't true that Peter was a stalking horse for me," says Abbott. "He's a friend of mine, I assume he always will be. He was an effective minister in my government and in Turnbull's. I would talk to Dutts every month or two and we'd chat about things but, to his great credit, he was a very loyal member of the Turnbull government." In fact, Dutton had concluded that Abbott's time had come and gone. It was now his opportunity to supplant Abbott and emerge as the leader of the conservatives and ultimately prime minister. He played a patient, careful game. He would build his strength until his time came. Loading Sometimes other conservatives would lose patience with Dutton and complain that he was too loyal, that he was propping up a leader they despised. Dutton's most dramatic rescue of Turnbull was over same-sex marriage. Turnbull was stuck. He'd pledged to implement the Abbott government policy of a plebiscite. But Labor and the crossbench combined to block parliamentary approval for any plebiscite. The public demanded action on same-sex marriage but Turnbull could do nothing now without provoking an immediate internal crisis and the end of his government  the conservatives in his party and the Nationals would revolt if he tried any course other than a plebiscite.

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If Dutton had wanted to see an early collapse of Turnbull's prime ministership, he simply would have stayed mum. Instead, he helped solve the crisis of August 2017. He pushed for the lateral solution of a postal plebiscite, which could be held without need for parliamentary approval. He persuaded Turnbull of this course over a couple of dinners at the Lodge and then advocated it forcefully within the government. It delivered Turnbull victory from the jaws of defeat on one of the most fraught issues of the time. Dutton and the conservative West Australian senator Mathias Cormann emerged as an unlikely praetorian guard for Turnbull, protecting a progressive prime minister from attack from his right flank. One of the younger conservative Liberals explained that "most of us didn't have the standing to pick up the phone and blast Turnbull directly and we wanted Peter and Mathias to do it for us, but instead they'd defend him. It was very irritating for us." Peter Dutton and Mathias Cormann in December 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The pair gave Turnbull honest advice and helped him solve political problems. Like a joining of the Terminator and the Enforcer, Cormann and Dutton developed the habit of going for early walks around Canberra to discuss their work. Cormann was especially deft at negotiating government legislation through a prickly Senate. Turnbull appreciated and admired Cormann's judgement and skill. The prime minister pushed him forward for media appearances as one of the government's most reliable spokespeople. Any reservations about his intimidating Belgian accent were trumped by his ability to stay calm and "on message".

AdvertisementWhoever won the funny lines contest, the conclusion we can draw from this call is the same.

Bishop has said that after listening to an angry Abbott tirade she replied, "So I take it I can't count on your vote?"

What was said next varies according to which side of the conversation is telling the tale. Abbott has told colleagues that he said, "Why would I vote for Malcolm in a skirt?" And then abruptly hung up.

Julie Bishop and Tony Abbott during a division in the House of Representatives in December 2018. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

It was as far as she got. Abbott cut her off. "What about you do me the courtesy of being a loyal deputy?" He was still fuming about the collapse of his own prime ministership three years earlier. He blamed Bishop for colluding against him.

Hi Tony, it's Julie Bishop," began the call. Long silence. Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership was collapsing. Bishop had decided to run for the leadership. She was making every call herself, even the difficult ones, to ask for support. No intermediaries, no numbers men.

Indeed, Cormann would become a decisive force for its next, fatal turn, and Turnbull's most bitter disappointment.

Abbott wouldn't accept a diplomatic post; Turnbull wouldn't give him a cabinet one. It would take some sort of intervention to find a solution. But Cormann had tried several times already and his energy for the task was exhausted. The Liberals were fated to complete the cycle.

Greiner asked senior ministers to get involved, too. For instance, during an overseas trip with Mathias Cormann in June 2017 he said to the Finance Minister: "You have to find a way to shut Tony up. It doesn't matter whether it's ambassador to Kazakhstan, put him in cabinet, whatever. It has to stop."

"Malcolm declined to engage on the issue," he has told colleagues "He thought he'd win on his merits. And Tony didn't really want to try for a resolution either. Both put themselves ahead of the party."

The Liberal party national president, Nick Greiner, made a concerted effort to break the cycle. But the former NSW premier discovered that there was a distinct lack of real interest in pursuing reconciliation.

It was August 2018, but the anger of the coup against Abbott in September 2015 was still live and raw. And that coup was partly a consequence of Abbott's coup against Turnbull in 2009. Like the Labor party before it, the Liberals found themselves in a long and demented cycle of vengeance.

Turnbull has since said that Cormann didn't contest his characterisation of the insurgents as "terrorists".

But the account given by others in the room is starkly different. "We are past all that," Cormann said, in the recounting of others who were there. "You can't describe 35 members of the party room as terrorists."

The reply from Cormann? Turnbull has told his allies and confidantes that Cormann said, "We have to give in to the terrorists." Turnbull says that he has a note of the remark.

Cormann, the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the man he regarded as his most constant confidante and counsellor, had come to give Turnbull the hard news. Together with two other Liberal senators, Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, he told Turnbull on Wednesday, the day after the initial spill, that his leadership was irretrievable. Turnbull had won the spill against Dutton by 48 votes to 35.

In the parliamentary corridors outside the prime minister's suite, the conservatives who had barely tolerated Turnbull for three years were going office to office gathering the ammunition, the signatures on a petition, to end his leadership. "You can't give in to terrorists."

"Mathias, these people are terrorists," the then prime minister told Cormann over and over as he pleaded for his job in the final 48 hours of his prime ministership.

The others talked him around, in the Cormann side's version of the meeting, "telling Turnbull that there was no need to get the Governor-General on the phone." They assured him they were trying to find a resolution to the situation.

In the Cormann side's account, the prime minister performed a dramatic flourish  he produced his phone and said he was going to call the Governor-General. "Peter Cosgrove knows he can't swear him in because he has a Section 44 issue," said Turnbull, in the accounts given by people in the room. "I'll get Peter on the phone now and he will tell you himself." Even if the party voted Dutton in, the Governor-General wouldn't be able to swear him in. In the Turnbull telling, this didn't occur.

"You can't install Dutton," said Turnbull. Dutton's wife's childcare business received a federal government subsidy, and Dutton was a director of her company. MPs and senators can be ineligible if they are in any business relationship with the Commonwealth.

The prime minister raised the constitutional question mark over Peter Dutton. He even invoked the prospect that the Governor-General would not swear in Dutton even if the party elected him leader, all sides to the conversation agree.

Cormann conveyed that, since the first spill, cabinet ministers who'd voted for Turnbull had come to him to say that the prime minister was too badly damaged. "In my judgement you have lost the majority."

Turnbull's prime ministership ended as it began  on the conservatives' terms. It was not the angrily obvious Abbott who moved to strike the fatal blow but the quietly determined Dutton.

It was the inevitable conclusion to the Faustian bargain Turnbull had made to win the prize. He had sold his soul for his supernatural powers and, just as an evil angel foretold to Dr Faustus in Marlowe's play, when his time was up he would "tumble in confusion".

Turnbull told colleagues that he was thinking of calling an early election, perhaps the Friday of that week. Anything might have happened.

But Cormann's view was that the longer the government continued with an injured PM, the worse the situation would get. He wanted certainty for the party, the government and the country. By the end of the week.

Turnbull's anger at Cormann today stems from his view that, as a former Turnbull aide says, "Cormann could have stopped it. All he had to do was to tell Dutton and a couple of others, 'F--- off, I'm with him'," indicating the prime minister.

They were alarmed that Turnbull might bring the head of state into a party leadership contest, potentially turning a leadership crisis into a constitutional one.

He'd decided four months earlier, in April, that he would likely challenge Turnbull by the end of the year. The government, clinging to its majority of one, had been behind in every opinion poll since the last election. Dutton couldn't see how Turnbull could win. And a growing body of opinion in the party agreed with him. The government reeled from one disaster to another.

Turnbull had managed some serious accomplishments. He'd taken a party in despair, and out of cash, and given it hope and energy.

When he took the leadership of the parliamentary party, Tony Nutt replaced Brian Loughnane as the leader of the organisational wing only to discover that the Liberal party was broke.

Astonishingly, for his first months in the job, Nutt was unpaid. The Liberal party could not afford to pay its federal director.

The elevation of Turnbull restored the flow of support, donations and votes.

But as the electorate discovered that Turnbull was there to enact Abbott's agenda on key issues  "Tony Abbott in a nicer suit" as one wit cuttingly put it  the enthusiasm ebbed.

Turnbull contributed $1.75 million of his personal fortune to the party's 2016 election campaign. Today the party is again short of cash as it prepares for a federal election in May.

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And for every success there was a setback. For every Snowy 2.0 triumph there was a bonking ban embarrassment, for every reform to the Marriage Act there was a citizenship crisis, for every piece of deft diplomacy in managing Donald Trump there was a failure in diplomacy managing Tony Abbott.

Turnbull told himself that the government was running well and that the polls were slowly improving. There was everything to be gained by sticking with his leadership.

Dutton couldn't be sure he could win an election, but as the party increasingly lost confidence in Turnbull, the conservatives decided that Turnbull had no political judgement, that the polls would never recover and that they had nothing to lose by changing to Dutton. "At least we'll go down on our own terms," one conservative said.

Dutton played to this sentiment: "I know what I stand for and I won't compromise on that," he told colleagues, "a bit like John Howard".

But the conservatives lapped up Dutton's tough guy rhetoric. The weight of his undersized antique desk, the desk that Dutton thought had once been Howard's, pressed down on his knees, and to him it must have seemed the Howard mantle itself.

By the middle of last year Dutton was not ready to challenge and not entirely committed to do so, and he continued to work closely with Turnbull even as he weighed his decision. But three factors converged to force events to their denouement, to bring on what Scott Morrison would later deride as a "muppet show".

The Longman byelection on July 28 was a threshold moment. It was one of five byelections on so-called Super Saturday. The seat just north of Brisbane was held by Labor's Susan Lamb, forced to resign by the High Court when it ruled that as a British citizen she was ineligible to sit in Parliament. The Liberal National Party ran hard to win the seat. And, for a moment, there was a prospect that it would.

It would have been the first time in a century that a government had won a seat from the opposition at a byelection. Turnbull overplayed his hand, declaring that "the contest is between me and Bill Shorten."

So when Labor reclaimed the seat, the prime minister had no one to blame.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in February 2018. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The LNP's share of the vote in Longman fell by a jolting 10 percentage points. Over two elections it had fallen a sickening 16 percentage points.

If the government went to an election and lost just one-fifth as many votes in its other Queensland seats, it would be wiped out. The Longman result drained hope from the government.

Second, energy policy, once again, created the opportunity for upheaval. Ever since Abbott broke Australia's bipartisan consensus by dumping the Howard policy for an emissions trading scheme, energy and carbon policy have been the killing field in Australian political leadership.

Turnbull and his energy minister Josh Frydenberg did a painstaking job of crafting an energy policy, the National Energy Guarantee, as a fragile compromise between all parts of the Coalition. Turnbull and Frydenberg even managed to have it negotiated through the party room. Eight MPs had spoken against it, but if party discipline had held it very likely would have made it into law.

But, of course, it didn't, and, with some conservatives threatening to cross the floor in the House to oppose it, the policy shattered. Australia remained without an energy policy and was about to lose the prime minister who had tried to give it one.

Turnbull dumped the policy  technically, he announced a "stay" on the policy, just as Kevin Rudd had announced a delay in his climate change policy when his colleagues were coming for him.

"I did that so I couldn't be blamed for bringing the government down over the NEG," Turnbull later explained. "I did everything possible to keep the government together."

But, in truth, the core of disgruntled conservatives was not to be appeased and not to be dissuaded. "There was probably nothing Malcolm could have done to hold the right at bay," one prominent conservative said after the event.

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Third, Turnbull chose the timing. With the conservative movement rallying around Dutton as its champion, Turnbull decided to pre-empt the coming challenge.

The prime minister guessed that Dutton wasn't quite ready, and he was right. He had resolved to strike but was still gathering numbers. He was still some weeks away.

Turnbull took the initiative and brought on a surprise spill motion. This was startling to everyone except his deputy, Bishop, his numbers man, Craig Laundy, and the whips, who'd needed to prepare ballot papers.

It was especially shocking to Cormann. "You should have seen Mathias' face," said another MP. "It was white. He was stunned."

Cormann felt wounded that he'd been excluded from this momentous decision. After working as Turnbull's confidential consigliere, conservative praetorian guard and Senate manager, he felt that he'd earned the right to be consulted. And if he had been? He would have urged Turnbull not to do it.

But once done, it exposed the deep fissure in the government. The conservatives had their blood up, and Morrison's smaller support group was manoeuvring to make sure the damage to Turnbull was irreparable.

After surviving the first spill by 48 to 35, Turnbull tried to see if Dutton could be contained. A remarkably calm and conciliatory Turnbull visited Dutton in his office immediately after the spill and encouraged him to stay in the Cabinet. "You've done an incredible job in the portfolio, let's put this behind us and get on with it."

Dutton has told colleagues that Turnbull also dangled the deputy leader's job in front of him, the job Bishop held at the time. Turnbull has denounced this as a lie.

Dutton declined. It was not viable for him to stay in Turnbull's cabinet, he said. It was the next day, Wednesday, that Cormann threw his weight behind Dutton and Turnbull lost his last conservative bulwark. He was finished.

Once Turnbull came to this conclusion himself on Thursday, all thinking turned to how to thwart Dutton. Turnbull gave Morrison and Bishop absolution to make their own bids for the leadership.

He set up a delaying mechanism to give them time  he said he'd only call another party room meeting if presented with a petition with 43 signatures, a majority of the party members, on it.

He didn't realise that Morrison's supporters had a bid already well under way. Bishop was late to the race, without realising that she'd already lost. She was the party's only popular prospect. But even as she was making her calls, her own faction, the moderates, guided by Christopher Pyne, Simon Birmingham, Marise Payne and Paul Fletcher, decided the imperative was not to elect one of their own but to block Dutton.

"If we make Julie leader, do you think the conservatives will stop throwing rocks?" one of the moderates' leaders said at the time. The tactics of terrorism, and even the anticipated threat of it, were paramount in their thinking.

Outgoing PM Malcolm Turnbull addresses the media after the partyroom meeting for the leadership spill, with his wife Lucy, daughter Daisy and grandchildren Jack and Alice on August 24, 2018. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The moderates decided that the only way to defeat Dutton was to back Morrison, which is what they did. For a man with perhaps a dozen supporters in the party to win a ballot of 45 was, as one of his supporters later boasted, "miraculous".

To Dutton's disappointment he was not to wear Howard's mantle. And he later discovered that his prized desk probably hadn't actually belonged to the former leader.

One of the younger conservatives stalking the corridors seeking signatures to end Turnbull's term was Victorian senator James Paterson. As he took the petition from office to office he passed the moderate MP Julia Banks and gave her a friendly "Hi Julia, how are you?"

Banks replied, "Well you've really f---ed this up".

Paterson: "There's a lot of it going on."

Incoming Prime Minister Scott Morrison and newly elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party Josh Frydenberg on August 24, 2018 Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Two months later, after Turnbull had quit Parliament and brought on the Wentworth byelection that cost the government its majority, Bill Shorten stood up in Parliament and asked Scott Morrison his ritual question, the great mystery of the unexplained Morrison prime ministership: "Why is Malcolm Turnbull gone but you're still here?"

Morrison replied that he would bear responsibility for voter anger: "I'm very, very happy to stand up as leader of the Liberal Party and cop it on the chin."

Morrison will go to the May election leading with his chin.

This is the final part of the Endgame series. Read the rest of the series here.It's been six months since Gurvinder Kaur last saw her two-year-old son Tazveer Singh, after her husband took the boy to India last year and refused to bring him back.

After being told there was nothing Australian authorities could do to secure his return - despite Tazveer being a citizen - she is calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene and put diplomatic pressure on the Indian government.

"I just want them to help me, to bring my son back to me," Mrs Kaur told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Gurvinder Kaur is appealing for help to get her son back from India. Credit:Attila Csazar

"This is affecting my whole life. I am in pain - I can't sleep, eat, work. There's nothing without my son in my life."Are they going to believe a priest or are they going to believe you? said Father Pierre Khoury as he stood in the doorway of a parishioners home, shrugging off the bounced cheque he had written in satisfaction of a million-dollar debt.

Rosie Elias, 68, and her husband Peter, 78, claim that Father Pierre, a Catholic Maronite priest at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Harris Park, has defrauded them of at least $1 million. Their son-in-law Jawad Deeb is also owed a large sum of money. The family claim other parishioners have also been taken advantage of by the priest.

Rosie and Peter Elias claim their priest has stolen property from them in Lebanon after they trusted him to sell it on their behalf. Credit:Janie Barrett

Back in 2014 Mrs Elias, a disability pensioner, was trying to arrange the sale of large block of vacant land in Lebanon which she inherited. Father Pierre, who asked for the title deeds, said he knew of a prospective buyer and offered to help with the sale. He subsequently informed Mrs Elias that he had sold the block for $US1.3 million and that he would give them the money the following week.

But the money never came. Instead, over the next year Father Pierre paid Mrs Elias $300,000 in cash. Sometimes he give me $5,000, sometimes, $20,000 and sometimes $10,000  always in cash and always $100 short, said Mrs Elias, who kept records of the payments.Sixty-six million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into a shallow sea near Mexico. The impact, named after the nearby Mexican town of Chicxulub, carved out a 145-kilometre-wide crater and flung mountains of Earth into space. Earthbound debris fell to the planet in droplets of molten rock and glass.

Ancient fish caught glass blobs in their gills as they swam, gape-mouthed, beneath the strange rain. Large, sloshing waves threw animals onto dry land, then more waves buried them in silt.

New research released on Friday captures a fossilised snapshot of the day nearly 66 million years ago when an asteroid hit Earth, fire rained from the sky and the ground shook far worse than from any modern earthquake. It was the day that nearly all life on Earth went extinct, including the dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Credit:AP

Scientists working in North Dakota recently dug up fossils of these fish. They died within the first minutes or hours after the asteroid hit, according to a paper published on Friday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a discovery that has sparked tremendous excitement among paleontologists.

"You're going back to the day that the dinosaurs died," said Timothy Bralower, a Pennsylvania State University paleoceanographer who is studying the impact crater and was not involved with this work. "That's what this is. This is the day the dinosaurs died."WESTPORT  A Shelton resident allegedly stole over $17,000 worth of jewelry and cutlery from a Westport home, police said.

On Nov. 26, officers were dispatched to a residence on report of a larceny in which the victim reported jewelry and cutlery were stolen from her home, police said.

The victim told police she hired a dog sitter, Jill Campoli, 45, while she was away on vacation numerous times over the previous year and a half. Investigators learned Campoli recently sold many of the stolen items to a local dealer of previous metals, police said.

The investigating detective submitted a warrant for Campolis arrest and on March 27 around 5:45 a.m., Campoli turned herself in at police headquarters on the outstanding warrant, police said.

Campoli was charged with second-degree larceny and held in lieu of a $50,000 court-set bond. She was transported to the state Superior Court in Norwalk for arraignment later that morning.

svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1News Premium

On the 20th anniversary of Wexford container tragedy in which eight migrants died  how the life of one of the survivors has turned outChinese Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin co-hosted the eighth round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing from March 28 to 29. The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin co-hosted the eighth round of China-U.S. high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing from Thursday to Friday.

The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress.

Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, was invited to visit the United States next week for the ninth round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington D.C.We showed maturity as Zanu PF because had we reacted violently, because we are the majority, we could have wreaked havoc in the entire country. But we said no, if other people have chosen to be terrorists and vandals, we cannot imitate them. We should remain civilised and in peace and peaceful and ask them to emulate us. NewsdayI was in Abu Dhabi where I was invited by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, said the President. They (his hosts) looked after us well then we hear some saying we have hired a plane for that visit. Forget about that. They sent us their plane. We never paid anything as Zimbabwe. The Crown Prince sent us a huge plane to carry us and it returned us (home). I told him that we have a challenge of planes so every time I want to travel I will just call and he will send us the plane. So those who dont know were just parroting what they dont know and I just laughed it off, said President Mnangagwa.DETROIT - Hyundai has found a new problem that can cause its car engines to fail or catch fire, issuing yet another recall to fix problems that have affected more than 6 million vehicles during the past 3 1/2 years.

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This article was published 29/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE- In this March 28, 2019, file photo a journalist passes by the logo of Hyundai Motor during a media preview of the Seoul Motor Show in Goyang, South Korea. Hyundai has found a new problem that can cause its car engines to fail or catch fire, issuing yet another recall to fix problems that have affected more than 6 million vehicles since 2015. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

DETROIT - Hyundai has found a new problem that can cause its car engines to fail or catch fire, issuing yet another recall to fix problems that have affected more than 6 million vehicles during the past 3 1/2 years.

The Korean automaker, under pressure from safety regulators, is recalling about 20,000 Veloster cars in the U.S. and Canada because fuel can prematurely ignite in the cylinders around the pistons. That can cause excessive pressure and damage the engine, causing vehicles to stall and in some cases catch fire, according to Hyundai documents posted Friday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It's a different problem from what has caused the rest of the recalls since 2015 from Hyundai and its affiliated automaker Kia, which have been plagued by engine failures and fires across the U.S.

The recall, which covers only the 2013 Veloster with 1.6-litre engines, is due to a software problem that has been found only in that model year and not in other Hyundai engines, company spokesman Michael Stewart said. Kia spokesman James Bell said in a statement that the automaker didn't use any engines from the plant that made Veloster engines.

Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer group that has petitioned the government seeking more Hyundai and Kia recalls, said the fire and engine problems keep spreading to more vehicles.

"This recall raises the question of whether we are even beyond the tip of the iceberg with these non-crash fires with both of these manufacturers," Levine said. "How many times are we going to hear from either Hyundai or Kia that these circumstances are unique to a particular model and then have another recall or fire situation announced weeks or months later?"

Hyundai said in documents that it has been analyzing fire claims from owners and reporting the findings to NHTSA, which in December raised questions about the Veloster. The company traced the problem to engine control software in vehicles made at the Ulsan plant in South Korea from April 26, 2012 to Oct. 16, 2013, according to documents.

While claims were high for the 2013 model, they decreased starting in 2014, the company wrote. Software was updated on vehicles at the factory in October of 2013, the company said. Hyundai wrote that it's not aware of any crashes or injuries.

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Dealers will install updated software on the recalled cars. Owners will be notified starting May 13.

In February, Kia announced that it would recall the Soul small SUV with the same-size engine due to fire and engine failure problems, but Stewart said that was for a problem that was different from the Veloster.

The Soul recall covered nearly 379,000 vehicles from 2012 through 2016. Documents showed that high exhaust gas temperatures can damage the catalytic converters, which control pollution. That can cause abnormal combustion and damage pistons and connecting rods. A failed connecting rod can pierce the engine block and cause oil leaks that can cause fires.

So far Hyundai and Kia have recalled about 2.4 million vehicles to fix problems that can cause fires and engine failures since 2015. In addition, the automakers are doing a "product improvement campaign" covering another 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars into a reduced-speed "limp" mode if problems are detected.

Both automakers are under investigation by NHTSA for potentially being slow to fix faulty vehicles.

The Center for Auto Safety says it has found more than 300 Hyundai-Kia fire complaints in a government database, which is high compared with similar vehicles. Levine has said fire complaints to NHTSA have come from across the country, including a death in Ohio in April of 2017.Its no secret that modern agriculture and modern consumers are having a hard time figuring each other out  a chasm thats widening with each generation.

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This article was published 30/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Its no secret that modern agriculture and modern consumers are having a hard time figuring each other out  a chasm thats widening with each generation.

What is surprising, however, is how the industry has become so fixated on courting public trust, it has taken to eavesdropping on peoples social media chats like a nosy neighbour on an old-fashioned telephone party line.

A new report released this week by the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) describes how it used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to capture Canadians chats about hot button topics in food.

So if you took to Facebook, Twitter or Reddit to talk about GMOs, pesticides, antibiotics or hormone use in livestock production or agricultures impact on the environment over the past two years, chances are, youve been heard.

"This groundbreaking work captured and quantified actual discussion and real sentiment of over 254,000 Canadians talking about food and how its grown," said CCFI president Crystal Mackay, adding this work is "integral to truly addressing consumer demands and questions in an open and authentic manner."

But dont consider this an invasion of privacy. "To safeguard privacy, the AI tool collects only publicly available information in compliance with the terms of use of different social media websites," the report says.

CCFI, a non-profit organization funded by agri-industry and governments to foster public trust in the food system, said the studys purpose was to "uncover" how Canadians are discussing food issues.

Using AI was seen as more reliable than talking to people. "The AI-research tool avoids introducing biases by not asking questions," the report says. "Asking people a question naturally causes them to develop opinions on subjects they did not necessarily care about before."

What did we learn? Canadians really care.

Climate change and its links to food production topped the list of peoples concerns, showing up in the conversations of 2.5 million Canadians over the study period.

Meanwhile, 2.1 million were talking about genetically modified foods (GMOs), and two million were talking about organic food and farming. By comparison, 10.5 million were talking about NAFTA and eight million were discussing cannabis.

This approach found that people of all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds  at least the ones using social media  were "surprisingly" aligned in their views, which contradicts earlier research that found opinions differed between various consumer profiles, for example, baby boomers versus millennials.

There were regional differences, however.

"The opinions of Quebecers were generally at odds with the rest of Canadians."

This research notably puts farmers on the front lines of the industrys public engagement efforts.

"Farmers are associated with these technologies more than any other member of the value chain The implications on future messaging is significant; Canadians are not predisposed towards listening to assurances about government regulatory safety measures because government is not the primary stakeholder that is associated with the technology.

"In contrast, farmers have compelling stories and can act as key figures for educating the general public on agriculture issues."

But the report says they will need to choose their words carefully because the same language doesnt mean the same things to everyone. This is a key finding that helps explain the deepening disconnect between farmers and consumers.

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As an example, the reports authors say "organic means whatever people want it to mean." Although 92 per cent of the two million people talking about organic farming viewed it positively, many associated it with local farming, which may or may not be the case.

On one hand, its encouraging that the industry is listening and it now knows that the public is genuinely concerned. That sets the stage for more dialogue, but the discussion needs to be informed by more than rhetoric, or more polished explanations.

It remains to be seen whether this research will be used to help address the real concerns, or simply to better position the messenger and the message.

Ever noticed how you start receiving targeted ads after youve searched the internet?

What are the chances youre going hear from a friendly neighbourhood farmer the next time you go online to talk about food or farming?

Laura Rance is editorial director at Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.comOTTAWA  Manitobas Conservative MPs say they want answers on how Canada is responding to Chinas canola blockade, as Ottawa mulls a compensation package for farmers.

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This article was published 30/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Manitobas Conservative MPs say they want answers on how Canada is responding to Chinas canola blockade, as Ottawa mulls a compensation package for farmers.

"Down the road, compensation could be an option  but what our farmers want is market access," Provencher MP Ted Falk said, moments after tempers soared at the House agriculture committee.

"Its creating a lot of stress on the farm. And we have to think about our farmers and how its impacting them."

In Saskatoon, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said shes considering paying farmers, some of whom wont be able to sell their canola seed, while others face price drops.

"I am doing a review of the different tools we have in terms of financing support for our farmers," Bibeau told The Canadian Press in Saskatchewan, where she joined International Trade Minister Jim Carr in meetings with canola industry representatives.

Chinas decision to ban an annual $2 billion worth of Canadian exports is widely seen as retaliation for Canadas arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the founder of telecom giant Huawei, at the behest of the United States.

Since the canola issue emerged four weeks ago, Canada has repeatedly asked China to produce samples that prove its claims of "dangerous pests" in Canadian shipments. Two tests so far have come up negative, Bibeau said.

China makes up 40 per cent of Canadas canola-seed exports; it appears no other countries have complained about pests recently.

At Fridays committee, Falk read out comments from various farmers in his riding expressing despair and frustration over "getting dragged into political quagmire."

He cited one who had asked for an aid package, similar to what the United States has given soybean growers amid a separate spat with China.

Falk told the Free Press the issue goes beyond "a little hiccup" for agricultural multinationals.

"This is a real issue thats affecting people at the farm gate. Real farmers, real families are under stress, not knowing what to do," he said.

Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire told his colleagues that canola farmers need to plan their crops immediately and arent sure if they should entirely overhaul their plans and restructure their soil.

"If you ask the industry, theyre very skittish on being able to manage," said Maguire, a former farmer, who noted that planning for canola is generally done in increments of three or four years.

Maguire lamented skipping the Royal Winter Fair in Brandon to attend Fridays meeting. He said the canola issue dominated discussions during an unrelated Thursday lunch at the citys chamber of commerce, with retailers and supermarkets concerned about their own customers not having enough cash flow due to the canola spat.

Both MPs feared a bottleneck, with reports of canola seed sitting in boats along the West Coast and in bins across the Prairies. They noted that railways are already running near capacity, and would grapple to handle a sudden onslaught of seed.

"If the port (of Vancouver) becomes plugged with canola then thats a more serious (issue) than what were faced with, because it takes up space for all the crops to get through the ports as well," Maguire said.

Fridays committee meeting was contentious, with the Tories accusing the Liberals of procrastinating and not providing the right officials to discuss the issue.

Next Tuesday, the trade committee will hear from Carr and Bibeau, but not Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, despite the Liberals saying shes a key minister on the file. The Liberals kiboshed a Friday motion to ask her to testify.

Last week, the trade committee was supposed to hear from high-ranking officials about what actions various departments have taken and what contingency plans exist. The March 21 meeting was postponed due to a Tory-led 30-hour filibuster in reaction to the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Conservative MPs called for industry groups dealing with other grains to testify, amid reports that China will has delayed such shipments. Liberal MP Francis Drouin urged the Tories not to invite those groups to testify, saying that would "cause fear-mongering with other industries."

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During his Tuesday visit to Winnipeg, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Carr met with Richardson International, and said they were considering sending a "high-level delegation" to China.

Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew said hes written to Ottawa asking to make sure Premier Brian Pallisters officials are part of any trip.

"On this issue we want to put partisanship aside and help out in any way we can, to ensure that Manitoba producers are protected," he said.

Referring specifically to the federal scene, Kinew said "Manitoba producers need someone to go to bat for them."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

 with files from The Canadian PressAlmost two years ago, John Sparrow, a high-school dropout from Brandon whod already started three companies by the time he was 21, started a fourth.

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This article was published 29/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Almost two years ago, John Sparrow, a high-school dropout from Brandon whod already started three companies by the time he was 21, started a fourth.

Sparrow, now 24, showed up at Ramp Up Weekend, a Winnipeg-based entrepreneurial competition put on by North Forge, a local innovation hub. At Ramp Up, teams develop companies from scratch in 55 hours, and Sparrow, who showed up to network and have fun, decided to share one of his nascent business ideas: GoOil, an on-demand, mobile service that would bring oil changes directly to consumers.

"We want to dominate the oilchange industry."John Sparrow, founder of GoOil.

"The last thing I wanted was to start up another company," Sparrow said earlier this week, a few days ahead of the next Ramp Up, which runs this weekend. But thats exactly what he got, and now, GoOil has successfully franchised across Canada, with vans in several major markets with dozens more anticipated down the road.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Go Oil is a mobile oil-change company that has franchised 12 mobile oil-change trucks across Canada and hopes to expand to the U.S. this year.

By the end of the next fiscal year, the company is expected to have revenues exceeding $1-million, and theyve done it all from a fifth-floor office space on McDermot Avenue.

Sparrow, along with business development manager Tyler Bergen, 23, and marketing coordinator Sayid Kenani, 24, pull the strings from Red River Colleges ACE Project Space, where the trio spends most days plotting their companys expansion and growth. Their goal, says Sparrow, is one thats a lot easier said than done. "We want to dominate the oil-change industry," he said.

There have been dozens of companies with similar franchise models that have crashed and burned trying to make mobile oil-changes profitable, says Bergen, 23. What separates GoOil, he says, is a relatively low entry-point for potential franchisees, at $15,000, a fraction of the cost other businesses have set. Through North Forge, the company was given mentorship from Tan FX, the franchise-based tanning company, which helped them navigate provincial codes and bylaws, clearing the way for a smooth roll-out.

After incorporating in May 2018, the company began signing up franchisees in November, and are doing business in Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Kingston, Brampton, and Winnipeg, with plans to begin a U.S. expansion, with an origin point of Austin, Texas, by the end of the year.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS John Sparrow is the founder and CEO of GoOil, a mobile oil-change company that has franchised 12 mobile oil-change trucks across Canada, and is looking to expand to the U.S. this year.

Zsolt Petofalvi, a local fleet manager, initially contacted GoOil to service his vehicles, but when he heard the idea, and saw the low franchise fee, he jumped. "I thought it was genius," said Petofalvi, who runs the Winnipeg franchise with Bela Reider. "I see a huge future for it."

The brass at the ACE Project Space agreed. Ralph Dueck, an instructor at ACE, and Andrea Ardiles, an educational technologist, said they were impressed by the companys concept, and were more than willing to help GoOil build its back-end software. Through co-operative work opportunities over the past two academic terms, Red River business information technology students have built and developed the companys intuitive scheduling and booking system, which create custom quotes suited to the vehicles engine size.

"Whats really valuable for our students is not only working on these projects, but seeing them through from the beginning," said Ardiles, who added that GoOil had previously hired students for short-term contracts, turning schoolwork into paid work.

"They were already a successful, productive company, and I thought wed help them continue to be that," said Dueck. "But what I didnt envision is that theyd be able to franchise all over Canada so soon."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS John Sparrow is the founder and CEO of GoOil.

Sparrow certainly didnt expect that, either. But he says he felt the oil-change business model  which has gone largely unchanged since personal vehicles became ubiquitous  was due for disruption. At brick-and-mortar shops, Kenani says, its not uncommon for customers to be upsold services they dont immediately require, and to spend upwards of an hour in waiting rooms while their vehicles are being serviced. "Nobody has time for that these days," he said.

So far, Bergen says, thats proven to be the case. Since November, the companys business has been doubling month over month. They expect that rate to slow, but have no intention of allowing their ambition to do the same. Sparrow says many once-successful businesses, like Blockbuster, for example, faltered because they failed to think ahead. "We cant afford to stop adapting," he said.

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The company now has 13 full-time employees in its office, and anticipates adding more soon to keep up with the growing demand. They look to local success stories like SkipTheDishes as exemplars of their possible future, but want to carve a path all their own, Sparrow says.

"Skip is great, but Winnipegs gotta have more than that," he said from the McDermot office, where the food-delivery titan once operated.

Teresa Dukes, the interim president of North Forge Technology Exchange, says the citys innovation economy is booming, and GoOil is just one of dozens of success stories that are underway. "GoOil is projecting to have 1,400 employees in their corporate office," she said. "John knows exactly what hes doing, and hes used a lot of the resources available to do it."

"Its gone beyond what I could have imagined," says Sparrow shortly before answering a business call.

"Were just having fun building this," said Bergen.

business@freepress.mb.caOTTAWA - Five things we learned from a written and audio submission made by former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to the House of Commons justice committee Friday.

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This article was published 29/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jody Wilson-Raybould appears at the House of Commons Justice Committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Wilson-Raybould plans to reveal more - in writing - about her accusation that she faced improper pressure to prevent the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Five things we learned from a written and audio submission made by former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to the House of Commons justice committee Friday.

On the cabinet shuffle

Trudeau's former principal secretary Gerald Butts told the justice committee Wilson-Raybould was shuffled because they needed someone to fill in Indigenous Affairs and she refused. He said a minister has to serve at the pleasure of the prime minister and a refusal to be moved couldn't stand.

Wilson-Raybould says she told Trudeau and his former principal secretary, Gerald Butts, she couldn't understand the rationale for being part of the January cabinet shuffle, and that she had told them many times in the past that she would never take on a job of "delivering services to Indians" under the Indian Act and was shocked that she was then offered the Indigenous Services ministry.

Butts told the justice committee in March he didn't know her position on that when the offer was made but acknowledged he should have known.

Wilson-Raybould also denies she ever referred to being attorney general as her "dream job" and instead said she thinks it was Butts who said it. Butts told the committee she called it her dream job when she was told she was being shuffled.

She said she took Trudeau at his word that the shuffle was not related to the SNC-Lavalin matter and agreed to take the job of veterans affairs minister, but said she made a decision to "immediately resign if the new Attorney General" issued a directive about the SNC-Lavalin case because it would confirm her suspicions she was moved for not intervening.

On her resignation from cabinet

Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet on Feb. 12, but told the justice committee in her live testimony that she couldn't discuss the conversations she had with Trudeau on the reasons.

In her written submission, she is more clear about why she resigned, pointing to a comment Trudeau made to the media on Feb. 11.

"The Prime Minister stated publicly when issues about the propriety of the government's conduct in relation to the SNC matter arose that my ongoing presence in Cabinet spoke for itself," Wilson-Raybould wrote.

"I resigned the next day and I trust my resignation also speaks for itself."

Some Liberals felt Wilson-Raybould didn't like remediation agreements in general

Finance Minister Bill Morneau's deputy chief of staff, Justin To, in a phone call with Wilson-Raybould's chief of staff, Jessica Prince complained that Wilson-Raybould was not intervening in the SNC-Lavalin case because she "has a philosophical problem" with remediation agreements and "wouldn't even use it if we could." He calls it ironic that Wilson-Raybould is in favour of restorative justice in some sense but not for SNC-Lavalin.

Prince tells him "that is absolutely not true."

To apologized in a follow-up email and then Prince laid out for him all the things Wilson-Raybould had done in favour of remediation agreements.

Disagreement with her deputy minister

Nathalie Drouin, the deputy minister of justice, told the justice committee that Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick, had asked her office for a briefing on the consequences, including job losses, if SNC-Lavalin did not get a remediation agreement, but that once that document was prepared, Wilson-Raybould ordered her not to give it to Wernick or anyone else in the Privy Council Office.

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Wilson-Raybould denies that she ever knew about the memo or that she ordered Drouin not to hand it over to Wernick. She also says given that she had told Wernick she had made her decision she was not sure why he would have asked for such an opinion anyway.

Former prime minister Kim Campbell

Prince alleges that in a conversation with Butts, he pointed to a case involving former prime minister Brian Mulroney and the case of David Milgaard, who was wrongfully convicted for murder in 1970, and exonerated more than two decades later. Butts allegedly told Prince that Kim Campbell, who was then the attorney general, was asked by Mulroney to review the case after Mulroney met with Milgaard's mother. Campbell, who would replace Mulroney as prime minister in 1993, is reported to have told Mulroney she couldn't because it would interfere in an independent process.

Wilson-Raybould says she fact-checked the story with Campbell in Vancouver the next day over coffee, adding the former Tory prime minister had a "vivid memory of the case."

"She categorically denied what Mr. Butts had said and was quite offended and outraged by the comments. She adamantly denied the characterization not only of her as the Attorney General, but also of her former boss, Prime Minister Mulroney," Wilson-Raybould wrote.

Mulroney was "too good a lawyer to intervene improperly in the matter," Wilson-Raybould recounted Campbell telling her.OTTAWA - The federal government is defending its refusal to disclose the contents of a 60-page memo the country's top bureaucrat sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

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Vice-Admiral Mark Norman arrives at court in Ottawa on Thursday, March 28, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - The federal government is defending its refusal to disclose the contents of a 60-page memo the country's top bureaucrat sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

In a statement Friday, the Department of Justice said the memo sent by Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council, to Trudeau last October was completely blacked out by government lawyers.

Norman's lawyer Marie Henein revealed the memo's existence during a pre-trial hearing Thursday, saying the government had withheld its contents because of solicitor-client privilege.

After both Henein and Justice Heather Perkins-McVey noted that Wernick was not a lawyer, the judge agreed to set aside two days in April for Henein to challenge the privilege claim.

In its statement, the Justice Department said the memo was handled the same way as the other documents requested by Norman's legal team and blacked out by government lawyers.

"These redactions were applied by legal counsel," the Justice Department said, adding that "such redactions are consistent with the normal process applied to all documents.

"The final say on these redactions and relevance of the documents rests with the court."

Friday's statement is the latest from the Justice Department about the Norman case, some of which Henein flagged to the court earlier this month as being "inaccurate."

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Suspended as the military's second-in-command in January 2017, Norman was charged last year with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets to pressure the newly minted Trudeau government to approve a $700-million shipbuilding contract.

That contract, negotiated by the Harper Conservatives and finalized by Trudeau's Liberals in November 2015, involved leasing a converted civilian ship from Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec as a temporary naval supply vessel.

Norman has denied any wrongdoing and his politically charged trial is scheduled to start in August and run through much of the fall federal election.

Normans legal team has been fighting since October for access to thousands of internal government documents they say will prove the suspended military officer's innocence and show that the government interfered in his case.

Subpoenas were issued last month for internal communications from senior officials in the Prime Ministers Office and the Privy Council Office about the case, including emails, BlackBerry messages and other records.

 Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter.Manitoba's auditor general is concerned the provincial government isn't acting quickly enough to implement his recommendations.

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Manitoba's auditor general is concerned the provincial government isn't acting quickly enough to implement his recommendations.

"Some of our recommendations can be difficult and time-consuming to implement, and efforts to implement the recommended changes must be made amid other operating priorities," Norm Ricard said in a prepared statement issued Thursday.

"That said, I think three years is sufficient time to implement most of the recommendations included in our performance audit reports."

Ricard's office keeps track of government compliance with its recommendations for three consecutive years following its reports, starting 12 to 18 months after advice is issued.

According to the auditor, 81 per cent of his third-year recommendations are either implemented or close to fully implemented  and that isn't good enough.

He is bothered by the implementation rate falling below 85 per cent, which it has consistently done since 2013.

Ricard said there are 173 unimplemented recommendations as of his latest tally. He encouraged the public accounts committee to monitor progress going forward.

"An unimplemented recommendation represents lost potential," Ricard said.

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The auditor's new report included a third and final pass over 58 recommendations made in two previous health-related reports; one on the Manitoba home care program and another on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys management of risks associated with medical devices.

He said 34 of those 58 recommendations (59 per cent) have been fully implemented, while another 22 per cent are close to done.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen said the government is making "good progress" on Ricard's suggestions, which included Personal Health Information Act training for all WRHA staff the authority expects to provide this summer.

"We remain committed to enacting many of the remaining recommendations and will do so in alignment with both the transformation of the health system and adoption of a province-wide clinical and preventive services plan," Friesen said in a prepared statement.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbuWidespread changes to Canadas bail courts could be on the way as the result of a recent Supreme Court decision that aims to ensure legally innocent people awaiting criminal trials arent locked up longer than necessary.

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Widespread changes to Canadas bail courts could be on the way as the result of a recent Supreme Court decision that aims to ensure legally innocent people awaiting criminal trials arent locked up longer than necessary.

This week, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled that people who have been denied bail or havent had a bail hearing must be brought back to court at least every three months. A judge can decide whether its still necessary to keep them locked up. Federal law already allows for detention reviews every

90 days, but the Supreme Court found they were being done sporadically.

"Despite the fact that pre-trial detention is governed by federal law, there has been a widespread, and systemic, divergence in the approaches taken to 90-day detention reviews by courts across Canada," the March 28 decision written by Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner states.

The ruling means the hearings must be done automatically after three months have passed, with prosecutors or corrections officials setting hearing dates.

Manitoba has some of the highest incarceration and remand rates in Canada.

As is true in several provinces, there are more people in custody awaiting trial (on remand) than there are sentenced prisoners in Manitoba, according to Statistics Canada data from

2016-17 (the most recent available).

Manitoba had the highest adult incarceration rate at 240 per 100,000 and the highest youth incarceration rate at 22 per 10,000.

Sixty-eight per cent of incarcerated individuals were awaiting trial in Manitoba at the time the information was collected, and the majority of them were Indigenous.

The decision will place even more pressure on Manitobas provincial court, Winnipeg defence lawyer Scott Newman said.

"Its going to have massive implications for the courts because it means a reallocation of resources to put people in front of judges," he said Friday.

"This is a declaration of war by the Supreme Court on remand custody, because theyve been talking about the overuse of incarceration going back 30 years, so this is them saying, Enough is enough."

The ruling comes after a British Columbia man, Corey Lee James Myers, appealed directly to the Supreme Court.

He was denied bail in November 2016, after being charged with several crimes, including firearms offences, related to a high-speed car chase involving gunfire.

He was denied again after a bail review later that month.

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Months later, when he eventually had his detention review hearing, the court decided he couldnt be released unless he could prove there had been an unreasonable delay or a major change in his circumstances since he was initially detained.

The Supreme Court now says thats wrong: accused people dont need to prove delay or that something has changed in their case since they were first denied bail.

The ruling states courts must only keep people locked up if that is whats necessary to make sure theyll appear in court, to protect the public and to maintain public confidence in the justice system.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay(Newser)  Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is open to an outside investigation into her office's decision to drop all charges against Jussie Smollett, the prosecutor wrote in a newspaper editorial. Foxx said in a Friday night op-ed for the Chicago Tribune that a review about prosecutors' decision to dismiss all 16 felony counts against the Empire actor would help maintain transparency, per the AP. The dismissal drew an immediate rebuke from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, with the mayor calling it a "whitewash of justice." "I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our community's trust is paramount," Foxx wrote. Smollett was accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself.

story continues below

While Foxx said Tuesday's decision to drop the charges doesn't exonerate Smollett, as the actor has claimed, she indicated that some of the evidence made getting a conviction "uncertain." "In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction," Foxx wrote. "For a variety of reasons ... my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain." Police maintain that Smollett staged the attack to promote his career, and Chicago officials have ordered him to pay more than $130,000 to cover the cost of the investigation. Foxx said Smollett's "alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could." (Read more Jussie Smollett stories.)Facing rejection from three major art museums, the philanthropic trust of the Sackler family, which built its wealth from the sale of opioids, has announced it would stop making donations.

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Facing rejection from three major art museums, the philanthropic trust of the Sackler family, which built its wealth from the sale of opioids, has announced it would stop making donations.

"I remain fully committed to all the causes the Sackler Trust supports, but at this moment it is the better course for the trust to halt all new giving until we can be confident that it will not be a distraction for institutions that are applying for grants," Theresa Sackler, chairwoman of the trust, said in a statement on its website.

Last week, the Guggenheim Museum in New York became the third cultural institution  and the first in the United States  to announce it would not accept money from the Sacklers. Londons National Portrait Gallery and Tate galleries made similar decisions earlier in the week. A smaller institution, the South London Gallery, returned a Sackler gift in 2018.

The development came on the heels of a new federal lawsuit filed by 600 cities, counties and Native American tribes alleging that eight Sackler family members were involved in deceptive marketing practices of the family-owned pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, and its blockbuster painkiller drug, OxyContin.

The Sackler name has graced the walls of blue-chip cultural and educational institutions around the world, including the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and several museums in London. But the Sackler legacy is now at risk, as a result of lawsuits naming the family members behind Purdue Pharma and artist-led protests linking the philanthropic name to the opioid crisis. Photographer Nan Goldin has organized protests at the Guggenheim, the Met and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington to pressure the institutions to sever ties with the donors.

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The Smithsonian, which opened the Sackler Gallery in 1987, said it is contractually bound to keep the family name on the Asian art museum and that it has no plans to return the original donation. Arthur Sackler donated 1,000 works and US$4 million to the Smithsonian years before OxyContin was launched.

"At this time, we have no plans to approach any member of the Sackler family for a donation," a Smithsonian spokeswoman said Monday.

Purdue Pharma has repeatedly said that it is being unfairly targeted and that it supports initiatives in law enforcement, education and health care aimed at addressing the opioid crisis.

The Met said it was continuing to review its donation policies. Daniel Weiss, the museums president and chief executive, noted that non-profit institutions rely on private donors to achieve their missions.

"Communities large and small have received immeasurable benefits from this generosity  as one cannot walk into a museum, library, hospital, or university without being reminded that the buildings and the programs they house would fail to exist without philanthropy," Weiss said in a statement. "With the benefit that comes from accepting these gifts, comes the obligation for institutions to devise thoughtful gift acceptance policies that ensure that they can realize their respective missions and values. At The Met, we fully acknowledge that our institution has an obligation to be accountable for its decisions."

 Washington PostThe night before Lise Danais was attacked and killed in her Southdale home, she shared a photo of a floral arrangement her teenage son had given to her, with the card (To mom  These are for being awesome!) and a photo of the meal hed cooked for her.

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The night before Lise Danais was attacked and killed in her Southdale home, she shared a photo of a floral arrangement her teenage son had given to her, with the card ("To mom  These are for being awesome!") and a photo of the meal hed cooked for her.

Friends on social media cheered, and commented on what a wonderful mom she was to raise such a wonderful son.

FACEBOOK Lise Danais was attacked in her Southdale home on Tuesday and later died in hospital.

"She was," Danais father said Friday, his voice breaking.

"This is very difficult," said the man, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. "We dont know for sure what happened."

On Tuesday, Danais, 51, became Winnipegs 11th homicide victim of 2019.

Police, who havent publicly identified any suspects or released further details, are asking anyone with information to contact them.

"Weve been told by the police theyre looking after everything and making sure they do a good job," Danais father said, noting his teenage grandson, who lived with his mom, is safe with family.

"We are grieving and would prefer to wait to make any statement."

Police officers responded to a home on the first 100 block of Rockcliffe Road, not far from the Royal Canadian Mint, at 10:45 a.m., Tuesday, after receiving a 911 call.

FACEBOOK Friends on social media cheered and commented on this Facebook post the night before Lise Danais was killed.

Danais was found suffering from severe injuries stemming from an assault. She was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later died.

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Her loved ones now wait to find out what happened.

"When youre in the dark, youre in the dark," her father said.

A homicide in the quiet, suburban neighbourhood of Southdale is unusual, Winnipeg Police Service statistics show.

Its considered part of St. Boniface, where incidents of violent crime  including assaults, robberies, uttering threats and homicide  decreased in 2017. It was one of a few Winnipeg neighbourhoods to experience such a reduction that year.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.caThe City of Winnipeg has identified 123 properties adjacent to the Red River that could be subject to flooding this year.

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The City of Winnipeg has identified 123 properties adjacent to the Red River that could be subject to flooding this year.

City staff went door-to-door Friday hand-delivering notices to those homeowners, advising them they will be provided with sandbags, if the situation warrants it.

"These sites are the folks who have experience with this kind of activity. Theyve been through this before," Chris Carroll, manager of the citys wastewater services, told reporters. "Theyre quite familiar with the activities that well be undertaking over the coming weeks."

Based on the provinces flood advisory earlier in the week, the city expects the level of the Red River to rise to 20.5 feet at the James Avenue gauge, which could mean a flood situation similar to that of 2009, Carroll said.

Currently, the river level at James is 0.75 feet, not much higher than normal winter ice level conditions.

Even if the river level were to rise to 20.5 feet, only those 123 properties would be at risk, Carroll said.

"The rest of the city is protected from the expected flooding. We are well-prepared to deal with the anticipated river levels this spring," he said, noting the city has been working for weeks on flood-protection measures, including activation of flood-pumping stations, deployment of temporary pumps to manage flows in the sewer system, sealing manholes, opening and clearing of overland drains, and filling sandbags.

What made 2009 difficult, was the back up of ice in the river, which doesnt appear will happen in 2019, Carroll said.

Weather conditions this spring have been near-perfect to minimizing flooding, with a slow, gradual snowmelt due to temperatures rising in the daytime just enough to spur melting and falling below freezing at night, he said.

"This is really what we needed to have happened, lowering the possibility of the flood being worse than it could be."

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The city has a stockpile of 350,000 sandbags and has issued a request for proposal for another 500,0000 bags, public works spokesman Ken Allen said.

Officials are watching the snowmelt south of the border and monitoring river levels in North Dakota. While Carroll expects a surge south of the U.S. border to happen soon, how high it gets there will influence decisions the city will have to make over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, city officials will be meeting with the 123 affected property owners and informing them of where dikes will be needed to be constructed and how high.

Overland flooding can occur when snowmelt pools in back lanes and open ditches, Allen said. Homeowners can lay down sandbags around foundations to prevent water from leaking into structures.

Residents concerned about flooding can pick up sandbags from three locations across the city: 1220 Pacific Ave.; 1539 Waverley St.; and 960 Thomas Ave.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.caAndrew Scheer contributed significantly to Canadian political life by saying recently that the SNC-Lavalin affair isnt just about choosing between Justin Trudeau and Scheer.

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Opinion

Andrew Scheer contributed significantly to Canadian political life by saying recently that the SNC-Lavalin affair isnt just about choosing between Justin Trudeau and Scheer.

The Conservative leader did further good by making clear that the SNC-Lavalin mess isnt even just about an abstraction called the rule of law. It is, he spelled out for those at the annual Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa, about protecting the very concrete, very practical division of responsibilities that comprise our legal system.

In our system, the official Opposition leader reminded, we dont tolerate political pressure on the police during the investigative phase of potential wrongdoing. Nor would we ever countenance such intrusion, overt or subtle, on a judge weighing evidence to make a ruling. Crown prosecutors must be fiercely protected from external actors as they decide whether to proceed with charges and trial.

The very need for a key parliamentary figure such as Scheer to go back to basics in front of a crowd of case-hardened political obsessives demonstrates the importance of his contribution. Indeed, it almost makes up for his own misstep earlier this year when he demanded, wildly prematurely, Prime Minister Trudeaus resignation as the scandal gathered steam.

Scheers early maladroitness risked diverting SNC-Lavalin into yet another humdrum story of opposition parties seeking electoral advantage by whooping about alleged government malfeasance. Weve wavered in that direction numerous times since.

Scheers recent comments, then, can be taken as recognition that he, too, must be part of the effort to keep rigorous focus on what truly matters in the scandal.

What matters is the profound threat of institutional damage if those who work within the component elements of our legal system begin to feel hot, sour political breath upon their necks.

What matters is that it wont matter one whit who the prime minister is if we lessen by an iota our vigilance in protecting them.

What matters is that democracy cant survive when equality before the law becomes a cynical joke, which is what the SNC-Lavalin affair portended.

Its here that Scheers weekend comments substantially clarify and edify. Even factoring out partisan rhetoric, Canadians have come to discuss SNC-Lavalin as very much a contest between former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and various players in the Prime Ministers Office, up to and including the PM.

Indeed, a staple of the Liberal defence has been that it was all just an intra-office personality-driven misunderstanding.

Such a way of telling the tale obscures the crucial detail that the initial decision to proceed to trial was not Wilson-Rayboulds to make. Further, I havent heard anything to make credible the idea that she took an activist role in pushing for prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

What she did, based on her testimony to the justice committee, was support the judgment of the director of federal prosecutions. What she did, from everything Ive heard, is affirm that nothing she saw in the discernment process led her to overrule the decision of a highly qualified Crown prosecutor.

Its a distinction that makes a massive difference to the way weve come to understand and talk about the scandal. It kicks the props, for example, out of the argument that Wilson-Raybould could, under the legislation allowing for deferred prosecution agreements, have intervened. Yes, she could have. But nothing in front of her justified, in her mind, taking the active step of setting aside the judgment of the individual responsible for judging the best way to take the case forward.

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Entirely reasonably, she refused to let others interfere with her own best judgment. By so refusing, she precluded any interference cascading down through the legal system and undermining the best judgment of those who report to her.

Remember, after all, that the whole debate around the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin is whether the criminal charges facing the company should go before a trial judge.

Scheers significant contribution reminds all of us that the very process of how we arrive at legal judgment must be defended without fail.

Such defence must always stand outside politics, regardless of the prime ministers name.

Peter Stockland is a senior writer with the think-tank Cardus and publisher of Convivium.ca.

 Troy MediaRarely is a scene so perfect in showing what it is like to be Indigenous in Canada.

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Rarely is a scene so perfect in showing what it is like to be Indigenous in Canada.

On Wednesday, at a Liberal party fundraiser in Toronto ($1,500 a ticket), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was speaking to donors about "investing in the middle class" and providing "opportunities for all Canadians to have a real and fair chance to succeed."

He was interrupted by an audience member, activist Lana Goldberg, asking loudly: "People in Grassy Narrows have been suffering from mercury poisoning and you committed to helping" before being pulled away by security.

Grassy Narrows First Nation has suffered for five decades with severe health problems due to toxins released into the English-Wabigoon river system by a Dryden, Ont., chemical company in the 1960s and '70s.

For years, doctors and researchers have stated poisonous water is the cause of health issues in the community, impacting, in particular, youth and pregnant women and causing anemia, attention deficit disorder, and cancer.

The community has requested a medical facility and for the pollution to be cleaned up.

In November, then-Indigenous services minister Jane Philpott announced Ottawa would launch a feasibility study for a long-term treatment centre in Grassy Narrows and a medical facility in nearby Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, which has experienced similar mercury poisonings.

Since then, there has been no movement.

Goldberg, not a member of Grassy Narrows but a member of the ally group Free Grassy, had vowed to community members  demonstrating outside the room in Toronto  she would bring their views to the prime minister.

As she was being dragged out, Trudeau announced, to cheers and laughter: "Thank you very much for your donation tonight. I really appreciate the donation to the Liberal Party of Canada."

It was a picture of the nation.

Inside the room sat wealthy Canadians, self-congratulating themselves for a job well-done and making plans for the future. Leading them is a prime minister who has said, time and time again, he is committed to reconciliation.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/COLIN PERKEL Rudy Turtle, chief of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, is concerned about the ongoing impacts of mercury contamination and said he is "not a believer" in the prime minister's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Suddenly, a Canadian in the room questions the prime ministers record on Indigenous issues and how might the wealth taken from Indigenous lands and territories be shared with their residents.

Its an egregious question, obviously, resulting in the Canadian  even though she bought a ticket  being forcefully escorted from the room.

Meanwhile, Indigenous people sit outside, trying to draw attention to their suffering and exploitation.

What they receive instead is a "thanks for your donation."

Thanks, Grassy Narrows. Thanks for the land. Thanks for the profit.

The callousness and arrogance of the prime minister was startling.

"Ive never seen him give that kind of cynical or shut-down response," said Mark Calzavara of the Council of Canadians, who captured the event on his phone.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde  a Trudeau supporter  called the comments "completely unacceptable and offensive," and demanded the prime minister apologize and visit Grassy Narrows.

Predictably, the opposition Conservatives jumped in.

"We all have a long way to go in building meaningful relationships with First Nations; reconciliation, and more. This is not a step in that direction," tweeted Tory MP Michelle Rempel.

This made the picture even more perfect.

The Conservative party wouldnt have even allowed Goldberg or anyone from Grassy Narrows into the room.

The last Conservative prime minister (Stephen Harper) not only had no vision for reconciliation but created more conflicts with First Nations than previous governments. Over a decade, Harper refused to meet with Indigenous leadership, delivered a sham consultation process costing taxpayers millions, and introduced draconian omnibus legislation designed to remove Indigenous lands for resource extraction projects quickly and permanently.

The Conservatives are not a choice for Indigenous peoples, regardless of how many emails I get saying criticizing the Liberals is an endorsement of the Tories.

So, whats left? The NDP? The Green party? Parties that may never form government?

Its almost as if the only choice Indigenous peoples have is to resist. Operate outside the room and the prime minister, sending in activists every once in a while to demonstrate how broken the system is.

A choice of a party that gets more xenophobic by the day and another which tells you that you are a people they respect, and then insults you, is no choice.

On Thursday, Trudeau apologized, saying he wasnt "respectful."

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In a statement, Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle acknowledged the apology but said in response: "People are dying from mercury contamination and nothing is being done. Enough is enough."

Longtime Grassy Narrows activist Judy da Silva was asked if she had lost faith in Trudeau.

"Ive seen him in different Indigenous communities, and I felt hopeful," da Silva said. "I thought this guy was going to be different, but then I see that he is just the same."

Welcome to being Indigenous in Canada, where resistance seems to be the only choice.

The rest is donation.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.caSo, this much is clear: everyone is appalled, no one was involved and pretty much everybody thinks there should be an investigation to find out who is responsible.

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This article was published 29/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

So, this much is clear: everyone is appalled, no one was involved and pretty much everybody thinks there should be an investigation to find out who is responsible.

The leak to media outlets this week of confidential information related to two Manitoba judges is the latest alarming turn in the SNC-Lavalin affair that has now fully enveloped the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Manitoba Court of Queens Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Reports Monday by The Canadian Press and CTV suggested the relationship between Mr. Trudeau and former justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould had become strained several months before the dispute over alleged demands by the Prime Ministers Office for intervention in the corruption and bribery case against the Quebec-based engineering firm.

According to the reports, tensions rose last year because of a disagreement between the PM and the justice minister over prospective nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ms. Wilson-Raybould reportedly favoured Manitoba Court of Queens Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal for the vacancy created by the retirement in 2017 of former chief justice Beverley McLachlin, and also for the role of chief justice. Mr. Trudeau ultimately appointed Alberta Appeal Court Judge Sheilah Martin to the SCOC vacancy and elevated Quebec Justice Richard Wagner to the position of chief justice.

The Globe and Mail later reported Ms. Wilson-Rayboulds support of Mr. Joyal for the SCOC appointment was part of a larger plan that would have seen Manitoba provincial court Judge Ken Champagne appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench top job vacated by Mr. Joyal, thereby making Mr. Champagne, who is Metis, the first Indigenous chief justice of any superior court in Canada.

As a strictly observed rule, information about high-court nominations and deliberations is considered highly sensitive and is kept confidential in the interest of maintaining the integrity and independence of the judicial process. That any such information would be leaked is a betrayal of protocol on a grand scale.

Which is why, one supposes, everyone even peripherally connected to the issue  whether by justice system association, SNC-Lavalin connection or PMO inclination  has assumed a posture of righteous indignation when questions of the leak and its source have been raised.

"Strongly condemn" was Ms. Wilson-Rayboulds sentiment toward the leak in an email to the Free Press, in which she suggested an investigation of the source would be appropriate.

Tensions between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Jodie Wilson-Raybould reportedly intensified last year over a disagreement over prospective nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files)

"We take the integrity of our institutions seriously," the PMO stated in denying any involvement in the breach.

"We condemn the number of leaks that have happened recently," Mr. Trudeau said Thursday, after two days spent sidestepping questions on the issue.

Everyones appalled. No one was involved. So perhaps the aforementioned investigation is whats required.

A good starting point, as it is in all sleuthful pursuits, is the consideration of motive. Who stood to gain by having information made public about a pre-SNC-Lavalin dispute between the PM and an erstwhile senior cabinet minister? Whose agenda would be served by the inference Ms. Wilson-Rayboulds erratic behaviour predates SNC-Lavalin?

Who might be in desperate need of a diversion, a distraction or even a deception that would turn public attention away from the SNC-Lavalin scandal that shows no signs of lessening the wet-sandbag weight it has tethered to Mr. Trudeaus political fortunes?

Its probably worth noting the unnamed sources were described in one Globe and Mail story as "a leak from within the government."

Who, indeed?One day about 200 years ago, a woman enslaved on a tobacco plantation near Annapolis, Md., tossed aside the broken stem of the clay pipe she was smoking in the slave quarters where she lived.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One day about 200 years ago, a woman enslaved on a tobacco plantation near Annapolis, Md., tossed aside the broken stem of the clay pipe she was smoking in the slave quarters where she lived.

Clay pipes were soft and fragile, and the stem bore marks where she had clenched it in her teeth as she worked.

But the stem bore something else she could never have imagined: her DNA.

Experts recently announced that DNA had been gleaned from the pipe stem and linked back to modern-day Sierra Leone, in West Africa, and probably to the Mende people who have lived there for centuries.

It may be the first time a physical connection has been suggested between an ancient artifact, an American slave and the African group from which she may have come, experts said.

"Its overwhelming," said Nancy Daniels, 70, a genealogist from Laurel, Md., who has not been linked to the pipe stem but thinks she is a descendant of slaves who worked on the plantation. "Im sitting here about ready to cry. Im sorry. Im so happy... Thank God for the DNA."

It was "a mind blower," said Julie Schablitsky, chief archeologist with the Maryland Transportation Departments State Highway Administration. She helped lead the research.

"In this particular context, and from that time period, I think its a first," said Hannes Schroeder, an assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen who also worked on the project.

The pipe stem was recovered from the site of a slave dwelling discovered in 2015 during a dig at the old Belvoir plantation in Crownsville, Md., where slaves lived from 1736 to 1864.

"No one had known it was there," Schablitsky said.

Along with silver and brass buttons, broken teacups, a porcelain doll and other artifacts from the early 1800s, four broken pipe stems were found.

"I knew there was the possibility... of DNA," Schablitsky said.

"Were always spitting into tubes (to) figure out where were coming from," she said. "Its in the forefront of our minds. Whenever theres a criminal case everybody... looks to the DNA to solve the case and save the day."

Archeologists often think about recovering DNA when they find a personal artifact that could have come into contact with saliva or blood, she said.

And used pipe stems are all over, she said: "Everybody was smoking tobacco in the 19th century. It was the thing to do."

Made out of clay, they often broke, were discarded and are often found on archeological sites.

Schablitsky knew the clay in the pipes absorbed saliva, and that DNA seems to bind with the silica in the clay. "So you basically have the perfect storm for an archeological and scientific breakthrough," she said.

She contacted a colleague, Ripan Malhi, who oversees the Malhi Molecular Anthropology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to see whether DNA could be extracted.

"I was dubious," Malhi said. "I was like, Well, its probably not going to work. But if you want to try, let me talk to folks in my lab and see if theres someone whos willing to work on this."

Malhi said it was rare for a non-human artifact to have human DNA on it "when its over 100 years old, and if there was DNA on it, its probably too degraded to analyze."

But one of his students, Kelsey Witt Dillon, agreed to try. In late 2017, the stems were tested, and two of them seemed to have DNA, but only one had enough for further analysis. Furthermore, the DNA seemed to be linked to Africa and to be female.

"That turns the stereotype of smoking in the 19th century on its ear," Schablitsky said. But remember the context: "Youre in a slave quarter... where meals were prepared by a cook who was enslaved, who was a woman, and thats going to be a place where she was living."

Malhi said he couldnt narrow down the apparent lineage of the DNA further. But he enlisted Schroeder, in Denmark, who he said had a more expansive database of African DNA. And that enabled the apparent Mende connection.

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It was a crucial link.

"As soon as people stepped on those slave ships in Africa ... whether they were from Benin or whether they were from Sierra Leone, wherever they were from, that identity was... lost," Schablitsky said.

"Their humanity is stripped from them," she said. "Who they are as a people is gone."

It is not known with certainty whether the woman was from what is today Sierra Leone, or if her parents were.

"Its likely her parents probably were," the archeologist said. "Its also possible she was and she did come ashore there in Annapolis. But thats kind of where the science stops. Then we have... to turn and look at history."

 Washington PostATLANTA - Bucking intense opposition from abortion rights groups, citizens, physicians groups and even Hollywood celebrities, Georgia lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a "heartbeat" abortion ban that would outlaw most abortions in the state.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/3/2019 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ATLANTA - Bucking intense opposition from abortion rights groups, citizens, physicians groups and even Hollywood celebrities, Georgia lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a "heartbeat" abortion ban that would outlaw most abortions in the state.

The proposal now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who backs it. If enacted, it would be among the strictest abortion bans in the U.S.

File-This March 22, 2019, file photo shows a woman recording a group of pro-abortion rights demonstrators the 35th legislative day at the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta. Bucking intense opposition from abortion rights groups, citizens, physicians groups and even Hollywood celebrities, Georgia lawmakers gave final approval Friday, March 29, 2019, to a "heartbeat" abortion ban that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state. The proposal now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who backs it. If enacted, it would be among the strictest abortion bans in the U.S. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

The measure was approved by 92 votes, just one vote more than the majority needed to pass out of the 180-member House.

Just after the vote, a tense situation erupted when law enforcement confronted several Democratic lawmakers and protesters speaking against the bill in the halls of the Capitol. Officers threatened to arrest people if a crowd didn't disperse and stop chanting "shame".

Georgia joins a string of GOP-controlled states moving to enact strict abortion bans, with the ultimate goal of getting a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. A heartbeat can be detected in an embryo as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

The bill would make exceptions in the case of rape and incest  but only when the woman files a police report first  and to save the life of the mother. It also would allow for abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable because of serious medical issues.

Republican Rep. Ed Setzler, the bill's author, said it was a "commonsense" measure that seeks to balance "the difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child."

Democratic Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick called the legislation a "death warrant" for women in Georgia, noting that the state already has one of the nation's worst maternal mortality rates.

The ACLU of Georgia said it will challenge the law in court if it's signed by Kemp.

"Under 50 years of Supreme Court precedent, this bill is blatantly unconstitutional," Sean Young, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, said in an interview Friday. "That is why every single federal court that has considered such bans has struck them down."

The legislation faced a groundswell of opposition, including Democratic lawmakers and protesters saying on social media and in person that lawmakers who voted in favour of the bill would be targeted in 2020 elections.

A group of women at the Georgia Capitol protested the bill dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," which depicts a dystopian future where women are controlled by the government and forced to reproduce. The activists in red cloaks and white bonnets have been an almost daily presence since the House first passed the measure earlier this month.

Two influential groups, the Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, sent letters to lawmakers opposing the legislation.

The legislation also was opposed by the Writers Guild of America, which represents TV and film writers, and several Hollywood celebrities, who signed an open letter to Kemp in opposition. The letter, spearheaded by actress Alyssa Milano, includes signatures from Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer, Gabrielle Union, Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow and others.

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That's significant because Georgia is a burgeoning production hub for TV and film, with 455 productions shot in Georgia in fiscal year 2018, representing $2.7 billion in direct spending in the state.

GOP lawmakers in Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Ohio are pursuing similar legislation, while Republican governors in Mississippi and Kentucky have recently signed heartbeat abortion bans.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a heartbeat abortion ban on March 21, despite a federal judge's ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions there. Kentucky's law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed it March 14, in response to a challenge by the ACLU. A state judge found Iowa's heartbeat abortion ban unconstitutional in January.

If signed and not blocked in court, the Georgia law would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Kemp applauded the legislature in a statement Friday.

"Georgia values life," Kemp said. "The legislature's bold action reaffirms our priorities and who we are as a state."(Newser)  When Jakelin Caal Maquin arrived Dec. 6 from Guatemala at the US-Mexico border with her father and more than 100 migrants, her family says she'd eaten well during her journey and wasn't sick. By early Dec. 8, the 7-year-old was dead. Customs and Border Protection, which had taken Jakelin and the other migrants into custody along the stretch of border in New Mexico, said initially Jakelin had died of thirst and shock, with a CBP statement noting she hadn't eaten or had water "for several days," per the Washington Post. Now NBC News reports the official cause of death is in from the medical examiner in El Paso County, Texas. The report released Friday said Jakelin suffered from organ failure from a "rapidly progressive infection, with prompt systemic bacterial spread and substantial clinical deterioration."

story continues below

Official cause of death: natural due to streptococcal sepsis. Per CNN, the report noted the strep bacteria was found in Jakelin's lungs, spleen, liver, and adrenal gland "She would have looked really bad," California Rep. Raul Ruiz says, per NBC, adding that her condition should have been noticed by those who had her in CBP custody, and that "any meaningful health evaluation" would have turned up her sickness. A Homeland Security statement put out shortly after Jakelin died cited "sepsis shock" as the believed cause of death, though it noted immigration officials saw "no evidence of health issues." In late December, CBP announced all children in custody would get at least two medical checkups. CNN has more on the "two conflicting stories." (Read more Customs and Border Protection stories.)(Newser)  A lot of people are feeling the love for Tom Mustoand you have to see this to know why. The California dad appeared in a Twitter video last Sunday gushing over the prices from his first trip to Costco, Fox News reports. "Nine dollars!" he exclaims, holding up a bag. "Do you know how much a little bag at Vons is? Like, $12.50." He seems just as excited by an $8 bag of sausages he bought at the membership-only warehouse club known for bulk sale and low prices. Viewed over 6.5 million times, the video has earned him a nickname and apparently humbled the 49-year-old.

story continues below

About being 'hot Costco dad' ... it's a bit overwhelming, I thought this would have died after a day. Its just crazy," he tells CNBC . "My kids video me all the time when I dont know it, they think I am funny." And with some tweeters expressing a little extra interest in Musto ("I'm sorry but your dad is fine as hell," wrote one ), the Los Angeleno might just be fighting them off next time he shops. "He's newly single so Im always trying to up his confidence," his son TJ, who posted the video, tells Mashable . "He loves it, even though he's trying to downplay it all. He's real humble."

(Read more viral video stories.)Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. engages in global investment banking, securities, and investment management, which provides financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management. The Investment Banking segment serves public and private sector clients around the world and provides financial advisory services, help companies raise capital to strengthen and grow their businesses and provide financing to corporate clients. The Global Markets segment serves its clients who buy and sell financial products, funding and manage risk. The Asset Management segment provides investment services to help clients preserve and grow their financial assets. The Consumer & Wealth Management segment helps clients to achieve their individual financial goals by providing a wealth advisory and banking services. The company was founded by Marcus Goldman in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations  Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, TXF LLC, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, 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, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut.There is not enough analysis data for Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund.

4.1 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund has received 110 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund has received 69 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund has received 61.45% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe FAX will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe FAX will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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NextAfrican Battery Metals Plc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for and exploits mineral resources. It explores for cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, gold, and other battery metals. The company holds interest in cobalt-copper exploration licenses, which include the Kisinka license covering an area of 50 square kilometers; and Sakania license covering an area of 140 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also holds interest in the Ferensola Project, a gold, iron, and coltan deposit covering an area of 153 square kilometers located in Northern Sierra Leone. The company was formerly known as Sula Iron & Gold plc and changed its name to African Battery Metals Plc in January 2018. African Battery Metals Plc was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 211 E. Russell Road LLC, Air-Relief, Belliss & Morcom Brasil, Belliss and Morcom, Boardwalk Enterprises, Charm Merger Sub Inc., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Canada, CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir Holman Ltd, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., CompAir UK Ltd, CompAir USA, Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Emco Wheaton, Emco Wheaton GmbH Branch, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton UK, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Propriety Limited (South Africa), GD Aria Holdings #2 Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First UK Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings, GD Global Holdings II, GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SA, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Services Ltd, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Hoffman, Gardner Denver Holdings, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica, Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. Branch, Gardner Denver International, Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Intl Ltd Middle East Regional Rep Office, Gardner Denver Investments, Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan, Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd South Africa, Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd. Branch (Ireland), Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oberdorfer Pumps, Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Petroleum Pumps, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia, Gardner Denver SudAmerica S.r.l., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas, Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH, Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver UK, Gardner Denver Water Jetting Systems, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, Indonesia Foreign Trade Representative Office, LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MP Pumps Inc., Mako Compressors, Nash, Nash Elmo, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Robuschi, Rotary Compression Technologies, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Syltone, TCM Investments, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, TODO AB, Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS, Thomas Industries, Thomas Industries Inc., Tri-Continent Scientific, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, and Zinsser NA.(Newser)  Not long ago, he was picking up Donald Trump's children at the airport. Now he's behind barsand Zoltan Tamas' arrest is part of an immigration crackdown that's been hailed by the Trump administration, the New York Times reports. "Zoltan wasn't caught crossing the border," says his lawyer, Mario Urizar. "He was in the country legally, paying taxes and has no criminal record in the United States. Why would you keep him detained? They should use their discretionary power to release him." But the green-card holder was collared in 2018 after applying for US citizenship, when immigration authorities found he had been convicted in absentia of insurance fraud in his home country of Romania.

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Tamas began working at Mar-a-Lago on an H-2B visa in 2006. Moving up to security guard and adding a second job as driver, he would apparently pick up the younger Trumps and even has their phone numbers. Tamas, 38, also has an 11-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter with congenital heart disease that has cost the family tens of thousands of dollars in surgeries. Now the Florida resident's wife is struggling to keep the family afloat; she also claims the fraud case is about a Tamas friend who used his name on phony claims. And Urizar says Romania isn't seeking extradition. "I think this is probably something that ICE took a little too far," he tells CNN. Now Urizar hopes the Times report will stir up support from the Trump family. (Read more immigration stories.)The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..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.Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses. The Global Wealth and Investment Management provides client experience through a network of financial advisors focused on to meet their needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. The Global Banking segment deals with lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients, and underwriting and advisory services. The Global Markets segment includes sales and trading services, as well as research, to institutional clients across fixed-income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity businesses. The All Other segment consists of asset and liability management activities, equity investments, non-core mortgage loans and servicing activities, the net impact of periodic revisions

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Bayer Aktiengesellschaft: AB Seeds Ltd, AB Seeds Sales (2006) Ltd, AO Bayer, Adverio Pharma GmbH, AgrEvo Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, AgraQuest Inc., Alcafleu Management GmbH & Co. KG, Algeta, Artificial Muscle Inc, Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Athenix Corp., Atlantic Breeders S. A. R. L., BUS C.V., Bayer (Proprietary) Limited, Bayer (Schweiz) AG, Bayer 04 Immobilien GmbH, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fuball GmbH, Bayer A / S, Bayer AB, Bayer AS, Bayer Agriculture BVBA, Bayer Agriculture Limited, Bayer Algerie S. P. A., Bayer Altersversorgung GmbH, Bayer Animal Health GmbH, Bayer Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Bayer B.V., Bayer Beteiligungsverwaltung Goslar GmbH, Bayer Beteiligungsverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. OHG, Bayer Bitterfeld GmbH, Bayer Bulgaria EOOD, Bayer Business Services GmbH, Bayer Canadian Holdings Inc., Bayer Capital Corporation B.V., Bayer Chemicals GmbH, Bayer Consumer Care AG, Bayer Consumer Care Holdings LLC, Bayer Corporation, Bayer CropScience, Bayer CropScience (Portugal)-Produtos para a Agricultura Lda, Bayer CropScience Beteiligungsgesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Bayer CropScience Biologics GmbH, Bayer CropScience Deutschland GmbH, Bayer CropScience Holding Inc., Bayer CropScience Holding SA, Bayer CropScience Holdings Inc., Bayer CropScience Inc., Bayer CropScience LLC, Bayer CropScience LP, Bayer CropScience Limited, Bayer CropScience NV, Bayer CropScience S. L., Bayer CropScience S. r. l., Bayer CropScience Schweiz AG, Bayer CropScience Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Bayer East Coast LLC, Bayer Essure Inc., Bayer HealthCare Animal Health Inc., Bayer HealthCare Holdings LLC, Bayer HealthCare LLC, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bayer HealthCare US Funding II LLC, Bayer HealthCare US Funding LLC, Bayer Inc., Bayer International Trade Services Corporation, Bayer Medical Care Inc., Bayer New AU M1059 USD LLC, Bayer New AU M3650 LLC, Bayer New BE M3155 LLC, Bayer New CA M5015 LLC, Bayer New CH M3868 LLC, Bayer New CZ M3204 LLC, Bayer New DE M3385 LLC, Bayer New Gewas I M3640 LLC, Bayer New Gewas II M3640 LLC, Bayer New HU M3440 LLC, Bayer New MA M3130 LLC, Bayer New MX M3640 LLC, Bayer New MY M1455 LLC, Bayer New NL M3644 LLC, Bayer New Oogst M3648 LLC, Bayer New PL M3655 LLC, Bayer New RO M3695 LLC, Bayer New RU M3708 LLC, Bayer New TH M1763 LLC, Bayer New TK M3970 LLC, Bayer New UA M3702 LLC, Bayer New UK M3939 LLC, Bayer New Veggie M3617 M5157 LLC, Bayer New Veggie Mig M3617 M5157 LLC, Bayer New ZA M3743 LLC, Bayer Overseas Trade Services Corporation, Bayer Puerto Rico Inc., Bayer U.S. LLC, Bayer US Finance II LLC, Bayer US Finance LLC, Bayer US Holding LP, Bayer West Coast Corporation, Bayer World Investments B.V., Bayer d. o. o., Bayer spol. sr. o., Bayer-Handelsgesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Beeologics Admin LLC, Beeologics Holdings Limited, Beeologics LLC, Beeologics USA Inc, Berlimed S. A., Berlipharm B.V., Berlis AG, Biogenetic Technologies B.V., BlueRock Therapeutics, Care/of, Channel Bio LLC, Chemion Logistik GmbH, Collateral Therapeutics Inc., Conceptus SAS La Garenne, Cooper Land Company of New Jersey Inc., Coppertone LLC, Corn States LLC, Dihon Pharmaceutical, Dr. Scholls LLC, Dritte Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co. KG, Erste Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co. KG, Erste K-W-A Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, EuroServices Bayer S. L., Funfte Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co., GP Grenzach Produktions GmbH, Grass Roots Biotechnology LLC, Hornbeck Seed Company Inc., Icon Genetics, Intendis GmbH, Intraserv GmbH & Co., Jenapharm GmbH & Co. KG, KVP Pharma+Veterinar Produkte GmbH, KWA Investment II LLC Research, KWA Investment III LLC, KWA Investment IV LLC, KaNDy Therapeutics, MENADIER Heilmittel GmbH, MNL Luxembourg S. a. r. l., MONSANTO Hungaria Kft., MONSANTO Saaten GmbH, Merck-Consumer Care (MCC), MiraLAX LLC, Monsanto ACUA MHC LLC, Monsanto AG Netherlands I C.V., Monsanto AG Netherlands II C.V., Monsanto AGN Holding LLC, Monsanto Ag B.V., Monsanto Agrar Deutschland GmbH, Monsanto Agricultura Espana S. L., Monsanto Agricultura Italia S.p.A., Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited, Monsanto Burkina Faso SARL, Monsanto CR s. r. o., Monsanto Canada ULC, Monsanto Caribe LLC, Monsanto Company, Monsanto Crop B.V., Monsanto Crop Sciences Denmark A/S, Monsanto Crop Sciences Norway A/S, Monsanto Crop Sciences Sweden A.B., Monsanto Finance SA, Monsanto Gesellschaft m. b. H., Monsanto Gida Ve Tarim Ticaret Ltd, Monsanto Grain B.V., Monsanto Great Lakes Production Co LLC, Monsanto Hawaii Production Co LLC, Monsanto Hellas Agriculturals Ltd, Monsanto Holding I C.V., Monsanto Holding II C.V., Monsanto Holding III C.V., Monsanto Holding Ukraine Ltd, Monsanto Holland B.V., Monsanto II Lda, Monsanto Illinois Production Co LLC, Monsanto Inter-America Company, Monsanto International Sarl, Monsanto Invest B.V., Monsanto Iowa Production Co LLC, Monsanto Ireland Limited, Monsanto Jordan LLC, Monsanto Kenya Ltd, Monsanto Kool BV, Monsanto LA Holdings II Co LLC, Monsanto Latin America Holdings Co LLC, Monsanto MGCV MHC LLC, Monsanto MSCV Holding LLC, Monsanto MYCV MHC LLC, Monsanto Malawi Ltd, Monsanto Missouri Production Co LLC, Monsanto NL BV, Monsanto Northern Production Co LLC, Monsanto Oogst B.V., Monsanto Operations B.V., Monsanto Polska Sp. z o. o., Monsanto Production Supply LLC, Monsanto Romania SRL, Monsanto Rus LLC, Monsanto S.A.S., Monsanto Seed Supply LLC, Monsanto Seeds LLC, Monsanto Serbia D. O. O., Monsanto Slovakia S. R. O., Monsanto South Africa (PTY) Ltd, Monsanto Southern Production Co LLC, Monsanto Tanzania Limited, Monsanto Technology International LLC, Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsanto Treasury Services SARL, Monsanto UK Limited Cambridge U. K., Monsanto Vegetable Holding LLC, Monsanto Vegetable IP Holding C.V., Monsanto Vegetable IP Management BV, Monsanto Vegetable Seed Holding LLC, Monsanto Western Production Co LLC, Monsanto Zaad B.V., Monsanto Zambia Ltd, Monsanto d. o. o., Pallas Versicherung, Pandias Re AG, Pianosa B.V., Relay Limited, SC Bayer SRL, SCEA De Ruiter Zonen Selection, Sechste Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co., Seminis Vegetable Seeds U. K. Ltd, Siebte Bayer VV GmbH, Steigerwald Arzneimittelwerk GmbH, TECTRION GmbH, TOO Bayer KAZ, The Climate Corporation International SA, TravelBoard GmbH, UAB Bayer, Vierte Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co., WeatherMe OU, Zeptosens, Zoner.ag, Zweite Bayer Real Estate VV GmbH & Co., and Zweite K-W-A Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH.Blackrock Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties located in the United States. It primarily explores for gold and silver deposits. The company's flagship property is the Tonopah West silver-gold project that consists of 97 patented and 17 unpatented claims covering an area of 4.5 square kilometers located in the Silver State of Nevada. It also holds interest in the Silver Cloud project that consists of 572 mining claims covering an area of approximately 45 square kilometers located in Nevada. The company was formerly known as Blackrock Gold Corp. and changed its name to Blackrock Silver Corp. in March 2021. Blackrock Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Read More(Newser)  German police say they've arrested 10 people in the west of the country on suspicion of planning an Islamic extremist terror attack, per the AP. The DPA news agency reported the suspects were taken into custody on Friday and Saturday in the towns of Essen, Duesseldorf, Wuppertal, Moenchengladbach, Duisburg and Ulm, citing a spokesman for prosecutors in Duesseldorf. The prosecutors' spokesman was quoted as saying Saturday that the group was suspected of a connection to the Islamic State group, either as sympathizers or a splinter group, and of planning a "serious act of violent subversion," although there was currently no indication of a specific target. Prosecutors weren't yet certain if criminal cases would be brought against all those taken into custody. Officials said one of the suspects was from Tajikistan but provided no info about the others' nationality. (Read more Germany stories.)Allianz SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides property-casualty insurance, life/health insurance, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company's Property-Casualty segment offers various insurance products, including motor liability and own damage, accident, general liability, fire and property, legal expense, credit, and travel insurance products to private and corporate customers. Its Life/Health segment provides a range of life and health insurance products on an individual and a group basis, such as annuities, endowment and term insurance, and unit-linked and investment-oriented products, as well as private health, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance products. The company's Asset Management segment offers institutional and retail asset management products and services to third-party investors comprising equity and fixed income funds, as well as alternative products; and investment management services. Its Corporate and Other segment provides various banking products for corporate and retail clients; and alternative investment management services in the private equity, real estate, renewable energy, and infrastructure sectors. Allianz SE was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Read MoreExchange Income Corporation engages in aerospace and aviation services and equipment, and manufacturing businesses worldwide. It operates through two segments, Aerospace & Aviation, and Manufacturing. The Aerospace & Aviation segment offers scheduled airline and charter services, and emergency medical services to communities located in Manitoba, Ontario, and Nunavut, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. It also provides after-market aircraft, engines, and component parts to regional airline operators; designs, modifies, maintains, and operates custom sensor equipped aircraft; and offers maritime surveillance and support services in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. In addition, this segment provides pilot flight training services. The Manufacturing segment manufactures window wall systems primarily used in high-rise multi-family residential projects; stainless steel tanks, vessels, and processing equipment; heavy duty pressure washing and steam systems, commercial water recycling systems, and custom tanks for the transportation of oil, gasoline, and water products; precision parts and components primarily used in the aerospace and defense sector; electrical and control systems integrator focused on the agricultural material handling; and precision sheet metal and tubular products. This segment also focuses on the engineering, design, manufacture, and construction of communication infrastructure, as well as provision of technical services. Exchange Income Corporation is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.

Read MoreAugusta Gold Corp., a junior exploration company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the United States. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and other metals. The company holds interests in the Bullfrog gold project located in the north-west of Las Vegas, Nevada. It also owns, controls, or has acquired mineral rights on Federal patented and unpatented mining claims in the state of Nevada for the purpose of exploration and potential development of metals on a total of approximately 7,800 acres of land. The company was formerly known as Bullfrog Gold Corp. and changed its name to Augusta Gold Corp. in January 2021. Augusta Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Read MoreMallinckrodt plc (NYSE:MNK) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August, 4th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $700.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $630.19 million. Mallinckrodt had a positive trailing twelve-month return on equity of 34.26% and a negative net margin of 89.94%. Mallinckrodt's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.53 EPS.

View Mallinckrodt's earnings history.(Newser)  An unprecedented migrant wave is snarling the immigrant system and peppering the Texas-Mexico border with sad sightslike dozens of families jammed under a bridge in El Paso, the El Paso Times reports. "It's staggering," says McAllen City Manager Roy Rodriguez. "Really, weve never seen anything like this before." With Border Patrol saying it's on pace to nab 100,000 migrants in March, the most in over 10 years, local numbers are also soaring: El Paso released over 850 migrants Wednesday to local shelters, a new high that's expected to rise, and a McAllen border facility built for up to 1,500 people was holding 2,200, per the New York Times. "Were the conditions horrible?" asked Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. He wouldn't say so, but "it was gut-wrenching to see mothers and children sitting there in cages."

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An annual spring surge is no surpriseit's timed to beat dangerous summer heatbut these numbers are on par with 2014, when Central American migrants poured in for the first time. Now smugglers are bringing bigger families over the Rio Grande with the apparent goal of overrunning facilities and getting migrants released before their court date. Indeed, Border Patrol is giving migrants to ICE, but their facilities are overrun, so they unload people into overcrowded shelters. "This is a system-wide collapse," says a bipartisan think-tank analyst. Now federal officials are identifying areas for replacement barrierslike Yuma, Tucson, and El Paso, per CNNbut McAllen Mayor Jim Darling says migrants will just rely more on the Rio Grande Valley. Meanwhile, President Trump is threatening to close the border entirely. (Read more US-Mexico border stories.)The following companies are subsidiares of Roper Technologies: 3089554 Nova Scotia ULC, AC Analytical Controls B.V., AC Analytical Controls Holding B.V., AC Analytical Controls Services B.V., Acumen PM LLC, Aderant Canada Company, Aderant Company, Aderant Holdings Inc., Aderant International Holdings Inc., Aderant Legal (UK) Limited, Aderant Legal Holdings (AUS) Pty Ltd, Aderant Legal Holdings (NZ) ULC, Aderant Legal Holdings Inc., Aderant North America Inc., Aderant Parent Holdings Inc., Advanced Sensors Limited, Alpha Holdings of Delaware I LLC, Alpha Holdings of Delaware II LLC, Alpha Technologies B.V., Alpha Technologies GmbH, Alpha Technologies Japan LLC, Alpha Technologies Services LLC, Alpha Technologies U.K., Alpha Technologies s.r.o., Alpha Trust Corporation, Alpha UK Holdings LLC, Amot Controls Corporation, Amot Controls GmbH, Amot/Metrix Investment Company Inc., Amphire Solutions Inc., Amtech Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, Amtech Systems LLC, Amtech World Corporation, Aplifi Inc., Ascension Technology Corporation, Assureweb Limited, Atlantic Health Partners Inc., Avitru LLC, Axium Holdco Inc., C/S Solutions Inc., CBORD Holdings Corp., CIVCO Medical Solutions B.V., Centurion Research Solutions LLC, Civco Holding Inc., Civco Medical Instruments Co. Inc., CliniSys Group, CliniSys Group Limited, Clinisys Scotland Limited, Clinisys Solutions Limited, Cointec Ingenieros y Consultores S.L., Compressor Controls (Beijing) Corporation Ltd., Compressor Controls Corporation B.V., Compressor Controls Corporation Middle East, Compressor Controls Corporation S.r.l., Compressor Controls LLC, Compressor Controls Mauritius Ltd., Compressor Controls Pty Ltd., Compressor Controls Saudi Arabia LLC, ConstructConnect, ConstructConnect Canada Inc., ConstructConnect Inc., Cornell Pump Company, DAT Solutions LLC, DATSolutions Private Limited, DCMH Group Holdings Inc., DCMH Group Holdings LLC, DCMH Holdings Inc., DI Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., DI Dutch Holdings LLC, DI Hong Kong Limited, Dash I Inc., Data Innovations, Data Innovations Canada Ltd., Data Innovations Cooperatief U.A., Data Innovations Europe S.A., Data Innovations LLC, Data Innovations Latin America Ltda, Dawning Technologies LLC, Deltek, Deltek Ajera Inc., Deltek Asia Pacific (HK) Limited, Deltek Australia Pty Ltd., Deltek Danmark A/S, Deltek France SAS, Deltek GB Limited, Deltek GmbH, Deltek Inc., Deltek Nederland B.V., Deltek Netherlands B.V., Deltek Norge AS, Deltek Sverige AB, Deltek Systems (Canada) Inc., Deltek Systems (Colorado) Inc., Deltek Systems (Philippines) Ltd., Deltek WST LLC, Dominion I Inc., Dynamic Instruments Inc., Dynisco Enterprises GmbH, Dynisco Enterprises LLC, Dynisco Europe GmbH, Dynisco Holding GmbH, Dynisco Hong Kong Holdings Limited, Dynisco Instruments LLC, Dynisco Instruments S.a.r.l., Dynisco LLC, Dynisco Parent Inc., Dynisco S.r.l., Dynisco Viatran LLC, Dynisco Viatran (M) Sdn Bhd, Dynisco-Viatran Instrument Sdn Bhd, FMS Purchasing & Services Inc., FSI Holdings Inc., FTI Flow Technology Inc., Fluid Metering Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink IT India Private Limited, Foundry, Foundry Visionmongers (Ireland) Limited, GeneInsight Inc., Getloaded Corporation, HRsmart Canada Inc., HRsmart Czech Republic, HRsmart France SAS, HRsmart Germany GmbH, HRsmart Inc., HRsmart International, HRsmart International Holdings LLC, HRsmart Mexico, HRsmart SA (Pty) Ltd., HRsmart Talent Management Solutions Europe Limited, HRsmart Ventures LLC, Handshake Software Inc., Hansco Automatisering B.V., Hansen Technologies Corporation, Harbour Holding Corp., Hardy Process Solutions, Horizon Software International LLC, INPUT Inc., IPA Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., ISL Finance SAS, ISL Holding SAS, ISL Scientifique de Laboratorie - ISL S.A.S., IT Canada Holdings LLC, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Inovonics Corporation, Instill Corporation, IntelliTrans Limited, Intellitrans Canada Ltd., Intellitrans LLC, Intellitrans Sweden AB, Job Access LTDA, K/S Roper Holding, K/S Roper Investments, Laser App Inc., Link Logistics Holding LLC, Loadlink Technologies Corporation, Logitech Limited, MED Professional Services LLC, MEDTEC Inc., MHA Long Term Care Network Inc., MHA Long Term Care Services Inc., MIPS Austria GesmbH, MIPS CZ s.r.o, MIPS Deutschland GmbH, MIPS France Sarl, MIPS Nederland B.V., MIPS Schweiz AG, MIPS Software Iberica SL, MPR Readers Inc., Managed Health Care Associates Inc., Marumoto Struers K.K., Medical Information Professional Systems NV, Medina Acquisition LLC, Metrix Instrument Co. L.P., NDI Europe GmbH, Navigator Group Purchasing Inc., Neptune Technology Group (Canada) Co., Neptune Technology Group Inc., Neptune Technology Group Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Services Inc., Nippon Roper K.K., Northern Digital Inc., Off-Campus Advantage LLC, Omega Legal Systems Inc., PAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PAC Denmark ApS, PAC GmbH, PAC Instruments (Thailand) Company Limited, PAC Instruments Asia PTE. Ltd., PB Bidco Limited, PB Holdco Limited, PB Midco Limited, PB Topco Limited, PGP UK Limited, Petroleum Analyzer Company L.P., Phase Analyzer Company Ltd., PowerPlan, PowerPlan Canada ULC, PowerPlan Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Inc., PowerPlan Intermediate Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Operations ANZ Pty Ltd, PowerPlan Operations Ltd., Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corporation, Project Torque Intermediate Holdings Inc., Project Viking Holdings Inc., Project Viking Intermediate LLC, QSC 1208 Limited, QSC 1209 Limited, RF IDeas, RF IDeas Inc., RI Marketing India Private Limited, RIL Holding Limited, RMT Inc., RT Merger Sub Inc., Rebate Tracking Group LLC, Resonant Software Inc., Roda Deaco Valve Inc., Roper Acquisitions Holdings Inc., Roper Brasil Comercio E Promocao De Productos E Servicos LTDA, Roper Canada Holdings LP, Roper Canada UK Limited, Roper Denmark UK Limited, Roper EUR Pte. Ltd., Roper Engineering s.r.o., Roper Europe GmbH, Roper GM Denmark Holdings ApS, Roper Germany GmbH, Roper Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Roper Holdings LLC, Roper Holdings Limited, Roper IH LLC, Roper Industrial Products Investment Company, Roper Industries Denmark ApS, Roper Industries Deutschland GmbH, Roper Industries Inc., Roper Industries Limited, Roper Industries Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Roper Industries Mauritius Ltd., Roper Industries UK Limited, Roper International Holding Inc., Roper International Holding Limited, Roper International Holding SCS, Roper LLC, Roper Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Roper Middle East Ltd., Roper NL1 UK Limited, Roper NL2 UK Limited, Roper Pte. Ltd., Roper Pump Company, Roper Scientific B.V., Roper Scientific SAS, Roper Scot LP, Roper Southeast Asia LLC, Roper Swiss Finance GmbH, Roper UK Investments Limited, Roper UK Ltd., Roper US Finance I LLC, Roper US Finance II LLC, Roper-Mex L.P., Ropintassco 1 LLC, Ropintassco 2 LLC, Ropintassco 3 LLC, Ropintassco 4 LLC, Ropintassco 5 LLC, Ropintassco 6 LLC, Ropintassco 7 LLC, Ropintassco Holdings L.P., SHP Group Holdings Inc., SIRA LLC, Shanghai Roper Industries Trading Co. Ltd., Sinmed Holding International B.V., Societe de Distribution de Logiciels Medicaux, SoftWriters Inc., Softwriters Holdings, Softwriters Holdings Inc., Sohnar Pty Ltd, Star Purchasing Services LLC, Strata Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Strata Decision Technology LLC, Strata Parallel II Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker 2 Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs L.L.C., Struers (Shanghai) International Trading Ltd., Struers A/S, Struers GmbH, Struers Inc., Struers Limited, Struers SAS, Student Advantage LLC, Sunquest Europe Limited, Sunquest Holdings Inc., Sunquest Information Systems (Europe) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (India) Private Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (International) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems Inc., Sunquest Information Systems Pty Ltd, TLP Holdings LLC, Technolog Group Limited, Technolog Holdings Ltd., Technolog Limited, Technolog SARL, The CBORD Group Inc., The Foundry Bidco Limited, The Foundry Bidco No.2 Limited, The Foundry Holdco Limited, The Foundry Holdings Limited, The Foundry Intermediate Holdings Limited, The Foundry Midco 3 Limited, The Foundry Midco No 1 Limited, The Foundry Midco No 2 Limited, The Foundry Topco Limited, The Foundry Topco No.2 Limited, The Foundry USCo Inc., The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd., The Tidewater Healthcare Shared Services Group Inc., The Washington Management Group Inc., Torque Acquisition Holdco Inc., Transcore Atlantic Inc., Transcore CNUS Inc., Transcore Holdings Inc., Transcore ITS LLC, Transcore LP, Transcore Nova Scotia Corporation, Transcore Partners LLC, Trinity Integrated Systems Limited, UHF Purchasing Services LLC, Union Square Software (International) Limited, Union Square Software Inc., Union Square Software Limited, Union Square Software Pty, Uson L.P., Uson Limited, Utilitec Limited, Utilitec Services Limited, Utility Data Services Limited, Verathon Holdings (Delaware) Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Medical (Australia) Pty Limited, Verathon Medical (Canada) ULC, Verathon Medical (Europe) B.V., Verathon Medical (France) SARL, Verathon Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Verathon Medical (Japan) K.K., Verathon Medical (UK) Ltd., Vertafore, Vertafore Canada Inc., Vertafore Inc., Vertafore India Private Limited, Viastar Services LP, Viatran Corporation, Walter Herzog GmbH, WorkBook APAC Ltd., Workbook Software A/S, Zetec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zetec France, Zetec Inc., Zetec Korea Inc., Zetec Rental LLC, Zetec Services Inc., iPipeline, iPipeline (TCP) Limited, iPipeline Canada Inc, iPipeline Co. Ltd., iPipeline Holdings Inc, iPipeline Inc, iPipeline Limited, iSqFt Holdings Inc., iSqFt Parent Corporation, iSqFt Sub Inc., iTradeNetwork Inc., and mySBX Corporation.Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company. The company primarily focuses on developing petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; explores, acquires, develops, produces, transports, refines, and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally; markets petroleum and petrochemical products under the Petro-Canada name primarily in Canada. It operates in Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Oil Sands segment recovers bitumen from mining and in situ operations, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, or blends the bitumen with diluent for direct sale to market. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations off the east coast of Canada and in the North Sea; and operating onshore assets in Libya and Syria. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and intermediate feedstock into various petroleum and petrochemical products; and markets refined petroleum products to retail, commercial, and industrial customers through its other retail sellers. The Corporate and Eliminations segment operates four wind farm operations in Ontario and Western Canada. The company also markets and trades in crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read MoreSAdzucker AG produces and sells sugar products in Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Sugar, Special Products, CropEnergies, and Fruit. The Sugar segment produces and sells sugar, sugar specialty products, molasses, and animal feed to food industry, retailers, and agriculture markets, as well as offers by-products of sugar. The Special Products segment produces functional food ingredients, including inulin, oligofructose, Isomalt, and Palatinose, as well as rice starches, rice flours, rice proteins, and wheat proteins for food, animal feed, non-food, and pharmaceutical sectors. This segment also offers frozen and chilled pizzas, frozen pasta dishes and snacks, baguette, and sauces and dressings; starches, sweeteners, animal feed; and portion packed foods and non-food products to hotels, caterers, and restaurants. The CropEnergies segment produces fuel-grade ethanol, rectified spirits, protein-based food and animal feed, and liquid CO2 to oil and pharmaceutical companies, food and animal feed producers, and beverage and cosmetics producers. The Fruit segment produces fruit preparations for the dairy, ice cream, bakery, and food service industry; and fruit juice concentrates, pure juices and purees, fruit wines, natural aromas, and beverage bases for beverage industry. It is also involved in agricultural activities; and cultivation of wheat, sugar beet, corn, chicory, rapeseed, soybean, and other products. The company was founded in 1837 and is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. SAdzucker AG is a subsidiary of SAddeutsche ZuckerrAbenverwertungs-Genossenschaft eG.

Read MoreTallgrass Energy, LP, through its subsidiaries, provides crude oil transportation services to customers in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and the surrounding regions of the United States. The company operates through three segments: Natural Gas Transportation; Crude Oil Transportation; and Gathering, Processing & Terminalling. It also provides natural gas transportation and storage services for customers in the Rocky Mountain, Midwest, and Appalachian regions; natural gas and crude oil gathering and processing services for customers in Wyoming; and natural gas liquids (NGLs) transportation services in Northeast Colorado and Wyoming. In addition, the company offers water business services, including freshwater transportation, and produced water gathering and disposal in Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and North Dakota; crude oil storage and terminalling services in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas; and marketing services for NGLs and crude oil. The company was formerly known as Tallgrass Energy GP, LP and changed its name to Tallgrass Energy, LP in June 2018. Tallgrass Energy, LP was founded in 2013 and is based in Leawood, Kansas.

Read More(Newser)  With the flick of a pen, a New York judge ruled Thursday that a sous chef can carry his folding knife because a state law judging gravity knives by a wrist-flick test was too vague, the AP reports. US District Judge Paul Crotty raised new doubts about the state's law governing gravity knives with his written decision although the law was recently upheld by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. "People should be able to tell whether their conduct is lawful or unlawful," Crotty writes. At stake is a law that Crotty said causes knives to be defined by their function rather than their design. Police officers use a so-called "wrist-flick test" to identify gravity knives. If the blade exits the handle and locks in place automatically with a flick of the wrist, it's a gravity knife.

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But Crotty says certain folding knives, while not intended to be illegal, can function as gravity knives over time as they wear down or if they are modified. He also says there was no specification of how many times an officer can try to flick a blade out before it gets defined as a gravity knife. The judge made clear that he was ruling that Joseph Cracco, a Connecticut man, could carry a common folding knife based on his factual circumstances rather than declaring the law unconstitutional. However, Crotty was also critical of the law. Crotty said the law's legal history left vague what can be considered a gravity knife. He noted the knives are sold openly in New York stores and the law's purpose was to ban possession of weapons used in crimes. He said Cracco's knife is commonly used by cooks, craftsmen, and laborers.

(Read more knife stories.)Two more people died of apparent overdoses over the past 24 hours in Oneida County; one, on Kellogg Ave., in Utica, around 6:30 Thursday night; the other, on Rt. 69 in Camden. That victim was discovered this morning.

"Had been deceased for a while. We don't know how long. And we found some drug parapharnelia, which is leading us to believe that it's an overdose," said Oneida County Undersheriff, Joseph Lisi.

The painful, shocking discoveries come just four days after the county declared an overdose spike alert, following 21 overdoses in 10 days-five of them fatal.

"It's tragic. It's tragic and it's scary," says Oneida County Executive, Anthony Picente, Jr. "We know that this is happening and it's gonna keep happening til we can get our hands around it in a more cohesive way. We're doing that. We're responding quicker."

Dr. George Kozminski, Medical Director of Insight House, in Utica, and also a member of the county's Opioid Task Force, says a rapid response is key to saving lives.

"That's what you need to do. You need to see them the same day they come in. Not to tell them we'll call you in a week; we'll call you in two days or four days."

County officials await toxicology results to confirm whether the deadly heroin was laced with Fentanyl.

"It has exploded here," says Dr. Kozminski, offering a chiling narrative as to why dealers cut heroin with the highly-addictive, powerful narcotic. "You want your customers to keep coming back. You give a strong drug. Give less of it and cut it more."

On Monday, Congressman Anthony Brindisi is holding a press conference, outlining his plans to stem the flow of Fentanly across U.S. borders.A tasty tradition that people in the Mohawk Valley look forward to every week, especially during the Lenten season? Friday night fish fry. The delicious, crispy, flaky breading or beer-battered coating with a juicy, and hearty piece of flaky fish that is deep-fried just long enough for the outside to be perfectly golden, while the inside stays moist and succulent, along with other seafood dishes, are enjoyed from Rome all the way to St. Johnsville  and everywhere beyond and in between.

So we asked you, yes we know, we asked, and asked, and asked again  where your favorite places were to enjoy a decent fish fry in the greater Utica area, and you answered with thousands of entries. Then we narrowed down that lengthy list, to the top 15 places to grab a plate, or a take-out container  the best of the best  and let the people of this great region vote again. And here are the rankings:

15. Get this: a place known for their killer omelets and lunchtime sandwiches  made the list for the best fish fry. Top of the Morning Cafe in North Utica secured enough of the vote to make the list  and dont let their No. 15 spot fool you, they are popular for their savory fish fry, with a variety of sides as well. The fish is a healthy portion and whether you like a tradition breading or beer-battered  you can literally see the effort that is put into this piece of art. So squeeze that lemon slice and give their place a try in what they call a laid-back atmosphere!

414 Trenton Rd

Utica, New York 13502

(315) 507-3141

14. The No. 14 slot goes to a place that specializes in pizza, but the owner says his fish fry is a top seller come Friday night. The Pizza Box in East Utica has only been open to the area for a short time, but its obvious they know what theyre doing. In a recent Facebook post, they say theyre selling hundreds of fish fries to customers, who keep coming back for more. The fish fry is a solid piece of fried deliciousness with a heaping side of fries, and dont forget the coleslaw!

933 South St

Utica, New York 13501

(315) 765-0333

13. A hidden gem over in Washington Mills also made the top 15 list. Packys Pub is a quaint, hometown type of atmosphere that some say truly exudes the neighborhood pub. Their fish fry is plated up with a heaping amount of fresh coleslaw and fries. The portion fills your plate and will leave you feeling satisfied.

9281 Kellogg Rd

New Hartford, New York

Call (315) 737-9910

12. The Killabrew Saloon comes in next, and many may think theyre just a local spot to get a brew in New Hartford, but you are wrong. The Killabrew is known for their food as well, and their fish fry reviews are through the roof. Come Friday night, they are all about their fish fry and seafood specialties from clam chowder, fish sandwiches, shrimp and the list goes on and on. The hearty portion of haddock will be perfectly positioned atop of fries, to go along with your drink of choice.

10 Clinton Rd

New Hartford, New York 13413

(315) 732-9733

11. And what better place to get a fish fry than at your local fish market? Well, the Whitesboro Fish Market has been doing it for many years, and Fridays during Lent are some of their busiest throughout the year. The simple crust, and deep-fried until golden brown feeling this fish fry will give you is a must try. This is tradition at its finest  and you wont go home hungry.

103 Main St

Whitesboro, New York 13492

(315) 736-2105

10. OBabys Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe, that sits right on Oneida Street in New Hartford, says their fish fry is award-winning  and get this  they deliver! The offer the traditional fresh fish fry with fries, slaw and tartar, but according to their Facebook page, they sometimes switch it up with a chip-crusted version. They might not have come in the No. 1 spot, but they say theirs is the best, and invite you to give it a try for yourself.

4126 Oneida Street

New Hartford, New York 13413

(315) 737-8000

9. If you are feeling like taking a drive, or already live in and know the area, the Poland Firehouse is serving up a killer menu when it comes to Friday night fish fry. This is the place to be on Friday nights they say, and even if you arent a fish dish type of person  they have other specialties they offer (we know kids can be picky). Their fish comes broiled or fried and you can get your choice of fries, baked potato or pasta as your side. The drive from Utica is

216 Main St.

Cold Brook, New York 13324

(315) 826-7141

8. You might not think of Club Monarch in Yorkville for your fish fry Fridays, but they say you should rethink that decision. Theyre known for their banquets, parties, and catering services, but people say their fish fry is top notch. The best and fresh seafood dinners are a great accompaniment to your signature drink when you stop in.

16 Erie St

Yorkville, New York 13495

Phone (315) 736-9359

7. Next up is The Brass Tack, the hometown feel you will get walking into this place, along with a warm welcome, is something the owners say will keep you coming back every Friday for their seafood specials. Its a true testament to their product that they came up so high on this list. Located in Frankfort, with a small fraction of the population of bigger cities in the Mohawk Valley, the Tack as the locals know it  is known for their menu. Their fried haddock is lightly breaded and fried to golden brown perfection, but dont stop there. They offer haddock oreganato, haddock Florentine, Rogers, Johnnys, Louies, and Susans haddock, stuffed haddock, haddock Italiano, baked haddock, and the list of seafood specialties they serve goes on, and on.

4258 Acme Rd

Frankfort, New York 13340

(315) 894-7996

6. Now dont let this place fool you, Casa Too Mucha is a Tex-Mex restaurant located in the heart of New Hartford that serves up an outstanding fish fry, every single day. During the Lenten season, this place is packed with people craving a traditional or panko crusted fish fry  and they dont leave disappointed. The fish overtakes the entire plate, so if you are looking for a hearty Friday night dinner  this is the place to be. Theyll start you off with a complimentary order of chips and salsa, then bring you a full plate of deep-fried fish, fries, and coleslaw  and dont be afraid to take some home if you cant finish  it is just as good the next day.

13 Genesee St

New Hartford, New York 13413

Phone (315) 733-2183

5. Kossuth Fish Market in East Utica comes in the No. 5 spot on our list, so if you are asking why customer keep coming back  they say its all in the product. The fish fry here come in two sizes, smaller or BIG, and they fry the fish to perfection right in front of you. They offer sides to go along with their fish fry, and also carry other seafood theyll fry up for you.

300 Kossuth Ave

Utica, New York 13501

Phone (315) 735-0100

4. Believe it or not, the volunteers at the Deerfield Firehouse might have another career path they are exploring. The fish fry dinner on Friday nights during Lent is unbelievable, according to their loyal following. The dinner comes with fries, a roll, and coleslaw and a healthy piece of fried fish. Dont discount their other specials though, they offer up clams, scallops, shrimp, a child portion of fish and they have beer too!

5476 Trenton Rd

Deerfield, New York 13502

(315) 732-2693

3. A staple in the city of Rome known for its fish fare is Stans Seafood  coming in at the No. 3 spot. People in the area say they are the best around when it comes to fish fry. Like a typical seafood market, they offer a variety of sides like coleslaw and shrimp salad, as well as other fried delicacies like shrimp and scallops, but their haddock or swai selection is bar none.

726 W Dominick St

Rome, New York 13440

(315) 337-9170

2. Now if you are heading to the southern part of Oneida County one Friday, Wendys Diner in Cassville has one of the best fish fries in the Mohawk Valley. In the No. 2 spot the diner is said to be the best hometown place to get a good dinner, especially fish fry. So if you are craving a good milkshake and a solid piece of fried fish, check them out.

1717 State Route 8

Cassville, New York 13318

(315) 839-5000

1. And last but certainly not least, the No. 1 fish fry spot in the Mohawk Valley goes to Fat Cats in Herkimer. They certainly know their seafood, offering a variety of specials all week long. They are also serving up sandwich and burger specials, however. If you are in the mood for shrimp, they also have specials on shrimp cocktail boats from time to time. If you are heading down on a Friday night, especially during Lent, the line might be long, but the people have spoken and say it will be worth the wait.

200 King St

Herkimer, New York 13350

(315) 866-5716

And while there are plenty of great places to get a fish fry locally, we cant forget our local grocer Chanatrys who gets an honorable mention as one of the better spots to get a seafood dinner while you grab the household essentials as well.Rome, N.Y. - Unity Day was held at First Presbyterian Church in Rome on Saturday. It's the 16th time it has been held, and this one couldn't have come at a more urgent time.

Rachel Geary, a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor at Rome Memorial Hospital was the first speaker of the day.

Geary says there were two non-fatal overdoses here in Oneida County on Friday, bringing the total to 23 over the past two weeks, including seven deaths.

The community forum is designed to gather local resources regarding addiction and how to prevent it and treat it.

Jodi Warren, Family Life and Recovery Director of Prevention Services was one of the speakers. Warren says it's so important right now for everyone to unite and fight this epidemic, "When youre looking at the scope of the issue, we all have to come together as a community and we have to bring each piece with that so were talking prevention is critical we need to do more prevention at an earlier stage in life getting out to the school districts preventing this issue before it happens. We need to talk about this more often to."

The date for the next Unity Day has not yet been set.NEW YORK (AP) - A woman implicated in the sex-trafficking case against an upstate New York self-help group has quietly pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.

Lauren Salzman entered the plea this week at a hearing that wasn't on the court calendar. Afterward, a judge agreed to seal a transcript until parts of it could be blacked out.

The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on Friday about how the plea was handled.

Salzman was one of the four co-defendants of Keith Raniere, the leader of the group called NXIVM (NEHK'-see-uhm), which has been compared to a cult. He has denied charges he had sex slaves who were branded with his initials.

Prosecutors this month added charges accusing Raniere of exploiting teenage girls. That sparked speculation his co-defendants might agree to cooperate against him.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)(Newser)  President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a US judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions, the AP reports. Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump's executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama's environmental legacy. Presidents have the power under a federal law to remove certain lands from development but cannot revoke those removals, Gleason said. "The wording of President Obama's 2015 and 2016 withdrawals indicates that he intended them to extend indefinitely, and therefore be revocable only by an act of Congress," says Gleason, who was nominated to the bench by Obama.

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The American Petroleum Institute, a defendant in the case, disagreed with the ruling. "In addition to bringing supplies of affordable energy to consumers for decades to come, developing our abundant offshore resources can provide billions in government revenue, create thousands of jobs and will also strengthen our national security," it says in a statement. Eric Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice, welcomed the ruling, saying it "shows that the president cannot just trample on the Constitution to do the bidding of his cronies in the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our oceans, wildlife and climate." Earthjustice represented numerous environmental groups that sued the Trump administration over the April 2017 executive order reversing the drilling bans.

(Read more oil drilling stories.)BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee reviewed two work regulations, one on the work of leading Party members groups and the other on the education and management of Party members, at a meeting Friday.

The meeting was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Leading Party members groups have a special position in the Party's organizational system, said a statement released after the meeting.

The revised regulation on the work of leading Party members groups has implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and adhered to the Party Constitution as the fundamental basis, it noted.

In the new era, leading Party members groups should fully fulfill their political responsibility for governance over the Party and improve their ability to lead, to ensure that the Party remains always a powerful leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, said the statement.

Noting that strengthening Party member education and management is a basic, fundamental and regular task of Party building, the statement called for efforts to develop a contingent of Party members that are politically reliable, strictly self-disciplined and highly qualified, who also hold firm convictions and play outstanding roles.

The statement demanded quality improvement of the education and management of Party members, stressing that enhancing the Party's political building should be taken as the overarching principle, and arming the whole Party with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era should be a primary political mission.

It also required targeted and effective education and management measures for different types of Party members as well as further reform and innovation to modernize their education and management.Violins as art One of the newly-refurbished violins that will be given away.

HEALY  Music teacher Candace Mudge believes it is bad karma to put old instruments in the garbage. So she found a new use for the 22 unplayable violins she found in her storage room at Tri-Valley School.

With the help of Tri-Valley School art teacher Kassandra Mirosh and some talented art students, the violins became works of art. They will be offered as special keepsakes to guest conductors, directors and accompanists at the upcoming Aurora Music Festival in Nenana, an Alaska School Activities Association Region II event.

It also includes schools from many regions around the state, not just one particular region, she said.

Violins as art Above are some of the newly-refurbished violins that will be given away.

More than 400 young musicians, directors and chaperones attend this event in mid-April. It is hosted by Nenana School, and the musical Mudge duo  Candace, the music teacher for the Denali Borough School District, and her husband, Darren, the music teacher for Nenana School.

The festival is unique because it has three components, Candace said. Mass/Honors Band and Choir, Large Group Adjudications and State Solo/Ensemble Qualifying Competition.

The violin project is a fine example of re-purposing, since the instruments were all beyond repair for playing. Art students chose from several themes: Nenana River, starry night, Nenana tripod, northern lights, music notes, Alaska Railroad, Nenana bridge and Alaska nature. Mudge said she was super impressed by the results.

Violins as art Jamie Oudekerk works on her violin, creating a special keepsake for the upcoming music festival directors.

We had first-year art students and fourth-year art students, Kassandra Mirosh said. This allowed them to paint on a different medium. They have a real, authentic audience for their artwork, and its a way of supporting the music program. Its kind of a nice mixture.

The six art students included longtime art students Serenity Stonecipher, Tiffany Ohlund, Lauren Pluard and first-year students Breanna Mayo, Emma Tomeo and Jamie Oudekerk.

Violins as art Completed art violins are on display in the student center at Tri-Valley School.

The young artists also designed program covers, advertisement posters, keepsake stickers and more.

The violins will be on display throughout the festival in Nenana from April 11-13 and at the final concert. Guest conductors, directors and accompanists will then be invited to choose a violin to take home.

Violins as art Breanna Mayo uses a special painting technique to create a design on the violin.

Reach columnist/community editor Kris Capps at kcapps@newsminer.com. Call her at the office 459-7546. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/FDNMKris.Millions poured into the streets of Algerias major cities yesterday, for a sixth Friday protest demanding the fall of the military-backed National Liberation Front (FLN) regime.

It came after General Ahmed Gaid Salah, the head of the Algerian armed forces, called on March 26 to apply Article 102 of Algerias constitution to remove the regimes hated figurehead, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, on health grounds. Protesters rejected Salahs sudden intervention to remove Bouteflika, who has been incapacitated since suffering a stroke in 2013. Instead, they demanded the bringing down of both the FLN and the army.

Banners carried at the protests read Rest in Peace Gaid Salah, leave power for the love of God, Gaid Salah the people want democracy not a military regime, and Shame on you Gaid Salah. Another popular slogan was to demand the application of Article 7 of the constitution, which stipulates that power should come from the people.

Over a million people marched in Algiers, according to police reports, and thousands or tens of thousands marched in other major Algerian cities including Oran, Constantine, Annaba, Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou, Setif, Tlemcen and Sidi Bel Abbes. In Oran, protesters chanted The transition must be led by the sovereign people and not the regime. In Tlemcen, protesters chanted Out, Out Said, referring to Abdelmajid Sidi Said, the leader of the corrupt, FLN-linked General Union of Algerian Labor (UGTA) union.

In Algiers, huge throngs of people marched through the citys major centers including Maurice Audin Square and outside the Main Post Office. Protesters also clashed during the afternoon with riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannon to block off major avenues and keep marchers from reaching the presidential palace. Protesters chanted slogans including You are the past we are the future and The people orders the army to arrest the gang.

Algerias public oil and gas companies have earned over $1 trillion in revenue, and broad layers of Algerian workers and youth despise the FLN leadership and their cronies as little more than a criminal gang that has plundered the countrys energy wealth.

The way forward for the movement against the FLN is the building of independent organizations of the working class, against the UGTA and its allies, and a fight to unify the movement with growing political opposition internationally among workers in Africa as well as in Europe and France.

Significant strike movements and protests at key industrial facilities have already taken place in Algeria. Port workers are on strike at Oran and Bejaia, there have been strikes and sit-ins in protest by workers at subsidiaries of the Sonatrach natural gas monopoly, as well as by teachers and public sector workers. Many small businessmen and shopkeepers in Algerian cities have closed their businesses as a sign of support.

This comes amid an upsurge of protests by workers and youth internationally. Nearby Algeria in Africa, bread riots are demanding the ouster of the Sudanese government, while neighboring Morocco is threatening to dismiss striking teachers, who have organized a four-week strike that is exposing the unpopularity of the Moroccan monarchy. And across Europe, there is a rising wave of strikes against European Union (EU) austerity and growing political opposition, like the yellow vest movement against French President Emmanuel Macron.

As a revolutionary movement against the FLN and the Algerian army develops, it is critical to draw the political lessons of the revolutionary struggles of 2011 against Egypts military dictatorship.

The key role in ensuring the victory of the counterrevolution and the coming to power of General Abdel Fatah al-Sisis bloody junta was played by petty-bourgeois, pseudo-left parties. At each step in the struggle, they promoted illusions that the army, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, or Sisis supporters themselves would carry out a democratic revolution. They thus blocked a struggle of the working class to take state power, and handed over the initiative to the ruling class.

The way forward is to link up the struggles of the Algerian working class with growing workers struggles internationally, and to build a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) in Algeria to fight for a revolutionary and socialist perspective against the forces trying to tie the workers to the old regime and its imperialist backers.

From the foreign ministry in Paris to the UGTA bureaucracy and the headquarters of various opposition parties with decades-long records of working with the FLN, a common line is emerging. Whether by Salahs initiative or by the convening of constituent assemblies representing the entire political establishment, Algerian capitalism is to undergo a nationally-based democratic reform. This is a political mirage, designed to block a struggle of the working class for power.

Yesterday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian hailed the remarkable civic spirit of the Algerian protesters, effectively endorsing Salahs initiative: Now it is critical for the process that will now get underway, the transition that is now necessary, be able to unfold in the best possible conditions.

Earlier this week, the UGTA issued a similar statement endorsing Salah and Algerias army brass: The UGTA salutes and takes note of the call made by Mr Ahmed Gaid Salah  Change has become necessary, it must manifestly be constructed through dialog that is marked by wisdom that allows the edification of a new Republic to emerge, alongside the aspirations of our people and youth, and to firmly ground the future and preserve our country, Algeria.

There were no fundamental differences with this line in the statements made by the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS) and the Workers Party (PT). Both of them are terrified by the rebellion of the working class against the FLN regime and so abstained from calling for participation in yesterdays protest.

The FFS, affiliated to Frances discredited, big-business Socialist Party (PS), issued a statement critizing Salahs initiative and warning of the danger of revolutionary upheavals in Algeria. To frustrate the people means provoking very serious uncertainty, inevitable chaos, it said, adding: Change must be an emanation of the popular will via the election of a sovereign constituent assembly and the building of a Second Republic, that is the consecration of a democratic and social alternative.

As for Louisa Hanounes Workers Party (PT), it echoed the FFSs position, calling for a sovereign constituent assembly while criticizing Salahs maneuver as a forcible coup.

At the same time, terrified by growing popular opposition to the FLN, the PT withdrew its legislators from the national parliament, issuing a statement calling for the departure of the parliamentary majority because they do not enjoy any popular legitimacy. In fact, the PT itself, with its longstanding ties to the FLN and the UGTA, has no more legitimacy than they do.

None of these forces have either the ability or the intention of building a democratic regime that satisfies the mounting social demands of Algerian workers and youth.

Even in the countries where it was long ago established, capitalist democracy is rotting on its feet. Across the Mediterranean, the Macron governmentterrified that the revolutionary movement against Bouteflika could spark a broader movement of the working class than the yellow vest protesthas issued an authorization to the army to gun down the yellow vests.

The problems facing workers in Algeria, France and beyond are rooted in the capitalist system. These can only be solved through the construction of sections of the ICFI to provide revolutionary leadership to the working class now in struggle against the profit system.The following article is being distributed at the demonstration today by Honda workers in Swindon, England, who are fighting in opposition to plans to close their plant, resulting in thousands of job losses.

Hondas decision to close its Swindon plant in 2021 at the expense of 3,500 jobs could cost as many as 12,000 additional jobs in component supply. Thousands will be forced into low-paid jobs or unemployment and the increasingly brutal benefit system. Families will face debt, stress, mortgage foreclosure and eviction, while more pressure will be piled onto Wiltshires decimated social services.

Todays demonstration shows workers are ready to fight. There is widespread support for such a struggle, including in the car industry in the rest of the UK and internationally.

But no viable struggle to defend Honda jobs in Swindon is possible through the Unite trade union. As with all the unions, it operates as a de facto labour management organisation, working with Honda and other corporations to increase productivity and profitability at workers expense.

Honda is the biggest employer in Swindon and the job cuts will devastate the town, as did the loss of 14,000 jobs through the closure of the rail works in 1986, just after the defeat of the yearlong miners strike.

Beginning in the 1980s production in the auto industry and other key sectors began to be reorganised across national borders, leading to todays integrated world economy. Under these conditions, the unions, confined to the nation state, have long abandoned any effort to secure wage rises and other concessions for their members.

In order to maintain production and win investment at this or that plant the unions have joined with management in enforcing wage cuts, productivity hikes and job losses in the name of maintaining global competitiveness. This pits workers against one another plant by plant, company by company, nation by nation, setting each against all.

When the South Marston Honda plant began production in 1989, the company opposed any trade unions. But in 2001, following legislation by the then Labour government, 75 percent of Honda workers voted in favour of recognition of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) as their bargaining agent. AEEU General Secretary [Sir] Ken Jackson said, We look forward to working in partnership with Honda and its employees to keep this company stable, secure and successful.

The AEEUs successors, Amicus and Unite, have worked ever since to impose the demands of the company.

In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crash, Unite ensured that a 3 percent pay cut at Honda went through. Unite regional officer and former Labour MP, Jim DAvila, proclaimed the pay cut a measure of the calibre of industrial relations at the plant and a reflection of true solidarity in difficult times to protect hundreds of jobs. Just four years later, Honda announced 800 job losses.

Unites response to the current closure is to restrict workers to futile appeals to Honda president and CEO Takahiro Hachigo. A petition pleads, Dear Mr Hachigo, please do not turn your back on a world-class, loyal workforce, determined to bring you continued success.

Unite has joined a Swindon Taskforce, including Conservative Business Secretary Greg Clark, business leaders, trade unions and dignitaries, to make the case to Honda that investment in vehicles of the future is best done in Swindon.

No strikes or any industrial action is being organised, with Unite calling on workers to get their MP to sign an Early Day Motion in Parliament as another appeal to defend the competitiveness of British capitalism, not the interest of car industry workers. It urges the Government to take urgent action in developing a clear plan to transition the UK automotive sector towards a green and clean future beyond the combustion engine, keep Honda in Swindon and its supply chain secure, while preserving the UKs status as a global lead in the automotive industry.

No viable struggle can be expected from such an organisation nor from its apologists such as the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Party, who are seeking to blind workers to vital issues that must be faced.

Worldwide, car and component manufacturers are slashing hundreds of thousands of jobs, closing factories and imposing ever-greater productivity demands under conditions of international crisis, trade war and deep capitalist instability.

Giving expression to this cut-throat competition, Swindon would mark the first time that Honda has ever closed a vehicle factory since its incorporation in 1948.

A central factor in Hondas decision is that Swindons engine plant manufactures diesel engines, with the company seeking to relocate more of its global production back to Japan where its newer hybrid and electrical vehicle capabilities are based.

Honda and the UK government have been at pains to stress that the Swindon closure is not related to Brexit. But a new free-trade deal between Japan and the European Union means that Honda has no financial incentive to produce cars in Europe, as cars made in Japan no longer attract EU tariffs.

Thousands more jobs are at risk in the UK. Jaguar Land Rover, which employs 44,000 car workers, announced in December that up to 5,000 workers could be laid off as sales fall and the companys Chinese market collapses. Ford has announced that 400 will go by 2021 at the companys Bridgend plant in South Wales, with around 1,000 jobs threatened, as part of its One Ford integrated production plan.

The future of Nissans Sunderland plant has been called into question because of the loss of the X-Trail SUV model to Japan.

In all, 169,000 British workers are employed in the car industry with another 640,000 in the industrys supply, distribution and retail networks. None of these jobs are safe. Last year, Michelin in Dundee announced the closure of its only UK plant with the loss of 845 jobs as part of a global restructuring.

Similar and greater shakeouts are taking place across Europe, Asia and the United States. In no case have the unions organized a fight to defend jobs.

Last November, hundreds of Vauxhall workers at Ellesmere Portwhere its Opel Astra models are producedwalked out in a rebellion against Unite after being informed by its shop stewards that 241 jobs were to be lost at the plant by the end of next year. The redundancies were to be imposed after 60 percent of the jobs at the plant had been lost in just the last two years with the collaboration of Unite.

To confront this immense assault from globally organised employers, car workers in every factory must create new independent, fighting organisations to take up the struggle the unions have long ago abandoned.

Rank-and-file factory committees must be established, controlled by the workers themselves. They must take as their point of departure the global nature of the working class and the need to organise production in the interests of the working population, not the profitability of a handful of corporate billionaires.

Last December, at a meeting organised by the US Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, autoworkers in Detroit voted to set up a steering committee, independent of the United Autoworkers union (UAW). This was established to oppose the threatened closure of five General Motors plants in the US and Canada, which the UAW has done nothing to oppose. The committee held its first demonstration last month.

We urge workers to follow this example and take a similar initiative in plants across Britain and Europe. Contact the SEP to discuss this further.Needing the support of 318 MPs, British Prime Minister Theresa May secured just 286 votes on her proposed European Union withdrawal agreement on Friday.

With 344 MPs against, a majority of 58, the margin of defeat was narrower than the two previous defeats230 votes in January and 149 earlier in March. But the defeat triggered an EU stipulation that moves forward the new exit date from May 22 to April 12.

With parliaments speaker, the pro-Remain Tory John Bercow, ruling that May could not bring her deal back a third time unaltered, Fridays vote was on whether to accept only the Withdrawal Agreement and not the Political Declaration that goes with it. The Political Declaration is a shorter, 26-page document setting out the UKs aspirations for future relations with the EU.

The opposition Labour Party rejected this manoeuvre, with Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer telling BBC Radios Today program, Take the political declaration off and it is completely blindyou have no idea what you are really voting for.

May was able to win the support of 277 Tory MPs, including 41 additional hard-Brexit Tories. The latter were convinced that voting to set a date on a deal they opposed was better than risking a prolonged delay or even a possible overturn of the 2016 referendum decision.

However, 34 members of the European Research Group voted against, along with 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs.

With Labour MPs whipped to oppose Mays deal, just fiveKevin Barron, Rosie Cooper, Jim Fitzpatrick, Caroline Flint and John Mannand two Blairites who now sit as IndependentsIan Austin and Frank Fieldbacked May.

The vote was held on the day the UK had initially been scheduled to leave the EU. Although May reached agreement with the EU months ago, sections of the deal related to a proposed backstop that could keep Northern Ireland in the European Union indefinitely are anathema to the DUP and dozens in the Conservatives hard-Brexit wing.

Earlier this week, May committed to resigning as Tory Party leader (and therefore as prime minister) and triggering a leadership contest if MPs in her deeply divided party agreed to pass the deal. By means of this pledge, she obtained the votes of Boris Johnson and his backer in any leadership battle, Jacob-Rees Mogg. But even this was not sufficient to pass the measure.

The BBCs flagship current affairs programme Newsnight reported Thursday night that a cabinet minister, asked why May was still going ahead with a third vote on the same deal, replied, F**k knows, I am past caring. Its like the living dead in here.

Fridays developments only deepened the crisis of British imperialism, with any number of scenarios now unfolding.

A chaotic no deal departure from the EU is a real possibility. In a statement immediately following the vote in parliament, the European Commission warned, The EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a no deal scenario at midnight on 12 April.

EU Commission head Donald Tusk called an emergency summit to address the Brexit crisis for April 10, just two days before the new scheduled exit date. According to the Guardian, Sources suggested Downing Street would need to advise Brussels of the way forward by 8 April to allow member states to prepare for the summit.

The British military is preparing to deploy 50,000 soldiers on UK streets in the event of a no deal Brexit, anticipating a massive disruption of basic social functions and civil unrest. These preparations are directed squarely against the working class.

Also possible is a further extension of the Article 50 legislation governing Brexit, forcing the UK to participate in Mays European elections.

Speaking to MPs after her deal fell, May declared, I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House. This House has rejected no deal. It has rejected no Brexit. On Wednesday it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table. And today it has rejected approving the withdrawal agreement alone and continuing a process on the future.

An alternative way forward" would have to be found, May said, threatening hard-Brexit MPs that anything other than her agreement reached with the EU was almost certain to involve British participation in the European elections.

Mays oblique reference to the limits of this process is widely reported as a threat to her rebel MPs to take the nuclear option--triggering a second snap general election if her deal is rejected once again. Given the state of political relations in the Tory Party, that threat could become a political reality.

May is to hold further discussions with her cabinet over the weekend, amid reports that an immediate meeting held in Downing Street after the defeat was dominated by ministers insisting that May oppose a soft Brexit and prepare for a no-deal Brexit outcome.

One hard Brexiteer who supported May in Fridays vote said, I had to swallow everything I believe in and vote. Now weve lost that vote, theres only one thing the prime minister can do. Get us out on the 12th of April. Get our country back and deliver what we promised. Because if we dont, God help us.

The next stage in the crisis will unfold on Monday, when MPs return to parliament for a second round of indicative votes. Last Wednesday, MPs held indicative votes on eight separate Brexit policies, but none commanded majority support.

The speaker will reportedly select from the most popular options from last week so that MPs can whittle these down to a single policy, which would likely be for a Brexit based on retaining access to a form of customs union with the EU.

However, according to Sky News, May is prepared to bring her deal back for a fourth time next Wednesday for a run-off with whatever indicative vote comes out on top.

With the prime minister one of the walking dead identified by her anonymous cabinet member, Labours nominally left leader Jeremy Corbyn is working assiduously to ensure that the gravest crisis facing British imperialism in its peacetime history is resolved through the worm-eaten parliamentary system and its rotten parties, which represent warring pro- and anti-EU factions of the ruling elite, with the working class left as spectators.

In his contribution to Fridays debate, Corbyn told the House that it had to compromise to get this resolved. Labour would work with MPs across party lines around a number of soft Brexit options, he said. He declared that Labours favoured soft Brexit plan was based around the certainty of a permanent customs union with the EU, adding that close alignment with the Single Market provided the best compromise for a deeply divided country anddeeply divided House.

Such an outcome is backed in large part by major organisations in industry and business and by trade unions, he stressed.

To placate Labours Blairite wing, he said he would not rule out backing a second referendum on EU membership, before concluding, If we cannot do that [agree a deal in parliament] on Monday, then I ultimately see no alternative to a general election.

Corbyn raised this possibility knowing that most Labour MPs are resolutely opposed to him becoming prime minister. The Blairites fear that his election could fuel demands by workers and youth for him to make good on his rhetoric in opposition to austerity and war.

Eight of the Blairites, who split off in order to set up The Independent Group (TIG) with three ex-Tories last month, calculate that if events lead to a general election, a much larger split in the Labour Party could materialise over Brexit policy. TIG is essentially a holding operation in readiness for this scenario. Yesterday it applied to the Electoral Commission to become a political party, Change UK-The Independent Group, in time for participation in possible European elections and a possible UK general election.

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[23 March 2019]On March 20, provincial councils were elected in all of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. The most significant outcome of the election was the entrance into the Senate of the Forum for Democracy (FvD), led by Thierry Baudet. The far-right, near-fascist party won 12 out of 75 seats.

The FvD was elected into the House of Representatives for the first time in 2017, when it won two out of 150 seats. In a statement made after the provincial elections Baudet issued a message to prime minister Mark Rutte: You can no longer ignore the FvD.

It was the first time that the FvD was running in the provincial elections, and it was among the top three parties in all the provinces. It is the strongest party in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, where the capital Amsterdam, the Harbor of Rotterdam and the political center in The Hague are situated.

The FvDs political agenda includes a call for closing the borders. It has been able to capitalize on the xenophobia stoked up by the rightwing-liberal VVD of prime minister Rutte and the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders.

On the same nationalistic grounds, the FvD proposes to leave the European Union. Furthermore, FvDs leader Thierry Baudet is a so-called climate change denier. He was able to gain some working-class support by criticizing government spending on renewable energy rather than on healthcare.

Voter turnout was higher, at 56 percent, than in the previous provincial elections in 2015 when 48 percent of those eligible voted.

The media concentrated their attention on a major consequence of the provincial elections: the composition of the Senate, the First Chamber of Parliament, that is elected by the provincial councils.

While the Senate is to be elected in the coming three weeks, it is already clear the government coalition has lost its small majority. The coalition parties, the right-liberal VVD, the liberal D66 and the Christian democratic CDA, with the exception of the latter, have lost seats. The far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) and the Socialist Party (SP) have lost half of their senators, the social-democratic labour party PvdA has lost one seat.

The pseudo-left greens of GroenLinks have doubled their seats in the Senate. They profited from their standpoints on climate issues, such as compensation for increased household energy costs and higher climate-taxes for corporations. The ruling VVD has adapted its program to some of the positions of GroenLinks, minimizing its losses to just one seat.

But this is not, as the media claim, a turn to the left. While the transition from a fossil-fueled energy supply to renewable forms is popular, a lot of money can be made by some of the VVDs closest allies, like the large energy and technology corporations.

To get legislation passed through the Senate, the government coalition now has to seek support from opposition parties. Mark Rutte commented: We will make sure we get majorities. It means a lot of coffee and even more phone calls.

GroenLinks has eagerly expressed its willingness to co-operate. Its nine senators would be enough for a majority. GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver said: Last week the government made promises on climate-policy. We will hold them to those promises. Other parties, like the social-democrats of the PvdA and the right-wing PVV, have made certain demands that are to be met if the government coalition seeks their support.

The main winner of the election is the FvD. Like all fascist parties, both historically and at present, FvD puts forward an extreme right-wing agenda, serving the interests of their capitalist allies and benefactors. They combine nationalism and xenophobia with demagogic promises on issues such as healthcare and education.

Baudet appeals to nationalist sentiments and proposes xenophobic, anti-immigrant policies, using the same methods as Donald Trump with his America First rallies and his rants about immigrant invasions. While the entire political establishment is planning to place the financial burden of the energy transition on the backs of workers, FvD calls for ending investment in renewable energy resources, claiming that they are too expensive.

In addition, Baudet profits from popular discontent with the national government. After decades of austerity and crisis management, originally initiated by the social democrats of the PvdA, people have had enough of cuts to social programs, pensions and wages. Baudet publicly denounces the political elite and the jobs carousel or old boys network, appealing to the anger about the political establishment.

However, the political establishment has nothing to fear from Baudets denunciations, as those are just for the public. He has gathered a base of supporters in the capitalist class and affluent middle classby portraying himself as well off and culturally literate, and by referring to art, culture and history in his speeches. In his victory speech, referring to climate policy, Baudet proclaimed: The Owl of Minerva has come down, to dispel the idol called Transition.

The rise of fascist tendencies within the ruling circles can be seen in several European countries, from Germanys Alternative for Germany (AfD), to Hungarys ruling Fidesz party and the Dutch Forum for Democracy , but also in the Americas. In Brazil, the recently elected president Jair Bolsonaro is known for his anti-immigrant views, his open admiration of the Brazilian military dictatorship, and his pledges to transnational corporations and the free market.

In the US, President Trump openly declared class war by claiming that the twilight hour of socialism has arrived, and vowing, America will never be a socialist country.

When social-democratic parties, Greens, so-called socialist and other pseudo-left parties disappoint and betray the working class time and time again, people look for an alternative. And since there is no visible left-wing alternative, some voters stumble into the trap of voting for right-wing parties.According to a recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a staggering number of immigration detainers against US citizens.

Every month ICE issues thousands of detainers, legal requests that law enforcement extend a persons jail time to provide federal agents time to arrive at the jail and take that person into its custody to be deported.

The ACLU revelations are based on data provided in a lawsuit filed by Garland Creedle, an 18-year-old US citizen who was wrongly detained for deportation after spending a night in a Miami-Dade jail in March 2017. Creedle has filed a lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights have been violated.

The ACLU found that in Miami-Dade County alone, records indicated that during a two-year period from February 2017 to February 2019, ICE issued 420 detainer requests to jails for US citizens. Immigration would later cancel only 83 of the erroneous requests.

The remaining 337 individuals continued to be held in jail for ICE to deport them. The report noted that U.S. citizens have been kept in jail away from their jobs and families, and they have faced the terror of being told they would soon be deported from their only home. Many have spent time in immigration jail, and some have even been deported.

The ACLU report noted that, Miamis numbers are not unique. In Rhode Island, over a ten-year period, ICE issued 462 detainers for people listed as U.S. citizens. And in Travis County, Texas, over a similar period, ICE targeted up to 814 U.S. citizens with detainers. Numerous other studies have documented similar patterns. These studies are evidence that, nationwide, ICE has issued detainers against thousands of U.S. citizens over the last decade and a half.

According to a Syracuse University study, ICEs data revealed that it issued detainers against 834 US citizens between 2008 and 2012. National Public Radio reported that, hundreds of American citizens each year are detained by ICEwell over a thousand between 2007 and 2015.

The numbers revealed by the ACLU pertain only to a two-year period in Miami-Dade County. It is safe to say that similar figures can be reported throughout the country. A highly conservative estimate, assuming that only 400 citizens were issued detainers in each state alone during this two-year period, would put the number at 20,000.

Despite routine complaints by ICE officials that its agents face continual uncooperative local law enforcement, the report reveals among other things the deep integration between the agencies.

Since January 2017, Miami-Dade received about 2,500 detainer requests by immigration authorities. Over half, 1,479 individuals, were turned over to ICE by local police.

Two undocumented immigrants have filed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade County for handing them over to ICE after police pulled them over for driving without a valid license.

The revelations in Miami-Dade makes clear that the Trump administrations war on immigrants throughout the country and along the borders is an assault on the entire working class.

The attack on immigrants is at the very forefront of a wider attack on democratic rights of the entire working class. The undocumented have no legal right to due process, they can be indefinitely detained, torn from their children and families, treated like cattle to rake in profits and fill the beds of immigration prisons, only to face deportation, destitution, or death.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested over 66,450 individuals in the month of February alone, the highest monthly total in years.

Video and images released this past week reveal that immigrants are being detained behind fences and barbed wire underneath an overpass in El Paso, Texas. Additionally, the Trump administration announced two weeks ago its plans to hold 5,000 children at Goodfellow Air Force Base outside of San Angelo, Texas.

Almost daily, new revelations shed light on the fact that aid groups, political activists, international journalists, and legal defenders are being illegally harassed by Border Patrol and even charged with criminal activities such as the nine volunteers with No More Deaths, the Arizona humanitarian organization which leaves life-saving aid in the Sonoran Desert to prevent deaths, one of whom faces two felony charges of harboring and conspiracy.

The targeting of over 11 million undocumented immigrants is terrorizing millions more. Following the mass April 2018 raid in Tennessee, which resulted in the abduction of over 100 workers by ICE, NBC reported that over 600 children from the district missed school the next day.

When the most vulnerable section of the working class is attacked and stripped of their rights, the groundwork has been laid to take away the rights of all. The ACLU findings only further reiterate that the attacks have never been contained only to undocumented populations.For the last several days, US President Donald Trump and his administration have been staging multiple victory laps over what it describes as the final defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In his right-wing rant before supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday night, Trump bragged that the ISIS caliphate is defeated, one hundred percent.

Last week he showed reporters before-and-after maps of Iraq and Syriawhich he held upside downthe first showing areas previously occupied by ISIS in red and a current map that was spotless. The stunt apparently upended a promise made to the Pentagons proxy forces, comprised largely of the Kurdish Syrian YPG militia, that they would be allowed to be first in announcing the supposed victory.

The US media has followed suit, sending its embedded reporters striding into the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, the last reported stronghold, alongside their handlers from the Pentagons proxy militia. One NBC reporter acknowledged that bodies had been cleared from the area before he arrived.

This sanitization of the bloodshed in Iraq and Syria has been a constant feature of the news coverage of the over four-year-long US war against ISIS. Few within the corporate media have even bothered to question the Pentagons official story that only a handful of the tens of thousands killed in relentless US bombing campaigns have been civilians.

This same hypocritical media provided non-stop coverage denouncing the Russian-backed campaign to re-take the Syrian city of Aleppo from Islamist forces as a war crime.

The Pentagon issued a report on Thursday claiming that the total number of civilians killed in both Iraq and Syria in the course of 34,038 airstrikes by the US and its allies between August 2014 and February of this year amounted to just 1,250.

The figure is a vast, deliberate and grotesque underestimate of the real carnage unleashed against the Iraqi and Syrian people by US imperialism.

Airwars, the organization that has provided the most comprehensive recording of civilian casualties, has cited as many as 30,000 civilian deaths reported in the course of the war.

The Associated Press issued a report on the siege of the Iraqi city of Mosul nearly two years ago that confirmed the deaths of 3,200 civilians as a result of US airstrikes and artillery and mortar bombardments by the Pentagon and its allies. Other credible reports have put the toll in Mosul at over 10,000, while an official of the Iraqi Kurdish intelligence agency, considered one of the more reliable sources in the Middle East, said that as many as 40,000 had been slaughtered.

Meanwhile, Airwars has estimated that 1,500 civilians were killed by coalition air and artillery attacks between June and October 2017 in the Syrian city of Raqqamore than the total figure given by the Pentagon for four years of bombardment of both Iraq and Syria. Last October, mass graves were uncovered in the Syrian city holding the bodies of 2,500 people, most of them believed to be victims of the US siege. Thousands more remain buried.

Both of these cities, along with large swathes of north and western Iraq and north and eastern Syria, remain devastated by the US bombing campaign. While the siege of Mosul ended in July 2017, nearly two years ago, and that of Raqqa three months later, much of the first city and virtually all of the second remain in ruins.

Once Iraqs second city with a population of nearly two million, nearly two-thirds of Mosuls inhabitants remain displaced. An estimated 130,000 Iraqi homes were destroyed by the US bombardment, along with 90 percent of the citys hospitals, dozens of schools and much of its basic infrastructure. The UN has estimated that there are some 8 million tons of rubble and debris that must be removed to begin restoring the city. With the resources and equipment now allotted, this task could take up to 10 years.

It is impossible not to be overwhelmed by what you see standing on the roof in Mosul. Half of this sprawling city is literally leveled to the ground and it is practically impossible to move through due to the large number of explosives hidden in the rubble, said Lene Rasmussen of the Danish Demining Group, the only international NGO operating in the city.

The anger of the remaining population in Mosul boiled over last week after a crowded ferry capsized in the Tigris River leading to the deaths of over 100 people. When the Iraqi president and the provincial governor attempted to join mourners, they were set upon by the crowd, which chanted, No to corruption all of you are thieves.

Nearly two million people in Iraq remain internally displaced from Mosul and other cities like Tikrit, Fallujah and Ramadi that were also largely demolished by the anti-ISIS campaign. Many of them are in camps and subject to brutality at the hands of Iraqi security forces and sectarian militias, with men taken away to be tortured and executed and women subject to rape and sexual abuse.

Conditions in Raqqa are no better. It is estimated that 30,000 homes were completely destroyed and another 25,000 partially demolished. Following a visit to the Syrian city in October, Amnesty Internationals secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, described the horrific destruction and utter human devastation that he witnessed, stating, What I saw in Raqqa shocked me to the core.

He added: The city is a shellbombed-out buildings, very little running water or electricity, the stench of death hanging in the air. That anyone is still able to live there defies logic and stands as testimony to the remarkable resilience of the citys civilians.

Residents in both Mosul and Raqqa have told the media that, as bad as conditions were under the brutal and reactionary Islamist rule of ISIS, today they are considerably worse.

While Washington boasts of its final defeat of ISIS, the reality is that the Islamist militia was US imperialisms own Frankensteins monster. It arose as an offshoot of Al Qaeda, itself nurtured by the CIA during the US-orchestrated war to topple the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. It was forged in the US war of aggression against Iraq, which killed close to a million Iraqis, and then utilized in the 2011 war to topple Libyas leader Muammar Gaddafi. Fighters and arms were then funneled with the aid of the CIA into the war for regime change in Syria.

ISIS was able to seize control of territories comprising a population of eight million and consisting of nearly half of Iraq and large swathes of Syria only because of the abysmal conditions created by US military interventions and the massive supply of arms and money by the CIA and Washingtons principal regional allies, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

In Iraq, its advance was furthered by the anger of the Sunni population over the discrimination and repression carried out by the Baghdad government. These sentiments are only being deepened by the present conditions confronting the people of Mosul and the cities of Anbar Province.

While Trump initially proclaimed the defeat of ISIS at the end of last year, stating that as a result he would bring the troops home, triggering a political firestorm in Washington, the Pentagon has since made clear that the illegal US military presence in Syria will continue indefinitely.

Earlier this month, Pentagon officials denied a report that the plan was to leave at least 1,000 US troops in the war-ravaged country, but they have provided no alternative number for what is being described as a residual force.

The Pentagons proposed 2020 budget includes $300 million for arming and supporting vetted Syrian opposition partners, as well as $250 million to support border security requirements in Syria.

Washingtons aim is to carve out its own sphere of influence in Syrias northeast, seizing control over the countrys main oil and gas-producing region and using Syria as a base for preparing military aggression against Iran.

Meanwhile, the US has encouraged Israel to play a major role in military operations against Syria. Trumps decree recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the illegally occupied territory of the Golan Heights is bound up with Washingtons cementing of a regional alliance based on Israel, Saudi Arabia and the other monarchical dictatorships of the Persian Gulf against Iran.

Israel carried out airstrikes Wednesday against the Syrian city of Aleppo, reportedly striking warehouses, setting off major explosions that cut off power to the city and killing at least four people.

The so-called victory over ISIS has turned much of the region into a wasteland, creating the conditions for social explosions, even as US imperialism prepares to launch a wider and bloodier war in the Middle East.In a sign of growing social and political turmoil in Central Asia, Kazakhstans 78-year-old president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been head of state of the country since its formation out of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, announced his immediate resignation on Tuesday, March 19. Kazakhstan is of enormous geostrategic and economic significance. It is the largest country in Central Asia and generates well over half of the regions GDP.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who had been chairman of the Kazakhstan Senate, the upper house of parliament, was sworn in as president of Kazakhstan on March 20. He is to remain in office until new elections are held next year.

Nazarbayev was for decades a high-ranking functionary of the Stalinist bureaucracy and played a central role in the restoration of capitalism in Kazakhstan, which threw millions into poverty and impelled millions more to emigrate. Among the positions he held were president of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (19901991), secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (19791984), deputy of the Soviet of the Union of the USSR (19791989) and first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (19891991).

Nazarbayevs authoritarian regime has been characterized by extreme social inequality, nepotism, corruption and the violent suppression of political and social opposition, involving a rigorous regime of political censorship, as well as a language policy discriminating against non-Kazakh people who previously comprised the majority of the country's population. The Kazakh economy has grown significantly, especially since 2000, largely based on the extraction of the countrys vast precious mineral and oil resources. When oil workers in Zhanaozen went on a militant strike in late 2011, Nazarbayev oversaw a police massacre of the striking workers, with 11 killed and many more wounded.

In his March 19 announcement, Nazarbayev made clear that he plans to remain a key player in Kazakhstans politics. Nazarbayev will remain the most powerful person in the country for the rest of his life and oversee the process of a reshuffling of power relationships among Kazakhstans elites.

A 2010 law established Nazarbayevs special status as Yelbasy, Leader of the Nation and bestowed upon him the title Halyq Qaharmany, Hero of the People. Nazarbayev enjoys lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution. The secrecy and inviolability of his own assets and wealth, as well as those of the family members living with him, are guaranteed.

Nazarbayev retains his special status as Yelbasy, and will remain chairman of the Security Council, chairman of the Nur-Otan Party, and a member of the Constitutional Council. He will also remain chairman of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and chairman of the Managing Council of the Samruk Kazyna sovereign wealth fund. The latter company, owned by the state, is the sole or majority shareholder of the national railroad company, the KazMunayGas oil company, the airline Air Astana, and a long list of other key industrial enterprises.

Nazarbayev will thus have veto power over any and all decisions of government, including the power unilaterally to issue decrees with the effect of law, and has special powers that will effectively allow him to make key national economic policy decisions directly, without approval from the government.

In his inaugural address on March 20, Tokayev, the new president, proposed that the Kazakhstan capital city of Astana be renamed as Nur-Sultan in honor of Nazarbayev. The proposal was quickly adopted by the parliament as well as the city council. The central street in Almaty (Alma-Ata), Kazakhstans largest city, had already been renamed in Nazarbayevs honor in 2017. When protests against the decision occurred several days later, the police arrested numerous demonstrators.

Also on March 20, the Senate elected Nazarbayevs eldest daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, to take over Tokayevs position as chairperson. Nazarbayeva, born in 1963, has had parallel careers in both politics and business and had an estimated wealth of $595 million as of 2013. Political commentators have suggested her as the most likely successor to take the presidency after the 2020 election.

Nazarbayev did not name a specific reason for his sudden and somewhat unexpected resignation. His health condition is mostly a matter of secrecy, but it is known that he underwent prostate surgery in Germany in 2011. His government has been rocked by crisis recently, with Nazarbayev dismissing all members of his administration on February 21.

Definite political and social conditions point to the broader concerns that underlie the political crisis in Astana and the decision of Nazarbayev to initiate the process of transitioning to another president.

First, the countrys ruling class, recruited to a high degree from the former Stalinist bureaucracy, is highly sensitive to the international resurgence of working-class struggles throughout the globe, including in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan, in particular, has seen a series of strikes and protests over the past few years and in recent months.

Social anger also recently erupted after a fire in Astana (now Nur-Sultan) on February 4 killed five children while their parents were at work. The family had been living in a temporary building heated by an electric heater and a stove. While official public mourning events were held in multiple cities, protests occurred in Astana involving public statements by women with multiple children.

Urzada Uaisova, an Astana resident and mother of six children, was quoted by news agency Interfax.by as saying, I have been standing in line [for housing] since 2007. Twelve years have passed, and they havent given us anything yet. They have made some promises, but we just keep getting fooled. Each month, I pay 50,000 tenge (about US$130) for my housing, and there are costs for coal to heat the home. Why doesnt the state give subsidies for the mothers of multiple children? If they would just let us rent an apartment for 50,000 tenge, we would be happy to pay that if we could later take ownership of the apartment.

Videos of the statements of Uaisova and other women have been viewed on YouTube hundreds of thousands of timesvery significant numbers for a country of just 18 million people and far exceeding the number of views of all the videos containing Nazarbayevs own statement on the event. Later in February, protests took place in several cities demanding the creation of jobs, support for mothers with multiple children, and the resignation of Nazarbayev.

Second, Kazakhstan is engulfed in the crisis generated by the escalating war preparations of US imperialism against Russia and China. The country maintains significant and growing economic ties with China and has long-standing relations with Moscow. China buys about 25 percent of Kazakhstans oil output and Kazakhstan is the important country for the land route of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is seen by US imperialism as a major geostrategic challenge.

The Carnegie Endowment for Peace and Democracy, an important think tank of US imperialism, noted with concern in May 2018 that [a]s part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing is rapidly investing in east-west infrastructure projects across the Central Asian republic that have overshadowed previously launched programs backed by the US and Russia. ... From Beijing's point of view, Kazakhstan, where the BRI was first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is a critical element of its fast-growing drive for international influence. It sits in a strategic spot between China and Russia and is far away from potential competing powers including the US and the EU. The article noted that the only way for Astana to counteract Chinese influence was to seek closer cooperation with Russia, but above all the EU.The horrific massacre in the central Malian village of Ogossagou is exposing the brutal realities of the war in Mali launched by Paris in 2013. Under French and German military occupation, this countryone of the poorest in the worldis being torn apart by a rising wave of ethnic bloodshed.

Just before dawn on March 23, a band of approximately 100 fighters dressed in ethnic Dogon garb and bearing firearms arrived in Ogossagou, a Peul (or Fulani) village in the region of Bankass, near the border with Burkina Faso. They proceeded to shoot or kill everyone they could find, from the elderly down to the smallest infants. Approximately 160 people were killed and 55 wounded.

Eighteen people sought refuge in the house of the village marabout (healer), Bara Sekou Issa, who is known across West Africa, hoping the gunmen would not attack a marabouts house. Sekou Issa had already welcomed a number of refugees from nearby villages into his home, offering them room and board. However, the attackers set Sekou Issas house on fire and gunned down anyone fleeing the house to escape the flames. All of Sekou Issas religious students reportedly perished in the flames inside his house.

The attackers slit the throat of the village chief, Amadou Barry, in front of his mother, aged 90, and then executed her, as well.

The village was left devastated, with houses and buildings burnt down and even livestock and domestic animals killed. Ismaila Cisse, one of the Malian armys few Peul officers, told the press: They want to wipe us off the surface of the earth. Otherwise, how can one explain that they killed children, the elderly, and even livestock?

As reports of this horrific massacre spread, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita traveled to Ogossagou on March 25. Justice will be done, Keita pledged. He also fired the chief of staff of the armed services, General MBemba Moussa Keita, as well as the chiefs of staff of the army, air force, and military intelligence.

Keitas sacking of the top military leadership was effectively an admission that the Malian army, which is being trained by French and German soldiers, bore significant responsibility for the massacre. Soldiers at a nearby military base, only 13 kilometers away, reportedly were notified that the killings were ongoing around 6 a.m. However, they only arrived on the scene at 9 a.m., by which time the attackers had left.

Serious suspicions of official complicity with the forces that perpetrated the massacreon the part of the Malian government and therefore its neo-colonial imperialist overlordsremain. Among the wounded in Ogossagou, the authorities apprehended several individuals they accused of being among the attackers. Nonetheless, they are refusing to divulge their identities.

Mopti prosecutor Maouloud Ag Najim told Jeune Afrique: We interviewed most of the 45 wounded and their relatives, who are currently being treated at hospitals in Sevare and Bankass. The military police team deployed in Ogossagou also interviewed some of the survivors.  Among the wounded, five people were identified by the survivors as being suspected attackers. We suspect they were members of the group who attacked the village of Ogossagou on March 23.

After the massacre, Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga announced the dissolution of the Dan na Amassagou militia. This is an ethnic Dogon militia set up in 2016, after the French-backed government began encouraging the formation of local self-defense militias amid fighting between French troops, Malian government troops and various Islamist militias in northern and central Mali.

The Malian government is refusing to confirm or deny, however, whether the five suspected attackers they have taken into custody belong to Dan na Amassagou, a militia loyal to the central government in Bamako and that flies the Malian flag.

A November 2018 report by the International Human Rights Federation and the Malian Association for Human Rights alleged that donzo hunters making up the militia had tacit state backing: Many witness statements and well-placed individuals testify to at least logistical and financial support for the donzos from the Malian government, or at least from some of its members.  Many witnesses say they have seen the donzos carry out military operations alongside the Malian Armed Forces.

Youssouf Toloba, the head of Dan na Amassagou, for his part issued a statement denying that his militia had participated in the massacre and pledging to defy the state dissolution order. He said, I am informing national and international public opinion: if those who are in the forests [terrorist groups] lay down their weapons, Dan na Amassagou will also. As long as that does not happen, we will not lay down our weapons.

Over the course of the week, six Dogons were killed in two attacks on the villages of Ouadou and Kere Kere. UN sources wrote that in the night of Monday to Tuesday in Ouadou, Several houses were burnt and livestock was stolen. An initial death toll lists four dead, including a young woman. The inhabitants took refuge in nearby villages. On Tuesday, they added, in the Dogon village of Kere Kere in the Bankass region, at least two women were killed and another wounded.

In Mali, long-standing ethnic divisions are being inflamed and erupting into horrific violence under the impact of years of imperialist war and military occupation. The French-led war in Mali began in 2013, after mercenary militias fled the NATO war that devastated Libya, attempting to return home to Mali. As one of the worlds poorest countries funneled resources into a French-led war targeting ethnic Tuareg and Islamist militias, social conditions in Mali disintegrated.

Railway workers, teachers and public service workers have repeatedly struck to demand unpaid wages and better working conditions.

France has posted 2,700 troops in Mali and Germany 1,100, making it the German armys largest overseas deployment, to support the Malian regime in Bamako. Presented as part of a war on terror, the occupation has fanned the flames of ethnic conflict, with Peul Islamist preacher Amadou Koufas celebrity leading to bitter accusations attacking the entire Peul ethnicity as terrorist. Ethnic violence between ethnic Peul, Dogon, and Bambara forces led to the deaths of 500 people in 2018, according to the UN.Cyclone Idai, which slammed into Mozambique on March 14, has left Mozambicans in a state of catastrophe. The devastation left in the tropical storms wake has produced a full-blown humanitarian crisis, exposing the impoverished conditions already present before Cyclone Idai hit.

According to UNICEF, more than 3 million people across the region affected by Idai urgently need humanitarian assistance, including 1.5 million children. The disaster is the worse natural catastrophe to hit southern Africa in decades.

In Mozambique, the country most affected by the storm, more than 2 million are in need of emergency aid, including 1 million children. UNICEF warned of the severe threat of the spread of diseases after Idais destruction of vital infrastructure, such as sanitary water sources and more than 50 clinics and hospitals in the country. Massive flooding has led to a high volume of stagnant water, which threatens to unleash an epidemic of waterborne illnesses, such as cholera.

UNICEF launched an appeal for $122 million to support its response to the disaster. In Beira, a coastal city of 500,000 and the hardest hit by Cyclone Idai, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore told the media, The lives of millions of children and families are on the line, and we urgently need to mount a rapid and effective humanitarian response across all three countries [Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe].

Scores of Mozambicans have been made homeless with the destruction of homes by massive flood waters brought on by the storm which washed away entire neighborhoods. Many people across the country have taken up temporary residence atop buildings and other elevated structures to avoid the high water. Exacerbating the catastrophe, a food crisis has emerged, with thousands of acres of farmland flooded by the storm, which wiped out most crops.

On Friday, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported that a vicious outbreak of cholera has began to sweep through the country, with 139 victims so far, and the epidemic far from contained. Many of the afflicted originated from the squalid homeless camps set up for victims. Nearly 1 million vaccines were rushed to the region as a small number of health workers strove to cope the with the outbreak by setting up improvised treatment centers.

The situation for millions of Mozambicans is likely to worsen over the next days and weeks, as many areas devastated remain inaccessible. The storm has left nearly 1,000 dead. With daily reports of bodies discovered scattered in fields and floating in rivers, the death toll is certain to climb.

On Wednesday, Stephen Fonseca, a chief forensic analyst in Africa for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told the Washington Post of the massive flooding caused by the cyclone ripping through Magaro, a farming village, where rescue workers are finding corpses of victims on a daily basis since Idai hit. So far, 156 bodies have been found. These victims likely died during the surge of water that washed over the region. Fonseca stated that the dead he had found were not included in the official toll.

Out of fear for his safety, Fonseca told the Post of regrettably having to leave an unidentified body 30 feet up a tree and snagged on a branch in an area infested with crocodiles.

Eventually it is going to separate and fall once the ligaments loosen up, he said. But theres no way to get it without someone getting hurt, or falling to the crocs. Fonseca said.

The magnitude of the disaster is exacerbated by the lack of social spending for emergency services and vital infrastructure to cope with such natural disasters. Nowhere is this illustrated more clearly than in Sofala province, the region hit hardest by Cyclone Idai, an area especially prone to flooding, which occurs two to three times a year.

According to Foreign Policy, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery states that Mozambique ranks third in Africa among nations most exposed to weather-related disasters. Foreign Policy created a map of the disasters reach for its website, reporting that some 836 square miles were under flood waters in Mozambique, creating what the publication terms inland oceans.

The lack of vital infrastructure and services to provide assistance to the Mozambican masses in the wake of the countrys worst disaster is nothing short of criminal.

Mozambique is a nation of acute social contrast. With a population of nearly 29 million, it is the 16th richest country in Africa, and among the most socially unequal in the world. According to a 2017 report by New World Wealth, a market research firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa, there are 1,100 millionaires residing in the country. Of this group, 50 individuals hold wealth totaling over $10 million.

Contrasted to the obscene accumulation of wealth by a small layer of elites, according to 2016 figures published by the World Bank, 60 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, with 80 percent left unable to afford enough food daily to maintain proper health. The majority also subsist on less than $2 a day.

Underlying this lopsided social construct is the fact that Mozambique holds vast economic resources in oil and gas reserves and mineral deposits of marble, bentonite, coal, gold, bauxite, granite, titanium and gemstones. The World Bank estimates that Mozambique holds untapped oil and gas reserves totaling over $100 trillion, and the country has the fourth largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

Key to understanding the lack of funding made available for the population to deal with Idais crisis are the American and European banks and corporations that have lined up to exploit Mozambiques natural resources and its working masses.

In recent years, Exxon-Mobil, British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell have secured billions of dollars in large contracts to extract Mozambiques massive offshore gas reserves.Around 20,000 people attended a remembrance service at Hagley Park in Christchurch yesterday for the victims of the March 15 terrorist attack on the Al Noor and Linwood mosques, carried out by Australian fascist Brenton Tarrant. The gunman murdered 50 people, including young children, and injured the same number. Twenty-two people remain in hospital, three of them in critical condition.

The event, which follows several vigils in New Zealand and Australia, demonstrated once again the immense sympathy for the victims, opposition to racism and bigotry, and anger that such an attack could have taken place. Hundreds of people gathered in Wellington and Dunedin to watch the Christchurch service broadcast live, and an afternoon service was held in Auckland.

Speeches were given by Muslim religious leaders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Patsy Reddy, and performances by musicians Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens, Marlon Williams, Maisey Rika, Hollie Smith and Teeks. Representatives from 59 governments attended.

In a moving speech, survivor Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed at the Al Noor mosque, called for peace and forgiveness: Our attitude should be that we are one family, regardless of faith, religion, culture and language, he said.

The NZ and Australian governments, however, exploited the event to continue their efforts to cover up the responsibility of the political establishment for creating the conditions that led to the attack, by whipping up xenophobia and racism to justify war and divide the working class. Political leaders sought to channel anger over the atrocity into demands for greater censorship of social media.

Ardern, Reddy and Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel used their speeches to hail the police response to the attacks. There has been no explanation, however, of why Tarrant was not prevented from carrying out the atrocity. He had links with far-right groups in Australia and Europe and made online comments threatening immigrants, Marxists and globalists. Two days before the attack he posted a picture of the Al Noor mosque on Facebook along with violent anti-Muslim threats. Nine minutes before the attack he emailed his intended targets to the Prime Ministers Office and the media.

The morning of the Christchurch service, police commissioner Mike Bush dismissed questions from members of the Pakistani community about why the attacker was not intercepted after the Al Noor mosque shooting. Tarrant was able to drive five kilometres to the Linwood mosque to carry out a second massacre before being arrested while driving towards a third mosque. Speaking to Radio NZ, Bush denounced critics of the police, saying they had unspecified agendas.

Police mobilized hundreds of heavily armed officers in Christchurch and other cities during the service. Snipers were deployed near Hagley Park and a helicopter circled overhead. Some Australian police were flown in for the day to boost the numbers.

Arderns speech, which received a standing applause, was widely promoted internationally. The corporate media has hailed Arderns allegedly flawless handling of the aftermath of the attacks. Her image has been projected onto the worlds tallest building in Dubai and a petition launched in France calls for her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ardern described New Zealand as a place that is diverse, that is welcoming, that is kind and compassionate Racism exists, but it is not welcome here. She made vague calls for a collective response to end the vicious cycle of extremism breeding extremism, adding that the job of combating hate was not up to the government alone. Ardern suggested that ordinary people could prevent the right-wing extremism that led to the Christchurch attack through daily acts of kindness.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Arderns speech brought New Zealand together and Fridays service showed the ability of their country to meet the challenge that had been set for it. New Zealands trade union-funded Daily Blog editor Martyn Bradbury declared that the beauty, strength, compassion, grace and dignity [of] Jacinda has made me prouder to be a Kiwi than any other single time in my life.

The speech was, in fact, utterly hypocritical. The unrelenting, nationalist campaign to glorify Ardern is an attempt to bury the fact that the Labour Party has repeatedly blamed immigrants for unemployment, low wages, unaffordable housing and other aspects of the social crisis caused by capitalism. During Labours 2017 election campaign Ardern called for slashing immigration by 30,000 people a year (about 40 percent), declaring in one televised Newshub debate we cant house the people coming into New Zealand.

Labours platform demanded an end to foreigners taking jobs Kiwis can do and restrictions on the right of foreign students to work. Ardern said she was unapologetic about this discriminatory policy.

Following the election, Ardern formed a coalition government with the right-wing, anti-immigrant New Zealand First Party and the Greens. Labour and the Greens had for years collaborated with NZ First, a party that has always attacked Asian immigrants and demonised Muslims as potential terrorists. NZ First leader Winston Peters, who Ardern made deputy prime minister and foreign minister, accompanied her to the Christchurch remembrance service, but did not speak.

Peters has refused to retract his inflammatory anti-Islamic comments, including a 2005 speech in which he said New Zealand was losing tens of thousands of Kiwis and replacing them with people from an entirely different cultural backgroundthe same complaint made in Tarrants fascist manifesto, The Great Replacement.

The Listener magazine felt compelled to denounce Peters, comparing him to US President Donald Trumpone of the fascist gunmans idolsand suggesting he could no longer be foreign minister. The same editorial, however, hailed Arderns compassion and calm resolve and said nothing about Labours anti-immigrant demagogy.

After the Christchurch service, Ardern warmly greeted Australian Prime Minister Morrison, a right-wing populist whose government has some of the most vicious anti-refugee policies in the world, which are backed by the entire Australian political establishment.

Morrison praised the New Zealand government, saying it had responded to violence with peace. In fact, both countries have soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they have carried out atrocities against civilians. These US-led imperialist wars have been justified with anti-Muslim demagogy which has helped create the toxic chauvinist atmosphere in which Tarrant developed his fascist views.

Morrison thanked Ardern for her strong support for his governments crackdown on social media. Australias Liberal-National Coalition governmentfully supported by Labor and the Greensseized on the Christchurch terror attack to announce it will introduce fines and jail terms for social media executives that fail to remove content the state deems abhorrent violent material. The law would go further than most other countries in attacking freedom of expression on Facebook and other platforms.

Workers and young people should not be swept up by the nationalist propaganda promoting Ardern. Her kindness rhetoric is a facade behind which the Labour-led government is preparingin lockstep with Washington and Canberrato use the Christchurch attack to strengthen the powers of the police and intelligence agencies. Censorship and increased surveillance will not be used to prevent the rise of fascism, which is being fuelled internationally by the right-wing nationalist policies of the political establishment. Such measures will be used against the working class as it comes into struggle against war, soaring levels of social inequality and capitalism itself.

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[21 March 2019]Emboldened by the collapse of the Democrats Russia investigation, President Donald Trump used his first rally since the submission of the Mueller report last weekend to step up his fascistic attack on socialism and his scapegoating of immigrants.

Trump began his 82-minute tirade Thursday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan by gloating over the Mueller report, declaring, The Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over. He denounced the Democrats and intelligence officials who initiated the Russia probe and demanded, to chants of Lock them up!, that they be held accountable.

Using the language of neo-Nazi terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 50 Muslims in New Zealand earlier this month, Trump called immigrants invaders and pledged to throw them behind bars or the hell out of the country.

Trumps speech came just days after the US Congress failed to stop his dictatorial appropriation of funds from the Pentagon to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, and as photos emerged showing immigrant children packed behind barbed wire fences under an overpass in El Paso, Texas.

For all his bluster and his success in pushing his far-right policies through the courts and Congress, Trump, who has maintained the lowest net approval rating of any president since World War II, remains immensely hated. He presides over a crisis-ridden, corrupt and despised government.

Trump spoke in Grand Rapids, a bastion of rural conservatism and the headquarters of Amway, the pyramid scheme operation tied to billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose employees were likely bussed in by the thousands. But Trump could muster a crowd of only 15,000.

If a march were called in Washington seriously opposing Trump, the turnout would be in the millions. More than three million people marched throughout the United States to protest his inauguration.

To the extent that Trump appears strong, it is due only to the spinelessness of his cynical and cowardly political opponents in the Democratic Party.

Trump is kept in office largely through the Democratic Party. From the start, the Democrats efforts to foment a palace coup have been aimed at demobilizing and disarming the mass opposition that exists to the Trump administration. The Democrats have waged their campaign against Trump on an entirely right-wing basis, through accusations of collusion with Russia bound up with differences over US imperialist foreign policy.

The Democrats, who speak for a faction of the financial oligarchy and the military-intelligence apparatus, agree with much of Trumps domestic policy. Trump is sustained by Congress, which overwhelmingly voted on a bipartisan basis for his massive increases in military spending. Congress has refused to seriously oppose his attacks on immigrants and his upward redistribution of wealth through deregulation and corporate tax cuts. The courts have rubber-stamped the administrations violations of the Constitution, such as the Muslim travel ban, and have refused to block its blatantly unconstitutional appropriation of funds to build the border wall.

It is one thing, however, to run circles around the Democratic Party. It is quite another to face down real popular opposition. Among broad sections of workers and young people, Trumps name is a profanity. Almost 60 percent of Americans say they have little or no confidence in Trumps immigration policy.

The Trump administration is a government of deep and intensifying crisis. A recession is looming, and the Federal Reserve has little ammunition to fight it. Trumps foreign policy, staggering from one crisis to another, has exposed the dramatic decline in the world position of American imperialism.

Trumps bluster is based not on strength, but on weakness. While the Democratic Partys palace coup is in shambles, social opposition is growing.

Since Trump has taken office, the number of workers engaged in strikes has increased 20-fold. Tens of thousands of teachers, locomotive workers, university employees and orchestra musicians have gone on strike since the beginning of this year. This is only the initial expression of a mounting wave of social opposition. Trump knows full well that efforts to gut social policies on which millions of people depend will trigger popular opposition.

To this opposition--from strikes over wages to disgust over the xenophobic crackdown on immigrants--Trump gives the name "socialism." Socialism has become a dominant theme in all of his speeches, including the speech in Grand Rapids. Expressing the predatory interests of the financial elite, Trump declared that socialism will mean the deflation of your stocks and your bonds.

Trumps increasingly fascistic appeals, which resonate with only a minority of the most backward sections of society, are aimed at developing a right-wing movement to counter the growth of left-wing, working-class opposition.

The same process is taking place in countries throughout the world. In France, the hated Emmanuel Macron invokes the legacy of Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain as he sends the army against anti-austerity "yellow vest" protestors. In Germany, the political establishment, including the press and sections of academia, is waging a campaign to promote and legitimize extreme right-wing movements to create a constituency for the rearmament of Germany. The traditional bourgeois parties have adopted the anti-immigrant program of the fascistic Alternative for Germany and elevated the AfD to the official parliamentary opposition.

In the five years since Der Spiegel published an interview with right-wing extremist Professor Jorg Baberowski, who declared that Hitler was not vicious, the Socialistische Gleichhestpartei (Socialist Equality Party--SGP) has been at the forefront of the struggle against fascism in Germany.

The Socialist Equality Party in the United States has invited Christoph Vandreier, a leading figure In the SGP's fight against the resurgence of fascism and author of Why are They Back? Historical Falsification, Political Conspiracy and the Return of Fascism in Germany, to give a series of meetings on The Threat of Fascism and How to Fight It.

The growth of political reaction, centered in the state, constitutes a real and pressing danger to the working class. There is massive opposition to the Trump administration, but it has been stifled and suppressed by the Democratic Party, the trade unions and their pseudo-left allies. The real fight against the Trump administration can begin only when it is based on the working class and on a socialist program.

All workers and youth opposed to Trump and his policies of war, repression and social inequality should attend these critical political meetings.The leadership of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the prominent national civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, has been ousted over the last two weeks under murky circumstances.

The sudden firing of the 82-year-old co-founder of the SPLC, Morris Dees, was announced March 14 by SPLC President Richard Cohen over undisclosed allegations of racism and sexism. Dees has denied all allegations against him.

Founded in 1971, the SPLC made its name under the leadership of Dees by confronting white supremacists and other far right-wing groups in the 1980s and 1990s, winning million-dollar awards for victims in civil cases which put many groups out of business. The organization has closely tracked the growth of far-right forces, which it termed hate groups, in the United States for decades, raising warnings of a significant uptick following the election of President Donald Trump.

The turmoil caused by vague allegations of racism and sexual harassment have been met with exuberance by right-wing groups that have long opposed the work of the SPLC.

The few details that have been made public about Dees alleged behavior belie claims of a systemic culture of racism and sexism at the organization, as one CNN headline absurdly exclaimed.

Jason Brooks, a paralegal who worked in Montgomery in 2016, told the New York Times he once heard Dees state, I like chocolate, in the company of black women. Brooks explained that he took this to be a sexual innuendo. Dees denied ever making such a statement.

Dees told the Times that he had been the subject of a complaint in 2017 after he made a female employee feel uncomfortable when he touched my hand across the top of her shoulder as he introduced himself. He then made a comment about her visible tattoos and noted that he also had a tattoo on his leg.

So far, no other purported instances of sexual or racial harassment by Dees have been made public.

Nonetheless, after carrying out the task of firing Dees, Cohen announced his resignation from the SPLC March 22. Whatever problems exist at the SPLC happened on my watch, so I take responsibility for them, Cohen, president of the organization since 2003, wrote in an email to staff.

Legal Director Rhonda Brownstein also announced that she would be leaving after more than three decades of employment.

Dees removal, followed by Cohen and Brownsteins departures, is the outcome of an apparent operation precipitated by the resignation earlier this month of associate legal director Meredith Horton, the highest ranking African American attorney working at the SPLC. Horton had worked for the Democratic Party of Georgia on voter issues before going to work for the SPLC in June 2018.

According to the New York Times, twenty employees responded to Hortons departure by signing a letter addressed to SPLC executives, warning that allegations of mistreatment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and racism threaten the moral authority of this organization and our integrity along with it. Another letter from employees followed, demanding an investigation into an alleged coverup of the allegations against Dees.

Significantly, Dees termination was followed by the announcement that Chicago-based attorney Tina Tchen had been hired to conduct a review of the SPLCs workplace environment and policies.

Tchen is a prominent figure in the Democratic Party, operating as a right-hand confidant for the Obamas. From 2009 to 2017, she worked in the White House first as Director of the Office of Public Engagement, then as an assistant to President Obama, chief of staff to Michelle Obama and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. In 2016 she earned $176,461, one of sixteen aides who earned the top pay for White House staffers.

Now a leading partner at Buckley LLP and co-founder of the Times Up Legal Defense Fund, Tchen is at the forefront of the reactionary #MeToo campaign. Tchen was hired by the Recording Academy to lead a task force on inclusion and diversity following the 2018 Grammy Awards to ensure equity in the distribution of awards to women and racial minorities.

No doubt there are financial considerations involved. In recent years, the SPLC has increased its endowment to $470 million on the basis of a flood of donations since the election of Donald Trump. The group raised $50 million in 2016, followed by $132 million in 2017. Recent high-profile donations have come from Apple, JP Morgan, and George and Amal Clooney.

Bound up with conflicts over the control of the endowment are claims that the SPLC under Dees played up the danger of the far right in order to squeeze money out of donors. The argument that the SPLC is a scam operation, once the exclusive purview of the far-right forces that opposed its work, was given new life last week in the New Yorker by Bob Moser, a senior staff writer at the SPLC from 2001 to 2004.

Moser reacted approvingly to Dees ouster, enviously detailing the gusher of donations that have flowed into the organization since the election of Trump. It is revealing of the outlook of this layer to quote Moser at length:

For those of us whove worked in the Poverty Palace [a derisive nickname for the SPLCs offices in Montgomery], putting it all into perspective isnt easy, even to ourselves. We were working with a group of dedicated and talented people, fighting all kinds of good fights, making life miserable for the bad guys. And yet, all the time, dark shadows hung over everything: the racial and gender disparities, the whispers about sexual harassment, the abuses that stemmed from the top-down management, and the guilt you couldnt help feeling about the legions of donors who believed that their money was being used, faithfully and well, to do the Lords work in the heart of Dixie. We were part of the con, and we knew it. Outside of work, we spent a lot of time drinking and dishing in Montgomery bars and restaurants about the oppressive security regime, the hyperbolic fund-raising appeals, and the fact that, though the center claimed to be effective in fighting extremism, hate always continued to be on the rise, more dangerous than ever, with each years report on hate groups. The S.P.L.C.making hate pay, wed say.

The idea that the danger from the far right has been overblown is ridiculous, especially in light of the recent developments, including the rampage of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and the fascist terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand. Trump has been encouraging the growth of the far right in the United States and all over the world.The back-and-forth trade negotiations between China and the US continue next week in Washington with a visit by Chinas chief trade negotiator Vice Premier Liu He following the trip to Beijing this week by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Talks between the top-level negotiators concluded in Beijing yesterday without any reported movement on the most significant questions, including the enforcement mechanism for any deal and the protection of intellectual property rights. No details were released but Mnuchin tweeted the talks had been constructive.

According to a report by Bloomberg, much of the discussion centred on working through line by line the text of what had been agreed so far, with differences between the Chinese and English versions.

Citing one of the officials involved, Bloomberg said that the two sides have very different understandings of certain words. Both negotiating teams are seeking to establish their own interpretation of the text because this will be significant in determining enforcement procedures in the event of disputes that are certain to occur even if a deal is reached.

The US officials were also reported to have accused China of backtracking on previous commitments, particularly on the question of intellectual property.

At this stage the plan is for a final agreement to be reached in the Washington talks, leading to a signing ceremony at the end of the April.

However, Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month that there were still major, major issues to be resolved. In a speech delivered on Thursday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow indicated negotiations may continue for some time yet.

This is not time-dependent, Kudlow said. This is policy and enforcement-dependent. If it takes a few more weeks, or if it takes months, so be it. We have to get a great deal  that works for the United States. Thats our principal interest.

The issue of enforcement has been at the centre of the US demands since it documented its position to Beijing last May. It specified that the United States would retain the right to impose tariffs on China, without any retaliation. The Chinese regard the one-sided US demand as being akin to the unequal treaties imposed throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries beginning with the first Opium War launched by Britain in 1839.

Speaking on the sidelines of Chinas National Peoples Assembly earlier this month, Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen said any enforcement mechanism should be two-way, fair and equal. But the US is continuing to insist it must be the final arbiter in any dispute, with the right to take unilateral action if it considers the agreement is being breached.

The hostility of China to the US demands reportedly surfaced during discussions in Beijing in mid-January when members of the Chinese negotiating team said they would be labelled as traitors if they made too many concessions to the US.

There have been various proposals for an enforcement mechanism from the US side. However, the most likely appears to be one in which the US retains at least some of the tariffs presently imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and only relaxes them when it considers that China is complying.

Earlier this month, Trump said a deal with China was coming along nicely but made it clear the US would not lift tariffs immediately if an agreement were reached.

Were not talking about removing them, were talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time, because we have to make sure that if we do a deal with China that China lives by the deal, Trump said.

This line was echoed by Kudlow in his remarks on Thursday when he said the US may remove some tariffs but not all of them. Were not going to give up our leverage. Some of the tariffs would be kept there.

Kudlow has already inflamed tensions with his comments in an interview with the business channel CNBC that Lighthizer had read the riot act to Liu during one of the negotiating sessions.

The hostility to the US demands was expressed back in May when the state-controlled Global Times greeted the initial US document with the headline Is it now 1840?a reference to the First Opium War.

Lighthizer has played his cards close to his chest. But his basic perspective has been revealed in references to reformers within the Chinese regimethose with a more free market orientation who would like to see a shift from the state control espoused by President Xi Jinping and his supporters.

In an interview on National Public Radio on Monday, Lighthizer said he was hoping for an agreement but not necessarily hopeful. If theres a great deal to be gotten, well get itif not well find another plan.

Asked if there were signs that China was willing to give ground on major issues such as intellectual property rights and what the US calls forced technology transfers, Lighthizer said there was movement on those issues and a variety of others. Now, the question will be the details and the enforceability.

Apart from technology and enforcement, another major issue is Chinas state backing of major industries that the US has denounced as market distorting. Lighthizer was asked how realistic it was for China to change its economic model just because the US is demanding it right now?

Lighthizer replied that everything was not going to happen in a month. But I think you have to start with the proposition that there are people in China who believe that reform is a good idea. And you have to believe that those people are at a very senior level.

These reformers, he continued, believed that protection of intellectual property was not anti-Chinese and halting forced technology transfers was not anti-Chinese. In fact, the reformers would say its pro-Chinese. It will help their economy, not hurt their economy.

Lighthizer is pointing to elements within the Chinese political establishment more in favour of the free market, who were pushed back somewhat with the coming to power of President Xi Jinping in 2012. They have now started to become somewhat more critical of the direction of the Chinese economy under conditions where growth is officially at its lowest levels in three decades and may be even lower than government figures would indicate.

In other words, Lighthizer is calculating that, while these forces may not be able to effect a regime change, they will at least be able to secure a shift in the regime's economic policy.

The problem, however, for these reform elements is that under conditions where the US is openly laying down its diktats, they will be branded as the 21st century equivalent of the compradors of earlier times who helped impose the unequal treaties.

Pressures for an agreement are being exerted on the US side as well. Agriculture, a key section of Trumps support base, has been badly hit by the trade conflict and the uncertainty of the outcome has created problems for major industries as they try to formulate their investment plans.

There is also concern that failure to reach an agreement will have a major impact on US stock markets which, by and large, have continued to rise in the past two months, not least on the belief that a deal is in the offing.A Stryker vehicle with 4th Platoon, Charlie Co. 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team patrols a neighborhood in Mosul on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, as soldiers of the Iraqi Army follow in pick-up trucks. Margaret Friedenauer/News-MinerAlaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to the Fairbanks chapter of the Alaska Miners Association at their weekly breakfast on Friday morning. Dunleavy has been traveling the state as part of his roadshow, giving presentations on his administrations approach to Alaskas fiscal problems. The Miners Association independently invited Dunleavy to speak, unlike other presentations that were sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, a private organization run by the billionaire Koch family. March 29, 2019.Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community.

Submit hereWind River judge released on bond

RIVERTON (WNE) - Wind River Indian Reservation Chief Judge Terri Smith is scheduled to appear June 3 at trial in Cheyenne - less than one month after she expects to give birth.

Smith was indicted March 19 on two criminal charges: the misuse of a communications center, and the unlawful delivery of cocaine.

Together the charges pose a felony level offense.

Smith was 32 years old when she took her oath of office in January 2018.

She has pleaded not guilty to both counts.

Details of the charges have not yet been made public.

She attended her hearing Wednesday morning in Lander, under U.S. Magistrate Teresa McKee.

The defendant agreed to an unsecured bond of $25,000 and the court's conditions of release.

One clause of the court's release agreement is not yet unsealed for media access because it pertains to co-defendants, for whom investigation is still ongoing.

Another of the conditions of release is that Smith shall appear at her trial June 3 in Cheyenne.

Defense attorney Colin Simpson had argued against the date at the Lander hearing because Smith is due to give birth May 4.

After the hearing, Simpson, upon consulting with his client, declined to comment.

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Coal jobs decline again

GILLETTE (WNE) - Wyoming's coal industry continues to struggle in a weak market for U.S. thermal coal and continuing pressure to decarbonize the world's energy production.

The state lost another 153 coal mining jobs in 2018, according to the state mining inspector's annual report of employment and production. It brings the total number of direct coal job losses since 2015 to 1,112 after a fall that began with the abrupt layoff of nearly 500 Powder River Basin miners on March 31 and April 1, 2016. Overall, nearly 1,000 coal jobs were lost that year.

The report also shows statewide coal production dropped about 12 million tons in 2018, from 316.6 million tons in 2017 to 304.4 million tons last year. In 2015, production topped 375 million tons.

While the mining inspector's report focuses on direct industry jobs, the overall losses caused by concurrent busts in the state's oil and coal industries also resulted in the loss of more than 3,000 support and contractor jobs.

The businesses that support mining continue to play a strong role in the state's economy and overall workforce outlook, according to the report.

Dozens of contractors in the state employ more than 3,100 people who accounted for more than 4.3 million manhours of employment in 2018. That includes all mining activity, not only coal.

Breaking the numbers down also shows the Powder River Basin's "big three" producers - Peabody Energy, Arch Coal and Cloud Peak Energy - employ 3,775 mine workers and make up more than 68 percent of the state's coal workforce.

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Snowpack brings healthy runoff predictions

LYMAN (WNE) - Wyoming currently boasts a better than average snowpack - 108 percent of the typical water content for this time of year, according to the first measurement of spring by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The latest map shows 104 percent in the Lower Green River Basin for snow Water Equivalent (SWE) and 113 percent in the Upper Bear River Basin. The Upper Green is shown at 101 percent. The basins in the southeast quarter of Wyoming has the SWE of 120-126 percent.

The NRCS measures the water content from a network of high-tech mountain stations that can be remotely read. The SNOTEL stations give observers information to calculate the water content in 19 drainages across the state.

Readings published Monday by the NRCS show the highest reading - 126 percent of median water content - in the Little Snake River drainage south of Rawlins. The Tongue River drainage holds the lowest reading at 84 percent.

According to information released earlier this month by the NRCS, Wyoming's February precipitation was 115 to 125 percent of average. The current water year precipitation is averaging 100 to 110 percent of normal across Wyoming. Mountain snowpack across Wyoming is 105 to 115 percent of median. Near normal to slightly above normal snowmelt streamflow volumes are expected across several major basins in Wyoming. Total reservoir capacity across Wyoming continued to be 70 to 75 percent by early March.

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Evanston man sentenced to prison in escape attempt

EVANSTON (WNE) - The Evanston man whose actions brought on a lockdown of the Uinta County Complex and a massive law enforcement response last June has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison. Jonathan Olivares was sentenced in U.S. District Court on the morning of March 25.

Olivares had just appeared in Third District Court on the morning of June 26, 2018, on charges of delivery of heroin, when he attacked a detention officer with the Uinta County Sheriff's Office, stole her firearm and escaped custody. When leaving the county complex, he stole a car in the parking lot at gunpoint and a brief manhunt ensued before he was apprehended and taken into custody.

Olivares was initially charged on seven counts, including interfering with a peace officer by intentionally and knowingly disarming her of her firearm, escaping from detention by assault upon a person, aggravated robbery, felony theft of a vehicle, aggravated assault and battery and theft of a firearm.

Last August, Olivares appeared again in Third District Court, entered guilty pleas on all charges and a competency hearing was ordered prior to the court's acceptance of those pleas. However, the charges were subsequently dismissed by the Uinta County Attorney's Office to facilitate the filing of federal charges and prevent any double-jeopardy concerns.

In November, Olivares appeared in U.S. District Court with Judge Scott W. Skavdahl presiding and entered guilty pleas to federal charges of carjacking and using a firearm while committing a crime of violence. Olivares has now been sentenced to 100 months (eight years and four months) on the carjacking charge and 84 months (seven years) on the use of a firearm while committing a crime of violence charge, with the sentences to run consecutively.

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New commander of Wyoming National Guard takes over

CHEYENNE (WNE)  The new leader of the Wyoming National Guard took over the reins of the state's armed forces Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Gregory Porter was sworn in as the next adjutant general of the Guard and promoted to the rank of major general at the ceremony in Cheyenne.

Porter replaces Maj. Gen. Luke Reiner, who retired from the Wyoming National Guard and will take over leadership at the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Porter has lived in Wyoming since he was 9 and joined the armed forces in 1985 through the University of Wyoming's Cowboy Battalion Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. He most recently served as the director of the joint staff at the Joint Force Headquarters in Cheyenne before his promotion.

During the change of command ceremony Thursday, Porter thanked the servicemen and servicewomen with whom he's served, and who helped mentor and shape him throughout his career.

"If I'm any success as a leader and a human being, it is due to all the time and efforts they have invested in me," Porter said during the ceremony.

"I am forever grateful to know you, serve with you and call all of you friend(s)."

During his remarks, Gov. Mark Gordon praised Porter for his willingness to serve. Gordon said Porter's qualifications made him stand out in the remarkable pool of applicants who threw their hat in the ring to succeed Reiner as adjutant general.

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Pinedale council member resigns shortly after taking office

PINEDALE (WNE)  The Pinedale Town Council must start over to fill a vacancy for a town council position, by advertising and accepting applications, interviewing candidates, selection and voting  then the swearing in.

Sound familiar? It is. The Pinedale Council just finished the entire process the first time. Erik Ashley applied, interviewed and accepted the seat vacated Feb. 25 by council member Jim Brost.

According to an email from Pinedale Mayor Matt Murdock, Ashley, an employee with the Bureau of Land Management, discovered that two different federal acts prevent him from being on the council. Multiple projects compromise his "impartiality"  including increasing salaries of spouses of people who may work for the BLM to an ongoing water study for the EPA.

"You will note that the below email is timed at 10:33 a.m. but I have held off from formally announcing this until I could speak to him in person," Murdock said in the email to council member and town staff.

"He has just left my office and upon deeper discussion, I have accepted his resignation," Murdock said. "Erik felt very bad for having caused this problem and sincerely believed that he was not in conflict when he applied, accepted and was sworn in," Murdock said. "I do not believe that there is any fault with the town since we specifically asked Erik if there was a conflict. This is very regrettable but I am very glad it was caught so early."

Because Ashley was sworn in, the council must pass a new resolution to fill his vacancy, advertise and then interview candidates  again.Anthony Jenkins-Alexie is escorted out of the courtroom on opening day of his trial Tuesday afternoon, March 26, 2019 in the Rabinowitz Courthouse. Jenkins-Alexie is the Fairbanks man charged with the murder in the shooting death of Fairbank police officer Sgt. Allen Brandt, who was gunned down on a downtown Fairbanks street the night of Oct. 16, 2016 while responding to a report of shots fired.Alex Jones, the InfoWars host facing a number of lawsuits over his repeated claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting was a hoax, blamed his controversial comments on psychosis in a sworn deposition earlier this month.

Twenty students and six educators were killed in the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, though Jones has pushed conspiracy theories claiming the shooting was staged by the government using crisis actors in order to take guns away from citizens.

Jones, 45, spoke about his comments during a sworn deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by victims family members, a transcript of which was published by HuffPost.

I, myself, have almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though Im now learning a lot of times things arent staged, he said in a three-hour long deposition on March 14. Video of the deposition was posted online by Texas law firm Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball, LLP.

So I think as a pundit, someone giving an opinion, that, you know, my opinions have been wrong; but they were never wrong consciously to hurt people.

RELATED: Sandy Hook Parents Sue Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones for Defamation: Enough Is Enough

When pressed on attributing his comments to psychosis, Jones claimed to have been traumatized by lying media.

Im just saying that the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything begins  you dont trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they dont know what reality is, he said.

RELATED: Megyn Kelly Slammed by Parents of Victims for Having Sandy Hook Hoaxer Alex Jones on Her Show

So long before these lawsuits, I said in the past I thought everything was a conspiracy and I would kind of get into that mass group think of the communities that were out there saying that. And so now I see that its more in the middle. All right? So thats where I stand.

Story continues

The host also attributed his distrust of law enforcement to watching the police deal drugs and then conduct anti-drug programs in his hometown of Rockwall, Texas, and claimed the public has been lied to so frequently by the mainstream media and the government that they dont believe what theyre told anymore.

The Rockwall Police Department did not immediately return PEOPLEs request for comment.

Jones is facing multiple defamation lawsuits from the families of Sandy Hook victims who claim his peddling of conspiracy theories have damaged both their reputations and inflicted mental anguish.

Two suits were filed in April 2018 by Neil Heslin, whose 7-year-old son Jesse Lewis was killed in the shooting, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, who lost their 6-year-old son Noah.

Both Heslins suit and the one brought by Pozner and De La Rosa seek to address specific accusations made by Mr. Jones and Infowars in 2017 that our clients were participants in a sinister cover-up at Sandy Hook, Mark D. Bankston, an attorney with Kaster, Lynch, Farrar and Ball, in Houston, told PEOPLE at the time.

Neil Heslin, son Jesse | Courtesy Neil Heslin

In May, the families of four students and two educators who died, plus an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, also sued, accusing Jones of being the chief amplifier for a group that has worked in concert to create and propagate loathsome, false narratives about the Sandy Hook shooting and its victims, and promote their harassment and abuse, according to CNN.

Jones has previously described himself as a devils advocate. In a 2017 interview on NBCs former program Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly, Jones stated, I tend to believe that children probably did die there [at Sandy Hook].

But, he continued, then you look at all the other evidence on the other side.

RELATED: Grieving Sandy Hook Parents Say Conspiracy Theorist Tormented Them, Incited Harassment

The liberal nonprofit Media Matters amassed a compilation of Jones comments, which showed that he has repeatedly denounced the mass shooting as alleged fiction, including labeling it a giant hoax in December 2014. Earlier that year, he said, Ive looked at it and undoubtedly theres a cover-up.

Jones attempted to explain his past statements as a means of sparking debate in a 20-minute segment on his radio show in November 2016.

Still, he maintained, Im going to be quite frank, I dont know what really happened. I know there are real mass shootings. I know people lose children. Im a father  it hurts my heart. So I dont know what the truth is. All I know is the official story of Sandy Hook has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.A darkness so deep that, at times, Barbara Bush wanted to die  to slam her car into another passing vehicle or steer into the nearest tree: This is how a new biography depicts one of the most challenging periods in the former first ladys life, years before she went to the White House.

I felt terrible, Bush told journalist Susan Page in The Matriarch, which will be published on Tuesday. I would pull over and park so I wouldnt go hit a tree. I mean, I really felt that depressed.

I really wasnt brave enough to do that, but thats why I pulled over, Bush said, so I wouldnt do that, or I wouldnt run into another car.

Bush, who died last spring at 92, sat for five interviews with Page. The Bush family also provided extensive access and Bush herself made her diaries available for Page to read and quote. Page spoke with 100-plus people for her book.

What emerges in The Matriarch, according to Page, is an account of an oft-beloved but often misunderstood figure in U.S. history.

Barbara Bush was the public figure Americans felt they knew most but really understood least, Page writes. Many embraced her as a down-to-earth grandmother who sported a triple strand of faux pearls and joked about her wrinkles. That soft-focus impression wasnt inaccurate, but it was decidedly incomplete.

In my view, she stands as the most underestimated First Lady of modern times. And perhaps the most interesting.

RELATED: Barbara Bush Blamed Donald Trump for Heart Crisis  and Didnt Feel Like a Republican Before She Died

Among its detailed tracing of Bushs life atop one of Americas preeminent political families, The Matriarch confirms just how much she disliked President Donald Trump, who rose to power savaging the Bushes.

Pages biography also recounts how the former first lady grappled with depression the late 70s, after she and husband George H. W. Bush returned from China where hed been the top diplomat to Washington, D.C., so he could serve as CIA director.

Story continues

It was something that, at the time, Mrs. Bush hid from nearly everyone except her husband, according to Page.

Back in Washington, George Bush plunged into the demands of his new post, but Barbara Bush found herself falling into the worst personal crisis she had faced since daughter Robin had died more than two decades earlier. Overwhelmed by pain and loneliness, she contemplated suicide, Page writes.

After the crisis passed, she blamed a toxic combination of factors for the darkness, Page continues, listing them off: There was the secrecy required of her husbands CIA job, plus the hormonal effects of menopause, plus Mrs. Bushs changing home life.

I thought that was a fourth ingredient into it, besides the no-sharing the job, the children gone, the menopause, I thought the womens movement, at that time  it isnt so true anymore  sort of made women who stayed at home feel inadequate, she told NPR in 1994.

Page also writes that, according to speculation from some of those close to the former first lady, one of her husbands aides could have been creating a strain.

From left: George H. W. and Barbara Bush in 1993

RELATED VIDEO: George W. Bush Slips Michelle Obama a Piece of Candy at His Fathers Funeral Service

Jennifer Fitzgerald first worked for George H. W. Bush while he was in China and later followed him back to D.C., then onto his campaign and the White House.

Allegations that they had an affair would erupt during the 1988 and 1992 presidential campaigns. Both Bush and Fitzgerald would consistently deny them. So would Barbara Bush, Page writes.

As PEOPLE reported in August 1992, President Bush replied sharply to a CNN question about the affair allegations, which by that point had made it to the New York Post.

Im not going to take any sleazy questions like that, he said. Im not going to respond other than to say its a lie.

Fitzgeralds mother also spoke out, saying then: She had a very unhappy marriage, and she cant stand men, according to the 1992 PEOPLE report. Whats more, Fitzgeralds mother remembered her once saying, Ive been through so much. I couldnt have sex with anybody.

RELATED: Jenna Bush Hager Opens Up About the Loss of Grandparents George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush

In The Matriarch, Page reports only that, according to a woman who shared a friends beach house with Fitzgerald in the 70s, Fitzgerald had begun what was at least a flirtatious relationship with President Bush when he was then chairman of the Republican National Committee  including giggly phone calls and whispered conversations.

Still, the purported affair was never corroborated and remained vigorously denied.

Years later, Mrs. Bush reflected on her depression in her own memoir and the support her husband gave her:

I swore to myself I would not burden him. Then he would come home, and I would tell him all about it. Night after night George held me weeping in his arms while I tried to explain my feelings. I almost wonder why he didnt leave me.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush with her husband, President George H. W. Bush | Evan Sisley/Office of George Bush

Her husband encouraged her to seek professional help, according to Page, and Mrs. Bush did try to broach the subject with her doctor  unsuccessfully.

You didnt say anything; I just thought you were tired, he later told her, Page writes. To which Mrs. Bush said: Well, I was tired, but tired of hurting.

She has said that she did not remember when, exactly, her depression lifted. But it seemed to be around or sometime after she began volunteering an area hospital.

I do not consider those miserable six months lost or wasted; I became much more sympathetic of people with emotional problems, Mrs. Bush wrote in her memoir. I used to think that you could control your emotions, that you just need to think of others and not yourself.  But I also realize you cannot handle everything alone. And when things go out of control, you should seek help.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text home to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.Beyonce and Jay-Z accepted the Vanguard Award from GLAAD on Thursday night, at the advocacy groups 30th annual Media Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California.

Approaching the stage to the couples 2003 hit Crazy in Love, the duo gave short, but heartfelt, speeches. Jay-Z spoke for less than two minutes, saying, This journey is filled with highs, lows and a lot of learning. He used his time to honor his mother Gloria Carter, a lesbian whose story was shared on Jay-Zs Smile, and who received a Special Recognition at last years awards ceremony in New York.

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Beyonce said she was overwhelmed. I would say that one of the most beautiful memories of my tour was looking out from the stage every night and seeing the hardest gangsta trappin right next to the most fabulous queen, she said. Respecting and celebrating each other.

Someone from the audience shouted Thats how we do!  a sentiment Beyonce then echoed back.

Were here to promote love for every human being, Beyonce continued. And change starts with supporting the people closest to you. So lets tell them they are loved. Lets remind them that they are beautiful, lets speak out and protect them. And parents, lets love our kids in their truest form.  Id like to request that we continue to shift the stigmas in this community, especially the stigmas in black families towards queer black and brown men and women.

She dedicated the award to her uncle Johnny, who she called the most fabulous gay man Ive ever met. He lived his truth, he was brave and unapologetic during a time when this country wasnt as accepting. And witnessing his battle with HIV was one of the most painful experiences Ive ever lived, she said, her voice choking up.

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Im hopeful his struggles served to open pathways for other young people to live more freely. LGBTQI rights are human rights. To choose who you love is your human right. How you identify and see yourself is your human right. Who you make love to and take that ass to Red Lobster  she said, referencing her line in 2016s Formation that was promptly overwhelmed by applause.

GLAAD also honored Will & Grace actor Sean Hayes, and gave awards to Netflixs Queer Eye (Outstanding Reality Program), Starz show Vida (Outstanding Comedy Series) and Greg Berlanti-directed film Love, Simon (Outstanding Film  Wide Release). Lizzo opened the ceremony with a performance of her hit Juice where she ventured between the tables for the second verse and got the crowd hyped with a flute solo.

However, Shangela, a veteran of multiple seasons of RuPauls Drag Race, may have stolen the night with a seven-and-a-half-minute, well-rehearsed lip sync medley of Beyonce songs. In knee-high boots, Shangela danced wildly to songs including I Was Here, Partition, ***Flawless, Baby Boy, Bootylicious and Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It). Beyonce and Jay had huge smiles watching it. Quipped host Ross Mathews: Shangela performing Beyonce in front of Beyonce  getting a standing ovation from Beyonce. A gay vortex just opened up and we were all here to witness it.

Beyonce and Jay-Z were honored by a handful of speakers including HIV activist Morris Singletary, writer Janet Mock, Bey stylist Ty Hunter and The Chi creator Lena Waithe.

Beyonce shows us that impossible doesnt exist. And the status quo is only for those that lack imagination, said Waithe. For so many black LGBTQIA people, Beyonce represents a light at the end of the tunnel. Shes a wonderful ally because she loves her fans no matter who they are, who they love or how they identify. Not only does she support the queer community, but she also keeps us employed. Choreographers, makeup artists, stylists.

Thank you for not just being inspired by us, but thank you for including us on your team, she added. Both Beyonce and Jay-Z proudly spoke out for marriage equality before it was the cool thing to do. And Jay-Z, when we heard your album 4:44, we all knew it was an instant classic, but the song Smile made it revolutionary.  Smile is more than just a song on the album, its a love letter to anyone thats ever had to live their lives in the closet. Its a modern- day negro spiritual reminding those in hiding that theres still time to make their way to freedom.

Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Connecticut Man's Daughter Asks Him to Sing at Disney World and He Wows Everyone with 'Ave Maria'

A Connecticut man turned the lobby of Walt Disney Worlds Grand Floridian resort into an opera house when he delivered a powerful rendition of Ave Maria earlier this month.

On Sunday, Justin Gigliello shared a video from his serenade on Twitter, prompting thousands of social media users to applaud his talent.

I just wanted to share this video for a Disney experience! We just went to Disney World last week and my daughter asked the pianist at the Grand Floridian if I could sing while he played, Gigliello wrote.

In the clip, Gigliello can be heard belting out the famous song, originally composed by Franz Schubert, as his young daughter watches him proudly.

The clip has since gone viral.

The way she looks at you will never go away. At least thats how it is with me and my dad. Your voice is lovely and pls send the little one love from the internet, one user wrote in the comment section for the post.

Gigliello tells PEOPLE that it all came about after he and his daughter had lunch at the hotel on March 18.

Hi all,



I just wanted to share this video for a Disney experience! We just went to disney world last week and my daughter asked the pianist at the Grand Floridian if I could sing while he played. This is me singing Ave Maria at Grand Floridian. I hope you enjoy! pic.twitter.com/GCJsG11lac  Justin Gigliello (@JGigliello) March 24, 2019

While dining, Gigliello took his daughter on a trip down memory lane, explaining that he used to listen to the music in the lobby with his parents as a kid.

Thats when the little girl said she wanted to do the same. The two then wrapped up their meal and headed to the lobby.

The pianist was playing and we started dancing, Gigliello says. When one of the songs ended she walked right up to the pianist and said My daddy loves to sing and play and the pianist said What song? and she said Ave Maria and thats how it happened.

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The crowd loved it, Gigliello says.

A woman came up to me and said she was in the gift shop and just walked out to see what was going on. Everyones reaction was amazing!

With a voice like Gigliellos, its no surprise that music is his passion.

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I studied voice performance at the Boston Conservatory and have a bachelors degree in voice performance, Gigliello explains.

But, his love for singing started much earlier than that.

I started taking lessons when I was 15 years old, Gigliello says proudly.

Gigliellos impromptu concert even brought some to tears.

What an amazing voice! And the look of pride on your daughters face brought tears to my eyes. This made my day thank you for sharing! one user wrote.

That song always soothed my soul. Your voice cradled my heart just when I needed it today, another person tweeted.At a night in which The Cure were recognized for their musical accomplishments over the last four decades, frontman Robert Smith had the bands future on his mind.

Speaking to reporters following The Cures induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Smith divulged more details concerning the bands highly-anticipated new album.

Because its the anniversary of Disintegration, I was thinking about how we did that, and how we turned that into something, and what my mindset was, Smith explained to Rolling Stone. A key part of it was everyone being away from home, being away from everything they loved, and being in one place at the same time. So for the first time in 20 years, we went into a studio  we actually went into the studio where [Queen] did Bohemian Rhapsody, funnily enough. Its a great studio in the middle of nowhere. We just played music for three weeks. And its great. I know everyone says that. But it really is fucking great.

Smith described the bands new music as so dark and incredibly intense, adding, And Ive waited ten years to do something that means something. Theyve recorded 19 songs so far, with many of them spanning 10, 12 minutes in length.

So I have no idea what to do now, Smith remarked. The others are saying, triple album! Im saying, no lets not. Ill pick six or maybe eight songs and do like a single album. But I think I will delight our hardcore fans. And probably really, really infuriate everyone else. At my age, Im still doom and gloom.

Smith told Rolling Stone that he intends to finish the album before the band embarks on their European festival tour, though its unlikely theyll play much of the new music live. Im not sure how much of it well play this summer at festivals. Its not really festival music.

As for a release date? I dont know, October? Halloween! Come on!

Smith also revealed that the band plans to mark the 30th anniversary of Disintegration with a series of shows in the US later this year. (The band previously announced Disintegration shows in Australia for May.)

Were holding home theaters in New York and Los Angeles, he explained. But I kind of feel like we should do it in a bigger venue. Id like to a big show with it, really. Its a bigger album. I think when we did the first three albums we did three nights at the Beacon in New York. It was much more punky. We were trying to recreate that vibe. But I think Disintegration is just big. So we need to do somewhere thats just big. But probably about Christmas time well come back.Garfield Phones Have Mysteriously Washed Up on a French Beach for 30 Years  Now We Finally Know Why

The mystery behind an endless amount of Garfield phones that have washed up on a European beach for the last 35 years has finally been solved  but the tale is far from over.

Since the mid-1980s, broken and battered phones featuring the famous cats smiling face have washed ashore in Brittany, France, and locals couldnt track down where, exactly, they were coming from. According to the Washington Post, the seemingly infinite number of Garfield phones that have surfaced over the decades has troubled environmentalists, Claire Simonin-Le Meur, president of the environmental group Ar Viltansou, told the newspaper. As many as 200 pieces of the devices were found just last year.

FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty

While locals believed the phones  which were very popular in the 80s  might have been spewing from a sunken shipping container, finding its location was another story.

We were looking for it, but we had no precise idea of where it could be, Simonin-Le Meur said. We thought it was under the sea. We asked people who were divers to look for it. We get a lot of submarines in the area too  its a military area. But they said it was not possible the container could be there and nobody saw it.

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But the environmentalist finally caught a break when she was cleaning the beach of debris.

A local farmer approached her and explained that he had spotted a cavern filled with the phones while he was out exploring a set of caves that are only accessible during low tide 30 years ago.

After waiting for ocean conditions to calm, Simonin-Le Meur and a group of journalists ventured out to the cave last week, where they found more pieces of the phone scattered along its opening.

Then, once inside, the found the long lost shipping container  which, by then, was empty.

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I saw Garfield and container pieces all over the cave. But the bulk of the phones are already gone, the sea has done its job for thirty years, Simonin-Le Meur said, according to Le Monde. We arrived after the battle.

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She added to the Washington Post: We found plastic last Friday and Saturday and Sunday, and we have found a lot of pieces of Garfield. Things are just exactly the same.

Ultimately, while they were too late to stop a majority of the devices from flooding into the ocean, Simonin-Le Meur hopes the news coverage around the plastic Garfield phones has generated interest in cleaning the oceans.

According to the Ocean Conservancy, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter oceans every year, in addition to the estimated 150 million metric tons of the material that currently circulate through aquatic habitats around the world.How is it possible that Downton Abbey has launched the prolific careers of Dan Stevens, Lily James, and Rose Leslie, while also introducing a new generation to the pleasures of Maggie Smith, Shirley MacLaine, and Richard E. Grant? Americans had been blind to Britains deep well of acting talent for years, but something about this window into the British class system via the lives of an aristocratic family and their domestic servants struck a chord with our otherwise inferior taste.

Lord Julian Fellowes, writer and creator of Downton, began his career as an actor; he played opposite Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands, featured in Franco Zeffirellis Jane Eyre, and even makes an appearance in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. He credits this experience with instilling in him an ear for dialogue and penchant for character-driven narrative, but clearly there is something more going on. As a producer on Downton (including the upcoming movie) as well as projects like The Chaperone, he has some jurisdiction over casting. Judging by the Hollywood careers sown from his work, the Lord clearly has an eye for talent.

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I always take a great interest in the casting, Fellowes told IndieWire during a recent phone interview. Casting is one of the areas where I know that my scripts will live or die by who is cast in them, so I do take the greatest interest in that.

The recent trend in Hollywood is to write your own material and parlay that into an acting career, such as Kumail Nanjiani or the Broad City duo. But Fellowes went the other way. While his extensive stage and screen experience influenced his writing, he also writes with a grand respect and admiration for the work of actors, which might explain how hes been able to lure so many good ones to his projects.

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The Chaperone

Working as an actor apart from anything else gives you a good ear for dialogue. One of the things that actors instinctively and immediately pick up when they open a script is whether the dialogue is sayable or not, and I think that did set me up to write dialogue, Fellowes said. I also am unashamedly a believer in actors. Everything I write is about character narrative about the people in the story and their emotional journeys and I think that does come from having an actors viewpoint.

It was the Lady of Downton Abbey herself, Elizabeth McGovern, who first floated the idea for his latest film, The Chaperone. Set in the 1920s, the film follows silent film star Louise Brooks move to New York City when she was just a teenager. Based on a historical fiction novel by Laura Moriarty, the story melds fact and fiction by extemporizing the role of Brooks chaperone, a married woman who escorted her to New York, but about whom not much else is known. McGovern plays the chaperone, here named Norma, opposite Haley Lu Richardsons flirty take on Louise Brooks. As for his connection to the bob-touting actress, Fellowes had one longstanding association.

I have always been very aware of Louise Brooks, because when my mother was very young she was often mistaken for Louise Brooks because she had the same hairstyle, he said. So people would come up to her and say, Oh, Ms. Brooks, will you sign my something, and at the beginning she always used to say, No, Im not Louise Brooks, but after a bit she got bored with that, and so she just used to sign it, With all my love, Louise Brooks. So somewhere in various cinema museums over the world is my mothers signature sitting there instead of Louise Brooks.

While the stories of Downton and Gosford Park, his most successful film, were entirely inventions of his own imagination, adapting a novel posed different challenges. Whenever you adapt anything, youre looking for the film. Almost any novel could yield two or three different sorts of films, and you have to at some point make a decision as to what film you want to come out of it, he said.

Director Michael Engler, star Elizabeth McGovern, and writer Julian Fellowes on the set of The Chaperone

He decided to focus on the trip to New York, using the novels other sections as bookending chapters to the film. One sub-plot he was keen to leave in involved a closeted gay man deceiving his beard. Fellowes has a brilliant way of viewing sexuality through a contemporary lens even in the strictest period dramas, as he did with the Thomas character in Downtown. At one point, Thomas faces potential imprisonment for having an affair with a man. Fellowes was shocked to receive letters from viewers stunned that homosexuality was illegal in 1919.

They didnt have any idea, and I would write back and say not only was it a criminal offense in 1919, it was a criminal offense when I was 15, he said. You know, this is all yesterday that everything changed, and I think its good that young people become aware of how far weve moved.

Fellowes is under no illusions that movies can change the world  his aspirations are more modest than that  but he finds purpose in shaking things up, even if just a little. I dont believe television influences your life. I really dont, and I dont think were high priests who are making it, but I do think every now and then you have the power just to make people think a little and consider their own position, their own feelings and prejudices.  Even if its no more than that and you just give them a minute of pause, that seems to be something worth doing.

He was extremely mum about details for the Downton Abbey movie, set to premiere in September, but said he is very happy with the way the film turned out. He did, however, offer some insight as to what Lord Grantham would make of Brexit. Oh, I think hed be a Brexiteer. No question. Though Im not sure about [where] Cora would be.

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.June Harding, a versatile actress whose film debut in The Trouble With Angels made her a teenage rebel icon, has died. She was 81 and passed away in hospice care in Deer Isle, Maine, according to her brother.

Harding graduated Virginia Commonwealth University, and moved to New York. She broke into show business in the CBS soap opera As the World Turns and appeared in several off-Broadway plays.

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Those roles led Harding to Broadway, where she appeared in the comedy Take Her, Shes Mine in December 1961. She played Art Carneys younger daughter and was opposite Elizabeth Ashley, who played Hardings sister and won a Tony Award for her role.

From there, she joined The Richard Boone Show, an NBC-TV anthology that ran from 1963-1964, appearing as several characters. She also appeared in episodes of 1960s TV dramas like The Defenders, Dr. Kildare and The Fugitive, and in the long-running CBS soap opera As The World Turns.

But it was the movies that won her greatest attention. The Trouble With Angels (the last film directed by Ida Lupino), brought Harding together with Hayley Mills as mischievous teens getting into trouble at an all-girls Catholic boarding school. The movie was a hit with its target teen audience, briefly making both actresses into fodder for the teen magazines of the day. Both Harding and Mills declined to appear in the sequel, Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.

Harding retired from acting in 1970, turning her attention to art. Her work, focused on flowers or cats, became a staple attraction in her Blue Hill, Maine hometown.

A memorial will take place on April 13 at Monumental Methodist Church in Emporia, Virginia.

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.A Cook County judge on Friday ruled that a special prosecutor be appointed to look into States Attorney Kim Foxxs handling of the Jussie Smollett investigation, according to local Chicago news reports.Judge Michael Toomin ruled that Foxx, who recused herself from the investigation, had no authority to appoint First Assistant States Attorney Joseph Magats in her place, reports CBS 2 Chicago. Toomin argued that Foxx essentially appointed Magats to a fictitious office. The prosecutor would be allowed to bring forth new charges against Smollett if it is deemed there are reasonable grounds to do so, according to the report.What causes concerns is that she appointed him to an entity that had and has no legal existence. There is no office of acting states attorney, Toomin said, according to the report. Toomin argued that this meant there was effectively no states attorney when Smollett was arrested, charged, indicted, arraigned, and when the charges were eventually dropped, meaning that all those decisions are invalid.Also Read: 'Empire' Co-Creator Lee Daniels Denies Report Jussie Smollett May Return for Final SeasonI am pleased that the court agreed there was no conflict of interest here. Regarding recusal, I followed the advice and counsel of my then Chief Ethics Officer. In any event, I respectfully disagree with the courts conclusion that, in the absence of any conflict, the appointment of a special prosecutor is required, Foxx said in a statement. As always, I remain committed to transparency, justice, and the public safety of the communities we serve.In March, the Cook County States Attorneys Office dropped all charges against Smollett, who had been indicted on 16 felony counts of filing a false police report. He was accused of lying to police regarding a Jan. 29 incident, in which he said he was randomly attacked by two men shouting racial and homophobic slurs in his Chicago neighborhood.The Empire star  who is not expected to return for the shows final season next year  was originally charged with one felony count for filing a false police report in February. Smollett has continually denied all the charges against him.Toomin said he will ask the Illinois Attorney Generals office and the states appellate prosecutors office to handle the case, according to the report. If not, then he will seek volunteers from other countys states attorneys offices. In May, a Chicago judge ordered that Smolletts case file be unsealed, which made those records available to the public.Read original story Special Prosecutor to Be Appointed to Investigate Handling of Jussie Smollett Case, Could Reinstate Charges At TheWrap

Jussie Smollett has neither been found innocent nor exonerated for filing an untrue police report that he was the victim of a hate crime, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx said in a commentary she wrote Saturday for the Chicago Tribune.

There was considerable evidence, uncovered in large part due to the investigative work of the Chicago Police Department, suggesting that portions of Smolletts claims may have been untrue and that he had direct contact with his so-called attackers, Foxx wrote.

Claims by Smollett or others that the outcome of this case has exonerated him or that he has been found innocent are simply wrong. He has not been exonerated; he has not been found innocent.

Also Read: All Criminal Charges Against Jussie Smollett Dropped

Smolletts representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Foxx and the Chicago police have come under fire for dropping 16 criminal counts against Smollett, who had been accused of staging an attack against himself on a Chicago street in January and filing a false report (which is a Class 4 felony in the state of Illinois). He was ordered to perform two days of community service and forfeited his $10,000 cash bond payment to the city  a normal sentence for a suspect with no prior criminal record.

There were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain, Foxx wrote.

Foxxs office balanced the severity of the crime against the chances of locking a conviction, she said.

Also Read: Jussie Smollett's 'Volunteer Service' Played Role in State's Attorney's Office Dropping Charges

Specifics of the case have not been made public, as Smolletts team has requested that the public records remain sealed.

Foxx maintains that she believes her departments decision not to prosecute the case was the right one.

Also Read: Chicago Prosecutors 'Stand Behind' Jussie Smollett Investigation Despite Dropped Charges: 'We Didn't Exonerate Him'

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Yes, falsely reporting a hate crime makes me angry, and anyone who does that deserves the communitys outrage. But, as Ive said since before I was elected, we must separate the people at whom we are angry from the people of whom we are afraid, Foxx said.

I was elected on a promise to rethink the justice system, to keep people out of prison who do not pose a danger to the community.

Foxx said her office chooses to dedicate more resources to combating truly violent crimes.

As a public figure, Smolletts alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could, Foxx said. None of that, though, should detract from two facts that must be able to coexist: First, falsely reporting a hate crime is a dangerous and unlawful act, and Smollett was not exonerated of that in this case.

Second, our criminal justice system is at its best when jails are used to protect us from the people we rightly fear, while alternative outcomes are reserved for the people who make us angry but need to learn the error of their ways without seeing their lives irrevocably destroyed.

Read original story Jussie Smollett Prosecutor Kim Foxx: He Has Not Been Exonerated At TheWrapIf Chinese takeout is one of your main food groups, make sure youre being careful with your leftover rice.



A National Health Service report from May 2018 has recently resurfaced, alerting the public to the potential dangers of eating reheated rice. The report details the fact that a bacterium called Bacillus cereus is commonly found in uncooked rice, and many spores survive even when rice is cooked. These spores may grow and multiply to create toxins when rice is left out at room temperature after cooking, and these toxins can cause food poisoning when ingested.

PEOPLE reached out to Dr. Travis Stork, a physician and member of the our Health Squad, for an expert opinion on the study, and he confirmed its validity.

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The fact that B. cereus can cause food poisoning in leftover rice is something I memorized very early in medical school, he said, noting that pastas, soups and sauces can also be affected when left out at room temperature. Food poisoning from rice is commonly associated with fried rice  it has actually been called fried rice syndrome  because restaurants that serve fried rice can sometimes leave the rice out for long periods of time to cool before mixing it into a fried rice dish.

The longer rice is left out, the greater the chance that you may suffer from food poisoning from it, because the bacteria will continue to multiply. Dr. Stork recommends using caution when eating rice from buffet-style restaurants that leave rice sitting under heating lamps for this reason.

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But what about when youre cooking at home? The NHS report makes clear that its not reheating rice that creates problemsits the way the rice is stored prior to reheating. Dr. Stork advises putting rice and other foods in the fridge immediately after cooking, storing in a wide, shallow container to help prevent bacteria from multiplying. Rice should ideally be served immediately after its cooked, and be thrown out if its left at room temperature for more than two hours.

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If stored appropriately, you can store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before reheating, Dr. Stork says. When you do reheat it, make sure its heated to 140 degrees, steaming all the way through. Reheating more than once is not advised.

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If youre a fried rice fan, dont fret just yet. Dr. Stork says you shouldnt stop adding rice to your takeout order out of fear of food poisoning, you just need to be a little more cautious about where you order from, and how you store it if you plan on eating it the next day.

I certainly order rice for takeout because the reality is that food poisoning can occur with almost any food if prepared or stored incorrectly, Dr. Stork says.Lori Loughlin and her family are feeling the heat from the nationwide college admissions cheating scandal.

A source tells PEOPLE that Loughlin, 54, her husband Mossimo Giuannulli, 55, and their daughters Olivia Jade, 19, and Isabella Rose, 20, are continuing to lie low at their house in Bel Air, California.

They cant wait for the court hearing next week to be done with, says the source. Its very hard for them to think about other things right now.

Loughlin and the fashion designer are set to appear in court April 3 after being charged in an alleged college admissions scam involving elite colleges and universities including Yale, Georgetown, the University of Southern California and Stanford.

They are both feeling very stressed out, adds the source. Meanwhile, Olivia is spending most of her time with her boyfriend, model Jackson Guthry, in Malibu.

She is definitely upset with her parents. This wasnt her idea, the source says.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli | Donato Sardella/Getty Images for LACMA

The indictment alleges the couple agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team  despite the fact that they did not participate in crew  thereby facilitating their admission to USC. (Neither Olivia Jade, 19, or Isabella, 20, are listed on the USC womens rowing roster.)

Both Loughlin and Giannulli were arrested three weeks ago on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. They were released on $1 million bonds. Loughlins attorney has not returned PEOPLEs requests for comment.

A source previously told PEOPLE Olivia Jade and Isabella have no plans to return to USC, adding, Right now, they are just focused on getting through this ordeal.

RELATED: Lori Loughlin Once Said She Never Wanted to Do Anything That My Children Have to Pay the Price For

The girls are not talking about future plans. They are more focused on whats next for their parents, the source said. They are living in the moment and thats all they can do right now. For them, this is all still a nightmare.

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A source also told PEOPLE that some of Loughlin and Giannullis friends have been distancing themselves from the couple as of recently.

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Lori and Mossimo are finding out quickly who their real friends are, the insider said. Its not like they are the victims of a crime. They are the crime. Many of their friends dont want to be associated with them right now.

Olivia Jade, Lori Loughlin and Isabella Rose | Gabriel Olsen/Getty

The pair are two of 50 people indicted as part of the alleged nationwide scheme, which broke on Tuesday when federal court records were unsealed in Boston. Other notable names include Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman and author Jane Buckingham.

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According to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Massachusetts, the widespread effort was made by wealthy families to get their children into top colleges by falsifying SAT scores, lying about their athletic skills, and more. Its unclear if the children were aware of any of these alleged crimes.

Some named in the court documents allegedly paid bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, UCLA, the University of San Diego, University of Texas and Wake Forest, according to federal prosecutors.Mary Kay Letourneau tried everything to save her floundering marriage husband to Vili Fualaau, a source close to the former teacher tells PEOPLE.

After Fualaau filed for legal separation in May 2017, the couple had multiple discussions about where things were going, the source says. She really tried everything she could think of, but she just wasnt able to work it out. She loves him, she knows he loves her, but it really seems like it has run its course.

PEOPLE confirms a legal filing with the King County Superior Court stating the couple is moving forward with private arbitration to finalize their split.

Heidi Gutman/ABC/Getty

After all that, the cards were stacked against them, but they managed to have a long-term marriage, says the Letourneau source. She still looks at their relationship as this amazing love story.

Many would disagree. The relationship began when Fualaau was just 12 years old and Letourneau was his sixth-grade teacher. Ultimately, she was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape in connection with their relationship. She twice became pregnant with Fualaaus children before he was 15, despite court orders that would keep them apart.

By the time she was released from prison, Fualaau was an adult  and he petitioned the court to allow them to see each other. The restraining order was dropped, but Letourneau remains a registered sex offender in Washington state.

The couple married in 2005, despite the criminal history of their relationship.

Im not surprised that they got married, Letourneaus lawyer and friend David Gehrke told PEOPLE in 2017, after the couple first announced their plans to split before they later attempted to reconcile. And Im not surprised, in this day and age, that they are separating.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

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Heidi Gutman/ABC/Getty

RELATED VIDEO: Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaaus Relationship Through the Years  from Prison to Marriage

Vili was the one who filed a petition for separation, which is usually a precursor for filing for divorce, Gehrke continued. It gives legal notice to creditors and the like that the debts wont be joint. She could try to contest it, but thats legally tough to do.

But the couple didnt follow through on the plans to separate. Letourneau, 57, and Fualaau, 35, still lived together. They were occasionally spotted out in the Seattle area.

But the reconciliation didnt work and the source says the separation is real this time.

She tried very hard, says the source. You have to remember: she gave up a lot to be with him. The idea of throwing it all away now is awful to her. But it takes two to make things work, and I dont think they have it in them anymore.Model and body positive activist Elly Mayday has died at age 30, after a long struggle with ovarian cancer.

Her family announced that she had passed away on March 1 on her social media accounts.

Ashley was a country girl at heart who had a passion for life that was undeniable, her family wrote. She dreamed of making an impact on peoples lives. She achieved this through the creation of Elly Mayday which allowed her to connect with all of you. Her constant support and love from her followers held a special place in her heart.

The trailblazing model was born as Ashley Luther in Saskatchewan, Canada, and adopted her new name as she fought her way through the industry as one of the first curvy models.

But at just 25 years old, she started feeling sick  constant and severe lower back pain led to four trips to the emergency room. Still, her doctors sent her away with painkillers and said that she needed to lose weight.

The doctor told me to work my core, Mayday told PEOPLE in 2015. Were undermined being younger, being women. I started to realize no one is going to help me unless I help myself.

She pushed for a deeper look, and a CT scan revealed an ovarian cyst that turned out to be a stage 3 ovarian cancer, which typically only occurs in post-menopausal women.

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After several surgeries and months of chemotherapy, Maydays outlook was looking up. Unfortunately, in 2017, her cancer returned, and she spent much of the last eight months in the hospital. Advance-stage ovarian cancer is difficult to treat, and 40 to 50 percent of ovarian cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy and enter remission will have a recurrence within three years, according to the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.

RELATED VIDEO: 17-Year-Old Ovarian Cancer Survivor on the Symptom She Ignored: I Want to Make People Aware

In her penultimate post before her death, Mayday wrote on Instagram that she has always been looking for that opportunity to help people, and it turned out to be with sharing her cancer battle.

My choice to be public and try and share my strength was imminent. Helping is how I justify my time here is well spent. Im lucky I have been able to combine it with the fun career of modeling, cause thats also very me (hah no surprise), she wrote. I appreciate everyone who lets me know Ive made a difference, with my advice, my sharing, my photos and just my general approach to a real tough situation.Pa. Police Chief Allegedly Raped Child Hundreds of Times Over 7 Years, Along with Friend Police Chief, Friend Accused of Raping Child Repeatedly

A small-town Pennsylvania police chief and his friend are accused of raping a child over a seven year period starting when the alleged victim was 4 years old.

A statement from Pennsylvanias Attorney General Josh Shapiro confirms the two Lehighton men  Brent Getz, the 27-year-old Chief of the Weissport Police Department, and friend Gregory Wagner, 28  were arrested Tuesday.

Both are accused of raping the same child hundreds of times over a seven-year period.

Getz and Wagner remain in jail without bond after being charged with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and aggravated indecent assault of a child, among other charges.

Neither defendant has entered pleas to the charges.

The press release states the investigation began in May 2012 when the victim, then 12-years-old, reported to a substitute teacher that Gregory Wagner, then 22-years-old, had sexually assaulted her.

The teacher went to the Franklin Township Police Department and alerted them of the allegation. An investigation ensued but didnt lead to criminal charges.

In 2015, the case was reassigned and police prepared a criminal complaint charging Wagner with various crimes, reads the statement. The complaint was dismissed by the Magisterial District Judge due to a paperwork error. The charges were never refiled.

But then, in August 2018, a Franklin Township Police Officer revisited the case and asked the victim to come back in for an interview. At this time, the victim also disclosed that Brent Getz, who was Wagners friend, had sexually assaulted her too. Getz is now the Chief of Police in Weissport.

Gregory Wagner | Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office/AP/Shutterstock

According to the statement, the victim revealed that, consistent with her prior disclosures and examinations, from age 4-11 she was  raped by Wagner. She reported that Getz would also join in these assaults.

The statement adds: Additionally, she said that Wagner often made her watch pornography with him, which she recalled depicted teenagers.

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Neither defendant has an attorney of record who could comment on the charges.

Shapiro said in his statement that the allegations are horrifying.

The defendants terrorized this young victim by assaulting her hundreds of times over seven years, he said in the statement. My office will listen to survivors and prosecute anyone who sexually abuses children to the fullest extent of the law we are able  no matter how much time has passed. Im grateful for the work of my agents to bring these predators to justice and prevent them from harming anyone else.

The statement says a search of Wagners home Tuesday turned up a number of electronic devices, including his cell phone, which was allegedly used to search for child pornography.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

It is not known at this time how the girl knew her alleged attackers.

The statement alleges that Wagner was interviewed and admitted to sexually abusing the victim over the course of several years. He also admitted that Getz sexually abused the victim and that they would do so together.

A call to the Weissport Police Department was not returned by press time.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.Dad charged with killing his 8-year-old son; police still searching for boy's body

Dad charged with killing his 8-year-old son; police still searching for boy's body originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Weeks after 8-year-old Noah McIntosh vanished, his father has been charged with first-degree murder, police announced Friday.

But authorities are still searching for the boy's body.

The case began on March 12, when police in Corona, California, responded to a welfare check on Noah after his mother, Jillian Godfrey, contacted the department saying she was concerned about his whereabouts, police said.

(MORE: Trinity Love Jones, 9-year-old found dead in duffel bag, celebrated at memorial service)

Godfrey said she hadn't been able to reach her son for almost two weeks, police said. Officers tried to contact his father, Bryce McIntosh, but he didn't answer, police said.

PHOTO: Bryce McIntosh is accused of killing his son, Noah, 8. (Corona Police Dept.)

"On March 13, a search warrant was authored and served at Bryces apartment," the Corona Police said in a statement. "The evidence discovered provided detectives probable cause to arrest Bryce McIntosh and Jillian Godfrey for child abuse. The evidence also led investigators to several locations throughout the county."

"At the locations ... we did collect trace evidence that leave no doubt that Noah is the victim of a homicide," Corona Police Chief George Johnstone said at a Thursday news conference.

A first-degree murder charge was filed Thursday against Bryce McIntosh, including a special circumstance murder of torture, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said.

(MORE: 'Almost got away with murder': How a job application led to an arrest in woman's 1998 cold case killing)

He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 8. It was not immediately if he had legal representation yet.

If convicted of all charges, Bryce McIntosh could face life without possibility of parole and would be eligible for the death penalty, Hestrin said.

"I'm not prepared to discuss the motive. We do believe there is motive for this to have occurred," Johnstone said.

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Johnstone said Bryce McIntosh was not cooperative with the investigation and that Godfrey "has very limited information."

"It does not make sense that the parents of an 8-year-old child would not know his whereabouts or be able to get give you specific details of when he was last seen," Johnstone said.

"This tears at the heart of every person that has touched this case," the chief said. "There is no more trust a child should have than in their parents."

(MORE: 15-year-old girl mysteriously dead in LA; motive, suspects remain unknown)

Godfrey remains in custody on child abuse charges, officials said. She is not charged in connection with her son's death, officials said.

Though Noah remains missing, the police department said officers "will remain steadfast" in their search until the boy is found.

Police do not know the specific date of the alleged killing and are asking for the public's help, Johnstone said.

"We ask our community to reflect back to February 20 through March 12," the police department said. "Any community members that may have seen Noah, suspect Bryce McIntosh, his vehicle a black BMW 330i, CA license 5MKE807, or Jillian Godfrey are asked to contact the police department."Teen Omarian Banks fatally shot after knocking on the wrong door in Atlanta

Teen Omarian Banks fatally shot after knocking on the wrong door in Atlanta originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

A teenager who was looking for his girlfriend's apartment in Atlanta was shot and killed after knocking on the wrong door, police and loved ones said Saturday.

Omarian Banks, 19, was trying to visit his girlfriend, Zsakeria Mathis, Friday when he mistakenly went to a different apartment in the complex where she had recently moved, Banks' cousin Rakiya Hawkins told ABC News Saturday morning.

(MORE: Lawyers for family of man killed in wrong-apartment incident cast doubt on story of Dallas officer who killed him)

PHOTO: Omarian Banks, an Atlanta teen who was killed after knocking on the wrong apartment door, police said. (Zsakeria Mathis)

Banks was FaceTiming with Mathis before knocking on the door, Hawkins said.

He "was knocking on a door that he believed to be his girlfriends apartment. Shortly after, the victim walked away from the door," Atlanta Police Sgt. John Chafee told ABC News in an emailed statement.

But that's when Darryl Bynes, who was in the apartment where Banks knocked, allegedly "went onto his balcony to confront the victim," Chafee said.

The two men exchanged words, and Bynes, 32, allegedly opened fire, Chafee said in the statement.

"The resident produced a handgun and shot the victim," he said.

PHOTO: Omarian Banks is pictured in this undated photo posted on Facebook. (Omarian Banks/Facebook)

The Atlanta police statement said Banks had been shot in the neck and died at the scene, but offered no other details on the other gun wounds.

Bynes was arrested on Friday and charged with murder in court on Saturday morning, Chafee said. He is currently in Fulton County Jail. He has been assigned a public defender, Reona Bray, who did not comment on his case.

Bynes' cousin Mackayla Johnson told ABC News that he is "a loving family man. He's never had the intent to harm anybody. He's not aggressive, does not have an aggressive criminal record."

The victim's mother, Lisa Johnson, said she struggled to understand what happened.

(MORE: Houston police embroiled in scandal after 'lies' found in no-knock warrant that led to fatal raid on alleged drug house)

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PHOTO: Omarian Banks, an Atlanta teen who was killed after knocking on the wrong apartment door, police said. (Zsakeria Mathis)

"I just want to understand why he had to take my son's life. My son was just confused. He just went to the wrong door and he was begging for his life," Johnson told ABC News.

Johnson remembered her son, who worked at McDonald's, as "a typical teenager."

"He worked. He was getting his life together, just trying to make his mom and family proud" she added. "My son was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Mathis said she was on the phone with him right before the shooting.

"He was a good person. He wasn't doing anything wrong," she told ABC News. "He just made a mistake by going to the wrong door. He had a big heart and loved everyone that was around him."

ABC News' Vera Drymon and Barbara Friedman contributed to this report.Trump cuts all direct assistance to Northern Triangle countries Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

In a stunning about-face, State Department officials said that President Donald Trump is cutting off all direct assistance to the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

At the Secretarys instruction, we are carrying out the Presidents direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. We will be engaging Congress as part of this process.

(MORE: Trump threatens to completely close southern border as early as next week if Mexico doesn't stop 'illegal immigration')

These three countries are the primary source of migrants to the U.S., but for years the U.S. has worked with them to stabilize their political environments and economies and end violence and corruption so that migrants wouldnt leave in the first place.

Trump hinted at the cuts earlier on Friday, telling reporters,Ive ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore.

While the president has threatened these cuts before, this time the administration is actually following through.

PHOTO: Border Patrol agent Vincent Pirro touches a section of the border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, behind, from San Diego, Feb. 5, 2019, in San Diego. (Gregory Bull/AP)

Trump said the funds totaled $500 million, but it wasnt clear Friday if that figure was accurate. The State Department announced in December that the U.S. would mobilize $5.8 billion in public and private american investment to these three countries.

Were not paying them anymore because they havent done a thing for us, he added.

His senior-most advisers, however, have carried a very different tune, talking very often about the importance of this assistance to stem the flow of illegal immigration.

(MORE: Pence to immigrants: 'If you can't come legally, don't come at all')

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was in Mexico and Honduras this week meeting with their leadership to sign new partnership agreements. Pompeo testified before the House of Representatives on Wednesday about the administration's efforts, saying the president had instructed him and Nielsen to use U.S. funding to "develop a set of programs that reward effective outcomes, that reward good leadership, that get us to a place where we actually achieve the outcomes."

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In a speech in Brazil last June, Vice President Mike Pence touted the significant resources the administration was putting toward this effort, though much of those resources were allocated under former President Barack Obamas administration.

PHOTO: A U.S. Border Patrol agent pats down Honduran migrants after they crossed onto U.S territory from Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 30, 2018. (Felix Marquez/AP, FILE)

The United States of America has never been more committed to strengthening our partnership with the nations in the Northern Triangle to help ... tackle the problems facing our shared neighborhood, Pence said in October when hosting leaders from the Northern Triangle and Mexico at the State Department with Pompeo.

Trump's previous threats to pull the plug, however, had often left U.S. officials scratching their heads and straining to explain why these funds described as key to stemming migration would be cut off -- as punishment for not stemming migration.

When Pompeo was challenged on the presidents previous threatening tweets on Wednesday, he told Congress, "Im not going to comment on my evaluation. You asked me about the U.S. policy, and Ive done my level-best to articulate it."From Cosmopolitan

Love bombing may very well be the scariest thing that can happen while dating. Not only is it an extremely manipulative tactic used by narcissists and abusers, but its very, very hard to detect and suss out as its happening. (As I said, scary.)

Love bombing is characterized by excessive attention, admiration, and affection with the goal to make the recipient feel dependent and obligated to that person, says licensed therapist Sasha Jackson, LCSW. And as the recipient, love bombing feels really good because of the boost of dopamine and endorphins you receive. You feel special, needed, loved, valuable, and worthy, which are all the components that contribute and increase a person's self-esteem.

At the beginning, everything may seem perfectmaybe even too perfect. You might think youve found someone who is not only into you, but showers you with attention, love, gifts, etc. Like, all the validation and affirmation youve been waiting for. But then, later on, your relationship may turn into something you dont even recognize.

Sounds horrifying, right? So to help you understand more about what love bombing is and potential warning signs you can look out for, weve tapped a bunch of experts to help you navigate a potentially love bomber situation. Everything you need to know below.

What is love bombing?

Like mentioned above, love bombing is a manipulative tactic used by narcissistic and abusive individuals. Love bombers seek to quickly obtain the affection and attention of someone whom they are romantically pursuing by presenting an idealized image of themselves, says Lori Nixon Bethea, PhD, owner of Intentional Hearts Counseling Services. The overall goal? To enhance their ego by gaining power over those being pursued.



Anyone is capable of love bombing, but it's most often a symptom of narcissistic personality disorder, according to Ami Kaplan, LCSW, a psychotherapist in New York City.

"Love bombing is largely an unconscious behavior," Kaplan says. "Its about really getting the other person. Then when they feel like they really got the person and they feel secure in the relationship, the narcissist typically switches and becomes very difficult, abusive, or manipulative." She adds that the same person who was just super idealizing of their partner will switch to devaluing them.

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While it's common behavior among narcissists, as Kaplan mentions, love bombing wasn't first coined by psychologists but famous cult leaders. Members of the Unification Church of the United States (a notorious cult better known as the Moonies) love bombed new recruits to encourage them to join their fellowship. Other narcissistic cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh used a similar method of excessive positive reinforcement in order to manufacture feelings of intense unity and loyalty.

What are some signs you are being love bombed?

Dating a love bomber isnt going to look the same in every situation, but a few telltale signs of a love-bombing partner are extravagant gifts, obsessive flattery, constant complimentary texting, and always expecting a prompt reply.

If you're looking for more specifics, here's what a love bomber might say, says Jackson:

I want to spoil you. (Aka if your partner buys you excessive gifts in a short amount of time.) I just want to be with you all the time. If you feel guilty for wanting boundaries or space, not a good sign. I like to check on you because I get worried. If they check in every once in a while, cute. Constant checking in on your whereabouts, checking on social media pages, or asking for passwords? Love bombing. We are meant for each other. Be cautious if things feel really intense really fast, or they mention you being their soul mate or twin flame early on. Its you and me forever, right?

And here's how a love bomber might act, per Bethea:

The love bomber will demand your attention and time and may isolate you from your family and friends (for example, they may become angry and make you feel guilty for making plans with others). The love bomber will excessively compliment you and shower you with affection. The love bomber will persuade you towards making a commitment to them, very early in the courtship.

Why is love bombing so dangerous?

Love bombing can be incredibly detrimental to your mental health, as it is a form of emotional abuse. And Jackson says it has everything to do with the law of reciprocity: "If someone gives you something you feel that you owe them something equal or greater in return. So if your partner is giving you excessive love and attention, you feel like you have to give this behavior, dedication, or 'loyalty' in return despite the red flags you experience."

It also may become a cycle of abuse, says Betheau. "Once the targeted person becomes hooked on the love bomber, the love bomber has not only gained control over their partners mind and heart, but they have also had their ego boosted. At this phase, they no longer have any use for their partner and begin the process of withdrawing from the relationship."

"Once the love bomber begins to withdraw, they may begin emotionally abusing their partner. They may hurl insults, make disparaging remarks, gaslight, and cause their partner to feel invalidated and devalued. The love bomber is aware that they have control over their partner and may eventually walk away from the relationship, with an understanding that they can return at anytime to continue the cycle of abuse."

What to Do if You're Being Love Bombed

Point blank, love bombing is a form of psychological manipulation . Still, its normal to feel a strong attachment to a love bomber or even to defend their actions. When narcissists target their desire to control someone, they look for deep-seated insecurities and find ways to exploit them. For instance, you may feel like this person truly gets you or sees you for who you really are. It might feel like this relationshiphowever controlling it ishas also provided you with the kind of validation that youve always wanted.

If you realize the person you're with is love bombing (or doing any sort of manipulative behavior), you should do what you can to safely remove yourself from an abusive situation and to seek out support systems outside of the relationship.

If its still early days and you think this behavior could just be hard-core crushing rather than love bombing, its still worth having a conversation and expressing how the attention is making you feel. Something as simple as, "Hey, this seems to be moving pretty fast and I need to set some boundaries," is a good place to start.

Its in your best interest to try and safely stop communicating with someone who you realize is acting to control or manipulate you (or others in your life). It's almost certainly not within your capability to change a love bomber's behavior, and it's not your job to do so anyway (leave that to the professionals who aren't emotionally invested). The best course of action is simpledump them, unfollow them, and find the support you need to back you up.

Kaplan suggests finding someone outside of the relationship to fully acknowledge the fact that youre dealing with not only a manipulative person, but also a mentally ill person. Seek out a close friend or family member who can keep your confidence, or search for a therapist or support group there are many that specialize in dealing with narcissism.

"You want to get some support of other people who have been in relationships with narcissists," Kaplan says. "And for people who can, the question is how to start setting boundaries so that you are not getting abused. Just take small, slow steps based on your circumstance."

You Might Also LikeA falling star fell through this exposure. I was shooting outside the museum in Wiseman, on Nov. 2, at 1:50 p.m. Thanks to Gary Tomlin, of Fairbanks, for sending along this shot.Photo credit: Getty Images

From Women's Health

New details about Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of blood-testing company Theranos, are coming out now that the HBO documentary The Inventor has been released.

Apparently, Holmes displayed majorly paranoid behavior toward her employees, stalking them on social media and demanding "absolute loyalty."

Holmes also allegedly sought out incriminating information about employees to leverage against them.

Elizabeth Holmes fake deep voice (or maybe not fake?) wasnt the only odd behavior she displayed when running her now defunct blood-testing company Theranos. In light of the new HBO documentary The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley, details about Holmes paranoid behavior toward her employees are emerging.

In journalist John Carreyrous book on Theranos, called Bad Blood, he wrote that Holmes administrative assistants would friend employees on Facebook and tell her what they were posting there" and that she demanded absolute loyalty from her employees and if she sensed that she no longer had it from someone, she could turn on them in a flash.

That meant Holmes would seek out incriminating material from an employees past. One employee reported that she asked him to create a dossier on another employee that she could use against them to get what she wanted. Whoa.

Sowhat would make someone act like that?

Her behavior seems deeply paranoid. Basically, paranoia is defined as pervasive and unwarranted mistrust and suspiciousness of others. People who are paranoid are locked into a rigid and maladaptive pattern of thought, feeling, and behavior based on the conviction that others are out to get them, according to the APA. "The hallmark of paranoia is that youre afraid of something thats irrational, says Chloe Carmichael, Ph.D., WH advisor and therapist in New York City. Its different from PTSD, when fear is based off a past negative experience.

There are different levels of paranoia as well. It can range from something an innocuous as worrying that your coworkers are talking about you, to a condition known as paranoid schizophrenia, which would cause you to not only worry about your coworkers gossiping, but possibly hallucinate that you hear them talking about you, says Carmichael. Its unclear if Holmes had any condition like this, or if she was just an extremely controlling boss.

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Still, stressful situations and anxiety can exacerbate paranoid thoughts, says Carmichael, and Holmes was definitely facing a tough reality about the future of her company. When youre experiencing paranoia, you assume other people are being aggressive, and it makes it easy to justify your own aggressive and hostile behavior toward them, Carmichael says. Lashing out is a common reaction to paranoia, as is the opposite: retreating and withdrawing from people.

Clearly, Holmes was not creating a work environment built off trust and respect, whether or not she was dealing with paranoia.

('You Might Also Like',)He was a WeBoy. She was a WeGirl. They met at a Cinco de Mayo party at their WeWork.

WeWorksthe brand-name shared workspaces with Instagrammable details like exposed brick and copious plantshave become, like Ubers and Airbnbs, another venture-backed emblem of the post-crash gig economy. The first one opened in New York in 2010. Since then, the company has expanded to 425 locations, servicing more than 400,000 freelancers, startups, and larger companies with remote staffers, and a website with an Airbnb-like interface showing airy office porn in cities as far-flung as Warsaw, Poland and Lima, Peru.

Members can avail themselves of the usual startup-style staples: bike storage, water with fruit floating in it, and a sense of community. They can baste themselves in community in the cushy common areas, flattered by the Urban Outfittersy color palettes. Many WeWorks also offer craft on draft to lube everyone up for inter-company small talk, though the company has recently taken steps to curb alcohol consumption by its members, in part to clean up its startup-bro image. And then, of course, there are the social events.

At this particular Cinco de Mayo party, there was enough liquor for a three-day frat party, and our heroine, 29 years old and working for a recruitment company, had decided to stay for one more drink.

I saw him across the room, she recalls. Like her, he was tall. He was wearing a suit and his shirt was a little bit unbuttoned. And, well, he also had an British accent. It sounds so cheesy, but it was one of those movie moments, where I was taken aback by how attractive he was. I don't do double-takes a lot, but all I could think was, Holy shit, who is that and how do I talk to him?

A tray of tequila shots drifted by and she and an acquaintance each grabbed one. The man approached from across the room, and the conversation came easily. They returned to the barthe kitchen counter, ratherto order more drinks. Soon they started swiping bottles and smuggling them to another floor, where a handful of people had started a satellite party.

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The group went to a bar, but the two of them returned to their WeWork. To network.

After that night, they would coordinate makeout sessions around the building. One evening, while they were leaving the building, they made out in the elevators so aggressively that building security buzzed in on the intercom to remind the couple that they could see them. After a few weeks, they started dating in earnest.

These days, if we hear about an office tryst, particularly one that began under boozy circumstances, its usually because it ended in disaster. (Last October, for instance, a former WeWork employee sued the company, alleging that shed been sexually assaulted at two company events, and had been fired in retaliation after she reported the incidents to human resources.) Anyone who was not already aware of the dangers of flirting with coworkers before #MeToo has, by now, at least absorbed some caution by osmosis.

The fate of flirting in coworking spaces, among people working for themselves or for distinct companies, is murkier. It felt low stakes, the woman said of her relationship in the weeks following the Cinco de Mayo party. You're not supposed to be there to meet people, so you're just genuinely being yourself.

The conditions lend themselves to flirting. Theres proximity, like in an officeyou see the same people often enough that they become familiar and accessiblebut youre not colleagues, per se.

Everyone is basically my age, and a lot of us are doing similar kinds of work, so were all kind of like-minded, one 28-year-old copywriter said. He said he had gone on dates with two women from different companies at his WeWork, stressing that he did not date them concurrently. He met one woman at a lunch with friends, asking her out after theyd exchanged emails and struck up a robust Gchatship. He asked the other woman out after several rounds of elevator small talk. There had been a lot of eye sex, he added. Im not ordinarily that brave. Neither courtship went beyond a fling, but he said it wasnt especially awkward seeing either woman around.

Of my eight acquaintances who belong to coworking spaces, including both WeWorks and others, three said they have gone on dates with someone from their coworking space and two said they are interested in someone there. (Three said they are there to work or marriedpuh!) Several WeWorkers said that the flexibility of a coworking space made making a move on an office crush less intimidating. If things went bad, they reasoned, they could choose to work in common areas or even ask to change floors. Although, some of the same dynamics as a traditional office remain: As one woman pointed out, changing floors is only an option for people who arent coworking with a team: If you're not in charge, how do you explain that? Hey I slept with a guy in the glass box around the corner, do you mind if we move floors now?

Putting aside the possibility that youll wind up hiding from your former lover in a phone booth, crying into a paper cup full of fruit water, the opportunity to fraternize with workers at other companies is an oft-touted perk of joining a WeWork: 61 percent of members say they meet with between one and five people outside their own company at WeWork per week. We love that WeWork is a place for connections of all kinds, a WeWork spokesperson told me. Our mission is to build a global community. It's a thrill for us to hear stories of these connections going beyond just business."

The company does appear to celebrate its couples, often with the wholesome pride of a church heralding a wedding in its flock. WeWorks blog, Creator, recently featured a couple who met at a WeWork in Manhattan in 2016, and have since created a company together. Three years later they share an apartment on the Upper West Side, a rescue dog named Benji, and a startup. The coworking dream.

A coworking space might seem like a flirting utopiaall the access of an office without the chain of commandbut making a move in a coworking setting is still risky. If you dont wind up sharing an apartment on the Upper West Side with a dog named Benjiif, say, your flirting veers into sexual harassmentthe course of action in a coworking space is often less clear than it might be in an office with a designated human resources body. In 2016 a writer at Quartz described her surprise when she reported recurring sexual harassment to the owner of her coworking space (not a WeWork). Dont worry about it, the owner said of her harasser, He does that to everybody!

WeWorks have a code of etiquette (Golden Rule-type stuff), but the companys role is closer to that of building manager than officemarm: Though WeWork community managers can step in to mediate violations of etiquette, the company doesnt function in a human resources capacity. They provide the Petri dish for a community to grow, but they dont claim responsibility for monitoring any weird overgrowths.

There are also less obvious tensions inherent to getting involved with someone from an adjacent company. The woman who met her boyfriend at their offices Cinco de Mayo party worried that his coworkers would think she was distracting him if they found out about the relationship. The couple would usually leave the building to spend time together, but she still felt self-conscious when she walked past his workspace on her way to the kitchen. She found the relationship as distracting as dating an immediate colleague.

I changed offices a few months later, which was likely for the best, she said. If I hadn't been in a low-stress job, then I would have been in trouble.

Update: Changes were made after publication for clarity.Hand drawing a red line between the UK and the rest of the European Union

Those of us living in Britain at the moment are in the power of the old Chinese curse: May You Live In Interesting Times.

Whether you wanted the U.K. to leave the European Union or not, its certainly the case that no one currently knows whether or not we will, as I write this at the start of February 2019.

If you havent been following our recent history, we voted to leave in 2016 by a narrow margin and the deadline to do so is coming up at the end of this March. If we do leave, we may do so on fairly organized terms, or we may crash out without an alternative deal with the EU in place. Parliament is divided as to what to do. Essentially our MPs do not like the deal that the government has spent years negotiating and have turned it down, but no one can agree what to put in its place.

Related: Author With Fibromyalgia Writes Romance Novel Featuring Protagonist With Chronic Pain

It is also proving impossible to square the circle that Northern Ireland wants to stay part of the U.K., and the rest of Ireland wants to remain part of the EU, but no one wants a hard border between the two as it will serve as a reminder of the many years of fighting in the region. So leaving without a deal is looking increasingly likely. This will cause widespread disruption after 40 years of being part of a union with Europe. There are thousands of civil servants working on contingency plans, and there have been warnings from retailers and from the head of the NHS that shortages of food and medicine are likely, even though precautions are being taken.

There are people who say it will be worth a little short-term pain to gain our long-term independence. I doubt this: I am firmly a Remainer who thinks leaving the EU is a illogical decision, and that another referendum would now be won by our side. However, my parents, who voted in favor of Brexit in the referendum of 2016, are as horrified as I am about how little certainty we have with the March deadline to leave approaching so rapidly. Like thousands of others who voted for Brexit, they didnt think the picture would be so confused this late.

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Related: What a Pain Clinic Might Have to Offer You

There are those who think we should just leave with no trade deals in place, and the EU will be kind to us to save their own supply lines, and allow us to fudge the Irish issue. I am not confident about this. These people seem to forget that we were the ones who wanted to leave, not the 27 other nations involved, and the EU is under no obligation to do anything of the sort. Neither does it want other nations to be encouraged to leave.

Leaving without a deal  which Parliament has not ruled out doing  seems to me to be to be a terrifying risk. I take eight different medicines, chiefly for chronic pain, and my son takes four to control his asthma. Any of these being hard to obtain will have a huge impact on our lives. I have tried to get slightly ahead on ordering, but the NHS understandably doesnt want individuals building up stocks of expensive medicines that may get out-of-date before they are used. Or, in the case of prescription-strength painkillers, are potentially dangerous to have lying around in large quantities. Thus there is little that I can do other than watch and wait.

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I am reasonably hopeful, please God, that common conditions like asthma will be well catered for and that children will be first in the queue. I am less certain about how patients with chronic pain will be treated. We are not exactly looked after brilliantly by society at the moment. I have suffered from extensive back pain since 2011, despite major spinal surgery in 2013, and have lost my teaching career  and, indeed, the hope of any decent career  over it. I have lost friends and security and freedom to travel, as I cannot sit for very long. I waited for 15 months to successfully appeal for Employment and Support Allowance, even though I was only entitled to it for a fixed period. Others I know in similar situations have seen their marriages break up and family support melt away. And now, as if all this were not enough, we are going to have to live with uncertainty about our prescriptions being filled, possibly for years, until all this is sorted out?

Make no mistake about it, our demands will not be at the forefront of anyones minds when it comes to contingency planning. Any strong painkillers in limited supply will, quite rightly, go to acute, life-threatening cases. It is possible that even some medics will point out that painkillers are not, after all, a very effective treatment for chronic pain, so perhaps we should find another way of coping. Some people may even consider us drug addicts who would be helped by coming off our meds, even if we have never once exceeded the stated dose or abused the drugs in any way.

I have tried, and continued to try, all the non-pharmaceutical ways of coping. I have more resources on mediation and mindfulness than most bookshops, and any physio would be proud of my collection of various devices to help with stretching, or massaging, or heating and cooling. Like thousands of others I take painkillers every three to four hours, night and day, because I cannot function otherwise. I would rather not be doing this, and yes, I fully admit the drugs dont totally kill the pain  but they reduce it enough to get me out of bed to take care of my children. They certainly arent there to get me high, and it seems likely they arent brilliant for my liver in the long-term either. I take them because I have no other choice.

And now, because the politicians in all parties seem to be unable to get together and work this out, I am constantly worried about what is to come, and I am sure most people with chronic illness feel the same. In Britain you grow up thinking that the NHS will always be there for you, even if the waiting times for routine things can be long. (Its our compensation for the weather!) Now I see the prospect of having to dole out my pills carefully, of missing out on even more activities than I already do, and of being in even more pain. I see having to let down my family more often. I see feeling terrified during a flare-up that this time I really cannot cope.

This isnt scaremongering, those of you who support Brexit: its genuine, heart-stopping fear. I will be happier than anyone if it turns out to be groundless.

Read more stories like this on The Mighty:

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Senators Gillibrand and Gardner Introduce Legislation to Limit Opioid Prescriptions to 7 Days

I May Be Disabled, but I Am Still AbleEarlier this week, Boeing (BA) released to government officials and select pilots a software fix to its 737 Max 8 aircraft which suffered two fatal crashes over the past six months. Though these software fixes have not been green-lighted, it is a step forward in ultimalty getting the grounded aircraft back in the air. The challenge at hand is the MCAS safety feature, which is an automated program that prevents the plane from going into a stall. But while this is Boeings most pressing challenge, a Congressional investigation and increased regulation may be coming, which would increase scrutiny on the normally well-trusted company.

Nevertheless, Tigress analyst Ivan Feinseth reiterates a Buy rating on BA stock, without suggesting a price target. (To watch Feinseth's track record, click here)

Feinseth is looking long-term on Boeing. He says there is little long-term impact from the current issues that are affecting BAs stock price, as the company is in the process of releasing a free update of anti-stall software for the issue that will expand safety functionality integration and pilot training going forward. Essentially, the analyst points out that once this one problem is fixed, Boeing will see clear skies ahead.

Helping Boeings long-term potential is greater demand for commercial aircraft, driven by increasing demand in passenger and freight traffic along with an upcoming increase in retiring older planes. Feinseth says that demand for aviation services including aircraft, maintenance, and supply chain support is expected to grow over 4% annually over the next 20 years to a total value of over $8.8 trillion, of which Boeing controls a massive stake as it is one of of two major commercial aircraft manufacturers.

Beyond the commercial market, Feinseth says Boeing is also benefiting from increasing needs in cybersecurity, communication systems, and greater defense spending, while high returns on capital and profit will be driven by increases in gross margin and a lower tax rate. Furthermore, the analyst believes, the potential for a new trade agreement with China in the next few months is also a significant upside catalyst.

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All in all, many analysts seem to be looking at Boeing as a long-term stock, with the recent dip a buying opportunity. The company is the largest in the US industry, and competes only with Airbus on large commercial contracts  with worldwide demand for air travel and new planes increasing, it only makes sense that this is passed down to Boeing.

TipRanks analysis of 23 analyst ratings shows the analyst community generally agrees with this belief; 16 analysts recommend Buy on BA stock, five suggest Hold, and believe Sell is the right approach. The average price target among these analysts stand at $431.13, which implies a 13% upside from its current level. (See BA's price targets and analyst ratings on TipRanks)

More recent articles from Smarter Analyst:Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - An appeals court judge in Brazil on Saturday overturned another judge's decision to bar commemorations, sought by President Jair Bolsonaro, of a 1964 military coup that established a 21-year dictatorship.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing former paratrooper and an unabashed admirer of the country's former dictators, on Monday ordered the military to observe the 55th anniversary of the coup "appropriately" in the nation's military barracks.

His call to mark the armed overthrow of left-wing President Joao Goulart sparked widespread anger, and several street protests are planned for Sunday.

The attorney general's office on Wednesday called on personnel to "abstain" from paying tribute to a regime that committed "serious human rights violations."

And on Friday, Judge Ivani Silva da Luz in Brasilia declared that such a commemoration was "not compatible with the process of democratic reconstruction" promoted by the country's 1988 constitution.

But the ruling was overturned on Saturday by an appellate judge, Maria do Carmo Cardoso, who accepted the government's argument that Brazilian democracy was strong enough to support "a pluralism of ideas."

"I see no violation of human rights, particularly as similar demonstrations took place in the barracks in preceding years with no negative consequences," she wrote.

In recent days, troops in some barracks went ahead to mark the 1964 coup. A message from the defense minister citing the military as a necessary "rampart against totalitarianism" was read.

Bolsonaro is the country's first president since democracy was restored in 1985 to publicly exalt the military regime, though he argues its rise to power was not a "coup."

In the past, the outspoken Bolsonaro has referred to the dictatorship as a "glorious" time in Brazilian history. He was quoted in 2008 as saying that "the error of the dictatorship was that it tortured but did not kill."

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Since taking office, Bolsonaro has had fond words for military dictators in 1970s and 1980s Latin America, such as Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay and Chile's Augusto Pinochet.

Bolsonaro, who ran for the presidency as a political outsider determined to dismantle a culture of corruption, has seen his approval rating plunge amid scandals and missteps since his January 1 inauguration.

His idea of marking the 1964 coup has received little support outside his own ultraconservative Social Liberal Party (PSL).

- Protests set for Sunday -

Street protests against the commemorations -- and in memory of the dictatorship's victims -- are planned for Sunday in major cities including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, under the banner of "Dictatorship -- Never Again."

A 2014 report published by a national truth commission found that 434 assassinations were carried out in the years after the 1964 coup, as well as uncounted arbitrary detentions and cases of torture of political opponents.

But unlike its South American neighbors, Brazil has not prosecuted military officials for regime-era crimes, leaving the events of that dark period unresolved.

Scholars have dismissed his and others' attempts to legitimize the 1964 overthrow and the decades of military rule that followed.

"This always falls in the camp of folklore, the ridiculous, because the scientific evidence is indisputable," said Carlos Fico, a history professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.Protesters calling for the United Kingdoms exit from the European Union (EU), or Brexit, marched to Parliament Square in London on Friday, March 29, as parliament voted no for a third time on a proposed exit deal with the EU.

Video posted to Twitter shows marchers singing as they made their way to the square. This March to Leave was organized by politician Nigel Farage and Leave Means Leave, a lobbying organization pressuring the government to implement a plan to exit to EU.

Thousands of people were reportedly in attendance. Credit: Richard Marston via StoryfulZagreb (AFP) - Around 300 people from around the Balkans joined Croatia's first-ever transgender march Saturday to draw attention to the discrimination they face in the largely conservative region.

Blowing whistles and playing drums, the demonstrators walked through downtown Zagreb escorted by special police.

"Change your hearts not my parts" and "Trans lives matter" read banners carried by the marchers.

In a statement earlier, the march organisers warned that the region was facing a "rise of right-wing, fascist groups, which almost always focus their attacks on marginalised people" including women, migrants and trans persons.

The march was intended to send "clear messages of pride and defiance, a revolt against those who try to claim dominion over our bodies, minds and lives, as well as against all forms of oppression," they said in a statement.

"Solidarity is key. We all need it," Evan, a 30-year-old trans activist from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, told AFP.

"It's also very emotional experience because it's all of the Balkans coming together."

Croatia, a European Union state since 2013, has seen a gradual liberalisation of gay rights in recent years. Homosexual couples have been able to register as "life partners" since 2014.

The law granted them the same rights as heterosexual married couples on matters such as property, inheritance, tax, health and social insurance.

Despite these changes however, gay and transgender communities are still exposed to threats or forced underground in Croatia and other Balkan countries.British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during the debate in the House of Commons in London, Britain, on March 29, 2019. British lawmakers on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, which has already been rejected twice in Parliament since January. (Xinhua/UK Parliament/Mark Duffy)

LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, dealing a third blow since January to the Withdrawal Agreement, which sets out the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union (EU).

THIRD DEFEAT

MPs voted 286 to 344 to turn down the Brexit deal. Britain now is facing a real possibility of no-deal Brexit on April 12 unless the prime minister can win a new agreement from Brussels, where EU leaders are set to meet in a summit on April 10.

One more vote, one more defeat. Chaos and uncertainty remain in the country.

The prime minister's third defeat came despite her offer to step down if her deal passed.

May's resignation offer did not win enough support for her deal, although the margins were getting smaller in each of the three votes over the past three months.

The Withdrawal Agreement, reached between London and Brussels in November 2018 after long painful negotiations, was rejected in the House of Commons by a record 230 votes in January and by 149 earlier this month. Friday's majority was 58.

A string of Brexit-backing Conservative backbenchers who had voted against May's deal in the previous two meaningful votes switched sides during parliamentary debates to support the agreement after the prime minister agreed to resign.

However, the opposition Labour Party is still unwilling to shift its political stance over the deal, and the 10 MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party are determined vote it down, just like what it did in the first two votes. From Northern Ireland, the DUP props up May's minority government.

Therefore, it was not enough to secure a majority for the prime minister, who has been waging an uphill fight to save her Brexit deal.

NO-DEAL PROSPECT REAL

After the Friday vote, the prime minister said in the House of Commons that "The implications of the House's decision are grave. I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House."

Meanwhile, she vowed to press ahead for "the orderly Brexit that the result of the referendum demands."

In response, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, directly called on the prime minister to step down and trigger a general election. The opposition leader's remarks in the parliament were echoed by MPs from other parties.

Given the latest vote outcome, observers here said that the prospects for a no-deal Brexit is real although the parliament already voted to reject a hard Brexit.

The prime minister warned that time is not enough to win a new agreement from Brussels with only 14 days to go until the new Brexit day, and the parliament has to decide whether Britain will take part in the European Parliament elections in May, scheduled for May 23-26.

The original Brexit day of March 29 was intended to avoid the British participation in the coming elections.

Any new Brexit date requires unanimous approval from 27 EU countries.

The European Commission, which said the latest parliamentary rejection is regretful, also said that a no-deal Brexit on April 12 was "now a likely scenario."

UNCERTAINTY LINGERS

The prime minister's third defeat came on the day when the United Kingdom was meant to be leaving the EU, the largest trading bloc in the world.

Instead, the original Brexit day turned to be a day of protest, anger and blame as thousands of pro-Brexit British people gathered hours before the vote in a square near the parliament in order to have their voices heard. MPs on Wednesday voted to change original Brexit departure day of March 29 in law to April 12 or May 22.

Nigel Farage, a broadcaster and leader of the Brexit Party, said at the rally that "history will mark (today) as the day of great betrayal."

The Friday vote does not mark the end of efforts and tests. MPs are due to hold another series of "indicative votes" on Monday in order to find a majority in the parliament to break the current Brexit deadlock.

At the same time, the Friday vote dramatically increases the chances of a long delay to Britain's EU divorce. The prime minister has earlier openly opposed any longer Brexit postponement, saying she would like only seek "short and technical" extension of the Brexit process.Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Thousands of Palestinian protesters gathered along the Gaza-Israel border on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of mass demonstrations for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Here are some facts about the protests and the deadly clashes that have accompanied them:

Dead and injured

The first day, March 30, 2018, saw 20 Palestinians killed across the Gaza Strip. Since then dozens more have been killed during the at least weekly protests.

Around 200 Palestinians have been killed, with the vast majority shot by Israeli snipers, though others have been hit by tear gas canisters or shrapnel.

One Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper.

The Palestinians killed have been distributed over five designated protests sites along the border.

Some have proved more deadly than others. In particular, Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, with at least 54 deaths, and east of Gaza City, with at least 42, have proved particularly dangerous, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

A further 6,500 people have been shot, according to the Gaza health authorities, the vast majority in the legs.

Palestinian attacks

While many protesters have remained far back from the heavily fortified border fence and demonstrated peacefully, other have approached in numbers and clashed with Israeli forces.

They have routinely burned tyres, thrown stones and hurled homemade explosives at the fence and towards soldiers on the other side. There have also been attempts to breach the fence.

The army says since the protests began, there have been 18 incidents of gunfire along the border and around 600 Molotov cocktails thrown.

A particular concern has been incendiary devices attached to balloons, which are floated across the border. In total, these balloons have sparked 1,963 fires and have caused damage across 35 square kilometres (nearly 14 square miles) of land, according to figures published by the army.

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Who are the dead?

The overwhelming majority of those killed have been male and young. Around 40 have been under 18, according to UNICEF.

Two journalists in marked press vests and three medics have been killed, including 22 year-old Razan al-Najjar. Her case grabbed global attention.

Israel says it is investigating 11 deaths, including Najjar's.

The political affiliations of those killed has been a matter of debate.

After more than 60 people were killed in demonstrations against the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, Israel seized on comments by a Hamas official that the vast majority were affiliated with the movement, which both the European Union and the United States blacklist as a terrorist group.

Others said the official was potentially exaggerating the movements role and no official figures exist on political affiliation.* TUI warns of financial cost of 737 MAX groundings

* Expects plane to be out of service until mid-July at least

* Anti-stall system in focus after two fatal accidents

By Georgina Prodhan and David Shepardson

FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Anglo-German tour operator TUI became the latest Boeing 737 MAX operator to warn of a hit to its profits as the U.S. planemaker moved to restore confidence in its best-selling model after two fatal crashes that have grounded the planes worldwide.

TUI said it was planning for the planes to remain grounded until at least the middle of July, costing it upwards of 200 million euros ($224 million) in core profit, with "considerable uncertainty" about when the 737 MAX would return to service.

Boeing hopes a software fix that it plans to introduce may address a problem common to both accidents that killed a total of 346 people, as investigators into the two accidents focus on new anti-stall software known as MCAS.

Investigators looking into the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash have reached a preliminary conclusion that the anti-stall system was activated before the plane hit the ground, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people briefed on the matter.

Ethiopian investigators have not yet published any report and there is no proven link between the Ethiopian crash in which 157 people died and October's accident that killed 189 in Indonesia.

But a preliminary report is expected as early as next week and U.S. safety investigators have reviewed data from the "black boxes" that were aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, four people briefed on the investigation told Reuters.

The amount and quality of training that Boeing and airlines provided to 737 MAX pilots is one of the issues under scrutiny as investigators around the world try to determine the causes of the two 737 MAX crashes within five months.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Boeing's development process and what Boeing disclosed about MCAS.

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On Thursday, a lawsuit against Boeing was filed in Chicago federal court by the family of Jackson Musoni, a citizen of Rwanda, who died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

The lawsuit alleges that Boeing had defectively designed the automated flight control system. Boeing said it could not comment on the lawsuit.

GROUNDINGS

Reuters reported on Friday that U.S. and European regulators knew at least two years before the Indonesian crash that the usual method for controlling the 737 MAX's nose angle might not work in conditions similar to those in the two recent disasters, citing a document.

The European Aviation and Space Agency (EASA) certified the plane as safe in part because it said additional procedures and training would "clearly explain" to pilots the "unusual" situations in which they would need to manipulate a rarely used manual wheel to control, or "trim," the plane's angle.

Those situations, however, were not listed in the flight manual, according to a copy from American Airlines seen by Reuters. Boeing declined to comment on the EASA document.

Boeing's fastest-selling, fuel-efficient 737 MAX jet, with orders worth more than $500 billion at list prices, was grounded globally by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulators in the wake of the second crash.

TUI said on Friday that with no dates yet announced by Boeing for modifications of the aircraft, nor for approval of those changes by U.S. and European regulators, it was currently planning for the grounding to last until mid-July.

Other flight operators including Southwest Airlines - the world's biggest operator of 737 MAXs - United Airlines and Air Canada have also warned of hits to their business from the grounding of the planes.

TUI, which has 15 737 MAXs representing 10 percent of its fleet, said extra costs would include replacement aircraft, higher fuel costs, other disruption and negative trading impact, sending its shares down by around 10 percent.

"Should it not become clear within the coming weeks that flying the 737 MAX will resume by mid-July, TUI will need to extend the above-mentioned measures until the end of the summer season," hitting profits by another 100 million euros, it said.

Morningstar analyst Chris Higgins on Thursday reduced his estimate for how long the groundings would last to two months from three, based on details presented by Boeing of its proposed fix to the MCAS software.

"We've revised our base-case timeline for the groundings to around two months because this MCAS fix appears mature, the MCAS upgrade should only take one hour per plane, and the updates will not require significant training," he wrote in a note. ($1 = 0.8916 euros)

(Reporting by David Shephardson in Washington; additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, Alwyn Scott and Allison Lampert in New York and Jamie Freed in Singapore Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore/Keith Weir)DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it faced an emergency in a southwestern province threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported. Some 56 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan may have to be evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain, the provincial governor, Gholamreza Shariati, told state television. "Some residents are resisting (evacuation calls) because of their livestock...and because they've experienced similar circumstances in the past," Shariati said, adding Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had agreed to call an emergency in Khuzestan. Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to "control floodwaters and to minimize possible damage". "It's estimated that in the next five days about three billion cubic meters of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall ... 1.8 billion of which (is above capacity and) will have to be released," he told state television. The semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Shariati as saying floods could also threaten the provincial capital Ahvaz if the rain is at the highest end of forecasts. In the neighboring province of Lorestan, at least eight villages and parts of the town of Dorud were being evacuated, the semi-official news agency Fars reported. Officials have said the government would compensate residents for flood damage. At least 45 people were killed this week in flash floods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains recorded in Iran in at least a decade, the state news agency IRNA quoted Health Minister Saeid Namaki as saying. Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead. Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz new year holiday, a time when many families travel. Iran has implemented measures to prevent rain and flooding affecting its main crude oil export terminal on Kharg Island in the Gulf, the head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company told the semi-official news agency Mehr on Saturday. National Iranian Gas Company said earlier its pipeline network had not been affected by the bad weather. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Helen Popper, Edmund Blair and Marie-Louise Gumuchian)RABAT, Morocco (AP) -- The Latest on the Pope's trip to Morocco (all times local):

7:55 p.m.

Students at a school for Muslim preachers have told Pope Francis and Morocco's king that they will bring home the lessons of building bridges between religions and promoting a moderate model of Islam.

Nigerian student Hindu Usman told the leaders during Francis' visit Saturday that she hopes to spread tolerance and peaceful coexistence between Christians, Muslims. She said her country needs advocates to help resolve conflict and misunderstandings.

She said: "Upon my graduation and return home, I will be able to argue and convince that religion is for peace and goodness ... that women are equal with men in their rights."

Although women are unable to become imams, women are trained in the Mohammed VI Institute and graduate with the title of female preachers so they can give lessons on the values of moderate Islam to female mosque-goers.

The institute receives students from all over Europe and Africa.

___

7:20 p.m.

Pope Francis is telling a group of migrants seeking protection in Morocco that they are "at the center of the church's heart," not on its margins, and deserve to welcomed, cared for and integrated into their new homes.

Francis denounced the "merchants of human flesh" who traffic in desperation and called for greater legal channels for migration during a visit to a Catholic charity caring for the migrants who have flocked to Morocco seeking passage to Europe.

And he said all migrants, regardless of their legal status, deserved protection, particularly the most vulnerable children and women. The pope told them "you are not the marginalized. You are at the center of the church's heart."

Morocco last year became the main destination for sub-Saharan African migrants seeking to reach Europe via Spain.

___

6 p.m.

Pope Francis and Moroccan King Mohammed VI are calling for Jerusalem to be preserved as a symbol of peaceful coexistence and for Muslims, Jews and Christians to be allowed to worship there freely.

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The two leaders issued a joint appeal on Saturday as Francis arrived in the Moroccan capital Rabat for an overnight visit.

The appeal said it was important to preserve the Holy City "as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated."

Tensions erupted in late February over Israel's closure of a building at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

The walled compound, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock, is the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest site of Judaism.

___

5:15 p.m.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI is calling for more religious dialogue between Muslims and Christians and says education is the answer to religious extremism.

Greeting Pope Francis on the pontiff's first visit to Morocco on Saturday, the king said challenging times are facing the world's religious community and require dialogue "for the sake of the future and that of the coming generations."

Reading segments of his speech in Arabic, French, Spanish and English, the king said: "We need to tackle these new ills, which feed on treachery as much as on the instrumentalization of the divine message. What all terrorists have in common is not religion but rather ignorance of religion."

Morocco has sought to become a voice of moderate Islam in the Muslim world.

___

5 p.m.

Pope Francis is urging Morocco to continue offering migrants welcome and protection, saying at the start of a visit to the North African kingdom that the global migration crisis cannot be resolved by building walls, spreading fear or denying aid.

Francis arrived Saturday in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, which last year became the main destination for sub-Saharan African migrants seeking to reach Europe.

In a speech at the Hassan Tour complex, where two of Morocco's monarchs are buried, Francis told King Mohamed VI and government officials that he hoped Morocco would continue to be a model of humanity, welcome and protection for migrants seeking a better life.

He said: "The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families."

___

4:30 p.m.

Moroccan security agents have tackled a man who broke though security and ran toward King Mohammed VI as he and Pope Francis greeted crowds during an in-tandem motorcade parade in the Moroccan capital.

The man didn't reach the king, who seemed not to notice the disturbance on Saturday. The man appeared to be waving an envelope as he tried to snake his way between the motorcade vehicles before being tackled. His fate was unknown.

The incident occurred as the king was escorting Francis to the Hassan Tower complex for a formal welcome ceremony.

Francis is in Morocco for a quick trip to boost Christian-Muslim ties and show solidarity with the country's growing migrant community.

___

3:40 p.m.

Pope Francis is praising Morocco's efforts to promote an Islam that repudiates extremism as he opens a quick trip to the North African kingdom that has tried to distinguish itself as a beacon of religious tolerance and moderation in the Muslim world.

King Mohamed VI welcomed Francis on Saturday as the pope began a visit aimed at encouraging Christian-Muslim ties and showing solidarity with Morocco's ever-growing migrant community.

In a speech to the king and Moroccan authorities at the Hassan Tower complex, Francis said it was "essential" for all believers to counter religious fanaticism and extremism with solidarity. He called religious extremism "an offense against religion and against God himself."

Later Saturday Francis is heading to a migrant welcome center run by the Caritas Catholic charity.

___

2:25 p.m.

Pope Francis has arrived in Morocco for a trip aimed at highlighting the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties, while also letting him show solidarity with migrants at Europe's door and tend to a tiny Catholic flock.

Francis will address the first two items Saturday, and the third when he wraps up the visit with a Mass and a meeting with Moroccan clergy on Sunday.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI was on hand to greet Francis when he landed under a pouring rain in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, for a 27-hour visit.

The highlight of the trip is likely to be Francis' visit Saturday to the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams that epitomizes Morocco's efforts to promote a moderate brand of Islam and export it via preachers to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

___

10 a.m.

Pope Francis's weekend trip to Morocco aims to highlight the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties while also letting him show solidarity with migrants at Europe's door and tend to a tiny Catholic flock on the peripheries.

Francis will address the first two items on the agenda Saturday when he begins his 27-hour visit to Rabat, the Moroccan capital. He'll tend to the third when he wraps up the visit with a Mass and a meeting with Moroccan clergy on Sunday.

The highlight of the trip is likely to be Francis' visit Saturday to the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams that epitomizes Morocco's efforts to promote a moderate brand of Islam and export it via preachers to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Morocco, a Sunni Muslim kingdom of 36 million, reformed its religious policies and education to limit the spread of fundamentalism in 2004, following terrorist bombings in Casablanca that killed 43 people.By their nicknames, the top contenders in Ukraine's presidential election resemble a colorful operetta cast: "The Chocolate King," ''the Gas Princess," ''The Servant Of The People."

Opinion polls before the March 31 vote indicate that no one will come close to the 50-percent support needed to win in the first round. These three appear to have the best chances of making it into the second round three weeks later, each of them bearing vivid qualities.

PETRO POROSHENKO

Poroshenko, the incumbent, came to power in 2014 with the image of a "good oligarch." The bulk of his fortune came from a seemingly innocuous source, the chocolate-maker Roshen, hence his nickname "The Chocolate King."

He promised to divest himself of the whole business upon becoming president.

Five years later, there's little sweetness left in his image. He hasn't sold the chocolate business. Critics denounce him for having done little to combat Ukraine's endemic corruption, the war with Russia-backed separatists in the east grinds on with no clear strategy for ending it and while his economic reforms may have pleased international lenders, they've left millions of Ukrainians wondering if they can find the money to pay their utilities bills.

But the 53-year-old Poroshenko also has scored some significant goals for Ukraine's national identity and its desire to move out of Russia's influence. He signed an association agreement with the European Union  which predecessor Viktor Yanukovych turned away from, setting off the protests that eventually drove him out of office. Ukrainians now can travel visa-free to the European Union, a significant perk. He pushed relentlessly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be recognized as self-standing rather than just a branch of the Russian church.

YULIA TYMOSHENKO

Tymoshenko has abandoned the elaborate blond hair braid that made her the most recognizable figure of the 2004 Orange Revolution protests, but she's retained the vivid rhetoric and populist leanings.

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In her third run for the presidency, the 58-year-old Tymoshenko is playing heavily to the economic distress of millions of Ukrainians. She has promised to reduce prices for household gas by 50 percent within a month of taking office, calling the price hikes introduced by Poroshenko to satisfy international lenders "economic genocide." She also promises to take away constitutional immunity for the president, the judiciary and lawmakers.

Before entering politics, Tymoshenko was widely called "the Gas Princess" because she headed a middleman company that imported Russian gas.

Her popularity soared after the 2004 revolution and she was named prime minister. But her star soon fell again as she and President Viktor Yushchenko quarreled, and he dismissed her after nine months in office. She returned to the premiership in 2007 and lasted until 2010, when she lost the presidential election to Yanukovych.

In 2011, she was arrested and charged with abusing power as premier in a natural gas deal with Russia. Tymoshenko said the proceedings were politically motivated revenge, and Western governments voiced concern about her incarceration. She was released amid the disorder of the 2014 overthrow of Yanukovych, and lost a presidential election to Poroshenko three months later.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY

Zelenskiy may be approaching the point where life imitates art.

The 41-year-old comic actor's most famous role is his TV portrayal of a schoolteacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral. Even before he announced his candidacy, Zelenskiy's name was turning up high in pre-election public opinion polls, with potential voters seemingly encouraged by his "Servant of the People" TV series (which became the name of his party).

Like his TV character, Zelenskiy the candidate has focused strongly on corruption. He proposes a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption and calls for a tax amnesty under which someone holding hidden assets would declare them, be taxed at 5 percent and face no other measures.

He supports Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO, but only if the country were to approve this in a referendum.

Zelenskiy's clean image has been shadowed by his admission that he had commercial interests in Russia through a holding company and by persistent speculation about links with oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, who owns the television station that airs "Servant of the People."Managua (AFP) - The government of Nicaragua pledged to restore protest and press freedom rights while disarming paramilitaries under a deal reached Friday, an opposition delegate to the talks said, after a year-long political upheaval.

The central American country has been in crisis since April last year when a protest initially against a now-scrapped pension reform transformed into calls for the ouster of President Daniel Ortega.

Unrest left more than 300 people dead, 2,000 wounded, and sent 52,000 into exile, human rights groups say.

Ortega, a former leftist Sandinista guerrilla, first came to power through a popular uprising in 1979 but protesters last year accused him and his wife of establishing a dictatorship characterized by nepotism and brutal repression of the opposition and independent media.

The agreement announced Friday is the first since stop-and-start talks between the government, whose delegation is led by Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, and the opposition began on February 27.

Under the deal, the government also commits to disarming the paramilitaries who intervened during protests against Ortega, said an opposition official, Juan Sebastian Chamorro.

The 18-point document says "the state promises to return" to Nicaraguans the civil rights and freedoms they were denied, Chamorro told a press conference in Managua.

The government will "guarantee the rights to gather and protest" provided for by the Constitution and suppressed by the police in September to end the demonstrations against Ortega.

Non-governmental organizations that were dissolved for supporting the protesters are also to be legally reinstated.

According to the agreement, authorities are "to take the necessary measures to ensure the disarmament of those who carry arms without authorization and those who organize themselves into armed groups" outside the framework of the law.

Nicaraguans who have been exiled since the beginning of the unrest can "come back with all guarantees of security," says the agreement.

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The government is also to respect freedom of expression and will enable the import of paper and other materials necessary for the written press. Daily newspapers critical of the regime have been deprived of essential supplies by the authorities since September.

Peace talks resumed on March 21 following an agreement by the government to release all detainees within 90 days.

The opposition had suspended its involvement three days earlier after riot police used tear gas against opposition demonstrators and reporters while temporarily detaining more than 100 people seeking the release of political prisoners.

There are differing figures for the number of political detainees.

According to a list compiled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 647 people are being held as a result of the anti-government protests. The government says it is holding 350 while a committee of relatives maintains 807 people are in custody.

The regional office of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday expressed its readiness to facilitate the release process, a joint government-opposition statement said.By Tim Reid

(Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will hold campaign rallies on Saturday in his home state of Texas, where he faces far different challenges in the 2020 race from those of his underdog U.S. Senate run in 2018.

O'Rourke's campaign hopes the former congressman's personal ties to delegate-rich Texas give him a critical early boost in the large Democratic field fighting for the party's nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump.

But the primary is hardly a lock for the native son.

In the unexpectedly close race against incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz that earned O'Rourke national prominence last year, he was the lone Democrat competing against a Republican figure reviled by Democrats nationally.

Now, O'Rourke, 46, faces a diverse slate of accomplished and well-funded rivals hunting for the same votes, especially among the state's African-American and Hispanic communities.

"It's a much different animal this time," said Colin Strother, a Texas-based Democratic strategist who has worked on state and federal races but is unaffiliated with a 2020 presidential campaign.

"He's going to have rivals who are women candidates, women of color, male candidates of color, policy experts. He can't campaign on the nostalgia of nearly beating Ted Cruz."

Texas is a big prize in the Democratic presidential nominating battle. The state is one of many holding primary votes on "Super Tuesday" on March 3. California moved its primary up to that date, giving more influence to minority voters in the country's two most populous states than in recent election cycles.

There are a combined 82 delegates up for grabs in predominately white Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote, according to the Democratic National Committee, which oversees the nominating contest.

Texas and California have a combined 757. To become the nominee, a candidate must accumulate 1,885 delegates.

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Democratic rival Kamala Harris, a U.S. senator from California and the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, has made clear she intends to compete in Texas. Last week, her event at a historically black college in Houston drew a large crowd of blacks, Hispanics and whites.

Texas is also home to Julian Castro, another presidential contender who served as mayor of San Antonio. Castro, who is Hispanic, has received support from three dozen elected and appointed Democrats from across Texas.

O'Rourke's campaign did not respond to an email requesting comment about the Texas primary.

O'Rourke, who launched his White House campaign on March 14, returns to Texas after barnstorming early voting states including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. He will hold rallies on Saturday in his hometown of El Paso, as well as Houston and Austin.

His campaign said more than 1,000 watch parties were being held across the country to view the events via livestream.

'STILL FORMIDABLE'

Juan Carlos Huerta, professor of political science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, said O'Rourke had an advantage in the Texas primary thanks to his statewide network and fundraising prowess.

O'Rourke smashed fundraising records as a Senate candidate and raised $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, the largest first-day haul of any announced candidate this year.

"He's in a good position. He's still formidable," Huerta said.

Some Democratic strategists said O'Rourke did not campaign hard enough to win the support of minority voters in his last contest and would have to work to change the perception that he took them for granted.

Ernest Bromley, managing director of Pescador Public Strategies, a political messaging firm targeting Latinos, said O'Rourke had ground to make up after underperforming with Latino voters, particularly along the border with Mexico.

"He went to the large Hispanic counties, the border counties, and he would do these big rallies. And then he'd leave," Bromley said, adding there was no sustained effort to turn out the Latino vote on Election Day.

"Last year, I think O'Rourke could have done much better with ethnic voters," Bromley said. "The candidates that do focus on the ethnic vote in 2020 will do well in Texas. It's going to be really interesting."

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Los Angeles; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)(This March 26th story corrects number of North Korean workers that U.S. believed were working in China to 50,000 from 80,000.) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia sent home nearly two-thirds of some 30,000 North Koreans working there during 2018 and China repatriated more than half of those employed there but did not specify a figure, according to unpublished reports by Moscow and Beijing to the United Nations Security Council. The one-page reports, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, were submitted to the council's North Korea sanctions committee in compliance with a 2017 resolution that demanded the repatriation of all North Korean workers by the end of this year to stop them earning foreign currency for leader Kim Jong Un's government. The United States has said it believed Pyongyang was earning more than $500 million a year from nearly 100,000 workers abroad, of which some 50,000 were in China and 30,000 in Russia. The U.N. Security Council has steadily toughened sanctions on North Korea since 2006 to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim have met twice in the past year in a bid to negotiate denuclearization. The December 2017 U.N. resolution required countries to report to the sanctions committee this month on all North Korean workers repatriated during 2018 "including an explanation of why less than half of such" workers were repatriated if applicable. Russia reported that in 2018 the number of North Koreans "with valid work permits in the Russian Federation decreased from 30,023 to 11,490 persons." Key North Korean ally China said it had repatriated "more than half of the total DPRK nationals earning income." "China will continue earnestly implementing its international obligations, carry out the repatriation work in an orderly manner and complete the repatriation on time," wrote China's Mission to the United Nations, adding it did not want the report to be made public. The United Arab Emirates told the Security Council committee it had sent home more than half of the North Koreans earning money in the country during 2018, repatriating 823 people. It did not say how many North Koreans were still in the country. Poland reported that in December 2017, 451 North Koreans were working there and that number had dropped to 37 by the end of last year. Some of those 37 might have already left Poland by crossing the European Union's external border in another country, it added. In 2015, Marzuki Darusman, a U.N. human rights investigator, said the North Koreans abroad worked mainly in mining, logging, textiles and construction. The reports submitted by Russia and China to the sanctions committee did not specify what industries had employed the North Koreans. New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a 2017 report that "the treatment of North Korean workers overseas falls short of international labor standards, with no right to freedom of association or expression, control by minders who limit freedom of movement and access to information from the outside world, long working hours and no right to refuse overtime." North Korea has said its laborers were working abroad legally and were not mistreated or forced to go. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Michael Perry, Jeffrey Benkoe and James Dalgleish)Madrid (AFP) - It's a rustic scene: sheep graze placidly on grass as a shepherd keeps watch. But this is Madrid's largest public park, not the tranquil countryside.

Madrid city hall has since February employed 500 sheep to munch undergrowth at the Casa de Campo, a former royal hunting ground with pines and scrubland stretching over 1,722 hectares (4,255 acres) -- an area about five times the size of New York's Central Park.

The goal is to reduce the risk of wildfires by clearing vegetation in an environmentally-friendly way while also helping to educate the Spanish capital's roughly 3.2 million residents about rural life.

"It's a very efficient method to prevent wildfires in a much more natural way," said Beatriz Garcia San Gabino, 46, who is in charge of managing Madrid's green spaces.

"Instead of clearing scrub with machines, you use sheep which don't consume fuel and don't erode or contaminate the soil."

Manure from the sheep also helps to fertilise the soil and spread seeds across the park, she added.

Most of the sheep belong to a breed indigenous to Spain which is vulnerable to extinction, the Rubia del Molar which are mainly white with pale brown faces and legs.

People are "delighted" to come across the sheep in the park, said Alvaro Martin, 45, one of two shepherds who look after the flock full time.

"Everyone approaches then, a lot of people understand the work that the sheep do in the park, to clean and reap the grass. Children approach them immediately and ask 'can I touch them?'," he said as he guarded over the sheep with the aid of a dog as they grazed on grass while cyclists raced by on a nearby trail.

The park's attractions include an artificial lake, a zoo, an amusement park with over 50 rides, a cable car line and a public swimming pool.

When the sun sets the sheep sleep inside a large white tent set up on top of a hill which offers sweeping views of Madrid's Royal Palace.

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As temperatures rise in mid-June, the sheep will return to their home at a ranch run by the Los Apisquillos farm cooperative in the Puebla de la Sierra, a mountain village located about 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of Madrid.

The flock will move back to the park in mid-October to spend winter in the city where it is warmer and there is more vegetation.

People can "sponsor" one of the sheep by paying 30-90 euros ($34-$100) a year to help support the project as Madrid's left-wing mayor Manuela Carmena, a 75-year-old former judge, has already doneCaracas (AFP) - Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas Saturday to disperse demonstrators in Caracas outraged by massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March.

AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the capital city.

The latest power outage hit just after 7 pm (2310 GMT) Friday, affecting Caracas and at least 20 of the oil producing country's 23 states.

The blackouts have hit Venezuela hard -- worsening the already-dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a political showdown between the head of the country's leftist government, Nicolas Maduro, and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognize Guaido as interim president. Russia, along with China, back Maduro.

The blackouts that began on March 7 have affected the water service, transportation, and telephone and internet services across the country. The most recent blackout halted activities between Monday and Thursday.

"Our lights go out at every moment, we don't have internet service ... the water service has been terrible for more than a year, and with these blackouts things have gotten a lot worse," said a protester at a Caracas demo who did not want to give her name. She was in a crowd with her neighbors protesting by banging pots.

"I refuse to leave Venezuela, because I am certain that there is so much here to fight for," said another marcher who identified herself only as Andrea. "We are going to stay in the street fighting."

She said that while Caracas outages were bad, in many states they are much worse, making it impossible for millions to use refrigerators.

Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but experts have said infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a likelier culprit than outside interference.

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Malnutrition and disease are on the rise as living conditions plummet in the oil-producing Latin American nation, which is spiraling ever deeper into economic chaos during the protracted political crisis.

- More demos planned-

Guaido moved to keep the pressure on the Maduro government by calling for a new mass protest.

"We are organizing Operation Freedom. And we want everyone in the streets around Venezuela on April 6," Guaido said at a rally in Los Teques, not far from Caracas.

In response, Maduro also called another new mass counter-demonstration "to say no to US terrorist imperialism."

He also called on the "colectivos" - pro-government enforcers that the opposition describe as armed paramilitary thugs - to have "zero tolerance" for violence at the protests.

"They are inciting people with hatred. We are calling for love. We are calling for peace," said Maduro's social movements chief Jesus Camargo.

- Get Out, Trump says -

Separately in Moscow, Russia warned US officials to stop interfering in the standoff between Maduro and Guaido.

"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, smothering its economy and pushing it towards civil war in open violation of international law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement Saturday.

Two Russian military planes landed a week ago at the main airport outside Caracas and offloaded equipment and troops, ratcheting up international tensions.

Moscow said the personnel were part of a long-standing agreement on military and technical cooperation. Venezuela is Russia's largest military client in Latin America.

In the Saturday statement Zakharova said Russia had made it clear it was not sending a military contingent to Venezuela.

The military specialists are apparently helping to fix a malfunctioning Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile system, US envoy Elliott Abrams said Friday.

US President Donald Trump earlier called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela.

- Humanitarian aid -

Amid the political crisis, the Red Cross announced that in 15 days it would start distributing humanitarian aid in Venezuela. Aid has been at the center of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido.

Maduro's decision to accept international aid is a major policy shift, because until now he had claimed Venezuela's problems were caused by the United States and others while denying any crisis existed.

According to the United Nations, a quarter of Venezuela's 30 million people have urgent humanitarian aid needs.

On February 23 shipments of food and medicine sent by the United States, Colombia and Brasil in support of Guaido were blocked from entering Venezuela at the border by the Maduro government. Seven people were killed and scores wounded in the following violence.

Maduro at the time claimed that the aid was a preamble to a militar intervention to oust him from power.Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Armenians in Syria's war-torn Aleppo packed their Forty Martyrs Cathedral Saturday for the first mass in the centuries-old church since its restoration began more than a year ago.

Established in the 14th century, it is among the oldest active Armenian churches in Aleppo, a northern Syrian city battered by four years of fighting between rebels and government forces.

After rebels first overran the city in mid-2012, its Christian quarter, housing the church, became one of the city's most notorious front lines.

In April 2015, parts of the church's walls, its courtyards, and its entrance were damaged during shelling.

However, it has been gradually restored since Damascus reasserted its control over Syria's second city in 2016.

State news agency SANA says the main entrance, the facade of the church, its bell tower and its courtyards have been renovated over the past year.

By Saturday, the church's interior left no trace of the war.

Large chandeliers glittered under the arched stone ceiling as a procession of priests carried incense burners into the cathedral, flanked on both sides by crowds of worshippers.

People pressed up against the walls of the church and filled its wooden benches, their heads turned towards the alter.

Aram Keshishian, the Beirut-based patriarch of the Armenian church, delivered a sermon in Armenian.

After mass, he told reporters that Saturday's ceremony sent a strong message.

It was a sign "that the Armenian community will continue to reconstruct Syria," he said.

Syrian Armenian religious leader Harutyun Selimian said the ceremony sparked hopes for a better future for Syria's Armenian community.

"Our future is bright and in this future we will rebuild a new Syria," he told AFP.

Jirair Reisian, an Armenian member of the Syrian parliament, said it was a sign that Syria's Armenian community "is here to stay."

Christians made up 10 percent of Aleppo's pre-war population.

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Out of the 250,000 that lived in the city before the war, thousands have fled the city since the onset of the conflict in 2011.

Many of the Armenians among them fled to Armenia itself, while others headed to Lebanon.

Few have returned, according to demographic expert Fabrice Balanche.

The old quarter of Aleppo is home to several other churches, including those of the Melkite and Maronite sects.

They too were damaged by the four years of fighting in the former rebel stronghold.

Tens of thousands of Armenians fled to Syria and neighbouring Lebanon in the early 20th century after hundreds of thousands of their kin were massacred by Ottoman forces in 1915.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it started in 2011.Shotti

Tekashi 6ix9ines former manager is facing a minimum of 15 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty on Thursday to two firearms charges.

According to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Kifano Jordan (aka Shotti) pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement, Today, Kifano Jordan admitted in open court to committing multiple acts of violence in furtherance of the Nine Trey enterprise. This conduct is simply intolerable. We continue our daily work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who bring violence to our streets.

Tekashi is currently behind bars in an undisclosed federal facility and has been cooperating with authorities who are investigating the 9 Trey Bloods for a series of robberies and shootings in New York City.

The post Tekashi 6ix9ines Former Manager Pleads Guilty to Gun Charges appeared first on The Blast.Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images

WASHINGTON  Earlier this week, the Justice Department indicted more than a dozen white supremacists in Alaska for a multitude of alleged crimes, ranging from narcotics trafficking to murder. The arrests came less than two weeks after a white supremacist in New Zealand shot and killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, highlighting what many see as a growing terrorist threat from white nationalism.

While government officials are starting to talk more about white nationalism as a terrorist threat, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the U.S. governments nerve center for threat information, isnt allowed to track such attacks. But now some retired senior counterterrorism experts are proposing to change that.

In a recent article for the Lawfare blog, Joshua Geltzer, a former National Security Council official; Mary McCord, who worked at the Justice Department; and Nick Rasmussen, who retired in 2017 as director of NCTC, advocated for a possible expansion of NCTCs purview to include threat analysis, information sharing and strategic operational planning for the domestic terrorist threat.

NCTC reports to both the National Security Council at the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; it is designed to generate timely analysis of the threats posed by international terrorist groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State using intelligence and information streams from across the government. While it has access to massive amounts of intelligence on terrorists, NCTC does not focus on threats that are purely domestic.

This is not the first time experts have argued the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be more involved in domestic terrorism. However, an expansion of the centers mission would challenge existing norms, which dictate that NCTC covers foreign groups, while the FBI handles domestic threats, like white nationalism or ecoterrorists.

Joe Augustyn, former deputy associate director of central intelligence for homeland security. (Photo: C-Span)

NCTCs origins date back to January 2003, when the CIAs Joe Augustyn, the first and only deputy associate director of central intelligence for homeland security, was crammed in a room with a few colleagues charged with figuring out what President George W. Bush could say in the State of the Union about how the government was planning on responding to terrorism overseas.

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Bush wanted to announce something, and we had nothing, said Augustyn during a phone interview with Yahoo News.

That mornings scrambling, less than two years after the 9/11 attacks, led to that evenings announcement: the formation of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, which later became the NCTC.

NCTC occupies a unique place within the intelligence community: It does not conduct operations or collect information, but rather receives information from its partners, allowing it to analyze data from both overseas and within the U.S. borders. However, that excludes intelligence pertaining exclusively to domestic terrorism, according to an NCTC primer.

The reason the firewall exists has to do with the long-standing legal differences between gathering information on overseas targets versus those within the country, according to David Kris, a former U.S. assistant attorney general for the Justice Departments National Security Division and now a partner at Culper Partners, a consulting firm. The main investigative authority that is deployed against terrorists  is electronic surveillance, Kris said, noting that the Supreme Court in 1972 concluded that domestic terrorists could not be surveilled without a warrant.

Part of the reason for the different standards between domestic and foreign surveillance, at least at the time, is that judges decided it was more difficult to gather evidence on foreign groups outside of U.S. jurisdiction, explained Kris.

A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, where one of two mass shootings occurred on March 15. (Photo: Vincent Yu/AP)

Another complication is that domestic terrorism is not a specific crime in the United States  an issue that came up in 2015 when Dylann Roof killed nine black parishioners in Charleston, S.C., and many argued he should be labeled a terrorist. He was instead charged with a violent hate crime, among other offenses.

If bombs and not guns are involved, however, offenders can be charged under a small umbrella of terrorism related criminal offenses  though not simply domestic terrorism. For example, Cesar Sayoc Jr., who is accused of mailing bombs to popular media and political figures, was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. If he had used a gun, its unlikely it would have fallen under the same category.

Yet the issue of radicalization, experts say, is similar regardless of whether it involved white nationalism or Islamic extremism.

NCTC has a great deal of experts with a general understanding of radicalization and how you counter it, said Nate Jones, who worked on counterterrorism on the National Security Council under former President Barack Obama, and along with Kris, co-founded Culper Partners.

Having worked at the White House, he also suggested that bringing domestic terrorism under the umbrella of NCTC could raise its profile. That [would] give it a higher level of attention, he told Yahoo News.

FBI and state and local authorities are also routinely strapped for resources, and being able to do community outreach on domestic terrorism, supported by NCTC and the federal government, could allow for the kind of localized, specific attention different communities may need, depending on the different kinds of threats, according a report from the Rand Corporation.

President George W. Bush makes comments in 2007 after meeting with the counterterrorism team. (Photo: Ron Edmonds/AP)

Many agree that local police departments are better positioned to collect domestic intelligence than federal investigators, although only a few police departments have the resources and public support to do so, wrote Brian Michael Jenkins, Andrew Liepman and Henry Willis in a Rand report. Counterterrorism is not just about daring raids and drone strikes. It is about the hard work of collecting and sifting through vast amounts of information and managing relationships.

NCTC also has a presence across the country, giving it regional expertise. NCTC has representatives in 11 locations across the U.S., from New York to Seattle, and those officers work in tandem with the FBI and state and local authorities, according to a Department of Justice Inspector General report from March 2017. Therefore, not only would they have expertise on radicalization relating to terrorism with an overseas nexus, but would also have at least some level of familiarity with their region and local representatives.

Rasmussen, the former director of NCTC, has discussed the issue before, including in an interview with reporters in 2017 as he was preparing to leave office. While he noted that our population of homegrown extremists is relatively small, he said he feared their capabilities because of the extreme ease of acquiring weapons in the United States  a different reality than other nations with perhaps larger domestic terrorism issues.

NCTCs current director, retired Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire, testified before he was confirmed that the center provides support to FBI and DHS on purely domestic terrorism issues when assistance is requested, potentially indicating an openness to helping with the topic when called upon.

However, despite the fact that NCTC doesnt gather its own intelligence, the idea of allowing it to focus on purely domestic threats worried some former counterterrorism experts.

Police, ambulance and fire crews outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church following the mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014. (Photo: Charleston Police Department/Handout via Reuters)

The firewall that previously separated the domestic and foreign arenas before 9/11 has already become more blurred. I dont think it should be diluted any further, said Emile Nakhleh, a former senior CIA official who is now a professor at the University of New Mexico. He instead advocated money and manpower for the FBI to investigate this violent phenomenon.

Even so, that might not be sufficient to counter purely domestic threats, such as white supremacists, he argued.

As long as the national leadership, including the president, does not recognize the danger of these groups or continue to minimize their threat, pervasiveness and divisiveness, law enforcement authorities will be hampered in their efforts to track, identify and apprehend potential domestic white supremacist terrorists.

Augustyn, one of the CIAs first and only homeland security experts, told Yahoo News the years following the Sept. 11 attacks were a mad scramble to figure out how to share information. For example, [former CIA Director] George Tenet would ask, how many foreigners work in the nuclear regulatory commission  and I had to find out, he said.

The CIA was aware of terrorism and the threat it posed, particularly after embassy bombings in East Africa in the late 1990s and the attack on the USS Cole, but protecting the homeland was a new mission. Since then, Augustyn argues, the intelligence community has gotten much better at sharing information with the FBI, but expanding that cooperation to domestic terrorism would be something new.

If NCTC starts to look at white supremacy, hate crimes I would be very cautious about that, he told Yahoo News. To me its opening Pandoras box.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump has granted a new permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a controversial project that would bring oil from Canada to the US.

The XL project, a crucial segment in a network of pipelines linking Canadian oil fields to US refineries on the Gulf Coast, was blocked in November by a US federal judge.

Trump's action, issued Friday and posted online by the White House, gives Canadian company TransCanada permission to "construct, connect, operate and maintain pipeline facilities" at the international border in Phillips County, Montana.

It supersedes a previous permit that Trump had issued in March 2017.

TransCanada thanked Trump.

"The presidents action today clarifies the national importance of Keystone XL and aims to bring more than 10 years of environmental review to closure," it said.

It was not clear Saturday if, under the new permit, the project must also undergo new environmental impact studies.

The project has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups because of the risk of oil spills and damage to sites considered sacred.

The XL portion of the pipeline calls for construction of a segment from Alberta, Canada to the Midwestern US state of Nebraska, creating a more direct route to the Gulf refineries.

The administration of Barack Obama blocked the project in 2015, citing the environmental risks.

And in blocking the project last November, US District Judge Brian Morris questioned whether a State Department analysis of the project's cumulative impact on greenhouse gases and Native American land had been sufficiently rigorous.

The State Department had concluded that completing the pipeline was in the national interest of the United States.

The Canadian government also has forcefully advocated for the project, saying the added capacity was needed to relieve an oversaturated pipeline network.PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he decided not to put additional sanctions on North Korea last week because he wanted to maintain a good relationship with leader Kim Jong Un and because the North Korean people were already "suffering greatly." "I didn't think that additional sanctions at this time were necessary. It doesn't mean I don't put them on later," Trump told reporters at his Florida resort. A week ago Trump said he had decided against imposing new large-scale sanctions on North Korea. Trump and Kim met in Hanoi last month for a second summit, which collapsed over conflicting demands by Pyongyang for sanctions relief and by Washington for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Washington has said it aims to re-engage with Kim, but North Korea has warned it is considering suspending talks and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests, in place since 2017, unless Washington makes concessions. "They are suffering greatly in North Korea. They're having a hard time," Trump said on Friday. The president said he had a very good relationship with Kim. "I think it's very important that you maintain that relationship at least as long as you can," Trump said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Eric Beech; editing by Bill Berkrot and James Dalgleish)Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the FBI and Justice Department will review Illinois prosecutors' decision to drop all charges against a US television actor accused of fabricating a hate crime.

Calling the Chicago case involving "Empire" star Jussie Smollett "outrageous," Trump said: "It is an embarrassment to our Nation!"

Prosecutors said they had shelved all 16 felony charges against Smollett in exchange for an agreement that he carry out community service and forfeit a $10,000 bond payment.

But Smollett's lawyers claimed there was no such agreement, saying the state simply "dismissed the charges," and that the actor was the victim of a rush to judgment.

The 36-year-old, one of the main cast members on Fox musical drama "Empire" alongside Taraji P. Henson, was accused of masterminding a hoax attack in downtown Chicago to gain publicity and secure a bigger paycheck.

He reported to police that he was attacked in the middle of the night in January by two masked men while walking near his home.

Smollett, who is gay and African American, maintained his innocence in the face of a damning public account from authorities' of their case against him.

They accused him of sending himself a threatening letter and hiring two acquaintances to stage the attack, complete with homophobic and racial slurs, while invoking Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Friday again accused Mexico of failing to curb the flow of migrants illegally entering the US, and threatened to close the common border "next week" unless something changes.

Trump's latest tweets ramp up the tension between the neighbors, putting a specific timeframe to his threats to shut the border, one of the busiest in the world.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week," he said.

"This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and 'talk'," he added.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard quickly fired back, saying his country "does not act based on threats."

"We are a great neighbor. Just ask the 1.5 million US citizens who have chosen to call our country home, the largest such community outside the United States," Ebrard wrote on Twitter.

Before Trump's latest tweets, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated that he does not want a "controversy" with the United States, and that Mexico is in fact working to fight illegal immigration.

"All this talk of migrant caravans and such is related to politics and the (US) election campaign -- that's why I'm not going to get into it," he told a press conference.

Lopez Obrador, an anti-establishment leftist who took office in December, has sought to cultivate a cordial relationship with Trump.

And it appeared to be working -- until this week, when the Republican billionaire returned to the Mexico-bashing of his 2016 campaign, as he launches the run-up to his 2020 re-election bid.

Lopez Obrador wants the US to fund $10 billion in economic development programs for Mexico and Central America to attack the poverty and violence he says are the root causes of migration.

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The White House appeared to be listening, sending top adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet with Lopez Obrador in Mexico City last week for talks on the subject.

But Trump himself has returned to classic campaign form as the 2020 presidential race heats up in America.

On Thursday, he told a crowd at a rally in Michigan that the US would "close the damn border" if Mexico did not do more to stem the flow of migrants crossing illegally into the United States.By Yeganeh Torbati and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week, potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade, if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.

"There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office and has not followed through. However, this time the government says it is struggling to deal with a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America who travel through Mexico.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials warned that traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts 750 border personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers who are turning up between official crossing points.

"Make no mistake: Americans may feel effects from this emergency," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement. Nielsen said the personnel shift would lead to commercial delays and longer waiting times at crossing points.

Some of those delays were already being felt on both sides of the international border.

On Friday afternoon, the wait was longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas, with long lines of freight trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States, according to a Reuters witness. One driver said she had been stuck in line for three hours on her way to her job in the United States.

Nielsen and other U.S. officials say border patrol officers have been overwhelmed by a dramatic increase in asylum seekers, many of them children and families who arrive in large groups fleeing violence and economic hardship in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

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March is on track for 100,000 border apprehensions, DHS officials said, which would be the highest monthly number in more than a decade. Most of those people can remain in the United States while their asylum claims are processed, which can take years because of ballooning immigration court backlogs.

Nielsen warned Congress on Thursday that the government faces a "system-wide meltdown" as it tries to care for more than 1,200 unaccompanied children and 6,600 migrant families in its custody.

Mexico played down the possibility of a border shutdown.

"Mexico does not act on the basis of threats. We are a great neighbor," Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter.

Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal, who leads President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's party in the chamber, said in a statement on Friday he would seek to send a diplomatic note to the U.S. Congress criticizing what he called Trump's "xenophobic attitudes."

'SIAMESE TWINS'

It was not clear how shutting down ports of entry would deter asylum seekers because they are legally able to request help as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.

But a border shutdown would disrupt tourism and commerce between the United States and its third-largest trading partner, with trade totaling $612 billion last year according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"We'd be looking at losses worth billions of dollars," said Kurt Honold, head of CCE, a business group in Tijuana, Mexico, in response to Trump's threat. "It's obvious he's not measuring what he says."

A shutdown could lead to factory closures on both sides of the border, industry officials say, because the automobiles and medical sectors have woven international supply chains into their business models.

"We are Siamese twins - we are so entangled together," said Alan Russell, chief executive of the Tecma Group, an outsourcing firm.

Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 5.7 percent on worries that the border closure would disrupt exports to the top U.S. pork market.

U.S. ports of entry recorded 193 million pedestrian and vehicle-passenger crossings last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As president, Trump has legal authority to close particular ports of entry but he could be open to a legal challenge if he decided to close all of them immediately, said Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump is trying to convince Congress to sign off on a revised trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that his administration negotiated last year.

Trump launched his presidential bid in June 2015 with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, saying Mexico was sending rapists and drug runners into the United States.

He said on Friday Mexico should do more to prevent Central American migrants from reaching the United States.

"It's very easy for them to stop people from coming up, but they don't choose to do it," he said.

Lopez Obrador said on Thursday tackling illegal immigration was an issue chiefly for the United States and the Central American countries to address.

Trump has so far been unable to convince Congress to tighten asylum laws or fund a proposed border wall, one of his signature policies. He has declared a national emergency to justify redirecting money earmarked for the military to pay for building a wall.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by David Alexander and Andy Sullivan in Washington, Anthony Esposito and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City, Karl Plume in Chicago and Julio-Cesar Chavez in El Paso, Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Grant McCool)TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia will coordinate with fellow Arab countries to contain any fallout from the U.S. decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said on Friday. He was speaking to a meeting of Arab ministers ahead of the annual Arab League summit, hosted this year by Tunisia and likely to focus on Washington's decision and its earlier move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "We will work with fellow Arab countries and the international community to contain the expected repercussions of this decision in the various regional and international forums," Jhinaoui told the meeting in Tunis. He did not elaborate, but Arab countries want Washington to retract its decision, and to stop other countries following suit. Arab states consider the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as occupied Syrian land. U.S. President Donald Trump also angered Arabs by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv last year. But a person familiar with the matter said Washington's decisions did not appear to have blocked behind-the-scenes security contacts developed in recent years between Israel and the United States Gulf Arab allies over their common enemy, Iran. Tunisia currently holds the rotating presidency of the Arab League and is vying for one of the rotating non-permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria and Arab East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed both in moves not recognized internationally. A spokesman for the summit said Arab heads of state were expected to renew their commitment to an Arab initiative that calls for peace with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from all lands occupied in 1967, but would reject any proposal that is not in line with U.N. resolutions. Mahmoud Al-Khmeiry appeared to be referring to a still-unannounced U.S. peace plan by White House adviser Jared Kushner and Trump son-in-law which Palestinians have refused to discuss. SAUDI SEES IRANIAN THREAT Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf told the gathering that Saudi Arabia considered the Palestinians' quest for statehood in Israeli-occupied territory - peace talks have been stalled for five years - to be the central cause for all Arabs. But Assaf singled out what he described as the Iranian threat as the main challenge facing Arabs, calling for action to confront Tehran. "One of the most dangerous forms of terrorism and extremism is what Iran practises through its blatant interference in Arab affairs, and its militias ... the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, which requires cooperation from us to confront it," he said. Iran has denied posing any such threats. Assaf said Arabs needed to work to stop Iran's ballistic missile program, saying the Islamic Republic was supplying Yemen's Houthi movement with rockets to attack Saudi cities. Saudi Arabia is leading a Sunni Muslim coalition that intervened in 2015 in Yemen's war against the Houthis to restore the internationally recognized government ousted from power. Assaf also voiced Saudi support for Syria's territorial integrity and a political solution to its war based on dialogue between the opposition and government, but said a unified Syrian opposition should emerge before the start of any dialogue. Syria's membership of the Arab League has been suspended it descended into violence in 2011 after Arab Spring protests. President Bashar al-Assad's government, backed by Russia and Iran, has regained control over most of the country after years of fighting that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Five sources told Reuters last month that the United States had been lobbying Gulf states to hold off restoring ties with Syria, including the UAE, which has moved closer to Damascus to counter the influence of its rival Iran. (Reporting by Maher Chamytelli in Dubai and Omar Fahmy and Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)(Adds no comment from White House and State Department, background)

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The White House has received a package of new sanctions to be imposed on Russia in retaliation for the 2018 nerve-agent attack on Russian double agent in Britain, Bloomberg reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-29/u-s-said-to-have-prepared-new-russia-sanctions-for-u-k-attack on Friday.

Officials at the U.S. Treasury and State Departments have vetted the sanctions and are awaiting approval from the White House to issue them, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018 after a liquid form of the Novichok type of nerve agent was applied to his home's front door.

Skripal and his daughter survived. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.

European countries and the United States expelled 100 Russian diplomats after the attack, and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia in August after it determined Moscow was responsible for the attack.

Those sanctions covered sensitive national-security controlled goods, a senior State Department official told reporters, citing the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act.

The State Department said in November it would impose additional sanctions on Russia after Moscow failed to give reasonable assurances it would not use chemical weapons.

Russia's rouble was down 1 percent on Friday at 65.53 per dollar. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru, and Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Bernard Orr)In the 6th century CE, the blooming Byzantine communities in the Negev Desert experienced a crisis that ended centuries of prosperity and wiped them out. But what was it that caused the crash?

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For years, scientists believed it was the 7th century Islamic occupation alongside climate change that ended Byzantine communities; however, archaeologists from the Haifa University say in a recent article in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), they have discovered it was an economic crisis that caused the downfall of these once flourishing civilizations.

Byzantine olive pits found in the 1,500 year-old garbage pile (Photo: Haifa University)

The Negev Byzantine communities thrived between the 4th and 7th centuries CE. Both cities and small settlements practiced extensive agriculture; Elusa, the Negevs capital, alongside Shivta, Avdat and Nitzana. Elusa was home to extravagant churches, a theater, bath houses municipal building and more. It was surrounded by towns and villages that traded with its people and used its services.

The Byzantine prosperity is still evident today: when walking through the Negev, one stumbles upon Byzantine finds everywhere. Distinct pottery that attests to the vibrant trade in oil, wine and other products is scattered across the desert. Some of our modern routes are at times the same ones Byzantines used, marking the easiest passage through the Negevs terrain. From Gaza, Ashkelon, Elusa and Jordanian hubs across the Jordan Rift Valley  what we today associate with remote army bases, used to be a bustling trading region supporting the Middle Easts needs.

Excavating in Elusa (Photo: Haifa University)

This all ended in the 7th century CE. Many communities collapsed and were abandoned, as evident from the archaeological finds, attesting to the settlements being emptied of their inhabitants.

Researchers believed it was the decrease in rainfall that changed the Negev and its people forever, and assumed it also had to do with the vast Islamic conquests of time. Indeed, shortly after this sweeping crisis, Byzantine pottery was replaced by Islamic designs the Islamic Period takes center stage for centuries. But things are not as simple as once thought to be.

A surface in Elusa with ample finds scattered on it (Photo: Haifa University)

Throughout the years, researchers did not feel these explanations for the Byzantine communities downfall were sufficient. Five years ago, Professor Guy Bar-Oz from the Haifa Archaeology Department and head of the Byzantine Bio-Archaeology Research Program of the Negev, set out to look for evidence that can teach us about the reason the Byzantine communities crashed.

Of all places, the answer was hiding in ancient piles of discarded rubbish. Local olive and grape pits, fish bones from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, bones of livestock and charred grains  some 6,000 cubic meters of garbage that accumulated over 200 were examined by archaeologists.

Pottery and glass findings from Elusa (Photo: Haifa University)

Using Carbon 14 dating methods, researchers discovered that all the biological remains they had uncovered originated from the first half of the 6th century CE.

Thats about 100 years before the Islamic conquests, said Bar-Oz. The ewtire municipal system starts crashing, and then garbage is no longer discharged outside the city but piles up within it. This attests to a slow decline of the city and the settlements around it throughout decades. It totally contradicts what we thought  that Byzantine communities disappeared abruptly.

Researchers now offer a new theory: climate change in Europe started around 540 CE and caused a financial breakdown in the major city of Constantinople - modern day Istanbul and the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This coincides with other studies that reveal that the plague also struck the city at about the same time, severely weakening its status.

The Elusa region; a prosperous city lost in time (Photo: Haifa University)

The decline of the capital quickly hampered the economy in the empire's periphery  the Negev region. There were less people to buy the Negev products," said Bar-Oz. It made the communities decline slowly.

These processes signaled the end of the Christian golden age of pilgrimage, agriculture and trade that the region enjoyed. It was replaced by a no less glorious period, however far less researched  the Islamic Period, whose caliphates ruled the region up until our very own 20th century.The recent death in Syria of Shamima Begums three-week-old son, Jarrah, has cast a spotlight on the children born to, and brought by, Islamic States foreign fighters when they return to their native lands, as well as the responsibilities of their countries regarding repatriation.

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Begum, who left London in 2015 as a 15-year-old to join the caliphate, had her British citizenship revoked following her pleas to return home. Sajid Javid, the United Kingdoms home secretary (interior ministrer), faced severe criticism for his decision. According to British media reports, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said recently that the government was exploring methods to bring the children of British fighters back.

Shamima Begum, the British teen who fled to Syria to join ISIS (Screenshot: Sky News)

Various reports conducted by the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR) have indicated that there are at least 4,640 recorded foreign minors affiliated with ISIS, 730 of whom were born to foreign nationals inside the caliphate, including 566 born to Western Europeans.

Up to 1,180 foreign children are known to have already returned to a parents country of origin or appear to be in the process of doing so, according to data from the report.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of rebel groups fighting against both government troops and ISIS, have been urging Western countries to take back their citizens due to a lack of capacity in Syria. However, European governments have been reluctant to do so out of fear of the security threat these returnees might pose.

In 2016, a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy thought to have been radicalized by ISIS left a backpack filled with explosives at a local Christmas market in Germany. After they failed to detonate, he was taken into custody by authorities (although he was below the minimum age of criminal responsibility).

In January, Hans-Georg Maassen, head of Germanys domestic intelligence agency BfV, told Reuters that these children could be living time bombs because of a danger that they come back brainwashed.

In addition to the potential danger they themselves pose, the methods of bringing these youngsters back can pose a threat to authorities as well.

Screenshot of young boys training with weapons in an ISIS propaganda video

We will not expose our consular officials to undue risk in this dangerous part of the world. We will examine carefully what can reasonably be done to protect those who are innocent, said Scott Bardsley, manager of media and communications for the Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness in Canada, regarding citizens currently detained in Syria.

Bardsley was unable to comment on specific cases or operational matters concerning national security, but according to Dr. Christian Leuprecht of the Royal Military College of Canada, while there are certain things that countries must do for their citizens, the obligations are not open-ended.

Governments are legally obligated to take their citizens in if they show up at their doorstep, but they are not obligated to take them out of a foreign country, he said.

Juliette S. Touma, chief of communications for UNICEFs Middle East and North Africa regional office in Amman, stressed that children have age-specific human rights.

UNICEF sees a child, anyone below the age of 18, as a child, regardless of the familys affiliation or their environment, she said. Children must not be separated from their mother or caregiver, and member states must repatriate and rehabilitate these children.

She added that UNICEFs humanitarian response to this crisis has been one of the most comprehensive in the world  and also in the organizations history.

In a press release issued on March 14, Save the Children estimated that there were at least 3,580 children of 30 foreign nationalities living in three displaced-person camps in northeastern Syria, an almost 45% increase from its mid-February estimate of 2,500. Of the 3,580, 3,303 are below the age of 12 and 2,045 are under five.

Regarding foreign children, were calling on countries to take them back while maintaining family unity, said Joelle Bassoul, Save the Childrens regional media manager for the Middle East. It is up to the country of origin to undertake legal procedures or measures that might apply to some of the adults, and then to see to what extent the family unit can be maintained.

Bassoul added that when it comes to treating these children, the emphasis is purely on basic aid. No questions are asked as to political affiliation because the organizations approach is that all of the children are victims and should be treated as such.

When we work with children, she explained, we dont ask them these questions. Theyre little children, aged six to eight, with symptoms of psychological distress and shock. The last thing were going to ask them is if theyve committed any crimes. There may be cases like that, but the majority of (the children) would not even be aware of it, and we dont have on the ground staff for this kind of specialized psychological support.

Screenshot of children appearing in an Islamic State propaganda video.

Dr. Anne Speckhard, director of the Washington-based International Center for the Study of Violence and Extremism (ICSVE), said that many ISIS children, commonly known as cubs of the caliphate, received both military and ideological training.

There are children who were trained to be killers by ISIS, yes, but there are plenty of children that didnt have that training and very little indoctrination, she said. Of all the children that were under ISIS in Iraq, something like 10 percent went to an ISIS school and the rest were kept at home. Those who were not ideologically and weapons trained and do not have blood on their hands probably wont be a threat.

Speckhard said she had conducted 141 in-depth psychological interviews with ISIS men and women, as well as with 15-20 children. She said one must assess whether the children witnessed violence and the extent to which they themselves were involved in crimes.

We talked to teenagers in the caliphate, the youngest being 10, who were trained to kill, she stated. Keep in mind thats the minority of ISIS children. The children Ive spoken to hated killing; they were forced to do these things.

The ICSVE has a YouTube channel with hundreds of interviews documenting the experiences of some of these children.

In one of the videos, a 15-year-old says: They picked a boy up in a truck and told him he was going to execute an infidel. He sawed across his neck until he was beheaded. Some people felt upset deep down but they wouldnt say anything. If someone were executed, everyone would act happy and shout Allahu akbar! They couldnt say they were upset or that it wasnt right. I was upset.

In another, a former child soldier identified as Abu Yousef, says: They beheaded a man in front of my eyes. They threw his head in a container and they hung up his body and left it hanging. That scared me the most, so I fled. I stayed with ISIS for seven months. They take innocent people who have done nothing wrong, and force them to join.







French women who went to Syria to join ISIS who now wish to return home (Photo: AFP)

Jacqueline Bhabha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, explained that many Western countries ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) and that these countries were obligated to consider the best interests of the child and, according to Article 6.2, ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.

However, some of these children may have committed crimes, and as children (defined by the Convention as anyone below the age of 18), the legal ramifications are different than those for adults.

Children are considered differently than adults since theyre considered not to be morally or ethically responsible. But this has to be seen case by case, Bhabha said.

Ben Saul, a professor of international law at the University of Sydney, adds that the circumstances of each case were important.

Children may be criminally responsible depending on their age and maturity  in particular, their awareness of the wrongfulness of their conduct, he said. They might not be responsible if they were forced to commit crimes by terrorist groups. Also, where children are forcibly recruited into terrorist groups, human rights law requires countries to treat them as victims and to rehabilitate and socially reintegrate them into society, not to punish them.

However, according to Dr. Nayla Rush, a senior researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, one of the main issues to arise has been the difficulty in assessing awareness and agency.

If children committed crimes, she said, they could say they were forced to and that they didnt want to. But how can you prove that or the contrary, especially with the lack of documentation? If thats the case, how do you make a child responsible?

If family unity is to be maintained  an importance emphasized by organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children  mothers have to come with repatriated children.

Women and children in the al Hol displaced-persons camp in Syria (Courtesy: International Rescue Committee)

If these countries bring these children back, Rush continued, the mother might then exert pressure that she needs to be with her child. Do you open that door? I dont think what countries fear is a threat from the children; I think the fear is that by bringing them back, you need to bring the mother, the person that got them into this situation. Its a tough humanitarian call, with a lot of security aspects to it.

In addition, many European grandparents are now demanding the return of grandchildren.

Haroon Khurshid, a UK national, traveled to Syria in 2013 to fight for ISIS and became a father to Salmaan before being killed. Ash and Mahfooz Khurshid, the childs grandparents, now want three-year-old Salmaan brought back.

For years, Patrice and Lydie Maninchedda asked for their three grandchildren to be brought to France. The couples daughter, the mother of the children, was killed after she joined ISIS in Syria. The three boys, ages one, three and five, who had been living in the al Hol displaced-person camp in Syria, were repatriated last week and are currently being treated at a hospital.

Many states have government-run programs for assessment and rehabilitation, and according to Speckhard, these children should be okay with intense multiyear treatment.

Back in Syria, the SDF has been pushing farther into the eastern enclave of Baghouz in what is being described as a final effort to retake ISIS-held territory, which once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. As the days pass, more and more children are being liberated and are in need of repatriation.

This is not a one-off; this problem will recur, said the Royal Military College of Canadas Leuprecht. What happens here will set a precedent for the future.On Monday, the White House invited a herd of journalists and photographers into the Oval Office to commemorate the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his guest, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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This meeting marked an historic moment for the prime minister, no less, when the United States recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. But this photo opportunity had an unexpected consequence - a boost for none other than Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump show off the US declaration of recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights (Photo: EPA)

During the civil war in Syria, Assad murdered close to half a million men, women and children and turned some seven million people into refugees. On occasion, the Syrian leader used even chemical weapons on his own people.

But after Trump's tweet last weekend, the mass murderer became a recognized leader with sweeping international support from European countries, Russia and China, who have already announced that they are absolutely opposed to the American move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

This is not merely a declaratory process. Bashar Assad should have been indicted for genocide in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, but instead he will receive international aid aimed at keeping him in power.

Syrians at a refugee camp (Photo: AP)

Now, the Russians will invest tremendous efforts in rebuilding the Syrian army. Iran will continue to tighten its grip on Syria, and the Arab countries together with European nations will give Assad the international umbrella that will signal to the Trump administration that it must respect the world order.

In other words: the status of an occupied territory can change only through an international agreement, not through a unilateral declaration by one country.

Many Israelis feel that the country must take advantage of the fact that there is a president in the White House who is willing to stand by the Jewish state in every situation, but they must not underestimate the validity of international institutions.

Syrians in Quneitra protesting Trump's declaration (Photo: AFP)

After Trump, there will be a new US president, who with one tweet can also overturn a large part of his predecessor's policies. What then?

Furthermore, Israelis must remember that the country was founded by two moves: the United Nations partition plan that recognized the Jewish settlement in Palestine, and an operational plan based on the concept of claiming the land acre by acre. In other words the state was established by active Zionism, not merely a collection of empty words and declarations.

For years an active approach formed the basis for negotiations between Israeli prime ministers and its neighbors, in order to reach agreements over the country's permanent borders.





Israelis at a Golan Heights tourist spot (Photo: AFP)

Netanyahu tried to reach an agreement with late Syrian leader Hafez Assad in 1999, and again with his son and successor Bashar Assad in 2010. He intended to include the return of the Golan Heights in a peace agreement that would include the establishment of an Israeli embassy in Damascus. There is no way Netanyahu can possibly deny that he was prepared to give up the Golan in exchange for Israelis eating hummus in Damascus.

But now we have American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, just in time to help Netanyahu win his fifth term as prime minister.

Yehuda Harel, the pioneer of settling the Golan, already said after Trump's tweet that the Golan Heights would remain under Israeli sovereignty not because of a decision made by whoever is sitting in the prime minister's residence, but rather by those who cling to its harsh rocky land. Aagain, declarations do not create facts on the ground.

It is very possible that the American declaration is the actually the start of the countdown for the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, either through negotiations or renewed Syrian hostilities against Israeli targets, backed by Russia and Iran.

Those who want to prevent further bloodshed on the border must strive for agreements backed by international recognition. The concept of "a nation dwelling alone" cannot replace recognition from the rest of the world.CAIRO - Just days before the 40th anniversary of the March 26, 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, Egyptian lawmakers lashed out at Washington for new assaults on the rights of the Arab world.

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In a statement issued by Egypts parliament, legislators slammed US President Donald Trumps imminent recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights  captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War  and the State Departments u-turn on a five decades of policy of referring to the West Bank as occupied territory.

US President Jimmy Carter congratulates Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin after signing the historic US-sponsored peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. (: gettyimages)

All tragedies begin in the field of language, wrote Yousef Al-Qaid, a renowned Egyptian novelist and Nasserist parliamentarian, in a blog post ahead of the statements release.

The word normalization meansthere was an existing relationship that then (changed), Qaid said.

So when (Egypts then-president Anwar) Sadat decided to speak in the (Knesset in 1979), and the flags of the Zionist enemy were raised in Cairo, all of us were consigned to captivity of a normalizationwith the deadly terrorist, (Israels then-prime minister Menachem) Begin, whose hands were stained with the blood of the Palestinians.

Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat at the Knesset on November 20, 1977 (: gettyimages)

The Egypt-Israeli peace accord included billions of dollars in American economic and security assistance for both countries, and their defense ministries reap benefits from the agreement. Yet the accompanying 1978 Framework for Peace in the Middle East, which included stipulations for Palestinian self-rule, remains unfulfilled, thus fueling the rage of Egyptians like Qaid.

To Alexandria researcher and writer Amin El-Mahdy, the legacy of the 1979 pact is a twisted reality in which neither Egyptians nor Israelis fully believe in its long-term viability.

For 30 years, Egyptians paid the price of war with Israel, and for the last 40 have suffered the cost of a militarized peace, says Mahdy.

This all fits the racist orientation of the Israeli right  while in Egypt, merely talking about coexistence and cooperation with the Israeli people or daring to ask for a visa to visit Tel Aviv became a type of social crime that leads to the risk of assassination.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Sisi at the UN General Assembly in Sept. 2018

The researcher/writer sees a of connection between what he claims is the way Israel has prolonged the conflict with its insistence on maintaining control over the Palestinians and that the Egyptian military dominate in matters of civil society.

Begin preferred Israeli settlements to peace but was outflanked by the victorious generals Yigael Yadin and Ezer Weizman, plus the 1,500 (Israeli) army officers who signed a statement calling for peace, Mahdy said.

On the other hand, while Sadat believed peace was the key to Egypts progress, he headed a feudal military regime defeated in battle that viewed negotiations with suspicion. Internally, anti-Semitism and a rejection of peace are still the official policy fed to the Egyptian people, he said.

Mahdy noted Sadats 1981 assassination during a military parade, saying, thus, the peace process went sideways and the security and economic relations between the two states are purely a military arrangement.

Abdel al-Fattah el-Sisi, Egypts current leader, has another view of the peace agreement. Since assuming power in 2014, he has stated on multiple occasions that resolving the Palestinian issue would eliminate one of the most important factors contributing to Middle East instability and one of the primary justifications for acts of extremism and terrorism.

He also said that a Palestinian-Israeli deal would allow for a warmer peace between Egypt and the Jewish state.

Sisis foreign minister, Sameh Shukri, departed this week for talks in Washington as Egypt and the wider Arab world become increasingly anxious about the contours of Trumps deal of the century, an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan expected to be released soon after Israels April 9 elections.

Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt in 1967 (Photo: AFP)

I am waiting like the rest of us to see if it (comprises) political and economic plans that aim to reach a settlement whereby there can be a Palestinian state along the (1967 borders, which was) accepted by former prime minister (Ehud) Olmert, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, tells The Media Line.

If we see a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel and a package that would generate enough activity and vitality in the Palestinian economy, well (consider) it, he says. But if it is limited to only an economic blanket for the Palestinians trying to cover the (absence) of a political settlementit wont work.

One economic blanket that has kept the peace from evaporating was the establishment of Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) by US Congress in 1996. Since taking effect in February 2005, they have allowed products jointly manufactured by Egypt and Israel duty-free entry into the US.

The Taba Crossing between Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula (Photo: EPA)

QIZ products make up 46 percent of Egypts total exports to the US, and 52% of non-oil exports.

Egypts exports from QIZ rose by 17%, to $878 million, in 2018, up from $751 million in 2017, according to Egyptian Trade Ministry sources.

QIZ is an excellent step toward consolidating the ideas of peace and building coexistence in the region, says Cairo entrepreneur Ramy Kamil. Land is allocated to me in the industrial zone in Beni Suef Governorate, and I am hoping to build a factory for ready-made clothes that can directly employ 500 full-time workers and about 600 seasonal employees.

Kamil notes that this opens up the US market.

Its a great gain for Egypt," he says. "Exports within this framework reached nearly $1 billion and provided job opportunities for thousands of Egyptian workers who became more aware that the gains of peace are greater than the gains of wars and conflict.ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Istanbul's Hagia Sophia should be re-titled as a mosque instead of a museum after Sunday's elections, but did not say whether the status of the landmark site would be changed.

Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the foremost cathedral in Christendom for 900 years before becoming one of Islam's greatest mosques for 500 years until 1935, when it was converted to a museum.

In 2014, amid rumours of a possible change, senior Erdogan adviser Ibrahim Kalin said there were no plans to alter the monument's status.

In the lead-up to local elections on Sunday, Erdogan has appealed to religious sentiments to drum up support for his party, invoking the New Zealand mosque killings as examples of the threats faced by Turkey, and Islam.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was leaving Saturday on an official visit to Israel, where he was expected to decide whether he will move the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The far-right president has repeatedly promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem, despite longstanding complaints that such moves would complicate efforts to reach peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"As I promised during the campaign, we intend to move the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is a sovereign country and we respect them," Bolsonaro tweeted four days after winning the election.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro in December and told reporters that "Bolsonaro said it was not a matter of if, but a matter of when."Thousands of Palestinians rioted Saturday at several locations along the security fence in the Gaza Strip.

The demonstrators hurled stones and explosive devices at Israeli troops, who retaliated with live fire.Gaza's Health Ministry said two 17-year-old Palestinian men was killed and 64 others had been wounded by Israeli fire on Saturday as some 40,000 demonstrators massed at several rallying points near Israeli border to mark one year of weekly March of Return protests in the Strip.

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Israeli military said the protesters hurled stones and explosive devices at the fence and set tires ablaze. The military added that they use crowd dispersal measures, including live fire and tear gas, to keep the rioters away from the border fence.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the day had "lots of rioters but significantly less violence", adding that it showed Hamas was able to stop violence when it wanted to.

Riots along the Israel-Gaza border (Photo: AFP)

Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, personally attended one of the rallies in southern Gaza, where he said the weekly event will continue into a second year. "Israel is facing a new test because the campaign against the occupation, in the form of marches, will not be the same as last year," said Sinwar.

"We are monitoring every crime Netanyahu commits and we will make every effort to defend our people." Sinwar added. "Our nation proves that it adheres to its principles and to the right of return no matter what."

Sinwar at one of the March of Return rallies

In addition, Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh arrived earlier to the main demonstration, east of Gaza City. Haniyeh was accompanied by members of the Egyptian delegation, who are mediating indirect ceasefire arrangement talks between Israel and Hamas. The delegation is apparently in the Strip in order to monitor the border protests and avoid another flare-up between the two sides.

Dozens of volunteers in fluorescent vests prepared to restrain demonstrators from getting too close to the border fence. Ambulances lined up in front of clinics and police supervised encampments erected far from the fence.

Thousands gather along Israel-Gaza border (Photo: AFP)

Fouad Aishan, 40, came with his five children to the frontier. He said he plans to show his children the Israeli soldiers and return to safety before the march started.

I come here driven by personal national motivation, he said. It has nothing to do with what the politicians do.

Thousands gather along Israel-Gaza border for anniversary rally (Photo: AFP)

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza health officials said Israeli troops shot and killed another Palestinian man near the perimeter fence with Israel, hours before the planned mass rally.

A Gaza hospital worker, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said Saad was a member of the so-called night disturbance unit. Such groups routinely burn tires, flash laser lights and detonate explosives near the fence at night to distract soldiers and disturb residents of nearby Israeli communities.

Such a protest took place in the night from Friday to Saturday, and the sound of explosions was heard in nearby Gaza City.

IDF tanks on the Israel-Gaza border (Photo: AFP)

An Israeli army spokesman said about 200 Palestinians rioted during the night along the fence and that the army used riot dispersal means against them. He did not elaborate and had no comment about Saads case.

The marches near the fence began a year ago, initially organized by grassroots activists, but was quickly sabotaged by Hamas.A diplomatic source said on Saturday that Israel is satisfied with Egyptian efforts to mediate a ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas.

The source added that the anniversary march on the Gaza border passed relatively quiet.Hamas deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri said Saturday that Israel and Hamas could sign a long-term ceasefire arrangement within days.

Its not a peace agreement  We just want to stop the violence in exchange for the lifting of the blockade. Israel has violated prior understandings and therefore the border rallies have returned," he said.

Meanwhile, on Sunday Israel is expected to reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing, after it was closed following a rocket fire on the Sharon region last Monday.IRONWOOD  The Gogebic Community College Foundation will host the 10th annual Taste of the Gogebic Range on Monday, April 15, in the David G. Lindquist Student Center.

This event features samplings and offerings of food and beverages from area restaurants, businesses and caterers. Samples include soups, salads, appetizers, entrees, sandwiches, beverages and desserts.

This is our 10th year of sponsoring the Taste and we are so appreciative of the restaurants and caterers that participate in this fundraiser for our students, said Kelly Marczak, Gogebic Community College Foundation D...ENJOYING A blueberry pancake breakfast Thursday in the multipurpose room of A.D. Johnston Junior and Senior High School are, from left, Liberty Anderson, Kailey Leannah and Hannah Cebolski. The breakfast was held to promote awareness of autism, for which blue is a signature color.

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

BESSEMER - The smell of sugar and the sounds of kazoos filled the halls of A.D. Johnston Junior and Senior High School during a Thursday morning breakfast that was held to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorder.

Blue is the signature color of autism, so blueberry pancakes were in abundance as nearly 200 kids from all grades gathered in the school's multipurpose room to enjoy the treat, along with each other's company. The kazoos just added to the fun.

According to autismspeaks.org, ASD is defined as "a broad range of conditions characterized by...Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low near 50F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 71F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph.Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.NEW DELHI: A fire broke out in a godown in Jaunapur area of the national capital on Saturday. Five fire tenders are present at the spot. Rescue operations are underway.

This comes days after two minors lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a four-storey building in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh on Tuesday. According to reports, the six-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl were burnt to death after the fire broke out in a furniture shop Abu Fazal Enclave in southeast Delhi.

A major fire broke out in inside an operation theatre in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Center in New Delhi on March 24. No casualties were reported in the incident.

Another fire broke out on the fifth floor of Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan at CGO Complex in the national capital on March 6. Sub-Inspector Mahavir Prasad Godana, a part of CISF unit, lost his life in the incident. Several documents and files were destroyed in the blaze.The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) declared the Bihar Board Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) intermediate result 2019 on Saturday. The total number of students who passed the examination is 79.76 per cent.

A total of 13,15,883 students appeared for the examination out of which 10,19,795 students passed the examination. In the Arts stream, a total of 76.53 per cent students passed the examination, in the Commerce stream 93.02 per cent and 81.20 per cent of students passed the examination.

The candidates who have appeared in the examination will be able to check their results by visiting the following websites - bsebssresult.com, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in, biharboard.ac.in.

The Class 12 examination concluded on February 16.

The result was announced by education department additional chief secretary RK Mahajan at BSEB Headquarters in Patna.Patna: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will declare the Class 12 (Arts, Science and Commerce) intermediate result 2019 on Saturday.

Once released, candidates who have appeared in the examination will be able to check their results by visiting the following websites - bsebssresult.com, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in, biharboard.ac.in.

The Class 12 examination concluded on February 16.

According to a press note released by the state government, the results will be jointly announced by education department additional chief secretary RK Mahajan and Board chairman Anand Kishor at BSEB Headquarters in Patna.New Delhi: Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada, who recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reacted against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Firoz Khan's alleged sexist remarks against her and said that it 'their culture,' reports news agency ANI. According to media reports, Firoz Khan, in a video that went viral, allegedly said that Jaya Prada would "enthral the people of Rampur with her ghungaroos and thumkas." Later, a case was registered against him for the alleged remarks.

Jaya Prada, a former Samajwadi Party MP, joined BJP earlier this week. She is BJP's candidate from Rampur seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. As a member of the Samajwadi Party, she had won the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and 2009 before being expelled from the party.

On Saturday, Jaya Prada said, "Unpe toh already case lag gaya hai. SP (Samajwadi Party) walon ke yahi sanskar hain." (A case has already been registered against him. This is the culture of the SP leaders).

Jaya Prada, BJP MP candidate from Rampur on Sambhal SP leader Firoz Khan's comment 'Rampur ki shaamein rangeen ho jaayengi ab jab chunavi mahual chalega' on her: Unpe toh already case lag gaya hai...SP (Samajwadi Party) walon ke yahi sanskar hain. pic.twitter.com/krOw8ots2P  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 30, 2019

Meanwhile, after severe backlash on social media, Firoz Khan claimed that his remarks had been distorted. "My statement has been presented in a distorted manner. I had no intention to show disrespect to women or laugh at them...She (Jaya Prada) is a celebrity, the entire country has praised her and she has also won many awards," he told PTI.

Taking note of Khan's comments, the National Commission for Women had issued a notice to him on Thursday and sought an explanation from him.

Later, SP president Akhilesh Yadav had issued a statement saying, "No party worker should make indecent comments on women. The SP has always believed in respecting women."

(With ANI and PTI inputs)New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah stirred up a controversy on Saturday when he said that he is "doubtful" that 40 CRPF jawans were killed in the Pulwama terror attack. Speaking at a gathering in Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and referring to Balakot airstrikes, he said that during the last few days in Parliament, several members said that "PM Modi had failed on all fronts and there is nothing to show". He also added that "PM Modi would create a war-like situation to divert the attention of people from the real issues."

"How many Indian soldiers have been killed in Chhattisgarh, did Modi ever go there and pay his tributes? Did he ever sympathise with their families? Has he ever spoken anything on the soldiers getting killed here?" the National Conference chief said, news agency PTI reports.

"Forty CRPF personnel were martyred (in Pulwama attack). I have doubts about that as well and I am telling you the truth," he added.

In the dastardly Pulwama attack, that took place on February 14, 40 CRPF soldiers were martyred. The Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack also flared up tensions between India and Pakistan.

A day after the attack, the bodies of the jawans were flown to Delhi, where PM Modi and several other political leaders paid homage to the martyrs.

Two weeks after the Pulwama attack, India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot. On which, Farooq Abdullah said, "PM Modi tried to attack Pakistan, saying we killed 300 (militants) there, some said 500 and some even said 1,000, just to show that he has courage and can do anything."

(With PTI inputs)Srinagar: Mehbooba Mufti, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, once again warned the union government that if Article 370 of the Constitution is scrapped, the people in the state will be forced to think on their ties with India. Addressing the activists of her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), she said that new conditions would have to be worked out between Jammu and Kashmir and India if Article 370 goes, reports news agency IANS.

In such an eventuality, the people of the country's only Muslim-majority state would be forced to think whether they want to remain with India or not, she said.

"If you break that bridge (Article 370), then you will have to renegotiate the relationship between India and Jammu and Kashmir," Mehbooba Mufti added.

Her statement came in response to a comment made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that Article 35A was constitutionally vulnerable and an impediment to the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution provide special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the PDP chief had said in a series of tweets that "any tampering with Article 370 and Article 35A will render Treaty of Accession null & void."

Senior Congress leader-former union minister Prof Saifuddin Soz on also said that Kashmir's relation with the union will be severed if Article 370 is repelled.

"It is not known why this strong military force has been deployed in the valley of Kashmir. Locals of Kashmir get shocked seeing military forces around them. And if Article 370 is repelled by the court, Kashmir's relation with the union will also get severed. RSS is keen to scrap Articles 35A and 370 from Kashmir and so has approached the Supreme Court," he said.

(With IANS inputs)New Delhi: Indian and Canadian officials met on March 26 and 27 in Ottawa for the 16th meeting of the India-Canada Joint Working Group on counter-terrorism and discussed cross border terror and the issue of Khalistani extremism.

"The delegations discussed the reference for the first time to the threat from Khalistani extremism in Public Safety Canadas 2018 annual Report on Terrorism Threats in Canada," said a release by the Ministry of External Affairs.

In December 2018, a report by Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said that Canada not only faces threats from Khalistani extremists but also that some Canadians continue to support Khalistani extremism.

The report identified two key Sikh organizations - Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation - as being associated with terrorism and currently remain listed as terrorist entities under the Canadian Criminal Code.

The 1985 Air India bombing by Khalistani terrorists, which killed 331 people, remains the deadliest terrorist plot ever launched in Canada.

India-Canada Joint Working Group reviewed threats posed by "terrorist groups worldwide and in their respective countries and regions, including cross-border terrorism" and discussed actions "undertaken to counter-terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization to violence."

While the Canadian delegation was led by Global Affairs Canada's Director General for the counter-terrorism, crime and Intelligence Bureau, Martin Benjamin, and India's Joint Secretary for counter-terrorism from the Ministry of External Affairs Mahaveer Singhvi.

Both sides also discussed challenges posed by virtual currencies, cyberspace and terrorist propaganda shared on social and other media sites.

In the meet, India and Canada have concluded an agreement on a Joint Action Plan to strengthen counter-terrorism collaboration which involves information and technology sharing.

New Delhi has offered to host the 17th meeting of the Joint Working Group and the third Expert Sub-group in 2020.Indian Army has begun massive mobilisation of military tanks and deployment of troops along the International Border in Rajasthan and Punjab. The movement of tanks from Jhansi and Kanpur to forward post locations were witnessed over the last two days.

Sources reported deployment of armoured formations from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to border outposts. A major reinforcement of the Army was noticed in Punjab's Abohar and Rajasthan's Bikaner and Barmer areas.

The development comes amid reports of Pakistan vacating civilians at border villages and moving large scale troops to the Indian front. Sources also claimed that the Pakistan Army moved troops opposite 'sensitive areas' in Amritsar and Samba sectors along the International Border.

Tensions have been simmering between India and Pakistan since the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 that claimed the lives of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans. Eleven days after the attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on February 26 dropped laser-guided SPICE 2000 bombs at Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps deep inside Pakistan. The government later confirmed that it was a pre-emptive nonmilitary strike carried out following credible intelligence inputs.

Regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC have also continued in days afterwards.

Meanwhile, Indian forces remain alert at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. A large deployment of armoured tanks and infantry continues in the border locations.

India on Thursday expressed disappointment on Pakistan's response to JeM's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack. The documents added that identical scripts was followed by Islamabad in the past after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008 or in Pathankot in 2016.

India also said that Pakistan should take immediate, credible, irreversible and verifiable actions against terrorists and terror organisations operating from territories under its control.At least one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel was injured on Saturday after terrorists hurled a grenade at a CRPF post in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The post is located near a State bank of India (SBI) branch in the district. The area has been sealed and a search operation has been launched. The jawan is said to be in a critical condition.

In Baramulla district, terrorists shot dead a civilian at the Main Chowk in the district. The person was hit by five bullets and he succumbed on the spot. The area too has been cordoned off and search operations are underway. The terrorists fled the spot after firing.

The incidents come just a few hours after a blast was reported in a car in Ramban district's Banihal. The mysterious blast happened in a Santro car on the Srinagar-Jammu highway near Banihal which is across the Jawahar tunnel.

According to reports, a CRPF convoy was passing by when the blast took place. The driver of the car fled from the site after the blast. A hunt is on to nab him.

The explosion is believed to be a cylinder blast. However, there have been no reports of any casualties.

Banihal Police said that the accident happened after the cylinders kept in the car leaked and then caught fire. An investigation is underway.

"Today around 1030 hrs, an explosion took place in a civil car near Banihal, J&K while CRPF convoy was on move. The car caught fire and slight damage was caused in the rear of one of the CRPF vehicle. No injuries were caused to CRPF Personnel. Incident being investigated," CRPF said.

The incident comes at the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack that took place on February 14 killing 40 CRPF personnel. The paramilitary men were killed after an explosive-laden truck rammed into their convoy. The terror attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).Srinagar: An encounter broke out on Saturday between terrorists and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Jammu And Kashmir: A brief exchange of fire occurred late night between terrorists and security forces in Anantnag district's Kokarnag area. Area is under cordon. (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/q2aU5MYEg2  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

The brief exchange of fire occurred in Kokarnag area of Anantnag in the early hours of Saturday. The area has been cordoned off.

More details awaitedBengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday sought the Election Commission's intervention to stop the Income Tax department raids on contractors and businessmen allegedly associated with the ruling JD-S and Congress.

"As IT officials continue to raid those associated with our allies, I appeal to the poll panel to direct the tax department to stop the searches being carried under pressure from the Modi government," Kumaraswamy said in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer here.

Protesting against those identifying with the JD-S and Congress since Thursday, Kumaraswamy staged a demonstration at the IT department office in the city along with Congress leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, its legislative party leader Siddaramaiah and Congress state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao and hundreds of supporters.

"The IT officials continued their raids on Friday and Saturday. They raided rice and sugar mills of Congress and JD-S workers at Mandya and Mysore till 4 a.m. today (Saturday) and have put spy cameras in their premises. Disguising themselves as railway officials, they borrowed vehicles and are staying at the state-run CFTRI at Mysuru."

The Chief Minister called the raids a "shameful attempt to threaten the ruling allies and create fear among their cadres" and urged the panel to prevent harassment.

"The raids continued on Friday on 68 locations in the state, including Hassan and Mandya, where we are contesting in the first phase of polling on April 18," tweeted Kumaraswamy in Kannada.

Premises of 13 contractors, officials of the state Public Works Department and businessmen were raided in Bengaluru, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Mandya and Shivamoga in Malnad region in the state`s southwest area.

Income Tax`s investing wing Director General B.R. Balakrishnan on Thursday refuted the Chief Minister`s charge and clarified in a statement that the raids were conducted on credible evidence of tax evasion.

"No MP, MLA or Minister have so far been covered in the searches, which are carried on contractors and connected persons in the state," said Balakrishnan.

Terming the raids as Modi`s "real surgical strike" in the open, Kumaraswamy alleged the offer of a constitutional post to Balakrishnan helped the Prime Minister in his revenge game.

"Highly deplorable to use the government machinery and corrupt officials to harass opponents during election time," tweeted Kumaraswamy.

Balakrishnan said: "The activities of the tax department should not be politicized, personalized or trivilized. In particular, statements which sound like an incitement to violence issued by persons holding responsible posts are deplorable."

Polling for 28 Lok Sabha seats across the state will be held in two phases on April 18 and April 23.Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and sitting MP Arjun Charan Sethi resigned from the party on Saturday and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He quit the party after his son, Abhimanyu Sethi, was denied a ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Odisha. Both the father-son duo has joined the BJP.

In his resignation letter to Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Sethi also quit as the party's district chief.

"I was elected six times as an MP and twice as MLA from the Janata Dal and the BJD. I never hesitated to take on challenges to help the BJD party grow in the district," wrote Sethi.

"In the last few months, I met you time to time and was also given assurance that my son would contest from Bhadrak due to my old age but unfortunately his name was deleted from the final candidate list," he said in the letter.

Sethi said he visited the Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar to meet the chief minister but was denied entry.

"The BJD and yourself have made it abundantly clear that I am unwanted in the party," he added.

The party has given a ticket to Manjulata Mandal, spouse of sitting Dhamnagar MLA Muktikanta Mandal, to contest from the Bhadrak parliamentary constituency.A day after meeting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad on Saturday said that the party will contest the poll with its own party symbol. He added that the NDA will decide on who will contest from which seat. He added that CM Adityanath had given assurance that the party's grievances will be heard and dealt with.

On Friday, barely three days after joining the SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party parted ways with the fledgeling anti-BJP alliance.

"The Nishad Party is no more in alliance with the Samajwadi Party," Nikky Nishad alias Riteash Nishad, media in-charge, Nishad Party, had told PTI in Gorakhpur.

"There was a conflict between the two parties on Maharajganj seat as Nishad Party wanted to contest with its own party symbol whereas Samajwadi Party was not ready for it," he had added.

The party workers were not willing to contest on the SP symbol and many of them began quitting, he had said. "So, our national president Sanjay Nishad ji went to Lucknow and on late Thursday it was confirmed that the Nishad Party is no more a part of the alliance," he had added.

The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls.

The win had been remarkable, as Gorakhpur was considered a bastion of Adityanath, who had represented the parliamentary constituency several times before.

A Nishad Party insider accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav of backtracking on his promises. "They did not put our name on the posters/letters or anything. Our party workers, authorities, core committee were upset," he said.

"So, the Nishad Party has taken a decision today that we are not with the 'gathbandhan', we are free, can fight elections independently and can look for other options as well. The party is free now," he added.

On the day of the announcement, Sanjay Nishad had addressed a press conference in which he had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him a 'jumlebaz' as well as CM Adityanath.

The Nishad Party, sources said, is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some seats including Gorakhpur.NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India sent notices to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Railways, seeking a response on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image seen on boarding passes and tea served in paper cups bearing 'Main bhi Chowkidar' (I am also a watchman) slogan.

Both the ministries have been asked to file a reply by Saturday.

A controversy broke out after plane passengers tweeted a picture of Air India boarding pass with photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on it on Monday, March 25. The airline was asked to discontinue the boarding passes immediately.

However, on Friday, a passenger on an Air India flight from Madurai again tweeted a picture of his boarding pass carrying photographs of PM Modi and Rupani in an advertisement for the Vibrant Gujarat summit held in January 2019, an alleged violation of poll code.

"Air India had issued notice on March 25 to all domestic stations to discontinue usage of boarding cards with Vibrant Gujarat Advertisement on reverse with immediate effect. Today's incident is apparently a human error. A show cause notice for this error has been issued to the airport manager of AI at Madurai," an airline spokesman said, as reported by news agency PTI.

"Today AI management has reiterated its earlier instructions and asked for confirmation from all stations regarding discontinuation of these boarding cards," the spokesperson added.

The second controversy emerged after passengers on Kathgodam Shatabdi train were served tea on paper cups earing 'Main bhi Chowkidar' (I am also a watchman) slogan. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said that the cups were withdrawn immediately and Rs 1 lakh fine was imposed on the contractor. The cups also had an advertisement by Sankalp Foundation, an NGO. Reports claimed that that tea was served in these cups twice during the train journey.

The incident came days after Indian Railways was forced to withdraw tickets with photos of PM Modi printed on them.

Multiple tweets alleged that cups and boarding passes violated the Model Code of Conduct which came into effect with the announcement of Lok Sabha Election dates.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Friday said that PM Modi's address to the nation announcing the successful test of the anti-satellite missile (A-SAT) did not violate the model code of conduct (MCC). The poll panel said the committee received specific comments from Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) on the issue and while the former said the Prime Minister`s message was telecast on DD News from the feed as provided by news agency ANI, the latter responded that the audio output of DD News was used for dissemination over All India Radio Network.

The two broadcasters further said the address was not given live by them.

"The Committee has therefore, reached the conclusion that the MCC provision regarding misuse of official mass media is not attracted in the case," the poll panel said.Amid the ongoing tussle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency, RPI chief Ramdas Athawale has said that he should be given the opportunity to contest the Lok Sabha polls from this seat.

"There is a struggle between BJP and Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena says that if BJP fields Kirit Somaiya, then it will field its own candidate and won`t support BJP. The chances are there that the seat may come to us," said Athawale."I am prepared to contest from Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha seat. People in the constituency know me well. Earlier when I contested from there, I got 2.25 lakh votes," he said.It may be noted that the BJP and Shiv Sena are yet to reach a consensus over Somaiya`s candidature from Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency.

As per the seat-sharing pact between the two political parties, the BJP will fight on the Mumbai North-East constituency. However, the Shiv Sena has been opposing Somaiya`s candidature. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Friday said that the matter of his brother Sunil Raut contesting as an Independent candidate from Mumbai-North East constituency was conveyed to party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Polling in Mumbai North-East parliamentary seat will be held on April 29 in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections and the counting of votes will take place on May 23. The last day for filing nominations is April 9.Kolkata: In an age when social media holds sway, good old poll graffiti and limericks still find favour with parties in politically conscious Bengal to grab the attention of its voters.

The walls of buildings across the state have been claimed by political parties before the polls. Adorning them are graffiti depicting 'chowkidar' sitting idle while industrialists loot banks (put up by the TMC) to those by the BJP, lampooning the opposition efforts to cobble up an alliance.

Limericks in catchy tunes mocking TMC's policies to BJP's poll promises are also being preferred by the political parties.

"Graffiti and limericks are an integral part of poll campaign in Bengal. Canvassing is incomplete without them. Social media undoubtedly has a wider reach, but the visual impact of graffiti can never be denied," veteran politician and senior TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee told PTI.

Mukherjee, who is also a minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, and is contesting the elections from the Bankura Lok Sabha seat said, during elections he himself takes part in wall-writing.

"During the 60s and 70s when I was in the Congress I would with the party's workers regularly whitewash walls and write on the walls, and paint the party symbol. I find it relaxing during the hectic campaign schedule," he added.

West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra agrees with Mukherjee that graffiti and limericks make an instant impact.

"The wall-writings and limericks are still important as in the past several decades. They are very popular even now. In villages wall writing and graffiti on the mud walls of the huts are one of the most popular mediums," Mitra told PTI.

He recounts how he along with Congress workers used to guard walls to keep away opposition parties from "capturing" them.

The CPI(M) has always been way ahead of its rivals in wall-writing and graffiti. It has a dedicated team of workers and student activists who involve themselves in it and pen catchy slogans.

"Poll graffiti is still the cheapest form of campaign. No matter what the evolution in campaigning methods may be, the graffiti with the candidates name, witty messages and slogans still impact the voters in a much better way," CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said.

The graffiti find curious onlookers, like the one by TMC on BJP's troubles to find suitable candidates for the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a cow in leash with a message below "Come let's make you a BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections".

The surgical strike in Pakistan is not forgotten. In a graffiti BJP president Amit Shah is shown holding a gun with 'surgical strikes' written on it and aimed at the leaders of the 'Mahagathbandhan' to get their elected representatives into his party.

Mamata Banerjee's fight against BJP and her party MPs switching over to the saffron party are humourously shown as match fixing between both the parties by the CPI-M. Banerjee is shown chasing Narendra Modi and Amit Shah while her party MPs are seen leaving a car and getting into BJP's chariot.

Sending out a message of the Centre's indifference towards the state and TMC's ambition to play an important role in the next government is a limerick found written on the walls of Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency.

It says "Eto bonchona, eto lanchona, eto kutsar dheu / Tobu Trinamool Congress egiye bharat joy parbena keu (Such deprivation, such accusations and such malicious campaign / Still Trinamool Congress is ahead and none can stop it from being victorious).

The tradition of poll limericks and graffiti go back to Bengals elections in 1952 when the first election of independent India was held. Due to high cost of paper, both the Congress and the Communists had then started using the walls to put forth their agendas and ideas.

The graffiti and limericks - some witty, some satirical and some thought provoking - have been an inseparable part of any elections in the state since then.

To add humour to those messages, graffiti artists started drawing cartoons and writing catchy slogans and limericks which became instant hits during the polls.

During the tumultuous '60s and '70s naxals too used graffiti as a means to spread their messages.

The importance of wall writings can be gauged from the fact that reports of clashes over wall writing are quite common in rural and semi urban areas of the state during poll campaigns.

"As soon as election dates are declared there is a rush among the various parties to capture the walls. The walls are quickly white washed and names of the party who have 'captured' it written at the bottom of the space is a common sight in the state," said a TMC leader.

Sovan, a political graffiti artist and a part time painting teacher, recalled the legendary slogans that once covered the walls.

"Its not just politics but fun too when you add humour to the poll campaign, which most often get vitiated by mud slinging and personal attacks. The charm and lure of wall graffiti has remained the same," he added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi kickstarted his poll campaigning in Northeast for the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.

The Prime Minister addressed a public meeting at ITBP Ground, Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. He will address two more election rallies in Assam later on Saturday.

PM Modi will address a gathering in Moran of Dibrugarh and then he will move to Ghaigaon in Gohpur to address another rally.

Thank you for joining us. Do come again on Sunday (March 31) for election live updates.

Here are the updates from Saturday (March 30):

* Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu holds a public rally in Rajam, in Srikakulam district.

* Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who will contest for the BJP from Bihar`s Begusarai constituency, said his fight is against "desh ka gaddar" (traitor). He insisted that his fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is "not against any party or candidate" but against the anti-nationals. "I am sure that people of Begusarai will not only defeat them (traitors) but also give them a befitting reply."

* Assam, rest of Northeast suffering from infiltration problem due to policies of previous Congress governments. It was Jan Sangh and leaders like AB Vajpayee who raised voice in support of Bangladesh during its independence movement: PM Modi in Assam's Gohpur.

* Taking a jibe at the Opposition, PM Narendra Modi said, "They hate chowkidar, they've a problem with chaiwallas too. I used to think it's only one chaiwalla on their target. But when I visited all corners of the country, I realised be it West Bengal or Assam, they don't even like to look at someone associated with tea.

"What else is the reason for tea farmers to face problems for 7 decades? They did not even get basic facilities. Only a 'chaiwaala' can understand the pain of 'chaiwallas'," added the PM in Assam's Dibrugarh.

* BJP chief Amit Shah files his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency.

Gandhinagar: BJP President Amit Shah files his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaElections2019 #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/u4oMwnCk4K  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

* Amit Shah holds a roadshow in Ahmedabad.

Gujarat: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah holds a road show in Ahmedabad. pic.twitter.com/T42WkCPz9i  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

* PM Modi addresses a mega rally in Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

* BJP president Amit Shah pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he will file his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency. Prakash Singh Badal, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh are also present at the event.

Ahmedabad: BJP President Amit Shah pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he will file his nomination for Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency today. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/HL1a0fupMx  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

* The Election Commission of India sent notices to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Railways, seeking a response on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image seen on boarding passes and tea served in paper cups bearing 'Main bhi Chowkidar' (I am also a watchman) slogan. Read more

* Preparations are underway at Aalo in Arunachal Pradesh's West Siang where PM Modi will address a public rally today as part of election campaign.

Arunachal Pradesh: Preparations are underway at Aalo in West Siang where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally today as part of election campaign. pic.twitter.com/o5UPb0LHJ3  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

* Visuals from Gujarat's Ahmedabad where preparations are underway ahead of the filing of nominations by BJP president Amit Shah. He is contesting from Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency.

Gujarat: Visuals from Ahmedabad where preparations are underway ahead of the filing of nominations by BJP President Amit Shah. He is contesting #LokSabhaElections2019 from Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency. pic.twitter.com/TJjQ18lAJR  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2019

* Congress president Rahul Gandhi promises to scrap Niti Aayog, revert to Planning Commission if voted to power in the Lok Sabha poll

* Amid the ongoing tussle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency, RPI chief Ramdas Athawale says that he should be given opportunity to contest the polls from this seat.Patna: Taking an indirect swipe at CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who will contest for the BJP from Bihar`s Begusarai constituency, on Saturday said his fight is against "desh ka gaddar" (traitor).

Addressing the leaders and workers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Begusarai, Singh said: "I am sure that people of Begusarai will not only defeat them (traitors) but also give them a befitting reply."

He insisted that his fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is "not against any party or candidate" but against the anti-nationals.

Without naming opposition leaders including Kanhaiya Kumar, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students` Union president, the Union Minister said those demanding proof of IAF`s air strike in Pakistan are not connected to reality and have no idea of people`s pulse.

"I have come to Begusarai to defeat the traitor... Anti-nationals are dreaming to win the election from Begusarai," he said.

After expressing his unhappiness and reluctance over being given ticket from Begusarai and not Nawada, his traditional constituency, Singh has now been camping there, meeting party workers and supporters in the district.

He is expected to file nomination papers on April 9 in Begusarai.

As per the seat-sharing deal with the other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents in Bihar, the Nawada seat, represented by Giriraj Singh, has gone to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.Kickstarting BJP's election campaign in northeastern states on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the opposition in from Arunachal Pradesh.

"When India hit terrorists in their houses, what was the stand of opposition parties, you have all seen. Even when our scientists made achievements, they found excuses to belittle them," the PM said at a mega rally at Aalo's ITBP Ground in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Asking voters to "punish" opposition parties in the upcoming elections, Modi asked, Whenever country makes achievement, don't you feel happy? But there are people who feel disheartened by India's success stories

Immense support for BJP in Arunachal Pradesh. Watch my speech at Aalo. https://t.co/7rvmSVbeyh  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2019

Your government honoured your hopes. The watchman was given opportunity to put Arunachal on rail map after seven decades of Independence, he added.

Recalling, BJP's journey in northeastern states, Modi said, In the northeast, the lotus first bloomed in Arunachal Pradesh. Later, PM addressed a gathering in Moran of Dibrugarh.

Euphoric atmosphere in Moran. Assams support for BJP remains strong. Watch. https://t.co/ATOLIdVNHK  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2019

After 70 years of independence, just 40 per cent of Assam households had electricity. But today almost every household has access to electricity. All of this has been possible with your blessings, said Modi at the Moran rally.

Protecting the cultural heritage of Assam or removing intruders from the state, all of this have been achieved with your blessings, said the Prime Minister.

Listing his government's achievements, the PM said the Centre has provided power connection to 50,000 families, gas connection to 40,000 mothers and sisters and built toilets for over 1 lakh families in the last five years.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address another rally at Ghaigaon in Gohpur.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won eight seats. It won seven of the 14 seats in Assam and one seat in Arunachal Pradesh.New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart his election campaign in northeastern states on Saturday from Arunachal Pradesh.

According to BJP, he will address a public meeting at ITBP Ground, Aalo in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

This will be followed by his two election rallies in Assam.

He will address a gathering in Moran of Dibrugarh and then he will move to Ghaigaon in Gohpur to address another rally.

With the Congress decimated from the whole of Northeast, the BJP has set a target of winning 25 seats from the region.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won eight seats. It won seven of the 14 seats in Assam and one seat in Arunachal Pradesh.The BSF constable, who was dismissed from service in 2017 after he posted a video online complaining about the substandard food served to the troops, has said he would take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

"I will contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi constituency as an independent candidate," Tej Bahadur Yadav told reporters in Rewari, Haryana on Friday.

Yadav said he wanted to contest the polls to eliminate corruption in the forces. "I had raised the issue of corruption but I was sacked. My first objective will be to strengthen and eliminate corruption in the forces," he said.

He had uploaded a video on social media in 2017, complaining that poor quality food was being served to the troops in icy, mountainous region along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. He was later dismissed on the charge of indiscipline.

Yadav had uploaded a video about the quality of food which had gone viral on social media.

In the video that had sparked nationwide outrage, Yadav, a BSF soldier of the 29 battalion Seema Suraksha Bal, said that the troops were not even getting basic three square meals.

Yadav, in a series of Facebook posts, had said that the government has been doing enough to provide the security forces with essential items, but it is the BSF officials who are indulged in wrongdoings.

Yadav also posted other videos showing a poorly baked 'chapati' and dal which he said had "nothing except salt and turmeric".

In the videos, Yadav is seen accusing the high-ranking officers of selling the items being provided by the government to fill their pockets.

The BSF jawan had said, "How can a person like him stand in duty for 10-11 hours in harsh conditions after having a pathetic meal?"

The video posted by him showed that for breakfast, "only 'paranthas' and a cup of tea is provided, with not a single piece of pickle or butter."

"Dal, which is given during lunch, has only salt and turmeric (in the name of spices), with no jeera, onion, garlic or tomatoes."

Following the incident, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had sought a report from the Home Ministry.Income tax department conducted multiple raids on the properties of senior DMK treasurer Durai Murugan at Katpadi in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district over suspected use of unaccounted money for electioneering.

The raids began on Friday night and continued till morning. The investigations were conducted at Murugan's residence, Kingston Engineering College and Durai Murugan B.Ed. college in Katpadi.

It's a wrong calculation that by ordering IT raids on us we would raise 'Modi Jai' slogan, it is a democratic country. This will not bring Modi any success in politics, it will rather bring only blame and criticism, it is a conspiracy, Murugan told news agency ANI.

"This is not the time to hold searches, be it tax or other authorities, when we are in the midst of full-fledged election campaign," he added.

The raids come days after tax raids led to a political storm in neighbouring Karnataka.

The Highly placed sources in the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department told PTI that the raids were carried out. They indicated that the searches were carried out to detect suspected tax evasion vis-a-vis use of unaccounted money for electioneering.

The tax sleuths carried out pre-dawn raids at 15 to 20 locations in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Ramanagar and Shivamogga, on Thursday. Officials carried out raids at various properties of Karnataka Minor Irrigation Minister C S Puttaraju and his nephew. Raids are also being carried out at residences of close aides of HD Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader and son of former Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.New Delhi: Karan Johar's 'Kalank' is one of the biggest releases this year and fans have soaring high expectations for it. The film has been helmed by Abhishek Varman and has an impressive star cast of Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sonakshi Sinha.

With a couple of days left for the release, makers are ensuring that the film remains in limelight and are doing all they can to raise the buzz around it.

A few days back, the first song from the film titled ''Ghar More Pardesiya' was released and its grandeur left everybody awestruck. The Kalank title track has now been unveiled and the love ballad will leave an imprint on your heart.

Check it out here:

Did that make your heart skip a beat? Indeed there is something about the song that will make you kill that replay button! Alia and Varun are known to be good friends and fans love to see the two act opposite each other.

'Kalank' is slated to release on April 17 this year.New Delhi: The bold and beautiful Malaika Arora is holidaying in the exotic Maldives along with her girl gang. The actress, who is quite popular on social media because of her smoldering posts, took to social media to share some glimpses from her holiday!

Check out Malaika's latest picture in a multi-coloured bikini:

The actress is an inspiration for all the women in their forties. Being a fitness freak, Malaika visits the gym regularly.

Malaika is a pure delight for the paparazzi as she always greets them with a smile and is usually seen in stylish gym wear.

On the personal front, Malaika is happily dating Bollywood hunk Arjun Kapoor and their Even though the two have not made their relationship official, their joint appearances have proved that there is certainly more than what meets the eye. If reports are to be trusted, Arjun and Malaika will take the plunge on April 19 in a private ceremony. However, Boney Kapoor blatantly denied any such rumours.New Delhi: Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor's doting wife Mira Rajput is quite on social media. The star wife keeps treating her fans with cutesy pictures of her kids Misha, Zain and of course her handsome husband Shahid!

On Sunday, Mira shared an adorable picture with her son Zain, that went viral on social media minutes after it was posted. She captioned the picture, "Small Wonder".

Mira and Shahid tied the knot on July 7, 2015. The couple was blessed with Misha on August 26, 2016, and Zain on September 5, 2018. Baby Zain's first pic was shared by Mira and the internet couldn't stop gushing over him.

The actor has reportedly bought a bigger house in Bandra which will be designed by ace designer Gauri Khan.

On the work front, Shahid Kapoor is busy shooting for Kabir Singh with Kiara Advani. His last release Batti Gul Meter Chalu couldn't strike a chord with the audience.

It is written and directed by Sandeep Vanga and is jointly produced by Cine1 Studios and T-Series. The actor donned a new look for the film.

The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on June 21 this year.New Delhi: Moroccan actress-dancer Nora Fatehi grabs eyeballs whenever she steps out in public. The gorgeous diva attended the GQ Style and Culture Awards and her outfit has our attention. Nora wore a black, body-hugging dress that had a side slit. The actress's bold red lipstick and gorgeous wavy hair complete the look and it is hard to take eyes off her!

Check out the pics here:

(Image Courtesy: Yogen Shah)

Nora shot to fame when her killer dance moves in the song 'Dilbar' from 'Satyameva Jayate' went viral. She is an active social media user and her pics and videos often go viral. The actress also made her singing debut in the Arabic version of her 'Dilbar' song.

The beautiful and highly talented actress has a huge fan base who love to know about her personal as well as professional life. Nora will next share screen space with John Abraham in 'Batla House'.

She is also a part of Salman Khan's 'Bharat' which is slated to release on June 5 this year.

Apart from these, she has Street Dancer 3D in her kitty. The film also stars Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor and is keenly awaited upon by fans.

With such interesting projects up her sleeve, here's wishing all the very best to the 'Dilbar' girl!New Delhi: Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh's daughter Sara Ali Khan has a huge fan base and people admire her for her honest and witty replies. The actress time and again leaves us awestruck by her statements and grabs eyeballs whenever she steps out in public.

With over 8 million followers on social media app Instagram, Sara's fan-following needs no description. The actress is quite active on social media and often shares pics and videos to keep her fans updated about her life.

She took to Instagram recently and shared a black and white pic in which she is a spitting image of her mom Amrita.

Check out Sara's post here:

Isn't she absolutely beautiful?

The actress made her debut with Abhishek Kapoor's 'Kedarnath' in December last year and received immense appreciation for her performance.

Sara acted opposite Sushant Singh Rajput in the film and both actors were lauded for their acting skills. Shortly after 'Kedarnath', Sara appeared in Rohit Shetty's 'Simmba' in the same month. The actress had a small role in the film but left the audience smiling with her presence. The film starred Ranveer Singh as the male lead and emerged a blockbuster.

The actress will next be seen along with Kartik Aaryan in an Imtiaz Ali directorial. The film is reported to be the sequel of 'Love Aaj Kal' that starred Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan in lead roles.New Delhi: Popular southern actress Keerthy Suresh is leaving no stone unturned in giving her best for her upcoming film which is being directed by Narendra Nath. The film was launched a few months ago at Annapurna Studios on a grand scale. The film is currently in the works and is said to be a female-centric movie which will have a lot of family values and sentiments etched in its story. It is going to be an out and out family entertainer.

According to the media reports, a huge set has been established by the makers in Hyderabad with a budget of Rs 50 lakhs. Several scenes in between Keerthy Suresh, Rajendra Prasad, Nadiya, Kamal Kamaraju and Bhanushree Mehra will be shot on this set. After completing this extensive schedule, the film will head to abroad for further shooting. It is said that major part of the film will be shoot in foreign countries.

The film is produced by Mahesh S Koneru of East Coast Productions and has Dani Sanchez Lopez cranking the camera. The film is expected to be released during Dasara vacations.

Keerthy has gained a lot of popularity after playing late actor Savithri in her biopic Mahanati which released last year. Her reputation as an actress has improved tremenduously after this film went on winning many awards.

She was later seen in Sarkar and Pandem Kodi 2. With this yet to be titled film, she will once again be seen in a lady oriented script. As of now, this is the only project the actor is working for in Telugu film industry.MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Afghanistan`s vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, escaped unhurt from an attack that killed one of his bodyguards on Saturday, dodging death for the second time since returning from exile last year.

Attackers ambushed Dostum`s convoy on the way from Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in Balkh province, to Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, said Bashir Ahmad Tayenj, spokesman for Dostum`s Junbish Party. Two other bodyguards were wounded.

Dostum was aware of a planned attack but decided to travel anyway, the spokesman added.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt, which comes eight months after Dostum avoided injury in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport. In a tweet, the militant group`s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said four guards were killed and six wounded in the attack.

Last summer`s bombing, which was claimed by Islamic State, took place as Dostum returned home from more than a year in exile in Turkey over allegations of torturing and abusing a political rival.

Dostum had left Afghanistan after heavy pressure from Western donors including the United States.

Less than a year since his return, the general remains a significant if polarizing, political figure. His Junbish Party is supported mainly by his fellow ethnic Uzbeks.

Dostum has joined the election team of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, one of several contenders in a presidential election scheduled for September 28.LONDON: Lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May`s Brexit deal for a third time on Friday, sounding its probable death knell and leaving Britain`s withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the very day it was supposed to quit the bloc.

The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May`s divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year Brexit crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty.

"I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," May told parliament after the defeat. "The implications of the House`s decision are grave."

Within minutes of the vote - which took place as thousands of Brexit supporters protested outside parliament - European Council President Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain`s departure from the bloc.

A succession of European leaders said there was a very real chance Britain would now leave without a deal, a scenario that businesses fear would cause chaos for the world`s fifth-biggest economy.

White House national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters that President Donald Trump sympathised with May, and restated that the United States was keen to sign a trade deal with Britain once it was no longer in the EU.

May had framed the vote as the last opportunity to ensure Britain actually left the EU, making a passionate plea to lawmakers to put aside party differences and strongly-held beliefs.

But in a special sitting of parliament, they voted 344-286 against the EU Withdrawal Agreement, agreed after two years of tortuous negotiations with the bloc.

"The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on April 12," May said.

She cautioned that any further delay to Brexit would probably be a long one beyond the current deadline, and would mean Britain holding elections to the European Parliament.

The British pound, which has been buoyed in recent weeks by hopes that the likelihood of an abrupt `no-deal` Brexit is receding, fell half a percent after May lost, to as low as $1.2977, but then recovered some of its losses. [GBP/]

"If the deadline is extended longer, we will re-engage with sterling because that will be the start of the slow death of Brexit," said Salman Ahmed, global investment strategist at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

TALKS TO CONTINUE

May had offered on Wednesday to resign if the deal passed, in a bid to win over eurosceptic rebels in her Conservative Party who support a more decisive break with the EU than the divorce her deal offers.

The vote leaves her Brexit strategy in tatters. With no majority in parliament for any Brexit option so far, it is unclear what May will now do. Options include asking the EU for a long delay, parliament forcing an election, or a "no-deal" exit.

However, May`s spokesman said she would continue talks with opponents of the deal and some political correspondents said she could bring it back a fourth time, perhaps in a "run-off" against any alternative that parliament itself came up with.

Britain now has under two weeks to convince the 27 members of the EU that it has an alternative path out of the impasse, or see itself cast out of the bloc on April 12 with no deal on post-Brexit ties with its largest trading ally.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking as parliament voted, said the EU needed to accelerate no-deal planning and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that unless Britain came up with a plan, there would be a "hard" Brexit.

May`s deal had twice been rejected by huge margins this year and, although she was able to win over many Conservative rebels, a hard core of eurosceptics, who see "no-deal" as the best option, and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government, refused to back it.

The DUP`s deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, said avoiding future customs checks between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland - which might be required under May`s deal - was more important than leaving the EU.

ANOTHER ELECTION?

On Monday, lawmakers who have tried to grab control of the process will attempt to agree on an alternative Brexit plan that could command majority cross-party support in parliament. The options that have so far gathered most support involve closer ties to the EU, and a second referendum.

A first attempt at non-binding "indicative votes" on Wednesday failed to produce a majority for any of the eight options on offer.

Many lawmakers believe the only way to solve the crisis will be a snap election - even though it would throw up a host of unknowns for the major parties.

"The last thing this country needs right now is a general election," transport minister Chris Grayling told Sky News. "We`ve actually got to sort out the Brexit process, we can`t throw everything up in the air."

The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU revealed a United Kingdom divided over many more issues, and has provoked impassioned debate about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and what it means to be British.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons marched through London last Saturday demanding a second referendum, while on Friday thousands of angry Brexit supporters protested in the capital.

"What should have been a celebration is in fact a day of betrayal," Nigel Farage, a leading Brexit campaigner, told Reuters.

The uncertainty around Brexit, the United Kingdom`s most significant political and economic move since World War Two, has left allies and investors aghast.

Opponents fear Brexit will make Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.

Supporters say that, while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed project to forge European unity.San Francisco, March 29 (Peoples Daily Online) -- Instead of focusing only on finance or tech innovation, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will follow the path of diverse and comprehensive development, said Wang Jun, president of the Academy of Greater Bay Area Studies.

Wang Jun, president of the Academy of Greater Bay Area Studies

With a population of over 70 million, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will not only feature finance and tech innovation, but also pursue green development and better living quality for the people, said Wang.

According to Wang, the bay area will also serve as a window for Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, helping Chinese companies to build better connections with the world.

Wang made these remarks at the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF), an international gathering which aims to deepen cooperation between bay areas that kicked off in San Francisco on Saturday.

The forum is a timely event, as Chinas Greater Bay Area needs communication and exchange of technologies with other world-leading bay areas. The forum will further strengthen cooperation among bay areas worldwide,  said Wang.A former Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has reacted to the meeting of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Christian Association of...





A former Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has reacted to the meeting of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, leadership.





Fani-Kayode, in a post on his verified Twitter handle on Friday, said CAN should not allow itself to be forced into congratulating the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its success at the last presidential election.





He alleged that the ruling party was responsible for the massacres and death of innocent Nigerians and yet rigged themselves back into office.





President Buhari, notwithstanding, assured the Christian leaders of his commitment to leave Nigeria better than he met it in 2015.





He also affirmed that his administration will continue to address important national challenges including security, economy and corruption.



A prosecution witness, Biodun Oshodi, has narrated how Abiodun Agbele, an aide to a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, coo...





A prosecution witness, Biodun Oshodi, has narrated how Abiodun Agbele, an aide to a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, coordinated the movement of N1.2bn slush funds in the build-up to the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014.





Agbele is standing trial before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, along with three companies  Sylvan Mcnamara Limited linked to a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; De Privateer Limited run by him, and Spotless Investment Limited, whose bank account was allegedly operated by Fayose and his wife, Feyisetan.





Testifying as the third prosecution witness, Oshodi, who is the Zonal Head of Zenith Bank Plc, South-West, while being led in evidence by counsel for the EFCC, Wahab Shittu, further narrated the role he played in the movement of the cash on May 17, 2014.





He further told the court on Thursday that the slush funds were handed over to Agbele, adding that he also supplied the accounts in which the money was disbursed into.

The prosecution, thereafter, tendered the statement of the witness volunteered to the EFCC during investigation which was admitted in evidence.





A statement by the acting EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, on Friday said another statement made to the commission on July 25, 2016 was also admitted in evidence.





Under cross-examination by counsel for the first defendant, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the witness denied receiving any instruction from Agbele concerning evacuation of the cash.





The instruction was from his colleague, Lawrence Akande, he said, adding that the procedure for the transaction was legal.





When asked if he knew Obanikoro or had any dealings with him, he stated that he had never met or had any dealings with Obanikoro.





The matter has been adjourned to May 24 and 27, 2019 for continuation of cross-examination.Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commis...





Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) worked against the ruling party in the 2019 general election.





The APC won the presidential election, secured over 25 seats than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the senate, won over 100 seats than PDP in the house of reps and emerged victorious in governorship and state assembly elections.





But Oshiomhole claimed that INEC conducted the elections in a manner that put the ruling party at a disadvantage.





was grossly biased against the APC in the just concluded general elections.

He spoke in an interview with Maupe Ogun-Yusuf on Channels Televisions Hard Copy.





I have huge reservations about the way INEC conducted this election. INEC bias against APC is so clear, he said.





INEC was biased even in the way it dealt with our primaries, INEC was biased in the way in which it selectively used the card readers or the non-use of card readers in some states where it suits them.





He said there were several instances on paper where INEC contradicted itself as to the way the elections were conducted.



The Nigeria Immigration Service and its Ghanaian counterpart have begun reconciliatory talks over the recent deportation of four Ghanaia...

The Nigeria Immigration Service and its Ghanaian counterpart have begun reconciliatory talks over the recent deportation of four Ghanaian nationals by Nigerian authority.









NIS Public Relations Officer, Mr Sunday James made this known in a Press Statement in Abuja on Saturday.









He said that the Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede had played host to the visiting Comptroller-General of Ghana Immigration Service, Mr Kwame Takyi accompanied by the Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Rashid Bawa.









The meeting, which held behind closed doors, appeared to be a conciliatory meeting following the deportation of four Ghanaian nationals from Nigeria to Ghana.









Babandede, when contacted, confirmed the meeting saying details of a further meeting were being worked out by the Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and Ghana.









There is no cause for alarm as both countries will resolve issues between both countries diplomatically.









It was gathered that the minister of interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) had authorised the deportation order of the four Ghanaian nationals over alleged violation of provisions of the Immigration Act and Regulations.









Earlier, Nigeria had protested the mass deportation of at least 723 of its citizens between 2018 and February 2019. The Nigerians were accused of illegal stay, cyber-crime, prostitution and other social vices.













(NAN)The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Friday, warned of dire consequences over the bench warrant issued against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indige...

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Friday, warned of dire consequences over the bench warrant issued against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, by a Federal High Court in Abuja.









Justice Binta Nyako issued the order following Kanus continuous absence from court.









But reacting through a statement signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide and Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, Secretary General, the apex Igbo organization said such order would spell doom.









The Ohanaeze said it the arrest order with rude Shock and disbelief, and weighing the implications, such action may destabilize the fragile peace that has returned to Southern Nigeria, especially Southeast and South/South after the ugly but sad experience(s) witnessed during his first arrest, and subsequently the untimely death of innocent Igbo Youths and women that characterized his detention.









They, however, urged the IPOB to resist any temptation of allowing Nnamdi Kanu to return to Nigeria, as the healing process of those slaughtered during the first arrest and python Dance has not been completed.









Theres no need to escalate the tension already established in the Southeast over the menace of herdsmen ravaging some parts of Igbo land; theres no need to compound our loss by allowing Nnamdi Kanu return now until Igbo Christian and Traditional leaders intervene in the process.









We are pleading With President Buhari as the father of the Nation to grant Presidential Pardon to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, as a way to show compassion to Ndigbo. We are aware of the Presidential release of over 500 inmates of suspected Boko Haram detainees in Kano Prisons.









Presidential Pardon to all Biafra agitators, including Nnamdi Kanu will save a lot of Billions of Naira that wouldve been used for peacekeeping, in the imminent collapse of peace and civil disturbances that will follow immediately if hes re-arrested.









Such billions can be used on alternative Road Projects in the southeast, because Aba, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Abakiliki, Enugu, Onitsha, Nnewi and Owerri may become ungovernable as we witnessed during the last arrest of Nnamdi Kanu.









They further stated that theres better time re-unite every part Nigeria than now; Carrot and Stick method of late President Yaradua should be adopted in handling the delicate case of Nnamdi Kanu; his re-arrest order is an ill wind that will blow no one any good.The Senator-elect for the Osun East Senatorial District, Mr Francis Fadahunsi, on Friday said that the directive by the National Chairma...

The Senator-elect for the Osun East Senatorial District, Mr Francis Fadahunsi, on Friday said that the directive by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, to senators-elect from the party regarding the election of principal officers for the 9th Assembly was like a head teacher giving instructions to his pupils.









Fadahunsi, in a press statement signed by his media assistant, Sam Segun-Progress, cautioned that with the way the party was going about the issue, it could present Senator Ahmed Lawan as a stooge of the executive.









The statement partly read, What is the business of the executive with the election of principal officers of the National Assembly? The way the party is going about it is exposing Senator Lawan. The action of the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, is like that of a headmaster giving instructions to his pupils.









The APC ought to be discreet with its lobbying, not grandstanding about imposing an anointed candidate on senators. This is because the party is exposing Senator Lawan to the danger of being viewed and labelled as a stooge of the executive.Governor Kayode Fayemi has said that the PDP and its candidate in the July 14, 2018, governorship election, Prof Kolapo Olusola, are f...

Governor Kayode Fayemi has said that the PDP and its candidate in the July 14, 2018, governorship election, Prof Kolapo Olusola, are free to challenge his victory to the supreme court and contribute meaningfully to his government.









Fayemi said he never perceived the governorship candidate as an enemy, saying the opposition was free to make useful suggestions for the smooth running of his government.









The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday while appearing on a programme tagged Meet the Governor.









I have never seen Prof Olusola as an enemy, but I have been seeing him as a co-contestant, so we wont shy from approaching him to seek his advice on any issue we feel he could be of help for the smooth running of our government.









 But this shouldnt be misinterpreted to mean that we are ready trying to prevent Prof Olusola from seeking justice up to the supreme court, he is free to challenge us.









The appeal court on Thursday delivered its judgement and said the PDP has no evidence of rigging against us, so we are not afraid of being challenged, he stated.









The governor also denied the allegation that federal might and money were deployed to muzzle the opposition in the just concluded national and state assembly elections.









 If you look at the outcome of the results, there was no local government where opposition didnt score at least 30 percent in all the 16 local government areas.









So, the conduct had been adjudged free, fair and the outcome was credible going by what INEC said, he said.









The governor added that his government will promote technical education to counter the rising unemployment in the state.









 We feel that skill acquisition is good in view of what we are experiencing in the labour market. We must be able to convert our love in education to wealth and that s what we are out to do.









 We are also creating a knowledge zone to make Ekiti a destination when it comes to knowledge and skills. About 117kms of roads will be constructed to link all the towns within that zone together.









They call it knowledge park in advanced nations and we are studying how we can pattern our own model after any of the countries that are already practising the policy.









Fayemi added that he is committed to the reestablishment of the abolished Local Council Development Areas, the policy he initiated during his first term.









He stated that his government will soon conduct local government elections in the state to bring development to the grassroots.The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Lagos State on Friday urged the state Governor-elect, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to be a father to...





The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Lagos State on Friday urged the state Governor-elect, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to be a father to all residents and prioritise alleviating suffering of the people.





Alhaji Shakirudeen Olofin, the state Chairman of IPAC, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the presentation of certificates of return to Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat.





NAN reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Friday presented certificates of return to Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat at the commissions headquarters, in Sabo-Yaba.





I congratulate the Governor-elect on his victory at the polls.





I want to advise him strongly that after the election, he should assume the role of father; he is now father to all.





Election has come and gone, he is not governing only APC members, he is governing entire Lagosians, Olofin, also the state chairman of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said.









He advised Sanwo-Olu to put in place service-oriented governance that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.





The Governor-elect, he said, should make Lagos residents enjoy dividends of democracy through good welfare programmes and people-oriented policies.



The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has made it clear that party discipline would be uphe...





The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has made it clear that party discipline would be upheld in addressing the leadership tussle of the 9th National Assembly.





Tinubu stated this while speaking with newsmen in Lagos on Friday, after a Prayer Programme organised by Islamic and Christian clerics to mark his 67th birthday.





Party discipline is key, we must be disciplined in the party. We were a little careless in 2015. We created the opportunity for serpent to get into our party and that did not allow Nigeria to make the desired progress.





You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip.





It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave. You have the freedom to choose but the freedom does not give you as a minority to go and collaborate and protrude our mandate given to you to another party who was our opposition and who is still our opposition.





We would not take that this time, no matter who you think you are. That is how it is built. Why do you want to deviate from what has been structured?



The Imo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned outgoing Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha against any last-minu...





The Imo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned outgoing Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha against any last-minute and illegal appointments into the state workforce.





The party also warned against purported establishment and upgrade of some state institutions, saying that such did not follow due process.





The incoming ruling party in the state said it was aware that the appointment letters of some newly-engaged workers have been backdated.





It said such actions of the governor would be reversed by the incoming administration of Emeka Ihedioha.

This warning came on the heels of advertorials published by the Imo State government during the week inviting qualified persons to apply for the positions of the vice chancellor, registrar and rector for the Imo State University of Agriculture, Umuagwo and the state Polytechnic, respectively.





In a statement on Saturday by its State Publicity Secretary, Hon. Damian Opara, the party said, Attention of the Peoples Democratic Party, Imo State Chapter, has been drawn to the recent pronouncements by the outgoing governor of Imo State, His Excellency Rochas Okorocha concerning the purported establishments and upgrading of certain institutions in Imo State, namely: College of Education, Ihitte-Uboma, Imo State Polytechnic, Ehime Mbano, Imo State University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Ngor Okpala/Aboh Mbaise, Imo State University, Faculty of Engineering Onuimo, Imo State Polytechnic, Orlu Campus (TESAC), Imo State College of Education Ohaji/Egbema and the purported appointments of heads of these non-existing institutions at the twilight of his administration and wish to ask Imo people to disregard such pronouncements that have no basis in law and have been done without due processes.





PDP further notes that just less than two months to the end of Governor Rochas Okorochas administration, he has employed more workers than he had ever done during the eight years he wasted as the governor of Imo State.





Worst still, he employs and back- dates letters of employments given to individuals who hitherto have no service to render to the state Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals.





For instance, in one Agency alone, the MD purportedly employed 300 persons in the guise of doing surveillance duties and backdated their employment letters.





The Peoples Democratic Party, Imo State chapter views the above actions of Governor Okorocha as immoral, criminal, unwarranted, unlawful and laded with evil intentions.



Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday held a dialogue with representatives from fields of business, finance, media and think tanks attending the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia annual conference.

Premier Li Keqiang (L) and former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon (R) at the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in Hainan Province, March 28 2019. [Photo: gov.cn]

"Adhering to reform and opening up is the independent choice of the Chinese people," Li said at the meeting attended by more than 200 guests from all around the world.

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, Chinese people have enjoyed tangible benefits, and China will only open its door wider and wider, Li said.

"The Chinese government treats all domestic and foreign enterprises equally and protects intellectual property rights in accordance with the law," he said.

The premier said China will take measures to drastically reduce the time for medicines to be approved and put on the market to benefit patients as soon as possible.

On China-U.S. relations, he said the historic development of the bilateral relations over the past 40 years has brought tremendous benefits to the peoples of the two countries and made an important contribution to world peace, stability and development.

"Although there are some differences between the two sides, dialogue and cooperation have always been the mainstream," Li said.

In accordance with the consensus reached by the two heads of state, economic and trade teams of the two sides are making positive progress through multiple rounds of consultations, Li said.

"As long as the two sides adhere to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, positive results will be achieved. This is not only in line with the interests of the people of the two countries but also the common expectation of all countries in the world," Li added.

China is actively implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, promoting mass entrepreneurship and innovation and stepping up the development of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, automatic driving and hydrogen energy, Li added.

This provides an important opportunity for enterprises of all countries, and all companies are welcome to come to China for common development, Li said.

Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has seen a steady performance, and market expectations have improved recently. However, in the face of a complex environment, difficulties and challenges should not be underestimated, Li said.

With a population of nearly 1.4 billion and more than 100 million market entities, China will be able to maintain long-term sound development as long as it stimulates market and corporate vitality, the premier added.

The country must let enterprises enjoy tangible benefit from tax cuts, as the government has decided to cut corporate burden by nearly 2 trillion yuan (about 297 billion U.S. dollars) this year, Li said.South Africa: Mkhize to launch much-needed Mpame bridge

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Zweli Mkhize will next week hand over the R10 million Mpame bridge to communities in Mbhashe Municipality.

The Minister will be joined by the Provincial and Local Government leadership at the handover.

Mpame bridge is an important infrastructure for the communities in the various Mbashe villages built by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), which is a special purpose vehicle established by Cogta to accelerate the delivery and maintenance of infrastructure in municipalities to enhance better service delivery, the department said.

For many years, community members residing on either side of Mpame bridge had to go through dangerous makeshift structures to cross the local river to visit each other, access different community services such as schools, hospitals, clinics, churches and other public amenities. This left communities frustrated and in some seasons, this led to fatalities that could have been avoided if infrastructure was in place, the department said.

Following these challenges, Cogta intervened through MISA to construct a bridge to connect communities in all the eight villages, namely KwaTshezi, Manzibomvu, Mdikana, Mpame, Mncwasa, Ngileni, Mkhathazo and Manzamnyama.

The communities from the eight Mbashe villages recall terrifying stories of crossing the overflowing river having to take off their clothes, which stripped them of their dignity, said Cogta.

The department said the lack of a proper and safe bridge made communities dread rainy seasons, as they feared for their lives when they or their children had to cross the overflowing river.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a national teleconference on the reform of the examination and approval system for construction projects in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has called for solid efforts in proceeding the reform of the examination and approval system for construction projects.

Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a national teleconference on the reform of the examination and approval system for construction projects Thursday.

While pushing forward the reform, Han urged relevant authorities to adhere to the principle of proceeding from reality, resolutely eradicate formalism and avoid "across-the-board" implementation of policies.

Efforts should be made to improve the examination and approval procedures, standardize the application of discretion, rationalize coordination among departments, promote informatization and enhance resource sharing, he said.

He also ordered local governments to adopt tailored policies to advance the reform and formulate a scientific approval process based on the types of construction projects, investment categories and scales.BOAO, Hainan, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Global companies are seeing opportunities in China's fast-growing and dynamic consumer market, with more planned investments into high value-added products and services.

Robert Aspell, president of Asia Pacific for Cargill, a U.S.-based agriculture and food company, said the company was looking at more investment opportunities in the value-added oil field, as more Chinese were living healthier lifestyles and craved different kinds of oil.

"Once you get to a certain economic level, you don't continue to eat more food. You start diversifying and upgrading," Aspell told Xinhua, on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference, which concluded Friday.

As China continues its structural reform, consumption has been playing an increasingly important role in the economy, contributing 76.2 percent of GDP growth last year.

With a population of nearly 1.4 billion and an expanding middle-income group, consumption will remain a major driver of growth, while policies to increase resident income and improve quality of goods and services will further unleash its potential, authorities have said.

The country will use multiple avenues to increase the supply of quality products and services, according to the government work report delivered to the annual national legislative session earlier this month.

At the forum, business leaders around the world said they have seen tremendous opportunities brought by China's changing consumer market.

Keynes Li, senior vice president of Nu Skin Greater China, a U.S.-based developer of skin care products, said he has seen explosive growth in China's consumption ranging from daily consumer goods to luxuries, bringing big opportunities for the firm.

Sales in China for the company increased 23 percent year on year in 2018, thanks to fast growth in personalized skincare products, Li said.

"The growth exactly reflected the rising demand from Chinese consumers for high-quality products and services," Li said, adding that the company had increased its investment in China last year.

To monetize this gigantic market, firms not only need to keep abreast of what the Chinese consume, but also how they consume, according to participants at the forum.

According to Wang Zhonglei, co-founder and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, China's booming consumer power has fostered growth in the film industry, as the average number of times that Chinese go to the cinema per year reached two in 2018, as compared with only 0.1 just 10 years ago.

He said the "upgrade" in the film industry was not only in content, but the whole process of consuming the content.

"For example, in just a few years, the Internet has totally changed how we buy a movie ticket," he said.

Digitalization has also changed how Chinese consume their food, Aspell noticed. Living in Shanghai, he is used to buying the groceries from an app on his smartphone.

Cargill is closely looking at opportunities rising from digitalization in the food service sector, he said.

"There is much activity going on in China like the upgrading of consumption. This is keeping us on our toes," Aspell said.MADRID, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Key players in the Spanish transport sector have highlighted the role of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in the digitalization of southern Spain's transport network.

Huawei presented its new proposals for equipping data centers in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Thursday and highlighted the help it has received from the local government in the city of Alicante, eastern Spain, in building a network of data centers to provide "essential and safe public services."

"Huawei is playing a very important role in the modernization of transport in Spain. The company's contribution could help to revolutionize this sector," Juan Carlos de la Heras, the head of Security and Telecommunications Networks at French company Alstom, told Xinhua.

This idea was shared by Javier Rivilla, director of technology at consultancy firm Indra.

"It's impossible to think of a future without companies such as Huawei, which provide the technology for the safety and efficiency of the transport sector," said Rivilla.

Felix de la Fuente, a sales chief at Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said that innovation is the basis of the company's contributions to Spain's transport sector.

"Our idea, as well as the exchange of data and new technology, is to improve transport for passengers ...," he told Xinhua.

Huawei's task was "to accompany them in the process which goes from buying tickets to their arrival at their destinations," he said.

To that end, "we are investing heavily in AI, it is an element which differentiates us from other manufacturers in the sector," he added.

De la Fuente said that the Chinese company began working alongside ADIF, a company which manages the infrastructure of the Spanish railway network, in 2011 in a project to improve rail transportation.

The company also has agreements with AENA, which operates Spain's airports with similar ambitions to improve air transit, he said.

"Nobody travels today as they did, 5, 20 or 15 years ago," said De la Fuente.

"Now we are looking for fluidity in transport and the way we travel will never be the same. It depends on the elements which make up the whole of the journey, such as traffic and the destination," he added.Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, delivers a speech at the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum in San Francisco, the United States, on March 29, 2019. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

People's Daily Online, March 29 (San Francisco) -- Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, discussed the role of non- governmental agencies in economic advancement at the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum on March 29, 2019.

The Bay Area Council is a public policy organization which has been at the intersection of business and civic leadership for over 70 years.

If we were actually a country, this region called the San Francisco Bay Area of about 8.5 million people would be the 18th largest economy in the world, Wunderman said as he addressed attendees at the forum. In the post-recession years, the bay areas GDP growth has dramatically outpaced that of the entire US.

These, along with other statistics, are just a precursor to the sense of how profound a presence an internationally renowned bay area can have.

The Councils initial formation was driven by the vision to coordinate regional economic development. Since 1945, the Council has sponsored legislation regarding environmentalism, cross-border relations, gender equity, and most notably, regional transportation systems.

"Our organization, the Bay Area Council, led an effort just last year to get the voters to approve billions of dollars of new funds to invest in more infrastructure to expand our various systems.

One of the Councils primary goals, justifiably shared by many regions, is to create a sustainable and robust economy. Though the bay areas are not the only ones to take the initiative, theyve undoubtedly over-performed. In the San Francisco Bay Area, high-tech leads the economy. It has delivered the invention of the semiconductor industry, biotechnology, the internet, and social media. Now Wunderman hopes to focus and collaborate on issues of housing, transportation, and homelessness.

According to Wunderman, San Francisco has a population that's willing to invest. I think that's very, very important. On the whole, there's been pretty good leadership so when we have a problem, we're able to get people to come together and have a conversation about it. Our industries are very intertwined and well-networked, which is one of the reasons why there's been so much technological innovation here. The San Francisco Bay Area is like one big shared platform, and people are not in their corner just doing their own thing; they're working together.

When addressing development, cooperation is necessary to form an efficient approach. Though the world is at a pivotal moment where we are encountering problems facing economic globalization, following along a trend of increasing exclusivity would be the wrong path. Referring to the efforts of the forum, Wunderman says, This movement of all the greater bay areas can lead the way for rethinking strategy and encourage people to work together.

Wunderman was positive about the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and noted that he was particularly impressed by the infrastructure. On the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum, he responded, I think this is a really good idea, and we should definitely encourage it.NADI, FIJI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China and the Pacific Island Countries agreed here on Friday to strengthen their mutually-beneficial cooperation in the field of agriculture.

The decision came after a successful meeting held in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city, between China's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu and his counterparts of the Pacific Island Countries such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

In the Nadi Declaration issued after the one-day meeting with the theme "seizing the opportunity of jointly contributing to the Belt and Road Initiative, advancing the practical agricultural cooperation between China and Pacific Island States", the ministers said that they discussed issues of common interest relating to agricultural development and adopted the Nadi Declaration of the Agriculture Ministers' Meeting of China and the Pacific Island Countries.

"We believe that China and the Pacific Island States enjoy a great potential for agricultural cooperation thanks to our mutual complementarity, and our further cooperation will be significant to enhancing peoples' well-being and deepening our comprehensive strategic partnership that features mutual respect and common development," the ministers said.

The ministers agreed to better align with each other's agricultural development strategies and plans, and jointly formulate the 2020-2022 Action Plan on Agricultural Cooperation of China and Pacific Island Countries, which will identify the direction and priorities for their agricultural cooperation, facilitate resource pooling, leverage complementary strengths, and promote shared growth in agriculture.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in agricultural technology and encourage and support agricultural research institutes in enhancing exchanges, building joint laboratories, jointly applying for funds from international organizations and the Chinese government, and carrying out collaborative research, with a view to serving agricultural development of China and Pacific island countries.

They agreed to expand cooperation in agricultural investment and trade. Upon mutual agreement, they will hold agribusiness meetings as deemed necessary in China and the Pacific Island Countries to build business cooperation platforms. Upon mutual agreement, they will encourage and support Chinese enterprises in investing in tropical crops, e-commerce, and logistics in the Pacific Island Countries, and expanding the export of local produce to China, so as to help host countries to extend agricultural value chains.

The ministers also agreed to strengthen South-South Cooperation (SSC) in agriculture with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Agricultural experts and technicians will be selected and dispatched to the Pacific Island Countries for technology demonstration and training with financial support from the SSC Trust Fund contributed by the Chinese government.

They also stressed the importance of fisheries cooperation.

"We will conduct fishery policy exchange and cooperation in regional fishery management organizations, step up fisheries resource and marine biodiversity conservation and capacity building, and jointly combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing," the ministers said.

They agreed to encourage businesses of China and Pacific Island Countries to conduct investment cooperation in fisheries to build infrastructure, develop mariculture and fish processing and trade, and increase value addition of the fishery sector.

They believed that the mechanism of Agriculture Ministers' Meeting plays a significant role in guiding agricultural cooperation between China and the Pacific Island Countries, and agreed to hold the Second China-Pacific Island Countries Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in 2022 in China.As the excitement around Marvel's much anticipated superhero franchise Avengers: End Game boils up, a new debate has hit the internet. Fans are now calling out Marvel for sexist double standards, for supposedly airbrushing the women, and not the men, in promotional images.



San Francisco-based journalist Katie Antoniou pointed out this discrepancy in an Instagram post.



"I love The Avengers. I loved Captain Marvel. But these photos have made me so mad. Spot the difference? Women: literally no facial lines  foreheads completely airbrushed. Men: every single one (even the gods/aliens/people who don't physically age) you can see lines on their foreheads and there's about a dozen more characters I haven't included, all the same," Antoniou wrote.

Related | Jameela Jamil Says No to Airbrushing

Airbrushing, of course, isn't uncommon in Hollywood, beauty, or fashion. The issue has been addressed time and again in several studies that often cite advertising as the chief reason behind eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Celebrities such as Jameela Jamil, Padma Lakshmi, and Lorde among others have fiercely rallied against it over the years.



Yet, it persists. Although Marvel has take several strides in making diversity an important part of its platform, it's concerning that it continues to consider natural signs of aging such as wrinkles and dark circles as an integral flaw for women.New Music Friday always promises a plethora of that good-good new-new from some of your favorite artists, maybe some long-awaited, maybe some tired, through, and delayed, and maybe some songs by a treasure trove of #whos you've never heard of before. We know. It's overwhelming! Thank the heavens PAPER is here help sift through the goodness, the garbage, and the noise, and bring you the best every Friday. We gotchu, sis. Let's bop to it!

Dynamic sister duo Aly & AJ return with a brand new song heralding their upcoming EP, out later this spring. "Church" is an electro anthem about the power of forgiveness. Its ultra-clean, crisp production builds from an isolated, vocoded intro and first verse before exploding into a chorus that'll make synthpop stalwarts like Imogen Heap swoon. "I do bad things for the sake of good times," they admit. Same! "Too many nights, I justify all my casualties of love," they intone, seeking redemption. Also, same! But for real: at Aly & AJ's "Church," may we all find salvation from our recklessness.

Billie Eilish's long-awaited debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is finally here, and it's so good, y'all! The production throughout is so masterful, we had a tough time picking a favorite bop from the 17-year-old's menacing, dreamlike opus. "Bad Guy" (stylized in lowercase letters) appears to be written from the perspective of one of the monsters under Eilish's bed, as it snakes into a nightmarish groove, with snappy pacing, funhouse chimes, and her smoky, demented vocal, all added for creeptastic effect.

Ciara will return with her first album in four years in May, called Beauty Marks. Today she unveils a new single, "Thinkin Bout You," and its high-def melodies and poppy rhythms may highlight a brighter, happier Ciara (its sensual video certainly does!)  but this track is all about lovelorn nostalgia. She makes sure we feel it, too. Just try getting that stick "youuuuu" refrain out of your mind. You'll be thinking about Ciara for this weekend well into the next, and then some.

Brooke Candy returns with the latest taste of her long-awaited debut album SEXORCISM. Speaking of, "Happy" is like a electro-rap exorcism of its own, as Candy cries through layers of wicked distortion (and hooks for miles) to find her own freaky rainbow. The song also acknowledges Candy's own struggles with mental health, making the track just as real as it is instantly enjoyable. Watch the moody, high-fashion music video here.

We can't enough of Saweetie's ICY album, periodt, but "My Type" really hits the spot. On the track, which is a flip of Petey Pablo's crunk classic "Freek a Leek" for a bass-driven 2019 audience, Saweetie makes her sexual and romantic demands plain  namely that he's gotta come correct in the bank and in the sack  while fending off naysayers ("Messy hoes fuckin' for the rent.). It's not just that she wants material and sexual satisfaction, which she deserves. It's that the whole thing sounds like such a blast and we're along for the ride.

Unless you live under a rock, you're aware of the winning streak of two of Latin music's biggest artists, Rosalia and J Balvin. So what could be better? Over a traditional reggaeton playero beat, with an assist from El Guincho, the two stars face off in a playful back-and-forth, representing the best of their sharp musical styles and talents. "Con Altura" translates roughly in Spanish to "with altitude, or highness." This song only serves to elevate both stars to the fourth dimension.

King Combs, son of Diddy, drops his latest project Cyncerely, C3 today. One track in particular is sure to set tongues wagging, perhaps even literally. Over raucous, Miami bass beats, the fun-loving City Girls steal the show in "Surf," anchoring the hook in a pussy-powered metaphor so potent, you'd be foolish to drift away to another song anytime soon. Smash that repeat button (or a wall, or wherever you throw your body when you're ready to go off).

Keeping the pace going is Melii, who is definitely not here to play games. PhAses is out today and Melii knows what she has to offer, case in point: album highlight "Copy," featuring Odalys. The song boasts stormy, bass-heavy production designed to induce a permanent fuck-your-feelings MO. It's working on me, how 'bout you?.

Rising pop artist Alex Aiono releases their latest bop, the lovelorn "Her." Aiono turns in a smooth vocal set to crisp, pulsating synths singing about drifting back to a former love, only to find his affection isn't mutual. Somehow the sadness of that feels sweet, here, which is a testament to Aiono's top-notch songwriting, and maybe some distance from pain? We hope?

Related | Alex Aiono Is Tired of Your Drama

AlunaGeorge's Champagne Eyes dropped last year, but its steamy Bryson Tiller collaboration has even even steamier video, out today. Marrying the song's concepts of raw sexual expression with NSFW visuals, Aluna spins "Cold Blooded Creatures" from a self-indictment to a celebration of how a one-night stand can transform the ways we see ourselves and potential future partners. Watch it here, and revisit the twisty, throbbing R&B track, above.

What's your favorite track this week? See you next week, lovers!A total of 6,497 students in the Tema Metropolis are enrolled on governments free Senior High School (SHS) programme in all public schools.



The figure is made up of 3,517 first-year students and 2,980 second-year students.



Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, was delivering the sessional address of TMAs First Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Seventh Assembly.



Mr Anang-La also said some educational policies put in place by the Assembly were also yielding impressive results as a success rate of 56.8 percent and 68.1 percent were achieved in the West Africa Senior Secondary Examination Certificate (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) respectively, in 2018.



There was an improvement of 4.7 % for WASSCE and 8.1 % for BECE over the 2017 performances. This shows that if we invest properly in education, we will see much progress.



He added that the Education Directorate was determined to improve performance to 75 percent pass rate in WASSCE and 72 per cent in BECE, therefore appealed to corporate bodies in Tema to assist the Assembly to provide quality physical and non-physical services to the schools.



He said promoting accessible and quality education, especially at the JHS and SHS level, was very dear to the Assembly and therefore was vigorously pursuing to create the enabling environment for learning and teaching.



In line with this, he stated, TMA had awarded contracts for the construction of office complex for the Ghana Education Service adding that a total of 750 teachers from both public and private schools had received training on how to identify children with special needs at early stage, and refer such children for assessment for proper educational management.



The MCE further noted that 180 brilliant but needy students had been selected for sponsorship adding that 34 public schools who were on the School Feeding Programme(SFP) would have their kitchens rehabilitated.



He indicated that the 48 caterers and 96 cooks on the SFP would undergo capacity enhancement programmes.

Source: GNA









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 President and Chief Executive Officer of KRL International in the United States of America (USA), Ms K. Riva Levinson, has challenged African politicians to frown on deep-rooted prejudice, dislike or discrimination against women.



She said sexism remained a fundamental impediment to womens participation in politics in Africa, stressing, exposing it and shaming those who perpetrate it should be a shared obligation of men and women alike who wish to see the continent continue its unstoppable march towards participatory democracy.



Levinson threw the challenge when she delivered the 2019 Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lecture on the theme: The future of democracy in Africa.



Upsurge of women in political



Speaking on the topic, Power from the Margins: Opening African Political Systems to Women, Youth and Other Disrupters, she said the emergence of women and youth in politics was a global trend that had witnessed the upsurge of women holding political positions.



In the last two decades, sub-Saharan Africa has seen impressive breakthroughs in womens political representation in national legislative bodies.



According to the UN, the number of female legislators on the continent grew from 9.8 percent in 1995 to 23.2 percent in 2016.



In comparison, Europe, excluding the Nordic nations, comes in at 24.3 percent and the Americas at 27.7 percent, Ms. Levinson stated.



At the national level, she said five of the worlds top 15 countries with a high number of women serving in Parliament were found in Africa, explaining that Rwanda, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, stood out with the highest ratio at 61 percent, followed by South Africa, Senegal, Namibia and Mozambique.



Women at the executive branch



But true political power in Africa remains vested in the executive branch and here, the gains have been less



Despite two decades of women empowerment, there is no single democratically elected female head of state on the continent, with the retirement of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former President of the Republic of Liberia from office in 2018.



Sahle-Work Zewde, while historic in her own right as the first woman President of Ethiopia, was appointed by the Prime Minister while the other woman serving at the top political level in Africa, Prime Minister of Namibias Saara Kuugongelwa, was likewise not elected to her office, Ms Levinson said.



She said at cabinet appointments across the continent, there were a few exceptions where women were rarely given the top ministries, such as Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Commerce and National Security, adding, more often, you find them at Gender, Youth and Sports, maybe Health and Social Welfare.

Source: Graphic.com









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Featured VideoSome chiefs are calling for a 30 percent representation of the membership in the local assemblies to enable them to have space to participate in the countrys local governance.



According to them, allocating the percentage to traditional authorities would enable them to appoint knowledgeable and experienced citizens to ensure that the membership of the assemblies was not dictated exclusively by partisan considerations.



However, the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) is proposing the establishment of an 11-member Local Development Advisory Council, made up of chiefs and professional bodies, to oversee the activities of the local assemblies.



But a governance expert, Dr Eric Osae, had a contrary opinion saying the position of the IDEG would undermine the authority of the assembly and so the Council of State should rather be modified and mainstreamed into the countrys governance architecture to have full representation of chiefs to not only advise the President, but the Speaker of Parliament and even the Chief Justice.



These varied views came to light when the IDEG organised a retreat to discuss the position and role of chiefs in a multi-party local government system in Accra on Wednesday.



The three-day retreat of influential chiefs and queen mothers is to provide the platform for traditional authorities to contribute their views on the best way to enhance their participation in local governance.



The meeting brought together about 20 influential chiefs and queen mothers from across the country to debate on the proposal by the chiefs and IDEG aimed at enhancing the participation of traditional authorities in local governance to promote sustainable and peaceful development at the local assemblies.



Article 276(1)



The 70 per cent of the membership of the local assemblies is elected during the district assembly elections, while the 30 per cent is appointed by the government.

However, the chiefs are advocating for a review, as the country prepares towards electing Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives in 2021.



Article 276 (1) of the 1992 Constitution bars chiefs from taking part in active party politics and any chief seeking election would have to abdicate his stool or skin.



However, the Constitution provides for traditional leaders to be appointed to public office positions.



In recent times, The Member of Parliament for Talensi, Mr Robert Nachinab Doameng Mosore, stepped down in May 2015, after he was enskined Paramount Chief of Tongo in the Upper East Region.



Chiefs want 30 per cent



Prof. Nana S.K.B. Asante, who has advanced the proposal of the chiefs, said the institutional representation of the chiefs in the local assemblies could be achieved by allocating 30 per cent of the membership of the assemblies to traditional authorities.



The Atwima Apemanimhene, Nana Fobi Kropa III, Prof. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, said Ghanas chiefs had gone through a gradual process of marginalisation and exclusion from local government over the past century.

He said the 30 per cent allocation should, therefore, be given to the chiefs, adding that they should even be made the Presiding Members of the Assemblies.



Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh, who is also a lecturer at the School of Communication studies, the University of Ghana, said considering the fact that the chiefs were the immediate closest entities to the people, it was only fair that they were involved in local governance.



While expressing concern about the marginalisation of the chiefs in development at the local level, he was of the view that there would be more and better development at the local levels if chiefs were made to run the affairs of the assemblies.



I have not been consulted by the district chief executive officer or any of the local authorities for the past 13 years on any important issue concerning my area. We are not regarded any more, he said.



The Paramount Chief of Anfoega Traditional Area, Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, said Chiefs needed to actively participate in local governance and therefore, the 30 per cent should be ceded to the chiefs.



Making a case for a Council



But a Senior Research Fellow with IDEG, Prof. Joseph Atsu Ayee, said chiefs used to have one-third representation at the district assemblies in the past, but that was reversed due to the use of chieftaincy disputes to interfere and meddle in the affairs of local assemblies.



He said the Local Development Advisory Council, which would be backed by law, would be non-partisan, neutral and an impartial body mainly comprising of chiefs and queen mothers to give chiefs the opportunity to participate in local governance.



Instead of being part of the local assemblies where their authority might be undermined, he said the chiefs would bring to bear their wisdom, knowledge and experience on development, conflict resolution and cultural modernisation while represented on the council.



Although chiefs were very influential and important in the Ghanaian community, and their inputs in local governance would go a long way to enhance development, Prof Ayee said getting involved in the affairs of the assemblies could taint their authority.



He further explained that the council would also include professional bodies such as lawyers, engineers and medical doctors among others to give their expertise on their area of work to promote development at the local levels.



Chiefs authority could be undermined



However, Dr Osae, who is also the Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, said chiefs were already integral part of the governance system because they were represented on the Council of State while the Regional Coordinating Council also made space for them.



He said allocating the 30 per cent to the chiefs would undermine their authority and also setting up a Local Governance Advisory Council would also undermine the authority of the assemblies.



Therefore, he suggested that the Council of State chamber be expanded to have a second chamber to include more chiefs and their mandate broadened to advise the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice.

Source: Graphic.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured VideoDirector of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) of Obuasi, Mr. Adam Siddique Zagoon has urged citizens to engage the Assembly through peaceful dialogues to put before them some major problems encountered in their various communities.



He was speaking at a public forum which was held at Odumase in the Obuasi East District on 26th March 2019 as part of their mandate to educate citizens on civic matters.



The occasion was witnessed by Nananom, Assembly member of Adansi-Odumase, the District Planning Officer of Obuasi East District Assembly, Teachers and Students as well as community members.



The Municipal NCCE Boss in an address told participants that Ghana as a country lags behind in terms of development and there is the need for community members to collectively embark on basic approaches to tackle their own problems in order to attract external support from the Municipal or District Assembly.



He maintained that when the people decide to apportion blames on government officials and hesitate to ask questions or confront them with their most pressing needs, Assembly officials might end up providing them with projects which may not be needed much in their communities.



He argued that there are instances where newly constructed classrooms blocks are used as toilet facilities since the community urgently needed proper place of convenience instead of classroom blocks. He stressed that such unpleasant issues would not arise if community members dialogue with Assembly officials to discuss their major problems and urged the people of Odumase to do same.



The Assembly member of the area, Hon. Ankapong Fofie also took the opportunity to caution some members of the general public who fail to attend social gatherings where issues of the community are analyzed for solutions which in the long run would benefit the community.



He encouraged the general public to change their attitude towards communal labor and engage in clean-up exercises to make their communities clean and protect the environment against diseases such as malaria and cholera which are associated with dirty and filthy environments.



The floor was opened for participants to put forward their grievances before NCCE and some Assembly officials, access to good drinking water stood up to be a major problem which the people of Odumase wish the Assembly could come to their aid and fix the damaged pipes in the area to allow free flow of water in the community.



The Assembly member promised the people of urgent intervention to fix the damaged pipes within a week; the people were very excited to hear such good news and also promised to support the good cause.



Some other matters included lack of light poles and toilet facilities in some new settlements, AGA recruitment opportunities, proper sewage and drainage systems, police post, construction of Tutuka-Odumase road with speed rumps on some portion of the Odumase- Ahansonyewodea road where school children are normally knocked down in their attempt to cross the road to school.



Nana Kwamoah Bosompem, Benkumhene of Oduamase revealed that officials of Obuasi East district Assembly including the DCE of the district Hon. Faustina Amissah and Member of Parliament of the Obuasi East Constituency, Dr. Patrick Boakye-Yiadom would visit the Odumase community to cut sod for the construction of Clinic and KG Classroom blocks.



He then pleaded with community members to attend the occasion in their numbers to serve as a sign of appreciation to call for more developmental projects in the area.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Featured VideoSingapore has applauded Ghana for promoting peace and unity in diversity, especially under the Fourth Republic Constitution, to engender stability in the country.



Mr Hawazi Daipi, the Singaporean High Commissioner to Ghana, said his country was ready to take advantage of the congenial atmosphere to maximize its investment in the West African country.



Ghana, has over the years enjoyed a good relationship with Singapore, one of the Asian tigers, culminating in the sharing of development experiences, especially in the areas of capacity-building in information, communication and technology (IT) advancement for the mutual benefit of the two countries.



Mr. Daipi, who was speaking during a courtesy call on the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Kumasi, Mr. Osei Assibey-Antwi, indicated that such collaboration had come with its own socio-economic advantages to the people.

The visit, was to identify investment opportunities in Ghanas second largest city, which boasts of many investment potentials in the area of tourism and culture, trade and marketing.



The High Commissioner said Singapore attaches greater importance to environmental sustainability, and in pursuance of this objective, it was willing to work with Ghana in attaining the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.



The goal, emphasizes the need to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managed forests, combat desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, as well as biodiversity loss.



Mr. Assibey-Antwi, in his welcome address, elaborated on various projects being implemented by the Nana Akufo-Addo-led government, including the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), One District, One Factory (1D1F) project, One District, One Dam, and other novelty programmes structured to make life comfortable for the people.



Commenting on the Governments Youth in Afforestation Programme, the Mayor explained that the initiative was geared towards improving the vegetation cover of the nation in general.



It was for this reason, he said, that the Assembly had over the last two years been implementing a project dubbed: Keep Kumasi Clean and Green, which had so far, seen it plant various tree species to improve the biodiversity.

Source: GNA









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Guo Shengkun, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, meets with visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng in Beijing, capital of China, March 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia vowed to promote law enforcement and security cooperation on Friday.

The pledge was made during a meeting between Guo Shengkun, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, and visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

Saying China-Cambodia relations have entered their best period in history, Guo expressed a willingness for law enforcement agencies of the two countries to promote cooperation in fighting terrorism, cyber crime and telecom fraud, and in building safe cities, so as to safeguard security and stability, promote common development and better benefit the two peoples.

Kheng said that Cambodia is willing to work with China to further their law enforcement and security cooperation.There appears to be a breakthrough by the security agencies in pursuit of people who are suspected to have shot and killed Ahmed Hussein Suale, a private investigator, who was working for Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye PI.



Its emerging that a suspected killer of Ahmed Suale is currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) on behalf of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.



Although the security operatives are largely tight-lipped over the case and would not want to give details beyond a confirmation of the arrest, Daily Guide can confirm that two arrests were made last week.



The paper learnt that the lead came through an informant in the Zongo community at Nanakrom, near Madina in Accra where Ahmed Suale was killed.



Two suspects were first picked up but after intensive screening, one of them was released but the principal suspect remains in custody.



The remaining suspect is said to be providing important leads to the security agents.



During a NET2 television programme a couple of days ago, the First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bono Region Kwame Baffoe, alias Abronye DC, also spoke about the arrests and the subsequent release on bail of one of the suspects at Kotobabi Police Station in Accra where he was being detained.



He had accused the Kotobabi Police Station of collecting money and granting bail to the suspect whom he claimed works with Anas Armyaw Anas Tiger Eye PI.



However, the Nima Divisional Crime Officer Chief Superintendent, William Daah, denied the allegation when the paper reached out to him.



Having contacted the commander of the Kotobabi Police Station on the veracity of the allegation, Daily Guide was told that there is no such report at the police station as was alleged.



The Police Headquarters, upon hearing the allegation, sent a team to Kotobabi Police Station to authenticate the story, Daily Guide gathered.



The team reported that there was no such report in the diary of the police station.



Ahmed Suale was killed by persons riding a motorbike on January 16, which sparked outrage in the country.



When DAILY GUIDE reached out to one of the brothers of the deceased, he said, I have not been briefed about any arrest. However, we were invited to come and identify some suspects earlier, none of whom we could pinpoint as the culprits.

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IT MAY sound funny and yes it generated laughter when a Ugandan Harvard University student made it known that he wished Ghanaian leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, was President of Uganda.



President Akufo-Addo who is in the US on a nine-day trip to that country and Cuba could not hold back his laughter when the student absolutely frustrated about the governance challenges and apparent human rights abuses in Uganda made his wish public during question after a public that the Ghanaian leader had addressed on Pan Africanism.



Hillary Taylor who is pursuing masters in International Relations had been given the opportunity to ask President Akufo-Addo one question after the lecture held at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Institute of Politics and Harvard Universitys Centre for African Studies on the theme Empowering the Youth, Africas golden future.



But he seized the opportunity to tell how he and many other Ugandans want their leader out of power and to have replaced with a true Pan Africanist like Akufo-Addo.



He said to President Akufo-Addo I wish we could exchange you for our Uganda President, dictatorYoweri Museveni has been been in power for 33 years cause we are telling him enough is enough; he has to go.

President Museveni has been in power since 1986.



Prior to coming to power, he was linked to several rebellions that toppled notorious Ugandan presidents Idi Amin (1971-79) and Milton Obote (1980-85).

VIDEO-









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FILE - This May 10, 2017, file photo, shows the CBS logo at their broadcast center in New York. A credit union that serves employees of CBS has been liquidated as one of its long-time managers faces charges of embezzling $40 million from the institution over a nearly 20-year period. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said Friday, March 29, 2019, that 62-year-old Edward Rostohar of Studio City was arrested March 12 and charged in connection with embezzling money from the CBS Employees Federal Credit Union to fund a gambling habit, buy luxury cars and watches and travel by jet. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)Chantelle Desrosiers, one of two school trustees from West Kelowna, will serve as an observer for the school board when the Central Okanagan district meets with teachers and CUPE for contract talks.United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney poses for a photo with a dog and its owner as he attends a rally as part of the UCP campaign platform roll out in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, March 30, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntoshChinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi holds talks with visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng in Beijing, capital of China, March 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia here on Friday launched the Year of Law Enforcement Cooperation between the two sides, pledging to strengthen cooperation in combating cross-border criminal activities.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi and visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng attended the launch ceremony.

Zhao said that the decision of the two countries' leaders to designate this year as China-Cambodia law enforcement cooperation year opens a new chapter for bilateral law enforcement cooperation.

This year the two sides will regularly carry out joint law enforcement operations against crimes such as illegal online gambling, telecom fraud, drug crimes, crimes committed by mafia-like gangs and violent crimes, he said. Moreover, they will also adopt customs facilitation measures and make efforts to better protect the security and interests of the enterprises and citizens located in each other's country.

Zhao also called for closer personnel exchanges and experience sharing, saying the Chinese side expects the two law enforcement departments to do their best to promote law enforcement and security cooperation.

Sar Kheng said the Cambodian side will work with the Chinese side to implement the important consensus of the two countries' leaders and strengthen cooperation in combating cross-border criminal activities.CAIRO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Center in Egypt's capital Cairo launched on Thursday a monthly cultural salon dubbed "China in the Eyes of Egyptians."

The salon aims to bring Egyptian and Chinese cultures closer through personal experiences of Egyptian thinkers, experts and analysts who have been to China.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Shi Yuewen, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, said the salon will document and activate cooperation on folk and diplomatic levels in all cultural, social and economic fields.

The salon also aims to show the common cultural characteristics of the two peoples, including customs and traditions, Shi added.

"It also works to focus on sustainable cultural projects between the Chinese and Egyptian communities and highlight the strength and weaknesses points of Egyptian and Chinese cultural relations in an attempt to improve relations and address weaknesses," he noted.

According to the Chinese official, the salon will serve as a new window to identify China in a clear and fair manner "that shows the true China in the eyes of the Egyptians."

Al-Sawy Al-Sawy, general supervisor of the cultural salon, said the salon will hold a monthly symposium, hosting a prominent figure who has a vision and interest in Chinese affairs and Egyptian-Chinese relations.

The salon will discuss "the important cultural and artistic features of the Egyptian and Chinese peoples and the culture of the markets in the two countries and provides an overview of China's rise in fields of technology and industry," Al-Sawy noted.

The first symposium of the salon hosted Mahmoud Allam, adviser to Egyptian minister of Transport for International Relations and a former Egyptian ambassador to China.

The seminar, entitled "A Journey in China's History and the Lessons Learned from the Experience of Building Modern China," discussed how contemporary Chinese identity has helped China's rise.

The seminar discussed the secret of the awakening of modern China, introducing the Chinese experience since 1949 and what it has achieved so far.

Allam linked various historical periods together, from the imperial families, China's resistance to foreign occupation, the liberation war, the founding of the People's Republic of China to the current China dream.

He also dealt with the impact of history on Chinese culture and the political and economic orientations of China to achieve its modern rise.

Since the upgrading of relations between China and Egypt to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014, cultural exchange has been at its peak as demonstrated by frequent mutual visits between artists as well as cultural and musical delegations.

Both countries hope to boost friendly ties through the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which has promoted deeper understanding between the two countries and woken up the ancient civilization in the new era.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa through the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.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VIENNA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 World Industrial Design Conference and the Industrial Design World Expo will be held in October this year in the Chinese coastal city of Yantai, Shandong Province, according to a press briefing by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) here on Friday.

The briefing is one of a series of activities to build a global cooperation platform for design innovation promoted by the China Industrial Design Association (CIDA), the Yantai municipal government and representatives of design industries from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland, amongst others, said UNIDO.

Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, Director of UNIDO's Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, said "Industrial design, through innovation and creativity, is essential to attain the objectives of the 2030 Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Developments Goals, and especially Goal 9 on infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable industrialization."

"Industrial design plays a critical role in upgrading quality, increasing value addition and improving competitiveness of manufacturing and services," he said.

"Better industrial design and innovation has the potential to make, from the very beginning, economic and social development in a greener, more inclusive and more sustainable way," he added.

The World Industrial Design Conference (WIDC) is a platform for international exchange, research and cooperation among design industries, according to UNIDO.

More than 2,000 representatives from over 30 countries and regions are expected to participate in the 2019 conference and exhibition in China, according to the organization.PM discusses humanitarian issues with UN coordinator [30/March/2019] ANAA, March 30 (Saba) - Prime Minister Dr. Abdulaziz bin Habtoor on Saturday discussed with the United Nations Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Lise Grande a number of humanitarian issues.



The meeting dealt with the medical air bridge to transport patients whose medical conditions require travel abroad for treatment and the proposed alternatives to alleviate their suffering as they travel from Sanaa to Aden and Sayoun airports.



The prime minister and Grande discussed the situation in the port of Hodeidah and the four fuel vessels prevented from entering the port by the coalition despite obtaining permits from the United Nations, which requires a strict UN position condemning this barbaric act as a war crime and a collective punishment against the Yemeni people.



They also touched on the suffering of military and security retirees because of the suspension of pensions for about three years, and the United Nation's role in pressuring on the other party to pay their pensions just like it was done in the civil sector.



The meeting reviewed the coordination role of the United Nations to re-benefit from the electricity of Marib gas-powered station to alleviate the suffering of citizens, especially with the advent of summer.





BA

Saba

Shatrughan Sinha, Sonakshi Sinha (file photo) Actress Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of former Bharatiya Janta Party leader Shatrughan Sinha, supports her father's decision to quit the ruling party and has said that it was time to move on. She in fact feels that what he did was a bit too late.



Talking about her father's decision to quit the BJP, the actress said: "It's his decision and I feel if you are not happy the way things are taking place, then it's necessary to bring the change and that's what he did.



"I hope with his new association with the Congress, he will be able to do a lot more good and not feel suppressed."



Sonakshi said her father enjoyed a lot of respect within the BJP and that even party stalwarts who had been with her father from early times had not been given the respect they deserved.



"So, it was time to move on. Actually he has done it bit too late. He should have done it a long back," Sonakshi told the media at the Hindustan Times Most Stylish Awards 2019 on Friday here.



Shatrughan Sinha's exit from the BJP came days after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was declared the party's candidate from Bihar's Patna Sahib, which was Sinha's constituency for 10 years.



Sonakshi was asked whether her father was disappointed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for not being treated with respect.



Sinha, a vocal critic of the BJP since he was denied a cabinet post in 2014, has questioned the party over demonetization and denial of ticket to veteran leader L.K. Advani to contest the elections.



Sinha is expected to join the Congress on April 6.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the whole country was happy with India's bombing of the terrorist camp in Pakistan but not the Congress and also the terrorists.

"The Indian armed forces for the first time killed the terrorists in their own territory. While the whole world stood by India, the Congress family have lost their sleep," Modi told an election rally here in Assam's Dibrugarh district.



"Recently our scientists made significant achievements in space technology and we became the fourth nation to have such technology," he went on.



"But the Congress leaders were in tears. Today India is walking together with the superpowers of the world and the Congress is worried," he said.





"Now you have to decide whether you want a strong government or a government run by people stained (by allegations of corruption)," he said.



Showering appreciation for the Moran community, the Prime Minister said that India cannot strengthen itself unless Assam was strengthened.



Modi also slammed the earlier Congress government for what he said was its apathy towards the tribals in the tea community.



"They do not like this chowkidar but they also don't like the chaiwala. They don't even like to look into the eyes of the chaiwala. Only this chaiwala can understand the pain of the chaiwala," he said.



He was clearly referring to some of the flagship schemes launched by the BJP government in Assam for the benefit of the tea tribes.



The Prime Minister alleged that various development projects got delayed when the Congress ruled Assam. "It is our government that has completed many of the long delayed projects."



The Prime Minister slammed the Congress for the Assam Accord and said that his government was working to ensure its implementation.



"Our government is also seriously considering a proposal to grant ST status to six communities of Assam. However, in doing so we will ensure that none of the existing tribals are affected," he added.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Aircraft tyres are one of the most highly engineered products having significant complexity which require large number of raw materials pertaining to steel, cord fabric, artificial and natural rubber and other chemicals. Aircraft tyres have cords which serve as the reinforcing materials in the tyre that provide dimensional stability, supporting the aircraft weight, as well as keeping the tyres in shape different road conditions. Aircraft tyres play a vital role in the performance of the aircraft. Various reinforcement constructions are needed for different types of aircrafts based on their applications and load bearing requirements. They have different requirements of tyre fabrics and tyre cords as compared to other modes of transport such as light and heavy commercial vehicles, two wheelers, agricultural vehicles as they work on different road conditions, where each tyre has a different load bearing requirement.



The global demand for aircraft tyres has been significant due to growth from the aircraft industry, particularly commercial aircrafts, which have witnessed huge surge in demand for advanced and new aircraft, which are largely influenced by certain factors such as network expansion by new airlines as well as entry of new airlines. Other prominent factors such as replacing obsolete aircrafts, rise air passenger traffic, growing demand for fuel efficient aircrafts and healthy economic growth shown by emerging markets has also contributed towards the growth of the aircraft tyres market. Large scale corporations such as Goodyear, Bridgestone Corporation, and Dunlop are significantly involved in the manufacturing of aircraft tyres that are eco-friendly, more intelligent, economical, safer and less noisy. They are consumed in significant quantities for various civil and military applications, where military operation hold huge demand on aircraft tyres where loads can be highly substantial with speed going more than 225 miles per hour.



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Large scale companies such as Dunlop have been involved in the industry as a key player which manufactures tyres used in military aircrafts from the well known Vulcan and Spitfire to the modern F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Heavy military aircraft such as C-130, the Tornado and the Hawk, and the latest A400M. The company serves various segments of the military aviation industry such as marine corps, naval forces and air forces across the world with tyres designed to give maximum operation characteristics in the fluctuating environmental conditions as well. In addition, Dunlop was awarded three year deal supply of aircraft tyres in July 2014 to China's privately owned airlines for the purpose of expending its footprint in regional airlines. Under the contract, Dunlop would be providing tyres for China Express Airlines Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. In terms of agreements and joint ventures, The Triangle Group in 2012 collaborated with the Harbin Institute of Technology to design and manufacture arcraft tyres. Regionally, developed regions such as North America accounted for the largest market share in the aircraft tyres market, followed by Europe. Emerging regions such as Asia Pacific is likely to exhibit the fastest growth in the market owing to certain factors such as increasing disposable incomes of the individuals leading to rising air travel expenditures, entry of low cost airlines and infrastructure developments in economies such as India, Singapore and China.



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Bridgestone Corporation, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Goodyear, Michelin, and The Triangle Group are some of the key players present in the aircraft tyre industry.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Alnico belongs to the group of permanent (hard) magnets primarily composed of aluminum, nickel and cobalt. They are hard ferromagnetic substances which are widely used in temperature sensitive applications such as hall-effect and MR-based electronic and automotive sensors.They are also known as composite magnets which are usually manufactured from sintering or casting offering superior mechanical characteristics. Alnico magnets are made from the combination of aluminum, nickel and cobalt with small amounts of iron and other small elements that improve the property of the magnet. After rare earth magnets, Alnico is considered as the strongest permanent magnet. It is also used in various household appliances as well as for the production of horse shoe magnets.



The global market for alnico has been witnessing significant growth owing to rapid expansion of the automotive industry. Alnico magnets are majorly used in several components of an automobile including exhaust systems and sensors among others. Asia Pacific accounted as the largest market for alnico magnets, which was majorly supported by China, followed by several regions in Rest of the World (RoW) such as Latin America and Middle East. After the global economic slowdown in 2008-09, the manufacturing industry in North America has been slowly gaining pace. Alnico magnets are being increasingly implemented in electric motors and various sound reproductive systems such as microphones and loudspeakers. However, over the years, the industry for alnico magnets in this region has been noticeably saturated due to increasing consumption of NdFeB magnets. These magnets have been increasingly superseded by rare earth magnets such as NdFeB as well as ferrite in different automotive and electronic equipments, resulting in low demand from retail and manufacturing companies. However, alnico magnets cannot be replaced completely by rare earth elements due to their wide temperature range and stability. Thus, besides the automotive industry, growing demand for electric motors and sound systemshas been strongly contributing towards the growth of the alnico market.Moreover, rapid growth of industrial activities in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific has resulted in growth of various application sectors such as healthcare, electronics and power generation among others, which in turn is expected to contribute towards the demand for alnico magnets in Asia Pacific over the forecast period.



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Increasing demand for alnico magnets on account of growth of the automotive industry is expected to be one of the vital factors driving the demand for alnico magnets over the forecast period. Rise in disposable income, improved infrastructure and increasing population are some of the factors driving the demand for automobiles.Moreover, increasing use of alnico magnets in temperature sensitive applications owing to growing industrialization and electronics industry is also expected to contribute towards the growth of the market. However, increasing substitution of alnico magnets by rare earth magnets such as NdFeB on account of larger energy products and stronger magnetic fields, allowing smaller size magnets to be used for a given application is expected to hamper the growth of the market. Increasing application scope of alnico magnets in HEVs coupled with growing demand for these vehicles is expected to open opportunities for the growth of the market over the next few years.



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Adams Magnetic Products Co., Arnold Magnetic Technologies, Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc., and Tengam Engineering Inc. are some of the leading manufacturers of alnico dominating the industry.LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- On March 29, the date on which Britain was originally due to leave the European Union (EU), a picture went viral on the British social media.

In an apparent sarcastic tone, Britain's Royal Mail apologized in its iconic red letter notice: "Sorry, we tried to deliver your Brexit. You were lied to and your Brexit could not be delivered to you."

In the latest turn of events, the British parliament on Friday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's hard-brokered withdrawal agreement, for a third time since January, prompting speculation that Britain will have to request a lengthy delay of Brexit to avoid a catastrophic no-deal.

But analysts warn that much harm has already been done to both sides of the English Channel as uncertainty drags on.

A CHALLENGED BRITAIN

The City of London, one of the world's top financial hubs and also a powerhouse of the British economy, stands at the forefront to suffer.

According to New Financial, a London-based capital markets think tank, a total of 275 financial firms are known to have moved or are moving part of their business from Britain to the EU continent to prepare for Brexit.

"These moves are the inevitable consequence of Brexit ... This shift will reduce Britain's influence in the banking and finance industry both in Europe and in the world," said the report entitled "Brexit & the City -- the impact so far" released earlier this month.

Peter Estlin, Lord Mayor of the City of London, told Xinhua that uncertainty is indeed causing serious concerns to the City even though the relocation is still a small percentage at the moment considering the 2.2 million people employed by the financial services in Britain.

"The whole process of Brexit has been frustrating from a business perspective and if there's one thing that business hates, it's uncertainty," Estlin said.

Meanwhile, manufacturing businesses in Britain, unsure of the trade relations with the EU and the rest of the world, started pulling out of the country.

In February, Japanese carmaker Honda announced the planned closure of its Swindon plant by 2021, threatening at least 7,000 jobs. Many believe Brexit was one of the key factors behind the decision.

In late February, the British government warned of disastrous consequences in case of a no-deal Brexit amid rising food prices and a weakened British economy.

Adding to the pains will be the diminished role of Britain after Brexit.

UNA-UK, a pro-UN group said in a recent report that Britain's standing at the UN will be weakened after Brexit because British diplomats "are less able to align their campaigns in the Security Council and the General Assembly with the influence of their colleagues in Brussels."

Martin Albrow, a pioneer British scholar in the study of globalization, told Xinhua that the role of Britain on the global stage will be "much diminished" after Brexit.

May's idea of a "Global Britain" is "so limited" and focused much on trade rather than leading global efforts to tackle global challenges like climate change and nuclear disarmament as a major part of multilateral institutions, Albrow said.

"A global Britain would handle global issues," Albrow said, adding that Britain has yet to figure out what a "Global Britain" looks like.

A TROUBLED EU

With the exit of Britain, EU's second largest economy, a key diplomatic and military power, Europe's global clout and the future of the European integration project have been plunged into doubt.

Former German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel wrote in a recent article that not only the British population, but Europe as a whole, will suffer the consequences of Brexit.

"After Brexit, we may find ourselves in a more perilous state, because the world will look at Europeans as even greater weaklings. Unable to get our own act together and frame our interests, our efforts to convince others of our worldview appears quixotic," he wrote.

As the world's political and economic balance of power is shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Europe is facing risks of being further sidelined, he said.

"With the possible exception of climate policies, Europe is already a spectator on most global conflicts and issues," he added.

Kristin Archick, author of the book "After Brexit, A Diminished or Enhanced EU," said the departure of Britain will weaken EU's ability to tackle more persistent challenges such as a sluggish economy and high unemployment, immigration and terrorism threat.

Archick argues that Brexit may seriously undermine the EU project. Even though most EU countries may be too small to contemplate departure, Brexit could prompt others to demand special memberships or policy opt-outs.

The rise of anti-EU parties in France and the Netherlands would also put EU under further risk of being less integrated as member states would have little appetite for ceding right to "EU institutions and Brussels bureaucracy viewed as out of touch with ordinary citizens," he added.

Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) group, called on the Europeans to "keep the EU together" which he considers among the biggest challenges for the bloc.

The EU must understand that only a united Europe, together with one voice, can have critical mass of power to bring European points of view on the global stage, said Weber, who is also the EPP's candidate for European Commission presidency in the upcoming European Parliament elections this May.

"We have to keep the EU together. We see Brexit happening. That's why we strive for the fundamental principle that compromise is good thing for Europe," said Weber.

TESTY BRITAIN-EU TIES

On the side of a residential facade in the British port town of Dover, a mural by Banksys, a famed anonymous street artist, shows a glistening star being chipped off the EU flag by a metal worker teetering on the top of a ladder.

Observers say Brexit did not come as a surprise. Britain has remained one of the EU's most skeptical members since it joined the European Economic Community (as it then was) on Jan. 1, 1973. A referendum was held in 1975 on whether Britain should remain part of the Community with a 67-percent vote in favor of continued membership.

Even today, Britain is not a member of the eurozone and Schengen area of free movement, showing its serious reservations about the EU project.

"One should stress that the tension with Europe is not a new thing at all, it has existed all the way back," said British scholar Albrow.

Adding fuel to the anti-EU sentiment was unbalanced globalization, and immigration from eastern Europe, said Albrow, adding that free market capitalism since the 1980s has led to a soaring gap of inequality and people working in the declining industries are feeling left behind.

The Brexit referendum was largely driven by the rise of populism rooted in a wave of anti-establishment anger and the desire to regain control of immigration, and reclaim national sovereignty from international institutions, he said.

However, Albrow pointed out the exit of Britain may not necessarily mean a weakening of the EU but an opportunity to strengthen Europe.

"I think it's fair to say that the British government wants the European Union to be strong. It's in no one's interest for the Union to be weak," he said.

"It (Brexit) could encourage the EU to become stronger, more integrated, and recognize that it does have weaknesses and that it needs to coordinate itself better," he said.Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Tier 2 players have a strong presence over restricted regions, whereas that of Tier 3 competitors is limited to regional sales. Standard grade coal tar pitch is the key focus area for the latter two, according to Future Market Insight's study on the global coal tar pitch landscape.



"Production facility expansion, strategic acquisitions, and CTP product innovation will remain the key developmental strategies trending among leading players," says a senior research analyst at FMI. The analyst adds further, "Massive Aluminum demand from automotive and transportation sectors has been pushing the Aluminum production levels 4-5% (yearly) since the recent past. Growing demand for lightweight vehicles is among the most impactful factors driving the consumption of Aluminum, subsequently contributing to sales of coal tar pitch".



Long-term Contractual Partnerships & Backward Integrated Supply Rule Strategic Minds of Coal Tar Pitch Manufacturers



While manufacturers of coal tar pitch are preferring long-term supply contracts with leading coal tar manufacturers, FMI has also identified these players entering strategic partnerships with steel manufacturers, where coal tar is often the byproduct of coke processing ovens. A few other activities that make this landscape dynamic include long-term contracts between manufacturers of coal tar pitch and those of primary aluminum and graphite electrode, with a sole objective to sustain the coal tar pitch supply to end markets.



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Aluminum Grade CTP Holds a Winning Revenue Share in Coal Tar Pitch Market



Application-wise, around 80% revenue share belongs to the aluminum electrode, according to the study. As coal tar pitch is increasingly being consumed by aluminum smelters lowing to higher sustainability and economic feasibility, the mushrooming Aluminum production is constantly driving the growth of coal tar pitch landscape. In 2019, the revenue of Aluminum grade coal tar pitch is pegged for over 5% Y-o-Y growth. Besides, Graphite electrode is also slated for promising performance and the application base of coal tar pitch as a chemical intermediate in carbon black manufacturing is visibly growing.



Development of Specialized 'Zero QI Impregnating' Coal Tar Pitch Expands Applicability



A specialized 'impregnating' pitch obtained by processing coal tar at a high temperature is widely used in the Graphite industry during the electrode manufacturing process. The resultant technological advancements in the life of electrodes pushes CTP applications in roofing, coating, electrode, refractory, and others.

China Commands over Global Coal Tar Pitch Landscape, India Leads Asia Pacific's CTP Scenario



China, India, Russia, and Western Europe have a significant aluminum production base, whereas MEA is demonstrating promising growth in coal tar pitch landscape in recent years. North America, however, is observing passive growth over the recent past, post decline in the aluminum production levels.



According to the FMI's report, China is the global leader in coal tar pitch ecosystem owing to significant Aluminum production and thriving production levels of Graphite electrode. China is projected for a 6% year on year revenue growth by this year's end, reflecting ample growth opportunities for coal tar pitch manufacturers.



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On the other side, APAC's market for coal tar pitch is witnessing growth concentration in India that has been attributed to an impressive rate of Aluminum production in the country.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The study segments the Anthrax Vaccines industry in light of major classification such as product type, potential markets, application, and end-user. This industry assessment for the forecast period, 2018 - 2026 incorporates projections pertaining to the investment feasibility, gross margin, profits, consumption volume, production capability and major market vendors. Likewise, statistics associated with the competitive landscape, shifting consumer behaviour and spending power is showcased and well-explained with the help of treasured resources such as charts, graphs and graphic images, which can be easily incorporated in the business or corporate presentations.



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Major Players in Anthrax Vaccines market are:

Emergent BioSolutions, Merial, Merck, Zoetis, Bayer Sanidad Animal, Colorado Serum, PharmAthene, Tiankang, Biogenesis-Bago, CAVAC, Rosenbusch, Agrovet, Vecol, CVCRI, IVPM, Prondil, CDV, Indian Immunologicals, Botswana Vaccine Institute, Ceva Sante Animale, Intervac, JOVAC



Market by Type

- Live Vaccines

- Cell free PA Vaccines



Market by Application

- Human Use

- Animal Use



Understanding the market size

The size of the Anthrax Vaccines market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Anthrax Vaccines report.



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Knowing the trends influencing the industry performance

Stakeholders, marketing executives and business owners planning to refer a market research report can use this study to design their offerings and understand how competitors attract their potential customers and manage their supply and distribution channels. When tracking the trends researchers have made a conscious effort to analyze and interpret the consumer behaviour. Besides, the research helps product owners to understand the changes in culture, target market as well as brands so they can draw the attention of the potential customers more effectively.



Our trend analysts look for the crucial connection between consumer trends, behaviour and values, to provide context for the sectors, demographics and global themes that matter to you.



Major Regions that plays a vital role in Anthrax Vaccines market are:

- North America

- Europe

- China

- Japan

- Middle East & Africa

- India

- South America

- Others



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The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated growth rate of the Anthrax Vaccines market for the forecast period 2018 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are prime factors expected to drive the Anthrax Vaccines industry for the estimated period?

- What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far?

- What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Anthrax Vaccines market?

- What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2018 - 2026?

- What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits?



Key Points from TOC:

Part 1 Market Overview

1.1 Market Definition

1.2 Market Development

1.3 By Type

1.4 By Application

1.5 By Region



Part 2 Global Market Status and Future Forecast

2.1 Global Market by Region

2.2 Global Market by Company

2.3 Global Market by Type

2.4 Global Market by Application

2.5 Global Market by Forecast



Continue



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News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-newsAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Chocolate is one of the most favorite sweet snacks among all the age groups especially, kids and youths with distinct taste of cocoa and varieties of chocolates. By product types, chocolates are classified into boxed chocolate, countline chocolate, straightline chocolate, molded bars, novelties and others (that include small size candies, alfazores). Increasing disposable income in emerging countries such as India and China, changing taste preferences and following of western food habits in Asian countries are some of the major factors driving the chocolate market in Asia Pacific at present.



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The demand for molded bars is increasing among all age groups due to its easy availability in major retail channels. Thus, the demand for molded bars is expected to increase during the forecast period. In the last decade, health awareness has increased among consumers and therefore there has been a dramatic increase in sales of sugar free, reduced fat and reduced calorie offerings. Dark chocolate is known to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol and this has increased demand of dark chocolates, especially in molded bars categories.. However, countline chocolates are more popular among teenagers and consumers under 30 years of age. In addition, manufacturers are introducing this product in large bite size in order to increase the consumption through special advertisement to buy large packs. For instance, munch and perk at the time of introduction were available in small- size but at present they are available also in big bite sizes.



Chocolate manufacturers are emphasizing on the raw material quality primarily cocoa. The cocoa quality has a direct impact on the quality of chocolates. Therefore, maximum chocolate manufacturers go through the quality check of the cocoa being supplied in order to avoid any variance in taste. Moreover, other raw materials such as sugar, milk, fruits and nuts among others require extensive quality checks to maintain the quality of the product. In addition, the price of crucial raw material, i.e., cocoa varies and is increasing due to their demand in other industry such as bakery and beverages. Furthermore, the economic conditions of the countries supplying cocoa are unstable. Therefore, chocolate manufacturers enter into the long term relationship with the supplier to cope up with the fluctuating prices of the raw materials.



Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/asia-pacific-chocolate-market.html



The overall APAC market is expected to grow at a single digit CAGR over the next six years. However, in few emerging economies of Asia Pacific, the market is expected to grow at a double digit CAGR over the forecast period. The report has been segmented by types of chocolates and countries. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), Porter's five forces analysis and value chain of the chocolate market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2013 to 2019.



By country the market has been segmented into the Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Rest of APAC (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong). The present market size and forecast till 2019 is covered in the report. The report also analyzes macro economic factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of chocolate market. Porter's five forces analysis offers insights on market competition throughout its value chain. In addition, the market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. This report is for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors in this industry. The focus is to provide the present and future trends in this market for manufacturers and it will help them formulate their strategies accordingly.Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The asthma and COPD drugs market in US and China is expected to show a consolidated competitive landscape. In 2015, the leading players within the US and China asthma and COPD drugs Market accounted for 64% of the total Market, according to a recent research report by transparency market research TMR. The names of the leading players within the US and China asthma and COPD drugs market are: Merck & Co. Inc., Astrazeneca plc, Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, and Boehringer Ingelheim.



Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/us-china-asthma-copd-drugs-market.htm



According to the TMR report, the US and China asthma and COPD drugs market will be worth US$18.7 bn by 2024. On the basis of different types or classes of drugs come on the market is segmented into anti-inflammatory drugs, combination drugs, bronchodilators, and monoclonal antibodies. Among these, it is the combination drug segment which is witnessing highest growth. The segment accounted for 54% of the total US market in 2015. The combination drug segment is expected to continue to lead throughout the focus period on account of positive recommendations from organizations such as Global initiative for asthma and Global Initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease, which state that blends the dates are more secure course of treating asthma and COPD.



US Accounted for 81% of Market in 2016



On the basis of geography, among the US and China, it is the US which is dominating in the asthma and COPD drugs Market on account of High awareness level among the people regarding the availability of drugs and treatment options. Regular product launches and continues Investments by leading players in the research and development sector will also help the market to grow in the US. In 2016, the US accounted for a whopping 81% of the total market.



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Growing Air Pollution Behind Growth in China Asthma and COPD Drugs Market



China on the other hand accounts for the relatively small share in the asthma and COPD drugs Market, but is expected to present liquid growth opportunities for Market players in the coming years. China is expected to exhibit at 10% in the asthma COPD drugs Market. The factors associated with the increasing number of asthma patients, Rising air pollution, and vast unmet medical needs of the patient population. The increasing number of smokers is also an important factor contributed to the growth of the market in China.



Rising Number of Deaths due to COPD and Asthma Behind High Demand for Treatment



According to the lead author of this report, asthma and COPD are two disorders which are affecting a large number of population today and is behind the growth of the US and China asthma and COPD drugs market. These two disorders are increasingly becoming a factor for increased number of deaths and therefore effective treatment is highly in demand. The FDA endorsements for novel treatment options is expected to contribute to the growth of the US and China asthma and COPD drugs market. So the other factors helping the market to grow is the growing geriatric population, lifestyle changes, increasing number of smokers, increase in pollution, and rising industrialization.



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The data and information presented in this review are based on a TMR report titled as "Asthma and COPD Drugs Market (Drug Class - Bronchodilators, Anti-inflammatory Drugs, Monoclonal Antibodies, and Combination Drugs; Indication - Asthma and COPD) - U.S. and China Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024"



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Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.comValley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Modern day automobiles widely use starters and alternators. These are generally used in diesel and gasoline engines. The rising investments on R&D by key players in the market coupled with acquisitions and mergers is expected to make the global automotive starter and alternator market flourish in near future. The manufacturers of automotive starters and alternators are expanding their businesses to emerging economies like China, India, Russia, etc. as these countries are focused on development of automotive sectors in order to serve the rising demand across the globe.



Electric starters are expected to dominate the segment during the forecast period. The different types of electric starters used in automotive sector are gear reduction, inertia starter, folo-thru drive and moveable pole shoe. Based on alternator type, the claw pole alternators are projected to witness significant growth in near future.



Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Drivers



One of the major factors driving the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market is increase in production of vehicles across the globe. According to OICA, the total vehicle production increased by around 1% in 2015. Moreover, increasing adoption of electric vehicles due to environment concerns such as rising air pollution, is further expected to escalate the demand for automotive starter and alternator market during the forecast period. Additionally, increasing preference for light weight and fuel efficient vehicles is further projected to escalate the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future.



Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Restraints



The increasing production of hybrid vehicles is anticipated to hamper the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market. The hybrid vehicles use one or more motors which ignite with the help of internal combustion engine. Due to this reason, these vehicles have eliminated the use of automotive starters and alternators which, in turn, is expected to restrict their demand in near future.



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Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Segmentation



The global automotive starter and alternator market can be segmented on the basis of starter type, alternator type and vehicle type. On the basis of starter type, the market can be segmented into electric, hydraulic and pneumatic. On the basis of alternators, the market can be further segmented into claw pole alternator and cylindrical alternator. On the basis of vehicles, the global starter and alternator market can be further segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and passenger cars.



Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Region wise Outlook



Based on regions, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the automotive starter and alternator market over the forecast period. Asia Pacific, led by emerging economies like China and India, is projected to be the dominant region during the forecast period due to the presence of continuously increasing automobile manufacturing companies in this region. North America, led by U.S. is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for starters and alternators in North America, owing to rising production of vehicles, coupled with continuous investment in this market is expected to fuel the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future. The automotive starter and alternator market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is anticipated to witness steady growth due to sluggish demand in this region. However, increasing demand for vehicles is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for automotive starters and alternators in near future.



Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Market Participants



Some of the market participants identified in the global automotive starter and alternator market are mentioned below:



Valeo SA



Denso Corporation



Robert Bosch GmbH



Ningbo zhongwang auto fittings Co.,LTD



Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.



Mitsubishi Electric Corporation



ASIMCO Technologies Ltd



Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.



BBB Industries



Unipoint Electric MFG Co., Ltd.



Remy International, Inc.



Lucas Electrical Limited



Mitsuba Corporation



Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2575New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Automotive engine degreasers are used to remove grime and grease from engines. It is a blend of surfactants, emulsifiers and solvents. Choice of degreasers depends on the engine type to be cleaned and motor placement in the vehicle. Degreasers create a foamy effect on the motor, which can be easily washed with water. This process helps to remove oil and dirt from the engine parts. Automotive engine degreasers can be divided into foam or aerosol forms. The oil and dirt is removed by chemical reactions on the surface.



The market for automotive engine degreasers was mainly driven by huge demand for cleaning agents for engines from automotive market. Automotive engine degreasers are used in various vehicles which include passenger and commercial vehicles. There are different types of engines in the market such as V-type engine, diesel engine, straight or inline engines and boxer or falt engines among others. The growing market for biodegradable and bio-based degreasers is likely to be major opportunity for the automotive engine degreasers market. However, health issues and regulations can be major restraint for the automotive engine degreasers market.



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In terms of demand, North America was the leading region in automotive degreasers market. The demand is high due to the huge demand for engine cleaning chemicals, especially from Canada and the U.S. North America was followed by Europe. The market for automotives is huge in European countries and has substantial demand for automotive engine degreasers. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be emerging market for automotive engine degreasers market and is likely to show greater demand in upcoming years owing to huge automotive market in India, Japan and China. The Rest of the World market, especially the Middle East region is likely to potential market for automotive engine degreasers in next few years.



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Some of the key manufacturers in the automotive engine degreasers market are 3M Company, ABRO Industries Inc., A.I.M. Chemicals Inc., BG Products Inc., BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company and Radiator Specialty Company among others.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The latest market research report titled Automotive Seat Heater market offers a detailed evaluation of the market situation within a specific geographic region. This Automotive Seat Heater Market study contains vital data on market shifts owing to social, economic, cultural and technological changes worldwide. Explaining market opportunities remains the key focus of the study. Industry experts analysing the business environment also take a closer look at the organizational alignment as well as the capital structure.



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Scope of the Report:

The research methodologies used for evaluating the Automotive Seat Heater market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility.



The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations.



Major Players in Automotive Seat Heater market are:

Gentherm, Kongsberg, I.G.Bauerhin, Panasonic, ACTIVline, Check Corporation, Champion, Seat Comfort Systems, Tachibana, Goldern Time, Hxbest, SET Electronics, Hengfei Electronic, Firsten, Sincer, Langech



Most important types of Automotive Seat Heater products covered in this report are:

- Carbon fiber heater

- Composite fiber heater



Most widely used downstream fields of Automotive Seat Heater market covered in this report are:

- MPV

- SUV

- Sedan



Major Regions play vital role in Automotive Seat Heater market are:

- United States

- Europe

- China

- Japan

- Southeast Asia

- India



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The market intelligence study for the Automotive Seat Heater market further provides an inside-out overview of necessary aspects associated with the product classification, important definitions, major orders and other industry-centric parameters. An underlying part of the study also maps the important factors associated with the recent events such as mergers and acquisition, collaboration and new product launches.



Understanding the market size:

The size of the Automotive Seat Heater market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Automotive Seat Heater report.



Market share:

The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Automotive Seat Heater industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Automotive Seat Heater market



Attracting the target audience:

First, the comprehensive report finds out why customers need a certain product or service. The study focuses on what problems a certain product and service can solve. Apart from target demographics industry experts weigh up on the factors including audience type, as well as others vital attributes about the target customer segment.



The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated size of the Automotive Seat Heater market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? What will be the growth rate of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are the prominent driving forces likely to impact the progress of the industry across different regions?

- Who are the major market players occupying a strong foothold in the Automotive Seat Heater market? What are the winning strategies adopted by them to stay ahead in the competition?

- What are the potential opportunities for the Automotive Seat Heater market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026?



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Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.comPune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- About the Bacillus Coagulans Market Report



The report illustrates key insights and identifies important factors impacting bacillus coagulans market. The report also offers an in-depth analysis of the market along with the qualitative and quantitative analysis. Market dynamics including opportunities, drivers, trends, and challenges in the bacillus coagulans market are also provided in the report.



The study also includes region-wise and segment-wise analysis of the bacillus coagulans market. Competitive landscape and detailed profiles of the leading players in bacillus coagulans is also offered in the report.



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Bacillus Coagulans Market Structure



The report includes a segment-wise analysis of bacillus coagulans market. The bacillus coagulans market is divided into product type, application, and form. These segments are further divided into sub-segments.



Based on the product type, the bacillus coagulans market is segmented into animal based and plant based. On the basis of form, the market segment includes pellets and capsules.



In terms of the application, the bacillus coagulans market is segmented into food & beverages, cosmetics & personal care, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceutical.



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Notable Highlights of Bacillus Coagulans Market



Domestic and regional players hold nearly 60-70% share in the bacillus coagulans market. Investment in the research and development activities and expansion of existing R&D facilities to launch new products remains a key strategy of domestic and regional players.



In contrast, leading players in the bacillus coagulans market are focusing on expanding their manufacturing facilities in Asia. These players are also focusing on entering into a strategic partnership with regional distributors and suppliers. Some of the notable developments in the bacillus coagulans market include,



Ganeden, a US-based probiotic ingredient manufacturer, was recently acquired by Kerry Group. As a result of the acquisition, Ganeden technologies will be extended into wider application across Kerry's developed and developing markets.

Sabinsa Corp. has opened its new office in Toronto, expanding its presence in Canada. The company has around 30 natural products approved by Health Canada. The new office will facilitate Canadian importers to comply with Canadian regulations.

Mitsubishi Chemical and JD.Com have entered into a partnership to launch the largest "plant factory" in China based on hydroponic technology. The factory is nearly 11,040 square meters. The factory produces red and green lettuce, spinach, cabbage, coriander, and other vegetables. The factory is able to produce more vegetables compared to the conventional system.

UAS Laboratories has announced the acquisition of Nebraska Cultures Inc. Through the acquisition, UAS has exclusivity over Lactobacillus Acidophilus DDS-1 and ProDURA brand.

Throne entered into a joint strategic investment with Kirin Holdings Company and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. This strategic investment will help Throne to expand its personalized health products and technology platform and grow their businesses in Asia.

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The report provides a competition scenario and updated information on the leading players. Some of the major players in bacillus coagulans are Mitsubishi Chemical Foods Corporation, Ganeden, Nebraska Cultures, UAS Laboratories, Sabinsa Corporation, Syngen Biotech, Sanzyme, Microbax, Mystical Biotech Pvt. Ltd, Thorne, Aumgene Bioscience, and other key players.



Additional Questions Answered



The report offers in-depth analysis of the bacillus coagulans market. The report provides answers to some important questions on the market.



What will be the revenue share of plant based product in the bacillus coagulans market?

What will be the volume share of bacillus coagulans in capsule form?

Which region is expected to remain lucrative in the bacillus coagulans market?

What are the factors hampering growth of the bacillus coagulans market?

Which industry is likely to account for the highest consumption of bacillus coagulans?

Research Methodology of Bacillus Coagulans Market



The report offers valuable insights on the bacillus coagulans market using exclusive methodology. The report provides details on the trends, market drivers, and growth opportunities in the bacillus coagulans market. The primary and secondary research is also done to offer exclusive information on the market. Data and information on the market was collected using valid data sources and by conducting interviews with industry experts.



The report also highlights the latest challenges and changes in the bacillus coagulans market. The report provides details on the latest developments in the market to help players plan future business strategies.



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Read Industry News at - https://theswisstimes.comNew York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Chromatography resins are used in the purification and separation of proteins and other bio-molecules in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food manufacturing, and environmental analysis.Chromatography resins are of three types: Synthetic, natural and inorganic media. Natural polymers include agarose, cellulose and dextran, among others, while synthetic resins include ion exchange resins. The natural and synthetic typesare the more preferred chromatography resins as compared to inorganic media. Chromatography resins are used in affinity, mixed-mode, ion-exchange,hydrophobic interaction and size exclusion techniques.In terms of revenues,Protein A resins accounted for the highest share of the market.In technology terms, ion-exchange chromatography witnessed the highest consumption in the past few years. On the other hand, affinity chromatography resins held the key share by revenue largely due to the higher selling costsassociated with affinity resins



The main driver for the chromatography resinsis huge demand for monoclonal antibodies.There has been a huge demand for monoclonal bodies owing to a growing number of critical diseases resulting in thesetypes of therapeutics to swiftly gain significance.Food analytics is also one of the major drivers for the chromatography resins market. Chromatography resins are used in nutraceuticals and nutritional chemistry. Chromatography resins are used to detect food additives (adulteration) which has been major issue in the food industry. Biotechnology & pharmaceuticals are the leading end-users for chromatography resins and are likely to gain more importance in the near future.Chromatography resins are also used in industrial applications such as water treatment and environmental analysis. Some of the academic uses of chromatography resins are in genetic engineering and drug recovery which can provide various opportunities for the chromatography resins market. In spite of numerous applications, regulations associated with these applications can act as a major restraint for the chromatography resins market in the coming years.



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In terms of demand, North Americawas the leading region for the chromatography resinsmarket. The demand in this region was mainly driven by biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications. The U.S. exhibited a major demand for chromatography resins and this region's increasing health expense trendshave been indirectly driving the market for chromatography resins.Europe was the other leading market for chromatography resins in the past few years and is expected to show good growth numbers over the near future. Pharmaceuticals and food analytics were the major applications for the chromatography resins in this region. The major European countries such as Germany, UK, France and Italy were the major consumers of chromatography resins in the past decade. There is currently a huge demand for chromatography resins in Asia Pacific, particularly from China, South Korea and India due to the growing pharmaceutical industry in these countries.Additionally, the emergence of CMOs and CROs is further driving the chromatography resins market in the Asia Pacific region. The Rest of the World is likely to exhibit stable demand for chromatography resins market over the forecast period. South America and The Middle East region are anticipated to be the potential markets for chromatography resins.



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Some of the key players in the chromatography resins market are Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Tosoh Corporation, Merck KGaA, Life Technologies Corporation, Repligen Corporation, and Pall Corporationamong others.Lower prices with higher productivity and new innovative products had been the key strategies for the manufacturers to gain the competitive advantage in the market. Life Technologies is expected to unveil 'POROS' chromatography resins in Biopharmaceutical Development & Production Week Conference (BPD) to be held in California. Purolite International Ltd. announced its plans to develop bio-separation chromatography resins based on the agarose media. The new product line is likely to meet growing demand of the biomolecules market.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The Cloud Robotic market is expected to grow from USD 2.21 billion in 2018 to USD 9.41 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period. The driving factor for growth being the enhanced growth in use of smart phones and wireless technologies and the growing penetration of IOT.



The major players covered in this Cloud Robotics market report are Google (US), C2RO (Canada), Huawei (China),), Microsoft (US), CloudMinds (US), Hit Robot Group (US), IBM (US V3 Smart Technologies (Singapore), Amazon Robotics (US), Ortelio (UK),and Tend (US).



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Cloud robotics is a part of robotics that uses cloud technologies like cloud storage, cloud computing, e.t.c. It is used for the processing and sharing of information from other machines or humans. With the advancement of technology and involvement of IoT, cloud robotics has become an important part of the day to day life. It has made the human life easier by its easy use to implement tasks through the involvement of the network. The features of cloud computing allows the robot system to implement work faster by reducing the cost and help in building low cost, light weight and smarter robots. Many industries are using the cloud robotics in order to grow the business for a smarter and more advanced world.



Knowing the trends influencing the Cloud Robotics industry performance

Stakeholders, marketing executives and business owners planning to refer Cloud Robotics market research report can use this study to design their offerings and understand how competitors attract their potential customers and manage their supply and distribution channels. When tracking the trends researchers have made a conscious effort to analyze and interpret the consumer behaviour. Besides, the research helps product owners to understand the changes in culture, target market as well as brands so they can draw the attention of the potential customers more effectively.



Our trend analysts look for the crucial connection between consumer trends, behaviour and values, to provide context for the sectors, demographics and global themes that matter to you.



Market split by Deployment model, can be divided into:

- Private cloud

- Public Cloud

- Hybrid cloud



Market split by Application, can be divided into:

- Industrial

- Military

- Consumer

- Commercial



Market split by Industry, can be divided into:

- Banking & Financial services

- IT & Telecom

- Healthcare & life science

- Government

- Education

- Defenses



Geographically, this Cloud Robotics market report studies the top producers and consumers in these key regions:

- North America

- Europe

- China

- Japan

- Other Regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa)



We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:

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



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Further key findings from the report suggest:

- Based on deployment type, the market is segmented as on private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud. The cloud deployment uses less expensive algorithms to perform along with the features of being flexible, easy and quite affordable, which makes it the faster growing deployment type accepted by various industries than the on premise. The installation and maintenance cost is also affordable than the on premise

- Based on Application type, the market is segmented as industrial, military, consumer and commercial. The industrial and military sectors uses both aerial and land based robots. The robots are used to perform many repetitive and dangerous tasks. The adoption and usage of cloud robotics will increase rapidly in the future due the involvement of IoT and AI.

- The Industry types are Financial and Banking, IT, Healthcare, Retail, Education, Government, Telecom & logistics, Hospitality & life science. The cloud robotics is becoming popular along with the involvement of IoT and AI. It helps to make the functions of a simple robot more efficient by the use of cloud computing as an extra source for memory and processing. The cloud robotics in the field of healthcare and life sciences is expected to bring the highest growth of 4%. It is use for several purposes such as keeping the electronic medical records, monitoring health conditions of a patient, analytics services, clinical solutions, e.t,c. The robot can connect to the cloud to provide clinical assistance for patients. Moreover, it can also provide collaboration service by sharing the information between doctors and patients.



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Key Points from TOC:

Chapter 9. Company Profiles

9.1. Google

9.1.1. Company Overview

9.1.2. Financial Performance

9.1.2.1. Revenue

9.1.2.2. Price

9.1.2.3. Gross Margin

9.1.3. Type Benchmarking

9.1.4. Strategic Initiatives

9.2. IBM

9.2.1. Company Overview

9.2.2. Financial Performance

9.2.2.1. Revenue

9.2.2.2. Price

9.2.2.3. Gross Margin

9.2.3. Type Benchmarking

9.2.4. Strategic Initiatives

9.3. Microsoft

9.3.1. Company Overview

9.3.2. Financial Performance

9.3.2.1. Revenue

9.3.2.2. Price

9.3.2.3. Gross Margin

9.3.3. Type Benchmarking

9.3.4. Strategic Initiatives

Continued



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News: www.reportsanddata.com/market-newsStunning discovery offers glimpse of minutes following 'dinosaur-killer' Chicxulub impact

LAWRENCE -- A study to be published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers a scientific first: a detailed snapshot of the terrible moments right after the Chicxulub impact -- the most cataclysmic event known to have befallen life on Earth.

At a site called Tanis in North Dakota's Hell Creek Formation, a team of paleontologists whose headquarters are at the University of Kansas unearthed a motherlode of exquisitely-preserved animal and fish fossils -- creatures that lived in and around a deeply chiseled river connected to the ancient Western Interior Seaway -- that were killed suddenly in events triggered by the Chicxulub impact.

The fossils were crammed into a "rapidly emplaced high-energy onshore surge deposit" along the KT boundary that contained associated ejecta and iridium impactite associated with the impact about 66 million years ago -- an impact that eradicated about 75 percent of Earth's animal and plant species.

"A tangled mass of freshwater fish, terrestrial vertebrates, trees, branches, logs, marine ammonites and other marine creatures was all packed into this layer by the inland-directed surge," said lead author Robert DePalma, a KU doctoral student in geology who works in the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. "Timing of the incoming ejecta spherules matched the calculated arrival times of seismic waves from the impact, suggesting that the impact could very well have triggered the surge."

DePalma, who discovered the fossil motherlode, said the find outlines how the impact could have devastated areas very far from the crater quite rapidly.

"A tsunami would have taken at least 17 or more hours to reach the site from the crater, but seismic waves -- and a subsequent surge -- would have reached it in tens of minutes," he said.

DePalma and his colleagues describe the rushing wave that shattered the Tanis site as a "seiche."

"As the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan showed us, seismic shaking can cause surges far from the epicenter," he said. "In the Tohoku example, surges were triggered nearly 5,000 miles away in Norway just 30 minutes after impact. So, the KT impact could have caused similar surges in the right-sized bodies of water worldwide, giving the first rapid 'bloody nose' to those areas before any other form of aftermath could have reached them."

According to KU researchers, even before the surge arrived, Acipenseriform fish (sturgeon) found at the site already had inhaled tiny spherules ejected from the Chicxulub impact.

"The fish were buried quickly, but not so quickly they didn't have time to breathe the ejecta that was raining down to the river," said co-author David Burnham, preparator of vertebrate paleontology at the KU Biodiversity Institute. "These fish weren't bottom feeders, they breathed these in while swimming in the water column. We're finding little pieces of ejecta in the gill rakers of these fish, the bony supports for the gills. We don't know if some were killed by breathing this ejecta, too."

The number and quality of preservation of the fossils at Tanis are such that Burnham dubs it the "lagerstatte" of the KT event -- paleontologist-speak for a landmark sedimentary deposit with exceptionally intact specimens. He said this is especially true as the fish are cartilaginous, not bony, and are less prone to fossilization.

"The sedimentation happened so quickly everything is preserved in three dimensions -- they're not crushed," Burnham said. "It's like an avalanche that collapses almost like a liquid, then sets like concrete. They were killed pretty suddenly because of the violence of that water. We have one fish that hit a tree and was broken in half."

Indeed, the Tanis site contains many hundreds of articulated ancient fossil fish killed by the Chicxulub impact's aftereffects and is remarkable for the biodiversity it reveals alone.

"At least several appear to be new species, and the others are the best examples known of their kind," DePalma said. "Before now, fewer than four were known from the Hell Creek, so the site was already magnificently significant. But we quickly recognized that the surrounding sediment was deposited by a sudden, massive rush of water, and that the surge was directed inland, away from an ancient nearby seaway. When we noticed asteroid impact debris within the sediment and a compact layer of KT boundary clay resting on top of it from the long-term fallout, we realized that this unusual site was right at the KT boundary."

According to Burnham, the fossil trove fills a void in scientific knowledge with vivid new detail.

"We've understood that bad things happened right after the impact, but nobody's found this kind of smoking-gun evidence," he said. "People have said, 'We get that this blast killed the dinosaurs, but why don't we have dead bodies everywhere?' Well, now we have bodies. They're not dinosaurs, but I think those will eventually be found, too."

DePalma said his find provides spectacular new detail to what is perhaps the most important event to ever affect life on Earth.

"It's difficult not to get choked up and passionate about this topic," he said. "We look at moment-by-moment records of one of the most notable impact events in Earth's history. No other site has a record quite like that. And this particular event is tied directly to all of us -- to every mammal on Earth, in fact. Because this is essentially where we inherited the planet. Nothing was the same after that impact. It became a planet of mammals rather than a planet of dinosaurs.

"As human beings, we descended from a lineage that literally survived in the ashes of what was once the glorious kingdom of the dinosaurs. And we're the only species on the planet that has ever been capable of learning from such an event to the benefit of ourselves and every other organism in our world."

###

At KU, DePalma and Burnham worked with Loren Gurche of the Biodiversity Institute. Other co-authors are Jan Smit and Klaudia Kuiper of VU University Amsterdam; Phillip Manning of the University of Manchester; Anton Oleinik of Florida Atlantic University; Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research Inc.; Florentin Maurrasse of Florida International University; Johan Vellekoop of VU Leuven; and Mark A. Richards and Walter Alvarez of the University of California at Berkeley.

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.RIYADH, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud pledged to strengthen economic and military cooperation with China, to promote peace and stability in the region.

He made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe on Tuesday in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia and China have a long-lasting friendship and their strategic relationship is under continuous development, he said, adding that the two countries are important cooperative partners of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Saudi Arabia expects to increase bilateral economic cooperation and personnel exchanges, and deepen military collaboration, to jointly promote regional peace and stability," he said.

The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which aim at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud said that bilateral cooperation in all fields has yielded fruitful results, and Saudi Arabia is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in politics, economy and security, during a meeting with Wei.

The crown prince expressed expectation for the two militaries to carry out more pragmatic cooperation and expand new areas, as military cooperation is an important cornerstone of the Saudi Arabia-China relationship.

Wei said that China attaches great importance to its relationship with Saudi Arabia and their relationship has become a model for state-to-state relations.

Under the leadership of the two states, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has undergone in-depth development.

The Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan have a broad prospect and bilateral military ties have maintained a sound momentum of growth, Wei said.

"China is willing to work with the Saudi military to implement the consensus of the leaders of the two countries, expand pragmatic cooperation, and promote bilateral military relations," Wei added.

Wei also held talks on Wednesday with Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Defense Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Cyclohexane is manufactured by catalytic hydrogenation of benzene. Cyclohexane is insoluble in water and colorless in nature. Cyclohexane is key element in manufacturing of caprolactum and adipic acid which are intermediates for manufacturing nylon. Cyclohexane is used to produce cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol for nonprecursor use. There are two processes through which cyclohexane can be manufactured, viz., hydrogenation of benzene and cracking of natural gasoline. Cyclohexane can also be used as a solvent, in chemical synthesis and reaction diluents. Cyclohexane is also used as a starting material for KA Oil and can be used as a substitute for benzene in some end-user applications.



The market for cyclohexane was mainly driven by increasing demand for adipic acid and caprolactum which are key elements for manufacturing Nylon-6,6 and nylon 6 respectively. These fibers are mainly used in automotive and textile industry. The major opportunity for cyclohexane is huge demand and investments for nylon-6,6 in developing and emerging countries such as Saudi Arabia, India and China. However, volatile raw material prices may hamper the growth of the market as most of these materials are downstream products of petrochemicals.



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In terms of demand, North America and European countries were leading regions for cyclohexane. However, due to financial downturn and euro zone crisis the market in the European region has suffered. China holds the largest market share for cyclohexane in Asia Pacific region. The demand is large owing to increasing demand for nylon 6, nylon-6,6 which is manufactured from caprolactum and adipic acid. The demand for cyclohexane is likely to grow from the Middle East region due to rising number of nylon polymer facilities. Regions such as Latin America, South America and Central Europe are expected to exhibit lower demand for cyclohexane.



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Some of the key manufacturers in the cyclohexane market are Sunoco Chemicals, BASF SE, ExxonMobil Chemical, Cheveron Philips Chemical Company and Huntsman Corporation among others.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The latest market intelligence study on the Electro-fusion Coupler market applies the best of both primary and secondary research techniques to bring to light the growth rate of the Electro-fusion Coupler market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026. The comprehensive study covers hard to find facts about the market landscape as well as its growth prospects in the years to come. Most importantly, the research report includes vital statistics about the major vendors occupying a strong foothold in this industry. Besides this, in order to calculate the market share, the study takes a closer look at the selling price of the product across different regions.



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Scope of the Report:

The researcher assessing the Electro-fusion Coupler market dive deep to unearth intangible facts related to the key restraints, opportunities, and threats expected to shape the progress of the industry during the forecast period, 2019 - 2026. Significant evaluation of other factors such as demand and supply status, import and export, distribution channel, consumption volume, and production capability play a vital role in offering business owners, stakeholders and field marketing personnel a competitive edge over others operating in the same space. All important data are presented in self-explanatory charts, tables and graphic images that can be incorporated into any business presentation.



Market Segment on the basis of manufacturers, the report covers:

Georg Fischer, Plasson, Plastitalia, Cangzhou Mingzhu, Yada, Rx Plastics, Jelin, Wefatherm, Idromet Sider, Egeplast Ireland, Nupi, Fusion, Integrity Fusion Products, Star, Adroit Piping, PesTec



Most important types of Electro-fusion Coupler products covered in this report are:

- Below 110mm Electro-fusion Coupler

- Between 110 to 315mm Electro-fusion Coupler

- Others



Most widely used downstream fields of Electro-fusion Coupler market covered in this report are:

- Water Pipeline Systems

- Gas Pipeline Systems

- Others



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The study explores in details about the recent trend fast gaining momentum in the Electro-fusion Coupler industry due to factors including but not limited to growing customer preference and a sudden rise in their spending capacity. Aspects attributed to the gross margin, profit, supply chain management and product value and their considerable impact on the development of the Electro-fusion Coupler market during the forecast period, 2019 - 2026 is carefully scrutinized during the research.



Understanding the market size:

The size of the Electro-fusion Coupler market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Electro-fusion Coupler report.



Market share:

The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Electro-fusion Coupler industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Electro-fusion Coupler market



The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated size of the Electro-fusion Coupler market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? What will be the growth rate of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are the prominent driving forces likely to impact the progress of the industry across different regions?

- Who are the major market players occupying a strong foothold in the Electro-fusion Coupler market? What are the winning strategies adopted by them to stay ahead in the competition?

- What are the potential opportunities for the Electro-fusion Coupler market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026?



Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/electro-fusion-coupler-market



There are 14 Chapters to deeply display the global Electro-fusion Coupler market.



Chapter 1 covers the Electro-fusion Coupler Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;



Chapter 2 talks about the top manufacturers and analyses their sales, revenue and pricing decisions for the duration 2019 and 2026;



Chapter 3 displays the competitive nature of the market by discussing the competition among the top manufacturers. It dissects the market using sales, revenue and market share data for 2019 and 2026;



Chapter 4, shows the global market by regions and the proportionate size of each market region based on sales, revenue and market share of Electro-fusion Coupler, for the period 2019- 2026;



Continue



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Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.comValley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Elevators and Escalators are the two unavoidable parts of everyday life of humans. Multifarious malls and skyscrapers make e levators and escalators the must-haves in every building. Busy time schedules and increased number of ageing population necessitate the facility of escalators and elevators in residential apartments across the globe. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the ageing population (above 65 years) held 8.5% share of the total population worldwide during the year 2015 and is projected to increase its share to 12.0% by 2030. Moreover, factors like rapid urbanization, changing demographics and increasing constructional activities around the world is expected to drive the growth of the global elevators and escalators market rapidly. Safety is considered as the prominent factor in selection of elevators and escalators service providers.



Elevator systems consist of hydraulic elevators, geared elevators, non-geared elevators and machine room less elevators (MRLs). Nowadays, MRLS are preferred over conventional geared elevators as they are technologically advanced, save space and consume less energy. Based on services, new installation service dominates the global elevators and escalators market due to increasing demand from the developing countries like China. However, maintenance and repair service is projected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period. The manufacturers are focusing on improving the efficiency of the elevators and escalators coupled with the focus on neat and clean environment.



Elevators and Escalators Market: Drivers



One of the major factors driving the growth of the elevators and escalators market is the increasing demand from the end use sectors like residential, commercial, hospitals, etc. Additionally, increasing focus of government towards high rise infrastructures coupled with increasing need of rapid transit are expected to fuel the growth of global elevators and escalators market. Moreover, continuous investment for the improvement of infrastructure at public places like railway station, airports, shopping malls, etc. is further expected to upsurge the demand for elevators and escalators during the forecast period. Tourism is another sector which encourages the demand for elevators and escalators in places of importance for the ease and convenience of the tourists visiting the respective countries.



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Elevators and Escalators Market: Restraints



A key factor affecting the growth of the elevators and escalators market negatively is its high initial cost of installation. Moreover, lack of skilled labour for the after sales maintenance is expected to hamper the growth of elevators and escalators market. Furthermore, escalation in consumption of energy and power by elevators and escalators is anticipated to retard the growth of the market during the forecast period.



Elevators and Escalators Market: Segmentation



The global elevators and escalators market can be viewed as two separate niches too, namely elevators market and escalators market. Elevators, on the basis of its capacity are segmented into 450 kg  1150 kg, 1150 kg  1500 kg and 1500 kg  2000 kg. On the other hand, escalators are further segmented into moving walkway and moving stairs escalators.



Global elevators and escalators market can be segmented on the basis of carriage type, application and region. On the basis of carriage type, the elevators and escalators market is segmented into passenger and freight. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into commercial, residential, hotels, transportation, parking and hospital. On the basis of regions, the global elevators and escalators market is segmented into North America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan and Middle East & Africa (MEA).



Elevators and Escalators Market: Region-wise Outlook



Based on regions, Asia Pacific led by China and India, holds about 65% share in total ageing population of the world and is expected to be the most prominent revenue generation region in the global elevators and escalators market. Europe followed by North America is expected to witness positive growth during the forecast period.



Elevators and Escalators Market: Players



Some of the examples of the players identified in the global elevators and escalators market are as follows:



Otis Elevator Company

Kone Corporation

Schindler Group

Thyssenkrupp AG

Fujitec

Hitachi, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Toshiba Elevators and Building Systems Corporation

Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd.

SJEC Corporation



Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2417Sarasota, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Zion Market Research has published a new report titled "Food Service Equipment Market by Product (Kitchen Purposes, Refrigeration, Storage, Ware Washing, Food Holding and Serving, and Others) and by End-User (Full-Service Restaurants & Hotels, Quick-Service Restaurants & Pubs, Caterings, and Supermarkets & Chain Stores): Europe Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 20182024". According to the report, the demand for food service equipment market in Europe was approximately USD 9,456 million in 2018 and is expected to generate around USD 11,552 million by 2024, at a CAGR of around 3.4% between 2019 and 2024.



The food service equipment market is likely to grow majorly over the estimated timeframe due to the development made in the hospitality industry resulting in the rising number of hotels and restaurants globally. Moreover, the increased demand for refrigerated food products, changing lifestyles of people, growing import-export of various foods and beverages, and altering food consumption trends are projected to contribute toward the food service equipment market growth over the forecast time period. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the revenue of the restaurant industry was approximately USD 798 billion in 2017, i.e., up by 4.3% from 2016. Moreover, large food changes are also majorly contributing to the food service equipment market in Europe.



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On the basis of product, the food service equipment market is segmented into refrigeration, kitchen purposes, storage, food holding and serving, ware washing, and others. Kitchen purposes segment dominated the market in 2018 and is anticipated to continue its supremacy in the upcoming years as well. This growth can be attributed to the increasing requirement for modern kitchen amenities and consumer's shift toward a modular kitchen. Moreover, kitchen purposes equipment includes the basic tools that are used by hotels and restaurants, which are mandatory in setting-up any type of kitchen. Innovations in the food equipment industry are helping the kitchens in hotels and restaurants become more effective and manageable globally.



Based on end-user, the food service equipment market is segmented into quick-service restaurants and pubs, full-service restaurants and hotels, supermarkets and chain stores, and caterings. Quick-service restaurants and pubs dominated the market in 2018 and are anticipated to grow at the fastest rate over the forecast time period, owing to the increasing working women population, rapid urbanization, changing consumer preferences toward fast food, and rising disposable income. Quick service restaurants in Europe are coming up with new concepts and innovative ideas that are inspiring several international cuisines and old ones to encourage the growth of the quick-service restaurant segment.



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The country-wise segment of this market includes for France, UK, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe. The Europe food service equipment market is majorly dominated by France. France held the major market share in 2018 and is expected to continue its dominance in the upcoming years as well. This growth can be attributed to the presence of a large number of fast food giants, such as Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC, among others, and various types of restaurants across the country.



Some major players operating in the food service equipment market are Electrolux, Libbey Inc., Tupperware Brands Corporation, Duke Manufacturing Co. Inc., Cambro Manufacturing Company, Inc., Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd., Dover Corporation, Rational AG, Manitowoc Foodservice Inc., Middleby Corporation, Ali Group, Coreco, Liebherr, Infrico, Bizerba, Micro Matic, Sirman, and Hobart Corporation, among others.



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This report segments the food service equipment market into:



Europe Food Service Equipment Market: Product Analysis



Kitchen Purposes

Refrigeration

Storage

Ware Washing

Food Holding and Serving

Others



Europe Food Service Equipment Market: End-User Analysis



Full-Service Restaurants and Hotels

Quick-Service Restaurants and Pubs

Caterings

Supermarkets and Chain Stores



Europe Food Service Equipment Market: Country-Wise Segment Analysis



North America

The U.S.

Europe

UK

France

Germany

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

Latin America

Brazil

The Middle East and AfricaPune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The Coating Sprayer is an accessory that, when equipped, automatically applies paints to objects when placing them.

In the coming years there is an increasing demand for Coating Sprayer in the regions of North America and Europe that is expected to drive the market for more advanced Coating Sprayer. Increasing of industrial fields expenditures, more-intense competition, launches in introducing new products, increasing of spending on paint contractors and handymen, retrofitting and renovation of old technology, increasing adoption of Coating Sprayer will drive growth in North America and Europe markets.



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The global Coating Sprayer market is valued at xx million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025.

This report focuses on Coating Sprayer volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Coating Sprayer market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan.

At company level, this report focuses on the production capacity, ex-factory price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer covered in this report.



The following manufacturers are covered:

Wagner

Graco

BLACK& DECKER

Wilhelm Wagner

Walther Pilot

Larius

ECCO FINISHING

RIGO

Shanghai Telansen

HomeRight

Dino-power

Chongqing Changjiang

Fuji Spray

Golden Juba

Airprotool



Segment by Regions

North America

Europe

China

Japan



Segment by Type

Airless

HVLP

Other Types



Segment by Application

Consumer Application

Contractor Application

Industrial Application

Other Applications



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Table of Contents



Executive Summary

1 Coating Sprayer Market Overview

1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Coating Sprayer

1.2 Coating Sprayer Segment by Type

1.2.1 Global Coating Sprayer Production Growth Rate Comparison by Type (2014-2025)

1.2.2 Airless

1.2.3 HVLP

1.2.4 Other Types

1.3 Coating Sprayer Segment by Application

1.3.1 Coating Sprayer Consumption Comparison by Application (2014-2025)

1.3.2 Consumer Application

1.3.3 Contractor Application

1.3.4 Industrial Application

1.3.5 Other Applications

1.4 Global Coating Sprayer Market by Region

1.4.1 Global Coating Sprayer Market Size Region

1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.5 Global Coating Sprayer Market Size

1.5.1 Global Coating Sprayer Revenue (2014-2025)

1.5.2 Global Coating Sprayer Production (2014-2025)



2 Global Coating Sprayer Market Competition by Manufacturers

2.1 Global Coating Sprayer Production Market Share by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.2 Global Coating Sprayer Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.3 Global Coating Sprayer Average Price by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.4 Manufacturers Coating Sprayer Production Sites, Area Served, Product Types

2.5 Coating Sprayer Market Competitive Situation and Trends

2.5.1 Coating Sprayer Market Concentration Rate

2.5.2 Coating Sprayer Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers

2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion



3 Global Coating Sprayer Production Market Share by Regions

3.1 Global Coating Sprayer Production Market Share by Regions

3.2 Global Coating Sprayer Revenue Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)

3.3 Global Coating Sprayer Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.4 North America Coating Sprayer Production

3.4.1 North America Coating Sprayer Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.4.2 North America Coating Sprayer Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.5 Europe Coating Sprayer Production

3.5.1 Europe Coating Sprayer Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.5.2 Europe Coating Sprayer Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.6 China Coating Sprayer Production (2014-2019)

3.6.1 China Coating Sprayer Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.6.2 China Coating Sprayer Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.7 Japan Coating Sprayer Production (2014-2019)

3.7.1 Japan Coating Sprayer Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.7.2 Japan Coating Sprayer Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)



4 Global Coating Sprayer Consumption by Regions

4.1 Global Coating Sprayer Consumption by Regions

4.2 North America Coating Sprayer Consumption (2014-2019)

4.3 Europe Coating Sprayer Consumption (2014-2019)

4.4 China Coating Sprayer Consumption (2014-2019)

4.5 Japan Coating Sprayer Consumption (2014-2019)



Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-coating-sprayer-market-research-report-2019/1673113New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- According to a new study published by Persistence Market Research (PMR), the global human platelet lysate market is estimated to be valued at US$ 45.8 Mn in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.6% over 20182026, to reach US$ 61.0 Mn by 2026 end. Based on Application, the Clinical Use segment clearly dominates the global Human Platelet Lysate market, with over 93.5% value share in 2017. This segment is expected to grow at 3.7% CAGR over the forecast period of 2018-2026.



Increased emphasis on funding and rise in research centers, product innovation, clinical and staff efficiency, government regulations and user acceptance are the major driving factors fueling the growth of the human platelet lysate market during the forecast period. Growing awareness levels of blood donation and adoption of advanced blood collection and processing technology in emerging countries is also expected to boost the human platelet lysate market. In addition, a large donated blood pool in most of the developed countries is expected to fuel the demand for human platelet lysate (HPL) products over the forecast period. HPL are a convenient alternative to Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) as an in-vitro cell culture growth supplement and are likely to be adopted extensively in the near future for various therapeutic applications. Moreover, human platelet lysate has emerged as a boom for cell manufacturing in cell- based therapeutics. Further, the rising demand for animal free serum media is anticipated to boost revenue growth of the Human Platelet Lysate market during the forecast period.



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The global human platelet lysate market has been segmented on the basis of product, application, end user and region. Globally, Heparin-free Platelet Lysate and Platelet Lysate with Heparin both show lucrative market attractiveness. The Heparin-free Platelet Lysate segment is expected to be slightly more lucrative and is estimated to contribute 50.8% value share in the global human platelet lysate market during the forecast period. Among all end users of Human Platelet Lysate products, research and academic institutes are expected to be the most lucrative, given the increasing acceptance of Human Platelet Lysate products by the research fraternity. With nearly 37.7% market share, North America dominated the global Human Platelet Lysate market in 2017, partly due to increasing research and development activities, particularly stem cell and biopharmaceuticals especially in the United States.



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Key Research Findings



Funding for Life Science research and investments in this area serves to expand various projects undertaken and personnel employed. Sources of R&D spending include governments, private funding or commercial organizations

Academic research institutes have focused on advanced research, including applied research when government or industrial organizations prefer cost-effective ways to pursue development programs. A majority of basic research continues to be carried out at academia as companies focus on bringing products to the market with an eye towards generating profits

Matured markets of North America and Europe collectively held 67.5% value share in the global Human Platelet Lysate market in 2017

Individual share of the regional market in Europe is expected to decline over time, partly due to the economic downturn in the European Union. However, revenue from the matured markets in the EU will continue to grow with a collective growth share of 69.5% over the forecast period

In several countries, Human Platelet Lysate products such Heparin-free Platelet Lysate and Platelet Lysate with Heparin are dispensed through direct sales channels to research and academic institutes, cell therapy providers, and biopharmaceutical companies. Research and academic institutes dominated the global market for Human Platelet Lysate in 2017 and are expected to gain market share during the forecast periodAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Marine big data provides forecasts regarding unforeseen hazards be it regarding climate or ecology and helps in decision-making. In addition, marine big data also provides valuable temporal and spatial information, besides data on water attributes such as density, salinity, temperature, and velocity. All these factors will help in growth of the global marine big data market in the coming years. As future of ship intelligence traverses beyond ultra-monitoring and nanotech, the market will welcome a fresh burst of opportunities. Experts are of opinion that in the coming years, bridges will focus on analyzing high level data to efficiently manage navigation and propulsions.



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Global Marine Big Data Market: Overview



This report aims to provide a comprehensive strategic analysis of the global marine big data market along with revenue and growth forecasts for the period from 2017 to 2025. With fast changing technology, use in various applications and rising adoption of this technology in marine sector, the marine big data market is expected to experience high growth in the coming years. Some of the factors supporting the growth of the market worldwide include the potential for new insights, increased technological investments in developing regions such as Asia Pacific, high demand for marine big data solutions from oil & gas industry and advent of customized solutions in developed regions such as North America and Europe. The impact of these and other macro-micro economic factors has been analyzed while developing the market growth models.



Global Marine Big Data Market: Scope of the Study



This report on the global marine big data market provides a detailed analysis of big data solutions used for different applications by end-users depending upon their needs. The report offers an in-depth analysis of the market drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities. Using these factors, the study identifies various trends prominent in the industry which are expected to influence the market growth during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. It includes a comprehensive coverage of the underlying economic and technological factors influencing the marine big data market growth. It provides the competitive landscape of key players in the marine big data market in order to highlight the competition scenario. The report also provides a detailed competitive analysis of the key players in the market and identifies various business strategies adopted by them. The study explains the penetration within each market segment across various geographies, and how these segments have accelerated the growth of the market as a whole.



Global Marine Big Data Market: Key Segments



The global marine big data market is analyzed by segmenting it on the basis of component, application, data source and geography. Based on component, the market is classified into software and service. The software segment is further segmented into data analytics, data collection, data discovery & visualization and data management. Services segment is further classified into consulting, system integration and operation & maintenance. Based on data source, the market is categorized into environmental, oceanographic, geological data, economic and others. On the basis of application, the marine big data market can be segmented into renewable energy, oil & gas, fishery, whale watching, marine protected area, marine traffic, dredging, harbor, offshore construction and others. Geographically, the global market for marine big data has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America. The market size and forecast for each region has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with the CAGR (%) for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. The study also includes market estimates for major countries/regions such as the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Japan, and India. The analysis by component, end-user and regions helps in evaluating the present scenario and growth prospects of the marine big data market over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the market and classifies it into various industries, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.



Companies Mentioned in Report



The report concludes company profiles of major players in the marine big data market on the basis of various attributes, such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, SWOT analysis and segment presence. Some of the major players in the global marine big data market with the significant developments are Teradata, Splunk, Inc., AIMS-Sinay, Oceanwise, Intertrust Technologies Corporation, MarineFIND, BigOceanData, Avenca Limited, BMT Group Ltd., Datameer Inc. Databricks Inc., Nautical Control Solutions, LP, Ocean Networks Canada, Smart Ocean and Open Ocean among others.



Market Segmentation:



Marine Big Data Market Analysis, by Component



Software

Data Analytics

Data Collection

Data Discovery and Visualization

Data Management

Services

Consulting

System Integration

Operation and Maintenance



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Marine Big Data Market Analysis, by Application



Renewable Energy

Oil and Gas

Fishery

Whale Watching

Marine Protected Area

Marine Traffic

Dredging

Harbor

Offshore Construction

Others



Marine Big Data Market Analysis, by Data Source



Environmental

Oceanographic

Geological Data

Economic

Others



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Follow me on : https://marketinfo247.wordpress.com/Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Smart home security systems are based on the centralized control of home gateways, wherein intelligence has shifted onto cloud networks. Cloud-based services decrease the complexity of software issues with devices and diminish the interoperability of devices in a simpler manner. Most residential users are rapidly adopting cloud-based home security solutions that are user-friendly and self-monitoring and that can be operated from a remote location.



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Global Smart Home Security Market: Overview



This comprehensive report by Transparency Market Research analyzes and forecasts the smart home security market at the global and regional levels. The report provides analysis of the market for the period from 2017 to 2027, wherein 20192027 is the forecast period and 2018 is the base year. An in-depth and unbiased market assessment has been made to provide readers with comprehensive and accurate analysis. The report emphasizes all major trends anticipated to be witnessed in the global smart home security market from 2019 to 2027.



It also focuses on market drivers, restraining factors, and opportunities for the global market. The study provides a complete perspective about growth of the smart home security market, in terms of value (in US$ Mn), across various geographies including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America.



The report includes detailed value chain analysis, which provides an extensive view of the global smart home security market. The Porter's five forces analysis provided in the report helps understand the competition scenario in the market. The study incorporates market attractiveness analysis, wherein type and application segments have been benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and attractiveness. In order to offer complete analysis of the competition scenario in the global smart home security market, attractiveness analysis of the market in every region has been provided in the report.



The market overview chapter explains market trends and dynamics that include drivers, restraining factors, and the current and future opportunities for the smart home security market. Market outlook analysis has also been provided in the report. Additionally, the report provides analysis of different business strategies being adopted by leading players operating in the global smart home security market. The market introduction chapter helps in getting an idea of different trends prevalent in the global smart home security market.



Global Smart Home Security Market: Scope of Report



The study provides a decisive view of the global smart home security market, by segmenting the market in terms of type and application. The report provides a detailed, region-wise segmentation of the smart home security market and sub-categorizes it into various countries, thereby providing valuable insights at micro and macro levels.



The report further highlights the competition scenario in the smart home security market, thereby ranking all major players according to their geographical presence and key recent developments. Insights for the smart home security market is a result of extensive primary interviews, secondary research, and in-house expert panel reviews. Market estimates have been analyzed by considering the impact of different economic, political, social, legal, and technological factors.



The smart home security market in North America has been segmented into Canada, the U.S., and Rest of North America. Furthermore, the Europe market has been divided into France, Germany, the U.K., and Rest of Europe. The smart home security market in Asia Pacific has been classified into China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Middle East & Africa comprises GCC, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa. Similarly, South America includes Brazil and Rest of South America. The report provides all strategic information required to understand the global smart home security market. The report also offers insights into different segments of the market in various geographical regions mentioned above.



Global Smart Home Security Market: Research Methodology



The research methodology is a perfect combination of primary research, secondary research, and expert panel reviews. Secondary research sources include annual reports, company websites, SEC filings, investor presentations, national government documents, internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases, relevant patent and regulatory databases, market reports, government publications, and statistical databases.



Primary research involves telephonic interviews, e-mail interactions, and face-to-face interviews for detailed and unbiased review of the smart home security market across geographies. Primary interviews are usually conducted on an ongoing basis with market experts and participants in order to obtain the latest market insights and validate the existing data and analysis. Primary interviews offer new information on important factors such as market trends, market size, competition landscape, and growth trends. These factors help validate and strengthen secondary research findings. Moreover, the data collected from secondary and primary research is discussed and examined by TMR's expert panel.



Global Smart Home Security Market: Competition Dynamics



The research study includes profiles of leading companies operating in the global smart home security market. Market players have been profiled in terms of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments. Some of the key players operating in the smart home security market are ADT, Amazon, Honeywell, Ingersoll Rand, and Legrand. Various business strategies are being adopted by leading market players. Companies are focusing on expanding their business by developing strategic partnerships and by offering innovative solutions.



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The global smart home security market has been segmented as follows:



Global Smart Home Security Market, by Type



Alarm System

Safety & Security System

Video Surveillance

Access Control

Biometric Access Control

Non-biometric Access Control



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Follow me on : https://marketinfo247.wordpress.com/Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Historically wound types remain the same over the ages with only a slight exception being the emergence of femoral punctures associated with catheterization procedures. But with the advent of newer technologies the practice of closing those wounds are changed.



These new products are commonly available on hospitals & trauma centers and have wide range of usage area. Among them Hemostat has become a very popular tool to be used as wound closure material with its excellent properties. When applied to a wound, quickly absorbs blood and other body fluids, transforms into a gel to seal the wound with a protective transparent layer, actively aids in stopping bleeding, and creates an environment for wound healing.



Treatment of damaged cardiac tissue in patients with high bleeding tendency can be very challenging. In this category of surgery Hemostat proved to be a very effective with the combination of collagen sponge for the management of a myocardial wound



Topical hemostatic agents and tissue adhesives are used as an adjunct or alternative to standard suturing techniques to control bleeding or for wound closure.



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Hemostats for Wound Closure: Drivers and Restraints



Wound closure has become a very frequent clinical practice which is growing very rapidly. The sophisticated procedures ensure rapid cessation of blood loss, prompt closure, strong adhesion of wound edges, tight sealing, reduced scarring, reduced risk of infection and more rapid healing. There is a pool of patients throughout the world which makes the market of this product is very lucrative. As the price is also very reasonable so acceptance of this product is gradually progressing.



On the other hand some reports come which could restrict the growth. Surgical staples are emerging as the most useful tool on this wound closure segment. Also the market of suture which is there traditionally remains constant if not growing to some parts of the world. Few reports also suggested that patients may suffer with irritation, heat inflammation or redness on skin when hemostat are applied, though its not clear the exact reason for these.



As the market is growing and price is low, so tough competitions will prevail in this segment too.



Hemostats for Wound Closure: Segmentation



Global market for wound closure products consist of hemostat are mainly driven the use of Fibrin which is the combination of thrombin & fibrinogen. Also collagen finds it use as hemostat though it still needs the approval of USFDA.



Thrombin based Hemostats

Combination Hemostats

Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose Hemostats

Gelatin Hemostats

Collagen based Hemostats



Hemostats for Wound Closure: Overview



With the rapid technological advancement in healthcare industry the Hemostats is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR in the forecasted period (2015-2025).



Hemostats for Wound Closure: Region-wise Outlook



Geographically, the wound closure products market has been segmented into seven major geographical regions which include North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific exclude Japan, Japan & Latin America, Middle east & Africa. North America contribute the most in this market followed by Europe. With the new product approvals, change in regulatory policies encourages, patient acceptance helps the market to grow. Asia Pacific & Japan pose good growth potential too for wound closure products specially Hemostat.



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Hemostats for Wound Closure: Key Players



Wound closure product market is highly fragmented with presence of big & small companies. The market leaders in this area are Johnson & Johnson, Covidien, B. Braun, and 3M.Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Leukocytapheresis device is used in a nonsurgical treatment to reduce the quantity of white blood cells in the bloodstream. It may be indicated in patients with leukostasis which is resulted from microvascular obstruction by the white blood cells and may lead to hemorrhage in various tissues and organs. Leukocytapheresis device is increasingly adopted in the treatment for leukostasis to quickly reduce the white blood cell count. Additionally, the leukocytapheresis device is used to reverse the symptoms of severe inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease caused by the release of inflammatory leukocytes. These key factors have led to the development of leukocytapheresis device market.



Adacolumn and Cellsorba are two product types identified in the leukocytapheresis device market. Greater clinical efficacy of these products compared to conventional therapies is likely to increase the demand for leukocytapheresis devices. Growing number of patient pool suffering from Crohn's disease is along with high adoption rate of advanced treatments, especially in the developed nations will possibly fuel growth of the leukocytapheresis device market. Various initiatives taken by the government and private companies for the development of advanced medical devices and for the delivery of effective treatment have been envisaged to shape the future of leukocytapheresis device market.



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Leukocytapheresis device is used in a nonsurgical treatment to reduce the quantity of white blood cells in the bloodstream. It may be indicated in patients with leukostasis which is resulted from microvascular obstruction by the white blood cells and may lead to hemorrhage in various tissues and organs. Leukocytapheresis device is increasingly adopted in the treatment for leukostasis to quickly reduce the white blood cell count. Additionally, the leukocytapheresis device is used to reverse the symptoms of severe inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease caused by the release of inflammatory leukocytes. These key factors have led to the development of leukocytapheresis device market.



Adacolumn and Cellsorba are two product types identified in the leukocytapheresis device market. Greater clinical efficacy of these products compared to conventional therapies is likely to increase the demand for leukocytapheresis devices. Growing number of patient pool suffering from Crohn's disease is along with high adoption rate of advanced treatments, especially in the developed nations will possibly fuel growth of the leukocytapheresis device market. Various initiatives taken by the government and private companies for the development of advanced medical devices and for the delivery of effective treatment have been envisaged to shape the future of leukocytapheresis device market.



Leukocytapheresis, also known as white blood cells removal is therapy to reduce the number of white blood cells in the bloodstream. White Blood Cells (leukocytes) are the part of immune system. They help the body to fight infections. There are three types of leukocytes which are involved in the inflammation of bowels. They are granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes. It was found that inflammatory bowel disease is caused by the release of various cytokines from white blood cells, resulting in inflammation of the bowel. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the most chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Leukocytapheresis is a method helps at ameliorating symptoms in patients with severe inflammatory bowel disease. In leukocytapheresis therapy, the leukocytes involved in inflammation are removed from the blood using extracorporeal treatment unit. During therapy, blood is pumped from the vein of arm or leg through leukocyte removal filter and leukocyte-reduced blood is returned in the body through opposite vein. Leukocytapheresis aims to reduce the number of leukocytes that are involved in inflammation to dampen the inflammatory reaction. According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, 1.6 million Americans are affected yearly with inflammatory bowel disease.



Leukocytapheresis Device Market: Drivers & Restraints



Conventional therapy to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as pharmacotherapy involves substantial adverse effects and the chance of recurrence is more. Leukocytapheresis therapy overcomes such problem which drives the market of leukocytapheresis devices. Increasing prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases is the prominent factor responsible for the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market. Leukocytapheresis therapy mainly involves adult patients therefore growing elderly population responsible for the robust the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market. Leukocytapheresis therapy is more expensive than conventional therapy which degrades the leukocytapheresis devices market growth over forecast period. Furthermore, lack of awareness among patients in the under developing economies may deter the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market.



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Leukocytapheresis Device Market: Segmentation



The global Leukocytapheresis devices market is segmented on the basis of product type, end user and geography.



Based on product type, leukocytopheresis devices market is segmented into:



Adacolumn

Cellsorba

Based on end user, Leukocytapheresis devices market is segmented into:



Hospitals

Specialty Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Leukocytapheresis Device Market: Overview



Excellent clinical efficacy of Cellsorba and Adacolumn increases the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market in Japan and other regions. The effectiveness and safety of leukocytapheresis therapy over conventional therapy increases the leukocytapheresis devices market growth in the overall forecast period. Leukocytapheresis therapy has adverse side effects, simple extracorporeal procedure, requires approximately lesser time compared to conventional therapy. The above all factors increases the wide adoption of leukocytapheresis therapy worldwide and hence increases the overall market growth. Favorable reimbursement policies allows the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market in low economic regions.



Leukocytapheresis Device Market: Regional outlook



Geographically, global leukocytapheresis devices market is classified into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Currently, Japan is the leading market of leukocytapheresis devices because of leading manufacturers in this region. This is followed by North America due to higher adoption among the patients and technological advancement. Moreover, increase in geriatric population also increase the market growth in this region. Europe held the third position in leukocytapheresis devices market due to increase in healthcare expenditure per capita. Asia Pacific region has been expecting the growth in near future due to increase in the patient's pool. Middle East Asia and Africa show the delayed growth due lack of awareness in these region hinders the growth of leukocytapheresis devices market.



Leukocytapheresis Device Market: Key Players



Some of the key players involve in the leukocytapheresis devices market includes: Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., JIMRO Co. Ltd. are some of the leading manufacturers of leukocytapheresis devices.



The report covers exhaustive analysis on:



Market Segments

Market Dynamics

Market Size Analysis

Current Trends/Issues/Challenges

Competition & Companies involved

Value Chain Analysis

The regional analysis includes:



North America (U.S., Canada)

Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)

Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)

Asia-Pacific Excluding China and Japan (India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)

China

Japan

The Middle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa)

The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.



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



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Read Industry News at - http://theguardiantribune.comThe Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2019 opens in Boao, South China's Hainan Province on Thursday. Photo:Xinhua

Compared with the anxiety and pessimism on show at other economic events, the atmosphere at the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), held annually in the coastal town in South China's Hainan Province, was pervaded with an air of optimism over joint efforts to promote multilateralism and bolster free trade against a rising tide of international protectionist sentiment.

Asian countries are an important driver of global economic development. As they are in the same boat, they should increase their level of economic integration, Li Baodong, secretary general of the BFA, said at the closing ceremony of the event on Friday.

Li said the most thrilling achievement of the forum was the participants' firm support for multilateralism and globalization, noting that opening-up, reform, innovation and cooperation were frequent topics of discussion at side events.

In a break from the pessimistic air at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland in January, the BFA was filled with hope and confidence concerning participants' consensus in safeguarding rule-based multilateralism and globalization, said Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the Beijing-based China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

China's leading efforts to promote equality in development are also boosting confidence, Chen told the Global Times on Friday.

Addressing the opening session on Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reiterated calls to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trading system and the need for cooperation.

He set deadlines for drafting regulations and rules to support China's new Foreign Investment Law, while noting that the country will continue to further open up its financial sector.

The premier's speech again proves that China is fulfilling its promise to further open up backed by real action, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing on Friday.

China is taking action to expand mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries and promote free trade and safeguard multilateralism, Geng said.

China will not close the door of opening-up, in fact the door will become more open, Geng said, stressing China's commitment to further reform to bring more chances and contribution to global economic growth.

Chance for all

For participants, the forum is a chance to seek business opportunities with partners that share strong support for free and open trade. Nearly 100 top corporate executives and 1,000 entrepreneurs were among the 2,000 delegates in attendance, according to the forum's website.

Ming Maa, president of Singapore-based technology company Grab, who was attending the BFA for the second time, said that he is looking for Chinese partners to cooperate with.

Such cooperation is fueled by the eagerness of Chinese companies to explore the Southeast Asian market in recent years, Ming said.

"It's a perfect match between Chinese companies' wonderful technologies and our understanding of local Southeast Asian customers, as we partner together to explore Southeast Asian markets," he told the Global Times.

Grab has already partnered with several Chinese companies, such as partnering with a subsidiary of Chinese insurer ZhongAn to create a digital platform to distribute insurance products in Southeast Asia.

"Chinese companies are coming to invest in Southeast Asia because it's still a relatively safe place compared to many other regions, with the strong economy and controllable debt levels," Ming said. He added that in the US on the contrary, there is too much leverage.

According to Ming, the fact that Southeast Asia is comparatively neutral about world political friction also benefits outside investors, including those from China.

"I can't comment about the situation outside Southeast Asia, but within Southeast Asia, we certainly feel the benefits of China's opening-up policies and call for globalization. I agree with those calls 200 percent. It's always better to have cooperation," he said.

Regional integration

China's role in the Asian economy is vast, and it is diverse. It does not just lie in construction, roads and ports, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, governor of Southern Province in Sri Lanka, which is home to several projects in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) including Hambantota Port, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the BFA.

The openness of China is welcomed by not just Asian countries but also by the whole world, Tennakoon said. "The whole picture of Asia will be changed."

After signing a currency swap deal worth nearly $30 billion in October 2018, more third-party market cooperation is expected between China and Japan, Hiroshi Nakaso, chairman of the Daiwa Institute of Research and former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), told the Global Times.

"The currency swap between the People's Bank of China and the BOJ is significant, a very useful backstop. Other cooperation in third countries between the private sectors of Japan and China would be another area we could be further promote. It will take a little while but it will be steadily promoted alongside the better diplomatic relationship," he said.

Tennakoon expressed his expectation of deeper cooperation between China and Sri Lanka through the BRI. "We estimate that within the next two years, we can increase the number of ships coming to Hambantota [Port] sixfold."

"Sri Lanka will continue to support the BRI. And this is very encouraging and more and more facilitation has to be done on that. And the two countries are keeping on [with] these agreements. I think we see the future is very bright on the bilateral relationship," he said.

The forum this year has 2,000 participants from 60 countries and regions. More than 50 sessions were held on topics including the global economic outlook, the BRI and technology innovation.

Facing a rising tide of protectionism in the global market, Asian countries aspire for regional integration more strongly than ever, Chen said.

Compared to the US attitude of blaming others for its development difficulties and causing tension in bilateral cooperation, Asian countries share a will to address global challenges together, analysts said.

More importantly, Asian economies exhibit a greater will to invest, as well as more potential as the middle class rises and urbanization increases, Chen said.

Southeast Asia has become an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a report released by the BFA Tuesday.

The report said members of ASEAN have benefited from deeper integration in Asia as intraregional flows are an important source of FDI. The inflow of FDI increased by 16.8 percent in 2017, said the BFA Progress of Asian Economic Integration Annual Report 2019.Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/28/2019 -- The report "Industrial Floor Coating Market by Binder Type (Epoxy, Polyaspartic), Flooring Material (Concrete, Mortar, Terrazzo), End-use Sector (Manufacturing, Aviation & Transportation, Food Processing), Coating Component, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", The industrial floor coating market size is estimated to grow from USD 4.75 Billion in 2016 to USD 6.07 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 5.0% between 2016 and 2021.



Browse 156 market data tables and 45 figures spread through 190 pages and in-depth TOC on "Industrial Floor Coating Market - Global Forecast to 2021"



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The global industrial floor coating market is projected to witness decent growth in the next few years due to expansion of industrial activities as a result of improving economic condition. Rapid industrialization in emerging economies and increase in number of production facilities in developing countries are creating growth opportunities for the industrial floor coating market.



Food processing sector to gain maximum traction during the forecast period

The food processing sector is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the increase in concerns for quality and purity maintenance of food products and to ensure a hygienic environment inside the production facility. Additionally, characteristics such as easy application, chemical resistance, and abrasion resistance have made it essential to apply industrial floor coating in the processing facilities.



Epoxy segment projected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period

On the basis of binder type, the epoxy segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2016 to 2021. This growth can be attributed to the industrialization in growing economies and setting up of new manufacturing facilities. The dominant market positon of epoxy can be attributed to its superior properties such as high adhesion, flexibility, and chemical and solvent resistance.



Asia-Pacific region constitutes the largest market share in the industrial floor coating market

The Asia-Pacific region contributes a major market share in the global industrial floor coating market. It is also projected to register the highest growth from 2016 to 2021, while India is projected to be fastest-growing country-level market in the region for the industrial floor coating market. North America is projected to grow at the second-highest rate between 2016 and 2021, with the U.S. registering the highest growth rate in the region. Emerging economies such as UAE, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the Middle East are projected to grow at moderate CAGRs between 2016 and 2021.



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The global market for industrial floor coating is dominated by major players of the construction paints & coating industry. BASF SE (Germany), PPG Industries Inc. (U.S.), 3M Company (U.S.), The Sherwin-Williams Company (U.S.), Akzo Nobel N.V. (Netherlands), Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Netherlands), RPM International Inc. (U.S.), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), The Lubrizol Corporation (U.S.), and Asian Paints PPG Pvt. Limited (Mumbai). Other key players including Florock Polymer Flooring Systems (U.S.), Nora System, Inc. (Germany), Maris Polymers SA (Greece), Plexi-Chemie, Inc. (U.S.), Grand Polycoats (India), Ardex Endure (India), A&I Coatings (Australia), Milliken & Company (U.S.), Michelman, Inc. (U.S.), Roto Polymers and Chemicals (India), CPC Floor Coatings (U.S.), Tambour (Israel), ArmorPoxy (India), and Pro Maintenance, Inc. (U.S.) are the leading manufacturers operating in the industrial floor coating market. These companies use various strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, investments & expansions, and new product launches to strengthen their position in the market.



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Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.comValley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Diastatic Malt Market Outlook Diastatic malt is a grain which has been sprouted then dried and then grounded to powder form or further processed to liquid extract. Sprouting the grains activates the enzymes in the kernels and the drying process helps prevent the germination and locks down the activated enzymes in the grains. Diastatic malt is a type of malt that contains sugar breaking active enzymes; especially amylase, while the non-diastatic malt does not contain any enzymes. This enzyme in the diastatic malt breaks down the starches into sugar which accelerates the fermentation process and is mostly used in the bakery industry, in the dough making. The enzymes in the diastatic malt powder or the extract helps with the strong rise, crust and crumb texture of the bakery dough. Also, the extract promotes the browning reaction in the dough during the baking process resulting in a beautiful crust colour. Additionally, it also improves the machinability of the dough and adds little contribution to the flavour.



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High Demand for the Baked Goods and Ready-To-Bake Products is Creating Positive Market Outlook Major driver for the diastatic malt market is the high-demand in the food and beverage industry for use in the bakery products, dairy products, beverages, etc. Bakery products of the food and beverage industry sub-segment is likely to have major share after beverage industry. The consumption of bakery products in Asian countries such as India, China, Japan, and South Korea is increasing due to the entry of various private label bakeries and small franchises into the bakery market. Also, the availability of ready-to-bake dough in the market of the European countries are encouraging the consumer to try home-baking. This trend in the market is resulting into the increase in the demand for the diastatic malt powder for use in the bakery products.



Another major driver for the demand of the diastatic malt is the high consumption of the alcoholic beverages in the high-income countries from North American and European region, with beer consumption increasing. However, the per capita alcohol consumption in these high-income countries such as Germany, U.S., U.K., Belgium, Italy, France, and Australia is stagnant over the last decade. Whereas, in the developing nations such as Brazil, India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nigeria the per capita consumption of alcohol is increasing. The wide variety of flavours, colours and range of Lintner degrees are provided by the diastatic malt.



Diastatic Malt Market Segmentation The diastatic malt market can be segmented on the basis of form, nature, end use, and sales channel. On the basis of form, the diastatic malt market can be segmented as:Dry, Whole, Powder,Liquid, On the basis of nature, the diastatic malt market can be segmented as: Organic,Conventional, On the basis of end use, the diastatic malt market can be segmented as: Food and Beverage Industry, Bakery Products, Dairy Products, Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Animal Feed On the basis of source, the diastatic malt market can be segmented as: Wheat, Barley, Maize, Rye, Others On the basis of distribution channel, the diastatic malt market can be segmented as: Direct Sales/B2B, Indirect Sales/B2C, Intermediate/Bulk Distributors, Online Retailers, Specialty Stores



Diastatic Malt Market: Regional Analysis The market for diastatic malt is robust in the European and North American countries due to the presence of long standing malt industry. On the other hand, the market growth of the diastatic malt is majorly supported by the emergence of new small malting companies in the developing countries such as China, India, Brazil, Bangladesh, etc. The high-demand for the diastatic malt in the developing countries is driven by the factors such as increasing GDP, increase in the consumer spending, and favourable government policies.



Diastatic Malt Market: Key Participants Some of the market participants in the diastatic malt market are: Bob's Red Mill, Munton's Plc., Malt Products Corporation, Weyermann, Shipton Mill Ltd., United Canadian Malt, Ltd., Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., MEURA, Diastatische Producten, Heinrich Kling Malzerei GmbH & Co. KG



To view a detailed description of Sample and Table of Contents please visit: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-9103Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The free-from food market is expected to surpass revenues worth US$ 60 Bn in 2019, according to a new study of Fact.MR. Free-from food sales continue to remain influenced by a range of factors, including rising consumer awareness on food allergies and intolerances, and upward trend of health & wellness.



According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food allergies are a growing public health concern, which affect nearly 6% children in the US alone. Absence of effective treatment for food allergies and intolerance has been complementing the adoption of free-from food among consumers worldwide. However, sustainable sourcing of free-from ingredients, and effective processing technologies, continue to remain key concerns to be addressed by players in the free-from food market.



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The Fact.MR report also tracks the free from food market for the forecast period 2019-2028. According to the report, the free from food market is projected to register a CAGR of nearly 7.0% CAGR through 2028.



What are the Challenges in Free-from Food Market?

A key challenge faced by the free-from food manufacturers is sustainable sourcing of naturally-derived ingredients and preservatives, which are devoid of allergens, while retaining the taste and texture of food.

Concerns associated with replacement of certain ingredients have been arresting developments in the free-from food market. Additionally, challenges related to reliable supply and processing of free-from food ingredients, will continue to impede developments, and thereby growth of the market.

Free-from Food Market: Competitive Landscape



Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group has signed a conditional scheme implementation agreement with Westland Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd. for acquisition at NZ$ 588 million.

Blue Diamond has entered into the sales and distribution agreement with Grupo Lala S.A.B. de C.V to sell Almond Breeze, Blue Diamond's almond-based beverage in Mexico.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is planning to set directives on the labeling of gluten-free products in India. The regulatory body is also considering removal of the low gluten category where food products are processed to reduce the gluten content at the level of 20-100mg/kg.

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Some of the key players operating in the free-from food market are Groupe Danone, Abbott Laboratories Inc., NESTLE SA, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB), Coca-Cola Co, Blue Diamond Growers, Valio Oy, Kikkoman Corporation, Lactalis, Groupe, Monde Nissin Corp, Dr. Schar AG/SpA, General Mills Inc., Post Holdings Inc., Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd, and other key players.



Free-from Food Market: Research Methodology



The report on the free-from food market provides key insights and in-depth analysis on the free-from food market with the help of robust research methodology. The insights on the free-from food market are provided through primary and secondary research. Interviews and discussions with industry experts formed the part of primary research. Information gained using this research methodology has further been validated with the help of in-house industry experts and opinion leaders.



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Read Industry News at - https://theswisstimes.comAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2019 -- Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive medical imaging technique employed by health care professionals and radiologists for in-vivo quantitative assessment of biomechanical properties of the tissues and soft structures in the body. The magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) procedure is based on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and is performed by generating shear waves in the tissue under observation, receiving the images, and analyzing the images to develop and assess tissue stiffness. The elasticity imaging technique has various approaches including excitation application, measurement of tissue response to the stress applied, and estimation of mechanical parameters. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has shown promising results over elastography done using Doppler ultrasound, computed tomography, or any other modality.



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Increasing incidence of chronic diseases affecting various muscles of the body including lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infraction, breast cancer, and other conditions affecting the skeletal muscles; increasing research & development by research institutes and market players for diversifying the use of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) technique; and rising awareness about the diagnosis and screening, especially in developing countries, are some of the major factors driving the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market. Increasing per capita health care expenditure in developing countries, expanding usage areas of magnetic resonance elastography owing to rising number of research activities, and improving health care infrastructure in developing countries such as China, India, and Brazil are expected to increase the demand for new and advanced imaging technologies for use in the diagnosis of conditions affecting the soft tissues and the muscles in the next few years. This is expected to drive the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market during the forecast period. However, higher cost of the procedure compared to other imaging techniques and lack of uniformity in reimbursement policies pertaining to diagnostic imaging procedures across the globe are some of the factors expected to restrain the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market during the forecast period.



The global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market has been segmented based on application, end-user, and region. Based on application, the market has been divided into hepatic magnetic resonance elastography, breast magnetic resonance elastography, brain magnetic resonance elastography, skeletal muscle magnetic resonance elastography, and others. Among applications, the breast magnetic resonance elastography segment dominated the global market in 2016, owing to increasing prevalence of breast cancer, especially in developing countries, and rising preference by radiologists for the MRE technique over other imaging techniques. The skeletal muscle magnetic resonance elastography segment is expected to register a higher CAGR during the forecast period, as increasing number of health care settings are preferring the MRE technique in the diagnosis of skeletal muscle disorders. Based on end-user, the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market has been divided into hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers, research institutes, and others. The diagnostic imaging centers segment is expected to dominate the global market from 2017 to 2025, owing to increasing number of patients worldwide undergoing diagnostic imaging led by increasing incidence of cancer and neurological disorders, adoption of new and advanced equipment and technologies by diagnostic imaging centers, and rising preference for preventive care in developed countries.



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Based on region, the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market has been classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the global market in 2016 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period, owing to high prevalence of breast cancer in the region, high per capita health care expenditure in the U.S., and adequate reimbursement policies in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to witness a large pool of patients undergoing diagnostic imaging procedures in the near future. This is expected to increase the demand for the magnetic resonance elastography technique in the region from 2017 to 2025.



Key players operating in the global magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) market are Resoundant, Inc., Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, and Koninklijke Philips N.V.



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Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.comMaharashtra, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Summary: Marine Steering System Market



The Global Marine Steering System Market report encloses vital statistical data of sales and revenue based on leading segment such as type, regions, applications, technology, and elite players in the global Marine Steering System industry. The report aims at historical (2013-2018) occurrences, talks about the present status of the industry and also provides valuable forecast information up to 2025. A comprehensive analysis of contemporary trends, demand spectrum, growth rate, and key region-wise Marine Steering System market exploration has also been embodied in this report.



There are speculations about Global Marine Steering System Market to strongly dominate the global economy with a substantial growth rate in the coming years. Promptly developing industry infrastructure, increased product commercialization, and drifting demands of the Marine Steering System are strengthening Marine Steering System industry's footholds to become more influential and significantly contribute in international revenue generation.



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The Global Marine Steering System Market studies based on the company profiles and regions as follows:



Leading Vendors  SeaStar Solutions, Uflex, Mercury Marine, ZF, Vetus, Sperry Marine, Twin Disc, Lewmar, HyDrive Engineering, Lecomble?Schmitt, Pretech, Mavi Mare



Market segmentation by Zone:

North America (USA, Canada, Mexico)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, etc.)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)

Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran etc.)

Africa (Egypt, South Africa, etc.)



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The report consists of a detailed analysis of substantial returns that has been expected to be gathered at the end of the forecasted period of time. The report also underlines the evaluation of materials and markets, technological advancements, unpredictable industry structure, and capacities of the Marine Steering System market.



Furthermore, the report provides the core knowledge of the market by analyzing end user's consumption tendency, Marine Steering System market driving factors, ever-changing market dynamics, and rising development patterns in the market.



Besides, the report focuses on the leading contenders in the Marine Steering System industry and delivers an all-inclusive analysis considering their market share, production capacity, value chain analysis, size, sales and distribution network, import/export activities, cost structure, and product specification. Due to the changes in world business policies, it is recommended to be always aware of the facts and data about this market.



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The objectives of the Market Research Explore report on the Global Marine Steering System Market are:

To study, analyze and forecast the Global Marine Steering System Market by segmenting it based on types, application, inventions, time-based performance, and end user.

The report by Market Research Explore analyzes various macro and microeconomic factors impacting the Global Marine Steering System Market.

To come up with insights into the major factors affecting the global Marine Steering System Market around the world such as Its drivers, hurdles, opportunities, and challenges.

To notify about the dominant players along with their strategies, products/services, research, and development plans.



Conclusively, the report helps a reader to get an absolute understanding of the Marine Steering System industry through details about the market projection, competitive scenario, industry environment, growth constraining factors, limitations, entry barriers, the provincial regulatory framework as well as upcoming market investment and opportunities, challenges and other growth promoting factors. This report will provide you a clear view of each and every fact of the market without a need to refer any other research report or a data source. Our report will provide you with all the facts about the past, present, and future of the concerned Market.



For more information regarding Marine Steering System market, Contact Us @ sales@reportsmonitor.comAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- A fresh report has been added to the wide database of Market Research Report Search Engine (MRRSE). The research study is titled "Matcha Market - Precise Study on Factors, Market Drivers and Key Players Strategies Analyzed till 2028" which encloses important data about the production, consumption, revenue and market share, merged with information related to the market scope and product overview.



Matcha is a powdered variant of green tea with its roots in Japanese culture. While it is predominantly used for drinking as tea, it has also found its way into recipes as an ingredient. Matcha has a sophisticated flavour and is power-packed to the brim with antioxidants, amino acids, and other nutrients. One of the unique aspects of matcha lies in its cultivation: it is shade-grown towards the end of its harvest, thereby increasing the chlorophyll content and resulting in a vibrant, green colour. Matcha cultivated in Japan is different from matcha produced elsewhere, due to soil characteristics, micro-climate, and processing techniques used post-harvest that results in enhanced nutritional content, better taste, and brighter colours.



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This report on matcha market has been broken down into different chapters to enhance clarity and provide context. A brief executive summary at the beginning of the report consists of some of the key findings of the study on matcha market, as well as market estimates and growth rates for important segments. The following chapter presents the definitions and scope of the study, as well as the coverage in terms of the way the matcha market is structured. Subsequently, the chapter on market background presents the evolution of matcha, relevant economic indicators such as GDP and per capita consumption, including an assessment of the supply chain, policy developments and regulatory scenario, dynamics impacting the matcha market as well as an explanation of the factors considered important to develop forecasts and estimates. The report on matcha market also includes a chapter on pricing analysis, highlighting price point variations between different regions and products, including pricing forecasts. The following chapters dive deep into the global matcha market, covering detailed information based on grade, nature, end use, packaging, and sales channel. The next set of chapters provide region-wise analysis and forecasts of the matcha market, covering vital aspects of the market in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and rest of Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.



A dashboard view of some of the key companies operating in the matcha market in terms of their offerings, regional presence, and other metrics is a precursor to detailed profiles of these participants including financial information, strategy overview, and SWOT analysis, market share, as well as analyst commentary. Some of the key players analyzed in the matcha market report include ITO EN Ltd., Tata Global Beverages Ltd., Starbucks Corporation, The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Unilever PLC, Aiya-Co. Ltd., The AOI Tea Company, McCormick & Company, Inc., Matchaah Holdings Inc., and The Republic of Tea.



To develop the market estimates for matcha, the overall production of matcha in different regions and countries have been taken into account, which is followed by tracking the trade of matcha and imports by major consuming countries. This is then cross-referenced by understanding the average per capita consumption of matcha in different forms for top countries globally. Prices of matcha have been obtained from manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers for bulk quantities at a country-level.



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Our team of analysts reviews and interpret data from a variety of sources. Data attributed to 'FMI' are derived by using a combination of various approaches, which are then consolidated, interpreted, and extrapolated by FMI analysts. Data is sourced from government statistics, trade associations, company annual reports and investor presentations, press articles and directories, technical publications, and online databases which are cross-referenced with FMI's reports and internal repository of data to filter and validate the collected information. Intelligence gathered from desk research is supplemented by extensive interviews with selected key expert participants across the value chain not only to gain information specific to their role and operations but also to obtain their perspective and insights of the issues impacting the matcha market.



Global Matcha Market: Segmentation



Analysis by Grade



Ceremonial



Classic



Cafe



Culinary



Analysis by Nature



Organic



Conventional



Analysis by End Use



Food Processing



Beverage Processing



Personal Care



Foodservice



Tea Shops/Cafe



Restaurants



Institutional



Household



Analysis by Packaging



Bulk Bags



Cartons



Sachets



Stand Up Pouches



Tins



Analysis by Sales Channel



Direct Sales



Indirect Sales



Hypermarkets/Supermarkets



Convenience Stores



Specialty Stores



Online Retailing



Analysis by Region



North America



Latin America



Western Europe



Eastern Europe



China



Japan



Southeast Asia and rest of Asia Pacific



Middle East & Africa



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Email: sales@mrrse.comAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Of the many types of soups in the market today, consumers are finding a greater appeal in dried and chilled soups. Chilled soups are especially finding favor in hotter regions such as places in Mexico, as well as an overall higher rate of demand for chilled foods in Canada. Meanwhile, the ease of storage and use of dried soups is imparting this market segment a very high rate of growth for the coming years.



The study highlights current market trends and provides forecast from 2014 to 2020. In addition, current and future trends are also covered in this report. This research report on the North America soups market provides a holistic snapshot of the market's current events and statistics. It then moves into imparting predictive knowledge to its readers regarding the way the North America soups market is likely to shape itself over the coming years. The forecasts provided in the report are generated using tried and tested research methodologies that are aimed at finding out the core details of the North America soups market that all users can benefit from. These include Porter's Five Forces analysis for market's drivers, restraints, and threats from new entrants and substitutes. It also includes a SWOT analysis for the market's competitive landscape.



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One of the key factors promoting the sales of soups in North America today is the release of new types of soups that cater to the current consumer demographics. Most consumers today want foods that are easy and quick to eat and pack a high level of nutrition. The growing awareness of nutritional needs is one of the key factors that will shape the North America soups market over the coming years. While soups do not necessarily fall in the easy to eat categories, like sandwiches, modern packaging methods are allowing manufacturers to improve the ease of consumption of soups, thereby adding to the market's favor.



On the basis of types, the report divides the North America soups market into frozen, dried, chilled, canned, and UHT. Canned soups have found a high volume of consumers due to their older presence in the market. Consumers are showing a steady increase in the consumption of other soup types, such as UHT soups, due to various factors such as improved shelf life and advanced storage methods. The North America soups market can also be segmented on the basis of the distribution channels, into food and drinks specialists, convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and ecommerce portals. Ecommerce is swiftly becoming a favored consumer channel due to its ease of use and the improving shelf life of packaged soups. Meanwhile, hypermarkets and supermarkets have been the leading segments in terms of demand volume, and are likely to continue leading the North America soups market till 2020.



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The North America soups market is segmented into the three countries of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The U.S. has consistently held the leading share in the North America soups market in terms of overall value. This factor is primarily attributed to the nation's early acceptance of canned and packaged foods and beverages, allowing a large number of national and local soup makers to penetrate the market. Players such as Campbell's have also had a massive role to play in the North America soups market, through high level marketing and gaining a consistent number of consumers over the years. In general, packaged soups or any type of soups are finding a greater preference in North America, thanks to an increasingly hectic urban lifestyle that promotes faster consumption of foods, making consumers seek more nutritive quality in smaller and simpler food preparations, and especially in packaged foods and beverages. Canada and Mexico are also showing a steady rate of increase in the demand for canned soups due to similar reasons.



The report covers a country specific preference for different brands and types of soups, extrapolating the demand volumes and profit ratings for each region. While soups have been a traditionally winter food type, manufacturers of packaged soups have invested heavily in the promotion of soups for all weathers, multiple preferences, and with as much nutritive quality as possible.



Some of the leading players in the North America soups market at the moment, are Unilever, Nissin Foods, Kraft Heinz, ConAgra Foods, and Campbell Soups. Campbell soups has been a strong contender in the North America soups market for a long time and is likely to continue being at the forefront of the market in terms of demand volume and profits. The manufacturer maintains its lead through a high trust value thanks to a very early incorporation into the mainstream market and a consistent line of new products under different brand categories, such as Campbell's Healthy Request, Soup at Hand, Campbell's Chunky, and Campbell's Select Harvest.Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The optic nerve consists of more than one million nerve fibers and its function is to carry visual messages to the brain. Optic nerve disorders cause damage to the nerve due to factors ranging from infection to trauma. Damage to an optic nerve can cause vision loss, reduction in visual acuity, loss or reduction in color vision, pupil response abnormality and others. Optic nerve disorders drugs are used for the treatment and mitigation of optic nerve disorders.



Optic Nerve Disorders Drugs Market: Dynamics



The growing incidences of optic nerve disorders are the demand drivers of the optic nerve disorders drugs market. Optic neuritis affects adults between the ages of 25 to 45 years. The incidence rate of optic neuritis is 5 out of 100000 each year. Almost 3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma resulting in more than 120,000 blind patients and accounting for 9% to 12% of all cases of blindness. According to the World Health Organization, Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world after cataracts. The large economic burden of optic nerve disorders is another driver of the optic nerve disorders drugs market. Glaucoma alone accounts for over 10 million physician's visits each year in the U.S. and costs over $1.5 billion annually in terms of lost income social security benefits,, and health care expenditures.



The growing risk factors such as autoimmune diseases, diabetes and bacterial infection are the driving factors of optic nerve disorders. Growing screening rates and the advent of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and healthcare penetration is another driver of the optic nerve disorders drugs market. Exposure to toxins and drugs such as, Ethambutol, Amiodarone, Tobacco, Ethylene glycol, and others, is driving the optic nerve disorders drugs market.



Factors restraining the optic nerve disorders drugs market include poor efficacy and efficiency, high cost and lack of ophthalmology hospitals in developing nations. Lack of awareness and the low efficacy and efficiency of drugs coupled with the lack of curative treatment for some optic nerve disorders such as glaucoma is restraining the optic nerve disorders drugs market.



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Optic Nerve Disorders Drugs Market: Segmentation



The optic nerve disorders drugs market is segmented on the basis of indication, drug class, end user and region.



Based on indication, the global optic nerve disorders drugs market is segmented into:



Ischemic Optic Neuropathies

Optic Neuritis and Perineuritis

Papilledema

Compressive Optic Neuropathies

Intrinsic Neoplasms

Hereditary Optic Neuropathies

Inflammatory Optic Neuropathies

Infectious Optic Neuropathies

Toxic and Nutritional Optic Neuropathies

Traumatic Optic Neuropathy

Glaucoma

Optic Disc Drusen

Anomalous Optic Neuropathy

Based on drug class, the global optic nerve disorders drugs market is segmented into:



Steroids

Nerve Tonics and Multivitamin

Analgesics

Anti-infective

Hyperosmotic Agents

Parasympathomimetics

Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors

Beta-blockers and Alpha-adrenergic Agonists

Others

Based on end user, the global optic nerve disorders drugs market is segmented into:



Hospitals

Clinics

Home Settings

Optic Nerve Disorders Drugs Market: Overview



Based on regions, the global optic nerve disorders drugs market is classified into North America, Latin America, Europe, CIS & Russia, Japan, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). North America is expected to account for the largest share in the global optic nerve disorders drugs market owing to large incomes and excellent reimbursements. The excellent support of the US government programs such as Prescription assistance programs, Resources for macular degeneration and glaucoma, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and others is driving a large optic nerve disorders market.



China and India are expected to drive the lion's share in the optic nerve disorders drugs market in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region. The inclusion of glaucoma in national health programs in developing countries is driving a large market for optic nerve disorders.



The European optic nerve disorders drugs market is expected to be led by Germany, France and the UK. The Middle Eastern and African optic nerve disorders drugs market is anticipated to be dominated by the Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. The poor per capita income of African countries is likely to restrict the growth of the optic nerve disorders drugs market in this region.



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Optic Nerve Disorders Drugs Market: Key Players



Some of the major players in the global optic nerve disorders drugs market are SANTHERA PHARMACEUTICALS, Quark, Novartis AG, Allergan plc, Merck & Co., Stealth BioTherapeutics Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, and others.



This market study is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, and inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The study provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The study also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.



The market study covers exhaustive analysis on:



Market Segments

Market Dynamics

Market Size

Supply & Demand

Current Trends/Issues/Challenges

Competition & Companies involved

Technology

Value Chain

Regional analysis includes:



North America

US

Canada

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina

Chile

Peru

Rest of LATAM

Europe

EU  4 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain)

UK

BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg)

NORDIC (Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden)

Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, Czech Rep., etc.)

Rest of Europe

CIS & Russia

Japan

APEJ

Greater China

India

Korea

ASEAN Countries

Rest of APEJ

Middle East & Africa

GCC Countries

Turkey

Iran

Israel

South Africa

Rest of MEA

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

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Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint.



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Read Industry News at - http://theguardiantribune.comAlbany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The modification of peptide, protein, and non-peptide with the linkage of one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains is known as PEGylation. The polymer formed through PEGylation is non-immunogenic, non-antigenic, nontoxic, and highly soluble in water. PEG-drug conjugates offer several advantages over non-conjugated drugs such as elimination or reduction of protein immunogenicity, prolonged half-life, and less degradation by metabolic enzymes. PEGylation was first described by Davies and Abuchowsky in the 1970s. The process has been expanded and developed since then. A wide range of enzymatic and chemical methods for conjugation are available presently. The U.S. FDA has approved various PEGylated therapeutics for the treatment of diseases including autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, gout, and Crohn's disease), hepatitis C, hepatitis B, cancer, hemophilia, anemia associated with chronic kidney disease, and neovascular age-related macular degeneration.



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PEGylated protein therapeutics is projected to be a highly lucrative market in terms of revenue, with over 10 PEGylated drugs approved by the U.S FDA and 20 drugs in clinical trials. First generation PEGylated drugs were obtained through random PEGylation. Oncaspar and Adagen are two examples. Most of the drugs in clinical trials are PEGylated with larger PEGs compared to first generation therapeutics in order to increase the half-life and decrease the frequency of administration of these therapeutics. Bayer, Novo Nordisk, and Baxalta have a total of four long-acting hemophilia drugs based on PEGylated recombinant coagulation factors in phase III clinical trials. These promising ongoing clinical trials are expected to provide significant opportunities in the market during the forecast period.



The global PEGylated protein therapeutics market can be segmented based on type of PEGylation, application, distribution channel, and region. In terms of type of PEGylation, the market can be bifurcated into random PEGylation and site specific PEGylation. Based on application, the global PEGylated protein therapeutics market can be classified into cancer, autoimmune diseases, hepatitis, hemophilia, kidney disorder, and others. In terms of distribution channel, the PEGylated protein therapeutics market can be divided into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and online pharmacies. In terms of region, the global PEGylated protein therapeutics market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.



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North America and Europe are anticipated to be attractive PEGylated protein therapeutics market. Well-established health care infrastructure and funding from public and private sectors for R&D are projected to propel the market in these regions. Acceptance of technologically advanced devices and novel drugs with ongoing clinical trials in PEGylated therapeutics are expected to drive the market in North America. Asia Pacific is expected to account for a significant share of the global market in terms of revenue during the forecast period. Rise in support from governing bodies and the private sector in developing effective and novel therapeutics and distribution network is anticipated to drive the PEGylated protein therapeutics market in the region. Moreover, high prevalence of chronic and rare diseases in Asia Pacific offers large opportunities to players operating in the PEGylated protein therapeutics market.



Japan and Australia are well-established markets in Asia Pacific; however, emerging economies such as China and India present significant opportunities in the PEGylated protein therapeutics market in the region. Other regions such as Middle East & Africa and Latin America are anticipated to be prospective markets for PEGylated protein therapeutics in the near future due to the high adoption rate of advanced therapeutics and the rapidly developing health care industry in the regions.



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Major players operating in the global PEGylated protein therapeutics market include AstraZeneca plc, Pfizer, Inc., UCB S.A., Amgen, Inc., Merck & Company, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Shire plc, Biogen, Inc., and Horizon Pharma plc.



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Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Polypropylene random copolymers are produced by modifying the fundamental structure of polypropylene by incorporating another monomer molecule. Ethylene being the most common monomer used. The ethylene molecules, in the polymer chain, are introduced randomly between the propylene molecules. The incorporation of ethylene causes change in the physical properties of polypropylene. Random copolymer polypropylene usually contains about 1 to 7 weight percent of ethylene molecules and around 93 to 99 weight percent of propylene molecules.



As compared to polypropylene homopolymers, random copolymers shows better optical properties like increased clarity and decreased haze, increased flexibility, improved impact resistance, and a lowered melting point resulting in a reduced heat-sealing temperature. However, exhibiting more or less the same chemical resistance, organoleptic properties like low taste and odor contribution, and water vapor barrier properties as polypropylene homopolymers. Random copolymers are generally produced in the same process configuration as the homo polymers.



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Random copolymer polypropylenes finds use in blow molding, injection molding, and extrusion molding applications that require improved clarity and . They are used in medical packaging, food packaging, and consumer products.



Global Polypropylene Random Copolymers Market: Segmentation



Global polypropylene random copolymers market is segmented on the basis of applications, end-use, and regions. The global polypropylene random copolymer market is segmented on the basis of application into blown film, blow molding, injection molding, and extrusion molding. On the basis of end-use, global polypropylene market is segmented into medical packaging, food packaging, and consumer products, etc. Region wise, the global polypropylene random copolymer market is divided into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific (APEJ), Japan, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Middle East and Africa (MEA).



Global Polypropylene Random Copolymers Market: Region-wise Outlook



The global market share of Western European polypropylene random copolymers market is estimated to witness a drop from around 13.9% to about 11.4% in the forecast period. The fall is primarily due to a moderate increase in demand only in the largest national markets such as Germany, France, and Italy. Eastern Europe is expected to grow sharply, especially in the Russian packaging sector. The USA is reporting a recent increase in demand for polypropylene random copolymers. India and China continue to witness a huge increase of demand, owing to which Asia-Pacific is anticipated to account more than half of the total global demand by 2025.



Global Polypropylene Random Copolymers Market: Drivers



The introduction of newer application areas, development of bio-based polypropylene and substitution of various other materials continuously offers high potential for growth for the global polypropylene random copolymers market.



Unconventional low feedstock prices are driving new capacity investment and thus rendering growth to the global polypropylene random copolymer market.



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Global Polypropylene Random Copolymers Market: Key Players



Some of the major players identified in the global polypropylene random copolymer market are LyondellBasell Industries, Braskem, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Total S.A., Entec Polymers, ExxonMobil, Sasol, Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, Borealis, Formosa Plastics Group, Reliance Industries, and SABIC etc.HAVANA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and China plan to bolster their strategic cooperation in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical areas in the coming years, a high-ranking Cuban official said following the conclusion of a two-day bilateral conference here on Friday.

Both countries renewed for the next five years the memorandum of understanding (MoU) first signed in 2004 which established the basis for "strategic cooperation" in biotechnology, Mayda Mauri, vice president of the business group BioCubaFarma, told Xinhua in an interview.

The 10th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Biotechnology, co-organized by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and Cuba's Council of State, was held on March 28-29 in Havana with working sessions in areas like industry and biotechnology, science and technology, regulatory affairs, agriculture and health.

Some new bilateral collaboration agreements were signed at the closing ceremony while the MoU between BioCubaFarma and NDRC was renewed for the next five years.

"The agreements have to do with patent licensing and the joint development of highly innovative projects that are aimed at the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, the central nervous system and cardiology," said Mauri.

Mauri highlighted growing ties in the field for more than a decade, especially through the establishment of three joint ventures in China -- two in biomedicine and one in agriculture, as well as the opening of a soft capsule plant in Havana with Chinese technology.

BioCubaFarma, the island's organization that manages and coordinates national efforts in the biomedical sector to produce medicines and medical equipment, currently carries out more than 100 research and development projects and has offered 20 of them in different phases to their Chinese counterparts, Mauri said.

"Cuba is being very flexible regarding business models because the fundamental objective is to achieve results that have an impact for the two countries and its people. Together we can have a stronger international presence in this sector, although the great challenge is to overcome regulatory barriers," she said.

China is taking the lead in BioCubaFarma's international efforts, she said, adding that the fruitful results recorded in the 15-year-long history of biotechnology cooperation not only reaffirm the importance of sustaining such collaboration over time, but also reveal the "extraordinary potential" in the future, she said.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The latest report Portable Ultrasound Equipment Market discusses everything a business owner needs to know about the Portable Ultrasound Equipment market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026. The document offers an insight into what the target customer's needs and wants. Industry experts have extracted data from various sources on size, share, growth rate, production volume, production capacity, import and export status, distribution channels and more and have analysed it thoroughly. By properly assessing the competitors and their offerings the study aims at empowering business owners to step ahead.



Request for Sample Copy of Portable Ultrasound Equipment Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/31282



Scope of the Report:

The research methodologies used for evaluating the Portable Ultrasound Equipment market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations.



Major Players in Portable Ultrasound Equipment market are:

GE, Philips, Siemens, Fujifilm, Toshiba, Samsung, Hitachi, Mindray Medical, Boston Scientific, BenQ Medical, Chison, Ecare, Esaote, Telemed, Zoncare, MedGyn



Most important types of Portable Ultrasound Equipment products covered in this report are:

- Cart-/Trolley-Based Ultrasound Equipment

- Handheld Ultrasound Equipment



Most widely used downstream fields of Portable Ultrasound Equipment market covered in this report are:

- Hospital

- Clinic

- Home Care



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Attracting the target audience:

First, the comprehensive report finds out why customers need a certain product or service. The study focuses on what problems a certain product and service can solve. Apart from target demographics industry experts weigh up on the factors including audience type, as well as others vital attributes about the target customer segment.



Estimating the potential size of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment industry:

Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment industry. Such information is important for firms looking to launch an innovative service or product on the market. Industry experts have measured the total volume of the given market. Researchers have calculated the industry in terms of sales by the competitors and end-user  customers. Data on the entire size of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment industry for a specific product or service.



The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated growth rate of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment market for the forecast period 2019 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are prime factors expected to drive the Portable Ultrasound Equipment industry for the estimated period?

- What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far?

- What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Portable Ultrasound Equipment market?

- What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026?

- What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits?



There are 14 Chapters to deeply display the global Portable Ultrasound Equipment market.

- 1 Portable Ultrasound Equipment Market Overview

- 2 Global Portable Ultrasound Equipment Market Competition by Manufacturers

- 3 Global Portable Ultrasound Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2019)

- 4 Global Portable Ultrasound Equipment Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2019)

- 5 Global Portable Ultrasound Equipment Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

- 6 Global Portable Ultrasound Equipment Market Analysis by Application

- Continue



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Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.comValley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Advanced healthcare information technology system, growing incidences of chronic diseases, rising government funding for the R&D related to cancer diseases are witnessed as key drivers in the growth of radiology information system market. Rapid increase in cyberattacks has been further driving the demand and supply of radiology information system. Lack of specialized healthcare professionals for operating radiology information system as well as growing concerns related to data security and safety is likely to hamper the growth of radiology information system market. Cloud based radiology information system is anticipated to be the fastest growing segment in radiology information system market owing to easy data accessibility and reduced operational cost.



Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing region in radiology information system market owing to growing investments on the healthcare facilities as well as surging need for treatment and diagnosis of chronic diseases. China had made heavy investments in the healthcare system of Australia through several joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, which in turn positively impacts the growth of radiology information system market of the region. Asia-Pacific is likely to develop as an area holding maximum potential for growth of radiology information system market. This growth is attributed towards increasing focus of the key players in the developing regions and advancing healthcare infrastructure.



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Radiology Information System is a software which manages the data for physicians, hospital's radiology department and clinics in an electronic form. Data could be in any form like billing, scheduling and medical imaging. Radiology information system is very useful to track radiology imaging orders and to track reports of patients. Patient's entire radiology history, from admission to discharge could be track. Statistical reports for a patient or for a group of patients can be generated. The radiology information system also allows the staff to make appointments for outpatient and inpatients. Radiology Information system also provides the detailed financial recording, electronic payments and automated claims.



Recently, Singapore based healthcare groups called SingHealth and Eastern Health Alliance (EH alliance) and Singapore Health Ministry's IT arm, IHis purchased Carestream's Vue Radiology (Radiology Information System) and Vue PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) for better result, access and management of radiology results and patient imaging data. Almost 4 million patients visits every year in SingHealth Group. Carestream's Vue RIS+PACS are in few other hospitals too in Singapore like Singapore General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore and SingHealth Polyclinics. By this software, one can access data from any location and create one unified imaging of patient file.



Radiology Information System Market: Drivers & Restraints



Technological advancement, rising ageing population, consolidation of healthcare providers, innovation, improved efficiency and better results, increasing demand for better healthcare systems, cost-effectiveness, increase usage of cloud computing and web based solutions, increase number of chronic diseases, are the most important driving factors in radiology information system market. Since radiology information system maintains the data for physicians and hospitals to get access form anywhere, the demand for radiology information system has increased.



With so many advantages and splendid features of radiology information system, it has few disadvantages too. Lack of inexperienced professionals and interoperability issues are acting as a barrier for radiology information system market.



Radiology Information System Market: Segmentation



Radiology Information System Market is broadly classified on the basis of the following segments 



By Deployment:

Web based RIS

Cloud based RIS

On-premise RIS

By Product:

Integrated RIS

Standalone RIS

By End-User:

Hospitals

Emergency Healthcare Service Providers

Office Based Physicians



Radiology Information System Market: Overview



The radiology information system has grown substantially at a healthy CAGR due to increasing need of integrated healthcare system and rise in demand of diagnostic industry. With rapid technological advancement and innovation, radiology information system market is expected to grow globally. North America and Europe region will be dominating radiology information market in the forecast period.



Radiology Information System Market: Region-wise Outlook



The radiology information system market is expected to register a double-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, radiology information system market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America has the largest market for radiology information system and is contributing the most as compare to other regions. This is due to the increase demand of diagnostic industry go get better, fast and effective results.



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Radiology Information System Market: Key Players



Some of the key market players in radiology information system market are Cerner Corporation, Siemens Healthcare, Carestream Health, Mckesson Corporation, GE Healthcare, Merge Healthcare, Allscripts and Epic Systems.Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Several major cloud providers are planning to construct their data centers in European countries. For instance, Amazon is planning to build a US$ 1.08 Mn (Euro 1 Mn) data center in Dublin; IBM plans to open three data centers in UK; also, after two data centers in Ireland and Denmark, Facebook is announced to construct its third data center in Denmark. Furthermore, Interxion has plans to invest US$ 87.8 Mn (Euros 83 Mn) to construct new data center facilities in London, Frankfurt, and Stockholm. This constant growths in the numbers of data centers to be constructed in the near future will help the vendors in the supply chain of data center construction to look forward to the opportunities prevailing in the market. With the exponential growth in internet utilization, development of advanced software & application system and increase in the number of interconnected devices in public & private network, there followed an ever increasing volume of data.



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The key players profiled in the report are CommScope, Inc., Corning, Inc., Prysmian Group, Fujikura Ltd. and The Siemon Company. Also, OFS Fitel, LLC, Sterlite Tech, Nexans, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation and Yangtze Optical Fiber and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company are other key companies in the ribbon fiber optic cable market.



The technology which utilizes the physical properties of light by modulating a light signal with voice or data and sends it through a fiber by the virtue of Total Internal Reflection (TIR) is referred to as ribbon fiber optic cable technology. The growing demands for increase in the speeds of data transfer over a network with minimum data losses has spurred the need for implementations of fiber cables. The losses in copper wire data transmissions had researchers constantly put on a task to look out for a more efficient method to transmit data.



The need to store and process this large volume of data has encouraged the companies to adopt advanced storage and processing solutions thus driving the data center. Digitization across industry verticals, big-data technologies, growth in e-commerce and development in advanced analytical techniques are making data centers as one of the fastest growing users' electricity in developed economies and is one of the major driver of the growth in the construction of power plants.



In our study, we have segmented the Ribbon Fiber Optic Cable market by Type, Cable Type, and Application. The market for Ribbon Fiber Optic Cable has been segmented on the basis of Type into Single-mode and Multi-mode ribbon fiber optic. The market has been further bifurcated for the two different types of cabling in which these ribbon fiber optics come. Gel filled and dry tubes are the two cabling types for ribbon fiber optic cables and form the basis for segmentation of our market. Also, ribbon fiber optic cables market has been segment on the basis of applications into Data Centers, Telecommunications and Others. On the basis of geography, the Ribbon Fiber Optic Cable market is analyzed into North America, Europe, Asia- Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM).



The automobile industry is expected to witness a rapid growth and drive the growth of Ribbon Fiber Optic Cables market. Players having a good hold over the Ribbon Fiber Optic Cable market can look to venture into providing NFC solutions with their car models.



Key Benefits



- This report provides a detailed study of market trends and forecast from 2019 to 2025, which assist to identify the prevailing market opportunities.



- In-depth coverage of the global market that includes drivers, restraints, and opportunities, helps professionals to understand the market behavior in a better way.



- This study further includes market share analysis in terms of type and applications.



- Detailed study of the strategies of key leaders, partnerships, and acquisitions in the market is provided.



- Porter's Five Forces analysis examines the competitive structure of the market and assists strategists in better decision-making.



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Email:sales@theinsightpartners.comSellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- With burgeoning economic developments across the global utility sector, a regional vertical emerging as a promising ground is the China energy storage market. As the country is increasingly looking to add renewable power capacities in the coming years, it comes as no surprise that China will play a vital role in the global investment trends. Add to it the favorable governmental policies and schemes issued by the Chinese authorities to amend its nationwide energy storage business. Recently for instance, the Energy Storage China (ESC) 2019 has is likely to upgrade and bring wider range of innovations in the China energy storage industry. The China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) is another non-profit industry association that has been established to promote energy storage technology across China.



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Thanks to these central and regional government policy boosts, China, in the first half of 2018, added almost as much of the battery storage capacity as that of the total in the previous year  claims recent data provided by the CNESA. With new energy storage projects being announced, at various scales & capacities, in Henan, Guangdong, Qinghai, and Jiangsu, it is quite clear that the year 2018 has brought exponential growth prospects for China energy storage market. The CNESA data further reports that including the aforementioned projects in planning, under construction, or operational phases, the total capacity is recorded to be 340.5 MW  close to the entire Chinese capacity of 389.4 MW in 2017.



Furthermore, the declining technology costs and advent of new storage technologies is also set to positively influence the growth trends of the China energy storage industry. For instance, in last few years, lithium ion battery technology witnessed a drop of as much as 50% in per unit rate. This positive technological outlook coupled with reformative business scenario is set to heighten the energy storage product demand in the ensuing years.



Speaking along similar lines, it is prudent to mention that, China lithium ion energy storage industry has been gaining immense traction of late. The favorable properties including low maintenance, high energy density, and high efficiency along with decline in technology costs have prominently driven the regional demand for lithium ion energy storage systems. Thus, China has emerged as lucrative investment hub and several global players are further seen taking advantage of the regional demand. A Dutch lithium-ion battery manufacturer  Lithium Werks, for instance, has recently collaborated with the Chinese Zhejiang Jiashan Economic & Technological Development Zone Industry Corporation to construct a massive gigafactory on 60 hectares of land, in a city near Shanghai. Such business consolidation and positive investment trends are likely to augment the China lithium-ion energy storage market in the coming years.



Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2991



Besides this, another popular technology that is witnessing huge demand in the country is flow vanadium energy storage systems. The ability of this technology to offer unlimited storage capacity, long duration, quick response time, and zero self-discharge have in turn escalated the demand for this product in large scale renewable energy farms and other projects. Apart from the rapidly growing renewable energy sector, the vast reserve and abundance of vanadium in the country has indeed proliferated the China flow vanadium energy storage market with low currency risks, ease of availability and lower raw material prices. Estimates claim that the China energy storage market from vanadium flow technology type will surpass USD 3 billion by 2024.



In energy storage, China with its vast population base and renewable installations is set to soon outpace the other globally established regions. The intense competitive landscape, where major industry players are seen investing in product development, M&As, and partnerships has also been considerably pushing the economy to grow several notches up. Furthermore, China energy storage market is set to amass substantial returns from the expanding battery manufacturing base for e-buses and EVs.



Browse key industry insights spread across 115 pages with 26 market data tables & 28 figures & charts from the report @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/china-energy-storage-market



An instance bearing testimony to the same is of China-based vehicle & energy storage battery manufacturer CATL. Reportedly, CATL and one of Chinese automakers GAC Group will be forming a joint venture to focus on power battery cells and other related products.



Such power battery set ups are also likely to scale up the growth prospects of China energy storage market in the coming years. A report by Global Market Insights, Inc., further sheds light on the same and has forecast that the China energy storage market size is set to exceed USD 6 billion by 2024.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- The recent report, Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market fundamentally discovers insights that enable stakeholders, business owners and field marketing executives to make effective investment decisions driven by facts  rather than guesswork. The study aims at listening, analyzing and delivering actionable data on the competitive landscape to meet the unique requirements of the companies and individuals operating in the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026.



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Scope of the Report:

The research methodologies used for evaluating the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations.



Market Segment by manufacturers, the report covers the following companies:

GE, IDEXX, Esaote, Agfa Healthcare, Toshiba, Carestream Health, BCF Technology, Mindray, Hallmarq, Heska, Sedecal, Kaixin Electric, Chison, MinXray, Diagnostic Imaging Systems



Most important types of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging products covered in this report are:

- X-ray Imaging Systems

- Ultrasound

- MRI

- Others



Most widely used downstream fields of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market covered in this report are:

- Livestock

- Pet



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Major Regions play vital role in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market are:

- United States

- Europe

- China

- Japan

- Southeast Asia

- India



Estimating the potential size of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging industry:

Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging industry. Such information is important for firms looking to launch an innovative service or product on the market. Industry experts have measured the total volume of the given market. Researchers have calculated the industry in terms of sales by the competitors and end-user  customers. Data on the entire size of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging industry for a specific product or service.



Market share:

The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market



The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated growth rate of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market for the forecast period 2019 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are prime factors expected to drive the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging industry for the estimated period?

- What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far?

- What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market?

- What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026?

- What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits?



Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/veterinary-diagnostic-imaging-market



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Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.comPune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2019 -- Latest Research Report On Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Market:

The Global Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) market report examines the market position with respect to the global data reviewing various angles. The report studies key players point, geological reasons, types of product and their applications. Further, the report highlights the key driving factors, market barriers, opportunities, challenges in the dynamic market landscape.



The zero liquid discharge wastewater treatment comprises several processes such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, fractional electrode ionization, and evaporation & crystallization. A well-designed, efficient, and effective zero liquid discharge wastewater treatment system should be capable of handling any fluctuations in waste contamination and flow rate and capable to recover around 95% to 99% of water for reuse.



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For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2018 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.



Global and Regional Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Market Research for a Leading company is an intelligent process of gathering and calculating numerical data regarding services and products. This research focuses on the idea to aim at your targeted customer's needs and wants. The report also indicates how effectively a company can meet their requirements. This market research collects data about the customers, marketing strategies and competitors.



Some of the key players in the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) market are Revlon, Aquatech International, Veolia, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, SUEZ, ENCON Evaporators, AQUARION, 3V Green Eagle, Thermax Global, Oasys Water, Praj Industries, Kelvin Water Technologies, Transparent Energy System, Austro Chemicals & Bio Technologies, Bionics Advanced Filtration Systems, Dew Envirotech, Arvind Envisol, .



Market forecasts are served for each of the following submarkets, product-type and by application/end-user categories:



By Product Types: Conventional ZLD System, Hybrid ZLD System, .



By Application/ End-user: Energy & Power, Food & Beverages, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Textile, Pharmaceuticals, Others , .



Regional Markets: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia & Australia.



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Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Market Effect Factors Analysis chapter precisely give emphasis on Technology Progress/Risk, Substitutes Threat, Consumer Needs/Customer Preference Changes, Technology Progress in Related Industry, and Economic/Political Environmental Changes that draws the growth factors of the Market.



The fastest & slowest growing market segments are pointed out in the study to give out significant insights into each core element of the market. New market players are commencing their trade and are accelerating their transition in Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Market. Merger and acquisition activity forecast to change market landscape of this industry.



This report comes along with an added Excel data-sheet suite taking quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.



Research Methodology: The Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) market has been analyzed using an optimum mix of secondary sources and benchmark methodology besides a unique blend of primary insights. The contemporary valuation of the market is an integral part of our market sizing and forecasting methodology. Our industry experts and panel of primary members have helped in compiling appropriate aspects with realistic parametric assessments for a comprehensive study.



What's in the offering: The report provides in-depth knowledge about the utilization and adoption of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Industry in various applications, types, and regions/countries. Furthermore, the key stakeholders can ascertain the major trends, investments, drivers, vertical player's initiatives, government pursuits towards the product acceptance in the upcoming years, and insights of commercial products present in the market.



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Lastly, the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Market study provides essential information about the major challenges that are going to influence market growth. The report additionally provides overall details about the business opportunities to key stakeholders to expand their business and capture revenues in the precise verticals. The report will help the existing or upcoming companies in this market to examine the various aspects of this domain before investing or expanding their business in the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) market.Photo taken by the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe on Jan. 11, 2019 shows the rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2). [Photo: Xinhua/China National Space Administration]

China's lunar rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, has woken up from its third lunar night on the far side of the moon and resumed its scientific exploration mission.

According to the China National Space Administration, the lunar rover woke itself up at 8:28 p.m. on Friday and re-established communications with its relay satellite.

As of March 13, the rover had completed three lunar days of work, traveling 163 meters before switching to sleep mode.

Photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) on Jan. 11, 2019 shows the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe. [File photo: Xinhua]

Photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) on Jan. 11, 2019 shows the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe. [File photo: Xinhua]

The Chang'e-4 probe landed at the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on January 3. The 135-kilogram rover Jade Rabbit-2 is the first ever rover to drive on the moon's far side, and is the lightest rover ever sent to the moon.

The rover has already surpassed its expected design life, and its developers are working to ensure that it will be able to continue its lunar exploration mission and the collection of scientific data.Press Release

March 29, 2019 Pimentel bill seeks to impose ban on imported solid wastes Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III has filed a bill seeking to ban the importation of solid waste in the country. According to Pimentel, the Philippines is "well in the path" of being known as a country in the "global waste trade" as evidenced by two incidents of trash dumping in 2017 and 2018. Senate Bill No. 2144, otherwise known as An Act Banning the Importation of Solid Waste, proposes to ban the importation of trash even by recyclers of trash located in Special Economic Zones. By banning the importation of solid waste, Pimentel said, the Philippines will stop being a dumping site of more advance countries. He said China, formerly the top destination for recyclable trash, has banned the importation of solid wastes, with Thailand and Vietnam following suit. The China ban of plastic wastes, Pimentel said, has left the US, Britain, Japan and Mexico scrambling to find alternative dumping sites for the wastes. He said the Philippines has to set a ban against the importation of solid waste to prevent foreign waste from "arriving in our shores." Under the bill, any entity or person who imports any solid waste or otherwise use, treat or process the same in violation of the act, faces imprisonment of 12 years and one day to 20 years depending upon the discretion of the court. In case the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be deported and barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines. In case the offender is a corporation, association or other entities, the penalty shall be imposed upon the managing partner, president or chief executive officer, in addition to the payment of an exemplary damage of at least P500,000. If it is a foreign entity, the director and all its responsible officers shall be barred from entry to the Philippines, in addition to the cancellation of its license to do business in the Philippines. In case the offender is a government official or employee, the penalties of automatic dismissal from office and permanent disqualification from holding any elective or appointive position shall be imposed, in addition to the penalties provided in the act. A person or a firm responsible for or connected with the unlawful importation of solid waste shall have the obligation to transport or send back to the port of origin the prohibited wastes. In case the importer cannot be ascertained, the carrier shall be responsible for transporting the solid waste back to the port of origin or pay the exemplary damage of at least P500,000 or both. In case the importation shall cause environmental pollution, the competent environmental protection agency shall order the importer to eliminate the pollution. "It is our Constitutional duty and intergenerational responsibility to protect and advance the right of the people to a balance and healthful ecology," Pimentel said.Under the dial of... Cyrus Under the dial of... Cyrus

"It was time for a renewal." Driven by this maxim, Walter Ribaga reveals the complex soul of this visionary brand, named after the famous... "It was time for a renewal." Driven by...Press Release

March 30, 2019 De Lima asks PH gov't to heed US State Department report on human rights Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged the Duterte administration not to disregard the United States (US) report on the human rights situation in the Philippines, particularly on the increasing number of extrajudicial killings in the war on drugs. De Lima, a human rights and social justice champion, said the government cannot just turn a blind eye on the fact that the US government has classified the issue of extrajudicial killings (EJK) as a "chief human rights concern." "The Duterte government cannot continue ignoring concerns about the unprecedented killings and deteriorating human rights situation in the country. The President should stand up for the basic values of human dignity and stop his executioners from staining their hands with the blood of his people," she said. "Does Mr. Duterte need to be reminded for the nth time that human rights is universal and that state-sponsored killings, often targeting small-time drug users and pushers, can never solve the worsening drug menace in the Philippines and can actually lead to more crimes committed by authorities and vigilantes?," she asked. In its annual global human rights report for 2018 released last March 13, the US State Department noted "numerous reports that government security agencies and their informal allies committed arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the government-directed campaign against illegal drugs." The report further noted the media has recorded 673 deaths in police operations suspected to be connected with the government's drug war from January to September 29, 2018 alone, further citing government data revealing that an average of six people died daily due to the government's anti-drug operations from July 2016 to July 2018. The report added the Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Service, which is "required to investigate all deaths or injuries committed in the conduct of a police operation," remained "largely ineffective." The former justice secretary said Mr. Duterte should stop promoting a "Do-It-Yourself" justice and start anchoring his government's campaign against illegal drugs on human rights to prompt authorities to follow his lead. "In the campaign against criminality, criminal methods will never be effective, let alone acceptable, no matter the circumstances," she said. Aside from EJKS, among the human rights issues hounding the Philippines that were cited in the report are forced disappearance, torture, arbitrary detention, political prisoners, and killings of and threats against journalists. The US Human Rights Report cited also De Lima as one of the political prisoners in the Philippines who has been arbitrarily detained for two years now due to bogus illegal drug trading charges filed against her by the Duterte administration. "Two years after her arrest, during which prosecutors used a variety of legal tactics to delay arraignment, including filing new and amending previous charges, Senator Leila de Lima was arraigned in August on a charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading," the report read. Aside from De Lima, the Report said that "human rights NGOs maintained lists of incarcerated persons they considered political prisoners" and that most political detainees in the Philippines were in pre-trial detention. De Lima, whose unjust incarceration gained local and international condemnation, has been detained since February 24, 2017 over the trumped-up illegal drug charges that were mainly based on perjured testimonies of convicted criminals and manufactured evidence.Dispatch from Crame No. 498:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima on social media vitriol vs Duterte

I don't know if Mr. Duterte realizes that more and more people hate him. Really hate him.

Of course, his fanatical supporters remain fanatical, oblivious of his many sins. That's what fanaticism is all about-a blind devotion, coupled with a perverse notion about the invincibility of a demagogue idol.

But the rest of the informed citizenry has had enough. I haven't seen any other Philippine President in recent memory, or even in our distant history, eliciting so much hatred and contempt.

Unihibited spiteful comments like "Sleep forever and rest in hell," "May you rest in peace, forever" and "Don't' wake up anymore, go to hell!" inundated social media on his very birthday!

Not even the dictator Marcos or Gloria Arroyo had invited such level of authentic scorn or virulence.

Time to do some serious soul-searching, Mr. President. Are you still capable of bringing any good or righteous normalcy to our country? Or is it now a road to perdition all the way. Are you even capable of pure enlightenment!

Marunong ka bang maawa sa bayan?Judge Emma Arbuthnot has granted the Metropolitan Police custody of the 48-year-old businessman till the next hearing on April 26.

London/New Delhi: The Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi suspecting he could "flee" Britain and "interfere with witnesses", said sources.

Arbuthnot is the same judge who ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya last December.

The court order came after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, argued against Nirav's bail. "There is a real risk that he could flee, interfere with witnesses, interfere with evidence," the prosecution said.

Defence barrister Clare Montgomery said, "I (Nirav Modi) have been in the UK even before the case was registered in India. How can my bail be opposed saying I might flee the UK?"

Nirav was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities from Holborn in London on March 19 in connection with the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

He was sent to police custody and the next day, was produced before a judge at the Westminster Magistrates' Court, who denied his bail and deferred the hearing for Friday.

Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation after the PNB alleged that they cheated it of Rs 13,500 crore with the involvement of a few bank employees.

Both Nirav and Choksi fled India before the details of the fraud emerged in January last year.







Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday attended a ceremony to honour successful Egyptian women and ideal mothers.

The event has been held every year since El-Sisi took office in 2014.

Also attending is Entissar El-Sisi, the presidents wife, as well as Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki, Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali and Planning Minister Hala El-Saaed, among other senior officials.

The ceremony is organised by the National Council of Woman and the ministries of social solidarity and planning.

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There is huge difference between the general election 2014 and general election 2019. In the last Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi, the then serving chief minister of Gujarat for a record third term, rode on a Modi wave and won the day for the NDA alliance by getting two third majority in Lok Sabha. As the nation goes to poll yet again, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking another mandate from people, we take a look as to why the task is much more difficult for him than the last time. Why the magic woven around Modi seems to have evaporated into thin air and why the charisma seems to have disappeared?

There is no denying the fact that what happened in the last election was nothing short of magic. He rode on the development plank, made all the more effective by the beautifully created Gujarat model, by a media that danced to his tunes.

Supported by a mean election machine created by Amit Shah by pouring millions and millions in social media and very effective media planning, Modi was the man to look for succour and Gujarat model was an ultimate model for development. But five years down the line, the road seems to have become unusually difficult and there seems to be clear desperation on the faces of BJP leaders who seem to have realized that riding back to power is unusually difficult, if not impossible.

Despite the aerial strikes in Pakistan in the aftermath of Pullwama terrorist attack and later the downing of a satellite by a missile, Narenra Modi and Amit Shah are finding to their bewilderment that their narrative is losing relevance and the national security is not becoming the talking point as they would have liked.

While the BJP is buoyed by the surgical strikes deep inside Pakistan and the recent shooting down of a satellite in outer space by a DRDO missile, the BJPs chances dont really look very bright at the moment. The saffron party that had surged on the anti-corruption plank and the personal image of Prime Minister Modi seems to have been left battered and bruised over Rafale and other allegations of corruption.

The party hasnt been able to clear doubts among the voters minds thanks to incessant allegations by the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi. Expose by The Hindu newspaper too hasnt helped the cause either, creating doubts about the credibility of the party and the apparent clean image of Narendra Modi.

The electoral arithmetic seems to be stacked against the saffron party also. While the BJP has invested heavily in southern states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides of course in Karnataka, the fact that it has gone with AIADMK that is facing dissidence and anti-incumbency is not going to help the party either. Dinakaran, Sassikalas nephew is expected to eat into the AIADMK votes substantially, helping DMK and Congress alliance to win overwhelmingly in the state.

The state sends 39 MPs to Lok Sabha. In the Lok Sabha election 2014 that the AIADMK fought under the leadership of its extremely popular leader, late Jayalalithaa, the party won as many as 37 seats, while the BJP and PMK won one seat each. But five year down the road, things seem to have been completely reversed now and DMK and Congress combination seems to be all set to win an overwhelming large number of seats from the state.

All the pre-poll surveys suggest a complete rout of the AIADMK led alliance in the state which also includes the BJP. The same is true of Kerala, where the Congress party is expected to improve its tally in the state. The state has 20 seats and in the last election, the party and its allies won 11 seats. Now the pre-polls surveys suggest a surge for the Congress and its allies.

Karnataka is also a different ball game compared to the last Lok Sabha elections. The state that sends 28 MPs to the Lok Sabha, elected 17 MPs on BJP ticket. Congress won nine seats while the JDS won two seats from the state. Here it is important to note that the Congress and the JDS fought the elections separately. Now as the two parties are in alliance, they are expected to perform much better compared to the last election. There was nominal difference in vote share of the Congress and the BJP. The BJP had secured 43 percent votes while the Congress had got 41 percent votes. On the other hand, the JDS had secured 11 percent of the popular vote. With the Congress and the JDS coming together, the combination is expected to win the majority of the seats in this important state.

Hindi heartland that had become impregnable for its opponents and used to be the BJPs fief till very recently seems to be turning against it. In the assembly elections in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the saffron party suffered humiliating losses, propelling the Congress party to come to power in the three Hindi heartland states.

A report by IndiaSpend says that in the assembly elections held in November 2018, the BJP lost as many as 180 seats that it won in 2013, while the Congress party gained as many as 162 seats across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the assembly election conducted in the year 2013, the saffron party had emerged victorious in as many as 377 seats while the Congress party had managed to win merely 118 seats. This means the BJP lost 48 percent of the seats it won in 2013, and the Congress gained 137 percent. The IndiaSpend report goes on to add that Of 678 seats in MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram--which account for a sixth or 15.2 percent of Indias population--the Congress won 305 seats, and the BJP won 199. There is no denying that the assembly election results give clear insight as to how the electorate are going to vote in the parliamentary elections 2019.

In UP and Bihar, the BJP had completely decimated the opposition in the last Lok Saba polls. But this time, things are looking starkly different in both the states that together send as many as 120 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The coming together of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has certainly queered the pitch for the saffron party. With a vote share of 41.3 percent, the BJP had won 71 seats. The SP and the BSP who had been completely marginalized had together polled 41.8 percent votes. Now the two parties have come together along with Ajit Singhs RLD that has historically a strong vote base in Western UP.

Analyse a few seats and you will realize that things will be unusually tough for the BJP in the state. Despite the fact that the Congress party will eat into some minority votes of SP and BSP, it will also eat into upper caste votes of the BJP in much bigger way. The same scenario is going to be at work in Bihar. The BJP and the JDU alliance are going to face a resurgent opposition alliance that has given huge space to smaller parties, including those who have switched sides from NDA to the Mahagathbandhan. Upendra Kushwaha and Jitin Ram Manjhi are going to help the Mahagathbandhan in a big way in places where Dalits and most backward castes hold sway.

More columns by Syed Ubaidur Rahman:



Muslim vote as crucial as anyone else's in general election 2019

Will Dalit-Muslim-Yadav alliance stop BJP juggernaut in UP, Bihar?

BSP-SP alliance minus Congress party is an advantage for BJP

Why VHP's efforts to exploit Ram temple proved a dud this time

Asia Bi and the misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan

Hashimpura massacre by police Finally, a semblance of justice

Will Owaisi-Ambedkar alliance in Maharashtra benefit the BJP?

Modi with Syedna: PM's Muslim outreach is a lost cause now

Mob lynching in India - The menace is growingUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to arrive in Cairo on Monday and hold discussions with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

The UN head will also visit Al-Azhar Mosque and meet the Grand Imam to express his solidarity and stress the need to fight the scourge of Islamophobia, as well as all forms of hatred.

On Friday, the secretary-general departed for Tunis to attend the 30th League of Arab States Summit and make an address on Sunday.

While in the Tunisian capital, the secretary-general will meet with President Beji Caid Essebsi and senior members of the Tunisian government.

In Tunis, he will also meet university students to discuss the critical role of young people in national and international conversations and policies, and the UN efforts to ensure that their voices are heard.

Guterres will also inaugurate the new UN House in Tunis, la Maison Bleue, and hold a meeting with women leaders and civil society representatives.

The secretary-generals main priority for this visit will be the situation in Libya. On the sidelines of the summit, Guterres will attend a Quartet meeting on Libya, which brings together the UN, the League of Arab States, the African Union and the European Union. He will be joined by his Special Representative for Libya, Ghassan Salame.

After Cairo's visit, the secretary-general will move on to Jordan, where he will speak at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the Dead Sea.

He will meet with the king of Jordan and senior government officials.

The secretary-generals visit to Jordan comes after the London Conference 2019 that took place this past February, which marked the start of a new partnership approach between Jordan and the international community in pursuit of Jordans sustainable growth and self-reliance.

While in Jordan, the Secretary-General will visit the Baqaa Camp, run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

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It, however, said the United States was aware about India's first test-fire of an anti-satellite missile.

New York : The Pentagon has strongly denied the reports that the United States spied on India's anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test by sending a reconnaissance aircraft from its base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to monitor the development.

"No US assets were spying on India. In fact, the US continues to expand its enduring partnership with India, resulting in enhanced interoperability and stronger economic ties," US Defense Department spokesperson Lt Col David W Eastburn said.

Aircraft Spots, which monitors military air movements, had said that a US Air Force's reconnaissance aircraft from its base in Diego Garcia went "for a mission in the Bay of Bengal to monitor India's anti-satellite missile test".

This was interpreted by many that the US spied on Indian ASAT test.

"I don't think that it implies coordination between India and the US," astronomer Jonathan McDowell from the prestigious Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said on the Aircraft Spots report.

"This implies that the US intelligence community were aware of the test in advance because to some extent they're spying on India," he alleged.

"Everybody spies on their friends as well as their enemies. That's the way the world works these days. It would be surprising if the US were not detecting or observing the launch site and aware of activities preparing for the test. So one assumes that they knew it was coming," he claimed.

McDowell, who is a staff member at the Chandra X-ray Center and author and editor of Jonathan's Space Report, an e-mail-distributed newsletter documenting satellite launches, said he has not looked into the issue of the aircraft, but it is certainly not surprising that the US would fly a sensor aircraft to try and observe the test.

The Pentagon, however, strongly denied the spying allegation.

"It's a relationship so strong that no topic is off limits," Eastburn said.

"Both nations enjoy shared principles regarding our respect of sovereignty, free and fair trade, adherence to international norms, and peaceful resolution of disputes," he said.

Air Force Space Command Commander Lt Gen David D Thompson told lawmakers Thursday that the US was aware that India's ASAT test was coming.

"First of all, we knew it was coming because of flight bans that India had announced and information they published previously. The launch occurred at 1.39 AM EST," he told members of the powerful Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces during a Congressional hearing.

"First of all, it was detected, characterised and reported by Air Force Missile Warning systems and Airmen at Buckley AFB. Immediately after the test (it struck the target vehicle), the Joint Space Ops Center and USAF 18 Space control Squadron began collecting information about the breakup of the vehicle," Thompson said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday announced that India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite missile by shooting down a live satellite, describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space super powers.

The test made India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.A delegation of private sector representatives will begin its annual visit to Washington on Sunday for AmCham Egypts door-knock mission.

Over the course of five days, the 36 delegates are scheduled to meet with members of the US Congress, administration officials, think tank representatives, media, and leaders from the US business community.

"This visit coincides with the 40th year anniversary of the inauguration of the US Egypt Business Council, marking the beginning of a new phase in the bilateral partnership. Additionally, it comes at a time when the US administration has recently reiterated its interest in building stronger partnerships in the Middle East, and where Egypt is well positioned to maintain its leading role as a key ally and partner, American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo (AmCham) President Tarek Tawfik said.

He added that during their meetings, delegates will promote dialogue on important commercial issues and share their perspective on topics of bilateral importance.

They will highlight the impact of the economic reform measures on different sectors and the investment opportunities available for US businesses in Egypt.

Omar Mehana, chairman of the Egyptian-American Business Council, said that financial indicators in Egypt had improved significantly with the continued commitment of the government to achieving economic and financial reform. He added that the economic and legislative reforms taken by Egypt have made the investment climate more attractive.

Hesham Fahmy, CEO of AmCham Egypt, said that an advisory board is currently being formed for the Chamber's branch in Washington, which includes a number of the most important American figures with expertise and reputation in the US decision-making circles, He added that the council is targeting to increase investment and trade exchange between the two countries.

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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(0x7f3fe8caecd8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8c4d668)', '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(0x7f3fe8caecd8)') 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(0x7f3fe8c4d668)') 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(0x7f3fe8552948)') 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(0x7f3fe8c4d668)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8c4d668)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7d70920)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8cc2338)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8cc2338)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fcc746870)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe86f9d00)', '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(0x7f3fcc746870)') 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(0x7f3fe86f9d00)') 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(0x7f3fe870d978)') 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(0x7f3fe86f9d00)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe86f9d00)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7d70a10)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8709240)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8709240)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fe825ab28)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3febf3ccb8)', '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(0x7f3fe825ab28)') 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(0x7f3febf3ccb8)') 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(0x7f3fe8298920)') 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(0x7f3febf3ccb8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3febf3ccb8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7d70aa0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3feb915948)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3feb915948)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fe882ff00)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8767cc8)', '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(0x7f3fe882ff00)') 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(0x7f3fe8767cc8)') 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(0x7f3fe8eeb358)') 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(0x7f3fe8767cc8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8767cc8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7d713b8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe89d2bd8)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe89d2bd8)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fe8b8a5b8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8b93a60)', '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(0x7f3fe8b8a5b8)') 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(0x7f3fe8b93a60)') 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(0x7f3fe8babea0)') 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(0x7f3fe8b93a60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe8b93a60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7d70aa0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8bb0c08)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe8bb0c08)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0For the Week of April 1, 2019

Dante came and went. Griffin went and may not be back. Ryan is suspected of heavy breathing but might be dead. Ava is drunk and likely to stay that way. Oscar's time is ticking away. What a sad and disturbing week on GH. Let's discuss in Two Scoops.

When I see Shiloh, I'm reminded of an old song by Aimee Mann:

"When you're a charmer People respond They can't see the hidden agenda You got going on..."

Shiloh is charismatic and has a virtual harem of young ladies swarming around, waiting to do his bidding. Daisy, Kristina, Harmony, (formerly) Willow, soon to be Sam, and God knows how many others.

"Soon to be Sam?" you ask. Yeah. She's probably going to be brainwashed just like all the others. When Jason got arrested, I thought, "Oh, no, Sam lost her protector. She's going to have a creepy tattoo by week's end." But thankfully, Shiloh dropped the charges.

I predict that we are building up to a murder mystery, and the list of people who want Shiloh dead continues to grow. I don't want to be right, though, because he's such a fun character to hate that it will be sad to lose him. Maybe evil Shiloh has a good twin that can come back and go blind for a few days.

There is a broader discussion to be had here -- can bad people do good things? Sure. Shiloh's "Dawn of Day" group apparently does community service, helps people in need, and has the appearance of a charity, but, in fact, he is a creep who controls and manipulates his followers into giving him large amounts of cash and possibly sex. And bad tattoos. And boring seminars.

Let's make a list... Chase, Jason, Sonny, Alexis, Molly, Willow, Sam, Michael, Daisy, Kristina, Brad, and Harmony could all potentially be suspects in his murder should he come to an untimely end. Did I forget anyone? All of those people have a motive. That's a very long suspect list, so Jordan better get a new kidney before she has to investigate all of those people.

Bets are open, who will give Jordan a kidney? Some folks (like me) think it's going to be Aunt Stella, but I heard another theory that Cameron's friend Trina will end up in a situation where she ends up being Jordan's donor. I hope that doesn't mean they're going to kill her off.

So, readers, what say you? Is Oscar going to die in a few weeks, or is Shiloh going to "heal" him as he hinted to Kim that he could try to do? I think he will try to bilk money from Kim to "heal" Oscar and that Jason will throat slam him into another wall.

I'm embarrassed at how much I enjoyed watching Jason choke out Shiloh. Forgive me, oh, Lord.

You know who else needs forgiveness? Valentin. Did Dr. Obrecht get to the DNA test before Maxie and Peter did? I can't decide if Valentin's lies will catch up to him or if he got an extension. Or, wouldn't it be cool if Sasha really was Nina's daughter, and he faked the DNA test for nothing? They do look an awful lot alike. I doubt it will be that simple, but until Monday, I am pretending that it's possible.

I also wish it were possible for Dante to stay in town since we just got him home. It's kind of a letdown that he is leaving again as soon as he got back in town -- a turnaround of less than a week.

It was great to see his scenes with Lulu, Sonny, Carly, Olivia, Anna, and especially with Mike. Dante and Mike were having that moment of mutual understanding of the pain of not being in control of their own minds. Those scenes were poignant and heartbreaking, etc.-- but he's out again before he even had a chance to unpack his bags. He barely got time to recognize the face of the SORAS'd Rocco. And I disliked watching him dream-shoot Lulu.

Why is he leaving? Are they going to kill him off, and he got that line in about how Lulu should move on with her life? Is he going to come back like Jason Morgan and want to quit the PCPD and work for the mob and be called Dante Corinthos? Is he going to fade into the WSB vortex like Frisco Jones and never return? So many questions. I really like Dominic Zamprogna and seeing him this week reminded me just how much I've missed his presence.

I thought this visit was supposed to give us closure after his last abrupt departure, but I'm still left wanting more. I understand after his two near misses with violence, the muttering of his brainwashing catchphrase under his breath, the dream about stabbing his wife, and the butter knife incident at the Metro Court that he felt he had to go. But I am sad about it. Both for Lulu and for me.

I've been wondering if Lulu may be about to get some incredible moral support. Since Tyler Christopher is not at Days of our Lives right now, maybe it means Nikolas will finally be resurrected and come home to take Wyndemere away from Valentin? A summer with Spencer and Nikolas battling Valentin and Charlotte would be highly watchable.

Besides, both Laura and Lulu need some of the menfolk in their family -- any of the big three, Lucky, Luke, and/or Nikolas -- to show up after they were both nearly killed by a psychopath! Sure, Laura has Kevin...sort of. It looks like he might be headed off to Pentonville for the time being.

When Ava saw him being carted off, it seemed to me like she possibly felt a little sympathy for him. Is it possible Ava will fall for the brother of the serial killer she fell for previously? She has been drowning her sorrows in vodka, so it's possible she isn't thinking clearly.

Her former flame Fr. Dr. Griffin also wasn't thinking clearly and fled town, but not before beating the bloody hell out of Kevin.

I'm sad to see Matt Cohen go. When Griffin Munro arrived in town, a confused priest/doctor, son of Duke Lavery, I fell in love with him instantly. I understood the internal struggle between faith and doubt, the grief of losing a parent, of feeling adrift in your own life; his angst resonated with me.

Griffin's relationship with Ava moved me. His relationship with Kiki delighted me. His friendship with Anna was downright precious. But now? Poof -- he's gone. The timing is awful because I thought it would have been sheer poetry to let Griffin and Ava find each other again in their grief over Kiki and in their despair of learning Ryan had been posing as Kevin for months. They could have consoled one another and honestly found salvation in each other -- but, nah, he is gone. Ugh. I hate the transient nature of soaps sometimes.

Speaking of which, Brytni Sarpi is now over at The Young and the Restless as a doctor, while GH has recast the role of Valerie. I'm not sure what her first airdate is or how she will arrive on the scene, but I look forward to it. Before old Valerie left, she was very concerned with Kristina's obsession with Dawn of Day. Does Valerie feel more for Kristina than she is willing to admit? It will be fun to see if new Valerie blazes into town as fiery and fierce as Brytni's Val.

In some news of "Comings" rather than "Goings," Denise Alexander will arrive back in Port Charles soon as Laura's mother, Leslie. I watched GH when she was one of the main characters, so it's always a treat for us longtime viewers to see her. Like someday when Laura Wright is 79 years old, and they bring Carly back on for a while. Trust me, you will be giddy about it. GH will be airing a 56th anniversary special episode, and I always love the flashback episodes because I grew up on GH, and it reminds me of my happy family days, watching GH with my Mama. Oh, how I miss her!

Also coming home soon is Jasper Jacks, hopefully in time to help mend Josslyn's broken heart. No, scratch that. I hope he gets back before Oscar dies because I'd like Jax to know the boy his daughter loves. He'd want that, don't you think? I hope he's actually going to stick around for a while and not just drop by for two weeks. Give him a real storyline and a love interest, and let him put down roots.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will the small-minded parents of Port Charles ever let poor little Aiden go to any birthday parties? Will Dante and Anna recite their catchphrases on a loop to one another? "Can you hear the waters whispering," "I must complete my mission." Will Drew be far behind if Oscar and Kim move into the Q house with Monica? Will Franco leave a lousy Yelp review about whichever barbershop gave him that haircut?

Will Ned and Laura become bipartisan co-mayors, since Laura is going to be spending a lot of time in court soon? Will we see more of Amy now that Chet took a bartending job at the Floating Rib? Will Anna and Peter ever have a conversation that doesn't end up with one of them crying? Will Sonny take self-help classes at Dawn of Day and learn how to de-mob-ify himself?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.

TamiluEgypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi instructed the Egyptian government to empower women and to fight physical and psychological violence against women during a speech on Saturday.

He was speaking at a ceremony organised by the National Council for Women to celebrate Egyptian women and ideal mothers.

In his speech, the president praised the Egyptian government's current efforts to combat violence against women, while also instructing them to fight both physical and psychological violence against women.

He also said that early marriage and depriving women of their legal rights in divorce were another example of violence against women.

I task the government to draft suitable legislation to protect women practically from all the shapes of moral and physical violence, taking into consideration that underage marriage, deprivation of education and not receiving alimony in the case of divorce are different forms of violence," he said.

El-Sisi also gave the government a directive to provide a suitable atmosphere for women to find proper job opportunities as well to fight the growing problem of women ending up in prison due to failing to pay their debts.

The presidency, the government and civil society have all launched initiatives to pay the debts of women jailed for owing money.

El-Sisi also stated that he was looking forward to the implantation of the Mowada (cordiality) programme, which was launched by the president in February and aims to lower divorce rates.

He also gave a directive to the government to work on issuing a new personal status law.

The National Council for Women revealed in February that is was working on a new draft law governing family law, commonly called personal status law in Middle Eastern countries.

In his speech, the president also said women should be enabled to participate more in politics, and said there should be a quote for women MPs.

He also called for helping and supporting mothers to achieve financial inclusion, and for amending the current public service law in order to allow more Egyptian girls to be qualified for employment in the public sector.

Before the president's speech, Minister of Planning Hala El-Saeed hailed the role of Egyptian women through history, in her address at the event.

"We have 57 percent female students, 55 percent female faculty members, 27 percent of women who benefit from financial services and 21 percent unemployment among women," said El-Saeed, adding that these figures reflect womens empowerment in Egyptian society.

She said this was the lowest ever unemployment rate among women in Egypt.

El-Saeed also said that two million Egyptian women have benefited from the governments social solidarity programmes Takaful and Karama.

Launched in 2015, the twin programmes support impoverished families with school-aged children, the elderly and people with special needs, mainly in Upper Egypt.

During the celebration, El-Sisi honoured a number of widows from across the country for their role in supporting their families and building society.

He has also honoured a number of prominent women for their leading role in building the Egyptian community, such as Egyptian politician and former head of the National Council for Women Mervat Tallawy and physician Nihal Abdel Moneim who inaugurated the first childrens eye centre in Alexandria.

The ceremony was attended by the presidents wife Entissar El-Sisi, as well as Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki, Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali, and a number of other officials and ministers.

The celebration was organised by the National Council for Women, in cooperation with the social solidarity ministry.

It was held at Al-Manara International Conference Centre in New Cairo.

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Israeli fire killed a Palestinian man near the Gaza border on Saturday, Palestinian Health officials said, as Israel's forces massed at the frontier ahead of a rally to mark the first anniversary of a surge of Gaza border protests.

The Israeli military said it had not heard of any such incident. Palestinian medics said the man was killed by bullet shrapnel before dawn at a site of frequent night protests near the border.

On Friday night, the Israeli military said Palestinians were throwing explosive devices at the border fence.

Tensions have mounted along the Israel-Gaza border this week ahead of the commemoration of the 'Great March of Return' border protests, which began on March 30 last year.

Fighting flared when a Palestinian rocket attack from Gaza wounded seven Israelis in a village north of Tel Aviv on Monday. In response, Israel launched a wave of air strikes and moved armour and reinforcements to the border.

The Israeli forces remained at the border area on Saturday and the military said it was expecting "violent riots" to take place and was prepared for escalation.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians were expected to attend the protests, which have turned deadly in the past, and Egyptian mediators were working to avoid further bloodshed. Leaders of Gazan armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that progress had been made in the truce talks.

Lethal Force

About 200 Gazans have been killed by Israeli troops since the protests started, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures, and an Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper.

The demonstrations have turned into a standoff between Gazans hurling rocks and explosives and Israeli troops across the border. Palestinians have also launched incendiary balloons and kites into Israel and breached the Israeli frontier fence.

Israel's use of lethal force has drawn censure from the United Nations and rights groups. U.N. investigators said last week that Israeli forces may be guilty of war crimes for using excessive force.

The protesters are calling for the lifting of a security blockade imposed by Israel, and for Palestinians to have the right to return to land from which their families fled or were forced to flee during Israels founding in 1948.

More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal enclave where poverty and unemployment rates are high. The Islamist Hamas group rules the territory and has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade.

The blockade is cited by humanitarian agencies as a key reason for impoverishment in Gaza.

Israel seized Gaza in a 1967 war and pulled out its troops in 2005.

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Stop interfering in Venezuela, Russia warns US



Moscow, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2019



Russia on Saturday warned Washington to stop interfering in the stand-off between Venezuela's government and the opposition movement, and once again defended its decision to send personnel to the country.

"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, smothering its economy and pushing it towards civil war in open violation of international law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

On Friday, a statement from the US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned "actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela".

But Zakharova, in her statement Saturday, said Russia had made it clear it was not sending a military contingent to Venezuela.

Two Russian military planes landed a week ago at the main airport outside Caracas and offloaded equipment and troops, ratcheting up international tensions.

Russian officials insist the troops came to Venezuela as part of a long-standing agreement on military and technical cooperation.

But US President Donald Trump has called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela, with Russia saying its troops will stay for as long as needed.

The military specialists are apparently helping to fix a malfunctioning Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile system, US envoy Elliott Abrams said Friday.

Russia and Venezuela signed a military cooperation treaty in 2011 involving the sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela.

Earlier Saturday, Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms export company said it has opened a training centre for military helicopter pilots in Venezuela, after Moscow flew in troops and equipment.

Venezuela, Russia's largest client in Latin America, has already received "a significant amount of Russian arms and military technology", Rosoboronexport spokesman Davydenko added.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognise Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. Russia, along with China, backs President Nicolas Maduro.What Muller found after he turned over the big rock was a bevy of slithering, slimy creatures, shyster lawyers, and sleazes that are normally part of New Yorks land development industry. No surprise at all that they surrounded developer Trump.





by Eric S. Margolis





Not since the witchcraft hysteria of the Middle Ages have we seen such a display of human idiocy, credulity and absurdist behavior. I refer, of course, to the two-year witch hunt directed against President Donald Trump which hopefully just concluded last week  provided that the Hillaryites, Democratic dopes and secret staters who fueled this mania dont manage to keep the pot boiling.





This column has said from Day 1 that claims Trump was somehow a Russian agent were absurd in the extreme. So too charges that Moscow had somehow rigged US elections. Nonsense. We know its the US that helps rig elections around the globe, not those bumbling Russians who cant afford the big bribes such nefarious activity requires.





What Muller found after he turned over the big rock was a bevy of slithering, slimy creatures, shyster lawyers, and sleazes that are normally part of New Yorks land development industry. No surprise at all that they surrounded developer Trump. Son-in-law Jared Kushner hails from this same milieu. The Kushners are pajama-party buddies with Israels leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.





Now that the Muller investigation found no collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin, we Americans owe a great big apology to Vladimir Putin for all the slander he has suffered. Too bad he cant sue the legions of liars and propagandists who heaped abuse on him and, incidentally, pushed the US and Russia to the edge of war.





People who swallowed these absurdist claims really should question their own grasp of reality. Those who believed that the evil Kremlin was manipulating votes in Alabama or Missouri would make good candidates for Scientology or the John Birch Society.





They were the simple fools. Worse, were the propagandists who promoted the disgusting Steele dossier, a farrago of lies concocted by British intelligence and apparently promoted by the late John McCain and Trump-hating TV networks. One senses Hillary Clintons hand in all this. Hell indeed hath no fury like a woman scorned.





Its so laughably ironic that while the witch hunt sought a non-existent Kremlin master manipulator, the real foreign string-puller was sitting in the White House Oval office chortling away: Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, behind him, the moneybags patron of Trump and Netanyahu, American billionaire gambling mogul, Sheldon Adelson, the godfather of Greater Israel.





The three amigos had just pulled off one of the most outrageous violations of international law by blessing Israels annexation of the highly strategic Golan Heights that Israel had seized in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. This usurpation was so egregious that all 14 members of the UN Security Council condemned it. Even usually wimpy Canada blasted the US.





Giving Golan to Israel means it has permanently secured new water sources from the Mount Hermon range, artillery and electronic intelligence positions overlooking Damascus, and the launching pad for new Israeli land expansion into Lebanon and Syria. Israel is said to be preparing for a new war against Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.





In contrast to this cynical business over Golan, the Trump administration is still hitting Russia with heavy sanctions over Moscows re-occupation of Crimea, a strategic peninsula that was Russian for over 300 years. So Israel can grab Golan but Russia must vacate Crimea. The logic of sleazy politics.





We also learned last week that according to State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Trump might have been sent by us by God, like ancient Israels Queen Esther, to defend Israel from the wicked Persians. Up to a quarter of Americans, and particularly Bible Belt voters, believe such crazy nonsense. For them, Trump is a heroic Crusading Christian warrior.





This is as nutty as Trump being a Commie Manchurian candidate. We seem to be living in an era of absurdity and medieval superstition. No wonder so many nations around the globe fear us. We too often look like militant Scientologists with nuclear weapons.





Fortunately, the cool, calm, collected Vladimir Putin remains in charge of the other side in spite of our best efforts to overthrow or provoke him.



The power ambitions and competitions of the elite are highly asymmetric.

Review by Laksiri Fernando





Political science and political scientists, among others, could play a major role in resolving Sri Lankas most important problems like post-war ethnic reconciliation, construction and reconstruction of democracy, and overcoming dangers of authoritarianism through critical thinking, scientific research and lucidly written publications aimed at supplying inspiration and new thinking to policy makers and the public alike.





The value of the new book by Dr S. I. Keethaponcalan titled Post-war Dilemmas of Sri Lanka: Democracy and Reconciliation can be assessed particularly in that context although its importance undoubtedly goes beyond the shores of Sri Lanka.





Keethaponcalan teaches conflict resolution at Salisbury University, Maryland, USA, and recently held the Chair of the Department of Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution at the same university. Before joining Salisbury University in 2011, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Colombo and held several international assignments in the fields of conflict resolution, peace studies, transitional justice and disarmament throughout years. His recent most two publications  Conflict Resolution: An Introduction to Third Party Intervention (Lexington Books, 2017) and Violence, Nonviolence, and Ethnic Reconciliation in Post-war Sri Lanka (Peace & Policy, 2015), stand most relevant to the present study and publication. The present book is a Routledge publication, London and New York, just out.





What is Investigated?





In the investigation encompassing the book, Sri Lanka appears a case study but a fitting one. It is fitting not only because it is the authors home country, but because the ethnic conflict and the war have had a protracted character and consequences. Even after the end of the war in 2009, the progress or rather the events have been tortuous, contradictory and uncertain.





With an undoubted focus on Sinhala-Tamil ethnic reconciliation, the approach of the investigation challenges a popular conception or a myth that the ethnic conflict could be reconciled automatically by making Sri Lanka more democratic or economically developed. These are the conceptions that the author has challenged and refuted. This is also the novelty of the book that the author has compiled, without neglecting the Muslim question. This does not mean that the author has disregarded or disputed the importance of democracy or economic development for reconciliation, but has emphasized the need to go beyond and engage more directly in proper conflict identification, dialogue, negotiations, peoples involvement and conflict resolution.





There are so many other merits, values and uses of the book, theoretically and empirically. As the author says, The end of the war had a profound impact on post-war governance and ethnic relations in Sri Lanka. He has highlighted more of the way the war ended which is one of the reasons for the continuing reconciliation problematic. His profound chapters on the subject of post-war dilemmas, written from the perspective of reconciliation throw light on this matter tracing the history of events, the characterization of two types of post-war regimes and the emergence of new fault lines between the Sinhalese and the Muslims.





The book consists of six chapters: (1) Theoretical overview, (2) Ending the war: a zero-sum situation, (3) Democracy: a struggle, (4) Reconciliation: a distant dream (5) Sinhala vs Muslim: a new frontier, and (6) Conclusion. The theoretical overview would be immensely useful for political science and conflict resolution students. Others are equally useful for political leaders, peace activists, international observers and future researchers, apart from the students in the field. This review cannot cover all, but some aspects of the book.





In discussing the zero-sum ending of the war, the author without limiting to the how questions, has investigated why the LTTE got defeated. There are three main reasons given: (1) the strategies of the Rajapaksa government, both militarily and politically (2) the delegitimization of the LTTE within the Tamil community and the emergence of military weaknesses, and (3) the international support extended to defeat the LTTE although ambiguous at times. This is a valuable analysis on the end of the war from a political scientist, who has had immense experience in the North.





Tracing Political Developments





The immediate effect of the military victory of the Rajapaksa government, as the author traces, is the democratic degeneration. In other words, Sri Lanka became a de facto authoritarian state. He does not however suggest that Sri Lanka was an effective democracy before, or even before the war started. The author traces the rapid democratic degeneration of the country to 1970s. However, in the immediate aftermath of the war, the slide, or the descent, was deep and it affected almost all aspects of political and social life.





There is a major portion of a chapter devoted to trace the democratic degeneration under Rajapaksas involving power consolidation through electoral processes, instituting quasi-family rule, the centralization of power via constitutional tinkering, and bringing the judiciary, the media, and civil society under control. It is in the same chapter that the intended Democratic restoration? after 2015 is discussed with a question mark.





Why a question mark? The author admits that the manifestos of the opposition that came to power in 2015 in two elections were quite broad and entailed peace, reconciliation, constitutional reform, the elimination of corruption and the reduction of living costs and many more things under the rubric of good governance. It is true that considering the protracted degeneration that the author himself has traced, the restoration of democracy and good governance is not an easy task. But was it completely correct to place the tasks of national reconciliation within the same bag and consider it just easy and ordinary? These are specialized areas that should go beyond political rhetoric in the authors indication.





Even on the question of general democratic restoration, the authors judgement is relative. He concludes the chapter saying There is general agreement that the working environment in Sri Lanka had improved since the inauguration of the new government. However, the democratic outlook of this government was negatively impacted by the bond scam and the delaying of the local government elections, for example. It is safe to argue that, compared to the Rajapaksa administration, the rule of the unity government was relatively more democratic.





The Problematic?





In the chapter on Reconciliation: A Distant Dream the author brings his own observations, ideas and down to earth research findings to the notice of the reader. These may particularly be useful for the international community who are in the forefront of promoting reconciliation. It is the contention of the author that the quest for reconciliation in Sri Lanka is essentially an exogenous construct forced into the country mainly by Western states and international institutions.





Based on a survey conducted in 2012 and recent interviews (2017), the author concludes that both the Sinhalese and the Tamils are quite unconcerned on reconciliation for different reasons. The majority of the Sinhala people traditionally believed that there were no issues specific to the Tamil community. Therefore, the end of the war or the defeat of the LTTE in their opinion was in fact the end of those problems. Obviously, many Tamils would refute the claim that Sinhala-Tamil problems have been resolved, but they remain unconcerned about reconciliation for different reasons. On the part of the majority Tamils, the devastated socio-economic conditions and the day to day living problems (in the North and the East) stand priority. On political issues they do not have any or much trust on any government. Under the circumstances, the TNAs collaboration with the government has given rise to much frustration and to the emergence of a relatively radical faction within the community.





The author has mainly investigated the conflict problem as a confrontation or mismatch between different communities and thus the reconciliation as a matter of those communities coming together. While the political factors underpinning the conflict have been thoroughly investigated what has been beyond the scope of the book is the proposition or hypothesis of conflict as a confrontation between political elites for political power. That kind of a hypothesis or assumption speaks for the partial validity and also the monumental weakness of the present efforts for political-elite reconciliation through alliances and co-habitation.





The power ambitions and competitions of the elite are highly asymmetric. The hegemonic disposition of the Sinhala-Buddhist elite is overwhelming and uncompromising, apart from extremism and idealism from the other sides. The situation is very clear from the analysis that the author has made on the new frontier, the Sinhala vs Muslim fault lines. The investigation and the analysis is up to date. After covering the historical background, also tracing the Tamil-Muslim hostility, the author has given a comprehensive account on the anti-Muslim riots in recent times. It is with this Islamophobia and also counter extremism, that reconciliation has again become problematic and a distant dream unless the political leaders, political activists and the concerned international players employ more realistic and constructive approaches.





What the author has concluded at the very end is the following.





As long as the Tamils dissatisfaction with the status quo remains high, the gulf between the Sinhalese and the Tamil people will also remain deep. The Sinhalese resisted the devolution on the premise that the devolved power would be used to promote separatism. The continued insistence of self-determination, internal or external, by Tamil nationalists only contributes to Sinhalese distrust and thus, resistance. A devolution of power scheme, which guarantees the Tamils a degree of autonomy and provides security guarantees against separation at the same time, has the potential to move Sri Lanka towards durable peace and reconciliation.Hong Kong: Political offenders duly protected

The Fugitive Offenders Ordinance provides sufficient protection to offenders of political crimes and such protection will be retained in the Governments proposed amendments to the ordinance.

Secretary for Security John Lee made the remarks after attending a radio programme today, adding there are at least three provisions in the existing law that clearly stipulate political offenders, no matter how their crimes are described, will not be surrendered.

There is a provision to say that no matter how you purport that offence to be, if it relates to political opinion, religion, nationality or ethnicity, then it will not be surrenderable.

There is also a third provision, which says that, if a person will be prejudiced at his trial, or in any way mistreated because of his political opinion, nationality, religion or ethnicity, then he will not be surrendered, Mr Lee said.

For anybody who thinks that he may then become a political prisoner, I think the law sufficiently protects them, he added.

This story has been published on: 2019-03-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire during clashes and protests along the Gaza border on Saturday marking a year since demonstrations erupted there, the enclave's health ministry said.

Adham Amara, 17, was hit in the face east of Gaza City, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were gathered along the Gaza-Israel border and dozens were wounded.

Earlier Saturday, another Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in an overnight demonstration ahead of the main protest, the ministry said.

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Bogawantalawa Tea set to become worlds first Climate Positive plantation company View(s):

Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC (BTE), after becoming the first company in the world to secure Uncompensated Carbon Neutral certification for its tea growing, manufacturing and marketing processes, is now setting its sights on even more environmental achievements.

For the producer of some of the countrys finest tea, this means a rapid migration towards official Climate Positive status  the point at which it will go beyond just achieving net zero carbon emissions and actually begin removing additional carbon dioxide from the environment.

The journey towards this objective is now firmly underway, with the scope of the companys environmental efforts spanning all of BTEs units, the company said in a media announcement.

As the first tea company to be formally certified as Uncompensated Carbon Neutral, we can state with confidence that there is incredible potential in the Sri Lankan Regional Plantation Company (RPC) sector to set a new global standard for the plantation industry. Combatting climate change is a collective global responsibility and with our industry, we believe that it is ultimately the RPC sector which will pave the way for a new chapter in the plantation industry, both locally and globally,

said Bogawantalawa Tea, General Manager of Sustainability and R and D, Thusitha Bandara in a media statement issued by the company.

BTE and Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd. (BTC) were certified Carbon Neutral by the Sri Lanka Climate Fund, which operates under the Ministry of Environment.

This required major revisions not only to operational procedures at the estate level but also at the companys Colombo facilities, where it took stock of every aspect of the business from packing materials to sourcing.

Where the scope of a typical tea companys carbon emissions audit would be limited to the estate, BTE extended the range of its audit right up to the point where their tea reaches the port. A comprehensive list of emissions sources are factored into BTEs analysis  including everything from emissions generated via production of fertiliser and agro-chemicals to transmission loss of electricity to factories. Going beyond rudimentary analysis however, BTE also factors in transport, and even travel of overseas business visitors within the scope of their audit. In order to maintain complete transparency, the company shares the entire set of details around its CO2 audit as part of its regular stakeholder reporting, the statement said.

In addition to optimising electricity usage, BTE has also invested significantly in harnessing renewable energy such as hydro and solar. Currently, the company generates a collective 12 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy through 2GWh of solar and 10 GWh of hydropower.

The companys commitment to social conservation and plantation forestry is reflected by its significant investment in these causes, which amounts to between Rs. 20 million and Rs. 25 million annually. These investments are channelled into conservation of sensitive areas, biodiversity enrichment, watershed conservation, together with training and awareness building programmes.

Given the unprecedented innovations taking place at Bogawantalawa Tea Estates, the company has already been certified to the highest international accredited standards in terms of sustainability, food hygiene and ethics, and is rapidly gaining global attention for its pioneering work. All its estates in the Central Provinces Golden Valley are Rainforest Alliance, Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade, ISO 22000:2005 and ISO 9001:2008 certified.Hemas upbeat on pharma and logistics with new plants By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

Hemas Holdings PLC (Hemas) is bullish on two new plants  a pharmaceutical manufacturing and warehousing factories  to enhance the bottom-line in the years to come.

Hemas pharmaceutical plant at Homagama with an EU and GMP compliant manufacturing facility will be commissioned early next year. The logistics park at Muthurajawela is already commissioned.

Steven Enderby, CEO Hemas in an interview with the Business Times noted that the Rs.2.8 billion manufacturing facility at Homagama can deliver 3 billion tablets per annum. He added that the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals require site specific regulation which is a complex process and is slated to take a few years to get the specific manufacturing approvals. Sri Lanka has seen trends of local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals with many firms investing in this business. Mr. Enderby acknowledged this noting that the market structure is shifting towards homemade medicines.

Hemas logistics park container yard is now operational. Mr. Enderby noted that some of Hemas own operations are now in this plant. We are trying to implement the value added services which we can give the specific clients, he said noting that as the highway network across and around this area is developed, the potential for this Rs. 2.6 billion facility will be immense.

The company, unlike all other manufacturers and importers of pharmaceuticals want a clear-cut pricing formula for pharmaceuticals. It is critical for the doctor to have access to choice and also being cost-effective. We would love to see a pricing formula. Its difficult to see the relative uncertainty that is on right now, Mr. Enderby noted.

Having sold Hemas 34 bed hospital in Galle in November last year, the company now is consolidating its Colombo suburbs hospitals. Mr. Enderby said, Now we are concentrating on how we can broaden the services and the surgical interventions at our Wattala and Thalawathugoda hospitals.

Last year Hemas Holdings acquired 75.1 per cent stake in Atlas Axillia (Pvt) Ltd, formerly known as Ceylon Pencils Pvt. Ltd.

Its Bangladesh fast-moving manufacturing goods (FMCG) business is doing well and now the company is planning to introduce other products into that market. Hemas has also taken its pharmaceutical distribution business to Myanmar as well.

In other overseas expansion, Hemas has taken its Kumarika hair oil to West Bengal in North India.

In its leisure sector the company is now concentrating more on its boutique properties. Serendib Hotels PLC, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings PLC and a part of the Leisure, Travel and Aviation Group, has a 48.85 per cent stake of the Frontier Capital Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the owning company of the Lantern Beach Collection a year ago. At the time of acquisition, Serendib Hotels PLC had a stake of 51.15 per cent in the Lantern Group, now increased to 100 per cent. We are managing smaller hotels now. There is an increasing number of discerning travelers who are looking for authentic experiences in a more intimate setting, and we felt we should capitalise on it. We have invested in our Anantara brand as well, Mr. Enderby noted. He added that the company is now focusing on categories which can deliver a better piece of the pie. In FMCG we are concentrating on skin care and how we can deliver products in this area that are value for money.

He noted it was a difficult operating environment last year and the rupee depreciation negatively affected bottom lines  which was the case with many companies. There was a lot of pressure in Q3 and it was a challenge. We saw it still feeding through to the system but the consumer sentiment is much better over the last two months. The political hiatus last year has faded and now its behind (us).

He added that Hemas has a strong focus on technology and how it can enable the businesses. The company is working with two start-ups  Ayubo.Life and HealthNetBuy  and is discussing with some others to rope them in. Having launched Ayubo.Life in March, it has acquired over 50,000 users to its platform. Working with 32 leading corporates in sri lanka, ayubo.life is touching over 5000 corporate employees lives.

Recognising that physical activations is a key mitigation for the risks non communicable disease battle, ayubo.life took an innovative approach introducing virtual steps challenges to the mass community, moving over 30,000 people across the country, receiving over 1000 comments on the positive impact on their life style with the ayubo.life proposition.

Healthnet is Sri Lankas first online pharmacy where authenticity of medicine is guaranteed and delivered home in a safe and secure manner. Healthnet is currently servicing a user base of 13,000 and growing steadily, Mr. Enderby noted.

He added that the biggest challenge is how to improve margins in a tough condition. To my mind it creates possible avenues. We have started profit improvement programmes in pharmaceuticals, homecare and wellness, etc.New unified employment law to be introduced soon By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka government will phase out the implementation of labour market reforms while pushing through a new unified employment law to gradually replace 28 archaic labour legislations currently in force, the Labour and Trade Union Relations Ministry revealed.

The Wages Board Ordinance No.27 of 1941, the Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942, Shop and Office Employees Act No.19 of 1954, Maternity Benefit Ordinance, and Factories Ordinance will be revised and these laws are to be integrated into a single employment law.

Labour and Trade Union Relations Minister Ravindra Samaraweera while confirming the introduction of this law had informed the National Labour Advisory Committee (NLAC) on Tuesday that trade union leaders will also be consulted before presenting the relevant bill in Parliament, a trade union leader who attended the meeting said.

The minister also noted that a document is now being drafted and that it will be tabled before the NLAC for discussion.

This was a follow up to a process that commenced last October with the participation of all NLAC members representing tripartite interests.

A non-discriminatory provision will be included to the law and there wont be any discrimination such as gender, caste or religion in future at workplaces and the proposed law will provide provisions for employers to recruit persons for part time jobs.

The ministry will be seeking the trade unions suggestions in consultations, compromise and consensus with the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) accompanying their proposals as well so that it could be pushed for passage in Parliament, a senior ministry official added.

However trade unions say that they are not ready to accept any labour market reforms by the government or the employers deviates from the state labour policy as contained in the National Workers Charter that received the unanimous approval of the NLAC.

The National Workers Charter was promulgated as state labour policy by the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in September 1995.

Welcoming the governments initiative, EFC Director General /CEO Kanishka Weerasinghe told the Business Times that we need to keep pace with the developments that are taking place in relation to the world of work, including the many avenues that are being created through the development of technology.

The EFC will fully support a process that will bring the countrys labour laws up to date, he said, adding that we desperately need to implement reforms that will include what employers have sought for a long period of time.

He noted that employers were in favour of the creation of jobs including diverse forms of employment and create a sustainable environment for enterprises to grow and thrive.

The International Development Group of USAID is collaborating with the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade as well as the Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations, the EFC and the Attorney Generals department in formulating the new unified legislation.

Joint Secretary of the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union Anton Marcus noted that they will oppose any attempts to dismantle the existing labour law regime that gives some measure of protection to workers who have to work to live on a periodic wage.

The employers will be empowered to determine the wages of employees and the payment of gratuity to workers is to be confined to 20 years only in accordance with the provisions of the proposed law, he said.

Work places a with number of employees of 50 or above should pay gratuity for them in accordance with the proposed new law, he said, adding that if the number of employees is less than 50 then there was no necessity to pay the gratuity, he disclosed.

Sri Lanka has a particularly onerous labour regime in terms of the requirements placed on employers with respect to employment of workers, including some of the worlds lengthiest mandatory severance payments for terminated workers, the USAID observed.Power-ful blame game View(s):

Sri Lankans are angry, nay furious over the latest round of power cuts. But they can be cynical and amusing at the same time. Muladi apita thibuna Gota-ge eliya. Than avilla thiyenne Ravi-ge karuwala(Earlier it was Gotas eliya. Now Ravis darkness has arrived), Kussi Amma Sera said with amusement, chatting with comrade-at-arms Serapina and down-the-lane gossip Mabel Rasthiyadu.

The trio was seated under the Margosa tree, meeting after three weeks as Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu had returned from their extended village vacation. The conversation then turned to anger and frustration. Balanna, Akke.Sri Lanka-va pura viduliya kapanakota, Kolombata vitharak ne(Seewhile the whole of Sri Lanka is having power cuts, Colombo city is spared), said an angry Serapina. Ov.meka harima asadharanai (Yes, this is very unfair), interjected Mabel Rasthiyadu, adding Kolombata kiri apita kekiri (Colombo is having milk and we are having kekiri).

While the schedule of daily 4-hour powers cuts enforced this week covered Sri Lanka in its entirely, from Colombo to Batticaloa and Matara to Jaffna, in the case of Colombo, it was stated in the schedule as maximum possible self-generation. What it means wasnt explained but many Colombo city residents confirmed that they appear to belong to a privileged class by being exempt from power cuts.

While most Sri Lankans were not upset over the power cuts given the acute drought and erratic weather patterns, they were furious over Colombo being given power while the rest of the country was in darkness.

Rather than put their heads together and jointly work out a solution, the political leadership and state entities, meanwhile, were daggers drawn against each other revelling in a blame game which often plagues Sri Lanka during a crisis. Solar power producers blamed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for delaying several solar power project approvals; the CEB blamed it on someone else; the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) blamed the CEB for unscheduled power cuts and vowed to take action; and the President blamed the clash between PUC and the CEB for the crisis. Power Minister Ravi Karunanayake promised a resolution of the crisis before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said a solution was being worked out expeditiously.

As I prepared to write my copy focusing on the power cuts, the phone rang. It was Karapincha Perera, the tea-kade gossip, on the line.

I-shay.all the politicians and officials are blaming each other and passing the buck but no one has apologised to the country for these power cuts. Even Ravis apology was very feeble, he said, settling in for a long conversation on the power crisis.

You are right, the political leadership must take responsibility for this, I said.

Furthermore, its unfair why Colombo city is exempt from power cuts while the rest of the country has to suffer in silence and darkness, he said, adding: I hope someone complains to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) on unjust, unfair and discriminatory power cuts or even file a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court because it violates a citizens right to equality.

We then continued for a long time until I cut him short saying that I had to complete my column before the crippling power cuts.

In this day and age of new technology and rapid progress in the use of renewable energy against the traditional hydro power generation, why hasnt Sri Lanka found the right mix of power generation, but is still relying to a large extent on hydro power which packs up whenever there is a drought? It has been reported that the authorities didnt want to rely too much on hydro power generation as water was required for farming purposes. Efforts to resort to artificial rain  spraying chemicals in the clouds  didnt work on the second day, after it worked on the first day, with showers experienced over the Moussakelle reservoir in Maskeliya last week. The experiment was then called off.

Be that as it may, the Governments much touted solar power generation plan has also run into a storm of protests from potential solar power producers, who this week complained of inordinate delays in getting their projects approved.

The Solar Industries Association (SIA) accused the authorities of delaying approvals for nearly 600 applications and urged that these be fast-tracked which would largely help to reduce dependency on hydro power, particularly during a drought.

At a news conference, the SIA reportedly said that close to 600 applications for solar power plants, which would have added an estimated 1,480 MW to the national grid, had been delayed. It is clear, given the weather issues we are facing now, that the CEB is struggling to provide uninterrupted power. The seriousness of this situation could have been reduced if the Government had rolled out the promised solar power projects and given approvals for applications that have been pending for about four years, SIA Secretary Lakmal Fernando had said, according to media reports.

The demand-versus-supply generation is a perennial problem and calls for immediate action given the increasing demand. According to the Central Banks 2017 annual report, total power generation recorded slower growth in 2017 of 3.7 per cent compared to 8.1 per cent growth in 2016. Furthermore, hydropower generation contracted by 12.1 per cent in 2017, compared to 29 per cent contraction in 2016, due to the prolonged drought that prevailed in the catchment areas. Yet-to-be released data in 2018 would also show slower growth in power generation in 2018 which means the authorities have known for many years that the energy generated is insufficient to meet demand and calls for urgent solutions and increasing renewable energy options.

According to official data, the total installed power generation capacity of the country in 2017 was 4,043 MW, consisting of 900 MW of coal power, 1,215 MW of thermal power, 1,720 MW of hydropower and 208 MW of non-conventional renewable energy sources such as wind, mini-hydro, biomass and solar power plants. In 2017, the PUC reportedly approved the Lowest Cost Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan with the aim of ensuring energy security and according to this plan, 240 MW of major hydro, 215 MW of mini-hydro, 1,380 MW of solar, 1,205 MW of wind power and 4,800 MW of LNG were to be added to the installed capacity between 2018 and 2037. However, these plans have been stalled due to clashes between the CEB and the regulator (PUC).

During the crippling power cuts in the 1990s, some residents fixed solar power units in their homes which were sufficient to light up three bulbs and a fan while the crisis triggered calls for a proper power generation plan. Today, many homes have solar power but since it is connected to the national grid, it cannot be used independently and, accordingly, such homes also suffer power cuts.

Before winding up (to also beat the impending power cuts at home), one needs to ask the question: Will someone file a complaint with the HRC or a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court over unjust and unfair power cuts being arbitrarily imposed? I hope someone does!

Sri Lankans have always been willing to brace themselves to face any crisis and the power crisis is nothing new. What they are fuming about is why the citizenry out of Colombo are being treated in one way and those in Colombo in another. Are those outside Colombo lesser citizens?A most wanted man View(s):

My dear Arjuna,

I thought I must write to you because you seem to be always in the news, even when you are not in the country and nowhere to be found. You have even caused a dispute between our Paradise and the country which once wanted to be like us, but is the country that we want to be now  Singapore.

It was only a few years ago that the signatures of you and your friend, Bond Ravi, were on currency notes that we all used. Bond Ravi hasnt done so badly  he is back in the team after spending some time in the dog house, but you have become a fugitive with an Interpol Red Notice issued on you.

We know all about how someone should be presumed innocent until they are proven guilty in a court of law  and you havent been found guilty yet. However, if you are indeed innocent of what you are accused of, the big question is why you are not coming forward and defending yourself in courts.

You could even go before the big court, file a fundamental rights application and ask for an order that prevents you from being arrested  that seems to be the fashion these days. If you dont know how, you can always ask Wasantha or Gota  and you can certainly afford to hire Romesh as your counsel!

We are wondering who is responsible for your actions. We all know that you were appointed only because the Green Man insisted on you. In fact, he wanted to re-appoint you too. However, he now says he is not responsible for that and that it was Aiyo Sirisena who signed your appointment letter!

You have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of your whereabouts, although everyone seems to think you are in Singapore which, after all, is your home country. That is now escalating into a spat between the two countries, with Aiyo Sirisena opening his mouth and putting both his feet firmly in.

Aiyo Sirisena told us some time ago, when he was about to visit Singapore, that he would be asking to extradite you. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that. On his return, he proudly boasted that he had made the request from their PM  and he thought you would be on the next flight to Colombo.

That was many months ago and we havent heard anything about you being sent back. Aiyo Sirisena probably didnt realise that Singapores PM was just like our PM  he would have promised to do so and said salakala balannam or words to that effect, and conveniently forgotten about it thereafter.

Now, running out of slogans as he prepares to run again for office, and running out of partners after Mahinda maama and the pohottuwa chaps have told him in no uncertain terms that they wont be supporting him, Aiyo Sirisena has blamed Singapores PM and his officials for not deporting you.

Aiyo Sirisena wouldnt have counted on someone in Singapore to respond to it. Unfortunately for him, they did, saying that they havent received the documentation that was required to send you back. We are left wondering as to who is speaking sense and who is not  though the answer is quite obvious.

That is because Aiyo Sirisena himself says that he does not know what is going on. Only the other day, he was lamenting that our position in Geneva was decided without his knowledge. Poor chap, he goes to sleep at ten oclock and finds out what is going on in the next days newspapers!

You need to be careful, Arjuna. Aiyo Sirisena is quite hurt that he wont be on a joint ticket with the pohottuwa and we all know that hell hath no fury like a Sirisena scorned. So, he will use your issue to lash out at the Greens and try to get the courts to go after Gota to stop him from contesting.

You must be biding your time until the next opportunity arises. Now, you should not rely on Bond Ravi. Instead of having his powers cut when he was found to have rented a million-rupees-a-month apartment from your son-in-law, he has now been given the job of being in charge of power cuts!

Even if you never set foot on our soil again, Arjuna, you can rest assured that your place in history is assured. That is for destroying, along with Bond Ravi, the great hope that people had when they chose the Greens four years ago  and it is a close fight as to whom among the two of you contributed more!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: I think you missed a trick to get out of the mess you are in, Arjuna. Aiyo Sirisena said in an interview during the crisis he created late last year that he couldnt get 113 MPs to support Mahinda maama because their price had gone up to Rs500,000,000 each. Had you offered some of that bond money at that time, you would have been a free man by now!Colombata kiri, apita kekiri View(s):

As Sri Lanka suffers from extraordinary heat, the Governments decision to impose nation-wide power cuts excepting Colombo city and other privileged locations where parliamentarians reside, speaks not only to its witless actions in respect of a major crisis but also imputes a selectiveness that has deadly import in an election year.

A Government that cannot govern?

Tellingly, a disgruntled householder in Chilaw exclaimed this week when asked for her reactions by a television, power and water are two basic things that a government is supposed to supply to its people. If it cannot do even that, then what use is it? Hardships due to decreased water levels in the reservoirs and the absence of rain are natural and indeed annual occurrences that we ought to be prepared for during these months. But instead of a national sustainable energy policy comprising renewable power solutions as an important part thereof, the public has to suffer major corruption in state bodies responsible for energy generation that goes unchecked and bickering public servants who are as bad as politicians in foisting the blame on each other.

Meanwhile imbecilic political statements offering short term solutions are rife. This week, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that Temple Trees would be powered by generators, which example ought to be followed by others. So is the private supply of power the answer to a brazen political failure to initiate additional power production facilities or solar powered alternatives during the past few years and to tackle the well known power mafia in the country? The lack of transparency and accountability on the part of officials in the energy sector is well established.

Neither is the public interested in politicians cackling over each others failures as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa did a few days ago when he said (wrongly) that the country did not have to undergo electricity crises during his time. In his time, as we may recall, persistent allegations of gargantuan corruption as well as environmental protests dogged the construction of the Norochcholai Power Plant which was also subjected to constant breakdowns after its commencement in 2011, one very recently. As in the case of the Rajapaksa-initiated Uma Oya project with Iran which resulted criminally in the drying up of water sources in Bandarawela, sub-standard material had been used in the construction of Norochcholai with the full knowledge of former Ministers fattened by massive commissions, as alleged at the time but with those responsible not being hauled to court.

Questions that have larger import in an election year

On top of the political swindling of the public coffers which is bad enough, there is additional inequity this time around. Colombo and other privileged areas are exempted from power cuts imposed on other locations, supposedly on the basis of optimal self-generation. This begs the question as to how many state or private/household units in the capital are indeed powered by electricity for their own use, either through generators or by a third-party under a power-supply contract? On the other hand, if the logic is that Colombo should not suffer power cuts due to impact on city-based businesses and industry, reduced power cuts could be imposed. But why should the capital be exempted from otherwise nation-wide power cuts altogether?

Ironically, the less than equals who are financially hit by the power cuts pay taxes and contribute to the public coffers far more diligently than rascally high earners in Colombo most culpable in evading taxes or parliamentarians who squander public funds but do not attend parliamentary sessions for the budget vote. So in the name of all that is holy, why are selected suburbs in which Ministers and politicians live, also exempted? These questions have a larger import, impacting negatively on the Government in an election year.

There is a terse saying among rural folk to the effect that it is always, Colombata kiri, apita kekiri, which loosely translates to declaring that state policies invariably privilege Colombo, giving the city milk while others get the sour kekiri (snake cucumber). What is happening now is precisely that, shamelessly and without pretense. This taps into and reinforces the image of the governing United National Party (UNP) as elitist, particularly under its present leadership which is demonized, fairly or unfairly by that label. This is deadly imagery which the Government, the Prime Minister and a largely incompetent Cabinet should take heed of.

Imbecilic utterances by Ministers

These inequities cannot be explained away by graceful apologies issued by Minister of Power and Energy, Ravi Karunanayake or indeed, by his promising that power cuts will not be imposed during the New Year, next month. These are sops thrown to the populace, scornfully recognised as such. And the Minister may be well advised not to add insult to palpable injury by nonchalantly asking angry citizens to keep two lights switched off in their houses to preserve electricity.

This statement is somewhat akin to the Rajapaksa-era Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardena saying that a family of three could have three square meals and two cups of tea a day for Rs.2500 a month. This asinine assertion was mocked for years thereafter. Similarly, the Power and Energy Ministers injunction to householders will be added to the peoples encyclopedia of stupid political sayings, to be jeered at in perpetuity.

But deadly bumbling of yahapalanaya politicians have an additional edge by buttressing the perception that this is a Government which has no thought for the common citizen. While the UNP may justifiably crow about winning the constitutional battle last year, a formidable electoral battle lies ahead. The gains of defeating that unconstitutional capture of power by the Rajapaksas are all but frittered away now, with the opposition skillfully capitalising on popular fury, intensified by the former Presidents brother symbolising the strong man solution to yahapalanaya ills. These are not matters to be complacent about.

Continuing of brainless bumbling

Meanwhile, the Governments brainless bumbling continues with the expenditure heads of two Ministries (Megapolis and Home Affairs) being defeated in Parliament as Government parliamentarians were not present in the House when the vote was called. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe airily brushed off this astonishing lapse by saying that the expenditure heads will be presented again and that the Government will not collapse.

On the contrary, that collapse is inevitable if not right now, then in the looming polls if yahapalanaya absurdities continue. The larger question is about the accountability of the government given the huge amount of public funds expended on maintaining the House. Presence of the government members on the floor of the House when the quorum bells are rung during the budget debate is the minimum. The consequent resignation of the assistant chief government whip is a footnote. Far sterner measures need to be evidenced in regard to absent and errant parliamentarians. But doubtless, that will not happen.

As each Government succeeds the other, with one set of corrupt rascals safeguarding their equally corrupt predecessors, kekiri-eating citizens must suffer. This seems to be the unfortunate story of a Dhammadeepa which has become anything but the isle of the blessed.President gets wide publicity for war on drugs and fresh initiatives on probing Central Bank bond scam

AGs Dept. to present new report to courton charges against former CB governor Mahendran to expedite extradition moves

UNP quiet on its candidate for presidency, but speculation about Karu and Sajith

With just six months to go for the presidential election, President Maithripala Sirisena caused strong ripples in political circles this week by urging the Police, which comes under his purview, to step up investigations into the four-year-old Central Bank bond racket.

This is after he found that Police action taken so far since the alleged offence was committed was slow moving. Action in respect of three persons produced in the Fort Magistrates Court has been limited to reports presented only last year, he learnt.

This is in respect of Arjuna Mahendran, former Governor of the Central Bank, Arjun Joseph Aloysius of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd., and Kasun Oshada Palisena of the same company. The complainant is Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy,

This situation, a source close to the Presidency said, was one of the primary causes why Sri Lanka was unable to provide comprehensive details which the Singapore government had sought for the extradition of Arjuna Mahendran. President Sirisena made the request directly from Singapore Premier Li Hsieng Loong when he met him in January this year. This came during a one-on-one segment of his talks with Premier Li during a visit to take part in an environment conference sponsored by the United Nations. He handed over a dossier on Mahendrans alleged involvement in the bond scam to Premier Li.

When there was no response, President Sirisena just days earlier, publicly hit out at the Singapore government for not heeding his request. The occasion was the launch of a campaign by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. It was to counter bribery and corruption. Sirisena complained that Singapore had not heeded his request despite an appeal at the highest level.

Singapore, however, rejected the accusation. A spokesperson for Singapores Foreign Affairs Ministry was quoted by reputed news agencies as saying that they were co-operating with Sri Lankan counterparts. However, Sri Lankas request to return Mahendran lacked certain information required under Singapores extradition laws and they have requested Colombo to provide it, said the spokesperson. He added that we look forward to receiving the requested information from Sri Lanka, so that we can consider the request further in accordance with our laws. That now seems to be happening.

Ahead of President Sirisenas request, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando had through diplomatic channels sought the extradition of Arjuna Mahendran from authorities there. Since then, there have been exchanges between Colombo and Singapore. The source said recently the Singapore Attorney General Lucien Wong had sought information on Arjuna Mahendran in respect of the:

Warrant of arrest issued by competent authorities in Sri Lanka.

The number of charges, the details and particulars of each charge and the corresponding provisions of the law applying to each charge.

Witness deposition (e.g. from the Prosecutor, Investigator and all relevant witnesses) setting out the evidence in support of alleged offences.

Copies of exhibits (e.g. charge sheets, the criminal complaints and other documentary evidence).

Documents of information enabling the identification of the fugitive (e.g. fingerprint records, passport details, photographs, INTERPOL red notices)

Detailed statement of facts setting out the offences levelled against the fugitive.

This has now activated the Attorney Generals Department in Colombo. Anytime now, it will file a more comprehensive report in the Fort Magistrates Court bearing in mind the issues raised by the Singapore Attorney General. It is also expected to contain more new details arising from new findings, as a stepped-up investigation is under way.

They have widened the investigations after President Sirisenas directive. Criminal Investigation Department detectives last week arrested the Central Banks former Deputy Governor Pathirage Samarasiri, Perpetual Treasuries Private Limited (PTL) Chairman Geoffrey Aoloysius, its directors Pushpamitra Gunawardena, Chitta Ranjan Hulugalle and Muthuraja Surendran. They were remanded till April 5 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne.

Deputy Solicitor General Haripriya Jayasundara told court that the suspects had committed offences of aiding, abetting, conspiring on several counts under Section 56 of the registered Stocks and Securities Ordinance Act and violated the Public Property Act. Deputy Solicitor General Jayasundara alleged that the Central Banks former Deputy Governor had aided and abetted this action by following the instructions given by the Central Banks then Governor Arjuna Mahendran, while serving as the Chairman of the Tender Board for the issuance of Treasury Bonds at the time of the scam on February 27, 2015. Matters arising from the new arrests are also to be included in the updated report Police will file. This is expected to provide a comprehensive picture to Singapore authorities, Police said.

President Sirisena has learnt that reports filed before the Fort Magistrate in respect of the three accused in the bond scam had been only until late 2018. The last one in August 2018 has noted that the three suspects have committed an offence punishable under clause 5.1 of the Public Property Act amended in 1988 and 1999. According to this provision, Any person who dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use any movable public property or commits the offence of criminal breach of trust of any movable public property shall be guilty of an offence and shall upon conviction be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not less than one year but not exceeding twenty years, and with a fine of one thousand rupees or three times the value of the property in respect of which such offence was committed, whichever amount is higher.

The report filed before the Fort Magistrates Court late last year on implementation of (court) orders from the commencement of the case on February 2, 2018 to August 9, 2018 contains the developments during that period. Some of the highlights:

A Red Notice has been issued on the first suspect Lakshman Arjuna Mahendran effective from April 19, 2018 on a request to the International Police (INTERPOL) by the CID through the National Central Bureau (located in the CID headquarters). The suspect was living in Singapore.

The Headquarters of the International Police (INTERPOL) sought the following information on April 27, 2018 from the National Central Bureau. 1. Is the Red Notice to be implemented regarding further investigations or have charges been filed against him? 2. If charges have not been filed, is there provision for extradition under Sri Lankan laws? 3. If information about his present whereabouts is available, is there an extradition treaty with that particular country? 4. Has there been a request for extradition? 5. Has there been a request for extradition based on agreements signed on co-operation in combatting crime?

A report containing legal advice provided by the Attorney Generals Department to the CID on May 22, 2018 has been directed to the international police on May 23, 2018. Also, the Director, CID by letter dated May 28, 2018 requested the Attorney General to take legal action for extradition. Accordingly, the AGs Department has said it is in the process of taking steps in this regard. On August 16, 2018, an e-mail was received from the Secretariat to the Commission for the control of INTERPOLs files to the CID and the first suspect has sought the following documents from them:

a. He is wanted for Criminal Breach of Trust, Criminal Misappropriation on the basis of arrest warrant issued on March 15, 2018 by the Magistrate.

b. The maximum penalty possible is seven years imprisonment.

c. The summary of the facts to the case.

d. A copy of the arrest warrant.

They have also asked if the CID has any objections in releasing the above information to the suspect. The AGs Department had replied that there were no obstacles in releasing copies to the first suspect. CID made arrangements to send the files to the Secretariat to the Commission for the control of INTERPOLS files

Early this month, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana told Parliament that the INTERPOL had issued two different Red Notices. They had been served to the Singapore government but it had not acted on them. That governments position has since been clear. Singapore has said that the material given to it to make a decision was inadequate.

The Police report also notes that on February 2, 2018, the Magistrates Court ordered Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy to submit a detailed a report about Perpetual Treasuries Ltd (PTL) transferring part of the illegally obtained funds to third parties and transferring parts of the funds directly or indirectly to persons or institutions which provided sensitive information. However, it says in the records filed on August 9, 2018 in keeping with the Court order, the reports have not been handed over completely.

Thereafter, the Court ordered the lawyers representing the Director or/and Chairman Jeffrey Joseph Aloysius of (i) Perpetual Treasuries Ltd  (ii) Perpetual Capital Holdings Private Ltd  (iii) Perpetual Asset Management  (iv) Perpetual Capital Private Limited 

The report points out that If the CID is in the possession of the requested documents, it would be able to send a person or persons who have the knowledge to retrieve the documents to the CID That appears to have been done. The report said that the Chairman of Perpetual Treasuries Jeffrey Aloysius (later) collected 174 files from the CID. Their attorney together with Jeffrey Aloysius collected 199 documents related to Perpetual Capital Holding Pvt. Ltd and 79 documents of Perpetual Asset Management.

In recommending the impounding of passports of two accused (including Arjuna Aloysius), the report notes that the losses caused by the Central Bank bond scam have had an impact on the national economy and thereby the cost of living has risen affecting the people. It also cautions that there could be public disquiet as these offences have caused public unpleasantness.

Drug detections

This new development, four years after the bond scandal, is sure to have its own political repercussions at the upcoming presidential election. On the one hand, President Sirisena has launched a major drive against drug abuse and illicit liquor. Commendably various arms of the Police are unearthing drugs almost on a daily basis and bringing out a variety of nom de guerre of the operators. Yet, a question that begs answer is whether the quantities they claim to unearth are as high as they project them to be. This is particularly in the light of such findings often not being attributed to anyone. If such a situation is allowed to continue, there will come a time when Sri Lankans would have used more drugs than they have eaten potatoes in a month. Among the reasons are the rivalry between agencies to show one is doing better than the other.

Many weeks ago, the media were made to believe that Makandure Madush, the drug king pin, was arrested in Dubai following a joint raid by the local and Dubai Police. It turned out to be fake news. Of course, there is no worry when it comes to much bigger detections. Whatever agency that makes the detection, standing before the polythene sachets containing cocaine or any such substance, is the Police spokesperson, Ruwan Gunasekera. Previous spokespersons who faced television and still cameras gained enough recognition to contest parliamentary elections but did not win. Is this not a case of one Police officer taking the credit for the hard work of a number of them? Surely, would not the showing of the detection itself have a better impact for the Police Department? Another serious danger is the Cabinet of Ministers approving questionable surveillance equipment to detect drug abuse. There are widespread fears that they would transcend fundamental freedoms and privacy of citizens. As one senior Police officer remarked, in trying to fight a menace, they are creating another one. He argued that other than the intelligence that was sometimes lacking, what was required was to take a good look at how the system worked. Drug lords use vast sums of money to buy influence and that covers corrupt investigators too, he said. Ironically, there has been no close study of such procurements by those in the know.

There is little doubt that the war against drugs will find a place in the presidential election campaign that will be launched by President Sirisena. A jewel in the crown for this campaign will be the stepped-up investigations into the Central Bank bond racket and making a reality the return of former Governor Arjuna Mahendran to face charges. Now that President Sirisena is working on providing the answers to questions raised by the Singapore government, the efforts have gained more than a little credibility. More so, when the details they have sought for the extradition of Arjuna Mahendran are being met. They cannot be seen to be protecting a fugitive.

Presidential election hopes

The launch of an election campaign by Sirisena raises an all-important question. Though his dilemma is widely known  that he will not be a candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) or its allies  he appears still hopeful. According to sources close to the presidency, Sirisena made clear to his confidants that he had no plans to resurrect the national government formed in 2015. That would now be obvious since he has widened the investigations into the Central Bank bond racket. He has also made clear to his confidants that he would not allow any Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians to accept portfolios in the United National Front (UNF) government-led by the UNP.

That stance itself isolates President Sirisena from any further links with the UNF though he did lean towards it in the days ahead of the budget vote on the Presidency and Ministries under him.

It was like the last straw that broke the camels back. President Sirisena appears to be piqued by the stance the UNF took over issues on Sri Lanka before the UN Human Rights Council. His ire was particularly over not being kept informed that Sri Lanka was co-sponsoring a second resolution together with a core group. They were Britain, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The resolution called for the implementation of matters remaining from a 2015 resolution (30/1). Among other matters, it included the setting up of hybrid courts to probe alleged war crimes by troops and Tiger guerrillas. President Sirisena has also publicly declared that he did not recognise the latest resolution. His position is that the troops did not commit war crimes though Tiger guerrillas did so.

It is now very clear that during the one-on-one meeting Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa had with Sirisena on Monday (March 11), he did not discuss the question of a candidate for the presidential election. This perhaps rekindled hopes in Sirisena that prospects still remain.

That is why, the SLFPs National Media Committee Secretary Thilanga Sumathipala, had a brief from Sirisena. A close ally, he was called upon by Sirisena to set out the SLFP position on many recent developments at a news conference on Tuesday.

Talking of a presidential candidate, Sumathipala said, We expect that the two parties (the SLFP and the SLPP) would join together and submit one candidate.

If that indeed is President Sirisenas position, which is the case, the prospects are zero. As revealed in these columns last week, the SLPP and its allies have agreed to back Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Defence Secretary. The move has also won the blessings of the family. This is why, as also revealed in these columns, Gotabaya Rajapaksa handed in documents to the US Embassy in Colombo on March 6 to renounce his citizenship. He has, however, taken back only his passport to travel to Los Angeles and left Colombo last Tuesday night. He has learnt that his papers have now been sent to Washington for processing by the different state agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department.

Last Tuesday, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the de facto leader of the SLPP, albeit the Joint Opposition, told a group of media personnel that he would select a presidential candidate who could win. He said an announcement would be made soon after the UNF makes known who its candidate is. This makes clear that a formal official announcement of an opposition candidate will not be made immediately. As reported in these columns last week, it is expected to be in either May or June.

Sources close to Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he had retained a law firm headed by a naturalised Indian national. This firm has been monitoring matters relating to his US citizenship in a bid to expedite the application to renounce it. That is by making available any material the US administration may require. Gotabaya Rajapaksas US visit is not without widespread speculation in Colombo over moves for a Sri Lankan to file action against Rajapaksa in US courts. This is not a political process and is strictly procedural in keeping with the US laws, the source said adding that political moves will find no place.

Another issue on which Sumathipala wanted the SLFP position made clear was last weeks talks for the formation of a common alliance with SLPP and its allies. He claimed that the two parties came to an understanding on 20 points we discussed.

We decided to discuss it with our leadership. On the other hand, the SLPP contested this claim. An SLPP source who did not wish to be identified said it is true we discussed the 20 points relating policy on various issues, but at no point did we reach an understanding on all of them. This is misleading.

Sumathipala also confirmed what President Sirisena told his confidants. We have no need to get back to a national government. We have not taken such a decision. We left such a government on October 26. We have resolved not to go back.

There were also contradictions in some of Sumathipalas remarks which were aimed at reflecting President Sirisenas position as SLFP leader. He said that the SLFP had taken a policy decision to refrain from voting during the second reading of the budget in Parliament. If we defeated the budget, the Presidents allocations would have been halted. As a party we took a decision to support, he said. However, the SLPP, whose members are in the parliamentary group with those in the SLFP, had a different story. They accused the SLFP of reneging on its promise, made at a parliamentary group meeting, to vote against the budget. President Sirisena had been absent from this meeting. SLPPers alleged that in the afternoon of the day of voting Sirisena had asked his MPs to vote for the budget. It was, as claimed, to prevent funds not being allocated to the presidency or ministries coming under it.

Sumathipalas remarks voicing Sirisenas latest position are clearly aimed at appeasing the SLPP. How much of an impact it would have on them, particularly in the wake of its accusations of many promises being given and broken thereafter, remains a critical question.

This is not altogether lost on President Sirisena. He has summoned a meeting of his SLFP parliamentarians for Tuesday night (April 2) to discuss a gamut of issues. An important one is the position the party would take when the final voting on the budget is due on Friday (April 5). This will be a key factor for the SLPP to decide on the future of the proposed common alliance. In fact, the next round of talks has been fixed for April 10 to enable the SLPP and its allies to determine whether they should go ahead or not. Either way, President Sirisena finds himself in a political dilemma.

Crisis in the SLFP

The SLFP which he heads is facing the threat of being divided in the middle. Sirisena, in fact, had a meeting with his onetime predecessor and former SLFP leader, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. He drove to her official residence in Torrington Square on March 12. Though no details of the discussion are known, it is said to centre on the SLFP and its future. A section of the party is locked in back-channel talks with the UNP. Another group is doing the same with the SLPP whilst a smaller number is backing Sirisena. The latter are urging Sirisena, in an eventuality, to become the SLFP candidate for the presidency. They say he had public support since he had waged war against drugs, bribery and corruption.

In the UNP, which leads the UNF, the question of a presidential candidate is yet to become a hot topic of discussion. That is not to say there is little interest. Other developments have given rise to wild speculation whether there would be other claimants for the candidature. One such instance is the possible emergence of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. He has already been conferred the title Sasana Keerthi Sri Deshabimani by the Malwatte Chapter.

He was deluged with telephone calls some asking him whether he would be the presidential candidate. This was particularly after newspaper supplements on the award drew widespread public attention. I will only accept such a candidature if my leader and the party ask me to, he replied.

UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa also won a title days later. His title is Sasana Deepana Abimani Sri Lanka Jana Ranjana from the Malwatte Chapter. His award was also accompanied by newspaper supplements praising the honour. The two titles of honour, at least politically, placed them on the same level.

As is known, a decision on who the partys presidential candidate will have to be made by the UNPs Working Committee, the main policy making body. In accordance with the party constitution, the larger majority in the Committee are those named by the party leader.

This weeks political developments underscore greater significance in many respects. The widened investigations into the Central Bank bond racket are sure to snowball into the political spectrum and even become a campaign issue at the presidential election. President Sirisenas own political future is getting more defined though how he will contest the presidential election remains a question. Even if he does not get the backing of the SLPP and its allies, he is laying the groundwork to fight it out alone with a list of his own achievements. For the UNF leader, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, becoming the official candidate is becoming imperative as the party is now set to gear its grassroots level machinery. After a lull in the Avurudhu season, the political tempo will rise. The question is whether the contestants are ready.Stinging defeat on 2 key ministries leaves Govt. with more egg on its face By Sandun Jayawardana View(s): View(s):

The United National Front (UNF) Government this week was left with egg on its face after suffering a stinging defeat to two key Ministries during the Committee Stage debate of Budget 2019  not the first time during the past few months.

The humiliating defeat of Expenditure Heads of the Ministry of Internal & Home Affairs and Provincial Councils & Local Government and the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development exposed an appalling level of complacency on the part of the UNF and total disregard of its MPs to follow instructions from its leadership to be present in Parliament during the Budget debate, especially at voting time.

The operation to defeat the Expenditure Heads of the two ministries was successfully carried out by the Joint Opposition faction of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). On Friday, gleeful UPFA MPs were calling for the resignations of Provincial Councils Minister Vajira Abeywardena and Megapolis Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The UNF claimed that the UPFA faction had violated an informal agreement reached at a Party Leaders Meeting not to have a vote taken during the Committee Stage debate of the Budget. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Friday, acknowledged that the Government had to bear responsibility for the fiasco as it did not have enough MPs in the chambers to prevail during the vote.

The defeat did prompt the resignation of UNP MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe from his post as Assistant Chief Government Whip. In his resignation letter to Premier Wickremesinghe, Prof. Marasinghe said he was shocked by the defeats of the Heads of Expenditure and that he decided to take responsibility and resign.

That the Government was caught napping was amply demonstrated by the fact that less than 20 of its MPs were present in the chamber when UPFA MP Ranjith de Zoysa suddenly rose to ask for a division on several Expenditure Heads of the Ministry of Internal & Home Affairs and Provincial Councils & Local Government on Thursday evening. At the time, the House had already passed a number of Expenditure Heads of the same Ministry unanimously without amendments.

Quorum bells were sounded and dozens of JO MPs emerged. Though UNF MPs frantically tried to contact any of their fellow members who were near Parliament, Head of Expenditure Number 260 of the Ministry was soon defeated by a majority of 18 votes, with 38 voting against and just 20 voting in favour.

Thereafter, the UPFA asked for a division on all remaining Expenditure Heads of the Ministry. Accordingly, Expenditure Heads 261-319 and 321 were defeated by 38 votes to 23.

All Expenditure Heads of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development were then defeated by 38 votes to 24.

Two Tamil National Alliance MPs supported the Government. No JVP MPs or SLFP MPs affiliated to President Maithripala Sirisena were present.

Earlier, during the debate on the Provincial Councils Ministry itself, the Government came under flak over its failure to hold the PC elections for more than 18 months. UPFA MP Dullas Alahapperuma also took issue with the TNA for not raising its voice strongly over the issue, noting that the PCs were established under the 13th Amendment with the aim of making the Tamil people stakeholders in the political process.

TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, though, stressed that his party was in complete agreement with the JO that the PC elections should be held as soon as possible. He pointed out that there could be no democratic governance unless elections were held and representatives elected to the PCs to establish provincial administration. Minister Vajira Abeywardena said issues over the new electoral system and delimitation were the cause of the delay.

Parliament this week also debated the Expenditure Heads of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Ministry of Women & Child Affairs and Dry Zone Development, the Ministry of Highways & Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development and Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development.

In what appeared to be a retaliatory move aimed at showing its strength in numbers, the Government on Friday evening asked for a vote on the Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Highways & Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development.

The Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development was passed without a division. Friday was the 14th of 19 days allotted to the Committee Stage debate of the Budget. A final vote on the Third Reading will be taken on April 5.What are the Charms What are the charms That sages see in solitudes arms; If they can be, like me, Betwixt the wine and dance Enthralled in your arms: Marooned in an isle of trance Where beneath the hanging palms; The shores awash with scented balm; And upon its wave rinsed whitened sand, To the sounding beat of the roaring deep, With moonlight gently filtering through Sweet clouds swept by an eastward flow, With you, forever, To wake and sleep; And know the worlds but ours to keep. Twin souls made one by fate and time, No distance know, inseparate blow; Its born, it blooms, it lives in love; And dies in solitudes soulless cove.

New feathers make fine birds President Sirisena announced on Thursday his latest plan to improve the efficiency of the Lanka Police Force: To rearm them with a new uniform. He said he will hold discussions with the relevant parties to introduce a more suitable police uniform replacing the Khaki uniform that is being currently used.

He said that in order to change the negative impression of the Police service that is prevailing among the public he would take initiatives to make internal changes within the Police service. Wish it was so simple. That one could with one brush stroke paint a new hue on the long arm of the law and make its reach far more efficient. That the negative impression of the police could be changed overnight by replacing the colonial khaki with perhaps a more positive blue.

And, by the way, has he thought of the cost the public will have to bear for this changing of the colours? Even if he doesnt ask, perhaps, someone should tell him. And learn from that old adage that when it is not necessary to change something, it is necessary not to change it. UNP punished for scooting from Parliament Shortly after Ranil Wickremesinghe became prime minister on January 9, 2015, he issued an edict to his own party members. He said that strict action would be taken against those who did not attend Parliament. No excuses would be tolerated, he said. No plea that one had to attend a funeral or sign as a witness at a wedding would be acceptable. Parliamentary attendance was mandatory, no excuses spared. In the manner of his old school motto Learn or Depart, his new dictum was Attend or Get Out. Sadly, his best intentions to instil discipline and a sense of public responsibility into his party members seem to have fallen by the wayside after four years of being cottoned in comfort. And this Thursday, as a result of this No Action, Talk only policy, the votes on the budget expenditure for three UNP ministries were defeated by 24 votes for and 38 votes against. Not even the Prime Minister was in attendance: Serves the UNP right for this political cockup due to its sheer complacency and nonchalance, when it comes to discharging their public duties. As the Speaker announced a few months ago, it costs Rs. 5 million a day to maintain Parliament. Plus it costs the nations taxpayers billion of bucks to keep its members amply provided for with their salaries, their duty-free vehicles which they sell overnight and make a cool killing of over Rs 30 million, not to forget a whole host of other perks and privileges including their mobile phone charges. They are only expected to attend parliament for eight days of the month and still shun this simple duty. If they happened to be in the private sector or even in any government department they would have been sacked a long long time ago. So what happened on Thursday that led to UNPs great embarrassment and tainted the birthday bash of its leader who turned seventy last Sunday and entered the House of the Aged? It was sheer complacency and laziness. Shortly before the vote was to be taken up, the opposition MPs left the chamber. The UNP MPs took the cue. They thought the remaining 24 members would suffice to get the vote through in the absence of the opposition and left the chamber to pursue their own delights of interest and enjoyments at public expense. But the opposition had done a coup. They had remained in the building and entered the chamber to vote against the expenditure proposal, leaving the UNP red faced the following day when the nation knew that the party that governs them had fallen prey to so simple an opposition trap. Its time the UNP MPs took their job and its concomitant duties more seriously. And not represent the lotus eaters of the land. Perhaps now at least, once bitten as they are, it is only to be hoped they will be twice shy to leave the chamber in a hurry, even for a leak. No English please, we are Lankans Rathane Thera says teaching kids in the international language will make them lose their national identity In 1956, when, at the behest of Sinhala nationalists, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike introduced his now widely condemned policy of Sinhala only, it served to condemn millions of Sinhalese of successive generations to an era of darkness, out of which only today they are slowly emerging. It also succeeded in effectively maintain ing the class distinctions that had prevailed during the colonial period and subjected all those who learnt only Sinhala and knew no English to second class status. Their brethren of the upper classes who spoke the Queens English stole an easy march over them even though their educational qualifications were minimal. Millions of Sinhala youth found themselves at a bottleneck when it came to occupying top posts both in the government and private sector. It has taken many long years for the nation to realise the folly of Bandaranaikes Sinhala only policy and having learnt from that grievous error has begun a clamour to learn the international language  the window and door to greater opportunities and access to the accumulated knowledge of all mankind. Now along comes a monk to turn the tide back and return the nation to the dark ages. And turn its people back to being frogs in the well. On March 15, addressing parliament during the committee stage debate on the budget, the National List MP, Venerable Athuraliye Ratana Thera, said Sri Lanka is currently following a concept which is not followed in any other country of providing primary education in another language other than the childs mother tongue. He gave a new twist as well. It will make them less patriotic, they will not be citizens of this country then, he said. If a child is given a primary education in a language other than his or her mother tongue, that child would not be a citizen of that country, he declared without a blush. It was evident he had given much thought to it. Learning only ones own language in the formative years was the way to build national unity, he said. According to him, education should be a component which builds national unity. Accordingly, children in the North and the East should be provided education in Tamil, while children in other areas should be allowed to have their education in Sinhala. He further added that since the majority of Tamils and Muslims who reside in areas other than the North and the East can be provided an education in Sinhala as a majority of them are fluent in the Sinhala language. When the nations Bandaranaike policy has served only to divide the nation with disastrous consequences, the Thera is now advocating a policy that whilst Tamils in the north can be taught in Tamil, the Tamils and the Muslims should be taught in Sinhalese. The Sinhalese should be taught in Sinhala, else they would not citizens of this country. Before turning educationalist and propagating this out-of-date nationalistic policy, he should have known that many of those leaders who fought for Lankas independence learnt their subjects in the English medium, including Bandaranaike who was tutored at home by an imported teacher from Oxford. Did that make them any less citizens of this country or any less patriotic? Does the novice seven-year-old monk who learns Buddhism at the temple privena in the Pali language less of a citizen of Lanka? One thing more: Even as he gave voice to his bizarre view in Parliament, he should perhaps have paused to ponder what he was doing in a chamber of politicians, engaged in the practice of politics directly forbidden by the Buddhas disciplinary code for monks contained in the Vinaya Pitakaya. And also meditate on the fact that the Buddhas philosophy is meant to promote unity between all mankind and not diversity which leads to conflict. That for the Buddha there were no national boundaries where humans were segregated according to their place of birth but treated as one of all mankind, no matter in which land one was born. Were Geoff and Arjun given 450 acre tea estate for 8,000 bucks a month?

In the wake of Perpetual Treasuries Chairman Geoff Aloysiuss dramatic arrest by the CID on Monday morning over the bond scam affair, an alarming claim has resurfaced to shock the conscience of a nation. The claim was first published in a JVP-leaning week newspaper in 2017 but none of the mainstream media took it up. It alleges that seven months after mega billion bank robbery took place and one month after the August General election in 2015, the UNP-held Ministry of Plantations had given a 450 acre government-owned tea estate to Geoffrey Aloysius and his son Arjun to enjoy its spoils for thirty years till 2045 for a mere 8,000 bucks a month on lease.

The allegation is that on September 26, 2015, the present government signed a lease agreement with Geoffrey Joseph Aloysius and his son Arjun Aloysius granting them ownership for thirty years at a sum of Rs. 8,000 a month the state-owned 450 acre Mahakudugal Tea Estate in Kandapola. The tea estate owned by the Plantation Ministry had earlier been given to Mathurata Plantations and it is alleged that Geoffrey Aloysius had obtained it through a sub lease, even though it is further alleged, the company had no right to do so. To sign the agreement a new company called Serendipity Plantations chaired by Aloysius senior had been formed. The tea estate has two bungalows, houses for worker, a maternity home and a medical centre and also has some 19,000 valuable trees on the property. Perhaps the Plantation Ministry may wish to clarify the matter and clear the air over this otherwise seemingly shady deal and set the record straight in the public interest. SUNDAY PUNCH QUIP

The problem with political jokes is that they get elected

Henry CatesUNHRC resolution: President blasts those who bypassed him View(s):

President Maithripala Sirisena dropped a bombshell when he addressed a public meeting on Wednesday after declaring open a new building for the Meegahatenna Police Station in the Kalutara District.

He said that he did not recognise the Sri Lanka resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last week in Geneva. He has publicly declared that troops did not commit war crimes and it was the Tiger guerrillas who did so.

He said that this resolution, which was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka for a second time, had been worked out without his knowledge and that of the Foreign Ministry. Yet, a joint UNF-SLFP delegation sent by President Sirisena that was in Geneva did not oppose it and the resolution was carried unanimously. The President revealed that he had not given his consent for co-sponsoring either the 2015 resolution (30/1) or the one passed last week. The latest resolution, moved by a core group including the United Kingdom, Canada, North Macedonia and Montenegro, was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka without his approval, he said. It pledged to implement remaining provisions of resolution 30/1, including the setting up of hybrid courts to try alleged war crimes by troops and Tiger guerrillas.

The President told the public meeting that it was Mano Tittawala, Secretary General of the Secretariat Co-ordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms (SCRM), and Advisor to the Finance Ministry, who had written to Sri Lankas Permanent Representative at the UN in Geneva to co-sponsor the second resolution. It had been on the grounds that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had agreed to it.

President Sirisena bitterly criticised those responsible for the co-sponsorship saying it was done behind his back.

Raghavans conduct rocks Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministrys high officials stood aghast at the remarks made by Northern Province Governor Suren Raghavan, who was a member of the Sri Lanka delegation to the UN Human Rights Councils sessions in Geneva.

Upon his return, Mr Raghavan who was only a member, held his news conference to declare that the UN Human Rights High Commissioner had admitted to errors in the report she presented to the Council. He said that during a meeting with the delegation, she had, in fact, pulled up two officials for the errors.

The first disenchantment for the Foreign Ministry came when they learnt of the Northern Governors remarks. A senior Foreign Ministry official said if indeed there were any comments on the meeting, it should have been made by the delegation or the Foreign Ministry. They pointed out that Mr Raghavan was only a member.

More was to come. UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelot, in an official statement, denied the remarks made by Mr Raghavan and described them as a spin.

What did Mr Raghavan do? This time, he claimed he was misquoted by the media and heaped praise on High Commissioner Bachelot and the work she is doing. Does that mean he is now endorsing her report? So, it seems, at least for the veterans in the Foreign Ministry. A little knowledge, they say, is a dangerous thing. More so when fake stories are spread to gain exposure and later blame it on the media when they misfire.

Free chopper ride for critic of presidency

He is a known critic of the Presidency and all that comes under it. He would not only wax eloquent in Parliament but also put down all his frustrations on paper. However, Udaya Gammanpila, the leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya and parliamentarian, did not hesitate to grab a free offer  a helicopter ride from Colombo to Galle this week.

It was offered to him by President Maithripala Sirisena who was attending a ceremony connected with the re-development of the Buona Vista College to mark its 200th anniversary as it was on the verge of closure. The man behind the exercise was Sarvodaya leader A.T. Ariyaratne.

The college lies atop the picturesque Buona Vista hill, on one end of the natural harbour in Galle. A palm fringed hilly promontory juts into the sea.

One of the schools past pupils was former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. His student days were when the Maldivian dhonis arrived in the small port of Hikkaduwa with bondi halva, a sweetmeat, riya hakuru, (boilt tuna head and other parts making a thick mix for sambols) and Maldive fish. A Customs unit was stationed there then.

Even SLFP did not know about JO coup in Parliament

The operation on the floor of the House was conducted by Joint Opposition parliamentarians with such secrecy that no one knew.

They gathered outside the well of the House in small numbers giving the impression that JO members were not there in a larger group. It was well known that UNF (the government) MPs were taking things easy.

When it came to voting for the Committee Stage of the budget debate, they rushed in and voted. The votes of several sections of the Ministry of Public Administration were defeated. So were the votes of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development.

The JO members did not confide in their Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) colleagues for fear it would reach the UNF. Worse, they did not even tell the Chief Opposition Whip, Mahinda Amaraweera.

Power cuts: People scolding us and even our mothers, says Sirisena

One of the subjects of heated discussion at last Tuesdays weekly ministerial meeting was the power cut. This included the power cuts that are carried out after prior announcement and those that came without notice and shocked the people.

In his efforts to underscore the seriousness of the displeasure caused among the public, President Maithripala Sirisena, who chaired the meeting declared that in towns and villages, they were scolding government leaders and even their mothers.

However, for many decades now, the sons concerned have not been able to avert a power crisis except to blame it on the weather gods. Even most of the standby generators imported for use by key state establishments after a previous drought were not working now.

President Sirisena flew in for the ministerial meeting from Polonnaruwa. His Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) VVIP helicopter landed on the Parliament grounds from where he was driven in to the House.

Lal denies filing case against Gota in US

Lal Wickremetunga, Sri Lankas Consul General in Sydney (Australia), strongly denied speculation in political circles in Colombo that he sought to file a case in a United States Court against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The case had related to the January 2009 killing of his brother, Lasantha Wickremetunga, editor of the now defunct Sunday Leader newspaper.

Those reports are completely untrue. I have no plans to file any action in US Courts. I am awaiting the outcome of what the Sri Lankan courts would do once those responsible are indicted, he told the Sunday Times.TNA repeating history View(s):

The call by a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) legislator for foreign judges to sit on a war crimes court to prosecute, inter-alia, Sri Lankan military officers and political leaders who gave leadership to the crushing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, and a reported request for personal security for him and some of his party leaders  because they fear extremist elements in the North  must be read together.

Both have a common thread. The TNA, which for decades had a monopoly over the politics of the North is currently under pressure from within its own polity. Formed in the early 1970s by the Federal Party and the Tamil Congress (the plantation-based Ceylon Workers Congress left the coalition no sooner it joined, opposing the coalitions political agenda), the TNA leadership had complete control of the North and North-Eastern parts of the country. Its leader became the Leader of the Opposition in the national Parliament in 1977. Shortly thereafter, the fringe elements of the Northern and Eastern youth, realising they had no place in the parliamentary system, formed themselves into an armed group with the backing of foreign spy agencies. They gunned down and decimated the TNA leadership. Those who were left were forced to cringe before the AK-47-toting LTTE and recognise it as the sole representative of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The TNAs remaining leaders had to go to the Sri Lanka Government and seek personal protection by the very Police and Armed Forces they called murderers from the real murderers  the LTTE.

Is this that dark chapter of not so long ago repeating itself? Has not the new generation of TNA legislators heard the saying those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The Northern Province politics is on the boil once again. University undergrads are being pulled out onto the streets. The Northern Provincial Council did little or nothing other than passing resolutions to please the Diaspora that gave the politicians tickets to Toronto, London and Geneva. The politicians seem to know no better than beat the communal drum, peddle the hard luck story and seek sympathy from abroad.

But as we keep saying, the hands of the Diaspora and the West are short and their pockets are long when asked to translate their tears to something tangible in the form of economic investment in the North. The bulk of it has been by the much slandered Government of Sri Lanka.

One might have an element of sympathy for the TNA if it tried to bridge the North-South divide and bring about racial harmony rather than harping on sectarian issues that provoke reactions in the South. But what if the TNA fail in this? At least it can say it tried.

What the TNA might not realise is that by trying to remain politically relevant by whipping up communalism and bad-mouthing the countrys Armed Forces, the party might still be irrelevant  as it was during the reign of the fascist LTTE until the Armed Forces vanquished them and gave democratic political life a chance to blossom once again in the North and North-East  and saw the rebirth of the TNA.

Trying desperately to score points in the North  and with the Diaspora  by calling for an international war crimes tribunal cannot be taken lightly as mere political rhetoric. Talking and complaining about the lack of progress in reconciliation efforts and transitional justice, the catchword of Western nations themselves gripped with their own headaches, is one thing, but to keep repeating a call for an international war crimes tribunal is another. One might have to restrain oneself from saying what that call really amounts to, but at the least, it is perfidious.

In about a months time, it will be ten years since the LTTE putsch for a separate state was ended. The three-decade long conflict cost much more than the inflated, unverified figure of 40,000 lives lost in the last battle of the terrorist organisation. What then is the aim of the TNA other than its own political survival on its own turf? Or should the TNA still be backed as the lesser evil?

Nobody wants to invest in the North  not least the Diaspora because of the continuously simmering political climate there. TNA leaders and other heads in the North might do well to ponder why even a South Indian political leader from the Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (DMK), a party that has long shed crocodile tears and even got its cadres to commit self-immolation on behalf of their brethren in the North of Sri Lanka, prefers to invest his personal monies in a multi-billion rupee project in the deep South of Sri Lanka  not the North.

It is noteworthy that this Government has come out very categorically, and affirmatively that there will be no hybrid judicial mechanism (with international prosecutors and judges) to investigate and inquire into purported war crimes in Sri Lanka nearly ten years ago. The UN Human Rights High Commissioner has already pre-judged that there were war crimes committed when she says that the Sri Lanka Government should now refocus its efforts on fulfilling its obligations to provide justice and accountability for the grave human rights violations and abuses that took place during the conflict She has thereby already found that human rights violations and abuses took place even before any tribunal has been set up. This is the type of independent foreign adjudicators the UNHRC is pushing for.

The Foreign Minister has said that the Constitution of Sri Lanka must be amended to allow foreign judges and prosecutors to sit in local legal tribunals. The TNA is threatening to take the Armed Forces and the political leadership that saw the LTTE defeated to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Is the TNA naive to not know that Sri Lanka has not signed the Rome Statute submitting itself to the ICC and the only way to the ICC is through the UN Security Council?

So, then, whom is the TNA going to lobby  is it the five superpowers that have veto powers at the UN Security Council? Or is this just the TNA bluffing its own people  and whipping up communal fervour in the rest of the country? Either way it serves no purpose for anybody, not least the people of the North.

The wiser and more beneficial road for the TNA would be to go to Toronto, London and Geneva and ask the West  and the Diaspora to put their money where their mouths are and invest some monies in the North and North-East where there is a dire need for economic growth and the raising of the living standards of the people, and also, potential for returns on their investments.MoE to probe irregularities in school admissions View(s):

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has opened an inquiry into a series of complaints of irregularities in school admissions, including instances of bribery.

Some of the allegations of bribery are to be referred to the Bribery Commission for further investigations. A senior official said that some of the previous Principals of the respective schools had been removed on allegations of bribery, while similar allegations have cropped up again.

He said that, among the allegations are that, some of the eligible students have been eliminated in order to accommodate ineligible students. Orders have been given to the Internal Audit to conduct investigations and depending on their outcome, transfers will take effect, the official said.

He said that some of the Principals were already campaigning against their possible transfers.

The Education Times learns that one of the complaints has already been lodged with the Bribery Commission.  DWA day with Doppelgangers View(s):

Us newest Hollywood horror movie directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker, Jordon Peele of Get Out Us, is now being screened in theatres around Colombo.

Starring Lupita Nyongo, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Evan Alex, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Madison Curry, Cali Sheldon an Noelle Sheldon, the film has so far received many positive comments from critics.

After sending shockwaves across contemporary culture and setting a new standard for provocative, socially-conscious horror films with his directorial debut, Get Out, Jordan Peele has returned with this original nightmare that he wrote, directed and produced.

Set in present day along the iconic Northern California coastline, Us, from Monkeypaw Productions, stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo as Adelaide Wilson, a woman returning to her beachside childhood home with her husband, Gabe (Black Panthers Winston Duke), and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway.

Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family.

The idea for this movie came from a deep-seated fear in doppelgangers, Peele says. I love doppelganger mythologies and the movies that have dealt with them, and I wanted to make my offering to that pantheon of evil-double films. I was drawn to this idea that we are our own worst enemy. Thats something we all know intrinsically, but its a truth we tend to bury. We blame the outsider, we blame the other. In this movie, the monster has our faces.

After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers, Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgangers of themselves.

The film is now being screened at Colombo City Centre, Liberty by Scope Cinemas, MC Cinemas, Empire and other theatres.Sanjeewa Gunawardene appointed Rupavahini Working Director View(s):

Sanjeewa W. Goonewardene, young entrepreneur and qualified marketing expert has been appointed as the Working Director of Sri Lanka Rupvahini Corporation.

With the aim of promoting the state-run national television as the number one channel in the country, this appointment was made by newly appointed Mass Media Minister Ruwan Wijewardene.

Mr. Goonewardene is an entrepreneur with over 18 years corporate experience handling multinational brands and introduced world class technology to industrial and construction sectors of the country.

An old boy of Trinity College Kandy and Nalanda College Colombo, he is a graduate of Business Management and Marketing from Edith Cowan University, Australia and holds a MSc in Strategic Marketing from Cardiff Metropolitan University UK.

He is the Vice President of BNI Inspire Chapter and the Vice President of Colombo Taprobane Round

Table 3.769kg of cocaine going up in smoke tomorrow By Asiri Fernando View(s): View(s):

Going up in smoke tomorrow will be 769kg of cocaine  a stock that was kept as court case evidence and released after a lengthily legal process.

The large stock will be inspected by a magistrate and subjected to sample testing on site by the Government Analyst, a senior police source told the Sunday Times. The exercise will be open to media coverage, said Dr. Samantha Kiathalawaarchchi, Director of the Presidential task force on drug prevention. The process will begin at the DNS Warehouse complex at Gonawala in Kelaniya tomorrow morning.

The stock will also be weighed and subsequently dissolved in a liquid to prepare it for destruction in a high temperature incinerator in Puttalam. President Maithripala Sirisena, government leaders and senior law enforcement officers are expected to be present at the event.

Yesterday, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) was issued an order by Colombos additional magistrate to detain 34-year old Mohamed Najim Mohamed Imran alias Kanjipani Imran of Colombo 08 for three months. The order was given under the Prevention of Terrorism act (PTA).

Imran arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Wednesday night on a Fly Dubai flight  FZ547 from Dubai. With him on the same flight were 38-year-old Thubedurahewa Anushka Kaushal alias Janja of Gandara, 37-year-old Amila Sampath Sepala Rathnyaka of Rotumba in the south and 42-year-old Andersen Fernandez of Colombo 13.

The four had been taken into custody by the Dubai Police at a party organised by alleged drug king pin Makandure Madush. Police told the Sunday Times that Kanjipani Imran had gone to Dubai in March 2015 and obtained permanent residency in January 2016. He was listed as a mobile phone dealer and salesman.

Police believe it was Makandure Madushs mistress who gave the four suspects air tickets to return to Sri Lanka. She lives in Dubai.

Kanjipani Imran and Janja had attempted to give the police the slip by trying to board a SriLankan Airlines flight to the Maldives. This flight was scheduled to leave the BIA within an hour of their arrival. They had planned to evade the police and board the flight as transit passengers and had two tickets for the Male flight.

However, their attempt failed when the police and immigration officials intercepted them in the arrival area. A senior police source said Kanjipani Imran had in his possession a fake passport which he had used to travel. He had flown to south India two days after the February 2017 Kalutara Prison bus attack in which five people were killed. The dead included Madushas rival Anura Damith Udayanga Pathirana alias Samayan and two prison guards. Police suspect that the hit team escaped the country that evening to India by boat.Another haul of heroin: This time on a fishing vessel from a port in Iran By Asiri Fernando View(s): View(s):

SLN Suranimala, a Navy fast patrol vessel, had been shadowing a suspect fishing vessel in international waters off the South Western coast of Hikkaduwa last week. Onboard was a team of Special Task Force (STF) commandos, Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officers and Navy personnel prepared to board that boat.

At dusk, the vessel entered Sri Lankan territorial waters and changed course towards the Akurala-Telwatta coastline. The Suranimala moved in, trying to raise the vessel on the international maritime communication frequency. It had no response. The fishing vessel attempted to flee but could not outrun the Navy patrol vessel. The Suranimala instructed the crew to stop her engine and move towards the bow of the vessel as they came alongside. The team boarded. After detaining the nine-member crew, they found 107 kgs of heroin in four sacks hidden in the engine room. The find brought the total volume of heroin apprehended by Sri Lankan authorities in the first three months of this year to 840 kgs, already exceeding the total of 731 kgs taken in to custody in 2018. The haul has a street value of around Rs 1,200bn, police said.

The crew who were Iranians, including a suspected 17 year-old schoolboy who was on board, were remanded till April 5. The vessel had originated from the Konarak fishing port in Iran and had been at sea for 14 days, said SP Ruwan Gunasekara, police spokesman. Several mobile phones, a satellite phone and a GPS navigation system were found on board. The men had not been fishing although they were in a fishing boat. The Iranian embassy had provided an interpreter to assist the police with their inquiries.

The Iranians had no travel documents. They had dry rations and fresh water for another two weeks. The skipper had reportedly been approached by a drug trafficker to move the consignment, a PNB source told the Sunday Times, requesting anonymity. He suspects that the skipper convinced the other crew members (fishermen from his village, including his brother) to make the journey to deliver the narcotics. They had been promised a handsome reward for a successful delivery. One of the suspects had claimed that, two days after they left Konarak, a smaller boat had towed a submerged package containing the heroin. Some of the heroin packets had become damp due to a poor watertight seal and had been laid out on the deck of the vessel to be dried before being repacked in the sacks and concealed in the engine room, a PNB source recounted.

The Interception was made possible through STF intelligence, the police spokesman said. There was not adequate information to surmise that part of the heroin had been thrown overboard, he said, the investigation was still in its early stages. The mobile phones, satellite phone and the GPS navigator are to be subjected to forensic analysis by order of the court. The vessel is to be taken to Trincomalee and kept in Navy custody. The support and training for countering drug and organised crime given by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was appreciated by the Police and the Navy.

The Beruwala-Dondra coast line is vulnerable, the PNB source pointed out, adding that the South-Western coast was dotted with a number of small unregulated fishing villages and had small vessels which can head beyond the territorial waters and rendezvous with a boat such as the Iranian one which was apprehended. It only takes a few minutes to transfer a consignment from the larger vessel to dinghies, he said. The PNB has long been understaffed and poorly equipped, he complained, but said things were changing slowly. We perform with bare-bones facilities, our vehicle fleet is small and outdated, some of them are easily identified by drug peddlers as police vehicles from afar, he said. I give full credit of our successes to our operatives on the ground. They are young and passionate. Modern equipment, tools and training are very important, the source asserted. There is only so far they can go on human effort alone. Recently, funding was allocated for some hi tech equipment to be procured to aid the counter-narcotics effort. We are also seeing a lot of support from other Government stakeholders and from the general public these days, he said.

The travelling cosmetics sales person and more on Bangladeshi drug network The PNB has unravelled more details of the now dismantled Bangaldeshi network. Information gained by questioning three Bangladeshi nationals arrested in connection with heroin stashes in Dehiwala and Mount Lavina had aided the PNB to provide information to their Bangladeshi counterparts in the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC). Investigation by the DNC had led to the arrest of six individuals: four men and two women. However, the ring leader identified as Ariff Uddiu had fled Bangladesh with his family to avoid arrest. He is suspected to be hiding in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ariff is described as a businessman with links to Ahamed Hossen Sumon, a known Pakistani drug kingpin. Efforts are underway to obtain Interpol blue notices on both of them. Two weeks ago, a PNB delegation visited Bangladesh to interview the six suspects. We have made progress and are continuing with the investigation, the PNB source said. The opportunity to interview the suspects in Dhaka was valuable and the Bangladeshi police were very supportive. PNB suspects that, under the instructions of Ariff, Rehana Akthar, another Bangladeshi was the key handler for a number of couriers who carried out deliveries for the network. She is suspected to have been the organiser of the Kawdana Road safe house in Dehiwala where 263kg of heroin was found along with 5kg of Cocaine and 13 travel bags with false bottom compartments. Detectives suspect that the small concealed compartments can hold 2-3kg of narcotics and were used to smuggle narcotics through airports. In one such attempt, Rehana had travelled to Shanghai from BIA on July 20, 2018, where she was arrested by law enforcement authorities after the drugs were detected in her bag. She is currently held in Shanghai. Her associates had apparently not known what happened to her. The presence of the 13 bags points to several successful drug runs, detectives believe. Police have learned from the suspects that the couriers flew frequently to India, Bangladesh, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to deliver drugs hidden in their travel luggage. Rehana had registered as an official travelling salesperson for several international cosmetics manufactures and used it as a cover to frequently go for business to several destinations. She has travelled with bulk quantities of cosmetics, and had often claimed that she was delivering new samples to new clients, the PNB source said. The PNB also believes the suspects who were arrested with the record 294.49 kg of heroin seized in two mini vans in a Wellawatte supermarket parking lot, were also in charge of transporting bulk quantities of heroin from shipments to safe houses for the Bangladeshi network.One Ukrainian soldier has been killed in a flare-up of the conflict with Russian-backed rebels in country's east, the army said Saturday, one day before the country's presidential election.

Kiev's armed forces said in a statement that the situation had "escalated significantly" in the previous 24 hours, accusing rebels of using heavy weaponry banned by peace agreements.

The army added that four of its soldiers were wounded in large-calibre mortar and artillery attacks.

The rebel authorities did not announce any casualties on their side.

Since 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed in the war which erupted after a popular uprising ousted the pro-Kremlin president and Russia annexed Crimea.

Kiev and its Western backers accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the claims despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

On Sunday, Ukraine is to hold presidential polls in which the current pro-Western leader Petro Poroshenko is seeking to be re-elected.

Both his main rivals -- unexpected poll-leader comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and former prime minister Yuliya Tymoshenko -- have also expressed largely pro-European views during the campaign.

None of the openly pro-Russia candidates are seen as serious contenders in the first-round vote on Sunday.

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Australian-Sri Lankan Defence engagement wraps up By Asiri Fernando View(s): View(s):

The largest Australian  Sri Lankan Defence engagement came to an end this weekend with the Australian Joint Task Force setting sail to India for the next phase of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 (IPE19) exercise.

The four vessels of the task force HMAS Canberra, Newcastle, Parramatta and Success left Colombo and Trincomalee port continuing their two and a half month multilateral exercise. During the other phases of the IPE19 exercise the task force will visit other regional partners including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

IPE19 is a good opportunity for Australia to demonstrate their military and humanitarian response capability to regional partners. The exercise comes against the backdrop of renewed Australian efforts to become a key security provider and a trusted partner in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The last few years have seen significant efforts by India, Japan, Australia and the United States to engage Sri Lanka on security and defence related matters. Acting Australian High Commissioner John Philp pointed out that Australia would like to work with Sri Lanka to reach common goals. If Sri Lanka and Australia get together, we can have a lot of influence in the region, he opined.

The exercise saw more than 1,000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel engage with Sri Lankan counterparts, exchanging tactics and knowledge, imparting skills and techniques in several disciplines. A strong focus of the week-long engagement was on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR). We are very grateful for the welcome we have had from the government of Sri Lanka, the tri-services and the community as a whole. We can work together on HADR, not just in Sri Lanka but in other countries, Mr Philp said.

Last Tuesday, ADF personnel onboard HMAS Canberra carried out amphibious operations demonstrations which saw the vessel deploy a number of fast landing crafts, amphibious vehicles and boats in a simulated disaster response role. Four Landing Craft, Mechanized (LCM) carried out rapid ship to shore transfer maneuvers with Sri Lankan Navy, Marines and Army personnel onboard as observers. LCMs are designed to quickly move supplies and personnel from vessels sitting offshore to a beach in an HADR or amphibious assault role explained Leading Seaman Nick Peters, in-charge of one of the LCMs.

Several senior Sri Lankan military officers, including Army Commander Lt Gen Mahesh Senanayaka observed the exercise. The Sri Lankan personnel were especially keen to observe the onboard hospital facilities on the Canberra which is equipped with state-of-the-art medical sensors and theatres. Sri Lankan Air Force pilots and aircrew also took part, flying on board ADF MRH-90 medium lift mutirole helicopters with their Australian counterparts.

In Trincomalee, the task force trained with Sri Lanka Navy Divers and visited SLNs specialised flood and landslide simulator at the Rapid Action Boats Squadrons Headquarters of Gangewadiya, Puttalam. The ADF personnel also visited the Army Special Forces Training School in Maduru Oya and the Kukuleganga Peace Operations Training Centre.

IPE19 goes well beyond the military engagement process; we today showcased one of the capabilities of the task force in terms of HADR, said Air Commodore Richard Owen, Commander of the Joint Task Force. We will definitely be back in Sri Lanka; the capability in Sri Lanka are capabilities we want to be part of, we want to be learn from Sri Lankans and we want to partake in the capabilities they offer, and the security that they offer in the Indian Ocean, he said in response to a question about what the future holds for Australian  Sri Lanka defence corporation.

Effective enhancement of interoperability of any HADR operation depends on joint training. As Sri Lanka is prone to disasters it is paramount to engage in joint exercises to be proactive to deal in any major disaster, Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva told the Sunday Times commenting on IPE19.Emergency power purchases from private sector View(s):

The Government is set to rush into emergency power purchases from the private sector to overcome the current power crisis, despite previous claims that it would not resort to such action.

Accordingly, the Power and Energy Ministry and the Ceylon Electricity Board have held talks to buy 50MW from Asia Power in Sapugaskanda , 24MW from ACE Power in Matara and 30MW from Northern Power, CEB officials said.

In addition, talks are also underway to buy 100MW from independent power producers with whom contracts had earlier been made and terminated.

The Government is also to call for tenders for the setting up of four furnace-oil operated power plants of 24MW each.

The ministry is also looking at the possibility of setting up a barge mounted plant to produce 100MW.

Meanwhile, the Power and Energy Ministry will also propose further measures to control power consumption during the next three months.

Under a programme titled Demand-side management Ministries and private sector companies will be asked to use their own generators without depending on supplies from the CEB. Accordingly, the CEB hopes to save about 200MW a day.

Currently, the CEB is generating about 100MW a day from the Laxapana and Samanalawewa hydropower stations, while a smaller quantity of power is also generated from the Mahaweli.

The Randenigala and Rantembe reservoiors are also currently 80 percent full, but the water will be released only after April with the beginning of the cultivation season. This enable the CEB also to use the water for power generation.

CEB engineers said the power situation would improve if the normal monsoon rains came by May.Funds for two ministries before April 30: Kiriella View(s):

The revised Expenditure Heads of two key ministries whose votes were defeated will be presented again to Parliament before April 30, House Leader Lakshman Kiriella said on Friday.

Mr. Kiriella was responding to a query raised by United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardena. The UPFA MP claimed that with the defeat of the Expenditure Heads of the Ministry of Internal & Home Affairs and Provincial Councils & Local Government and the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development on Thursday, the entire Budget process was subject to change.

Mr. Kiriella pointed out that the two ministries had sufficient funds till April 30 as Parliament had earlier passed a Vote on Account to fund the Government for the first four months of the year. According to standing orders, the revised expenditure heads can be presented in Parliament prior to April 30, he explained.

Mr. Gunawardena pointed out the defeated Expenditure Heads needed to be removed from the Appropriation Draft Bill. As such, a proposal on the expenditure for the two ministries should be presented to the Cabinet for approval and thereafter presented to Parliament as a supplementary estimate, he said.

Mr Kiriella said only a nominal Rs 10 would be deducted from the Expenditure Heads and the votes would be resubmitted in accordance with the Standing Orders. He added that they were prepared to meet the Opposition Leader for a discussion and take a decision in the

coming days.From the highlands of Scotland to Hatton, The Argyle View(s):

Hatton, for the most part is quiet. The region famed for its tea plantations and scenic views is now home to a luxury hotel. Located just five minutes from town, on the Nuwara Eliya road is The Argyle.

Set in 3.1 acres of sprawling tea country, The Argyle is large, spacious and has a Scottish theme, a nod to the era of the Scottish tea planters who settled in this area in the 1850s. Titbits of Scotland are interspersed throughout the hotel decor, created with minimalistic architecture, and offering open views and airy spaces. Its 38 rooms offer simple luxuries and elegant designs and are all named after real life notable Scots.

But what is most interesting about The Argyle is the stunning view of Sri Lankas iconic spiritual mountain, Sri Pada, or Adams Peak. Every bedroom faces this imposing mountain and the changing weather- mist, sunshine, rain, sunsets  offers a screenplay of breathtakingly delightful backdrops. The hotel also boasts of a heated pool (requests for the pool to be heated need to be made at least two hours in advance), a Shisha corner, a Scottish-themed bar with pool table, indoor and outdoor games, bicycles and much more.

For travellers who want to visit the hill country over the April holidays, the Argyle is a perfect change of pace. Just one hours drive from Nuwara Eliya, guests can visit that town and return to the solitude and serenity of the Argyle to be pampered for the rest of the day.

The hotel has also curated guided tours to tea estates, Worlds End, Adams Peak, scenic waterfalls, old churches, Moon Plains and many more exciting sites along with transport, food and beverages. One of the highlights would be the scenic train ride from Kotagala to Nanu Oya inclusive of train tickets and a pre-arranged pickup from the Nanu Oya station.

What sets this hotel apart is the exceptional service standards. The food is also exceptionally good offering a la carte options to ensure guests dine to their satisfaction.

For more information, visit http://www.theargyle.lk/Letters to the Editor View(s):

Didnt his life matter? Shameful silence over death of Borella OIC

He was on his way to work at 4.30 a.m., a time when only those in his strata of society (the proletariat) are awake, getting ready to do the same. At the other end of the spectrum, the bourgeoisie are privileged to be still in the land of dreams or are togging up to keep fit. This public servant was conscientiously answering the call to duty when he was mercilessly, mowed down on his motorcycle by a vehicle driven by a gang of seemingly inebriated youngsters returning home after an extended night of highly intoxicated pleasure. This heinous act proved fatal for the officer, after about two weeks of struggle for life in the ICU of the National Hospital.

It is almost a month since the tragic death of this public servant. What was most evident in its aftermath was the deadly silence from all quarters of society and even the press. Apart from the video clip of the actual incident going viral and the consequent social network that became active why was there no public outrage at this act of manslaughter committed against an innocent public servant by the sons of obviously very powerful persons?

Several questions remain unanswered:

Why did this not provoke the outrage of civil society in this country?

Why were the eight passengers of this vehicle of death released from remand so easily?

Why was the case heard in the chambers of the presiding judge and not in open court as reported? (Hiru News and News First)

Was there political interference at the highest level to reverse the course of justice, as reported in the Raavaya newspaper and why?

Was this public servant not relevant enough to evoke some response from the Buddhist and other religious clergy at least?

Was there any mention of this incident in Parliament by the so-called champions of the peoples rights- this the most basic right to live? Oh yes they graced the occasion with their televised presence. Is that all it takes? What about dealing with the manifestations of this crime and ensuring that the course of justice is not thwarted?

It is all of the above unanswered questions that have provoked this commentary to focus the attention of:

Firstly, the parents of the youth of this country, whoever they may be. Particularly, those parents who are today, in positions of wealth and power, by whatever means, to examine their conscience; to ask themselves why they allow their sons and daughters to lead such wasteful lives; not the least for their own sakes, but for the sake of the right of the common masses of this country who are not so privileged.

And to think that they not only committed the crime but shamelessly ran away from the scene. In their highly inebriated state, they could not escape the long arm of the law and the inevitable course of justice that would follow for every one of them.

The President, the Prime Minister and the Peoples representatives, to order that all night clubs, bars and restaurants close at 12 midnight; this would ensure that everyone is at home by 1 a.m. the latest.

The Buddhist clergy of this country to support the above move in the cause of the Dharmishta society that the late President JR Jayewardene wished to usher in. It would also be in the spirit of the Yahapalanaya or Good Governance mandate that this government espoused and which echoes the same Dharmishta virtues.

And finally to the youth of this country  why do they fritter their time and their lives so wastefully, well into the wee hours of the next morning; most of them are well endowed with the wealth that permits them to indulge in all the vices this country now offers in abundance. Some of them, may also be well educated, for which their parents have spent millions of rupees, very often at renowned and prestigious universities the world over. Is this the life they aspire to?

Can the friends and the families of the youth who were involved in this incident, at least now, use this tragedy to tell themselves and all those involved enough is enough we are never, ever, allowing this to happen again; We apologise to our parents and to our kith and kin on whom we brought such shame, least of all to the family of this noble public servant; We are truly sorry that our recklessness has caused an innocent breadwinners life to be snuffed out.

Can the press and the editors pen and civil society take up the cause of the death of this innocent public servant? Can they ensure that the common masses of this country are not marginalised by the heinous acts of the privileged scions of the powers that be and the wealthy.

It may well be that this public servants family has been well compensated financially. Thus some may say that the pall of silence is justified  but this just goes to show how cheap human life is  can a price be placed on the role of a husband and the yearning of young children for their father?

Are money and power the only two determinants of what is right in society today in this country?

We demand to know what action has been taken against all the passengers in that vehicle that day. Why was the course of justice thwarted in midstream, and if so, on whose orders? Is the judiciary of this country not accountable for their conduct and their decisions?

Can criminals buy their freedom and if so what is the price? This is not a financial crime where deterrent fines can be paid in lieu of prosecution. This is a human life which was snuffed out in the most ruthless, tragic way. No amount of financial compensation can be substituted for the appropriate legal process.

The sentiments expressed by Dr.M.M. Janapriya in the Sunday Times of March 24  Sri Lankas roads  the killing fields  are wholeheartedly endorsed  any political person or power interfering with the carriage of justice in these cases, should be named and shamed and forced to resign.

The Public Eye

Via email

A laymans view on power cuts

We see colossal waste in every sphere . Be it public funds, power, energy, natural resources, you name it. Dont we have educated people or thinktanks in responsible positions of government policy planning or is it that they do not care? The present power cuts forced on people are due to the lack of proper policy and planning at all levels.

It is true that we have to depend on hydro power. However had we been lean in our operations we could have fewer power cuts or cuts of lesser duration making it bearable to the general public. This is not taking into account the waste of valuable time of the productive private sector, the lifeline of the national economy.

Lets discuss, debate and observe the following suggestions to face drought situations in the future with little discomfort. For this to be implemented a lot of co-ordination between a score of service providers is required and it has to be exercised like a military drill to reap the benefits. This is how a layman would think. Why not the authorities?

Warn the general public of impending power cuts 2-3 months in advance.

Impose the fuel adjustment charges in advance for the planned power cut period so that the consumer will be more alert to the high cost of energy bills and start using power sparingly.

One month before planned power cuts, authorities could disconnect power supply in areas where there is unwanted bright illumination.

n Authorities can start disconnecting power supply to every other street light keeping one light on. This has to commence one month before the planned power cuts.

n It is very easy to switch on the street lights by 6.45 p.m. and switch off the lights by 5 a.m.

n There are many bylanes or private roadways covering about 10 -15 houses provided with street lights at the cost of the government. These lights should be discontinued one  two months before impending power cuts and should be re-connected when power generation is back to normalcy only.

n Take action to prevent large illumination boards displayed with high power intensity limiting them to the bare minimum, applicable during power cut periods.

n If all suggestions could be implemented, saved energy would be quite sufficient to delay the power cuts by at least 30- 45 days.

Aruna Jayatilleke

Via email

It was the Queens coronation, not CHOGM

In the Editorial of March 24 it was mentioned that Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake was asked to share a limousine with another head of state and flatly refused. That happened not at a CHOGM meeting, but at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Prime Minister Dudley was invited by the British government to participate at the Coronation representing his country as its head of state. The organisers ran short of a horse-carriage for the maid of honour, Lady Rosemary Mildred Spencer-Churchill (a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchills cousin) and approached our young PM from Liptons Tea Estate to share the carriage with her. Dudley categorically declined the offer and even threatened to take the next flight home. The London Home Office authorities replied, It is an insult to Her Majesty if you do that to which he retorted, Officer, your suggestion is an insult to my great nation.

The British authorities apologized, expressing their deepest regret before arranging for Lady Rosemary to ride along with Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart in her carriage.

K.K.S. Perera

Via email

A heartfelt thank you to Kandy Hospitals Cardiology Unit

When I look back at the time I spent at the Cardiology Unit of the Kandy General Teaching Hospital, I can only feel deeply grateful for the free medical service provided by the Government of Sri Lanka.

Upon realizing that I was short of breath after a short walk, my dear friend Dr. Yoganathan advised that I consult my family doctor, Dr. Abeywardena, who directed me to a Cardiologist as the chest x-ray showed that I had a defect in my heart. I consulted Dr. Subashini Jayawickrama, the Consultant Cardiologist at the Cardiology Unit of the Teaching Hospital Kandy, who wanted me to undergo an Echo test. After examining the results thoroughly, she explained that my aortic and mitral valves were malfunctioning but assured me that this could be rectified. She prescribed medicine and recommended I meet Dr. Muditha Lansakara, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon of the Teaching Hospital in Kandy.

That is how I had the good fortune to meet this kind, unassuming doctor, who explained my health problem to me in detail. He very gently told me I would have to undergo open heart surgery and the risks involved.

I was registered as a patient at the Cardiology Unit in Dr. Lansakaras clinic and a green registration book was issued with the stamp This operation is done free of charge. I was highly impressed by the efficiency of the staff in the clinic. Despite the clinic being packed with patients, a matron explained the procedure that is followed when a patient is admitted using a powerpoint presentation. Dr. Lansakara explained how the valves were malfunctioning, while illustrating with diagrams. I was happy to note that all the patients were treated with equal care and kindness.

Subsequently, I was admitted to the Cardiology Unit Ward which was clean and tidy. The care provided by the nursing staff was excellent. Various tests were conducted. The next day an angiogram was taken which confirmed the defects in my heart. I was discharged temporarily and had to attend Dr. Lansakaras clinic a few times.

I was re-admitted to Ward No. 77 and spent an anxious night wondering what was in store for me the next day. However, the ward sister and the doctors, who monitored my condition reassured me. The following day, the kind surgeon put me at ease. He instructed one of his assistant doctors to complete a profile of my general health which was handled efficiently by a kind lady doctor. My surgeon also took the trouble to take me upstairs and introduce me to the Consultant Anaesthetist , Dr. Priyantha Dissanayake, who was also kind and compassionate. It gave me the assurance that I was in safe hands.

On the morning of the surgery, the nurses and attendants prepared me and I was wheeled into the Operating Theatre. I can remember talking to my wife and children and bidding them goodbye. I will always remember Dr. Lansakara smiling and putting me at ease by asking me to relax.

After the surgery, my stay at the Intensive care ward of the Cardiology Unit was a haze. Yet, my wife informed me later that the unit was most efficiently run and Dr. Lansakara confidently told her that the surgery was successful and not to worry. When I regained consciousness, I did not experience any pain which I could not bear. After one day, I was transferred to the High Dependency ward. Here again the nursing staff was excellent. Dr. Lansakara said that I was recovering fast and would be discharged in three or four days. His prediction came true.

While all the above events occurred, Dr. Subhashini Jayawickreme followed my progress. I witnessed the hard work carried out in the Cardiology Unit. As a patient, I am eternally grateful to the yeoman service rendered with kindness by all the doctors and staff of the Cardiology Unit. I would like to express my gratitude for the efficient treatment I received from this unit and the Kandy Hospital in general.

When leaving the hospital, Dr. Lansakara gave me the assurance that I could phone him anytime and, true to his word, he always very kindly answered my numerous questions. Needless to say, Dr. Jayawickrama always promptly replied to my SMS messages and cleared all my doubts and anxieties.

I narrated my experiences to Mohan Samarakoon, Chairman of the present Hospital Committee, who was very happy to hear all this from a senior lawyer from the Kandy Bar, who opted for the services of the General Hospital, Kandy.

I am very happy to state that I lead an almost normal life now. I consult Dr. Jayawickrama once a month and a few days ago, I bumped into Dr. Lansakara, at the supermarket and exchanged pleasantries. His parting words were Mr. Wijayatilake, I hope you are keeping up your walking. I smilingly affirmed Yes, I walk every day.

May they all be blessed with good health and the strength to continue the good work for a very long time.

Indrakumar Wijayatilake

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letters cannot be acknowledged or returnedThe 79th National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with a colourful reception at the Galadari Ballroom on March 25.Two friends on an artistic journey By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Colombos newest art gallery opened this month with a joint exhibition by two philanthropist-artists who are like chalk and cheese: Well known Pakistani artist Jimmy Engineer and the gallery owner Mueen Saheed View(s): View(s):

Just like art with rock mountains and plum blossoms capture the Chinese soul, Jimmy Engineers strokes with even more character lay bare the rural spirit of India and his homeland Pakistan. With an incredibly subtle eye for detail and a deep love for the land, he recreates nature: with cattle, Banyan trees and cowherds, or the ocean and fishermen.

A single childhood miracle made all the difference in Jimmys life. At six he was diagnosed with a kidney failure, a condition that spelt death in three months. But, even as children all around were being claimed, Jimmy was given a reprieve. Nature gave me two brand new kidneys.

He was not too young to be unmoved by this marvel. Since then giving back by improving the lives of others became one leg that holds up his life, the other being art- for he had been an artist as soon as his four-year- old pudgy fingers could wield powder colour.

Later as a well known artist, he would donate as much as 75 to 80 percent of proceeds from sales of work to charity.

Here for the opening of Billari, the new Park Road, Colombo 5, art gallery of his friend Mueen Saheed, who is today well-known as a Sri Lankan abstract painter, Jimmy Engineer has much to look back on.

This gentle Parsi who was awarded the National Endowment of the Arts Award, USA, has delivered a speech on his life at Harvard, and exhibited in highly prestigious museums around the world.

A series of some of his best known paintings depicts the partition of India, capturing the throes in which his motherland was born. These paintings show highly detailed, teeming humanity migrating- a thousand little personal stories on each vast canvas- columns of people stretching all the way to the very dim horizon where fires flash out like comets: monumental, dramatic records.

Among the most unusual are his painting inspired by the Javed Nama (Book of Eternity), the Persian version of the Divine Comedy, where the author Allama Iqbal is Dante and Moulana Rumi is Virgil. They visit various heavens and spheres and approach divinities and negative historical figures, among them traitors who betrayed the nation to the British. At the end of the book the poet promises guidance to the younger generation of the land. Jimmys paintings depict the traversing of a vast cosmos just like Dantes.

While Jimmy also dedicated a lot of work to depict the poverty-stricken, his most remarkable works draw on classic architectures of the world.

Called the Peace and Harmony series, these juxtapose classic buildings from different cultures- India, Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Turkey, China- together weaving an astonishingly majestic tapestry that climbs up and up to form a dense collage, posing the question why different peoples cannot coexist if buildings can.

Self-styling himself the servant of Pakistan, he is a perfect ambassador, capturing the natural beauty and a beautiful people underneath stereotypes and conflicts.

As a social worker, Jimmy fostered the walk culture where he took to the streets speaking out for those with cancer and leprosy, for the right to education, for the mentally ill, for the blind and the differently abled. In Sri Lanka too he has been working for the underprivileged. As a philanthropist he has been practically helping all sectors of the suffering.

Mueen Saheed, the owner of the Billari Gallery, is artistically the opposite of Jimmy. He prefers abstract to real life- as the latter, for him, lacks challenge. Starting as a jewellery designer who won the Golden Apple Award for Innovation, the self-taught artist gave up a lucrative business- the Regent Fine Jewels- which he himself had carved out with 20 outlets in a number of countries.

Saheed now paints all night in his upstairs studio with music washing over, shutting the outer eye and keeping the inner open. For him the lure of the abstract lies in the subtle messages it gives. It is very therapeutical. At first glance, you see nothing in an abstract. But then you start wondering and connecting- which launches a spiritual journey.

Saheed relishes painting what cannot be otherwise expressed- from human feelings to subtle social issues to music.

I try to create/ paint a story, so that you sit- and like reading a book read the painting. That is why I would call myself a narrative abstract artist.

The Billari Art Gallery opened with 300 paintings by Saheed, and around 70 by Jimmy. A percentage from the sale of each work of art will contribute to a number of charities, supporting the visually handicapped, sick and the needy- including those who find it financially difficult to pursue studies after their O levels.

The Billari Art Gallery, is situated at 165/11 Park Road, Colombo 5 and is open every day from 10.30 a.m.

to 6 p.m.Extradition of Mahendran: Laws and flaws By Palitha Fernando, former Attorney General of Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

I thought of writing this article after reading news items on this subject. The President had made a public statement to the effect that though requests had been made for the extradition of the Central Banks former Governor Arjuna Mahendran, a Singaporean citizen, in connection with what is now popularly referred to as the bond scam, there has been no response from the Singaporean authorities.

Singapore had responded officially stating they are yet to receive any legal document to process the extradition process. The Presidential Secretariat has reacted by stating that the request for extradition was made as far back as 2018. The ordinary people are in a confusion due to this state of affairs. Is the President stating a falsehood or are the Singaporean authorities misstating facts? Both propositions are highly improbable.

I discussed this issue with my International Law students at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies and found they were keen to know the correct position. As I see it, it is possible that neither party is uttering a falsehood. It may be true that a request for deportation or extradition of the former Governor has been made. Perhaps, as stated by the President, it may have been made at a personal level. The statement made by the Singaporean authorities that there has been no legal document received from Sri Lanka, in my view, in those circumstances, could be correct.

It is necessary that we remember that a person abroad cannot be brought to another country without following the legal process states are expected to follow. Sending away a person from a country, without that persons consent, has to be done according to law  and only if it is permissible. Simply because the head of a State had made a personal request, it is not possible to extradite a person.

What I intend doing through this article is to explain in simple terms the steps that should be taken to extradite a person. I shall not refer to the case of the former Governor, but shall take Sri Lanka and Singapore as examples to discuss this matter, as I did with my students.

Treaty with Singapore

Extradition is possible only if there is a treaty between the two States. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, Singapore being a Commonwealth country, there is a treaty in force. The terms of such bilateral treaties could vary.

When extradition is required, a request should be made by the State, generally through its foreign office to the other countrys foreign office. Once the request is made, it will have to be processed, according to the extradition law of that country. In most countries, it is then forwarded to the Chief Law Officer  in Sri Lanka, it is the Attorney General  through the Justice Ministry. Such a request cannot be a simple letter of the Head of State or the Foreign Minister. Along with the official request, evidence collected after investigations should be submitted with documents. Sometimes, the accompanying documents run into several bound volumes. At the Attorney Generals Department, we had a special unit dealing with the subject. (At one stage, the late K.C. Kamalasabesan was in charge of that unit. If I am not mistaken the unit is now under Additional Solicitor General Parinda Ranasinghe Jr., PC. )

On receipt of the request, a team of officers acting under the Attorney General will carefully consider the material. If the material is insufficient, more material should be called for. If the Attorney General is of the opinion that the material submitted does not establish a prima facie case to justify extradition, he will advise his countrys Foreign Affairs Minister to convey the decision to the state that is making the request for extradition. The matter ends there, no authority outside Sri Lanka or within Sri Lanka, other than the judiciary, would have any power to vary that finding by the Hon. Attorney General.

If the AG is of the view that the material submitted establishes a prima facie case to justify extradition, the matter does not end there. The AG will have to file an application in the appropriate court seeking an order of extradition.

In Sri Lanka, the court having jurisdiction is the High Court of Colombo. The High Court will not grant the order without hearing the person whose extradition is requested. Compliance with the rules of natural justice requires that the party likely to be affected by the order be given a fair hearing. Therefore, court, on receipt of the application, will notice the party to appear and the person whose extradition is requested is entitled to legal representation. The matter will be inquired into and if the High Court is of the view that an extradition order should be made, it will issue an order permitting the relevant minister to make an extradition order.

If the court is of the opinion that an extradition order is not justified on the material placed before it, the application of the AG can be refused. Even if the court makes an order permitting extradition, the person against whom the extradition order is made can go before the higher courts seeking relief following the normal procedure laid down by law. Thus extradition is not an easy procedure; it takes time even to start the procedure.

Even in the case of an extradition request to Singapore, the same procedure should be followed. The extradition request must be made by the relevant authority and all the relevant material should be submitted to the Singaporean Foreign Office along with it. It is only then that the Singaporean authorities could forward it to the Attorney General for necessary action and for an application to be made to the relevant court seeking a deportation order.

The first step in the process, therefore, is to do a thorough investigation and gather material to justify an extradition order. I am not aware as to whether there has been such an investigation and whether the material gathered and supporting documents have been presented to the Singaporean authorities through the proper channels. I do not know whether the statement of the Singaporean authorities that they have not received a proper legal document is a reference to the absence of this material. With respect, I must state that the head of State has no role to play in this process.

Deportation

There is yet another procedure that can be followed. That is to conclude the investigations and submit them to the AG to file charges. The AG is entitled to consider the material and state that the investigations do not disclose an offence committed by the suspect. This happens in many instances. On numerous occasions, the AG has directed the discharge of suspects arrested and produced by the police on the conclusion of investigations, on the basis that the material fails to disclose an offence committed by the suspect. On the other hand, if the AG is of the opinion that an offence is disclosed, he would be entitled to file indictment against the suspect before the appropriate High Court. At that stage the person is no longer a suspect but an accused. The accused can then be summoned to appear and if he absconds, the trial can proceed in his absence, after having made all diligent efforts to secure his presence. Even if the accused is not present in court, lawyers can appear on his behalf and defend him in his absence. Even though the accused is not present in court, court can still hold that the charges have not been proved beyond reasonable doubt and acquit him. If he is convicted in his absence, he can be sentenced, according to law, and a warrant can be issued for his arrest. Our courts have decided, that even an accused, who has not presented himself at the trial and absconded, is entitled to prefer an appeal against his conviction.

The extradition process can start even after conviction. If a person who is convicted is living in another State, with which Sri Lanka has an extradition treaty, the same process should follow. Our request for extradition should be made through the proper channels and it should accompany a certified copy of all the proceedings, including submissions made by counsel. If the proceedings have been held in Sinhala, a translated copy, duly certified should accompany the request. The appropriate court in that State will consider the proceedings, and if it is satisfied that a proper and fair trial has been held, it can grant the extradition request. Even in that case, the person whose extradition is requested will be granted a hearing before the order is made. The fact that he has been convicted by our courts does not bind the foreign court. Material will be examined according to their standards.

One matter that has to be noted is that the former Governor of the Central Bank is still a suspect presumed to be innocent, until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Merely because there has been propaganda adverse to him in the media, that would not sway the judiciary. A foreign court that has the jurisdiction to make an extradition order is not bound by the findings of our courts. They, too, would independently consider the material before making an order of extradition.

In addition to extradition, there is also a process known as deportation. A person who is not a citizen of a State can be deported if such person has violated the conditions upon which he is permitted to live in that country. A deportation order will be made according to the laws of that country, and no request from any State is required for that process. A person would not be deported simply because another State is making a request for it. Even in Sri Lanka, deportation orders are made against persons who have overstayed their visas or who have violated their visa conditions. They are first made to undergo the punishment for violating the law of this country before they are deported to their country of origin. During my period of service in the Attorney Generals Department, I recall that once the Canadian authorities made a deportation order in respect of a Sri Lankan citizen named Suresh Manikkawasagar, on the basis that he had collected funds for the LTTE, a proscribed organisation. He was able to go before the Canadian courts and have the order quashed on the basis of a flaw in the order made by the Minister. This is certainly not such a case.

An extradition treaty is signed between two States after lengthy negotiations. The extraditable offences and the extraditable persons are set out in the treaty. I was a member of the delegation that negotiated the extradition treaty between Turkey and Sri Lanka. I recall the reluctance of the Turkish authorities to mention the offence of murder as an extraditable offence on the basis that the death sentence for the offence of murder had not been abolished though suspended. Turkey is a State that has abolished the death sentence.

The purpose of this article is to explain the law relating to extradition in a way a lay person would understand it. The Sri Lankan authorities have made a statement implying that the Singaporean authorities are harbouring an offender. This has been flatly denied by the Singaporean authorities. Such allegations are generally not made against friendly States. It may be true that the head of State of Sri Lanka has requested the extradition of the former CB Governor. However, as claimed by Singapore, there may not be a proper request, under the extradition treaty, with all necessary material. If so, it is a miscommunication that has resulted in the misunderstanding which may affect friendly relations between States. That is a matter that has to be rectified by the authorities. The purpose of this article is to resolve the confusion that may have arisen in the minds of the general public.The Brexit hour has come By Chris Patten, exclusive to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

LONDON  Do you want to know what is happening in British politics today in the great debate about the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union?

Join the club. With Brexit possibly just two weeks away, most British voters are in the dark. So are members of Parliament. So are the million people, including three of my daughters and three of my older grandchildren, who recently marched in London to protest against Brexit. And so are the six million who have signed a petition calling on the government to remain in the EU.

Its not surprising, therefore, that during my travels this month from the United States to Ireland to Southeast Asia and then Tokyo, everyone seemed so bemused about how Britain had plunged itself into such a damaging crisis.

Britain has always had a fractious relationship with the EU. We were a reluctant joiner, yet we have thrived as a member. We stayed out of the things we did not like, such as the euro and the Schengen area of border-free travel. We championed the single market, as well as EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. We were usually a leading advocate for more liberal economic and trade policies, and we have a more flexible labor market than any other member state except the Netherlands.

Despite these successes, opposition to the EU grew and festered on the right of British politics. David Cameron, Britains previous Conservative prime minister, thought that he could manage the right-wing English nationalists in his party by offering a referendum on EU membership. It was a reckless roll of the dice.

Cameron lost by a small margin, partly because of voters worries about immigration  even though most long-term immigrants to the UK come from outside Europe. The referendum campaign was characterized by delusion and mendacity: delusion that it would be easy to disentangle ourselves from the EU without any damage, and mendacity about the alleged benefits that would cascade down on us once we left.

There are three main reasons for the current mess, all of which can be simply explained.

First, large parts of the Conservative Party have embraced English nationalism. As Conservative activists have become fewer and older, so, like the Republicans in the US, they have become more extreme. As a former chairman of the party, I watch with horror as vengeful zealots hunt down moderate Conservative MPs in the manner of the Republican Tea Party ideologues. If the Conservative Party loses its moderates, it will lose elections.

Second, referendums are a direct challenge to Britains traditional democratic system. They are a binary and divisive deviation from a constitution that rests on the belief that MPs owe their constituents their best judgment of the national interest. Their informed consciences are not owned lock, stock, and barrel by those who vote for them. Plebiscitary democracy is different from parliamentary democracy. Yet a narrow vote for leave almost three years ago trumps whatever Parliament thinks now, even though recent polls show that a growing majority of voters want to remain in the EU.

Third, Prime Minister Theresa Mays government set the UKs date of departure from the EU before it had tried to develop a consensus for what our future relationship with Europe should be. Remember, whereas the UK sends almost half of its exports to the EU, less than 10% of the EU27s exports go to the UK.

May then tried twice to ram her own flawed withdrawal agreement through Parliament, and was soundly defeated on both occasions. With only weeks to spare, Parliament is now trying to find a compromise deal that would satisfy a majority of MPs and the other 27 EU members, whose patience is not limitless.

If MPs do approve an alternative plan, the question will be whether May is prepared to accept such a deal and present it to the EU. If she is not, this would provoke a major constitutional crisis, and perhaps trigger a general election.

May has become weaker by the day, and her authority has drained away. On March 27, in a final bid to win support for her withdrawal agreement, May promised to resign if Parliament approved it. But even this did not seem to persuade Mays right-wing Conservative critics to come to her aid, while Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, on which her government depends for its parliamentary majority, continues to oppose her deal. The national interest has taken a back seat to ideological obsession and the leadership ambitions of some of Mays cabinet colleagues.

Time is short. Britain needs principled and courageous leadership. There is an old English proverb that says, Cometh the hour, cometh the man  or, of course, the woman. Lets hope that is still true today.

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs, is Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Copyright: Project

Syndicate, 2019.

www.project-syndicate.orgUN diplomats endorse Tripitaka as a heritage for mankind in New York View(s):

The United Nations diplomatic community  specifically ambassadors and diplomats from predominantly Buddhist countries  was present at the Tripitaka Week celebrated at the Buddhist Vihara in Queens, New York last week.

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York arranged a Buddha pooja, Dhamma sermon and almsgiving at the Vihara to commemorate President Maithripala Sirisenas initiative to declare the Tripitaka as a National heritage and to have it included in the UNESCO memory of the world register for the benefit of all mankind.

The Venerable Maha Sangha of the Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the tri-state area  from the New York Buddhist Vihara, the Staten Island Buddhist Vihara, the Long Island Buddhist Meditation Centre, the New England Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Centre (Boston Buddhist Vihara), and Connecticut Buddhist Vihara  chanted blessings at the event.

The Buddha pooja was conducted by the Ven. Heenbunne Kondanna Thera of the Staten Island Buddhist Vihara and the welcome address was delivered by the Ven. Aluthgama Dhammajothi Thera of the New York Buddhist Vihara.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Rohan Perera, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, highlighted the initiative spearheaded by Sri Lankas President to include the Tripitaka in the UNESCO register, whereby these Buddhist scriptures would be protected for future generations. Dr. Perera also highlighted the history of how the Tripitaka was committed to writing during a time of great famine when King Walagamba was ruling.

Given the significance of inscribing the Thripitaka as world heritage to Buddhists the world over, several representatives of diplomatic missions based in New York participated in this meritorious act. These included the Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of Vietnam and Cambodia, Deputy Permanent Representatives of Japan, India, Myanmar and Thailand and diplomatic staff from the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia, among others.Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas Saturday to disperse demonstrators who turned out in Caracas to protest massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March.

AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the city.

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Hundreds of people gathered at the Irish border on Saturday to protest against Brexit, fearing that it could threaten the peace agreement between the British-ruled north and the republic.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and current leader Mary Lou McDonald were among around 300 people demonstrating on a bridge near the border town of Newry, above the motorway linking Northern Ireland capital Belfast to Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland.

"My commute which is currently an hour is now going to involve three border crossings each way -- that's six border crossings every day," environmental scientist and border resident Patricia McGenity, said at the protest, organised by "Border communities against Brexit".

Decades of unrest between Irish republicans, who want a united Ireland, and Northern Irish Protestants, who want the province to remain in British hands, ended in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

But Britain's vote for Brexit brought the agreement back into focus.

Many fear that departing the EU will result in the reimposition of a 'hard' or physical border with EU member Ireland that could become a target for violence.

The issue has been a key sticking point in getting a Brexit deal through Britain's parliament.

Some protesters dressed as customs officers, while one speaker decried the "circus of chaos" at Westminster that had left the whole process still mired in uncertainty.

"They jumped in on an issue that they didn't really think out," potato merchant and border resident Jimmy Myers, 58, told AFP.

"They didn't realise the border was going to cause a major problem to them."



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Traditional Korean chef Seung Eun Lee gave a cooking session at the Korean Cultural Centre in Dokki on Thursday.

KCC

Lee spent two weeks in Egypt, upon the invitation of the private cook of the Korean Embassy, to give a series of sessions on traditional Korean cuisine aiming at spreading the Korean food culture in Egypt.

I have never travelled too far from Korea, so this is my first time in Egypt and I was thrilled to visit the Great Pyramids and tour the historical district of Khan Al-Khalili in Old Cairo where I was warmly welcomed and nicely treated by all people there, Lee explained.

During the session, she cooked two Korean traditional dishes based on vegetables and steamed rice, and explained its health benefits to the participants at the session.

When asked if she liked Egyptian food, Lee answered that she had found koshari and liver sandwiches very tasty and that she would love to learn in the future how to make the traditional food that Egyptians make in their homes.

She said that what distinguishes traditional Korean food is that most of it has to be first fermented for a long time before use, and there is a lot of pickled cabbage, soy sauce and red pepper paste.

The traditional Korean food is much healthier than the food these days which is based on too much meat and chicken, and generally speaking we dont use sugar at all in Korean cuisine, she added.

Lee is also specialised in cooking food served in Korean palaces which is totally different from the food eaten by the majority of Koreans at their homes.

She concluded her talk by saying that she is planning to promote Korean food culture through a YouTube channel, and that she is in the process of compiling a book about traditional Korean cuisine.

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if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...At a grand ceremony on Friday at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the Aga Khan Music Initiative launched the first-ever edition of the Aga Khan Music Awards.

The inaugural celebrations are taking place over three days, continuing until Sunday, and act as a meeting forum for artists from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, regionally renowned cultural players including the directors of the festivals held across the mentioned regions, and promoters of arts, culture and artistic education in the region, among others.



The celebrations opened on 29 March with a meeting of renowned names from the cultural field and authorities from various countries involved in Aga Khan activities.

Following the grand reception, guests moved to the large theatre hall located inside the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum where the Gulbenkian Orchestra conducted by Pedro Neves featured the master musicians of the Aga Khan Music Initiative.



Introducing the concert and the music awards, his highness Prince Amyn Aga Khan, the brother of Aga Khan, the main dynamo behind all Aga Khan Foundations activities, pointed to the choice of Lisbon as a perfect location for launching the Aga Khan Music Awards.



Portugal is a shining example of a pluralistic society, united in its diversity, he said in an address, adding that the same diversity is celebrated through the Aga Khan Music Awards .



He went on to underline the mission of the newly launched initiative saying: the award aims to recognise an exceptional creativity, promise, the musical performance, yet another aspect of the already two decades-old involvement of Aga Khan in the development and preservation of regional music and its values.



When my brother launched the music initiative, back then it focused on Asia where it played an important preservation role, something that was very needed in the face of either neglect or repression (in the times of Soviet Unions power over the then Soviet republics), Prince Amyn Aga Khan said.



In fact since 2000, the Aga Khan Music Initiative (part of Aga Khan Trust for Culture)  an interregional music development programme that operates in the sectors of education, documentation and performance  has supported, brought to light, developed and educated through music a multitude of communities in Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

Aga Khans educational interventions have created a strong impact in countries such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Mali and Egypt.

Aga Khan

The Aga Khan Music Awards are just an additional element of these diverse activities, with the focus on recognition of the values transmitted by the musicians.Musics power of communication is special, enormous and universal. It binds people together and unites them. the prince explained.Aga Khans role in the regions music development is unprecedentedly large. Over the past years many music centres have been established and music education introduced to communities across Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. There have also been preservation efforts aimed at traditional instruments and music.With time, the musicians who benefited from Aga Khans network have become in demand performers, a fact that have significantly improved their lives. Traditional musicians have also begun exploring new territories creating interesting multi-cultural dialogues, joining their heritage with different vocabularies of contemporary musical expressions.In addition, many of the beneficiaries of Aga Khan Music Initiative have now become regionally and/or internationally renowned musicians and promoters of the cultural values of their respective countries.The opening concert featured the Master Musicians of the Aga Khan Music Initiative, the musicians who are also the leading collaborators  venerated and composers-arrangers who appear on the worlds most prestigious stages while also serving as teachers, mentors and curators who enrich the Music Initiatives interregional network of educational programmes, explains the concerts brochure.The Gulbenkian Orchestra was conducted by Pedro Neves, who is also a principal conductor of the Ephinho Classic Orchestra, and has been a guest conductor of numerous Portuguese and international orchestras.The featured musicians soloists and/or composers included Sirojiddin Juraev, a Tajikistani performer on a variety of long-necked lutes from Central Asia, in his own Suite for Dutar and Orchestra; saxophonist Basel Rajoub from Syria in his Golden Waves; Syrian Feras Charestans composition Samai which he played on qanoun.The evening continued with Rangin Kaman, a composition by Hamayoun Sakhi, an Afghan rubab player who was joined by Uzbekistani Abbos Kosimov, a doria player and a table player, Siar Hashimi from Afghanistan.The final work, titled Tashkent and composed by Rajoub, brought together Rajoub on saxophone, Charestan on qanoun, Juraev on dutar and Kosimov on doria.In this melting pot of cultures, nationalities and musical belongings, the evening was a perfect showcase of Aga Khan Initiatives mission to reinvigorate the intellectual wealth of all the nations touched by the foundation.It is on the stage that we saw living proof of how a diversity and plurality can generate a unique unity, where on the one hand the traditional values are brought to light and on the other hand they create new connections with many diverse music forms, such as jazz or contemporary music.The celebration continues with performances held by the 14 nominees in the Performance Category at the inaugural edition of the Aga Khan Music Awards, and the final gala during which the winners will be revealed.

Awards will also be handed out to the already announced winners of a number of other categories announced last week: music creation; education; social inclusion; preservation, revitalisation, dissemination of music; and distinguished and enduring contributions to music.



For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Queen Olga wears her diamond tiara (Grand Ladies Site)

Queen Olga of the Hellenes was both Greeces queen consort and a Russian grand duchess, so you know she had a packed jewelry box. Today were talking about one of her favorite pieces, her diamond tiara.

Grand Ladies Site

Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna, a granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, married King George I of the Hellenes in 1867. This tiara features in numerous formal images from her time as Greeces queen, including this court portrait, painted early in her husbands reign. The diadem appears to perhaps have been a coronet, wrapping around the wearers head. The pieces diamond festoon base features a series of toppers that appear to have been interchangeable. In some images, like this portrait, the tiara appears to be topped by small round pearls.

Grand Ladies Site

Olga wore the tiara again for this formal photographic portrait, taken later in the nineteenth century. It appears that she often chose a diamond tiara, likely this one, for formal events. A writer for the Ipswich Journal described one of these glittering court functions in Athens in November 1888: I looked up, and there was the stately form of King George, conspicuous with his orders and blue ribbon. Beside him, on his arm, was Queen Olga, a diamond tiara sparkling on her head.

Grand Ladies Site

Several images exist from this portrait sitting, including this detailed illustration produced after one of the photographs. Here, the tiara looks like it may have been topped by diamond clusters, perhaps coordinating with the leafy diamond brooch on Olgas gown.

Wikimedia Commons

Heres the photograph that illustration was based on. Unfortunately, it doesnt give us a clearer view of the tiaras toppers.

Grand Ladies Site

Here, though, we get a good look at the pear-shaped pearls that Olga placed upright on the tiara for a nineteenth-century costume ball.

Wikimedia Commons

Although it features so prominently in images from her husbands reign, we dont seem to have clear answers about the tiaras fate afterward. We know that Olga left her emeralds to her grandson George, and her rubies to her son Nicholas. (Both sets are now with Constantine and Anne-Marie of Greece.) We also know that the grand diamond and pearl brooch pictured above on Olgas gown was inherited by her second son, George. As some of her jewels were bequeathed together in same-gem groups, maybe the diamond and pearl tiara was left to him as well?

Detail of de Laszlos portrait of Queen Olga, ca. 1914 (Wikimedia Commons)

But we also know that Olga was left in a precarious place after her husbands death in 1913, after which the Greek monarchy plunged into turmoil. In his book on the history of diplomacy between Britain and Greece, Panagiotis Dimitrakis notes that Olga asked [King George V] personally to intervene with the British legation in Athens to claim some royal jewels locked in a bank vault there. The final part of the message [from Buckingham Palace to the British ambassador] was rather poignant: His Majesty is full of sympathy for Queen Olga who told me that she would have to rely on these jewels for her existence should her allowance be stopped after the abolition of the monarchy in Greece. Olga wouldnt have been alone in using her jewels as an insurance policy to survive in exile  many royals sold their jewels to fund their new non-royal lives. Perhaps this tiara met a similar fate?Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here

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Home PageAmbassadors from 30 countries paid a visit to Abdeen Palace in downtown Cairo on Saturday, organised by the antiquities ministry.

Among them were the ambassadors of Germany, France, Italy, the European Union, Cameroon, Belgium, Russia, Malta, Holland, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Hungary, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Armenia, and South Korea.

The visit came within the framework of the countrys policy to highlight its historical sites and landmarks.

It also came within the series of trips to archaeological sites for ambassadors that the antiquities ministry is organising. Along the past two years the ministry has organised trips to St. Catherine, New Valley, Abu Simbel and other locations.

Responding to the invitation of Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Communications Amr Talaat and Minister of Public Enterprises Hisham Tawfik also attended the tour.

abdeen

abdeen

During the tour all the invitees were impressed with the beauty of the palace and its exquisite architecture and distinguished interior decorations and design, as well as the priceless furniture, artefacts and antiques on display within its halls, which reflect a very important period in Egypts history.

Abdeen Palace was designed by a number of architectures under the supervision of French architect Lion Rosso. It has a neo-classic architectural style and was built in 1863. It was the palace of Egypts monarchs from then until 1952.

The visit on Saturday is the first in a series of visits to presidential palaces, in an attempt to shed more light on the countrys royal heritage in modern Egyptian history, which is not less valuable than the countrys ancient, Islamic, and Coptic heritage.

During the visit, El-Enany said that three new discoveries will be announced soon, and that there will be inaugurations of a number of archaeological projects in different governorates.

Talaat also delivered a lecture about Abdeen Palace and the history of the Mohamed Ali dynasty.

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MBABANE  About 24 emaSwati will each get a share of E1.4 billion from Nigeria-founded Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).



The names of the beneficiaries were announced last weekend, by Aisha Buhari, the wife of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who also made an official statement.



These entrepreneurs will also attend the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum  Africas largest entrepreneurship convening  to be held on July 26-27, 2019.

The selected entrepreneurs will each receive non-refundable E70 000 of seed capital, access to mentors, and a 12-week business training programme, directly focused on the needs of African entrepreneurs.



During an event held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, where the Accenture Development Partners made a presentation of the selection process, it was said that in total, 3 050 people were selected from the 54 countries of the African continent.



The foundation just announced 3 050 selected applicants into the fifth cohort of its Entrepreneurship Programme. We continue our commitment to empowering African entrepreneurs to sustainably develop the continent, read a press statement seen by this reporter.



On an annual basis, TEF directly funds 1 000 entrepreneurs. This year, however, there was an additional 2 050 beneficiaries supported by foundations partners.



Hungry



This year, over 216 000 applications were received, an increase from last years 150 000. Nearly 90 000 were submitted by female entrepreneurs, an increase of 45 per cent, illustrating the Foundations strategy to achieve greater gender balance. Every year, we face an almost impossible task  to select 1 000 entrepreneurs, from the hundreds of thousands that apply. Our entrepreneurs are hungry to effect change, the statement read.



The TEF said the selection of these individuals was only scratching the surface, as they saw the depth of entrepreneurial talent, which government, business and society must harness to transform economies and livelihoods. We must rally together to empower them and accelerate the change we want on the continent, the statement further read.



empowering



The foundation is committed to empowering the 3 050 African entrepreneurs, through the 5th cycle of its E1.4 billion TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

In her speech, Aisha Buhari is said to have commended the programmes impact on the continent, charging the selected entrepreneurs to contribute to the advancement of the African continent.



Indeed, I am confident that these Tony Elumelu entrepreneurs will inspire deep confidence and be of immense value, not just to Nigeria, but to the entire continent, she was quoted.

According to the incoming CEO of TEF, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, the foundations Entrepreneurship Programme has empowered 7 520 entrepreneurs in its first five years of the 10-year programme.MBABANE  Mystery surrounds the death of Asian businessman. The businessman was found lying in a pool of blood inside his rented flat at Parkview Heights, yesterday.



The block of flats is situated directly opposite the Mbabane Magistrates courts along Gwamile Street. Some of the businessmans fellow countrymen who were found at the scene wondered how he could have died.



The house was locked from the inside. And there was no sign of forced entry, said Sayim Saymom. He pointed out that they had to break the door in the presence of police to gain access into the house.



Narrating events leading to the discovery of the body, Saymom said some colleagues tried calling the businessman on his phone, but it rang unanswered.

It was unlike him not to take calls. A friend then sent someone to his flat. This person knocked on the door for quite some time.

When he did not respond, the man peeped through the keyhole. He noted that the key was in the keyhole. This got him worried, Saymom said in a quivering voice.



He paused for a few seconds.



After regaining his composure, Saymom narrated that the man called his fellow countrymen.

Saymom said the men requested the flats caretaker who was identified as Simelane to assist them.

The caretaker took us to the back of the flat. When we looked through the bathroom window, they saw him sprawled on the floor. That is when we called the police, he said.



Requested



Upon arrival, Saymom said the police requested one of the residents to break the door.

Asked about the businessman background, Saymom stated that the entrepreneur had businesses around the city, Sidwashini and in Piggs Peak. His wife is staying in Bangladesh with their two daughters. I came with him to Swaziland (Eswatini) about eight years ago. He lived alone in the house.

Just yesterday (Thursday), he submitted his papers at the ministry of Home Affairs for renewal, he disclosed.



The caretaker, Simelane in a brief interview concurred with Saymom that they had to break the door to gain access into the house.

While narrating to this journalist on how they found the businessman, Simelane was taken away by the police.



When returned, Simelane said he had been strongly warned not to respond to questions posed by members of the fourth estate.

Kute lenginga kusita ngako. Batsitse ngingasho lutfo, the caretaker said when journalists tried to get information from him.

Earlier, Simelane was seen recording a statement with a police officer a few metres from the crime scene.





MANZINI  United they bargain, divided they fight. More controversy abounds as the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) recognised one of the warring factions in the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU) and disowned the other.



TUCOSWA issued a statement to the labour commissioner, the business community and the media saying the congress had made an effort to bring the two factions of SMAWU together with the intention to bring a lasting solution to their differences, and came out with a decision to recognise the faction led by Samuel Dlamini.



This is at the expense of the faction led by Justice Mtsetfwa.

The Mtsetfwa-led faction has held the reins of SMAWU for years, but came to a bumpy patch last year when the union became embroiled in court battles over its affiliation to the Amalgamation of Trade Unions in Swaziland (ATUSWA). When the Industrial Court declared that SMAWU was not under ATUSWA, the former broke into two ranks, one siding with ATUSWA and the other insisting they wanted nothing to do with ATUSWA.



The side that sympathised with ATUSWA held elections in December last year, where Samuel Dlamini and others were elected the new National Executive Committee (NEC) of SMAWU. Meanwhile, the other faction, led by Mtsetfwa did not participate in the elections and insisted they were still in office.



The power struggles have prompted the intervention of TUCOSWA, which is the federation for workers unions. Acting Secretary General Muzikayise Mhlanga said on February 26, 2019, TUCOSWA invited both sets of the National Executive Committee members to a meeting that was scheduled to take place last week Thursday at 10am.



The set of executives is the one that was elected in 2011, which oversaw the amalgamation process involving SMAWU, and other unions to form ATUSWA, whose term of office should have expired in 2015, and the other one being the NEC that was elected late 2018 after the Industrial Court of Appeal Judgment under case No. 06/2018.



absence



The Samuel Dlamini-led NEC attended the meeting while the Justice Mtsetfwa led-NEC did not attend. At about 11am, the Samuel Dlamini-led NEC requested that the meeting proceed in the absence of the other team since they had not requested for a postponement.





















MBABANE  The University of Eswatini (UNESWA) lecturer who was arrested for alleged rape has admitted to having sex in his office with the student who is a complainant in the matter.



Francis Makamba (42) from Zimbabwe made the confession in his bail application filed by his lawyer Thabiso Fakudze at the High Court yesterday.

Makamba, who is currently on suspension, stands accused of violating Section 3(1) (2) (3) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act in that he allegedly had unlawful sexual intercourse with the 21-year-old student whose name will not be revealed for ethical reasons.



My defence to the charge is that I had consensual sexual intercourse with the complainant in a place surrounded by a hive of activity and heavy foot traffic flow in broad daylight, submitted the lecturer.



He further informed the court that he was in a relationship with the complainant. The complainant would now and then pass by my office and kiss me on the forehead, cheek and lips, alleged Makamba.



According to Makamba, on March 21, 2019, the complainant came to his office at around mid day saying she wanted to talk to him. He asserted that as he was busy at that moment, the complainant left and asked that he called her when he was free. The accused claimed that at around 3pm he called the complainant and told her that she could come and she responded by saying ok.



recordings



Fortunately, I have an application on my cell that records all calls made and received and I have the recordings of this call and other calls made prior. The telephone call was short and it shows that we had made a prior arrangement to meet and moreover, the words of people in a relationship were used and no one objected to their usage, submitted the lecturer.



Makamba narrated that when the complainant came to his office, she said she wanted to give him a proper kiss and she asked him to lock the door. She came straight to me and kissed me. We started kissing and touching each other and one thing led to another. I first objected to the continuity of what we were doing and stated that it was improper as we were in the office. She did not hear anything as she went on to voluntarily remove her clothes, alleged Makamba

Makamba continued to say: She was wearing a tight grey track suit bottom and to be precise she removed one leg of the track (the right one) (sic).



He said while they were in the act of having passionate sexual intercourse, the complainant received a call from her mother who was on her way to see her.

According to the lecturer, the complainant told her mother that she was busy and she would call her back later and they continued with their act. Thereafter we cleaned ourselves, had a little chat and she then asked for money to buy morning after pills. I gave her E200. Morning after pills, also known as Plan B, are used to prevent pregnancy on a person who has had unprotected sex.



pills



Makamba claimed that after giving the complainant the money to buy the pills, she then demanded E1 000, with which she said she would do her hair.

I informed her that E1 000 was a bit too much for just doing hair but nonetheless I promised to give her the following day. She said she would collect the money the following day being March 22, 2019 only for her to arrive with two police officers, submitted Makamba.



My biggest surprise is that she initiated the whole sex thing only for her to later lay a rape charge against me. I merely responded to her sexual request, contended Makamba.



He told the court that; There were people around at that time and probably there were people in the other offices as well. The complainant did not scream or cry out for help and instead she controlled her voice in order not to be heard by the people outside.



Before moving an application for bail at the High Court, Makamba first made a brief appearance before Magistrate Mthokozisi Dlamini at the Matsapha Circuit Court. The magistrate informed him that the charge he was facing was very serious hence he should appear before a principal magistrate. He then advised him that in the event he desired to be admitted to bail, the police officers would assist him.



Last Wednesday, the lecturer found himself without a place to work from after angry students locked his office. The livid University of Eswatini (UNESWA), Kwaluseni Campus students used their own padlock to lock his office. The students, who unceremoniously suspended classes on Wednesday, started the protest action against Makamba and another lecturer who is in the same predicament by doing vusela exercises around the campus, which was a strategy to alert their colleagues that there would no classes.

As they marched around the campus corridors, singing and dancing to political songs and slogans, the number of participants increased. This vusela exercise was carried out until around 9:30am when the president of the student representative council (SRC), Sakhile Ndzimandze arrived from the Mbabane Campus. He then took over the reins as he was the one who gave direction to the protesting students. However, when he arrived, he found that the enraged students had resolved to lock the office of the expatriate lecturer.BHUNYA  A breastfeeding mother confessed to social welfare officers that she drank marula brew in order to produce milk for her newborn baby.

This is much against health warnings that such should be avoided because it could pass the alcohol onto the baby and inebriate her.



The woman, aged 35, who will not be named to protect her from stigmatisation, is on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and had not undergone the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) because of her nomadic lifestyle.



She is currently languishing at the Mawelawela Correctional Facility where she was arrested for allegedly failing to protect the baby under the provisions of the Childrens Protection and Welfare Act of 2012.



Imbibe



Her arrest was sparked by an alleged act of leaving the three-week-old baby outside the bar while she joined friends to imbibe marula brew in a bar at Bhunya.

Police had to rope in the services of Social Welfare Officers to determine the cause of the mothers actions and to suggest possible interventions. It was during a fact finding interview that the mother made the startling confession that depicted a life of poverty and dejection.



According to social welfare records, trouble started when the babys parents went separate ways, while the mother was one-month pregnant with her. Reasons for the separation are expected to come out when the matter is brought to court for trial.



Complaining



Then, the mother was kicked out of her parental home after she did not see eye-to-eye with her biological mother on her lifestyle. Her parental home is in LaMgabhi, near Mbabane.



The babys mother moved to Madikizela, in Bhunya, where she fell in love with another man and they stayed together in a stick and mud hut. Then troubles escalated when the new boyfriend, it was alleged, started complaining about the presence of the baby in the house.

The boyfriend works at the nearby Montingy.



The mother, who will be referred to as Londiwe*, related to friends how she had no food in the house to feed herself and the baby, as stated in the documents.

On Monday February 25, the mother was arrested in a drinking spot at Bhunya, where she had carried the baby along with her.

Intoxicated



Patrons at the bar said she was intoxicated, while carrying the baby during the marula season. They said she had gone outside to urinate and had put the baby aside during the process.

When she stood up to retur

n to the bar, she must have forgotten that she was carrying the baby girl because she left her there until the baby was found by other patrons who were milling outside a few hours after the mother had left it. They called the police, who arrived and fetched her from the bar, where they sternly rebuked her for negligence, said a witness who was at the bar on the fateful day of Londiwes arrest.



Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the arrest of the woman and said the child had been removed from her care and taken to a place of safety which she chose not to identify for security reasons.

Her charge sheet reads: The accused person did wrongfully, unlawfully and intentionally abuse and expose her baby, a Swazi female minor, three-weeks-old to a dangerous environment (a bar hall), while she was enjoying liquor, and further abandoned her outside the bar, thus exposing her to harm and danger.

Separated

Londiwe told Social Welfare officers that she had no idea about the whereabouts of the childs biological father, as it has been about nine months since they separated.

She said she was drinking marula in the bar because she needed to eat something in order to breastfeed the baby.

The case is currently awaiting a trial date, but Londiwe is being remanded in custody on a weekly basis, while the first remand was at the Manzini Magistrates Court two weeks ago, where she was remanded in custody by Magistrate Philisiwe Simelane.

Contacted for expert advice Dr Vlom Vertus of the Women and Children Clinic in Manzini said there was low possibility that marula could help the woman to increase production of breast milk.

I cant find any scientific evidence to that effect, he said without elaborating.

Neglected

Principal Secretary in the Deputy Prime Ministers Officer Khangeziwe Mabuza said the incident had not been related to her office, but after hearing the story, could conclude that her officials were right to remove her baby from the care of the mother.

As a matter of fact it is the mother who neglected the baby, and our duty at Social Welfare is to protect the vulnerable to avoid the loss of life. We thank the police for acting promptly in this incident, she said.

*Londiwe is not her real name.









MBABANE  When the hour has come, believers usually say this is the day that the Lord has made.



Will the Friday of May 24, 2019 turn out to be the day that the Lord has made for emaSwati to learn about the extradition of Mbuso Ncaza Nkosi and Simphiwe Ntjebe Ngubane, who allegedly killed Victor Mfana Gamedze at Galp Filling Station in Ezulwini on January 14, 2018?



That would be four days before the trial of Sipho Shongwe, the first suspect to be held for Gamedzes murder, begins at the High Court of Eswatini.

Another suspect linked to the murder of Gamedze is Sicelo Dzodzo Zikalala - Luthango who is yet to be arrested. He is understandably on the run, and police are looking for him.



The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa told the Times SUNDAY that Nkosi and Ngubane would appear in a South African court for the extradition case.



location of court a secret



The location of the court is known by this newspaper, but will not be disclosed for security reasons.

Johan J. De Toit, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said they received a request from their counterparts in Eswatini to have Nkosi and Ngubane extradited to the kingdom.



Popularly known as JJ in the legal fraternity, the deputy DPP confirmed that the case was going back to court on May 24, 2019.

Our office has indeed received a request from Swaziland (Eswatini) for their extradition  the case is in court again on May 24, 2019, said De Toit.

Asked if the two suspects were freed on bail, the deputy director of public prosecutions said they were, as a matter of fact, in custody.

They have been in custody since February last year.



For security reasons, the correctional facility where they had been detained since February 2018 will not be disclosed.

The deputy DPPs comment was sought after Mugshots.com; an online information intelligence system working closely with international police, claimed Nkosi was still on the police most wanted list.



NPA following case

Mugshots published the ID for Nkosi, place of birth and nationality, putting him on its list as one of the suspects being wanted by the South African Police Service (SAPS). The organisation reported that it got the information on June 2, 2018.

It never reported anything on Ngubane.



However, the NPA made it clear to the Times SUNDAY on Friday that both suspects were actually in custody.

Phila Dlamini, Eswatinis Director of Public Prosecutions, confirmed awareness of the set date for the suspects appearance in court.

The DPP said they duly submitted the request to their counterparts, and the process for the extradition fell within the jurisdiction of the NPA. He said they were following the case with keen interest.



We are aware of the dates for their court appearance, he said.

Meanwhile, sources close to the NPA said judgment could be delivered on May 24, 2019 because both parties had filed their applications, and the presiding officer had probably applied himself to the heads of argument.



assures South Africa

Sources at NPA continued to explain that the extradition case could take long to be concluded in that country if the suspects would lodge an appeal.

Impeccable sources further confided in this newspaper that Eswatini has assured South Africa that the suspects would not be hanged even if they were to be convicted of the murder of the late director of Eswatini Mobile, MV Tel Communications and chairman of both Mbabane Swallows and Premier League of Eswatini.

If the suspects lodge an appeal, the case will be heard by the Constitutional Court, and that can take quite some time to conclude it, said the source.

There is, however, some hope that they will not appeal the verdict even if turnes out to be not in their favour, sources said. This is based on the fact that they had been assured of safety from the noose.



extradition treaty signed

Dont forget to mention that they are still innocent until proven guilty, the source said.

There havent been so many cases of extradition requests between Eswatini and South Africa despite the fact that the two countries signed an extradition treaty.

In 2012, Eswatini extradited Musa Macandza Dlamini to South Africa to face a murder charge.

Dlamini, of Nginamadolo, allegedly killed his wife Sibongile Masinga on December 8, 2010 at Jeppes Reef in South Africa. He then fled to the country after the commission of the crime.

On another note, it must be said that the death of Gamedze left his family with a mammoth task. His wife Lungile is in court to get overwhelming evidence that a certain child was indeed sired by her late husband.



DNA test inconclusive

Results of a DNA test were inconclusive.

The paternity test was conducted in Ermelo, South Africa.

During the tests, blood samples of one of Gamedzes daughters were used but the outcome was that it was inconclusive.

Inconclusive paternity test results generated by most laboratories typically mean that the probability of paternity was less than 99 per cent.

The inconclusive results of the minor will now require the executor of the estate to seek alternative means to determine the paternity of the child before he (minor) could be included as a beneficiary in the multimillion estate of the slain businessman.

Lungile and her daughters Tiyandza and Temalungelo, are also appealing the judgment of Judge Nkosinathi Maseko, who dismissed their application to compel Nosipho Gamedze to undergo a paternity test.

Nosipho is the woman whom the court recently found to be the biological daughter of the late millionaire.Topaz, a global powerhouse in marine logistics and a unit of Omani multinational Renaissance Group, has achieved a market-leading 86 per cent utilisation of its core fleet last year and is upbeat on its 2019 market outlook.

Visibility of earnings generation and vessel utilization is positive for 2019, due to the safety, modernity and relevance of the Topaz fleet; and the stability of strategic partnerships and long-term contracts with blue-chip International Oil Companies (IOC) and National Oil Companies (NOC) clients, said senior officials of Renaissance Group during its 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Capital Market Authority Hall, Muscat recently.

Besides Topaz, the company, which is listed on Muscat Securities Market (MSM), has another core business, Renaissance.

The unprecedented turmoil in the industry over the past four years has proven that Topaz is both agile and experienced in navigating volatility, said a statement from Renaissance Group.

Its portfolio of vessels, despite the global OSV fundamental valuation reset, its geographic footprint, disruptive innovation and leadership position in home markets, together with the flexibility of the companys operating model, have enabled and will enable Topaz to adapt well to future challenges.

Renaissance Services business offers strategic and integrated facilities management solutions for businesses in a wide range of sectors and geographies.

The company provides contract services, IFM and runs the Renaissance Village brand, which is a uniquely designed workforce accommodation solution and Renaissance Duqm Village, which is the sultanates largest state-of-the-art PAC.

Its clients include government, universities and hospitals, ports, industries in diversified sectors, onshore and offshore hydrocarbon development and the military, said the statement from Renaissance Group.

In 2018, the company achieved a 100 per cent record in major contract retention and extension, along with new contract gains. Renaissance won contracts to support the joint military exercise for Saif Sareea at Duqm, MAM and Shaffa, it stated.

During 2018, the company maintained high occupancy levels at all Renaissance Villages in PDOs oil and gas fields. Extended its contract tenure in major IFM contracts with BP Khazzan and Al Mouj, it added.

Also the company increased its market share in competitive tender for contract services to the Ministry of Health Hospitals, said Renaissance Group in its statement.

It also completed two years of initial occupancy build-up at Renaissance Village Duqm and the company now enters its first year of full-scale operations in 2019.

With secured occupancy in hand, the company is set to pass break-even this quarter and reach maximum current capacity (16,000 beds) by Q3.

The company is exploring expansion options to meet high excess demand in late 2019 and beyond, it added.

The Renaissance Group divested 100 per cent ownership of its Norwegian subsidiary, Norske Offshore Catering (NOC), realising a capital gain of RO650,000, having achieved equity IRR of 35 per cent.

The Omani group admitted that its progress in boosting its presence in the UAE market was slower than expected. However, the company is trying to create a larger customer base and establish profitability in 2019.

In the companys services diversification programme, Renaissance has won a breakthrough contract with UAE-based beah for waste collection services in Al Wusta and Sezad, through its JV partnership with Sager of Italy. The contract mobilizes in late 2019.

The company has strengthened its Hard FM capabilities and established the ProTek brand to develop its traditional B2B service offerings into quality B2C homecare services.

On its future outlook, Chairman Samir Jimmy Fancy said Renaissance Services' performance will grow in 2019 just based upon rising occupancy at Renaissance Village Duqm.

"The company remains focused on capturing further growth opportunities through demand for our Accommodation Solutions; our ongoing diversification strategy; and our digital strategy to drive efficiency and innovation for our company and our customers," stated Fancy.

"The company continues to drive continuous improvement in safety, standards and service offerings in both companies. The company continue to innovate to ensure both businesses are increasingly agile, efficient, and customer-centric," he added.-TradeArabia News ServiceTurkmenistan has established Day of Industrial Workers in honor of workers of industry and communications. As the Turkmenistan.ru correspondent reports from Ashgabat, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a decree to this effect at a government meeting via video conferencing.

The document orders the establishment of Day of Industrial Workers and the annual celebration of this holiday on the third Sunday of October. The Ministry of Industry and Communications and the Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan as well as the State Concern "Turkmenhimiya" have been instructed to ensure the high level of organization of Day of Industrial Workers.

The document also annuls the presidential decrees of 2017 On Establishment of Day of Transport and Communication Workers and On Establishment of Day of Workers of the Chemical Industry.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021